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a jettatore
269
Thereupon the wretched man began to frighten her.
" It would go with your railroad as with your
bazar." Donna Micaela thought so, too, and as she
saw no way of getting out of it, she felt she must
hold out by being kind.—" My bazar will soon be
in full operation," she said.
" Listen, Donna Micaela," said the man. " The
last thing a person ceases to think well of is himself,
to put good faith in, is himself. One cannot cease
to have hope regarding oneself."
" No, why should one ? "
He made a motion, as though he were impatient
at her assurance.
" When I first began to think over the matter,"
he said, " I consoled myself easily. ’ It has been a
couple of unfortunate incidents/ I said to myself.
’ Rumors have got abroad concerning you, and
thus it has become a belief. It is the belief that
bewitches. One has met you, and one has believed
that one should fail, and one has failed. It is a
misfortune worse than death to be considered a
jetta-tore, but you need not yourself believe in it.’ "
" It is so unreasonable," said Donna Micaela.
" Of course, whence should my eyes have obtained
power to bring misfortune ? Accordingly, I decided
to make an attempt. I journeyed to a place where
no one knew me. The following day I read in the
paper that the train in which I had traveled had run
over a line-man. When I had been one day at the
hotel, I saw the host in despair and all the guests
departing. ’ What has happened ? ’ I asked. 4 One
of our servants has been smitten by the small-pox.’
Ah, what misery !
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