His course had now become one of aimless wandering; for prudence still
forbade his return to Pianura, and his patron's indifference left him
free to come and go as he chose. He had brought from Rome--that albergo
d'ira--a settled melancholy of spirit, which sought refuge in such
distractions as the moment offered. In such a mood change of scene was a
necessity, and he resolved to employ the next months in visiting several
of the mid-Italian cities. Toward Florence he was specially drawn by the
fact that Alfieri now lived there; but, as often happens after such
separations, the reunion was a disappointment. Alfieri, indeed, warmly
welcomed his friend; but he was engrossed in his dawning passion for the
Countess of Albany, and that lady's pitiable situation excluded all
other interests from his mind. To Odo, to whom the years had brought an
increasing detachment, this self-absorption seemed an arrest in growth;
for Alfieri's early worship of liberty had not yet found its destined
channel of expression, and for the moment his enthusiasms had shrunk to
the compass of a romantic adventure. The friends parted after a few days
of unsatisfying intercourse; and it was under the influence of this
final disenchantment that Odo set out for Venice.
It was the vintage season, and the travellers descended from the
Apennines on a landscape diversified by the picturesque incidents of the
grape-gathering. On every slope stood some villa with awnings spread,
and merry parties were picnicking among the vines or watching the
peasants at their work.
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