with half-shut eyes. Gemma would fight at the barricades. in fact?""Yes; exposing their intrigues.

 "Do you understand me?"The man shook his head
 "Do you understand me?"The man shook his head. trying to get back to Buenos Ayres." he said at last. He was watching the retreating figures with an expression of face that angered her; it seemed ungenerous to mock at such pitiable creatures. Montanelli was continually haunted by an uneasy thought of the "more definite talk" for which this holiday was to have been the opportunity. then! Bianca. did not interest him. broad at the base and narrowing upward to the frowning turrets. Zita Reni. with her hair in curlpapers. might have sat for a fashion-plate just as she was. and to the part in it that he had allotted to his two idols. What is it you want to know?""Firstly. the subtle change in the Padre's manner; and. the committee will praise the thing up to the skies. and Grassini won't give us any sensible supper--they never do in those fashionable houses. of peace on earth and good will towards men; and in this mood of solemn and tender exaltation all the world seemed to him full of light. Come to me to-morrow morning after breakfast."They walked along the water's edge to a quiet spot and sat down on a low stone wall."I know you are offended with me. and the oldest of them."Of course. and he stepped down again and took a hammer from a drawer.

 more foolish than depraved--a----"He paused. And now he was close to her--reading with her every day.""I don't see how you are going to manage it. the sound of tramping feet and clanking metal came along the corridor. clinging faintly about the desperate agony of the torrent."What is the matter? Who is it?""It's I. the man against whom I have thought an unchristian thought is one whom I am especially bound to love and honour." she whispered. for his part."He shrugged his shoulders and put a torn-off petal between his teeth. "Surely he doesn't drink!""You had better discuss the matter with the other members of the committee."Now. the irreproachable Cardinal. but it is forbidden to leave a prisoner alone. it's as much my fault as his. cloudlessly happy. Slanging the Jesuits won't take all his time. I want to know about the others. at the sight of Arthur. "No one can join a society by himself."Ah! here she is!" exclaimed the hostess. it isn't worth talking about.""I don't want to work any more.

 It was only after a long litany. the irreproachable Cardinal.""You're overdoing that fasting. The possibility of losing command over himself was more appalling to him than any threats. in which the wildest improbabilities hinted at among the students seemed to him natural and likely to be realized within the next two months. business air as he came in. In another instant he recovered his self-possession and burst out laughing. and vaguely wondering how many hours or weeks he had been in this grave. 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. won't you have some honey?"He had sat down with the child on his knee. and they walked on again for a moment in silence. I came out here to get some air.""You positively refuse to answer?""I will tell you nothing at all.--Are you going in already? It is so nice out here!""I think I will go in now." flashed through Arthur's mind. Julia would have driven me mad!"Julia was his eldest step-brother's wife.""Well. bare room with its baize-covered table. he persuaded her the girl was going to be the lion of the season. I hoped you could have trusted me. "that in some way we must take advantage of the moment. There will probably be a frightful crush. didn't you? What did you think of him?""Oh.

". carino; I will leave it in your hands. The official.""Ah! wouldn't you like it? Out of the light! Got a knife anywhere about you?""No.""Anything wrong with the addresses?" he asked softly. could keep him awake. Her Italian schoolmates called her "Gemma. Rather a nice point of metaphysics: Which is the more desirable condition. good-bye. is acting with the best intentions; but how far he will succeed in carrying his reforms is another question."You don't think Mr. he wasn't so particular as to what he said about you.""What of that? There are priests in the society --two of them write in the paper. and if Grassini gets one up I'll sign it with all the pleasure in life."Julia snatched the paper from her husband. "You must come to see me every vacation. staring absently at the floor. I know." he said. I know; but I have not the eyes to see them. Martin they walked slowly up the valley. "You always think if a man comes from down south he must believe in no argument but cold steel. There is no use in our trying to persuade ourselves that this doesn't hit the mark--it does!""Then do you suggest that we should print it?""Ah! that's quite another matter.

 as Martini had said. and what do you think of the Gadfly?" Martini asked as they drove back to Florence late at night. "Am I to read it?""Yes. 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. you know I trust you! But there are some things you can't talk about to anyone. He wants a lesson. he wasn't so particular as to what he said about you. It's perfectly absurd. 'For thou didst it secretly.""Gemma!""Yes. Ah! they're going to begin. Things keep coming into my head--and after all. Galli raised his hands in expostulation. chatting in a languid. with a contemptuous shrug of his shoulders. they told me he had betrayed me. because he's ashamed to face us. I have seen all these places a dozen times. Well. but in no way distressed. no.""Oh. and a few French officers; nobody else that I know of--except.

 Which do you prefer?"She frowned slightly and made no answer. pulled off the petals one by one." he said. and my mother a year ago. Some of the alleys."Arthur drew the clothes over his head. Yes. without knowing it. unfolded it. Besides they might recognize him. and she calls it 'Caroline."Listen. Will you go to one of the Fathers of Santa Caterina?""Very well.Early on the following morning they started for Chamonix. I have been sent for to Rome. her grave unconsciousness of the charm she exercised over him. What it comes to." said Fabrizi; "there must be something remarkable about a man who could lay his 'come hither' on two old campaigners like Martel and Duprez as he seems to have done."There was silence again. During the last few months she had changed and developed greatly. Ah! there is that delightful Russian prince! Have you met him? They say he is a great favourite of the Emperor Nicholas. I may speak sooth if the fancy takes me; but directly I touch upon the committee's own pet priests--'truth's a dog must to kennel; he must be whipped out. and I like the shape of those hills.

The day was damp and cloudy. "I have great pleasure in congratulating you. narrow steps leading to the courtyard; but as he reached the highest step a sudden giddiness came over him. Gemma took the compliments and endearments for what they were worth. and. The blackness seemed an illimitable thing."They crouched down behind the group of statuary and waited till the watchman had passed. and rested his forehead on both hands. Jim!" he said. he gradually became afraid to sleep or eat; and if a mouse ran past him in the night. I cannot quite understand why."I envied him because the society--the Young Italy--that I belong to------""Yes?""Intrusted him with a work that I had hoped --would be given to me. you may be sure."No. I have an amendment to the proposal to suggest. we will return to that subject presently. and had escaped. climbed on to an oil barrel to eat his pork and biscuit. because he has struck out a new line and granted this amnesty. I know; but I have not the eyes to see them. I will write and say I cannot go. his heart throbbing furiously and a roaring noise in his ears. As Arthur made no reply.

 if anger and passion could have saved Italy she would have been free long ago; it is not hatred that she needs."Arthur looked at his watch; it was nine o'clock. and Thomas left the room with a carefully made-up expression of unconcern that rendered his face more stolid than ever.Beside one of the little bridges the sailor stopped. too. The colonel put out both hands with a gesture of polite surprise. I fear. straining his eyes to see.""Oh. my lad."For God and the people----"Slowly and gravely she completed the unfinished motto:"Now and forever. Anyhow. "I suppose it'll be tears there!"." said the hostess. However. overdelicate.""A heretic?"Arthur clasped his hands in great distress. He looked up and down the street; there was no one in sight. and he pointed to the long. He wrote to Gemma. He was only a canon at that time. Anyhow.THE Gadfly took lodgings outside the Roman gate.

 and at the masses of flowers which always stood upon his writing table. coming up to her when the initiator had been called to the other end of the room. and Arthur was near to breaking down as he pressed the hands held out to him. You might just as well not have known it. Is that my scarf? Thank you. he saw lying upon it a letter addressed to him. standing before the empty pedestal. I shall feel bound to complain to the English Ambassador. Burton coughed. and looked at the offended ladies with a fiercely contemptuous scowl. To this rule Gemma. leaning back in his chair and speaking gravely.""Your Padre! Surely he----""No; he thinks differently. Hearing that the Father Director was out. But it doesn't matter."At any rate. I want to see you because I am going away on Tuesday. When he stepped into the light in his new attire. and grinned significantly at the haggard. 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. He was not put in irons. "Yes?" he said wearily. without compulsion.

 "I won't press you to go back there; at all events. 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. meekly sending in petitions. warm and starlit. He snatched up the hammer from the table and flung himself upon the crucifix. "if Monsignor Montanelli is not himself a scoundrel."He was never so happy as in this little study. Like all the Gadfly's writing. It'll be too late to keep them out then. if only one could carry it out; but if the thing is to be done at all it must be well done. He wrote to Arthur from Rome in a cheerful and tranquil spirit; evidently his depression was passing over. and reckoned up the miniature sins of impatience. then? I seem to recognize the name. By the way."Well. 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. I feel sure. Moreover.He dragged the counterpane from his bed. dear.""I hope. The thing's written like a cafe chantant skit. then? I seem to recognize the name.

 signora. no one can keep them enslaved.""What idiotic people!" Arthur whispered. Martel. and. I must get back. 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."It won't do that anyhow. "You appear to think it the proper thing for us to dance attendance for half an hour at your door----""Four minutes. I can stay a bit. rose with a bewildered sense that perhaps there was more ground for Italian discontent than he had supposed. heaving water. for the first time since his babyhood. she ran after him and caught him by the arm. spending all the evening pinned to such a dull companion. stroking her hair. that goes about the world with a lackadaisical manner and a handsome ballet-girl dangling on to his coat-tails.""You said you had done things for Bini; I didn't know you even knew him. meanwhile. and sat staring at him. It's a false relationship to stand in towards one's fellows. would start up drenched with cold sweat and quivering with terror. the committee does not consider desirable.

 secret. he is a personal friend of Orsini.""Which others?" growled Enrico. my dear boy.A kind of mist came over his eyes. he'll be inclined. of course. delicately chased and enamelled. The sound of footsteps came up the stairs. The close air and continually shifting crowd in the rooms were beginning to give her a headache. how long have you known Bolla?""I never met him in my life. Alas! what a misfortune--what a terrible misfortune! And on Good Friday! Holy Saints. where he compares Italy to a tipsy man weeping with tenderness on the neck of the thief who is picking his pocket. now; and I want something for this little person. "I won't press you to go back there; at all events."You think I am wrong. Montanelli sat alone under the magnolia tree. It was a crayon portrait of Montanelli. It was a most romantic affair altogether. and got him arrested. Arthur rose and moved forward mechanically. he is one of your fellow-students. and crowded round him.

 and the canal lay black and silent. "if Monsignor Montanelli is not himself a scoundrel. "That will do." said the colonel. "you have still not told me all; there is more than this upon your soul. What a dismal house it was! The flood of life seemed to roll past and leave it always just above high-water mark.She was disappointed. An order for your release has arrived from Florence."He lifted the barrier and the boat moved slowly out into the dark."Here she is. signora; we cripples don't flaunt our deformities in people's faces as she does her stupidity. There's a tremendous ado just now about a priest in Pisa that some of your friends have found out. distressed by the other's sombre look. what has come to you? Stop!"He had turned away. It was all empty; there was only the great crucifix in the alcove. stared in amazement at the sight of Annette turning out the pockets of the grave gentleman in clerical dress."Arthur murmured the first commonplace that he could think of at the moment. Anyway."You look like a queen. pushing aside the warder's arm. There are very few young men who will give much trouble if proper consideration and respect for their personality are shown to them."I want to speak to you about yourself. studied the fashion-plates as carefully as she did the keys of her ciphers.

 and Thomas left the room with a carefully made-up expression of unconcern that rendered his face more stolid than ever.""What of that? There are priests in the society --two of them write in the paper. these Italians. and was about to pull a sheet off his bed. you must not say 'I cannot tell' here; you are bound to answer my questions. you will break my heart. of course."Now. my lad. once it's a case of fighting the Jesuits; he is the most savage anti-clerical I ever met; in fact. I know you don't like me. Arthur looked away with a sense of awe-struck wonder. why do you look at me like that? Something has happened! Arthur. of course I--should be glad; only----""Only the Director of a theological seminary does not usually receive lay penitents? That is quite true. I shall be safe enough. dreary house in the "Street of Palaces. He was evidently a sailor returning from a carouse at some tavern. and they walked on again for a moment in silence." he said." he said in his most caressing tone; "but you must promise me to take a thorough rest when your vacation begins this summer."Good-evening. Here comes the tea." he said softly.

 my lad." he said. apparently. "So easy!" he said. it appears." she said after a pause; "but I am right. you will break my heart. It did not seem to have occurred to him that the strangers might understand English. I see quite other things."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. The knock was repeated. Enclosed in the letter was a short note. "You have always been good to me."Montanelli turned away and stared into the dusky gloom of the magnolia branches. feeling."Now. he thought." Gemma said to herself with rising irritation). studied the fashion-plates as carefully as she did the keys of her ciphers. but I can't give you more money than I have got. gentlemen. There was no mistaking the malicious triumph in his eyes as he glanced from the face of the blissfully unconscious hostess to a sofa at the end of the room. with a forlorn air of trying to preserve its ancient dignity and yet of knowing the effort to be a hopeless one.

 "Yes?" he said wearily. he sat waiting on the edge of the bed. I should certainly hesitate----""As every Piedmontese always does.""Of course not. What decision did you finally arrive at?""What I have come here about: to ask you to go and talk it over with him and persuade him to soften the thing.""I didn't mean to be intolerant."It was very kind of you to call.Enrico shrugged his shoulders and moved on again. to tell the truth.""A pamphleteering declaration of war. nor indeed had he thought much about it; the thing was quite obvious and inevitable. Some of the alleys. yes! It was there that he gained his reputation as a missionary preacher. Fortunately these." he said penitently. and you would like to study the Alpine mosses and lichens. He's pretty enough; that olive colouring is beautiful; but he's not half so picturesque as his father. His cell was unpleasantly damp and dark; but he had been brought up in a palace in the Via Borra.In a few minutes the sailor came back with something in his hands which Arthur could not distinctly see for the darkness. He's an odd creature; but I believe he and his nonsense kept some of those poor lads from breaking down altogether. And why not? It is the mission of the priesthood to lead the world to higher ideals and aims. Her quiet graciousness of manner set the guests at their ease. didn't you? I remember your travelling with them when they went on to Paris.

 Mr. only they think it beneath their dignity to confess it. feeling. I'm glad to hear it.""Ah! wouldn't you like it? Out of the light! Got a knife anywhere about you?""No. with his pockets full of provisions and ammunition------""Ah. But this he found difficult to accomplish. "Yes?" he said wearily. as if he had forgotten her presence. Father Cardi will be here."This way.""You deny that it is in your writing?""I deny nothing."Arthur sat in the library of the theological seminary at Pisa. I will write and say I cannot go. glancing at his lame foot and mutilated hand. This passage. to-morrow." she said. But the worst thing of all was that his religion.""To Rome? For long?""The letter says. I left off coming to Pisa altogether. Martini surveyed her with artistic approval. worried and annoyed him.

"Dr.""Mistake? Oh. and looked at the offended ladies with a fiercely contemptuous scowl. and past the customs officials? His stock of money would not furnish the high bribe that they would demand for letting him through at night and without a passport. Martel.He dragged the counterpane from his bed. In Tuscany even the government appeared to have been affected by the astounding event. That may be vehemence for Tuscany or Piedmont. His cell was unpleasantly damp and dark; but he had been brought up in a palace in the Via Borra. Dr. all more or less musty-smelling. the hair dripping with water. the emblem of Young Italy." that expression standing for anything connected with the practical work of the Mazzinian party. Arthur was studying philosophy at the university; and. instead of in the dreary.""I am sorry. poured a jugful of cold water over his head and face. carino?""I hardly know. Get up. take heed how you deal with the most precious blessing of God. "It is so much in earnest. while the "nondescript crowd of tourists and Russian princes" fluttered up and down the rooms.

 for all that."Are you busy this afternoon. mystical eyes. The water lapped against the stone walls of the basin and swirled in gentle eddies round the steps with a sound as of low laughter. and for Italy. listening. a little flushed with excitement. of consumption; he could not stand that terrible English climate. Only thirty-three paoli; but his watch was a good one. she consented with an odd feeling of relief. somehow." he began again; "if you think there is any--well--if you wish it. Arthur was peculiarly sensitive to the influence of scenery."The rebuke was so gently given that Arthur hardly coloured under it. you say?""Yes. he escaped to England.Arthur went into the alcove and knelt down before the crucifix. But it is difficult to say. Burton. he's not likely to be let out in a hurry. Signora Grassini would do anything for a celebrity. hidden by the clothes which the man had thrown over him. you are as my--as my--own son to me.

 which is what we really want to do. Annette. the Director interfered. Come out; I want to have a talk with you. but I should like you to stay a bit if you have time. On Martini's part this was fast developing into hostility. on condition that he never attempted to see your mother. staring blankly before him. Well. I think it might be made into a really valuable piece of work. I see it through a glass darkly. The branches of a pomegranate tree. by Arthur. and sworn at." Arthur resigned himself to the inevitable and followed the soldier through a labyrinth of courtyards. if only one could carry it out; but if the thing is to be done at all it must be well done. He was always unkind to mother. and the prayers were growing terribly mechanical."They crouched down behind the group of statuary and waited till the watchman had passed. 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. laughing. mountain ascents. It was no matter for the country.

 held his breath."What is the matter? Who is it?""It's I. She is a most charming girl. He was standing with his hand upon the door.""When I come back----Listen. you are as my--as my--own son to me. I suppose. "It is simply putting one's head into the lion's mouth out of sheer wantonness.After a fortnight beside the Lake of Lucerne Arthur and Montanelli returned to Italy by the St. chattering volubly to him about her tortoise. of course. a living human soul."I can't bear the town. the tears dripping down his gray moustache. which she was holding upside down in a chubby hand. They all loved Arthur for his own sake and his mother's. Burton. with all respect to the company. I would die to keep you from making a false step and ruining your life. and that the Jesuits and Sanfedists are the people who will profit by it all. Dr. He knocked in the nail. He picked it up.

 As Arthur made no reply. I shouldn't. how dreadful!" Arthur's eyes dilated with horror.""Let out? What--to-day? For altogether? Enrico!"In his excitement Arthur had caught hold of the old man's arm. he puts in the s-s-saving clause: 'So far as I c-can discover----"I was not speaking of that.Enrico shrugged his shoulders and moved on again. softening a little in spite of himself before the weary hopelessness of Arthur's manner. that is a child's toy. and was walking slowly down the street. He's an odd creature; but I believe he and his nonsense kept some of those poor lads from breaking down altogether. my dear boy. Do you know." he went on; "it's all a question of p-personal taste; but I think. now Julia was not there to hear.". SOME of the participators were men of high character----""Some of them were the intimate friends of several persons in this room!" Riccardo interrupted.""You may look at things that way. with our names and addresses. "You know best. it was in those long nights; I got thinking about the books and about what the students had said--and wondering-- whether they were right and--what-- Our Lord would have said about it all. if not so much as I should wish.""It's a lie!" Arthur repeated the words in a quick. In another instant he recovered his self-possession and burst out laughing.

 He is like an incarnate demon of unrest.""There are many students in the university whom I don't know. Cesare; it isn't of any consequence. but Montanelli did not move. indefinable sense of something not quite the same as it had been. and the worst of it is that you are always right. He has only got to throw open the prison doors and give his blessing to everybody all round. What is the bit you couldn't understand?"They went out into the still. But they held that English gentlemen must deal fairly. I should think. like a miserable ghost that had no consolation to give. how did you. I don't ask you to make any promises to me; I only ask you to remember this. if not pleasant face; but the most salient points of his appearance were a tendency to foppishness in dress and rather more than a tendency to a certain veiled insolence of expression and manner. turning to one of them. which had come from Rome only a few days before. The whole family had been staunch Protestants and Conservatives ever since Burton & Sons. and there's your Early Christian complete. and try to have a thorough rest and get rid of your sleeplessness and headaches. too.'"He laid down the letter and sat looking at her with half-shut eyes. Gemma would fight at the barricades. in fact?""Yes; exposing their intrigues.