Chapter I: Front Matter

ROMAN PICTURES

_By_

PERCY LUBBOCK

Author of _Earlham_ &
_The Craft of Fiction_

NEW YORK
CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS

_Made and printed in Great Britain by Charles Whittingham
and Griggs (Printers), Ltd., London._

CONTENTS

PAGE

I. FONTANA DELLE TARTARUGHE 9

A lonely young pilgrim, Deering, a citizen of the world, his Roman accent, the English ghetto, the real Rome, plump but elegant, the newest culture, the raw world, the way to reality, Roman pictures.

II. VIA NAZIONALE 23

Crowded tables, Mr. Bannock, the pride of the artist, a grievance, the young dancer, coils of oratory, tribute to Deering, Jaff’s sweetheart, Edna’s way, college style, the report of Buffalo, a substantial Briton.

III. PIAZZA DELLA CANCELLERIA 38

Near the Vatican, the company of the priestcraft, the palace and the cardinal, Cooksey, secrets of the backstairs, Father Jenkins’s joke, Amerigo, Cooksey’s profanity, his rebuke to the stranger, inside the fortress, a gentleman of feeling.

IV. ST. PETER’S 52

An early reveller, the hum of the pilgrims, a faltering cheer, Father Holt, a secret society, Lady Mullinger, poor Charlotte, a very great lady, finer shades, homage to Rome, Rome itself.

V. VIA GIULIA 65

Mr. Fitch, the Cheltenham furniture, the seminarist, Maundy’s fancy, the path to Rome, the burnt sonnet, Gina, historical research, the golden evenings, a point of ritual, art in the void, an uneasy neophyte.

VI. VILLA BORGHESE 79

An aged relic, Teresa and Berta, a fluent antiphon, some English speaking, troubles of a patriot, country days, the Virginian sculptress, Luigi, a gentleman in Rome, precious refinements, a chance worth seizing, Rome the inexhaustible.

VII. VIA DELLA PURIFICAZIONE 94

A tangle of byways, the medieval challenge, Teresa at home, Mr. Daponte, Rome on the house-tops, Teresa in London, English freedom, Luigi on Rome, the end of his chances, a spoilt tea-party, a prospect of Rome.

VIII. ALBANO 107

A day in the country, Teresa’s party, an English ramble, mother and child, Mimi in society, Olga and the arts, the forgotten pensioners, the Russian waif, despair and disillusion, a page of Dostoevsky, a dusty road-side, the Virgilian forest.

IX. CASTEL GANDOLFO 121

Fräulein Dahl, a piece of nature, an Arcadian walk, Erda’s villa, the great saloon, Miss Gilpin, the accent of Dante, a woman of letters, the clever touch, a reposeful friend, the accent of Dresden, Erda in solitude.

X. VIA SISTINA 135

Deering again, the Clarksons, privileges of travel, Mr. Bashford, a cousin of the Marshams, golf at Torquay, the true Ruskin, an English babe, the sheep in the bunker, Bashford’s sort, England in Rome.

XI. PIAZZA NAVONA 149

Miss Gainsborough, Lady Mullinger again, a sedulous Roman, the old guard, majestic wrath, the imperial race-course, a British monument, Mr. Platt, an elderly sprite, scandalous tales, a good soul.

XII. CORSO 163

A sumptuous background, familiar faces, Miss Gadge, the chant of the pilgrims, things Franciscan, a woman and an artist, chords of the heart, the plane of art, the youth Pole, Mr. Champerdown, a Jesuit in a drawing-room, the moon of May, the city gate.

XIII. THE FORUM 178

Julia’s discovery, the Professor, an inspired lecture, the origin of Rome, Mrs. Rollesby’s attack, poetic imagination, privilege of a scholar, the buried statue, the Professor’s secret, a divided audience, a single-minded pilgrim.

XIV. VIA MARGUTTA 191

A studio of romance, the old Bohemian, pictures and friends, the study of type, the eagle-feather, an artist’s wife, an honest tradesman, dreams of an artist, business and a studio-chat, a blander age, the light of the great days, worldly protection.

XV. VIA DELLE BOTTEGHE OSCURE 205

The great name, the Marchesa at home, Roman guile, the Principessa, the rustle of expense, Miss Gilpin again, Madame de Baltasar, the knightly Latin, a young barbarian, a wonder of art, English daylight, Deering’s stroke, back to the tortoises, the end of the quest.

ROMAN PICTURES