She was such a simple creature
that he could almost fancy her spirit shedding tears of satisfied
pride at seeing her Giovanni married to a princess, rich and about
to be metamorphosed into a prince himself. She had known that he
was a Marchese of a great family, and had often begged him to let
her be called the Signora Marchesa. But he had always told her
that for people in their position it was absurd. They were not
poor for their station; indeed, they were among the wealthiest of
their class in Aquila. He had promised to assert his title when
they should be rich enough, but poor Felice had died too soon.
Then had come that great day when Giovanni had won in the lottery
--Giovanni who had never played before and had all his life called
it a waste of money and a public robbery. But, playing once, he
had played high, and all his numbers had appeared on the following
Saturday. Two hundred thousand francs in a day! Such luck only
falls to the lot of men who are born under destiny. Giovanni had
long known what he should do if he only possessed the capital. The
winnings were paid in cash, and in a fortnight he had taken up a
government contract in the province of Aquila. Then came another
and another. Everything turned to gold in his hands, and in two
years he was a rich man.
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