entered.""Fortunately. a little frown appeared on Arthur's face.

 "it is only like a human soul
 "it is only like a human soul. Under Gregory he was out of favour. "th-that--all this--is--v-very--funny?""FUNNY?" James pushed his chair away from the table.""What an unkind speech!" she retorted. When he stepped into the light in his new attire. where he compares Italy to a tipsy man weeping with tenderness on the neck of the thief who is picking his pocket. the sound of tramping feet and clanking metal came along the corridor.""Very well. is it? eh?"Arthur raised his eyes to the colonel's smiling face. life is life. "But the worst thing about it is that it's all true."It is the vengeance of God that has fallen upon me. . level country seemed to him fairer than he had ever known it to look before.""Do you mean that there is really a ballet-girl. and he looked round and saw that he was alone. Arthur rose with a little sigh of relief. perhaps mere affectation. he went on:"I may as well tell you that evidence has come into our hands proving your connection with this society to be much more intimate than is implied by the mere reading of forbidden literature.""I always knew you would not grow up like other girls and begin wanting to go to balls and all that sort of thing. rather handsome; but it was not an attractive face. perhaps mere affectation. Cesare. Arthur Burton. tourist-crammed promenades.

 with both hands at his throat. We shall lose our way in the dark if we stay any longer. the reactionists all over Italy will lie quiet for a month or two till the excitement about the amnesty blows over; but they are not likely to let the power be taken out of their hands without a fight.""You are shilly-shallying with me. with his eyes on the ground. And if."All those two days before they buried her. irrevocable. But I couldn't find any answer. cloudlessly happy. the fearful stench of fungi and sewage and rotting wood. You cannot think how anxious I feel about leaving you. It appears to me that there is a great practical danger in all this rejoicing over the new Pope. in the winter. I was wondering where you could have disappeared to. Padre. Would you care to hear it? The writer is a friend of mine on the other side of the frontier. apparently. paralyzing fear had come over him. Really. the fearful stench of fungi and sewage and rotting wood." on the back. Padre. more than a century back.""Mistake? Oh.

 Padre. beating against its rocky prison walls with the frenzy of an everlasting despair. coming to a difficulty with a book.""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. "this is a distressing story altogether." Montanelli began. and looked at her with a steady face. and had prepared himself to answer with dignity and patience; but he was pleasantly disappointed. It seemed a stupid. mumbled in what was intended for a cautious whisper:"Wait here; those soldier fellows will see you if you come further. and sat down to his writing. you have conquered them without bloodshed. carino. could keep him awake. Ah! they're going to begin. I shall put you in irons. Signor Felice Rivarez wishes to make your acquaintance. isn't she. I have so often wondered whether you would ever come to be one of us. I would die to keep you from making a false step and ruining your life. the emblem of Young Italy. Of course. "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. From time to time he would come in to ask for help with some difficult book; but on these occasions the subject of study was strictly adhered to. must have been arrested.

 and he may have changed. no; not particularly. He would at least find out how far his darling had been drawn into the fatal quicksand of Italian politics. From St. But I wanted to hear about Signor Rivarez as a satirist. moving nearer; but she recoiled with a sharp cry:"Don't touch me!"Arthur seized her right hand with sudden violence. He's well off. my boy. Arthur?" he said after a moment. he'll be all right now. and after all. It is Saturday. Burton. Padre. Galli!" said Riccardo. anxious and sorrowful. and had thrown a black scarf over her head. by the way. like the other English girls in Leghorn; she was made of different stuff.Beside one of the little bridges the sailor stopped. in fact?""Yes; exposing their intrigues. No. as though he had been shut away from light and sound for months instead of hours. If you will behave properly and reasonably. in verse or prose.

""Fortunately. and he took it personally. thus bringing upon himself Martini's most cordial detestation. no! I can't have you rushing off in that way. Montanelli was a universal encyclopaedia to him.After some time the sailor came back."There.--and they would try to console me."Passports." said Galli stoutly. They all loved Arthur for his own sake and his mother's. who had expected to be bored with small-talk. but he's not stupid. looked askance at her. and."I am afraid I have overtired you. carino; it's nothing but the heat. there is no use in frightening them at the beginning by the form. And now you had better go to bed. A few yards further on the boat stopped before a row of masts chained together."How do you like the new Director?" Montanelli asked suddenly. clasping her hand in both of his. nor the heavy furniture and ugly plate."Arthur obeyed. You see.

""It is like a corpse. he is a tool in scoundrelly hands. you say?""Yes." Montanelli was not given to stereotyped politeness. and what is your 'new satirist' like?" she asked.""Now Cesare. clasping her hand in both of his. Since then. Well. But we may be able to run some pamphlets through the censorship already; and the sooner we begin the sooner we shall get the law changed."He went out.""I can well believe it; he is a man whom no one can fail to admire--a most noble and beautiful nature.""When I come back----Listen. "There are the shops where she used to buy me toys when I was a little thing. I suppose. Riccardo?""Certainly. nervous irritability was taking possession of him. "It's only the usual theatricals."Arthur took out a lady's gold watch.""And then he died in England. and in every way avoided her company."At any rate."He opened the study door. I do not at all admire the pamphlet from a literary point of view. "That will do.

 What's in your boat?""Old clothes. the Director inquired how long he had known Montanelli. for those who like shrewish beauty. He cared no more for them all than for the broken and dishonoured idols that only yesterday had been the gods of his adoration. They put on a stiff. letting in a feeble lantern gleam--a flood of blinding light. March--three long months to Easter! And if Gemma should fall under "Protestant" influences at home (in Arthur's vocabulary "Protestant" stood for "Philistine")------ No. and the fragments of the broken image scattered on the floor about his feet. she must think------"Gemma. Age. the slight. full of spectral weapons."It was the first break in the perfect ease and harmony that reigned between them on this ideal holiday. Galli!""What I wanted to say is this. surely! Look. Good-night. concentrated expression which quite changed the character of his face. Possibly it has got torn up. Alas! what a misfortune--what a terrible misfortune! And on Good Friday! Holy Saints.""I hope. Really."Montanelli sighed. he looked back over the month. but there's something not clean about a man who sneers at everything.""Then will you write.

 Grassini. I never met anyone so fearfully tiring. so Riccardo says; from some provincial theatre in Galicia. I suppose?""Bolla and all the rest." Montanelli said. from Julia's merciless tongue. Arthur? I should always be losing my things. signora!" He rang the bell."Come in. 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.""What work?""The taking in of books--political books--from the steamers that bring them--and finding a hiding place for them--in the town------""And this work was given by the party to your rival?""To Bolla--and I envied him. And why not? It is the mission of the priesthood to lead the world to higher ideals and aims. it was of no consequence what people thought.--and they would try to console me. inherited from your mother." the sailor whispered. take heed how you deal with the most precious blessing of God."Good-bye.""To the Grand Duke?""Yes; for an augmentation of the liberty of the press.""Yes. Mr. In any case the truth will be sure to come out. M. but what is the use of making him out worse than he is? His manner is a little affected and irritating--I expect he has been too much lionized--and the everlasting smart speeches are dreadfully tiring; but I don't believe he means any harm. monsieur!" she was saying gravely in her half-intelligible patois: "Look at Caroline's boots!"Montanelli sat playing with the child.

 of course." Then he put on his hat and went out of the room. was his old playmate. after the funeral. the fool was right; I'd rather be any kind of a thing than a fool."Of c-course. "Do you understand me?"The man shook his head. as a matter of political tactics. An order for your release has arrived from Florence. I see quite other things." remarked the Piedmontese. and the Padre would see it and believe. or to meditate half the night long upon the patience and meekness of Christ. the censorship would never allow. He is either an uncommonly clever knave.. as you know. and I have kept you all this time for nothing. it is not a proposal; it is merely a suggestion. giving him the tips of her fingers for a moment. Was he not hunchbacked. she ran after him and caught him by the arm. where he flung himself down upon the bed and slept till the next morning. melancholy call of a fruitseller echoed down the street: "Fragola! fragola!""'On the Healing of the Leper'; here it is. I am not going to write any more now.

 He was seized by a frantic desire to spring at the throat of this gray-whiskered fop and tear it with his teeth."Kindly explain to me."Martini carefully lifted the cat off his knee.In one corner stood a huge summer-flowering magnolia. and they had gone to his head like strong wine.The frenzied laughter died on Arthur's lips. very slowly and drawling insufferably."Good-evening. nervous irritability was taking possession of him. think a moment what you are saying! You are not even an Italian.""I have no desire to screen myself. full of squalid lies and clumsy cheats and foul-smelling ditches that were not even deep enough to drown a man. we will return to that subject presently. then. I think; and I want to see as much of you as possible before leaving. With the awakening of a new enthusiasm. that he was really in danger of doing so through sheer nervousness. "No one can join a society by himself.""Very well. who died in England about four years ago. "It is simply putting one's head into the lion's mouth out of sheer wantonness. looking out between the straight.""I don't know about the seminary. "It is like hell."For me?" he asked coolly.

 two or three years later.ARTHUR was taken to the huge mediaeval fortress at the harbour's mouth. surrounded by a group of simpering dandies and blandly ironical cavalry officers. the fool was right; I'd rather be any kind of a thing than a fool. He snatched up the hammer from the table and flung himself upon the crucifix. the master and mistress of the house brought up the rear of this strange procession; he in dressing gown and slippers. "There are the shops where she used to buy me toys when I was a little thing. and drew her lace scarf about her head. He has been staying here. He looked up and down the street; there was no one in sight. how can you ask? Of course I am speaking only of the three or four months that I shall be away.Signora Grassini greeted Gemma affectionately. and the lap-dog on her knee. and the crucifix swam in a misty cloud before his eyes."Good-afternoon."Arthur opened his eyes wide; he had not expected to hear the students' cause pleaded by the new Director. setting the precious "drink" in a safe place. standing before the empty pedestal. and the prayers were growing terribly mechanical. To whom did you communicate your wish to join it?"Silence. which had broken up into little knots of twos and threes.""I am not tired. pondering anxiously.""Why?""Partly because everything Grassini touches becomes as dull as himself. if only one could carry it out; but if the thing is to be done at all it must be well done.

"All those two days before they buried her. had come a sense of rest and completeness.""Perhaps you remember this one?"A second letter was handed to him. it's as much my fault as his.""Is the mistress in. She was to him a holy thing. Katie?""Yes. and get across to Canada. when there was a warrant out against him again. dear. He had already joined the Protestant camp in the servants' hall. addressed to her husband. The wonderful thing! Kneel down. "You have always been good to me. studied the fashion-plates as carefully as she did the keys of her ciphers. He was beginning to feel bored and impatient. They had been fortunate as to weather and had made several very pleasant excursions; but the first charm was gone out of their enjoyment. there is no use in frightening them at the beginning by the form. You must forgive my talkativeness; I am hot upon this subject and forget that others may grow weary of it. Here comes the tea. Annette. It had occurred to Fabrizi and a few other leading Florentines that this was a propitious moment for a bold effort to reform the press-laws. he plunged at once into the subject of his last night's backsliding. Warren had once compared Julia to a salad into which the cook had upset the vinegar cruet.)"You here.

 looking at him with some curiosity. Bolla must be perfectly mad to have imagined such a thing. personally." he said.As Montanelli entered the room where Arthur was waiting for him at the supper table. I was glad he spoke so strongly about the need of living the Republic. because one priest was a liar. panting. . He actually got Spinola's search-party to give him a lift. It was a confession. But I can't stand the way he behaves to you. or attempt to run a comic paper? That last. formed an exception; he seemed to have taken a dislike to her from the time of their first meeting. It's only her spiteful tongue; and if you want help. But I am nearly sure he would come back if we asked him. climbed on to an oil barrel to eat his pork and biscuit. deep blue under black lashes. "Neapolitan vehemence is peculiar to Naples. But you would have to lay aside the spitefulness. His whole personality was oddly suggestive of a black jaguar. Arthur was studying philosophy at the university; and. Annette. Allow me. accordingly.

 a moment later.Presently he began again in his soft."No. You must forgive my talkativeness; I am hot upon this subject and forget that others may grow weary of it. descended a flight of stone steps to a narrow landing stage. panting. of course. He ostensibly belongs to the liberal party in the Church. that is recommendation enough to counterbalance a good deal of boulevard gossip. Padre. and want of sleep; every bone in his body seemed to ache separately; and the colonel's voice grated on his exasperated nerves. "There.""The catalogue is imperfect; many of the best books have been added to the collection lately. examining his college papers."He clambered up the side of a huge black monster. The studied politeness of the officers. Mr. is it not? And we are all so fond of dear Gemma! She is a little stiff.""I know; he went there in November------""Because of the steamers. The man's as slippery as an eel; I don't trust him. I suppose?""Bolla and all the rest.""And another time when people tell you the stale gossip of Paris. be sure that you put no false construction on His word. Annette. But the deadliest weapon I know is ridicule.

""One to whom you are bound by ties of blood?""By a still closer tie.' Then there's a note put: 'Very expert shot; care should be taken in arresting. are you mad?"Arthur suddenly threw back his head. "Jim" was a childish corruption of her curious baptismal name: Jennifer. you're on the wrong tack. Where would you like to go?""If it is really the same to you.""Padre! Where?""That is the point about which I have to go to Rome. Where would you like to go?""If it is really the same to you. It was the voice of a born orator. She herself seemed to feel out of place." she said after a pause; "but I am right.""Oh. "You won't ask me his name. "most of us are serious writers; and.One day in January he called at the seminary to return a book which he had borrowed. Her suggestions are always valuable.""I always knew you would not grow up like other girls and begin wanting to go to balls and all that sort of thing. Arthur.""I did not even know he had come. and the well in the middle of the courtyard was given up to ferns and matted stone-crop. it will be dull because half the interesting people are not coming. that he might not see them. or a trap you want to drag me into. the most docile horse will kick if you are always jerking at the rein." Fabrizi broke in: "'Felice Rivarez.

 her eyes wide and dark with horror." the M. surely! Look. who had taken upon himself the solemn duties of an initiator--Bolla. did not improve matters; and when Gibbons announced that dinner was served. as a matter of political tactics. he awoke in a soberer mood and remembered that Gemma was going to Leghorn and the Padre to Rome. but he never told us practically what we ought to do. rested his forehead on one hand and tried to collect his thoughts. He is either an uncommonly clever knave. all that was done with; he was wiser now. It's true that they found Rivarez stranded out there. "Many years ago I used to know something about Monsignor Montanelli. You need give me no reason; only say to me. as long as she lived. when they dragged for his body. for his part. trying to compose his mind to the proper attitude for prayer and meditation. languid drawl. They had come back--he had sat there dreaming. He wrote to Gemma. and they had made it a den of thieves. I have seen this thing. He came back from China when I was twelve years old."You don't like it.

 It is a very deplorable business; but----"Arthur looked up. and Thomas left the room with a carefully made-up expression of unconcern that rendered his face more stolid than ever. and if Grassini gets one up I'll sign it with all the pleasure in life. 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. it isn't worth talking about. and I shall feel you are safer if I have you beside me. 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. take some more barley-sugar to sweeten your temper. The knock was repeated. "There." interpolated with "charmant" and "mon prince. and a long scarf of black Spanish lace thrown over her head." he answered. At a little distance Arthur sat up and threw off the clothes. as though she had somewhere seen that gesture before. the way that leads to peace; if you have joined with loving comrades to bring deliverance to them that weep and mourn in secret; then see to it that your soul be free from envy and passion and your heart as an altar where the sacred fire burns eternally. Burton. but still quite respectably; and he never sat discussing politics at the top of his voice till one in the morning. and that the Jesuits and Sanfedists are the people who will profit by it all. and he is in a position which gives him exceptional opportunities for finding out things of that kind. the Arve; it runs so fast. Slanging the Jesuits won't take all his time. Evidently his dreamy fancies had not interfered with either his spirits or his appetite.""Ah. Are you ready? Then we had better start.

 You must forgive my talkativeness; I am hot upon this subject and forget that others may grow weary of it.""But. of course Grassini wants his house to be the first place where the new lion will be on show. 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.""Have you brothers and sisters?""No; I have step-brothers; but they were business men when I was in the nursery. And won't you just catch it when the captain sees you--that's all! Got the drink safe? Good-night!"The hatchway closed. I know what you're going to say; you are perfectly right. staring blankly before him. he looked up with a laugh and a shrug of his shoulders. On two or three occasions he was actually rude to her. . with care. Can't do it under fifty--and cheap at that. chatting in a languid. There was a low-class tavern on the point; probably he should find some sailor there who could be bribed. Canon Montanelli. take heed how you deal with the most precious blessing of God. Arthur was reading hard and had little spare time. yes!" He leaned back against the tree-trunk and looked up through the dusky branches at the first faint stars glimmering in a quiet sky. Burton!" said the colonel.) "Then Bini wrote and told me to pass through Pisa to-day on my way home." remarked the Piedmontese. into a pitfall. let that poor woman alone! There. but you must know Bolla.

 that is a child's toy." said Fabrizi; "there must be something remarkable about a man who could lay his 'come hither' on two old campaigners like Martel and Duprez as he seems to have done.""What are you going to do?""Get you some clothes." The Neapolitan rose and came across to the table." said the cool business voice of the warder. Father Cardi had promised to receive him in the morning; and for this. Will you come in?""No; it's late. nor indeed had he thought much about it; the thing was quite obvious and inevitable. Rivarez has a very disagreeable style. carino. It is all one to me which he is--and to my friends across the frontier. Florence is not a mere wilderness of factories and money-getting like London. Well then. limping to the door. he went on:"I may as well tell you that evidence has come into our hands proving your connection with this society to be much more intimate than is implied by the mere reading of forbidden literature. remember. . and the alcove opposite the window had been fitted up during her long illness as an oratory."Reverend Father. "Are you asleep?"Arthur looked round the room. indeed."Of c-course."They crouched down behind the group of statuary and waited till the watchman had passed. It fairly disgusted me the other day at Fabrizi's debate to hear the way he cried down the reforms in Rome. and with frantic haste began tearing off a strip.

 I hoped you could have trusted me. so there is no reason why we should stop. "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. Slanging the Jesuits won't take all his time. "I certainly think. which had left their faint. but it must be kicked out of the path."Can't you guess? Think a minute."I am anxious about you. 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. so that he staggered and would have fallen backwards had the warder not caught him by the shoulder.""What is the matter with it? Honestly."Gemma knit her brows. I shall feel bound to complain to the English Ambassador. sweeping into the room in a towering passion. I would have let you know at once. He was standing with his hand upon the door.""He must have had bad news. with admirable coolness. had come a sense of rest and completeness. A great icy wave of silence seemed to have swept round them both.""I am not tired. he was really a most remarkable man. Giusti wouldn't accept; he is fully occupied as it is.' and I will give up this journey.

 and life had.""There was a splendid story about Rivarez and that police paper. There are one or two good men in Lombardy."Eastwards the snow-peaks burned in the afterglow. In the utter void and absence of all external impressions.On Sunday mornings he sometimes came in to "talk business." he whispered at last; "the steamers-- I spoke of that; and I said his name--oh. we might have them illustrated. carrying on separate discussions. She was to him a holy thing. the whole of Italy--into his arms and he will carry us to the promised land. "for fooling that painted-up wax doll; but what can a fellow do?""Since you ask me. They had come back--he had sat there dreaming. as she particularly wishes to speak to you this evening.Directly he opened the door of the great reception room she realized that something unusual had happened in her absence. and got some goat's milk up there on the pasture; oh. paused a moment. now.""Padre! But the Vatican------""The Vatican will find someone else.""Very well. We should want a first-class satirist; and where are we to get him?""You see. "You know best."Leave off daubing at the landscape."M. And if.

 He paused a moment on the threshold. and the fragments of the broken image scattered on the floor about his feet. It was a most romantic affair altogether. "I should have thought the result of the Renzi case was enough to cure anybody of going to work that way."I want to know. Padre?""I shall have to take the pupils into the hills."I am afraid. called: The Gadfly. though the dense black plaits still hung down her back in school-girl fashion."But you will. You must forgive my talkativeness; I am hot upon this subject and forget that others may grow weary of it. gazing out with wide. and the crucifix swam in a misty cloud before his eyes. as they understood it."Will you kindly sign this receipt for your papers?" said the colonel blandly; "and then I need not keep you any longer. and what do you think of the Gadfly?" Martini asked as they drove back to Florence late at night. Galli raised his hands in expostulation. Mind. What was it-- Bolla?""Yes; she is the widow of poor Giovanni Bolla."Look here!" Arthur again took hold of the warder's arm. I cannot make out. If you'll excuse me I will go to my room. Allow me."Arthur drew the clothes over his head. addressed to him.

 my dear boy. Burton placed a chair for his wife and sat down."My time is a good deal taken up. I was ill; you remember. for Our Lady's sake!"Arthur hurriedly dressed and opened the door. no more do I. The close air and continually shifting crowd in the rooms were beginning to give her a headache. man? I?""Well. Well. what you know about this affair?"Arthur bent his head lower. rejoicing under the winged death-storm; and they would die together. where he took off his hat and flung it into the water. But they held that English gentlemen must deal fairly. My holiday is to see your pleasure. you needn't be afraid!" Galli cut in sharply; "we shouldn't ask you to go to prison for our pamphlets. and life had."I hope that little document has refreshed your memory?" hinted the colonel politely. "It's no use talking that patter to me."Montanelli's voice was rather low. (She had good eyelashes and liked to show them. to be sold cheap or distributed free about the streets. Martel told me he believed they never would have got through the expedition at all if it had not been for Rivarez. for a moment."Gemma raised her eyebrows slightly. He expended half his spare cash on botanical books and pressing-cases.

 There was nothing to regret; nothing to look back upon. You need give me no reason; only say to me." thought Gemma quickly."At any rate. or ill. trying to get back to Buenos Ayres. But I should think that if the companions who were with a man on a three years' expedition in savage countries. Arthur! what shall it profit me if I gain a bishopric and lose----"He broke off. as we feared there would be. I don't see what that has to do with getting rid of the Austrians." he muttered. one by one. no! I can't have you rushing off in that way. and. raised its head and growled as Gemma knocked at the open door. and the comrades who were with him through an insurrection. if anger and passion could have saved Italy she would have been free long ago; it is not hatred that she needs. Burton coughed. He had a sense of delight in the soft elasticity of the wet grass under his feet and in the shy. carino. and a great bunch of wild flowers in his hand." he whispered; "and make haste about it. listened quietly. Enclosed in the letter was a short note."When he rose.

'"THAT afternoon Arthur felt the need of a long walk. noting with experienced eyes the unsteady hands and lips. to political offenders in the Papal States; but the wave of liberal enthusiasm caused by it was already spreading over Italy. "that you are interested in the radical press. clinging faintly about the desperate agony of the torrent. perfectly accurate and perfectly neutral.--cash.""And then he died in England. she must think------"Gemma. he looked up with a laugh and a shrug of his shoulders. the sound of tramping feet and clanking metal came along the corridor. You can pass. he could see."I--I like him very much. At last sheer physical weariness conquered the feverish agitation of his nerves. And if." he said. who had converted Gemma--who was in love with her! He laid down the paper and stared at the floor. He wants a lesson. Well.""Mistake? Oh. I said something about people laughing at cripples. Surely there was still time to win him back by gentle persuasion and reasoning from the dangerous path upon which he had barely entered.""Fortunately. a little frown appeared on Arthur's face.