been left. In this island, which then had no commerce, there wasso much simplicity and good faith, that the doors of several houses werewithout a key, and a lock was an object of curiosity to many of thenatives.
"Amidst the luxuriant beauty of this favoured climate, Madame de la Touroften regretted the quick succession from day to night which takes placebetween the tropics, and which deprived her pensive mind of that hour oftwilight, the softened gloom of which is so soothing and sacred to thefeelings of tender melancholy. This regret is expressed in the followingsonnet:--
SONNET
TO THE TORRID ZONE.
Pathway of light! o'er thy empurpled zone With lavish charms perennial summer strays; Soft 'midst thy spicy groves the zephyr plays, While far around the rich perfumes are thrown: The amadavid bird for thee alone Spreads his gay plumes, that catch thy vivid rays, For thee the gems with liquid lustre blaze, And Nature's various wealth is all thy own. But, ah! not thine is twilight's doubtful gloom, Those mild gradations, mingling day with night; Here instant darkness shrouds thy genial bloom, Nor leaves my pensive soul that lingering light, When musing memory would each trace resume Of fading pleasures in successive flight.
"Paul and Virginia had neither clock nor almanac, nor books of chronology,history, or philosophy. The periods of their lives were regulated by thoseof nature. They knew the hours of the day by the shadows of the trees, theseasons by the times when those trees bore flowers or fruit, and the yearsby the number of their harvests. These soothing images diffused aninexpressible charm over their conversation. 'It is time to dine,' saidVirginia, 'the shadows of the plantain trees are at their roots; or, 'nightapproaches; the tamarinds close their leaves.' 'When will you come to seeus?' inquired some of her companions in the neighbourhood. 'At the time ofthe sugar canes,' answered Virginia. 'Your visit will be then still moredelightful,' resumed her young acquaintances. When she was asked what washer own age, and that of Paul, 'My brother,' said she, 'is as old as thegreat cocoa tree of the fountain; and I am as old as the little cocoa tree.The mangoes have borne fruit twelve times, and the orange trees have borneflowers four-and-twenty times, since I came into the world.' Their livesseemed linked to the trees like those of fauns or dryads. They knew noother historical epochas than that of the lives of their mothers, no otherchronology than that of their orchards, and no other philosophy than thatof doing good, and resigning themselves to the will of Heaven.
"Thus grew those children of nature. No care had troubled their peace, nointemperance had corrupted their blood, no misplaced passion had depravedtheir hearts. Love, innocence, and piety, possessed their souls; and thoseintellectual graces unfolded themselves in their features, their attitudes,and their motions. Still in the morning of life, they had all its bloomingfreshness; and surely such in the garden of Eden appeared our firstparents, when, coming from the hands of God, they first saw, approached,and conversed together, like brother and sister. Virginia was gentle,modest, and confiding as Eve; and Paul, like Adam, united the figure ofmanhood with the simplicity of a child.
"When alone with Virginia, he has a thousand times told me, he used to sayto her, at his return from labour, 'When I am wearied, the sight of yourefreshes me. If from the summit of the mountain I perceive you below inthe valley, you appear to me in the midst of our orchard like a blushingrosebud. If you go towards our mother's house, the partridge, when it runsto meet its young has a shape less beautiful, and a step less light. When Ilose sight of you through the trees, I have no need to see you in order tofind you again. Something of you, I know not how, remains for me in the airwhere you have passed, in the grass where you have been seated. When I comenear you, you delight all my senses. The azure of heaven is less charmingthan the blue of your eyes, and the song of the amadavid bird less softthan the sound of your voice. If I only touch you with my finger, my wholeframe trembles with pleasure. Do you remember the day when we crossed overthe great stones of the river of the Three Peaks; I was very much tiredbefore we reached the bank; but as soon as I had taken you in my arms, Iseemed to have wings like a bird. Tell me by what charm you have soenchanted me? Is it by your wisdom? Our mothers have more than either ofus. Is it by your caresses? They embrace me much oftener than you. I thinkit must be by your goodness. I shall never forget how you walked barefootedto the Black River, to ask pardon for the poor wandering; slave. Here, mybeloved, take this flowering orange branch, which I have culled in theforest; you will place it at night near your bed. Eat this honeycomb, whichI have taken for you from the top of a rock. But first lean upon my bosom,and I shall be refreshed.'
"Virginia then answered, 'Oh my dear brother, the rays of the sun in themorning at the top of the rocks give me less joy than the sight of you. Ilove my mother, I love yours; but when they call you their son, I love thema thousand times more. When they caress you, I feel it more sensibly thanwhen I am caressed myself. You ask me why you love me. Why, all creaturesthat are brought up together love one another. Look at our birds reared upin the same nests; they love like us; they are always together like us.Hark? how they call and answer from one tree to another. So when the echoesbring to my ears the air which you play upon your flute at the top of themountain, I repeat the words at the bottom of the valley. Above all, youare dear to me since the day when you wanted to fight the master of theslave for me. Since that time how often have I said to myself, 'Ah, mybrother has a good heart; but for him I should have died of terror.' I prayto God every day for my mother and yours; for you, and for our poorservants; but when I pronounce your name, my devotion seems to increase, Iask so earnestly of God that no harm may befal you! Why do you go so far,and climb so high, to seek fruits and flowers for me? How much you arefatigued!' and with her little white handkerchief she wiped the damps fromhis brow.
"For some time past, however, Virginia had felt her heart agitated by newsensations. Her fine blue eyes lost their lustre, her cheek its freshness,and her frame was seized with universal languor. Serenity no longer satupon her brow, nor smiles played upon her lips. She became suddenly gaywithout joy, and melancholy without vexation. She fled her innocent sports,her gentle labours, and the society of her beloved family; wandering alongthe most unfrequented parts of the plantation, and seeking every where thatrest which she could no where find. Sometimes, at the sight of Paul, sheadvanced sportively towards him, and, when going to accost him, was seizedwith sudden confusion: her pale cheeks were overspread with blushes, andher eyes no longer dared to meet those of her brother. Paul said to her,'The rocks are covered with verdure, our birds begin to sing when youapproach, every thing around you is gay, and you only are unhappy.' Heendeavoured to soothe her by his embraces; but she turned away her head,and fled trembling towards her mother. The caresses of her brother excitedtoo much emotion in her agitated heart. Paul could not comprehend themeaning of those new and strange caprices.
"One of those summers, which sometimes desolate the countries situatedbetween the tropics, now spread its ravages over this island. It was nearthe end of December, when the sun in Capricorn darts over Mauritius, duringthe space of three weeks, its vertical fires. The south wind, whichprevails almost throughout the whole year, no longer blew. Vast columns ofdust arose from the highways, and hung suspended in the air: the ground wasevery where broken into clefts; the grass was burnt; hot exhalations issuedfrom the sides of the mountains, and their rivulets, for the most partbecame dry: fiery vapours, during the day, ascended from the plains, andappeared, at the setting of the sun, like a conflagration. Night brought nocoolness to the heated atmosphere: the orb of the moon seemed of blood,and, rising in a misty horizon, appeared of supernatural magnitude. Thedrooping cattle, on the sides of the hills, stretching out their neckstowards heaven, and panting for air, made the valleys reecho with theirmelancholy lowings; even the Caffree, by whom they were led, threw himselfupon the earth, in search of coolness; but the scorching sun had everywhere penetrated, and the stifling atmosphere resounded with the buzzingnoise of i
nsects, who sought to allay their thirst in the blood of man andof animals.
"On one of those sultry nights Virginia, restless and unhappy, arose, thenwent again to rest, but could find in no attitude either slumber or repose.At length she bent her way, by the light of the moon, towards her fountain,and gazed at its spring, which, notwithstanding the drought, still flowedlike silver threads down the brown sides of the rock. She flung herselfinto the basin; its coolness reanimated her spirits, and a thousandsoothing remembrances presented themselves to her mind. She recollectedthat in her infancy her mother and Margaret amused themselves by bathingher with Paul in this very spot; that Paul afterwards, reserving this bathfor her use only, had dug its bed, covered the bottom with sand, and sownaromatic herbs around the borders. She saw, reflected through the
Paul and Virginia from the French of J.B.H. de Saint Pierre Page 9