The Essential Somerset Maugham: 33 Books in One Edition. Уильям Сомерсет Моэм

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      III

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       Checco led us to a smaller room, at some distance from the great hall of the reception; then, turning to a man I did not know, he said, 'Did you hear the Piacentini?'

      'Yes!' he answered; and for a moment they looked at one another silently.

      'He would not have been so bold without good cause,' added the man.

      I was told that his name was Lodovico Pansecchi, and that he was a soldier in the Count's pay.

      Checco turned round and looked at me sharply. Matteo understood what he meant, and said, 'Have no fear of Filippo; he is as safe as myself.'

      Checco nodded, and made a sign to a youth, who immediately rose and carefully closed the door. We sat still for a while; then Checco stood up and said impatiently, 'I cannot understand it.' He walked up and down the room, stopping at last in front of me.

      'You had never seen that man before?'

      'Never!' I answered.

      'The quarrel was brought on solely by Ercole himself,' said the youth, whom I found to be Alessandro Moratini, a brother of Giulia dall' Aste.

      'I know,' said Checco, 'but he would never have dared to behave thus unless he knew of some design of Girolamo.' He paused a moment to think, then turning to me again, 'You must not challenge him.'

      'On the contrary,' I replied, 'I must challenge him; he has insulted me.'

      'I don't care about that. I will not have you challenge him.'

      'This concerns myself alone.'

      'Nonsense! You are a guest of my house, and for all I know it is just such an opportunity as this that Girolamo is seeking.'

      'I don't understand,' I said.

      'Listen,' said Checco, sitting down again. 'When Sixtus obtained possession of Forli for his nephew, Girolamo Riario, I, like the fool I was, did all I could to bring the town to his allegiance. My father was against the plan, but I bore down his opposition and threw the whole power of my house on his side. Without me he would never have been Lord of Forli.'

      'I remember,' said Matteo. 'You used Sixtus to keep the Ordelaffi out; and you thought Girolamo would be a catspaw in our hands.'

      'I did not give the city for love of a person I had never seen in my life.... Well, this was eight years ago. Girolamo took off the heaviest taxes, granted favours to the town and entered in solemn state with Caterina.'

      'Amid shouts and cheers,' remarked Alessandro.

      'For a while he was more popular than ever the Ordelaffi had been, and when he went out the people ran to kiss the hem of his garment. He spent the great part of his time in Rome, but he employed the riches of the Pope in beautifying Forli, and when he came it was one round of feasts and balls and gaiety.

      'Then Pope Sixtus died, and Girolamo settled here for good in the palace which he had commenced building on his accession. The feasts and balls and gaiety continued. Whenever a distinguished stranger passed through the town, he was welcomed by the Count and his wife with the most lavish hospitality; so that Forli became renowned for its luxury and riches.

      'The poets ransacked Parnassus and the ancients for praises of their rules, and the people echoed the panegyrics of the poet....

      'Then came the crash. I had often warned Girolamo, for we were intimate friends—then. I told him that he could not continue the splendour which he had used when the wealth of Christendom was at his command, when he could spend the tribute of a nation on a necklace for Caterina. He would not listen. It was always, "I cannot be mean and thrifty," and he called it policy. "To be popular," he said, "I must be magnificent." The time came when the Treasury was empty, and he had to borrow. He borrowed in Rome and Florence and Milan—and all the time he would not retrench, but rather, as his means became less, the extravagance became greater; but when he could borrow no more outside, he came to the citizens of Forli, first, of course, to me, and I repeatedly lent him large sums. These were not enough, and he sent for the richest men of Forli and asked them to lend him money. Naturally they could not refuse. But he squandered their money as he had squandered his own; and one fine day he assembled the Council.'

      'Ah, yes,' said Alessandro, 'I was there then. I heard him speak.'

      Checco stopped as if for Alessandro.

      'He came to the Council chamber, clad as usual in the richest robes, and began talking privately to the senators, very courteously—laughing with them, shaking their hands. Then, going to his place, he began to speak. He talked of his liberality towards them, and the benefits he had conferred on the town; showed them his present necessities, and finally asked them to re-impose the taxes which he had taken off at the beginning of his reign. They were all prejudiced against him, for many of them had already lent him money privately, but there was such a charm in his discourse, he was so persuasive, that one really could not help seeing the reasonableness of his demand. I know I myself would have granted him whatever he asked.'

      'He can make one do anything he likes when he once begins talking,' said Lodovico.

      'The Council unanimously voted the re-imposition of the taxes, and Girolamo offered them his thanks in his most gracious manner.'

      There was a silence, broken by Matteo.

      'And then?' he asked.

      'Then,' answered Checco, 'he went to Imola, and commenced spending there the money that he was gathering here.'

      'And what did they think of it in Forli?'

      'Ah, when the time came to pay the taxes they ceased their praises of Girolamo. First they murmured beneath their breath, then out loud; and soon they cursed him and his wife. The Count heard of it and came back from Imola, thinking, by his presence, to preserve the town in its allegiance. But the fool did not know that the sight of him would redouble the anger of the populace. They saw his gorgeous costumes, the gold and silver dresses of his wife, the jewels, the feasting and riotry, and they knew that it came out of their pockets; the food of their children, all that they had toiled and worked for, was spent on the insane luxury of this papal favourite and his bastard wife.'

      'And how has he treated us?' cried Lodovico, beating his fist violently down on the table. 'I was in the pay of the Duke of Calabria, and he made me tempting offers, so that I left the armies of Naples to enter the papal service under him. And now, for four years, I have not received a penny of my salary, and when I ask him, he puts me aside with gentle words, and now he does not even trouble to give me them. A few days back I stopped him in the piazza, and, falling on my knees, begged for what he owed me. He threw me violently away, and said he could not pay me—and the jewel on his СКАЧАТЬ