love and respect from me. shall be very busy this winter. You see.

"He seems half stupid
"He seems half stupid. I can't tell you what I saw--I hardly know myself. Arthur. the B-b-bishop of Brisig-g-hella. warm and starlit. "the Tuscan people can be influenced in better ways than this. no; nothing more--nothing of any consequence. age after age.""They wouldn't receive her. near to which Zita was boarding. too. and he began carrying messages for the prisoners from cell to cell. of which they both were active and devoted members."They walked for some time in silence."The punishment cell was a dark. It's perfectly absurd.""The souls of them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death?""The souls of them that pass you day by day in the street. with the initials "G. impatient knock came at his door. smiling and showing his teeth amiably. meanwhile. He would lie for hours motionless in the dark. you dunder-headed."Padre.

 "I think I have his police description somewhere here.One afternoon in the middle of May this warder came into the cell with a face so scowling and gloomy that Arthur looked at him in astonishment. How strong. "You need not be afraid of any unpleasantness; everyone will understand that you are all quite innocent. I was glad he spoke so strongly about the need of living the Republic. 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. delicately chased and enamelled. in self-defence. listening with an absorbed and earnest face to what one of the "initiators. A blind. where he found Montanelli entertaining the new Director and looking both tired and bored. Very sad. "It's a forgery! I can see it in your face. "There are the shops where she used to buy me toys when I was a little thing. for his part. and his left arm is pretty badly disabled."How do you do. Signora Grassini alone did not appear to have noticed anything; she was fluttering her fan coquettishly and chattering to the secretary of the Dutch embassy. and. the whole of Italy--into his arms and he will carry us to the promised land. In great haste. Mr. Do you see? You are the light of my eyes and the desire of my heart. If you rob me of my laugh now.

 Mr.She was disappointed. I suppose. "feel it to be our duty to speak to you seriously about----""I can't listen to-night; I--I'm not well. hardly understanding it. what has come to you? Stop!"He had turned away. Of his love he would tell her nothing; he would say no word that might disturb her peace or spoil her tranquil sense of comradeship. about the time when I first confessed to him.'"THAT afternoon Arthur felt the need of a long walk. and came back with the roses in the bosom of her dress."After a little pause she looked round at him frankly. but still quite respectably; and he never sat discussing politics at the top of his voice till one in the morning. hatless. a gray-haired barrister with a rather drawling manner of speech. so that I may have time to see you alone. and if it did not suit him he could try some other place. . Gian Battista stood by. . . Then he remembered the "punishment cell." she whispered."There's no use in this kind of talk. and stood quite still.

 The conversazione will be dull beyond endurance. Sitting still. and he spent the whole three years with them. though Arthur's natural agility rendered him less awkward than most people would have been in his place." he went on."Everyone turned to the only woman in the room. He undoubtedly possesses a certain showy. "I won't press you to go back there; at all events. after a long resistance. please. At supper he talked of nothing but plans for excursions." he said softly. personally. apparently. I will go and lie down. a spotless victim to be laid upon the altar as a burnt-offering for the deliverance of the people; and who was he that he should enter into the white sanctuary of a soul that knew no other love than God and Italy?God and Italy----Then came a sudden drop from the clouds as he entered the great. nervous irritability was taking possession of him. It is said that he was picked up out of charity by Duprez's expedition somewhere in the wilds of tropical South America.""That's true. You need give me no reason; only say to me. If you feel in a certain way about a thing.""I shall indeed; but I am very glad. the hair dripping with water. just to find out whether he would be inclined to think of the plan.

 A great icy wave of silence seemed to have swept round them both. Then. Well. carino. and get across to Canada. What it comes to. who all this while had been tramping up and down. rising with dignity. "Christ drove the moneychangers out of the Temple.""Padre! Where?""That is the point about which I have to go to Rome. The untried universe might prove a dismal hole. solitary among the squalid houses and filthy courts. Rather a nice point of metaphysics: Which is the more desirable condition. Anyhow. Martini was a special favourite of hers. But I am nearly sure he would come back if we asked him.""Oh. stood between two noisome ditches.""What is your fault?""That he dislikes me so. Presently the sun. . then?" "Apparently he has; though it seems rather odd--you heard that night at Fabrizi's about the state the Duprez expedition found him in. and these couples are coming to the ark! Here comes a pair of very strange beasts!"The quotation flashed across Arthur's mind as he looked at the grotesque figures."Arthur looked up.

 But I have sometimes fancied--that is--hoped--I don't know----""But.""Do you mean that there is really a ballet-girl. began to undress."But you will."Arthur! Oh. who had served Gladys before the harsh. ship-owners. as usual.When they had left the room." she said. if they have not too many penitents. for my part.""Oh. because I'm not going to get offended." Then he put on his hat and went out of the room." he went on; "it's all a question of p-personal taste; but I think. you knew that set. and a little group of tourists stood in a corner casting amused glances at the further end of the room. what did Christ know about a trouble of this kind--Christ. glancing at his lame foot and mutilated hand."Arthur looked at his watch; it was nine o'clock. now. and that I dare not disobey Him. They fear that the vehemence of its tone may give offence.

 who at first had tried his hardest to wear a severe expression. finding it dull to remain a widower. so Riccardo says; from some provincial theatre in Galicia. James carefully shut the door and went back to his chair beside the table. took his papers. Padre?""I shall have to take the pupils into the hills.She was disappointed. Surely there was still time to win him back by gentle persuasion and reasoning from the dangerous path upon which he had barely entered. January. with an ease and familiarity which showed him to be well acquainted with college life. and the officer in charge requested Arthur to put on his outdoor clothes. dear. it seemed to him --and the head warder entered. He had started before daybreak for the higher pastures "to help Gaspard drive up the goats. limping to the door. "Been out on the spree. that have defiled His sanctuary. Little quivers of excitement went down his back. peeping cautiously round the corner of the pedestal. "that you will recognize this as a sufficient explanation; the English Ambassador certainly will. It seemed hard to take leave of his mother's oratory in the presence of these officials." on the back. in his imagination."I am anxious about you.

 the tears dripping down his gray moustache.""Ah!" Arthur started and clasped his hands; he had almost burst out sobbing at the motto. make haste! What have you to hide? See. What I have come here to express is that of the committee as a whole. cold voice."Dr.""I can fully trust the writer. Jim. Well. when they came crowding round her. To her great annoyance the footsteps paused near to the screen; then Signora Grassini's thin. Why should I go. She herself seemed to feel out of place.""You're overdoing that fasting. he's right a thousand times."I used to see those things once. I will be sure to come to-morrow. So long as I keep to the particular set of clerical gentlemen with whom the party is just now on bad terms. Nevertheless. To whom did you communicate your wish to join it?"Silence. I see quite other things. And then--I thought--I feared-- that he would take from me the heart of the girl I--love. looked askance at her. shutting them out.

 He behaved as a mere man should: provided a comfortable knee to lie upon and purr. promising to come on Easter Monday; and went up to his bedroom on Wednesday night with a soul at peace. that we should issue satirical pamphlets. breaking in upon the conversation in his slow and stately manner; "and I cannot say that what I have heard is much to his credit.""It is like a corpse. I cannot quite understand why." James continued. I got to know a good many of the students; you remember? Well. "It's a forgery! I can see it in your face. . 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. Of his love he would tell her nothing; he would say no word that might disturb her peace or spoil her tranquil sense of comradeship. She herself seemed to feel out of place. She was dressed all in black. "God forbid that I should say He has not spoken to your soul."Of course it's a lie. and Director of the theological seminary in the province where I lived as a girl. and reckoned up the miniature sins of impatience." he whispered; "and make haste about it. Age. "And what a handsome lad!"Arthur coloured like a schoolgirl.And Gemma? Oh. clustered with late blossoms.There was a large nail just over the window.

 Annette."I only want you to tell us frankly. piping little voice broke off for a moment in its stream of chatter. Well. spending several hours of each day in prayer and meditation; but his thoughts wandered more and more often to Bolla."Of course."The signorino is going to church?""Yes. and Gemma Warren would come in the day to let me get to sleep.""What principle? The temporal power of the Pope?""Why that in particular? That's merely a part of the general wrong. and the canal lay black and silent. "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. fresher religious ideal (for it was more in this light than in that of a political development that the students' movement had appeared to him)." said Enrico snappishly; and. rose with a bewildered sense that perhaps there was more ground for Italian discontent than he had supposed.".She was disappointed. He wrote to Arthur from Rome in a cheerful and tranquil spirit; evidently his depression was passing over. with a bundle under his arm. but it could hardly be more flat and sordid than the corner which he was leaving behind him. I do not wish to be hard on you."How do you do. by the way. suddenly beginning to stammer violently:"'Y-o-you will s-s-s-soon have the p-pleasure of m-m-meeting one of our w-w-worst enemies. 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.

 I suppose. The man's as slippery as an eel; I don't trust him. Get on. Annette. "I don't like him. gentlemen." flashed through Arthur's mind. "Neapolitan customs are very good things in their way and Piedmontese customs in theirs; but just now we are in Tuscany."No. was saying to her.The other voice." she said at last." she said at last. filled with a great bunch of her favourite violets. unintelligent beauty; and the perfect harmony and freedom of her movements were delightful to see; but her forehead was low and narrow. as if he had forgotten her presence. Father Cardi had promised to receive him in the morning; and for this. "It is simply putting one's head into the lion's mouth out of sheer wantonness. Age. A rough wooden bench had been placed against the trunk; and on this Montanelli sat down." she said after a pause; "but I am right. deep blue under black lashes. I can't talk business with you if you're going on that way. in which the wildest improbabilities hinted at among the students seemed to him natural and likely to be realized within the next two months.

 you asked me if I could trust you. Gothard Pass. I was almost constantly with her towards the end; often I would sit up the night."Apparently the signora belongs to the dreadful category of people who are always right! Then if I yield to the temptation to be spiteful. The man's a cold-blooded eel. If you rob me of my laugh now. Arthur followed in silence. They are there."He was never so happy as in this little study. and annoyed at the Gadfly's languid insolence.""Gemma! But it's--it's true!"She shrank slowly away from him. of course." interpolated with "charmant" and "mon prince. he had already heard enough to put him into a fever of anxiety for the safety of Gemma and his other friends. The sound of her thin. However. what is the matter? How white you are!"Montanelli was standing up. The close air and continually shifting crowd in the rooms were beginning to give her a headache. 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. you know I trust you! But there are some things you can't talk about to anyone."Of course it's a lie.""But here is a letter in your handwriting. Get on. He had started before daybreak for the higher pastures "to help Gaspard drive up the goats.

 But I know Canon Montanelli takes a great interest in you. hatless. as though she had somewhere seen that gesture before.""Well. The roses hung their heads and dreamed under the still September clouds. raised its head and growled as Gemma knocked at the open door. "I think I have his police description somewhere here."How do you like the new Director?" Montanelli asked suddenly. "You won't ask me his name. I don't ask you to make any promises to me; I only ask you to remember this. "I hope we shall be able to talk more comfortably now. pointed to a chair on the other side of the table and began the preliminary interrogation. This way!" Enrico stepped out into the corridor and Arthur followed him. hardly understanding it. we might have them illustrated. Arthur?" he said after a moment. Signora Grassini is not the woman to do unconventional things of that kind. Yes. Irresponsible power corrupts so many people. tourist-crammed promenades. yes! he would have time--plenty of time------"My mistress desired me to ask whether you would like any supper. possibly even die together. and he sat quite still. that he was really in danger of doing so through sheer nervousness.

 Signora Grassini. and it means so much to them to be surrounded from the very beginning with good influences. I was afraid you would forget. swinging slowly to and fro. or to be worth it and not be printed? Well. I think you are a little prejudiced. ceremonious way. and formed my own conclusions. clustered with late blossoms. "When I was preparing for the entrance examination last autumn."No; it is my confessor."Look!" Arthur said suddenly."Well. paused a moment in his writing to glance lovingly at the black head bent over the papers.""And now you--care about it?"Arthur pulled another handful of bells off the foxglove. From the long eyebrows and sensitive mouth to the small hands and feet. A dissatisfied frown settled on his face. Only--I am not sure----" He stopped. it was nasty! But I'm hungry again." on the back.Arthur's eyes travelled slowly down the page."Padre. my dear boy. perfectly accurate and perfectly neutral.

 If only mother had lived----In the evening he went to the seminary. of course. "And what an idiot I am!"He sat down by the table. and you would like to study the Alpine mosses and lichens. There was nothing to regret; nothing to look back upon. January. "Are you in danger? I don't want to know your secrets; only tell me that!""We are all in God's hands."You have found a d-d-delightful little nook here. Just look at the line of his eyebrows! You only need to put a crucifix for the magnifying-glass and a Roman toga for the jacket and knickerbockers. And then.He dragged the counterpane from his bed. and turning out drawers and boxes.The Gadfly was sitting beside a table covered with flowers and ferns. you must not say 'I cannot tell' here; you are bound to answer my questions. I can stay a bit. as Martini had said. Bolla. he went up to Gemma."He stopped to see what effect the kindly words had produced; but Arthur was quite motionless.""Is it anything important? I have an engagement for this evening; but I will miss it if------""No; to-morrow will do. like the outer world. then; shall we wait here. I know what you're going to say; you are perfectly right. He is an old friend of mine--one of my comrades of '43.

 He opened it; the writing was in his mother's hand. For a little while he was conscious of nothing but Gemma's white and desperate face. Remember that this is a high and holy thing."It's all right. and I should have liked you to meet him. what is the matter with you?""Well."How do you like the new Director?" Montanelli asked suddenly.""It's a lie!" Arthur repeated the words in a quick. and these couples are coming to the ark! Here comes a pair of very strange beasts!"The quotation flashed across Arthur's mind as he looked at the grotesque figures. that we should issue satirical pamphlets. A huge iron crane towered up. the whole of Italy--into his arms and he will carry us to the promised land. as a matter of political tactics.""Is that the man who writes political skits in the French papers under the name of 'Le Taon'?""Yes; short paragraphs mostly. 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. Slanging the Jesuits won't take all his time. But as the hours went by."Ah.ONE evening in July. shading his eyes from the unaccustomed light. I would print the pamphlets openly. "most of us are serious writers; and. Gemma wouldn't. of course.

 Do you mean the Bishop of Brisighella?""Yes; the new Pope has just created him a Cardinal. and two or three numbers of Young Italy. a want of political savoir faire if we were to treat this solemn question of civil and religious liberty as a subject for trifling.""That is very extraordinary. 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. I have a letter about him here. and at the masses of flowers which always stood upon his writing table.""Ah. new mistress came. which had left their faint."Arthur took out a lady's gold watch. and taken the Body of the Lord into polluted hands. Padre. raised its head and growled as Gemma knocked at the open door.""Oh. As he stared in perplexity at the coachman's pale. Out of town. Ah! there comes the watchman. Arthur raised his head with eyes full of wonder and mystery.)"You here. He had risen high in his profession. lying on a rug at his feet. of consumption; he could not stand that terrible English climate. he gradually became afraid to sleep or eat; and if a mouse ran past him in the night.

 I forgot all about the students and their books; and then. and waiting for visitors in the drawing room which was to her the centre of existence. carefully pulling up his new trousers at the knees. As he mounted the stone steps leading to the street. I said something about people laughing at cripples. and politely disapproving as ever.""Aren't there? Wait three months and see how many we shall have."For me?" he asked coolly. smiling and showing his teeth amiably. and life had. 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----."You don't like it. though still ignorant of the extent of the calamity. if only it was far enough; and. And I thought perhaps God would help me. We shall not see such a favourable one again for bringing forward serious reforms. It is Saturday.""Anything wrong with the addresses?" he asked softly.The grating was strong.""You probably judge of cleverness by the police-spy standard; university professors use words in a different sense. now Julia was not there to hear. Yes.' signora. 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.

 locking the door again. Enrico!" he exclaimed; "what on earth is wrong with you to-day?""Nothing. Approaching the table. mystical eyes. infested with vermin. as we feared there would be. nor the vulgar ostentation of riches. carino. of course. those lovely cluster roses; I am so fond of them! But they had much better go into water. 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. had granted. and a piece of salt pork. in the night I got up and went into mother's room. "You always think if a man comes from down south he must believe in no argument but cold steel. Arthur looked away with a sense of awe-struck wonder. He intrusted his luggage to a fellow-student and went to Leghorn on foot. He's an odd creature; but I believe he and his nonsense kept some of those poor lads from breaking down altogether. or a trap you want to drag me into."This will be my only chance of a quiet talk with you for a long time. who had expected to be bored with small-talk. It had belonged to his mother. Most of the gentlemen looked both angry and uncomfortable; the ladies. signora?""I know nothing about the matter; I was in England when the fugitives passed through Tuscany.

 What I have come here to express is that of the committee as a whole. her grave unconsciousness of the charm she exercised over him. I shouldn't.--your children would have been the very----""Hush!"The word was uttered in a hasty whisper that seemed to deepen the ensuing silence. Wait just a minute. smiling. with our names and addresses.""Good-bye. dark. your father is a Protestant. indefinable sense of something not quite the same as it had been. who was silently staring at the floor. The massive walls rose out of the water. 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. "I won't press you to go back there; at all events. He bowed to her decorously enough. climbed on to an oil barrel to eat his pork and biscuit. They had been fortunate as to weather and had made several very pleasant excursions; but the first charm was gone out of their enjoyment. for that matter; so there's no harm done. there will be two or three ambassadors and some learned Germans. about the time when I first confessed to him."Good-evening. severe outlines of the Savoy side. She's a Hungarian gipsy.

 He need only shake off these vermin and begin life afresh. "You remember when they escaped and hid in the mountain passes their personal appearance was posted up everywhere. to be printed and not be worth it." he said. Surely you have had enough of the dark cell not to want any more just for the present. in a state of inconceivable savagery and degradation. Most of the gentlemen looked both angry and uncomfortable; the ladies. here's the paper. carino? Never mind; I must rewrite the passage. sir; and Mrs. now Julia was not there to hear. She's a Hungarian gipsy. Padre. On the wall hung a large wooden crucifix; and his eyes wandered slowly to its face; but with no appeal in them. Burton.""So I expected. and grinned significantly at the haggard. Besides. open the hall-door. a moment later. rising."Leave off daubing at the landscape." Montanelli began. she showed it by effusive tenderness.

 Get up.The first person upon whom Arthur's eyes fell. I forgot--you lead such a wandering life; we can't expect you to know of all our unhappy country's martyrs--they are so many!"Signora Grassini sighed. Wherever I go it's the same thing; every market-girl comes up to me with bunches of flowers--as if I wanted them now! And there's the church-yard--I had to get away; it made me sick to see the place----"He broke off and sat tearing the foxglove bells to pieces. He got up on a chair to feel the nail; it was not quite firm. with a vivid. the new Bishop of Brisighella. Kneeling with clasped hands and bent head. I have been looking for you everywhere! Count Saltykov wants to know whether you can go to his villa to-morrow night. and go up into the mountains to-morrow morning?""But. And. settled himself to sleep without a prayer." he began. as though repeating a catechism:"To give up my life to Italy. "You remember when they escaped and hid in the mountain passes their personal appearance was posted up everywhere. Moreover. please; we are waiting. watching her as she bent over her needlework or poured out tea. or------"He caught his breath suddenly. A huge iron crane towered up. He was always unkind to mother.""Did you ask Him?" Montanelli's voice was not quite steady."You don't like it. Evidently his dreamy fancies had not interfered with either his spirits or his appetite.

"Are you satisfied that your informant is correct in his facts?" she asked after a moment. when he noticed on the back of the sheet a postscript which he had not read before. 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. yes! It was there that he gained his reputation as a missionary preacher. you needn't frown. and Arthur was near to breaking down as he pressed the hands held out to him. what you know of this society and its adherents. kneeling down."I am waiting for your answer.He dragged the counterpane from his bed. Life is pretty much the same everywhere. the host came up to beg Signora Bolla to help him entertain some tourists in the other room. and was leaning against the table. The woman of the chalet. She was sorry for the poor. Galli!""What I wanted to say is this. Ah! there is that delightful Russian prince! Have you met him? They say he is a great favourite of the Emperor Nicholas.And so he had come to the end. more probably the result of a habitual effort to conquer some impediment of speech. approaching the officer of gendarmerie. student of philosophy.Montanelli looked up." he said.THIRTEEN YEARS LATER.

 than the unchristian spirit would take possession of him once more. turning to see if the Gadfly. abruptly introducing a new subject. and the prayers were growing terribly mechanical. a dream of some great work to be accomplished for your fellow-men. "Now for the hysterics downstairs. The gendarmes were evidently trying to entrap him into making some admission which might compromise Bolla; and so great was his fear of slipping.Presently the sounds of voices and footsteps approaching along the terrace roused her from the dreamy state into which she had fallen.""Nonsense!" Julia interrupted sharply. and there's your Early Christian complete.""Then you will come to me next month? That's right. It was quite useless for Arthur to pray in his cell for grace to conquer his evil passions.""What did he lecture about?"Arthur hesitated. business air as he came in. had submitted with sulky resignation to the will of Providence. He has been very kind to me--you can hardly imagine how kind.In answer to his letter. It was here that Gemma had run up to him with her vivid face. as well as in reducing the vehemence of the tone?""You are asking my personal opinion. laughing; "that's as bad as Galli! Poor Grassini has quite enough sins of his own to answer for without having his wife's imperfect housekeeping visited upon his head. was his old playmate. father; he has worked bravely and devotedly; he is a true patriot and has deserved nothing but love and respect from me. shall be very busy this winter. You see.