CHAPTER XI
The Cardinal's Reception, and the Marchese's Ball
On the first day of the New Year, according to long-established custom,there was a grand reception in the evening at the palace of the CardinalLegate. It was to be, as always on that occasion, a very grand affair.All the diamonds, and all the old state carriages, and all the liveriesin Ravenna were put in requisition. Old coats, gorgeously bedizened withbroad worsted lace of brilliant colours, and preserved for many a yearcarefully, but not wholly successfully, against time and moth, weretaken by fours and fives from the cypress-wood chests in old familymansions, where they lay in peace from year's end to year's end if nomarriage or other great family solemnity intervened to give them anextra turn of service, and were used to turn dependants of all sortsinto liveried servants for the nonce; and nobody imagined or hoped thatanybody else would look upon this display as anything else than absoluteand frank ostentation. Nobody supposed that any human being would be ledinto believing that this state indicated the ordinary mode of life ofthe persons who exhibited it. Everybody in Italy has been for so manygenerations so very much poorer than his forefathers were, that such astate of things has long since been accepted by universal consent as anormal one; and it is understood on all hands that these fitful displaysof the remnants of former grandeur, this vain revisiting of the glimpsesof the moon by the ghosts of long-departed glories, shall be taken andallowed as protests on behalf of the bearers of old noble names to theeffect that their ancestors did really once live in a style conformableto their ideas--that they perfectly know how these things should bedone, and would be found quite prepared to resume their proper state, ifonly the good old days of prosperity should come again.
And there is the good as well as the seamy side (not, alas, to the oldliveries! for they had been mostly turned and turned again too often);but to the feelings and social manners which prompted such amanifestation of them. At least, in such a condition of social mannersand feelings mere wealth was not installed on the throne of Mammon inthe eyes of all men. If one of the old coaches was more pitiably ricketythan the rest; if the ancient-fashioned coat of some long-descendedmarchese was itself as threadbare as the old family liveries; if somewidowed contessa had crept out from the last habitable corner of herdilapidated palazzo, where she was known to live on a modicum ofchicory-water, brought in a tumbler from the nearest cafe, and a crust;not on any such account was there the smallest tendency towards aderisive smile on the lip, or in the mind of any man, at these pitiableattempts to keep up appearances, which everybody considered it right tokeep up. Not on any such account was the stately courtesy of theLegate's reception in the smallest degree modified. It was subject,indeed, to many modifications; but these were wholly irrespective of anysuch circumstances.
There is a peculiar sort of naivete about Italian ostentation, whichrobs it of all its offensiveness. Nobody exhibits their finery orgrandeur for the sake of crushing another; nobody feels themselvescrushed by the exhibition of it. The old noble who turns out his galaliveries and other bedizenments on a festal day, does it to make up hispart of the general show, which is for the gratification of all classes,and is a gratification to them. But it is a curious commentary of thepast history of Italy that, as between city and city, there is thefeeling, the wish, and the ambition, to crush and humble a rivalcommunity by superior magnificence.
Nobody expected much immediate gratification from attending theCardinal's reception. There was little to be done save to bow to thehost and to each other. Ices were handed round--none the less because itwas bitterly cold--and cakes and comfits. Old Contessa Carini, who had agrandchild at home, and no money to buy bonbons with, emptied half aplateful of them into her handkerchief, the old servant who handed themhelping her; and the Cardinal, who happened to be standing by, smilinglytelling her to give the little one his benediction with them. The braveold Contessa still kept her carriage, as it became a Carini to do;though she starved her poor old shrivelled body to enable her to keepher half-starved horses. And "society" gave her its applause forstruggling so hard to do that which it became her to do in the state oflife to which it had pleased God to call her; and no soul in the roomdreamed of thinking the less of her because of the sharp poverty thatconfessed itself in her eagerness to make the most of the opportunity ofthe Legate's hospitality.
The Conte Leandro Lombardoni had a bilious headache the followingmorning in consequence of overcramming himself with cakes andsweetmeats. One active-minded old gentleman originated the remark thatthe cold was greater than had been known in Ravenna for the last sevenyears; and this fact, repeated again and again by most of the company toeach other, supplied the material of conversation for the firsthalf-hour. Then somebody, alluded to the circumstance that, whereas ithad been said that La Lalli was to have arrived before the end of theyear, the fact was, that she had not yet come: and thereupon theMarchese Lamberto had authoritatively declared that the lady had beendetained by an unforeseen circumstance of no importance, and wouldinfallibly reach Ravenna on the evening of the 3rd.
And thenceforward this interesting news formed the sole topic ofconversation till the carriages were ordered; and all the finery wastaken home again to be laid up in lavender till that day twelvemonth.
There was to be, also according to annual custom, the first ball of theCarnival at the Palazzo Castelmare on the following evening; but forthis the state trappings reserved for the Legate's reception on the Capod'Anno, were not required.
The balls given by the Marchese Lamberto di Castelmare every Carnivalwere the grand and principal gaieties of Ravenna. The whole of the"society" were invited, and to be prevented from going by illness or anyother contretemps was a misfortune to be lamented during all the rest ofthe year. At the Palazzo Castelmare people really did expect to enjoythemselves. There was dancing for the young, cards for the old, andeating and drinking for all. For the Palazzo Castelmare was the onlyhouse in Ravenna at which suppers were ever given. There three balls andthree handsome suppers were provided for all the society of Ravennaevery year! And the first of these always took place on the 2nd ofJanuary; the Capo d'Anno being left for the state reception at theLegate's palace.
Well might little Signor Ercole Stadione say, what would become ofRavenna if anything were to happen to the Marchese Lamberto!
All the people came much about the same time; and there was then half anhour or so, before the dancing commenced, during which the main objectand amusement of the assemblage was to escape from misfortune, which itwas well known the Conte Leandro meditated inflicting on the society. Hewas known to have written a poem for the opening of the new year, whichwas then in his pocket, and which he purposed reading aloud to thecompany, if he only could get a chance! He was looking very pale, andmore sodden and pasty about the face than usual, from the effects of hisexcesses at the Legate's the night before. But his friends had no hopethat this would save them from the poem, if he could in anywise obtain ahearing.
"Take care, he is putting his hand in his coat-pocket! That's where itis, you know; he'll have it out in half an instant, if we stop talking!Oh, Contessina, you are always so ready! Do invent something to stophim, for the love of heaven!" said a young man to a bright-looking girlnext him.
"Oh, Signor Leandro, since you are riconciliato con bel sesso," said theContessina, alluding to words which, to the great amusement of allRavenna, Leandro had written in the album of a lady who asked the poetfor his autograph,--"since you are reconciled to the fair sex, will yoube very kind and see if I have left my fan where I put off my shawl inthe ante-room?"
"Bravo, Contessina; now let us get to another part of the room, beforehe gets back. Oh, Ludovico," he continued, addressing the young MarcheseCastelmare, whom they encountered as they were crossing the room, "forthe love of heaven, let us begin! Make the musicians strike up, or weshall have Leandro in full swing in another minute!"
"I assure you, Signor Ludovico, the danger is imminent!" said theContessina.
"When I sa
w him at work last night at the Cardinal's pastry, I thoughthe must have made himself too ill to come here to-night," said theformer speaker; "but I suppose poets can digest what would kill you orme!"
"If Leandro begins to read, I vote we all are seized with an invinciblefit of sneezing," said another of the grown-up children.
"Well, we may as well begin at once; I will go and tell the ContessaViolante that we are ready," said Ludovico, moving off.
It was a matter of course, that he should open the ball with theContessa Violante,--not only by reason of her social standing in thecity, but because of the position in which he was understood to standtowards her.
Violante was sitting at the upper end of the room between her great-auntand the sister of the Marchese Lamberto, Ludovico's mother. She was veryhandsomely dressed in plain white silk, but was looking pale anddispirited. When Ludovico came up and offered his arm, bowing low as hedid so, she rose and accepted it without speaking.
"I had almost made up my mind," she said as soon as they had moved apace or two towards the middle of the large ball-room, "not to dance atall to-night: I am not well."
"Oh, Signorina, how unfortunate! What a disappointment! But it would becruel to force you to dance, when it is against your inclination," saidLudovico, with a very unsuccessful attempt to put a tone of tendernessinto his voice.
"I will not do so, after this dance," said Violante; "but I suppose wemust dance the first dance together!"
"I am sorry it should be a matter of such disagreeable duty to you,Signora Violante," said Ludovico in a tone of pretended pique.
"It is equally disagreeable to me to dance with any other partner; I amnot well, as I have told you, Signor Ludovico; I have no business to behere; I think my health becomes weaker from day to day. And the blessedSaints only know when it may be possible to think of carrying intoeffect the arrangements desired by our parents!"
"I am sure that mine would not wish to urge you on the subject to--todecide more quickly than you would wish to. I can assure you, Signora,nothing would be more contrary to my own feelings than to do any suchviolence to yours. Indeed I may say--"
"Yes, yes! I think I understand all about it, Signor Ludovico. Might itnot be possible to find means of pleasing all parties in this matter, ifonly all parties understood each other, Signor Ludovico?"
She dropped her voice almost to a whisper as she said these last words,with a rapid furtive glance at his face.
"And now," she added, speaking in a louder tone, "we had better give ourminds to the present scene of the farce, and perform the openingquadrille, as is expected of us!"
"I am truly sorry, Signora, that you should be called upon to do thissort of thing, when you are so unwell, as to make it even moredisagreeable than it might be to you otherwise. But believe me,"continued he, speaking in a low voice, and with an emphasis thatindicated that his words had reference rather to what she had spoken tohim in a similar tone than to the words of his own which had immediatelypreceded them,--"believe me that it is my wish to meet your wishes inall respects."
There was a jesuitism in this speech, which did not recommend it or itsspeaker to the Contessa Violante. She would have been far better pleasedby a more open reply to the confidence which she had half offered. Sheonly said in reply:
"I am disposed to think, that such is the case in the matter which morenearly concerns us both, Signor Ludovico, than anything else.But--although we knew just now that we had to dance together, it was youwho had to ask me, you know, and not I you. Very little active power ofinfluencing her own destiny is allowed to a girl; come, we had betterattend now to the business in hand!"
There was nothing more, except such ordinary words between each other orthe others dancing in the same set, as the dance itself led to, spokenby the Contessa and Ludovico. The former declined all other invitationsto dance, and went home at the earliest moment she could induce her auntto do so.
There was much talk going on in all parts of the room as to theannounced coming of the great singer on the morrow. The young mensettled together the last details of their plans for the triumphal entryof the "Diva;" and the ladies were by no means uninterested in hearingall that their cavaliers had to tell them on this subject. Much wassaid, too, about the qualities of La Lalli both as a singer and as awoman. Everybody agreed that she was admirable in the first respect; andthere was not a man there, who had not some anecdote to tell, which hehad heard from the very best authority, tending to set forth the rareperfection of her beauty, and the wonderful power of fascination sheexercised on all who came near her.
She was to arrive quite early on the morrow. It was understood that shepurposed passing the previous night,--that night in short, which thosewho were discussing her were spending at the Castelmare ball, at thelittle town of Bagnacavallo, a few miles only from Ravenna. Such ascheme looked,--or would have looked in the eyes of any other peoplethan Italians,--rather ridiculously like the ways and fashions of royalprogresses, and state entries into cities. But the Ravenna admirers ofthe coming "Diva" neither saw nor suspected the slightest absurdity; andit is to be supposed that La Lalli knew all the importance of firstimpressions, and that she did not choose to show herself to her newworshippers for the first time under all the disadvantages of arrivingtired and dusty from a long journey.
A Siren Page 20