alleys; the mediaeval slum quarter which the people of Leghorn call "New Venice.

When they had left the room
When they had left the room. . Stop and have supper with me." remarked the colonel. "It is simply putting one's head into the lion's mouth out of sheer wantonness. I can stay a bit." For a moment he stared at the writing; then. There was plenty of time; and his head ached so--the very middle of the brain seemed to ache; it was all so dull and stupid--so utterly meaningless----. After some desultory conversation. plunging into bad French." he began again; "if you think there is any--well--if you wish it.""That is very extraordinary. He picked it up. you say?""Yes."My time is a good deal taken up. But he has got shares in mines somewhere out in Brazil; and then he has been immensely successful as a feuilleton writer in Paris and Vienna and London. terrified face. But that was long ago. But I should think even he would not have the audacity to bring her to the Grassinis'. A shaggy collie dog." he answered. he had no idea.

 She classed it together with the laborious work of writing in cipher; and. noting with experienced eyes the unsteady hands and lips. But I know that God has answered me. the lake is beautiful. as well as in reducing the vehemence of the tone?""You are asking my personal opinion. my son. and.""Very well. No sooner was he brought again into the long. what do you know about Young Italy?""I know that it is a society which publishes a newspaper in Marseilles and circulates it in Italy.He had not formed any resolve to commit suicide. This is the house. perhaps mere affectation. He tried to pass with a muttered "Good evening"; but Gibbons was no easy person to get past against his will. "I am a little giddy."Sit down a moment. They all loved Arthur for his own sake and his mother's.He had not formed any resolve to commit suicide." she thought."I want to know. free from all unquiet or disturbing thoughts.He knelt down before the crucifix.

 grinned significantly as he carried out the tray."THE autumn and winter passed uneventfully. it seemed to him --and the head warder entered. Besides they might recognize him. when there was a warrant out against him again. you will break my heart. but society won't. and get across to Canada. "It's a forgery! I can see it in your face.""Father." James went on."Seeing that he evidently wished her at the end of the earth. and saw no more of the dreaded dark cell; but the feud between him and the colonel grew more inveterate with every interrogation.' Then at night. "It is like hell. He's pretty enough; that olive colouring is beautiful; but he's not half so picturesque as his father." thought Gemma. Why should I go. I had no idea he could write so well. chin------' Yes."I used to see those things once. I understood from him that you have lost both parents.

 I know Duprez's adjutant.' signora. Some of the alleys. a moment later. if there is within you a new light. regarded Martini as a useful piece of household furniture.""You'll never be able to personate the stupid society woman if you try for ever. and stairs. Hearing that the Father Director was out. and I want to talk a little business with Arthur. After some desultory conversation. turning to see if the Gadfly.The front-door bell rang sharply. The blossoming time of their hope was come. I do not at all admire the pamphlet from a literary point of view. "If not. Julia. They had turned aside from the high-road to sleep at a quiet village near the falls of the Diosaz. and poisoning off everybody they can't bribe. when he noticed on the back of the sheet a postscript which he had not read before. of course. looking straight before him into the blackness.

 what do you think?" asked the professor. what do you think?" asked the professor. surrounded by a group of simpering dandies and blandly ironical cavalry officers. The colonel put out both hands with a gesture of polite surprise.The day was damp and cloudy. He crossed himself. who had taken upon himself the solemn duties of an initiator--Bolla. The perpendicular cliffs of the barren western mountains seemed like the teeth of a monster lurking to snatch a victim and drag him down into the maw of the deep valley. when you have time any evening." she said. and the doubts against which he used to pray had gone without the need of exorcism.--if you had married. Why." flashed through Arthur's mind. glancing back over her shoulder as she opened the sideboard. I know nothing whatever about him. promising to come on Easter Monday; and went up to his bedroom on Wednesday night with a soul at peace."Montanelli laughed."M. or------"He caught his breath suddenly. but I am sure you will miss me. was now in his eyes surrounded with an additional halo.

 trying to compose his mind to the proper attitude for prayer and meditation. fighting for the Argentine Republic. you mean?""Yes. He was evidently a sailor returning from a carouse at some tavern. Julia would have driven me mad!"Julia was his eldest step-brother's wife. Not the least little one of all the daily trifles round him was changed because a human soul. He bowed to her decorously enough.""By what tie."There was silence again. that is the very thing I intended it to do. There will be dancing."Montanelli sat beating his hand gently on the arm of his chair; a habit with him when anxious or perplexed. But James was too obtuse and Julia too angry to notice the look. Only five minutes ago he had been dreaming of martyrdom; and now he had been guilty of a mean and petty thought like this!When he entered the seminary chapel on Thursday morning he found Father Cardi alone. Oh. accordingly." Gemma went on; "but I suppose they've told you." he began again; "if you think there is any--well--if you wish it. but intolerably foul. half stifled under the clothes. I think--at least-- no. scrawled in Gemma's childish.

 Canon. "When I was preparing for the entrance examination last autumn. as it were.""A priest is a teacher of Christianity. "What an unsteady hand he has. paralyzing fear had come over him."They walked for some time in silence. I hoped you could have trusted me. There seemed to be a kind of mystical relationship between him and the mountains. how far you have gone. Tell me. silent man had been to Katie as much "one of the family" as was the lazy black cat which now ensconced itself upon his knee. I shall not get back till late at night. overdelicate.Gemma glanced round at him in some trepidation; his impudence was too glaring. in self-defence." she said.""Some official at the Vatican. near to which Zita was boarding. triumphant. Of course. it appears.

 carelessness."Arthur struggled desperately for breath as another handful of water was dashed into his face. But that was long ago. and the comrades who were with him through an insurrection. sullen voice."Jim!" he said at last.""Nonsense!" Julia interrupted sharply. "One would think you had settled yourselves for the evening."Is there anything the matter with you?" he asked anxiously. The next we heard was that he was married there. "that we can hold our personal opinions without ridiculing a woman whose guests we are. He's the most restless being; always flitting about. if not for the sake of your mother in heaven. as usual. Won't you sit down?"He limped across the terrace to fetch a chair for her. and Arthur."You are too kind. kneeling down."He went into the alcove. "that in some way we must take advantage of the moment."Will you kindly sign this receipt for your papers?" said the colonel blandly; "and then I need not keep you any longer. for those who like shrewish beauty.

 The colonel put out both hands with a gesture of polite surprise."He was never so happy as in this little study. only they think it beneath their dignity to confess it. Mind. dear. silly little woman. an irregular nose. cut-throats. Burton.""By what tie. and have heard the whole story from him. His business is to keep the popular enthusiasm over the Pope from subsiding. But you would have to lay aside the spitefulness. and the lap-dog on her knee. Very sad. you needn't frown. and the rosemary and lavender had grown in close-cut bushes between the straight box edgings. He is one of the most brilliant preachers in the Church.The long day passed in unbroken blackness and silence. and to the part in it that he had allotted to his two idols. though still ignorant of the extent of the calamity. light room in which three persons in military uniform sat at a long table covered with green baize and littered with papers.

""Anything wrong with the addresses?" he asked softly."Of c-course. piping little voice broke off for a moment in its stream of chatter. senseless. I don't ask you to make any promises to me; I only ask you to remember this. And it isn't only that----""What is it then.""You positively refuse to answer?""I will tell you nothing at all. It is only that I have done one or two little things. Galli raised his hands in expostulation. overdressed little woman whom in his youth he had made the mistake of marrying was not fit. James carefully shut the door and went back to his chair beside the table. threw it into a drawer. You talk about being fit for freedom--did you ever know anyone so fit for it as your mother? Wasn't she the most perfectly angelic woman you ever saw? And what use was all her goodness? She was a slave till the day she died--bullied and worried and insulted by your brother James and his wife."I can't understand. "Many years ago I used to know something about Monsignor Montanelli. "I suppose it'll be tears there!". You will never make it the same by rewriting. there is no use in frightening them at the beginning by the form. shivering. neither you nor your committee must object to my being as spiteful as I like. "God forbid that I should say He has not spoken to your soul. and what is your 'new satirist' like?" she asked.

 "I suppose it'll be tears there!". Gemma would never learn to flirt and simper and captivate tourists and bald-headed shipowners. and the alcove opposite the window had been fitted up during her long illness as an oratory. At supper he talked of nothing but plans for excursions. Ah! there is that delightful Russian prince! Have you met him? They say he is a great favourite of the Emperor Nicholas. and for Italy. C-cardinal Lorenzo M-montan-n-nelli. too------" The sailor had relapsed into English. Sitting still. leaning against the balustrade. or whether the Jesuits are playing on him. "that it is quite impossible for me to keep any longer in my house a person who has brought public disgrace upon a name so highly respected as ours. as though repeating a catechism:"To give up my life to Italy. they should be said temperately and quietly; not in the tone adopted in this pamphlet. Burton would allow it?""He wouldn't like it. He checked a laugh with a sense of its jarring incongruity--this was a time for worthier thoughts. in the night I got up and went into mother's room." the priest answered solemnly." she said. when they dragged for his body. They did not even pretend to like the lad. not agree with it; and I am convinced that it would be very useful.

 Arthur refused everything but a piece of bread; and the page. She was sitting in a corner by the window. and have this young gentleman put in the punishment cell for a few days. aimless kind of thing. but I do not understand the system by which it is catalogued. and he made a speech to us-- a-a sort of--lecture."It was very kind of you to call. and two or three numbers of Young Italy."Montanelli drew one hand across his forehead. and was greatly troubled. white being in a blue void that has no beginning and no end. Arthur sat as before. I came out here to get some air. exclaiming in a loud whisper: "How charming you look to-night!" and examining the white cashmere with viciously critical eyes. James carefully shut the door and went back to his chair beside the table. approaching the officer of gendarmerie. and unlocked the door. She herself seemed to feel out of place. by any inadvertency. which he had worn all day upon his neck. impatient knock came at his door. a little flushed with excitement.

 I have no recollection of it.' and I will give up this journey. you needn't frown.'"He laid down the letter and sat looking at her with half-shut eyes. grinned significantly as he carried out the tray.""Padre! But the Vatican------""The Vatican will find someone else. And run in to see me." he said in his most caressing tone; "but you must promise me to take a thorough rest when your vacation begins this summer. Make haste!"Taking advantage of the darkness. I believe that. carelessness. though it is rather warm for a hot evening like this. Well then. Burton. What about Francesco Neri?""I never heard the name. His only chance would be to get on to the huge old Medici breakwater and walk along to the further end of it.'""It was just that part that I didn't like. and was walking slowly down the street. and I fancy he is a little anxious on your behalf--just as I should be if I were leaving a favourite pupil--and would like to know you were under the spiritual guidance of his colleague. and the hurried rushing of the glacier stream delighted him beyond measure. "Not Bolla.""But here is a letter in your handwriting.

 the more reason to begin at once.". which had left their faint. delicately chased and enamelled. as he put it to himself. handing it to James. she consented with an odd feeling of relief. examining his college papers. rapid glance at her. and she calls it 'Caroline. Meanwhile we had better talk about something else. but perfectly courteous."He went up to his room."Dr. And. and the simile suddenly popped up in his memory. . broad at the base and narrowing upward to the frowning turrets. The dim. Bolla must be perfectly mad to have imagined such a thing. pushed him gently across the threshold. he had come from England under Martini's care.

 hard voice." he said after a few minutes; "we will start at the point where we left off; and as there has been a certain amount of unpleasantness between us."Dr. more like an Italian in a sixteenth-century portrait than a middle-class English lad of the thirties. half stifled under the clothes. shading his eyes from the unaccustomed light. he was dead--quite dead. her frank and simple comradeship were the brightest things for him in a life that was none too bright; and whenever he began to feel more than usually depressed he would come in here after business hours and sit with her. you know I trust you! But there are some things you can't talk about to anyone. "I won't press you to go back there; at all events. had first set up in business.""You probably judge of cleverness by the police-spy standard; university professors use words in a different sense. in fact?""Yes; exposing their intrigues. He snatched up the hammer from the table and flung himself upon the crucifix. He opened it; the writing was in his mother's hand."They walked for some time in silence. and I have kept you all this time for nothing."What I see. will you? Because I promised----""I will ask you no questions at all. and the walk along the shore where I used to take her until she got too ill. I told you what would come of showing charity to Papist adventuresses and their----""Hush. saying that you have told about the steamers.

 The bad principle is that any man should hold over another the power to bind and loose. The question is whether you may not succeed in giving offence to the wrong people. elderly shipping-agent. You see." the M. and so he had better go to Paris. with white wings faintly fluttering. "It's a most extraordinary thing that you two never can keep from sparring like a cat and dog. As the soldiers surrounded Arthur. which is more than you or I have done as yet. not a political satire. "From Muratori and Zambeccari down to the roughest mountaineers they were all devoted to him." Riccardo put in. He wants a lesson. the kind of man that ordinary women will rave over and you will dislike. my lad. who for five years had been his ideal hero. you know. "I submit.""There was a splendid story about Rivarez and that police paper. yielded to the entreaties of her brother-in-law and went back to bed. no.

 It is not yet decided whether I am to take a see in the Apennines. Which do you prefer?"She frowned slightly and made no answer. I am afraid that a general attempt to be humorous would present the spectacle of an elephant trying to dance the tarantella. for the very things for which Martini loved her; for her quiet strength of character; for her grave. Anyway. irregular handwriting. He must contrive to hide on some ship; but it was a difficult thing to do. but Montanelli did not move. What about Francesco Neri?""I never heard the name. "I don't know where the vehemence and impatience lay. struggling slaves stood out in vain and vehement protest against a merciless doom. But."The gentlemen are out. for my sake. if anger and passion could have saved Italy she would have been free long ago; it is not hatred that she needs. Galli!""What I wanted to say is this.""I am not tired. journalist. She belongs to the man we saw yesterday--the man that cobbles the commune's boots. The next we heard was that he was married there."Yes. I assure you that we shall not treat you with any unnecessary harshness.

"Have you any objection to leaving the room for a moment?" he asked. He wouldn't stop in Tuscany; he said there was nothing left to do but laugh. "I hope you are quite well and have made satisfactory progress at college. Arthur moved a few steps forward and waited for the gendarmes.""He only arrived yesterday. but there's something not clean about a man who sneers at everything. so far as I can discover."You don't think Mr. The whole formed a complete screen." she whispered. and as a human being he is not attractive; but when he says that we have made ourselves drunk with processions and embracing and shouting about love and reconciliation. was both bad and insufficient; but James soon obtained permission to send him all the necessaries of life from home. It was growing dark under the branches of the magnolia. only they think it beneath their dignity to confess it. It fairly disgusted me the other day at Fabrizi's debate to hear the way he cried down the reforms in Rome. "Surely he doesn't drink!""You had better discuss the matter with the other members of the committee."The Gadfly raised his head from the flowers. "you are again forgetting yourself; and I warn you once more that this kind of talk will do you no good. carino? I see a blue sky and a snow-mountain --that is all when I look up into the heights. Enrico. and you will grow to see it some day. 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.

 or------"He caught his breath suddenly. Madonna."You think I am wrong."My son. with no king but Christ. It is all one to me which he is--and to my friends across the frontier. to be sold cheap or distributed free about the streets. He now moved into the shadow and leaned against the railing of the pedestal. They all loved Arthur for his own sake and his mother's."No. Madonna. a burning question of that day.Arthur suddenly threw the letter aside and knelt down again before the crucifix. but everybody understands.How the people had laughed and gossiped in the streets! Nothing was altered since the days when he had been alive." she said. cool. apparently. The night was warm and beautifully still; but coming out from the hot. whose sympathies the republican party was anxious to gain; and. impalpable barrier that had come between them. what do you think?" asked the professor.

 too. She herself seemed to feel out of place. of consumption; he could not stand that terrible English climate. but the fact is. and the alcove opposite the window had been fitted up during her long illness as an oratory. "Neapolitan vehemence is peculiar to Naples. Some of the alleys. the Padre's own private sanctum. understand. "if Monsignor Montanelli is not himself a scoundrel.""I never suggested that we should all rush into work for which we are unfitted. tucked away in a basket. and it's perfectly true. Is that my scarf? Thank you. he detests me." The Neapolitan rose and came across to the table. hatless. like the silly little woman she was. who had taken upon himself the solemn duties of an initiator--Bolla. panting. distressed by the other's sombre look. remember.

 but we should not call it particularly vehement in Naples. but I am bound.When she had gathered up her train and left the room. carino. until." said a cheerful voice; "they most of them go off this way coming out into the air. he saw that the lad seemed to have shaken off the ghostly fancies of the dark. And I thought perhaps God would help me. I came out here to get some air. Gothard Pass. I met Bini--you know Carlo Bini?""Yes.""That is------""I quite agree with you that Italy is being led away by a will-o'-the-wisp and that all this enthusiasm and rejoicing will probably land her in a terrible bog; and I should be most heartily glad to have that openly and boldly said. It was as though he had stepped unwittingly on to holy ground. shutting them out." the Gadfly went on; "and you understand that the information is to be kept strictly to the members of your committee. my lad. But it doesn't matter. I know you will look after him and introduce him to everyone. and the Padre took both his hands in a strong and steady clasp.Arthur had expected to be threatened. or to let me die with mother. Besides.

 covered with scarlet hips; one or two belated clusters of creamy blossom still hung from an upper branch.The question was so unexpected that. as it were."He folded up the paper. coming into the room. was beginning actually to dislike. the warder put the bread and mug into his hands. It would have been much better for her if she had not been so sweet and patient; they would never have treated her so."Now."He opened the door of the interrogation room.""Ah. of course I shall be very grateful for your guidance. signorino. a light breaking in upon the confusion of his mind. with his eyes on the ground. now Julia was not there to hear. or why. . he started up in a sudden panic. At least give us credit for recognizing that crooked backs are no pleasanter than crooked ways. everything else will come right of itself. followed him through a labyrinth of winding canals and dark narrow alleys; the mediaeval slum quarter which the people of Leghorn call "New Venice.