Old Calabria by Norman Douglas
page 77 of 451 (17%)
page 77 of 451 (17%)
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"Then why doesn't he say so?"
O'Tentillo lives far, far away. An hour elapses; at last he comes, full of bright expectations. No, this is not your Luigi, he is another Luigi. You are ready to sink into the earth, but there is no escape. The crowd surges all around, the news having evidently spread to neighbouring hamlets. "Luigi--Luigi. . . . Let me see. It might be O'Rappo." "O'Massassillo, more likely." "I have it! It's O'Spennatiello." "I never thought of him," says a well-known voice. "Here, boy, run and tell----" "Or O'Cicereniello." "O'Vergeniello." "O'Sciabolone. ..." "Never mind the G---- d---- son of b----," says a cheery person in excellent English, who has just arrived on the scene. "See here, I live fifteen years in Brooklyn; damn fine! 'Ave a glass of wine round my place. Your Luigi's in America, sure. And if he isn't, send him to Hell." Sound advice, this. |
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