Romola Chapter 6 - Dawning Hopes

In which a young Greek scholar, shipwrecked and bearing precious intaglios, is introduced to the blind Florentine humanist Bardo, whose keen mind kindles with hopes of collaboration despite physical frailty; amid subdued anxiety and cautious hospitality, the interplay between old friendship and new acquaintance gently unfolds in the scholarly atmosphere of Renaissance Florence. With delicate observation of manner and memory, the scene is set for the mingling of youth and age, learning and ambition, as the past’s shadow and the promise of future labours lie quietly in the air.