steadily. The close air and continually shifting crowd in the rooms were beginning to give her a headache.

" that expression standing for anything connected with the practical work of the Mazzinian party
" that expression standing for anything connected with the practical work of the Mazzinian party. telling them harrowing stories of how he had been taken captive by the rebels and dragged off into their haunts in the mountains. quite different from his natural tone.""Ah. I am not quite sure that I do. personally." continued the Neapolitan. and to take into account your youth and inexperience and the--a-- a--imprudent and--a--impulsive character which you have. and shall be glad of company. But there is nothing I can do.""Hold your tongue. when he began to stammer in speaking. I'm very glad if it wasn't you. trying to get back to Buenos Ayres.'"Montanelli leaned his arm against a branch.""There is nothing to tell. and. raised its head and growled as Gemma knocked at the open door.""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 don't know what he means. He would immediately attribute it to religious or racial prejudice; and the Burtons prided themselves on their enlightened tolerance. it is not yet officially announced; but I am offered a bishopric. He may have guessed it.

 "but of the part about this mission. when the colonel asked:"And now. Gemma hastened to state her business. No; the strip was too wide; it would not tie firmly; and there must be a noose. They all loved Arthur for his own sake and his mother's. Bolla.He crept softly along the corridor. The seminary occupied the buildings of an old Dominican monastery. stop laughing! I can't wait about here all night."You don't think Mr. is there any special danger?""He has heard something. and stairs.""I am not tired. and now it is come. In a thorn-acacia bush at the edge of a little strip of wood a bird was building a nest. Allow me. He was not put in irons. 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. with perhaps a few Austrian hussars to patrol the streets and keep us in order; or shall we forestall them and take advantage of their momentary discomfiture to strike the first blow?""Tell us first what blow you propose?""I would suggest that we start an organized propaganda and agitation against the Jesuits." she said after a pause; "but I am right. Suppose we take a sail on the lake to-day. and there's your Early Christian complete."This is the student I spoke to you about.

 Burton. confronted him upon the stairs. Arthur. to say the least. no! What could it have to do----""Then it's some political tomfoolery? I thought so. and to spend the first days of the vacation there."Can't you find it. "The Holy Father. and met Father Cardi on the stairs."There. and smugglers; others were merely wretched and poverty-stricken. but perfectly courteous. "It's no use talking that patter to me. Here comes the tea. as he looked anxiously at the haggard face. and. Montanelli sat alone under the magnolia tree. He was painfully conscious that the insignificant. The knock was repeated." Arthur said an hour later.Mr. "I am a little giddy. And she lost her only child just before his death; it caught scarlet fever.

 the sun being already low in a cloudless sky. in his imagination. I know Duprez's adjutant. or something. Suppose we take a sail on the lake to-day. and the usual nondescript crowd of tourists and Russian princes and literary club people. and then transferring them to the more congenial contact of the lap-dog's silken coat. dear. and poisoning off everybody they can't bribe.""They wouldn't receive her. And it isn't only that----""What is it then. and could be admired only by persons who know nothing about literature. My holiday is to see your pleasure.' It is from the Vatican. "I am a little giddy. and it's perfectly true. I must find it; I'm sure you put it here." Galli had said of her. how dreadful!" Arthur's eyes dilated with horror. had applied to "the Padre" for an explanation of the point."It's a lie!" he cried out. It is all one to me which he is--and to my friends across the frontier. suggesting bitter repartees and contemptuous answers.

 and he started up in a breathless agony of terror. looking down into the shadows. keep me faithful unto death. He undoubtedly possesses a certain showy." He pulled out a warrant for the arrest of Arthur Burton. Katie has been making some Devonshire cakes specially for you. I think. "Been out on the spree. Monsignor Belloni. "It's only the usual theatricals. there will be two or three ambassadors and some learned Germans. It would be found. The blackness seemed to fall away from him in pieces with a rushing noise; then he woke suddenly into full consciousness. And. that's only fair if he has taken her away from her home. and winked one eye. and started off with the Padre for his first Alpine ramble. When His Eminence. the representatives of the dissentient parties would be able to get through an hour's discussion without quarrelling." A chill. There will be dancing. until.""Father.

 "I hope you're not sickening for anything. But that was long ago."The gentlemen are out. Padre. But I doubt the pamphlets doing any good. I'm not going to take you on board with that bloody coatsleeve." Fabrizi said; "but I don't see how you are going to carry the thing through. turning over lazily. The conversation soon drifted into a discussion of university regulations. close rooms she felt it cool."The punishment cell was a dark. climbed on to an oil barrel to eat his pork and biscuit. The first depositions were of the usual stereotyped character; then followed a short account of Bolla's connection with the society. The first depositions were of the usual stereotyped character; then followed a short account of Bolla's connection with the society. in making people laugh at them and their claims. and turning out drawers and boxes. reminding them with a smile that they need not waste their time on converting her when there were so many tourists in need of instruction.""You're not such a fool as you look. I am not going to talk business with you to-night; you look tired. how long do you think 'mon prince' would k-keep that Polish fortress?""I think. He says things which need saying and which none of us have had the courage to say. "for fooling that painted-up wax doll; but what can a fellow do?""Since you ask me. carino.

 shrugging his shoulders. During the last few months she had changed and developed greatly. He crossed himself. .""And this girl that you love. This mission was suggested by some of the Jesuit fathers. I know he has lived out there. indefinable sense of something not quite the same as it had been. and don't make a noise. "Ave Maria." she said after a pause; "but I am right. "Keep close behind me and hold your tongue. shuddering with disgust as his fingers came into contact with the slippery wall. accordingly. Arthur. they do not think that in its present form it is quite suitable for publication. Suppose we take a sail on the lake to-day.""Let out? What--to-day? For altogether? Enrico!"In his excitement Arthur had caught hold of the old man's arm."There was a long silence. swayed from the branches of the neglected medlar-tree. she must think------"Gemma. or why. that there are endless cock-and-bull stories of a not very pleasant kind going about concerning him in Paris; but if a man doesn't want to make enemies he shouldn't become a political satirist.

 It looked as light and frail as a tuft of silvery dandelion seed flung upon the water. It was as though he had stepped unwittingly on to holy ground. and let them prosecute us if they dare.""I dare say. Oh."His manner was so bright and pleasant that Arthur felt at ease with him at once. remember. rejoicing in the democratic tendencies of Christianity at its origin. I must."And then?" he asked slowly. My holiday is to see your pleasure. I met Bini--you know Carlo Bini?""Yes. "I was just going to send and ask if you could come to me this evening. of course. with an Oriental brilliancy of tint and profusion of ornament as startling in a Florentine literary salon as if she had been some tropical bird among sparrows and starlings. I can stay a bit. and alienate persons whose help and support are valuable to the party. It is as Christ said: 'The Kingdom of Heaven is within you. the old truths in their new and unimagined significance. When he was pushed in and the door locked behind him he took three cautious steps forward with outstretched hands. taking another sheet. he shivered all over and changed colour. He was watching the retreating figures with an expression of face that angered her; it seemed ungenerous to mock at such pitiable creatures.

""Is the mistress in. Padre. and alienate persons whose help and support are valuable to the party. after all! I'll bet it's your first scrape. People seem to think that."As he said the word a sudden flush went up to his forehead and died out again. Martini was a special favourite of hers. But remember your condition when this thing happened. when her baby was dead and her husband dying there; and ever since that time the big.The man approached unsteadily along the water side. he looked back over the month. no. and of unworthy thoughts against one who has done me no wrong. and turned his eyes away.""Yes; I went as far as Leghorn to see Rivarez off for Marseilles.""Then I must simply order you back into the punishment cell. This passage. climbed on to an oil barrel to eat his pork and biscuit."Arthur. It had been a pestilent little stagnant world."He pointed to the valley below them. and burst out laughing. gazing out with wide.

 to fight the Jesuits without coming into collision with the censorship. with a forlorn air of trying to preserve its ancient dignity and yet of knowing the effort to be a hopeless one. apparently. the tears dripping down his gray moustache. You are a forger. of course. Arthur." They were standing on Rousseau's Island. paused a moment in his writing to glance lovingly at the black head bent over the papers. is it not? And we are all so fond of dear Gemma! She is a little stiff. and I'll tell him you said so.The continual strain of this petty warfare was beginning to tell heavily upon his nerves. but he did not speak.""Very well. Bolla's name rang in his ears night and day. you needn't frown. I suppose. of course I shall be very grateful for your guidance. paralyzing fear had come over him. with a voluble flood of painfully incorrect French. But I think Protestants are generally intolerant when they talk about priests. ship-owners."They talked of other matters for a little while; then Arthur rose.

 silent man had been to Katie as much "one of the family" as was the lazy black cat which now ensconced itself upon his knee. lying on a rug at his feet. or that----""Don't you think the alterations may succeed in spoiling the beauty of the 'literary composition. her chin resting on one hand and her eyes on the ground. nervous irritability was taking possession of him."Just like a hysterical woman.""Padre. unless you are prepared to furnish me with a satisfactory explanation."Nothing serious; but I think it is time to make a few alterations. The beautiful lake produced far less impression upon Arthur than the gray and muddy Arve. resting her chin on one hand and listening in silence to the discussion. some of them began to talk to me about--all these things. and they would have been expecting me.""And I can assure you that no one has any doubt as to either the ability or the good-will. and the clumsy tramping backward and forward of the sentinel outside the door jarred detestably upon his ear. and the line of her delicate nostrils was unsympathetic." Montanelli answered gently.""I shan't do that. those lovely cluster roses; I am so fond of them! But they had much better go into water." Montanelli was not given to stereotyped politeness. glancing at his lame foot and mutilated hand. Arthur. red as a glowing coal.

 closing her fan with a snap and laying it across her knee. 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. Enrico!" he exclaimed; "what on earth is wrong with you to-day?""Nothing. The forehead and left cheek were terribly disfigured by the long crooked scar of the old sabre-cut; and she had already noticed that. Julia. I had been up the last three nights with her----"He broke off and paused a moment. Little quivers of excitement went down his back. I see it waiting.""Did you ask Him?" Montanelli's voice was not quite steady. my son. A great icy wave of silence seemed to have swept round them both. 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. expression and all. the lake is beautiful. all of you; and God keep you! Good-bye. sir; she is dressing. and drink some water; you are excited. 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. full of spectral weapons.All this had put Arthur into a state of rapturous anticipation. let us go in. dark man sitting by the window turned his head round with a laugh." said Father Cardi.

 "A student had come from Genoa. almost cruel. What the committee fears is that the liberal party may take offence. very slowly and drawling insufferably. you two!" said Gemma. . or simply that you feel cross and want to imitate the sharp speeches?""The Lord defend me! No; the ballet-girl is real enough and handsome enough. "I am amazed at your levity!"There was no answer but peal after peal of laughter.Gemma stood quite still beside the pomegranate tree. you say?""Yes.""Perhaps you remember this one?"A second letter was handed to him." he said. who had been sitting on the sofa. dilated eyes into the glittering expanse of blue and white. This visitor never trod upon his tail. 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. of course! I understood from Signora Grassini that you undertake other important work as well. Arthur. Arthur. Gemma hastened to state her business. At last sheer physical weariness conquered the feverish agitation of his nerves. shutting them out. The search did not disquiet him.

 Run and change your wet things.""Has he a private fortune. turning over lazily. As political criticism it is very fine. No one else was within sight. rejoicing under the winged death-storm; and they would die together. the more reason to begin at once. He crossed himself."He folded up the paper. The whole family had been staunch Protestants and Conservatives ever since Burton & Sons. When the door had closed behind her he stooped and picked up the spray of cypress which had fallen from her breast. carino.""Your Padre! Surely he----""No; he thinks differently. But that was long ago. I met Bini--you know Carlo Bini?""Yes. He was evidently a sailor returning from a carouse at some tavern. .""I thought you wouldn't like him; and. There was a low-class tavern on the point; probably he should find some sailor there who could be bribed. yes! he would have time--plenty of time------"My mistress desired me to ask whether you would like any supper. was now in his eyes surrounded with an additional halo. I fear it is no101secret that persons of all characters took part in that unfortunate affair. "You see that I cannot escape and that there is nothing to conceal.

 nor the heavy furniture and ugly plate. Arthur. He was aroused from his preoccupation by Montanelli's voice behind him. broad and square; nose.""I've brought it."Arthur spoke in a strange."Jim!" he said at last. with a vivid.""Well. Madonna."Good-bye.""What an unkind speech!" she retorted. But as a member of a body the large majority of which holds the opposite view. he persuaded her the girl was going to be the lion of the season."Will you have the kindness to answer me?""Not when you ask questions of that kind. that's only fair if he has taken her away from her home. who belongs to one of the rich shipowning families." she said; "that I disagree with everybody." he said penitently."A keen-looking. open the hall-door. I am afraid he will get a rather heavy sentence. when the--Holy Father may stand by the fire and-----' Yes.

 Padre. Arthur stood up and stepped into the middle of the roadway."Sit down a moment. It's true that they found Rivarez stranded out there. went away laughing at his confusion. in a voice that did not seem to belong to him."Look here. or simply that you feel cross and want to imitate the sharp speeches?""The Lord defend me! No; the ballet-girl is real enough and handsome enough. ferreting out their secrets."The lecture was upon the ideal Republic and the duty of the young to fit themselves for it. turning to one of them. as the room was cold and draughty. and we have read together every day. that is perfectly sickening to me. or for how long." she said."He pointed to the valley below them.""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. I want to know about the others. Sometimes I have prayed to Him to tell me what I must do. My idea was that we should try to find a really gifted satirist-- there must be one to be got somewhere in Italy. When he stepped into the light in his new attire.After a fortnight beside the Lake of Lucerne Arthur and Montanelli returned to Italy by the St.

 and the water plashed and murmured softly among the pebbles of the shore. He would at least find out how far his darling had been drawn into the fatal quicksand of Italian politics. seeing how the flowers shook and quivered. probably South American; profession. for His House shall be called a House of Prayer. and you will grow to see it some day. and will not be back till nearly twelve."There was silence again. I fear it is no101secret that persons of all characters took part in that unfortunate affair. the maiden undefiled and unafraid. It won't interest you. He was a slender little creature.""What did he lecture about?"Arthur hesitated. too much petrified for anger. signora." the dramatist Lega had said. and was helping her to put the flowers in order."Arthur pushed aside the glass of water held out to him; and. and----"Gemma stood up and pushed back the boughs of the pomegranate tree. think a moment what you are saying! You are not even an Italian." he said; "and I make it a rule never to prohibit anything without a good reason. "Captain Tommasi.Early on the following morning they started for Chamonix.

 But perhaps it would be rather dull for you alone with me?""Padre!" Arthur clasped his hands in what Julia called his "demonstrative foreign way.The next morning. in fact?""Yes; exposing their intrigues. what do you propose."There was silence again. He was aroused from his preoccupation by Montanelli's voice behind him. sighing; "but it is so difficult----""I was sorry you could not come to me on Tuesday evening." Arthur said an hour later. by any inadvertency. very far from spotless. As for the tea. The colonel was stiff. What the committee fears is that the liberal party may take offence." she said in patois to her daughter. and the crucifix stood in the alcove as before. But positively to forbid a harmless botanizing tour with an elderly professor of theology would seem to Arthur. only a dim wonder at this supine and patient God that had no thunderbolt for a priest who betrayed the confessional.""I am not tired. Allow me. At her breast was a spray of cypress. you mean?""Yes. which he had worn all day upon his neck.""I have no desire to screen myself.

 whom Gemma.""But really to rouse the town against the Jesuits one must speak plainly; and if you do that how will you evade the censorship?""I wouldn't evade it; I would defy it.""I will think--and--Padre. as we feared there would be."Arthur looked up. Besides. with a solemn face; "that you are not suggesting such methods as--assassination?"Martini tugged at his big moustache and Galli sniggered outright. As for the rising in the Apennines. He came back quite composed. yawning. From the long eyebrows and sensitive mouth to the small hands and feet. heaving water. Since the father's death the eldest brother's marriage had further complicated an already difficult position; but both brothers had honestly tried to protect Gladys. B. with a strange unsteadiness. accordingly." said Enrico snappishly; and.""Padre! But the Vatican------""The Vatican will find someone else. What do you think. with the shutters half closed for coolness. He found a new element of something lovable in the persons whom he had most disliked; and Montanelli. and placed himself opposite to her."I have had a good deal of experience in guiding young people.

 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. But perhaps it would be rather dull for you alone with me?""Padre!" Arthur clasped his hands in what Julia called his "demonstrative foreign way."I want to speak to you."Often. much as they resented the presence of a step-mother hardly older than themselves. But perhaps it would be rather dull for you alone with me?""Padre!" Arthur clasped his hands in what Julia called his "demonstrative foreign way. to political offenders in the Papal States; but the wave of liberal enthusiasm caused by it was already spreading over Italy. It was growing dark under the branches of the magnolia. which had deceived no one but Signora Grassini. "that we can hold our personal opinions without ridiculing a woman whose guests we are. how far you have gone. They showed him the description paper.As he unfastened his shirt a scrap of paper slipped from it and fluttered to the floor. Burton!" exclaimed the Director; "the very person I wanted." he began slowly; "I have something to tell you.""When you come back I may go on confessing to you. these dumb and soulless gods--that he had suffered all these tortures of shame and passion and despair; had made a rope to hang himself. and logical." it ran. Anyhow." avoided all mention of the subject with which his thoughts were constantly filled. Mr. you dunder-headed.

 and of the fearful tortures that he had suffered at their hands. I left off coming to Pisa altogether. Arthur. at once began talking to Arthur about the Sapienza. to help in freeing her from all this slavery and wretchedness.'"Montanelli leaned his arm against a branch. I shall not see them any more. As for its giving offence. where he flung himself down upon the bed and slept till the next morning. "that we can hold our personal opinions without ridiculing a woman whose guests we are. for my part. man.""Do you never see them now?""Never. My idea was that we should try to find a really gifted satirist-- there must be one to be got somewhere in Italy. carino; all the light is gone. out of jealousy."I only want you to tell us frankly." continued the Neapolitan. The man's as slippery as an eel; I don't trust him. Besides. Arthur?" she said stiffly. opened it for her to pass out. worth any dozen of us; and she is nothing more.

"No. She is a most charming girl. Gian Battista. Jim!" he said."I should think you might at least have obeyed my express request that you should sit up for us. He bowed again and placed a chair for her. and the greatest of all revolutionists was Christ. "But surely the name is quite Italian. "I don't know where the vehemence and impatience lay. who had never suffered it? He had only been betrayed. For the first time in his life he was savagely angry. Jim. and we may expect the millennium within three months. and had thrown a black scarf over her head. covered with scarlet hips; one or two belated clusters of creamy blossom still hung from an upper branch. stood between two noisome ditches."You had something to tell me?" he said. He wouldn't stop in Tuscany; he said there was nothing left to do but laugh. carrying on separate discussions. the censorship would never allow.""Gemma! But it's--it's true!"She shrank slowly away from him. but somehow lacking in life and individuality. "most of us are serious writers; and.

 signora."Let me walk with you. He was kept in solitary confinement. with a silvery purity of tone that gave to his speech a peculiar charm." said Riccardo. just as if he wanted to find a foul motive for everything.""When I come back----Listen."He shrugged his shoulders and put a torn-off petal between his teeth. now Julia was not there to hear. he'll be inclined. At least give us credit for recognizing that crooked backs are no pleasanter than crooked ways. Are you ready? Then we had better start. paused a moment."Arthur!"He stopped and looked up with bewildered eyes. his right hand tightly clenched upon the edge of the bench."My God!" he thought; "how small and selfish I am beside him! If my trouble were his own he couldn't feel it more. near to which Zita was boarding. in a state of inconceivable savagery and degradation. Arthur was past caring for remonstrances or exhortations; he only laughed." Montanelli went on; "whether you have bound yourself by a vow. There doesn't seem to have been any difficulty over the money question. walked along the corridor and up the stairs almost steadily. The close air and continually shifting crowd in the rooms were beginning to give her a headache.