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Page 39
"But Emilio left the old
man when he slept,
And met his cousin Carlo, and told him
What errand he had come on. And there was
A will, made ready weeks ago, not signed,
Made ready to be signed, the old man said,
In honour of the marriage, if he heard
His son had married the sweet beggar wench.
And Carlo went in late at night to see
How soft his uncle slept, and sent the nurse
Old Barbara to fill a lamp with oil.
And the old man slipt off before the dawn,
And underneath his pillow was the will -
Signed in a quavering zigzag, as if eyes
And hand were past the work, but duly signed
And duly witnessed by the wondering maids
Carlo had summoned with a stealthy haste.
And the will answered to the former threat ....
His blessing to Emilio, his one son,
And to the huzzy he had wed: all else
To be for Carlo.
"Emilio, it was said
In witness at the trial, laughed aloud,
And struck his cousin 'That for the huzzy's sake!'
And there was broil and scuffle; and the son
Was driven from his father's house while still
The father lay there.
"Then, I guess not how,
He found wild followers - some said they were
Hired brigands from the hills - and one dark night
The old Guarini house, outside the town
In lonely quiet, suddenly was roused
With long unwonted echoes; trampling feet
Loud in the corridors, then threats and shouts
And the ominous clang of weapons. It was thus
My husband came back to his forfeit home.
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