Text: Edgar Allan Poe, “The Visionary” (comparative text - GLB and SLM)

Ill-fated and mysterious man! {{1834-01: — bewildered //1835-02: Bewildered }} in the brilliancy of thine own imagination, and fallen in the flames of thine own youth! Again in fancy I behold thee {{1834-01: . //1835-02: ! }} Once more thy form hath risen before me {{1835-02: ! }} — not {{1834-01: , //1835-02: — }} oh not as thou {{1834-01: art //1835-02: art }} — in the cold valley and shadow {{1834-01: ; //1835-02: — }} but as thou {{1834-01: should'st //1835-02: shouldst }} be — squandering away a life of magnificent meditation in that city of dim visions, thine own Venice {{1834-01: , //1835-02: — }} which is a {{1834-01: star-beloved city //1835-02: star beloved elysium }} of the sea, and the wide windows of whose {{1834-01: Paladian //1835-02: Palladian }} palaces {{1834-01: , gleaming with the fires of midnight revelry, }} look down with a {{1834-01: sad //1835-02: deep }} and bitter meaning upon the secrets of her silent waters.

Yes! I repeat it — {{1834-01: “  }} as thou {{1834-01: should'st be //1835-02: shouldst be }} . {{1834-01:  ” }} There are surely other worlds than this — other thoughts than the thoughts of the multitude — {{1834-01: I would almost venture to say }} other speculations than the speculations of the sophist. Who {{1834-01: , }} then {{1834-01: , }} shall call thy conduct into question? {{1834-01: — }} who blame thee for thy visionary hours {{1834-01: — //1835-02: , }} or {{1834-01: declare //1835-02: denounce }} those occupations {{1835-02: as }} a wasting away of life, which were but the overflowings of thine everlasting energies? {{1835-02: [[new paragraph, indented]] }} It was at Venice, beneath the covered archway there called the {{1834-01: “Ponte di Sospiri,” //1835-02: Ponte di Sospiri, }} that {{1835-02: I }} met {{1834-01: me, }} for the third or fourth time {{1834-01: , }} the person of whom I speak. It is {{1834-01: , however, }} with a confused recollection {{1834-01: , }} that I {{1834-01: recall //1835-02: bring }} to mind the circumstances of that meeting {{1834-01: — yet //1835-02: . Yet }} I remember — ah! how should I forget {{1834-01: ! //1835-02: ? — }} the deep midnight {{1834-01: — //1835-02: , }} the Bridge of Sighs {{1834-01: — //1835-02: , }} the beauty of woman, and the {{1834-01: Demon of Romance //1835-02: demon of romance }} who stalked up and down the narrow canal. {{1835-02: [[new paragraph, indented]] }} It was a night of unusual gloom. The great clock of the piazza had sounded the fifth hour of the Italian evening. The square of the Campanile lay silent and deserted, and the lights in the old Ducal {{1834-01: palace //1835-02: Palace }} were dying fast away. I was returning home from the Piazetta, by way of the Grand Canal. But as my gondola arrived opposite the mouth of the canal San Marco, a female voice from its recesses {{1834-01: burst //1835-02: broke }} suddenly upon the night {{1835-02: , }} in one wild, hysterical, and {{1834-01: long-continued //1835-02: long continued }} shriek. {{1834-01: [[new paragraph, indented]] }} Startled at the sound, I sprang upon my feet {{1834-01: , //1835-02: : }} while {{1834-01: my //1835-02: the }} gondolier, letting slip his {{1835-02: single }} oar, lost it {{1835-02: , }} in the pitchy darkness beyond a chance of recovery, and we were {{1835-02: , consequently, }} left {{1834-01: at //1835-02: to }} the {{1834-01: mercy //1835-02: guidance }} of the current {{1834-01: , }} which here sets from the greater into the smaller channel. Like some huge {{1834-01: bird of sable plumage //1835-02: and sable-feathered Condor }} , we were {{1835-02: slowly }} drifting {{1834-01: slowly }} down towards the Bridge of Sighs, when a thousand {{1834-01: flambeaux //1835-02: flambeaus }} flashing from the windows {{1835-02: , }} and down the {{1834-01: staircases //1835-02: stair-cases }} of the Ducal {{1834-01: palace //1835-02: Palace, }} turned {{1834-01: , }} all at once {{1834-01: , }} that deep gloom into a {{1834-01: ghastly //1835-02: livid }} and supernatural day. {{1835-02: [[new paragraph, indented]] }} A child {{1835-02: , }} slipping from the arms of its own mother, had fallen from an upper window of the lofty structure into the deep and dim canal. The quiet waters had closed placidly over their victim {{1834-01: , //1835-02: ; }} and {{1835-02: , }} although my own gondola was the only one in sight, many a stout swimmer {{1835-02: , }} already in the stream, was seeking in vain upon the surface {{1835-02: , }} the treasure which {{1834-01: , alas! }} was {{1834-01: only }} to be found {{1835-02: in //1835-02: , alas! only within }} the abyss. {{1834-01: [[new paragraph, indented]] }} Upon the broad {{1835-02: , }} black marble {{1834-01: flag-stones //1835-02: flagstones, }} at the entrance of the palace, and a few steps above the water, stood a figure which none who then saw {{1834-01: , }} can {{1835-02: have }} ever since {{1834-01: have }} forgotten. It was the Marchesa {{1834-01: Bianca, “  //1835-02: Aphrodite — }} the adoration of all Venice — the gayest of the gay {{1834-01: ;” //1835-02: — the most lovely where all were beautiful — }} but {{1834-01: , alas! //1835-02: still }} the young wife of the old and intriguing Mentoni {{1834-01: and the mother }} — the mother of that fair child {{1834-01: ; //1835-02: , }} her first and only one {{1834-01: — //1835-02: , }} who now {{1834-01: , }} deep beneath the {{1835-02: murky }} water, was thinking in bitterness of heart upon her {{1834-01: gentle //1835-02: sweet }} caresses, and exhausting its little life in struggles to call upon her name. {{1835-02: [[new paragraph, indented]] }} She stood alone. Her small, bare, and silvery feet gleamed in the black mirror of marble beneath {{1835-02: her }} . Her hair {{1834-01: partly //1835-02: , not as yet more than half }} loosened {{1834-01: , }} for the night {{1834-01: , }} from its ball-room array, clustered amid a shower of diamonds, round and round her classical head {{1835-02: , }} in curls like the young hyacinth. A {{1834-01: snowy-white, //1835-02: snowy[[-]]white }} and gauze-like drapery seemed to be nearly the sole covering to her delicate form {{1834-01: ; //1835-02: — }} but the midsummer {{1834-01: , }} and midnight air was hot, sullen, and still {{1834-01: — //1835-02: , }} and no motion — no shadow of motion in {{1834-01: that //1835-02: the }} statue-like form itself, stirred even the folds of that raiment of very {{1834-01: vapour //1835-02: vapor }} which hung around it as the heavy marble hangs around the {{1834-01: weeping }} Niobe.

{{1834-01: Her //1835-02: Yet — strange to say! — her }} large lustrous eyes were not {{1834-01: however bent //1835-02: turned }} downwards {{1834-01: to the //1835-02: upon that }} grave {{1834-01: where //1835-02: wherein }} her {{1834-01: dearest //1835-02: brightest }} hope lay buried {{1834-01: ; //1835-02: — }} but riveted {{1834-01: — ah! strange to say! }} in a {{1834-01: widely-different //1835-02: widely different }} direction {{1834-01: . //1835-02: ! }} The prison of the {{1834-01: city //1835-02: Old Republic }} is, I think, the {{1834-01: fairest //1835-02: stateliest }} building in all Venice {{1834-01: ; //1835-02: — }} but how {{1834-01: could //1835-02: could }} that lady gaze so fixedly upon it, when {{1835-02: beneath }} her {{1834-01: only child }} lay stifling {{1834-01: at }} her {{1834-01: feet //1835-02: only child }} ? Yon dark {{1834-01: , }} gloomy niche {{1835-02: too }} yawns right opposite her {{1834-01: chamber-window //1835-02: chamber window }} — what {{1835-02: , }} then {{1834-01: could //1835-02: , could }} there {{1834-01: possibly }} be in its shadows — in its architecture {{1834-01: , //1835-02: — in its ivy-wreathed and solemn cornices }} that the Marchesa di Mentoni had not wondered at a thousand times before? Nonsense! {{1834-01: — }} Who does not remember that, at such a time as this, the eye, like a shattered mirror, multiplies the images of its sorrow, and sees in {{1834-01: a million far-off //1835-02: innumberable far off }} places, the woe which is close at hand {{1834-01: ? //1835-02: . [[new paragraph, indented]] }} Many steps above the Marchesa, and within the arch of the {{1834-01: water-gate //1835-02: Water-Gate }} , stood {{1834-01: , }} in full dress, the Satyr-like figure of Mentoni himself. He was occasionally occupied in thrumming a guitar, and seemed {{1834-01: ennuied //1835-02: ennuied }} to the very death, as {{1834-01: , }} at intervals {{1834-01: , }} he gave directions for the recovery of his child.

Stupified {{1834-01: , }} and {{1834-01: bewildered //1835-02: aghast }} , I had {{1835-02: myself }} no power to move from the upright position I had assumed upon first hearing the shriek, and must have presented to the eyes of the agitated group {{1835-02: , }} a spectral and ominous appearance, as {{1835-02: , }} with {{1834-01: my }} pale countenance and rigid limbs, I {{1834-01: drifted //1835-02: floated }} down among them in that {{1834-01: funeral //1835-02: funereal }} gondola. {{1835-02: [[new paragraph, indented]] }} All efforts {{1834-01: were //1835-02: proved }} in vain. Many of the most energetic in the search were relaxing their {{1834-01: endeavours //1835-02: exertions }} , and yielding to a gloomy sorrow. There seemed but little hope for the child — {{1834-01: how much less then for the mother! But //1835-02: but }} now, from the {{1835-02: interior of that }} dark niche which has been {{1834-01: before //1835-02: already }} mentioned as forming {{1835-02: a }} part of the {{1834-01: old //1835-02: Old }} Republican {{1834-01: prison //1835-02: Prison }} , and {{1835-02: as }} fronting the lattice of the Marchesa, a figure {{1835-02: , }} muffled in a cloak {{1834-01: , }} stepped out within reach of the light, and pausing a moment upon the verge of the giddy {{1834-01: height //1835-02: descent }} , plunged headlong into the canal. As {{1835-02: , }} in an instant afterwards {{1835-02: , }} he stood with the still living and breathing child within his grasp {{1834-01: , }} upon the marble {{1834-01: flag-stones //1835-02: flagstones }} by the side of the Marchesa {{1834-01: — //1835-02: , }} his cloak heavy with the {{1835-02: drenching }} water {{1834-01: , }} became unfastened, and,falling in folds about his feet, discovered to the wonder-stricken spectators, the graceful person of a very young man, with {{1835-02: the sound of }} whose name the greater part of Europe was then ringing. {{1835-02: [[new paragraph, indented]] }} No word spoke the {{1834-01: stranger //1835-02: deliverer }} . But the Marchesa! She will now receive her child — she will press it to her heart {{1834-01: . She //1835-02: — she }} will cling to its little form, and smother it with her caresses. {{18335-02: Alas! another's arms have taken it away from the stanger }} — {{1834-01: Alas! another's //1835-02: another's }} arms have taken it away, and borne it {{1834-01: afar-off //1835-02: afar off, }} unnoticed {{1835-02: , }} into the palace {{1834-01: . //1835-02: ! }} And the Marchesa! {{1834-01: a tear is //1835-02: Her lip — her beautiful lip trembles: tears are }} gathering {{1834-01: into //1835-02: in }} her eyes — those eyes which {{1835-02: , }} like Pliny's own Acanthus, are “soft and almost liquid.” {{1834-01: Her lip //1835-02: Yes! tears are gathering in those eyes }} — {{1834-01: her beautiful lip trembles; //1835-02: and see! }} the entire woman thrills throughout the soul, and the statue has started into life! The pallor of the marble countenance {{1834-01: — //1835-02: , }} the swelling of the marble bosom {{1834-01: — //1835-02: , }} the very purity of the marble feet, {{1834-01: is //1835-02: we behold }} suddenly flushed over with a tide of ungovernable crimson {{1834-01: , //1835-02: ; }} and a slight shudder quivers about {{1834-01: the entire //1835-02: her delicate }} frame, {{1834-01: like //1835-02: as }} a {{1834-01: soft wind //1835-02: gentle air }} at Napoli {{1834-01: , }} about the rich {{1835-02: silver }} lilies in the grass. Why should that lady blush? To this demand there is no answer {{1834-01: , //1835-02: — }} except that {{1835-02: , }} having left in the {{1835-02: eager }} haste and terror of a mother's heart, the privacy of her own {{1834-01: bureau //1835-02: boudoir }} , she has neglected to enthral her feet in their {{1834-01: tiny }} slippers {{1834-01: , //1835-02: ; }} and utterly forgotten to throw over her {{1834-01: Venetian //1835-02: Venitian }} shoulders that drapery which is their due. What other possible {{1834-01: cause //1835-02: reason }} could there have been for her so blushing? — for the glance of those {{1834-01: large //1835-02: wild }} appealing eyes? — for the unusual tumult of that throbbing bosom? — for the convulsive pressure of that trembling hand {{1835-02: ? — that hand }} which fell, as Mentoni turned into the palace, accidentally, upon the hand of the stranger {{1834-01: ? — or //1835-02: . What reason could there have been }} for the low — the singularly low tone of those unmeaning words which the lady uttered {{1834-01: , and departed //1835-02: hurriedly in bidding him adieu }} ? “Thou hast conquered {{1834-01: , }}  ” {{1835-02: — }} she said, or the murmurs of the water deceived me — “thou hast conquered {{1834-01: , //1835-02: — }} one hour after {{1834-01: sun-rise //1835-02: sunrise }} — {{1835-02: we shall meet — so }} let it be.” {{1835-03: [[new line]]   * * * * * *   [[new paragraph, indented]] }} The tumult had subsided {{1834-01: — //1835-02: , }} the lights had died away within the {{1834-01: Piazzo //1835-02: palace }} , and the stranger {{1835-02: , }} whom I now recognized, stood alone upon the flags. He shook with inconceivable agitation, and his eye glanced around in search of a gondola. I could {{1835-02: not }} do {{1834-01: no }} less than offer him the service of my own {{1834-01: ; in a hurried manner //1835-02: , and }} he accepted {{1834-01: my //1835-02: the }} civility. {{1834-01: An //1835-02: Having obtained an }} oar {{1834-01: was obtained }} at the {{1834-01: water-gate //1835-02: Water-Gate }} , {{1834-01: and as }} we {{1834-01: passed //1835-02: proceeded }} together to his residence, {{1835-02: while }} he rapidly recovered his self-possession, and spoke of our former slight acquaintance in terms of great apparent cordiality. {{1835-02: [[new paragraph, indented]] }} There are some subjects upon which I take pleasure in being minute. The person of the stranger — let me call him by this title, who to all the world was still a stranger — the person of the stranger is one of these subjects. In height {{1834-01: , }} he might have been below rather than above the medium size {{1834-01: ; //1835-02: : }} although there were moments of intense passion when his frame actually expanded {{1834-01: , }} and belied the assertion. The light, almost {{1834-01: slender //1835-02: slender }} symmetry of his figure, promised more of that ready activity which he evinced at the Bridge of Sighs, than of that Herculean strength which he has been known to wield without an effort, upon occasions of more dangerous emergency. With the mouth and chin of a deity — a nose like those delicate creations of the mind to be found only in the medallions of the Hebrew {{1835-02: — singular, wild }} , full {{1835-02: , liquid }} eyes, whose shadows varied from pure hazel to intense and brilliant jet, and a profusion of glossy {{1835-02: , }} black hair, from which a forehead rather low than otherwise, gleamed forth {{1834-01: , }} at intervals {{1834-01: , }} all light and ivory {{1834-01: . His //1835-02: — his }} were features than which I have seen none more classically regular, except {{1835-02: , }} perhaps {{1835-02: , }} the marble ones of the {{1834-01: emperor //1835-02: Emperor }} Commodus. {{1834-01: [[new paragraph, indented]] }} Yet his countenance was {{1835-02: , }} nevertheless, one of those which all men have seen at some period of their lives, and have never afterwards seen again. It had no peculiar — I wish to be perfectly understood — {{1835-02: it had }} no {{1834-01: settled, predominant expression, //1835-02: settled predominant expression }} to be fastened upon the memory; a countenance seen {{1834-01: , }} and instantly forgotten — but forgotten with a vague {{1834-01: , intense, }} and never-ceasing desire of recalling it to mind. Not that the spirit of each rapid passion failed, at any time {{1835-02: , }} to throw its own distinct image upon the mirror of that face {{1834-01: ; //1835-02: — }} but that the mirror, mirror-like, retained no vestige of the passion when the passion {{1835-02: , }} had departed. {{1835-02: [[new paragraph, indented]] }} Upon {{1834-01: parting from //1835-02: leaving }} him on the night of our adventure, he solicited me {{1835-02: , }} in {{1835-02: what I thought }} an urgent manner, to call upon him {{1834-01: very //1835-02: very }} early the next morning. Shortly after {{1834-01: sun-rise //1835-02: sunrise }} , I found myself accordingly at his Palazzo, one of those huge piles of gloomy, yet fantastic grandeur {{1835-02: , }} which tower above the waters of the Grand Canal {{1835-02: in the vicinity of the Rialto }} . I was shown up a broad winding {{1834-01: stair-case //1835-02: staircase }} of mosaics, into an apartment whose unparalleled {{1834-01: splendour //1835-02: splendor }} burst through the opening door with an actual glare, making me sick and dizzy with luxuriousness. {{1835-02: [[new paragraph, indented]] }} I knew my acquaintance to be wealthy. Report had spoken of his possessions in terms which I had even ventured to call terms of ridiculous exaggeration {{1834-01: ; but //1835-02: . But }} as I gazed about me, I could {{1834-01: with difficulty //1835-02: not }} bring myself to believe that the wealth of any subject in Europe could have supplied the far more than imperial magnificence which burned and blazed around. {{1835-02: [[new paragraph, indented]] }} Although {{1835-02: , }} as I say, the sun had {{1834-01: risen //1835-02: arisen }} , yet the room was still brilliantly lighted up {{1834-01: , and //1835-02: . }} I judged from this circumstance, as well as from an air of {{1834-01: apparent }} exhaustion in the countenance of my friend, that he had not retired to bed during the whole of the preceding night. {{1834-01: [[new paragraph, indented]] }} In the architecture and embellishments of the chamber, the evident design {{1834-01: was //1835-02: had been }} to dazzle and astound. Little attention had been paid to the decora of what is technically called {{1834-01: “keeping,” //1835-02: keeping, }} or to the proprieties of nationality. The eye wandered from object to object, and rested upon none {{1834-01: ; //1835-02: — }} neither the {{1834-01: “Grotesques” //1835-02: Grotesques }} of the Greek painters {{1834-01: , //1835-02: — }} nor the sculptures of the best Italian days {{1834-01: , //1835-02: — }} nor the {{1834-01: huge }} carvings of untutored Egypt. {{1834-01: [[new paragraph, indented]] }} Rich draperies in every part of the room trembled to the {{1834-01: vibration //1835-02: vibrations }} of low {{1835-02: , }} melancholy music, whose unseen origin {{1835-02: , }} undoubtedly lay in the recesses of the {{1834-01: red coral trellice-work //1835-02: crimson trellice work }} which tapestried the ceiling. The senses were oppressed by mingled and conflicting perfumes, reeking up from strange Arabesque censers {{1835-02: , }} which seemed actually endued with a monstrous vitality {{1835-02: , }} as their {{1834-01: particoloured //1835-02: particolored }} fires writhed up and down, and around about their extravagant proportions. The rays of the {{1834-01: rising //1835-02: newly risen }} sun poured in upon the whole, through windows formed each of a single huge pane of crimson-tinted glass {{1834-01: , and glancing //1835-02: . Glancing }} to and fro {{1835-02: , }} in a thousand reflections {{1835-02: , }} from curtains which rolled from their cornices like {{1834-01: streams //1835-02: cataracts }} of molten silver, {{1835-02: the beams of natural glory }} mingled at length {{1834-01: , }} fitfully with the artificial light, and lay weltering {{1834-01: and //1835-02: in }} subdued {{1835-02: masses }} upon a carpet of rich, {{1834-01: liquid-looking //1835-02: liquid looking }} cloth of {{1835-02: Chili }} gold. {{1834-01: [[new paragraph, indented]] }} Here then had the hand of genius been at work. {{1835-02: A chaos }} — A wilderness {{1834-01: — a chaos }} of beauty {{1834-01: was //1835-02: lay }} before me {{1834-01: ; a //1835-02: . A }} sense of dreamy and incoherent grandeur took possession of my soul, and I remained {{1835-02: within the door-way }} speechless. {{1834-01: “  //1835-02: [[new paragraph, indented]] }} Ha! ha! ha! {{1834-01:  ” //1835-02: — ha! ha! ha! — }} laughed the proprietor, {{1834-01: pointing //1835-02: motioning }} me to a seat, and throwing himself back {{1835-02: at full length }} upon an ottoman. {{1834-01: There was, I thought, a tincture of bitterness in the laugh, and //1835-02: “I see,” said he, perceiving that }} I could not immediately reconcile myself to the bienseance of so singular a welcome {{1834-01: [[new paragraph, indented]] “Ha! ha! ha! }} — {{1834-01: ha! ha! ha!” continued he. }} “I see you are {{1834-01: surprised //1835-02: astonished }} at my apartment — {{1835-02: at }} my statues — my pictures — my originality of conception in architecture {{1835-02: and upholstery }} — {{1834-01: in upholstery; }} absolutely drunk {{1835-02: , eh? }} with my magnificence {{1834-01: ! Ha! ha! ha! //1835-02: . But }} pardon me {{1834-01: ; //1835-02: , }} my dear sir, {{1835-02: (here his tone of voice dropped to the very spirit of cordiality,) }} pardon me {{1834-01: — I must //1835-02: , my dear sir, for my uncharitable laughter. You appeared so utterly astonished. Besides, some things are so completely ludicrous that a man must }} laugh or die {{1834-01: — perhaps both,” continued he, after a pause. “  //1835-02: To die laughing must be the most glorious of all glorious deaths! Sir Thomas More — a very fine man was Sir Thomas More — Sir Thomas More died laughing, you remember. Also there is a long list of characters who came to the same magnificent end, in the Absurdities of Ravisius Textor. }} Do you know, however,” {{1834-01: said //1835-02: — continued }} he {{1834-01: , }} musingly {{1834-01: , //1835-02: — }} “that at Sparta {{1834-01: , //1835-02: ( }} which is now {{1834-01: Palaochori — //1835-02: Palæochori), }} at Sparta, I say {{1834-01: — //1835-02: , }} to the west of the citadel, among {{1834-01: the scarce //1835-02: a chaos of scarcely }} visible ruins, is a kind of {{1834-01: socle, //1835-02: socle }} upon which are still {{1834-01: visible //1835-02: legible }} the letters ΛΑΣΜ. They are {{1834-01: , I verily believe, //1835-02: undoubtedly }} part of ΓΕΛΑΣΜΑ. How {{1834-01: many divinities had altars at Sparta, and how //1835-02: exceedingly }} strange that {{1834-01: that //1835-02: the altar }} of Laughter should {{1834-01: be found alone surviving //1835-02: have survived all the others }} ! But {{1834-01: just now, to be sure, //1835-02: in the present instance’ — he resumed, with a singular alteration of voice and manner — “in the present instance }} I have no right to be {{1834-01: astonishment //1835-02: merry }} at your {{1834-01: surprized //1835-02: expense. You might well have been amazed }} . Europe {{1834-01: — the world, }} cannot {{1834-01: rival //1835-02: produce anything so fine as }} this {{1835-02: , }} my {{1835-02: little }} regal cabinet. My other apartments {{1834-01: , however, }} are {{1835-02: by no means of the same order — }} mere {{1834-01: matters of fact — ultras //1835-02: ultras }} of fashionable insipidity. This is better than fashion — is it not? Yet this has but to be seen {{1834-01: , }} to become the rage {{1834-01: ; //1835-02: — }} that is {{1834-01: to say, }} with those who could afford it at the {{1834-01: expense //1835-02: cost }} of their entire patrimony. {{1834-01: But }} I have guarded {{1835-02: , however, }} against any such profanation {{1834-01: , with one exception” — (here the pallor of death rapidly overspread his countenance, and as rapidly spread away) — “with //1835-02: . With }} one exception {{1834-01: ; }} you are the only human being {{1834-01: , }} besides myself, who has {{1834-01: ever set foot //1835-02: been admitted }} within {{1834-01: its //1835-02: the mysteries of these }} imperial precincts.” {{1835-02: [[new paragraph, indented]] }} I bowed in acknowledgment {{1834-01: , //1835-02: : }} for {{1835-02: the overpowering sense of splendor and perfume, and music, together with }} the unexpected eccentricity of his address and manner, {{1834-01: had filled //1835-02: prevented }} me {{1834-01: with amazement, and I could not express //1835-02: from expressing }} in words my appreciation of what I might have construed into a compliment. {{1835-02: [[new paragraph, indented]] }} “Here {{1834-01: , }}  ” {{1834-01: said he //1835-02: — he resumed }} , arising and leaning {{1834-01: upon //1835-02: on }} my arm {{1834-01: , }} as he sauntered around the apartment — “here are paintings {{1834-01: of all ages, }} from the {{1834-01: Greek painters //1835-02: Greeks }} to Cimabue, and from Cimabue to the present hour. Many are chosen, as you see, with little deference to the opinions of {{1834-01: Vertu //1835-02: Vertû }} . {{1835-02: They are all, however, fitting tapestry for a chamber such as this. }} Here too, are some {{1834-01: chefs-dœuvres //1835-02: chéf d’œuvres }} of the unknown great — and {{1834-01: there, //1835-02: here }} unfinished designs by men {{1835-02: , }} celebrated in their day, whose very names the perspicacity of the {{1834-01: Academies //1835-02: academies }} has left to silence {{1834-01: , }} and to me. What think you {{1834-01: , }}  ” {{1835-02: — }} said he, turning {{1835-02: abruptly }} as he spoke — “what think you of this Madonna della {{1834-01: Pieta //1835-02: Pietà }} ?” {{1835-02: [[new paragraph, indented]] }} “It is Guido's own {{1834-01: , //1835-02: ! }}  ” I said, with all the enthusiasm of my nature {{1834-01: ; //1835-02: , }} for I had been poring intently over its surpassing loveliness {{1834-01: — //1835-02: . }} “  {{1834-01: it //1835-02: It }} is Guido's own {{1835-02: ! }} — how could you have obtained it? {{1834-01: She //1835-02: — she }} is undoubtedly in painting what the Venus is in sculpture!” {{1835-02: [[new paragraph, indented]] }} “Ha!” said he, thoughtfully {{1834-01: — //1835-02: , }} “the Venus {{1834-01: ! //1835-02: ? }} — the beautiful Venus {{1834-01: ! }} — the Venus of Venuses {{1834-01: ! }} — the Venus {{1834-01: de //1835-02: of the }} Medicis {{1834-01: ! //1835-02: ? — she of the gilded hair? }} — the work of Cleomenes, the son of the Athenian {{1834-01: ! as much as it is the work of mine own hands! — part //1835-02: ? Part }} of the left arm {{1834-01: , //1835-02: (here his voice dropped so as to be heard with difficulty.) }} , and all the right {{1834-01: , }} are restorations {{1834-01: ; //1835-02: , }} and in the coquetry of that right arm lies, I think, the quintessence of {{1835-02: all }} affectation. The Apollo too! — {{1834-01: you spoke of Apollo! — it }} is a copy {{1834-01: ; //1835-02: — }} there can be no {{1834-01: reasonable }} doubt of it {{1834-01: . Sir, //1835-02: — blind fool that }} I {{1834-01: will not bow to falsity, although begrimed with age — there is no //1835-02: am, who cannot behold the boasted }} inspiration {{1834-01: in the boasted Apollo, and the Antinous is worth a dozen of it. After all, there is much in the saying of //1835-02: of the Apollo! I cannot help — pity me! — I cannot help preferring the Antinous. Was it not }} Socrates {{1834-01: — ‘  //1835-02: who said }} that the statuary {{1834-01: found his statue in the block of marble.’ Michel //1835-02: found his statue in the block of marble? Michæl }} Angelo was {{1834-01: not //1835-02: by no means }} original in his couplet — {{1834-01:  ” }}

It has been, or should be remarked, that {{1835-02: — }} in the manner of the true gentleman, we are always aware of a difference from the bearing of the vulgar, without being {{1834-01: able }} at once precisely {{1835-02: able }} to determine in what such difference consists. Allowing the remark to have applied in its full force to the outward {{1834-01: demeanour //1835-02: demeanor }} of my {{1834-01: friend //1835-02: acquaintance }} , I felt it {{1835-02: — }} on that eventful morning, still more fully applicable to his moral temperament and character {{1834-01: — nor could //1835-02: . Nor can }} I better define that peculiarity of spirit which seemed to place him so essentially apart from all other human beings, than by calling it a {{1834-01: habit //1835-02: habit }} of intense and continual thought, pervading even his most trivial actions {{1834-01: , //1835-02: — }} intruding upon his moments of dalliance {{1834-01: , //1835-02: — }} and interweaving itself {{1834-01: into //1835-02: with }} his very flashes of merriment {{1834-01: , //1835-02: — }} like adders which writhe from out the eyes of the grinning masks in the cornices around the temples of {{1834-01: Cybele //1835-02: Persepolis }} .

I could not help, however, repeatedly observing, through the mingled tone of levity and solemnity with which he rapidly descanted {{1834-01: on //1835-02: upon }} matters of little importance, a certain air of trepidation — a {{1835-02: degree of }} nervous {{1834-01: inquietude //1835-02: intensity in action and in speech — an unquiet excitability }} of manner, which appeared to me unaccountable, and {{1834-01: at times //1835-02: , upon some occasions, }} even filled me with alarm. {{1834-01: [[new paragraph, indented]] }} Frequently {{1835-02: , too, }} pausing in the middle of a sentence {{1834-01: , }} whose commencement he had apparently forgotten, he seemed to be listening {{1834-01: , }} in the deepest attention, as if either in {{1835-02: momentary }} expectation of a visiter, or to sounds which must have had existence in {{1835-02: his }} imagination alone. {{1835-02: [[new paragraph, indented]] }} It was during one of these {{1834-01: apparent }} reveries, or pauses of {{1835-02: apparent }} abstraction {{1835-02: , }} that, in turning over a page of {{1835-02: the poet and scholar }} Politian's beautiful tragedy, {{1834-01: the }} “  {{1835-02: The }} Orfeo,” {{1835-02: (the first native Italian tragedy) }} which lay near me upon an {{1834-01: Ottoman //1835-02: ottoman }} , I {{1834-01: found //1835-02: discovered }} a passage underlined in pencil. It {{1834-01: is //1835-02: was }} a passage {{1834-01: near //1835-02: towards }} the {{1834-01: conclusion //1835-02: end }} of the third act — a passage of {{1835-02: the most }} heart-stirring {{1834-01: pathos //1835-02: excitement }} — a passage which, {{1834-01: divested of its //1835-02: although tainted with }} impurity, no man {{1834-01: could //1835-02: shall }} read without a thrill {{1835-02: of novel emotion }} — no {{1834-01: maiden //1835-02: woman }} without a sigh. The whole page was blotted with fresh tears, and {{1835-02: , }} upon the opposite interleaf {{1835-02: , }} were the following lines {{1835-02: , }} written {{1834-01: , as I now write them, in English; but }} in a hand so very different from the peculiar {{1834-01: and bold }} characters of my acquaintance, that I had difficulty in recognizing it as his own.

That these lines were written in English {{1834-01: , //1835-02: — }} a language with which I had not believed their author acquainted {{1834-01: , //1835-02: — }} afforded me little matter for {{1834-01: surprize //1835-02: surprise }} . I was too well aware of the {{1834-01: variety //1835-02: extent }} of his acquirements, {{1834-01: as well as //1835-02: and of }} the {{1834-01: strange //1835-02: singular }} pleasure he took in {{1834-01: hiding //1835-02: concealing }} them from {{1834-01: the world //1835-02: observation }} , to be astonished at any similar discovery {{1834-01: . But I must confess that //1835-02: ; but }} the place of date {{1834-01: of the M. S., appeared to //1835-02: , I must confess, occassioned }} me {{1834-01: singular //1835-02: no little amazement }} . It had been originally written {{1834-01: //1835-02: London, }} and afterwards carefully overscored {{1834-01: ; although not //1835-02: — but not, however, }} so effectually {{1835-02: , }} as to conceal the word from a scrutinizing eye. I {{1834-01: repeat that //1835-02: say }} this {{1834-01: appeared to //1835-02: occassioned }} me {{1834-01: singular — //1835-02: no little amazement; }} for I well {{1834-01: remembered having asked him //1835-02: that, in a former conversation with my friend, I particularly inquired }} if he had {{1834-01: ever //1835-02: at any time }} met {{1834-01: with, some person — I think, //1835-02: in London }} the Marchesa di Mentoni, {{1835-02: ( }} who {{1835-02: , for some years previous to her marriage }} resided in {{1834-01: England some years before her marriage — //1835-02: that city,) when his answer, }} if {{1834-01: he had, at any time, met with her in London; and his answer led //1835-02: I mistake not, gave }} me to understand that he had never visited {{1835-02: the metropolis of }} Great Britain. I {{1834-01: must //1835-02: might as well }} here {{1834-01: add //1835-02: mention, }} that I have more than once heard, {{1834-01: but, //1835-02: (without }} of course, {{1834-01: never gave //1835-02: giving }} credit to a report involving so {{1834-01: much improbibility — //1835-02: many improbabilities,) }} that the person of whom I {{1834-01: write, //1835-02: speak }} was not only by birth, but in education an {{1834-01: Englishman //1835-02: Englishman }} .

“There is one painting,” said he, {{1834-01: turning to me with evident emotion, as I replaced the volume upon the Ottoman //1835-02: without being aware of my notice of the tragedy }} — “there is {{1835-02: still }} one painting which you have not seen {{1834-01: , //1835-02: . }}  ” {{1834-01: and //1835-02: And }} throwing aside a drapery, he discovered a full[[-]]length portrait of the Marchesa {{1834-01: di Mentoni //1835-02: Aphrodite }} .

Human art could have done no more in the {{1834-01: accurate }} delineation of her superhuman beauty. The same {{1834-01: sylph-like //1835-02: ethereal }} figure which stood before me the preceding night {{1834-01: , }} upon the steps of the Ducal {{1834-01: palace //1835-02: Palace }} , stood before me once again. But in the expression of {{1834-01: her //1835-02: the }} countenance, which was beaming all over with smiles, there still lurked {{1835-02: (incomprehensible anomaly) [[strain]] }} that {{1834-01: incomprehensible strain //1835-02: fitful stain [[strain]] }} of melancholy which {{1834-01: is, I do believe, //1835-02: will ever be found }} inseparable from the perfection of the beautiful. {{1834-01: On a scroll which lay at her feet were these words — “I am waiting but for thee.” }} Her right arm lay folded {{1834-01: across //1835-02: over }} her bosom {{1834-01: , and with //1835-02: . With }} her left she pointed downwards to a {{1834-01: curiously-fashioned //1835-02: curiously fashioned }} vase. One small, fairy foot, alone visible, barely touched the earth — and, scarcely discernible in the brilliant atmosphere which seemed to encircle {{1834-01: , }} and enshrine her loveliness, floated a pair of the most {{1834-01: delicately-imagined silvery //1835-02: delicately imagined }} wings. {{1834-01: [[new paragraph, indented]] }} {{1834-01: I glanced //1835-02: My glance fell }} from the painting to the figure of my friend, and the {{1834-01: powerful //1835-02: rigorous }} words of Chapman's {{1834-01: Bussy D’Ambois, //1835-02: Bussy D’Ambois }} quivered instinctively upon my lips —

“Come {{1834-01: , //1835-02: ! }}  ” {{1835-02: he }} said {{1834-01: he }} at length, {{1834-01: approaching //1835-02: turning towards }} a table of {{1834-01: massy silver, upon which were some beautifully dyed and //1835-02: richly }} enamelled {{1835-02: and massive silver, upon which were a few }} goblets {{1835-02: fantastically stained }} , together with two large Etruscan vases, {{1834-01: filled with what I took to be Vin de Barac, and }} fashioned in the same extraordinary model as {{1834-01: the vase //1835-02: that }} in the foreground of the portrait {{1835-02: filled with what I supposed to be Vin de Barac }} . {{1834-01: [[new paragraph, indented]] }} “Come {{1834-01: , //1835-02: ! }}  ” he said abruptly, “let us drink {{1834-01: — it //1835-02: ! It }} is early {{1834-01: ; //1835-02: — }} but let us drink {{1834-01: . //1835-02: — }} It is {{1834-01: indeed //1835-02: indeed }} early,” he continued {{1834-01: , //1835-02: thoughtfully }} as a cherub {{1834-01: , }} with a heavy golden hammer, made the {{1834-01: chamber //1835-02: apartment }} ring with the first hour after {{1834-01: sun-rise //1835-02: sunrise }} — “  {{1834-01: it //1835-02: It }} is indeed early {{1834-01: ; //1835-02: , }} but what matters it {{1834-01: — //1835-02: ? }} let us drink {{1834-01: . //1835-02: ! }} Let us pour out {{1834-01: , like true Persians, }} an offering to {{1834-01: that //1835-02: the }} solemn sun {{1835-02: , }} which these {{1835-02: gaudy }} lamps and censers are {{1834-01: struggling //1835-02: so eager }} to {{1834-01: overpower. //1835-02: subdue }}  ” {{1834-01: Here //1835-02: And, }} having made me pledge him in a bumper, he swallowed in rapid succession several goblets of the wine.

“To dream,” {{1835-02: he }} continued {{1834-01: he }} , resuming the tone of his desultory conversation, as he held up to the rich light of a censer one of the magnificent vases — “to dream has been the business of my life {{1834-01: , and //1835-02: . }} I have therefore {{1834-01: decked out //1835-02: framed }} for myself, as you see, a {{1834-01: Bower //1835-02: bower }} of {{1834-01: Dreams //1835-02: dreams }} . {{1834-01: Here, in //1835-02: In }} the heart of Venice {{1834-01: , }} could I have erected a better? You behold around you, it is true, a medley of architectural embellishments. The chastity of Ionia is offended by antediluvian devices, and the {{1834-01: Sphynxes //1835-02: sphynxes }} of Egypt are stretching upon {{1834-01: cloth //1835-02: carpets }} of gold. Yet the effect is incongruous to the timid alone. Proprieties of place, and especially of time, are the bugbears which terrify mankind from the contemplation of the magnificent. {{1834-01: Once //1835-02: Once }} I was myself {{1834-01: a decorist, //1835-02: a decorist: }} but that sublimation of folly has palled upon my soul. All this is now the fitter for my purpose. Like these Arabesque censers, my spirit is writhing in fire, and the {{1834-01: whirling }} delirium of this scene is fashioning me for the wilder visions of that land of real dreams whither I am now rapidly departing.” {{1834-01: [[new paragraph, indented]] }} Thus saying, he confessed the power of the wine, and threw himself {{1834-01: , }} at full length {{1834-01: , }} upon {{1834-01: a chaise-longue //1835-02: an ottoman }} . {{1835-02: [[new paragraph, indented]] }} A quick step was now heard upon the {{1834-01: stair-case //1835-02: staircase }} , and a loud knock at the door rapidly succeeded. I {{1834-01: hurried //1835-02: was hastening }} to anticipate a second disturbance, when a page of the {{1834-01: Marchesa di Mentoni //1835-02: Mentoni's household }} burst into the room, and {{1835-02: faltered out }} , in a voice choking with emotion, {{1834-01: faltered out }} the incoherent words, “  {{1835-02: My mistress! — }} my mistress! — {{1834-01: Bianca! — poison! — horrible! horrible! //1835-02: poisoned! — poisoned! Oh beautiful — oh beautiful Aphrodite! }}  ”

Bewildered, I flew to the {{1834-01: sleeper //1835-02: ottoman }} , and {{1834-01: endeavoured //1835-02: endeavored }} to arouse {{1834-01: him //1835-02: the sleeper }} to a sense of the startling intelligence {{1834-01: ; but //1835-02: . But his limbs were rigid — }} his lips were livid — his {{1834-01: form was rigid — his beautiful //1835-02: lately beaming }} eyes were riveted in {{1834-01: death //1835-02: death }} . {{1834-01: [[new paragraph, indented]] }} I staggered back towards the table — my hand fell upon a cracked and blackened goblet {{1834-01: , //1835-02: — }} and a consciousness of the entire and terrible truth {{1834-01: , }} flashed suddenly over my soul.