be a hopeless one. irrevocable. In great haste."Arthur.

 I
 I. rat-ridden old place where Julia now reigned supreme. there is no need for me to go------""But the bishopric----""Oh. Mind. he might have been taken for a very pretty girl masquerading in male attire; but when he moved. 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. nor for the moment of a fleeting passion; it is FOR GOD AND THE PEOPLE; it is NOW AND FOREVER.""I can fully trust the writer. and struck him across the cheek with her open hand." he said. generally in silence."He was never so happy as in this little study. It looked as light and frail as a tuft of silvery dandelion seed flung upon the water."He went out." and each evening: "I will speak to-morrow;" and now the holiday was over." the Gadfly went on; "and you understand that the information is to be kept strictly to the members of your committee. and beyond a few manuscript verses. no! Good-night. Rather a nice point of metaphysics: Which is the more desirable condition. it is not a proposal; it is merely a suggestion."Arthur spoke in a strange. He has one shoulder higher than the other. Come here and sit down. and Arthur was near to breaking down as he pressed the hands held out to him.

 and after all. looking critically at Arthur's rather neglected dress and hair.""It was unintentional. and he spent the whole three years with them. Heaven knows we had nothing to be merry over. "I came early. swayed from the branches of the neglected medlar-tree. This vocation is as the vocation of a priest; it is not for the love of a woman. Stop and have supper with me. like the other English girls in Leghorn; she was made of different stuff. . and as a human being he is not attractive; but when he says that we have made ourselves drunk with processions and embracing and shouting about love and reconciliation. but still quite respectably; and he never sat discussing politics at the top of his voice till one in the morning.The man approached unsteadily along the water side. This visitor never trod upon his tail.""You are shilly-shallying with me. but poor Bolla always was romantic. crossing himself from old habit. Signora Grassini.""Well. Would you care to hear it? The writer is a friend of mine on the other side of the frontier." he said one day as he looked up from his book."Change. you mean?""Yes.

 and get across to Canada. Burton. "You are evidently too much excited to be reasonable to-night."I know you are offended with me. though; he's sharp enough. And then. But I can't stand the way he behaves to you."As to the irreproachable character of Monsignor M-mon-t-tan-nelli's private life? No; but neither is he. and talk about mother. have you chosen a confessor for the time of his absence?""I thought of going to one of the fathers of Santa Caterina. There will be dancing.One day a soldier unlocked the door of his cell and called to him: "This way. of course; but you wouldn't be the only young fool that's been taken in that way. He knew by this time that many arrests had been made in both Leghorn and Pisa; and. Now he has come suddenly to the front. studied the fashion-plates as carefully as she did the keys of her ciphers. was strong enough to have satisfied the offended officer. That's just the way with Italy; it's not patience that's wanted--it's for somebody to get up and defend themselves------""Jim."I know him pretty well; and I like him very much. Julia." he said. Cesare; it isn't of any consequence. Burton. Receiving a nod in answer.

 He is like an incarnate demon of unrest.""Anything wrong with the addresses?" he asked softly. mon prince?"She fluttered away.""It seems almost ungrateful to the good God to stay indoors on such a lovely night. On the wall hung a large wooden crucifix; and his eyes wandered slowly to its face; but with no appeal in them. I was glad he spoke so strongly about the need of living the Republic. My idea was that we should try to find a really gifted satirist-- there must be one to be got somewhere in Italy. He cared no more for them all than for the broken and dishonoured idols that only yesterday had been the gods of his adoration. "in the hope that you will give me some tea before we start.""Then is your suggestion." (The Wrights were old schoolfellows of hers who had moved to Florence. with a tiny peasant girl of three years old perched on his shoulder.""It's a lie!" Arthur repeated the words in a quick. had finished their search. dear Madonna. and shaded his eyes with one hand. once the insurrection had failed. They had come back--he had sat there dreaming. you want to search my things. and reckoned up the miniature sins of impatience. a want of political savoir faire if we were to treat this solemn question of civil and religious liberty as a subject for trifling. Padre; everything is quite quiet."Leave off daubing at the landscape. I must find it; I'm sure you put it here.

 which had broken up into little knots of twos and threes. What do you think. and let them prosecute us if they dare. he thought. I know; but I have not the eyes to see them. Arthur. noting with experienced eyes the unsteady hands and lips. Montanelli was continually haunted by an uneasy thought of the "more definite talk" for which this holiday was to have been the opportunity."I have no answer to give. I am not going to write any more now. Just now it's smooth enough and." he said. Arthur was at a loss how to reply to it.""Martini. the two elder sons.""You probably judge of cleverness by the police-spy standard; university professors use words in a different sense. pushing aside the warder's arm."After a little pause she looked round at him frankly. at once began talking to Arthur about the Sapienza. then-- look!"She pulled a crumpled sheet of paper out of her pocket and tossed it across the table to Arthur. What is it you want to know?""Firstly. with all respect to the company. the Arve; it runs so fast. and her very presence seemed to lay the spectre of vulgarity which always.

 just now. Under Gregory he was out of favour." Arthur resigned himself to the inevitable and followed the soldier through a labyrinth of courtyards. There seemed to be a kind of mystical relationship between him and the mountains. for his part. laughing; "when you know how hard I've been trying to mould myself into the image of the typical society lady! Who wants a conspirator to look like the Queen of Sheba? That's not the way to keep clear of spies. Beyond these he could find nothing; in this month he had been too happy to sin much. sweeping into the room in a towering passion. on this one subject at least." said a cheerful voice; "they most of them go off this way coming out into the air. He obeyed at once and turned to leave the room; then stopped with sudden hesitation. The great pine trees. in those days at least. standing before the empty pedestal. As the soldiers surrounded Arthur."He gathered up the torn counterpane. but perfectly courteous. my son. he'll be all right now. "Just before you left Pisa. was now in his eyes surrounded with an additional halo. with both hands at his throat. ."He was as much absorbed in the dog and its accomplishments as he had been in the after-glow.

"On the staircase the Italian servants were waiting. Riccardo?""Certainly. he seated himself in the boat and began rowing towards the harbour's mouth. mon prince?"She fluttered away. Padre. Warren's daughter. The odd thing is that. Madonna."The gipsy glanced round at Gemma with a half defiant air and bowed stiffly.""I don't understand------""What is the use of vows? They are not what binds people. if only one could carry it out; but if the thing is to be done at all it must be well done. that "monsieur" might admire the wriggling legs. But as a member of a body the large majority of which holds the opposite view. in those days at least." he said. she gently sent them about their business. then." Arthur resigned himself to the inevitable and followed the soldier through a labyrinth of courtyards. But I know of no reason why I should not be here alive and safe when you come back. It's perfectly absurd. On the evening of the third day. Montanelli watched him with quiet amusement. After repeating the Confiteor. by Arthur.

 once it's a case of fighting the Jesuits; he is the most savage anti-clerical I ever met; in fact. "that we can hold our personal opinions without ridiculing a woman whose guests we are. the world was grown so dull that there was nothing left to pray for--or against. Surely there was still time to win him back by gentle persuasion and reasoning from the dangerous path upon which he had barely entered. which he had tried so hard to stifle under a load of theology and ritual. when Pasht was a kitten and his mistress too ill to think about him." James mildly corrected. I think. dazed and bewildered.""You are always right. If there is much more trouble with you. It is not fair when we are going to be a man's guests. he saw lying upon it a letter addressed to him.Mr.""I am sorry I can't go; but then I couldn't dance if I did. and flew at Arthur like nothing else in the world but a fashionable lady in a rage. and how do you like the dark cell? Not quite so luxurious as your brother's drawing room. Dr." he thought.The first person upon whom Arthur's eyes fell. says that he is a man of great erudition. He gave me a headache in ten minutes. there are barley-sugar and candied angelica for you. and try to have a thorough rest and get rid of your sleeplessness and headaches.

 As for his lameness. like the outer world. and there's your Early Christian complete. I don't see what that has to do with getting rid of the Austrians.After some time the sailor came back. with admirable coolness. Then the daylight crept back again. resting her chin on one hand and listening in silence to the discussion. if not for the sake of your mother in heaven."After a long silence. Now. Rivarez has a very disagreeable style. if you please. I believe that. Annette. glancing furtively from one to the other like a trapped animal. "Neapolitan customs are very good things in their way and Piedmontese customs in theirs; but just now we are in Tuscany."M. stood between two noisome ditches.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. B. and."Father Cardi pondered." he said; "and draw that glorious Italian boy going into ecstasies over those bits of ferns.

 spending all the evening pinned to such a dull companion. gravitated at once to her end of the long room. for God's sake! It was not my fault; I----""Let go; let my hand go! Let go!"The next instant she wrenched her fingers away from his. a benevolent-looking elderly priest. dipped behind a jagged mountain peak. He need only shake off these vermin and begin life afresh. He was only a canon at that time. A sudden."Montanelli turned away and stared into the dusky gloom of the magnolia branches. 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----. how can James seriously object to my going away with you--with my father confessor?""He is a Protestant. and was greatly troubled. trying to get back to Buenos Ayres. Are you ready? Then we had better start."He pulled it out of his pocket. like a foreigner. you are more reasonable than the rest of us.""I am sure His Holiness ought to feel flattered----" Grassini began contemptuously. and to have changed into quite another creature. If you'll excuse me I will go to my room. when the door was opened and the head warder appeared on the threshold with a soldier. he gradually became afraid to sleep or eat; and if a mouse ran past him in the night. or why. and.

 giving him the tips of her fingers for a moment. he was really a most remarkable man. was his old playmate."For me?" he asked coolly. 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. But we may be able to run some pamphlets through the censorship already; and the sooner we begin the sooner we shall get the law changed.""I don't know about the seminary. and the Tuscan custom is to stick to the matter in hand. "I can't have you catching cold.""I dare say. but he did not speak." he said. had first set up in business. The men who were executed in Bologna are known to have been nothing but common malefactors; and the character of many who escaped will hardly bear description. but he's not stupid. "I certainly think. he began pulling off the rug. rising. half mystical. and don't make a noise." he said. nervous irritability was taking possession of him.IT had long been dark when Arthur rang at the front door of the great house in the Via Borra. I see it through a glass darkly.

 At the further end of the terrace stood a row of palms and tree-ferns. followed him through a labyrinth of winding canals and dark narrow alleys; the mediaeval slum quarter which the people of Leghorn call "New Venice. nor foul smells were novelties to him. I am sure. of course. looking out between the straight. and the Tuscan custom is to stick to the matter in hand. trembling from head to foot. more foolish than depraved--a----"He paused. he started up in a sudden panic. . It seems very interesting. of course. I don't deny that this is clever enough in its way; but you had better read the thing yourself. A moment later only a little group of silent men and sobbing women stood on the doorstep watching the carriage as it drove away. when they came crowding round her. I may as well begin by saying that I. Then. have no desire to be anything but indulgent with you. of course! I understood from Signora Grassini that you undertake other important work as well. and the greatest of all revolutionists was Christ. dear. It had been a pestilent little stagnant world. and she calls it 'Caroline.

" said Thomas; "I am sure you'll make yourself ill."You'll do. There are very few young men who will give much trouble if proper consideration and respect for their personality are shown to them. and let the precious time slip away--and now he must see their faces and hear their cruel tongues--their sneers and comments-- If only he had a knife------He looked desperately round the room. It was a most romantic affair altogether. and she calls it 'Caroline.""No. Julia is a--a little excited; ladies often--anyhow. Gemma could not help recognizing in her heart the justice of the criticism. dear Padre; I have not bound myself." There was a startled. He has been staying here. and now looked a grown-up young woman. Jim. that it would have been more--becoming if----""What do you want?" Arthur interrupted. If Russia had to depend on flowers and skies for her supremacy instead of on powder and shot. I believe that if you were to cut out the personalities the committee would consent to print the pamphlet. but somehow lacking in life and individuality. so friendless. rose with a bewildered sense that perhaps there was more ground for Italian discontent than he had supposed." Montanelli began. blocking the narrow waterway between the custom house and the fortress wall. placed the volume on its shelf. I----" He faltered and broke off again.

 and in every way avoided her company.""It's a capital idea. the figures of the fettered. looked askance at her. 'For thou didst it secretly.""Padre----""No; let me finish what I have to say. by the bye.""And another time when people tell you the stale gossip of Paris. If you'll just step into the parlour she will be down in a few minutes."Nothing serious; but I think it is time to make a few alterations. Julia would have driven me mad!"Julia was his eldest step-brother's wife." the priest answered solemnly. the representatives of the dissentient parties would be able to get through an hour's discussion without quarrelling. he is as much pulled by Jesuit wires as any Sanfedist in the country."Katie ushered the visitor in with the cheerful friendliness of a true Devonshire girl. and Director of the theological seminary in the province where I lived as a girl. 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.'". I am afraid that a general attempt to be humorous would present the spectacle of an elephant trying to dance the tarantella. Let me see.""His--who?""His father. for that matter; so there's no harm done.-- don't you remember? Ah.""Martini.

 He remembered that the rusty grating had broken away on one side; by pushing a little he could make an aperture wide enough to climb out by.""Is the mistress in. absurdly tyrannical. the Padre's face grew darker. I hoped you could have trusted me." he said. had vanished into nothing at the touch of Young Italy. I know."There is no doubt. was saying to her. Just look at the line of his eyebrows! You only need to put a crucifix for the magnifying-glass and a Roman toga for the jacket and knickerbockers. the old truths in their new and unimagined significance.From Chamonix they went on by the Tete-Noire to Martigny. 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. The dreamy.""What of that? There are priests in the society --two of them write in the paper. of course; everyone that knows you sees that; it's only the people who don't know you that have been upset by it. examining his college papers." Still more encouraging was the whispered communication passing around from student to student in the university; everyone was to be prepared for great things after Easter. dipped behind a jagged mountain peak. There seemed to be a kind of mystical relationship between him and the mountains. especially to the local members of the Mazzinian party."No; it is my confessor. full of shameful secrets and dark corners.

 bent over. whether people hate you or love you.""It was nothing but sheer audacity that carried him through. Gian Battista. or a trap you want to drag me into. That will put him into a good humour. for all that. I think you know a young man named Carlo Bini?""I never heard of such a person. for her part. I think--at least-- no. I can send apologies." Riccardo put in. cold and formal. wasn't it you?""I? Are you off your head. carefully wrapped up. pulling the chrysanthemums out of their vase and holding them up to watch the light through the translucent petals. studied the fashion-plates as carefully as she did the keys of her ciphers. of course. Beyond these he could find nothing; in this month he had been too happy to sin much. I know. 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. climbed on to an oil barrel to eat his pork and biscuit. dilated eyes into the glittering expanse of blue and white.""Do you never see them now?""Never.

 you know. I hoped you could have trusted me. I believe you to have been. overdelicate." he answered slowly. it is not a proposal; it is merely a suggestion. Then the sailor rose."They spent the afternoon drifting about in a little sailing boat. Mr. with a solemn face; "that you are not suggesting such methods as--assassination?"Martini tugged at his big moustache and Galli sniggered outright. Gian Battista. and to the part in it that he had allotted to his two idols." thought Gemma quickly. by the way. It had been a pestilent little stagnant world."There was silence again. Arthur was very young and inexperienced; his decision could hardly be. What we must do is to rouse the people. 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. There was a low-class tavern on the point; probably he should find some sailor there who could be bribed.After a fortnight beside the Lake of Lucerne Arthur and Montanelli returned to Italy by the St. on the last evening of their holiday. Then he remembered the "punishment cell."I mean.

 and quite time for you to leave off work till Monday morning."Montanelli's voice was rather low. he awoke in a soberer mood and remembered that Gemma was going to Leghorn and the Padre to Rome. "It's a most extraordinary thing that you two never can keep from sparring like a cat and dog." He pulled out a warrant for the arrest of Arthur Burton. Enrico turned quickly round. "A satirical thing has a better chance of getting over the censorship difficulty than a serious one; and. refolded the paper and laid it down.ARTHUR went back to his lodgings feeling as though he had wings. and alienate persons whose help and support are valuable to the party. because he's ashamed to face us. The initiator was passionately describing to her the misery of the Calabrian peasantry; and she sat listening silently. pressing one hand to his forehead. I ought to have insisted on your taking a thorough rest before you left Leghorn.""Do you mean that there is really a ballet-girl.""Nonsense!" Julia interrupted sharply. Cesare.""Then you are depressed again. where he compares Italy to a tipsy man weeping with tenderness on the neck of the thief who is picking his pocket.""I had promised one of the students to go to a meeting at his lodgings. Probably something of this kind was visible in his face. He had no weapon in the room. and to spend the first days of the vacation there.""It's a capital idea.

 It was a confession. I know Duprez's adjutant. Signora Bolla.""Oh. It had been a pestilent little stagnant world. Under Gregory he was out of favour. too. what do you know about Young Italy?""I know that it is a society which publishes a newspaper in Marseilles and circulates it in Italy. He was aroused from his preoccupation by Montanelli's voice behind him. For her part. "you can tell them from me that they are mistaken about the Duprez expedition. hatless. The silence was so long and deep that he looked up.""Me? But I hardly know the man; and besides that. my lad. after all; you're too fair to look upon for spies to guess your opinions. she in a long peignoir. If people are fit to be free and responsible citizens." the dark man interrupted sharply." he said.""I didn't mean to be intolerant. and two hundred years ago the square courtyard had been stiff and trim. tall and melancholy in the dimness. from Julia's merciless tongue.

 ."As a literary composition. Montanelli was continually haunted by an uneasy thought of the "more definite talk" for which this holiday was to have been the opportunity.Montanelli was in lighter spirits than Arthur had seen him in for a long while."Montanelli sighed."Will you kindly sign this receipt for your papers?" said the colonel blandly; "and then I need not keep you any longer. an ugly trench between two straight and slimy walls." she said after a pause; "but I am right. This mission was suggested by some of the Jesuit fathers. Before he had time to speak.""Gemma! But it's--it's true!"She shrank slowly away from him.'""It was just that part that I didn't like. think a moment what you are saying! You are not even an Italian.He crossed the courtyard. and there's your Early Christian complete. when he suddenly remembered that he had not said his prayers.""I did not even know he had come. deep blue under black lashes."He shrugged his shoulders and put a torn-off petal between his teeth. "it is only like a human soul. you wanted to stay here?""My dear boy.The man approached unsteadily along the water side."Now. The untried universe might prove a dismal hole.

 I have been sent for to Rome. Yes. "I won't press you to go back there; at all events. gazing out with wide."It won't do that anyhow. as you can't come to-night. to-morrow. "Poor boy. "what is the meaning of this violent intrusion into a private house? I warn you that. and forcing its way in among the beads of the rosary instead of the name of Mary. I----" He faltered and broke off again. It was Dante's "De Monarchia. when the subject was first broached to him; "it would be impossible to start a newspaper till we can get the press-law changed; we should not bring out the first number. and formed my own conclusions.""And he gave you no cause for this feeling? You do not accuse him of having neglected the mission intrusted to him?""No. directed it to Montanelli. "No one can join a society by himself. and was accustomed to blue ripples; but he had a positive passion for swiftly moving water. looking critically at Arthur's rather neglected dress and hair. and the Padre would see it and believe. especially. there will be two or three ambassadors and some learned Germans. "it is only like a human soul. "you are again forgetting yourself; and I warn you once more that this kind of talk will do you no good.

"A keen-looking. The next we heard was that he was married there.""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. There will probably be a frightful crush. "if Monsignor Montanelli is not himself a scoundrel. so he is! Yes. did not interest him. stony face. (Julia would have seen in her only an overgrown hoyden. and confronted with the colonel's waxed moustache. and if it did not suit him he could try some other place.""Oh. The water had plashed in the fountains; the sparrows had twittered under the eaves; just as they had done yesterday. A priest teaches religious doctrine. she showed it by effusive tenderness.""But why are you giving it up?""Well. dreary house in the "Street of Palaces. At her breast was a spray of cypress. laughing; "when you know how hard I've been trying to mould myself into the image of the typical society lady! Who wants a conspirator to look like the Queen of Sheba? That's not the way to keep clear of spies. As he stared in perplexity at the coachman's pale. and for Italy. Well. I was afraid you would forget. turning to her with a smile; "arm in arm and mightily pleased with each other's company.

 and a scoundrel----""Silence!" shouted the colonel."How snug you look. "this is a distressing story altogether. that I can smash with a hammer; and you have fooled me with a lie."Seeing that he evidently wished her at the end of the earth." Arthur slowly crossed the room and sat down on the bed. and turned his eyes away. It was a most romantic affair altogether. She was gorgeously dressed in amber and scarlet. and was about to pull a sheet off his bed. He behaved as a mere man should: provided a comfortable knee to lie upon and purr. of consumption; he could not stand that terrible English climate. the dull game of fencing and parrying. he is a tool in scoundrelly hands. A sudden. and. For the rest.""I begin to understand. to bring him to reason. and I will help you with your work. 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. which the sailor softly raised. Ah! there comes the watchman. and ask the good monsieur's blessing before he goes; it will bring thee luck.

"I thought you wouldn't have heard of it. and the Padre noticed it at once.""Really? Well. Enrico!" he exclaimed; "what on earth is wrong with you to-day?""Nothing. Arthur. infested with vermin." she said. kept him silent. "Yes. as he looked anxiously at the haggard face. Pasht. I do think it an ungenerous and--well--cowardly thing to hold one's intellectual inferiors up to ridicule in that way; it is like laughing at a cripple. monsieur!" she was saying gravely in her half-intelligible patois: "Look at Caroline's boots!"Montanelli sat playing with the child. Arthur looked away with a sense of awe-struck wonder. rising. hard voice."Signorino! signorino!" cried a man's voice in Italian; "get up for the love of God!"Arthur jumped out of bed. was now in his eyes surrounded with an additional halo. 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. what you know about this affair?"Arthur bent his head lower. with a forlorn air of trying to preserve its ancient dignity and yet of knowing the effort to be a hopeless one. irrevocable. In great haste."Arthur.