"This drawing I kept in a private drawer. At night, when I went to my
chamber, I opened the drawer and looked at it. It lay so that I did not
need to touch it; and as I gazed at it, I saw all his own character, and
all that I had felt and lived since that evening.
"At length the day came, on which the parents of Sulpizia came to my
brother to speak of her portrait. Camillo listened to them quietly, and
mentioned his friend Luigi as a man who could understand Sulpizia, and
therefore paint her portrait. The parents were satisfied. It was an
unusual thing; but at that time, as at all times, a great many unusual
things could be done in convents, especially if one had a brother, who was
Cardinal Balbo.
IV.
"It was a bright morning that Camillo carried Luigi in his gondola to the
convent. He had merely said to him that there was a beautiful abbess to
paint, an old friend of his; and Luigi replied that he would always
willingly desert beautiful waters and skies for beautiful eyes. They
reached the island"--
The Marchesa beat the floor slowly with her foot, and controlled herself,
as if a spasm of mortal agony had seized her.
"They reached the island, and stepped ashore into the convent garden.
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