Two Hearts Author:Elizabeth Caroline Grey Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER II. " Down through her limbs a drooping languor went, Her head a little bent; and on her mouth A doubtful smile dwelt like a clouded moon On a still w... more »ater." Tennyson. In the mean time Lady Massingberd had recommenced, less unbrokenly, the conversation we have parenthesised. She spoke with a certain tone of piqued anxiety. "But Corinne, did you call her— that pale, tranquil creature, a Corinne! She looks clever—is clever in her way no doubt— though we are not intimately acquainted enough for me to have discovered it. I know she does wonders in the way of devoted attention to her father—a paralysed invalid—but as for anything in the Corinne style, why," with a little laugh of irony, " only look at her, and fancy that cold statue improvising." " Fancy, indeed—defend me from the fancy —as soon would I see the pure, pale moon, blood-red with the blaze-heat of an Italian sunlight." " Well! you need not look so killing; what has poor Gretchen done to put you so out tonight?" " You are killing with your literality and opaqueness. / shall be smiling next at your calling that pale Hannibal there a soldier, because, instead of sitting reduced to the last stage of aristocratical ennui, he is not charging your company cap-a-pied, for want of better outlet for his heroic dcemon. Speaking of Corinne, remember Madame de Stael. ' Dans les pays ou les grands interests sont assoupis, le repos et finsouciance sont plus nobles qu'une vaine agitation pour les petites choses.'" "Thank you, but the quotation is hardly applicable at present; if The Times has its own way, we shall not have my hero very long a Lion couchant, whilst your calm Corinne— what will develope her latent fire ? " " Fire!" he again repeated, contemptuously, " is there no light which shines with...« less