Page:The genius - Carl Grosse tr Joseph Trapp 1796.djvu/180

 when her eloquent mien could tell him no more how infinitely she cherished him; when all his attempts to rouse her from that deep slumber proved fruitless: when he beheld me in a state of desperate stupefaction, and Alfonso, the maid and all our neighbours in tears, he appeared to become sensible, that his dear mother had bid him an everlasting adieu. The poor little orphan could not weep; he would frequently hide his glowing face in my lap and ask: "When will mamma awake? Is she angry with us? Why don't she answer, papa?"—My silent grief told him enough, and he comprehended it by degrees.—And when he heard, that she would soon be borne away from his sight, he ran with all the eagerness of distress into the garden, and shortly after came back with a nosegay of her favourite jessamines, which he stuck, as his last farewell on her unconscious bosom.

Oft have I surprised him afterwards, lingering pensive on the flowery beds, culling the expanded roses, and scattering their leaves, as if they could charm no more, on the wings