Marietta discovered alone, looking out on balcony at back.
Mari. Not a living creature to be seen; not a sound to be heard but the chirping of the cicalas amongst the pine trees, (comes down, C.) Heigho!—what a lonely life is mine! no better than a prisoner in this desolate old house in the mountains, seeing nobody but my uncle Jacopo and his frightful followers, except when they happen to bring in some unlucky traveller, who has fallen into their hands.
Enter Todd, L. 2 E., he is dressed in mourning, and wears a black hatband round a high-crowned Italian peasant’s hat; he has a brace of pistols stuck in a broad girdle, and a concertina slung over his shoulder.
What would I give for a companion in my solitude!
Todd. (advancing, L.) Then behold one here, most interesting aborigines, (plays a few bars of “My Mary Anne,” out of tune) Excuse the failure;—my heart is true, though my instrument be false.
Mari. Pray who are you?
Todd. A man of woes and mystery; carrying about with him a broken heart, and a concertina to match. (plays a few false chords on his concertina)
Mari. A stranger?
Todd. A weeping stranger from a foreign land!
Samuel Todd, it is my name;
Britain is my nation,
Brompton is my dwelling place,
And Naples my destination.