"Alas!" exclaimed Paolin, and Puria added despairingly: "Truly a great misfortune!"
They waited and waited, but the ladies did not return. Then some one moved. Paolin and Puria, their hands clasped behind them, walked slowly towards the sideboard, lost in contemplation of the risotto pie. Puria called sweetly to Pasotti, but Pasotti did not move. "I only wished to observe," the big curate said, hiding his triumph so that it might or might not be apparent, "I only wished to observe that there are white truffles in it."
"I should say that black truffles[D] are not wanting here either," remarked the Marchese pointedly, and slightly accentuating the words.
Footnotes
[ [A] Breva: local name for a sudden, violent wind blowing from the north, and sweeping over the Italian lakes. [Translator's note.]
[ [B] Tarocchi: a game of cards once much in vogue in Italy. The "Mondo," the "Matto," the "Bagatto," which will be referred to later on, are all picture cards used in this game. [Translator's note.]
[ [C] The breva of 1848 means the revolution which swept over Italy in that year, after which the country sunk into apparent calm, but all the while the people, chafing under the Austrian yoke, were preparing for the mighty effort which, at last, set them free. [Translator's note.]
[ [D] Tartufo: often used to indicate those who are hypocritically pious. The word "black" refers to the priest's black robe. [Translator's note.]