The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Romance Of Giovanni Calvotti, by
David Christie Murray

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Title: The Romance Of Giovanni Calvotti
From Coals Of Fire And Other Stories, Volume II. (of III.)

Author: David Christie Murray

Release Date: August 1, 2007 [EBook #22207]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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Produced by David Widger

THE ROMANCE OF GIOVANNI CALVOTTI.

By David Christie Murray

From Coals Of Fire And Other Stories
By David Christie Murray
In Three Volumes Vol. II.

Chatto & Windus, Piccadilly 1882

CHAPTER I.--IN THE ATTIC.

I live in an attic. I am in the immediate neighbourhood of a great
tavern and a famous place of amusement. The thoroughfare on which I can
look whilst I sit at my window is noisy with perpetual traffic. In the
midst of London I am more of a hermit than is that pretentious humbug
who waves his flag at passing steamers from his rock in the AEgean. I
am not a hermit from any choice of mine, or from any dislike of men and
women. I am not a hermit because of any dislike which men and women
may entertain for me. In my time I have been popular, and have had many
friends. If I could find it in my heart at this moment to face some one
of those friends, the necessity for a continued hermitage might pass. If
I could find it in my heart to write to one of them I might close
this lonely vigil to-morrow. Let me confess the truth. I am ashamed of
myself, and I can appeal to nobody for assistance. I have gamed away the
whole of my substance, and I am a broken man. It would be possible to do
something better for myself if I could venture into the streets. But
my sole possessions in the way of outer clothing are one pair of
too-ancient trousers, one pair of tattered slippers, one fez, and one
poor old dressing-gown.

My estimable Uncle round the corner has the rest. Perhaps I am less a
hermit than a prisoner--a prisoner over whom that sternest of janitors,
Poverty, holds the key.

I am a little proud of my English, and I do not think you can have yet
discovered from my style of expression that I am not a native of this