1 92 June Tassds Way of Sketching. 



who did not know that she was kissing him ; by which 

 act of innocent charity Silvia inflicted a deeper wound 

 than any bee could have inflicted. This little scene 

 takes place ' air ombra d'un bel faggio] under the shade 

 of a fine beech-tree, and in the course of the narrative 

 Aminta compares Silvia's sweet words to the mur- 

 muring of a slow rivulet that makes its way amongst 

 little stones, or to the noise of a light breeze under 

 the leaves. 



1 E le dolci parole, assai piu dolci 

 Che '1 mormorar d* un lento fiumicello 

 Che rompa il corso fra minuti sassi, 

 O che '1 garrir dell' aura infra le frondi.' 



But the poet instantly passes from these light 

 touches of landscape-sketching to the real subject of 

 his thoughts : ' Then I felt in my heart a new desire 

 to bring this mouth of mine nearer to her mouth/ 



' Allor sentii nel cuor nuovo desire 

 D' appressar alia sua questa mia bocca.' 



And when Dafne mentions a pond and an islet, it 

 is only to tell how Silvia looked at herself in the water 

 whilst she was dressing her hair and adorning it with 

 flowers. 



