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This put an end to a very painful state of suspense and anxiety

on the part of the prince; who, forgetting his usual gravity, ran

to his daughter, and loaded her with praises, caresses, and

promises, and with a tenderness of affection in great measure

sincere: such is the inconsistency of the human heart.

Then ensued a round of spectacles and diversions, during which we

cannot attempt to describe minutely or in order the emotions to

which the heart of Gertrude was subjected. The perpetual change

of objects, the freedom enjoyed by this change, rendered more

odious to her the idea of her prison; still more pungent were the

impressions she received in the festivals and assemblies of the

city. The pomp of the palaces, the splendour of their furniture,

the buzzing and festal clamour of the conversazione, communicated

to her such an intoxication, such an eager desire for happiness,

that she thought she could encounter all the consequences of a

recantation, or even suffer death, rather than return to the cold

shades of the cloister. But all such resolutions instantly fled

as her eyes rested on the austere countenance of the prince.