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The ambassador's palace was full of people; not without difficulty did the sculptor, whom nobody knew, make his way to the salon where La Zambinella was singing at that moment. "'It must be in deference to all the cardinals, bishops, and abbes who are here, said Sarrasine, 'that she is dressed as a man, that she has curly hair which she wears in a bag, and that she has a sword at her side?
"'She! what she? rejoined the old nobleman whom Sarrasine addressed. "'La Zambinella. "'La Zambinella! echoed the Roman prince. 'Are you jesting? Whence have you come? Did a woman ever appear in a Roman theatre? And do you not know what sort of creatures play female parts within the domains of the Pope? It was I, monsieur, who endowed Zambinella with his voice.
"'Tell me the truth, he said, in a changed and hollow voice. 'Are you not a woman? Cardinal Cicognara "Zambinella fell on his knees, and replied only by hanging his head. "'Ah! you are a woman! cried the artist in a frenzy; 'for even a "He did not finish the sentence. "'No, he continued, 'even he could not be so utterly base. "'Oh, do not kill me! cried Zambinella, bursting into tears.
La Zambinella displayed in her single person, intensely alive and delicate beyond words, all those exquisite proportions of the female form which he had so ardently longed to behold, and of which a sculptor is the most severe and at the same time the most passionate judge. She had an expressive mouth, eyes instinct with love, flesh of dazzling whiteness.
Although possessed of a certain strength of character, and although nothing that might happen could subdue the violence of his passion, it had not before occurred to him that La Zambinella was almost a courtesan, and that he could not hope to enjoy at one and the same time the pure delights which would make a maiden's love so sweet, and the passionate transports with which one must purchase the perilous favors of an actress.
When the first rays of dawn surprised the boon companions, some woman suggested that they go to Frascati. One and all welcomed with loud applause the idea of passing the day at Villa Ludovisi. Vitagliani went down to hire carriages. Sarrasine had the good fortune to drive La Zambinella in a phaeton.
On his return to his apartments he was seized by one of those paroxysms of activity which reveal to us the presence of new principles in our existence. A prey to that first fever of love which resembles pain as much as pleasure, he sought to defeat his impatience and his frenzy by sketching La Zambinella from memory. It was a sort of material meditation.
'I am afraid of the disgusting creatures. "Sarrasine crushed the snake's head with a blow of his foot. "'How could you dare to do it? said La Zambinella, gazing at the dead reptile with visible terror. "'Aha! said the artist, with a smile, 'would you venture to say now that you are not a woman?
She was more than a woman; she was a masterpiece! In that unhoped-for creation there was love enough to enrapture all mankind, and beauties calculated to satisfy the most exacting critic. "Sarrasine devoured with his eyes what seemed to him Pygmalion's statue descended from its pedestal. When La Zambinella sang, he was beside himself.
He reflected and resigned himself to his fate. The supper was served. Sarrasine and La Zambinella seated themselves side by side without ceremony. During the first half of the feast the artists exercised some restraint, and the sculptor was able to converse with the singer. He found that she was very bright and quick-witted; but she was amazingly ignorant and seemed weak and superstitious.
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