The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1859-11-17
For the National Era
A PALACE IN GENOA
discontinued.
By EDWARD SPENCER.


By EDWARD SPENCER.
III-Coninued
| Rupert Beale, youth, and scarce in his
twenty-first year yet, was much more dstin-
guished looking than the artist. There was an
air of ham ton about him, in his dress and ad-
dress, in his movements and in his features. He
was tall and not fully developed in form, his
broad high brow, his large black eyes shaded
by deep arching brows, his thin, prominent
nose, and fine, nervous lip, which, curling con-
tinually, often seemed to scrithe with the inten-
sity of his inward emotions-these combined to
give to his features and expression peculiarly
earnest character. There was the empressement
of the hero about him, SO to speak. Give him
adoublet and cloak d la Velasquez, put rapier
at his hip, and poignard in his vest, and,
prestol you have one of Don John of Austria s
knights, doer of valiant deeds at Lepanto,
one ready equally to battle for Santa Cruz, or
climb balconies of Seville by moonlight AS it
was, Merivale thought his dress too rich, not
glaring, but soft and recherche and luxurious.
"Tll bet he sports a velvet dressing gown,
Turkish slippers, and jewelled nargil'h /"
thought the artist Still, these things suited
him better than they would almost any one
else, and his youth was sufficient to pardon the
blending in his appearance between the Don
Juan of Seville-not Mozart's, but Julia's-and
the-Byron that Guicciola loved-the domesti-
Gated and antrammelled Byron of Ravenna.
Mr.. Beale, however, scarcely won more than
a passing glance of appreciation from the
artist The sister offered him far more
pleasing study, both as an artist and as man
of the world. So far as she was like her
brother, she resembled him as the doe does
her lord and master but the points of resem-
blance were fewer by far than the points OF
difference, and these latter most attracted Mer-
ivale. Carlos enthusiastic statement of her
charms did not seem highly colored to our
friend, who iconoclastic enough in most mat
tiers, had never been able to laugh himself out
of his intense proclivities for beauty worship
Miss Beale was girl yet not having achieved
her eighteenth summer, but her figure was
rounded and developed, had outgrown the an
gularity of girlhood, and, never hearth flower
nor a mignonette, now showed itself rich
curved rosebud, ripening into bloom. Still
the moon was not at its full, and her face proved
beautifully that she was lingering yet in the
land of faery,
Standing with reluctant feet,
Where the brook and river meet
Womanhood and childhood feet"
Merivale saw her more than once, and what
write respecting her must be regarded rather
as resume Of his Impressions, than as the
vague image of loneliness that came into his
vision while the dark-eyed Maddalena was gone
after fresh olives She had a semi-blonde com
plexion-(a cont,dlto, so to speak, in compari-
son with the pure soprano of England j her
hair of a rich glossy chestnut hue, and her
hazel eyes were SO full and rich, so various and
many lighted, that at one time they limited OF
" green Erin" at another almost breathed the
warmth and phosphorescent glow of Italy. She
had great freedom from girlish timidity, and a
confident riante sort of naivete which gave
Merivale great delight, especially as it did not
resemble Die fernonism, nor in any respect
infringe upon the finer promptings of woman s
most beautiful modesty 1t was simply an un.
affected naturalness, which some women are
able to attain by means of consummate art, but
which was in her thousand fold more charm
! ing, because so palpably innate. Thus Meri
J vale saw in her what she was, the promise of a
true and genuine woman-a woman not tram
j., melled nor laced up in the strcter convention
child" exuberant of healthy and prismatc life
) Joyous spirit of wit and fun, apart banter
part affection "a loud toned murmurng brook
: dancing onward, merrily CHANGING in the sun
shine, yet echOlng, in its many voices, deer
and eloquent utterances of the grand and sol
) emn Ocean of Life, into which it was about to
empty. That arching brow, with its smooth
white plain above indicates thought enough
| when there is OCCASION said Merivale to him
| SELF And he was right. The girl before him
was a rich and rare Promise, capable of as high
ing of them, though, to the casual observer, she
might reveal herself as only
"a rosebud with little wilful thorns"
Chow admirably you use that language
said Merivale, as Miss Beale, before they sat
down to breakfast, gave some directions to her
maid in French "and both of you are so an,
fat in the sweet Hngua 7oscana that would
have been decidedly puzzled as to your nation
atty, had l simply heard you
"Oh, can scarcely call myself an Ameri-
can" replied the young lady; it is seven years
since l came abroad, and Rupert has been
away from home in England and Germany al
most nine years. So we are qsite European"
"Ah-your family reside on the continent,
then ?"
"No," responded Rupert; ~ believe that our
Genoa, are in Europe for the first time"
"Think of it. Mr. Merivale / have not seen
my mother since wore igh.neck aprons, and
PLAYED with my dolls Seven years locked up
in pension at Bruxelles, with nothing but an
occasional visit from Rupert to enliven my
tedum French girls are so heartless, one
can't make friends with them; the Dutch Fran
leins are good, but terribly stupid; and the sis
ters dear Heavens l think the ward of the
ennuyes in Purgatory must be in charge of the
Beguines True, we had-at a distance-our
snuffy music MASTER who used to exhaust all
his energies in informing me that my 'fnkers
vas all tumbs; and there was the priest, but |
did not 90 to confession. N'importe = 'est
fni, now, that dismal time. / have graduated
with all the accomplishments, and am resolved
to use my liberty"
"By Jove, Helen, / think you have done So
already. Would you believe it, Mr.. Merivale,
she insisted on playing rougea noir at Baden,
and not only lost the contents of her own purse,
but ten Napoleons which she borrowed of me
| thought Heidelberg burschen led the race
when out of bounds, but / yield the, crown to
boarding school girls. At Brieg, she had the
consummate impudence to make a corpulent
old Burgomaster stand still while she sketched
his portrait, and assuaged the old fellows rage
by Offering him some bon-bons, and telling him
he was the fac smile of Zwinglius the re-
former"
"Indeed, though, l could not help it," said
Miss Beale, with most musical laugh, /" he put
me so much in mind of quaint old Nirnberg,
that the temptation to sketch him was almost
irresistible. And it is scarcely fair to let fly the
banner of my foibles, Rupert, and keep your
Il Cd oly tbax