Page:The genius - Carl Grosse tr Joseph Trapp 1796.djvu/400

 and disinterestedness of her love; because such a thought could only keep him from making an attempt upon her virtue which was probably too weak, not to yield to his influence. But the dutchess herself soon destroyed those honorable ideas in his mind. She scorned immoderate reserve, and true to the character of an Italian woman, that had hitherto been always accustomed to captivate her own countrymen by sensual pleasure, she even could make no exception in her principles with regard to a foreigner.

She was very unhappily married to an old and jealous husband, who kept her much shut up, and at the time she got acquainted with the count, she probably had not yet commited any infidelity to the bed of the former. So closely had she always been watched as to have it put out of her power to give so much encouragement to any man as she afterwards did to the count, nor was there one before that hit upon the secret of familiarizing himself with the old duke, and bringing him over to his interest.