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THE HEROINE OF PADUA.
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would continue single. She harangued the young men upon the duties of patriots and warriors; and in profound sorrow told them at length, that they were evidently dispirited beyond the power of a cure merely verbal. She, therefore, sought by example to inspire them with fortitude. Petrarch describes this heroic beauty as abjuring the needle and the distaff; and cased in brazen armour, grasping the spear and target, to pass days without rest and nights without sleep. Moderate in diet, and abstaining from strong liquors, though at that time much used by the fair, she encountered hardship and fatigue with persevering constancy. Day and night she exercised herself for warfare; and when nature claimed a short respite from strenuous exertion, the earth was her bed, the martial shield her pillow. She left the society of women, and her companions were selected among commanders renowned in fields of combat. But though she discoursed with those illustrious men, to learn the art of war, she held them at the most respectful distance; for, in guarding her honour she was not less an enthusiast, than in devoting her youth to the profession of arms, to break the bonds of her countrymen, and to vindicate the ancient freedom of Padua. A young foreigner and soldier of fortune seemed to be the only individual who truly entered into her

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