Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Gem.
THE GEM .
I wandered through the gorgeous rooms , Mid silken robes and waving plumes : And there were bright and living rays , Darting from woman's love-lit eyes ; That far outshone the diamond's blaze , Each dashing glance a richer prize , Than all the sparkling gems that shone On wreathed brow or diamond zone .
LIGHTS were flashing and music sounding merrily through the spacious halls ofthe Doria Palace , where were assembled the chief ofthe nobility of Rome , it being the fete day of the Cardinal Paraphilia the brother of the prince . Few visitors to the Eternal City have ever quitted it without seeing that seat of princely magnificence , theCasa Doria ; immortality breathes from tlie countless treasures of art upon its walls ; to which the student , the travelleror the artist is never refused admittance .
, Among the many distinguished visitors of the night was a young Englishman , whose rank and fortune had procured him access to the elite of Roman society ; he was , to all outward appearance , a gay , joyous , spirited being , envied by the many who look but at the surface of character , pitied by the few whose experience or philosophy glance beyond the mere lip mirth of the moment . He had not joined the dancersbut stood watching their graceful
, forms as they circled past him , not in the flying mazes of the waltz , a dance little countenanced in Rome , but in the more sober evolutions of the cotillon . " Walter ! " exclaimed a young compatriot , who hacl just resigned the hand of tbe beautiful Therese Colonna to a succeeding partner ; " miracles Will never cease . For the future I will not doubt the authenticity of the santa volta ; for I have witnessed a yet greater wonder "—
" And that is ? "— demanded his hearer with a smile . " I have seen thee dull , sjuritless as a lashed hound ; art dreaming ? the fair Therese smiled twice on thee unheeded . The young Marchesa dropped her handkerchief within thy sight , and shame upon thy gallantry , stooped her fair person to regain it . Rouse , for the honour of thy country . " " I have indeed been absent , " replied the young Englishman . " I
am tired of Rome . 1 thirst for other scenes—change—I must have change ; the sober dullness of Rome is infectious . I must escape to avoid turning Capuchin . " " Or lover ! " quickly added the thoughtless questioner with a laugh , " thou art caught . I swear it by thy absent air , thy lame defence of it ; thy thirst for change—no denial . Oh , Walter , " he continued , delighted with the evident uneasiness of his friend , " if that gem could
speak , how strange a tale would it unfold . " He touched , as he spoke , the magnificent emerald which the young Englishman invariably wore , and which was not more remarkable for its size and lustre , than for its exquisite antique setting , the work of the unrivalled Cellini . In an instant , the half smiling expression of Walter ' s lip was changed to one of quivering agony ; darting from his companion , be passed through the crowded saloons , reached the Corso , and buried himself in the solitude of his lodging . Few contrasts could be greater than that presented by tlie gloom of
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Gem.
THE GEM .
I wandered through the gorgeous rooms , Mid silken robes and waving plumes : And there were bright and living rays , Darting from woman's love-lit eyes ; That far outshone the diamond's blaze , Each dashing glance a richer prize , Than all the sparkling gems that shone On wreathed brow or diamond zone .
LIGHTS were flashing and music sounding merrily through the spacious halls ofthe Doria Palace , where were assembled the chief ofthe nobility of Rome , it being the fete day of the Cardinal Paraphilia the brother of the prince . Few visitors to the Eternal City have ever quitted it without seeing that seat of princely magnificence , theCasa Doria ; immortality breathes from tlie countless treasures of art upon its walls ; to which the student , the travelleror the artist is never refused admittance .
, Among the many distinguished visitors of the night was a young Englishman , whose rank and fortune had procured him access to the elite of Roman society ; he was , to all outward appearance , a gay , joyous , spirited being , envied by the many who look but at the surface of character , pitied by the few whose experience or philosophy glance beyond the mere lip mirth of the moment . He had not joined the dancersbut stood watching their graceful
, forms as they circled past him , not in the flying mazes of the waltz , a dance little countenanced in Rome , but in the more sober evolutions of the cotillon . " Walter ! " exclaimed a young compatriot , who hacl just resigned the hand of tbe beautiful Therese Colonna to a succeeding partner ; " miracles Will never cease . For the future I will not doubt the authenticity of the santa volta ; for I have witnessed a yet greater wonder "—
" And that is ? "— demanded his hearer with a smile . " I have seen thee dull , sjuritless as a lashed hound ; art dreaming ? the fair Therese smiled twice on thee unheeded . The young Marchesa dropped her handkerchief within thy sight , and shame upon thy gallantry , stooped her fair person to regain it . Rouse , for the honour of thy country . " " I have indeed been absent , " replied the young Englishman . " I
am tired of Rome . 1 thirst for other scenes—change—I must have change ; the sober dullness of Rome is infectious . I must escape to avoid turning Capuchin . " " Or lover ! " quickly added the thoughtless questioner with a laugh , " thou art caught . I swear it by thy absent air , thy lame defence of it ; thy thirst for change—no denial . Oh , Walter , " he continued , delighted with the evident uneasiness of his friend , " if that gem could
speak , how strange a tale would it unfold . " He touched , as he spoke , the magnificent emerald which the young Englishman invariably wore , and which was not more remarkable for its size and lustre , than for its exquisite antique setting , the work of the unrivalled Cellini . In an instant , the half smiling expression of Walter ' s lip was changed to one of quivering agony ; darting from his companion , be passed through the crowded saloons , reached the Corso , and buried himself in the solitude of his lodging . Few contrasts could be greater than that presented by tlie gloom of