FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105   106  
107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   >>   >|  
t difficulty lay in the limitation of her beautiful art. There were so many memories, so many expressions, and the clay would take but one of them. The next day after that she dressed herself as carefully as before, but still David Rossi did not come. No matter! It would give her time to think of all he had said, to go over his words and stories. Did he know her? Certainly he knew her! He must have known from the first that she was her father's daughter, or he would never have put himself in her power. His belief in her was such a sweet thing. It was delicious. Next day also David Rossi did not come, and she began to torture herself with misgivings. Was he indifferent? Had all her day-dreams been delusions? Little as she wished to speak to Bruno, she was compelled to do so. Bruno hardly lifted his eyes from his chisel and soft iron hammer. "Parliament is to meet soon," he said, "and when a man is leader of a party he has enough to do, you know." "Ask him to come to-morrow. Say I wish for one more sitting--only one." "I'll tell him," said Bruno, with a bob of his head over the block of marble. But David Rossi did not come the next day either, and Bruno had no better explanation. "Busy with his new 'Republic' now, and no time to waste, I can tell you." "He will never come again," she thought, and then everything around and within her grew dark and chill. She was sleeping badly, and to tire herself at night she went out to walk in the moonlight along the path under the convent wall. She walked as far as the Pincio gates, where the path broadens to a circular space under a table of clipped ilexes, beneath which there is a fountain and a path going down to the Piazza di Spagna. The night was soft and very quiet, and standing under the deep shadows of the trees, with only the cruel stars shining through, and no sound in the air save the sobbing of the fountain, she heard a man's footstep on the gravel coming up from below. It was David Rossi. He passed within a few yards, yet he did not see her. She wanted to call to him, but she could not do so. For a moment he stood by the deep wall that overlooks the city, and then turned down the path which she had come by. A trembling thought that was afraid to take shape held her back and kept her silent, but the stars beat kindly in an instant and the blood in her veins ran warm. She watched him from where she stood, and then with a light foot she followed him
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105   106  
107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

thought

 

fountain

 

Spagna

 

ilexes

 

clipped

 

Piazza

 

beneath

 
sleeping
 

convent

 

walked


broadens

 

circular

 

moonlight

 

Pincio

 

passed

 

afraid

 
trembling
 

moment

 

overlooks

 

turned


silent

 

watched

 

kindly

 

instant

 

sobbing

 

shining

 
standing
 

shadows

 

footstep

 

wanted


gravel

 

coming

 

daughter

 

father

 

Certainly

 

torture

 

misgivings

 

delicious

 
belief
 

stories


memories
 
expressions
 

beautiful

 
difficulty
 

limitation

 
matter
 

dressed

 

carefully

 

indifferent

 

marble