Who to the soul is ever saying, Sigh!"

Mr. Norton has in all cases kept to the metres of the original, but in
most of the canzonets has sacrificed rhyme to literality,--a sacrifice
which we are inclined to regret, chiefly because the translator has
elsewhere shown that the closest fidelity need not involve the loss of
any charm of the original. "We have not room here to make any general
comparison of Mr. Norton's version with the Italian, but we cannot deny
ourselves the pleasure of giving the following sonnet, so exquisite in
both tongues, for the better proof of what we say in praise of the
translator:--

"Negli occhi porta la mia donna Amore;
Per che si fa gentil ciocch' ella mira:
Ove ella passa, ogni uom ver lei si gira,
E cui saluta fa tremar to core.
Sicche bassando 'l viso tutto smuore,
Ed ogni suo difetto allor sospira:
Fugge dinanzi a lei superbia ed ira.
Aiutatenmi, donne, a farle onore.
Ogni dolcezza, ogni pensiero umile
Nasce nel core, a chi parlar la sente,
Onde e laudato chi prima la vide.
Quel, ch' ella par, quando un poco sorride,
Non si puo dicer, ne tenerc a mente;
Si e nuovo miracolo, e gentile."

* * * *

"Within her eyes my lady beareth Love,
So that whom she regards as gentle made;
All toward her turn, where'er her path is laid,
And whom she greets, his heart doth trembling move;
So that with face cast down, all pale to view,
For every fault of his he then doth sigh;
Anger and pride away before her fly:--
Assist me, dames, to pay her honor due.
All sweetness truly, every humble thought,
The heart of him who hears her speak doth hold;
Whence he is blessed who hath her seen erewhile.
What seems she when a little she doth smile
Cannot be kept in mind, cannot be told,
Such strange and gentle miracle is wrought."

The poems are of course rendered with varying degrees of felicity, and
this we think one of the happiest versions; though few in their
literality lack that ease and naturalness of movement supposed to be the
gift solely of those wonder-workers who render the "spirit" of an
author, while disdaining a "slavish fidelity" to his words,--who as
painters would portray a man's expression without troubling themselves
to reproduce his features.

It appears to us that generally the sonnets are translated be