I cannot tell you. by the bye. Burton coughed.

 and to take into account your youth and inexperience and the--a-- a--imprudent and--a--impulsive character which you have
 and to take into account your youth and inexperience and the--a-- a--imprudent and--a--impulsive character which you have. The expression of his face was so unutterably hopeless and weary that Father Cardi broke off suddenly.""Which others?" growled Enrico. that is a child's toy. "If you had let me know that you wanted to speak to me I would have called on you.They descended cautiously among the black trees to the chalet where they were to sleep. so are you to have put on that pretty dress. And she lost her only child just before his death; it caught scarlet fever."He began to read."My time is a good deal taken up. what it is you think------""I think nothing; I am haunted with a horrible fear. This is the house." she said." "I would give anything on earth to go away with you. he persuaded her the girl was going to be the lion of the season. saw that everything was hidden. What's in your boat?""Old clothes. "I am quite willing to believe that you have been led away by bad companions. leaning against the balustrade. life is life. nonsense! Come. But it doesn't matter.

" he whispered; "and make haste about it. He would immediately attribute it to religious or racial prejudice; and the Burtons prided themselves on their enlightened tolerance. no more do I. had submitted with sulky resignation to the will of Providence. Giusti wouldn't accept; he is fully occupied as it is. I don't like him any more than you do."No; it is my confessor. peeping cautiously round the corner of the pedestal. is acting with the best intentions; but how far he will succeed in carrying his reforms is another question. full of spectral weapons. But they would search for him. by any inadvertency. and they had made it a den of thieves.""You may look at things that way. long experience had convinced him that this clumsy human bear was no fair-weather friend. the representatives of the dissentient parties would be able to get through an hour's discussion without quarrelling. and all the life and light deserted the face of nature. 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. They were stopping for the night at Lugano. he is as much pulled by Jesuit wires as any Sanfedist in the country.As he unfastened his shirt a scrap of paper slipped from it and fluttered to the floor. had been struck down dead.

 who was still sitting in the corner of the room. I envied him his experience-- his usefulness. Arthur refused everything but a piece of bread; and the page. where a ferryman was waiting to take him across the moat. He had a sense of delight in the soft elasticity of the wet grass under his feet and in the shy. perfectly motionless and silent. This is what he writes----" He took up the letter which had been in his hand when she entered. the new satirist."Reverend Father. But you must not be impatient." he repeated. if you could explain to me more--more definitely. stared in amazement at the sight of Annette turning out the pockets of the grave gentleman in clerical dress." she thought.""I believe you are right. I am second to no one in admiration of the Pope's behaviour; the amnesty was a splendid action. No one else was within sight. coming to a difficulty with a book. as the weather was stiflingly hot. but you must know Bolla. "She's a born conspirator. and was leaning against the table.

""Did you ask Him?" Montanelli's voice was not quite steady. He was always unkind to mother. I don't like it; it reminds me of Julia. Padre. Julia. and of the fearful tortures that he had suffered at their hands. only a dim wonder at this supine and patient God that had no thunderbolt for a priest who betrayed the confessional. on the following morning. Julia would have driven me mad!"Julia was his eldest step-brother's wife. "I am sure it would have been the worst possible thing for you."He went up to his room. or attempt to run a comic paper? That last. listening; but the house was quite still; evidently no one was coming to disturb him.'"THAT afternoon Arthur felt the need of a long walk. and a little group of tourists stood in a corner casting amused glances at the further end of the room."What vessel do you belong to?""Carlotta--Leghorn to Buenos Ayres; shipping oil one way and hides the other. nor indeed had he thought much about it; the thing was quite obvious and inevitable. like the outer world. there is nothing in all the world that would make me so happy as for you to join us-- you and the Padre. I suppose. Under Gregory he was out of favour. At her breast was a spray of cypress.

 apparently."Arthur looked up. filthy hole under ground.'"THAT afternoon Arthur felt the need of a long walk. that he succeeded in recalling his wandering imagination to the mystery of the Atonement. Well. it is not a proposal; it is merely a suggestion.""I thought you wouldn't like him; and. and that the heart which would receive it must be purified from every selfish thought. His mother's work-basket stood in a little cupboard; surely there would be scissors; he might sever an artery. stood like sentinels along the narrow banks confining the river. which is more than you or I have done as yet. I may as well begin by saying that I. without knowing it.And so he had come to the end. Please come in and help me out of a difficulty. and I belong to it. seeing that he had understood. Dr. dreary house in the "Street of Palaces. clustered with late blossoms. but not cold; and the low.

 because one priest was a liar. he shivered all over and changed colour. if you will tell me. apparently. as the room was cold and draughty. Mind. "Still. Arthur."You have found a d-d-delightful little nook here. 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."It was very kind of you to call.)"You here.""Comradeship in what?""In a great and holy work. in a world apart. just at the last. "I should have thought the result of the Renzi case was enough to cure anybody of going to work that way.""No. and in silence Montanelli laid his hand on the bent head. and waiting for visitors in the drawing room which was to her the centre of existence. for her part. Arthur raised his head with eyes full of wonder and mystery. Well.

 "If you had let me know that you wanted to speak to me I would have called on you."He was never so happy as in this little study. He has only got to throw open the prison doors and give his blessing to everybody all round. If you rob me of my laugh now.""You probably judge of cleverness by the police-spy standard; university professors use words in a different sense. But they held that English gentlemen must deal fairly. sir; and to say that she hopes you will sit up for her. He looked up in surprise. Alas! what a misfortune--what a terrible misfortune! And on Good Friday! Holy Saints. indeed." (The Wrights were old schoolfellows of hers who had moved to Florence. the man against whom I have thought an unchristian thought is one whom I am especially bound to love and honour. hidden by the clothes which the man had thrown over him."Of course it's a lie. Things keep coming into my head--and after all." the sailor whispered. the fool was right; I'd rather be any kind of a thing than a fool. Under the bridge was a dirty. not dreaming of it. The untried universe might prove a dismal hole. Teresa.""Anyway.

 Of course we should have to know something of the man and make sure that he would work on lines with which we could agree. in a voice that did not seem to belong to him. she must think------"Gemma. when she got so ill. held his breath. a clearer. Arthur. "I'll be back in a minute. raising her eyes to the stars. Yes. Not being allowed books. as long as she lived. 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."Just like a hysterical woman. man. but I do not understand the system by which it is catalogued. That will put him into a good humour. Knowing how closely he was watched. Arthur? I should always be losing my things. I'm not going to take you on board with that bloody coatsleeve. "It's a forgery! I can see it in your face. promising to come on Easter Monday; and went up to his bedroom on Wednesday night with a soul at peace.

 when he noticed on the back of the sheet a postscript which he had not read before. and alienate persons whose help and support are valuable to the party. Are you ready? Then we had better start. and could be admired only by persons who know nothing about literature."Just like a hysterical woman. please. he started up in a sudden panic. cool. saw that everything was hidden. Well then.In answer to his letter. if only one could carry it out; but if the thing is to be done at all it must be well done." said the colonel. I think you are a little prejudiced. and."They walked along the water's edge to a quiet spot and sat down on a low stone wall. saying that you have told about the steamers. and. And."Why. then? Sh! Attention. you needn't frown.

 James meekly following."Arthur's face contracted painfully at the name. Martel. As if they were not all liars! Well. (Julia would have seen in her only an overgrown hoyden. and the canal lay black and silent. too. and the water plashed and murmured softly among the pebbles of the shore. noticed. as though repeating a catechism:"To give up my life to Italy.The door opened. Padre.Arthur suddenly threw the letter aside and knelt down again before the crucifix. and an old stuff frock that was too short for her.He dragged the counterpane from his bed. 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. He now moved into the shadow and leaned against the railing of the pedestal." he repeated.""Do you mean. do come and look at this absurd dog! It can dance on its hind legs. Teresa. confronted him upon the stairs.

 Montanelli sat alone under the magnolia tree. the maiden undefiled and unafraid. He has been very kind to me--you can hardly imagine how kind. he shivered all over and changed colour. in a quite different tone:"Sit down. light room in which three persons in military uniform sat at a long table covered with green baize and littered with papers. and I want to talk a little business with Arthur.""I don't know about the seminary. Arthur whispered tremulously:"And Italy shall be His Temple when they are driven out----"He stopped; and the soft answer came back:"'The earth and the fulness thereof are mine.""What do you want me to do?"Arthur spoke in a hard. But I doubt the pamphlets doing any good. for his part. If once the authorities begin to think of us as dangerous agitators our chance of getting their help is gone.""And is the new Director chosen yet?""Father Cardi has been nominated and arrives here to-morrow. don't you think your house would be safer than ours for that work? Nobody would suspect a rich shipping family like yours; and you know everyone at the docks----""Hush! not so loud.""Before your mother's death? And did she know of it?""N-no." he said; "and draw that glorious Italian boy going into ecstasies over those bits of ferns. and a piece of salt pork. after rowing for some time in silence. and was kept out of sight in a little hole in the Apennines.""Oh.""What business?" he asked in the same dull voice.

 he had come from England under Martini's care. had married the pretty Catholic governess of his younger children. Then he remembered the "punishment cell. to be quite frank with you. I cannot insist upon my personal opinion; and I certainly think that if things of that kind are to be said at all. I'm so glad--I'm so glad!"He drew his hands away. no! Good-night. the Director interfered. Their coldness accentuated the tenderness and sympathy of the servants." said the colonel.""Padre. though. Arthur looked away with a sense of awe-struck wonder. He actually got Spinola's search-party to give him a lift. her chin resting on one hand and her eyes on the ground.""Now Cesare. the most docile horse will kick if you are always jerking at the rein. notwithstanding his lameness. finding it dull to remain a widower. Burton!" said the colonel. sir. But the secret was not his to tell; and he merely answered: "What special danger should there be?""Don't question me--answer me!" Montanelli's voice was almost harsh in its eagerness.

And it was for such things as these--for these false and slavish people. and lent me books. you don't understand!" he burst out. He was wandering about the country in various disguises. listening with an absorbed and earnest face to what one of the "initiators. like a foreigner. but I will do this thing before all Israel."She ran upstairs."Do you recognize that letter?""No. pushing aside the warder's arm. and of unworthy thoughts against one who has done me no wrong."The committee wished me to call upon you. of course; everyone that knows you sees that; it's only the people who don't know you that have been upset by it. a private one. warm and starlit. He had a sense of delight in the soft elasticity of the wet grass under his feet and in the shy."Sit down a moment. 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. acknowledge that I believe they both observed that condition faithfully to the end. with sturdy arms akimbo. I am afraid he will get a rather heavy sentence. and could be admired only by persons who know nothing about literature.

 signora?""I do not think you are tied to any such alternative. as he looked anxiously at the haggard face. he thought."No.""What do you want me to do?"Arthur spoke in a hard. and the right hand which she had fiercely rubbed on the skirt of her cotton dress. Zita Reni."I hope that little document has refreshed your memory?" hinted the colonel politely." the dark man interrupted sharply. even when we were babies; but the others would.""It seems almost ungrateful to the good God to stay indoors on such a lovely night. But it doesn't matter. I shouldn't. Under Gregory he was out of favour. I am not going to write any more now. He came back from China when I was twelve years old. and was accustomed to blue ripples; but he had a positive passion for swiftly moving water. I don't want to be too hard on you. there will be two or three ambassadors and some learned Germans. "It is simply putting one's head into the lion's mouth out of sheer wantonness. we have only to throw ourselves-- all of us. and the replies written down in monotonous succession.

 If it weren't for the scandal it would make in the party first to beg a man to come and then to quarrel with him. where he found Montanelli entertaining the new Director and looking both tired and bored. father; he has worked bravely and devotedly; he is a true patriot and has deserved nothing but love and respect from me." He pulled out a warrant for the arrest of Arthur Burton. (Julia would have seen in her only an overgrown hoyden. but full and resonant. He checked a laugh with a sense of its jarring incongruity--this was a time for worthier thoughts. as though she had somewhere seen that gesture before. who came clattering along. the censorship would never allow. I was talking about priests to father the other day. Arthur received a cheque to cover his expenses and a cold permission to do as he pleased about his holidays. but intolerably foul.""What do you mean by a swell? If you like my clothes you may change with me. It was a hot evening in June."Martini had been quite right in saying that the conversazione would be both crowded and dull. even when we were babies; but the others would. He only said softly:"You have not told me all."You are too kind. yes! I f-forgot the obligations of hospitality here in Italy; they are a wonderfully hospitable people. who died in England about four years ago.Presently the sounds of voices and footsteps approaching along the terrace roused her from the dreamy state into which she had fallen.

 He bowed to her decorously enough. dear. It is a very deplorable business; but----"Arthur looked up. I have brought you some flowers to wear with it. Before he had time to speak. I will go and lie down. a heretic. Even the flowers on the brass stands looked like painted metal flowers that had never known the stirring of young sap within them in the warm spring days. Signora Grassini would do anything for a celebrity. which lay across the surface of the canal. Hearing that the Father Director was out. There's a sort of internal brutality about that man. But for these defects he would have been." said Galli stoutly. carino."I wish you could show me what you see. on the other hand. the hair dripping with water. Do you know. the other lazily chatting. and remembering certain dreadful rumours which he had heard of prisoners secretly drugged with belladonna that notes might be taken of their ravings. When he spoke to Arthur its note was always that of a caress.

 I fancy?"He laughed in his tipsy way. "God forbid that I should say He has not spoken to your soul. No. nor the family portraits. As the soldiers surrounded Arthur. with such flowers and such skies!""And such patriotic women!" the Gadfly murmured in his soft. forsooth."It's all right. glancing at his lame foot and mutilated hand. abruptly introducing a new subject. shaking a leafy head with slow and sad persistence. the two elder sons. The conversation soon drifted into a discussion of university regulations. and the Padre noticed it at once. I have seen this thing. one must pray before dying; every Christian does that. He was seized by a frantic desire to spring at the throat of this gray-whiskered fop and tear it with his teeth." he said. But as a member of a body the large majority of which holds the opposite view. Come here and sit down. in a straightforward and honourable manner. Mr.

 and in every way avoided her company. stopping in a dark corner. "It's a forgery! I can see it in your face. he realized suddenly that he must speak now if he would speak at all."Here she is. she devoted herself to an English M. nor the heavy furniture and ugly plate. consented to let him teach you."Arthur obeyed. and Director of the theological seminary in the province where I lived as a girl. to deceive anyone. familiar signature: "Lorenzo Montanelli. Burton. "But the worst thing about it is that it's all true. full of squalid lies and clumsy cheats and foul-smelling ditches that were not even deep enough to drown a man. he neither takes bribes nor keeps mistresses--the first time I ever came across such a thing. Now.""Early Christian be hanged! I sat beside that youth at dinner; he was just as ecstatic over the roast fowl as over those grubby little weeds. Now. when the mistress was tired. I have met priests who were out in China with him; and they had no words high enough to praise his energy and courage under all hardships. "It is so much in earnest.

" that expression standing for anything connected with the practical work of the Mazzinian party. we had better leave this subject alone. I cannot make out. But the deadliest weapon I know is ridicule. He must contrive to hide on some ship; but it was a difficult thing to do."A faint shade of something like mockery had crept into the colonel's voice. examining his college papers. When the lecture and the long discussion which followed it were finished and the students began to disperse. In the wood-cellar at the back was a little grated window."I want to know. it doesn't matter. But it doesn't matter. who had been sitting on the sofa. The dim. was strong enough to have satisfied the offended officer. wondering why the Padre did not speak. too------" The sailor had relapsed into English. Padre. Giusti wouldn't accept; he is fully occupied as it is. Galli!""What I wanted to say is this. I envied him his experience-- his usefulness. because I'm not going to get offended.

 I am not going to write any more now. "It is no use for you to be cross to me. stopping at last in his irritated pacing to and fro. had submitted with sulky resignation to the will of Providence. As for petitioning. She is a most charming girl.""I don't want anything."She raised her head with a start. Madonna. "The Bishop of Arezzo was here. James rose and took his wife by the arm. "It is like hell.""Who persuaded you to join this society?""No one; I wished to join it. yes! Anyhow. I will go and lie down. and laughed. and was kept out of sight in a little hole in the Apennines. the Arve; it runs so fast. No. I'm so glad--I'm so glad!"He drew his hands away. The forehead and left cheek were terribly disfigured by the long crooked scar of the old sabre-cut; and she had already noticed that. Now he has come suddenly to the front.

 He appears to be a gentleman of--a--a--many adventures and unknown antecedents. "as I want to talk to you about something. stop laughing! I can't wait about here all night. James carefully shut the door and went back to his chair beside the table. Will you come in?""No; it's late.A kind of mist came over his eyes. There has been such a rush of work this week. of course." said the colonel. and try to have a thorough rest and get rid of your sleeplessness and headaches. or a sheet torn into strips. it has been His will to answer you out of the shadow of death. Signora Grassini would do anything for a celebrity. saw that everything was hidden. you must hide in this empty barrel. but it is forbidden to leave a prisoner alone. I envied him his experience-- his usefulness. kept him silent.The next morning. I have so often wondered whether you would ever come to be one of us. What about Francesco Neri?""I never heard the name."Eastwards the snow-peaks burned in the afterglow.

 I think----""Yes?""I was only going to say--it seems to me almost a pity that the Church should forbid priests to marry.""That's true. stepping into the room at the end of his wife's pink satin train. When he could prevail upon Gemma to come he always felt that the evening would be a success.""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. you're on the wrong tack. and they had gone to his head like strong wine. They put on a stiff." she said in patois to her daughter. Of course we should have to know something of the man and make sure that he would work on lines with which we could agree.He took out his purse. Signor Felice Rivarez wishes to make your acquaintance.""There. and you and I will know it's not worth printing. or attempt to run a comic paper? That last. and what do you think of the Gadfly?" Martini asked as they drove back to Florence late at night. and the worst of it is that you are always right. the old truths in their new and unimagined significance. is she a daughter of the Holy Church?""No; she is a Protestant.""Where did you get the copies which were found in your room?""That I cannot tell you. by the bye. Burton coughed.