How charming is this place of concealment! Every thing around me
serves to inflame the ardour of my passion. O Eloisa, this delightful
spot is full of thee, and my desires are kindled by every footstep of
thine. Every sense is at once intoxicated with imaginary bliss. An
almost imperceptible sweetness, more exquisite than the scent of the
rose, and more volatile than that of the Iris, exhales from every
part. I fancy I hear the delightful sound of your voice. Every part of
your scattered dress presents to my glowing imagination the charms it
has concealed. That light head dress, which is adorned by those bright
locks it affects to hide, that simple elegant dishabille, which
displays so well the taste of the wearer; those pretty slippers that
fit so easily on your little feet; these stays, which encircle and
embrace your slender----Heavens, what a charming shape! how the top
of the stomacher is waved in two gentle curves? luxurious sight! the
whalebone has yielded to their impression----delicious impression!
let me devour it with kisses! O Gods! how shall I be able to bear? Ah!
methinks I feel already a tender heart beat softly under my happy
hand; Eloisa, my charming Eloisa, I see, I feel thee at every pore. We
now breathe the same air. How thy delay inflames and torments me! My
impatience is insupportable. O, come, Eloisa, fly to my arms, or I am
undone! How fortunate it was to find pen, ink and paper! By expressing
what I feel, I moderate my extasy, and give a turn to my transports
by attempting to describe them.
Ha! I hear a noise----Should it be her inhuman father? I do not
think myself a coward----but death would terrify me just now. My
despair would be equal to the ardour which consumes me. Grant me, good
heaven! but one more hour to live, and I resign the remainder of my
life to thy utmost rigour. What impatience! what fears! what cruel
palpitation! Ah! the door opens! It is she, it is Eloisa! I see her
enter the chamber and lock the door. My heart, my feeble heart, sinks
under its agitation. Let me recover myself, and gather strength to
support the bliss that overwhelms me!
Letter LV. To Eloisa.
O let us die, my sweet friend! let us die, thou best beloved of my
heart! How shall we hereafter support an insipid life, whose pleasures
we have already exhausted? Tell me, if you can, what I experienced
last night? give me an idea of a whole life spent in the same manner,
or let me quit an existence which has nothing left that can equal the
pleasures I have tasted.