The young maiden arose from her seat and hastened to meet him.
"How charming that you have come, Paulo," she gayly said, stretching
forth her little hands toward him. "I must ask you something, and that
directly, Paulo. Tell me quickly what is that language called in which
we formerly conversed together, and why have we ceased to speak it since
we came here to Rome?"
Paulo's brow became slightly clouded, but when he looked into her
beautiful face, animated by expectant curiosity, this expression of
displeasure quickly vanished from his features, and, threatening her
with his finger, he said:
"Always this same question, Natalie; and yet I have so often begged of
you to forget the past, and live only in the present, my dear, sweet
child! The past is sunken in an immeasurable gulf behind you, which you
can never pass, and if it stretches out its arms to you, it will only be
for the purpose of dragging you down into the abyss with it. Forget
it, therefore, my Natalie, and yield thyself to this beautiful and
delightful present, to increase for you the attractions of which will
ever be the dearest task of my life."
"It is true," said the young maiden, sighing, "I am wrong to be always
recurring to those long-past times; you must pardon me, Paulo, but you
will also acknowledge that my enigmatical past justifies me in feeling
some curiosity.
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