Thetumulthadsubsided，thelightshaddiedawaywithinthepalace，andthestranger，whomInowrecognized，stoodaloneupontheflags。Heshookwithinconceivableagitation，andhiseyeglancedaroundinsearchofagondola。Icouldnotdolessthanofferhimtheserviceofmyown；andheacceptedthecivility。Havingobtainedanoaratthewater-gate，weproceededtogethertohisresidence，whileherapidlyrecoveredhisself-possession，andspokeofourformerslightacquaintanceintermsofgreatapparentcordiality。
TherearesomesubjectsuponwhichItakepleasureinbeingminute。Thepersonofthestranger-letmecallhimbythistitle，whotoalltheworldwasstillastranger-thepersonofthestrangerisoneofthesesubjects。Inheighthemighthavebeenbelowratherthanabovethemediumsize：althoughthereweremomentsofintensepassionwhenhisframeactually_expanded_andbeliedtheassertion。Thelight，almostslendersymmetryofhisfigure，promisedmoreofthatreadyactivitywhichheevincedattheBridgeofSighs，thanofthatHerculeanstrengthwhichhehasbeenknowntowieldwithoutaneffort，uponoccasionsofmoredangerousemergency。Withthemouthandchinofadeity-singular，wild，full，liquideyes，whoseshadowsvariedfrompurehazeltointenseandbrilliantjet-andaprofusionofcurling，blackhair，fromwhichaforeheadofunusualbreadthgleamedforthatintervalsalllightandivory-hiswerefeaturesthanwhichIhaveseennonemoreclassicallyregular，except，perhaps，themarbleonesoftheEmperorCommodus。Yethiscountenancewas，nevertheless，oneofthosewhichallmenhaveseenatsomeperiodoftheirlives，andhaveneverafterwardsseenagain。Ithadnopeculiar-ithadnosettledpredominantexpressiontobefasteneduponthememory；acountenanceseenandinstantlyforgotten-butforgottenwithavagueandnever-ceasingdesireofrecallingittomind。Notthatthespiritofeachrapidpassionfailed，atanytime，tothrowitsowndistinctimageuponthemirrorofthatface-butthatthemirror，mirror-like，retainednovestigeofthepassion，whenthepassionhaddeparted。
Uponleavinghimonthenightofouradventure，hesolicitedme，inwhatIthoughtanurgentmanner，tocalluponhim_very_earlythenextmorning。Shortlyaftersunrise，IfoundmyselfaccordinglyathisPalazzo，oneofthosehugestructuresofgloomy，yetfantasticpomp，whichtowerabovethewatersoftheGrandCanalinthevicinityoftheRialto。Iwasshownupabroadwindingstaircaseofmosaics，intoanapartmentwhoseunparalleledsplendorburstthroughtheopeningdoorwithanactualglare，makingmeblindanddizzywithluxuriousness。
Iknewmyacquaintancetobewealthy。ReporthadspokenofhispossessionsintermswhichIhadevenventuredtocalltermsofridiculousexaggeration。ButasIgazedaboutme，IcouldnotbringmyselftobelievethatthewealthofanysubjectinEuropecouldhavesuppliedtheprincelymagnificencewhichburnedandblazedaround。
Although，asIsay，thesunhadarisen，yettheroomwasstillbrilliantlylightedup。Ijudgefromthiscircumstance，aswellasfromanairofexhaustioninthecountenanceofmyfriend，thathehadnotretiredtobedduringthewholeoftheprecedingnight。Inthearchitectureandembellishmentsofthechamber，theevidentdesignhadbeentodazzleandastound。Littleattentionhadbeenpaidtothe_decora_ofwhatistechnicallycalled_keeping_，ortotheproprietiesofnationality。Theeyewanderedfromobjecttoobject，andresteduponnone-neitherthe_grotesques_oftheGreekpainters，northesculpturesofthebestItaliandays，northehugecarvingsofuntutoredEgypt。Richdraperiesineverypartoftheroomtrembledtothevibrationoflow，melancholymusic，whoseoriginwasnottobediscovered。Thesenseswereoppressedbymingledandconflictingperfumes，reekingupfromstrangeconvolutecensers，togetherwithmultitudinousflaringandflickeringtonguesofemeraldandvioletfire。Theraysofthenewlyrisensunpouredinuponthewhole，throughwindows，formedeachofasinglepaneofcrimson-tintedglass。Glancingtoandfro，inathousandreflections，fromcurtainswhichrolledfromtheircorniceslikecataractsofmoltensilver，thebeamsofnaturalglorymingledatlengthfitfullywiththeartificiallight，andlaywelteringinsubduedmassesuponacarpetofrich，liquid-lookingclothofChiligold。
“Ha！ha！ha！-ha！ha！ha！“-laughedtheproprietor，motioningmetoaseatasIenteredtheroom，andthrowinghimselfbackatfull-lengthuponanottoman。“Isee。”saidhe，perceivingthatIcouldnotimmediatelyreconcilemyselftothe_bienseance_ofsosingularawelcome-“Iseeyouareastonishedatmyapartment-
atmystatues-mypictures-myoriginalityofconceptioninarchitectureandupholstery！absolutelydrunk，eh，withmymagnificence？Butpardonme，mydearsir，herehistoneofvoicedroppedtotheveryspiritofcordiality，pardonmeformyuncharitablelaughter。Youappearedso_utterly_astonished。
Besides，somethingsaresocompletelyludicrous，thataman_must_
laughordie。Todielaughing，mustbethemostgloriousofallgloriousdeaths！SirThomasMore-averyfinemanwasSirThomasMore-SirThomasMorediedlaughing，youremember。Alsointhe_Absurdities_ofRavisiusTextor，thereisalonglistofcharacterswhocametothesamemagnificentend。Doyouknow，however。”
continuedhemusingly，“thatatSpartawhichisnowPal？；ochori，
atSparta，Isay，tothewestofthecitadel，amongachaosofscarcelyvisibleruins，isakindof_socle_，uponwhicharestilllegibletheletters7！=9。Theyareundoubtedlypartof’7！=9！。
Now，atSpartawereathousandtemplesandshrinestoathousanddifferentdivinities。HowexceedinglystrangethatthealtarofLaughtershouldhavesurvivedalltheothers！Butinthepresentinstance。”heresumed，withasingularalterationofvoiceandmanner，“Ihavenorighttobemerryatyourexpense。Youmightwellhavebeenamazed。Europecannotproduceanythingsofineasthis，mylittleregalcabinet。Myotherapartmentsarebynomeansofthesameorder-mere_ultras_offashionableinsipidity。Thisisbetterthanfashion-isitnot？Yetthishasbuttobeseentobecometherage-thatis，withthosewhocouldafforditatthecostoftheirentirepatrimony。Ihaveguarded，however，againstanysuchprofanation。Withoneexception，youaretheonlyhumanbeingbesidesmyselfandmy_valet_，whohasbeenadmittedwithinthemysteriesoftheseimperialprecincts，sincetheyhavebeenbedizzenedasyousee！”
Ibowedinacknowledgment-fortheoverpoweringsenseofsplendorandperfume，andmusic，togetherwiththeunexpectedeccentricityofhisaddressandmanner，preventedmefromexpressing，inwords，myappreciationofwhatImighthaveconstruedintoacompliment。
“Here。”heresumed，arisingandleaningonmyarmashesaunteredaroundtheapartment，“herearepaintingsfromtheGreekstoCimabue，andfromCimabuetothepresenthour。Manyarechosen，asyousee，withlittledeferencetotheopinionsofVirtu。Theyareall，however，fittingtapestryforachambersuchasthis。Here，too，aresome_chefsd’渦vre_oftheunknowngreat；andhere，unfinisheddesignsbymen，celebratedintheirday，whoseverynamestheperspicacityoftheacademieshaslefttosilenceandtome。Whatthinkyou。”saidhe，turningabruptlyashespoke-“whatthinkyouofthisMadonnadellaPieta？”
“ItisGuido’sown！“Isaid，withalltheenthusiasmofmynature，forIhadbeenporingintentlyoveritssurpassingloveliness。“ItisGuido’sown！-how_could_youhaveobtainedit？-sheisundoubtedlyinpaintingwhattheVenusisinsculpture。”
“Ha！“saidhethoughtfully，“theVenus-thebeautifulVenus？-
theVenusoftheMedici？-sheofthediminutiveheadandthegildedhair？Partoftheleftarmherehisvoicedroppedsoastobeheardwithdifficulty，andalltheright，arerestorations；andinthecoquetryofthatrightarmlies，Ithink，thequintessenceofallaffectation。Give_me_theCanova！TheApollo，too，isacopy-therecanbenodoubtofit-blindfoolthatIam，whocannotbeholdtheboastedinspirationoftheApollo！Icannothelp-pityme！-IcannothelppreferringtheAntinous。WasitnotSocrateswhosaidthatthestatuaryfoundhisstatueintheblockofmarble？
ThenMichaelAngelowasbynomeansoriginalinhiscouplet-
’Nonhal’ottimoartistaalcunconcettoCheunmarmosoloinsenoncircunscriva。’“
Ithasbeen，orshouldberemarked，that，inthemannerofthetruegentleman，wearealwaysawareofadifferencefromthebearingofthevulgar，withoutbeingatoncepreciselyabletodetermineinwhatsuchdifferenceconsists。Allowingtheremarktohaveappliedinitsfullforcetotheoutwarddemeanorofmyacquaintance，Ifeltit，onthateventfulmorning，stillmorefullyapplicabletohismoraltemperamentandcharacter。NorcanIbetterdefinethatpeculiarityofspiritwhichseemedtoplacehimsoessentiallyapartfromallotherhumanbeings，thanbycallingita_habit_ofintenseandcontinualthought，pervadingevenhismosttrivialactions-
intrudinguponhismomentsofdalliance-andinterweavingitselfwithhisveryflashesofmerriment-likeadderswhichwrithefromouttheeyesofthegrinningmasksinthecornicesaroundthetemplesofPersepolis。
Icouldnothelp，however，repeatedlyobserving，throughthemingledtoneoflevityandsolemnitywithwhichherapidlydescanteduponmattersoflittleimportance，acertainairoftrepidation-adegreeofnervous_unction_inactionandinspeech-anunquietexcitabilityofmannerwhichappearedtomeatalltimesunaccountable，anduponsomeoccasionsevenfilledmewithalarm。
Frequently，too，pausinginthemiddleofasentencewhosecommencementhehadapparentlyforgotten，heseemedtobelisteninginthedeepestattention，asifeitherinmomentaryexpectationofavisiter，ortosoundswhichmusthavehadexistenceinhisimaginationalone。
Itwasduringoneofthesereveriesorpausesofapparentabstraction，that，inturningoverapageofthepoetandscholarPolitian’sbeautifultragedy“TheOrfeo。”thefirstnativeItaliantragedy，whichlaynearmeuponanottoman，Idiscoveredapassageunderlinedinpencil。Itwasapassagetowardstheendofthethirdact-apassageofthemostheart-stirringexcitement-apassagewhich，althoughtaintedwithimpurity，nomanshallreadwithoutathrillofnovelemotion-nowomanwithoutasigh。Thewholepagewasblottedwithfreshtears；and，upontheoppositeinterleaf，werethefollowingEnglishlines，writteninahandsoverydifferentfromthepeculiarcharactersofmyacquaintance，thatIhadsomedifficultyinrecognisingitashisown：-
Thouwastthatalltome，love，Forwhichmysouldidpine-
Agreenisleinthesea，love，Afountainandashrine，Allwreathedwithfairyfruitsandflowers；
Andalltheflowersweremine。
Ah，dreamtoobrighttolast！
Ah，starryHope，thatdidstariseButtobeovercast！
AvoicefromouttheFuturecries，“Onward！“-buto’erthePastDimgulf！myspirithoveringlies，Mute-motionless-aghast！
Foralas！alas！withmeThelightoflifeiso’er。
“Nomore-nomore-nomore。”
SuchlanguageholdsthesolemnseaTothesandsupontheshore，
Shallbloomthethunder-blastedtree，Orthestrickeneaglesoar！
Nowallmyhoursaretrances；
AndallmynightlydreamsArewherethedarkeyeglances，Andwherethyfootstepgleams，Inwhatetherealdances，BywhatItalianstreams。
Alas！forthataccursedtimeTheyboretheeo’erthebillow，FromLovetotitledageandcrime，Andanunholypillow！-
Fromme，andfromourmistyclime，Whereweepsthesilverwillow！
ThattheselineswerewritteninEnglish-alanguagewithwhichI
hadnotbelievedtheirauthoracquainted-affordedmelittlematterforsurprise。Iwastoowellawareoftheextentofhisacquirements，andofthesingularpleasurehetookinconcealingthemfromobservation，tobeastonishedatanysimilardiscovery；buttheplaceofdate，Imustconfess，occasionedmenolittleamazement。
Ithadbeenoriginallywritten_London_，andafterwardscarefullyoverscored-not，however，soeffectuallyastoconcealthewordfromascrutinizingeye。Isay，thisoccasionedmenolittleamazement；
forIwellrememberthat，inaformerconversationwithafriend，I
particularlyinquiredifhehadatanytimemetinLondontheMarchesadiMentoni，whoforsomeyearsprevioustohermarriagehadresidedinthatcity，whenhisanswer，ifImistakenot，gavemetounderstandthathehadnevervisitedthemetropolisofGreatBritain。
Imightaswellheremention，thatIhavemorethanonceheard，without，ofcourse，givingcredittoareportinvolvingsomanyimprobabilities，thatthepersonofwhomIspeak，wasnotonlybybirth，butineducation，an_Englishman_。
“Thereisonepainting。”saidhe，withoutbeingawareofmynoticeofthetragedy-“thereisstillonepaintingwhichyouhavenotseen。”Andthrowingasideadrapery，hediscoveredafull-lengthportraitoftheMarchesaAphrodite。
Humanartcouldhavedonenomoreinthedelineationofhersuperhumanbeauty。ThesameetherealfigurewhichstoodbeforemetheprecedingnightuponthestepsoftheDucalPalace，stoodbeforemeonceagain。Butintheexpressionofthecountenance，whichwasbeamingalloverwithsmiles，therestilllurkedincomprehensibleanomaly！thatfitfulstainofmelancholywhichwilleverbefoundinseparablefromtheperfectionofthebeautiful。Herrightarmlayfoldedoverherbosom。Withherleftshepointeddownwardtoacuriouslyfashionedvase。Onesmall，fairyfoot，alonevisible，barelytouchedtheearth；and，scarcelydiscernibleinthebrilliantatmospherewhichseemedtoencircleandenshrineherloveliness，floatedapairofthemostdelicatelyimaginedwings。Myglancefellfromthepaintingtothefigureofmyfriend，andthevigorouswordsofChapman’s_BussyD’Ambois_，quiveredinstinctivelyuponmylips：
“HeisupTherelikeaRomanstatue！HewillstandTillDeathhathmadehimmarble！”