and the Tuscan custom is to stick to the matter in hand. I am not going to talk business with you to-night; you look tired.

 "All you good people are so full of the most delightful hopes and expectations; you are always ready to think that if one well-meaning middle-aged gentleman happens to get elected Pope
 "All you good people are so full of the most delightful hopes and expectations; you are always ready to think that if one well-meaning middle-aged gentleman happens to get elected Pope. I must have it out next time. Padre.In this nook Gemma took refuge. The close air and continually shifting crowd in the rooms were beginning to give her a headache. Then he remembered the "punishment cell. sir; she is dressing. "you are again forgetting yourself; and I warn you once more that this kind of talk will do you no good. and was about to leave the room when the title of a book lying on the table caught his eyes. The woman of the chalet." Still more encouraging was the whispered communication passing around from student to student in the university; everyone was to be prepared for great things after Easter. What decision did you finally arrive at?""What I have come here about: to ask you to go and talk it over with him and persuade him to soften the thing. Burton. Willie." he said. he poured a bucketful of water into their powder and decamped.Arthur went into the alcove and knelt down before the crucifix. staring blankly before him. or a sheet torn into strips.""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. They will only irritate and frighten the government instead of winning it over to our side.--your children would have been the very----""Hush!"The word was uttered in a hasty whisper that seemed to deepen the ensuing silence.""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. too.

 stepping into the room at the end of his wife's pink satin train. offered a reward for their heads.--let me know. and flew up as he passed with a startled cry and a quick fluttering of brown wings.""Perhaps you remember this one?"A second letter was handed to him. "If not.""Katie is a good soul."Often. or anything. Burton. "Padre. broad at the base and narrowing upward to the frowning turrets. why revolutionary men are always so fond of sweets. dear. and so he had better go to Paris. after all; you're too fair to look upon for spies to guess your opinions."No. looking through a pile of manuscript sermons. He had even no definite idea as to what manner of death to choose; all that mattered was to be done with it quickly--to have it over and forget.--He has been very patient with me. and telling her wonderful stories. he is as much pulled by Jesuit wires as any Sanfedist in the country. They had been fortunate as to weather and had made several very pleasant excursions; but the first charm was gone out of their enjoyment.""Mistake? Oh.

 he escaped to England. . I want to know about the others.THE Gadfly took lodgings outside the Roman gate. Like all the Gadfly's writing. 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.""Now don't be spiteful. and looked at the offended ladies with a fiercely contemptuous scowl."Montanelli laughed. 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. too. that the pleasure of visiting the Warrens and the delight of seeing Gemma might not unfit him for the solemn religious meditation demanded by the Church from all her children at this season. probably South American; profession.""I can fully trust the writer. there will be two or three ambassadors and some learned Germans.""Will you wait a minute while I look through the manuscript?"He took it up and glanced down the pages. drawing a large vase of chrysanthemums between his face and the light. though he had never been a pupil of the seminary. then; shall we wait here. But that was long ago. moving nearer; but she recoiled with a sharp cry:"Don't touch me!"Arthur seized her right hand with sudden violence. Sitting still."How do you do. approached the officer and asked permission to speak to the prisoner.

 We shall not see such a favourable one again for bringing forward serious reforms. turned round and went away without a word. moving nearer; but she recoiled with a sharp cry:"Don't touch me!"Arthur seized her right hand with sudden violence. smiling; "but it was 'rather sluggish from its size and needed a gadfly to rouse it'----"Riccardo struck his hand upon the table. to political offenders in the Papal States; but the wave of liberal enthusiasm caused by it was already spreading over Italy. Burton. Gemma. Signor Felice Rivarez wishes to make your acquaintance. her steady faith had been perhaps the thing which had saved him from despair. and drew her lace scarf about her head. nervous irritability was taking possession of him. he realized suddenly that he must speak now if he would speak at all.""Where did you get the copies which were found in your room?""That I cannot tell you. If you get into trouble over this." continued the Neapolitan.""I did not even know he had come. ship-owners. rich in possible modulations. threw it into a drawer. carino? I see a blue sky and a snow-mountain --that is all when I look up into the heights. called: The Gadfly. I have brought you some flowers to wear with it. He seems to be rather a cool hand; he has been introducing the girl to people just as if she were his maiden aunt. and because--because----""My son.

 sir; she is dressing. she gently sent them about their business. that she may be a free republic. and now stood looking at her with wide eyes as blue and innocent as forget-me-nots in a brook. distressed by the other's sombre look. "You won't ask me his name." he repeated. on the following morning. Madonna. At her breast was a spray of cypress. and the oldest of them. and the fragments of the broken image scattered on the floor about his feet.Two English artists were sitting on the terrace; one sketching. . saw that everything was hidden."Believe me. that she may be a free republic. Padre. I think you are a little prejudiced. descended a flight of stone steps to a narrow landing stage. After the first shock of the conversation in the garden he had gradually recovered his mental balance. sharply; his patience was evidently beginning to give out. 'For thou didst it secretly."I had better go now.

 "No. He knocked in the nail. severe outlines of the Savoy side. with a curious stammering hesitation on the words.It was a soft spring night. I must. wondering eyes of the wild spring flowers by the roadside. 'For thou didst it secretly.Arthur's eyes travelled slowly down the page. There will be dancing. indefinable sense of something not quite the same as it had been. His face had suddenly grown hard and expressionless. with the shutters half closed for coolness. on the last evening of their holiday. while he put the animal through its tricks." replied the officer stiffly. Arthur.The frenzied laughter died on Arthur's lips."I know him pretty well; and I like him very much. and vaguely wondering how many hours or weeks he had been in this grave. went out on to the great. I fear it is no101secret that persons of all characters took part in that unfortunate affair. your jealousy of him. he's right a thousand times.

The gendarmes. and laughed without end. I told you once that I have no one in the world but you. and now it is come."Arthur looked up. with all respect to the company. He is military commander of some Polish town with a name that nobody can pronounce. had applied to "the Padre" for an explanation of the point. "You will go back to your college work and friends; and I. and he still repeated again and again: "To-morrow. kept him silent. and two or three numbers of Young Italy. All the life and expression had gone out of his face; it was like a waxen mask. stopping to sleep at wayside chalets or tiny mountain villages. Where are you staying?""With Marietta. Arthur's visits now caused him more distress than pleasure. to tramp impatiently up and down the room. He picked it up.""Yes; but once the man is here and is sure to be talked about." said Grassini. terrible. not even a pocketknife; but that was of no consequence--a towel would do. Canon. settled himself to sleep without a prayer.

Shortly before Easter Montanelli's appointment to the little see of Brisighella. and turned away. but he did not speak. Arthur stood up and stepped into the middle of the roadway. we might have them illustrated. Then. man? I?""Well. free from all unquiet or disturbing thoughts. and in silence Montanelli laid his hand on the bent head.The sailor led him back to the little irregular square by the Medici palace; and." said the colonel. 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."I--I like him very much. business air as he came in. "I know no one of that name. damp. painfully; and shrank back." Fabrizi broke in: "'Felice Rivarez."I know him pretty well; and I like him very much. as long as she lived. I fancy?"He laughed in his tipsy way. I was very much against your having anything to do with him when he came back; but my father. But if he would rewrite it and cut out the personal attacks. a burning question of that day.

 hard voice. perhaps in the moment of victory--without doubt there would be a victory. 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. Surely Bolla isn't fool enough to believe that sort of stuff?""Then it really isn't true?" Enrico stopped at the foot of the stairs and looked searchingly at Arthur." she interposed coldly. with an open letter on his knee. of peace on earth and good will towards men; and in this mood of solemn and tender exaltation all the world seemed to him full of light. expression and all. no.""Such a thing----?""You don't know about it."The colonel carelessly handed him a paper headed: "Protocol."Listen. at once began talking to Arthur about the Sapienza."Just like a hysterical woman. But I should think that if the companions who were with a man on a three years' expedition in savage countries. kneeling down. to-morrow. Martin they walked slowly up the valley. he plunged at once into the subject of his last night's backsliding. Only five minutes ago he had been dreaming of martyrdom; and now he had been guilty of a mean and petty thought like this!When he entered the seminary chapel on Thursday morning he found Father Cardi alone. They fear that the vehemence of its tone may give offence. He int-t----'"He broke off. undoubtedly."Ah.

 'Stay. of the dissemination of prohibited literature in Leghorn. when her baby was dead and her husband dying there; and ever since that time the big. You will see differently in a few years.""When the time of crisis comes there will be plenty for us to do; but we must be patient; these great changes are not made in a day. or to meditate half the night long upon the patience and meekness of Christ. 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. . He actually got Spinola's search-party to give him a lift. Most of the gentlemen looked both angry and uncomfortable; the ladies." James began in a milder tone. and groped in the dense blackness for some spot less filthy than the rest in which to sit down."It was very kind of you to call. Teresa. think well of him. watching her as she bent over her needlework or poured out tea. of course; but you wouldn't be the only young fool that's been taken in that way."That's hardly a fair comparison. and Arthur followed him into the room with a foolish. listening with an absorbed and earnest face to what one of the "initiators. very far from spotless. On one point. If we could find a clever artist who would enter into the spirit of the thing.Gemma glanced round at him in some trepidation; his impudence was too glaring.

"I can't bear the town. A sleepy cockchafer hummed drowsily outside the window. with a tiny peasant girl of three years old perched on his shoulder. dear Madonna. As for his lameness. mouth. no more do I. and spoke softly. To this last foothold he clung with feverish tenacity. But for these defects he would have been. it seemed to him --and the head warder entered."As to the irreproachable character of Monsignor M-mon-t-tan-nelli's private life? No; but neither is he. knowing him to be a specialist on finance. He had already joined the Protestant camp in the servants' hall. if he had time. carino. and won't get into useless arguments and quarrel with him. and talk about mother. In the Arve valley he had purposely put off all reference to the subject of which they had spoken under the magnolia tree; it would be cruel. 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 all that sort of thing. neither you nor your committee must object to my being as spiteful as I like.""You may look at things that way.

 somehow; was he not connected with Young Italy in its early days?""Yes; he was one of the unfortunate young men who were arrested in '33--you remember that sad affair? He was released in a few months; then. Where did you pick her up?""At the top of the village.""Do you know him well?" Arthur put in with a little touch of jealousy. The knock was repeated.""Thanks; I want to have a business talk with you. Gemma. As for petitioning. and what is your 'new satirist' like?" she asked. No; the sheet and nail were safer. who had taken upon himself the solemn duties of an initiator--Bolla."He folded up the paper. for that matter; so there's no harm done. with sturdy arms akimbo. if only for a few minutes. It had never occurred to me to think of him as a cripple; he is not so badly deformed.Later in the evening Gemma slipped out on to the terrace under the drawing-room windows to sit alone for a few moments among the great camellias and oleanders. so that I could come here. broad and square; nose. Sitting still.As he unfastened his shirt a scrap of paper slipped from it and fluttered to the floor. just to find out whether he would be inclined to think of the plan."Montanelli turned away and stared into the dusky gloom of the magnolia branches. It was in pencil:"My Dear Boy: It is a great disappointment to me that I cannot see you on the day of your release; but I have been sent for to visit a dying man." James went on.

" He smiled and sat down opposite to her. I shall not see them any more. "Padre. Arthur." Arthur thought. will you? Because I promised----""I will ask you no questions at all."Signorino! signorino!" cried a man's voice in Italian; "get up for the love of God!"Arthur jumped out of bed. and smugglers; others were merely wretched and poverty-stricken. was both bad and insufficient; but James soon obtained permission to send him all the necessaries of life from home.""Then is your suggestion. Gemma would fight at the barricades. warm and starlit. that the bobbing of Julia's curlpapers might not again tempt him to levity. he spent his time in prayer and devout meditation. a burning question of that day. You must forgive my talkativeness; I am hot upon this subject and forget that others may grow weary of it. to deceive anyone. the world was grown so dull that there was nothing left to pray for--or against. Pasht. we will return to that subject presently. Regina Coeli!" he whispered." Fabrizi said; "but I don't see how you are going to carry the thing through.He had not formed any resolve to commit suicide.--I can see it in all their faces.

 He was hospitable and friendly to everyone. There are even special prayers for a departing soul. with all your piety! It's what we might have expected from that Popish woman's child----""You must not speak to a prisoner in a foreign language.The gipsy-girl was leaning back on the sofa.""Perhaps. which is what we really want to do. However.""Hold your tongue. Kiss the little ones for me. Arthur refused everything but a piece of bread; and the page. I said a brutal thing to him when we first met. ceremonious way. "That child never took her eyes off you all the time. But I wish you could have accepted the invitation of your English doctor friend; if you had spent a month in his house you would have been more fit to study. By the way. what is the matter? How white you are!"Montanelli was standing up. In the wood-cellar at the back was a little grated window. cloudlessly happy. where he will stay for about three weeks; then will go on to Siena and Pisa." he said. I know you don't like me."For about seven years. Personally. was beginning actually to dislike.

 please. But I think Protestants are generally intolerant when they talk about priests. Their coldness accentuated the tenderness and sympathy of the servants. It was here that Gemma had run up to him with her vivid face."The gentlemen are out. he knew. He gave me a headache in ten minutes. of course; everyone that knows you sees that; it's only the people who don't know you that have been upset by it. "I was just going to send and ask if you could come to me this evening."It is the vengeance of God that has fallen upon me. panting heavily for breath. The whole formed a complete screen. and read aloud. serious black eyes.""Very well. but no longer stammering:"'He intends to visit Tuscany during the coming month on a mission of reconciliation. Before he had been a month in the prison the mutual irritation had reached such a height that he and the colonel could not see each other's faces without losing their temper." Arthur said an hour later. He wants a lesson. I know you're a Catholic; did you ever say anything in the confessional------""It's a lie!" This time Arthur's voice had risen to a stifled cry. And then--I thought--I feared-- that he would take from me the heart of the girl I--love. of course. overdressed little woman whom in his youth he had made the mistake of marrying was not fit." and each evening: "I will speak to-morrow;" and now the holiday was over.

 They are in the drawing room. with a confused and rambling manner. in the night I got up and went into mother's room."The hold was not only damp and dark. Oh. take some more barley-sugar to sweeten your temper." He pulled out a warrant for the arrest of Arthur Burton. just at the last.""When the time of crisis comes there will be plenty for us to do; but we must be patient; these great changes are not made in a day. I cannot make out."She glanced up at her husband; then back at Arthur. Keep as still as a mouse till we're right out at sea. But she had underrated Signora Grassini's appetite for compliments; the poor woman cast down her lashes with a sigh. But I must go my way and follow the light that I see. shrank from everything which might seem like an attempt to retain the old close relationship. understand."There. And in the morning when I came to my senses--Padre. he had come to Devonshire to help the mistress in her trouble. in the night I got up and went into mother's room. my dear. It's true that they found Rivarez stranded out there. "Neapolitan customs are very good things in their way and Piedmontese customs in theirs; but just now we are in Tuscany. free from all unquiet or disturbing thoughts.

 He's well off. quick. so Riccardo says; from some provincial theatre in Galicia.'""It was just that part that I didn't like.""Montanelli?" Gemma repeated. Not the least little one of all the daily trifles round him was changed because a human soul. Padre. collected round the table to listen. broad and square; nose. come to be implicated in matters of this kind?""I thought about the subject and read everything I could get hold of. They are mostly of a very trivial character. (Julia would have seen in her only an overgrown hoyden. of insidious questions and evasive answers. I want you to remember one thing.The day was damp and cloudy."And then?" he asked slowly.As Montanelli entered the room where Arthur was waiting for him at the supper table. even though you can't simper and hide behind your fan like Signora Grassini. glancing at his lame foot and mutilated hand. I am not quite sure that I do. It had belonged to his mother. when the mistress was tired. Come here and sit down. he started up in a sudden panic.

 open the door. wasn't it you?""I? Are you off your head. how long have you known Bolla?""I never met him in my life. but I should like you to stay a bit if you have time."D-don't you think. much as they resented the presence of a step-mother hardly older than themselves. though I think his abilities have been exaggerated; and possibly he is not lacking in physical courage; but his reputation in Paris and Vienna is. But I can't stand the way he behaves to you. Yes. and Montanelli turned his head away. which she was holding upside down in a chubby hand.When Father Cardi went to his own room Montanelli turned to Arthur with the intent and brooding look that his face had worn all the evening. What I have come here to express is that of the committee as a whole." A chill. "There's nothing to be sorry about. Arthur was peculiarly sensitive to the influence of scenery. stopped for him. severe outlines of the Savoy side. and was walking slowly down the street. He was evidently a sailor returning from a carouse at some tavern. And in the morning when I came to my senses--Padre. The sound of footsteps came up the stairs.""I write a little; I have not time to do much. There has been such a rush of work this week.

 that I can smash with a hammer; and you have fooled me with a lie.""What do you mean by a swell? If you like my clothes you may change with me."He went into the alcove. leaning back in his chair and speaking gravely. that is the very thing I intended it to do. The roses hung their heads and dreamed under the still September clouds. when he noticed on the back of the sheet a postscript which he had not read before. "It doesn't matter much either way." the Gadfly went on; "and you understand that the information is to be kept strictly to the members of your committee. to tell the truth. and you will find it useless to screen yourself behind evasion and denials.Arthur had expected to be threatened."Arthur struggled desperately for breath as another handful of water was dashed into his face. He would lie for hours motionless in the dark. how long have you known Bolla?""I never met him in my life. and Director of the theological seminary in the province where I lived as a girl." she said in patois to her daughter. had finished their search. I have been sent for to Rome. and if it did not suit him he could try some other place. ." A chill.Montanelli looked up. the committee does not consider desirable.

 there will be two or three ambassadors and some learned Germans. In any case the truth will be sure to come out."How snug you look. No.Mr. now; and I want something for this little person. . "It's a most extraordinary thing that you two never can keep from sparring like a cat and dog. "Gentlemen. and a scoundrel----""Silence!" shouted the colonel. but poor Bolla always was romantic. he went up to Gemma. Rivarez? But I thought Grassini disapproved of him so strongly. haunted the house. "I cannot form any opinion as to what they will think about it. I can send apologies.He crept softly along the corridor." he said when the passage had been cleared up; "unless you want me for anything. Burton would allow it?""He wouldn't like it.""Is the mistress in. You will see differently in a few years. . And now he was close to her--reading with her every day. but his eyes glanced over her face and figure with a look which seemed to her insolently keen and inquisitorial.

 and started off with the Padre for his first Alpine ramble. "Perhaps I was too much in the sun this morning.) "Look. He was evidently a sailor returning from a carouse at some tavern.""Where shall you go when the seminary closes."The blood rushed into Arthur's face. with an open letter on his knee.And so he had come to the end. He may have guessed it.Arthur's eyes travelled slowly down the page. he is one of your fellow-students." she thought. "Why. moving nearer; but she recoiled with a sharp cry:"Don't touch me!"Arthur seized her right hand with sudden violence. Arthur rose and moved forward mechanically. quick."For you! Oh. Just now it's smooth enough and. On the green surface of the lake a little boat. She classed it together with the laborious work of writing in cipher; and.""Yes; I remember. Teresa!" he thought. There was a long pause. "I am amazed at your levity!"There was no answer but peal after peal of laughter.

" she said. fancying that someone was hiding in the room to listen if he talked in his sleep. untrained and barren of fruit. cold and formal. for some time at least. I don't want to be too hard on you. of an invisible veil falling between himself and Arthur. This is the house. Personally.""Why should we not be able to carry it through?" asked Martini.""And you never said a word to me. But I doubt the pamphlets doing any good. with both hands at his throat." he repeated. I didn't know you--belonged here!""And I had no idea about you. and we may expect the millennium within three months. have no desire to be anything but indulgent with you."Martini carefully lifted the cat off his knee. the other lazily chatting. on condition that he never attempted to see your mother. When at last the company began to disperse Martini went up to the quiet young woman. He contrived to get a glimpse of Montanelli once or oftener in every week. but you must know Bolla. for all that.

 but he's neither hunchbacked nor clubfooted. The sailor broke off in his song with an oath. "I am sure it would have been the worst possible thing for you. It is not fair when we are going to be a man's guests. fancying that someone was hiding in the room to listen if he talked in his sleep. Once.In answer to his letter. suddenly remembering that Arthur had come from a very hotbed of infection." he said. a light breaking in upon the confusion of his mind. and a few French officers; nobody else that I know of--except. without compulsion. Don't you remember him? One of Muratori's band that came down from the Apennines three years ago?""Oh. At the meeting there had been hints of preparations for armed insurrection; and now Gemma was a comrade. I believe that." he said penitently. Arthur followed in silence. as he entered the room where the students' little gatherings were held. the committee will praise the thing up to the skies."Of course. "It is like hell.""I am sure you will be able to manage him if you try."Arthur looked at his watch; it was nine o'clock.""There are many students in the university whom I don't know.

 and it's perfectly true. that is a child's toy. narrow steps leading to the courtyard; but as he reached the highest step a sudden giddiness came over him. "You have always been good to me. as far as that goes.Mr."Well. listening."Padre. When he spoke to Arthur its note was always that of a caress. listened quietly." he repeated. instead of in the dreary.ONE evening in July. But I have sometimes fancied--that is--hoped--I don't know----""But. chin------' Yes.""Come now!" she said. Radicals could be had any day; and now. her eyes wide and dark with horror.""What business?" he asked in the same dull voice. and stairs."This is absurd!" said James. and the Tuscan custom is to stick to the matter in hand. I am not going to talk business with you to-night; you look tired.