"In golden braids, her fair
And richly flowing hair
Was gather'd in a subtle net behind,—
(A subtle net and rare!)
And cast sweet shadows there
Over her neck, whilst parted ringlets, twined
In beauty, from her forehead fell away,
And hung adown her cheek where roses lay,
Touching the ivory pale, (how pale and white!)
Of both her rounded shoulders, left and right.
O crafty Loves! no more ye need your darts;
For well ye know, how many thousand hearts,
(Willing captives on that day,)
In those golden meshes lay!"[77]
On her brow, just where her hair is parted, she wears a sprig of laurel, wondrously wrought in gems and gold;
Quel gemmato
Alloro, tra la serena fronte e l' calle assunto.
After a rapturous, but general description of the lady's surpassing beauty, this animated and admirable canzone concludes with the fine comparison of himself to the wild falcon, tamed at length to a master's hand and voice:—
La libertade apprezza,
Fin che perduta ancor non l' ha il falcone;
Preso che sia, depone
Del gire errando sì l' antica voglia,
Che sempre che si scioglia,
Al suo Signor a render con veloci
Ali s' andrà, dove udirà le voci!
Ariosto, thus enamoured, forgot the flight of time; instead of remaining at Florence a few days, his stay was prolonged to six months; and as he resided in the house of his friend Vespucci, who was the brother-in-law of Alessandra, he had daily opportunities of seeing her, without in any way compromising her matronly dignity. On a certain occasion he finds her employed at her embroidery. She is working a robe, with wreaths of lilies and amaranthes; these emblems of purity and love suggest, of course, the obvious compliments, but in a spirit that places the whole scene before us: Alessandra, gracefully bending at her embroidery-frame, and listening, with veiled lids and suspended needle, to the tender homage of Ariosto, who repeats, as he hangs over her,—
Non senza causa il giglio e l' amaranto,
L' uno di fede, e l' altro fior d' amore, &c.
Even the pattern from which she is working, the silk, the gold, the lawn, made happy by her touch, are sanctified, are envied,—
Avventuroso man! beato ingegno!
Beata seta! beatissimo oro!
Ben nato lino! inclito bel lavoro,
Da chi vuol la mia dea prender disegno,
Per far a vostro esempio un vestir degno,
Che copra avorio, e perle ed un tesoro![78]
And he adds, "Ah, that she would rather take pattern after me, and imitate the constant love I bear her!"