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1826.] Delur Amantiori. 4.93 



Aglae ceased; and loud applauses rang throughout the assembly. 

 She had been, as it were, quite lost in the fervour of her pleading; and, 

 as, by degrees, she recovered her full consciousness and self-possession, 

 the blood rose in increased volume to her cheek, and she modestly slunk 

 aside. It was not a little remarkable to observe how that cheek had 

 become flushed, and how her eye had glistened with accumulating fire 

 as she proceeded in her discourse ; till at last, when she concluded, it 

 would almost have been difficult to recognize the calm, simple, and 

 somewhat timid beauty who had entered the hall, in the fine, fervent, 

 radiant creature, who seemed to pour forth the whole of her energetic 

 soul in her concluding exclamation. By degrees, however, this unusual 

 excitement subsided ; she re-entered into herself, and stepped aside to 

 make way for her who was to speak next. 



This was a young girl of very different appearance. She was of 

 shorter stature than Aglae, and of a less calm and regular style of 

 beauty. But her form was exquisitely cast, combining lightness and 

 delicacy of outline with the richest and most fascinating filiing-up. To 

 the gay and brilliant liveliness of youth, she joined an archness and 

 espieglerie, of glance and of lip, which seemed to indicate talents seldom 

 so much developed in such early youth. Yet he who would have de- 

 duced from this, that Zoe (such was her name) allowed the deeper and 

 stronger feelings to be destroyed by the bright sparkling of wit and 

 gaiety, would have been far wrong indeed in the estimate he would have 

 formed of the aggregate of her character. On the contrary, she was 

 one of that class of persons who, being naturally of joyous and elastic 

 temperaments, give their apparent energies of mind to light surfaces 

 of things ; yet who possess the fire of strong feeling always burning 

 beneath. Such a one was Zoe ; one who would indeed make the hap- 

 piness of a faithful lover, but whom I would by no means recommend 

 to the attention of the wavering and fickle. 



As Aglae retreated to her friends, Zoe stepped into the open space. 

 For a moment the flush of her rich blood crowded to lier brow ; and, as 

 she looked downward, her full love-laden eyes seemed almost as it were 

 struggling against the expression of the lower part of her countenance, 

 as an arch, bright, dimpling smile, dawned, and by degress mantled 

 over her face. After a short space she raised her beaming eyes, and, 

 with an air irresistibly naif and fascinating, T)egan ; she used a different 

 measure from what Aglae had done, — less lengthened and more irre- 

 gular : — 



The Pleading of Zoe for Proclus, 



You all know Proclus ! once he's seen 



You cannot easily forget him : 

 His youthful beautj', and his mien 

 Of love — like that the Paphian queen 



Saw in young Adon, when she let him 

 Tempt her to leave the lofty skies, 

 And all th' admii-ing deities — 

 Might well seduce her down again, 

 For charms she seeks in heuv'n in vain, 

 Wer't not that now the gods no longer 



Rove upon earth, nor suffer roving. 

 Lest mortal wooing should prove stronger 



Than all their practised arts of loving ! 



