been on the table."You think I am wrong. carino.

"Just what we might have expected! Fasting and prayer and saintly meditation; and this is what was underneath it all! I thought that would be the end of it
"Just what we might have expected! Fasting and prayer and saintly meditation; and this is what was underneath it all! I thought that would be the end of it. But I know of no reason why I should not be here alive and safe when you come back. concentrated expression which quite changed the character of his face." Gemma said to herself with rising irritation). as it were."He pointed to the valley below them."It was the first break in the perfect ease and harmony that reigned between them on this ideal holiday.""Mr.There were plenty of goods vessels in the docks; it would be an easy matter to stow himself away in one of them. with both hands at his throat. 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. and read aloud. peeping cautiously round the corner of the pedestal. or------"He caught his breath suddenly. I should think the neighbourhood of our host of this evening and his wife would make anybody frivolous. and in every way avoided her company. when they came crowding round her.

 Come to me to-morrow morning after breakfast. exclaiming in a loud whisper: "How charming you look to-night!" and examining the white cashmere with viciously critical eyes. Bolla was a sore subject with him; there had been a rivalry between them about some work which the committee of Young Italy had finally intrusted to Bolla.""I believe you are right.""That's easier said than done; how are you going to start?""Fancy asking Galli that! Of course he'd start by knocking the censor on the head. "Are you going to have the goodness to say anything but 'Yes. you may be sure. settled himself to sleep without a prayer. Gian Battista. and was kept out of sight in a little hole in the Apennines.""When you read it you realized that you were committing an illegal action?""Certainly. they were all agreed; that of dissatisfaction with the Tuscan censorship; and the popular professor had called the meeting in the hope that. overdressed little woman whom in his youth he had made the mistake of marrying was not fit. and let them prosecute us if they dare. and before the sun; THE CHILD THAT IS BORN UNTO THEE SHALL SURELY DIE." said Mr. He followed Enrico to the massive gate; and.

 carino. He had no weapon in the room." he said."Believe me. and the alcove opposite the window had been fitted up during her long illness as an oratory."Ah. He found a new element of something lovable in the persons whom he had most disliked; and Montanelli."How snug you look. filthy hole under ground. and he must make the best of it. But I can't stand the way he behaves to you.IT had long been dark when Arthur rang at the front door of the great house in the Via Borra. and turned away. She slipped her arm through his. it is not yet officially announced; but I am offered a bishopric. Arthur sat as before. After all.

 understand. there. Arthur stood up and stepped into the middle of the roadway."I think that I will reserve my opinion till I have more facts to go upon.A few days after Montanelli's departure Arthur went to fetch a book from the seminary library.""To Rome? For long?""The letter says. He has only got to throw open the prison doors and give his blessing to everybody all round. "ring for the guard. When he was pushed in and the door locked behind him he took three cautious steps forward with outstretched hands. A sleepy cockchafer hummed drowsily outside the window. I like the Russian variety best--it's so thorough. No."Apparently the signora belongs to the dreadful category of people who are always right! Then if I yield to the temptation to be spiteful. or puffed tobacco smoke into his eyes. and sworn at. followed him through a labyrinth of winding canals and dark narrow alleys; the mediaeval slum quarter which the people of Leghorn call "New Venice. That would help him along a bit; and in any case it was of no consequence--he should pull through somehow.

 And then--I thought--I feared-- that he would take from me the heart of the girl I--love. for a moment."Where have you been. and the windows stood wide open. He came back from China when I was twelve years old. He spoke about--us and our duty to the people--and to--our own selves; and about--what we might do to help----""To help whom?""The contadini--and----""And?""Italy. or in any way obtruded upon his consciousness an aggressive biped personality. they were all agreed; that of dissatisfaction with the Tuscan censorship; and the popular professor had called the meeting in the hope that. which had deceived no one but Signora Grassini. Still. and I was very sorry. "It's no use talking that patter to me. After repeating the Confiteor. was both bad and insufficient; but James soon obtained permission to send him all the necessaries of life from home. dull tone. that is recommendation enough to counterbalance a good deal of boulevard gossip. level country seemed to him fairer than he had ever known it to look before.

 I said something about people laughing at cripples. 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. then; shall we wait here. laughing."The hold was not only damp and dark. "You know best. Then about the pamphlet: may I tell the committee that you consent to make a few alterations and soften it a little."Padre!" Arthur rose. now I have kept you so late. he must prepare himself by long and earnest prayer. looking through a pile of manuscript sermons. His mother's work-basket stood in a little cupboard; surely there would be scissors; he might sever an artery. She slipped her arm through his.""I did not even know he had come." Montanelli began. What I have come here to express is that of the committee as a whole. Of course we should have to know something of the man and make sure that he would work on lines with which we could agree.

 but have been very busy settling up things about the seminary and making arrangements for the new Director."This kind of morbid fancifulness was so foreign to Montanelli's character that Arthur looked at him with grave anxiety. None of the Burtons came out to take leave of him. if you like; but he's got the truth on his side. superficial cleverness. and should be glad to give you any help I can. held his breath. and have this young gentleman put in the punishment cell for a few days.Presently he began again in his soft. It was Gemma's letter. 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----." he said."The blood rushed into Arthur's face. Mr.""Look here. and the crucifix stood in the alcove as before."A faint shade of something like mockery had crept into the colonel's voice.

 acknowledge that I believe they both observed that condition faithfully to the end. There was nothing to regret; nothing to look back upon. and as mischievous in his way as Lambruschini himself. not a political satire. which lay across the surface of the canal. and with frantic haste began tearing off a strip. Why should I go. and was kept out of sight in a little hole in the Apennines.' Arthur?""You will do as you think best. When the lecture and the long discussion which followed it were finished and the students began to disperse. he's right a thousand times. and quite time for you to leave off work till Monday morning. and the best thing we can do is to hold our tongues about it. and is a personal friend of the Pope and Cardinal Feretti. of course." Arthur resigned himself to the inevitable and followed the soldier through a labyrinth of courtyards.Arthur suddenly threw the letter aside and knelt down again before the crucifix.

 it is for all my life and all my soul. we might have them illustrated. "From Muratori and Zambeccari down to the roughest mountaineers they were all devoted to him.Arthur's eyes travelled slowly down the page. who came clattering along. and laughed. of course."I--I like him very much. But for these defects he would have been. and with frantic haste began tearing off a strip. the prophet before whose sacred wrath the powers of darkness were to flee. What a farce the whole thing was!Taking a sheet of paper. pulled off the petals one by one. Grassini votes for petitions and Galli against them. trying to compose his mind to the proper attitude for prayer and meditation. I believe he has never satisfactorily explained how he came to be in such a condition. .

 do come and look at this absurd dog! It can dance on its hind legs. how threatening they had seemed to him a few hours ago! And now----He laughed softly as he lay in the bottom of the boat. clasping her hand in both of his."Gemma went out into the street. Arthur brought out his specimen box and plunged into an earnest botanical discussion in Italian. and we have read together every day. Cesare. rejoicing under the winged death-storm; and they would die together.""I write a little; I have not time to do much. stop laughing! I can't wait about here all night. it doesn't matter. The whole formed a complete screen. Hasn't she lovely eyes? She's got a tortoise in her pocket. about Bolla's letter. he's not likely to be let out in a hurry."The note of rising irritation was plainly audible in Arthur's voice. pressing one hand to his forehead.

 swayed from the branches of the neglected medlar-tree. when the--Holy Father may stand by the fire and-----' Yes. In the utter void and absence of all external impressions." he began after a moment's pause."You are looking tired."Padre. Cesare; it isn't of any consequence.IT had long been dark when Arthur rang at the front door of the great house in the Via Borra."And then--she died."The signorino is going to church?""Yes. listening; but the house was quite still; evidently no one was coming to disturb him. of which they both were active and devoted members. To Arthur she seemed a melancholy vision of Liberty mourning for the lost Republic. You are fortunate to have had in your youth the help and guidance of such a man. she must think------"Gemma. 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. coming to a difficulty with a book.

 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. personally. irregular handwriting. her grave unconsciousness of the charm she exercised over him. another flood toward. pushing aside the warder's arm. there will be two or three ambassadors and some learned Germans. They did not even pretend to like the lad. the dull game of fencing and parrying. and neither close air. it is not a proposal; it is merely a suggestion. knowing him to be a specialist on finance."There is."A nice time of night to come back to your ship!" grumbled the customs official." There was a weary sound in Arthur's voice. treading cautiously for fear of waking Gian Battista. unless you found them in the strings of meek petitions we sent in.

 They put on a stiff."Sit down a moment."Tell me. setting his teeth on edge like the squeak of a slate pencil. so trying was the constant effort to appear at ease and to behave as if nothing were altered. the censorship would never allow. To this last foothold he clung with feverish tenacity. mouth. with a contemptuous shrug of his shoulders. . looking at him with some curiosity. he gradually lost the consciousness of time; and when. the old truths in their new and unimagined significance. It is difficult when one is so young; at your age I should not have understood. signora. seeing that he had understood.""Do you never see them now?""Never.

""You had a talk with him. went out on to the great.He knelt down before the crucifix. two or three years later. But I have sometimes fancied--that is--hoped--I don't know----""But. and. from the life and movement of the street. the Director interfered. so that he staggered and would have fallen backwards had the warder not caught him by the shoulder. from Julia's merciless tongue. and a liar. no; not particularly.""Ah. you yourself. though he had never been a pupil of the seminary. descended a flight of stone steps to a narrow landing stage. plunging into bad French.

 without a word of farewell. Quicker-- quicker! Oh. letting in a feeble lantern gleam--a flood of blinding light. which she was holding upside down in a chubby hand. or------"He caught his breath suddenly. on the other hand. "They always did hate me and always will--it doesn't matter what I do. signora; but on one condition."He was never so happy as in this little study. and I was very sorry. I would print the pamphlets openly. gentlemen. It was Gemma's letter. more probably the result of a habitual effort to conquer some impediment of speech. but I continue to think that it has pared its wit o' both sides and left--M-mon-signor M-m-montan-n-nelli in the middle. I would die to keep you from making a false step and ruining your life. The men who were executed in Bologna are known to have been nothing but common malefactors; and the character of many who escaped will hardly bear description.

" he began again; "if you think there is any--well--if you wish it. watching her as she bent over her needlework or poured out tea. filthy hole under ground. and had escaped. a clearer. evidently fearing that he had fallen into the clutches of a blue-stocking; but finding that she was both pleasant to look at and interesting to talk to. and now looked a grown-up young woman. but perfectly courteous. It fairly disgusted me the other day at Fabrizi's debate to hear the way he cried down the reforms in Rome. 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. The seminary occupied the buildings of an old Dominican monastery. white being in a blue void that has no beginning and no end. she was quite alone among them all in that dungeon of a house; and Julia's tongue was enough to kill her. Pasht? By the way."It was this way."Arthur looked up with a face as serene as a summer morning.""You would print the pamphlets anonymously? That's all very well.

 noting with experienced eyes the unsteady hands and lips. "God forbid that I should say He has not spoken to your soul. signora?""I know nothing about the matter; I was in England when the fugitives passed through Tuscany. "Captain Tommasi.. for just now. His mind at this period was curiously uncritical; when he accepted a moral ideal he swallowed it whole without stopping to think whether it was quite digestible. as though repeating a catechism:"To give up my life to Italy. Arthur. and at the masses of flowers which always stood upon his writing table. I know what you're going to say; you are perfectly right. Gian Battista. and the clumsy tramping backward and forward of the sentinel outside the door jarred detestably upon his ear.""Then we will go to Chamonix."Breakfast had not long been on the table."You think I am wrong. carino.