A Siren

  CHAPTER III

  The Impresario's Report

  It has been said that Signor Ercole Stadione, when he was firstintroduced to the reader under circumstances somewhat unfavourable tothat dignity of appearance and deportment on which he specially pridedhimself, presented the appearance of a round mass some five feet indiameter. And it may be thence concluded, that when reduced to theproportions familiar to the citizens of Ravenna, his utmost longitudinaldimensions did not exceed that measure. The impresario was in truth avery small man, weighing perhaps seven stone with his boots. But SignorErcole held, and very frequently expressed, an opinion that dignity andnobility of appearance depended wholly on bearing, and in no wise onmere corporeal altitude. Men were measured in his country (Rome), hesaid, from the eyebrow upwards. And though Rome is not exactly theplace, of all others, where one might expect to find such an estimate ofhuman value prevailing,--unless, indeed, smallness of that which a manhas above his brow be deemed the desirable thing,--it was undeniablethat little Signor Ercole carried a mass of forehead which might havebeen the share of a much taller man.

  Nor were the pretensions put forward by the impresario on this scorealtogether vain. He was no fool;--a shrewd as well as a dapper littleman, active and clever at his business, and well liked both by theartists and by the public, for which he catered, despite of being one ofthe vainest of mortals. Vanity makes some men very odious to theirfellows;--in others it is perfectly inoffensive; and though damaging toa claim to respect, is perfectly compatible with a considerable amountof liking for the victim of it.

  A very dapper little man was Signor Ercole, as he stepped forth, abouteight o'clock, entirely refitted, to wait upon the Marchese at thePalazzo Castelmare. He was dressed in complete black, somewhatthreadbare, but scrupulously brushed. He had a large frill at the bosomof his shirt, and more frills around the wristbands of it; one or tworings of immense size and weight on his small fingers; boots with heelstwo inches high, and a rather long frock-coat buttoned closely round hislittle body. Signor Ercole had never been known to wear a swallow-tailedcoat on any occasion. And spiteful people told each other, that hismotive for never quitting the greater shelter of the frock was to befound in his fear of exhibiting to the unkindly glances of the world apair of knock-knees of rare perfection.

  When his toilet was completed, he threw over all a handsome black clothcloak turned up with a broad border of velvet, which he draped aroundhis person with the air of an Apollo, throwing the corner of the garmentround the lower part of his face and over his shoulder, in a mannerwholly unattainable by any man born on the northern side of the Alps;and kindly telling Marta that he would take the key, and that she hadbetter not sit up for him in the cold, stepped forth on his errand.

  "Ben tornato, Signor Ercole! I thank you for coming to me," said theMarchese, rising from his seat at his library-table, which was coveredwith papers and books, to receive the impresario.

  Despite the extreme cold, this owner of a large fortune, and of one ofthe finest palaces in Ravenna, was not sitting in an easy-chair by thefire, as an Englishman might be expected to be found at such an hour.The Italian's day is not divided into two portions as clearly as anEnglishman's day is divided by his dinner hour into the time forbusiness or out-door exercise, and the time for relaxation, for a bookor other amusement. He is quite as likely to apply himself to anybusiness or work of any kind after dinner as before. Still less has hethe Englishman's notion of making himself comfortable in his home.

  There was a miserable morsel of wood fire in the room in which theMarchese sat; but it was at the far end of it. And in many a well-to-doItalian home there would have been none at all. In order not to beabsolutely frozen, he sat in a large cloak, and had beside him, or inhis hands, a little earthen-ware pot filled with burning braize--ascaldino, as it is called,--the use of which is common to the noble inhis palace, and the beggar in the street.

  He pointed to a chair near the table, and as he spoke, paid his visitorthe ordinary courtesy of offering him his scaldino.

  "My duty, my mere duty, Eccellenza," said Signor Ercole, letting hiscloak fall gracefully from his shoulders, and declining the profferedpot of braize with an action that might have suited an Emperor. "Ofcourse my first care and object on arriving was to wait on yourExcellency. I arrived with barely a breath of life remaining in my body.What a journey! What a journey! But if I had been frozen quite I couldnot have forgotten that my first duty was to report what I haveaccomplished to your Excellency."

  "Thanks, good Signor Ercole, thanks; you know the interest I take in allthat concerns the honour of our theatre, and the pleasures of ourcitizens; and I may truly add, in all that touches your interest, mygood Signor Ercole."

  "Troppo buono! Eccellenza! Troppo buono davvero!" said the little man,half rising from his chair, to execute a bow in return for theMarchese's speech, while his cloak fell around his legs.

  "I suppose that in such weather as this the diligence was behind itstime--E naturale--but I have already heard, in a general way, that youhave been successful. I congratulate you on it, Signor Ercole, with allmy heart!"

  "I trusted that I should have been the first to tell your Excellency thenews. I am conscious that it was due to you, Signor Marchese, to be thefirst to hear the result of my negotiation. But che vuole? There was theConte Leandro waiting for the coach, and standing at the door as I gotout of it, more dead than alive! And there was no way of getting rid ofhim. I was forced to tell him, in a word, that our hopes were crownedwith success. He faithfully promised to keep the fact secret. But,doubtless, all the town knows it by this time! Che vuole?"

  "E naturale! e naturale!" returned the Marchese, with a graceful wave ofhis hand; "naturally they are all anxious to know the result of ourimpresario's labours. And I was not left in ignorance. My nephew ran infrom the Circolo to tell me; he had just heard it from Signor Leandro.But I thought that I should have a visit from yourself, Signor Ercole,before long."

  "E come, e come, Signor Marchese; could your Excellency imagine that Icould so fail in my duty as to have omitted waiting on your lordship!Had it not been that I was half killed by this awful weather, I shouldhave placed myself at your Excellency's orders an hour ago. Oh, SignorMarchese, such a journey from Bologna hither! I know what is my duty tothe city; I know what is expected of me. But--Eccellenza, there arebenefactors to their country, who have statues raised to them, that havesuffered less in the gaining of them, than I have this day."

  "Povero, Signor Ercole! But who knows? Perhaps we may see the day whenRavenna will reward your exertions with a monument. Why not? It must bea statue, life size, nothing less, with 'Ercole Stadione, La Patriariconoscente,' on the base," said the Marchese, with an irony, the fineflavour of which did not in the least pierce, as it was not intended topierce, the plate armour of the little impresario's vanity.

  "Oh, Eccellenza!" said the poor little man, with the most perfect goodfaith in the propriety, as well as the seriousness, of his patron'sproposition.

  "And now, then," said the Marchese, "let us hear all about it. Sheaccepts our terms?"

  "The scrittura has been signed before a notary, Eccellenza."

  "Bravo! she sings--?"

  "The whole repertorio, Signor Marchese! What is there she could notsing?"

  "And three representations a week?"

  "Three representations a week. My instructions were formal on thatpoint, as your Excellency knows."

  "Good! quite right! And now what is she, this diva? What is she like? Weknow that Signor Ercole Stadione is as good a judge of the merits of thelady as of the singer?" said the Marchese, with a smile. "I don't askyou about her singing," he added. "We have all heard all that can besaid about that."

  "Well, Signor Marchese, if I am to speak my own poor opinion, I take theSignora Lalli to be decidedly the most beautiful woman it was ever mygood fortune to see," said Signor Ercole, with a voice and manner ofprofound conviction.

  "Paris himself, if called on to be umpire once again
, could require nomore conclusive testimony, my good Signor Ercole. But that is notexactly what I mean. Her mere beauty is a matter that does not interestme very keenly. What I want to know, is what sort of a scenic presencehas she? Can she take the stage? I do not ask if she is captivating in adrawing-room; but has she the face and figure needed to be effective inthe theatre? I need not tell you, my friend, that these are twodifferent things, and do not always go together," said the Marchese,whose interest in the matter was, as he said, wholly theatrical; first,that he and the society of Ravenna should enjoy some fine singing duringthe coming Carnival; and, secondly that the Lalli should produce such anenthusiasm as should lead all the theatrical world to think and say thata great stroke had been achieved, and a very public-spirited thing donein bringing about the engagement. He was anxious that the step, which hehad had a large share in taking, should result in a great anduniversally admitted success.

  "Eccellenza! I have no doubt that your lordship will be satisfied inthese respects. Most true it is, as your Excellency so judiciouslyremarks, that we require something more than merely a beautiful face, oreven than a fine figure. And I have never had the good fortune to see'La Lalli' on the boards. But as far as my poor judgment goes, she isadmirably gifted with all the requisites for achieving the result wedesire. Then there is the testimony of all Milan! And I succeeded inspeaking with an old friend who had seen her the year before last atNaples, and whose report I can trust. The opinion seems to be universalthat few artists have ever possessed the gift of fascinating an audienceto the degree that she does. Your Excellency may take my word for it,she is a very clever woman. My own interviews with her sufficed toconvince me of that fact. And I need not tell your Excellency, thatlittle as some of the empty-headed young gentlemen in the stalls maysuspect it, talent,--not only the special talent of song but generaltalent,--has much to do with the power of fascination that a giftedactress exercises."

  "Most true, mio bravo Signor Ercole; you speak like an oracle; and ifshe left on you the impression that she is a clever woman, I have nodoubt in the world that she is so."

  There was no irony in the Marchese's mind when he said this; and thelittle impresario, highly gratified again, half rose from his chair tobow in return for the compliment.

  "As for the specialties of her face and person," continued theimpresario, "they appeared to me highly favourable. Very tall,--perhapsyour lordship or I might say too tall. But--on the stage the prejudiceis in favour of a degree of tallness that we might not admire off it.Gestures, bearing, and the movement of the person equally capable ofexpressing majestic dignity, or heart-subduing pathos. A most gracefulwalk. In short, a persona tutta simpatica. As for the head--magnificenthair,--blonde, which for choice I would always prefer--the true Titiansun-tinged auburn,--a telling eye, finely formed nose, and mouth ofinexpressible sweetness!"

  "Per Bacco, Signor Ercole, a Phoenix indeed! A Diva davvero!" said theMarchese.

  "Eccellenza, she'll do," said the little man nodding his head with itstop-heavy forehead three or four times emphatically. "If she do not makesuch a sensation in Ravenna as we have not known here for a long time,say that Ercole Stadione knows nothing of his profession."

  "Bravo! bravo!" cried the Marchese, gleefully rubbing his hands. "Andnow, my good friend, I won't keep you from the bed and the rest you sowell deserve any longer. You may depend on it that your zeal in thismatter won't be overlooked or forgotten."

  "Troppo buono, Eccellenza! But there was one word I wished to say toyour lordship," continued little Signor Ercole, dropping his voice to alower key, and speaking with some hesitation,--one little word that Ithought it might be useful, or--or--desirable to mention--"

  "Yes, speak on, my dear Signor Ercole, I am all attention. What is it?No drawback I hope!"

  "Only this, Signor Marchese," said the little man casting a glance roundthe room, dropping his voice still more, and bringing his head nearer tothe ear of the Marchese; "only this:--you see if there had beennothing-disagreeable,--nothing untoward, as I may say--your lordshipunderstands, we should never have had La Lalli at Ravenna. There hasbeen a--sort of difficulty--your lordship understands--spiteful thingshave been said--calumny--all calumny no doubt-the constant attendant ofmerit, alas! we all know. But--in short--here in Ravenna--it would notbe--desirable,--your Excellency understands and appreciates what I wouldsay a thousand times better than I can say it. It would be in everypoint of view better, as your Excellency sees, that no idle chatter ofthis kind should be set about here. It would be inexpedient for morereasons than one."

  "Quite so; quite so. Your ideas on the subject are happily judicious,Signor Ercole. What have we to do with misunderstandings that may havearisen at Milan? Of course, it is not our business to have ever heardanything of the kind. And I'll tell you what I'll do, and that at once,before there is time for any mischief to be done. I will just give mynephew a hint. He can be trusted. He is discreet. And it will be easyfor him to put down at once and discountenance any talk of the kind, orany rumour that might find its way among our youngsters."

  "The very thing, Eccellenza! The Marchese Ludovico will understand thething at once. And half a word from him would give the key-note, as Imay say, to the tone of talk about the lady. Ravenna must not be thoughtto be contenting herself with that which Milan rejects," said SignorErcole, with the air of a patriot.

  "I should think not, indeed! And, doubtless, Milan would have been buttoo glad to retain La Lalli, had it not been for some unimportantcontretemps. Ludovico shall put the matter in its right light."

  As he spoke, the Marchese rang a little hand-bell which stood on hislibrary table; and on a servant entering from the anteroom, he told himjust to step across to the Circolo, and request the Marchese Ludovico tobe so good as to come to him for five minutes.

  In very little more than that time the man returned, saying that theMarchese Ludovico was not at the Circolo. He had been there for a fewminutes at the beginning of the evening, but had gone away withoutsaying whither he was going.

  The Marchese knitted his brows when this message was given to him; andafter a minute's thoughtful silence, shook his head in a manner thatshowed him to be not a little displeased. From a look of intelligencethat might have been observed in Signor Ercole's eyes, it might havebeen judged that he understood that the Marchese was more annoyed thanon account of the momentary frustration of his immediate purpose, andthat he was aware of the nature of his annoyance. But he did not ventureto say any word on the subject; and the Marchese took leave of him,merely saying that he would not forget to act on Signor Ercole's cautionwhen he should see his nephew the next morning.