‘Messer Bardo,’ he said, in a more measured and respectful tone than was usual with him, ‘I have the honour of presenting to you the Greek scholar, who has been eager to have speech of you, not less from the report I have made to him of your learning and your priceless collections, than because of the furtherance your patronage3 may give him under the transient need to which he has been reduced by shipwreck4. His name is Tito Melema, at your service.’
Romola’s astonishment5 could hardly have been greater if the stranger had worn a panther-skin and carried a thyrsus; for the cunning barber had said nothing of the Greek’s age or appearance; and among her father’s scholarly visitors, she had hardly ever seen any but aged7" target="_blank">middle-aged6 or grey-headed men. There was only one masculine face, at once youthful and beautiful, the image of which remained deeply impressed on her mind: it was that of her brother, who long years ago had taken her on his knee, kissed her, and never come back again: a fair face, with sunny hair, like her own. But the habitual8 attitude of her mind towards strangers — a proud self-dependence and determination to ask for nothing even by a smile — confirmed in her by her father’s complaints against the world’s injustice9, was like a snowy embankment hemming10 in the rush of admiring surprise. Tito’s bright face showed its rich-tinted beauty without any rivalry11 of colour above his black sajo or tunic12 reaching to the knees. It seemed like a wreath of spring, dropped suddenly in Romola’s young but wintry life, which had inherited nothing but memories — memories of a dead mother, of a lost brother, of a blind father’s happier time — memories of far-off light, love, and beauty, that lay embedded13 in dark mines of books, and could hardly give out their brightness again until they were kindled14 for her by the torch of some known joy. Nevertheless, she returned Tito’s bow, made to her on entering, with the same pale proud face as ever; but, as he approached, the snow melted, and when he ventured to look towards her again, while Nello was speaking, a pink flush overspread her face, to vanish again almost immediately, as if her imperious will had recalled it. Tito’s glance, on the contrary, had that gentle, beseeching15 admiration16 in it which is the most propitiating17 of appeals to a proud, shy woman, and is perhaps the only atonement a man can make for being too handsome. The finished fascination18 of his air came chiefly from the absence of demand and assumption. It was that of a fleet, soft-coated, dark-eyed animal that delights you by not bounding away in indifference19 from you, and unexpectedly pillows its chin on your palm, and looks up at you desiring to be stroked — as if it loved you.
‘Messere, I give you welcome,’ said Bardo, with some condescension20; ‘misfortune wedded21 to learning, and especially to Greck learning, is a letter of credit that should win the ear of every instructed Florentine; for, as you are doubtless aware, since the period when your countryman, Manuelo Crisolora, diffused22 the light of his teaching in the chief cities of Italy, now nearly a century ago, no man is held worthy23 of the name of scholar who has acquired merely the transplanted and derivative25 literature of the Latins; rather such inert26 students are stigmatised as opici or barbarians27 according to the phrase of the Romans themselves, who frankly28 replenished29 their urns30 at the fountain-head. I am, as you perceive, and as Nello has doubtless forewarned you, totally blind: a calamity31 to which we Florentines are held especially liable, whether owing to the cold winds which rush upon us in spring from the passes of the Appenines, or to that sudden transition from the cool gloom of our houses to the dazzling brightness of our summer sun, by which the lippi are said to have been made so numerous among the ancient Romans; or, in fine, to some occult cause which eludes32 our superficial surmises33. But I pray you be seated: Nello, my friend, be seated.’
Bardo paused until his fine ear had assured him that the visitors were seating themselves, and that Romola was taking her usual chair at his right hand. Then he said —
‘From what part of Greece do you come, Messere? I had thought that your unhappy country had been almost exhausted34 of those sons who could cherish in their minds any image of her original glory, though indeed the barbarous Sultans have of late shown themselves not indisposed to engraft on their wild stock the precious vine which their own fierce bands have hewn down and trampled35 under foot. From what part of Greece do you come?’
‘I sailed last from Nauplia,’ said Tito; ‘but I have resided both at Constantinople and Thessalonica, and have travelled in various parts little visited by Western Christians36 since the triumph of the Turkish arms. I should tell you, however, Messere, that I was not born in Greece, but at Bari. I spent the first sixteen years of my life in Southern Italy and Sicily.’
While Tito was speaking, some emotion passed, like a breath on the waters, across Bardo’s delicate features; he leaned forward, put out his right hand towards Romola, and turned his head as if about to speak to her; but then, correcting himself, turned away again, and said, in a subdued37 voice —
‘Excuse me; is it not true — you are young?’
‘I am three-and-twenty,’ said Tito.
‘Ah,’ said Bardo, still in a tone of subdued excitement, ‘and you had, doubtless, a father who cared for your early instruction — who, perhaps, was himself a scholar?’
There was a slight pause before Tito’s answer came to the ear of Bardo; but for Romo]a and Nello it began with a slight shock that seemed to pass through him, and cause a momentary38 quivering of the lip; doubtless at the revival39 of a supremely40 painful remembrance.
‘Yes,’ he replied, ‘at least a father by adoption41. He was a Neapolitan, and of accomplished42 scholarship, both Latin and Greek. But,’ added Tito, after another slight pause, ‘he is lost to me — was lost on a voyage he too rashly undertook to Delos.’
Bardo sank backward again, too delicate to ask another question that might probe a sorrow which he divined to be recent. Romola, who knew well what were the fibres that Tito’s voice had stirred in her father, felt that this new acquaintance had with wonderful suddenness got within the barrier that lay between them and the alien world. Nello, thinking that the evident check given to the conversation offered a graceful43 opportunity for relieving himself from silence, said —
‘In truth, it is as clear as Venctian glass that this fine young man has had the best training; for the two Cennini have set him to work at their Greek sheets already, and it seems to me they are not men to begin cutting before they have felt the edge of their tools; they tested him well beforehand, we may be sure, and if there are two things not to be hidden — love and a cough — I say there is a third, and that is ignorance, when once a man is obliged to do something besides wagging his head. The tonsor inequalis is inevitably44 betrayed when he takes the shears45 in his hand; is it not true, Messer Bardo? I speak after the fashion of a barber, but, as Luigi Pulci says —
“Perdonimi s’io fallo: chi m’ascolta
Intenda il mio volgar col suo latino.”
‘Nay46, my good Nello,’ said Bardo, with an air of friendly severity, ‘you are not altogether illiterate47, and might doubtless have made a more respectable progress in learning if you had abstained49 somewhat from the cicalata and gossip of the street-corner, to which our Florentines are excessively addicted50; but still more if you had not clogged51 your memory with those frivolous52 productions of which Luigi Pulci has furnished the most peccant exemplar — a compendium53 of extravagances and incongruities54 the farthest removed from the models of a pure age, and resembling rather the grylli or conceits55 of a period when mystic meaning was held a warrant for monstrosity of form; with this difference, that while the monstrosity is retained, the mystic meaning is absent; in contemptible56 contrast with the great poem of Virgil, who, as I long held with Filelfo, belore Landino had taken upon him to expound57 the same opinion, embodied58 the deepest lessons of philosophy in a graceful and well-knit fable59. And I cannot but regard the multiplication60 of these babbling61, lawless productions, albeit62 countenanced63 by the patronage, and in some dcgree the example of Lorenzo himself, otherwise a friend to true learning, as a sign that the glorious hopes of this century are to be quenched64 in gloom; nay. that they have been the delusive65 prologue66 to an age worse than that of iron — the age of tinsel and gossamer67, in which no thought has substance enough to be moulded into consistent and lasting68 form.’
‘Once more, pardon,’ said Nello, opening his palms outwards69, and shrugging his shoulders, ‘I find myself knowing so many things in good Tuscan before I have time to think of the Latin for them; and Messer Luigi’s rhymes are always slipping off the lips of my customers:— that is what corrupts71 me. And, indeed, talking of customers, I have left my shop and my reputation too long in the custody72 of my slow Sandro, who does not deserve even to be called a tonsor inequalis, but rather to be pronounced simply a bungler73 in the vulgar tongue. So with your permission, Messer Bardo, I will take my leave — well understood that I am at your service whenever Maso calls upon me. It seems a thousand years till I dress and perfume the damigella’s hair, which deserves to shine in the heavens as a constellation74, though indeed it were a pity for it ever to go so far out of reach.’
Three voices made a fugue of friendly farewells to Nello, as he retreated with a bow to Romola and a beck to Tito. The acute barber saw that the pretty youngster, who had crept into his liking75 by some strong magic, was well launched in Bardo’s favourable76 regard; and satisfied that his introduction had not miscarried so far, he felt the propriety77 of retiring.
The little burst of wrath78, called forth79 by Nello’s unlucky quotation80, had diverted Bardo’s mind from the feelings which had just before been hemming in further speech, and he now addressed Tito again with his ordinary calmness.
‘Ah! young man, you are happy in having been able to unite the advantages of travel with those of study, and you will be welcome among us as a bringer of fresh tidings from a land which has become sadly strange to us, except through the agents of a now restricted commerce and the reports of hasty pilgrims. For those days are in the far distance which I myself witnessed, when men like Aurispa and Guarino went out to Greece as to a storehouse, and came back laden81 with manuscripts which every scholar was eager to borrow — and, be it owned with shame, not always willing to restore; nay, even the days when erudite Greeks flocked to our shores for a refuge, seem far off now — farther off than the on-coming of my blindness. But doubtless, young man, research after the treasures of antiquity82 was not alien to the purpose of your travels?’
‘Assuredly not,’ said Tito. ‘On the contrary, my companion — my father — was willing to risk his life in his zeal83 for the discovery of inscriptions84 and other traces of ancient civilisation85.’
‘And I trust there is a record of his researches and their results,’ said Bardo, eagerly, ‘since they must be even more precious than those of Ciriaco, which I have diligently86 availed myself of, though they are not always illuminated87 by adequate learning.’
‘There was such a record,’ said Tito, ‘but it was lost, like everything else, in the shipwreck I suffered below Ancona. The only record left is such as remains88 in our — in my memory.’
‘You must lose no time in committing it to paper, young man,’ said Bardo, with growing interest. ‘Doubtless you remember much, if you aided in transcription; for when I was your age, words wrought89 themselves into my mind as if they had been fixed90 by the tool of the graver; wherefore I constantly marvel91 at the capriciousness of my daughter’s memory, which grasps certain objects with tenacity92, and lets fall all those minutiae93 whereon depends accuracy, the very soul of scholarship. But I apprehend94 no such danger with you, young man, if your will has seconded the advantages of your training.’
When Bardo made this reference to his daughter, Tito ventured to turn his eyes towards her, and at the accusation95 against her memory his face broke into its brightest smile, which was reflected as inevitably as sudden sunbeams in Romola’s. Conceive the soothing96 delight of that smile to her! Romola had never dreamed that there was a scholar in the world who would smile at a deficiency for which she was constantly made to feel herself a culprit. It was like the dawn of a new sense to her — the sense of comradeship. They did not look away from each other immediately, as if the smile had been a stolen one; they looked and smiled with frank enjoyment97.
‘She is not really so cold and proud,’ thought Tito.
‘Does he forget too, I wonder?’ thought Romola. ‘Yet I hope not, else he will vex98 my father.’
But Tito was obliged to turn away, and answer Bardo’s question.
‘I have had much practice in transcription,’ he said; ‘but in the case of inscriptions copied in memorable99 scenes, rendered doubly impressive by the sense of risk and adventure, it may have happened that my retention100 of written characters has been weakened. On the plain of the Eurotas, or among the gigantic stones of Mycenae and Tyrins — especially when the fear of the Turk hovers101 over one like a vulture — the mind wanders, even though the hand writes faithfully what the eye dictates103. But something doubtless I have retained,’ added Tito, with a modesty104 which was not false, though he was conscious that it was politic105, ‘something that might be of service if illustrated106 and corrected by a wider learning than my own.’
‘That is well spoken, young man,’ said Bardo, delighted. ‘And I will not withhold108 from you such aid as I can give, if you like to communicate with me concerning your recollections. I foresee a work which will be a useful supplement to the “Isolario” of Christoforo Buondelmonte, and which may take rank with the “Itineraria” of Ciriaco and the admirable Ambrogio Traversari. But we must prepare ourselves for calumny110, young man,’ Bardo went on with energy, as if the work were already growing so fast that the time of trial was near; ‘if your book contains novelties you will be charged with forgery111; if my elucidations should clash with any principles of interpretation112 adopted by another scholar, our personal characters will be attacked, we shall be impeached113 with foul114 actions; you must prepare yourself to be told that your mother was a fishwoman, and that your father was a renegade priest or a hanged malefactor115. I myself, for having shown error in a single preposition, had an invective116 written against me wherein I was taxed with treachery, fraud, indecency, and even hideous117 crimes. Such, my young friend — such are the flowers with which the glorious path of scholarship is strewed118! But tell me, then: I have learned much concerning Byzantium and Thessalonica long ago from Demetrio Calcondila, who has but lately departed from Florence; but you, it seems, have visited less familiar scenes?’
‘Yes; we made what I may call a pilgrimage full of danger, for the sake of visiting places which have almost died out of the memory of the West, for they lie away from the track of pilgrims; and my father used to say that scholars themselves hardly imagine them to have any existence out of books. He was of opinion that a new and more glorious era would open for learning when men should begin to look for their commentaries on the ancient writers in the remains of cities and temples, nay, in the paths of the rivers, and on the face of the valleys and the mountains.’
‘Ah!’ said Bardo. fervidly119, ‘your father, then, was not a common man. Was he fortunate, may I ask? Had he many friends?’ These last words were uttered in a tone charged with meaning.
‘No; he made enemies — chiefly, I believe, by a certain impetuous candour; and they hindered his advancement120, so that he lived in obscurity. And he would never stoop to conciliate: he could never forget an injury.’
‘Ah!’ said Bardo again, with a long, deep intonation121.
‘Among our hazardous122 expeditions,’ continued Tito, will- ing to prevent further questions on a point so personal, ‘I remember with particular vividness a hastily snatched visit to Athens. Our hurry, and the double danger of being seized as prisoners by the Turks, and of our galley123 raising anchor before we could return, made it seem like a fevered vision of the night — the wide plain, the girdling mountains, the ruined porticos and columns, either standing124 far aloof125, as if receding126 from our hurried footsteps, or else jammed in confusedly among the dwellings127 of Christians degraded into servitude, or among the forts and turrets128 of their Moslem129 conquerors130, who have their stronghold on the Acropolis.’
‘You fill me with surprise,’ said Bardo. ‘Athens, then, is not utterly131 destroyed and swept away, as I had imagined?’
‘No wonder you should be under that mistake, for few even of the Greeks themselves, who live beyond the mountain boundary of Attica, know anything about the present condition of Athens, or Setine, as the sailors call it. I remember, as we were rounding the promontory132 of Sunium, the Greek pilot we had on board our Venetian galley pointed133 to the mighty134 columns that stand on the summit of the rock — the remains, as you know well, of the great temple erected135 to the goddess Athena, who looked down from that high shrine136 with triumph at her conquered rival Poseidon; — well, our Greek pilot, pointing to those columns, said, “That was the school of the great philosopher Aristotle.” And at Athens itself, the monk137 who acted as our guide in the hasty view we snatched, insisted most on showing us the spot where St Philip baptised the Ethiopian eunuch, or some such legend.’
‘Talk not of monks138 and their legends, young man!’ said Bardo, interrupting Tito impetuously. ‘It is enough to overlay human hope and enterprise with an eternal frost to think that the ground which was trodden by philosophers and poets is crawled over by those insect-swarms of besotted fanatics139 or howling hypocrites.’
‘Perdio, I have no affection for them,’ said Tito, with a shrug70; ‘servitude agrees well with a religion like theirs, which lies in the renunciation of all that makes life precious to other men. And they carry the yoke140 that befits them: their matin chant is drowned by the voice of the muezzin, who, from the gallery of the high tower on the Acropolis, calls every Mussulman to his prayers. That tower springs from the Parthenon itself; and every time we paused and directed our eyes towards it, our guide set up a wail141, that a temple which had once been won from the diabolical142 uses of the pagans to become the temple of another virgin143 than Pallas — the Virgin-Mother of God — was now again perverted144 to the accursed ends of the Moslem. It was the sight of those walls of the Acropolis, which disclosed themselves in the distance as we leaned over the side of our galley when it was forced by contrary winds to anchor in the Piraeus, that fired my father’s mind with the determination to see Athens at all risks, and in spite of the sailors’ warnings that if we lingered till a change of wind, they would depart without us: but, after all, it was impossible for us to venture near the Acropolis, for the sight of men eager in examining “old stones” raised the suspicion that we were Venetian spies, and we had to hurry back to the harbour.’
‘We will talk more of these things,’ said Bardo, eagerly. ‘You must recall everything, to the minutest trace left in your memory. You will win the gratitude145 of after-times by leaving a record of the aspect Greece bore while yet the barbarians had not swept away every trace of the structures that Pausanias and Pliny described: you will take those great writers as your models; and such contribution of criticism and suggestion as my riper mind can supply shall not be wanting to you. There will be much to tell; for you have travelled, you said, in the Peloponnesus?’
‘Yes; and in Boeotia also: I have rested in the groves146 of Helicon, and tasted of the fountain Hippocrene. But on every memorable spot in Greece conquest after conquest has set its seal, till there is a confusion of ownership even in ruins, that only close study and comparison could unravel147. High over every fastness, from the plains of Lacedaemon to the straits of Thermopylae, there towers some huge Frankish fortress148, once inhabited by a French or Italian marquis, now either abandoned or held by Turkish bands.’
‘Stay!’ cried Bardo, whose mind was now too thoroughly149 preoccupied150 by the idea of the future book to attend to Tito’s further narration151. ‘Do you think of writing in Latin or Greek? Doubtless Greek is the more ready clothing for your thoughts, and it is the nobler language. But on the other hand, Latin is the tongue in which we shall measure ourselves with the larger and more famous number of modern rivals. And if you are less at ease in it, I will aid you — yes. I will spend on you that long-accumulated study which was to have been thrown into the channel of another work — a work in which I myself was to have had a helpmate.’
Bardo paused a moment, and then added —
‘But who knows whether that work may not be executed yet? For you, too, young man, have been brought up by a father who poured into your mind all the long-gathered stream of his knowledge and experience. Our aid might be mutual152.’
Romola, who had watched her father’s growing excitement, and divined well the invisible currents of feeling that determined153 every question and remark, felt herself in a glow of strange anxiety: she turned her eyes on Tito continually, to watch the impression her father’s words made on him afraid lest he should be inclined to dispel154 these visions of co-operation which were lighting155 up her father’s face with a new hope. But no! He looked so bright and gentle: he must feel, as she did, that in this eagerness of blind age there was piteousness enough to call forth inexhaustible paticnce. How much more strongly he would feel this if he knew about her brother! A girl of eighteen imagines the feelings behind the face that has moved her with its sympathetic youth, as easily as primitive156 people imagined the humours of the gods in fair weather: what is she to believe in, if not in this vision woven from within?
And Tito was really very far from feeling impatient. He delighted in sitting there with the sense that Romola’s attention was fixed on him, and that he could occasionally look at her. He was pleased that Bardo should take an interest in him; and he did not dwell with enough seriousness on the prospect157 of the work in which he was to be aided, to feel moved by it to anything else than that easy, good-humoured acquiescence158 which was natural to him.
‘I shall be proud and happy,’ he said, in answer to Bardo’s last words, ‘if my services can be held a meet offering to the matured scholarship of Messere. But doubtless’ — here he looked towards Romola — ‘the lovely damigella, your daughter, makes all other aid superfluous159; for I have learned from Nello that she has been nourished on the highest studies from her earliest years.’
‘You are mistaken,’ said Romola; ‘I am by no means sufficient to my father: I have not the gifts that are necessary for scholarship.’
Romola did not make this self-depreciatory statement in a tone of anxious humility160 but with a proud gravity.
‘Nay, my Romola,’ said her father, not willing that the stranger should have too low a conception of his daughter’s powers; ‘thou art not destitute161 of gifts; rather, thou art endowed beyond the measure of women; but thou hast withal the woman’s delicate frame, which ever craves162 repose163 and variety, and so begets164 a wandering imagination. My daughter’ — turning to Tito — ‘has been very precious to me, filling up to the best of her power the place of a son. For I had once a son . . . ’
Bardo checked himself: he did not wish to assume an attitude of complaint in the presence of a stranger, and he remembered that this young man, in whom he had unexpectedly become so much interested, was still a stranger, towards whom it became him rather to keep the position of a patron. His pride was roused to double activity by the fear that he had forgotten his dignity.
‘But,’ he resumed, in his original tone of condescension, ‘we are departing from what I believe is to you the most important business. Nello informed me that you had certain gems166 which you would fain dispose of, and that you desired a passport to some man of wealth and taste who would be likely to become a purchaser.’
‘It is true; for, though I have obtained employment, as a corrector with the Cennini, my payment leaves little margin167 beyond the provision of necessaries, and would leave less but that my good friend Nello insists on my hiring a lodging168 from him, and saying nothing about the rent till better days.’
‘Nello is a good-hearted prodigal,’ said Bardo; ‘and though, with that ready ear and ready tongue of his, he is too much like the ill-famed Margites — knowing many things and knowing them all badly, as I hinted to him but now — he is nevertheless “abnormis sapiens,” after the manner of our born Florentines. But have you the gems with you? I would willingly know what they are — yet it is useless: no, it might only deepen regret. I cannot add to my store.’
‘I have one or two intaglios of much beauty,’ said Tito, proceeding170 to draw from his wallet a small case.
But Romola no sooner saw the movement than she looked at him with significant gravity, and placed her finger on her lips,
‘Con viso che tocendo dicea, Taci.’
If Bardo were made aware that the gems were within reach, she knew well he would want a minute description of them, and it would become pain to him that they should go away from him, even if he did not insist on some device for purchasing them in spite of poverty. But she had no sooner made this sign than she felt rather guilty and ashamed at having virtually confessed a weakness of her father’s to a stranger. It seemed that she was destined171 to a sudden confidence and familiarity with this young Greek, strangely at variance172 with her deep-seated pride and reserve; and this consciousness again brought the unwonted colour to her cheeks.
Tito understood her look and sign, and immediately withdrew his hand from the case, saying, in a careless tone, so as to make it appear that he was merely following up his last words, ‘But they are usually in the keeping of Messer Domenico Cennini, who has strong and safe places for these things. He estimates them as worth at least five hundred ducats.’
‘Ah, then, they are fine intagli169,’ said Bardo. ‘Five hundred ducats! Ah, more than a man’s ransom173!’
Tito gave a slight, almost imperceptible start, and opened his long dark eyes with questioning surprise at Bardo’s blind face, as if his words — a mere24 phrase of common parlance174, at a time when men were often being ransomed175 from slavery or imprisonment176 — had had some special meaning for him. But the next moment he looked towards Romola, as if her eyes must be her father’s interpreters. She, intensely preoccupied with what related to her father, imagined that Tito was looking to her again for some guidance, and immediately spoke107.
‘Alessandra Scala delights in gems, you know, father: she calls them her winter flowers; and the Segretario would be almost sure to buy any gems that she wished for. Besides, he himself sets great store by rings and sigils, which he wears as a defence against pains in the joints177.’
‘It is true,’ said Bardo. ‘Bartolommeo has overmuch confidence in the efficacy of gems — a confidence wider than what is sanctioned by Pliny, who clearly shows that he regards many beliefs of that sort as idle superstitions178; though not to the utter denial of medicinal virtues179 in gems. Wherefore, I myself, as you observe, young man, wear certain rings, which the discreet180 Camillo Leonardi prescribed to me by letter when two years ago I had a certain infirmity of sudden numbness181. But thou hast spoken well, Romola. I will dictate102 a letter to Bartolommeo, which Maso shall carry. But it were well that Messere should notify to thee what the gems are, together with the intagli they bear, as a warrant to Bartolommeo that they will be worthy of his attention.’
‘Nay, father,’ said Romola, whose dread182 lest a paroxysm of the collector’s mania183 should seize her father, gave her the courage to resist his proposal. ‘Your word will be sufficicnt that Messere is a scholar and has travelled much. The Segretario will need no further inducement to receive him.’
‘True, child,’ said Bardo, touched on a chord that was sure to respond. ‘I have no need to add proofs and arguments in confirmation184 of my word to Bartolommeo. And I doubt not that this young man’s presence is in accord with the tones of his voice, so that, the door being once opened, he will be his own best advocate.’
Bardo paused a few moments, but his silence was evidently charged with some idea that he was hesitating to express, for he once leaned forward a little as if he were going to speak, then turned his head aside towards Romola and sank backward again. At last, as if he had made up his mind, he said in a tone which might have become a prince giving the courteous185 signal of dismissal —
‘I am somewhat fatigued186 this morning, and shall prefer seeing you again to-morrow, when I shall be able to give you the secretary’s answer, authorising you to present yourself to him at some given time. But before you go’ — here the old man, in spite of himself, fell into a more faltering187 tone — ‘you will perhaps permit me to touch your hand? It is long since I touched the hand of a young man.’
Bardo stretched out his aged white hand, and Tito immediately placed his dark but delicate and supple109 fingers within it. Bardo’s cramped188 fingers closed over them, and he held them for a few minutes in silence. Then he said —
‘Romola, has this young man the same complexion189 as thy brother — fair and pale?’
‘No, father,’ Romola answered, with determined composure, though her heart began to beat violently with mingled190 emotions. ‘The hair of Messere is dark — his complexion is dark.’ Inwardly she said, ‘Will he mind it? will it be disagreeable? No, he looks so gentle and good-natured.’ Then aloud again —
‘Would Messere permit my father to touch his hair and face?’
Her eyes inevitably made a timid entreating191 appeal while she asked this, and Tito’s met them with soft brightness as he said, ‘Assuredly,’ and, leaning forward, raised Bardo’s hand to his curls, with a readiness of assent192, which was the greater relief to her, because it was unaccompanied by any sign of embarrassment193.
Bardo passed his hand again and again over the long curls and grasped them a little, as if their spiral resistance made his inward vision clearer; then he passed his hand over the brow and cheek, tracing the profile with the edge of his palm and fourth finger, and letting the breadth of his hand repose on the rich oval of the cheek.
‘Ah,’ he said, as his hand glided194 from the face and rested on the young man’s shoulder. ‘He must be very unlike thy brother, Romola: and it is the better. You see no visions, I trust, my young friend?’
At this moment the door opened, and there entered, unannounced, a tall elderly man in a handsome black silk lucco, who, unwinding his becchetto from his neck and taking off his cap, disclosed a head as white as Bardo’s. He cast a keen glance of surprise at the group belore him — the young stranger leaning in that filial attitude, while Bardo’s hand rested on his shoulder, and Romola sitting near uith eyes dilated195 by anxiety and agitation196. But there was an instantaneous change: Bardo let fall his hand, Tito raised himself from his stooping posture197, and Romola rose to meet the visitor with an alacrity198 which implied all the greater intimacy199, because it was unaccompanied by any smile.
‘Well, god-daughter,’ said the stately man, as he touched Romola’s shoulder; ‘Maso said you had a visitor, but I came in nevertheless.’
‘It is thou, Bernardo,’ said Bardo. ‘Thou art come at a fortunate moment. This, young man,’ he continued, while Tito rose and bowed, ‘is one of the chief citizens of Florcnce, Messer Bernardo del Nero, my oldest, I had almost said my only friend — whose good opinion, if you can win it, may carry you far. He is but three-and-twenty, Bernardo, yet he can doubtless tell thee much which thou wilt200 care to hear; for though a scholar, he has already travelled far, and looked on other things besides the manuscripts for which thou hast too light an esteem201.’
‘Ah, a Greek, as I augur,’ said Bernardo, returning Tito’s reverence but slightly, and surveying him with that sort of glance which seems almost to cut like fine steel. ‘Newly arrived in Florence, it appears. The name of Messere — or part of it, for it is doubtless a long one?’
‘On the contrary,’ said Tito, with perfect good-humour, ‘it is most modestly free from polysyllabic pomp. My name is Tito Melema.’
‘Truly?’ said Bernardo, rather scornfully, as he took a seat; ‘I had expected it to be at least as long as the names of a city, a river. a province, and an empire all put together. We Florentines mostly use names as we do prawns202, and strip them of all flourishes before we trust them to our throats.’
‘Well, Bardo,’ he continued, as if the stranger were not worth further notice, and changing his tone of sarcastic203 suspicion for one of sadness, ‘we have buried him.’
‘Ah!’ replied Bardo, with corresponding sadness, ‘and a new epoch204 has come for Florence — a dark one, I fear. Lorenzo has left behind him an inheritance that is but like the alchemist’s laboratory when the wisdom of the alchemist is gone.’
‘Not altogether so,’ said Bernardo. ‘Piero de’ Medici has abundant intelligence; his faults are only the faults of hot blood. I love the lad — lad he will always be to me, as I have always been “little father” to him.’
‘Yet all who want a new order of things are likely to conceive new hopes,’ said Bardo. ‘We shall have the old strife205 of parties, I fear.’
‘If we could have a new order of things that was something else than knocking down one coat of arms to put up another,’ said Bernardo, ‘I should be ready to say, “I belong to no party: I am a Florentine.” But as long as parties are in question, I am a Medicean, and will be a Medicean till I die. I am of the same mind as Farinata degli Uberti: if any man asks me what is meant by siding with a party, I say, as he did, “To wish ill or well, for the sake of past wrongs or kindnesses.”’
During this short dialogue, Tito had been standing, and now took his leave.
‘But come again at the same hour to-morrow,’ said Bardo, graciously, before Tito left the room, ‘that I may give you Bartolommeo’s answer.’
‘From what quarter of the sky has this pretty Greek youngster alighted so close to thy chair, Bardo?’ said Bernardo del Nero, as the door closed. He spoke with dry emphasis, evidently intended to convey something more to Bardo than was implied by the mere words.
‘He is a scholar who has been shipwrecked and has saved a few gems, for which he wants to find a purchaser. I am going to send him to Bartolommeo Scala, for thou knowest it were more prudent206 in me to abstain48 from further purchases.’
Bernardo shrugged207 his shoulders and said, ‘Romola, wilt thou see if my servant is without? I ordered him to wait for me here.’ Then, when Romola was at a sufficient distance, he leaned forward and said to Bardo in a low, emphatic208 tone —
‘Remember, Bardo, thou hast a rare gem165 of thy own; take care no one gets it who is not likely to pay a worthy price. That pretty Greek has a lithe209 sleekness210 about him, that seems marvellously fitted for slipping easily into any nest he fixes his mind on.’
Bardo was startled: the association of Tito with the image of his lost son had excluded instead of suggesting the thought of Romola. But almost immediately there seemed to be a reaction which made him grasp the warning as if it had been a hope.
‘But why not, Bernardo? If the young man approved himself worthy — he is a scholar — and — and there would be no difficulty about the dowry, which always makes thee gloomy.’
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1
ushered
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| v.引，领，陪同( usher的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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reverence
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| n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬 | |
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patronage
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| n.赞助，支援，援助；光顾，捧场 | |
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shipwreck
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| n.船舶失事，海难 | |
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5
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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middle-aged
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| adj.中年的 | |
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aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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habitual
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| adj.习惯性的；通常的，惯常的 | |
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injustice
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| n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利 | |
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10
hemming
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| 卷边 | |
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rivalry
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| n.竞争，竞赛，对抗 | |
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tunic
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| n.束腰外衣 | |
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embedded
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| a.扎牢的 | |
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kindled
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| （使某物）燃烧，着火( kindle的过去式和过去分词 )； 激起（感情等）； 发亮，放光 | |
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beseeching
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| adj.恳求似的v.恳求，乞求（某事物）( beseech的现在分词 ) | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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propitiating
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| v.劝解，抚慰，使息怒( propitiate的现在分词 ) | |
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18
fascination
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| n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋 | |
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19
indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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20
condescension
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| n.自以为高人一等，贬低(别人) | |
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21
wedded
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| adj.正式结婚的；渴望…的，执著于…的v.嫁，娶，（与…）结婚( wed的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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22
diffused
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| 散布的，普及的，扩散的 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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24
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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derivative
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| n.派(衍)生物；adj.非独创性的，模仿他人的 | |
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inert
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| adj.无活动能力的，惰性的；迟钝的 | |
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barbarians
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| n.野蛮人( barbarian的名词复数 )；外国人；粗野的人；无教养的人 | |
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28
frankly
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| adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说 | |
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29
replenished
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| 补充( replenish的过去式和过去分词 )； 重新装满 | |
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30
urns
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| n.壶( urn的名词复数 )；瓮；缸；骨灰瓮 | |
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31
calamity
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| n.灾害，祸患，不幸事件 | |
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32
eludes
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| v.（尤指机敏地）避开( elude的第三人称单数 )；逃避；躲避；使达不到 | |
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surmises
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| v.臆测，推断( surmise的第三人称单数 )；揣测；猜想 | |
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34
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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trampled
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| 踩( trample的过去式和过去分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯 | |
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Christians
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| n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 ) | |
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subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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38
momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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39
revival
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| n.复兴，复苏，（精力、活力等的）重振 | |
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40
supremely
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| adv.无上地，崇高地 | |
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41
adoption
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| n.采用，采纳，通过；收养 | |
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42
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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43
graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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44
inevitably
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| adv.不可避免地；必然发生地 | |
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45
shears
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| n.大剪刀 | |
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46
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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47
illiterate
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| adj.文盲的；无知的；n.文盲 | |
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48
abstain
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| v.自制，戒绝，弃权，避免 | |
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49
abstained
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| v.戒（尤指酒），戒除( abstain的过去式和过去分词 )；弃权（不投票） | |
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50
addicted
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| adj.沉溺于....的，对...上瘾的 | |
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51
clogged
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| （使）阻碍( clog的过去式和过去分词 )； 淤滞 | |
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52
frivolous
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| adj.轻薄的；轻率的 | |
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53
compendium
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| n.简要，概略 | |
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54
incongruities
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| n.不协调( incongruity的名词复数 )；不一致；不适合；不协调的东西 | |
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55
conceits
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| 高傲( conceit的名词复数 )； 自以为； 巧妙的词语； 别出心裁的比喻 | |
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56
contemptible
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| adj.可鄙的，可轻视的，卑劣的 | |
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57
expound
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| v.详述；解释；阐述 | |
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58
embodied
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| v.表现( embody的过去式和过去分词 )；象征；包括；包含 | |
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59
fable
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| n.寓言；童话；神话 | |
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60
multiplication
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| n.增加，增多，倍增；增殖，繁殖；乘法 | |
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61
babbling
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| n.胡说，婴儿发出的咿哑声adj.胡说的v.喋喋不休( babble的现在分词 )；作潺潺声（如流水）；含糊不清地说话；泄漏秘密 | |
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62
albeit
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| conj.即使；纵使；虽然 | |
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63
countenanced
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| v.支持，赞同，批准( countenance的过去式 ) | |
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64
quenched
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| 解（渴）( quench的过去式和过去分词 )； 终止（某事物）； （用水）扑灭（火焰等）； 将（热物体）放入水中急速冷却 | |
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65
delusive
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| adj.欺骗的，妄想的 | |
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66
prologue
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| n.开场白，序言；开端，序幕 | |
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67
gossamer
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| n.薄纱，游丝 | |
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68
lasting
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| adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持 | |
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69
outwards
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| adj.外面的，公开的，向外的；adv.向外；n.外形 | |
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70
shrug
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| v.耸肩(表示怀疑、冷漠、不知等) | |
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71
corrupts
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| （使）败坏( corrupt的第三人称单数 )； （使）腐化； 引起（计算机文件等的）错误； 破坏 | |
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72
custody
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| n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留 | |
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73
Bungler
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| n.笨拙者，经验不够的人 | |
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74
constellation
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| n.星座n.灿烂的一群 | |
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75
liking
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| n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢 | |
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76
favourable
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| adj.赞成的，称赞的，有利的，良好的，顺利的 | |
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77
propriety
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| n.正当行为；正当；适当 | |
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78
wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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80
quotation
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| n.引文，引语，语录；报价，牌价，行情 | |
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81
laden
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| adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的 | |
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82
antiquity
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| n.古老；高龄；古物，古迹 | |
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83
zeal
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| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
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84
inscriptions
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| （作者）题词( inscription的名词复数 )； 献词； 碑文； 证劵持有人的登记 | |
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85
civilisation
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| n.文明，文化，开化，教化 | |
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86
diligently
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| ad.industriously;carefully | |
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87
illuminated
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| adj.被照明的；受启迪的 | |
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88
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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89
wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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90
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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91
marvel
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| vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事 | |
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92
tenacity
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| n.坚韧 | |
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93
minutiae
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| n.微小的细节，细枝末节；（常复数）细节，小事( minutia的名词复数 ) | |
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94
apprehend
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| vt.理解，领悟，逮捕，拘捕，忧虑 | |
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95
accusation
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| n.控告，指责，谴责 | |
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96
soothing
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| adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的 | |
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97
enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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98
vex
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| vt.使烦恼，使苦恼 | |
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99
memorable
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| adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的 | |
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100
retention
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| n.保留，保持，保持力，记忆力 | |
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101
hovers
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| 鸟( hover的第三人称单数 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
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102
dictate
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| v.口授；(使)听写；指令，指示，命令 | |
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103
dictates
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| n.命令，规定，要求( dictate的名词复数 )v.大声讲或读( dictate的第三人称单数 )；口授；支配；摆布 | |
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104
modesty
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| n.谦逊，虚心，端庄，稳重，羞怯，朴素 | |
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105
politic
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| adj.有智虑的；精明的；v.从政 | |
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106
illustrated
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| adj. 有插图的，列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词 | |
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107
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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108
withhold
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| v.拒绝，不给；使停止，阻挡 | |
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109
supple
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| adj.柔软的，易弯的，逢迎的，顺从的，灵活的；vt.使柔软，使柔顺，使顺从；vi.变柔软，变柔顺 | |
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110
calumny
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| n.诽谤，污蔑，中伤 | |
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111
forgery
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| n.伪造的文件等，赝品，伪造（行为） | |
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112
interpretation
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| n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理 | |
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113
impeached
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| v.控告（某人）犯罪( impeach的过去式和过去分词 )；弹劾；对（某事物）怀疑；提出异议 | |
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114
foul
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| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
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115
malefactor
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| n.罪犯 | |
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116
invective
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| n.痛骂，恶意抨击 | |
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117
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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118
strewed
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| v.撒在…上( strew的过去式和过去分词 )；散落于；点缀；撒满 | |
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119
fervidly
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| adv.热情地，激情地 | |
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120
advancement
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| n.前进，促进，提升 | |
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121
intonation
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| n.语调，声调；发声 | |
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122
hazardous
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| adj.(有)危险的，冒险的；碰运气的 | |
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123
galley
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| n.（飞机或船上的）厨房单层甲板大帆船；军舰舰长用的大划艇； | |
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124
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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125
aloof
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| adj.远离的；冷淡的，漠不关心的 | |
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126
receding
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| v.逐渐远离( recede的现在分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题 | |
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127
dwellings
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| n.住处，处所( dwelling的名词复数 ) | |
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128
turrets
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| （六角）转台( turret的名词复数 )； （战舰和坦克等上的）转动炮塔； （摄影机等上的）镜头转台； （旧时攻城用的）塔车 | |
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129
Moslem
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| n.回教徒，穆罕默德信徒；adj.回教徒的，回教的 | |
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130
conquerors
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| 征服者，占领者( conqueror的名词复数 ) | |
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131
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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132
promontory
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| n.海角；岬 | |
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133
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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134
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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135
ERECTED
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| adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立 | |
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136
shrine
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| n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣 | |
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137
monk
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| n.和尚，僧侣，修道士 | |
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138
monks
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| n.修道士，僧侣( monk的名词复数 ) | |
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139
fanatics
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| 狂热者，入迷者( fanatic的名词复数 ) | |
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140
yoke
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| n.轭；支配；v.给...上轭，连接，使成配偶 | |
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141
wail
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| vt./vi.大声哀号，恸哭；呼啸，尖啸 | |
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142
diabolical
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| adj.恶魔似的，凶暴的 | |
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143
virgin
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| n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的 | |
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144
perverted
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| adj.不正当的v.滥用( pervert的过去式和过去分词 )；腐蚀；败坏；使堕落 | |
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145
gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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146
groves
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| 树丛，小树林( grove的名词复数 ) | |
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147
unravel
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| v.弄清楚（秘密）；拆开，解开，松开 | |
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148
fortress
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| n.堡垒，防御工事 | |
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149
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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150
preoccupied
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| adj.全神贯注的，入神的；被抢先占有的；心事重重的v.占据（某人）思想，使对…全神贯注，使专心于( preoccupy的过去式) | |
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151
narration
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| n.讲述，叙述；故事；记叙体 | |
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152
mutual
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| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
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153
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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154
dispel
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| vt.驱走，驱散，消除 | |
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155
lighting
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| n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光 | |
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156
primitive
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| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
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157
prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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158
acquiescence
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| n.默许；顺从 | |
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159
superfluous
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| adj.过多的，过剩的，多余的 | |
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160
humility
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| n.谦逊，谦恭 | |
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161
destitute
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| adj.缺乏的；穷困的 | |
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162
craves
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| 渴望，热望( crave的第三人称单数 )； 恳求，请求 | |
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163
repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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164
begets
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| v.为…之生父( beget的第三人称单数 )；产生，引起 | |
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165
gem
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| n.宝石，珠宝；受爱戴的人 [同]jewel | |
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166
gems
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| growth； economy； management； and customer satisfaction 增长 | |
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167
margin
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| n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘 | |
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168
lodging
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| n.寄宿，住所；(大学生的)校外宿舍 | |
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169
intagli
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| n.刻有凹纹图形的宝石( intaglio的名词复数 )；凹雕，阴文 | |
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170
proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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171
destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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172
variance
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| n.矛盾，不同 | |
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173
ransom
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| n.赎金，赎身；v.赎回，解救 | |
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174
parlance
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| n.说法；语调 | |
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175
ransomed
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| 付赎金救人，赎金( ransom的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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176
imprisonment
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| n.关押，监禁，坐牢 | |
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177
joints
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| 接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语） | |
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178
superstitions
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| 迷信，迷信行为( superstition的名词复数 ) | |
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179
virtues
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| 美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处 | |
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180
discreet
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| adj.(言行)谨慎的；慎重的；有判断力的 | |
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181
numbness
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| n.无感觉，麻木，惊呆 | |
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182
dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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183
mania
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| n.疯狂；躁狂症，狂热，癖好 | |
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184
confirmation
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| n.证实，确认，批准 | |
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185
courteous
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| adj.彬彬有礼的，客气的 | |
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186
fatigued
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| adj. 疲乏的 | |
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187
faltering
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| 犹豫的，支吾的，蹒跚的 | |
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188
cramped
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| a.狭窄的 | |
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189
complexion
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| n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格 | |
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190
mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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191
entreating
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| 恳求，乞求( entreat的现在分词 ) | |
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192
assent
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| v.批准，认可；n.批准，认可 | |
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193
embarrassment
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| n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫 | |
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194
glided
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| v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔 | |
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195
dilated
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| adj.加宽的，扩大的v.（使某物）扩大，膨胀，张大( dilate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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196
agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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197
posture
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| n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势 | |
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198
alacrity
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| n.敏捷，轻快，乐意 | |
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199
intimacy
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| n.熟悉，亲密，密切关系，亲昵的言行 | |
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200
wilt
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| v.(使)植物凋谢或枯萎；(指人)疲倦，衰弱 | |
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201
esteem
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| n.尊敬，尊重；vt.尊重，敬重；把…看作 | |
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202
prawns
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| n.对虾，明虾( prawn的名词复数 ) | |
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203
sarcastic
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| adj.讥讽的，讽刺的，嘲弄的 | |
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204
epoch
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| n.(新)时代；历元 | |
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205
strife
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| n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争 | |
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206
prudent
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| adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的 | |
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207
shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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208
emphatic
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| adj.强调的，着重的；无可置疑的，明显的 | |
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209
lithe
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| adj.(指人、身体)柔软的，易弯的 | |
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210
sleekness
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| 油滑； 油光发亮； 时髦阔气； 线条明快 | |
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