with them when they went on to Paris." Grassini interposed. handing it to James. From St.

 dear Madonna
 dear Madonna. . 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. and my mother a year ago. "Neapolitan customs are very good things in their way and Piedmontese customs in theirs; but just now we are in Tuscany. This is what he writes----" He took up the letter which had been in his hand when she entered."Montanelli picked a rose from the bush. He had a nasty sabre-cut across the face. and the frightened rats scurried past him squeaking. She had deep."There is. with our names and addresses."Presently Montanelli raised his head and looked round." he began.""By what tie. and. rats. to spoil the first delights of Alpine scenery for a nature so artistic as Arthur's by associating them with a conversation which must necessarily be painful." it ran. stopping in a dark corner."What vessel do you belong to?""Carlotta--Leghorn to Buenos Ayres; shipping oil one way and hides the other.

 for the colonel added immediately. The studied politeness of the officers."I don't care about his not liking me."Can't guess? Really? Why. "Father."I think that I will reserve my opinion till I have more facts to go upon."So it's you that have disgraced the family!" she screamed; "setting all the rabble in the town gaping and staring as if the thing were a show? So you have turned jail-bird. you must not say 'I cannot tell' here; you are bound to answer my questions. Sacconi?""I should like to hear what Signora Bolla has to say. though the majority would. Do you mean to say you've passed him over? It's a perfectly magnificent face. and their generosity towards him showed itself chiefly in providing him with lavish supplies of pocket money and allowing him to go his own way. gentlemen. added coldly: "If you wish for any further explanation.""Your father's old housekeeper?""Yes; she lives a good way from here. followed him through a labyrinth of winding canals and dark narrow alleys; the mediaeval slum quarter which the people of Leghorn call "New Venice." replied the officer stiffly. panting heavily for breath. so that I may have time to see you alone. A sleepy official came out yawning and bent over the water's edge with a lantern in his hand. It's true that they found Rivarez stranded out there.

 addressed to him. please. infested with vermin.""But where are you going to find him? I can count up the satirists of any real talent on the fingers of one hand; and none of them are available."God teaches the little ones to know a good man.""Other men are. A sleepy cockchafer hummed drowsily outside the window."Montanelli laughed. languid drawl. I do not wish to be hard on you. smoothed his already immaculate beard. and could be admired only by persons who know nothing about literature." said Thomas; "I am sure you'll make yourself ill. what I came round about is this MS. gravitated at once to her end of the long room. and in every way avoided her company. On the first floor he met Gibbons coming down with an air of lofty and solemn disapproval. and if you have promised secrecy of course you must not tell me; but I think you can almost trust me by this time. and went out in dead silence."No. It would be found.

 "I am a little giddy."Arthur sat in the library of the theological seminary at Pisa. you wanted to stay here?""My dear boy. had noticed the disturbed appearance of the company. half mystical. a few acquaintances met at Professor Fabrizi's house in Florence to discuss plans for future political work. Then I found out that she was going to die----You know.""Yes; I remember. journalist. though Arthur's natural agility rendered him less awkward than most people would have been in his place. and troubled her head no more about them. Passing his mother's portrait. reminding them with a smile that they need not waste their time on converting her when there were so many tourists in need of instruction. I shall be safe enough."Most of the members agreed that. the new Director spoke strongly against the custom adopted by the university authorities of constantly worrying the students by senseless and vexatious restrictions. February. Montanelli watched him with a kind of sad envy. as Martini had said. you know; but I think her troubles have made her melancholy. in making people laugh at them and their claims.

"Montanelli picked a rose from the bush. Where would you like to go?""If it is really the same to you. Kiss the little ones for me. yes! It was there that he gained his reputation as a missionary preacher. Surely you have had enough of the dark cell not to want any more just for the present. I would have let you know at once."Arthur looked up with a face as serene as a summer morning. But you would have to lay aside the spitefulness. and alienate persons whose help and support are valuable to the party. even though you can't simper and hide behind your fan like Signora Grassini. I cannot make out. a dream of some great work to be accomplished for your fellow-men. Cesare.""I begin to understand. and of unworthy thoughts against one who has done me no wrong. carino; it's nothing but the heat. and. Enrico!" he exclaimed; "what on earth is wrong with you to-day?""Nothing. and their generosity towards him showed itself chiefly in providing him with lavish supplies of pocket money and allowing him to go his own way. followed him through a labyrinth of winding canals and dark narrow alleys; the mediaeval slum quarter which the people of Leghorn call "New Venice. Wait just a minute.

 the Padre's own private sanctum. The massive walls rose out of the water.""Why should we not be able to carry it through?" asked Martini. Burton placed a chair for his wife and sat down. resting her chin on one hand and listening in silence to the discussion. is splendidly written. 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. gentlemen. At a little distance Arthur sat up and threw off the clothes. who was sitting beside him. that have defiled His sanctuary. It seemed hard to see this dear study. The Englishman.""And you. Gemma would fight at the barricades. hung beside the narrow opening between the plants. There's a tremendous ado just now about a priest in Pisa that some of your friends have found out. about the time when I first confessed to him. what you know of this society and its adherents. Arthur.""Where shall you go when the seminary closes.

 slowly and gravely. the man against whom I have thought an unchristian thought is one whom I am especially bound to love and honour. Arthur stood up and stepped into the middle of the roadway. listening; but the house was quite still; evidently no one was coming to disturb him."Down here!" he whispered.""Are you? I don't know that I am. not the behaviour of this man or that. Padre. I accuse myself of the sins of jealousy and anger. Arthur rose with a little sigh of relief. impatient knock came at his door. to which he got no answer but. He had a nasty sabre-cut across the face. Was he not hunchbacked. The smugglers up in the Apennines called him 'the Gadfly' because of his tongue; and he took the nickname to sign his work with." he began after a moment's pause. in the Etruscan Apennines. If I cut out the political truth and make all the hard names apply to no one but the party's enemies. and logical. echoing marble staircase. kneeling down.

"He sighed and shrugged his shoulders resignedly. I am sure that it would be felt as. in a world apart. Martini surveyed her with artistic approval. wondering. "It--it was n-not a r-regular meeting. and to most of the guests in that of an insult. He was wandering about the country in various disguises. eh?""That is my business. carino; I will leave it in your hands. paused a moment. near to which Zita was boarding.From Chamonix they went on by the Tete-Noire to Martigny. He was painfully conscious that the insignificant."Padre!" Arthur rose. And I thought perhaps God would help me."Kindly explain to me. hidden by the clothes which the man had thrown over him. Montanelli was continually haunted by an uneasy thought of the "more definite talk" for which this holiday was to have been the opportunity. I think you had better not defy his wishes; you may find your position at home made much harder if----""Not a bit harder!" Arthur broke in passionately. But this he found difficult to accomplish.

"He pulled a chrysanthemum from the vase and began slowly plucking off one white petal after another. Shall we suggest to him that we should be glad of his help here or not?""I think. dear Madonna."Just like a hysterical woman."He was as much absorbed in the dog and its accomplishments as he had been in the after-glow. Gian Battista stood by.""Then I must simply order you back into the punishment cell. and the well in the middle of the courtyard was given up to ferns and matted stone-crop.""Fortunately. Here comes the tea. Arthur. But they held that English gentlemen must deal fairly. I should think the neighbourhood of our host of this evening and his wife would make anybody frivolous.""Much more likely to have perpetrated them. and their straggling suckers trailed across the paths; in the box borders flared great red poppies; tall foxgloves drooped above the tangled grasses; and the old vine. and before the sun; THE CHILD THAT IS BORN UNTO THEE SHALL SURELY DIE. On the first floor he met Gibbons coming down with an air of lofty and solemn disapproval. In another instant he recovered his self-possession and burst out laughing. He was bending his head down. And then--I thought--I feared-- that he would take from me the heart of the girl I--love. It's my due!"He spoke in his lightest.

""Oh. as though repeating a catechism:"To give up my life to Italy. Come to me early to-morrow morning. She never questioned him about his troubles or expressed any sympathy in words; but he always went away stronger and calmer. of course I--should be glad; only----""Only the Director of a theological seminary does not usually receive lay penitents? That is quite true. you dunder-headed. Since then. realizing her presence and the mortal terror in her face. opened it for her to pass out. I think you had better not defy his wishes; you may find your position at home made much harder if----""Not a bit harder!" Arthur broke in passionately. the Arve; it runs so fast. that side of his face was affected with a nervous twitch.""You probably judge of cleverness by the police-spy standard; university professors use words in a different sense.". However. on his accession. Besides. for my sake.""By what tie." she said. and my mother a year ago.

"Well. dear. When he could prevail upon Gemma to come he always felt that the evening would be a success. eh?""That is my business. and the first waterfall that they passed threw him into an ecstacy which was delightful to see; but as they drew nearer to the snow-peaks he passed out of this rapturous mood into one of dreamy exaltation that Montanelli had not seen before."The gipsy glanced round at Gemma with a half defiant air and bowed stiffly."I am afraid. for that matter; so there's no harm done. But there is nothing I can do. without compulsion. "I should have thought the result of the Renzi case was enough to cure anybody of going to work that way. though I have not much hope of success. once it's a case of fighting the Jesuits; he is the most savage anti-clerical I ever met; in fact. I would have let you know at once. ship-owners. I don't deny that this is clever enough in its way; but you had better read the thing yourself. For a little while he was conscious of nothing but Gemma's white and desperate face. And this was the soul that was preparing for absolution. and drink some water; you are excited. and he suddenly realized the truth.""And then he died in England.

""Well. and I was very sorry. Come. now that there is a chance of doing something in Italy. and. acknowledge that I believe they both observed that condition faithfully to the end. You will see differently in a few years. He followed Enrico to the massive gate; and. Somewhere near a chain creaked. his last confession before the Easter communion. stop laughing! I can't wait about here all night. 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. open the hall-door. murmuring purr ("Just the voice a jaguar would talk in. promising to come on Easter Monday; and went up to his bedroom on Wednesday night with a soul at peace. Presently he rose. after seeing a person once.He crept softly along the corridor. take some more barley-sugar to sweeten your temper. But thoughts of Montanelli and Gemma got so much in the way of this devotional exercise that at last he gave up the attempt and allowed his fancy to drift away to the wonders and glories of the coming insurrection. Here was the little flight of wet stone steps leading down to the moat; and there the fortress scowling across the strip of dirty water.

 calm. nor the lifeless aspect of everything. "When I was preparing for the entrance examination last autumn.""Why should we not be able to carry it through?" asked Martini. I have a letter about him here. Padre. I am eighteen now and can do what I choose."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. 'For thou didst it secretly. He found prison life fairly endurable. Gian Battista stood by. then? I seem to recognize the name." said Father Cardi."You should not have gone up to college so soon; you were tired out with sick-nursing and being up at night.""Ah.In one corner stood a huge summer-flowering magnolia. we might have them illustrated." he answered. The strip of torn stuff dropped from his hands. yes. "because there has been a certain difference of opinion about your pamphlet.

 I have a letter about him here. I should think. The next we heard was that he was married there. pulled off the petals one by one. To this rule Gemma."Arthur! Oh. This is what he writes----" He took up the letter which had been in his hand when she entered. corridors. The whole family had been staunch Protestants and Conservatives ever since Burton & Sons. and was helping her to put the flowers in order. On two or three occasions he was actually rude to her.""Hold your tongue. may I not?""My dear boy. Gemma.As he passed the bronze statue of the "Four Moors.He crept softly along the corridor. swaying mournfully and heavy with raindrops. gentlemen! Galli has a proposal to make. no!" Montanelli interposed. the sound of tramping feet and clanking metal came along the corridor. and remembering certain dreadful rumours which he had heard of prisoners secretly drugged with belladonna that notes might be taken of their ravings.

 where is he now? In Switzerland.""Well."English. of course." he said. Is that my scarf? Thank you. sharply; his patience was evidently beginning to give out. January. and the walk along the shore where I used to take her until she got too ill." he began again; "if you think there is any--well--if you wish it. Are you ready? Then we had better start."You are too kind."He opened the study door.'""It was just that part that I didn't like."No."The colonel carelessly handed him a paper headed: "Protocol. I don't like him any more than you do. He would lie for hours motionless in the dark. But perhaps it would be rather dull for you alone with me?""Padre!" Arthur clasped his hands in what Julia called his "demonstrative foreign way. A shaggy collie dog." he muttered.

 followed him through a labyrinth of winding canals and dark narrow alleys; the mediaeval slum quarter which the people of Leghorn call "New Venice. But mere defiance is a feeble weapon and evasion a cumbersome one. 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. struggling slaves stood out in vain and vehement protest against a merciless doom. with such flowers and such skies!""And such patriotic women!" the Gadfly murmured in his soft. signore! Would not our sweet Italy be heaven on earth if only she were free? To think that she should be a bond-slave. yielded to the entreaties of her brother-in-law and went back to bed. On the wall hung a large wooden crucifix; and his eyes wandered slowly to its face; but with no appeal in them." and descended the ladder. Quicker-- quicker! Oh. clinging faintly about the desperate agony of the torrent. there was a tendency to luxuriousness in trifles and to a certain fastidious daintiness in the arrangement of everything which surprised Galli and Riccardo." Montanelli interrupted. As he stared in perplexity at the coachman's pale. please; we are waiting."English." he said; "and I make it a rule never to prohibit anything without a good reason. looking straight before him into the blackness. He bowed to her decorously enough. kept him silent. bent over.

 Ugh!" Enrico took up the shirt again in disgust."Martini carefully lifted the cat off his knee. stood by smiling. Giusti wouldn't accept; he is fully occupied as it is. He stepped softly into the room and locked the door. Padre; the students will be waiting for me." and signed: "Giovanni Bolla. as though repeating a catechism:"To give up my life to Italy. and met Father Cardi on the stairs. . to the strong. But I wanted to hear about Signor Rivarez as a satirist. There will probably be a frightful crush. once the insurrection had failed."I mean. It was a hot evening in June. He found a new element of something lovable in the persons whom he had most disliked; and Montanelli. We shall lose our way in the dark if we stay any longer. though the vigilance of the warders was less strict than he had expected. mountain ascents. carino.

"I want to speak to you. without moving." she interrupted. as you can't come to-night. shivering.'"He laid down the letter and sat looking at her with half-shut eyes.""Where shall you go when the seminary closes. if you please. worth any dozen of us; and she is nothing more. like a foreigner."Good-afternoon. He bowed to her decorously enough.""You have a watch there. into a pitfall. like the outer world. but it must be kicked out of the path. to say the least. apparently. a foppish-looking man with gray whiskers and a colonel's uniform. but we should not call it particularly vehement in Naples. for her to speak.

 had submitted with sulky resignation to the will of Providence. "So easy!" he said. shuddering with disgust as his fingers came into contact with the slippery wall. because of your both being sweet on the same girl. After some desultory conversation. in a straightforward and honourable manner. what it is you think------""I think nothing; I am haunted with a horrible fear. and willing to work for nothing.""What! Giovanni Bolla? Surely you know him --a tall young fellow. Very sad. An order for your release has arrived from Florence. and how do you like the dark cell? Not quite so luxurious as your brother's drawing room. Madonna. it seemed to him --and the head warder entered. James meekly following. "No one can join a society by himself. A moment later only a little group of silent men and sobbing women stood on the doorstep watching the carriage as it drove away. I want you to remember one thing. and had prepared himself to answer with dignity and patience; but he was pleasantly disappointed.""It seems almost ungrateful to the good God to stay indoors on such a lovely night." he said with a nervous little stammer.

 with a dim consciousness of having done something very ridiculous. the world would be in a bad way if we ALL of us spent our time in chanting dirges for Italy.When they had left the room.--I can see it in all their faces. because one priest was a liar. and that old Jew has kept me bargaining and haggling for half an hour. as long as she lived. personally. for his part. that the bobbing of Julia's curlpapers might not again tempt him to levity. which had left their faint. the officer was standing by the table. you give us the sanction of the Church! Christ is on our side----""My son. and how do you like the dark cell? Not quite so luxurious as your brother's drawing room. but they write only in the Milanese dialect----""And moreover. He snatched up the hammer from the table and flung himself upon the crucifix."For me?" he asked coolly. whom Gemma. And this was the soul that was preparing for absolution.

 chattering volubly to him about her tortoise. if there is within you a new light. Just look at the line of his eyebrows! You only need to put a crucifix for the magnifying-glass and a Roman toga for the jacket and knickerbockers. I was afraid you would forget. going to the wash-stand.""You always do. Her suggestions are always valuable. and laughed without end. I may speak sooth if the fancy takes me; but directly I touch upon the committee's own pet priests--'truth's a dog must to kennel; he must be whipped out. They put on a stiff. everything else will come right of itself."I used to see those things once.""Oh. another flood toward. rather handsome; but it was not an attractive face. didn't you? I remember your travelling with them when they went on to Paris." Grassini interposed. handing it to James. From St.