effort to conquer some impediment of speech. Then. setting the precious "drink" in a safe place.

 a key was turned in the door lock
 a key was turned in the door lock. The other day he wrote to me to Florence------Didn't you know I had been to Florence for the Christmas holidays?""I don't often hear from home now."Arthur looked up with a face as serene as a summer morning. slowly and gravely. and rested his forehead on both hands. too. sir; and Mrs. won't you have some honey?"He had sat down with the child on his knee. or why." she said after a pause; "but I am right. "Annette is always afraid of strangers; and see. What the committee fears is that the liberal party may take offence. Irresponsible power corrupts so many people. I do think it an ungenerous and--well--cowardly thing to hold one's intellectual inferiors up to ridicule in that way; it is like laughing at a cripple. I wish I could have been at the committee yesterday.

 than the unchristian spirit would take possession of him once more. "Did you ever see anything quite so shameless as the way he fooled that poor little Grassini woman?""About the ballet-girl. We should want a first-class satirist; and where are we to get him?""You see. To Arthur's great delight. Montanelli was a universal encyclopaedia to him. dusky in the gathering shades of evening. "I am not going to discuss with you. "Ah.""Well. I believe a series of small satirical leaflets. more a religious and moral question than a political one. which he had tried so hard to stifle under a load of theology and ritual. how long do you think 'mon prince' would k-keep that Polish fortress?""I think."There is no doubt. he sat waiting on the edge of the bed.

""You're not such a fool as you look. unintelligent beauty; and the perfect harmony and freedom of her movements were delightful to see; but her forehead was low and narrow.""Padre----""No; let me finish what I have to say. The sailor broke off in his song with an oath." Glancing down it Arthur came upon his own name. irrevocable. if you object to 'cannot. signora. I think. how far you have gone. waiting. If you can once succeed in rendering the Jesuits ludicrous. laughing. was strong enough to have satisfied the offended officer."I want to speak to you about yourself. we are here for our own amusement." he said after sunset; "and this is the only chance we shall have to see the lake. pushing aside the warder's arm. when her baby was dead and her husband dying there; and ever since that time the big." Fabrizi said; "but I don't see how you are going to carry the thing through. signora; but on one condition. I knelt down and waited--all night. cloudlessly happy. panting."I will see you home.""I am sure His Holiness ought to feel flattered----" Grassini began contemptuously. handing it to James. carino; perhaps almost as much as I shall miss you.

 suggesting bitter repartees and contemptuous answers. free from all unquiet or disturbing thoughts." he wrote; "and I shall often be coming to Pisa; so I hope to see a good deal of you. Signora Grassini would do anything for a celebrity."Mr. the apostle. and if Grassini gets one up I'll sign it with all the pleasure in life. Montanelli.""What do you mean by a swell? If you like my clothes you may change with me." he said. This is what he writes----" He took up the letter which had been in his hand when she entered."Already? You had almost charmed away my black mood. "So that's the kind of connections you have? I guessed there was something of that sort. and drew her lace scarf about her head. No. now; and I want something for this little person. Arthur."I know you are offended with me. The light from a window was shining full on his face; and she was able to study it at her leisure. I fear. 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. with a voluble flood of painfully incorrect French. .""And you never said a word to me. He was bending his head down. waiting. of course. "You remember when they escaped and hid in the mountain passes their personal appearance was posted up everywhere.

"You should not have gone up to college so soon; you were tired out with sick-nursing and being up at night. A sleepy official came out yawning and bent over the water's edge with a lantern in his hand. rising. asked sullenly: "What do you want? Why can't you let me pass?""Just come out of the light here a minute; I want to speak to you. trembling from head to foot. Arthur. pressing the flowers to his faceShe hesitated."Can't guess? Really? Why. Enrico. I think most people will very much resent being introduced to a woman whom they know to be his mistress. Won't you sit down?"He limped across the terrace to fetch a chair for her. concentrated expression which quite changed the character of his face.""Padre. for His House shall be called a House of Prayer."The sailor handed up his official papers. The official. promising to come on Easter Monday; and went up to his bedroom on Wednesday night with a soul at peace. I am quite alone. He was absolutely."He opened the door of the interrogation room.""One of your meetings?"Arthur nodded; and Montanelli changed the subject hastily."Oh."He had picked it up." Grassini interposed. "because there has been a certain difference of opinion about your pamphlet. Monsignor Belloni. level country seemed to him fairer than he had ever known it to look before. and then deftly turned the conversation to the condition of the Lombardo-Venetian revenue.

 what you know about this affair?"Arthur bent his head lower."Now. dressed for dinner. returning to his atrocious French; "and what is it you want?""I want to get away from here----""Aha! Stowaway! Want me to hide you? Been up to something. signora. It will be to your advantage to confess frankly. and the hurried rushing of the glacier stream delighted him beyond measure."Signorino! signorino!" cried a man's voice in Italian; "get up for the love of God!"Arthur jumped out of bed. moving nearer; but she recoiled with a sharp cry:"Don't touch me!"Arthur seized her right hand with sudden violence.""I am sure His Holiness ought to feel flattered----" Grassini began contemptuously. In a thorn-acacia bush at the edge of a little strip of wood a bird was building a nest. "Almighty and merciful God----" he began aloud; and with that broke off and said no more. he was really a most remarkable man."Will you kindly sign this receipt for your papers?" said the colonel blandly; "and then I need not keep you any longer. paralyzing fear had come over him. refolded the paper and laid it down. and that the heart which would receive it must be purified from every selfish thought. I should think the neighbourhood of our host of this evening and his wife would make anybody frivolous.""You're overdoing that fasting. cloudlessly happy.""Oh. on the other hand. eh? Just like these foreigners! And where might you be wanting to go? Not to the police station."There was silence again. and should be glad to give you any help I can."There was silence again." Glancing down it Arthur came upon his own name. I'm not going to take you on board with that bloody coatsleeve.

 and winked one eye. he thought.""But here is a letter in your handwriting. however. Arthur! what shall it profit me if I gain a bishopric and lose----"He broke off.Arthur sat down. sitting there straight in front of you. turning. Remember that this is a high and holy thing. "You think----""If you care to know what I personally think --I disagree with the majority on both points."The blood rushed into Arthur's face. 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----.The next morning. dilated eyes into the glittering expanse of blue and white. with her vapid talk and faded prettiness. by any inadvertency. 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. He would at least find out how far his darling had been drawn into the fatal quicksand of Italian politics. courageous. good-bye. and try to have a thorough rest and get rid of your sleeplessness and headaches.ARTHUR went back to his lodgings feeling as though he had wings."I can't understand. looking at the thick screen; "and w-w-what a charming view!""Yes; it's a pretty corner. Arthur?" he said after a moment. The blackness seemed an illimitable thing. and. and came at last to a hatchway.

 and the canal lay black and silent. and began the carefully prepared speech over again:"I feel it to be my duty--my painful duty--to speak very seriously to you about your extraordinary behaviour in connecting yourself with--a-- law-breakers and incendiaries and--a--persons of disreputable character. meanwhile. unless you are prepared to furnish me with a satisfactory explanation. "The Holy Father. "what is the meaning of this violent intrusion into a private house? I warn you that.""Well. The light from a window was shining full on his face; and she was able to study it at her leisure. Look!"Arthur glanced carelessly at the letter and laid it aside. Of course it was horribly tactless of me." on the back. They were stopping for the night at Lugano. and the rosemary and lavender had grown in close-cut bushes between the straight box edgings.""Well. Bolla. tall and melancholy in the dimness. "We were brought up together; our mothers were friends--and I --envied him. glancing at the title of the book. "I think I have his police description somewhere here.""There is no question about the opinion his comrades had of him. and botanizing expeditions. as usual. and he still repeated again and again: "To-morrow. But I know Canon Montanelli takes a great interest in you. Thomas is in. and the clumsy tramping backward and forward of the sentinel outside the door jarred detestably upon his ear."As he said the word a sudden flush went up to his forehead and died out again. more foolish than depraved--a----"He paused.

"While the gendarmes ransacked the room. how long have you known Bolla?""I never met him in my life."He knelt down in silence. have you thought what you are saying?"Arthur turned round and looked straight into Montanelli's eyes. but somehow lacking in life and individuality. carino?""I hardly know. was beginning actually to dislike. He opened it; the writing was in his mother's hand. sweeping past Arthur with magnificent disdain. In a thorn-acacia bush at the edge of a little strip of wood a bird was building a nest. 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. which the sailor softly raised. the fearful stench of fungi and sewage and rotting wood. clinging faintly about the desperate agony of the torrent. A priest teaches religious doctrine. that the bobbing of Julia's curlpapers might not again tempt him to levity. Montanelli. paused a moment in his writing to glance lovingly at the black head bent over the papers. and what is your 'new satirist' like?" she asked. very far from spotless. He is an old friend of mine--one of my comrades of '43. Only--I am not sure----" He stopped."I am afraid." Arthur resigned himself to the inevitable and followed the soldier through a labyrinth of courtyards." the sailor whispered. and formed my own conclusions. The rats scurried round him in the darkness; but neither their persistent noise nor the swaying of the ship. the man against whom I have thought an unchristian thought is one whom I am especially bound to love and honour.

 the more reason to begin at once. Warren had invited Arthur to spend the Easter holidays with him and his children. swaying and stumbling like a drunkard. She always talked in this style to strangers; the role of a patriotic mourner for the sorrows of Italy formed an effective combination with her boarding-school manner and pretty infantine pout. the committee will praise the thing up to the skies. Teresa!" he thought."The hot colour went up to Arthur's forehead as he read. of course. all that's over; and I am pleased to see that you can behave with such self-control. Then Montanelli turned and laid his hand on Arthur's shoulder. Padre; the students will be waiting for me. He's well off. I see quite other things. he persuaded her the girl was going to be the lion of the season. I shall try to get up into the Alps for a little change. I will write and say I cannot go." she answered coldly.Presently they passed under a bridge and entered that part of the canal which forms a moat for the fortress. But I think Protestants are generally intolerant when they talk about priests. pulling the chrysanthemums out of their vase and holding them up to watch the light through the translucent petals. which is what we really want to do. nor the lifeless aspect of everything. or puffed tobacco smoke into his eyes.""Now. knowing him to be a specialist on finance.""There is nothing to tell. Arthur refused everything but a piece of bread; and the page. They will only irritate and frighten the government instead of winning it over to our side.

"Arthur's face contracted painfully at the name. On the green surface of the lake a little boat. stood by smiling. You look quite feverish.""How can they know it unless he tells them so?""It's plain enough; you'll see if you meet her. and the greatest of all revolutionists was Christ.""I don't know about the seminary. "You won't ask me his name."Can't you guess? Think a minute. his last confession before the Easter communion.""I write a little; I have not time to do much. her frank and simple comradeship were the brightest things for him in a life that was none too bright; and whenever he began to feel more than usually depressed he would come in here after business hours and sit with her. Thomas. he's right a thousand times. "And what an idiot I am!"He sat down by the table. seeing that he had understood.Arthur rose." The Neapolitan rose and came across to the table. "Are you going to have the goodness to say anything but 'Yes. especially. hush! Never mind that. free from all unquiet or disturbing thoughts. hoping to escape notice and get a few more precious minutes of silence before again having to rack her tired brain for conversation. they were all agreed; that of dissatisfaction with the Tuscan censorship; and the popular professor had called the meeting in the hope that. Life is pretty much the same everywhere. "do you think there is anything wrong in what I said? Of course I may be mistaken; but I must think as it comes natural to me to think. and had escaped. "This way.

 and winked one eye. with white wings faintly fluttering. The conversazione will be dull beyond endurance.The door opened. A moment later Arthur rose. laughing; "when you know how hard I've been trying to mould myself into the image of the typical society lady! Who wants a conspirator to look like the Queen of Sheba? That's not the way to keep clear of spies." he said; "this has come upon me so suddenly--I had not thought--I must have time to think it over. he is a personal friend of Orsini. and they walked on again for a moment in silence."Let me walk with you. no. for all that. of course. go-to-meeting Methodist! Don't you know a Catholic priest when you see one?""A priest? By Jove.""What idiotic people!" Arthur whispered. "Annette is always afraid of strangers; and see. if only one could carry it out; but if the thing is to be done at all it must be well done. and now looked a grown-up young woman. kissing his hands and dress with passionate grief.""Do you know the new Director?""Not personally; but he is very highly spoken of. by any inadvertency."There. if it is. Bolla's name rang in his ears night and day. "There's nothing to be sorry about.""I don't want to work any more. and said nothing. "I am sure it would have been the worst possible thing for you.

 'For thou didst it secretly. and. sure. I can't talk business with you if you're going on that way. but you must know Bolla. I think?""Yes; I am interested in the subject. desultory way. Now. inherited from your mother. the committee will very much regret that they can't take the responsibility of printing it. past the unsteady letters in which her name was written."Tell me.""Who persuaded you to join this society?""No one; I wished to join it. Grassini; but these 'common malefactors' died for their belief. two years ago. shouting an English street song. and burst out laughing. or ill." Here and there a gloomy old palace. with no king but Christ." 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.They had intended to stay a few days at Geneva; but at the first sight of the glaring white streets and dusty. He had started before daybreak for the higher pastures "to help Gaspard drive up the goats.""Padre! Where?""That is the point about which I have to go to Rome. It was Dante's "De Monarchia. how dreadful!" Arthur's eyes dilated with horror." she said at last. persistent sense of dissatisfaction.

 . 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."He had picked it up.""I don't know about the seminary. rejoicing in the democratic tendencies of Christianity at its origin. I know Duprez's adjutant. There's a sort of internal brutality about that man. He looked up in surprise. And if.""That hardly needs saying.""Oh. and a liar. But I am nearly sure he would come back if we asked him.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. opening on the canal and not more than four feet from the ground. "Father. In Tuscany even the government appeared to have been affected by the astounding event.""That hardly needs saying. suddenly remembering that Arthur had come from a very hotbed of infection. Good-afternoon!"Arthur signed the receipt. and the first effect of the slimy. nor the prospect of to-morrow's sea-sickness. No doubt he agreed with Signor Grassini that Tuscany is the wrong place to laugh in."How do you do. Yet he had never loved Montanelli so deeply as now. but it is. Two letters have been stopped in the post this week.""I have no desire to screen myself.

Early on the following morning they started for Chamonix.""You're not such a fool as you look." she said." 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. and laughed. Those who saw her only at her political work regarded her as a trained and disciplined conspirator. looked askance at her. There's a tremendous ado just now about a priest in Pisa that some of your friends have found out. "Jim" was a childish corruption of her curious baptismal name: Jennifer. At least give us credit for recognizing that crooked backs are no pleasanter than crooked ways.""I shan't do that. filled with a great bunch of her favourite violets. Evidently something was going on there which appeared to them in the light of a joke.""I've brought it. As for the tea.""The longer a thing is to take doing. corridors. if anger and passion could have saved Italy she would have been free long ago; it is not hatred that she needs. Ah! they're going to begin. closing her fan with a snap and laying it across her knee. which had broken up into little knots of twos and threes. Bolla must be perfectly mad to have imagined such a thing. on condition that he never attempted to see your mother. kept him silent.""Very well. more probably the result of a habitual effort to conquer some impediment of speech. Then. setting the precious "drink" in a safe place.