Free The Manzoni Family by Natalia Ginzburg

they had sent their linen to be washed and were waiting for it to be returned. She explained they would need three rooms at La Maisonnette, one for Enrichetta and Alessandro, one for herself and Giulietta, and those must be connected; one for Fanny and the other children, and this one must have a fire so she could change the little baby; the man-servant could sleep anywhere. ‘Taking the liberty of a sister, ‘ she warned that she would need soup without meat on days of abstinence, and the same for Giulietta and the servants; then simply eggs and potatoes, ‘and, if possible, fish for me. ‘ She said they intended to pay for their daily keep; they could come to some agreement about this. ‘We are sisters, you are my dearest, my only friend, and we must act accordingly. After nine years I breathe again because I shall breathe with you. ‘ Finally she asked whether, if they could not leave all the luggage in safe-keeping at the hotel, it would be possible to fit it into some corner in the villa. ‘I look forward to a word in answer. . . Addio addio. ’
    They stayed at La Maisonnette for more than a month. Then they found an apartment in Paris, in Faubourg Saint-Germain. They bought furniture and fitted it up, and moved in in November. They were thinking of selling Brusuglio and the Milan house, and settling in France for good. Enrichetta did not want to and actually feared the idea. In any case, it was a confused notion. They gave Uncle Giulio Beccaria, Giulia’s half-brother, the job of going to Brusuglio to find out if it would be possible to sell the estate advantageously. Giulio Beccaria went, walked about examining the estate carefully, and was left ‘somewhat mortified’ to find it poor, ‘lacking in mulberries, vines and timber’. He asked for precise instructions. If the properties were not to be sold, they should make new plantations of mulberries. He contacted a certain Signor Poldi, who was a possible purchaser. But later he wrote: ‘Signor Poldi has decided against and no other purchaser has come forward. ‘ And he observed sagely: ‘The worst position of all is to hang fire between selling and not selling. . . The thought of selling postpones the question of repairs. . . The same applies to the house in Milan. ’
    Canon Tosi was still vexed that Manzoni had left Italy without finishing La morale cattolica, and that latterly he had thought of nothing but his tragedy, 77 conte di Carmagnola. Since Abbé Lamennais was living in Paris, he hoped Manzoni would seek his acquaintance, and also that of Bishop Grégoire. Years ago, Manzoni had translated part of one of Lamennais’ works, ‘Essay on indifference in the matter of faith’. Canon Tosi wrote to Lamennais about Manzoni. He sent him the first volume of La morale cattolica which had appeared in print. Abbé Lamennais, in a reply to the Canon, spoke flatteringly of La morale cattolica. ‘I am delighted that you found the work of my friend Manzoni well-written and interesting,’ the Canon wrote back, ‘I have frequently urged him to work on the second volume which is promised. . . he has recently written to say he is working on it seriously. . . My persuasion carried less weight than those friends who urged him to finish a tragedy which he had begun a long time ago; he finished it on the very last day before he left here, and it is being printed with a few corrections he has sent from Paris, after which I believe he promptly devoted himself to the more important and profitable work of the 2nd volume. . . What pleasure it would give me if you were to correspond with this author, whose gifts of heart are even more rare and precious than his gifts of mind! But I dare not yet give you his address, as, because of his vertigo which I think is rather worse than better after this journey to Paris with his family which I so deplored, because of the shyness which makes him shrink