Page:The Novels and Tales of Henry James, Volume 1 (New York, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1907).djvu/230

 one but her washerwoman, and now I 'm told that the cards of Roman princesses are to be seen on her table. Che vuole? She has opened her booth at the fair; she has her great natural wonder to show, and she beats her big drum outside. Her big drum is her piano nobile in a great palace, her brilliant equipage, her marvellous bonnets, her general bedizenment, and the phenomenon in the booth is her wonderful daughter. Christina's a better 'draw' than the two-headed calf or the learned pig. She's spending a lot of money, and you'll see that in two or three weeks she 'll take upon herself to open the season by giving a magnificent ball. Of course it's Christina's beauty that floats her. People go to see her because they 're curious."

"And they go again because they 're wonderstruck," said Rowland.

"To whom do you say it? Has n't she drawn even me? She came to see me of her own free will the other day, and for an hour she was deeply interesting. I think she 's an actress, but she believes in her part while she 's playing it. She had taken it into her head to believe she was very unhappy, and she sat there, where you 're sitting, and told me a tale of her miseries which brought tears to my eyes. She cried profusely—she cries as naturally as possible. She said she was weary of life and that she knew no one but me she could speak frankly to. She must speak or she should go mad. She sobbed as if her heart would break. I assure you it 's well for you susceptible young men that you don't see her when she sobs. She said in so many words that her mother 196