"To thy great victories, my eternal light, Nor time, nor seasons, lent their favouring aid; Thy sword, thy might, thy courage undismay'd, Summer and winter serv'd thy will aright. By thy wise governance and eagle sight, Thou didst so rout the foe with headlong speed, The manner of the doing crown'd the deed, No less than did the deed display thy might. Mountains and streams, and haughty souls in vain Would check thy course. By force of courtesy Or valour vanquish'd, cities of name were won. Earth's highest honours did thy worth attain; Now truer triumphs Heaven reserves for thee, And nobler garlands do thy temples crown." Often her wishes for death are checked by the consideration, that haply her virtue may not suffice to enable her to rejoin her husband in the mansions of the blest. Take the following example:— "Quando del suo tormento il cor si duole Si ch'io bramo il mio fin, timor m'assale, E dice; il morir tosto a che ti vale Si forse lungi vai dal tuo bel sole? Da questa fredda tema nascer suole Un caldo ardir, che pon d'intorno l'ale All alma; onde disgombra il mio mortale Quanto ella può, da quel ch e 'l mondo vuole. Così lo spirto mio s'asconde e copre Qui dal piacer uman, non già per fama O van grido, o pregiar troppo se stesso; Ma sente 'l lume suo, che ognor lo chiama, E vede il volto, ovunque mira, impresso, Che gli misura i passi e scorge l'opre." Thus done into English:— "When of its pangs my heart doth sore complain, So that I long to die, fear falls on me, And saith, what boots such early death to thee, If far from thy bright sun thou should'st remain. Then oft from this cold fear is born again A fervent boldness, which doth presently Lend my soul wings, so that mortality Strives to put off its worldly wishes vain. For this, my spirit here herself enfolds, And hides from human joys; and not for fame, Nor empty praise, nor overblown conceit; But that she hears her sun still call her name, And still, where'er she looks, his face doth meet, Who measures all her steps, and all her deeds beholds." A similar cast of thought, both as regards her own disgust of life and the halo of sanctity, which by some mysterious process of mind she was able to throw around her husband's memory, is found again in this, the last of the sonnets, selected to illustrate this phase of our poetess's mind, and exemplify the first division of her writings.