Foritsbeingalittlegloomy,hehadhireditprincipallyforthegardens,andheandmymistresswouldpassthesummerweatherintheirshade。
'Soallgoeswell,Baptista?'saidhe。
'Indubitably,signore;verywell。'
Wehadatravellingchariotforourjourney,newlybuiltforus,andinallrespectscomplete。Allwehadwascomplete;wewantedfornothing。Themarriagetookplace。Theywerehappy。Iwashappy,seeingallsobright,beingsowellsituated,goingtomyowncity,teachingmylanguageintherumbletothemaid,labellaCarolina,whoseheartwasgaywithlaughter:whowasyoungandrosy。
Thetimeflew。ButIobserved-listentothis,Ipray!(andherethecourierdroppedhisvoice)-Iobservedmymistresssometimesbroodinginamannerverystrange;inafrightenedmanner;inanunhappymanner;withacloudy,uncertainalarmuponher。IthinkthatIbegantonoticethiswhenIwaswalkinguphillsbythecarriageside,andmasterhadgoneoninfront。Atanyrate,I
rememberthatitimpresseditselfuponmymindoneeveningintheSouthofFrance,whenshecalledtometocallmasterback;andwhenhecameback,andwalkedforalongway,talkingencouraginglyandaffectionatelytoher,withhishandupontheopenwindow,andhersinit。Nowandthen,helaughedinamerryway,asifhewerebanteringheroutofsomething。By-and-by,shelaughed,andthenallwentwellagain。
Itwascurious。IaskedlabellaCarolina,theprettylittleone,Wasmistressunwell?-No-Outofspirits?-No-Fearfulofbadroads,orbrigands?-No。Andwhatmadeitmoremysteriouswas,theprettylittleonewouldnotlookatmeingivinganswer,butWOULDlookattheview。
But,onedayshetoldmethesecret。
'Ifyoumustknow,'saidCarolina,'Ifind,fromwhatIhaveoverheard,thatmistressishaunted。'
'Howhaunted?'
'Byadream。'
'Whatdream?'
'Byadreamofaface。Forthreenightsbeforehermarriage,shesawafaceinadream-alwaysthesameface,andonlyOne。'
'Aterribleface?'
'No。Thefaceofadark,remarkable-lookingman,inblack,withblackhairandagreymoustache-ahandsomemanexceptforareservedandsecretair。Notafacesheeversaw,oratalllikeafacesheeversaw。Doingnothinginthedreambutlookingatherfixedly,outofdarkness。'
'Doesthedreamcomeback?'
'Never。Therecollectionofitisallhertrouble。'
'Andwhydoesittroubleher?'
Carolinashookherhead。
'That'smaster'squestion,'saidlabella。'Shedon'tknow。Shewonderswhy,herself。ButIheardhertellhim,onlylastnight,thatifshewastofindapictureofthatfaceinourItalianhouse(whichsheisafraidshewill)shedidnotknowhowshecouldeverbearit。'
UponmywordIwasfearfulafterthis(saidtheGenoesecourier)ofourcomingtotheoldpalazzo,lestsomesuchill-starredpictureshouldhappentobethere。Iknewthereweremanythere;and,aswegotnearerandnearertotheplace,IwishedthewholegalleryinthecraterofVesuvius。Tomendthematter,itwasastormydismaleveningwhenwe,atlast,approachedthatpartoftheRiviera。Itthundered;andthethunderofmycityanditsenvirons,rollingamongthehighhills,isveryloud。Thelizardsraninandoutofthechinksinthebrokenstonewallofthegarden,asiftheywerefrightened;thefrogsbubbledandcroakedtheirloudest;thesea-windmoaned,andthewettreesdripped;andthelightning-bodyofSanLorenzo,howitlightened!
WeallknowwhatanoldpalaceinornearGenoais-howtimeandtheseaairhaveblottedit-howthedraperypaintedontheouterwallshaspeeledoffingreatflakesofplaster-howthelowerwindowsaredarkenedwithrustybarsofiron-howthecourtyardisovergrownwithgrass-howtheouterbuildingsaredilapidated-
howthewholepileseemsdevotedtoruin。Ourpalazzowasoneofthetruekind。Ithadbeenshutupcloseformonths。Months?-
years!-ithadanearthysmell,likeatomb。Thescentoftheorangetreesonthebroadbackterrace,andofthelemonsripeningonthewall,andofsomeshrubsthatgrewaroundabrokenfountain,hadgotintothehousesomehow,andhadneverbeenabletogetoutagain。Therewas,ineveryroom,anagedsmell,grownfaintwithconfinement。Itpinedinallthecupboardsanddrawers。Inthelittleroomsofcommunicationbetweengreatrooms,itwasstifling。
Ifyouturnedapicture-tocomebacktothepictures-thereitstillwas,clingingtothewallbehindtheframe,likeasortofbat。
Thelattice-blindswerecloseshut,alloverthehouse。Thereweretwougly,greyoldwomeninthehouse,totakecareofit;oneofthemwithaspindle,whostoodwindingandmumblinginthedoorway,andwhowouldassoonhaveletinthedevilastheair。Master,mistress,labellaCarolina,andI,wentallthroughthepalazzo。
Iwentfirst,thoughIhavenamedmyselflast,openingthewindowsandthelattice-blinds,andshakingdownonmyselfsplashesofrain,andscrapsofmortar,andnowandthenadozingmosquito,oramonstrous,fat,blotchy,Genoesespider。
WhenIhadlettheeveninglightintoaroom,master,mistress,andlabellaCarolina,entered。Then,welookedroundatallthepictures,andIwentforwardagainintoanotherroom。Mistresssecretlyhadgreatfearofmeetingwiththelikenessofthatface-
weallhad;buttherewasnosuchthing。TheMadonnaandBambino,SanFrancisco,SanSebastiano,Venus,SantaCaterina,Angels,Brigands,Friars,TemplesatSunset,Battles,WhiteHorses,Forests,Apostles,Doges,allmyoldacquaintancesmanytimesrepeated?-yes。Dark,handsomemaninblack,reservedandsecret,withblackhairandgreymoustache,lookingfixedlyatmistressoutofdarkness?-no。
Atlastwegotthroughalltheroomsandallthepictures,andcameoutintothegardens。Theywereprettywellkept,beingrentedbyagardener,andwerelargeandshady。Inoneplacetherewasarustictheatre,opentothesky;thestageagreenslope;thecoulisses,threeentrancesuponaside,sweet-smellingleafyscreens。Mistressmovedherbrighteyes,eventhere,asifshelookedtoseethefacecomeinuponthescene;butallwaswell。
'Now,Clara,'mastersaid,inalowvoice,'youseethatitisnothing?Youarehappy。'
Mistresswasmuchencouraged。Shesoonaccustomedherselftothatgrimpalazzo,andwouldsing,andplaytheharp,andcopytheoldpictures,andstrollwithmasterunderthegreentreesandvinesallday。Shewasbeautiful。Hewashappy。Hewouldlaughandsaytome,mountinghishorseforhismorningridebeforetheheat:
'Allgoeswell,Baptista!'
'Yes,signore,thankGod,verywell。'