Minutes of the Washington Meeting

his war-like spirit. A note in the article informs us that "the idea of reflecting the hero's countenance is present in Statius, but it is vague, and the hero's emotional reaction is mild compared to that of Tirso's Achilles. Tirso, moreover, has added a previous mirror episode, not found in Statius nor in any other source" (of. cit. 147). By coincidence, it so happens that Professor Beatrice Corrigan has published in Italica, XXXIII (1956), 165-79, an admirable study titled "The Opposing Mirrors" in which she comments upon the two specula which appear with very much the same connotations in Canto XVI of Tasso's Jerusalem Delivered . Rinaldo also resting in his lady's lap, in this case Armida's, has a mirror which the pagan damsel uses to reflect herself while he mirrors himself in her eyes: Dal fianco de l'amante (estranio arnese) un cristallo pendea lucido e netto. Sorse, e qual fra le mani a lei sospese a i misteri d'Amor ministro eletto. Con luci ella ridenti, ei con accese, mirano in vari oggetti un solo oggetto) ella del vetro a sé fa specchio, ed egli gli occhi di lei sereni a sé fa spegli. (stanza 20) Though the mirror-reflecting roles are inverted , it is striking to see that Rinaldo, like Aquiles, images himself in his lady's eyes. Shortly thereafter Ubaldo (who has come to deliver Rinaldo from Armida) places before him the adamantine shield which he has brought with him. The effect produced is described in stanzas 30 and 31: Egli al lucido scudo il guardo gira, onde si specchia in lui qual siasi e quanto con delicato culto adorno ; spira tutto odori e lascivie il crine e ? manto } e il ferro, il ferro aver, non ch'altro, mira dal troppo lusso effeminato a canto: guernito è sì ch'inutile ornamento sembra, non militar fero instrumento. Qual uom da cupo e grave sonno oppresso dopo vaneggiar lungo in sé riviene, tale ei tornò nel rimirar se stesso, ma se stesso mirar già non sostiene} giù cade il guardo, e timido e dimesso, guardando a terra, Ia vergogna il tiene. Si chiuderebbe e sotto il mare e dentro il foco per celarsi, e giù nel centro. Again the situation, along with the strong emotional reaction that is expressed in it, parallels what happens to Aquiles.1 There is valid reason, consequently, for presuming that Tirso was acquainted with and made use of the Jerusalem Delivered either in the Italian original or in Spanish translation.2 Incidentally, the stress laid upon the diet on which Quirón rears Aquiles, as described by the latter in addressing his tutor: Tú tienes la culpa de eso¡ desde niño me criaste, Quirón, robusto y travieso: con leche me alimentaste de una onza, así profeso el natural heredado de la leche que mamé. Carnes de fieras me has dado a comer, nunca gusté ni la liebre ni el venado . . . (Act I, Sc. 6) comes closer to Ariosto's adaptation of the Statius' episode than to the Latin archetype. In the Italilan narrative Melissa, impersonating Atlante, speaks thus to Ruggiero: Di medolle già d'ors! e di leoni ti porsi, io dunque li primi alimenti? T'ho per caverne et orridi burroni fanciullo avezzo a strangolar serpenti ? Pantere e tigri disarmar d'ungioni et a vivi cingial trar spesso i denti? Acciò che dopo tanta disciplina tu sii l'Adone e l'Atide d'Alcina? {Orlando furioso, Canto VII, Stanza 57) 1.There will be no need to go into the symbolical implications of the Tirso and Tasso episodes since they are adequately discussed by HesseMcCrary and Miss Corrigan. 2.If a Spanish translation was used it was very likely the Jerusalén Libertada by Juan Sedeño, which was printed in Madrid in 1587. Minutes of the Washington Meeting The annual luncheon of the Comediantes was held at the Tally-Ho Restaurant with the following members in attendance: Wardropper , Hesse, Selig, Ortigoza, Reichenberger , Rozzell, Possee, Keller, Wilcox, Kothe, Pickering, Lihani, Leslie, AvalleArce , Sturcken, Webber, Kovich, Peters, Sebold, Valbuena, Brooks, Jones, McCready, 5 McKnight, Sears, and MacCurdy. During the luncheon Chairman Wardropper called the meeting...