Florentine Nights by Heinrich Heine. Short summary

5 seconds

Maximilian, entertaining Mary, who is dying of consumption, tells her stories from his life: about a marble statue, a portrait of the Madonna, a street dancer.

1 minute

Maximilian visits his friend who is ill with consumption. The doctor prescribes Maria rest and asks Maximilian to entertain the woman with stories. The man recalls how, as a child, he went with his mother to the dilapidated family estate and saw a beautiful marble statue lying in the grass of a neglected garden. He then kissed the stone beauty.

Later, he has similar feelings for the portrait of the Madonna, the girl who died years ago, the stranger from the dream. Max and Maria talk about composers and musicians. Some of them the man knew personally. The sick woman falls asleep. The next night, Max talks about England, the English and the street performer Laurent, who dances to a drum and triangle.

After a while, he meets the girl at a rich house at a party. She told all the suitors that she does not know how to dance. She was accompanied by a respectable gentleman — her husband. At night in her bedroom Maximilian saw Lorane dancing to ghostly accompaniment. Soon she left with her husband. At this point Max breaks off his story