OLIVIA. "Why what would you?"
VIOLA. "Make me a willow cabin at your gate,
And call upon my soul within the house;
Write loyal cantos of contemned love,
And sing them loud even in the dead of night:
Halloo your name to the reverberate hills,
And make the babbling gossip of the air
Cry out, Olivia! O! you should not rest
Between the elements of air and earth,
But you should pity me."
TWELFTH NIGHT.
Since Vivaldi had failed to procure an explanation of the words of the
monk, he determined to relieve himself from the tortures of suspence,
respecting a rival, by going to the villa Altieri, and declaring his
pretensions. On the morning immediately following his late adventure,
he went thither, and on enquiring for Signora Bianchi, was told that
she could not be seen. With much difficulty he prevailed upon the old
house-keeper to deliver a request that he might be permitted to wait
upon her for a few moments. Permission was granted him, when he was
conducted into the very apartment where he had formerly seen Ellena.
It was unoccupied and he was told that Signora Bianchi would be there
presently.
During this interval, he was agitated at one moment with quick
impatience, and at another with enthusiastic pleasure, while he gazed
on the altar whence he had seen Ellena rise, and where, to his fancy,
she still appeared; and on every object, on which he knew her eyes had
lately dwelt. These objects, so familiar to her, had in the imagination
of Vivaldi acquired somewhat of the sacred character she had impressed
upon his heart, and affected him in some degree as her presence would
have done. He trembled as he took up the lute she had been accustomed
to touch, and, when he awakened the chords, her own voice seemed to
speak. A drawing, half-finished, of a dancing nymph remained on a
stand, and he immediately understood that her hand had traced the
lines. It was a copy from Herculaneum, and, though a copy, was touched
with the spirit of original genius. The light steps appeared almost to
move, and the whole figure displayed the airy lightness of exquisite
grace. Vivaldi perceived this to be one of a set that ornamented the
apartment, and observed with surprise, that they were the particular
subjects, which adorned his father's cabinet, and which he had
understood to be the only copies permitted from the originals in the
royal museum.
Every object, on which his eyes rested, seemed to announce the
presence of Ellena; and the very flowers that so gaily embellished the
apartment, breathed forth a perfume, which fascinated his senses and
affected his imagination. Before Signora Bianchi appeared, his anxiety
and apprehension had encreased so much, that, believing he should be
unable to support himself in her presence, he was more than once upon
the point of leaving the house. At length, he heard her approaching
step from the hall, and his breath almost forsook him. The figure
of Signora Bianchi was not of an order to inspire admiration, and a
spectator might have smiled to see the perturbation of Vivaldi, his
faultering step and anxious eye, as he advanced to meet the venerable
Bianchi, as he bowed upon her faded hand, and listened to her querulous
voice. She received him with an air of reserve, and some moments passed
before he could recollect himself sufficiently to explain the purpose
of his visit; yet this, when he discovered it, did not apparently
surprise her. She listened with composure, though with somewhat of
a severe countenance, to his protestations of regard for her niece,
and when he implored her to intercede for him in obtaining the hand
of Ellena, she said, "I cannot be ignorant that a family of your rank
must be averse to a union with one of mine; nor am I unacquainted
that a full sense of the value of birth is a marking feature in the
characters of the Marchese and Marchesa di Vivaldi. This proposal must
be disagreeable or, at least, unknown to them; and I am to inform you,
Signor, that, though Signora di Rosalba is their inferior in rank, she
is their equal in pride."
Vivaldi disdained to prevaricate, yet was shocked to own the truth thus
abruptly. The ingenuous manner, however, with which he at length did
this, and the energy of a passion too eloquent to be misunderstood,
somewhat soothed the anxiety of Signora Bianchi, with whom other
considerations began to arise. She considered that from her own age
and infirmities she must very soon, in the course of nature, leave
Ellena a young and friendless orphan; still somewhat dependent upon
her own industry, and entirely so on her discretion. With much
beauty and little knowledge of the world, the dangers of her future
situation appeared in vivid colours to the affectionate mind of
Signora Bianchi; and she sometimes thought that it might be right
to sacrifice considerations, which in other circumstances would be
laudable, to the obtaining for her niece the protection of a husband
and a man of honour. If in this instance she descended from the lofty
integrity, which ought to have opposed her consent that Ellena should
clandestinely enter any family, her parental anxiety may soften the
censure she deserved.
But, before she determined upon this subject, it was necessary to
ascertain that Vivaldi was worthy of the confidence she might repose
in him. To try, also, the constancy of his affection, she gave little
present encouragement to his hopes. His request to see Ellena she
absolutely refused, till she should have considered further of his
proposals; and his enquiry whether he had a rival, and, if he had,
whether Ellena was disposed to favour him, she evaded, since she knew
that a reply would give more encouragement to his hopes, than it might
hereafter be proper to confirm.
Vivaldi, at length, took his leave, released, indeed, from absolute
despair, but scarcely encouraged to hope; ignorant that he had a rival,
yet doubtful whether Ellena honoured himself with any share of her
esteem.
He had received permission to wait upon Signora Bianchi on a future
day, but till that day should arrive, time appeared motionless; and,
since it seemed utterly impossible to endure this interval of suspence,
his thoughts on the way to Naples were wholly engaged in contriving the
means of concluding it, till he reached the well-known arch, and looked
round, though hopelessly, for his mysterious tormentor. The stranger
did not appear; and Vivaldi pursued the road, determined to re-visit
the spot at night, and also to return privately to villa Altieri, where
he hoped a second visit might procure for him some relief from his
present anxiety.
When he reached home he found that the Marchese, his father, had left
an order for him to await his arrival; which he obeyed; but the day
passed without his return. The Marchesa, when she saw him, enquired,
with a look that expressed much, how he had engaged himself of late,
and completely frustrated his plans for the evening, by requiring
him to attend her to Portici. Thus he was prevented from receiving
Bonarmo's determination, from watching at Paluzzi, and from revisiting
Ellena's residence.
He remained at Portici the following evening, and, on his return to
Naples, the Marchese being again absent, he continued ignorant of
the intended subject of the interview. A note from Bonarmo brought a
refusal to accompany him to the fortress, and urged him to forbear so
dangerous a visit. Being for this night unprovided with a companion
for the adventure, and unwilling to go alone, Vivaldi deferred it to
another evening; but no consideration could deter him from visiting
the villa Altieri. Not chusing to solicit his friend to accompany him
thither, since he had refused his first request, he took his solitary
lute, and reached the garden at an earlier hour than usual.
The sun had been set above an hour, but the horizon still retained
somewhat of a saffron brilliancy, and the whole dome of the sky had an
appearance of transparency, peculiar to this enchanting climate, which
seemed to diffuse a more soothing twilight over the reposing world. In
the south-east the outline of Vesuvius appeared distinctly, but the
mountain itself was dark and silent.
Vivaldi heard only the quick and eager voices of some Lazzaroni at a
distance on the shore, as they contended at the simple game of maro.
From the bowery lattices of a small pavilion within the orangery,
he perceived a light, and the sudden hope, which it occasioned, of
seeing Ellena, almost overcame him. It was impossible to resist the
opportunity of beholding her, yet he checked the impatient step he was
taking, to ask himself, whether it was honorable thus to steal upon her
retirement, and become an unsuspected observer of her secret thoughts.
But the temptation was too powerful for this honorable hesitation;
the pause was momentary; and, stepping lightly towards the pavilion,
he placed himself near an open lattice, so as to be shrouded from
observation by the branches of an orange-tree, while he obtained a
full view of the apartment. Ellena was alone, sitting in a thoughtful
attitude and holding her lute, which she did not play. She appeared
lost to a consciousness of surrounding objects, and a tenderness was
on her countenance, which seemed to tell him that her thoughts were
engaged by some interesting subject. Recollecting that, when last he
had seen her thus, she pronounced his name, his hope revived, and he
was going to discover himself and appear at her feet, when she spoke,
and he paused.
"Why this unreasonable pride of birth!" said she; "A visionary
prejudice destroys our peace. Never would I submit to enter a family
averse to receive me; they shall learn, at least, that I inherit
nobility of soul. O! Vivaldi! but for this unhappy prejudice!"--
Vivaldi, while he listened to this, was immovable; he seemed as if
entranced; the sound of her lute and voice recalled him, and he heard
her sing the first stanza of the very air, with which he had opened the
serenade on a former night, and with such sweet pathos as the composer
must have felt when he was inspired with the idea.
She paused at the conclusion of the first stanza, when Vivaldi,
overcome by the temptation of such an opportunity for expressing his
passion, suddenly struck the chords of the lute, and replied to her in
the second. The tremor of his voice, though it restrained his tones,
heightened its eloquence. Ellena instantly recollected it; her colour
alternately faded and returned; and, before the verse concluded, she
seemed to have lost all consciousness. Vivaldi was now advancing into
the pavilion, when his approach recalled her; she waved him to retire,
and before he could spring to her support, she rose and would have
left the place, had he not interrupted her and implored a few moments
attention.
"It is impossible," said Ellena.
"Let me only hear you say that I am not hateful to you," rejoined
Vivaldi; "that this intrusion has not deprived me of the regard, with
which but now you acknowledged you honoured me."--
"Oh, never, never!" interrupted Ellena, impatiently; "forget that I
ever made such acknowledgment; forget that you ever heard it; I know
not what I said."
"Ah, beautiful Ellena! do you think it possible I ever can forget it?
It will be the solace of my solitary hours, the hope that shall sustain
me."--
"I cannot be detained Signor," interrupted Ellena, still more
embarrassed, "or forgive myself for having permitted such a
conversation;" but as she spoke the last words, an involuntary smile
seemed to contradict their meaning. Vivaldi believed the smile in
spite of the words; but, before he could express the lightning joy
of conviction, she had left the pavilion; he followed through the
garden--but she was gone.
From this moment Vivaldi seemed to have arisen into a new existence;
the whole world to him was Paradise; that smile seemed impressed upon
his heart for ever. In the fulness of present joy, he believed it
impossible that he could ever be unhappy again, and defied the utmost
malice of future fortune. With footsteps light as air, he returned to
Naples, nor once remembered to look for his old monitor on the way.
The Marchese and his mother being from home, he was left at his leisure
to indulge the rapturous recollection, that pressed upon his mind, and
of which he was impatient of a moment's interruption. All night he
either traversed his apartment with an agitation equal to that, which
anxiety had so lately inflicted, or composed and destroyed letters to
Ellena; sometimes fearing that he had written too much, and at others
feeling that he had written too little; recollecting circumstances
which he ought to have mentioned, and lamenting the cold expression of
a passion, to which it appeared that no language could do justice.
By the hour when domestics had risen, he had, however, completed a
letter somewhat more to his satisfaction, and he dispatched it to the
villa Altieri by a confidential person; but the servant had scarcely
quitted the gates, when he recollected new arguments, which he wished
to urge, and expressions to change of the utmost importance to enforce
his meaning, and he would have given half the world to have recalled
the messenger.
In this state of agitation he was summoned to attend the Marchese, who
had been too much engaged of late to keep his own appointment. Vivaldi
was not long in doubt as to the subject of this interview.
"I have wished to speak with you," said the Marchese, assuming an air
of haughty severity, "upon a subject of the utmost importance to your
honour and happiness; and I wished, also, to give you an opportunity
of contradicting a report, which would have occasioned me considerable
uneasiness, if I could have believed it. Happily I had too much
confidence in my son to credit this; and I affirmed that he understood
too well what was due both to his family and himself, to take any step
derogatory from the dignity of either. My motive for this conversation,
therefore, is merely to afford you a moment for refuting the calumny I
shall mention, and to obtain for myself authority for contradicting it
to the persons who have communicated it to me."
Vivaldi waited impatiently for the conclusion of this exordium, and
then begged to be informed of the subject of the report.
"It is said," returned the Marchese, "that there is a young woman, who
is called Ellena Rosalba,--I think that is the name;--do you know any
person of the name?"
"Do I know!" exclaimed Vivaldi, "but pardon me, pray proceed, my Lord."
The Marchese paused, and regarded his son with sternness, but without
surprize. "It is said, that a young person of this name has contrived
to fascinate your affections, and"----
"It is most true, my Lord, that Signora Rosalba has won my affections,"
interrupted Vivaldi with honest impatience, "but without contrivance."
"I will not be interrupted," said the Marchese, interrupting in his
turn. "It is said that she has so artfully adapted her temper to yours,
that, with the assistance of a relation who lives with her, she has
reduced you to the degrading situation of her devoted suitor."
"Signora Rosalba has, my Lord, exalted me to the honour of being her
suitor," said Vivaldi, unable longer to command his feelings. He was
proceeding, when the Marchese abruptly checked him, "You avow your
folly then!"
"My Lord, I glory in my choice."
"Young man," rejoined his father, "as this is the arrogance and
romantic enthusiasm of a boy, I am willing to forgive it for once,
and observe me, only for once. If you will acknowledge your error,
instantly dismiss this new favourite."--
"My Lord!"
"You must instantly dismiss her," repeated the Marchese with sterner
emphasis; "and, to prove that I am more merciful than just, I am
willing, on this condition, to allow her a small annuity as some
reparation for the depravity, into which you have assisted to sink her."
"My Lord!" exclaimed Vivaldi aghast, and scarcely daring to trust his
voice, "my Lord!--depravity?" struggling for breath. "Who has dared
to pollute her spotless fame by insulting your ears with such infamous
falsehood? Tell me, I conjure you, instantly tell me, that I may hasten
to give him his reward. Depravity!--an annuity--an annuity! O Ellena!
Ellena!" As he pronounced her name tears of tenderness mingled with
those of indignation.
"Young man," said the Marchese, who had observed the violence of his
emotion with strong displeasure and alarm, "I do not lightly give faith
to report, and I cannot suffer myself to doubt the truth of what I have
advanced. You are deceived, and your vanity will continue the delusion,
unless I condescend to exert my authority, and tear the veil from your
eyes. Dismiss her instantly, and I will adduce proof of her former
character which will stagger even your faith, enthusiastic as it is."
"Dismiss her!" repeated Vivaldi with calm yet stern energy, such as his
father had never seen him assume; "My Lord, you have never yet doubted
my word, and I now pledge you that honourable word, that Ellena is
innocent. Innocent! O heavens, that it should ever be necessary to
affirm so, and, above all, that it should ever be necessary for me to
vindicate her!"
"I must indeed lament that it ever should," replied the Marchese
coldly. "You have pledged your word, which I cannot question. I
believe, therefore, that you are deceived; that you think her virtuous,
notwithstanding your midnight visits to her house. And grant she is,
unhappy boy! what reparation can you make her for the infatuated folly,
which has thus stained her character? What"----
"By proclaiming to the world, my Lord, that she is worthy of becoming
my wife," replied Vivaldi, with a glow of countenance, which announced
the courage and the exultation of a virtuous mind.
"Your wife!" said the Marchese, with a look of ineffable disdain, which
was instantly succeeded by one of angry alarm.--"If I believed you
could so far forget what is due to the honour of your house, I would
for ever disclaim you as my son."
"O! why," exclaimed Vivaldi, in an agony of conflicting passions, "why
should I be in danger of forgetting what is due to a father, when I am
only asserting what is due to innocence; when I am only defending her,
who has no other to defend her! Why may not I be permitted to reconcile
duties so congenial! But, be the event what it may, I will defend the
oppressed, and glory in the virtue, which teaches me, that it is the
first duty of humanity to do so. Yes, my Lord, if it must be so, I am
ready to sacrifice inferior duties to the grandeur of a principle,
which ought to expand all hearts and impel all actions. I shall best
support the honour of my house by adhering to its dictates."
"Where is the principle," said the Marchese, impatiently, "which shall
teach you to disobey a father; where is the virtue which shall instruct
you to degrade your family?"
"There can be no degradation, my Lord, where there is no vice," replied
Vivaldi; "and there are instances, pardon me, my Lord, there are some
few instances in which it is virtuous to disobey."
"This paradoxical morality," said the Marchese, with passionate
displeasure, "and this romantic language, sufficiently explain to me
the character of your associates, and the innocence of her, whom you
defend with so chivalric an air. Are you to learn, Signor, that you
belong to your family, not your family to you; that you are only a
guardian of its honour, and not at liberty to dispose of yourself? My
patience will endure no more!"
Nor could the patience of Vivaldi endure this repeated attack on
the honor of Ellena. But, while he yet asserted her innocence, he
endeavoured to do so with the temper, which was due to the presence
of a father; and, though he maintained the independence of a man, he
was equally anxious to preserve inviolate the duties of a son. But
unfortunately the Marchese and Vivaldi differed in opinion concerning
the limits of these duties; the first extending them to passive
obedience, and the latter conceiving them to conclude at a point,
wherein the happiness of an individual is so deeply concerned as in
marriage. They parted mutually inflamed; Vivaldi unable to prevail
with his father to mention the name of his infamous informant, or to
acknowledge himself convinced of Ellena's innocence; and the Marchese
equally unsuccessful in his endeavours to obtain from his son a promise
that he would see her no more.
Here then was Vivaldi, who only a few short hours before had
experienced a happiness so supreme as to efface all impressions of the
past, and to annihilate every consideration of the future; a joy so
full that it permitted him not to believe it possible that he could
ever again taste of misery; he, who had felt as if that moment was as
an eternity, rendering him independent of all others,--even he was thus
soon fallen into the region of time and of suffering.
The present conflict of passion appeared endless; he loved his
father, and would have been more shocked to consider the vexation
he was preparing for him, had he not been resentful of the contempt
he expressed for Ellena. He adored Ellena; and, while he felt the
impractability of resigning his hopes, was equally indignant of the
slander, which affected her name, and impatient to avenge the insult
upon the original defamer.
Though the displeasure of his father concerning a marriage with Ellena
had been already foreseen, the experience of it was severer and more
painful than he had imagined; while the indignity offered to Ellena
was as unexpected as intolerable. But this circumstance furnished him
with an additional argument for addressing her; for, if it had been
possible that his love could have paused, his honour seemed now engaged
in her behalf; and, since he had been a means of sullying her fame, it
became his duty to restore it. Willingly listening to the dictates of
a duty so plausible, he determined to persevere in his original design.
But his first efforts were directed to discover her slanderer, and
recollecting, with surprize, those words of the Marchese, which had
confessed a knowledge of his evening visits to the villa Altieri, the
doubtful warnings of the monk seemed explained. He believed that this
man was at once the spy of his steps, and the defamer of his love, till
the inconsistency of such conduct with the seeming friendliness of his
admonitions, struck Vivaldi and compelled him to believe the contrary.
Meanwhile, the heart of Ellena had been little less tranquil. It
was divided by love and pride; but had she been acquainted with the
circumstances of the late interview between the Marchese and Vivaldi,
it would have been divided no longer, and a just regard for her own
dignity would instantly have taught her to subdue, without difficulty,
this infant affection.
Signora Bianchi had informed her niece of the subject of Vivaldi's
visit; but she had softened the objectionable circumstances that
attended his proposal, and had, at first, merely hinted that it was not
to be supposed his family would approve a connection with any person
so much their inferior in rank as herself. Ellena, alarmed by this
suggestion, replied, that, since she believed so, she had done right to
reject Vivaldi's suit; but her sigh, as she said this, did not escape
the observation of Signora Bianchi, who ventured to add, that she had
not _absolutely_ rejected his offers.
While in this and future conversations, Ellena was pleased to perceive
her secret admiration thus justified by an approbation so indisputable
as that of her aunt, and was willing to believe that the circumstance,
which had alarmed her just pride, was not so humiliating as she at
first imagined, Bianchi was careful to conceal the real considerations,
which had induced her to listen to Vivaldi, being well assured that
they would have no weight with Ellena, whose generous heart and
inexperienced mind would have revolted from mingling any motives of
interest with an engagement so sacred as that of marriage. When,
however, from further deliberation upon the advantages, which such
an alliance must secure for her niece, Signora Bianchi determined to
encourage his views, and to direct the mind of Ellena, whose affections
were already engaged on her side, the opinions of the latter were
found less ductile than had been expected. She was shocked at the idea
of entering clandestinely the family of Vivaldi. But Bianchi, whose
infirmities urged her wishes, was now so strongly convinced of the
prudence of such an engagement for her niece, that she determined to
prevail over her reluctance, though she perceived that this must be by
means more gradual and persuasive than she had believed necessary. On
the evening, when Vivaldi had surprised from Ellena an acknowledgment
of her sentiments, her embarrassment and vexation, on her returning
to the house, and relating what had occurred, sufficiently expressed
to Signora Bianchi the exact situation of her heart. And when, on the
following morning, his letter arrived, written with the simplicity and
energy of truth, the aunt neglected not to adapt her remarks upon it,
to the character of Ellena, with her usual address.
Vivaldi, after the late interview with the Marchese, passed the
remainder of the day in considering various plans, which might discover
to him the person, who had abused the credulity of his father; and in
the evening he returned once more to the villa Altieri, not in secret,
to serenade the dark balcony of his mistress, but openly, and to
converse with Signora Bianchi, who now received him more courteously
than on his former visit. Attributing the anxiety in his countenance
to the uncertainty, concerning the disposition of her niece, she
was neither surprised or offended, but ventured to relieve him from
a part of it, by encouraging his hopes. Vivaldi dreaded lest she
should enquire further respecting the sentiments of his family, but
she spared both his delicacy and her own on this point; and, after a
conversation of considerable length, he left the villa Altieri with a
heart somewhat soothed by approbation, and lightened by hope, although
he had not obtained a sight of Ellena. The disclosure she had made of
her sentiments on the preceding evening, and the hints she had received
as to those of his family, still wrought upon her mind with too much
effect to permit an interview.
Soon after his return to Naples, the Marchesa, whom he was surprised
to find disengaged, sent for him to her closet, where a scene passed
similar to that which had occurred with his father, except that the
Marchesa was more dexterous in her questions, and more subtle in
her whole conduct; and that Vivaldi, never for a moment, forgot the
decorum which was due to a mother. Managing his passions, rather
than exasperating them, and deceiving him with respect to the degree
of resentment she felt from his choice, she was less passionate than
the Marchese in her observations and menaces, perhaps, only because
she entertained more hope than he did of preventing the evil she
contemplated.
Vivaldi quitted her, unconvinced by her arguments, unsubdued by her
prophecies, and unmoved in his designs. He was not alarmed, because
he did not sufficiently understand her character to apprehend her
purposes. Despairing to effect these by open violence, she called in
an auxiliary of no mean talents, and whose character and views well
adapted him to be an instrument in her hands. It was, perhaps, the
baseness of her own heart, not either depth of reflexion or keenness of
penetration, which enabled her to understand the nature of his; and she
determined to modulate that nature to her own views.
There lived in the Dominican convent of the Spirito Santo, at Naples, a
man called father Schedoni; an Italian, as his name imported, but whose
family was unknown, and from some circumstances, it appeared, that he
wished to throw an impenetrable veil over his origin. For whatever
reason, he was never heard to mention a relative, or the place of his
nativity, and he had artfully eluded every enquiry that approached
the subject, which the curiosity of his associates had occasionally
prompted. There were circumstances, however, which appeared to indicate
him to be a man of birth, and of fallen fortune; his spirit, as it had
sometimes looked forth from under the disguise of his manners, seemed
lofty; it shewed not, however, the aspirings of a generous mind, but
rather the gloomy pride of a disappointed one. Some few persons in the
convent, who had been interested by his appearance, believed that the
peculiarities of his manners, his severe reserve and unconquerable
silence, his solitary habits and frequent penances, were the effect of
misfortunes preying upon a haughty and disordered spirit; while others
conjectured them the consequence of some hideous crime gnawing upon an
awakened conscience.
He would sometimes abstract himself from the society for whole days
together, or when with such a disposition he was compelled to mingle
with it, he seemed unconscious where he was, and continued shrouded
in meditation and silence till he was again alone. There were times
when it was unknown whither he had retired, notwithstanding that his
steps had been watched, and his customary haunts examined. No one ever
heard him complain. The elder brothers of the convent said that he had
talents, but denied him learning; they applauded him for the profound
subtlety which he occasionally discovered in argument, but observed
that he seldom perceived truth when it lay on the surface; he could
follow it through all the labyrinths of disquisition, but overlooked
it, when it was undisguised before him. In fact he cared not for truth,
nor sought it by bold and broad argument, but loved to exert the wily
cunning of his nature in hunting it through artificial perplexities.
At length, from a habit of intricacy and suspicion, his vitiated
mind could receive nothing for truth, which was simple and easily
comprehended.
Among his associates no one loved him, many disliked him, and more
feared him. His figure was striking, but not so from grace; it was
tall, and, though extremely thin, his limbs were large and uncouth,
and as he stalked along, wrapt in the black garments of his order,
there was something terrible in its air; something almost superhuman.
His cowl, too, as it threw a shade over the livid paleness of his
face, encreased its severe character, and gave an effect to his large
melancholy eye, which approached to horror. His was not the melancholy
of a sensible and wounded heart, but apparently that of a gloomy and
ferocious disposition. There was something in his physiognomy extremely
singular, and that can not easily be defined. It bore the traces of
many passions, which seemed to have fixed the features they no longer
animated. An habitual gloom and severity prevailed over the deep lines
of his countenance; and his eyes were so piercing that they seemed to
penetrate, at a single glance into the hearts of men, and to read their
most secret thoughts; few persons could support their scrutiny, or even
endure to meet them twice. Yet, notwithstanding all this gloom and
austerity, some rare occasions of interest had called forth a character
upon his countenance entirely different; and he could adapt himself to
the tempers and passions of persons, whom he wished to conciliate, with
astonishing facility, and generally with complete triumph. This monk,
this Schedoni, was the confessor and secret adviser of the Marchesa di
Vivaldi. In the first effervescence of pride and indignation, which
the discovery of her son's intended marriage occasioned, she consulted
him on the means of preventing it, and she soon perceived that his
talents promised to equal her wishes. Each possessed, in a considerable
degree, the power of assisting the other; Schedoni had subtlety with
ambition to urge it; and the Marchesa had inexorable pride, and courtly
influence; the one hoped to obtain a high benefice for his services,
and the other to secure the imaginary dignity of her house, by her
gifts. Prompted by such passions, and allured by such views, they
concerted in private, and unknown even to the Marchese, the means of
accomplishing their general end.
Vivaldi, as he quitted his mother's closet, had met Schedoni in the
corridor leading thither. He knew him to be her confessor, and was not
much surprised to see him, though the hour was an unusual one. Schedoni
bowed his head, as he passed, and assumed a meek and holy countenance;
but Vivaldi, as he eyed him with a penetrating glance, now recoiled
with involuntary emotion; and it seemed as if a shuddering presentiment
of what this monk was preparing for him, had crossed his mind.