149
Instantly would I leave this Castle, replied Mirza, were not Gelanor ill; but to him my attendance is necessary, and I must stay. I insist, however, that you come not to his apartment; and I conjure you never to confide to any one, the secret you thus have learnt by surprise. You cannot utter a falsehood, but you can be silent.—Again, Prince, farewell for ever.
With these words, Mirza ran with extreme precipitation; the Prince would have held her, but Mirza, with a commanding and majestic air, forbade him to follow, and Philamir was forced to obey. The charms of Mirza's person and mind, and the admiration and compassion she inspired, did but too powerfully combat the fidelity he owed to Zeolide; his vanity too was most potently flattered: to inspire love in the breast of a lady so heroically virtuous, was a triumph which Philamir could not help feeling. Love must rob the beauteous and sublime Mirza of life; the Prince could not doubt it: Zeolide might find consolation. This was a reflection Philamir often made, yet he continued to love Zeolide. He thought the Princess much inferior to her Rival, but at the same time he found an unknown charm about Zeolide, which Mirza did not possess. Zeolide attracted, insinuated, and was deeply engraven in his heart. Mirza daz
