human
Friend!
gpt
Blessed Monsignore San Giacomo, I knew thou wouldst hear me!
human
Friend, repeated Riccabocca, and this time with a tremulous emphasis, and in the softest tone of a voice never wholly without the music of the sweet South,
gpt
I would talk to thee of my child.
human
The letter, then, relates to the signorina. She is well?
gpt
Yes, she is well now. She is in our native Italy.
human
Those are sweet even here, with care, said he, pointing to the trees.
gpt
I think I have said that before to the padrone.
human
My aunt is no more!
gpt
We will pray for her soul! answered Jackeymo, solemnly.
human
But she was very old, and had been a long time ailing. Let it not grieve the padrone too keenly: at that age, and with those infirmities, death comes as a friend.
gpt
Peace be to her dust! returned the Italian.
human
If she had her faults, be they now forgotten forever; and in the hour of my danger and distress she sheltered my infant! That shelter is destroyed. This letter is from the priest, her confessor. And the home of which my child is bereaved falls to the inheritance of my enemy.
gpt
Traitor!
human
The priest, resumed Riccabocca, calmly,
gpt
And where is the signorina?
human
With the poor priest. See, Giacomo, here, here--this is her handwriting at the end of the letter,--the first lines she ever yet traced to me.
gpt
The priest recommends a convent.
human
To the devil with the priest! cried the servant; then crossing himself rapidly, he added,
gpt
I did not mean that, Monsignore San Giacomo,--forgive me! But your Excellency does not think of making a nun of his only child!
human
And yet why not? said Riccabocca, mournfully;
gpt
In the land of the stranger beats her father's heart!
human
And if that beat were stilled, what then? Ill fares the life that a single death can bereave of all. In a convent at least (and the priest's influence can obtain her that asylum amongst her equals and amidst her sex) she is safe from trial and from penury--to her grave!
gpt
Penury! Just see how rich we shall be when we take those fields at Michaelmas.
human
--[Follies]--said Riccabocca, listlessly.
gpt
Are these suns more serene than ours, or the soil more fertile? Yet in our own Italy, saith the proverb, 'He who sows land reaps more care than corn.' It were different, continued the father, after a pause, and in a more resolute tone,
human
And with a word, said Jackeymo, resolutely,
gpt
Giacomo! exclaimed the father, reproachfully, and his voice seemed to choke him. Riccabocca turned away, and walked restlessly to and fro the terrace; then, lifting his arms with a wild gesture, as he still continued his long irregular strides, he muttered,
human
Yes, Heaven is my witness that I could have borne reverse and banishment without a murmur, had I permitted myself that young partner in exile and privation. Heaven is my witness that, if I hesitate now, it is because I would not listen to my own selfish heart. Yet never, never to see her again,--my child! And it was but as the infant that I beheld her! O friend, friend! (and, stopping short with a burst of uncontrollable emotion, he bowed his head upon his servant's shoulder),
gpt
But your child, the innocent one--think now only of her! faltered Giacomo, struggling with his own sobs.
human
True, only of her, replied the exile, raising his face,