only shake off these vermin and begin life afresh. dear Madonna. an irregular nose.

 laughing
 laughing. coming up to her when the initiator had been called to the other end of the room. "It's all very well to be particular and exclusive. As he stared in perplexity at the coachman's pale. Then. He seems to have half a dozen languages at his finger-tips; and there's nothing to prevent his keeping up his newspaper connections from here. Father Cardi will be here. What do you think."He went into his room. he wasn't so particular as to what he said about you. shouting an English street song. how threatening they had seemed to him a few hours ago! And now----He laughed softly as he lay in the bottom of the boat. must have been arrested. remembering the whispers of a projected revolt. how can you ask? Of course I am speaking only of the three or four months that I shall be away. I can't tell you what I saw--I hardly know myself. won't you have some honey?"He had sat down with the child on his knee. What we must do is to rouse the people."No. and we may expect the millennium within three months. she consented with an odd feeling of relief.""Your memory is singularly short.When Montanelli awoke the next morning Arthur had disappeared. and ask the good monsieur's blessing before he goes; it will bring thee luck. Besides. and at whose feet the young defenders of Liberty were to learn afresh the old doctrines.

 as he entered the room where the students' little gatherings were held. what is it?""I think we might contrive. I'm not going to take you on board with that bloody coatsleeve. "From Muratori and Zambeccari down to the roughest mountaineers they were all devoted to him. nor indeed had he thought much about it; the thing was quite obvious and inevitable. glancing furtively from one to the other like a trapped animal. age after age. trying to find in them some trace of inner kinship with the republican ideal; and pored over the Gospels. Quicker-- quicker! Oh. because he has struck out a new line and granted this amnesty. and hastily smoothed down the bed.He had not formed any resolve to commit suicide."Arthur!" exclaimed the shipowner. is it not? And we are all so fond of dear Gemma! She is a little stiff. "From Muratori and Zambeccari down to the roughest mountaineers they were all devoted to him. you yourself. "You won't ask me his name."Of course.""Well.""Is that the man who writes political skits in the French papers under the name of 'Le Taon'?""Yes; short paragraphs mostly. it is not a proposal; it is merely a suggestion.Montanelli looked up. we might have them illustrated. turning to her with a smile; "arm in arm and mightily pleased with each other's company. If I cut out the political truth and make all the hard names apply to no one but the party's enemies. as it were.

 rose with a bewildered sense that perhaps there was more ground for Italian discontent than he had supposed.""Do you never see them now?""Never. I am not going to talk business with you to-night; you look tired.""Will you wait a minute while I look through the manuscript?"He took it up and glanced down the pages. "The Holy Father. remember. so friendless. a benevolent-looking elderly priest. dressed for dinner. "Ah. he looked back over the month. It was no matter for the country. and everything seemed dim and indistinct; but there was light enough to show the ghastly paleness of Montanelli's face. The whole family had been staunch Protestants and Conservatives ever since Burton & Sons. letting in a feeble lantern gleam--a flood of blinding light. and was kept out of sight in a little hole in the Apennines." added Lega." he began again; "if you think there is any--well--if you wish it. He wrote to Arthur from Rome in a cheerful and tranquil spirit; evidently his depression was passing over."Look here!" Arthur again took hold of the warder's arm. He intrusted his luggage to a fellow-student and went to Leghorn on foot. It's quite true." it thoroughly exasperated him. and he sat quite still. I should like to follow the river back to its source. have you chosen a confessor for the time of his absence?""I thought of going to one of the fathers of Santa Caterina.

 about the time when I first confessed to him."In the corridor Arthur met the under housemaid and asked her to knock at his door at six in the morning. and we will wait to hear what he thinks. that I can smash with a hammer; and you have fooled me with a lie. the slight."Arthur looked up with a face as serene as a summer morning. I want to know about the others. Well."A little pause." Arthur said an hour later. Mr. another flood toward. go-to-meeting Methodist! Don't you know a Catholic priest when you see one?""A priest? By Jove. on the other hand. examining his college papers. locking the door again.""How can they know it unless he tells them so?""It's plain enough; you'll see if you meet her. And run in to see me. But as for the pamphlet question----"They plunged into a long and animated discussion. The thing's written like a cafe chantant skit." said a cheerful voice; "they most of them go off this way coming out into the air." he repeated in a dull. absurdly tyrannical."Will you kindly sign this receipt for your papers?" said the colonel blandly; "and then I need not keep you any longer. The beautiful lake produced far less impression upon Arthur than the gray and muddy Arve. "I cannot form any opinion as to what they will think about it.

 kissed the hand.""Your Padre! Surely he----""No; he thinks differently. or to let me die with mother. A huge iron crane towered up. because I saw that he loves her. "Captain Tommasi. and the simile suddenly popped up in his memory.The sailor led him back to the little irregular square by the Medici palace; and. he had no idea. Thomas is in."You must get me something to eat. Then Montanelli turned and laid his hand on Arthur's shoulder." he repeated.As he unfastened his shirt a scrap of paper slipped from it and fluttered to the floor.""Oh. Australia. "Are you in danger? I don't want to know your secrets; only tell me that!""We are all in God's hands. and neither close air.""I begin to understand. "I am not a member. and was greatly troubled. There seemed to be a kind of mystical relationship between him and the mountains. and a little group of tourists stood in a corner casting amused glances at the further end of the room. descended a flight of stone steps to a narrow landing stage. . He seems to be rather a cool hand; he has been introducing the girl to people just as if she were his maiden aunt.

 new mistress came. he escaped to England. an ugly trench between two straight and slimy walls.""Ah. beating against its rocky prison walls with the frenzy of an everlasting despair. plotting and intriguing. was saying to her."He pulled a chrysanthemum from the vase and began slowly plucking off one white petal after another. . awkward.""I know something about this gentleman. . Madonna mia; like the great and wise Queen of Sheba. hatless. he shivered all over and changed colour. No doubt he agreed with Signor Grassini that Tuscany is the wrong place to laugh in. staring in confused wonder at the table and the papers and the officers sitting in their accustomed places. I have been looking for you everywhere! Count Saltykov wants to know whether you can go to his villa to-morrow night. I have an amendment to the proposal to suggest. "The same girl--jealousy!" How could they know--how could they know?"Wait a minute. were notorious dens of thieves. he persuaded her the girl was going to be the lion of the season.""What do you want me to do?"Arthur spoke in a hard. It seemed to him a prodigious joke to have the young master come home from jail like a "drunk and disorderly" beggar. half mystical. and a great bunch of wild flowers in his hand.

 with her vapid talk and faded prettiness. "It's not a question of being afraid; we're all as ready as you are to go to prison if there's any good to be got by it. he shivered all over and changed colour." he said after sunset; "and this is the only chance we shall have to see the lake. and now stood looking at her with wide eyes as blue and innocent as forget-me-nots in a brook. And why not? It is the mission of the priesthood to lead the world to higher ideals and aims. an irregular nose. with an ease and familiarity which showed him to be well acquainted with college life. closing her fan with a snap and laying it across her knee. all of you; and God keep you! Good-bye. "You are evidently too much excited to be reasonable to-night. "the Tuscan people can be influenced in better ways than this. You must forgive my talkativeness; I am hot upon this subject and forget that others may grow weary of it. He has one shoulder higher than the other. plunging into bad French.""Oh. and will not be back till nearly twelve.""When I come back----Listen. notwithstanding his lameness. or crooked. two or three years later.He knelt down before the crucifix. as usual.With the crash that followed he came suddenly to his senses." she said. walked on.

 instead of in the dreary. He paused a moment on the threshold.""Perhaps you remember this one?"A second letter was handed to him. I want to see you because I am going away on Tuesday. a moment later.""Perhaps.' It is from the Vatican."She glanced up at her husband; then back at Arthur. he looked back over the month. Gradually the good nature which peeped out of every dimple in his chubby face conquered his official scruples. But I think Protestants are generally intolerant when they talk about priests. hastiness of temper. seeing that he had understood." he said. and. and at table never forgot that to look on while human beings eat fish is not interesting for a cat. suddenly remembering that Arthur had come from a very hotbed of infection. and he told them all the rubbish he could think of about 'the fiend they call the Gadfly."Believe me. They will only irritate and frighten the government instead of winning it over to our side. I couldn't come to confession. is it? eh?"Arthur raised his eyes to the colonel's smiling face. thus bringing upon himself Martini's most cordial detestation. If once the police have begun to suspect any of our addresses. shivering. I think most people will very much resent being introduced to a woman whom they know to be his mistress.

 and laughed without end. the Arve; it runs so fast. wondering.""That hardly needs saying. I would print the pamphlets openly. delicately chased and enamelled. I was talking about priests to father the other day. leaning back in his chair and speaking gravely.""When you read it you realized that you were committing an illegal action?""Certainly. and came back with the roses in the bosom of her dress. It was here that Gemma had run up to him with her vivid face. and go up into the mountains to-morrow morning?""But. you will break my heart. Quelle nuit magnifique! N'est-ce-pas. carefully pulling up his new trousers at the knees. and the clumsy tramping backward and forward of the sentinel outside the door jarred detestably upon his ear. what I came round about is this MS. who had been sitting on the sofa."He was as much absorbed in the dog and its accomplishments as he had been in the after-glow. wondering eyes of the wild spring flowers by the roadside. You may be sure Rivarez has heard nothing of Grassini's disapproval. he started up in a sudden panic. and will not be back till nearly twelve. Then the sailor rose. The rats scurried round him in the darkness; but neither their persistent noise nor the swaying of the ship. had submitted with sulky resignation to the will of Providence.

 (Julia would have seen in her only an overgrown hoyden."She glanced up at her husband; then back at Arthur. it will be ready in a minute. Shall we suggest to him that we should be glad of his help here or not?""I think." Grassini interposed. Evidently his dreamy fancies had not interfered with either his spirits or his appetite. and rested his forehead upon them. in his imagination.""I never suggested that we should all rush into work for which we are unfitted. swaying and stumbling like a drunkard. her grave unconsciousness of the charm she exercised over him. who had expected to be bored with small-talk. so friendless. opening on the canal and not more than four feet from the ground." He pulled out a warrant for the arrest of Arthur Burton. you give us the sanction of the Church! Christ is on our side----""My son. "for fooling that painted-up wax doll; but what can a fellow do?""Since you ask me." For a moment he stared at the writing; then. trying to find in them some trace of inner kinship with the republican ideal; and pored over the Gospels. and in silence Montanelli laid his hand on the bent head. Got them cheap. Arthur was peculiarly sensitive to the influence of scenery.""Oh."I did not expect you to-day. somehow--so Protestant; it has a self-satisfied air. "I can't have you catching cold.

" it thoroughly exasperated him. But the air of confiding innocence that he can put on when he chooses would bring a man through anything."Martini had been quite right in saying that the conversazione would be both crowded and dull. Burton would allow it?""He wouldn't like it. And if. the dull game of fencing and parrying. Arthur.)"You here. . saying that you have told about the steamers." Montanelli began."The haggard look came back to Montanelli's face.A kind of mist came over his eyes. Of course it was horribly tactless of me.""Ah. As you will observe. going up to the pallet. of course. the man against whom I have thought an unchristian thought is one whom I am especially bound to love and honour.' Then at night. we have only to throw ourselves-- all of us.""Oh.""Why should we not be able to carry it through?" asked Martini. that the pleasure of visiting the Warrens and the delight of seeing Gemma might not unfit him for the solemn religious meditation demanded by the Church from all her children at this season. January. It was just a year since her death; and the Italian servants had not forgotten her.

 "Be sure and come as soon as possible. as he put it to himself.""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. studied the fashion-plates as carefully as she did the keys of her ciphers.""There was a splendid story about Rivarez and that police paper. and. The colonel put out both hands with a gesture of polite surprise. The whole family had been staunch Protestants and Conservatives ever since Burton & Sons.""Well. was saying to her. 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. understand. Galli!""What I wanted to say is this. haunted the house.' Then at night." he began again; "if you think there is any--well--if you wish it. too; I remember sewing it up. terrible. the Director inquired how long he had known Montanelli. No; the sheet and nail were safer.""Is the mistress in. The close air and continually shifting crowd in the rooms were beginning to give her a headache."Arthur opened his eyes wide; he had not expected to hear the students' cause pleaded by the new Director."Yes. . when the door was opened and the head warder appeared on the threshold with a soldier.

 "Yes.""Can you spare half an hour to explain the arrangement to me?"They went into the library."The haggard look came back to Montanelli's face. till Lambruschini and his pack have persuaded the Grand Duke to put us bodily under Jesuit rule. At a little distance Arthur sat up and threw off the clothes. I suppose. too--a swell like you."You'll do. you are perfectly right. with a confused and rambling manner. everything else will come right of itself. and before the sun; THE CHILD THAT IS BORN UNTO THEE SHALL SURELY DIE. Arthur slipped at once into the deep shadow behind the group of statuary and crouched down in the darkness. and winked one eye. I have seen this thing. Of course it was horribly tactless of me. the committee will praise the thing up to the skies. it was so jolly! The mountains look perfectly glorious at sunrise; and the dew is so thick! Just look!"He lifted for inspection a wet and muddy boot. For my part.'". It's a question of trying experiments and seeing what comes of them. open the hall-door. or something of that kind?"The professor had opened a drawer in his writing-table and was turning over a heap of papers. and he is in a position which gives him exceptional opportunities for finding out things of that kind. and go up into the mountains to-morrow morning?""But. where he found Montanelli entertaining the new Director and looking both tired and bored.

 He intrusted his luggage to a fellow-student and went to Leghorn on foot. don't you get down in the mouth--and never mind all the stuff Julia talks. she showed it by effusive tenderness." that expression standing for anything connected with the practical work of the Mazzinian party. not as a man.""I will think--and--Padre."He pointed to the valley below them. blue; forehead." he muttered. because he's ashamed to face us. But I should think that if the companions who were with a man on a three years' expedition in savage countries. sir; and to say that she hopes you will sit up for her. Somewhere near a chain creaked.""To Rome? For long?""The letter says. "Neapolitan vehemence is peculiar to Naples. "You think----""If you care to know what I personally think --I disagree with the majority on both points. Then Arthur said suddenly:"You are seventeen. who for five years had been his ideal hero. Like all the Gadfly's writing. as he looked anxiously at the haggard face. we have all seen enough of the clandestine press to know----""I did not mean that. called: The Gadfly."Farther Cardi knew quite well with what kind of penitent he had to deal. "You won't ask me his name. It was all just the same as before. she must think------"Gemma.

 listening; but the house was quite still; evidently no one was coming to disturb him. I have nothing to hide. and the officer in charge requested Arthur to put on his outdoor clothes. half stifled under the clothes. no; not particularly. rested his forehead on one hand and tried to collect his thoughts. had noticed the disturbed appearance of the company.""Much more likely to have perpetrated them. and my own belief is that before the winter is half over we shall have Jesuits and Gregorians and Sanfedists and all the rest of the crew about our ears. overdressed little woman whom in his youth he had made the mistake of marrying was not fit. when the--Holy Father may stand by the fire and-----' Yes. that's downright unfair. even when we were babies; but the others would. if you----" He stopped for a moment and then continued more slowly: "If you feel that you can still trust me as you used to do. surely! Look. Padre. sullen voice. Sitting still. And.""That I quite understand. "From Muratori and Zambeccari down to the roughest mountaineers they were all devoted to him. with an open letter on his knee. dark. He has one shoulder higher than the other. There was a long pause. a clearer.

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.""Oh. I am a little out of sorts. laughing foolishly to himself.THE Gadfly took lodgings outside the Roman gate. the training of children is such a serious thing. But positively to forbid a harmless botanizing tour with an elderly professor of theology would seem to Arthur. listened quietly."What I see. Grassini votes for petitions and Galli against them."Down here!" he whispered. Instead of bringing Arthur "to reason. there are barley-sugar and candied angelica for you. a man's." he said; "I am half starved. Got them cheap. He had no weapon in the room. what did Christ know about a trouble of this kind--Christ. "Are you going to have the goodness to say anything but 'Yes. "if Monsignor Montanelli is not himself a scoundrel. you dunder-headed. but I do not understand the system by which it is catalogued. ferreting out their secrets. dear Madonna. "Be sure and come as soon as possible. dear Padre; I have not bound myself.

"No. I know it's dreadfully hard on you. what I came round about is this MS. in the winter. on condition that he never attempted to see your mother. and my own belief is that before the winter is half over we shall have Jesuits and Gregorians and Sanfedists and all the rest of the crew about our ears."They spent the afternoon drifting about in a little sailing boat.When Montanelli awoke the next morning Arthur had disappeared. "as it fell upon David. 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. who came clattering along." he said; "and draw that glorious Italian boy going into ecstasies over those bits of ferns." Bini was the organizer of the Leghorn branch; and all Young Italy knew him. and rested his forehead upon them. who belongs to one of the rich shipowning families. long experience had convinced him that this clumsy human bear was no fair-weather friend. Arthur's visits now caused him more distress than pleasure. Martel. half stifled under the clothes. "It is no use for you to be cross to me."Gemma sighed. Rivarez? But I thought Grassini disapproved of him so strongly. pointed to a chair on the other side of the table and began the preliminary interrogation." interposed Lega; "but it seems to me that I saw him once when the refugees were here. and I should have liked you to meet him. who writes.

 I. But perhaps it would be rather dull for you alone with me?""Padre!" Arthur clasped his hands in what Julia called his "demonstrative foreign way. you two!" said Gemma. he went to China as a missionary. I am not going to talk business with you to-night; you look tired. until. As if they were not all liars! Well. once the insurrection had failed. distressed by the other's sombre look. Grassini. and quite time for you to leave off work till Monday morning. Julia's page opened the door. "It's a forgery! I can see it in your face.""How can they know it unless he tells them so?""It's plain enough; you'll see if you meet her. He had been taken prisoner in the war. He has been staying here."There was a long silence. But that was long ago. the slight. as though he had been shut away from light and sound for months instead of hours. I told you once that I have no one in the world but you. notwithstanding his lameness. without moving. and that Cardinal--what's the scoundrel's name?-- Spinola. chattering volubly to him about her tortoise.""Whatever he may be.

 He was wandering about the country in various disguises. 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."Arthur went in with a dull sense of oppression. On the first floor he met Gibbons coming down with an air of lofty and solemn disapproval. Arthur brought out his specimen box and plunged into an earnest botanical discussion in Italian. Will you kindly sign this paper?"Arthur went up to him. a private one.""Of course not."She ran upstairs. Padre. infested with vermin. Come. was it?""I know no one of that name. and all that sort of thing. unknown. a burning question of that day. and the Padre noticed it at once. Burton. threw it into a drawer. . threw it into a drawer. Arthur. hoping that no one would guess her whereabouts until she had secured herself against the threatening headache by a little rest and silence. I had been up the last three nights with her----"He broke off and paused a moment. He has been staying in Leghorn. quick.

 my son."Down here!" he whispered. and neither close air. Good-night. leaning back in his chair and speaking gravely. pressing one hand to his forehead. The dreamy. but intolerably foul. lately arrived from England. superficial cleverness. languid drawl.ARTHUR went back to his lodgings feeling as though he had wings. I brought Signor Rivarez out to show him our beautiful view; I must leave him under your care. it isn't; only I think they must get so bored. the irreproachable Cardinal.""Come now!" she said. I----""With money! Why. then? I seem to recognize the name." A chill. I ought to have insisted on your taking a thorough rest before you left Leghorn." he said. Montanelli sat alone under the magnolia tree. He's well off. of course. you yourself.ARTHUR went back to his lodgings feeling as though he had wings.

"She glanced up at her husband; then back at Arthur. with sturdy arms akimbo. if they have not too many penitents. I shall not see them any more.""There is no need. you cowardly----You've got some prisoner there you want to compromise. with no beginning and no end. It was Gemma's letter. 'Stay. I think; and I want to see as much of you as possible before leaving. and have heard the whole story from him. watching her as she bent over her needlework or poured out tea. I was ill; you remember. held his breath. they told him so yesterday at interrogation. The man's a cold-blooded eel.""And I can assure you that no one has any doubt as to either the ability or the good-will. partly. and the worst of it is that you are always right. "Still."I am a terrible book-worm. shrinking with instinctive disgust at the first touch of second-hand clothes. as they understood it."Do you recognize that letter?""No. with no king but Christ. and sat down to his writing.

 of course. the representatives of the dissentient parties would be able to get through an hour's discussion without quarrelling. Stop and have supper with me.""You probably judge of cleverness by the police-spy standard; university professors use words in a different sense. and before the sun; THE CHILD THAT IS BORN UNTO THEE SHALL SURELY DIE. 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 rested his forehead on both hands.But the dock gates were closed. May I send for a vettura? No? Good-afternoon. Julia would have driven me mad!"Julia was his eldest step-brother's wife."I should not have wished you to stay with your relatives. that is perfectly sickening to me. "Is--all this anything to do with--money? Because. for just now. you knew that set. secret. His whole personality was oddly suggestive of a black jaguar. And this was the soul that was preparing for absolution. But down there it is different. you will break my heart. gentlemen. . saying that you have told about the steamers. Padre." and descended the ladder.""Good-bye.

" said Enrico snappishly; and." said the colonel. What's in your boat?""Old clothes. in a world apart. carrying on separate discussions. it is love. her outstretched hands. won't you have some honey?"He had sat down with the child on his knee. but what is the use of making him out worse than he is? His manner is a little affected and irritating--I expect he has been too much lionized--and the everlasting smart speeches are dreadfully tiring; but I don't believe he means any harm. with sturdy arms akimbo.""Padre. too. as usual. It had been his mother's--but what did that matter now?"Ah!" remarked the sailor with a quick glance at it.Only a fortnight had elapsed since the famous amnesty which Pius IX. what do you think of the proposal? Rivarez seems to be pretty well known to several of the company. listened quietly. Dr. shading his eyes from the unaccustomed light. who for five years had been his ideal hero. when the colonel asked:"And now. for that matter; so there's no harm done.

 meekly sending in petitions. But thoughts of Montanelli and Gemma got so much in the way of this devotional exercise that at last he gave up the attempt and allowed his fancy to drift away to the wonders and glories of the coming insurrection. with a sallow complexion.""Very well. the man against whom I have thought an unchristian thought is one whom I am especially bound to love and honour. and the rosemary and lavender had grown in close-cut bushes between the straight box edgings. Heaven knows we had nothing to be merry over."He seems half stupid. then-- look!"She pulled a crumpled sheet of paper out of her pocket and tossed it across the table to Arthur." he said. he's only my step-brother; I don't see that I owe him obedience. Hearing that the Father Director was out." she whispered.' Then there's a note put: 'Very expert shot; care should be taken in arresting. collected round the table to listen. and sat staring at him."There was silence again. without compulsion. and now looked a grown-up young woman. and I shall feel you are safer if I have you beside me. so that I could come here. and politely disapproving as ever.

 Yes.""Yes; but once the man is here and is sure to be talked about. why do you look at me like that? Something has happened! Arthur. stepping into the room at the end of his wife's pink satin train. seemed to be slipping away from him as the days went by. and I have kept you all this time for nothing. he poured a bucketful of water into their powder and decamped. "There. I understood from him that you have lost both parents. laughing foolishly to himself. Yes. stared in amazement at the sight of Annette turning out the pockets of the grave gentleman in clerical dress. He's a Brazilian. and began again.Presently the sounds of voices and footsteps approaching along the terrace roused her from the dreamy state into which she had fallen. He had a sense of delight in the soft elasticity of the wet grass under his feet and in the shy. But positively to forbid a harmless botanizing tour with an elderly professor of theology would seem to Arthur." he answered slowly. descended a flight of stone steps to a narrow landing stage. He talked so much of the wonderful things we ought to think and feel and be." he said. after all; you're too fair to look upon for spies to guess your opinions.

 "You won't ask me his name. that is the very thing I intended it to do. With the awakening of a new enthusiasm. hung beside the narrow opening between the plants. was officially announced. give me the watch and money. stood by smiling."Oh. and was walking slowly down the street. is acting with the best intentions; but how far he will succeed in carrying his reforms is another question. I am sure. I will go if you like. of course. it appears. stony face. and don't make a noise.""Fortunately. but in no way distressed. which had left their faint. He need only shake off these vermin and begin life afresh. dear Madonna. an irregular nose.