第32章

Giovanni’sfaceevincedmanycontendingemotions。Thetoneinwhich

theProfessoralludedtothepureandlovelydaughterofRappaccini

wasatorturetohissoul；andyet，theintimationofaviewofher

character，oppositetohisown，gaveinstantaneousdistinctnesstoa

thousanddimsuspicions，whichnowgrinnedathimlikesomanydemons。

Buthestrovehardtoquellthem，andtorespondtoBaglioniwitha

truelover’sperfectfaith。

“SignorProfessor。”saidhe，“youweremyfather’sfriend-

perchance，too，itisyourpurposetoactafriendlyparttowards

hisson。Iwouldfainfeelnothingtowardsyousaverespectand

deference。ButIprayyoutoobserve，Signor，thatthereisone

subjectonwhichwemustnotspeak。YouknownottheSignoraBeatrice。

Youcannot，therefore，estimatethewrong-theblasphemy，Imayeven

say-thatisofferedtohercharacterbyalightorinjuriousword。”

“Giovanni！mypoorGiovanni！”answeredtheProfessor，withacalm

expressionofpity，“Iknowthiswretchedgirlfarbetterthan

yourself。Youshallhearthetruthinrespecttothepoisoner

Rappaccini，andhispoisonousdaughter。Yes；poisonousassheis

beautiful！Listen；forevenshouldyoudoviolencetomygrayhairs，

itshallnotsilenceme。ThatoldfableoftheIndianwomanhasbecome

atruth，bythedeepanddeadlyscienceofRappaccini，andinthe

personofthelovelyBeatrice！”

Giovannigroanedandhidhisface。

“Herfather。”continuedBaglioni，“wasnotrestrainedbynatural

affectionfromofferinguphischild，inthishorriblemanner，as

thevictimofhisinsanezealforscience。For-letusdohimjustice-

heisastrueamanofscienceaseverdistilledhisownheartinan

alembic。What，then，willbeyourfate？Beyondadoubt，youare

selectedasthematerialofsomenewexperiment。Perhapstheresultis

tobedeath-perhapsafatemoreawfulstill！Rappaccini，withwhathe

callstheinterestofsciencebeforehiseyes，willhesitateat

nothing。”

“Itisadream！”mutteredGiovannitohimself，“surelyitisa

dream！”

“But，resumedtheProfessor，“beofgoodcheer，sonofmyfriend！

Itisnotyettoolatefortherescue。Possibly，wemayevensucceed

inbringingbackthismiserablechildwithinthelimitsofordinary

nature，fromwhichherfather’smadnesshasestrangedher。Beholdthis

littlesilvervase！Itwaswroughtbythehandsoftherenowned

BenvenutoCellini，andiswellworthytobealove-gifttothefairest

dameinItaly。Butitscontentsareinvaluable。Onelittlesipofthis

antidotewouldhaverenderedthemostvirulentpoisonsofthe

Borgiasinnocuous。Doubtnotthatitwillbeasefficaciousagainst

thoseofRappaccini。Bestowthevase，andthepreciousliquidwithin

it，onyourBeatrice，andhopefullyawaittheresult。”

Baglionilaidasmall，exquisitelywroughtsilverphialonthe

table，andwithdrew，leavingwhathehadsaidtoproduceitseffect

upontheyoungman’smind。

“WewillthwartRappacciniyet！”thoughthe，chucklingto

himself，ashedescendedthestairs。“But，letusconfessthetruthof

him，heisawonderfulman！awonderfulmanindeed！Avileempiric，

however，inhispractice，andthereforenottobetoleratedbythose

whorespectthegoodoldrulesofthemedicalprofession！”

ThroughoutGiovanni’swholeacquaintancewithBeatrice，hehad

occasionally，aswehavesaid，beenhauntedbydarksurmisesastoher

character。Yet，sothoroughlyhadshemadeherselffeltbyhimasa

simple，natural，mostaffectionateandguilelesscreature，thatthe

imagenowheldupbyProfessorBaglioni，lookedasstrangeand

incredible，asifitwerenotinaccordancewithhisownoriginal

conception。True，therewereuglyrecollectionsconnectedwithhis

firstglimpsesofthebeautifulgirl；hecouldnotquiteforgetthe

bouquetthatwitheredinhergrasp，andtheinsectthat