Note: Translator Pauline Bancroft Flach died in 1966, less than 70 years ago. Therefore, this work is protected by copyright, restricting your legal rights to reproduce it. However, you are welcome to view it on screen, as you do now. Read more about copyright.
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A yETTA TORE
265
know what you are saying ? “ — “ It is of course a
presumptuous request.” — “Just so, yes, a
presumptuous request.”
Thereupon the poor man began to try to terrify
her.
“ It will go with your railway as with your
festival.” Donna Micaela thought so too, but now she
thought that she had closed all ways of escape for
herself; now she must go on being good. “My
festival will soon be in full swing,” she said
calmly.
“Listen to me, Donna Micaela,” said the man.
“ The last thing a man ceases to believe good of is
himself. No one can cease to have hope for
himself.”
“No; why should he?”
He made a movement as if he were impatient
with her confidence.
“When I first began to think about the thing,” he
said, “ I was easily consoled. ’ There have been a
few unfortunate occurrences,’ I said to myself, ’ so
you have the reputation, and it has become a belief.
It is the belief that has made the trouble. People
have met you, and people have believed that they
would come to grief, and come to grief they did.
It is a misfortune worse than death to be considered
a jettatore, but you need not yourself believe it.’ ”
“It is so absurd,” said Donna Micaela.
“Yes, of course, whence should my eyes have
got the power to bring misfortune? And when I
thought of it I determined to make a trial. I
travelled to a place where no one knew me. The
next day I read in the paper that the train on which
I had travelled had run over a flagman. When I
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