A knot of virtuosi gathered about one of these tables were
engaged in examining a collection of engraved gems displayed by a
lapidary of Florence; while others inspected a Greek manuscript which
the Bishop had lately received from Syria. Beyond the windows, a
cedrario or orange-walk stretched its sunlit vista to the terrace above
the river; and the black cassocks of one or two priests who were
strolling in the clear green shade of a pleached alley made pleasant
spots of dimness in the scene.
Even here, however, Odo was aware of a certain disquietude. The Bishop's
visitors, instead of engaging in animated disputations over his
lordship's treasures, showed a disposition to walk apart, conversing in
low tones; and he himself, presently complaining of the heat, invited
Odo to accompany him to the grot beneath the terrace. In this shaded
retreat, studded with shells and coral and cooled by an artificial wind
forced through the conchs of marble Tritons, his lordship at once began
to speak of the rumours of public disaffection.
"As you know," said he, "my duties and tastes alike seclude me from
political intrigue, and the scandal of the day seldom travels beyond my
kitchens. But as creaking signboards announce a storm, the hints and
whispers of my household tell me there is mischief abroad. My position
protects me from personal risk, and my lack of ambition from political
enmity; for it is notorious I would barter the highest honours in the
state for a Greek vase or a bronze of Herculanaeum--not to mention the
famous Venus of Giorgione, which, if report be true, his Highness has
burned at Father Ignazio's instigation.
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