The House by the Medlar-Tree

acquaintances, the centre of an admiring crowd of boys, while the girls came to t

ried Menico Trinca, a widower with six children, but as rich as a hog. She

a Zup-pidda; “a soldier’s love is soon

oni, because she had seen them talking to each other over the vineyard wall, hoped to put ‘Ntoni out of countenance b

the ends of her kerchief tighter under her chin, and looking as innocent as a Madonna. “ If I were to love

e!” said ‘Ntoni, wit

f gossip without a word of truth in it. If ever you are passin

n ‘Ntoni’s ‘Ntoni, it will be a real mercy for his cou

y his pretty shirts out a-walking. That afternoon he amused himself by wrestling with Cousin Pizzuti, who hadn’t the fear of God before his eyes (though he had

questions about one thing and another, and Mena looked at his cap, and his shirt with the stars, to see how they were made, and the boys, half asleep, gazed at

because I couldn’t bear to say no when Padron ‘Ntoni came to ask me, under the elm, if I wanted men for the bark. I never have any need of men,

ages are by no means thrown away, and his grandson is a fellow that an

idenza we’ll get her to sea again, and then we sha’

ut into the court, the Three Sticks were still high over Ognino, and the Puddara4 shone on the other side, and all the stars glittered like the sparks under a frying

was a boy. just like his father Bastianazzo, rest his soul! Grandfather went about here and there in the court with

, and saw here and there the lights of the other boats, ‘Ntoni, too, felt his heart swell within him. “Ah,” he exclaimed, with a mighty stretch of his arms, “ it is a fi

the Carmela was rowed slowly round and round, dragging the big net after her like a ser-pent’s tail, “’ Sw

istian the woman keeps h

if I want them,” replied ‘Ntoni

nd a cap with a name on it, and s

Naples as pretty

s, and red ribbons in her hair, an embroidered corset, and gold epaulets like the captain’s

ng to live in those po

e, stop rowing!” call

shouted Uncle Cola from the helm. “Will you stop chat

drives us up,

so full of those queens of yours that you’ll

oar in the air. “ If you say that ag

the helm. “ Did you learn when you were a

o,” sai

dron Fortunato’s mon-ey

ster, patience for the

d not get up and walk away; and Cousin Mangiacarubbe, to pu

cold air which began to blow. So the boys began to set their jaws at work, with fl

er speaks first,

at came rolling in from the open sea and spreading out without foam, those green

-night,” said Uncle Cola; “but it isn’t our fault

Uncle Cola, who had broken silence himself a

may as well leave the n

the open; that will hel

tered Uncle C

en, Barabbas asked ‘Ntoni Mal

ithout thinking of the recent quarr

f songs under their breath, each on his own account, to keep himself awake, for it was very difficult not to

aid ‘Ntoni, “and they amuse

” said Barabbas. “ Did y

lenty o

are beginning to sink,” s

d Barabbas to ‘Ntoni; “there at the Cape, where the sun glints on

the sailor sinks in th

eath against Uncle Cola, who was a regular dog for the crew of the bark, watching ev

spy. Now he’ll go saying that it is he that has caught the fish by his cleverness, in spite of th

ola; “ we must draw in the net,

an to vociferate, as they pass

uld have thought that we should have taken

the sun, and all the bottom of th

rabbas, red and sweaty, “ and won’t throw in our

ks for other people; and then when we have put a few

ked his grandfather. “ Doesn’t Pad

ni said that wasn’t enough to pay for the shirts he spoiled by carrying loads on his back but Luca didn’t mind spoiling his shirts, or his shoulders either; and Alessio went gathering crabs and mussels on the shore, and sold them for ten sous the pound, and sometimes he went as far as Ognino or the Cape of the Mills, and came back with his feet all bloody. But Good-man Zuppiddu wanted a good sum every

ld Dumb-bell went on saying to Don Silv

en he was told what old Dumb-bell had been saying. “The Malavoglia have alway

he stood against the wall of his court meas-uring the

stmas, taking for interest that sixty-five francs which Maruzza had managed to scrape t

e work night and day for old Crucifix. When we have managed to

d have put the Provvidenza in order. The boys listened attentively, with elbows on their knees, to this discourse, as they sat on the landing, or after supper; but ‘Ntoni, who had been in for-eign ports, and knew the world better than the others, was not amused by such talk, and preferred going to lounge about the tavern, where there was a lot of peo

; “you’re the right hand of the house; it’s for t

t my equal,” answered Barbara. “ Marry

ur people, by Our Lady! if you

, Cousin ‘Ntoni? Mamma is spinning

gots are wet and won’t

e to see the Man-giacarubbe w

Cousin Bar-bara. I come to see h

and papa says that by Christ

es of the saints were adorned with boughs and with oranges, and the children ran about in crowds after the pipers who came playing before the shrines, with the lamps before the doors; only in

melted the pitch for the Provv

at all the girls would

oni marries, and they take off the dowry for Mena, and the mortgage that’s on the house, and all

to him: “ What can I do if I have no money? Wait till June, if you will

t the wall. “You said you were honest people; you can’t pay me w

t go on his own business without some one was at his heels, so that the whole place cried out on the devil’s money. With Goosefoot he couldn’t talk, because he always threw in his face that the lupins were rotten, and that he had done the broker for him. “But that service he could do me!” said he, sud-denly, to himself; and that night he did no

night,” sneered Goosefoot, “that you

e cuttings, too; if you want t

iliff,” said Goose-foot; “ bu

ghted, when the pipers played and sang litanies, so that it was a festa everywhere. The boys played at g

nuts to play with. Now they’re

a’s, so that the whole vil-lage was upset by it; and he went and left a pa

and stayed in the court, sitting in a ring, doing nothing; and that day th

o tell him to take the Prov-videnza, which Master Bastiano had just finished mending; and the poor old man’s voice trembled as it did when he lost his son Bastianazzo. “ I

ead as soon as he saw them comin

oney, and I can’t do anything with the boat. That isn’t my trade; but if Un

face. At last he came limping slowly along (he got on fast enough when he liked, in spite of his crooked leg). “ He says it’s all broken, like an old shoe; he

lying on the bureau had power, they had been told, to devour t

ested Maruzza. “Take these two hens to him, and

f the Sick-men, opposite Uncle Crispino’s stableman d was young, but, from what he had been told, had brains enough to put in

o laugh heartily, and the Ma-lavoglia laughed too, with him, without knowing why, just to get their breath. “Nothing,” replied the lawyer; “you need do nothing.” And when Padron ‘Ntoni told him again that the bailiff had come to the house: “ Let the bailiff come every day if he likes, so the creditors will the sooner tire of the expense of sending him. They can take nothing from you, because the house is ‘settled on your son’s wife; and for the boat, we’ll make a claim on the part of Master Bastiano Zuppiddu. Your daughter-inlaw did not take part in the purchase of the lupins.” The lawyer went on talking with-out drawing br

uzza, who was dyi

nothing!” replied Pad

he adv

ate says we nee

he say?” per

A man with whiskers! Blesse

id he tell

ni looked back at his grandfather. “ Nothing,” a

, “because they can’t take either the house o

the l

em in our pockets. And Uncle Crucifix can take nothing from us

silence, but Maruzza

ld you no

his head, and his

ins we had them we

law-yer was no longer there; they must pa

done that. Uncle Crucifix may take the house an

; but his daugh-ter-inlaw cri

Don Silvestro,” conc

n procession to the house of the communal secretary, to ask him how they were to man-age about paying the debt,

himself by constructing a trap-cage, intended a

aces. At last he told them what was necessary, “ Well, now, if Madam Maruzza is willing to put her hand to it, everything may be a

s.” “We all bought the lu-pins together,” murmured the poor Longa. “

because I can’t talk like an advocate, and give all my reasons prop-erly, my property is treated as if I had stolen it.” And so he went on grumbling and muttering, with his back against the wall, and his hands thrust into his pockets; and nobody could understand a word he said, on account of the chestnut which he had in his mouth. Don Silvestro spoiled a shirt by sweating over the attempt to make him understand how the Malavoglia were not to be called cheats if they we

for friendship’s sake he had done as much as that and more; and he offered him his open snuffbox, and stroked the baby’s cheek, and gave her a chestnut. “ Don Silvestro knows my weakness; I don’t know how to say no. This

u said you wanted to sow,” said Uncle Cruc

vestro. “We all know that for your frie

give them to Uncle Crucifix. His wife Grace, poor thing, opened her eyes very wide, because she couldn’t tell where all that money had come from, and put in a good word for the Malavoglia, who were all good people, and everybody in the vicinity had always known they were honest. And Uncle Crucifix himself now began to take the part of the Malavoglia. “They have said they will p