xquisite poems.

Their example affords a fine illustration of the sentiment of
Platonic love; and his verses repeatedly give it a rhetorical
expression equally fine. He says,

Better plea
Love cannot have, than that, in loving thee,
Glory to that eternal Peace is paid,
Who such divinity to thee imparts
As hallows and makes pure all gentle hearts.
His hope is treacherous only whose love dies
With beauty, which is varying every hour.
But in chaste hearts, uninfluenced by the power
Of outward change, there blooms a deathless flower,
That breathes on earth the air of Paradise.

Vittoria said, "He who admires only the works of Michael Angelo
values the smallest part in him." One of the only two portraits he
ever painted was hers. The aged Angelo stood by the couch of Vittoria
at her death. When the last breath had gone, "he raised her hand, and
kissed it with a sacred respect." It is touching to know, that the
sublime old man, years afterwards, recalling that scene to a friend,
lamented, that, in the awe of the moment, he had refrained from
pressing his lips on those of the sainted Colonna. Hermann Grimm
says, "How great the loss was which he sustained can be realized only
by him who has himself felt the void which the removal of a superior
intellect irretrievably leaves behind it. It must have been to him as
if a long-used, magnificent book, in which he found words suiting
every mood, had been suddenly closed, never to be re-opened. Nothing
can compensate for the loss of a friend who has journeyed with us for
many years, sharing our experiences. Vittoria was the only one who
had ever fully opened her soul to him. What profit could he draw from
the reverence of those who would have ceased to understand him, had
he shown himself as he was in truth? His only consolation was the
thought, that his own career was near its close."

Among the celebrated French women, who have had a genius and a
passion for friendships, Mademoiselle de Scudery deserves prominent
mention. Her great talents, virtuous character, and affectionate
disposition, made her a favorite in the distinguished society she
frequented. The great Conde, Madame de Longueville, and the other
famous visitors of the Hotel Rambouillet, honored her, and took
delight in her companionship. Her ardent devotion to her friends, her
beautiful and heroic fidelity to them, her chivalrous vein of
sentiment and character, Cousin has illustrated with his minute
learning and