Luigi

“ The effort to turn at once to work was too difficult; they could not resist the charm of their own passion. Luigi lay for hours at the feet of his wife, admiring the color of her hair, the moulding of her forehead, the enchanting socket of her eyes, the purity and whiteness of the two arches beneath which the eyes themselves turned slowly, expressing the happiness of a satisfied love. Ginevra caressed the hair of her Luigi, never weary of gazing at what she called his "belta folgorante," and the delicacy of his features. ”

“ Ginevra was able, therefore, to study Luigi, to know him; and before long they mutually esteemed each other. The girl, who was older than Luigi, found a charm in being courted by a youth already so grand, so tried by fate,—a youth who joined to the experience of a man the graces of adolescence. Luigi, on his side, felt an unspeakable pleasure in allowing himself to be apparently protected by a woman, now twenty-five years of age. ”

“ Retaining Luigi’s hand in his for a few seconds, Sir Gilbert gazed somewhat wistfully into the young man’s face. “You have not brought back much of the tan of travel on your cheeks,” he said. “How is that, I wonder? Not for years have we had so hot an autumn as the one now drawing to a close.”
“My face never either tans or freckles, sir, however hot the weather may be,” explained Luigi with a touch of heightened colour. “It is a fact for which I am unable to account.” ”

“ There was Luigi standing by, carrying the sandals and the bathing-dress and the towels, while all the time the precious moments of this holiday afternoon were slipping along, and the Piazza, where Luigi should have been (having been granted a half-holiday on account of the festa) , was full of his young friends, male and female, all in their best clothes, conversing and laughing together, and standing about and smoking an occasional cigarette, in the orthodox fashion of a holiday afternoon. ”

“ I saw our padre cross himself by that first basin. Thou hast done well,—hein Luigi,—to bring me from Burano, if there are no fish to-morrow at the Ave Maria; for now we can sleep in peace! They told such tales of I Gesuiti, one thought the devils were having a holiday—Santa Maria!"
"The women are worse for chattering," Luigi retorts, with a forcible imprecation. "Here cometh the Consultore—hold thy tongue."
"No, no, Luigi; it is only a frate from the Servi; Fra Paolo is a great man, with a robe like the Serenissimo; he might wear a crown if he liked! Ah, to be great like that!" ”

“ Luigi has lured me hither by means of my interest in this pretty Italian,—for what I dare not think! I have been properly cozened,—nicely hoodwinked! On my soul, I seem to deserve my fate as a punishment for my folly! What have I done?—left a fond wife, an only child, friends, home, everything,—all to follow a handsome girl, across a country where robbers are as plentiful as hazel nuts! A wild, hair-brained fool I have been, and am likely to pay the piper for it too! ”

“ And yet one cannot call him a burden on society. On the contrary, Luigi has especial duties which he never neglects. Every morning at sunrise he is out on the bridge watching the Chioggia boats as they beat up past the Garden trying to make the red buoy in the channel behind San Giorgio, and enlarging on their seagoing qualities to an admiring group of bystanders. ”

“ He raised his fist above his head, and by holding his breath, contrived to induce a dark flush and raise the veins upon his forehead.
"In your bed, puttana?" he hissed. (Carmelita was overjoyed, Luigi was angered and jealous. Where there is jealousy, there is love! Of course, Luigi loved her as he had always done. How dared she doubt it? Throwing her arms around his neck with a happy laugh, she reassured her ruffled mate until he permitted himself to calm down and resume his interrupted meal. Jean Boule had lied to her! Luigi knew nothing!...) She went to the bar.
Curse this Russian anarchist! ”

“ Any chance was a chance worth seizing; any simple Englishman thrown in his way might be a step on his ladder. But he was shrewd; and when he found that his hints were left lying where they fell, he turned aside to disparage his unfortunate family again—his sister, his aunt, his father, a bunch of futility that hindered a man in his effort to announce and express himself in the world. In a few words it was delicately implied that anybody who lent a hand to Luigi would never be embarrassed by Luigi’s family—the admirable youth would see to that. ”

“ Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine.
Vittoria. I do not understand, but it is sweet—
Part of the undreamed beauty that I find
Filling a world where all is strange to me:
In new hill slopes, new pathways, and in you.
Luigi. Beloved, do not leave me! Tell me why
You tremble when I speak.
Vittoria.tremble when I speak.‍It is not you,
But through you something great and terrible
Speaks to me, and I bow my head in fear.
Luigi. Are you content? Always mouth smiles, yet
Sometimes I find your brown eyes hungry still,
And then I am afraid that my great love
Is not the message that you longed to hear. ”

“ Luigi bares his head.
Scene II.—The garden, a little later. Vespers in the chapel. The sound of the litany mingles with the sound of the sea.
Vittoria. Teresa waits for me; I must go in.
See, all along the west the sky has turned
The color of these saffron roses here,
Yellow, with crimson at the heart. How pale
The one star shines above the cypress-trees!
Luigi. One moment only while we hear them sing!
(To himself.) Ah, they are praying for the newly dead. ”

“ Yes, we now reached the next generation, the children of the aged patriot. They were two, Berta and Luigi; and Berta couldn’t help wishing that I and her brother might become acquainted, we had such a deal in common. Luigi, she said, was dreadfully clever; he wrote articles in a newspaper, at least he would do so if he had the chance; but a man without influence was so terribly helpless, and Luigi was so awfully proud. Teresa interposed to the effect that Luigi, like the rest of them, was indeed half a stranger in Rome, though circumstances had compelled him to be born and to live there. ”

“ Luigi looked slowly around and saw a crowd of Italian loungers gazing at the little stranger with their softly-bold black eyes full of admiration. He shrugged his shoulders slightly. “Bah, they gaze in that way at all womankind. See, now they are watching the next one,” and as he spoke, the boys turned with one accord to stare at a young Italian girl, who pressed closer to the side of her hook-nosed old duenna:
“It is not those loungers that I noticed,” replied the other. ”

“ Fascinated by these first impressions of Venice, Luigi abandoned himself to his abundant genius, and left us at midnight, mutually enchanted. Youth and sympathy had overcome all other considerations. We had planned endless days of enjoyment. He had promised to show us his sketches. It was not until our mother asked of my brother who he was, that all the human facts appeared.
"'Heavens!' shouted my younger sister, Fiora, laughing with delight, 'think of the noble Marchese Cicada, who simpers, per Bacco, that the day is warm, and, per dieci, that I am lovelier than ever. Viva Luigi! ”

“ Just then Luigi, with his arm round Pantasilea’s neck, was heard crying: “I must kiss you once again, if only to insult that traitor Benvenuto.” At that moment, annoyed as I was by the prickles, and irritated by the young man’s words, I sprang forth, lifted my sword on high, and shouted at the top of my voice: “You are all dead folk!” My blow descended on the shoulder of Luigi; but the satyrs who doted on him, had steeled his person round with coasts of mail and such-like villainous defences ”

“ Luigi's eyes cleared, but he condescended to make no reply. It is not for a man to take the advice of a woman. But when it was dark, and Vincenza had gone to lie down with the Little One, Luigi took his hat and went over to the shop of Biaggio Franchini. ”

“ Luigi threw his cloak on the ground, placed his carbine on his shoulder, and freed from his heavy covering, preceded the traveller with the rapid step of a mountaineer, which a horse can scarcely keep up with. In ten minutes Luigi and the traveller reached the cross-roads. On arriving there, with an air as majestic as that of an emperor, he stretched his hand towards that one of the roads which the traveller was to follow. ”

“ I wonder if he could turn a somersault now, Luigi.” The woman lifted her head from her work to look over at Natale, who sat on the low street wall with his feet dangling into the road.
“I gave him leave to go and play with the boys down in the field, this afternoon,” [Pg 104] said Luigi, shaking his gown almost viciously. “He said he did not wish to go where his tent had been, and that he never expected to turn a somersault again.”
“Impertinent!” exclaimed Sora Grazia. “We’ll let him alone a while longer, and he’ll come all right. A child cannot sulk forever, as I said before.” ”

“ When the money-lender had satisfied himself, which a few leading questions enabled him to do, that Luigi was really the grandson of Sir Gilbert Clare of Withington Chase, he made no difficulty about advancing him a hundred pounds on the joint note of hand of himself and his uncle. For the time being they were saved, and just then they did not permit any thought of the future to mar their content.
It does not come within the scope of our design to accompany them in their wanderings from place to place. ”

“ He is in London.”
“Just so; and it was there I first heard of the Signor Francesco Torreani and his daughter, the Signorina Lucetta.”
“You astonish us. You know Luigi then?”
“As well as one man may know another who for twelve months has been his daily companion; who has shared his apartment and his studio, who—”
“Saved his purse—perhaps his life,” interrupted the sindico, approaching the Englishman, and warmly grasping his hand. “If I mistake not, you are the young gentleman who rescued my son from thieves, London bandits. It is you of whom Luigi has often written to us. ”

“ Luigi went home and said to Concetta:
"'I am going away! I don't want you any more unless you can prove that the words of this scoundrel are a calumny.'
"Of course she began to cry, but then tears do not acquit one: Luigi pushed her away. She would be left with a child in her arms without food or money.
"Catherine was the first of the women to intervene. She kept a small greengrocer's shop and was as cunning as a fox; in appearance she resembled an old sack filled unevenly with flesh and bones.
"'Signor,' she said, 'you have already heard that this concerns the honour of us all. ”

“ Luigi and Beppo now leaned against the wall on either side of him and baited him till he shook with rage.
"He is the lord of the duchess, his mistress—what a lucky fellow!" said Luigi. "When he's dog at the gates no one can approach her. When he isn't, you can fancy what!"—"He's only a mechanical contrivance; he's not a man," said Beppo. "He's the principal flea-catcher of the palace," said Luigi—"here he is all day, and at night the devil knows where he hunts."—Luigi hopped in a half-circle round the exacerbated Jacob, and finally provoked an assault that gave an opening to Beppo. ”

“ They sold their wares to the housewives. Their tricks were many. They would change a box of tomatoes while your back was turned; filch a head of cauliflower. There was little system or organization.
Take Luigi. Luigi peddled on the north side. He called his wares through the alleys and side streets of Chicago, adding his raucous voice to the din of an inchoate city. A swarthy face had Luigi, a swift brilliant smile, a crafty eye. The Haymarket called him Loogy. When prices did not please Luigi he pretended not to understand. ”

“ And Luigi's arms and back ached so that each night Vincenza had to rub them with the oil which now cost ten cents more in the shop of Biaggio.
On the Sixth day Luigi refused to go.
"I tell thee it is a stupidness—to stand all day with the pain in the back. For what? Fifty cents. It is a work for old men and children——"
"But thou canst not make the money, sitting in thy chair, with thy feet on the stove, like now——"
"Dost thou wish then that I have every night the knives in my back? If so——"
"Not so, caro, but——"
"Listen. You understand nothing and talk as a woman. A lady comes to my house. ”

“ In June she comes—and with the reiteration, Luigi falters, for he recollects that in this June they were to see together "the Titian at Treviso." . . . His mother has almost won, when a "low noise" outside, which Luigi has first mistaken for the cuckoo, next for the renowned echo in the turret . . . that low noise is heard again—"the voice of Pippa, singing."
And, listening to the song which tells what kings were in the morning of the world, Luigi cries—
"No need that sort of king should ever die!" ”

“ Perhaps 'twould be as well to accept ce beau Luigi at once, marry him immediately, and see that he spent his evenings helping in the Canteen bar, instead of gallivanting after Neapolitan hussies of the bazaar. Men are but men--and sirens are sirens. What would you? And Luigi so gay and popular. Small blame that he should stray when Madame was unkind or coy.... Yes, she would do it, if only to spite this Neapolitan cat.... But--he was a foreigner and something of a rogue--and incredibly strong. ”

“ So Luigi, in calculating his fitness for the office of assassin assigned him, is found reckoning his very insignificance as of greater worth, under the given conditions, than his strength—extending his philosophy in a general application to human life. ”