XXVII.
As in a stick to feed the chimney rent,
Where scanty pith ill fills the narrow sheath,
The vapour, in its little channel pent,
Struggles, tormented by the fire beneath;
And, till its prisoned fury find a vent,
Is heard to hiss and bubble, sing and seethe:
So the offended myrtle inly pined,
Groaned, murmured, and at last unclosed its rind:
XXVIII.
And hence a clear, intelligible speech[6]
Thus issued, with a melancholy sound;
“If, as thy cheer and gentle presence teach,
“Thou courteous art and good, his rein unbound,
“Release me from this monster, I beseech:
“Griefs of my own inflict sufficient wound:
“Nor need I, compassed with such ills about,
“Other new pain to plague me from without.”
XXIX.
At the first sound, Rogero turns to see
Whence came the voice, and, in unused surprise,
Stands, when he finds it issues from the tree;
And swiftly to remove the courser hies.
Then, with a face suffused with crimson, he
In answer to the groaning myrtle, cries;
“Pardon! and, whatsoe’er thou art, be good,
“Spirit of man, or goddess of the wood!
