-
Articles/Ads
Article THE ADVENTURES OF DON PASQUALE. ← Page 2 of 3 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Adventures Of Don Pasquale.
How little appears to endure of all we loved so hugely and cherished so dearly Fond affection and laughing voices ; the smiles of the tender and the true ; those honest eyes lighted up with faithful sympathy ; those warm affections which never
failed us , which , knew not coldness , and never succumbed to treachery—all are but shadows now ; shadows whose ethereal flimsiness mocks alike the dreams of youth , the trust of manhood , and the weakness of old age ! And yet once how pleasant
thou wert to over careless and confiding beings . How little then did we any of us reck of disappointment or delusion ! How utterly impossible then appeared- to be the experience of the wise and the prognostications of the prudent !
What a lot of moralizing sentences crowd in upon my pen , as I sit in my old age in my little study , recalling the souvenirs of the past , the scenes of ancient days , the " cara luoghi" of my youth . The voicesthe funthe laughterthe tears
, , , , the sorrows , the joys , the expectations , the longings , the inconsistency , and the inconstancy which throng over the awakened memory , are all before me now , as it ' seems
to linger , not unwillingly , once again amid the " mirage" and the sweet-scented flowers of life ' s young morn ! But Paesiello , as he rang the bell , and looked up at the windows , was not affected by any such sentimental maunderings , such
old-life feelings , hut entered briskly . and was elegantly ushered in "b y the " maior-domo " into the presence of the young lady and her dear mamma . What a pleasant thing it is to be warmly welcomedto be both admired and
appre-, ciated , especially with the enthusiasm of kindly and agreeable women 1 Who has not felt the soft emotion of confiding , and peaceful happiness , involved hi the sense of a congenial heart , of a sympathetic bosomof a real and disinterested
, friendship 1 That amiable and confiding person , Mrs . Balasso , often says to me , of course in confidence , ( though not " sub sigillo confessionis , " ) that " give her a congenial heart , she can bear all the ills of life . But that she finds great coldness
here , and even Mr . Balasso hardl y reaches her ideal of sympathetic interest . "I may observe , " en passant , " that Mrs . Balasso is very sentimental , and her
husband says at times , looking sagaciously at me , " a little queer . " Oh , gentle reader , it is at such an hour as this—despite the warning experience of years , notwithstanding all the sadder echoes of Life's mournful monotone
that we cannot believe that such apparent genuine and truthful interest is fated to yield to the chilling blasts of adversity , the deadening influences of custom and . change , of heartless worldliness or human treachery 1 Nowe surrender ourselves to the sweet
, self-deceit , though we bitterly grieve , in that hour of awakening , when each " fond delusion droops and dies , " when the voices of old affection are hushed for ever ; when the progress of yeais convinces us too sternlyhow brittle is friendship's chain ,
, how worthless often are the protestations and the assurances of eternal affection . But to return to our story from this moralizing and affecting digression . You , good reader , can easily understand how well Paesiello was received by the
mother , how amiably by the daughter , always obedient to the wishes of a loving parent . And like many another little human " seance , " ( but not mesmeric , by the way ) , that meeting passed away , though not to the contentment of all alike .
When , at last , Paesiello found himself on the leafy promenade again , safe and sound , close to his own comfortable home , a feeling of liberty , of escape , of gladness , seemed to occupy the mind of that thoughtless young man . For he had left behind Mm the " songs of
the sirens , " and the gentle , if pressing , assiduities of a possible mother-in-law ; he had been most discreet , if most" empresse ;" most courteous , if most cold . He had answered no veiled glances , and had heeded no gentle sighs ; he had simply
been most civil , and most considerate—but that was all ! When he had left the house , mother and daughter both agreed that they could make nothing of him ; that he had not spoken a word which could mean anything ; that
his attentions were only those of formal friendship ; and that for some reason or other , the charm was dissolved , the magical formula was all in vain 1 But the mother , like a sage and sagacious
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Adventures Of Don Pasquale.
How little appears to endure of all we loved so hugely and cherished so dearly Fond affection and laughing voices ; the smiles of the tender and the true ; those honest eyes lighted up with faithful sympathy ; those warm affections which never
failed us , which , knew not coldness , and never succumbed to treachery—all are but shadows now ; shadows whose ethereal flimsiness mocks alike the dreams of youth , the trust of manhood , and the weakness of old age ! And yet once how pleasant
thou wert to over careless and confiding beings . How little then did we any of us reck of disappointment or delusion ! How utterly impossible then appeared- to be the experience of the wise and the prognostications of the prudent !
What a lot of moralizing sentences crowd in upon my pen , as I sit in my old age in my little study , recalling the souvenirs of the past , the scenes of ancient days , the " cara luoghi" of my youth . The voicesthe funthe laughterthe tears
, , , , the sorrows , the joys , the expectations , the longings , the inconsistency , and the inconstancy which throng over the awakened memory , are all before me now , as it ' seems
to linger , not unwillingly , once again amid the " mirage" and the sweet-scented flowers of life ' s young morn ! But Paesiello , as he rang the bell , and looked up at the windows , was not affected by any such sentimental maunderings , such
old-life feelings , hut entered briskly . and was elegantly ushered in "b y the " maior-domo " into the presence of the young lady and her dear mamma . What a pleasant thing it is to be warmly welcomedto be both admired and
appre-, ciated , especially with the enthusiasm of kindly and agreeable women 1 Who has not felt the soft emotion of confiding , and peaceful happiness , involved hi the sense of a congenial heart , of a sympathetic bosomof a real and disinterested
, friendship 1 That amiable and confiding person , Mrs . Balasso , often says to me , of course in confidence , ( though not " sub sigillo confessionis , " ) that " give her a congenial heart , she can bear all the ills of life . But that she finds great coldness
here , and even Mr . Balasso hardl y reaches her ideal of sympathetic interest . "I may observe , " en passant , " that Mrs . Balasso is very sentimental , and her
husband says at times , looking sagaciously at me , " a little queer . " Oh , gentle reader , it is at such an hour as this—despite the warning experience of years , notwithstanding all the sadder echoes of Life's mournful monotone
that we cannot believe that such apparent genuine and truthful interest is fated to yield to the chilling blasts of adversity , the deadening influences of custom and . change , of heartless worldliness or human treachery 1 Nowe surrender ourselves to the sweet
, self-deceit , though we bitterly grieve , in that hour of awakening , when each " fond delusion droops and dies , " when the voices of old affection are hushed for ever ; when the progress of yeais convinces us too sternlyhow brittle is friendship's chain ,
, how worthless often are the protestations and the assurances of eternal affection . But to return to our story from this moralizing and affecting digression . You , good reader , can easily understand how well Paesiello was received by the
mother , how amiably by the daughter , always obedient to the wishes of a loving parent . And like many another little human " seance , " ( but not mesmeric , by the way ) , that meeting passed away , though not to the contentment of all alike .
When , at last , Paesiello found himself on the leafy promenade again , safe and sound , close to his own comfortable home , a feeling of liberty , of escape , of gladness , seemed to occupy the mind of that thoughtless young man . For he had left behind Mm the " songs of
the sirens , " and the gentle , if pressing , assiduities of a possible mother-in-law ; he had been most discreet , if most" empresse ;" most courteous , if most cold . He had answered no veiled glances , and had heeded no gentle sighs ; he had simply
been most civil , and most considerate—but that was all ! When he had left the house , mother and daughter both agreed that they could make nothing of him ; that he had not spoken a word which could mean anything ; that
his attentions were only those of formal friendship ; and that for some reason or other , the charm was dissolved , the magical formula was all in vain 1 But the mother , like a sage and sagacious