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a CONSUELO.

\ A .\ i ;i .. .. yoa know that I will not betray it; bat how can I nndertake to devote my whole life to an intimacy of 80 delicate a nature? I see tfiat yon trust to time and to my reason for maintaining the mental healdi of your noUe son and for calming the intensity of his attachment for me. But I do not know how long I shall have this power; and beade% even if it were not a very dangerous intimacy for so passionate a man, I am not free to consecrate my days to thb f^xynxxA task; I do not belong to myself.**

''O heaven 1 what are you saying, Consuelo? Did yoa not understand me? Or did you decdve me in saying that yon were free, that you had neither an attachment of the heart, an engagement nor a femfly?-

^But, my lord/* replied Consuelo astounded, '^I have a work, a callings a profession. I belong to the art to n^iich I have been devoted from my chiM-hood.- '.

^ What are you saying? Great heaven! you wish to return to the stage?** .- i

^As for tfiat, I do not know; and I should ten the truth in saying that my desires do not lead that way. I have only experienced honiUe sufferings thus tu in that stormy career; but I still fed that I shook! be rash if I were to undertake to renounce it. I have been destined to it, and perhaps one cannot escape from the future which one has laid out for one*s seK Whether I return to the stage, or whether I give lessons and concerts, I am, and ou^t to be, a singer.

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Besides, what could I do? ^VheTe could I find independence? How could I occupy my mind trained to labor and thirsty for this sort of emotion?"

** O Consuelo, Consuelo!" cried Count Christian sorrowfully,'' all that you say is true. But I thought that you loved my son, and now I Ae that you do not!"

''And if I were to come to love him with the passion which I would need to give myself up, what would you say, my lord?*' cried Consuelo irritated. ** Do you think it absolutely impossible for a woman to &11 in love with Count Albert, since you ask me to remain with him always? **

"What! Have I explained my meaning so badly, or do you think me mad, dear Consuelo? Have I not asked your heart and your hand for my son? Have I not laid at your feet a legitimate and certainly honorable alliance? If you loved Albert, yoa would no doubt find in the happiness of sharing his life a compensation for the loss of your glory and your triumphs! But you do not love him, since you con> nder it impossible to renounce what you call your destiny I"

It was hardly the good count's fault that this ex-planation had been so tardy. Not witfa5ut a mixture of terror and mortal repugnance had the old lord sacrificed to the happiness of his son all the ideas of his life, an the principles of his caste; and when, after a long and painfiil struggle with Albert mid himself he had consummated the sacrifice, the-absohite ratifi-Digitized by

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cation of so terriUe an act had not reached his lips from his heart without an effort.

Consuelo felt this, or guessed it, for at the moment when Christian appeared to renounce gaining her consent to this marriage, there was certainly on his (ace an involmftary expresnon of joy, min^^ with strange consternation. «

In a moment Consndo understood her situation, and a pride which was somewhat too personal, perhaps, fiUedheririth averaon to the unkmiriiichwas being proposed to her.

«You wish me to become Count Albert's wife? •• she said, still stunned by so strange an offer. ^ YoQ would consent to call me your dau^ter, to give me your name, to present me to your family, your friends? Ah, my lord 1 how much you love your son, and how your son must love you r*

** If you find so great a generosity in this, it is because your heart cannot conceive one like it, or because the object does not appear to you worthy ofit»» ' .

** hLy lord," said Consuelo, after collecting herself with her face hidden in her hands, ^ I seem to be dreaming. My pride is awakened in spite of me at the idea of the humiliations with which my life would be filled if I dared accept the sacrifice which your paternal love suggests to yon.**

^Who would dare to humiliate you, ConSuelo» when the husband and father cover you with Uie 8^ of marriage and the family?**

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CONSUELO. S

«< And the aunt, mj lord? Could the aunt, who is a true mother here, see this without blushing? **

««She herself wiU join her prayers to ours, if yoa promise to allow yourself to be persuaded. Do not ask more than the weakness of human nature can bear. A lover, a fother, can undergo the humiliation and the grief of a refiisaL My aster could not venture that But with the certainty of success, we will bring her to your arms, my daughter.**

<< My lord," said Consuelo trembling, *^ did Coont Albert tell you that I loved him?"

^No," replied the count, struck by a sudden recollection, ^Albert told me that the obstacle would be in your heart. He repeated it to me a hundred times, but I could not believe it. Your integrity and your delicacy seemed to me reason enough for your reserve. But I thought that when I freed you from your scruples I should gain from you the avowal which you refused to him."

** And what did he tell you of ourwalk to-day?"

"A single word,—*Try, my &ther; it b the only way to know whetiier it is pride or aversion whidi closes her heart against me.'"

^ Alas, my lord I what would you think^ me if I told you that I do not know myself?"

<'I shouki think that it was aveiaon, dear Consn-ck>. Ah, my son, my poor son! What a frig^tfol frite is his! To be unable to be loved by the only woman whom he could, whom he ever can love, perhaps! This last misfortune is all that jfas wanting 1"

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"O God! you must hate me, mj lord I You cannot undeistand that my pride should re»st when you sacrifice your own. The pride of a giil like me seems to you to have much less foundation; and yet believe me that there b now as violent a struggle in my heart as that which you have won yonrselfl**

^ I understand it. Do not think, rignoni, that I have so litde respect for purity, intq;rity and disinterestedness that I cannot appreciate pride founded on such treasures. But what a Other's love has been able to overcome (you see that I speak to you with endre frankness), I think that a woman's love could conquer likewise. Well, even though all Albert'a life^ yours and mine were to be a struggle against the prejudices <^ the world, let me suppose, and thou|^ we an three

had to suffer long and much, and my sister with us, would there not be, in our love for each other, in the evidences of our conscience and in the fruits of our devotion, enough to make us stronger than an the world beside? To a great love these evOs win s»eem but light which now seem to you too heavy for you and for us. But anxious and trembling, you seek for this great love in the bottom of your hearty and you do not find it, Consueto, because it b not there.*'

** Yes, that b the whole quesdon,** said Consuelo^ presang her hands hard against her heart; ^'aU the rest b nothing. I, too, had prejudices; your example shows me that it b my duty to trample them under &x>^ and to be as great, as heroic, as yon. Let us

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speak no more of my repugnance, of my false shame. Let us speak no more of my future, of my art,** she added, heaving a deep si^ ** I can give up even that if—if I love Albert For that is what I must know.

Listen to me, my lord. I have asked it of myself a hundred times, but never with the security which 3rour consent alone could give. How could I question myself seriously when this question itself was a folly and a crime in my eyes? Now, it seems to me that I can know myself and decide. I ask a few days of you to collect myself and to determine whether the immense devotion which I feel for him, the unlimited esteem and respect which his virtues inspire in me^ the powerful sympathy, the strange influence which his words exeit upon me, proceed from bve or ad-miration. For I feel all that, my lord, and yet it is opposed in me by an indefinable terror, by a profound sadness, and—^^I will tell you all, my noUe friend I —by the memory of a less enthusiastic but a sweeter and more tender love, whic& resembles this in no respect"

" Strange and noUe girl,** replied Christian afleo-tionately, ''what wisdom and what strangeness are in yourwords and in your ideas 1

You resemble my poor Albeit in many respects^ and the agitated uncertainty of your sentiments recalls to me my wife^ my noUe and beautiful and sad Wanda. O Consudol you awaken in me veiy sweet

and very Utter memories. I was about to say to you—overcome this irresohi* tion, conquer this Tepugnance; love, by virtue great-Digitized by

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I ness of soul, compassion, or the $trength of an ardent

/ and pious charity, this man who adores you, and who^

though he may perhaps make you unhappy, win yet [ owe you his salvation, and will cause you to merit a

) , heavenly recompense. But you have reminded me of his mother,—his mother who gave herself to me from a \ sense of duty and from friendship. She could not fed

' for me, a simple, easy-going and timid man, the enthusiasm with which her imagination was aUaze. She was faithful and generous to the end, nevertheless; but how she suffered I Alas, her affection was at once my joy and torment; her constancy, my pride and remorse. She died under the torture, and my heart was broken forever. And now if I am an insignificant nonentity, dead though not buried, do not be too much astonished, Consuelo; I have suffered what no one has understood, what I have told to no one, and now confess to you with trembling. Ah, rather than induce you to make such a sacrifice^ and rather than uige Albeit to accept it, I would have my eyes dose -in sorrow and my son succumb at once to his destiny! I know too well what it costs to wish to force nature and combat the insatiable needs of the souL There-fore, take time to reflect, my daughter,*' said the old r count, as he pressed Consuelo against his heaving

breast, and kissed her noble brow with a father's love. ^An win be for the best in this way. If you must refuse, Albert, prepared by anxiety, will not be crashed by thb frightful news as he would have been to-day.** They separated after this agreement, and Consudo^

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slipping throngh the cbrridon in fear of meeting Anzoleto, went to shut herself up in her room, worn out with fatigue and emotion.

She first tried to recover the necessary calmneai by taking a litde repose. She felt exhausted, and throwing herself upon her bed, she fell into a sort of torpor, more pauufiil than refreshing. She would have liked to fan asleep with the thought of Albert in her mind, so as to have it before her during those mysid^' rious manifestations of slumber in which wie befieve' we sometimes find a prophetic indication concemmg the things which fill our thought But the

broken dreams which visited her for several hours brought Anzoleto ceaselessly before her eyes instead of Albert. It was always Venice always the Corte Minelli, always' her first love, calm, smiling and poetic; and every time that she awoke, the memory of Albert was isso^'' dated with the firightful cavern in which the sound of his violin, multiplied by the echoes, called up die dead, and wailed over 2^enkd*s new-made grave.' At this idea fear and sadness closed her heart to the appeals of love. The future which they ofktei, her"

appeared surrounded by cold shadows and bloody idaons^ while the pas^ radiant and Uoonung^catised' her bosom to swell and her heart to throb. Itseembd' to her that as she dreamed of this past she heaM

bdr own voice resounding through space, fiUiiig all nature and floating grandiose as it rose to the skies, while it became hollow andmufiled and was lost in the depths of the earth like the rattle of a dying man, when the

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fimtastic sounds of the. violin in the cavern recurred to her memoij.

These vagne reveries £itigued her so modi that she arose to drive them away; and as the first stroke of the ben warned her that dinner would be served in half an hour, she set about her toilet, still preserving the same train of thouj^t. But, strange to say, for the first time in her life she was more attentive to her mirror and nx>re concerned about her hair and her gown than the serious affiurs which she was seeking to decide. In spite of herself she made herself handsome and desired to be so. And it was not to awaken the destresand the jealousy of two rival lovers that die felt this irresistible impulse of coquetry; she believed she could think of but one. Albert had never told her a word about her face. In the enthn-

siasm of Us passion he thought her handsomer, per* haps^ than she really was; but his ideas were so lofty and his love so great that he would have feared to pro£sme it by lodung at her with the passionate eyes of a lover or the scrutinizing satisfaction of an artist She had always appeared to him surrounded by a cloud which his look did not dare to penetrate and which his thoughts stiQ encircled with a darriing aureole. Whether she was more or less beautiful, he though her always the same. He had seen her livid,* fleshless, withered, fighting against death and more like a spectre than a woman. Then he had sought in her fiice attentively and anxiously for the varying sjrmp-toms of her disease^ but he had not noticed whether Digitized by

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she had been ugly at dmesy or an object of horror and disgust And when she had recovered the histre of youth and the expression of life, he had not nodced whether she lost or gained in beauty. In life as in death she was his ideal of all youth, all sublimity of expression, all unique and incomparable beauty. And so Consuelo had never thought of him when arranging herself before her mirror.

But what a difference with Anzoleto 1 With what minute care had he looked at her, judged her and examined her on the day that he had asked himself if she was not ugly! How he had taken account of the smallest graces of ^her person, of the slightest efforts which she had made to please I How well he knew her hair, her arms, her foot, her walk, the colors which became her complexion, the smallest folds of her dress 1 And with what ardent vivacity he had praised her 1 With what voluptuous languor he had gazed at her 1 The chaste child had not then understood the flutterings of her own heart She did not wish to understand them now, and yet she felt them almost as violent at the idea of appearing before him again. She became angry with herself blushed with shame and disgust, and tried to make herself believe_that she was bededdng herself for Albert alcme; and still she caught herself seeking the head-dress, the ribbon and eventhesmilewhichused to please Anzoleto. ^Alas^ alas!" she thought, as she tore herself from her mirror when her toilet was

finished, "it is true, then, that I can think only of him, and that past happiness exer*

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dses greater power over me than present ooutempt and the promise of another love 1 It is useless to look mto the future; without him it offers me only terror and despair. But what should I be with him? Do I not know that the happy days in Venice can never return, that innocence would not dwell widi ns^ that Anzoleto*s soul' has become wholly vile^ that his caresses would degrade me, and that my life would be incessantly poisoned by shame, jealousy, fear and regret?*

When she questioned herself strictly on this pointy Consuelo realized that she did not deceive herself and that she had no longer the most secret feeling of desire for Anzoleto. She no longer loved him in the present, she dreaded and almost hated him in a future in which his pervernty could but increase; but in the past, she so adored him that her heart and her life could not be separated from him. Henceforth he would appear to hcT like a portrait which recalls a beloved being and days of happiness; and like a widow who hidet herself from her new husband to look at the lecture of her former one, she felt that the dead man was more living in her heart than the other.

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CHAPTER 11.

CoNSOELO had too much judgment and loftiness of mind not to know that of the two loves which she inspired, the truer, the nobler and the more precious was that of Albert, without any possible

comparison. Consequently, when she found herself between them, she thought at first that she had successfully ressted her enemy.

Albert^s penetrating look, which seemed to reach to the very bottom of her heart, and the strong, lingering pressure of his loyal hand, made her understand that he knew the result of her interview with Count Christian, and that he was awaiting her dedsion with resignation and gratitude. Indeed, Albert had obtained more than he hoped, and this doubt was sweet to him after what he had feared, so removed was he from the ove r weening vanity of Anzoleto. The latter, on the contrary, had armed himself with all his resolution.

Surmising very nearly what was going on about him, he determined to fight foot by foot, even though they turned him out of doors by the shoulders. His flippant manner and his bold, ironical look caused Consuelo the most profound disgust; and when he approached her brazenly to ofier her his hand to lead her to the table, she turned away and took that iriiich Albert held out to her.

The young count sat opponte Con^elo, as usoal.

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and old Christian caused her to sit down at his left, in the place which Amelia fonneri/ occnpied. The canoness invited the pretended brother to rit at Con* suelo's lefty between her and the chaplain; and from this it resulted that Anzoleto could murmur his bitter sarcasms in an undertone in the youi^ girl's ear, and scandalize the old priest with his audadous jests, a work which he had already begun.

Anzoleto's plan was very simple. He wished to make himself odious and insupportable to those of the family who were, he felt, hostile to the projected marriage, and to give them, by his bad manners, his impertinent familiarity and his ill-bred speeches, the worst possible opinion of Consuelo*s family and surroundings. ^We will see,'' he said to himself '*if they can swallow the brother I serve up to them."

Anzoleto, an unfinished singer and a poor tragedian, had the instincts of a good comedian. Hehadalready seen enough of the

worid to know how to imitate the elegant manners and agreeable language of good society; but this would have only served to reconcile the canoness to Consuelo's low extraction, and he assumed the opposite role all the more easily that it was natural to lum.

Having made sure that Wenceslawa, in spite of her persistence in speaking only German, the language of the court and of well-disposed subjects, was not missing a word of what he said in Italian, he began to chatter recklessly, and to devote himself to the good Hungarian wine, whose effects he did not fear, hardened as he had long been to the

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most head/ beverages, but whose exctting influence he pretended to fed, in order to appear a confirmed drinker*

His project succeeded marvelkmsl/ welL Count Christian, after laughing indidgentl/ at first at his boisterous sallies, soon smfled only with an effort, and had need of all his lordly courtesy and fiuheriy affection not to set in his place the displeasing future brother-in-law of hb noUe son. The chaplain, horrified, started firequendy back on his chair, and muttered in German exclamations which resembled exorcisms. His refection was terriUy disturbed, and he had never in lus life digested more wretchedly. The canoness listened to all her guest's impertinences with quiet contempt and malicious satisfiicdon. At each new vulgarity she raised her eyes to her brother, as if to can his attenticm to it; and the good Christian hung his head, endeavoring to distract the attenticm of the listeners by unskilful observations. Then the canoness would look at Albert, but Albert was impassible. He appeared neither to see nor hear their disagreeable and jovial guest

Fbor Consudo was undoubtedly the most crudly tortured of all these persons. At first she though that Anzoleto*s life of debauchery had given him these vulgar manners and this cjmidsm, with which she was not familiar; for he had never appeared thus in her presence. She was so disgusted and appaDeddiat she neariy left the table. But when

she percehred that it was a stratagem, she recovered the self-possession

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i6 CONSUELO.

. which, befitted her iniioceiice and dignity. She had t ' not entered into the secrets and the affections of this family to win bjr intrigue the rank they offered her. This rank had not flattered her ambidon for a mo-menty and she feh strong in her consci e nce against thesecret accusations of the canoness. She knew, she saw clearly, that Albert's love and his father's confi* dence were secure from so wretched an assault* The contempt inspired by Anzoleto, cowardly and spitefid I in his vengeance, made her still stronger. Once her

I eyes met Albert's, and they understood each other.

Consnek> said '"Yes," and Albert repUed, <<In spite I ofanrv

t I ^ It is not done yet I" whispered Anzoleto, who ha4

ri t surprised and commented on this look*

' I fYoa are doing me great good," replied Coosuelo^

' « and I thank you**'

: They spoke between their teeth that rs^id Venetian

• dialect which seems composed only of vowels, and in

which elisions are so frequent that Italians of Rome and Florence have themselves some difficulty in understanding it at a first hearing.

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^ I can understand diat you detest me just now," went on Anzoleto,

''and that you fed sure of hating me always. But you shall not escape me for aB that.'' ^ Yoo unmasked too soon," said Consuekx " But not too late," replied Anzoleto. ^Come, good iatherl" said he, addressing the [ ri^apiain and nudguig his elbow so as to spiQ upoa 4-

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his cravat half the wine which he was rabing to his lips, ** be less afraid of this excellent wine, which does as much good to bod/ and soul a3 that of the holy mass 1 Lord count,'* said he to old Christian, holding out his glass,'' you are keeping in reserve there, on the side of your heart, a flagon of yellow crystal which shines like the sun. I am sure that if I drank only k" drop of the nectar it contains I should be changed intp a demigod*'*

''Take care, my child," said the old count, laying his thin hand, laden with rings, upon the slender neck of the flagon, "old men's wine sometimes closes young men's mouths."

"You are so angry that you are handsome as |i devil," said Anxoleto to Consuelo, in good and dear Italian, so as to be heard by every one.

" You remind me of Galuppi's ' Diavolessa,' which you played to well in Venice last year. I say, lord county do you intend to keep my sister tong in your gilded, dlk-lined cage? She is a sioging-bird, I can tell you thal^ and a bird which is deprived of its voice loses its feathers.

She b very happy here, I have no doubt; but the good public she drove so wild are screaming for her down there. And as for me, you might offer me your name, your castle, all the wine in your cel>

lar,and your respectable chaplain into the baigain,and I would not give up my footlights, my buskins and myroulad^'' .

"Then you are an actor too? " said the canonets with cold and cutting contempt.

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''An actor, a moontebank, at jour servke,** said Anzoleto quite unembanassed*

''Has he talent?** asked old Christian of C<msndo^ with a tranquillity full of sweetness and benevolence*

"None/* replied Consuelo^ looking at her enemy with an air of compassion,

" If that b so, it is your fiuilt, for I am your papil»*' said Anzoleto; and then he added in Venetian, "I hope, however, that I shall have enou|^ to block your game.**

"You are hurting no one but yourself** replied Consudo in the same dialect " Evil intentions sully the heart, and your own will lose more by all this than you cause me to lose in the hearts of others.**

"I am glad to see that you accept my challenge. Lay on, then, my pretty Amaz(» 1 It is useless to bweryour visor; I see anger and fear glittering in your eyes.**

" Alas 1 you can only see a profound wotnam for yon. I thought I could forget that I must des{nse you, and you take pains to remind me of it**

"Contempt and love often go well together.**

"In vile souls.**

"In the han^^tiest souls; that has happened and ahrayswiD.**

The whole dinner passed in this way. When they went into the drainng-room, the canoness, who seemed determined to amuse herself with Anzdeto*s imperti* nence, begged him to sing her something. He assented readily, and after running his strong fingers Digitized by

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TkoisStf over the creaking old davedn, bq^an one of the energetic songs with which he used to enlhren Zu8tiniani*s little suppers. The words were questionable. The canoness did not understand theniy and was amused b/ the energy with which he delhrered them. Count Christian could not help being struck by the fine vdce and the prodigious bdiatf at the singer. He gave himself up innocently to the pleasure of listening, and when the first air was finished asked for a second. Albert^ seated by Consnek^ appeared absolutdy dea^ and said nol a word. Anzoleto bncied that he was annoyed^ and that he felt himself at last surpassed in something. He lor* got that his dedgn was to drive away lus listeners with his musical indecencies^ and seeing, moreover, that he was wasting his trouble because of the innocence of his hosts or their ignorance of the dialect, he yidded to the desire for admiration by singing for the pleasure of ringing.

Besides^ he wished to show Consnelo that he had improved. He had, in fact, made progress in his own direction. His voice had already lost its first freshness, perhaps; excess had destroyed the velvety quality which belongs to youth; but he had become more a master of his effects and more skilfid in conquering the difficulties towards wUch his taste and his instincts always led him. He sfllg weD, and received hearty praise from Count Christian, the can-oness and even the chaplain, who liked flourishes and thought Consuelo's style too rimple and natural to be leameds

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JO CONSUELO.

** Yoa said that he had no taknt,** said the count to the yoang giiL

^Yoa are too severe or too modest iq^arding your pupiL He has a great deal, and at last I see in him some likeness to yon.**

The good old count wished to efiace by thb little triumph of Anzoleto the mortification which his behavior had caused to his aster. He therefisre insisted stroiigly on the singer's merit, and Anzoleto, who was too fond of shining not to be already tired of his dit* agreeable role, sat down again at the davedn, after observing that Count Albert was becoming more and more thoughtfuL The canoness, who became somewhat sleepy at long pieces of music, asked for another Venetian song, and this time Anzoleto chose one in better taste. He knew that he sang popular airs more artistically than anything else.

Consuek> her^ self had not the piquant accent of the dialect so natn«> rally and characteristically as he—the child of the lagoons, the mimic anger above all things.

He imitated with so much grace and charm now the rouj^ and free manner of the fisherman of It* tria, now the mocking and reckless indifierence of the Venetian gondoliers, that it was impossible not to watch and listen to him with lively interest. His handsome fiu^e, moUle and expresrive, took on by turns the grave and haughty expression of the one, and the intelligent and caressing playfulness of the others. The coquettish bad taste of his costume, which revealed the Venetian a league off, added to the SDusion, and aided lus personal advantages instead

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of detracting from them. Consaelo, who was cold at first, soon had to pretend indifTerence and preoccupation. Emotion stole upon her little by litde. She saw an Venice once more in Anzoleto, and in this Venice all the Anzoleto of the old days, with his gayety, his pure love

and his childish pride. Her eyes were blinded by tears, and the playful flourishes which caused the others to laugh filled her heart with profound tenderness.

After the songs, Count Chrutian asked for hjrmns.

^Oh, as for those, I know all that they sing in Venice; but they are for two voices, and if my sister, who knows them also, will not sing with me, I cannot satisfy your lordships.**

They immediiately begged Consuelo to sing. She reasted for a long while, although she was strongly tempted. At last, yielding to the urging of the good Christian, who was striving to reconcile her with her brother by showing that he was quite reconciled him* sel( she sat down beside Anzoleto and began, trembling, one of those long hymns in two parts^ divided into verses of three lines each, which are heard in Venice at seasons of devotion during whole nights long, around the cross-roads Madonnas. Their rhythm I is rather animated than sad, but in the monotony of \ their refirain and in the poetry of their woEd8,stamped with a somewhat pagan piety, there is a soothing melancholy which gains upon the listener little by little, and ends by taking possession of him.

Consuelo sang them in a soft and veiled vdc^ in Digitized by

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imitation of the women of Venice^ and Anzoleto wi^ the somewhat rough and guttural accent of the footh of the country. He improvised upon the clavecin at the same time a low, continuous and breezy accom* paniment which reminded his companion of the murmur of the water on the stones and the wind amid the vine-leaves. She thought herself in Venice on a fine summer night, akme before one of those open* air chapels which are shaded b^ vine-branches and lighted by a flickering lamp^ reflected on the gently rippling waters of the canaL Oh, what a diflerence between the harrowing emotion which she had experienced that morning as she listened to Albert's violin beside another stream, motionless^ Uack, silent and filled with shadowy forms^ and this vision of Venice, with its bright heavens^ its sweet melodies^ its ^very waves^ glittering with flashing torches or dazzling stars 1 Anzoleto l»ou{^ back to her this magnificent spectacle, which embodied for her the idea of life and freedom; whfle the cavern, the strange and wild old Bohemian airs, the Ixwes lit Xfj dreaiy torches and reflected in a stream fiiO, periiaps^ of these same fearM remains^ and amidst these sur-roundmgs the pale and earnest iace of the ascetic Albert, the thought of an unknown worid, the apparition of a symbolic scene, and the painful emotion of an incomiMrehensible fescination,—all this was too much for the peaceful and simple soul of Consuelo. To enter into this world of abstract ideas needed an effort of which her livdy imagination was capable,

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but in which her being became broken, tortured by strange soflTeiings and wearying iHoaons. Her Soath-em nature, stiD more than her education, rebelled against this harsh introduction into a mystic love. To her mind, Albert was thegemus of the North, deep^

potent and at times msyestic, but always sad, as the wind of frozen ni^its and the buried vdce of winter torrents. His was the contemplative and the inves* tigating soul which questions and symbolizes every-ttungy —stormy mghts^ the tracks of meteors, the wikl harmonies of the forest and the worn inscriptions on ancient tombs. Anzoleto^ on the contrary,, was Southern life, — matterwarm and fertilized by the sun, by the light of day, drawing his poetry oidy from the intensity of his Tq;etation, and his pride fix>m the opulence of lus physical nature. It was the life of feeling, the acuteness for pleasure the intellectnal indifference and artistic disregard for the morrow, a sort of carelessness or ignorance concerning the notion of pght and wrongs fiunle pleasures^ disdain or i ncapacity for reflection; in a word, the enemy and oppodte of tlioqglit.

Between thesetwo men, each ofwhom was bound to a position antipathetic to that of the other, Con-suelo was as little alive^ as little capable of action and energy, as a soul separated from its body.

She loved the beautiful, she longed for an idol Albert showed and offered it to her. But Albert checked in the devetopment of his genhis by disease^ had given himsdf up too much to intellectual life. He Digitized by

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understood the necessities of real life to Uttle thai* he had often lost the facoltf of reafiang his own existence. He did not imaj^ that the ghastly obJects^ * and^ideas to which he had become accustomed might

ever» under the influence of love and virtue, inq)ire in his betrothed other sentiments than enthusiasm of fidth and tenderness of happiness. He had not foreseen nor understood that he was tmnging her into an atmosphere where she would die, like a' tropical plant in polar twilight; in short, he did not understand the sort of violence wiuch she would be obliged to inflict upon her own being in order to identif/it with his.

Anzoleto, on the contrarf, though wounding Con-sudors heart and disgusting her intelligence, at least bore in hb broad breast, expanded bj the generous winds of the South, all the vital air needed

\» revive the ^ Flower of Spain,** as he used to call her. She found again in him a life of animal contemplation, uncultivated and delightful; a woiM of natural mdo-dies^ dear and easy; apast of calmness, cardessness^ bodily movement, of innocence without labor, honesty without eflbrt, religion without reflection. It was almost the existence of a bird. But is there not I , much of the Urd in the artist^ and for man to be

i complete and make the most of the treasure of .his intelligence, is it not necessary for him to drink a little of that cup of life common to all tUngs?

Consuek> continued to sing with a voice which grew softer and more touching, wlule she drew the

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comparisons which I have just made in her place, too much at length, no doubt. Pta/ pardon me for it 1 Without them could it be understood by what (atal changefiilness of feeling this young giil, so good and sincere, who justly hated the treacherous Anzoleto a quarter of an hour before, now forgot herself to the point of listening to his y<»ce, of touching his hair and of inhaling his breath with a kind of deli^? The drawing-room was too vast ever to be well lighted^ and the sun was setting. The rack of the davedn, upon which Anzoleto had left open a laxge music-book, hid their heads from the persons seated a litde distance away, and their bees drew closer and closer together. Anzoleto, accompanjring with only one hand, had passed his other around his friend's wiDowy' form, and was insensibly drawing her closer to him. Six months of grief and indignation had vanished like a dream from the youi^g^ri's mind.

She thought her> self in Venice. She was praying the Madonna to Uess her love for the handsome betrothed her mother had given

her,and who was praying with her, hand in hand and heart to heart Albert had gone out without her noticing it, but she felt the air lighter and the twili^ softer about her. Suddenly, at the end of a verse, she felt the burning lips of her former betrothed upon her own. She repressed a ay, and leaning forward upon the keyboard, she burst into tears. ^ •

At thb moment Count Albert returned, heard her sobs, and saw Anzoleto's insolent joy. The intemp-tkm of the song by the young ardst's emotioQ did not

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surprise the other witnesses of this rapid scene. No one hadseen the kiss^ and everyone coold understand how the memory of her chfldhood and the love of her art might draw tears from her* Count Christian was somewhat pained at this sensitnlity, which proclaimed such attachment and regret for things which be was asking her to sacrifice. The canoness and the chap* kdn were pleased at it, hoping that the sacrifice could not be accomplished. Albert had never yet asked himself whether the Countess of Rudolstadt could become an artist again, or cease to be one. He would have accepted, permitted, even insisted upon anything, in order that she might be happy and.

firee in retirement, in society or upon the stage, as ' she chose. His fireedom from prejudices and ^[otism was so great that he did not even foresee the simplest probaUlities. It did not occur to him that Consuelo might give up anything for him who wished no sacri* fice.

But while he did not see this first &ct, he saw beyond it, as always; he penetrated to the heart of the tree, and placed his hand upon the worm which

I was devouring it. He saw in^an instant the true relation of Anzoleto to Qmsuelo, the real object which be was pursuing, and the exact feelings which he in-

^ spired. He looked attentively at this man who was i distasteful to him, and upon whom he had not until then wished to cast his eyes^ because he did not wish to hate Consuelo's brother. He saw in him a bold, persevering and dangerous lover. The noble Albert did not think of himself; neither suspicion nor jeal-il

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ousy entered his heart The danger was all for Con-saelo; for at a nngle clear and penetrating glance, thb man, whose wandering look and weak sight could hardly bear the son or distinguish shapes and colors, read the bottom of the heart, and penetrated, by the mysterious power of dimation, into the most secret thoughts of the wicked and iabe. I cannot explain in any natural manner this strange gift which he sometimes possessed. Certain fiurulties in him (neither comprehended nor described by science) remained in-comprehensitde to those about him, as they are to the historian who reoMrds them, and who, in req^ect to matters of this sort, is no further advanced, after the lapse of a hundred years, than all the leading minds of the time. Albert, when he saw bare the selfish and conceited soul of his rival, did not say to himself •*There is my enemy," but "There is Consoelo's enemy; ** and, without showing his discoveiy in any way, resolved to watch over and save her.

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CHAPTER IIL

As soon as Consuelo saw a favorable opportunity, she left the drawing-room and went into die gaiden. The son had set, and the earliest stars were shining^ serene and white, in a sky which was sdll rosy towards the west, but black in the east The youi^ artist sou^t to drink in calmness from the pore and cool air of this eaiiy autumn evening. Her breast was weired down with a voluptuous languor, and yet she felt remorse for it, and called to the aid of her wiO all the strength of her souL She mig^ have said to herself ** Cannot I know whether I love or hate him?** She trembled, as if she had felt her courage £ulingher in the most dangerous crisb of her life, and for the first time she did not find in herself the uprightness of impulse, the holy confidence in her intentions, which had always sustained her in her trials. She had left the drainng-room to escape the ^sanation which An-zoleto exercised over her,andshe had felt at the same time a vague desire that he might follow her. The leaves were beginning to iaIL When the edge of her skirt caused them to rustle, she landed she heard steps behind her, and ready to fly, but not daring to lode round, she remained fiotened to the spot by a magic power*

Some one was indeed following her, but without III'

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daring or wishing to show himself! It was Albeit. Indifferent to all those little dissimulations which are called the proprieties^ and feeling, by the greatness of his love, above all ialse. shame, he had gone out a moment after her, resolved to protect her without her knowledge, and to prevent her seducer from joining her. Anzoleto had observed this simple zeal without being much alarmed by it. He had seen Consudo't emotion too clearly not to regard his victoiy as assured, and thanks to the vanity which easy successes had imparted to him, he had resolved not to press matters, to irritate his mistress or to alarm the £unily. ^There is no longer any need of haste,'* he said to himself. '' Anger might restore her strength. An air of grief and dejection will cause her to lose what re* mains of the anger which she feels for me. Her spirit is proud; let us assail her senses.

Doubtless she is less coy than in Venice; she has become civilized here. What odds if my rival is happy for one day more? To-morrow she shall be mine, peihaps to-nig^ 1 We shall see. Let us not drive her by fear to some desperate resolve. She has not betrayed me to them. Whether from pity or fear, she does not deny that I am her brother, and the family, in spite of my behavior, seems resoWed to endure me for love of her. Let us change our tactics. I have progressed fioter than I hoped. I may well pause.** ^

Count Christian, the canoness and the chaplain were therefore greatly surprised to see him suddenly assume very good manners, a modest tone and a

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gentle and winning beanng. He was clever enoo^ to complain to the chaplain in a whisper of a violent headache, and to add that being usnallj veij sober^ the strong Hungarian wine, which he had not dis-tnisted at dinner, had gone to his head. After a moment, this confesdon was commonicated in German to the canoness and the

comit, who charitably made haste to accept this justification.

Wenceslawa was less forgiving at first, but the pains which the actor took to please her, the respectful panegyric Mdiich he adroitly made of the advantages of nobility, and the admirati<m which he showed for the order which reigned in the castle quickly propitiated this amiable soul, who was incapable dt rancor. She listened to him at first firom lack of something else to do, and ended by conversing with him with interest, and by agreeing with her brother that he was an excellent and charming young maiL When-Consueio returned fiom her walk an hour had passed, during which Anzoleto had improved his opportunity. * He had so completely regained the good graces of the fiunily that he was sure of being able to remain at the castle as many days as he needed to accomplish his ends. He did not understand what the old count said to Consuelo in German, but he guessed from the looks turned towards him, and \sf the young |pri*s air of surprise and embarrassment, that Christian had been praidng him warmly, and reproaching her for not displaying more interest in so amiable a brother.

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''Come, signora,*^ said the canoness, who, in ^te of her irritation against Porporina, could not help wishing her weH, and who, besides, believed that she was accomplishing a religious duty, ^you treated your brother coldly at dinner, and it must be admitted that he deserved it then. But he is better than we thought him at first He loves you tenderly, and has spoken of you repeatedly with the greatest affection and even respect. Do not be more severe than we. I am sure that if he recollects being intoxicated at dinner, he is deeply grieved at it for your sake. Speak to him, and do not be harsh to one who is so closely connected with you by blood. For my part, although my brother Frederick, who was very teasing in his youth, often put me out, I could never remain angry with him for an hour.**

Consuelo, not daring to confirm or to remove the good woman's error, remained appalled at this new attack of Anzoleto, whose ability and adroitness she wen knew.

<*You do not understand what my sister says?'* said Christian to the young man. ** I will tell you in a few words. She is reproaching Consuelo for vf-pearing too severe towards you, and I am sure that Consuelo is dying to make peace with you. Kiss each other, therefore, my children. Come, young man, make the first advances; and if you have ever done her any wrong for which you are sorry, tdl her so, that she may pardon yoo.*'

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Consuelo*s trembUng hand^ which she did not dare to withdraw, said, —

'* Yes, I have done her great wrongs, and I repent of them so Utterly that all my efforts to forget them only tear my heart still more. Dear sister, pardon me, and restore your love to me; or else I shall depart at once, bearing my despair, my isolation and my weariness over all the earth. A stranger everywhere, without support, without counsel without affection, I can no longer believe in God, and my sins will fan upon your head.**

This honuly deeply moved the count, and drew tears from the good canoness.

•*You hear him, Porporina?** she cried. ''What he says is very beautiM and very true. Chaplain, yoo ought to command the signora to be reconciled to her brother in the name of relijgion.

The chaplain was about to intervene, but Anzoleto did not waut tot the sermon. He seized Consudo in his arms, in ^te of her resistance

and her fright, and ' kissed her passionately to the chaplain's very beard, and to the great edification of the spectators. Con-suelo, outraged at so impudent a deceit,' was resolved to lend herself to it no Icmger.

"Stop! ** said she. "Count, listen to me** —

She was about to reveal everything when Albert appeared. Instantly the thought of Zdenko came to freeze up with fright her soul, ready to overflow. Consuelo*s implacable protector might wish to rid her, without mnse or deliberation, of the enemy against Digitized by

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whom she was about to invoke his aid. She tamed pale, looked at Anzoleto with aa air of sorrowfiil reproach and the words died upon her lips. At seven o'clock they returned to the table for

supper. If the idea of these frequent repasts is cal !

culated to drive away the appetites of my fiiotidioas ■ ; readers, I must tell them that the fashion of not eat c^

ing was not in force in that age or land. I believe 7