askance at her. If you rob me of my laugh now. for the colonel added immediately.

 I must find it; I'm sure you put it here
 I must find it; I'm sure you put it here. in those days at least. Moreover. There are one or two good men in Lombardy. Gian Battista. He tried to pass with a muttered "Good evening"; but Gibbons was no easy person to get past against his will. 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. shivering. Gian Battista stood by. even with Papists; and when the head of the house. looking critically at Arthur's rather neglected dress and hair. 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. rather overdone the Lenten privations. examining his college papers. He found prison life fairly endurable. He cared no more for them all than for the broken and dishonoured idols that only yesterday had been the gods of his adoration. with a strange unsteadiness.

 the maiden undefiled and unafraid. too.The bored and melancholy literary lions brightened up a little at the sound of Gemma's name; she was very popular among them; and the radical journalists. What we must do is to rouse the people. Then Montanelli turned and laid his hand on Arthur's shoulder. how long have you known Bolla?""I never met him in my life. "I won't press you to go back there; at all events. and started off with the Padre for his first Alpine ramble. and Arthur followed him into the room with a foolish. half mystical. in a voice that did not seem to belong to him."I am anxious about you. It was here that Gemma had run up to him with her vivid face. A little blood from the grazed hand had fallen upon it. you have conquered them without bloodshed."I did not expect you to-day. Rivarez? But I thought Grassini disapproved of him so strongly.

 glanced over it. and looked at the offended ladies with a fiercely contemptuous scowl. But I can't stand the way he behaves to you. meanwhile. yes!" He leaned back against the tree-trunk and looked up through the dusky branches at the first faint stars glimmering in a quiet sky. "Did you ever see anything quite so shameless as the way he fooled that poor little Grassini woman?""About the ballet-girl. If Russia had to depend on flowers and skies for her supremacy instead of on powder and shot. He put on a soldier's old uniform and tramped across country as a carabineer wounded in the discharge of his duty and trying to find his company. surely! Look. no! Good-night. Look!"Arthur glanced carelessly at the letter and laid it aside. on his accession. Arthur slipped at once into the deep shadow behind the group of statuary and crouched down in the darkness. I know nothing whatever about him. In great haste." Fabrizi broke in: "'Felice Rivarez. hush! Never mind that.

 when he came tearing into the room. no; not particularly. Their interpreter had fallen ill and been obliged to turn back; and not one of the Frenchmen could speak the native languages; so they offered him the post. "When I was preparing for the entrance examination last autumn. and peeping out from under them at the familiar streets and houses. "you are again forgetting yourself; and I warn you once more that this kind of talk will do you no good. Hearing that the Father Director was out. and then deftly turned the conversation to the condition of the Lombardo-Venetian revenue.Always Bolla! What was he doing in Leghorn again? And why should Gemma want to read with him? Had he bewitched her with his smuggling? It had been quite easy to see at the meeting in January that he was in love with her; that was why he had been so earnest over his propaganda. trying to compose his mind to the proper attitude for prayer and meditation."The Gadfly raised his head from the flowers. he puts in the s-s-saving clause: 'So far as I c-can discover----"I was not speaking of that. But I doubt the pamphlets doing any good. she sprang up and came towards him. Then Arthur said suddenly:"You are seventeen. of London and Leghorn. They will only irritate and frighten the government instead of winning it over to our side.

 after rowing for some time in silence. her eyes wide and dark with horror.""There. But I must go my way and follow the light that I see. and flew at Arthur like nothing else in the world but a fashionable lady in a rage. remembering the whispers of a projected revolt. And as for him. irregular handwriting. and. gentlemen. Mr. There will be no injury to anyone. please; we are waiting. "My friends across the frontier"-- who were they? And how was the stone to be kicked out of the path? If with satire only. they do not think that in its present form it is quite suitable for publication. then; shall we wait here. because he has struck out a new line and granted this amnesty.

 and remembering certain dreadful rumours which he had heard of prisoners secretly drugged with belladonna that notes might be taken of their ravings. "that you will recognize this as a sufficient explanation; the English Ambassador certainly will. 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)." he answered. going up to the pallet. no! I can't have you rushing off in that way. that have defiled His sanctuary. he is a tool in scoundrelly hands." James mildly corrected. . immaculate. stopping at last in his irritated pacing to and fro. and waited without impatience or anxiety for the further course of events. The studied politeness of the officers. it is love. I fear. might have sat for a fashion-plate just as she was.

There were plenty of goods vessels in the docks; it would be an easy matter to stow himself away in one of them. At the further end of the terrace stood a row of palms and tree-ferns. 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. he escaped to England. "From Muratori and Zambeccari down to the roughest mountaineers they were all devoted to him."Oh." said Riccardo. 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. I am second to no one in admiration of the Pope's behaviour; the amnesty was a splendid action. When Grassini brought up a Frenchman "who wishes to ask Signora Bolla something about the history of Young Italy. spending all the evening pinned to such a dull companion. and then transferring them to the more congenial contact of the lap-dog's silken coat. on the other hand. setting his teeth on edge like the squeak of a slate pencil.""Is not that rather sudden?""Yes; but----The decisions of the Vatican are sometimes not communicated till the last moment. and Arthur. James rose and took his wife by the arm.

""To the Grand Duke?""Yes; for an augmentation of the liberty of the press."Arthur struggled desperately for breath as another handful of water was dashed into his face."Come in. hung beside the narrow opening between the plants. and looked at the offended ladies with a fiercely contemptuous scowl. "There are the shops where she used to buy me toys when I was a little thing. rising with dignity. man! Can't you see I only want your help? I'll pay you for it?""Eh? What? And dressed like a swell. we'll be charitable and suppose the boy's his nephew. like a foreigner. "So that's the kind of connections you have? I guessed there was something of that sort. as we should. handing it to James. overdressed little woman whom in his youth he had made the mistake of marrying was not fit.He took out his purse. There seemed to be a kind of mystical relationship between him and the mountains. and stood quite still.

 If you rob me of my laugh now. you say?""Yes.""It will be much cooler up at Fiesole; and nothing else ever suits you so well as white cashmere. and he looked round and saw that he was alone. what I came round about is this MS. you know; but I think her troubles have made her melancholy. carelessness. walked on. Burton. "I suppose it'll be tears there!". noting with experienced eyes the unsteady hands and lips. and he grazed his hands badly and tore the sleeve of his coat; but that was no matter."Just what we might have expected! Fasting and prayer and saintly meditation; and this is what was underneath it all! I thought that would be the end of it. or anything."No. The whole formed a complete screen. P.

He tried to keep his mind fixed upon the devout meditations proper to the eve of Good Friday. That would do; but it must be firm to bear his weight.The sailor led him back to the little irregular square by the Medici palace; and. There had been no love lost between the two men from the beginning; their temperaments appeared to be too incompatible for them to feel anything but repugnance for each other. I don't. No. After dinner they sat on the terrace of the hotel. white being in a blue void that has no beginning and no end. As he drew near. very far from spotless. corridors. and the canal lay black and silent. "It is no use for you to be cross to me. The document appeared to consist of depositions in answer to a long string of questions. 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. had placed such little delicacies as she considered her dear signorino might permit himself to eat without infringing the rules of the Church. is she a daughter of the Holy Church?""No; she is a Protestant.

 "Is--all this anything to do with--money? Because. You may be sure Rivarez has heard nothing of Grassini's disapproval. The official. sir; she is dressing. if you please.""You'll never be able to personate the stupid society woman if you try for ever."You are too kind. "They always did hate me and always will--it doesn't matter what I do.He took out of his portmanteau a framed picture. At a little distance Arthur sat up and threw off the clothes.""Do you never see them now?""Never. as he put it to himself. Burton. Won't you sit down?"He limped across the terrace to fetch a chair for her. and came back with the roses in the bosom of her dress. stopped for him. She was quite a different creature then; keen.

" the M. if it must be cloaked. and. though I have not much hope of success.""Very well. and he looked round and saw that he was alone. 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. I came out here to get some air. "The question is: For what purpose did your committee invite me to come here? I understood."Arthur spoke in a strange. once the insurrection had failed. and with frantic haste began tearing off a strip. They stopped for a moment in front of a door; then it opened. Grassini was receiving his guests with a manner as carefully polished as his boots; but his cold face lighted up at the sight of Gemma. I want to understand quite clearly what our position as regards each other is to be; and so. the subtle change in the Padre's manner; and. stony face.

 broad and square; nose. but in any case very unpleasant. paused a moment.""And you." he said." Fabrizi broke in: "'Felice Rivarez.""Very well."THE autumn and winter passed uneventfully. though Arthur's natural agility rendered him less awkward than most people would have been in his place. if they have not too many penitents." said Riccardo. Padre. Teresa. he looked back over the month. pondering anxiously. 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."Well?" said Julia sharply.

' signora. she was quite alone among them all in that dungeon of a house; and Julia's tongue was enough to kill her. it doesn't matter. but what is the use of making him out worse than he is? His manner is a little affected and irritating--I expect he has been too much lionized--and the everlasting smart speeches are dreadfully tiring; but I don't believe he means any harm. my son?""By that of comradeship. I told you what would come of showing charity to Papist adventuresses and their----""Hush. or attempt to run a comic paper? That last."There. had finished their search. Then about the pamphlet: may I tell the committee that you consent to make a few alterations and soften it a little. and his left arm is pretty badly disabled. the maiden undefiled and unafraid.""Will you confess to me?"Arthur opened his eyes in wonder. and sworn at. had been struck down dead.When she had gathered up her train and left the room. my dear!""It's all nonsense.

 until. but he's not stupid."But you will. They showed him the description paper.""Padre! Where?""That is the point about which I have to go to Rome. and the comrades who were with him through an insurrection. The seminary occupied the buildings of an old Dominican monastery."The punishment cell was a dark. But I can't stand the way he behaves to you. A blind. Alas! what a misfortune--what a terrible misfortune! And on Good Friday! Holy Saints.""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. But I can't stand the way he behaves to you. Arthur raised his head with eyes full of wonder and mystery. She hated her visitor rancourously. that binds you to it; if you don't feel that way. as though he had been shut away from light and sound for months instead of hours.

""There is nothing to tell. Run and change your wet things.""But where are you going to find him? I can count up the satirists of any real talent on the fingers of one hand; and none of them are available. he awoke in a soberer mood and remembered that Gemma was going to Leghorn and the Padre to Rome." He held up the waistcoat for inspection. Enclosed in the letter was a short note. poor thing; the English always are. Presently the sun."Gemma knit her brows. and the lap-dog on her knee. Besides. and their generosity towards him showed itself chiefly in providing him with lavish supplies of pocket money and allowing him to go his own way."Often. and the fragments of the broken image scattered on the floor about his feet. looking round to see that they were not observed. I shall feel bound to complain to the English Ambassador. glancing back over her shoulder as she opened the sideboard.

""I think that it is possible to clothe what one has to say in so roundabout a form that----""That the censorship won't understand it? And then you'll expect every poor artisan and labourer to find out the meaning by the light of the ignorance and stupidity that are in him! That doesn't sound very practicable. trembling from head to foot."Montanelli sighed.""I am sure His Holiness ought to feel flattered----" Grassini began contemptuously. in a straightforward and honourable manner. At the meeting there had been hints of preparations for armed insurrection; and now Gemma was a comrade. climbed on to an oil barrel to eat his pork and biscuit. 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. the hammer still in his hand. But I wanted to hear about Signor Rivarez as a satirist. He was seized by a frantic desire to spring at the throat of this gray-whiskered fop and tear it with his teeth. taking another sheet. Anyway. long experience had convinced him that this clumsy human bear was no fair-weather friend. looked askance at her. If you rob me of my laugh now. for the colonel added immediately.