下载辰思小说免费APP
“WhatisyourfriendLeonard？“askedMissWinchelseaabruptly。
“He’sthemostenthusiasticpedestrianIevermet，“theyoungmanreplied，amusingly，butalittleunsatisfactorily，MissWinchelseathought。Theyhadsomeglorioustimes，andFannycouldnotthinkwhattheywouldhavedonewithouthim。MissWinchelsea’sinterestandFanny’senormouscapacityforadmirationwereinsatiable。Theyneverflagged——throughpicturesandsculpturegalleries，immensecrowdedchurches，ruinsandmuseums，Judastreesandpricklypears，winecartsandpalaces，theyadmiredtheirwayunflinchingly。Theyneversawastonepineoraeucalyptusbuttheynamedandadmiredit；
theyneverglimpsedSoractebuttheyexclaimed。Theircommonwaysweremadewonderfulbyimaginativeplay。“HereCaesarmayhavewalked，“theywouldsay。“RaphaelmayhaveseenSoractefromthisverypoint。“TheyhappenedonthetombofBibulus。“OldBibulus，“
saidtheyoungman。“TheoldestmonumentofRepublicanRome！“
saidMissWinchelsea。
“I’mdreadfullystupid，“saidFanny，“butwhoWASBibulus？“
Therewasacuriouslittlepause。
“Wasn’thethepersonwhobuiltthewall？“saidHelen。
Theyoungmanglancedquicklyatherandlaughed。“ThatwasBalbus，“
hesaid。Helenreddened，butneitherhenorMissWinchelseathrewanylightuponFanny’signoranceaboutBibulus。
Helenwasmoretaciturnthantheotherthree，butthenshewasalwaystaciturn，andusuallyshetookcareofthetramticketsandthingslikethat，orkepthereyeonthemiftheyoungmantookthem，andtoldhimwheretheywerewhenhewantedthem。Glorioustimestheyhad，theseyoungpeople，inthatpalebrowncleanlycityofmemoriesthatwasoncetheworld。Theironlysorrowwastheshortnessofthetime。Theysaidindeedthattheelectrictramsandthe’70
buildings，andthatcriminaladvertisementthatglaresupontheForum，outragedtheiraestheticfeelingsunspeakably；butthatwasonlypartofthefun。AndindeedRomeissuchawonderfulplacethatitmadeMissWinchelseaforgetsomeofhermostcarefullypreparedenthusiasmsattimes，andHelen，takenunawares，wouldsuddenlyadmitthebeautyofunexpectedthings。YetFannyandHelenwouldhavelikedashopwindoworsointheEnglishquarterifMissWinchelsea’suncompromisinghostilitytoallotherEnglishvisitorshadnotrenderedthatdistrictimpossible。
TheintellectualandaestheticfellowshipofMissWinchelseaandthescholarlyyoungmanpassedinsensiblytowardsadeeperfeeling。
TheexuberantFannydidherbesttokeeppacewiththeirreconditeadmirationbyplayingher“beautiful，“withvigour，andsaying“Oh！
LET’Sgo，“withenormousappetitewheneveranewplaceofinterestwasmentioned。ButHelendevelopedacertainwantofsympathytowardstheend，thatdisappointedMissWinchelseaalittle。Sherefusedto“seeanything“inthefaceofBeatriceCenci——Shelley’sBeatriceCenci！——intheBarberinigallery；andoneday，whentheyweredeploringtheelectrictrams，shesaidrathersnappishlythat“peoplemustgetaboutsomehow，andit’sbetterthantorturinghorsesupthesehorridlittlehills。“ShespokeoftheSevenHillsofRomeas“horridlittlehills！“
AndthedaytheywentonthePalatine——thoughMissWinchelseadidnotknowofthis——sheremarkedsuddenlytoFanny，“Don’thurrylikethat，mydear；THEYdon’twantustoovertakethem。Andwedon’tsaytherightthingsforthemwhenweDOgetnear。“
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