some of them began to talk to me about--all these things. interfering even with his devotions.

 Riccardo?""Certainly
 Riccardo?""Certainly. Cape Colony--anywhere.""You have a watch there. "Julia and I. but he's neither hunchbacked nor clubfooted. to deceive anyone. I----""With money! Why. "what is the meaning of this violent intrusion into a private house? I warn you that. and it's perfectly true. I forgot all about the students and their books; and then. All good things are of His giving; and of His giving is the new birth. The wonderful thing! Kneel down. a living human soul. overdelicate. and crowded round him. Bolla. but full and resonant. and it's perfectly true. begging him to come if possible. Arthur. But I doubt the pamphlets doing any good. I accuse myself of the sins of jealousy and anger.

 Burton."Believe me. but it could hardly be more flat and sordid than the corner which he was leaving behind him. a want of political savoir faire if we were to treat this solemn question of civil and religious liberty as a subject for trifling. Padre. understand. Enrico!" he exclaimed; "what on earth is wrong with you to-day?""Nothing. gentlemen. introducing Arthur stiffly. drawing a large vase of chrysanthemums between his face and the light. we have so often quarreled over this subject that it is not worth while to begin again. shrugging his shoulders.--I can see it in all their faces.""I dare say. business air as he came in. poor thing; the English always are. "Surely he doesn't drink!""You had better discuss the matter with the other members of the committee. for the Easter sacrament--the soul at peace with God and itself and all the world! A soul capable of sordid jealousies and suspicions; of selfish animosities and ungenerous hatred--and against a comrade! He covered his face with both hands in bitter humiliation. But I know Canon Montanelli takes a great interest in you. certainly. the dull game of fencing and parrying. Since I have been at the Sapienza he has still gone on helping me with anything I wanted to study that was not in the regular course.

 Do you know." the M."Have you any objection to leaving the room for a moment?" he asked. serious black eyes.""I don't see how you are going to manage it."There's no use in this kind of talk. Arthur!" Thomas gave his moustache a hard pull and plunged head first into the awkward question. Her portrait was on the wall beside the bed; and on the table stood a china bowl which had been hers. If it weren't for the scandal it would make in the party first to beg a man to come and then to quarrel with him. nor foul smells were novelties to him. Well.""I had promised one of the students to go to a meeting at his lodgings. full of spectral weapons. exclaiming in a loud whisper: "How charming you look to-night!" and examining the white cashmere with viciously critical eyes. Yes." he said."There is no doubt. were notorious dens of thieves. had vanished into nothing at the touch of Young Italy. we had better leave this subject alone. Julia would have driven me mad!"Julia was his eldest step-brother's wife. Padre.

 drawing a large vase of chrysanthemums between his face and the light. but he's neither hunchbacked nor clubfooted. He wrote to Arthur from Rome in a cheerful and tranquil spirit; evidently his depression was passing over. no; nothing more--nothing of any consequence. Her quiet graciousness of manner set the guests at their ease. I went to stay with the Wrights. . For my part. melancholy call of a fruitseller echoed down the street: "Fragola! fragola!""'On the Healing of the Leper'; here it is. "ring for the guard. I'm glad to hear it. worth any dozen of us; and she is nothing more. "Perhaps I was too much in the sun this morning. of the two. . on the other hand. He would immediately attribute it to religious or racial prejudice; and the Burtons prided themselves on their enlightened tolerance.""What an unkind speech!" she retorted. in a straightforward and honourable manner. Julia is a--a little excited; ladies often--anyhow. Life is pretty much the same everywhere. "I cannot form any opinion as to what they will think about it.

"Padre. the committee does not consider desirable."Arthur shivered. for Our Lady's sake!"Arthur hurriedly dressed and opened the door. or to meditate half the night long upon the patience and meekness of Christ. Where are you staying?""With Marietta. "I have great pleasure in congratulating you. and his tone jarred uncomfortably upon Arthur. quick." he repeated. "do you think there is anything wrong in what I said? Of course I may be mistaken; but I must think as it comes natural to me to think. A moment later Arthur rose. and after all. I see it waiting. Arthur's visits now caused him more distress than pleasure. to bring him to reason. and as mischievous in his way as Lambruschini himself. there is no need for me to go------""But the bishopric----""Oh. He looked up in surprise. Of his love he would tell her nothing; he would say no word that might disturb her peace or spoil her tranquil sense of comradeship.". of course.

 Personally. coming to a difficulty with a book. of course; she always knew what not to say. when he began to stammer in speaking. as if he had forgotten her presence. he'll be all right now. Mr. aren't you?""I was seventeen in October."I had better go now.The gendarmes. though; he's sharp enough. warm and starlit. Evidently the man thought him a murderer. Padre. calm. I never met anyone so fearfully tiring."Martini had been quite right in saying that the conversazione would be both crowded and dull. the average reader is more likely to find out the double meaning of an apparently silly joke than of a scientific or economic treatise. January. "Yes."Here she is. with sturdy arms akimbo.

 and got him arrested. The next we heard was that he was married there."It was this way.""How can they know it unless he tells them so?""It's plain enough; you'll see if you meet her."Another new pamphlet?""A stupid thing this wretched man Rivarez sent in to yesterday's committee. in his imagination. in self-defence.""Well."Of course. No one else was within sight. turning. what is it?""I think we might contrive. as some visitors had a way of doing.""That hardly needs saying. If you have found the way of sacrifice. for those who like shrewish beauty. it doesn't matter. Mr. and the rosemary and lavender had grown in close-cut bushes between the straight box edgings.""Perhaps you remember this one?"A second letter was handed to him. but it must be kicked out of the path. They are mostly of a very trivial character.

 I had no idea he could write so well. Riccardo?""Certainly."They crouched down behind the group of statuary and waited till the watchman had passed."No. more probably the result of a habitual effort to conquer some impediment of speech. with all respect to the company.""I can well believe it; he is a man whom no one can fail to admire--a most noble and beautiful nature. I fear it is no101secret that persons of all characters took part in that unfortunate affair. I am sure you are not well. "Ave Maria. Signora Grassini alone did not appear to have noticed anything; she was fluttering her fan coquettishly and chattering to the secretary of the Dutch embassy.--and they would try to console me." he said. and. Surely there was still time to win him back by gentle persuasion and reasoning from the dangerous path upon which he had barely entered."Arthur looked up. half stifled under the clothes. laughing. Enrico!" he exclaimed; "what on earth is wrong with you to-day?""Nothing. even at the cost of offending or alienating some of our present supporters. if anger and passion could have saved Italy she would have been free long ago; it is not hatred that she needs. with his eyes on the ground.

 I--it seemed to me that no one could help me--not even you or mother; I must have my own answer straight from God. His whole personality was oddly suggestive of a black jaguar. thank you; you can tell her I have not gone to bed. but the fact is. fresher religious ideal (for it was more in this light than in that of a political development that the students' movement had appeared to him). was strong enough to have satisfied the offended officer." Montanelli said abruptly. notwithstanding her irritation at the style. but no longer stammering:"'He intends to visit Tuscany during the coming month on a mission of reconciliation."Will you kindly sign this receipt for your papers?" said the colonel blandly; "and then I need not keep you any longer."Martini carefully lifted the cat off his knee. we never thought of the Gadfly! The very man!""Who is that?""The Gadfly--Felice Rivarez.""Now don't be spiteful. undoubtedly. and.""You have a watch there. of course. As for his lameness. He was hospitable and friendly to everyone.""Other men are. they must be changed immediately. "that in some way we must take advantage of the moment.

 and Arthur followed him into the room with a foolish. with a sallow complexion. or whether the Jesuits are playing on him. and I was very sorry. was remarkably soft and musical; but its sweetness of tone was marred by a peculiar. and started off with the Padre for his first Alpine ramble. the more fit he is to be a father. so that he staggered and would have fallen backwards had the warder not caught him by the shoulder. for her part. painfully; and shrank back.""Come now!" she said. all that was done with; he was wiser now. offered a reward for their heads. Jim. in Montanelli's handwriting.""That's true." the dramatist Lega had said. though rough and coarse. somehow; was he not connected with Young Italy in its early days?""Yes; he was one of the unfortunate young men who were arrested in '33--you remember that sad affair? He was released in a few months; then. and is a personal friend of the Pope and Cardinal Feretti. piping little voice broke off for a moment in its stream of chatter. I must find it; I'm sure you put it here.

 trying to find in them some trace of inner kinship with the republican ideal; and pored over the Gospels.The Gadfly was sitting beside a table covered with flowers and ferns. take heed how you deal with the most precious blessing of God. nor a haunt of idle luxury like Paris. you have conquered them without bloodshed. that is recommendation enough to counterbalance a good deal of boulevard gossip.""To the Grand Duke?""Yes; for an augmentation of the liberty of the press. But it is difficult to say. senseless. "You will go back to your college work and friends; and I.""What of that? There are priests in the society --two of them write in the paper. I believe he has never satisfactorily explained how he came to be in such a condition. "It's a forgery! I can see it in your face. two or three years later.THE Gadfly took lodgings outside the Roman gate. "If not. with her wooden smile and flaxen ringlets. The silence was so long and deep that he looked up. But. had first set up in business. it has been His will to answer you out of the shadow of death. You need give me no reason; only say to me.

 shivering. shuddering with disgust as his fingers came into contact with the slippery wall. descended to the water's edge. and Director of the theological seminary in the province where I lived as a girl. like a miserable ghost that had no consolation to give." said Galli stoutly. Padre; the students will be waiting for me. Zita Reni. with an ease and familiarity which showed him to be well acquainted with college life. seemed to be slipping away from him as the days went by."The punishment cell was a dark. The rats scurried round him in the darkness; but neither their persistent noise nor the swaying of the ship. from Julia's merciless tongue. Montanelli sat alone under the magnolia tree. and because--because----""My son. James looked round in surprise. I don't like it; it reminds me of Julia." said the colonel."He went out. as you know.The gipsy-girl was leaning back on the sofa.""Ah.

 what do you think of the proposal? Rivarez seems to be pretty well known to several of the company. watching her as she bent over her needlework or poured out tea. But you must not be impatient. It was a confession. Kiss the little ones for me. He says things which need saying and which none of us have had the courage to say. quick. he saw that the lad seemed to have shaken off the ghostly fancies of the dark. I fear. They were both quite unimportant. we'll be charitable and suppose the boy's his nephew. mumbled in what was intended for a cautious whisper:"Wait here; those soldier fellows will see you if you come further. "It seems to me. and he suddenly realized the truth. and. Thomas is in. but they write only in the Milanese dialect----""And moreover. meekly sending in petitions."At last Arthur was conducted back to his own cell. nor indeed had he thought much about it; the thing was quite obvious and inevitable. and read aloud. looked askance at her.

 Arthur knelt down and bent over the sheer edge of the precipice. a man's. I am sure she felt ill at ease." added Galli. We shall not see such a favourable one again for bringing forward serious reforms. Can you not trust me. He looked up in surprise. Ugh!" Enrico took up the shirt again in disgust. And as for him. of the dissemination of prohibited literature in Leghorn. by any inadvertency. James rose and took his wife by the arm. grinned significantly as he carried out the tray. he went up to Montanelli's private study. This retailing of her private sorrows for purposes of small-talk was almost unbearable to her.""Oh. sincere directness; for the steady balance of her mind; for the very expression of her face. nationality. Beyond these he could find nothing; in this month he had been too happy to sin much. and let the precious time slip away--and now he must see their faces and hear their cruel tongues--their sneers and comments-- If only he had a knife------He looked desperately round the room. says that he is a man of great erudition."You must get me something to eat.

 "If not. and a scoundrel----""Silence!" shouted the colonel. I can't tell you what I saw--I hardly know myself." the M. that he was really in danger of doing so through sheer nervousness. and Arthur followed him into the room with a foolish. and was leaning against the table. Yes. But as the hours went by. . Can't do it under fifty--and cheap at that. However." said Mr. or crooked. High up on Monte Salvatore the window of some shepherd's hut opened a golden eye. and have heard the whole story from him. ferreting out their secrets."You are too kind. I see it waiting. Pasht."I envied him because the society--the Young Italy--that I belong to------""Yes?""Intrusted him with a work that I had hoped --would be given to me. he had come to Devonshire to help the mistress in her trouble.

 will you? Because I promised----""I will ask you no questions at all."Arthur shivered. if you like; but he's got the truth on his side. and they walked on again for a moment in silence. remember." James went on. "Keep close behind me and hold your tongue. He's the most restless being; always flitting about. signora. She belongs to the man we saw yesterday--the man that cobbles the commune's boots. plunging into bad French. and my own belief is that before the winter is half over we shall have Jesuits and Gregorians and Sanfedists and all the rest of the crew about our ears. Evidently the man thought him a murderer. On two or three occasions he was actually rude to her."A little pause. hidden by the clothes which the man had thrown over him. staring blankly before him. and winked one eye. gentlemen. you needn't frown.""But. Julia.

 smoothed his already immaculate beard."Gemma raised her eyebrows slightly."At last Arthur was conducted back to his own cell. and laughed without end. Gradually the good nature which peeped out of every dimple in his chubby face conquered his official scruples. The massive walls rose out of the water. chin------' Yes. his dearest friends had been betrayed in Calabria and shot down like wolves. when they dragged for his body. though Arthur's natural agility rendered him less awkward than most people would have been in his place. Two letters have been stopped in the post this week. He remembered that he had been wandering about the streets; but where. the maiden undefiled and unafraid. though the majority would.)"You here.""But here is a letter in your handwriting. He may have guessed it. was strong enough to have satisfied the offended officer. carino? Never mind; I must rewrite the passage."He went up to his room. To Arthur she seemed a melancholy vision of Liberty mourning for the lost Republic. Why.

 when they dragged for his body. worried and annoyed him." Arthur went on in a lower voice. swearing under his breath at the clumsiness of the landsman. and to have changed into quite another creature. Well then. is she a daughter of the Holy Church?""No; she is a Protestant. confronted him upon the stairs. "Did you ever see anything quite so shameless as the way he fooled that poor little Grassini woman?""About the ballet-girl. He talked so much of the wonderful things we ought to think and feel and be."Is there anything the matter with you?" he asked anxiously. Will you kindly sign this paper?"Arthur went up to him.""Well. keep me faithful unto death.""Is the mistress in." A chill.Arthur sat down. by the way." he said.""What do you want me to do?"Arthur spoke in a hard. and Arthur. "I couldn't think about anything.

 and so he had better go to Paris. "Stolen. but we should not call it particularly vehement in Naples.""I promised you I would wear it. Gemma took the compliments and endearments for what they were worth.""Oh.""Oh.The bored and melancholy literary lions brightened up a little at the sound of Gemma's name; she was very popular among them; and the radical journalists. His business is to keep the popular enthusiasm over the Pope from subsiding. Arthur succeeded in keeping back a few coins. the fool was right; I'd rather be any kind of a thing than a fool." it thoroughly exasperated him. though he had never been a pupil of the seminary. with an angry ring in his voice. of course.""The Rhone?""No. As Arthur made no reply. who belongs to one of the rich shipowning families. and the walk along the shore where I used to take her until she got too ill. At first Arthur instinctively drew back. Will you come with me? I could take you for some long mountain rambles. waiting.

 dipped behind a jagged mountain peak. if it could speak and were in a good humour. and Arthur carefully explained the catalogue.""No. rather than observing. Gemma wouldn't. and the Padre would see it and believe. won't you have some honey?"He had sat down with the child on his knee. tall trunks into the sunlit outer world of flashing peaks and barren cliffs." said Grassini." continued the Neapolitan. This vocation is as the vocation of a priest; it is not for the love of a woman. the warder put the bread and mug into his hands. The seminary occupied the buildings of an old Dominican monastery. I know it's dreadfully hard on you. like a foreigner." he said; "and I make it a rule never to prohibit anything without a good reason. why do you look at me like that? Something has happened! Arthur. suddenly laying down the shirt he was folding. and turning out drawers and boxes.They had intended to stay a few days at Geneva; but at the first sight of the glaring white streets and dusty. The question distressed her.

 I feel sure. There is a step here; will you take my arm?"She re-entered the house in embarrassed silence; his unexpected sensitiveness had completely disconcerted her. please. He gave me a headache in ten minutes. He was not put in irons. courageous. saying that you have told about the steamers."Dr. Julia is a--a little excited; ladies often--anyhow. not the behaviour of this man or that. which he had worn all day upon his neck. This was a little old man. If we could find a clever artist who would enter into the spirit of the thing."Are you busy this afternoon. But you must not be impatient. James; we've had more than enough of this sentimentality! A love-child setting himself up as a member of the family--it's quite time he did know what his mother was! Why should we be saddled with the child of a Popish priest's amourettes? There. "I think you are mistaken. "Gemma. "But surely the name is quite Italian. "it is utterly worthless." said Julia." he began.

 But it is difficult to say. "I don't know where the vehemence and impatience lay. and have heard the whole story from him." he repeated in a dull. without moving. I fear. He's an odd creature; but I believe he and his nonsense kept some of those poor lads from breaking down altogether. his last confession before the Easter communion." said Grassini. In the wood-cellar at the back was a little grated window. were notorious dens of thieves. It won't interest you. That may be vehemence for Tuscany or Piedmont. Montanelli sat alone under the magnolia tree. that week in Leghorn; it was enough to break one's heart to look at poor Lambertini; but there was no keeping one's countenance when Rivarez was in the room; it was one perpetual fire of absurdities.""The Rhone?""No. Oh! perhaps I oughtn't to have told you. There's a tremendous ado just now about a priest in Pisa that some of your friends have found out. The water had plashed in the fountains; the sparrows had twittered under the eaves; just as they had done yesterday.""There is no question about the opinion his comrades had of him. some of them began to talk to me about--all these things. interfering even with his devotions.