LOVE OF COUNTRY
Led by Ali's strong hands the noble steeds flew along the streets of
Milan like the wind. La Luciola appeared now to have changed roles with
Milla, for she wept bitterly.
"Oh, Milla," groaned the diva, "Aslitta is surely dead, or else he would
have kept his word, and if I have lost him my life will be at an end."
"But, Eugenie," consoled Milla, "why fear the worst always? I--"
The sudden stoppage of the coach caused Milla to pause. The negro sprang
from the box, opened the door and motioned with his hand to the ladies
to descend.
"Come, Milla," said La Luciola, "wherever we are, we are under the
protection of a powerful friend."
They were ushered into a beautifully furnished hallway, which led to a
room furnished with heavy velvet draperies. A man with gray hair and
aquiline nose, our old friend Bertuccio, received the ladies with a deep
bow.
"Signora," he said, turning to Luciola, "have no fear; you are in the
house of a friend. Follow me."
La Luciola and Milla accepted the invitation and uttered a cry of
surprise. They had entered a room decorated with the finest frescoes and
hung with the richest silk and satin tapestries. In the centre of the
room was a tent of blue silk under which sat a lady of extraordinary
beauty, the same one who had attracted such attention at the Scala.
"Welcome, sisters," said Haydee in a gentle voice as she came toward
them, "I was expecting you."
La Luciola and Milla bent over to kiss the white hand she extended
toward them, but Haydee would not permit it, and pressing her lips to
the young girl's forehead she drew them both to the divan.
"You have acted courageously, sister," said Haydee, turning to Luciola,
"but I was not anxious about you. He told me he would watch over you."
La Luciola understood whom she meant by this "he," and she timidly
replied:
"Madame, you seem to know all about the terrible affair. Would you
permit me a question?"
"Gladly. Ask without fear; I will answer you."
La Luciola hesitated a moment and then firmly said:
"Madame, there is a patriot in Milan who is putting his life at stake
for the freedom of Italy. He offered his breast to the minions of
Radetzky--"
"You are speaking of the Marquis Aslitta," said Haydee, gently.
"Yes, of him, and if you knew my past you would understand that it is
the love I bear for him which keeps me alive."
"Speak freely, sister," whispered the handsome Greek, "perhaps I can
help you."
"I am a Frenchwoman by birth," said the diva, timidly. "My youth was
passed in the capital. I was courted and petted, and yet I was not
happy. My father, occupied with his financial operations, did not bother
himself about me. My mother was just as unhappy as I was. I would have
become desperate if a dear friend had not clung to me," and putting her
arm about Milla's waist, the diva continued:
"We were both devoted to music. It was a substitute for happiness to me,
and in the empire of harmony I tried to forget my barren life. A certain
trouble happened to me; in a twinkling all the ties which bound me to
home were broken, and I fled, with misery and desperation in my heart!
Madame, I was then hardly twenty, but virtue, honesty and love were
already to me empty words!"
"Poor sister," murmured Haydee, "how you must have suffered."
"Yes, I suffered greatly," continued Luciola, with tears in her eyes.
"The world appeared to be a desert, and so I devoted myself to art. In
Naples I discovered that there was something besides the applause of the
crowd and one's own ambition! A group of young Italian noblemen had come
to Naples to free their brothers from the tyranny of the Austrian
oppressors. One night we heard a loud noise. Not having anything to
lose, I had my horse harnessed and rode in the direction of the cry.
Milla insisted upon accompanying me. When we reached the spot, a bloody
fight was going on. We saw shining uniforms. It was at Crotona in
Calabria. On a ledge stood a young man, swinging a sword and urging his
comrades on against the Austrians. A shot was fired and the young man
fell. I urged my horse on toward the spot where I had last seen him. The
unhappy man had fallen down a precipice. With the help of my strong
tunic, Milla and I succeeded in drawing him up. We brought him to my
house and I cared for him tenderly. Giorgio Aslitta awoke to new life.
His first words, as he gained sensibility, were:
_"Chi per la patria muore_
_Vessuto ha assai!"_
"Ah, the battle hymn of the Italians," interrupted Haydee, her eyes
glistening.
"Yes; and when I heard these words I was saved! I believed in man again,
and no love song ever sounded so sweet to me as that patriotic hymn."