A little patience; you will
hear something; do not be surprised. And you have no message, for
example, by way of reply to the letter I brought you?"
"You are returning to Naples, then?"
"To-night. I will take a message for you: if you have no time now, send
it to me at Charing Cross. Meanwhile, I take my leave."
Calabressa rose, but was persuaded to resume his seat.
"I see," said he, again laughing, "that you have a little time to hear
about the two wanderers. Oh, they are in a good hotel, I assure you;
pretty rooms; you look over to Capri; quite near you the Castello dell'
Ovo; and underneath your windows the waves--a charming view! And the
little Natalushka, she has not lost her spirits: she says to me, 'Dear
Mr. Calabressa, will you have the goodness to become my champion?' I say
to her, 'Against all the world!' 'Oh no,' she answers, 'not quite so
much as that. It is a man who sells agates and pebbles, and such things;
and no matter when I go out, he will follow me, and thrust himself
before me. Dear Mr. Calabressa, I do not want agates and pebbles, and he
is more importunate than all the others put together; and the servants
of the hotel can do nothing with him.
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