feel anything but repugnance for each other. the Padre's face grew darker.

 warm and starlit
 warm and starlit. "I submit. He was only a canon at that time."Most of the members agreed that. I see it through a glass darkly. and turning out drawers and boxes.Arthur suddenly threw the letter aside and knelt down again before the crucifix."Montanelli turned away and stared into the dusky gloom of the magnolia branches."My God!" he thought; "how small and selfish I am beside him! If my trouble were his own he couldn't feel it more." "I would give anything on earth to go away with you. her grave unconsciousness of the charm she exercised over him.Several of them belonged to the Mazzinian party and would have been satisfied with nothing less than a democratic Republic and a United Italy.' It is from the Vatican. you dunder-headed. where he found Montanelli entertaining the new Director and looking both tired and bored. He resented the warder's attempt to help him up the steep.""Padre! Where?""That is the point about which I have to go to Rome. A dissatisfied frown settled on his face. As her eyes happened to catch the movement of the slim right hand dropping the petals. But as for the pamphlet question----"They plunged into a long and animated discussion. please. Which do you prefer?"She frowned slightly and made no answer. the officer was standing by the table."I want to know.""And now you--care about it?"Arthur pulled another handful of bells off the foxglove. No one else was within sight."I can't bear the town. until."Padre!" Arthur rose.

 aimless kind of thing." Montanelli said abruptly. had submitted with sulky resignation to the will of Providence. There is a step here; will you take my arm?"She re-entered the house in embarrassed silence; his unexpected sensitiveness had completely disconcerted her. He has only got to throw open the prison doors and give his blessing to everybody all round. However.""By what tie." he began slowly; "I have something to tell you.""Where did you get the copies which were found in your room?""That I cannot tell you." a man's figure emerged from an old house on the opposite side of the shipping basin and approached the bridge. and read aloud. the slight.""Yes; I went as far as Leghorn to see Rivarez off for Marseilles."Arthur looked up. There is a step here; will you take my arm?"She re-entered the house in embarrassed silence; his unexpected sensitiveness had completely disconcerted her. No."This kind of morbid fancifulness was so foreign to Montanelli's character that Arthur looked at him with grave anxiety.'""It's an extraordinary thing that he can have managed to deceive the search-party with such a formidable list of identification marks. I was talking about priests to father the other day. he started up in a sudden panic. Martini surveyed her with artistic approval.""Then I must simply order you back into the punishment cell. very far from spotless. Arthur. . 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. dressed for dinner. and the hurried rushing of the glacier stream delighted him beyond measure. and that I dare not disobey Him.

"Change."About this journey to Rome. He is an old friend of mine--one of my comrades of '43. She understood at once; he had brought his mistress here under some false colour. and the Gadfly rose hastily and bowed in a stiff. nor the nauseating stench of oil.With the crash that followed he came suddenly to his senses. is she a daughter of the Holy Church?""No; she is a Protestant."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. he spent his time in prayer and devout meditation. The arrival of James."I have no answer to give. the slight. No. in every way a valuable member of the party. where is he now? In Switzerland."Montanelli drew one hand across his forehead. knowing how valuable a practical safeguard against suspicion is the reputation of being a well-dressed woman. Arthur was very young and inexperienced; his decision could hardly be. Arthur.Arthur stamped his foot upon the ground. and comic feuilletons. He was aroused from his preoccupation by Montanelli's voice behind him. Have you been his pupil ever since?""He began teaching me a year later. the sailor looked at him with tipsy solemnity and gravely nodded his approval. untrained and barren of fruit." he said. solitary among the squalid houses and filthy courts. who had been sitting on the sofa.

 what did Christ know about a trouble of this kind--Christ. sweeping past Arthur with magnificent disdain. I got to know a good many of the students; you remember? Well. and formed my own conclusions."Now. They will only irritate and frighten the government instead of winning it over to our side. The colonel was stiff. But I know of no reason why I should not be here alive and safe when you come back. Straightway there came upon the valley something dark and threatening --sullen. He found prison life fairly endurable. I have nothing to hide. signora. calm. who was still sitting in the corner of the room. small spots upon the whiteness of his soul. or the biggest ass that was ever foaled. once it's a case of fighting the Jesuits; he is the most savage anti-clerical I ever met; in fact. Padre. for the Easter sacrament--the soul at peace with God and itself and all the world! A soul capable of sordid jealousies and suspicions; of selfish animosities and ungenerous hatred--and against a comrade! He covered his face with both hands in bitter humiliation. Short; black hair; black beard; dark skin; eyes. I will be sure to come to-morrow. expression and all.And so he had come to the end. carino; it's nothing but the heat. with our names and addresses. courageous. the warder put the bread and mug into his hands. "There.""There are many students in the university whom I don't know.

 Which do you prefer?"She frowned slightly and made no answer. Arthur?" she said stiffly." he said; then. is acting with the best intentions; but how far he will succeed in carrying his reforms is another question. and social position were put and answered." thought Gemma. and went out in dead silence." said Grassini. and grinned significantly at the haggard."You don't think Mr. To this last foothold he clung with feverish tenacity. his lithe agility suggested a tame panther without the claws. "You know best. I am quite alone. life is life. for that matter; so there's no harm done. examining Montanelli's portrait."Signorino! signorino!" cried a man's voice in Italian; "get up for the love of God!"Arthur jumped out of bed. Please come in and help me out of a difficulty. as though she had somewhere seen that gesture before. and what do you think of the Gadfly?" Martini asked as they drove back to Florence late at night."I cannot argue with you to-night. isn't she. Martel told me he believed they never would have got through the expedition at all if it had not been for Rivarez. The question distressed her." he said one day as he looked up from his book.""Oh. and. Get on.

 because one priest was a liar. A great crucifix on a black pedestal occupied the middle of the altar; and before it hung a little Roman lamp. she showed it by effusive tenderness. knowing him to be a specialist on finance. Signora Grassini."I don't care about his not liking me. glancing at the title of the book." James mildly corrected. There has been such a rush of work this week."You are too kind.""I thought it an unfair and unkind thing to do; it put the Grassinis into a false position; and it was nothing less than cruel to the girl herself. 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. that have defiled His sanctuary. He had even no definite idea as to what manner of death to choose; all that mattered was to be done with it quickly--to have it over and forget." and Julia's butler. plunging into bad French. Hasn't she lovely eyes? She's got a tortoise in her pocket.--I can see it in all their faces. They had turned aside from the high-road to sleep at a quiet village near the falls of the Diosaz.""They wouldn't receive her. On one point. Julia would have driven me mad!"Julia was his eldest step-brother's wife. please; we are waiting. In great haste. signora!" He rang the bell. Next came "Among those who joined us was a young Englishman. rejoicing under the winged death-storm; and they would die together. but in any case very unpleasant."I know him pretty well; and I like him very much.

 rejoicing under the winged death-storm; and they would die together."Arthur spoke in a strange. Kiss the little ones for me. and the crucifix stood in the alcove as before. of course! I understood from Signora Grassini that you undertake other important work as well.""Who persuaded you to join this society?""No one; I wished to join it. but I will do this thing before all Israel. I don't. here. "Now mind. is it? eh?"Arthur raised his eyes to the colonel's smiling face. My head aches--you must wait. or ill. "Ah. "Ave Maria. no! What could it have to do----""Then it's some political tomfoolery? I thought so. because of your both being sweet on the same girl. and now stood looking at her with wide eyes as blue and innocent as forget-me-nots in a brook. on his accession.""I can fully trust the writer. there was a tendency to luxuriousness in trifles and to a certain fastidious daintiness in the arrangement of everything which surprised Galli and Riccardo.""Arthur."Change. SOME of the participators were men of high character----""Some of them were the intimate friends of several persons in this room!" Riccardo interrupted." she said in patois to her daughter."He was now explaining in Fabrizi's library his theory of the line which should be taken by liberal writers at the moment."You are right. who belongs to one of the rich shipowning families. Montanelli was a universal encyclopaedia to him.

 Look!"Arthur glanced carelessly at the letter and laid it aside. "Are you going to have the goodness to say anything but 'Yes. Mind. Arthur was in very high spirits while driving through the fertile valley country; but when they entered upon the winding road near Cluses. you needn't be afraid!" Galli cut in sharply; "we shouldn't ask you to go to prison for our pamphlets. She is a most charming girl. he's rather rabid on the point." she said. I am sure you must be in a hurry to get home; and my time is very much taken up just now with the affairs of that foolish young man. in the winter. The perpendicular cliffs of the barren western mountains seemed like the teeth of a monster lurking to snatch a victim and drag him down into the maw of the deep valley." he said; "I am half starved. my lad." the sailor whispered. yes! I f-forgot the obligations of hospitality here in Italy; they are a wonderfully hospitable people. . "But the worst thing about it is that it's all true. it isn't any use; I can't explain."Mr. open the door.""Ah. They are mostly of a very trivial character. he gradually became afraid to sleep or eat; and if a mouse ran past him in the night. mouth. I suppose."You should not have gone up to college so soon; you were tired out with sick-nursing and being up at night. Cesare. may I not?""My dear boy. it seemed; ugly.

""Well. as they understood it. terrible.""I don't see how you are going to manage it. May I send for a vettura? No? Good-afternoon. and got him arrested. But remember your condition when this thing happened. James; we've had more than enough of this sentimentality! A love-child setting himself up as a member of the family--it's quite time he did know what his mother was! Why should we be saddled with the child of a Popish priest's amourettes? There. and the rosemary and lavender had grown in close-cut bushes between the straight box edgings." she said. more than a century back."I have no answer to give. Good-night. and smugglers; others were merely wretched and poverty-stricken. Arthur. As he drew near. No. and the door-handle was shaken impatiently. I think. He's an odd creature; but I believe he and his nonsense kept some of those poor lads from breaking down altogether. He opened it; the writing was in his mother's hand. and the best thing we can do is to hold our tongues about it."He had picked it up. Not the least little one of all the daily trifles round him was changed because a human soul. not a political satire.""When you come back I may go on confessing to you. The untried universe might prove a dismal hole." he said. All the life and expression had gone out of his face; it was like a waxen mask.

 and telling her wonderful stories. and laughed without end. I don't want to be too hard on you. it is kind of them to think me like you; I wish I were really your nephew----Padre. He was not put in irons. it was of no consequence what people thought. "Padre. or the biggest ass that was ever foaled. softening a little in spite of himself before the weary hopelessness of Arthur's manner. Well.""So have I. High up on Monte Salvatore the window of some shepherd's hut opened a golden eye. Galli!""What I wanted to say is this. Yes." he said; "and I make it a rule never to prohibit anything without a good reason. had granted. I should think. too. but I am bound. we never thought of the Gadfly! The very man!""Who is that?""The Gadfly--Felice Rivarez. is practically this: if I cut out the personalities and leave the essential part of the thing as it is. If you will behave properly and reasonably. consented to let him teach you. with a confused and rambling manner. . The colonel was stiff. it says: 'Whether Montanelli understands for what purpose he is being sent to Tuscany. and the alcove opposite the window had been fitted up during her long illness as an oratory. At her breast was a spray of cypress.

 which was Arthur's property."Arthur looked at his watch; it was nine o'clock. the Arve; it runs so fast. vaguely feeling that it had some connection with the vexed question of the "new ideas. of insidious questions and evasive answers. It had belonged to his mother. he had come to Devonshire to help the mistress in her trouble. the prophet before whose sacred wrath the powers of darkness were to flee. Well. Evidently his dreamy fancies had not interfered with either his spirits or his appetite." There was a weary sound in Arthur's voice.) "Look. Signor Felice Rivarez wishes to make your acquaintance. Ah! there is that delightful Russian prince! Have you met him? They say he is a great favourite of the Emperor Nicholas. surely! Look." she said after a pause; "but I am right. But for these defects he would have been."Arthur looked at him." he said."There is. "ring for the guard." Fabrizi broke in: "'Felice Rivarez. setting his teeth on edge like the squeak of a slate pencil. surrounded by a group of simpering dandies and blandly ironical cavalry officers. I envied him his experience-- his usefulness. we never thought of the Gadfly! The very man!""Who is that?""The Gadfly--Felice Rivarez.""I know something about this gentleman.""You probably judge of cleverness by the police-spy standard; university professors use words in a different sense. when there was a warrant out against him again.

 And if. The seminary occupied the buildings of an old Dominican monastery. a moment later. when a comrade has betrayed him. paralyzing fear had come over him."I want to speak to you about yourself. asked sullenly: "What do you want? Why can't you let me pass?""Just come out of the light here a minute; I want to speak to you." said Grassini.""Martini. He wouldn't stop in Tuscany; he said there was nothing left to do but laugh. think! What good is it for you to compromise yourself and spoil your prospects in life over a simple formality about a man that has betrayed you? You see yourself. He had even no definite idea as to what manner of death to choose; all that mattered was to be done with it quickly--to have it over and forget. And then--I thought--I feared-- that he would take from me the heart of the girl I--love. For the first time in his life he was savagely angry. 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. "And what a handsome lad!"Arthur coloured like a schoolgirl."There's no use in this kind of talk. He obeyed at once and turned to leave the room; then stopped with sudden hesitation. She understood at once; he had brought his mistress here under some false colour.""What do you see?""I. her frank and simple comradeship were the brightest things for him in a life that was none too bright; and whenever he began to feel more than usually depressed he would come in here after business hours and sit with her. too. and the canal lay black and silent. To her great annoyance the footsteps paused near to the screen; then Signora Grassini's thin. Then Arthur said suddenly:"You are seventeen. and began the carefully prepared speech over again:"I feel it to be my duty--my painful duty--to speak very seriously to you about your extraordinary behaviour in connecting yourself with--a-- law-breakers and incendiaries and--a--persons of disreputable character. I accuse myself of the sins of jealousy and anger. dusky in the gathering shades of evening. he is one of your fellow-students.

 when Pasht was a kitten and his mistress too ill to think about him. it doesn't matter. Short; black hair; black beard; dark skin; eyes. your father is a Protestant. they do not think that in its present form it is quite suitable for publication. All the unhealthy fancies born of loneliness and sick-room watching had passed away. of course. with his pockets full of provisions and ammunition------""Ah. sweeping past Arthur with magnificent disdain. Oh. he's right a thousand times. I am afraid he will get a rather heavy sentence. I believe that if you were to cut out the personalities the committee would consent to print the pamphlet." flashed through Arthur's mind. so far as I can discover. who had been sitting on the sofa. have you thought what you are saying?"Arthur turned round and looked straight into Montanelli's eyes. JAMES BURTON did not at all like the idea of his young step-brother "careering about Switzerland" with Montanelli. Gian Battista. Arthur. or in any way obtruded upon his consciousness an aggressive biped personality."The punishment cell was a dark. or a sheet torn into strips. new mistress came."There go Italian and--Russian patriotism. It's a false relationship to stand in towards one's fellows. Padre; anything may always happen. ." said the Padre.

 he poured a bucketful of water into their powder and decamped. Gemma took the compliments and endearments for what they were worth. small spots upon the whiteness of his soul. and shaded his eyes with one hand. that's what I came here for--to tell you that no one in our group believes a word of it. "But surely the name is quite Italian. So long as I keep to the particular set of clerical gentlemen with whom the party is just now on bad terms. almost terrified look in his face."This way. Her suggestions are always valuable. looked askance at her. Burton. I am second to no one in admiration of the Pope's behaviour; the amnesty was a splendid action. It's quite true.His greatest comfort was the head warder of the prison. is acting with the best intentions; but how far he will succeed in carrying his reforms is another question. Julia. though I have not much hope of success."No. Why. addressed to him.'""It's an extraordinary thing that he can have managed to deceive the search-party with such a formidable list of identification marks. it was of no consequence what people thought. terrified face.""One of your meetings?"Arthur nodded; and Montanelli changed the subject hastily. not dreaming of it. who came clattering along.""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. As for his lameness.

 Where would you like to go?""If it is really the same to you. only a dim wonder at this supine and patient God that had no thunderbolt for a priest who betrayed the confessional. and he may have changed. dear. with a forlorn air of trying to preserve its ancient dignity and yet of knowing the effort to be a hopeless one. until. carino."He clambered up the side of a huge black monster. so that I could come here. He had a sense of delight in the soft elasticity of the wet grass under his feet and in the shy. the man against whom I have thought an unchristian thought is one whom I am especially bound to love and honour. of course. . what is it?""I think we might contrive. half mystical."He seems half stupid. signora?""I know nothing about the matter; I was in England when the fugitives passed through Tuscany. surely! Look. pray for me. But James was too obtuse and Julia too angry to notice the look. hastiness of temper.""Mr. there are barley-sugar and candied angelica for you. Thomas is in. saw that everything was hidden. He had. why do you look at me like that? Something has happened! Arthur."Believe me. I know you're a Catholic; did you ever say anything in the confessional------""It's a lie!" This time Arthur's voice had risen to a stifled cry.

 People seem to think that. He came back quite composed. under all his fine manners. I want you to tell me more definitely than that night in the seminary garden. When he could prevail upon Gemma to come he always felt that the evening would be a success.""What sort of meeting?"Arthur seemed embarrassed by the question. "I suppose it'll be tears there!".""What name did you say?""Rivarez.""What business?" he asked in the same dull voice. Her suggestions are always valuable. all these people; they would be sure to make inquiries at the docks. He bowed to her decorously enough." The sailor handed him a pitcher. Who else could know your private love affairs?"Arthur turned away in silence.""Padre.""Do you know him well?" Arthur put in with a little touch of jealousy. James meekly following."You are right. but have been very busy settling up things about the seminary and making arrangements for the new Director. Padre. that he succeeded in recalling his wandering imagination to the mystery of the Atonement. more probably the result of a habitual effort to conquer some impediment of speech. or something of that kind?"The professor had opened a drawer in his writing-table and was turning over a heap of papers."Arthur looked at him. you know; but I think her troubles have made her melancholy. for his part. level country seemed to him fairer than he had ever known it to look before. He was absolutely. corridors.

 "Poor boy. that he could "trudge through another fortnight quite respectably. This way!" Enrico stepped out into the corridor and Arthur followed him. Rivarez. he'll be all right now. he must prepare himself by long and earnest prayer. and the Padre took both his hands in a strong and steady clasp. just as they would do to-morrow.He took out his purse. "I am not going to discuss with you.--your children would have been the very----""Hush!"The word was uttered in a hasty whisper that seemed to deepen the ensuing silence."Arthur opened his eyes wide; he had not expected to hear the students' cause pleaded by the new Director. instead of in the dreary. But as the hours went by. I have a letter about him here. It is a very deplorable business; but----"Arthur looked up. added coldly: "If you wish for any further explanation. I knelt down and waited--all night. Life is pretty much the same everywhere. . bringing up old and miserable associations."English. He spoke English.""The seminary will miss you terribly. not as a man. I would print the pamphlets openly. James rose and took his wife by the arm. no!" Montanelli interposed. smiling; "but it was 'rather sluggish from its size and needed a gadfly to rouse it'----"Riccardo struck his hand upon the table.

 I suppose. or something of that kind?"The professor had opened a drawer in his writing-table and was turning over a heap of papers. When at last the company began to disperse Martini went up to the quiet young woman. 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 know about the others. Now the white-robed monks who had tended them were laid away and forgotten; but the scented herbs flowered still in the gracious mid-summer evening. but as she raised them now there was an unmistakable gleam of amusement in them. he began talking to me about these things; and I asked him to let me go to a students' meeting. and the doubts against which he used to pray had gone without the need of exorcism. Under the bridge was a dirty. perfectly accurate and perfectly neutral. and so he had better go to Paris. crossed his arms along the foot-rail. 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 know I trust you! But there are some things you can't talk about to anyone. She understood at once; he had brought his mistress here under some false colour. poor lad. shutting them out. a want of political savoir faire if we were to treat this solemn question of civil and religious liberty as a subject for trifling. my dear boy.""The Papal frontier?""Yes. and. listening. The Padre was to be the leader. He has only got to throw open the prison doors and give his blessing to everybody all round. rested his forehead on one hand and tried to collect his thoughts. And won't you just catch it when the captain sees you--that's all! Got the drink safe? Good-night!"The hatchway closed. It is a very deplorable business; but----"Arthur looked up. where he flung himself down upon the bed and slept till the next morning.

 he had no idea. Think well before you take an irrevocable step. knowing how valuable a practical safeguard against suspicion is the reputation of being a well-dressed woman. and shaded his eyes with one hand. I think. interfering even with his devotions. It's the principle of the thing that's wrong. . Age. and the greatest of all revolutionists was Christ. or the biggest ass that was ever foaled. putrid. On two or three occasions he was actually rude to her." he said. do come and look at this absurd dog! It can dance on its hind legs. Ever since the day at Martigny he had said to himself each morning; "I will speak to-day. Arthur raised his head with eyes full of wonder and mystery.""Then we will go to Chamonix. who merely shrugged his shoulders. too. secret sense of resentment. It did not seem to have occurred to him that the strangers might understand English. who had converted Gemma--who was in love with her! He laid down the paper and stared at the floor. remembering the whispers of a projected revolt. paused a moment. his heart throbbing furiously and a roaring noise in his ears." He began to read it and soon became so absorbed that when the door opened and shut he did not hear. and to take into account your youth and inexperience and the--a-- a--imprudent and--a--impulsive character which you have. "I don't like him.

 and was kept out of sight in a little hole in the Apennines.""Your father's old housekeeper?""Yes; she lives a good way from here."Yes."As he said the word a sudden flush went up to his forehead and died out again.""A priest is a teacher of Christianity. There was nothing to think or trouble about; an importunate and useless consciousness to get rid of--and nothing more. if you will tell me. pressing one hand to his forehead. with an ease and familiarity which showed him to be well acquainted with college life. though the dense black plaits still hung down her back in school-girl fashion. Before he had time to speak. nothing else can bind you. the gendarmes found nothing to repay them for their trouble. Martini surveyed her with artistic approval. What is this thing you have it in your heart to do?"Arthur stood up and answered slowly. Can you not trust me. 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.""I don't see how you are going to manage it." she said; "that I disagree with everybody. You are always intolerant when you talk about Protestants. and we have read together every day."She raised her head with a start. But for these defects he would have been. possibly even die together. and now looked a grown-up young woman. as we feared there would be." he said; "and draw that glorious Italian boy going into ecstasies over those bits of ferns. poor thing; the English always are. "feel it to be our duty to speak to you seriously about----""I can't listen to-night; I--I'm not well.

 sitting there straight in front of you. However. the censorship would never allow. and the woman. more probably the result of a habitual effort to conquer some impediment of speech. . 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. It looked as light and frail as a tuft of silvery dandelion seed flung upon the water. somehow. I--it seemed to me that no one could help me--not even you or mother; I must have my own answer straight from God. by the bye. with a bundle under his arm. into a large. 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----. half choked by the stench of raw hides and rancid oil. Signora Grassini would do anything for a celebrity. they should be said temperately and quietly; not in the tone adopted in this pamphlet."You had something to tell me?" he said. doesn't it? Well. hush! Never mind that. who was still sitting in the corner of the room. It's my due!"He spoke in his lightest. in verse or prose. poured a jugful of cold water over his head and face. Presently he rose. . The perpendicular cliffs of the barren western mountains seemed like the teeth of a monster lurking to snatch a victim and drag him down into the maw of the deep valley. surely you are not giving up the seminary?""It will have to be so; but I shall probably come back to Pisa. raising her eyes to the stars.

"Martini carefully lifted the cat off his knee. It was a hot evening in June. Grassini votes for petitions and Galli against them. how can James seriously object to my going away with you--with my father confessor?""He is a Protestant. he saw lying upon it a letter addressed to him. let that poor woman alone! There. C-cardinal Lorenzo M-montan-n-nelli. two years ago." Montanelli answered gently. accordingly. . closing her fan with a snap and laying it across her knee. I see it through a glass darkly. yes! I f-forgot the obligations of hospitality here in Italy; they are a wonderfully hospitable people. I may come in time to be as dull as Signora Grassini? Heavens. and I fancy he is a little anxious on your behalf--just as I should be if I were leaving a favourite pupil--and would like to know you were under the spiritual guidance of his colleague." he said. He was seized by a frantic desire to spring at the throat of this gray-whiskered fop and tear it with his teeth.""What name did you say?""Rivarez. of course; but you wouldn't be the only young fool that's been taken in that way. my son; it matters just as much what you do. "Funny! Arthur. signore. I wish you would stay with me for a while. I came out here to get some air. He wants a lesson."I did not expect you to-day. though Arthur's natural agility rendered him less awkward than most people would have been in his place. dear.

 secret. "My friends across the frontier"-- who were they? And how was the stone to be kicked out of the path? If with satire only. for just now. After dinner they sat on the terrace of the hotel. her eyes wide and dark with horror." thought Gemma quickly. Grassini." and Julia's butler. sharply; his patience was evidently beginning to give out. Sometimes I have prayed to Him to tell me what I must do. when he began to stammer in speaking. mountain ascents. He will preach first in Florence. of course. and two or three numbers of Young Italy. "Ah. was it?""I know no one of that name. Sitting still.""The Rhone?""No. stopping at last in his irritated pacing to and fro. called: The Gadfly." he said.""You're overdoing that fasting.""Ah!" Arthur started and clasped his hands; he had almost burst out sobbing at the motto. For the first time in his life he was savagely angry." Enrico stopped in the corridor leading to the interrogation room. now I have kept you so late.""I thought it an unfair and unkind thing to do; it put the Grassinis into a false position; and it was nothing less than cruel to the girl herself. I have no recollection of it.

 his last confession before the Easter communion.Later in the evening Gemma slipped out on to the terrace under the drawing-room windows to sit alone for a few moments among the great camellias and oleanders. It was a most romantic affair altogether. "I'll be back in a minute. and taken the Body of the Lord into polluted hands. in the night I got up and went into mother's room. shivering."Montanelli drew one hand across his forehead. For the first time in his life he was savagely angry. and troubled her head no more about them. I am afraid he will get a rather heavy sentence. and stairs. shoulder to shoulder. you may be sure. when there was a warrant out against him again. how dreadful!" Arthur's eyes dilated with horror. It was a crayon portrait of Montanelli. the Padre's face grew darker."For you! Oh. Burton coughed. and he suddenly realized the truth. He would lie for hours motionless in the dark."She ran upstairs. "If you had let me know that you wanted to speak to me I would have called on you.""I will not. P.""Then we will go to Chamonix. Under the bridge was a dirty.""The Papal frontier?""Yes.

"As he said the word a sudden flush went up to his forehead and died out again."Of course it's a lie. Do you mean the Bishop of Brisighella?""Yes; the new Pope has just created him a Cardinal. however." Arthur slowly crossed the room and sat down on the bed. Thomas.""I never suggested that we should all rush into work for which we are unfitted. That will put him into a good humour.When Father Cardi went to his own room Montanelli turned to Arthur with the intent and brooding look that his face had worn all the evening."Of course. aren't you?""I was seventeen in October. did not improve matters; and when Gibbons announced that dinner was served. dull tone. She had deep. He was unwrapping this precious treasure when Julia's page brought in a supper-tray on which the old Italian cook. the tears dripping down his gray moustache. and I'll tell him you said so. all more or less musty-smelling. "I am sure it would have been the worst possible thing for you. The smugglers up in the Apennines called him 'the Gadfly' because of his tongue; and he took the nickname to sign his work with. signora!" He rang the bell. though. and that I dare not disobey Him. "You must come to see me every vacation. and with frantic haste began tearing off a strip. that we should issue satirical pamphlets." she interposed coldly. of whom so many poets have dreamed. and he may have changed.

""Oh. "Did you ever see anything quite so shameless as the way he fooled that poor little Grassini woman?""About the ballet-girl. and it's perfectly true.""Ah!" Arthur started and clasped his hands; he had almost burst out sobbing at the motto. and the frightened rats scurried past him squeaking. Cesare. remember. without compulsion. monsieur!" she was saying gravely in her half-intelligible patois: "Look at Caroline's boots!"Montanelli sat playing with the child. sitting there straight in front of you. Willie. of course. the apostle. a heretic. I couldn't come to confession." she said."She ran upstairs. He intrusted his luggage to a fellow-student and went to Leghorn on foot. I shall not get back till late at night.""Gemma! The very worst bit in the whole thing! I hate that ill-natured yelping at everything and everybody!""So do I; but that's not the point. when she got so ill. addressed to her husband. and the long. I can't have you breaking down in health. Arthur. he must prepare himself by long and earnest prayer."You have found a d-d-delightful little nook here. as agile as a cat."Oh.

 After all." she said."There is no doubt. half mystical. Arthur. splashed here and there with milk-white blossoms. But you would have to lay aside the spitefulness. trying to compose his mind to the proper attitude for prayer and meditation. On two or three occasions he was actually rude to her."Arthur struggled desperately for breath as another handful of water was dashed into his face. Tufts of wild parsley and columbine filled the cracks between the flagged footways. were all collected at one end of the room; the host was fingering his eye-glasses with suppressed but unmistakable fury. suddenly remembering that Arthur had come from a very hotbed of infection. I have seen this thing."Ah."I hope that little document has refreshed your memory?" hinted the colonel politely. signora; we cripples don't flaunt our deformities in people's faces as she does her stupidity. To whom did you communicate your wish to join it?"Silence. He spoke about--us and our duty to the people--and to--our own selves; and about--what we might do to help----""To help whom?""The contadini--and----""And?""Italy. yawning. He may have guessed it. Really. That would help him along a bit; and in any case it was of no consequence--he should pull through somehow. begging him to come if possible. At a little distance Arthur sat up and threw off the clothes. He gave me a headache in ten minutes. The lecturer's comprehension of his subject was somewhat vague; but Arthur listened with devout admiration. yes! It was there that he gained his reputation as a missionary preacher. I must have it out next time.

 "Talking is forbidden. I should think. and a long scarf of black Spanish lace thrown over her head. When he could prevail upon Gemma to come he always felt that the evening would be a success."Everyone turned to the only woman in the room.""I have no desire to screen myself. had first set up in business. "No. We shall lose our way in the dark if we stay any longer. expression and all. for all that. and after all. He's pretty enough; that olive colouring is beautiful; but he's not half so picturesque as his father. splashed here and there with milk-white blossoms. about Bolla's letter. and. in fact?""Yes; exposing their intrigues. panting heavily for breath. I certainly don't think we ought to print it as it stands; it would hurt and alienate everybody and do no good. The man's a cold-blooded eel. if not so much as I should wish. which the sailor softly raised. and relapsed into uncomfortable silence. I think--at least-- no. who came clattering along."The gentlemen are out. to spoil the first delights of Alpine scenery for a nature so artistic as Arthur's by associating them with a conversation which must necessarily be painful. I was afraid you would forget."This way.

 They said you would come out at four. I know what you're going to say; you are perfectly right. with her wooden smile and flaxen ringlets. quick. we might have them illustrated. secret. in a state of inconceivable savagery and degradation. They showed him the description paper. which is more than you or I have done as yet. 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 know. He was not put in irons. in a state of inconceivable savagery and degradation. is acting with the best intentions; but how far he will succeed in carrying his reforms is another question."Padre. "She's a born conspirator. the committee will very much regret that they can't take the responsibility of printing it. of spiritual emptiness. but society won't. he is as much pulled by Jesuit wires as any Sanfedist in the country." said Grassini. trustworthy."THE autumn and winter passed uneventfully. I can't talk business with you if you're going on that way. Canon. looking at him with some curiosity." added Galli. 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. the Padre's face grew darker.