The Project Gutenberg EBook of Columba, by Prosper Merimee

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Title: Columba

Author: Prosper Merimee

Release Date: March 28, 2006 [EBook #2708]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK COLUMBA ***

Produced by Dagny; Emma Dudding; John Bickers

COLOMBA

By Prosper Merimee

Translated By The Lady Mary Loyd

CHAPTER I

"Pe far la to vendetta,
Sta sigur', vasta anche ella."

--Vocero du Niolo.

Early in the month of October, 181-, Colonel Sir Thomas Nevil, a
distinguished Irish officer of the English army, alighted with his
daughter at the Hotel Beauveau, Marseilles, on their return from a
tour in Italy. The perpetual and universal admiration of enthusiastic
travellers has produced a sort of reaction, and many tourists, in their
desire to appear singular, now take the _nil admirari_ of Horace for
their motto. To this dissatisfied class the colonel's only daughter,
Miss Lydia, belonged. "The Transfiguration" has seemed to her mediocre,
and Vesuvius in eruption an effect not greatly superior to that produced
by the Birmingham factory chimneys. Her great objection to Italy, on
the whole, was its lack of local colour and character. My readers must
discover the sense of these expressions as best they may. A few years
ago I understood them very well myself, but at the present time I can
make nothing of them. At first, Miss Lydia had flattered herself she had
found things on the other side of the Alps which nobody had ever before
seen, about which she could converse _avec les honnetes gens_, as M.
Jourdain calls them. But soon, anticipated in every direction by her
countrymen, she despaired of making any fresh discoveries, and went over
to the party of the opposition. It is really very tiresome not to be
able to talk abut the wonders of Italy without hearing somebody say "Of
course you know the Raphael in the Palazzo---- at ----? It is the finest
thing in Italy!" and just the thing _you_ happen to have overlooked!
As it would take too long to see everything, the simplest course is to
resort to deliberate and universal censure.

At the Hotel Beauveau Miss Lydia met w