The Betrothed Part 21

"What must I do?" said the host, looking at the strange companion, who was, however, no stranger to him.

"Yes, yes," cried many of the company, "this countryman is right; they are vexatious impositions. New laws to-day! new laws to-day!"

The stranger took advantage of the noise to say to the host, in a tone of reproach for his too abrupt demand, "Leave him to his own way a little; do not raise a disturbance."

"I have done my duty," said the host aloud, "and secured myself,"

continued he, lowering his voice; "and that is all I care for." He removed the pen, ink, and paper, and gave the empty flagon to the boy.

"Bring the same kind of wine," said Renzo, "for it suits my taste exactly; and we will send it to sleep with the other, without asking its name, surname, nor what is its business, nor whether it is going to remain long in this city."

"Of the same kind," said the host to the boy, giving him the flagon, and returning to his seat by the chimney. "He is no other than a hare,"

thought he, raking in the ashes. "And in what hands art thou fallen, poor silly youth! If you will drown, drown; but the host of the _Full Moon_ will not go halves with thy folly."

Renzo returned thanks to his guide, and to all those who had taken his side. "Worthy friends," said he, "I know that honest people support each other." Then striking the table, and placing himself in the att.i.tude of an orator, "Is it not an unheard of thing," cried he, "that those who govern must always introduce paper, pen, and ink? Always the pen in hand! Such a pa.s.sion for the pen!"

"Eh! young and worthy stranger! would you know the reason?" said one of the gamesters, laughing.

"Let us hear it," replied Renzo.

"The reason is, as these lords eat geese, they have so many quills, they know not what to do with them."

"Oh, oh!" said Renzo, "you are a poet! You have poets here, then? I have also a vein for poetry, and I sometimes make verses--but it is when things go on well."

To comprehend this witticism of poor Renzo, it is necessary to be informed, that in the eyes of the vulgar of Milan, and more particularly in its environs, the name of poet did not signify, as among cultivated people, a sublime genius, an inhabitant of Pindus, a pupil of the muses, but a whimsicality and eccentricity in discourse and conduct, which had more of singularity than sense; and an absurd wresting of words from their legitimate signification.

"But I will tell the true reason," added Renzo, "it is because they themselves hold the pen, and, therefore, they do not record their own words; but let a poor man speak, they are very attentive, and in a moment, _there_ it is, in black and white for some future occasion. They are cunning, also; and when they want to perplex a poor youth, who does not know how to read, but who has a little----I know well----" beating his forehead with his hand, and pointing to it with his finger, to make himself understood; "and when they perceive that he begins to comprehend the difficulty, they throw into the conversation some Latin, to make him lose the thread of their argument, to put him at his wits' end, to confuse his brains. This custom must be broken up: to-day, every thing has been done after the people's fas.h.i.+on, without paper, pen, and ink.

To-morrow, if they know how to conduct themselves, we shall do still better, without hurting a hair of any one's head; all in the way of justice."

In the mean while some of the company had engaged again in play, and some in eating; some went away, others came in their place. The unknown guide continued to remain; and without appearing to have any business to detain him, lingered to talk a little more with Renzo, and resumed the conversation about bread.

"If I had the control, I would order things better," said he.

"What would you do?" said Renzo, endeavouring to exhibit every appearance of attention.

"What would I do? Every one should have bread--the poor as well as the rich."

"Ah! that is right."

"See how I would do. I would fix a reasonable rate within the ability of every one; then bread should be distributed according to the number of mouths, because there are gluttons who seize all they can get for themselves, and leave the poor still in want. We must then divide it.

And how shall we do this? Why in this way. Give a ticket to every family in proportion to the mouths, to authorise them to get bread from the bakers. For example: they give me a ticket expressed in this manner; Ambrose Fusella, by trade a sword cutler, with a wife and four children, all old enough to eat bread (mind that); he must be furnished with so much bread at such a price. But the thing must be done in order, always with regard to the number of mouths. For instance, they should give you a ticket for--your name?"

"Lorenzo Tramaglino," said the young man, who, enchanted with the project, did not reflect that it all depended on pen, ink, and paper; and that the first point towards its success was to collect the names of the persons to be served.

"Very well," said the unknown; "but have you a wife and children?"

"I ought to have--children, no--not yet--but a wife--if people had acted as their duty required----"

"Ah, you are single! then have patience; they will only give you a smaller portion."

"That is but just. But if soon, as I hope--by the help of G.o.d--enough; suppose I have a wife."

"Then the ticket must be changed, and the portion increased, as I have said, according to the mouths," replied the unknown, rising.

"That would be very good," cried Renzo, thumping the table with his fist; "and why don't they make such a law?"

"How can I tell you? meanwhile I wish you a good night, as my wife and children must have been expecting me this long while."

"Another drop, another drop," filling his gla.s.s, and endeavouring to force him to sit down again; "another drop!"

But his friend contrived to disengage himself; and leaving Renzo, pouring forth a torrent of entreaties and reproaches, he departed. Renzo continued to talk until he was in the street, and then fell back on his seat. He looked at the gla.s.s which he had filled to the brim; and seeing the boy pa.s.s before the table, he beckoned to him, as if he had something particular to communicate. He pointed to the gla.s.s, and with a tone of solemnity said, "See there! I prepared it for that worthy man; you see it is full, as it should be for a friend; but he would not have it. Sometimes people have singular ideas; however, I have shown my good will; but now, since the thing is done, it must not be lost." So saying, he emptied it at one draught.

"I understand," said the boy, moving off.

"You understand too, do you? It is true, when the reasons are sufficient----"

Here we have need of all our love of truth to induce us to pursue faithfully our hero's history; at the same time this same impartiality leads us to inform the reader, that this was his first error of a similar character; and precisely because he was so unaccustomed to merry-making did this prove so fatal. The few gla.s.ses of wine which he swallowed so rapidly, contrary to his custom, partly to cool his throat, and partly from an exaltation of spirits, which deprived him of the power of reflection, went immediately to his head. Upon an habitual drinker it would have produced no visible effect; our author observes this, that "temperate and moderate habits have this advantage, that the more a man practises them, the more he finds a departure from them to be disagreeable and inconvenient; so that his fault itself serves as a lesson to him for the future."

However this may be, when these first fumes had mounted to the brain of Renzo, wine and words continued to flow without rule or reason. He felt a great desire to speak, and for a while his words were arranged with some degree of order, but by little and little he found it difficult to form a connected sentence. The thoughts which presented themselves to his mind were cloudy and indistinct, and his expressions, in consequence, unconnected and obscure: to relieve his perplexity, by one of those false instincts which, under similar circ.u.mstances, lead men to the accomplishment of their own ruin, he had recourse to the flagon.

We will relate only a few of the words which he continued to e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.e, during the remainder of this miserable evening. "Ah! host, host,"

resumed he, following him with his eye around the table, or gazing at him where he was not, and taking no notice of the noise of the company, "host that thou art! I cannot swallow it--this request of name, surname, and business. To a peaceable youth like me! you have not behaved well!

what satisfaction, what advantage, what pleasure--to put a poor youth on paper? Am I not right--speak, gentlemen? Hosts should stand by good fellows. Listen, listen, host, I wish to make a comparison for you--for the reason----They laugh, do they? I am a little gay, I know; but the reasons, I say, are just. Tell me, if you please, who is it that brings custom to your house? Poor young men, is it not? Do these lords, they of the proclamations, ever come here to wet their lips?"

"They are all water-drinkers," said one who sat near Renzo.

"They wish to keep possession of their understandings, so as to tell lies skilfully," added another.

"Ah!" cried Renzo, "that is the poet who spoke. Then hear my reasons.

Answer me, host. Ferrer, who is the best of all of them, has he ever been here to drink the health of any one, and to spend so much as a farthing? And this dog of an a.s.sa.s.sin, this Don ----? I must be silent, because I am too much in the humour for babbling. Ferrer, and Father Crr----, I know, are two honest men. But there are few honest men. The old are worse than the young; and the young--are much worse than the old. I am glad there was no blood shed, these are things we must leave to the hangman. Bread! Oh yes, for that I have had many a thrust, but I have also given some. Make way! Abundance! _vivat!_ And Ferrer too--some words in Latin,--_Si es baraos trapolorum._ Cursed fault! _vivat!_ justice! bread! Ah, those are good words! We had need of them. When we heard that cursed ton, ton, ton, and then again, ton, ton, ton, the question was not of flight; but hold the signor curate to--I, I know what I am thinking of."

At these words he hung down his head, and remained for a time as if absorbed by some new imagination; then, sighing deeply, he raised it again, and looked up with such a mournful and silly expression, as excited the amus.e.m.e.nt of all around. In short, he became the laughingstock of the whole company. Not that they were all perfectly sober, but, to say truth, they were so in comparison with poor Renzo.

They provoked and angered him with silly questions, and with mock civilities; sometimes he pretended to be offended, then, without noticing them at all, spoke of other things; then replied, then interrogated, and always wide of the mark. By good fortune, in his folly, he seemed from instinct to avoid p.r.o.nouncing the names of persons; so that the one most deeply graven in his memory was not uttered. We should have been sorry ourselves if this name, for which we feel so much love and respect, had pa.s.sed from mouth to mouth, and been made a theme of jesting by these vulgar and degraded wretches.

CHAPTER XV.

The host, seeing that the game was about to be carried too far, approached Renzo, and entreating the others to be quiet, endeavoured to make him understand that he had best go to bed. But our mountaineer could think of nothing but _name_, _surname_, and _proclamations_; yet the words _bed_ and _sleep_, repeated frequently in his ear, made at last some impression, and producing a sort of lucid interval, made him feel that he really had need of both. The little sense that remained to him enabled him to perceive that the greater part of the company had departed; and with his hands resting on the table before him, he endeavoured to stand on his feet; his efforts would have been, however, unavailing, without the a.s.sistance of the host, who led him from between the table and the bench, and taking a lantern in one hand, managed partly to lead and partly to drag him to the stairs, and thence up the narrow staircase to the room designed for him. At the sight of the bed, he endeavoured to look kindly upon the host; but his eyes at one time sparkled, at another disappeared, like two fireflies: he endeavoured to stand erect, and stretched out his hand to pat the shoulder of his host in testimony of his grat.i.tude; but in this he failed: however he did succeed in saying, "Worthy host, I see now that you are an honest man; but I don't like your rage for _name_ and _surname_. Happily I am also----"

The host, who did not expect to hear him utter one connected idea, and who knew from experience how p.r.o.ne men in his situation were to sudden changes of feeling, wis.h.i.+ng to profit by this lucid interval, made another attempt. "My dear fellow," said he, in a tone of persuasion, "I have not intended to vex you, nor to pry into your affairs. What would you have had me do? There is a law, and if we innkeepers do not obey it, we shall be the first to be punished; therefore it is better to conform.

And after all, as regards yourself, what is it? A hard thing, indeed!

just to say two words. It is not for them, but to do me a favour. Now, here, between ourselves, tell me your _name_, and then you shall go to bed in peace."

"Ah, rascal! knave!" cried Renzo, "do you dare to bring up this cursed _name_ and _surname_ and _business_ again?"

"Hus.h.!.+ you fool! and go to bed," said the host.