But to us, who have followed the career—whose lesson is that of the meanness which lurks in noble things, the nobility which lurks in mean ones—of this woman from her inauspicious wedding-day to the placid day of her death, to us Louise of Stolberg, Countess of Albany, Queen of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, will remain, for all blame we may give her and her times, a figure to remember and reflect upon, principally because of those suppressed words of her epitaph: "A Victorio Alferio ultra res omnes dilecta, et quasi mortale numen ab ipso constanter habita et observata."
FOOTNOTES
[1]: I have purposely quoted, almost textually, the account given by Ewald, lest I should be accused of following Alfieri's vague version.
[2]: The chief sources for this account are Mann's despatches and the Mémoires of Louis Dutens. Alfieri gives no details.
UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME
| THE ENCHANTED WOODS and other Essays on the Genius of Place |
| HORTUS VITÆ, or the Hanging Gardens. Moralising Essays |
| THE SPIRIT OF ROME. Leaves from a Diary |
| HAUNTINGS: Fantastic Tales Second Edition |
| THE SENTIMENTAL TRAVELLER. Notes on Places |
| GENIUS LOCI. Second Edition |
| POPE JACYNTH. Second Edition |
| LIMBO; and Other Essays; to which is now added Ariadne in Mantua. Second Edition |
| RENAISSANCE FANCIES AND STUDIES. Second Edition |
| ALTHEA. Second Edition |
| VANITAS: Polite stories. Second Edition |
| LAURUS NOBILIS: Chapters on Art and Life |
TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE: Contemporary spellings have generally been retained evenwhen inconsistent. A small number of obvious typographical errors have beencorrected and missing punctuation has been silently added. The information about further volumes by the authorhas been moved to the end. | |
| Tales of a Century | Tales of the Century |
| No sadder way (…) can well be imagined that landing | No sadder way (…) can well be imagined than landing |
| has not mad him younger | has not made him younger |
| probably sown in the swaddling clothes | probably sewn in the swaddling clothes |
| cavaliere servante | cavaliere servente |
| behaving in the way in which he approved | behaving in the way of which he approved |
| what glory could he hope among all these monkeys | what glory could he hope for among all these monkeys |