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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6e800a0 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #66375 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/66375) diff --git a/old/66375-0.txt b/old/66375-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 2ca85f1..0000000 --- a/old/66375-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,11445 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Charterhouse of Parma Volume 2 (of 2), -by Stendhal - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: The Charterhouse of Parma Volume 2 (of 2) - -Author: Stendhal - -Translator: Charles Kenneth Scott-Moncrieff - -Contributor: Honoré de Balzac - -Release Date: September 25, 2021 [eBook #66375] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: Laura Natal Rodrigues - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CHARTERHOUSE OF PARMA VOLUME 2 -(OF 2) *** - - -MARIE-HENRI BEYLE - -[DE STENDHAL] - - - - -THE CHARTERHOUSE -OF PARMA - - - - - -_Translated from the French by_ - -C. K. SCOTT MONCRIEFF - - - - -VOLUME TWO - - - - -BONI & LIVERIGHT - -NEW YORK MCMXXV - - - - -_The Works of Stendhal_ - - - - -I - - - -THE CHARTERHOUSE -OF PARMA - - - - -VOLUME TWO - - - - -CONTENTS -CHAPTER FOURTEEN -CHAPTER FIFTEEN -CHAPTER SIXTEEN -CHAPTER SEVENTEEN -CHAPTER EIGHTEEN -CHAPTER NINETEEN -CHAPTER TWENTY -CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE -CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO -CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE -CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR -CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE -CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX -CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN -CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT -APPENDIX -FRAGMENT I--_BIRAGUE'S NARRATIVE_ -FRAGMENT II--_CONTE ZORAFI, THE PRINCE'S "PRESS"_ - - - - -CHAPTER FOURTEEN - - -While Fabrizio was in pursuit of love, in a village near Parma, the -Fiscal General Rassi, who did not know that he was so near, continued to -treat his case as though he had been a Liberal: he pretended to be -unable to find--or, rather, he intimidated--the witnesses for the -defence; and finally, after the most ingenious operations, carried on -for nearly a year, and about two months after Fabrizio's final return to -Bologna, on a certain Friday, the Marchesa Raversi, mad with joy, -announced publicly in her drawing-room that next day the sentence which -had just been pronounced, in the last hour, on young del Dongo would be -presented to the Prince for his signature and approved by him. A few -minutes later the Duchessa was informed of this utterance by her enemy. - -"The Conte must be extremely ill served by his agents!" she said to -herself; "only this morning he thought that the sentence could not be -passed for another week. Perhaps he would not be sorry to see my young -Grand Vicar kept out of Parma; but," she added, breaking into song, "we -shall see him come again; and one day he will be our Archbishop." The -Duchessa rang: - -"Collect all the servants in the waiting-room," she told her footman, -"including the kitchen staff; go to the town commandant and get the -necessary permit to procure four post horses, and have those horses -harnessed to my landau within half an hour." All the women of the -household were set to work packing trunks: the Duchessa hastily chose a -travelling dress, all without sending any word to the Conte; the idea of -playing a little joke on him sent her into a transport of joy. - -"My friends," she said to the assembled servants, "I learn that my poor -nephew is to be condemned in his absence for having had the audacity to -defend his life against a raging madman; I mean Giletti, who was trying -to kill him. You have all of you had opportunities of seeing how mild -and inoffensive Fabrizio's nature is. Rightly indignant at this -atrocious outrage, I am going to Florence; I leave for each of you ten -years' wages; if you are in distress, write to me, and, so long as I -have a sequin, there will be something for you." - -The Duchessa meant exactly what she said, and, at her closing words, the -servants dissolved in tears; her eyes too were moist: she added in a -voice faint with emotion: "Pray to God for me and for Monsignor Fabrizio -del Dongo, First Grand Vicar of the Diocese, who to-morrow morning is -going to be condemned to the galleys, or, which would be less stupid, to -the penalty of death." - -The tears of the servants flowed in double volume, and gradually changed -into cries that were almost seditious; the Duchessa stepped into her -carriage and drove to the Prince's Palace. Despite the unusual hour, she -sent in a request for an audience by General Fontana, the Aide-de-Camp -in waiting; she was by no means in court dress, a fact which threw this -Aide-de-Camp into a profound stupor. As for the Prince, he was not at -all surprised, still less annoyed by this request for an audience. "We -shall see tears flowing from fine eyes," he said to himself, rubbing his -hands. "She comes to sue for pardon; at last that proud beauty is going -to humble herself! She was, really, too insupportable with her little -airs of independence! Those speaking eyes seemed always to be saying to -me, when the slightest thing offended her: 'Naples or Milan would have -very different attractions as a residence from your little town of -Parma.' In truth, I do not reign over Naples, nor over Milan; but now at -last this great lady is coming to ask me for something which depends -upon me alone, and which she is burning to obtain; I always thought that -nephew's coming here would bring me some advantage." - - - - -_THE FAREWELL AUDIENCE_ - - -While the Prince was smiling at these thoughts, and giving himself up to -all these agreeable anticipations, he walked up and down his cabinet, at -the door of which General Fontana remained standing stiff and erect like -a soldier presenting arms. Seeing the sparkling eyes of the Prince, and -remembering the Duchessa's travelling dress, he imagined a dissolution -of the Monarchy. His bewilderment knew no bounds when he heard the -Prince say: "Ask the Signora Duchessa to wait for a quarter of an hour." -The General Aide-de-Camp made his half-turn, like a soldier on parade; -the Prince was still smiling: "Fontana is not accustomed," he said to -himself, "to see that proud Duchessa kept waiting. The face of -astonishment with which he is going to tell her about the _quarter of an -hour to wait_ will pave the way for the touching tears which this -cabinet is going to see her shed." This quarter of an hour was exquisite -for the Prince; he walked up and down with a firm and steady pace; he -reigned. "It will not do at this point to say anything that is not -perfectly correct; whatever my feelings for the Duchessa may be, I must -never forget that she is one of the greatest ladies of my court. How -used Louis XIV to speak to the Princesses his daughters, when he had -occasion to be displeased with them?" And his eyes came to rest on the -portrait of the Great King. - -The amusing thing was that the Prince never thought of asking himself -whether he should shew clemency to Fabrizio, or what form that clemency -should take. Finally, at the end of twenty minutes, the faithful Fontana -presented himself again at the door, but without saying a word. "The -Duchessa Sanseverina may enter," cried the Prince, with a theatrical -air. "Now for the tears," he added inwardly, and, as though to prepare -himself for such a spectacle, took out his handkerchief. - -Never had the Duchessa been so gay or so pretty; she did not seem -five-and-twenty. Seeing her light and rapid little step scarcely brush -the carpet, the poor Aide-de-Camp was on the point of losing his reason -altogether. - -"I have a thousand pardons to ask of Your Serene Highness," said the -Duchessa in her light and gay little voice; "I have taken the liberty of -presenting myself before him in a costume which is not exactly -conventional, but Your Highness has so accustomed me to his kindnesses -that I have ventured to hope that he will be pleased to accord me this -pardon also." - -The Duchessa spoke quite slowly so as to give herself time to enjoy the -spectacle of the Prince's face; it was delicious, by reason of the -profound astonishment and of the traces of the grand manner which the -position of his head and arms still betrayed. The Prince sat as though -struck by a thunderbolt; in a shrill and troubled little voice he -exclaimed from time to time, barely articulating the words: "_What's -that! What's that_!" The Duchessa, as though out of respect, having -ended her compliment, left him ample time to reply; then went on: - -"I venture to hope that Your Serene Highness deigns to pardon me the -incongruity of my costume"; but, as she said the words, her mocking eyes -shone with so bright a sparkle that the Prince could not endure it; he -studied the ceiling, an act which with him was the final sign of the -most extreme embarrassment. - -"_What's that! What's that_!" he said again; then he had the good -fortune to hit upon a phrase:--"Signora Duchessa, pray be seated"; he -himself drew forward a chair for her, not ungraciously. The Duchessa was -by no means insensible to this courtesy, she moderated the petulance of -her gaze. - -"_What's that! What's that_!" the Prince once more repeated, moving -uneasily in his chair, in which one would have said that he could find -no solid support. - -"I am going to take advantage of the cool night air to travel by post," -went on the Duchessa, "and as my absence may be of some duration, I have -not wished to leave the States of His Serene Highness without thanking -him for all the kindnesses which, in the last five years, he has deigned -to shew me." At these words the Prince at last understood; he grew pale; -he was the one man in the world who really suffered when he saw himself -proved wrong in his calculations. Then he assumed an air of grandeur -quite worthy of the portrait of Louis XIV which hung before his eyes. -"Very good," thought the Duchessa, "there is a man." - -"And what is the reason for this sudden departure?" said the Prince in a -fairly firm tone. - -"I have long had the plan in my mind," replied the Duchessa, "and a -little insult which has been offered to _Monsignor_ Del Dongo, whom -to-morrow they are going to sentence to death or to the galleys, makes -me hasten my departure." - -"And to what town are you going?" - -"To Naples, I think." She added as she rose to her feet: "It only -remains for me to take leave of Your Serene Highness and to thank him -most humbly for his _former_ kindnesses." She, in turn, spoke with so -firm an air that the Prince saw that in two minutes all would be over; -once the sensation of her departure had occurred, he knew that no -further arrangement was possible; she was not a woman to retrace her -steps. He ran after her. - -"But you know well, Signora Duchessa," he said, taking her hand, "that I -have always felt a regard for you, a regard to which it rested only with -you to give another name. A murder has been committed; that is a fact -which no one can deny; I have entrusted the sifting of the evidence to -my best judges. . . ." - -At these words the Duchessa rose to her full height; every sign of -respect and even of urbanity disappeared in the twinkling of an eye; the -outraged woman became clearly apparent, and the outraged woman -addressing a creature whom she knew to have broken faith with her. It -was with an expression of the most violent anger, and indeed of contempt -that she said to the Prince, dwelling on every word: - -"I am leaving the States of Your Serene Highness for ever, so as never -to hear the names of the Fiscal Rassi and of the other infamous -assassins who have condemned my nephew and so many others to death; if -Your Serene Highness does not wish to introduce a feeling of bitterness -into the last moments that I shall pass in the presence of a Prince who -is courteous and intelligent when he is not led astray, I beg him most -humbly not to recall to me the thought of those infamous judges who sell -themselves for a thousand scudi or a Cross." - -The admirable--and, above all, genuine--accent in which these words were -uttered made the Prince shudder; he feared for a moment to see his -dignity compromised by an accusation even more direct, but on the whole -his sensation soon became one of pleasure; he admired the Duchessa; her -face and figure attained at that moment to a sublime beauty. "Great God! -How beautiful she is!" the Prince said to himself; "one ought to make -some concessions to a woman who is so unique, when there probably is not -another like her in the whole of Italy. Oh well, with a little policy it -might not be impossible one day to make her my mistress: there is a wide -gulf between a creature like this and that doll of a Marchesa Balbi, who -moreover robs my poor subjects of at least three hundred thousand francs -every year. . . . But did I hear aright?" he thought suddenly; "she -said: 'Condemned my nephew and so many others.'" Then his anger boiled -over, and it was with a stiffness worthy of his supreme rank that the -Prince said, after an interval of silence: "And what would one have to -do to make the Signora not leave us?" - -"Something of which you are not capable," replied the Duchessa in an -accent of the most bitter irony and the most unconcealed contempt. - -The Prince was beside himself, but his professional training as an -Absolute Sovereign gave him the strength to overcome his first impulse. -"I must have this woman," he said to himself; "so much I owe to myself, -then she must be made to die of shame. . . . If she leaves this cabinet, -I shall never see her again." But, mad with rage and hatred as he was at -this moment, where was he to find an answer that would at once satisfy -the requirements of what he owed to himself and induce the Duchessa not -to abandon his court immediately? "She cannot," he said to himself, -"repeat or turn to ridicule a gesture," and he placed himself between -the Duchessa and the door of his cabinet. Presently he heard a tap at -this door. - -"Who is the creature," he cried, shouting with the full force of his -lungs, "who is the creature who comes here to thrust his fatuous -presence upon me?" Poor General Fontana shewed a pallid face of complete -discomfiture, and it was with the air of a man in his last agony that he -stammered these inarticulate words: "His Excellency the Conte Mosca -solicits the honour of being introduced." - -"Let him come in," said, or rather shouted the Prince, and, as Mosca -bowed: - -"Well," he said to him, "here is the Signora Duchessa Sanseverina, who -informs me that she is leaving Parma immediately to go and settle at -Naples, and who, incidentally, is being most impertinent to me." - -"What!" said Mosca turning pale. - -"Oh! So you did not know of this plan of departure?" - -"Not a word; I left the Signora at six o'clock, happy and content." - -This statement had an incredible effect on the Prince. First of all he -looked at Mosca; his increasing pallor shewed the Prince that he was -telling the truth and was in no way an accomplice of the Duchessa's -desperate action. "In that case," he said to himself, "I lose her for -ever; pleasure and vengeance, all goes in a flash. At Naples she will -make epigrams with her nephew Fabrizio about the great fury of the -little Prince of Parma." He looked at the Duchessa: the most violent -scorn and anger were disputing the possession of her heart; her eyes -were fixed at that moment on Conte Mosca, and the exquisite curves of -that lovely mouth expressed the bitterest disdain. The whole face seemed -to be saying: "Vile courtier!" "So," thought the Prince after he had -examined her, "I lose this means of bringing her back to my country. At -this moment again, if she leaves this cabinet, she is lost to me; God -knows the things she will say about my judges at Naples. . . . And with -that spirit, and that divine power of persuasion which heaven has -bestowed on her, she will make everyone believe her. I shall be obliged -to her for the reputation of a ridiculous tyrant, who gets up in the -middle of the night to look under his bed. . . ." Then, by an adroit -move and as though he were intending to walk up and down the room to -reduce his agitation, the Prince took his stand once again in front of -the door of the cabinet; the Conte was on his right, at a distance of -three paces, pale, shattered, and trembling so that he was obliged to -seek support from the back of the armchair in which the Duchessa had -been sitting during the earlier part of the audience, and which the -Prince in a moment of anger had pushed across the floor. The Conte was -in love. "If the Duchessa goes, I follow her," he said to himself; "but -will she want me in her train? That is the question." - -On the Prince's left, the Duchessa, erect, her arms folded and pressed -to her bosom, was looking at him with an admirable impatience: a -complete and intense pallor had taken the place of the vivid colours -which a moment earlier animated that sublime face. - -The Prince, in contrast to the other two occupants of the room, had a -red face and a troubled air; his left hand played convulsively with the -Cross attached to the Grand Cordon of his Order which he wore under his -coat: with his right hand he caressed his chin. - -"What is to be done?" he asked the Conte, without knowing quite what he -himself was doing, and carried away by the habit of consulting this -other in everything. - -"I can think of nothing, truly, Serene Highness," replied the Conte with -the air of a man yielding up his last breath. It was all he could do to -pronounce the words of his answer. The tone of his voice gave the Prince -the first consolation that his wounded pride had received during this -audience, and this grain of happiness furnished him with a speech that -gratified his vanity. - -"Very well," he said, "I am the most reasonable of the three; I choose -to make a complete elimination of my position in the world. I am going -to speak _as a friend_"; and he added, with a fine smile of -condescension, beautifully copied from the brave days of Louis XIV, -"_like a friend speaking to friends_. Signora Duchessa," he went on, -"what is to be done to make you forget an untimely resolution?" - -"Truly, I can think of nothing," replied the Duchessa with a deep sigh, -"truly, I can think of nothing, I have such a horror of Parma." There -was no epigrammatic intention in this speech; one could see that -sincerity itself spoke through her lips. - -The Conte turned sharply towards her; his courtier's soul was -scandalised; then he addressed a suppliant gaze to the Prince. With -great dignity and coolness the Prince allowed a moment to pass; then, -addressing the Conte: - -"I see," he said, "that your charming friend is altogether beside -herself; it is quite simple, she _adores_ her nephew." And, turning -towards the Duchessa, he went on with a glance of the utmost gallantry -and at the same time with the air which one adopts when quoting a line -from a play: "_What must one do to please those lovely eyes_?" - -The Duchessa had had time for reflexion; in a firm and measured tone, -and as though she were dictating her _ultimatum_, she replied: - -"His Highness might write me a gracious letter, as he knows so well how -to do; he might say to me that, not being at all convinced of the guilt -of Fabrizio del Dongo, First Grand Vicar of the Archbishop, he will not -sign the sentence when it is laid before him, and that these unjust -proceedings shall have no consequences in the future." - -"What, _unjust_!" cried the Prince, colouring to the whites of his eyes, -and recovering his anger. - -"That is not all," replied the Duchessa, with a Roman pride, "_this very -evening_, and," she added, looking at the clock, "it is already a -quarter past eleven,--this very evening His Serene Highness will send -word to the Marchesa Raversi that he advises her to retire to the -country to recover from the fatigue which must have been caused her by a -certain prosecution of which she was speaking in her drawing-room in the -early hours of the evening." The Prince was pacing the floor of his -cabinet like a madman. - -"Did anyone ever see such a woman?" he cried. "She is wanting in respect -for me!" - -The Duchessa replied with inimitable grace: - -"Never in my life have I had a thought of shewing want of respect for -His Serene Highness; His Highness has had the extreme condescension to -say that he was speaking _as a friend to friends_. I have, moreover, no -desire to remain at Parma," she added, looking at the Conte with the -utmost contempt. This look decided the Prince, hitherto highly -uncertain, though his words had seemed to promise a pledge; he paid -little attention to words. - -There was still some further discussion; but at length Conte Mosca -received the order to write the gracious note solicited by the Duchessa. -He omitted the phrase: _these unjust proceedings shall have no -consequences in the future_. "It is enough," the Conte said to himself, -"that the Prince shall promise not to sign the sentence which will be -laid before him." The Prince thanked him with a quick glance as he -signed. - -The Conte was greatly mistaken; the Prince was tired and would have -signed anything. He thought that he was getting well out of the -difficulty, and the whole affair was coloured in his eyes by the -thought: "If the Duchessa goes, I shall find my court become boring -within a week." The Conte noticed that his master altered the date to -that of the following day. He looked at the clock: it pointed almost to -midnight. The Minister saw nothing more in this correction of the date -than a pedantic desire to show a proof of exactitude and good -government. As for the banishment of the Marchesa Raversi, he made no -objection; the Prince took a particular delight in banishing people. - -"General Fontana!" he cried, opening the door a little way. - -The General appeared with a face shewing so much astonishment and -curiosity, that a merry glance was exchanged by the Duchessa and Conte, -and this glance made peace between them. - -"General Fontana," said the Prince, "you will get into my carriage, -which is waiting under the colonnade; you will go to the Marchesa -Raversi's, you will send in your name; if she is in bed, you will add -that you come from me, and, on entering her room, you will say these -precise words and no others: 'Signora Marchesa Raversi, His Serene -Highness requests you to leave to-morrow morning, before eight o'clock, -for your _castello_ at Velleja; His Highness will let you know when you -may return to Parma.'" - -The Prince's eyes sought those of the Duchessa, who, without giving him -the thanks he expected, made him an extremely respectful curtsey, and -swiftly left the room. - -"What a woman!" said the Prince, turning to Conte Mosca. - -The latter, delighted at the banishment of the Marchesa Raversi, which -simplified all his ministerial activities, talked for a full half-hour -like a consummate courtier; he sought to console his Sovereign's injured -vanity, and did not take his leave until he saw him fully convinced that -the historical anecdotes of Louis XIV included no fairer page than that -with which he had just provided his own future historians. - -On reaching home the Duchessa shut her doors, and gave orders that no -one was to be admitted, not even the Conte. She wished to be left alone -with herself, and to consider for a little what idea she ought to form -of the scene that had just occurred. She had acted at random and for her -own immediate pleasure; but to whatever course she might have let -herself be induced to take she would have clung with tenacity. She had -not blamed herself in the least on recovering her coolness, still less -had she repented; such was the character to which she owed the position -of being still, in her thirty-seventh year, the best looking woman at -court. - - - - -_THE SERVANTS_ - - -She was thinking at this moment of what Parma might have to offer in the -way of attractions, as she might have done on returning after a long -journey, so fully, between nine o'clock and eleven, had she believed -that she was leaving the place for ever. - -"That poor Conte did cut a ludicrous figure when he learned of my -departure in the Prince's presence. . . . After all, he is a pleasant -man, and has a very rare warmth of heart. He would have given up his -Ministries to follow me. . . . But on the other hand, during five whole -years, he has not had to find fault with me for a single aberration. How -many women married before the altar could say as much to their lords and -masters? It must be admitted that he is not self-important, he is no -pedant; he gives one no desire to be unfaithful to him; when he is with -me, he seems always to be ashamed of his power. . . . He cut a funny -figure in the presence of his lord and master; if he was in the room -now, I should kiss him. . . . But not for anything in the world would I -undertake to amuse a Minister who had lost his portfolio; that is a -malady which only death can cure, and . . . one which kills. What a -misfortune it would be to become Minister when one was young! I must -write to him; it is one of the things that he ought to know officially -before he quarrels with his Prince. . . . But I am forgetting my good -servants." - -The Duchessa rang. Her women were still at work packing trunks, the -carriage had drawn up under the portico, and was being loaded; all the -servants who had nothing else to do were gathered round this carriage, -with tears in their eyes. Cecchina, who on great occasions, had the sole -right to enter the Duchessa's room, told her all these details. - -"Call them upstairs," said the Duchessa. - -A moment later she passed into the waiting-room. - -"I have been promised," she told them, "that the sentence passed on my -nephew will not be signed by the Sovereign" (such is the term used in -Italy), "and I am postponing my departure. We shall see whether my -enemies have enough influence to alter this decision." - -After a brief silence, the servants began to shout: "_Evviva la Signora -Duchessa_!" and to applaud furiously. The Duchessa, who had gone into -the next room, reappeared like an actress taking a _call_, made a little -curtsey, full of grace, to her people, and said to them: "_My friends, I -thank you_." Had she said the word, all of them at that moment would -have marched on the Palace to attack it. She beckoned to a postilion, an -old smuggler and a devoted servant, who followed her. - -"You will disguise yourself as a _contadino_ in easy circumstances, you -will get out of Parma as best you can, hire a _sediola_ and proceed as -quickly as possible to Bologna. You will enter Bologna as a casual -visitor and by the Florence gate, and you will deliver to Fabrizio, who -is at the Pellegrino, a packet which Cecchina will give you. Fabrizio is -in hiding, and is known there as Signor Giuseppe Bossi; do not give him -away by any stupid action, do not appear to know him; my enemies will -perhaps set spies on your track. Fabrizio will send you back here after -a few hours or a few days: and it is on your return journey especially -that you must use every precaution not to give him away." - -"Ah! Marchesa Raversi's people!" cried the postilion. "We are on the -look-out for them, and if the Signora wished, they would soon be -exterminated." - - - - -_THE ARCHBISHOP_ - - -"Some other day, perhaps; but don't, as you value your life, do anything -without orders from me." - -It was a copy of the Prince's note which the Duchessa wished to send to -Fabrizio; she could not resist the pleasure of making him amused, and -added a word about the scene which had led up to the note; this word -became a letter of ten pages. She had the postilion called back. - -"You cannot start," she told him, "before four o'clock, when the gates -are opened." - -"I was thinking of going out by the big conduit; I should be up to my -neck in water, but I should get through. . . ." - -"No," said the Duchessa, "I do not wish to expose one of my most -faithful servants to the risk of fever. Do you know anyone in the -Archbishop's household?" - -"The second coachman is a friend of mine." - -"Here is a letter for that saintly prelate; make your way quietly into -his Palace, get them to take you to his valet; I do not wish Monsignore -to be awakened. If he has retired to his room, spend the night in the -Palace, and, as he is in the habit of rising at dawn, to-morrow morning, -at four o'clock, have yourself announced as coming from me, ask the holy -Archbishop for his blessing, hand him the packet you see here, and take -the letters that he will perhaps give you for Bologna." - -The Duchessa addressed to the Archbishop the actual original of the -Prince's note; as this note concerned his First Grand Vicar, she begged -him to deposit it among the archives of the Palace, where she hoped that -their Reverences the Grand Vicars and Canons, her nephew's colleagues, -would be so good as to acquaint themselves with its contents; the whole -transaction to be kept in the most profound secrecy. - -The Duchessa wrote to Monsignor Landriani with a familiarity which could -not fail to charm that honest plebeian; the signature alone filled three -lines; the letter, couched in the most friendly tone, was followed by -the words: _Angelina-Cornelia-Isotta Valserra del Dongo, duchessa -Sanseverina_. - -"I don't believe I have signed all that," the Duchessa said to herself, -"since my marriage contract with the poor Duca; but one only gets hold -of those people with that sort of thing, and in the eyes of the middle -classes the caricature looks like beauty." She could not bring the -evening to an end without yielding to the temptation to write to the -poor Conte; she announced to him officially, for his _guidance_, she said, -_in his relations with crowned heads_, that she did not feel herself to -be capable of amusing a Minister in disgrace. "The Prince frightens you; -when you are no longer in a position to see him, will it be my business -to frighten you?" She had this letter taken to him at once. - -For his part, that morning at seven o'clock, the Prince sent for Conte -Zurla, the Minister of the Interior. - -"Repeat," he told him, "the strictest orders to every _podestà_ to have -Signor Fabrizio del Dongo arrested. We are informed that possibly he may -dare to reappear in our States. This fugitive being now at Bologna, -where he seems to defy the judgment of our tribunals, post the _sbirri_ -who know him by sight: (1) in the villages on the road from Bologna to -Parma; (2) in the neighbourhood of Duchessa Sanseverina's _castello_ at -Sacca, and of her house at Castelnuovo; (3) round Conte Mosca's -_castello_. I venture to hope from your great sagacity, Signor Conte, -that you will manage to keep all knowledge of these, your Sovereign's -orders, from the curiosity of Conte Mosca. Understand that I wish Signor -Fabrizio del Dongo to be arrested." - - - - -_RASSI_ - - -As soon as the Minister had left him, a secret door introduced into the -Prince's presence the Fiscal General Rassi, who came towards him bent -double, and bowing at every step. The face of this rascal was a picture; -it did full justice to the infamy of the part he had to play, and, while -the rapid and extravagant movements of his eyes betrayed his -consciousness of his own merits, the arrogant and grimacing assurance of -his mouth showed that he knew how to fight against contempt. - -As this personage is going to acquire a considerable influence over -Fabrizio's destiny, we may say a word here about him. He was tall, he -had fine eyes that shewed great intelligence, but a face ruined by -smallpox; as for brains, he had them in plenty, and of the finest -quality; it was admitted that he had an exhaustive knowledge of the law, -but it was in the quality of resource that he specially shone. Whatever -the aspect in which a case might be laid before him, he easily and in a -few moments discovered the way, thoroughly well founded in law, to -arrive at a conviction or an acquittal; he was above all a past-master -of the hair-splittings of a prosecutor. - -In this man, whom great Monarchs might have envied the Prince of Parma, -one passion only was known to exist: he loved to converse with eminent -personages and to please them by buffooneries. It mattered little to him -whether the powerful personage laughed at what he said or at his person, -or uttered revolting pleasantries at the expense of Signora Rassi; -provided that he saw the great man laugh and was himself treated as a -familiar, he was content. Sometimes the Prince, at a loss how further to -insult the dignity of this Chief Justice, would actually kick him; if -the kicks hurt him, he would begin to cry. But the instinct of -buffoonery was so strong in him that he might be seen every day -frequenting the drawing-room of a Minister who scoffed at him, in -preference to his own drawing-room where he exercised a despotic rule -over all the stuff gowns of the place. This Rassi had above all created -for himself a place apart, in that it was impossible for the most -insolent noble to humiliate him; his method of avenging himself for the -insults which he had to endure all day long was to relate them to the -Prince, in whose presence he had acquired the privilege of saying -anything; it is true that the reply often took the form of a -well-directed cuff, which hurt him, but he stood on no ceremony about -that. The presence of this Chief Justice used to distract the Prince in -his moments of ill humour; then he amused himself by outraging him. It -can be seen that Rassi was almost the perfect courtier: a man without -honour and without humour. - -"Secrecy is essential above all things," the Prince shouted to him -without greeting him, treating him, in fact, exactly as he would have -treated a scullion, he who was so polite to everybody. "From when is -your sentence dated?" - -"Serene Highness, from yesterday morning." - -"By how many judges is it signed?" - -"By all five." - -"And the penalty?" - -"Twenty years in a fortress, as Your Serene Highness told me." - -"The death penalty would have given offence," said the Prince, as though -speaking to himself; "it is a pity! What an effect on that woman! But he -is a del Dongo, and that name is revered in Parma, on account of the -three Archbishops, almost in direct sequence. . . . You say twenty years -in a fortress?" - -"Yes, Serene Highness," replied the Fiscal, still on his feet and bent -double; "with, as a preliminary, a public apology before His Serene -Highness's portrait; and, in addition, a diet of bread and water every -Friday and on the Vigils of the principal Feasts, _the accused being -notorious for his impiety_. This is with an eye to the future and to put -a stop to his career." - - - - -_THE MARCHESA RAVERSI_ - - -"Write," said the Prince: "'His Serene Highness having deigned to turn a -considerate ear to the most humble supplications of the Marchesa del -Dongo, the culprit's mother, and of the Duchessa Sanseverina, his aunt, -which ladies have represented to him that at the date of the crime their -son and nephew was extremely young, and in addition led astray by an -insensate passion conceived for the wife of the unfortunate Giletti, has -been graciously pleased, notwithstanding the horror inspired by such a -murder, to commute the penalty to which Fabrizio del Dongo has been -sentenced to that of twelve years in a fortress." - -"Give it to me to sign." - -The Prince signed and dated the sentence from the previous day; then, -handing it back to Rassi, said to him: "Write immediately beneath my -signature: 'The Duchessa Sanseverina having once again thrown herself -before the knees of His Highness, the Prince has given permission that -every Thursday the prisoner may take exercise for one hour on the -platform of the square tower, commonly called Torre Farnese.'" - -"Sign that," said the Prince, "and, don't forget, keep your mouth shut, -whatever you may hear said in the town. You will tell Councillor De' -Capitani, who voted for two years in a fortress, and even made a speech -upholding so ridiculous a sentence, that I expect him to refresh his -memory of the laws and regulations. Once again silence, and good night." -Fiscal Rassi performed with great deliberation three profound reverences -to which the Prince paid no attention. - -This happened at seven o'clock in the morning. A few hours later, the -news of the Marchesa Raversi's banishment spread through the town and -among the _caffè_: everyone was talking at once of this great event. -The Marchesa's banishment drove away for some time from Parma that -implacable enemy of small towns and small courts, boredom. General Fabio -Conti, who had regarded himself as a Minister already, feigned an attack -of gout, and for several days did not emerge from his fortress. The -middle classes, and consequently the populace, concluded from what was -happening that it was clear that the Prince had decided to confer the -Archbishopric of Parma on Monsignor del Dongo. The shrewd politicians of -the _caffè_ went so far as to assert that Father Landriani, the -reigning Archbishop, had been ordered to plead ill health and to send in -his resignation; he was to be awarded a fat pension from the tobacco -duty, they were positive about it; this report reached the Archbishop -himself, who was greatly alarmed, and for several days his zeal for our -hero was considerably paralysed. Two months later, this fine piece of -news found its way into the Paris newspapers, with the slight alteration -that it was Conte Mosca, nephew of the Duchessa Sanseverina, who was to -be made Archbishop. - -The Marchesa Raversi meanwhile was raging in her Castello di Velleja; -she was by no means one of those little feather-pated women who think -that they are avenging themselves when they say damaging things about -their enemies. On the day following her disgrace, Cavaliere Riscara and -three more of her friends presented themselves before the Prince by her -order, and asked him for permission to go to visit her at her -_castello_. His Highness received these gentlemen with perfect grace, -and their arrival at Velleja was a great consolation to the Marchesa. -Before the end of the second week, she had thirty people in her -_castello_, all those whom the Liberal Ministry was going to bring into -power. Every evening, the Marchesa held a regular council with the -better informed of her friends. One day, on which she had received a -number of letters from Parma and Bologna, she retired to bed early: her -maid let into the room, first of all the reigning lover, Conte Baldi, a -young man of admirable appearance and complete insignificance, and, -later on, Cavaliere Riscara, his predecessor: this was a small man dark -in complexion and in character, who, having begun by being instructor in -geometry at the College of Nobles at Parma, now found himself a -Councillor of State and a Knight of several Orders. - - - - -_CAVALIERE RISCARA_ - - -"I have the good habit," the Marchesa said to these two men, "of never -destroying any paper; and well it has served me; here are nine letters -which the Sanseverina has written me on different occasions. You will -both of you proceed to Genoa, you will look among the gaol-birds there -for an ex-lawyer named Burati, like the great Venetian poet, or else -Durati. You, Conte Baldi, sit down at my desk and write what I am going -to dictate to you." - - -"'An idea has occurred to me, and I write you a line. I am going to my -cottage, by Castelnuovo; if you care to come over and spend a day with -me, I shall be most delighted; there is, it seems to me, no great danger -after what has just happened; the clouds are lifting. However, stop -before you come to Castelnuovo; you will find one of my people on the -road; they are all madly devoted to you. You will, of course, keep the -name Bossi for this little expedition. They tell me that you have grown -a beard like the most perfect Capuchin, and nobody has seen you at Parma -except with the decent countenance of a Grand Vicar.'" - - -"Do you follow me, Riscara?" - -"Perfectly; but the journey to Genoa is an unnecessary extravagance; I -know a man in Parma who, to be accurate, is not yet in the galleys, but -cannot fail to get there in the end. He will counterfeit the -Sanseverina's hand to perfection." - -At these words, Conte Baldi opened those fine eyes of his to their full -extent; he had only just understood. - -"If you know this worthy personage of Parma, who, you hope, will obtain -advancement," said the Marchesa to Riscara, "presumably he knows you -also: his mistress, his confessor, his bosom friend may have been bought -by the Sanseverina: I should prefer to postpone this little joke for a -few days and not to expose myself to any risk. Start in a couple of -hours like good little lambs, don't see a living soul at Genoa, and -return quickly." Cavaliere Riscara fled from the room laughing, and -squeaking through his nose like Punchinello. "_We must pack up our -traps!_" he said as he ran in a burlesque fashion. He wished to leave -Baldi alone with the lady. Five days later, Riscara brought the Marchesa -back her Conte Baldi, flayed alive; to cut off six leagues, they had -made him cross a mountain on mule-back; he vowed that nothing would ever -induce him again to take _long journeys_. Baldi handed the Marchesa -three copies of the letter which she had dictated to him, and five or -six other letters in the same hand, composed by Riscara, which might -perhaps be put to some use later on. One of these letters contained some -very pretty witticisms with regard to the fears from which the Prince -suffered at night, and to the deplorable thinness of the Marchesa Balbi, -his mistress, who left a dint in the sofa-cushions, it was said, like -the mark made by a pair of tongs, after she had sat on them for a -moment. Anyone would have sworn that all these letters came from the -hand of Signora Sanseverina. - -"Now I know, beyond any doubt," said the Marchesa, "that the favoured -lover, Fabrizio, is at Bologna or in the immediate neighbourhood. . . ." - -"I am too unwell," cried Conte Baldi, interrupting her; "I ask as a -favour to be excused this second journey, or at least I should like to -have a few days' rest to recover my health." - -"I shall go and plead your cause," said Riscara. - -He rose and spoke in an undertone to the Marchesa. - -"Oh, very well, then, I consent," she replied with a smile. "Reassure -yourself, you shall not go at all," she told Baldi, with a certain air -of contempt. - -"Thank you," he cried in heart-felt accents. In the end, Riscara got -into a post-chaise by himself. He had scarcely been a couple of days in -Bologna when he saw, in an open carriage, Fabrizio and little Marietta. -"The devil!" he said to himself, "it seems, our future Archbishop -doesn't let the time hang on his hands; we must let the Duchessa know -about this, she will be charmed." Riscara had only to follow Fabrizio to -discover his address; next morning our hero received from a courier the -letter forged at Genoa; he thought it a trifle short, but apart from -that suspected nothing. The thought of seeing the Duchessa and Conte -again made him wild with joy, and in spite of anything Lodovico might -say he took a post-horse and went off at a gallop. Without knowing it, -he was followed at a short distance by Cavaliere Riscara, who on coming -to a point six leagues from Parma, at the stage before Castelnuovo, had -the satisfaction of seeing a crowd on the _piazza_ outside the local -prison; they had just led in our hero, recognised at the post-house, as -he was changing horses, by two _sbirri_ who had been selected and sent -there by Conte Zurla. - -Cavaliere Riscara's little eyes sparkled with joy; he informed himself, -with exemplary patience, of everything that had occurred in this little -village, then sent a courier to the Marchesa Raversi. After which, -roaming the streets as though to visit the church, which was of great -interest, and then to look for a picture by the Parmigianino which, he -had been told, was to be found in the place, he finally ran into the -_podestà_, who was obsequious in paying his respects to a Councillor of -State. Riscara appeared surprised that he had not immediately dispatched -to the citadel of Parma the conspirator whose arrest he had had the good -fortune to secure. - -"There is reason to fear," Riscara added in an indifferent tone, "that -his many friends, who were endeavouring, the day before yesterday, to -facilitate his passage through the States of His Highness, may come into -conflict with the police; there were at least twelve or fifteen of these -rebels, mounted." - -"_Intelligenti pauca_!" cried the _podestà_ with a cunning air. - - - - -CHAPTER FIFTEEN - - -A couple of hours later, the unfortunate Fabrizio, fitted with handcuffs -and actually attached by a long chain to the _sediola_ into which he had -been made to climb, started for the citadel of Parma, escorted by eight -constables. These had orders to take with them all the constables -stationed in the villages through which the procession had to pass; the -_podestà_ in person followed this important prisoner. About seven -o'clock in the evening the _sediola_, escorted by all the little boys in -Parma and by thirty constables, came down the fine avenue of trees, -passed in front of the little _palazzo_ in which Fausta had been living -a few months earlier, and finally presented itself at the outer gate of -the citadel just as General Fabio Conti and his daughter were coming -out. The governor's carriage stopped before reaching the drawbridge to -make way for the _sediola_ to which Fabrizio was attached; the General -instantly shouted for the gates to be shut, and hastened down to the -turnkey's office to see what was the matter; he was not a little -surprised when he recognised the prisoner, who had grown quite stiff -after being fastened to his _sediola_ throughout such a long journey; -four constables had lifted him down and were carrying him into the -turnkey's office. "So I have in my power," thought the feather-pated -governor, "that famous Fabrizio del Dongo, with whom anyone would say -that for the last year the high society of Parma had taken a vow to -occupy themselves exclusively!" - -The General had met him a score of times at court, at the Duchessa's and -elsewhere; but he took good care not to shew any sign that he knew him; -he was afraid of compromising himself. - -"Have a report made out," he called to the prison clerk, "in full detail -of the surrender made to me of the prisoner by his worship the -_podestà_ of Castelnuovo." - -Barbone, the clerk, a terrifying personage owing to the volume of his -beard and his martial bearing, assumed an air of even greater importance -than usual; one would have called him a German gaoler. Thinking he knew -that it was chiefly the Duchessa Sanseverina who had prevented his -master from becoming Minister of War, he was behaving with more than his -ordinary insolence towards the prisoner; in speaking to him he used the -pronoun _voi_, which in Italy is the formula used in addressing -servants. - -"I am a prelate of the Holy Roman Church," Fabrizio said to him firmly, -"and Grand Vicar of this Diocese; my birth alone entitles me to -respect." - -"I know nothing about that!" replied the clerk pertly; "prove your -assertions by shewing the brevets which give you a right to those highly -respectable titles." - -Fabrizio had no such documents and did not answer. General Fabio Conti, -standing by the side of his clerk, watched him write without raising his -eyes to the prisoner, so as not to be obliged to admit that he was -really Fabrizio del Dongo. - -Suddenly Clelia Conti, who was waiting in the carriage, heard a -tremendous racket in the guard-room. The clerk Barbone, in making an -insolent and extremely long description of the prisoner's person, -ordered him to undo his clothing in order to verify and put on record -the number and condition of the scars received by him in his fight with -Giletti. - -"I cannot," said Fabrizio, smiling bitterly; "I am not in a position to -obey the gentleman's orders, these handcuffs make it impossible." - - - - -_PRISON_ - - -"What!" cried the General with an innocent air, "the prisoner is -handcuffed! Inside the fortress! That is against the rules, it requires -an order _ad hoc_; take the handcuffs off him." - -Fabrizio looked at him: "There's a nice Jesuit," he thought; "for the -last hour he has seen me with these handcuffs, which have been hurting -me horribly, and he pretends to be surprised!" - -The handcuffs were taken off by the constables; they had just learned -that Fabrizio was the nephew of the Duchessa Sanseverina, and made haste -to shew him a honeyed politeness which formed a sharp contrast to the -rudeness of the clerk; the latter seemed annoyed by this and said to -Fabrizio, who stood there without moving: - -"Come along, there! Hurry up, shew us those scratches you got from poor -Giletti, the time he was murdered." With a bound, Fabrizio sprang upon -the clerk, and dealt him such a blow that Barbone fell from his chair -against the General's legs. The constables seized hold of the arms of -Fabrizio, who made no attempt to resist them; the General himself and -two constables who were standing by him hastened to pick up the clerk, -whose face was bleeding copiously. Two subordinates who stood farther -off ran to shut the door of the office, in the idea that the prisoner -was trying to escape. The _brigadiere_ who was in command of them -thought that young del Dongo could not make a serious attempt at flight, -since after all he was in the interior of the citadel; at the same time, -he went to the window to put a stop to any disorder, and by a -professional instinct. Opposite this open window and within a few feet -of it the General's carriage was drawn up: Clelia had shrunk back inside -it, so as not to be a witness of the painful scene that was being -enacted in the office; when she heard all this noise, she looked out. - -"What is happening?" she asked the _brigadiere_. - -"Signorina, it is young Fabrizio del Dongo who has just given that -insolent Barbone a proper smack!" - -"What! It is Signor del Dongo that they are taking to prison?" - -"Eh! No doubt about that," said the _brigadiere_; "it is because of the -poor young man's high birth that they are making all this fuss; I -thought the Signorina knew all about it." Clelia remained at the window: -when the constables who were standing round the table moved away a -little she caught a glimpse of the prisoner. "Who would ever have said," -she thought, "that I should see him again for the first time in this sad -plight, when I met him on the road from the Lake of Como? . . . He gave -me his hand to help me into his mother's carriage. . . . He had the -Duchessa with him even then! Had they begun to love each other as long -ago as that?" - -It should be explained to the reader that the members of the Liberal -Party swayed by the Marchesa Raversi and General Conti affected to -entertain no doubt as to the tender intimacy that must exist between -Fabrizio and the Duchessa. Conte Mosca, whom they abhorred, was the -object of endless pleasantries for the way in which he was being -deceived. - -"So," thought Clelia, "there he is a prisoner, and a prisoner in the -hands of his enemies. For after all, Conte Mosca, angel as one would -like to think him, will be delighted when he hears of this capture." - -A loud burst of laughter sounded from the guard-room. - -"Jacopo," she said to the _brigadiere_ in a voice that quivered with -emotion, "what in the world is happening?" - -"The General asked the prisoner sharply why he had struck Barbone: -Monsignor Fabrizio answered calmly: 'He called me _assassino_; let him -produce the titles and brevets which authorise him to give me that -title'; and they all laughed." - -A gaoler who could write took Barbone's place; Clelia saw the latter -emerge mopping with his handkerchief the blood that streamed in -abundance from his hideous face; he was swearing like a heathen: "That -f---- Fabrizio," he shouted at the top of his voice, "I'll have his -life, I will, if I have to steal the hangman's rope." He had stopped -between the office window and the General's carriage, and his oaths -redoubled. - -"Move along there," the _brigadiere_ told him; "you mustn't swear in -front of the Signorina." - -Barbone raised his head to look at the carriage, his eyes met those of -Clelia who could not repress a cry of horror; never had she seen at such -close range so atrocious an expression upon any human face. "He will -kill Fabrizio!" she said to herself, "I shall have to warn Don Cesare." -This was her uncle, one of the most respected priests in the town; -General Conti, his brother, had procured for him the post of _economo_ -and principal chaplain in the prison. - -The General got into the carriage. - -"Would you rather stay at home," he said to his daughter, "or wait for -me, perhaps for some time, in the courtyard of the Palace? I must go and -report all this to the Sovereign." - -Fabrizio came out of the office escorted by three constables; they were -taking him to the room which had been allotted to him. Clelia looked out -of the window, the prisoner was quite close to her. At that moment she -answered her father's question in the words: "_I will go with you_." -Fabrizio, hearing these words uttered close to his ear, raised his eyes -and met the girl's gaze. He was struck, especially, by the expression of -melancholy on her face. "How she has improved," he thought, "since our -meeting near Como! What an air of profound thought! . . . They are quite -right to compare her with the Duchessa; what angelic features!" Barbone, -the bloodstained clerk, who had not taken his stand beside the carriage -without a purpose, held up his hand to stop the three constables who -were leading Fabrizio away, and, moving round behind the carriage until -he reached the window next which the General was sitting: - -"As the prisoner has committed an act of violence in the interior of the -citadel," he said to him, "in consideration of Article 157 of the -regulations, would it not be as well to put the handcuffs on him for -three days?" - -"Go to the devil!" cried the General, still considerably embarrassed by -this arrest. It was important for him that he should not drive either -the Duchessa or Conte Mosca to extremes; and besides, what attitude was -the Conte going to adopt towards this affair? After all, the murder of a -Giletti was a mere trifle, and only intrigue had succeeded in magnifying -it into anything of importance. - -During this brief dialogue, Fabrizio stood superb among the group of -constables, his expression was certainly the proudest and most noble -that one could imagine; his fine and delicate features, and the -contemptuous smile that strayed over his lips made a charming contrast -with the coarse appearance of the constables who stood round him. But -all this formed, so to speak, only the external part of his physiognomy; -he was enraptured by the heavenly beauty of Clelia, and his eyes betrayed -his surprise to the full. She, profoundly pensive, had never thought of -drawing back her head from the window; he bowed to her with a half-smile -of the utmost respect; then, after a moment's silence: - -"It seems to me, Signorina," he said to her, "that, once before, near a -lake, I had the honour of meeting you, in the company of the police." - -Clelia blushed, and was so taken aback that she could find no words in -which to reply. "What a noble air among all those coarse creatures," she -had been saying to herself at the moment when Fabrizio spoke to her. The -profound pity, we might almost say the tender emotion in which she was -plunged deprived her of the presence of mind necessary to find words, no -matter what; she became conscious of her silence and blushed all the -deeper. At this moment the bolts of the great gate of the citadel were -drawn back with a clang; had not His Excellency's carriage been waiting -for at least a minute? The echo was so loud in this vaulted passage that -even if Clelia had found something to say in reply Fabrizio could not -have caught her words. - -Borne away by the horses which had broken into a gallop immediately -after crossing the drawbridge, Clelia said to herself: "He must have -thought me very silly!" Then suddenly she added: "Not only silly; he -must have felt that I had a base nature, he must have thought that I did -not respond to his greeting because he is a prisoner and I am the -governor's daughter." - -The thought of such a thing was terrible to this girl of naturally lofty -soul. "What makes my behaviour absolutely degrading," she went on, "is -that before, when we met for the first time, also _in the company of the -police_, as he said just now, it was I who was the prisoner, and he did -me a service, and helped me out of a very awkward position. . . . Yes, I -am bound to admit, my behaviour was quite complete, it combined rudeness -and ingratitude. Alas, poor young man! Now that he is in trouble, -everybody is going to behave disgracefully to him. Even if he did say to -me then: 'You will remember my name, I hope, at Parma?' how he must be -despising me at this moment! It would have been so easy to say a civil -word! Yes, I must admit, my conduct towards him has been atrocious. The -other time, but for the generous offer of his mother's carriage, I -should have had to follow the constables on foot through the dust, or, -what would have been far worse, ride pillion behind one of them; it was -my father then who was under arrest, and I defenceless! Yes, my -behaviour is complete. And how keenly a nature like his must have felt -it! What a contrast between his noble features and my behaviour! What -nobility! What serenity! How like a hero he looked, surrounded by his -vile enemies! Now I understand the Duchessa's passion: if he looks like -that in distressing circumstances which may end in frightful disaster, -what must he be like when his heart is happy!" - -The governor's carriage waited for more than an hour and a half in the -courtyard of the Palace, and yet, when the General returned from his -interview with the Prince, Clelia by no means felt that he had stayed -there too long. - -"What is His Highness's will?" asked Clelia. - -"His tongue said: Prison! His eyes: Death!" - -"Death! Great God!" exclaimed Clelia. - -"There now, be quiet!" said the General crossly; "what a fool I am to -answer a child's questions." - -Meanwhile Fabrizio was climbing the three hundred and eighty steps which -led to the Torre Farnese, a new prison built on the platform of the -great tower, at a prodigious height from the ground. He never once -thought, distinctly that is to say, of the great change that had just -occurred in his fortunes. "What eyes!" he said to himself: "What a -wealth of expression in them! What profound pity! She looked as though -she were saying: 'Life is such a tangled skein of misfortunes! Do not -distress yourself too much about what is happening to you! Are we not -sent here below to be unhappy?' How those fine eyes of hers remained -fastened on me, even when the horses were moving forward with such a -clatter under the arch!" - - - - -_CLELIA CONTI_ - - -Fabrizio completely forgot to feel wretched. - -Clelia accompanied her father to various houses; in the early part of -the evening no one had yet heard the news of the arrest of the _great -culprit_, for such was the name which the courtiers bestowed a couple of -hours later on this poor, rash young man. - -It was noticed that evening that there was more animation than usual in -Clelia's face; whereas animation, the air of taking part in what was -going on round her, was just what was chiefly lacking in that charming -young person. When you compared her beauty with that of the Duchessa, it -was precisely that air of not being moved by anything, that manner as -though of a person superior to everything, which weighed down the -balance in her rival's favour. In England, in France, lands of vanity, -the general opinion would probably have been just the opposite. Clelia -Conti was a young girl still a trifle too slim, who might be compared to -the beautiful models of Guido Reni. We make no attempt to conceal the -fact that, according to Greek ideas of beauty, the objection might have -been made that her head had certain features a trifle too strongly -marked; the lips, for instance, though full of the most touching charm, -were a little too substantial. - -The admirable peculiarity of this face in which shone the artless graces -and the heavenly imprint of the most noble soul was that, albeit of the -rarest and most singular beauty, it did not in any way resemble the -heads of Greek sculpture. The Duchessa had, on the other hand, a little -too much of the _recognised_ beauty of the ideal type, and her truly -Lombard head recalled the voluptuous smile and tender melancholy of -Leonardo's lovely paintings of Herodias. Just as the Duchessa shone, -sparkled with wit and irony, attaching herself passionately, if one may -use the expression, to all the subjects which the course of the -conversation brought before her mind's eye, so Clelia showed herself -calm and slow to move, whether from contempt for her natural -surroundings or from regret for some unfulfilled dream. It had long been -thought that she would end by embracing the religious life. At twenty -she was observed to show a repugnance towards going to balls, and if she -accompanied her father to these entertainments it was only out of -obedience to him and in order not to jeopardise the interests of his -career. - -"It is apparently going to be impossible for me," the General in his -vulgarity of spirit was too prone to repeat, "heaven having given me as -a daughter the most beautiful person in the States of our Sovereign, and -the most virtuous, to derive any benefit from her for the advancement of -my fortune! I live in too great isolation, I have only her in the world, -and what I must absolutely have is a family that will support me -socially, and will procure for me a certain number of houses where my -merit, and especially my aptitude for ministerial office shall be laid -down as unchallengeable postulates in any political discussion. And -there is my daughter, so beautiful, so sensible, so religious, taking -offence whenever a young man well established at court attempts to find -favour in her sight. If the suitor is dismissed, her character becomes -less sombre, and I see her appear almost gay, until another champion -enters the lists. The handsomest man at court, Conte Baldi, presented -himself and failed to please; the richest man in His Highness's States, -the Marchese Crescenzi, has now followed him; she insists that he would -make her miserable. - -"Decidedly," the General would say at other times, "my daughter's eyes -are finer than the Duchessa's, particularly as, on rare occasions, they -are capable of assuming a more profound expression; but that magnificent -expression, when does anyone ever see it? Never in a drawing-room where -she might do justice to it; but simply out driving alone with me, when -she lets herself be moved, for instance, by the miserable state of some -hideous rustic. 'Keep some reflexion of that sublime gaze,' I tell her -at times, 'for the drawing-rooms in which we shall be appearing this -evening.' Not a bit of it: should she condescend to accompany me into -society, her pure and noble features present the somewhat haughty and -scarcely encouraging expression of passive obedience." The General -spared himself no trouble, as we can see, in his search for a suitable -son-in-law, but what he said was true. - -Courtiers, who have nothing to contemplate in their own hearts, notice -every little thing that goes on round about them; they had observed that -it was particularly on those days when Clelia could not succeed in -making herself emerge from her precious musings and feign an interest in -anything that the Duchessa chose to stop beside her and tried to make -her talk. Clelia had hair of an ashen fairness, which stood out with a -charming effect against cheeks that were delicately tinted but, as a -rule, rather too pale. The mere shape of her brow might have told an -attentive observer that air, so instinct with nobility, that -manner, so far superior to vulgar charms, sprang from a profound -indifference to everything that was vulgar. It was the absence and not -the impossibility of interest in anything. Since her father had become -governor of the citadel, Clelia had found happiness, or at least freedom -from vexations in her lofty abode. The appalling number of steps that -had to be climbed in order to reach this official residence of the -governor, situated on the platform of the main tower, kept away tedious -visitors, and Clelia, for this material reason, enjoyed the liberty of -the convent; she found there almost all the ideal of happiness which at -one time she had thought of seeking from the religious life. She was -seized by a sort of horror at the mere thought of putting her beloved -solitude and her secret thoughts at the disposal of a young man whom the -title of husband would authorise to disturb all this inner life. If, by -her solitude, she did not attain to happiness, at least she had -succeeded in avoiding sensations that were too painful. - -On the evening after Fabrizio had been taken to the fortress, the -Duchessa met Clelia at the party given by the Minister of the Interior, -Conte Zurla; everyone gathered round them; that evening, Clelia's beauty -outshone the Duchessa's. The beautiful eyes of the girl wore an -expression so singular and so profound as to be almost indiscreet; there -was pity, there were indignation also and anger in her gaze. The gaiety -and brilliant ideas of the Duchessa seemed to plunge Clelia into spells -of grief that bordered on horror. "What will be the cries and groans of -this poor woman," she said to herself, "when she learns that her lover, -that young man with so great a heart and so noble a countenance, has -just been flung into prison? And that look in the Sovereign's eyes which -condemns him to death! O Absolute Power, when wilt thou cease to crush -down Italy! O base and venal souls! And I am the daughter of a gaoler! -And I have done nothing to deny that noble station, for I did not deign -to answer Fabrizio! And once before he was my benefactor! What can he be -thinking of me at this moment, alone in his room with his little lamp -for sole companion?" Revolted by this idea, Clelia cast a look of horror -at the magnificent illumination of the drawing-rooms of the Minister of -the Interior. - - - - -_THE COURT_ - - -"Never," the word went round the circle of courtiers who had gathered -round the two reigning beauties, and were seeking to join in their -conversation, "never have they talked to one another with so animated -and at the same time so intimate an air. Can the Duchessa, who is always -so careful to smooth away the animosities aroused by the Prime Minister, -can she have thought of some great marriage for Clelia?" This conjecture -was founded upon a circumstance which until then had never presented -itself to the observation of the court: the girl's eyes shewed more -fire, and indeed, if one may use the term, more passion than those of -the beautiful Duchessa. The latter, for her part, was astonished, and, -one may say it to her credit, delighted by the discovery of charms so -novel in the young recluse; for an hour she had been gazing at her with -a pleasure by no means commonly felt in the sight of a rival. "Why, what -can have happened?" the Duchessa asked herself; "never has Clelia looked -so beautiful, or, one might say, so touching: can her heart have spoken? -. . . But in that case, certainly, it is an unhappy love, there is a -dark grief at the root of this strange animation. . . . But unhappy love -keeps silent. Can it be a question of recalling a faithless lover by -shining in society?" And the Duchessa gazed with attention at all the -young men who stood round them. Nowhere could she see any unusual -expression, every face shone with a more or less pleased fatuity. "But a -miracle must have happened," the Duchessa told herself, vexed by her -inability to solve the mystery. "Where is Conte Mosca, that man of -discernment? No, I am not mistaken, Clelia is looking at me attentively, -and as if I was for her the object of a quite novel interest. Is it the -effect of some order received from her father, that vile courtier? I -supposed that young and noble mind to be incapable of lowering itself to -any pecuniary consideration. Can General Fabio Conti have some decisive -request to make of the Conte?" - -About ten o'clock, a friend of the Duchessa came up to her and murmured -a few words; she turned extremely pale: Clelia took her hand and -ventured to press it. - -"I thank you, and I understand you now . . . you have a noble heart," -said the Duchessa, making an effort to control herself; she had barely -the strength to utter these few words. She smiled profusely at the lady -of the house, who rose to escort her to the door of the outermost -drawing-room: such honours were due only to Princesses of the Blood, and -were for the Duchessa an ironical comment on her position at the moment. -And so she continued to smile at Contessa Zurla, but in spite of untold -efforts did not succeed in uttering a single word. - -Clelia's eyes filled with tears as she watched the Duchessa pass through -these rooms, thronged at the moment with all the most brilliant figures -in society. "What is going to happen to that poor woman," she wondered, -"when she finds herself alone in her carriage? It would be an -indiscretion on my part to offer to accompany her, I dare not. . . . And -yet, what a consolation it would be to the poor prisoner, sitting in -some wretched cell, if he knew that he was loved to such a point! What a -frightful solitude that must be in which they have plunged him! And we, -we are here in these brilliant rooms, how horrible! Can there be any way -of conveying a message to him? Great God! That would be treachery to my -father; his position is so delicate between the two parties! What will -become of him if he exposes himself to the passionate hatred of the -Duchessa, who controls the will of the Prime Minister, who in three out -of every four things here is the master? On the other hand, the Prince -takes an unceasing interest in everything that goes on at the fortress, -and will not listen to any jest on that subject; fear makes him -cruel. . . . In any case, Fabrizio" (Clelia no longer thought of him as -Signor del Dongo) "is greatly to be pitied. . . . It is a very different -thing for him from the risk of losing a lucrative post! . . . And the -Duchessa! . . . What a terrible passion love is! . . . And yet all those -liars in society speak of it as a source of happiness! One is sorry for -elderly women because they can no longer feel or inspire love. . . . -Never shall I forget what I have just seen; what a sudden change! How -those beautiful, radiant eyes of the Duchessa turned dull and dead after -the fatal word which Marchese N---- came up and said to her! . . . -Fabrizio must indeed be worthy of love!" - - - - -_REMORSE_ - - -Breaking in upon these highly serious reflexions, which were absorbing -the whole of Clelia's mind, the complimentary speeches which always -surrounded her seemed to her even more distasteful than usual. To escape -from them she went across to an open window, half-screened by a taffeta -curtain; she hoped that no one would be so bold as to follow her into -this sort of sanctuary. This window opened upon a little grove of -orange trees planted in the ground: as a matter of fact, every winter -they had to be protected by a covering, Clelia inhaled with rapture the -scent of their blossom, and this pleasure seemed to restore a little -calm to her spirit. "I felt that he had a very noble air," she thought, -"but to inspire such passion in so distinguished a woman! She has had -the glory of refusing the Prince's homage, and if she had deigned to -consent, she would have reigned as queen over his States. . . . My -father says that the Sovereign's passion went so far as to promise to -marry her if ever he became free to do so. . . . And this love for -Fabrizio has lasted so long! For it is quite five years since we met -them by the Lake of Como. . . . Yes, it is quite five years," she said -to herself after a moment's reflexion. "I was struck by it even then, -when so many things passed unnoticed before my childish eyes. How those -two ladies seemed to admire Fabrizio! . . ." - -Clelia remarked with joy that none of the young men who had been -speaking to her with such earnestness had ventured to approach her -balcony. One of them, the Marchese Crescenzi, had taken a few steps in -that direction, but had then stopped by a card-table. "If only," she -said to herself, "under my window in our _palazzo_ in the fortress, the -only one that has any shade, I had some pretty orange trees like these -to look at, my thoughts would be less sad: but to have as one's sole -outlook the huge blocks of stone of the Torre Farnese. . . . Ah!" she -cried with a convulsive movement, "perhaps that is where they have put -him. I must speak about it at once to Don Cesare! He will be less severe -than the General. My father is certain to tell me nothing on our way back -to the fortress, but I shall find out everything from Don Cesare. . . . I -have money, I could buy a few orange trees, which, placed under -the window of my aviary, would prevent me from seeing that great wall of -the Torre Farnese. How infinitely more hateful still it will be to me -now that I know one of the people whom it hides from the light of -day! . . . Yes, it is just the third time I have seen him. Once at court, -at the ball on the Princess's birthday; to-day, hemmed in by three -constables, while that horrible Barbone was begging for handcuffs to be -put on him, and the other time by the Lake of Como. That is quite five -years ago. What a hang-dog air he had then! How he stared at the -constables, and what curious looks his mother and his aunt kept giving -him. Certainly there must have been some secret that day, some special -knowledge which they were keeping to themselves; at the time, I had an -idea that he too was afraid of the police. . . ." Clelia shuddered; "But -how ignorant I was! No doubt at that time the Duchessa had already begun -to take an interest in him. How he made us laugh after the first few -minutes, when the ladies, in spite of their obvious anxiety, had begun -to grow more accustomed to the presence of a stranger! . . . And this -evening I had not a word to say in reply when he spoke to me. . . . O -ignorance and timidity! How often you have the appearance of the blackest -cowardice! And I am like this at twenty, yes and past twenty! . . . I -was well-advised to think of the cloister; really I am good for -nothing but retirement. 'Worthy daughter of a gaoler!' he will have been -saying to himself. He despises me, and, as soon as he is able to write -to the Duchessa, he will tell her of my want of consideration, and the -Duchessa will think me a very deceitful little girl; for, after all, -this evening she must have thought me full of sympathy with her in her -trouble." - -Clelia noticed that someone was approaching, apparently with the -intention of taking his place by her side on the iron balcony of this -window; she could not help feeling annoyed, although she blamed herself -for being so; the meditations in which she was disturbed were by no -means without their pleasant side. "Here comes some troublesome fellow -to whom I shall give a warm welcome!" she thought. She was turning her -head with a haughty stare, when she caught sight of the timid face of -the Archbishop who was approaching the balcony by a series of almost -imperceptible little movements. "This saintly man has no manners," -thought Clelia. "Why come and disturb a poor girl like me? My -tranquillity is the only thing I possess." She was greeting him with -respect, but at the same time with a haughty air, when the prelate said -to her: - -"Signorina, have you heard the terrible news?" - -The girl's eyes had at once assumed a totally different expression; but, -following the instructions repeated to her a hundred times over by her -father, she replied with an air of ignorance which the language of her -eyes loudly contradicted: - -"I have heard nothing, Monsignore." - -"My First Grand Vicar, poor Fabrizio del Dongo, who is no more guilty -than I am of the death of that brigand Giletti, has been arrested at -Bologna where he was living under the assumed name of Giuseppe Bossi; -they have shut him up in your citadel; he arrived there actually -_chained_ to the carriage that brought him. A sort of gaoler, named -Barbone, who was pardoned some time ago after murdering one of his own -brothers, chose to attempt an act of personal violence against Fabrizio, -but my young friend is not the man to take an insult quietly. He flung -his infamous adversary to the ground, whereupon they cast him into a -dungeon, twenty feet underground, after first putting handcuffs on his -wrists." - -"Not handcuffs, no!" - -"Ah! Then you do know something," cried the Archbishop. And the old -man's features lost their intense expression of discouragement. "But, -before we go any farther, someone may come out on to this balcony and -interrupt us: would you be so charitable as to convey personally to Don -Cesare my pastoral ring here?" - -The girl took the ring, but did not know where to put it for fear of -losing it. - -"Put it on your thumb," said the Archbishop; and he himself slipped the -ring into position. "Can I count upon you to deliver this ring?" - -"Yes, Monsignore." - -"Will you promise me to keep secret what I am going to say, even if -circumstances should arise in which you may find it inconvenient to -agree to my request?" - -"Why, yes, Monsignore," replied the girl, trembling all over as she -observed the sombre and serious air which the old man had suddenly -assumed. . . . - -"Our estimable Archbishop," she went on, "can give me no orders that are -not worthy of himself and me." - - - - -_DISTRESS_ - - -"Say to Don Cesare that I commend to him my adopted son; I know that the -_sbirri_ who carried him off did not give him time to take his breviary -with him, I therefore request Don Cesare to let him have his own, and if -your uncle will send to-morrow to my Palace, I promise to replace the -book given by him to Fabrizio. I request Don Cesare also to convey the -ring which this pretty hand is now wearing to Signor del Dongo." The -Archbishop was interrupted by General Fabio Conti, who came in search of -his daughter to take her to the carriage; there was a brief interval of -conversation in which the prelate shewed a certain adroitness. Without -making any reference to the latest prisoner, he so arranged matters that -the course of the conversation led naturally to the utterance of certain -moral and political maxims by himself; for instance: "There are moments -of crisis in the life of a court which decide for long periods the -existence of the most exalted personages; it would be distinctly -imprudent to change into _personal hatred_ the state of political -aloofness which is often the quite simple result of diametrically -opposite positions." The Archbishop, letting himself be carried away to -some extent by the profound grief which he felt at so unexpected an -arrest, went so far as to say that one must undoubtedly strive to retain -the position one holds, but that it would be a quite gratuitous -imprudence to attract to oneself furious hatreds in consequence of -lending oneself to certain actions which are never forgotten. - -When the General was in the carriage with his daughter: "Those might be -described as threats," he said to her. . . . "Threats, to a man of my -sort!" - -No other words passed between father and daughter for the next twenty -minutes. - -On receiving the Archbishop's pastoral ring, Clelia had indeed promised -herself that she would inform her father, as soon as she was in the -carriage, of the little service which the prelate had asked of her; but -after the word threats, uttered with anger, she took it for granted that -her father would intercept the token; she covered the ring with her left -hand and pressed it passionately. During the whole of the time that it -took them to drive from the Ministry of the Interior to the citadel, she -was asking herself whether it would be criminal on her part not to speak -of the matter to her father. She was extremely pious, extremely -timorous, and her heart, usually so tranquil, beat with an unaccustomed -violence; but in the end the _chi va là_ of the sentry posted on the -rampart above the gate rang out on the approach of the carriage before -Clelia had found a form of words calculated to incline her father not to -refuse, so much afraid was she of his refusing. As they climbed the -three hundred and sixty steps which led to the governor's residence, -Clelia could think of nothing. - -She hastened to speak to her uncle, who rebuked her and refused to lend -himself to anything. - - - - -CHAPTER SIXTEEN - - -"Well," cried the General, when he caught sight of his brother Don -Cesare, "here is the Duchessa going to spend a hundred thousand scudi to -make a fool of me and help the prisoner to escape!" - -But, for the moment, we are obliged to leave Fabrizio in his prison, at -the very summit of the citadel of Parma; he is well guarded and we shall -perhaps find him a little altered when we return to him. We must now -concern ourselves first of all with the court, where certain highly -complicated intrigues, and in particular the passions of an unhappy -woman are going to decide his fate. As he climbed the three hundred and -ninety steps to his prison in the Torre Farnese, beneath the eyes of the -governor, Fabrizio, who had so greatly dreaded this moment, found that -he had no time to think of his misfortunes. - -On returning home after the party at Conte Zurla's, the Duchessa -dismissed her women with a wave of the hand; then, letting herself fall, -fully dressed, on to her bed, "_Fabrizio_," she cried aloud, "_is in the -power of his enemies, and perhaps to spite me they will give him -poison_!" How is one to depict the moment of despair that followed this -statement of the situation in a woman so far from reasonable, so much -the slave of every passing sensation, and, without admitting it to -herself, desperately in love with the young prisoner? There were -inarticulate cries, paroxysms of rage, convulsive movements, but never a -tear. She had sent her women away to conceal her tears; she thought that -she was going to break into sobs as soon as she found herself alone; but -tears, those first comforters in hours of great sorrow, completely -failed her. Anger, indignation, the sense of her own inferiority when -matched with the Prince, had too firm a mastery of this proud soul. - -"Am I not humiliated enough?" she kept on exclaiming; "I am outraged, -and, worse still, Fabrizio's life is in danger; and I have no means of -vengeance! Wait a moment, my Prince; you kill me, well and good, you -have the power to do so; but afterwards I shall have your life. Alas! -Poor Fabrizio, how will that help you? What a difference from the day -when I was proposing to leave Parma, and yet even then I thought I was -unhappy . . . what blindness! I was going to break with all the habits -and customs of a pleasant life; alas! without knowing it, I was on the -edge of an event which was to decide my fate for ever. Had not the -Conte, with the miserable fawning instinct of a courtier, omitted the -words _unjust proceedings_ from that fatal note which the Prince's -vanity allowed me to secure, we should have been saved. I had had the -good fortune (rather than the skill, I must admit) to bring into play -his personal vanity on the subject of his beloved town of Parma. Then I -threatened to leave, then I was free. . . . Great God! What sort of -slave am I now? Here I am now nailed down in this foul sewer, and -Fabrizio in chains in the citadel, in that citadel which for so many -eminent men has been the ante-room of death; and I can no longer keep -that tiger cowed by the fear of seeing me leave his den. - - - - -_DESPONDENCY_ - - -"He has too much sense not to realise that I will never move from the -infamous tower in which my heart is enchained. Now, the injured vanity -of the man may put the oddest ideas into his head; their fantastic -cruelty would but whet the appetite of his astounding vanity. If he -returns to his former programme of insipid love-making, if he says to -me: 'Accept the devotion of your slave or Fabrizio dies,'--well, there -is the old story of Judith. . . . Yes, but if it is only suicide for me, -it will be murder for Fabrizio; his fool of a successor, our Crown -Prince, and the infamous headsman Rassi will have Fabrizio hanged as my -accomplice." - -The Duchessa wailed aloud: this dilemma, from which she could see no way -of escape, was torturing her unhappy heart. Her distracted head could -see no other probability in the future. For ten minutes she writhed like -a mad-woman; then a sleep of utter exhaustion took the place for a few -moments of this horrible state, life was crushed out. A few minutes -later she awoke with a start and found herself sitting on her bed; she -had dreamed that, in her presence, the Prince was going to cut off -Fabrizio's head. With what haggard eyes the Duchessa stared round her! -When at length she was convinced that neither Fabrizio nor the Prince -was in the room with her, she fell back on her bed and was on the point -of fainting. Her physical exhaustion was such, that she could not summon -up enough strength to change her position. "Great God! If I could die!" -she said to herself. . . . "But what cowardice, for me to abandon -Fabrizio in his trouble! My wits are straying. . . . Come, let us get -back to the facts; let us consider calmly the execrable position in -which I have plunged myself, as though of my own free will. What a -lamentable piece of stupidity to come and live at the court of an -Absolute Prince! A tyrant who knows all his victims; every look they -give him he interprets as a defiance of his power. Alas, that is what -neither the Conte nor I took into account when we left Milan: I thought -of the attractions of an amusing court; something inferior, it is true, -but something in the same style as the happy days of Prince Eugène. - -"Looking from without, we can form no idea of what is meant by the -authority of a despot who knows all his subjects by sight. The outward -form of despotism is the same as that of the other kinds of government: -there are judges, for instance, but they are Rassis: the monster! He -would see nothing extraordinary in hanging his own father if the Prince -ordered him to do so. . . . He would call it his duty. . . . Seduce -Rassi! Unhappy wretch that I am! I possess no means of doing so. What -can I offer him? A hundred thousand francs, possibly: and they say that, -after the last dagger-blow which the wrath of heaven against this -unhappy country allowed him to escape, the Prince sent him ten thousand -golden sequins in a casket. Besides, what sum of money would seduce him? -That soul of mud, which has never read anything but contempt in the eyes -of men, enjoys here the pleasure of seeing now fear, and even respect -there; he may become Minister of Police, and why not? Then three-fourths -of the inhabitants of the place will be his base courtiers, and will -tremble before him in as servile a fashion as he himself trembles before -his sovereign. - -"Since I cannot fly this detested spot, I must be of use here to -Fabrizio: live alone, in solitude, in despair!--what can I do then for -Fabrizio? Come; _forward, unhappy woman_! Do your duty; go into society, -pretend to think no more of Fabrizio. . . . Pretend to forget him, the -dear angel!" - -So speaking, the Duchessa burst into tears; at last she could weep. -After an hour set apart for human frailty, she saw with some slight -consolation that her mind was beginning to grow clearer. "To have the -magic carpet," she said to herself, "to snatch Fabrizio from the citadel -and fly with him to some happy place where we could not be pursued, -Paris for instance. We should live there, at first, on the twelve -hundred francs which his father's agent transmits to me with so pleasing -a regularity. I could easily gather together a hundred thousand francs -from the remains of my fortune!" The Duchessa's imagination passed in -review, with moments of unspeakable delight, all the details of the life -which she would lead three hundred leagues from Parma. "There," she said -to herself, "he could enter the service under an assumed name. . . . -Placed in a regiment of those gallant Frenchmen, the young Valserra -would speedily win a reputation; at last he would be happy." - -These blissful pictures brought on a second flood of tears, but they -were tears of joy. So happiness did exist then somewhere in the world! -This state lasted for a long time; the poor woman had a horror of coming -back to the contemplation of the grim reality. At length, as the light -of dawn began to mark with a white line the tops of the trees in her -garden, she forced herself into a state of composure. "In a few hours -from now," she told herself, "I shall be on the field of battle; it will -be a case for action, and if anything should occur to irritate me, if -the Prince should take it into his head to say anything to me about -Fabrizio, I am by no means certain that I can keep myself properly in -control. I must therefore, here and now, _make plans_. - -"If I am declared a State criminal, Rassi will seize everything there is -in this _palazzo_; on the first of this month the Conte and I burned, as -usual, all papers of which the police might make any improper use; and -he is Minister of Police! That is the amusing part of it. I have three -diamonds of some value; to-morrow, Fulgenzio, my old boatman from -Grianta, will set off for Geneva, where he will deposit them in a safe -place. Should Fabrizio ever escape (Great God, be Thou propitious to -me!" She crossed herself), "the unutterable meanness of the Marchese del -Dongo will decide that it is a sin to supply food to a man pursued by a -lawful Sovereign: then he will at least find my diamonds, he will have -bread. - -"Dismiss the Conte . . . being left alone with him, after what has -happened, is the one thing I cannot face. The poor man! He is not bad -really, far from it; he is only weak. That commonplace soul does not -rise to the level of ours. Poor Fabrizio! Why cannot you be here for a -moment with me to discuss our perils? - -"The Conte's meticulous prudence would spoil all my plans, and besides, -I must on no account involve him in my downfall. . . . For why should -not the vanity of that tyrant cast me into prison? I shall have -conspired . . . what could be easier to prove? If it should be to his -citadel that he sent me, and I could manage, by bribery, to speak to -Fabrizio, were it only for an instant, with what courage would we step -out together to death! But enough of such follies: his Rassi would -advise him to make an end of me with poison; my appearance in the -streets, riding upon a cart, might touch the hearts of his dear -Parmesans. . . . But what is this? Still romancing? Alas! These follies -must be forgiven a poor woman whose actual lot is so piteous! The truth -of all this is that the Prince will not send me to my death; but nothing -could be more easy than to cast me into prison and keep me there; he -will make his people hide all sorts of suspicious papers in some corner -of my _palazzo_, as they did with that poor L----. Then three -judges--not too big rascals, for they will have what is called -_documentary evidence_--and a dozen false witnesses will be all he -needs. So I may be sentenced to death as having conspired, and the -Prince, in his boundless clemency, taking into consideration the fact -that I have had the honour of being admitted to his court, will commute -my punishment to ten years in a fortress. But I, so as not to fall short -in any way of that violent character which has led the Marchesa Raversi -and my other enemies to say so many stupid things about me, will poison -myself bravely. So, at least, the public will be kind enough to believe; -but I wager that Rassi will appear in my cell to bring me gallantly, in -the Prince's name, a little bottle of strychnine, or Perugia opium. - -"Yes, I must quarrel in the most open manner with the Conte, for I do -not wish to involve him in my downfall--that would be a scandalous -thing; the poor man has loved me with such candour! My mistake lay in -thinking that a true courtier would have sufficient heart left to be -capable of love. Very probably the Prince will find some excuse for -casting me into prison; he will be afraid of my perverting public -opinion with regard to Fabrizio. The Conte is a man of perfect honour; -at once he will do what the sycophants of this court, in their profound -astonishment, will call madness, he will leave the court. I braved the -Prince's authority on the evening of the note; I may expect anything -from his wounded vanity: does a man who is born a Prince ever forget the -sensation I gave him that evening? Besides, the Conte, once he has -quarrelled with me, is in a stronger position for being of use to -Fabrizio. But if the Conte, whom this decision of mine must plunge in -despair, should avenge himself? . . . There, now, is an idea that would -never occur to him; his is not a fundamentally base nature like the -Prince's; the Conte may, with a sigh of protest, countersign a wicked -decree, but he is a man of honour. And besides, avenge himself for what? -Simply because, after loving him for five years without giving the -slightest offence of his love, I say to him: 'Dear Conte, I had the good -fortune to be in love with you: very well, that flame is burning low; I -no longer love you, but I know your heart through and through, I retain -a profound regard for you and you will always be my best friend.' - -"What answer can a _galantuomo_ make to so sincere a declaration? - -"I shall take a new lover, or so at least people will suppose; I shall -say to this lover: 'After all, the Prince does right to punish -Fabrizio's folly; but on the day of his _festa_, no doubt our gracious -Sovereign will set him at liberty.' Thus I gain six months. The new -lover whom prudence suggests to me would be that venal judge, that foul -hangman of a Rassi. . . . He would find himself ennobled and, as far as -that goes, I shall give him the right of entry into good society. -Forgive me, dear Fabrizio; such an effort, for me, is beyond the bounds -of possibility. What! That monster, still all bespattered with the blood -of Conte P---- and of D----! I should faint with horror whenever he came -near me, or rather I should seize a knife and plunge it into his vile -heart. Do not ask of me things that are impossible! - -"Yes, that is the first thing to do: forget Fabrizio! And not the least -trace of anger with the Prince; I must resume my ordinary gaiety, which -will seem all the more attractive to these souls of mud, in the first -place because I shall appear to be submitting with good grace to their -Sovereign's will, secondly because, so far from laughing at them, I -shall take good care to bring out all their pretty little qualities; for -instance, I shall compliment Conte Zurla on the beauty of the white -feather in his hat, which he has just had sent him from Lyons by -courier, and which keeps him perfectly happy. - -"Choose a lover from the Raversi's party. . . . If the Conte goes, that -will be the party in office; there is where the power will lie. It will -be a friend of the Raversi that will reign over the citadel, for Fabio -Conti will take office as Minister. How in the world will the Prince, a -man used to good society, a man of intelligence, accustomed to the -charming collaboration of the Conte, be able to discuss business with -that ox, that king of fools, whose whole life has been occupied with the -fundamental problem: ought His Highness's troops to have seven buttons -on their uniform, in front, or nine? It is all those brute beasts -thoroughly jealous of myself, and that is where you are in danger, dear -Fabrizio, it is those brute beasts who are going to decide my fate and -yours! Well then, shall I not allow the Conte to hand in his -resignation? Let him remain, even if he has to submit to humiliations. -He always imagines that to resign is the greatest sacrifice a Prime -Minister can make; and whenever his mirror tells him he is growing old, -he offers me that sacrifice: a complete rupture, then; yes, and -reconciliation only in the event of its being the sole method of -prevailing upon him not to go. Naturally, I shall give him his dismissal -in the friendliest possible way; but, after his courtierlike omission of -the words _unjust proceedings_ in the Prince's note, I feel that, if I -am not to hate him, I need to spend some months without seeing him. On -that decisive evening, I had no need of his cleverness; he had only to -write down what I dictated to him, he had only to write those words -_which I had obtained_ by my own strength of character: he was led away -by force of habit as a base courtier. He told me next day that he could -not make the Prince sign an absurdity, that we should have had _letters -of grace_; why, good God, with people like that, with those monsters of -vanity and rancour who bear the name Farnese, one takes what one can -get." - -At the thought of this, all the Duchessa's anger was rekindled. "The -Prince has betrayed me," she said to herself, "and in how dastardly a -way! There is no excuse for the man: he has brains, discernment, he is -capable of reasoning; there is nothing base in him but his passions. The -Conte and I have noticed it a score of times; his mind becomes vulgar -only when he imagines that some one has tried to insult him. Well, -Fabrizio's crime has nothing to do with politics, it is a trifling -homicide, just like a hundred others that are reported every day in his -happy States, and the Conte has sworn to me that he has taken pains to -procure the most accurate information, and that Fabrizio is innocent. -That Giletti was certainly not lacking in courage: finding himself -within a few yards of the frontier, he suddenly felt the temptation to -rid himself of an attractive rival." - -The Duchessa paused for a long time to consider whether it were possible -to believe in Fabrizio's guilt, not that she felt that it would have -been a very grave sin in a gentleman of her nephew's rank to rid himself -of the impertinence of a mummer; but, in her despair, she was beginning -to feel vaguely that she would be obliged to fight to prove Fabrizio's -innocence. "No," she told herself finally, "here is a decisive proof: he -is like poor Pietranera, he always has all his pockets stuffed with -weapons, and that day he was carrying only a wretched singled-barrelled -gun, and even that he had borrowed from one of the workmen. - -"I hate the Prince because he has betrayed me, and betrayed me in the -most dastardly fashion; after his written pardon, he had the poor boy -seized at Bologna, and all that. But I shall settle that account." About -five o'clock in the morning, the Duchessa, crushed by this prolonged fit -of despair, rang for her women; who screamed. Seeing her on her bed, -fully dressed, with her diamonds, pale as the sheet on which she lay and -with closed eyes, it seemed to them as though they beheld her laid out -in state after death. They would have supposed that she had completely -lost consciousness had they not remembered that she had just rung for -them. A few rare tears trickled from time to time down her insentient -cheeks; her women gathered from a sign which she made that she wished to -be put to bed. - - - - -_A BREACH_ - - -Twice that evening after the party at the Minister Zurla's, the Conte -had called on the Duchessa; being refused admittance, he wrote to her -that he wished to ask her advice as to his conduct. Ought he to retain -his post after the insult that they had dared to offer him? The Conte -went on to say: "The young man is innocent; but, were he guilty, ought -they to arrest him without first informing me, his acknowledged -protector?" The Duchessa did not see this letter until the following -day. - -The Conte had no virtue; one may indeed add that what the Liberals -understand by _virtue_ (seeking the greatest happiness of the greatest -number) seemed to him silly; he believed himself bound to seek first and -foremost the happiness of Conte Mosca della Rovere; but he was entirely -honourable, and perfectly sincere when he spoke of his resignation. -Never in his life had he told the Duchessa a lie; she, as it happened, -did not pay the slightest attention to this letter; her attitude, and a -very painful attitude it was, had been adopted: _to pretend to forget -Fabrizio_; after that effort, nothing else mattered to her. - -Next day, about noon, the Conte, who had called ten times at the -_palazzo_ Sanseverina, was at length admitted; he was appalled when he -saw the Duchessa. . . . "She looks forty!" he said to himself; "and -yesterday she was so brilliant, so young! . . . Everyone tells me that, -during her long conversation with Clelia Conti, she looked every bit as -young and far more attractive." - -The Duchessa's voice, her tone were as strange as her personal -appearance. This tone, divested of all passion, of all human interest, -of all anger, turned the Conte pale; it reminded him of the manner of a -friend of his who, a few months earlier, when on the point of death, and -after receiving the Last Sacrament, had sent for him to talk to him. - -After some minutes the Duchessa was able to speak to him. She looked at -him, and her eyes remained dead. - -"Let us part, my dear Conte," she said to him in a faint but quite -articulate voice which she tried to make sound friendly; "let us part, -we must! Heaven is my witness that, for five years, my behaviour towards -you has been irreproachable. You have given me a brilliant existence, in -place of the boredom which would have been my sad portion at the castle -of Grianta; without you I should have reached old age several years -sooner. . . . For my part, my sole occupation has been to try to make -you find happiness. It is because I love you that I propose to you this -parting _à l'amiable_, as they say in France." - -The Conte did not understand; she was obliged to repeat her statement -several times. He grew deadly pale, and, flinging himself on his knees -by her bedside, said to her all the things that profound astonishment, -followed by the keenest despair, can inspire in a man who is -passionately in love. At every moment he offered to hand in his -resignation and to follow his mistress to some retreat a thousand -leagues from Parma. - -"You dare to speak to me of departure, and Fabrizio is here!" she at -length exclaimed, half rising. But seeing that the sound of Fabrizio's -name made a painful impression, she added after a moment's quiet, gently -pressing the Conte's hand: "No, dear friend, I am not going to tell you -that I have loved you with that passion and those transports which one -no longer feels, it seems to me, after thirty, and I am already a long -way past that age. They will have told you that I was in love with -Fabrizio, for I know that the rumour has gone round in this _wicked_ -court." (Her eyes sparkled for the first time in this conversation, as -she uttered the word _wicked_.) "I swear to you before God, and upon -Fabrizio's life, that never has there passed between him and me the -tiniest thing which could not have borne the eyes of a third person. Nor -shall I say to you that I love him exactly as a sister might; I love him -instinctively, so to speak. I love in him his courage, so simple and so -perfect that, one may say, he is not aware of it himself; I remember -that this sort of admiration began on his return from Waterloo. He was -still a boy then, for all his seventeen years; his great anxiety was to -know whether he had really been present at the battle, and, if so, -whether he could say that he had fought, when he had not marched to the -attack of any enemy battery or column. It was during the serious -discussions which we used to have together on this important subject -that I began to see in him a perfect charm. His great soul revealed -itself to me; what sophisticated falsehoods would a well-bred young man, -in his place, have flaunted! Well then, if he is not happy I cannot be -happy. There, that is a statement which well describes the state of my -heart; if it is not the truth it is at any rate all of it that I see." -The Conte, encouraged by this tone of frankness and intimacy, tried to -kiss her hand; she drew it back with a sort of horror. "The time is -past," she said to him; "I am a woman of thirty-seven, I find myself on -the threshold of old age, I already feel all its discouragements, and -perhaps I have even drawn near to the tomb. That is a terrible moment, -by all one hears, and yet it seems to me that I desire it. I feel the -worst symptom of old age; my heart is extinguished by this frightful -misfortune, I can no longer love. I see in you now, dear Conte, only the -shade of someone who was dear to me. I shall say more, it is gratitude, -simply and solely, that makes me speak to you thus." - -"What is to become of me," the Conte repeated, "of me who feel that I am -attached to you more passionately than in the first days of our -friendship, when I saw you at the Scala?" - -"Let me confess to you one thing, dear friend, this talk of love bores -me, and seems to me indecent. Come," she said, trying to smile, but in -vain, "courage! Be the man of spirit, the judicious man, the man of -resource in all circumstances. Be with me what you really are in the -eyes of strangers, the most able man and the greatest politician that -Italy has produced for ages." - -The Conte rose, and paced the room in silence for some moments. - -"Impossible, dear friend," he said to her at length; "I am rent asunder -by the most violent passion, and you ask me to consult my reason. There -is no longer any reason for me!" - -"Let us not speak of passion, I beg of you," she said in a dry tone; and -this was the first time, after two hours of talk, that her voice assumed -any expression whatever. The Conte, in despair himself, sought to -console her. - -"He has betrayed me," she cried without in any way considering the -reasons for hope which the Conte was setting before her; "_he_ has -betrayed me in the most dastardly fashion!" Her deadly pallor ceased for -a moment; but, even in this moment of violent excitement, the Conte -noticed that she had not the strength to raise her arms. - -"Great God! Can it be possible," he thought, "that she is only ill? In -that case, though, it would be the beginning of some very serious -illness." Then, filled with uneasiness, he proposed to call in the -famous Razori, the leading physician in the place and in the whole of -Italy. - -"So you wish to give a stranger the pleasure of learning the whole -extent of my despair? . . . Is that the counsel of a traitor or of a -friend?" And she looked at him with strange eyes. - -"It is all over," he said to himself with despair, "she has no longer -any love for me! And worse still; she no longer includes me even among -the common men of honour. - -"I may tell you," the Conte went on, speaking with emphasis, "that I -have been anxious above all things to obtain details of the arrest which -has thrown us into despair, and the curious thing is that still I know -nothing positive; I have had the constables at the nearest station -questioned, they saw the prisoner arrive by the Castelnuovo road and -received orders to follow his _sediola_. I at once sent off Bruno, whose -zeal is as well known to you as his devotion; he has orders to go on -from station to station until he finds out where and how Fabrizio was -arrested." - -On hearing him utter Fabrizio's name, the Duchessa was seized by a -slight convulsion. - -"Forgive me, my friend," she said to the Conte as soon as she was able -to speak; "these details interest me greatly, give me them all, let me -have a clear understanding of the smallest circumstances." - -"Well, Signora," the Conte went on, assuming a somewhat lighter air in -the hope of distracting her a little, "I have a good mind to send a -confidential messenger to Bruno and to order him to push on as far as -Bologna; it was from there, perhaps, that our young friend was carried -off. What is the date of his last letter?" - -"Tuesday, five days ago." - -"Had it been opened in the post?" - -"No trace of any opening. I ought to tell you that it was written on -horrible paper; the address is in a woman's hand, and that address bears -the name of an old laundress who is related to my maid. The laundress -believes that it is something to do with a love affair, and Cocchina -refunds her for the carriage of the letters without adding anything -further." The Conte, who had adopted quite the tone of a man of -business, tried to discover, by questioning the Duchessa, which could -have been the day of the abduction from Bologna. He only then perceived, -he who had ordinarily so much tact, that this was the right tone to -adopt. These details interested the unhappy woman and seemed to distract -her a little. If the Conte had not been in love, this simple idea would -have occurred to him as soon as he entered the room. The Duchessa sent -him away in order that he might without delay dispatch fresh orders to -the faithful Bruno. As they were momentarily considering the question -whether there had been a sentence passed before the moment at which the -Prince signed the note addressed to the Duchessa, the latter with a -certain determination seized the opportunity to say to the Conte: "I -shall not reproach you in the least for having omitted the words _unjust -proceedings_ in the letter which you wrote and he signed, it was the -courtier's instinct that gripped you by the throat; unconsciously you -preferred your master's interest to your friend's. You have placed your -actions under my orders, dear Conte, and that for a long time past, but -it is not in your power to change your nature; you have great talents -for the part of Minister, but you have also the instinct of that trade. -The suppression of the word _unjust_ was my ruin; but far be it from me to -reproach you for it in any way, it was the fault of your instinct and -not of your will. - - - - -_THE COURT FROM WITHIN_ - - -"Bear in mind," she went on, changing her tone, and with the most -imperious air, "that I am by no means unduly afflicted by the abduction -of Fabrizio, that I have never had the slightest intention of removing -myself from this place, that I am full of respect for the Prince. That -is what you have to say, and this is what I, for my part, wish to say to -you: 'As I intend to have the entire control of my own behaviour for the -future, I wish to part from you _à l'amiable_, that is to say as a good -and old friend. Consider that I am sixty, the young woman is dead in me, -I can no longer form an exaggerated idea of anything in the world, I can -no longer love.' But I should be even more wretched than I am were I to -compromise your future. It may enter into my plans to give myself the -appearance of having a young lover, and I should not like to see you -distressed. I can swear to you by Fabrizio's happiness"--she stopped for -half a minute after these words--"that never have I been guilty of any -infidelity to you, and that in five whole years. It is a long time," she -said; she tried to smile; her pallid cheeks were convulsed, but her lips -were unable to part. "I swear to you even that I have never either -planned or wished such a thing. Now you understand that, leave me." - -The Conte in despair left the _palazzo_ Sanseverina: he could see in the -Duchessa the deliberately formed intention to part from him, and never -had he been so desperately in love. This is one of the points to which I -am obliged frequently to revert, because they are improbable outside -Italy. Returning home, he dispatched as many as six different people -along the road to Castelnuovo and Bologna, and gave them letters. "But -that is not all," the unhappy Conte told himself: "the Prince may take -it into his head to have this wretched boy executed, and that in revenge -for the tone which the Duchessa adopted with him on the day of that -fatal note. I felt that the Duchessa was exceeding a limit beyond which -one ought never to go, and it was to compensate for this that I was so -incredibly foolish as to suppress the words _unjust proceedings_, the -only ones that bound the Sovereign. . . . But bah! Are those people -bound by anything in the world? That is no doubt the greatest mistake of -my life, I have risked everything that can bring me life's reward: it -now remains to compensate for my folly by dint of activity and cunning; -but after all, if I can obtain nothing, even by sacrificing a little of -my dignity, I leave the man stranded; with his dreams of high politics, -with his ideas of making himself Constitutional King of Lombardy, we -shall see how he will fill my place. . . . Fabio Conti is nothing but a -fool, Rassi's talent reduces itself to having a man legally hanged who -is displeasing to Authority." - -As soon as he had definitely made up his mind to resign from the -Ministry if the rigour shewn Fabrizio went beyond that of simple -detention, the Conte said to himself: "If a caprice of that man's -vanity, rashly braved, should cost me my happiness, at least I shall -have my honour left. . . . By that token, since I am throwing my -portfolio to the winds, I may allow myself a hundred actions which, only -this morning, would have seemed to be outside the bounds of possibility. -For instance, I am going to attempt everything that is humanly feasible -to secure Fabrizio's escape. . . . Great God!" exclaimed the Conte, -breaking off in his soliloquy and opening his eyes wide as though at the -sight of an unexpected happiness, "the Duchessa never said anything to -me about an escape; can she have been wanting in sincerity for once in -her life, and is the motive of her quarrel only a desire that I should -betray the Prince? Upon my word, no sooner said than done!" - - - - -_THE COURT_ - - -The Conte's eye had recovered all its satirical sublety. "That engaging -Fiscal Rassi is paid by his master for all the sentences that disgrace -us throughout Europe, but he is not the sort of man to refuse to be paid -by me to betray the master's secrets. The animal has a mistress and a -confessor, but the mistress is of too vile a sort for me to be able to -tackle her, next day she would relate our interview to all the -applewomen in the parish." The Conte, revived by this gleam of hope, was -by this time on his way to the Cathedral; astonished at the alertness of -his gait, he smiled in spite of his grief: "This is what it is," he -said, "to be no longer a Minister!" This Cathedral, like many churches -in Italy, serves as a passage from one street to another; the Conte saw -as he entered one of the Archbishop's Grand Vicars crossing the nave. - -"Since I have met you here," he said to him, "will you be so very good -as to spare my gout the deadly fatigue of climbing to His Grace the -Archbishop's. He would be doing me the greatest favour in the world if -he would be so kind as to come down to the sacristy." The Archbishop was -delighted by this message, he had a thousand things to say to the -Minister on the subject of Fabrizio. But the Minister guessed that these -things were no more than fine phrases, and refused to listen to any of -them. - -"What sort of man is Dugnani, the Vicar of San Paolo?" - -"A small mind and a great ambition," replied the Archbishop; "few -scruples and extreme poverty, for we too have our vices!" - -"Egad, Monsignore," exclaimed the Minister, "you portray like Tacitus"; -and he took leave of him, laughing. No sooner had he returned to his -Ministry than he sent for Priore Dugnani. - -"You direct the conscience of my excellent friend the Fiscal General -Rassi; are you sure he has nothing to tell me?" And, without any further -speech or ceremony, he dismissed Dugnani. - - - - -CHAPTER SEVENTEEN - - -The Conte regarded himself as out of office. "Let us see now," he said -to himself, "how many horses we shall be able to have after my disgrace, -for that is what they will call my resignation." He made a reckoning of -his fortune: he had come to the Ministry with 80,000 francs to his name; -greatly to his surprise, he found that, all told, his fortune at that -moment did not amount to 500,000 francs: "that is an income of 20,000 -lire at the most," he said to himself. "I must admit that I am a great -simpleton! There is not a citizen in Parma who does not suppose me to -have an income of 150,000 lire, and the Prince, in that respect, is more -of a cit than any of them. When they see me in the ditch, they will say -that I know how to hide my fortune. Egad!" he cried, "if I am still -Minister in three months' time, we shall see that fortune doubled." He -found in this idea an occasion for writing to the Duchessa, which he -seized with avidity, but to bespeak her pardon for a letter, seeing the -terms on which they were, he filled this with figures and calculations. -"We shall have only 20,000 lire of income," he told her, "to live upon, -all three of us, at Naples, Fabrizio, you and myself. Fabrizio and I -shall have one saddle-horse between us." The Minister had barely sent -off his letter when the Fiscal General Rassi was announced. He received -him with a stiffness which bordered on impertinence. - -"What, Sir," he said to him, "you seize and carry off from Bologna a -conspirator who is under my protection; what is more, you propose to cut -off his head, and you say nothing about it to me! Do you at least know -the name of my successor? Is it General Conti, or yourself?" - -Rassi was dumbfoundered; he was too little accustomed to good society to -know whether the Conte was speaking seriously: he blushed a deep red, -mumbled a few scarcely intelligible words; the Conte watched him and -enjoyed his embarrassment. Suddenly Rassi pulled himself together and -exclaimed, with perfect ease and with the air of Figaro caught -red-handed by Almaviva: - -"Faith, Signor Conte, I shan't beat about the bush with Your Excellency: -what will you give me to answer all your questions as I should those of -my confessor?" - -"The Cross of San Paolo" (which is the Parmesan Order) "or money, if you -can find me an excuse for granting it to you." - -"I prefer the Cross of San Paolo, because it ennobles me." - -"What, my dear Fiscal, you still pay some regard to our poor nobility?" - -"If I were of noble birth," replied Rassi with all the impudence of his -trade, "the families of the people I have had hanged would hate me, but -they would not feel contempt for me." - -"Very well, I will save you from their contempt," said the Conte; "cure -me of my ignorance. What do you intend to do with Fabrizio?" - - - - -_THE COURT_ - - -"Faith, the Prince is greatly embarrassed; he is afraid that, seduced by -the fine eyes of Armida--forgive my slightly bold language, they are the -Sovereign's own words--he is afraid that, seduced by a certain pair of -very fine eyes, which have touched him slightly himself, you may leave -him stranded, and there is no one but you to handle the question of -Lombardy. I will go so far as to say," Rassi went on, lowering his -voice, "that there is a fine opportunity there for you, and one that is -well worth the Cross of San Paolo which you are giving me. The Prince -would grant you, as a reward from the nation, a fine estate worth -600,000 francs, which he would set apart from his own domains, or a -gratuity of 300,000 scudi, if you would agree not to interfere in the -affairs of Fabrizio del Dongo, or at any rate not to speak of them to -him except in public." - -"I expected something better than that," said the Conte; "not to -interfere with Fabrizio means quarrelling with the Duchessa." - -"There, that is just what the Prince says: the fact is that he is -horribly enraged against the Signora Duchessa, this is between -ourselves; and he is afraid that, to compensate yourself for the rupture -with that charming lady, now that you are a widower, you may ask him for -the hand of his cousin, the old Princess Isotta, who is only fifty." - -"He has guessed aright," exclaimed the Conte; "our master is the -shrewdest man in his States." - -Never had the Conte entertained the grotesque idea of marrying this -elderly Princess; nothing would less have suited a man whom the -ceremonies of the court bored to death. - -He began to tap with his snuff-box on the marble of a little table -beside his chair. Rassi saw in this gesture of embarrassment the -possibility of a fine windfall; his eye gleamed. - -"As a favour, Signor Conte," he cried, "if Your Excellency decides to -accept this estate of 600,000 francs or the gratuity in money, I beg that -he will not choose any other intermediary than myself. I should make an -effort," he added, lowering his voice, "to have the gratuity increased, -or else to have a forest of some importance added to the land. If Your -Excellency would deign to introduce a little gentleness and tact into -his manner in speaking to the Prince of this youngster they've locked -up, a Duchy might perhaps be created out of the lands which the nation's -gratitude would offer him. I repeat to Your Excellency; the Prince, for -the moment, abominates the Duchessa, but he is greatly embarrassed, so -much so indeed that I have sometimes thought there must be some secret -consideration which he dared not confess to me. Do you know, we may find -a gold mine here, I selling you his most intimate secrets, and quite -openly, for I am supposed to be your sworn enemy. After all, if he is -furious with the Duchessa, he believes also, and so do we all, that you -are the one man in the world who can carry through all the secret -negotiations with regard to the Milanese. Will Your Excellency permit me -to repeat to him textually the Sovereign's words?" said Rassi, growing -heated; "there is often a character in the order of the words which no -translation can render, and you may be able to see more in them than I -see." - -"I permit everything," said the Conte, as he went on, with an air of -distraction, tapping the marble table with his gold snuff-box; "I permit -everything, and I shall be grateful." - -"Give me a patent of hereditary nobility independently of the Cross, and -I shall be more than satisfied. When I speak of ennoblement to the -Prince, he answers: 'A scoundrel like you, noble! I should have to shut -up shop next day; nobody in Parma would wish to be ennobled again.' To -come back to the business of the Milanese, the Prince said to me not -three days ago: 'There is only that rascal to unravel the thread of our -intrigues; if I send him away, or if he follows the Duchessa, I may as -well abandon the hope of seeing myself one day the Liberal and beloved -ruler of all Italy.'" - -At this the Conte drew breath. "Fabrizio will not die," he said to -himself. - -Never in his life had Rassi been able to secure an intimate conversation -with the Prime Minister. He was beside himself with joy: he saw himself -on the eve of being able to discard the name Rassi, which had become -synonymous throughout the country with everything that was base and -vile. The lower orders gave the name Rassi to mad dogs; recently more -than one soldier had fought a duel because one of his comrades had -called him Rassi. Not a week passed, moreover, in which this ill-starred -name did not figure in some atrocious sonnet. His son, a young and -innocent schoolboy of sixteen, used to be driven out of the caffè on -the strength of his name. It was the burning memory of all these little -perquisites of his office that made him commit an imprudence. "I have an -estate," he said to the Conte, drawing his chair closer to the -Minister's; "it is called Riva. I should like to be Barone Riva." - -"Why not?" said the Minister. Rassi was beside himself. - -"Very well, Signor Conte, I shall take the liberty of being indiscreet. -I shall venture to guess the object of your desires; you aspire to the -hand of the Princess Isotta, and it is a noble ambition. Once you are of -the family, you are sheltered from disgrace, you have our man _tied -down_. I shall not conceal from you that he has a horror of this -marriage with the Princess Isotta. But if your affairs were entrusted to -some skilful and _well paid_ person, you would be in a position not to -despair of success." - -"I, my dear Barone, should despair of it; I disavow in advance -everything that you can say in my name; but on the day on which that -illustrious alliance comes at length to crown my wishes and to give me -so exalted a position in the State, I will offer you, myself, 300,000 -francs of my own money, or else recommend the Prince to accord you a -mark of his favour which you yourself will prefer to that sum of money." - -The reader finds this conversation long: and yet we are sparing him more -than half of it; it continued for two hours more. Rassi left the Conte's -presence mad with joy; the Conte was left with a great hope of saving -Fabrizio, and more than ever determined to hand in his resignation. He -found that his credit stood in need of renewal by the succession to -power of persons such as Rassi and General Conti; he took an exquisite -delight in a possible method which he had just discovered of avenging -himself on the Prince: "He may send the Duchessa away," he cried, "but, -by gad, he will have to abandon the hope of becoming Constitutional King -of Lombardy." (This was an absurd fantasy: the Prince had abundance of -brains, but, by dint of dreaming of it, he had fallen madly in love with -the idea.) - -The Conte could not contain himself for joy as he hurried to the -Duchessa's to give her a report of his conversation with the Fiscal. He -found the door closed to him; the porter scarcely dared admit to him the -fact of this order, received from his mistress's own lips. The Conte -went sadly back to the ministerial _palazzo_; the rebuff he had just -encountered completely eclipsed the joy that his conversation with the -Prince's confidant had given him. Having no longer the heart to devote -himself to anything, the Conte was wandering gloomily through his -picture gallery when, a quarter of an hour later, he received a note -which ran as follows: - - -"Since it is true, dear and good friend, that we are nothing more now -than friends, you must come to see me only three times in the week. In a -fortnight we shall reduce these visits, always so dear to my heart, to -two monthly. If you wish to please me, give publicity to this apparent -rupture; if you wished to pay me back almost all the love that I once -felt for you, you would choose a new mistress for yourself. As for -myself, I have great plans of dissipation: I intend to go a great deal -into society, perhaps I shall even find a man of parts to make me forget -my misfortunes. Of course, in your capacity as a friend, the first place -in my heart will always be kept for you; but I do not wish, for the -future, that my actions should be said to have been dictated by your -wisdom; above all, I wish it to be well known that I have lost all my -influence over your decisions. In a word, dear Conte, be assured that -you will always be my dearest friend, but never anything else. Do not, I -beg you, entertain any idea of a resumption, it is all over. Count, -always, upon my friendship." - - -This last stroke was too much for the Conte's courage: he wrote a fine -letter to the Prince resigning all his offices, and addressed it to the -Duchessa with a request that she would forward it to the Palace. A -moment later, he received his resignation, torn across, and on one of the -blank scraps of the paper the Duchessa had condescended to write: "_No, -a thousand times no_!" - - - -_A BREACH_ - - -It would be difficult to describe the despair of the poor Minister. "She -is right, I quite agree," he kept saying to himself at every moment; "my -omission of the words _unjust proceedings_ is a dreadful misfortune; it -will involve perhaps the death of Fabrizio, and that will lead to my -own." It was with death in his heart that the Conte, who did not wish to -appear at the Sovereign's Palace before being summoned there, wrote out -with his own hand the _motu proprio_ which created Rassi Cavaliere of -the Order of San Paolo and conferred on him hereditary nobility; the -Conte appended to it a report of half a page which set forth to the -Prince the reasons of state which made this measure advisable. He found -a sort of melancholy joy in making a fair copy of each of these -documents, which he addressed to the Duchessa. - -He lost himself in suppositions; he tried to guess what, for the future, -would be the plan of conduct of the woman he loved. "She has no idea -herself," he said to himself; "one thing alone remains certain, which is -that she would not for anything in the world fail to adhere to any -resolution once she had announced it to me." What added still further to -his unhappiness was that he could not succeed in finding that the -Duchessa was to be blamed. "She has shewn me a favour in loving me; she -ceases to love me after a mistake, unintentional, it is true, but one -that may involve a horrible consequence; I have no right to complain." -Next morning, the Conte learned that the Duchessa had begun to go into -society again; she had appeared the evening before in all the houses in -which parties were being given. What would have happened if they had met -in the same drawing-room? How was he to speak to her? In what tone was -he to address her? And how could he not speak to her? - -The day that followed was a day of gloom; the rumour had gone abroad -everywhere that Fabrizio was going to be put to death, the town was -stirred. It was added that the Prince, having regard for his high birth, -had deigned to decide that he should have his head cut off. - -"It is I that am killing him," the Conte said to himself; "I can no -longer aspire to see the Duchessa ever again." In spite of this fairly -obvious conclusion, he could not restrain himself from going three times -to her door; as a matter of fact, in order not to be noticed, he went to -her house on foot. In his despair, he had even the courage to write to -her. He had sent for Rassi twice; the Fiscal had not shewn his face. -"The scoundrel is playing me false," the Conte said to himself. - - - - -_PUBLIC OPINION_ - - -The day after this, three great pieces of news excited the high society -of Parma, and even the middle classes. The execution of Fabrizio was -more certain than ever; and, a highly strange complement to this news, -the Duchessa did not appear to be at all despairing. To all appearance, -she bestowed only a quite moderate regret on her young lover; in any -event, she made the most, with an unbounded art, of the pallor which was -the legacy of a really serious indisposition, which had come to her at -the time of Fabrizio's arrest. The middle classes saw clearly in these -details the hard heart of a great lady of the court. In decency, -however, and as a sacrifice to the shade of the young Fabrizio, she had -broken with Conte Mosca. "What immorality!" exclaimed the Jansenists of -Parma. But already the Duchessa, and this was incredible, seemed -disposed to listen to the flatteries of the handsomest young men at -court. It was observed, among other curious incidents, that she had been -very gay in a conversation with Conte Baldi, the Raversi's reigning -lover, and had teased him greatly over his frequent visits to the -_castello_ of Velleja. The lower middle class and the populace were -indignant at the death of Fabrizio, which these good folk put down to -the jealousy of Conte Mosca. The society of the court was also greatly -taken up with the Conte, but only to laugh at him. The third of the -great pieces of news to which we have referred was indeed nothing else -than the Conte's resignation; everyone laughed at a ridiculous lover -who, at the age of fifty-six, was sacrificing a magnificent position to -his grief at being abandoned by a heartless woman, who moreover had long -ago shewn her preference for a young man. The Archbishop alone had the -intelligence or rather the heart to divine that honour forbade the Conte -to remain Prime Minister in a country where they were going to cut off -the head, and without consulting him, of a young man who was under his -protection. The news of the Conte's resignation had the effect of curing -General Fabio Conti of his gout, as we shall relate in due course, when -we come to speak of the way in which poor Fabrizio was spending his time -in the citadel, while the whole town was inquiring the hour of his -execution. - -On the following day the Conte saw Bruno, that faithful agent whom he -had dispatched to Bologna: the Conte's heart melted at the moment when -this man entered his cabinet; the sight of him recalled the happy state -in which he had been when he sent him to Bologna, almost in concert with -the Duchessa. Bruno came from Bologna where he had discovered nothing; -he had not been able to find Lodovico, whom the _podestà_ of -Castelnuovo had kept locked up in his village prison. - -"I am going to send you to Bologna," said the Conte to Bruno; "the -Duchessa wishes to give herself the melancholy pleasure of knowing the -details of Fabrizio's disaster. Report yourself to the _brigadiere_ of -police in charge of the station at Castelnuovo. . . . - -"No!" exclaimed the Conte, breaking off in his orders; "start at once -for Lombardy, and distribute money lavishly among all our -correspondents. My object is to obtain from all these people reports of -the most encouraging nature." Bruno, after clearly grasping the object -of his mission, set to work to write his letters of credit. As the Conte -was giving him his final instructions, he received a letter which was -entirely false, but extremely well written; one would have called it the -letter of a friend writing to a friend to ask a favour of him. The -friend who wrote it was none other than the Prince. Having heard mention -of some idea of resignation, he besought his friend, Conte Mosca, to -retain his office; he asked him this in the name of their friendship and -of the _dangers that threatened the country_, and ordered him as his -master. He added that, the King of ---- having placed at his disposal -two Cordons of his Order, he was keeping one for himself and was sending -the other to his dear Conte Mosca. - - - -_DIPLOMACY_ - - -"That animal is ruining me!" cried the Conte in a fury, before the -astonished Bruno, "and he thinks to win me over by those same -hypocritical phrases which we have planned together so many times to -lime the twig for some fool." He declined the Order that was offered -him, and in his reply spoke of the state of his health as allowing him -but little hope of being able to carry on for much longer the arduous -duties of the Ministry. The Conte was furious. A moment later was -announced the Fiscal Rassi, whom he treated like a black. - -"Well! Because I have made you noble, you are beginning to shew -insolence! Why did you not come yesterday to thank me, as was your -bounden duty, Master Drudge?" - -Rassi was a long way below the reach of insult; it was in this tone that -he was daily received by the Prince; but he was anxious to be a Barone, -and justified himself with spirit. Nothing was easier. - -"The Prince kept me glued to a table all day yesterday; I could not -leave the Palace. His Highness made me copy out in my wretched -attorney's script a number of diplomatic papers so stupid and so -long-winded that I really believe his sole object was to keep me -prisoner. When I was finally able to take my leave of him, about five -o'clock, half dead with hunger, he gave me the order to go straight home -and not to go out in the evening. As a matter of fact, I saw two of his -private spies, well known to me, patrolling my street until nearly -midnight. This morning, as soon as I could, I sent for a carriage which -took me to the door of the Cathedral. I got down from the carriage very -slowly, then at a quick pace walked through the church, and here I am. -Your Excellency is at this moment the one man in the world whom I am -most passionately anxious to please." - -"And I, Master Joker, am not in the least taken in by all these more or -less well constructed stories. You refused to speak to me about Fabrizio -the day before yesterday; I respected your scruples and your oaths of -secrecy, although oaths, to a creature like you, are at the most means -of evasion. To-day, I require the truth. What are these ridiculous -rumours which make out that this young man is sentenced to death as the -murderer of the comedian Giletti?" - -"No one can give Your Excellency a better account of those rumours, for -it was I myself who started them by the Sovereign's orders; and, I -believe, it was perhaps to prevent me from informing you of this -incident that he kept me prisoner all day yesterday. The Prince, who -does not take me for a fool, could have no doubt that I should come to -you with my Cross and ask you to fasten it in my buttonhole." - -"To the point!" cried the Minister. "And no fine speeches." - -"No doubt, the Prince would be glad to pass sentence of death on Signor -del Dongo, but he has been sentenced, as you probably know, only to -twenty years in irons, commuted by the Prince, on the very day after the -sentence, to twelve years in a fortress, with fasting on bread and water -every Friday and other religious observances." - -"It is because I knew of this sentence to imprisonment only that I was -alarmed by the rumours of immediate execution which are going about the -town; I remember the death of Conte Palanza, which was such a clever -trick on your part." - -"It was then that I ought to have had the Cross!" cried Rassi, in no way -disconcerted; "I ought to have forced him when I held him in my hand, -and the man wished the prisoner killed. I was a fool then; and it is -armed with that experience that I venture to advise you not to copy my -example to-day." (This comparison seemed in the worst of taste to his -hearer, who was obliged to restrain himself forcibly from kicking -Rassi.) - -"In the first place," the latter went on with the logic of a trained -lawyer and the perfect assurance of a man whom no insult could offend, -"in the first place there can be no question of the execution of the -said del Dongo; the Prince would not dare, the times have altogether -changed! Besides, I, who am noble and hope through you to become Barone, -would not lend a hand in the matter. Now it is only from me, as Your -Excellency knows, that the executioner of supreme penalties can receive -orders, and, I swear to you, Cavaliere Rassi will never issue any such -orders against Signor del Dongo." - -"And you will be acting wisely," said the Conte with a severe air, -taking his adversary's measure. - -"Let us make a distinction," went on Rassi, smiling. "I myself figure -only in the official death-roll, and if Signor del Dongo happens to die -of a colic, do not go and put it down to me. The Prince is vexed, and I -do not know why, with the Sanseverina." (Three days earlier Rassi would -have said "the Duchessa," but, like everyone in the town, he knew of her -breach with the Prime Minister.) The Conte was struck by the omission of -her title on such lips, and the reader may judge of the pleasure that it -afforded him; he darted at Rassi a glance charged with the keenest -hatred. "My dear angel," he then said to himself, "I can shew you my -love only by blind obedience to your orders. - -"I must admit," he said to the Fiscal, "that I do not take any very -passionate interest in the various caprices of the Signora Duchessa; -only, since it was she who introduced to me this scapegrace of a -Fabrizio, who would have done well to remain at Naples and not come here -to complicate our affairs, I make a point of his not being put to death -in my time, and I am quite ready to give you my word that you shall be -Barone in the week following his release from prison." - -"In that case, Signor Conte, I shall not be Barone for twelve whole -years, for the Prince is furious, and his hatred of the Duchessa is so -keen that he is trying to conceal it." - -"His Highness is too good; what need has he to conceal his hatred, since -his Prime Minister is no longer protecting the Duchessa? Only I do not -wish that anyone should be able to accuse me of meanness, nor above all -of jealousy: it was I who made the Duchessa come to this country, and if -Fabrizio dies in prison you will not be Barone, but you will perhaps be -stabbed with a dagger. But let us not talk about this trifle: the fact -is that I have made an estimate of my fortune, at the most I may be able -to put together an income of twenty thousand lire, on which I propose to -offer my resignation, most humbly, to the Sovereign. I have some hope of -finding employment with the King of Naples; that big town will offer me -certain distractions which I need at this moment and which I cannot find -in a hole like Parma; I should stay here only in the event of your -obtaining for me the hand of the Princess Isotta," and so forth. The -conversation on this subject was endless. As Rassi was rising to leave, -the Conte said to him with an air of complete indifference: - -"You know that people have said that Fabrizio was playing me false, in -the sense that he was one of the Duchessa's lovers; I decline to accept -that rumour, and, to give it the lie, I wish you to have this purse -conveyed to Fabrizio." - -"But, Signor Conte," said Rassi in alarm, looking at the purse, "there -is an enormous sum here, and the regulations. . . ." - -"To you, my dear Sir, it may be enormous," replied the Conte with an air -of the most supreme contempt: "a cit like you, sending money to his -friend in prison, thinks he is ruining himself if he gives him ten -sequins; I, on the other hand, wish Fabrizio to receive these six -thousand francs, and on no account is the Castle to know anything of the -matter." - -While the terrified Rassi was trying to answer, the Conte shut the door -on him with impatience. "Those fellows," he said to himself, "cannot see -power unless it is cloaked in insolence." So saying, this great Minister -abandoned himself to an action so ridiculous that we have some -misgivings about recording it. He ran to take from his desk a portrait -in miniature of the Duchessa, and covered it with passionate kisses. -"Forgive me, my dear angel," he cried, "if I did not fling out of the -window with my own hands that drudge who dares to speak of you in a tone -of familiarity; but, if I am acting with this excess of patience, it is -to obey you! And he will lose nothing by waiting." - -After a long conversation with the portrait, the Conte, who felt his -heart dead in his breast, had the idea of an absurd action, and dashed -into it with the eagerness of a child. He sent for a coat on which his -decorations were sewn and went to pay a call on the elderly Princess -Isotta. Never in his life had he gone to her apartments, except on New -Year's Day. He found her surrounded by a number of dogs, and tricked out -in all her finery, including diamonds even, as though she were going to -court. The Conte having shewn some fear lest he might be upsetting the -arrangements of Her Highness, who was probably going out, the lady -replied that a Princess of Parma owed it to herself to be always in such -array. For the first time since his disaster the Conte felt an impulse -of gaiety. "I have done well to appear here," he told himself, "and this -very day I must make my declaration." The Princess had been delighted to -receive a visit from a man so renowned for his wit, and a Prime -Minister; the poor old maid was hardly accustomed to such visitors. The -Conte began by an adroit preamble, relative to the immense distance that -must always separate from a plain gentleman the members of a reigning -family. - -"One must draw a distinction," said the Princess: "the daughter of a -King of France, for instance, has no hope of ever succeeding to the -Throne; but things are not like that in the House of Parma. And that is -why we Farnese must always keep up a certain dignity in externals; and -I, a poor Princess such as you see me now, I cannot say that it is -absolutely impossible that one day you may be my Prime Minister." - -This idea, by its fantastic unexpectedness, gave the poor Conte a second -momentary thrill of perfect gaiety. - -On leaving the apartments of the Princess Isotta, who had blushed deeply -on receiving the avowal of the Prime Minister's passion, he met one of -the grooms from the Palace: the Prince had sent for him in hot haste. - -"I am unwell," replied the Minister, delighted at being able to play a -trick on his Prince. "Oh! Oh! You drive me to extremes," he exclaimed in -a fury, "and then you expect me to serve you; but learn this, my Prince, -that to have received power from Providence is no longer enough in these -times: it requires great brains and a strong character to succeed in -being a despot." - - - - -_DESPOTISM_ - - -After dismissing the groom from the Palace, highly scandalised by the -perfect health of this invalid, the Conte amused himself by going to see -the two men at court who had the greatest influence over General Fabio -Conti. The one thing that made the Minister shudder and robbed him of -all his courage was that the governor of the citadel was accused of -having once before made away with a captain, his personal enemy, by -means of the _acquetta di Perugia_. - -The Conte knew that during the last week the Duchessa had been -squandering vast sums with a view to establishing communications with -the citadel; but, in his opinion, there was small hope of success; all -eyes were still too wide open. We shall not relate to the reader all the -attempts at corruption made by this unhappy woman: she was in despair, -and agents of every sort, all perfectly devoted, were supporting her. -But there is perhaps only one kind of business which is done to -perfection in small despotic courts, namely the custody of political -prisoners. The Duchessa's gold had no other effect than to secure the -dismissal from the citadel of nine or ten men of all ranks. - - - - -CHAPTER EIGHTEEN - - -Thus, with an entire devotion to the prisoner, the Duchessa and the -Prime Minister had been able to do but very little for him. The Prince -was in a rage, the court as well as the public were piqued by Fabrizio, -delighted to see him come to grief: he had been too fortunate. In spite -of the gold which she spent in handfuls, the Duchessa had not succeeded -in advancing an inch in her siege of the citadel; not a day passed but -the Marchesa Raversi or Cavaliere Riscara had some fresh report to -communicate to General Fabio Conti. They were supporting his weakness. - - - -_A MODEL PRISON_ - - -As we have already said, on the day of his imprisonment, Fabrizio was -taken first of all to the _governor's palazzo_. This was a neat little -building erected in the eighteenth century from the plans of Vanvitelli, -who placed it one hundred and eighty feet above the ground, on the -platform of the huge round tower. From the windows of this little -_palazzo_, isolated on the back of the enormous tower like a camel's -hump, Fabrizio could make out the country and the Alps to a great -distance; he followed with his eye beneath the citadel the course of the -Parma, a sort of torrent which, turning to the right four leagues from -the town, empties its waters into the Po. Beyond the left bank of this -river, which formed so to speak a series of huge white patches in the -midst of the green fields, his enraptured eye caught distinctly each of -the summits of the immense wall with which the Alps enclose Italy to the -north. These summits, always covered in snow, even in the month of -August which it then was, give one as it were a reminder of coolness in -the midst of these scorching plains; the eye can follow them in the -minutest detail, and yet they are more than thirty leagues from the -citadel of Parma. This expansive view from the governor's charming -_palazzo_ is broken at one corner towards the south by the _Torre -Farnese_, in which a room was being hastily prepared for Fabrizio. This -second tower, as the reader may perhaps remember, was built on the -platform of the great tower in honour of a Crown Prince who, unlike -Hippolytus the son of Theseus, had by no means repelled the advances of -a young stepmother. The Princess died in a few hours; the Prince's son -regained his liberty only seventeen years later, when he ascended the -throne on the death of his father. This Torre Farnese to which, after -waiting for three quarters of an hour, Fabrizio was made to climb, of an -extremely plain exterior, rises some fifty feet above the platform of -the great tower, and is adorned with a number of lightning conductors. -The Prince who, in his displeasure with his wife, built this prison -visible from all parts of the country, had the singular design of trying -to persuade his subjects that it had been there for many years: that is -why he gave it the name of _Torre Farnese_. It was forbidden to speak of -this construction, and from all parts of the town of Parma and the -surrounding plains people could perfectly well see the masons laying -each of the stones which compose this pentagonal edifice. In order to -prove that it was old, there was placed above the door two feet wide and -four feet high which forms its entrance a magnificent bas-relief -representing Alessandro Farnese, the famous general, forcing Henri IV to -withdraw from Paris. This Torre Farnese, standing in so conspicuous a -position, consists of a hall on the ground floor, at least forty yards -long, broad in proportion and filled with extremely squat pillars, for -this disproportionately large room is not more than fifteen feet high. -It is used as the guard-room, and in the middle of it the staircase -rises in a spiral round one of the pillars; it is a small staircase of -iron, very light, barely two feet in width and wrought in filigree. By -this staircase, which shook beneath the weight of the gaolers who were -escorting him, Fabrizio came to a set of vast rooms more than twenty -feet high, forming a magnificent first floor. They had originally been -furnished with the greatest luxury for the young Prince who spent in -them the seventeen best years of his life. At one end of this apartment, -the new prisoner was shewn a chapel of the greatest magnificence; the -walls and ceiling were entirely covered in black marble; pillars, black -also and of the noblest proportions, were placed in line along the black -walls without touching them, and these walls were decorated with a -number of skulls in white marble, of colossal proportions, elegantly -carved and supported underneath by crossbones. "There is an invention of -the hatred that cannot kill," thought Fabrizio, "and what a devilish -idea to let me see it." - - - - -_THE DOG "FOX"_ - - -An iron staircase of light filigree, similarly coiled about a pillar, -gave access to the second floor of this prison, and it was in the rooms -of this second floor, which were some fifteen feet in height, that for -the last year General Fabio Conti had given proof of his genius. First -of all, under his direction, solid bars had been fixed in the windows of -these rooms, originally occupied by the Prince's servants, and standing -more than thirty feet above the stone slabs which paved the platform of -the great round tower. It was by a dark corridor, running along the -middle of this building, that one approached these rooms, each of which -had two windows; and in this very narrow corridor Fabrizio noticed three -iron gates in succession, formed of enormous bars and rising to the -roof. It was the plans, sections and elevations of all these pretty -inventions that, for two years past, had entitled the General to an -audience of his master every week. A conspirator placed in one of these -rooms could not complain to public opinion that he was being treated in -an inhuman fashion, and yet was unable to communicate with anyone in the -world, or to make a movement without being heard. The General had had -placed in each room huge joists of oak in the form of trestles three -feet high, and this was his paramount invention, which gave him a claim -to the Ministry of Police. On these trestles he had set up a cell of -planks, extremely resonant, ten feet high, and touching the wall only at -the side where the windows were. On the other three sides ran a little -corridor four feet wide, between the original wall of the prison, which -consisted of huge blocks of dressed stone, and the wooden partitions of -the cell. These partitions, formed of four double planks of walnut, oak -and pine, were solidly held together by iron bolts and by innumerable -nails. - -It was into one of these rooms, constructed a year earlier, and the -masterpiece of General Fabio Conti's inventive talent, which had -received the sounding title of _Passive Obedience_, that Fabrizio was -taken. He ran to the windows. The view that one had from these barred -windows was sublime: one little piece of the horizon alone was hidden, -to the north-west, by the terraced roof of the _governor's palazzo_, -which had only two floors; the ground floor was occupied by the offices -of the staff; and from the first Fabrizio's eyes were attracted to one -of the windows of the upper floor, in which were to be seen, in pretty -cages, a great number of birds of all sorts. Fabrizio amused himself in -listening to their song and in watching them greet the last rays of the -setting sun, while the gaolers busied themselves about him. This aviary -window was not more than five-and-twenty feet from one of his, and stood -five or six feet lower down, so that his eyes fell on the birds. - -There was a moon that evening, and at the moment of Fabrizio's entering -his prison it was rising majestically on the horizon to the right, over -the chain of the Alps, towards Treviso. It was only half past eight, -and, at the other extremity of the horizon, to the west, a brilliant -orange-red sunset showed to perfection the outlines of Monviso and the -other Alpine peaks which run inland from Nice towards Mont Cenis and -Turin. Without a thought of his misfortunes, Fabrizio was moved and -enraptured by this sublime spectacle. "So it is in this exquisite world -that Clelia Conti dwells; with her pensive and serious nature, she must -enjoy this view more than anyone; here it is like being alone in the -mountains a hundred leagues from Parma." It was not until he had spent -more than two hours at the window, admiring this horizon which spoke to -his soul, and often also letting his eyes rest on the governor's -charming _palazzo_, that Fabrizio suddenly exclaimed: "But is this -really a prison? Is this what I have so greatly dreaded?" Instead of -seeing at every turn discomforts and reasons for bitterness, our hero -let himself be charmed by the attractions of his prison. - -Suddenly his attention was forcibly recalled to reality by a terrifying -din: his wooden cell, which was not unlike a cage and moreover was -extremely resonant, was violently shaken; the barking of a dog and -little shrill cries completed the strangest medley of sounds. "What now! -Am I going to escape so soon?" thought Fabrizio. A moment later he was -laughing as perhaps no one has ever laughed in a prison. By the -General's orders, at the same time as the gaolers there had been sent up -an English dog, extremely savage, which was set to guard officers of -importance, and was to spend the night in the space so ingeniously -contrived all round Fabrizio's cage. The dog and the gaoler were to -sleep in the interval of three feet left between the stone pavement of -the original floor and the wooden planks on which the prisoner could not -move a step without being heard. - - - - -_PRISON_ - - -Now, when Fabrizio arrived, the room of the _Passive Obedience_ happened -to be occupied by a hundred huge rats which took flight in every -direction. The dog, a sort of spaniel crossed with an English -fox-terrier, was no beauty, but to make up for this shewed a great -alertness. He had been tied to the stone pavement beneath the planks of -the wooden room; but when he heard the rats pass close by him, he made an -effort so extraordinary that he succeeded in pulling his head out of his -collar. Then came this splendid battle the din of which aroused -Fabrizio, plunged in the least melancholy of dreams. The rats that had -managed to escape the first assault of the dog's teeth took refuge in -the wooden room, the dog came after them up the six steps which led from -the stone floor to Fabrizio's cell. Then began a really terrifying din: -the cell was shaken to its foundations. Fabrizio laughed like a madman -until the tears ran down his cheeks: the gaoler Grillo, no less amused, -had shut the door; the dog, in going after the rats, was not impeded by -any furniture, for the room was completely bare; there was nothing to -check the bounds of the hunting dog but an iron stove in one corner. -When the dog had triumphed over all his enemies, Fabrizio called him, -patted him, succeeded in winning his affection. "Should this fellow ever -see me jumping over a wall," he said to himself, "he will not bark." But -this far-seeing policy was a boast on his part: in the state of mind in -which he was, he found his happiness in playing with this dog. By a -paradox to which he gave no thought, a secret joy was reigning in the -depths of his heart. - -After he had made himself quite breathless by running about with the -dog: - -"What is your name?" Fabrizio asked the gaoler. - -"Grillo, to serve Your Excellency in all that is allowed by the -regulations." - -"Very well, my dear Grillo, a certain Giletti tried to murder me on the -broad highway, I defended myself, and killed him; I should kill him -again if it had to be done, but I wish to lead a gay life for all that -so long as I am your guest. Ask for authority from your chiefs, and go -and procure linen for me from the _palazzo_ Sanseverina; also, buy me -lots of _nebiolo d'Asti_." - -This is quite a good sparkling wine which is made in Piedmont, in -Alfieri's country, and is highly esteemed, especially by the class of -wine-tasters to which gaolers belong. Nine or ten of these gentlemen -were engaged in transporting to Fabrizio's wooden room certain pieces of -old furniture, highly gilded, which they took from the Prince's -apartment on the first floor; all of them bore religiously in mind this -recommendation of the wine of Asti. In spite of all they might do, -Fabrizio's establishment for this first night was lamentable; but he -appeared shocked only by the absence of a bottle of good _nebiolo_. "He -seems a good lad," said the gaolers as they left him, "and there is only -one thing to be hoped for, that our gentlemen will let him have plenty -of money." - -When he had recovered a little from all this din and confusion: "Is it -possible that this is a prison?" Fabrizio asked himself, gazing at that -vast horizon from Treviso to Monviso, the endless chain of the Alps, the -peaks covered with snow, the stars, and everything, "and a first night -in prison besides. I can conceive that Clelia Conti enjoys this airy -solitude; here one is a thousand leagues above the pettinesses and -wickednesses which occupy us down there. If those birds which are under -my window there belong to her, I shall see her. . . . Will she blush -when she catches sight of me?" It was while debating this important -question that our hero, at a late hour of the night, fell asleep. - -On the day following this night, the first spent in prison, in the -course of which he never once lost his patience, Fabrizio was reduced to -making conversation with Fox, the English dog; Grillo the gaoler did -indeed greet him always with the friendliest expression, but a new order -made him dumb, and he brought neither linen nor _nebiolo_. - -"Shall I see Clelia?" Fabrizio asked himself as he awoke. "But are those -birds hers?" The birds were beginning to utter little chirps and to -sing, and at that height this was the only sound that was carried on the -air. It was a sensation full of novelty and pleasure for Fabrizio, the -vast silence which reigned at this height; he listened with rapture to -the little chirpings, broken and so shrill, with which his neighbours -the birds were greeting the day. "If they belong to her, she will appear -for a moment in that room, there, beneath my window," and, while he -examined the immense chains of the Alps, against the first foothills of -which the citadel of Parma seemed to rise like an advanced redoubt, his -eyes returned every moment to the sumptuous cages of lemon-wood and -mahogany, which, adorned with gilt wires, filled the bright room which -served as an aviary. What Fabrizio did not learn until later was that -this room was the only one on the second floor of the _palazzo_ which -had any shade, between eleven o'clock and four: it was sheltered by the -Torre Farnese. - -"What will be my dismay," thought Fabrizio, "if, instead of those modest -and pensive features for which I am waiting, and which will blush -slightly perhaps if she catches sight of me, I see appear the coarse -face of some thoroughly common maid, charged with the duty of looking -after the birds! But if I do see Clelia, will she deign to notice me? -Upon my soul, I must commit some indiscretion so as to be noticed; my -position should have some privileges; besides, we are both alone here, -and so far from the world! I am a prisoner, evidently what General Conti -and the other wretches of his sort call one of their subordinates. . . . -But she has so much intelligence, or, I should say, so much heart, so -the Conte supposes, that possibly, by what he says, she despises her -father's profession; which would account for her melancholy. A noble -cause of sadness! But, after all, I am not exactly a stranger to her. -With what grace, full of modesty, she greeted me yesterday evening! I -remember quite well how, when we met near Como, I said to her: 'One day -I shall come to see your beautiful pictures at Parma; will you remember -this name: Fabrizio del Dongo?' Will she have forgotten it? She was so -young then! - -"But by the way," Fabrizio said to himself in astonishment, suddenly -interrupting the current of his thoughts, "I am forgetting to be angry. -Can I be one of those stout hearts of which antiquity has furnished the -world with several examples? How is this, I who was so much afraid of -prison, I am in prison, and I do not even remember to be sad! It is -certainly a case where the fear was a hundred times worse than the evil. -What! I have to convince myself before I can be distressed by this -prison, which, as Blanès says, may as easily last ten years as ten -months! Can it be the surprise of all these novel surroundings that is -distracting me from the grief that I ought to feel? Perhaps this good -humour which is independent of my will and not very reasonable will -cease all of a sudden, perhaps in an instant I shall fall into the black -misery which I ought to be feeling. - -"In any case, it is indeed surprising to be in prison and to have to -reason with oneself in order to be unhappy. Upon my soul, I come back to -my theory, perhaps I have a great character." - -Fabrizio's meditations were disturbed by the carpenter of the citadel, -who came to take the measurements of a screen for his windows; it was -the first time that this prison had been used, and they had forgotten to -complete it in this essential detail. - - - - -_THE FIRST STEP_ - - -"And so," thought Fabrizio, "I am going to be deprived of that sublime -view." And he sought to derive sadness from this privation. - -"But what's this?" he cried suddenly, addressing the carpenter. "Am I -not to see those pretty birds any more?" "Ah, the Signorina's birds, -that she's so fond of," said the man, with a good-natured air, "hidden, -eclipsed, blotted out like everything else." - -Conversation was forbidden the carpenter just as strictly as it was the -gaolers, but the man felt pity for the prisoner's youth: he informed him -that these enormous shutters, resting on the sills of the two windows, -and slanting upwards and away from the wall, were intended to leave the -inmates with no view save of the sky. "It is done for their morals," he -told him, "to increase a wholesome sadness and the desire to amend their -ways in the hearts of the prisoners; the General," the carpenter added, -"has also had the idea of taking the glass out of their windows and -putting oiled paper there instead." - -Fabrizio greatly enjoyed the epigrammatic turn of this conversation, -extremely rare in Italy. - -"I should very much like to have a bird to cheer me, I am madly fond of -them; buy me one from Signorina Clelia Conti's maid." - -"What, do you know her," cried the carpenter, "that you say her name so -easily?" - -"Who has not heard tell of so famous a beauty? But I have had the honour -of meeting her several times at court." - -"The poor young lady is very dull here," the carpenter went on; "she -spends all her time there with her birds. This morning she sent out to -buy some fine orange trees which they have placed by her orders at the -door of the tower, under your window: if it weren't for the cornice, you -would be able to see them." There were in this speech words that were -very precious to Fabrizio; he found a tactful way of giving the -carpenter money. - -"I am breaking two rules at the same time," the man told him; "I am -talking to Your Excellency and taking money. The day after to-morrow, -when I come back with the shutters, I shall have a bird in my pocket, -and if I am not alone, I shall pretend to let it escape; if I can, I -shall bring you a prayer book: you must suffer by not being able to say -your office." - -"And so," Fabrizio said to himself as soon as he was alone, "those birds -are hers, but in two days more I shall no longer see them." At this -thought his eyes became tinged with regret. But finally, to his -inexpressible joy, after so long a wait and so much anxious gazing, -towards midday Clelia came to attend to her birds. Fabrizio remained -motionless, and did not breathe; he was standing against the enormous -bars of his window and pressed close to them. He observed that she did -not raise her eyes to himself; but her movements had an air of -embarrassment, like those of a person who knows that she is being -overlooked. Had she wished to do so, the poor girl could not have -forgotten the delicate smile she had seen hovering over the prisoner's -lips the day before, when the constables brought him out of the -guard-room. - -Although to all appearance she was paying the most careful attention to -what she was doing, at the moment when she approached the window of the -aviary she blushed quite perceptibly. The first thought in Fabrizio's -mind, as he stood glued to the iron bars of his window, was to indulge -in the childish trick of tapping a little with his hand on those bars, -and so making a slight noise; then the mere idea of such a want of -delicacy horrified him. "It would serve me right if for the next week -she sent her maid to look after the birds." This delicate thought would -never have occurred to him at Naples or at Novara. - - - - -_THE SCREEN_ - - -He followed her eagerly with his eyes: "Obviously," he said to himself, -"she is going to leave the room without deigning to cast a glance at -this poor window, and yet she is just opposite me." But, on turning back -from the farther end of the room, which Fabrizio, thanks to his greater -elevation, could see quite plainly, Clelia could not help looking -furtively up at him, as she approached, and this was quite enough to -make Fabrizio think himself authorised to salute her. "Are we not alone -in the world here?" he asked himself, to give himself the courage to do -so. At this salute the girl stood still and lowered her eyes; then -Fabrizio saw her raise them very slowly; and, evidently making an effort -to control herself, she greeted the prisoner with the most grave and -_distant_ gesture; but she could not impose silence on her eyes: without -her knowing it, probably, they expressed for a moment the keenest pity. -Fabrizio remarked that she blushed so deeply that the rosy tinge ran -swiftly down to her shoulders, from which the heat had made her cast -off, when she came to the aviary, a shawl of black lace. The unconscious -stare with which Fabrizio replied to her glance doubled the girl's -discomposure. "How happy that poor woman would be," she said to herself, -thinking of the Duchessa, "if for a moment only she could see him as I -see him now." - -Fabrizio had had some slight hope of saluting her again as she left the -room; but to avoid this further courtesy Clelia beat a skilful retreat -by stages, from cage to cage, as if, at the end of her task, she had to -attend to the birds nearest the door. At length she went out; Fabrizio -stood motionless gazing at the door through which she had disappeared; -he was another man. - -From that moment the sole object of his thoughts was to discover how he -might manage to continue to see her, even when they had set up that -horrible screen outside the window that overlooked the governor's -_palazzo_. - -Overnight, before going to bed, he had set himself the long and tedious -task of hiding the greater part of the gold that he had in several of -the rat-holes which adorned his wooden cell. "This evening, I must hide -my watch. Have I not heard it said that with patience and a watch-spring -with a jagged edge one can cut through wood and even iron? So I shall be -able to saw through this screen. The work of concealing his watch, which -occupied him for hours, did not seem to him at all long; he was thinking -of the different ways of attaining his object and of what he himself -could do in the way of carpentering. "If I get to work the right way," -he said to himself, "I shall be able to cut a section clean out of the -oak plank which will form the screen, at the end which will be resting -on the window-sill; I can take this piece out and put it back according -to circumstances; I shall give everything I possess to Grillo, so that -he may be kind enough not to notice this little device." All Fabrizio's -happiness was now involved in the possibility of carrying out this task, -and he could think of nothing else. "If I can only manage to see her, I -am a happy man. . . . No," he reminded himself, "she must also see that -I see her." All night long his head was filled with devices of -carpentering, and perhaps never gave a single thought to the court of -Parma, the Prince's anger, etc., etc. We must admit that he did not -think either of the grief in which the Duchessa must be plunged. He -waited impatiently for the morrow; but the carpenter did not appear -again: evidently he was regarded in the prison as a Liberal. They took -care to send another, a sour-faced fellow who made no reply except a -growl that boded ill to all the pleasant words with which Fabrizio -sought to cajole him. Some of the Duchessa's many attempts to open a -correspondence with Fabrizio had been discovered by the Marchesa -Raversi's many agents, and, by her, General Fabio Conti was daily -warned, frightened, put on his mettle. Every eight hours six soldiers of -the guard relieved the previous six in the great hall with the hundred -pillars on the ground floor: in addition to these, the governor posted a -gaoler on guard at each of the three successive iron gates of the -corridor, and poor Grillo, the only one who saw the prisoner, was -condemned to leave the Torre Farnese only once a week, at which he -showed great annoyance. He made his ill humour felt by Fabrizio, who had -the sense to reply only in these words: "Plenty of good _nebiola -d'Asti_, my friend." And he gave him money. - - - - -_PRISON_ - - -"Well now, even this, which consoles us in all our troubles," exclaimed -the indignant Grillo, in a voice barely loud enough to be heard by the -prisoner, "we are forbidden to take, and I ought to refuse it, but I -accept; however, it's money thrown away; I can tell you nothing about -anything. Go on, you must be a rare bad lot, the whole citadel is upside -down because of you; the Signora Duchessa's fine goings on have got -three of us dismissed already." - -"Will the screen be ready before midday?" This was the great question -which made Fabrizio's heart throb throughout that long morning; he -counted each quarter as it sounded from the citadel clock. Finally, when -the last quarter before noon struck, the screen had not yet arrived; -Clelia reappeared and looked after her birds. Cruel necessity had made -Fabrizio's daring take such strides, and the risk of not seeing her -again seemed to him so to transcend all others that he ventured, looking -at Clelia, to make with his finger the gesture of sawing through the -screen; it is true that as soon as she had perceived this gesture, so -seditious in prison, she half bowed and withdrew. - -"How now!" thought Fabrizio in amazement, "can she be so unreasonable as -to see an absurd familiarity in a gesture dictated by the most imperious -necessity? I meant to request her always to deign, when she is attending -to her birds, to look now and again at the prison window, even when she -finds it masked by an enormous wooden shutter; I meant to indicate to -her that I shall do everything that is humanly possible to contrive to -see her. Great God! Does this mean that she will not come to-morrow -owing to that indiscreet gesture?" This fear, which troubled Fabrizio's -sleep, was entirely justified; on the following day Clelia had not -appeared at three o'clock, when the workmen finished installing outside -Fabrizio's windows the two enormous screens; they had been hauled up -piecemeal, from the terrace of the great tower, by means of ropes and -pulleys attached to the iron bars outside the windows. It is true that, -hidden behind a shutter in her own room, Clelia had followed with -anguish every movement of the workmen; she had seen quite plainly -Fabrizio's mortal anxiety, but had nevertheless had the courage to keep -the promise she had made to herself. - -Clelia was a little devotee of Liberalism; in her girlhood she had taken -seriously all the Liberal utterances which she had heard in the company -of her father, who thought only of establishing his own position; from -this she had come to feel a contempt, almost a horror for the flexible -character of the courtier; whence her antipathy to marriage. Since -Fabrizio's arrival, she had been racked by remorse: "And so," she said -to herself, "my unworthy heart is taking the side of the people who seek -to betray my father! He dares to make me the sign of sawing through a -door! . . . But," she at once went on with anguish in her heart, "the -whole town is talking of his approaching death! To-morrow may be the -fatal day! With the monsters who govern us, what in the world is not -possible? What meekness, what heroic serenity in those eyes, which -perhaps are about to close for ever! God! What must be the Duchessa's -anguish! They say that she is in a state of utter despair. If I were -she, I would go and stab the Prince, like the heroic Charlotte Corday." - -Throughout this third day of his imprisonment, Fabrizio was wild with -anger, but solely at not having seen Clelia appear. "Anger for anger, I -ought to have told her that I loved her," he cried; for he had arrived -at this discovery. "No, it is not at all from greatness of heart that I -am not thinking about prison, and am making Blanès's prophecy prove -false: such honour is not mine. In spite of myself I think of that look -of sweet pity which Clelia let fall on me when the constables led me out -of the guard-room; that look has wiped out all my past life. Who would -have said that I should find such sweet eyes in such a place, and at the -moment when my own sight was offended by the faces of Barbone and the -General-governor. Heaven appeared to me in the midst of those vile -creatures. And how can one help loving beauty and seeking to see it -again? No, it is certainly not greatness of heart that makes me -indifferent to all the little vexations which prison heaps upon me." -Fabrizio's imagination, passing rapidly over every possibility in turn, -arrived at that of his being set at liberty. "No doubt the Duchessa's -friendship will do wonders for me. Well, I shall thank her for my -liberty only with my lips; this is not at all the sort of place to which -one returns! Once out of prison, separated as we are socially, I should -practically never see Clelia again! And, after all, what harm is prison -doing me? If Clelia deigned not to crush me with her anger, what more -should I have to ask of heaven?" - -On the evening of this day on which he had not seen his pretty -neighbour, he had a great idea: with the iron cross of the rosary which -is given to every prisoner on his admission to prison, he began, and -with success, to bore a hole in the shutter. "It is perhaps an -imprudence," he told himself before he began. "Did not the carpenters -say in front of me that the painters would be coming to-morrow in their -place? What will they say if they find the shutter with a hole in it? -But if I do not commit this imprudence, to-morrow I shall not be able to -see her. What! By my own inactivity am I to remain for a day without -seeing her, and that after she has turned from me in an ill humour?" -Fabrizio's imprudence was rewarded; after fifteen hours of work he saw -Clelia, and, to complete his happiness, as she had no idea that he was -looking at her, she stood for a long time without moving, her gaze fixed -on the huge screen; he had plenty of time to read in her eyes the signs -of the most tender pity. Towards the end of the visit, she was even -quite evidently neglecting her duty to her birds, to stay for whole -minutes gazing at the window. Her heart was profoundly troubled; she was -thinking of the Duchessa, whose extreme misfortune had inspired in her -so much pity, and at the same time she was beginning to hate her. She -understood nothing of the profound melancholy which had taken hold of -her character, she felt out of temper with herself. Two or three times, -in the course of this encounter, Fabrizio was impatient to try to shake -the screen; he felt that he was not happy so long as he could not -indicate to Clelia that he saw her. "However," he told himself, "if she -knew that I could see her so easily, timid and reserved as she is, she -would probably slip away out of my sight." - -He was far more happy next day (out of what miseries does love create -its happiness!): while she was looking sadly at the huge screen, he -succeeded in slipping a tiny piece of wire through the hole which the -iron cross had bored, and made signs to her which she evidently -understood, at least in the sense that they implied: "I am here and I -see you." - -Fabrizio was unfortunate on the days that followed. He was anxious to -cut out of the colossal screen a piece of board the size of his hand, -which could be replaced when he chose, and which would enable him to see -and to be seen, that is to say to speak, by signs at least, of what was -passing in his heart; but he found that the noise of the very imperfect -little saw which he had made by notching the spring of his watch with -the cross aroused Grillo, who came and spent long hours in his cell. It -is true that he thought he noticed that Clelia's severity seemed to -diminish as the material difficulties in the way of any communication -between them increased; Fabrizio was fully aware that she no longer -pretended to lower her eyes or to look at the birds when he was trying -to shew her a sign of his presence by means of his wretched little piece -of wire; he had the pleasure of seeing that she never failed to appear -in the aviary at the precise moment when the quarter before noon struck, -and he almost presumed to imagine himself to be the cause of this -remarkable punctuality. Why? Such an idea does not seem reasonable; but -love detects shades invisible to the indifferent eye, and draws endless -conclusions from them. For instance, now that Clelia could no longer see -the prisoner, almost immediately on entering the aviary she would raise -her eyes to his window. These were the funereal days on which no one in -Parma had any doubt that Fabrizio would shortly be put to death: he -alone knew nothing; but this terrible thought never left Clelia's mind -for a moment, and how could she reproach herself for the excessive -interest which she felt in Fabrizio? He was about to perish and for -the cause of freedom! For it was too absurd to put a del Dongo to death -for running his sword into a mummer. It was true that this attractive -young man was attached to another woman! Clelia was profoundly unhappy, -and without admitting to herself at all precisely the kind of interest -that she took in his fate: "Certainly," she said to herself, "if they -lead him out to die, I shall fly to a convent, and never in my life will -I reappear in that society of the court; it horrifies me. Kid-gloved -assassins!" - -On the eighth day of Fabrizio's imprisonment, she had good cause to -blush: she was watching fixedly, absorbed in her sorrowful thoughts, the -screen that hid the prisoner's window: suddenly a small piece of the -screen, larger than a man's hand, was removed by him; he looked at her -with an air of gaiety, and she could see his eyes which were greeting -her. She had not the strength to endure this unlooked-for trial, she -turned swiftly towards her birds and began to attend to them; but she -trembled so much that she spilled the water which she was pouring out -for them, and Fabrizio could perfectly well see her emotion; she could -not endure this situation, and took the prudent course of running from -the room. - -This was the best moment in Fabrizio's life, beyond all comparison. With -what transports would he have refused his freedom, had it been offered -to him at that instant! - -The following day was the day of the Duchessa's great despair. Everyone -in the town was certain that it was all over with Fabrizio. Clelia had -not the melancholy courage to show him a harshness that was not in her -heart, she spent an hour and a half in the aviary, watched all his -signals, and often answered him, at least by an expression of the -keenest and sincerest interest; at certain moments she turned from him -so as not to let him see her tears. Her feminine coquetry felt very -strongly the inadequacy of the language employed: if they could have -spoken, in how many different ways could she not have sought to discover -what precisely was the nature of the sentiments which Fabrizio felt for -the Duchessa! Clelia was now almost unable to delude herself any longer; -her feeling for Signora Sanseverina was one of hatred. - -One night Fabrizio began to think somewhat seriously of his aunt: he was -amazed, he found a difficulty in recognising her image; the memory that -he kept of her had totally changed; for him, at this moment, she was a -woman of fifty. - -"Great God!" he exclaimed with enthusiasm, "how well inspired I was not -to tell her that I loved her!" He had reached the point of being barely -able to understand how he had found her so good looking. In this -connexion little Marietta gave him the impression of a less perceptible -change: this was because he had never imagined that his heart entered at -all into his love for Marietta, while often he had believed that his -whole heart belonged to the Duchessa. The Duchessa d'A---- and Marietta -now had the effect on him of two young doves whose whole charm would be -in weakness and innocence, whereas the sublime image of Clelia Conti, -taking entire possession of his heart, went so far as to inspire him -with terror. He felt only too well that the eternal happiness of his -life was to force him to reckon with the governor's daughter, and that -it lay in her power to make of him the unhappiest of men. Every day he -went in mortal fear of seeing brought to a sudden end, by a caprice of -her will against which there was no appeal, this sort of singular and -delicious life which he found in her presence; in any event she had -already filled with joy the first two months of his imprisonment. It was -the time when, twice a week, General Fabio Conti was saying to the -Prince: "I can give Your Highness my word of honour that the prisoner -del Dongo does not speak to a living soul, and is spending his life -crushed by the most profound despair, or asleep." - -Clelia came two or three times daily to visit her birds, sometimes for a -few moments only; if Fabrizio had not loved her so well, he would have -seen clearly that he was loved; but he had serious doubts on this head. -Clelia had had a piano put in her aviary. As she struck the notes, that -the sound of the instrument might account for her presence there, and -occupy the minds of the sentries who were patrolling beneath her -windows, she replied with her eyes to Fabrizio's questions. On one -subject alone she never made any answer, and indeed, on serious -occasions, took flight, and sometimes disappeared for a whole day; this -was when Fabrizio's signals indicated sentiments the import of which it -was too difficult not to understand: on this point she was inexorable. - -Thus, albeit straitly confined in a small enough cage, Fabrizio led a -fully occupied life; it was entirely devoted to seeking the solution of -this important problem: "Does she love me?" The result of thousands of -observations, incessantly repeated, but also incessantly subjected to -doubt, was as follows: "All her deliberate gestures say no, but what is -involuntary in the movement of her eyes seems to admit that she is -forming an affection for me." - -Clelia hoped that she might never be brought to an avowal, and it was to -avert this danger that she had repulsed, with an excessive show of -anger, a prayer which Fabrizio had several times addressed to her. The -wretchedness of the resources employed by the poor prisoner ought, it -might seem, to have inspired greater pity in Clelia. He sought to -correspond with her by means of letters which he traced on his hand with -a piece of charcoal of which he had made the precious discovery in his -stove; he would have formed the words letter by letter, in succession. -This invention would have doubled the means of conversation, inasmuch as -it would have allowed him to say actual words. His window was distant -from Clelia's about twenty-five feet; it would have been too great a -risk to speak aloud over the heads of the sentries patrolling outside -the governor's _palazzo_. Fabrizio was in doubt whether he was loved; if -he had had any experience of love, he would have had no doubt left: but -never had a woman occupied his heart; he had, moreover, no suspicion of -a secret which would have plunged him in despair had he known it: there -was a serious question of the marriage of Clelia Conti to the Marchese -Crescenzi, the richest man at court. - - - - -CHAPTER NINETEEN - - -General Fabio Conti's ambition, exalted to madness by the obstacles -which were occurring in the career of the Prime Minister Mosca, and -seemed to forebode his fall, had led him to make violent scenes before -his daughter; he told her incessantly, and angrily, that she was ruining -her own prospects if she did not finally make up her mind to choose a -husband; at twenty and past it was time to make a match; this cruel -state of isolation, in which her unreasonable obstinacy was plunging the -General, must be brought to an end, and so forth. - -It was originally to escape from these continual bursts of ill humour -that Clelia had taken refuge in the aviary; it could be reached only by -an extremely awkward wooden stair, which his gout made a serious -obstacle to the governor. - -For some weeks now Clelia's heart had been so agitated, she herself knew -so little what she ought to decide, that, without giving any definite -promise to her father, she had almost let herself be engaged. In one of -his fits of rage, the General had shouted that he could easily send her -to cool her heels in the most depressing convent in Parma, and that -there he would let her stew until she deigned to make a choice. - -"You know that our family, old as it is, cannot muster a rent-roll of -6,000 lire, while the Marchese Crescenzi's fortune amounts to more than -100,000 scudi a year. Everyone at court agrees that he has the sweetest -temper; he has never given anyone cause for complaint; he is a fine -looking man, young, popular with the Prince; and I say that you ought to -be shut up in a madhouse if you reject his advances. If this were the -first refusal, I might perhaps put up with it, but there have been five -or six suitors now, all among the first men at court, whom you have -rejected, like the little fool that you are. And what would become of -you, I ask you, if I were to be put on half-pay? What a triumph for my -enemies, if they saw me living in some second floor apartment, I who -have so often been talked of for the Ministry! No, begad, my good nature -has let me play Cassandra quite long enough. You will kindly supply me -with some valid objection to this poor Marchese Crescenzi, who is so -kind as to be in love with you, to be willing to marry you without a -dowry, and to make over to you a jointure of 30,000 lire a year, which -will at least pay my rent; you will talk to me reasonably, or, by -heaven, you will marry him in two months from now!" - - - - -_ANGUISH_ - - -One passage alone in the whole of this speech had struck Clelia; this -was the threat to send her to a convent, and thereby remove her from the -citadel, at the moment, moreover, when Fabrizio's life seemed to be -hanging only by a thread, for not a month passed in which the rumour of -his approaching death did not run afresh through the town and through -the court. Whatever arguments she might use, she could not make up her -mind to run this risk. To be separated from Fabrizio, and at the moment -when she was trembling for his life! This was in her eyes the greatest -of evils; it was at any rate the most immediate. - -This is not to say that, even in not being parted from Fabrizio, her -heart found any prospect of happiness; she believed him to be loved by -the Duchessa, and her soul was torn by a deadly jealousy. Incessantly she -thought of the advantages enjoyed by this woman who was so generally -admired. The extreme reserve which she imposed on herself with regard to -Fabrizio, the language of signs to which she had restricted him, from -fear of falling into some indiscretion, all seemed to combine to take -from her the means of arriving at any enlightenment as to his relations -with the Duchessa. Thus, every day, she felt more cruelly than before -the frightful misfortune of having a rival in the heart of Fabrizio, and -every day she dared less to expose herself to the danger of giving him -an opportunity to tell her the whole truth as to what was passing in -that heart. But how charming it would be, nevertheless, to hear him make -an avowal of his true feelings! What a joy for Clelia to be able to -clear away those frightful suspicions which were poisoning her life! - -Fabrizio was fickle; at Naples he had had the reputation of changing his -mistress rather easily. Despite all the reserve imposed on the character -of a young lady, since she had become a Canoness and had gone to court, -Clelia, without ever asking questions, but by listening attentively, had -succeeded in learning the reputation that had been made for themselves -by the young men who in succession had sought her hand; very well, -Fabrizio, when compared with all these young men, was the one who was -charged with being most fickle in affairs of the heart. He was in -prison, he was dull, he was paying court to the one woman to whom he -could speak; what more simple? What, indeed, _more common_? And it was -this that grieved Clelia. Even if, by a complete revelation, she should -learn that Fabrizio no longer loved the Duchessa, what confidence could -she have in his words? Even if she believed in the sincerity of what he -said, what confidence could she have in the permanence of his feelings? -And lastly, to drive the final stroke of despair into her heart, was not -Fabrizio already far advanced in his career as a churchman? Was he not -on the eve of binding himself by lifelong vows? Did not the highest -dignities await him in that walk in life? "If the least glimmer of sense -remained in my mind," the unhappy Clelia said to herself, "ought I not -to take flight? Ought I not to beg my father to shut me up in some -convent far away? And, as a last straw, it is precisely the fear of -being sent away from the citadel and shut up in a convent that is -governing all my conduct! It is that fear which is forcing me to hide -the truth, which is obliging me to act the hideous and degrading lie of -pretending to accept the public attentions of the Marchese Crescenzi." - - - - -_PRISON_ - - -Clelia was by nature profoundly reasonable; in the whole of her life she -had never had to reproach herself with a single unconsidered step, and -her conduct on this occasion was the height of unreason: one may judge -of her sufferings! They were all the more cruel in that she let herself -rest under no illusion. She was attaching herself to a man who was -desperately loved by the most beautiful woman at court, a woman who had -so many claims to be reckoned superior to Clelia herself! And this man -himself, had he been at liberty, was incapable of a serious attachment, -whereas she, as she felt only too well, would never have but this one -attachment in her life. - -It was, therefore, with a heart agitated by the most frightful remorse -that Clelia came every day to the aviary: carried to this spot as though -in spite of herself, her uneasiness changed its object and became less -cruel, the remorse vanished for a few moments; she watched, with -indescribable beatings of her heart, for the moments at which Fabrizio -could open the sort of hatch that he had made in the enormous screen -which masked his window. Often the presence of the gaoler Grillo in his -cell prevented him from conversing by signs with his friend. - -One evening, about eleven, Fabrizio heard sounds of the strangest nature -in the citadel: at night, by leaning on the window-sill and poking his -head out through the hatch, he could distinguish any noise at all loud -that was made on the great staircase, called "of the three hundred -steps," which led from the first courtyard, inside the round tower, to -the stone platform on which had been built the governor's _palazzo_ and -the Farnese prison in which he himself was. - -About halfway up, at the hundred and eightieth step, this staircase -passed from the south side of a vast court to the north side; at this -point there was an iron bridge, very light and very narrow, on the -middle of which a turnkey was posted. This man was relieved every six -hours, and was obliged to rise and stand to one side to enable anyone to -pass over the bridge which he guarded, and by which alone one could -reach the governor's _palazzo_ and the Torre Farnese. Two turns of a -spring, the key of which the governor carried on his person, were enough -to hurl this iron bridge down into the court, more than a hundred feet -below; this simple precaution once taken, as there was no other -staircase in the whole of the citadel, and as every evening at midnight -a serjeant brought to the governor's house, and placed in a closet which -was reached through his bedroom, the ropes of all the wells, he was left -completely inaccessible in his _palazzo_, and it would have been equally -impossible for anyone in the world to reach the Torre Farnese. All this -Fabrizio had thoroughly observed for himself on the day of his arrival -at the citadel, while Grillo who, like all gaolers, loved to boast of -his prison, had explained it to him many times since; thus he had but -little hope of escape. At the same time he reminded himself of a maxim -of Priore Blanès: "The lover thinks more often of reaching his mistress -than the husband of guarding his wife; the prisoner thinks more often of -escaping than the gaoler of shutting his door; and so, whatever the -obstacles may be, the lover and the prisoner ought to succeed." - - - - -_THE SERENADE_ - - -That evening Fabrizio could hear quite distinctly a considerable number -of men cross the iron bridge, known as the Slave's bridge, because once -a Dalmatian slave had succeeded in escaping, by throwing the guardian of -the bridge down into the court below. - -"They are coming here to carry off somebody, perhaps they are going to -take me out to hang me; but there may be some disorder, I must make the -most of it." He had armed himself, he was already taking the gold from -some of his hiding-places, when suddenly he stopped. - -"Man is a quaint animal," he exclaimed, "I must admit! What would an -invisible onlooker say if he saw my preparations? Do I by any chance -wish to escape? What would happen to me the day after my return to -Parma? Should I not be doing everything in the world to return to -Clelia? If there is some disorder, let us profit by it to slip into the -governor's _palazzo_; perhaps I may be able to speak to her, perhaps, -encouraged by the disorder, I may venture to kiss her hand. General -Conti, highly mistrustful by nature, and no less vain, has his _palazzo_ -guarded by five sentries, one at each corner of the building and a fifth -outside the door, but fortunately the night is very dark." On tiptoe -Fabrizio stole down to find out what the gaoler Grillo and his dog were -doing: the gaoler was fast asleep in an oxhide suspended by four ropes -and enclosed in a coarse net; the dog Fox opened his eyes, rose, and -came quietly towards Fabrizio to lick his hand. - -Our prisoner returned softly up the six steps, which led to his wooden -cell; the noise was becoming so loud at the foot of the Torre Farnese, -and immediately opposite the door, that he thought that Grillo might -easily awake. Fabrizio, armed with all his weapons, ready for action, -was imagining that he was destined that night for great adventures, when -suddenly he heard the most beautiful symphony in the world strike up: it -was a serenade which was being given to the governor or his daughter. He -was seized with a fit of wild laughter: "And I who was already dreaming -of striking dagger-blows! As though a serenade were not infinitely more -normal than an abduction requiring the presence of two dozen people in a -prison, or than a mutiny!" The music was excellent, and seemed to -Fabrizio delicious, his spirit having had no distraction for so many -weeks; it made him shed very pleasant tears; in his delight he addressed -the most irresistible speeches to the fair Clelia. But the following -day, at noon, he found her in so sombre a melancholy, she was so pale, -she directed at him a gaze in which he read at times such anger, that he -did not feel himself to be sufficiently justified in putting any -question to her as to the serenade; he was afraid of being impolite. - -Clelia had every reason to be sad, it was a serenade given her by the -Marchese Crescenzi; a step so public was in a sense the official -announcement of their marriage. Until the very day of the serenade, and -until nine o'clock that evening, Clelia had set up the bravest -resistance, but she had had the weakness to yield to the threat of her -being sent immediately to a convent, which had been held over her by her -father. - - - - -_PRISON_ - - -"What! I should never see him again!" she had said to herself, weeping. -It was in vain that her reason had added: "I should never see again that -creature who will harm me in every possible way, I should never see -again that lover of the Duchessa, I should never see again that man who -had ten acknowledged mistresses at Naples, and was unfaithful to them -all; I should never see again that ambitious young man who, if he -survives the sentence that he is undergoing, is to take holy orders! It -would be a crime for me to look at him again when he is out of his -citadel, and his natural inconstancy will spare me the temptation; for, -what am I to him? An excuse for spending less tediously a few hours of -each of his days in prison." In the midst of all this abuse, Clelia -happened to remember the smile with which he had looked at the -constables who surrounded him when he came out of the turnkey's office -to go up to the Torre Farnese. The tears welled into her eyes: "Dear -friend, what would I not do for you? You will ruin me, I know; such is -my fate; I am ruining myself in a terrible fashion by listening to-night -to this frightful serenade; but to-morrow, at midday, I shall see your -eyes again." - -It was precisely on the morrow of that day on which Clelia had made such -great sacrifices for the young prisoner, whom she loved with so strong a -passion; it was on the morrow of that day on which, seeing all his -faults, she had sacrificed her life to him, that Fabrizio was in despair -at her coldness. If, even employing only the imperfect language of -signs, he had done the slightest violence to Clelia's heart, probably -she would not have been able to keep back her tears, and Fabrizio would -have won an avowal of all that she felt for him; but he lacked the -courage, he was in too deadly a fear of offending Clelia, she could -punish him with too severe a penalty. In other words, Fabrizio had no -experience of the emotion that is given one by a woman whom one loves; -it was a sensation which he had never felt, even in the feeblest degree. -It took him a week, from the day of the serenade, to place himself once -more on the old footing of simple friendship with Clelia. The poor girl -armed herself with severity, being half dead with fear of betraying -herself, and it seemed to Fabrizio that every day he was losing ground -with her. - -One day (and Fabrizio had then been nearly three months in prison -without having had any communication whatever with the outer world, and -yet without feeling unhappy), Grillo had stayed very late in the morning -in his cell: Fabrizio did not know how to get rid of him; in the end, -half past twelve had already struck before he was able to open the two -little traps, a foot high, which he had carved in the fatal screen. - -Clelia was standing at the aviary window, her eyes fixed on Fabrizio's; -her drawn features expressed the most violent despair. As soon as she -saw Fabrizio, she made him a sign that all was lost: she dashed to her -piano, and, pretending to sing a _recitativo_ from the popular opera of -the season, spoke to him in sentences broken by her despair and the fear -of being overheard by the sentries who were patrolling beneath the -window: - - -"Great God! You are still alive? How grateful I am to heaven! Barbone, -the gaoler whose impudence you punished on the day of your coming here, -disappeared, was not to be found in the citadel; the night before last -he returned, and since yesterday I have had reason to believe that he is -seeking to poison you. He comes prowling through the private kitchen of -the _palazzo_, where your meals are prepared. I know nothing for -certain, but my maid thinks that the horrible creature can only be -coming to the _palazzo_ kitchens with the object of taking your life. I -was dying of anxiety when I did not see you appear, I thought you were -dead. Abstain from all nourishment until further notice, I shall do -everything possible to see that a little chocolate comes to you. In any -case, this evening at nine, if the bounty of heaven wills that you have -any thread, or that you can tie strips of your linen together in a -riband, let it down from your window over the orange trees, I shall -fasten a cord to it which you can pull up, and by means of the cord I -shall keep you supplied with bread and chocolate." - - -Fabrizio had carefully treasured the piece of charcoal which he had -found in the stove in his cell: he hastened to make the most of Clelia's -emotion, and wrote on his hand a series of letters which taken in order -formed these words: - -"I love you, and life is dear to me only because I see you; at all -costs, send me paper and a pencil." - -As Fabrizio had hoped, the extreme terror which he read in Clelia's -features prevented the girl from breaking off the conversation after -this daring announcement, "I love you"; she was content with exhibiting -great vexation. Fabrizio was inspired to add: "There is such a wind -blowing to-day that I can only catch very faintly the advice you are so -kind as to give me in your singing; the sound of the piano is drowning -your voice. What is this poison, for instance, that you tell me of?" - -At these words the girl's terror reappeared in its entirety; she began -in haste to trace large letters in ink on the pages of a book which she -tore out, and Fabrizio was transported with joy to see at length -established, after three months of effort, this channel of -correspondence for which he had so vainly begged. He had no thought of -abandoning the little ruse which had proved so successful, his aim was -to write real letters, and he pretended at every moment not to -understand the words of which Clelia was holding up each letter in turn -before his eyes. - -She was obliged to leave the aviary to go to her father; she feared more -than anything that he might come to look for her; his suspicious nature -would not have been at all satisfied with the close proximity of the -window of this aviary to the screen which masked that of the prisoner. -Clelia herself had had the idea a few moments earlier, when Fabrizio's -failure to appear was plunging her in so deadly an anxiety, that it -might be possible to throw a small stone wrapped in a piece of paper -over the top of this screen; if by a lucky chance the gaoler in charge -of Fabrizio happened not to be in his cell at that moment, it was a -certain method of corresponding with him. - -Our hero hastened to make a riband of sorts out of his linen; and that -evening, shortly after nine, he heard quite distinctly a series of -little taps on the tubs of the orange trees which stood beneath his -window; he let down his riband, which brought back with it a fine cord -of great length with the help of which he drew up first of all a supply -of chocolate, and then, to his unspeakable satisfaction, a roll of paper -and a pencil. It was in vain that he let down the cord again, he -received nothing more; apparently the sentries had come near the orange -trees. But he was wild with joy. He hastened to write Clelia an endless -letter: no sooner was it finished than he attached it to the cord and -let it down. For more than three hours he waited in vain for it to be -taken, and more than once drew it up again to make alterations. "If -Clelia does not see my letter to-night," he said to himself, "while she -is still upset by her idea of poison, to-morrow morning perhaps she will -utterly reject the idea of receiving a letter." - -The fact was that Clelia had been unable to avoid going down to the town -with her father; Fabrizio almost guessed as much when he heard, about -half past twelve, the General's carriage return; he recognised the trot -of the horses. What was his joy when, a few minutes after he had heard -the General cross the terrace and the sentries present arms to him, he -felt a pull at the cord which he had not ceased to keep looped round his -arm! A heavy weight was attached to this cord; two little tugs gave him -the signal to draw it up. He had considerable difficulty in getting the -heavy object that he was lifting past a cornice which jutted out some -way beneath his window. - -This object which he had so much difficulty in pulling up was a flask -filled with water and wrapped in a shawl. It was with ecstasy that this -poor young man, who had been living for so long in so complete a -solitude, covered this shawl with his kisses. But we must abandon the -attempt to describe his emotion when at last, after so many days of -fruitless expectation, he discovered a little scrap of paper which was -attached to the shawl by a pin. - -"Drink nothing but this water, live upon chocolate; to-morrow I shall do -everything in the world to get some bread to you, I shall mark it on -each side with little crosses in ink. It is a terrible thing to say, but -you must know it, perhaps Barbone has been ordered to poison you. How is -it that you did not feel that the subject of which you treat in your -pencilled letter was bound to displease me? Besides, I should not write -to you, but for the danger that threatens us. I have just seen the -Duchessa, she is well and so is the Conte, but she has grown very thin; -do not write to me again on that subject; do you wish to make me angry?" - -It required a great effort of virtue on Clelia's part to write the -penultimate line of this letter. Everyone alleged, in the society at -court, that Signora Sanseverina was becoming extremely friendly with -Conte Baldi, that handsome man, the former friend of the Marchesa -Raversi. What was certain was that he had quarrelled in the most open -fashion with the said Marchesa, who for six years had been a second -mother to him and had established him in society. - -Clelia had been obliged to begin this hasty little note over again, for, -in the first draft, some allusion escaped her to the fresh amours with -which popular malice credited the Duchessa. - -"How base of me!" she had exclaimed, "to say things to Fabrizio against -the woman he loves!" - -The following morning, long before it was light, Grillo came into -Fabrizio's cell, left there a package of some weight, and vanished -without saying a word. This package contained a loaf of bread of some -size, adorned on every side with little crosses traced in ink: Fabrizio -covered them with kisses; he was in love. Besides the bread there was a -roll wrapped in a large number of folds of paper; these enclosed six -hundred francs in sequins; last of all Fabrizio found a handsome -breviary, quite new: a hand which he was beginning to know had traced -these words on the margin: - -"_Poison_! Beware of water, wine, everything; live upon chocolate, try -to make the dog eat your untouched dinner; you must not appear -distrustful, the enemy would try some other plan. Do nothing foolish, in -Heaven's Name! No frivolity!" - -Fabrizio made haste to erase these dear words which might compromise -Clelia, and to tear a large number of pages from the breviary, with the -help of which he made several alphabets; each letter was properly drawn -with crushed charcoal soaked in wine. These alphabets had dried when at -a quarter to twelve Clelia appeared, a few feet inside the aviary -window. "The great thing now," Fabrizio said to himself, "is that she -shall consent to make use of these." But, fortunately for him, it so -happened that she had a number of things to say to the young prisoner -with regard to the attempt to poison him: a dog belonging to one of the -maidservants had died after eating a dish that was intended for him. -Clelia, so far from raising any objection to the use of the alphabets, -had prepared a magnificent one for herself, in ink. The conversation -carried out by these means, awkward enough in the first few moments, -lasted not less than an hour and a half, that is to say all the time -that Clelia was able to spend in the aviary. Two or three times, when -Fabrizio allowed himself forbidden liberties, she made no answer, and -turned away for a moment to give the necessary attention to her birds. - -Fabrizio had obtained the concession that, in the evening, when she sent -him his water, she would convey to him one of the alphabets which she -had written in ink, and which were far more visible. He did not fail to -write her a very long letter in which he took care not to include -anything affectionate, in a manner at least that might give offence. -This plan proved successful; his letter was accepted. - -Next day, in their conversation by the alphabets, Clelia made him no -reproach; she told him that the danger of poison was growing less; -Barbone had been attacked and almost killed by the men who were keeping -company with the kitchen-maids of the governor's _palazzo_; probably he -would not venture to appear in the kitchens again. Clelia confessed to -him that, for his sake, she had dared to steal an antidote from her -father; she was sending it to him; the essential thing was to refuse at -once all food in which he detected an unusual taste. - -Clelia had put many questions to Don Cesare without succeeding in -discovering who had sent the six hundred francs which Fabrizio had -received; in any case, it was an excellent sign; the severity was -decreasing. - -This episode of the poison advanced our hero's position enormously; he -was still unable ever to obtain the least admission that resembled love, -but he had the happiness of living on the most intimate terms with -Clelia. Every morning, and often in the evening, there was a long -conversation with the alphabets; every evening, at nine o'clock, Clelia -accepted a long letter, to which she sometimes replied in a few words; -she sent him the newspaper and several books; finally, Grillo had been -won over to the extent of bringing Fabrizio bread and wine, which were -given him every day by Clelia's maid. The gaoler Grillo had concluded -from this that the governor was not acting in concert with the people -who had ordered Barbone to poison the young Monsignore, and was greatly -relieved, as were all his fellows, for it had become a proverb in the -prison that "you had only to look Monsignor del Dongo in the face for -him to give you money." - -Fabrizio had grown very pale; the complete want of exercise was -affecting his health; apart from this, he had never in his life been so -happy. The tone of the conversation between Clelia and himself was -intimate, and at times quite gay. The only moments in Clelia's life that -were not besieged by grim forebodings and remorse were those which she -spent in talk with him. One day she was so rash as to say to him: - -"I admire your delicacy; as I am the governor's daughter, you never -speak to me of your desire to regain your freedom!" - -"That is because I take good care not to feel so absurd a desire," was -Fabrizio's answer; "once back in Parma, how should I see you again? And -life would become insupportable if I could not tell you all that is in -my mind--no, not quite all that is in my mind, you take good care of -that: but still, in spite of your hard-heartedness, to live without -seeing you every day would be to me a far worse punishment than this -prison! Never in my life have I been so happy! . . . Is it not pleasant -to find that happiness was awaiting me in prison?" - - - - -_DIPLOMACY_ - - -"There is a great deal more to be said about that," replied Clelia with -an air which became of a sudden unduly serious and almost sinister. - -"What!" cried Fabrizio, greatly alarmed, "is there a risk of my losing -the tiny place I have managed to win in your heart, which constitutes my -sole joy in this world?" - -"Yes," she told him; "I have good reason to believe that you are lacking -in frankness towards me, although you may be regarded generally as a -great gentleman; but I do not wish to speak of this to-day." - -This singular opening caused great embarrassment in their conversation, -and often tears started to the eyes of both. - -The Fiscal General Rassi was still anxious to change his name; he was -tired to death of the name he had made for himself, and wished to become -Barone Riva. Conte Mosca, for his part, was toiling, with all the skill -of which he was capable, to strengthen in this venal judge his passion -for the barony, just as he was seeking to intensify in the Prince his -mad hope of making himself Constitutional Monarch of Lombardy. They were -the only means that he could invent of postponing the death of Fabrizio. - -The Prince said to Rassi: - -"A fortnight of despair and a fortnight of hope, it is by patiently -carrying out this system that we shall succeed in subduing that proud -woman's nature; it is by these alternatives of mildness and harshness -that one manages to break the wildest horses. Apply the caustic firmly." - -And indeed, every fortnight, one saw a fresh rumour come to birth in -Parma announcing the death of Fabrizio in the near future. This talk -plunged the unhappy Duchessa in the utmost despair. Faithful to her -resolution not to involve the Conte in her downfall, she saw him but -twice monthly; but she was punished for her cruelty towards that poor -man by the continual alternations of dark despair in which she was -passing her life. In vain did Conte Mosca, overcoming the cruel jealousy -inspired in him by the assiduities of Conte Baldi, that handsome man, -write to the Duchessa when he could not see her, and acquaint her with -all the intelligence that he owed to the zeal of the future Barone Riva; -the Duchessa would have needed (for strength to resist the atrocious -rumours that were incessantly going about with regard to Fabrizio), to -spend her life with a man of intelligence and heart such as Mosca; the -nullity of Baldi, leaving her to her own thoughts, gave her an appalling -existence, and the Conte could not succeed in communicating to her his -reasons for hope. - -By means of various pretexts of considerable ingenuity the Minister had -succeeded in making the Prince agree to his depositing in a friendly -castle, in the very heart of Lombardy, the records of all the highly -complicated intrigues by means of which Ranuccio-Ernest IV nourished the -utterly mad hope of making himself Constitutional Monarch of that -smiling land. - -More than a score of these extremely compromising documents were in the -Prince's hand, or bore his signature, and in the event of Fabrizio's -life being seriously threatened the Conte had decided to announce to His -Highness that he was going to hand these documents over to a great power -which with a word could crush him. - -Conte Mosca believed that he could rely upon the future Barone Riva, he -was afraid only of poison; Barbone's attempt had greatly alarmed him, -and to such a point that he had determined to risk taking a step which, -to all appearance, was an act of madness. One morning he went to the -gate of the citadel and sent for General Fabio Conti, who came down as -far as the bastion above the gate; there, strolling with him in a -friendly fashion, he had no hesitation in saying to him, after a short -preamble, acidulated but polite: - - - - -_PRISON_ - - -"If Fabrizio dies in any suspicious manner, his death may be put down to -me; I shall get a reputation for jealousy, which would be an absurd and -abominable stigma and one that I am determined not to accept. So, to -clear myself in the matter, if he dies of illness, _I shall kill you -with my own hand_; you may count on that." General Fabio Conti made a -magnificent reply and spoke of his bravery, but the look in the Conte's -eyes remained present in his thoughts. - -A few days later, as though he were working in concert with the Conte, -the Fiscal Rassi took a liberty which was indeed singular in a man of -his sort. The public contempt attached to his name, which was proverbial -among the rabble, had made him ill since he had acquired the hope of -being able to change it. He addressed to General Fabio Conti an official -copy of the sentence which condemned Fabrizio to twelve years in the -citadel. According to the law, this was what should have been done on -the very day after Fabrizio's admission to prison; but what was -unheard-of at Parma, in that land of secret measures, was that Justice -should allow itself to take such a step without an express order from -the Sovereign. How indeed could the Prince entertain the hope of -doubling every fortnight the Duchessa's alarm, and of subduing that -proud spirit, to quote his own words, once an official copy of the -sentence had gone out from the Chancellory of Justice? On the day before -that on which General Fabio Conti received the official document from -the Fiscal Rassi, he learned that the clerk Barbone had been beaten -black and blue on returning rather late to the citadel; he concluded -from this that there was no longer any question, in a certain quarter, -of getting rid of Fabrizio; and, in a moment of prudence which saved -Rassi from the immediate consequences of his folly, he said nothing to -the Prince, at the next audience which he obtained of him, of the -official copy of Fabrizio's sentence which had been transmitted to him. -The Conte had discovered, happily for the peace of mind of the -unfortunate Duchessa, that Barbone's clumsy attempt had been only an act -of personal revenge, and had caused the clerk to be given the warning of -which we have spoken. - -Fabrizio was very agreeably surprised when, after one hundred and -thirty-five days of confinement in a distinctly narrow cell, the good -chaplain Don Cesare came to him one Thursday to take him for an airing -on the dungeon of the Torre Farnese: he had not been there ten minutes -before, unaccustomed to the fresh air, he began to feel faint. - -Don Cesare made this accident an excuse to allow him half an hour's -exercise every day. This was a mistake: these frequent airings soon -restored to our hero a strength which he abused. - -There were several serenades; the punctilious governor allowed them only -because they created an engagement between the Marchese Crescenzi and -his daughter Clelia, whose character alarmed him; he felt vaguely that -there was no point of contact between her and himself, and was always -afraid of some rash action on her part. She might fly to the convent, -and he would be left helpless. At the same time, the General was afraid -that all this music, the sound of which could penetrate into the deepest -dungeons, reserved for the blackest Liberals, might contain signals. The -musicians themselves, too, made him suspicious; and so no sooner was the -serenade at an end than they were locked into the big rooms below the -governor's _palazzo_, which by day served as an office for the staff, -and the door was not opened to let them out until the following morning, -when it was broad daylight. It was the governor himself who, stationed -on the Slave's Bridge, had them searched in his presence and gave them -their liberty, not without several times repeating that he would have -hanged at once any of them who had the audacity to undertake the -smallest commission for any prisoner. And they knew that, in his fear of -giving offence, he was a man of his word, so that the Marchese Crescenzi -was obliged to pay his musicians at a triple rate, they being greatly -upset at thus having to spend a night in prison. - -All that the Duchessa could obtain, and that with great difficulty, from -the pusillanimity of one of these men was that he should take with him a -letter to be handed to the governor. The letter was addressed to -Fabrizio: the writer deplored the fatality which had brought it about -that, after he had been more than five months in prison, his friends -outside had not been able to establish any communication with him. - -On entering the citadel, the bribed musician flung himself at the feet -of General Fabio Conti, and confessed to him that a priest, unknown to -him, had so insisted upon his taking a letter addressed to Signor del -Dongo that he had not dared to refuse; but, faithful to his duty, he was -hastening to place it in His Excellency's hands. - -His Excellency was highly flattered: he knew the resources at the -Duchessa's disposal, and was in great fear of being hoaxed. In his joy, -the General went to submit this letter to the Prince, who was delighted. - -"So, the firmness of my administration has brought me my revenge! That -proud woman has been suffering for more than six months! But one of -these days we are going to have a scaffold erected, and her wild -imagination will not fail to believe that it is intended for young del -Dongo." - - - - -CHAPTER TWENTY - - -One night, about one o'clock in the morning, Fabrizio, leaning upon his -window-sill, had slipped his head through the door cut in his screen and -was contemplating the stars and the immense horizon which one enjoyed -from the summit of the Torre Farnese. His eyes, roaming over the country -in the direction of the lower Po and Ferrara, noticed quite by chance an -extremely small but quite brilliant light which seemed to be shining -from the top of a tower. "That light cannot be visible from the plain," -Fabrizio said to himself, "the bulk of the tower prevents it from being -seen from below; it will be some signal for a distant point." Suddenly -he noticed that this light kept on appearing and disappearing at very -short intervals. "It is some girl speaking to her lover in the next -village." He counted nine flashes in succession. "That is an _I_," he -said, "_I_ being the ninth letter of the alphabet." There followed, -after a pause, fourteen flashes: "That is _N_"; then, after another -pause, a single flash: "It is an _A_; the word is _Ina_." - -What were his joy and surprise when the next series of flashes, still -separated by short pauses, made up the following words: - - - INA PENSA A TE - - -Evidently, "Gina is thinking of you!" - -He replied at once by flashing his own lamp through the smaller of the -holes that he had made: - - -FABRIZIO T'AMA ("Fabrizio loves you!") - - - - - -_PRISON_ - - -The conversation continued until daybreak. This night was the one -hundred and seventy-third of his imprisonment, and he was informed that -for four months they had been making these signals every night. But -anyone might see and read them; they began from this night to establish -a system of abbreviations: three flashes in very quick succession meant -the Duchessa; four, the Prince; two, Conte Mosca; two quick flashes -followed by two slow ones meant _escape_. They agreed to use in future -the old alphabet _alla Monaca_, which, so as not to be understood by -unauthorised persons, changes the ordinary sequence of the letters, and -gives them arbitrary values: _A_, for instance, is represented by 10, -_B_ by Z; that is to say three successive interruptions of the flash -mean _B_, ten successive interruptions _A_, and so on; an interval of -darkness separates the words. An appointment was made for the following -night at one o'clock, and that night the Duchessa came to the tower, -which was a quarter of a league from the town. Her eyes filled with -tears as she saw the signals made by the Fabrizio whom she had so often -imagined dead. She told him herself, by flashes of the lamp: "_I love -you--courage--health--hope. Exercise your strength in your cell, you -will need the strength of your arms_.--I have not seen him," she said to -herself, "since that concert with Fausta, when he appeared at the door -of my drawing-room dressed as a _chasseur_. Who would have said then -what a fate was in store for him?" - -The Duchessa had signals made which informed Fabrizio that presently he -would be released thanks to the Prince's bounty (these signals might be -intercepted); then she returned to messages of affection; she could not -tear herself from him. Only the representations made by Lodovico, who, -because he had been of use to Fabrizio, had become her factotum, could -prevail upon her, when day was already breaking, to discontinue signals -which might attract the attention of some ill-disposed person. This -announcement, several times repeated, of an approaching release, cast -Fabrizio into a profound sorrow. Clelia, noticing this next day, was so -imprudent as to inquire the cause of it. - -"I can see myself on the point of giving the Duchessa serious grounds -for displeasure." - -"And what can she require of you that you would refuse her?" exclaimed -Clelia, carried away by the most lively curiosity. - -"She wishes me to leave this place," was his answer, "and that is what I -will never consent to do." - -Clelia could not reply: she looked at him and burst into tears. If he -had been able to speak to her face to face, then perhaps he would have -received her avowal of feelings, his uncertainty as to which often -plunged him in a profound discouragement; he felt keenly that life -without Clelia's love could be for him only a succession of bitter -griefs or intolerable tedium. He felt that it was no longer worth his -while to live to rediscover those same pleasures that had seemed to him -interesting before he knew what love was, and, albeit suicide has not -yet become fashionable in Italy, he had thought of it as a last -resource, if fate were to part him from Clelia. - -Next day he received a long letter from her: - - -"You must, my friend, be told the truth: over and over again, since you -have been here, it has been believed in Parma that your last day had -come. It is true that you were sentenced only to twelve years in a -fortress; but it is, unfortunately, impossible to doubt that an -all-powerful hatred is bent on your destruction, and a score of times I -have trembled for fear that poison was going to put an end to your days: -you must therefore seize every _possible_ means of escaping from here. You -see that for your sake I am neglecting the most sacred duties; judge of -the imminence of the danger by the things which I venture to say to you, -and which are so out of place on my lips. If it is absolutely necessary, -if there is no other way of safety, fly. Every moment that you spend in -this fortress may put your life in the greatest peril; bear in mind that -there is a party at court whom the prospect of crime has never deterred -from carrying out their designs. And do you not see all the plans of -that party constantly circumvented by the superior skill of Conte Mosca? -Very well, they have found a sure way of banishing him from Parma, it is -the Duchessa's desperation; and are they not only too sure of bringing -about the desperation by the death of a certain young prisoner? This -point alone, which is unanswerable, ought to make you form a judgment of -your situation. You say that you feel friendship for me: think, first of -all, that insurmountable obstacles must prevent that feeling from ever -becoming at all definite between us. We may have met in our youth, we -may each have held out a helping hand to the other in a time of trouble; -fate may have set me in this grim place that I might lighten your -suffering; but I should never cease to reproach myself if illusions, -which nothing justifies or will ever justify, led you not to seize every -possible opportunity of removing your life from so terrible a peril. I -have lost all peace of mind through the cruel folly I have committed in -exchanging with you certain signs of open friendship. If our childish -pastimes, with alphabets, led you to form illusions which are so little -warranted and which may be so fatal to yourself, it would be vain for me -to seek to justify myself by reminding you of Barbone's attempt. I -should be casting you myself into a far more terrible, far more certain -peril, when I thought only to protect you from a momentary danger; and -my imprudences are for ever unpardonable if they have given rise to -feelings which may lead you to resist the Duchessa's advice. See what -you oblige me to repeat to you: save yourself, I command you. . . ." - - -This letter was very long; certain passages, such as the _I command you_ -which we have just quoted, gave moments of exquisite hope to Fabrizio's -love; it seemed to him that the sentiments underlying the words were -distinctly tender, if the expressions used were remarkably prudent. In -other instances he paid the penalty for his complete ignorance of this -kind of warfare; he saw only simple friendship, or even a very ordinary -humanity in this letter from Clelia. - -Otherwise, nothing that she told him made him change his intentions for -an instant: supposing that the perils which she depicted were indeed -real, was it extravagant to purchase, with a few momentary dangers, the -happiness of seeing her every day? What sort of life would he lead when -he had fled once again to Bologna or to Florence? For, if he escaped -from the citadel, he certainly could not hope for permission to live in -Parma. And even so, when the Prince should change his mind sufficiently -to set him at liberty (which was so highly improbable since he, -Fabrizio, had become, for a powerful faction, one of the means of -overthrowing Conte Mosca), what sort of life would he lead in Parma, -separated from Clelia by all the hatred that divided the two parties? -Once or twice in a month, perhaps, chance would place them in the same -drawing-room; but even then, what sort of conversation could he hold -with her? How could he recapture that perfect intimacy which, every day -now, he enjoyed for several hours? What would be the conversation of the -drawing-room, compared with that which they made by alphabets? "And, if -I must purchase this life of enjoyment and this unique chance of -happiness with a few little dangers, where is the harm in that? And -would it not be a further happiness to find thus a feeble opportunity of -giving her a proof of my love?" - -Fabrizio saw nothing in Clelia's letter but an excuse for asking her for -a meeting; it was the sole and constant object of all his desires. He -had spoken to her of it once only, and then for an instant, at the -moment of his entry into prison; and that was now more than two hundred -days ago. - -An easy way of meeting Clelia offered itself: the excellent Priore Don -Cesare allowed Fabrizio half an hour's exercise on the terrace of the -Torre Farnese every Thursday, during the day; but on the other days of -the week this airing, which might be observed by all the inhabitants of -Parma and the neighbouring villages, and might seriously compromise the -governor, took place only at nightfall. To climb to the terrace of the -Torre Farnese there was no other stair but that of the little belfry -belonging to the chapel so lugubriously decorated in black and white -marble, which the reader may perhaps remember. Grillo escorted Fabrizio -to this chapel, and opened the little stair to the belfry for him: his -duty would have been to accompany him; but, as the evenings were growing -cold, the gaoler allowed him to go up by himself, locking him into this -belfry which communicated with the terrace, and went back to keep warm -in his cell. Very well; one evening, could not Clelia contrive to -appear, escorted by her maid, in the black marble chapel? - -The whole of the long letter in which Fabrizio replied to Clelia's was -calculated to obtain this meeting. Otherwise, he confided to her, with -perfect sincerity, and as though he were writing of someone else, all -the reasons which made him decide not to leave the citadel. - -"I would expose myself every day to the prospect of a thousand deaths to -have the happiness of speaking to you with the help of our alphabets, -which now never defeat us for a moment, and you wish me to be such a -fool as to exile myself in Parma, or perhaps at Bologna, or even at -Florence! You wish me to walk out of here so as to be farther from you! -Understand that any such effort is impossible for me; it would be -useless to give you my word, I could never keep it." - -The result of this request for a meeting was an absence on the part of -Clelia which lasted for no fewer than five days; for five days she came -to the aviary only at times when she knew that Fabrizio could not make -use of the little opening cut in the screen. Fabrizio was in despair; he -concluded from this absence that, despite certain glances which had made -him conceive wild hopes, he had never inspired in Clelia any sentiments -other than those of a simple friendship. "In that case," he asked -himself, "what good is life to me? Let the Prince take it from me, he -will be welcome; another reason for not leaving the fortress." And it -was with a profound feeling of disgust that, every night, he replied to -the signals of the little lamp. The Duchessa thought him quite mad when -she read, on the record of the messages which Lodovico brought to her -every morning, these strange words: "_I do not wish to escape; I wish to -die here_!" - -During these five days, so cruel for Fabrizio, Clelia was more unhappy -than he; she had had the idea, so poignant for a generous nature: "My -duty is to take refuge in a convent, far from the citadel; when Fabrizio -knows that I am no longer here, and I shall make Grillo and all the -gaolers tell him, then he will decide upon an attempt at escape." But to -go to a convent was to abandon for ever all hope of seeing Fabrizio -again; and how abandon that hope, when he was furnishing so clear a -proof that the sentiments which might at one time have attached him to -the Duchessa no longer existed? What more touching proof of love could a -young man give? After seven long months in prison, which had seriously -affected his health, he refused to regain his liberty. A fickle -creature, such as the talk of the courtiers had portrayed Fabrizio in -Clelia's eyes as being, would have sacrificed a score of mistresses -rather than remain another day in the citadel, and what would such a man -not have done to escape from a prison in which, at any moment, poison -might put an end to his life? - -Clelia lacked courage; she made the signal mistake of not seeking refuge -in a convent, a course which would at the same time have furnished her -with a quite natural means of breaking with the Marchese Crescenzi. Once -this mistake was made, how was she to resist this young man--so lovable, -so natural, so tender--who was exposing his life to frightful perils to -gain the simple pleasure of looking at her from one window to another? -After five days of terrible struggles, interspersed with moments of -self-contempt, Clelia made up her mind to reply to the letter in which -Fabrizio begged for the pleasure of speaking to her in the black marble -chapel. To tell the truth, she refused, and in distinctly firm language; -but from that moment all peace of mind was lost for her; at every -instant her imagination portrayed to her Fabrizio succumbing to the -attack of the poisoner; she came six or eight times in a day to her -aviary, she felt the passionate need of assuring herself with her own -eyes that Fabrizio was alive. - -"If he is still in the fortress," she told herself, "if he is exposed to -all the horrors which the Raversi faction are perhaps plotting against -him with the object of getting rid of Conte Mosca, it is solely because -I have had the cowardice not to fly to the convent! What excuse could he -have for remaining here once he was certain that I had gone for ever?" - -This girl, at once so timid and so proud, brought herself to the point -of running the risk of a refusal on the part of the gaoler Grillo; what -was more, she exposed herself to all the comments which the man might -allow himself to make on the singularity of her conduct. She stooped to -the degree of humiliation involved in sending for him, and telling him -in a tremulous voice which betrayed her whole secret that within a few -days Fabrizio was going to obtain his freedom, that the Duchessa -Sanseverina, in the hope of this, was taking the most active measures, -that often it was necessary to have without a moment's delay the -prisoner's answer to certain proposals which might be made, and that she -wished him, Grillo, to allow Fabrizio to make an opening in the screen -which masked his window, so that she might communicate to him by signs -the instructions which she received several times daily from Signora -Sanseverina. - -Grillo smiled and gave her an assurance of his respect and obedience. -Clelia felt a boundless gratitude to him because he said nothing; it was -evident that he knew quite well all that had been going on for the last -few months. - -Scarcely had the gaoler left her presence when Clelia made the signal by -which she had arranged to call Fabrizio upon important occasions; she -confessed to him all that she had just been doing. "You wish to perish -by poison," she added: "I hope to have the courage, one of these days, -to leave my father and escape to some remote convent. I shall be -indebted to you for that; then I hope that you will no longer oppose the -plans that may be proposed to you for getting you away from here. So -long as you are in prison, I have frightful and unreasonable moments; -never in my life have I contributed to anyone's hurt, and I feel that I -am to be the cause of your death. Such an idea in the case of a complete -stranger would fill me with despair; judge of what I feel when I picture -to myself that a friend, whose unreasonableness gives me serious cause -for complaint, but whom, after all, I have been seeing every day for so -long, is at this very moment a victim to the pangs of death. At times I -feel the need to know from your own lips that you are alive. - -"It was to escape from this frightful grief that I have just lowered -myself so far as to ask a favour of a subordinate who might have refused -it me, and may yet betray me. For that matter, I should perhaps be happy -were he to come and denounce me to my father; at once I should leave for -the convent, I should no longer be the most unwilling accomplice of your -cruel folly. But, believe me, this cannot go on for long, you will obey -the Duchessa's orders. Are you satisfied, cruel friend? It is I who am -begging you to betray my father. Call Grillo, and give him a present." - -Fabrizio was so deeply in love, the simplest expression of Clelia's -wishes plunged him in such fear that even this strange communication -gave him no certainty that he was loved. He summoned Grillo, whom he -paid generously for his services in the past, and, as for the future, -told him that for every day on which he allowed him to make use of the -opening cut in the screen, he should receive a sequin. Grillo was -delighted with these terms. - -"I am going to speak to you with my hand on my heart, Monsignore; will -you submit to eating your dinner cold every day? It is a very simple way -of avoiding poison. But I ask you to use the utmost discretion; a gaoler -has to see everything and know nothing," and so on. "Instead of one dog, -I shall have several, and you yourself will make them taste all the -dishes that you propose to eat; as for wine, I will give you my own, and -you will touch only the bottles from which I have drunk. But if Your -Excellency wishes to ruin me for ever, he has merely got to repeat these -details even to Signorina Clelia; women will always be women; if -to-morrow she quarrels with you, the day after, to have her revenge, she -will tell the whole story to her father, whose greatest joy would be to -find an excuse for having a gaoler hanged. After Barbone, he is perhaps -the wickedest creature in the fortress, and that is where the real -danger of your position lies; he knows how to handle poison, you may be -sure of that, and he would never forgive me this idea of having three or -four little dogs." - -There was another serenade. This time Grillo answered all Fabrizio's -questions: he had indeed promised himself always to be prudent, and not -to betray Signorina Clelia, who according to him, while on the point of -marrying the Marchese Crescenzi, the richest man in the States of Parma, -was nevertheless making love, so far as the prison walls allowed, to the -charming Monsignore del Dongo. He had answered the latter's final -questions as to the serenade, when he was fool enough to add: "They -think that he will marry her soon." One may judge of the effect of this -simple statement on Fabrizio. - -That night he replied to the signals of the lamp only to say that he was -ill. The following morning, at ten o'clock, Clelia having appeared in -the aviary, he asked her in a tone of ceremonious politeness which was -quite novel between them, why she had not told him frankly that she was -in love with the Marchese Crescenzi, and that she was on the point of -marrying him. - -"Because there is not a word of truth in the story," replied Clelia with -impatience. It is true, however, that the rest of her answer was less -precise: Fabrizio pointed this out to her, and took advantage of it to -repeat his request for a meeting. Clelia, seeing a doubt cast on her -sincerity, granted his request almost at once, reminding him at the same -time that she was dishonouring herself for ever in Grillo's eyes. That -evening, when it was quite dark, she appeared, accompanied by her maid, -in the black marble chapel; she stopped in the middle, by the sanctuary -lamp; the maid and Grillo retired thirty paces towards the door. Clelia, -who was trembling all over, had prepared a fine speech: her object was -to make no compromising admission, but the logic of passion is -insistent; the profound interest which it feels in knowing the truth -does not allow it to keep up vain pretences, while at the same time the -extreme devotion that it feels to the object of its love takes from it -the fear of giving offence. Fabrizio was dazzled at first by Clelia's -beauty; for nearly eight months he had seen no one at such close range -except gaolers. But the name of the Marchese Crescenzi revived all his -fury, it increased when he saw quite clearly that Clelia was answering -him only with tactful circumspection; Clelia herself realised that she -was increasing his suspicions instead of dissipating them. This -sensation was too cruel for her to bear. - -"Will you be really glad," she said to him with a sort of anger and with -tears in her eyes, "to have made me exceed all the bounds of what I owe -to myself? Until the third of August last year I had never felt anything -but aversion towards the men who sought to attract me. I had a boundless -and probably exaggerated contempt for the character of the courtier, -everyone who flourished at that court revolted me. I found, on the other -hand, singular qualities in a prisoner who, on the third of August, was -brought to this citadel. I felt, without noticing them at first, all the -torments of jealousy. The attractions of a charming woman, and one whom -I knew well, were like daggers thrust into my heart, because I believed, -and I am still inclined to believe that this prisoner was attached to -her. Presently the persecutions of the Marchese Crescenzi, who had -sought my hand, were redoubled; he is extremely rich, and we have no -fortune. I was rejecting them with the greatest boldness when my father -uttered the fatal word convent; I realised that, if I left the citadel, -I would no longer be able to watch over the life of the prisoner in -whose fate I was interested. The triumph of my precautions had been that -until that moment he had not the slightest suspicion of the appalling -dangers that were threatening his life. I had promised myself never to -betray either my father or my secret; but that woman of an admirable -activity, a superior intelligence, a terrible will, who is protecting -this prisoner, offered him, or so I suppose, means of escape: he -rejected them, and sought to persuade me that he was refusing to leave -the citadel in order not to be separated from me. Then I made a great -mistake, I fought with myself for five days; I ought at once to have -fled to the convent and to have left the fortress: that course offered -me a very simple method of breaking with the Marchese Crescenzi. I had -not the courage to leave the fortress, and I am a ruined girl: I have -attached myself to a fickle man: I know what his conduct was at Naples; -and what reason should I have to believe that his character has altered? -Shut up in a harsh prison, he has paid his court to the one woman he -could see; she has been a distraction from the dulness of his life. As -he could speak to her only with a certain amount of difficulty, this -amusement has assumed the false appearance of a passion. This prisoner, -having made a name for himself in the world by his courage, imagines -himself to be proving that his love is something more than a passing -fancy by exposing himself to considerable dangers in order to continue -to see the person whom he thinks that he loves. But as soon as he is in -a big town, surrounded once more by the seductions of society, he will -once more become what he has always been, a man of the world given to -dissipation, to gallantry; and his poor prison companion will end her -days in a convent, forgotten by this light-hearted creature, and with -the undying regret that she has made him an avowal." - -This historic speech, of which we give only the principal points, was, -as one may imagine, interrupted a score of times by Fabrizio. He was -desperately in love; also he was perfectly convinced that he had never -loved before seeing Clelia, and that the destiny of his life was to live -for her alone. - -The reader will no doubt imagine the fine speeches that he was making -when the maid warned her mistress that half past eleven had struck, and -that the General might return at any moment; the parting was cruel. - -"I am seeing you perhaps for the last time," said Clelia to the -prisoner: "a proceeding which is evidently in the interest of the -Raversi cabal may furnish you with a cruel fashion of proving that you -are not inconstant." Clelia parted from Fabrizio choked by her sobs and -dying with shame at not being able to hide them entirely from her maid, -nor, what was worse, from the gaoler Grillo. A second conversation was -possible only when the General should announce his intention of spending -an evening in society: and as, since Fabrizio's imprisonment, and the -interest which it inspired in the curious courtiers, he had found it -prudent to afflict himself with an almost continuous attack of gout, his -excursions to the town, subjected to the requirements of an astute -policy, were decided upon often only at the moment of his getting into -the carriage. - -After this evening in the marble chapel, Fabrizio's life was a -succession of transports of joy. Serious obstacles, it was true, seemed -still to stand in the way of his happiness; but now at last he had that -supreme and scarcely hoped-for joy of being loved by the divine creature -who occupied all his thoughts. - -On the third evening after this conversation, the signals from the lamp -finished quite early, almost at midnight; at the moment of their coming -to an end Fabrizio almost had his skull broken by a huge ball of lead -which, thrown over the top of the screen of his window, came crashing -through its paper panes and fell into his room. - -This huge ball was not nearly so heavy as appeared from its size. -Fabrizio easily succeeded in opening it, and found inside a letter from -the Duchessa. By the intervention of the Archbishop, to whom she paid -sedulous attention, she had won over to her side a soldier in the -garrison of the citadel. This man, a skilled slinger, had eluded the -sentries posted at the corners and outside the door of the governor's -_palazzo_, or had come to terms with them. - - -"You must escape with cords: I shudder as I give you this strange -advice, I have been hesitating, for two whole months and more, to tell -you this; but the official outlook grows darker every day, and one must -be prepared for the worst. This being so, start signalling again at once -with your lamp, to shew us that you have received this letter; send -_P--B--G alla Monaca_, that is four, three and two: I shall not breathe -until I have seen this signal. I am on the tower, we shall answer -_N--O_, that is seven and five. On receiving the answer send no other -signal, and attend to nothing but the meaning of my letter." - - -Fabrizio made haste to obey and sent the arranged signals, which were -followed by the promised reply; then he went on reading the letter: - - -"We may be prepared for the worst; so I have been told by the three men -in whom I have the greatest confidence, after I had made them swear on -the Gospel that they would tell me the truth, however cruel it might be -to me. The first of these men threatened the surgeon who betrayed you at -Ferrara that he would fall upon him with an open knife in his hand; the -second told you, on your return from Belgirate, that it would have been -more strictly prudent to take your pistol and shoot the footman who came -singing through the wood leading a fine horse, but a trifle thin; you do -not know the third: he is a highway robber of my acquaintance, a man of -action if ever there was one, and as full of courage as yourself; that -is chiefly why I asked him to tell me what you ought to do. All three of -them assured me, without knowing, any of them, that I was consulting the -other two, that it was better to risk breaking your neck than to spend -eleven years and four months in the continual fear of a highly probable -poison. - -"You must for the next month practise in your cell climbing up and down -on a knotted cord. Then, on the night of some _festa_ when the garrison -of the citadel will have received an extra ration of wine, you will make -the great attempt; you shall have three cords of silk and canvas, of the -thickness of a swan's quill, the first of eighty feet to come down the -thirty-five feet from the window to the orange trees; the second of -three hundred feet, and that is where the difficulty will be on account -of the weight, to come down the hundred and eighty feet which is the -height of the wall of the great tower; a third of thirty feet will help -you to climb down the rampart. I spend my life studying the great wall -from the east, that is from the direction of Ferrara: a gap due to an -earthquake has been filled by means of a buttress which forms an -_inclined plane_. My highway robber assures me that he would undertake -to climb down on that side without any great difficulty and at the risk -only of a few scratches, by letting himself slide along the inclined -plane formed by this buttress. The vertical drop is no more than -twenty-eight feet, right at the bottom: that side is the least carefully -guarded. - -"However, all things considered, my robber, who has escaped three times -from prison, and whom you would love if you knew him, though he -abominates people of your class; my highway robber, I say, as agile and -nimble as yourself, thinks that he would rather come down on the west -side, exactly opposite the little _palazzo_ formerly occupied by Fausta, -which you know well. What would make him choose that side is that the -wall, although very slightly inclined, is covered almost all the way -down with shrubs; there are twigs on it, as thick as your little finger, -which may easily scratch you if you do not take care, but are also -excellent things to hold on to. Only this morning I examined this west -side with an excellent telescope: the place to choose is precisely -beneath a new stone which was fixed in the parapet two or three years -ago. Directly beneath this stone you will find first of all a bare space -of some twenty feet; you must go very slowly down this (you can imagine -how my heart shudders in giving you these terrible instructions, but -courage consists in knowing how to choose the lesser evil, frightful as -it may be); after the bare space, you will find eighty or ninety feet of -quite big shrubs, out of which one can see birds flying, then a space of -thirty feet where there is nothing but grass, wall-flowers and creepers. -Then, as you come near the ground, twenty feet of shrubs, and last of -all twenty-five or thirty feet recently plastered. - -"What would make me choose this side is that there, directly underneath -the new stone in the parapet on top, there is a wooden hut built by a -soldier in his garden, which the engineer captain employed at the -fortress is trying to force him to pull down; it is seventeen feet high, -and is roofed with thatch, and the roof touches the great wall of the -citadel. It is this roof that tempts me; in the dreadful event of an -accident, it would break your fall. Once you have reached this point, -you are within the circle of the ramparts, which are none too carefully -guarded; if they arrest you there, fire your pistol and put up a fight -for a few minutes. Your friend of Ferrara and another stout-hearted man, -he whom I call the highway robber, will have ladders, and will not -hesitate to scale this quite low rampart, and fly to your rescue. - -"The rampart is only twenty-three feet high, and is built on an easy -slope. I shall be at the foot of this last wall with a good number of -armed men. - -"I hope to be able to send you five or six letters by the same channel -as this. I shall continue to repeat the same things in different words, -so that we may fully understand one another. You can guess with what -feelings I tell you that the man who said: '_Shoot the footman_,' who, -after all, is the best of men, and is dying of compunction, thinks that -you will get away with a broken arm. The highway robber, who has a wider -experience of this sort of expedition, thinks that, if you will climb -down very carefully, and, above all, without hurrying, your liberty need -cost you only a few scratches. The great difficulty is to supply the -cords; and this is what has been occupying my whole mind during the last -fortnight, in which this great idea has taken up all my time. - -"I make no answer to that mad signal, the only stupid thing you have -ever said in your life: 'I do not wish to escape!' The man who said: -'Shoot the footman,' exclaimed that boredom had driven you mad. I shall -not attempt to hide from you that we fear a very imminent danger, which -will perhaps hasten the day of your flight. To warn you of this danger, -the lamp will signal several times in succession: - -_The castle has taken fire._ - -You will reply: - -_Are my books burned?_" - - - - -_THE JUDGES_ - - -This letter contained five or six pages more of details; it was written -in a microscopic hand on the thinnest paper. - -"All that is very fine and very well thought out," Fabrizio said to -himself; "I owe an eternal debt of gratitude to the Conte and the -Duchessa; they will think perhaps that I am afraid, but I shall not try -to escape. Did anyone ever escape from a place where he was at the -height of happiness, to go and cast himself into a horrible exile where -everything would be lacking, including air to breathe? What should I do -after a month at Florence? I should put on a disguise to come and prowl -round the gate of this fortress, and try to intercept a glance!" - -Next day Fabrizio had an alarm; he was at his window, about eleven -o'clock, admiring the magnificent view and awaiting the happy moment -when he should see Clelia, when Grillo came breathless into his cell: - -"Quick, quick, Monsignore! Fling yourself on your bed, pretend to be -ill; there are three judges coming up! They are going to question you: -think well before you speak; they have come to _entangle_ you." - -So saying, Grillo made haste to shut the little trap in the screen, -thrust Fabrizio on to his bed and piled two or three cloaks on top of -him. - -"Tell them that you are very ill, and don't say much; above all make -them repeat their questions, so as to have time to think." - -The three judges entered. "Three escaped gaolbirds," thought Fabrizio on -seeing their vile faces, "not three judges." They wore long black gowns. -They bowed gravely and took possession, without saying a word, of the -three chairs that were in the room. - -"Signor Fabrizio del Dongo," said the eldest of the three, "we are -pained by the sad duty which we have come to you to perform. We are here -to announce to you the decease of His Excellency the Signor Marchese del -Dongo, your father, Second Grand Majordomo Major of the -Lombardo-Venetian Kingdom, Knight Grand Cross of the Orders of ----" a -string of titles followed. Fabrizio burst into tears. The judge went on: - -"The Signora Marchesa del Dongo, your mother, informs you of this event -by a letter missive; but as she has added to the fact certain improper -reflexions, by a decree issued yesterday, the Court of Justice has -decided that her letter shall be communicated to you only by extract, -and it is this extract which the Recorder Bona is now going to read to -you." - - - - -_PRISON_ - - -This reading finished, the judge came across to Fabrizio, who was still -lying down, and made him follow on his mother's letter the passages of -which copies had been read to him. Fabrizio saw in the letter the words -_unjust imprisonment_, _cruel punishment for a crime which is no crime -at all_, and understood what had inspired the judges' visit. However, in -his contempt for magistrates without honour, he did not actually say to -them any more than: - -"I am ill, gentlemen, I am dying of weakness, and you will excuse me if -I do not rise." - -When the judges had gone, Fabrizio wept again copiously, then said to -himself: "Am I a hypocrite? I used to think that I did not love him at -all." - -On that day and the days that followed Clelia was very sad; she called -him several times, but had barely the courage to say a few words. On the -morning of the fifth day after their first meeting, she told him that -she would come that evening to the marble chapel. - -"I can only say a few words to you," she told him as she entered. She -trembled so much that she had to lean on her maid. After sending the -woman to wait at the chapel door: "You are going to give me your word of -honour," she went on in a voice that was barely audible, "you are going -to give me your word of honour that you will obey the Duchessa, and will -attempt to escape on the day when she orders you and in the way that she -will indicate to you, or else to-morrow morning I fly to a convent, and -I swear to you here and now that never in my life will I utter a word to -you again." - -Fabrizio remained silent. - -"Promise," said Clelia, the tears starting to her eyes and apparently -quite beside herself, "or else we converse here for the last time. The -life you have made me lead is intolerable: you are here on my account, -and each day is perhaps the last of your existence." At this stage -Clelia became so weak that she was obliged to seek the support of an -enormous armchair that had originally stood in the middle of the chapel, -for the use of the prisoner-prince; she was almost fainting. - -"What must I promise?" asked Fabrizio with a beaten air. - -"You know." - -"I swear then to cast myself deliberately into a terrible disaster, and -to condemn myself to live far from all that I love in the world." - -"Make a definite promise." - -"I swear to obey the Duchessa and to make my escape on the day she -wishes and as she wishes. And what is to become of me once I am parted -from you?" - -"Swear to escape, whatever may happen to you." - -"What! Have you made up your mind to marry the Marchese Crescenzi as -soon as I am no longer here?" - -"Oh, heavens! What sort of heart do you think I have? . . . But swear, -or I shall not have another moment's peace." - -"Very well, I swear to escape from here on the day on which Signora -Sanseverina shall order me to do so, and whatever may happen to me -between now and then." - -This oath obtained, Clelia became so faint that she was obliged to -retire after thanking Fabrizio. - -"Everything was in readiness for my flight to-morrow morning," she told -him, "had you persisted in refusing. I should have beheld you at this -moment for the last time in my life, I had vowed that to the Madonna. -Now, as soon as I can leave my room, I shall go and examine the terrible -wall beneath the new stone in the parapet." - -On the following day he found her so pale that he was keenly distressed. -She said to him from the aviary window: - -"Let us be under no illusion, my dear friend; as there is sin in our -friendship, I have no doubt that misfortune will come to us. You will be -discovered while seeking to make your escape, and ruined for ever, if it -is no worse; however, we must satisfy the demands of human prudence, it -orders us to leave nothing untried. You will need, to climb down the -outside of the great tower, a strong cord more than two hundred feet -long. In spite of all the efforts I have made since I learned of the -Duchessa's plan, I have only been able to procure cords that together -amount to barely fifty feet. By a standing order of the governor, all -cords that may be seen in the fortress are burned, and every evening -they remove the well-ropes, which for that matter are so frail that they -often break when drawing up the light weight attached to them. But pray -God to forgive me, I am betraying my father, and working, unnatural girl -that I am, to cause him undying grief. Pray to God for me, and, if your -life is saved, make a vow to consecrate every moment of it to His Glory. - -"This is an idea that has come to me: in a week from now I shall leave -the citadel to be present at the wedding of one of the Marchese -Crescenzi's sisters. I shall come back that night, as I must, but I -shall try in every possible way not to come in until very late, and -perhaps Barbone will not dare to examine me too closely. All the -greatest ladies of the court will be at this wedding of the Marchese's -sister, and no doubt Signora Sanseverina among them. In heaven's name, -make one of these ladies give me a parcel of cords tightly packed, not -too large, and reduced to the smallest possible bulk. Were I to expose -myself to a thousand deaths I shall employ every means, even the most -dangerous, to introduce this parcel of cords into the citadel, in -defiance, alas, of all my duties. If my father comes to hear of it, I -shall never see you again; but whatever may be the fate that is in store -for me, I shall be happy within the bounds of a sisterly friendship if I -can help to save you." - -That same evening, by their nocturnal correspondence with the lamps, -Fabrizio gave the Duchessa warning of the unique opportunity that would -shortly arise of conveying into the citadel a sufficient length of cord. -But he begged her to keep this secret even from the Conte, which seemed -to her odd. "He is mad," thought the Duchessa, "prison has altered him, -he is taking things in a tragic spirit." Next day a ball of lead, thrown -by the slinger, brought the prisoner news of the greatest possible -peril; the person who undertook to convey the cords, he was told, would -be literally saving his life. Fabrizio hastened to give this news to -Clelia. This leaden ball brought him also a very careful drawing of the -western wall by which he was to climb down from the top of the great -tower into the space enclosed within the bastions; from this point it -was then quite easy to escape, the ramparts being, as we know, only -twenty-three feet in height. On the back of the plan was written in an -exquisite hand a magnificent sonnet: a generous soul exhorted Fabrizio -to take flight, and not to allow his soul to be debased and his body -destroyed by the eleven years of captivity which he had still to -undergo. - -At this point a detail which is essential and will explain in part the -courage that the Duchessa had found to recommend to Fabrizio so -dangerous a flight, obliges us to interrupt for a moment the history of -this bold enterprise. - -Like all parties which are not in power, the Raversi party was not -closely united. Cavaliere Riscara detested the Fiscal Rassi, whom he -accused of having made him lose an important suit in which, as a matter -of fact, he, Riscara, had been in the wrong. From Riscara the Prince -received an anonymous message informing him that a copy of Fabrizio's -sentence had been officially addressed to the governor of the citadel. -The Marchesa Raversi, that skilled party leader, was extremely annoyed -by this false move, and at once sent word of it to her friend the Fiscal -General; she found it quite natural that he should have wished to secure -something from the Minister Mosca while Mosca remained in power. Rassi -presented himself boldly at the Palace, thinking that he would get out -of the scrape with a few kicks; the Prince could not dispense with a -talented jurist, and Rassi had procured the banishment as Liberals of a -judge and a barrister, the only two men in the country who could have -taken his place. - - - - -_AN AUDIENCE_ - - -The Prince, beside himself with rage, hurled insults at him and advanced -upon him to strike him. - -"Why, it is only a clerk's mistake," replied Rassi with the utmost -coolness; "the procedure is laid down by the law, it should have been -done the day after Signor del Dongo was confined in the citadel. The -clerk in his zeal thought it had been forgotten, and must have made me -sign the covering letter as a formality." - -"And you expect to take me in with a clumsy lie like that?" cried the -Prince in a fury; "why not confess that you have sold yourself to that -rascal Mosca, and that this is why he gave you the Cross. But, by -heaven, you shall not escape with a thrashing: I shall have you brought -to justice, I shall disgrace you publicly." - -"I defy you to bring me to justice," replied Rassi with assurance; he -knew that this was a sure way of calming the Prince: "the law is on my -side, and you have not a second Rassi to find you a way round it. You -will not disgrace me, because there are moments when your nature is -severe; you then feel a thirst for blood, but at the same time you seek -to retain the esteem of reasonable Italians; that esteem is a _sine qua -non_ for your ambition. And so you will recall me for the first act of -severity of which your nature makes you feel the need, and as usual I -shall procure you a quite regular sentence passed by timid judges who -are fairly honest men, which will satisfy your passions. Find another -man in your States as useful as myself!" - -So saying, Rassi fled; he had got out of his scrape with a sharp -reprimand and half-a-dozen kicks. On leaving the Palace he started for -his estate of Riva; he had some fear of a dagger-thrust in the first -impulse of anger, but had no doubt that within a fortnight a courier -would summon him back to the capital. He employed the time which he -spent in the country in organising a safe method of correspondence with -Conte Mosca; he was madly in love with the title of Barone, and felt -that the Prince made too much of that sublime thing, nobility, ever to -confer it upon him; whereas the Conte, extremely proud of his own birth, -respected nothing but nobility proved by titles anterior by the year -1400. - -The Fiscal General had not been out in his forecast: he had been barely -eight days on his estate when a friend of the Prince, who came there by -chance, advised him to return to Parma without delay; the Prince -received him with a laugh, then assumed a highly serious air, and made -him swear on the Gospel that he would keep secret what was going to be -confided to him. Rassi swore with great solemnity, and the Prince, his -eye inflamed by hatred, cried that he would no longer be master in his -own house so long as Fabrizio del Dongo was alive. - -"I cannot," he went on, "either drive the Duchessa away or endure her -presence; her eyes defy me and destroy my life." - -Having allowed the Prince to explain himself at great length, Rassi, -affecting extreme embarrassment, finally exclaimed: - -"Your Highness shall be obeyed, of course, but the matter is one of a -horrible difficulty: there is no possibility of condemning a del Dongo -to death for the murder of a Giletti; it is already a masterly stroke to -have made twelve years' imprisonment out of it. Besides, I suspect the -Duchessa of having discovered three of the _contadini_ who were employed -on the excavations at Sanguigna, and were outside the trench at the -moment when that brigand Giletti attacked del Dongo. - -"And where are these witnesses?" said the Prince, irritated. - -"Hiding in Piedmont, I suppose. It would require a conspiracy against -Your Highness's life. . . ." - -"There is a danger in that," said the Prince, "it makes people think of -the reality." - -"Well," said Rassi with a feint of innocence, "that is all my official -arsenal." - -"There remains poison. . . ." - -"But who is to give it? Not that imbecile Conte?" - -"From what one hears, it would not be his first attempt. . . ." - -"He would have to be roused to anger first," Rassi went on; "and -besides, when he made away with the captain he was not thirty, and he -was in love, and infinitely less of a coward than he is in these days. -No doubt, everything must give way to reasons of State; but, taken -unawares like this and at first sight, I can see no one to carry out the -Sovereign's orders but a certain Barbone, registry clerk in the prison, -whom Signor del Dongo knocked down with a cuff in the face on the day of -his admission there." - -Once the Prince had been put at his ease, the conversation was endless; -he brought it to a close by granting his Fiscal General a month in which -to act; Rassi wished for two. Next day he received a secret present of a -thousand sequins. For three days he reflected; on the fourth he returned -to his original conclusion, which seemed to him self-evident: "Conte -Mosca alone will have the heart to keep his word to me, because, in -making me a Barone, he does not give me anything that he respects; -secondly, by warning him, I save myself probably from a crime for which -I am more or less paid in advance; thirdly, I have my revenge for the -first humiliating blows which Cavaliere Rassi has received." The -following night he communicated to Conte Mosca the whole of his -conversation with the Prince. - -The Conte was secretly paying his court to the Duchessa; it is quite -true that he still did not see her in her own house more than once or -twice in a month, but almost every week, and whenever he managed to -create an occasion for speaking of Fabrizio, the Duchessa, accompanied -by Cecchina, would come, late in the evening, to spend a few moments in -the Conte's gardens. She managed even to deceive her coachman, who was -devoted to her, and believed her to be visiting a neighbouring house. - -One may imagine whether the Conte, after receiving the Fiscal's terrible -confidence, at once made the signal arranged between them to the -Duchessa. Although it was the middle of the night, she begged him by -Cecchina to come to her for a moment. The Conte, enraptured, lover-like, -by this prospect of intimate converse, yet hesitated before telling the -Duchessa everything. He was afraid of seeing her driven mad by grief. - -After first seeking veiled words in which to mitigate the fatal -announcement, he ended by telling her all; it was not in his power to -keep a secret which she asked of him. In the last nine months her -extreme misery had had a great influence on this ardent soul, this had -fortified her courage, and she did not give way to sobs or lamentations. -On the following evening she sent Fabrizio the signal of great danger: - -"_The castle has taken fire._" - -He made the appropriate reply: - -"_Are my books burned?_" - -The same night she was fortunate enough to have a letter conveyed to him -in a leaden ball. It was a week after this that the marriage of the -Marchese Crescenzi's sister was celebrated, when the Duchessa was guilty -of an enormously rash action of which we shall give an account in its -proper place. - - - - -CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE - - -Almost a year before the time of these calamities the Duchessa had made -a singular acquaintance: one day when she had the _luna_, as they say in -those parts, she had gone suddenly, towards evening, to her villa of -Sacca, situated on the farther side of Colorno, on the hill commanding -the Po. She was amusing herself in improving this property; she loved -the vast forest which crowned the hill and reached to the house; she -spent her time laying out paths in picturesque directions. - -"You will have yourself carried off by brigands, fair Duchessa," the -Prince said to her one day; "it is impossible that a forest in which it -is known that you take the air should remain deserted." The Prince threw -a glance at the Conte, whose jealousy he hoped to quicken. - -"I have no fear, Serene Highness," replied the Duchessa with an innocent -air, "when I go walking in my woods; I reassure myself with this -thought: I have done no harm to anyone, who is there that could hate -me?" This speech was considered daring, it recalled the insults offered -by the Liberals of the country, who were most insolent people. - -On the day of the walk in question, the Prince's words came back to the -mind of the Duchessa as she observed a very ill dressed man who was -following her at a distance through the woods. At a sudden turn which she -took in the course of her walk, this person came so near her that she -felt alarmed. Her first impulse was to call her game-keeper whom she had -left half a mile away, in the flower-garden close to the house. The -stranger had time to overtake her and fling himself at her feet. He was -young, extremely good-looking, but horribly badly dressed; his clothes -had rents in them a foot long, but his eyes burned with the fire of an -ardent soul. - - - - -_FERRANTE_ - - -"I am under sentence of death, I am the physician, Ferrante Palla, I am -dying of hunger, I and my five children." - -The Duchessa had noticed that he was terribly thin; but his eyes were so -fine, and filled with so tender an exaltation that they took from him -any suggestion of crime. "Pallagi," she thought, "might well have given -eyes like those to the Saint John in the Desert he has just placed in -the Cathedral." The idea of Saint John was suggested to her by the -incredible thinness of the vagabond. The Duchessa gave him three sequins -which she had in her purse, with an apology for offering him so little, -because she had just paid her gardener's account. Ferrante thanked her -effusively. "Alas!" he said to her, "once I lived in towns, I used to -see beautiful women; now that in fulfilment of my duties as a citizen I -have had myself sentenced to death, I live in the woods, and I was -following you, not to demand alms of you nor to rob you, but like a -savage fascinated by an angelic beauty. It is so long since I last saw a -pair of lovely white hands." - -"Rise, then," the Duchessa told him; for he had remained on his knees. - -"Allow me to remain like this," said Ferrante; "this posture proves to -me that I am not for the present engaged in robbery, and that soothes -me; for you must know that I steal to live, now that I am prevented from -practising my profession. But at this moment I am only a simple mortal -who is adoring sublime beauty." The Duchessa gathered that he was -slightly mad, but she was not at all afraid; she saw in the eyes of the -man that he had a good and ardent soul, and besides she had no objection -to extraordinary physiognomies. - -"I am a physician, then, and I was making love to the wife of the -apothecary Sarasine of Parma: he took us by surprise and drove us from -the house, with three children whom he supposed, and rightly, to be mine -and not his. I have had two since then. The mother and five children are -living in the direst poverty in a sort of hut which I built with my own -hands a league from here, in the wood. For I have to keep away from the -police, and the poor woman refuses to be parted from me. I was sentenced -to death, and quite justly; I was conspiring. I abominate the Prince, -who is a tyrant. I did not fly the country, for want of money. My -misfortunes have greatly increased, and I ought to have killed myself a -thousand times over; I no longer love the unhappy woman who has borne me -these five children and has ruined herself for me; I love another. But -if I kill myself, the five children will literally starve to death." The -man spoke with an accent of sincerity. - -"But how do you live?" inquired the Duchessa, moved to compassion. - -"The children's mother spins; the eldest girl is kept in a farm by some -Liberals, where she tends the sheep; I am a highwayman on the road -between Piacenza and Genoa." - -"How do you harmonise highway robbery with your Liberal principles?" - -"I keep a note of the people I rob, and if ever I have anything I shall -restore to them the sums I have taken. I consider that a Tribune of the -People like myself is performing work which, in view of its danger, is -well worth a hundred francs monthly; and so I am careful not to take -more than twelve hundred francs in a year. - -"No, I am wrong, I steal a small sum in addition, for in that way I am -able to meet the cost of printing my works." - -"What works?" - -"_Is ---- ever to have a Chamber and a Budget?_" - -"What," said the Duchessa in amazement, "it is you, Sir, who are one of -the greatest poets of the age, the famous Ferrante Palla?" - -"Famous perhaps, but most unfortunate; that is certain." - -"And a man of your talent, Sir, is obliged to steal in order to live?" - -"That is perhaps the calling for which I have some talent. Hitherto all -our authors who have made themselves famous have been men paid by the -government or the religion that they sought to undermine. I, in the -first place, risk my life; in the second place, think, Signora, of the -reflexions that disturb my mind when I go out to rob! Am I in the right, -I ask myself. Does the office of Tribune render services that are really -worth a hundred francs a month? I have two shirts, the coat in which you -see me, a few worthless weapons, and I am sure to end by the rope; I -venture to think that I am disinterested. I should be happy but for this -fatal love which allows me to find only misery now in the company of the -mother of my children. Poverty weighs upon me because it is ugly: I like -fine clothes, white hands. . . ." - -He looked at the Duchessa's in such a fashion that fear seized hold of -her. - -"Good-bye, Sir," she said to him: "can I be of any service to you in -Parma?" - -"Think sometimes of this question: his task is to awaken men's hearts -and to prevent them from falling asleep in that false and wholly -material happiness which is given by monarchies. Is the service that he -renders to his fellow-citizens worth a hundred francs a month? . . . My -misfortune is that I am in love," he said in the gentlest of tones, "and -for nearly two years my heart has been occupied by you alone, but until -now I have seen you without alarming you." And he took to his heels with -a prodigious swiftness which astonished the Duchessa and reassured her. -"The police would have hard work to catch him," she thought; "he must be -mad, after all." - -"He is mad," her servants informed her; "we have all known for a long -time that the poor man was in love with the Signora; when the Signora is -here we see him wandering in the highest parts of the woods, and as soon -as the Signora has gone he never fails to come and sit in the very -places where she has rested; he is careful to pick up any flowers that -may have dropped from her nosegay and keeps them for a long time -fastened in his battered hat." - -"And you have never spoken to me of these eccentricities," said the -Duchessa, almost in a tone of reproach. - -"We were afraid that the Signora might tell the Minister Mosca. Poor -Ferrante is such a good fellow! He has never done harm to anyone, and -because he loves our Napoleon they have sentenced him to death." - -She said no word to the Minister of this meeting, and, as in four years -it was the first secret that she had kept from him, a dozen times she -was obliged to stop short in the middle of a sentence. She returned to -Sacca with a store of gold. Ferrante shewed no sign of life. She came -again a fortnight later: Ferrante, after following her for some time, -bounding through the wood at a distance of a hundred yards, fell upon -her with the swiftness of a hawk, and flung himself at her feet as on -the former occasion. - -"Where were you a fortnight ago?" - -"In the mountains, beyond Novi, robbing the muleteers who were returning -from Milan where they had been selling oil." - -"Take this purse." - -Ferrante opened the purse, took from it a sequin which he kissed and -thrust into his bosom, then handed it back to her. - -"You give me back this purse, and you are a robber!" - -"Certainly; my rule is that I must never possess more than a hundred -francs; now, at this moment, the mother of my children has eighty -francs, and I have twenty-five; I am five francs to the bad, and if they -were to hang me now I should feel remorse. I have taken this sequin -because it comes from you and I love you." - -The intonation of this very simple speech was perfect. "He does really -love," the Duchessa said to herself. - -That day he appeared quite distracted. He said that there were in Parma -people who owed him six hundred francs, and that with that sum he could -repair his hut in which now his poor children were catching cold. - -"But I will make you a loan of those six hundred francs," said the -Duchessa, genuinely moved. - -"But then I, a public man--will not the opposite party have a chance to -slander me, and say that I am selling myself?" - -The Duchessa, in compassion, offered him a hiding-place in Parma if he -would swear that for the time being he would not exercise his -magistrature in that city, and above all would not carry out any of -those sentences of death which, he said, he had _in petto_. - -"And if they hang me, as a result of my rashness," said Ferrante -gravely, "all those scoundrels, who are so obnoxious to the People, will -live for long years to come, and by whose fault? What will my father say -to me when he greets me up above?" - -The Duchessa spoke to him at length of his young children, to whom the -damp might give fatal illnesses; he ended by accepting the offer of the -hiding place in Parma. - -The Duca Sanseverina, during the solitary half-day which he had spent in -Parma after his marriage, had shewn the Duchessa a highly singular -hiding place which exists in the southern corner of the _palazzo_ of -that name. The wall in front, which dates from the middle ages, is eight -feet thick; it has been hollowed out inside, so as to provide a secret -chamber twenty feet in height but only two in width. It is close to -where the visitor admires the reservoir mentioned in all the accounts of -travels, a famous work of the twelfth century, constructed at the time -of the siege of Parma by the Emperor Sigismund, and afterwards enclosed -within the walls of the _palazzo_ Sanseverina. - -One enters the hiding place by turning an enormous stone on an iron axis -which runs through the middle of the block. The Duchessa was so -profoundly touched by Ferrante's madness and by the hard lot of his -children, for whom he obstinately refused every present of any value, -that she allowed him to make use of this hiding place for a considerable -time. She saw him again a month later, still in the woods of Sacca, and -as on this occasion he was a little more calm, he recited to her one of -his sonnets which seemed to her equal if not superior to any of the -finest work written in Italy in the last two centuries. Ferrante -obtained several interviews; but his love grew exalted, became -importunate, and the Duchessa perceived that this passion was obeying -the laws of all love-affairs in which one conceives the possibility of a -ray of hope. She sent him back to the woods, forbade him to speak to her -again: he obeyed immediately and with a perfect docility. Things had -reached this point when Fabrizio was arrested. Three days later, at -nightfall, a Capuchin presented himself at the door of the _palazzo_ -Sanseverina; he had, he said, an important secret to communicate to the -lady of the house. She was so wretched that she had him admitted: it was -Ferrante. "There is happening here a fresh iniquity of which the Tribune -of the people ought to take cognisance," this man mad with love said to -her. "On the other hand, acting as a private citizen," he added, "I can -give the Signora Duchessa Sanseverina nothing but my life, and I lay it -before her." - -So sincere a devotion on the part of a robber and madman touched the -Duchessa keenly. She talked for some time to this man who was considered -the greatest poet in the North of Italy, and wept freely. "Here is a man -who understands my heart," she said to herself. The following day he -reappeared, again at the _Ave Maria_, disguised as a servant and wearing -livery. - -"I have not left Parma: I have heard tell of an atrocity which my lips -shall not repeat; but here I am. Think, Signora, of what you are -refusing! The being you see before you is not a doll of the court, he is -a man!" He was on his knees as he uttered these words with an air which -made them tell. "Yesterday I said to myself," he went on: "She has wept -in my presence; therefore she is a little less unhappy." - -"But, Sir, think of the dangers that surround you, you will be arrested -in this town!" - -"The Tribune will say to you: Signora, what is life when duty calls? The -unhappy man, who has the grief of no longer feeling any passion for -virtue now that he is burning with love, will add: Signora Duchessa, -Fabrizio, a man of feeling, is perhaps about to perish, do not repulse -another man of feeling who offers himself to you! Here is a body of iron -and a heart which fears nothing in the world but your displeasure." - -"If you speak to me again of your feelings, I close my door to you for -ever." - -It occurred to the Duchessa, that evening, to announce to Ferrante that -she would make a small allowance to his children, but she was afraid -that he would go straight from the house and kill himself. - -No sooner had he left her than, filled with gloomy presentiments, she -said to herself: "I too, I may die, and would to God I might, and that -soon! If I found a man worthy of the name to whom to commend my poor -Fabrizio." - -An idea struck the Duchessa: she took a sheet of paper and drafted an -acknowledgment, into which she introduced the few legal terms that she -knew, that she had received from Signor Ferrante Palla the sum of 25,000 -francs, on the express condition of paying every year a life-rent of -1,500 francs to Signora Sarasine and her five children. The Duchessa -added: "In addition, I bequeath a life-rent of 300 francs to each of -these five children, on condition that Ferrante Palla gives his -professional services as a physician to my nephew Fabrizio del Dongo, -and behaves to him as a brother. This I request him to do." She signed -the document, ante-dated it by a year and folded the sheet. - -Two days later, Ferrante reappeared. It was at the moment when the town -was agitated by the rumour of the immediate execution of Fabrizio. Would -this grim ceremony take place in the citadel, or under the trees of the -public mall? Many of the populace took a walk that evening past the gate -of the citadel, trying to see whether the scaffold were being erected; -this spectacle had moved Ferrante. He found the Duchessa in floods of -tears and unable to speak; she greeted him with her hand and pointed to -a seat. Ferrante, disguised that day as a Capuchin, was superb; instead -of seating himself he knelt, and prayed devoutly in an undertone. At a -moment when the Duchessa seemed slightly more calm, without stirring -from his posture, he broke off his prayer for an instant to say these -words: "Once again he offers his life." - -"Think of what you are saying," cried the Duchessa, with that haggard -eye which, following tears, indicates that anger is overcoming emotion. - -"He offers his life to place an obstacle in the way of Fabrizio's fate, -or to avenge it." - -"There are circumstances," replied the Duchessa, "in which I could -accept the sacrifice of your life." - -She gazed at him with a severe attention. A ray of joy gleamed in his -eye; he rose swiftly and stretched out his arms towards heaven. The -Duchessa went to find a paper hidden in the secret drawer of a walnut -cabinet. - -"Read this," she said to Ferrante. It was the deed in favour of his -children, of which we have spoken. - -Tears and sobs prevented Ferrante from reading it to the end; he fell on -his knees. - -"Give me back the paper," said the Duchessa, and, in his presence, -burned it in the flame of a candle. - -"My name," she explained, "must not appear if you are taken and -executed, for your life will be at stake." - -"My joy is to die in harming the tyrant: a far greater joy is to die for -you. Once this is stated and clearly understood, be so kind as to make -no further mention of this detail of money. I might see in it a -suspicion that would be injurious to me." - -"If you are compromised, I may be also," replied the Duchessa, "and -Fabrizio as well as myself: it is for that reason, and not because I -have any doubt of your bravery, that I require that the man who is -lacerating my heart shall be poisoned and not stabbed. For the same -reason which is so important to me, I order you to do everything in the -world to save your own life." - -"I shall execute the task faithfully, punctiliously and prudently. I -foresee, Signora Duchessa, that my revenge will be combined with your -own: were it not so, I should still obey you faithfully, punctiliously -and prudently. I may not succeed, but I shall employ all my human -strength." - -"It is a question of poisoning Fabrizio's murderer." - -"So I had guessed, and, during the twenty-seven months in which I have -been leading this vagabond and abominable life, I have often thought of -a similar action on my own account." - -"If I am discovered and condemned as an accomplice," went on the -Duchessa in a tone of pride, "I do not wish the charge to be imputed to -me of having corrupted you. I order you to make no further attempt to -see me until the time comes for our revenge: he must on no account be -put to death before I have given you the signal. His death at the -present moment, for instance, would be lamentable to me instead of being -useful. Probably his death will occur only in several months' time, but -it shall occur. I insist on his dying by poison, and I should prefer to -leave him alive rather than see him shot. For considerations which I do -not wish to explain to you, I insist upon your life's being saved." - -Ferrante was delighted with the tone of authority which the Duchessa -adopted with him: his eyes gleamed with a profound joy. As we have said, -he was horribly thin; but one could see that he had been very handsome -in his youth, and he imagined himself to be still what he had once been. -"Am I mad?" he asked himself; "or will the Duchessa indeed one day, when -I have given her this proof of my devotion, make me the happiest of men? -And, when it comes to that, why not? Am I not worth as much as that doll -of a Conte Mosca, who when the time came, could do nothing for her, not -even enable Monsignor Fabrizio to escape?" - - - - -_PREPARATIONS_ - - -"I may wish his death to-morrow," the Duchessa continued, still with the -same air of authority. "You know that immense reservoir of water which -is at the corner of the _palazzo_, not far from the hiding-place which -you have sometimes occupied; there is a secret way of letting all that -water run out into the street: very well, that will be the signal for my -revenge. You will see, if you are in Parma, or you will hear it said, if -you are living in the woods, that the great reservoir of the _palazzo_ -Sanseverina has burst. Act at once but by poison, and above all risk -your own life as little as possible. No one must ever know that I have -had a hand in this affair." - -"Words are useless," replied Ferrante, with an enthusiasm which he could -ill conceal: "I have already fixed on the means which I shall employ. -The life of that man has become more odious to me than it was before, -since I shall not dare to see you again so long as he is alive. I shall -await the signal of the reservoir flooding the street." He bowed -abruptly and left the room. The Duchessa watched him go. - -When he was in the next room, she recalled him. - -"Ferrante!" she cried; "sublime man!" - -He returned, as though impatient at being detained: his face at that -moment was superb. - -"And your children?" - -"Signora, they will be richer than I; you will perhaps allow them some -small pension." - -"Wait," said the Duchessa as she handed him a sort of large case of -olive wood, "here are all the diamonds that I have left: they are worth -50,000 francs." - -"Ah! Signora, you humiliate me!" said Ferrante with a gesture of horror; -and his face completely altered. - -"I shall not see you again before the deed: take them, I wish it," added -the Duchessa with an air of pride which struck Ferrante dumb; he put the -case in his pocket and left her. - -The door had closed behind him. The Duchessa called him back once again; -he returned with an uneasy air: the Duchessa was standing in the middle -of the room; she threw herself into his arms. A moment later, Ferrante -had almost fainted with happiness; the Duchessa released herself from -his embrace, and with her eyes shewed him the door. - -"There goes the one man who has understood me," she said to herself; -"that is how Fabrizio would have acted, if he could have realised." - -There were two salient points in the Duchessa's character: she always -wished what she had once wished; she never gave any further -consideration to what had once been decided. She used to quote in this -connexion a saying of her first husband, the charming General -Pietranera. "What insolence to myself!" he used to say; "Why should I -suppose that I have more sense to-day than when I made up my mind?" - -From that moment a sort of gaiety reappeared in the Duchessa's -character. Before the fatal resolution, at each step that her mind took, -at each new point that she saw, she had the feeling of her own -inferiority to the Prince, of her weakness and gullibility; the Prince, -according to her, had basely betrayed her, and Conte Mosca, as was -natural to his courtier's spirit, albeit innocently, had supported the -Prince. Once her revenge was settled, she felt her strength, every step -that her mind took gave her happiness. I am inclined to think that the -immoral happiness which the Italians find in revenge is due to the -strength of their imagination; the people of other countries do not -properly speaking forgive; they forget. - -The Duchessa did not see Palla again until the last days of Fabrizio's -imprisonment. As the reader may perhaps have guessed, it was he who gave -her the idea of his escape: there was in the woods, two leagues from -Sacca, a mediæval tower, half in ruins, and more than a hundred feet -high; before speaking a second time to the Duchessa of an escape, -Ferrante begged her to send Lodovico with a party of trustworthy men, to -fasten a set of ladders against this tower. In the Duchessa's presence -he climbed up by means of the ladders and down with an ordinary knotted -cord; he repeated the experiment three times, then explained his idea -again. A week later Lodovico too was prepared to climb down this old -tower with a knotted cord; it was then that the Duchessa communicated -the idea to Fabrizio. - -In the final days before this attempt, which might lead to the death of -the prisoner, and in more ways than one, the Duchessa could not secure a -moment's rest unless she had Ferrante by her side; the courage of this -man electrified her own; but it can be understood that she had to hide -from the Conte this singular companionship. She was afraid, not that he -would be revolted, but she would have been afflicted by his objections, -which would have increased her uneasiness. "What! Take as an intimate -adviser a madman known to be mad, and under sentence of death! And," -added the Duchessa, speaking to herself, "a man who, in consequence, -might do such strange things!" Ferrante happened to be in the Duchessa's -drawing-room at the moment when the Conte came to give her a report of -the Prince's conversation with Rassi; and, when the Conte had left her, -she had great difficulty in preventing Ferrante from going straight away -to the execution of a frightful plan. - -"I am strong now," cried this madman; "I have no longer any doubt as to -the lawfulness of the act!" - -"But, in the moment of indignation which must inevitably follow, -Fabrizio would be put to death!" - -"Yes, but in that way we should spare him the danger of the climb: it is -possible, indeed easy," he added; "but the young man lacks experience." - -The marriage was celebrated of the Marchese Crescenzi's sister, and it -was at the party given on this occasion that the Duchessa met Clelia, -and was able to speak to her without causing any suspicion among the -fashionable onlookers. The Duchessa herself handed to Clelia the parcel -of cords in the garden, where the two ladies had gone for a moment's -fresh air. These cords, prepared with the greatest care, of hemp and -silk in equal parts, were knotted, very slender and fairly flexible; -Lodovico had tested their strength, and, in every portion, they could -bear without breaking a load of sixteen hundredweight. They had been -packed in such a way as to form several packets each of the size and -shape of a quarto volume; Clelia took charge of them, and promised the -Duchessa that everything that was humanly possible would be done to -deliver these packets in the Torre Farnese. - -"But I am afraid of the timidity of your nature; and besides," the -Duchessa added politely, "what interest can you feel in a stranger?" - -"Signor del Dongo is in distress, _and I promise you that he shall be -saved by me_!" - -But the Duchessa, placing only a very moderate reliance on the presence -of mind of a young person of twenty, had taken other precautions, of -which she took care not to inform the governor's daughter. As might be -expected, this governor was present at the party given for the marriage -of the Marchese Crescenzi's sister. The Duchessa said to herself that, -if she could make him be given a strong narcotic, it might be supposed, -at first, that he had had an attack of apoplexy, and then, instead of -his being placed in his carriage to be taken back to the citadel, it -might, with a little arrangement, be possible to have the suggestion -adopted of using a litter, which would happen to be in the house where -the party was being given. There, too, would be gathered a body of -intelligent men, dressed as workmen employed for the party, who, in the -general confusion, would obligingly offer their services to transport -the sick man to his _palazzo_, which stood at such a height. These men, -under the direction of Lodovico, carried a sufficient quantity of cords, -cleverly concealed beneath their clothing. One sees that the Duchessa's -mind had become really unbalanced since she had begun to think seriously -of Fabrizio's escape. The peril of this beloved creature was too much -for her heart, and besides was lasting too long. By her excess of -precaution, she nearly succeeded in preventing his escape, as we shall -presently see. Everything went off as she had planned, with this one -difference, that the narcotic produced too powerful an effect; everyone -believed, including the medical profession, that the General had had an -apoplectic stroke. - -Fortunately, Clelia, who was in despair, had not the least suspicion of -so criminal an attempt on the part of the Duchessa. The confusion was -such at the moment when the litter, in which the General, half dead, was -lying, entered the citadel, that Lodovico and his men passed in without -challenge; they were subjected to a formal scrutiny only at the Slave's -Bridge. When they had carried the General to his bedroom, they were -taken to the kitchens, where the servants entertained them royally; but -after this meal, which did not end until it was very nearly morning, it -was explained to them that the rule of the prison required that, for the -rest of the night, they should be locked up in the lower rooms of the -_palazzo_; in the morning at daybreak they would be released by the -governor's deputy. - -These men had found an opportunity of handing to Lodovico the cords with -which they had been loaded, but Lodovico had great difficulty in -attracting Clelia's attention for a moment. At length, as she was -passing from one room to another, he made her observe that he was laying -down packets of cords in a dark corner of one of the drawing-rooms of -the first floor. Clelia was profoundly struck by this strange -circumstance; at once she conceived atrocious suspicions. - -"Who are you?" she asked Lodovico. - -And, on receiving his highly ambiguous reply, she added: - -"I ought to have you arrested; you or your masters have poisoned my -father! Confess this instant what is the nature of the poison you have -used, so that the doctor of the citadel can apply the proper remedies; -confess this instant, or else, you and your accomplices shall never go -out of this citadel!" - -"The Signorina does wrong to be alarmed," replied Lodovico, with a grace -and politeness that were perfect; "there is no question of poison; -someone has been rash enough to administer to the General a dose of -laudanum, and it appears that the servant who was responsible for this -crime poured a few drops too many into the glass; this we shall -eternally regret; but the Signorina may be assured that, thank heaven, -there is no sort of danger; the Signore must be treated for having -taken, by mistake, too strong a dose of laudanum; but, I have the honour -to repeat to the Signorina, the lackey responsible for the crime made no -use of real poisons, as Barbone did, when he tried to poison Monsignor -Fabrizio. There was no thought of revenge for the peril that Monsignor -Fabrizio ran; nothing was given to this clumsy lackey but a bottle in -which there was laudanum, that I swear to the Signorina! But it must be -clearly understood that, if I were questioned officially, I should deny -everything. - -"Besides, if the Signorina speaks to anyone in the world of laudanum and -poison, even to the excellent Don Cesare, Fabrizio is killed by the -Signorina's own hand. She makes impossible for ever all the plans of -escape; and the Signorina knows better than I that it is not with -laudanum that they wish to poison Monsignore; she knows, too, that a -certain person has granted only a month's delay for that crime, and that -already more than a week has gone by since the fatal order was received. -So, if she has me arrested, or if she merely says a word to Don Cesare -or to anyone else, she retards all our activities far more than a month, -and I am right in saying that she kills Monsignor Fabrizio with her own -hand." - -Clelia was terrified by the strange tranquillity of Lodovico. - -"And so," she said to herself, "here I am conversing formally with my -father's poisoner, who employs polite turns of speech to address me! And -it is love that has led me to all these crimes! . . ." - -Her remorse scarcely allowed her the strength to speak; she said to -Lodovico. - -"I am going to lock you into this room. I shall run and tell the doctor -that it is only laudanum; but, great God, how shall I tell him that I -discovered this? I shall come back afterwards to release you. But," said -Clelia, running back from the door, "did Fabrizio know anything of the -laudanum?" - -"Heavens, no, Signorina, he would never have consented to that. And, -besides, what good would it have done to make an unnecessary confidence? -We are acting with the strictest prudence. It is a question of saving -the life of Monsignore, who will be poisoned in three weeks from now; -the order has been given by a person who is not accustomed to find any -obstacle to his wishes; and, to tell the Signorina everything, they say -that it was the terrible Fiscal General Rassi who received these -instructions." - -Clelia fled in terror; she could so count on the perfect probity of Don -Cesare that, taking certain precautions, she had the courage to tell him -that the General had been given laudanum, and nothing else. Without -answering, without putting any question, Don Cesare ran to the doctor. - -Clelia returned to the room in which she had shut up Lodovico, with the -intention of plying him with questions about the laudanum. She did not -find him: he had managed to escape. She saw on the table a purse full of -sequins and a box containing different kinds of poison. The sight of -these poisons made her shudder. "How can I be sure," she thought, "that -they have given nothing but laudanum to my father, and that the Duchessa -has not sought to avenge herself for Barbone's attempt? - -"Great God!" she cried, "here am I in league with my father's poisoners. -And I allow them to escape! And perhaps that man, when put to the -question, would have confessed something else than laudanum!" - -Clelia at once fell on her knees, burst into tears, and prayed to the -Madonna with fervour. - -Meanwhile the doctor of the citadel, greatly surprised by the -information he had received from Don Cesare, according to which he had -to deal only with laudanum, applied the appropriate remedies, which -presently made the more alarming symptoms disappear. The General came to -himself a little as day began to dawn. His first action that shewed any -sign of consciousness was to hurl insults at the Colonel who was second -in command of the citadel, and had taken upon himself to give certain -orders, the simplest in the world, while the General was unconscious. - -The governor next flew into a towering rage with a kitchenmaid who, when -bringing him his soup, had been so rash as to utter the word apoplexy. - -"Am I of an age," he cried, "to have apoplexies? It is only my deadly -enemies who can find pleasure in spreading such reports. And besides, -have I been bled, that slander itself dare speak of apoplexy?" - -Fabrizio, wholly occupied with the preparations for his escape, could -not understand the strange sounds that filled the citadel at the moment -when the governor was brought in half dead. At first he had some idea -that his sentence had been altered, and that they were coming to put him -to death. Then, seeing that no one came to his cell, he thought that -Clelia had been betrayed, that on her return to the fortress they had -taken from her the cords which probably she was bringing back, and so, -that his plans of escape were for the future impossible. Next day, at -dawn, he saw come into his room a man unknown to him, who, without -saying a word, laid down a basket of fruit: beneath the fruit was hidden -the following letter: - - -"Penetrated by the keenest remorse for what has been done, not, thank -heaven, by my consent, but as the outcome of an idea which I had, I have -made a vow to the Blessed Virgin that if, by the effect of Her holy -intercession my father is saved, I will never refuse to obey any of his -orders; I will marry the Marchese as soon as he requires me to do so, -and I will never see you again. However, I consider it my duty to finish -what has been begun. Next Sunday, when you return from mass, to which -you will be taken at my request (remember to prepare your soul, you may -kill yourself in the difficult enterprise); when you return from mass, I -say, put off as long as possible going back to your room; you will find -there what is necessary for the enterprise that you have in mind. If you -perish, my heart will be broken! Will you be able to accuse me of having -contributed to your death? Has not the Duchessa herself repeated to me -upon several occasions that the Raversi faction is winning? They seek to -bind the Prince by an act of cruelty that must separate him for ever -from Conte Mosca. The Duchessa, with floods of tears, has sworn to me -that there remains only this resource: you will perish unless you make -an attempt. I cannot look at you again, I have made my vow; but if on -Sunday, towards evening, you see me dressed entirely in black, at the -usual window, it will be the signal that everything will be ready that -night so far as my feeble means allow. After eleven, perhaps at midnight -or at one o'clock, a little lamp will appear in my window, that will be -the decisive moment; commend yourself to your Holy Patron, dress -yourself in haste in the priestly habit with which you are provided, and -be off. - -"Farewell, Fabrizio, I shall be at my prayers, and shedding the most -bitter tears, as you may well believe, while you are running such great -risks. If you perish, I shall not outlive you a day; Great God! What am -I saying? But if you succeed, I shall never see you again. On Sunday, -after mass, you will find in your prison the money, the poison, the -cords, sent by that terrible woman who loves you with passion, and who -has three times over assured me that this course must be adopted. May -God preserve you, and the Blessed Madonna!" - - -Fabio Conti was a gaoler who was always uneasy, always unhappy, always -seeing in his dreams one of his prisoners escaping: he was loathed by -everyone in the citadel; but misfortune inspiring the same resolutions -in all men, the poor prisoners, even those who were chained in dungeons -three feet high, three feet wide and eight feet long, in which they -could neither stand nor sit, all the prisoners, even these, I say, had -the idea of ordering a _Te Deum_ to be sung at their own expense, when -they knew that their governor was out of danger. Two or three of these -wretches composed sonnets in honour of Fabio Conti. Oh, the effect of -misery upon men! May he who would blame them be led by his destiny to -spend a year in a cell three feet high, with eight ounces of bread a day -and _fasting_ on Fridays! - - - - -_JUSTICE_ - - -Clelia, who left her father's room only to pray in the chapel, said that -the governor had decided that the rejoicings should be confined to -Sunday. On the morning of this Sunday, Fabrizio was present at mass and -at the _Te Deum_; in the evening there were fireworks, and in the lower -rooms of the _palazzo_ the soldiers received a quantity of wine four -times that which the governor had allowed; an unknown hand had even sent -several barrels of brandy which the soldiers broached. The generous -spirit of the soldiers who were becoming intoxicated would not allow the -five of their number who were on duty as sentries outside the _palazzo_ -to suffer accordingly; as soon as they arrived at their sentry-boxes, a -trusted servant gave them wine, and it was not known from what hand -those who came on duty at midnight and for the rest of the night -received also a glass each of brandy, while the bottle was in each case -forgotten and left by the sentry-box (as was proved in the subsequent -investigations). - -The disorder lasted longer than Clelia had expected, and it was not -until nearly one o'clock that Fabrizio, who, more than a week earlier, -had sawn through two bars of his window, the window that did not look -out on the aviary, began to take down the screen; he was working almost -over the heads of the sentries who were guarding the governor's -_palazzo_, they heard nothing. He had made some fresh knots only in the -immense cord necessary for descending from that terrible height of one -hundred and eighty feet. He arranged this cord as a bandolier about his -body: it greatly embarrassed him, its bulk was enormous; the knots -prevented it from being wound close, and it projected more than eighteen -inches from his body. "This is the chief obstacle," said Fabrizio. - -This cord once arranged as well as possible, Fabrizio took the other -with which he counted on climbing down the thirty-five feet which -separated his window from the terrace on which the governor's _palazzo_ -stood. But inasmuch as, however drunken the sentries might be, he could -not descend exactly over their heads, he climbed out, as we have said, -by the second window of his room, that which looked over the roof of a -sort of vast guard-room. By a sick man's whim, as soon as General Fabio -Conti was able to speak, he had ordered up two hundred soldiers into -this old guard-room, disused for over a century. He said that after -poisoning him, they would seek to murder him in his bed, and these two -hundred soldiers were to guard him. One may judge of the effect which -this unforeseen measure had on the heart of Clelia: that pious girl was -fully conscious to what an extent she was betraying her father, and a -father who had just been almost poisoned in the interests of the -prisoner whom she loved. She almost saw in the unexpected arrival of -these two hundred men an act of Providence which forbade her to go any -farther and to give Fabrizio his freedom. - -But everyone in Parma was talking of the immediate death of the -prisoner. This grim subject had been discussed again at the party given -on the occasion of the marriage of Donna Giulia Crescenzi. Since for -such a mere trifle as a clumsy sword-thrust given to an actor, a man of -Fabrizio's birth was not set at liberty at the end of nine months' -imprisonment, and when he had the protection of the Prime Minister, it -must be because politics entered into the case. And in that event, it -was useless to think any more about him, people said; if it was not -convenient to authority to put him to death in a public place, he would -soon die of sickness. A locksmith who had been summoned to General Fabio -Conti's _palazzo_ spoke of Fabrizio as of a prisoner long since -dispatched, whose death was being kept secret from motives of policy. -This man's words decided Clelia. - - - - -CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO - - -During the day Fabrizio was attacked by certain serious and disagreeable -reflexions; but as he heard the hours strike that brought him nearer to -the moment of action, he began to feel alert and ready. The Duchessa had -written that he would feel the shock of the fresh air, and that once he -was out of his prison he might find it impossible to walk; in that case -it was better to run the risk of being caught than to let himself fall -from a height of a hundred and eighty feet. "If I have that misfortune," -said Fabrizio, "I shall lie down beneath the parapet, I shall sleep for -an hour, then I shall start again. Since I have sworn to Clelia that I -will make the attempt, I prefer to fall from the top of a rampart, -however high, rather than always to have to think about the taste of the -bread I eat. What horrible pains one must feel before the end, when one -dies of poison! Fabio Conti will stand on no ceremony, he will make them -give me the arsenic with which he kills the rats in his citadel." - -Towards midnight, one of those thick white fogs in which the Po -sometimes swathes its banks, spread first of all over the town, and then -reached the esplanade and the bastions from the midst of which rises the -great tower of the citadel. Fabrizio estimated that from the parapet of -the platform it would be impossible to make out the young acacias that -surrounded the gardens laid out by the soldiers at the foot of the -hundred and eighty foot wall. "That, now, is excellent," he thought. - - - - -_THE ESCAPE_ - - -Shortly after half past twelve had struck, the signal of the little lamp -appeared at the aviary window. Fabrizio was ready for action; he crossed -himself, then fastened to his bed the fine cord intended to enable him -to descend the thirty-five feet that separated him from the platform on -which the _palazzo_ stood. He arrived without meeting any obstacle on -the roof of the guard-room occupied overnight by the reinforcement of -two hundred soldiers of whom we have spoken. Unfortunately, the -soldiers, at a quarter to one in the morning, as it now was, had not yet -gone to sleep; while he was creeping on tiptoe over the roof of large -curved tiles, Fabrizio could hear them saying that the devil was on the -roof, and that they must try to kill him with a shot from a musket. -Certain voices insisted that this desire savoured of great impiety; -others said that if a shot were fired without killing anything, the -governor would put them all in prison for having alarmed the garrison -without cause. The upshot of this discussion was that Fabrizio walked -across the roof as quickly as possible and made a great deal more noise. -The fact remains that at the moment when, hanging by his cord, he passed -opposite the windows, mercifully at a distance of four or five feet -owing to the projection of the roof, they were bristling with bayonets. -Some accounts suggest that Fabrizio, mad as ever, had the idea of acting -the part of the devil, and that he flung these soldiers a handful of -sequins. One thing certain is that he had scattered sequins upon the -floor of his room, and that he scattered more on the platform on his way -from the Torre Farnese to the parapet, so as to give himself the chance -of distracting the attention of the soldiers who might come in pursuit -of him. - -Landing upon the platform where he was surrounded by soldiers, who -ordinarily called out every quarter of an hour a whole sentence: "All's -well around my post!" he directed his steps towards the western parapet -and sought for the new stone. - -The thing that appears incredible and might make one doubt the truth of -the story if the result had not had a whole town for witnesses, is that -the sentries posted along the parapet did not see and arrest Fabrizio; -as a matter of fact the fog was beginning to rise, and Fabrizio said -afterwards that when he was on the platform the fog seemed to him to -have come already halfway up the Torre Farnese. But this fog was by no -means thick, and he could quite well see the sentries, some of whom were -moving. He added that, impelled as though by a supernatural force, he -went to take up his position boldly between two sentries who were quite -near one another. He calmly unwound the big cord which he had round his -body, and which twice became entangled; it took him a long time to -unravel it and spread it out on the parapet. He heard the soldiers -talking on all sides of him, and was quite determined to stab the first -who advanced upon him. "I was not in the least anxious," he added, "I -felt as though I were performing a ceremony." - -He fastened his cord, when it was finally unravelled, through an opening -cut in the parapet for the escape of rain-water, climbed on to the said -parapet and prayed to God with fervour; then, like a hero of the days of -chivalry, he thought for a moment of Clelia. "How different I am," he -said to himself, "from the fickle, libertine Fabrizio of nine months -ago!" At length he began to descend that astounding height. He acted -mechanically, he said, and as he would have done in broad daylight, -climbing down a wall before friends, to win a wager. About halfway down, -he suddenly felt his arms lose their strength; he thought afterwards -that he had even let go the cord for an instant, but he soon caught hold -of it again; possibly, he said, he had held on to the bushes into which -he slipped, receiving some scratches from them. He felt from time to -time an agonising pain between his shoulders; it actually took away his -breath. There was an extremely unpleasant swaying motion; he was -constantly flung from the cord to the bushes. He was brushed by several -birds which he aroused, and which dashed at him in their flight. At -first, he thought that he was being clutched by men who had come down -from the citadel by the same way as himself in pursuit, and he prepared -to defend his life. Finally he arrived at the base of the great tower -without any inconvenience save that of having blood on his hands. He -relates that, from the middle of the tower, the slope which it forms was -of great use to him; he hugged the wall all the way down, and the plants -growing between the stones gave him great support. On reaching the foot, -among the soldiers' gardens, he fell upon an acacia which, looked at -from above, had seemed to him to be four or five feet high, but was -really fifteen or twenty. A drunken man who was lying asleep beneath it -took him for a robber. In his fall from this tree, Fabrizio nearly -dislocated his right arm. He started to run towards the rampart; but, as -he said, his legs felt like cotton, he had no longer any strength. In -spite of the danger, he sat down and drank a little brandy which he had -left. He dozed off for a few minutes to the extent of not knowing where -he was; on awaking, he could not understand how, lying in bed in his -cell, he saw trees. Then the terrible truth came back to his mind. At -once he stepped out to the rampart, and climbed it by a big stair. The -sentry who was posted close beside this stair was snoring in his box. He -found a cannon lying in the grass; he fastened his third cord to it; it -proved to be a little too short, and he fell into a muddy ditch in which -there was perhaps a foot of water. As he was picking himself up and -trying to take his bearings, he felt himself seized by two men; he was -afraid for a moment; but presently heard a voice close to his ear -whisper very softly: "Ah! Monsignore, Monsignore!" He gathered vaguely -that these men belonged to the Duchessa; at once he fell in a dead -faint. A minute later, he felt that he was being carried by men who were -marching in silence and very fast; then they stopped, which caused him -great uneasiness. But he had not the strength either to speak or to open -his eyes; he felt that he was being clasped in someone's arm; suddenly -he recognised the scent of the Duchessa's clothing. This scent revived -him; he opened his eyes; he was able to utter the words: "Ah! Dear -friend!" Then once again he fainted away. - -The faithful Bruno, with a squad of police all devoted to the Conte, was -in reserve at a distance of two hundred yards; the Conte himself was -hidden in a small house close to the place where the Duchessa was -waiting. He would not have hesitated, had it been necessary, to take his -sword in his hand, with a party of half-pay officers, his intimate -friends; he regarded himself as obliged to save the life of Fabrizio, -who seemed to him to be exposed to great risk, and would long ago have -had his pardon signed by the Prince, if he, Mosca, had not been so -foolish as to seek to avoid making the Sovereign write a foolish thing. - -Since midnight the Duchessa, surrounded by men armed to the teeth, had -been pacing in deep silence outside the ramparts of the citadel; she -could not stay in one place, she thought that she would have to fight to -rescue Fabrizio from the men who would pursue him. This ardent -imagination had taken a hundred precautions, too long to be given here -in detail, and of an incredible imprudence. It was calculated that more -than eighty agents were afoot that night, in readiness to fight for -something extraordinary. Fortunately Ferrante and Lodovico were at the -head of all these men, and the Minister of Police was not hostile; but -the Conte himself remarked that the Duchessa was not betrayed by anyone, -and that he himself, as Minister, knew nothing. - -The Duchessa lost her head altogether on seeing Fabrizio again; she -clasped him convulsively in her arms, then was in despair on seeing -herself covered in blood: it was the blood from Fabrizio's hands; she -thought that he was dangerously wounded. With the assistance of one of -her men, she was taking off his coat to bandage him when Lodovico, who -fortunately happened to be on the spot, firmly put her and Fabrizio in -one of the little carriages which were hidden in a garden near the gate -of the town, and they set off at full gallop to cross the Po near Sacca. -Ferrante, with a score of well-armed men, formed the rearguard, and had -sworn on his head to stop the pursuit. The Conte, alone and on foot, did -not leave the neighbourhood of the citadel until two hours later, when -he saw that no one was stirring. "Look at me, committing high treason," -he said to himself, mad with joy. - -Lodovico had the excellent idea of placing in one of the carriages a -young surgeon attached to the Duchessa's household, who was of much the -same build as Fabrizio. - -"Make your escape," he told him, "in the direction of Bologna; be as -awkward as possible, try to have yourself arrested; then contradict -yourself in your answers, and finally admit that you are Fabrizio del -Dongo; above all, gain time. Use your skill in being awkward, you will -get off with a month's imprisonment, and the Signora will give you fifty -sequins." - -"Does one think of money when one is serving the Signora?" - -He set off, and was arrested a few hours later, an event which gave -great joy to General Fabio Conti and also to Rassi, who, with Fabrizio's -peril, saw his Barony taking flight. - -The escape was not known at the citadel until about six o'clock in the -morning, and it was not until ten that they dared inform the Prince. The -Duchessa had been so well served that, in spite of Fabrizio's deep -sleep, which she mistook for a dead faint, with the result that she -stopped the carriage three times, she crossed the Po in a boat as four -was striking. There were relays on the other side, they covered two -leagues more at great speed, then were stopped for more than an hour for -the examination of their passports. The Duchessa had every variety of -these for herself and Fabrizio; but she was mad that day, and took it -into her head to give ten napoleons to the clerk of the Austrian police, -and to clasp his hand and burst into tears. This clerk, greatly alarmed, -began the examination afresh. They took post; the Duchessa paid in so -extravagant a fashion that everywhere she aroused suspicions, in that -land where every stranger is suspect. Lodovico came to the rescue again: -he said that the Signora Duchessa was beside herself with grief at the -protracted fever of young Conte Mosca, son of the Prime Minister of -Parma, whom she was taking with her to consult the doctors of Pavia. - -It was not until they were ten leagues beyond the Po that the prisoner -really awoke; he had a dislocated shoulder and a number of slight cuts. -The Duchessa again behaved in so extraordinary a fashion that the -landlord of a village inn where they dined thought he was entertaining a -Princess of the Imperial House, and was going to pay her the honours -which he supposed to be due to her when Lodovico told him that the -Princess would without fail have him put in prison if he thought of -ordering the bells to be rung. - -At length, about six o'clock in the evening, they reached Piedmontese -territory. There for the first time Fabrizio was in complete safety; he -was taken to a little village off the high road, the cuts on his hands -were dressed, and he slept for several hours more. - - - - -_MADNESS_ - - -It was in this village that the Duchessa allowed herself to take a step -that was not only horrible from the moral point of view, but also fatal -to the tranquillity of the rest of her life. Some weeks before -Fabrizio's escape; on a day when the whole of Parma had gone to the gate -of the citadel; hoping to see in the courtyard the scaffold that was -being erected for his benefit; the Duchessa had shown to Lodovico, who -had become the factotum of her household, the secret by which one raised -from a little iron frame, very cunningly concealed, one of the stones -forming the floor of the famous reservoir of the _palazzo_ Sanseverina, -a work of the thirteenth century, of which we have spoken already. While -Fabrizio was lying asleep in the _trattoria_ of this little village, the -Duchessa sent for Lodovico. He thought that she had gone mad, so strange -was the look that she gave him. - -"You probably expect," she said to him, "that I am going to give you -several thousand francs; well, I am not; I know you, you are a poet, you -would soon squander it all. I am giving you the small _podere_ of La -Ricciarda, a league from Casalmaggiore." Lodovico flung himself at her -feet, mad with joy, and protesting in heartfelt accents that it was not -with any thought of earning money that he had helped to save Monsignor -Fabrizio; that he had always loved him with a special affection since he -had had the honour to drive him once, in his capacity as the Signora's -third coachman. When this man, who was genuinely warm-hearted, thought -that he had taken up enough of the time of so great a lady, he took his -leave; but she, with flashing eyes, said to him: - -"Wait!" - -She paced without uttering a word the floor of this inn room, looking -from time to time at Lodovico with incredible eyes. Finally the man, -seeing that this strange exercise showed no sign of coming to an end, -took it upon himself to address his mistress. - -"The Signora has made me so extravagant a gift, one so far beyond -anything that a poor man like me could imagine, and moreover so much -greater than the humble services which I have had the honour to render, -that I feel, on my conscience, that I cannot accept the _podere_ of La -Ricciarda. I have the honour to return this land to the Signora, and to -beg her to grant me a pension of four hundred francs." - -"How many times in your life," she said to him with the most sombre -pride, "how many times have you heard it said that I had abandoned a -project once I had made it?" - -After uttering this sentence, the Duchessa continued to walk up and down -the room for some minutes; then suddenly stopping, cried: - -"It is by accident, and because he managed to attract that little girl, -that Fabrizio's life has been saved! If he had not been attractive, he -would now be dead. Can you deny that?" she asked, advancing on Lodovico -with eyes in which the darkest fury blazed. Lodovico recoiled a few -steps and thought her mad, which gave him great uneasiness as to the -possession of his _podere_ of La Ricciarda. - -"Very well!" the Duchessa went on, in the most winning and light-hearted -tone, completely changed, "I wish my good people of Sacca to have a mad -holiday which they will long remember. You are going to return to Sacca; -have you any objection? Do you think that you will be running any risk?" - -"None to speak of, Signora: none of the people of Sacca will ever say -that I was in Monsignor Fabrizio's service. Besides, if I may venture to -say so to the Signora, I am burning to see _my_ property at La Ricciarda: -it seems so odd for me to be a landowner!" - -"Your gaiety pleases me. The farmer at La Ricciarda owes me, I think, -three or four years' rent; I make him a present of half of what he owes -me, and the other half of all these arrears I give to you, but on this -condition: you will go to Sacca, you will say there that the day after -to-morrow is the _festa_ of one of my patron saints, and, on the evening -after your arrival, you will have my house illuminated in the most -splendid fashion. Spare neither money nor trouble; remember that the -occasion is the greatest happiness of my life. I have prepared for this -illumination long beforehand; more than three months ago, I collected in -the cellars of the house everything that can be used for this noble -_festa_; I have put the gardener in charge of all the fireworks -necessary for a magnificent display: you will let them off from the -terrace overlooking the Po. I have eighty-nine large barrels of wine in -my cellars, you will set up eighty-nine fountains of wine in my park. If -next day there remains a single bottle which has not been drunk, I shall -say that you do not love Fabrizio. When the fountains of wine, the -illumination and the fireworks are well started, you will slip away -cautiously, for it is possible, and it is my hope, that at Parma all -these fine doings may appear an insolence." - -"It is not possible, it is only a certainty; as it is certain too that -the Fiscal Rassi, who signed Monsignore's sentence, will burst with -rage. And indeed," added Lodovico timidly, "if the Signora wished to -give more pleasure to her poor servant than by bestowing on him half the -arrears of La Ricciarda, she would allow me to play a little joke on -that Rassi. . . ." - -"You are a stout fellow!" cried the Duchessa in a transport; "but I -forbid you absolutely to do anything to Rassi: I have a plan of having -him publicly hanged, later on. As for you, try not to have yourself -arrested at Sacca; everything would be spoiled if I lost you." - -"I, Signora! After I have said that I am celebrating the _festa_ of one -of the Signora's patrons, if the police sent thirty constables to upset -things, you may be sure that before they had reached the Croce Rossa in -the middle of the village, not one of them would be on his horse. -They're no fools, the people of Sacca; finished smugglers all of them, -and they worship the Signora." - -"Finally," went on the Duchessa with a singularly detached air, "if I -give wine to my good people of Sacca, I wish to flood the inhabitants of -Parma; the same evening on which my house is illuminated, take the best -horse in my stable, dash to my _palazzo_ in Parma, and open the -reservoir." - -"Ah! What an excellent idea of the Signora!" cried Lodovico, laughing -like a madman; "wine for the good people of Sacca, water for the cits of -Parma, who were so sure, the wretches, that Monsignor Fabrizio was going -to be poisoned like poor L----." - -Lodovico's joy knew no end; the Duchessa complacently watched his wild -laughter; he kept on repeating "Wine for the people of Sacca and water -for the people of Parma! The Signora no doubt knows better than I that -when they rashly emptied the reservoir, twenty years ago, there was as -much as a foot of water in many of the streets of Parma." - -"And water for the people of Parma," retorted the Duchessa with a laugh. -"The avenue past the citadel would have been filled with people if they -had cut off Fabrizio's head. . . . They all call him _the great -culprit_. . . . But, above all, do everything carefully, so that not a -living soul knows that the flood was started by you or ordered by me. -Fabrizio, the Conte himself must be left in ignorance of this mad prank. -. . . But I was forgetting the poor of Sacca: go and write a letter to -my agent, which I shall sign; you will tell him that, for the _festa_ of -my holy patron, he must distribute a hundred sequins among the poor of -Sacca, and tell him to obey you in everything to do with the -illumination, the fireworks and the wine; and especially that there must -not be a full bottle in my cellars next day." - - - - -_DISAPPOINTMENT_ - - -"The Signora's agent will have no difficulty except in one thing: in the -five years that the Signora has had the villa, she has not left ten poor -persons in Sacca." - -"_And water for the people of Parma_!" the Duchessa went on chanting. -"How will you carry out this joke?" - -"My plans are all made: I leave Sacca about nine o'clock, at half past -ten my horse is at the inn of the Tre Ganasce, on the road to -Casalmaggiore and to _my podere_ of La Ricciarda; at eleven, I am in my -room in the _palazzo_, and at a quarter past eleven water for the people -of Parma, and more than they wish, to drink to the health of the great -culprit. Ten minutes later, I leave the town by the Bologna road. I -make, as I pass it, a profound bow to the citadel, which Monsignore's -courage and the Signora's spirit have succeeded in disgracing; I take a -path across country, which I know well, and I make my entry into La -Ricciarda." - -Lodovico raised his eyes to the Duchessa and was startled. She was -staring fixedly at the blank wall six paces away from her, and, it must -be admitted, her expression was terrible. "Ah! My poor _podere_!" -thought Lodovico. "The fact of the matter is, she is mad!" The Duchessa -looked at him and read his thoughts. - -"Ah! Signor Lodovico the great poet, you wish a deed of gift in writing: -run and find me a sheet of paper." Lodovico did not wait to be told -twice, and the Duchessa wrote out in her own hand a long form of -receipt, ante-dated by a year, in which she declared that she had -received from Lodovico San Micheli the sum of 80,000 francs, and had -given him in pledge the lands of La Ricciarda. If after the lapse of -twelve months the Duchessa had not restored the said 80,000 francs to -Lodovico, the lands of La Ricciarda were to remain his property. - -"It is a fine action," the Duchessa said to herself, "to give to a -faithful servant nearly a third of what I have left for myself." - -"Now then," she said to Lodovico, "after the joke of the reservoir, I -give you just two days to enjoy yourself at Casalmaggiore. For the -conveyance to hold good, say that it is a transaction which dates back -more than a year. Come back and join me at Belgirate, and as quickly as -possible; Fabrizio is perhaps going to England, where you will follow -him." - -Early the next day the Duchessa and Fabrizio were at Belgirate. - -They took up their abode in that enchanting village; but a killing grief -awaited the Duchessa on Lake Maggiore. Fabrizio was entirely changed; -from the first moments in which he had awoken from his sleep, still -somewhat lethargic, after his escape, the Duchessa had noticed that -something out of the common was occurring in him. The deep-lying -sentiment, which he took great pains to conceal, was distinctly odd, it -was nothing less than this: he was in despair at being out of his -prison. He was careful not to admit this cause of his sorrow, which -would have led to questions which he did not wish to answer. - -"What!" said the Duchessa, in amazement, "that horrible sensation when -hunger forced you to feed, so as not to fall down, on one of those -loathsome dishes supplied by the prison kitchen, that sensation: 'Is -there some strange taste in this, am I poisoning myself at this -moment?'--did not that sensation fill you with horror?" - -"I thought of death," replied Fabrizio, "as I suppose soldiers think of -it: it was a possible thing which I thought to avoid by taking care." - - - - -_REGRET_ - - -And so, what uneasiness, what grief for the Duchessa! This adored, -singular, vivid, original creature was now before her eyes a prey to an -endless train of fancies; he actually preferred solitude to the pleasure -of talking of all manner of things, and with an open heart, to the best -friend that he had in the world. Still he was always good, assiduous, -grateful towards the Duchessa; he would, as before, have given his life -a hundred times over for her; but his heart was elsewhere. They often -went four or five leagues over that sublime lake without uttering a -word. The conversation, the exchange of cold thoughts that from then -onwards was possible between them might perhaps have seemed pleasant to -others; but they remembered still, the Duchessa especially, what their -conversation had been before that fatal fight with Giletti which had set -them apart. Fabrizio owed the Duchessa an account of the nine months -that he had spent in a horrible prison, and it appeared that he had -nothing to say of this detention but brief and unfinished sentences. - -"It was bound to happen sooner or later," the Duchessa told herself with -a gloomy sadness. "Grief has aged me, or else he is really in love, and -I have now only the second place in his heart." Demeaned, cast down by -the greatest of all possible griefs, the Duchessa said to herself at -times: "If, by the will of Heaven, Ferrante should become mad -altogether, or his courage should fail, I feel that I should be less -unhappy." From that moment this half-remorse poisoned the esteem that -the Duchessa had for her own character. "So," she said to herself -bitterly, "I am repenting of a resolution I have already made. Then I am -no longer a del Dongo!" - -"It is the will of Heaven," she would say: "Fabrizio is in love, and -what right have I to wish that he should not be in love? Has one single -word of genuine love ever passed between us?" - -This idea, reasonable as it was, kept her from sleeping, and in short, a -thing which shewed how old age and a weakening of the heart had come -over her, she was a hundred times more unhappy than at Parma. As for the -person who could be responsible for Fabrizio's strange abstraction, it -was hardly possible to entertain any reasonable doubt: Clelia Conti, -that pious girl, had betrayed her father since she had consented to make -the garrison drunk, and never once did Fabrizio speak of Clelia! "But," -added the Duchessa, beating her breast in desperation, "if the garrison -had not been made drunk, all my stratagems, all my exertions became -useless; so it is she that saved him!" - -It was with extreme difficulty that the Duchessa obtained from Fabrizio -any details of the events of that night, which, she said to herself, -"would at one time have been the subject of an endlessly renewed -discussion between us! In those happy times he would have talked for a -whole day, with a force and gaiety endlessly renewed, of the smallest -trifle which I thought of bringing forward." - -As it was necessary to think of everything, the Duchessa had installed -Fabrizio at the port of Locarno, a Swiss town at the head of Lake -Maggiore. Every day she went to fetch him in a boat for long excursions -over the lake. Well, on one occasion when she took it into her head to -go up to his room, she found the walls lined with a number of views of -the town of Parma, for which he had sent to Milan or to Parma itself, a -place which he ought to be holding in abomination. His little -sitting-room, converted into a studio, was littered with all the -apparatus of a painter in water-colours, and she found him finishing a -third sketch of the Torre Farnese and the governor's _palazzo_. - - - - -_LOVE_ - - -"The only thing for you to do now," she said to him with an air of -vexation, "is to make a portrait from memory of that charming governor -whose only wish was to poison you. But, while I think of it," she went -on, "you ought to write him a letter of apology for having taken the -liberty of escaping and making his citadel look foolish." - -The poor woman little knew how true her words were: no sooner had he -arrived in a place of safety than Fabrizio's first thought had been to -write General Fabio Conti a perfectly polite and in a sense highly -ridiculous letter; he asked his pardon for having escaped, offering as -an excuse that a certain subordinate in the prison had been ordered to -give him poison. Little did he care what he wrote, Fabrizio hoped that -Clelia's eyes would see this letter, and his cheeks were wet with tears -as he wrote it. He ended it with a very pleasant sentence: he ventured -to say that, finding himself at liberty, he frequently had occasion to -regret his little room in the Torre Farnese. This was the principal -thought in his letter, he hoped that Clelia would understand it. In his -writing vein, and always in the hope of being read by someone, Fabrizio -addressed his thanks to Don Cesare, that good chaplain who had lent him -books on theology. A few days later Fabrizio arranged that the small -bookseller of Locarno should make the journey to Milan, where this -bookseller, a friend of the celebrated bibliomaniac Reina, bought the -most sumptuous editions that he could find of the works that Don Cesare -had lent Fabrizio. The good chaplain received these books and a handsome -letter which informed him that, in moments of impatience, pardonable -perhaps to a poor prisoner, the writer had covered the margins of his -books with silly notes. He begged him, accordingly, to replace them in -his library with the volumes which the most lively gratitude took the -liberty of presenting to him. - -Fabrizio was very modest in giving the simple name of notes to the -endless scribblings with which he had covered the margins of a folio -volume of the works of Saint Jerome. In the hope that he might be able -to send back this book to the good chaplain, and exchange it for -another, he had written day by day on the margins a very exact diary of -all that occurred to him in prison; the great events were nothing else -than ecstasies of _divine love_ (this word _divine_ took the place of -another which he dared not write). At one moment this divine love led -the prisoner to a profound despair, at other times a voice heard in the -air restored some hope and caused transports of joy. All this, -fortunately, was written with prison ink, made of wine, chocolate and -soot, and Don Cesare had done no more than cast an eye over it as he put -back on his shelves the volume of Saint Jerome. If he had studied the -margins, he would have seen that one day the prisoner, believing himself -to have been poisoned, was congratulating himself on dying at a distance -of less than forty yards from what he had loved best in the world. But -another eye than the good chaplain's had read this page since his -escape. That fine idea: _To die near what one loves_! expressed in a -hundred different fashions, was followed by a sonnet in which one saw -that this soul, parted, after atrocious torments, from the frail body in -which it had dwelt for three-and-twenty years, urged by that instinct -for happiness natural to everything that has once existed, would not -mount to heaven to mingle with the choirs of angels as soon as it should -be free, and should the dread Judgment grant it pardon for its sins; but -that, more fortunate after death than it had been in life, it would go a -little way from the prison, where for so long it had groaned, to unite -itself with all that it had loved in this world. And "So," said the last -line of the sonnet, "I should find my earthly paradise." - - - - -_SELF-SACRIFICE_ - - -Although they spoke of Fabrizio in the citadel of Parma only as of an -infamous traitor who had outraged the most sacred ties of duty, still -the good priest Don Cesare was delighted by the sight of the fine books -which an unknown hand had conveyed to him; for Fabrizio had decided to -write to him only a few days after sending them, for fear lest his name -might make the whole parcel be rejected with indignation. Don Cesare -said no word of this kind attention to his brother, who flew into a rage -at the mere name of Fabrizio; but since the latter's flight, he had -returned to all his old intimacy with his charming niece; and as he had -once taught her a few words of Latin, he let her see the fine books that -he had received. Such had been the traveller's hope. Suddenly Clelia -blushed deeply, she had recognized Fabrizio's handwriting. Long and very -narrow strips of yellow paper were placed by way of markers in various -parts of the volume. And as it is true to say that in the midst of the -sordid pecuniary interests, and of the colourless coldness of the vulgar -thoughts which fill our lives, the actions inspired by a true passion -rarely fail to produce their effect; as though a propitious deity were -taking the trouble to lead them by the hand, Clelia, guided by this -instinct, and by the thought of one thing only in the world, asked her -uncle to compare the old copy of Saint Jerome with the one that he had -just received. How can I describe her rapture in the midst of the gloomy -sadness in which Fabrizio's absence had plunged her, when she found on -the margins of the old Saint Jerome the sonnet of which we have spoken, -and the records, day by day, of the love that he had felt for her. - -From the first day she knew the sonnet by heart; she would sing it, -leaning on her window-sill, before the window, henceforward empty, where -she had so often seen a little opening appear in the screen. This screen -had been taken down to be placed in the office of the criminal court, -and to serve as evidence in a ridiculous prosecution which Rassi was -drawing up against Fabrizio, accused of the crime of having escaped, or, -as the Fiscal said, laughing himself as he said it, _of having removed -himself from the clemency of a magnanimous Prince_! - -Each stage in Clelia's actions was for her a matter for keen remorse, -and now that she was unhappy, her remorse was all the keener. She sought -to mitigate somewhat the reproaches that she addressed to herself by -reminding herself of the vow _never to see Fabrizio again_, which she -had made to the Madonna at the time when the General was nearly -poisoned, and since then had renewed daily. - -Her father had been made ill by Fabrizio's escape, and, moreover, had -been on the point of losing his post, when the Prince, in his anger, -dismissed all the gaolers of the Torre Farnese, and sent them as -prisoners to the town gaol. The General had been saved partly by the -intercession of Conte Mosca, who preferred to see him shut up at the top -of his citadel, rather than as an active and intriguing rival in court -circles. - -It was during the fortnight of uncertainty as to the disgrace of General -Fabio Conti, who was really ill, that Clelia had the courage to carry -out this sacrifice which she had announced to Fabrizio. She had had the -sense to be ill on the day of the general rejoicings, which was also -that of the prisoner's flight, as the reader may perhaps remember; she -was ill also on the following day, and, in a word, managed things so -well that, with the exception of Grillo, whose special duty it was to -look after Fabrizio, no one had any suspicion of her complicity, and -Grillo held his tongue. - -But as soon as Clelia had no longer any anxiety in that direction, she -was even more cruelly tormented by her just remorse. "What argument in -the world," she asked herself, "can mitigate the crime of a daughter who -betrays her father?" - -One evening, after a day spent almost entirely in the chapel, and in -tears, she begged her uncle, Don Cesare, to accompany her to the -General, whose outbursts of rage alarmed her all the more since into -every topic he introduced imprecations against Fabrizio, that abominable -traitor. - -Having come into her father's presence, she had the courage to say to -him that if she had always refused to give her hand to the Marchese -Crescenzi, it was because she did not feel any inclination towards him, -and was certain of finding no happiness in such a union. At these words -the General flew into a rage; and Clelia had some difficulty in making -herself heard. She added that if her father, tempted by the Marchese's -great fortune, felt himself bound to give her a definite order to marry -him, she was prepared to obey. The General was quite astonished by this -conclusion, which he had been far from expecting; he ended, however, -by rejoicing at it. "So," he said to his brother, "I shall not be -reduced to a lodging on a second floor, if that scoundrel Fabrizio makes -me lose my post through his vile conduct." - -Conte Mosca did not fail to shew himself profoundly scandalised by the -flight of that _scapegrace_ Fabrizio, and repeated when the occasion -served the expression invented by Rassi to describe the base conduct of -the young man--a very vulgar young man, to boot--who had removed himself -from the clemency of the Prince. This witty expression, consecrated by -good society, did not take hold at all of the people. Left to their own -good sense, while fully believing in Fabrizio's guilt they admired the -determination that he must have had to let himself down from so high a -wall. Not a creature at court admired this courage. As for the police, -greatly humiliated by this rebuff, they had officially discovered that a -band of twenty soldiers, corrupted by the money distributed by the -Duchessa, that woman of such atrocious ingratitude whose name was no -longer uttered save with a sigh, had given Fabrizio four ladders tied -together, each forty-five feet long; Fabrizio, having let down a cord -which they had tied to these ladders, had had only the quite commonplace -distinction of pulling the ladders up to where he was. Certain Liberals, -well known for their imprudence, and among them Doctor C----, an agent -paid directly by the Prince, added, but compromised themselves by adding -that these atrocious police had had the barbarity to shoot eight of the -unfortunate soldiers who had facilitated the flight of that wretch -Fabrizio. Thereupon he was blamed even by the true Liberals, as having -caused by his imprudence the death of eight poor soldiers. It is thus -that petty despotisms reduce to nothing the value of public opinion. - - - - -CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE - - -Amid this general uproar, Archbishop Landriani alone shewed himself -loyal to the cause of his young friend; he made bold to repeat, even at -the Princess's court, the legal maxim according to which, in every case, -one ought to keep an ear free from all prejudice to hear the plea of an -absent party. - -The day after Fabrizio's escape a number of people had received a sonnet -of no great merit which celebrated this flight as one of the fine -actions of the age, and compared Fabrizio to an angel arriving on the -earth with outspread wings. On the evening of the following day, the -whole of Parma was repeating a sublime sonnet. It was Fabrizio's -monologue as he let himself slide down the cord, and passed judgment on -the different incidents of his life. This sonnet gave him a place in -literature by two magnificent lines; all the experts recognised the -style of Ferrante Palla. - -But here I must seek the epic style: where can I find colours in which -to paint the torrents of indignation that suddenly flooded every -orthodox heart, when they learned of the frightful insolence of this -illumination of the house at Sacca? There was but one outcry against the -Duchessa; even the true Liberals decided that such an action compromised -in a barbarous fashion the poor suspects detained in the various -prisons, and needlessly exasperated the heart of the sovereign. Conte -Mosca declared that there was but one thing left for the Duchessa's -former friends--to forget her. The concert of execration was therefore -unanimous: a stranger passing through the town would have been struck by -the energy of public opinion. But in the country, where they know how to -appreciate the pleasure of revenge, the illumination and the admirable -feast given in the park to more than six thousand _contadini_ had an -immense success. Everyone in Parma repeated that the Duchessa had -distributed a thousand sequins among her _contadini_; thus they -explained the somewhat harsh reception given to a party of thirty -constables whom the police had been so foolish as to send to that small -village, thirty-six hours after the sublime evening and the general -intoxication that had followed it. The constables, greeted with showers -of stones, had turned and fled, and two of their number, who fell from -their horses, were flung into the Po. - -As for the bursting of the great reservoir of the _palazzo_ Sanseverina, -it had passed almost unnoticed: it was during the night that several -streets had been more or less flooded, next morning one would have said -that it had _rained_. Lodovico had taken care to break the panes of a -window in the _palazzo_, so as to account for the entry of robbers. - -They had even found a little ladder. Only Conte Mosca recognised his -friend's inventive genius. - -Fabrizio was fully determined to return to Parma as soon as he could; he -sent Lodovico with a long letter to the Archbishop, and this faithful -servant came back to post at the first village in Piedmont, San Nazzaro, -to the west of Pavia, a Latin epistle which the worthy prelate addressed -to his young client. We may add here a detail which, like many others no -doubt, will seem otiose in countries where there is no longer any need -of precaution. The name of Fabrizio del Dongo was never written; all the -letters that were intended for him were addressed to Lodovico San -Micheli, at Locarno in Switzerland, or at Belgirate in Piedmont. The -envelope was made of a coarse paper, the seal carelessly applied, the -address barely legible and sometimes adorned with recommendations worthy -of a cook; all the letters were dated from Naples six days before their -actual date. - - - - -_REVENGE_ - - -From the Piedmontese village of San Nazzaro, near Pavia, Lodovico -returned in hot haste to Parma; he was charged with a mission to which -Fabrizio attached the greatest importance; this was nothing less than to -convey to Clelia Conti a handkerchief on which was printed a sonnet of -Petrarch. It is true that a word was altered in this sonnet: Clelia -found it on the table two days after she had received the thanks of the -Marchese Crescenzi, who professed himself the happiest of men; and there -is no need to say what impression this token of a still constant -remembrance produced on her heart. - -Lodovico was to try to procure all possible details as to what was -happening at the citadel. He it was who told Fabrizio the sad news that -the Marchese Crescenzi's marriage seemed now to be definitely settled; -scarcely a day passed without his giving a _festa_ for Clelia, inside -the citadel. A decisive proof of the marriage was that the Marchese, -immensely rich and in consequence very avaricious, as is the custom -among the opulent people of Northern Italy, was making immense -preparations, and yet he was marrying a girl without a _portion_. It was -true that General Fabio Conti, his vanity greatly shocked by this -observation, the first to spring to the minds of all his compatriots, -had just bought a property worth more than 300,000 francs, and for this -property he, who had nothing, had paid in ready money, evidently with -the Marchese's gold. Moreover, the General had said that he was giving -this property to his daughter on her marriage. But the charges for the -documents and other matters, which amounted to more than 12,000 francs, -seemed a most ridiculous waste of money to the Marchese, a man of -eminently logical mind. For his part he was having woven at Lyons a set -of magnificent tapestries of admirably blended colours, calculated to -charm the eye, by the famous Pallagi, the Bolognese painter. These -tapestries, each of which embodied some deed of arms by the Crescenzi -family, which, as the whole world knows, is descended from the famous -Crescentius, Roman Consul in the year 985, were to furnish the seventeen -saloons which composed the ground floor of the Marchese's _palazzo_. The -tapestries, clocks and lustres sent to Parma cost more than 350,000 -francs; the price of the new mirrors, in addition to those which the -house already possessed, came to 200,000 francs. With the exception of -two rooms, famous works of the Parmigianino, the greatest of local -painters after the divine Correggio, all those of the first and second -floors were now occupied by the leading painters of Florence, Rome and -Milan, who were decorating them with paintings in fresco. Fokelberg, the -great Swedish sculptor, Tenerani of Rome and Marchesi of Milan had been -at work for the last year on ten bas-reliefs representing as many brave -deeds of Crescentius, that truly great man. The majority of the -ceilings, painted in fresco, also offered some allusion to his life. The -ceiling most generally admired was that on which Hayez of Milan had -represented Crescentius being received in the Elysian Fields by -Francesco Sforza, Lorenzo the Magnificent, King Robert, the Tribune Cola -di Rienzi, Machiavelli, Dante and the other great men of the middle -ages. Admiration for these chosen spirits is supposed to be an epigram -at the expense of the men in power. - -All these sumptuous details occupied the exclusive attention of the -nobility and burgesses of Parma, and pierced our hero's heart when he -read of them, related with an artless admiration, in a long letter of -more than twenty pages which Lodovico had dictated to a _doganiere_ of -Casalmaggiore. - - - - -_THE PALAZZO_ - - -"And I, who am so poor!" said Fabrizio, "an income of four thousand lire -in all and for all! It is truly an impertinence in me to dare to be in -love with Clelia Conti for whom all these miracles are being performed." - -A single paragraph in Lodovico's long letter, but written, this, in his -own villainous hand, announced to his master that he had met, at night -and apparently in hiding, the unfortunate Grillo, his former gaoler, who -had been put in prison and then released. The man had asked him for a -sequin in charity, and Lodovico had given him four in the Duchessa's -name. The old gaolers recently set at liberty, twelve in number, were -preparing an entertainment with their knives (_un trattamento di -cortellate_) for the new gaolers their successors, should they ever -succeed in meeting them outside the citadel. Grillo had said that almost -every day there was a serenade at the fortress, that Signorina Clelia -was extremely pale, often ill, and _other things of the sort_. This -absurd expression caused Lodovico to receive, by courier after courier, -the order to return to Locarno. He returned, and the details which he -supplied by word of mouth were even more depressing for Fabrizio. - -One may judge what consideration he was shewing for the poor Duchessa; -he would have suffered a thousand deaths rather than utter in her -hearing the name of Clelia Conti. The Duchessa abhorred Parma; whereas, -for Fabrizio, everything which recalled that city was at once sublime -and touching. - -Less than ever had the Duchessa forgotten her revenge; she had been so -happy before the incident of Giletti's death and now, what a fate was -hers! She was living in expectation of a dire event of which she was -careful not to say a word to Fabrizio, she who before, at the time of -her arrangement with Ferrante, thought she would so delight Fabrizio by -telling him that one day he would be avenged. - -One can now form some idea of the pleasantness of Fabrizio's -conversations with the Duchessa: a gloomy silence reigned almost -invariably between them. To enhance the pleasantness of their relations, -the Duchessa had yielded to the temptation to play a trick on this too -dear nephew. The Conte wrote to her almost every day; evidently he was -sending couriers as in the days of their infatuation, for his letters -always bore the postmark of some little town in Switzerland. The poor -man was torturing his mind so as not to speak too openly of his -affection, and to construct amusing letters; barely did a distracted eye -glance over them. What avails, alas, the fidelity of a respected lover -when one's heart is pierced by the coldness of the other whom one sets -above him? - -In the space of two months the Duchessa answered him only once, and that -was to engage him to explore how the land lay round the Princess, and to -see whether, despite the impertinence of the fireworks, a letter from -her, the Duchessa, would be received with pleasure. The letter which he -was to present, if he thought fit, requested the post of _Cavaliere -d'onore_ to the Princess, which had recently fallen vacant, for the -Marchese Crescenzi, and desired that it should be conferred upon him in -consideration of his marriage. The Duchessa's letter was a masterpiece; -it was a message of the most tender respect, expressed in the best -possible terms; the writer had not admitted to this courtly style a -single word the consequences, even the remotest consequences of which -could be other than agreeable to the Princess. The reply also breathed a -tender friendship, which was being tortured by the absence of its -recipient. - - - - -_THE PRINCESS_ - - -"My son and I," the Princess told her, "have not spent one evening that -could be called tolerable since your sudden departure. Does my dear -Duchessa no longer remember that it was she who caused me to be -consulted in the nomination of the officers of my household? Does she -then think herself obliged to give me reasons for the Marchese's -appointment, as if the expression of her desire was not for me the chief -of reasons? The Marchese shall have the post, if I can do anything; and -there will always be one in my heart, and that the first, for my dear -Duchessa. My son employs absolutely the same expressions, a little -strong perhaps on the lips of a great boy of one-and-twenty, and asks -you for specimens of the minerals of the Val d'Orta, near Belgirate. You -may address your letters, which will, I hope, be frequent, to the Conte, -who still adores you and who is especially dear to me on account of -these sentiments. The Archbishop also has remained faithful to you. We -all hope to see you again one day: remember that it is your duty. The -Marchesa Ghisleri, my Grand Mistress, is preparing to leave this world -for a better: the poor woman has done me much harm; she displeases me -still further by departing so inopportunely; her illness makes me think -of the name which I should once have set with so much pleasure in the -place of hers, if, that is, I could have obtained that sacrifice of her -independence from that matchless woman who, in fleeing from us, has -taken with her all the joy of my little court," and so forth. - - -It was therefore with the consciousness of having sought to hasten, so -far as it lay in her power, the marriage which was filling Fabrizio with -despair, that the Duchessa saw him every day. And so they spent -sometimes four or five hours in drifting together over the lake, without -exchanging a single word. The good feeling was entire and perfect on -Fabrizio's part; but he was thinking of other things, and his innocent -and simple nature furnished him with nothing to say. The Duchessa saw -this, and it was her punishment. - -We have forgotten to mention in the proper place that the Duchessa had -taken a house at Belgirate, a charming village and one that contains -everything which its name promises (to wit a beautiful bend in the -lake). From the window-sill of her drawing-room, the Duchessa could set -foot in her boat. She had taken a quite simple one for which four rowers -would have sufficed; she engaged twelve, and arranged things so as to -have a man from each of the villages situated in the neighbourhood of -Belgirate. The third or fourth time that she found herself in the middle -of the lake with all of these well chosen men, she stopped the movement -of their oars. - -"I regard you all as friends," she said to them, "and I wish to confide -a secret in you. My nephew Fabrizio has escaped from prison; and -possibly by treachery they will seek to recapture him, although he is on -your lake, in a place of freedom. Keep your ears open, and inform me of -all that you may hear. I authorise you to enter my room by day or -night." - -The rowers replied with enthusiasm; she knew how to make herself loved. -But she did not think that there was any question of recapturing -Fabrizio: it was for herself that all these precautions were taken, and, -before the fatal order to open the reservoir of the _palazzo_ -Sanseverina, she would not have dreamed of them. - -Her prudence had led her also to take an apartment at the port of -Locarno for Fabrizio; every day he came to see her, or she herself -crossed into Switzerland. One may judge of the pleasantness of their -perpetual companionship by the following detail. The Marchesa and her -daughter came twice to see them, and the presence of these strangers -gave them pleasure; for, in spite of the ties of blood, we may call -"stranger" a person who knows nothing of our dearest interests and whom -we see but once in a year. - - - - -_LAKE MAGGIORE_ - - -The Duchessa happened to be one evening at Locarno, in Fabrizio's rooms, -with the Marchesa and her two daughters. The Archpriest of the place and -the curate had come to pay their respects to these ladies: the -Archpriest, who had an interest in a business house, and kept closely in -touch with the news, was inspired to announce: - -"The Prince of Parma is dead!" - -The Duchessa turned extremely pale; she had barely the strength to say: - -"Do they give any details?" - -"No," replied the Archpriest; "the report is confined to the -announcement of his death, which is certain." - -The Duchessa looked at Fabrizio. "I have done this for him," she said to -herself; "I would have done things a thousand times worse, and there he -is standing before me indifferent, and dreaming of another!" It was -beyond the Duchessa's strength to endure this frightful thought; she -fell in a dead faint. Everyone hastened to her assistance; but, on -coming to herself, she observed that Fabrizio was less active than the -Archpriest and curate; he was dreaming as usual. - -"He is thinking of returning to Parma," the Duchessa told herself, "and -perhaps of breaking off Clelia's marriage to the Marchese; but I shall -manage to prevent him." Then, remembering the presence of the two -priests, she made haste to add: - -"He was a good Prince, and has been greatly maligned! It is an immense -loss for us!" - -The priests took their leave, and the Duchessa, to be alone, announced -that she was going to bed. - -"No doubt," she said to herself, "prudence ordains that I should wait a -month or two before returning to Parma; but I feel that I shall never -have the patience; I am suffering too keenly here. Fabrizio's continual -dreaming, his silence, are an intolerable spectacle for my heart. Who -would ever have said that I should find it tedious to float on this -charming lake, alone with him, and at the moment when I have done, to -avenge him, more than I can tell him! After such a spectacle, death is -nothing. It is now that I am paying for the transports of happiness and -childish joy which I found in my _palazzo_ at Parma when I welcomed -Fabrizio there on his return from Naples. If I had said a word, all was -at an end, and it may be that, tied to me, he would not have given a -thought to that little Clelia; but that word filled me with a horrible -repugnance. Now she has prevailed over me. What more simple? She is -twenty; and I, altered by my anxieties, sick, I am twice her age! . . . -I must die, I must make an end of things! A woman of forty is no longer -anything save to the men who have loved her in her youth! Now I shall -find nothing more but the pleasures of vanity; and are they worth the -trouble of living? All the more reason for going to Parma, and amusing -myself. If things took a certain turn, I should lose my life. Well, -where is the harm? I shall make a magnificent death, and, before the -end, but then only, I shall say to Fabrizio: 'Wretch! It is for you!' -Yes, I can find no occupation for what little life remains to me save at -Parma. I shall play the great lady there. What a blessing if I could be -sensible now of all those distinctions which used to make the Raversi so -unhappy! Then, in order to see my happiness, I had to look into the eyes -of envy. . . . My vanity has one satisfaction; with the exception of the -Conte perhaps, no one can have guessed what the event was that put an -end to the life of my heart. . . . I shall love Fabrizio, I shall be -devoted to his interests; but he must not be allowed to break off -Clelia's marriage, and end by taking her himself. . . . No, that shall -not be!" - -The Duchessa had reached this point in her melancholy monologue, when -she heard a great noise in the house. - -"Good!" she said to herself, "they are coming to arrest me; Ferrante has -let himself be caught, he must have spoken. Well, all the better! I am -going to have an occupation, I am going to fight them for my head. But -in the first place, I must not let myself be taken." - -The Duchessa, half clad, fled to the bottom of her garden: she was -already thinking of climbing a low wall and escaping across country; but -she saw someone enter her room. She recognised Bruno, the Conte's -confidential man; he was alone with her maid. She went up to the window. -The man was telling her maid of the injuries he had received. The -Duchessa entered the house. Bruno almost flung himself at her feet, -imploring her not to tell the Conte of the preposterous hour at which he -had arrived. - -"Immediately after the Prince's death," he went on, "the Signor Conte -gave the order to all the posts not to supply horses to subjects of the -States of Parma. So that I had to go as far as the Po with the horses of -the house, but on leaving the boat my carriage was overturned, broken, -smashed, and I had such bad bruises that I could not get on a horse, as -was my duty." - -"Very well," said the Duchessa, "it is three o'clock in the morning: I -shall say that you arrived at noon; but you must not go and give me -away." - -"I am very grateful for the Signora's kindness." - -Politics in a work of literature are like a pistol-shot in the middle of -a concert, something loud and vulgar and yet a thing to which it is not -possible to refuse one's attention. - -We are about to speak of very ugly matters, as to which, for more than -one reason, we should like to keep silence; but we are forced to do so -in order to come to happenings which are in our province, since they -have for their theatre the hearts of our characters. - -"But, great God, how did that great Prince die?" said the Duchessa to -Bruno. - -"He was out shooting the birds of passage, in the marshes, along by the -Po, two leagues from Sacca. He fell into a hole hidden by a tuft of -grass; he was all in a sweat, and caught cold; they carried him to a -lonely house where he died in a few hours. Some say that Signor Catena -and Signor Borone are dead as well, and that the whole accident arose -from the copper pans in the _contadino's_ house they went to, which were -full of verdigris. They took their luncheon there. In fact, the swelled -heads, the Jacobins, who say what they would like to be true, speak of -poison. I know that my friend Toto, who is a groom at court, would have -died but for the kind attention of a rustic who appeared to have a great -knowledge of medicine, and gave him some very singular remedies. But -they've ceased to talk of the Prince's death already; after all, he was -a cruel man. When I left, the people were gathering to kill the Fiscal -General Rassi: they were also proposing to set fire to the gates of the -citadel, to enable the prisoners to escape. But it was said that Fabio -Conti would fire his guns. Others were positive that the gunners at the -citadel had poured water on their powder, and refused to massacre their -fellow-citizens. But I can tell you something far more interesting: -while the surgeon of Sandolaro was mending my poor arm, a man arrived -from Parma who said that the mob had caught Barbone, the famous clerk -from the citadel, in the street, and had beaten him, and were then going -to hang him from the tree on the avenue nearest to the citadel. The mob -were marching to break that fine statue of the Prince in the gardens of -the court; but the Signor Conte took a battalion of the Guard, paraded -them in front of the statue, and sent word to the people that no one who -entered the gardens would go out of them alive, and the people took -fright. But, what is a very curious thing, which the man who had come -from Parma, who is an old constable, repeated several times, is that the -Signor Conte kicked General P----, the commander of the Prince's Guard, -and had him led out of the garden by two fusiliers, after tearing off -his epaulettes." - - - - -_THE ACCIDENT_ - - -"I can see the Conte doing that," cried the Duchessa with a transport of -joy which she would not have believed possible a minute earlier: "he -will never allow anyone to insult our Princess; and as for General -P----, in his devotion to his rightful masters, he would never consent -to serve the usurper, while the Conte, with less delicacy, fought -through all the Spanish campaigns, and has often been reproached for it -at court." - -The Duchessa had opened the Conte's letter, but kept stopping as she -read it to put a hundred questions to Bruno. - -The letter was very pleasant; the Conte employed the most lugubrious -terms, and yet the keenest joy broke out in every word; he avoided any -detail of the Prince's death, and ended with the words: - - -"You will doubtless return, my dear angel, but I advise you to wait a -day or two for the courier whom the Princess will send you, as I hope, -to-day or to-morrow; your return must be as triumphant as your departure -was bold. As for the great criminal who is with you, I count upon being -able to have him tried by twelve judges selected from all parties in -this State. But, to have the monster punished as he deserves, I must -first be able to make spills of the other sentence, if it exists." - - -The Conte had opened his letter to add: - - -"Now for a very different matter: I have just issued ammunition to the -two battalions of the Guard; I am going to fight, and shall do my best -to deserve the title of Cruel with which the Liberals have so long -honoured me. That old mummy General P---- has dared to speak in the -barracks of making a parley with the populace, who are more or less in -revolt. I write to you from the street; I am going to the Palace, which -they shall not enter save over my dead body. Good-bye! If I die, it will -be worshipping you _all the same_, as I have lived. Do not forget to -draw three hundred thousand francs which are deposited in my name with -D---- of Lyons. - -"Here is that poor devil Rassi, pale as death, and without his wig; you -have no idea what he looks like. The people are absolutely determined to -hang him; it would be doing him a great injustice, he deserves to be -quartered. He took refuge in my _palazzo_ and has run after me into the -street; I hardly know what to do with him. . . . I do not wish to take -him to the Prince's Palace, that would make the revolt break out there. -F---- shall see whether I love him; my first word to Rassi was: I must -have the sentence passed on Signor del Dongo, and all the copies that -you may have of it; and say to all those unjust judges, who are the -cause of this revolt, that I will have them all hanged, and you as well, -my dear friend, if they breathe a word of that sentence, which never -existed. In Fabrizio's name, I am sending a company of grenadiers to the -Archbishop. Good-bye, dear angel! My _palazzo_ is going to be burned, and -I shall lose the charming portraits I have of you. I must run to the -Palace to degrade that wretched General P----, who is at his tricks; he -is basely flattering the people, as he used to flatter the late Prince. -All these Generals are in the devil of a fright; I am going, I think, to -have myself made Commander in Chief." - - -The Duchessa was unkind enough not to send to waken Fabrizio; she felt -for the Conte a burst of admiration which was closely akin to love. -"When all is said and done," she decided, "I shall have to marry him." -She wrote to him at once and sent off one of her men. That night the -Duchessa had no time to be unhappy. - - - - -_THE RISING_ - - -Next day, about noon, she saw a boat manned by ten rowers which was -swiftly cleaving the waters of the lake; Fabrizio and she soon -recognised a man wearing the livery of the Prince of Parma: it was, in -fact, one of his couriers who, before landing, cried to the Duchessa: -"The revolt is suppressed!" This courier gave her several letters from -the Conte, an admirable letter from the Princess, and an order from -Prince Ranuccio-Ernesto V, on parchment, creating her Duchessa di San -Giovanni and Grand Mistress to the Princess Dowager. The young Prince, -an expert in mineralogy, whom she regarded as an imbecile, had had the -intelligence to write her a little note; but there was love at the end -of it. The note began thus: - - -"The Conte says, Signora Duchessa, that he is pleased with me; the fact -is that I stood under fire by his side, and that my horse was hit: -seeing the stir that is made about so small a matter, I am keen to take -part in a real battle, but not against my subjects. I owe everything to -the Conte; all my Generals, who have never been to war, ran like hares; -I believe two or three have fled as far as Bologna. Since a great and -deplorable event set me in power, I have signed no order which has given -me so much pleasure as this which appoints you Grand Mistress to my -mother. My mother and I both remembered a day when you admired the fine -view one has from the _palazzetto_ of San Giovanni, which once belonged -to Petrarch, or so they say at least; my mother wished to give you that -little property: and I, not knowing what to give you, and not venturing -to offer you all that is rightly yours, have made you Duchessa in my -country; I do not know whether you are learned enough in these matters -to be aware that Sanseverina is a Roman title. I have just given the -Grand Cordon of my Order to our worthy Archbishop, who has shown a -firmness very rare in men of seventy. You will not be angry with me for -having recalled all the ladies from exile. I am told that I must now -sign only after writing the words _your affectionate_; it annoys me that -I should be made to scatter broadcast what is completely true only when -I write to you. - - "_Your affectionate_ - - "RANUCCIO-ERNESTO." - - -Who would not have said, from such language, that the Duchessa was about -to enjoy the highest favour? And yet she found something very strange in -other letters from the Conte, which she received an hour or two later. -He offered no special reason, but advised her to postpone for some days -her return to Parma, and to write to the Princess that she was seriously -unwell. The Duchessa and Fabrizio set off, nevertheless, for Parma -immediately after dinner. The Duchessa's object, which however she did -not admit to herself, was to hasten the Marchese Crescenzi's marriage; -Fabrizio, for his part, spent the journey in wild transports of joy, -which seemed to his aunt absurd. He was in hopes of seeing Clelia again -soon; he fully counted upon carrying her off, against her will, if there -should be no other way of preventing her marriage. - - - - -_ERNESTO V_ - - -The Duchessa and her nephew made a very gay journey. At a post before -Parma, Fabrizio stopped for a minute to change into the ecclesiastical -habit; ordinarily he dressed as a layman in mourning. When he returned -to the Duchessa's room: - -"I find something suspicious and inexplicable," she said to him, "in the -Conte's letters. If you would take my advice you would spend a few hours -here; I shall send you a courier after I have spoken to that great -Minister." - -It was with great reluctance that Fabrizio consented to accept this -sensible warning. Transports of joy worthy of a boy of fifteen were the -note of the reception which the Conte gave to the Duchessa, whom he -called his wife. It was long before he would speak of politics, and when -at last they came down to cold reason: - -"You did very well to prevent Fabrizio from arriving officially; we are -in the full swing of reaction here. Just guess the colleague that the -Prince has given me as Minister of Justice! Rassi, my dear, Rassi, whom -I treated like the ruffian that he is, on the day of our great -adventure. By the way, I must warn you that we have suppressed -everything that has happened here. If you read our _Gazette_ you will -see that a clerk at the citadel, named Barbone, has died as the result -of falling from a carriage. As for the sixty odd rascals whom I -dispatched with powder and shot, when they were attacking the Prince's -statue in the gardens, they are in the best of health, only they are -travelling abroad. Conte Zurla, the Minister of the Interior, has gone -in person to the house of each of these unfortunate heroes, and has -handed fifteen sequins to his family or his friends, with the order to -say that the deceased is abroad, and a very definite threat of -imprisonment should they let it be understood that he is dead. A man -from my own Ministry, the Foreign Office, has been sent on a mission to -the journalists of Milan and Turin, so that they shall not speak of the -_unfortunate event_--that is the recognised expression; he is to go on -to Paris and London, to insert a correction in all the newspapers, -semi-officially, of anything that they may say about our troubles. -Another agent has posted off to Bologna and Florence. I have shrugged my -shoulders. - -"But the delightful thing, at my age, is that I felt a moment of -enthusiasm when I was speaking to the soldiers of the Guard, and when I -tore the epaulettes off that contemptible General P----. At that moment, -I would have given my life, without hesitating, for the Prince: I admit -now that it would have been a very stupid way of ending it. To-day the -Prince, excellent young fellow as he is, would give a hundred scudi to -see me die in my bed; he has not yet dared to ask for my resignation, -but we speak to each other as seldom as possible, and I send him a -number of little reports in writing, as I used to do with the late -Prince, after Fabrizio's imprisonment. By the way, I have not yet made -spills out of the sentence they passed on Fabrizio, for the simple -reason that scoundrel Rassi has not let me have it. So you are very -wise to prevent Fabrizio from arriving here officially. The sentence -still holds good; at the same time I do not think that Rassi would dare -to have our nephew arrested now, but it is possible that he will in -another fortnight. If Fabrizio absolutely insists on returning to town, -let him come and stay with me." - - - - -_REACTION_ - - -"But the reason for all this?" cried the Duchessa in astonishment. - -"They have persuaded the Prince that I am giving myself the airs of a -dictator and a saviour of the country, and that I wish to lead him about -like a boy; what is more, in speaking of him, I seem to have uttered the -fatal words: _that boy_. It may be so, I was excited that day; for -instance, I looked on him as a great man, because he was not unduly -frightened by the first shots he had ever heard fired in his life. He is -not lacking in spirit, indeed he has a better tone than his father; in -fact, I cannot repeat it too often, in his heart of hearts he is honest -and good; but that sincere and youthful heart shudders when they tell -him of any dastardly trick, and he thinks he must have a very dark soul -himself to notice such things: think of the upbringing he has had!" - -"Your Excellency ought to have remembered that one day he would be -master, and to have placed an intelligent man with him." - -"For one thing, we have the example of the Abbé de Condillac, who, when -appointed by the Marchese di Felino, my predecessor, could make nothing -more of his pupil than a King of fools. He succeeded in due course, and, -in 1796, he had not the sense to treat with General Bonaparte, who would -have tripled the area of his States. In the second place, I never -expected to remain Minister for ten years in succession. Now that I have -lost all interest in the business, as I have for the last month, I -intend to amass a million before leaving this bedlam I have rescued to -its own devices. But for me, Parma would have been a Republic for two -months, with the poet Ferrante Palla as Dictator." - -This made the Duchessa blush; the Conte knew nothing of what had -happened. - -"We are going to fall back into the ordinary Monarchy of the eighteenth -century; the confessor and the mistress. At heart the Prince cares for -nothing but mineralogy, and perhaps yourself, Signora. Since he began to -reign, his valet, whose brother I have just made a captain, this brother -having nine months' service, his valet, I say, has gone and stuffed into -his head that he ought to be the happiest of men because his profile is -going to appear on the scudi. This bright idea has been followed by -boredom. - -"What he now needs is an aide-de-camp, as a remedy for boredom. Well, -even if he were to offer me that famous million which is necessary for -us to live comfortably in Naples or Paris, I would not be his remedy for -boredom, and spend four or five hours every day with His Highness. -Besides, as I have more brains than he, at the end of a month he would -regard me as a monster. - -"The late Prince was evil-minded and jealous, but he had been on service -and had commanded army corps, which had given him a bearing; he had the -stuff in him of which Princes are made, and I could be his Minister, for -better or worse. With this honest fellow of a son, who is candid and -really good, I am forced to be an intriguer. You see me now the rival of -the humblest little woman in the Castle, and a very inferior rival, for -I shall scorn all the hundred essential details. For instance, three -days ago, one of those women who put out the clean towels every morning -in the rooms, took it into her head to make the Prince lose the key of -one of his English desks. Whereupon His Highness refused to deal with -any of the business the papers of which happened to be in this desk; as -a matter of fact, for twenty francs, they could have taken off the -wooden bottom, or used skeleton keys; but Ranuccio-Ernesto V told me -that would be teaching the court locksmith bad habits. - - - - -_A MORAL PRINCE_ - - -"Up to the present, it has been absolutely impossible for him to adhere -to any decision for three days running. If he had been born Marchese -so-and-so, with an ample fortune, this young Prince would have been one -of the most estimable men at court, a sort of Louis XVI; but how, with -his pious simplicity, is he to resist all the cunningly laid snares that -surround him? And so the drawing-room of your enemy the Marchesa Raversi -is more powerful than ever; they have discovered there that I, who gave -the order to fire on the people, and was determined to kill three -thousand men if necessary, rather than let them outrage the statue of -the Prince who had been my master, am a red-hot Liberal, that I wished -him to sign a Constitution, and a hundred such absurdities. With all -this talk of a Republic, the fools would prevent us from enjoying the -best of Monarchies. In short, Signora, you are the only member of the -present Liberal Party of which my enemies make me the head, at whose -expense the Prince has not expressed himself in offensive terms; the -Archbishop, always perfectly honest, for having spoken in reasonable -language of what I did on the _unhappy day_, is in deep disgrace. - -"On the morrow of the day which was not then called _unhappy_, when it -was still true that the revolt had existed, the Prince told the -Archbishop that, so that you should not have to take an inferior title -on marrying me, he would make me a Duca. To-day I fancy that it is -Rassi, ennobled by me when he sold me the late Prince's secrets, who is -going to be made Conte. In the face of such a promotion as that, I shall -cut a sorry figure." - -"And the poor Prince will bespatter himself with mud." - -"No doubt; but after all he is _master_, a position which, in less than a -fortnight, makes the _ridiculous_ element disappear. So, dear Duchessa, as -at the game of tric-trac, _let us get out_." - -"But we shall not be exactly rich." - -"After all, neither you nor I have any need of luxury. If you give me, -at Naples, a seat in a box at San Carlo and a horse, I am more than -satisfied; it will never be the amount of luxury with which we live that -will give you and me our position, it is the pleasure which the -intelligent people of the place may perhaps find in coming to take a -dish of tea with you." - -"But," the Duchessa went on, "what would have happened, on the _unhappy -day_, if you had held aloof, as I hope you will in future?" - -"The troops would have fraternised with the people, there would have -been three days of bloodshed and incendiarism (for it would take a -hundred years in this country for the Republic to be anything more than -an absurdity), then a fortnight of pillage, until two or three regiments -supplied from abroad came to put a stop to it. Ferrante Palla was in the -thick of the crowd, full of courage and raging as usual; he had probably -a dozen friends who were acting in collusion with him, which Rassi will -make into a superb conspiracy. One thing certain is that, wearing an -incredibly dilapidated coat, he was scattering gold with both hands." - -The Duchessa, bewildered by all this information, went in haste to thank -the Princess. - -As she entered the room the Lady of the Bedchamber handed her a little -gold key, which is worn in the belt, and is the badge of supreme -authority in the part of the Palace which belongs to the Princess. -Clara-Paolina hastened to dismiss all the company; and, once she was -alone with her friend, persisted for some moments in giving only -fragmentary explanations. The Duchessa found it hard to understand what -she meant, and answered only with considerable reserve. At length the -Princess burst into tears, and, flinging herself into the Duchessa's -arms, cried: "The days of my misery are going to begin again; my son -will treat me worse than his father did!" - - - - -_THE RISING_ - - -"That is what I shall prevent," the Duchessa replied with emphasis. "But -first of all," she went on, "I must ask Your Serene Highness to deign to -accept this offering of all my gratitude and my profound respect." - -"What do you mean?" cried the Princess, full of uneasiness, and fearing -a resignation. - -"I ask that whenever Your Serene Highness shall permit me to turn to the -right the head of that nodding mandarin on her chimneypiece, she will -permit me also to call things by their true names." - -"Is that all, my dear Duchessa?" cried Clara-Paolina, rising from her -seat and hastening herself to put the mandarin's head in the right -position: "speak then, with the utmost freedom, Signora Maggiordoma," -she said in a charming tone. - -"Ma'am," the Duchessa went on, "Your Highness has grasped the situation -perfectly; you and I are both running the greatest risk; the sentence -passed on Fabrizio has not been quashed; consequently, on the day when -they wish to rid themselves of me and to insult you, they will put him -back in prison. Our position is as bad as ever. As for me personally, I -am marrying the Conte, and we are going to set up house in Naples or -Paris. The final stroke of ingratitude of which the Conte is at this -moment the victim has entirely disgusted him with public life, and but -for the interest Your Serene Highness takes in him, I should advise him -to remain in this mess only on condition of the Prince's giving him an -enormous sum. I shall ask leave of Your Highness, to explain that the -Conte, who had 180,000 francs when he came into office, has to-day an -income of barely 20,000 lire. In vain did I long urge him to think of -his pocket. In my absence, he has picked a quarrel with the Prince's -Farmers-General, who were rascals; he has replaced them with other -rascals, who have given him 800,000 francs." - -"What!" cried the Princess in astonishment; "Heavens, I am extremely -annoyed to hear that!" - -"Ma'am," replied the Duchessa with the greatest coolness, "must I turn -the mandarin's head back to the left?" - -"Good heavens, no," exclaimed the Princess; "but I am annoyed that a man -of the Conte's character should have thought of enriching himself in -such a way." - -"But for this peculation he would be despised by all the honest folk." - -"Great heavens! Is it possible?" - -"Ma'am," went on the Duchessa, "except for my friend, the Marchese -Crescenzi, who has an income of three or four hundred thousand lire, -everyone here steals; and how should they not steal in a country where -the recognition of the greatest services lasts for not quite a month? It -means that there is nothing real, nothing that survives disgrace, save -money. I am going to take the liberty, Ma'am, of saying some terrible -truths." - -"You have my permission," said the Princess with a deep sigh, "and yet -they are painfully unpleasant to me." - -"Very well, Ma'am, the Prince your son, a perfectly honest man, is -capable of making you far more unhappy than his father ever did; the -late Prince was a man of character more or less like everyone else. Our -present Sovereign is not sure of wishing the same thing for three days -on end, and so, in order that one may make sure of him, one must live -continually with him and not allow him to speak to anyone. As this truth -is not very difficult to guess, the new Ultra Party, ruled by those two -excellent heads, Rassi and the Marchesa Raversi, are going to try to -provide the Prince with a mistress. This mistress will have permission -to make her own fortune and to distribute various minor posts; but she -will have to answer to the Party for the constancy of the master's will. - - - - -_NECESSARY PECULATION_ - - -"I, to be properly established at Your Highness's court, require that -Rassi be exiled and degraded; I desire, in addition, that Fabrizio be -tried by the most honest judges that can be found: if these gentlemen -admit, as I hope, that he is innocent, it will be natural to grant the -petition of His Grace the Archbishop that Fabrizio shall be his -Coadjutor with eventual succession. If I fail, the Conte and I retire; -in that case, I leave this parting advice with Your Serene Highness: she -must never pardon Rassi, nor must she ever leave her son's States. While -she is with him, that worthy son will never do her any serious harm." - -"I have followed your arguments with the close attention they require," -the Princess replied, smiling; "ought I, then, to take upon myself the -responsibility of providing my son with a mistress?" - -"Not at all, Ma'am, but see first of all that your drawing-room is the -only one which he finds amusing." - -The conversation on this topic was endless, the scales fell from the -eyes of the innocent and intelligent Princess. - -One of the Duchessa's couriers went to tell Fabrizio that he might enter -the town, but must hide himself. He was barely noticed: he spent his -time disguised as a contadino in the wooden booth of a chestnut-seller, -erected opposite the gate of the citadel, beneath the trees of the -avenue. - - - - -CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR - - -The Duchessa arranged a series of charming evenings at the Palace, which -had never seen such gaiety: never had she been more delightful than -during this winter, and yet she was living in the midst of the greatest -dangers; but at the same time, during this critical period, it so -happened that she did not think twice with any appreciable regret of the -strange alteration in Fabrizio. The young Prince used to appear very -early at his mother's parties, where she always said to him: - -"Away with you and govern; I wager there are at least a score of reports -on your desk awaiting a definite answer, and I do not wish to have the -rest of Europe accuse me of making you a mere figurehead in order to -reign in your place." - -These counsels had the disadvantage of being offered always at the most -inopportune moments, that is to say when His Highness, having overcome -his timidity, was taking part in some acted charade which amused him -greatly. Twice a week there were parties in the country to which on the -pretext of winning for the new Sovereign the affection of his people, -the Princess admitted the prettiest women of the middle classes. The -Duchessa, who was the life and soul of this joyous court, hoped that -these handsome women, all of whom looked with a mortal envy on the great -prosperity of the burgess Rassi, would inform the Prince of some of the -countless rascalities of that Minister. For, among other childish ideas, -the Prince claimed to have a moral Ministry. - - - - -_THE COURT_ - - -Rassi had too much sense not to feel how dangerous these brilliant -evenings at the Princess's court, with his enemy in command of them, -were to himself. He had not chosen to return to Conte Mosca the -perfectly legal sentence passed on Fabrizio; it was inevitable therefore -that either the Duchessa or he must vanish from the court. - -On the day of that popular movement, the existence of which it was now -in good taste to deny, someone had distributed money among the populace. -Rassi started from that point: worse dressed even than was his habit, he -climbed to the most wretched attics in the town, and spent whole hours -in serious conversation with their needy inhabitants. He was well -rewarded for all his trouble: after a fortnight of this kind of life he -had acquired the certainty that Ferrante Palla had been the secret head -of the insurrection, and furthermore, that this creature, a pauper all -his life as a great poet would be, had sent nine or ten diamonds to be -sold at Genoa. - -Among others were mentioned five valuable stones which were really worth -more than 40,000 francs, and which, _ten days before the death of the -Prince_, had been sacrificed for 35,000 francs, because, the vendor -said, _he was in need of money_. - -What words can describe the rapture of the Minister of Justice on making -this discovery? He had learned that every day he was being made a -laughing stock at the court of the Princess Dowager, and on several -occasions the Prince, when discussing business with him, laughed in his -face with all the frankness of his youth. It must be admitted that Rassi -had some singularly plebeian habits: for instance, as soon as a -discussion began to interest him, he would cross his legs and take his -foot in his hand; if the interest increased, he would spread his red -cotton handkerchief over his knee, and so forth. The Prince had laughed -heartily at the wit of one of the prettiest women of the middle class, -who, being aware incidentally that she had a very shapely leg, had begun -to imitate this elegant gesture of the Minister of Justice. - -Rassi requested an extraordinary audience and said to the Prince: - -"Would Your Highness be willing to give a hundred thousand francs to -know definitely in what manner his august father met his death? With -that sum, the authorities would be in a position to arrest the guilty -parties, if such exist." - -The Prince's reply left no room for doubt. - -A little while later, Cecchina informed the Duchessa that she had been -offered a large sum to allow her mistress's diamonds to be examined by a -jeweller; she had indignantly refused. The Duchessa scolded her for -having refused; and, a week later, Cecchina had the diamonds to shew. On -the day appointed for this exhibition of the diamonds, the Conte posted -a couple of trustworthy men at every jeweller's in Parma, and towards -midnight he came to tell the Duchessa that the inquisitive jeweller was -none other than Rassi's brother. The Duchessa, who was very gay that -evening (they were playing at the Palace _a commedia dell'arte_, that is -to say one in which each character invents the dialogue as he goes on, -only the plot of the play being posted up in the green-room), the -Duchessa, who was playing a part, had as her lover in the piece Conte -Baldi, the former friend of the Marchesa Raversi, who was present. The -Prince, the shyest man in his States, but an extremely good looking -youth and one endowed with the tenderest of hearts, was studying Conte -Baldi's part, which he intended to take at the second performance. - -"I have very little time," the Duchessa told the Conte; "I am appearing -in the first scene of the second act: let us go into the guard-room." - -There, surrounded by a score of the body-guard, all wide awake and -closely attentive to the conversation between the Prime Minister and the -Grand Mistress, the Duchessa said with a laugh to her friend: - -"You always scold me when I tell you unnecessary secrets. It was I who -summoned Ernesto V to the throne; it was a question of avenging -Fabrizio, whom I loved then far more than I do to-day, although always -quite innocently. I know very well that you have little belief in my -innocence, but that does not matter, since you love me in spite of my -crimes. Very well, here is a real crime: I gave all my diamonds to a -sort of lunatic, a most interesting man, named Ferrante Palla, I even -kissed him so that he should destroy the man who wished to have Fabrizio -poisoned. Where is the harm in that?" - -"Ah! So that is where Ferrante had found money for his rising!" said the -Conte, slightly taken aback; "and you tell me all this in the -guard-room!" - -"It is because I am in a hurry, and now Rassi is on the track of the -crime. It is quite true that I never mentioned an insurrection, for I -abhor Jacobins. Think it over, and let me have your advice after the -play." - -"I will tell you at once that you must make the Prince fall in love with -you. But perfectly honourably, please." - -The Duchessa was called to return to the stage. She fled. - -Some days later the Duchessa received by post a long and ridiculous -letter, signed with the name of a former maid of her own; the woman -asked to be employed at the court, but the Duchessa had seen from the -first glance that the letter was neither in her handwriting nor in her -style. On opening the sheet to read the second page, she saw fall at her -feet a little miraculous image of the Madonna, folded in a printed leaf -from an old book. After glancing at the image, the Duchessa read a few -lines of the printed page. Her eyes shone, she found on it these words: - - -"The Tribune has taken one hundred francs monthly, not more; with the -rest it was decided to rekindle the sacred fire in souls which had -become frozen by selfishness. The fox is upon my track, that is why I -have not sought to see for the last time the adored being. I said to -myself, she does not love the Republic, she who is superior to me in -mind as well as by her graces and her beauty. Besides, how is one to -create a Republic without Republicans? Can I be mistaken? In six months -I shall visit, microscope in hand, and on foot, the small towns of -America, I shall see whether I ought still to love the sole rival that -you have in my heart. If you receive this letter, Signora Baronessa, and -no profane eye has read it before yours, tell them to break one of the -young ash trees planted twenty paces from the spot where I dared to -speak to you for the first time. I shall then have buried, under the -great box tree in the garden to which you called attention once in my -happy days, a box in which will be found some of those things which lead -to the slandering of people of my way of thinking. You may be sure that -I should have taken care not to write if the fox were not on my track, -and there were not a risk of his reaching that heavenly being; examine -the box tree in a fortnight's time." - - -"Since he has a printing press at his command," the Duchessa said to -herself, "we shall soon have a volume of sonnets; heaven knows what name -he will give me!" - -The Duchessa's coquetry led her to make a venture; for a week she was -indisposed, and the court had no more pleasant evenings. The Princess, -greatly shocked by all that her fear of her son was obliging her to do -in the first moments of her widowhood, went to spend this week in a -convent attached to the church in which the late Prince was buried. This -interruption of the evening parties threw upon the Prince an enormous -burden of leisure and brought a noteworthy check to the credit of the -Minister of Justice. Ernesto V. realised all the boredom that threatened -him if the Duchessa left his court, or merely ceased to diffuse joy in -it. The evenings began again, and the Prince shewed himself more and -more interested in the _commedia dell'arte_. He had the intention of -taking a part, but dared not confess this ambition. One day, blushing -deeply, he said to the Duchessa: "Why should not I act, also?" - -"We are all at Your Highness's orders here; if he deigns to give me the -order, I will arrange the plot of a comedy, all the chief scenes in Your -Highness's part will be with me, and as, on the first evenings, everyone -falters a little, if Your Highness will please to watch me closely, I -will tell him the answers that he ought to make." Everything was -arranged, and with infinite skill. The very shy Prince was ashamed of -being shy, the pains that the Duchessa took not to let this innate -shyness suffer made a deep impression on the young Sovereign. - -On the day of his first appearance, the performance began half an hour -earlier than usual, and there were in the drawing-room, when the party -moved into the theatre, only nine or ten elderly women. This audience -had but little effect on the Prince, and besides, having been brought up -at Munich on sound monarchical principles, they always applauded. Using -her authority as Grand Mistress, the Duchessa turned the key in the door -by which the common herd of courtiers were admitted to the performance. -The Prince, who had a _literary_ mind and a fine figure, came very well -out of his opening scenes; he repeated with intelligence the lines which -he read in the Duchessa's eyes, or with which she prompted him in an -undertone. At a moment when the few spectators were applauding with all -their might, the Duchessa gave a signal, the door of honour was thrown -open, and the theatre filled in a moment with all the pretty women of -the court, who, finding that the Prince cut a charming figure and seemed -thoroughly happy, began to applaud; the Prince flushed with joy. He was -playing the part of a lover to the Duchessa. So far from having to -suggest his speeches to him, she was soon obliged to request him to -curtail those speeches; he spoke of love with an enthusiasm which often -embarrassed the actress; his replies lasted five minutes. The Duchessa -was no longer the dazzling beauty of the year before: Fabrizio's -imprisonment, and, far more than that, her stay by Lake Maggiore with a -Fabrizio grown morose and silent, had added ten years to the fair Gina's -age. Her features had become marked, they shewed more intelligence and -less youth. - -They had now only very rarely the playfulness of early youth; but on the -stage, with the aid of rouge and all the expedients which art supplies -to actresses, she was still the prettiest woman at court. The passionate -addresses uttered by the Prince put the courtiers on the alert; they -were all saying to themselves this evening: "There is the Balbi of this -new reign." The Conte felt himself inwardly revolted. The play ended, -the Duchessa said to the Prince before all the court: - -"Your Highness acts too well; people will say that you are in love with -a woman of eight-and-thirty, which will put a stop to my arrangement -with the Conte. And so I will not act any more with Your Highness, -unless the Prince swears to me to address me as he would a woman of a -certain age, the Signora Marchesa Raversi, for example." - -The same play was three times repeated; the Prince was madly happy; but -one evening he appeared very thoughtful. - -"Either I am greatly mistaken," said the Grand Mistress to the Princess, -"or Rassi is seeking to play some trick upon us; I should advise Your -Highness to choose a play for to-morrow; the Prince will act badly, and -in his despair will tell you something." - -The Prince did indeed act very badly; one could barely hear him, and he -no longer knew how to end his sentences. At the end of the first act he -almost had tears in his eyes; the Duchessa stayed beside him, but was -cold and unmoved. The Prince, finding himself alone with her for a -moment, in the actors' green-room, went to shut the door. - -"I shall never," he said to her, "be able to play in the second and -third acts; I absolutely decline to be applauded out of kindness; the -applause they gave me this evening cut me to the heart. Give me your -advice, what ought I to do?" - -"I shall appear on the stage, make a profound reverence to Her Highness, -another to the audience, like a real stage manager, and say that, the -actor who was playing the part of Lelio having suddenly been taken ill, -the performance will conclude with some pieces of music. Conte Rusca and -little Ghisolfi will be delighted to be able to shew off their harsh -voices to so brilliant an assembly." - -The Prince took the Duchessa's hand, which he kissed with rapture. - -"Why are you not a man?" he said to her; "you would give me good advice. -Rassi has just laid on my desk one hundred and eighty-two depositions -against the alleged assassins of my father. Apart from the depositions, -there is a formal accusation of more than two hundred pages; I shall -have to read all that, and, besides, I have given my word not to say -anything to the Conte. All this is leading straight to executions, -already he wants me to fetch back from France, from near Antibes, -Ferrante Palla, that great poet whom I admire so much. He is there under -the name of Poncet." - -"The day on which you have a Liberal hanged, Rassi will be bound to the -Ministry by chains of iron, and that is what he wishes more than -anything: but Your Highness will no longer be able to speak of leaving -the Palace two hours in advance. I shall say nothing either to the -Princess or to the Conte of the cry of grief which has just escaped you; -but, since I am bound on oath to keep nothing secret from the Princess, -I should be glad if Your Highness would say to his mother the same -things that he has let fall with me." - -This idea provided a diversion to the misery of the hissed actor which -was crushing the Sovereign. - -"Very well, go and tell my mother; I shall be in her big cabinet." - -The Prince left the stage, found his way to the drawing-room from which -one entered the theatre, harshly dismissed the Great Chamberlain and -the Aide-de-Camp on duty who were following him; the Princess, -meanwhile, hurriedly left the play; entering the big cabinet, the Grand -Mistress made a profound reverence to mother and son, and left them -alone. One may imagine the agitation of the court, these are the things -that make it so amusing. At the end of an hour the Prince himself -appeared at the door of the Cabinet and summoned the Duchessa; the -Princess was in tears; her son's expression had entirely altered. - -"These are weak creatures who are out of temper," the Grand Mistress -said to herself, "and are seeking some good excuse to be angry with -somebody." At first the mother and son began both to speak at once to -tell the details to the Duchessa, who in her answers took great care not -to put forward any idea. For two mortal hours, the three actors in this -tedious scene did not step out of the parts which we have indicated. The -Prince went in person to fetch the two enormous portfolios which Rassi -had deposited on his desk; on leaving his mother's cabinet, he found the -whole court awaiting him. "Go away, leave me alone!" he cried in a most -impolite tone which was quite without precedent in him. The Prince did -not wish to be seen carrying the two portfolios himself, a Prince ought -not to carry anything. The courtiers vanished in the twinkling of an -eye. On his return the Prince encountered no one but the footmen who -were blowing out the candles; he dismissed them with fury, also poor -Fontana, the Aide-de-Camp on duty, who had been so tactless as to -remain, in his zeal. - -"Everyone is doing his utmost to try my patience this evening," he said -crossly to the Duchessa, as he entered the cabinet; he credited her with -great intelligence, and was furious at her evident refusal to offer him -any advice. She, for her part, was determined to say nothing so long as -she was not asked for her advice _quite expressly_. Another long half hour -elapsed before the Prince, who had a sense of his own dignity, could -make up his mind to say to her: "But, Signora, you say nothing." - -"I am here to serve the Princess, and to forget very quickly what is -said before me." - -"Very well, Signora," said the Prince, blushing deeply, "I order you to -give me your opinion." - -"One punishes crimes to prevent their recurrence. Was the late Prince -poisoned? That is a very doubtful question. Was he poisoned by the -Jacobins? That is what Rassi would dearly like to prove, for then he -becomes for Your Highness a permanently necessary instrument. In that -case Your Highness, whose reign is just beginning, can promise himself -many evenings like this. Your subjects say on the whole, what is quite -true, that Your Highness has a strain of goodness in his nature; so long -as he has not had any Liberal hanged, he will enjoy that reputation, and -most certainly no one will ever dream of planning to poison him." - -"Your conclusion is evident," cried the Princess angrily; "you do not -wish us to punish my husband's assassins!" - -"Apparently, Ma'am, because I am bound to them by ties of tender -affection." - -The Duchessa could see in the Prince's eyes that he believed her to be -perfectly in accord with his mother as to dictating a plan of action to -him. There followed between the two women a fairly rapid succession of -bitter repartees, at the end of which the Duchessa protested that she -would not utter a single word more, and adhered to her resolution; but -the Prince, after a long discussion with his mother, ordered her once -more to express her opinion. - -"That is what I swear to Your Highnesses that I will not do!" - -"But this is really childish!" exclaimed the Prince. - -"I beg you to speak, Signora Duchessa," said the Princess with an air of -dignity. - -"That is what I implore you to excuse me from doing, Ma'am; but Your -Highness," the Duchessa went on, addressing the Prince, "reads French -perfectly: to calm our agitated minds, would he read _us_ a fable by La -Fontaine?" - -The Princess thought this "_us_" extremely insolent, but assumed an air -at once of surprise and of amusement when the Grand Mistress, who had -gone with the utmost coolness to open the bookcase, returned with a -volume of La Fontaine's _Fables_; she turned the pages for some moments, -then said to the Prince, handing him the book: - -"I beg your Highness to read the _whole_ of the fable." - - -_THE GARDENER AND THE LORD OF THE -MANOR[1]_ - -A devotee of gardening there was, -Between the peasant and the yeoman class, -Who on the outskirts of a certain village -Owned a neat garden with a bit of tillage. -He made a quickset hedge to fence it in, -And there grew lettuce, pink and jessamine, -Such as win prizes at the local show, -Or make a birthday bouquet for Margot. - One day he called upon the neighbouring Squire -To ask his help with a marauding hare. -"The brute," says he, "comes guzzling everywhere, -And simply laughs at all my traps and wire. -No stick or stone will hit him--I declare -He's a magician." "Rubbish! I don't care -If he's the Deuce himself," replied the other, -"I warrant he shan't give you much more bother. -Miraut, in spite of all his cunning, -Won't take much time to get him running." -"But when?" "To-morrow, sure as here I stand." - Next morning he rides up with all his band. -"Now then, we'll lunch! Those chickens don't look bad. - - * * * * * * * - - The luncheon over, all was preparation, -Bustle and buzz and animation, -Horns blowing, hounds barking, such a hullabaloo, -The good man feared the worst. His fear came true! -The kitchen-garden was a total wreck -Under the trampling, not a speck -Of pot or frame survived. Good-bye -To onion, leek, and chicory, -Good-bye to marrows and their bravery, -Good-bye to all that makes soup savoury! - - * * * * * * * - - The wretched owner saw no sense -In this grand style of doing things; -But no one marked his mutterings. -The hounds and riders in a single trice -Had wrought more havoc in his paradise -Than all the hares in the vicinity -Could have achieved throughout infinity. - -So far the story--now the moral: -Each petty Prince should settle his own quarrel. -If once he gets a King for an ally, -He's certain to regret it by and by. - - -This reading was followed by a long silence. The Prince paced up and -down the cabinet, after going himself to put the volume back in its -place. - -"Well, Signora," said the Princess, "will you deign to speak?" - -"No, indeed, Ma'am, until such time as His Highness shall appoint me his -Minister; by speaking here, I should run the risk of losing my place as -Grand Mistress." - -A fresh silence, lasting a full quarter of an hour; finally the Princess -remembered the part that had been played in the past by Marie de' -Medici, the mother of Louis XIII: for the last few days the Grand -Mistress had made the _lettrice_ read aloud the excellent _History of -Louis XIII_, by M. Bazin. The Princess, although greatly annoyed, -thought that the Duchessa might easily leave the country, and then -Rassi, who filled her with mortal terror, might quite well imitate -Richelieu and have her banished by her son. At this moment the Princess -would have given everything in the world to humiliate her Grand -Mistress; but she could not. She rose, and came, with a smile that was -slightly exaggerated, to take the Duchessa's hand and say to her: - -"Come, Signora, give me a proof of your friendship by speaking." - -"Very well! Two words, and no more: burn, in the grate there, all the -papers collected by that viper Rassi, and never reveal to him that they -have been burned." - -She added in a whisper, and in a familiar tone, in the Princess's ear: - -"Rassi may become Richelieu!" - -"But, damn it, those papers are costing me more than 80,000 francs!" the -Prince exclaimed angrily. - -"Prince," replied the Duchessa with emphasis, "that is what it costs to -employ scoundrels of low birth. Would to God you could lose a million -and never put your trust in the base rascals who kept your father from -sleeping during the last six years of his reign." - -The words _low birth_ had greatly delighted the Princess, who felt that -the Conte and his friend had too exclusive a regard for brains, always -slightly akin to Jacobinism. - -During the short interval of profound silence, filled by the Princess's -reflexions, the castle clock struck three. The Princess rose, made a -profound reverence to her son, and said to him: "My health does not -allow me to prolong the discussion further. Never have a Minister of -_low birth_; you will not disabuse me of the idea that your Rassi has -stolen half the money he has made you spend on spies." The Princess took -two candles from the brackets and put them in the fireplace in such a -way that they should not blow out; then, going up to her son, she added: -"La Fontaine's fable prevails, in my mind, over the lawful desire to -avenge a husband. Will Your Highness permit me to burn _these -writings_?" The Prince remained motionless. - -"His face is really stupid," the Duchessa said to herself; "the Conte is -right: the late Prince would not have kept us out of our beds until -three o'clock in the morning, before making up his mind." - -The Princess, still standing, went on: - -"That little attorney would be very proud, if he knew that his papers -stuffed with lies, and arranged so as to secure his own advancement, had -occupied the two greatest personages in the State for a whole night." - -The Prince dashed at one of the portfolios like a madman, and emptied -its contents into the fireplace. The mass of papers nearly extinguished -the two candles; the room filled with smoke. The Princess saw in her -son's eyes that he was tempted to seize a jug of water and save these -papers, which were costing him eighty thousand francs. - -"Open the window!" she cried angrily to the Duchessa. The Duchessa made -haste to obey; at once all the papers took light together; there was a -great roar in the chimney, and it soon became evident that it was on -fire. - -The Prince had a petty nature in all matters of money; he thought he saw -his Palace in flames, and all the treasures that it contained destroyed; -he ran to the window and called the guard in a voice completely altered. -The soldiers in a tumult rushed into the courtyard at the sound of the -Prince's voice, he returned to the fireplace which was sucking in the -air from the open window with a really alarming sound; he grew -impatient, swore, took two or three turns up and down the room like a -man out of his mind, and finally ran out. - -The Princess and the Grand Mistress remained standing, face to face, and -preserving a profound silence. - -"Is the storm going to begin again?" the Duchessa asked herself; "upon -my word, my cause is won." And she was preparing to be highly -impertinent in her replies, when a sudden thought came to her; she saw -the second portfolio intact. "No, my cause is only half won!" She said -to the Princess, in a distinctly cold tone: - -"Does Ma'am order me to burn the rest of these papers?" - -"And where will you burn them?" asked the Princess angrily. - -"In the drawing-room fire; if I throw them in one after another, there -is no danger." - -The Duchessa put under her arm the portfolio bursting with papers, took -a candle and went into the next room. She looked first to see that the -portfolio was that which contained the depositions, put in her shawl -five or six bundles of papers, burned the rest with great care, then -disappeared without taking leave of the Princess. - -"There is a fine piece of impertinence," she said to herself, with a -laugh, "but her affectations of inconsolable widowhood came very near to -making me lose my head on a scaffold." - -On hearing the sound of the Duchessa's carriage, the Princess was beside -herself with rage at her Grand Mistress. - -In spite of the lateness of the hour, the Duchessa sent for the Conte; -he was at the fire at the Castle, but soon appeared with the news that -it was all over. "That little Prince has really shewn great courage, and -I have complimented him on it effusively." - -"Examine these depositions quickly, and let us burn them as soon as -possible." - -The Conte read them, and turned pale. - -"Upon my soul, they have come very near the truth; their procedure has -been very cleverly managed, they are positively on the track of Ferrante -Palla; and, if he speaks, we have a difficult part to play." - -"But he will not speak," cried the Duchessa; "he is a man of honour: -burn them, burn them." - -"Not yet. Allow me to take down the names of a dozen or fifteen -dangerous witnesses, whom I shall take the liberty of removing, if Rassi -ever thinks of beginning again." - -"I may remind Your Excellency that the Prince has given his word to say -nothing to his Minister of Justice of our midnight escapade." - -"From cowardice and fear of a scene he will keep it." - -"Now, my friend, this is a night that has greatly hastened our marriage; -I should not have wished to bring you as my portion a criminal trial, -still less for a sin which I was led to commit by my interest in another -man." - -The Conte was in love; he took her hand with an exclamation; tears stood -in his eyes. - -"Before you go, give me some advice as to the way I ought to behave with -the Princess; I am utterly worn out, I have been play-acting for an hour -on the stage and for five in her cabinet." - -"You have avenged yourself quite sufficiently for the Princess's sour -speeches, which were due only to weakness, by the impertinence with -which you left her. Address her to-morrow in the tone you used this -morning; Rassi is not yet in prison or in exile, and we have not yet -torn up Fabrizio's sentence. - -"You were asking the Princess to come to a decision, which is a thing -that always annoys Princes and even Prime Ministers; also you are her -Grand Mistress, that is to say her little servant. By a reversion which -is inevitable in weak people, in three days Rassi will be more in favour -than ever; he will try to have someone hanged: so long as he has not -compromised the Prince, he is sure of nothing. - -"There has been a man injured in to-night's fire; he is a tailor, who, -upon my word, shewed an extraordinary intrepidity. To-morrow I am going -to ask the Prince to take my arm and come with me to pay the tailor a -visit; I shall be armed to the teeth and shall keep a sharp look-out; -but anyhow, this young Prince is not hated at all as yet. I wish to make -him accustomed to walking in the streets, it is a trick I am playing on -Rassi, who is certainly going to succeed me, and will not be able to -allow such imprudences. On our way back from the tailor's, I shall take -the Prince past his father's statue; he will notice the marks of the -stones which have broken the Roman toga in which the idiot of a sculptor -dressed it up; and, in short, he will have to be a great fool if he does -not on his own initiative make the comment: 'This is what one gains by -having Jacobins hanged.' To which I shall reply: 'You must hang either -ten thousand or none at all: the Saint-Bartholomew destroyed the -Protestants in France.' - -"To-morrow, dear friend, before this excursion, send your name in to the -Prince, and say to him: 'Yesterday evening, I performed the duties of a -Minister to you, and, by your orders, have incurred the Princess's -displeasure. You will have to pay me.' He will expect a demand for -money, and will knit his brows; you will leave him plunged in this -unhappy thought for as long as you can; then you will say: 'I beg Your -Highness to order that Fabrizio be tried in _contradittorio_' (which -means, in his presence) 'by the twelve most respected judges in your -States.' _And_, without losing any time, you will present for his -signature a little order written out by your own fair hand, which I am -going to dictate to you; I shall of course include the clause that the -former sentence is quashed. To this there is only one objection; but, if -you press the matter warmly, it will not occur to the Prince's mind. He -may say to you: 'Fabrizio must first make himself a prisoner in the -citadel.' To which you will reply: 'He will make himself a prisoner in -the town prison' (you know that I am the master there; every evening -your nephew will come to see us). If the Prince answers: 'No, his escape -has tarnished the honour of my citadel, and I desire, for form's sake, -that he return to the cell in which he was'; you in turn will reply: -'No, for there he would be at the disposal of my enemy Rassi;' and, in -one of those feminine sentences which you utter so effectively, you will -give him to understand that, to make Rassi yield, you have only to tell -him of to-night's _auto-da-fè_; if he insists, you will announce that -you are going to spend a fortnight at your place at Sacca. - -"You will send for Fabrizio, and consult him as to this step which may -land him in prison. If, to anticipate everything while he is under lock -and key, Rassi should grow too impatient and have me poisoned, Fabrizio -may run a certain risk. But that is hardly probable; you know that I -have imported a French cook, who is the merriest of men, and makes puns; -well, punning is incompatible with poison. I have already told our -friend Fabrizio that I have managed to find all the witnesses of his -fine and courageous action; it was evidently that fellow Giletti who -tried to murder him. I have not spoken to you of these witnesses, -because I wished to give you a surprise, but the plan has failed; the -Prince refused to sign. I have told our friend Fabrizio that certainly I -should procure him a high ecclesiastical dignity; but I shall have great -difficulty if his enemies can raise the objection in the Roman Curia of -a charge of murder. - -"Do you realise, Signora, that, if he is not tried and judged in the -most solemn fashion, all his life long the name of Giletti will be a -reproach to him? It would be a great act of cowardice not to have -oneself tried, when one is sure of one's innocence. Besides, even if he -were guilty, I should make them acquit him. When I spoke to him, the -fiery youngster would not allow me to finish, he picked up the official -almanac, and we went through it together choosing the twelve most -upright and learned judges; when we had made the list, we cancelled six -names for which we substituted those of six counsel, my personal -enemies, and, as we could find only two enemies, we filled up the gaps -with four rascals who are devoted to Rassi." - -This proposal filled the Duchessa with a mortal anxiety, and not without -cause; at length she yielded to reason, and, at the Minister's -dictation, wrote out the order appointing the judges. - -The Conte did not leave her until six o'clock in the morning; she -endeavoured to sleep, but in vain. At nine o'clock, she took breakfast -with Fabrizio, whom she found burning with a desire to be tried; at ten, -she waited on the Princess, who was not visible; at eleven, she saw the -Prince, who was holding his levee, and signed the order without the -slightest objection. The Duchessa sent the order to the Conte, and -retired to bed. - -It would be pleasant perhaps to relate Rassi's fury when the Conte -obliged him to countersign, in the Prince's presence, the order signed -that morning by the Prince himself; but we must go on with our story. - -The Conte discussed the merits of each judge, and offered to change the -names. But the reader is perhaps a little tired of all these details of -procedure, no less than of all these court intrigues. From the whole -business one can derive this moral, that the man who mingles with a -court compromises his happiness, if he is happy, and, in any event, -makes his future depend on the intrigues of a chambermaid. - -On the other hand in America, in the Republic, one has to spend the -whole weary day paying serious court to the shopkeepers in the street, -and must become as stupid as they are; and there, one has no Opera. - -The Duchessa, when she rose in the evening, had a moment of keen -anxiety: Fabrizio was not to be found; finally, towards midnight, during -the performance at court, she received a letter from him. Instead of -making himself a prisoner _in the town prison_, where the Conte was in -control, he had gone back to occupy his old cell in the citadel, only -too happy to be living within a few feet of Clelia. - -This was an event of vast consequence: in this place he was exposed to -the risk of poison more than ever. This act of folly filled the Duchessa -with despair; she forgave the cause of it, a mad love for Clelia, -because unquestionably in a few days' time that young lady was going to -marry the rich Marchese Crescenzi. This folly restored to Fabrizio all -the influence he had originally enjoyed over the Duchessa's heart. - -"It is that cursed paper which I went and made the Prince sign that will -be his death! What fools men are with their ideas of honour! As if one -needed to think of honour under absolute governments, in countries where -a Rassi is Minister of Justice! He ought to have accepted the pardon -outright, which the Prince would have signed just as readily as the -order convening this extraordinary tribunal. What does it matter, after -all, that a man of Fabrizio's birth should be more or less accused of -having himself, sword in hand, killed an actor like Giletti?" - -No sooner had she received Fabrizio's note than the Duchessa ran to the -Conte, whom she found deadly pale. - -"Great God! Dear friend, I am most unlucky in handling that boy, and you -will be vexed with me again. I can prove to you that I made the gaoler -of the town prison come here yesterday evening; every day your nephew -would have come to take tea with you. What is so terrible is that it is -impossible for you and me to say to the Prince that there is fear of -poison, and of poison administered by Rassi; the suspicion would seem to -him the height of immorality. However, if you insist, I am ready to go -up to the Palace; but I am certain of the answer. I am going to say -more; I offer you a stratagem which I would not employ for myself. Since -I have been in power in this country, I have not caused the death of a -single man, and you know that I am so sensitive in that respect that -sometimes, at the close of day, I still think of those two spies whom I -had shot, rather too light-heartedly, in Spain. Very well, do you wish -me to get rid of Rassi? The danger in which he is placing Fabrizio is -unbounded; he has there a sure way of sending me packing." - -This proposal pleased the Duchessa extremely, but she did not adopt it. - -"I do not wish," she said to the Conte, "that in our retirement, beneath -the beautiful sky of Naples, you should have dark thoughts in the -evenings." - -"But, dear friend, it seems to me that we have only the choice between -one dark thought and another. What will you do, what will I do myself, -if Fabrizio is carried off by an illness?" - -The discussion returned to dwell upon this idea, and the Duchessa ended -it with this speech: - -"Rassi owes his life to the fact that I love you more than Fabrizio; no, -I do not wish to poison all the evenings of the old age which we are -going to spend together." - -The Duchessa hastened to the fortress; General Fabio Conti was delighted -at having to stop her with the strict letter of the military -regulations: no one might enter a state prison without an order signed -by the Prince. - -"But the Marchese Crescenzi and his musicians come every day to the -citadel?" - -"Because I obtained an order for them from the Prince." - -The poor Duchessa did not know the full tale of her troubles. General -Fabio Conti had regarded himself as personally dishonoured by Fabrizio's -escape: when he saw him arrive at the citadel, he ought not to have -admitted him, for he had no order to that effect. "But," he said to -himself, "it is Heaven that is sending him to me to restore my honour, -and to save me from the ridicule which would assail my military career. -This opportunity must not be missed: doubtless they are going to acquit -him, and I have only a few days for my revenge." - - -[Footnote 1: For this translation of La Fontaine's fable I am indebted -to my friend Mr. Edward Marsh, who allows me to reprint the lines from -his _Forty-two Fables of La Fontaine_ (William Heinemann, Ltd., 1924). - -C. K. S. M.] - - - - -CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE - - -The arrival of our hero threw Clelia into despair: the poor girl, pious -and sincere with herself, could not avoid the reflexion that there would -never be any happiness for her apart from Fabrizio; but she had made a -vow to the Madonna, at the time when her father was nearly poisoned, -that she would offer him the sacrifice of marrying the Marchese -Crescenzi. She had made the vow that she would never see Fabrizio, and -already she was a prey to the most fearful remorse over the admission -she had been led to make in the letter she had written Fabrizio on the -eve of his escape. How is one to depict what occurred in that sorrowful -heart when, occupied in a melancholy way with watching her birds flit to -and fro, and raising her eyes from habit, and with affection, towards -the window from which formerly Fabrizio used to look at her, she saw him -there once again, greeting her with tender respect. - -She imagined it to be a vision which Heaven had allowed for her -punishment; then the atrocious reality became apparent to her reason. -"They have caught him again," she said to herself, "and he is lost!" She -remembered the things that had been said in the fortress after the -escape; the humblest of the gaolers regarded themselves as mortally -insulted. Clelia looked at Fabrizio, and in spite of herself that look -portrayed in full the passion that had thrown her into despair. - -"Do you suppose," she seemed to be saying to Fabrizio, "that I shall -find happiness in that sumptuous palace which they are making ready for -me? My father repeats to me till I am weary that you are as poor as -ourselves; but, great God, with what joy would I share that poverty! -But, alas, we must never see one another again!" - -Clelia had not the strength to make use of the alphabets: as she looked -at Fabrizio she felt faint and sank upon a chair that stood beside the -window. Her head rested upon the ledge of this window, and as she had -been anxious to see him until the last moment, her face was turned -towards Fabrizio, who had a perfect view of it. When, after a few -moments, she opened her eyes again, her first glance was at Fabrizio: -she saw tears in his eyes, but those tears were the effect of extreme -happiness; he saw that absence had by no means made him forgotten. The -two poor young things remained for some time as though spell-bound by -the sight of each other. Fabrizio ventured to sing, as if he were -accompanying himself on the guitar, a few improvised lines which said: -"_It is to see you again_ that I have returned to prison; _they are -going to try me_." - -These words seemed to awaken all Clelia's dormant virtue: she rose -swiftly, and hid her eyes; and, by the most vivid gestures, sought to -express to him that she must never see him again; she had promised this -to the Madonna, and had looked at him just now in a moment of -forgetfulness. Fabrizio venturing once more to express his love, Clelia -fled from the room indignant, and swearing to herself that never would -she see him again, for such were the precise words of her vow to the -Madonna: "_My eyes shall never see him again._" She had written them on -a little slip of paper which her uncle Don Cesare had allowed her to -burn upon the altar at the moment of the oblation, while he was saying -mass. - - - - -_HONOUR_ - - -But, oaths or no oaths, Fabrizio's presence in the Torre Farnese had -restored to Clelia all her old habits and activities. Normally she -passed all her days in solitude, in her room. No sooner had she -recovered from the unforeseen disturbance in which the sight of Fabrizio -had plunged her, than she began to wander through the _palazzo_, and, so -to speak, to renew her acquaintance with all her humble friends. A very -loquacious old woman, employed in the kitchen, said to her with an air -of mystery: "This time, Signor Fabrizio will not leave the citadel." - -"He will not make the mistake of going over the walls again," said -Clelia, "but he will leave by the door if he is acquitted." - -"I say, and I can assure Your Excellency that he will go out of the -citadel feet first." - -Clelia turned extremely pale, a change which was remarked by the old -woman and stopped the flow of her eloquence. She said to herself that -she had been guilty of an imprudence in speaking thus before the -governor's daughter, whose duty it would be to tell everybody that -Fabrizio had died a natural death. As she went up to her room, Clelia -met the prison doctor, an honest sort of man but timid, who told her -with a terrified air that Fabrizio was seriously ill. Clelia could -hardly keep on her feet; she sought everywhere for her uncle, the good -Don Cesare, and at length found him in the chapel, where he was praying -fervently: from his face he appeared upset. The dinner bell rang. At -table, not a word was exchanged between the brothers; only, towards the -end of the meal, the General addressed a few very harsh words to his -brother. The latter looked at the servants, who left the room. - -"General," said Don Cesare to the governor, "I have the honour to inform -you that I am leaving the citadel: I give you my resignation." - -"_Bravo! Bravissimo!_ So that I shall be suspect! . . . And your reason, -if you please?" - -"My conscience." - -"Go on, you're only a frock! You know nothing about honour." - -"Fabrizio is dead," thought Clelia; "they have poisoned him at dinner, -or it is arranged for to-morrow." She ran to the aviary, resolved to -sing, accompanying herself on the piano. "I shall go to confession," she -said to herself, "and I shall be forgiven for having broken my vow to -save a man's life." What was her consternation when, on reaching the -aviary, she saw that the screens had been replaced by planks fastened to -the iron bars. In desperation she tried to give the prisoner a warning -in a few words shouted rather than sung. There was no response of any -sort: a deathly silence already reigned in the Torre Farnese. "It is all -over," she said to herself. Beside herself, she went downstairs, then -returned to equip herself with the little money she had and some small -diamond earrings; she took also, on her way out, the bread that remained -from dinner, which had been placed in a sideboard. "If he still lives, -my duty is to save him." She advanced with a haughty air to the little -door of the tower; this door stood open, and eight soldiers had just -been posted in the pillared room on the ground floor. She faced these -soldiers boldly; Clelia counted on speaking to the serjeant who would be -in charge of them: this man was absent. Clelia rushed on to the little -iron staircase which wound in a spiral round one of the pillars; the -soldiers looked at her with great stupefaction but, evidently on account -of her lace shawl and her hat, dared not say anything to her. On the -first landing there was no one; but, when she reached the second, at the -entrance to the corridor which, as the reader may remember, was closed -by three barred gates and led to Fabrizio's cell, she found a turnkey -who was a stranger to her, and said to her with a terrified air: - - - - -_THE TORRE FARNESE_ - - -"He has not dined yet." - -"I know that," said Clelia haughtily. The man dared not stop her. Twenty -paces farther, Clelia found sitting upon the first of the six wooden -steps which led to Fabrizio's cell, another turnkey, elderly and very -cross, who said to her firmly: - -"Signorina, have you an order from the governor?" - -"Do you mean to say that you do not know me?" - -Clelia, at that moment, was animated by a supernatural force, she was -beside herself. "I am going to save my husband," she said to herself. - -While the old turnkey was exclaiming: "But my duty does not allow -me. . . ." Clelia hastened up the six steps; she hurled herself against -the door: an enormous key was in the lock; she required all her strength -to make it turn. At that moment, the old turnkey, who was half intoxicated, -seized the hem of her gown, she went quickly into the room, shut the -door behind her, tearing her gown, and, as the turnkey was pushing the -door to follow her, closed it with a bolt which lay to her hand. She -looked into the cell and saw Fabrizio seated at a small table upon which -his dinner was laid. She dashed at the table, overturned it, and, -seizing Fabrizio by the arm, said to him: - -"_Hai mangiato?_" - -This use of the singular form delighted Fabrizio. In her confusion, -Clelia forgot for the first time her feminine reserve, and let her love -appear. - -Fabrizio had been going to begin the fatal meal; he took her in his arms -and covered her with kisses. "This dinner was poisoned," was his -thought: "if I tell her that I have not touched it, religion regains its -hold, and Clelia flies. If, on the other hand, she regards me as a dying -man, I shall obtain from her a promise not to leave me. She wishes to -find some way of breaking off her abominable marriage and here chance -offers us one: the gaolers will collect, they will break down the door, -and then there will be such a scandal that perhaps the Marchese -Crescenzi will fight shy, and the marriage be broken off." - -During the moment of silence occupied by these reflexions Fabrizio felt -that already Clelia was seeking to free herself from his embrace. - -"I feel no pain as yet," he said to her, "but presently it will -prostrate me at your feet; help me to die." - -"O my only friend!" was her answer, "I will die with thee." She clasped -him in her arms with a convulsive movement. - -She was so beautiful, half unclad and in this state of intense passion, -that Fabrizio could not resist an almost unconscious impulse. No -resistance was offered him. - -In the enthusiasm of passion and generous instincts which follows an -extreme happiness, he said to her fatuously: - -"I must not allow an unworthy falsehood to soil the first moments of our -happiness: but for your courage, I should now be only a corpse, or -writhing in atrocious pain, but I was going to begin my dinner when you -came in, and I have not touched these dishes at all." - -Fabrizio dwelt upon these appalling images to conjure away the -indignation which he could already read in Clelia's eyes. She looked at -him for some moments, while two violent and conflicting sentiments -fought within her, then flung herself into his arms. They heard a great -noise in the corridor, the three iron doors were violently opened and -shut, voices shouted. - -"Ah! If I had arms!" cried Fabrizio; "they made me give them up before -they would let me in. No doubt they are coming to kill me. Farewell, my -Clelia, I bless my death since it has been the cause of my happiness." -Clelia embraced him and gave him a little dagger with an ivory handle, -the blade of which was scarcely longer than that of a pen-knife. - -"Do not let yourself be killed," she said to him, "and defend yourself -to the last moment; if my uncle the Priore hears the noise, he is a man -of courage and virtue, he will save you." So saying she rushed to the -door. - -"If you are not killed," she said with exaltation, holding the bolt of -the door in her hand and turning her head towards him, "let yourself die -of hunger rather than touch anything. Carry this bread always on you." -The noise came nearer, Fabrizio seized her round the body, stepped into -her place by the door, and, opening it with fury, dashed down the six -steps of the wooden staircase. He had in his hand the little dagger with -the ivory handle, and was on the point of piercing with it the waistcoat -of General Fontana, Aide-de-Camp to the Prince, who recoiled with great -alacrity, crying in a panic: "But I am coming to save you, Signor del -Dongo." - -Fabrizio went up the six steps, called into the cell: "Fontana has come -to save me"; then, returning to the General, on the wooden steps, -discussed matters coldly with him. He begged him at great length to -pardon him a movement of anger. "They wished to poison me; the dinner -that is there on my table is poisoned; I had the sense not to touch it, -but I may admit to you that this procedure has given me a shock. When I -heard you on the stair, I thought that they were coming to finish me off -with their dirks. Signor Generale, I request you to order that no one -shall enter my cell: they would remove the poison, and our good Prince -must know all." - -The General, very pale and completely taken aback, passed on the orders -suggested by Fabrizio to the picked body of gaolers who were following -him: these men, greatly dismayed at finding the poison discovered, -hastened downstairs; they went first, ostensibly so as not to delay the -Prince's Aide-de-Camp on the narrow staircase, actually in order to -escape themselves and vanish. To the great surprise of General Fontana, -Fabrizio kept him for fully a quarter of an hour on the little iron -staircase which ran round the pillar of the ground floor; he wished to -give Clelia time to hide on the floor above. - -It was the Duchessa who, after various wild attempts, had managed to get -General Fontana sent to the citadel; it was only by chance that she -succeeded. On leaving Conte Mosca, as alarmed as she was herself, she -had hastened to the Palace. The Princess, who had a marked repugnance -for energy, which seemed to her vulgar, thought her mad and did not -appear at all disposed to attempt any unusual measures on her behalf. -The Duchessa, out of her senses, was weeping hot tears, she could do -nothing but repeat, every moment: - -"But, Ma'am, in a quarter of an hour Fabrizio will be dead, poisoned." - -Seeing the Princess remain perfectly composed, the Duchessa became mad -with grief. She completely overlooked the moral reflexion which would -not have escaped a woman brought up in one of those Northern religions -which allow self-examination: "I was the first to use poison, and I am -perishing by poison." In Italy reflexions of that sort, in moments of -passion, appear in the poorest of taste, as a pun would seem in Paris in -similar circumstances. - - - - -_THE CAVALIERE D'ONORE_ - - -The Duchessa, in desperation, risked going into the drawing-room where -she found the Marchese Crescenzi, who was in waiting that day. On her -return to Parma he had thanked her effusively for the place of -_Cavaliere d'onore_, to which, but for her, he would never have had any -claim. Protestations of unbounded devotion had not been lacking on his -part. The Duchessa appealed to him in these words: - -"Rassi is going to have Fabrizio, who is in the citadel, poisoned. Take -in your pocket some chocolate and a bottle of water which I shall give -you. Go up to the citadel, and save my life by saying to General Fabio -Conti that you will break off your marriage with his daughter if he does -not allow you to give the water and the chocolate to Fabrizio with your -own hands." - -The Marchese turned pale, and his features, so far from shewing any -animation at these words, presented a picture of the dullest -embarrassment; he could not believe in the possibility of so shocking a -crime in a town as moral as Parma, and one over which so great a Prince -reigned, and so forth; these platitudes, moreover, he uttered slowly. In -a word, the Duchessa found an honest man, but the weakest imaginable, -and one who could not make up his mind to act. After a score of similar -phrases interrupted by cries of impatience from Signora Sanseverina, he -hit upon an excellent idea: the oath which he had given as _Cavaliere -d'onore_ forbade him to take part in any action against the Government. - -Who can conceive the anxiety and despair of the Duchessa, who felt that -time was flying? - -"But, at least, see the governor; tell him that I shall pursue -Fabrizio's murderers to hell itself!" - -Despair increased the Duchessa's natural eloquence, but all this fire -only made the Marchese more alarmed and doubled his irresolution; at the -end of an hour he was less disposed to act than at the first moment. - -This unhappy woman, who had reached the utmost limits of despair and -knew well that the governor would refuse nothing to so rich a -son-in-law, went so far as to fling herself at his feet; at this the -Marchese's pusillanimity seemed to increase still further; he himself, -at the sight of this strange spectacle, was afraid of being compromised -unawares; but a singular thing happened: the Marchese, a good man at -heart, was touched by the tears and by the posture, at his feet, of so -beautiful and, above all, so influential a woman. - -"I myself, noble and rich as I am," he said to himself, "will perhaps -one day be at the feet of some Republican!" The Marchese burst into -tears, and finally it was agreed that the Duchessa, in her capacity as -Grand Mistress, should present him to the Princess, who would give him -permission to convey to Fabrizio a little hamper, of the contents of -which he would declare himself to know nothing. - -The previous evening, before the Duchessa knew of Fabrizio's act of -folly in going to the citadel, they had played at court a _commedia -dell'arte_, and the Prince, who always reserved for himself the lover's -part to be played with the Duchessa, had been so passionate in speaking -to her of his affection that he would have been absurd, if, in Italy, an -impassioned man or a Prince could ever be thought so. - -The Prince, extremely shy, but always intensely serious in matters of -love, met, in one of the corridors of the Castle, the Duchessa who was -carrying off the Marchese Crescenzi, in great distress, to the Princess. -He was so surprised and dazzled by the beauty, full of emotion, which -her despair gave the Grand Mistress, that for the first time in his life -he shewed character. With a more than imperious gesture he dismissed the -Marchese, and began to make a declaration of love, according to all the -rules, to the Duchessa. The Prince had doubtless prepared this speech -long beforehand, for there were things in it that were quite reasonable. - - - - -_ERNESTO V_ - - -"Since the conventions of my rank forbid me to give myself the supreme -happiness of marrying you, I will swear to you upon the Blessed -Sacrament never to marry without your permission in writing. I am well -aware," he added, "that I am making you forfeit the hand of a Prime -Minister, a clever and extremely amiable man; but after all he is -fifty-six, and I am not yet two-and-twenty. I should consider myself to -be insulting you, and to deserve your refusal if I spoke to you of the -advantages that there are apart from love; but everyone who takes an -interest in money at my court speaks with admiration of the proof of his -love which the Conte gives you, in leaving you the custodian of all that -he possesses. I shall be only too happy to copy him in that respect. You -will make a better use of my fortune than I, and you shall have the -entire disposal of the annual sum which my Ministers hand over to the -Intendant General of my Crown; so that it will be you, Signora Duchessa, -who will decide upon the sums which I may spend each month." The -Duchessa found all these details very long; Fabrizio's dangers pierced -her heart. - -"Then you do not know, Prince," she cried, "that at this moment they are -poisoning Fabrizio in your citadel! Save him! I accept everything." - -The arrangement of this speech was perfect in its clumsiness. At the -mere mention of poison all the ease, all the good faith which this poor, -moral Prince was putting into the conversation vanished in the twinkling -of an eye; the Duchessa did not notice her tactlessness until it was too -late to remedy it, and her despair was intensified, a thing she had -believed to be impossible. "If I had not spoken of poison," she said to -herself, "he would grant me Fabrizio's freedom. . . . O my dear -Fabrizio," she added, "so it is fated that it is I who must pierce your -heart by my foolishness!" - -It took the Duchessa all her time and all her coquetry to get the Prince -back to his talk of passionate love; but even then he remained deeply -offended. It was his mind alone that spoke; his heart had been frozen by -the idea first of all of poison, and then by the other idea, as -displeasing as the first was terrible: "They administer poison in my -States, and without telling me! So Rassi wishes to dishonour me in the -eyes of Europe! And God knows what I shall read next month in the Paris -newspapers!" - -Suddenly the heart of this shy young man was silent, his mind arrived at -an idea. - -"Dear Duchessa! You know whether I am attached to you. Your terrible -ideas about poison are unfounded, I prefer to think; still, they give me -food for thought, they make me almost forget for an instant the passion -that I feel for you, which is the only passion that I have ever felt in -all my life. I know that I am not attractive; I am only a boy, -hopelessly in love; still, put me to the test." - -The Prince grew quite animated in using this language. - -"Save Fabrizio, and I accept everything! No doubt I am carried away by -the foolish fears of a mother's heart; but send this moment to fetch -Fabrizio from the citadel, that I may see him. If he is still alive, -send him from the Palace to the town prison, where he can remain for -months on end, if Your Highness requires, until his trial." - -The Duchessa saw with despair that the Prince, instead of granting with -a word so simple a request, had turned sombre; he was very red, he -looked at the Duchessa, then lowered his eyes, and his cheeks grew pale. -The idea of poison put forward at the wrong moment, had suggested to him -an idea worthy of his father or of Philip II; but he dared not express -it in words. - -"Listen, Signora," he said at length, as though forcing himself to -speak, and in a tone that was by no means gracious, "you look down on me -as a child and, what is more, a creature without graces: very well, I am -going to say something which is horrible, but which has just been -suggested to me by the deep and true passion that I feel for you. If I -believed for one moment in this poison, I should have taken action -already, as in duty bound; but I see in your request only a passionate -fancy, and one of which, I beg leave to state, I do not see all the -consequences. You desire that I should act without consulting my -Ministers, I who have been reigning for barely three months! You ask of -me a great exception to my ordinary mode of action, which I regard as -highly reasonable. It is you, Signora, who are here and now the Absolute -Sovereign, you give me reason to hope in a matter which is everything to -me; but, in an hour's time, when this imaginary poison, when this -nightmare has vanished, my presence will become an annoyance to you, I -shall forfeit your favour, Signora. Very well, I require an oath: swear -to me, Signora, that if Fabrizio is restored to you safe and sound I -shall obtain from you, in three months from now, all that my love can -desire; you will assure the happiness of my entire life by placing at my -disposal an hour of your own, and you will be wholly mine." - -At that moment, the Castle clock struck two. "Ah! It is too late, -perhaps," thought the Duchessa. - -"I swear it," she cried, with a wild look in her eyes. - -At once the Prince became another man; he ran to the far end of the -gallery, where the Aide-de-Camp's room was. - -"General Fontana, dash off to the citadel this instant, go up as quickly -as possible to the room in which they have put Signor del Dongo, and -bring him to me; I must speak to him within twenty minutes, fifteen if -possible." - -"Ah, General," cried the Duchessa, who had followed the Prince, "one -minute may decide my life. A report which is doubtless false makes me -fear poison for Fabrizio: shout to him, as soon as you are within -earshot, not to eat. If he has touched his dinner, make him swallow an -emetic, tell him that it is I who wish it, employ force if necessary; -tell him that I am following close behind you, and I shall be obliged to -you all my life." - -"Signora Duchessa, my horse is saddled, I am generally considered a -pretty good horseman, and I shall ride hell for leather; I shall be at -the citadel eight minutes before you." - -"And I, Signora Duchessa," cried the Prince, "I ask of you four of those -eight minutes." - -The Aide-de-Camp had vanished, he was a man who had no other merit than -that of his horsemanship. No sooner had he shut the door than the young -Prince, who seemed to have acquired some character, seized the -Duchessa's hand. - -"Condescend, Signora," he said to her with passion, "to come with me to -the chapel." The Duchessa, at a loss for the first time in her life, -followed him without uttering a word. The Prince and she passed rapidly -down the whole length of the great gallery of the Palace, the chapel -being at the other end. On entering the chapel, the Prince fell on his -knees, almost as much before the Duchessa as before the altar. - -"Repeat the oath," he said with passion: "if you had been fair, if the -wretched fact of my being a Prince had not been against me, you would -have granted me out of pity for my love what you now owe me because you -have sworn it." - -"If I see Fabrizio again not poisoned, if he is alive in a week from -now, if His Highness will appoint him Coadjutor with eventual succession -to Archbishop Landriani, my honour, my womanly dignity, everything shall -be trampled under foot, and I will give myself to His Highness." - -"But, _dear friend_," said the Prince with a blend of timid anxiety and -affection which was quite pleasing, "I am afraid of some ambush which I -do not understand, and which might destroy my happiness; that would kill -me. If the Archbishop opposes me with one of those ecclesiastical -reasons which keep things dragging on for year after year, what will -become of me? You see that I am behaving towards you with entire good -faith; are you going to be a little Jesuit with me?" - -"No: in good faith, if Fabrizio is saved, if, so far as lies in your -power, you make him Coadjutor and a future Archbishop, I dishonour -myself and I am yours." - -"Your Highness undertakes to write _approved_ on the margin of a request -which His Grace the Archbishop will present to you in a week from now." - -"I will sign you a blank sheet; reign over me and over my States," cried -the Prince, colouring with happiness and really beside himself. He -demanded a second oath. He was so deeply moved that he forgot the -shyness that came so naturally to him, and, in this Palace chapel in -which they were alone, murmured in an undertone to the Duchessa things -which, uttered three days earlier, would have altered the opinion that -she held of him. But in her the despair which Fabrizio's danger had -caused her had given place to horror at the promise which had been wrung -from her. - -The Duchessa was completely upset by what she had just done. If she did -not yet feel all the fearful bitterness of the word she had given, it -was because her attention was occupied in wondering whether General -Fontana would be able to reach the citadel in time. - -To free herself from the madly amorous speeches of this boy, and to -change the topic of conversation, she praised a famous picture by the -Parmigianino, which hung over the high altar of the chapel. - -"Be so good as to permit me to send it to you," said the Prince. - -"I accept," replied the Duchessa; "but allow me to go and meet -Fabrizio." - -With a distracted air she told her coachman to put his horses into a -gallop. On the bridge over the moat of the citadel she met General -Fontana and Fabrizio, who were coming out on foot. - -"Have you eaten?" - -"No, by a miracle." - -The Duchessa flung her arms round Fabrizio's neck and fell in a faint -which lasted for an hour, and gave fears first for her life and -afterwards for her reason. - -The governor Fabio Conti had turned white with rage at the sight of -General Fontana: he had been so slow in obeying the Prince's orders that -the Aide-de-Camp, who supposed that the Duchessa was going to occupy the -position of reigning mistress, had ended by losing his temper. The -governor reckoned upon making Fabrizio's illness last for two or three -days, and "now," he said to himself, "the General, a man from the court, -will find that insolent fellow writhing in the agony which is my revenge -for his escape." - -Fabio Conti, lost in thought, stopped in the guard-room on the ground -floor of the Torre Farnese, from which he hastily dismissed the -soldiers: he did not wish to have any witnesses of the scene which was -about to be played. Five minutes later he was petrified with -astonishment on hearing Fabrizio's voice, on seeing him, alive and -alert, giving General Fontana an account of his imprisonment. He -vanished. - -Fabrizio shewed himself a perfect "gentleman" in his interview with the -Prince. For one thing, he did not wish to assume the air of a boy who -takes fright at nothing. The Prince asked him kindly how he felt: "Like -a man, Serene Highness, who is dying of hunger, having fortunately -neither broken my fast nor dined." After having had the honour to thank -the Prince, he requested permission to visit the Archbishop before -surrendering himself at the town prison. The Prince had turned -prodigiously pale, when his boyish head had been penetrated by the idea -that this poison was not altogether a chimaera of the Duchessa's -imagination. Absorbed in this cruel thought, he did not at first reply -to the request to see the Archbishop which Fabrizio addressed to him; -then he felt himself obliged to atone for his distraction by a profusion -of graciousness. - -"Go out alone, Signore, walk through the streets of my capital -unguarded. About ten or eleven o'clock you will return to prison, where -I hope that you will not long remain." - -On the morrow of this great day, the most remarkable of his life, the -Prince fancied himself a little Napoleon; he had read that great -man had been kindly treated by several of the beauties of his court. -Once established as a Napoleon in love, he remembered that he had been -one also under fire. His heart was still quite enraptured by the -firmness of his conduct with the Duchessa. The consciousness of having -done something difficult made him another man altogether for a -fortnight; he became susceptible to generous considerations; he had some -character. - -He began this day by burning the patent of Conte made out in favour of -Rassi, which had been lying on his desk for a month. He degraded General -Fabio Conti, and called upon Colonel Lange, his successor, for the truth -as to the poison. Lange, a gallant Polish officer, intimidated the -gaolers, and reported that there had been a design to poison Signor del -Dongo's breakfast; but too many people would have had to be taken into -confidence. Arrangements to deal with his dinner were more successful; -and, but for the arrival of General Fontana, Signor del Dongo was a dead -man. The Prince was dismayed; but, as he was really in love, it was a -consolation for him to be able to say to himself: "It appears that I -really did save Signor del Dongo's life, and the Duchessa will never -dare fail to keep the word she has given me." Another idea struck him: -"My business is a great deal more difficult than I thought; everyone is -agreed that the Duchessa is a woman of infinite cleverness, here my -policy and my heart go together. It would be divine for me if she would -consent to be my Prime Minister." - -That evening, the Prince was so infuriated by the horrors that he had -discovered that he would not take part in the play. - -"I should be more than happy," he said to the Duchessa, "if you would -reign over my States as you reign over my heart. To begin with, I am -going to tell you how I have spent my day." He then told her everything, -very exactly: the burning of Conte Rassi's patent, the appointment of -Lange, his report on the poisoning, and so forth. "I find that I have -very little experience for ruling. The Conte humiliates me by his jokes. -He makes jokes even at the Council; and, in society, he says things the -truth of which you are going to disprove; he says that I am a boy whom -he leads wherever he chooses. Though one is a Prince, Signora, one is -none the less a man, and these things annoy one. In order to give an air -of improbability to the stories which Signor Mosca may repeat, they have -made me summon to the Ministry that dangerous scoundrel Rassi, and now -there is that General Conti who believes him to be still so powerful -that he dare not admit that it was he or the Raversi who ordered him to -destroy your nephew; I have a good mind simply to send General Fabio -Conti before the court; the judges will see whether he is guilty of -attempted poisoning." - -"But, Prince, have you judges?" - -"What!" said the Prince in astonishment. - -"You have certain learned counsel who walk the streets with a solemn -air; apart from that they always give the judgment that will please the -dominant party at your court." - -While the young Prince, now scandalised, uttered expressions which -shewed his candour far more than his sagacity, the Duchessa was saying -to herself: - -"Does it really suit me to let Conti be disgraced? No, certainly not; -for then his daughter's marriage with that honest simpleton the Marchese -Crescenzi becomes impossible." - -On this topic there was an endless discussion between the Duchessa and -the Prince. The Prince was dazed with admiration. In consideration of -the marriage of Clelia Conti to the Marchese Crescenzi, but on that -express condition, which he laid down in an angry scene with the -ex-governor, the Prince pardoned his attempt to poison; but, on the -Duchessa's advice, banished him until the date of his daughter's -marriage. The Duchessa imagined that it was no longer love that she felt -for Fabrizio, but she was still passionately anxious for the marriage of -Clelia Conti to the Marchese; there lay in that the vague hope that -gradually she might see Fabrizio's preoccupation disappear. - -The Prince, rapturously happy, wished that same evening publicly to -disgrace the Minister Rassi. The Duchessa said to him with a laugh: - -"Do you know a saying of Napoleon? A man placed in an exalted position, -with the eyes of the whole world on him, ought never to allow himself to -make violent movements. But this evening it is too late, let us leave -business till to-morrow." - -She wished to give herself time to consult the Conte, to whom she -repeated very accurately the whole of the evening's conversation, -suppressing however the frequent allusions to a promise which was -poisoning her life. The Duchessa hoped to make herself so indispensable -that she would be able to obtain an indefinite adjournment by saying to -the Prince: "If you have the barbarity to insist upon subjecting me to -that humiliation, which I will never forgive you, I leave your States -the day after." - -Consulted by the Duchessa as to the fate of Rassi, the Conte shewed -himself most philosophic. General Fabio Conti and he went for a tour of -Piedmont. - -A singular difficulty arose in the trial of Fabrizio: the judges wished -to acquit him by acclamation, and at the first sitting of the court. The -Conte was obliged to use threats to enforce that the trial should last -for at least a week, and the judges take the trouble to hear all the -witnesses. "These fellows are always the same," he said to himself. - -The day after his acquittal, Fabrizio del Dongo at last took possession -of the place of Grand Vicar to the worthy Archbishop Landriani. On the -same day the Prince signed the dispatches necessary to obtain Fabrizio's -nomination as Coadjutor with eventual succession, and less than two -months afterwards he was installed in that office. - - - - -_THE VOW_ - - -Everyone complimented the Duchessa on her nephew's air of gravity; the -fact was that he was in despair. The day after his deliverance, followed -by the dismissal and banishment of General Fabio Conti and the -Duchessa's arrival in high favour, Clelia had taken refuge with Contessa -Contarini, her aunt, a woman of great wealth and great age, occupied -exclusively in looking after her health. Clelia could, had she wished, -have seen Fabrizio; but anyone acquainted with her previous commitments -who had seen her behaviour now might well have thought that with her -lover's danger her love for him also had ceased. Not only did Fabrizio -pass as often as he decently could before the _palazzo_ Contarini, he -had also succeeded, after endless trouble, in taking a little apartment -opposite the windows of its first floor. On one occasion Clelia, having -gone to the window without thinking, to see a procession pass, drew back -at once, as though terror-stricken; she had caught sight of Fabrizio, -dressed in black, but as a workman in very humble circumstances, looking -at her from one of the windows of this rookery, which had panes of oiled -paper, like his cell in the Torre Farnese. Fabrizio would fain have been -able to persuade himself that Clelia was shunning him in consequence of -her father's disgrace, which current report put down to the Duchessa? -but he knew only too well another cause for this aloofness, and nothing -could distract him from his melancholy. - -He had been left unmoved by his acquittal, his installation in a fine -office, the first that he had had to fill in his life, by his fine -position in society, and finally by the assiduous court that was paid to -him by all the ecclesiastics and all the devout laity in the diocese. -The charming apartment that he occupied in the _palazzo_ Sanseverina was -no longer adequate. Greatly to her delight, the Duchessa was obliged to -give up to him all the second floor of her _palazzo_ and two fine rooms -on the first, which were always filled with people awaiting their turn -to pay their respects to the young Coadjutor. The clause securing his -eventual succession had created a surprising effect in the country; -people now ascribed to Fabrizio as virtues all those firm qualities in -his character which before had so greatly scandalised the poor, foolish -courtiers. - -It was a great lesson in philosophy to Fabrizio to find himself -perfectly insensible of all these honours, and far more unhappy in this -magnificent apartment, with ten flunkeys wearing his livery, than he had -been in his wooden cell in the Torre Farnese, surrounded by hideous -gaolers, and always in fear for his life. His mother and sister, the -Duchessa V----, who came to Parma to see him in his glory, were struck -by his profound melancholy. The Marchesa del Dongo, now the least -romantic of women, was so greatly alarmed by it that she imagined that -they must, in the Torre Farnese, have given him some slow poison. -Despite her extreme discretion, she felt it her duty to speak of so -extraordinary a melancholy, and Fabrizio replied only by tears. - -A swarm of advantages, due to his brilliant position, produced no other -effect on him than to make him ill-tempered. His brother, that vain soul -gangrened by the vilest selfishness, wrote him what was almost an -official letter of congratulation, and in this letter was enclosed a -draft for fifty thousand francs, in order that he might, said the new -Marchese, purchase horses and a carriage worthy of his name. Fabrizio -sent this money to his younger sister, who was poorly married. - - - - - -_THE GENEALOGY_ - - -Conte Mosca had ordered a fine translation to be made, in Italian, of -the genealogy of the family Valserra del Dongo, originally published in -Latin by Fabrizio, Archbishop of Parma. He had it splendidly printed, -with the Latin text on alternate pages; the engravings had been -reproduced by superb lithographs made in Paris. The Duchessa had asked -that a fine portrait of Fabrizio should be placed opposite that of the -old Archbishop. This translation was published as being the work of -Fabrizio during his first imprisonment. But all the spirit was crushed -out of our hero; even the vanity so natural to mankind; he did not deign -to read a single page of this work which was attributed to himself. His -social position made it incumbent upon him to present a magnificently -bound copy to the Prince, who felt that he owed him some compensation -for the cruel death to which he had come so near, and accorded him the -grand entry into his bedchamber, a favour which confers the rank of -_Excellency_. - - - - -CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX - - -The only moments in which Fabrizio had any chance of escaping from his -profound melancholy were those which he spent hidden behind a pane, the -glass of which he had had replaced by a sheet of oiled paper, in the -window of his apartment opposite the _palazzo_ Contarini, in which, as -we know, Clelia had taken refuge; on the few occasions on which he had -seen her since his leaving the citadel, he had been profoundly -distressed by a striking change, and one that seemed to him of the most -evil augury. Since her fall, Clelia's face had assumed a character of -nobility and seriousness that was truly remarkable; one would have -called her a woman of thirty. In this extraordinary change, Fabrizio -caught the reflexion of some firm resolution. "At every moment of the -day," he said to himself, "she is swearing to herself to be faithful to -the vow she made to the Madonna, and never to see me again." - -Fabrizio guessed a part only of Clelia's miseries; she knew that her -father, having fallen into deep disgrace, could not return to Parma and -reappear at court (without which life for him was impossible) until the -day of her marriage to the Marchese Crescenzi; she wrote to her father -that she desired this marriage. The General had then retired to Turin, -where he was ill with grief. Truly, the counter-effect of that desperate -remedy had been to add ten years to her age. - - - - -_THE PALAZZO CONTARINI_ - - -She had soon discovered that Fabrizio had a window opposite the -_palazzo_ Contarini; but only once had she had the misfortune to behold -him; as soon as she saw the poise of a head or a man's figure that in -any way resembled his, she at once shut her eyes. Her profound piety and -her confidence in the help of the Madonna were from then onwards her -sole resources. She had the grief of feeling no respect for her father; -the character of her future husband seemed to her perfectly lifeless and -on a par with the emotional manners of high society; finally she adored -a man whom she must never see again, and who at the same time had -certain rights over her. She would need, after her marriage, to go and -live two hundred leagues from Parma. - -Fabrizio was aware of Clelia's intense modesty, he knew how greatly any -extraordinary enterprise, that might form a subject for gossip, were it -discovered, was bound to displease her. And yet, driven to extremes by -the excess of his melancholy and by Clelia's constantly turning away her -eyes from him, he made bold to try to purchase two of the servants of -Signora Contarini, her aunt. One day, at nightfall, Fabrizio, dressed as -a prosperous countryman, presented himself at the door of the _palazzo_, -where one of the servants whom he had bribed was waiting for him; he -announced himself as coming from Turin and bearing letters for Clelia -from her father. The servant went to deliver the message, and took him -up to an immense ante-room on the first floor of the _palazzo_. It was -here that Fabrizio passed what was perhaps the most anxious quarter of -an hour in his life. If Clelia rejected him, there was no more hope of -peace for his mind. "To put an end to the incessant worries which my new -dignity heaps upon me, I shall remove from the Church an unworthy -priest, and, under an assumed name, seek refuge in some Charterhouse." -At length the servant came to inform him that Signorina Clelia Conti was -willing to receive him. Our hero's courage failed him completely; he -almost collapsed with fear as he climbed the stair to the second floor. - -Clelia was sitting at a little table on which stood a single candle. No -sooner had she recognised Fabrizio under his disguise than she rose and -fled, hiding at the far end of the room. - -"This is how you care for my salvation!" she cried to him, hiding her -face in her hands. "You know very well, when my father was at the point -of death after taking poison, I made a vow to the Madonna that I would -never see you. I have never failed to keep that vow save on that day, -the most wretched day of my life, when I felt myself bound by conscience -to snatch you from death. It is already far more than you deserve if, by -a strained and no doubt criminal interpretation of my vow, I consent to -listen to you." - -This last sentence so astonished Fabrizio that it took him some moments -to grasp its joyful meaning. He had expected the most fiery anger, and -to see Clelia fly from the room; at length his presence of mind -returned, and he extinguished the one candle. Although he believed that -he had understood Clelia's orders, he was trembling all over as he -advanced towards the end of the room, where she had taken refuge behind -a sofa; he did not know whether it would offend her if he kissed her -hand; she was all tremulous with love and threw herself into his arms. - -"Dear Fabrizio," she said to him, "how long you have been in coming! I -can only speak to you for a moment, for I am sure it is a great sin; and -when I promised never to see you, I am sure I meant also to promise not -to hear you speak. But how could you pursue with such barbarity the idea -of vengeance that my poor father had? For, after all, it was he who was -first nearly poisoned to assist your escape. Ought you not to do -something for me, who have exposed my reputation to such risks in order -to save you? And besides you are now bound absolutely in Holy Orders; -you could not marry me any longer, even though I should find a way of -getting rid of that odious Marchese. And then how did you dare, on the -afternoon of the procession, have the effrontery to look at me in broad -daylight, and so violate, in the most flagrant fashion, the holy promise -that I had made to the Madonna?" - -Fabrizio clasped her in his arms, carried out of himself by his surprise -and joy. - -A conversation which began with such a quantity of things to be said -could not finish for a long time. Fabrizio told her the exact truth as -to her father's banishment; the Duchessa had had no part in it -whatsoever, for the simple reason that she had never for a single -instant believed that the idea of poison had originated with General -Conti; she had always thought that it was a little game on the part of -the Raversi faction, who wished to drive Conte Mosca from Parma. This -historical truth developed at great length made Clelia very happy; she -was wretched at having to hate anyone who belonged to Fabrizio. Now she -no longer regarded the Duchessa with a jealous eye. - -The happiness established by this evening lasted only a few days. - -The worthy Don Cesare arrived from Turin; and, taking courage in the -perfect honesty of his heart, ventured to send in his name to the -Duchessa. After asking her to give him her word that she would not abuse -the confidence he was about to repose in her, he admitted that his -brother, led astray by a false point of honour, and thinking himself -challenged and lowered in public opinion by Fabrizio's escape, had felt -bound to avenge himself. - -Don Cesare had not been speaking for two minutes before his cause was -won: his perfect goodness had touched the Duchessa, who was by no means -accustomed to such a spectacle. He appealed to her as a novelty. - -"Hasten the marriage between the General's daughter and the Marchese -Crescenzi, and I give you my word that I will do all that lies in my -power to ensure that the General is received as though he were returning -from a tour abroad. I shall invite him to dinner; does that satisfy you? -No doubt there will be some coolness at the beginning, and the General -must on no account be in a hurry to ask for his place as governor of the -citadel. But you know that I have a friendly feeling for the Marchese, -and I shall retain no rancour towards his father-in-law." - -Fortified by these words, Don Cesare came to tell his niece that she -held in her hands the life of her father, who was ill with despair. For -many months past he had not appeared at any court. - -Clelia decided to go to visit her father, who was hiding under an -assumed name in a village near Turin; for he had supposed that the court -of Parma would demand his extradition from that of Turin, to put him on -his trial. She found him ill and almost insane. That same evening she -wrote Fabrizio a letter threatening an eternal rupture. On receiving -this letter, Fabrizio, who was developing a character closely resembling -that of his mistress, went into retreat in the convent of Velleja, -situated in the mountains, ten leagues from Parma. Clelia wrote him a -letter of ten pages: she had sworn to him, before, that she would never -marry the Marchese without his consent; now she asked this of him, and -Fabrizio granted it from his retreat at Velleja, in a letter full of the -purest friendship. - -On receiving this letter, the friendliness of which, it must be -admitted, irritated her, Clelia herself fixed the day of her wedding, -the festivities surrounding which enhanced still further the brilliance -with which the court of Parma, that winter, shone. - - - - -_THE COURT_ - - -Ranuccio-Ernesto V was a miser at heart; but he was desperately in love, -and he hoped to establish the Duchessa permanently at his court; he -begged his mother to accept a very considerable sum of money, and to -give entertainments. The Grand Mistress contrived to make an admirable -use of this increase of wealth; the entertainments at Parma, that -winter, recalled the great days of the court of Milan and of that -charming Prince Eugène, Viceroy of Italy, whose virtues have left so -lasting a memory. - -His duties as Coadjutor had summoned Fabrizio back to Parma; but he -announced that, for spiritual reasons, he would continue his retreat in -the small apartment which his protector, Monsignor Landriani, had forced -him to take in the Archbishop's Palace; and he went to shut himself up -there, accompanied by a single servant. Thus he was present at none of -the brilliant festivities of the court, an abstention which won for him -at Parma, and throughout his future diocese, an immense reputation for -sanctity. An unforeseen consequence of this retreat, inspired in -Fabrizio solely by his profound and hopeless sorrow, was that the good -Archbishop Landriani, who had always loved him, began to be slightly -jealous of him. The Archbishop felt it his duty (and rightly) to attend -all the festivities at court, as is the custom in Italy. On these -occasions he wore a ceremonial costume, which was, more or less, the -same as that in which he was to be seen in the choir of his Cathedral. -The hundreds of servants gathered in the colonnaded ante-chamber of the -Palace never failed to rise and ask for a blessing from Monsignore, who -was kind enough to stop and give it them. It was in one of these moments -of solemn silence that Monsignor Landriani heard a voice say: "Our -Archbishop goes out to balls, and Monsignor del Dongo never leaves his -room!" - -From that moment the immense favour that Fabrizio had enjoyed in the -Archbishop's Palace was at an end; but he could now fly with his own -wings. All this conduct, which had been inspired only by the despair in -which Clelia's marriage plunged him, was regarded as due to a simple and -sublime piety, and the faithful read, as a work of edification, the -translation of the genealogy of his family, which reeked of the most -insane vanity. The booksellers prepared a lithographed edition of his -portrait, which was bought up in a few days, and mainly by the humbler -classes; the engraver, in his ignorance, had reproduced round Fabrizio's -portrait a number of the ornaments which ought only to be found on the -portraits of Bishops, and to which a Coadjutor could have no claim. The -Archbishop saw one of these portraits, and his rage knew no bounds; he -sent for Fabrizio and addressed him in the harshest words, and in terms -which his passion rendered at times extremely coarse. Fabrizio required -no effort, as may well be imagined, to conduct himself as Fénelon would -have done in similar circumstances; he listened to the Archbishop with -all the humility and respect possible; and, when the prelate had ceased -speaking, told him the whole story of the translation of the genealogy -made by Conte Mosca's orders, at the time of his first imprisonment. It -had been published with a worldly object, which had always seemed to him -hardly befitting a man of his cloth. As for the portrait, he had been -entirely unconcerned with the second edition, as with the first; and the -bookseller having sent to him, at the Archbishop's Palace, during his -retreat, twenty-four copies of this second edition, he had sent his -servant to buy a twenty-fifth; and, having learned in this way that the -portrait was being sold for thirty soldi, he had sent a hundred francs -in payment of the twenty-four copies. - - - - -_THE DUCHESSA_ - - -All these arguments, albeit set forth in the most reasonable terms by a -man who had many other sorrows in his heart, lashed the Archbishop's -anger to madness; he went so far as to accuse Fabrizio of hypocrisy. - -"That is what these common people are like," Fabrizio said to himself, -"even when they have brains!" - -He had at the time a more serious anxiety; this was his aunt's letters, -in which she absolutely insisted on his coming back to occupy his -apartment in the _palazzo_ Sanseverina, or at least coming to see her -sometimes. There Fabrizio was certain of hearing talk of the splendid -festivities given by the Marchese Crescenzi on the occasion of his -marriage; and this was what he was not sure of his ability to endure -without creating a scene. - -When the marriage ceremony was celebrated, for eight whole days in -succession Fabrizio vowed himself to the most complete silence, after -ordering his servant and the members of the Archbishop's household with -whom he had any dealings never to utter a word to him. - -Monsignor Landriani having learned of this new affectation sent for -Fabrizio far more often than usual, and tried to engage him in long -conversations; he even obliged him to attend conferences with certain -Canons from the country, who complained that the Archbishop had -infringed their privileges. Fabrizio took all these things with the -perfect indifference of a man who has other thoughts on his mind. "It -would be better for me," he thought, "to become a Carthusian; I should -suffer less among the rocks of Velleja." - -He went to see his aunt, and could not restrain his tears as he embraced -her. She found him so greatly altered, his eyes, still more enlarged by -his extreme thinness, had so much the air of starting from his head, and -he himself presented so pinched and unhappy an appearance, that at this -first encounter the Duchessa herself could not restrain her tears -either; but a moment later, when she had reminded herself that all this -change in the appearance of this handsome young man had been caused by -Clelia's marriage, her feelings were almost equal in vehemence to those -of the Archbishop, although more skilfully controlled. She was so -barbarous as to discourse at length of certain picturesque details which -had been a feature of the charming entertainments given by the Marchese -Crescenzi. Fabrizio made no reply; but his eyes closed slightly with a -convulsive movement, and he became even paler than he already was, which -at first sight would have seemed impossible. In these moments of keen -grief, his pallor assumed a greenish hue. - -Conte Mosca joined them, and what he then saw, a thing which seemed to -him incredible, finally and completely cured him of the jealousy which -Fabrizio had never ceased to inspire in him. This able man employed the -most delicate and ingenious turns of speech in an attempt to restore to -Fabrizio some interest in the things of this world. The Conte had always -felt for him a great esteem and a certain degree of friendship; this -friendship, being no longer counterbalanced by jealousy, became at that -moment almost devotion. "There's no denying it, he has paid dearly for -his fine fortune," he said to himself, going over the tale of Fabrizio's -misadventures. On the pretext of letting him see the picture by the -Parmigianino which the Prince had sent to the Duchessa, the Conte drew -Fabrizio aside. - -"Now, my friend, let us speak as man to man: can I help you in any way? -You need not be afraid of any questions on my part; still, can money be -of use to you, can power help you? Speak, I am at your orders; if you -prefer to write, write to me." - - - - -_AMBITION_ - - -Fabrizio embraced him tenderly and spoke of the picture. - -"Your conduct is a masterpiece of the finest policy," the Conte said to -him, returning to the light tone of their previous conversation; "you -are laying up for yourself a very agreeable future, the Prince respects -you, the people venerate you, your little worn black coat gives -Monsignor Landriani some bad nights. I have some experience of life, and -I can swear to you that I should not know what advice to give you to -improve upon what I see. Your first step in the world at the age of -twenty-five has carried you to perfection. People talk of you a great -deal at court; and do you know to what you owe that distinction, unique -at your age? To the little worn black coat. The Duchessa and I have at -our disposal, as you know, Petrarch's old house on that fine slope in -the middle of the forest, near the Po; if ever you are weary of the -little mischief-makings of envy, it has occurred to me that you might be -the successor of Petrarch, whose fame will enhance your own." The Conte -was racking his brains to make a smile appear on that anchorite face, -but failed. What made the change more striking was that, before this -latest phase, if Fabrizio's features had a defect, it was that of -presenting sometimes, at the wrong moment, an expression of gaiety and -pleasure. - -The Conte did not let him go without telling him that, notwithstanding -his retreat, it would be perhaps an affectation if he did not appear at -court the following Saturday, which was the Princess's birthday. These -words were a dagger-thrust to Fabrizio. "Great God!" he thought, "what -have I let myself in for here?" He could not think without shuddering of -the meeting that might occur at court. This idea absorbed every other; -he thought that the only thing left to him was to arrive at the Palace -at the precise moment at which the doors of the rooms would be opened. - -And so it happened that the name of Monsignor del Dongo was one of the -first to be announced on the evening of the gala reception, and the -Princess greeted him with the greatest possible distinction. Fabrizio's -eyes were fastened on the clock, and, at the instant at which it marked -the twentieth minute of his presence in the room, he was rising to take -his leave, when the Prince joined his mother. After paying his respects -to him for some moments, Fabrizio was again, by a skilful stratagem, -making his way to the door, when there befell at his expense one of -those little trifling points of court etiquette which the Grand Mistress -knew so well how to handle: the Chamberlain in waiting ran after him to -tell him that he had been put down to make up the Prince's table at -whist. At Parma this was a signal honour, and far above the rank which -the Coadjutor held in society. To play whist with the Prince was a -marked honour even for the Archbishop. At the Chamberlain's words -Fabrizio felt his heart pierced, and although a lifelong enemy of -anything like a scene in public, he was on the point of going to tell -him that he had been seized with a sudden fit of giddiness; but he -reflected that he would be exposed to questions and polite expressions -of sympathy, more intolerable even than the game. That day he had a -horror of speaking. - -Fortunately the General of the Friars Minor happened to be one of the -prominent personages who had come to pay their respects to the Princess. -This friar, a most learned man, a worthy rival of the Fontanas and the -Duvoisins, had taken his place in a far corner of the room: Fabrizio -took up a position facing him, so that he could not see the door, and -began to talk theology. But he could not prevent his ear from hearing a -servant announce the Signor Marchese and Signora Marchesa Crescenzi. -Fabrizio, to his surprise, felt a violent impulse of anger. - - - - -_WHIST_ - - -"If I were Borso Valserra," he said to himself (this being one of the -generals of the first Sforza), "I should go and stab that lout of a -Marchese, and with that very same dagger with the ivory handle which -Clelia gave me on that happy day, and I should teach him to have the -insolence to present himself with his Marchesa in a room in which I am." - -His expression altered so greatly that the General of the Friars Minor -said to him: - -"Does Your Excellency feel unwell?" - -"I have a raging headache . . . these lights are hurting me . . . and I -am staying here only because I have been put down for the Prince's -whist-table." - -On hearing this the General of the Friars Minor, who was of plebeian -origin, was so disconcerted that, not knowing what to do, he began to -bow to Fabrizio, who, for his part, far more seriously disturbed than -the General, started to talk with a strange volubility: he noticed that -there was a great silence in the room behind him, but would not turn -round to look. Suddenly a baton tapped a desk; a _ritornello_ was -played, and the famous Signora P---- sang that air of Cimarosa, at one -time so popular: _Quelle pupille tenere_! - -Fabrizio stood firm throughout the opening bars, but presently his anger -melted away, and he felt a compelling need to shed tears. "Great God!" -he said to himself, "what a ridiculous scene! and with my cloth, too!" -He felt it wiser to talk about himself. - -"These violent headaches, when I do anything to thwart them, as I am -doing this evening," he said to the General of the Minorites, "end in -floods of tears which provide food for scandal in a man of our calling; -and so I request Your Illustrious Reverence to allow me to look at him -while I cry, and not to pay any attention." - -"Our Father Provincial at Catanzaro suffers from the same disability," -said the General of the Minorites. And he began in an undertone a long -narrative. - -The absurdity of this story, which included the details of the Father -Provincial's evening meals, made Fabrizio smile, a thing which had not -happened to him for a long time; but presently he ceased to listen to -the General of the Minorites. Signora P---- was singing, with divine -talent, an air of Pergolese (the Duchessa had a fondness for old music). -She was interrupted by a slight sound, a few feet away from Fabrizio; -for the first time in the evening, he turned his head, to look. The -chair that had been the cause of this faint creak in the woodwork of the -floor was occupied by the Marchesa Crescenzi whose eyes, filled with -tears, met the direct gaze of Fabrizio's which were in much the same -state. The Marchesa bent her head; Fabrizio continued to gaze at her for -some moments: he made a thorough study of that head loaded with -diamonds; but his gaze expressed anger and disdain. Then, saying to -himself: "_and my eyes shall never look upon you_," he turned back to -his Father General, and said to him: - -"There, now, my weakness is taking me worse than ever." - -And indeed, Fabrizio wept hot tears for more than half an hour. -Fortunately, a Symphony of Mozart, horribly mutilated, as is the way in -Italy, came to his rescue and helped him to dry his tears. - - - - -_CLELIA_ - - -He stood firm and did not turn his eyes towards the Marchesa Crescenzi; -but Signora P---- sang again, and Fabrizio's soul, soothed by his tears, -arrived at a state of perfect repose. Then life appeared to him in a new -light. "Am I pretending," he asked himself, "to be able to forget her in -the first few moments? Would such a thing be possible?" The idea came to -him: "Can I be more unhappy than I have been for the last two months? -Then, if nothing can add to my anguish, why resist the pleasure of -seeing her? She has forgotten her vows; she is fickle: are not all women -so? But who could deny her a heavenly beauty? She has a look in her eyes -that sends me into ecstasies, whereas I have to make an effort to force -myself to look at the women who are considered the greatest beauties! -Very well, why not let myself be enraptured? It will be at least a -moment of respite." - -Fabrizio had some knowledge of men, but no experience of the passions, -otherwise he would have told himself that this momentary pleasure, to -which he was about to yield, would render futile all the efforts that he -had been making for the last two months to forget Clelia. - -That poor woman would not have come to this party save under compulsion -from her husband; even then she wished to slip away after half an hour, -on the excuse of her health, but the Marchese assured her that to send -for her carriage to go away, when many carriages were still arriving, -would be a thing absolutely without precedent, which might even be -interpreted as an indirect criticism of the party given by the Princess. - -"In my capacity as _Cavaliere d'onore_," the Marchese added, "I have to -remain in the drawing-room at the Princess's orders, until everyone has -gone. There may be and no doubt will be orders to be given to the -servants, they are so careless! And would you have a mere Gentleman -Usher usurp that honour?" - -Clelia resigned herself; she had not seen Fabrizio; she still hoped that -he might not have come to this party. But at the moment when the concert -was about to begin, the Princess having given the ladies leave to be -seated, Clelia, who was not at all alert in that sort of thing, let all -the best places near the Princess be snatched from her, and was obliged -to go and look for a chair at the end of the room, in the very corner to -which Fabrizio had withdrawn. When she reached her chair, the costume, -unusual in such a place, of the General of the Friars Minor caught her -eye, and at first she did not observe the other man, slim and dressed in -a plain black coat, who was talking to him; nevertheless a certain -secret impulse brought her gaze to rest on this man. "Everyone here is -wearing uniform, or a richly embroidered coat: who can that young man be -in such a plain black coat?" She was looking at him, profoundly -attentive, when a lady, taking her seat beside her, caused her chair to -move. Fabrizio turned his head: she did not recognise him, he had so -altered. At first she said to herself: "That is like him, it must be his -elder brother; but I thought there were only a few years between them, -and that is a man of forty." Suddenly she recognised him by a movement -of his lips. - -"Poor man, how he has suffered!" she said to herself. And she bent her -head, bowed down by grief, and not in fidelity to her vow. Her heart was -convulsed with pity; "after nine months in prison, he did not look -anything like that." She did not look at him again; but, without -actually turning her eyes in his direction, she could see all his -movements. - -After the concert, she saw him go up to the Prince's card-table, placed -a few feet from the throne; she breathed a sigh of relief when Fabrizio -was thus removed to a certain distance from her. - -But the Marchese Crescenzi had been greatly annoyed to see his wife -relegated to a place so far from the throne; all evening he had been -occupied in persuading a lady seated three chairs away from the -Princess, whose husband was under a financial obligation to him, that -she would do well to change places with the Marchesa. The poor woman -resisting, as was natural, he went in search of the debtor husband, who -let his better half hear the sad voice of reason, and finally the -Marchese had the pleasure of effecting the exchange; he went to find his -wife. "You are always too modest," he said to her. "Why walk like that -with downcast eyes? Anyone would take you for one of those cits' wives -astonished at finding themselves here, whom everyone else is astonished, -too, to see here. That fool of a Grand Mistress does nothing else but -collect them! And they talk of retarding the advance of Jacobinism! -Remember that your husband occupies the first position, among the -gentlemen, at the Princess's court; and that even should the Republicans -succeed in suppressing the court, and even the nobility, your husband -would still be the richest man in this State. That is an idea which you -do not keep sufficiently in your head." - -The chair on which the Marchese had the pleasure of installing his wife -was but six paces from the Prince's card-table: she saw Fabrizio only in -profile, but she found him grown so thin, he had, above all, the air of -being so far above everything that might happen in this world, he who -before would never let any incident pass without making his comment, -that she finally arrived at the terrible conclusion: Fabrizio had -altogether changed; he had forgotten her; if he had grown so thin, that -was the effect of the severe fasts to which his piety subjected him. -Clelia was confirmed in this sad thought by the conversation of all her -neighbours: the name of the Coadjutor was on every tongue; they sought a -reason for the signal favour which they saw conferred upon him: for him, -so young, to be admitted to the Prince's table! They marvelled at the -polite indifference and the air of pride with which he threw down his -cards, even when he had His Highness for a partner. - -"But this is incredible!" cried certain old courtiers; "his aunt's -favour has quite turned his head. . . . But, mercifully, it won't last; -our Sovereign does not like people to put on these little airs of -superiority." The Duchessa approached the Prince; the courtiers, who -kept at a most respectful distance from the card-table, so that they -could hear only a few stray words of the Prince's conversation, noticed -that Fabrizio blushed deeply. "His aunt has been teaching him a lesson," -they said to themselves, "about those grand airs of indifference." -Fabrizio had just caught the sound of Clelia's voice, she was replying -to the Princess, who, in making her tour of the ball-room, had addressed -a few words to the wife of her _Cavaliere d'onore_. The moment arrived -when Fabrizio had to change his place at the whist-table; he then found -himself directly opposite Clelia, and gave himself up repeatedly to the -pleasure of contemplating her. The poor Marchesa, feeling his gaze rest -upon her, lost countenance altogether. More than once she forgot what -she owed to her vow: in her desire to read what was going on in -Fabrizio's heart, she fixed her eyes on him. - -The Prince's game ended, the ladies rose to go into the supper-room. -There was some slight confusion. Fabrizio found himself close to Clelia; -his mind was still quite made up, but he happened to recognise a faint -perfume which she used on her clothes; this sensation overthrew all the -resolutions that he had made. He approached her and repeated, in an -undertone and as though he were speaking to himself, two lines from that -sonnet of Petrarch which he had sent her from Lake Maggiore, printed on -a silk handkerchief: - - - "Nessun visse giammai più di me lieto; - Nessun vive più tristo e giorni e notti." - - -"No, he has not forgotten me," Clelia told herself with a transport of -joy. "That fine soul is not inconstant!" - - - "Esser po in prima ogni impossibil cosa - Ch'altri che morte od ella sani il colpo - Ch'Amor co' suoi begli occhi al cor m'impresse," - - -Clelia ventured to repeat to herself these lines of Petrarch. - - - - -_ABSENCE_ - - -The Princess withdrew immediately after supper; the Prince had gone with -her to her room and did not appear again in the reception rooms. As -soon as this became known, everyone wished to leave at once; there was -complete confusion in the ante-rooms; Clelia found herself close to -Fabrizio; the profound misery depicted on his features moved her to -pity. "Let us forget the past," she said to him, "and keep this reminder -of _friendship_." As she said these words, she held out her fan so that -he might take it. - -Everything changed in Fabrizio's eyes; in an instant he was another man; -the following day he announced that his retreat was at an end, and -returned to occupy his magnificent apartment in the _palazzo_ -Sanseverina. The Archbishop said, and believed, that the favour which -the Prince had shewn him in admitting him to his game had completely -turned the head of this new saint: the Duchessa saw that he had come to -terms with Clelia. This thought, coming to intensify the misery that was -caused her by the memory of a fatal promise, finally decided her to -absent herself for a while. People marvelled at her folly. What! Leave -the court at the moment when the favour that she enjoyed appeared to -have no bounds! The Conte, perfectly happy since he had seen that there -was no love between Fabrizio and the Duchessa, said to his friend: "This -new Prince is virtue incarnate, but I have called him _that boy_: will -he ever forgive me? I can see only one way of putting myself back in his -good books, that is absence. I am going to shew myself a perfect model -of courtesy and respect, after which I shall be ill, and shall ask leave -to retire. You will allow me that, now that Fabrizio's fortune is -assured. But will you make me the immense sacrifice," he added, -laughing, "of exchanging the sublime title of Duchessa for another -greatly inferior? For my own amusement, I am leaving everything here in -an inextricable confusion; I had four or five workers in my various -Ministries, I placed them all on the pension list two months ago, -because they read the French newspapers; and I have filled their places -with blockheads of the first order. - -"After our departure, the Prince will find himself in such difficulties -that, in spite of the horror that he feels for Rassi's character, I have -no doubt that he will be obliged to recall him, and I myself am only -awaiting an order from the tyrant who disposes of my fate to write a -letter of tender friendship to my friend Rassi, and tell him that I have -every reason to hope that presently justice will be done to his merits." - - - - -CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN - - -This serious conversation was held on the day following Fabrizio's -return to the _palazzo_ Sanseverina; the Duchessa was still, overcome by -the joy that radiated from Fabrizio's every action. "So," she said to -herself, "that little saint has deceived me! She has not been able to -hold out against her lover for three months even." - -The certainty of a happy ending had given that pusillanimous creature, -the young Prince, the courage to love; he knew something of the -preparations for flight that were being made at the _palazzo_ -Sanseverina; and his French valet, who had little belief in the virtue -of great ladies, gave him courage with respect to the Duchessa. Ernesto -V allowed himself to take a step for which he was severely reproved by -the Princess and all the sensible people at court; to the populace it -appeared to set the seal on the astonishing favour which the Duchessa -enjoyed. The Prince went to see her in her _palazzo_. - -"You are leaving," he said to her in a serious tone which the Duchessa -thought odious; "you are leaving, you are going to play me false and -violate your oath! And yet, if I had delayed ten minutes in granting you -Fabrizio's pardon, he would have been dead. And you leave me in this -wretched state! When but for your oath I should never have had the -courage to love you as I do! Have you no sense of honour, then?" - -"Think for a little, Prince. In the whole of your life has there been a -period equal in happiness to the four months that have just gone by? -Your glory as Sovereign, and, I venture to think, your happiness as a -man, have never risen to such a pitch. This is the compact that I -propose; if you deign to consent to it, I shall not be your mistress for -a fleeting instant, and by virtue of an oath extorted by fear, but I -shall consecrate every moment of my life to procuring your happiness, I -shall be always what I have been for the last four months, and perhaps -love will come to crown friendship. I would not swear to the contrary." - -"Very well," said the Prince, delighted, "take on another part, be -something more still, reign at once over my heart and over my States, be -my Prime Minister; I offer you such a marriage as is permitted by the -regrettable conventions of my rank; we have an example close at hand: -the King of Naples has recently married the Duchessa di Partana. I offer -you all that I have to offer, a marriage of the same sort. I am going to -add a distressing political consideration to shew you that I am no -longer a mere boy, and that I have thought of everything. I lay no -stress on the condition which I impose on myself of being the last -Sovereign of my race, the sorrow of seeing in my lifetime the Great -Powers dispose of my succession; I bless these very genuine drawbacks, -since they offer me additional means of proving to you my esteem and my -passion." - -The Duchessa did not hesitate for an instant; the Prince bored her, and -the Conte seemed to her perfectly suitable; there was only one man in -the world who could be preferred to him. Besides, she ruled the Conte, -and the Prince, dominated by the exigencies of his rank, would more or -less rule her. Then, too, he might become unfaithful to her, and take -mistresses; the difference of age would seem, in a very few years, to -give him the right to do so. - - - - -_THE DUCHESSA_ - - -From the first moment, the prospect of boredom had settled the whole -question; however, the Duchessa, who wished to be as charming as -possible, asked leave to reflect. - -It would take too long to recount here the almost loving turns of speech -and the infinitely graceful terms in which she managed to clothe her -refusal. The Prince flew into a rage; he saw all his happiness escaping. -What was to become of him when the Duchessa had left his court? Besides, -what a humiliation to be refused! "And what will my French valet say -when I tell him of my defeat?" - -The Duchessa knew how to calm the Prince, and to bring the discussion -back gradually to her actual terms. - -"If Your Highness deigns to consent not to press for the fulfilment of a -fatal promise, and one that is horrible in my eyes, as making me incur -my own contempt, I shall spend my life at his court, and that court will -always be what it has been this winter; every moment of my time will be -devoted to contributing to his happiness as a man, and to his glory as a -Sovereign. If he insists on binding me by my oath, he will be destroying -the rest of my life, and will at once see me leave his States, never to -return. The day on which I shall have lost my honour will be also the -last day on which I shall set eyes on you." - -But the Prince was obstinate, like all pusillanimous creatures; moreover -his pride as a man and a Sovereign was irritated by the refusal of his -hand; he thought of all the difficulties which he would have had to -overcome to make this marriage be accepted, difficulties which, -nevertheless, he was determined to conquer. - -For the next three hours, the same arguments were repeated on either -side, often interspersed with very sharp words. The Prince exclaimed: - -"Do you then wish me to believe, Signora, that you are lacking in -honour? If I had hesitated so long on the day when General Fabio Conti -was giving Fabrizio poison, you would at present be occupied in erecting -a tomb to him in one of the churches of Parma." - -"Not at Parma, certainly, in this land of poisoners." - -"Very well then, go, Signora Duchessa," retorted the Prince angrily, -"and you will take with you my contempt." - -As he was leaving, the Duchessa said to him in a whisper: - -"Very well, be here at ten o'clock this evening, in the strictest -incognito, and you shall have your fool's bargain. You will then have -seen me for the last time, and I would have devoted my life to making -you as happy as an Absolute Prince can be in this age of Jacobins. And -think what your court will be when I am no longer here to extricate it -by force from its innate dulness and mischief." - -"For your part, you refuse the crown of Parma, and more than the crown, -for you would not have been the ordinary Princess, married for political -reasons and without being loved; my heart is all yours, and you would -have seen yourself for ever the absolute mistress of my actions as of my -government." - -"Yes, but the Princess your mother would have the right to look down -upon me as a vile intriguer." - -"What then; I should banish the Princess with a pension." - -There were still three quarters of an hour of cutting retorts. The -Prince, who had a delicate nature, could not make up his mind either to -enjoy his rights, or to let the Duchessa go. He had been told that after -the first moment has been obtained, no matter how, women come back. - -Driven from the house by the indignant Duchessa, he had the temerity to -return, trembling all over and extremely unhappy, at three minutes to -ten. At half past ten the Duchessa stepped into her carriage and started -for Bologna. She wrote to the Conte as soon as she was outside the -Prince's States: - - - - -_THE AMBASSADOR_ - - -"The sacrifice has been made. Do not ask me to be merry for a month. I -shall not see Fabrizio again; I await you at Bologna, and when you -please I will be the Contessa Mosca. I ask you one thing only, do not -ever force me to appear again in the land I am leaving, and remember -always that instead of an income of 150,000 lire, you are going to have -thirty or forty thousand at the very most. All the fools have been -watching you with gaping mouths, and for the future you will be -respected only so long as you demean yourself to understand all their -petty ideas. _Tu l'as voulu, George Dandin!_" - -A week later their marriage was celebrated at Perugia, in a church in -which the Conte's ancestors were buried. The Prince was in despair. The -Duchessa had received from him three or four couriers, and had not -failed to return his letters to him, in fresh envelopes, with their -seals unbroken. Ernesto V had bestowed a magnificent pension on the -Conte, and had given the Grand Cordon of his order to Fabrizio. - -"That is what pleased me most in his farewells. We parted," said the -Conte to the new Contessa Mosca della Rovere, "the best friends in the -world; he gave me a Spanish Grand Cordon, and diamonds which are worth -quite as much as the Grand Cordon. He told me that he would make me a -Duca, but he wished to keep that in reserve, as a way of bringing you -back to his States. And so I am charged to inform you, a fine mission -for a husband, that if you deign to return to Parma, be it only for a -month, I shall be made Duca, with whatever title you may select, and you -shall have a fine estate." - -This the Duchessa refused with an expression of horror. - -After the scene that had occurred at the ball at court, which seemed -fairly decisive, Clelia seemed to retain no memory of the love which she -had for a moment reciprocated; the most violent remorse had seized hold -of that virtuous and Christian soul. All this Fabrizio understood quite -well, and in spite of all the hopes that he sought to entertain, a -sombre misery took possession similarly of his soul. This time, however, -his misery did not send him into retreat, as on the occasion of Clelia's -marriage. - -The Conte had requested _his nephew_ to keep him exactly informed of all -that went on at court, and Fabrizio, who was beginning to realise all -that he owed to him, had promised himself that he would carry out this -mission faithfully. - -Like everyone in the town and at court, Fabrizio had no doubt that the -Conte intended to return to the Ministry, and with more power than he -had ever had before. The Conte's forecasts were not long in taking -effect: in less than six weeks after his departure, Rassi was Prime -Minister, Fabio Conti Minister of War, and the prisons, which the Conte -had nearly emptied, began to fill again. The Prince, in summoning these -men to power, thought that he was avenging himself on the Duchessa; he -was madly in love and above all hated Conte Mosca as a rival. - -Fabrizio had plenty to do; Monsignor Landriani, now seventy-two years -old, had declined into a state of great languor, and as he now hardly -ever left his Palace, it fell to his Coadjutor to take his place in -almost all his functions. - -The Marchesa Crescenzi, crushed by remorse, and frightened by her -spiritual director, had found an excellent way of withdrawing herself -from Fabrizio's gaze. Taking as an excuse the last months of a first -confinement, she had given herself as a prison her own _palazzo_; but -this _palazzo_ had an immense garden. Fabrizio managed to find a way -into it, and placed on the path which Clelia most affected flowers tied -up in nosegays, and arranged in such a way as to form a language, like -the flowers which she had sent up to him every evening in the last days -of his imprisonment in the Torre Farnese. - - - - -_THE COURT_ - - -The Marchesa was greatly annoyed by this overture; the motions of her -soul were swayed at one time by remorse, at another by passion. For -several months she did not allow herself to go down once to the garden -of her _palazzo_; she had scruples even about looking at it from the -windows. - -Fabrizio began to think that she was parted from him for ever, and -despair began to seize hold of his soul also. The world in which he was -obliged to live disgusted him unspeakably, and had he not been convinced -in his heart that the Conte could not find peace of mind apart from his -Ministry, he would have gone into retreat in his small apartment in the -Archbishop's Palace. It would have been pleasant for him to live -entirely in his thoughts and never more to hear the human voice save in -the exercise of his functions. - -"But," he said to himself, "in the interest of the Conte and Contessa -Mosca, there is no one to take my place." - -The Prince continued to treat him with a distinction which placed him in -the highest rank at that court, and this favour he owed in great measure -to himself. The extreme reserve which, in Fabrizio, sprang from an -indifference bordering on disgust for all the affections or petty -passions that fill the lives of men, had pricked the young Prince's -vanity; he often remarked that Fabrizio had as much character as his -aunt. The Prince's candid nature had in part perceived a truth: namely -that no one approached him with the same feelings in his heart as -Fabrizio. What could not escape the notice even of the common herd of -courtiers was that the consideration won by Fabrizio was not that given -to a mere Coadjutor, but actually exceeded the respect which the -Sovereign shewed to the Archbishop. Fabrizio wrote to the Conte that if -ever the Prince had enough intelligence to perceive the mess into which -the Ministers, Rassi, Fabio Conti, Zurla and others of like capacity had -thrown his affairs, he, Fabrizio, would be the natural channel through -which he would take action without unduly compromising his self-esteem. - -"But for the memory of those fatal words, _that boy_," he told Contessa -Mosca, "applied by a man of talent to an august personage, the august -personage would already have cried: 'Return at once and rid me of these -rascals!' At this very moment, if the wife of the man of talent deigned -to make an advance, of however little significance, the Conte would be -recalled with joy: but he will return through a far nobler door, if he -is willing to wait until the fruit is ripe. Meanwhile everyone is bored -to death at the Princess's drawing-rooms, they have nothing to amuse -them but the absurdity of Rassi, who, now that he is a Conte, has become -a maniac for nobility. Strict orders have just been issued that anyone -who cannot produce eight quarterings of nobility _must no longer dare_ -to present himself at the Princess's evenings (these are the exact words -of the proclamation). All the men who already possess the right to enter -the great gallery in the mornings, and to remain in the Sovereign's -presence when he passes on his way to mass, are to continue to enjoy -that privilege; but newcomers will have to shew proof of their eight -quarterings. Which has given rise to the saying that it is clear that -Rassi gives no quarter." - -It may be imagined that such letters were not entrusted to the post. -Contessa Mosca replied from Naples: "We have a concert every Thursday, -and a _conversazione_ on Sundays; there is no room to move in our rooms. -The Conte is enchanted with his excavations, he devotes a thousand -francs a month to them, and has just brought some labourers down from -the mountains of the Abruzzi, who cost him only three and twenty soldi a -day. You must really come and see us. This is the twentieth time and -more, you ungrateful man, that I have given you this invitation." - - - - -_THE PULPIT_ - - -Fabrizio had no thought of obeying the summons: the letter which he -wrote every day to the Conte or Contessa seemed in itself an almost -insupportable burden. The reader will forgive him when he learns that a -whole year passed in this way, without his being able to address a -single word to the Marchesa. All his attempts to establish some -correspondence with her had been repulsed with horror. The habitual -silence which, in his boredom with life, Fabrizio preserved everywhere, -except in the exercise of his functions and at court, added to the -spotless purity of his morals, made him the object of a veneration so -extraordinary that he finally decided to pay heed to his aunt's advice. - - -"The Prince has such a veneration for you," she wrote to him, "that you -must be on the look-out for disgrace; he will lavish on you signs of -indifference, and the atrocious contempt of the courtiers will follow on -the heels of his. These petty despots, however honest they may be, -change like the fashions, and for the same reason: boredom. You will -find no strength to resist the Sovereign's caprices except in preaching. -You improvise so well in verse! Try to speak for half an hour on -religion; you will utter heresies at first; but hire a learned and -discreet theologian to help you with your sermons, and warn you of your -mistakes, you can put them right the day after." - - -The kind of misery which a crossed love brings to the soul has this -effect, that everything which requires attention and action becomes an -atrocious burden. But Fabrizio told himself that his influence with the -people, if he acquired any, might one day be of use to his aunt, and -also to the Conte, his veneration for whom increased daily, as his -public life taught him to realise the dishonesty of mankind. He decided -to preach, and his success, prepared for him by his thinness and his -worn coat, was without precedent. People found in his utterances a -fragrance of profound sadness, which, combined with his charming -appearance and the stories of the high favour that he enjoyed at court, -captivated every woman's heart. They invented the legend that he had -been one of the most gallant captains in Napoleon's army. Soon this -absurd rumour had passed beyond the stage of doubt. Seats were reserved -in the churches in which he was to preach; the poor used to take their -places there as a speculation from five o'clock in the morning. - -His success was such that Fabrizio finally conceived the idea, which -altered his whole nature, that, were it only from simple curiosity, the -Marchesa Crescenzi might very well come one day to listen to one of his -sermons. Suddenly the enraptured public became aware that his talent had -increased twofold. He allowed himself, when he was moved, to use imagery -the boldness of which would have made the most practised orators -shudder; at times, forgetting himself completely, he gave way to moments -of passionate inspiration, and his whole audience melted in tears. But -it was in vain that his _aggrottato_ eye sought among all the faces -turned towards the pulpit that one face the presence of which would have -been so great an event for him. - -"But if ever I do have that happiness," he said to himself, "either I -shall be taken ill, or I shall stop short altogether." To obviate the -latter misfortune, he had composed a sort of prayer, tender and -impassioned, which he always placed in the pulpit, on a footstool; his -plan was to begin reading this piece, should the Marchesa's presence -ever place him at a loss for a word. - -He learned one day, through those of the Marchesa's servants who were in -his pay, that orders had been given to prepare for the following evening -the box of the _casa_ Crescenzi at the principal theatre. It was a year -since the Marchesa had appeared at any public spectacle, and it was a -tenor who was creating a furore and filling the house every evening that -was making her depart from her habit. Fabrizio's first impulse was an -intense joy. "At last I can look at her for a whole evening! They say -she is very pale." And he sought to imagine what that charming face -could be like, with its colours half obliterated by the war that had -been waged in her soul. - -His friend Lodovico, in consternation at what he called his master's -madness, found, with great difficulty, a box on the fourth tier, almost -opposite the Marchesa's. An idea suggested itself to Fabrizio; "I hope -to put it into her head to come to a sermon, and I shall choose a church -that is quite small, so as to be able to see her properly." As a rule, -Fabrizio preached at three o'clock. On the morning of the day on which -the Marchesa was to go to the theatre, he gave out that, as he would be -detained all day at the Palace by professional duties, he would preach -as a special exception at half past eight in the evening, in the little -church of Santa Maria della Visitazione, situated precisely opposite one -of the wings of the _palazzo_ Crescenzi. Lodovico, on his behalf, -presented an enormous quantity of candles to the nuns of the Visitation, -with the request that they would illuminate their church during the day. -He had a whole company of Grenadier Guards, a sentry was posted, with -fixed bayonet, outside each chapel, to prevent pilfering. - -The sermon was announced for half past eight only, and by two o'clock -the church was completely filled; one may imagine the din that there was -in the quiet street over which towered the noble structure of the -_palazzo_ Crescenzi. Fabrizio had published the announcement that, in -honour of Our Lady of Pity, he would preach on the pity which a generous -soul ought to feel for one in misfortune, even when he is guilty. - -Disguised with all possible care, Fabrizio reached his box in the -theatre at the moment when the doors were opened, and when there were -still no lights. The performance began about eight o'clock, and a few -minutes later he had that joy which no mind can conceive that has not -also felt it, he saw the door of the Crescenzi box open; a little later -the Marchesa appeared; he had not had so clear a view of her since the -day on which she had given him her fan. Fabrizio thought that he would -suffocate with joy; he was conscious of emotions so extraordinary that -he said to himself: "Perhaps I am going to die! What a charming way of -ending this sad life! Perhaps I am going to collapse in this box; the -faithful gathered at the Visitation will wait for me in vain, and -to-morrow they will learn that their future Archbishop forgot himself in -a box at the Opera, and, what is more, disguised as a servant and -wearing livery! Farewell my whole reputation! And what does my -reputation mean to me?" - -However, about a quarter to nine, Fabrizio collected himself with an -effort; he left his box on the fourth tier and had the greatest -difficulty in reaching, on foot, the place where he was to doff his -livery and put on a more suitable costume. It was not until nearly nine -o'clock that he arrived at the Visitation, in such a state of pallor and -weakness that the rumour went round the church that the Signor -Coadiutore would not be able to preach that evening. One may imagine the -attention that was lavished on him by the Sisters at the grille of their -inner parlour, to which he had retired. These ladies talked incessantly; -Fabrizio asked to be left alone for a few moments, then hastened to the -pulpit. One of his assistants had informed him, about three o'clock, -that the Church of the Visitation was packed to the doors, but with -people of the lowest class, attracted apparently by the spectacle of the -illumination. On entering the pulpit, Fabrizio was agreeably surprised -to find all the chairs occupied by young men of fashion, and by people -of the highest distinction. - -A few words of excuse began his sermon, and were received with -suppressed cries of admiration. Next came the impassioned description of -the unfortunate wretch whom one must pity, to honour worthily the -_Madonna della Pietà_, who, herself, had so greatly suffered when on -earth. The orator was greatly moved; there were moments when he could -barely pronounce his words so as to be heard in every part of this small -church. In the eyes of all the women, and of a good many of the men, he -had himself the air of the wretch whom one ought to pity, so extreme was -his pallor. A few minutes after the words of apology with which he had -begun his discourse, it was noticed that he was not in his normal state; -it was felt that his melancholy, this evening, was more profound and -more tender than usual. Once he was seen to have tears in his eyes; in a -moment there rose through the congregation a general sob, so loud that -the sermon was completely interrupted. - -This first interruption was followed by a dozen others; his listeners -uttered cries of admiration, there were outbursts of tears; one heard at -every moment such exclamations as: "_Ah! Santa Madonna_!" "_Ah! Gran -Dio_!" The emotion was so general and so irrepressible in this select -public, that no one was ashamed of uttering these cries, and the people -who were carried away by them did not seem to their neighbours to be in -the least absurd. - -During the rest which it is customary to take in the middle of the -sermon, Fabrizio was informed that there was absolutely no one left in -the theatre; one lady only was still to be seen in her box, the Marchesa -Crescenza. During this brief interval, a great clamour was suddenly -heard proceeding from the church; it was the faithful who were voting a -statue to the Signor Coadiutore. His success in the second part of the -discourse was so wild and worldly, the bursts of Christian contrition -gave place so completely to cries of admiration that were altogether -profane, that he felt it his duty to address, on leaving the pulpit, a -sort of reprimand to his hearers. Whereupon they all left at once with a -movement that was singularly formal; and, on reaching the street, all -began to applaud with frenzy, and to shout: "_Evviva del Dongo_!" - -Fabrizio hastily consulted his watch, and ran to a little barred window -which lighted the narrow passage from the organ gallery to the interior -of the convent. Out of politeness to the unprecedented and incredible -crowd which filled the street, the porter of the _palazzo_ Crescenzi had -placed a dozen torches in those iron sconces which one sees projecting -from the outer walls of _palazzo_ built in the middle ages. After some -minutes, and long before the shouting had ceased, the event for which -Fabrizio was waiting with such anxiety occurred, the Marchesa's -carriage, returning from the theatre, appeared in the street; the -coachman was obliged to stop, and it was only at a crawling pace, and by -dint of shouts, that the carriage was able to reach the door. - -The Marchesa had been touched by the sublime music, as is the way with -sorrowing hearts, but far more by the complete solitude in which she -sat, when she learned the reason for it. In the middle of the second -act, and while the tenor was on the stage, even the people in the pit -had suddenly abandoned their seats to go and tempt fortune by trying to -force their way into the Church of the Visitation. The Marchesa, finding -herself stopped by the crowd outside her door, burst into tears. "I had -not made a bad choice," she said to herself. - - - - -_ANNETTA MARINI_ - - -But precisely on account of this momentary weakening, she firmly -resisted the pressure put upon her by the Marchese and the friends of -the family, who could not conceive her not going to see so astonishing a -preacher. - -"Really," they said, "he beats even the best tenor in Italy!" "If I see -him, I am lost!" the Marchesa said to herself. - -It was in vain that Fabrizio, whose talent seemed more brilliant every -day, preached several times more in the same little church, opposite the -_palazzo_ Crescenzi, never did he catch sight of Clelia, who indeed took -offence finally at this affectation of coming to disturb her quiet -street, after he had already driven her from her own garden. - -In letting his eye run over the faces of the women who listened to him, -Fabrizio had noticed some time back a little face of dark complexion, -very pretty, and with eyes that darted fire. As a rule these magnificent -eyes were drowned in tears at the ninth or tenth sentence in the sermon. -When Fabrizio was obliged to say things at some length, which were -tedious to himself, he would very readily let his eyes rest on that -head, the youthfulness of which pleased him. He learned that this young -person was called Annetta Marini, the only daughter and heiress of the -richest cloth merchant in Parma, who had died a few months before. - -Presently the name of this Annetta Marini, the cloth merchant's daughter, -was on every tongue; she had fallen desperately in love with Fabrizio. -When the famous sermons began, her marriage had been arranged with -Giacomo Rassi, eldest son of the Minister of Justice, who was by no -means unattractive to her; but she had barely listened twice to -Monsignor Fabrizio before she declared that she no longer wished to -marry; and, since she was asked the reason for so singular a change of -mind, she replied that it was not fitting for an honourable girl to -marry one man when she had fallen madly in love with another. Her family -sought to discover, at first without success, who this other might be. - -But the burning tears which Annetta shed at the sermon put them on the -way to the truth; her mother and uncles having asked her if she loved -Monsignor Fabrizio, she replied boldly that, since the truth had been -discovered, she would not demean herself with a lie; she added that, -having no hope of marrying the man whom she adored, she wished at least -no longer to have her eyes offended by the ridiculous figure of Contino -Rassi. This speech in ridicule of the son of a man who was pursued by -the envy of the entire middle class became in a couple of days the talk -of the whole town. Annetta Marini's reply was thought charming, and -everyone repeated it. People spoke of it at the _palazzo_ Crescenzi as -everywhere else. - - - - -_HAYEZ_ - - -Clelia took good care not to open her mouth on such a topic in her own -drawing-room: but she plied her maid with questions, and, the following -Sunday, after hearing mass in the chapel of her _palazzo_, bade her maid -come with her in her carriage and went in search of a second mass at -Signorina Marini's parish church. She found assembled there all the -gallants of the town, drawn by the same attraction; these gentlemen were -standing by the door. Presently, from the great stir which they made, -the Marchesa gathered that this Signorina Marini was entering the -church; she found herself excellently placed to see her, and, for all -her piety, paid little attention to the mass, Clelia found in this -middle class beauty a little air of decision which, to her mind, would -have suited, if anyone, a woman who had been married for a good many -years. Otherwise, she was admirably built on her small scale, and her -eyes, as they say in Lombardy, seemed to make conversation with the -things at which she looked. The Marchesa escaped before the end of mass. - -The following day the friends of the Crescenzi household, who came -regularly to spend the evening there, related a fresh absurdity on the -part of Annetta Marini. Since her mother, afraid of her doing something -foolish, left only a little money at her disposal. Annetta had gone and -offered a magnificent diamond ring, a gift from her father, to the -famous Hayez, then at Parma decorating the drawing-rooms of the -_palazzo_ Crescenzi, and had asked him to paint the portrait of Signor -del Dongo; but she wished that in this portrait he should simply be -dressed in black, and not in the priestly habit. Well, the previous -evening, Annetta's mother had been greatly surprised, and even more -shocked to find in her daughter's room a magnificent portrait of -Fabrizio del Dongo, set in the finest frame that had been gilded in -Parma in the last twenty years. - - - - -CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT - - -Carried away by the train of events, we have not had time to sketch the -comic race of courtiers who swarm at the court of Parma and who made -fatuous comments on the incidents which we have related. What in that -country makes a small noble, adorned with an income of three or four -thousand lire, worthy to figure in black stockings at the Prince's -levees, is, first and foremost, that he shall never have read Voltaire -and Rousseau: this condition it is not very difficult to fulfil. He must -then know how to speak with emotion of the Sovereign's cold, or of the -latest case of mineralogical specimens that has come to him from Saxony. -If, after this, you were not absent from mass for a single day in the -year, if you could include in the number of your intimate friends two or -three prominent monks, the Prince deigned to address a few words to you -once every year, a fortnight before or a fortnight after the first of -January, which brought you great relief in your parish, and the tax -collector dared not press you unduly if you were in arrears with the -annual sum of one hundred francs with which your small estate was -burdened. - -Signor Gonzo was a poor devil of this sort, very noble, who, apart from -possessing some little fortune of his own, had obtained, through the -Marchese Crescenzi's influence, a magnificent post which brought him in -eleven hundred and fifty francs annually. This man might have dined at -home; but he had one passion: he was never at his ease and happy except -when he found himself in the drawing-room of some great personage who -said to him from time to time: "Hold your tongue, Gonzo, you're a -perfect fool." This judgment was prompted by ill temper, for Gonzo had -almost always more intelligence than the great personage. He would -discuss anything, and quite gracefully, besides, he was ready to change -his opinion on a grimace from the master of the house. To tell the -truth, although of a profound subtlety in securing his own interests, he -had not an idea in his head, and, when the Prince had not a cold, was -sometimes embarrassed as he came into a drawing-room. - - - - -_COURTIERS_ - - -What had, in Parma, won Gonzo a reputation was a magnificent cocked hat, -adorned with a slightly dilapidated black plume, which he wore even with -evening dress; but you ought to have seen the way in which he carried -this plume, whether upon his head or in his hand; there were talent and -importance combined. He inquired with genuine anxiety after the health -of the Marchesa's little dog, and, if the _palazzo_ Crescenzi had caught -fire, he would have risked his life to save one of those fine armchairs -in gold brocade, which for so many years had caught in his black silk -breeches, whenever it so happened that he ventured to sit down for a -moment. - -Seven or eight persons of this species appeared every evening at seven -o'clock in the Marchesa Crescenzi's drawing-room. No sooner had they sat -down than a lackey, magnificently attired in a daffodil-yellow livery, -covered all over with silver braid, as was the red waistcoat which -completed his magnificence, came to take the poor devils' hats and -canes. He was immediately followed by a footman carrying an -infinitesimal cup of coffee, supported on a stem of silver filigree; and -every half hour a butler, wearing a sword and a magnificent coat, in the -French style, brought round ices. - -Half an hour after the threadbare little courtiers, one saw arrive five -or six officers, talking in loud voices and with a very military air, -and usually discussing the number of buttons which ought to be on the -soldiers' uniform in order that the Commander in Chief might gain -victories. It would not have been prudent to quote a French newspaper in -this drawing-room; for, even when the news itself was of the most -agreeable kind, as for instance that fifty Liberals had been shot in -Spain, the speaker none the less remained convicted of having read a -French newspaper. The crowning effort of all these people's skill was to -obtain every ten years an increase of 150 francs in their pensions. It -is thus that the Prince shares with his nobility the pleasure of -reigning over all the peasants and burgesses of the land. - -The principal personage, beyond all question, of the Crescenzi -drawing-room, was the Cavaliere Foscarini, an entirely honest man; in -consequence of which he had been in prison off and on, under every -government. He had been a member of that famous Chamber of Deputies -which, at Milan, rejected the Registration Law presented to them by -Napoleon, an action of very rare occurrence in history. Cavaliere -Foscarini, after having been for twenty years a friend of the Marchese's -mother, had remained the influential man in the household. He had always -some amusing story to tell, but nothing escaped his shrewd perception; -and the young Marchesa, who felt herself guilty at heart, trembled -before him. - -As Gonzo had a regular passion for the great gentleman, who said rude -things to him and moved him to tears once or twice every year, his mania -was to seek to do him trifling services; and, if he had not been -paralysed by the habits of an extreme poverty, he might sometimes have -succeeded, for he was not lacking in a certain ingredient of shrewdness, -and a far greater effrontery. - -Gonzo, as we have seen him, felt some contempt for the Marchesa -Crescenzi, for never in her life had she addressed a word to him that -was not quite civil; but after all she was the wife of the famous -Marchese Crescenzi, _Cavaliere d'onore_ to the Princess, who, once or -twice in a month, used to say to Gonzo: "Hold your tongue, Gonzo, you're -a perfect fool." - - - - -_SONNETS_ - - -Gonzo observed that everything which was said about little Annetta -Marini made the Marchesa emerge for a moment from the state of dreamy -indifference in which as a rule she remained plunged until the clock -struck eleven; then she made tea, and offered a cup to each of the men -present, addressing him by name. After which, at the moment of her -withdrawing to her room, she seemed to find a momentary gaiety, and this -was the time chosen for repeating to her satirical sonnets. - -They compose such sonnets admirably in Italy: it is the one kind of -literature that has still a little vitality; as a matter of fact, it is -not subjected to the censor, and the courtiers of the _casa_ Crescenzi -invariably prefaced their sonnets with these words: "Will the Signora -Marchesa permit one to repeat to her a very bad sonnet?" And when the -sonnet had been greeted with laughter and had been repeated several -times, one of the officers would not fail to exclaim: "The Minister of -Police ought to see about giving a bit of hanging to the authors of such -atrocities." Middle class society, on the other hand, welcomes these -sonnets with the most open admiration, and the lawyers' clerks sell -copies of them. - -From the sort of curiosity shown by the Marchesa, Gonzo imagined that -too much had been said in front of her of the beauty of the little -Marini, who moreover had a fortune of a million, and that the other -woman was jealous of her. As, with his incessant smile and his complete -effrontery towards all that was not noble, Gonzo found his way -everywhere, on the very next day he arrived in the Marchesa's -drawing-room, carrying his plumed hat in a triumphant fashion which was -to be seen perhaps only once or twice in the year, when the Prince had -said to him: "_Addio_, Gonzo." - -After respectfully greeting the Marchesa, Gonzo did not withdraw as -usual to take his seat on the chair which had just been pushed forward -for him. He took his stand in the middle of the circle and exclaimed -bluntly: "I have seen the portrait of Monsignor del Dongo." Clelia was -so surprised that she was obliged to lean upon the arm of her chair; she -tried to face the storm, but presently was obliged to leave the room. - -"You must agree, my poor Gonzo, that your tactlessness is unique," came -arrogantly from one of the officers, who was finishing his fourth ice. -"Don't you know that the Coadjutor, who was one of the most gallant -Colonels in Napoleon's army, played a trick that ought to have hanged -him on the Marchesa's father, when he walked out of the citadel where -General Fabio Conti was in command, as he might have walked out of the -Steccata?" (The Steccata is the principal church in Parma.) - -"Indeed I am ignorant of many things, my dear Captain, and I am a poor -imbecile who makes blunders all day long." - -This reply, quite to the Italian taste, caused a laugh at the expense of -the brilliant officer. The Marchesa soon returned; she had armed herself -with courage, and was not without hope of being able herself to admire -this portrait, which was said to be excellent. She spoke with praise of -the talent of Hayez, who had painted it. Unconsciously she addressed -charming smiles at Gonzo, who looked malevolently at the officer. As all -the other courtiers of the house indulged in the same pastime, the -officer took flight, not without vowing a deadly hatred against Gonzo; -the latter was triumphant, and later in the evening, when he took his -leave, was invited to dine next day. - - - - -_GONZO_ - - -"I can tell you something more," cried Gonzo, the following evening, -after dinner, when the servants had left the room: "the latest thing is -that our Coadjutor has fallen in love with the little Marini!" - -One may judge of the agitation that arose in Clelia's heart on hearing -so extraordinary an announcement. The Marchese himself was moved. - -"But, Gonzo my friend, you are off the track, as usual! And you ought to -speak with a little more caution of a person who has had the honour to -sit down eleven times at his Highness's whist-table." - -"Well, Signor Marchese," replied Gonzo with the coarseness of people of -his sort, "I can promise you that he would just as soon sit down to the -little Marini. But it is enough that these details displease you; they -no longer exist for me, who desire above all things not to shock my -beloved Marchese." - -Regularly, after dinner, the Marchese used to retire to take a _siesta_. -He let the time pass that day; but Gonzo would sooner have cut out his -tongue than have said another word about the little Marini; and, every -moment, he began a speech, so planned that the Marchese might hope that -he was about to return to the subject of the little lady's love affairs. -Gonzo had in a superior degree that Italian quality of mind which -consists in exquisitely delaying the launching of the word for which -one's hearer longs. The poor Marchese, dying of curiosity, was obliged -to make advances; he told Gonzo that, when he had the pleasure of dining -with him, he ate twice as much as usual. Gonzo did not take the hint, he -began to describe a magnificent collection of pictures which the -Marchesa Balbi, the late Prince's mistress, was forming; three or four -times he spoke of Hayez, in a slow and measured tone full of the most -profound admiration. The Marchese said to himself: "Now he is coming to -the portrait which the little Marini ordered!" But this was what Gonzo -took good care not to do. Five o'clock struck, which put the Marchese in -the worst of tempers, for he was in the habit of getting into his -carriage at half past five, after his _siesta_, to drive to the Corso. - -"This is what you do with your stupid talk!" he said rudely to Gonzo: -"you are making me reach the Corso after the Princess, whose _Cavaliere -d'onore_ I am, when she may have orders to give me. Come along! Hurry -up! Tell me in a few words, if you can, what is this so-called love -affair of the Coadjutor?" - -But Gonzo wished to keep this anecdote for the Marchesa, who had invited -him to dine; he did _hurry up_, in a very few words, the story demanded of -him, and the Marchese, half asleep, ran off to take his _siesta_. Gonzo -adopted a wholly different manner with the poor Marchesa. She had -remained so young and natural in spite of her high position, that she -felt it her duty to make amends for the rudeness with which the Marchese -had just spoken to Gonzo. Charmed by this success, her guest recovered -all his eloquence, and made it a pleasure, no less than a duty, to enter -into endless details with her. - -Little Annetta Marini gave as much as a sequin for each place that was -kept for her for the sermons; she always arrived with two of her aunts -and her father's old cashier. These places, which were reserved for her -overnight, were generally chosen almost opposite the pulpit, but -slightly in the direction of the high altar, for she had noticed that -the Coadjutor often turned towards the altar. Now, what the public also -had noticed was that, _not infrequently_, those speaking eyes of the -young preacher rested with evident pleasure on the young heiress, that -striking beauty; and apparently with some attention, for, when he had -his eyes fixed on her, his sermon became learned; the quotations began -to abound in it, there was no more sign of that eloquence which springs -from the heart; and the ladies, whose interest ceased almost at once, -began to look at the Marini and to find fault with her. - -Clelia made him repeat to her three times over all these singular -details. At the third repetition she became lost in meditation; she was -calculating that just fourteen months had passed since she last saw -Fabrizio. "Would it be very wrong," she asked herself, "to spend an hour -in a church, not to see Fabrizio but to hear a famous preacher? Besides, -I shall take a seat a long way from the pulpit, and I shall look at -Fabrizio only once as I go in and once more at the end of the -sermon. . . . No," Clelia said to herself, "it is not Fabrizio I am going -to see, I am going to hear the astounding preacher!" In the midst of all -these reasonings, the Marchesa felt some remorse; her conduct had been so -exemplary for fourteen months! "Well," she said to herself, in order to -secure some peace of mind, "if the first woman to arrive this evening -has been to hear Monsignor del Dongo, I shall go too; if she has not -been, I shall stay away." - -Having come to this decision, the Marchesa made Gonzo happy by saying to -him: - -"Try to find out on what day the Coadjutor will be preaching, and in -what church. This evening, before you go, I shall perhaps have a -commission to give you." - -No sooner had Gonzo set off for the Corso than Clelia went to take the -air in the garden of her _palazzo_. She did not consider the objection -that for ten months she had not set foot in it. She was lively, -animated; she had a colour. That evening, as each boring visitor entered -the room, her heart throbbed with emotion. At length they announced -Gonzo, who at the first glance saw that he was going to be the -indispensable person for the next week; "The Marchesa is jealous of the -little Marini, and, upon my word, it would be a fine drama to put on the -stage," he said to himself, "with the Marchesa playing the leading lady, -little Annetta the juvenile, and Monsignor del Dongo the lover! Upon my -word, the seats would not be too dear at two francs." He was beside -himself with joy, and throughout the evening cut everybody short, and -told the most ridiculous stories (that, for example, of the famous -actress and the Marquis de Pequigny, which he had heard the day before -from a French visitor). The Marchesa, for her part, could not stay in -one place; she moved about the drawing-room, she passed into a gallery -adjoining it into which the Marchese had admitted no picture that had -not cost more than twenty thousand francs. These pictures spoke in so -clear a language that evening that they wore out the Marchesa's heart -with the force of her emotion. At last she heard the double doors open, -she ran to the drawing-room: it was the Marchesa Raversi! But, on making -her the customary polite speeches, Clelia felt that her voice was -failing her. The Marchesa made her repeat twice the question: "What do -you think of the fashionable preacher?" which she had not heard at -first. - -"I did regard him as a little intriguer, a most worthy nephew of the -illustrious Contessa Mosca, but the last time he preached; why, it was -at the Church of the Visitation, opposite you, he was so sublime, that I -could not hate him any longer, and I regard him as the most eloquent man -I have ever heard." - -"So you have been to hear his sermons?" said Clelia, trembling with -happiness. - -"Why," the Marchesa laughed, "haven't you been listening? I wouldn't -miss one for anything in the world. They say that his lungs are -affected, and that soon he will have to give up preaching." - -No sooner had the Marchesa left than Clelia called Gonzo to the gallery. - -"I have almost decided," she told him, "to hear this preacher who is so -highly praised. When does he preach?" - -"Next Monday, that is to say in three days from now; and one would say -that he had guessed Your Excellency's intention, for he is coming to -preach in the Church of the Visitation." - -There was more to be settled; but Clelia could no longer muster enough -voice to speak: she took five or six turns of the gallery without adding -a word. Gonzo said to himself: "There is vengeance at work. How can -anyone have the insolence to escape from a prison, especially when he is -guarded by a hero like General Fabio Conti? - -"However, you must make haste," he added with delicate irony; "his lungs -are affected. I heard Doctor Rambo say that he has not a year to live; -God is punishing him for having broken his bond by treacherously -escaping from the citadel." - -The Marchesa sat down on the divan in the gallery, and made a sign to -Gonzo to follow her example. After some moments of silence she handed -him a little purse in which she had a few sequins ready. "Reserve four -places for me." - -"Will it be permitted for poor Gonzo to slip in Your Excellency's -train?" - -"Certainly. Reserve five places. . . . I do not in the least mind," she -added, "whether I am near the pulpit; but I should like to see Signorina -Marini, who they say is so pretty." - -The Marchesa could not live through the three days that separated her -from the famous Monday, the day of the sermon. Gonzo, inasmuch as it was -a signal honour to be seen in the company of so great a lady, had put on -his French coat with his sword; this was not all, taking advantage of -the proximity of the _palazzo_, he had had carried into the church a -magnificent gilt armchair for the Marchesa, which was thought the last -word in insolence by the middle classes. One may imagine how the poor -Marchesa felt when she saw this armchair, which had been placed directly -opposite the pulpit. Clelia was in such confusion, with downcast eyes, -shrinking into a corner of the huge chair, that she had not even the -courage to look at the little Marini, whom Gonzo pointed out to her with -his hand with an effrontery which amazed her. Everyone not of noble -birth was absolutely nothing in the eyes of this courtier. - -Fabrizio appeared in the pulpit; he was so thin, so pale, so _consumed_, -that Clelia's eyes immediately filled with tears. Fabrizio uttered a few -words, then stopped, as though his voice had suddenly failed; he tried -in vain to begin various sentences; he turned round and took up a sheet -of paper: - -"Brethren," he said, "an unhappy soul and one well worthy of all your -pity requests you, through my lips, to pray for the ending of his -torments, which will cease only with his life." - -Fabrizio read the rest of his paper very slowly; but the expression of -his voice was such that before he was halfway through the prayer, -everyone was weeping, even Gonzo. "At any rate, I shall not be noticed," -thought the Marchesa, bursting into tears. - - - - -_THE ORANGERY_ - - -While he was reading from the paper, Fabrizio found two or three ideas -concerning the state of the unhappy man for whom he had come to beg the -prayers of the faithful. Presently thoughts came to him in abundance. -While he appeared to be addressing the public, he spoke only to the -Marchesa. He ended his discourse a little sooner than was usual, -because, in spite of his efforts to control them, his tears got the -better of him to such a point that he was no longer able to pronounce -his words in an intelligible manner. The good judges found this sermon -strange but quite equal, in pathos at least, to the famous sermon -preached with the lighted candles. As for Clelia, no sooner had she -heard the first ten lines of the prayer read by Fabrizio than it seemed -to her an atrocious crime to have been able to spend fourteen months -without seeing him. On her return home she took to her bed, to be able -to think of Fabrizio with perfect freedom; and next morning, at an early -hour, Fabrizio received a note couched in the following terms: - - -"We rely upon your honour; find four _bravi_, of whose discretion you -can be sure, and to-morrow, when midnight sounds from the Steccata, be -by a little door which bears the number 19, in the Strada San Paolo. -Remember that you may be attacked, do not come alone." - - -On recognising that heavenly script, Fabrizio fell on his knees and -burst into tears. "At last," he cried, "after fourteen months and eight -days! Farewell to preaching." - -It would take too long to describe all the varieties of folly to which -the hearts of Fabrizio and Clelia were a prey that day. The little door -indicated in the note was none other than that of the orangery of the -_palazzo_ Crescenzi, and ten times in the day Fabrizio found an excuse -to visit it. He armed himself, and alone, shortly before midnight, with -a rapid step, was passing by the door when, to his inexpressible joy, he -heard a well known voice say in a very low whisper: - -"Come in here, friend of my heart." - -Fabrizio entered cautiously and found himself actually in the orangery, -but opposite a window heavily barred which stood three or four feet -above the ground. The darkness was intense. Fabrizio had heard a slight -sound in this window, and was exploring the bars with his hand, when he -felt another hand, slipped through the bars, take hold of his and carry -it to a pair of lips which gave it a kiss. - -"It is I," said a dear voice, "who have come here to tell you that I -love you, and to ask you if you are willing to obey me." - -One may imagine the answer, the joy, the astonishment of Fabrizio; after -the first transports, Clelia said to him: - -"I have made a vow to the Madonna, as you know, never to see you; that -is why I receive you in this profound darkness. I wish you to understand -dearly that, should you ever force me to look at you in the daylight, -all would be over between us. But first of all, I do not wish you to -preach before Annetta Marini, and do not go and think that it was I who -was so foolish as to have an armchair carried into the House of God." - -"My dear angel, I shall never preach again before anyone; I have been -preaching only in the hope that one day I might see you." - -"Do not speak like that, remember that it is not permitted to me to see -you." - - -Here we shall ask leave to pass over, without saying a single word about -them, an interval of three years. - -At the time when our story is resumed, Conte Mosca had long since -returned to Parma, as Prime Minister, and was more powerful than ever. - -After three years of divine happiness, Fabrizio's heart underwent a -caprice of affection which led to a complete change in his -circumstances. The Marchesa had a charming little boy two years old, -Sandrino, who was his mother's joy; he was always with her or on the -knees of the Marchese Crescenzi; Fabrizio, on the other hand, hardly -ever saw him; he did not wish him to become accustomed to loving another -father. He formed the plan of taking the child away before his memories -should have grown distinct. - - - - -_L'AMICIZIA_ - - -In the long hours of each day when the Marchesa could not see her lover, -Sandrino's company consoled her; for we have to confess a thing which -will seem strange north of the Alps; in spite of her errors she had -remained true to her vow; she had promised the Madonna, as the reader -may perhaps remember, never to see Fabrizio; these had been her exact -words; consequently she received him only at night, and there was never -any light in the room. - -But every evening he was received by his mistress; and, what is worthy -of admiration, in the midst of a court devoured by curiosity and envy, -Fabrizio's precautions had been so ably calculated that this _amicizia_, -as it is called in Lombardy, had never even been suspected. Their love -was too intense for quarrels not to occur; Clelia was extremely given to -jealousy, but almost always their quarrels sprang from another cause. -Fabrizio had made use of some public ceremony in order to be in the same -place as the Marchesa and to look at her; she then seized a pretext to -escape quickly, and for a long time afterwards banished her lover. - -Amazement was felt at the court of Parma that no intrigue should be -known of a woman so remarkable both for her beauty and for the loftiness -of her mind; she gave rise to passions which inspired many foolish -actions, and often Fabrizio too was jealous. - -The good Archbishop Landriani had long been dead; the piety, the -exemplary morals, the eloquence of Fabrizio had made him be forgotten; -his own elder brother was dead and all the wealth of his family had come -to him. From this time onwards he distributed annually among the vicars -and curates of his diocese the hundred odd thousand francs which the -Archbishopric of Parma brought him in. - -It would be difficult to imagine a life more honoured, more honourable -or more useful than Fabrizio had made for himself, when everything was -upset by this unfortunate caprice of paternal affection. - -"According to the vow which I respect and which nevertheless is the bane -of my life, since you refuse to see me during the day," he said once to -Clelia, "I am obliged to live perpetually alone, with no other -distraction than my work; and besides I have not enough work. In the -course of this stern and sad way of passing the long hours of each day, -an idea has occurred to me, which is now torturing me, and against which -I have been striving in vain for six months: my son will not love me at -all; he never hears my name mentioned. Brought up amid all the pleasing -luxury of the _palazzo_ Crescenzi, he barely knows me. On the rare -occasions when I do see him, I think of his mother, whose heavenly -beauty he recalls to me, and whom I may not see, and he must find me a -serious person, which, with children, means sad." - -"Well," said the Marchesa, "to what is all this speech leading? It -frightens me." - -"To my having my son; I wish him to live with me; I wish to see him -every day; I wish him to grow accustomed to loving me; I wish to love -him myself at my leisure. Since a fatality without counterpart in the -world decrees that I must be deprived of that happiness which so many -other tender hearts enjoy, and forbids me to pass my life with all that -I adore, I wish at least to have beside me a creature who recalls you to -my heart, who to some extent takes your place. Men and affairs are a -burden to me in my enforced solitude; you know that ambition has always -been a vain word to me, since the moment when I had the good fortune to -be locked up by Barbone; and anything that is not felt in my heart seems -to me fatuous in the melancholy which in your absence overwhelms me." - - - - -_SANDRINO_ - - -One can imagine the keen anguish with which her lover's grief filled the -heart of poor Clelia; her sorrow was all the more intense, as she felt -that Fabrizio had some justification. She went the length of wondering -whether she ought not to try to obtain a release from her vow. Then she -would receive Fabrizio during the day like any other person in society, -and her reputation for sagacity was too well established for any scandal -to arise. She told herself that by spending enough money she could -procure a dispensation from her vow; but she felt also that this purely -worldly arrangement would not set her conscience at rest, and that an -angry heaven might perhaps punish her for this fresh crime. - -On the other hand, if she consented to yield to so natural a desire on -the part of Fabrizio, if she sought not to hurt that tender heart which -she knew so well, and whose tranquillity her singular vow so strangely -jeopardised, what chance was there of abducting the only son of one of -the greatest nobles in Italy without the fraud's being discovered? The -Marchese Crescenzi would spend enormous sums, would himself conduct the -investigations, and sooner or later the facts of the abduction would -become known. There was only one way of meeting this danger, the child -must be sent abroad, to Edinburgh, for instance, or to Paris; but this -was a course to which the mother's affection could never consent. The -other plan proposed by Fabrizio, which was indeed the more reasonable of -the two, had something sinister about it, and was almost more alarming -still in the eyes of this despairing mother; she must, said Fabrizio, -feign an illness for the child; he would grow steadily worse, until -finally he died in the Marchese Crescenzi's absence. - -A repugnance which, in Clelia, amounted to terror, caused a rupture that -could not last. - -Clelia insisted that they must not tempt God; that this beloved son was -the fruit of a crime, and that if they provoked the divine anger -further, God would not fail to call him back to Himself. Fabrizio spoke -again of his strange destiny: "The station to which chance has called -me," he said to Clelia, "and my love oblige me to dwell in an eternal -solitude, I cannot, like the majority of my brethren, taste the -pleasures of an intimate society, since you will receive me only in the -darkness, which reduces to a few moments, so to speak, the part of my -life which I may spend with you." - -Tears flowed in abundance. Clelia fell ill; but she loved Fabrizio too -well to maintain her opposition to the terrible sacrifice that he -demanded of her. Apparently, Sandrino fell ill; the Marchese sent in -haste for the most celebrated doctors, and Clelia at once encountered a -terrible difficulty which she had not foreseen: she must prevent this -adored child from taking any of the remedies ordered by the doctors; it -was no small matter. - -The child, kept in bed longer than was good for his health, became -really ill. How was one to explain to the doctors the cause of his -malady? Torn asunder by two conflicting interests both so dear to her, -Clelia was within an ace of losing her reason. Must she consent to an -apparent recovery, and so sacrifice all the results of that long and -painful make-believe? Fabrizio, for his part, could neither forgive -himself the violence he was doing to the heart of his mistress nor -abandon his project. He had found a way of being admitted every night to -the sick child's room, which had led to another complication. The -Marchesa came to attend to her son, and sometimes Fabrizio was obliged -to see her by candle-light, which seemed to the poor sick heart of -Clelia a horrible sin and one that foreboded the death of Sandrino. In -vain had the most famous casuists, consulted as to the necessity of -adherence to a vow in a case where its performance would obviously do -harm, replied that the vow could not be regarded as broken in a criminal -fashion, so long as the person bound by a promise to God failed to keep -that promise not for a vain pleasure of the senses but so as not to -cause an obvious evil. The Marchesa was none the less in despair, and -Fabrizio could see the time coming when his strange idea was going to -bring about the death of Clelia and that of his son. - -He had recourse to his intimate friend, Conte Mosca, who, for all the -old Minister that he was, was moved by this tale of love of which to a -great extent he had been ignorant. - -"I can procure for you the Marchese's absence for five or six days at -least: when do you require it?" - -A little later, Fabrizio came to inform the Conte that everything was in -readiness now for them to take advantage of the Marchese's absence. - -Two days after this, as the Marchese was riding home from one of his -estates in the neighbourhood of Mantua, a party of brigands, evidently -hired to execute some personal vengeance, carried him off, without -maltreating him in any way, and placed him in a boat which took three -days to travel down the Po, making the same journey that Fabrizio had -made long ago, after the famous affair with Giletti. On the fourth day, -the brigands marooned the Marchese on a desert island in the Po, taking -care first to rob him completely, and to leave him no money or other -object that had the slightest value. It was two whole days before the -Marchese managed to reach his _palazzo_ in Parma; he found it draped in -black and all his household in mourning. - -This abduction, very skilfully carried out, had a deplorable -consequence: Sandrino, secretly installed in a large and fine house -where the Marchesa came to see him almost every day, died after a few -months. Clelia imagined herself to have been visited with a just -punishment, for having been unfaithful to her vow to the Madonna: she -had seen Fabrizio so often by candle-light, and indeed twice in broad -daylight and with such rapturous affection, during Sandrino's illness. -She survived by a few months only this beloved son, but had the joy of -dying in the arms of her lover. - -Fabrizio was too much in love and too religious to have recourse to -suicide; he hoped to meet Clelia again in a better world, but he had too -much intelligence not to feel that he had first to atone for many -faults. - -A few days after Clelia's death, he signed several settlements by which -he assured a pension of one thousand francs to each of his servants, and -reserved a similar pension for himself; he gave landed property, of an -annual value of 100,000 lire or thereabouts, to Contessa Mosca; a -similar estate to the Marchesa del Dongo, his mother, and such residue -as there might be of the paternal fortune to one of his sisters who was -poorly married. On the following day, having forwarded to the proper -authorities his resignation of his Archbishopric and of all the posts -which the favour of Ernesto V and the Prime Minister's friendship had -successively heaped upon him, he retired to the _Charterhouse of Parma_, -situated in the woods adjoining the Po, two leagues from Sacca. - - - - -_GINA DEL DONGO_ - - -Contessa Mosca had strongly approved, at the time, her husband's return -to office, but she herself would never on any account consent to cross -the frontier of the States of Ernesto V. She held her court at Vignano, -a quarter of a league from Casalmaggiore, on the left bank of the Po, -and consequently in the Austrian States. In this magnificent palace of -Vignano, which the Conte had built for her, she entertained every -Thursday all the high society of Parma, and every day her own many -friends. Fabrizio had never missed a day in going to Vignano. The -Contessa, in a word, combined all the outward appearances of happiness, -but she lived for a very short time only after Fabrizio, whom she -adored, and who spent but one year in his Charterhouse. - -The prisons of Parma were empty, the Conte immensely rich, Ernesto V -adored by his subjects, who compared his rule to that of the Grand Dukes -of Tuscany. - - - - -TO THE HAPPY FEW - - - - -APPENDIX - - -This translation of _La Chartreuse de Parme_ has been made from the -reprint in two volumes of the first edition (Paris, Les éditions G. -Grès et Cie. MCMXXII), with reference also to the stereotyped edition -published by MM. Calmann Lévy and to the reprint issued by M. -Flammarion in his series, _Les meilleurs auteurs classiques_ (1921). I -am also indebted to the extremely literal version by Signora Maria Ortiz -(Biblioteca Sansoniana Straniera--_La Certosa di Parma_--G. C. Sansoni, -Firenze, 1922), which has thrown a ray of light on several dark -passages. - -The _Chartreuse_ was written in (and not a distance of three hundred -leagues from) Paris, and in the short interval between November 4, 1838, -and December 26 of that year. So much the author reveals in a note, -which I do not translate: "The Char, made 4 novembre 1838--26 décembre -id. The 3 septembre 1838, I had the idea of the Char. I begined it after -a tour in Britanny, I suppose, or to the Havre. I begined the 4 nov. -till the 26 décembre. The 26 dec. I send the 6 énormes cahiers to Kol. -for les faire voir to the bookseller." His object in pretending to have -written the book in 1830 may have been to establish a prescriptive -immunity from any charge of traducing the government of Louis-Philippe; -if so, it is by a characteristic slip that he speaks of having written -it _towards the end of_ 1830. - -Kol., otherwise Romain Colomb, Beyle's executor, relates in the _Notice -Biographique_ prefixed to _Armance_ that in January, 1839, while the -_Chartreuse_ was going through the press, a _cahier_ of sixty pages of the -manuscript was mislaid. Unable to find it among the mass of papers that -littered his room, Beyle rewrote the sixty pages, and the new version -was already in type when he told Colomb of his loss. Colomb at once -searched for and found the missing _cahier_, whereupon Beyle, "stupefied -by the ease of my discovery, dreading, in a sense, the sight of this -manuscript, would not even glance over it, much less compare it with the -pages that had taken its place." - -It was published in March, 1839. In the same year, Beyle began to -correct, reduce and amplify the whole work, before he was moved by -Balzac's criticism to condense the first fifty-four pages into four or -five. Three copies thus annotated are in existence, one of which has -been reproduced in facsimile in an extremely limited edition: (Paris, -Edouard Champion, 3 vols. 1921--100 copies only.) In 1904 M. Casimir -Stryienski reprinted in the first volume of _Les Soirées du Stendhal -Club_ (Mercure de France) the two fragments of which a translation -follows. The first is intended for inclusion in Chapter V, in the brief -account of Fabrizio's convalescence at Amiens. Colonel Le Baron, the -wounded officer whom he met and left at the White Horse Inn at the end -of Chapter IV, is now re-introduced as returning to his family at -Amiens, and a story is told them which supersedes the account of General -Pietranera's death in Chapter II. The second fragment is a small -expansion of the already over-long Chapter VI. - -Visitors to Parma will look in vain for most of the architectural -monuments which met the gaze of Fabrizio. The Torre Farnese has never -existed, though it may have been suggested, as to mass, by the huge -fragment of the Palazzo Farnese at Piacenza, as well as by the Castel -Sant'Angelo in Rome, and as to origin, by the story of Parisina and Ugo -d'Este, told in English by Gibbon and Byron. In appearance, it would -have been not unlike the tower, also damaged by an earthquake, which -stands in the background of Mantegna's fresco of the _Martyrdom of Saint -James_, in the Church of the Eremitani at Padua. The problem of how a -road running out of Parma to the south could lead directly to Sacca and -the Po is as insoluble as that of the guarded permission given to -Fabrizio in 1815 to read the novels of Walter Scott. - -The Steccata of course exists, and the Church of San Giovanni, but the -latter is singularly bare of monumental tombs. There is even a -Charterhouse, at San Lazzaro Parmense, though it has escaped the -attention of Baedeker. There were Farnese, but the last of them died, of -the pleasures of the table, in 1731; a portrait of him in his corpulence -may be seen by the curious in the Reale Galleria in the Piletta--another -large Farnese Palace also unfinished. There is indeed a Cathedral, but -there is no Archbishop, and the Bishop's Palace is an untidy piece of -patched-up antiquity. - -It is probable that Beyle was led to place the scene of his story at -Parma, which, in _Rome, Naples et Florence_, he had dismissed, not -unjustly, as _ville d'ailleurs assez plate_, precisely because there was -not, in 1838, any reigning _dynasty_ in that State. The Duchy of Parma was -held and admirably governed by Marie-Louise, the wife and widow of -Napoleon, from 1815 until after Beyle's death in 1843, when she was -still in the prime of life, being by some years his junior. Suddenly, in -1847, she died. The Bourbon dynasty, which had been transplanted to the -brief Kingdom of Etruria, and in 1814 had been placated with the -Republic of Lucca as a temporary Duchy (which Charles II had finally -sold, a few months earlier, to its legal heir, the Grand Duke of -Tuscany), returned, and rapidly converted Stendhal's fiction into -historical fact. Charles II was almost at once obliged to abdicate. His -son, Charles III, proceeded to emulate the career of Ranuccio-Ernesto IV -until, in 1854, he met a similar fate. His widow, a daughter of the Duc -de Berri, then acted as Regent for her son Robert I, until in 1859 the -Risorgimento swept them for ever from their Duchy. Duke Robert died in -1907, the father of twenty children, one of whom, Prince Sixte de -Bourbon-Parme, shewed in the late war some reflexion of the spirit of -Fabrizio del Dongo, as the curious English reader may find in my -translation of his _L'Autriche et la paix séparée_ (_Austria's Peace -Offer_, London, Constable and Co., Ltd., 1921). Another is the Empress -Zita, while a third has re-established the Bourbon dynasty in Northern -Europe by becoming the father of the Hereditary Grand Duke of -Luxembourg. - -Francesco Hayez, the Milanese painter immortalised by his decoration of -the _palazzo_ Crescenzi and by his portrait of Fabrizio del Dongo, died -at a great age in 1882, having outlived the date appointed by Beyle for -his own immortality. - - -C. K. S. M. - - - - -FRAGMENT I - -_BIRAGUE'S NARRATIVE_ - - -Fabrizio, well received in this house which seemed to him very pleasant, -sought never to speak of the battle, since memories of that sort -depressed the Colonel; but as he thought without ceasing of the details -of which he had been a witness, he would sometimes return to the topic; -then the Colonel placed a finger on his lips with a smile, and spoke of -something else. On the other hand, Fabrizio was careful never to say -anything that might let it be guessed by what succession of chances he -had been brought into the neighbourhood of Waterloo. The ladies -especially were constantly placing him under the necessity of finding -polite answers which should tell them nothing of what they desired to -know. At every moment, by phrases which betrayed the keenest interest, -they placed him under the necessity of telling them something; but he -got well out of the trap and the ladies knew absolutely nothing, except -that he was called Vasi, and even then they had good reason to believe -that this name was assumed. - -Colonel Le Baron, his wife and the ladies of their acquaintance were -therefore devoured by curiosity, this young man's adventures must indeed -be extraordinary. - -"All that I can say positively," repeated the Colonel, "is that he is -endowed with the truest courage, the most simple, the most innocent, so -to speak. When I was so stupid as to set him on picket at the head of -the bridge of La Sainte, and he fought there, one against ten, I would -wager that he was drawing a sabre for the first time." - -"And his passport which you went to verify at the municipality is really -made out: Vasi, dealer in barometers, travelling with his wares?" . . . - -The ladies, that day, plied him with a thousand artful questions about -the barometers, he extricated himself with a laugh and very neatly; they -consulted him as to the state of the barometer in the house, which they -put in his hands, he remembered the tone that, in similar circumstances, -Conte Pietranera would have adopted, and, justified by the fun that was -being made of him, replied in a tone of the most lively gallantry. His -appearance was so modest and his tone was in so strange a contrast to -his ordinary manner that it was by no means ill received, the ladies -went into fits of laughter. That same evening the Colonel said to them: - -"Chance has just offered me a way of finding out our young man's -position; you know that resurrected-looking creature who has come to him -from Italy, the man is a lawyer and is called Birague, but besides that -he is dying of fright; he speaks bad French, but I hope that his -gibberish may not offend you, for he is so driven by fear that each of -his sentences says something. This morning, this lawyer who, for some -days, has always followed me with his eye at the _café_, has at last -found an excuse for, as he says, presenting his respects to me; I at -once thought that perhaps you would deign not to be put off by his -speech, which for that matter greatly resembles your young favourite's; -and so I have invited this strange creature to take tea with us this -evening, and, if you give me leave, I shall now send Beloir to fetch him -from the _café_." - -Ten minutes later, Trooper Beloir announced at the door of the -drawing-room: "M. Birague, _avocat_." - -The conversation lasted for fully two hours, the ladies heaped every -attention on the poor lawyer, who did everything in his power to please -them, but it was in vain that they sought to extract from him anything -that bore upon Fabrizio; they had lost patience with his discretion, -which was not lacking in polite forms of speech, when the Colonel -exclaimed: - -"I must say, my dear _avocat_, that you are a very brave man, how could -you dare enter France in the present state of things? They are kind -enough to give me in the army a certain reputation for bravery, but I -must confess to you that in your place, and (I tell you frankly) -speaking a French so different from that spoken by the natives of the -country, I should never have ventured to penetrate into so disturbed a -country. Now I see that you have made a conquest of these ladies, you -have an air of sincerity which pleases me and I should like to give you -my protection. Madame's uncle is Mayor of Amiens; I ought to tell you -that, since you are not recommended by an Ambassador, your fate lies in -his hands. M. le Maire Leborgne has a savage nature, he will never -believe that you have come to Amiens for your health," and so forth. - -The ladies were quick in taking the hint given them by the Colonel; they -took the utmost pains to give the Milanese lawyer a strong impression of -the cruel nature of the worthy M. Leborgne, Mayor of Amiens. Birague -turned paler than his shirt, than the white cravat and enormous hat in -which he had attired himself that evening to be presented to ladies; but -he found himself so well treated that finally about eleven o'clock he -ventured to ask the Colonel if he had any horses. The Colonel asked him -whether, at that time of night, he wished to go for a ride, saying that -he had only two horses, which indeed were a pair of screws, but that he -placed them willingly at his service. - -"I should not think of going out by the gate at this hour, and running -the risk of seeing myself questioned by the police, but I find so -estimable a humanity in your heart and in the hearts of these good -ladies that I venture to make a request of you; allow me to spend the -night in your horses' hayloft: as it is an idea that has just occurred -to me, the terrible Mayor Leborgne would never hear of it and I should -spend one night at least in peace and quiet. I am lodging with His -Excellency, M. Vasi, but he has committed the imprudence, as a matter of -fact long before my arrival, of refusing to see any more of the Duprez -family, who are greatly annoyed and who, I have no doubt, would be glad -to have their revenge. I have not attempted to hide my feelings in the -matter from M. Vasi, I have taken the liberty of saying that this step -was rash on his part; but your experience, Monsieur le Colonel, must -have taught you what the rashness of youth is. M. Vasi's answer was that -he would have been stifled by boredom if he had continued to spend his -evenings with the Duprez family. - -"In the present state of things, the Duprez, who, no doubt, desire to be -avenged, will not dare to attack a man like M. Vasi, but they will take -it out of a poor devil like myself," and so on. - -The Colonel ended by giving M. Birague a letter of recommendation -addressed to the Mayor of Amiens, in which he declared that he would -answer with his life for M. Birague, a respectable lawyer of Milan, whom -he had known when he was stationed in that city. - -"Carry this letter on you while you are on your way to the Grand -Monarque, and burn all the written or printed documents which you may -have in your room; spend a quiet night, but you see that I am answering -for you, come to-morrow and tell me your whole history so that, if the -Mayor questions me closely, I can make a show of having known you for a -long time; say nothing to M. Vasi of what I am doing for you." - -One may imagine whether this evening was amusing for the ladies, but -they were afraid of having alarmed M. Birague unduly. - -"Really, the man's appearance was incredible," said Mme. Le Baron. - -"But," put in one of her friends, "it becomes more and more likely that -our young _protégé_ Vasi is a man of consequence in his own country." - -The Colonel had to employ stratagems for a week; M. Birague spoke as -freely as could be desired of his own affairs, but was impenetrable on -everything that related to Fabrizio. Mme. Le Baron and her friends -invited him to luncheon one day when the Colonel was absent and played -so cruelly upon M. Birague's alarm that he ended by saying to them with -tears: - -"Oh, well, I see that you are good ladies, I see that you would not wish -to ruin me, you have immense influence with the Mayor of Amiens, give me -your word that you will obtain for me a passport for England signed by -the Mayor and I shall at least be able to fly to London in case of -danger; my father ordered me to travel by London so as to be able to -return to Milan without fear of Barone Binder, the Chief of Police -there; he is a man of the same sort as your Mayor, it is not easy to get -out of his prisons, once one has got into them." - -"Very well," exclaimed Mme. Le Baron, "if you are frank with us, I give -you my word that to-morrow you shall have your passport for London; we -wish no harm to M. Vasi, far from it, this lady," she pointed to the -youngest of her friends, "has a tender regard for him." - -Birague was slightly astonished by the shout of laughter which greeted -this admission; he had some difficulty in replying with any clarity to -the hundred questions by which he was at once overwhelmed. - -The ladies knew already that Vasi was an assumed name, that Fabrizio del -Dongo was the second son of the Marchese del Dongo, Second Grand -Majordomo Major of the Lombardo-Venetian Kingdom, one of the greatest -noblemen in that country, to whom his, Birague's father, was steward. On -the news of Napoleon's landing from the Gulf of Granti, in June, -regardless of the alarm of his aunt and mother, Fabrizio had fled from -his father's magnificent castle, situated at Grianta, on the Lake of -Como, six leagues from the Swiss frontier. - -Birague was at this stage in his narrative when the Colonel returned; he -was told all that Birague had already said; as his regiment had been -stationed for some time at Lodi, a few leagues from Milan, he knew all -the principal personages of the court of Prince Eugène. - -"What," he cried, "that Contessa Gina Pietranera, of whom you are -speaking to these ladies as the aunt of Fabrizio, is she that famous -Contessa Pietranera, the most beautiful woman in Milan in the days of -the Viceroy, whose word was law at his court?" - -"The very same, Colonel." - -"And what age might she be now?" - -"Twenty-seven or twenty-eight; she is more beautiful than ever, but she -is completely ruined, her husband was murdered in what they called a -duel, and the Contessa was furious at not being able to avenge his -death: the General was out shooting in the mountains of Bergamo with -some officers of the Ultra Party; he, as you know, although belonging to -a family of the old nobility, had always served with the troops of the -Cisalpine Republic; there was a luncheon in the course of this shooting -party, one of the Ultra officers took the liberty of belittling the -courage of the Cisalpine troops; the General struck him a blow, the -luncheon was interrupted; as they had no weapons but guns, they fought -with those, the poor General fell stone dead, with two bullets in his -body; but the details of this duel made such a stir in Milan that all -the officers who had been present were obliged to go and travel in -Switzerland. The local surgeon who examined the General's body certified -that the bullet which caused his death had entered from the back. This -statement by the surgeon came to the Signor Barone Binder, Director -General of the Police, Contessa Pietranera knew of it at once, for she -can do anything she likes at Milan; all the important people of the -place are her friends and are at her service. Twenty-four hours later, -there arrived a second statement by the country surgeon from the Bergamo -district; it contradicted the first and stated that the bullet which -caused the death had entered by the stomach and that the second bullet -which had passed through the thigh had also entered from in front; but -they said that this surgeon had received a large sum of money. On the -very night after the arrival of this second statement, the officers who -had been present at the duel left for Switzerland; the funeral was held -next day; they were afraid of being mobbed by the crowd, and the -strangest thing of all was that the surgeon also left for Switzerland, -where he still is. He has never dared to shew his face again his own -neighbourhood; the Bergamasks have sworn to exterminate him; and they -don't take things lightly in that part of the world. It was after that -that there was the famous quarrel between Signora Pietranera and her -friend Limercati." - -"What, is that the famous Limercati who, in 1811, had such fine English -horses, seven of them?" - -"No doubt, Lodovico Limercati; he had forty horses in his stables, he -has an income of over two hundred thousand lire; my cousin Ercole is his -factor; but there's a bad relation for you, he has never thought of -employing me as lawyer to the rich Limercati estate." - -"It is terrible, frightful," cried Mme. Le Baron, "but you spoke of a -letter which, I must tell you, excites my curiosity greatly." - - - - -FRAGMENT II - -_CONTE ZORAFI, THE PRINCE'S -"PRESS"_ - - -Conte Zurla, the Minister of the Interior, brought to Signora -Sanseverina's Conte Zorafi, who was the Press of Parma. - -At the gatherings at which he appeared, that silence, which is often -painful at official gatherings, could not find a place, and, in a -country which has a terrible police and a State Prison the tower of -which, one hundred and eighty feet high, may be seen at the end of every -street, all gatherings of more than two persons may be considered -official. - -One thing that may be said in praise of Zorafi is that he was no more of -a spy than any other gentleman at court; in fact, at heart he was -ridiculous, but not at all wicked. No other gentleman at court could, -without risk to his friends, have seen the Sovereign daily. Zorafi -fancied himself a Minister, and was afraid of Conte Mosca. At the same -time he was obliged, ten times in a month perhaps, to speak evil of him. -When the Conte had scored a marked success in any affair, he was certain -to be blamed, the day after, by the Prince's Press. - -Conte Zorafi was a man of spirit who could not bear to have fifty -napoleons in his desk. As soon as he saw that sum, or indeed a much less -considerable sum in his possession, he would think of spending it. For -instance, on the day on which we shall do him the honour of presenting -him to the reader, he will have just bought for forty-five napoleons a -magnificent English lustre. The purchase made, not knowing where to -place it and already caring less about it, he has asked Prinote, the -famous jeweller, to keep it in his shop. - -This Conte had spent his youth in composing sonnets in an emphatic style -over which the people of Lombardy had gone so mad as to compare them to -the sonnets of Monti. Now, in some connexion or other, someone had -ventured to say in public that this style, which was so emphatic, was -emphatic with the simple character of Napoleon; it had required only -this comment to make Zorafi's sonnets fall into disrepute. - -And, a surprising thing, Zorafi, whose character was precisely that of a -conceited child, had not shewn the slightest annoyance. Besides what was -more serious than the decline of his sonnets, he had an income of barely -nine or ten thousand lire and spent twenty-five. - -In spite of these 25,000 lire he frequently had debts, and these debts -were paid every year by an unseen hand. - -What then was Zorafi? He was the Prince's _Press_. - -He was a Conte, as everyone is in Italy, but besides that he had enjoyed -the greatest literary renown for ten years. Zorafi was not at all -wicked, or at least had only the ill temper of a child. He had the -purest Sienese accent. The sentences flowed from his lips with a perfect -facility, he spoke of everything with charm, in a word nothing would -have been lacking if from time to time he could have found some idea to -place in his sentences. - -A little time since, the Prince had given Zorafi a carriage, but this -was on condition of his paying at least twenty-five visits daily. - -"It does not suit me at present to have a newspaper printed," the Prince -had said to him in making him a present of the carriage, with horses -attached, and a coachman and groom to boot. "A newspaper conducted by a -man of your sort would have a crowd of subscribers; very well, have a -crowd of friends and tell them, with the spirit for which you are -distinguished, the articles that you would print, if you had the -privilege of the newspaper. One day, you shall have this newspaper, and -it will bring you in an income of 50,000 lire. For I shall give you -plenty of liberty, you will speak of the measures adopted by my -Government." - -Once they had observed this mania in Zorafi, people listened to him in -society, as in another place they read the _Journal Officiel_. - - - - -END OF VOLUME II - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CHARTERHOUSE OF PARMA VOLUME 2 -(OF 2) *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: The Charterhouse of Parma Volume 2 (of 2)</p> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Stendhal</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Translator: Charles Kenneth Scott-Moncrieff</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Contributor: Honoré de Balzac</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: September 25, 2021 [eBook #66375]</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Laura Natal Rodrigues</div> - -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CHARTERHOUSE OF PARMA VOLUME 2 (OF 2) ***</div> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img src="images/charterhouse02_cover.jpg" width="500" alt="" /> -</div> - - - -<h2>MARIE-HENRI BEYLE</h2> - -<h2>[DE STENDHAL]</h2> - - - - -<h1>THE CHARTERHOUSE<br /> -OF PARMA</h1> - - - - - -<h5><i>Translated from the French by</i></h5> - -<h4>C. K. SCOTT MONCRIEFF</h4> - - - - -<h4>VOLUME ONE</h4> - - - - -<h5>BONI & LIVERIGHT</h5> - -<h5>NEW YORK MCMXXV</h5> - - -<hr class="r5" /> - -<p><br /></p> - - -<h4><i>The Works of Stendhal</i></h4> - - - - -<h4>I</h4> - - - -<h3>THE CHARTERHOUSE<br /> -OF PARMA</h3> - - - - -<h4>VOLUME TWO</h4> - - -<hr class="r5" /> - -<h4>CONTENTS</h4> -<p class="nind"><a href="#CHAPTER_FOURTEEN">CHAPTER FOURTEEN</a><br /> -<a href="#CHAPTER_FIFTEEN">CHAPTER FIFTEEN</a><br /> -<a href="#CHAPTER_SIXTEEN">CHAPTER SIXTEEN</a><br /> -<a href="#CHAPTER_SEVENTEEN">CHAPTER SEVENTEEN</a><br /> -<a href="#CHAPTER_EIGHTEEN">CHAPTER EIGHTEEN</a><br /> -<a href="#CHAPTER_NINETEEN">CHAPTER NINETEEN</a><br /> -<a href="#CHAPTER_TWENTY">CHAPTER TWENTY</a><br /> -<a href="#CHAPTER_TWENTY-ONE">CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE</a><br /> -<a href="#CHAPTER_TWENTY-TWO">CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO</a><br /> -<a href="#CHAPTER_TWENTY-THREE">CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE</a><br /> -<a href="#CHAPTER_TWENTY-FOUR">CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR</a><br /> -<a href="#CHAPTER_TWENTY-FIVE">CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE</a><br /> -<a href="#CHAPTER_TWENTY-SIX">CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX</a><br /> -<a href="#CHAPTER_TWENTY-SEVEN">CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN</a><br /> -<a href="#CHAPTER_TWENTY-EIGHT">CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT</a><br /> -<a href="#APPENDIX">APPENDIX</a><br /> -<a href="#FRAGMENT_I">FRAGMENT I—<i>BIRAGUE'S NARRATIVE</i></a><br /> -<a href="#FRAGMENT_II">FRAGMENT II—<i>CONTE ZORAFI, THE PRINCE'S "PRESS"</i></a></p> - -<hr class="r5" /> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h4><a id="CHAPTER_FOURTEEN">CHAPTER FOURTEEN</a></h4> - -<p> -While Fabrizio was in pursuit of love, in a village near Parma, the -Fiscal General Rassi, who did not know that he was so near, continued to -treat his case as though he had been a Liberal: he pretended to be -unable to find—or, rather, he intimidated—the witnesses for the -defence; and finally, after the most ingenious operations, carried on -for nearly a year, and about two months after Fabrizio's final return to -Bologna, on a certain Friday, the Marchesa Raversi, mad with joy, -announced publicly in her drawing-room that next day the sentence which -had just been pronounced, in the last hour, on young del Dongo would be -presented to the Prince for his signature and approved by him. A few -minutes later the Duchessa was informed of this utterance by her enemy. -</p> - -<p> -"The Conte must be extremely ill served by his agents!" she said to -herself; "only this morning he thought that the sentence could not be -passed for another week. Perhaps he would not be sorry to see my young -Grand Vicar kept out of Parma; but," she added, breaking into song, "we -shall see him come again; and one day he will be our Archbishop." The -Duchessa rang: -</p> - -<p> -"Collect all the servants in the waiting-room," she told her footman, -"including the kitchen staff; go to the town commandant and get the -necessary permit to procure four post horses, and have those horses -harnessed to my landau within half an hour." All the women of the -household were set to work packing trunks: the Duchessa hastily chose a -travelling dress, all without sending any word to the Conte; the idea of -playing a little joke on him sent her into a transport of joy. -</p> - -<p> -"My friends," she said to the assembled servants, "I learn that my poor -nephew is to be condemned in his absence for having had the audacity to -defend his life against a raging madman; I mean Giletti, who was trying -to kill him. You have all of you had opportunities of seeing how mild -and inoffensive Fabrizio's nature is. Rightly indignant at this -atrocious outrage, I am going to Florence; I leave for each of you ten -years' wages; if you are in distress, write to me, and, so long as I -have a sequin, there will be something for you." -</p> - -<p> -The Duchessa meant exactly what she said, and, at her closing words, the -servants dissolved in tears; her eyes too were moist: she added in a -voice faint with emotion: "Pray to God for me and for Monsignor Fabrizio -del Dongo, First Grand Vicar of the Diocese, who to-morrow morning is -going to be condemned to the galleys, or, which would be less stupid, to -the penalty of death." -</p> - -<p> -The tears of the servants flowed in double volume, and gradually changed -into cries that were almost seditious; the Duchessa stepped into her -carriage and drove to the Prince's Palace. Despite the unusual hour, she -sent in a request for an audience by General Fontana, the Aide-de-Camp -in waiting; she was by no means in court dress, a fact which threw this -Aide-de-Camp into a profound stupor. As for the Prince, he was not at -all surprised, still less annoyed by this request for an audience. "We -shall see tears flowing from fine eyes," he said to himself, rubbing his -hands. "She comes to sue for pardon; at last that proud beauty is going -to humble herself! She was, really, too insupportable with her little -airs of independence! Those speaking eyes seemed always to be saying to -me, when the slightest thing offended her: 'Naples or Milan would have -very different attractions as a residence from your little town of -Parma.' In truth, I do not reign over Naples, nor over Milan; but now at -last this great lady is coming to ask me for something which depends -upon me alone, and which she is burning to obtain; I always thought that -nephew's coming here would bring me some advantage." -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>THE FAREWELL AUDIENCE</i></h5> - -<p> -While the Prince was smiling at these thoughts, and giving himself up to -all these agreeable anticipations, he walked up and down his cabinet, at -the door of which General Fontana remained standing stiff and erect like -a soldier presenting arms. Seeing the sparkling eyes of the Prince, and -remembering the Duchessa's travelling dress, he imagined a dissolution -of the Monarchy. His bewilderment knew no bounds when he heard the -Prince say: "Ask the Signora Duchessa to wait for a quarter of an hour." -The General Aide-de-Camp made his half-turn, like a soldier on parade; -the Prince was still smiling: "Fontana is not accustomed," he said to -himself, "to see that proud Duchessa kept waiting. The face of -astonishment with which he is going to tell her about the <i>quarter of an -hour to wait</i> will pave the way for the touching tears which this -cabinet is going to see her shed." This quarter of an hour was exquisite -for the Prince; he walked up and down with a firm and steady pace; he -reigned. "It will not do at this point to say anything that is not -perfectly correct; whatever my feelings for the Duchessa may be, I must -never forget that she is one of the greatest ladies of my court. How -used Louis XIV to speak to the Princesses his daughters, when he had -occasion to be displeased with them?" And his eyes came to rest on the -portrait of the Great King. -</p> - -<p> -The amusing thing was that the Prince never thought of asking himself -whether he should shew clemency to Fabrizio, or what form that clemency -should take. Finally, at the end of twenty minutes, the faithful Fontana -presented himself again at the door, but without saying a word. "The -Duchessa Sanseverina may enter," cried the Prince, with a theatrical -air. "Now for the tears," he added inwardly, and, as though to prepare -himself for such a spectacle, took out his handkerchief. -</p> - -<p> -Never had the Duchessa been so gay or so pretty; she did not seem -five-and-twenty. Seeing her light and rapid little step scarcely brush -the carpet, the poor Aide-de-Camp was on the point of losing his reason -altogether. -</p> - -<p> -"I have a thousand pardons to ask of Your Serene Highness," said the -Duchessa in her light and gay little voice; "I have taken the liberty of -presenting myself before him in a costume which is not exactly -conventional, but Your Highness has so accustomed me to his kindnesses -that I have ventured to hope that he will be pleased to accord me this -pardon also." -</p> - -<p> -The Duchessa spoke quite slowly so as to give herself time to enjoy the -spectacle of the Prince's face; it was delicious, by reason of the -profound astonishment and of the traces of the grand manner which the -position of his head and arms still betrayed. The Prince sat as though -struck by a thunderbolt; in a shrill and troubled little voice he -exclaimed from time to time, barely articulating the words: "<i>What's -that! What's that</i>!" The Duchessa, as though out of respect, having -ended her compliment, left him ample time to reply; then went on: -</p> - -<p> -"I venture to hope that Your Serene Highness deigns to pardon me the -incongruity of my costume"; but, as she said the words, her mocking eyes -shone with so bright a sparkle that the Prince could not endure it; he -studied the ceiling, an act which with him was the final sign of the -most extreme embarrassment. -</p> - -<p> -"<i>What's that! What's that</i>!" he said again; then he had the good -fortune to hit upon a phrase:—"Signora Duchessa, pray be seated"; he -himself drew forward a chair for her, not ungraciously. The Duchessa was -by no means insensible to this courtesy, she moderated the petulance of -her gaze. -</p> - -<p> -"<i>What's that! What's that</i>!" the Prince once more repeated, moving -uneasily in his chair, in which one would have said that he could find -no solid support. -</p> - -<p> -"I am going to take advantage of the cool night air to travel by post," -went on the Duchessa, "and as my absence may be of some duration, I have -not wished to leave the States of His Serene Highness without thanking -him for all the kindnesses which, in the last five years, he has deigned -to shew me." At these words the Prince at last understood; he grew pale; -he was the one man in the world who really suffered when he saw himself -proved wrong in his calculations. Then he assumed an air of grandeur -quite worthy of the portrait of Louis XIV which hung before his eyes. -"Very good," thought the Duchessa, "there is a man." -</p> - -<p> -"And what is the reason for this sudden departure?" said the Prince in a -fairly firm tone. -</p> - -<p> -"I have long had the plan in my mind," replied the Duchessa, "and a -little insult which has been offered to <i>Monsignor</i> Del Dongo, whom -to-morrow they are going to sentence to death or to the galleys, makes -me hasten my departure." -</p> - -<p> -"And to what town are you going?" -</p> - -<p> -"To Naples, I think." She added as she rose to her feet: "It only -remains for me to take leave of Your Serene Highness and to thank him -most humbly for his <i>former</i> kindnesses." She, in turn, spoke with so -firm an air that the Prince saw that in two minutes all would be over; -once the sensation of her departure had occurred, he knew that no -further arrangement was possible; she was not a woman to retrace her -steps. He ran after her. -</p> - -<p> -"But you know well, Signora Duchessa," he said, taking her hand, "that I -have always felt a regard for you, a regard to which it rested only with -you to give another name. A murder has been committed; that is a fact -which no one can deny; I have entrusted the sifting of the evidence to -my best judges. . . ." -</p> - -<p> -At these words the Duchessa rose to her full height; every sign of -respect and even of urbanity disappeared in the twinkling of an eye; the -outraged woman became clearly apparent, and the outraged woman -addressing a creature whom she knew to have broken faith with her. It -was with an expression of the most violent anger, and indeed of contempt -that she said to the Prince, dwelling on every word: -</p> - -<p> -"I am leaving the States of Your Serene Highness for ever, so as never -to hear the names of the Fiscal Rassi and of the other infamous -assassins who have condemned my nephew and so many others to death; if -Your Serene Highness does not wish to introduce a feeling of bitterness -into the last moments that I shall pass in the presence of a Prince who -is courteous and intelligent when he is not led astray, I beg him most -humbly not to recall to me the thought of those infamous judges who sell -themselves for a thousand scudi or a Cross." -</p> - -<p> -The admirable—and, above all, genuine—accent in which these -words were uttered made the Prince shudder; he feared for a moment to -see his dignity compromised by an accusation even more direct, but on -the whole his sensation soon became one of pleasure; he admired the -Duchessa; her face and figure attained at that moment to a sublime -beauty. "Great God! How beautiful she is!" the Prince said to himself; -"one ought to make some concessions to a woman who is so unique, when -there probably is not another like her in the whole of Italy. Oh well, -with a little policy it might not be impossible one day to make her my -mistress: there is a wide gulf between a creature like this and that -doll of a Marchesa Balbi, who moreover robs my poor subjects of at least -three hundred thousand francs every year. . . . But did I hear aright?" -he thought suddenly; "she said: 'Condemned my nephew and so many -others.'" Then his anger boiled over, and it was with a stiffness worthy -of his supreme rank that the Prince said, after an interval of silence: -"And what would one have to do to make the Signora not leave us?" -</p> - -<p> -"Something of which you are not capable," replied the Duchessa in an -accent of the most bitter irony and the most unconcealed contempt. -</p> - -<p> -The Prince was beside himself, but his professional training as an -Absolute Sovereign gave him the strength to overcome his first impulse. -"I must have this woman," he said to himself; "so much I owe to myself, -then she must be made to die of shame. . . . If she leaves this cabinet, -I shall never see her again." But, mad with rage and hatred as he was at -this moment, where was he to find an answer that would at once satisfy -the requirements of what he owed to himself and induce the Duchessa not -to abandon his court immediately? "She cannot," he said to himself, -"repeat or turn to ridicule a gesture," and he placed himself between -the Duchessa and the door of his cabinet. Presently he heard a tap at -this door. -</p> - -<p> -"Who is the creature," he cried, shouting with the full force of his -lungs, "who is the creature who comes here to thrust his fatuous -presence upon me?" Poor General Fontana shewed a pallid face of complete -discomfiture, and it was with the air of a man in his last agony that he -stammered these inarticulate words: "His Excellency the Conte Mosca -solicits the honour of being introduced." -</p> - -<p> -"Let him come in," said, or rather shouted the Prince, and, as Mosca -bowed: -</p> - -<p> -"Well," he said to him, "here is the Signora Duchessa Sanseverina, who -informs me that she is leaving Parma immediately to go and settle at -Naples, and who, incidentally, is being most impertinent to me." -</p> - -<p> -"What!" said Mosca turning pale. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh! So you did not know of this plan of departure?" -</p> - -<p> -"Not a word; I left the Signora at six o'clock, happy and content." -</p> - -<p> -This statement had an incredible effect on the Prince. First of all he -looked at Mosca; his increasing pallor shewed the Prince that he was -telling the truth and was in no way an accomplice of the Duchessa's -desperate action. "In that case," he said to himself, "I lose her for -ever; pleasure and vengeance, all goes in a flash. At Naples she will -make epigrams with her nephew Fabrizio about the great fury of the -little Prince of Parma." He looked at the Duchessa: the most violent -scorn and anger were disputing the possession of her heart; her eyes -were fixed at that moment on Conte Mosca, and the exquisite curves of -that lovely mouth expressed the bitterest disdain. The whole face seemed -to be saying: "Vile courtier!" "So," thought the Prince after he had -examined her, "I lose this means of bringing her back to my country. At -this moment again, if she leaves this cabinet, she is lost to me; God -knows the things she will say about my judges at Naples. . . . And with -that spirit, and that divine power of persuasion which heaven has -bestowed on her, she will make everyone believe her. I shall be obliged -to her for the reputation of a ridiculous tyrant, who gets up in the -middle of the night to look under his bed. . . ." Then, by an adroit -move and as though he were intending to walk up and down the room to -reduce his agitation, the Prince took his stand once again in front of -the door of the cabinet; the Conte was on his right, at a distance of -three paces, pale, shattered, and trembling so that he was obliged to -seek support from the back of the armchair in which the Duchessa had -been sitting during the earlier part of the audience, and which the -Prince in a moment of anger had pushed across the floor. The Conte was -in love. "If the Duchessa goes, I follow her," he said to himself; "but -will she want me in her train? That is the question." -</p> - -<p> -On the Prince's left, the Duchessa, erect, her arms folded and pressed -to her bosom, was looking at him with an admirable impatience: a -complete and intense pallor had taken the place of the vivid colours -which a moment earlier animated that sublime face. -</p> - -<p> -The Prince, in contrast to the other two occupants of the room, had a -red face and a troubled air; his left hand played convulsively with the -Cross attached to the Grand Cordon of his Order which he wore under his -coat: with his right hand he caressed his chin. -</p> - -<p> -"What is to be done?" he asked the Conte, without knowing quite what he -himself was doing, and carried away by the habit of consulting this -other in everything. -</p> - -<p> -"I can think of nothing, truly, Serene Highness," replied the Conte with -the air of a man yielding up his last breath. It was all he could do to -pronounce the words of his answer. The tone of his voice gave the Prince -the first consolation that his wounded pride had received during this -audience, and this grain of happiness furnished him with a speech that -gratified his vanity. -</p> - -<p> -"Very well," he said, "I am the most reasonable of the three; I choose -to make a complete elimination of my position in the world. I am going -to speak <i>as a friend</i>"; and he added, with a fine smile of -condescension, beautifully copied from the brave days of Louis XIV, -"<i>like a friend speaking to friends</i>. Signora Duchessa," he went on, -"what is to be done to make you forget an untimely resolution?" -</p> - -<p> -"Truly, I can think of nothing," replied the Duchessa with a deep sigh, -"truly, I can think of nothing, I have such a horror of Parma." There -was no epigrammatic intention in this speech; one could see that -sincerity itself spoke through her lips. -</p> - -<p> -The Conte turned sharply towards her; his courtier's soul was -scandalised; then he addressed a suppliant gaze to the Prince. With -great dignity and coolness the Prince allowed a moment to pass; then, -addressing the Conte: -</p> - -<p> -"I see," he said, "that your charming friend is altogether beside -herself; it is quite simple, she <i>adores</i> her nephew." And, turning -towards the Duchessa, he went on with a glance of the utmost gallantry -and at the same time with the air which one adopts when quoting a line -from a play: "<i>What must one do to please those lovely eyes</i>?" -</p> - -<p> -The Duchessa had had time for reflexion; in a firm and measured tone, -and as though she were dictating her <i>ultimatum</i>, she replied: -</p> - -<p> -"His Highness might write me a gracious letter, as he knows so well how -to do; he might say to me that, not being at all convinced of the guilt -of Fabrizio del Dongo, First Grand Vicar of the Archbishop, he will not -sign the sentence when it is laid before him, and that these unjust -proceedings shall have no consequences in the future." -</p> - -<p> -"What, <i>unjust</i>!" cried the Prince, colouring to the whites of his -eyes, and recovering his anger. -</p> - -<p> -"That is not all," replied the Duchessa, with a Roman pride, "<i>this very -evening</i>, and," she added, looking at the clock, "it is already a -quarter past eleven,—this very evening His Serene Highness will send -word to the Marchesa Raversi that he advises her to retire to the -country to recover from the fatigue which must have been caused her by a -certain prosecution of which she was speaking in her drawing-room in the -early hours of the evening." The Prince was pacing the floor of his -cabinet like a madman. -</p> - -<p> -"Did anyone ever see such a woman?" he cried. "She is wanting in respect -for me!" -</p> - -<p> -The Duchessa replied with inimitable grace: -</p> - -<p> -"Never in my life have I had a thought of shewing want of respect for -His Serene Highness; His Highness has had the extreme condescension to -say that he was speaking <i>as a friend to friends</i>. I have, moreover, -no desire to remain at Parma," she added, looking at the Conte with the -utmost contempt. This look decided the Prince, hitherto highly -uncertain, though his words had seemed to promise a pledge; he paid -little attention to words. -</p> - -<p> -There was still some further discussion; but at length Conte Mosca -received the order to write the gracious note solicited by the Duchessa. -He omitted the phrase: <i>these unjust proceedings shall have no -consequences in the future</i>. "It is enough," the Conte said to himself, -"that the Prince shall promise not to sign the sentence which will be -laid before him." The Prince thanked him with a quick glance as he -signed. -</p> - -<p> -The Conte was greatly mistaken; the Prince was tired and would have -signed anything. He thought that he was getting well out of the -difficulty, and the whole affair was coloured in his eyes by the -thought: "If the Duchessa goes, I shall find my court become boring -within a week." The Conte noticed that his master altered the date to -that of the following day. He looked at the clock: it pointed almost to -midnight. The Minister saw nothing more in this correction of the date -than a pedantic desire to show a proof of exactitude and good -government. As for the banishment of the Marchesa Raversi, he made no -objection; the Prince took a particular delight in banishing people. -</p> - -<p> -"General Fontana!" he cried, opening the door a little way. -</p> - -<p> -The General appeared with a face shewing so much astonishment and -curiosity, that a merry glance was exchanged by the Duchessa and Conte, -and this glance made peace between them. -</p> - -<p> -"General Fontana," said the Prince, "you will get into my carriage, -which is waiting under the colonnade; you will go to the Marchesa -Raversi's, you will send in your name; if she is in bed, you will add -that you come from me, and, on entering her room, you will say these -precise words and no others: 'Signora Marchesa Raversi, His Serene -Highness requests you to leave to-morrow morning, before eight o'clock, -for your <i>castello</i> at Velleja; His Highness will let you know when -you may return to Parma.'" -</p> - -<p> -The Prince's eyes sought those of the Duchessa, who, without giving him -the thanks he expected, made him an extremely respectful curtsey, and -swiftly left the room. -</p> - -<p> -"What a woman!" said the Prince, turning to Conte Mosca. -</p> - -<p> -The latter, delighted at the banishment of the Marchesa Raversi, which -simplified all his ministerial activities, talked for a full half-hour -like a consummate courtier; he sought to console his Sovereign's injured -vanity, and did not take his leave until he saw him fully convinced that -the historical anecdotes of Louis XIV included no fairer page than that -with which he had just provided his own future historians. -</p> - -<p> -On reaching home the Duchessa shut her doors, and gave orders that no -one was to be admitted, not even the Conte. She wished to be left alone -with herself, and to consider for a little what idea she ought to form -of the scene that had just occurred. She had acted at random and for her -own immediate pleasure; but to whatever course she might have let -herself be induced to take she would have clung with tenacity. She had -not blamed herself in the least on recovering her coolness, still less -had she repented; such was the character to which she owed the position -of being still, in her thirty-seventh year, the best looking woman at -court. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>THE SERVANTS</i></h5> - -<p> -She was thinking at this moment of what Parma might have to offer in the -way of attractions, as she might have done on returning after a long -journey, so fully, between nine o'clock and eleven, had she believed -that she was leaving the place for ever. -</p> - -<p> -"That poor Conte did cut a ludicrous figure when he learned of my -departure in the Prince's presence. . . . After all, he is a pleasant -man, and has a very rare warmth of heart. He would have given up his -Ministries to follow me. . . . But on the other hand, during five whole -years, he has not had to find fault with me for a single aberration. How -many women married before the altar could say as much to their lords and -masters? It must be admitted that he is not self-important, he is no -pedant; he gives one no desire to be unfaithful to him; when he is with -me, he seems always to be ashamed of his power. . . . He cut a funny -figure in the presence of his lord and master; if he was in the room -now, I should kiss him. . . . But not for anything in the world would I -undertake to amuse a Minister who had lost his portfolio; that is a -malady which only death can cure, and . . . one which kills. What a -misfortune it would be to become Minister when one was young! I must -write to him; it is one of the things that he ought to know officially -before he quarrels with his Prince. . . . But I am forgetting my good -servants." -</p> - -<p> -The Duchessa rang. Her women were still at work packing trunks, the -carriage had drawn up under the portico, and was being loaded; all the -servants who had nothing else to do were gathered round this carriage, -with tears in their eyes. Cecchina, who on great occasions, had the sole -right to enter the Duchessa's room, told her all these details. -</p> - -<p> -"Call them upstairs," said the Duchessa. -</p> - -<p> -A moment later she passed into the waiting-room. -</p> - -<p> -"I have been promised," she told them, "that the sentence passed on my -nephew will not be signed by the Sovereign" (such is the term used in -Italy), "and I am postponing my departure. We shall see whether my -enemies have enough influence to alter this decision." -</p> - -<p> -After a brief silence, the servants began to shout: "<i>Evviva la -Signora Duchessa</i>!" and to applaud furiously. The Duchessa, who had -gone into the next room, reappeared like an actress taking a -<i>call</i>, made a little curtsey, full of grace, to her people, and -said to them: "<i>My friends, I thank you</i>." Had she said the word, -all of them at that moment would have marched on the Palace to attack -it. She beckoned to a postilion, an old smuggler and a devoted servant, -who followed her. -</p> - -<p> -"You will disguise yourself as a <i>contadino</i> in easy circumstances, -you will get out of Parma as best you can, hire a <i>sediola</i> and -proceed as quickly as possible to Bologna. You will enter Bologna as a -casual visitor and by the Florence gate, and you will deliver to -Fabrizio, who is at the Pellegrino, a packet which Cecchina will give -you. Fabrizio is in hiding, and is known there as Signor Giuseppe Bossi; -do not give him away by any stupid action, do not appear to know him; my -enemies will perhaps set spies on your track. Fabrizio will send you -back here after a few hours or a few days: and it is on your return -journey especially that you must use every precaution not to give him -away." -</p> - -<p> -"Ah! Marchesa Raversi's people!" cried the postilion. "We are on the -look-out for them, and if the Signora wished, they would soon be -exterminated." -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>THE ARCHBISHOP</i></h5> - -<p> -"Some other day, perhaps; but don't, as you value your life, do anything -without orders from me." -</p> - -<p> -It was a copy of the Prince's note which the Duchessa wished to send to -Fabrizio; she could not resist the pleasure of making him amused, and -added a word about the scene which had led up to the note; this word -became a letter of ten pages. She had the postilion called back. -</p> - -<p> -"You cannot start," she told him, "before four o'clock, when the gates -are opened." -</p> - -<p> -"I was thinking of going out by the big conduit; I should be up to my -neck in water, but I should get through. . . ." -</p> - -<p> -"No," said the Duchessa, "I do not wish to expose one of my most -faithful servants to the risk of fever. Do you know anyone in the -Archbishop's household?" -</p> - -<p> -"The second coachman is a friend of mine." -</p> - -<p> -"Here is a letter for that saintly prelate; make your way quietly into -his Palace, get them to take you to his valet; I do not wish Monsignore -to be awakened. If he has retired to his room, spend the night in the -Palace, and, as he is in the habit of rising at dawn, to-morrow morning, -at four o'clock, have yourself announced as coming from me, ask the holy -Archbishop for his blessing, hand him the packet you see here, and take -the letters that he will perhaps give you for Bologna." -</p> - -<p> -The Duchessa addressed to the Archbishop the actual original of the -Prince's note; as this note concerned his First Grand Vicar, she begged -him to deposit it among the archives of the Palace, where she hoped that -their Reverences the Grand Vicars and Canons, her nephew's colleagues, -would be so good as to acquaint themselves with its contents; the whole -transaction to be kept in the most profound secrecy. -</p> - -<p> -The Duchessa wrote to Monsignor Landriani with a familiarity which could -not fail to charm that honest plebeian; the signature alone filled three -lines; the letter, couched in the most friendly tone, was followed by -the words: <i>Angelina-Cornelia-Isotta Valserra del Dongo, duchessa -Sanseverina</i>. -</p> - -<p> -"I don't believe I have signed all that," the Duchessa said to herself, -"since my marriage contract with the poor Duca; but one only gets hold -of those people with that sort of thing, and in the eyes of the middle -classes the caricature looks like beauty." She could not bring the -evening to an end without yielding to the temptation to write to the -poor Conte; she announced to him officially, for his <i>guidance</i>, -she said, <i>in his relations with crowned heads</i>, that she did not -feel herself to be capable of amusing a Minister in disgrace. "The -Prince frightens you; when you are no longer in a position to see him, -will it be my business to frighten you?" She had this letter taken to -him at once. -</p> - -<p> -For his part, that morning at seven o'clock, the Prince sent for Conte -Zurla, the Minister of the Interior. -</p> - -<p> -"Repeat," he told him, "the strictest orders to every <i>podestà</i> to -have Signor Fabrizio del Dongo arrested. We are informed that possibly -he may dare to reappear in our States. This fugitive being now at -Bologna, where he seems to defy the judgment of our tribunals, post the -<i>sbirri</i> who know him by sight: (1) in the villages on the road -from Bologna to Parma; (2) in the neighbourhood of Duchessa -Sanseverina's <i>castello</i> at Sacca, and of her house at Castelnuovo; -(3) round Conte Mosca's <i>castello</i>. I venture to hope from your -great sagacity, Signor Conte, that you will manage to keep all knowledge -of these, your Sovereign's orders, from the curiosity of Conte Mosca. -Understand that I wish Signor Fabrizio del Dongo to be arrested." -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>RASSI</i></h5> - -<p> -As soon as the Minister had left him, a secret door introduced into the -Prince's presence the Fiscal General Rassi, who came towards him bent -double, and bowing at every step. The face of this rascal was a picture; -it did full justice to the infamy of the part he had to play, and, while -the rapid and extravagant movements of his eyes betrayed his -consciousness of his own merits, the arrogant and grimacing assurance of -his mouth showed that he knew how to fight against contempt. -</p> - -<p> -As this personage is going to acquire a considerable influence over -Fabrizio's destiny, we may say a word here about him. He was tall, he -had fine eyes that shewed great intelligence, but a face ruined by -smallpox; as for brains, he had them in plenty, and of the finest -quality; it was admitted that he had an exhaustive knowledge of the law, -but it was in the quality of resource that he specially shone. Whatever -the aspect in which a case might be laid before him, he easily and in a -few moments discovered the way, thoroughly well founded in law, to -arrive at a conviction or an acquittal; he was above all a past-master -of the hair-splittings of a prosecutor. -</p> - -<p> -In this man, whom great Monarchs might have envied the Prince of Parma, -one passion only was known to exist: he loved to converse with eminent -personages and to please them by buffooneries. It mattered little to him -whether the powerful personage laughed at what he said or at his person, -or uttered revolting pleasantries at the expense of Signora Rassi; -provided that he saw the great man laugh and was himself treated as a -familiar, he was content. Sometimes the Prince, at a loss how further to -insult the dignity of this Chief Justice, would actually kick him; if -the kicks hurt him, he would begin to cry. But the instinct of -buffoonery was so strong in him that he might be seen every day -frequenting the drawing-room of a Minister who scoffed at him, in -preference to his own drawing-room where he exercised a despotic rule -over all the stuff gowns of the place. This Rassi had above all created -for himself a place apart, in that it was impossible for the most -insolent noble to humiliate him; his method of avenging himself for the -insults which he had to endure all day long was to relate them to the -Prince, in whose presence he had acquired the privilege of saying -anything; it is true that the reply often took the form of a -well-directed cuff, which hurt him, but he stood on no ceremony about -that. The presence of this Chief Justice used to distract the Prince in -his moments of ill humour; then he amused himself by outraging him. It -can be seen that Rassi was almost the perfect courtier: a man without -honour and without humour. -</p> - -<p> -"Secrecy is essential above all things," the Prince shouted to him -without greeting him, treating him, in fact, exactly as he would have -treated a scullion, he who was so polite to everybody. "From when is -your sentence dated?" -</p> - -<p> -"Serene Highness, from yesterday morning." -</p> - -<p> -"By how many judges is it signed?" -</p> - -<p> -"By all five." -</p> - -<p> -"And the penalty?" -</p> - -<p> -"Twenty years in a fortress, as Your Serene Highness told me." -</p> - -<p> -"The death penalty would have given offence," said the Prince, as though -speaking to himself; "it is a pity! What an effect on that woman! But he -is a del Dongo, and that name is revered in Parma, on account of the -three Archbishops, almost in direct sequence. . . . You say twenty years -in a fortress?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, Serene Highness," replied the Fiscal, still on his feet and bent -double; "with, as a preliminary, a public apology before His Serene -Highness's portrait; and, in addition, a diet of bread and water every -Friday and on the Vigils of the principal Feasts, <i>the accused being -notorious for his impiety</i>. This is with an eye to the future and to put -a stop to his career." -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>THE MARCHESA RAVERSI</i></h5> - -<p> -"Write," said the Prince: "'His Serene Highness having deigned to turn a -considerate ear to the most humble supplications of the Marchesa del -Dongo, the culprit's mother, and of the Duchessa Sanseverina, his aunt, -which ladies have represented to him that at the date of the crime their -son and nephew was extremely young, and in addition led astray by an -insensate passion conceived for the wife of the unfortunate Giletti, has -been graciously pleased, notwithstanding the horror inspired by such a -murder, to commute the penalty to which Fabrizio del Dongo has been -sentenced to that of twelve years in a fortress." -</p> - -<p> -"Give it to me to sign." -</p> - -<p> -The Prince signed and dated the sentence from the previous day; then, -handing it back to Rassi, said to him: "Write immediately beneath my -signature: 'The Duchessa Sanseverina having once again thrown herself -before the knees of His Highness, the Prince has given permission that -every Thursday the prisoner may take exercise for one hour on the -platform of the square tower, commonly called Torre Farnese.'" -</p> - -<p> -"Sign that," said the Prince, "and, don't forget, keep your mouth shut, -whatever you may hear said in the town. You will tell Councillor De' -Capitani, who voted for two years in a fortress, and even made a speech -upholding so ridiculous a sentence, that I expect him to refresh his -memory of the laws and regulations. Once again silence, and good night." -Fiscal Rassi performed with great deliberation three profound reverences -to which the Prince paid no attention. -</p> - -<p> -This happened at seven o'clock in the morning. A few hours later, the -news of the Marchesa Raversi's banishment spread through the town and -among the <i>caffè</i>: everyone was talking at once of this great event. -The Marchesa's banishment drove away for some time from Parma that -implacable enemy of small towns and small courts, boredom. General Fabio -Conti, who had regarded himself as a Minister already, feigned an attack -of gout, and for several days did not emerge from his fortress. The -middle classes, and consequently the populace, concluded from what was -happening that it was clear that the Prince had decided to confer the -Archbishopric of Parma on Monsignor del Dongo. The shrewd politicians of -the <i>caffè</i> went so far as to assert that Father Landriani, the -reigning Archbishop, had been ordered to plead ill health and to send in -his resignation; he was to be awarded a fat pension from the tobacco -duty, they were positive about it; this report reached the Archbishop -himself, who was greatly alarmed, and for several days his zeal for our -hero was considerably paralysed. Two months later, this fine piece of -news found its way into the Paris newspapers, with the slight alteration -that it was Conte Mosca, nephew of the Duchessa Sanseverina, who was to -be made Archbishop. -</p> - -<p> -The Marchesa Raversi meanwhile was raging in her Castello di Velleja; -she was by no means one of those little feather-pated women who think -that they are avenging themselves when they say damaging things about -their enemies. On the day following her disgrace, Cavaliere Riscara and -three more of her friends presented themselves before the Prince by her -order, and asked him for permission to go to visit her at her -<i>castello</i>. His Highness received these gentlemen with perfect grace, -and their arrival at Velleja was a great consolation to the Marchesa. -Before the end of the second week, she had thirty people in her -<i>castello</i>, all those whom the Liberal Ministry was going to bring -into power. Every evening, the Marchesa held a regular council with the -better informed of her friends. One day, on which she had received a -number of letters from Parma and Bologna, she retired to bed early: her -maid let into the room, first of all the reigning lover, Conte Baldi, a -young man of admirable appearance and complete insignificance, and, -later on, Cavaliere Riscara, his predecessor: this was a small man dark -in complexion and in character, who, having begun by being instructor in -geometry at the College of Nobles at Parma, now found himself a -Councillor of State and a Knight of several Orders. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>CAVALIERE RISCARA</i></h5> - -<p> -"I have the good habit," the Marchesa said to these two men, "of never -destroying any paper; and well it has served me; here are nine letters -which the Sanseverina has written me on different occasions. You will -both of you proceed to Genoa, you will look among the gaol-birds there -for an ex-lawyer named Burati, like the great Venetian poet, or else -Durati. You, Conte Baldi, sit down at my desk and write what I am going -to dictate to you." -</p> - -<blockquote><p> -"'An idea has occurred to me, and I write you a line. I am going to my -cottage, by Castelnuovo; if you care to come over and spend a day with -me, I shall be most delighted; there is, it seems to me, no great danger -after what has just happened; the clouds are lifting. However, stop -before you come to Castelnuovo; you will find one of my people on the -road; they are all madly devoted to you. You will, of course, keep the -name Bossi for this little expedition. They tell me that you have grown -a beard like the most perfect Capuchin, and nobody has seen you at Parma -except with the decent countenance of a Grand Vicar.'" -</p></blockquote> - -<p> -"Do you follow me, Riscara?" -</p> - -<p> -"Perfectly; but the journey to Genoa is an unnecessary extravagance; I -know a man in Parma who, to be accurate, is not yet in the galleys, but -cannot fail to get there in the end. He will counterfeit the -Sanseverina's hand to perfection." -</p> - -<p> -At these words, Conte Baldi opened those fine eyes of his to their full -extent; he had only just understood. -</p> - -<p> -"If you know this worthy personage of Parma, who, you hope, will obtain -advancement," said the Marchesa to Riscara, "presumably he knows you -also: his mistress, his confessor, his bosom friend may have been bought -by the Sanseverina: I should prefer to postpone this little joke for a -few days and not to expose myself to any risk. Start in a couple of -hours like good little lambs, don't see a living soul at Genoa, and -return quickly." Cavaliere Riscara fled from the room laughing, and -squeaking through his nose like Punchinello. "<i>We must pack up our -traps!</i>" he said as he ran in a burlesque fashion. He wished to leave -Baldi alone with the lady. Five days later, Riscara brought the Marchesa -back her Conte Baldi, flayed alive; to cut off six leagues, they had -made him cross a mountain on mule-back; he vowed that nothing would ever -induce him again to take <i>long journeys</i>. Baldi handed the Marchesa -three copies of the letter which she had dictated to him, and five or -six other letters in the same hand, composed by Riscara, which might -perhaps be put to some use later on. One of these letters contained some -very pretty witticisms with regard to the fears from which the Prince -suffered at night, and to the deplorable thinness of the Marchesa Balbi, -his mistress, who left a dint in the sofa-cushions, it was said, like -the mark made by a pair of tongs, after she had sat on them for a -moment. Anyone would have sworn that all these letters came from the -hand of Signora Sanseverina. -</p> - -<p> -"Now I know, beyond any doubt," said the Marchesa, "that the favoured -lover, Fabrizio, is at Bologna or in the immediate neighbourhood. . . ." -</p> - -<p> -"I am too unwell," cried Conte Baldi, interrupting her; "I ask as a -favour to be excused this second journey, or at least I should like to -have a few days' rest to recover my health." -</p> - -<p> -"I shall go and plead your cause," said Riscara. -</p> - -<p> -He rose and spoke in an undertone to the Marchesa. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, very well, then, I consent," she replied with a smile. "Reassure -yourself, you shall not go at all," she told Baldi, with a certain air -of contempt. -</p> - -<p> -"Thank you," he cried in heart-felt accents. In the end, Riscara got -into a post-chaise by himself. He had scarcely been a couple of days in -Bologna when he saw, in an open carriage, Fabrizio and little Marietta. -"The devil!" he said to himself, "it seems, our future Archbishop -doesn't let the time hang on his hands; we must let the Duchessa know -about this, she will be charmed." Riscara had only to follow Fabrizio to -discover his address; next morning our hero received from a courier the -letter forged at Genoa; he thought it a trifle short, but apart from -that suspected nothing. The thought of seeing the Duchessa and Conte -again made him wild with joy, and in spite of anything Lodovico might -say he took a post-horse and went off at a gallop. Without knowing it, -he was followed at a short distance by Cavaliere Riscara, who on coming -to a point six leagues from Parma, at the stage before Castelnuovo, had -the satisfaction of seeing a crowd on the <i>piazza</i> outside the local -prison; they had just led in our hero, recognised at the post-house, as -he was changing horses, by two <i>sbirri</i> who had been selected and sent -there by Conte Zurla. -</p> - -<p> -Cavaliere Riscara's little eyes sparkled with joy; he informed himself, -with exemplary patience, of everything that had occurred in this little -village, then sent a courier to the Marchesa Raversi. After which, -roaming the streets as though to visit the church, which was of great -interest, and then to look for a picture by the Parmigianino which, he -had been told, was to be found in the place, he finally ran into the -<i>podestà</i>, who was obsequious in paying his respects to a Councillor -of State. Riscara appeared surprised that he had not immediately dispatched -to the citadel of Parma the conspirator whose arrest he had had the good -fortune to secure. -</p> - -<p> -"There is reason to fear," Riscara added in an indifferent tone, "that -his many friends, who were endeavouring, the day before yesterday, to -facilitate his passage through the States of His Highness, may come into -conflict with the police; there were at least twelve or fifteen of these -rebels, mounted." -</p> - -<p> -"<i>Intelligenti pauca</i>!" cried the <i>podestà</i> with a cunning air. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h4><a id="CHAPTER_FIFTEEN">CHAPTER FIFTEEN</a></h4> - -<p> -A couple of hours later, the unfortunate Fabrizio, fitted with handcuffs -and actually attached by a long chain to the <i>sediola</i> into which -he had been made to climb, started for the citadel of Parma, escorted by -eight constables. These had orders to take with them all the constables -stationed in the villages through which the procession had to pass; the -<i>podestà</i> in person followed this important prisoner. About seven -o'clock in the evening the <i>sediola</i>, escorted by all the little -boys in Parma and by thirty constables, came down the fine avenue of -trees, passed in front of the little <i>palazzo</i> in which Fausta had -been living a few months earlier, and finally presented itself at the -outer gate of the citadel just as General Fabio Conti and his daughter -were coming out. The governor's carriage stopped before reaching the -drawbridge to make way for the <i>sediola</i> to which Fabrizio was -attached; the General instantly shouted for the gates to be shut, and -hastened down to the turnkey's office to see what was the matter; he was -not a little surprised when he recognised the prisoner, who had grown -quite stiff after being fastened to his <i>sediola</i> throughout such a -long journey; four constables had lifted him down and were carrying him -into the turnkey's office. "So I have in my power," thought the -feather-pated governor, "that famous Fabrizio del Dongo, with whom -anyone would say that for the last year the high society of Parma had -taken a vow to occupy themselves exclusively!" -</p> - -<p> -The General had met him a score of times at court, at the Duchessa's and -elsewhere; but he took good care not to shew any sign that he knew him; -he was afraid of compromising himself. -</p> - -<p> -"Have a report made out," he called to the prison clerk, "in full detail -of the surrender made to me of the prisoner by his worship the -<i>podestà</i> of Castelnuovo." -</p> - -<p> -Barbone, the clerk, a terrifying personage owing to the volume of his -beard and his martial bearing, assumed an air of even greater importance -than usual; one would have called him a German gaoler. Thinking he knew -that it was chiefly the Duchessa Sanseverina who had prevented his -master from becoming Minister of War, he was behaving with more than his -ordinary insolence towards the prisoner; in speaking to him he used the -pronoun <i>voi</i>, which in Italy is the formula used in addressing -servants. -</p> - -<p> -"I am a prelate of the Holy Roman Church," Fabrizio said to him firmly, -"and Grand Vicar of this Diocese; my birth alone entitles me to -respect." -</p> - -<p> -"I know nothing about that!" replied the clerk pertly; "prove your -assertions by shewing the brevets which give you a right to those highly -respectable titles." -</p> - -<p> -Fabrizio had no such documents and did not answer. General Fabio Conti, -standing by the side of his clerk, watched him write without raising his -eyes to the prisoner, so as not to be obliged to admit that he was -really Fabrizio del Dongo. -</p> - -<p> -Suddenly Clelia Conti, who was waiting in the carriage, heard a -tremendous racket in the guard-room. The clerk Barbone, in making an -insolent and extremely long description of the prisoner's person, -ordered him to undo his clothing in order to verify and put on record -the number and condition of the scars received by him in his fight with -Giletti. -</p> - -<p> -"I cannot," said Fabrizio, smiling bitterly; "I am not in a position to -obey the gentleman's orders, these handcuffs make it impossible." -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>PRISON</i></h5> - -<p> -"What!" cried the General with an innocent air, "the prisoner is -handcuffed! Inside the fortress! That is against the rules, it requires -an order <i>ad hoc</i>; take the handcuffs off him." -</p> - -<p> -Fabrizio looked at him: "There's a nice Jesuit," he thought; "for the -last hour he has seen me with these handcuffs, which have been hurting -me horribly, and he pretends to be surprised!" -</p> - -<p> -The handcuffs were taken off by the constables; they had just learned -that Fabrizio was the nephew of the Duchessa Sanseverina, and made haste -to shew him a honeyed politeness which formed a sharp contrast to the -rudeness of the clerk; the latter seemed annoyed by this and said to -Fabrizio, who stood there without moving: -</p> - -<p> -"Come along, there! Hurry up, shew us those scratches you got from poor -Giletti, the time he was murdered." With a bound, Fabrizio sprang upon -the clerk, and dealt him such a blow that Barbone fell from his chair -against the General's legs. The constables seized hold of the arms of -Fabrizio, who made no attempt to resist them; the General himself and -two constables who were standing by him hastened to pick up the clerk, -whose face was bleeding copiously. Two subordinates who stood farther -off ran to shut the door of the office, in the idea that the prisoner -was trying to escape. The <i>brigadiere</i> who was in command of them -thought that young del Dongo could not make a serious attempt at flight, -since after all he was in the interior of the citadel; at the same time, -he went to the window to put a stop to any disorder, and by a -professional instinct. Opposite this open window and within a few feet -of it the General's carriage was drawn up: Clelia had shrunk back inside -it, so as not to be a witness of the painful scene that was being -enacted in the office; when she heard all this noise, she looked out. -</p> - -<p> -"What is happening?" she asked the <i>brigadiere</i>. -</p> - -<p> -"Signorina, it is young Fabrizio del Dongo who has just given that -insolent Barbone a proper smack!" -</p> - -<p> -"What! It is Signor del Dongo that they are taking to prison?" -</p> - -<p> -"Eh! No doubt about that," said the <i>brigadiere</i>; "it is because of -the poor young man's high birth that they are making all this fuss; I -thought the Signorina knew all about it." Clelia remained at the window: -when the constables who were standing round the table moved away a -little she caught a glimpse of the prisoner. "Who would ever have said," -she thought, "that I should see him again for the first time in this sad -plight, when I met him on the road from the Lake of Como? . . . He gave -me his hand to help me into his mother's carriage. . . . He had the -Duchessa with him even then! Had they begun to love each other as long -ago as that?" -</p> - -<p> -It should be explained to the reader that the members of the Liberal -Party swayed by the Marchesa Raversi and General Conti affected to -entertain no doubt as to the tender intimacy that must exist between -Fabrizio and the Duchessa. Conte Mosca, whom they abhorred, was the -object of endless pleasantries for the way in which he was being -deceived. -</p> - -<p> -"So," thought Clelia, "there he is a prisoner, and a prisoner in the -hands of his enemies. For after all, Conte Mosca, angel as one would -like to think him, will be delighted when he hears of this capture." -</p> - -<p> -A loud burst of laughter sounded from the guard-room. -</p> - -<p> -"Jacopo," she said to the <i>brigadiere</i> in a voice that quivered with -emotion, "what in the world is happening?" -</p> - -<p> -"The General asked the prisoner sharply why he had struck Barbone: -Monsignor Fabrizio answered calmly: 'He called me <i>assassino</i>; let him -produce the titles and brevets which authorise him to give me that -title'; and they all laughed." -</p> - -<p> -A gaoler who could write took Barbone's place; Clelia saw the latter -emerge mopping with his handkerchief the blood that streamed in -abundance from his hideous face; he was swearing like a heathen: "That -f—— Fabrizio," he shouted at the top of his voice, "I'll have -his life, I will, if I have to steal the hangman's rope." He had stopped -between the office window and the General's carriage, and his oaths -redoubled. -</p> - -<p> -"Move along there," the <i>brigadiere</i> told him; "you mustn't swear in -front of the Signorina." -</p> - -<p> -Barbone raised his head to look at the carriage, his eyes met those of -Clelia who could not repress a cry of horror; never had she seen at such -close range so atrocious an expression upon any human face. "He will -kill Fabrizio!" she said to herself, "I shall have to warn Don Cesare." -This was her uncle, one of the most respected priests in the town; -General Conti, his brother, had procured for him the post of -<i>economo</i> and principal chaplain in the prison. -</p> - -<p> -The General got into the carriage. -</p> - -<p> -"Would you rather stay at home," he said to his daughter, "or wait for -me, perhaps for some time, in the courtyard of the Palace? I must go and -report all this to the Sovereign." -</p> - -<p> -Fabrizio came out of the office escorted by three constables; they were -taking him to the room which had been allotted to him. Clelia looked out -of the window, the prisoner was quite close to her. At that moment she -answered her father's question in the words: "<i>I will go with you</i>." -Fabrizio, hearing these words uttered close to his ear, raised his eyes -and met the girl's gaze. He was struck, especially, by the expression of -melancholy on her face. "How she has improved," he thought, "since our -meeting near Como! What an air of profound thought! . . . They are quite -right to compare her with the Duchessa; what angelic features!" Barbone, -the bloodstained clerk, who had not taken his stand beside the carriage -without a purpose, held up his hand to stop the three constables who -were leading Fabrizio away, and, moving round behind the carriage until -he reached the window next which the General was sitting: -</p> - -<p> -"As the prisoner has committed an act of violence in the interior of the -citadel," he said to him, "in consideration of Article 157 of the -regulations, would it not be as well to put the handcuffs on him for -three days?" -</p> - -<p> -"Go to the devil!" cried the General, still considerably embarrassed by -this arrest. It was important for him that he should not drive either -the Duchessa or Conte Mosca to extremes; and besides, what attitude was -the Conte going to adopt towards this affair? After all, the murder of a -Giletti was a mere trifle, and only intrigue had succeeded in magnifying -it into anything of importance. -</p> - -<p> -During this brief dialogue, Fabrizio stood superb among the group of -constables, his expression was certainly the proudest and most noble -that one could imagine; his fine and delicate features, and the -contemptuous smile that strayed over his lips made a charming contrast -with the coarse appearance of the constables who stood round him. But -all this formed, so to speak, only the external part of his physiognomy; -he was enraptured by the heavenly beauty of Clelia, and his eyes betrayed -his surprise to the full. She, profoundly pensive, had never thought of -drawing back her head from the window; he bowed to her with a half-smile -of the utmost respect; then, after a moment's silence: -</p> - -<p> -"It seems to me, Signorina," he said to her, "that, once before, near a -lake, I had the honour of meeting you, in the company of the police." -</p> - -<p> -Clelia blushed, and was so taken aback that she could find no words in -which to reply. "What a noble air among all those coarse creatures," she -had been saying to herself at the moment when Fabrizio spoke to her. The -profound pity, we might almost say the tender emotion in which she was -plunged deprived her of the presence of mind necessary to find words, no -matter what; she became conscious of her silence and blushed all the -deeper. At this moment the bolts of the great gate of the citadel were -drawn back with a clang; had not His Excellency's carriage been waiting -for at least a minute? The echo was so loud in this vaulted passage that -even if Clelia had found something to say in reply Fabrizio could not -have caught her words. -</p> - -<p> -Borne away by the horses which had broken into a gallop immediately -after crossing the drawbridge, Clelia said to herself: "He must have -thought me very silly!" Then suddenly she added: "Not only silly; he -must have felt that I had a base nature, he must have thought that I did -not respond to his greeting because he is a prisoner and I am the -governor's daughter." -</p> - -<p> -The thought of such a thing was terrible to this girl of naturally lofty -soul. "What makes my behaviour absolutely degrading," she went on, "is -that before, when we met for the first time, also <i>in the company of the -police</i>, as he said just now, it was I who was the prisoner, and he did -me a service, and helped me out of a very awkward position. . . . Yes, I -am bound to admit, my behaviour was quite complete, it combined rudeness -and ingratitude. Alas, poor young man! Now that he is in trouble, -everybody is going to behave disgracefully to him. Even if he did say to -me then: 'You will remember my name, I hope, at Parma?' how he must be -despising me at this moment! It would have been so easy to say a civil -word! Yes, I must admit, my conduct towards him has been atrocious. The -other time, but for the generous offer of his mother's carriage, I -should have had to follow the constables on foot through the dust, or, -what would have been far worse, ride pillion behind one of them; it was -my father then who was under arrest, and I defenceless! Yes, my -behaviour is complete. And how keenly a nature like his must have felt -it! What a contrast between his noble features and my behaviour! What -nobility! What serenity! How like a hero he looked, surrounded by his -vile enemies! Now I understand the Duchessa's passion: if he looks like -that in distressing circumstances which may end in frightful disaster, -what must he be like when his heart is happy!" -</p> - -<p> -The governor's carriage waited for more than an hour and a half in the -courtyard of the Palace, and yet, when the General returned from his -interview with the Prince, Clelia by no means felt that he had stayed -there too long. -</p> - -<p> -"What is His Highness's will?" asked Clelia. -</p> - -<p> -"His tongue said: Prison! His eyes: Death!" -</p> - -<p> -"Death! Great God!" exclaimed Clelia. -</p> - -<p> -"There now, be quiet!" said the General crossly; "what a fool I am to -answer a child's questions." -</p> - -<p> -Meanwhile Fabrizio was climbing the three hundred and eighty steps which -led to the Torre Farnese, a new prison built on the platform of the -great tower, at a prodigious height from the ground. He never once -thought, distinctly that is to say, of the great change that had just -occurred in his fortunes. "What eyes!" he said to himself: "What a -wealth of expression in them! What profound pity! She looked as though -she were saying: 'Life is such a tangled skein of misfortunes! Do not -distress yourself too much about what is happening to you! Are we not -sent here below to be unhappy?' How those fine eyes of hers remained -fastened on me, even when the horses were moving forward with such a -clatter under the arch!" -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>CLELIA CONTI</i></h5> - -<p> -Fabrizio completely forgot to feel wretched. -</p> - -<p> -Clelia accompanied her father to various houses; in the early part of -the evening no one had yet heard the news of the arrest of the <i>great -culprit</i>, for such was the name which the courtiers bestowed a couple of -hours later on this poor, rash young man. -</p> - -<p> -It was noticed that evening that there was more animation than usual in -Clelia's face; whereas animation, the air of taking part in what was -going on round her, was just what was chiefly lacking in that charming -young person. When you compared her beauty with that of the Duchessa, it -was precisely that air of not being moved by anything, that manner as -though of a person superior to everything, which weighed down the -balance in her rival's favour. In England, in France, lands of vanity, -the general opinion would probably have been just the opposite. Clelia -Conti was a young girl still a trifle too slim, who might be compared to -the beautiful models of Guido Reni. We make no attempt to conceal the -fact that, according to Greek ideas of beauty, the objection might have -been made that her head had certain features a trifle too strongly -marked; the lips, for instance, though full of the most touching charm, -were a little too substantial. -</p> - -<p> -The admirable peculiarity of this face in which shone the artless graces -and the heavenly imprint of the most noble soul was that, albeit of the -rarest and most singular beauty, it did not in any way resemble the -heads of Greek sculpture. The Duchessa had, on the other hand, a little -too much of the <i>recognised</i> beauty of the ideal type, and her truly -Lombard head recalled the voluptuous smile and tender melancholy of -Leonardo's lovely paintings of Herodias. Just as the Duchessa shone, -sparkled with wit and irony, attaching herself passionately, if one may -use the expression, to all the subjects which the course of the -conversation brought before her mind's eye, so Clelia showed herself -calm and slow to move, whether from contempt for her natural -surroundings or from regret for some unfulfilled dream. It had long been -thought that she would end by embracing the religious life. At twenty -she was observed to show a repugnance towards going to balls, and if she -accompanied her father to these entertainments it was only out of -obedience to him and in order not to jeopardise the interests of his -career. -</p> - -<p> -"It is apparently going to be impossible for me," the General in his -vulgarity of spirit was too prone to repeat, "heaven having given me as -a daughter the most beautiful person in the States of our Sovereign, and -the most virtuous, to derive any benefit from her for the advancement of -my fortune! I live in too great isolation, I have only her in the world, -and what I must absolutely have is a family that will support me -socially, and will procure for me a certain number of houses where my -merit, and especially my aptitude for ministerial office shall be laid -down as unchallengeable postulates in any political discussion. And -there is my daughter, so beautiful, so sensible, so religious, taking -offence whenever a young man well established at court attempts to find -favour in her sight. If the suitor is dismissed, her character becomes -less sombre, and I see her appear almost gay, until another champion -enters the lists. The handsomest man at court, Conte Baldi, presented -himself and failed to please; the richest man in His Highness's States, -the Marchese Crescenzi, has now followed him; she insists that he would -make her miserable. -</p> - -<p> -"Decidedly," the General would say at other times, "my daughter's eyes -are finer than the Duchessa's, particularly as, on rare occasions, they -are capable of assuming a more profound expression; but that magnificent -expression, when does anyone ever see it? Never in a drawing-room where -she might do justice to it; but simply out driving alone with me, when -she lets herself be moved, for instance, by the miserable state of some -hideous rustic. 'Keep some reflexion of that sublime gaze,' I tell her -at times, 'for the drawing-rooms in which we shall be appearing this -evening.' Not a bit of it: should she condescend to accompany me into -society, her pure and noble features present the somewhat haughty and -scarcely encouraging expression of passive obedience." The General -spared himself no trouble, as we can see, in his search for a suitable -son-in-law, but what he said was true. -</p> - -<p> -Courtiers, who have nothing to contemplate in their own hearts, notice -every little thing that goes on round about them; they had observed that -it was particularly on those days when Clelia could not succeed in -making herself emerge from her precious musings and feign an interest in -anything that the Duchessa chose to stop beside her and tried to make -her talk. Clelia had hair of an ashen fairness, which stood out with a -charming effect against cheeks that were delicately tinted but, as a -rule, rather too pale. The mere shape of her brow might have told an -attentive observer that air, so instinct with nobility, that -manner, so far superior to vulgar charms, sprang from a profound -indifference to everything that was vulgar. It was the absence and not -the impossibility of interest in anything. Since her father had become -governor of the citadel, Clelia had found happiness, or at least freedom -from vexations in her lofty abode. The appalling number of steps that -had to be climbed in order to reach this official residence of the -governor, situated on the platform of the main tower, kept away tedious -visitors, and Clelia, for this material reason, enjoyed the liberty of -the convent; she found there almost all the ideal of happiness which at -one time she had thought of seeking from the religious life. She was -seized by a sort of horror at the mere thought of putting her beloved -solitude and her secret thoughts at the disposal of a young man whom the -title of husband would authorise to disturb all this inner life. If, by -her solitude, she did not attain to happiness, at least she had -succeeded in avoiding sensations that were too painful. -</p> - -<p> -On the evening after Fabrizio had been taken to the fortress, the -Duchessa met Clelia at the party given by the Minister of the Interior, -Conte Zurla; everyone gathered round them; that evening, Clelia's beauty -outshone the Duchessa's. The beautiful eyes of the girl wore an -expression so singular and so profound as to be almost indiscreet; there -was pity, there were indignation also and anger in her gaze. The gaiety -and brilliant ideas of the Duchessa seemed to plunge Clelia into spells -of grief that bordered on horror. "What will be the cries and groans of -this poor woman," she said to herself, "when she learns that her lover, -that young man with so great a heart and so noble a countenance, has -just been flung into prison? And that look in the Sovereign's eyes which -condemns him to death! O Absolute Power, when wilt thou cease to crush -down Italy! O base and venal souls! And I am the daughter of a gaoler! -And I have done nothing to deny that noble station, for I did not deign -to answer Fabrizio! And once before he was my benefactor! What can he be -thinking of me at this moment, alone in his room with his little lamp -for sole companion?" Revolted by this idea, Clelia cast a look of horror -at the magnificent illumination of the drawing-rooms of the Minister of -the Interior. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>THE COURT</i></h5> - -<p> -"Never," the word went round the circle of courtiers who had gathered -round the two reigning beauties, and were seeking to join in their -conversation, "never have they talked to one another with so animated -and at the same time so intimate an air. Can the Duchessa, who is always -so careful to smooth away the animosities aroused by the Prime Minister, -can she have thought of some great marriage for Clelia?" This conjecture -was founded upon a circumstance which until then had never presented -itself to the observation of the court: the girl's eyes shewed more -fire, and indeed, if one may use the term, more passion than those of -the beautiful Duchessa. The latter, for her part, was astonished, and, -one may say it to her credit, delighted by the discovery of charms so -novel in the young recluse; for an hour she had been gazing at her with -a pleasure by no means commonly felt in the sight of a rival. "Why, what -can have happened?" the Duchessa asked herself; "never has Clelia looked -so beautiful, or, one might say, so touching: can her heart have spoken? -. . . But in that case, certainly, it is an unhappy love, there is a -dark grief at the root of this strange animation. . . . But unhappy love -keeps silent. Can it be a question of recalling a faithless lover by -shining in society?" And the Duchessa gazed with attention at all the -young men who stood round them. Nowhere could she see any unusual -expression, every face shone with a more or less pleased fatuity. "But a -miracle must have happened," the Duchessa told herself, vexed by her -inability to solve the mystery. "Where is Conte Mosca, that man of -discernment? No, I am not mistaken, Clelia is looking at me attentively, -and as if I was for her the object of a quite novel interest. Is it the -effect of some order received from her father, that vile courtier? I -supposed that young and noble mind to be incapable of lowering itself to -any pecuniary consideration. Can General Fabio Conti have some decisive -request to make of the Conte?" -</p> - -<p> -About ten o'clock, a friend of the Duchessa came up to her and murmured -a few words; she turned extremely pale: Clelia took her hand and -ventured to press it. -</p> - -<p> -"I thank you, and I understand you now . . . you have a noble heart," -said the Duchessa, making an effort to control herself; she had barely -the strength to utter these few words. She smiled profusely at the lady -of the house, who rose to escort her to the door of the outermost -drawing-room: such honours were due only to Princesses of the Blood, and -were for the Duchessa an ironical comment on her position at the moment. -And so she continued to smile at Contessa Zurla, but in spite of untold -efforts did not succeed in uttering a single word. -</p> - -<p> -Clelia's eyes filled with tears as she watched the Duchessa pass through -these rooms, thronged at the moment with all the most brilliant figures -in society. "What is going to happen to that poor woman," she wondered, -"when she finds herself alone in her carriage? It would be an -indiscretion on my part to offer to accompany her, I dare not. . . . And -yet, what a consolation it would be to the poor prisoner, sitting in -some wretched cell, if he knew that he was loved to such a point! What a -frightful solitude that must be in which they have plunged him! And we, -we are here in these brilliant rooms, how horrible! Can there be any way -of conveying a message to him? Great God! That would be treachery to my -father; his position is so delicate between the two parties! What will -become of him if he exposes himself to the passionate hatred of the -Duchessa, who controls the will of the Prime Minister, who in three out -of every four things here is the master? On the other hand, the Prince -takes an unceasing interest in everything that goes on at the fortress, -and will not listen to any jest on that subject; fear makes him -cruel. . . . In any case, Fabrizio" (Clelia no longer thought of him as -Signor del Dongo) "is greatly to be pitied. . . . It is a very different -thing for him from the risk of losing a lucrative post! . . . And the -Duchessa! . . . What a terrible passion love is! . . . And yet all those -liars in society speak of it as a source of happiness! One is sorry for -elderly women because they can no longer feel or inspire love. . . . -Never shall I forget what I have just seen; what a sudden change! How -those beautiful, radiant eyes of the Duchessa turned dull and dead after -the fatal word which Marchese N—— came up and said to -her! . . . Fabrizio must indeed be worthy of love!" -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>REMORSE</i></h5> - -<p> -Breaking in upon these highly serious reflexions, which were absorbing -the whole of Clelia's mind, the complimentary speeches which always -surrounded her seemed to her even more distasteful than usual. To escape -from them she went across to an open window, half-screened by a taffeta -curtain; she hoped that no one would be so bold as to follow her into -this sort of sanctuary. This window opened upon a little grove of -orange trees planted in the ground: as a matter of fact, every winter -they had to be protected by a covering, Clelia inhaled with rapture the -scent of their blossom, and this pleasure seemed to restore a little -calm to her spirit. "I felt that he had a very noble air," she thought, -"but to inspire such passion in so distinguished a woman! She has had -the glory of refusing the Prince's homage, and if she had deigned to -consent, she would have reigned as queen over his States. . . . My -father says that the Sovereign's passion went so far as to promise to -marry her if ever he became free to do so. . . . And this love for -Fabrizio has lasted so long! For it is quite five years since we met -them by the Lake of Como. . . . Yes, it is quite five years," she said -to herself after a moment's reflexion. "I was struck by it even then, -when so many things passed unnoticed before my childish eyes. How those -two ladies seemed to admire Fabrizio! . . ." -</p> - -<p> -Clelia remarked with joy that none of the young men who had been -speaking to her with such earnestness had ventured to approach her -balcony. One of them, the Marchese Crescenzi, had taken a few steps in -that direction, but had then stopped by a card-table. "If only," she said -to herself, "under my window in our <i>palazzo</i> in the fortress, the -only one that has any shade, I had some pretty orange trees like these -to look at, my thoughts would be less sad: but to have as one's sole -outlook the huge blocks of stone of the Torre Farnese. . . . Ah!" she -cried with a convulsive movement, "perhaps that is where they have put -him. I must speak about it at once to Don Cesare! He will be less severe -than the General. My father is certain to tell me nothing on our way back -to the fortress, but I shall find out everything from Don Cesare. . . . I -have money, I could buy a few orange trees, which, placed under -the window of my aviary, would prevent me from seeing that great wall of -the Torre Farnese. How infinitely more hateful still it will be to me -now that I know one of the people whom it hides from the light of -day! . . . Yes, it is just the third time I have seen him. Once at court, -at the ball on the Princess's birthday; to-day, hemmed in by three -constables, while that horrible Barbone was begging for handcuffs to be -put on him, and the other time by the Lake of Como. That is quite five -years ago. What a hang-dog air he had then! How he stared at the -constables, and what curious looks his mother and his aunt kept giving -him. Certainly there must have been some secret that day, some special -knowledge which they were keeping to themselves; at the time, I had an -idea that he too was afraid of the police. . . ." Clelia shuddered; "But -how ignorant I was! No doubt at that time the Duchessa had already begun -to take an interest in him. How he made us laugh after the first few -minutes, when the ladies, in spite of their obvious anxiety, had begun -to grow more accustomed to the presence of a stranger! . . . And this -evening I had not a word to say in reply when he spoke to me. . . . O -ignorance and timidity! How often you have the appearance of the blackest -cowardice! And I am like this at twenty, yes and past twenty! . . . I -was well-advised to think of the cloister; really I am good for -nothing but retirement. 'Worthy daughter of a gaoler!' he will have been -saying to himself. He despises me, and, as soon as he is able to write -to the Duchessa, he will tell her of my want of consideration, and the -Duchessa will think me a very deceitful little girl; for, after all, -this evening she must have thought me full of sympathy with her in her -trouble." -</p> - -<p> -Clelia noticed that someone was approaching, apparently with the -intention of taking his place by her side on the iron balcony of this -window; she could not help feeling annoyed, although she blamed herself -for being so; the meditations in which she was disturbed were by no -means without their pleasant side. "Here comes some troublesome fellow -to whom I shall give a warm welcome!" she thought. She was turning her -head with a haughty stare, when she caught sight of the timid face of -the Archbishop who was approaching the balcony by a series of almost -imperceptible little movements. "This saintly man has no manners," -thought Clelia. "Why come and disturb a poor girl like me? My -tranquillity is the only thing I possess." She was greeting him with -respect, but at the same time with a haughty air, when the prelate said -to her: -</p> - -<p> -"Signorina, have you heard the terrible news?" -</p> - -<p> -The girl's eyes had at once assumed a totally different expression; but, -following the instructions repeated to her a hundred times over by her -father, she replied with an air of ignorance which the language of her -eyes loudly contradicted: -</p> - -<p> -"I have heard nothing, Monsignore." -</p> - -<p> -"My First Grand Vicar, poor Fabrizio del Dongo, who is no more guilty -than I am of the death of that brigand Giletti, has been arrested at -Bologna where he was living under the assumed name of Giuseppe Bossi; -they have shut him up in your citadel; he arrived there actually -<i>chained</i> to the carriage that brought him. A sort of gaoler, named -Barbone, who was pardoned some time ago after murdering one of his own -brothers, chose to attempt an act of personal violence against Fabrizio, -but my young friend is not the man to take an insult quietly. He flung -his infamous adversary to the ground, whereupon they cast him into a -dungeon, twenty feet underground, after first putting handcuffs on his -wrists." -</p> - -<p> -"Not handcuffs, no!" -</p> - -<p> -"Ah! Then you do know something," cried the Archbishop. And the old -man's features lost their intense expression of discouragement. "But, -before we go any farther, someone may come out on to this balcony and -interrupt us: would you be so charitable as to convey personally to Don -Cesare my pastoral ring here?" -</p> - -<p> -The girl took the ring, but did not know where to put it for fear of -losing it. -</p> - -<p> -"Put it on your thumb," said the Archbishop; and he himself slipped the -ring into position. "Can I count upon you to deliver this ring?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, Monsignore." -</p> - -<p> -"Will you promise me to keep secret what I am going to say, even if -circumstances should arise in which you may find it inconvenient to -agree to my request?" -</p> - -<p> -"Why, yes, Monsignore," replied the girl, trembling all over as she -observed the sombre and serious air which the old man had suddenly -assumed. . . . -</p> - -<p> -"Our estimable Archbishop," she went on, "can give me no orders that are -not worthy of himself and me." -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>DISTRESS</i></h5> - -<p> -"Say to Don Cesare that I commend to him my adopted son; I know that the -<i>sbirri</i> who carried him off did not give him time to take his -breviary with him, I therefore request Don Cesare to let him have his -own, and if your uncle will send to-morrow to my Palace, I promise to -replace the book given by him to Fabrizio. I request Don Cesare also to -convey the ring which this pretty hand is now wearing to Signor del -Dongo." The Archbishop was interrupted by General Fabio Conti, who came -in search of his daughter to take her to the carriage; there was a brief -interval of conversation in which the prelate shewed a certain -adroitness. Without making any reference to the latest prisoner, he so -arranged matters that the course of the conversation led naturally to -the utterance of certain moral and political maxims by himself; for -instance: "There are moments of crisis in the life of a court which -decide for long periods the existence of the most exalted personages; it -would be distinctly imprudent to change into <i>personal hatred</i> the -state of political aloofness which is often the quite simple result of -diametrically opposite positions." The Archbishop, letting himself be -carried away to some extent by the profound grief which he felt at so -unexpected an arrest, went so far as to say that one must undoubtedly -strive to retain the position one holds, but that it would be a quite -gratuitous imprudence to attract to oneself furious hatreds in -consequence of lending oneself to certain actions which are never -forgotten. -</p> - -<p> -When the General was in the carriage with his daughter: "Those might be -described as threats," he said to her. . . . "Threats, to a man of my -sort!" -</p> - -<p> -No other words passed between father and daughter for the next twenty -minutes. -</p> - -<p> -On receiving the Archbishop's pastoral ring, Clelia had indeed promised -herself that she would inform her father, as soon as she was in the -carriage, of the little service which the prelate had asked of her; but -after the word threats, uttered with anger, she took it for granted that -her father would intercept the token; she covered the ring with her left -hand and pressed it passionately. During the whole of the time that it -took them to drive from the Ministry of the Interior to the citadel, she -was asking herself whether it would be criminal on her part not to speak -of the matter to her father. She was extremely pious, extremely -timorous, and her heart, usually so tranquil, beat with an unaccustomed -violence; but in the end the <i>chi va là</i> of the sentry posted on the -rampart above the gate rang out on the approach of the carriage before -Clelia had found a form of words calculated to incline her father not to -refuse, so much afraid was she of his refusing. As they climbed the -three hundred and sixty steps which led to the governor's residence, -Clelia could think of nothing. -</p> - -<p> -She hastened to speak to her uncle, who rebuked her and refused to lend -himself to anything. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h4><a id="CHAPTER_SIXTEEN">CHAPTER SIXTEEN</a></h4> - -<p> -"Well," cried the General, when he caught sight of his brother Don -Cesare, "here is the Duchessa going to spend a hundred thousand scudi to -make a fool of me and help the prisoner to escape!" -</p> - -<p> -But, for the moment, we are obliged to leave Fabrizio in his prison, at -the very summit of the citadel of Parma; he is well guarded and we shall -perhaps find him a little altered when we return to him. We must now -concern ourselves first of all with the court, where certain highly -complicated intrigues, and in particular the passions of an unhappy -woman are going to decide his fate. As he climbed the three hundred and -ninety steps to his prison in the Torre Farnese, beneath the eyes of the -governor, Fabrizio, who had so greatly dreaded this moment, found that -he had no time to think of his misfortunes. -</p> - -<p> -On returning home after the party at Conte Zurla's, the Duchessa -dismissed her women with a wave of the hand; then, letting herself fall, -fully dressed, on to her bed, "<i>Fabrizio</i>," she cried aloud, "<i>is in -the power of his enemies, and perhaps to spite me they will give him -poison</i>!" How is one to depict the moment of despair that followed this -statement of the situation in a woman so far from reasonable, so much -the slave of every passing sensation, and, without admitting it to -herself, desperately in love with the young prisoner? There were -inarticulate cries, paroxysms of rage, convulsive movements, but never a -tear. She had sent her women away to conceal her tears; she thought that -she was going to break into sobs as soon as she found herself alone; but -tears, those first comforters in hours of great sorrow, completely -failed her. Anger, indignation, the sense of her own inferiority when -matched with the Prince, had too firm a mastery of this proud soul. -</p> - -<p> -"Am I not humiliated enough?" she kept on exclaiming; "I am outraged, -and, worse still, Fabrizio's life is in danger; and I have no means of -vengeance! Wait a moment, my Prince; you kill me, well and good, you -have the power to do so; but afterwards I shall have your life. Alas! -Poor Fabrizio, how will that help you? What a difference from the day -when I was proposing to leave Parma, and yet even then I thought I was -unhappy . . . what blindness! I was going to break with all the habits -and customs of a pleasant life; alas! without knowing it, I was on the -edge of an event which was to decide my fate for ever. Had not the -Conte, with the miserable fawning instinct of a courtier, omitted the -words <i>unjust proceedings</i> from that fatal note which the Prince's -vanity allowed me to secure, we should have been saved. I had had the -good fortune (rather than the skill, I must admit) to bring into play -his personal vanity on the subject of his beloved town of Parma. Then I -threatened to leave, then I was free. . . . Great God! What sort of -slave am I now? Here I am now nailed down in this foul sewer, and -Fabrizio in chains in the citadel, in that citadel which for so many -eminent men has been the ante-room of death; and I can no longer keep -that tiger cowed by the fear of seeing me leave his den. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>DESPONDENCY</i></h5> - -<p> -"He has too much sense not to realise that I will never move from the -infamous tower in which my heart is enchained. Now, the injured vanity -of the man may put the oddest ideas into his head; their fantastic -cruelty would but whet the appetite of his astounding vanity. If he -returns to his former programme of insipid love-making, if he says to -me: 'Accept the devotion of your slave or Fabrizio dies,'—well, there -is the old story of Judith. . . . Yes, but if it is only suicide for me, -it will be murder for Fabrizio; his fool of a successor, our Crown -Prince, and the infamous headsman Rassi will have Fabrizio hanged as my -accomplice." -</p> - -<p> -The Duchessa wailed aloud: this dilemma, from which she could see no way -of escape, was torturing her unhappy heart. Her distracted head could -see no other probability in the future. For ten minutes she writhed like -a mad-woman; then a sleep of utter exhaustion took the place for a few -moments of this horrible state, life was crushed out. A few minutes -later she awoke with a start and found herself sitting on her bed; she -had dreamed that, in her presence, the Prince was going to cut off -Fabrizio's head. With what haggard eyes the Duchessa stared round her! -When at length she was convinced that neither Fabrizio nor the Prince -was in the room with her, she fell back on her bed and was on the point -of fainting. Her physical exhaustion was such, that she could not summon -up enough strength to change her position. "Great God! If I could die!" -she said to herself. . . . "But what cowardice, for me to abandon -Fabrizio in his trouble! My wits are straying. . . . Come, let us get -back to the facts; let us consider calmly the execrable position in -which I have plunged myself, as though of my own free will. What a -lamentable piece of stupidity to come and live at the court of an -Absolute Prince! A tyrant who knows all his victims; every look they -give him he interprets as a defiance of his power. Alas, that is what -neither the Conte nor I took into account when we left Milan: I thought -of the attractions of an amusing court; something inferior, it is true, -but something in the same style as the happy days of Prince Eugène. -</p> - -<p> -"Looking from without, we can form no idea of what is meant by the -authority of a despot who knows all his subjects by sight. The outward -form of despotism is the same as that of the other kinds of government: -there are judges, for instance, but they are Rassis: the monster! He -would see nothing extraordinary in hanging his own father if the Prince -ordered him to do so. . . . He would call it his duty. . . . Seduce -Rassi! Unhappy wretch that I am! I possess no means of doing so. What -can I offer him? A hundred thousand francs, possibly: and they say that, -after the last dagger-blow which the wrath of heaven against this -unhappy country allowed him to escape, the Prince sent him ten thousand -golden sequins in a casket. Besides, what sum of money would seduce him? -That soul of mud, which has never read anything but contempt in the eyes -of men, enjoys here the pleasure of seeing now fear, and even respect -there; he may become Minister of Police, and why not? Then three-fourths -of the inhabitants of the place will be his base courtiers, and will -tremble before him in as servile a fashion as he himself trembles before -his sovereign. -</p> - -<p> -"Since I cannot fly this detested spot, I must be of use here to -Fabrizio: live alone, in solitude, in despair!—what can I do then -for Fabrizio? Come; <i>forward, unhappy woman</i>! Do your duty; go into -society, pretend to think no more of Fabrizio. . . . Pretend to forget -him, the dear angel!" -</p> - -<p> -So speaking, the Duchessa burst into tears; at last she could weep. -After an hour set apart for human frailty, she saw with some slight -consolation that her mind was beginning to grow clearer. "To have the -magic carpet," she said to herself, "to snatch Fabrizio from the citadel -and fly with him to some happy place where we could not be pursued, -Paris for instance. We should live there, at first, on the twelve -hundred francs which his father's agent transmits to me with so pleasing -a regularity. I could easily gather together a hundred thousand francs -from the remains of my fortune!" The Duchessa's imagination passed in -review, with moments of unspeakable delight, all the details of the life -which she would lead three hundred leagues from Parma. "There," she said -to herself, "he could enter the service under an assumed name. . . . -Placed in a regiment of those gallant Frenchmen, the young Valserra -would speedily win a reputation; at last he would be happy." -</p> - -<p> -These blissful pictures brought on a second flood of tears, but they -were tears of joy. So happiness did exist then somewhere in the world! -This state lasted for a long time; the poor woman had a horror of coming -back to the contemplation of the grim reality. At length, as the light -of dawn began to mark with a white line the tops of the trees in her -garden, she forced herself into a state of composure. "In a few hours -from now," she told herself, "I shall be on the field of battle; it will -be a case for action, and if anything should occur to irritate me, if -the Prince should take it into his head to say anything to me about -Fabrizio, I am by no means certain that I can keep myself properly in -control. I must therefore, here and now, <i>make plans</i>. -</p> - -<p> -"If I am declared a State criminal, Rassi will seize everything there is -in this <i>palazzo</i>; on the first of this month the Conte and I burned, -as usual, all papers of which the police might make any improper use; and -he is Minister of Police! That is the amusing part of it. I have three -diamonds of some value; to-morrow, Fulgenzio, my old boatman from -Grianta, will set off for Geneva, where he will deposit them in a safe -place. Should Fabrizio ever escape (Great God, be Thou propitious to -me!" She crossed herself), "the unutterable meanness of the Marchese del -Dongo will decide that it is a sin to supply food to a man pursued by a -lawful Sovereign: then he will at least find my diamonds, he will have -bread. -</p> - -<p> -"Dismiss the Conte . . . being left alone with him, after what has -happened, is the one thing I cannot face. The poor man! He is not bad -really, far from it; he is only weak. That commonplace soul does not -rise to the level of ours. Poor Fabrizio! Why cannot you be here for a -moment with me to discuss our perils? -</p> - -<p> -"The Conte's meticulous prudence would spoil all my plans, and besides, -I must on no account involve him in my downfall. . . . For why should -not the vanity of that tyrant cast me into prison? I shall have -conspired . . . what could be easier to prove? If it should be to his -citadel that he sent me, and I could manage, by bribery, to speak to -Fabrizio, were it only for an instant, with what courage would we step -out together to death! But enough of such follies: his Rassi would -advise him to make an end of me with poison; my appearance in the -streets, riding upon a cart, might touch the hearts of his dear -Parmesans. . . . But what is this? Still romancing? Alas! These follies -must be forgiven a poor woman whose actual lot is so piteous! The truth -of all this is that the Prince will not send me to my death; but nothing -could be more easy than to cast me into prison and keep me there; he -will make his people hide all sorts of suspicious papers in some corner of -my <i>palazzo</i>, as they did with that poor L——. Then three -judges—not too big rascals, for they will have what is called -<i>documentary evidence</i>—and a dozen false witnesses will be all -he needs. So I may be sentenced to death as having conspired, and the -Prince, in his boundless clemency, taking into consideration the fact -that I have had the honour of being admitted to his court, will commute -my punishment to ten years in a fortress. But I, so as not to fall short -in any way of that violent character which has led the Marchesa Raversi -and my other enemies to say so many stupid things about me, will poison -myself bravely. So, at least, the public will be kind enough to believe; -but I wager that Rassi will appear in my cell to bring me gallantly, in -the Prince's name, a little bottle of strychnine, or Perugia opium. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, I must quarrel in the most open manner with the Conte, for I do -not wish to involve him in my downfall—that would be a scandalous -thing; the poor man has loved me with such candour! My mistake lay in -thinking that a true courtier would have sufficient heart left to be -capable of love. Very probably the Prince will find some excuse for -casting me into prison; he will be afraid of my perverting public -opinion with regard to Fabrizio. The Conte is a man of perfect honour; -at once he will do what the sycophants of this court, in their profound -astonishment, will call madness, he will leave the court. I braved the -Prince's authority on the evening of the note; I may expect anything -from his wounded vanity: does a man who is born a Prince ever forget the -sensation I gave him that evening? Besides, the Conte, once he has -quarrelled with me, is in a stronger position for being of use to -Fabrizio. But if the Conte, whom this decision of mine must plunge in -despair, should avenge himself? . . . There, now, is an idea that would -never occur to him; his is not a fundamentally base nature like the -Prince's; the Conte may, with a sigh of protest, countersign a wicked -decree, but he is a man of honour. And besides, avenge himself for what? -Simply because, after loving him for five years without giving the -slightest offence of his love, I say to him: 'Dear Conte, I had the good -fortune to be in love with you: very well, that flame is burning low; I -no longer love you, but I know your heart through and through, I retain -a profound regard for you and you will always be my best friend.' -</p> - -<p> -"What answer can a <i>galantuomo</i> make to so sincere a declaration? -</p> - -<p> -"I shall take a new lover, or so at least people will suppose; I shall -say to this lover: 'After all, the Prince does right to punish -Fabrizio's folly; but on the day of his <i>festa</i>, no doubt our gracious -Sovereign will set him at liberty.' Thus I gain six months. The new -lover whom prudence suggests to me would be that venal judge, that foul -hangman of a Rassi. . . . He would find himself ennobled and, as far as -that goes, I shall give him the right of entry into good society. -Forgive me, dear Fabrizio; such an effort, for me, is beyond the bounds -of possibility. What! That monster, still all bespattered with the blood -of Conte P—— and of D——! I should faint with horror -whenever he came near me, or rather I should seize a knife and plunge it -into his vile heart. Do not ask of me things that are impossible! -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, that is the first thing to do: forget Fabrizio! And not the least -trace of anger with the Prince; I must resume my ordinary gaiety, which -will seem all the more attractive to these souls of mud, in the first -place because I shall appear to be submitting with good grace to their -Sovereign's will, secondly because, so far from laughing at them, I -shall take good care to bring out all their pretty little qualities; for -instance, I shall compliment Conte Zurla on the beauty of the white -feather in his hat, which he has just had sent him from Lyons by -courier, and which keeps him perfectly happy. -</p> - -<p> -"Choose a lover from the Raversi's party. . . . If the Conte goes, that -will be the party in office; there is where the power will lie. It will -be a friend of the Raversi that will reign over the citadel, for Fabio -Conti will take office as Minister. How in the world will the Prince, a -man used to good society, a man of intelligence, accustomed to the -charming collaboration of the Conte, be able to discuss business with -that ox, that king of fools, whose whole life has been occupied with the -fundamental problem: ought His Highness's troops to have seven buttons -on their uniform, in front, or nine? It is all those brute beasts -thoroughly jealous of myself, and that is where you are in danger, dear -Fabrizio, it is those brute beasts who are going to decide my fate and -yours! Well then, shall I not allow the Conte to hand in his -resignation? Let him remain, even if he has to submit to humiliations. -He always imagines that to resign is the greatest sacrifice a Prime -Minister can make; and whenever his mirror tells him he is growing old, -he offers me that sacrifice: a complete rupture, then; yes, and -reconciliation only in the event of its being the sole method of -prevailing upon him not to go. Naturally, I shall give him his dismissal -in the friendliest possible way; but, after his courtierlike omission of -the words <i>unjust proceedings</i> in the Prince's note, I feel that, if I -am not to hate him, I need to spend some months without seeing him. On -that decisive evening, I had no need of his cleverness; he had only to -write down what I dictated to him, he had only to write those words -<i>which I had obtained</i> by my own strength of character: he was led -away by force of habit as a base courtier. He told me next day that he -could not make the Prince sign an absurdity, that we should have had -<i>letters of grace</i>; why, good God, with people like that, with those -monsters of vanity and rancour who bear the name Farnese, one takes what -one can get." -</p> - -<p> -At the thought of this, all the Duchessa's anger was rekindled. "The -Prince has betrayed me," she said to herself, "and in how dastardly a -way! There is no excuse for the man: he has brains, discernment, he is -capable of reasoning; there is nothing base in him but his passions. The -Conte and I have noticed it a score of times; his mind becomes vulgar -only when he imagines that some one has tried to insult him. Well, -Fabrizio's crime has nothing to do with politics, it is a trifling -homicide, just like a hundred others that are reported every day in his -happy States, and the Conte has sworn to me that he has taken pains to -procure the most accurate information, and that Fabrizio is innocent. -That Giletti was certainly not lacking in courage: finding himself -within a few yards of the frontier, he suddenly felt the temptation to -rid himself of an attractive rival." -</p> - -<p> -The Duchessa paused for a long time to consider whether it were possible -to believe in Fabrizio's guilt, not that she felt that it would have -been a very grave sin in a gentleman of her nephew's rank to rid himself -of the impertinence of a mummer; but, in her despair, she was beginning -to feel vaguely that she would be obliged to fight to prove Fabrizio's -innocence. "No," she told herself finally, "here is a decisive proof: he -is like poor Pietranera, he always has all his pockets stuffed with -weapons, and that day he was carrying only a wretched singled-barrelled -gun, and even that he had borrowed from one of the workmen. -</p> - -<p> -"I hate the Prince because he has betrayed me, and betrayed me in the -most dastardly fashion; after his written pardon, he had the poor boy -seized at Bologna, and all that. But I shall settle that account." About -five o'clock in the morning, the Duchessa, crushed by this prolonged fit -of despair, rang for her women; who screamed. Seeing her on her bed, -fully dressed, with her diamonds, pale as the sheet on which she lay and -with closed eyes, it seemed to them as though they beheld her laid out -in state after death. They would have supposed that she had completely -lost consciousness had they not remembered that she had just rung for -them. A few rare tears trickled from time to time down her insentient -cheeks; her women gathered from a sign which she made that she wished to -be put to bed. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>A BREACH</i></h5> - -<p> -Twice that evening after the party at the Minister Zurla's, the Conte -had called on the Duchessa; being refused admittance, he wrote to her -that he wished to ask her advice as to his conduct. Ought he to retain -his post after the insult that they had dared to offer him? The Conte -went on to say: "The young man is innocent; but, were he guilty, ought -they to arrest him without first informing me, his acknowledged -protector?" The Duchessa did not see this letter until the following -day. -</p> - -<p> -The Conte had no virtue; one may indeed add that what the Liberals -understand by <i>virtue</i> (seeking the greatest happiness of the greatest -number) seemed to him silly; he believed himself bound to seek first and -foremost the happiness of Conte Mosca della Rovere; but he was entirely -honourable, and perfectly sincere when he spoke of his resignation. -Never in his life had he told the Duchessa a lie; she, as it happened, -did not pay the slightest attention to this letter; her attitude, and a -very painful attitude it was, had been adopted: <i>to pretend to forget -Fabrizio</i>; after that effort, nothing else mattered to her. -</p> - -<p> -Next day, about noon, the Conte, who had called ten times at the -<i>palazzo</i> Sanseverina, was at length admitted; he was appalled when he -saw the Duchessa. . . . "She looks forty!" he said to himself; "and -yesterday she was so brilliant, so young! . . . Everyone tells me that, -during her long conversation with Clelia Conti, she looked every bit as -young and far more attractive." -</p> - -<p> -The Duchessa's voice, her tone were as strange as her personal -appearance. This tone, divested of all passion, of all human interest, -of all anger, turned the Conte pale; it reminded him of the manner of a -friend of his who, a few months earlier, when on the point of death, and -after receiving the Last Sacrament, had sent for him to talk to him. -</p> - -<p> -After some minutes the Duchessa was able to speak to him. She looked at -him, and her eyes remained dead. -</p> - -<p> -"Let us part, my dear Conte," she said to him in a faint but quite -articulate voice which she tried to make sound friendly; "let us part, -we must! Heaven is my witness that, for five years, my behaviour towards -you has been irreproachable. You have given me a brilliant existence, in -place of the boredom which would have been my sad portion at the castle -of Grianta; without you I should have reached old age several years -sooner. . . . For my part, my sole occupation has been to try to make -you find happiness. It is because I love you that I propose to you this -parting <i>à l'amiable</i>, as they say in France." -</p> - -<p> -The Conte did not understand; she was obliged to repeat her statement -several times. He grew deadly pale, and, flinging himself on his knees -by her bedside, said to her all the things that profound astonishment, -followed by the keenest despair, can inspire in a man who is -passionately in love. At every moment he offered to hand in his -resignation and to follow his mistress to some retreat a thousand -leagues from Parma. -</p> - -<p> -"You dare to speak to me of departure, and Fabrizio is here!" she at -length exclaimed, half rising. But seeing that the sound of Fabrizio's -name made a painful impression, she added after a moment's quiet, gently -pressing the Conte's hand: "No, dear friend, I am not going to tell you -that I have loved you with that passion and those transports which one -no longer feels, it seems to me, after thirty, and I am already a long -way past that age. They will have told you that I was in love with -Fabrizio, for I know that the rumour has gone round in this <i>wicked</i> -court." (Her eyes sparkled for the first time in this conversation, as -she uttered the word <i>wicked</i>.) "I swear to you before God, and upon -Fabrizio's life, that never has there passed between him and me the -tiniest thing which could not have borne the eyes of a third person. Nor -shall I say to you that I love him exactly as a sister might; I love him -instinctively, so to speak. I love in him his courage, so simple and so -perfect that, one may say, he is not aware of it himself; I remember -that this sort of admiration began on his return from Waterloo. He was -still a boy then, for all his seventeen years; his great anxiety was to -know whether he had really been present at the battle, and, if so, -whether he could say that he had fought, when he had not marched to the -attack of any enemy battery or column. It was during the serious -discussions which we used to have together on this important subject -that I began to see in him a perfect charm. His great soul revealed -itself to me; what sophisticated falsehoods would a well-bred young man, -in his place, have flaunted! Well then, if he is not happy I cannot be -happy. There, that is a statement which well describes the state of my -heart; if it is not the truth it is at any rate all of it that I see." -The Conte, encouraged by this tone of frankness and intimacy, tried to -kiss her hand; she drew it back with a sort of horror. "The time is -past," she said to him; "I am a woman of thirty-seven, I find myself on -the threshold of old age, I already feel all its discouragements, and -perhaps I have even drawn near to the tomb. That is a terrible moment, -by all one hears, and yet it seems to me that I desire it. I feel the -worst symptom of old age; my heart is extinguished by this frightful -misfortune, I can no longer love. I see in you now, dear Conte, only the -shade of someone who was dear to me. I shall say more, it is gratitude, -simply and solely, that makes me speak to you thus." -</p> - -<p> -"What is to become of me," the Conte repeated, "of me who feel that I am -attached to you more passionately than in the first days of our -friendship, when I saw you at the Scala?" -</p> - -<p> -"Let me confess to you one thing, dear friend, this talk of love bores -me, and seems to me indecent. Come," she said, trying to smile, but in -vain, "courage! Be the man of spirit, the judicious man, the man of -resource in all circumstances. Be with me what you really are in the -eyes of strangers, the most able man and the greatest politician that -Italy has produced for ages." -</p> - -<p> -The Conte rose, and paced the room in silence for some moments. -</p> - -<p> -"Impossible, dear friend," he said to her at length; "I am rent asunder -by the most violent passion, and you ask me to consult my reason. There -is no longer any reason for me!" -</p> - -<p> -"Let us not speak of passion, I beg of you," she said in a dry tone; and -this was the first time, after two hours of talk, that her voice assumed -any expression whatever. The Conte, in despair himself, sought to -console her. -</p> - -<p> -"He has betrayed me," she cried without in any way considering the -reasons for hope which the Conte was setting before her; "<i>he</i> has -betrayed me in the most dastardly fashion!" Her deadly pallor ceased for -a moment; but, even in this moment of violent excitement, the Conte -noticed that she had not the strength to raise her arms. -</p> - -<p> -"Great God! Can it be possible," he thought, "that she is only ill? In -that case, though, it would be the beginning of some very serious -illness." Then, filled with uneasiness, he proposed to call in the -famous Razori, the leading physician in the place and in the whole of -Italy. -</p> - -<p> -"So you wish to give a stranger the pleasure of learning the whole -extent of my despair? . . . Is that the counsel of a traitor or of a -friend?" And she looked at him with strange eyes. -</p> - -<p> -"It is all over," he said to himself with despair, "she has no longer -any love for me! And worse still; she no longer includes me even among -the common men of honour. -</p> - -<p> -"I may tell you," the Conte went on, speaking with emphasis, "that I -have been anxious above all things to obtain details of the arrest which -has thrown us into despair, and the curious thing is that still I know -nothing positive; I have had the constables at the nearest station -questioned, they saw the prisoner arrive by the Castelnuovo road and -received orders to follow his <i>sediola</i>. I at once sent off Bruno, -whose zeal is as well known to you as his devotion; he has orders to go on -from station to station until he finds out where and how Fabrizio was -arrested." -</p> - -<p> -On hearing him utter Fabrizio's name, the Duchessa was seized by a -slight convulsion. -</p> - -<p> -"Forgive me, my friend," she said to the Conte as soon as she was able -to speak; "these details interest me greatly, give me them all, let me -have a clear understanding of the smallest circumstances." -</p> - -<p> -"Well, Signora," the Conte went on, assuming a somewhat lighter air in -the hope of distracting her a little, "I have a good mind to send a -confidential messenger to Bruno and to order him to push on as far as -Bologna; it was from there, perhaps, that our young friend was carried -off. What is the date of his last letter?" -</p> - -<p> -"Tuesday, five days ago." -</p> - -<p> -"Had it been opened in the post?" -</p> - -<p> -"No trace of any opening. I ought to tell you that it was written on -horrible paper; the address is in a woman's hand, and that address bears -the name of an old laundress who is related to my maid. The laundress -believes that it is something to do with a love affair, and Cocchina -refunds her for the carriage of the letters without adding anything -further." The Conte, who had adopted quite the tone of a man of -business, tried to discover, by questioning the Duchessa, which could -have been the day of the abduction from Bologna. He only then perceived, -he who had ordinarily so much tact, that this was the right tone to -adopt. These details interested the unhappy woman and seemed to distract -her a little. If the Conte had not been in love, this simple idea would -have occurred to him as soon as he entered the room. The Duchessa sent -him away in order that he might without delay dispatch fresh orders to -the faithful Bruno. As they were momentarily considering the question -whether there had been a sentence passed before the moment at which the -Prince signed the note addressed to the Duchessa, the latter with a -certain determination seized the opportunity to say to the Conte: "I -shall not reproach you in the least for having omitted the words <i>unjust -proceedings</i> in the letter which you wrote and he signed, it was the -courtier's instinct that gripped you by the throat; unconsciously you -preferred your master's interest to your friend's. You have placed your -actions under my orders, dear Conte, and that for a long time past, but -it is not in your power to change your nature; you have great talents -for the part of Minister, but you have also the instinct of that trade. -The suppression of the word <i>unjust</i> was my ruin; but far be it from me to -reproach you for it in any way, it was the fault of your instinct and -not of your will. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>THE COURT FROM WITHIN</i></h5> - -<p> -"Bear in mind," she went on, changing her tone, and with the most -imperious air, "that I am by no means unduly afflicted by the abduction -of Fabrizio, that I have never had the slightest intention of removing -myself from this place, that I am full of respect for the Prince. That -is what you have to say, and this is what I, for my part, wish to say to -you: 'As I intend to have the entire control of my own behaviour for the -future, I wish to part from you <i>à l'amiable</i>, that is to say as a -good and old friend. Consider that I am sixty, the young woman is dead -in me, I can no longer form an exaggerated idea of anything in the -world, I can no longer love.' But I should be even more wretched than I -am were I to compromise your future. It may enter into my plans to give -myself the appearance of having a young lover, and I should -not like to see you distressed. I can swear to you by Fabrizio's -happiness"—she stopped for half a minute after these -words—"that never have I been guilty of any infidelity to you, and -that in five whole years. It is a long time," she said; she tried to -smile; her pallid cheeks were convulsed, but her lips were unable to -part. "I swear to you even that I have never either planned or wished -such a thing. Now you understand that, leave me." -</p> - -<p> -The Conte in despair left the <i>palazzo</i> Sanseverina: he could see in -the Duchessa the deliberately formed intention to part from him, and never -had he been so desperately in love. This is one of the points to which I -am obliged frequently to revert, because they are improbable outside -Italy. Returning home, he dispatched as many as six different people -along the road to Castelnuovo and Bologna, and gave them letters. "But -that is not all," the unhappy Conte told himself: "the Prince may take -it into his head to have this wretched boy executed, and that in revenge -for the tone which the Duchessa adopted with him on the day of that -fatal note. I felt that the Duchessa was exceeding a limit beyond which -one ought never to go, and it was to compensate for this that I was so -incredibly foolish as to suppress the words <i>unjust proceedings</i>, the -only ones that bound the Sovereign. . . . But bah! Are those people -bound by anything in the world? That is no doubt the greatest mistake of -my life, I have risked everything that can bring me life's reward: it -now remains to compensate for my folly by dint of activity and cunning; -but after all, if I can obtain nothing, even by sacrificing a little of -my dignity, I leave the man stranded; with his dreams of high politics, -with his ideas of making himself Constitutional King of Lombardy, we -shall see how he will fill my place. . . . Fabio Conti is nothing but a -fool, Rassi's talent reduces itself to having a man legally hanged who -is displeasing to Authority." -</p> - -<p> -As soon as he had definitely made up his mind to resign from the -Ministry if the rigour shewn Fabrizio went beyond that of simple -detention, the Conte said to himself: "If a caprice of that man's -vanity, rashly braved, should cost me my happiness, at least I shall -have my honour left. . . . By that token, since I am throwing my -portfolio to the winds, I may allow myself a hundred actions which, only -this morning, would have seemed to be outside the bounds of possibility. -For instance, I am going to attempt everything that is humanly feasible -to secure Fabrizio's escape. . . . Great God!" exclaimed the Conte, -breaking off in his soliloquy and opening his eyes wide as though at the -sight of an unexpected happiness, "the Duchessa never said anything to -me about an escape; can she have been wanting in sincerity for once in -her life, and is the motive of her quarrel only a desire that I should -betray the Prince? Upon my word, no sooner said than done!" -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>THE COURT</i></h5> - -<p> -The Conte's eye had recovered all its satirical sublety. "That engaging -Fiscal Rassi is paid by his master for all the sentences that disgrace -us throughout Europe, but he is not the sort of man to refuse to be paid -by me to betray the master's secrets. The animal has a mistress and a -confessor, but the mistress is of too vile a sort for me to be able to -tackle her, next day she would relate our interview to all the -applewomen in the parish." The Conte, revived by this gleam of hope, was -by this time on his way to the Cathedral; astonished at the alertness of -his gait, he smiled in spite of his grief: "This is what it is," he -said, "to be no longer a Minister!" This Cathedral, like many churches -in Italy, serves as a passage from one street to another; the Conte saw -as he entered one of the Archbishop's Grand Vicars crossing the nave. -</p> - -<p> -"Since I have met you here," he said to him, "will you be so very good -as to spare my gout the deadly fatigue of climbing to His Grace the -Archbishop's. He would be doing me the greatest favour in the world if -he would be so kind as to come down to the sacristy." The Archbishop was -delighted by this message, he had a thousand things to say to the -Minister on the subject of Fabrizio. But the Minister guessed that these -things were no more than fine phrases, and refused to listen to any of -them. -</p> - -<p> -"What sort of man is Dugnani, the Vicar of San Paolo?" -</p> - -<p> -"A small mind and a great ambition," replied the Archbishop; "few -scruples and extreme poverty, for we too have our vices!" -</p> - -<p> -"Egad, Monsignore," exclaimed the Minister, "you portray like Tacitus"; -and he took leave of him, laughing. No sooner had he returned to his -Ministry than he sent for Priore Dugnani. -</p> - -<p> -"You direct the conscience of my excellent friend the Fiscal General -Rassi; are you sure he has nothing to tell me?" And, without any further -speech or ceremony, he dismissed Dugnani. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h4><a id="CHAPTER_SEVENTEEN">CHAPTER SEVENTEEN</a></h4> - -<p> -The Conte regarded himself as out of office. "Let us see now," he said -to himself, "how many horses we shall be able to have after my disgrace, -for that is what they will call my resignation." He made a reckoning of -his fortune: he had come to the Ministry with 80,000 francs to his name; -greatly to his surprise, he found that, all told, his fortune at that -moment did not amount to 500,000 francs: "that is an income of 20,000 -lire at the most," he said to himself. "I must admit that I am a great -simpleton! There is not a citizen in Parma who does not suppose me to -have an income of 150,000 lire, and the Prince, in that respect, is more -of a cit than any of them. When they see me in the ditch, they will say -that I know how to hide my fortune. Egad!" he cried, "if I am still -Minister in three months' time, we shall see that fortune doubled." He -found in this idea an occasion for writing to the Duchessa, which he -seized with avidity, but to bespeak her pardon for a letter, seeing the -terms on which they were, he filled this with figures and calculations. -"We shall have only 20,000 lire of income," he told her, "to live upon, -all three of us, at Naples, Fabrizio, you and myself. Fabrizio and I -shall have one saddle-horse between us." The Minister had barely sent -off his letter when the Fiscal General Rassi was announced. He received -him with a stiffness which bordered on impertinence. -</p> - -<p> -"What, Sir," he said to him, "you seize and carry off from Bologna a -conspirator who is under my protection; what is more, you propose to cut -off his head, and you say nothing about it to me! Do you at least know -the name of my successor? Is it General Conti, or yourself?" -</p> - -<p> -Rassi was dumbfoundered; he was too little accustomed to good society to -know whether the Conte was speaking seriously: he blushed a deep red, -mumbled a few scarcely intelligible words; the Conte watched him and -enjoyed his embarrassment. Suddenly Rassi pulled himself together and -exclaimed, with perfect ease and with the air of Figaro caught -red-handed by Almaviva: -</p> - -<p> -"Faith, Signor Conte, I shan't beat about the bush with Your Excellency: -what will you give me to answer all your questions as I should those of -my confessor?" -</p> - -<p> -"The Cross of San Paolo" (which is the Parmesan Order) "or money, if you -can find me an excuse for granting it to you." -</p> - -<p> -"I prefer the Cross of San Paolo, because it ennobles me." -</p> - -<p> -"What, my dear Fiscal, you still pay some regard to our poor nobility?" -</p> - -<p> -"If I were of noble birth," replied Rassi with all the impudence of his -trade, "the families of the people I have had hanged would hate me, but -they would not feel contempt for me." -</p> - -<p> -"Very well, I will save you from their contempt," said the Conte; "cure -me of my ignorance. What do you intend to do with Fabrizio?" -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>THE COURT</i></h5> - -<p> -"Faith, the Prince is greatly embarrassed; he is afraid that, seduced by -the fine eyes of Armida—forgive my slightly bold language, they -are the Sovereign's own words—he is afraid that, seduced by a -certain pair of very fine eyes, which have touched him slightly himself, -you may leave him stranded, and there is no one but you to handle the -question of Lombardy. I will go so far as to say," Rassi went on, -lowering his voice, "that there is a fine opportunity there for you, and -one that is well worth the Cross of San Paolo which you are giving me. -The Prince would grant you, as a reward from the nation, a fine estate -worth 600,000 francs, which he would set apart from his own domains, or -a gratuity of 300,000 scudi, if you would agree not to interfere in the -affairs of Fabrizio del Dongo, or at any rate not to speak of them to -him except in public." -</p> - -<p> -"I expected something better than that," said the Conte; "not to -interfere with Fabrizio means quarrelling with the Duchessa." -</p> - -<p> -"There, that is just what the Prince says: the fact is that he is -horribly enraged against the Signora Duchessa, this is between -ourselves; and he is afraid that, to compensate yourself for the rupture -with that charming lady, now that you are a widower, you may ask him for -the hand of his cousin, the old Princess Isotta, who is only fifty." -</p> - -<p> -"He has guessed aright," exclaimed the Conte; "our master is the -shrewdest man in his States." -</p> - -<p> -Never had the Conte entertained the grotesque idea of marrying this -elderly Princess; nothing would less have suited a man whom the -ceremonies of the court bored to death. -</p> - -<p> -He began to tap with his snuff-box on the marble of a little table -beside his chair. Rassi saw in this gesture of embarrassment the -possibility of a fine windfall; his eye gleamed. -</p> - -<p> -"As a favour, Signor Conte," he cried, "if Your Excellency decides to -accept this estate of 600,000 francs or the gratuity in money, I beg that -he will not choose any other intermediary than myself. I should make an -effort," he added, lowering his voice, "to have the gratuity increased, -or else to have a forest of some importance added to the land. If Your -Excellency would deign to introduce a little gentleness and tact into -his manner in speaking to the Prince of this youngster they've locked -up, a Duchy might perhaps be created out of the lands which the nation's -gratitude would offer him. I repeat to Your Excellency; the Prince, for -the moment, abominates the Duchessa, but he is greatly embarrassed, so -much so indeed that I have sometimes thought there must be some secret -consideration which he dared not confess to me. Do you know, we may find -a gold mine here, I selling you his most intimate secrets, and quite -openly, for I am supposed to be your sworn enemy. After all, if he is -furious with the Duchessa, he believes also, and so do we all, that you -are the one man in the world who can carry through all the secret -negotiations with regard to the Milanese. Will Your Excellency permit me -to repeat to him textually the Sovereign's words?" said Rassi, growing -heated; "there is often a character in the order of the words which no -translation can render, and you may be able to see more in them than I -see." -</p> - -<p> -"I permit everything," said the Conte, as he went on, with an air of -distraction, tapping the marble table with his gold snuff-box; "I permit -everything, and I shall be grateful." -</p> - -<p> -"Give me a patent of hereditary nobility independently of the Cross, and -I shall be more than satisfied. When I speak of ennoblement to the -Prince, he answers: 'A scoundrel like you, noble! I should have to shut -up shop next day; nobody in Parma would wish to be ennobled again.' To -come back to the business of the Milanese, the Prince said to me not -three days ago: 'There is only that rascal to unravel the thread of our -intrigues; if I send him away, or if he follows the Duchessa, I may as -well abandon the hope of seeing myself one day the Liberal and beloved -ruler of all Italy.'" -</p> - -<p> -At this the Conte drew breath. "Fabrizio will not die," he said to -himself. -</p> - -<p> -Never in his life had Rassi been able to secure an intimate conversation -with the Prime Minister. He was beside himself with joy: he saw himself -on the eve of being able to discard the name Rassi, which had become -synonymous throughout the country with everything that was base and -vile. The lower orders gave the name Rassi to mad dogs; recently more -than one soldier had fought a duel because one of his comrades had -called him Rassi. Not a week passed, moreover, in which this ill-starred -name did not figure in some atrocious sonnet. His son, a young and -innocent schoolboy of sixteen, used to be driven out of the caffè on -the strength of his name. It was the burning memory of all these little -perquisites of his office that made him commit an imprudence. "I have an -estate," he said to the Conte, drawing his chair closer to the -Minister's; "it is called Riva. I should like to be Barone Riva." -</p> - -<p> -"Why not?" said the Minister. Rassi was beside himself. -</p> - -<p> -"Very well, Signor Conte, I shall take the liberty of being indiscreet. -I shall venture to guess the object of your desires; you aspire to the -hand of the Princess Isotta, and it is a noble ambition. Once you are of -the family, you are sheltered from disgrace, you have our man <i>tied -down</i>. I shall not conceal from you that he has a horror of this -marriage with the Princess Isotta. But if your affairs were entrusted to -some skilful and <i>well paid</i> person, you would be in a position not to -despair of success." -</p> - -<p> -"I, my dear Barone, should despair of it; I disavow in advance -everything that you can say in my name; but on the day on which that -illustrious alliance comes at length to crown my wishes and to give me -so exalted a position in the State, I will offer you, myself, 300,000 -francs of my own money, or else recommend the Prince to accord you a -mark of his favour which you yourself will prefer to that sum of money." -</p> - -<p> -The reader finds this conversation long: and yet we are sparing him more -than half of it; it continued for two hours more. Rassi left the Conte's -presence mad with joy; the Conte was left with a great hope of saving -Fabrizio, and more than ever determined to hand in his resignation. He -found that his credit stood in need of renewal by the succession to -power of persons such as Rassi and General Conti; he took an exquisite -delight in a possible method which he had just discovered of avenging -himself on the Prince: "He may send the Duchessa away," he cried, "but, -by gad, he will have to abandon the hope of becoming Constitutional King -of Lombardy." (This was an absurd fantasy: the Prince had abundance of -brains, but, by dint of dreaming of it, he had fallen madly in love with -the idea.) -</p> - -<p> -The Conte could not contain himself for joy as he hurried to the -Duchessa's to give her a report of his conversation with the Fiscal. He -found the door closed to him; the porter scarcely dared admit to him the -fact of this order, received from his mistress's own lips. The Conte -went sadly back to the ministerial <i>palazzo</i>; the rebuff he had just -encountered completely eclipsed the joy that his conversation with the -Prince's confidant had given him. Having no longer the heart to devote -himself to anything, the Conte was wandering gloomily through his -picture gallery when, a quarter of an hour later, he received a note -which ran as follows: -</p> - -<blockquote><p> -"Since it is true, dear and good friend, that we are nothing more now -than friends, you must come to see me only three times in the week. In a -fortnight we shall reduce these visits, always so dear to my heart, to -two monthly. If you wish to please me, give publicity to this apparent -rupture; if you wished to pay me back almost all the love that I once -felt for you, you would choose a new mistress for yourself. As for -myself, I have great plans of dissipation: I intend to go a great deal -into society, perhaps I shall even find a man of parts to make me forget -my misfortunes. Of course, in your capacity as a friend, the first place -in my heart will always be kept for you; but I do not wish, for the -future, that my actions should be said to have been dictated by your -wisdom; above all, I wish it to be well known that I have lost all my -influence over your decisions. In a word, dear Conte, be assured that -you will always be my dearest friend, but never anything else. Do not, I -beg you, entertain any idea of a resumption, it is all over. Count, -always, upon my friendship." -</p></blockquote> - -<p> -This last stroke was too much for the Conte's courage: he wrote a fine -letter to the Prince resigning all his offices, and addressed it to the -Duchessa with a request that she would forward it to the Palace. A -moment later, he received his resignation, torn across, and on one of the -blank scraps of the paper the Duchessa had condescended to write: "<i>No, -a thousand times no</i>!" -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>A BREACH</i></h5> - -<p> -It would be difficult to describe the despair of the poor Minister. "She -is right, I quite agree," he kept saying to himself at every moment; "my -omission of the words <i>unjust proceedings</i> is a dreadful misfortune; -it will involve perhaps the death of Fabrizio, and that will lead to my -own." It was with death in his heart that the Conte, who did not wish to -appear at the Sovereign's Palace before being summoned there, wrote out -with his own hand the <i>motu proprio</i> which created Rassi Cavaliere of -the Order of San Paolo and conferred on him hereditary nobility; the -Conte appended to it a report of half a page which set forth to the -Prince the reasons of state which made this measure advisable. He found -a sort of melancholy joy in making a fair copy of each of these -documents, which he addressed to the Duchessa. -</p> - -<p> -He lost himself in suppositions; he tried to guess what, for the future, -would be the plan of conduct of the woman he loved. "She has no idea -herself," he said to himself; "one thing alone remains certain, which is -that she would not for anything in the world fail to adhere to any -resolution once she had announced it to me." What added still further to -his unhappiness was that he could not succeed in finding that the -Duchessa was to be blamed. "She has shewn me a favour in loving me; she -ceases to love me after a mistake, unintentional, it is true, but one -that may involve a horrible consequence; I have no right to complain." -Next morning, the Conte learned that the Duchessa had begun to go into -society again; she had appeared the evening before in all the houses in -which parties were being given. What would have happened if they had met -in the same drawing-room? How was he to speak to her? In what tone was -he to address her? And how could he not speak to her? -</p> - -<p> -The day that followed was a day of gloom; the rumour had gone abroad -everywhere that Fabrizio was going to be put to death, the town was -stirred. It was added that the Prince, having regard for his high birth, -had deigned to decide that he should have his head cut off. -</p> - -<p> -"It is I that am killing him," the Conte said to himself; "I can no -longer aspire to see the Duchessa ever again." In spite of this fairly -obvious conclusion, he could not restrain himself from going three times -to her door; as a matter of fact, in order not to be noticed, he went to -her house on foot. In his despair, he had even the courage to write to -her. He had sent for Rassi twice; the Fiscal had not shewn his face. -"The scoundrel is playing me false," the Conte said to himself. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>PUBLIC OPINION</i></h5> - -<p> -The day after this, three great pieces of news excited the high society -of Parma, and even the middle classes. The execution of Fabrizio was -more certain than ever; and, a highly strange complement to this news, -the Duchessa did not appear to be at all despairing. To all appearance, -she bestowed only a quite moderate regret on her young lover; in any -event, she made the most, with an unbounded art, of the pallor which was -the legacy of a really serious indisposition, which had come to her at -the time of Fabrizio's arrest. The middle classes saw clearly in these -details the hard heart of a great lady of the court. In decency, -however, and as a sacrifice to the shade of the young Fabrizio, she had -broken with Conte Mosca. "What immorality!" exclaimed the Jansenists of -Parma. But already the Duchessa, and this was incredible, seemed -disposed to listen to the flatteries of the handsomest young men at -court. It was observed, among other curious incidents, that she had been -very gay in a conversation with Conte Baldi, the Raversi's reigning -lover, and had teased him greatly over his frequent visits to the -<i>castello</i> of Velleja. The lower middle class and the populace were -indignant at the death of Fabrizio, which these good folk put down to -the jealousy of Conte Mosca. The society of the court was also greatly -taken up with the Conte, but only to laugh at him. The third of the -great pieces of news to which we have referred was indeed nothing else -than the Conte's resignation; everyone laughed at a ridiculous lover -who, at the age of fifty-six, was sacrificing a magnificent position to -his grief at being abandoned by a heartless woman, who moreover had long -ago shewn her preference for a young man. The Archbishop alone had the -intelligence or rather the heart to divine that honour forbade the Conte -to remain Prime Minister in a country where they were going to cut off -the head, and without consulting him, of a young man who was under his -protection. The news of the Conte's resignation had the effect of curing -General Fabio Conti of his gout, as we shall relate in due course, when -we come to speak of the way in which poor Fabrizio was spending his time -in the citadel, while the whole town was inquiring the hour of his -execution. -</p> - -<p> -On the following day the Conte saw Bruno, that faithful agent whom he -had dispatched to Bologna: the Conte's heart melted at the moment when -this man entered his cabinet; the sight of him recalled the happy state -in which he had been when he sent him to Bologna, almost in concert with -the Duchessa. Bruno came from Bologna where he had discovered nothing; -he had not been able to find Lodovico, whom the <i>podestà</i> of -Castelnuovo had kept locked up in his village prison. -</p> - -<p> -"I am going to send you to Bologna," said the Conte to Bruno; "the -Duchessa wishes to give herself the melancholy pleasure of knowing the -details of Fabrizio's disaster. Report yourself to the <i>brigadiere</i> -of police in charge of the station at Castelnuovo. . . . -</p> - -<p> -"No!" exclaimed the Conte, breaking off in his orders; "start at once -for Lombardy, and distribute money lavishly among all our -correspondents. My object is to obtain from all these people reports of -the most encouraging nature." Bruno, after clearly grasping the object -of his mission, set to work to write his letters of credit. As the Conte -was giving him his final instructions, he received a letter which was -entirely false, but extremely well written; one would have called it the -letter of a friend writing to a friend to ask a favour of him. The -friend who wrote it was none other than the Prince. Having heard mention -of some idea of resignation, he besought his friend, Conte Mosca, to -retain his office; he asked him this in the name of their friendship and -of the <i>dangers that threatened the country</i>, and ordered him as his -master. He added that, the King of —— having placed at his -disposal two Cordons of his Order, he was keeping one for himself and was -sending the other to his dear Conte Mosca. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>DIPLOMACY</i></h5> - -<p> -"That animal is ruining me!" cried the Conte in a fury, before the -astonished Bruno, "and he thinks to win me over by those same -hypocritical phrases which we have planned together so many times to -lime the twig for some fool." He declined the Order that was offered -him, and in his reply spoke of the state of his health as allowing him -but little hope of being able to carry on for much longer the arduous -duties of the Ministry. The Conte was furious. A moment later was -announced the Fiscal Rassi, whom he treated like a black. -</p> - -<p> -"Well! Because I have made you noble, you are beginning to shew -insolence! Why did you not come yesterday to thank me, as was your -bounden duty, Master Drudge?" -</p> - -<p> -Rassi was a long way below the reach of insult; it was in this tone that -he was daily received by the Prince; but he was anxious to be a Barone, -and justified himself with spirit. Nothing was easier. -</p> - -<p> -"The Prince kept me glued to a table all day yesterday; I could not -leave the Palace. His Highness made me copy out in my wretched -attorney's script a number of diplomatic papers so stupid and so -long-winded that I really believe his sole object was to keep me -prisoner. When I was finally able to take my leave of him, about five -o'clock, half dead with hunger, he gave me the order to go straight home -and not to go out in the evening. As a matter of fact, I saw two of his -private spies, well known to me, patrolling my street until nearly -midnight. This morning, as soon as I could, I sent for a carriage which -took me to the door of the Cathedral. I got down from the carriage very -slowly, then at a quick pace walked through the church, and here I am. -Your Excellency is at this moment the one man in the world whom I am -most passionately anxious to please." -</p> - -<p> -"And I, Master Joker, am not in the least taken in by all these more or -less well constructed stories. You refused to speak to me about Fabrizio -the day before yesterday; I respected your scruples and your oaths of -secrecy, although oaths, to a creature like you, are at the most means -of evasion. To-day, I require the truth. What are these ridiculous -rumours which make out that this young man is sentenced to death as the -murderer of the comedian Giletti?" -</p> - -<p> -"No one can give Your Excellency a better account of those rumours, for -it was I myself who started them by the Sovereign's orders; and, I -believe, it was perhaps to prevent me from informing you of this -incident that he kept me prisoner all day yesterday. The Prince, who -does not take me for a fool, could have no doubt that I should come to -you with my Cross and ask you to fasten it in my buttonhole." -</p> - -<p> -"To the point!" cried the Minister. "And no fine speeches." -</p> - -<p> -"No doubt, the Prince would be glad to pass sentence of death on Signor -del Dongo, but he has been sentenced, as you probably know, only to -twenty years in irons, commuted by the Prince, on the very day after the -sentence, to twelve years in a fortress, with fasting on bread and water -every Friday and other religious observances." -</p> - -<p> -"It is because I knew of this sentence to imprisonment only that I was -alarmed by the rumours of immediate execution which are going about the -town; I remember the death of Conte Palanza, which was such a clever -trick on your part." -</p> - -<p> -"It was then that I ought to have had the Cross!" cried Rassi, in no way -disconcerted; "I ought to have forced him when I held him in my hand, -and the man wished the prisoner killed. I was a fool then; and it is -armed with that experience that I venture to advise you not to copy my -example to-day." (This comparison seemed in the worst of taste to his -hearer, who was obliged to restrain himself forcibly from kicking -Rassi.) -</p> - -<p> -"In the first place," the latter went on with the logic of a trained -lawyer and the perfect assurance of a man whom no insult could offend, -"in the first place there can be no question of the execution of the -said del Dongo; the Prince would not dare, the times have altogether -changed! Besides, I, who am noble and hope through you to become Barone, -would not lend a hand in the matter. Now it is only from me, as Your -Excellency knows, that the executioner of supreme penalties can receive -orders, and, I swear to you, Cavaliere Rassi will never issue any such -orders against Signor del Dongo." -</p> - -<p> -"And you will be acting wisely," said the Conte with a severe air, -taking his adversary's measure. -</p> - -<p> -"Let us make a distinction," went on Rassi, smiling. "I myself figure -only in the official death-roll, and if Signor del Dongo happens to die -of a colic, do not go and put it down to me. The Prince is vexed, and I -do not know why, with the Sanseverina." (Three days earlier Rassi would -have said "the Duchessa," but, like everyone in the town, he knew of her -breach with the Prime Minister.) The Conte was struck by the omission of -her title on such lips, and the reader may judge of the pleasure that it -afforded him; he darted at Rassi a glance charged with the keenest -hatred. "My dear angel," he then said to himself, "I can shew you my -love only by blind obedience to your orders. -</p> - -<p> -"I must admit," he said to the Fiscal, "that I do not take any very -passionate interest in the various caprices of the Signora Duchessa; -only, since it was she who introduced to me this scapegrace of a -Fabrizio, who would have done well to remain at Naples and not come here -to complicate our affairs, I make a point of his not being put to death -in my time, and I am quite ready to give you my word that you shall be -Barone in the week following his release from prison." -</p> - -<p> -"In that case, Signor Conte, I shall not be Barone for twelve whole -years, for the Prince is furious, and his hatred of the Duchessa is so -keen that he is trying to conceal it." -</p> - -<p> -"His Highness is too good; what need has he to conceal his hatred, since -his Prime Minister is no longer protecting the Duchessa? Only I do not -wish that anyone should be able to accuse me of meanness, nor above all -of jealousy: it was I who made the Duchessa come to this country, and if -Fabrizio dies in prison you will not be Barone, but you will perhaps be -stabbed with a dagger. But let us not talk about this trifle: the fact -is that I have made an estimate of my fortune, at the most I may be able -to put together an income of twenty thousand lire, on which I propose to -offer my resignation, most humbly, to the Sovereign. I have some hope of -finding employment with the King of Naples; that big town will offer me -certain distractions which I need at this moment and which I cannot find -in a hole like Parma; I should stay here only in the event of your -obtaining for me the hand of the Princess Isotta," and so forth. The -conversation on this subject was endless. As Rassi was rising to leave, -the Conte said to him with an air of complete indifference: -</p> - -<p> -"You know that people have said that Fabrizio was playing me false, in -the sense that he was one of the Duchessa's lovers; I decline to accept -that rumour, and, to give it the lie, I wish you to have this purse -conveyed to Fabrizio." -</p> - -<p> -"But, Signor Conte," said Rassi in alarm, looking at the purse, "there -is an enormous sum here, and the regulations. . . ." -</p> - -<p> -"To you, my dear Sir, it may be enormous," replied the Conte with an air -of the most supreme contempt: "a cit like you, sending money to his -friend in prison, thinks he is ruining himself if he gives him ten -sequins; I, on the other hand, wish Fabrizio to receive these six -thousand francs, and on no account is the Castle to know anything of the -matter." -</p> - -<p> -While the terrified Rassi was trying to answer, the Conte shut the door -on him with impatience. "Those fellows," he said to himself, "cannot see -power unless it is cloaked in insolence." So saying, this great Minister -abandoned himself to an action so ridiculous that we have some -misgivings about recording it. He ran to take from his desk a portrait -in miniature of the Duchessa, and covered it with passionate kisses. -"Forgive me, my dear angel," he cried, "if I did not fling out of the -window with my own hands that drudge who dares to speak of you in a tone -of familiarity; but, if I am acting with this excess of patience, it is -to obey you! And he will lose nothing by waiting." -</p> - -<p> -After a long conversation with the portrait, the Conte, who felt his -heart dead in his breast, had the idea of an absurd action, and dashed -into it with the eagerness of a child. He sent for a coat on which his -decorations were sewn and went to pay a call on the elderly Princess -Isotta. Never in his life had he gone to her apartments, except on New -Year's Day. He found her surrounded by a number of dogs, and tricked out -in all her finery, including diamonds even, as though she were going to -court. The Conte having shewn some fear lest he might be upsetting the -arrangements of Her Highness, who was probably going out, the lady -replied that a Princess of Parma owed it to herself to be always in such -array. For the first time since his disaster the Conte felt an impulse -of gaiety. "I have done well to appear here," he told himself, "and this -very day I must make my declaration." The Princess had been delighted to -receive a visit from a man so renowned for his wit, and a Prime -Minister; the poor old maid was hardly accustomed to such visitors. The -Conte began by an adroit preamble, relative to the immense distance that -must always separate from a plain gentleman the members of a reigning -family. -</p> - -<p> -"One must draw a distinction," said the Princess: "the daughter of a -King of France, for instance, has no hope of ever succeeding to the -Throne; but things are not like that in the House of Parma. And that is -why we Farnese must always keep up a certain dignity in externals; and -I, a poor Princess such as you see me now, I cannot say that it is -absolutely impossible that one day you may be my Prime Minister." -</p> - -<p> -This idea, by its fantastic unexpectedness, gave the poor Conte a second -momentary thrill of perfect gaiety. -</p> - -<p> -On leaving the apartments of the Princess Isotta, who had blushed deeply -on receiving the avowal of the Prime Minister's passion, he met one of -the grooms from the Palace: the Prince had sent for him in hot haste. -</p> - -<p> -"I am unwell," replied the Minister, delighted at being able to play a -trick on his Prince. "Oh! Oh! You drive me to extremes," he exclaimed in -a fury, "and then you expect me to serve you; but learn this, my Prince, -that to have received power from Providence is no longer enough in these -times: it requires great brains and a strong character to succeed in -being a despot." -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>DESPOTISM</i></h5> - -<p> -After dismissing the groom from the Palace, highly scandalised by the -perfect health of this invalid, the Conte amused himself by going to see -the two men at court who had the greatest influence over General Fabio -Conti. The one thing that made the Minister shudder and robbed him of -all his courage was that the governor of the citadel was accused of -having once before made away with a captain, his personal enemy, by -means of the <i>acquetta di Perugia</i>. -</p> - -<p> -The Conte knew that during the last week the Duchessa had been -squandering vast sums with a view to establishing communications with -the citadel; but, in his opinion, there was small hope of success; all -eyes were still too wide open. We shall not relate to the reader all the -attempts at corruption made by this unhappy woman: she was in despair, -and agents of every sort, all perfectly devoted, were supporting her. -But there is perhaps only one kind of business which is done to -perfection in small despotic courts, namely the custody of political -prisoners. The Duchessa's gold had no other effect than to secure the -dismissal from the citadel of nine or ten men of all ranks. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h4><a id="CHAPTER_EIGHTEEN">CHAPTER EIGHTEEN</a></h4> - -<p> -Thus, with an entire devotion to the prisoner, the Duchessa and the -Prime Minister had been able to do but very little for him. The Prince -was in a rage, the court as well as the public were piqued by Fabrizio, -delighted to see him come to grief: he had been too fortunate. In spite -of the gold which she spent in handfuls, the Duchessa had not succeeded -in advancing an inch in her siege of the citadel; not a day passed but -the Marchesa Raversi or Cavaliere Riscara had some fresh report to -communicate to General Fabio Conti. They were supporting his weakness. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>A MODEL PRISON</i></h5> - -<p> -As we have already said, on the day of his imprisonment, Fabrizio was -taken first of all to the <i>governor's palazzo</i>. This was a neat little -building erected in the eighteenth century from the plans of Vanvitelli, -who placed it one hundred and eighty feet above the ground, on the -platform of the huge round tower. From the windows of this little -<i>palazzo</i>, isolated on the back of the enormous tower like a camel's -hump, Fabrizio could make out the country and the Alps to a great -distance; he followed with his eye beneath the citadel the course of the -Parma, a sort of torrent which, turning to the right four leagues from -the town, empties its waters into the Po. Beyond the left bank of this -river, which formed so to speak a series of huge white patches in the -midst of the green fields, his enraptured eye caught distinctly each of -the summits of the immense wall with which the Alps enclose Italy to the -north. These summits, always covered in snow, even in the month of -August which it then was, give one as it were a reminder of coolness in -the midst of these scorching plains; the eye can follow them in the -minutest detail, and yet they are more than thirty leagues from the -citadel of Parma. This expansive view from the governor's charming -<i>palazzo</i> is broken at one corner towards the south by the <i>Torre -Farnese</i>, in which a room was being hastily prepared for Fabrizio. This -second tower, as the reader may perhaps remember, was built on the -platform of the great tower in honour of a Crown Prince who, unlike -Hippolytus the son of Theseus, had by no means repelled the advances of -a young stepmother. The Princess died in a few hours; the Prince's son -regained his liberty only seventeen years later, when he ascended the -throne on the death of his father. This Torre Farnese to which, after -waiting for three quarters of an hour, Fabrizio was made to climb, of an -extremely plain exterior, rises some fifty feet above the platform of -the great tower, and is adorned with a number of lightning conductors. -The Prince who, in his displeasure with his wife, built this prison -visible from all parts of the country, had the singular design of trying -to persuade his subjects that it had been there for many years: that is -why he gave it the name of <i>Torre Farnese</i>. It was forbidden to speak -of this construction, and from all parts of the town of Parma and the -surrounding plains people could perfectly well see the masons laying -each of the stones which compose this pentagonal edifice. In order to -prove that it was old, there was placed above the door two feet wide and -four feet high which forms its entrance a magnificent bas-relief -representing Alessandro Farnese, the famous general, forcing Henri IV to -withdraw from Paris. This Torre Farnese, standing in so conspicuous a -position, consists of a hall on the ground floor, at least forty yards -long, broad in proportion and filled with extremely squat pillars, for -this disproportionately large room is not more than fifteen feet high. -It is used as the guard-room, and in the middle of it the staircase -rises in a spiral round one of the pillars; it is a small staircase of -iron, very light, barely two feet in width and wrought in filigree. By -this staircase, which shook beneath the weight of the gaolers who were -escorting him, Fabrizio came to a set of vast rooms more than twenty -feet high, forming a magnificent first floor. They had originally been -furnished with the greatest luxury for the young Prince who spent in -them the seventeen best years of his life. At one end of this apartment, -the new prisoner was shewn a chapel of the greatest magnificence; the -walls and ceiling were entirely covered in black marble; pillars, black -also and of the noblest proportions, were placed in line along the black -walls without touching them, and these walls were decorated with a -number of skulls in white marble, of colossal proportions, elegantly -carved and supported underneath by crossbones. "There is an invention of -the hatred that cannot kill," thought Fabrizio, "and what a devilish -idea to let me see it." -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>THE DOG "FOX"</i></h5> - -<p> -An iron staircase of light filigree, similarly coiled about a pillar, -gave access to the second floor of this prison, and it was in the rooms -of this second floor, which were some fifteen feet in height, that for -the last year General Fabio Conti had given proof of his genius. First -of all, under his direction, solid bars had been fixed in the windows of -these rooms, originally occupied by the Prince's servants, and standing -more than thirty feet above the stone slabs which paved the platform of -the great round tower. It was by a dark corridor, running along the -middle of this building, that one approached these rooms, each of which -had two windows; and in this very narrow corridor Fabrizio noticed three -iron gates in succession, formed of enormous bars and rising to the -roof. It was the plans, sections and elevations of all these pretty -inventions that, for two years past, had entitled the General to an -audience of his master every week. A conspirator placed in one of these -rooms could not complain to public opinion that he was being treated in -an inhuman fashion, and yet was unable to communicate with anyone in the -world, or to make a movement without being heard. The General had had -placed in each room huge joists of oak in the form of trestles three -feet high, and this was his paramount invention, which gave him a claim -to the Ministry of Police. On these trestles he had set up a cell of -planks, extremely resonant, ten feet high, and touching the wall only at -the side where the windows were. On the other three sides ran a little -corridor four feet wide, between the original wall of the prison, which -consisted of huge blocks of dressed stone, and the wooden partitions of -the cell. These partitions, formed of four double planks of walnut, oak -and pine, were solidly held together by iron bolts and by innumerable -nails. -</p> - -<p> -It was into one of these rooms, constructed a year earlier, and the -masterpiece of General Fabio Conti's inventive talent, which had -received the sounding title of <i>Passive Obedience</i>, that Fabrizio was -taken. He ran to the windows. The view that one had from these barred -windows was sublime: one little piece of the horizon alone was hidden, -to the north-west, by the terraced roof of the <i>governor's palazzo</i>, -which had only two floors; the ground floor was occupied by the offices -of the staff; and from the first Fabrizio's eyes were attracted to one -of the windows of the upper floor, in which were to be seen, in pretty -cages, a great number of birds of all sorts. Fabrizio amused himself in -listening to their song and in watching them greet the last rays of the -setting sun, while the gaolers busied themselves about him. This aviary -window was not more than five-and-twenty feet from one of his, and stood -five or six feet lower down, so that his eyes fell on the birds. -</p> - -<p> -There was a moon that evening, and at the moment of Fabrizio's entering -his prison it was rising majestically on the horizon to the right, over -the chain of the Alps, towards Treviso. It was only half past eight, -and, at the other extremity of the horizon, to the west, a brilliant -orange-red sunset showed to perfection the outlines of Monviso and the -other Alpine peaks which run inland from Nice towards Mont Cenis and -Turin. Without a thought of his misfortunes, Fabrizio was moved and -enraptured by this sublime spectacle. "So it is in this exquisite world -that Clelia Conti dwells; with her pensive and serious nature, she must -enjoy this view more than anyone; here it is like being alone in the -mountains a hundred leagues from Parma." It was not until he had spent -more than two hours at the window, admiring this horizon which spoke to -his soul, and often also letting his eyes rest on the governor's -charming <i>palazzo</i>, that Fabrizio suddenly exclaimed: "But is this -really a prison? Is this what I have so greatly dreaded?" Instead of -seeing at every turn discomforts and reasons for bitterness, our hero -let himself be charmed by the attractions of his prison. -</p> - -<p> -Suddenly his attention was forcibly recalled to reality by a terrifying -din: his wooden cell, which was not unlike a cage and moreover was -extremely resonant, was violently shaken; the barking of a dog and -little shrill cries completed the strangest medley of sounds. "What now! -Am I going to escape so soon?" thought Fabrizio. A moment later he was -laughing as perhaps no one has ever laughed in a prison. By the -General's orders, at the same time as the gaolers there had been sent up -an English dog, extremely savage, which was set to guard officers of -importance, and was to spend the night in the space so ingeniously -contrived all round Fabrizio's cage. The dog and the gaoler were to -sleep in the interval of three feet left between the stone pavement of -the original floor and the wooden planks on which the prisoner could not -move a step without being heard. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>PRISON</i></h5> - -<p> -Now, when Fabrizio arrived, the room of the <i>Passive Obedience</i> -happened to be occupied by a hundred huge rats which took flight in every -direction. The dog, a sort of spaniel crossed with an English -fox-terrier, was no beauty, but to make up for this shewed a great -alertness. He had been tied to the stone pavement beneath the planks of -the wooden room; but when he heard the rats pass close by him, he made an -effort so extraordinary that he succeeded in pulling his head out of his -collar. Then came this splendid battle the din of which aroused -Fabrizio, plunged in the least melancholy of dreams. The rats that had -managed to escape the first assault of the dog's teeth took refuge in -the wooden room, the dog came after them up the six steps which led from -the stone floor to Fabrizio's cell. Then began a really terrifying din: -the cell was shaken to its foundations. Fabrizio laughed like a madman -until the tears ran down his cheeks: the gaoler Grillo, no less amused, -had shut the door; the dog, in going after the rats, was not impeded by -any furniture, for the room was completely bare; there was nothing to -check the bounds of the hunting dog but an iron stove in one corner. -When the dog had triumphed over all his enemies, Fabrizio called him, -patted him, succeeded in winning his affection. "Should this fellow ever -see me jumping over a wall," he said to himself, "he will not bark." But -this far-seeing policy was a boast on his part: in the state of mind in -which he was, he found his happiness in playing with this dog. By a -paradox to which he gave no thought, a secret joy was reigning in the -depths of his heart. -</p> - -<p> -After he had made himself quite breathless by running about with the -dog: -</p> - -<p> -"What is your name?" Fabrizio asked the gaoler. -</p> - -<p> -"Grillo, to serve Your Excellency in all that is allowed by the -regulations." -</p> - -<p> -"Very well, my dear Grillo, a certain Giletti tried to murder me on the -broad highway, I defended myself, and killed him; I should kill him -again if it had to be done, but I wish to lead a gay life for all that -so long as I am your guest. Ask for authority from your chiefs, and go -and procure linen for me from the <i>palazzo</i> Sanseverina; also, buy me -lots of <i>nebiolo d'Asti</i>." -</p> - -<p> -This is quite a good sparkling wine which is made in Piedmont, in -Alfieri's country, and is highly esteemed, especially by the class of -wine-tasters to which gaolers belong. Nine or ten of these gentlemen -were engaged in transporting to Fabrizio's wooden room certain pieces of -old furniture, highly gilded, which they took from the Prince's -apartment on the first floor; all of them bore religiously in mind this -recommendation of the wine of Asti. In spite of all they might do, -Fabrizio's establishment for this first night was lamentable; but he -appeared shocked only by the absence of a bottle of good <i>nebiolo</i>. -"He seems a good lad," said the gaolers as they left him, "and there is -only one thing to be hoped for, that our gentlemen will let him have plenty -of money." -</p> - -<p> -When he had recovered a little from all this din and confusion: "Is it -possible that this is a prison?" Fabrizio asked himself, gazing at that -vast horizon from Treviso to Monviso, the endless chain of the Alps, the -peaks covered with snow, the stars, and everything, "and a first night -in prison besides. I can conceive that Clelia Conti enjoys this airy -solitude; here one is a thousand leagues above the pettinesses and -wickednesses which occupy us down there. If those birds which are under -my window there belong to her, I shall see her. . . . Will she blush -when she catches sight of me?" It was while debating this important -question that our hero, at a late hour of the night, fell asleep. -</p> - -<p> -On the day following this night, the first spent in prison, in the -course of which he never once lost his patience, Fabrizio was reduced to -making conversation with Fox, the English dog; Grillo the gaoler did -indeed greet him always with the friendliest expression, but a new order -made him dumb, and he brought neither linen nor <i>nebiolo</i>. -</p> - -<p> -"Shall I see Clelia?" Fabrizio asked himself as he awoke. "But are those -birds hers?" The birds were beginning to utter little chirps and to -sing, and at that height this was the only sound that was carried on the -air. It was a sensation full of novelty and pleasure for Fabrizio, the -vast silence which reigned at this height; he listened with rapture to -the little chirpings, broken and so shrill, with which his neighbours -the birds were greeting the day. "If they belong to her, she will appear -for a moment in that room, there, beneath my window," and, while he -examined the immense chains of the Alps, against the first foothills of -which the citadel of Parma seemed to rise like an advanced redoubt, his -eyes returned every moment to the sumptuous cages of lemon-wood and -mahogany, which, adorned with gilt wires, filled the bright room which -served as an aviary. What Fabrizio did not learn until later was that -this room was the only one on the second floor of the <i>palazzo</i> which -had any shade, between eleven o'clock and four: it was sheltered by the -Torre Farnese. -</p> - -<p> -"What will be my dismay," thought Fabrizio, "if, instead of those modest -and pensive features for which I am waiting, and which will blush -slightly perhaps if she catches sight of me, I see appear the coarse -face of some thoroughly common maid, charged with the duty of looking -after the birds! But if I do see Clelia, will she deign to notice me? -Upon my soul, I must commit some indiscretion so as to be noticed; my -position should have some privileges; besides, we are both alone here, -and so far from the world! I am a prisoner, evidently what General Conti -and the other wretches of his sort call one of their subordinates. . . . -But she has so much intelligence, or, I should say, so much heart, so -the Conte supposes, that possibly, by what he says, she despises her -father's profession; which would account for her melancholy. A noble -cause of sadness! But, after all, I am not exactly a stranger to her. -With what grace, full of modesty, she greeted me yesterday evening! I -remember quite well how, when we met near Como, I said to her: 'One day -I shall come to see your beautiful pictures at Parma; will you remember -this name: Fabrizio del Dongo?' Will she have forgotten it? She was so -young then! -</p> - -<p> -"But by the way," Fabrizio said to himself in astonishment, suddenly -interrupting the current of his thoughts, "I am forgetting to be angry. -Can I be one of those stout hearts of which antiquity has furnished the -world with several examples? How is this, I who was so much afraid of -prison, I am in prison, and I do not even remember to be sad! It is -certainly a case where the fear was a hundred times worse than the evil. -What! I have to convince myself before I can be distressed by this -prison, which, as Blanès says, may as easily last ten years as ten -months! Can it be the surprise of all these novel surroundings that is -distracting me from the grief that I ought to feel? Perhaps this good -humour which is independent of my will and not very reasonable will -cease all of a sudden, perhaps in an instant I shall fall into the black -misery which I ought to be feeling. -</p> - -<p> -"In any case, it is indeed surprising to be in prison and to have to -reason with oneself in order to be unhappy. Upon my soul, I come back to -my theory, perhaps I have a great character." -</p> - -<p> -Fabrizio's meditations were disturbed by the carpenter of the citadel, -who came to take the measurements of a screen for his windows; it was -the first time that this prison had been used, and they had forgotten to -complete it in this essential detail. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>THE FIRST STEP</i></h5> - -<p> -"And so," thought Fabrizio, "I am going to be deprived of that sublime -view." And he sought to derive sadness from this privation. -</p> - -<p> -"But what's this?" he cried suddenly, addressing the carpenter. "Am I -not to see those pretty birds any more?" "Ah, the Signorina's birds, -that she's so fond of," said the man, with a good-natured air, "hidden, -eclipsed, blotted out like everything else." -</p> - -<p> -Conversation was forbidden the carpenter just as strictly as it was the -gaolers, but the man felt pity for the prisoner's youth: he informed him -that these enormous shutters, resting on the sills of the two windows, -and slanting upwards and away from the wall, were intended to leave the -inmates with no view save of the sky. "It is done for their morals," he -told him, "to increase a wholesome sadness and the desire to amend their -ways in the hearts of the prisoners; the General," the carpenter added, -"has also had the idea of taking the glass out of their windows and -putting oiled paper there instead." -</p> - -<p> -Fabrizio greatly enjoyed the epigrammatic turn of this conversation, -extremely rare in Italy. -</p> - -<p> -"I should very much like to have a bird to cheer me, I am madly fond of -them; buy me one from Signorina Clelia Conti's maid." -</p> - -<p> -"What, do you know her," cried the carpenter, "that you say her name so -easily?" -</p> - -<p> -"Who has not heard tell of so famous a beauty? But I have had the honour -of meeting her several times at court." -</p> - -<p> -"The poor young lady is very dull here," the carpenter went on; "she -spends all her time there with her birds. This morning she sent out to -buy some fine orange trees which they have placed by her orders at the -door of the tower, under your window: if it weren't for the cornice, you -would be able to see them." There were in this speech words that were -very precious to Fabrizio; he found a tactful way of giving the -carpenter money. -</p> - -<p> -"I am breaking two rules at the same time," the man told him; "I am -talking to Your Excellency and taking money. The day after to-morrow, -when I come back with the shutters, I shall have a bird in my pocket, -and if I am not alone, I shall pretend to let it escape; if I can, I -shall bring you a prayer book: you must suffer by not being able to say -your office." -</p> - -<p> -"And so," Fabrizio said to himself as soon as he was alone, "those birds -are hers, but in two days more I shall no longer see them." At this -thought his eyes became tinged with regret. But finally, to his -inexpressible joy, after so long a wait and so much anxious gazing, -towards midday Clelia came to attend to her birds. Fabrizio remained -motionless, and did not breathe; he was standing against the enormous -bars of his window and pressed close to them. He observed that she did -not raise her eyes to himself; but her movements had an air of -embarrassment, like those of a person who knows that she is being -overlooked. Had she wished to do so, the poor girl could not have -forgotten the delicate smile she had seen hovering over the prisoner's -lips the day before, when the constables brought him out of the -guard-room. -</p> - -<p> -Although to all appearance she was paying the most careful attention to -what she was doing, at the moment when she approached the window of the -aviary she blushed quite perceptibly. The first thought in Fabrizio's -mind, as he stood glued to the iron bars of his window, was to indulge -in the childish trick of tapping a little with his hand on those bars, -and so making a slight noise; then the mere idea of such a want of -delicacy horrified him. "It would serve me right if for the next week -she sent her maid to look after the birds." This delicate thought would -never have occurred to him at Naples or at Novara. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>THE SCREEN</i></h5> - -<p> -He followed her eagerly with his eyes: "Obviously," he said to himself, -"she is going to leave the room without deigning to cast a glance at -this poor window, and yet she is just opposite me." But, on turning back -from the farther end of the room, which Fabrizio, thanks to his greater -elevation, could see quite plainly, Clelia could not help looking -furtively up at him, as she approached, and this was quite enough to -make Fabrizio think himself authorised to salute her. "Are we not alone -in the world here?" he asked himself, to give himself the courage to do -so. At this salute the girl stood still and lowered her eyes; then -Fabrizio saw her raise them very slowly; and, evidently making an effort -to control herself, she greeted the prisoner with the most grave and -<i>distant</i> gesture; but she could not impose silence on her eyes: -without her knowing it, probably, they expressed for a moment the keenest -pity. Fabrizio remarked that she blushed so deeply that the rosy tinge ran -swiftly down to her shoulders, from which the heat had made her cast -off, when she came to the aviary, a shawl of black lace. The unconscious -stare with which Fabrizio replied to her glance doubled the girl's -discomposure. "How happy that poor woman would be," she said to herself, -thinking of the Duchessa, "if for a moment only she could see him as I -see him now." -</p> - -<p> -Fabrizio had had some slight hope of saluting her again as she left the -room; but to avoid this further courtesy Clelia beat a skilful retreat -by stages, from cage to cage, as if, at the end of her task, she had to -attend to the birds nearest the door. At length she went out; Fabrizio -stood motionless gazing at the door through which she had disappeared; -he was another man. -</p> - -<p> -From that moment the sole object of his thoughts was to discover how he -might manage to continue to see her, even when they had set up that -horrible screen outside the window that overlooked the governor's -<i>palazzo</i>. -</p> - -<p> -Overnight, before going to bed, he had set himself the long and tedious -task of hiding the greater part of the gold that he had in several of -the rat-holes which adorned his wooden cell. "This evening, I must hide -my watch. Have I not heard it said that with patience and a watch-spring -with a jagged edge one can cut through wood and even iron? So I shall be -able to saw through this screen. The work of concealing his watch, which -occupied him for hours, did not seem to him at all long; he was thinking -of the different ways of attaining his object and of what he himself -could do in the way of carpentering. "If I get to work the right way," -he said to himself, "I shall be able to cut a section clean out of the -oak plank which will form the screen, at the end which will be resting -on the window-sill; I can take this piece out and put it back according -to circumstances; I shall give everything I possess to Grillo, so that -he may be kind enough not to notice this little device." All Fabrizio's -happiness was now involved in the possibility of carrying out this task, -and he could think of nothing else. "If I can only manage to see her, I -am a happy man. . . . No," he reminded himself, "she must also see that -I see her." All night long his head was filled with devices of -carpentering, and perhaps never gave a single thought to the court of -Parma, the Prince's anger, etc., etc. We must admit that he did not -think either of the grief in which the Duchessa must be plunged. He -waited impatiently for the morrow; but the carpenter did not appear -again: evidently he was regarded in the prison as a Liberal. They took -care to send another, a sour-faced fellow who made no reply except a -growl that boded ill to all the pleasant words with which Fabrizio -sought to cajole him. Some of the Duchessa's many attempts to open a -correspondence with Fabrizio had been discovered by the Marchesa -Raversi's many agents, and, by her, General Fabio Conti was daily -warned, frightened, put on his mettle. Every eight hours six soldiers of -the guard relieved the previous six in the great hall with the hundred -pillars on the ground floor: in addition to these, the governor posted a -gaoler on guard at each of the three successive iron gates of the -corridor, and poor Grillo, the only one who saw the prisoner, was -condemned to leave the Torre Farnese only once a week, at which he -showed great annoyance. He made his ill humour felt by Fabrizio, who had -the sense to reply only in these words: "Plenty of good <i>nebiola -d'Asti</i>, my friend." And he gave him money. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>PRISON</i></h5> - -<p> -"Well now, even this, which consoles us in all our troubles," exclaimed -the indignant Grillo, in a voice barely loud enough to be heard by the -prisoner, "we are forbidden to take, and I ought to refuse it, but I -accept; however, it's money thrown away; I can tell you nothing about -anything. Go on, you must be a rare bad lot, the whole citadel is upside -down because of you; the Signora Duchessa's fine goings on have got -three of us dismissed already." -</p> - -<p> -"Will the screen be ready before midday?" This was the great question -which made Fabrizio's heart throb throughout that long morning; he -counted each quarter as it sounded from the citadel clock. Finally, when -the last quarter before noon struck, the screen had not yet arrived; -Clelia reappeared and looked after her birds. Cruel necessity had made -Fabrizio's daring take such strides, and the risk of not seeing her -again seemed to him so to transcend all others that he ventured, looking -at Clelia, to make with his finger the gesture of sawing through the -screen; it is true that as soon as she had perceived this gesture, so -seditious in prison, she half bowed and withdrew. -</p> - -<p> -"How now!" thought Fabrizio in amazement, "can she be so unreasonable as -to see an absurd familiarity in a gesture dictated by the most imperious -necessity? I meant to request her always to deign, when she is attending -to her birds, to look now and again at the prison window, even when she -finds it masked by an enormous wooden shutter; I meant to indicate to -her that I shall do everything that is humanly possible to contrive to -see her. Great God! Does this mean that she will not come to-morrow -owing to that indiscreet gesture?" This fear, which troubled Fabrizio's -sleep, was entirely justified; on the following day Clelia had not -appeared at three o'clock, when the workmen finished installing outside -Fabrizio's windows the two enormous screens; they had been hauled up -piecemeal, from the terrace of the great tower, by means of ropes and -pulleys attached to the iron bars outside the windows. It is true that, -hidden behind a shutter in her own room, Clelia had followed with -anguish every movement of the workmen; she had seen quite plainly -Fabrizio's mortal anxiety, but had nevertheless had the courage to keep -the promise she had made to herself. -</p> - -<p> -Clelia was a little devotee of Liberalism; in her girlhood she had taken -seriously all the Liberal utterances which she had heard in the company -of her father, who thought only of establishing his own position; from -this she had come to feel a contempt, almost a horror for the flexible -character of the courtier; whence her antipathy to marriage. Since -Fabrizio's arrival, she had been racked by remorse: "And so," she said -to herself, "my unworthy heart is taking the side of the people who seek -to betray my father! He dares to make me the sign of sawing through a -door! . . . But," she at once went on with anguish in her heart, "the -whole town is talking of his approaching death! To-morrow may be the -fatal day! With the monsters who govern us, what in the world is not -possible? What meekness, what heroic serenity in those eyes, which -perhaps are about to close for ever! God! What must be the Duchessa's -anguish! They say that she is in a state of utter despair. If I were -she, I would go and stab the Prince, like the heroic Charlotte Corday." -</p> - -<p> -Throughout this third day of his imprisonment, Fabrizio was wild with -anger, but solely at not having seen Clelia appear. "Anger for anger, I -ought to have told her that I loved her," he cried; for he had arrived -at this discovery. "No, it is not at all from greatness of heart that I -am not thinking about prison, and am making Blanès's prophecy prove -false: such honour is not mine. In spite of myself I think of that look -of sweet pity which Clelia let fall on me when the constables led me out -of the guard-room; that look has wiped out all my past life. Who would -have said that I should find such sweet eyes in such a place, and at the -moment when my own sight was offended by the faces of Barbone and the -General-governor. Heaven appeared to me in the midst of those vile -creatures. And how can one help loving beauty and seeking to see it -again? No, it is certainly not greatness of heart that makes me -indifferent to all the little vexations which prison heaps upon me." -Fabrizio's imagination, passing rapidly over every possibility in turn, -arrived at that of his being set at liberty. "No doubt the Duchessa's -friendship will do wonders for me. Well, I shall thank her for my -liberty only with my lips; this is not at all the sort of place to which -one returns! Once out of prison, separated as we are socially, I should -practically never see Clelia again! And, after all, what harm is prison -doing me? If Clelia deigned not to crush me with her anger, what more -should I have to ask of heaven?" -</p> - -<p> -On the evening of this day on which he had not seen his pretty -neighbour, he had a great idea: with the iron cross of the rosary which -is given to every prisoner on his admission to prison, he began, and -with success, to bore a hole in the shutter. "It is perhaps an -imprudence," he told himself before he began. "Did not the carpenters -say in front of me that the painters would be coming to-morrow in their -place? What will they say if they find the shutter with a hole in it? -But if I do not commit this imprudence, to-morrow I shall not be able to -see her. What! By my own inactivity am I to remain for a day without -seeing her, and that after she has turned from me in an ill humour?" -Fabrizio's imprudence was rewarded; after fifteen hours of work he saw -Clelia, and, to complete his happiness, as she had no idea that he was -looking at her, she stood for a long time without moving, her gaze fixed -on the huge screen; he had plenty of time to read in her eyes the signs -of the most tender pity. Towards the end of the visit, she was even -quite evidently neglecting her duty to her birds, to stay for whole -minutes gazing at the window. Her heart was profoundly troubled; she was -thinking of the Duchessa, whose extreme misfortune had inspired in her -so much pity, and at the same time she was beginning to hate her. She -understood nothing of the profound melancholy which had taken hold of -her character, she felt out of temper with herself. Two or three times, -in the course of this encounter, Fabrizio was impatient to try to shake -the screen; he felt that he was not happy so long as he could not -indicate to Clelia that he saw her. "However," he told himself, "if she -knew that I could see her so easily, timid and reserved as she is, she -would probably slip away out of my sight." -</p> - -<p> -He was far more happy next day (out of what miseries does love create -its happiness!): while she was looking sadly at the huge screen, he -succeeded in slipping a tiny piece of wire through the hole which the -iron cross had bored, and made signs to her which she evidently -understood, at least in the sense that they implied: "I am here and I -see you." -</p> - -<p> -Fabrizio was unfortunate on the days that followed. He was anxious to -cut out of the colossal screen a piece of board the size of his hand, -which could be replaced when he chose, and which would enable him to see -and to be seen, that is to say to speak, by signs at least, of what was -passing in his heart; but he found that the noise of the very imperfect -little saw which he had made by notching the spring of his watch with -the cross aroused Grillo, who came and spent long hours in his cell. It -is true that he thought he noticed that Clelia's severity seemed to -diminish as the material difficulties in the way of any communication -between them increased; Fabrizio was fully aware that she no longer -pretended to lower her eyes or to look at the birds when he was trying -to shew her a sign of his presence by means of his wretched little piece -of wire; he had the pleasure of seeing that she never failed to appear -in the aviary at the precise moment when the quarter before noon struck, -and he almost presumed to imagine himself to be the cause of this -remarkable punctuality. Why? Such an idea does not seem reasonable; but -love detects shades invisible to the indifferent eye, and draws endless -conclusions from them. For instance, now that Clelia could no longer see -the prisoner, almost immediately on entering the aviary she would raise -her eyes to his window. These were the funereal days on which no one in -Parma had any doubt that Fabrizio would shortly be put to death: he -alone knew nothing; but this terrible thought never left Clelia's mind -for a moment, and how could she reproach herself for the excessive -interest which she felt in Fabrizio? He was about to perish and for -the cause of freedom! For it was too absurd to put a del Dongo to death -for running his sword into a mummer. It was true that this attractive -young man was attached to another woman! Clelia was profoundly unhappy, -and without admitting to herself at all precisely the kind of interest -that she took in his fate: "Certainly," she said to herself, "if they -lead him out to die, I shall fly to a convent, and never in my life will -I reappear in that society of the court; it horrifies me. Kid-gloved -assassins!" -</p> - -<p> -On the eighth day of Fabrizio's imprisonment, she had good cause to -blush: she was watching fixedly, absorbed in her sorrowful thoughts, the -screen that hid the prisoner's window: suddenly a small piece of the -screen, larger than a man's hand, was removed by him; he looked at her -with an air of gaiety, and she could see his eyes which were greeting -her. She had not the strength to endure this unlooked-for trial, she -turned swiftly towards her birds and began to attend to them; but she -trembled so much that she spilled the water which she was pouring out -for them, and Fabrizio could perfectly well see her emotion; she could -not endure this situation, and took the prudent course of running from -the room. -</p> - -<p> -This was the best moment in Fabrizio's life, beyond all comparison. With -what transports would he have refused his freedom, had it been offered -to him at that instant! -</p> - -<p> -The following day was the day of the Duchessa's great despair. Everyone -in the town was certain that it was all over with Fabrizio. Clelia had -not the melancholy courage to show him a harshness that was not in her -heart, she spent an hour and a half in the aviary, watched all his -signals, and often answered him, at least by an expression of the -keenest and sincerest interest; at certain moments she turned from him -so as not to let him see her tears. Her feminine coquetry felt very -strongly the inadequacy of the language employed: if they could have -spoken, in how many different ways could she not have sought to discover -what precisely was the nature of the sentiments which Fabrizio felt for -the Duchessa! Clelia was now almost unable to delude herself any longer; -her feeling for Signora Sanseverina was one of hatred. -</p> - -<p> -One night Fabrizio began to think somewhat seriously of his aunt: he was -amazed, he found a difficulty in recognising her image; the memory that -he kept of her had totally changed; for him, at this moment, she was a -woman of fifty. -</p> - -<p> -"Great God!" he exclaimed with enthusiasm, "how well inspired I was not -to tell her that I loved her!" He had reached the point of being barely -able to understand how he had found her so good looking. In this -connexion little Marietta gave him the impression of a less perceptible -change: this was because he had never imagined that his heart entered at -all into his love for Marietta, while often he had believed that his whole -heart belonged to the Duchessa. The Duchessa d'A—— and Marietta -now had the effect on him of two young doves whose whole charm would be -in weakness and innocence, whereas the sublime image of Clelia Conti, -taking entire possession of his heart, went so far as to inspire him -with terror. He felt only too well that the eternal happiness of his -life was to force him to reckon with the governor's daughter, and that -it lay in her power to make of him the unhappiest of men. Every day he -went in mortal fear of seeing brought to a sudden end, by a caprice of -her will against which there was no appeal, this sort of singular and -delicious life which he found in her presence; in any event she had -already filled with joy the first two months of his imprisonment. It was -the time when, twice a week, General Fabio Conti was saying to the -Prince: "I can give Your Highness my word of honour that the prisoner -del Dongo does not speak to a living soul, and is spending his life -crushed by the most profound despair, or asleep." -</p> - -<p> -Clelia came two or three times daily to visit her birds, sometimes for a -few moments only; if Fabrizio had not loved her so well, he would have -seen clearly that he was loved; but he had serious doubts on this head. -Clelia had had a piano put in her aviary. As she struck the notes, that -the sound of the instrument might account for her presence there, and -occupy the minds of the sentries who were patrolling beneath her -windows, she replied with her eyes to Fabrizio's questions. On one -subject alone she never made any answer, and indeed, on serious -occasions, took flight, and sometimes disappeared for a whole day; this -was when Fabrizio's signals indicated sentiments the import of which it -was too difficult not to understand: on this point she was inexorable. -</p> - -<p> -Thus, albeit straitly confined in a small enough cage, Fabrizio led a -fully occupied life; it was entirely devoted to seeking the solution of -this important problem: "Does she love me?" The result of thousands of -observations, incessantly repeated, but also incessantly subjected to -doubt, was as follows: "All her deliberate gestures say no, but what is -involuntary in the movement of her eyes seems to admit that she is -forming an affection for me." -</p> - -<p> -Clelia hoped that she might never be brought to an avowal, and it was to -avert this danger that she had repulsed, with an excessive show of -anger, a prayer which Fabrizio had several times addressed to her. The -wretchedness of the resources employed by the poor prisoner ought, it -might seem, to have inspired greater pity in Clelia. He sought to -correspond with her by means of letters which he traced on his hand with -a piece of charcoal of which he had made the precious discovery in his -stove; he would have formed the words letter by letter, in succession. -This invention would have doubled the means of conversation, inasmuch as -it would have allowed him to say actual words. His window was distant -from Clelia's about twenty-five feet; it would have been too great a -risk to speak aloud over the heads of the sentries patrolling outside the -governor's <i>palazzo</i>. Fabrizio was in doubt whether he was loved; if -he had had any experience of love, he would have had no doubt left: but -never had a woman occupied his heart; he had, moreover, no suspicion of -a secret which would have plunged him in despair had he known it: there -was a serious question of the marriage of Clelia Conti to the Marchese -Crescenzi, the richest man at court. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h4><a id="CHAPTER_NINETEEN">CHAPTER NINETEEN</a></h4> - -<p> -General Fabio Conti's ambition, exalted to madness by the obstacles -which were occurring in the career of the Prime Minister Mosca, and -seemed to forebode his fall, had led him to make violent scenes before -his daughter; he told her incessantly, and angrily, that she was ruining -her own prospects if she did not finally make up her mind to choose a -husband; at twenty and past it was time to make a match; this cruel -state of isolation, in which her unreasonable obstinacy was plunging the -General, must be brought to an end, and so forth. -</p> - -<p> -It was originally to escape from these continual bursts of ill humour -that Clelia had taken refuge in the aviary; it could be reached only by -an extremely awkward wooden stair, which his gout made a serious -obstacle to the governor. -</p> - -<p> -For some weeks now Clelia's heart had been so agitated, she herself knew -so little what she ought to decide, that, without giving any definite -promise to her father, she had almost let herself be engaged. In one of -his fits of rage, the General had shouted that he could easily send her -to cool her heels in the most depressing convent in Parma, and that -there he would let her stew until she deigned to make a choice. -</p> - -<p> -"You know that our family, old as it is, cannot muster a rent-roll of -6,000 lire, while the Marchese Crescenzi's fortune amounts to more than -100,000 scudi a year. Everyone at court agrees that he has the sweetest -temper; he has never given anyone cause for complaint; he is a fine -looking man, young, popular with the Prince; and I say that you ought to -be shut up in a madhouse if you reject his advances. If this were the -first refusal, I might perhaps put up with it, but there have been five -or six suitors now, all among the first men at court, whom you have -rejected, like the little fool that you are. And what would become of -you, I ask you, if I were to be put on half-pay? What a triumph for my -enemies, if they saw me living in some second floor apartment, I who -have so often been talked of for the Ministry! No, begad, my good nature -has let me play Cassandra quite long enough. You will kindly supply me -with some valid objection to this poor Marchese Crescenzi, who is so -kind as to be in love with you, to be willing to marry you without a -dowry, and to make over to you a jointure of 30,000 lire a year, which -will at least pay my rent; you will talk to me reasonably, or, by -heaven, you will marry him in two months from now!" -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>ANGUISH</i></h5> - -<p> -One passage alone in the whole of this speech had struck Clelia; this -was the threat to send her to a convent, and thereby remove her from the -citadel, at the moment, moreover, when Fabrizio's life seemed to be -hanging only by a thread, for not a month passed in which the rumour of -his approaching death did not run afresh through the town and through -the court. Whatever arguments she might use, she could not make up her -mind to run this risk. To be separated from Fabrizio, and at the moment -when she was trembling for his life! This was in her eyes the greatest -of evils; it was at any rate the most immediate. -</p> - -<p> -This is not to say that, even in not being parted from Fabrizio, her -heart found any prospect of happiness; she believed him to be loved by -the Duchessa, and her soul was torn by a deadly jealousy. Incessantly she -thought of the advantages enjoyed by this woman who was so generally -admired. The extreme reserve which she imposed on herself with regard to -Fabrizio, the language of signs to which she had restricted him, from -fear of falling into some indiscretion, all seemed to combine to take -from her the means of arriving at any enlightenment as to his relations -with the Duchessa. Thus, every day, she felt more cruelly than before -the frightful misfortune of having a rival in the heart of Fabrizio, and -every day she dared less to expose herself to the danger of giving him -an opportunity to tell her the whole truth as to what was passing in -that heart. But how charming it would be, nevertheless, to hear him make -an avowal of his true feelings! What a joy for Clelia to be able to -clear away those frightful suspicions which were poisoning her life! -</p> - -<p> -Fabrizio was fickle; at Naples he had had the reputation of changing his -mistress rather easily. Despite all the reserve imposed on the character -of a young lady, since she had become a Canoness and had gone to court, -Clelia, without ever asking questions, but by listening attentively, had -succeeded in learning the reputation that had been made for themselves -by the young men who in succession had sought her hand; very well, -Fabrizio, when compared with all these young men, was the one who was -charged with being most fickle in affairs of the heart. He was in -prison, he was dull, he was paying court to the one woman to whom he -could speak; what more simple? What, indeed, <i>more common</i>? And it was -this that grieved Clelia. Even if, by a complete revelation, she should -learn that Fabrizio no longer loved the Duchessa, what confidence could -she have in his words? Even if she believed in the sincerity of what he -said, what confidence could she have in the permanence of his feelings? -And lastly, to drive the final stroke of despair into her heart, was not -Fabrizio already far advanced in his career as a churchman? Was he not -on the eve of binding himself by lifelong vows? Did not the highest -dignities await him in that walk in life? "If the least glimmer of sense -remained in my mind," the unhappy Clelia said to herself, "ought I not -to take flight? Ought I not to beg my father to shut me up in some -convent far away? And, as a last straw, it is precisely the fear of -being sent away from the citadel and shut up in a convent that is -governing all my conduct! It is that fear which is forcing me to hide -the truth, which is obliging me to act the hideous and degrading lie of -pretending to accept the public attentions of the Marchese Crescenzi." -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>PRISON</i></h5> - -<p> -Clelia was by nature profoundly reasonable; in the whole of her life she -had never had to reproach herself with a single unconsidered step, and -her conduct on this occasion was the height of unreason: one may judge -of her sufferings! They were all the more cruel in that she let herself -rest under no illusion. She was attaching herself to a man who was -desperately loved by the most beautiful woman at court, a woman who had -so many claims to be reckoned superior to Clelia herself! And this man -himself, had he been at liberty, was incapable of a serious attachment, -whereas she, as she felt only too well, would never have but this one -attachment in her life. -</p> - -<p> -It was, therefore, with a heart agitated by the most frightful remorse -that Clelia came every day to the aviary: carried to this spot as though -in spite of herself, her uneasiness changed its object and became less -cruel, the remorse vanished for a few moments; she watched, with -indescribable beatings of her heart, for the moments at which Fabrizio -could open the sort of hatch that he had made in the enormous screen -which masked his window. Often the presence of the gaoler Grillo in his -cell prevented him from conversing by signs with his friend. -</p> - -<p> -One evening, about eleven, Fabrizio heard sounds of the strangest nature -in the citadel: at night, by leaning on the window-sill and poking his -head out through the hatch, he could distinguish any noise at all loud -that was made on the great staircase, called "of the three hundred -steps," which led from the first courtyard, inside the round tower, to -the stone platform on which had been built the governor's <i>palazzo</i> -and the Farnese prison in which he himself was. -</p> - -<p> -About halfway up, at the hundred and eightieth step, this staircase -passed from the south side of a vast court to the north side; at this -point there was an iron bridge, very light and very narrow, on the -middle of which a turnkey was posted. This man was relieved every six -hours, and was obliged to rise and stand to one side to enable anyone to -pass over the bridge which he guarded, and by which alone one could -reach the governor's <i>palazzo</i> and the Torre Farnese. Two turns of -a spring, the key of which the governor carried on his person, were -enough to hurl this iron bridge down into the court, more than a hundred -feet below; this simple precaution once taken, as there was no other -staircase in the whole of the citadel, and as every evening at midnight -a serjeant brought to the governor's house, and placed in a closet which -was reached through his bedroom, the ropes of all the wells, he was left -completely inaccessible in his <i>palazzo</i>, and it would have been -equally impossible for anyone in the world to reach the Torre Farnese. -All this Fabrizio had thoroughly observed for himself on the day of his -arrival at the citadel, while Grillo who, like all gaolers, loved to -boast of his prison, had explained it to him many times since; thus he -had but little hope of escape. At the same time he reminded himself of a -maxim of Priore Blanès: "The lover thinks more often of reaching his -mistress than the husband of guarding his wife; the prisoner thinks more -often of escaping than the gaoler of shutting his door; and so, whatever -the obstacles may be, the lover and the prisoner ought to succeed." -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>THE SERENADE</i></h5> - -<p> -That evening Fabrizio could hear quite distinctly a considerable number -of men cross the iron bridge, known as the Slave's bridge, because once -a Dalmatian slave had succeeded in escaping, by throwing the guardian of -the bridge down into the court below. -</p> - -<p> -"They are coming here to carry off somebody, perhaps they are going to -take me out to hang me; but there may be some disorder, I must make the -most of it." He had armed himself, he was already taking the gold from -some of his hiding-places, when suddenly he stopped. -</p> - -<p> -"Man is a quaint animal," he exclaimed, "I must admit! What would an -invisible onlooker say if he saw my preparations? Do I by any chance -wish to escape? What would happen to me the day after my return to -Parma? Should I not be doing everything in the world to return to -Clelia? If there is some disorder, let us profit by it to slip into the -governor's <i>palazzo</i>; perhaps I may be able to speak to her, -perhaps, encouraged by the disorder, I may venture to kiss her hand. -General Conti, highly mistrustful by nature, and no less vain, has his -<i>palazzo</i> guarded by five sentries, one at each corner of the -building and a fifth outside the door, but fortunately the night is very -dark." On tiptoe Fabrizio stole down to find out what the gaoler Grillo -and his dog were doing: the gaoler was fast asleep in an oxhide -suspended by four ropes and enclosed in a coarse net; the dog Fox opened -his eyes, rose, and came quietly towards Fabrizio to lick his hand. -</p> - -<p> -Our prisoner returned softly up the six steps, which led to his wooden -cell; the noise was becoming so loud at the foot of the Torre Farnese, -and immediately opposite the door, that he thought that Grillo might -easily awake. Fabrizio, armed with all his weapons, ready for action, -was imagining that he was destined that night for great adventures, when -suddenly he heard the most beautiful symphony in the world strike up: it -was a serenade which was being given to the governor or his daughter. He -was seized with a fit of wild laughter: "And I who was already dreaming -of striking dagger-blows! As though a serenade were not infinitely more -normal than an abduction requiring the presence of two dozen people in a -prison, or than a mutiny!" The music was excellent, and seemed to -Fabrizio delicious, his spirit having had no distraction for so many -weeks; it made him shed very pleasant tears; in his delight he addressed -the most irresistible speeches to the fair Clelia. But the following -day, at noon, he found her in so sombre a melancholy, she was so pale, -she directed at him a gaze in which he read at times such anger, that he -did not feel himself to be sufficiently justified in putting any -question to her as to the serenade; he was afraid of being impolite. -</p> - -<p> -Clelia had every reason to be sad, it was a serenade given her by the -Marchese Crescenzi; a step so public was in a sense the official -announcement of their marriage. Until the very day of the serenade, and -until nine o'clock that evening, Clelia had set up the bravest -resistance, but she had had the weakness to yield to the threat of her -being sent immediately to a convent, which had been held over her by her -father. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>PRISON</i></h5> - -<p> -"What! I should never see him again!" she had said to herself, weeping. -It was in vain that her reason had added: "I should never see again that -creature who will harm me in every possible way, I should never see -again that lover of the Duchessa, I should never see again that man who -had ten acknowledged mistresses at Naples, and was unfaithful to them -all; I should never see again that ambitious young man who, if he -survives the sentence that he is undergoing, is to take holy orders! It -would be a crime for me to look at him again when he is out of his -citadel, and his natural inconstancy will spare me the temptation; for, -what am I to him? An excuse for spending less tediously a few hours of -each of his days in prison." In the midst of all this abuse, Clelia -happened to remember the smile with which he had looked at the -constables who surrounded him when he came out of the turnkey's office -to go up to the Torre Farnese. The tears welled into her eyes: "Dear -friend, what would I not do for you? You will ruin me, I know; such is -my fate; I am ruining myself in a terrible fashion by listening to-night -to this frightful serenade; but to-morrow, at midday, I shall see your -eyes again." -</p> - -<p> -It was precisely on the morrow of that day on which Clelia had made such -great sacrifices for the young prisoner, whom she loved with so strong a -passion; it was on the morrow of that day on which, seeing all his -faults, she had sacrificed her life to him, that Fabrizio was in despair -at her coldness. If, even employing only the imperfect language of -signs, he had done the slightest violence to Clelia's heart, probably -she would not have been able to keep back her tears, and Fabrizio would -have won an avowal of all that she felt for him; but he lacked the -courage, he was in too deadly a fear of offending Clelia, she could -punish him with too severe a penalty. In other words, Fabrizio had no -experience of the emotion that is given one by a woman whom one loves; -it was a sensation which he had never felt, even in the feeblest degree. -It took him a week, from the day of the serenade, to place himself once -more on the old footing of simple friendship with Clelia. The poor girl -armed herself with severity, being half dead with fear of betraying -herself, and it seemed to Fabrizio that every day he was losing ground -with her. -</p> - -<p> -One day (and Fabrizio had then been nearly three months in prison -without having had any communication whatever with the outer world, and -yet without feeling unhappy), Grillo had stayed very late in the morning -in his cell: Fabrizio did not know how to get rid of him; in the end, -half past twelve had already struck before he was able to open the two -little traps, a foot high, which he had carved in the fatal screen. -</p> - -<p> -Clelia was standing at the aviary window, her eyes fixed on Fabrizio's; -her drawn features expressed the most violent despair. As soon as she -saw Fabrizio, she made him a sign that all was lost: she dashed to her -piano, and, pretending to sing a <i>recitativo</i> from the popular opera -of the season, spoke to him in sentences broken by her despair and the fear -of being overheard by the sentries who were patrolling beneath the -window: -</p> - -<blockquote><p> -"Great God! You are still alive? How grateful I am to heaven! Barbone, -the gaoler whose impudence you punished on the day of your coming here, -disappeared, was not to be found in the citadel; the night before last -he returned, and since yesterday I have had reason to believe that he is -seeking to poison you. He comes prowling through the private kitchen of -the <i>palazzo</i>, where your meals are prepared. I know nothing for -certain, but my maid thinks that the horrible creature can only be coming -to the <i>palazzo</i> kitchens with the object of taking your life. I -was dying of anxiety when I did not see you appear, I thought you were -dead. Abstain from all nourishment until further notice, I shall do -everything possible to see that a little chocolate comes to you. In any -case, this evening at nine, if the bounty of heaven wills that you have -any thread, or that you can tie strips of your linen together in a -riband, let it down from your window over the orange trees, I shall -fasten a cord to it which you can pull up, and by means of the cord I -shall keep you supplied with bread and chocolate." -</p></blockquote> - -<p> -Fabrizio had carefully treasured the piece of charcoal which he had -found in the stove in his cell: he hastened to make the most of Clelia's -emotion, and wrote on his hand a series of letters which taken in order -formed these words: -</p> - -<p> -"I love you, and life is dear to me only because I see you; at all -costs, send me paper and a pencil." -</p> - -<p> -As Fabrizio had hoped, the extreme terror which he read in Clelia's -features prevented the girl from breaking off the conversation after -this daring announcement, "I love you"; she was content with exhibiting -great vexation. Fabrizio was inspired to add: "There is such a wind -blowing to-day that I can only catch very faintly the advice you are so -kind as to give me in your singing; the sound of the piano is drowning -your voice. What is this poison, for instance, that you tell me of?" -</p> - -<p> -At these words the girl's terror reappeared in its entirety; she began -in haste to trace large letters in ink on the pages of a book which she -tore out, and Fabrizio was transported with joy to see at length -established, after three months of effort, this channel of -correspondence for which he had so vainly begged. He had no thought of -abandoning the little ruse which had proved so successful, his aim was -to write real letters, and he pretended at every moment not to -understand the words of which Clelia was holding up each letter in turn -before his eyes. -</p> - -<p> -She was obliged to leave the aviary to go to her father; she feared more -than anything that he might come to look for her; his suspicious nature -would not have been at all satisfied with the close proximity of the -window of this aviary to the screen which masked that of the prisoner. -Clelia herself had had the idea a few moments earlier, when Fabrizio's -failure to appear was plunging her in so deadly an anxiety, that it -might be possible to throw a small stone wrapped in a piece of paper -over the top of this screen; if by a lucky chance the gaoler in charge -of Fabrizio happened not to be in his cell at that moment, it was a -certain method of corresponding with him. -</p> - -<p> -Our hero hastened to make a riband of sorts out of his linen; and that -evening, shortly after nine, he heard quite distinctly a series of -little taps on the tubs of the orange trees which stood beneath his -window; he let down his riband, which brought back with it a fine cord -of great length with the help of which he drew up first of all a supply -of chocolate, and then, to his unspeakable satisfaction, a roll of paper -and a pencil. It was in vain that he let down the cord again, he -received nothing more; apparently the sentries had come near the orange -trees. But he was wild with joy. He hastened to write Clelia an endless -letter: no sooner was it finished than he attached it to the cord and -let it down. For more than three hours he waited in vain for it to be -taken, and more than once drew it up again to make alterations. "If -Clelia does not see my letter to-night," he said to himself, "while she -is still upset by her idea of poison, to-morrow morning perhaps she will -utterly reject the idea of receiving a letter." -</p> - -<p> -The fact was that Clelia had been unable to avoid going down to the town -with her father; Fabrizio almost guessed as much when he heard, about -half past twelve, the General's carriage return; he recognised the trot -of the horses. What was his joy when, a few minutes after he had heard -the General cross the terrace and the sentries present arms to him, he -felt a pull at the cord which he had not ceased to keep looped round his -arm! A heavy weight was attached to this cord; two little tugs gave him -the signal to draw it up. He had considerable difficulty in getting the -heavy object that he was lifting past a cornice which jutted out some -way beneath his window. -</p> - -<p> -This object which he had so much difficulty in pulling up was a flask -filled with water and wrapped in a shawl. It was with ecstasy that this -poor young man, who had been living for so long in so complete a -solitude, covered this shawl with his kisses. But we must abandon the -attempt to describe his emotion when at last, after so many days of -fruitless expectation, he discovered a little scrap of paper which was -attached to the shawl by a pin. -</p> - -<p> -"Drink nothing but this water, live upon chocolate; to-morrow I shall do -everything in the world to get some bread to you, I shall mark it on -each side with little crosses in ink. It is a terrible thing to say, but -you must know it, perhaps Barbone has been ordered to poison you. How is -it that you did not feel that the subject of which you treat in your -pencilled letter was bound to displease me? Besides, I should not write -to you, but for the danger that threatens us. I have just seen the -Duchessa, she is well and so is the Conte, but she has grown very thin; -do not write to me again on that subject; do you wish to make me angry?" -</p> - -<p> -It required a great effort of virtue on Clelia's part to write the -penultimate line of this letter. Everyone alleged, in the society at -court, that Signora Sanseverina was becoming extremely friendly with -Conte Baldi, that handsome man, the former friend of the Marchesa -Raversi. What was certain was that he had quarrelled in the most open -fashion with the said Marchesa, who for six years had been a second -mother to him and had established him in society. -</p> - -<p> -Clelia had been obliged to begin this hasty little note over again, for, -in the first draft, some allusion escaped her to the fresh amours with -which popular malice credited the Duchessa. -</p> - -<p> -"How base of me!" she had exclaimed, "to say things to Fabrizio against -the woman he loves!" -</p> - -<p> -The following morning, long before it was light, Grillo came into -Fabrizio's cell, left there a package of some weight, and vanished -without saying a word. This package contained a loaf of bread of some -size, adorned on every side with little crosses traced in ink: Fabrizio -covered them with kisses; he was in love. Besides the bread there was a -roll wrapped in a large number of folds of paper; these enclosed six -hundred francs in sequins; last of all Fabrizio found a handsome -breviary, quite new: a hand which he was beginning to know had traced -these words on the margin: -</p> - -<p> -"<i>Poison</i>! Beware of water, wine, everything; live upon chocolate, try -to make the dog eat your untouched dinner; you must not appear -distrustful, the enemy would try some other plan. Do nothing foolish, in -Heaven's Name! No frivolity!" -</p> - -<p> -Fabrizio made haste to erase these dear words which might compromise -Clelia, and to tear a large number of pages from the breviary, with the -help of which he made several alphabets; each letter was properly drawn -with crushed charcoal soaked in wine. These alphabets had dried when at -a quarter to twelve Clelia appeared, a few feet inside the aviary -window. "The great thing now," Fabrizio said to himself, "is that she -shall consent to make use of these." But, fortunately for him, it so -happened that she had a number of things to say to the young prisoner -with regard to the attempt to poison him: a dog belonging to one of the -maidservants had died after eating a dish that was intended for him. -Clelia, so far from raising any objection to the use of the alphabets, -had prepared a magnificent one for herself, in ink. The conversation -carried out by these means, awkward enough in the first few moments, -lasted not less than an hour and a half, that is to say all the time -that Clelia was able to spend in the aviary. Two or three times, when -Fabrizio allowed himself forbidden liberties, she made no answer, and -turned away for a moment to give the necessary attention to her birds. -</p> - -<p> -Fabrizio had obtained the concession that, in the evening, when she sent -him his water, she would convey to him one of the alphabets which she -had written in ink, and which were far more visible. He did not fail to -write her a very long letter in which he took care not to include -anything affectionate, in a manner at least that might give offence. -This plan proved successful; his letter was accepted. -</p> - -<p> -Next day, in their conversation by the alphabets, Clelia made him no -reproach; she told him that the danger of poison was growing less; -Barbone had been attacked and almost killed by the men who were keeping -company with the kitchen-maids of the governor's <i>palazzo</i>; probably -he would not venture to appear in the kitchens again. Clelia confessed to -him that, for his sake, she had dared to steal an antidote from her -father; she was sending it to him; the essential thing was to refuse at -once all food in which he detected an unusual taste. -</p> - -<p> -Clelia had put many questions to Don Cesare without succeeding in -discovering who had sent the six hundred francs which Fabrizio had -received; in any case, it was an excellent sign; the severity was -decreasing. -</p> - -<p> -This episode of the poison advanced our hero's position enormously; he -was still unable ever to obtain the least admission that resembled love, -but he had the happiness of living on the most intimate terms with -Clelia. Every morning, and often in the evening, there was a long -conversation with the alphabets; every evening, at nine o'clock, Clelia -accepted a long letter, to which she sometimes replied in a few words; -she sent him the newspaper and several books; finally, Grillo had been -won over to the extent of bringing Fabrizio bread and wine, which were -given him every day by Clelia's maid. The gaoler Grillo had concluded -from this that the governor was not acting in concert with the people -who had ordered Barbone to poison the young Monsignore, and was greatly -relieved, as were all his fellows, for it had become a proverb in the -prison that "you had only to look Monsignor del Dongo in the face for -him to give you money." -</p> - -<p> -Fabrizio had grown very pale; the complete want of exercise was -affecting his health; apart from this, he had never in his life been so -happy. The tone of the conversation between Clelia and himself was -intimate, and at times quite gay. The only moments in Clelia's life that -were not besieged by grim forebodings and remorse were those which she -spent in talk with him. One day she was so rash as to say to him: -</p> - -<p> -"I admire your delicacy; as I am the governor's daughter, you never -speak to me of your desire to regain your freedom!" -</p> - -<p> -"That is because I take good care not to feel so absurd a desire," was -Fabrizio's answer; "once back in Parma, how should I see you again? And -life would become insupportable if I could not tell you all that is in -my mind—no, not quite all that is in my mind, you take good care of -that: but still, in spite of your hard-heartedness, to live without -seeing you every day would be to me a far worse punishment than this -prison! Never in my life have I been so happy! . . . Is it not pleasant -to find that happiness was awaiting me in prison?" -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>DIPLOMACY</i></h5> - -<p> -"There is a great deal more to be said about that," replied Clelia with -an air which became of a sudden unduly serious and almost sinister. -</p> - -<p> -"What!" cried Fabrizio, greatly alarmed, "is there a risk of my losing -the tiny place I have managed to win in your heart, which constitutes my -sole joy in this world?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes," she told him; "I have good reason to believe that you are lacking -in frankness towards me, although you may be regarded generally as a -great gentleman; but I do not wish to speak of this to-day." -</p> - -<p> -This singular opening caused great embarrassment in their conversation, -and often tears started to the eyes of both. -</p> - -<p> -The Fiscal General Rassi was still anxious to change his name; he was -tired to death of the name he had made for himself, and wished to become -Barone Riva. Conte Mosca, for his part, was toiling, with all the skill -of which he was capable, to strengthen in this venal judge his passion -for the barony, just as he was seeking to intensify in the Prince his -mad hope of making himself Constitutional Monarch of Lombardy. They were -the only means that he could invent of postponing the death of Fabrizio. -</p> - -<p> -The Prince said to Rassi: -</p> - -<p> -"A fortnight of despair and a fortnight of hope, it is by patiently -carrying out this system that we shall succeed in subduing that proud -woman's nature; it is by these alternatives of mildness and harshness -that one manages to break the wildest horses. Apply the caustic firmly." -</p> - -<p> -And indeed, every fortnight, one saw a fresh rumour come to birth in -Parma announcing the death of Fabrizio in the near future. This talk -plunged the unhappy Duchessa in the utmost despair. Faithful to her -resolution not to involve the Conte in her downfall, she saw him but -twice monthly; but she was punished for her cruelty towards that poor -man by the continual alternations of dark despair in which she was -passing her life. In vain did Conte Mosca, overcoming the cruel jealousy -inspired in him by the assiduities of Conte Baldi, that handsome man, -write to the Duchessa when he could not see her, and acquaint her with -all the intelligence that he owed to the zeal of the future Barone Riva; -the Duchessa would have needed (for strength to resist the atrocious -rumours that were incessantly going about with regard to Fabrizio), to -spend her life with a man of intelligence and heart such as Mosca; the -nullity of Baldi, leaving her to her own thoughts, gave her an appalling -existence, and the Conte could not succeed in communicating to her his -reasons for hope. -</p> - -<p> -By means of various pretexts of considerable ingenuity the Minister had -succeeded in making the Prince agree to his depositing in a friendly -castle, in the very heart of Lombardy, the records of all the highly -complicated intrigues by means of which Ranuccio-Ernest IV nourished the -utterly mad hope of making himself Constitutional Monarch of that -smiling land. -</p> - -<p> -More than a score of these extremely compromising documents were in the -Prince's hand, or bore his signature, and in the event of Fabrizio's -life being seriously threatened the Conte had decided to announce to His -Highness that he was going to hand these documents over to a great power -which with a word could crush him. -</p> - -<p> -Conte Mosca believed that he could rely upon the future Barone Riva, he -was afraid only of poison; Barbone's attempt had greatly alarmed him, -and to such a point that he had determined to risk taking a step which, -to all appearance, was an act of madness. One morning he went to the -gate of the citadel and sent for General Fabio Conti, who came down as -far as the bastion above the gate; there, strolling with him in a -friendly fashion, he had no hesitation in saying to him, after a short -preamble, acidulated but polite: -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>PRISON</i></h5> - -<p> -"If Fabrizio dies in any suspicious manner, his death may be put down to -me; I shall get a reputation for jealousy, which would be an absurd and -abominable stigma and one that I am determined not to accept. So, to -clear myself in the matter, if he dies of illness, <i>I shall kill you -with my own hand</i>; you may count on that." General Fabio Conti made a -magnificent reply and spoke of his bravery, but the look in the Conte's -eyes remained present in his thoughts. -</p> - -<p> -A few days later, as though he were working in concert with the Conte, -the Fiscal Rassi took a liberty which was indeed singular in a man of -his sort. The public contempt attached to his name, which was proverbial -among the rabble, had made him ill since he had acquired the hope of -being able to change it. He addressed to General Fabio Conti an official -copy of the sentence which condemned Fabrizio to twelve years in the -citadel. According to the law, this was what should have been done on -the very day after Fabrizio's admission to prison; but what was -unheard-of at Parma, in that land of secret measures, was that Justice -should allow itself to take such a step without an express order from -the Sovereign. How indeed could the Prince entertain the hope of -doubling every fortnight the Duchessa's alarm, and of subduing that -proud spirit, to quote his own words, once an official copy of the -sentence had gone out from the Chancellory of Justice? On the day before -that on which General Fabio Conti received the official document from -the Fiscal Rassi, he learned that the clerk Barbone had been beaten -black and blue on returning rather late to the citadel; he concluded -from this that there was no longer any question, in a certain quarter, -of getting rid of Fabrizio; and, in a moment of prudence which saved -Rassi from the immediate consequences of his folly, he said nothing to -the Prince, at the next audience which he obtained of him, of the -official copy of Fabrizio's sentence which had been transmitted to him. -The Conte had discovered, happily for the peace of mind of the -unfortunate Duchessa, that Barbone's clumsy attempt had been only an act -of personal revenge, and had caused the clerk to be given the warning of -which we have spoken. -</p> - -<p> -Fabrizio was very agreeably surprised when, after one hundred and -thirty-five days of confinement in a distinctly narrow cell, the good -chaplain Don Cesare came to him one Thursday to take him for an airing -on the dungeon of the Torre Farnese: he had not been there ten minutes -before, unaccustomed to the fresh air, he began to feel faint. -</p> - -<p> -Don Cesare made this accident an excuse to allow him half an hour's -exercise every day. This was a mistake: these frequent airings soon -restored to our hero a strength which he abused. -</p> - -<p> -There were several serenades; the punctilious governor allowed them only -because they created an engagement between the Marchese Crescenzi and -his daughter Clelia, whose character alarmed him; he felt vaguely that -there was no point of contact between her and himself, and was always -afraid of some rash action on her part. She might fly to the convent, -and he would be left helpless. At the same time, the General was afraid -that all this music, the sound of which could penetrate into the deepest -dungeons, reserved for the blackest Liberals, might contain signals. The -musicians themselves, too, made him suspicious; and so no sooner was the -serenade at an end than they were locked into the big rooms below the -governor's <i>palazzo</i>, which by day served as an office for the staff, -and the door was not opened to let them out until the following morning, -when it was broad daylight. It was the governor himself who, stationed -on the Slave's Bridge, had them searched in his presence and gave them -their liberty, not without several times repeating that he would have -hanged at once any of them who had the audacity to undertake the -smallest commission for any prisoner. And they knew that, in his fear of -giving offence, he was a man of his word, so that the Marchese Crescenzi -was obliged to pay his musicians at a triple rate, they being greatly -upset at thus having to spend a night in prison. -</p> - -<p> -All that the Duchessa could obtain, and that with great difficulty, from -the pusillanimity of one of these men was that he should take with him a -letter to be handed to the governor. The letter was addressed to -Fabrizio: the writer deplored the fatality which had brought it about -that, after he had been more than five months in prison, his friends -outside had not been able to establish any communication with him. -</p> - -<p> -On entering the citadel, the bribed musician flung himself at the feet -of General Fabio Conti, and confessed to him that a priest, unknown to -him, had so insisted upon his taking a letter addressed to Signor del -Dongo that he had not dared to refuse; but, faithful to his duty, he was -hastening to place it in His Excellency's hands. -</p> - -<p> -His Excellency was highly flattered: he knew the resources at the -Duchessa's disposal, and was in great fear of being hoaxed. In his joy, -the General went to submit this letter to the Prince, who was delighted. -</p> - -<p> -"So, the firmness of my administration has brought me my revenge! That -proud woman has been suffering for more than six months! But one of -these days we are going to have a scaffold erected, and her wild -imagination will not fail to believe that it is intended for young del -Dongo." -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h4><a id="CHAPTER_TWENTY">CHAPTER TWENTY</a></h4> - -<p> -One night, about one o'clock in the morning, Fabrizio, leaning upon his -window-sill, had slipped his head through the door cut in his screen and -was contemplating the stars and the immense horizon which one enjoyed -from the summit of the Torre Farnese. His eyes, roaming over the country -in the direction of the lower Po and Ferrara, noticed quite by chance an -extremely small but quite brilliant light which seemed to be shining -from the top of a tower. "That light cannot be visible from the plain," -Fabrizio said to himself, "the bulk of the tower prevents it from being -seen from below; it will be some signal for a distant point." Suddenly -he noticed that this light kept on appearing and disappearing at very -short intervals. "It is some girl speaking to her lover in the next -village." He counted nine flashes in succession. "That is an <i>I</i>," he -said, "<i>I</i> being the ninth letter of the alphabet." There followed, -after a pause, fourteen flashes: "That is <i>N</i>"; then, after another -pause, a single flash: "It is an <i>A</i>; the word is <i>Ina</i>." -</p> - -<p> -What were his joy and surprise when the next series of flashes, still -separated by short pauses, made up the following words: -</p> - -<p class="center">INA PENSA A TE</p> - -<p> -Evidently, "Gina is thinking of you!" -</p> - -<p> -He replied at once by flashing his own lamp through the smaller of the -holes that he had made: -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="center">FABRIZIO T'AMA ("Fabrizio loves you!")</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>PRISON</i></h5> - -<p> -The conversation continued until daybreak. This night was the one -hundred and seventy-third of his imprisonment, and he was informed that -for four months they had been making these signals every night. But -anyone might see and read them; they began from this night to establish -a system of abbreviations: three flashes in very quick succession meant -the Duchessa; four, the Prince; two, Conte Mosca; two quick flashes -followed by two slow ones meant <i>escape</i>. They agreed to use in -future the old alphabet <i>alla Monaca</i>, which, so as not to be -understood by unauthorised persons, changes the ordinary sequence of the -letters, and gives them arbitrary values: <i>A</i>, for instance, is -represented by 10, <i>B</i> by Z; that is to say three successive -interruptions of the flash mean <i>B</i>, ten successive interruptions -<i>A</i>, and so on; an interval of darkness separates the words. An -appointment was made for the following night at one o'clock, and that -night the Duchessa came to the tower, which was a quarter of -a league from the town. Her eyes filled with tears as she saw -the signals made by the Fabrizio whom she had so often imagined -dead. She told him herself, by flashes of the lamp: "<i>I love -you—courage—health—hope. Exercise your strength in -your cell, you will need the strength of your arms</i>.—I have not -seen him," she said to herself, "since that concert with Fausta, when he -appeared at the door of my drawing-room dressed as a <i>chasseur</i>. -Who would have said then what a fate was in store for him?" -</p> - -<p> -The Duchessa had signals made which informed Fabrizio that presently he -would be released thanks to the Prince's bounty (these signals might be -intercepted); then she returned to messages of affection; she could not -tear herself from him. Only the representations made by Lodovico, who, -because he had been of use to Fabrizio, had become her factotum, could -prevail upon her, when day was already breaking, to discontinue signals -which might attract the attention of some ill-disposed person. This -announcement, several times repeated, of an approaching release, cast -Fabrizio into a profound sorrow. Clelia, noticing this next day, was so -imprudent as to inquire the cause of it. -</p> - -<p> -"I can see myself on the point of giving the Duchessa serious grounds -for displeasure." -</p> - -<p> -"And what can she require of you that you would refuse her?" exclaimed -Clelia, carried away by the most lively curiosity. -</p> - -<p> -"She wishes me to leave this place," was his answer, "and that is what I -will never consent to do." -</p> - -<p> -Clelia could not reply: she looked at him and burst into tears. If he -had been able to speak to her face to face, then perhaps he would have -received her avowal of feelings, his uncertainty as to which often -plunged him in a profound discouragement; he felt keenly that life -without Clelia's love could be for him only a succession of bitter -griefs or intolerable tedium. He felt that it was no longer worth his -while to live to rediscover those same pleasures that had seemed to him -interesting before he knew what love was, and, albeit suicide has not -yet become fashionable in Italy, he had thought of it as a last -resource, if fate were to part him from Clelia. -</p> - -<p> -Next day he received a long letter from her: -</p> - -<blockquote><p> -"You must, my friend, be told the truth: over and over again, since you -have been here, it has been believed in Parma that your last day had -come. It is true that you were sentenced only to twelve years in a -fortress; but it is, unfortunately, impossible to doubt that an -all-powerful hatred is bent on your destruction, and a score of times I -have trembled for fear that poison was going to put an end to your days: -you must therefore seize every <i>possible</i> means of escaping from -here. You see that for your sake I am neglecting the most sacred duties; -judge of the imminence of the danger by the things which I venture to -say to you, and which are so out of place on my lips. If it is -absolutely necessary, if there is no other way of safety, fly. Every -moment that you spend in this fortress may put your life in the greatest -peril; bear in mind that there is a party at court whom the prospect of -crime has never deterred from carrying out their designs. And do you not -see all the plans of that party constantly circumvented by the superior -skill of Conte Mosca? Very well, they have found a sure way of banishing -him from Parma, it is the Duchessa's desperation; and are they not only -too sure of bringing about the desperation by the death of a certain -young prisoner? This point alone, which is unanswerable, ought to make -you form a judgment of your situation. You say that you feel friendship -for me: think, first of all, that insurmountable obstacles must prevent -that feeling from ever becoming at all definite between us. We may have -met in our youth, we may each have held out a helping hand to the other -in a time of trouble; fate may have set me in this grim place that I -might lighten your suffering; but I should never cease to reproach -myself if illusions, which nothing justifies or will ever justify, led -you not to seize every possible opportunity of removing your life from -so terrible a peril. I have lost all peace of mind through the cruel -folly I have committed in exchanging with you certain signs of open -friendship. If our childish pastimes, with alphabets, led you to form -illusions which are so little warranted and which may be so fatal to -yourself, it would be vain for me to seek to justify myself by reminding -you of Barbone's attempt. I should be casting you myself into a far more -terrible, far more certain peril, when I thought only to protect you -from a momentary danger; and my imprudences are for ever unpardonable if -they have given rise to feelings which may lead you to resist the -Duchessa's advice. See what you oblige me to repeat to you: save -yourself, I command you. . . ." -</p></blockquote> - -<p> -This letter was very long; certain passages, such as the <i>I command -you</i> which we have just quoted, gave moments of exquisite hope to -Fabrizio's love; it seemed to him that the sentiments underlying the -words were distinctly tender, if the expressions used were remarkably -prudent. In other instances he paid the penalty for his complete -ignorance of this kind of warfare; he saw only simple friendship, or -even a very ordinary humanity in this letter from Clelia. -</p> - -<p> -Otherwise, nothing that she told him made him change his intentions for -an instant: supposing that the perils which she depicted were indeed -real, was it extravagant to purchase, with a few momentary dangers, the -happiness of seeing her every day? What sort of life would he lead when -he had fled once again to Bologna or to Florence? For, if he escaped -from the citadel, he certainly could not hope for permission to live in -Parma. And even so, when the Prince should change his mind sufficiently -to set him at liberty (which was so highly improbable since he, -Fabrizio, had become, for a powerful faction, one of the means of -overthrowing Conte Mosca), what sort of life would he lead in Parma, -separated from Clelia by all the hatred that divided the two parties? -Once or twice in a month, perhaps, chance would place them in the same -drawing-room; but even then, what sort of conversation could he hold -with her? How could he recapture that perfect intimacy which, every day -now, he enjoyed for several hours? What would be the conversation of the -drawing-room, compared with that which they made by alphabets? "And, if -I must purchase this life of enjoyment and this unique chance of -happiness with a few little dangers, where is the harm in that? And -would it not be a further happiness to find thus a feeble opportunity of -giving her a proof of my love?" -</p> - -<p> -Fabrizio saw nothing in Clelia's letter but an excuse for asking her for -a meeting; it was the sole and constant object of all his desires. He -had spoken to her of it once only, and then for an instant, at the -moment of his entry into prison; and that was now more than two hundred -days ago. -</p> - -<p> -An easy way of meeting Clelia offered itself: the excellent Priore Don -Cesare allowed Fabrizio half an hour's exercise on the terrace of the -Torre Farnese every Thursday, during the day; but on the other days of -the week this airing, which might be observed by all the inhabitants of -Parma and the neighbouring villages, and might seriously compromise the -governor, took place only at nightfall. To climb to the terrace of the -Torre Farnese there was no other stair but that of the little belfry -belonging to the chapel so lugubriously decorated in black and white -marble, which the reader may perhaps remember. Grillo escorted Fabrizio -to this chapel, and opened the little stair to the belfry for him: his -duty would have been to accompany him; but, as the evenings were growing -cold, the gaoler allowed him to go up by himself, locking him into this -belfry which communicated with the terrace, and went back to keep warm -in his cell. Very well; one evening, could not Clelia contrive to -appear, escorted by her maid, in the black marble chapel? -</p> - -<p> -The whole of the long letter in which Fabrizio replied to Clelia's was -calculated to obtain this meeting. Otherwise, he confided to her, with -perfect sincerity, and as though he were writing of someone else, all -the reasons which made him decide not to leave the citadel. -</p> - -<p> -"I would expose myself every day to the prospect of a thousand deaths to -have the happiness of speaking to you with the help of our alphabets, -which now never defeat us for a moment, and you wish me to be such a -fool as to exile myself in Parma, or perhaps at Bologna, or even at -Florence! You wish me to walk out of here so as to be farther from you! -Understand that any such effort is impossible for me; it would be -useless to give you my word, I could never keep it." -</p> - -<p> -The result of this request for a meeting was an absence on the part of -Clelia which lasted for no fewer than five days; for five days she came -to the aviary only at times when she knew that Fabrizio could not make -use of the little opening cut in the screen. Fabrizio was in despair; he -concluded from this absence that, despite certain glances which had made -him conceive wild hopes, he had never inspired in Clelia any sentiments -other than those of a simple friendship. "In that case," he asked -himself, "what good is life to me? Let the Prince take it from me, he -will be welcome; another reason for not leaving the fortress." And it -was with a profound feeling of disgust that, every night, he replied to -the signals of the little lamp. The Duchessa thought him quite mad when -she read, on the record of the messages which Lodovico brought to her -every morning, these strange words: "<i>I do not wish to escape; I wish to -die here</i>!" -</p> - -<p> -During these five days, so cruel for Fabrizio, Clelia was more unhappy -than he; she had had the idea, so poignant for a generous nature: "My -duty is to take refuge in a convent, far from the citadel; when Fabrizio -knows that I am no longer here, and I shall make Grillo and all the -gaolers tell him, then he will decide upon an attempt at escape." But to -go to a convent was to abandon for ever all hope of seeing Fabrizio -again; and how abandon that hope, when he was furnishing so clear a -proof that the sentiments which might at one time have attached him to -the Duchessa no longer existed? What more touching proof of love could a -young man give? After seven long months in prison, which had seriously -affected his health, he refused to regain his liberty. A fickle -creature, such as the talk of the courtiers had portrayed Fabrizio in -Clelia's eyes as being, would have sacrificed a score of mistresses -rather than remain another day in the citadel, and what would such a man -not have done to escape from a prison in which, at any moment, poison -might put an end to his life? -</p> - -<p> -Clelia lacked courage; she made the signal mistake of not seeking refuge -in a convent, a course which would at the same time have furnished her -with a quite natural means of breaking with the Marchese Crescenzi. Once -this mistake was made, how was she to resist this young man—so -lovable, so natural, so tender—who was exposing his life to -frightful perils to gain the simple pleasure of looking at her from one -window to another? After five days of terrible struggles, interspersed -with moments of self-contempt, Clelia made up her mind to reply to the -letter in which Fabrizio begged for the pleasure of speaking to her in -the black marble chapel. To tell the truth, she refused, and in -distinctly firm language; but from that moment all peace of mind was -lost for her; at every instant her imagination portrayed to her Fabrizio -succumbing to the attack of the poisoner; she came six or eight times in -a day to her aviary, she felt the passionate need of assuring herself -with her own eyes that Fabrizio was alive. -</p> - -<p> -"If he is still in the fortress," she told herself, "if he is exposed to -all the horrors which the Raversi faction are perhaps plotting against -him with the object of getting rid of Conte Mosca, it is solely because -I have had the cowardice not to fly to the convent! What excuse could he -have for remaining here once he was certain that I had gone for ever?" -</p> - -<p> -This girl, at once so timid and so proud, brought herself to the point -of running the risk of a refusal on the part of the gaoler Grillo; what -was more, she exposed herself to all the comments which the man might -allow himself to make on the singularity of her conduct. She stooped to -the degree of humiliation involved in sending for him, and telling him -in a tremulous voice which betrayed her whole secret that within a few -days Fabrizio was going to obtain his freedom, that the Duchessa -Sanseverina, in the hope of this, was taking the most active measures, -that often it was necessary to have without a moment's delay the -prisoner's answer to certain proposals which might be made, and that she -wished him, Grillo, to allow Fabrizio to make an opening in the screen -which masked his window, so that she might communicate to him by signs -the instructions which she received several times daily from Signora -Sanseverina. -</p> - -<p> -Grillo smiled and gave her an assurance of his respect and obedience. -Clelia felt a boundless gratitude to him because he said nothing; it was -evident that he knew quite well all that had been going on for the last -few months. -</p> - -<p> -Scarcely had the gaoler left her presence when Clelia made the signal by -which she had arranged to call Fabrizio upon important occasions; she -confessed to him all that she had just been doing. "You wish to perish -by poison," she added: "I hope to have the courage, one of these days, -to leave my father and escape to some remote convent. I shall be -indebted to you for that; then I hope that you will no longer oppose the -plans that may be proposed to you for getting you away from here. So -long as you are in prison, I have frightful and unreasonable moments; -never in my life have I contributed to anyone's hurt, and I feel that I -am to be the cause of your death. Such an idea in the case of a complete -stranger would fill me with despair; judge of what I feel when I picture -to myself that a friend, whose unreasonableness gives me serious cause -for complaint, but whom, after all, I have been seeing every day for so -long, is at this very moment a victim to the pangs of death. At times I -feel the need to know from your own lips that you are alive. -</p> - -<p> -"It was to escape from this frightful grief that I have just lowered -myself so far as to ask a favour of a subordinate who might have refused -it me, and may yet betray me. For that matter, I should perhaps be happy -were he to come and denounce me to my father; at once I should leave for -the convent, I should no longer be the most unwilling accomplice of your -cruel folly. But, believe me, this cannot go on for long, you will obey -the Duchessa's orders. Are you satisfied, cruel friend? It is I who am -begging you to betray my father. Call Grillo, and give him a present." -</p> - -<p> -Fabrizio was so deeply in love, the simplest expression of Clelia's -wishes plunged him in such fear that even this strange communication -gave him no certainty that he was loved. He summoned Grillo, whom he -paid generously for his services in the past, and, as for the future, -told him that for every day on which he allowed him to make use of the -opening cut in the screen, he should receive a sequin. Grillo was -delighted with these terms. -</p> - -<p> -"I am going to speak to you with my hand on my heart, Monsignore; will -you submit to eating your dinner cold every day? It is a very simple way -of avoiding poison. But I ask you to use the utmost discretion; a gaoler -has to see everything and know nothing," and so on. "Instead of one dog, -I shall have several, and you yourself will make them taste all the -dishes that you propose to eat; as for wine, I will give you my own, and -you will touch only the bottles from which I have drunk. But if Your -Excellency wishes to ruin me for ever, he has merely got to repeat these -details even to Signorina Clelia; women will always be women; if -to-morrow she quarrels with you, the day after, to have her revenge, she -will tell the whole story to her father, whose greatest joy would be to -find an excuse for having a gaoler hanged. After Barbone, he is perhaps -the wickedest creature in the fortress, and that is where the real -danger of your position lies; he knows how to handle poison, you may be -sure of that, and he would never forgive me this idea of having three or -four little dogs." -</p> - -<p> -There was another serenade. This time Grillo answered all Fabrizio's -questions: he had indeed promised himself always to be prudent, and not -to betray Signorina Clelia, who according to him, while on the point of -marrying the Marchese Crescenzi, the richest man in the States of Parma, -was nevertheless making love, so far as the prison walls allowed, to the -charming Monsignore del Dongo. He had answered the latter's final -questions as to the serenade, when he was fool enough to add: "They -think that he will marry her soon." One may judge of the effect of this -simple statement on Fabrizio. -</p> - -<p> -That night he replied to the signals of the lamp only to say that he was -ill. The following morning, at ten o'clock, Clelia having appeared in -the aviary, he asked her in a tone of ceremonious politeness which was -quite novel between them, why she had not told him frankly that she was -in love with the Marchese Crescenzi, and that she was on the point of -marrying him. -</p> - -<p> -"Because there is not a word of truth in the story," replied Clelia with -impatience. It is true, however, that the rest of her answer was less -precise: Fabrizio pointed this out to her, and took advantage of it to -repeat his request for a meeting. Clelia, seeing a doubt cast on her -sincerity, granted his request almost at once, reminding him at the same -time that she was dishonouring herself for ever in Grillo's eyes. That -evening, when it was quite dark, she appeared, accompanied by her maid, -in the black marble chapel; she stopped in the middle, by the sanctuary -lamp; the maid and Grillo retired thirty paces towards the door. Clelia, -who was trembling all over, had prepared a fine speech: her object was -to make no compromising admission, but the logic of passion is -insistent; the profound interest which it feels in knowing the truth -does not allow it to keep up vain pretences, while at the same time the -extreme devotion that it feels to the object of its love takes from it -the fear of giving offence. Fabrizio was dazzled at first by Clelia's -beauty; for nearly eight months he had seen no one at such close range -except gaolers. But the name of the Marchese Crescenzi revived all his -fury, it increased when he saw quite clearly that Clelia was answering -him only with tactful circumspection; Clelia herself realised that she -was increasing his suspicions instead of dissipating them. This -sensation was too cruel for her to bear. -</p> - -<p> -"Will you be really glad," she said to him with a sort of anger and with -tears in her eyes, "to have made me exceed all the bounds of what I owe -to myself? Until the third of August last year I had never felt anything -but aversion towards the men who sought to attract me. I had a boundless -and probably exaggerated contempt for the character of the courtier, -everyone who flourished at that court revolted me. I found, on the other -hand, singular qualities in a prisoner who, on the third of August, was -brought to this citadel. I felt, without noticing them at first, all the -torments of jealousy. The attractions of a charming woman, and one whom -I knew well, were like daggers thrust into my heart, because I believed, -and I am still inclined to believe that this prisoner was attached to -her. Presently the persecutions of the Marchese Crescenzi, who had -sought my hand, were redoubled; he is extremely rich, and we have no -fortune. I was rejecting them with the greatest boldness when my father -uttered the fatal word convent; I realised that, if I left the citadel, -I would no longer be able to watch over the life of the prisoner in -whose fate I was interested. The triumph of my precautions had been that -until that moment he had not the slightest suspicion of the appalling -dangers that were threatening his life. I had promised myself never to -betray either my father or my secret; but that woman of an admirable -activity, a superior intelligence, a terrible will, who is protecting -this prisoner, offered him, or so I suppose, means of escape: he -rejected them, and sought to persuade me that he was refusing to leave -the citadel in order not to be separated from me. Then I made a great -mistake, I fought with myself for five days; I ought at once to have -fled to the convent and to have left the fortress: that course offered -me a very simple method of breaking with the Marchese Crescenzi. I had -not the courage to leave the fortress, and I am a ruined girl: I have -attached myself to a fickle man: I know what his conduct was at Naples; -and what reason should I have to believe that his character has altered? -Shut up in a harsh prison, he has paid his court to the one woman he -could see; she has been a distraction from the dulness of his life. As -he could speak to her only with a certain amount of difficulty, this -amusement has assumed the false appearance of a passion. This prisoner, -having made a name for himself in the world by his courage, imagines -himself to be proving that his love is something more than a passing -fancy by exposing himself to considerable dangers in order to continue -to see the person whom he thinks that he loves. But as soon as he is in -a big town, surrounded once more by the seductions of society, he will -once more become what he has always been, a man of the world given to -dissipation, to gallantry; and his poor prison companion will end her -days in a convent, forgotten by this light-hearted creature, and with -the undying regret that she has made him an avowal." -</p> - -<p> -This historic speech, of which we give only the principal points, was, -as one may imagine, interrupted a score of times by Fabrizio. He was -desperately in love; also he was perfectly convinced that he had never -loved before seeing Clelia, and that the destiny of his life was to live -for her alone. -</p> - -<p> -The reader will no doubt imagine the fine speeches that he was making -when the maid warned her mistress that half past eleven had struck, and -that the General might return at any moment; the parting was cruel. -</p> - -<p> -"I am seeing you perhaps for the last time," said Clelia to the -prisoner: "a proceeding which is evidently in the interest of the -Raversi cabal may furnish you with a cruel fashion of proving that you -are not inconstant." Clelia parted from Fabrizio choked by her sobs and -dying with shame at not being able to hide them entirely from her maid, -nor, what was worse, from the gaoler Grillo. A second conversation was -possible only when the General should announce his intention of spending -an evening in society: and as, since Fabrizio's imprisonment, and the -interest which it inspired in the curious courtiers, he had found it -prudent to afflict himself with an almost continuous attack of gout, his -excursions to the town, subjected to the requirements of an astute -policy, were decided upon often only at the moment of his getting into -the carriage. -</p> - -<p> -After this evening in the marble chapel, Fabrizio's life was a -succession of transports of joy. Serious obstacles, it was true, seemed -still to stand in the way of his happiness; but now at last he had that -supreme and scarcely hoped-for joy of being loved by the divine creature -who occupied all his thoughts. -</p> - -<p> -On the third evening after this conversation, the signals from the lamp -finished quite early, almost at midnight; at the moment of their coming -to an end Fabrizio almost had his skull broken by a huge ball of lead -which, thrown over the top of the screen of his window, came crashing -through its paper panes and fell into his room. -</p> - -<p> -This huge ball was not nearly so heavy as appeared from its size. -Fabrizio easily succeeded in opening it, and found inside a letter from -the Duchessa. By the intervention of the Archbishop, to whom she paid -sedulous attention, she had won over to her side a soldier in the -garrison of the citadel. This man, a skilled slinger, had eluded the -sentries posted at the corners and outside the door of the governor's -<i>palazzo</i>, or had come to terms with them. -</p> - -<blockquote><p> -"You must escape with cords: I shudder as I give you this strange -advice, I have been hesitating, for two whole months and more, to tell -you this; but the official outlook grows darker every day, and one must -be prepared for the worst. This being so, start signalling again at once -with your lamp, to shew us that you have received this letter; send -<i>P—B—G alla Monaca</i>, that is four, three and two: I shall -not breathe until I have seen this signal. I am on the tower, we shall -answer <i>N—O</i>, that is seven and five. On receiving the answer -send no other signal, and attend to nothing but the meaning of my letter." -</p></blockquote> - -<p> -Fabrizio made haste to obey and sent the arranged signals, which were -followed by the promised reply; then he went on reading the letter: -</p> - -<blockquote><p> -"We may be prepared for the worst; so I have been told by the three men -in whom I have the greatest confidence, after I had made them swear on -the Gospel that they would tell me the truth, however cruel it might be -to me. The first of these men threatened the surgeon who betrayed you at -Ferrara that he would fall upon him with an open knife in his hand; the -second told you, on your return from Belgirate, that it would have been -more strictly prudent to take your pistol and shoot the footman who came -singing through the wood leading a fine horse, but a trifle thin; you do -not know the third: he is a highway robber of my acquaintance, a man of -action if ever there was one, and as full of courage as yourself; that -is chiefly why I asked him to tell me what you ought to do. All three of -them assured me, without knowing, any of them, that I was consulting the -other two, that it was better to risk breaking your neck than to spend -eleven years and four months in the continual fear of a highly probable -poison. -</p> - -<p> -"You must for the next month practise in your cell climbing up and down -on a knotted cord. Then, on the night of some <i>festa</i> when the -garrison of the citadel will have received an extra ration of wine, you -will make the great attempt; you shall have three cords of silk and -canvas, of the thickness of a swan's quill, the first of eighty feet to -come down the thirty-five feet from the window to the orange trees; the -second of three hundred feet, and that is where the difficulty will be -on account of the weight, to come down the hundred and eighty feet which -is the height of the wall of the great tower; a third of thirty feet -will help you to climb down the rampart. I spend my life studying the -great wall from the east, that is from the direction of Ferrara: a gap -due to an earthquake has been filled by means of a buttress which forms -an <i>inclined plane</i>. My highway robber assures me that he would -undertake to climb down on that side without any great difficulty and at -the risk only of a few scratches, by letting himself slide along the -inclined plane formed by this buttress. The vertical drop is no more -than twenty-eight feet, right at the bottom: that side is the least -carefully guarded. -</p> - -<p> -"However, all things considered, my robber, who has escaped three times -from prison, and whom you would love if you knew him, though he -abominates people of your class; my highway robber, I say, as agile and -nimble as yourself, thinks that he would rather come down on the west -side, exactly opposite the little <i>palazzo</i> formerly occupied by -Fausta, which you know well. What would make him choose that side is -that the wall, although very slightly inclined, is covered almost all -the way down with shrubs; there are twigs on it, as thick as your little -finger, which may easily scratch you if you do not take care, but are -also excellent things to hold on to. Only this morning I examined this -west side with an excellent telescope: the place to choose is precisely -beneath a new stone which was fixed in the parapet two or three years -ago. Directly beneath this stone you will find first of all a bare space -of some twenty feet; you must go very slowly down this (you can imagine -how my heart shudders in giving you these terrible instructions, but -courage consists in knowing how to choose the lesser evil, frightful as -it may be); after the bare space, you will find eighty or ninety feet of -quite big shrubs, out of which one can see birds flying, then a space of -thirty feet where there is nothing but grass, wall-flowers and creepers. -Then, as you come near the ground, twenty feet of shrubs, and last of -all twenty-five or thirty feet recently plastered. -</p> - -<p> -"What would make me choose this side is that there, directly underneath -the new stone in the parapet on top, there is a wooden hut built by a -soldier in his garden, which the engineer captain employed at the -fortress is trying to force him to pull down; it is seventeen feet high, -and is roofed with thatch, and the roof touches the great wall of the -citadel. It is this roof that tempts me; in the dreadful event of an -accident, it would break your fall. Once you have reached this point, -you are within the circle of the ramparts, which are none too carefully -guarded; if they arrest you there, fire your pistol and put up a fight -for a few minutes. Your friend of Ferrara and another stout-hearted man, -he whom I call the highway robber, will have ladders, and will not -hesitate to scale this quite low rampart, and fly to your rescue. -</p> - -<p> -"The rampart is only twenty-three feet high, and is built on an easy -slope. I shall be at the foot of this last wall with a good number of -armed men. -</p> - -<p> -"I hope to be able to send you five or six letters by the same channel -as this. I shall continue to repeat the same things in different words, -so that we may fully understand one another. You can guess with what -feelings I tell you that the man who said: '<i>Shoot the footman</i>,' who, -after all, is the best of men, and is dying of compunction, thinks that -you will get away with a broken arm. The highway robber, who has a wider -experience of this sort of expedition, thinks that, if you will climb -down very carefully, and, above all, without hurrying, your liberty need -cost you only a few scratches. The great difficulty is to supply the -cords; and this is what has been occupying my whole mind during the last -fortnight, in which this great idea has taken up all my time. -</p> - -<p> -"I make no answer to that mad signal, the only stupid thing you have -ever said in your life: 'I do not wish to escape!' The man who said: -'Shoot the footman,' exclaimed that boredom had driven you mad. I shall -not attempt to hide from you that we fear a very imminent danger, which -will perhaps hasten the day of your flight. To warn you of this danger, -the lamp will signal several times in succession: -</p> - -<p> -<i>The castle has taken fire.</i> -</p> - -<p> -You will reply: -</p> - -<p> -<i>Are my books burned?</i>" -</p></blockquote> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>THE JUDGES</i></h5> - -<p> -This letter contained five or six pages more of details; it was written -in a microscopic hand on the thinnest paper. -</p> - -<p> -"All that is very fine and very well thought out," Fabrizio said to -himself; "I owe an eternal debt of gratitude to the Conte and the -Duchessa; they will think perhaps that I am afraid, but I shall not try -to escape. Did anyone ever escape from a place where he was at the -height of happiness, to go and cast himself into a horrible exile where -everything would be lacking, including air to breathe? What should I do -after a month at Florence? I should put on a disguise to come and prowl -round the gate of this fortress, and try to intercept a glance!" -</p> - -<p> -Next day Fabrizio had an alarm; he was at his window, about eleven -o'clock, admiring the magnificent view and awaiting the happy moment -when he should see Clelia, when Grillo came breathless into his cell: -</p> - -<p> -"Quick, quick, Monsignore! Fling yourself on your bed, pretend to be -ill; there are three judges coming up! They are going to question you: -think well before you speak; they have come to <i>entangle</i> you." -</p> - -<p> -So saying, Grillo made haste to shut the little trap in the screen, -thrust Fabrizio on to his bed and piled two or three cloaks on top of -him. -</p> - -<p> -"Tell them that you are very ill, and don't say much; above all make -them repeat their questions, so as to have time to think." -</p> - -<p> -The three judges entered. "Three escaped gaolbirds," thought Fabrizio on -seeing their vile faces, "not three judges." They wore long black gowns. -They bowed gravely and took possession, without saying a word, of the -three chairs that were in the room. -</p> - -<p> -"Signor Fabrizio del Dongo," said the eldest of the three, "we are -pained by the sad duty which we have come to you to perform. We -are here to announce to you the decease of His Excellency the -Signor Marchese del Dongo, your father, Second Grand Majordomo Major -of the Lombardo-Venetian Kingdom, Knight Grand Cross of the Orders of -——" a string of titles followed. Fabrizio burst into tears. -The judge went on: -</p> - -<p> -"The Signora Marchesa del Dongo, your mother, informs you of this event -by a letter missive; but as she has added to the fact certain improper -reflexions, by a decree issued yesterday, the Court of Justice has -decided that her letter shall be communicated to you only by extract, -and it is this extract which the Recorder Bona is now going to read to -you." -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>PRISON</i></h5> - -<p> -This reading finished, the judge came across to Fabrizio, who was still -lying down, and made him follow on his mother's letter the passages of -which copies had been read to him. Fabrizio saw in the letter the words -<i>unjust imprisonment</i>, <i>cruel punishment for a crime which is no -crime at all</i>, and understood what had inspired the judges' visit. -However, in his contempt for magistrates without honour, he did not -actually say to them any more than: -</p> - -<p> -"I am ill, gentlemen, I am dying of weakness, and you will excuse me if -I do not rise." -</p> - -<p> -When the judges had gone, Fabrizio wept again copiously, then said to -himself: "Am I a hypocrite? I used to think that I did not love him at -all." -</p> - -<p> -On that day and the days that followed Clelia was very sad; she called -him several times, but had barely the courage to say a few words. On the -morning of the fifth day after their first meeting, she told him that -she would come that evening to the marble chapel. -</p> - -<p> -"I can only say a few words to you," she told him as she entered. She -trembled so much that she had to lean on her maid. After sending the -woman to wait at the chapel door: "You are going to give me your word of -honour," she went on in a voice that was barely audible, "you are going -to give me your word of honour that you will obey the Duchessa, and will -attempt to escape on the day when she orders you and in the way that she -will indicate to you, or else to-morrow morning I fly to a convent, and -I swear to you here and now that never in my life will I utter a word to -you again." -</p> - -<p> -Fabrizio remained silent. -</p> - -<p> -"Promise," said Clelia, the tears starting to her eyes and apparently -quite beside herself, "or else we converse here for the last time. The -life you have made me lead is intolerable: you are here on my account, -and each day is perhaps the last of your existence." At this stage -Clelia became so weak that she was obliged to seek the support of an -enormous armchair that had originally stood in the middle of the chapel, -for the use of the prisoner-prince; she was almost fainting. -</p> - -<p> -"What must I promise?" asked Fabrizio with a beaten air. -</p> - -<p> -"You know." -</p> - -<p> -"I swear then to cast myself deliberately into a terrible disaster, and -to condemn myself to live far from all that I love in the world." -</p> - -<p> -"Make a definite promise." -</p> - -<p> -"I swear to obey the Duchessa and to make my escape on the day she -wishes and as she wishes. And what is to become of me once I am parted -from you?" -</p> - -<p> -"Swear to escape, whatever may happen to you." -</p> - -<p> -"What! Have you made up your mind to marry the Marchese Crescenzi as -soon as I am no longer here?" -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, heavens! What sort of heart do you think I have? . . . But swear, -or I shall not have another moment's peace." -</p> - -<p> -"Very well, I swear to escape from here on the day on which Signora -Sanseverina shall order me to do so, and whatever may happen to me -between now and then." -</p> - -<p> -This oath obtained, Clelia became so faint that she was obliged to -retire after thanking Fabrizio. -</p> - -<p> -"Everything was in readiness for my flight to-morrow morning," she told -him, "had you persisted in refusing. I should have beheld you at this -moment for the last time in my life, I had vowed that to the Madonna. -Now, as soon as I can leave my room, I shall go and examine the terrible -wall beneath the new stone in the parapet." -</p> - -<p> -On the following day he found her so pale that he was keenly distressed. -She said to him from the aviary window: -</p> - -<p> -"Let us be under no illusion, my dear friend; as there is sin in our -friendship, I have no doubt that misfortune will come to us. You will be -discovered while seeking to make your escape, and ruined for ever, if it -is no worse; however, we must satisfy the demands of human prudence, it -orders us to leave nothing untried. You will need, to climb down the -outside of the great tower, a strong cord more than two hundred feet -long. In spite of all the efforts I have made since I learned of the -Duchessa's plan, I have only been able to procure cords that together -amount to barely fifty feet. By a standing order of the governor, all -cords that may be seen in the fortress are burned, and every evening -they remove the well-ropes, which for that matter are so frail that they -often break when drawing up the light weight attached to them. But pray -God to forgive me, I am betraying my father, and working, unnatural girl -that I am, to cause him undying grief. Pray to God for me, and, if your -life is saved, make a vow to consecrate every moment of it to His Glory. -</p> - -<p> -"This is an idea that has come to me: in a week from now I shall leave -the citadel to be present at the wedding of one of the Marchese -Crescenzi's sisters. I shall come back that night, as I must, but I -shall try in every possible way not to come in until very late, and -perhaps Barbone will not dare to examine me too closely. All the -greatest ladies of the court will be at this wedding of the Marchese's -sister, and no doubt Signora Sanseverina among them. In heaven's name, -make one of these ladies give me a parcel of cords tightly packed, not -too large, and reduced to the smallest possible bulk. Were I to expose -myself to a thousand deaths I shall employ every means, even the most -dangerous, to introduce this parcel of cords into the citadel, in -defiance, alas, of all my duties. If my father comes to hear of it, I -shall never see you again; but whatever may be the fate that is in store -for me, I shall be happy within the bounds of a sisterly friendship if I -can help to save you." -</p> - -<p> -That same evening, by their nocturnal correspondence with the lamps, -Fabrizio gave the Duchessa warning of the unique opportunity that would -shortly arise of conveying into the citadel a sufficient length of cord. -But he begged her to keep this secret even from the Conte, which seemed -to her odd. "He is mad," thought the Duchessa, "prison has altered him, -he is taking things in a tragic spirit." Next day a ball of lead, thrown -by the slinger, brought the prisoner news of the greatest possible -peril; the person who undertook to convey the cords, he was told, would -be literally saving his life. Fabrizio hastened to give this news to -Clelia. This leaden ball brought him also a very careful drawing of the -western wall by which he was to climb down from the top of the great -tower into the space enclosed within the bastions; from this point it -was then quite easy to escape, the ramparts being, as we know, only -twenty-three feet in height. On the back of the plan was written in an -exquisite hand a magnificent sonnet: a generous soul exhorted Fabrizio -to take flight, and not to allow his soul to be debased and his body -destroyed by the eleven years of captivity which he had still to -undergo. -</p> - -<p> -At this point a detail which is essential and will explain in part the -courage that the Duchessa had found to recommend to Fabrizio so -dangerous a flight, obliges us to interrupt for a moment the history of -this bold enterprise. -</p> - -<p> -Like all parties which are not in power, the Raversi party was not -closely united. Cavaliere Riscara detested the Fiscal Rassi, whom he -accused of having made him lose an important suit in which, as a matter -of fact, he, Riscara, had been in the wrong. From Riscara the Prince -received an anonymous message informing him that a copy of Fabrizio's -sentence had been officially addressed to the governor of the citadel. -The Marchesa Raversi, that skilled party leader, was extremely annoyed -by this false move, and at once sent word of it to her friend the Fiscal -General; she found it quite natural that he should have wished to secure -something from the Minister Mosca while Mosca remained in power. Rassi -presented himself boldly at the Palace, thinking that he would get out -of the scrape with a few kicks; the Prince could not dispense with a -talented jurist, and Rassi had procured the banishment as Liberals of a -judge and a barrister, the only two men in the country who could have -taken his place. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>AN AUDIENCE</i></h5> - -<p> -The Prince, beside himself with rage, hurled insults at him and advanced -upon him to strike him. -</p> - -<p> -"Why, it is only a clerk's mistake," replied Rassi with the utmost -coolness; "the procedure is laid down by the law, it should have been -done the day after Signor del Dongo was confined in the citadel. The -clerk in his zeal thought it had been forgotten, and must have made me -sign the covering letter as a formality." -</p> - -<p> -"And you expect to take me in with a clumsy lie like that?" cried the -Prince in a fury; "why not confess that you have sold yourself to that -rascal Mosca, and that this is why he gave you the Cross. But, by -heaven, you shall not escape with a thrashing: I shall have you brought -to justice, I shall disgrace you publicly." -</p> - -<p> -"I defy you to bring me to justice," replied Rassi with assurance; he -knew that this was a sure way of calming the Prince: "the law is on my -side, and you have not a second Rassi to find you a way round it. You -will not disgrace me, because there are moments when your nature is -severe; you then feel a thirst for blood, but at the same time you seek -to retain the esteem of reasonable Italians; that esteem is a <i>sine qua -non</i> for your ambition. And so you will recall me for the first act of -severity of which your nature makes you feel the need, and as usual I -shall procure you a quite regular sentence passed by timid judges who -are fairly honest men, which will satisfy your passions. Find another -man in your States as useful as myself!" -</p> - -<p> -So saying, Rassi fled; he had got out of his scrape with a sharp -reprimand and half-a-dozen kicks. On leaving the Palace he started for -his estate of Riva; he had some fear of a dagger-thrust in the first -impulse of anger, but had no doubt that within a fortnight a courier -would summon him back to the capital. He employed the time which he -spent in the country in organising a safe method of correspondence with -Conte Mosca; he was madly in love with the title of Barone, and felt -that the Prince made too much of that sublime thing, nobility, ever to -confer it upon him; whereas the Conte, extremely proud of his own birth, -respected nothing but nobility proved by titles anterior by the year -1400. -</p> - -<p> -The Fiscal General had not been out in his forecast: he had been barely -eight days on his estate when a friend of the Prince, who came there by -chance, advised him to return to Parma without delay; the Prince -received him with a laugh, then assumed a highly serious air, and made -him swear on the Gospel that he would keep secret what was going to be -confided to him. Rassi swore with great solemnity, and the Prince, his -eye inflamed by hatred, cried that he would no longer be master in his -own house so long as Fabrizio del Dongo was alive. -</p> - -<p> -"I cannot," he went on, "either drive the Duchessa away or endure her -presence; her eyes defy me and destroy my life." -</p> - -<p> -Having allowed the Prince to explain himself at great length, Rassi, -affecting extreme embarrassment, finally exclaimed: -</p> - -<p> -"Your Highness shall be obeyed, of course, but the matter is one of a -horrible difficulty: there is no possibility of condemning a del Dongo -to death for the murder of a Giletti; it is already a masterly stroke to -have made twelve years' imprisonment out of it. Besides, I suspect the -Duchessa of having discovered three of the <i>contadini</i> who were -employed on the excavations at Sanguigna, and were outside the trench at -the moment when that brigand Giletti attacked del Dongo. -</p> - -<p> -"And where are these witnesses?" said the Prince, irritated. -</p> - -<p> -"Hiding in Piedmont, I suppose. It would require a conspiracy against -Your Highness's life. . . ." -</p> - -<p> -"There is a danger in that," said the Prince, "it makes people think of -the reality." -</p> - -<p> -"Well," said Rassi with a feint of innocence, "that is all my official -arsenal." -</p> - -<p> -"There remains poison. . . ." -</p> - -<p> -"But who is to give it? Not that imbecile Conte?" -</p> - -<p> -"From what one hears, it would not be his first attempt. . . ." -</p> - -<p> -"He would have to be roused to anger first," Rassi went on; "and -besides, when he made away with the captain he was not thirty, and he -was in love, and infinitely less of a coward than he is in these days. -No doubt, everything must give way to reasons of State; but, taken -unawares like this and at first sight, I can see no one to carry out the -Sovereign's orders but a certain Barbone, registry clerk in the prison, -whom Signor del Dongo knocked down with a cuff in the face on the day of -his admission there." -</p> - -<p> -Once the Prince had been put at his ease, the conversation was endless; -he brought it to a close by granting his Fiscal General a month in which -to act; Rassi wished for two. Next day he received a secret present of a -thousand sequins. For three days he reflected; on the fourth he returned -to his original conclusion, which seemed to him self-evident: "Conte -Mosca alone will have the heart to keep his word to me, because, in -making me a Barone, he does not give me anything that he respects; -secondly, by warning him, I save myself probably from a crime for which -I am more or less paid in advance; thirdly, I have my revenge for the -first humiliating blows which Cavaliere Rassi has received." The -following night he communicated to Conte Mosca the whole of his -conversation with the Prince. -</p> - -<p> -The Conte was secretly paying his court to the Duchessa; it is quite -true that he still did not see her in her own house more than once or -twice in a month, but almost every week, and whenever he managed to -create an occasion for speaking of Fabrizio, the Duchessa, accompanied -by Cecchina, would come, late in the evening, to spend a few moments in -the Conte's gardens. She managed even to deceive her coachman, who was -devoted to her, and believed her to be visiting a neighbouring house. -</p> - -<p> -One may imagine whether the Conte, after receiving the Fiscal's terrible -confidence, at once made the signal arranged between them to the -Duchessa. Although it was the middle of the night, she begged him by -Cecchina to come to her for a moment. The Conte, enraptured, lover-like, -by this prospect of intimate converse, yet hesitated before telling the -Duchessa everything. He was afraid of seeing her driven mad by grief. -</p> - -<p> -After first seeking veiled words in which to mitigate the fatal -announcement, he ended by telling her all; it was not in his power to -keep a secret which she asked of him. In the last nine months her -extreme misery had had a great influence on this ardent soul, this had -fortified her courage, and she did not give way to sobs or lamentations. -On the following evening she sent Fabrizio the signal of great danger: -</p> - -<p> -"<i>The castle has taken fire.</i>" -</p> - -<p> -He made the appropriate reply: -</p> - -<p> -"<i>Are my books burned?</i>" -</p> - -<p> -The same night she was fortunate enough to have a letter conveyed to him -in a leaden ball. It was a week after this that the marriage of the -Marchese Crescenzi's sister was celebrated, when the Duchessa was guilty -of an enormously rash action of which we shall give an account in its -proper place. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h4><a id="CHAPTER_TWENTY-ONE">CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE</a></h4> - -<p> -Almost a year before the time of these calamities the Duchessa had made -a singular acquaintance: one day when she had the <i>luna</i>, as they say -in those parts, she had gone suddenly, towards evening, to her villa of -Sacca, situated on the farther side of Colorno, on the hill commanding -the Po. She was amusing herself in improving this property; she loved -the vast forest which crowned the hill and reached to the house; she -spent her time laying out paths in picturesque directions. -</p> - -<p> -"You will have yourself carried off by brigands, fair Duchessa," the -Prince said to her one day; "it is impossible that a forest in which it -is known that you take the air should remain deserted." The Prince threw -a glance at the Conte, whose jealousy he hoped to quicken. -</p> - -<p> -"I have no fear, Serene Highness," replied the Duchessa with an innocent -air, "when I go walking in my woods; I reassure myself with this -thought: I have done no harm to anyone, who is there that could hate -me?" This speech was considered daring, it recalled the insults offered -by the Liberals of the country, who were most insolent people. -</p> - -<p> -On the day of the walk in question, the Prince's words came back to the -mind of the Duchessa as she observed a very ill dressed man who was -following her at a distance through the woods. At a sudden turn which she -took in the course of her walk, this person came so near her that she -felt alarmed. Her first impulse was to call her game-keeper whom she had -left half a mile away, in the flower-garden close to the house. The -stranger had time to overtake her and fling himself at her feet. He was -young, extremely good-looking, but horribly badly dressed; his clothes -had rents in them a foot long, but his eyes burned with the fire of an -ardent soul. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>FERRANTE</i></h5> - -<p> -"I am under sentence of death, I am the physician, Ferrante Palla, I am -dying of hunger, I and my five children." -</p> - -<p> -The Duchessa had noticed that he was terribly thin; but his eyes were so -fine, and filled with so tender an exaltation that they took from him -any suggestion of crime. "Pallagi," she thought, "might well have given -eyes like those to the Saint John in the Desert he has just placed in -the Cathedral." The idea of Saint John was suggested to her by the -incredible thinness of the vagabond. The Duchessa gave him three sequins -which she had in her purse, with an apology for offering him so little, -because she had just paid her gardener's account. Ferrante thanked her -effusively. "Alas!" he said to her, "once I lived in towns, I used to -see beautiful women; now that in fulfilment of my duties as a citizen I -have had myself sentenced to death, I live in the woods, and I was -following you, not to demand alms of you nor to rob you, but like a -savage fascinated by an angelic beauty. It is so long since I last saw a -pair of lovely white hands." -</p> - -<p> -"Rise, then," the Duchessa told him; for he had remained on his knees. -</p> - -<p> -"Allow me to remain like this," said Ferrante; "this posture proves to -me that I am not for the present engaged in robbery, and that soothes -me; for you must know that I steal to live, now that I am prevented from -practising my profession. But at this moment I am only a simple mortal -who is adoring sublime beauty." The Duchessa gathered that he was -slightly mad, but she was not at all afraid; she saw in the eyes of the -man that he had a good and ardent soul, and besides she had no objection -to extraordinary physiognomies. -</p> - -<p> -"I am a physician, then, and I was making love to the wife of the -apothecary Sarasine of Parma: he took us by surprise and drove us from -the house, with three children whom he supposed, and rightly, to be mine -and not his. I have had two since then. The mother and five children are -living in the direst poverty in a sort of hut which I built with my own -hands a league from here, in the wood. For I have to keep away from the -police, and the poor woman refuses to be parted from me. I was sentenced -to death, and quite justly; I was conspiring. I abominate the Prince, -who is a tyrant. I did not fly the country, for want of money. My -misfortunes have greatly increased, and I ought to have killed myself a -thousand times over; I no longer love the unhappy woman who has borne me -these five children and has ruined herself for me; I love another. But -if I kill myself, the five children will literally starve to death." The -man spoke with an accent of sincerity. -</p> - -<p> -"But how do you live?" inquired the Duchessa, moved to compassion. -</p> - -<p> -"The children's mother spins; the eldest girl is kept in a farm by some -Liberals, where she tends the sheep; I am a highwayman on the road -between Piacenza and Genoa." -</p> - -<p> -"How do you harmonise highway robbery with your Liberal principles?" -</p> - -<p> -"I keep a note of the people I rob, and if ever I have anything I shall -restore to them the sums I have taken. I consider that a Tribune of the -People like myself is performing work which, in view of its danger, is -well worth a hundred francs monthly; and so I am careful not to take -more than twelve hundred francs in a year. -</p> - -<p> -"No, I am wrong, I steal a small sum in addition, for in that way I am -able to meet the cost of printing my works." -</p> - -<p> -"What works?" -</p> - -<p> -"<i>Is —— ever to have a Chamber and a Budget?</i>" -</p> - -<p> -"What," said the Duchessa in amazement, "it is you, Sir, who are one of -the greatest poets of the age, the famous Ferrante Palla?" -</p> - -<p> -"Famous perhaps, but most unfortunate; that is certain." -</p> - -<p> -"And a man of your talent, Sir, is obliged to steal in order to live?" -</p> - -<p> -"That is perhaps the calling for which I have some talent. Hitherto all -our authors who have made themselves famous have been men paid by the -government or the religion that they sought to undermine. I, in the -first place, risk my life; in the second place, think, Signora, of the -reflexions that disturb my mind when I go out to rob! Am I in the right, -I ask myself. Does the office of Tribune render services that are really -worth a hundred francs a month? I have two shirts, the coat in which you -see me, a few worthless weapons, and I am sure to end by the rope; I -venture to think that I am disinterested. I should be happy but for this -fatal love which allows me to find only misery now in the company of the -mother of my children. Poverty weighs upon me because it is ugly: I like -fine clothes, white hands. . . ." -</p> - -<p> -He looked at the Duchessa's in such a fashion that fear seized hold of -her. -</p> - -<p> -"Good-bye, Sir," she said to him: "can I be of any service to you in -Parma?" -</p> - -<p> -"Think sometimes of this question: his task is to awaken men's hearts -and to prevent them from falling asleep in that false and wholly -material happiness which is given by monarchies. Is the service that he -renders to his fellow-citizens worth a hundred francs a month? . . . My -misfortune is that I am in love," he said in the gentlest of tones, "and -for nearly two years my heart has been occupied by you alone, but until -now I have seen you without alarming you." And he took to his heels with -a prodigious swiftness which astonished the Duchessa and reassured her. -"The police would have hard work to catch him," she thought; "he must be -mad, after all." -</p> - -<p> -"He is mad," her servants informed her; "we have all known for a long -time that the poor man was in love with the Signora; when the Signora is -here we see him wandering in the highest parts of the woods, and as soon -as the Signora has gone he never fails to come and sit in the very -places where she has rested; he is careful to pick up any flowers that -may have dropped from her nosegay and keeps them for a long time -fastened in his battered hat." -</p> - -<p> -"And you have never spoken to me of these eccentricities," said the -Duchessa, almost in a tone of reproach. -</p> - -<p> -"We were afraid that the Signora might tell the Minister Mosca. Poor -Ferrante is such a good fellow! He has never done harm to anyone, and -because he loves our Napoleon they have sentenced him to death." -</p> - -<p> -She said no word to the Minister of this meeting, and, as in four years -it was the first secret that she had kept from him, a dozen times she -was obliged to stop short in the middle of a sentence. She returned to -Sacca with a store of gold. Ferrante shewed no sign of life. She came -again a fortnight later: Ferrante, after following her for some time, -bounding through the wood at a distance of a hundred yards, fell upon -her with the swiftness of a hawk, and flung himself at her feet as on -the former occasion. -</p> - -<p> -"Where were you a fortnight ago?" -</p> - -<p> -"In the mountains, beyond Novi, robbing the muleteers who were returning -from Milan where they had been selling oil." -</p> - -<p> -"Take this purse." -</p> - -<p> -Ferrante opened the purse, took from it a sequin which he kissed and -thrust into his bosom, then handed it back to her. -</p> - -<p> -"You give me back this purse, and you are a robber!" -</p> - -<p> -"Certainly; my rule is that I must never possess more than a hundred -francs; now, at this moment, the mother of my children has eighty -francs, and I have twenty-five; I am five francs to the bad, and if they -were to hang me now I should feel remorse. I have taken this sequin -because it comes from you and I love you." -</p> - -<p> -The intonation of this very simple speech was perfect. "He does really -love," the Duchessa said to herself. -</p> - -<p> -That day he appeared quite distracted. He said that there were in Parma -people who owed him six hundred francs, and that with that sum he could -repair his hut in which now his poor children were catching cold. -</p> - -<p> -"But I will make you a loan of those six hundred francs," said the -Duchessa, genuinely moved. -</p> - -<p> -"But then I, a public man—will not the opposite party have a chance -to slander me, and say that I am selling myself?" -</p> - -<p> -The Duchessa, in compassion, offered him a hiding-place in Parma if he -would swear that for the time being he would not exercise his -magistrature in that city, and above all would not carry out any of -those sentences of death which, he said, he had <i>in petto</i>. -</p> - -<p> -"And if they hang me, as a result of my rashness," said Ferrante -gravely, "all those scoundrels, who are so obnoxious to the People, will -live for long years to come, and by whose fault? What will my father say -to me when he greets me up above?" -</p> - -<p> -The Duchessa spoke to him at length of his young children, to whom the -damp might give fatal illnesses; he ended by accepting the offer of the -hiding place in Parma. -</p> - -<p> -The Duca Sanseverina, during the solitary half-day which he had spent in -Parma after his marriage, had shewn the Duchessa a highly singular -hiding place which exists in the southern corner of the <i>palazzo</i> of -that name. The wall in front, which dates from the middle ages, is eight -feet thick; it has been hollowed out inside, so as to provide a secret -chamber twenty feet in height but only two in width. It is close to -where the visitor admires the reservoir mentioned in all the accounts of -travels, a famous work of the twelfth century, constructed at the time -of the siege of Parma by the Emperor Sigismund, and afterwards enclosed -within the walls of the <i>palazzo</i> Sanseverina. -</p> - -<p> -One enters the hiding place by turning an enormous stone on an iron axis -which runs through the middle of the block. The Duchessa was so -profoundly touched by Ferrante's madness and by the hard lot of his -children, for whom he obstinately refused every present of any value, -that she allowed him to make use of this hiding place for a considerable -time. She saw him again a month later, still in the woods of Sacca, and -as on this occasion he was a little more calm, he recited to her one of -his sonnets which seemed to her equal if not superior to any of the -finest work written in Italy in the last two centuries. Ferrante -obtained several interviews; but his love grew exalted, became -importunate, and the Duchessa perceived that this passion was obeying -the laws of all love-affairs in which one conceives the possibility of a -ray of hope. She sent him back to the woods, forbade him to speak to her -again: he obeyed immediately and with a perfect docility. Things had -reached this point when Fabrizio was arrested. Three days later, at -nightfall, a Capuchin presented himself at the door of the <i>palazzo</i> -Sanseverina; he had, he said, an important secret to communicate to the -lady of the house. She was so wretched that she had him admitted: it was -Ferrante. "There is happening here a fresh iniquity of which the Tribune -of the people ought to take cognisance," this man mad with love said to -her. "On the other hand, acting as a private citizen," he added, "I can -give the Signora Duchessa Sanseverina nothing but my life, and I lay it -before her." -</p> - -<p> -So sincere a devotion on the part of a robber and madman touched the -Duchessa keenly. She talked for some time to this man who was considered -the greatest poet in the North of Italy, and wept freely. "Here is a man -who understands my heart," she said to herself. The following day he -reappeared, again at the <i>Ave Maria</i>, disguised as a servant and -wearing livery. -</p> - -<p> -"I have not left Parma: I have heard tell of an atrocity which my lips -shall not repeat; but here I am. Think, Signora, of what you are -refusing! The being you see before you is not a doll of the court, he is -a man!" He was on his knees as he uttered these words with an air which -made them tell. "Yesterday I said to myself," he went on: "She has wept -in my presence; therefore she is a little less unhappy." -</p> - -<p> -"But, Sir, think of the dangers that surround you, you will be arrested -in this town!" -</p> - -<p> -"The Tribune will say to you: Signora, what is life when duty calls? The -unhappy man, who has the grief of no longer feeling any passion for -virtue now that he is burning with love, will add: Signora Duchessa, -Fabrizio, a man of feeling, is perhaps about to perish, do not repulse -another man of feeling who offers himself to you! Here is a body of iron -and a heart which fears nothing in the world but your displeasure." -</p> - -<p> -"If you speak to me again of your feelings, I close my door to you for -ever." -</p> - -<p> -It occurred to the Duchessa, that evening, to announce to Ferrante that -she would make a small allowance to his children, but she was afraid -that he would go straight from the house and kill himself. -</p> - -<p> -No sooner had he left her than, filled with gloomy presentiments, she -said to herself: "I too, I may die, and would to God I might, and that -soon! If I found a man worthy of the name to whom to commend my poor -Fabrizio." -</p> - -<p> -An idea struck the Duchessa: she took a sheet of paper and drafted an -acknowledgment, into which she introduced the few legal terms that she -knew, that she had received from Signor Ferrante Palla the sum of 25,000 -francs, on the express condition of paying every year a life-rent of -1,500 francs to Signora Sarasine and her five children. The Duchessa -added: "In addition, I bequeath a life-rent of 300 francs to each of -these five children, on condition that Ferrante Palla gives his -professional services as a physician to my nephew Fabrizio del Dongo, -and behaves to him as a brother. This I request him to do." She signed -the document, ante-dated it by a year and folded the sheet. -</p> - -<p> -Two days later, Ferrante reappeared. It was at the moment when the town -was agitated by the rumour of the immediate execution of Fabrizio. Would -this grim ceremony take place in the citadel, or under the trees of the -public mall? Many of the populace took a walk that evening past the gate -of the citadel, trying to see whether the scaffold were being erected; -this spectacle had moved Ferrante. He found the Duchessa in floods of -tears and unable to speak; she greeted him with her hand and pointed to -a seat. Ferrante, disguised that day as a Capuchin, was superb; instead -of seating himself he knelt, and prayed devoutly in an undertone. At a -moment when the Duchessa seemed slightly more calm, without stirring -from his posture, he broke off his prayer for an instant to say these -words: "Once again he offers his life." -</p> - -<p> -"Think of what you are saying," cried the Duchessa, with that haggard -eye which, following tears, indicates that anger is overcoming emotion. -</p> - -<p> -"He offers his life to place an obstacle in the way of Fabrizio's fate, -or to avenge it." -</p> - -<p> -"There are circumstances," replied the Duchessa, "in which I could -accept the sacrifice of your life." -</p> - -<p> -She gazed at him with a severe attention. A ray of joy gleamed in his -eye; he rose swiftly and stretched out his arms towards heaven. The -Duchessa went to find a paper hidden in the secret drawer of a walnut -cabinet. -</p> - -<p> -"Read this," she said to Ferrante. It was the deed in favour of his -children, of which we have spoken. -</p> - -<p> -Tears and sobs prevented Ferrante from reading it to the end; he fell on -his knees. -</p> - -<p> -"Give me back the paper," said the Duchessa, and, in his presence, -burned it in the flame of a candle. -</p> - -<p> -"My name," she explained, "must not appear if you are taken and -executed, for your life will be at stake." -</p> - -<p> -"My joy is to die in harming the tyrant: a far greater joy is to die for -you. Once this is stated and clearly understood, be so kind as to make -no further mention of this detail of money. I might see in it a -suspicion that would be injurious to me." -</p> - -<p> -"If you are compromised, I may be also," replied the Duchessa, "and -Fabrizio as well as myself: it is for that reason, and not because I -have any doubt of your bravery, that I require that the man who is -lacerating my heart shall be poisoned and not stabbed. For the same -reason which is so important to me, I order you to do everything in the -world to save your own life." -</p> - -<p> -"I shall execute the task faithfully, punctiliously and prudently. I -foresee, Signora Duchessa, that my revenge will be combined with your -own: were it not so, I should still obey you faithfully, punctiliously -and prudently. I may not succeed, but I shall employ all my human -strength." -</p> - -<p> -"It is a question of poisoning Fabrizio's murderer." -</p> - -<p> -"So I had guessed, and, during the twenty-seven months in which I have -been leading this vagabond and abominable life, I have often thought of -a similar action on my own account." -</p> - -<p> -"If I am discovered and condemned as an accomplice," went on the -Duchessa in a tone of pride, "I do not wish the charge to be imputed to -me of having corrupted you. I order you to make no further attempt to -see me until the time comes for our revenge: he must on no account be -put to death before I have given you the signal. His death at the -present moment, for instance, would be lamentable to me instead of being -useful. Probably his death will occur only in several months' time, but -it shall occur. I insist on his dying by poison, and I should prefer to -leave him alive rather than see him shot. For considerations which I do -not wish to explain to you, I insist upon your life's being saved." -</p> - -<p> -Ferrante was delighted with the tone of authority which the Duchessa -adopted with him: his eyes gleamed with a profound joy. As we have said, -he was horribly thin; but one could see that he had been very handsome -in his youth, and he imagined himself to be still what he had once been. -"Am I mad?" he asked himself; "or will the Duchessa indeed one day, when -I have given her this proof of my devotion, make me the happiest of men? -And, when it comes to that, why not? Am I not worth as much as that doll -of a Conte Mosca, who when the time came, could do nothing for her, not -even enable Monsignor Fabrizio to escape?" -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>PREPARATIONS</i></h5> - -<p> -"I may wish his death to-morrow," the Duchessa continued, still with the -same air of authority. "You know that immense reservoir of water which -is at the corner of the <i>palazzo</i>, not far from the hiding-place which -you have sometimes occupied; there is a secret way of letting all that -water run out into the street: very well, that will be the signal for my -revenge. You will see, if you are in Parma, or you will hear it said, if -you are living in the woods, that the great reservoir of the <i>palazzo</i> -Sanseverina has burst. Act at once but by poison, and above all risk -your own life as little as possible. No one must ever know that I have -had a hand in this affair." -</p> - -<p> -"Words are useless," replied Ferrante, with an enthusiasm which he could -ill conceal: "I have already fixed on the means which I shall employ. -The life of that man has become more odious to me than it was before, -since I shall not dare to see you again so long as he is alive. I shall -await the signal of the reservoir flooding the street." He bowed -abruptly and left the room. The Duchessa watched him go. -</p> - -<p> -When he was in the next room, she recalled him. -</p> - -<p> -"Ferrante!" she cried; "sublime man!" -</p> - -<p> -He returned, as though impatient at being detained: his face at that -moment was superb. -</p> - -<p> -"And your children?" -</p> - -<p> -"Signora, they will be richer than I; you will perhaps allow them some -small pension." -</p> - -<p> -"Wait," said the Duchessa as she handed him a sort of large case of -olive wood, "here are all the diamonds that I have left: they are worth -50,000 francs." -</p> - -<p> -"Ah! Signora, you humiliate me!" said Ferrante with a gesture of horror; -and his face completely altered. -</p> - -<p> -"I shall not see you again before the deed: take them, I wish it," added -the Duchessa with an air of pride which struck Ferrante dumb; he put the -case in his pocket and left her. -</p> - -<p> -The door had closed behind him. The Duchessa called him back once again; -he returned with an uneasy air: the Duchessa was standing in the middle -of the room; she threw herself into his arms. A moment later, Ferrante -had almost fainted with happiness; the Duchessa released herself from -his embrace, and with her eyes shewed him the door. -</p> - -<p> -"There goes the one man who has understood me," she said to herself; -"that is how Fabrizio would have acted, if he could have realised." -</p> - -<p> -There were two salient points in the Duchessa's character: she always -wished what she had once wished; she never gave any further -consideration to what had once been decided. She used to quote in this -connexion a saying of her first husband, the charming General -Pietranera. "What insolence to myself!" he used to say; "Why should I -suppose that I have more sense to-day than when I made up my mind?" -</p> - -<p> -From that moment a sort of gaiety reappeared in the Duchessa's -character. Before the fatal resolution, at each step that her mind took, -at each new point that she saw, she had the feeling of her own -inferiority to the Prince, of her weakness and gullibility; the Prince, -according to her, had basely betrayed her, and Conte Mosca, as was -natural to his courtier's spirit, albeit innocently, had supported the -Prince. Once her revenge was settled, she felt her strength, every step -that her mind took gave her happiness. I am inclined to think that the -immoral happiness which the Italians find in revenge is due to the -strength of their imagination; the people of other countries do not -properly speaking forgive; they forget. -</p> - -<p> -The Duchessa did not see Palla again until the last days of Fabrizio's -imprisonment. As the reader may perhaps have guessed, it was he who gave -her the idea of his escape: there was in the woods, two leagues from -Sacca, a mediæval tower, half in ruins, and more than a hundred feet -high; before speaking a second time to the Duchessa of an escape, -Ferrante begged her to send Lodovico with a party of trustworthy men, to -fasten a set of ladders against this tower. In the Duchessa's presence -he climbed up by means of the ladders and down with an ordinary knotted -cord; he repeated the experiment three times, then explained his idea -again. A week later Lodovico too was prepared to climb down this old -tower with a knotted cord; it was then that the Duchessa communicated -the idea to Fabrizio. -</p> - -<p> -In the final days before this attempt, which might lead to the death of -the prisoner, and in more ways than one, the Duchessa could not secure a -moment's rest unless she had Ferrante by her side; the courage of this -man electrified her own; but it can be understood that she had to hide -from the Conte this singular companionship. She was afraid, not that he -would be revolted, but she would have been afflicted by his objections, -which would have increased her uneasiness. "What! Take as an intimate -adviser a madman known to be mad, and under sentence of death! And," -added the Duchessa, speaking to herself, "a man who, in consequence, -might do such strange things!" Ferrante happened to be in the Duchessa's -drawing-room at the moment when the Conte came to give her a report of -the Prince's conversation with Rassi; and, when the Conte had left her, -she had great difficulty in preventing Ferrante from going straight away -to the execution of a frightful plan. -</p> - -<p> -"I am strong now," cried this madman; "I have no longer any doubt as to -the lawfulness of the act!" -</p> - -<p> -"But, in the moment of indignation which must inevitably follow, -Fabrizio would be put to death!" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, but in that way we should spare him the danger of the climb: it is -possible, indeed easy," he added; "but the young man lacks experience." -</p> - -<p> -The marriage was celebrated of the Marchese Crescenzi's sister, and it -was at the party given on this occasion that the Duchessa met Clelia, -and was able to speak to her without causing any suspicion among the -fashionable onlookers. The Duchessa herself handed to Clelia the parcel -of cords in the garden, where the two ladies had gone for a moment's -fresh air. These cords, prepared with the greatest care, of hemp and -silk in equal parts, were knotted, very slender and fairly flexible; -Lodovico had tested their strength, and, in every portion, they could -bear without breaking a load of sixteen hundredweight. They had been -packed in such a way as to form several packets each of the size and -shape of a quarto volume; Clelia took charge of them, and promised the -Duchessa that everything that was humanly possible would be done to -deliver these packets in the Torre Farnese. -</p> - -<p> -"But I am afraid of the timidity of your nature; and besides," the -Duchessa added politely, "what interest can you feel in a stranger?" -</p> - -<p> -"Signor del Dongo is in distress, <i>and I promise you that he shall be -saved by me</i>!" -</p> - -<p> -But the Duchessa, placing only a very moderate reliance on the presence -of mind of a young person of twenty, had taken other precautions, of -which she took care not to inform the governor's daughter. As might be -expected, this governor was present at the party given for the marriage -of the Marchese Crescenzi's sister. The Duchessa said to herself that, -if she could make him be given a strong narcotic, it might be supposed, -at first, that he had had an attack of apoplexy, and then, instead of -his being placed in his carriage to be taken back to the citadel, it -might, with a little arrangement, be possible to have the suggestion -adopted of using a litter, which would happen to be in the house where -the party was being given. There, too, would be gathered a body of -intelligent men, dressed as workmen employed for the party, who, in the -general confusion, would obligingly offer their services to transport the -sick man to his <i>palazzo</i>, which stood at such a height. These men, -under the direction of Lodovico, carried a sufficient quantity of cords, -cleverly concealed beneath their clothing. One sees that the Duchessa's -mind had become really unbalanced since she had begun to think seriously -of Fabrizio's escape. The peril of this beloved creature was too much -for her heart, and besides was lasting too long. By her excess of -precaution, she nearly succeeded in preventing his escape, as we shall -presently see. Everything went off as she had planned, with this one -difference, that the narcotic produced too powerful an effect; everyone -believed, including the medical profession, that the General had had an -apoplectic stroke. -</p> - -<p> -Fortunately, Clelia, who was in despair, had not the least suspicion of -so criminal an attempt on the part of the Duchessa. The confusion was -such at the moment when the litter, in which the General, half dead, was -lying, entered the citadel, that Lodovico and his men passed in without -challenge; they were subjected to a formal scrutiny only at the Slave's -Bridge. When they had carried the General to his bedroom, they were -taken to the kitchens, where the servants entertained them royally; but -after this meal, which did not end until it was very nearly morning, it -was explained to them that the rule of the prison required that, for the -rest of the night, they should be locked up in the lower rooms of the -<i>palazzo</i>; in the morning at daybreak they would be released by the -governor's deputy. -</p> - -<p> -These men had found an opportunity of handing to Lodovico the cords with -which they had been loaded, but Lodovico had great difficulty in -attracting Clelia's attention for a moment. At length, as she was -passing from one room to another, he made her observe that he was laying -down packets of cords in a dark corner of one of the drawing-rooms of -the first floor. Clelia was profoundly struck by this strange -circumstance; at once she conceived atrocious suspicions. -</p> - -<p> -"Who are you?" she asked Lodovico. -</p> - -<p> -And, on receiving his highly ambiguous reply, she added: -</p> - -<p> -"I ought to have you arrested; you or your masters have poisoned my -father! Confess this instant what is the nature of the poison you have -used, so that the doctor of the citadel can apply the proper remedies; -confess this instant, or else, you and your accomplices shall never go -out of this citadel!" -</p> - -<p> -"The Signorina does wrong to be alarmed," replied Lodovico, with a grace -and politeness that were perfect; "there is no question of poison; -someone has been rash enough to administer to the General a dose of -laudanum, and it appears that the servant who was responsible for this -crime poured a few drops too many into the glass; this we shall -eternally regret; but the Signorina may be assured that, thank heaven, -there is no sort of danger; the Signore must be treated for having -taken, by mistake, too strong a dose of laudanum; but, I have the honour -to repeat to the Signorina, the lackey responsible for the crime made no -use of real poisons, as Barbone did, when he tried to poison Monsignor -Fabrizio. There was no thought of revenge for the peril that Monsignor -Fabrizio ran; nothing was given to this clumsy lackey but a bottle in -which there was laudanum, that I swear to the Signorina! But it must be -clearly understood that, if I were questioned officially, I should deny -everything. -</p> - -<p> -"Besides, if the Signorina speaks to anyone in the world of laudanum and -poison, even to the excellent Don Cesare, Fabrizio is killed by the -Signorina's own hand. She makes impossible for ever all the plans of -escape; and the Signorina knows better than I that it is not with -laudanum that they wish to poison Monsignore; she knows, too, that a -certain person has granted only a month's delay for that crime, and that -already more than a week has gone by since the fatal order was received. -So, if she has me arrested, or if she merely says a word to Don Cesare -or to anyone else, she retards all our activities far more than a month, -and I am right in saying that she kills Monsignor Fabrizio with her own -hand." -</p> - -<p> -Clelia was terrified by the strange tranquillity of Lodovico. -</p> - -<p> -"And so," she said to herself, "here I am conversing formally with my -father's poisoner, who employs polite turns of speech to address me! And -it is love that has led me to all these crimes! . . ." -</p> - -<p> -Her remorse scarcely allowed her the strength to speak; she said to -Lodovico. -</p> - -<p> -"I am going to lock you into this room. I shall run and tell the doctor -that it is only laudanum; but, great God, how shall I tell him that I -discovered this? I shall come back afterwards to release you. But," said -Clelia, running back from the door, "did Fabrizio know anything of the -laudanum?" -</p> - -<p> -"Heavens, no, Signorina, he would never have consented to that. And, -besides, what good would it have done to make an unnecessary confidence? -We are acting with the strictest prudence. It is a question of saving -the life of Monsignore, who will be poisoned in three weeks from now; -the order has been given by a person who is not accustomed to find any -obstacle to his wishes; and, to tell the Signorina everything, they say -that it was the terrible Fiscal General Rassi who received these -instructions." -</p> - -<p> -Clelia fled in terror; she could so count on the perfect probity of Don -Cesare that, taking certain precautions, she had the courage to tell him -that the General had been given laudanum, and nothing else. Without -answering, without putting any question, Don Cesare ran to the doctor. -</p> - -<p> -Clelia returned to the room in which she had shut up Lodovico, with the -intention of plying him with questions about the laudanum. She did not -find him: he had managed to escape. She saw on the table a purse full of -sequins and a box containing different kinds of poison. The sight of -these poisons made her shudder. "How can I be sure," she thought, "that -they have given nothing but laudanum to my father, and that the Duchessa -has not sought to avenge herself for Barbone's attempt? -</p> - -<p> -"Great God!" she cried, "here am I in league with my father's poisoners. -And I allow them to escape! And perhaps that man, when put to the -question, would have confessed something else than laudanum!" -</p> - -<p> -Clelia at once fell on her knees, burst into tears, and prayed to the -Madonna with fervour. -</p> - -<p> -Meanwhile the doctor of the citadel, greatly surprised by the -information he had received from Don Cesare, according to which he had -to deal only with laudanum, applied the appropriate remedies, which -presently made the more alarming symptoms disappear. The General came to -himself a little as day began to dawn. His first action that shewed any -sign of consciousness was to hurl insults at the Colonel who was second -in command of the citadel, and had taken upon himself to give certain -orders, the simplest in the world, while the General was unconscious. -</p> - -<p> -The governor next flew into a towering rage with a kitchenmaid who, when -bringing him his soup, had been so rash as to utter the word apoplexy. -</p> - -<p> -"Am I of an age," he cried, "to have apoplexies? It is only my deadly -enemies who can find pleasure in spreading such reports. And besides, -have I been bled, that slander itself dare speak of apoplexy?" -</p> - -<p> -Fabrizio, wholly occupied with the preparations for his escape, could -not understand the strange sounds that filled the citadel at the moment -when the governor was brought in half dead. At first he had some idea -that his sentence had been altered, and that they were coming to put him -to death. Then, seeing that no one came to his cell, he thought that -Clelia had been betrayed, that on her return to the fortress they had -taken from her the cords which probably she was bringing back, and so, -that his plans of escape were for the future impossible. Next day, at -dawn, he saw come into his room a man unknown to him, who, without -saying a word, laid down a basket of fruit: beneath the fruit was hidden -the following letter: -</p> - -<blockquote><p> -"Penetrated by the keenest remorse for what has been done, not, thank -heaven, by my consent, but as the outcome of an idea which I had, I have -made a vow to the Blessed Virgin that if, by the effect of Her holy -intercession my father is saved, I will never refuse to obey any of his -orders; I will marry the Marchese as soon as he requires me to do so, -and I will never see you again. However, I consider it my duty to finish -what has been begun. Next Sunday, when you return from mass, to which -you will be taken at my request (remember to prepare your soul, you may -kill yourself in the difficult enterprise); when you return from mass, I -say, put off as long as possible going back to your room; you will find -there what is necessary for the enterprise that you have in mind. If you -perish, my heart will be broken! Will you be able to accuse me of having -contributed to your death? Has not the Duchessa herself repeated to me -upon several occasions that the Raversi faction is winning? They seek to -bind the Prince by an act of cruelty that must separate him for ever -from Conte Mosca. The Duchessa, with floods of tears, has sworn to me -that there remains only this resource: you will perish unless you make -an attempt. I cannot look at you again, I have made my vow; but if on -Sunday, towards evening, you see me dressed entirely in black, at the -usual window, it will be the signal that everything will be ready that -night so far as my feeble means allow. After eleven, perhaps at midnight -or at one o'clock, a little lamp will appear in my window, that will be -the decisive moment; commend yourself to your Holy Patron, dress -yourself in haste in the priestly habit with which you are provided, and -be off. -</p> - -<p> -"Farewell, Fabrizio, I shall be at my prayers, and shedding the most -bitter tears, as you may well believe, while you are running such great -risks. If you perish, I shall not outlive you a day; Great God! What am -I saying? But if you succeed, I shall never see you again. On Sunday, -after mass, you will find in your prison the money, the poison, the -cords, sent by that terrible woman who loves you with passion, and who -has three times over assured me that this course must be adopted. May -God preserve you, and the Blessed Madonna!" -</p></blockquote> - -<p> -Fabio Conti was a gaoler who was always uneasy, always unhappy, always -seeing in his dreams one of his prisoners escaping: he was loathed by -everyone in the citadel; but misfortune inspiring the same resolutions -in all men, the poor prisoners, even those who were chained in dungeons -three feet high, three feet wide and eight feet long, in which they -could neither stand nor sit, all the prisoners, even these, I say, had -the idea of ordering a <i>Te Deum</i> to be sung at their own expense, when -they knew that their governor was out of danger. Two or three of these -wretches composed sonnets in honour of Fabio Conti. Oh, the effect of -misery upon men! May he who would blame them be led by his destiny to -spend a year in a cell three feet high, with eight ounces of bread a day -and <i>fasting</i> on Fridays! -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>JUSTICE</i></h5> - -<p> -Clelia, who left her father's room only to pray in the chapel, said that -the governor had decided that the rejoicings should be confined to -Sunday. On the morning of this Sunday, Fabrizio was present at mass and -at the <i>Te Deum</i>; in the evening there were fireworks, and in the -lower rooms of the <i>palazzo</i> the soldiers received a quantity of -wine four times that which the governor had allowed; an unknown hand had -even sent several barrels of brandy which the soldiers broached. The -generous spirit of the soldiers who were becoming intoxicated would not -allow the five of their number who were on duty as sentries outside the -<i>palazzo</i> to suffer accordingly; as soon as they arrived at their -sentry-boxes, a trusted servant gave them wine, and it was not known -from what hand those who came on duty at midnight and for the rest of -the night received also a glass each of brandy, while the bottle was in -each case forgotten and left by the sentry-box (as was proved in the -subsequent investigations). -</p> - -<p> -The disorder lasted longer than Clelia had expected, and it was not -until nearly one o'clock that Fabrizio, who, more than a week earlier, -had sawn through two bars of his window, the window that did not look -out on the aviary, began to take down the screen; he was working almost -over the heads of the sentries who were guarding the governor's -<i>palazzo</i>, they heard nothing. He had made some fresh knots only in -the immense cord necessary for descending from that terrible height of one -hundred and eighty feet. He arranged this cord as a bandolier about his -body: it greatly embarrassed him, its bulk was enormous; the knots -prevented it from being wound close, and it projected more than eighteen -inches from his body. "This is the chief obstacle," said Fabrizio. -</p> - -<p> -This cord once arranged as well as possible, Fabrizio took the other -with which he counted on climbing down the thirty-five feet which -separated his window from the terrace on which the governor's -<i>palazzo</i> stood. But inasmuch as, however drunken the sentries -might be, he could not descend exactly over their heads, he climbed out, -as we have said, by the second window of his room, that which looked -over the roof of a sort of vast guard-room. By a sick man's whim, as -soon as General Fabio Conti was able to speak, he had ordered up two -hundred soldiers into this old guard-room, disused for over a century. -He said that after poisoning him, they would seek to murder him in his -bed, and these two hundred soldiers were to guard him. One may judge of -the effect which this unforeseen measure had on the heart of Clelia: -that pious girl was fully conscious to what an extent she was betraying -her father, and a father who had just been almost poisoned in the -interests of the prisoner whom she loved. She almost saw in the -unexpected arrival of these two hundred men an act of Providence which -forbade her to go any farther and to give Fabrizio his freedom. -</p> - -<p> -But everyone in Parma was talking of the immediate death of the -prisoner. This grim subject had been discussed again at the party given -on the occasion of the marriage of Donna Giulia Crescenzi. Since for -such a mere trifle as a clumsy sword-thrust given to an actor, a man of -Fabrizio's birth was not set at liberty at the end of nine months' -imprisonment, and when he had the protection of the Prime Minister, it -must be because politics entered into the case. And in that event, it -was useless to think any more about him, people said; if it was not -convenient to authority to put him to death in a public place, he would -soon die of sickness. A locksmith who had been summoned to General Fabio -Conti's <i>palazzo</i> spoke of Fabrizio as of a prisoner long since -dispatched, whose death was being kept secret from motives of policy. -This man's words decided Clelia. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h4><a id="CHAPTER_TWENTY-TWO">CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO</a></h4> - -<p> -During the day Fabrizio was attacked by certain serious and disagreeable -reflexions; but as he heard the hours strike that brought him nearer to -the moment of action, he began to feel alert and ready. The Duchessa had -written that he would feel the shock of the fresh air, and that once he -was out of his prison he might find it impossible to walk; in that case -it was better to run the risk of being caught than to let himself fall -from a height of a hundred and eighty feet. "If I have that misfortune," -said Fabrizio, "I shall lie down beneath the parapet, I shall sleep for -an hour, then I shall start again. Since I have sworn to Clelia that I -will make the attempt, I prefer to fall from the top of a rampart, -however high, rather than always to have to think about the taste of the -bread I eat. What horrible pains one must feel before the end, when one -dies of poison! Fabio Conti will stand on no ceremony, he will make them -give me the arsenic with which he kills the rats in his citadel." -</p> - -<p> -Towards midnight, one of those thick white fogs in which the Po -sometimes swathes its banks, spread first of all over the town, and then -reached the esplanade and the bastions from the midst of which rises the -great tower of the citadel. Fabrizio estimated that from the parapet of -the platform it would be impossible to make out the young acacias that -surrounded the gardens laid out by the soldiers at the foot of the -hundred and eighty foot wall. "That, now, is excellent," he thought. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>THE ESCAPE</i></h5> - -<p> -Shortly after half past twelve had struck, the signal of the little lamp -appeared at the aviary window. Fabrizio was ready for action; he crossed -himself, then fastened to his bed the fine cord intended to enable him -to descend the thirty-five feet that separated him from the platform on -which the <i>palazzo</i> stood. He arrived without meeting any obstacle on -the roof of the guard-room occupied overnight by the reinforcement of -two hundred soldiers of whom we have spoken. Unfortunately, the -soldiers, at a quarter to one in the morning, as it now was, had not yet -gone to sleep; while he was creeping on tiptoe over the roof of large -curved tiles, Fabrizio could hear them saying that the devil was on the -roof, and that they must try to kill him with a shot from a musket. -Certain voices insisted that this desire savoured of great impiety; -others said that if a shot were fired without killing anything, the -governor would put them all in prison for having alarmed the garrison -without cause. The upshot of this discussion was that Fabrizio walked -across the roof as quickly as possible and made a great deal more noise. -The fact remains that at the moment when, hanging by his cord, he passed -opposite the windows, mercifully at a distance of four or five feet -owing to the projection of the roof, they were bristling with bayonets. -Some accounts suggest that Fabrizio, mad as ever, had the idea of acting -the part of the devil, and that he flung these soldiers a handful of -sequins. One thing certain is that he had scattered sequins upon the -floor of his room, and that he scattered more on the platform on his way -from the Torre Farnese to the parapet, so as to give himself the chance -of distracting the attention of the soldiers who might come in pursuit -of him. -</p> - -<p> -Landing upon the platform where he was surrounded by soldiers, who -ordinarily called out every quarter of an hour a whole sentence: "All's -well around my post!" he directed his steps towards the western parapet -and sought for the new stone. -</p> - -<p> -The thing that appears incredible and might make one doubt the truth of -the story if the result had not had a whole town for witnesses, is that -the sentries posted along the parapet did not see and arrest Fabrizio; -as a matter of fact the fog was beginning to rise, and Fabrizio said -afterwards that when he was on the platform the fog seemed to him to -have come already halfway up the Torre Farnese. But this fog was by no -means thick, and he could quite well see the sentries, some of whom were -moving. He added that, impelled as though by a supernatural force, he -went to take up his position boldly between two sentries who were quite -near one another. He calmly unwound the big cord which he had round his -body, and which twice became entangled; it took him a long time to -unravel it and spread it out on the parapet. He heard the soldiers -talking on all sides of him, and was quite determined to stab the first -who advanced upon him. "I was not in the least anxious," he added, "I -felt as though I were performing a ceremony." -</p> - -<p> -He fastened his cord, when it was finally unravelled, through an opening -cut in the parapet for the escape of rain-water, climbed on to the said -parapet and prayed to God with fervour; then, like a hero of the days of -chivalry, he thought for a moment of Clelia. "How different I am," he -said to himself, "from the fickle, libertine Fabrizio of nine months -ago!" At length he began to descend that astounding height. He acted -mechanically, he said, and as he would have done in broad daylight, -climbing down a wall before friends, to win a wager. About halfway down, -he suddenly felt his arms lose their strength; he thought afterwards -that he had even let go the cord for an instant, but he soon caught hold -of it again; possibly, he said, he had held on to the bushes into which -he slipped, receiving some scratches from them. He felt from time to -time an agonising pain between his shoulders; it actually took away his -breath. There was an extremely unpleasant swaying motion; he was -constantly flung from the cord to the bushes. He was brushed by several -birds which he aroused, and which dashed at him in their flight. At -first, he thought that he was being clutched by men who had come down -from the citadel by the same way as himself in pursuit, and he prepared -to defend his life. Finally he arrived at the base of the great tower -without any inconvenience save that of having blood on his hands. He -relates that, from the middle of the tower, the slope which it forms was -of great use to him; he hugged the wall all the way down, and the plants -growing between the stones gave him great support. On reaching the foot, -among the soldiers' gardens, he fell upon an acacia which, looked at -from above, had seemed to him to be four or five feet high, but was -really fifteen or twenty. A drunken man who was lying asleep beneath it -took him for a robber. In his fall from this tree, Fabrizio nearly -dislocated his right arm. He started to run towards the rampart; but, as -he said, his legs felt like cotton, he had no longer any strength. In -spite of the danger, he sat down and drank a little brandy which he had -left. He dozed off for a few minutes to the extent of not knowing where -he was; on awaking, he could not understand how, lying in bed in his -cell, he saw trees. Then the terrible truth came back to his mind. At -once he stepped out to the rampart, and climbed it by a big stair. The -sentry who was posted close beside this stair was snoring in his box. He -found a cannon lying in the grass; he fastened his third cord to it; it -proved to be a little too short, and he fell into a muddy ditch in which -there was perhaps a foot of water. As he was picking himself up and -trying to take his bearings, he felt himself seized by two men; he was -afraid for a moment; but presently heard a voice close to his ear -whisper very softly: "Ah! Monsignore, Monsignore!" He gathered vaguely -that these men belonged to the Duchessa; at once he fell in a dead -faint. A minute later, he felt that he was being carried by men who were -marching in silence and very fast; then they stopped, which caused him -great uneasiness. But he had not the strength either to speak or to open -his eyes; he felt that he was being clasped in someone's arm; suddenly -he recognised the scent of the Duchessa's clothing. This scent revived -him; he opened his eyes; he was able to utter the words: "Ah! Dear -friend!" Then once again he fainted away. -</p> - -<p> -The faithful Bruno, with a squad of police all devoted to the Conte, was -in reserve at a distance of two hundred yards; the Conte himself was -hidden in a small house close to the place where the Duchessa was -waiting. He would not have hesitated, had it been necessary, to take his -sword in his hand, with a party of half-pay officers, his intimate -friends; he regarded himself as obliged to save the life of Fabrizio, -who seemed to him to be exposed to great risk, and would long ago have -had his pardon signed by the Prince, if he, Mosca, had not been so -foolish as to seek to avoid making the Sovereign write a foolish thing. -</p> - -<p> -Since midnight the Duchessa, surrounded by men armed to the teeth, had -been pacing in deep silence outside the ramparts of the citadel; she -could not stay in one place, she thought that she would have to fight to -rescue Fabrizio from the men who would pursue him. This ardent -imagination had taken a hundred precautions, too long to be given here -in detail, and of an incredible imprudence. It was calculated that more -than eighty agents were afoot that night, in readiness to fight for -something extraordinary. Fortunately Ferrante and Lodovico were at the -head of all these men, and the Minister of Police was not hostile; but -the Conte himself remarked that the Duchessa was not betrayed by anyone, -and that he himself, as Minister, knew nothing. -</p> - -<p> -The Duchessa lost her head altogether on seeing Fabrizio again; she -clasped him convulsively in her arms, then was in despair on seeing -herself covered in blood: it was the blood from Fabrizio's hands; she -thought that he was dangerously wounded. With the assistance of one of -her men, she was taking off his coat to bandage him when Lodovico, who -fortunately happened to be on the spot, firmly put her and Fabrizio in -one of the little carriages which were hidden in a garden near the gate -of the town, and they set off at full gallop to cross the Po near Sacca. -Ferrante, with a score of well-armed men, formed the rearguard, and had -sworn on his head to stop the pursuit. The Conte, alone and on foot, did -not leave the neighbourhood of the citadel until two hours later, when -he saw that no one was stirring. "Look at me, committing high treason," -he said to himself, mad with joy. -</p> - -<p> -Lodovico had the excellent idea of placing in one of the carriages a -young surgeon attached to the Duchessa's household, who was of much the -same build as Fabrizio. -</p> - -<p> -"Make your escape," he told him, "in the direction of Bologna; be as -awkward as possible, try to have yourself arrested; then contradict -yourself in your answers, and finally admit that you are Fabrizio del -Dongo; above all, gain time. Use your skill in being awkward, you will -get off with a month's imprisonment, and the Signora will give you fifty -sequins." -</p> - -<p> -"Does one think of money when one is serving the Signora?" -</p> - -<p> -He set off, and was arrested a few hours later, an event which gave -great joy to General Fabio Conti and also to Rassi, who, with Fabrizio's -peril, saw his Barony taking flight. -</p> - -<p> -The escape was not known at the citadel until about six o'clock in the -morning, and it was not until ten that they dared inform the Prince. The -Duchessa had been so well served that, in spite of Fabrizio's deep -sleep, which she mistook for a dead faint, with the result that she -stopped the carriage three times, she crossed the Po in a boat as four -was striking. There were relays on the other side, they covered two -leagues more at great speed, then were stopped for more than an hour for -the examination of their passports. The Duchessa had every variety of -these for herself and Fabrizio; but she was mad that day, and took it -into her head to give ten napoleons to the clerk of the Austrian police, -and to clasp his hand and burst into tears. This clerk, greatly alarmed, -began the examination afresh. They took post; the Duchessa paid in so -extravagant a fashion that everywhere she aroused suspicions, in that -land where every stranger is suspect. Lodovico came to the rescue again: -he said that the Signora Duchessa was beside herself with grief at the -protracted fever of young Conte Mosca, son of the Prime Minister of -Parma, whom she was taking with her to consult the doctors of Pavia. -</p> - -<p> -It was not until they were ten leagues beyond the Po that the prisoner -really awoke; he had a dislocated shoulder and a number of slight cuts. -The Duchessa again behaved in so extraordinary a fashion that the -landlord of a village inn where they dined thought he was entertaining a -Princess of the Imperial House, and was going to pay her the honours -which he supposed to be due to her when Lodovico told him that the -Princess would without fail have him put in prison if he thought of -ordering the bells to be rung. -</p> - -<p> -At length, about six o'clock in the evening, they reached Piedmontese -territory. There for the first time Fabrizio was in complete safety; he -was taken to a little village off the high road, the cuts on his hands -were dressed, and he slept for several hours more. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>MADNESS</i></h5> - -<p> -It was in this village that the Duchessa allowed herself to take a step -that was not only horrible from the moral point of view, but also fatal -to the tranquillity of the rest of her life. Some weeks before -Fabrizio's escape; on a day when the whole of Parma had gone to the gate -of the citadel; hoping to see in the courtyard the scaffold that was -being erected for his benefit; the Duchessa had shown to Lodovico, who -had become the factotum of her household, the secret by which one raised -from a little iron frame, very cunningly concealed, one of the stones -forming the floor of the famous reservoir of the <i>palazzo</i> -Sanseverina, a work of the thirteenth century, of which we have spoken -already. While Fabrizio was lying asleep in the <i>trattoria</i> of this -little village, the Duchessa sent for Lodovico. He thought that she had -gone mad, so strange was the look that she gave him. -</p> - -<p> -"You probably expect," she said to him, "that I am going to give you -several thousand francs; well, I am not; I know you, you are a poet, you -would soon squander it all. I am giving you the small <i>podere</i> of La -Ricciarda, a league from Casalmaggiore." Lodovico flung himself at her -feet, mad with joy, and protesting in heartfelt accents that it was not -with any thought of earning money that he had helped to save Monsignor -Fabrizio; that he had always loved him with a special affection since he -had had the honour to drive him once, in his capacity as the Signora's -third coachman. When this man, who was genuinely warm-hearted, thought -that he had taken up enough of the time of so great a lady, he took his -leave; but she, with flashing eyes, said to him: -</p> - -<p> -"Wait!" -</p> - -<p> -She paced without uttering a word the floor of this inn room, looking -from time to time at Lodovico with incredible eyes. Finally the man, -seeing that this strange exercise showed no sign of coming to an end, -took it upon himself to address his mistress. -</p> - -<p> -"The Signora has made me so extravagant a gift, one so far beyond -anything that a poor man like me could imagine, and moreover so much -greater than the humble services which I have had the honour to render, -that I feel, on my conscience, that I cannot accept the <i>podere</i> of La -Ricciarda. I have the honour to return this land to the Signora, and to -beg her to grant me a pension of four hundred francs." -</p> - -<p> -"How many times in your life," she said to him with the most sombre -pride, "how many times have you heard it said that I had abandoned a -project once I had made it?" -</p> - -<p> -After uttering this sentence, the Duchessa continued to walk up and down -the room for some minutes; then suddenly stopping, cried: -</p> - -<p> -"It is by accident, and because he managed to attract that little girl, -that Fabrizio's life has been saved! If he had not been attractive, he -would now be dead. Can you deny that?" she asked, advancing on Lodovico -with eyes in which the darkest fury blazed. Lodovico recoiled a few -steps and thought her mad, which gave him great uneasiness as to the -possession of his <i>podere</i> of La Ricciarda. -</p> - -<p> -"Very well!" the Duchessa went on, in the most winning and light-hearted -tone, completely changed, "I wish my good people of Sacca to have a mad -holiday which they will long remember. You are going to return to Sacca; -have you any objection? Do you think that you will be running any risk?" -</p> - -<p> -"None to speak of, Signora: none of the people of Sacca will ever say -that I was in Monsignor Fabrizio's service. Besides, if I may venture to -say so to the Signora, I am burning to see <i>my</i> property at La -Ricciarda: it seems so odd for me to be a landowner!" -</p> - -<p> -"Your gaiety pleases me. The farmer at La Ricciarda owes me, I think, -three or four years' rent; I make him a present of half of what he owes -me, and the other half of all these arrears I give to you, but on this -condition: you will go to Sacca, you will say there that the day after -to-morrow is the <i>festa</i> of one of my patron saints, and, on the -evening after your arrival, you will have my house illuminated in the -most splendid fashion. Spare neither money nor trouble; remember that -the occasion is the greatest happiness of my life. I have prepared for -this illumination long beforehand; more than three months ago, I -collected in the cellars of the house everything that can be used for -this noble <i>festa</i>; I have put the gardener in charge of all the -fireworks necessary for a magnificent display: you will let them off -from the terrace overlooking the Po. I have eighty-nine large barrels of -wine in my cellars, you will set up eighty-nine fountains of wine in my -park. If next day there remains a single bottle which has not been -drunk, I shall say that you do not love Fabrizio. When the fountains of -wine, the illumination and the fireworks are well started, you will slip -away cautiously, for it is possible, and it is my hope, that at Parma -all these fine doings may appear an insolence." -</p> - -<p> -"It is not possible, it is only a certainty; as it is certain too that -the Fiscal Rassi, who signed Monsignore's sentence, will burst with -rage. And indeed," added Lodovico timidly, "if the Signora wished to -give more pleasure to her poor servant than by bestowing on him half the -arrears of La Ricciarda, she would allow me to play a little joke on -that Rassi. . . ." -</p> - -<p> -"You are a stout fellow!" cried the Duchessa in a transport; "but I -forbid you absolutely to do anything to Rassi: I have a plan of having -him publicly hanged, later on. As for you, try not to have yourself -arrested at Sacca; everything would be spoiled if I lost you." -</p> - -<p> -"I, Signora! After I have said that I am celebrating the <i>festa</i> of -one of the Signora's patrons, if the police sent thirty constables to upset -things, you may be sure that before they had reached the Croce Rossa in -the middle of the village, not one of them would be on his horse. -They're no fools, the people of Sacca; finished smugglers all of them, -and they worship the Signora." -</p> - -<p> -"Finally," went on the Duchessa with a singularly detached air, "if I -give wine to my good people of Sacca, I wish to flood the inhabitants of -Parma; the same evening on which my house is illuminated, take the best -horse in my stable, dash to my <i>palazzo</i> in Parma, and open the -reservoir." -</p> - -<p> -"Ah! What an excellent idea of the Signora!" cried Lodovico, laughing -like a madman; "wine for the good people of Sacca, water for the cits of -Parma, who were so sure, the wretches, that Monsignor Fabrizio was going -to be poisoned like poor L——." -</p> - -<p> -Lodovico's joy knew no end; the Duchessa complacently watched his wild -laughter; he kept on repeating "Wine for the people of Sacca and water -for the people of Parma! The Signora no doubt knows better than I that -when they rashly emptied the reservoir, twenty years ago, there was as -much as a foot of water in many of the streets of Parma." -</p> - -<p> -"And water for the people of Parma," retorted the Duchessa with a laugh. -"The avenue past the citadel would have been filled with people if they -had cut off Fabrizio's head. . . . They all call him <i>the great -culprit</i>. . . . But, above all, do everything carefully, so that not -a living soul knows that the flood was started by you or ordered by me. -Fabrizio, the Conte himself must be left in ignorance of this mad prank. -. . . But I was forgetting the poor of Sacca: go and write a letter to -my agent, which I shall sign; you will tell him that, for the -<i>festa</i> of my holy patron, he must distribute a hundred sequins -among the poor of Sacca, and tell him to obey you in everything to do -with the illumination, the fireworks and the wine; and especially that -there must not be a full bottle in my cellars next day." -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>DISAPPOINTMENT</i></h5> - -<p> -"The Signora's agent will have no difficulty except in one thing: in the -five years that the Signora has had the villa, she has not left ten poor -persons in Sacca." -</p> - -<p> -"<i>And water for the people of Parma</i>!" the Duchessa went on chanting. -"How will you carry out this joke?" -</p> - -<p> -"My plans are all made: I leave Sacca about nine o'clock, at half past -ten my horse is at the inn of the Tre Ganasce, on the road to -Casalmaggiore and to <i>my podere</i> of La Ricciarda; at eleven, I am -in my room in the <i>palazzo</i>, and at a quarter past eleven water for -the people of Parma, and more than they wish, to drink to the health of -the great culprit. Ten minutes later, I leave the town by the Bologna -road. I make, as I pass it, a profound bow to the citadel, which -Monsignore's courage and the Signora's spirit have succeeded in -disgracing; I take a path across country, which I know well, and I make -my entry into La Ricciarda." -</p> - -<p> -Lodovico raised his eyes to the Duchessa and was startled. She was -staring fixedly at the blank wall six paces away from her, and, it must -be admitted, her expression was terrible. "Ah! My poor <i>podere</i>!" -thought Lodovico. "The fact of the matter is, she is mad!" The Duchessa -looked at him and read his thoughts. -</p> - -<p> -"Ah! Signor Lodovico the great poet, you wish a deed of gift in writing: -run and find me a sheet of paper." Lodovico did not wait to be told -twice, and the Duchessa wrote out in her own hand a long form of -receipt, ante-dated by a year, in which she declared that she had -received from Lodovico San Micheli the sum of 80,000 francs, and had -given him in pledge the lands of La Ricciarda. If after the lapse of -twelve months the Duchessa had not restored the said 80,000 francs to -Lodovico, the lands of La Ricciarda were to remain his property. -</p> - -<p> -"It is a fine action," the Duchessa said to herself, "to give to a -faithful servant nearly a third of what I have left for myself." -</p> - -<p> -"Now then," she said to Lodovico, "after the joke of the reservoir, I -give you just two days to enjoy yourself at Casalmaggiore. For the -conveyance to hold good, say that it is a transaction which dates back -more than a year. Come back and join me at Belgirate, and as quickly as -possible; Fabrizio is perhaps going to England, where you will follow -him." -</p> - -<p> -Early the next day the Duchessa and Fabrizio were at Belgirate. -</p> - -<p> -They took up their abode in that enchanting village; but a killing grief -awaited the Duchessa on Lake Maggiore. Fabrizio was entirely changed; -from the first moments in which he had awoken from his sleep, still -somewhat lethargic, after his escape, the Duchessa had noticed that -something out of the common was occurring in him. The deep-lying -sentiment, which he took great pains to conceal, was distinctly odd, it -was nothing less than this: he was in despair at being out of his -prison. He was careful not to admit this cause of his sorrow, which -would have led to questions which he did not wish to answer. -</p> - -<p> -"What!" said the Duchessa, in amazement, "that horrible sensation when -hunger forced you to feed, so as not to fall down, on one of those -loathsome dishes supplied by the prison kitchen, that sensation: 'Is -there some strange taste in this, am I poisoning myself at this -moment?'—did not that sensation fill you with horror?" -</p> - -<p> -"I thought of death," replied Fabrizio, "as I suppose soldiers think of -it: it was a possible thing which I thought to avoid by taking care." -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>REGRET</i></h5> - -<p> -And so, what uneasiness, what grief for the Duchessa! This adored, -singular, vivid, original creature was now before her eyes a prey to an -endless train of fancies; he actually preferred solitude to the pleasure -of talking of all manner of things, and with an open heart, to the best -friend that he had in the world. Still he was always good, assiduous, -grateful towards the Duchessa; he would, as before, have given his life -a hundred times over for her; but his heart was elsewhere. They often -went four or five leagues over that sublime lake without uttering a -word. The conversation, the exchange of cold thoughts that from then -onwards was possible between them might perhaps have seemed pleasant to -others; but they remembered still, the Duchessa especially, what their -conversation had been before that fatal fight with Giletti which had set -them apart. Fabrizio owed the Duchessa an account of the nine months -that he had spent in a horrible prison, and it appeared that he had -nothing to say of this detention but brief and unfinished sentences. -</p> - -<p> -"It was bound to happen sooner or later," the Duchessa told herself with -a gloomy sadness. "Grief has aged me, or else he is really in love, and -I have now only the second place in his heart." Demeaned, cast down by -the greatest of all possible griefs, the Duchessa said to herself at -times: "If, by the will of Heaven, Ferrante should become mad -altogether, or his courage should fail, I feel that I should be less -unhappy." From that moment this half-remorse poisoned the esteem that -the Duchessa had for her own character. "So," she said to herself -bitterly, "I am repenting of a resolution I have already made. Then I am -no longer a del Dongo!" -</p> - -<p> -"It is the will of Heaven," she would say: "Fabrizio is in love, and -what right have I to wish that he should not be in love? Has one single -word of genuine love ever passed between us?" -</p> - -<p> -This idea, reasonable as it was, kept her from sleeping, and in short, a -thing which shewed how old age and a weakening of the heart had come -over her, she was a hundred times more unhappy than at Parma. As for the -person who could be responsible for Fabrizio's strange abstraction, it -was hardly possible to entertain any reasonable doubt: Clelia Conti, -that pious girl, had betrayed her father since she had consented to make -the garrison drunk, and never once did Fabrizio speak of Clelia! "But," -added the Duchessa, beating her breast in desperation, "if the garrison -had not been made drunk, all my stratagems, all my exertions became -useless; so it is she that saved him!" -</p> - -<p> -It was with extreme difficulty that the Duchessa obtained from Fabrizio -any details of the events of that night, which, she said to herself, -"would at one time have been the subject of an endlessly renewed -discussion between us! In those happy times he would have talked for a -whole day, with a force and gaiety endlessly renewed, of the smallest -trifle which I thought of bringing forward." -</p> - -<p> -As it was necessary to think of everything, the Duchessa had installed -Fabrizio at the port of Locarno, a Swiss town at the head of Lake -Maggiore. Every day she went to fetch him in a boat for long excursions -over the lake. Well, on one occasion when she took it into her head to -go up to his room, she found the walls lined with a number of views of -the town of Parma, for which he had sent to Milan or to Parma itself, a -place which he ought to be holding in abomination. His little -sitting-room, converted into a studio, was littered with all the -apparatus of a painter in water-colours, and she found him finishing a -third sketch of the Torre Farnese and the governor's <i>palazzo</i>. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>LOVE</i></h5> - -<p> -"The only thing for you to do now," she said to him with an air of -vexation, "is to make a portrait from memory of that charming governor -whose only wish was to poison you. But, while I think of it," she went -on, "you ought to write him a letter of apology for having taken the -liberty of escaping and making his citadel look foolish." -</p> - -<p> -The poor woman little knew how true her words were: no sooner had he -arrived in a place of safety than Fabrizio's first thought had been to -write General Fabio Conti a perfectly polite and in a sense highly -ridiculous letter; he asked his pardon for having escaped, offering as -an excuse that a certain subordinate in the prison had been ordered to -give him poison. Little did he care what he wrote, Fabrizio hoped that -Clelia's eyes would see this letter, and his cheeks were wet with tears -as he wrote it. He ended it with a very pleasant sentence: he ventured -to say that, finding himself at liberty, he frequently had occasion to -regret his little room in the Torre Farnese. This was the principal -thought in his letter, he hoped that Clelia would understand it. In his -writing vein, and always in the hope of being read by someone, Fabrizio -addressed his thanks to Don Cesare, that good chaplain who had lent him -books on theology. A few days later Fabrizio arranged that the small -bookseller of Locarno should make the journey to Milan, where this -bookseller, a friend of the celebrated bibliomaniac Reina, bought the -most sumptuous editions that he could find of the works that Don Cesare -had lent Fabrizio. The good chaplain received these books and a handsome -letter which informed him that, in moments of impatience, pardonable -perhaps to a poor prisoner, the writer had covered the margins of his -books with silly notes. He begged him, accordingly, to replace them in -his library with the volumes which the most lively gratitude took the -liberty of presenting to him. -</p> - -<p> -Fabrizio was very modest in giving the simple name of notes to the -endless scribblings with which he had covered the margins of a folio -volume of the works of Saint Jerome. In the hope that he might be able -to send back this book to the good chaplain, and exchange it for -another, he had written day by day on the margins a very exact diary of -all that occurred to him in prison; the great events were nothing else than -ecstasies of <i>divine love</i> (this word <i>divine</i> took the place of -another which he dared not write). At one moment this divine love led -the prisoner to a profound despair, at other times a voice heard in the -air restored some hope and caused transports of joy. All this, -fortunately, was written with prison ink, made of wine, chocolate and -soot, and Don Cesare had done no more than cast an eye over it as he put -back on his shelves the volume of Saint Jerome. If he had studied the -margins, he would have seen that one day the prisoner, believing himself -to have been poisoned, was congratulating himself on dying at a distance -of less than forty yards from what he had loved best in the world. But -another eye than the good chaplain's had read this page since his -escape. That fine idea: <i>To die near what one loves</i>! expressed in a -hundred different fashions, was followed by a sonnet in which one saw -that this soul, parted, after atrocious torments, from the frail body in -which it had dwelt for three-and-twenty years, urged by that instinct -for happiness natural to everything that has once existed, would not -mount to heaven to mingle with the choirs of angels as soon as it should -be free, and should the dread Judgment grant it pardon for its sins; but -that, more fortunate after death than it had been in life, it would go a -little way from the prison, where for so long it had groaned, to unite -itself with all that it had loved in this world. And "So," said the last -line of the sonnet, "I should find my earthly paradise." -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>SELF-SACRIFICE</i></h5> - -<p> -Although they spoke of Fabrizio in the citadel of Parma only as of an -infamous traitor who had outraged the most sacred ties of duty, still -the good priest Don Cesare was delighted by the sight of the fine books -which an unknown hand had conveyed to him; for Fabrizio had decided to -write to him only a few days after sending them, for fear lest his name -might make the whole parcel be rejected with indignation. Don Cesare -said no word of this kind attention to his brother, who flew into a rage -at the mere name of Fabrizio; but since the latter's flight, he had -returned to all his old intimacy with his charming niece; and as he had -once taught her a few words of Latin, he let her see the fine books that -he had received. Such had been the traveller's hope. Suddenly Clelia -blushed deeply, she had recognized Fabrizio's handwriting. Long and very -narrow strips of yellow paper were placed by way of markers in various -parts of the volume. And as it is true to say that in the midst of the -sordid pecuniary interests, and of the colourless coldness of the vulgar -thoughts which fill our lives, the actions inspired by a true passion -rarely fail to produce their effect; as though a propitious deity were -taking the trouble to lead them by the hand, Clelia, guided by this -instinct, and by the thought of one thing only in the world, asked her -uncle to compare the old copy of Saint Jerome with the one that he had -just received. How can I describe her rapture in the midst of the gloomy -sadness in which Fabrizio's absence had plunged her, when she found on -the margins of the old Saint Jerome the sonnet of which we have spoken, -and the records, day by day, of the love that he had felt for her. -</p> - -<p> -From the first day she knew the sonnet by heart; she would sing it, -leaning on her window-sill, before the window, henceforward empty, where -she had so often seen a little opening appear in the screen. This screen -had been taken down to be placed in the office of the criminal court, -and to serve as evidence in a ridiculous prosecution which Rassi was -drawing up against Fabrizio, accused of the crime of having escaped, or, -as the Fiscal said, laughing himself as he said it, <i>of having removed -himself from the clemency of a magnanimous Prince</i>! -</p> - -<p> -Each stage in Clelia's actions was for her a matter for keen remorse, -and now that she was unhappy, her remorse was all the keener. She sought -to mitigate somewhat the reproaches that she addressed to herself by -reminding herself of the vow <i>never to see Fabrizio again</i>, which she -had made to the Madonna at the time when the General was nearly -poisoned, and since then had renewed daily. -</p> - -<p> -Her father had been made ill by Fabrizio's escape, and, moreover, had -been on the point of losing his post, when the Prince, in his anger, -dismissed all the gaolers of the Torre Farnese, and sent them as -prisoners to the town gaol. The General had been saved partly by the -intercession of Conte Mosca, who preferred to see him shut up at the top -of his citadel, rather than as an active and intriguing rival in court -circles. -</p> - -<p> -It was during the fortnight of uncertainty as to the disgrace of General -Fabio Conti, who was really ill, that Clelia had the courage to carry -out this sacrifice which she had announced to Fabrizio. She had had the -sense to be ill on the day of the general rejoicings, which was also -that of the prisoner's flight, as the reader may perhaps remember; she -was ill also on the following day, and, in a word, managed things so -well that, with the exception of Grillo, whose special duty it was to -look after Fabrizio, no one had any suspicion of her complicity, and -Grillo held his tongue. -</p> - -<p> -But as soon as Clelia had no longer any anxiety in that direction, she -was even more cruelly tormented by her just remorse. "What argument in -the world," she asked herself, "can mitigate the crime of a daughter who -betrays her father?" -</p> - -<p> -One evening, after a day spent almost entirely in the chapel, and in -tears, she begged her uncle, Don Cesare, to accompany her to the -General, whose outbursts of rage alarmed her all the more since into -every topic he introduced imprecations against Fabrizio, that abominable -traitor. -</p> - -<p> -Having come into her father's presence, she had the courage to say to -him that if she had always refused to give her hand to the Marchese -Crescenzi, it was because she did not feel any inclination towards him, -and was certain of finding no happiness in such a union. At these words -the General flew into a rage; and Clelia had some difficulty in making -herself heard. She added that if her father, tempted by the Marchese's -great fortune, felt himself bound to give her a definite order to marry -him, she was prepared to obey. The General was quite astonished by this -conclusion, which he had been far from expecting; he ended, however, -by rejoicing at it. "So," he said to his brother, "I shall not be -reduced to a lodging on a second floor, if that scoundrel Fabrizio makes -me lose my post through his vile conduct." -</p> - -<p> -Conte Mosca did not fail to shew himself profoundly scandalised by the -flight of that <i>scapegrace</i> Fabrizio, and repeated when the -occasion served the expression invented by Rassi to describe the base -conduct of the young man—a very vulgar young man, to -boot—who had removed himself from the clemency of the Prince. This -witty expression, consecrated by good society, did not take hold at all -of the people. Left to their own good sense, while fully believing in -Fabrizio's guilt they admired the determination that he must have had to -let himself down from so high a wall. Not a creature at court admired -this courage. As for the police, greatly humiliated by this rebuff, they -had officially discovered that a band of twenty soldiers, corrupted by -the money distributed by the Duchessa, that woman of such atrocious -ingratitude whose name was no longer uttered save with a sigh, had given -Fabrizio four ladders tied together, each forty-five feet long; -Fabrizio, having let down a cord which they had tied to these ladders, -had had only the quite commonplace distinction of pulling the ladders up -to where he was. Certain Liberals, well known for their imprudence, and -among them Doctor C——, an agent paid directly by the Prince, -added, but compromised themselves by adding that these atrocious police -had had the barbarity to shoot eight of the unfortunate soldiers who had -facilitated the flight of that wretch Fabrizio. Thereupon he was blamed -even by the true Liberals, as having caused by his imprudence the death -of eight poor soldiers. It is thus that petty despotisms reduce to -nothing the value of public opinion. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h4><a id="CHAPTER_TWENTY-THREE">CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE</a></h4> - -<p> -Amid this general uproar, Archbishop Landriani alone shewed himself -loyal to the cause of his young friend; he made bold to repeat, even at -the Princess's court, the legal maxim according to which, in every case, -one ought to keep an ear free from all prejudice to hear the plea of an -absent party. -</p> - -<p> -The day after Fabrizio's escape a number of people had received a sonnet -of no great merit which celebrated this flight as one of the fine -actions of the age, and compared Fabrizio to an angel arriving on the -earth with outspread wings. On the evening of the following day, the -whole of Parma was repeating a sublime sonnet. It was Fabrizio's -monologue as he let himself slide down the cord, and passed judgment on -the different incidents of his life. This sonnet gave him a place in -literature by two magnificent lines; all the experts recognised the -style of Ferrante Palla. -</p> - -<p> -But here I must seek the epic style: where can I find colours in which -to paint the torrents of indignation that suddenly flooded every -orthodox heart, when they learned of the frightful insolence of this -illumination of the house at Sacca? There was but one outcry against the -Duchessa; even the true Liberals decided that such an action compromised -in a barbarous fashion the poor suspects detained in the various -prisons, and needlessly exasperated the heart of the sovereign. Conte -Mosca declared that there was but one thing left for the Duchessa's -former friends—to forget her. The concert of execration was therefore -unanimous: a stranger passing through the town would have been struck by -the energy of public opinion. But in the country, where they know how to -appreciate the pleasure of revenge, the illumination and the admirable -feast given in the park to more than six thousand <i>contadini</i> had an -immense success. Everyone in Parma repeated that the Duchessa had -distributed a thousand sequins among her <i>contadini</i>; thus they -explained the somewhat harsh reception given to a party of thirty -constables whom the police had been so foolish as to send to that small -village, thirty-six hours after the sublime evening and the general -intoxication that had followed it. The constables, greeted with showers -of stones, had turned and fled, and two of their number, who fell from -their horses, were flung into the Po. -</p> - -<p> -As for the bursting of the great reservoir of the <i>palazzo</i> -Sanseverina, it had passed almost unnoticed: it was during the night -that several streets had been more or less flooded, next morning one -would have said that it had <i>rained</i>. Lodovico had taken care to -break the panes of a window in the <i>palazzo</i>, so as to account for -the entry of robbers. -</p> - -<p> -They had even found a little ladder. Only Conte Mosca recognised his -friend's inventive genius. -</p> - -<p> -Fabrizio was fully determined to return to Parma as soon as he could; he -sent Lodovico with a long letter to the Archbishop, and this faithful -servant came back to post at the first village in Piedmont, San Nazzaro, -to the west of Pavia, a Latin epistle which the worthy prelate addressed -to his young client. We may add here a detail which, like many others no -doubt, will seem otiose in countries where there is no longer any need -of precaution. The name of Fabrizio del Dongo was never written; all the -letters that were intended for him were addressed to Lodovico San -Micheli, at Locarno in Switzerland, or at Belgirate in Piedmont. The -envelope was made of a coarse paper, the seal carelessly applied, the -address barely legible and sometimes adorned with recommendations worthy -of a cook; all the letters were dated from Naples six days before their -actual date. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>REVENGE</i></h5> - -<p> -From the Piedmontese village of San Nazzaro, near Pavia, Lodovico -returned in hot haste to Parma; he was charged with a mission to which -Fabrizio attached the greatest importance; this was nothing less than to -convey to Clelia Conti a handkerchief on which was printed a sonnet of -Petrarch. It is true that a word was altered in this sonnet: Clelia -found it on the table two days after she had received the thanks of the -Marchese Crescenzi, who professed himself the happiest of men; and there -is no need to say what impression this token of a still constant -remembrance produced on her heart. -</p> - -<p> -Lodovico was to try to procure all possible details as to what was -happening at the citadel. He it was who told Fabrizio the sad news that -the Marchese Crescenzi's marriage seemed now to be definitely settled; -scarcely a day passed without his giving a <i>festa</i> for Clelia, inside -the citadel. A decisive proof of the marriage was that the Marchese, -immensely rich and in consequence very avaricious, as is the custom -among the opulent people of Northern Italy, was making immense -preparations, and yet he was marrying a girl without a <i>portion</i>. It -was true that General Fabio Conti, his vanity greatly shocked by this -observation, the first to spring to the minds of all his compatriots, -had just bought a property worth more than 300,000 francs, and for this -property he, who had nothing, had paid in ready money, evidently with -the Marchese's gold. Moreover, the General had said that he was giving -this property to his daughter on her marriage. But the charges for the -documents and other matters, which amounted to more than 12,000 francs, -seemed a most ridiculous waste of money to the Marchese, a man of -eminently logical mind. For his part he was having woven at Lyons a set -of magnificent tapestries of admirably blended colours, calculated to -charm the eye, by the famous Pallagi, the Bolognese painter. These -tapestries, each of which embodied some deed of arms by the Crescenzi -family, which, as the whole world knows, is descended from the famous -Crescentius, Roman Consul in the year 985, were to furnish the seventeen -saloons which composed the ground floor of the Marchese's <i>palazzo</i>. -The tapestries, clocks and lustres sent to Parma cost more than 350,000 -francs; the price of the new mirrors, in addition to those which the -house already possessed, came to 200,000 francs. With the exception of -two rooms, famous works of the Parmigianino, the greatest of local -painters after the divine Correggio, all those of the first and second -floors were now occupied by the leading painters of Florence, Rome and -Milan, who were decorating them with paintings in fresco. Fokelberg, the -great Swedish sculptor, Tenerani of Rome and Marchesi of Milan had been -at work for the last year on ten bas-reliefs representing as many brave -deeds of Crescentius, that truly great man. The majority of the -ceilings, painted in fresco, also offered some allusion to his life. The -ceiling most generally admired was that on which Hayez of Milan had -represented Crescentius being received in the Elysian Fields by -Francesco Sforza, Lorenzo the Magnificent, King Robert, the Tribune Cola -di Rienzi, Machiavelli, Dante and the other great men of the middle -ages. Admiration for these chosen spirits is supposed to be an epigram -at the expense of the men in power. -</p> - -<p> -All these sumptuous details occupied the exclusive attention of the -nobility and burgesses of Parma, and pierced our hero's heart when he -read of them, related with an artless admiration, in a long letter of -more than twenty pages which Lodovico had dictated to a <i>doganiere</i> of -Casalmaggiore. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>THE PALAZZO</i></h5> - -<p> -"And I, who am so poor!" said Fabrizio, "an income of four thousand lire -in all and for all! It is truly an impertinence in me to dare to be in -love with Clelia Conti for whom all these miracles are being performed." -</p> - -<p> -A single paragraph in Lodovico's long letter, but written, this, in his -own villainous hand, announced to his master that he had met, at night -and apparently in hiding, the unfortunate Grillo, his former gaoler, who -had been put in prison and then released. The man had asked him for a -sequin in charity, and Lodovico had given him four in the Duchessa's -name. The old gaolers recently set at liberty, twelve in number, were -preparing an entertainment with their knives (<i>un trattamento di -cortellate</i>) for the new gaolers their successors, should they ever -succeed in meeting them outside the citadel. Grillo had said that almost -every day there was a serenade at the fortress, that Signorina Clelia -was extremely pale, often ill, and <i>other things of the sort</i>. This -absurd expression caused Lodovico to receive, by courier after courier, -the order to return to Locarno. He returned, and the details which he -supplied by word of mouth were even more depressing for Fabrizio. -</p> - -<p> -One may judge what consideration he was shewing for the poor Duchessa; -he would have suffered a thousand deaths rather than utter in her -hearing the name of Clelia Conti. The Duchessa abhorred Parma; whereas, -for Fabrizio, everything which recalled that city was at once sublime -and touching. -</p> - -<p> -Less than ever had the Duchessa forgotten her revenge; she had been so -happy before the incident of Giletti's death and now, what a fate was -hers! She was living in expectation of a dire event of which she was -careful not to say a word to Fabrizio, she who before, at the time of -her arrangement with Ferrante, thought she would so delight Fabrizio by -telling him that one day he would be avenged. -</p> - -<p> -One can now form some idea of the pleasantness of Fabrizio's -conversations with the Duchessa: a gloomy silence reigned almost -invariably between them. To enhance the pleasantness of their relations, -the Duchessa had yielded to the temptation to play a trick on this too -dear nephew. The Conte wrote to her almost every day; evidently he was -sending couriers as in the days of their infatuation, for his letters -always bore the postmark of some little town in Switzerland. The poor -man was torturing his mind so as not to speak too openly of his -affection, and to construct amusing letters; barely did a distracted eye -glance over them. What avails, alas, the fidelity of a respected lover -when one's heart is pierced by the coldness of the other whom one sets -above him? -</p> - -<p> -In the space of two months the Duchessa answered him only once, and that -was to engage him to explore how the land lay round the Princess, and to -see whether, despite the impertinence of the fireworks, a letter from -her, the Duchessa, would be received with pleasure. The letter which he -was to present, if he thought fit, requested the post of <i>Cavaliere -d'onore</i> to the Princess, which had recently fallen vacant, for the -Marchese Crescenzi, and desired that it should be conferred upon him in -consideration of his marriage. The Duchessa's letter was a masterpiece; -it was a message of the most tender respect, expressed in the best -possible terms; the writer had not admitted to this courtly style a -single word the consequences, even the remotest consequences of which -could be other than agreeable to the Princess. The reply also breathed a -tender friendship, which was being tortured by the absence of its -recipient. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>THE PRINCESS</i></h5> - -<p> -"My son and I," the Princess told her, "have not spent one evening that -could be called tolerable since your sudden departure. Does my dear -Duchessa no longer remember that it was she who caused me to be -consulted in the nomination of the officers of my household? Does she -then think herself obliged to give me reasons for the Marchese's -appointment, as if the expression of her desire was not for me the chief -of reasons? The Marchese shall have the post, if I can do anything; and -there will always be one in my heart, and that the first, for my dear -Duchessa. My son employs absolutely the same expressions, a little -strong perhaps on the lips of a great boy of one-and-twenty, and asks -you for specimens of the minerals of the Val d'Orta, near Belgirate. You -may address your letters, which will, I hope, be frequent, to the Conte, -who still adores you and who is especially dear to me on account of -these sentiments. The Archbishop also has remained faithful to you. We -all hope to see you again one day: remember that it is your duty. The -Marchesa Ghisleri, my Grand Mistress, is preparing to leave this world -for a better: the poor woman has done me much harm; she displeases me -still further by departing so inopportunely; her illness makes me think -of the name which I should once have set with so much pleasure in the -place of hers, if, that is, I could have obtained that sacrifice of her -independence from that matchless woman who, in fleeing from us, has -taken with her all the joy of my little court," and so forth. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -It was therefore with the consciousness of having sought to hasten, so -far as it lay in her power, the marriage which was filling Fabrizio with -despair, that the Duchessa saw him every day. And so they spent -sometimes four or five hours in drifting together over the lake, without -exchanging a single word. The good feeling was entire and perfect on -Fabrizio's part; but he was thinking of other things, and his innocent -and simple nature furnished him with nothing to say. The Duchessa saw -this, and it was her punishment. -</p> - -<p> -We have forgotten to mention in the proper place that the Duchessa had -taken a house at Belgirate, a charming village and one that contains -everything which its name promises (to wit a beautiful bend in the -lake). From the window-sill of her drawing-room, the Duchessa could set -foot in her boat. She had taken a quite simple one for which four rowers -would have sufficed; she engaged twelve, and arranged things so as to -have a man from each of the villages situated in the neighbourhood of -Belgirate. The third or fourth time that she found herself in the middle -of the lake with all of these well chosen men, she stopped the movement -of their oars. -</p> - -<p> -"I regard you all as friends," she said to them, "and I wish to confide -a secret in you. My nephew Fabrizio has escaped from prison; and -possibly by treachery they will seek to recapture him, although he is on -your lake, in a place of freedom. Keep your ears open, and inform me of -all that you may hear. I authorise you to enter my room by day or -night." -</p> - -<p> -The rowers replied with enthusiasm; she knew how to make herself loved. -But she did not think that there was any question of recapturing -Fabrizio: it was for herself that all these precautions were taken, and, -before the fatal order to open the reservoir of the <i>palazzo</i> -Sanseverina, she would not have dreamed of them. -</p> - -<p> -Her prudence had led her also to take an apartment at the port of -Locarno for Fabrizio; every day he came to see her, or she herself -crossed into Switzerland. One may judge of the pleasantness of their -perpetual companionship by the following detail. The Marchesa and her -daughter came twice to see them, and the presence of these strangers -gave them pleasure; for, in spite of the ties of blood, we may call -"stranger" a person who knows nothing of our dearest interests and whom -we see but once in a year. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>LAKE MAGGIORE</i></h5> - -<p> -The Duchessa happened to be one evening at Locarno, in Fabrizio's rooms, -with the Marchesa and her two daughters. The Archpriest of the place and -the curate had come to pay their respects to these ladies: the -Archpriest, who had an interest in a business house, and kept closely in -touch with the news, was inspired to announce: -</p> - -<p> -"The Prince of Parma is dead!" -</p> - -<p> -The Duchessa turned extremely pale; she had barely the strength to say: -</p> - -<p> -"Do they give any details?" -</p> - -<p> -"No," replied the Archpriest; "the report is confined to the -announcement of his death, which is certain." -</p> - -<p> -The Duchessa looked at Fabrizio. "I have done this for him," she said to -herself; "I would have done things a thousand times worse, and there he -is standing before me indifferent, and dreaming of another!" It was -beyond the Duchessa's strength to endure this frightful thought; she -fell in a dead faint. Everyone hastened to her assistance; but, on -coming to herself, she observed that Fabrizio was less active than the -Archpriest and curate; he was dreaming as usual. -</p> - -<p> -"He is thinking of returning to Parma," the Duchessa told herself, "and -perhaps of breaking off Clelia's marriage to the Marchese; but I shall -manage to prevent him." Then, remembering the presence of the two -priests, she made haste to add: -</p> - -<p> -"He was a good Prince, and has been greatly maligned! It is an immense -loss for us!" -</p> - -<p> -The priests took their leave, and the Duchessa, to be alone, announced -that she was going to bed. -</p> - -<p> -"No doubt," she said to herself, "prudence ordains that I should wait a -month or two before returning to Parma; but I feel that I shall never -have the patience; I am suffering too keenly here. Fabrizio's continual -dreaming, his silence, are an intolerable spectacle for my heart. Who -would ever have said that I should find it tedious to float on this -charming lake, alone with him, and at the moment when I have done, to -avenge him, more than I can tell him! After such a spectacle, death is -nothing. It is now that I am paying for the transports of happiness and -childish joy which I found in my <i>palazzo</i> at Parma when I welcomed -Fabrizio there on his return from Naples. If I had said a word, all was -at an end, and it may be that, tied to me, he would not have given a -thought to that little Clelia; but that word filled me with a horrible -repugnance. Now she has prevailed over me. What more simple? She is -twenty; and I, altered by my anxieties, sick, I am twice her age! . . . -I must die, I must make an end of things! A woman of forty is no longer -anything save to the men who have loved her in her youth! Now I shall -find nothing more but the pleasures of vanity; and are they worth the -trouble of living? All the more reason for going to Parma, and amusing -myself. If things took a certain turn, I should lose my life. Well, -where is the harm? I shall make a magnificent death, and, before the -end, but then only, I shall say to Fabrizio: 'Wretch! It is for you!' -Yes, I can find no occupation for what little life remains to me save at -Parma. I shall play the great lady there. What a blessing if I could be -sensible now of all those distinctions which used to make the Raversi so -unhappy! Then, in order to see my happiness, I had to look into the eyes -of envy. . . . My vanity has one satisfaction; with the exception of the -Conte perhaps, no one can have guessed what the event was that put an -end to the life of my heart. . . . I shall love Fabrizio, I shall be -devoted to his interests; but he must not be allowed to break off -Clelia's marriage, and end by taking her himself. . . . No, that shall -not be!" -</p> - -<p> -The Duchessa had reached this point in her melancholy monologue, when -she heard a great noise in the house. -</p> - -<p> -"Good!" she said to herself, "they are coming to arrest me; Ferrante has -let himself be caught, he must have spoken. Well, all the better! I am -going to have an occupation, I am going to fight them for my head. But -in the first place, I must not let myself be taken." -</p> - -<p> -The Duchessa, half clad, fled to the bottom of her garden: she was -already thinking of climbing a low wall and escaping across country; but -she saw someone enter her room. She recognised Bruno, the Conte's -confidential man; he was alone with her maid. She went up to the window. -The man was telling her maid of the injuries he had received. The -Duchessa entered the house. Bruno almost flung himself at her feet, -imploring her not to tell the Conte of the preposterous hour at which he -had arrived. -</p> - -<p> -"Immediately after the Prince's death," he went on, "the Signor Conte -gave the order to all the posts not to supply horses to subjects of the -States of Parma. So that I had to go as far as the Po with the horses of -the house, but on leaving the boat my carriage was overturned, broken, -smashed, and I had such bad bruises that I could not get on a horse, as -was my duty." -</p> - -<p> -"Very well," said the Duchessa, "it is three o'clock in the morning: I -shall say that you arrived at noon; but you must not go and give me -away." -</p> - -<p> -"I am very grateful for the Signora's kindness." -</p> - -<p> -Politics in a work of literature are like a pistol-shot in the middle of -a concert, something loud and vulgar and yet a thing to which it is not -possible to refuse one's attention. -</p> - -<p> -We are about to speak of very ugly matters, as to which, for more than -one reason, we should like to keep silence; but we are forced to do so -in order to come to happenings which are in our province, since they -have for their theatre the hearts of our characters. -</p> - -<p> -"But, great God, how did that great Prince die?" said the Duchessa to -Bruno. -</p> - -<p> -"He was out shooting the birds of passage, in the marshes, along by the -Po, two leagues from Sacca. He fell into a hole hidden by a tuft of -grass; he was all in a sweat, and caught cold; they carried him to a -lonely house where he died in a few hours. Some say that Signor Catena -and Signor Borone are dead as well, and that the whole accident arose from -the copper pans in the <i>contadino's</i> house they went to, which were -full of verdigris. They took their luncheon there. In fact, the swelled -heads, the Jacobins, who say what they would like to be true, speak of -poison. I know that my friend Toto, who is a groom at court, would have -died but for the kind attention of a rustic who appeared to have a great -knowledge of medicine, and gave him some very singular remedies. But -they've ceased to talk of the Prince's death already; after all, he was -a cruel man. When I left, the people were gathering to kill the Fiscal -General Rassi: they were also proposing to set fire to the gates of the -citadel, to enable the prisoners to escape. But it was said that Fabio -Conti would fire his guns. Others were positive that the gunners at the -citadel had poured water on their powder, and refused to massacre their -fellow-citizens. But I can tell you something far more interesting: -while the surgeon of Sandolaro was mending my poor arm, a man arrived -from Parma who said that the mob had caught Barbone, the famous clerk -from the citadel, in the street, and had beaten him, and were then going -to hang him from the tree on the avenue nearest to the citadel. The mob -were marching to break that fine statue of the Prince in the gardens of -the court; but the Signor Conte took a battalion of the Guard, paraded -them in front of the statue, and sent word to the people that no one who -entered the gardens would go out of them alive, and the people took -fright. But, what is a very curious thing, which the man who had come -from Parma, who is an old constable, repeated several times, is that the -Signor Conte kicked General P——, the commander of the Prince's -Guard, and had him led out of the garden by two fusiliers, after tearing -off his epaulettes." -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>THE ACCIDENT</i></h5> - -<p> -"I can see the Conte doing that," cried the Duchessa with a transport of -joy which she would not have believed possible a minute earlier: "he -will never allow anyone to insult our Princess; and as for General -P——, in his devotion to his rightful masters, he would never -consent to serve the usurper, while the Conte, with less delicacy, fought -through all the Spanish campaigns, and has often been reproached for it -at court." -</p> - -<p> -The Duchessa had opened the Conte's letter, but kept stopping as she -read it to put a hundred questions to Bruno. -</p> - -<p> -The letter was very pleasant; the Conte employed the most lugubrious -terms, and yet the keenest joy broke out in every word; he avoided any -detail of the Prince's death, and ended with the words: -</p> - -<blockquote><p> -"You will doubtless return, my dear angel, but I advise you to wait a -day or two for the courier whom the Princess will send you, as I hope, -to-day or to-morrow; your return must be as triumphant as your departure -was bold. As for the great criminal who is with you, I count upon being -able to have him tried by twelve judges selected from all parties in -this State. But, to have the monster punished as he deserves, I must -first be able to make spills of the other sentence, if it exists." -</p></blockquote> - -<p> -The Conte had opened his letter to add: -</p> - -<blockquote><p> -"Now for a very different matter: I have just issued ammunition to the -two battalions of the Guard; I am going to fight, and shall do my best -to deserve the title of Cruel with which the Liberals have so long -honoured me. That old mummy General P—— has dared to speak in -the barracks of making a parley with the populace, who are more or less in -revolt. I write to you from the street; I am going to the Palace, which -they shall not enter save over my dead body. Good-bye! If I die, it will -be worshipping you <i>all the same</i>, as I have lived. Do not forget to -draw three hundred thousand francs which are deposited in my name with -D—— of Lyons. -</p> - -<p> -"Here is that poor devil Rassi, pale as death, and without his wig; you -have no idea what he looks like. The people are absolutely determined to -hang him; it would be doing him a great injustice, he deserves to be -quartered. He took refuge in my <i>palazzo</i> and has run after me into -the street; I hardly know what to do with him. . . . I do not wish to -take him to the Prince's Palace, that would make the revolt break out -there. F—— shall see whether I love him; my first word to -Rassi was: I must have the sentence passed on Signor del Dongo, and all -the copies that you may have of it; and say to all those unjust judges, -who are the cause of this revolt, that I will have them all hanged, and -you as well, my dear friend, if they breathe a word of that sentence, -which never existed. In Fabrizio's name, I am sending a company of -grenadiers to the Archbishop. Good-bye, dear angel! My <i>palazzo</i> is -going to be burned, and I shall lose the charming portraits I have of -you. I must run to the Palace to degrade that wretched General -P——, who is at his tricks; he is basely flattering the -people, as he used to flatter the late Prince. All these Generals are in -the devil of a fright; I am going, I think, to have myself made -Commander in Chief." -</p></blockquote> - -<p> -The Duchessa was unkind enough not to send to waken Fabrizio; she felt -for the Conte a burst of admiration which was closely akin to love. -"When all is said and done," she decided, "I shall have to marry him." -She wrote to him at once and sent off one of her men. That night the -Duchessa had no time to be unhappy. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>THE RISING</i></h5> - -<p> -Next day, about noon, she saw a boat manned by ten rowers which was -swiftly cleaving the waters of the lake; Fabrizio and she soon -recognised a man wearing the livery of the Prince of Parma: it was, in -fact, one of his couriers who, before landing, cried to the Duchessa: -"The revolt is suppressed!" This courier gave her several letters from -the Conte, an admirable letter from the Princess, and an order from -Prince Ranuccio-Ernesto V, on parchment, creating her Duchessa di San -Giovanni and Grand Mistress to the Princess Dowager. The young Prince, -an expert in mineralogy, whom she regarded as an imbecile, had had the -intelligence to write her a little note; but there was love at the end -of it. The note began thus: -</p> - -<blockquote><p> -"The Conte says, Signora Duchessa, that he is pleased with me; the fact -is that I stood under fire by his side, and that my horse was hit: -seeing the stir that is made about so small a matter, I am keen to take -part in a real battle, but not against my subjects. I owe everything to -the Conte; all my Generals, who have never been to war, ran like hares; -I believe two or three have fled as far as Bologna. Since a great and -deplorable event set me in power, I have signed no order which has given -me so much pleasure as this which appoints you Grand Mistress to my mother. -My mother and I both remembered a day when you admired the fine view one -has from the <i>palazzetto</i> of San Giovanni, which once belonged -to Petrarch, or so they say at least; my mother wished to give you that -little property: and I, not knowing what to give you, and not venturing -to offer you all that is rightly yours, have made you Duchessa in my -country; I do not know whether you are learned enough in these matters -to be aware that Sanseverina is a Roman title. I have just given the -Grand Cordon of my Order to our worthy Archbishop, who has shown a -firmness very rare in men of seventy. You will not be angry with me for -having recalled all the ladies from exile. I am told that I must now sign -only after writing the words <i>your affectionate</i>; it annoys me that -I should be made to scatter broadcast what is completely true only when -I write to you. -</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 50%;">"<i>Your affectionate</i></p> - -<p style="margin-left: 60%;">"RANUCCIO-ERNESTO."</p> -</blockquote> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -Who would not have said, from such language, that the Duchessa was about -to enjoy the highest favour? And yet she found something very strange in -other letters from the Conte, which she received an hour or two later. -He offered no special reason, but advised her to postpone for some days -her return to Parma, and to write to the Princess that she was seriously -unwell. The Duchessa and Fabrizio set off, nevertheless, for Parma -immediately after dinner. The Duchessa's object, which however she did -not admit to herself, was to hasten the Marchese Crescenzi's marriage; -Fabrizio, for his part, spent the journey in wild transports of joy, -which seemed to his aunt absurd. He was in hopes of seeing Clelia again -soon; he fully counted upon carrying her off, against her will, if there -should be no other way of preventing her marriage. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>ERNESTO V</i></h5> - -<p> -The Duchessa and her nephew made a very gay journey. At a post before -Parma, Fabrizio stopped for a minute to change into the ecclesiastical -habit; ordinarily he dressed as a layman in mourning. When he returned -to the Duchessa's room: -</p> - -<p> -"I find something suspicious and inexplicable," she said to him, "in the -Conte's letters. If you would take my advice you would spend a few hours -here; I shall send you a courier after I have spoken to that great -Minister." -</p> - -<p> -It was with great reluctance that Fabrizio consented to accept this -sensible warning. Transports of joy worthy of a boy of fifteen were the -note of the reception which the Conte gave to the Duchessa, whom he -called his wife. It was long before he would speak of politics, and when -at last they came down to cold reason: -</p> - -<p> -"You did very well to prevent Fabrizio from arriving officially; we are -in the full swing of reaction here. Just guess the colleague that the -Prince has given me as Minister of Justice! Rassi, my dear, Rassi, whom -I treated like the ruffian that he is, on the day of our great -adventure. By the way, I must warn you that we have suppressed -everything that has happened here. If you read our <i>Gazette</i> you will -see that a clerk at the citadel, named Barbone, has died as the result -of falling from a carriage. As for the sixty odd rascals whom I -dispatched with powder and shot, when they were attacking the Prince's -statue in the gardens, they are in the best of health, only they are -travelling abroad. Conte Zurla, the Minister of the Interior, has gone -in person to the house of each of these unfortunate heroes, and has -handed fifteen sequins to his family or his friends, with the order to -say that the deceased is abroad, and a very definite threat of -imprisonment should they let it be understood that he is dead. A man -from my own Ministry, the Foreign Office, has been sent on a mission to -the journalists of Milan and Turin, so that they shall not speak of the -<i>unfortunate event</i>—that is the recognised expression; he is to -go on to Paris and London, to insert a correction in all the newspapers, -semi-officially, of anything that they may say about our troubles. -Another agent has posted off to Bologna and Florence. I have shrugged my -shoulders. -</p> - -<p> -"But the delightful thing, at my age, is that I felt a moment of -enthusiasm when I was speaking to the soldiers of the Guard, and when I -tore the epaulettes off that contemptible General P——. At that -moment, I would have given my life, without hesitating, for the Prince: I -admit now that it would have been a very stupid way of ending it. To-day -the Prince, excellent young fellow as he is, would give a hundred scudi to -see me die in my bed; he has not yet dared to ask for my resignation, -but we speak to each other as seldom as possible, and I send him a -number of little reports in writing, as I used to do with the late -Prince, after Fabrizio's imprisonment. By the way, I have not yet made -spills out of the sentence they passed on Fabrizio, for the simple -reason that scoundrel Rassi has not let me have it. So you are very -wise to prevent Fabrizio from arriving here officially. The sentence -still holds good; at the same time I do not think that Rassi would dare -to have our nephew arrested now, but it is possible that he will in -another fortnight. If Fabrizio absolutely insists on returning to town, -let him come and stay with me." -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>REACTION</i></h5> - -<p> -"But the reason for all this?" cried the Duchessa in astonishment. -</p> - -<p> -"They have persuaded the Prince that I am giving myself the airs of a -dictator and a saviour of the country, and that I wish to lead him about -like a boy; what is more, in speaking of him, I seem to have uttered the -fatal words: <i>that boy</i>. It may be so, I was excited that day; for -instance, I looked on him as a great man, because he was not unduly -frightened by the first shots he had ever heard fired in his life. He is -not lacking in spirit, indeed he has a better tone than his father; in -fact, I cannot repeat it too often, in his heart of hearts he is honest -and good; but that sincere and youthful heart shudders when they tell -him of any dastardly trick, and he thinks he must have a very dark soul -himself to notice such things: think of the upbringing he has had!" -</p> - -<p> -"Your Excellency ought to have remembered that one day he would be -master, and to have placed an intelligent man with him." -</p> - -<p> -"For one thing, we have the example of the Abbé de Condillac, who, when -appointed by the Marchese di Felino, my predecessor, could make nothing -more of his pupil than a King of fools. He succeeded in due course, and, -in 1796, he had not the sense to treat with General Bonaparte, who would -have tripled the area of his States. In the second place, I never -expected to remain Minister for ten years in succession. Now that I have -lost all interest in the business, as I have for the last month, I -intend to amass a million before leaving this bedlam I have rescued to -its own devices. But for me, Parma would have been a Republic for two -months, with the poet Ferrante Palla as Dictator." -</p> - -<p> -This made the Duchessa blush; the Conte knew nothing of what had -happened. -</p> - -<p> -"We are going to fall back into the ordinary Monarchy of the eighteenth -century; the confessor and the mistress. At heart the Prince cares for -nothing but mineralogy, and perhaps yourself, Signora. Since he began to -reign, his valet, whose brother I have just made a captain, this brother -having nine months' service, his valet, I say, has gone and stuffed into -his head that he ought to be the happiest of men because his profile is -going to appear on the scudi. This bright idea has been followed by -boredom. -</p> - -<p> -"What he now needs is an aide-de-camp, as a remedy for boredom. Well, -even if he were to offer me that famous million which is necessary for -us to live comfortably in Naples or Paris, I would not be his remedy for -boredom, and spend four or five hours every day with His Highness. -Besides, as I have more brains than he, at the end of a month he would -regard me as a monster. -</p> - -<p> -"The late Prince was evil-minded and jealous, but he had been on service -and had commanded army corps, which had given him a bearing; he had the -stuff in him of which Princes are made, and I could be his Minister, for -better or worse. With this honest fellow of a son, who is candid and -really good, I am forced to be an intriguer. You see me now the rival of -the humblest little woman in the Castle, and a very inferior rival, for -I shall scorn all the hundred essential details. For instance, three -days ago, one of those women who put out the clean towels every morning -in the rooms, took it into her head to make the Prince lose the key of -one of his English desks. Whereupon His Highness refused to deal with -any of the business the papers of which happened to be in this desk; as -a matter of fact, for twenty francs, they could have taken off the -wooden bottom, or used skeleton keys; but Ranuccio-Ernesto V told me -that would be teaching the court locksmith bad habits. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>A MORAL PRINCE</i></h5> - -<p> -"Up to the present, it has been absolutely impossible for him to adhere -to any decision for three days running. If he had been born Marchese -so-and-so, with an ample fortune, this young Prince would have been one -of the most estimable men at court, a sort of Louis XVI; but how, with -his pious simplicity, is he to resist all the cunningly laid snares that -surround him? And so the drawing-room of your enemy the Marchesa Raversi -is more powerful than ever; they have discovered there that I, who gave -the order to fire on the people, and was determined to kill three -thousand men if necessary, rather than let them outrage the statue of -the Prince who had been my master, am a red-hot Liberal, that I wished -him to sign a Constitution, and a hundred such absurdities. With all -this talk of a Republic, the fools would prevent us from enjoying the -best of Monarchies. In short, Signora, you are the only member of the -present Liberal Party of which my enemies make me the head, at whose -expense the Prince has not expressed himself in offensive terms; the -Archbishop, always perfectly honest, for having spoken in reasonable -language of what I did on the <i>unhappy day</i>, is in deep disgrace. -</p> - -<p> -"On the morrow of the day which was not then called <i>unhappy</i>, when it -was still true that the revolt had existed, the Prince told the -Archbishop that, so that you should not have to take an inferior title -on marrying me, he would make me a Duca. To-day I fancy that it is -Rassi, ennobled by me when he sold me the late Prince's secrets, who is -going to be made Conte. In the face of such a promotion as that, I shall -cut a sorry figure." -</p> - -<p> -"And the poor Prince will bespatter himself with mud." -</p> - -<p> -"No doubt; but after all he is <i>master</i>, a position which, in less -than a fortnight, makes the <i>ridiculous</i> element disappear. So, -dear Duchessa, as at the game of tric-trac, <i>let us get out</i>." -</p> - -<p> -"But we shall not be exactly rich." -</p> - -<p> -"After all, neither you nor I have any need of luxury. If you give me, -at Naples, a seat in a box at San Carlo and a horse, I am more than -satisfied; it will never be the amount of luxury with which we live that -will give you and me our position, it is the pleasure which the -intelligent people of the place may perhaps find in coming to take a -dish of tea with you." -</p> - -<p> -"But," the Duchessa went on, "what would have happened, on the <i>unhappy -day</i>, if you had held aloof, as I hope you will in future?" -</p> - -<p> -"The troops would have fraternised with the people, there would have -been three days of bloodshed and incendiarism (for it would take a -hundred years in this country for the Republic to be anything more than -an absurdity), then a fortnight of pillage, until two or three regiments -supplied from abroad came to put a stop to it. Ferrante Palla was in the -thick of the crowd, full of courage and raging as usual; he had probably -a dozen friends who were acting in collusion with him, which Rassi will -make into a superb conspiracy. One thing certain is that, wearing an -incredibly dilapidated coat, he was scattering gold with both hands." -</p> - -<p> -The Duchessa, bewildered by all this information, went in haste to thank -the Princess. -</p> - -<p> -As she entered the room the Lady of the Bedchamber handed her a little -gold key, which is worn in the belt, and is the badge of supreme -authority in the part of the Palace which belongs to the Princess. -Clara-Paolina hastened to dismiss all the company; and, once she was -alone with her friend, persisted for some moments in giving only -fragmentary explanations. The Duchessa found it hard to understand what -she meant, and answered only with considerable reserve. At length the -Princess burst into tears, and, flinging herself into the Duchessa's -arms, cried: "The days of my misery are going to begin again; my son -will treat me worse than his father did!" -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>THE RISING</i></h5> - -<p> -"That is what I shall prevent," the Duchessa replied with emphasis. "But -first of all," she went on, "I must ask Your Serene Highness to deign to -accept this offering of all my gratitude and my profound respect." -</p> - -<p> -"What do you mean?" cried the Princess, full of uneasiness, and fearing -a resignation. -</p> - -<p> -"I ask that whenever Your Serene Highness shall permit me to turn to the -right the head of that nodding mandarin on her chimneypiece, she will -permit me also to call things by their true names." -</p> - -<p> -"Is that all, my dear Duchessa?" cried Clara-Paolina, rising from her -seat and hastening herself to put the mandarin's head in the right -position: "speak then, with the utmost freedom, Signora Maggiordoma," -she said in a charming tone. -</p> - -<p> -"Ma'am," the Duchessa went on, "Your Highness has grasped the situation -perfectly; you and I are both running the greatest risk; the sentence -passed on Fabrizio has not been quashed; consequently, on the day when -they wish to rid themselves of me and to insult you, they will put him -back in prison. Our position is as bad as ever. As for me personally, I -am marrying the Conte, and we are going to set up house in Naples or -Paris. The final stroke of ingratitude of which the Conte is at this -moment the victim has entirely disgusted him with public life, and but -for the interest Your Serene Highness takes in him, I should advise him -to remain in this mess only on condition of the Prince's giving him an -enormous sum. I shall ask leave of Your Highness, to explain that the -Conte, who had 180,000 francs when he came into office, has to-day an -income of barely 20,000 lire. In vain did I long urge him to think of -his pocket. In my absence, he has picked a quarrel with the Prince's -Farmers-General, who were rascals; he has replaced them with other -rascals, who have given him 800,000 francs." -</p> - -<p> -"What!" cried the Princess in astonishment; "Heavens, I am extremely -annoyed to hear that!" -</p> - -<p> -"Ma'am," replied the Duchessa with the greatest coolness, "must I turn -the mandarin's head back to the left?" -</p> - -<p> -"Good heavens, no," exclaimed the Princess; "but I am annoyed that a man -of the Conte's character should have thought of enriching himself in -such a way." -</p> - -<p> -"But for this peculation he would be despised by all the honest folk." -</p> - -<p> -"Great heavens! Is it possible?" -</p> - -<p> -"Ma'am," went on the Duchessa, "except for my friend, the Marchese -Crescenzi, who has an income of three or four hundred thousand lire, -everyone here steals; and how should they not steal in a country where -the recognition of the greatest services lasts for not quite a month? It -means that there is nothing real, nothing that survives disgrace, save -money. I am going to take the liberty, Ma'am, of saying some terrible -truths." -</p> - -<p> -"You have my permission," said the Princess with a deep sigh, "and yet -they are painfully unpleasant to me." -</p> - -<p> -"Very well, Ma'am, the Prince your son, a perfectly honest man, is -capable of making you far more unhappy than his father ever did; the -late Prince was a man of character more or less like everyone else. Our -present Sovereign is not sure of wishing the same thing for three days -on end, and so, in order that one may make sure of him, one must live -continually with him and not allow him to speak to anyone. As this truth -is not very difficult to guess, the new Ultra Party, ruled by those two -excellent heads, Rassi and the Marchesa Raversi, are going to try to -provide the Prince with a mistress. This mistress will have permission -to make her own fortune and to distribute various minor posts; but she -will have to answer to the Party for the constancy of the master's will. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>NECESSARY PECULATION</i></h5> - -<p> -"I, to be properly established at Your Highness's court, require that -Rassi be exiled and degraded; I desire, in addition, that Fabrizio be -tried by the most honest judges that can be found: if these gentlemen -admit, as I hope, that he is innocent, it will be natural to grant the -petition of His Grace the Archbishop that Fabrizio shall be his -Coadjutor with eventual succession. If I fail, the Conte and I retire; -in that case, I leave this parting advice with Your Serene Highness: she -must never pardon Rassi, nor must she ever leave her son's States. While -she is with him, that worthy son will never do her any serious harm." -</p> - -<p> -"I have followed your arguments with the close attention they require," -the Princess replied, smiling; "ought I, then, to take upon myself the -responsibility of providing my son with a mistress?" -</p> - -<p> -"Not at all, Ma'am, but see first of all that your drawing-room is the -only one which he finds amusing." -</p> - -<p> -The conversation on this topic was endless, the scales fell from the -eyes of the innocent and intelligent Princess. -</p> - -<p> -One of the Duchessa's couriers went to tell Fabrizio that he might enter -the town, but must hide himself. He was barely noticed: he spent his -time disguised as a contadino in the wooden booth of a chestnut-seller, -erected opposite the gate of the citadel, beneath the trees of the -avenue. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h4><a id="CHAPTER_TWENTY-FOUR">CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR</a></h4> - -<p> -The Duchessa arranged a series of charming evenings at the Palace, which -had never seen such gaiety: never had she been more delightful than -during this winter, and yet she was living in the midst of the greatest -dangers; but at the same time, during this critical period, it so -happened that she did not think twice with any appreciable regret of the -strange alteration in Fabrizio. The young Prince used to appear very -early at his mother's parties, where she always said to him: -</p> - -<p> -"Away with you and govern; I wager there are at least a score of reports -on your desk awaiting a definite answer, and I do not wish to have the -rest of Europe accuse me of making you a mere figurehead in order to -reign in your place." -</p> - -<p> -These counsels had the disadvantage of being offered always at the most -inopportune moments, that is to say when His Highness, having overcome -his timidity, was taking part in some acted charade which amused him -greatly. Twice a week there were parties in the country to which on the -pretext of winning for the new Sovereign the affection of his people, -the Princess admitted the prettiest women of the middle classes. The -Duchessa, who was the life and soul of this joyous court, hoped that -these handsome women, all of whom looked with a mortal envy on the great -prosperity of the burgess Rassi, would inform the Prince of some of the -countless rascalities of that Minister. For, among other childish ideas, -the Prince claimed to have a moral Ministry. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>THE COURT</i></h5> - -<p> -Rassi had too much sense not to feel how dangerous these brilliant -evenings at the Princess's court, with his enemy in command of them, -were to himself. He had not chosen to return to Conte Mosca the -perfectly legal sentence passed on Fabrizio; it was inevitable therefore -that either the Duchessa or he must vanish from the court. -</p> - -<p> -On the day of that popular movement, the existence of which it was now -in good taste to deny, someone had distributed money among the populace. -Rassi started from that point: worse dressed even than was his habit, he -climbed to the most wretched attics in the town, and spent whole hours -in serious conversation with their needy inhabitants. He was well -rewarded for all his trouble: after a fortnight of this kind of life he -had acquired the certainty that Ferrante Palla had been the secret head -of the insurrection, and furthermore, that this creature, a pauper all -his life as a great poet would be, had sent nine or ten diamonds to be -sold at Genoa. -</p> - -<p> -Among others were mentioned five valuable stones which were really worth -more than 40,000 francs, and which, <i>ten days before the death of the -Prince</i>, had been sacrificed for 35,000 francs, because, the vendor -said, <i>he was in need of money</i>. -</p> - -<p> -What words can describe the rapture of the Minister of Justice on making -this discovery? He had learned that every day he was being made a -laughing stock at the court of the Princess Dowager, and on several -occasions the Prince, when discussing business with him, laughed in his -face with all the frankness of his youth. It must be admitted that Rassi -had some singularly plebeian habits: for instance, as soon as a -discussion began to interest him, he would cross his legs and take his -foot in his hand; if the interest increased, he would spread his red -cotton handkerchief over his knee, and so forth. The Prince had laughed -heartily at the wit of one of the prettiest women of the middle class, -who, being aware incidentally that she had a very shapely leg, had begun -to imitate this elegant gesture of the Minister of Justice. -</p> - -<p> -Rassi requested an extraordinary audience and said to the Prince: -</p> - -<p> -"Would Your Highness be willing to give a hundred thousand francs to -know definitely in what manner his august father met his death? With -that sum, the authorities would be in a position to arrest the guilty -parties, if such exist." -</p> - -<p> -The Prince's reply left no room for doubt. -</p> - -<p> -A little while later, Cecchina informed the Duchessa that she had been -offered a large sum to allow her mistress's diamonds to be examined by a -jeweller; she had indignantly refused. The Duchessa scolded her for -having refused; and, a week later, Cecchina had the diamonds to shew. On -the day appointed for this exhibition of the diamonds, the Conte posted -a couple of trustworthy men at every jeweller's in Parma, and towards -midnight he came to tell the Duchessa that the inquisitive jeweller was -none other than Rassi's brother. The Duchessa, who was very gay that -evening (they were playing at the Palace <i>a commedia dell'arte</i>, that -is to say one in which each character invents the dialogue as he goes on, -only the plot of the play being posted up in the green-room), the -Duchessa, who was playing a part, had as her lover in the piece Conte -Baldi, the former friend of the Marchesa Raversi, who was present. The -Prince, the shyest man in his States, but an extremely good looking -youth and one endowed with the tenderest of hearts, was studying Conte -Baldi's part, which he intended to take at the second performance. -</p> - -<p> -"I have very little time," the Duchessa told the Conte; "I am appearing -in the first scene of the second act: let us go into the guard-room." -</p> - -<p> -There, surrounded by a score of the body-guard, all wide awake and -closely attentive to the conversation between the Prime Minister and the -Grand Mistress, the Duchessa said with a laugh to her friend: -</p> - -<p> -"You always scold me when I tell you unnecessary secrets. It was I who -summoned Ernesto V to the throne; it was a question of avenging -Fabrizio, whom I loved then far more than I do to-day, although always -quite innocently. I know very well that you have little belief in my -innocence, but that does not matter, since you love me in spite of my -crimes. Very well, here is a real crime: I gave all my diamonds to a -sort of lunatic, a most interesting man, named Ferrante Palla, I even -kissed him so that he should destroy the man who wished to have Fabrizio -poisoned. Where is the harm in that?" -</p> - -<p> -"Ah! So that is where Ferrante had found money for his rising!" said the -Conte, slightly taken aback; "and you tell me all this in the -guard-room!" -</p> - -<p> -"It is because I am in a hurry, and now Rassi is on the track of the -crime. It is quite true that I never mentioned an insurrection, for I -abhor Jacobins. Think it over, and let me have your advice after the -play." -</p> - -<p> -"I will tell you at once that you must make the Prince fall in love with -you. But perfectly honourably, please." -</p> - -<p> -The Duchessa was called to return to the stage. She fled. -</p> - -<p> -Some days later the Duchessa received by post a long and ridiculous -letter, signed with the name of a former maid of her own; the woman -asked to be employed at the court, but the Duchessa had seen from the -first glance that the letter was neither in her handwriting nor in her -style. On opening the sheet to read the second page, she saw fall at her -feet a little miraculous image of the Madonna, folded in a printed leaf -from an old book. After glancing at the image, the Duchessa read a few -lines of the printed page. Her eyes shone, she found on it these words: -</p> - -<blockquote><p> -"The Tribune has taken one hundred francs monthly, not more; with the -rest it was decided to rekindle the sacred fire in souls which had -become frozen by selfishness. The fox is upon my track, that is why I -have not sought to see for the last time the adored being. I said to -myself, she does not love the Republic, she who is superior to me in -mind as well as by her graces and her beauty. Besides, how is one to -create a Republic without Republicans? Can I be mistaken? In six months -I shall visit, microscope in hand, and on foot, the small towns of -America, I shall see whether I ought still to love the sole rival that -you have in my heart. If you receive this letter, Signora Baronessa, and -no profane eye has read it before yours, tell them to break one of the -young ash trees planted twenty paces from the spot where I dared to -speak to you for the first time. I shall then have buried, under the -great box tree in the garden to which you called attention once in my -happy days, a box in which will be found some of those things which lead -to the slandering of people of my way of thinking. You may be sure that -I should have taken care not to write if the fox were not on my track, -and there were not a risk of his reaching that heavenly being; examine -the box tree in a fortnight's time." -</p></blockquote> - -<p> -"Since he has a printing press at his command," the Duchessa said to -herself, "we shall soon have a volume of sonnets; heaven knows what name -he will give me!" -</p> - -<p> -The Duchessa's coquetry led her to make a venture; for a week she was -indisposed, and the court had no more pleasant evenings. The Princess, -greatly shocked by all that her fear of her son was obliging her to do -in the first moments of her widowhood, went to spend this week in a -convent attached to the church in which the late Prince was buried. This -interruption of the evening parties threw upon the Prince an enormous -burden of leisure and brought a noteworthy check to the credit of the -Minister of Justice. Ernesto V. realised all the boredom that threatened -him if the Duchessa left his court, or merely ceased to diffuse joy in -it. The evenings began again, and the Prince shewed himself more and -more interested in the <i>commedia dell'arte</i>. He had the intention of -taking a part, but dared not confess this ambition. One day, blushing -deeply, he said to the Duchessa: "Why should not I act, also?" -</p> - -<p> -"We are all at Your Highness's orders here; if he deigns to give me the -order, I will arrange the plot of a comedy, all the chief scenes in Your -Highness's part will be with me, and as, on the first evenings, everyone -falters a little, if Your Highness will please to watch me closely, I -will tell him the answers that he ought to make." Everything was -arranged, and with infinite skill. The very shy Prince was ashamed of -being shy, the pains that the Duchessa took not to let this innate -shyness suffer made a deep impression on the young Sovereign. -</p> - -<p> -On the day of his first appearance, the performance began half an hour -earlier than usual, and there were in the drawing-room, when the party -moved into the theatre, only nine or ten elderly women. This audience -had but little effect on the Prince, and besides, having been brought up -at Munich on sound monarchical principles, they always applauded. Using -her authority as Grand Mistress, the Duchessa turned the key in the door -by which the common herd of courtiers were admitted to the performance. The -Prince, who had a <i>literary</i> mind and a fine figure, came very well -out of his opening scenes; he repeated with intelligence the lines which -he read in the Duchessa's eyes, or with which she prompted him in an -undertone. At a moment when the few spectators were applauding with all -their might, the Duchessa gave a signal, the door of honour was thrown -open, and the theatre filled in a moment with all the pretty women of -the court, who, finding that the Prince cut a charming figure and seemed -thoroughly happy, began to applaud; the Prince flushed with joy. He was -playing the part of a lover to the Duchessa. So far from having to -suggest his speeches to him, she was soon obliged to request him to -curtail those speeches; he spoke of love with an enthusiasm which often -embarrassed the actress; his replies lasted five minutes. The Duchessa -was no longer the dazzling beauty of the year before: Fabrizio's -imprisonment, and, far more than that, her stay by Lake Maggiore with a -Fabrizio grown morose and silent, had added ten years to the fair Gina's -age. Her features had become marked, they shewed more intelligence and -less youth. -</p> - -<p> -They had now only very rarely the playfulness of early youth; but on the -stage, with the aid of rouge and all the expedients which art supplies -to actresses, she was still the prettiest woman at court. The passionate -addresses uttered by the Prince put the courtiers on the alert; they -were all saying to themselves this evening: "There is the Balbi of this -new reign." The Conte felt himself inwardly revolted. The play ended, -the Duchessa said to the Prince before all the court: -</p> - -<p> -"Your Highness acts too well; people will say that you are in love with -a woman of eight-and-thirty, which will put a stop to my arrangement -with the Conte. And so I will not act any more with Your Highness, -unless the Prince swears to me to address me as he would a woman of a -certain age, the Signora Marchesa Raversi, for example." -</p> - -<p> -The same play was three times repeated; the Prince was madly happy; but -one evening he appeared very thoughtful. -</p> - -<p> -"Either I am greatly mistaken," said the Grand Mistress to the Princess, -"or Rassi is seeking to play some trick upon us; I should advise Your -Highness to choose a play for to-morrow; the Prince will act badly, and -in his despair will tell you something." -</p> - -<p> -The Prince did indeed act very badly; one could barely hear him, and he -no longer knew how to end his sentences. At the end of the first act he -almost had tears in his eyes; the Duchessa stayed beside him, but was -cold and unmoved. The Prince, finding himself alone with her for a -moment, in the actors' green-room, went to shut the door. -</p> - -<p> -"I shall never," he said to her, "be able to play in the second and -third acts; I absolutely decline to be applauded out of kindness; the -applause they gave me this evening cut me to the heart. Give me your -advice, what ought I to do?" -</p> - -<p> -"I shall appear on the stage, make a profound reverence to Her Highness, -another to the audience, like a real stage manager, and say that, the -actor who was playing the part of Lelio having suddenly been taken ill, -the performance will conclude with some pieces of music. Conte Rusca and -little Ghisolfi will be delighted to be able to shew off their harsh -voices to so brilliant an assembly." -</p> - -<p> -The Prince took the Duchessa's hand, which he kissed with rapture. -</p> - -<p> -"Why are you not a man?" he said to her; "you would give me good advice. -Rassi has just laid on my desk one hundred and eighty-two depositions -against the alleged assassins of my father. Apart from the depositions, -there is a formal accusation of more than two hundred pages; I shall -have to read all that, and, besides, I have given my word not to say -anything to the Conte. All this is leading straight to executions, -already he wants me to fetch back from France, from near Antibes, -Ferrante Palla, that great poet whom I admire so much. He is there under -the name of Poncet." -</p> - -<p> -"The day on which you have a Liberal hanged, Rassi will be bound to the -Ministry by chains of iron, and that is what he wishes more than -anything: but Your Highness will no longer be able to speak of leaving -the Palace two hours in advance. I shall say nothing either to the -Princess or to the Conte of the cry of grief which has just escaped you; -but, since I am bound on oath to keep nothing secret from the Princess, -I should be glad if Your Highness would say to his mother the same -things that he has let fall with me." -</p> - -<p> -This idea provided a diversion to the misery of the hissed actor which -was crushing the Sovereign. -</p> - -<p> -"Very well, go and tell my mother; I shall be in her big cabinet." -</p> - -<p> -The Prince left the stage, found his way to the drawing-room from which -one entered the theatre, harshly dismissed the Great Chamberlain and -the Aide-de-Camp on duty who were following him; the Princess, -meanwhile, hurriedly left the play; entering the big cabinet, the Grand -Mistress made a profound reverence to mother and son, and left them -alone. One may imagine the agitation of the court, these are the things -that make it so amusing. At the end of an hour the Prince himself -appeared at the door of the Cabinet and summoned the Duchessa; the -Princess was in tears; her son's expression had entirely altered. -</p> - -<p> -"These are weak creatures who are out of temper," the Grand Mistress -said to herself, "and are seeking some good excuse to be angry with -somebody." At first the mother and son began both to speak at once to -tell the details to the Duchessa, who in her answers took great care not -to put forward any idea. For two mortal hours, the three actors in this -tedious scene did not step out of the parts which we have indicated. The -Prince went in person to fetch the two enormous portfolios which Rassi -had deposited on his desk; on leaving his mother's cabinet, he found the -whole court awaiting him. "Go away, leave me alone!" he cried in a most -impolite tone which was quite without precedent in him. The Prince did -not wish to be seen carrying the two portfolios himself, a Prince ought -not to carry anything. The courtiers vanished in the twinkling of an -eye. On his return the Prince encountered no one but the footmen who -were blowing out the candles; he dismissed them with fury, also poor -Fontana, the Aide-de-Camp on duty, who had been so tactless as to -remain, in his zeal. -</p> - -<p> -"Everyone is doing his utmost to try my patience this evening," he said -crossly to the Duchessa, as he entered the cabinet; he credited her with -great intelligence, and was furious at her evident refusal to offer him -any advice. She, for her part, was determined to say nothing so long as -she was not asked for her advice <i>quite expressly</i>. Another long half -hour elapsed before the Prince, who had a sense of his own dignity, could -make up his mind to say to her: "But, Signora, you say nothing." -</p> - -<p> -"I am here to serve the Princess, and to forget very quickly what is -said before me." -</p> - -<p> -"Very well, Signora," said the Prince, blushing deeply, "I order you to -give me your opinion." -</p> - -<p> -"One punishes crimes to prevent their recurrence. Was the late Prince -poisoned? That is a very doubtful question. Was he poisoned by the -Jacobins? That is what Rassi would dearly like to prove, for then he -becomes for Your Highness a permanently necessary instrument. In that -case Your Highness, whose reign is just beginning, can promise himself -many evenings like this. Your subjects say on the whole, what is quite -true, that Your Highness has a strain of goodness in his nature; so long -as he has not had any Liberal hanged, he will enjoy that reputation, and -most certainly no one will ever dream of planning to poison him." -</p> - -<p> -"Your conclusion is evident," cried the Princess angrily; "you do not -wish us to punish my husband's assassins!" -</p> - -<p> -"Apparently, Ma'am, because I am bound to them by ties of tender -affection." -</p> - -<p> -The Duchessa could see in the Prince's eyes that he believed her to be -perfectly in accord with his mother as to dictating a plan of action to -him. There followed between the two women a fairly rapid succession of -bitter repartees, at the end of which the Duchessa protested that she -would not utter a single word more, and adhered to her resolution; but -the Prince, after a long discussion with his mother, ordered her once -more to express her opinion. -</p> - -<p> -"That is what I swear to Your Highnesses that I will not do!" -</p> - -<p> -"But this is really childish!" exclaimed the Prince. -</p> - -<p> -"I beg you to speak, Signora Duchessa," said the Princess with an air of -dignity. -</p> - -<p> -"That is what I implore you to excuse me from doing, Ma'am; but Your -Highness," the Duchessa went on, addressing the Prince, "reads French -perfectly: to calm our agitated minds, would he read <i>us</i> a fable by -La Fontaine?" -</p> - -<p> -The Princess thought this "<i>us</i>" extremely insolent, but assumed an -air at once of surprise and of amusement when the Grand Mistress, who had -gone with the utmost coolness to open the bookcase, returned with a -volume of La Fontaine's <i>Fables</i>; she turned the pages for some -moments, then said to the Prince, handing him the book: -</p> - -<p> -"I beg your Highness to read the <i>whole</i> of the fable." -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i2"><i>THE GARDENER AND THE LORD OF THE</i></span><br /> -<span class="i14"><i>MANOR</i><a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">A devotee of gardening there was,</span><br /> -<span class="i0">Between the peasant and the yeoman class,</span><br /> -<span class="i0">Who on the outskirts of a certain village</span><br /> -<span class="i0">Owned a neat garden with a bit of tillage.</span><br /> -<span class="i0">He made a quickset hedge to fence it in,</span><br /> -<span class="i0">And there grew lettuce, pink and jessamine,</span><br /> -<span class="i0">Such as win prizes at the local show,</span><br /> -<span class="i0">Or make a birthday bouquet for Margot.</span><br /> -<span class="i2">One day he called upon the neighbouring Squire</span><br /> -<span class="i0">To ask his help with a marauding hare.</span><br /> -<span class="i0">"The brute," says he, "comes guzzling everywhere,</span><br /> -<span class="i0">And simply laughs at all my traps and wire.</span><br /> -<span class="i0">No stick or stone will hit him—I declare</span><br /> -<span class="i0">He's a magician." "Rubbish! I don't care</span><br /> -<span class="i0">If he's the Deuce himself," replied the other,</span><br /> -<span class="i0">"I warrant he shan't give you much more bother.</span><br /> -<span class="i0">Miraut, in spite of all his cunning,</span><br /> -<span class="i0">Won't take much time to get him running."</span><br /> -<span class="i0">"But when?" "To-morrow, sure as here I stand."</span><br /> -<span class="i2">Next morning he rides up with all his band.</span><br /> -<span class="i0">"Now then, we'll lunch! Those chickens don't look bad.</span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i10">* * * *</span><br /> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i2">The luncheon over, all was preparation,</span><br /> -<span class="i0">Bustle and buzz and animation,</span><br /> -<span class="i0">Horns blowing, hounds barking, such a hullabaloo,</span><br /> -<span class="i0">The good man feared the worst. His fear came true!</span><br /> -<span class="i0">The kitchen-garden was a total wreck</span><br /> -<span class="i0">Under the trampling, not a speck</span><br /> -<span class="i0">Of pot or frame survived. Good-bye</span><br /> -<span class="i0">To onion, leek, and chicory,</span><br /> -<span class="i0">Good-bye to marrows and their bravery,</span><br /> -<span class="i0">Good-bye to all that makes soup savoury!</span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i10">* * * *</span><br /> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i2">The wretched owner saw no sense</span><br /> -<span class="i0">In this grand style of doing things;</span><br /> -<span class="i0">But no one marked his mutterings.</span><br /> -<span class="i0">The hounds and riders in a single trice</span><br /> -<span class="i0">Had wrought more havoc in his paradise</span><br /> -<span class="i0">Than all the hares in the vicinity</span><br /> -<span class="i0">Could have achieved throughout infinity.</span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">So far the story—now the moral:</span><br /> -<span class="i0">Each petty Prince should settle his own quarrel.</span><br /> -<span class="i0">If once he gets a King for an ally,</span><br /> -<span class="i0">He's certain to regret it by and by.</span> -</div></div></div> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -This reading was followed by a long silence. The Prince paced up and -down the cabinet, after going himself to put the volume back in its -place. -</p> - -<p> -"Well, Signora," said the Princess, "will you deign to speak?" -</p> - -<p> -"No, indeed, Ma'am, until such time as His Highness shall appoint me his -Minister; by speaking here, I should run the risk of losing my place as -Grand Mistress." -</p> - -<p> -A fresh silence, lasting a full quarter of an hour; finally the Princess -remembered the part that had been played in the past by Marie de' -Medici, the mother of Louis XIII: for the last few days the Grand -Mistress had made the <i>lettrice</i> read aloud the excellent <i>History -of Louis XIII</i>, by M. Bazin. The Princess, although greatly annoyed, -thought that the Duchessa might easily leave the country, and then -Rassi, who filled her with mortal terror, might quite well imitate -Richelieu and have her banished by her son. At this moment the Princess -would have given everything in the world to humiliate her Grand -Mistress; but she could not. She rose, and came, with a smile that was -slightly exaggerated, to take the Duchessa's hand and say to her: -</p> - -<p> -"Come, Signora, give me a proof of your friendship by speaking." -</p> - -<p> -"Very well! Two words, and no more: burn, in the grate there, all the -papers collected by that viper Rassi, and never reveal to him that they -have been burned." -</p> - -<p> -She added in a whisper, and in a familiar tone, in the Princess's ear: -</p> - -<p> -"Rassi may become Richelieu!" -</p> - -<p> -"But, damn it, those papers are costing me more than 80,000 francs!" the -Prince exclaimed angrily. -</p> - -<p> -"Prince," replied the Duchessa with emphasis, "that is what it costs to -employ scoundrels of low birth. Would to God you could lose a million -and never put your trust in the base rascals who kept your father from -sleeping during the last six years of his reign." -</p> - -<p> -The words <i>low birth</i> had greatly delighted the Princess, who felt -that the Conte and his friend had too exclusive a regard for brains, always -slightly akin to Jacobinism. -</p> - -<p> -During the short interval of profound silence, filled by the Princess's -reflexions, the castle clock struck three. The Princess rose, made a -profound reverence to her son, and said to him: "My health does not -allow me to prolong the discussion further. Never have a Minister of -<i>low birth</i>; you will not disabuse me of the idea that your Rassi has -stolen half the money he has made you spend on spies." The Princess took -two candles from the brackets and put them in the fireplace in such a -way that they should not blow out; then, going up to her son, she added: -"La Fontaine's fable prevails, in my mind, over the lawful desire to -avenge a husband. Will Your Highness permit me to burn <i>these -writings</i>?" The Prince remained motionless. -</p> - -<p> -"His face is really stupid," the Duchessa said to herself; "the Conte is -right: the late Prince would not have kept us out of our beds until -three o'clock in the morning, before making up his mind." -</p> - -<p> -The Princess, still standing, went on: -</p> - -<p> -"That little attorney would be very proud, if he knew that his papers -stuffed with lies, and arranged so as to secure his own advancement, had -occupied the two greatest personages in the State for a whole night." -</p> - -<p> -The Prince dashed at one of the portfolios like a madman, and emptied -its contents into the fireplace. The mass of papers nearly extinguished -the two candles; the room filled with smoke. The Princess saw in her -son's eyes that he was tempted to seize a jug of water and save these -papers, which were costing him eighty thousand francs. -</p> - -<p> -"Open the window!" she cried angrily to the Duchessa. The Duchessa made -haste to obey; at once all the papers took light together; there was a -great roar in the chimney, and it soon became evident that it was on -fire. -</p> - -<p> -The Prince had a petty nature in all matters of money; he thought he saw -his Palace in flames, and all the treasures that it contained destroyed; -he ran to the window and called the guard in a voice completely altered. -The soldiers in a tumult rushed into the courtyard at the sound of the -Prince's voice, he returned to the fireplace which was sucking in the -air from the open window with a really alarming sound; he grew -impatient, swore, took two or three turns up and down the room like a -man out of his mind, and finally ran out. -</p> - -<p> -The Princess and the Grand Mistress remained standing, face to face, and -preserving a profound silence. -</p> - -<p> -"Is the storm going to begin again?" the Duchessa asked herself; "upon -my word, my cause is won." And she was preparing to be highly -impertinent in her replies, when a sudden thought came to her; she saw -the second portfolio intact. "No, my cause is only half won!" She said -to the Princess, in a distinctly cold tone: -</p> - -<p> -"Does Ma'am order me to burn the rest of these papers?" -</p> - -<p> -"And where will you burn them?" asked the Princess angrily. -</p> - -<p> -"In the drawing-room fire; if I throw them in one after another, there -is no danger." -</p> - -<p> -The Duchessa put under her arm the portfolio bursting with papers, took -a candle and went into the next room. She looked first to see that the -portfolio was that which contained the depositions, put in her shawl -five or six bundles of papers, burned the rest with great care, then -disappeared without taking leave of the Princess. -</p> - -<p> -"There is a fine piece of impertinence," she said to herself, with a -laugh, "but her affectations of inconsolable widowhood came very near to -making me lose my head on a scaffold." -</p> - -<p> -On hearing the sound of the Duchessa's carriage, the Princess was beside -herself with rage at her Grand Mistress. -</p> - -<p> -In spite of the lateness of the hour, the Duchessa sent for the Conte; -he was at the fire at the Castle, but soon appeared with the news that -it was all over. "That little Prince has really shewn great courage, and -I have complimented him on it effusively." -</p> - -<p> -"Examine these depositions quickly, and let us burn them as soon as -possible." -</p> - -<p> -The Conte read them, and turned pale. -</p> - -<p> -"Upon my soul, they have come very near the truth; their procedure has -been very cleverly managed, they are positively on the track of Ferrante -Palla; and, if he speaks, we have a difficult part to play." -</p> - -<p> -"But he will not speak," cried the Duchessa; "he is a man of honour: -burn them, burn them." -</p> - -<p> -"Not yet. Allow me to take down the names of a dozen or fifteen -dangerous witnesses, whom I shall take the liberty of removing, if Rassi -ever thinks of beginning again." -</p> - -<p> -"I may remind Your Excellency that the Prince has given his word to say -nothing to his Minister of Justice of our midnight escapade." -</p> - -<p> -"From cowardice and fear of a scene he will keep it." -</p> - -<p> -"Now, my friend, this is a night that has greatly hastened our marriage; -I should not have wished to bring you as my portion a criminal trial, -still less for a sin which I was led to commit by my interest in another -man." -</p> - -<p> -The Conte was in love; he took her hand with an exclamation; tears stood -in his eyes. -</p> - -<p> -"Before you go, give me some advice as to the way I ought to behave with -the Princess; I am utterly worn out, I have been play-acting for an hour -on the stage and for five in her cabinet." -</p> - -<p> -"You have avenged yourself quite sufficiently for the Princess's sour -speeches, which were due only to weakness, by the impertinence with -which you left her. Address her to-morrow in the tone you used this -morning; Rassi is not yet in prison or in exile, and we have not yet -torn up Fabrizio's sentence. -</p> - -<p> -"You were asking the Princess to come to a decision, which is a thing -that always annoys Princes and even Prime Ministers; also you are her -Grand Mistress, that is to say her little servant. By a reversion which -is inevitable in weak people, in three days Rassi will be more in favour -than ever; he will try to have someone hanged: so long as he has not -compromised the Prince, he is sure of nothing. -</p> - -<p> -"There has been a man injured in to-night's fire; he is a tailor, who, -upon my word, shewed an extraordinary intrepidity. To-morrow I am going -to ask the Prince to take my arm and come with me to pay the tailor a -visit; I shall be armed to the teeth and shall keep a sharp look-out; -but anyhow, this young Prince is not hated at all as yet. I wish to make -him accustomed to walking in the streets, it is a trick I am playing on -Rassi, who is certainly going to succeed me, and will not be able to -allow such imprudences. On our way back from the tailor's, I shall take -the Prince past his father's statue; he will notice the marks of the -stones which have broken the Roman toga in which the idiot of a sculptor -dressed it up; and, in short, he will have to be a great fool if he does -not on his own initiative make the comment: 'This is what one gains by -having Jacobins hanged.' To which I shall reply: 'You must hang either -ten thousand or none at all: the Saint-Bartholomew destroyed the -Protestants in France.' -</p> - -<p> -"To-morrow, dear friend, before this excursion, send your name in to the -Prince, and say to him: 'Yesterday evening, I performed the duties of a -Minister to you, and, by your orders, have incurred the Princess's -displeasure. You will have to pay me.' He will expect a demand for -money, and will knit his brows; you will leave him plunged in this -unhappy thought for as long as you can; then you will say: 'I beg Your -Highness to order that Fabrizio be tried in <i>contradittorio</i>' (which -means, in his presence) 'by the twelve most respected judges in your -States.' <i>And</i>, without losing any time, you will present for his -signature a little order written out by your own fair hand, which I am -going to dictate to you; I shall of course include the clause that the -former sentence is quashed. To this there is only one objection; but, if -you press the matter warmly, it will not occur to the Prince's mind. He -may say to you: 'Fabrizio must first make himself a prisoner in the -citadel.' To which you will reply: 'He will make himself a prisoner in -the town prison' (you know that I am the master there; every evening -your nephew will come to see us). If the Prince answers: 'No, his escape -has tarnished the honour of my citadel, and I desire, for form's sake, -that he return to the cell in which he was'; you in turn will reply: -'No, for there he would be at the disposal of my enemy Rassi;' and, in -one of those feminine sentences which you utter so effectively, you will -give him to understand that, to make Rassi yield, you have only to tell -him of to-night's <i>auto-da-fè</i>; if he insists, you will announce that -you are going to spend a fortnight at your place at Sacca. -</p> - -<p> -"You will send for Fabrizio, and consult him as to this step which may -land him in prison. If, to anticipate everything while he is under lock -and key, Rassi should grow too impatient and have me poisoned, Fabrizio -may run a certain risk. But that is hardly probable; you know that I -have imported a French cook, who is the merriest of men, and makes puns; -well, punning is incompatible with poison. I have already told our -friend Fabrizio that I have managed to find all the witnesses of his -fine and courageous action; it was evidently that fellow Giletti who -tried to murder him. I have not spoken to you of these witnesses, -because I wished to give you a surprise, but the plan has failed; the -Prince refused to sign. I have told our friend Fabrizio that certainly I -should procure him a high ecclesiastical dignity; but I shall have great -difficulty if his enemies can raise the objection in the Roman Curia of -a charge of murder. -</p> - -<p> -"Do you realise, Signora, that, if he is not tried and judged in the -most solemn fashion, all his life long the name of Giletti will be a -reproach to him? It would be a great act of cowardice not to have -oneself tried, when one is sure of one's innocence. Besides, even if he -were guilty, I should make them acquit him. When I spoke to him, the -fiery youngster would not allow me to finish, he picked up the official -almanac, and we went through it together choosing the twelve most -upright and learned judges; when we had made the list, we cancelled six -names for which we substituted those of six counsel, my personal -enemies, and, as we could find only two enemies, we filled up the gaps -with four rascals who are devoted to Rassi." -</p> - -<p> -This proposal filled the Duchessa with a mortal anxiety, and not without -cause; at length she yielded to reason, and, at the Minister's -dictation, wrote out the order appointing the judges. -</p> - -<p> -The Conte did not leave her until six o'clock in the morning; she -endeavoured to sleep, but in vain. At nine o'clock, she took breakfast -with Fabrizio, whom she found burning with a desire to be tried; at ten, -she waited on the Princess, who was not visible; at eleven, she saw the -Prince, who was holding his levee, and signed the order without the -slightest objection. The Duchessa sent the order to the Conte, and -retired to bed. -</p> - -<p> -It would be pleasant perhaps to relate Rassi's fury when the Conte -obliged him to countersign, in the Prince's presence, the order signed -that morning by the Prince himself; but we must go on with our story. -</p> - -<p> -The Conte discussed the merits of each judge, and offered to change the -names. But the reader is perhaps a little tired of all these details of -procedure, no less than of all these court intrigues. From the whole -business one can derive this moral, that the man who mingles with a -court compromises his happiness, if he is happy, and, in any event, -makes his future depend on the intrigues of a chambermaid. -</p> - -<p> -On the other hand in America, in the Republic, one has to spend the -whole weary day paying serious court to the shopkeepers in the street, -and must become as stupid as they are; and there, one has no Opera. -</p> - -<p> -The Duchessa, when she rose in the evening, had a moment of keen -anxiety: Fabrizio was not to be found; finally, towards midnight, during -the performance at court, she received a letter from him. Instead of -making himself a prisoner <i>in the town prison</i>, where the Conte was in -control, he had gone back to occupy his old cell in the citadel, only -too happy to be living within a few feet of Clelia. -</p> - -<p> -This was an event of vast consequence: in this place he was exposed to -the risk of poison more than ever. This act of folly filled the Duchessa -with despair; she forgave the cause of it, a mad love for Clelia, -because unquestionably in a few days' time that young lady was going to -marry the rich Marchese Crescenzi. This folly restored to Fabrizio all -the influence he had originally enjoyed over the Duchessa's heart. -</p> - -<p> -"It is that cursed paper which I went and made the Prince sign that will -be his death! What fools men are with their ideas of honour! As if one -needed to think of honour under absolute governments, in countries where -a Rassi is Minister of Justice! He ought to have accepted the pardon -outright, which the Prince would have signed just as readily as the -order convening this extraordinary tribunal. What does it matter, after -all, that a man of Fabrizio's birth should be more or less accused of -having himself, sword in hand, killed an actor like Giletti?" -</p> - -<p> -No sooner had she received Fabrizio's note than the Duchessa ran to the -Conte, whom she found deadly pale. -</p> - -<p> -"Great God! Dear friend, I am most unlucky in handling that boy, and you -will be vexed with me again. I can prove to you that I made the gaoler -of the town prison come here yesterday evening; every day your nephew -would have come to take tea with you. What is so terrible is that it is -impossible for you and me to say to the Prince that there is fear of -poison, and of poison administered by Rassi; the suspicion would seem to -him the height of immorality. However, if you insist, I am ready to go -up to the Palace; but I am certain of the answer. I am going to say -more; I offer you a stratagem which I would not employ for myself. Since -I have been in power in this country, I have not caused the death of a -single man, and you know that I am so sensitive in that respect that -sometimes, at the close of day, I still think of those two spies whom I -had shot, rather too light-heartedly, in Spain. Very well, do you wish -me to get rid of Rassi? The danger in which he is placing Fabrizio is -unbounded; he has there a sure way of sending me packing." -</p> - -<p> -This proposal pleased the Duchessa extremely, but she did not adopt it. -</p> - -<p> -"I do not wish," she said to the Conte, "that in our retirement, beneath -the beautiful sky of Naples, you should have dark thoughts in the -evenings." -</p> - -<p> -"But, dear friend, it seems to me that we have only the choice between -one dark thought and another. What will you do, what will I do myself, -if Fabrizio is carried off by an illness?" -</p> - -<p> -The discussion returned to dwell upon this idea, and the Duchessa ended -it with this speech: -</p> - -<p> -"Rassi owes his life to the fact that I love you more than Fabrizio; no, -I do not wish to poison all the evenings of the old age which we are -going to spend together." -</p> - -<p> -The Duchessa hastened to the fortress; General Fabio Conti was delighted -at having to stop her with the strict letter of the military -regulations: no one might enter a state prison without an order signed -by the Prince. -</p> - -<p> -"But the Marchese Crescenzi and his musicians come every day to the -citadel?" -</p> - -<p> -"Because I obtained an order for them from the Prince." -</p> - -<p> -The poor Duchessa did not know the full tale of her troubles. General -Fabio Conti had regarded himself as personally dishonoured by Fabrizio's -escape: when he saw him arrive at the citadel, he ought not to have -admitted him, for he had no order to that effect. "But," he said to -himself, "it is Heaven that is sending him to me to restore my honour, -and to save me from the ridicule which would assail my military career. -This opportunity must not be missed: doubtless they are going to acquit -him, and I have only a few days for my revenge." -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="nind"><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a>For this translation of La Fontaine's fable I am indebted -to my friend Mr. Edward Marsh, who allows me to reprint the lines from -his <i>Forty-two Fables of La Fontaine</i> (William Heinemann, Ltd., 1924).</p> - -<p class="nind">C. K. S. M.</p></div> - - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h4><a id="CHAPTER_TWENTY-FIVE">CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE</a></h4> - -<p> -The arrival of our hero threw Clelia into despair: the poor girl, pious -and sincere with herself, could not avoid the reflexion that there would -never be any happiness for her apart from Fabrizio; but she had made a -vow to the Madonna, at the time when her father was nearly poisoned, -that she would offer him the sacrifice of marrying the Marchese -Crescenzi. She had made the vow that she would never see Fabrizio, and -already she was a prey to the most fearful remorse over the admission -she had been led to make in the letter she had written Fabrizio on the -eve of his escape. How is one to depict what occurred in that sorrowful -heart when, occupied in a melancholy way with watching her birds flit to -and fro, and raising her eyes from habit, and with affection, towards -the window from which formerly Fabrizio used to look at her, she saw him -there once again, greeting her with tender respect. -</p> - -<p> -She imagined it to be a vision which Heaven had allowed for her -punishment; then the atrocious reality became apparent to her reason. -"They have caught him again," she said to herself, "and he is lost!" She -remembered the things that had been said in the fortress after the -escape; the humblest of the gaolers regarded themselves as mortally -insulted. Clelia looked at Fabrizio, and in spite of herself that look -portrayed in full the passion that had thrown her into despair. -</p> - -<p> -"Do you suppose," she seemed to be saying to Fabrizio, "that I shall -find happiness in that sumptuous palace which they are making ready for -me? My father repeats to me till I am weary that you are as poor as -ourselves; but, great God, with what joy would I share that poverty! -But, alas, we must never see one another again!" -</p> - -<p> -Clelia had not the strength to make use of the alphabets: as she looked -at Fabrizio she felt faint and sank upon a chair that stood beside the -window. Her head rested upon the ledge of this window, and as she had -been anxious to see him until the last moment, her face was turned -towards Fabrizio, who had a perfect view of it. When, after a few -moments, she opened her eyes again, her first glance was at Fabrizio: -she saw tears in his eyes, but those tears were the effect of extreme -happiness; he saw that absence had by no means made him forgotten. The -two poor young things remained for some time as though spell-bound by -the sight of each other. Fabrizio ventured to sing, as if he were -accompanying himself on the guitar, a few improvised lines which said: -"<i>It is to see you again</i> that I have returned to prison; <i>they are -going to try me</i>." -</p> - -<p> -These words seemed to awaken all Clelia's dormant virtue: she rose -swiftly, and hid her eyes; and, by the most vivid gestures, sought to -express to him that she must never see him again; she had promised this -to the Madonna, and had looked at him just now in a moment of -forgetfulness. Fabrizio venturing once more to express his love, Clelia -fled from the room indignant, and swearing to herself that never would -she see him again, for such were the precise words of her vow to the -Madonna: "<i>My eyes shall never see him again.</i>" She had written them -on a little slip of paper which her uncle Don Cesare had allowed her to -burn upon the altar at the moment of the oblation, while he was saying -mass. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>HONOUR</i></h5> - -<p> -But, oaths or no oaths, Fabrizio's presence in the Torre Farnese had -restored to Clelia all her old habits and activities. Normally she -passed all her days in solitude, in her room. No sooner had she -recovered from the unforeseen disturbance in which the sight of Fabrizio -had plunged her, than she began to wander through the <i>palazzo</i>, and, -so to speak, to renew her acquaintance with all her humble friends. A very -loquacious old woman, employed in the kitchen, said to her with an air -of mystery: "This time, Signor Fabrizio will not leave the citadel." -</p> - -<p> -"He will not make the mistake of going over the walls again," said -Clelia, "but he will leave by the door if he is acquitted." -</p> - -<p> -"I say, and I can assure Your Excellency that he will go out of the -citadel feet first." -</p> - -<p> -Clelia turned extremely pale, a change which was remarked by the old -woman and stopped the flow of her eloquence. She said to herself that -she had been guilty of an imprudence in speaking thus before the -governor's daughter, whose duty it would be to tell everybody that -Fabrizio had died a natural death. As she went up to her room, Clelia -met the prison doctor, an honest sort of man but timid, who told her -with a terrified air that Fabrizio was seriously ill. Clelia could -hardly keep on her feet; she sought everywhere for her uncle, the good -Don Cesare, and at length found him in the chapel, where he was praying -fervently: from his face he appeared upset. The dinner bell rang. At -table, not a word was exchanged between the brothers; only, towards the -end of the meal, the General addressed a few very harsh words to his -brother. The latter looked at the servants, who left the room. -</p> - -<p> -"General," said Don Cesare to the governor, "I have the honour to inform -you that I am leaving the citadel: I give you my resignation." -</p> - -<p> -"<i>Bravo! Bravissimo!</i> So that I shall be suspect! . . . And your -reason, if you please?" -</p> - -<p> -"My conscience." -</p> - -<p> -"Go on, you're only a frock! You know nothing about honour." -</p> - -<p> -"Fabrizio is dead," thought Clelia; "they have poisoned him at dinner, -or it is arranged for to-morrow." She ran to the aviary, resolved to -sing, accompanying herself on the piano. "I shall go to confession," she -said to herself, "and I shall be forgiven for having broken my vow to -save a man's life." What was her consternation when, on reaching the -aviary, she saw that the screens had been replaced by planks fastened to -the iron bars. In desperation she tried to give the prisoner a warning -in a few words shouted rather than sung. There was no response of any -sort: a deathly silence already reigned in the Torre Farnese. "It is all -over," she said to herself. Beside herself, she went downstairs, then -returned to equip herself with the little money she had and some small -diamond earrings; she took also, on her way out, the bread that remained -from dinner, which had been placed in a sideboard. "If he still lives, -my duty is to save him." She advanced with a haughty air to the little -door of the tower; this door stood open, and eight soldiers had just -been posted in the pillared room on the ground floor. She faced these -soldiers boldly; Clelia counted on speaking to the serjeant who would be -in charge of them: this man was absent. Clelia rushed on to the little -iron staircase which wound in a spiral round one of the pillars; the -soldiers looked at her with great stupefaction but, evidently on account -of her lace shawl and her hat, dared not say anything to her. On the -first landing there was no one; but, when she reached the second, at the -entrance to the corridor which, as the reader may remember, was closed -by three barred gates and led to Fabrizio's cell, she found a turnkey -who was a stranger to her, and said to her with a terrified air: -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>THE TORRE FARNESE</i></h5> - -<p> -"He has not dined yet." -</p> - -<p> -"I know that," said Clelia haughtily. The man dared not stop her. Twenty -paces farther, Clelia found sitting upon the first of the six wooden -steps which led to Fabrizio's cell, another turnkey, elderly and very -cross, who said to her firmly: -</p> - -<p> -"Signorina, have you an order from the governor?" -</p> - -<p> -"Do you mean to say that you do not know me?" -</p> - -<p> -Clelia, at that moment, was animated by a supernatural force, she was -beside herself. "I am going to save my husband," she said to herself. -</p> - -<p> -While the old turnkey was exclaiming: "But my duty does not allow -me. . . ." Clelia hastened up the six steps; she hurled herself against -the door: an enormous key was in the lock; she required all her strength -to make it turn. At that moment, the old turnkey, who was half intoxicated, -seized the hem of her gown, she went quickly into the room, shut the -door behind her, tearing her gown, and, as the turnkey was pushing the -door to follow her, closed it with a bolt which lay to her hand. She -looked into the cell and saw Fabrizio seated at a small table upon which -his dinner was laid. She dashed at the table, overturned it, and, -seizing Fabrizio by the arm, said to him: -</p> - -<p> -"<i>Hai mangiato?</i>" -</p> - -<p> -This use of the singular form delighted Fabrizio. In her confusion, -Clelia forgot for the first time her feminine reserve, and let her love -appear. -</p> - -<p> -Fabrizio had been going to begin the fatal meal; he took her in his arms -and covered her with kisses. "This dinner was poisoned," was his -thought: "if I tell her that I have not touched it, religion regains its -hold, and Clelia flies. If, on the other hand, she regards me as a dying -man, I shall obtain from her a promise not to leave me. She wishes to -find some way of breaking off her abominable marriage and here chance -offers us one: the gaolers will collect, they will break down the door, -and then there will be such a scandal that perhaps the Marchese -Crescenzi will fight shy, and the marriage be broken off." -</p> - -<p> -During the moment of silence occupied by these reflexions Fabrizio felt -that already Clelia was seeking to free herself from his embrace. -</p> - -<p> -"I feel no pain as yet," he said to her, "but presently it will -prostrate me at your feet; help me to die." -</p> - -<p> -"O my only friend!" was her answer, "I will die with thee." She clasped -him in her arms with a convulsive movement. -</p> - -<p> -She was so beautiful, half unclad and in this state of intense passion, -that Fabrizio could not resist an almost unconscious impulse. No -resistance was offered him. -</p> - -<p> -In the enthusiasm of passion and generous instincts which follows an -extreme happiness, he said to her fatuously: -</p> - -<p> -"I must not allow an unworthy falsehood to soil the first moments of our -happiness: but for your courage, I should now be only a corpse, or -writhing in atrocious pain, but I was going to begin my dinner when you -came in, and I have not touched these dishes at all." -</p> - -<p> -Fabrizio dwelt upon these appalling images to conjure away the -indignation which he could already read in Clelia's eyes. She looked at -him for some moments, while two violent and conflicting sentiments -fought within her, then flung herself into his arms. They heard a great -noise in the corridor, the three iron doors were violently opened and -shut, voices shouted. -</p> - -<p> -"Ah! If I had arms!" cried Fabrizio; "they made me give them up before -they would let me in. No doubt they are coming to kill me. Farewell, my -Clelia, I bless my death since it has been the cause of my happiness." -Clelia embraced him and gave him a little dagger with an ivory handle, -the blade of which was scarcely longer than that of a pen-knife. -</p> - -<p> -"Do not let yourself be killed," she said to him, "and defend yourself -to the last moment; if my uncle the Priore hears the noise, he is a man -of courage and virtue, he will save you." So saying she rushed to the -door. -</p> - -<p> -"If you are not killed," she said with exaltation, holding the bolt of -the door in her hand and turning her head towards him, "let yourself die -of hunger rather than touch anything. Carry this bread always on you." -The noise came nearer, Fabrizio seized her round the body, stepped into -her place by the door, and, opening it with fury, dashed down the six -steps of the wooden staircase. He had in his hand the little dagger with -the ivory handle, and was on the point of piercing with it the waistcoat -of General Fontana, Aide-de-Camp to the Prince, who recoiled with great -alacrity, crying in a panic: "But I am coming to save you, Signor del -Dongo." -</p> - -<p> -Fabrizio went up the six steps, called into the cell: "Fontana has come -to save me"; then, returning to the General, on the wooden steps, -discussed matters coldly with him. He begged him at great length to -pardon him a movement of anger. "They wished to poison me; the dinner -that is there on my table is poisoned; I had the sense not to touch it, -but I may admit to you that this procedure has given me a shock. When I -heard you on the stair, I thought that they were coming to finish me off -with their dirks. Signor Generale, I request you to order that no one -shall enter my cell: they would remove the poison, and our good Prince -must know all." -</p> - -<p> -The General, very pale and completely taken aback, passed on the orders -suggested by Fabrizio to the picked body of gaolers who were following -him: these men, greatly dismayed at finding the poison discovered, -hastened downstairs; they went first, ostensibly so as not to delay the -Prince's Aide-de-Camp on the narrow staircase, actually in order to -escape themselves and vanish. To the great surprise of General Fontana, -Fabrizio kept him for fully a quarter of an hour on the little iron -staircase which ran round the pillar of the ground floor; he wished to -give Clelia time to hide on the floor above. -</p> - -<p> -It was the Duchessa who, after various wild attempts, had managed to get -General Fontana sent to the citadel; it was only by chance that she -succeeded. On leaving Conte Mosca, as alarmed as she was herself, she -had hastened to the Palace. The Princess, who had a marked repugnance -for energy, which seemed to her vulgar, thought her mad and did not -appear at all disposed to attempt any unusual measures on her behalf. -The Duchessa, out of her senses, was weeping hot tears, she could do -nothing but repeat, every moment: -</p> - -<p> -"But, Ma'am, in a quarter of an hour Fabrizio will be dead, poisoned." -</p> - -<p> -Seeing the Princess remain perfectly composed, the Duchessa became mad -with grief. She completely overlooked the moral reflexion which would -not have escaped a woman brought up in one of those Northern religions -which allow self-examination: "I was the first to use poison, and I am -perishing by poison." In Italy reflexions of that sort, in moments of -passion, appear in the poorest of taste, as a pun would seem in Paris in -similar circumstances. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>THE CAVALIERE D'ONORE</i></h5> - -<p> -The Duchessa, in desperation, risked going into the drawing-room where -she found the Marchese Crescenzi, who was in waiting that day. On her -return to Parma he had thanked her effusively for the place of -<i>Cavaliere d'onore</i>, to which, but for her, he would never have had -any claim. Protestations of unbounded devotion had not been lacking on his -part. The Duchessa appealed to him in these words: -</p> - -<p> -"Rassi is going to have Fabrizio, who is in the citadel, poisoned. Take -in your pocket some chocolate and a bottle of water which I shall give -you. Go up to the citadel, and save my life by saying to General Fabio -Conti that you will break off your marriage with his daughter if he does -not allow you to give the water and the chocolate to Fabrizio with your -own hands." -</p> - -<p> -The Marchese turned pale, and his features, so far from shewing any -animation at these words, presented a picture of the dullest -embarrassment; he could not believe in the possibility of so shocking a -crime in a town as moral as Parma, and one over which so great a Prince -reigned, and so forth; these platitudes, moreover, he uttered slowly. In -a word, the Duchessa found an honest man, but the weakest imaginable, -and one who could not make up his mind to act. After a score of similar -phrases interrupted by cries of impatience from Signora Sanseverina, he -hit upon an excellent idea: the oath which he had given as <i>Cavaliere -d'onore</i> forbade him to take part in any action against the Government. -</p> - -<p> -Who can conceive the anxiety and despair of the Duchessa, who felt that -time was flying? -</p> - -<p> -"But, at least, see the governor; tell him that I shall pursue -Fabrizio's murderers to hell itself!" -</p> - -<p> -Despair increased the Duchessa's natural eloquence, but all this fire -only made the Marchese more alarmed and doubled his irresolution; at the -end of an hour he was less disposed to act than at the first moment. -</p> - -<p> -This unhappy woman, who had reached the utmost limits of despair and -knew well that the governor would refuse nothing to so rich a -son-in-law, went so far as to fling herself at his feet; at this the -Marchese's pusillanimity seemed to increase still further; he himself, -at the sight of this strange spectacle, was afraid of being compromised -unawares; but a singular thing happened: the Marchese, a good man at -heart, was touched by the tears and by the posture, at his feet, of so -beautiful and, above all, so influential a woman. -</p> - -<p> -"I myself, noble and rich as I am," he said to himself, "will perhaps -one day be at the feet of some Republican!" The Marchese burst into -tears, and finally it was agreed that the Duchessa, in her capacity as -Grand Mistress, should present him to the Princess, who would give him -permission to convey to Fabrizio a little hamper, of the contents of -which he would declare himself to know nothing. -</p> - -<p> -The previous evening, before the Duchessa knew of Fabrizio's act of -folly in going to the citadel, they had played at court a <i>commedia -dell'arte</i>, and the Prince, who always reserved for himself the lover's -part to be played with the Duchessa, had been so passionate in speaking -to her of his affection that he would have been absurd, if, in Italy, an -impassioned man or a Prince could ever be thought so. -</p> - -<p> -The Prince, extremely shy, but always intensely serious in matters of -love, met, in one of the corridors of the Castle, the Duchessa who was -carrying off the Marchese Crescenzi, in great distress, to the Princess. -He was so surprised and dazzled by the beauty, full of emotion, which -her despair gave the Grand Mistress, that for the first time in his life -he shewed character. With a more than imperious gesture he dismissed the -Marchese, and began to make a declaration of love, according to all the -rules, to the Duchessa. The Prince had doubtless prepared this speech -long beforehand, for there were things in it that were quite reasonable. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>ERNESTO V</i></h5> - -<p> -"Since the conventions of my rank forbid me to give myself the supreme -happiness of marrying you, I will swear to you upon the Blessed -Sacrament never to marry without your permission in writing. I am well -aware," he added, "that I am making you forfeit the hand of a Prime -Minister, a clever and extremely amiable man; but after all he is -fifty-six, and I am not yet two-and-twenty. I should consider myself to -be insulting you, and to deserve your refusal if I spoke to you of the -advantages that there are apart from love; but everyone who takes an -interest in money at my court speaks with admiration of the proof of his -love which the Conte gives you, in leaving you the custodian of all that -he possesses. I shall be only too happy to copy him in that respect. You -will make a better use of my fortune than I, and you shall have the -entire disposal of the annual sum which my Ministers hand over to the -Intendant General of my Crown; so that it will be you, Signora Duchessa, -who will decide upon the sums which I may spend each month." The -Duchessa found all these details very long; Fabrizio's dangers pierced -her heart. -</p> - -<p> -"Then you do not know, Prince," she cried, "that at this moment they are -poisoning Fabrizio in your citadel! Save him! I accept everything." -</p> - -<p> -The arrangement of this speech was perfect in its clumsiness. At the -mere mention of poison all the ease, all the good faith which this poor, -moral Prince was putting into the conversation vanished in the twinkling -of an eye; the Duchessa did not notice her tactlessness until it was too -late to remedy it, and her despair was intensified, a thing she had -believed to be impossible. "If I had not spoken of poison," she said to -herself, "he would grant me Fabrizio's freedom. . . . O my dear -Fabrizio," she added, "so it is fated that it is I who must pierce your -heart by my foolishness!" -</p> - -<p> -It took the Duchessa all her time and all her coquetry to get the Prince -back to his talk of passionate love; but even then he remained deeply -offended. It was his mind alone that spoke; his heart had been frozen by -the idea first of all of poison, and then by the other idea, as -displeasing as the first was terrible: "They administer poison in my -States, and without telling me! So Rassi wishes to dishonour me in the -eyes of Europe! And God knows what I shall read next month in the Paris -newspapers!" -</p> - -<p> -Suddenly the heart of this shy young man was silent, his mind arrived at -an idea. -</p> - -<p> -"Dear Duchessa! You know whether I am attached to you. Your terrible -ideas about poison are unfounded, I prefer to think; still, they give me -food for thought, they make me almost forget for an instant the passion -that I feel for you, which is the only passion that I have ever felt in -all my life. I know that I am not attractive; I am only a boy, -hopelessly in love; still, put me to the test." -</p> - -<p> -The Prince grew quite animated in using this language. -</p> - -<p> -"Save Fabrizio, and I accept everything! No doubt I am carried away by -the foolish fears of a mother's heart; but send this moment to fetch -Fabrizio from the citadel, that I may see him. If he is still alive, -send him from the Palace to the town prison, where he can remain for -months on end, if Your Highness requires, until his trial." -</p> - -<p> -The Duchessa saw with despair that the Prince, instead of granting with -a word so simple a request, had turned sombre; he was very red, he -looked at the Duchessa, then lowered his eyes, and his cheeks grew pale. -The idea of poison put forward at the wrong moment, had suggested to him -an idea worthy of his father or of Philip II; but he dared not express -it in words. -</p> - -<p> -"Listen, Signora," he said at length, as though forcing himself to -speak, and in a tone that was by no means gracious, "you look down on me -as a child and, what is more, a creature without graces: very well, I am -going to say something which is horrible, but which has just been -suggested to me by the deep and true passion that I feel for you. If I -believed for one moment in this poison, I should have taken action -already, as in duty bound; but I see in your request only a passionate -fancy, and one of which, I beg leave to state, I do not see all the -consequences. You desire that I should act without consulting my -Ministers, I who have been reigning for barely three months! You ask of -me a great exception to my ordinary mode of action, which I regard as -highly reasonable. It is you, Signora, who are here and now the Absolute -Sovereign, you give me reason to hope in a matter which is everything to -me; but, in an hour's time, when this imaginary poison, when this -nightmare has vanished, my presence will become an annoyance to you, I -shall forfeit your favour, Signora. Very well, I require an oath: swear -to me, Signora, that if Fabrizio is restored to you safe and sound I -shall obtain from you, in three months from now, all that my love can -desire; you will assure the happiness of my entire life by placing at my -disposal an hour of your own, and you will be wholly mine." -</p> - -<p> -At that moment, the Castle clock struck two. "Ah! It is too late, -perhaps," thought the Duchessa. -</p> - -<p> -"I swear it," she cried, with a wild look in her eyes. -</p> - -<p> -At once the Prince became another man; he ran to the far end of the -gallery, where the Aide-de-Camp's room was. -</p> - -<p> -"General Fontana, dash off to the citadel this instant, go up as quickly -as possible to the room in which they have put Signor del Dongo, and -bring him to me; I must speak to him within twenty minutes, fifteen if -possible." -</p> - -<p> -"Ah, General," cried the Duchessa, who had followed the Prince, "one -minute may decide my life. A report which is doubtless false makes me -fear poison for Fabrizio: shout to him, as soon as you are within -earshot, not to eat. If he has touched his dinner, make him swallow an -emetic, tell him that it is I who wish it, employ force if necessary; -tell him that I am following close behind you, and I shall be obliged to -you all my life." -</p> - -<p> -"Signora Duchessa, my horse is saddled, I am generally considered a -pretty good horseman, and I shall ride hell for leather; I shall be at -the citadel eight minutes before you." -</p> - -<p> -"And I, Signora Duchessa," cried the Prince, "I ask of you four of those -eight minutes." -</p> - -<p> -The Aide-de-Camp had vanished, he was a man who had no other merit than -that of his horsemanship. No sooner had he shut the door than the young -Prince, who seemed to have acquired some character, seized the -Duchessa's hand. -</p> - -<p> -"Condescend, Signora," he said to her with passion, "to come with me to -the chapel." The Duchessa, at a loss for the first time in her life, -followed him without uttering a word. The Prince and she passed rapidly -down the whole length of the great gallery of the Palace, the chapel -being at the other end. On entering the chapel, the Prince fell on his -knees, almost as much before the Duchessa as before the altar. -</p> - -<p> -"Repeat the oath," he said with passion: "if you had been fair, if the -wretched fact of my being a Prince had not been against me, you would -have granted me out of pity for my love what you now owe me because you -have sworn it." -</p> - -<p> -"If I see Fabrizio again not poisoned, if he is alive in a week from -now, if His Highness will appoint him Coadjutor with eventual succession -to Archbishop Landriani, my honour, my womanly dignity, everything shall -be trampled under foot, and I will give myself to His Highness." -</p> - -<p> -"But, <i>dear friend</i>," said the Prince with a blend of timid anxiety -and affection which was quite pleasing, "I am afraid of some ambush which -I do not understand, and which might destroy my happiness; that would kill -me. If the Archbishop opposes me with one of those ecclesiastical -reasons which keep things dragging on for year after year, what will -become of me? You see that I am behaving towards you with entire good -faith; are you going to be a little Jesuit with me?" -</p> - -<p> -"No: in good faith, if Fabrizio is saved, if, so far as lies in your -power, you make him Coadjutor and a future Archbishop, I dishonour -myself and I am yours." -</p> - -<p> -"Your Highness undertakes to write <i>approved</i> on the margin of a -request which His Grace the Archbishop will present to you in a week -from now." -</p> - -<p> -"I will sign you a blank sheet; reign over me and over my States," cried -the Prince, colouring with happiness and really beside himself. He -demanded a second oath. He was so deeply moved that he forgot the -shyness that came so naturally to him, and, in this Palace chapel in -which they were alone, murmured in an undertone to the Duchessa things -which, uttered three days earlier, would have altered the opinion that -she held of him. But in her the despair which Fabrizio's danger had -caused her had given place to horror at the promise which had been wrung -from her. -</p> - -<p> -The Duchessa was completely upset by what she had just done. If she did -not yet feel all the fearful bitterness of the word she had given, it -was because her attention was occupied in wondering whether General -Fontana would be able to reach the citadel in time. -</p> - -<p> -To free herself from the madly amorous speeches of this boy, and to -change the topic of conversation, she praised a famous picture by the -Parmigianino, which hung over the high altar of the chapel. -</p> - -<p> -"Be so good as to permit me to send it to you," said the Prince. -</p> - -<p> -"I accept," replied the Duchessa; "but allow me to go and meet -Fabrizio." -</p> - -<p> -With a distracted air she told her coachman to put his horses into a -gallop. On the bridge over the moat of the citadel she met General -Fontana and Fabrizio, who were coming out on foot. -</p> - -<p> -"Have you eaten?" -</p> - -<p> -"No, by a miracle." -</p> - -<p> -The Duchessa flung her arms round Fabrizio's neck and fell in a faint -which lasted for an hour, and gave fears first for her life and -afterwards for her reason. -</p> - -<p> -The governor Fabio Conti had turned white with rage at the sight of -General Fontana: he had been so slow in obeying the Prince's orders that -the Aide-de-Camp, who supposed that the Duchessa was going to occupy the -position of reigning mistress, had ended by losing his temper. The -governor reckoned upon making Fabrizio's illness last for two or three -days, and "now," he said to himself, "the General, a man from the court, -will find that insolent fellow writhing in the agony which is my revenge -for his escape." -</p> - -<p> -Fabio Conti, lost in thought, stopped in the guard-room on the ground -floor of the Torre Farnese, from which he hastily dismissed the -soldiers: he did not wish to have any witnesses of the scene which was -about to be played. Five minutes later he was petrified with -astonishment on hearing Fabrizio's voice, on seeing him, alive and -alert, giving General Fontana an account of his imprisonment. He -vanished. -</p> - -<p> -Fabrizio shewed himself a perfect "gentleman" in his interview with the -Prince. For one thing, he did not wish to assume the air of a boy who -takes fright at nothing. The Prince asked him kindly how he felt: "Like -a man, Serene Highness, who is dying of hunger, having fortunately -neither broken my fast nor dined." After having had the honour to thank -the Prince, he requested permission to visit the Archbishop before -surrendering himself at the town prison. The Prince had turned -prodigiously pale, when his boyish head had been penetrated by the idea -that this poison was not altogether a chimaera of the Duchessa's -imagination. Absorbed in this cruel thought, he did not at first reply -to the request to see the Archbishop which Fabrizio addressed to him; -then he felt himself obliged to atone for his distraction by a profusion -of graciousness. -</p> - -<p> -"Go out alone, Signore, walk through the streets of my capital -unguarded. About ten or eleven o'clock you will return to prison, where -I hope that you will not long remain." -</p> - -<p> -On the morrow of this great day, the most remarkable of his life, the -Prince fancied himself a little Napoleon; he had read that great -man had been kindly treated by several of the beauties of his court. -Once established as a Napoleon in love, he remembered that he had been -one also under fire. His heart was still quite enraptured by the -firmness of his conduct with the Duchessa. The consciousness of having -done something difficult made him another man altogether for a -fortnight; he became susceptible to generous considerations; he had some -character. -</p> - -<p> -He began this day by burning the patent of Conte made out in favour of -Rassi, which had been lying on his desk for a month. He degraded General -Fabio Conti, and called upon Colonel Lange, his successor, for the truth -as to the poison. Lange, a gallant Polish officer, intimidated the -gaolers, and reported that there had been a design to poison Signor del -Dongo's breakfast; but too many people would have had to be taken into -confidence. Arrangements to deal with his dinner were more successful; -and, but for the arrival of General Fontana, Signor del Dongo was a dead -man. The Prince was dismayed; but, as he was really in love, it was a -consolation for him to be able to say to himself: "It appears that I -really did save Signor del Dongo's life, and the Duchessa will never -dare fail to keep the word she has given me." Another idea struck him: -"My business is a great deal more difficult than I thought; everyone is -agreed that the Duchessa is a woman of infinite cleverness, here my -policy and my heart go together. It would be divine for me if she would -consent to be my Prime Minister." -</p> - -<p> -That evening, the Prince was so infuriated by the horrors that he had -discovered that he would not take part in the play. -</p> - -<p> -"I should be more than happy," he said to the Duchessa, "if you would -reign over my States as you reign over my heart. To begin with, I am -going to tell you how I have spent my day." He then told her everything, -very exactly: the burning of Conte Rassi's patent, the appointment of -Lange, his report on the poisoning, and so forth. "I find that I have -very little experience for ruling. The Conte humiliates me by his jokes. -He makes jokes even at the Council; and, in society, he says things the -truth of which you are going to disprove; he says that I am a boy whom -he leads wherever he chooses. Though one is a Prince, Signora, one is -none the less a man, and these things annoy one. In order to give an air -of improbability to the stories which Signor Mosca may repeat, they have -made me summon to the Ministry that dangerous scoundrel Rassi, and now -there is that General Conti who believes him to be still so powerful -that he dare not admit that it was he or the Raversi who ordered him to -destroy your nephew; I have a good mind simply to send General Fabio -Conti before the court; the judges will see whether he is guilty of -attempted poisoning." -</p> - -<p> -"But, Prince, have you judges?" -</p> - -<p> -"What!" said the Prince in astonishment. -</p> - -<p> -"You have certain learned counsel who walk the streets with a solemn -air; apart from that they always give the judgment that will please the -dominant party at your court." -</p> - -<p> -While the young Prince, now scandalised, uttered expressions which -shewed his candour far more than his sagacity, the Duchessa was saying -to herself: -</p> - -<p> -"Does it really suit me to let Conti be disgraced? No, certainly not; -for then his daughter's marriage with that honest simpleton the Marchese -Crescenzi becomes impossible." -</p> - -<p> -On this topic there was an endless discussion between the Duchessa and -the Prince. The Prince was dazed with admiration. In consideration of -the marriage of Clelia Conti to the Marchese Crescenzi, but on that -express condition, which he laid down in an angry scene with the -ex-governor, the Prince pardoned his attempt to poison; but, on the -Duchessa's advice, banished him until the date of his daughter's -marriage. The Duchessa imagined that it was no longer love that she felt -for Fabrizio, but she was still passionately anxious for the marriage of -Clelia Conti to the Marchese; there lay in that the vague hope that -gradually she might see Fabrizio's preoccupation disappear. -</p> - -<p> -The Prince, rapturously happy, wished that same evening publicly to -disgrace the Minister Rassi. The Duchessa said to him with a laugh: -</p> - -<p> -"Do you know a saying of Napoleon? A man placed in an exalted position, -with the eyes of the whole world on him, ought never to allow himself to -make violent movements. But this evening it is too late, let us leave -business till to-morrow." -</p> - -<p> -She wished to give herself time to consult the Conte, to whom she -repeated very accurately the whole of the evening's conversation, -suppressing however the frequent allusions to a promise which was -poisoning her life. The Duchessa hoped to make herself so indispensable -that she would be able to obtain an indefinite adjournment by saying to -the Prince: "If you have the barbarity to insist upon subjecting me to -that humiliation, which I will never forgive you, I leave your States -the day after." -</p> - -<p> -Consulted by the Duchessa as to the fate of Rassi, the Conte shewed -himself most philosophic. General Fabio Conti and he went for a tour of -Piedmont. -</p> - -<p> -A singular difficulty arose in the trial of Fabrizio: the judges wished -to acquit him by acclamation, and at the first sitting of the court. The -Conte was obliged to use threats to enforce that the trial should last -for at least a week, and the judges take the trouble to hear all the -witnesses. "These fellows are always the same," he said to himself. -</p> - -<p> -The day after his acquittal, Fabrizio del Dongo at last took possession -of the place of Grand Vicar to the worthy Archbishop Landriani. On the -same day the Prince signed the dispatches necessary to obtain Fabrizio's -nomination as Coadjutor with eventual succession, and less than two -months afterwards he was installed in that office. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>THE VOW</i></h5> - -<p> -Everyone complimented the Duchessa on her nephew's air of gravity; the -fact was that he was in despair. The day after his deliverance, followed -by the dismissal and banishment of General Fabio Conti and the -Duchessa's arrival in high favour, Clelia had taken refuge with Contessa -Contarini, her aunt, a woman of great wealth and great age, occupied -exclusively in looking after her health. Clelia could, had she wished, -have seen Fabrizio; but anyone acquainted with her previous commitments -who had seen her behaviour now might well have thought that with her -lover's danger her love for him also had ceased. Not only did Fabrizio -pass as often as he decently could before the <i>palazzo</i> Contarini, he -had also succeeded, after endless trouble, in taking a little apartment -opposite the windows of its first floor. On one occasion Clelia, having -gone to the window without thinking, to see a procession pass, drew back -at once, as though terror-stricken; she had caught sight of Fabrizio, -dressed in black, but as a workman in very humble circumstances, looking -at her from one of the windows of this rookery, which had panes of oiled -paper, like his cell in the Torre Farnese. Fabrizio would fain have been -able to persuade himself that Clelia was shunning him in consequence of -her father's disgrace, which current report put down to the Duchessa? -but he knew only too well another cause for this aloofness, and nothing -could distract him from his melancholy. -</p> - -<p> -He had been left unmoved by his acquittal, his installation in a fine -office, the first that he had had to fill in his life, by his fine -position in society, and finally by the assiduous court that was paid to -him by all the ecclesiastics and all the devout laity in the diocese. The -charming apartment that he occupied in the <i>palazzo</i> Sanseverina was -no longer adequate. Greatly to her delight, the Duchessa was obliged to -give up to him all the second floor of her <i>palazzo</i> and two fine -rooms on the first, which were always filled with people awaiting their -turn to pay their respects to the young Coadjutor. The clause securing his -eventual succession had created a surprising effect in the country; -people now ascribed to Fabrizio as virtues all those firm qualities in -his character which before had so greatly scandalised the poor, foolish -courtiers. -</p> - -<p> -It was a great lesson in philosophy to Fabrizio to find himself -perfectly insensible of all these honours, and far more unhappy in this -magnificent apartment, with ten flunkeys wearing his livery, than he had -been in his wooden cell in the Torre Farnese, surrounded by hideous -gaolers, and always in fear for his life. His mother and sister, the -Duchessa V——, who came to Parma to see him in his glory, were -struck by his profound melancholy. The Marchesa del Dongo, now the least -romantic of women, was so greatly alarmed by it that she imagined that -they must, in the Torre Farnese, have given him some slow poison. -Despite her extreme discretion, she felt it her duty to speak of so -extraordinary a melancholy, and Fabrizio replied only by tears. -</p> - -<p> -A swarm of advantages, due to his brilliant position, produced no other -effect on him than to make him ill-tempered. His brother, that vain soul -gangrened by the vilest selfishness, wrote him what was almost an -official letter of congratulation, and in this letter was enclosed a -draft for fifty thousand francs, in order that he might, said the new -Marchese, purchase horses and a carriage worthy of his name. Fabrizio -sent this money to his younger sister, who was poorly married. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>THE GENEALOGY</i></h5> - -<p> -Conte Mosca had ordered a fine translation to be made, in Italian, of -the genealogy of the family Valserra del Dongo, originally published in -Latin by Fabrizio, Archbishop of Parma. He had it splendidly printed, -with the Latin text on alternate pages; the engravings had been -reproduced by superb lithographs made in Paris. The Duchessa had asked -that a fine portrait of Fabrizio should be placed opposite that of the -old Archbishop. This translation was published as being the work of -Fabrizio during his first imprisonment. But all the spirit was crushed -out of our hero; even the vanity so natural to mankind; he did not deign -to read a single page of this work which was attributed to himself. His -social position made it incumbent upon him to present a magnificently -bound copy to the Prince, who felt that he owed him some compensation -for the cruel death to which he had come so near, and accorded him the -grand entry into his bedchamber, a favour which confers the rank of -<i>Excellency</i>. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h4><a id="CHAPTER_TWENTY-SIX">CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX</a></h4> - -<p> -The only moments in which Fabrizio had any chance of escaping from his -profound melancholy were those which he spent hidden behind a pane, the -glass of which he had had replaced by a sheet of oiled paper, in the -window of his apartment opposite the <i>palazzo</i> Contarini, in which, as -we know, Clelia had taken refuge; on the few occasions on which he had -seen her since his leaving the citadel, he had been profoundly -distressed by a striking change, and one that seemed to him of the most -evil augury. Since her fall, Clelia's face had assumed a character of -nobility and seriousness that was truly remarkable; one would have -called her a woman of thirty. In this extraordinary change, Fabrizio -caught the reflexion of some firm resolution. "At every moment of the -day," he said to himself, "she is swearing to herself to be faithful to -the vow she made to the Madonna, and never to see me again." -</p> - -<p> -Fabrizio guessed a part only of Clelia's miseries; she knew that her -father, having fallen into deep disgrace, could not return to Parma and -reappear at court (without which life for him was impossible) until the -day of her marriage to the Marchese Crescenzi; she wrote to her father -that she desired this marriage. The General had then retired to Turin, -where he was ill with grief. Truly, the counter-effect of that desperate -remedy had been to add ten years to her age. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>THE PALAZZO CONTARINI</i></h5> - -<p> -She had soon discovered that Fabrizio had a window opposite the -<i>palazzo</i> Contarini; but only once had she had the misfortune to -behold him; as soon as she saw the poise of a head or a man's figure -that in any way resembled his, she at once shut her eyes. Her profound -piety and her confidence in the help of the Madonna were from then -onwards her sole resources. She had the grief of feeling no respect for -her father; the character of her future husband seemed to her perfectly -lifeless and on a par with the emotional manners of high society; -finally she adored a man whom she must never see again, and who at the -same time had certain rights over her. She would need, after her -marriage, to go and live two hundred leagues from Parma. -</p> - -<p> -Fabrizio was aware of Clelia's intense modesty, he knew how greatly any -extraordinary enterprise, that might form a subject for gossip, were it -discovered, was bound to displease her. And yet, driven to extremes by -the excess of his melancholy and by Clelia's constantly turning away her -eyes from him, he made bold to try to purchase two of the servants of -Signora Contarini, her aunt. One day, at nightfall, Fabrizio, dressed as -a prosperous countryman, presented himself at the door of the -<i>palazzo</i>, where one of the servants whom he had bribed was waiting -for him; he announced himself as coming from Turin and bearing letters -for Clelia from her father. The servant went to deliver the message, and -took him up to an immense ante-room on the first floor of the -<i>palazzo</i>. It was here that Fabrizio passed what was perhaps the -most anxious quarter of an hour in his life. If Clelia rejected him, -there was no more hope of peace for his mind. "To put an end to the -incessant worries which my new dignity heaps upon me, I shall remove -from the Church an unworthy priest, and, under an assumed name, seek -refuge in some Charterhouse." At length the servant came to inform him -that Signorina Clelia Conti was willing to receive him. Our hero's -courage failed him completely; he almost collapsed with fear as he -climbed the stair to the second floor. -</p> - -<p> -Clelia was sitting at a little table on which stood a single candle. No -sooner had she recognised Fabrizio under his disguise than she rose and -fled, hiding at the far end of the room. -</p> - -<p> -"This is how you care for my salvation!" she cried to him, hiding her -face in her hands. "You know very well, when my father was at the point -of death after taking poison, I made a vow to the Madonna that I would -never see you. I have never failed to keep that vow save on that day, -the most wretched day of my life, when I felt myself bound by conscience -to snatch you from death. It is already far more than you deserve if, by -a strained and no doubt criminal interpretation of my vow, I consent to -listen to you." -</p> - -<p> -This last sentence so astonished Fabrizio that it took him some moments -to grasp its joyful meaning. He had expected the most fiery anger, and -to see Clelia fly from the room; at length his presence of mind -returned, and he extinguished the one candle. Although he believed that -he had understood Clelia's orders, he was trembling all over as he -advanced towards the end of the room, where she had taken refuge behind -a sofa; he did not know whether it would offend her if he kissed her -hand; she was all tremulous with love and threw herself into his arms. -</p> - -<p> -"Dear Fabrizio," she said to him, "how long you have been in coming! I -can only speak to you for a moment, for I am sure it is a great sin; and -when I promised never to see you, I am sure I meant also to promise not -to hear you speak. But how could you pursue with such barbarity the idea -of vengeance that my poor father had? For, after all, it was he who was -first nearly poisoned to assist your escape. Ought you not to do -something for me, who have exposed my reputation to such risks in order -to save you? And besides you are now bound absolutely in Holy Orders; -you could not marry me any longer, even though I should find a way of -getting rid of that odious Marchese. And then how did you dare, on the -afternoon of the procession, have the effrontery to look at me in broad -daylight, and so violate, in the most flagrant fashion, the holy promise -that I had made to the Madonna?" -</p> - -<p> -Fabrizio clasped her in his arms, carried out of himself by his surprise -and joy. -</p> - -<p> -A conversation which began with such a quantity of things to be said -could not finish for a long time. Fabrizio told her the exact truth as -to her father's banishment; the Duchessa had had no part in it -whatsoever, for the simple reason that she had never for a single -instant believed that the idea of poison had originated with General -Conti; she had always thought that it was a little game on the part of -the Raversi faction, who wished to drive Conte Mosca from Parma. This -historical truth developed at great length made Clelia very happy; she -was wretched at having to hate anyone who belonged to Fabrizio. Now she -no longer regarded the Duchessa with a jealous eye. -</p> - -<p> -The happiness established by this evening lasted only a few days. -</p> - -<p> -The worthy Don Cesare arrived from Turin; and, taking courage in the -perfect honesty of his heart, ventured to send in his name to the -Duchessa. After asking her to give him her word that she would not abuse -the confidence he was about to repose in her, he admitted that his -brother, led astray by a false point of honour, and thinking himself -challenged and lowered in public opinion by Fabrizio's escape, had felt -bound to avenge himself. -</p> - -<p> -Don Cesare had not been speaking for two minutes before his cause was -won: his perfect goodness had touched the Duchessa, who was by no means -accustomed to such a spectacle. He appealed to her as a novelty. -</p> - -<p> -"Hasten the marriage between the General's daughter and the Marchese -Crescenzi, and I give you my word that I will do all that lies in my -power to ensure that the General is received as though he were returning -from a tour abroad. I shall invite him to dinner; does that satisfy you? -No doubt there will be some coolness at the beginning, and the General -must on no account be in a hurry to ask for his place as governor of the -citadel. But you know that I have a friendly feeling for the Marchese, -and I shall retain no rancour towards his father-in-law." -</p> - -<p> -Fortified by these words, Don Cesare came to tell his niece that she -held in her hands the life of her father, who was ill with despair. For -many months past he had not appeared at any court. -</p> - -<p> -Clelia decided to go to visit her father, who was hiding under an -assumed name in a village near Turin; for he had supposed that the court -of Parma would demand his extradition from that of Turin, to put him on -his trial. She found him ill and almost insane. That same evening she -wrote Fabrizio a letter threatening an eternal rupture. On receiving -this letter, Fabrizio, who was developing a character closely resembling -that of his mistress, went into retreat in the convent of Velleja, -situated in the mountains, ten leagues from Parma. Clelia wrote him a -letter of ten pages: she had sworn to him, before, that she would never -marry the Marchese without his consent; now she asked this of him, and -Fabrizio granted it from his retreat at Velleja, in a letter full of the -purest friendship. -</p> - -<p> -On receiving this letter, the friendliness of which, it must be -admitted, irritated her, Clelia herself fixed the day of her wedding, -the festivities surrounding which enhanced still further the brilliance -with which the court of Parma, that winter, shone. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>THE COURT</i></h5> - -<p> -Ranuccio-Ernesto V was a miser at heart; but he was desperately in love, -and he hoped to establish the Duchessa permanently at his court; he -begged his mother to accept a very considerable sum of money, and to -give entertainments. The Grand Mistress contrived to make an admirable -use of this increase of wealth; the entertainments at Parma, that -winter, recalled the great days of the court of Milan and of that -charming Prince Eugène, Viceroy of Italy, whose virtues have left so -lasting a memory. -</p> - -<p> -His duties as Coadjutor had summoned Fabrizio back to Parma; but he -announced that, for spiritual reasons, he would continue his retreat in -the small apartment which his protector, Monsignor Landriani, had forced -him to take in the Archbishop's Palace; and he went to shut himself up -there, accompanied by a single servant. Thus he was present at none of -the brilliant festivities of the court, an abstention which won for him -at Parma, and throughout his future diocese, an immense reputation for -sanctity. An unforeseen consequence of this retreat, inspired in -Fabrizio solely by his profound and hopeless sorrow, was that the good -Archbishop Landriani, who had always loved him, began to be slightly -jealous of him. The Archbishop felt it his duty (and rightly) to attend -all the festivities at court, as is the custom in Italy. On these -occasions he wore a ceremonial costume, which was, more or less, the -same as that in which he was to be seen in the choir of his Cathedral. -The hundreds of servants gathered in the colonnaded ante-chamber of the -Palace never failed to rise and ask for a blessing from Monsignore, who -was kind enough to stop and give it them. It was in one of these moments -of solemn silence that Monsignor Landriani heard a voice say: "Our -Archbishop goes out to balls, and Monsignor del Dongo never leaves his -room!" -</p> - -<p> -From that moment the immense favour that Fabrizio had enjoyed in the -Archbishop's Palace was at an end; but he could now fly with his own -wings. All this conduct, which had been inspired only by the despair in -which Clelia's marriage plunged him, was regarded as due to a simple and -sublime piety, and the faithful read, as a work of edification, the -translation of the genealogy of his family, which reeked of the most -insane vanity. The booksellers prepared a lithographed edition of his -portrait, which was bought up in a few days, and mainly by the humbler -classes; the engraver, in his ignorance, had reproduced round Fabrizio's -portrait a number of the ornaments which ought only to be found on the -portraits of Bishops, and to which a Coadjutor could have no claim. The -Archbishop saw one of these portraits, and his rage knew no bounds; he -sent for Fabrizio and addressed him in the harshest words, and in terms -which his passion rendered at times extremely coarse. Fabrizio required -no effort, as may well be imagined, to conduct himself as Fénelon would -have done in similar circumstances; he listened to the Archbishop with -all the humility and respect possible; and, when the prelate had ceased -speaking, told him the whole story of the translation of the genealogy -made by Conte Mosca's orders, at the time of his first imprisonment. It -had been published with a worldly object, which had always seemed to him -hardly befitting a man of his cloth. As for the portrait, he had been -entirely unconcerned with the second edition, as with the first; and the -bookseller having sent to him, at the Archbishop's Palace, during his -retreat, twenty-four copies of this second edition, he had sent his -servant to buy a twenty-fifth; and, having learned in this way that the -portrait was being sold for thirty soldi, he had sent a hundred francs -in payment of the twenty-four copies. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>THE DUCHESSA</i></h5> - -<p> -All these arguments, albeit set forth in the most reasonable terms by a -man who had many other sorrows in his heart, lashed the Archbishop's -anger to madness; he went so far as to accuse Fabrizio of hypocrisy. -</p> - -<p> -"That is what these common people are like," Fabrizio said to himself, -"even when they have brains!" -</p> - -<p> -He had at the time a more serious anxiety; this was his aunt's letters, -in which she absolutely insisted on his coming back to occupy his -apartment in the <i>palazzo</i> Sanseverina, or at least coming to see her -sometimes. There Fabrizio was certain of hearing talk of the splendid -festivities given by the Marchese Crescenzi on the occasion of his -marriage; and this was what he was not sure of his ability to endure -without creating a scene. -</p> - -<p> -When the marriage ceremony was celebrated, for eight whole days in -succession Fabrizio vowed himself to the most complete silence, after -ordering his servant and the members of the Archbishop's household with -whom he had any dealings never to utter a word to him. -</p> - -<p> -Monsignor Landriani having learned of this new affectation sent for -Fabrizio far more often than usual, and tried to engage him in long -conversations; he even obliged him to attend conferences with certain -Canons from the country, who complained that the Archbishop had -infringed their privileges. Fabrizio took all these things with the -perfect indifference of a man who has other thoughts on his mind. "It -would be better for me," he thought, "to become a Carthusian; I should -suffer less among the rocks of Velleja." -</p> - -<p> -He went to see his aunt, and could not restrain his tears as he embraced -her. She found him so greatly altered, his eyes, still more enlarged by -his extreme thinness, had so much the air of starting from his head, and -he himself presented so pinched and unhappy an appearance, that at this -first encounter the Duchessa herself could not restrain her tears -either; but a moment later, when she had reminded herself that all this -change in the appearance of this handsome young man had been caused by -Clelia's marriage, her feelings were almost equal in vehemence to those -of the Archbishop, although more skilfully controlled. She was so -barbarous as to discourse at length of certain picturesque details which -had been a feature of the charming entertainments given by the Marchese -Crescenzi. Fabrizio made no reply; but his eyes closed slightly with a -convulsive movement, and he became even paler than he already was, which -at first sight would have seemed impossible. In these moments of keen -grief, his pallor assumed a greenish hue. -</p> - -<p> -Conte Mosca joined them, and what he then saw, a thing which seemed to -him incredible, finally and completely cured him of the jealousy which -Fabrizio had never ceased to inspire in him. This able man employed the -most delicate and ingenious turns of speech in an attempt to restore to -Fabrizio some interest in the things of this world. The Conte had always -felt for him a great esteem and a certain degree of friendship; this -friendship, being no longer counterbalanced by jealousy, became at that -moment almost devotion. "There's no denying it, he has paid dearly for -his fine fortune," he said to himself, going over the tale of Fabrizio's -misadventures. On the pretext of letting him see the picture by the -Parmigianino which the Prince had sent to the Duchessa, the Conte drew -Fabrizio aside. -</p> - -<p> -"Now, my friend, let us speak as man to man: can I help you in any way? -You need not be afraid of any questions on my part; still, can money be -of use to you, can power help you? Speak, I am at your orders; if you -prefer to write, write to me." -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>AMBITION</i></h5> - -<p> -Fabrizio embraced him tenderly and spoke of the picture. -</p> - -<p> -"Your conduct is a masterpiece of the finest policy," the Conte said to -him, returning to the light tone of their previous conversation; "you -are laying up for yourself a very agreeable future, the Prince respects -you, the people venerate you, your little worn black coat gives -Monsignor Landriani some bad nights. I have some experience of life, and -I can swear to you that I should not know what advice to give you to -improve upon what I see. Your first step in the world at the age of -twenty-five has carried you to perfection. People talk of you a great -deal at court; and do you know to what you owe that distinction, unique -at your age? To the little worn black coat. The Duchessa and I have at -our disposal, as you know, Petrarch's old house on that fine slope in -the middle of the forest, near the Po; if ever you are weary of the -little mischief-makings of envy, it has occurred to me that you might be -the successor of Petrarch, whose fame will enhance your own." The Conte -was racking his brains to make a smile appear on that anchorite face, -but failed. What made the change more striking was that, before this -latest phase, if Fabrizio's features had a defect, it was that of -presenting sometimes, at the wrong moment, an expression of gaiety and -pleasure. -</p> - -<p> -The Conte did not let him go without telling him that, notwithstanding -his retreat, it would be perhaps an affectation if he did not appear at -court the following Saturday, which was the Princess's birthday. These -words were a dagger-thrust to Fabrizio. "Great God!" he thought, "what -have I let myself in for here?" He could not think without shuddering of -the meeting that might occur at court. This idea absorbed every other; -he thought that the only thing left to him was to arrive at the Palace -at the precise moment at which the doors of the rooms would be opened. -</p> - -<p> -And so it happened that the name of Monsignor del Dongo was one of the -first to be announced on the evening of the gala reception, and the -Princess greeted him with the greatest possible distinction. Fabrizio's -eyes were fastened on the clock, and, at the instant at which it marked -the twentieth minute of his presence in the room, he was rising to take -his leave, when the Prince joined his mother. After paying his respects -to him for some moments, Fabrizio was again, by a skilful stratagem, -making his way to the door, when there befell at his expense one of -those little trifling points of court etiquette which the Grand Mistress -knew so well how to handle: the Chamberlain in waiting ran after him to -tell him that he had been put down to make up the Prince's table at -whist. At Parma this was a signal honour, and far above the rank which -the Coadjutor held in society. To play whist with the Prince was a -marked honour even for the Archbishop. At the Chamberlain's words -Fabrizio felt his heart pierced, and although a lifelong enemy of -anything like a scene in public, he was on the point of going to tell -him that he had been seized with a sudden fit of giddiness; but he -reflected that he would be exposed to questions and polite expressions -of sympathy, more intolerable even than the game. That day he had a -horror of speaking. -</p> - -<p> -Fortunately the General of the Friars Minor happened to be one of the -prominent personages who had come to pay their respects to the Princess. -This friar, a most learned man, a worthy rival of the Fontanas and the -Duvoisins, had taken his place in a far corner of the room: Fabrizio -took up a position facing him, so that he could not see the door, and -began to talk theology. But he could not prevent his ear from hearing a -servant announce the Signor Marchese and Signora Marchesa Crescenzi. -Fabrizio, to his surprise, felt a violent impulse of anger. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>WHIST</i></h5> - -<p> -"If I were Borso Valserra," he said to himself (this being one of the -generals of the first Sforza), "I should go and stab that lout of a -Marchese, and with that very same dagger with the ivory handle which -Clelia gave me on that happy day, and I should teach him to have the -insolence to present himself with his Marchesa in a room in which I am." -</p> - -<p> -His expression altered so greatly that the General of the Friars Minor -said to him: -</p> - -<p> -"Does Your Excellency feel unwell?" -</p> - -<p> -"I have a raging headache . . . these lights are hurting me . . . and I -am staying here only because I have been put down for the Prince's -whist-table." -</p> - -<p> -On hearing this the General of the Friars Minor, who was of plebeian -origin, was so disconcerted that, not knowing what to do, he began to -bow to Fabrizio, who, for his part, far more seriously disturbed than -the General, started to talk with a strange volubility: he noticed that -there was a great silence in the room behind him, but would not turn -round to look. Suddenly a baton tapped a desk; a <i>ritornello</i> was -played, and the famous Signora P—— sang that air of Cimarosa, -at one time so popular: <i>Quelle pupille tenere</i>! -</p> - -<p> -Fabrizio stood firm throughout the opening bars, but presently his anger -melted away, and he felt a compelling need to shed tears. "Great God!" -he said to himself, "what a ridiculous scene! and with my cloth, too!" -He felt it wiser to talk about himself. -</p> - -<p> -"These violent headaches, when I do anything to thwart them, as I am -doing this evening," he said to the General of the Minorites, "end in -floods of tears which provide food for scandal in a man of our calling; -and so I request Your Illustrious Reverence to allow me to look at him -while I cry, and not to pay any attention." -</p> - -<p> -"Our Father Provincial at Catanzaro suffers from the same disability," -said the General of the Minorites. And he began in an undertone a long -narrative. -</p> - -<p> -The absurdity of this story, which included the details of the Father -Provincial's evening meals, made Fabrizio smile, a thing which had not -happened to him for a long time; but presently he ceased to listen to the -General of the Minorites. Signora P—— was singing, with divine -talent, an air of Pergolese (the Duchessa had a fondness for old music). -She was interrupted by a slight sound, a few feet away from Fabrizio; -for the first time in the evening, he turned his head, to look. The -chair that had been the cause of this faint creak in the woodwork of the -floor was occupied by the Marchesa Crescenzi whose eyes, filled with -tears, met the direct gaze of Fabrizio's which were in much the same -state. The Marchesa bent her head; Fabrizio continued to gaze at her for -some moments: he made a thorough study of that head loaded with -diamonds; but his gaze expressed anger and disdain. Then, saying to -himself: "<i>and my eyes shall never look upon you</i>," he turned back to -his Father General, and said to him: -</p> - -<p> -"There, now, my weakness is taking me worse than ever." -</p> - -<p> -And indeed, Fabrizio wept hot tears for more than half an hour. -Fortunately, a Symphony of Mozart, horribly mutilated, as is the way in -Italy, came to his rescue and helped him to dry his tears. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>CLELIA</i></h5> - -<p> -He stood firm and did not turn his eyes towards the Marchesa Crescenzi; -but Signora P—— sang again, and Fabrizio's soul, soothed by -his tears, arrived at a state of perfect repose. Then life appeared to him -in a new light. "Am I pretending," he asked himself, "to be able to forget -her in the first few moments? Would such a thing be possible?" The idea -came to him: "Can I be more unhappy than I have been for the last two -months? Then, if nothing can add to my anguish, why resist the pleasure of -seeing her? She has forgotten her vows; she is fickle: are not all women -so? But who could deny her a heavenly beauty? She has a look in her eyes -that sends me into ecstasies, whereas I have to make an effort to force -myself to look at the women who are considered the greatest beauties! -Very well, why not let myself be enraptured? It will be at least a -moment of respite." -</p> - -<p> -Fabrizio had some knowledge of men, but no experience of the passions, -otherwise he would have told himself that this momentary pleasure, to -which he was about to yield, would render futile all the efforts that he -had been making for the last two months to forget Clelia. -</p> - -<p> -That poor woman would not have come to this party save under compulsion -from her husband; even then she wished to slip away after half an hour, -on the excuse of her health, but the Marchese assured her that to send -for her carriage to go away, when many carriages were still arriving, -would be a thing absolutely without precedent, which might even be -interpreted as an indirect criticism of the party given by the Princess. -</p> - -<p> -"In my capacity as <i>Cavaliere d'onore</i>," the Marchese added, "I have -to remain in the drawing-room at the Princess's orders, until everyone has -gone. There may be and no doubt will be orders to be given to the -servants, they are so careless! And would you have a mere Gentleman -Usher usurp that honour?" -</p> - -<p> -Clelia resigned herself; she had not seen Fabrizio; she still hoped that -he might not have come to this party. But at the moment when the concert -was about to begin, the Princess having given the ladies leave to be -seated, Clelia, who was not at all alert in that sort of thing, let all -the best places near the Princess be snatched from her, and was obliged -to go and look for a chair at the end of the room, in the very corner to -which Fabrizio had withdrawn. When she reached her chair, the costume, -unusual in such a place, of the General of the Friars Minor caught her -eye, and at first she did not observe the other man, slim and dressed in -a plain black coat, who was talking to him; nevertheless a certain -secret impulse brought her gaze to rest on this man. "Everyone here is -wearing uniform, or a richly embroidered coat: who can that young man be -in such a plain black coat?" She was looking at him, profoundly -attentive, when a lady, taking her seat beside her, caused her chair to -move. Fabrizio turned his head: she did not recognise him, he had so -altered. At first she said to herself: "That is like him, it must be his -elder brother; but I thought there were only a few years between them, -and that is a man of forty." Suddenly she recognised him by a movement -of his lips. -</p> - -<p> -"Poor man, how he has suffered!" she said to herself. And she bent her -head, bowed down by grief, and not in fidelity to her vow. Her heart was -convulsed with pity; "after nine months in prison, he did not look -anything like that." She did not look at him again; but, without -actually turning her eyes in his direction, she could see all his -movements. -</p> - -<p> -After the concert, she saw him go up to the Prince's card-table, placed -a few feet from the throne; she breathed a sigh of relief when Fabrizio -was thus removed to a certain distance from her. -</p> - -<p> -But the Marchese Crescenzi had been greatly annoyed to see his wife -relegated to a place so far from the throne; all evening he had been -occupied in persuading a lady seated three chairs away from the -Princess, whose husband was under a financial obligation to him, that -she would do well to change places with the Marchesa. The poor woman -resisting, as was natural, he went in search of the debtor husband, who -let his better half hear the sad voice of reason, and finally the -Marchese had the pleasure of effecting the exchange; he went to find his -wife. "You are always too modest," he said to her. "Why walk like that -with downcast eyes? Anyone would take you for one of those cits' wives -astonished at finding themselves here, whom everyone else is astonished, -too, to see here. That fool of a Grand Mistress does nothing else but -collect them! And they talk of retarding the advance of Jacobinism! -Remember that your husband occupies the first position, among the -gentlemen, at the Princess's court; and that even should the Republicans -succeed in suppressing the court, and even the nobility, your husband -would still be the richest man in this State. That is an idea which you -do not keep sufficiently in your head." -</p> - -<p> -The chair on which the Marchese had the pleasure of installing his wife -was but six paces from the Prince's card-table: she saw Fabrizio only in -profile, but she found him grown so thin, he had, above all, the air of -being so far above everything that might happen in this world, he who -before would never let any incident pass without making his comment, -that she finally arrived at the terrible conclusion: Fabrizio had -altogether changed; he had forgotten her; if he had grown so thin, that -was the effect of the severe fasts to which his piety subjected him. -Clelia was confirmed in this sad thought by the conversation of all her -neighbours: the name of the Coadjutor was on every tongue; they sought a -reason for the signal favour which they saw conferred upon him: for him, -so young, to be admitted to the Prince's table! They marvelled at the -polite indifference and the air of pride with which he threw down his -cards, even when he had His Highness for a partner. -</p> - -<p> -"But this is incredible!" cried certain old courtiers; "his aunt's -favour has quite turned his head. . . . But, mercifully, it won't last; -our Sovereign does not like people to put on these little airs of -superiority." The Duchessa approached the Prince; the courtiers, who -kept at a most respectful distance from the card-table, so that they -could hear only a few stray words of the Prince's conversation, noticed -that Fabrizio blushed deeply. "His aunt has been teaching him a lesson," -they said to themselves, "about those grand airs of indifference." -Fabrizio had just caught the sound of Clelia's voice, she was replying -to the Princess, who, in making her tour of the ball-room, had addressed -a few words to the wife of her <i>Cavaliere d'onore</i>. The moment arrived -when Fabrizio had to change his place at the whist-table; he then found -himself directly opposite Clelia, and gave himself up repeatedly to the -pleasure of contemplating her. The poor Marchesa, feeling his gaze rest -upon her, lost countenance altogether. More than once she forgot what -she owed to her vow: in her desire to read what was going on in -Fabrizio's heart, she fixed her eyes on him. -</p> - -<p> -The Prince's game ended, the ladies rose to go into the supper-room. -There was some slight confusion. Fabrizio found himself close to Clelia; -his mind was still quite made up, but he happened to recognise a faint -perfume which she used on her clothes; this sensation overthrew all the -resolutions that he had made. He approached her and repeated, in an -undertone and as though he were speaking to himself, two lines from that -sonnet of Petrarch which he had sent her from Lake Maggiore, printed on -a silk handkerchief: -</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i2">"Nessun visse giammai più di me lieto;</span><br /> -<span class="i2">Nessun vive più tristo e giorni e notti."</span> -</div></div> - -<p> -"No, he has not forgotten me," Clelia told herself with a transport of -joy. "That fine soul is not inconstant!" -</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i2">"Esser po in prima ogni impossibil cosa</span><br /> -<span class="i2">Ch'altri che morte od ella sani il colpo</span><br /> -<span class="i2">Ch'Amor co' suoi begli occhi al cor m'impresse,"</span> -</div></div> - -<p> -Clelia ventured to repeat to herself these lines of Petrarch. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>ABSENCE</i></h5> - -<p> -The Princess withdrew immediately after supper; the Prince had gone with -her to her room and did not appear again in the reception rooms. As -soon as this became known, everyone wished to leave at once; there was -complete confusion in the ante-rooms; Clelia found herself close to -Fabrizio; the profound misery depicted on his features moved her to -pity. "Let us forget the past," she said to him, "and keep this reminder -of <i>friendship</i>." As she said these words, she held out her fan so -that he might take it. -</p> - -<p> -Everything changed in Fabrizio's eyes; in an instant he was another man; -the following day he announced that his retreat was at an end, and -returned to occupy his magnificent apartment in the <i>palazzo</i> -Sanseverina. The Archbishop said, and believed, that the favour which -the Prince had shewn him in admitting him to his game had completely -turned the head of this new saint: the Duchessa saw that he had come to -terms with Clelia. This thought, coming to intensify the misery that was -caused her by the memory of a fatal promise, finally decided her to -absent herself for a while. People marvelled at her folly. What! Leave -the court at the moment when the favour that she enjoyed appeared to -have no bounds! The Conte, perfectly happy since he had seen that there -was no love between Fabrizio and the Duchessa, said to his friend: "This -new Prince is virtue incarnate, but I have called him <i>that boy</i>: -will he ever forgive me? I can see only one way of putting myself back -in his good books, that is absence. I am going to shew myself a perfect -model of courtesy and respect, after which I shall be ill, and shall ask -leave to retire. You will allow me that, now that Fabrizio's fortune is -assured. But will you make me the immense sacrifice," he added, -laughing, "of exchanging the sublime title of Duchessa for another -greatly inferior? For my own amusement, I am leaving everything here in -an inextricable confusion; I had four or five workers in my various -Ministries, I placed them all on the pension list two months ago, -because they read the French newspapers; and I have filled their places -with blockheads of the first order. -</p> - -<p> -"After our departure, the Prince will find himself in such difficulties -that, in spite of the horror that he feels for Rassi's character, I have -no doubt that he will be obliged to recall him, and I myself am only -awaiting an order from the tyrant who disposes of my fate to write a -letter of tender friendship to my friend Rassi, and tell him that I have -every reason to hope that presently justice will be done to his merits." -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h4><a id="CHAPTER_TWENTY-SEVEN">CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN</a></h4> - -<p> -This serious conversation was held on the day following Fabrizio's -return to the <i>palazzo</i> Sanseverina; the Duchessa was still, overcome -by the joy that radiated from Fabrizio's every action. "So," she said to -herself, "that little saint has deceived me! She has not been able to -hold out against her lover for three months even." -</p> - -<p> -The certainty of a happy ending had given that pusillanimous creature, -the young Prince, the courage to love; he knew something of the -preparations for flight that were being made at the <i>palazzo</i> -Sanseverina; and his French valet, who had little belief in the virtue -of great ladies, gave him courage with respect to the Duchessa. Ernesto -V allowed himself to take a step for which he was severely reproved by -the Princess and all the sensible people at court; to the populace it -appeared to set the seal on the astonishing favour which the Duchessa -enjoyed. The Prince went to see her in her <i>palazzo</i>. -</p> - -<p> -"You are leaving," he said to her in a serious tone which the Duchessa -thought odious; "you are leaving, you are going to play me false and -violate your oath! And yet, if I had delayed ten minutes in granting you -Fabrizio's pardon, he would have been dead. And you leave me in this -wretched state! When but for your oath I should never have had the -courage to love you as I do! Have you no sense of honour, then?" -</p> - -<p> -"Think for a little, Prince. In the whole of your life has there been a -period equal in happiness to the four months that have just gone by? -Your glory as Sovereign, and, I venture to think, your happiness as a -man, have never risen to such a pitch. This is the compact that I -propose; if you deign to consent to it, I shall not be your mistress for -a fleeting instant, and by virtue of an oath extorted by fear, but I -shall consecrate every moment of my life to procuring your happiness, I -shall be always what I have been for the last four months, and perhaps -love will come to crown friendship. I would not swear to the contrary." -</p> - -<p> -"Very well," said the Prince, delighted, "take on another part, be -something more still, reign at once over my heart and over my States, be -my Prime Minister; I offer you such a marriage as is permitted by the -regrettable conventions of my rank; we have an example close at hand: -the King of Naples has recently married the Duchessa di Partana. I offer -you all that I have to offer, a marriage of the same sort. I am going to -add a distressing political consideration to shew you that I am no -longer a mere boy, and that I have thought of everything. I lay no -stress on the condition which I impose on myself of being the last -Sovereign of my race, the sorrow of seeing in my lifetime the Great -Powers dispose of my succession; I bless these very genuine drawbacks, -since they offer me additional means of proving to you my esteem and my -passion." -</p> - -<p> -The Duchessa did not hesitate for an instant; the Prince bored her, and -the Conte seemed to her perfectly suitable; there was only one man in -the world who could be preferred to him. Besides, she ruled the Conte, -and the Prince, dominated by the exigencies of his rank, would more or -less rule her. Then, too, he might become unfaithful to her, and take -mistresses; the difference of age would seem, in a very few years, to -give him the right to do so. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>THE DUCHESSA</i></h5> - -<p> -From the first moment, the prospect of boredom had settled the whole -question; however, the Duchessa, who wished to be as charming as -possible, asked leave to reflect. -</p> - -<p> -It would take too long to recount here the almost loving turns of speech -and the infinitely graceful terms in which she managed to clothe her -refusal. The Prince flew into a rage; he saw all his happiness escaping. -What was to become of him when the Duchessa had left his court? Besides, -what a humiliation to be refused! "And what will my French valet say -when I tell him of my defeat?" -</p> - -<p> -The Duchessa knew how to calm the Prince, and to bring the discussion -back gradually to her actual terms. -</p> - -<p> -"If Your Highness deigns to consent not to press for the fulfilment of a -fatal promise, and one that is horrible in my eyes, as making me incur -my own contempt, I shall spend my life at his court, and that court will -always be what it has been this winter; every moment of my time will be -devoted to contributing to his happiness as a man, and to his glory as a -Sovereign. If he insists on binding me by my oath, he will be destroying -the rest of my life, and will at once see me leave his States, never to -return. The day on which I shall have lost my honour will be also the -last day on which I shall set eyes on you." -</p> - -<p> -But the Prince was obstinate, like all pusillanimous creatures; moreover -his pride as a man and a Sovereign was irritated by the refusal of his -hand; he thought of all the difficulties which he would have had to -overcome to make this marriage be accepted, difficulties which, -nevertheless, he was determined to conquer. -</p> - -<p> -For the next three hours, the same arguments were repeated on either -side, often interspersed with very sharp words. The Prince exclaimed: -</p> - -<p> -"Do you then wish me to believe, Signora, that you are lacking in -honour? If I had hesitated so long on the day when General Fabio Conti -was giving Fabrizio poison, you would at present be occupied in erecting -a tomb to him in one of the churches of Parma." -</p> - -<p> -"Not at Parma, certainly, in this land of poisoners." -</p> - -<p> -"Very well then, go, Signora Duchessa," retorted the Prince angrily, -"and you will take with you my contempt." -</p> - -<p> -As he was leaving, the Duchessa said to him in a whisper: -</p> - -<p> -"Very well, be here at ten o'clock this evening, in the strictest -incognito, and you shall have your fool's bargain. You will then have -seen me for the last time, and I would have devoted my life to making -you as happy as an Absolute Prince can be in this age of Jacobins. And -think what your court will be when I am no longer here to extricate it -by force from its innate dulness and mischief." -</p> - -<p> -"For your part, you refuse the crown of Parma, and more than the crown, -for you would not have been the ordinary Princess, married for political -reasons and without being loved; my heart is all yours, and you would -have seen yourself for ever the absolute mistress of my actions as of my -government." -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, but the Princess your mother would have the right to look down -upon me as a vile intriguer." -</p> - -<p> -"What then; I should banish the Princess with a pension." -</p> - -<p> -There were still three quarters of an hour of cutting retorts. The -Prince, who had a delicate nature, could not make up his mind either to -enjoy his rights, or to let the Duchessa go. He had been told that after -the first moment has been obtained, no matter how, women come back. -</p> - -<p> -Driven from the house by the indignant Duchessa, he had the temerity to -return, trembling all over and extremely unhappy, at three minutes to -ten. At half past ten the Duchessa stepped into her carriage and started -for Bologna. She wrote to the Conte as soon as she was outside the -Prince's States: -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>THE AMBASSADOR</i></h5> - -<p> -"The sacrifice has been made. Do not ask me to be merry for a month. I -shall not see Fabrizio again; I await you at Bologna, and when you -please I will be the Contessa Mosca. I ask you one thing only, do not -ever force me to appear again in the land I am leaving, and remember -always that instead of an income of 150,000 lire, you are going to have -thirty or forty thousand at the very most. All the fools have been -watching you with gaping mouths, and for the future you will be -respected only so long as you demean yourself to understand all their -petty ideas. <i>Tu l'as voulu, George Dandin!</i>" -</p> - -<p> -A week later their marriage was celebrated at Perugia, in a church in -which the Conte's ancestors were buried. The Prince was in despair. The -Duchessa had received from him three or four couriers, and had not -failed to return his letters to him, in fresh envelopes, with their -seals unbroken. Ernesto V had bestowed a magnificent pension on the -Conte, and had given the Grand Cordon of his order to Fabrizio. -</p> - -<p> -"That is what pleased me most in his farewells. We parted," said the -Conte to the new Contessa Mosca della Rovere, "the best friends in the -world; he gave me a Spanish Grand Cordon, and diamonds which are worth -quite as much as the Grand Cordon. He told me that he would make me a -Duca, but he wished to keep that in reserve, as a way of bringing you -back to his States. And so I am charged to inform you, a fine mission -for a husband, that if you deign to return to Parma, be it only for a -month, I shall be made Duca, with whatever title you may select, and you -shall have a fine estate." -</p> - -<p> -This the Duchessa refused with an expression of horror. -</p> - -<p> -After the scene that had occurred at the ball at court, which seemed -fairly decisive, Clelia seemed to retain no memory of the love which she -had for a moment reciprocated; the most violent remorse had seized hold -of that virtuous and Christian soul. All this Fabrizio understood quite -well, and in spite of all the hopes that he sought to entertain, a -sombre misery took possession similarly of his soul. This time, however, -his misery did not send him into retreat, as on the occasion of Clelia's -marriage. -</p> - -<p> -The Conte had requested <i>his nephew</i> to keep him exactly informed of -all that went on at court, and Fabrizio, who was beginning to realise all -that he owed to him, had promised himself that he would carry out this -mission faithfully. -</p> - -<p> -Like everyone in the town and at court, Fabrizio had no doubt that the -Conte intended to return to the Ministry, and with more power than he -had ever had before. The Conte's forecasts were not long in taking -effect: in less than six weeks after his departure, Rassi was Prime -Minister, Fabio Conti Minister of War, and the prisons, which the Conte -had nearly emptied, began to fill again. The Prince, in summoning these -men to power, thought that he was avenging himself on the Duchessa; he -was madly in love and above all hated Conte Mosca as a rival. -</p> - -<p> -Fabrizio had plenty to do; Monsignor Landriani, now seventy-two years -old, had declined into a state of great languor, and as he now hardly -ever left his Palace, it fell to his Coadjutor to take his place in -almost all his functions. -</p> - -<p> -The Marchesa Crescenzi, crushed by remorse, and frightened by her -spiritual director, had found an excellent way of withdrawing herself -from Fabrizio's gaze. Taking as an excuse the last months of a first -confinement, she had given herself as a prison her own <i>palazzo</i>; but -this <i>palazzo</i> had an immense garden. Fabrizio managed to find a way -into it, and placed on the path which Clelia most affected flowers tied -up in nosegays, and arranged in such a way as to form a language, like -the flowers which she had sent up to him every evening in the last days -of his imprisonment in the Torre Farnese. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>THE COURT</i></h5> - -<p> -The Marchesa was greatly annoyed by this overture; the motions of her -soul were swayed at one time by remorse, at another by passion. For -several months she did not allow herself to go down once to the garden -of her <i>palazzo</i>; she had scruples even about looking at it from the -windows. -</p> - -<p> -Fabrizio began to think that she was parted from him for ever, and -despair began to seize hold of his soul also. The world in which he was -obliged to live disgusted him unspeakably, and had he not been convinced -in his heart that the Conte could not find peace of mind apart from his -Ministry, he would have gone into retreat in his small apartment in the -Archbishop's Palace. It would have been pleasant for him to live -entirely in his thoughts and never more to hear the human voice save in -the exercise of his functions. -</p> - -<p> -"But," he said to himself, "in the interest of the Conte and Contessa -Mosca, there is no one to take my place." -</p> - -<p> -The Prince continued to treat him with a distinction which placed him in -the highest rank at that court, and this favour he owed in great measure -to himself. The extreme reserve which, in Fabrizio, sprang from an -indifference bordering on disgust for all the affections or petty -passions that fill the lives of men, had pricked the young Prince's -vanity; he often remarked that Fabrizio had as much character as his -aunt. The Prince's candid nature had in part perceived a truth: namely -that no one approached him with the same feelings in his heart as -Fabrizio. What could not escape the notice even of the common herd of -courtiers was that the consideration won by Fabrizio was not that given -to a mere Coadjutor, but actually exceeded the respect which the -Sovereign shewed to the Archbishop. Fabrizio wrote to the Conte that if -ever the Prince had enough intelligence to perceive the mess into which -the Ministers, Rassi, Fabio Conti, Zurla and others of like capacity had -thrown his affairs, he, Fabrizio, would be the natural channel through -which he would take action without unduly compromising his self-esteem. -</p> - -<p> -"But for the memory of those fatal words, <i>that boy</i>," he told -Contessa Mosca, "applied by a man of talent to an august personage, the -august personage would already have cried: 'Return at once and rid me of -these rascals!' At this very moment, if the wife of the man of talent -deigned to make an advance, of however little significance, the Conte -would be recalled with joy: but he will return through a far nobler -door, if he is willing to wait until the fruit is ripe. Meanwhile -everyone is bored to death at the Princess's drawing-rooms, they have -nothing to amuse them but the absurdity of Rassi, who, now that he is a -Conte, has become a maniac for nobility. Strict orders have just been -issued that anyone who cannot produce eight quarterings of nobility -<i>must no longer dare</i> to present himself at the Princess's evenings -(these are the exact words of the proclamation). All the men who already -possess the right to enter the great gallery in the mornings, and to -remain in the Sovereign's presence when he passes on his way to mass, -are to continue to enjoy that privilege; but newcomers will have to shew -proof of their eight quarterings. Which has given rise to the saying -that it is clear that Rassi gives no quarter." -</p> - -<p> -It may be imagined that such letters were not entrusted to the post. -Contessa Mosca replied from Naples: "We have a concert every Thursday, -and a <i>conversazione</i> on Sundays; there is no room to move in our -rooms. The Conte is enchanted with his excavations, he devotes a thousand -francs a month to them, and has just brought some labourers down from -the mountains of the Abruzzi, who cost him only three and twenty soldi a -day. You must really come and see us. This is the twentieth time and -more, you ungrateful man, that I have given you this invitation." -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>THE PULPIT</i></h5> - -<p> -Fabrizio had no thought of obeying the summons: the letter which he -wrote every day to the Conte or Contessa seemed in itself an almost -insupportable burden. The reader will forgive him when he learns that a -whole year passed in this way, without his being able to address a -single word to the Marchesa. All his attempts to establish some -correspondence with her had been repulsed with horror. The habitual -silence which, in his boredom with life, Fabrizio preserved everywhere, -except in the exercise of his functions and at court, added to the -spotless purity of his morals, made him the object of a veneration so -extraordinary that he finally decided to pay heed to his aunt's advice. -</p> - -<blockquote><p> -"The Prince has such a veneration for you," she wrote to him, "that you -must be on the look-out for disgrace; he will lavish on you signs of -indifference, and the atrocious contempt of the courtiers will follow on -the heels of his. These petty despots, however honest they may be, -change like the fashions, and for the same reason: boredom. You will -find no strength to resist the Sovereign's caprices except in preaching. -You improvise so well in verse! Try to speak for half an hour on -religion; you will utter heresies at first; but hire a learned and -discreet theologian to help you with your sermons, and warn you of your -mistakes, you can put them right the day after." -</p></blockquote> - -<p> -The kind of misery which a crossed love brings to the soul has this -effect, that everything which requires attention and action becomes an -atrocious burden. But Fabrizio told himself that his influence with the -people, if he acquired any, might one day be of use to his aunt, and -also to the Conte, his veneration for whom increased daily, as his -public life taught him to realise the dishonesty of mankind. He decided -to preach, and his success, prepared for him by his thinness and his -worn coat, was without precedent. People found in his utterances a -fragrance of profound sadness, which, combined with his charming -appearance and the stories of the high favour that he enjoyed at court, -captivated every woman's heart. They invented the legend that he had -been one of the most gallant captains in Napoleon's army. Soon this -absurd rumour had passed beyond the stage of doubt. Seats were reserved -in the churches in which he was to preach; the poor used to take their -places there as a speculation from five o'clock in the morning. -</p> - -<p> -His success was such that Fabrizio finally conceived the idea, which -altered his whole nature, that, were it only from simple curiosity, the -Marchesa Crescenzi might very well come one day to listen to one of his -sermons. Suddenly the enraptured public became aware that his talent had -increased twofold. He allowed himself, when he was moved, to use imagery -the boldness of which would have made the most practised orators -shudder; at times, forgetting himself completely, he gave way to moments -of passionate inspiration, and his whole audience melted in tears. But -it was in vain that his <i>aggrottato</i> eye sought among all the faces -turned towards the pulpit that one face the presence of which would have -been so great an event for him. -</p> - -<p> -"But if ever I do have that happiness," he said to himself, "either I -shall be taken ill, or I shall stop short altogether." To obviate the -latter misfortune, he had composed a sort of prayer, tender and -impassioned, which he always placed in the pulpit, on a footstool; his -plan was to begin reading this piece, should the Marchesa's presence -ever place him at a loss for a word. -</p> - -<p> -He learned one day, through those of the Marchesa's servants who were in -his pay, that orders had been given to prepare for the following evening -the box of the <i>casa</i> Crescenzi at the principal theatre. It was a -year since the Marchesa had appeared at any public spectacle, and it was a -tenor who was creating a furore and filling the house every evening that -was making her depart from her habit. Fabrizio's first impulse was an -intense joy. "At last I can look at her for a whole evening! They say -she is very pale." And he sought to imagine what that charming face -could be like, with its colours half obliterated by the war that had -been waged in her soul. -</p> - -<p> -His friend Lodovico, in consternation at what he called his master's -madness, found, with great difficulty, a box on the fourth tier, almost -opposite the Marchesa's. An idea suggested itself to Fabrizio; "I hope -to put it into her head to come to a sermon, and I shall choose a church -that is quite small, so as to be able to see her properly." As a rule, -Fabrizio preached at three o'clock. On the morning of the day on which -the Marchesa was to go to the theatre, he gave out that, as he would be -detained all day at the Palace by professional duties, he would preach -as a special exception at half past eight in the evening, in the little -church of Santa Maria della Visitazione, situated precisely opposite one -of the wings of the <i>palazzo</i> Crescenzi. Lodovico, on his behalf, -presented an enormous quantity of candles to the nuns of the Visitation, -with the request that they would illuminate their church during the day. -He had a whole company of Grenadier Guards, a sentry was posted, with -fixed bayonet, outside each chapel, to prevent pilfering. -</p> - -<p> -The sermon was announced for half past eight only, and by two o'clock -the church was completely filled; one may imagine the din that there was -in the quiet street over which towered the noble structure of the -<i>palazzo</i> Crescenzi. Fabrizio had published the announcement that, in -honour of Our Lady of Pity, he would preach on the pity which a generous -soul ought to feel for one in misfortune, even when he is guilty. -</p> - -<p> -Disguised with all possible care, Fabrizio reached his box in the -theatre at the moment when the doors were opened, and when there were -still no lights. The performance began about eight o'clock, and a few -minutes later he had that joy which no mind can conceive that has not -also felt it, he saw the door of the Crescenzi box open; a little later -the Marchesa appeared; he had not had so clear a view of her since the -day on which she had given him her fan. Fabrizio thought that he would -suffocate with joy; he was conscious of emotions so extraordinary that -he said to himself: "Perhaps I am going to die! What a charming way of -ending this sad life! Perhaps I am going to collapse in this box; the -faithful gathered at the Visitation will wait for me in vain, and -to-morrow they will learn that their future Archbishop forgot himself in -a box at the Opera, and, what is more, disguised as a servant and -wearing livery! Farewell my whole reputation! And what does my -reputation mean to me?" -</p> - -<p> -However, about a quarter to nine, Fabrizio collected himself with an -effort; he left his box on the fourth tier and had the greatest -difficulty in reaching, on foot, the place where he was to doff his -livery and put on a more suitable costume. It was not until nearly nine -o'clock that he arrived at the Visitation, in such a state of pallor and -weakness that the rumour went round the church that the Signor -Coadiutore would not be able to preach that evening. One may imagine the -attention that was lavished on him by the Sisters at the grille of their -inner parlour, to which he had retired. These ladies talked incessantly; -Fabrizio asked to be left alone for a few moments, then hastened to the -pulpit. One of his assistants had informed him, about three o'clock, -that the Church of the Visitation was packed to the doors, but with -people of the lowest class, attracted apparently by the spectacle of the -illumination. On entering the pulpit, Fabrizio was agreeably surprised -to find all the chairs occupied by young men of fashion, and by people -of the highest distinction. -</p> - -<p> -A few words of excuse began his sermon, and were received with -suppressed cries of admiration. Next came the impassioned description of -the unfortunate wretch whom one must pity, to honour worthily the -<i>Madonna della Pietà</i>, who, herself, had so greatly suffered when on -earth. The orator was greatly moved; there were moments when he could -barely pronounce his words so as to be heard in every part of this small -church. In the eyes of all the women, and of a good many of the men, he -had himself the air of the wretch whom one ought to pity, so extreme was -his pallor. A few minutes after the words of apology with which he had -begun his discourse, it was noticed that he was not in his normal state; -it was felt that his melancholy, this evening, was more profound and -more tender than usual. Once he was seen to have tears in his eyes; in a -moment there rose through the congregation a general sob, so loud that -the sermon was completely interrupted. -</p> - -<p> -This first interruption was followed by a dozen others; his listeners -uttered cries of admiration, there were outbursts of tears; one heard at -every moment such exclamations as: "<i>Ah! Santa Madonna</i>!" "<i>Ah! Gran -Dio</i>!" The emotion was so general and so irrepressible in this select -public, that no one was ashamed of uttering these cries, and the people -who were carried away by them did not seem to their neighbours to be in -the least absurd. -</p> - -<p> -During the rest which it is customary to take in the middle of the -sermon, Fabrizio was informed that there was absolutely no one left in -the theatre; one lady only was still to be seen in her box, the Marchesa -Crescenza. During this brief interval, a great clamour was suddenly -heard proceeding from the church; it was the faithful who were voting a -statue to the Signor Coadiutore. His success in the second part of the -discourse was so wild and worldly, the bursts of Christian contrition -gave place so completely to cries of admiration that were altogether -profane, that he felt it his duty to address, on leaving the pulpit, a -sort of reprimand to his hearers. Whereupon they all left at once with a -movement that was singularly formal; and, on reaching the street, all -began to applaud with frenzy, and to shout: "<i>Evviva del Dongo</i>!" -</p> - -<p> -Fabrizio hastily consulted his watch, and ran to a little barred window -which lighted the narrow passage from the organ gallery to the interior -of the convent. Out of politeness to the unprecedented and incredible -crowd which filled the street, the porter of the <i>palazzo</i> Crescenzi -had placed a dozen torches in those iron sconces which one sees projecting -from the outer walls of <i>palazzo</i> built in the middle ages. After -some minutes, and long before the shouting had ceased, the event for which -Fabrizio was waiting with such anxiety occurred, the Marchesa's -carriage, returning from the theatre, appeared in the street; the -coachman was obliged to stop, and it was only at a crawling pace, and by -dint of shouts, that the carriage was able to reach the door. -</p> - -<p> -The Marchesa had been touched by the sublime music, as is the way with -sorrowing hearts, but far more by the complete solitude in which she -sat, when she learned the reason for it. In the middle of the second -act, and while the tenor was on the stage, even the people in the pit -had suddenly abandoned their seats to go and tempt fortune by trying to -force their way into the Church of the Visitation. The Marchesa, finding -herself stopped by the crowd outside her door, burst into tears. "I had -not made a bad choice," she said to herself. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>ANNETTA MARINI</i></h5> - -<p> -But precisely on account of this momentary weakening, she firmly -resisted the pressure put upon her by the Marchese and the friends of -the family, who could not conceive her not going to see so astonishing a -preacher. -</p> - -<p> -"Really," they said, "he beats even the best tenor in Italy!" "If I see -him, I am lost!" the Marchesa said to herself. -</p> - -<p> -It was in vain that Fabrizio, whose talent seemed more brilliant every -day, preached several times more in the same little church, opposite the -<i>palazzo</i> Crescenzi, never did he catch sight of Clelia, who indeed -took offence finally at this affectation of coming to disturb her quiet -street, after he had already driven her from her own garden. -</p> - -<p> -In letting his eye run over the faces of the women who listened to him, -Fabrizio had noticed some time back a little face of dark complexion, -very pretty, and with eyes that darted fire. As a rule these magnificent -eyes were drowned in tears at the ninth or tenth sentence in the sermon. -When Fabrizio was obliged to say things at some length, which were -tedious to himself, he would very readily let his eyes rest on that -head, the youthfulness of which pleased him. He learned that this young -person was called Annetta Marini, the only daughter and heiress of the -richest cloth merchant in Parma, who had died a few months before. -</p> - -<p> -Presently the name of this Annetta Marini, the cloth merchant's daughter, -was on every tongue; she had fallen desperately in love with Fabrizio. -When the famous sermons began, her marriage had been arranged with -Giacomo Rassi, eldest son of the Minister of Justice, who was by no -means unattractive to her; but she had barely listened twice to -Monsignor Fabrizio before she declared that she no longer wished to -marry; and, since she was asked the reason for so singular a change of -mind, she replied that it was not fitting for an honourable girl to -marry one man when she had fallen madly in love with another. Her family -sought to discover, at first without success, who this other might be. -</p> - -<p> -But the burning tears which Annetta shed at the sermon put them on the -way to the truth; her mother and uncles having asked her if she loved -Monsignor Fabrizio, she replied boldly that, since the truth had been -discovered, she would not demean herself with a lie; she added that, -having no hope of marrying the man whom she adored, she wished at least -no longer to have her eyes offended by the ridiculous figure of Contino -Rassi. This speech in ridicule of the son of a man who was pursued by -the envy of the entire middle class became in a couple of days the talk -of the whole town. Annetta Marini's reply was thought charming, and -everyone repeated it. People spoke of it at the <i>palazzo</i> Crescenzi -as everywhere else. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>HAYEZ</i></h5> - -<p> -Clelia took good care not to open her mouth on such a topic in her own -drawing-room: but she plied her maid with questions, and, the following -Sunday, after hearing mass in the chapel of her <i>palazzo</i>, bade her -maid come with her in her carriage and went in search of a second mass at -Signorina Marini's parish church. She found assembled there all the -gallants of the town, drawn by the same attraction; these gentlemen were -standing by the door. Presently, from the great stir which they made, -the Marchesa gathered that this Signorina Marini was entering the -church; she found herself excellently placed to see her, and, for all -her piety, paid little attention to the mass, Clelia found in this -middle class beauty a little air of decision which, to her mind, would -have suited, if anyone, a woman who had been married for a good many -years. Otherwise, she was admirably built on her small scale, and her -eyes, as they say in Lombardy, seemed to make conversation with the -things at which she looked. The Marchesa escaped before the end of mass. -</p> - -<p> -The following day the friends of the Crescenzi household, who came -regularly to spend the evening there, related a fresh absurdity on the -part of Annetta Marini. Since her mother, afraid of her doing something -foolish, left only a little money at her disposal. Annetta had gone and -offered a magnificent diamond ring, a gift from her father, to the -famous Hayez, then at Parma decorating the drawing-rooms of the -<i>palazzo</i> Crescenzi, and had asked him to paint the portrait of Signor -del Dongo; but she wished that in this portrait he should simply be -dressed in black, and not in the priestly habit. Well, the previous -evening, Annetta's mother had been greatly surprised, and even more -shocked to find in her daughter's room a magnificent portrait of -Fabrizio del Dongo, set in the finest frame that had been gilded in -Parma in the last twenty years. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h4><a id="CHAPTER_TWENTY-EIGHT">CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT</a></h4> - -<p> -Carried away by the train of events, we have not had time to sketch the -comic race of courtiers who swarm at the court of Parma and who made -fatuous comments on the incidents which we have related. What in that -country makes a small noble, adorned with an income of three or four -thousand lire, worthy to figure in black stockings at the Prince's -levees, is, first and foremost, that he shall never have read Voltaire -and Rousseau: this condition it is not very difficult to fulfil. He must -then know how to speak with emotion of the Sovereign's cold, or of the -latest case of mineralogical specimens that has come to him from Saxony. -If, after this, you were not absent from mass for a single day in the -year, if you could include in the number of your intimate friends two or -three prominent monks, the Prince deigned to address a few words to you -once every year, a fortnight before or a fortnight after the first of -January, which brought you great relief in your parish, and the tax -collector dared not press you unduly if you were in arrears with the -annual sum of one hundred francs with which your small estate was -burdened. -</p> - -<p> -Signor Gonzo was a poor devil of this sort, very noble, who, apart from -possessing some little fortune of his own, had obtained, through the -Marchese Crescenzi's influence, a magnificent post which brought him in -eleven hundred and fifty francs annually. This man might have dined at -home; but he had one passion: he was never at his ease and happy except -when he found himself in the drawing-room of some great personage who -said to him from time to time: "Hold your tongue, Gonzo, you're a -perfect fool." This judgment was prompted by ill temper, for Gonzo had -almost always more intelligence than the great personage. He would -discuss anything, and quite gracefully, besides, he was ready to change -his opinion on a grimace from the master of the house. To tell the -truth, although of a profound subtlety in securing his own interests, he -had not an idea in his head, and, when the Prince had not a cold, was -sometimes embarrassed as he came into a drawing-room. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>COURTIERS</i></h5> - -<p> -What had, in Parma, won Gonzo a reputation was a magnificent cocked hat, -adorned with a slightly dilapidated black plume, which he wore even with -evening dress; but you ought to have seen the way in which he carried -this plume, whether upon his head or in his hand; there were talent and -importance combined. He inquired with genuine anxiety after the health of -the Marchesa's little dog, and, if the <i>palazzo</i> Crescenzi had caught -fire, he would have risked his life to save one of those fine armchairs -in gold brocade, which for so many years had caught in his black silk -breeches, whenever it so happened that he ventured to sit down for a -moment. -</p> - -<p> -Seven or eight persons of this species appeared every evening at seven -o'clock in the Marchesa Crescenzi's drawing-room. No sooner had they sat -down than a lackey, magnificently attired in a daffodil-yellow livery, -covered all over with silver braid, as was the red waistcoat which -completed his magnificence, came to take the poor devils' hats and -canes. He was immediately followed by a footman carrying an -infinitesimal cup of coffee, supported on a stem of silver filigree; and -every half hour a butler, wearing a sword and a magnificent coat, in the -French style, brought round ices. -</p> - -<p> -Half an hour after the threadbare little courtiers, one saw arrive five -or six officers, talking in loud voices and with a very military air, -and usually discussing the number of buttons which ought to be on the -soldiers' uniform in order that the Commander in Chief might gain -victories. It would not have been prudent to quote a French newspaper in -this drawing-room; for, even when the news itself was of the most -agreeable kind, as for instance that fifty Liberals had been shot in -Spain, the speaker none the less remained convicted of having read a -French newspaper. The crowning effort of all these people's skill was to -obtain every ten years an increase of 150 francs in their pensions. It -is thus that the Prince shares with his nobility the pleasure of -reigning over all the peasants and burgesses of the land. -</p> - -<p> -The principal personage, beyond all question, of the Crescenzi -drawing-room, was the Cavaliere Foscarini, an entirely honest man; in -consequence of which he had been in prison off and on, under every -government. He had been a member of that famous Chamber of Deputies -which, at Milan, rejected the Registration Law presented to them by -Napoleon, an action of very rare occurrence in history. Cavaliere -Foscarini, after having been for twenty years a friend of the Marchese's -mother, had remained the influential man in the household. He had always -some amusing story to tell, but nothing escaped his shrewd perception; -and the young Marchesa, who felt herself guilty at heart, trembled -before him. -</p> - -<p> -As Gonzo had a regular passion for the great gentleman, who said rude -things to him and moved him to tears once or twice every year, his mania -was to seek to do him trifling services; and, if he had not been -paralysed by the habits of an extreme poverty, he might sometimes have -succeeded, for he was not lacking in a certain ingredient of shrewdness, -and a far greater effrontery. -</p> - -<p> -Gonzo, as we have seen him, felt some contempt for the Marchesa -Crescenzi, for never in her life had she addressed a word to him that -was not quite civil; but after all she was the wife of the famous -Marchese Crescenzi, <i>Cavaliere d'onore</i> to the Princess, who, once or -twice in a month, used to say to Gonzo: "Hold your tongue, Gonzo, you're -a perfect fool." -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>SONNETS</i></h5> - -<p> -Gonzo observed that everything which was said about little Annetta -Marini made the Marchesa emerge for a moment from the state of dreamy -indifference in which as a rule she remained plunged until the clock -struck eleven; then she made tea, and offered a cup to each of the men -present, addressing him by name. After which, at the moment of her -withdrawing to her room, she seemed to find a momentary gaiety, and this -was the time chosen for repeating to her satirical sonnets. -</p> - -<p> -They compose such sonnets admirably in Italy: it is the one kind of -literature that has still a little vitality; as a matter of fact, it is -not subjected to the censor, and the courtiers of the <i>casa</i> Crescenzi -invariably prefaced their sonnets with these words: "Will the Signora -Marchesa permit one to repeat to her a very bad sonnet?" And when the -sonnet had been greeted with laughter and had been repeated several -times, one of the officers would not fail to exclaim: "The Minister of -Police ought to see about giving a bit of hanging to the authors of such -atrocities." Middle class society, on the other hand, welcomes these -sonnets with the most open admiration, and the lawyers' clerks sell -copies of them. -</p> - -<p> -From the sort of curiosity shown by the Marchesa, Gonzo imagined that -too much had been said in front of her of the beauty of the little -Marini, who moreover had a fortune of a million, and that the other -woman was jealous of her. As, with his incessant smile and his complete -effrontery towards all that was not noble, Gonzo found his way -everywhere, on the very next day he arrived in the Marchesa's -drawing-room, carrying his plumed hat in a triumphant fashion which was -to be seen perhaps only once or twice in the year, when the Prince had -said to him: "<i>Addio</i>, Gonzo." -</p> - -<p> -After respectfully greeting the Marchesa, Gonzo did not withdraw as -usual to take his seat on the chair which had just been pushed forward -for him. He took his stand in the middle of the circle and exclaimed -bluntly: "I have seen the portrait of Monsignor del Dongo." Clelia was -so surprised that she was obliged to lean upon the arm of her chair; she -tried to face the storm, but presently was obliged to leave the room. -</p> - -<p> -"You must agree, my poor Gonzo, that your tactlessness is unique," came -arrogantly from one of the officers, who was finishing his fourth ice. -"Don't you know that the Coadjutor, who was one of the most gallant -Colonels in Napoleon's army, played a trick that ought to have hanged -him on the Marchesa's father, when he walked out of the citadel where -General Fabio Conti was in command, as he might have walked out of the -Steccata?" (The Steccata is the principal church in Parma.) -</p> - -<p> -"Indeed I am ignorant of many things, my dear Captain, and I am a poor -imbecile who makes blunders all day long." -</p> - -<p> -This reply, quite to the Italian taste, caused a laugh at the expense of -the brilliant officer. The Marchesa soon returned; she had armed herself -with courage, and was not without hope of being able herself to admire -this portrait, which was said to be excellent. She spoke with praise of -the talent of Hayez, who had painted it. Unconsciously she addressed -charming smiles at Gonzo, who looked malevolently at the officer. As all -the other courtiers of the house indulged in the same pastime, the -officer took flight, not without vowing a deadly hatred against Gonzo; -the latter was triumphant, and later in the evening, when he took his -leave, was invited to dine next day. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>GONZO</i></h5> - -<p> -"I can tell you something more," cried Gonzo, the following evening, -after dinner, when the servants had left the room: "the latest thing is -that our Coadjutor has fallen in love with the little Marini!" -</p> - -<p> -One may judge of the agitation that arose in Clelia's heart on hearing -so extraordinary an announcement. The Marchese himself was moved. -</p> - -<p> -"But, Gonzo my friend, you are off the track, as usual! And you ought to -speak with a little more caution of a person who has had the honour to -sit down eleven times at his Highness's whist-table." -</p> - -<p> -"Well, Signor Marchese," replied Gonzo with the coarseness of people of -his sort, "I can promise you that he would just as soon sit down to the -little Marini. But it is enough that these details displease you; they -no longer exist for me, who desire above all things not to shock my -beloved Marchese." -</p> - -<p> -Regularly, after dinner, the Marchese used to retire to take a -<i>siesta</i>. He let the time pass that day; but Gonzo would sooner -have cut out his tongue than have said another word about the little -Marini; and, every moment, he began a speech, so planned that the -Marchese might hope that he was about to return to the subject of the -little lady's love affairs. Gonzo had in a superior degree that Italian -quality of mind which consists in exquisitely delaying the launching of -the word for which one's hearer longs. The poor Marchese, dying of -curiosity, was obliged to make advances; he told Gonzo that, when he had -the pleasure of dining with him, he ate twice as much as usual. Gonzo -did not take the hint, he began to describe a magnificent collection of -pictures which the Marchesa Balbi, the late Prince's mistress, was -forming; three or four times he spoke of Hayez, in a slow and measured -tone full of the most profound admiration. The Marchese said to himself: -"Now he is coming to the portrait which the little Marini ordered!" But -this was what Gonzo took good care not to do. Five o'clock struck, which -put the Marchese in the worst of tempers, for he was in the habit of -getting into his carriage at half past five, after his <i>siesta</i>, to -drive to the Corso. -</p> - -<p> -"This is what you do with your stupid talk!" he said rudely to Gonzo: -"you are making me reach the Corso after the Princess, whose <i>Cavaliere -d'onore</i> I am, when she may have orders to give me. Come along! Hurry -up! Tell me in a few words, if you can, what is this so-called love -affair of the Coadjutor?" -</p> - -<p> -But Gonzo wished to keep this anecdote for the Marchesa, who had invited -him to dine; he did <i>hurry up</i>, in a very few words, the story -demanded of him, and the Marchese, half asleep, ran off to take his -<i>siesta</i>. Gonzo adopted a wholly different manner with the poor -Marchesa. She had remained so young and natural in spite of her high -position, that she felt it her duty to make amends for the rudeness with -which the Marchese had just spoken to Gonzo. Charmed by this success, -her guest recovered all his eloquence, and made it a pleasure, no less -than a duty, to enter into endless details with her. -</p> - -<p> -Little Annetta Marini gave as much as a sequin for each place that was -kept for her for the sermons; she always arrived with two of her aunts -and her father's old cashier. These places, which were reserved for her -overnight, were generally chosen almost opposite the pulpit, but -slightly in the direction of the high altar, for she had noticed that -the Coadjutor often turned towards the altar. Now, what the public also -had noticed was that, <i>not infrequently</i>, those speaking eyes of the -young preacher rested with evident pleasure on the young heiress, that -striking beauty; and apparently with some attention, for, when he had -his eyes fixed on her, his sermon became learned; the quotations began -to abound in it, there was no more sign of that eloquence which springs -from the heart; and the ladies, whose interest ceased almost at once, -began to look at the Marini and to find fault with her. -</p> - -<p> -Clelia made him repeat to her three times over all these singular -details. At the third repetition she became lost in meditation; she was -calculating that just fourteen months had passed since she last saw -Fabrizio. "Would it be very wrong," she asked herself, "to spend an hour -in a church, not to see Fabrizio but to hear a famous preacher? Besides, -I shall take a seat a long way from the pulpit, and I shall look at -Fabrizio only once as I go in and once more at the end of the -sermon. . . . No," Clelia said to herself, "it is not Fabrizio I am going -to see, I am going to hear the astounding preacher!" In the midst of all -these reasonings, the Marchesa felt some remorse; her conduct had been so -exemplary for fourteen months! "Well," she said to herself, in order to -secure some peace of mind, "if the first woman to arrive this evening -has been to hear Monsignor del Dongo, I shall go too; if she has not -been, I shall stay away." -</p> - -<p> -Having come to this decision, the Marchesa made Gonzo happy by saying to -him: -</p> - -<p> -"Try to find out on what day the Coadjutor will be preaching, and in -what church. This evening, before you go, I shall perhaps have a -commission to give you." -</p> - -<p> -No sooner had Gonzo set off for the Corso than Clelia went to take the -air in the garden of her <i>palazzo</i>. She did not consider the objection -that for ten months she had not set foot in it. She was lively, -animated; she had a colour. That evening, as each boring visitor entered -the room, her heart throbbed with emotion. At length they announced -Gonzo, who at the first glance saw that he was going to be the -indispensable person for the next week; "The Marchesa is jealous of the -little Marini, and, upon my word, it would be a fine drama to put on the -stage," he said to himself, "with the Marchesa playing the leading lady, -little Annetta the juvenile, and Monsignor del Dongo the lover! Upon my -word, the seats would not be too dear at two francs." He was beside -himself with joy, and throughout the evening cut everybody short, and -told the most ridiculous stories (that, for example, of the famous -actress and the Marquis de Pequigny, which he had heard the day before -from a French visitor). The Marchesa, for her part, could not stay in -one place; she moved about the drawing-room, she passed into a gallery -adjoining it into which the Marchese had admitted no picture that had -not cost more than twenty thousand francs. These pictures spoke in so -clear a language that evening that they wore out the Marchesa's heart -with the force of her emotion. At last she heard the double doors open, -she ran to the drawing-room: it was the Marchesa Raversi! But, on making -her the customary polite speeches, Clelia felt that her voice was -failing her. The Marchesa made her repeat twice the question: "What do -you think of the fashionable preacher?" which she had not heard at -first. -</p> - -<p> -"I did regard him as a little intriguer, a most worthy nephew of the -illustrious Contessa Mosca, but the last time he preached; why, it was -at the Church of the Visitation, opposite you, he was so sublime, that I -could not hate him any longer, and I regard him as the most eloquent man -I have ever heard." -</p> - -<p> -"So you have been to hear his sermons?" said Clelia, trembling with -happiness. -</p> - -<p> -"Why," the Marchesa laughed, "haven't you been listening? I wouldn't -miss one for anything in the world. They say that his lungs are -affected, and that soon he will have to give up preaching." -</p> - -<p> -No sooner had the Marchesa left than Clelia called Gonzo to the gallery. -</p> - -<p> -"I have almost decided," she told him, "to hear this preacher who is so -highly praised. When does he preach?" -</p> - -<p> -"Next Monday, that is to say in three days from now; and one would say -that he had guessed Your Excellency's intention, for he is coming to -preach in the Church of the Visitation." -</p> - -<p> -There was more to be settled; but Clelia could no longer muster enough -voice to speak: she took five or six turns of the gallery without adding -a word. Gonzo said to himself: "There is vengeance at work. How can -anyone have the insolence to escape from a prison, especially when he is -guarded by a hero like General Fabio Conti? -</p> - -<p> -"However, you must make haste," he added with delicate irony; "his lungs -are affected. I heard Doctor Rambo say that he has not a year to live; -God is punishing him for having broken his bond by treacherously -escaping from the citadel." -</p> - -<p> -The Marchesa sat down on the divan in the gallery, and made a sign to -Gonzo to follow her example. After some moments of silence she handed -him a little purse in which she had a few sequins ready. "Reserve four -places for me." -</p> - -<p> -"Will it be permitted for poor Gonzo to slip in Your Excellency's -train?" -</p> - -<p> -"Certainly. Reserve five places. . . . I do not in the least mind," she -added, "whether I am near the pulpit; but I should like to see Signorina -Marini, who they say is so pretty." -</p> - -<p> -The Marchesa could not live through the three days that separated her -from the famous Monday, the day of the sermon. Gonzo, inasmuch as it was -a signal honour to be seen in the company of so great a lady, had put on -his French coat with his sword; this was not all, taking advantage of -the proximity of the <i>palazzo</i>, he had had carried into the church a -magnificent gilt armchair for the Marchesa, which was thought the last -word in insolence by the middle classes. One may imagine how the poor -Marchesa felt when she saw this armchair, which had been placed directly -opposite the pulpit. Clelia was in such confusion, with downcast eyes, -shrinking into a corner of the huge chair, that she had not even the -courage to look at the little Marini, whom Gonzo pointed out to her with -his hand with an effrontery which amazed her. Everyone not of noble -birth was absolutely nothing in the eyes of this courtier. -</p> - -<p> -Fabrizio appeared in the pulpit; he was so thin, so pale, so -<i>consumed</i>, that Clelia's eyes immediately filled with tears. -Fabrizio uttered a few words, then stopped, as though his voice had -suddenly failed; he tried in vain to begin various sentences; he turned -round and took up a sheet of paper: -</p> - -<p> -"Brethren," he said, "an unhappy soul and one well worthy of all your -pity requests you, through my lips, to pray for the ending of his -torments, which will cease only with his life." -</p> - -<p> -Fabrizio read the rest of his paper very slowly; but the expression of -his voice was such that before he was halfway through the prayer, -everyone was weeping, even Gonzo. "At any rate, I shall not be noticed," -thought the Marchesa, bursting into tears. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>THE ORANGERY</i></h5> - -<p> -While he was reading from the paper, Fabrizio found two or three ideas -concerning the state of the unhappy man for whom he had come to beg the -prayers of the faithful. Presently thoughts came to him in abundance. -While he appeared to be addressing the public, he spoke only to the -Marchesa. He ended his discourse a little sooner than was usual, -because, in spite of his efforts to control them, his tears got the -better of him to such a point that he was no longer able to pronounce -his words in an intelligible manner. The good judges found this sermon -strange but quite equal, in pathos at least, to the famous sermon -preached with the lighted candles. As for Clelia, no sooner had she -heard the first ten lines of the prayer read by Fabrizio than it seemed -to her an atrocious crime to have been able to spend fourteen months -without seeing him. On her return home she took to her bed, to be able -to think of Fabrizio with perfect freedom; and next morning, at an early -hour, Fabrizio received a note couched in the following terms: -</p> - -<blockquote><p> -"We rely upon your honour; find four <i>bravi</i>, of whose discretion you -can be sure, and to-morrow, when midnight sounds from the Steccata, be -by a little door which bears the number 19, in the Strada San Paolo. -Remember that you may be attacked, do not come alone." -</p></blockquote> - -<p> -On recognising that heavenly script, Fabrizio fell on his knees and -burst into tears. "At last," he cried, "after fourteen months and eight -days! Farewell to preaching." -</p> - -<p> -It would take too long to describe all the varieties of folly to which -the hearts of Fabrizio and Clelia were a prey that day. The little door -indicated in the note was none other than that of the orangery of the -<i>palazzo</i> Crescenzi, and ten times in the day Fabrizio found an excuse -to visit it. He armed himself, and alone, shortly before midnight, with -a rapid step, was passing by the door when, to his inexpressible joy, he -heard a well known voice say in a very low whisper: -</p> - -<p> -"Come in here, friend of my heart." -</p> - -<p> -Fabrizio entered cautiously and found himself actually in the orangery, -but opposite a window heavily barred which stood three or four feet -above the ground. The darkness was intense. Fabrizio had heard a slight -sound in this window, and was exploring the bars with his hand, when he -felt another hand, slipped through the bars, take hold of his and carry -it to a pair of lips which gave it a kiss. -</p> - -<p> -"It is I," said a dear voice, "who have come here to tell you that I -love you, and to ask you if you are willing to obey me." -</p> - -<p> -One may imagine the answer, the joy, the astonishment of Fabrizio; after -the first transports, Clelia said to him: -</p> - -<p> -"I have made a vow to the Madonna, as you know, never to see you; that -is why I receive you in this profound darkness. I wish you to understand -dearly that, should you ever force me to look at you in the daylight, -all would be over between us. But first of all, I do not wish you to -preach before Annetta Marini, and do not go and think that it was I who -was so foolish as to have an armchair carried into the House of God." -</p> - -<p> -"My dear angel, I shall never preach again before anyone; I have been -preaching only in the hope that one day I might see you." -</p> - -<p> -"Do not speak like that, remember that it is not permitted to me to see -you." -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -Here we shall ask leave to pass over, without saying a single word about -them, an interval of three years. -</p> - -<p> -At the time when our story is resumed, Conte Mosca had long since -returned to Parma, as Prime Minister, and was more powerful than ever. -</p> - -<p> -After three years of divine happiness, Fabrizio's heart underwent a -caprice of affection which led to a complete change in his -circumstances. The Marchesa had a charming little boy two years old, -Sandrino, who was his mother's joy; he was always with her or on the -knees of the Marchese Crescenzi; Fabrizio, on the other hand, hardly -ever saw him; he did not wish him to become accustomed to loving another -father. He formed the plan of taking the child away before his memories -should have grown distinct. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>L'AMICIZIA</i></h5> - -<p> -In the long hours of each day when the Marchesa could not see her lover, -Sandrino's company consoled her; for we have to confess a thing which -will seem strange north of the Alps; in spite of her errors she had -remained true to her vow; she had promised the Madonna, as the reader -may perhaps remember, never to see Fabrizio; these had been her exact -words; consequently she received him only at night, and there was never -any light in the room. -</p> - -<p> -But every evening he was received by his mistress; and, what is worthy -of admiration, in the midst of a court devoured by curiosity and envy, -Fabrizio's precautions had been so ably calculated that this -<i>amicizia</i>, as it is called in Lombardy, had never even been -suspected. Their love was too intense for quarrels not to occur; Clelia -was extremely given to jealousy, but almost always their quarrels sprang -from another cause. Fabrizio had made use of some public ceremony in -order to be in the same place as the Marchesa and to look at her; she -then seized a pretext to escape quickly, and for a long time afterwards -banished her lover. -</p> - -<p> -Amazement was felt at the court of Parma that no intrigue should be -known of a woman so remarkable both for her beauty and for the loftiness -of her mind; she gave rise to passions which inspired many foolish -actions, and often Fabrizio too was jealous. -</p> - -<p> -The good Archbishop Landriani had long been dead; the piety, the -exemplary morals, the eloquence of Fabrizio had made him be forgotten; -his own elder brother was dead and all the wealth of his family had come -to him. From this time onwards he distributed annually among the vicars -and curates of his diocese the hundred odd thousand francs which the -Archbishopric of Parma brought him in. -</p> - -<p> -It would be difficult to imagine a life more honoured, more honourable -or more useful than Fabrizio had made for himself, when everything was -upset by this unfortunate caprice of paternal affection. -</p> - -<p> -"According to the vow which I respect and which nevertheless is the bane -of my life, since you refuse to see me during the day," he said once to -Clelia, "I am obliged to live perpetually alone, with no other -distraction than my work; and besides I have not enough work. In the -course of this stern and sad way of passing the long hours of each day, -an idea has occurred to me, which is now torturing me, and against which -I have been striving in vain for six months: my son will not love me at -all; he never hears my name mentioned. Brought up amid all the pleasing -luxury of the <i>palazzo</i> Crescenzi, he barely knows me. On the rare -occasions when I do see him, I think of his mother, whose heavenly -beauty he recalls to me, and whom I may not see, and he must find me a -serious person, which, with children, means sad." -</p> - -<p> -"Well," said the Marchesa, "to what is all this speech leading? It -frightens me." -</p> - -<p> -"To my having my son; I wish him to live with me; I wish to see him -every day; I wish him to grow accustomed to loving me; I wish to love -him myself at my leisure. Since a fatality without counterpart in the -world decrees that I must be deprived of that happiness which so many -other tender hearts enjoy, and forbids me to pass my life with all that -I adore, I wish at least to have beside me a creature who recalls you to -my heart, who to some extent takes your place. Men and affairs are a -burden to me in my enforced solitude; you know that ambition has always -been a vain word to me, since the moment when I had the good fortune to -be locked up by Barbone; and anything that is not felt in my heart seems -to me fatuous in the melancholy which in your absence overwhelms me." -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>SANDRINO</i></h5> - -<p> -One can imagine the keen anguish with which her lover's grief filled the -heart of poor Clelia; her sorrow was all the more intense, as she felt -that Fabrizio had some justification. She went the length of wondering -whether she ought not to try to obtain a release from her vow. Then she -would receive Fabrizio during the day like any other person in society, -and her reputation for sagacity was too well established for any scandal -to arise. She told herself that by spending enough money she could -procure a dispensation from her vow; but she felt also that this purely -worldly arrangement would not set her conscience at rest, and that an -angry heaven might perhaps punish her for this fresh crime. -</p> - -<p> -On the other hand, if she consented to yield to so natural a desire on -the part of Fabrizio, if she sought not to hurt that tender heart which -she knew so well, and whose tranquillity her singular vow so strangely -jeopardised, what chance was there of abducting the only son of one of -the greatest nobles in Italy without the fraud's being discovered? The -Marchese Crescenzi would spend enormous sums, would himself conduct the -investigations, and sooner or later the facts of the abduction would -become known. There was only one way of meeting this danger, the child -must be sent abroad, to Edinburgh, for instance, or to Paris; but this -was a course to which the mother's affection could never consent. The -other plan proposed by Fabrizio, which was indeed the more reasonable of -the two, had something sinister about it, and was almost more alarming -still in the eyes of this despairing mother; she must, said Fabrizio, -feign an illness for the child; he would grow steadily worse, until -finally he died in the Marchese Crescenzi's absence. -</p> - -<p> -A repugnance which, in Clelia, amounted to terror, caused a rupture that -could not last. -</p> - -<p> -Clelia insisted that they must not tempt God; that this beloved son was -the fruit of a crime, and that if they provoked the divine anger -further, God would not fail to call him back to Himself. Fabrizio spoke -again of his strange destiny: "The station to which chance has called -me," he said to Clelia, "and my love oblige me to dwell in an eternal -solitude, I cannot, like the majority of my brethren, taste the -pleasures of an intimate society, since you will receive me only in the -darkness, which reduces to a few moments, so to speak, the part of my -life which I may spend with you." -</p> - -<p> -Tears flowed in abundance. Clelia fell ill; but she loved Fabrizio too -well to maintain her opposition to the terrible sacrifice that he -demanded of her. Apparently, Sandrino fell ill; the Marchese sent in -haste for the most celebrated doctors, and Clelia at once encountered a -terrible difficulty which she had not foreseen: she must prevent this -adored child from taking any of the remedies ordered by the doctors; it -was no small matter. -</p> - -<p> -The child, kept in bed longer than was good for his health, became -really ill. How was one to explain to the doctors the cause of his -malady? Torn asunder by two conflicting interests both so dear to her, -Clelia was within an ace of losing her reason. Must she consent to an -apparent recovery, and so sacrifice all the results of that long and -painful make-believe? Fabrizio, for his part, could neither forgive -himself the violence he was doing to the heart of his mistress nor -abandon his project. He had found a way of being admitted every night to -the sick child's room, which had led to another complication. The -Marchesa came to attend to her son, and sometimes Fabrizio was obliged -to see her by candle-light, which seemed to the poor sick heart of -Clelia a horrible sin and one that foreboded the death of Sandrino. In -vain had the most famous casuists, consulted as to the necessity of -adherence to a vow in a case where its performance would obviously do -harm, replied that the vow could not be regarded as broken in a criminal -fashion, so long as the person bound by a promise to God failed to keep -that promise not for a vain pleasure of the senses but so as not to -cause an obvious evil. The Marchesa was none the less in despair, and -Fabrizio could see the time coming when his strange idea was going to -bring about the death of Clelia and that of his son. -</p> - -<p> -He had recourse to his intimate friend, Conte Mosca, who, for all the -old Minister that he was, was moved by this tale of love of which to a -great extent he had been ignorant. -</p> - -<p> -"I can procure for you the Marchese's absence for five or six days at -least: when do you require it?" -</p> - -<p> -A little later, Fabrizio came to inform the Conte that everything was in -readiness now for them to take advantage of the Marchese's absence. -</p> - -<p> -Two days after this, as the Marchese was riding home from one of his -estates in the neighbourhood of Mantua, a party of brigands, evidently -hired to execute some personal vengeance, carried him off, without -maltreating him in any way, and placed him in a boat which took three -days to travel down the Po, making the same journey that Fabrizio had -made long ago, after the famous affair with Giletti. On the fourth day, -the brigands marooned the Marchese on a desert island in the Po, taking -care first to rob him completely, and to leave him no money or other -object that had the slightest value. It was two whole days before the -Marchese managed to reach his <i>palazzo</i> in Parma; he found it draped -in black and all his household in mourning. -</p> - -<p> -This abduction, very skilfully carried out, had a deplorable -consequence: Sandrino, secretly installed in a large and fine house -where the Marchesa came to see him almost every day, died after a few -months. Clelia imagined herself to have been visited with a just -punishment, for having been unfaithful to her vow to the Madonna: she -had seen Fabrizio so often by candle-light, and indeed twice in broad -daylight and with such rapturous affection, during Sandrino's illness. -She survived by a few months only this beloved son, but had the joy of -dying in the arms of her lover. -</p> - -<p> -Fabrizio was too much in love and too religious to have recourse to -suicide; he hoped to meet Clelia again in a better world, but he had too -much intelligence not to feel that he had first to atone for many -faults. -</p> - -<p> -A few days after Clelia's death, he signed several settlements by which -he assured a pension of one thousand francs to each of his servants, and -reserved a similar pension for himself; he gave landed property, of an -annual value of 100,000 lire or thereabouts, to Contessa Mosca; a -similar estate to the Marchesa del Dongo, his mother, and such residue -as there might be of the paternal fortune to one of his sisters who was -poorly married. On the following day, having forwarded to the proper -authorities his resignation of his Archbishopric and of all the posts -which the favour of Ernesto V and the Prime Minister's friendship had -successively heaped upon him, he retired to the <i>Charterhouse of -Parma</i>, situated in the woods adjoining the Po, two leagues from -Sacca. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h5><i>GINA DEL DONGO</i></h5> - -<p> -Contessa Mosca had strongly approved, at the time, her husband's return -to office, but she herself would never on any account consent to cross -the frontier of the States of Ernesto V. She held her court at Vignano, -a quarter of a league from Casalmaggiore, on the left bank of the Po, -and consequently in the Austrian States. In this magnificent palace of -Vignano, which the Conte had built for her, she entertained every -Thursday all the high society of Parma, and every day her own many -friends. Fabrizio had never missed a day in going to Vignano. The -Contessa, in a word, combined all the outward appearances of happiness, -but she lived for a very short time only after Fabrizio, whom she -adored, and who spent but one year in his Charterhouse. -</p> - -<p> -The prisons of Parma were empty, the Conte immensely rich, Ernesto V -adored by his subjects, who compared his rule to that of the Grand Dukes -of Tuscany. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h4>TO THE HAPPY FEW</h4> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h4><a id="APPENDIX">APPENDIX</a></h4> - -<p> -This translation of <i>La Chartreuse de Parme</i> has been made from the -reprint in two volumes of the first edition (Paris, Les éditions G. -Grès et Cie. MCMXXII), with reference also to the stereotyped edition -published by MM. Calmann Lévy and to the reprint issued by M. Flammarion -in his series, <i>Les meilleurs auteurs classiques</i> (1921). I -am also indebted to the extremely literal version by Signora Maria -Ortiz (Biblioteca Sansoniana Straniera—<i>La Certosa di -Parma</i>—G. C. Sansoni, Firenze, 1922), which has thrown a ray -of light on several dark passages. -</p> - -<p> -The <i>Chartreuse</i> was written in (and not a distance of three hundred -leagues from) Paris, and in the short interval between November 4, 1838, -and December 26 of that year. So much the author reveals in a note, -which I do not translate: "The Char, made 4 novembre 1838—26 décembre -id. The 3 septembre 1838, I had the idea of the Char. I begined it after -a tour in Britanny, I suppose, or to the Havre. I begined the 4 nov. -till the 26 décembre. The 26 dec. I send the 6 énormes cahiers to Kol. -for les faire voir to the bookseller." His object in pretending to have -written the book in 1830 may have been to establish a prescriptive -immunity from any charge of traducing the government of Louis-Philippe; -if so, it is by a characteristic slip that he speaks of having written -it <i>towards the end of</i> 1830. -</p> - -<p> -Kol., otherwise Romain Colomb, Beyle's executor, relates in the -<i>Notice Biographique</i> prefixed to <i>Armance</i> that in January, -1839, while the <i>Chartreuse</i> was going through the press, a -<i>cahier</i> of sixty pages of the manuscript was mislaid. Unable to -find it among the mass of papers that littered his room, Beyle rewrote -the sixty pages, and the new version was already in type when he told -Colomb of his loss. Colomb at once searched for and found the missing -<i>cahier</i>, whereupon Beyle, "stupefied by the ease of my discovery, -dreading, in a sense, the sight of this manuscript, would not even -glance over it, much less compare it with the pages that had taken its -place." -</p> - -<p> -It was published in March, 1839. In the same year, Beyle began to -correct, reduce and amplify the whole work, before he was moved by -Balzac's criticism to condense the first fifty-four pages into four or -five. Three copies thus annotated are in existence, one of which has -been reproduced in facsimile in an extremely limited edition: (Paris, -Edouard Champion, 3 vols. 1921—100 copies only.) In 1904 M. Casimir -Stryienski reprinted in the first volume of <i>Les Soirées du Stendhal -Club</i> (Mercure de France) the two fragments of which a translation -follows. The first is intended for inclusion in Chapter V, in the brief -account of Fabrizio's convalescence at Amiens. Colonel Le Baron, the -wounded officer whom he met and left at the White Horse Inn at the end -of Chapter IV, is now re-introduced as returning to his family at -Amiens, and a story is told them which supersedes the account of General -Pietranera's death in Chapter II. The second fragment is a small -expansion of the already over-long Chapter VI. -</p> - -<p> -Visitors to Parma will look in vain for most of the architectural -monuments which met the gaze of Fabrizio. The Torre Farnese has never -existed, though it may have been suggested, as to mass, by the huge -fragment of the Palazzo Farnese at Piacenza, as well as by the Castel -Sant'Angelo in Rome, and as to origin, by the story of Parisina and Ugo -d'Este, told in English by Gibbon and Byron. In appearance, it would -have been not unlike the tower, also damaged by an earthquake, which -stands in the background of Mantegna's fresco of the <i>Martyrdom of Saint -James</i>, in the Church of the Eremitani at Padua. The problem of how a -road running out of Parma to the south could lead directly to Sacca and -the Po is as insoluble as that of the guarded permission given to -Fabrizio in 1815 to read the novels of Walter Scott. -</p> - -<p> -The Steccata of course exists, and the Church of San Giovanni, but the -latter is singularly bare of monumental tombs. There is even a -Charterhouse, at San Lazzaro Parmense, though it has escaped the -attention of Baedeker. There were Farnese, but the last of them died, of -the pleasures of the table, in 1731; a portrait of him in his corpulence -may be seen by the curious in the Reale Galleria in the -Piletta—another large Farnese Palace also unfinished. There is -indeed a Cathedral, but there is no Archbishop, and the Bishop's Palace -is an untidy piece of patched-up antiquity. -</p> - -<p> -It is probable that Beyle was led to place the scene of his story at -Parma, which, in <i>Rome, Naples et Florence</i>, he had dismissed, not -unjustly, as <i>ville d'ailleurs assez plate</i>, precisely because -there was not, in 1838, any reigning <i>dynasty</i> in that State. The -Duchy of Parma was held and admirably governed by Marie-Louise, the wife -and widow of Napoleon, from 1815 until after Beyle's death in 1843, when -she was still in the prime of life, being by some years his junior. -Suddenly, in 1847, she died. The Bourbon dynasty, which had been -transplanted to the brief Kingdom of Etruria, and in 1814 had been -placated with the Republic of Lucca as a temporary Duchy (which Charles -II had finally sold, a few months earlier, to its legal heir, the Grand -Duke of Tuscany), returned, and rapidly converted Stendhal's fiction -into historical fact. Charles II was almost at once obliged to abdicate. -His son, Charles III, proceeded to emulate the career of -Ranuccio-Ernesto IV until, in 1854, he met a similar fate. His widow, a -daughter of the Duc de Berri, then acted as Regent for her son Robert I, -until in 1859 the Risorgimento swept them for ever from their Duchy. -Duke Robert died in 1907, the father of twenty children, one of whom, -Prince Sixte de Bourbon-Parme, shewed in the late war some reflexion of -the spirit of Fabrizio del Dongo, as the curious English reader may find -in my translation of his <i>L'Autriche et la paix séparée</i> -(<i>Austria's Peace Offer</i>, London, Constable and Co., Ltd., 1921). -Another is the Empress Zita, while a third has re-established the -Bourbon dynasty in Northern Europe by becoming the father of the -Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg. -</p> - -<p> -Francesco Hayez, the Milanese painter immortalised by his decoration of -the <i>palazzo</i> Crescenzi and by his portrait of Fabrizio del Dongo, -died at a great age in 1882, having outlived the date appointed by Beyle -for his own immortality. -</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 60%;">C. K. S. M.</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h4><a id="FRAGMENT_I">FRAGMENT I<br /> -<br /> -<i>BIRAGUE'S NARRATIVE</i></a></h4> - -<p> -Fabrizio, well received in this house which seemed to him very pleasant, -sought never to speak of the battle, since memories of that sort -depressed the Colonel; but as he thought without ceasing of the details -of which he had been a witness, he would sometimes return to the topic; -then the Colonel placed a finger on his lips with a smile, and spoke of -something else. On the other hand, Fabrizio was careful never to say -anything that might let it be guessed by what succession of chances he -had been brought into the neighbourhood of Waterloo. The ladies -especially were constantly placing him under the necessity of finding -polite answers which should tell them nothing of what they desired to -know. At every moment, by phrases which betrayed the keenest interest, -they placed him under the necessity of telling them something; but he -got well out of the trap and the ladies knew absolutely nothing, except -that he was called Vasi, and even then they had good reason to believe -that this name was assumed. -</p> - -<p> -Colonel Le Baron, his wife and the ladies of their acquaintance were -therefore devoured by curiosity, this young man's adventures must indeed -be extraordinary. -</p> - -<p> -"All that I can say positively," repeated the Colonel, "is that he is -endowed with the truest courage, the most simple, the most innocent, so -to speak. When I was so stupid as to set him on picket at the head of -the bridge of La Sainte, and he fought there, one against ten, I would -wager that he was drawing a sabre for the first time." -</p> - -<p> -"And his passport which you went to verify at the municipality is really -made out: Vasi, dealer in barometers, travelling with his wares?" . . . -</p> - -<p> -The ladies, that day, plied him with a thousand artful questions about -the barometers, he extricated himself with a laugh and very neatly; they -consulted him as to the state of the barometer in the house, which they -put in his hands, he remembered the tone that, in similar circumstances, -Conte Pietranera would have adopted, and, justified by the fun that was -being made of him, replied in a tone of the most lively gallantry. His -appearance was so modest and his tone was in so strange a contrast to -his ordinary manner that it was by no means ill received, the ladies -went into fits of laughter. That same evening the Colonel said to them: -</p> - -<p> -"Chance has just offered me a way of finding out our young man's -position; you know that resurrected-looking creature who has come to him -from Italy, the man is a lawyer and is called Birague, but besides that -he is dying of fright; he speaks bad French, but I hope that his -gibberish may not offend you, for he is so driven by fear that each of -his sentences says something. This morning, this lawyer who, for some -days, has always followed me with his eye at the <i>café</i>, has at last -found an excuse for, as he says, presenting his respects to me; I at -once thought that perhaps you would deign not to be put off by his -speech, which for that matter greatly resembles your young favourite's; -and so I have invited this strange creature to take tea with us this -evening, and, if you give me leave, I shall now send Beloir to fetch him -from the <i>café</i>." -</p> - -<p> -Ten minutes later, Trooper Beloir announced at the door of the -drawing-room: "M. Birague, <i>avocat</i>." -</p> - -<p> -The conversation lasted for fully two hours, the ladies heaped every -attention on the poor lawyer, who did everything in his power to please -them, but it was in vain that they sought to extract from him anything -that bore upon Fabrizio; they had lost patience with his discretion, -which was not lacking in polite forms of speech, when the Colonel -exclaimed: -</p> - -<p> -"I must say, my dear <i>avocat</i>, that you are a very brave man, how -could you dare enter France in the present state of things? They are kind -enough to give me in the army a certain reputation for bravery, but I -must confess to you that in your place, and (I tell you frankly) -speaking a French so different from that spoken by the natives of the -country, I should never have ventured to penetrate into so disturbed a -country. Now I see that you have made a conquest of these ladies, you -have an air of sincerity which pleases me and I should like to give you -my protection. Madame's uncle is Mayor of Amiens; I ought to tell you -that, since you are not recommended by an Ambassador, your fate lies in -his hands. M. le Maire Leborgne has a savage nature, he will never -believe that you have come to Amiens for your health," and so forth. -</p> - -<p> -The ladies were quick in taking the hint given them by the Colonel; they -took the utmost pains to give the Milanese lawyer a strong impression of -the cruel nature of the worthy M. Leborgne, Mayor of Amiens. Birague -turned paler than his shirt, than the white cravat and enormous hat in -which he had attired himself that evening to be presented to ladies; but -he found himself so well treated that finally about eleven o'clock he -ventured to ask the Colonel if he had any horses. The Colonel asked him -whether, at that time of night, he wished to go for a ride, saying that -he had only two horses, which indeed were a pair of screws, but that he -placed them willingly at his service. -</p> - -<p> -"I should not think of going out by the gate at this hour, and running -the risk of seeing myself questioned by the police, but I find so -estimable a humanity in your heart and in the hearts of these good -ladies that I venture to make a request of you; allow me to spend the -night in your horses' hayloft: as it is an idea that has just occurred -to me, the terrible Mayor Leborgne would never hear of it and I should -spend one night at least in peace and quiet. I am lodging with His -Excellency, M. Vasi, but he has committed the imprudence, as a matter of -fact long before my arrival, of refusing to see any more of the Duprez -family, who are greatly annoyed and who, I have no doubt, would be glad -to have their revenge. I have not attempted to hide my feelings in the -matter from M. Vasi, I have taken the liberty of saying that this step -was rash on his part; but your experience, Monsieur le Colonel, must -have taught you what the rashness of youth is. M. Vasi's answer was that -he would have been stifled by boredom if he had continued to spend his -evenings with the Duprez family. -</p> - -<p> -"In the present state of things, the Duprez, who, no doubt, desire to be -avenged, will not dare to attack a man like M. Vasi, but they will take -it out of a poor devil like myself," and so on. -</p> - -<p> -The Colonel ended by giving M. Birague a letter of recommendation -addressed to the Mayor of Amiens, in which he declared that he would -answer with his life for M. Birague, a respectable lawyer of Milan, whom -he had known when he was stationed in that city. -</p> - -<p> -"Carry this letter on you while you are on your way to the Grand -Monarque, and burn all the written or printed documents which you may -have in your room; spend a quiet night, but you see that I am answering -for you, come to-morrow and tell me your whole history so that, if the -Mayor questions me closely, I can make a show of having known you for a -long time; say nothing to M. Vasi of what I am doing for you." -</p> - -<p> -One may imagine whether this evening was amusing for the ladies, but -they were afraid of having alarmed M. Birague unduly. -</p> - -<p> -"Really, the man's appearance was incredible," said Mme. Le Baron. -</p> - -<p> -"But," put in one of her friends, "it becomes more and more likely that -our young <i>protégé</i> Vasi is a man of consequence in his own country." -</p> - -<p> -The Colonel had to employ stratagems for a week; M. Birague spoke as -freely as could be desired of his own affairs, but was impenetrable on -everything that related to Fabrizio. Mme. Le Baron and her friends -invited him to luncheon one day when the Colonel was absent and played -so cruelly upon M. Birague's alarm that he ended by saying to them with -tears: -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, well, I see that you are good ladies, I see that you would not wish -to ruin me, you have immense influence with the Mayor of Amiens, give me -your word that you will obtain for me a passport for England signed by -the Mayor and I shall at least be able to fly to London in case of -danger; my father ordered me to travel by London so as to be able to -return to Milan without fear of Barone Binder, the Chief of Police -there; he is a man of the same sort as your Mayor, it is not easy to get -out of his prisons, once one has got into them." -</p> - -<p> -"Very well," exclaimed Mme. Le Baron, "if you are frank with us, I give -you my word that to-morrow you shall have your passport for London; we -wish no harm to M. Vasi, far from it, this lady," she pointed to the -youngest of her friends, "has a tender regard for him." -</p> - -<p> -Birague was slightly astonished by the shout of laughter which greeted -this admission; he had some difficulty in replying with any clarity to -the hundred questions by which he was at once overwhelmed. -</p> - -<p> -The ladies knew already that Vasi was an assumed name, that Fabrizio del -Dongo was the second son of the Marchese del Dongo, Second Grand -Majordomo Major of the Lombardo-Venetian Kingdom, one of the greatest -noblemen in that country, to whom his, Birague's father, was steward. On -the news of Napoleon's landing from the Gulf of Granti, in June, -regardless of the alarm of his aunt and mother, Fabrizio had fled from -his father's magnificent castle, situated at Grianta, on the Lake of -Como, six leagues from the Swiss frontier. -</p> - -<p> -Birague was at this stage in his narrative when the Colonel returned; he -was told all that Birague had already said; as his regiment had been -stationed for some time at Lodi, a few leagues from Milan, he knew all -the principal personages of the court of Prince Eugène. -</p> - -<p> -"What," he cried, "that Contessa Gina Pietranera, of whom you are -speaking to these ladies as the aunt of Fabrizio, is she that famous -Contessa Pietranera, the most beautiful woman in Milan in the days of -the Viceroy, whose word was law at his court?" -</p> - -<p> -"The very same, Colonel." -</p> - -<p> -"And what age might she be now?" -</p> - -<p> -"Twenty-seven or twenty-eight; she is more beautiful than ever, but she -is completely ruined, her husband was murdered in what they called a -duel, and the Contessa was furious at not being able to avenge his -death: the General was out shooting in the mountains of Bergamo with -some officers of the Ultra Party; he, as you know, although belonging to -a family of the old nobility, had always served with the troops of the -Cisalpine Republic; there was a luncheon in the course of this shooting -party, one of the Ultra officers took the liberty of belittling the -courage of the Cisalpine troops; the General struck him a blow, the -luncheon was interrupted; as they had no weapons but guns, they fought -with those, the poor General fell stone dead, with two bullets in his -body; but the details of this duel made such a stir in Milan that all -the officers who had been present were obliged to go and travel in -Switzerland. The local surgeon who examined the General's body certified -that the bullet which caused his death had entered from the back. This -statement by the surgeon came to the Signor Barone Binder, Director -General of the Police, Contessa Pietranera knew of it at once, for she -can do anything she likes at Milan; all the important people of the -place are her friends and are at her service. Twenty-four hours later, -there arrived a second statement by the country surgeon from the Bergamo -district; it contradicted the first and stated that the bullet which -caused the death had entered by the stomach and that the second bullet -which had passed through the thigh had also entered from in front; but -they said that this surgeon had received a large sum of money. On the -very night after the arrival of this second statement, the officers who -had been present at the duel left for Switzerland; the funeral was held -next day; they were afraid of being mobbed by the crowd, and the -strangest thing of all was that the surgeon also left for Switzerland, -where he still is. He has never dared to shew his face again his own -neighbourhood; the Bergamasks have sworn to exterminate him; and they -don't take things lightly in that part of the world. It was after that -that there was the famous quarrel between Signora Pietranera and her -friend Limercati." -</p> - -<p> -"What, is that the famous Limercati who, in 1811, had such fine English -horses, seven of them?" -</p> - -<p> -"No doubt, Lodovico Limercati; he had forty horses in his stables, he -has an income of over two hundred thousand lire; my cousin Ercole is his -factor; but there's a bad relation for you, he has never thought of -employing me as lawyer to the rich Limercati estate." -</p> - -<p> -"It is terrible, frightful," cried Mme. Le Baron, "but you spoke of a -letter which, I must tell you, excites my curiosity greatly." -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h4><a id="FRAGMENT_II">FRAGMENT II<br /> -<br /> -<i>CONTE ZORAFI, THE PRINCE'S<br /> -"PRESS"</i></a></h4> - -<p> -Conte Zurla, the Minister of the Interior, brought to Signora -Sanseverina's Conte Zorafi, who was the Press of Parma. -</p> - -<p> -At the gatherings at which he appeared, that silence, which is often -painful at official gatherings, could not find a place, and, in a -country which has a terrible police and a State Prison the tower of -which, one hundred and eighty feet high, may be seen at the end of every -street, all gatherings of more than two persons may be considered -official. -</p> - -<p> -One thing that may be said in praise of Zorafi is that he was no more of -a spy than any other gentleman at court; in fact, at heart he was -ridiculous, but not at all wicked. No other gentleman at court could, -without risk to his friends, have seen the Sovereign daily. Zorafi -fancied himself a Minister, and was afraid of Conte Mosca. At the same -time he was obliged, ten times in a month perhaps, to speak evil of him. -When the Conte had scored a marked success in any affair, he was certain -to be blamed, the day after, by the Prince's Press. -</p> - -<p> -Conte Zorafi was a man of spirit who could not bear to have fifty -napoleons in his desk. As soon as he saw that sum, or indeed a much less -considerable sum in his possession, he would think of spending it. For -instance, on the day on which we shall do him the honour of presenting -him to the reader, he will have just bought for forty-five napoleons a -magnificent English lustre. The purchase made, not knowing where to -place it and already caring less about it, he has asked Prinote, the -famous jeweller, to keep it in his shop. -</p> - -<p> -This Conte had spent his youth in composing sonnets in an emphatic style -over which the people of Lombardy had gone so mad as to compare them to -the sonnets of Monti. Now, in some connexion or other, someone had -ventured to say in public that this style, which was so emphatic, was -emphatic with the simple character of Napoleon; it had required only -this comment to make Zorafi's sonnets fall into disrepute. -</p> - -<p> -And, a surprising thing, Zorafi, whose character was precisely that of a -conceited child, had not shewn the slightest annoyance. Besides what was -more serious than the decline of his sonnets, he had an income of barely -nine or ten thousand lire and spent twenty-five. -</p> - -<p> -In spite of these 25,000 lire he frequently had debts, and these debts -were paid every year by an unseen hand. -</p> - -<p> -What then was Zorafi? He was the Prince's <i>Press</i>. -</p> - -<p> -He was a Conte, as everyone is in Italy, but besides that he had enjoyed -the greatest literary renown for ten years. Zorafi was not at all -wicked, or at least had only the ill temper of a child. He had the -purest Sienese accent. The sentences flowed from his lips with a perfect -facility, he spoke of everything with charm, in a word nothing would -have been lacking if from time to time he could have found some idea to -place in his sentences. -</p> - -<p> -A little time since, the Prince had given Zorafi a carriage, but this -was on condition of his paying at least twenty-five visits daily. -</p> - -<p> -"It does not suit me at present to have a newspaper printed," the Prince -had said to him in making him a present of the carriage, with horses -attached, and a coachman and groom to boot. "A newspaper conducted by a -man of your sort would have a crowd of subscribers; very well, have a -crowd of friends and tell them, with the spirit for which you are -distinguished, the articles that you would print, if you had the -privilege of the newspaper. One day, you shall have this newspaper, and -it will bring you in an income of 50,000 lire. For I shall give you -plenty of liberty, you will speak of the measures adopted by my -Government." -</p> - -<p> -Once they had observed this mania in Zorafi, people listened to him in -society, as in another place they read the <i>Journal Officiel</i>. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<h4>END OF VOLUME II</h4> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CHARTERHOUSE OF PARMA VOLUME 2 (OF 2) ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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