Page:Hoffmann's Strange Stories - Hoffman - 1855.djvu/244

 "In his youth, Capuzzi produced on the stage an opera, which was pitilessly hissed; and, far from being cured by this fall, of the desire to pain the ears of others, he dared to say of Francesco Cavalli, the celebrated author of the Marriage of Thetis and Pelée, that this chapel master had borrowed some of his sublimest melodies from him. He has, in addition to this, a mania for singing, and accompanies himself on a miserable guitar, which is dragged everywhere after him by an ugly dwarf, whom he makes his Pylades, and who is known by all Rome under the name of Pitichinaccio. To these two personages is harnessed that dd doctor Pyramid, who brays like a lost donkey, all the time imagining that he possesses a bass which rivals that of Martinelli. These three demons perch themselves every evening on the balcony in Ripetta street, to the great annoyance of the neighborhood.

"My father formerly had free access to this madman, whose wig and beard he adjusted. After his death, I inherited his practice, and Capuzzi was at first charmed with my visits, for I knew how, better than any one else, to give a unique turn of coquetry to his moustache, and I had, above all, the civility to receive, whilst bowing to the ground, so trifling a salary, that an apprentice would not have accepted it. It is true that master Capuzzi thought to do things liberally by splitting my ears every night with a new air of his own composition. That was the comedy; here is the drama:

"One day when I reached my patient's house, a door opens, and I find myself in the presence of an angel; yes, an angel! it was my Magdalen. I stopped in my embarrassment, trembling with emotion; love had entered my heart at first sight! The old man Capuzzi, gratified at my surprise, said to me smilingly, that this beautiful girl was his niece, that she was called Marianna, and that the poor orphan had no one in the world to depend upon except himself. From that day, Capuzzi's house became a paradise for me; but I sought in vain, all means, all opportunities to meet Marianna alone. An evil genius prevented it; some fugitive glances, some hidden