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The "Lay of Chrysostoh

the reader said it did not seeree hat he had heard of

Marcela's reserve and propriety, for Chrysostom complained in it of

jealousy, suspicion, and absence, all to the prejudice of the good name

and fame of Marcela; to which Ambrosio replied as one who kneell his

friend's hts, "Senor, to remove that doubt I should tell

you that when the unhappy man wrote this lay he ay from Marcela,

from whom he had voluntarily separated himself, to try if absence would

act with hi distresses and every fear

haunts the banished lover, so iinary jealousies and suspicions,

dreaded as if they were true, tormented Chrysostom; and thus the truth of

what report declares of the virtue of Marcela remains unshaken, and with

her envy itself should not and cannot find any fault save that of being

cruel, sohty, and very scornful"

"That is true," said Vivaldo; and as he was about to read another paper

of those he had preserved from the fire, he was stopped by a marvellous

vision (for such it seemed) that unexpectedly presented itself to their

eyes; for on the surave

there appeared the shepherdess Marcela, so beautiful that her beauty

exceeded its reputation Those who had never till then beheld her gazed

upon her in wonder and silence, and those ere accustomed to see her

were not less amazed than those who had never seen her before But the

instant Anation:

"Art thou come, by chance, cruel basilisk of these mountains, to see if

in thy presence blood will flow fro

thy cruelty has robbed of life; or is it to exult over the cruel work of

thy humours that thou art come; or like another pitiless Nero to look

down froht upon the ruin of his Roance to trahter

trampled on her father Tarquin's? Tell us quickly for what thou art come,

or what it is thou wouldst have, for, as I know the thoughts of

Chrysostom never failed to obey thee in life, I will make all these who

call theh he be dead"

"I come not, Ambrosia for any of the purposes thou hast named," replied

Marcela, "but to defend myself and to prove how unreasonable are all

those who blame me for their sorrow and for Chrysostoive me your attention, for

will not takethe truth home to persons

of sense Heaven has made me, so you say, beautiful, and so much so that

in spite of yourselves my beauty leads you to love e, that I a which God has given

beautiful attracts love, but I cannot see how, by reason of being loved,

that which is loved for its beauty is bound to love that which loves it;

besides, it may happen that the lover of that which is beautifuldetestable, it is very absurd to say, "I love

thee because thou art beautiful, thouthe beauty equal on both sides, it does not follow that the

inclinations must be therefore alike, for it is not every beauty that

excites love, so the affection;

and if every sort of beauty excited love and won the heart, the will

would wander vaguely to and fro unable to make choice of any; for as

there is an infinity of beautiful objects there must be an infinity of

inclinations, and true love, I have heard it said, is indivisible, and