While the debate went on with no small warmth on either side,--for it
involved a personal question that stimulated each of the combatants;
namely, the amount of intimacy they enjoyed in the family and household
of their master: a point on which they seemed to feel the most acute
sensibility,--while this, therefore, continued, the cashier patted me
good-humoredly on the arm, and asked me how I liked Fiume; if I had made
any pleasant acquaintances; and how I usually passed my evenings? And
while thus chatting pleasantly, we glided into the little bay of the
villa, and landed.
As boat after boat came alongside the jetty, numbers rushed down to meet
and welcome their friends. All seemed half wild with delight; and the
adventures they had had on the road, the loveliness of the villa, and
the courtesy they had been met with, resounded on every side. All had
friends, eager to talk or to listen,--all but myself. I alone had no
companionship; for in the crowd and confusion I could not find Hanserl,
and to ask after him was but to risk the danger of an impertinence.
I sat myself down on a rustic bench at last, thinking that if I remained
fixed in one spot I might have the best chance to discover him. And now
I could mark the strange company, which, of every age, and almost of
every condition, appeared to be present. If the marked features of the
Hebrew abounded, there were types of the race that I had never
seen before: fair-haired and olive-eyed, with a certain softness of
expression, united with great decision about the mouth and chin. The
red Jew, too, was there: the fierce-eyed, dark-browed, hollow-cheeked
fellow, of piercing acute-ness in expression, and an almost reckless
look of purpose about him. There was greed, craft, determination, at
times even violence, to be read in the faces; but never weakness, never
imbecility; and so striking was this that the Christian physiognomy
seemed actually vulgar when contrasted with those faces so full of
vigorous meaning and concentration.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account