In vain did he protest that nothing was so insipid as a Corsican _ballata_, and that to recite the Corsican verses after those of Dante was like betraying his country.

All he did was to stimulate Miss Nevil's curiosity, and at last he was obliged to say to his sister: "Well! well! improvise something--but let it be short!" Colomba heaved a sigh, looked fixedly for a moment, first at the table-cloth, and then at the rafters of the ceiling; at last, covering her eyes with her hand like those birds that gather courage, and fancy they are not seen when they no longer see themselves, she sang, or rather declaimed, in an unsteady voice, the following _serenata_: "THE MAIDEN AND THE TURTLE-DOVE "In the valley, far away among the mountains, the sun only shines for an hour every day.

In the valley there stands a gloomy house, and grass grows on its threshold.

Doors and windows are always shut.

No smoke rises from the roof.