A Siren | Page 3

to the
welfare and advantage of his native city, was a great lover and
connoisseur of music, and patron of the theatre, had been mainly
instrumental in bringing La Lalli to Ravenna. The engagement had
been a most successful one. The "Diva Bianca" had sung through the
Carnival, charming all ears and hearts in Ravenna with her voice, and
all eyes with her very remarkable and fascinating beauty. And now, on
this last night of the festive season, she was the cynosure of all eyes at
the ball.
Bianca had, as it so happened, also chosen a Venetian costume of the
same period as that of Ludovico--about the middle of the sixteenth
century. In truth, it was mere chance that had led to this similarity. And
neither of them, as it happened, had mentioned to the other the dress
they intended to wear. Bianca, in fact, used as she was to wear
costumes of all sorts, and to outshine all beauties near her in all or any
of them, had thought nothing about her dress, till the evening before;
and then had consulted the Marchese Lamberto on the subject: but had
been so much occupied with him during nearly the whole of that
evening at his ball, that she had not said a word about it to any one else.
It could not but seem, however, to everybody that the Marchese
Ludovico and La Lalli had agreed together to represent a pair belonging
to the most gorgeous and picturesque days of Venetian history. And a
most magnificently handsome pair they made. Bianca's dress, or at least
the general appearance and effect of it, will readily be imagined by
those acquainted with the full-length portraits of Titian or Tintoretto. A
more strictly "proper" costume no lady could wish to wear. And the
jeunesse doree of Ravenna, who had thought it likely that the Diva
would appear as some light- skirted Flora, or high-kirtled Diana, were
altogether disappointed.
But there was much joking and raillery about the evident and notable

pair-ship of Ludovico and Bianca; and it came to pass that, almost
without any special intention on their own part, they were thrown much
together, and danced together frequently. And this, under the
circumstances, was still more the case than it would have otherwise
been, in consequence of the Marchese Lamberto not dancing. It was a
long time since he had done so. There were many men dancing less
fitted than he, as far as appearance and capability, and even as far as
years went, to join in such amusements. Nevertheless, all Ravenna
would have been almost as much surprised to see the Marchese
Lamberto dressed in mumming costume, and making one among
Carnival revellers, as to see the Cardinal himself doing the same things.
He had made for himself a social position, and a life so much apart
from any such levities, that his participation in them would have
seemed a monstrosity.
It may be doubted, however, whether on this occasion, at least, the
dignified Marchese was satisfied with the position he had thus made for
himself. It would have been too absurd and remarkable for La Bianca to
have abstained from dancing and attached herself to him in the
ball-room, instead of consorting with the younger folks. Of course that
was entirely out of the question. But none the less for that was the
evening a time of cruel suffering and martyrdom to the Marchese. Of
course he believed that the adoption of so singularly similar a costume
by Bianca and his nephew was the result of pre- arranged agreement.
And the thought, and all that his embittered fancy built upon the
thought, were making everything around him, and all the prospect of
his life before him, utterly intolerable to him.
Ludovico and Bianca had been dancing together for the third time--a
waltz fast and furious, which they had kept up almost incessantly till
the music had ceased. Heated and breathless, he led her out of the
ball-room to get some refreshment. There was a large supper-room
which, on the cessation of the waltz, immediately became crowded by
other couples bent on a similar errand. But there had also been
established a little subsidiary buffet in a small cabinet at the furthest
end of the suite of rooms, for the purpose of drawing off some of the
crowd from the main supper-room. And thither Ludovico led Bianca,

thinking to avoid the crush of people rushing in to the larger room.
The young Marchese--the "Marchesino," as he was often called, to
distinguish him from his uncle, the Marchese Lamberto--was one of the
small committee of the Circolo, who had had the management of all the
arrangements for the ball; and was, accordingly, well aware of the
whereabouts of this little "succursale" to the