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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160 THE MIRACLES OF ANTICHRIST ’
it is their nature never to do just what they ought
to do.
Gaetano begins to tell her of his journey; he
does not speak even of socialism, but talks of
express-trains and conductors and curious travelling
companions.
Donna Micaela sits and looks at him; her eyes
beg and implore more and more eagerly. Gaetano
seems to be glad and happy to see her, but why
can he not say what he has to say?
“ Have you been on the Etna railway?” she asks.
“Yes,’’ he answers, and begins quite
uncon-strainedly to speak of the beauty and usefulness of
the road. He knows nothing of how it came to be.
Gaetano is saying to himself that he is a brute.
Why does he not speak the words for which she is
longing? But why is she sitting there so humbly?
Why does she show that he needs only to stretch
out his hand and take her? He is desperately,
stormily happy to be near her, but he feels so sure
of her, so certain. It is so amusing to torture her.
The people of Diamante are still standing outside
in the street, and they all feel as great a
happiness as if they had given away a daughter in
marriage.
They have been patient till now in order to give
Gaetano time to declare himself. But now it surely
must be accomplished. And they begin to shout: —
“ Long live Gaetano ! long live Micaela! ”
Donna Micaela looks up with inexpressible
dismay. He surely must understand that she has
nothing to do with it.
She goes out to the gallery and sends Luca down
with the request that they will be silent.
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