Guiseppi Spaghetti

[Guiseppi Spaghetti]

The ride to Paris promised to be a long and uncomfortable one, especially as the horse was in it's advancing years but times at the Spaghetti household were tough these days. Since the disastrous financial collapse of his noble Milanese father's overseas investments at the hands of a corrupt Spanish governor, a nation towards which the young Guiseppi now harbors a growing distain, the family had been reduced to near poverty and it was only through the charity of his mother's French relatives that they were able to scrape out a meagre existence.

Oh for those glorious days of his youth when his father had been the bedrock of their local community, a man held in high esteem by neighbors, respected by his peers, often called upon by the church and civil officials to adjudicate in cases of law and order. Alas those times were now gone, along with the family mansion where such wonderful parties and balls had taken place and where, once, the Crown Prince himself had been in attendance dancing the night away discretely being carried out in the morning by several of his aides after succumbing to an over indulgence of champagne. How proud, in particular, his mother had been to be honored by a royal presence and Guiseppi still kept, as a treasured memento a feather that the Prince had given him from his mask at the ball. 

His parents had been good to their children, providing for them the best education available and it was due to his close association with the family physician that Guiseppi had acquired a keen interest in medicine. Of course his father had wanted his son, like him, to pursue a future career in the military and certainly the youngster had shown a good grasp of tactics and nuance obtaining excellent grades and much praise from his tutors in that field but his passion for the healing arts was clear for all to see so his father relented and gave blessing to his third son to follow that calling. Indeed when Guiseppi's uncle had collapsed during a family gathering he had personally been at hand to administer to his needs and gained praise for saving his life.

So to Paris he had decided to travel and make his fortune, hoping to establish his place as a famed physician and earn sufficient wealth to once again restore his family to their former status. It would be a long haul, alone in a city that was unknown to him, aside from what he had read and the stories told by visitors to his former home. He would need to improve his limited skills of medicine but his heart was filled with hope and the optimism of a young man setting out in life, he would not fail and one day, perhaps, the name Spaghetti would be known across the land.

[Monique Adelina De'Ath]

Well, he thought, at least it's a start! Ok, so it may not be exactly what his parents or he, himself, would have envisaged but a job's a job and this one certainly had it's advantages! The place wasn't too bad when you looked at it and certainly was good enough for a medical practice, the room provided to him being neat and tidy with various useful utensils. Mind you there was scope for more and that new business that was opening up shortly - Le Manteau de Padarn wasn't it - might be worth a visit to stock up, hopefully they would have a decent range of medicinal supplies.

Next on the list of things to do must be the securement of desperately needed funds, greasing Monsieur's hands to land the job had been a costly affair. One, for sure, that the shady shylocks had been willing to assist with but now nearly a half of the monies were already spent and the months before it was due to be repaid would soon fly past. Perhaps the increasing numbers of gentlemen to the social scene would yield further business or the church may need the services of a physician rather than relying solely upon prayers for the salvation of the sick? The returning soldiery should bring with them the inevitable cases of the Spanish disease but none of this meant big money and he would need to think of a much wider plan to ensure financial stability........