The Argosy — page 306: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

A Freak of Fortune. 289 set his mind, not only on having it done, but done in their own house. Therefore she entreated them to send over some day and come with the good Signora, so that she might open her breaking heart to them : for though forestiere, she could trust them better than Italians, who were so treacherous. Out of pity, therefore, to the poor heart-broken wife, we went again to the Villa Zuccone. And though we never saw the five hogsheads of wine, I always considered it especially fortunate that we did so, because it gave us the opportunity of purchasing the beautiful site upon which, the following year, we began to build our own villa—this pleasant coun- try home where we now are, and which became such a source of interest and enjoyment to my dear father as long as he lived. My husband, in his good nature, not only modelled the bust of il Cavaliere, but, according to his own wish, made him look twenty years younger than he was, and represented him in the uniform of the Guardia Nobili, or Papal Guard. So assiduous was the poor wife to make us comfortable that he modelled her also; not as she was then, with all those lines of anxiety and worry on her comely countenance ; but as she had appeared two summers before, a fine type of the contadina, become, by good fortune, a signora. Everything, as the poor woman said, had gone wrong with them since Holy Father’s visit had made il Cavaliere of herhusband. Even the vine-disease, which had not hitherto been at all prevalent in that district, had nearly destroyed their whole vintage the last year. The olive crop had also failed, and the last summer had been so dry that they had hardly any hay, which hitherto had been one of the most remunera- tive harvests to her husband. In spite of all these losses, and the growing shortness of money, he would not let any portion of the villa to the forestiere, who, as usual, when the summer heat becomes oppressive in Rome, flee out to the hills, and to whom the handsome Villa Zuccone, situated on the very top of Monte del Caccia, was always attractive. No; all the last summer it had stood unoccupied, though more families than usual inquired after it. _ Mariana loved to have forestiere in the villa, independently of the money they brought, because she was kind-hearted and socially inclined ; and I fortunately hit upon the only argument with her husband that could have any weight with him. The Roman princes Borghese, Sciarra, and many others, let apartments in their palaces; why, then, should il Cavaliere refuse? He consented, therefore ; and, to the infinite satisfaction of poor Signora Mariana, a wealthy American family were located in our apartment that very summer. In other respects, also, our visit was productive of good. We espoused the cause of young Giacomo Fioretti ; we played dominoes with Fra Eustacio, Zuccone’s director; and so, I believe, became instrumental in the final act of this little drama. VOL. XVIII. U (CONMUC OO SS (CO)