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Gambardella saw this, and exercised his wit upon the weakness; but what he never saw and could not guess was that his fellow-cut-throat was as shy and timid as a schoolboy in the presence of his sweetheart for the time being, whether she were of low degree or of the burgher class, above which Trombin had never aspired till he had seen Ortensia.
He found himself in a high and vaulted vestibule which received light from the cloistered garden round which the convent was built, and he was at once confronted by the portress, who seemed much surprised when she saw that she had admitted a fine gentleman. Gambardella bowed respectfully before he spoke.
Gambardella hesitated a moment, for the simple reason that he did not know the answer to the question, and that 'Trombin' alone was evidently not a name, but a nickname. The mere fact that the friends had both once had a right to sit in the Grand Council by no means implied that they had known each other, even by sight. To gain time Gambardella smiled and asked a counter-question.
Having expressed his view of the case Trombin swallowed half a glass of wine at a draught, while his companion sipped a few drops from his. 'I do not call it melancholy to like good things and to wish that they may last as long as possible, Gambardella said, rather sourly.
'I shall communicate my business at once, said Pignaver, 'for the person in question could never have been my friend any more than he could be my enemy. 'We understand your meaning, said Gambardella; 'he is of low birth. Shall we say that he is "superfluous"? 'A weed, suggested Trombin, 'a parasite, a wart, an overgrowth, a thing to be eradicated before it does greater harm!
Teresa Gambardella, a young girl of twelve, mentioned by Lombroso, was covered all over the body, with the exception of the hands and feet, by thick, bushy hair. This hypertrichosis was exemplified in this country only a few months since by a person who went the rounds of the dime museums under the euphonious name of "Jo-Jo, the dog-face boy." His face was truly that of a skye-terrier.
'The Mother Superior, said Gambardella, paying no attention to what had just passed, 'is a saintly woman. She requires that before taking away the Lady Ortensia, you shall be duly married in the church of San Domenico, early to-morrow morning. This, sir, I ventured to promise in your name, and no more, as one man of honour speaking for another.
'As soon as we have funds for the journey, answered Gambardella promptly. 'You said one hundred ducats, did you not? Your expenses are to be counted at two ducats per day, and as much of the first hundred as is left when you have finished is to be deducted from the final payment of five hundred. Is that it? 'Precisely, said Gambardella.
Gambardella had promised to come back with her husband in twenty minutes. Three times that interval had now passed, and more too, and she was still alone. It was not possible that any one should have knocked for admittance without her hearing the sound, for the door of the sitting-room was open to the stairs, and the house was no bigger than a cottage.
Oh, yes, my friend, a most diverting character, for she thinks of nothing but herself, and her Self is a selfish, hysterical, cruel, cowardly woman! 'I detest her for that business at Fontainebleau, answered Gambardella. 'Precisely. So do I, though she amuses me.
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