The Improvisatore |
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acquaintance aloud angel Annunciata Antonio ascended Author's Note beautiful Bernardo blood blue blue air Bon giorno burned Campagna carnival carriage cheeks child church cicisbeo cried crowd Dante dark dead deep Dido door dream drew Excellenza exclaimed eyes Fabiani fancy Federigo felt fire Flaminia Francesca Fulvia garlands gave Gennaro Habbas Dahdah hand handsome happy head heard heart heaven Herculaneum holy horse hung improvisatore inquired Jesuit kiss knew lady Lake Nemi Lara laughed lava light lips looked Madonna Maretti Maria merry mother mountains Naples never night Opera Seria Palazzo Borghese Peppo Petrarch picture poem poet Poggio Pompeii prayed replied Rome sang Santa scudi seemed seen seized signora sing smiled song soul stood strange stranger street Terracina theatre thee thou thought Tiber told took Venice Vesuvius voice wall whilst whole window wine woman words young
Popular passages
Page 122 - The old cardinals entered in their magnificent violet-colored velvet cloaks with their white ermine caps, and seated themselves side by side, in a great half circle, within the barrier, whilst the priests who had carried their trains seated themselves at their feet. By the little side door of the altar the Holy Father now entered in his purple mantle and silver tiara. He ascended his throne. Bishops swung the...
Page 36 - While stands the Coliseum, Rome shall stand; 'When falls the Coliseum, Rome shall fall; 'And when Rome falls — the World.
Page 254 - The friends of the house as wejl as my patrons kept comparing me with the ideal in their own minds, and thus I could not do other than fall short. The mathematician said that I had too much imagination and too little reflection ; the pedant, that I had not sufficiently occupied myself with the Latin language. The politician always asked me, in the social circle, about the political news, in which I was not at home, and inquired only to show my want of knowledge. A young nobleman, who only lived for...
Page 122 - Angelo has breathed forth in colors upon the ceiling and the walls. I contemplated his mighty sibyls and wondrously glorious prophets, every one of them a subject for a painting. My eyes drank in the magnificent processions, the beautiful groups of angels; they were not to me painted pictures; all stood living before me. The rich tree of knowledge from which Eve gave the fruit to Adam; the Almighty God, who floated over the waters, not borne up by angels, as the old masters represented him - no,...
Page 122 - Every prophet is a Moses like that which he formed in marble. What giant forms are those which seize upon our eye and our thoughts as we enter ! But, when intoxicated with this view, let us turn our eyes to the background of the chapel, whose whole wall is a high altar of art and thought. The great chaotic picture, from the floor to the roof, shows itself there like a jewel, of which all the rest is only the setting.
Page 262 - But that is actually yourself," cried Francesca; "yourself out in the Campagna." ' '• Yes ; that one can very well see," said Excellenza. " He must bring himself in. That is really a peculiar genius that the man has! In every possible thing he knows how to bring forward himself." "•The versification ought to be a little smoother," said Habbas Dahdah. "I advise the Horatian rule, 'Let it only lie by — lie by till it comes to maturity !" ' ' " It was as if they had all of them broken off an arm...
Page 255 - I felt that it must either bleed, or become callous ' No beast is, however, so cruel as man ! Had I been rich and independent, the colours of everything would soon have changed. Every one of them was more prudent, more deeply grounded, more rational than I. I learned to smile obligingly where I could have wept ; bowed to those whom I lightly esteemed, and listened attentively to the empty gossip of fools. - Dissimulation, bitterness...
Page 28 - Cardinals, in their mantles woven with silver, advanced under canopies adorned with flowers ; monks of various orders followed, all bearing burning tapers. When the procession came out of the church an immense crowd followed. We were carried along with it, — my mother held me firmly by the shoulder, that I might not be separated from her. Thus I went on, shut in by the crowd ; I could see nothing but the blue sky above my head. All at once there was sent forth a piercing cry — it rang forth on...
Page 43 - ... life; they fell upon us in myriads with their poison-stings ; the buffaloes often looked as if they were covered over with this buzzing swarm, which beset them as if they were carrion, until, tormented to madness, they betook themselves to the Tiber, and rolled themselves in the yellow water. The Roman who, in the hot summer days, groans in the almost expiring streets, and crawls along by the house-sides, as if he would drink up the shadow which is cast down from the walls, has still no idea...
Page 10 - ... the twine. The end of this Federigo fastened to his button-hole, stuck the candle among some stones, and then began to sketch the deep passage. I sat close beside him upon one of the stones ; he had desired me to fold my hands and to look upwards. The light was nearly burnt out, but a whole one lay hard by; besides which he had brought a tinder-box, by the aid of which he could light the other in case this suddenly went out. My imagination fashioned to itself a thousand wonderful objects in the...