As he waited for the ax to fall, Pazzi saw Dr. Fell for the first time among the many scholars in Florence...
Rinaldo Pazzi climbs the stairs in the Palazzo Vecchio.He was performing a dishonorable assignment which his former officers at the police had picked him from among the many menial jobs--they were proud of his fall from grace.When Pazzi walked by the walls decorated with murals, he only saw the toes of his shoes stepping on the dented stairs, but did not see the miracle of art around him. His ancestors were dragged bloody up these stairs 500 years ago.
He was originally a man, and when he came to the landing, he straightened his shoulders and forced himself to face the eyes of the figures in the murals, some of whom were even related to him.He could hear the quarrel overhead in the Water Lilies Room, where the directors of the Uffizi Gallery and members of the Art Council were in a joint meeting.
Pazzi's task today is: the senior curator of the Mansion Caponi is missing, and he has not met with his leading group at the Palazzo Vecchio for four monthly meetings.It was thought that the old fellow had run off with a woman, or absconded with money, or both.
Patsy was sent to continue the investigation.After the museum bombing, he had scolded the pale directors of the Uffizi and their rival art committees.But now, he had no choice but to meet them while losing power.It never occurred to him that he would have to ask them about the curator's love life.
The two committees were bitter rivals - they had been unable to agree on the meeting place for many years, because neither of them wanted to meet in the other's office, so they went to the Water Lily Room in the luxurious Palazzo Vecchio.Both thought that the beautiful hall was a perfect match for their own elegance and excellence.As soon as it started, everyone refused to meet anywhere else, even though the Palazzo Vecchio was undergoing renovations with shelves, curtains, and machines on the floor—one of a thousand renovations it had done. one.
An old school friend of Rinaldo Pazzi's, Professor Rich, was in the hall outside the salon, sneezing on ashes.After it was normal, he turned his tearful eyes and saw Patsy.
"La solita arringa (again tirade)," he said, "argument again, as usual. You're here to work on the case of the missing curator Caponi? They're vying for his vacancy now. Soli Yator wants his nephew to take over, and the scholars, impressed with Dr Fell, the interim curator they appointed a few months ago, want him to continue."
His friend was tapping his pockets for tissues, and Patsy left him and walked into the historic hall.The ceiling of the hall was decorated with golden water lilies, and the noise was muted by cloth scrolls hanging on the two walls.
The nepotism Soliato was speaking, controlling the venue with a loud voice: "Caponi's earliest letters date back to the 13th century, and a written note might be sent to Dr. Fell, to his very Can he identify the hands of Italians? I don’t think so. You have tested his medieval Italian, and I don’t deny that he is admirable in terms of language. As a straniero (foreigner), he is not bad. Familiar with the appraisal of the Florentine figures before the revival? I can't see it. If he came across a note in the Caponi library, for example, written by Guido de Cavalcanti, would he be able to identify it? I see No. Dr. Fell, can you comment on this?" Rinaldo Pazzi looked around the hall, but did not see the man named Dr. Fell, even though he had checked his photo an hour earlier.He didn't see Dr. Fell because Dr. Fell wasn't sitting with anyone else.Pazzi heard his voice before seeing him.
Dr. Fell stood quietly beside Jutis and the bronze statue, with his back to the speaker and the crowd.He didn't turn his back as he spoke, so it was hard to tell which image the voice was coming from—Jutis, forever with a knife at his finger to kill a drunken king?Holopherenes with his hair caught?Or the quiet, thin Dr. Fell next to the bronze statue?Dr. Fell's voice cut through the noise, like a laser cutting through the smoke, and the noisy crowd fell silent.
"Cavalcanti publicly answered Dante's first sonnet in the Nativity. In that poem he described the strange dream he had," Dr. Fell said. "Perhaps Cavalcanti Canti also commented privately. If he wrote to the Caponi family, it must have been to Andrea. Andrea was more literary than his brethren." People were embarrassed , fell silent, but Dr. Fell looked calm, and turned to face the crowd of his contemporaries. "Do you know Dante's first sonnet, Professor Sogliato? Yes? That poem fascinates Cavalcanti and is worth taking a moment to listen to. I will only quote a portion:
"The first three hours of the night are gone
Every star shines on us
how suddenly my love came
Thinking about it still shakes my soul.
I feel that Eros is in full swing, and now she
In the hands of my heart; in the crook of my arms
Still sleeping with my veiled lover.
He wakes her and she trembles tamely
Eat my burning heart from his hand.
I watched Cupid leave with tears running down my face.
"Listen, how skillfully he employs the Italian idiom, which he calls the eloquent idiom of the people:
"Allegro mi sembrava Amor tenendo
Meo core in mano, e ne le braccia avea
Madonna involta in un drappo dormendo.
Poi la svegliava, e d'esto core ardendo
Lei paventosa umilmente pascea
Appreso gir lo ne vedea piangendo. "
(This paragraph is the original text of Dante, using Italian colloquialism, and the content is the last six lines translated above)
Dr Fell read Dante's Psalms in a clear Tuscan voice.The Psalter resounded in the hall surrounded by frescoes, and even the most eloquent Florentine could not resist.First there was applause, then tearful cheers.Those present at the meeting appointed Dr. Fair master of the Caponi Museum, leaving Soliato to sulk.Patsy wondered if the victory pleased the Doctor, for the Doctor turned around again.But Soliato wasn't quite done yet.
"Since he's such an expert on Dante, let him give a lecture at the Studiolo," Soliato hissed "Studiolo," as if sending Dr. Fell to the Inquisition." Let him impromptu answer their questions. Friday if he can." The word "Studiolo" comes from the name of a magnificent private study, actually a small gang of high-handed scholars who have ruined the lives of several people. academic reputation.This group used to meet at the Palazzo Vecchio.Preparing for a meeting with them is seen as a great difficulty, and showing up in their presence is a danger.Soliato's uncle agreed with his proposal, Soliato's brother-in-law proposed the vote, and Soliato's sister took the notes.The proposal was approved and the appointment was approved, but Dr. Fell had to pass the research association to keep his position.
The committee appointed a new director for Caponi, without missing the old one, and answered in a few words the question posed by the humiliated Pazzi about the missing director.Pazzi endured admirably.
Like all investigators, he sifted through the circumstances for something useful.Who benefits from the disappearance of the old curator?The missing curator is a bachelor, a quiet scholar, with an orderly, well-respected life and a little savings, but not much.All he had was his position and the right that came with it to live in the attic of the Caponi House.
The new curator was confirmed after passing a rigorous examination of the history of Florence and ancient Italian.Patsy reviewed Dr. Fell's application and national health affidavit.
Patsy came to Dr. Fell as the committee members packed their bags and prepared to go home.
"Dr. Fell."
"Yes, Commendatore (sir)?"
The new curator was small and neat, with smoky-brown upper lenses and dark clothing cut beautifully even in Italy.
"I don't know if you met your former curator?" The experienced policeman always tuned his antenna to the frightening band.Patsy watched Dr. Fell carefully, but what he noticed was absolute calm.
"I've never met him. I've read a few of his papers in the Nuova Antologia ("New Essays")." The Tuscan voice in the doctor's words is as clear as his reciting, even with the accent, Pazzi couldn't hear it either.
"I know that the original investigating officers checked the Caponi mansion for a note—a farewell note, a suicide note, whatever. If you come across anything in a file, something personal, even if it's Very trivial, would you be willing to call me?"
"Of course I would, Commendatore."
"Are his personal belongings still in Qiu Mansion?"
"Packed in two boxes, with checklist."
"I'll send—I'll fetch it myself."
"Can you give me a call first, Commendatore? I can save you time by turning off the alarm system before you arrive."
This person is too calm.Normally, he should be a little afraid of me; he also asked me to let him know when I went.
The committee had feathered Patsy, but there was nothing he could do with them.But the man's arrogance also offended him.He also wants to be angry with him.
"Dr. Fair, can I ask you a personal question?"
"As long as it's within the scope of your duties, Commendatore."
"You have a relatively new scar on the back of your left hand."
"You also have a new wedding ring: LaVitaNuova (freshman)?" Dr. Fell smiled.His teeth were small and very white.Pazzi was surprised. Before he had time to get angry, Dr. Fell stretched out his hand and continued: "Carpal infundibulum syndrome, sir. Historical research is really a dangerous profession."
"Why didn't you report Carpal Funnel Syndrome on your National Health Form when you came here to work?"
"I was under the impression, Commendatore, that injuries were only reported for people receiving disability benefits. And I was neither receiving benefits nor disabled."
"Then your operation was performed in Brazil? You are from that country."
"It wasn't done in Italy. I didn't get any subsidies from the Italian government," Dr. Fell said, as if the answer was complete.
They were the last to leave the committee hall.When Patsy reached the door, Dr. Fell stopped him.
"Commendatore?"
Dr. Fell's figure was set against the tall windows as a black silhouette, and behind him was the cathedral in the distance.
"What's up?"
"I think you're a Pazzi of the Pazzi family, am I right?"
"Yes. How did you know?" Patsy thought he was referring to a recent newspaper report about him, which was extremely brutal.
"You look like one of the figurines in your family prayer room at the Holy Cross Church."
"Oh, that's Andrea de' Pazzi, fashioned in the form of John the Baptist," said Pazzi, with a tinge of joy in his bitter heart.
As Rinaldo Pazzi left the slender figure standing in the conference room, there was one impression that stuck with him: Dr. Fell's unusual calm.
That impression will soon be deepened.
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