Chapter 3 Vanina Vanini

One night in the spring of 182×, there was a sensation in Rome. Duke B, a well-known banker, held a ball in his newly completed palace near Piazza Venezia.All the splendor and splendor that the art of Italy, the luxury of Paris and London could produce, came together to adorn the palace.There are many guests.The dignified and quiet blond beauties of the British upper class have long longed for the honor of participating in this ball, and they flocked there.The most beautiful women of Rome compete with them for the beauty prize.A young girl was led into the dance hall by her father.Her bright eyes and black hair made her a beautiful Roman girl.Immediately, all eyes were on her, and her every move revealed an extraordinary demeanor.

People see some foreigners.As soon as they entered the arena, they were amazed by the grandeur of the ball.They said: "The grand ceremony of any monarch in Europe is far from being comparable." Because the monarchs don't have Roman palaces, and they only invite the women in the palace; but Duke B invites all beautiful women.This evening, he was content with the guests he had invited.The men seemed dazzled.Among so many beauties of extraordinary beauty, it must be determined who is the most beautiful.There was a moment of indecision, but Princess Vanina Vanini, the dark-haired, bright-eyed girl, was finally declared Queen of the Ball.Soon, foreigners and young Roman men left the salon where they were and poured into the ballroom where the princess was.

Her father, Prince Don Asdrubal Vannini, wanted her to dance first with two or three German Grand Dukes.Then, she accepted the invitation of several handsome and noble Englishmen.But their prim demeanor bored her.She seems more than happy to torment the young Don Livio Saveri, who appears to be in a mad love.This was the most striking young man in Rome, and a prince; but if anyone gave him a novel, he would throw it away before he could read twenty pages, saying it made him dizzy.In Vanina's view, this is a shortcoming. About midnight, a word was spread at the ball that caused quite a stir.A young Carbonarist imprisoned at the Château of Saint-Ange escapes in disguise.With legendary bravery, he passed the last line of defense of the prison guards.He attacked the defenders with a dagger, but was wounded himself.Now the police are chasing him down the bloodstains in the street, hoping to bring him to justice.

Don Livio Saveri had just finished dancing with Vanina when the rumor was told.He is overwhelmed by her beauty and charm.When he led Vanina back to her seat, he asked in a tone that almost became frantic: "Please tell me, who do you like best?" "The young Carbonist who just ran away." Vanina replied, "At least, he did something, not in vain." The royal daughter of Don Asdrubal approached.This is a rich man who has never checked the account of the housekeeper for twenty years.The steward lent himself his own money, earning a large interest on it.If you met the Prince on the street, you would take him for an old comedian and not notice the five or six big diamond rings on his fingers.Two of his sons became Jesuit priests.Later they all died of madness.He has forgotten them.It's just that his only daughter, Vanina, doesn't want to marry, which makes him very unhappy.She was nineteen years old, and had rejected the most eminent suitors of all.What is her reason for doing this?It turned out that she thought: the Romans were worthless.It was also for this reason that Sulla gave up ruling for life.

On the second day of the ball, Vanina found that her father, the most careless person in his life, who had never bothered to get a key in his life, had carefully closed and locked a door today.Inside the door was a staircase leading to a suite of rooms on the fourth floor of the palace. The windows of that suite faced a terrace planted with orange trees.Vanina went to Rome to visit a few places. When she came back, the gate of the palace was blocked due to the installation of lighting, and the carriage had to come in from the backyard.Vanina raised her eyes and was surprised to see a window open in the room her father had closed so carefully.She dropped her bridesmaids and ran to the top of the building. After searching for a long time, she finally found a small window with a grill on the side facing the earthen platform, which was only two steps away from her.Maybe someone lives in this room.But who is he?The next day, Vanina managed to get the key to the small door leading to the earth terrace with orange trees.

She approached the still open window quietly, and peered in behind the shutters.I saw a bed in the room, and a person was lying on it.When she was about to retreat, she saw a long skirt thrown on the chair, so she took a closer look at the person on the bed.She noticed that she had blonde hair and looked very young.She no longer doubted that it was a woman.The skirt thrown on the chair was stained with blood, and a pair of women's shoes on the table were also stained with blood.The stranger moved.Vanina found out she was wounded.A large piece of cloth was wrapped around her breast, fastened only by a few cloth straps.It won't be from the hands of a surgeon.Vanina noticed that every afternoon around four o'clock her father would shut himself up in his room and work for a while before going to strangers.Soon he got down again, and got into the carriage to go to Countess Wetterleich's house.As soon as he was gone, Vanina climbed up to the terrace, from where she could see the strange woman.She felt sympathy for such an unfortunate woman.She tried to guess what had happened to her.The blood-stained skirt thrown on the chair seemed to have been pierced by a dagger.Vanina could count the broken places.One day she saw the strange woman more clearly: her blue eyes were gazing up at the sky, as if in prayer.

Soon, her beautiful eyes filled with tears.It was with difficulty that the young princess refrained from speaking to her.The next day, Wanina took the courage to hide on the earthen platform before her father arrived.She watched Don Asdrubal enter the strange woman's room; he carried a small basket with food in it.The prince looked restless and said little.His voice was so low that Vanina couldn't hear him even though the window was open.He had done what he had to do, and soon left again. "This poor woman must have some vicious enemies," Vanina thought to herself, "so that a man as unscrupulous as my father would not trust anyone, and would rather work hard every day to climb the one hundred and twenty steps himself. .”

One night, just as Vanina was quietly poking her head towards the window of a strange woman, she suddenly met her eyes unexpectedly.Things are out.Vanina knelt down on the ground and shouted: "I like you, and I am loyal to you." The strange woman beckoned her in. "I really beg your pardon," cried Vanina, "perhaps I offended you with my stupid curiosity! I swear to you that I will keep the secret. I will never come here again, if you want me to." "Who is not happy to see you?" said the strange woman. "Do you live in this palace!" "Yes," replied Vanina. "I don't think you know me yet. I am Vanina, daughter of Don Asdrubal."

The strange woman stared at her in surprise, her face turned red.Then she said: "I would like you to come to see me every day, please condescend to me. But I hope that your visit will not be known to the Prince." Vanina's heart was pounding.She felt that the strange woman's speech and manner were very elegant.The poor young woman must have offended some dignitary; perhaps a moment of jealousy killed her lover?Vanina could not conceive of banal causes for her unhappiness.The strange woman told her.Said that she was stabbed in the shoulder, hurt her lungs, and was in excruciating pain.She often found herself with blood all over her mouth.

"You didn't call in a surgeon?!" Vanina exclaimed. "You know, in Rome, the surgeon must report the condition of the wounded to the police." The strange woman said, "The Prince deigned to bind up my wound with the cloth you saw." The strange woman very naturally brought her past experience.Vanina loves her madly.One thing, however, puzzled the young princess: in the midst of the most serious conversation, the strange woman seemed to have difficulty refraining from a sudden urge to laugh. "I would be glad to know your name." "I'm called Clementine."

"Well! My dear Clementine, I will see you tomorrow at five o'clock." The next day, Vanina found out that her new friend was in a terrible state of mind. "I would like to call you a surgeon." Vanina said to her while hugging her. "I'd rather die than ask for a surgeon." The strange woman said, "Do I want to hurt my benefactor?" "Surgeon to Mr. Saveri Cadanzara, Governor of Rome, the son of a servant in my family," Vanina said aloud, "he is faithful to us. In his position, he fears no one. I Father doesn't know he's so loyal. I'm going to send for him." "I don't want to be treated by a surgeon." The strange woman yelled fiercely, which surprised Vanina. "Come and see me! If God must call me, let me die happily in your arms." The next day, the situation of the strange woman became more serious. "If you still love me," said Vanina, leaving her, "you will see a surgeon." "If he came, my happiness would be gone at once." "I'll send someone to invite you." Vanina said again. The strange woman stopped talking, just grabbed her, grabbed her hand and kissed it.For a long time neither of them spoke, and the strange woman had tears in her eyes.At last she released Vanina's hand, and said to her with an air as if she were about to die: "I have something to confess to you. The day before yesterday I said that my name was Clementine, which was false; I am An unfortunate Charcoal..." Startled, Vanina pushed back her chair and stood up immediately. "I feel," continued the Carbonar, "that this confession will deprive me of the only happiness that accompanies my life, but it is not my business to deceive you. My name is Pietro Misiliri, ten Nine years old. My father was a poor surgeon in San Gillo-en-Vado. I was a member of the Carbonari. They suddenly broke our 'trade'. I was handcuffed and sent from Romagna I was taken to Rome, thrown into a dark cell with lights on day and night, and spent a year and a month there. A good man helped me escape. He made me dress up as a woman. When I came out of the prison, came When I came to the guard at the last gate, one of them was scolding the Carbonari; I gave him a slap in the face. I assure you that I am not playing a hero, but I really want to vent my anger. I did this rash thing After a while, I was hunted down in the streets of Rome. Exhausted from being stabbed several times with bayonets, I ran into a mansion with its gates open. I heard the gendarmes running up after me. I jumped Into a garden, stumbled, and came within a few steps of a woman walking." "Countess Wetterleich! My father's friend," said Vanina. "What! Did she tell you this?" cried Miscilly. "Anyway, this lady - whose name should never have been spoken - saved my life. When the gendarmes broke into her house to seize me, your father put me in his carriage and drove away.I felt so weak that for days the knife wound on my shoulder took my breath away.I'm dying, and I'll be dying to die because I'll never see you again. " Vanina listened to him in a panic, and then hurried out: in her very beautiful eyes, Missilili could not see the slightest sympathy, but only the expression of a proud heart hurt. During the night a surgeon came.He is alone.Missilily was disappointed.He worried that he would never see Vanina again.He kept questioning the doctor, but the doctor only gave treatment and did not answer.The days that followed were equally silent.Pietro never took his eyes off the French windows facing the terrace.Vanina usually comes in from there.He was devastated.Once, near midnight, he seemed to catch a glimpse of a person staying in the dark of the mound: Was it Vanina? In fact, Vanina came here every night, and pressed her cheek to the windowpane of the young Carbonari. "If I talk to him," she thought to herself, "then I'm done! No, I should never see him again!" As soon as this determination was made, she couldn't help recalling her tenderness for the young man.She was so stupid at the time that she thought he was really a woman.After making out so tenderly with him, must he be forgotten?At her most sane moments, Vanina is horrified by the changes in her mind.All the things that had been on her mind since Missilily had told her her real name were veiled and loomed. Within a week, Vanina, pale and trembling, entered the room of the young Carbonar with the surgeon.She came to tell him that she must ask the prince to send a servant to replace her.She stayed for less than ten minutes.But a few days later, out of humanity, she came again with the surgeon.One night, though Missilily's condition improved and she had no excuse to fear for his life, she came boldly alone.Seeing her, Missilili was extremely happy, but he managed to hide his love.In any case, he did not want to lose his manly dignity.As for Vanina, her face was flushed when she walked in, and she was also afraid that he would say something emotional.But he only received her with a noble, loyal, and friendly attitude, but not very enthusiastically, and Vanina felt disappointed because of this.When she left, he didn't try his best to keep her. A few days later, when she came again, he assured her, as before, of his admirable devotion and eternal gratitude.Vanena failed to detect the suppressed excitement of the young Carbonar, and she suspected that she was unrequited love.The girl who had been so proud felt sad that she was madly in love.She feigned cheerfulness, sometimes indifference, and came less often than before, but she could not make up her mind to stop visiting the young wounded. Despite the fire of love, Miscilly, thinking of his humble origins and his obligations, decided that if Vanina did not come to see him for a week, he would never give in to love.The proud heart of the young princess gradually began to struggle. "Then," she said to herself at last, "I have visited him for my own sake, and to please me. I shall never admit to him that he interests me." She remained long in his room; And he spoke to her as respectfully as if there were twenty people present.Once, Vanina hated him for a whole day, thought about it for a whole day, and resolved to be colder and more serious with him than usual, but at night she couldn't help telling him that she loved him.Soon, she would have nothing to say no to him. Vanina was madly in love, but she had to admit, she was overjoyed.Missilili no longer thought of maintaining the dignity due to manliness.He fell in love, as other Italians do when they fall in love at nineteen.He is so serious about this passionate love that he even confesses to the proud princess how he has hunted it down.How easy it is to live a happy life, and four months are fleeting.One day, the surgeon announced that the wounded man was free to move about. "What am I going to do?" thought Missilieri, "still in love at the house of a wonderful girl in Rome? The despicable tyrants who have imprisoned me for thirteen months and have kept me from seeing the light of day must have thought me Terrified, surrendered! Italy, you are wretched if your sons and daughters leave you alone for a trifle!" Vanina has no doubt that being with her forever is Pietro's greatest happiness.He looked so happy.However, General Bonaparte's words echoed poignantly in the young man's heart and affected his attitude towards Vanina.When General Bonaparte left Brescia in 1796, the city official who brought him to the gates told him that the people of Brescia loved liberty more than the rest of Italy. "Yes," he answered, "they love to talk about freedom with their mistresses." Missilili said to Vanina in a rather embarrassed way: "I have to go as soon as it gets dark." "Be careful. You have to go back to the palace before dawn. I'll wait for you." "By dawn I was miles away from Rome." "Great." Vanina said coldly, "Then where are you going?" "Romagna. Take revenge." "I have money," Vanina said calmly, "I hope you will accept the weapons and money I send you." Missilily watched her for a long time without blinking.Then, he threw himself into her arms. "My darling, you make me forget everything, even my duty!" he said to her, "but the nobler your heart is, the more you should understand me." Vanina burst into tears, so he agreed to leave on the third day. "Pietro," she said to him the next day, "you often tell me that a famous person, say a Roman prince, who has a lot of money, can take advantage of the fact that the Austrians are involved in a great war and stay away from us." In time, do great service to the cause of liberty." "Yes," said Pietro, a little surprised. "That's good! You have a noble heart, and all you lack is a noble position. I will marry you and bring you an annuity of two hundred thousand livres. I will be in charge of obtaining father's consent." Pietro dropped to his knees at her feet.Vanina beamed with joy. "I love you with all my heart," he said to her, "but I am only a poor servant of my country; the more unhappy Italy is, the more I must be faithful to her. In order to win Don Asdrubal With my consent, I must play the pathetic role for many years. Vanina, I decline your proposal." Missilily said this hastily to show his attitude.Because he was afraid that he would lose his courage again soon. "My misfortune," cried he, "is that I love you more than my own life, and it is the cruelest torture for me to leave Rome. Ah! if Italy had been rid of those barbarians! Well! How gladly I shall embark with you to live in America." Vanina froze there.Rejecting her love takes a hit on her self-esteem.But soon she threw herself into Missiliri's arms. "You are lovelier than ever," she cried. "Yes, my dear country surgeon's son, I am forever yours. You are a great man, just like our ancestors." All considerations of the future, all disappointing but rational thoughts were thrown into the sky.For a moment they were completely immersed in love.When they were able to speak soberly, Vanina said to him: "I will arrive in Romagna at about the same time as you. I will arrange for me to go to the thermal baths in Baleda. I will stay at Villa San Niccolo. Not far from Fourley..." "I'll live with you there!" cried Missilily. "From now on, I will go all out." Vanina said with a sigh. "I fell for you. But that's all right... Would you love a girl who has lost her honor?" "Aren't you my wife, a wife to be honored forever? I will always love and protect you." Vanina has to go to social events.No sooner had she left than he began to feel that he was acting irrationally. "What is the fatherland?" he thought to himself, "and this is not a man, for a good deed I must thank; otherwise he would be unhappy, and possibly curse me. Fatherland and liberty, it is my duty Useful things, like my coat, are what I should have bought if I hadn't inherited them from my father. In short, I love my country and my liberty, because these two things are useful to me. If I take them, they are useless , if they are to me like August's cloak, what good is it to buy them, let alone at great cost? Vanina is so beautiful! Talents are so rare! People will try to please her and please her; she will put I forget. What woman has only one lover in her life? These princes and nobles of Rome, I despise them as common people, but they have an advantage over me! Ah! If I go, she will forget me, I will Lose her forever." In the middle of the night, Vanina came to see him.He poured out to her his inner hesitation just now, and told her that because he loved her, he made a deeper discussion on the great term of the motherland.Vanina was very happy to hear that. "If he had to choose between his country and me," she thought to herself, "surely I shall be chosen." The clock in the nearby church struck three.The moment of farewell has finally come.Pietro withdrew his hands from his friend.He had already descended the little stairs, when Vanina, fighting back tears, said to him with a smile: "If you have been looked after by a poor village woman, don't you intend to do something to show your gratitude? You are here." Your future is uncertain, for you will be traveling among enemies. Treat me as a village girl, and give me three days to repay my care for you." So Missilily stayed again.But three days later he left Rome, and returned home safely with the help of a passport bought from a foreign ambassador.The family members were overjoyed, but they didn't expect him to come home alive.His friends wanted to celebrate his return by killing a gendarme or two. "No need, don't kill Italians who know how to use arms," ​​said Missiliri. "Our motherland is not an island like fortunate England: we lack soldiers to defend against the invasion of European monarchs." After a while, Missiliri, pressed by the gendarmes, killed two of them with the pistol that Vanina had given him.So the gendarmes offered a reward for his head. Vanina was not seen in Romagna.Missilily thought they had forgotten. His vanity was greatly wounded.He began to think about the gap between his status and his lover's status.For a while, he was so excited that he regretted his past happiness and even wanted to go back to Rome to see what Vanina was doing.When this crazy idea was about to overwhelm his sense of responsibility to the motherland, one night, the church bell on the hill rang.The sound of the bell is strange, as if the person ringing the bell is absent-minded.It was, in fact, a rallying signal from the secret society of the Carbonari.Missilili joined this group when he returned to Romagna.On this very night all the Carbonari were assembled in a monastery in the woods.Two hermits were so drowsy with opium that they could not understand what their little house was being used for.Missilily arrived sullenly.Here he was informed that since the leader of the group had been arrested, he, a young man of only twenty, would be elected leader of the group.Pietro felt his heart pounding as he accepted the unexpected honor.When he was alone, he resolved not to think of the Roman girl who had forgotten him, but to devote himself wholeheartedly to his duty in freeing Italy from the barbarians. Two days later, he saw the news that Princess Vanina had just arrived at her castle of St. Nicholas from the report of the people coming and going submitted by his subordinates.Seeing this name, he was more disturbed than happy.He made up his mind not to go to the castle of San Niccolo that night, thinking that by doing so he would guarantee his loyalty to his country.In fact, this is pure futility.It did not occur to him that thinking of Vanina would prevent him from carrying out his tasks in an orderly manner.He saw her the next day, and she was as infatuated with him as she had been in Rome.Her father delayed her journey by wanting her to marry, and she brought two thousand ducats.This unexpected aid came at an opportune time, and it won the respect of the new chief, Misiliri.They went to Galfoss to order daggers, captured the clerk who was in charge of hunting down the papal envoy of the Carbonari, and seized from him the roster of priests who served as spies for the government. It was during this period that the preparations were completed for one of the most sensible insurrections ever attempted in unfortunate Italy.I do not wish to dwell on the details here.I am content only to say that, if the struggle is successful, Misirelli may be honored.Thousands of rebels will be given orders by him, and they will rise up, arms in hand, and wait for the arrival of the leader.The decisive moment drew near, but as always, the uprising was paralyzed by the arrest of the superior chief. Soon after arriving in Romagna, Vanina saw that love for her country made her lover forget all other loves.The pride of the young Roman girl was bruised. Although she tried to make herself rational, she still fell into pessimistic sadness.She inadvertently discovers to her own surprise that she has cursed freedom.One day she came to Forli to visit Missiliri.Before, she suppressed her pain out of self-esteem.But today, she couldn't bear it anymore. "It is true," she said to him, "that you love me as a husband, but it is not my will." Her tears fell immediately.But it would be disgraceful to lower one's status to blame him.Missilily answered her tears with a preoccupation with her own affairs.Vanina suddenly thought of leaving him and going back to Rome.What she just said exposed her weakness.Now she's going to punish herself.She took a cruel pleasure in it.After a moment of silence, she made up her mind.If she did not leave Missilily, she would feel that she was kneeling before him.She was happy only when he suddenly found painfully that she was not there, and searched in vain for him. But the thought that she loved this man so madly and failed to love him broke her heart again.So she broke the silence and tried every means to extract a word of admiration from him.But he said something very tender to her absent-mindedly.But as soon as he talked about his political career, his tone changed, and his feelings were sincere and passionate. He cried out in pain: "Ah! If I don't succeed this time, if I'm caught by the government again, I won't do it again." done." Vanina still stood motionless.For an hour she had felt that this was the last time she would see her lover.His words flashed in her mind like a ray of light that would inevitably bring misfortune.She thought to herself, "The Carbonari have accepted me in thousands of ducats. They will not suspect that I have a heart for their covert operation." Vanina stopped thinking and said to Pietro: "Would you like to stay with me for a day in the castle of San Niccolo? You are not required to attend your evening assembly. Tomorrow morning, in San Niccolo, we can join Take a walk, it calms your agitation and brings you back to your composure. You need your composure in a critical moment like this." Pietro agreed. Vanina left him to prepare for the trip, hiding him and locking him up, as usual, in the little room. She ran to the house of one of her former maids, who had left her for marriage and who had since opened a small shop in the Falls.On arriving at the woman's house, she hastily scribbled on the margin of an almanac she had found the exact place where the secret society of the Carbonari had met that night.She wrote at the end of the whistleblower the following: "The group consists of nineteen members. Here are their names and addresses." A very accurate list was made—except for the lack of Misiliri's name, It is indeed accurate.She said to this trustworthy woman: "Take this book to the Pope's envoy, ask him to read what is written in it, and then ask him to return the book to you. Here are ten gold pieces. If the envoy says your name, Then you will surely die, but if you let him read the page I wrote, you will save my life." all the best.The special envoy was on tenterhooks and did not behave like a big shot at all. He agreed not to hide the face of the woman who asked to see him, on condition that her hands be bound.The female merchant was thus led before the great man.He sat behind a large table covered with a green carpet. The special envoy was afraid that there would be strong poison in the book, so he read that page from a distance.He returned the book to the saleswoman, and did not send anyone to follow her.Within forty-five minutes of leaving her lover, Vanina reappeared in front of Misirelli.She had seen the former maid come back, and she thought he belonged to her from then on.She told him that the situation in the city was unusual, that gendarme patrols had been seen haunting some of the streets.In the past, they never patronized these places. "If you will listen to me," she added, "we will go to San Niccolo at once." Missilily agreed to the arrangement, and they set off toward the carriage of the young princess.The carriage was parked four miles from the city.Vanina's confidant, the discreet and well-paid bridesmaid, was waiting for her in the car. After coming to San Nicholas Castle, Vanina was worried that what she had done would be exposed, so she became more tender and affectionate towards her lover.But when she made love to him, she felt like she was acting.Yesterday she went to tell the informant, completely forgetting the condemnation of conscience, and now, as she took her lover in her arms, she thought: "There is a word that people may tell him. As soon as he utters this word, he immediately Will hate me to death and will never forgive me." In the middle of the night, one of Vanina's servants broke into the room suddenly.The man was a charcoal burner, and she didn't know anything about it.So she shuddered that Missilily held her secret.The man came to tell Missilily that at night in Forli the houses of nineteen Carbonari were surrounded.They were all arrested when they returned from the rendezvous.Despite the surprise, nine people were able to escape.The gendarmes took ten of them to the central prison.When entering, a man jumped into a well.Well so deep, drowned.Vanina was shocked.Fortunately Pietro was not paying attention: otherwise he would have only had to look into her eyes to discover her crime. "At that time," the servant added, "the Forli city defense forces put under martial law on all the streets, with one post at three steps and one post at five steps. Residents could not walk from the street to the end of the street. At each street corner stood a officer." After the man had gone out, Pietro thought for a while. "There's nothing we can do now," he said at last. Vanina's face was ashen, trembling under her lover's gaze. "What's wrong with you?" he asked. Then he looked away again, thinking of something else. About noon she ventured to him and said: "Another group has been busted; you will be quiet for a while, I suppose." "It's too quiet," replied Missilily, with a smile that made her tremble. She made an indispensable visit to the curate of the village of Saint-Nigolo.He may be a spy of the Jesuits.At seven o'clock she came back from supper and found the little room where her lover was hidden empty, and she was so alarmed that she searched the whole castle in haste.Not finding it, she walked listlessly back to the small room.At this time, she found a note.She read: "I surrender to the envoy. I am disappointed in our cause. God will not help us. Who betrayed us? It seems that the poor man who threw himself into the well. Since my life is of no use to poor Italy , and I don't want my companions to see that I was the only one who escaped arrest and guess that I betrayed them. Farewell. If you love me, please consider avenging me by killing and destroying the hateful traitor who betrayed us , even my father." Vanina sank into a chair, stupefied, in the cruelest misfortune. She was speechless, her eyes were dry and she had a fever. Finally, she fell to her knees with a plop. "Great God," she cried, "accept my prayers. Yes, I will punish the odious traitor, but before that, Pietro must be set free." An hour later, she was on her way back to Rome.Her father had long since urged her to go back.During her absence he had arranged her marriage to Livio Saveri, which he told Vanina with trepidation as soon as she got home. To his great surprise, she agreed from the very beginning.That evening, at the Countess of Wetterleich's, her father introduced Don Livio to her almost officially. She talked to him a lot.This is the most handsome young man with the best horse. But however clever he was admitted, his character was considered too frivolous to arouse the suspicion of government authorities.Vanina wanted to make him a handy surrogate first, before he swooned.Since he was the nephew of Mr. Saveri Kadanzala, Governor of Rome and Superintendent of Police, she guessed that spies would not dare to pay attention to him. After a few days of tenderness with the lovely Don Livio, Vanina told him that he would never be her husband.According to her, he was too simple-minded. "If you weren't a three-year-old," she told him, "your uncle's people couldn't keep any secrets from you. Like, that Carbonari group that was busted in Fall recently, what did they decide to do with it? " Two days later Don Livio came to tell her that all the Carbonari captured in Forli had escaped.She sneered a few times with extreme contempt, stared at him a few times, and refused to pay attention to him all night.On the third day Don Livio admitted to him with a blushing face that people had been mistaken at first. “但，”他对她说，“我弄到了我叔父办公室的一串钥匙。 从文件上我发现了一个委员会，由红衣主教和最走红的高级教士组成，极其秘密地召开了会议，审议在罗马或拉文纳审判这些烧炭党是否适宜的问题。在福尔里逮住的九个烧炭党徒，还有他们的头目，一个叫米西利里的人——他真傻，投案自首，——眼下正拘押在圣雷奥城堡里。 " 听到“傻”这个字眼，瓦妮娜使尽全身力气搂紧王子。 “我要亲眼看看这些官方文件。”她对他说，“我要和你一块进你叔叔的办公室。你也许看错了。” 听到这话，堂·李维奥浑身颤抖起来。瓦妮娜要求他的几乎是不可办到的事情。然而这位姑娘的古怪性格进一步激发了他的情欲。几天以后，瓦妮娜女扮男装，穿一身漂亮的萨维里府的号衣，在警察总监绝密的文件堆中呆了半个小时。 当她发现关于“犯人彼埃特罗·米西利里”的每日情况报告后，一时高兴得跳了起来。她的手拿着这份文件直打颤。一看到这个名字，她就几乎晕厥过去。走出罗马总督府后，瓦妮娜允许堂·李维奥拥吻她。 “你经受住了我给你的这些考验。”她对他说。 听到这句话，年轻的王子高兴得发狂，几乎要放把火把焚蒂冈烧掉，让瓦妮娜快活。这天晚上，法国大使家举行舞会。她跳了很久，几乎都是和他跳。堂·李维奥幸福得如痴如醉。大概这也阻止了他去思索这件事情。 “我父亲有时也真古怪。”有一天瓦妮娜对他说，“今早，他赶走了两个来我们家哭着求职的人。一个要求我把他安排在你叔父罗马总督的府上做事；另一个是法国人统治时期的炮兵，他希望在圣昂日城堡谋个差使。” “让他们来替我办事。”年轻王子不假思索地说。 “难道我要求的是这样吗？”瓦妮娜傲慢地回答，“我再一次重复这些可怜人的请求，他们应该获得他们要求的东西，而不是别的什么。” 没有比这更难的事了，卡丹札拉先生根本不是个轻率之人。他只允许他非常了解的人在府上做事。表面看来，瓦妮娜是生活充实，心神快乐，实际上她心忧如焚，充满内疚。事情进展之迟缓使她急得要死。他父亲的管家替她弄来了钱。是否应该离家出走，去罗马涅尽力帮助情人越狱？不管这种想法如何荒唐，她差点就要付诸实行。这时一个偶然的机运来同情她了。 堂·李维奥对她说：“米西利里团体的十几个烧炭党人将被解到罗马，不过也有可能判决后在罗马涅就地执刑。这是我叔父今晚从教皇那儿获悉的消息。在罗马，这个机密，唯有你知我知。你高兴吗？” “你变成大人了。”瓦妮娜回答道，“把你的画相送给我吧。” 在米西利里应该到达罗马的前一天，瓦妮娜找了个借口去西达—卡斯带拉拿。从罗马涅押往罗马的烧炭党人要在这个城市的监狱里宿一晚。早晨，当米西利里从监狱出来时，她看见了他。他单独押在一辆马车上，脚镣手铐，看上去一脸煞白，神情却毫不沮丧。一个老妇人扔给他一束紫罗兰。米西利里微微一笑，表示感谢。 瓦妮娜看到情人后，所有的思想似乎为之一新，又获得新的勇气。很早以前，她就让即将关进情人的圣昂日城堡的指导神甫卡利教士获得一次升迁，并让这个好神甫做她的忏悔师。在罗马，当一个公主和总督的侄媳妇的忏悔师，可是一件非同小可的事情。 对福尔里烧炭党人的审理没有延宕多久。由于无能为力阻止他们来罗马，极右派决心报复，他们指派一些野心勃勃的高级教士组成了审判委员会来审判他们。委员会由警察总监主持。 法律明显地对烧炭党人不利。福尔里的这些人不能抱任何希望，也不能以任何可能的借口来保全性命。不仅审他们的法官要判他们死刑，而且许多人都认为要对他们施以酷刑，如剁去双手等等。警察总监已捞了不少油水，不需什么手段，便把判决奏给教皇，借他的手把死刑核减为几年监禁。只有米西利里除外。总监视这个年轻人为洪水猛兽，况且我们上面讲过，由于杀死两个宪兵，他早已被判死刑。总监从教皇宫中回来后，瓦妮娜获悉了对米西利里的判决和对她来说无甚意义的减刑。 次日，卡丹札拉先生午夜时分回到府上。不见一个人，总监不免有点惊讶。连拉好几次门铃，最后才来了一个傻头傻脑的老仆。总监等不及，决定自己脱衣。他闩好门。Hot weather.他脱下衣服，卷成一团朝一张椅子扔过去。谁知用力过猛，衣服飞过椅子，直碰在平纹细布的窗帘上，使一个男人的身影显现出来。总监迅速扑到床上，摸出一支手枪。当他走近窗户时，一个十分年轻的男人，穿着他府上的号衣，持着手枪，迎着他走了过来。总监一见此状，忙把枪举到眼前，准备开火。年轻男人笑吟吟地对他说：“怎么？老爷，您认不出瓦妮娜·瓦尼尼啦？” “开这种讨厌的玩笑是什么意思？”总监满腹怒火，反问道。 “冷静地想一想，”姑娘说，“首先，您的手枪没上子弹。” 总监大吃一惊，肯定了她说的是真的后，从贴身衣袋里抽出一把匕首。 瓦妮娜以诱人的命令式口吻对他说：“我们坐下吧，老爷。” 说完她自己若无其事一般，在一张长沙发上坐下。 “至少，您只一个人吧？”总监问。 “绝对只是一人，我向您发誓。”瓦妮娜叫道。 但总监仍旧小心翼翼地检查，他在房间里走了一圈，各个角落都看了看，然后才坐在离瓦妮娜三步远的一张椅子上。 “刺杀一位温和派对我有什么好处？”瓦妮娜平静而温和地说，“接位的也许会是一个头脑发热、把自己和别人的性命都送掉的庸才。” “那么您想干什么，小姐？”总监余怒未消，“这个场面对我可不适宜，而且不应该持续下去。” “我所要补充的，”瓦妮娜傲慢地说，一下子收敛了她的迷人媚态，“这件事对您比对我更重要。有人希望救出烧炭党人米西利里的性命。假若他被处决，您不会比他多活一个星期。我对这个毫无兴趣。您对我这种越礼的行为不满。但我所以这么干，一是要开个玩笑，二是为某个朋友服务。我希望，”瓦妮娜继续说，神态又变得温柔起来，“我希望能帮一个聪明人的忙。他即将成为我的叔父，并且照迹象看来，他应该大大地扩充他家庭的财富。” 总监收起怒容：大概瓦妮娜的美貌促进了这一迅速的转变。在罗马，众所周知，卡丹札拉老爷喜好女色。瓦妮娜一副萨维里府的仆人打扮，一双丝袜扎得高高的，一件红外衣，里面衬着她那件天蓝色镶银带的小褂，手上持枪，显得动人极了。 “我未来的侄媳妇，”总监几乎堆着笑说，“您干了一件大蠢事，而且还不会是最后一次。” “我希望一个明智的人会帮我保守秘密，”瓦妮娜回答，“尤其对堂·李维奥。亲爱的叔父，如果您同意保全我朋友保护的人的性命，我就亲你一下。” 瓦妮娜继续用这种半戏谑半认真的腔调——罗马贵妇们善于以这种腔调应付各种大事——与总监谈话，终于给这场以持枪开始的会见涂上了年轻的萨维里王妃拜访叔父罗马总监的色彩。 卡丹札拉老爷很快抛开了担心上当的想法。他转而向侄媳妇谈起留下米西利里性命会遇到的困难。总监和瓦妮娜一边说话，一边在房间里踱步。他拿起壁炉上一只盛着柠檬水的长颈瓶，倒满一只水晶杯，正要端到嘴边时，被瓦妮娜一把夺过去，在手上端了片刻，然后随手扔进花园里。过了一会儿，总监在糖罐里拿了一颗巧克力圆糖。瓦妮娜又抢过来，笑着对他说：“小心点，您房里的东西都下了毒。人家想要你的命，是我要求饶我未来的叔父一死，以便我进入萨维里家时，不致两手空空。” 卡丹札拉老爷听了大惊失色，忙不迭地谢了侄媳妇，并答应尽力免米西利里一死。 “我们的交易做成了！”瓦妮娜叫道，“证明，就是我现在给您的报偿。”说完，她吻了他。 总监接受了报偿。 “您必须知道，我亲爱的瓦妮娜，”他补充说道，“我不喜欢流血。此外，我还年轻，尽管在您看来我已经老了。我可以生活到某一个时期，到那时，今天流的血将会毁坏我的名誉。” 当卡丹札拉老爷送瓦妮娜到花园的小门口时，时钟敲响了两点。 第三天，总监来到教皇殿前，正为要奏的事儿踌躇不决时，教皇陛下开口对他说道：“无论如何，我得要求您实行赦免，福尔里的烧炭党人中有一个仍然被判死刑。一想到这事儿我就辗转难寐。必须救这人一命。” 总监见教皇和他一个意思，便故意说了许多反对话，最后拟了一纸赦令、由教皇破例签了字。 瓦妮娜曾想到也许自己能使情人免死，但保不定有人要暗中毒死他。因此，从宣判的先一天起，米西利里就从卡利神甫，他的忏悔师那儿得到了几小包航海吃的饼干，并被告诫不要碰官方给的任何食物。 瓦妮娜获知福尔里的烧炭党人将转押往圣雷勒奥城堡，便想在米西利里途经西塔—卡斯带拉拿时看看他。她先于囚犯们二十四小时到达该城，在那里见到了早几天到达的卡利教士。他征得狱卒同意，让米西利里半夜在监狱的小教堂里听弥撒。甚至条件放得更宽：只要米西利里同意绑起手脚，狱卒便可以退到教堂门口，这样狱卒可以看到囚犯——他负有责任看守，却听不见他说什么。 有可能决定瓦妮娜命运的日子终于来了。一大早，她就来监狱教堂躲着。在这漫长的白昼，她脑中想的是什么，又有谁能说出？米西利里爱她，可不可以宽恕她的过失？她告发了他的团体，但她救了他的命。当理智在她纷乱如麻的头脑里占了上风时，她希望他答应和她一同离开意大利。虽然她犯了罪，但那是爱他至极的缘故。当四点钟敲响时，她听到远处传来马匹踏着路面的得得声。每一声似乎都在她心房里震响。很快她就分辨出载着囚犯的马车的辚辚声。它们在监狱前面的小广场上停住。她看到两个烧炭党人抬起独自押在一辆马车上的米西利里。他带着脚镣手铐，无法动弹。“至少他还活着。”她自言自语，眼中泪水盈盈，“他们还没有毒死他。”晚上，教堂里可怕极了，祭坛上的灯挂得老高。狱卒为了省油，在整个阴森森的教堂里就点了这么一盏灯；瓦妮娜的眼睛来回望着中世纪几位死在隔壁监狱里的贵族的墓冢。他们的塑像面目狰狞。 早已是万籁俱寂了。瓦妮娜沉浸在忧郁和焦急中。午夜的钟声敲过一会儿，她相信听到了一阵蝙蝠飞行般的轻微声音。她想走出去，却一阵昏眩，倒在祭坛的栏杆上。与此同时，两个人影来到她旁边。她没听到他们的脚步声。这是猝卒和带着镣铐的米西利里。狱卒点亮一盏灯笼，放在瓦妮娜身边的栏杆上，好监视他的犯人。然后他退到靠近门边的暗处。狱卒一走开，瓦妮娜就扑过去搂住米西利里的脖子。她紧搂着他，只感到铁链的冰凉和尖刺。“谁给他上的锁链？”她想。她拥吻情人，却感觉不到丝毫的快乐。在这个痛苦之外，又增添一种更使人心碎的忧愁：有一阵，她以为米西利里知道了她的罪行。因为他的态度是多么冷淡啊。 “亲爱的朋友，”他终于开口对她说，“您爱我，我甚觉遗憾。我寻思我有什么长处值得您爱我，却想不出。听我的话，我们回到更为纯洁的基督教感情中去，忘却过去使我们误入迷途的空想吧。我不能专属于您。我的行动经常带来不幸，其原因，或许是因为我经常处于精神犯罪的状态，虽然我听从的只是人们谨慎的忠告。为什么我不在福尔里那要命的黑夜和朋友们一同被捕？为什么在危险关头我擅离职守？为什么我的缺席招来如此残酷的怀疑？因为除了意大利的自由，我还另有所爱！” 瓦妮娜的思想还没从米西利里的变化所引起的惊骇中清醒过来，他虽然未见明显消瘦，模样儿却像有三十岁了。瓦妮娜把这种变化归咎于他在监狱遭受的恶劣的对待。她大哭起来。 “啊！”她对他说，“狱卒们原先答应好好地对待你的。” 事实是，当死亡临近时，所有能与向往意大利自由的激情相融合的宗教原则又再度出现在年轻烧炭党人心里。渐渐地，瓦妮娜发现情人身上的惊人变化完全是精神上的，根本不是身体上受的恶劣对待的结果。她原以为到达顶点的痛苦，此刻又加重了。 米西利里不说了，瓦妮娜似乎哭得要断气。他略显激动地补充道：“要是我在地球上还爱过什么，这就是你瓦妮娜。但谢天谢地，我生活只有一个目的：不是死在监牢，就是竭尽绵力还意大利以自由。” 他又沉默下来。显然，瓦妮娜说不出话。她想说，却不能。米西利里又加了一句：“任务是艰巨的，我的朋友，如果它轻而易举地得以完成，还有什么英雄主义可言？答应我，您不要再千方百计来看我。” 他的手腕尽量在锁得相当紧的铁链允许的范围里动了一下，手指伸向瓦妮娜。 “要是你允许一个你爱过的男人劝你一句，那么，明智一点，和你父亲选定的配得上你的男人结婚吧。别告诉他任何使他不愉快的隐秘；但另一方面，也不要想方设法来看望我。 我们今后只当互不认识。为了祖国的事业，你拿出了一笔数目可观的钱。如果有朝一日，祖国从暴君的统治下解放出来，这笔钱会从没收的财产中分文不少地还给你。 " 瓦妮娜一时愣住了。彼埃特罗说话中只有提到“祖国”时，他的眼睛才亮一下。 末了，自尊心使年轻公主清醒过来。她带了钻石和小锉刀，也不回答米西利里的话，便将它们交给他。 “我出于义务收下它们。”他说，“因为我得尽力逃跑。但我不会再见到你，我对你的新善举发誓。永别了，瓦妮娜，答应我，永不给我写信，永不试图见到我；让我整副身心都献给祖国。我为你而死。永别了。” “不，”瓦妮娜极其激动地说，“我希望你知道我由于爱你而干的事情。” 于是，她对他讲述了自从他离开圣尼戈洛城堡去向特使自首以来，她各方奔走的情况。 “这都是些鸡毛蒜皮。”瓦妮娜说，“出于爱你，我还做了件事情。” 于是她说出了她的告密行为。 “啊！魔鬼，”彼埃特罗怒不可遏，吼叫着朝她扑过来，试图用铁链打死她。 如果不是狱卒闻声跑来，他也许已经把她打死了。狱卒抓住了米西利里。 “拿着，魔鬼，我不愿受你的恩惠。”米西利里对瓦妮娜说，一边尽锁链允许的程度，把锉刀和钻石朝她扔过来。然后毅然离去了。 瓦妮娜怔怔地站在那里。她回到了罗马。报纸上宣布她和堂·李维奥·萨维里王子缔结了良缘。