onsequences of his terrible punishment.

The canto, in its vivid language, its movement, its life, is one of the
most astonishing that has come from the pen of its author. It offers
beautiful examples of his inspiration in depicting the lovely aspects of
nature. He finds words of liquid sweetness to describe the music of the
morning breezes breathing through the mass of trees:--

"La Ventoureso matiniero,
En trespirant dins la sourniero
Dis aubre, fernissie coume un pur cantadis,
Ounte di colo e di vallado,
Touti li voues en assemblado,
Mandavon sa boufaroulado.
Li mele tranquilas, li mele mescladis," etc.

The morning breeze of the Mont Ventoux, breathing into the mass of
trees, quivered like a pure symphony of song wherein all the voices
of hill and dale sent their breathings.

In the last line the word _tranquilas_ is meant to convey the idea "in
tranquil grandeur."

This ruthless destruction of the forest brings down upon Calendau the
anger of his lady; he has dishonored the noble mountain. "Sacrilegious
generation, ye have the harvest of the plains, the chestnut and the
olives of the hillsides, but the beetling brows of the mountains belong
to God!" and the lady continues an eloquent defence of the trees, "the
beloved sons, the inseparable nurslings, the joy, the colossal glory of
the universal nurse!" and pictures the vengeance Nature wreaks when she
is wronged. Calendau is humbled and departs.

His next exploit is the settling of the feud between two orders of
Masons. He displays marvellous bravery in facing the fighting crowds,
and they choose him to be umpire. He delivers a noble speech in favor of
peace, full of allusions to the architectural glories of Provence, that
grew up when "faith and union lent their torch." He tells the story of
the building of the bridge of Avignon. "Noah himself with his ark could
have passed beneath each of its arches." He touches their emotions with
his appeal for peace, and they depart reconciled.

And now Esterello begins to love him. She bids him strive for the
noblest things, to love country and humanity, to become a knight, an
apostle; and after Calendau has performed the feat of capturing the
famous brigand Marco-Mau, after he has been crowned in the feasts at
Aix, and resisted victorious the wiles of the women that surround the
Count Severan, and saved his lady in the fearful combat