SAINT CATHARINE
... gli occhi su levai,
E vidi lei che si facea corona,
Riflettendo da se gli eterni ral
Dante: Paradiso, xxxi. 70-72.
I lifted up my gaze,
And looked on her who made herself a crown,
Reflecting from herself the eternal rays.
It was not long before the doctor again walked over to the Tower, to propose to his young friend to co-operate in the Aristophanic comedy.
He found him well disposed to do so, and they passed a portion of the afternoon in arranging their programme.
They dined, and passed the evening much as before. The next morning, as they were ascending to the library to resume their pleasant labour, the doctor said to himself, 'I have passed along galleries wherein were many chambers, and the doors in the day were more commonly open than shut, yet this chamber door of my young friend is always shut. There must be a mystery in it.' And the doctor, not generally given to morbid curiosity, found himself very curious about this very simple matter.
At last he mustered up courage to say, 'I have seen your library, dining-room, and drawing-room; but you have so much taste in internal arrangements, I should like to see the rest of the house.'
Mr. Falconer. There is not much more to see. You have occupied one of the best bedrooms. The rest do not materially differ.
The Rev. Dr. Opimian. To say the truth, I should like to see your own.
Mr. Falconer. I am quite willing. But I have thought, perhaps erroneously, it is decorated in a manner you might not altogether approve.
The Rev. Dr. Opimian. Nothing indecorous, I hope.