Paul and Virginia from the French of J.B.H. de Saint Pierre
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waterupon her naked arms and bosom, the two cocoa trees which were planted ather birth and that of her brother, and which interwove about her head theirgreen branches and young fruit. She thought of Paul's friendship, sweeterthan the odours, purer than the waters of the fountains, stronger than theintertwining palm trees, and she sighed. Reflecting upon the hour of thenight, and the profound solitude, her imagination again grew disordered.Suddenly she flew affrighted from those dangerous shades, and those waterswhich she fancied hotter than the torrid sunbeam, and ran to her mother, inorder to find a refuge from herself. Often, wishing to unfold hersufferings, she pressed her mother's hand within her own; often she wasready to pronounce the name of Paul; but her oppressed heart left not herlips the power of utterance; and, leaning her head on her mother's bosom,she could only bathe it with her tears.
"Madame de la Tour, though she easily discerned the source of herdaughter's uneasiness, did not think proper to speak to her on thatsubject. 'My dear child,' said she, address yourself to God, who disposes,at his will, of health and of life. He tries you now, in order torecompense you hereafter. Remember that we are only placed upon earth forthe exercise of virtue.'
"The excessive heat drew vapours from the ocean, which hung over the islandlike a vast awning, and slithered round the summits of the mountains, whilelong flakes of fire occasionally issued from their misty peaks. Soon afterthe most terrible thunder reechoed through the woods, the plains and thevalleys; the rains fell from the skies like cataracts; foaming torrentsrolled down the sides of the mountain; the bottom of the valley became asea; the plat of ground on which the cottages were built, a little island:and the entrance of this valley a sluice, along which rushed precipitatelythe moaning waters, earth, trees, and rocks.
"Meantime the trembling family addressed their prayers to God in thecottage of Madame de la Tour, the roof of which cracked horribly from thestruggling winds. So vivid and frequent were the lightnings, that, althoughthe doors and window-shutters were well fastened, every object without wasdistinctly seen through the jointed beams. Paul, followed by Domingo, wentwith intrepidity from one cottage to another, notwithstanding the fury ofthe tempest; here supporting a partition with a buttress, there driving ina stake, and only returning to the family to calm their fears, by the hopethat the storm was passing away. Accordingly, in the evening the rainsceased, the trade-winds of the south pursued their ordinary course, thetempestuous clouds were thrown towards the north-east, and the setting sunappeared in the horizon.
"Virginia's first wish was to visit the spot called her _Repose_. Paulapproached her with a timid air, and offered her the assistance of his arm,which she accepted, smiling, and they left the cottage together. The airwas fresh and clear; white vapours arose from the ridges of the mountains,furrowed here and there by the foam of the torrents, which were nowbecoming dry. The garden was altogether destroyed by the hollows which thefloods had worn, the roots of the fruit trees were for the most part laidbare, and vast heaps of sand covered the chain of meadows, and choked upVirginia's bath. The two cocoa trees, however, were still erect, and stillretained their freshness: but they were no longer surrounded by turf, orarbours, or birds, except a few amadavid birds, who, upon the points of theneighbouring rocks, lamented, in plaintive notes, the loss of their young.
"At the sight of this general desolation, Virginia exclaimed to Paul, 'Youbrought birds hither, and the hurricane has killed them. You planted thisgarden, and it is now destroyed. Every thing then upon earth perishes, andit is only heaven that is not subject to change.' 'Why,' answered Paul,'why cannot I give you something which belongs to heaven? but I ampossessed of nothing even upon earth.' Virginia, blushing, resumed, 'Youhave the picture of Saint Paul.' Scarcely had she pronounced the words,when he flew in search of it to his mother's cottage. This picture was asmall miniature, representing Paul the Hermit, and which Margaret, who wasvery pious, had long worn hung at her neck when she was a girl, and which,since she became a mother, she had placed round the neck of her child. Ithad even happened, that being while pregnant, abandoned by the whole world,and continually employed in contemplating the image of this benevolentrecluse, her offspring had contracted, at least so she fancied, someresemblance to this revered object. She therefore bestowed upon him thename of Paul, giving him for his patron a saint, who had passed his lifefar from mankind, by whom he had been first deceived, and then forsaken.Virginia, upon receiving this little picture from the hands of Paul, saidto him, with emotion, 'My dear brother, I will never part with this while Ilive; nor will I ever forget that you have given me the only thing whichyou possess in the world.' At this tone of friendship this unhoped-forreturn of familiarity and tenderness, Paul attempted to embrace her; but,light as a bird, she fled, and left him astonished, and unable to accountfor a conduct so extraordinary.
"Meanwhile Margaret said to Madame de la Tour, 'Why do we not unite ourchildren by marriage? They have a tender attachment to each other.' Madamede la Tour replied, 'They are too young, and too poor. What grief would itoccasion us to see Virginia bring into the world unfortunate children, whomshe would not perhaps have sufficient strength to rear! Your negro,Domingo, is almost too old to labour; Mary is infirm. As for myself, mydear friend, in the space of fifteen years I find my strength much failed;age advances rapidly in hot climates, and, above all, under the pressure ofmisfortune. Paul is our only hope: let us wait till his constitution isstrengthened, and till he can support us by his labour: at present you wellknow that we have only sufficient to supply the wants of the day: but werewe to send Paul for a short time to the Indies, commerce would furnish himwith the means of purchasing a slave; and at his return we will unite himto Virginia: for I am persuaded no one on earth can render her so happy asyour son. We will consult our neighbour on this subject.
"They accordingly asked my advice, and I was of their opinion. 'The Indianseas,' I observed to them, are calm, and, in choosing a favourable season,the voyage is seldom longer than six weeks. We will furnish Paul with alittle venture in my neighbourhood, where he is much beloved. If we wereonly to supply him with some raw cotton, of which we make no use, for wantof mills to work it, some ebony, which is here so common, that it serves usfor firing, and some resin, which is found in our woods: all those articleswill sell advantageously in the Indies, though to us they are useless.'
"I engaged to obtain permission from Monsieur de la Bourdonnais toundertake this voyage: but I determined previously to mention the affair toPaul; and my surprise was great, when this young man said to me, with adegree of good sense above his age, 'And why do you wish me to leave myfamily for this precarious pursuit of fortune? Is there any commerce moreadvantageous than the culture of the ground, which yields sometimes fiftyor a hundred fold? If we wish to engage in commerce, we can do so bycarrying our superfluities to the town, without my wandering to the Indies.Our mothers tell me, that Domingo is old and feeble; but I am young, andgather strength every day. If any accident should happen during my absence,above all, to Virginia, who already suffers--Oh, no, no!--I cannot resolveto learn them.'
"This answer threw me into great perplexity, for Madame de la Tour had notconcealed from me the situation of Virginia, and her desire of separatingthose young people for a few years. These ideas I did not dare to suggestto Paul.
"At this period, a ship, which arrived from France, brought Madame de laTour a letter from her aunt. Alarmed by the terrors of approaching death,which could alone penetrate a heart so insensible, recovering from adangerous disorder, which had left her in a state of weakness, renderedincurable by age, she desired that her niece would return to France; or, ifher health forbade her to undertake so long a voyage, she conjured her tosend Virginia, on whom she would bestow a good education, procure for her asplendid marriage, and leave her the inheritance of her whole fortune. Theperusal of this letter spread general consternation through the family.Domingo and Mary began to weep. Paul, motionless with surprise, appeared asif his heart was ready to burst with indignation; while Virginia, fixingher
eyes upon her mother, had not power to utter a word.
"'And can you now leave us?' cried Margaret to Madame de la Tour. 'No, mydear friend, no, my beloved children,' replied Madame de la Tour; 'I willnot leave you. I have lived with you, and with you I will die. I have knownno happiness but in your affection. If my health be deranged, my pastmisfortunes are the cause. My heart, deeply wounded by the cruelty of arelation, and the loss of my husband, has found more consolation andfelicity with you beneath these humble huts, than all the wealth of myfamily could now give me in my own country.'
"At this soothing language every eye overflowed with tears of delight. Paulpressed Madame de la Tour in his arms, exclaiming, 'Neither will I leaveyou! I will not go to the Indies. We will all labour