Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1886-11-17
An Etruscan Palace.
An Unpublished POSthum0us Sketch by
Nine. George Sand.
TRANSLATED BY LEW vANDERPooLE.

Nine. GeOrge SanQ.
TRANSLATED BY LEW vANDERPooLE.
It was great pile of marble made sof
and gray by time. Outside it was qualn
motley of columns, arches, balconies, wid'
windows and high doors, with castellate'
roofs, sub crowned with miniature domes
Inside it was succession of noble corridors
and staircases dividing and separatlpt
spacious chambers, each one grand ano
large enough for a kings dancing hail.
Once the centre of all Florentine gayet,
and mirth, it was now the home of Guido
LAMBERT, the last man of his race; ract
which, but for it's ancient splendor ano
powers, would have been forgotten IL
Tuscany, Guido lived in such utter seclu
sion and privacy.
The completing of the palacer.Has the
work of several generations, it being niut
centuries since the first LAMBERT and his
sturdy retainers began its foundation. Ar
it left his hands it was less than third OF
its present size. Each time there was q
new head to the family, new modification.
and additions we're made, until Guido was
master, and with him all changes ceased
He regarded the old palace more as liv-
/
mass of stone, and he would have scarcely
looked with more horror upon the digging
up and scattering of his ancestors ashes
than he would upon altering any part OF
the palace which had witnessed the rise
and decline of his race.
Guido LAMBERT was already past his sew
entieth year, and his long, flowing white
hair and still longer beard made him seem
twenty years older than he was. He and
his beautiful granddaughter lived alone in
the ancestral palace with their servants.
His father, Giuseppe LAMBERT, married
a singer, pretty little dol-like thing, out
Of one of the theatres in Rome. Though
he was the head of his family. his brothers
and sisters sharply criticised him for choos-
ing such bride, not that there was any
harm in the woman-they only despised
the manner of her former life. They went
SO far with their resentment that Giuseppe,
angered and disgusted,, drove them away
and refused to listen to the apologize
pleadings which they we're then eager to
make.
But they had their revenge.
Failing in their efforts and attempts al
reconciliation, they filled Florence with
such malicious stories about Giuseppe and
his pretty wife that the house of LAMBERT
|
| with ScOrn and contempt
When Guido was born, two years after
Giuseppe's marriage and the family es-
arrangement, death closed the eyes and for
ever ended the sorrows of the wife of the
head of the house of LAMBERT. Once again
Giuseppe's relatives essayed peace making,
believing that sorrow had sufficiently soft
ened his heart to make him approachable.
They miscalculated, however, for he was
more bitter than ever toward his brothers
and sisters, and drove them away, swear
ing that they were the guilty and abomina-
BILE cause of his wife's death.
Guido's youth was saddened by almost
incessant repetitions of the story of his
fathers marriage and its results. In conse
quence of the painful and unpleasant incl
dents before his birth, his mothers mind
was SO affected that Guido's nature, from
| the very first, was shrinking and reticent.
Dreading the harsh things which were like
ly to be said if he ever entered social life
Guido adopted the seclusion which his faith
er bad constantly maintained since the
death of his wife.
Music was Guido's solace and consolation,
until his twenty second year, when he ac-
companied his father on journey through
Northern Italy. Then, the beauty and
grace of a young Venetian lady made Guido
LAMBERT forsake his violin for the softer
and rarer music of woman's voice. She
found it easy 10 learn to love the sensitive
young musician, and soon became his wife,
The old palace in Florence was closed
and for ten years Guido LAMBERT lived in
Venice with his wife and father. 1t was
then that he returned to Florence, bringing
with him only a little girl of eight or nine
years. In answer to the questions of his
i circle of friends, he simply said:
my wife and my father both died in the
North I have only my little daughter
left''
There was something in his manner
whenever he said this which seemed to in
innate that in some way he had been fear
fully wronged but he never entered into
anything further than this vague, general
explanation, and never complained of his
fate, whatever it was.
He now devoted himself entirely to his
music and to the education of his daughter,
and the seeming atmosphere of perfect
content which encompassed him soon dis
armed the suspicious of his friends, and
they ceased wondering.
And SO life went on, with unvarying
evenness, in the LAMBERT palace fer fifteen
years. Guido's daughter, at this time a
woman of nearly tweDty-four, was even
more beautiful than her mother had been.
Her twenty fourth birthday was to be cele-
brated by once more throwing the old pal
ace open to the gay, brilliant, social life of
Florence.
Elaborate preparations were made for
the event, and it was anticipated with tie
most feverish eagerness by the invited
guests. But, to their surprise and horror,
the old palace was dark and sombre on
their arrival there on the night appointed
for the birthday festival. The servants
refused to answer any summons at the door
until the excited people. fearing foul play,
appealed to the police. One of the servants
then presented a slip of paper, containing
the following words, in the handwriting of
Guido LAMBERT, and authenticated, beyond
doubt, by the imprint Of the ancient family
seal:
81, Guido Lamberti have closed my
home and the home of my ancestors for
reasons which I may never be able to make
known. The doors of this palace may
/ never be opened again, except by those in
whose veins courses other blood than mine.
'GUIDo LAMBERTI
| The officer who read the strange note
alone, suffered it to fall to the floor without
a comment. Then, signaling his men to
follow him, he led them away In silence
The disappointed and astonished guests did
likewise. Pity was the paramount emo
ton; no one thought of regarding the act
of Guido LAMBERT as an insult The de-
spair manifested in the note was SO genuine
that all, with one accord and as if by mutual
agreement, accepted the unknown cause OF
Guido's agony as common sorrow.
For five years more the old palace was
alone and silent, only echoing the voices
and footsteps of the servants. And then
Guido came back with another little girl, q
mere babe of three years this time.
"My mouth is sealed" he said. 81 can
not yet explain the cause of my last depar-
ture and my long absence. My friends
must help me still with their patience. l
can only tell you that my beloved daughter
is dead. and that it is her infant daughter
whom have this time brought back with
me. To say more would be to defeat JUS
tice-jnstice to the dead J"
Some maintained their faith in Guido ;
others less oenerous limited sometimes, and