But now, remembering her rough
upbringing and the wild folk who had fostered her, my anger gave place
to commiseration, for how could she, under such circumstances, be
other than what she seemed? And yet--was she in herself good or evil?
This doubt troubled me so much that I turned to stare towards that
dark corner where she lay; and listening to her gentle and regular
breathing, I judged that she slept already, though more than once I
heard the hay rustle as she stirred, sighing plaintively. But sleep
was not for me, my mind being greatly troubled by this same
unanswerable question: Was she a Diana indeed, dowered with the
virtues of that chaste goddess, or only a poor, small-souled creature
debased by the circumstances of her lawless origin?
Now as I lay thus wakeful, vainly seeking an answer to this most
distressing question, I became aware that the place was no longer
dark; instead was a soft glow, an ever-increasing radiance, and
lifting my eyes to the unglazed window I beheld the moon,--Dian's fair
self, throned in splendour, queen of this midsummer night, serene and
infinitely remote, who yet sent down a kindly beam, that, darting
athwart the gloom, fell in a glory upon that other Diana where she lay
outstretched in peaceful slumber. And gazing upon this face, softened
and beautified by gentle sleep--the wide, low brow, these tender lips,
this firm and resolute chin, I thought to read therein a sweet
nobility, purity and strength; and, like the darkness, my doubts and
trouble were quite banished.
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