So he slept, and dreamed violent dreams of strange, black strife, something like the street-riot in Milan, but more terrible.  In the morning, however, he cared nothing about his dreams.  As soon as it was really light, he rose, and opened his window wide.  It was a grey, slow morning.  But he saw neither the morning nor the river nor the woman walking on the gravel river-bed with her goose nor the green hill up to San Miniato.  He watched the tuft of palm-trees, and the terrace beside it.  He could just distinguish the terrace clearly, among the green of foliage.  So he stood at his window for a full hour, and did not move.  Motionless, planted, he stood and watched that terrace across above the Arno.  But like a statue.

After an hour or so, he looked at his watch.  It was nine o’clock.  So he rang for his coffee, and meanwhile still stood watching the terrace on the hill.  He felt his turn had come.  The phoenix had risen in fire again, out of the ashes.

Therefore at ten o’clock he went over the bridge.  He wrote on the back of his card a request, would she please let him have the little book of songs, that he might practise them over.  The manservant went, and came back with the request that Aaron should wait.  So Aaron entered, while the man took his hat.

The manservant spoke only French and Spanish, no English.  He was a Spaniard, with greyish hair and stooping shoulders, and dark, mute-seeming eyes.  He spoke as little as possible.  The Marchesa had inherited him from her father.

Aaron sat in the little sitting-room and waited.  After a rather long time the Marchesa came in—­wearing a white, thin blouse and a blue skirt.  She was hardly made up at all.  She had an odd pleased, yet brooding look on her face as she gave Aaron her hand.  Something brooded between her brows.  And her voice was strange, with a strange, secret undertone, that he could not understand.  He looked up at her.  And his face was bright, and his knees, as he sat, were like the knees of the gods.

“You wanted the book of chansons?” she said.

“I wanted to learn your tunes,” he replied.

“Yes.  Look—­here it is!” And she brought him the little yellow book.  It was just a hand-book, with melody and words only, no accompaniment.  So she stood offering him the book, but waiting as if for something else, and standing as if with another meaning.

He opened the leaves at random.

“But I ought to know which ones you sing,” said he, rising and standing by her side with the open book.

“Yes,” she said, looking over his arm.  He turned the pages one by one. “Trois jeunes tambours,” said she.  “Yes, that. . . .  Yes, En passant par la Lorraine. . . . Aupres de ma blonde. . . .  Oh, I like that one so much—­” He stood and went over the tune in his mind.

“Would you like me to play it?” he said.