The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1891-10-02
managed to obtain.

managed to obtain.
On one occasion. being left for some
time alone in my own library at the Villa,
I remembered that in an upper drawer
of an old oaken escritoire that stood
there, had always been a few keys be-
longing TO the doors of cellars and rooms
in the house. l looked, and found them
lying there as usual; they all had labas
attached 70 them Signifying their use,
and | turned them over impaticntly, not
finding what | sought. / was about to
give up the search when l perceived Il
large rusty iron key that had slipped to
the back Of the drawer; pulled it ont,
and to my satisfaction it was labelled
"Mausoleum." | Immediately took pos
session of it, glad to have obtained so
useful and necessary an Implement; /
knew that should soon need it. The
cemetery was quite deserted at this fcS-
tive season, no one visited it to Law
wreathS of flowers or sacred mementoes
on the last resting places of their friends.
In the joys of the Carnival vino thinks
Of the dead? In my frequent walks
there l was always alone; / might have
opened my own vault and gone down
into it without being observed, but did
not; l cOntented myself with Occa-
Sionally trying the key in the lock ana
assuring myself that it worked without.
difficulty.
Returning from one of these excur-
sions late on q mild afternoon toward
the end Of the week preceding my mar
riage, l bent my steps toward the MolO.
where l saw picturesque group of
sailors and girls dancing one of those
fantastic, graceful dances of the country,
in which imprisoned movement and eX
pressive geStiCulation are everything.
Their steps were guided and accom-
panied by the sOnorOuS twanging of q
full-toned guitar and the tinkling beat
of q tambourine. Their handsome,
animated faces, their flashing eyes
and laughing lips, their gay, many-col-
CURED costumes, the glitter of beads on
the brown necks of the maidens, the red
caps jauntily perched on the thick black
curls Of the fishermen,-all made up
picture full of light and life, thrown up
into strong relief against the pale grey
and amber tints Of the February sky and
sea: while sblIoG ing oVeiEei rrnwncd
The stern dar'l walls OF the CASTE,
Nuovo.
1t was suCh scene as the English
painter 4 Ike riides Eight ~ e TO depict
on hiS caLYasS, .le Que man of today
who, though born of the land of opaque
mists and rain-burdened clouds, has,
Notwithstanding these disadvantages,
managed to partly endow his brush with
the exhaustless wealth and glow of the
radiant Italian colour. l watched the
dance with faint sense of pleasure-it
was full of so much harmony and delicacy
Of rhythm. The lad who thrummed the
guitar broke out now and then into
sOng,-a song in dialect that fitted into
the music of the dance as accurately as
a rosebud into its calyx. could not dis
tinguish all the words he sang, but the
refrain was always the same, and he
gave it in every possible infection and
variety of tone. from grave to gay, from
pleading TO pathetic.
''Che bella cosa de morc uCciso,
'NanZ' ala pOrta deli innamOrata!'
meaning literally-"How beautiful p
thing to die, Suddenly s.din at the ioor
Of ones beloved!''
There w8s no sense in the thing, |
thought half angrily,-it was stupid
sentiment altogether. Yet / could not
help smiling at the rag red, bare footed
rascal whO sang it; ne seemed TO Feel
such a qualification in repeating it, and
he rolled his black eyes with love-lorn
intensity, and breathed forth SiZhS
that sounded through his music
with quite touching earEeStneSs.
OF course he was only following the
manner of all Neapolitans, namely, act
ing his song; they all DO it, and cannot
help themselves. But this boy had a
peculiarly roguish way of pausing and
crying forth plaintive "Ah!' before
he added ''Cho bella cosa," etc, which
gave point and piquancy to his absurd
dtty. He was evidently brimful Of mis-
expression betokened it; no
doubt he was one Of the most thorough
little sCamps that ever played at
mora, but there was charm about
his handsome dirty face and unkempt
hair, and / watched him EmusedIy, glad
to be distracted for few minutes from
the tirec Inner workings n ry own I'M
happy thoughts. In time to come, so
l unused. this very boy might
learn 10 set his song about the
beloved" TO SterEcr kew, and
might find ii meet not to be slain himself,
but to Stay L.'r! Such thiug-in Naples
was more than probable. BY and by
the dance ceased, and / recognized In
one of the breathless, laughing saiIors
my old acquaintance Andrea Luziana,
with whom had sailed 10 Palermo. The
sight Of him releaved me from a diff
Guilty which had puzzled me for some
days, and as soon as he little groups of
men and women had partially dispersed,
walked up TO him and touched him on
he shoulder. He started, looked around
and did not appear to recog-
nize me remembered that when he
mad seen me had not grown beard,
neither had ! worn dark spectacles. /
recalled my name to hil; his face
cleared and he smiled.
"Ah! buon giorno, EccelenKa" he
,ried. "a thousand pardons that did
rot at first know you! Often have /
thought of you! often have heard your
what name! Rich,
great, generous!-ah! what . glad
life. And on the point Of marry
Dio! love makes oil the