But whether, in this long conflict, Laura preserved her heart untouched, as well as her virtue immaculate; whether she shared the love she inspired; or whether she escaped from the captivating assiduities and intoxicating homage of her lover, "_fancy-free_;"--whether coldness, or prudence, or pride, or virtue, or the mere heartless love of admiration, or a mixture of all together, dictated her conduct, is at least as well worth inquiry, as the exact colour of her eyes, or the form of her nose, upon which we have pages of grave discussion. She might have been _coquette par instinct_, if not _par calcul_; she might have felt, with feminine _tacte_, that to preserve her influence over Petrarch, it was necessary to preserve his respect. She was evidently proud of her conquest: she had else been more or less than woman; and at every hazard, but that of self-respect, she was resolved to retain him. If Petrarch absented himself for a few days, he was generally better treated on his return.[31] If he avoided her, then her eye followed him with a softer expression. When he looked pale from sickness of heart and agitation of spirits, Laura would address him with a few words of pitying tenderness. He thanks her in those exquisite lines, which seem to glow with all the renovation of hope, Volgendo gli occhi al mio novo colore Che fa di morte rimembrar le gente Pietà vi mosse, onde benignamente Salutando teneste in vita il core. La frale vita ch'ancor meco alberga, Fu de' begli occhi vostri aperto dono, E della voce angelica soave![32] He presumes upon this benignity, and is again dashed back with frowns. He flies to solitude,--solitude!--Never let the proud and torn heart, wrung with the sense of injury, and sick with unrequited passion, seek that worst resource against pain, for there grief grows by contemplation of itself, and every feeling is sharpened by collision. Petrarch sought to "mitigate the fever of his heart" amid the shades of Vaucluse, a spot so gloomy and so solitary, that his very servants forsook him; and Vaucluse, its fountains, its forests, and its hanging cliffs, reflected only the image of Laura. L'acque parlan d'amore, e l'aura, e i rami E gli augeletti, e i pesci e i fiori e l'erba; Tutti insieme pregando ch' io sempr'ami![33] He is driven again to her feet by his own insupportable thoughts--and in terror of himself;-- Tal paura ho di ritrovarmi solo!