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Fragment 2: Il Conte Zorafi, The Prince’s “Press” · The Charterhouse of Parma

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  Section thirty seven of the Charterhouse of Palma by Stendahl, translated by sik Scott
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  Moncrief. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Read by Peter Dan.
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  Fragment two il Conte Zerafi, the Prince's Press, Conte Zela, the
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  Minister of the Interior, brought to Senora San Severinis Conte Zerafi, who was
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  the Press of Palma, at the gatherings at which he appeared, that silence
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  which is often painful, that official gatherings could not find a place, And
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  in a country which has a terrible police and a state prison, the tower
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  of which one hundred eighty feet high may be seen at the end of every
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  street, all gatherings of more than two persons may be considered official. One
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  thing that may be said in praise of Zerafi is that he was no more
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  of a spy than any other gentleman at court. In fact, at heart
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  he was ridiculous, but not at all wicked. No other gentleman at court
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  could, without risk to his friends, have seen the sovereign daily. Zeraffi
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  fancied himself a minister and was afraid of Count Mosca. At the same time
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  he was obliged ten times in a month, perhaps to speak evil of him.
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  When the KNT had scored a marked success in any affair, he was
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  certain to be blamed the day after by the Prince's press. Contezeraffi was a
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  man of spirit who could not bear to have fifty napoleons in his desk.
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  As soon as he saw that sum, or indeed a much less considerable sum
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  in his possession, he would think of spending it. For instance, on
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  the day on which we shall do him the honor of presenting him to the
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  reader, he will have just bought for forty five napoleons a magnificent English luster.
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  The purchase made, not knowing where to place it, and already caring
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  less about it, he has asked Pronote, the famous jeweler, to keep
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  it in his shop. This cont had spent his youth in composing sonnets in
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  an emphatic style over which the people of Lombardy had gone so mad as to
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  compare them to the sonnets of Monty. Now, in some connection or other,
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  some one had ventured to say in public that this style, which was
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  so emphatic, was emphatic with the simple character of Napoleon. It had required
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  only this comment to make Zaraffi's sonnets fall into disrepute. And a surprising thing,
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  Zaraffi, whose character was precisely that of a conceited child, had not
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  shown the slightest annoyance. Besides, what was more serious than the decline of
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  his sonnets. He had an income of barely nine or ten thousand lira and
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  spent twenty five In spite of these twenty five thousand lira, he frequently had
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  debts, and these debts were paid every year by an unseen hand. What
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  then was Zaraffi? He was the Prince's press. He was a conte,
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  as every one is in Italy. But besides that, he had enjoyed the
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  greatest literary renown for ten years. Sir Ruffi was not at all wicked,
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  or at least had only the ill temper of a child. He had the
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  purest Sea Andese accent. The sentences flowed from his lips with a perfect facility.
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  He spoke of everything with charm. In a word. Nothing would have
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  been lacking if from time to time he could have found some idea to place
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  in his sentences. A little time since the Prince had given Zeruffi a carriage,
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  but this was on condition of his paying at least twenty five visits daily.
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  It does not suit me at present to have a newspaper printed, the
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  Prince had said to him, in making him a presence of the carriage with
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  horses attached and a coachman and groom to boot. A newspaper conducted by a
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  man of your sort would have a crowd of subscribers. Very well, have
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  a crowd of friends, and tell them the spirit for which you are distinguished,
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  the articles that you would print if you had the privilege of the newspaper.
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  One day you shall have this newspaper, and it will bring you an
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  income of fifty thousand lera. For I shall give you plenty of liberty.
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  You will speak of the measures adopted by my government. Once they had observed
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  this mania in Zarafi, people listened to him in society as in another place.
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  They read the Journal Officiel. End of section thirty seven, end of
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  the Charterhouse of Palma by Stendahl, translated by C. K. Scott Montcrieff