The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1907-03-23
A PROVINCIAL FAMILY FEUD.

Montagues and Capulets; only, with
due regard to the civilization of the
times. instead of spilling blood, they
spilled money. Instead OF dead rela-
tives, there had been many law suits,
long and entangled; they went to
law for spite, for resentment, for
anger; they kept at law with that
obstinate delight in litigation which
is one of the joys of provincial life.
AS usual, it was question of tri6es-
stream of water that had taken a
wrong direction unruly goat that
had leaned from the field of one into
the field of the other; some obscure
and stupid potatoes which, spreading
themselves under ground, had disre-
garded the boundaries. Upon this
showered legal documents; the law
yers toiled to write in that style of
theirs the last relic of barbarous in
vasions; judgments were multiplied /;
lawsuits grew complicated. The two
advocates rubbed their hands for Joy,
and, from the aspect of things, were
sure of transmitting as valuable in
heritance those quarrels to their sons.
How the enmity between the Pas
quail and the Dericca families had
been caused could not be clearly
learned afirmations varied on one
and the other side. But it was a
deep and declared enmity. Being
neighbors in town and in the country,
they frequently met, looking askance
at each other; the women heard mass
in two different churches if the De-
ricca girls wore blue gowns, the Pas
quail girls at once put on pink ones /;
in the municipal council the Pasquali
were always conservative, and the De-
ricca, naturally, radical; that which
one did the other would not have done
for thousand scudi where one went
the other did not appear. And then
gossip, evil-speaking. complaints, eag-
erness for scandal, malignity, in short
all that outfit of pleasing things which
take place in provincial towns be-
tween two rival families. On top of
all this Carlo, the eldest son of the
Pasquali and Maria, the second daugh
ter Of the Dericca, thought it best to
fall in love with each other.
Love In small town has not much
variety; usually it begins in child
hood, continues amid games of blind
mans bluff, is apt to manifest itself
in social dancing parties and round
games, and is always ratified by the
parish priest and the mayor. These
loves are recognized, superintended,
established, registered in the house
hold comings and goings; protected
by grumbling grandfathers and by
priestly uncles loves without nerves,
without tears, without tenderness and
fancies something extremely calm
and slow, the crystallization of love.
But Carlo Pasquali had had the in
comparable fortune to pass a fortnight
at Naples, which made him look with
scorn upon provincial customs and
Maria Dericca, at night, by feeble
lamp, had wept over the hapless
heroines of Mastriani and had envied
them in their fantastic passions /;
therefore for these two was required
an exceptional love. First it was a
furtive glance softly murmured
word, yet heard with singular percep-
ticn by her who should hear it a
carnation-pink fallen from a balcony
by reason of the wind, of course a
sudden pallor of his, sudden blush
of hers then, by the armed inter-
vention of a rogue of fifteen year
old girl who came with a hatiron to
smooth Maria's linen and the course
of true love at the same time-a note,
and a brief reply little letter, a
long letter, and finally those volumi-
nous epistles of eight or ten sheets of
note paper which mark the highest
point of the folly of love.
Alas The joy of the young people
was brief, and sorrow rapidly arrived
to destroyit. They were seen, spied,
the news reached their respective
papas, and all the thunderbolts of pa
ternal wrath, embittered by eleven
lawsuits, fell upon the heads of the
poor lovers. The balcony windows
were closed, the bolts were fastened
on the terrace door, the carnation
pinks on the bush were counted,
walks were forbidden or at least made
without previous notice, the hour OF
going to mass varied each Sunday
but those two continued to love each
other. Rebuffs, exhortations, prohi
bitions, difficulties, availed only tc
infame their love; at night, in the
winter, Maria arose, dressed herself
wrapped herself in a shawl, and ir
slippers, with bated breath, trem
bling for fear, descended the stairs tc
a window of the first floor; the young
friends was in the street, leaning
against the wall. So they talked fol
two or three hours, without caring
for the cold, the rain or the loss o
sleep; they talked without seeing
each other, from a distance of FIVE
meters of altitude, becoming silent a
every sound of passer, then cau
tiously resuming their discourse, will
the continual fear that Maria's pa
rents might arouse and find her il
that aerial colloquy. But what die
it all matter to them? They had
within their hearts sunshine, light
springtime, courage, enthusiasm i
the king had come, they would no
have moved. Instead, the brothe
of Maria, one night when he coul'
not sleep, arose from his bed ant
found the door ajar, went down stairs
heard murmpr, and caught his siste
in the act he unceremoniously barre'
the shutters in the face of Carlo, CAV