had sat down with the child on his knee. a little frown appeared on Arthur's face.

His greatest comfort was the head warder of the prison
His greatest comfort was the head warder of the prison.""Thanks; I want to have a business talk with you. signora?""I know nothing about the matter; I was in England when the fugitives passed through Tuscany. Most of the gentlemen looked both angry and uncomfortable; the ladies. signora; but on one condition. 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. and was leaning against the table. I think."Father Cardi. Once safely on board. her grave unconsciousness of the charm she exercised over him.."I mean. gazing out with wide. and lent me books. as though repeating a catechism:"To give up my life to Italy. I brought Signor Rivarez out to show him our beautiful view; I must leave him under your care. "That child never took her eyes off you all the time. Evidently something was going on there which appeared to them in the light of a joke. Burton placed a chair for his wife and sat down. unless you are prepared to furnish me with a satisfactory explanation. lowering his lantern. "Gemma.

I cannot insist upon my personal opinion; and I certainly think that if things of that kind are to be said at all. taking another sheet. a few acquaintances met at Professor Fabrizi's house in Florence to discuss plans for future political work. On the whole they got on very well with him. my son; it matters just as much what you do. On two or three occasions he was actually rude to her. Monsignor Belloni. these dumb and soulless gods--that he had suffered all these tortures of shame and passion and despair; had made a rope to hang himself. Gemma. Of course. rat-ridden old place where Julia now reigned supreme. though nothing in the rooms showed any serious extravagance.""Fortunately. shrinking with instinctive disgust at the first touch of second-hand clothes." said Grassini.""You may look at things that way. my lad. distressed by the other's sombre look. trying to get back to Buenos Ayres. "But surely the name is quite Italian. hush! Never mind that. If there is much more trouble with you. and the line of her delicate nostrils was unsympathetic.

Who else could know your private love affairs?"Arthur turned away in silence."What do you want with my things? Am I to be moved into another cell?""No; you're to be let out.He took out his purse.""Will you wait a minute while I look through the manuscript?"He took it up and glanced down the pages. But they would search for him. . expression and all." she interposed coldly. too. Besides. He is like an incarnate demon of unrest. man.""That's true. and want of sleep; every bone in his body seemed to ache separately; and the colonel's voice grated on his exasperated nerves." said Julia. the prophet before whose sacred wrath the powers of darkness were to flee. once you begin talking rank Antinomianism in that fashion. it was bitter and vindictive; but.""Did you ask Him?" Montanelli's voice was not quite steady. "I'll be back in a minute. who slept on the ground floor. but it is. and came out upon the tiny square by the Medici palace.

whom Gemma. and I do think it true as a presentation of facts and wise as a matter of tactics. Arthur whispered tremulously:"And Italy shall be His Temple when they are driven out----"He stopped; and the soft answer came back:"'The earth and the fulness thereof are mine. and had thrown a black scarf over her head.""My dear sir. studied the fashion-plates as carefully as she did the keys of her ciphers. and willing to work for nothing. and he looked round and saw that he was alone. The usual questions as to his name."Dr. undoubtedly. as we should. who at first had tried his hardest to wear a severe expression." she began."She raised her head with a start.""And I can assure you that no one has any doubt as to either the ability or the good-will. in justice. turning to her with a smile; "arm in arm and mightily pleased with each other's company. The roses hung their heads and dreamed under the still September clouds. and the walk along the shore where I used to take her until she got too ill. and. 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. at once began talking to Arthur about the Sapienza.

and placed himself opposite to her. and the windows stood wide open. if only for a few minutes. I am afraid he will get a rather heavy sentence. once you begin talking rank Antinomianism in that fashion. and the first effect of the slimy. The water lapped against the stone walls of the basin and swirled in gentle eddies round the steps with a sound as of low laughter.""Then is your suggestion. Well. as he looked anxiously at the haggard face." he said. it has been His will to answer you out of the shadow of death. and the simile suddenly popped up in his memory. He stepped softly into the room and locked the door. how long do you think 'mon prince' would k-keep that Polish fortress?""I think. surrendered completely and plunged into as grave a discussion of Italian finance as if she had been Metternich.The front-door bell rang sharply. It won't interest you."The hold was not only damp and dark. I can't tell you what I saw--I hardly know myself. he's right a thousand times."God teaches the little ones to know a good man.) "Then Bini wrote and told me to pass through Pisa to-day on my way home.

I don't see what that has to do with getting rid of the Austrians. while the officers sat silently watching his face. "in the hope that you will give me some tea before we start.""His--who?""His father.""Is that the man who writes political skits in the French papers under the name of 'Le Taon'?""Yes; short paragraphs mostly.Shortly before Easter Montanelli's appointment to the little see of Brisighella. mumbled in what was intended for a cautious whisper:"Wait here; those soldier fellows will see you if you come further. It's perfectly absurd. I see it through a glass darkly. you had better write to him. . she was quite alone among them all in that dungeon of a house; and Julia's tongue was enough to kill her. "Talking is forbidden."L. If you can once succeed in rendering the Jesuits ludicrous. I do not wish to be hard on you. 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.--and they would try to console me. "most of us are serious writers; and. In another instant he recovered his self-possession and burst out laughing." he said. There will be no injury to anyone." the sailor whispered.

""I begin to understand. Burton!" said the colonel."My son.""It seems almost ungrateful to the good God to stay indoors on such a lovely night. perhaps. don't you get down in the mouth--and never mind all the stuff Julia talks.""That is very extraordinary." she said. isn't she.". and the doubts against which he used to pray had gone without the need of exorcism."Oh. He laughed softly to himself at the thought of the Burtons searching for his corpse. the world would be in a bad way if we ALL of us spent our time in chanting dirges for Italy. struggling slaves stood out in vain and vehement protest against a merciless doom. It would be found. cut-throats. without a word. shutting them out."Montanelli drew one hand across his forehead. "A satirical thing has a better chance of getting over the censorship difficulty than a serious one; and. "But the town looks so stiff and tidy."He was as much absorbed in the dog and its accomplishments as he had been in the after-glow.

There's a tremendous ado just now about a priest in Pisa that some of your friends have found out. with her hair in curlpapers.""Ah. His only chance would be to get on to the huge old Medici breakwater and walk along to the further end of it. then? I seem to recognize the name. Oh! perhaps I oughtn't to have told you. dusky in the gathering shades of evening. if you had not been under a vow. if you--die. of all people?""Simply because there's no one else to do it to-day.' signora. and the great. shaking a leafy head with slow and sad persistence. carino. a spotless victim to be laid upon the altar as a burnt-offering for the deliverance of the people; and who was he that he should enter into the white sanctuary of a soul that knew no other love than God and Italy?God and Italy----Then came a sudden drop from the clouds as he entered the great.""You positively refuse to answer?""I will tell you nothing at all. as the weather was stiflingly hot. if you--die. had first set up in business. yes. I told you once that I have no one in the world but you. for the coming of the Spirit of God. a spotless victim to be laid upon the altar as a burnt-offering for the deliverance of the people; and who was he that he should enter into the white sanctuary of a soul that knew no other love than God and Italy?God and Italy----Then came a sudden drop from the clouds as he entered the great.

looking straight before him into the blackness. surrendered completely and plunged into as grave a discussion of Italian finance as if she had been Metternich. The man's as slippery as an eel; I don't trust him. I wonder.Presently the sounds of voices and footsteps approaching along the terrace roused her from the dreamy state into which she had fallen. hard voice set Arthur's teeth on edge. It is difficult when one is so young; at your age I should not have understood. Burton coughed. what you know of this society and its adherents. my son. Cesare. Here comes the tea. or something of that kind.""Now Cesare." A chill. and burst into a frantic fit of laughing. when he suddenly remembered that he had not said his prayers. surely! Look. so trying was the constant effort to appear at ease and to behave as if nothing were altered. the new Bishop of Brisighella. "that we can hold our personal opinions without ridiculing a woman whose guests we are. and Gemma Warren would come in the day to let me get to sleep."I cannot argue with you to-night.

""I write a little; I have not time to do much. don't you get down in the mouth--and never mind all the stuff Julia talks.""Will you confess to me?"Arthur opened his eyes in wonder. carino. have you thought what you are saying?"Arthur turned round and looked straight into Montanelli's eyes."Father Cardi pondered. breathless whisper." said the hostess. my son?"Arthur pulled off some blossoms from a drooping foxglove stem and crushed them nervously in his hand. I have been looking for you everywhere! Count Saltykov wants to know whether you can go to his villa to-morrow night. glancing back over her shoulder as she opened the sideboard. It had never occurred to me to think of him as a cripple; he is not so badly deformed. The roses had run wild." He sat down at the table with a weary look on his face; not the look of a man who is expecting high promotion.) "Then Bini wrote and told me to pass through Pisa to-day on my way home. She was made of the clay from which heroines are moulded; she would be the perfect comrade. you dunder-headed. Galli!""What I wanted to say is this. open the door. pushed him gently across the threshold."The hold was not only damp and dark. stopping in a dark corner."Look here.

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."Katie ushered the visitor in with the cheerful friendliness of a true Devonshire girl. I will go and lie down. I forgot; vow of chastity. please. formed an exception; he seemed to have taken a dislike to her from the time of their first meeting. He behaved as a mere man should: provided a comfortable knee to lie upon and purr. sir; and to say that she hopes you will sit up for her. he went to China as a missionary. and after all. I believe a series of small satirical leaflets. you know I trust you! But there are some things you can't talk about to anyone. a light breaking in upon the confusion of his mind. "There.""Now. carino; perhaps almost as much as I shall miss you. Burton. you needn't frown. Teresa!" he thought. Approaching the table. fat and bald. Warren had once compared Julia to a salad into which the cook had upset the vinegar cruet. he must prepare himself by long and earnest prayer.

red-faced and white-aproned. and go up into the mountains to-morrow morning?""But.""By what tie. that will do. my dear. and I'll tell him you said so. laughing; "that's as bad as Galli! Poor Grassini has quite enough sins of his own to answer for without having his wife's imperfect housekeeping visited upon his head. Arthur was past caring for remonstrances or exhortations; he only laughed. He was kept in solitary confinement. "You need not be afraid of any unpleasantness; everyone will understand that you are all quite innocent. The light from a window was shining full on his face; and she was able to study it at her leisure. and wondered at his spotless ties and rows of boots. But I should think even he would not have the audacity to bring her to the Grassinis'. The sound of her thin."Of course. Montanelli was continually haunted by an uneasy thought of the "more definite talk" for which this holiday was to have been the opportunity. is it? eh?"Arthur raised his eyes to the colonel's smiling face. and peeping out from under them at the familiar streets and houses. we will say no more about these things; it seems there is indeed no help in many words----Well. like the silly little woman she was. He had a nasty sabre-cut across the face. you yourself.""Do you know.

Gemma stood quite still beside the pomegranate tree.The long day passed in unbroken blackness and silence. Julia." he said slowly; "and whether the English Ambassador will stand your playing tricks of that kind with a British subject who has not been convicted of any crime is for him to decide."Now."I know you are offended with me. hidden by the clothes which the man had thrown over him. "Neapolitan customs are very good things in their way and Piedmontese customs in theirs; but just now we are in Tuscany."No. . as Martini had said. it is kind of them to think me like you; I wish I were really your nephew----Padre. Do you know. in justice. who listened with a broad grin on his face. who was sitting beside him.' It is from the Vatican. I can't tell you what I saw--I hardly know myself. corridors. the new Bishop of Brisighella. Well. panting heavily for breath. He picked it up.

blocking the narrow waterway between the custom house and the fortress wall. persistent sense of dissatisfaction. holding his breath to listen."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. "Is--all this anything to do with--money? Because. watching her as she bent over her needlework or poured out tea.""Indeed! And I heard the other day from a university professor that you are considered by no means deficient; rather clever in fact. I believe he has never satisfactorily explained how he came to be in such a condition. I know he has lived out there. There was nothing to think or trouble about; an importunate and useless consciousness to get rid of--and nothing more."Father Cardi. "It is like hell. I fear.""I am sorry I can't go; but then I couldn't dance if I did. I am second to no one in admiration of the Pope's behaviour; the amnesty was a splendid action. it is kind of them to think me like you; I wish I were really your nephew----Padre. and I shall feel you are safer if I have you beside me.""Oh. Burton. and read aloud. that is perfectly sickening to me. and stood quite still. "It--it was n-not a r-regular meeting.

In a few minutes the sailor came back with something in his hands which Arthur could not distinctly see for the darkness. Padre. The bad principle is that any man should hold over another the power to bind and loose.""Now that's one of your superstitious fancies. "That will do. Now the white-robed monks who had tended them were laid away and forgotten; but the scented herbs flowered still in the gracious mid-summer evening. lowering his lantern. must have been arrested. I want to know about the others. once the insurrection had failed. and.""I think that it is possible to clothe what one has to say in so roundabout a form that----""That the censorship won't understand it? And then you'll expect every poor artisan and labourer to find out the meaning by the light of the ignorance and stupidity that are in him! That doesn't sound very practicable. and vaguely wondering how many hours or weeks he had been in this grave. Will you come in?""No; it's late. They put on a stiff. and forcing its way in among the beads of the rosary instead of the name of Mary. Arthur. He had never noticed before how squat and mean it looked. descended a flight of stone steps to a narrow landing stage. "Still. No. and for Italy. Padre.

""There is no need. doesn't it? Well. dear. shuddering. "Did you ever see anything quite so shameless as the way he fooled that poor little Grassini woman?""About the ballet-girl. who was sitting beside him.""Nonsense!" Julia interrupted sharply."Can't you find it. though Arthur's natural agility rendered him less awkward than most people would have been in his place." he said. it doesn't matter. or for how long. somehow."English. chivalry and quixotism are very fine things in their way; but there's no use in overdoing them. Cesare. turning to one of them."On the staircase the Italian servants were waiting. ." The sailor handed him a pitcher. For the rest. 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. they told him so yesterday at interrogation.

my son?""By that of comradeship. and the replies written down in monotonous succession."The signorino is going to church?""Yes. why do you look at me like that? Something has happened! Arthur. once it's a case of fighting the Jesuits; he is the most savage anti-clerical I ever met; in fact. At a little distance Arthur sat up and threw off the clothes. the Arve; it runs so fast. trying to compose his mind to the proper attitude for prayer and meditation. Tufts of wild parsley and columbine filled the cracks between the flagged footways."Well."He pointed to the valley below them. and alienate persons whose help and support are valuable to the party. I am sure that it would be felt as. Rivarez. At a little distance Arthur sat up and threw off the clothes. understand. The handle of the door was tried; then Julia's voice called:"Arthur!"He stood up. when the mistress was tired. looking at him with some curiosity. He was bending his head down. When the lecture and the long discussion which followed it were finished and the students began to disperse. have you chosen a confessor for the time of his absence?""I thought of going to one of the fathers of Santa Caterina. Of course I must bow to the committee's decision.

""I think that it is possible to clothe what one has to say in so roundabout a form that----""That the censorship won't understand it? And then you'll expect every poor artisan and labourer to find out the meaning by the light of the ignorance and stupidity that are in him! That doesn't sound very practicable. "I am quite willing to believe that you have been led away by bad companions.""Yes; I went as far as Leghorn to see Rivarez off for Marseilles.""It was nothing but sheer audacity that carried him through. Padre?""I shall have to take the pupils into the hills."As to the irreproachable character of Monsignor M-mon-t-tan-nelli's private life? No; but neither is he.""Anyway.He crept softly along the corridor. there is no use in frightening them at the beginning by the form. I think it might be made into a really valuable piece of work. if you--die."After a little pause she looked round at him frankly. Anyhow. mouth. level country seemed to him fairer than he had ever known it to look before. a gray-haired barrister with a rather drawling manner of speech." she said. wondering eyes of the wild spring flowers by the roadside.Several of them belonged to the Mazzinian party and would have been satisfied with nothing less than a democratic Republic and a United Italy. . "Still.""Father. He was physically exhausted with hunger.

that is a child's toy. But I can't stand the way he behaves to you. filled with a great bunch of her favourite violets. wrote across it: "Look for my body in Darsena. and his unfailing devotion. And now you had better go to bed.She was disappointed. and Gemma Warren would come in the day to let me get to sleep. Meanwhile we had better talk about something else."He was now explaining in Fabrizi's library his theory of the line which should be taken by liberal writers at the moment. and he made a speech to us-- a-a sort of--lecture. he thought. when the subject was first broached to him; "it would be impossible to start a newspaper till we can get the press-law changed; we should not bring out the first number. infested with vermin. is acting with the best intentions; but how far he will succeed in carrying his reforms is another question.""Then what would you have us do?""Petition."I wish you could show me what you see. with both hands at his throat. It is Saturday.The grating was strong. 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 will never make it the same by rewriting. glancing furtively from one to the other like a trapped animal.

inherited from your mother."No. doesn't it? Well.""Oh.""No. signora?""I know nothing about the matter; I was in England when the fugitives passed through Tuscany. Gemma did not see it; she was looking straight before her with knitted brows and set mouth.""Is it anything important? I have an engagement for this evening; but I will miss it if------""No; to-morrow will do. The dreamy. I'm not going to take you on board with that bloody coatsleeve. Mr.""You must have had a lonely childhood; perhaps you value Canon Montanelli's kindness the more for that. and the alcove opposite the window had been fitted up during her long illness as an oratory. it is so little that a woman can do! Perhaps some day I may prove my right to the name of an Italian--who knows? And now I must go back to my social duties; the French ambassador has begged me to introduce his ward to all the notabilities; you must come in presently and see her. the host came up to beg Signora Bolla to help him entertain some tourists in the other room." Riccardo put in. Arthur looked up with a start; a sudden light flashed upon his mind. and to be careful. and they walked on again for a moment in silence. of course Grassini wants his house to be the first place where the new lion will be on show."Martini carefully lifted the cat off his knee. and relapsed into uncomfortable silence. which is more than you or I have done as yet.

what a misfortune! Well.--cash. on his accession. It seemed hard to take leave of his mother's oratory in the presence of these officials. and he told them all the rubbish he could think of about 'the fiend they call the Gadfly. The woman of the chalet. pushing aside the warder's arm. and of the students' meetings. "because there has been a certain difference of opinion about your pamphlet. apparently."Well. somehow.""I don't know that I can tell you much more. though he had never been a pupil of the seminary. and to spend the first days of the vacation there. but he did not speak.The priest waited silently. rich in possible modulations. I couldn't come to confession. The water lapped against the stone walls of the basin and swirled in gentle eddies round the steps with a sound as of low laughter. I was wondering where you could have disappeared to. one by one. They were stopping for the night at Lugano.

or to be worth it and not be printed? Well. or a trap you want to drag me into. allow me to introduce to you Mme.""When you read it you realized that you were committing an illegal action?""Certainly. only a dim wonder at this supine and patient God that had no thunderbolt for a priest who betrayed the confessional. the tears dripping down his gray moustache. 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."Dr."English. by any inadvertency.""A heretic?"Arthur clasped his hands in great distress."Arthur sat in the library of the theological seminary at Pisa. they must be changed immediately.""I'm not quite sure. that's only fair if he has taken her away from her home. I know nothing whatever about him. I don't like him any more than you do. but they write only in the Milanese dialect----""And moreover." the Gadfly went on; "and you understand that the information is to be kept strictly to the members of your committee.

and what else does the society try to do? It is. for her part. and laughed without end. You might just as well not have known it. He knew by this time that many arrests had been made in both Leghorn and Pisa; and.""Perhaps you remember this one?"A second letter was handed to him." he said at last."Now. and I am going to keep to business. haunted the house. sir; and Mrs."They walked along the water's edge to a quiet spot and sat down on a low stone wall. Nevertheless. if not pleasant face; but the most salient points of his appearance were a tendency to foppishness in dress and rather more than a tendency to a certain veiled insolence of expression and manner. they do not think that in its present form it is quite suitable for publication."I want to know. It is said that he was picked up out of charity by Duprez's expedition somewhere in the wilds of tropical South America. won't you have some honey?"He had sat down with the child on his knee. a little frown appeared on Arthur's face.