The conquest of Rome

hings concisely, in the logical, mathematical order in which they presented themselves to a square, solid brain. The discourse, as was natural, bristled with figures, was an interminable processio

but flanked with whiskers at the side in English fashion, in those plump, white hands, in the whole atmosphere of repose and thoughtfulness which he exhaled, one might divine the indefatigable workman of the study, the man who spent twelve hours a day at the Ministerial offices, behind a desk covered with documents-writing, reading, verifying r

inous tower of strength that the anger of political slander or debate left him unmoved. His very adversaries admitted his power, and thus contributed to render his triumphs a

jet, had his legs covered with a blue velvet wrap lined with fur; and as he listened to the Minister, he would cast an occasional glance at the galleries, possibly seeking out someone. The secretaries sat motionless to his right and left. Falucci, the Abruzzan, tall and muscular, with a curly, slightly grizzled mane, was whispering frequent sentences to handsome Sangarzia, who nodded without answering, accustomed as he was to protracted, patient silence; Varrini, the agreeable and intelligent Calabrian, with the muzzle of a sagacious mouse, with the refinement of a young lady covering the power of a champion, was wr

h would be an opportunity to stir up a little excitement. One of the small phalanx of Hubertists was asleep, his face politely covered by his hands; another deputy, Gagliardi, was sleeping without attempt at concealment. Only on one of the Centrist benches was any sincere attention paid, like that of eager scholars to their master's explanations. Of these deputies there were four-young, clever, and aspiring. Seymour, of English descent, dark, myopic

ose turn red. The public gallery, too, was full of people: pale, jaded faces of do-nothings, wretched figures of petitioners who had spent the day in looking for a cousin of a deputy's friend, and who at last, demoralized and trembling with cold, had come to finish in the Chamber, in the public gallery, where they listened without a wink. The long press gallery was also more crowded than usual, and the occupants of the first row were pretending to write a summary of the proceedings. But one was inditing a letter, another a theatrical arti

balancing is a Mi

to be seen the slender figure of the Countess Beatrice di Santaninfa, with t

in his fingers, without a shade of colour changing in his countenance. Then a group of friends, ardent and lukewarm, gathered about him to shake hands with him and congratulate him. Even an ex-Minister of Fin

g for silence. The Honourabl

was the univ

the Speake

onourable Sangiorgio has

or was he handsome, but his head bore all the characteristics of strength; his hair was planted rudely on a low brow, his nose was aquiline, his moustache was dark and dense, his chin was set hard and full of power. No one thought him insignificant. And then divers speculations grew rife in the Chamber. Would this new deputy speak for or against the Minister? Was he one of those flatterers who, scarcely arrive

hall and made the audience give a sigh of relief. The ladies, whom the warmth had half lulled to sleep, revived, and the pres

ned manner. The speaker alluded in passing to his own youth, to the obscurity of one who, tied down to provincial life, ever had his eyes turned towards Rome, where the noble war of politics was constantly being waged. H

burst forth f

garized in the hands of men, had evoked general approval, and had given several nonentities a sense of elation. The Minister, who from the beginning had raised

e of others; they exhausted vigour, and stifled complaint, and threw the man who lived there into such a fever that he forgot all other human interests. Who knew of the distress of the provinces? Who ever heard the echo of those dolorous, humble sighs, which never

he Minister had offered. After a painful tension of two hours and a half in following a fantastic whirl of figures, this easy eloquence relieved the oppressed spirits. And now, in that hour of dusk,

reasons of State which compelled the Minister to ask for that rise in taxation, but those few centesimi represented a promise of woe made worse, an aggravation of conditions of life already unendurable. And then he drew a vivid picture of peasant poverty, which was so much more distressingly and variously terrible than poverty in the towns, relating, with veridical details, with short, pathetic anecdotes, where the peasants lived, what they ate-that is to say, how hungry they

l heavily on the lower classes-more so in the rural districts than in the urban. They already ate their broth with very little salt; now they would eat it entirely without salt. And the latest

the four vigorous young Centrists were sitting, Seymour, Gerini, Joanna, and Marchetti, who neve

nt would condemn a whole class of taxpayers to intolerable privations, whose consequence would be ravage by sickness and yet deeper destitution. The millions spent on national defence, on the fortifications of the country, on the army, are wisely allotted, but is it necessary to be powerful when one is so poor? When the Minister of War calls the young men of the Basilicata to arms, and hopes to find a body of stalwart and valiant mountaineers, he will be disappointed at seeing a herd of creatures pale and emaciated from illness, weakness, and dejection. Or, rather,

ning towards him, as if seeking endorsement from him. Remaining stolidly in his place, with eyes downcast, and without anyone coming to shake hands with him because he was unknown, Sangiorgio nevertheless felt the approbation of the whole House rise to him where he sat on the topmost bench. He had given satisfaction to the old party of the Right, whose political pride was flattered; to the Extreme Left

*

ividing the room, took a small blank, and wrote on it his own name, as well as the deputy's he wished to see; and, like him, there were always five or six others writing on small blanks. On the other side of the desk the ushers, in uniform, with medals on their chest, with a tricoloured band on their arm, gray or bald-headed, were moving to and fro

reappeared with several blanks in h

Honourable Parodi?'

e from among the num

not t

the voice, belonging to an old man with a

i is not there,' repe

t to be,' mutt

he Honourable

h a pale face and a threadbare ov

but he is un

ded the youngster in an inso

ing more. He

ng about with the indifferent gaze of people who have lost all interest in everything else, their thoughts for ever occupied with their malady. And as in such a lugubrious anteroom, which he who has once been there on his own behalf or for one dear to him can never forget, as in such a room are assembled people with all the infirmities that torment our poor, mortal body-the consumptive, with narrow, stooping shoulders, with lean neck, his eyes swimming with a noxious fluid; the victim of heart disease, w

, when the Left was in power, and wants to be reinstated by the Progressists, whom he has always served faithfully; the uncertain industrial speculator, who must pay a heavy fine into the Treasury Department because he has neglected to register a contract, and who hopes the Minister will graciously remit the penalty; the widow of a pensioner, accompanied by a child crying with th

trembling with nervousness, a knitting of the brows which clouds the whole countenance, hands convulsively doubled in overcoat pockets, a melancholy furrow in the women's smile, which deepens with every new disillusion. But all of them are completely self-centred, entirely oblivious of foreign interests, indulging in a single

Honourable Moraldi?

imposing voice, a large

ait a little; the Mi

allege absence or simply send word that they cannot come. Perhaps he is also envied his warm overcoat, since there are so many thin suits under a wretched threadbare overcoat, worn through a

acked courage to go out into the cold, and then they made up their minds to go, which they did with bowed shoulders, at a slow pace, without looking back. For one w

to see the Hono

ith scrawny neck and the face of a skeleton

gs to be excused; he

caterpillar, on a bench, filled out another blank, and

the Honourabl

ered a sib

e Minister is speaki

ersistently w

om, where the deputies interviewed their constituents. In this room were three or four ladies, sitting down, waiting, with their hands in their muffs. The deputy and his consti

of idle brains or worthy, fervent desires of persevering souls, necessities brought about by indulgence in vice or unmerited mishaps, extravagant ambitions, modest little ambitions, crazes due to overwrought nerves, the thirst for justice of obstinate monomaniacs-all this human suffering, endured in silence, was

n through the door,

or the Honou

or the Honou

or the Honou

e thin little voice

Sella cannot l

e Bomba is bus

rispi is with the

ote on another blank, a

not allowed to call the Ministers, and

ked the spect

s the

sperate resolve, went away to post themselves, in the chill of the evening, at the door of Montecitorio, to wait for the deputies coming out. Others, less venturesome, still lingered behind: the gas afforded a little warmth, and at the end of th

the Honourab

aid th

not t

ay for a

en dead fo

nd slowly took his departure. A moment after Francesco Sangiorgio crossed the room, spoke to the footman-only two

ns,' said Donna Elena Fia

crying, after being awakened by its mother; the tired ushers sat down for a minute; two dep

*

ena gently stirred the hot ashes and the glowing embers; they gave forth a few sparks, and the three logs blaze

orgio? It must be cold dow

ces; there are large high stoves under whose arch a wooden bench is placed. The he

half closed, as if they were heavy from fatigue, 'but

e lamplight made the gold necklace sparkle on the high collar of her silk dress, and drew a flash f

ver alone,

eplied frankly. 'I

' he vague

never do. We must have company. If a woman tells you she prefers solitude, do not believe her, Sangiorgio. She is deceiving you deliberately, or else wishes to avo

' he asked wit

Speaker's gallery; he was talk

he not

om hearing the Minister

nk y

-box. Her hands were plump

speech to-day,' she resumed,

ed his eyes wit

newspapers to-morrow; t

e Minister is a

him called "The Just." Do not let the quotation alarm you, Sangiorgio; I know neit

not re

m tired

are no

tray and the coffee; the cups, too, were J

asked, holding up th

wo

a little parlour, without brackets, without tables, without upholstered furniture, full of large and small easy-chairs, small divans, and stools; it was a little room with

deputies will ask to be presented to you.

in the admiration

and good things in life are false in their essence. It is wisdom to

e. In that little room the same perspicacity came to his aid which

e that, too,

ening wide her large gray eyes, which that evening were tinted

ch, and b

n it can give. But a man is exacting, a man is selfish, a man insists on being the object of a passion, and then-the woman lies. Th

l curls over her forehead, she swung her plump little foot backward and forward, whose skin was visible through the black silk, perforated stocking.

ette into the fire

lness-a pretty story, good enough to be palmed off on children! As if they could be faithful! As if they had no fibres, blood, imagination-destructive,

ne atmosphere all redolent with corylopsis, by this alluring woman, by her language become common by force of paradox, turned his head. To assert his new intimacy with Donna Elena, he would have liked to stretch himself out on a sofa, or fling himself on the carpet, or throw matches into the fire-in fact, to conduct himself as impertinently as an ill-bred boy. He resisted these temptations through an exertion of will; nevertheless, he was in

ld women; there are women who do not love. I know a few-not many, only a few. Under those circumstances it needs little strength

sight,' he

ence he had stripped them. Suddenly the cloud which had shadowed his mind was dissipated, and he felt ashamed of the childish tricks he had contemplated. He was very near to begging Donna Elen

u think of

r teachings, but I bow to them,' answered the deputy,

tting up. 'You may smoke, read, or go to sleep. If you do not listen

own character. She sounded the key of the deep contralto which lacks in smoothness, and yet is rich and warm, and stirs the soul; which is full-toned and amorous; which conveys impassioned avowals and storms of jealousy. That side of Elena's voice resembled her. But there was also infinite sweetness; there was

over the keys, fingering them as delicately as a caress. A serener, sweeter atmosphere seemed to be diffused in the little room, which until then had suggested hardness and effrontery. A suave light settled on the surroundings, on the furniture, and on all things inanimate, tempering their sharp, brazen expressio