CHAPTER II
The Marchese Lamberto di Castelmare
Signor Leandro Lombardoni felt himself to be abundantly repaid for hishour of waiting in the cold street, and for the bajocchi expended on theglass of punch, by the position he occupied at the Circolo all thatevening. He was the centre of every group anxious to gain the earliestinformation respecting a matter of the highest interest to all thesociety of Ravenna. And the matter belonged to a class of subjectsrespecting which the Conte Leandro was especially desirous of beingthought to be thoroughly well-informed, and to have interest in thehighest quarters.
The fact was, that Signor Ercole Stadione, the Ravenna impresario, hadundertaken a journey to Milan, in the hope of accomplishing anegotiation in which the whole of the smaller provincial city had feltitself deeply interested. He had gone thither for the purpose ofengaging the celebrated prima donna, Bianca Lalli, to sing at Ravennaduring the coming Carnival. The pretension was a very ambitious one onthe part of the impresario--or, as it may be more properly said, on thepart of the city--for the step was by no means the result of his ownindependent and unaided enterprise. Such matters were not done in thatway in the good old times in the smaller cities of Italy. The matter hadbeen much debated among the leading patrons of the musical drama in thelittle town. The chances of success had been canvassed. The financialquestion had been considered. Certain sacrifices had been determined on.And it had been settled what terms the impresario should be empowered tooffer.
It had been fully felt and recognised that the hope of engaging thefamous Bianca Lalli to sing at remote little Ravenna, during a carnival,was a singularly ambitious one. But there had been circumstances whichhad led those who had conceived the bold idea to hope that it would notprove to be so impossible as it might at first sight appear. There hadbeen whispers of certain difficulties--untoward circumstances at Milan.Ill-natured things had been said of the "divina Lalli." Doubtless shehad been more sinned against than sinning. But to put the mattercrudely--which, of course, no Italian who had to speak of it, was everso ill-bred as to do--it would seem that the great singer had placedherself, or had been placed, in such relations with somebody or otherbearing a great name in the Lombard capital, that the paternal Austriangovernment, at the instance of that somebody's family, had seen good tohint, in some gentle, but unmistakable manner, that it might, on thewhole, be better that the divine Lalli should bless some other city withher presence during the ensuing season. And then came the consideration,that in all probability most of the great cities of the peninsula had,by that time, made their arrangements for the coming Carnival. Notimpossible, too, that the "diva" herself might be not disinclined toallow a certain period of such comparative obscurity as an engagement atRavenna would bring with it, to pass after her exit from Milan undersuch circumstances, before re-appearing on other boards where she wouldbe equally in the eyes of all Europe. But this ground of hope, though itmay have been felt, was never so much as alluded to in words, inRavenna. In short, Ravenna had determined to make the bold attempt. AndDon Signor Ercole Stadione had returned from the arduous enterprise toannounce that it had been crowned with complete success.
None but those who have had some opportunity of becoming acquainted withthe social habits and manners of the smaller cities of Italy--and thatas they were some twenty years ago, and not as they are now--can imaginethe degree in which a matter of the kind in question could be felt thereto be a subject of general public interest. From the Cardinal Legate,who governed the province, down to the little boys who hung about thecafe doors, in the hope of picking up a half-eaten roll, there was not ahuman being in the city who did not feel that he had some part of theglory resulting from the fact that "La Lalli" was to sing at Ravennaduring the Carnival. The contadini--the peasants outside the gates--eventhough they were only just outside it, cared nothing at all about thematter: another specialty of the social peculiarities of the peninsula.
The Cardinal Legate, restrained by the professional decorum of hiscloth, said nothing save among his quite safe intimates; but, perhaps,like the sailor's parrot, he only thought the more.
As for the jeunesse doree of the Circolo, to whom Signor Leandrorecounted his great tidings with all the self-importance to which theexclusive possession of news of such interest so well entitled him, itis impossible to do justice to the enthusiasm which the news excitedamong them.
All sorts of pleasing anticipations were indulged in. They were alljealous of each other by anticipation. Already, in the gravest spirit ofbusiness, a scheme for taking off her horses at the city gates andharnessing their noble selves to the carriage of the expected guest wasdiscussed.
The reputation enjoyed by the great singer Bianca Lalli at that time wasvery high throughout Italy. But, perhaps,--any one of her rivalgoddesses would have said undoubtedly,--it was a reputation not whollyand exclusively due to her strictly vocal charms. She was, in truth, awoman of more than ordinary beauty; and was universally declared toexercise a charm on all who came within reach of her influence beyondthat which even extraordinary beauty has always the privilege ofexercising. All kinds of stories were told of her boundless power offascination. In crude language, again,--such as her own countrymen neverused concerning her,--the reputation of "la diva Lalli" was tout soitpeu, a reputation de scandale. And it will be readily imagined that theenthusiasm in her favour of the young frequenters of the Circolo atRavenna was none the less vehement on this account.
It must, however, be added that she undoubtedly was a very admirablesinger. Had this not been the case, the Marchese Lamberto di Castelmarewould not have interested himself so much as he had done in the plansand negotiations for bringing her to Ravenna. The Marchese was not a manto be much influenced by the prima donna's reputation for beauty andfascination. But he was "fanatico per la musica." He was theacknowledged leader in all matters musical in Ravenna; the mostinfluential patron of the opera in the city; and all-powerful in theregulation of all theatrical affairs.
The Marchese Lamberto held a rather special position in the social worldin Ravenna. His fortune was large; and the nobility of his familyancient. But it was not these circumstances only, or even mainly, thatcaused him to hold the place he did in the estimation of hisfellow-citizens. He was a bachelor, now about fifty years old; andduring some thirty of those years he had always been before the publicin one manner or another, and always had in every capacity won goldenopinions from all men. Though abundantly rich enough to have goneoccasionally to Rome, or even to have resided there entirely, if he hadchosen to do so, he had, on the contrary, preferred to pass his wholelife in his native city. And Ravenna was flattered by this, to beginwith. Then his residence in the provincial city had been in manyrespects a really useful one, not only to that section of the bodypolitic which is called, par excellence, society, but to the public ingeneral. He had held various municipal offices, and had discharged thefunctions belonging to them with credit and applause. He was treasurerto a hospital, and a generous contributor to its funds. He was thefounder of an artistic society for the education of young artists andthe encouragement of their seniors. He was the principal director of aboard of "publica beneficenza." He was the manager, and what we shouldcall the trustee for the property of more than one nunnery. He wasintimate with the Cardinal Legate, and a frequent and honoured guest atthe palace. Of course in matters of orthodoxy and well-affectedsentiments towards the Church and its government he was all that theagents of that government could desire. It has already been said that hewas at the head of all matters musical and theatrical in Ravenna. Andbesides all this, he gave every year three grand balls in Carnival; andhis house was at all times open every Sunday and Wednesday evening tothe elite of the society of the city.
Gradually it had come to be understood, rather by tacit agreement amongthe society which frequented these reunions than in obedience to anydesire expressed by the Marchese on the subject, that on the Sundayevening ladies were expected; and on those days a sister-in-law of theMarchese, the widow of a
younger brother, was always there to do thehonours of the Palazzo Castelmare. The Wednesday evening parties hadcome to be meetings of gentlemen only. And on these occasions one markedelement of the society consisted of all that the city possessed in theway of professors of natural science. For the Marchese was, in a mildway, fond of such pursuits, and had a special liking for anatomicalinquiries and experiments.
In one respect only could the world fail to be wholly and perfectlycontented with the Marchese Lamberto di Castelmare. At the age of fiftyhe was still a bachelor! Not that the continuance of the noble line ofCastelmare was thereby compromised. The sister-in-law already mentionedhad a son, a young man of two-and-twenty, at the time in question, whowas the heir to the wealth and honours of the house, and who, it was tobe hoped, would also inherit all that accumulated treasure of publicesteem and respect which his uncle had been so uninterruptedly layingup. Neither could a social objection to the Marchese's bachelorhood beraised on the score of any such laxity of moral conduct as the world iswont to expect, and to tolerate with more or less of indulgence, inpersons so free from special ties. Had the Marchese been an archbishophimself, instead of being merely the intimate friend of one, it couldnot have seemed in Ravenna more out of the question to mention hisrespected name in connection with any scandal or inuendo of the kind.There was not a mother in Ravenna who would not have been proud to seeher daughter honoured by any such intercourse with the Marchese as mightbe natural between a father and his child. Proud indeed the most nobleof those matrons would have been could she have supposed that any suchintercourse tended towards sentiments of a more tender nature. But allhopes of this kind had been long given up in Ravenna. It was quiteunderstood that the Marchese was not a marrying man.
Not that even now, in his fiftieth year, he might not well have enteredthe lists with many a younger man as a candidate for the favour of thesex. He was a man of a remarkably fine presence, tall, well made, andwith a natural dignity and graceful bearing in all his movements, whichwere very impressive. He had never given in to the modern fashion ofwearing either beard or moustache. And the contours of his face were toogood and even noble to have gained anything by being so hidden. Thelarge, strong, rather square jaw and chin, and smooth placid cheeks werestrongly expressive of quiet decision and dignified force of will. Themouth, almost always the tell-tale feature of the face, seemed in hiscase rather calculated to puzzle any one who would have speculated onthe meanings shadowed forth by the lines of it. It was certainly, withits large rows of unexceptionably brilliant teeth, a very handsomemouth. And it was often not devoid of much sweetness. Nobody had everimagined that they detected any evil expression among its meanings. Butwhereas a physiognomist looking at that generally faithful expositor ofthe moral man, when it was at rest, would have been inclined to say,that it was a mouth indicative of much capacity for deep and strongpassion, a further study of it in its varied movements would have ledhim to the conclusion that no strong or violent passions had ever beenthere to leave their traces among its lines. The whole face was soessentially calm, unruffled, and placidly dignified.
The loftly noble forehead, the strongly marked brow, the well-openedcalm grey eye, all told the same tale of a mind within well-balanced,thoroughly at peace with itself, and thoroughly contented with itsoutward manifestations, and with every particular of its position.
Clearly the Marchese di Castelmare was a remarkably handsome man. Andyet there was something about him,--and always had been even as a youngman, which seemed to be in natural accordance with the fact that he hadnever seemed to seek female society, save as an amphytrion receiving allRavenna within his hospitable doors. There was a kind of austerity abouthis bearing;--a something difficult to define, which would haveprevented any girl from fancying that he was at all likely to want tomake love to her; a something which made it as impossible that therefined courtesy of his address should have called a pleased blush toany girl's cheek, or made her pulse move one beat the faster, as thatshe should have been so affected by the imposition of the hands of thebishop who confirmed her!
Such as the Marchese was, any committee in the world would have chosenhim its president, any jury in the world would have named him itsforeman, any board in the world have selected him as its chairman, anydeputation in the world would have put him forward as its spokesman; anysovereign in the world might have appointed him grand master of theceremonies; but never at any period of his life would the suffrages ofthe ball-room have pitched upon him to be the leader of the cotillon.
Perhaps it was that his life had been always too full to spare any spacefor such lighter matters. He had been left the head of his family whenquite a young man, and had at once, in a great degree, stepped into theplace he had ever since occupied in the social world of his native city.And what with his music, which was with him really a passion, and whatwith his dabblings in science, and what with the multifarious businesshe had always made for himself by real and useful attention to theaffairs pertaining to all the functions he had filled, his life hadreally been a fully occupied one.
Any man, woman, or child in Ravenna would have said, if such anunpleasant idea had crossed their minds, that what Ravenna would dowithout him it was frightful to think. He was very popular, as well asprofoundly respected by all classes of his fellow-citizens. Thoughcertainly a very proud man, his pride was of a nature that gave offenceto nobody. He was not only proud of being Marchese di Castelmare; he wasvery proud of the esteem, the affection and respect of hisfellow-citizens. And perhaps this was, next to his love of music, whatmost resembled a passion in his nature, and what most ministered to hisenjoyment of life.
It was to this phoenix of a Marchese that Signor Ercole Stadione, theimpresario, having comforted himself with the Conte Leandro's punch, andgot somewhat thawed, and having changed his mountain of travelling wrapsfor a costume proper for presenting himself in such a presence, repairedto report the result of his journey to Milan.
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