第30章

AnimpulsivemovementofGiovannidrewhereyestothewindow。

Thereshebeheldthebeautifulheadoftheyoungman-ratheraGrecian

thananItalianhead，withfair，regularfeatures，andaglisteningof

goldamonghisringlets-gazingdownuponherlikeabeingthat

hoveredinmid-air。Scarcelyknowingwhathedid，Giovannithrew

downthebouquetwhichhehadhithertoheldinhishand。

“Signora。”saidhe，“therearepureandhealthfulflowers。Wear

themforthesakeofGiovanniGuasconti！”

“Thanks，Signor。”repliedBeatrice，withherrichvoicethatcame

forthasitwerelikeagushofmusic；andwithamirthful

expressionhalfchildishandhalfwoman-like。“Iacceptyourgift，and

wouldfainrecompenseitwiththispreciouspurpleflower；butifI

tossitintotheair，itwillnotreachyou。SoSignorGuasconti

mustevencontenthimselfwithmythanks。”

Sheliftedthebouquetfromtheground，andthenasifinwardly

ashamedathavingsteppedasidefromhermaidenlyreservetorespond

toastranger’sgreeting，passedswiftlyhomewardthroughthe

garden。But，fewasthemomentswere，itseemedtoGiovanniwhenshe

wasonthepointofvanishingbeneaththesculpturedportal，that

hisbeautifulbouquetwasalreadybeginningtowitherinhergrasp。It

wasanidlethought；therecouldbenopossibilityofdistinguishinga

fadedflowerfromafreshone，atsogreatadistance。

Formanydaysafterthisincident，theyoungmanavoidedthewindow

thatlookedintoDoctorRappaccini’sgarden，asifsomethingugly

andmonstrouswouldhaveblastedhiseye-sight，hadhebeenbetrayed

intoaglance。Hefeltconsciousofhavingputhimself，toacertain

extent，withintheinfluenceofanunintelligiblepower，bythe

communicationwhichhehadopenedwithBeatrice。Thewisestcourse

wouldhavebeen，ifhisheartwereinanyrealdanger，toquithis

lodgingsandPaduaitself，atonce；thenextwiser，tohaveaccustomed

himself，asfaraspossible，tothefamiliarandday-lightviewof

Beatrice；thusbringingherrigidlyandsystematicallywithinthe

limitsofordinaryexperience。Leastofall，whileavoidinghersight，

shouldGiovannihaveremainedsonearthisextraordinarybeing，that

theproximityandpossibilityevenofintercourse，shouldgivea

kindofsubstanceandrealitytothewildvagarieswhichhis

imaginationranriotcontinuallyinproducing。Guascontihadnota

deepheart-oratallevents，itsdepthswerenotsoundednow-but

hehadaquickfancy，andanardentsoutherntemperament，whichrose

everyinstanttoahigherfever-pitch。WhetherornoBeatrice

possessedthoseterribleattributes-thatfatalbreath-theaffinity

withthosesobeautifulanddeadlyflowers-whichwereindicatedby

whatGiovannihadwitnessed，shehadatleastinstilledafierceand

subtlepoisonintohissystem。Itwasnotlove，althoughherrich

beautywasamadnesstohim；norhorror，evenwhilehefanciedher

spirittobeimbuedwiththesamebanefulessencethatseemedto

pervadeherphysicalframe；butawildoffspringofbothloveand

horrorthathadeachparentinit，andburnedlikeoneandshivered

liketheother。Giovanniknewnotwhattodread；stilllessdidhe

knowwhattohope；yethopeanddreadkeptacontinualwarfarein

hisbreast，alternatelyvanquishingoneanotherandstartingupafresh

torenewthecontest。Blessedareallsimpleemotions，betheydarkor

bright！Itistheluridintermixtureofthetwothatproducesthe

illuminatingblazeoftheinfernalregions。

Sometimesheendeavoredtoassuagethefeverofhisspiritbya

rapidwalkthroughthestreetsofPadua，orbeyonditsgates；his

footstepskepttimewiththethrobbingsofhisbrain，sothatthewalk

wasapttoaccelerateitselftoarace。Oneday，hefoundhimself

arrested；hisarmwasseizedbyaportlypersonagewhohadturnedback

onrecognizingtheyoungman，andexpendedmuchbreathinovertaking

him。

“SignorGiovanni！stay，myyoungfriend！”criedhe。“Haveyou

forgottenme？Thatmightwellbethecase，ifIwereasmuchaltered

asyourself。”

ItwasBaglioni，whomGiovannihadavoided，eversincetheir

firstmeeting，fromadoubtt