The Mysteries of Udolpho

O how canst thou renounce the boundless store

Of charms which nature to her vot'ry yields!

The warbling woodland, the resounding shore,

The pomp of groves, and garniture of fields;

All that the genial ray of morning gilds,

And all that echoes to the song of even;

All that the mountain's shelt'ring bosom shields,

And all the dread magnificence of heaven;

O how canst thou renounce, and hope to be forgiven!

..... These charms shall work thy soul's eternal health,

And love, and gentleness, and joy, impart.

THE MINSTREL

St. Aubert, instead of taking the more direct road, that ran along the

feet of the Pyrenees to Languedoc, chose one that, winding over the

heights, afforded more extensive views and greater variety of romantic

scenery. He turned a little out of his way to take leave of M. Barreaux,

whom he found botanizing in the wood near his chateau, and who, when

he was told the purpose of St. Aubert's visit, expressed a degree of

concern, such as his friend had thought it was scarcely possible for him

to feel on any similar occasion. They parted with mutual regret.

'If any thing could have tempted me from my retirement,' said M.

Barreaux, 'it would have been the pleasure of accompanying you on this

little tour. I do not often offer compliments; you may, therefore,

believe me, when I say, that I shall look for your return with

impatience.'

The travellers proceeded on their journey. As they ascended the heights,

St. Aubert often looked back upon the chateau, in the plain below;

tender images crowded to his mind; his melancholy imagination suggested

that he should return no more; and though he checked this wandering

thought, still he continued to look, till the haziness of distance

blended his home with the general landscape, and St. Aubert seemed to Drag at each remove a lengthening chain.

He and Emily continued sunk in musing silence for some leagues, from

which melancholy reverie Emily first awoke, and her young fancy, struck

with the grandeur of the objects around, gradually yielded to delightful

impressions. The road now descended into glens, confined by stupendous

walls of rock, grey and barren, except where shrubs fringed their

summits, or patches of meagre vegetation tinted their recesses, in which

the wild goat was frequently browsing. And now, the way led to the

lofty cliffs, from whence the landscape was seen extending in all its

magnificence. Emily could not restrain her transport as she looked over the pine

forests of the mountains upon the vast plains, that, enriched with

woods, towns, blushing vines, and plantations of almonds, palms, and

olives, stretched along, till their various colours melted in distance

into one harmonious hue, that seemed to unite earth with heaven.

Through the whole of this glorious scene the majestic Garonne wandered;

descending from its source among the Pyrenees, and winding its blue

waves towards the Bay of Biscay.