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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1e3b836 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #64425 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/64425) diff --git a/old/64425-0.txt b/old/64425-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 00a18bf..0000000 --- a/old/64425-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,9320 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Giannella, by Mrs. Hugh Fraser - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Giannella - -Author: Mrs. Hugh Fraser - -Release Date: January 31, 2021 [eBook #64425] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: Martin Pettit and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at - https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images - generously made available by The Internet Archive/American - Libraries.) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GIANNELLA *** - -+-------------------------------------------------+ -|Transcriber's note: | -| | -|Obvious typographic errors have been corrected. | -| | -+-------------------------------------------------+ - - -GIANNELLA - -BY -MRS. HUGH FRASER - - -ST. LOUIS, MO., 1909 -PUBLISHED BY B. HERDER -17 SOUTH BROADWAY - - - - -Copyright, 1909 -by -MRS. HUGH FRASER - - ---BECKTOLD-- -PRINTING AND BOOK MFG. CO. -ST. LOUIS, MO. - - - - -GIANNELLA - - - - -CHAPTER I - - -"And now, what are we to do about the child? Cannot you think of -something, Carl?" - -Carl stooped down to disentangle some very small fingers which had -been busy with his bootlaces, and as the baby crawled away to find -fresh mischief he straightened himself and watched her with a ruefully -puzzled expression. - -"Upon my word, Hans," he said at last, "I can think of nothing but the -Pietá. It seems hard, but all the boys are as poor as ourselves. The -only married one is Sigersen, and his wife is away--and not much good -when she is at home. The Vice-consul said we had better put the child -in the Rota--and I am afraid that is what we shall have to do. The nuns -will keep any name and address they find pinned on her clothes, and if -things go better with us, or if it should turn out that poor Brockmann -had any relations, and they ever inquire for her, we shall know where -to look for her." - -The speakers were two Scandinavian painters, young and kind and poor, -members of the little brotherhood which, year in, year out, finds its -way from the shores of the bleak North Sea to the blue and gold of -the Mediterranean, to the marbles and the ilexes, to the campagna and -the hills; and have taken root in the classic, teeming soil which is -Rome. A friend and comrade, Niels Brockmann, had died a day or two -before this little colloquy took place, and he had left behind him a -dismantled studio, some good but unfinished studies, and a baby girl -whose pretty young mother had not survived her birth. Brockmann had -idolized the flaxen-haired mite for one year, and then had ended his -existence by catching a deadly chill while sketching in some beautiful -but malarious spot. The brotherhood had nursed him loyally and buried -him decently, but they were hopelessly perplexed as to how to dispose -of his daughter. Most of them lived on two or three pauls a day, -everything else being saved for studio rent and artists' materials; and -when one was lucky enough to sell a picture, there was a jolly supper -for everybody at the Lepre, with mighty songs and much beer; and then -what remained of the money was unhesitatingly divided among the poor -devils who were most deeply in debt to landlord or colorman. - -There was no room for a baby in that straitly-lodged, big-hearted -community, and Hans Stravenkilde had been driven to lay the case before -the Vice-consul of his nationality, hoping that he would undertake -the charge. But the official, a banker and a Roman, refused to be -responsible for the child in any way. Indeed, he was indignant at -the mere suggestion. He told Hans that if he were to take on all the -destitute orphans that pauper foreigners left behind them, he would -soon turn his house into a foundling hospital. And what was the Pietá -for, but just such waifs, he would like to know? Pin the child's name -on her clothes and drop her into the Rota. Good-morning. - -And Hans had departed and walked home, much depressed. He had stopped -a moment on his way, to look at the cushioned dumb-waiter open to the -street in the wall of the Pietá; he knew that one or other of the nuns -was stationed behind it through every minute of the night and day, to -turn it inwards the instant a child had been laid on the pillow, to -gather the poor abandoned little thing into safety and fellowship with -many hundreds of others who were sheltered behind those huge charitable -walls, and were better fed, better loved, better educated than most -of them would ever have been in their own homes. Hans knew all about -it, yet his heart ached at the thought of leaving this particular baby -there, and Carl fully shared his unwillingness. He had just picked -up Giannella and was making funny faces at her, so that the little -creature first seemed inclined to cry; then she caught the smile in her -tormentor's blue eyes and laughed aloud. - -At this a thin, dark woman in peasant's dress raised herself from where -she had been gathering up some littered papers in a corner, and came -towards the young men, holding out her arms to the child, who at once -sprang into them with the confidence of long familiarity. The woman -smoothed down the rumpled skirt, wiped off the dust which the small -pink palms had gathered on the floor, and then stood looking at the -two friends of her late master. They had been speaking in their own -language, but she knew they were talking about the baby, and she had -caught the words "Pietá" and "Rota." - -"Well," she said, in a deep masculine voice, "and what becomes of this -one?" - -"That is a hard question, Mariuccia," Hans replied. "There is nobody -who wants her, except we poor devils of artists who have nowhere to -put her--and the Signor Console told us we had better take her to the -Pietá." - -He had turned and looked out of the window as he spoke, and Carl -followed his example. Neither cared to meet the woman's glance; they -both knew how she loved the child. - -Mariuccia's brows met in a dark line and her eyes flashed angrily. "A -fine piece of advice," she cried. "That consul is an animal, without -heart. The Pietá indeed, for my poor padrone's child! Is there no good -lady who will take her and bring her up properly? Signor Brockmann of -good memory was a gentleman--though he had no money, poverino, and this -bit of sugar should be taken care of like a signorina." - -"What can we do, Mariuccia?" Hans exclaimed. "All that you say is -true, but there are no relations--and we and the other boys are not -married--it will have to be the Pietá, I am afraid." - -Mariuccia pondered, looking down at the small fluffy head on her -shoulder. At last she spoke. "Give her to me. I will take her to my -brother at Castel Gandolfo. His wife is a good woman. They have six -children--one more will make no difference. And there is at least bread -for all, and wine, and salad in the garden. She will do well there." - -"That is splendid," cried Hans. "Bravo, Mariuccia. We will send some -money for her whenever we can, and she will be happy with you." - -"I shall not stay in the country," Mariuccia replied. "I have to earn -my living. I must find another place, here in Rome. If the Signori can -help me to do that I shall be glad. But I shall get to see Giannella -sometimes, and when she grows big you signorini must manage to have her -go to school. You are good boys--the Madonna will help you to sell your -beautiful pictures--and then I will come and remind you of Giannella. -For she is a lady. She cannot grow up to gather chestnuts and work in -the fields. She must be instructed, like her poor papa." - -This was a long speech for Mariuccia, who was a rather saturnine person -generally. Evidently she had taken the matter deeply to heart, and her -solution seemed such a satisfactory one that the young men were only -too thankful to accept it. - -So the studio was cleared out and the landlord took the key and some -of the properties in lieu of rent due; a few feminine belongings left -behind by poor Mrs. Brockmann were packed away by Mariuccia to be kept -for Giannella; a coat and a pair of boots, almost all that had not been -sold during the artist's illness to provide necessaries, she begged for -as a propitiatory offering to her brother. Then the two young men went -back to their work, their hard, cheery lives, and trusty comrades; and -in a few hours they had managed to throw off the effects of the tragedy -which had absorbed them for the last ten days, for, thank Heaven, the -"Donna" had taken charge of the baby. - - * * * * * * * * * * - -The sun was striking low through the boles of the ancient elms which -line the road from Albano to Castel Gandolfo. It was a hot September -evening, and the dust rose in a yellow haze under the feet of a woman -who was walking quickly towards the latter place. She was dressed in -the costume of the hills; the short, full skirt swung wide at every -step, the scarlet bodice gave easy play to her tall, spare figure. On -her shoulders was the beautifully draped little shawl crossing over -the bosom and showing the spotless camisole of heavy linen, ornamented -with handmade lace of ancient pattern; round her neck were the dark -red corals, and in her ears the long gold earrings--flashing now and -again in the last sunbeams--which testified that she came of good stock -and had inherited proper plenishings from the women of her race. She -walked as if the road, the woods on either hand, the campagna below -and the mountains beyond, belonged to her by right. The heavy basket -on her head might have been an archaic crown, so lightly did it poise -as she swung along, and she seemed equally untroubled by the weight of -a sleeping child on one arm and a nondescript collection of bundles in -the other. - -Mariuccia was going home. It mattered little that the home was not -her own, but her brother's, that its four stone rooms were crowded -with children, and that she was bringing another to leave there, quite -uncertain of its reception. She was in her own country, striding -through the good dust instead of over the city pavements, smelling the -hot, dry fragrance of the grapes hanging in masses from the stripped -vines where the vineyards terraced down to the campagna on her left; -hearing the chestnut burrs rustle to the ground in the woods on her -right; heading for the place where she was born, for the grand sour -bread and honest wine, the snowy beds piled mountains high under -embroidered sheets and quilted coverlets, the blest palms and roses -round the picture of the Immacolata on the wall--for the fountain in -the piazza, the whispered greetings across the women's benches in the -church, for the well-known faces and the broad speech of home. - -It was three years since she had been there. Long ago she had made -up her mind not to marry, telling her relations that since a woman -must work for somebody, she chose to work for a master who would pay -her, and whom she could leave if she chose, rather than for a husband -who would give her no wages, would beat her if the fancy took him, -and with whom she must remain all her life. So she had taken service -in Rome, and, though her last venture had ended sadly, was on the -whole contented with her lot. She had saved the greater part of her -wages for the last ten years, had found kind, decent padroni of the -genial middle-class sort, and was looked upon by the relations in -the hills as a superior person of solid fortune whom it was well to -treat politely. She was bringing presents for the family now--cakes -and sweetmeats for the children, a bottle of rosolio and the boots -and coat for her brother, and a roll of linen and a green rosary for -the sister-in-law--and the rosary had been blessed by the Pope. Her -old friend, the sacristan of San Severino, had asked the Curato, and -the Curato had asked the Cardinal's secretary, and then the Cardinal -himself had procured the Holy Father's blessing; and Mariuccia had -put the sacred thing away till she should feel more worthy to use it. -Now the moment had come to do something really great, so that sister -Candida should be dazzled into receiving "la Pupa" with open arms, and -the rosary must be sacrificed. - -It is but a short distance from Albano, whither Mariuccia had traveled -in the disjointed vettura which daily lumbered out from Rome over the -Appian Way, to Castel Gandolfo, the summer sojourn of the Popes. As she -entered the little town, the girls were gathered round the fountain, -filling their urns and chattering as gaily as roosting sparrows; the -young men lounged on the steps of the church, hands in pockets, a -rose or carnation stuck behind the ear to show that they were in good -spirits; and a gathering of thirsty, dust-parched carrettieri, their -huge, brightly-colored carts obstructing the street, were drinking -bumpers of red wine in the low, dark doorway of the Osteria, under the -swinging bunch of broom which was its only sign. Smells of cooking, of -freshly-baked bread, of wet linen hanging to dry from upper windows, -and many less savory scents filled Mariuccia's nostrils with familiar -pleasure. The Ave Maria was pealing from the tower, and she turned -aside to kneel for a moment in the well-known church. Then she came -out, turned up a side street and made for a little square house that -stood in its own vineyard just beyond the farther gate of the town. - -Ah, there was no doubt about her welcome. A tribe of black-eyed, -red-cheeked children broke upon her like a tornado, with yells of joy; -sister Candida came hurrying to the door and led her in rejoicing, -taking baby and burdens from her without a question; while brother -Stefano, who had just got his pigs safely home from the chestnut wood -behind the house, came clamping in with earth-stained clothes and a -week's beard on his beaming face, and kissed Mariuccia on both cheeks, -inquired for her health, told his wife to get her some supper, all -without more than one glance at the flaxen-haired infant who had been -deposited safely out of reach of the children, in the very middle of -the huge white bed which was the chief ornament of the room. Guests -must not be questioned, whatever they choose to bring; Mariuccia would -speak when she was ready. - -That moment did not come till all the presents had been produced and -rejoiced over, and the young ones had fallen asleep with open mouths -and sticky fingers, and the three elders were sitting round the table -by the light of the tall brass lamp in which all four burners had been -kindled in honor of the visitor. The pure olive oil glowed brightly and -cast a friendly radiance over the consultation. Mariuccia, desperately -in earnest now, was stating her case as she considered it should be -stated; not precisely as it really stood, of course; that would never -have done. Giannella, Stefano and his wife learnt, was certainly an -orphan, but there were rich relations in some barbaric country over -there--Mariuccia's gesture indicated enormous vagueness--who would wish -her to be well cared for, and who would pay splendidly for such care -when they came to fetch her, as they would do before very long. She was -a good-tempered little thing, and had never been ailing for a day since -she was born--and so pretty. There was not such another blonde head in -Rome. The people turned to look at her in the street when Mariuccia -took her out on a Sunday. Candida hesitated a little, then went and -looked at the sleeping child, all rosy and golden, on the white pillow. -Stefano glanced at her questioningly as she returned. This was going to -be her affair, not his, and she must decide. - -"It is well, Mariuccia," she said, without even looking towards her -husband. "You can leave her here. Is she baptised?" - -"I saw to that," Mariuccia replied. "Here is the certificate from San -Severino." And she drew out of her pocket a stiff paper which none of -the three could read, but on which they recognized the big, round seal -of the Keys and Tiara. - -"I will keep it," Mariuccia said, "and if it is wanted you can send -for it. Her name is Giannella, don't forget. She eats soup and bread, -just what you gave your own babies at that age. Mamma mia, I am sorry -to part with her, pretty heart! But I must go back to Rome and find -a new, rich padrone, or how else can I leave a fortune to those fine -nephews and nieces of mine by-and-by?" - -"You are too good to the little rascals already," said Candida. She -was not a mercenary person; but Stefano, who had the family cares on -his mind, brightened up, and uncorked the rosolio. Three thimblefuls -were drunk to the general health; then the tapers were lighted on the -family altar, where a splendid Bambino Gesú, dressed in pink silk, held -out his waxen hands under the glass globe and smiled on his disciples. -The night prayers were said; one low light was left burning in each -room--since only the animals sleep in the dark--and Mariuccia fell -asleep beside Giannella in the best bed, with a great weight lifted off -her heart. - - - - -CHAPTER II - - -Mariuccia only stayed two days in her native town; then she bade -farewell to Giannella (who had already made friends with the eldest -niece and the youngest pig) and returned, very light-handed, to seek -for a new master in Rome. She had made up her mind to find a quiet, -well-regulated bachelor to care for this time. No more heartaches over -young mothers and forsaken orphans for her. She realized fully the -responsibility she had assumed for the Brockmann baby, and courageously -faced the likelihood of having to meet most of its expenses herself. -Those young gentlemen were kind, yes, but they were just boys, and -would probably forget until she reminded them; and then it was always -doubtful whether they would have any money to give for their dead -friend's child. She had made light of this part of the question in -speaking to them, but she was resolved that Stefano and Candida, with -their own large family to provide for, should not be out of pocket on -Giannella's account; neither must they ever imagine that the payments -for the little girl come from anyone but the supposed rich relations -who were to hear such good news of her progress under their care. With -all their goodness, it would have wounded them deeply to think that -Mariuccia's spare cash, which would have helped to start the nephews -and nieces in the world, was being spent on the child of strangers. -She had two hundred and fifty scudi in the Savings Bank of the Pietá, -an institution which, with its merciful pawnbroking department, its -safe investments for the poor people's earnings, and its all-embracing -Foundling Hospital and affiliated Training Schools, met the wants of -the lower classes in those opulent days in a fairly complete manner. In -her steady Roman way, Mariuccia had thought out her own case, and was -resolved to find a quiet and solvent padrone with whom she could live -in peace and security for many years to come. So she went to consult -Fra Tommaso, the lay brother who acted as sacristan at San Severino, -a popular church served by some Marist Fathers, down in the oldest -quarter of the city, near the Tiber. Fra Tommaso was an old friend, -like herself a native of Castel Gandolfo, and the deep-seated clan -feeling imposed obligations of mutual helpfulness on the compatriots. -Ever careful of the courtesies, she had brought him a present of fruit -and wine, and a couple of plump pigeons, from the place of his birth, -and counted on his being able to interest the Fathers in finding a good -place for her. They knew everybody in the district and were the general -referees for a thousand matters civic and domestic. - -San Severino had an imposing entrance from the Via Ripetta, where it -stood, a little back from the street, in a semi-circular piazzale of -its own. A series of low, broad steps led up to the rounded platform, -wide enough to accommodate the blind man, the woman with the footless -baby, and the parish epileptic, who all had their authorized stations -in a row near the door in order to receive the never-failing alms of -weekday worshipers and Sunday congregations. They brought their chairs -with them in the morning, and, after hearing the first Mass, settled -themselves for the day; their little stores of food were slipped under -the chairs; the woman had her stocking to knit (for the baby always -held out its hand for the coppers); the blind man had his tin box to -rattle at each approaching footstep; the epileptic had to put his -wooden alms bowl at his feet, since his hands trembled too much to -hold it. Among these three there was much good fellowship, but they -looked askance at the privileged cripple whose crutches reposed all -day against a battered arm-chair close to the church door, and who in -his turn held aloof from them. For he was an ancient man of decent -standing, having been in his day a mason who lost the use of his limbs -through a fall from the cupola of San Severino; he now considered -that he was as much a part of the church and its organization as the -Father Rector himself. He never solicited alms when, by an ingenious -arrangement of cords round his hand and the back of his chair, he -raised the heavy, padded leather curtain for people to pass into the -church; but many a silver paoletto or double baiocco was dropped into -the hat on his knees in the course of the day, and the calm, contented -expression of his face bespoke a mind at rest from earthly cares. - -Mariuccia nodded to the little parade of incurables as she came up the -steps on the morning after her return from Castel Gandolfo. She was of -the people, and they would have scorned to beg from her, but she found -a sugar-plum in her pocket for the baby's grimy little palm, a packet -of snuff for the blind man (who was accused of seeing fairly well after -dark) and a copper for the epileptic; they would all pray for her and -further her success. To Sor Checco, the cripple, she spoke a cheery -good-morning, and begged his acceptance of a small flask of "vino -santo," which, she assured him, would be good for his health. Then she -inquired whether Fra Tommaso were about? She was anxious to speak to -him. - -At that moment Fra Tommaso emerged from under the opposite side of the -leather curtain, broom in hand, and began to sweep down the steps. -When he had finished his task, accompanying it with his invariable -grumblings at the dirt that people would track up with them, he -declared himself at his countrywoman's disposal, and led her through -the church to a dark disused side-chapel where he kept his brooms and -pails, his oil and candles, and where there was one old chair which he -could offer to a visitor. - -After many preambles Mariuccia preferred her request. Did Fra Tommaso -know of a place for a respectable woman, over thirty, who could cook -and wash and iron with anybody? Yes, it was not to boast, but she could -say that she knew her business, and as for the marketing--well, she -could make a paolo go as far as any housekeeper in Rome. - -Fra Tommaso pondered, his chin in his hand, his eyes on the ground, -and Mariuccia watched him anxiously. He was a thin, wiry man of forty -or thereabouts, with a rather hollow face and very bright eyes. Hardy -old age was stamped on every seam and fold of his black cassock, -with its wide shoulder cape and leathern girdle, from which dangled -various keys and a heavy rosary. The Church, which finds a use for all -faithful enthusiasms, had taken him into her service many years before; -seeing that no amount of patient teaching could induct the knowledge -of Latin into his head, she had made him one of the doorkeepers of -the House of the Lord, and he was perfectly happy and contented in -that capacity. He had elevated sacristanship to a fine art. The three -or four dozen oil lamps which lighted the various altars and shrines -were always replenished, always bright, and the oil was measured out -as carefully as if it had been molten gold. The candlesticks were -burnished, every candle end utilized, and the droppings of virgin -wax collected and sold again to the Chandlers for the benefit of the -Church. The chairs were piled high at the far end of the nave and the -floor swept within half-an-hour after the last Mass of the day had -been said: and Fra Tommaso was a walking terror to the unruly urchins -who would try to slip in to chatter and play near the door when the -sun was too hot or the rain too chill in the streets. He was a little -severe on idlers and beggars, but for all the respectable poor he -had a friendly interest, taking a good deal of pride in the position -of trust which enabled him to lay their requests and perplexities -before one or other of the Fathers. The saint of the community, wise, -detached old Padre Ambrosio, still looked upon Fra Tommaso as a boy, -and sometimes warned him not to let himself be drawn too closely into -the thousand distracted interests of the world. "Even charity, my -son," he would say, "has its limitations. Beware of letting these good -people (especially the women, who would almost drive an archangel out -of heaven with their chatter) distract your mind from higher things. -You must become a saint, you know. No Latin is needed for that. Only -recollection, and prayer and faithfulness to the duties of your state." - -"You are right, Padre," Fra Tommaso would say, feeling duly contrite -under the gentle rebuke, "I will certainly be more careful." -But do what he would, his lively interest in the affairs of his -fellow-creatures sprang into life again the moment he came in contact -with them. He knew all the habitués of the church by sight; the stories -and circumstances of most of them were familiar to him; he would lie -awake at night sometimes, wondering if that poor Rosina were getting -on better with her mother-in-law, whether Rachel's boy had got the -place at the baker's, how much that brigand of a doctor was going to -charge the shoemaker for pulling his wife through the fever. If a new -face appeared, Fra Tommaso had to know all about its owner within a -given time, or he must invent a history for it before he could say his -prayers in peace. Padre Ambrosio was so old--and so holy! How could -he understand that a poor, uninstructed lay brother, who was running -about the church day in, day out, must feel more concerned with the -people than he, who now only descended from the steps of the altar to -give himself up to contemplation and prayer in his quiet, distant room? -And, when one came to think of it, the "Santissimo" and the blessed -Addolorata, and the kind, smiling Saints, were all in the church. They -would surely forgive their poor servant for taking pleasure in thinking -about his brothers and sisters and managing to be useful to them at the -same time. - -When Mariuccia explained her needs, Fra Tommaso's mind began to work -rapidly over his little map of humanity, and stopped, like a divining -rod, over the precise place for her. But certain hesitations and -discussions must be gone into, otherwise he and she would miss much -pleasant talk. He looked up and met her anxious eyes. - -"It is a good idea of yours, commara," he said; "a padrone without -family, and of regular habits. Yes, you would do well to find such an -one. Let me see--we must think a little. We shall find him in time. Who -goes softly goes safely, and also far. Now the other day, a gentleman -spoke to me--" - -"Yes?" said Mariuccia eagerly. "Who was he? Did he want a servant?" - -"He wanted to get rid of one--an extravagant woman, who, he said, was -ruining him. But of course he could not send her away till he had found -somebody to replace her?" - -"Tell me his name. I will present myself at once," exclaimed Mariuccia, -rising and reaching for her umbrella. - -Fra Tommaso made a dignified gesture of the hand, which commanded her -to sit down again and listen patiently. She obeyed with a sigh. Then -the sacristan continued, "he is a professor at the university, Signor -Carlo Bianchi, a most learned man, who knows more about antiquities -than anybody in the world. Capperi! He can tell you who built the -palace of the Cæsars, and San Pietro, and the Colosseo. Whenever a -statue is found they send for Professor Bianchi, and he does not even -need to look at it--he wets his finger in his mouth and feels the -marble, and he says, 'Signorimiei, this is the work of Praxiteles, or -Scanderbeg, or--or Saint Thomas Aquinas.' Just like that! And they put -a ticket with the name on the pedestal and never ask another question. -Oh, a man of immense instruction! But they say ..." and Fra Tommaso -shook his head mysteriously, "that he has one ugly vice." - -Mariuccia's hand went up to her mouth, imitating the action of -drinking, and her eyebrows asked a question. - -"Macché!" exclaimed her adviser, looking much shocked, "not he? A man -of that instruction? No, to tell the truth--he is terribly stingy." - -"So am I," Mariuccia replied, laughing with relief. "We shall get on -well together." - -"You are economical, Sora Mariuccia," Fra Tommaso looked at her -approvingly, "but this poor Professor is truly avaricious. He is afraid -even to eat enough, and is as thin as the miller's donkey that carries -the grain and never gets any. One day some buffoon of a student -stole his purse as he was entering the lecture-room--oh, he gave it -back to him afterwards--but meanwhile the lecture had gone to little -pieces--clean out of his head. When the young rascal handed him his -purse back he nearly fainted, and they had to give him cognac before he -could walk home." - -"Poverino," Mariuccia cried indignantly, "it was a cruel joke! I am -not afraid of this vice, as you call it. He will have to pay me my -wages, and that is all that matters to me. I am indifferentissima as to -victuals. By the way, what does he pay?" - -"Ask for four scudi a month," Fra Tommaso commanded briskly. He -had caught sight of a sunbeam that suddenly shot through the round -window in the dome and lit, like a golden arrow, on the crown of the -Addolorata. That meant noon in a moment--and his bells to ring. "You -ask four, and he will give you three. Go to him to-day--Professor -Carlo Bianchi, Palazzo Santafede--it is close by here, you know. You -can go out at the back door of the church. Say I sent you. But no, no -thanks--for me it is a pleasure to serve you, commara, at any time. -Arrivederci!" - -The report of a cannon rent the hot, still air, the midday gun from -Castel Sant' Angelo. Instantly every church bell in Rome broke into -peals of sound, echoing the announcement of high noon to the city. Fra -Tommaso had leaped to his ropes and was working like a demon, trying -to outring all the neighboring bells, and especially the one of Santa -Eulalia, the convent on the other side of the river; between it and -San Severino there was on this point an ancient rivalry which deafened -all who lived near either. - -Mariuccia departed well content, and at once made her way to the -indicated address. The Palazzo Santafede was a huge pile belonging -to the prince of that name, and running the whole length of the -street which separated the Ripetta from a large quiet piazza, where -five well-known palaces had faced each other in dignified seclusion -for some centuries past, while many a tragedy and comedy had been -played in the great rooms behind their tall, impenetrable walls. The -Santafede residence stretched four-square round a vast sunny courtyard -where a fountain bubbled in the center, and battered statues of more -or less doubtful merit stood on pedestals under the deep colonnade -which ran round three sides and afforded shelter for the prince's -stables. The present prince was a very young man, with pronounced -sporting tendencies, and beautiful English carriage horses and Irish -hunters were groomed under the colonnade in the morning. The Princess -Mother lived with her son on the "piano nobile," the first floor of -the palace, in solemn and unchanging state. All the other apartments, -there being no married sons to be housed, were let to tenants whose -worldly importance diminished with each flight of stairs they -climbed--monsignori, diplomatists, nobles who had no dwelling of their -own in Rome paid high rents for spacious suites of rooms on second and -third floors. Above these came modest apartments occupied by humbler -individuals; and the vast attics, which a couple of centuries ago had -accommodated four or five hundred retainers, were now let out, even in -single rooms, to all who could satisfy the maestro di casa of their -respectability. - -The reigning family was away at this time of year and the porter was -taking his ease in his shirt sleeves in the shade of the great doorway -when Mariuccia marched in and inquired for Professor Bianchi. - -"Third staircase to the right, fourth floor," was the reply. And as the -inquirer went on under the colonnade, the porter remarked to his wife, -who was sitting on the lodge steps nursing her baby, "I wager there -goes another cook for Professor Scortica sassi (Skin-the-stones). I -wonder how long she will stay?" - -Mrs. Porter glanced after the receding figure. There was something -impressive in that dragonlike stride; the brown hand gripped the thick -umbrella as if it had been a saber. "She looks pretty resolute, that -female," Mrs. Porter remarked. "I shouldn't wonder if he had found his -match this time. I'd rather not be in her place, though." - -Mariuccia stood before the green door on the fourth landing of the -third staircase. Her first ring at the bell elicited no response, but -at the second, footsteps approached and a thin, rasping voice asked the -regulation question: "Who is it?" - -Mariuccia gave the equally invariable reply, "Friends." Then the -shutter behind a tiny grating was pushed back and a pair of spectacled -eyes were applied to the bars. The next moment the door was open and -Mariuccia stood face to face with a slight, dark man, hooked of nose -and hollow of cheek, but much younger than she had expected to behold. - -He understood her errand at once. Her costume and attitude were those -of the respectable servant at that time. Quite a gleam of joy came -into his eyes. His cook had departed in a rage the evening before, and -the unfortunate man of science had burnt a hole in his coat and nearly -asphyxiated himself in trying to light the charcoal fire to make his -coffee that morning. He led the new applicant for that honor through -a long, dark passage, where, as he passed, he hastily closed an open -door; but Mariuccia had caught sight of an unmade bed and personal -belongings in sad disorder. Instantly a maternal pity for the helpless -man took possession of her. That cook must have had a heart of stone to -leave the poor fellow like this! He conducted her into a study filled -with books, papers, plaster casts and fragments of marble, all arranged -carefully enough; but the confusion of his mind and his destitute -condition were illustrated by a breakfast tray which had been deposited -on the floor, flooded with coffee from an overturned pot which still -lay on its side. - -This was more than Mariuccia's soul could bear. Before entering on any -negotiation she picked up the depressing object and carried it out -to where her instinct told her she would find the kitchen. Here she -paused for a moment, tray in hand, to survey the possibilities of the -place. She nodded approvingly. "Here I remain," she informed herself. -"A kitchen of this noble size--full of light--with two windows on -the street. Capperi, one does not find that every day." She glanced -out of the window and saw that the opposite wall was that of the long -building, running back from San Severino, the building which had housed -the Fathers and their schools. Nothing could be better--she felt at -home already. - -The last occupant of the noble kitchen had left things in a horrible -condition, certainly; rubbish everywhere, coppers that could not have -been cleaned since Easter--a hecatomb of damaged crockery on the -dust-laden shelves. Never mind, all that would be changed in a day. And -now for the padrone. He would be wondering what had become of her. - -She made her way back to the study and stood at the open door for -a moment. The Professor seemed to have forgotten all about her. He -was examining some fragments of dirty earthenware on which a pattern -was dimly visible; fitting one to another with delicate care, he was -murmuring to himself, "Spurious, spurious. That poor Cardinal! Any -villain can take him in with rubbish that was baked last year and -buried in the right sort of earth! Etruscan indeed. I wonder what he -gave for this robaccia? What is it?" He had thrown the fragments down -on the table and caught sight of Mariuccia. "Ah yes, I remember--you -have come about the donna's place, I think. Who sent you to me?" - -"Fra Tommaso of San Severino," she replied; and the Professor looked -pleased. "I see the signore is busy, so I will, with his permission, -say that I can do everything he will require, and I respectfully ask -what wages he gives. I had five scudi a month with my last padrone." - -The Professor's hands flew up in the air and an expression of deepest -pain came across his countenance. Mariuccia's spirits rose; the -delightful excitement of bargaining was about to begin. - -The duel lasted three-quarters of an hour, with varying fortune, first -to one and then to the other, of the disputants. Twice Mariuccia seized -the cotton umbrella and made as if to depart, outraged at having her -just claims disregarded. The second time she almost meant to go; but a -deep sigh from her adversary softened her heart. Poor young man, he was -really quite "simpatico"--and so forlorn. She paused at the door--and -then she knew that she had won the day, for he came after her and laid -a hand on her arm. - -"It is ruinous, that four scudi a month," he said woefully, "and -fifteen baiocchi a day for your food is an insanity--you will die of -apoplexy, I know it. But--there--it is said. I must sacrifice myself. -Now do go and get me something to eat. That demon would not cook any -supper for me last night and I faint, my good woman, I faint." - -"Leave it all to me!" she replied. "Poverino! you shall suffer no -more." And at once she marched off to take possession of her kingdom. - -Within a week the Professor knew that he was in good strong hands; -in a month he suspected that he had found a ruler; but he was well -satisfied. Excepting the daily wrangle over the money for his -marketing (the sums he proffered, Mariuccia told him, were quite -inadequate to the maintenance of his respected health), all went -smoothly and silently, as he liked it to go, in the quite shabby rooms -filled with books and flooded with sunshine, where he passed his -studious life. Three times a week he lectured at the university, and -on other days spent much time among the excavations which constantly -brought new treasures to light from Rome's inexhaustible soil. Few -visitors ever mounted those steep stairs; occasionally he spent an -evening with his illustrious and learned friend, Cardinal Cestaldini, -but otherwise he sat in his study after supper, perfectly happy with -his lamp, his books, and his cigar; and in all his habits he was -regular as clockwork. Mariuccia lay down night after night in her dark -bedroom off the passage, thanking Heaven for having bestowed on her the -padrone she had dreamed of. She laughed to herself as she thought of -his prophecy that she would die of apoplexy. She had brought her own -living expenses down to one-half of the sum which she had quite justly -claimed. The rest was put by for the baby she had left with Candida -at Castel Gandolfo. If no rich relations turned up--and if those nice -young friends of poor Signor Brockmann (of good memory) never sent any -money for la Giannella--there would be anxious times ahead for her -only protector. The Madonna and San Giuseppe would help--that could -be counted upon; but one must make what provision one could--with six -nephews and nieces on one's conscience! - - - - -CHAPTER III - - -It was three years before Mariuccia saw Giannella again. Then Candida -brought her to Rome, fat and well-looking, to show her to the -sister-in-law, who was to be moved, at sight of the pretty, well-fed -little girl, to grant a modest request. Once in three months during the -passing years a trusty carrettiere from Castel Gandolfo had brought -Mariuccia a letter, written for Candida by the official scribe of the -"Castello," reporting Giannella's good progress; and Fra Tommaso had -read it to the recipient in the empty chapel under the bell tower. -The same proven counselor had always written the answer for her, free -of charge (it would have been folly to pay the public letter-writer -in Piazza San Carlo for what she could get done for nothing!) and -had made up and sealed the little packet of money, growing heavier -with Giannella's growth, which the carrier took back with him when he -dawdled across the campagna to the hills, in his high cart, painted in -gorgeous reds and blues, piled with empty barrels in exchange for the -full ones he had brought in. A proud man was he. His sheepskin awning -was hung with twenty or thirty jingling brass bells; his horses moved -leisurely under their great burnished collars; his white lupetto, -the fierce little fox-dog without which the outfit would have been -incomplete, barked madly at everything on the road and frenziedly -at all the other lupettos on the other carriers' vehicles, and took -sole charge of all property during the long pauses at the thatched -"Cappanne" where the jolly driver would have a glass of wine and a game -of bowls with his compeers to break the monotony of the journey. - -The letters he brought four times a year provided the great excitement -of Mariuccia's existence, and the Professor knew that for a day or two -in every quarter his housekeeper would be slightly less silent and -methodical than usual. He understood that there was a child at nurse -in the country, an occurrence so common that he never gave it a second -thought. He imagined it was Mariuccia's own, and as she never spoke -of having a husband, supposed that she was a widow. Once or twice he -wondered what kind of a man could have had the courage to espouse such -a carabineer in petticoats. He himself had a nervous terror of women, -whom he considered as brainless, extravagant creatures, and in spite -of his comparative youth, he seemed destined for an old bachelor, so -resolutely did he avoid feminine society. - -It was therefore a shock to him to return one bright winter day from -the university to find his apartment resounding with women's voices and -childish laughter. The front-door bell was broken and he was fighting -the maestro di casa as to who should pay for repairing it, so he had -let himself in with the latchkey and was coming on tiptoe down the -passage to have a peep at the intruders, when the kitchen door flew -open, and, out of the haze of sunshine within, a small, golden-headed -whirlwind shot forward with a scream of laughter, bumped against -his knees, and went down on the bricks with a thud. He sprang back, -nearly as alarmed as the child; but before he could find his breath -for questioning--or she for crying--two excited women swooped down on -the little sufferer, picked her up, felt her all over, tried to drown -her sobs with caresses and promises, and finally bore her back to the -kitchen without having taken the slightest notice of the indignant -master of the house. He judged it best to withdraw to his sanctum, -where he sat down in dismal depression. He felt certain that this -cataclysm foreboded the destruction of his peace. - -It was poor Mariuccia's peace, however, which was disturbed by -Candida's visit. Giannella had been splendidly cared for; her clothes -were in excellent order. Sister Mariuccia could see for herself that -every penny sent for the child had been honestly expended on her. -Could she have those red cheeks and bright eyes, could she be such a -little wisp of activity and high spirits, if she were not well fed -and happy? Candida proudly asked. Surely the rich relations would be -more than satisfied. And, since this would redound to Mariuccia's -credit and magnify her reward from them, was it too much to ask that -she would come forward generously, like the dear, good soul she always -was, to help Candida, junior, the eldest niece, to a fine settlement -in life? The prosperous parents of a particularly nice young man had -made a proposal for Candiduccia. They were willing to take her without -a dowry if she could bring the proper plenishings, the bed and the -linen, the chest of drawers and the pearl earrings--and of course the -Sunday clothes--without which no self-respecting girl could enter a -family. Here was a chance for Candiduccia! But, to tell the truth, -things had not gone so very well with Stefano of late. The good donkey -had died suddenly; last year the filloxera had got at the grapes--and, -in fine, they looked to sister Mariuccia to remember her kind promises -and give the money for the outfit. How much? Why, well laid out, -perhaps a hundred scudi would do, since of course the linen was there -already--Candiduccia had been spinning it ever since she was ten, and -Sor Mariano had woven it for her for nothing. Yes, a hundred scudi -should do nicely. And dear Mariuccia was so rich and had no children to -provide for! A little thing like that would not make much difference to -her. - -Dear Mariuccia looked down at Giannella (who by this time had taken -her old new friend into grace, and had fallen asleep in her arms) and -wondered how much further her little stock of money would go. The three -years' payments had made sad inroads on the vaunted savings; but that -Candida must never know; the money was supposed to come from the rich -relations "fuori," myths in whom Mariuccia herself had come to believe -in a way at times, even tormenting herself with the possibility of -their coming to claim the little waif. For the woman who had refused -to marry had plenty of affection to bestow, and Giannella seemed to be -the only thing in the world which was her very own, had been her own -ever since she was born and her real mother had slipped away from the -costly joys of maternity. Mariuccia had woven pleasant little dreams -about the future, and seen herself bringing Giannella to live with -her when the child grew bigger and could be taught to move quietly -about the house and not disturb the Professor at his books; she had -seen her, in imagination, prettily dressed, as became her station in -life, and finally ensnaring the affections of some ideally good and -handsome young man--who would marry her and bring old Mariuccia to -take care of them both and of the beautiful children Heaven would -send them. But Giannella must eat many loaves of bread before these -pleasant visions could be realized, and who was to provide them but -Mariuccia? Four scudi a month was good pay, but how far would it go -alone when the precious savings had fitted out Candiduccia and her two -younger sisters--for what had been done for one must be done for the -others--for entrance into well-to-do families? Mamma mia, it was a -perplexing outlook! Well, the Madonna and San Giuseppe must provide. -These things were matters of destiny. There was no going back now. - -"You will do it, will you not?" came Candida's anxious question. The -suspense was almost unbearable to her. - -"Yes, I will do it, Candida mia!" the other woman replied slowly. Then -she added more cheerfully, "The 'tratto' is the most expensive part. -You had better leave the buying of that and the earrings to me. I can -combat with these brigands of merchants better than you can, and here -in the city there are fine shops for silk and cloth. You shall have -the things the next time the carrettiere goes out. I will give you the -money for the bed and the bureau to-day." - -Having once made up her mind, no more regrets were admitted and for -the next twenty-four hours Mariuccia's feelings were divided between -delight at the pretty ways of the child and anxiety lest the Professor -should find her trottings to and fro, her laughter and occasional -tears, too intolerably disturbing. But when it was explained to him -that the visitation was but a passing one, he was more patient than -could have been expected. The next day Candida bore little Giannella -away in good time to catch the vettura for Albano; her farewells took -the form of an all-embracing benediction for the generosity of the rich -sister; and that afternoon Mariuccia asked her master for permission -to go out for a couple of hours. She came home absolutely hoarse with -bargaining, bringing a roll of silk that would have stood alone--a -gorgeous brocade of red carnations on a cinnamon-colored ground--and -two feet of scarlet cloth which looked like geranium petals and felt -like a baby's cheek. It had cost five scudi a foot, and with some -broad gold trimmings would make the half sleeves from wrist to elbow -which were relatively the most expensive part of the superb Albanese -costume. It would also provide the stiff little stomacher into which -the voluminous shawl of fine lace would be tucked. For this last, -as well as for the lace apron, Mariuccia had gone to the selling -department of the Pietá, where unredeemed pledges were disposed of, and -had found there just the right earrings, wide hoops of pale gold with -three fair-sized pearls dangling from each. If the bride lived to be -ninety and a great-grandmother, she would wear this dress every Sunday -and Feast Day at Mass and would leave it as a treasured heirloom to her -descendants. In the goatskin trunk under her bed Mariuccia kept the -one which her own mother and grandmother had worn at their weddings -and ever after. No holidays came into her dull life, but the "tratto" -must not be parted with while there was even a faint possibility of her -having to appear at church in her native town. - -The precious sendings were confided, a day or two later, with many -anxious recommendations, to Sebastiano the carrettiere, who promised -not to get off the cart for a moment, no matter what temptations might -assail him till they were safely deposited at their destination. - -"Leave it all to me," he exclaimed, slapping his chest proudly. "Am I -not a galantuómo? Do you think I would let such stuff as that out of my -sight for a moment? Diamini! We have our principles, we carrettieri! -Not a single glass will I drink before I reach Castel Gandolfo." - -Mariuccia fancied that the white lupetto on the driving seat winked one -eye, quite like a Christian, at this assurance, the like of which he -had probably heard before, and she felt a little uncomfortable about -the goods until, two weeks later, the receipt for them came in the -shape of a box of confetti tied with white ribbon, the usual "faire -part" of an accomplished wedding. She offered it, as in duty bound, to -the Professor, who accepted it blandly and made the sugar-plums suffice -for two meals, thereby effecting a saving of at least ten baiocchi. - - * * * * * * * * * - -Another three years went by, and when Candida, as Mariuccia had -foreseen, came to solicit for Teresina the favors which had been -accorded to her elder sister, Mariuccia saw that some decisive step -must be taken; she could no longer pay for Giannella's board in her -brother's family. Twice already she had been to see Mr. Brockmann's -artist friends, and though they had received her with great kindness -and cordiality, they had been able to help her but little. One was -married, and had all he could do to maintain a wife and child; the -other seemed to be as poor as ever, and only necessity would have made -his visitor accept the few dollars which he insisted on giving her. -There was no one else to appeal to. Mariuccia gave almost her last -scudo to fit out Teresina for her wedding, and then, leaving Candida in -the kitchen with Giannella (a much quieter little person than of yore) -standing in awed silence beside her chair, marched boldly into the -Professor's study and asked his permission to keep the child with her -henceforth. - -Bianchi looked up from his papers in blank dismay. Keep a child in the -house? The thing was out of the question. What was Mariuccia thinking -of to propose such an absurdity? - -"If the Signor Professor really wants to know what I am thinking of," -she replied, "I will tell him, in all sincerity. I am thinking of a new -place, where I can have Giannella with me. I heard of one this morning. -And they give five scudi a month." - -Her master's opposition collapsed before this statesmanlike invention. -He could not part with his silent, economical jewel of domesticity, -to fall into strange and ruthless hands. No, better accept the child, -even if it should prove a demon, as he had heard that young children -mostly were, and keep his cook. But he made conditions. Under no -circumstances was the baby (the flight of time was forgotten by him -and he was thinking of something small and noisy that would trip him -up at every step) to enter his rooms. And also it must be understood, -once and for all, that he must never be asked to contribute to its -maintenance. Not a lump of sugar or a crust of bread was it to have -from his stores. If people were so silly as to take strange orphans to -bring up--Giannella's history had now been explained to him--they must -bear the punishment of their spendthrift insanity alone. Perhaps it -would teach them wisdom. - -Mariuccia's eyes blazed as he said this, and he began to fear that he -might have gone too far. But she was generous enough to overlook the -insults of a conquered adversary. She thanked him in set terms for -the permission to keep Giannella, assured him that he should neither -hear nor see the child; and then she calmed her ruffled feelings by -the first impertinent speech that had ever fallen from her lips. "Let -the padrone congratulate himself on one point. The chastisements due -to what he called spendthrift insanity, and which most persons would -consider common charity, would never fall on his respected head." - -Then she went back to Candida and told her that Giannella must now -remain in the city. Her invisible relations wished her to have a -superior education, such as was unattainable in her country home. -Candida was frankly sorry. She had come to love the paying nursling -almost as if it were her own; and the charge of Giannella, who was -looked upon by the neighbors as quite a highborn young heiress, -conferred much distinction on her foster parents. As for the child -herself, she was appalled at the prospect of being parted from -"Mamma Candida" and her lifelong playmates, to remain alone with -"Zia Mariuccia," who looked so old and stern. She flung herself into -Candida's arms and wept bitterly, the two women watching her in -silence. Candida rocked her in her arms while some tears of her own -trickled down over the golden hair in which she had taken such pride -for years past. - -Mariuccia let them weep together. These things were matters of destiny. -There was nothing for her to say. Their double grief showed that the -little one had been happy at least. Her own turn would come when the -parting was over; and though she was racking her brain as to ways and -means, she was confident that she could make Giannella happy too. She -rose quietly and prepared as tempting a dinner as her resources would -provide, and her sorrowing guests did full justice to it at last. -Then all three went out to make the purchases for Teresina; and the -streets, the shops, the band playing stridently as a detachment of -French soldiers in gay uniforms marched down the Corso, all sent the -country-reared child wild with delight. She was finally put to bed with -a honey cake under her pillow, and never woke till Candida, who had -slipped away in the dawn, was far out on the Via Appia, so occupied -with anticipating Teresina's joy over the grand new clothes that there -was little place in her mind for anything else. - -A few days later Sebastiano brought a big bundle in which Mariuccia -found every garment that Giannella had outgrown carefully folded up -and saved by her scrupulous keepers, together with odds and ends of -playthings, and little pictures of the Saints given for good conduct -by the parish priest who had taught her her catechism. There was also -a present of cakes and fruit from the teeming Alban garden in the -hills. The padrone was offered his due of all, and actually smiled -when he found a little person, with round cheeks and funnily puckered -brow, reaching up with two hands to put a plate of fresh figs on his -dinner-table. The child nearly dropped it when she saw him enter, but -summoned up all her courage to shove it on safely. Then she turned -and ran at full speed all the way to the kitchen, where she rushed -to Mariuccia's side and hid her face in her protector's voluminous -skirts. "Oh, please, please, ask him not to eat me this time!" she -wailed. "I didn't know he was there--I will never do it again." - -For Mariuccia, determined that the padrone should have no just cause -of complaint, had confided to Giannella a terrible secret: the Signor -Professor never hurt little girls who obeyed orders, but it was well -known that he had once gobbled up a certain naughty child who did not -keep out of his way! - - - - -CHAPTER IV - - -The Principessa di Santafede was a lady of gravely gracious manners, -iron prejudices and active piety, and she entertained a profound -belief in the necessity of her own class to the well-being of the -world. So far as she was concerned secular history contained but one -record worthy of study and imitation, the record of the noble houses -of Rome. Each tradition and regulation connected with these was not -only a rubric but a dogma. To believe and act thereupon was to find -social salvation; all who rejected these articles of faith perish from -her consciousness; their names were erased from her "libro d'oro," -and they ceased to be. No taint of novelty had cast its shadow over -her education. Except that the history books were thicker and the -spelling modernized, the teaching she received in the convent along -with all the other noble damsels in Rome was the same as that which -had been bestowed on her ancestresses for generations past. It had -proved entirely sufficient for those eminent ladies, and neither -parents nor instructors could see any reason for changing a detail of -it. There would be Roman nobles so long as the world lasted; their -vast establishments would move ponderously and surely as they had -always moved; and a girl brought from her convent to be placed at the -head of such an establishment had but to leave its conduct to the -responsible persons, the major-domos, and stewards, and housekeepers, -descended from many generations of officials who had served the same -"Eccellentissima Casa" in the same capacities. She had but to watch and -copy her seniors in order to fulfill her obligations in society, in -matrimony, in maternity, to the complete satisfaction of all concerned. -Life was quite simple if only people did their duty. - -Political crises would occur, of course; the riots and revolutions -of 1848, for instance, had been most disturbing. But they had only -strengthened the beliefs of right-thinking persons, for, behold, they -had passed by like a wave of the sea breaking against the rocks, -leaving everything as it was before and as it would be "in sæcula -sæculorum" so far as Rome was concerned--and Rome was the world. - -Prince Santafede had died when their only son was quite a child, and -the responsibilities thus devolving on her sufficiently accounted -for his widow's grave outlook on life. It was, however, a peaceful -and happy life, clouded by few real anxieties, since Onorato had now -reached the age of eighteen without giving any serious trouble. He was -a cheerful, warm-hearted boy, with no more fixed aversion to study -than the remainder of his contemporaries. Accompanied by his tutor, -a learned ecclesiastic, he had attended the proper lectures at the -university, and, though his education included only the classics and -humanities, it had given him all that was then required of a gentleman, -fluent and elegant Latin, a working acquaintance with his own and -foreign literatures, charming manners, and a fitting sense of what -was due to himself and others. If there was one cloud in his mother's -large sky, it was caused by the fact that he did not take her views on -the sacredness of family traditions in one or two minor directions, -notably that of the expenditure on the stables. Onorato had no other -extravagances, but he insisted on riding and driving magnificent -imported horses, declaring that it was a public duty to set a higher -standard than the prevailing one in such matters. The Princess and -Onorato's lamented father had been perfectly contented with their six -pairs of coal-black horses, bred on their own lands with hundreds of -others destined to be sold all over Italy and Austria. The animals -had been driven and cared for by coachmen and grooms also born on the -estates; and the Princess could not imagine anything more splendid -and appropriate than the high calèche on C. springs in which she took -her daily airing; the deep, hearse-like berline swung on leather -bands, which carried her to parties, seemed the perfection of comfort -and safety; and she felt something like reverence for the yellow -stage coach, with blazoned panels and glass sides, with gold-fringed -hammercloth and tasseled straps to which the three dazzlingly arrayed -footmen hung behind. It was only brought out on grand occasions, for -audiences with the Pope or Ambassadors' receptions, and the Princess -felt as if her skies were falling when her son, a "Principe del Solio" -(supporter of the throne), climbing into it in all his magnificence -of doublet and ruff, gold chain and sword, to go and attend the Holy -Father on Easter morning, called it a "lumbering old pumpkin," and -declared that if he had his way he would make a bonfire of it in the -courtyard. His revolutionary ideas had not only demonstrated themselves -by importing foreign horses, but by filling the coachhouses with French -carriages and the stables with English grooms, barbarians who, while -fulfilling their other duties faithfully enough, grumbled at having to -go to church, and thus deeply scandalized the rest of the well-drilled -household. - -The Princess's brother, Cardinal Cestaldini, Professor Bianchi's -learned patron and friend, tried to console his sister for her son's -equine irregularities by pointing out that they were not so extravagant -as they appeared, since Onorato was bent on improving the Roman breed -and thus adding considerable value to the Santafede horse farms; also -that a young man might spend his money on worse things than horses. -This was at all events an innocent taste, and, seeing that Onorato -had no inclination for deeply serious pursuits, and was too young to -get married--well, his mother must be patient and not estrange him -by any undue severity. Paolo Cestaldini's own happy lot inspired him -with much indulgence for those less blessed. He felt that few were as -fortunate as himself, delivered from worldly distractions at the start -by what he considered the undeserved grace of a religious vocation, and -then provided with the most elevating and beneficent occupation for -his leisure. In the delights of Art and Archæology, subjects which -he could discuss with the most learned, he found an inexhaustible -source of interest and recreation. Incapable of an ungenerous or -insincere thought, he was merciful and gentle in his judgment of -others. Religion, which had built up round his sister a wall of defense -against the temptations which assault those in the world, had turned -the other side of its golden shield to him, and mellowed and enriched -the man's ascetic nature and broadened his mind while it refined his -appreciations. To the married woman it was a fortress, to the lonely -prelate, a garden. - -The Princess listened rather despondently to her brother's encouraging -exhortations. They did not alter her conviction that Onorato was on the -wrong road, and she resolved to pray more earnestly (good soul, that -would hardly have been possible) and to apply herself with more fervor -to her many works of charity in order to obtain his reformation. Full -of these thoughts, she stopped at the church of San Severino on her way -home, dismissed her carriage, since the Palazzo Santafede was only a -few hundred yards away, and found a good deal of comfort in saying her -prayers in the silent, dusky church. - -Emerging half-an-hour later, she saw just before her in the street, a -servant woman leading a little girl by the hand. The airy poise of the -little figure, the light step and quick turn of the small head, took -the Princess's fancy. Above all, the shining golden braids hanging down -to the child's waist aroused her admiration, for to be fair is to -be loved, in dark Romagna. Mariuccia and Giannella, unconscious that -their unapproachably illustrious landlady was following them, passed up -the street, turned into the piazza, and disappeared under the arched -entrance of the palace. By the time the Princess reached it, they were -lost to view round the turn of the colonnade. She paused to ask the -porter, who was grounding his tasseled staff and sweeping the pavement -with his hat, if he could tell her who the child was. Did she belong to -anyone in the palazzo? - -The Excellency was informed that the woman conducting her was Professor -Bianchi's servant, and that the little girl had been brought by a -contadina from the country a few days before. Nothing more was known. -The "donna" rarely spoke to anyone. Did the Excellency wish inquiries -to be made? - -Certainly not, the Princess replied, Professor Bianchi's family was -his private affair. She discouraged all gossip about her tenants. -Ferretti, the mæstro di casa, was responsible for them and she never -interfered with his wise and careful management. Still, he had told -her, when letting the rooms, that the Professor was a bachelor; and -Bianchi was sufficiently distinguished in his own learned circle for -his rather crabbed characteristics to have become more or less known -to the public. The Princess, as she mounted the broad marble stairs to -her own apartment, wondered whether the child were some relation of -his, and felt a certain pity for the bright little thing if she were -really condemned to live with the parsimonious man of science and his -grim-looking servant. - -She was soon to know more about Giannella. Mariuccia was just now -terribly puzzled by a new responsibility which immediately faced her. -At seven years of age children must begin to go to school, and how was -this to be managed for Giannella? There were free schools all over -the city, kept by the nuns for the children of the poor. The little -ones were collected from their homes in the morning by trusty persons -who called for them and brought them back in the evening, receiving -a tiny monthly sum from the parents for the service. That was all -very well, and the nuns took fine care of the small people during the -day; but Mariuccia was obstinately set on one point, and she meant -to fight for her convictions; la Giannella was a lady. Providence -above seemed to have overlooked the fact and had steadily refused to -furnish the wherewithal to keep it before the eyes of the world; but -the self-constituted representative of Providence on earth would take -no denial on the subject, and nothing would have induced her to let -Giannella be herded with the children of the city plebeians, to learn -their rough ways, their common speech, to remember when she grew up -that she had been as one of them. It was one thing to be a paying -nursling in the clean, rich country, cared for and cherished by pious, -respectable people like Stefano and Candida, who kept their boys and -girls in the fear of God and would have punished a bad word, an act of -disobedience or even a disrespectful glance, with a sound beating; -it was quite another to mix with low-born children of the city, whose -parents, coming from no one knew where, owned no feudal master, no foot -of land, and had not been obliged to live up to the stern standard of -morals and manners required in the proud "castelli." Giannella had -learned her catechism and many pretty hymns from the parish priest, -and the first elements of reading from some Franciscan nuns at Castel -Gandolfo. Who was to take up the good work and endow her with all the -mysterious instruction which it seemed a lady should possess by the -time her hair went up and her skirts came down? - -Mariuccia put the question to her spiritual director, a Capuchin monk -of great age and sanctity, to whom she had been commended by the Curato -at home when she first came to Rome as a young woman some eighteen -years before, and to whom she had been loyally constant, tramping to -his distant monastery on the Palatine once a month from whatever part -of the town she happened to be living in. He could not help her much, -although he said he would keep the matter in mind and see if some -charitable person could get the little girl received as a boarder in -one of the many convent schools. But Mariuccia felt that this was a -vague outlook, and she confided her trouble to the ever-sympathetic -Fra Tommaso, who listened with his usual interest and curiosity to her -story. - -"But," he objected, when she had ceased speaking, "what has become of -the relations who used to send you the money for her? Will they not -pay any longer?" - -"Fra Tommaso mio," she replied, "I must tell you something. It is now -a long time since they sent any money for Giannella. Perhaps they are -ill--or affairs may not be going so very well over there--what do I -know? Meanwhile I could not let the child want, so you see--" - -The sacristan pursed his lips and shook his head. "That is bad--very -bad. And has Signor Bianchi been paying for her? That would be a -miracle indeed." - -"No," said poor Mariuccia, driven to tell the humiliating truth at -last, "I have had to find the money myself. Of course the relations -will repay me when they have time, but meanwhile two of my nieces have -got married, and that cost me a great deal; and now, until I hear from -over there," her thumb went over her shoulder indicating the unknown -regions where the Brockmann family was supposed to have its being, "I -do not know what to do. Giannella ought to go to a good school. She is -seven years old, and of an intelligence--God bless her! But I cannot -manage it." - -During this speech Fra Tommaso had been thinking with all his might. -Suddenly he banged his forehead with his clenched fist. "Head of a -pumpkin that thou art!" he exclaimed to the delinquent member. "We have -got it--and I never even thought of it. That Principessa of yours--the -Santafede--she was a Cestaldini." - -This piece of genealogical information appeared to electrify Mariuccia. -"But what are you telling me?" she cried. "Is it true?" - -"Of course it is true," he asseverated; "a Cestaldini, the daughter of -the old prince who died in his palace at Castel Gandolfo just after -Stefano got his leg broken riding the bad mule. Don't you remember, -the church was hung with black for a month? And you snipped off a -piece of the stuff to dress a doll like a 'seminarista' to tease me -with, because I wanted to be a priest? Why, you belong to her father's -people--she must help you. Go to the Princess at once." - -"Of course she would help me," Mariuccia replied rather sadly, "if -I could ever get to speak to her. But that is impossible, quite -impossible! I should have to ask the porter to ask the lady's maid to -ask Signora Dati, the Princess's companion, to ask the Excellency--and -the message would never reach Signora Dati. Those familiars have no -hearts. We must think of something else." - -"Leave it to me to be done," Fra Tommaso said; "I will see about it." - -It was Mariuccia's turn to be curious. "But how?" she asked. "Would it -not be as hard for you as for me to speak with the Excellency?" - -"No," he replied; "she comes every morning to the seven o'clock Mass, -and I could speak to her quite easily. But I have a better way. Behold, -is not our Cardinal her brother? And has he not always been for me -of a goodness, of a condescension? Always a kind word or a little -joke when he sees me. 'How does it go, Tommaso? Have you worn out any -more bell ropes with that Herculean ringing?' (Hercules was the first -sacristan of St. Peters, you know, Sora Mariuccia, and was so strong -that he could ring the big bell with his hands.) Or else he says, 'You -are looking thin, my son. You should eat some of your fat pigeons.' -Ah, what an egregious ecclesiastic, what a man of learning, and yet -so simple! To him I will relate these facts, and he will say to his -sister, 'What is this? I learn that you have Botti's Mariuccia in your -house and you have never sent for her to let her kiss your hand? But -this is great neglect! What would our papa of good memory have said at -your thus overlooking one of his people? Let it be remedied at once!'" - -Mariuccia clasped her hands, "Fra Tommaso mio," she wailed, "I should -die of fright if I had to pass all those famigliari in the sala and go -into those fine rooms--and in these old clothes! If I were at home I -could wear the costume--but here! No, since you are so condescending, -so kind, do this. Tell that good Eminenza all about Giannella and how -I am astrologizing my head already to feed and clothe her--for the -padrone will not give her so much as a crumb from his table--and get -him to ask the Princess to send her to school. That indeed would be -an action of the greatest merit and the Madonna will accompany you -wherever you go!" - - - - -CHAPTER V - - -A few days later Fra Tommaso found an opportunity of laying Mariuccia's -case before the Cardinal. The latter usually paid a short visit to the -church in the late afternoon, on his return from the drive which was -as much a part of his daily life as the reading of his breviary. His -Mass was always said in his private chapel, but he found in the large, -quiet church greater space of detachment, an atmosphere rich with the -devotion of centuries, and an impersonal companionship very sympathetic -to him in the chapels and monuments which had been the silent witnesses -of his silent spirit's growth. It was but a few steps from the church -to his own door, and the constant presence of his chaplain and servants -on all other occasions made the short solitary walk a pleasure in -itself. - -Fra Tommaso ventured to ask him to come into the dark home of bell -ropes and candlesticks and there with many apologies for obtruding -such common affairs on his noble attention, explained poor Mariuccia's -perplexities and besought the Eminenza's intervention with his -illustrious and charitable sister. - -The Cardinal listened to him with much attention, disentangled the real -facts from the picturesque accompaniments of explanation and gesture -in which the sacristan involved them at every turn. When Fra Tommaso -mentioned Professor Bianchi, the prelate nodded his head, saying, "Ah, -the Signor Professore is known to me. He is a man much respected, -also very much occupied. Doubtless he has not had time to think about -the little girl. He is not rich, and it is not to be expected that he -should bear the charges of her education. I will speak to the Princess -and see what can be done." - -Fra Tommaso broke out into expressions of devout gratitude, and the -Cardinal smiled on him and slipped away. He had a strong feeling of -kindness for the cheerful, humble servant of the Fathers, a feeling -which, years ago, had been one of acute pity for a brokenhearted boy -who had nourished high hopes of entering the Church--open to peasant -as to prince if God have bestowed on him the needful gifts--and who -had found it impossible to assimilate the required learning. All -other requisites of the true vocation were there, singleness of -heart, deep humility, fervor and faith. But some congenital defect of -brain, unperceived until the intellect attempted to grapple with the -difficulties of Latin and theology, barred the way for Tommaso. When -this was so apparent that his patient instructors were obliged to give -their unfavorable verdict, the shock had almost overcome his reason and -his faith. Paolo Cestaldini, then a young priest just ordained, had -rescued both. He had kept the boy near him for some time, and had only -let him go when he saw that resignation had done its work, when he had -enabled Tommaso to realize that the glory of God required service of -many grades, and that all the virtues of a religious vocation can be -as well acquired, preserved, and practised, in the humblest as in the -most illustrious of these. - -The result of the conversation under the bell tower was a visit from -good Signora Dati, the humble but devoted companion of the Princess -and the chief intermediary of her many charities, to Mariuccia, who -was quite overcome by such an honor. The Princess had two excellent -qualities of the administrator; she spared no trouble and lost no time -in learning all that could be learned about a case presented for her -consideration; and then she took proper time to decide on her course of -action. The immense ramifications of charities in Rome provided answers -to almost all the problems connected with the relief of suffering and -poverty. The first step was to catalogue the applicant's needs. So -Signora Dati was commissioned to find out to what class of society the -golden-haired waif on the other side of the courtyard belonged, and -also to learn whatever she could of the morals of her defunct parents. -The Princess was convinced that heredity played a great part in the -drama of development and should be suppressed or fostered according to -its character. - -The Professor was absent when Mariuccia's visitor climbed the long -stairs and rang at the green door. She was a thin, pale little lady, -with the eyes of a saint and the mouth of a judge. Her costume gave -almost the impression of a conventual habit, with its full black -skirt and silk shoulder cape and black lace head covering. This last -indicated with delicate precision the exact rank of the wearer, an -educated and refined dependent, placed half way between the woman of -rank, who could wear a bonnet, and the woman of the people, who must go -bare-headed if she would preserve her reputation. - -Signora Dati had become an expert in charity. It was impossible -to deceive her as to character and veracity. After half-an-hour's -conversation with Mariuccia--conversation during which the latter stood -respectfully at a little distance from her interlocutor's chair and -gave her story with admirable directness, uncomplicated with legends -about Giannella's relations, and with a complete unconsciousness of -any merit on her own part--Signora Dati was satisfied on all the -points which she had come to investigate. Giannella's parents had been -respectable if unfortunate people; they had been duly married; there -was apparently no taint of crime or disease to descend to their child. -Only one thing more remained to be ascertained--what kind of training -in bearing and manners had this good but uneducated woman and her -family been able to give the child? - -"And now I would like to see the little girl," she said; "will you call -her in?" - -Mariuccia stamped away into the kitchen and returned, pushing Giannella -into the room before her. The child stood still for an instant looking -at the visitor. Then she came forward, raised Signora Dati's hand to -her fresh young lips, kissed it, and stepped back, looking the lady -full in the face with her innocent gray eyes, waiting to be spoken -to. The commissioner of charities, whose visit had purposely been -unannounced, returned the glance, taking in the smoothly braided hair, -the round cheeks and clean dimpled hands, the nicely ironed frock and -pinafore, the spotless stockings and strong strap shoes. An immense -respect for Mariuccia rose in her heart. What it must have cost the -woman to keep the child like this--on four scudi a month! It was -heroism--nothing less. And the manners were perfect; that, however, -was not so surprising, seeing that all Giannella's life had been spent -among the rigidly self-respecting inhabitants of the castelli. It was -only in large towns that the poorer classes had become insubordinate -and vulgar. - -After a few questions and answers, Signora Dati rose to go. Mariuccia -accompanied her to the door, and there, Giannella having been sent back -to the kitchen, she said that the Princess would consider the question -of the child's education and would communicate with her as soon as it -had been decided upon. Meanwhile it would be well to preserve silence -on the matter, as her Excellency did not care to have her charities -noised abroad. - -When Mariuccia went back to her interrupted task of preparing the -padrone's dinner, Giannella was standing at the window watching a flock -of pigeons hovering over a small terrace on the roof of the opposite -building. It was on a higher level than the Bianchi apartment, and -the parapet shut out any view of what might lie behind it, but the -parapet itself was gay with flowers; the deep red carnations that the -Romans love hung far over the edge, swaying in the sun and breeze; a -little lemon-tree in a green box held up its pale golden fruit among -shining leaves; the pigeons whirred about as if in great excitement, -while every now and then a dark masculine head bobbed up for a moment -above the line of red bricks, and then disappeared again. Giannella had -forgotten all about the visitor who had come to decide her fate, and -was completely absorbed in the brightness and movement across the way. - -Mariuccia came behind her and laid a hand on her shoulder, leaning -out to see what so interested the child. Then she smiled, and said, -half to herself, "That poor Fra Tommaso! He is at it again, feeding -his birds and talking to them as if they were Christians. Shall I tell -you something, Giannella? When I took you out to Castel Gandolfo--and -you were no longer than that--(she measured half-a-yard on her arm) -and as fat as a little calf--I brought back two pigeons in a cage for -Fra Tommaso, thinking he would cook and eat them. Figure to yourself -piccolina, that he made a little house for them up there on his loggia, -and fed them with Indian corn, and now behold, a family! They are his -children, those fowls, and he takes as much care of them as I do of -you." - -"I would like to go up and see them, and get some of the garofoli," -Giannella replied wistfully. "Zia Mariuccia, do take me up to Fra -Tommaso's loggia." - -"What an idea!" Mariuccia exclaimed. "Why, no woman has ever entered -that house. It is strict clausura. Only men can go in--the Fathers and -their pupils live there. They do not want to see little girls!" - -"Are they like the Signor Professore then?" Giannella asked, looking -across at the tall conventual building with a shiver of fear. "Is the -Signor Professore a padre too?" - -"No," said Mariuccia, looking down at the child in amusement. Then -she added impressively, "He is a most learned gentleman, and for that -reason dislikes noise and disturbance. He was very angry when you -knocked over the chair yesterday. You must be more careful, Giannella." - -To Mariuccia's amazement the child flung herself against her and broke -out into wild entreaty. "Zia Mariuccia, do please take me back to Mamma -Candida! It makes me so sad to be so quiet all the time. Mamma Candida -never scolded about the noise unless there was quarreling--and I want -Annetta and Richetto and the dog and the pigs and the donkey--so much! -Oh, do take me back!" Her little mouth was quivering with earnestness -and her eyes were brimming with tears which she kept back bravely. The -loneliness and confinement of the dull apartment, the terror of the -padrone, and Mariuccia's silent, undemonstrative ways, were becoming -more than the child could bear. Her heart was breaking for the cheery, -populous house in the olive orchard, where something was always -happening, where out-of-doors freedom and a tribe of children and -animals provided playground and playmates day in, day out. - -Her cry brought pain to the staunch heart of the woman. She had -not realized that the child could be unhappy while she herself was -straining every nerve to assure her welfare. Then, with a sigh, she -accepted the fact. Of course it was dull and sad for the little thing -here. Who was she, old Mariuccia, to take the place of busy, smiling -Candida, of the laughing, chattering boys and girls who had been as -brothers and sisters to Giannella? She remembered that even as a -grown woman, a confirmed spinster of twenty, she had wept some bitter -tears when she realized that she had left her "paese," with all its -friendliness and freedom, to live shut up in narrow rooms in the city -among strangers. So she sat down and took Giannella on her knee and -spoke with unusual gentleness. - -"Listen, cocca mia. It is not possible to take you back to Mamma -Candida any more, to stay, though if you are good you shall go to see -her some day. You know you are a signorina, and your poor papa of good -memory would not have wished you to be brought up as a contadina. The -good God has caused each one to be born in the position where he can -best save his soul. Annetta and Richetto and the others must work among -the olives and the grapes, and take care of the animals--that is their -destiny, and they will be happy, but it is not yours. You must go to -school and learn to read and write, and keep your hands clean for fine -embroidery and other things that ladies may work at. And I think soon -you will go to a beautiful school where there are most instructed nuns -who will teach you all this, and also many other children of your own -age with whom you can play and study. Thus you will be happy, and -by-and-by--" - -"Yes, by-and-by? Oh, please go on!" Giannella exclaimed, her eyes -shining at the prospect suddenly unfolded to her. - -Mariuccia looked up at the blue Roman sky, so near and kind in the -clearness of noonday. Yes, by-and-by? What possible future lay before -the forsaken child for whom she was so obstinately preserving the -privileges of gentle birth? "By-and-by? Hé Giannella, I must not tell -you everything at once. Arciprete!" as the midday gun boomed its signal -from Sant' Angelo and every bell in the city began to ring. "Run and -lay the cloth for the padrone while I get the soup and the bollito off -the fire. Poveretta me, the soup is like water. But if that blessed man -will only let me buy half-a-pound of meat for it, what am I to do? To -think that a man of his instruction can stay hungry with his pockets -full of money. What a vice is avarice! Libera nos Domine!" - -Mariuccia need really not have prayed against that temptation, -though she had often gone hungry of late when there were still a -few coppers in the corner of her handkerchief. La Giannella had a -fine appetite--and at that age who could have let the child remain -unsatisfied? - -Another week passed, and when Signora Dati came to say that on the -following day Mariuccia was to bring Giannella to kiss the hand of the -Princess, after which she herself would conduct her to a convent of -Sisters of Charity on the other side of the river, where the little -girl would be received as a boarder, and would have every benefit of -education, as well as fine air. The convent, she explained, was really -a villa, and the Sisters the kindest and best of instructors. Mariuccia -was too overjoyed to speak, until she remembered that for such a school -a certain outfit would be necessary; but Signora Dati informed her that -the Excellency, out of her great kindness of heart, had provided for -this, and that Mariuccia must repay her in prayers for her intentions, -and Giannella, the chief beneficiary, by the same, coupled with model -conduct and great application to her studies. They were to come to the -Princess's apartment at ten o'clock punctually. - -So the next morning Mariuccia, leading Giannella by the hand, was -met by Signora Dati and conducted through a long series of somberly -gorgeous rooms, such as she had never entered in her life, and finally -ushered into the presence of her illustrious patroness. The Princess -was still a comparatively young woman, tall and graceful, with a -calm, thoughtful face, on which her responsibilities had impressed -something like austerity. The weight of her guardianship to Onorato, -heir to the great Santafede estates, had come upon her so early as to -tinge her incompletely developed character with melancholy, loyally -combated by religious principle, it is true, yet potent enough to make -her a somewhat exigent and depressing parent for her light-hearted -son. Naturally inclined to piety, she had come to feel that only by -multiplying good works, by denying herself many little pleasures and -luxuries in order to respond to every genuine appeal, could she obtain -from Heaven the treasure she coveted, sanctification for her son's -soul, happiness and prosperity for his material life. She was even now -trying to light on the right wife for him, having already reached the -point of overstrained conscientiousness which unconsciously treats -Providence as the weaker party to an alliance, a party who will not -move a step without powerful co-operation. All this was a little -morbid, and might in the end endanger both her own happiness and that -of Onorato, but meanwhile was an active agent for good in the affairs -of obscure and oppressed people, notably, at this moment, those of -Giannella Brockmann and her one friend, Mariuccia Botti. - -Giannella was big-eyed with awe when she was led to where the Princess -was sitting at a writing-table covered with account-books and works of -devotion. On entering the dim and splendid rooms the child had felt -inclined to make the sign of the cross and go down on her knees; the -space and silence and crimson hangings seemed necessarily to belong to -a church. The Princess looked at her without speaking for a moment. -Giannella was so pretty, so wholesome and sweet in appearance, that -Teresa Santafede experienced a passing regret that she had been denied -a little daughter to brighten her lonely life. But this weakly human -sentiment was at once suppressed, and when Giannella had kissed her -hand the Princess made her a stereotyped speech on the moral advantages -she was about to enjoy and the obligation to make the most of them by -obedience and zeal. Giannella did not understand more than half of it, -but she felt that something very important was happening, and when the -Excellency gave her a rosary of white beads, with a very bright silver -medal, her eyes danced with pleasure. This wonderful lady seemed as -kind as the Madonna and as rich as the Befana, the beneficent witch who -walks over the roofs at Epiphany and brings presents to good children. - -Then Mariuccia was allowed to express her thanks, which she did very -eloquently, and without any shyness at all, feeling more at home in -the presence of a Cestaldini, one of the rulers of her clan, than she -had ever felt since she left the fortress of all her traditions in the -hills. The Princess asked one or two questions which showed that she -remembered the family; the hand-kissing was repeated; Signora Dati -received some murmured instructions, and the audience was over. Five -minutes later Mariuccia stood under the porte cochère and watched -Giannella being put into the closed carriage by Signora Dati. There -was a glimpse of the round little face and the golden hair behind the -glass, the carriage rumbled out, and Mariuccia turned to climb the -four flights of stairs to the Professor's apartment. There she applied -herself rather vindictively to her work, wondering why the granting of -her dearest wish should result in making her feel so cross and lonely. - -It was not until three weeks later that Signor Bianchi discovered -Giannella's absence. He could not find a certain copy of _The -Archæological Review_ and called Mariuccia to look for it, remarking -with asperity, "That is what comes of having a child running about the -house. You will have to send the little nuisance away if this happens -again. Of course she has taken it." - -"Signor Professore," said Mariuccia, facing him with square shoulders -and a terrific frown, "it is you who are a child. But no, an infant -in arms has eyes and ears--you, man of a thousand learnings, are -becoming blind and deaf. Giannella left the house three weeks ago. -The 'lustrissima Principessa has sent her to a fine school--and may -every benediction be hers for her charity. You say the coffee is like -water. Mamma mia, I had to put the last of my own into it to give it -a color at all. Yours was finished yesterday, and you would not give -me the money to buy any more. Now then, here is your purse--in the -pocket of your paletot--I must have two pauls at once, or you will get -no supper to-night. Come, padroncino, be good. You frighten me--you -consume before my eyes. There, I bring you cheese and dried figs. They -have cost you nothing--my brother sent them--eat, and I will find your -blessed paper for you." - -Giannella was gone; the brief enchanting reign of her sunny little -presence in the dingy apartment was over; and Mariuccia's other child, -the owlish old young man who did not know how to take care of himself, -was once more received into grace. She had to mother something. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - - -In the sun-flooded gardens and airy rooms of the convent across the -river nine radiant years of Giannella's childhood and girlhood slipped -happily away. The round of lessons and play, the cycle of workdays and -feastdays brought constant interest and variety, and the companionship -of children of her own age, passing from class to class with her in -the emulation which involved no rivalry or contention, satisfied -all the wants of her heart. The nuns were as kind as Mamma Candida, -though they inspired a profound respect and an unquestioning awe for -their ever-just rulings. There were pets to care for, flowers to -tend, beautiful little shrines to decorate them with if one had been -very good. All this was consciously enjoyed; less understood, but of -lasting importance was the religious training which gathered the little -comrades into companies first under the white badge of the Guardian -Angels--this for the youngest of all; then, at the time of First -Communion, under the green one of St. Joseph; and finally, when the -hour was approaching for grown girls to return to their homes in the -world and take up the whole duty of women, hung round their necks the -coveted blue ribbon and silver medal which marked their worthiness to -be enrolled among the "Enfants de Marie." These influences gave a deep -stability to Giannella's healthy normal character, and laid in her -heart the foundations of peace and right-thinking for which she was to -be deeply thankful later on. - -Once or twice in the year Mariuccia was allowed to come early in the -morning and take Giannella home for a day, bringing her back before Ave -Marie; and whenever it was possible she made time to go to the convent, -bearing some humble offering of fruits and cakes from the castello for -the "Suore," and satisfy herself that the child was well and happy. -The Princess came at stated periods, notably at the great Feasts, -when prizes were distributed and wonderful little plays representing -religious allegories were got up and acted--with what throbbing -excitement--by the best and whitest lambs in the flock, those who had -had no bad marks since the last great event of the kind. Since virtue, -and not dramatic talent, was the test of proficiency, the good nuns -had to work hard over these entertainments, but the result was always -satisfactory to them and their troupe, and was believed to afford the -highest artistic pleasure to the noble patronesses, of whom Princess -Santafede was the most distinguished. - -The Sisters kept open school for all the poorer children of the -quarter, but this part of their establishment was divided from that -devoted to the boarders by a twenty-foot wall, and no taint of the -streets was ever wafted across that impassable barrier. Within the -charmed circle, the girls, all of the better middle class, were as -jealously guarded, as well taught, and fed, and housed, as Teresa -Santafede herself had been in the aristocratic seclusion of her own -convent school, where only the daughters of nobles were received. The -one difference was that at Santa Eulalia less time was given to books -and more to fine needlework and embroidery, the only accomplishments -by which in those prehistoric days a refined woman in moderate -circumstances could earn a living. There were no lay schools for girls, -so there were no openings for teachers except as unpaid assistants to -the nuns, who employed some half dozen of their old pupils, homeless -orphans like Giannella, to help with the younger children. The Superior -confided to the Princess that she would gladly keep Giannella in that -capacity, her exquisite needlework and talent for design making her a -valuable help in the embroidery department. But the Princess replied -that the girl had received special training in these subjects because -there was a person--the woman who occasionally came to see her--who -had made great sacrifices on her behalf and for whom she could now, at -sixteen, do something in return. She could earn money at home; there -seemed to be no difficulty about her residing with Mariuccia Botti -under Signor Bianchi's roof--and work could always be obtained for her -there. - -It was with great regret that Giannella left this, her second home, -to return to the Professor's apartment in the Palazzo Santafede. Yet -she was glad that the moment had come when she could begin to repay -the untiring goodness which had saved her from the hard and lonely -fate of the forsaken child and procured for her the education which -in time would enable her to earn her living in retirement and peace. -No anxieties for the future whispered trouble to her heart. Mariuccia -would be ever at her side; and in the background was the beneficent -Princess, always accessible through kind Signora Dati, promising that -materials and sales should not fail for the beautiful work which -the girl really loved. So, after tearful partings with teachers and -companions, Giannella was fetched home, her little box full of naïf -farewell presents of pictures of Saints, tiny pincushions, muslin bags -stuffed with "gagia" blossoms and verbena leaves which would keep -their sweet scent for twenty years to come--artificial flowers and -embroidered handkerchiefs--all her inestimably precious, and quite -valueless, earthly possessions. - -Mariuccia told her to bestow these in a small empty room beyond the -kitchen, where she could set up her embroidery frame close to the big -window which looked more to the sky than to the street, and where she -could keep her delicate work free from all danger of dust or accident. -As for sleeping alone, that was out of the question. Giannella had -never tried it in her life and was sure she should never close an eye, -accustomed as she was to the big dormitory with its rows of white beds -and the curtained sanctuary in the corner, where the guardian nun was -supposed to lie awake saying her prayers all night, listening for -the first sound of whispering or larking, to issue forth with dire -retribution for the offenders. Mariuccia had made full preparation for -her Giannella in her own room, a windowless apartment on the dark -side of the passage. In it had stood for years a spindle-legged green -bed of impaired constitution, replaced, with much grumbling from the -padrone, by a stronger one when Mariuccia's wooden weight had three -separate times broken through it with a thump on the bricks in the dead -of night, causing the Professor to start from his slumbers in such a -fright that his nurse and guardian had to administer a sedative and -keep him on soup for two days to restore his nerves. The green wreck -was to have been sold at once, but just then a thrilling discovery of -new antiquities in the Foro Romano came to carry Signor Bianchi's mind -beyond the confines of personal subjects, and he had been guilty of the -frantic extravagance of forgetting to sell the bed. Mariuccia pushed it -into a corner behind the door, and had coaxed the carpenter retainer, -who had his workshop in a far recess of the colonnade, and who was -forever engaged in repairing some of the hundreds of doors and windows -in the vast building, to set the wreck safely on its legs again. One of -her own two mattresses was stuffed with fresh cornhusks smelling of the -country and brought by the carrettiere ally, and behold a nice white -couch, quite fit for a "signorina" like Mariuccia's Giannella. - -This time no permission was asked of Carlo Bianchi for her reception; -the chains of servitude had changed places in the many years of -Mariuccia's abode under his roof and were now firmly riveted on the -unconscious man, who grumbled freely when things annoyed him, but was -too much afraid of losing his economical housekeeper ever to really -quarrel with that grim but faithful domestic tyrant. - -So he only nodded in acquiescence when she told him that Giannella had -come home--to stay. Giannella herself appeared a moment later, intent -upon making her courtesy, inquiring after his respectable health, -and thanking him for the permission to remain in his house. The fine -gradations of social conditions had been carefully taught her by the -nuns. Since she had neither father nor uncles, there was no occasion -for her ever to kiss the hand of any gentleman, unless he were an -ecclesiastic. Otherwise this honor was to be paid only to women, her -superiors either in rank, like the Princess and the other patronesses -of the convent, or in age and virtue, like her teachers, Signora Dati, -and above all the good Sora Mariuccia, who had done so much for her. -How much, the Sisters did not quite know, but Giannella did. Signora -Dati had considered it right to make her understand the obligations -under which she lay to the unlettered, silent peasant woman who would -never refer to them herself; and Giannella, though still remembering -"Mamma Candida" with warmer affection, meant to love and cherish "Zia -Mariuccia" (as she had learned to call her when among the latter's real -nephews and nieces) all her life. But Mariuccia recoiled in horror when -Giannella attempted to kiss her hand. A young lady--the daughter of her -poor master of good memory? Dove mia? No indeed. Nor was she to call -her "Aunt" any longer, now that she was grown up. People must never be -led to believe that any relationship existed between the "signorina" -and her humble self. She was already busy with Giannella's future and -had decided that some splendidly disinterested young man, of much -"educazione" and large fortune--fifty thousand scudi at least--was to -ask her in marriage at the proper time, which apparently came later for -persons of her class than for the country folk, who reckoned sixteen -the correct age for taking a husband and twenty the end of all chances -in that direction. - -It was with real pride that she watched Giannella's dignified little -greeting to the Professor and marked the expression of bewilderment -which came over his features as he turned and saw the new inmate of his -family standing in the doorway of the study. He failed for the moment -to connect the apparition with the child who had so incensed him by -knocking down chairs nine years before. That criminal had been effaced -from his memory for a long time, but was slowly recalled as he gazed -at the graceful girl whose deep gray eyes were full of intelligent -recollection of him. She had grown tall and straight, her features were -delicately aquiline, giving an impression of maturity in spite of the -dimple at the corner of her grave, fresh mouth; her faintly rosy skin -was translucent with health and vitality, and her hair was still of -the pure baby gold which had so delighted the hearts of Mariuccia and -Candida in the old days. Now it framed in her pretty face in broad, -shining braids hanging low before the ears, after the fashion of the -day, and gathered into coils at the back. The convent uniform had been -laid aside and Giannella was feeling strangely grand in the dark blue -dress (touching the ground at last) which she had made for herself, -under the direction of the nuns, for her first entrance into the great -world. Many earnest warnings against that world's distractions and -dissipations had accompanied the making of the dangerously secular -garment, in reality so rigid in its simplicity that but for the -finely embroidered collar and undersleeves it might have passed for a -modification of a religious habit. The kind nuns had sighed in secret -over Giannella's hair, the crown of glory which must attract attention -in church and street. "Poverina, she is too pretty. That hair is only -fit for a Saint in a picture," they would tell each other, "and the -world is not the place for it. But there, Our Lady will protect her, -and she has good, pious friends, thank Heaven." - -The Professor, who was a gentleman, for all his abstracted ways, rose -from his chair and bowed to the charming vision, saying something -which was meant to be extremely polite. The vision courtesied again -and disappeared; Mariuccia followed, closing the door behind her with -a joyful snap; and Carlo Bianchi went back to his book, but for at -least five minutes did not understand a word of the treatise on African -marbles which had so enthralled him earlier. Who was this girl? Where -had she come from? What on earth was she doing in his house, in his -kitchen, as the companion of that tough old war-horse, Mariuccia from -the Castel? He tried to piece together the few facts which Mariuccia -had told him about her in the dim past. None of them quite accounted -for her as he had beheld her just now, and at last he gave the question -up, deciding that "Giannella" (that seemed to be her only name) was a -problem which he would waste valuable time in trying to solve. - -And the Professor, who knew less about her than anyone else, had -catalogued Giannella rightly. She was a problem. What future lay before -her when she should have read through the odd dozen of gaudily bound -prize books that she had brought back from the convent, when she should -have exhausted the delights of embroidering Church vestments and bridal -trousseaux, the persons most interested in her welfare, with the one -exception of Mariuccia, who, loving much, believed all things, would -have found it hard to say. After all, that was scarcely their affair. -If her fresh youth was destined to burn itself out over the embroidery -frame in the bare little room beyond the kitchen, and her bright eyes -to grow dim over invisible stitches in gossamer cambric--well, that was -destiny's business. They had done what they could. - -Giannella herself was not concerned with her future, but she soon came -to realize that the present was anything but cheering. The silent -house, the confined life, the absence of young companionship, all -struck as coldly at her heart now as it had nine years before when -she had flung herself into Mariuccia's arms and entreated to be taken -back to Mamma Candida and the pigs and the donkey. After the breezy, -healthy existence at the convent, lighted by a thousand interests and -shared by numberless bosom friends with whom she had grown up, it -was torturing to sit for hours over the work which had been made so -pleasant by talk and variety over there at Santa Eulalia, to have only -Mariuccia, ever kind but so unresponsive, as a companion; to see the -sunshine through her window and watch the cloudlets chasing across the -blue in the breeze, and know that she was a prisoner except for a short -walk with Mariuccia in the morning, first to Mass at San Severino and -then to the near shops where they did their marketing. Even when work -was to be returned to Signora Dati and materials for more brought back, -Mariuccia must accompany her, for no girl of her age could cross the -threshold of her home alone, much less run the gauntlet of the grooms -hanging round the stables and the posse of footmen in the Princess's -antechamber. How different from the liberty she had enjoyed in the -sunswept gardens of the school beyond the river. But the teachings -received there, and a certain strain of courage and hardihood derived -from her northern ancestry, helped her to shake off her growing -depression and show a cheerful face to life, whatever privations it -might choose to bring. - -The periodical visits to Signora Dati in the great apartment on the -other side of the courtyard became a distinct interest and pleasure. -They gave her a glimpse into a large, majestic mode of life which had -its own romance; and though "romance" was a word Giannella had scarcely -heard, its glamor warmed and lighted her imagination and brought her -much wordless consolation; for romance is the very sap of the tree of -youth and finds its own sustenance without external help or guidance. -Since Don Onorato had really grown up a certain element of color and -change had crept into the over-ascetic atmosphere of his mother's -surroundings. Her brother, the Cardinal, had done much to effect this, -both openly, by representing that the lad should find brightness and -sympathy with his young tastes in his home, and also more subtly, by -bringing fresh books, travels, essays, even good novels, always with -the plea that they might amuse Onorato and keep him from wasting his -time on inferior literature. As the Princess still felt it her duty to -read anything she recommended to her son, the Cardinal's contributions -helped her to pass many pleasant hours and also to enlarge her views -in many directions. When, according to her custom, she visited -Onorato's rooms to see that all was right there, she would carry -off any suspicious-looking volume and leave something better in its -place, and though Onorato was a grown man by this time, his awe of her -prevented his ever protesting against these exchanges. As time went on -he learned to put away the attractively scandalous French novels which -were occasionally smuggled into the city in spite of the tyrannical -censorship which examined every atom of print that was put into the -post or set in circulation, ruthlessly burned all immoral works -or indecent pictures, and aroused the anger of freeborn foreigners -by cutting out of the newspapers all scandalous or revolutionary -items. Sad days of bigotry and darkness, when evil was stamped out as -thoroughly as organization and power would permit--when any woman, -from a foreign peeress to a dancer at the opera, was sent across the -frontier the moment her behavior overstepped the bounds of propriety. -If well-brought-up young men went wrong, they had at least to take some -trouble to accomplish it. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - - -It was ten o'clock in the morning and Giannella was waiting alone -in the second anteroom for the advent of Signora Dati. Mariuccia, -after also waiting a little, had left her, saying she would return in -half-an-hour to fetch her; meanwhile there was work to do at home, -and she was loth to waste any more time. At the end of a few months -of her new life, waiting had become a familiar trial to Giannella. -She often had to sit for a couple of hours in Signora Dati's room -while the Princess's lieutenant interviewed the numberless clients and -employees of the family, attended to the commands of the Excellency, -inspected the mountains of linen in the "guarda roba," and kept an eye -on the maids, all of whom were under her supervision and kept entirely -apart, in employment, housing, and feeding, from the men-servants, -for whom Ferretti, the maestro di casa, was alone responsible. When -Signora Dati knew that some time must elapse before she could speak -to Giannella, the latter was brought at once to her room, there to -occupy herself as best she might until her turn came. When the moment -at last arrived the pale little lady would glide in, sink into a chair -with a half-suppressed sigh of intense fatigue, and then throw herself -gallantly into the matter in hand with as much energy as if it had been -the first task of her day. Each question that came up was gone into -thoroughly--whether the passion-flowers on the violet chasuble should -be picked out with crystal or amethyst beads; whether the web of beauty -which was to be the wedding handkerchief of Donna Laura Bracciano, the -Princess's niece, should have square or rounded corners; whether the -coarse but ample layettes piled up in the left-hand cupboard, for the -Foundling Hospital had better be counted over once again to make sure -that each was complete? In all these handiworks Giannella was employed -as best suited the needs of the moment, and nothing connected with them -seemed too infinitesimal for Signora Dati's profound consideration. -Giannella, who took her instructions day after day, conceived a deep -admiration for the character of the dignified but self-effacing -subordinate, who was often white to the lips with weariness but -who never neglected one of the thousand minutiæ of her overlapping -responsibilities. - -On this particular morning a treat was in store for Giannella. After -Mariuccia's departure word had come that Signora Dati was obliged -to go out and would take the "ricamatrice" (embroideress) with her. -She would join her in the sala in a few minutes. After receiving the -message Giannella sat tingling with pleasant excitement at the prospect -before her and ready to jump up the moment Signora Dati should appear. -The door opened suddenly and she ran forward with a smile of greeting, -ran almost into the arms of a young man who seemed to be choking with -laughter--Onorato, fresh from a long maternal lecture on the sin and -folly of owning too many expensive horses. He stopped half way and just -saved Giannella, crimson and rooted to the spot with embarrassment, -from impact with his singularly radiant waistcoat. She knew at once who -he was; only the son of the house would venture to race through it in -that fashion. But he, surprised for once out of his manners, stared at -her, took in the charming face with its arrested smile, appraised the -Etruscan gold of the hair under its light lace covering, found time -to wonder who the girl was and why she had seemed so pleased and then -so distressed at seeing him; then, with a word of apology, he passed -out of the room, much more sedately than he had entered it. Giannella, -conscious of having made an unpardonable mistake in thus thrusting -herself into his path, sank back into her seat, pale and trembling. -What would Signora Dati say? - -Signora Dati, coming upon the scene a moment later, and receiving -Giannella's almost tearful apology for her stupidity, smiled away her -anxieties at once. The Prince would not be offended--oh dear no. He -was most amiable and simple; it might have happened to anybody; it -was his fault, not Giannella's. He always rushed about the house in a -hurry, knocking things down sometimes as he dashed through the rooms. -He was still such a boy! Signora Dati smiled with the incorrigible -indulgence of middle-aged spinsterhood for impetuous young masculinity. -Yes, Giannella might set her mind at rest, the Prince would certainly -have forgotten all about her before he was half way down the stairs. -Had she brought the patterns with her? Here they were at Massoni's, -and now for the white velvet for Donna Laura's wedding dress. Oh, -Giannella would have to treat the material like melting sugar when -she embroidered it. A breath, a speck of dust--and irretrievable ruin -would follow. Yes, please Sora Luisa, her Excellency had selected the -pattern, and now it must be seen in the piece, in a good light. - -The magnificent material was reverently unrolled and spread out in -snowy, sumptuous billows in the sunshine. Signora Dati examined it -with the gravity of the expert, and Giannella stood by, trying to find -the answer to the first disquieting question that had ever presented -itself to her mind. What mysterious ruling caused one girl to be born -Donna Laura Bracciano, clothed her in robes beautiful enough for an -angel, bestowed upon her at seventeen the dignity of espousing a young -man as fortunate as herself, amid the rejoicings and congratulations -of hundreds of friends--and decided that Giannella Brockmann, without -a relation of her own in the world, was to be a dependent on charity, -working in a lonely room for ten hours a day to pay charity's account? -There was no rebellion in her thoughts as she meditated on the problem, -only wonder, and a strange new sense of bereavement--the unconscious -hunger for something young and sweet to love and laugh with, the -reaching out of the plant in the shade to its comrades tossing their -heads in the sun. - -The encounter with Don Onorato, the light-hearted heir to accumulated -honors and wealth, the catching mirth that seemed bubbling over in his -laugh, in his bright face, had shaken her peace in some way, had, as -it were, blown aside the gray veil which closed in her own existence, -and shown her in a flash all that lay outside of it--for others. And -now the pictured vision of the radiant bride on whose finery she must -work till her back ached and her eyes smarted, had driven home the -sense of privation like a sword. The keenest pain of it all lay in the -fact that the few denizens of her tiny world took her fate as a settled -question, a matter of course, and considered that she ought to be -enthusiastically grateful for it. Ah, she was grateful, yes indeed, she -appreciated all that had been done for her by kind human beings; but if -they, on whom she had no claim, were so good and generous, could not -the Giver of all good things have been a little open-handed too? It all -seemed strange and sad, and Divine love just a little less loving than -she had been taught to believe. - -During the next two or three weeks Giannella had several glimpses -of Onorato Santafede. Once she and Mariuccia met him on the great -staircase; twice he burst into Signora Dati's room when she was sitting -there receiving instructions about the design of orange blossoms and -roses to be embroidered in silver on the grand white velvet dress. -Signora Dati smiled at the young gentleman, attended to his imperious -commands about some silk handkerchiefs which he declared had been -vilely mishandled by the laundrymaids, and seemed totally unconscious -that the true object of his visit was to have another look at the -young embroideress, who stood silently aside and never opened her -lips during his laughing colloquy with the domestic oracle of the -household. No nascent romance had caught him in its web; Onorato -was as free from romance as most young Romans of his class, which, -whatever its failings, has rarely loved out of its sphere and in which -a _mésalliance_ is practically a thing unknown. But he frankly admired -beauty, and enjoyed looking at Giannella as he would have enjoyed -contemplating a charming and rather strange picture. He had discovered -that she was the official embroideress for the family, that she was -often in the house, and he saw no reason for not taking advantage -of the facts to pass a pleasant moment or two in her presence. The -instant he entered the room, Giannella seemed relegated to Limbo by its -mistress. She simply did not exist until Onorato had departed. And he -was in the habit of lingering there sometimes, for it was the room to -which he had been accustomed to come all his life, first with childish -joys and sorrows, afterwards with his little fastidiousnesses about -wardrobe and service; and often, since he was a kind-hearted young -autocrat, to cheer up "that victim of piety and recluse of duty," as he -called Signora Dati, with some bit of fun and mischief. - -But the perspicacious little lady, while smiling at his extravagances, -noted that his eyes rested long on the golden head and half-averted -face near the window, and she decided that under no circumstances -must he find Giannella there again. Who could tell what evil snare the -devil (whose frantic machinations Signora Dati saw in every departure -from the established order of things) might not weave around two young -people who saw each other continually, even if no word passed between -them? She would say nothing to the Princess, but in future Giannella -should only come when she was sent for, and that would be when Onorato -was safely out of the house. He probably did not know that she lived -just across the courtyard, for he was never up in time to see her go -out with Mariuccia. All would be well, and the Excellency, who had so -much on her noble mind, need never even hear of her faithful acolyte's -passing anxiety. - -And all would have been well had not Onorato, who took a profane -delight in exploiting his solemn mother's complete lack of humor, -come in that evening to take his place at table with a long face and -some heavy sighs. To the Princess's anxious questions he replied that -he was not ill, but that a strange melancholy had come over him. He -believed--mamma must keep his secret--he really believed he had fallen -in love! There! - -Mamma gave a cry like a soul in pain, and then braced herself for the -worst. Onorato had been singularly stubborn in the matter of taking a -wife and to all his mother's entreaties had replied that life was very -pleasant now, that no one could say what marriage would make of it, -and finally that when mamma found a woman as charming as herself to -propose to him he would think about it--not till then. Thus placated, -the Princess would hold her peace for a while, but Heaven was daily -stormed with prayers for the ideal daughter-in-law. Consternation -and hope divided her feelings at this sudden announcement. Unaided, -unguided--was it yet possible that her son's choice had fallen on some -really desirable maiden? With clasped hands she entreated him to speak, -she could bear the suspense no longer. - -Then the young rascal, with much sham hesitation and contrition, -confessed that his heart was gone from him forever--into the keeping of -the exquisitely beautiful creature who embroidered the family arms on -the sheets and towels! The Princess sank back in her chair, white with -the shock. This was the most dreadful thing that could have happened. -"My son," she gasped, "do you know what you are saying? But this is -perfectly horrible. I cannot believe it." - -"I never meant you to, you dear, solemn, innocent mamma," he cried, -laughing as he jumped up and came to throw his arms round her neck -and kiss her--he was very much of a child for all his twenty-eight -years--"I was only joking. Don't you understand? When I fall in -love--oh then there really will be trouble, for I intend to devote my -whole attention to the accomplishment. But now--no. There mamma mia -cara, smile again. Your little embroideress is as pretty as an angel, -but I am not going to make a fool of myself by losing my heart to her. -Come, let us find her a husband. Wouldn't you like to marry her to -Ferretti? They say he is looking out for a second wife." - -The Princess rallied her courage with a heroic effort and pretended -to believe him. Calling up a strained smile, she said, "These are -not proper subjects for joking, my son. Marriage is a sacrament, -matrimony a holy state into which I trust you will enter with fitting -dispositions when the time comes. You are quite old enough, you know I -was thinking--" - -"For the love of Heaven," cried Onorato, terrified in his turn, "don't -'think,' I conjure you, don't think. You promised not to speak again on -that subject for at least six months. As for fitting dispositions, I -have not the first symptom of the disease at present and cannot imagine -where I shall find them when the fatal moment arrives. If Churchmen -could drive fast horses I assure you I could more easily catch the -distemper called a vocation. Uncle Paolo was a wise man and he strikes -me as a very happy one." - -"Your uncle had two elder brothers when he decided to enter the -Church," the Princess replied. "It pleased God to remove them before -either of them was married--a great misfortune. Pray speak of these -subjects with proper respect, Onorato." - -"I will respect everything--so long as it leaves me alone," he said -rather crossly. Really dear mamma made every word he spoke the occasion -for a lecture. What would become of him if there were another woman in -the house doing the same? He saluted her abruptly and went away to his -own rooms. - -It was a long time before he caught sight of Giannella again. By eight -o'clock the next morning a note was brought to her from Signora Dati, -stating that there was much going on in the house at present, and that -the Excellency had intimated that it would be more convenient for her -to have the work sent across to the Professor's apartment, where the -writer would call in person on Tuesdays and Saturdays to inspect its -progress. Giannella need not come to the piano nobile in future. - -So the last door was shut on her prison, doubtless, as she told -herself, through some misdemeanor of her own. Tears welled up in her -eyes. Life meant to be cruel. For the first time a little line marked -itself between her brows and the fresh curves of her mouth closed in -a straight line. Then she dried her eyes angrily and sat down to the -embroidery frame where the silver orange blossoms on Donna Laura's -wedding dress were beginning to cover the material with regal splendor -of bloom. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - - -San Severino, as you pass under the portico of its front entrance, -appears to be very much like other Roman churches, spacious, -marble-floored, roofed with frescoed cupola and rounded arches; its -wide nave is flanked with chapels, some unowned and bare; others, -the vested property of great families, gorgeously or artistically -decorated, marking to the experienced eye the precise date of each -family's apogee of power--pure pre-Raphaelite, Renaissance, Barocco, -First Empire sham classic, Gregory the Sixteenth tawdry stucco and -color. Even the latest abomination, however, is chastened into harmony -by the merciful siftings of years, by the ever-lessening light which -struggles through the darkened yellow of windows set too high in dome -and walls to be meddled with more than once or twice in a century. When -the sun strikes them, long swathes of dusty gold shoot transversely -down the unpeopled spaces of the church touching the mote-laden air -to slow vibrations of light, calling back to a mockery of life some -periwigged or pseudo-classic bust on a monument, or lingering on the -lovely, flower-tinted lines of a Renaissance tomb. It is Rome in the -church as elsewhere, Rome, superbly indifferent to the quality of the -spoils Time chooses to fling in her lap, because she has but to let -them lie there awhile in the supernal alembic of her glory-haunted -air, to have them subdued, ripened, enriched, and finally incorporated -into her own stricken yet transcendent beauty. - -Out of the last chapel to the right of the High Altar of San Severino a -low swing door gives access to a darker, dimmer sanctuary, formerly a -choir, as the blackened stalls and lecterns testify, but now used only -once a month for the meeting of the Sodality of the Bona Mors. An unlit -altar rises against one wall, supporting a painting always curtained -from the dampness save when the doors are closed to the public and the -members congregate for their exercises. Only a few can tell what the -picture represents--whether Saint Joseph breathes his last sigh in -the arms of God Incarnate, or the Penitent Thief writhes on his cross -beside the King of the Jews. "Morte certa, modo incerto," the veiled -shrine seems to whisper, and something cold and deathly in the air -brings the first axiom at least shudderingly home to those who pass -through. - -Beyond this chapel lies a small irregular chamber, its walls and -pavement of marble so darkened with age that it is hard to decipher -the inscriptions with which both are covered, brief Latin epitaphs -recording the names of the dead who lie in the crypt below, good monks -of an order which once prayed in the little chapel of the Bona Mors and -has been superseded and absorbed in the course of centuries, even as -its modest temple has been absorbed and dominated by the great church -of San Severino. - -A heavy leather curtain hangs over the outer door of the marble -chamber of epitaphs, and is lifted for those who pass in and out by -courteous mendicants of a more retiring disposition than those who -guard the grand portico. A long, narrow courtyard, high walled but -pleasantly open to the sky, and ornamented with a fountain made out of -an acanthus capital, marks the final limits of the sacred premises, -which run, from the Ripetta, parallel with the Santafede palace, -through the entire block to the piazza of that name. The palace has its -imposing front on the piazza, but the back door of San Severino leads -into an obscure street opening out of the square. The street is narrow -and crooked, shut in between the side walls of two or three ancient -palaces, great houses of diminished splendors, whose owners do not -disdain to let the ground floors of these purlieus as livery stables -and small shops. Over one dark, malodorous doorway hangs a picture of a -fearfully obese cow, sadly contemplating a yellow ochre field under a -cracked blue sky, denoting that milk and butter are to be had within. -From a cavernous den opposite, an avalanche of vegetables invades -the sidewalk, crisp green lettuces, scarlet tomatoes, the magically -fragrant fennel, pumpkins like globes of battered gold--the cornucopia -of Ceres seems to be shaken out on the worn stones every morning. But -Ceres has grown old; she sits, dark-browed, saturnine, wrinkled, on a -low chair in the midst of her trophies, knitting stockings. Customers -pause, select their purchases, hold up as many fingers as may represent -the coppers they suppose them to be worth, and look inquiringly at -Ceres. She bends a frowning glance on the questioner; if the guess be -right, she nods her head; if mistaken, she corrects it by the same -finger language; and the coppers drop into the basket where her ball -of yarn dances at her feet. Few venture to bargain with Sora Rosa; she -considers it waste of time. People pay and carry away the stuff; or -they will not pay, and then somebody else will, for there is no other -vegetable stall within ten minutes' walk, and who is going to risk an -apoplexy from over-exercise? - -In the early morning, great ladies, quietly dressed, glide past Sora -Rosa, avoid the horses which are being confidentially curried in the -street, and disappear through the low doorway into the court of San -Severino on their way to Mass. During the rest of the day the genial -squalor of the Via Tresette is not disturbed by any jarring reminder -of the prosperity and cleanliness of neighboring quarters. Near the -ground at any rate all is dark, promiscuous, and prehistoric so far as -modern ways are concerned. But the monastery building of San Severino -rises up and up, a long, irregular pile, reaching the higher air -and the sunshine at last, and breaking out into little terraces and -balconies, flowery and bird-haunted, where the Fathers whom Fra Tommaso -served with such zeal took their rest after the labors of the day. -Fra Tommaso's own little loggia, the hanging garden which Giannella -had begged to be taken to see so many years ago, was one of these, -the least accessible from the larger apartments, but possessing for -its owner the immense advantage of looking directly down into the -Via Santafede and commanding a view of a section of the piazza at one -end and of the Ripetta at the other; also of some fifty windows of -the palace itself. The incorrigible amateur of the human drama, as he -climbed from his forum, the church, to his villa, the loggia, always -thanked Heaven for having cast his lines in pleasant places, and pitied -his immediate opposite neighbors, Mariuccia and Giannella, for being -exposed to the distracting temptations and vanities of the world and -at the same time deprived of the delights of flower tending and pigeon -feeding which he enjoyed on his terrace. - -The vanities of the world had only approached Giannella by proxy for -a long time past. Since Onorato's chance admiration and his untimely -bit of farce had closed the doors of the piano nobile to her, life had -become so narrow, so uniform, that she hardly recognized it for life -at all. Three colorless years had slipped by; good Signori Dati was -dead; the Princess, busy as ever, but in failing health, seemed to have -forgotten her former protegé's very existence. The brief churchgoing -and shopping with Mariuccia, the needlework by which she still earned -small sums from ladies who remembered her address, the assistance -rendered in housework and in waiting on the Professor, who, after his -first surprise at her presence, never seemed to know whether she or -Mariuccia brought him his meals--these made the round of Giannella's -days; and since she had, in obedience to the advice of her spiritual -director, put rebellion down and accepted her fate by sheer effort -of will, she lacked even the stimulus of conflict with her unnatural -destiny. She had not lost either her health or her beauty in the strait -abode of frowning circumstance, but her buoyancy seemed gone; her eyes -were deep rather than bright, and no gallant resolve to smile on life -could keep the corners of her pretty mouth from drooping pathetically -out of the happy upward curves of her childhood. That period was so -long past that it seemed to belong to life on another planet, one -much nearer the sun than this earth; but when, as in piety bound, she -made one meditation a month on the joys of paradise, the angels, and -the heavenly gardens and the celestial music, slid into the familiar -semblance of her friends and play-fellows at Castel Gandolfo, the -vineyards and the chestnut woods, the barking of the old dog--the -braying of the donkey--Madonna Santissima, what abominable sacrilege -were her thoughts committing? Dogs and donkeys in heaven? Those -red-cheeked, dusty-legged contadini children as angels of the Lord? Oh, -what a wicked girl Giannella Brockmann must be--and what would Padre -Anselmo say when she told him? - -She had fallen into this grievous sin for the twentieth time one -winter afternoon. The light was failing, and as she rose from her seat -to put her work away, the door bell, grown terribly decrepit in its -advanced age, jangled with an imperious querulousness which announced -a stranger. The Professor always handled it with tender care for fear -of expense in repairs. Mariuccia, who seemed to have grown suddenly -old, came out from the back room groaning with headache, for which she -had applied her favorite remedy of tufts of "madrecara" stuffed up her -nostrils. The sight of her thus adorned was one of the few things which -still made Giannella shake with laughter; the dear old face resembled a -boar's head in a butcher's window at Christmas time. - -"Go back to bed, Mariuccia," said the girl, "I will see who it is. The -padrone is in his study. I had better ask him if he wishes to see any -visitors." - -She went quickly down the passage, pausing to put her head in at the -study door. The Professor had grown older too, and bent more closely -over his book than of yore. Not risking speech, Giannella looked a -question as he raised his head; he nodded assent, and then the bell -began its crazy dance again. Giannella hastily opened the front door -and found herself face to face with a short, rather stout man, whose -features she could not discern in the gloom, but who asked in an -imperious tone whether the distintissimo Professor were at home. At the -same time he handed her a card, from which she decided that this must -be his first visit to the house. - -"Favorisca," she murmured, and the stout gentleman followed her to -Bianchi's room. She saw the Professor rise and come forward with a -puzzled air, and heard the visitor begin an apology for his intrusion. -Then she closed the door on them and went back to the kitchen, not -sufficiently interested even to glance at the card, which she dropped -on the little table beside the umbrella-stand in the passage. - -"Is he never going, then, this cataplasm of a visitor?" exclaimed -Mariuccia an hour later. "The padrone's supper is ready and spoiling. -Take in the lamp, Giannella. They must be in the dark in there." - -When Giannella entered the study, lamp in hand, she found that Bianchi -had lighted a candle and was examining some papers, which he laid -down quickly on seeing her. His sallow cheeks were flushed, and as he -glanced up it struck the girl that his eyes looked unusually bright. - -Opposite to him, leaning back in an arm-chair, sat the visitor, whom -the light revealed as a youngish man with narrow black eyes and a round -countenance, evidently intended for smiles, but disciplined just now -into a kind of judicial severity which could not altogether suppress -the under element of amusement with which he was regarding his host. - -He too glanced quickly up at the girl who stood in the doorway, the -lamp she carried illuminating her fair hair and grave young face. -After a moment's hesitation she advanced and set the lamp on the table -between the two men. Bianchi dropped his hands over the papers and -looked across to his guest. - -"This is Giannella Brockmann, Signor' Avvocato," he said; "you perceive -that she is alive and in good health." - -The stranger rose to his feet and seemed about to speak, but the -Professor raised a warning hand, and, turning to Giannella, dismissed -her with a nod of the head. As she closed the door she heard him say -hurriedly, "Later, later. Not at present--it is a nervous temperament." - -Her curiosity was aroused from its years of sleep, awakened as by the -twang of a bowstring letting an invisible arrow fly past her. Was -Bianchi referring to her? What was the communication which the other -had wished to make and which he had arrested so peremptorily? She had -scarcely had time to formulate the queries in her mind when she heard -murmurs of farewells, the sound of the front door closing, and the -Professor's footsteps returning to his study, where he locked himself -in. It was all very unusual. - -She did not see the padrone again that evening, for Mariuccia, still -wearing her satyr-like adornment, took the tray from her hands and -carried in his supper. The next day, however, Giannella was surprised -by his pausing, as he met her in the passage, to return her dutiful -"good-morning," a mark of interest which he had never shown before. A -little later he actually called her by name and showed her a row of -books on a lower shelf, which, he said, required dusting. Mariuccia -seemed unwell, and she had much to do; would Giannella undertake to -dust the books regularly? He would be much obliged. - -When she informed Mariuccia of this order the old woman laughed -sardonically. "It has taken him a great many years to find out that I -have much to do," she sneered, "and I have waited on him when I was so -shaking with fever that the plates rattled in my hands--and he never -noticed that I was ill. Cipicchia! That visitor must have been an angel -in disguise, to have thus opened the padrone's heart to poor you and -me, Giannella. Let us hope that he will soon come again." - -He did come again, two or three times in the course of the next -fortnight, and with each visit the Professor's kind notice of Giannella -increased, until she began to have an uncomfortable feeling in his -hitherto impersonal presence. As she came and went, his eyes followed -her with a growing lambency behind the big spectacles. She was called -into his room on frivolous pretexts, and one day he asked her if she -could kindly cook his supper. Mariuccia had brought in some polpetti, -and he had remarked that Giannella cooked polpetti divinely. - -Mariuccia's sharp eyes had marked the padrone's new attitude and -she was much disquieted. Was it possible that at fifty-seven he was -committing the folly of falling in love? And that, suddenly and -unreasonably, with the girl who had waited on him for years past -without winning so much as a word or a glance of recognition from him? -If so, it was nothing but bewitchment, dark bewitchment. The lawyer who -came to see him now must be quite the opposite of an angel, since the -spell dated from his first visit. The spell had evidently been cast by -him. - -Well, she would counteract it if she could. Giannella should not go -near that fatal sitting-room and its occupant if she could help it. -Giannella seconded the precautionary measures with all her might. -She was thankful to be spared the attentions which were becoming -too obvious to be ignored. Resolutely she stayed at the other end -of the house, but Bianchi took to wandering over there after her. -She pondered on the possibility of paying for a place in the vettura -and taking refuge with the old friends at Castel Gandolfo; but money -was painfully scarce; she and Mariuccia now depended entirely on the -latter's wages and on the fifteen baiocchi a day which her generous -master had so unwillingly granted when she first came to live with him -twenty years before. No, a journey was out of the question; the prison -doors could not be pushed ajar. - -The door was opening even now, but Giannella had no premonition of it. -Having attained the sober age of twenty without possessing a single -young acquaintance in Rome (for none of her former schoolfellows lived -in that remote quarter), she was allowed by Mariuccia, when the old -joints felt stiff, to go out alone sometimes for Mass and marketing. -Mariuccia's dreams of a bright future for her foster-child were fading -sadly away at last; Giannella would be considered an old maid in -another year or two, and the good young man with fifty thousand scudi -had never come. Instead, by an ugly "scherzo" of fate, Carlo Bianchi, -the shrunken recluse who had never looked at anything more closely -resembling a woman than some statue thousands of years old, dead and -cold as the creature deserved to be for having been perpetuated in -such indecent nudity, Carlo Bianchi was waking up to the fact that -a beautiful young woman was a member of his household; and, unless -Mariuccia's own shrewdness was at fault, he would soon propose to -install her as its mistress. - -With all his failings, his domestic tyrant could not credit him -with baser intentions, but this was bad enough. If he should -succeed--Mariuccia groaned aloud at the possibility--the rest of -Giannella's life would be "in Galera," that of a slave at the galleys. -Let the poor child get out into the air and sunshine, exchange a word -with Fra Tommaso, with stout, smiling Sora Amalia, who lived under the -sign of the cow, even with cross old Sora Rosa, who had so far unbent -to "la Biondina" as to make her a present of figs or cherries once or -twice. It was hard, after all the struggles to keep Giannella a lady, -that she should be reduced to friends like these, that not a person of -her own class should ever remember or notice her. But there, it was -destiny! "Run along, Giannella, and see if ricotta is cheap to-day. The -padrone would like some for his breakfast." - -So Giannella came and went a little more freely, and she did not -attract the attention which the good nuns had dreaded for that -dangerous golden hair when they let their dove fly from the convent -ark four years before. Everyone in the vicinity knew her by sight, and -it was a vicinity whose staid inhabitants rarely changed. The world, -the flesh, and the devil, might go roaring up and down the Corso a few -blocks away, but within sound of the bells of San Severino all was -calm, ancient, safe. Mariuccia's Biondina, as she was called, could -come and go, in her dark dress, with the bit of black lace veiling her -modest head, and no curious or disrespectful glance would follow her. -She could escape from the house and venture on a little walk by the -river, past the palace where kind Cardinal Cestaldini was basking in a -rarefied atmosphere of contemplation, good works, and learning, could -pass the time of day with Fra Tommaso and the incurables, and linger -among the monuments and frescoes of the church or try to decipher the -inscriptions in the funereal gallery beyond the chapel of the Bona -Mors, all without embarrassment or molestation. And as was natural, the -small, new liberty was sweet and reviving to her repressed youth. She -saw no tragedy in it, as did Mariuccia, to whom the acknowledgment of -Giannella's passing youth and apparently irrevocable spinsterhood was -a bitter trial. She was not sure now that in choosing the single state -for herself she had not made a big mistake; but then she had chosen it -for herself, and that was quite a different thing. - -The winter had softened into spring and the spring warmed to summer, -when Mariuccia's enemy, the mysterious avvocato, made his last visit -to the Professor. He carried an imposing sheaf of papers in his hand -and was accompanied by an older man who looked like a notary, for he -wore even bigger spectacles than the padrone's and his right forefinger -was dyed dark with ink. A few minutes after the two had been admitted, -Giannella was summoned to the study. Some very direct questions were -put to her by the lawyer, as to her name, age, and recollections of -childhood, questions which surprised her greatly, for she could not -imagine why these details should interest strangers. Then a paper was -laid before her which she was requested to sign. She drew back, a -chill fear coming over her that it might be a marriage contract--that -she was being entrapped into a union with Bianchi, who stood beside -her, breathing hard with suppressed excitement and considerately -holding a sand castor over the page, ready to dry the writing at once. -As she hesitated, he touched her arm with his free hand, and the touch -spelled compelling will. She was conscious that the other two men were -staring at her in bewilderment, and she obeyed--as she had obeyed -authority, in one form or another, all her life, and signed her name. - -Bianchi instantly took possession of the sheet and handed it to the -lawyer, who wrote on it in his turn. Then, as Bianchi signified to -Giannella that she might retire, the lawyer came round to her side -of the table, shook hands with her, congratulated her on her good -fortune, and, with quite a friendly ring in his voice, begged her to -consider his services at her disposal in the future. She thanked him, -inwardly wondering at his optimism. The only good fortune apparent in -her circumstances was the one of having found a shelter and a home--to -which she had less future claim than the swallows to their nests in the -palace eaves. - -Emerging from the study she found Mariuccia hovering near the door, -wild with curiosity and suspicion. Giannella described what had taken -place, and as soon as the visitors had departed Mariuccia stormed into -the study and assailed the Professor with angry questions as to what -the child had been made to sign. What was this indecent secrecy? What -had anyone to say to Giannella that she, who had brought her up, might -not hear? Was that abominable paper a marriage contract? She would -tear it up and light the fire with it. Did he figure to himself that -Giannella was to be disposed of without Mariuccia Botti's consent? - -Bianchi, who seemed calm and triumphant now, locked the drawer of his -secretary and put the key in his pocket before deigning to reply to her -tirade; indeed its fluency and fury left no opening for reply until -she paused for want of breath, her eyes like coals, her grizzled locks -shaking above her brow like angry snakes. The master had never seen -her in a passion before, and he shrank back instinctively. Then, as -she was opening her lips to speak again, he said quickly and with some -dignity, "Calm yourself, Mariuccia. One does not speak to one's padrone -in that manner. The paper which Giannella signed was just a legal one, -connected with ... business of mine. You cannot write--it would have -been useless to call you in. You perceive that you have made a foolish -mistake? Oh, I forgive you. You have had no instruction, and you women -of the people are ever illogical and suspicious. As to marriage ... -listen to me, and do not transport yourself with anger--it sours the -blood and might bring on an apoplexy which I have so greatly feared for -you, overloading yourself with food as you do. Fifteen baiocchi a day -for one woman. Holy Æsculapius, how have you survived it for twenty -years?" - -"Man without eyes, without vitals," cried Mariuccia, "what do you -suppose Giannella has lived on since she came back from the convent? -Air? Trevi water? Have I not fed the poor child for years? Have you -ever given her a crumb from your table, a sugar-plum at Epiphany, or a -maritozzo in Lent? Domine Dio, keep Thy Hand on my head or I shall end -by losing patience with this blind and heartless one." - -The Professor was roused to reprisals at last. "Do not imagine that I -am blind, O female without judgment!" he exclaimed. "Gladly would I -have made presents of food to Giannella, though I am a poor man and -could ill afford it--but I perceived that your charity to her might be -the means of saving your life, preventing you from dying of surfeit--a -most painful end. Thus has your good deed already had its reward. But -to show you, O ignorant and audacious one, that I have a true affection -for Giannella and a mind full of generosity I will now--" He choked, -then went on manfully, "I will now give you five baiocchi a day for -her board, out of my own pocket. It is imprudent--I shall suffer--but -I am resolved. Behold." And he held out five dingy coppers in his -half-closed hand. - -Then he found out what Mariuccia meant when she spoke of losing -patience. She came up to him in two strides and shook both hands in his -face. "What?" she screamed, "you want to pay for Giannella now? Why -have you never thought of it before? Four years last Easter she came -home, and never once have you said, 'Mariuccia mia, there is a paul, to -buy something for the girl--what do I know, a cake, a bit of ribbon?' -No, she grew up, she has waited on you and ironed for you and mended -your old rags of shirts that only hold together by the grace of God. -She has combated with the butcher and the baker and the fishmonger -till they had to take something off their prices for you--they fear -to see her coming, though she is as beautiful as an angel--and you -never even spoke to her till a few weeks ago. But now--the devil in -hell alone knows why--you have suddenly found out that she is good -and pretty, and you make big eyes at her and call her to dust your -wicked old books--and now you have the temerity to offer me money for -her! No indeed, Professore mio, this you shall never do. Go back to -your Veneres and Giunones--I wonder the Holy Father did not send the -shameless females to the galleys for having their portraits taken like -that--and leave Giannella to me." - -Bianchi had not listened to this tide of reproaches, accompanied as it -was by violently menacing gestures, without taking immediate measures -for self-preservation. He edged round the room, keeping his back to -the wall and facing Mariuccia, who followed him step by step, never -allowing the distance between them to diminish by a handbreadth, until -the door was reached. Carefully the Professor put out one hand behind -him and ascertained that it was ajar. Then with amazing agility he -stepped back into the passage, and from there hurled his last bomb. -"You spoke of marriage. Yes, woman of hard head and mountainous -ignorance, I intend to marry Giannella." Then the door was slammed in -Mariuccia's face and the next moment the padrone was flying down the -stairs. - -His enemy, haggard, and trembling from reaction, remained in possession -of the field, but she knew that she was vanquished. When Giannella -heard the front door close she ran to the study, whence sounds of -battle had rolled for the last half-hour. She found her old friend with -her head sunk forward on the table while slow tears trickled through -her knotty fingers all over the padrone's papers. The master had -evidently been put to flight, but Mariuccia's victory seemed to have -been a costly one. She refused to confide to Giannella the subject of -her "piccolo argomento," as she called it, with Bianchi. The long habit -of silence gave her strength to keep her counsel about his alarming -proposal. Taken together with his changed attitude towards the girl, it -could, in her judgment, point to but one thing, "passione," the fatal, -sudden, all-devouring passion in which the Roman believes as blindly as -did the Greek tragedian. This poisoned arrow had entered the padrone's -heart. Mamma mia, here was a complication over which to astrologize -her poor head! Who was going to sustain the combat, day in day out, -under that narrow roof, with an obstinate man who was undoubtedly -being smitten in his dried-up middle age with just retribution for the -unnatural repressions of his youth, and who, moreover, held all the -advantages of the situation, since he was the master of the house? She -did not abandon her belief in the spell which she accused the strange -lawyer of weaving around the poor man; no, that was a part of the doom; -he was Satan's emissary, permitted, for some inexplicable reason, to -sow the seed which had taken such violent possession of the unfortunate -Professor. He had disappeared when his evil work was done and it could -probably not be undone by anyone else. It was all destiny--but most -afflicting. - -As for telling Giannella--no. Love was not a proper subject to discuss -with young girls, and then, such love as this? So she informed -Giannella that she had been asked to sign the mysterious paper as a -witness to something or other that had no connection with her, and that -the slight disagreement had arisen from Bianchi's irritation at being -questioned. Why had she been crying? Oh, she was feeling "strana" that -day--it was all the fault of the scirocco. - -The Professor returned towards evening, very haughty and dignified. -Mariuccio contradicted all her explanations of the morning by -forbidding Giannella to go near him, and carried in his supper tray -herself, in grim silence more aggressive than words, even those of her -rich vocabulary. She was only waiting for the rattle of a plate or the -turning of a door handle to put an end to the armistice and serve as -a declaration of renewed hostilities, but Bianchi was deaf and dumb. -He informed her, when she came in to remove his tray, that he would be -going to Ostia the next day; his coffee must be ready and his clothes -brushed by seven o'clock. Then he returned to the perusal of a letter, -and Mariuccia, greatly relieved at the prospect of his absence for so -many hours, prayed for the intervention of protecting Providence in -Giannella's affairs before his return--and sat up till late, brushing -his clothes and preparing the frugal lunch which he always carried with -him on such archæological expeditions. - - - - -CHAPTER IX - - -The morning after these disturbing events an exciting stir delighted -the inhabitants of the Via Tresette, the street of the cow. The owner -of the dairy had in the course of years become the proprietor of the -old house which sheltered his trade; and, having prospered of late, -he had built on the roof a new apartment, containing four small rooms -and a large airy studio, which he hoped to let to some painter. His -neighbors had shaken their heads over this bold speculation, but it -seemed that his optimism was justified, for here, at the small door -beside the shop, stood a handcart loaded with stiff-legged easels, -canvases tied together in a red tablecloth, a chair similarly protected -by a green one, the disjointed limbs of an iron bedstead, cooking -utensils, and various odds and ends, all of which proved incontestably -that a tenant had been found for the appartamentino on the roof. - -Beside the cart, helping the perspiring facchino to unload the things, -stood a young man of cheerful countenance and remarkably dapper -costume. Adjuring the porter to move delicately, he unearthed a -life-sized mummy-like object swathed in a drab sheet, which he hoisted -tenderly on the man's back. Then, turning to the landlord, who stood -by, beaming on this visible proof of his own good luck, he begged him, -in language more elegant than usually echoed through that obscure -thoroughfare, to favor him by keeping an eye on the other belongings -while he accompanied the bearer of this particular treasure up the -stairs. - -No sooner had he disappeared than an excited group gathered round the -owner of the premises to find out all about him. What was his name? Had -he really taken the new room? What rent was he going to pay? Even Sora -Rosa, the sybil among the cabbages opposite, raised her head and cocked -an ear to catch the answer. - -Why yes, the gentleman had taken the studio apartment for three years, -paying half-a-year's rent in advance. (The landlord in the just pride -of his heart mentioned precisely double the sum he had asked and -received.) The signorino's name was Goffi, Rinaldo Goffi, and he was an -artist--but distintissimo. Signor Freschi, the picture dealer in Via -Condotti, bought everything he painted, and for sums! - -At this juncture the distinguished artist came out from the doorway -and, quite unembarrassed by his growing audience, gathered up more of -his properties--a paint box under each arm, a saucepan in one hand and -a wicker cage tied up in a yellow handkerchief in the other, and, thus -loaded, ducked back into the Cimmerian darkness of the passage. The -handcart was now empty, the porter paid, with a joke and a "bicchiere" -thrown in, and Signor Goffi, rather out of breath, ascended the four -flights of stairs and took possession of his new domain. - -He was a Roman of the Romans, although not born within the walls of -the city. His father, a lawyer of good old provincial stock, had risen -to be mayor of his native town, Orbetello, and, being also the owner of -rich vine lands, was a man of solid position and comfortable fortune. -His eldest son was following in his father's steps, and would inherit -the fat Orbetello property; the second was a rising engineer; and the -third, Rinaldo, having early shown quick intelligence and some artistic -talent, had been sent to Rome for his education, with the understanding -that if he satisfactorily completed his studies at the university he -should be permitted to devote himself to the career of his choice in -the very cradle of Art itself. - -The parental allowance, a very modest one, was to be continued until -he could earn his own living; but having inherited from a maternal -relative a tiny property near Rome, he, as in duty bound, renounced the -allowance in order that his sisters' doweries might be increased, and -lived as Romans so well know how to live, decorously and comfortably, -on a very small income. The "vigna" outside Porta San Giovanni -was cultivated by peasants, whose family had tenanted it for some -generations, on the mezzadria system, an equal division of profits with -the owner. As hardly any taxes were levied in the Papal States, and no -duty assessed on provisions passing the city gates, the full value of -ownership and labor was reaped from the land, and the half-and-half -arrangement, while equally distributing the losses of lean years, -insured to both landlord and tenant the entire benefit of fat ones. - -The lean years had been few in the garden vineyard outside the Lateran -Gate; the vines flowered into heady fragrance in the divine Roman -spring behind their tall hedges of canes and roses, and bore their -splendid bunches nobly when the late summer rains came to swell, nearly -to bursting, the tightly clustered fruit baked black on the brown stems -whence every leaf had been stripped in August to let the sun and air do -their magic work. Then came the crown of the year, the October vintage, -when every little winepress poured its purple froth from under the -bare feet of the treaders into the seething vat below; when the very -air was wine, from Lombardy to Messina, and each Sunday of the glowing -month brought the population of the city, in gay attire, out to eat and -drink, to laugh and dance and make music, from dawn to dark, in the -garden of the gods, the vinelands of Romagna. - -Rinaldo went with the rest, inviting a chosen party of fellow-students -to the vigna, where the padroncino was always delightedly welcomed and -the best the house could afford brought out for him and his friends. -The meal was served in the open air, by the fountain, under the brown -thatch woven in between the branches of the four cypress-trees as a -shelter from the sun; old songs and young laughter accompanied the -repast; the new wine, cloudy and sweet still and of terrific headiness, -was tasted, and healths drunk in the safer product of past years. -Then a game of bowls was played, a substantial present made to the -"vignarolo," and, in the cool of the evening, the "raggazzi" climbed, -six at a time, into the small open carriage hired for the occasion, -and were borne back to the town. The jolly driver, who had had his -share of the day's good things, cracked his beribboned whip high over -the heads of the little black horses, who, with roses on their ears -and bows on their tails, frisked gaily along in a cloud of dust, -running races with dozens of other vehicles full of noisy, happy people -twanging guitars and shaking tamborines, very few of them at all the -worse for the innocent orgy. At last came the scamper for the Lateran -Gate before Ave Maria rang and it should be closed for the night, and -the usually severe guardians only smiled at the merry scramble and -closed the huge portals, regretfully when the last carrozzella had -romped safely through. - -Such holidays were the more enjoyed by Rinaldo because they were rare. -In general he led a life as orderly and studious as that of Carlo -Bianchi himself; but it was illuminated with hope for the future, with -pleasure in the present in spite of the slow labor necessary, in spite -of the many discouragements to be lived down before he could attain -even modest proficiency in his kindly art. His chief relaxation in the -summer time was provided by Father Tiber. The "Cannottieri" club had -not been organized in those early days, but its forerunner, a river -boating society, drew the young men together in the warm afternoons and -gave them many a cool swim and invigorating hour of rowing on the full -yellow tide. Rinaldo was a favorite with his compeers, but he never -allowed their importunities to interfere with the great business of his -life, success in his reasonable aims. He had gone through every step -of the art student's course with sturdy conscientiousness, trusting -nothing to inspiration, avoiding what he recognized as impressionism -(the word itself had not been coined) as he avoided bad women and -sour wine. He never imagined himself a genius; he was content to have -talent and to cultivate it faithfully. Month after month he copied -in the galleries, reverently tracing the perceptive lines of great -masterpieces on his canvas and his memory. Constant work in the Life -School filled the evening hours when the days were short, and humble -acceptance of the master's sharp criticisms corrected any slightest -tendency to conceit. With native shrewdness he had understood that -there was always a market for good, unostentatious work, and he was not -too proud to take commissions for copies when he could not sell his -own really charming little pictures. For Rinaldo had an end in view, -and he worked steadily towards it. Loneliness did not appeal to his -cheerful nature; he meant to find a pretty, sweet-tempered wife as soon -as he could support her, and to have a home as strongly foundationed as -the one in Orbetello, of which he retained admiring and affectionate -memories. - -Having no fortune beyond the small income derived from the vigna, he -could not expect to marry a girl with much of a dowry; in such matters -a certain similarity of circumstances was the accepted rule. So he -put by all that it was possible for him to save, resolved to marry -while young and in love with life, and equally resolved to feel no -pinch of poverty afterwards. His attitude was one not at all uncommon -among his fellow-students and contemporaries; nothing could have been -further from the happy-go-lucky Bohemianism of the foreign artistic -coteries, Scandinavian, German, Anglo-Saxon, which swarmed in Rome -at that time. There is but one calling which makes Bohemians of the -sober-going yet light-hearted children of Latium, the musical one. -What would you have? When a man is born with a voice that can sing the -stars down from heaven and the angels from paradise, is it not to be -expected that he should also be born drunk with celestial wine? When -he can compose operas whose airs, after the first hearing, are sung in -every alley of the city--as happened the morning after the production -of the _Trovatore_--no one can demand that he should understand the -intricacies of account books. It is the world's business to see to the -daily wants of its Orpheuses and Apollos--and the world, as a rule, -attends to the obligation nobly. - -When Rinaldo took possession of his new studio he felt that he was -marking an important point on the road of his ambitions. Hitherto he -had shared the workshop of a friend, in the warren of studios which -climb from the Via Babuino to the lower terraces of the Pincian Hill. -Now, having sold some small pictures, and having secured through -the dealer an order from a rich foreigner for a large one, he felt -justified in assuming the responsibilities of quiet, airy quarters -where he could work without interruptions. As he sat among his queer -belongings--scattered over the floor in wild disorder--an unreasoning -joy took possession of him, a certainty that he had found more in this -new home than clean, bright rooms and a superb north light. He rose -and walked about, exploring his new domain, and lingering on the little -terrace to breathe in the breeze which, rioting over from the coast, -twenty miles away, seemed to disdain ever to sink into the hot streets -so far below. - -His attention was called to material things by the protests of -the inhabitant of the wicker cage, still wrapped in the yellow -handkerchief. He took it up gently and in a moment liberated a splendid -gray and purple pigeon, which hopped on his shoulder and began to preen -its ruffled feathers with a deeply injured air. "My poor Themistocles," -Rinaldo apologized, "I had forgotten all about you. And your grain is -spilt and your cup is empty." Gravely he attended to the creature's -wants, while it fluttered about, taking in all the possibilities of -the place. Themistocles was accused by Rinaldo's friends of being a -most uncanny bird, watching their actions with a sarcastic eye and -understanding many things which did not come within his province at -all. Though he was allowed to roam at will over the housetops he always -returned to his master in the evening and generally slept on the head -of the lay figure, the carefully swathed treasure which had so excited -the curiosity of the denizens of the street of the cow. - -Rinaldo had become so accustomed to this quaint feathered companion -that he would have felt lonely without him; indeed Themistocles had -been the recipient of many a confidence and ambition which his master -would have betrayed to no articulate listener. One must talk to -something about the things nearest one's heart, and it was fine to -have a confidant who never objected or contradicted. - -In an hour the properties were all in place. The little platform was -set in the best light, and the ancient chair, topped with gilt cherubs -and covered with ragged crimson velvet, was placed on it at the usual -angle. How many cardinals, fair ladies, and swaggering bravos had sat -in that chair during the last few years! Of each and all the corporeal -body was supplied by the trusty lay figure, which, now liberated from -its cerecloth, disclosed the amputation of one leg below the knee, the -dislocation of the other, incurable paralysis of the fingers; a pink -but blistered countenance, a nose injured by contact with a mahlstick -hurled at it by Rinaldo's former studio companion; vacuous blue eyes -and a set smile completed the model's attractions, and these were -crowned by a damaged wig of a sickly yellow hue, much impoverished -by the attentions of Themistocles, who was in the habit of tearing -out locks of hair when playing at building a nest in the angle of the -least-used easel. In a few minutes, however, the warworn veteran of -the studio was sitting in the gilt chair, cleverly robed in the red -tablecloth and impersonating a cardinal in full canonicals; a large -canvas was brought out, the dear, bedaubed paint boxes opened, the -favorite palette loaded with its daily rainbow of colors--and behold -Rinaldo, forgetful of everything else, utterly happy, absorbed in his -immortal work for the rich foreigner. - -That evening he sat and smoked on his loggia, lifted far above the -nightmare of fever which stalks in the lowlying streets on summer -nights. He felt that he had come into a new world, where stars and -sky were a part of the bargain. Going over to the balustrade he -leaned out and looked down into the street--a chasm of blackness at -that hour--then up at the violet dome of the heavens quivering with a -thousand points of tender radiance, and, remembering his schooldays, -softly quoted, "Donde uscimmo a riveder le stelle!" - -He too had left his purgatory behind and had entered a paradise -all-sufficing to his simple soul, save for one thing, it contained -no Beatrice. He did not call her that, however. Dante's impersonal -goddess would never have filled the vacant throne in Rinaldo's heart. -The unattainable had no charms for him, and the idea of worshiping -another man's wife at a respectful distance seemed both a mortal sin -and a waste of time; he meant to fall joyfully in love with his own -wife; and, being a sincere beauty worshiper, permitted himself to paint -an enchanting picture of the future Signora Goffi. For hard-working, -economical Rinaldo, with all his respect for conventionalities and -his sound Roman sense, was at heart an exuberant idealist and had -never considered it necessary to even clip the plumes of his radiant -imagination. He had not yet beheld, but he was sure he should find, the -face of holy fairness, the eyes of innocence and love, the golden hair -that was to be crown and halo in one--the dear, pretty sister of angels -and pattern of housekeepers whom he resolutely intended to marry. - -He fell asleep wondering what kind of paper she would ask him to put on -these whitewashed walls, and woke--as it seemed to him, immediately -afterwards--with a violent start, to find the air full of the pealing -of bells, the bells of San Severino, which Fra Tommaso was ringing with -all his might for the first Mass. - -He jumped up and ran out on the terrace, pleased as a schoolboy, to see -what everything looked like at this early hour. Glancing over the iron -balustrade, he discovered that it lay at a right angle to the street -and looked directly into the back court of San Severino. The connection -with the church was evident, for there was a mendicant lifting the -leather curtain for a lady to pass in. The first ray of the sun shot -over the farther wall and lit on a golden head just disappearing under -the curtain; the beggar made an aggrieved gesture and stretched out his -hand for alms. Then the lady stepped back into the sunshine and stood -for a moment seeking for something in her purse. Yes, the head was -golden--Rinaldo's heart leaped for joy--and the fingers that dropped a -copper in the outstretched hand were white and fine. Then the curtain -was lifted once more, the lady disappeared, and the court was empty -save for the beggar, who at once assumed his professionally forlorn air -so as to be ready for the next passer-by. - -"I too will go to Mass," said Rinaldo to himself, "it is a pious -habit." Having dressed as fast as he could, he flew downstairs and made -his way into the church, quiet and dim still, and holding only a few -scattered worshipers. Mass had begun in a side chapel, and, kneeling on -a prièdieu before the altar steps was a girl, simply dressed in black, -her face hidden in her hands. A smooth roll of hair like spun gold -showed under a lace head covering; the figure was young and slight, and -the pose perfectly graceful. - -Rinaldo turned red with emotion. Might not--oh, Santa Speranza--might -not this be the embodiment of his dreams? He actually trembled with -apprehension lest the unseen face should fall short of what he asked -to find in it; yet how could it, he asked himself, do less than match -the harmony of the devout attitude, the fairness of the fingers through -which the beads of a white rosary slipped one by one? - -He drew nearer and leaned against the wall, where he could see her -profile whenever she should raise her head. He crossed himself, took -out his handkerchief and knelt down on it at the proper moments, and -tried to remember his prayers, but these did not get much further than -the attractive apparition before him and resolved themselves into -wordless but frightened entreaties that the vision would show its face. -The Mass was approaching its end when he was aware of a little stir -among the chairs; then an old woman with a scanty handkerchief thrown -over her head and its corners tightly held in her mouth, came and knelt -down between him and the girl. The latter moved her head slightly in -acknowledgment of her neighbor's presence, but continued her devotions -without looking up. "What is she praying for so earnestly?" Rinaldo -wondered. "Could Heaven refuse anything to such a santarella as that? -Oh, what a shame to disturb her." - -This was evidently not the old woman's view. She had something to say -and meant to get it off her mind at once. She pulled at the girl's -sleeve and whispered sharply, "Giannella, listen. I must go to the -cleaner for the padrone's coat--he is off to Ostia for the day, thank -the Lord--so you take the key and go home, and here is the money for -the tomatoes, don't forget." - -She fished a heavy housekey and some jingling coppers from her bulging -pocket and tried to thrust them into the girl's hand. The latter raised -her head and looked round slowly, as if coming back to things of earth -against her will. And then Rinaldo leaned heavily against the cold -wall and felt dizzy and faint. What he beheld was only a pure young -face with shadowed eyes and a rather sad mouth, but the expression -was one of such grace, sweetness and candor that the young man might -be forgiven the cry of his heart, "Amore mio, I have found you!" The -morning hour, the quiet church, with its incense-laden air, the first -slow sunbeams creeping across the spaces overhead--all combined to make -a perfect setting for the picture of his dreams. He closed his eyes so -that it should be imprinted on his memory for ever. Then he opened them -quickly, for the young girl and the old woman had risen and were moving -away. Should he follow them at once? No, better wait a moment; he could -catch up with them unnoticed as soon as they should have passed out -into the street. Ah, here came a friendly-looking old sacristan to put -the chairs back in their places; he might know by what name heavenly -visitants were called in this world of sin. - -"La Biondina?" queried Fra Tommaso in answer to the eager inquiry. -"Oh, she lives with Sora Mariuccia somewhere over there in the Palazzo -Santafede. They serve Professor Bianchi, the archæologist--keep him -and his books clean and cook his meals when he gives them anything to -buy food with. La Giannella was an orphan whom Mariuccia took into -compassion and brought up. Now that she has grown big and pretty, they -say the Professor wants to marry her--what silliness! But she is a good -girl and a great help to Mariuccia. Thank you, Signorino. Arrivederci," -as Rinaldo pressed a coin into his hand and scuttled away down the -church in most unseemly haste. - -Fra Tommaso looked after him and shook his head with an indulgent -smile. Youth and romance appealed to the heart of him still, even -as the dew and the sunshine penetrate to the heart of the gray old -olive-tree and cause it to break out into leaf and fruit. - -When Rinaldo reached the street the elder woman had disappeared, but -"la Giannella" (he wished her name had not such a Florentine sound!) -was standing before the vegetable stall apparently bargaining for -tomatoes with the witch who presided there. The girl was smiling down -at her, but the witch kept her eyes on her knitting and growled, "Take -them or leave them. They are four baiocchi the pound to you as to -others." - -When Rinaldo, standing in the cover of his own doorway opposite, -wondered what would happen next, Giannella stealthily drew the big key -from her pocket and let it fall on the stones. The old lady looked up -at the sudden clatter to find the girl still smiling at her and holding -out three coppers in her hand. - -"It is all I may spend, Sora Rosa," she said coaxingly. "Won't you be -kind and give me the pound?" - -"Ah, furba, cunning one!" exclaimed the other, "you always get what you -want when you make me look at you. There, run along with my beautiful -pomidori--and I hope they will choke the old miser you work for," she -added viciously, as Giannella gathered up her spoils and went quickly -down the street. - -Of course Rinaldo followed her; that was a compliment one might pay -to any woman so long as the regulation distance was maintained and no -attempt made to attract her attention. He saw Giannella vanish into the -palace, and then he slowly approached the portone, to try and find out -which of the various stairways she would ascend. The building was so -enormous, reaching the whole length of the street from Piazza Santafede -to the Ripetta (on which thoroughfare its second façade opened) that it -would be difficult to locate the modest apartment probably occupied by -the Professor and his ministrants. Rinaldo gazed through the archway to -where a fountain was bubbling in the courtyard, and found courage to -put his question to the porter, who was lounging about, smoking a pipe -while his wife scrubbed the lower steps of the chief staircase. It was -so early that the maestro di casa had not come to open the cancelleria -or office, a hall of sepulchral grimness on the ground floor, where the -archives were kept and all the business of the household and estates -carried on. The palace was still in dressing-gown and slippers, so -to speak, and the porter in a fairly condescending mood, so Rinaldo -was informed that to find Professor Bianchi he must take the third -staircase to the right and ascend to the fourth floor, where he would -see the name on the door. Rinaldo passed in, bent on discovering -whether the apartment looked into the courtyard or out on the Via -Santafede; if the latter, there might be some chance of catching -another glimpse of that lovely girl at one of the windows. Passing -along under the colonnade, where grooms were whistling and joking as -they curried horses and sluiced down carriage wheels, he reached "Scala -III." and raced up the long flights of steps, with two doors on every -landing, and his heart beat more with exultation than exercise when at -last he sprang on to the fourth of these and ascertained that "Bianchi" -was the name on a shabby card nailed to the right-hand door. This was -the street side. - -Ten minutes later he was back on his own terrace, craning his neck -to catch a glimpse of the palace. Only a far corner was visible from -where he stood. Between him and it, adjoining the side of his loggia, -stretched the wide roof of the Fathers' dwelling, most picturesquely -diversified, as he now perceived, by detached rooms opening on flowery -terraces perched at different levels, connected by irregular little -flights of steps, and here and there by a small bridge, railed in where -it spanned the depth of some inner court designed to give light to the -central rooms of the old pile. - -All was deserted at this hour; the Fathers were busy in the church or -with their pupils, far below; and Rinaldo, with a thrilling new sense -of adventure, started on a voyage of discovery. Vaulting over his own -parapet he landed on the flat gray tiles beyond and made his way, after -one or two mistakes, which led him to closed doors, to the farther side -of the little city on the roof. It struck him as a charming place, -quite operatic in arrangement, and much more appropriate for dreaming -lovers than meditating monks. - -As he dropped over the last division he started back, dazed by a -whirr of wings beating against his face. When they rose and hovered -above his head he saw that he had disturbed a flock of pigeons who -apparently had their home in this delightful retreat. He was standing -on a narrow loggia some twenty feet long, protected on the street side -by a solid parapet on whose broad top bloomed carnations, roses and -verbenas; a big oleander at one end waved its pink fragrant flowers -against the stainless blue of the sky; at the other, a fat little -lemon-tree displayed its pale rich fruit. Sweet herbs in boxes filled -all available corners, and against a side wall, shaded by a tile roof -which projected over a glass door, was a neat dovecote, showing that -the protesting pigeons were the rightful inhabitants of the place. - -The door was open, and Rinaldo, curious as a girl, peeped in. But there -was nothing to attract him inside. A pallet bed, a table, a straw -chair; a crucifix; and on the brick range a battered cooking pot; these -constituted the furniture, and an embrowned old sacred print the only -ornamentation. The explorer made a grimace at the austerity of the -abode and stepped back to the parapet to carry out the real object of -his visit. Yes, he had come to the right spot. Far below was the Via -Santafede, and opposite, on a level slightly lower than the one where -he stood, were certain fourth-floor windows which, by all the canons of -topography, should belong to the Bianchi apartment. Four were closed -and curtained; the fifth and sixth were open and evidently belonged -to the kitchen, for Rinaldo could see the bricks of the floor and -the corner of the range. There was one more beyond, open too, with a -carnation flowering on the sill. Within was a low chair with a basket -of work on it. Was this the spot where the Biondina was accustomed to -sit? Even as he framed the eager question, she came forward, put the -basket down beside the chair and settled herself to her sewing without -once glancing up. She had removed her lace veil, and her bent head -shone in the morning light as her needle flew in and out of the linen. -Once she turned to speak to someone in the room, and Rinaldo ducked -behind his flowered defenses in fear of being seen; but in a moment he -was leaning over again, taking in every detail of the picture across -the street. - -Now came another diversion. Giannella found some Indian corn on the -window sill and scattered it on the outer ledge, whistling softly. -One, two, half-a-dozen pigeons materialized out of blue space, paused -a moment among the flower-pots near Rinaldo, cocked their heads, -considered well, and then descended in a flock to gather the golden -harvest. He heard the girl laugh as she pushed away one which had -boldly settled on her shoulder. Then someone within called sharply, and -she left her place in haste. Rinaldo lingered awhile, but she did not -return; and conscience, suddenly aware of the flight of time, drove him -back to his own quarters, to the society of Themistocles, who was sick -and sulky to-day, and of the lay figure, fallen stiffly aside in the -grand chair, as if the red cotton cardinal were tired of waiting for -his truant portrait painter. - - - - -CHAPTER X - - -Mariuccia regarded it as too drastic an answer to her prayers when the -erring padrone returned from Ostia shivering and sneezing, his clothes -covered with green mud from the excavations where he had been joyously -burrowing over some valuable discoveries just made in Tiber's forgotten -port. His boots were soaked--his lunch uneaten. - -"Figlio mio," cried Mariuccia, all her animosity quenched in anxious -pity as she opened the door and beheld him in this heartbreaking -condition. "What have you been doing? But this is fatal. Domine Dio, -you shake, you have fever. Animal that I was to let you go in those old -boots. Come in and let me put you to bed at once." - -Bianchi resigned himself to her ministrations only too gladly, and -while she rolled him up in hot blankets and surrounded him with -fortifications of scalding bricks, Giannella, all undeterred by the -late hour, rushed off to the apothecary for quinine and other potent -drugs. She had never found herself in the street after dark before, but -charity gave her wings and she was whipped along by remorse. Suppose -the poor padrone were to die? And she had been feeling so cross with -him lately, had been so ungrateful for the little attentions which he -had been trying to show her and which probably only her own stupid -conceit had distorted into anything more alarming than kindness and -condescension. Did man but know it, he has only to catch a cold in the -head to make the women of his establishment forget all the grumpinesses -and tyrannies of years. Poor darling, he wasn't well all the time! What -a shame to have resented shortcomings which one ought to have known -were but symptoms of approaching indisposition. Quick, cosset him, -doctor him, and in a few days perhaps the gentle invalid will feel well -enough to put his pretty foot on our necks again. - -The Professor basked contentedly enough in the excitement he had -caused, and by the end of the second day was feeling much better. -Mariuccia having reduced him to a state of apparent subjugation and -tucked him up in his blankets with fearful threats of what would -overtake him if he put so much as a hand out of bed, hoisted a basket -of wet linen on her head and climbed up to the roof where each tenant -was allowed a small space for drying clothes. - -Giannella had been feeling unusually light-hearted all day. The padrone -was better--what a comfort. And the house was peaceful; there had been -no more "little arguments" between him and Mariuccia. Then the morning -had been so lovely when she slipped out to the five o'clock Mass, a -summer morning with fragrance everywhere, as if ghostly violets and -roses had been dancing about the streets all night and had left their -sweetness behind them when they fled at the coming of the sun. This -was not her own idea; Giannella could not be called imaginative; she -had found it in a book of very sentimental poems which somebody had -most inappropriately presented to the Professor. But it struck her -as pretty, and she had remembered it as she crossed the cool, empty -piazza in the summer dawn. Then it had been most consoling to see a -young man devoutly following the Mass. Young men were not in the habit -of coming to church on weekdays; Mariuccia said they were too lazy -or too frivolous. Mariuccia had a bad opinion of men in general, and -Giannella accepted it, as she accepted most axioms enounced by her -elders, in unruffled good faith. But here was living contradiction to -such pessimism, a sprightly-looking young gentleman, as well dressed -as Don Onorato himself, kneeling piously on a pretty silk handkerchief -from the "Deus in adjutorium" to the "Ite Missa Est." Giannella was -sure that she had never turned her head to look at him, and was a -little puzzled to know how she had ascertained all these attractive -details. True, she had dropped her rosary--very stupidly--and he had -picked it up and returned it to her with grave politeness but without -attempting to meet her glance of thanks. Ah, how comforting it was to a -Christian heart to witness such faith and piety. The world was perhaps -not so evil after all. Mariuccia, and the dear nuns who used to rail -at it, and Padre Anselmo, who told her to give special thanks for her -separation from it, had never seen a good, handsome young man saying -his prayers! - -So Giannella, singing softly to herself, was moving about, tidying up -the kitchen (still redolent with damp soap from Mariuccia's washtubs) -when she heard the Professor calling for her. She ran to his door and -looked in. There was very little of the Professor to be seen except -a pair of mournful eyes and a long nose; all the rest was blanket. -"Please give me my spectacles," he whispered hoarsely, "she took them -away, and I am like one blind. They are over there on the bureau. Santa -Pazienza! May I die of an apoplexy if I am ever so stupid as to catch -cold again. She makes me do my purgatory, that woman." - -Giannella brought the spectacles and respectfully placed them on the -sufferer's nose; he beamed at her through them gratefully. Then he -asked for something else, the Report of the Archæological Society, -there on the chair, under the coat. She handed it to him and was -about to move away when he slipped the pamphlet under his pillow and, -forgetting all his promises, put out a hand to detain the girl, saying, -"Wait a moment, Giannella. I have something to say to you--we may not -be alone again." - -Giannella gazed at him in surprise, "Well, Signor Professore?" she -asked. - -"It is this," he said; "but pray sit down. I fear you will be agitated. -Calm yourself, my child, and be prepared for a beautiful piece of news." - -He had never spoken to her so kindly before. What was coming? Something -very pleasant, certainly. Giannella carefully removed the coat and sat -down on the only chair, directly facing him, an expectant smile on her -pretty face. - -The Professor coughed and took a sip of barley water. "Giannella, you -are a good girl," he said solemnly, "and you are about to be rewarded. -Now--control your feelings--I intend to make you my wife." - -Giannella sprang to her feet with a shriek. He smiled indulgently. "I -warned you not to give way to emotion," he continued; "of course you -could not figure to yourself that this good fortune awaited you. There, -there, Giannella--be calm, I entreat you." - -The girl's face had turned crimson, she appeared about to choke. Then -she hid her face in her hands and turned away her head over the back of -the chair. Her shoulders were heaving convulsively. - -The grating of a key in the lock of the front door brought the -interview to a sudden end. "Run," whispered Bianchi, ducking down under -his coverings with an expression of terror, "she is coming. Not a word -to her. Run, you can thank me another time." - -Giannella was gone already, flying to the most distant corner in the -house, the corner behind her embroidery frame. There she stood, close -in the angle of the wall, her apron over her face, trying to suppress -all sound of the hysterical laughter which shook her from head to foot. - -Mariuccia's war-horse tread resounded on the bricks of the kitchen. She -called out through the open door, "Are you there, Giannella? Eh, but -the roof is scorching to-day. I thought the soles of my shoes would -come off." Receiving no answer she came and peered into the work-room, -saw the bowed figure in the corner, rushed to the girl and tore the -apron away from her face. "Giannella, what is the matter?" she cried. -"For the love of Heaven tell me what has happened." - -"Go to the padrone, quick," gasped Giannella, looking up at her with -scarlet cheeks and tear-drowned eyes. "Oh, mamma mia, I shall die of -laughing--it hurts--speak gently to him--he has gone mad." - -Mariuccia turned pale and her jaw fell. "Madonna Santissima," she -whispered, "give me strength. Has he got a knife?" In imagination she -saw the Professor leaping wildly round his room seeking for someone to -kill. - -"No, no, he is quiet--there is no danger, but he is quite mad, I fear. -It must be the fever, I suppose." - -"Leave it to me," Mariuccia exclaimed. "I will give him a calmante. -Where is the camomile?" - -A few minutes later she entered his room on tiptoe, inwardly cursing -the "scrocchio," the bit of hard-creaking leather which the shoemaker -always put into the soles of the boots (and charged extra for, the -brigand!) to make them sound new to their dying day. Bianchi was -pretending to be asleep. His nurse came and leaned over him anxiously. -He was breathing with suspicious regularity, and the confiscated -spectacles were still on his nose. - -"He has been getting up," she whispered to herself, "and the poor -boy has caught a chill. It has sent the blood to his head. But he -shall perspire, I will put on leeches--it will pass. Padroncino," she -murmured coaxingly, "wake up for a moment. Drink this." And she held -the scalding cup to his lips. - -The invalid was astute enough to see his advantage in her anxiety. He -opened his eyes wearily and gazed up at her. "I do feel very ill," he -said, "and it is less from the cold I caught than from the agitation -I suffered before going to Ostia. Oh, my nerves are in a terrible -state. I was not fit to go--after you had made me that scene. My poor -Mariuccia, you must never so upset me again. It is not safe. I do not -know now whether I shall ever recover from the shock." - -"What do you feel?" she asked anxiously. "Is it the head? Oh, you break -my heart. Rash beast that I was to let my evil tongue so disturb you." - -"And all for nothing," continued the patient reproachfully. "What had -I done? Merely proposed an act of benevolence--which I intended to -follow up with one of noble generosity. But your ignorant impetuosity -shall not turn me from my purpose. If I recover from this terrible -illness, this fire in my head, this numbness in my limbs, then, my -good Mariuccia, you shall carry the burden of maintaining Giannella no -longer. That pertains to me in future. Have you not realized that I am -going to marry her?" - -"Dio mio," wailed the old woman, "the girl is right, the fever has gone -to his head." Then, forcing herself to be calm for the sick man's sake, -she said in soothing tones, "Padroncino mio bello, you are agitating -yourself again. You must not talk any more. Go to sleep--and when -you are better you shall say all that is in your mind. There, are you -comfortable?" She smoothed the pillows, drew up the coverings, and left -him in the darkened room. - -Outside in the passage she leaned back against the wall, faint with -fear and remorse. It was all her fault. Who could say how this dreadful -visitation would end? In a fatal illness, or in permanent derangement -of that illustrious understanding? She would fetch a doctor at -once--God send she should not have to go for the priest! - -There was an anxious consultation between the two women over the -kitchen table that night. The doctor, put in possession of the facts, -had diagnosed the distemper as "rabbia rientrata" (unvented anger), one -of the most dangerous known to the faculty. How many regrettable losses -to society had it not caused! And how unfortunate that the aid of -science should not have been invoked at once. What could one do after -well-intentioned but ignorant persons had taken it upon themselves to -treat it for forty-eight hours? - -Mariuccia and Giannella collapsed under this bitter reproach, and it -was only when the afflicted Professor had been finally lured to slumber -by innocent opiates of orange-flower water that Giannella recovered -sufficiently to remark to her companion, "I do not think we really made -so many mistakes, after all. What did the doctor order but just what -you had done? Leeches, quinine, a sedative--I wonder if he knows so -very much more than you do?" - -"Tell me, Giannella?" Mariuccia asked, lifting her head and looking -at the girl curiously, "I had not time to ask you before--what did the -padrone say to you? What was it that first showed you he was delirious?" - -Giannella thought for a moment, then she replied, while the lamplight -showed a gleam of rebellious amusement in her eyes, "He told me that -he had a piece of beautiful good news for me, and I sat down to hear -it--and then he said he--he intended to marry me. I could not help -laughing. He looked so funny, and the thought was such craziness. But I -am sorry--I should have had more heart." - -Mariuccia reflected; then she shook her head sagely. "This craziness -has been coming on for a long time, I believe," she said, "it is not -all the result of our little argument the other day. I must tell you -now--though I did not mean to--that we were talking about you then, -Giannella. He said he wished to pay for your board--he, who counts -his coins as if they were beads of a rosary. 'Santo Baiocco, ora pro -nobis!' Proverino, it is his only fault. I ought not to speak of it -now that he is in such danger. And then I was angry--and he said to me -what he said to you this morning, that he intended to marry you. Now -let us reason a little, figlia mia. You have been at home for over four -years, and the padrone hardly seemed to see you till three months ago. -He changed then, suddenly. Now have you no suspicion of what was the -cause?" - -"I cannot imagine," replied Giannella simply. "I thought at first that -perhaps he was sorry for me because I should soon be growing old and -ugly and my shoes were going to pieces--and since dear Signora Dati of -good memory died--and the Princess is too busy to remember, there is -no one to get me any work. But now he speaks of--marriage. What man in -his right senses could wish to marry me, nearly twenty-one and without -a penny?" She looked up in perplexed good faith as she asked the -question, and the lamplight fell on the calm, lovely face which had so -enchanted one man that he dreamed of it all night and crept down to the -church morning after morning to catch another glimpse of it. - -"There might be plenty," growled Mariuccia, "if they could only see -you. You will be beautiful till you are a hundred, core of my heart. -Now don't smother me!" for Giannella suddenly ran round the table and -hugged her friend. "But the padrone is not like other men. The time has -come when I must tell you what I have discovered. You are young, you -saw nothing, but I saw, I understood. This bewitchment had a beginning. -It came with the first visit of that stout gentleman who asked you such -strange questions. Do you remember? Ah, they could not deceive me. I -wish I had thought of it when he was last here. If he comes again I -will ask him some questions, I can tell you. What did he want here, -putting folly into my poor boy's head and disturbing the tranquillity -of a Christian family? I have lived twenty-three years with that poor -afflicted angel in there, and never have we had a disagreement till -that fat demon, whoever he was, came to upset us all, and may his best -dead suffer for it. There, it is late, go to bed, Giannella, I am going -to sit up in here--the padrone may want something." - - - - -CHAPTER XI - - -Bianchi judged it prudent to prolong his relapse in order to profit -by the softening of heart it had induced in his attendants. He -obeyed Mariuccia's commands with touching submission and kept her -affectionately uneasy about him by well-timed sighs and complaints. She -would not leave the house till he should be better, and she would not -leave Giannella alone with him; in fact she bade her keep out of his -sight altogether, hoping rather forlornly that his mad project would -disappear with the other symptoms of his alarming indisposition. - -So Giannella went alone to Mass and marketing, and came home each day -with more pink in her cheeks, more light in her eyes. Her spirits -seemed to have returned and she hummed little tunes over her work, just -as she had done when she first came back from the convent. Some of the -moist sweetness of the summer morning followed her in when Mariuccia -opened the door to her and her parcels at seven o'clock; and through -the long hot days of July she looked as fresh and bright as an opening -rose in the first sunbeam. - -The inhabitants of the Via Tresette knew all about it long before -Giannella did. The dairyman's wife told her lord that the Signorino -Goffi was as good as in love, "bello che innamorato," with the -Biondina. "Don't tell me," she declared, "that a young fellow like -that would go to church every day at five o'clock--and bring down a -clean handkerchief to kneel on every blessed morning--if he were not -in love! He is rich. Has he not a splendid vigna outside Porta San -Giovanni, from which he received fruit and wine but yesterday? The man -who brought it told me all about him. He is disinterested, one can see -that, for he did not bargain more than a day over the rooms, and he has -never tried to beat me down on the eggs and ricotta--oh, he will marry -Mariuccia's Biondina, and was I not the cleverest of women to insist on -your building a good apartment that could accommodate a family, instead -of just a studio and a cubbyhole of a kitchen as you wished to do?" - -Sora Rosa opposite nodded her old head in approval of these sentiments, -delivered in clarion tones on the dairyman's doorstep. She had seen it -happening for a week now, had seen Giannella come down the street from -Palazzo Santafede with the sun behind her and Rinaldo with the sun on -his face emerge from his door at the same moment; had seen them meet -at the low entrance to the San Severino courtyard, pause an instant, -smile involuntarily, and then disappear as the heavy old portal swung -to behind them. - -Fra Tommaso too knew all about it. Divided between sympathy for -the youth and romance, and jealousy for the respect due the sacred -precincts, he had watched his old and his new parishioner closely, but -had found nothing to criticise in their behavior. "Good children, good -children," he said to himself as he saw Giannella go out and Rinaldo -follow her, with proper deliberation. Of course he had obtained the -young man's history in full from the communicative lady of the dairy, -and indulged in a little self-approval for having been the immediate -instrument of obtaining for the Biondina the fine instruction which -would fit her to be the sposa of that superior young gentleman, -Signorina Goffi. Padre Anselmo might talk about the evils of human -distractions, but there could not be anything very dangerous in them -when they had such splendid results at this. - -Things were nothing like so clear to the hero and heroine of the -popular little romance. They had traveled no farther than the outer -garden of love's fairy habitation, and Giannella at any rate did not -dream that anything sweeter or more perfect could lie beyond. The -thrilling excitement of seeing Rinaldo coming to meet her at the -doorway, the silent passage to their places in the chapel, the kneeling -so near each other for the blessed half hour--this had seemed enough -at first to bring her happiness for the day. But when on the fourth -morning Rinaldo had overtaken her in the court, and, with profound -apologies, returned to her the purse and key which she had left lying -on the chair--when, baring his head he looked in her face and she -saw the glow on his and heard his voice for the first time--then -Giannella's heart beat so wildly that she could find no words to say -and her trembling fingers almost dropped the objects he held out to her. - -Together they had left the courtyard, and Rinaldo, lifting his hat -respectfully, had turned away fearing she might think he was going to -have the presumption to accompany her. But when, on looking round, he -saw her entering the dairy, he reached the threshold in two strides, -for here was his opportunity. Sora Amalia, the proprietress, should -introduce him properly. Then Giannella would know as much about him as -he already knew about her. After that--leave it to him to make the most -of the acquaintance. - -As he entered the dark cool shop, Giannella was burying her face in -a huge posy of carnations which stood on the marble counter midway -between the butter and the fresh eggs. Sora Amalia gave him a cheery -good-morning, and Giannella lifted her face, all rosy, and dewy from -the flowers, and drew back a little as if to wait her turn until the -new-comer should have been attended to. Rinaldo, with a quick movement -of the head, manifested his wish to Sora Amalia, who, smiling broadly, -said: "Signorina Giannella, this is Signor Goffi, the great painter, -who has taken our apartment. Some day, if you like, I will take you -upstairs and show you his pictures. For to me he is already like a son. -Oh, signorino, that salad you gave me from your vigna--it was a cream, -a flower of tenderness. That of Sora Rosa over there is material, -tough, compared to it. And the wine--of a sincerity we had a treat last -night, Pippo and I." - -She chattered on, to give the young people time to look at each other, -and also to impress Giannella with the importance of the new lodger. As -soon as she ceased, Rinaldo caught at the proposal contained in her -speech. - -"My pictures are nothing to mount the stairs for, signorina," he said -eagerly, "but the view--if you would condescend, and Sora Amalia could -come up now?" - -"Oh, not now, I am afraid I have not time," Giannella interposed, -addressing Sora Amalia; "another day, perhaps, if you can come--and -Signor Goffi permits?" she added, looking up at him and flushing -divinely. "Now I have still to go to the apothecary with this -prescription--and he is not very near--and does take so long to prepare -the medicine--and you know, Sora Amalia, there is much to do at home." - -"Is there illness in the family, signorina?" Rinaldo inquired with -concern. "It grieves me to hear it." - -Sora Amalia touched his hand as it lay on the counter and gave him -a broad wink with the eye Giannella could not see. "Illness?" she -exclaimed, "there is indeed. The Signor Professore has been in bed for -a week. Now, signorino, if you wish to do him a good turn--and get a -nice walk in the morning air for your health's sake--you will take -this prescription and get it made up, and bring it yourself to Sora -Mariuccia, who will thank you for sending Giannella home so quickly." - -She had whisked the paper from the girl's hand and held it out to him, -laughingly defending it from the rightful owner, who was trying to get -it back. - -"Oh, please, Sora Amalia," Giannella pleaded, "how can you imagine that -I would let Signor Goffi take all that trouble for us? I will go for -it myself, of course." - -But Rinaldo was quick to seize the golden opportunity. The paper -vanished into his pocket and he was making for the door when Giannella -ran after him. "Please, please, since you are determined to be so -charitable," she said, "here is the money to pay for it," and she -tendered a silver coin. He took it gravely, and they both paled a -little at the touch of hand and hand. - -"I will bring the medicine to the palazzo," he said rather huskily. - -"How could you, Sora Amalia?" Giannella remonstrated when he was gone; -"what will he think of being asked to do such a thing for a stranger?" - -"I will show you to-morrow what he thinks," replied the good woman, -"and perhaps I will give you some of it. There will be a pile of fruit -and vegetables a yard high, from his vigna, on this counter to-morrow -morning. Run along and tell Sora Mariuccia all about it--and be sure to -open the door to him yourself when he brings the medicine." - -Giannella was rather reticent with Mariuccia, however, and gave her -story of how Sora Amalia's lodger had run off with the prescription in -as few words as possible. She expected to receive a good scolding for -the indiscretion she must have committed--or permitted--before things -reached such a pass, though she could not quite see where she had been -in fault. - -Mariuccia had no such doubts. "That blessed Sora Amalia!" she -exclaimed, her eyebrows meeting in rhadamanthine severity across her -low forehead. "What a want of education! Could she not perceive that -she was taking the most indiscreet liberty--imposing on the gentleman's -good nature, so that he must have been deeply displeased? I will -apologize to him when he comes. I will tell him that we are shocked at -that woman's imprudence. Four flights of stairs to climb, and his time -wasted! I wonder you did not die of shame, Giannella, at being made the -occasion of such inconvenience to him." - -Giannella remembered Signor Goffi's ecstatic alacrity and ventured to -say that he did not seem at all annoyed, on the contrary, very happy to -be of service. - -"Then," thundered Mariuccia, "you have spoken to him before. You -have permitted him to make your acquaintance--in secret. Oh, this is -terrible. How can I ever let you out of my sight again?" - -"I never spoke to him till this morning," cried the girl. "I have -seen him, yes, how could I help it? He comes to Mass every day. Is -the church my private chapel? Is no one else to enter it while her -Excellency, Giannella Brockmann, is saying her prayers there? How dare -you say that I have made his acquaintance in secret? I will not hear -such things. You speak as if you believed evil of me." - -Was this Mariuccia's submissive Giannella, this outraged young woman -with scarlet cheeks and flashing eyes standing up to her inquisitor -with rebellion in every tone of her voice? Mariuccia drew back from her -in surprise, and before she had recovered enough to reply, the doorbell -tinkled hoarsely. - -"There he is," said Giannella. "You must open to him yourself. I will -not. He would see that you have been pouring shame over me." And she -turned her back and sat down to her work, shaking with indignation. - -Mariuccia went to the door, nothing loth. "I shall see what he is like -at any rate," she told herself in the passage. "Some silly dandy who -thinks he can make eyes at a poor girl because she has to go out alone. -That's the kind. But I'll settle him." And she opened the door with -a jerk and stood squarely on the threshold as if barring the way to -impertinent intruders. - -"With permission?" inquired a courteous voice, and one hand held out -a small parcel while the other removed the hat from a handsome young -head. "I took the liberty--Sora Mariuccia will pardon me, I trust. I -have heard of her so much from Fra Tommaso--and I knew she was anxious -to have this as soon as possible. How is the chiarissimo Professore -this morning?" - -If the young man felt any chagrin at the substitution of this janitress -for a prettier one he effaced all signs of it from his address. He -was so good-looking, so urbane, there was such honest kindness in his -smile, that the hardest feminine heart must have softened to him. -Mariuccia thawed at once. What if he were to prove--but she chased away -the rosy dream, and answered his inquiry about the padrone's health, -thanked him for his amiability and, remembering that the Professor -was safe in bed, was actually going to ask Rinaldo to enter. It went -against all her traditions to keep anyone standing at the threshold. - -But Rinaldo had his traditions too. One did not impose oneself as a -visitor on the strength of a rendered service. "Levo l' incommodo" (I -remove the inconvenience of my presence), he said, bowing and turning -to depart. Then a thought struck him, and he came back to ask: "Can -I be of any service in the way of commissions while the Professor is -ill? it would be for me a pleasure. I live over the dairy in the Via -Tresette, close by. A word to Sora Amalia, and I am at your disposal at -any time, day or night. Arrivederci, Sora Mariuccia." - -"A beautiful youth," she remarked to herself when she had thanked him -and closed the door. "And well brought up. He would not even come in. -I do not believe he is running after Giannella at all. Poor child--it -might be a good thing for her if he did--if he has any money. San -Giuseppe mio, send us a good husband for her, and restore my little -padrone to his right mind. I will never complain of his faults any more -if only he drops his crazy idea of marrying Giannella. Eccomi quá, here -I come!" This in answer to a querulous call from the invalid's room. - -When she returned to the kitchen Giannella's bad temper had -disappeared. She was standing at the window amusing herself with -feeding Fra Tommaso's pigeons, who looked upon her as their -supplementary Providence, since she always had crumbs and corn in store -for them. The wide window sill so near the deep palace eaves was -shady in the hot hours, and the pretty tame creatures often haunted -it, strutting up and down, carrying on their little sham fights over -tempting morsels or boldly hopping on Giannella's shoulder to ask for -more. She was quite unconscious that she was ever watched from across -the way at these moments, but, to tell the truth, Rinaldo trespassed -unwarrantably on Fra Tommaso's premises and wasted a good deal of time -in the occupation of feeding his eyes on the sight of his goddess and -the preoccupation of preventing her or anyone else from finding it out. - -Themistocles was bolder. He had taken to Fra Tommaso's loggia and his -own kin there very kindly, and had wheeled towards Giannella's window -more than once in the wake of the rest; but he had never settled there -till this morning, when he at last permitted himself to be courted and -captured. - -"Fra Tommaso has got a new pigeon and a fine name for it too," said -Giannella as Mariuccia entered. She had made up her mind to pardon her -old friend and this seemed a good way of opening up a reconciliation. -"See, is he not a beauty? And he has a silver band round his neck, with -'Themistocles' on it. What grandeur! Fra Tommaso grows extravagant in -his old age. Ah, ungrateful one," she cried, as the bird slipped from -her hand and soared away over the convent roof, "being full you depart, -but you will return with great love when you are hungry again." - -"That reminds me," Mariuccia replied, catching at the flag of truce, -"that gentleman who brought the medicine just now spoke of Fra Tommaso. -He seems a nice quiet young man." - -"Who? Fra Tommaso?" Giannella asked. "He seems to me a nice talkative -old one." And she laughed, being too full of happiness to quarrel long -with anyone to-day. Her troubles seemed to have vanished into air. -The padrone was out of sight and mind, and the sun was rising on her -horizon at last. - -After this it was impossible to refuse to speak to Rinaldo when she met -him in the mornings, and the little conversations in the back court of -San Severino became very friendly and intimate. Rinaldo always began -with eager inquiries after the health of the illustrious Professor, as -if his peace of mind depended on the answer. Then he hoped that the -most respectable Sora Mariuccia was well. After that, conventionalities -were forgotten. In the most natural way in the world each came to know -all about the other. Rinaldo had learned Giannella's limited life -story from her own lips, had had to avow his admiration of Mariuccia's -goodness--"She is an angel, that woman," Giannella declared one -morning, her eyes suffused with emotion; "she seems cross and rough, -but she has a heart of gold. Oh, you will love her when you know her -better." - -And Rinaldo, his heart quite full of another love, proclaimed that -he already felt for the good woman the affection of a son. There was -nothing he would not do to prove it. Let Giannella try him. Meanwhile, -would she not persuade Sora Mariuccia to bring her to his studio some -Sunday afternoon? They could have a little refreshment on the terrace, -and he would get his friend, Peppino Sacchetti, who sang divinely, to -come and bring his mandolin, and though indeed the pictures were not -worth looking at, the signorina would be amused at the antics of the -pigeon, Themistocles, who would dance about when Peppino played, and -was altogether a most sagacious bird. - -The first part of this speech opened up a dizzy vista of happiness not -to be contemplated for a moment when one had only one old frock and -one's shoes were going to pieces. So, with a determined gulp, Giannella -ignored it and replied to the last words only. - -"Oh, he is yours then, the one with the silver collar? I thought he -belonged to Fra Tommaso. Why, he comes to see me every day." - -"Beato lui, too happy bird!" cried Rinaldo, with sudden passion in eyes -and voice. "My little sister sent him to me from Orbetello, saying -he would bring me good fortune. It is he who is fortunate." Then, as -the color flushed up in Giannella's cheek at his cry, he went on more -quietly, "Signorina, I am coming to-morrow to bring Sora Mariuccia -something from the vigna--poor stuff, but fresher than we get in the -city. Then I shall myself invite her for next Sunday. What kind of -ice-cream do you like best." - -"Framboise," she replied, without a moment's hesitation. Then -she remembered. Such pleasures were not for her. She turned away -to hide the silly tears that would come into her eyes, and said -chokingly, "Oh, please do not speak of it, Signor Goffi. It is quite -impossible--there are good reasons. We never go anywhere--we could not -come." - -Rinaldo was silent, looking at the averted head where the gold gleamed -royally through the carefully mended lace. His trained eye took in the -poverty of the thin black dress with its neat little darns here and -there; it clothed the delicate young form very kindly, but it was a -thousand times unworthy of such honor. Being artist as well as lover, -he understood, and his heart was so hot with love and pity that for -the first time in his life words failed him. Giannella moved towards -the outer gate of the court, and he followed dumbly, aching to find -expression for what he felt. But there was nothing to say which would -not have been an offense; he could not offer sympathy where he had no -right to seem to understand. His Latin tact came to his aid, however, -as he held the door open for her to pass out. - -"We will put off our party a little, then, signorina," he said, gentle -detaining her. "The weather is warm just now. Perhaps it would please -you better to come to the vigna, some day when the grapes are ripe? It -will be cooler then." And he added to himself, "And by that time, my -beautiful heart, you will have a Sunday dress of splendid blue silk, -and a gold chain to match your hair, and you will go to your own, for -the vigna will belong to you. We will be married on the first Sunday in -October, and what a sposina you will make!" - -Giannella murmured something and hastened away towards the Piazza -Santafede, and Rinaldo stood looking after her till she disappeared. -Then he regained his studio in haste, and applied himself to the -picture for the rich foreigner. He was to receive five hundred scudi -for it, and that was just the sum he wanted to put the apartment in -order and buy his wedding gifts for his bride. He had been tempted to -commit the extravagance of having a living model this time, so as to -get on faster; but he reflected that the hired peasant would not look -much more like a real cardinal than the ever-obedient but rickety clay -figure, and then--three pauls an hour! No, it was not to be thought -of--when one had set one's mind on that other extravagance, that holy -folly of marriage. - -"Come along, your Eminence," he exclaimed as he knocked Themistocles -off the ragged head and crowned it with a red skullcap. Then he got -his old friend seated in the cherub-crowned chair, pinned the red -tablecloth round him in dignified folds, and in half-an-hour had -forgotten that he was not contemplating a live dignitary of the Church. - -Towards evening the friend of whom he had spoken to Giannella, Peppino -Sacchetti, came to tempt him away to the Tiber for a row and a swim -before the sun went down. - -"Capperi, Nalduccio," he cried as he looked from the model to the -picture, "but you have a fine big imagination! I could not have drawn -that from our old manikin. I see Themistocles has been trying to mend -that bump on its nose. When are you going to have living models? You -are a rich man, you rascal, and you can pay for them now. I wish I -could." - -"Peppino mio," replied Rinaldo, as he worked his palette off his thumb -and prepared to wash his brushes, "I shall have a living model, and -a very beautiful one, next October. Meanwhile I have an imagination -which is neither fine nor big--but, thank Heaven, extremely obedient. -It saves me much money. While I am painting, I see a cardinal, and I -am most respectful to him. I address that person in the tablecloth -as 'your Eminence' and push him into his place with reverence when -he tumbles down. When the rich foreigner receives the picture, he -also sees a cardinal, and he admires him, for he has probably never -cast eyes on a real one. The picture goes with him to his nasty cold -heretic country where there are no cardinals. Everybody admires it, -and the naturally good of heart wish that they belonged to a Church -governed by noble ecclesiastics with pink cheeks and Chinese white -hair and beautiful taper fingers (I always draw the hands from those -same old casts), and if God is good to them they come to Rome and save -their souls. I obtain all these fine results and save many precious -scudi--because I have an obedient imagination. Cultivate one, Peppino -mio, it is as good as a savings bank." - - - - -CHAPTER XII - - -The hereditary lawyer of the Santafede family caused great -inconvenience about this time by leaving a world of woe and -circumlocution, to reap the reward stored up for honest men of business -elsewhere. Since that section of the heavenly mansions cannot be -overcrowded it is to be hoped that he met with a warm welcome. His -demise, lamentable though it appeared to his employers, brought solid -satisfaction to his successor, a stout young gentleman with a turn for -malicious humor, whom he had himself trained and designated as the -disciple on whom his mantle of faded parchments was to fall when he -himself should no longer have any use for it. - -Guglielmo De Sanctis swelled with pride when Ferretti, the power behind -the Santafede throne, sent for him to come to the cancelleria to make -out a new lease for one of the apartments. He had acquired considerable -knowledge of the Santafede affairs through having for some years passed -attended to those of the Princess's brother, Cardinal Cestaldini, who -had warmly endorsed his recommendation for the vacant post. As the -young lawyer saw in the appointment another source of income and honor -for the rest of his life, his heart was gay within him as he passed -under the archway into the Santafede palace to answer the maestro di -casa's summons one fine morning late in July. - -The Professor was better that day and Mariuccia intended to regale him -with one of her "golden fries;" Giannella, running out in haste to buy -whitebait and cucumbers, and counting her coppers in the corner of the -red handkerchief which takes the place of the market basket in Rome, -nearly bumped into the lawyer as he turned the angle of the colonnade. -She pulled up with hurried excuses; he declared they should come from -him; and then, recognizing the padrone's mysterious visitor of some -weeks ago, she greeted him politely and asked after his respectable -health. He did not reply at once, but stood looking at her with -slightly knitted brow and a puzzled expression. Then, calling up a -smile, he removed his hat and held it in his hand while he assured her -that his health was fairly good, thank Heaven, hoped the scirocco was -not too trying to that of the Signorina Brockmann; though indeed, if he -might be permitted to say so in all sincerity, that was evident, since -she looked so well (his eyes said: so pretty), and reminded her that he -was always at her command should she require his services. - -Giannella, unaccustomed to flowery speeches, was puzzled in her turn; -she thanked him briefly, and passed on, unwilling to be seen conversing -alone with any young man--except one. De Sanctis turned and gazed -after her. "What a curious girl!" he said to himself; "she has bought -no finery, she runs out marketing with a red handkerchief and a few -baiocchi--I wonder what she is doing with her money? I suppose she has -lived so long with Bianchi that she has caught some of his parsimonious -tricks. Oh well, it is none of my business. Now for Ferretti," and he -dived into the cool vaulted hall of the cancelleria. - -The Professor was certainly much better. Indeed he intended to go out -that afternoon to visit the Cardinal and have an exciting talk about a -discovery made by his Eminence, a bit of an inscription unearthed in -the Cestaldini cellars by the workmen who were repairing the drains. -At this time of year these were always looked to, as heavy rains -usually closed the long summer drought, and the Tiber, rising in his -silt-choked bed, was apt to bubble up and make improvised fountains in -unexpected places. On the discovery of the interesting fragment the -Cardinal had suspended the repairs, feeling sure that the remainder -of the inscription could be found, and had sent for his friend Carlo -Bianchi, that light of dark learnings, to come and advise him as to -further investigations. - -Bianchi was keen to get on the scent, but there was one visit he -proposed to pay before calling on the Cardinal. In all the dignity -of clean clothes and returning health, he summoned Giannella to his -study that morning and repeated his declaration of the generous -intention to add to all his past kindness to her by shortly making -her his wife. Seeing that he was perfectly well and otherwise in his -right mind she did not laugh this time, but told him, with a quiet -decision he had never yet seen her display, that she could not even -pretend to consider his proposal an honor; it was degrading to himself -and repulsive to her. What possible grounds for a union, she asked, -could exist between them? He was old enough to be her father, rich -and distinguished. She was a waif and a pauper, and ignorant in the -extreme, having forgotten, as she mournfully declared, the little -book learning that the nuns had taught her, and being now only fit -to cook and clean and mend, services she was most willing to render -him in return for his charity in allowing her to live under his roof. -There she trusted she might still remain--if he would at once and -forever abandon a project, the fulfillment of which would only make him -ridiculous in the eyes of his friends, and to which she herself would -never, never consent. - -Exit Giannella, shaking with the anger of battle, so new to her calm, -equable nature, and enter Mariuccia, who had frankly listened at the -keyhole and heard every word. This time she would not let her feelings -master her. She preserved a respectful attitude--with superhuman effort -and many mental appeals to "Domine Dio" to keep His Hand on her head. -After repeating all Giannella's arguments, she implored her beloved -padroncino, whom she loved as a master and as a son, by all he held -dearest in life, personal comfort, avoidance of expense, the respect of -his many admiring friends, to put this caprice out of his clever head -and restore peace to his unfortunate but ever devoted family. - -Mariuccia's address was a triumph of good sense and good temper, but -Bianchi was unmoved by it. A stony silence ensued when she ceased. Then -Bianchi, glowering at her through those big spectacles, told her that -an ignorant female could be no judge of an instructed man's motives or -actions; that he thanked her for her expressions of affection, which he -wished she would prove by either minding her own business or by using -her influence to bring Giannella to a more reasonable frame of mind. -He intended--here he glanced at a fly-blown calendar on the wall and -appeared to be making a rapid mental calculation--yes, he intended to -espouse Giannella in about three weeks; in any case before the end of -August. Mariuccia might retire. He was going out. - -Mariuccia, cold at heart, found her way back to the kitchen, sank -into a chair and let her head fall forward on the table. Giannella, -who had been working off her feelings by some violent sweeping in the -inner room, came and knelt beside her and comforted her dumbly; both -their hearts were heavy with the sense of disaster, but Giannella -had something which Mariuccia had not--youth and love and hope, to -strengthen her hard tried courage. - -When he was left alone Bianchi locked the door and stuffed a bit of -paper into the key hole. Then he took a rusty key from his vest pocket -and opened the old secretary by the window. From one of the pigeon -holes he drew forth a bundle of papers, laid them on the table, and -read them through one by one. Had Giannella been able to look over -his shoulder her eyes would have opened wide at the revelations -they contained, and at the same time all surprise at the padrone's -extraordinary infatuation would have died with the knowledge. But -Giannella, Bianchi was resolved, never should see them, never should -know that her unwillingly written signature was attached to the -acknowledgment of certain respectable sums accruing to her while she -should be still under the Professor's tutelage as a minor, and to be -delivered into her own keeping on her twenty-first birthday. For the -documents on Bianchi's table set forth that one Siegfried Brockmann, -a merchant in Copenhagen, had died about a year earlier, leaving -his modest fortune to the person who should prove to be his nearest -relation. As he had had a brother who lived abroad, the conscientious -authorities instituted a search, which resulted in the discovery that -the brother had met his end in Rome, and that the person who should -claim the benefit of Siegfried Brockmann's will was this brother's -daughter, proved by the records of the Danish Consulate to have -survived her father. Inquiries of the police (who in those days kept -a strict registry of the families of all householders), and of the -parish priests, revealed that the child had been taken in charge by -one Mariuccia Botti, who had ever since that date been in the service -of Professor Carlo Bianchi, the distinguished archæologist. As this -gentleman, when referred to, claimed to be the responsible guardian -of the girl, and furnished, from his hastily reconstructed memoirs, -convincing proofs of her identity, the negotiations for the transfer -of the money were carried on with him by Signor De Sanctis, the legal -adviser of the Danish Consulate, and he was now in command of some -two thousand scudi a year, to be handed over in due form to Giannella -on her coming of age in the ensuing September. Since that date was so -close when the business was finally wound up in July, it was agreed -that the principal, together with the year's income which had accrued -between the testator's death and the finding of his heir, should lie -at interest in the Banco di Roma, barring the sum of one hundred scudi -handed to Bianchi to pay him for Giannella's maintainance during the -interval, and two hundred to be given to the girl herself to provide -her with a proper wardrobe and a little pocket money. - -It was for this sum that Giannella had signed a receipt. The Professor, -on the first announcement of her inheritance, confided to De Sanctis -that the girl was of a nervous, excitable temperament, and begged to -be allowed to inform her of her good fortune himself. He would break -the news quietly and gently. He added that she was shy with strangers, -and, like so many young ladies, inclined to be hysterical on slight -provocation. Giannella would not have recognized herself from the -Professor's description. De Sanctis in his one short conversation with -her, had satisfied himself that she was of sound mind; her answers to -his questions as to her childhood at Castel Gandolfo, her education at -the convent, her having no friends except Signor Bianchi and Mariuccia, -were given with frankness and clearness. Bianchi, in a subsequent -interview with the lawyer, told him that she had been much overcome -by the revelation made to her, and suggested, in order to avoid any -emotional scene, "so disturbing to a man of business," that he should -give her the two hundred dollars himself and she should sign a receipt -for it in De Sanctis' presence without any further discussion of the -subject. - -De Sanctis consented gladly. He had a horror of scenes, pleasant or -unpleasant, and was anxious to save time and get the little business -off his mind. The Professor's reputation for parsimony had rather -heightened than diminished the general opinion of his probity. It -seemed fortunate for the girl that she should have such an upright and -careful adviser. Nevertheless the lawyer's bewilderment was great at -meeting her quite a fortnight after the conclusion of the transaction -in the same garb of decent poverty, the same attitude of humble -domestic service in which he had first found her. But he reflected that -there was no accounting for tastes--and dismissed the matter from his -thoughts. - -So Mariuccia's brave inventions about the Brockmann relations had -materialized at last. No wonder that the Professor's attention was -attracted to Giannella. Even Mariuccia would have appeared less -forbidding in his eyes had she suddenly inherited money. As for -Giannella, he honestly wondered that he had never noticed before that -she was young and beautiful; now that he had time to think of it, he -remembered with what good-natured readiness she had waited on him and -worked for him; something like a real affection stirred in his heart. -It began to reach out for its rights in comradeship and sympathy, and -he permitted himself to look forward to the more cheerful aspects of -advancing years which he had seen others enjoy but had as yet not -provided for himself. If self was the central motive of his actions at -this juncture, at least his feelings towards the girl were as warm and -kind as his strange nature would permit; and he contemplated, as he -thought, no injury to her; her interests would be carefully safeguarded -in case of his dying first, and in the meantime he was doing her a -benefit by preventing her from squandering her money. So quickly does -self-deception do its work that in a few days after he made up his mind -to marry her he had persuaded himself that he would have done so long -ago had not common prudence barred the way. No man with a sense of duty -would take a portionless bride, of course. But since that reproach had -fallen from her, dear, pretty sweet-tempered Giannella would make an -excellent wife and do him credit, since, probably on account of the -regard felt for himself, she had received a decent education. She had -much to thank him for, he reflected, and he was glad that in the recent -manifesto of his intentions, so rudely received by her, he had not -permitted her to forget her obligations to him. Her unwillingness in -no way affected his calm conviction that he would carry his point in -the end, but there was no time to be lost. Giannella was within a few -weeks of her twenty-first birthday, and Bianchi, who, though he had no -particular impatience to enter heaven, was mightily afraid of hell, -knew that unless she and her money had been lawfully and irrevocably -confined to his keeping before that date he must either become a common -thief or hand over her fortune to her as soon as she came of age. - -And then--good-bye pretty money, good-bye pretty Giannella. Mariuccia -and the Curato, and the honest gossips of the neighborhood would find -a pious, honest young man with a fortune more or less equal to hers; -there would be a wedding, and confetti, and a drive round the Villa -Borghese in a livery carriage; and the Professor would return to his -defrauded home and have to watch Mariuccia court a painful death by -devouring fifteen baiocchi's worth of food a day all to herself. No, -these wrongs must not be. The foolish women should know nothing of -defunct Scandinavian uncles until the unconscious heiress was safely -ticketed as a prudent man's wife. Then how pleased they would be if -he spent a few pauls of Giannella's money in taking them out of a -Sunday afternoon to one of the osterias beyond the gates where wine and -maccheroni were so good and cheap! - -But he told himself again that there was no time to lose if all his -pleasant dreams were to be realized. He had not counted on the girl's -resistance; it had caused him a painful surprise to find that any -young woman should be so devoid of proper feeling, should show such -a complete lack of gratitude for past benefits and those which he -now proposed to confer. Of course Mariuccia had much to do with it. -Opposition from her he had expected; it was not to be supposed that -she would relish the idea of having to look upon Giannella as her -mistress. The "stultus vulgus" was always so jealous and suspicious. -And unfortunately Mariuccia's was a strong character in a vulgar way. -The kind-hearted Professor acknowledged to himself that it would -cost him many struggles to break down the combined resistance of two -obstinate women, and that discomfort would be added to conflict in the -process, since the ordering of his daily life was in their hands. He -must find an ally of their own sex, one sufficiently imposing to awe -them into good behavior. Who so fitted to speak with authority as the -Princess, to whom Giannella owed so much gratitude and respect? He -would lay the facts--with a few insignificant reservations--before the -great lady and beg her to intervene for the good of the orphan in whom -she had taken such benevolent interest a few years ago. - -Rather resenting the necessity of wasting time over these details when -that thrilling discovery of the Cardinal's awaited his inspection, he -presented himself at the Princess's door and sent in his card with -the respectful request that her Excellency would grant him a short -interview on a matter of great importance. He spent some trying moments -in the visitor's waiting-room, in uncertainty as to the result of his -application, and was greatly relieved when informed that the Princess -would have the pleasure of seeing him. - -Teresa Santafede was a good deal harassed at this time by domestic -matters; she missed her faithful Elena Dati more every day; Onorato -was distressing her deeply by still evading the charms and chains of -matrimony; her health seemed breaking down, she began to feel old and -to lose confidence in herself. A mistake had been made somewhere; life -had proved unruly and would not fit into the frame she had made for -it. Still she was alert to the call of duty, and never sent away any -person who had a right to see her. This wearisome Professor evidently -wanted something. She hoped it could be quickly and reasonably granted -him--ask him to walk in. - -All her sense of duty could not disarm her manner of a certain -stiffness, the outcome of the nobles' deep-seated hereditary antagonism -to the middle class, the class which once furnished hundreds of clients -to every great patrician and is now independent of patronage yet still -mean, obscure, envious yet critical, nameless but ubiquitous, carrying -on its colorless existence entirely apart from their illuminated -sphere. A chasm of separation from her visitor was disclosed in the -Princess's slight, formal bow, and as Bianchi gingerly sat down -on the edge of a chair opposite her sofa, and dropped his hat and -gloves on the floor, his heart sank a little, not from any sense -of inferiority--the Romans are not snobs--but simply because the -atmosphere was not one of success. He was, however, conscious of -the justice of his cause, and after an opening speech, in which he -reminded his hearer of her former benevolence to a certain orphan -girl, unfolded his case with a good deal of tact and plausibility. As -he went on, the Princess became first interested, then sympathetic. -The undoubted benefit of such a marriage for a friendless young woman -was evident. Suppose, said Bianchi, that he or his old servant were to -die? In what an impossible position would Giannella find herself! Could -she remain in his home without a respectable female's companionship? -Could she, in case of his own demise (here the Princess made a polite -gesture of deprecation), be cast on the world, young and attractive -as she was, with only an aged peasant to protect her from its snares -and temptations? The Excellency must surely see that Giannella's only -safety lay in a respectable marriage, and the speaker's good heart, -yearning over the girl's future, had prompted him to throw himself into -the breach. - -The moment the word "temptation" sounded in her ears the Princess's -conscience hurled itself to the rescue of a soul in danger, just as the -nearest surgeon hastens to give first aid to the victim of a street -accident. Likes or dislikes, youthful romance or aged prejudice, all -must be swept aside to preserve the innocent and convert the sinful. -Safety awaited Giannella (whose existence had for some time escaped the -Princess's overburdened memory) as the wife of the good, disinterested -man who seemed to have put his own feelings out of the question and to -be pleading her cause alone with fine singleness of heart. - -"I see. Yes, I agree with you," the hostess said, bowing slightly -to show that the interview was ended. "Send the girl to me, and let -the servant accompany her. I will speak to Giannella alone, and will -then have a few words with the old woman, who can only be acting from -jealous and unworthy motives in thus opposing a marriage which, in -spite of a trifling difference of age, offers such advantages to -that unfortunate orphan. I am not at all surprised at the servant's -conduct. The common people are always ignorant and stubborn, but they -can see reason when it is explained to them. I have generally found -our contadini tractable. Excuse me for mentioning such a thing--but I -suppose there is no secret attachment, no foolish love affair which is -causing Giannella to behave so strangely? That is quite impossible, is -it not?" - -"Quite impossible, Excellency," the Professor declared. "We have -brought her up most strictly, have never let her out of our sight. I -can assure you that she has never spoken to a young man in her life!" - -Had the Princess become more human with the passing years? A gleam of -amused pity touched her eyes and mouth; but she replied gravely: "That -is as it should be. I shall expect her to-morrow then at ten o'clock. -I am leaving for Santafede at twelve and shall not return to Rome till -October. It was fortunate, Signor Professore, that you came to-day." -Bianchi bowed himself out with effusive thanks. As he went on his way -to keep his interesting appointment with the Cardinal, his appearance -was one of such elation that a student who belonged to his class at the -university laughingly pointed him out to his two companions, Rinaldo -Goffi and Peppino Sacchetti. "There goes old 'brontolone' (grumbler) -Bianchi, boys," he said, "just look at him. I never saw him so happy -before. He might have won a terno in the lottery! But I am sure it is -nothing more than a copper picked up in the street--or another mouldy -old statue discovered in a cabbage patch. What things some men do stick -for stars in their sky!" - -"Is that Professor Bianchi?" asked Rinaldo, looking after the receding -figure with sudden interest. "Capperi! He is no beauty!" - -"Who is, at that age?" laughed Peppino, and he began to hum, "La -gioventu é un fiore, che presto se ne vá." - -But Rinaldo did not laugh. A chance phrase of the sacristan of San -Severino came back to his mind. "Now that she is big and pretty, -they say he means to marry her." He had hardly thought of it again. -Giannella's eyes, Giannella's smile, had told him that he had no -rivals; but the insolence of the Professor's pretensions suddenly -kindled him to a fury of resentment. That sallow, hook-nosed, -round-shouldered old fellow would dare to approach her, was trying to -wrap the cobwebs of his ugly age round her sweet freshness? For the -first time in his life Rinaldo felt a passionate hatred fasten on his -heart and pump the lust of murder through his veins. He was standing -rooted to the spot, gazing at the entrance to Palazzo Cestaldini, -through which the Professor had disappeared. - -"Come on, Nalduccio," said Peppino, shaking him by the arm, "what on -earth is the matter? You look as if you had seen the Lupo Manaro." - -"I wish it would catch him," growled Rinaldo, turning to his friends -with such an expression that they drew back from him in horror. "May -he and all his best dead be the werewolf's food forever. No, I shall -not come to the river. The sight of that antipatico Professor of yours -has upset me. It will be more prudent to go home and take a dose of -medicine than to go for a cold swim after such an emotion." - -"Is it as bad as that?" inquired Peppino with affectionate concern. -"Poveraccio, perhaps he has the evil eye?" and he fingered the coral -horn on his watch chain as he pronounced the fatal word. "If so, why, I -think I will come with you. This meeting might bring us bad luck on the -river. It is a Friday, too. Yes, I will go back with you, Rinaldo." - -"Stuff and nonsense!" exclaimed the third member of the party, the -irreverent student who had drawn attention to Bianchi; "I and thirty -others have been attending his lectures for the last year, and nothing -has happened to us. He is as ugly as hungry, and as tiresome as the -Latin in a sermon, but as for the other thing, I never heard that he -was accused of it. What a couple of superstitious young donkeys you -are!" - -"That is all very well," retorted Peppino, "but when the mere sight -of a man makes such an impression as that--are you feeling worse, -Nalduccio?" he inquired hastily, seeing the artist's face screwing -itself up into a frightful grimace--"it is folly, even impiety, to -disregard it. Come along, Rinaldo, we will stop at the apothecary's and -get him to prescribe for you, and I will come and sit with you till you -feel better." - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - - -The Professor had a delightful hour with Cardinal Cestaldini, an hour -during which personal preoccupations ceased to exist. The Cardinal, -indeed, never seemed to have any of these; his bland, benevolent, -well-ordered existence left no loophole for worry, the cipher word -which expresses in five letters regrets for the past, irritation in the -present, and anxiety concerning the future. Whatever the occupation of -the moment might be, he came to it gladly and preparedly, knew that it -was either obligatory or legitimate, and turned from it to the next -without haste, without delay, without a jarring note in the harmonious -modulations by which his spirit passed from key to key, from the inner -sanctuaries of prayer and contemplation to the apostolic publicity of -his sacredotal and hierarchical functions, the fulfillment of every -duty as a priest and a prince of the Church; and again from these to -the intellectual and artistic enjoyments which provided the recreation -necessary to preserve the elasticity of his well-balanced mind. - -He enjoyed few things, in a minor way, more than his occasional -conversations with Carlo Bianchi. Those were the days when the new -archæology was in its infancy, when the ground had been barely broken -over the rich depths of the second Rome, although its more visible -remains everywhere met the eye, built into palace and basilica or -standing up in sun-stained beauty of colonnade and temple, amphitheater -or triumphal arch. The first Rome lay still buried, still undreamed -of, far beneath the second, in its cerement of soil, so closely spaded -in by time that it served to bear the enormous weight of the Imperial -city, which in its turn supported Roma Terza, the Rome of the middle -ages and the popes. And every particle of that fine black soil had been -soaked in blood whirled by tempest, fused by fire; had incorporated -with itself uncounted thousands of human bodies, falling like living -grain in the swathe of the invader, who dropped into it in his turn and -was gathered to his enemy, hate to hate, Etruscan to Latin, Latin to -Roman, Roman to Barbarian, as Fortune flung the numbers from her ever -blood-bright wheel. - -Perhaps some prophetic thrill of discovery was in the air already when -Carlo Bianchi came to examine and discuss the Cardinal's fragment -of inscription that sultry July afternoon. The strangely archaic -lettering, the almost unintelligible elementariness of the few Latin -words, threw the two interpreters of antiquity into a state of -excitement most unusual to both of them. Their hearts warmed to this -mutilated ancestor of history, separated from all catalogued relics by -some great chasm of time; the Cardinal smiled like a boy and fingered -the pitted stone as if it had been a flower; the Professor's hands -trembled so that he had to take three rubbings before he could get a -satisfactory impression of the treasure. Could they but find the rest! -What might it not reveal! Ah, it might be far away, if not already -ground to powder or built into the foundations of some ponderous -mausoleum. Well, they could but search. The Professor, forgetful of -all else, was for descending then and there to the vast vaults which -lay beneath the palace; remains of huge nameless ruins which had been -utilized as foundations for a fortress in mediæval times, a stronghold -which had in its turn been shorn away and its materials built into the -stately Renaissance dwelling erected by one of the Cardinal's ancestors -to mark the accession of his family to power. - -"Let me descend to this fortunate Avernus at once, Eminenza," Bianchi -pleaded. "Who knows but that the workmen in their ignorance may destroy -that which we so desire to find?" - -"No, amico," replied the prelate, "there is no fear of that. All work -was stopped at once when the foreman brought this to me, as he does -every fragment of marble which is turned up by his men. They have gone -away now. I would not have another spade struck into the earth until -I should have consulted you. But you must not visit the place now; it -is always damp, and especially unsafe at this hour, after the heat of -the day. The chill would strike to the bone--would you invite an ague? -No, if you will favor me by coming in the morning, having fortified -yourself with a little quinine, and, speaking with respect, with a -flannel vest, I will perhaps be so selfish as to accept your kind -offer, though I shall appear to you as a coward, for I have caught a -slight cold and dare not run the risk of accompanying you. It is like -stepping into a cold bath. Indeed, much as I wish to discover more, -my conscience tells me that you would do better to trust Michele, the -foreman, who is most obedient and intelligent, to go carefully over -the ground himself, to a permitted depth. Every atom of stone could be -brought here for your inspection. We should lose nothing, I am sure." - -The Cardinal spoke with all the emphasis he could muster, but there -was a wistful entreaty in his eyes, in the very tones of his voice, as -if he were unselfishly imploring some hero of romance not to lead a -forlorn hope to the rescue of one dear to him. - -The Professor, carried out of himself by true enthusiasm, was about -to reply that nothing should deter him from personally continuing the -search the following morning, when an old servant stole into the room -and stood waiting beside his master's chair for permission to speak. - -"What is it, Domenico?" the Cardinal inquired, looking up at him with a -friendly smile. - -"Eminenza," the man replied, "the avvocato De Sanctis is here. He says -that he has brought the papers of the Ariccia property. If the Eminenza -would condescend to sign them this evening he could go out and conclude -the affair to-morrow. But if it is inconvenient--" - -"Not at all!" replied the master. "Ask him to come in. A busy man -like that must not be made to lose his time." Then, as the servant -retired, he turned to Bianchi with gentle apology. "You will pardon the -interruption, my friend? The business will occupy but a few moments. -De Sanctis--but what is the matter? Are you indisposed?" - -The Professor had risen unsteadily to his feet, at the same time -turning sickly pale. De Sanctis! The last person he wished to meet -or to have reminded of his existence till after the little ceremony -which was to take place in three weeks! Distractedly he looked towards -the door. He must fly--but he would be flying into the lawyer's arms. -Well, better do that, and rush past him, than risk any polite inquiry -as to how the excitable Signorina Brockmann was enjoying spending her -abundant pocket money. There would be explanations--why keep such a -pretty story a secret? The Cardinal would see his sister before long -and would rally her on the fine good luck of her old protégée; and -if the Princess came to know of that, after his own high-sounding -protestations of disinterestedness that very afternoon--heavens, what a -feast for carrion crows would the corpse of Carlo Bianchi's reputation -become! The mere thought made him feel cold and sick. - -"I must beg your Eminence to excuse me," he found voice to stammer, "a -slight indisposition--pray incommode no one," for the Cardinal's hand -was on his bell; "it will pass in the open air. With permission of the -Eminenza I remove the inconvenience of my presence." - -Scarcely waiting to hear his host's expressions of regret, he hurried -from the room just in time to brush past De Sanctis, with averted -face, in the curtained shadow of the next deep doorway. How he prayed -that the sharp-eyed young man might not recognize him, might not, -remembering the facts, entertain the kindhearted Cardinal with the -story of a poor orphan, once the beneficiary of his noble sister's -charity, who had, in the twinkling of an eye, become quite a little -heiress in a modest way. - -De Sanctis, intent on accomplishing his business, paid small attention -to the outgoing visitor. When he had kissed the Cardinal's ring, and -was preparing to spread his documents on the table, he carelessly -pushed aside the three-cornered fragment of marble which was so -precious in the eyes of the prelate. - -"Take care, Guglielmo," cried the latter, putting out both hands to -save his treasure, "that stone is more valuable to me than all the -Ariccia property." - -"Pardon my blindness, Eminenza," said De Sanctis. "Is this a new gem -to add to the great collection?" There was a touch of amusement in his -tone which jarred on the Cardinal's ear. - -"You could not be expected to appreciate its value," he replied with -gentle dignity; "that is for specialists like myself and Professor -Bianchi. He suspects that it antedates all existing inscriptions by -at least three hundred years. An account of it will appear in next -month's _Archæological Review_." He wrapped the thing in a red silk -handkerchief and signed to De Sanctis to deposit it on another table. - -The lawyer obeyed in respectful silence; then he dipped the pen in -the ink, handed it to his employer, shook the sand over the delicate -pointed signatures on the three sheets and laid them together. - -The Cardinal looked up at him with a little smile, saying, "You are -very quiet to-day, my son. Did I reproach you too sharply for not -sharing my little enthusiasms? You must forgive me. We old fellows are -apt to grow querulous, you know." - -"But, Eminenza, what an idea!" exclaimed De Sanctis in shocked protest. -"No indeed. I fear my mind had wandered from the matter in hand. The -mention of Professor Bianchi had set me thinking. I apologize for my -bad manners." - -"You know the Professor?" the Cardinal asked. "Ah, I have a great -respect for him. Such deep learning and such simple modesty of -character are rarely met with." - -De Sanctis bowed in acquiescence. "I have only the honor of a slight -acquaintance with him," he replied, "but doubtless your Eminence's -discernment is not mistaken. Indeed I believe he hardly meets his due, -in general, for public opinion accuses him of avarice--and I have -caught him, red-handed, in a long-continued work of charity." - -The Cardinal's eyes shone with the light of that lovely virtue and he -leaned forward eagerly. "But this is delightful," he said, "tell me all -about it. How consoling it is to hear of good deeds done in secret!" - -"I will relate the facts with pleasure, Eminenza," the other answered. -"Since they only redound to Professor Bianchi's credit, I think I shall -not be guilty of any betrayal of confidence in doing so." And then he -told the story of how a forsaken child had been cared for during her -infancy by a kind-hearted gentleman; how when the burden became too -heavy for him, the listener's most excellent sister had sent the child -to school for nine years; how at the end of that time she had returned -to the archæologist, who had received her as his own daughter (De -Sanctis was convinced the Professor's daughter would have had to work -quite as hard as Giannella, and he was merely repeating the facts as he -had learned them from Bianchi himself); how Bianchi had kept her under -his roof ever since, shielding her from all care and temptation; how -the girl had unexpectedly inherited a competency which in her rank of -life entitled her to make a good marriage--and how happy all this had -made her benefactor. All that was wanting now was the appearance of a -good, suitable young man to complete the family circle. - -The Cardinal had completely forgotten his own intervention in the -matter of Giannella's education and his defense of Bianchi from Fra -Tommaso's reproaches at that time; he had received and attended to -several scores of like applications in the last fourteen years, and -never gave such things another thought when his part was done, so he -beamed approbation at the lawyer's narrative. Many sad stories, he -said, came to his ears, but few such encouraging ones. Did the Princess -know of it? If not, he would give himself the pleasure of telling -her; and as for the good young man--he laid his hand for a moment on -that of De Sanctis--if the girl was sweet and virtuous, why should -she not make the right wife for him? It was time he chose a partner -for life. His own circumstances were prosperous, his future assured; -and a good Christian wife would be a great comfort and assistance to -him. The Cardinal believed in the wisdom of fairly early marriages, -and De Sanctis, who had his own views on the subject, had to listen -submissively to a discourse full of eloquence and sweetness on the -benefits accruing to society and the individual from the experience and -example of a Christian union. - -"Your Eminence rates me too high," he said, when at last he could -interrupt the persuasive periods. "I am a poor selfish devil, set on -rising in my profession, and I have come to the conclusion that I can -do that best as a bachelor. Indeed I am not sure that a lawyer has much -more right to get married than a priest." - -"And why not?" inquired the Cardinal, rather shocked at this -unconventional proposition. - -"Because," De Sanctis replied with his sardonic little smile, "he acts -as a kind of father confessor to the public. And though the public is -quite ready to confide its innocent little secrets to him, it does not -care about having them shared with his pretty wife, who is sure to be -as curious as Eve and as talkative as a parrot. No, Eminenza, I cannot -afford to take on such a responsibility just yet. Eve was doubtless a -great comfort and pleasure to Adam in Paradise--but she never rested -till she got him turned out. She must have been more than woman if -she did not reproach him for the catastrophe afterwards--and he must -have been more than man if he did not frequently wish that he had been -allowed to enjoy a peaceful existence alone." - -The Cardinal was laughing now, but his sermon was not ended. "You -are incorrigible, my son," he said, "but your fine philosophy will -go to pieces when you find yourself old and lonely and miserably -rich--with no child to inherit your money, no one to care whether you -are ill or well, alive or dead. Then you will have to follow Professor -Bianchi's example and adopt an orphan on whom to expend your natural -goodness of heart. However, I forgive your recalcitrancy this time, -for the sake of the charming story you told me. Good-bye--take care -of yourself when you go into the country to-morrow. The weather is -'bisbetico'--capricious just now. I fancy the rains are at hand. -Arrivederci." - - * * * * * * * - -"It was a pretty story," De Sanctis said to himself as he walked home -through the darkening streets where the few oil lamps were winking -bravely under the onslaughts of the hot, moist wind, the scirocco -that caresses at one moment and sears in the next. "It was certainly -a pretty story and I told it to that saintly man just as it was told -to me. But--oh, you are a sad liar, Guglielmo mio," and he tapped his -own forehead reproachfully, "for you know that in your heart you don't -believe a word of it--the Professor's part of it at least. When the -wolf divides its food with the lamb, then we can begin to talk about -such a phenomenon. Diamini, here is the rain--and I have forgotten my -umbrella." - -The Professor returned to his home less gaily than he had quitted it. -He seemed to have little appetite for his supper; Mariuccia heard him -go out for a short time afterwards, and when he returned soon after -ten, he seemed more cheerful, but still looked pale and tired. "He has -caught another chill," she mournfully told herself, "I let him go out -too soon, stupid creature that I was. Oh, San Giuseppe mio, are these -troubles never to finish?" - -Bianchi had had a critical question to settle. Was it--or was it -not--safe to send Giannella to the Princess? He had little doubt that -the latter would gain his point for him with the girl; Giannella had -till now been singularly amenable to authority. Now that it seemed -necessary to analyze it, her temperament, he decided, was a cold one; -all northerners were like that; difficult to rouse, too sluggish to -fight long, though tiresomely obstinate when some prejudice was in -question. This was the first time she had ever attempted to oppose her -will to that of her elders; it was a whim; it would pass. The scirocco -had been blowing for several days--that probably accounted for it. Yes, -she had always been a docile little thing, giving no trouble at all; -he had no fear of the upshot if the Princess spoke to her as, a few -hours since, she had promised to speak. But there was that one small -but hideous possibility that De Sanctis--an apoplexy to him--might have -told the Cardinal of Giannella's good luck, and that the Cardinal, in -some caprice of amused benevolence, might, before to-morrow morning, -have related the same to his sister. He sometimes paid her a visit in -"prima sera," the early evening, always reserved for intimates; and -some demon might prompt him to come to-night to wish her a pleasant -journey to the country. All these possibilities were of the slightest -kind, yet the mere shadow of them was desperately disturbing. If none -of them became facts, all would go smoothly. To-morrow the Princess -would depart for her annual villeggiatura at Santafede, forty miles -away to the north, and when she returned in October she and her brother -would have forgotten all about Giannella Brockmann's unimportant -destinies, and, if they should ever hear or think of her, would never -raise the question of whether it was before or after the twenty-fifth -of July that she had inherited the forty thousand scudi which would -seem a trifle to personages like them, but the mere possession of which -would bring joy unspeakable to poor unobtrusive Carlo Bianchi. - -So he walked up and down his room in a fever of suspense, looking out -of his window every moment to see if the Cardinal's carriage were -coming up the street from the Ripetta; then he would turn and look at -the clock. If once the hands touched ten and the Cardinal had not come, -he knew that he was safe. It wanted twenty minutes yet of that magic -hour. Ah, there was a rumble of wheels. Again he was at the window, -peering down at something going by, a heavy carriage apparently. He -cursed his short sight, and the wretchedly dim light below, for he -could not make out the details. As the vehicle turned the corner and -disappeared into the piazza his heart stood still and a sudden rage -possessed him. He must know if that carriage had entered the porte -cochère, if it belonged to the Cardinal. - -He snatched up his hat and cloak and went downstairs as rapidly as he -dared, for the lights were few and the stone steps damp and slippery -from the scirocco. At last he was safely out under the colonnade. -Heaven be praised, the courtyard was empty. No hearse-like vehicle was -standing at the far end waiting for its occupant. He walked the length -of the colonnade and made sure that it was not under shelter at the -entrance to the Princess's apartment. As he reached the spot, the clock -in the porter's lodge struck ten, and the man came out, yawning, to -close the great doors for the night. No music had ever sounded sweeter -in the Professor's ears than those thin metallic strokes; the fat -porter in his shirt sleeves running the bolts home in their stanchions -was a bright, beneficent being shutting the demons of ill-luck out into -the darkness. Glad at heart, at peace with all the world, Carlo Bianchi -climbed the long stairs and regained his room. Now indeed he could go -to sleep. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - - -Giannella was amazed at learning the next morning that she and -Mariuccia were to wait on the Princess at ten o'clock. Bianchi called -her into the study to give her the message, without any explanation -or comment. Mariuccia had followed her to the door and listened -attentively at the keyhole, so she had little to learn when the girl -came out, grasped her arm excitedly, and dragged her back to the -kitchen. There they stood and stared at one another in dumb perplexity. -Mariuccia threw up her hands at last and turned away, as if giving the -problem up. - -Then Giannella broke out in agitated whispers: "What does it mean? She -forgets all about us for three years at least--and now, just as she is -going away, we are to be sure to go to her at ten o'clock. It must be -something very extraordinary. Everything is in a bustle down there; -they were packing the traveling carriages already when I went out to -Mass. What can she want of us?" - -"Better ask Pasquino,"[1] Mariuccia replied with a toss of the head, -"I don't know. Perhaps the Princess means to take you to the country -with her." - -"That is very likely, is it not?" retorted Giannella, her eyes -flashing with sudden wrath, "after banishing me from her presence--for -nothing--all these years! I wish she had left me alone in the -beginning. Why didn't you all let me be a servant, earning my living -like other girls, poor like me, and not made miserable by being -educated above their wretched station in life? What good did the -reading and writing, the designing and embroidery, ever do me? Here I -am, a grown woman, still as dependent as a baby or an idiot. No, I am -not grateful to the Princess. If she began, she should have finished. I -could do for her what dear Signora Dati, of good memory, did--I could -write her letters and save her many steps, many annoyances--I could -have been useful to her or some other lady. That was what Signora Dati -meant for me--she told me so once. But no. The Princess takes a dislike -to me, and I am dropped out of sight. I would not take one step for her -now. I will not go down this morning." - -By this time Giannella's cheeks were flaming and tears of anger were -brimming in her eyes. She stood, tense and panting, her hands behind -her, the incarnation of sudden revolt. Mariuccia was appalled. The -revelation of slow secret suffering would have grieved her to the -heart at any other time, but now it was swallowed up in horror at -the audacity of the girl's declaration. Not obey the commands of a -Cestaldini, of Mariuccia's own Princess, the greatest personage in -her world except the Holy Father himself! And then, this outburst of -black ingratitude, why, it was like Lucifer rebelling against the -Divine mandates! The stern old peasant felt that she must conquer this -demon of insurrection on the spot. She came and put both her hands on -Giannella's shoulders and looked her straight in the eyes. The hands -felt heavy as flatirons, but the girl stiffened her shoulders under -their weight, and the gray eyes were bright and burning, for all the -tears, as they met the angry black ones. - -"You sometimes say that I have been like a mother to you," Mariuccia -began, her deep masculine tones rumbling like approaching thunder. "Do -you know what I would do if I were really your mother? For all that -you are long and large, I would take that little stick over there," -she pointed to a broomstick in the corner, "and give you a beating you -would never forget. That is how we teach obedience and respect in the -Castelli. But because you are not my child--though God knows I have -loved you as if you were--" The voice choked and a dimness came over -the old eyes that still never flinched from their steady, reproachful -gaze. - -Then Giannella's arms were flung round her neck, and the golden head -was buried on her shoulder, and the young heart was weeping out its -storm of love and sorrow and remorse against the old one. - -"Mariuccia mia," she sobbed, "you have been an angel to me, and I am a -wretch, an ingrate, but I love you. It was not true, not a single word. -I will do anything you wish, anything--even go down to the Princess." - -"What are you about, you females?" cried a sharp voice in the passage. -"Do you know that it is half-past nine? Make haste and get ready to -go to her Excellency." Then the study door was slammed impatiently. -Evidently the master was not in a good temper this morning. - -When the two women presented themselves at the Princess's door at -five minutes to ten, Giannella was led away alone, and Mariuccia, -much against her will, left to wait in the anteroom. All Giannella's -rage had evaporated by this time and the old awe, the sense of being -dominated by greater powers, stole over her as she followed the -attendant through the series of remembered rooms, silent and splendid, -darkened to keep out the heat, and pleasantly cool compared with the -burning air of the courtyard outside. She recalled her first childish -impression that the place must be a church; then, sooner than she -expected it, she found herself standing before the Princess in the -same old attitude of frightened submission. She knew that she would -do whatever was required of her if the regal black-robed woman in -the great chair by the table had any commands to issue. She had no -particular curiosity now as to what they might prove to be; she only -felt the oppressive weight of authority made visible. - -But the command, when it came, gave her a most disagreeable shock. -The Princess, with the gravity of a judge summing up the case against -a prisoner, opened her discourse by stating the facts. An honorable -proposal had been made to Giannella by the kind and upright gentleman -to whom she already owed so much, and the judge was grieved to learn -that it had been met in a most unsuitable spirit. No opening was given -to the prisoner in which to express any private opinion, no loophole in -the argument permitted escape from the logical conclusion--namely, that -a young girl alone in the world was committing a great sin in refusing -the protection of a Christian husband. Such a course could only point -to one thing, an innate levity of character (the Princess, remembering -her former apprehensions about Onorato, looked sternly condemnatory as -she said this), a levity which, unchecked, must end in a disastrous -downward career. She spoke of the horrible temptations to which needy -and unprotected young women are exposed, warned her listener of the -abominable designs harbored by men who tried to make poor girls believe -that they admired them; contrasted Signor Bianchi's honorable behavior -with that of such base deceivers; and finally asked Giannella to -contemplate the picture of her own destiny should the Professor, justly -incensed at her ingratitude, refuse her in future the shelter of his -roof. - -The speaker felt that this was not a time to mince matters, and she -made her meaning so cruelly clear, that Giannella, who had never had -her attention drawn to the degraded aspects of human nature, was -overwhelmed with shame and horror, and found it impossible to control -the flood of tears which rose to her eyes. The Princess, seeing that -she had gained her point with the girl, sent for Mariuccia, who had -been fuming in the anteroom for three-quarters of an hour. When she -made her appearance, Giannella was standing beside the big chair, still -weeping bitterly; the Princess was holding her hand quite kindly. The -prisoner had repented, and was now to be forgiven in form. - -"There is nothing to cry about now, my child," the judge was saying; -"you are naturally sorry for having shown yourself so ungrateful and -unamiable to the good man who has done so much for you and only asks -to do more. But now you understand things better--how exceedingly -fortunate it is for you, who have no relations and no dowry, to find -an honest Christian husband to protect you from the dangers I have -been describing and which would certainly assail you if you were left -alone in the world. Now go home and tell Signor Bianchi that you will -do your best to be a good wife to him. Believe me, respect is a better -foundation for happiness in matrimony than any sentimental affection -such as young people sometimes permit themselves to dream of. Heaven -will grant you the necessary graces for fulfilling your duty in the -married state; and here is a little present"--the Princess picked up a -closed envelope from the table and put it into Giannella's hand--"with -which you can buy your wedding dress--you had better get a black silk, -it will be useful to you afterwards. Now wait outside while I speak -with this good woman a moment." - -Giannella, too much overcome to say a word, kissed the extended hand -and withdrew to digest her misery in the outer room while Mariuccia -should receive her own particular scolding. Giannella's world had -slipped from under her feet. Even her trust in Rinaldo was shaken. As -for speaking of him--her adored, beautiful Rinaldo--to the terrible -Princess--she felt that it would have been easier and quite as useful -to jump out of the window. Perhaps he was in reality like the wicked -men of whose existence she had shudderingly learned; but that was -hard to believe. Only that morning he had looked at her with such a -light of truth in his dark eyes, had told her so joyfully about the -big picture--and then, with such poignant regret, that the purchaser -was leaving in a few days and insisted on its being completed, so that -every moment of daylight must go to it, and Rinaldo feared he could not -even come to Mass till next Sunday. Would Giannella remember to pray -for him till then? He would be needing it so badly. And Giannella had -laughingly replied that the next day was Sunday, when he must certainly -come and pray for himself. And on that they had shaken hands for the -first time. It was like sealing a compact. And when his fingers touched -hers he had opened his lips as if to speak--and had kept back the words -with an evident effort. Oh, she knew what they would have been. But of -course he was too honorable to let them pass his lips before he had -Mariuccia's sanction. Did Mariuccia dream of anything? Was it possible -that she was even now making out some kind of a case for her wretched -Giannella against the plausible, desirable, unendurable Professor? -What a time she was in there! And then the door opened and Mariuccia -came towards her with averted eyes and a silent shake of the head, -and Giannella saw that all was lost. Her only ally had succumbed, like -herself. Who were they, poor women of the people, to argue or reason -with authority in high places? - -They returned home silently, Giannella too sick at heart to discuss the -sentence which destiny seemed to have passed upon her, and Mariuccia -so angry with everything and everybody that she was ferociously sulky -all day. The Professor wisely stayed away till the evening, so as to -give the Princess's admonitions time to sink in. When he came back for -supper, expecting to find Giannella all submission and repentance, he -was curtly informed that she was not well and had been sent to bed. -And Mariuccia would not tell him a single word of what had taken place -at the interview of the morning. What was more, he caught a glimpse of -a magnificent pile of fruit and vegetables on the kitchen table (one -of Rinaldo's now constant sendings from the vigna), and when his tray -appeared it was disappointingly empty of what he considered his dues of -the bounties which his servant's relatives seemed to have been sending -her of late with such praiseworthy generosity. This symptom appeared -to him most ominous. It could only indicate a most unusual state of -things and pointed clearly to open revolt. Well, with the Princess -away the worst danger had passed; he argued only good from Giannella's -indisposition; she was preparing to meet him in the right spirit, and -a few hours must be granted her in which to accustom her mind to the -new dispensation. Now for the article on the Cardinal's inestimable -fragment. - -Giannella herself could scarcely have catalogued her thoughts as she -sat the next morning at the window of the workroom; she only knew that -she wished to keep out of the padrone's way and that to this inner -fortress he never ventured to penetrate. She had a headache and a -heartache and felt quite ill enough to justify Mariuccia's statement. -She almost hoped, with the delightful audacity of youth, that she was -going to die. That appeared to be the shortest and most becoming way -out of her troubles. - -Just as she had reached this conclusion there was a shadow of wings on -the window ledge, and then Themistocles alighted there, his head on one -side and an alluring air of hope and mystery in his bearing. Giannella -reached down for the little basket of grain which always stood under -the work-table, and when she raised her head again the pigeon hopped -in and began to peck from her hand. Suddenly she gave a little cry -and leaned over to look closer. There was a bit of ribbon under the -collar round his neck, and, peeping out from beneath one wing, a -minute fold of paper. He had brought her a message from Rinaldo! With -trembling fingers she untied the ribbon, and drew forth from its plumed -resting-place a three-cornered note, which she opened in a tumult of -happiness. The color flushed up to her temples and her eyes shone when -she found a leaf of verbena pasted to the paper, and two words written -beneath, "Amicizia eterna." - -Eternal friendship! That was all he had dared to say, but how much -it meant. Love in the respectful dress of friendship--that meant -eternal love. Giannella raised the little leaf to her cheek, smelt its -delicate perfume, brought it to her lips and kissed it once, twice, -a dozen times. Its fragrance seemed to speak of all happy things, it -gave her back her courage, her buoyancy, her very life. Should she -answer? Ah no, that would be too bold; besides, there was no word in -her vocabulary that would express the delicate ecstacy that filled her -heart. Yet she would send something--a leaf of the rose geranium there, -sweet as the verbena itself, and meaning, as she remembered from old -sentimental friendships at the convent, "Constancy under suffering." -There was nothing unmaidenly in that. - -Her nimble fingers, still so white and fine, gathered the leaf, folded -it in thin paper, and attached it to the ribbon. Themistocles was -busily engaged on the Indian corn when she tied it on. Having picked -up the last grain he perched for a moment on the window ledge, glanced -this way and that, then flung himself off into the quivering sunshot -blue of the noon, rose, and flew steadily away over the monastery roof. - -"You make me a liar!" exclaimed Mariuccia, coming in a few minutes -later and looking at the suddenly recovered invalid with delighted -astonishment. "I told the padrone you were ill." - -"So I am," replied Giannella, laughing for joy, "too ill to see him -to-day. Oh, Mariuccia, if you love me just a little let me stay in -here. I cannot wait on the padrone this morning." - -"Rest easy, figlia mia, you shall not," the old woman promised. "I told -him you were hot and cold, and consumed with fever. You looked like -that an hour or two ago, so I shall not get a sore tongue this time." - -"It is all true," cried Giannella, "I burn with fever--but it is a good -fever. I feel happy--I want to sing." - -"Better so," growled the other; "since it seems you must marry him, I -am glad you are pleased. It is another thing for me. I cannot say that -I am. What has made you change your mind so suddenly? Are you thinking -of the silk dress and the confetti?" - -All the color left Giannella's face and she gave a little cry. "Madonna -mia buona, I had forgotten! Oh, what shall I do? What shall I do?" -And she covered her eyes with her hands and rocked herself in her -chair. She had forgotten--for a few happy moments--all that had gone -before--the Princess's manifesto, her own conviction while listening to -it that there could be no right action in opposition to so much sense -and piety--her remorse for her own selfishness and willfulness, the -perception of the duty which stood unbendingly before her. - -She rose and paced the narrow room, all her senses at war. Who could -help her? Who would tell her which was right and to be obeyed--her -own intense repulsion for Bianchi, strengthened a thousandfold by the -upspringing of the new love, the first love, all unbaptized as yet, but -drawing her with every chord of the spirit, every fiber of the flesh, -to her natural mate? or the fiat of those whom God had placed in -authority over her, the Princess, the Professor? She thought of taking -her case to her confessor, Padre Anselmo, over there at San Severino; -but how could she lay it honestly before the dim-eyed old saint, who -seemed already to be hovering so far above earth that he could only see -things from above, as the angels see them? How could she bare her heart -to him, confess that it had become a shrine of glory where a thousand -love lamps burned round one worshiped picture, the picture of a man she -had known but a few weeks and who had spoken no word to her or to her -natural guardians to show that he meant to ask her in marriage? - -She felt that she should die of shame if she had to tell that, for who -would ever understand? In days gone by, before she had seen love's -face, she had listened, first hopefully and then despondingly, to -Mariuccia's prophecies about the good young husband who would come to -seek for her. Then, marriage had presented itself as a mere change of -state, very slightly connected with the shadowy wooer. She had never -read a novel, never spoken with a person in love; the relations of -husband and wife had been wrapped for her in the impenetrable veil so -strongly insisted on in the Castelli, where girls at that time grew -up to womanhood believing what their mothers told them--that the mere -breath of man, a kiss or even a sigh, was all that was needed to make a -maid a mother. Trusting to this complete impersonality of the married -relation, it might have been possible for the Giannella of three -months earlier to bow her pretty head to fate and accept even Carlo -Bianchi as a husband, had authority voiced its mandate then; but now, -now the new music, new yet tenderly familiar, was sounding in her ears; -life lay before her like an unblown rose that every hour of sunshine -was kissing into bloom; a new Giannella had been born, and her every -heart-beat cried aloud, "I will live, I will live." - -FOOTNOTE: - -[1] The mutilated statue which served as a gazette of public opinion. -All lampoons, caricatures, etc. were pasted on the pedestal in the -night, and there was generally a little crowd gathered round it in the -morning. The questions were affixed to another torso called Marforio, -near by, and "Pasquino" displayed the answers. - - - - -CHAPTER XV - - -For two days Rinaldo adhered to his resolution of spending all the -daylight hours at his easel, but by the third morning his depression -was so great that he resolved to resume the good habit of going to -early Mass. He had made one or two trespassing excursions to Fra -Tommaso's loggia in the hope of catching a glimpse of Giannella at -her window; but her place was empty and there was a strange air of -deadness, of unnatural orderliness about the few details of the room -which came within his line of vision. At once a thousand fears assailed -him. Was she ill? Had she gone away? Had his diffident little greeting -brought trouble upon her? He had been wildly happy over her mute -answer to it, but now he began to ponder as to whether it had not some -hidden meaning which he, unversed in flower language, had perhaps not -understood. He must find out at once. Very likely Sora Amalia could -tell him. Women set store by these pretty mysteries, and although he -could hardly imagine the stout mistress of the dairy as sending a love -letter in flowers to its red-faced master, yet she had been young once, -and probably very sentimental. He had heard that sentimental people -were usually inclined to grow fat. He would run down and ask her, very -guardedly of course, whether she could help him. And then he might get -some tidings of Giannella; she and Mariuccia called there almost every -day for one thing or another. - -So when evening drew on and the sun was sinking, a ball of smoldering -fire, behind heavy clouds in the west, Rinaldo said good-night to -the pink-cheeked cardinal and descended to the shop, where darkness -would have reigned already but for one smoky lamp. The heat inside was -suffocating, and Sora Amalia, as she put things in order for the night, -mopped her heated face with the corner of a long-suffering apron which -seemed to have been applied to many and alien uses during the day. -The good woman brightened up at the sight of a customer so late and -bustled about joyfully to get the eggs and cheese which Rinaldo made -the pretext for his visit. - -"The signorino does his own cooking?" she inquired; "that must be -a great trouble. It is all to his advantage in one way, of course, -since he would never get such miraculously fresh stuff as this at a -trattoria. But it must make many steps, much work--and in this hot -weather too." - -"It saves me four hot walks a day," Rinaldo replied, "and also much -money. Those trattori are all brigands. They have an art, most -diabolical, of dressing up coarse food in disguising sauces and giving -it grand names. It is like a veglione in carnival--you never know what -is really under the mask. I am sure I have many a time eaten goat's -flesh and paid for lamb." - -"Of course you have," said Sora Amalia sympathetically. "Poverino! -What you want is a nice clever little wife to see to things for you. -Has your good Signora Mamma not chosen one for you yet?" - -"My Signora Mamma is a long way off," Rinaldo answered, "and, to tell -you a secret, I mean to choose a wife for myself. How does one go about -it, Sora Amalia? I am shy, and dreadfully afraid of making some young -lady very angry by my stupidity. How did Sor Augusto begin when he -wanted to make love to you?" - -Sora Amalia crossed her arms over her ample bosom and meditated for a -moment. "I am trying to remember," she said; "ah yes--he was in the -pork trade in those days, and he sent me a paper of sausages. They were -a cream! I ate them all, and, capperi, but I was ill afterwards!" She -chuckled at the recollection. - -This was a long way off from the language of flowers. Rinaldo tried -another opening. "How sweet your carnations smell," he remarked, -pulling one out of the glass and dangling it before his nose. -"Garofoli--what does the name mean, I wonder?" - -"Married happiness," she replied promptly. "Are you looking for numbers -to play in the lotto?" - -He caught at the idea. "Why yes, that is just what I do want. I thought -of a little ambo for next Saturday." - -"Benone, here is the book," and she pulled a ragged volume out from -under the counter and held it close to the light. "I will find them for -you. Here is the place. Garofolo, 81, you had better write it down." -Rinaldo gravely produced a pencil and scribbled on his cuff. "Now," she -went on, "what is the second object?" - -"I will have another flower," he said, "a geranium leaf blew on to my -loggia this morning. Can you find the number for that?" - -"Oh yes, here it is on the same page--geranium, 29--odd numbers both. -You will draw something, signorino." - -"That which is to be, will be," he replied, "but has this one a bad -meaning? That might bring me ill-luck." - -Sora Amalia turned to an index at the end of the worn evangel of -fortune and ran her finger down a list. "I don't know that you would -call it bad exactly," she informed him, "but to me it smells of -misfortune. 'Constancy under suffering.'" - -"Madonna mia!" cried the young man with such distress in his voice that -the woman looked up in surprise. He had changed color and was leaning -heavily with both hands on the counter. His adviser hastened to comfort -him. - -"Come! come," she said soothingly, "do not let yourself be agitated. -We will choose something else for you. Sora Rosa's chair broke down -with her this morning and she went plump into a basket of cherries. A -marmalade it was, when she got up! I will find the number for chair." - -"No, no, I will not play in the lottery this week, Sora Amalia," and -Rinaldo drew the book from her hand. "Listen, there is something else -I want to ask you. Did Sora Mariuccia come in this morning? I am -wondering whether she got the fruit I told my vignarolo to take her -yesterday. That poor man is of a stupidity sometimes." - -"She said nothing about it to me," replied Sora Amalia, falling into -the trap at once; "she seemed in a great hurry and pretty cross too. -I asked her what was the matter, and she said Giannella was ill--oh, -nothing serious, just the effect of the scirocco. Do not alarm -yourself, signorino. Listen to a fool and I will tell you something." -She leaned over and whispered in his ear, "It is probably a disease of -the heart, and there is an easy remedy for it." - -She looked so serious that Rinaldo caught her hand and cried: - -"Tell me, what is it? I would walk a hundred miles to get it for her. -What is the remedy?" - -"A pound of sausages!" Sora Amalia broke into a peal of laughter. But -Rinaldo fled, leaving his purchases behind him. - -The next morning he came down to the church and hung about the street -a little while in the hope of seeing Mariuccia, but she did not -appear, and he climbed back to his studio and began work with a heavy -heart. Later in the day he felt that he must have news of Giannella, -and, reflecting that he had a perfect right to go and ask for them, -even from the Professor himself, went boldly to the Palazzo Santafede -and stood once more before the green door, this time with a beating -heart and a certain hesitation as to ringing the bell. The notion -of encountering the master of the house was extremely repellent to -him. Yet that was precisely what happened, for as he put his hand out -towards the bell, the door opened and Bianchi emerged in a hurry, -nearly knocking down the new arrival. As each started back with -protests and apologies, their eyes met, and Rinaldo felt himself again -possessed by the rampant antipathy he had experienced on his first view -of the Professor. No reason is asked or given for such impressions in -Rome. "Sympathy," "Antipathy," these terms cover everything, and to -fight against the sentiments they inspire is equal to flying in the -face of Providence. So the two men glared at each other for a moment, -the usual conventionalities arrested on their lips. Then Bianchi -inquired coldly, "What can I do to serve you?" - -"If you will so far favor me, sir," Rinaldo replied, "I would wish to -ask after the Signorina Giannella. I hear with deep regret that she is -unwell." - -A slow flush rose to the Professor's cheeks. Who was this good-looking, -well-dressed young man, and what possible right had he to be interested -in Giannella's health? What had been going on, that he should even -know her name? A storm of suspicion and anger swept over him at the -discovery of what could be nothing but some love intrigue, hidden from -him by the women with abominable cunning. His gorge rose so that he -could hardly reply with any show of self-restraint. - -"I ought to be much obliged for this kind interest in a member of my -family"--Bianchi had fairly good manners as a rule, but he could not -keep a sneer out of his tone--"especially as I have not the honor of -knowing your respected name." He paused, and Rinaldo, too angry to -speak, drew a card from his pocket and held it out with a stiff bow. -The other took it without glancing at it and continued, "I really -cannot understand why the young lady's health should concern a total -stranger. Perhaps you will be so kind as to explain?" - -He was still standing in the open doorway, and the impertinence of -not asking the visitor to enter was too much for Rinaldo's hot little -temper. "I explain nothing to persons wanting in common civility," he -retorted; "I should like to speak with Sora Mariuccia." - -For an answer the Professor stepped back into the passage and slammed -the door. Poor Giannella, lying on her bed at the other end of the -house, gave a cry of alarm and pressed her hands to her aching temples. -Mariuccia came down the passage to scold her bad boy. "Have you got -no heart, padrone? Have I not told you that Giannella has fever, that -she must be kept quiet? And there you go, slamming the door as if -you wanted to bring these old walls down on our heads. Have a little -consideration for that poor sick child." - -"Sick, indeed," snarled Bianchi, worked up to a frenzy by his new -suspicions; "don't tell lies. There is nothing the matter with her but -temper--and overeating. You give her too much meat, and that young -blood makes itself into fire at this season. And you spoil her and -humor her, till she thinks she is the mistress of the house already. -I'll teach her better soon, and you too, and if you don't care about -the lesson you can go and find another master. Do you understand?" - -And he flung off into his study, slamming the door, this time with -vicious satisfaction. - -Mariuccia shook her fist at it. "I knew this was coming," she muttered. -"You want to marry Giannella, so that she shall cook and wash and patch -for you gratis, and be starved to death into the bargain. And I, who -have served you twenty years and have saved you hundreds of scudi, -besides nursing you when you were ill and telling everybody, for the -honor of the house, fine Christian lies about your being such a good -master--I am to be turned out on the pavement to go and beg for new -service in my old age. No, Professore mio bello, that is not going to -happen. Rest easy, my son, you will not marry a new cook and you will -not get rid of the old one. Leave it to me." - -Giannella was really ailing now; the improvement which had surprised -Mariuccia had been short-lived. The summer was long and oppressive and -the scirocco had hung over the city for weeks past, stifling and heavy, -an invisible pall shutting off all freshness and sucking the life out -of man and beast. The older people felt it less, but to the young it -was a horrible trial; little children blanched and faded away; boys -and girls moved listlessly and wearily; and to those in the full tide -of their youthful vitality it was like a poison absorbed with every -breath. Giannella, the child of northerners, had not the yielding -wiriness of the Latin constitution. She fought against lassitude -and rated herself for idleness when, in the hot hours of the day, -while three-quarters of the population was wisely taking its siesta, -she tried task after task and dropped them all, from sheer fatigue. -And now the troubles at home, the mysterious persecutions of the -padrone, Mariuccia's only too natural breakdowns of temper--all these -irritations on the one hand, and on the other the disturbing happiness -of first love and the fear that it ought to be renounced--these things -were too much for the white northern rose set to achieve its growth in -the hot south, and Giannella broke down. Fever and its attendant demon, -headache, had fastened upon her; for one day she lay in the dark back -room, and then, feeling that she should go crazy there, she begged -Mariuccia to make up a bed for her in the little workroom where at any -rate the window admitted something to breathe. So Mariuccia settled -her comfortably, closed the venetians and left her to herself, only -looking in from time to time to bring her a sip of lemonade or turn her -crumpled pillow. The summer fever was a familiar ill, and the old woman -knew just what to do for it. It would pass--she had no anxiety on that -score. Her whole mind was turned to something else, the discovery of -some means by which to cure her padrone of the mad caprice which was -destroying the peace of the household and would inevitably break up the -household itself unless something were done to snap the spell. - -For a spell it was, an "incanto," a cursed enchantment, cast by that -stranger who had visited him some time ago but who now came no more. -Yes, she had been right in fastening the blame of it on him. Again -she counted the days and weeks, with all the difficulty that besets -the uneducated in any attempt at accuracy, and assured herself that -she had not been mistaken. It was just two days after his first visit -that the padrone had discovered that Giannella cooked polpetti so -beautifully--that was the beginning of his symptoms. Yes, the strange -lawyer had brought the trouble (managgia to him and the best of his -little dead); he had woven the spell and, according to all the canons -of black magic, he alone must remove it. The only other cure would be -an exorcism in form, and Mariuccia doubted whether the master in his -present naughty state of mind would admit the priest and acolyte into -the house, much less stand still to be sprinkled with holy water and -have the prayers said over him. - -So the stranger must be found and coaxed or bribed or terrorized into -undoing his work. Mariuccia had no personal fear of him and no doubts -of her success, could she only lay her hand upon him. If Domine Dio -would but keep His Hand on her head so that she should not choke with -rage before she had said her say, that say would open the lawyer's -eyes to the punishments awaiting the servants of the Fiend. Cipicchia! -She would describe his future and that of all his descendants, as -well as the present torture of his ancestors for his misdoing, in -terms so scorching that the boldest miscreant's courage must give way -under them. All the splendidly vivid descriptions of hell that she -had listened to in church when some Passionist Father was invited to -preach repentance during Lent had been stored up in her memory, clear -and sequent, as it is only possible for spoken words to be stored -in minds which have always depended on oral instruction alone. Each -grizzly, terrifying detail was as much a fact to Mariuccia as the -visible surroundings of her daily life. - -"Oh, give him to me, Madonna mia bella," she prayed, "and I will -teach him something for the good of his soul, besides obtaining the -cure of my poor padroncino! Tell me a little--is it his fault? How -should he, good pacific man, with his blind eyes that never seem to -see anything but his books and his stones--how should he recognize the -emissary of Satan, in that nice frock coat too, and with such pleasant -manners? That young man would have deceived anybody except an angel or -a saint. Now, if I find him, I will light a candle of three pounds' -weight--think of that, how grand it will look--over there at your altar -in San Severino! I will indeed, if I have to go without food for a week -to buy it." - -Having made this heroic promise, Mariuccia felt better. She would be -shown the way--who ever appealed to the Mother of Mercy in vain? And -as she went cheerily about the humble tasks which made the sum of her -life, a light came to her. She and Giannella must have a man to help -them, a man who could go about in the streets and public places and -seek out their enemy for them, as they themselves could not possibly -do. And the man was there. Who but that kind, clever Signorino Goffi, -who spoke so amiably, so condescendingly, not only to Giannella--small -wonder in that, she was the prettiest bit of sugar in Rome--but to -poor old Mariuccia Botti, who was little accustomed to courtesy and -attention and had not made a new friend in twenty years. - -Yes, she would tell him all about it, and he, so instructed, so -intelligent, would certainly do what was required. Here was the answer -to her prayer already. She would take the rest for granted and buy -that candle to-morrow. The blessed Madonna would not let a poor old -woman beat her in generosity--spend all that money in vain. That would -hardly be delicate, and delicacy, the most exquisite consideration -for the feelings of others, was, as Mariuccia knew, one of the Divine -characteristics, and could always be counted upon, if poor mortals were -only willing to do their part. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI - - -Giannella was not the only person who was suffering from the effects -of the scirocco. Across the way good Fra Tommaso was weighed down by -unaccustomed spiritual depression hitherto unknown to his cheerful -nature. He did not ascribe it to the weather, but to the small progress -he was making towards the saintliness which the Cardinal, thirty years -before, had pointed out to him as his goal. Padre Anselmo had done -the same every week since then; and Fra Tommaso confessed to himself, -with many misgivings, that he was woefully far away from it still. -Twice lately he had lost his temper with the schoolboy who served -the first Mass; this morning he had been so carried away as to box -the youngster's ears for trying to trip him up as he came out of the -sacristy; also he had had more distractions than usual of late, and -only last Saturday had made up his mind that he would break the bonds -which held him to the world at one blow--and not look at a single face -in the church. This had been hard work indeed, but he had succeeded in -keeping his eyes on the ground as he went about his duties, and had not -even looked up when somebody knocked over a chair. Still he was very -unhappy, and when the midday gun boomed from Sant' Angelo found it hard -to put much spirit into his bell-ringing. That blessed fellow over at -Santa Eulalia would have it all his own way to-day, for Fra Tommaso's -arms ached, and his peals trailed off into silence while all the other -belfries were clanging with sound. As they ceased he heard his rival -still ding-donging it across the river, and it was with a dreadful -sense of deficiency and defeat that he closed the church and climbed -the long flights to his loggia. - -As he emerged from the semi-darkness of the stairs into the blaze of -light and heat on the roof he sank down in the strip of shade by the -doorstep of his room and leaned back, weary and breathless, against the -lintel. How hot and sweet the "basilica" was smelling there in its box -on the parapet, and how pleasantly the perfume mingled with that of -the cabbage soup simmering confidentially on the charcoal inside the -room! Ah, it was pleasant up here; the world and its temptations lay -six flights below; no distractions could climb as high as this, thank -Heaven. - -His pigeons came fluttering down from the eaves to welcome him, and -hopped about, anxiously waiting for their largesse of corn. He was -about to rise and fetch it when he glanced up and saw that one of -the number had not joined the rest, but perched on a flower-pot with -averted head as if in a fit of bad temper. Fra Tommaso feared it must -be ailing and, getting up stiffly, prepared to capture it. As he moved, -the others gathered eagerly round his feet, their burnished plumage -giving out splendid glints of purple and green in the sun. The old man -bent down to them laughing. "Patience, patience, you gluttonous ones," -he said, "you shall have it all in good time." - -Then he rubbed his eyes and looked at them again. All the seven were -there, yes, seven. He looked up at the parapet, and there, viciously -pulling a grand red carnation to pieces, sat an eighth, an audacious -stranger who evidently intended to make himself at home. - -Out came Fra Tommaso's head from the strip of shade, the sun causing -him to blink painfully and showing the deep lines on his dark old face -and the greenish seams of his worn robe. With outstretched hand he -cautiously approached his visitor; but the caution was thrown away, for -the strange bird landed on his shoulder and began playfully pecking -at his grizzled hair, murmuring soft little sounds as if to entreat -his indulgence. It made no resistance when he lifted it off to see it -closer, but as he did so, his fingers came in contact with metal, with -ribbon--what was this? He almost let the creature go in his amazement, -when he discovered that it wore a tiny silver collar and that a ribbon, -slender as a thread, was attached to the collar and passed under one -wing. With shaking hand he pulled at the silk, and then almost reeled -in surprise, for out came a fold of paper with writing showing through -its thin tissue. Holy Saints preserve us! What portent was this? - -His first impulse was one of fear. He moved a step to hurl the uncanny -creature over the parapet; then curiosity overpowered him. He must see -what was written on the paper. He knew that he should have no more -peace of mind unless he did. Clumsily he got the missive free and -opened it with knotty fingers that had never handled a love letter -before. All was dim till he pulled out his horn spectacles and fixed -them on his nose; then, careless of the sun that was beating on his -bare head, deaf to the cries of his faithful retainers clamoring for -food, he read this surprising message: - - - "Angel of my heart, for three days I have not seen thy beautiful - face. I expire of anguish. I consume with torment. When shall I - behold thee again? Ah, let it be soon, or I shall throw myself - into the river. I cannot support existence parted from thee. Thine - for all eternity. R." - - -Now indeed Fra Tommaso's head reeled and he had to put out a hand to -the parapet to keep himself from falling. He nearly knocked over the -cherished lemon-tree, and as he bumped against it was aware of the -unknown bird perched on a branch, gazing at him with a wicked, knowing -gleam in its bright eyes. The sacristan recoiled in horror. What demon -was this, assailing him in his old age with lures which he had bravely -renounced in his distant youth? No other thought occurred to him than -that he had been singled out for supernatural trial by the powers of -darkness; as soon as he could collect his senses he breathed a fervent -prayer to dear Saint Anthony of the many temptations to preserve him -from yielding a hair's-breadth to their wiles. - -This was instantly effectual, for the unblessed visitor suddenly -spread its wings, rose up into the air and fluttered away over the -roof. Fra Tommaso breathed more easily for a moment; then he realized -that he still retained the missive of evil in his hand. Ah, it must -be destroyed at once. In his haste to reach the fire he stumbled over -the uneven bricks, startling his own innocent pigeons so that they -scurried away from under his feet. Once inside his room he almost ran -to the square of bricks in the corner where the charcoal was burning -in one opening, lifted off the earthenware pot with its cabbage soup -bubbling so appetizingly, and dropped the communication of the Fiend -among the coals. Then, as if fearing that it would fly out in his face, -he replaced the pot firmly. He had conquered the first assault of the -enemy at one blow, but he felt that he must be on the alert for the -next attack. - -Exhausted with so many emotions, he sat down, wiping his face, to -collect his thoughts. What dreadful sin or weakness had he fallen -into of late? What inner traitor had opened his heart's door to -the adversary? Poor Fra Tommaso was conscious of having battled -rather manfully against his besetting sin, his love of watching the -congregation, of weaving his own little stories about the bright -young faces and the tired old ones, his sympathy for the widow who -always cried a little at Mass, and even for the pretty, naughty girl -who had actually passed a note from her prayer-book into the hand of -the young man who paused for a moment beside her chair. He had tried -not to wonder what could be the matter over there with Giannella, -that the blinds of her workroom window, whence she had often waved a -smiling greeting to her old friend the sacristan, should be tightly -closed--and that neither she nor Mariuccia should have come to the -church for some days. He was sure he had been faithful to last -Saturday's resolve to keep his eyes on the ground as he came and went. -Last Saturday, and this was Tuesday. Three days. The period mentioned -in that wicked letter! - -The terrible conviction was forced upon him that his tempter was some -member of the congregation who had noticed his refusal to look around -and, aided by the powers of darkness, was taking means to shake his -resolution. "For three days I have not seen thy beautiful face." There -was not a mirror in the whole of the San Severino establishment, and -Fra Tommaso had not seen his own face for some thirty years. He put -up his hand and felt it in a wondering way. It seemed very rough and -stubbly; the pious barber who shaved him for nothing only called on -Saturday evenings. Surely none but the Father of Lies could tell him -that it was beautiful! - -Well, that enemy could be subdued. He rose wearily; the first weapon -to employ being self-denial, Fra Tommaso sternly removed his dinner -from the fire and put it out of sight in the cupboard. Then, instead -of taking his siesta, he went down and set about cleaning one or two -corners of the church with such good will that his broom dislodged -clouds of dust and sent them flying about him till the stray sunbeams -caught them in the air and turned them into a hundred floating aureoles -above his good gray head. Perhaps they were reflections of some real -and lovely halo stored up for the single of heart. - - * * * * * * * * * - -Twelve hours later Rome lay sleeping under the August moon, sleeping in -a flood of silver that spread and broadened as the perfect orb swung -slowly up till it marked its zenith in the faint yet living argent of -the sky. The stars seemed to withdraw from its path, their delicate, -infinite myriads weaving ethereal veils of moving silver arc above -arc, in the measureless spaces beyond, like immortal spirits watching -the progress of some incarnate loveliness through a world apart from -theirs, a world holding it by an unseen yet inseverable tie to its -splendid tangibilities of marble palaces and leaping fountains and deep -old gardens full of oleander fragrances and cypress shades. - -Rain had fallen in the hills, and with the full of the moon had come -a cool breeze from the west; before it the miasmas of the scirocco -broke up and fled. In the midnight silence the wind blew softly over -the seven hills, singing little songs of health and freshness near at -hand. On Fra Tommaso's loggia the carnations were reaching out to the -coolness, the little lemon-tree was spreading each leaf like a shining -spearhead in the calm, unscorching light; and between the carnations -and the lemon-tree a young man stood bareheaded, leaning over the -parapet and gazing with sorrowful eyes at a closed window in the palace -wall across the way. - -Rinaldo had passed the most wretched day of his life; every hour of -it had been a drawn-out purgatory. This was the third of his trial, -for he had had no news of Giannella since the Saturday morning when -Sora Amalia had told him that she was ill. What was happening behind -those impenetrable walls? Was his beloved suffering, dying perhaps, -longing for a word from him, and wondering that she received none, -that he did not come to her? How could he? Twice each day he had rung -at the green door in the hope of learning something; and each time -the little shutter behind the grating had been withdrawn, two fierce -spectacled eyes had identified him from between the bars--and then the -shutter was pushed sharply into place and the guardian of the house had -retreated and closed another door within. The Professor had evidently -forbidden Mariuccia to answer the bell, and Rinaldo could think of no -means of communicating with her. As a forlorn hope he had despatched -Themistocles with an impassioned letter, and Themistocles, evil fowl, -had stayed away many hours, got rid of his message--and returned with -no answer. Giannella must be ill indeed if she could not send him one -little word to show that she was alive, was thinking of her faithful -Rinaldo. Perhaps, he told himself, his sudden declaration of love, the -adorable thing unnamed till now, had frightened or offended her. But -in that case surely she would have sent it back. No, he was sure that -she had received it, and almost sure that she was even now holding it -in her fast-chilling hand or pressing it feebly to her dying lips! -Death is forever on duty in the antechamber of youth's picturesque -imagination; the slightest accent of sorrow calls him up, and he seems -to put his head in at the door and say, "Here I am, my dear. Use me as -you like. Is it for yourself? Then it shall be all flowers and elegies -and lovely memories for your mourning friends. Oh, it is for your best -beloved? I see. I can manage that too, and leave you a hero and a -martyr, bravely carrying a broken heart to an early grave at your lost -one's side." - -And youth bows its head and weeps in ecstatic pain on the henchman's -indulgent shoulder, and then says, "Another time, good friend," and -then flies back, a thousand times deeper in love with living, to kind, -familiar life, strengthened and sane once more. - -Rinaldo's heart had been drawing him all day to the point when he could -at least feel near to Giannella, Fra Tommaso's loggia. In the cool -midnight, when he could count on the owner's heaviest sleep, he stole -thither and stood with outstretched hands, praying to the closed window -that barred in his dream of happiness. The breeze played comfortably -on his brow, the bath of moonlight calmed his fretted nerves; he -hardly knew whether the moisture in his eyes were tears or the dewy -benedictions of the night. "Giannella, Giannella, flower of my soul," -he murmured, "speak to me, dream of me. I am here, my heart calls -you--come, come." - -There was a sound across the way, the click of a receding bolt, the -stealthy scraping of wood on stone. Then a shutter swung open, and -out of the dark rough frame, like a flower breaking in snow from its -rejected sheath, Giannella leaned out, a vision of whiteness mantled in -falling gold, and raised her lovely face to the sky. - -A cry broke from her lover's lips and startled her. She shook back -her hair and straightened herself, resting both hands on the sill as -her gaze explored the night, traveling slowly up to the higher level -opposite. Then a cry of terrified joy rang out in the stillness, for -she thought she saw a spirit--Rinaldo's. - -The next moment she knew it was her lover, in the flesh, though how he -came to be standing there seemed a secret between him and some kind -archangel--for a word came to her across the dividing depth, a word -so pulsing with passion that only living lips could have given it -utterance, "Amore mio, amore mio!" - -Rinaldo's hands were stretched out as if he would lift her over the -abyss to his side. They two were alone in the world of the night; above -them hung the gentle moon in calm, encouraging splendor; all barriers -save that of the narrow empty space were left far below, and what was -space to them? Each could hear the other's voice, see the other's eyes, -and there was none between them. What more could the delicate young -love desire as yet? - -"Rinaldo, is it you?" came the tremulous, happy tones. "O my soul, I -die of joy. It seemed as if I should never see you again." - -"I have died a thousand deaths, Giannella," he answered. "They told me -you were ill--I could not get to you. O Heaven give me wings. Call, -call, my heart's love, and your sister angels will bring you over to -me." - -"To 'clausura?'" she replied. "Figlio mio, you stand on such holy -ground that its guardians would chase the angels away, if they were -sisters of mine. How did you get there? Is it safe for you? Oh, take -care. If anything should happen to you--" She leaned further out and he -could see all the tender anxiety in her eyes. - -"How I came?" he repeated. "Cuore mio, I have been here so often -watching for you as you came and went past that window--my feet would -find the way in the dark, I think." - -"But it is Fra Tommaso's loggia," she persisted. "I am afraid for -you! The Fathers will be so angry if they find you there. They might -send you to prison, and I should die of grief. Oh, go back now. I am -frightened. Where is Fra Tommaso?" - -"Sound asleep, in there," Rinaldo replied, laughing and pointing over -his shoulder to the tightly closed door of the one room. "Have no -fears, he is snoring sublimely. Do you think such a night as this was -made for snuffy old sacristans? No, indeed. All the lovers in paradise -are on our side, keeping him quiet so that we may speak at last. Tell -me, my beautiful angel, do you love me?" - -The beautiful angel did not answer in words, but held out her arms with -a gesture of such true tenderness that Rinaldo's heart seemed to leap -across the gulf and nestle in them. - -"I knew it," came his enraptured cry. "You are for me, core of my -heart. Oh, but we shall be happy, happy." - -"Ah, Rinaldo," she replied, her face changing, "there are too many -obstacles--you do not know--they are trying to make me marry the -Professor." - -"They? Who?" he asked fiercely. "Tell me their names--then leave them -to me." - -"It is he, Bianchi, and the Princess. She said it was my duty. But it -is not." She straightened up with sudden energy. "I know now, thank -God, I know. But there is much trouble, Mariuccia wants to tell you -about it, to ask you to help us. You will see--you are so clever--you -will understand what should be done." - -"Why do anything, my dear, except walk over to San Severino with -Mariuccia and ask one of the Fathers to marry us? The home is ready, I -hunger for you. Leave everything behind and come." - -"No," she replied gravely, "that is not the way. We must leave no bad -feeling behind to make other people miserable. He is the padrone, he -has let me live here for years--he has never been unkind--till lately, -and Mariuccia thinks some evil person has cast a spell over him. We -must make him see reason, and the Princess must understand too. She was -very good to me once. It would seem a piece of treason to just run away -like that--it would not bring us happiness, Rinaldo mio." - -"You shall have it your own way, bene mio," he said, "but promise -me one thing. When we have done all we can to make them understand, -when it is explained to them that we love each other, that I am a -galantuómo, that I give you what they have never given you, a happy -home, such as the best, sweetest girl in the world should have--the -appartamentino is of a prettiness--and so cheap--then, if they still -oppose us, you will say, 'Arrivederci, signori miei. It is now -finished. I take the liberty of sending you some confetti, for I -espouse Rinaldo Goffi without another moment's delay.' Will you promise -me that, Giannella?" - -"Oh yes," she laughed back, "if Signor Goffi still wants me. Does he -know that I have no dowry, no family, no pretty clothes to wear when he -takes me out for a walk--that I am nearly twenty-one, and as stupid as -a cabbage? Has he considered all these tribulations?" - -"If you say another word I shall jump across the street into your -room," he declared; "love will carry me over quite safely. And how -Mariuccia will scold when she finds me there." - -"Audacious one, you grow indiscreet," said Giannella. "To-morrow -morning Mariuccia will look for you after the first Mass. Oh, I am so -much better. I shall not be ill any more. You have cured me, dear, -enlightened doctor. So to-morrow be sure to come to the church in time. -I shall not be there, she will not let me go out so soon, but she will -tell you everything. Now go, go, beloved, we have talked too long. -Even the moon is getting tired of listening to us, see, she veils her -face. Good-night, good-night!" - -A little cloud had drifted up from the west, shadowing the silvery air -to gray, but Rinaldo saw Giannella lean forward and blow him a kiss. -Then she resolutely drew the blind into place; he heard the bolt click, -and turned to depart. Only just in time, for he became aware that Fra -Tommaso was moving in his room. The next instant Rinaldo was over the -dividing wall and racing for his own terrace through the ups and downs -of the little city on the roof. Then the sacristan's door opened with -a rusty creak and the old man, still dazed with sleep, came out and -looked about him. The paleness of dawn was in the east, his pigeons -stirred and scratched in their cote, and he went and drove them in -again with sharp taps. - -"Unmannerly fowls that you are," he grumbled, "what have you been -making such a disturbance about? I could have sworn someone was talking -here. Silly ones, it is only three o'clock. We can all go back to bed -for an hour." - - - - -CHAPTER XVII - - -Mariuccia, having decided on her course of action, had confided to -Giannella her intention of appealing to Signorino Goffi. She would look -for him in church in the morning, and if he was not there, she would -find him out at the top of Sora Amalia's house. Did not Giannella think -that a fine idea? The padrone had managed to enlist the most excellent -Princess on his side (Mariuccia had by this time concluded that the -Princess's verdict was given upon insufficient information, and might -be combated without impiety); well, she and Giannella would also find a -defender, and he at any rate should labor under no misapprehension as -to the true state of affairs. Then, closing the window so as to admit -no breath of the night air, which the Romans look upon as fatal, she -set all the doors open and retired to her cave beyond the kitchen on -the other side of the passage. - -Giannella had waited until the sound of her deep breathing came -regularly through the darkness. Then, panting for air, she had gently -closed her door and opened her window. Better malaria than asphyxia, -she thought. - -When she crept back to bed after her talk with Rinaldo it seemed as -if the little room was full of light and sweet music. Oh, God was -good, life was divine. No one in the world had ever been so happy as -she! Long she lay awake, going over every word her lover had spoken, -remembering every glance of his eyes, every expression of his face -which told her that he was all hers, forever and ever. When at last -she fell asleep, the chill airs of dawn were wandering through the -blind, and its first light showed her resting as peacefully as a child, -heartache and fever gone together, the round cheeks smooth as rose -leaves, the baby gold of the hair flung wide over the pillow and half -veiling the young white hands that lay crossed on her breast. - -So Mariuccia found her when she stole in before going out to the -church, and an exultant pride in her Giannella's loveliness rose in her -heart and brought a little moisture to her faithful old eyes. "Madonna -mia," she whispered, "were you more beautiful when Monsignore Gabriele -came and knelt before you and said, 'Ave gratia plena?' Oh, you must -indeed have had her poor mother under your mantle when she bore this -flower! Poverina, she never lived to rejoice over her, but that was -just as well, since she would not have known how to bring her up. But -there are heretics and heretics, eh, Madonne mia bella? And that poor -little thing knew no better, did she? She kissed your picture and the -crucifix when I held them to her lips, and she died for her baby--and -as for Signor Brockmann, good man, he never refused a paoletto to the -Cappuccino when he came to beg--and this angel has prayed for her -parents' souls ever since she could speak--oh, they may say what they -like, Mother of Mercy, but you will see to it that she finds her poor -papa and mamma in paradise. I am quite sure of that." - -Softly she went out locked the door and took away the key, for was not -the unfortunate padrone, possessed of demons and no longer responsible -for his actions, sleeping at the other end of the house? She crossed -herself as she passed his door, and then, catching up her big umbrella, -for the morning was cloudy, she hurried off to San Severino, where Fra -Tommaso was ringing with a will for the first Mass. - -Rinaldo descended a few minutes later and hastened to the side chapel, -where he found Mariuccia already ensconced in her accustomed place. -She was saying her rosary with great fervor. Once she turned to the -young man with a look of tremendous meaning, and as soon as the last -Gospel was ended rose from her knees and strode towards the door. -Rinaldo followed and found her waiting for him in the outer court where -he and Giannella had learned to know one another. The fountain was -splashing rather sadly under a threatening sky; a drop or two of rain -fell, blotching the flags; the beggars looked singularly depressed, and -altogether the air was somewhat tragedy laden. - -"Where can we speak as two alone?" the old woman asked wheeling round -and facing the artist. Her black eyes were snapping under the colored -handkerchief she had thrown over her head on entering the church, and -her iron-gray hair was crinkling more fiercely than usual round her -low, dark forehead. She was evidently in fighting mood and Rinaldo -hailed the symptoms joyfully. Between them they would make an end of -all this rubbish about impossible marriages and imaginary obligations. -He could have fought the world single-handed this morning. - -At Mariuccia's question he glanced up sideways at the distant -balustrade of his terrace, the spot whence he had first caught sight -of Giannella. "Well, Sora Mariuccia," he said, "if you will be so -complaisant as to climb ninety-three steps, we can discourse with much -tranquillity in my studio up there. We shall have the place all to -ourselves, at least." - -"If steps were destined to kill me I should be in San Lorenzo now," she -replied, shrugging her shoulders. "Let us go up." - -He led the way past the dairy to the side door and his companion -followed him up to the top landing without once pausing to take breath. -He flung the door open and stood aside to let her pass in, and she was -advancing when she suddenly backed against him with a scream of terror. -"Madonne mia Santissima, what is _that_?" - -Rinaldo, supporting her in his arms, looked over her shoulder and broke -into uncontrollable laughter. His trusty lay figure was stretched on -the floor in horrid disarray, one stiff, discolored arm raised as if -protesting against the ravages of Themistocles, who sat on its head, -tearing viciously at its matted locks. Nothing so corpse-like and -ghastly had ever saluted Mariuccia's vision, and she was trying hard -not to faint. Suddenly Themistocles flew up with a moth-eaten ringlet -in his beak. This was the last stroke. Mariuccia covered her face with -her hands and rushed back, moaning, to the head of the stairs. Rinaldo -was beside her in a moment, entreating, reassuring, laughing. - -"Don't be alarmed," he pleaded, "it is only my mannechino, my -model--what I paint from, you know. I should have warned you. Donkey -without heart that I am, to give you such a fright! Come, I will show -you." He drew her back into the room. "I was in a hurry to get down -to the church this morning and knocked the old cripple over and never -stopped to pick it up." - -She turned her eyes unwillingly on the gruesome object while he -bestowed it safely against the wall. Then she found courage to laugh at -herself a little and sank, rather exhausted, into the chair of state, -which Rinaldo pulled forward for her. She made a strange picture there, -a homely sybil in peasant dress, with the strings of red coral round -her neck and the gold earrings in her ears. Her brow was knitted with -thought, her wrinkled hands grasped the two arms firmly; and behind -her, on either side of her majestic old head, the bloated gilt cherubs -dimpled and simpered as they had dimpled and simpered for powdered -beauties and courtly prelates in days gone by. - -Rinaldo, perched on a stool opposite, took in the quaint picture and -made a mental note of it for future reference. Now he was in a hurry to -get to the business which had brought her there--without letting her -perceive that he knew something of it already. - -"I am so glad you wish to speak to me," he began. "It is a pleasure to -see you here. Is there anything I can do to serve you, my dear Sora -Mariuccia?" - -"Yes, there is, since you are so kind," she replied; "a very important -matter, a thing that is giving us much disquiet, Giannella and me. -Indeed, to tell you a secret, signorino, it has really made Giannella -ill." - -"Is she not better this morning?" he asked unguardedly and with a -mysterious smile. - -"How did you know she was ill?" Mariuccia's question was sharply put. - -He hastened to retrieve his mistake. "Oh, Sora Amalia told me, and I -was deeply grieved to hear it. I have been praying for her recovery." - -"You are a good boy," said Mariuccia, approvingly, "and your prayers -have been answered, for she is certainly better this morning. She was -sleeping like an image when I came out. But when she begins to go -about the house again, the Signor Professore (who is the best of men -you understand, only a little irritable just now) will begin to make -trouble--but trouble! Oh, Signorino Rinaldo, there seems no end to it, -and what can I do? You will help us, will you not?" - -"Only command me, command me," he cried, clasping his hands -imploringly. "I would die to serve her--and you," he added hastily. - -Mariuccia looked round, then leaned forward and spoke in a stage -whisper. "The padrone wants to marry her--in two weeks--and it is I, -who have lived with him for twenty years, who tell you this--if he -wants to, he will. When the devil gets into him--God forgive me for -speaking so of my own master--he is as obstinate as a mule, and, in one -manner or another, is sure to get his way. Giannella is a good obedient -child, and he persuaded the most excellent Princess to tell her that -it was her duty to consent. But if the Princess, who is a most noble -Christian, had known half what I know, she would let herself be eaten -by wolves before she tried to give him the girl. For he will starve -her to death--he cannot help it, that is the way the good God made -him, poor man--I know what I am talking about. Oh, what is the matter? -Madonna mia, are you going to have a fit?" - -For Rinaldo's face had turned alarmingly red, his eyes were half -closed and the veins stood out swollen and purple on his temples, -which he was hammering with his clenched fists. Mariuccia ran to him -and pulled his hands down from his head and shook him violently. Then -he seemed to come to himself. The flush ebbed from his face, leaving -him of a ghastly paleness, his arms fell at his sides, and he sank, -limp and exhausted, into the chair she had just quitted. She hastened -to bring him a drink of water, and when he had swallowed it he looked -up gratefully saying, "Thank you, I am better now----" He seemed to -speak with difficulty. "Pray excuse me. I was overcome for a moment. -You were telling me--oh, the words will choke me--that Bianchi--is -persecuting Giannella--that assassin, that executioner--he--" - -"Stop," cried Mariuccia; "you shall not speak of the padrone like that. -He is a good man. It is not his fault. You will understand when I tell -you how it all happened. Three months ago--" - -"Three months," Rinaldo exclaimed; "but why did you not tell me? Do you -not know that I adore Giannella? that I do not see the hour to marry -her myself?" - -"Traitor," thundered the old woman, "have you been daring to make love -to her in secret? You whom I took for a galantuómo, a man of honor--a -good Christian? Imbecile, donkey that I have been to trust you!" - -Her outbreak of righteous wrath was terrifying, and Rinaldo, who, when -not angry, was quite a gentle and unwarlike person, quailed under it -for a moment, and was half inclined to believe that he had behaved very -badly. But only for a moment. He remembered that there had never been -the slightest intention of deceiving Mariuccia or anybody else; that it -was only because she had stayed at home during the Professor's illness -that he had not spoken to her before. How he and Giannella had come -to understand each other was their own affair; he would submit to no -catechism on that point. - -Mariuccia was opening her mouth to speak again, but he held up his -hand for silence, and, coming close to her, looked her squarely in -the eyes. "Sora Mariuccia," he said, "your first opinion of me is the -right one. I am an honest man and, I hope, a good Christian. I love -your Giannella so truly that since I first saw her I have had one -thought only, to make her my wife. I have never spoken one word to -her which I could not have spoken in church at the foot of the altar -with all the saints in paradise listening to me. I was only waiting -for an opportunity of opening my heart to you. I consume with love for -her--and I know that she loves me. I am not rich, but I can maintain -her in all comfort and decorum--though not as she deserves. Would -anything in the world be too good for her? No, but I will make her the -happiest woman in Rome. I promise you that. And you, dear, kind Sora -Mariuccia, you will leave that cataplasm of a Professor and come and -live with us, will you not?" - -He took both her hands in his, and there was great earnestness in his -bright eyes. He looked so true and gentle and handsome that Mariuccia's -heart became as melting wax. She threw her arms round his neck and -kissed him on both cheeks; then she stood back and looked at him again, -laughing and crying at once. - -"Figlio mio bello, I see, I understand. You have a heart of gold. -Forgive me for that outburst. What would you have? I was frightened -for a moment. You see I have kept Giannella like the Bambino Gesú down -there in the church, under glass. Till this year she never went out -alone except for the few yards from our door to San Severino and for -the marketing close by. She has never spoken to a stranger--except -you--she is a flower of candor, her soul is as pure as the wax on the -altar. What would you have? The world is bad and I am only a stupid old -woman, and I was frightened. But now let us discourse reasonably." - -She sat down again and Rinaldo drew his stool close to the big chair -and prepared to listen. She laid a hand on his knee and went on very -seriously. "If you want to marry Giannella, you must persuade two -persons, my padrone--oh, do hear me patiently!" for Rinaldo seemed on -the point of interrupting her--"yes, my padrone, and the most excellent -Princess----" - -"But what has that old lady got to do with it?" he asked, frowning. - -"A great deal," was the reply. "She gave Giannella nine years' splendid -education, she is her godmother of First Communion--and she is my -principessa. Do you think I am one of the profane, to go against one -of the family like that? No indeed. Why, none of my relations would -ever speak to me again. It would be a great sin. And the padrone told -her what he wanted and persuaded her that it was right. And she sent -for us and gave us both such a talking to that for a little while we -almost thought she was right too. What would you have? A great person -like that, so pious, with so much learning and cleverness! Of course -Giannella had not a word to say, and as for me, I did not dare to open -my mouth. And that was a big mistake. For afterwards I perceived that -the Principessa could not understand what she did not know, and that I -ought to have told her something--that this caprice, this extravagance -of my poor master has come suddenly upon him, that it is against his -nature and clearly of the devil." - -"You really talk very strangely, Sora Mariuccia," said Rinaldo. "Do you -not think that any man who knew Giannella would wish to marry her if he -could--even as I hope to do?" - -"I never expected you to take the padrone's part," she retorted -laughing. Then she went on more seriously. "But listen to me, -signorino. To me you appear a good boy, honest and kind and truly -simpatico, but that is not enough. You will not get my consent until -you have satisfied the parroco that you are fit to be Giannella's -husband. He will want to see your baptismal certificate, and your -ticket of this year's Easter Communion, and also the police report of -your conduct generally. If he is satisfied, we will order the confetti, -my son, but I say nothing till then." - -"He will be satisfied," Rinaldo assured her, more thankful than he had -ever expected to be that his record would bear scrutiny; "but tell me, -I must know, how far does the Professor's real power over Giannella -extend? Is he her legal guardian? That would give us trouble." - -"Legal guardian indeed!" snorted Mariuccia. "Only girls with dowries -require those. Not a poor child who would have been taken to the Pietá -if I had had the heart to let her go there! Why, the padrone was always -telling me that that was the place for her. He grumbled at me for -bringing her into the house. He never took any notice of her till three -months ago--and then, from one day to another--he is crazy to marry -her. I astrologized my head for weeks to find out what had changed him -all in a moment like that. Then I perceived," she leaned closer and -spoke in a whisper, "that an evil enchantment was laid upon him." - -"Really? And by whom?" Rinaldo asked dubiously. - -Then Mariuccia related the story of the strange lawyer's visit, of how -Giannella had been called in and interrogated, and of how the master -looked better pleased than she had ever seen him before. "And," she -wound up triumphantly, "that very evening--no, the next--he finds out -that Giannella cooks polpetti divinely; then he wants her to take care -of his books. The lawyer comes again--an apoplexy to him--and the next -thing we know is that Giannella is good, that she is pretty--that -Heaven destines the padrone to be her husband. How does it appear to -you, signorino? To me it is magic of the most wicked." - -Rinaldo was walking up and down the studio in great excitement. -"Magic?" he cried; "no, Sora Mariuccia, I see worse than that. We have -here a great mystery. I fear some of her parents' relations have heard -how good and beautiful Giannella is, and are trying to take her away -from Rome. Naturally the Professor--who must have eyes and a heart -somewhere, poveraccio--does not wish to lose her--I told you no man -could help loving her--and has thought of this as the only way to keep -her here. But we must know, we must know. You are right. I must find -that lawyer. He will tell us what it all means. Oh, for Heaven's sake, -try to remember his name." - -"I never heard it," she said; "he gave Giannella a card and she did -not read it, and when we looked for it later it was gone. We only know -he was a lawyer because the padrone called him 'Signor Avvocato' while -Giannella was in the room." - -"We must get hold of that card," Rinaldo declared. "When you go home -tell Giannella to look for it everywhere--she will find it, I am sure. -And I will come to the entrance of the palazzo this evening at Ave -Maria, and you will be so good as to come down and give it to me. After -that, leave it to me--I make it my affair. I would spare you the stairs -and come up, dear Sora Mariuccia, but the Professor might see me, and -he must suspect nothing as yet. Oh, tell Giannella--" - -But Mariuccia did not wait to hear the love messages. Fra Tommaso's -bells were pealing the hour, eight o'clock, and the padrone would -expect his coffee in precisely fifteen minutes. She sped downstairs -at a wonderful pace, opened her huge umbrella on the doorstep, which -was wet with rain, and nearly knocked down Sora Amalia, who was in her -doorway exchanging the day's news with Sora Rosa opposite. They both -looked after the retreating figure and nodded to one another sagely. - -"I told you so," cried the lady of the dairy triumphantly. "You see! -they make the arrangements." - -"La Biondina will at least have the salad at her door," replied Sora -Rosa, "and that is a fine thing. But she will never have tomatoes at -three baiocchi a pound after she marries that rich Signorino Goffi! -Trust me!" - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII - - -As the quick southern dusk was falling Rinaldo stole to the foot of -the "Scala III.," concealed himself behind an open stable door, and -waited for Mariuccia. Like all his countrymen, he loved mystery. This -innocent conspiracy set his pulses throbbing pleasantly and cleared his -brain to crystal acuteness. Besides, he had made an ally of Mariuccia, -he had opened his heart to her, and, after her first explosion of -suspicion, had been received as a prospective son. The victory over -the Professor and his mighty endorser, the Princess, would be mere -child's play now, if only Giannella held firm. Although he had the -happiness of knowing that she loved him, the young man did not deceive -himself into believing that she would hold out forever under such -pressure as was being brought to bear on her. The little that he knew -of young girls had taught him otherwise; the better the girl, the more -attention she would pay to the commands of those whom she considered -in authority over her. He could not imagine that his own sisters -would not meekly accept the spouses selected for them. Giannella was -singularly docile and humble-minded. She had always been accustomed to -set her own wishes aside where those of others were in opposition to -them, and in his few talks with her he had seen that the Professor's -awesome learning and the Princess's power, rank, and goodness, caused -the girl to regard those two as more or less anointed arbiters of her -destiny. Rinaldo himself had plenty of proper respect for his betters, -and was a most loyal son of Church and State (one in those palmy -days), but he came of a good old provincial stock, quite as proud in -its way as any Cestaldini or Santafede; and moreover his university -training and his artistic education had brought him in contact with -highly educated and broadminded men, so that his outlook on life was a -good deal more modern than Giannella's. She had not realized that she -was being cruelly imposed upon, that no past benefits could confer on -their donors the right to dispose of her entire future against her own -inclinations. If she could be brought to understand that, Rinaldo felt -that he would be the master of the situation; but there was no time to -lose if Bianchi had really made up his mind to marry her at once. - -The young man was revolving these thoughts in his dark corner when -the grotesquely stealthy tread of creaking shoes drew him from his -hiding-place to find Mariuccia peering round the side of the archway -leading to the stairs. With a dramatic gesture she beckoned to him, -laid a finger on her lips, and pushed a bit of pasteboard into his -hands. - -"Giannella found it between two of his books," she whispered. "Heaven -send he does not look for it to-morrow." - -"How is she this evening?" he inquired in the same tone. - -"Only so-so," was the reply; "the Signora Principessa has actually -written her a letter--such an honor. But I almost wish she had not." - -"Written to Giannella!" he exclaimed. "What had she got to say?" - -"Oh, all that she said the other day and more still. She is very sure -that Giannella ought to accept. And the poor child, who had been so -happy because I told her what we were talking about this morning, has -been crying all day. She says that if it is her duty to marry the -padrone she will try to fulfill it, but that she will want to throw -herself into the Tiber afterwards. It is dreadful. If you can only find -this avvocato and get him to make the padrone change his mind, well and -good. But otherwise I see no way--" - -"I do," said Rinaldo sharply. "Giannella should have more sense. There -are wise men, good priests, who will tell her in four words where her -duty leads her. But we will try and reconcile everybody first, since -you and she wish it. Wait a minute, I will take this man's name and -address and then you can put this card back where Giannella found it. -Please hold this match for me." - -"Oh, make haste. Take care!" she exclaimed as Rinaldo struck a vesta -and put it into her fingers. "He may come down. If he sees us talking -together there will be more trouble." - -Rinaldo had copied the card while she was speaking. Now he returned it -to her, saying, as the match spluttered out, "If he does come, I will -speak to him, I promise you. I will tell the old meddler to go and get -himself fried--and all his best little dead too." - -Mariuccia shuddered at the suggestion of this deadliest insult in the -Roman's armory. "For the love of charity," she implored, "do nothing so -rash. He might hand you over to the police--or even cast the evil eye -upon you. I cannot say that anything has ever happened to me--but he -does squint dreadfully sometimes, poverino. Run, I hear someone coming." - -"As you will, I shall bring you good news to-morrow, I hope." And he -moved away and was lost in the darkness. Mariuccia drew back into the -shadow of the stable and from thence watched Bianchi emerge from the -archway. He was enveloped in the double-caped cloak which all the men -carried with them after sundown, and held a sheaf of papers in one -hand. He stumbled over a stone and the papers flew in every direction. -Patiently he stooped and began to gather them up. The instinct of -service was too strong for his old domestic. Instantly she was at his -side, assisting him deftly. - -"Is that you, Mariuccia?" he asked, peering round at her. "Where did -you come from? I thought I had left you in the house." - -"You think and you think, and you never see anything, Sor Professore," -she grumbled. "I came down the stairs behind you. I must get some -camomile for Giannella. She has a fever--of those!" - -He seemed in a kindlier mood than usual, for he shook his head quite -sympathetically and said, "That is bad. I am sorry. But it is the -weather, and all that heating food. I warned you before. The young -blood is not like ours, my good Mariuccia. It makes itself to fire when -the sun is in Leo. Give her less to eat and keep her quiet and she will -be well in a few days." And he moved away, looking very like a brigand -in his big cloak with one end thrown over his shoulder. - -Mariuccia watched him disappear, with an expression of almost -omniscient pity. "Sor Carlo mio," she murmured, "you have all the -instructions of the holy Aristotle, and you can pull down Latin as I -used to pull down the chestnuts at Castel Gandolfo--but you are just a -baby in arms when it comes to serious things like food and drink. If I -were not with you, you would be dead in a month. Rinaldo thinks he and -Giannella will get me to live with them. Not a bit of it. They can take -care of each other, the Madonna assisting them, and I will continue to -protect this unfortunate man of learning till one of us is taken to San -Lorenzo." - -The evening was still young and Rinaldo thought he would go and -listen to the music in Piazza Colonna for a little, so he made his -way thither, guided by the strains of "Semiramide" which were ringing -out over the otherwise silent city. Piazza Colonna was the favorite -gathering place at this hour for citizens of the better class who were -not able to get away to the country; as he turned into the square he -saw it was already crowded with groups sitting before the cafés as -well as with an ever-moving stream of pedestrians taking leisurely -exercise in the open space round the bandstand. He found a seat by -one of the little marble-topped tables, ordered the popular "orzata," -a milky-looking beverage of almond syrup and iced barley water, and, -drawing out his notebook, read over the indications he had copied -into it. The name Guglielmo De Sanctis, was a common though quite -respectable one; there must be at least a hundred De Sanctises in -and around Rome; but the address, a second floor in a fashionable -street, denoted that the gentleman in question was doing finely in -his business, a fact which, Rinaldo thought, argued well for his -character. He decided to call upon him the next morning, and then fell -to considering how best to put his rather difficult case. - -While the active part of his consciousness was thus employed, the -other, the artistic one, was enjoying the charming scene before him. -The great square, fronting on the Corso and sloping gently up to the -majestic façade of the General Post Office at the farther end, lay -under the dark night sky, fringed by a many-ringed circle of lights -twinkling and intermingling in a soft golden glow. From the center the -sculptured shaft of Marcus Aurelius' triumphal column shot up till its -crown was lost in darkness; the fountains near it poured their cool -sheets of water, gemmed with borrowed stars, into the marble basins, -with a rhythmical splash that made a pleasant under-theme to the full -music of the band; and every pause in the music was filled with talk -and laughter from the audience, delighted with the unexpected coolness -after a stifling day. The women looked charmingly pretty in their -embroidered muslins and pale summer silks, and these were diversified -by the rather theatrical uniforms of the French officers who, conscious -of their exalted mission of protecting the Holy Father, swaggered -happily about the city in those days, loving and beloved and blissfully -unwitting of history to be. - -The humming stream of humanity passed and re-passed before Rinaldo's -eyes, momentarily eclipsing the pearl and silver of the fountains and -then parting to let it shine forth again. Overhead the sky was a dome -of shadows; neither moon nor star shot a ray through the darkness -which, with the sudden cooling of the air, presaged some portentous -change of weather. Rinaldo was taking in all the attractions of the -scene, but such spectacles meant to him very much what they do to -the rest of his countrymen--pleasant accessories of existence, but -too familiar to merit any special attention, except from luckless -foreigners who, of course, coming from sad lands where the sun never -shone, where the grapes did not grow, where there were no pretty women -to admire, no saints to invoke and no feastdays to enjoy, naturally -went mad with delight on finding themselves in a country provided with -these necessaries of life, and talked a lot of nonsense about Italy -and the Italians, unconscious that the latter epithet is one which -every Roman indignantly rejects. "Italy" ceases with the frontiers -of Tuscany, which have the honor of bordering on the papal states -themselves, the setting of the city which is the jewel of the world. To -the south, below her feet, as it were, comes the "Regno," the kingdom -of the two Sicilies, in due subordination. All is--or rather was in -Rinaldo's day--as it should be, and as it undoubtedly would be for ever -and ever. All this the benighted foreigner could not be expected to -understand, and he was forgiven his ignorance in consideration of the -welcome addition to public and private revenues furnished by his lavish -expenditure. Rinaldo Goffi in particular had much reason to bless him -as an easily satisfied patron of the arts, for most of his pretty -genre pictures, not very original but pleasantly delicate in color and -correct in drawing, found their way to other lands. He had just put the -last touches to the venerable prelate who was going to supply him and -Giannella with furniture, and was calculating how soon it would be safe -to have him packed for shipment. - -"Day after to-morrow, perhaps, if it does not rain," he was thinking, -when a young man detached himself from the crowd and bore down upon -him with the alertness of a dog recognizing its master. It was little -Peppino Sacchetti, who, with his bright eyes, dark complexion and quick -movements, always suggested the appearance of a black-and-tan terrier -in gay tail-wagging mood. - -"How goes it, Nalduccio?" he inquired as he dragged a chair close to -that of his friend. "I was looking for you, my son. I have not seen you -for days. Have you been finishing his Eminence--or preparing a cup of -coffee[2] for the old gentleman who gave you such a turn that Friday?" - -"Both, Peppino," Rinaldo replied, "but the coffee is only a mora dose, -and the most saintly of cardinals would endorse the prescription." - -"You will have to put it by to cool, then," Peppino declared; "we are -all going to be wanted very shortly. The river is out on the Prati,[3] -and if I am not mistaken, Ripetta will be a canal before the end of the -week." - -"But it has hardly rained yet," Rinaldo objected, looking up at the -sky; "and I was hoping it would hold off for a day or two longer to let -my picture dry." - -"You should have spoken to Santa Ribiana[4] about it," said Peppino. -"It seems to be all arranged now. The Senate sent us word to hold -ourselves and our boats in readiness for a call at any moment. It has -been raining in the hills, and Tiber and Anio are both over their banks -for miles. They may flood the campagna to Ostia if they like--one is so -thankful for this coolness." - -"There won't be much coolness for us if the boats are called out," -Rinaldo remarked with a wry face. "Do you remember the last flood? We -worked for twenty-four hours on end. I began to have some sympathy for -the poor devils of convicts at the galleys." - -Peppino laughed at his friend's dismay. "It all amuses me," he said; -"one saw such funny sights. I shall never forget that poor priest -floating down the Corso to his church with his feet in buckets. Do -you remember how well he balanced himself with his umbrella? And the -old woman who called to us from a window to take her daughter-in-law -away and drown her? They had been quarrelling like two furies, and the -daughter-in-law came behind her and tried to pitch her out! How we -laughed!" - -Rinaldo smiled at the recollection; then he rose to go. "There is one -thing I must do to-morrow morning," he said, "whatever happens; so I -shall not be available for any boat work before midday. I think you are -mistaken, Peppino. It is not going to rain here to-night, and I do not -believe there will be much of a flood unless it does. In any case, of -course I shall be ready to do my share, but please manage not to have -me sent for before noon." - -"What is this tremendously important business?" Peppino asked. "Perhaps -I could help you with it." But Rinaldo slipped off into the crowd. The -only way to keep a secret from Peppino was to run away from him. He -had no reticences about his own affairs and possessed a marvelously -successful curiosity concerning those of others. - -The next morning fulfilled his prophecy and broke in sheets of rain. -Rinaldo, however, set out manfully and arrived at Signor De Sanctis's -door precisely at ten o'clock. He sent in his card--a thing of beauty -penned with many flourishes by his own hand--requesting the favor of -an interview on a matter of urgent importance. The lawyer received -him coolly enough, for Rinaldo in his second best clothes and soaked -boots did not look like a money-bringing client. The coolness froze to -hostility when the young man, in all good faith, disclosed the object -of his visit. Would Signor De Sanctis tell him anything of the business -which had brought him to call on Professor Bianchi, and in what way was -the Signorina Brockmann connected with it? - -De Sanctis leaned back in his chair and eyed Rinaldo with scorn. Did -Signor--he glanced contemptuously at the card on the table--ah, Goffi, -Signor Goffi, imagine that the affairs of clients were to be revealed -to unknown inquirers? Who did the visitor take him for that he should -venture to insult him with such a request? - -Rinaldo saw that he had begun at the wrong end of the skein. He -hastened to assure the incensed gentleman that nothing was further from -his thoughts than such transgression; that the delicacy and honor of -the distinguished avvocato De Sanctis were so well known that only to -him, of all the legal lights in Rome, would it be possible to confide -what he was about to relate; and he added that he was equally sure that -no one else could explain the extraordinary and mysterious change which -had come over Bianchi and which was afflicting his family and friends -so deeply. - -De Sanctis began to look interested; his suspicion that Rinaldo was -illicitly trying to ascertain the figure of the young lady's dowry was -allayed by the importance given to the Professor. - -"But what is this afflicting change?" he asked. "Signor Bianchi has -the reputation of being a man of fixed habits and entire absorption in -his studies. Do you mean that his mind is affected? If so, you must -consult a physician. I am not an alienist." - -Then Rinaldo set himself to relate the facts, and very absurd they -sounded. Here was an elderly devotee of archæological science who had, -with many protests, permitted an orphan girl to live under his roof. -More he had never done; some little earnings from her embroidery, and -the charity of Signor Bianchi's kind-hearted cook had supplied all the -rest. Beyond giving her an order as he would to any servant, Signor -Bianchi had hardly ever spoken to Giannella, who was the best and most -beautiful girl in Rome. - -Too much excited to notice De Sanctis's amused smile at this -outburst of admiration, Rinaldo went on: "Behold, when she is nearly -twenty-one, a certain distinguished lawyer calls upon the Professor -and discourses with him at length. Before Ave Maria the next day -Signor Bianchi has found out that Giannella is good, that Giannella -is pretty, that Giannella cooks polpetti divinely, that Mariuccia -really ought to buy her a new dress. There is another visit or two from -the distinguished lawyer--and the Professor, who loves money so much -that it is like drawing blood to get a few pauls from him for his own -food, offers Mariuccia five baiocchi a day for Giannella's board. And -when Mariuccia, who is already "stranissima," worried to death with -all these new caprices, tells him to go to the devil with his five -baiocchi, why then, then, my dear sir, he says he is going to _marry_, -marry Giannella, who has lived on his own servant's charity and has not -a scudo in the world! Explain to me, Signor Avvocato, the conduct of -this maniac! As the only friend of those two poor distracted women, I -have a right to ask you." - -De Sanctis stared at Rinaldo incredulously for several seconds after -he had ceased speaking. Then, to the young man's amazement, he burst -into peals of laughter. Tears of merriment were running down his cheeks -before he regained sufficient self-control to speak. Then he looked -at Rinaldo (who was red with anger) and managed to say, "And is that -really all you know? You are not playing a joke on me?" - -"A joke?" cried the artist hotly; "if there is one you are alone in the -enjoyment of it. I see no subject for laughter in these distressing -facts. Yes, that is all I know, except--" - -"Except?" asked De Sanctis, with a fine return to his professional -manner. - -"Except this," the other continued, "that when Giannella refused his -proposal with horror--Domine Dio, had she not reason?--Bianchi went -to the Signora Principessa Santafede and persuaded her to take his -side. And she sent for Giannella and Mariuccia and preached them each -such a sermon that neither found a word to say, and Giannella has -cried herself into a fever and says she was born to misfortune, and -that if it is her destiny to marry Bianchi she will do her duty like a -Christian and die of despair afterwards. Oh, Signor Avvocato, excuse -me, but I cannot even think of it. If you have a heart, save us from -all this misery." - -Rinaldo's head went down on the table and he sobbed like a Latin and a -child--which mean the same thing, very often. - -De Sanctis reached over and patted his shoulder consolingly. He was -quite convinced now of the young man's good faith, and also of the -Professor's perfidy. "Do not afflict yourself, Signor Goffi," he said; -"the affair is quite simple. Bianchi is not mad. On the contrary, he -is very clever indeed. And the young lady shall marry"--he smiled -quizzingly as Rinaldo suddenly raised his head--"shall marry a fine -honest young man who is desperately in love with her. I am right, am I -not? Are you sure, quite sure, that you want a wife who has not a scudo -in the world, who will come to her wedding in the clothes that a poor -old servant has given her? It is a serious thing, a wife--there is the -future to think of--and, excuse my indiscreetness--you are perhaps not -a rich man." - -"No," cried Rinaldo, "I am not, thank God. I have had no money to -hoard, to worship, to cause my heart to dry up while I am still alive. -But I have all the money I need to give that beautiful angel a home -and happiness, and also to reward the best Christian I ever knew for -her goodness to her. I have my art, my health, a little vigna outside -the gates, and I will work for those two women as long as I live, I -swear it to you, Signor De Sanctis! And may God abandon me and Our Lady -refuse to intercede for me if I break my word!" - -"Bravo," said De Sanctis; "and now I fear I must ask you to excuse me, -for I have much to do to-day. If you will condescend to return--let me -see--the day after to-morrow, I may perhaps have some consoling news -for you." - -"You are very good," replied Rinaldo; "you will see Bianchi, you will -bring him to reason? If he withdraws his proposal the Princess can -have no more to say, and it is the scruple about opposing her which is -causing the chief trouble. But I fear the Professor will not be easy to -argue with." - -"I shall have no difficulty with him," De Sanctis declared; "leave him -to me. And meanwhile if you have the opportunity, try, on your part, to -make the young lady understand that in this matter her destiny need not -involve either martyrdom or suicide. These girls! Oh, you are taking -the whole thing too seriously, Signor Goffi. They really enjoy a bit of -tragedy if only they can play the saint to an admiring audience while -they are acting it." - -"Giannella has no silly fancies of that kind," Rinaldo replied hotly. -"Mariuccia tells me she never considered the thing for a moment until -that meddlesome old Princess undertook to poke her nose into matters -she knew nothing about. Could you not see her first, Signor Avvocato, -and make her change her mind? It would be easier to convince her than -Bianchi." - -De Sanctis had bounded in his chair at Rinaldo's audacious words. Now -he turned on him angrily, saying, "I must insist that you speak of -the most excellent Princess with proper respect. You will please to -remember that she is a very noble and pious lady, whom I often have -the honor to serve. Only Christian benevolence has led her to interest -herself in the Signorina Brockmann's establishment in life. From -her point of view--and being, as I perceive she was, in ignorance -of certain facts--a marriage with Bianchi must have appeared most -advantageous for the girl. I take it that nothing was told her of your -intentions in regard to the latter? No, of course not! That would have -been too much to expect of 'two poor distracted women.' Well then, you -see that they themselves left the Princess uninformed of an important -aspect of the affair. If she condescends to remember the incident the -next time she sends for me, all shall be explained to her; but she will -probably have forgotten all about it before she returns from Santafede. -Persons in her rank of life have many weighty matters to occupy their -minds." De Sanctis swelled with importance as he spoke, and Rinaldo -accepted the snubbing and henceforth believed that the lawyer was the -chief repository of the great lady's confidence. "And so have I!" De -Sanctis exclaimed, glancing at his watch. "Santa Pazienza! An hour and -a half have I been giving to your love affairs, my young friend. Now -I must turn to serious things. Accidenti! The rain has it in mind to -drown us all." - -FOOTNOTES: - -[2] Synonym for poison. - -[3] Low-lying meadows near the Vatican. - -[4] Patron saint of rain. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX - - -The next afternoon the Cardinal was dictating letters to his chaplain, -who also acted as his secretary. A bad cold and the increasing rain -were keeping him a prisoner. So he sat in the little crimson-walled -study, leaning back in his chair and delivering his sentences in -beautiful epistolary Italian, less like every-day colloquial than -Horace is like Church Latin. The young priest bent over the table, -writing for dear life, torn between his desire to keep up with the -silver fluency of the speaker and his ambition to make the large page -look like a lithographed example of perfect penmanship. - -The entrance of Domenico promised him a breathing space, but it was a -vain hope. The Cardinal took no notice of the velvet-footed old man, -and continued his dictation. Only when the chaplain rose and brought -him the letter for inspection and signature did the master look up at -his servant, with a lifting of the eyebrows which said, "What is it? -You may speak." - -"Eminenza, it concerns the subterraneans," Domenico replied. "The -foreman says he will have to quit work, as a good deal of water is -coming up through the drain." - -"Well then, they must quit," the Cardinal replied, adding, with mild -expostulation, "It was not necessary to come and inform me of that -while I was seriously occupied, my son." - -"I would not have ventured to come in for that alone, Eminenza," said -the man, smiling mysteriously, "but there is something else. In digging -to find out whether there was a leak in the chief conduit, they struck -upon a little mound, bricked in, and when they opened it they found--" - -"The rest of the inscription?" exclaimed the Cardinal, his eyes shining -with anticipation. - -"More than that, Eminenza. A statue; yes, a statue! Una bellezza!" And -he looked down into his master's face with the air of one announcing -the conquest of the world. - -"Is it possible?" cried the prelate, delighted out of his usual calm. -"Do you know what you are saying, Domenico? Oh, it will be some Barocco -horror thrown there out of the way. What is it, what is it? Speak." - -"How can I tell the Eminenza what it is? I am too uninstructed," the -servant replied. "But I went down to see, and I beheld in the hole a -large figure with no head and one arm gone--but a fine piece of a man." - -The Cardinal rose from his chair. "I must go down at once," he said; -"the other letters can be written to-morrow." This to the young priest -who stood beside him. "I must see for myself, immediately." And he -moved toward the door. - -Simultaneously the servant and the chaplain rushed after him, the -latter laying a hand on his arm and Domenico placing himself before -the door. "For Heaven's sake," cried the younger man, "let the Eminenza -not think of such a thing. The cold, the damp--it would be a most -terrible imprudence." - -Domenico took a still stronger stand. He held up his hand almost -authoritatively and said, "This is a risk not to be run. Let us send at -once for Professor Bianchi. He will descend to these catacombs, will -see, will comprehend all. Then, having made full inspection, he will -come up and tell us all about it. Is not this a better plan, Eminenza -mia bella?" he concluded coaxingly. - -The Cardinal laughed, sighed and submitted. "I suppose you are right, -you two," he said; "you keep me as the carabinieri keep a malefactor. -As if it would have hurt me to go down for five minutes! But have your -way. Send at once for the Signor Professore, however, and beg him to -come at his earliest convenience. Oh, if it could be a true antique! -But I dream--who am I to deserve such good fortune, such honor?" - -The Professor sent a flowery note in answer to the summons from Palazzo -Cestaldini. He would have the honor of waiting upon the Cardinal in -the morning, and he thanked him from his heart for permitting a humble -seeker after knowledge to share the joy of discovery with him. - -All that night, as the rain beat down with ever-increasing violence, -the two learned men slept fitfully, dreaming of Greek perfection, -turning, even as they looked at it, into some bit of degenerate Roman -work, a coarse, fulsome likeness, with a removable marble wig and -beard! Then they would wake to hear the rattle of rain in the streets, -the bubbling of unauthorized fountains; and the Professor would shiver -with fear lest the reported treasure should be buried, perhaps swept -away, in mud; and the Cardinal would fold his beautiful hands over his -rosary and pray to be delivered from all undue love of terrestrial -things. Giannella, poor child, read over the Princess's letter for the -twentieth time, trying to invalidate its solemn, well-worded arguments -and failing to quite succeed; and Rinaldo, wide awake too, paced up and -down his studio, looked out every few minutes to see if the clouds were -not breaking, and called down a monotonous string of curses, all ending -with apoplexy, on the heartless elements which were keeping his painted -cardinal too moist to pack, and would certainly prevent his seeing -Mariuccia in the church next morning to exchange tidings and sympathy. - -When he looked down in the gray of the morning, the little court and -street beyond were sheeted in water. Three months' heat and drought -were being atoned for in the torrential downpour. All over the lower -part of the city the sewers were throwing up volumes of muddy liquid -choked back from its customary outlets by the rise in the river. On -the front porch of San Severino no picket of mendicants was stationed -to-day. When Fra Tommaso came down to open the doors not even the -privileged cripple was there to lift the curtain for him. The old -sacristan stood under the portico and surveyed the street with a -troubled face. "Libera nos, Domine!" he murmured as he turned back into -the church. "Fiat Voluntus Tua, yes, Lord, but oh, please, of Your -Condescension, do not send any dying calls to-day. That time, five -years ago, when the big flood came, and the priest and the boy and -I--and the Santissimo--Domine Dio, shall I ever forget it?--were almost -tipped out of the boat at that corner by the bridge. Oh, not to-day, -please, dear Lord. The poor souls could not get to You through the -rain--and think of the angels' wings all wet. If any are to die, please -let them wait a day or two, and come to judgment dry at least." - -In the Professor's household consternation reigned, for the padrone -announced that he would get to Palazzo Cestaldini--if he had to swim -there. And Mariuccia, racked with anxieties, did not display her usual -energy in opposing him. Giannella, shocked out of her absorption in her -own affairs, took it upon herself to beg him to consider his precious -health and safety, and to remain at home. This evidence of interest -greatly pleased her elderly wooer and emboldened him to pat her on the -cheek and tell her that after next week, when they were married, he -would always listen to her advice, but now he really must go out. Would -she bring him his thickest boots? - -Giannella, scarlet and resentful, rushed back to the kitchen, and -Mariuccia brought him the boots, soles uppermost, while she pointed -in grim silence at a large hole in one of them. But the Professor -pretended not to see it, and five minutes later he was out in the -piazza, his umbrella turned inside out, his big cloak ballooning into -black wings around him, his eyeglasses rendered useless by streams -of water, but his will sternly set on reaching Palazzo Cestaldini as -soon as possible. After a few laments over his obstinacy the two women -upstairs relapsed into silence, and all was very quiet on the fourth -floor, as the morning dragged its wet length on. - -It went yet more slowly for Rinaldo. Twenty-four hours had passed since -his interview with De Sanctis, and although the lawyer had told him -nothing, yet he had comforted him greatly, and Rinaldo longed to impart -some of that comfort to Giannella. He was the more anxious to do this -at once because the flood was evidently assuming serious proportions -and he might at any moment be called upon to take his place in the -ranks of helpers to save property and distribute provisions. It was -now ten o'clock, but the storm was laying a pall of darkness over the -city, and the dampness crept up even to the studio on the roof with a -chill sufficient to terrify the fever-fearing Roman. Rinaldo, ruefully -contemplating yesterday's boots, soaking and shapeless, and the second -best suit still limp and damp on its peg, rapidly calculated the -chances of gaining admittance should he go boldly to Bianchi's door and -ask for Mariuccia. His last experiences in that way had been memorably -disagreeable, and in the diminution of martial spirit caused by the -gray, wet morning, Rinaldo rather shrank from repeating them. Yet he -was consumed with anxiety lest Giannella, her powers of resistance -also lessened by illness and by the general depression, should select -this day, of all days, to immolate herself on the altar of phantom -duty, obey the Principessa, and consent to espouse Bianchi. That once -done, who could tell how things would turn out? She was a northerner -by blood, and Rinaldo had heard that northerners were dreadfully in -earnest about trifles like promises; she might consider her given word -as too binding to be recalled. Yes, he must see Giannella at once; -that risk was not to be run. Grumbling at Themistocles, who sat, sulky -and draggled, on the mustard-colored head of the lay figure, he pulled -on his wet boots and descended the staircase, where walls and steps -were oozing with moisture. At the lower entrance he paused and looked -up and down the street. Across the way old Sora Rosa had removed her -perishable wares and stood on her doorstep, so far carried out of her -usual saturnine impassiveness as to be wringing her hands and cursing -volubly. When she saw Rinaldo about to brave the elements she called -out to him to go back, out of danger. The Tiber was out; the municipal -guards had been round to warn all who lived on ground floors to move as -quickly as possible--no one could say how high the water would rise. - -But Rinaldo flourished his umbrella valiantly, plunged out, slipped and -found himself ankle deep in the muddy stream. Regaining the sidewalk he -struggled along towards the Piazza Santafede. It was hard work to get -there, but never mind, all the more reason for pressing on. The Bianchi -apartment was so high up that its denizens were far beyond the reach -of danger, but the women might be frightened--there were terrible -stories of what the river could do when its temper was roused; or, they -might be in need of provisions; that blessed old Professor would not be -much of a help to them. - -These thoughts helped to tide him over the rough crossing where both -the piazza and the Via Tresette were sending their torrents down the -Via Santafede to the still lower level of Ripetta. Rinaldo reached -the farther side, drenched and half blinded by the rain, which seemed -to come from every direction at once, and grasped at the iron chains -which swung between truncated pillars all round the old palace. He took -one look at the well-known window. Sure enough, there was Mariuccia -peering out, deepest anxiety written on her countenance, scanning the -Via Santafede from end to end. Rinaldo waved a hand to attract her -attention. She saw and recognized him immediately. He could see that -she was speaking though no words came to him through the rattle of the -rain, but her face lighted up and she beckoned to him beseechingly. How -fortunate that he had been so courageous as to come. - -Still clinging to the helpful chains, he reached the palace entrance -and paused to survey a strange scene. Wetness and confusion reigned -everywhere, horses were neighing and kicking in the flooded stables, -and resisting the harassed grooms who were trying to lead them out. -The young Prince, with some other gentlemen, was actually attempting -to coax one beautiful animal up the grand staircase, a promotion for -which it evidently had no desire; and, a few steps further up, stood -an irate woman, the Princess's housekeeper, frantically forbidding -the indecent sacrilege. Every time she waved her arms and shouted -her protests the nervous, high-spirited hunter danced and shied, and -finally began to rear and paw the air in menacing fashion. The Prince, -scarlet with anger, quieted him down, called a red-headed groom to -hold his head, and then, dashing up the steps, seized the woman in his -arms, dragged her down the steps and flung her into the porter's lodge -opposite, where he turned the key on her! She stood behind the glass -door, battering it with her fists and weeping copiously. The way being -now clear, the horse was induced to try it, and finding that the red -velvet carpet afforded comfortable foothold, mounted, with his excited -bodyguard, and the whole group, chattering and laughing, disappeared -round the first turn of the stairs. - -Much amused at this comedy, Rinaldo climbed to the Professor's -apartment and found Mariuccia waiting for him on the landing. - -"Figlio mio bello," she cried, "thank Heaven you have come. But, for -you--what craziness to venture through this deluge! You are half -drowned, poverino. Come in and dry your clothes, and then tell me -what to do, for we are in despair about the padrone. He went off this -morning soon after eight o'clock, and I know he will never get back -again. That man cannot be trusted to take care of himself. I am sure he -will come to some harm." - -Rinaldo stared at her, forgetting his own discomfort, his anxieties -about Giannella, everything, in his amazement at her speech. "What?" he -cried, "you are trembling--I do believe, crying--over what may happen -to that selfish old cataplasm of a Professor? Madonna mia, you women -are inexplicable. It would be a good thing if he never came back at -all." - -Mariuccia glared at him for one instant, then dealt him a sounding box -on the ear. "Infamous one," she screamed, "you dare to wish death to my -padrone? Oh, may you and your best dead--" - -But the curse never descended, for Giannella, pale and terrified, -suddenly parted the combatants, dragging Mariuccia away and waving -Rinaldo back with an imploring gesture; to tell the truth, he was -furiously angry, and his flashing eyes and clenched fists seemed to -indicate that he might so far forget himself as to return the blow. -At sight of the girl he loved, looking so pitiful in her fear and -distress, all his anger left him, and he held out his hands, saying -contritely, "It is nothing, Giannella mia, I spoke like a fool, -an animal. Sora Mariuccia must forgive me. I wish no harm to her -padrone--quite the contrary, for I wish he were more worthy of her -faithfulness. Happy he, to have such a valiant defender!" - -"Come in, come in," Giannella replied. "Holy Charity, you are wet -through. What a terrible day. Mariuccia mia, I am sure Signor Goffi did -not mean what he said just now, and he has been so brave to come to us -through this dreadful storm--won't you bring him in near the fire and -give him some coffee? And then, perhaps, he will find out where the -padrone is and bring him back to us. Oh, but we have been so unhappy -about him," she continued, turning her serious eyes to Rinaldo, "you do -not know. If anything were to happen to him we should never get over -it." - -"You too," Rinaldo murmured as he followed her and Mariuccia (silent -and mollified now) into the passage. "Well," he reflected, "it is said -that he who understands women understands all things. I renounce the -attempt." He was slightly nettled at the calmness with which Giannella -had taken command of the situation, vouchsafing him no single glance -which showed her consciousness of their own enchanting secret. He -did not notice that her cheeks were no longer pale, but of a deep -pink, and that her voice was uncertain, as if with the effort to -repress some strong emotion. Her actions at any rate were prompt and -business-like. Having led the way to the kitchen, where the charcoal -fire made a pleasant glow in the unnatural gloom, she pushed Mariuccia -down into one of the old straw-bottomed chairs, set the other near -the range for Rinaldo, got his wet coat away from him with a turn of -the hand, and made him slip on an old jacket of Bianchi's; then she -poured out a cup of steaming coffee, produced a ciambella to accompany -it, and disappeared. She returned in a moment with a pair of slippers -and some much-darned green socks, which last she warmed at the fire -while Rinaldo drank his coffee and wondered what she meant to do with -them--and him. - -She turned round, the socks rolled up between her hands, and offered -them to him with the slippers, all in the most collected way, as if she -had ministered to his wants for the last twenty years. He started back, -flushing furiously, for feet, as a subject, are almost as improper -in Rome as in China; and besides, all this was painfully unlike the -tenderly romantic meeting he had dreamed of. Was she never going to -look into his eyes and let him see that she remembered who he was? - -She came close to him and still he sat silent, gazing up hungrily into -her face. Ah, there it came, the mantling color, the quivering of the -lips, the lowering of the eyelids as if to veil some too bright flame. - -"Take them, signorino," she said, speaking huskily and holding the -things out to him, "excuse that they are old. You can go into the other -room and put them on. You will catch cold--like this--I am afraid--" - -But she did not finish the sentence. Rinaldo suddenly caught her two -hands in his and hid his face in them, kissing her fingers, the socks, -and her soft little palms with an indiscriminate adoration, with an -abandonment of joyful passion which touched the girl's whole being to -fire. It seemed in that moment that her life and his were fused into -one triumphant essence, steeped in glory. - -"Mamma mia," wailed a forgotten voice from very far away, from the -window, in fact, where Mariuccia had several minutes earlier resumed -her watch for her lost lamb, "it gets worse and worse. It would take -Sant' Antonio and his mantle to get across the street now. Oh, where -is my poor little padrone?" - -She turned back into the room with a tragic sweep of the arm, as if -asking the question of two young people, who stood several feet apart, -with some strange-looking objects on the floor between them. - -It was now twelve o'clock and Mariuccia insisted on getting Rinaldo -some dinner; and then, his coat being a little drier, she suggested -that he should at once start on his search for the missing Professor, -who had said that he was only going to Palazzo Cestaldini and would -come home for his dinner. - -"Palazzo Cestaldini?" Rinaldo replied; "that is only a short way from -here, but there will be difficulty in traversing the distance now -without a boat. The Cardinal has surely kept the Signor Professore with -him." - -"I cannot be certain," Mariuccia persisted; "the padrone is--well, -obstinate, and when he wants to come home he will come or try to--and -then he will get into trouble. Do go out and look for him, signorino." - -"But, Mariuccia, how can you?" Giannella protested indignantly. "The -signorino can do nothing--and he may be drowned. Oh, pray do not -go out," she exclaimed, clasping her hands and looking at Rinaldo -imploringly. Something had evidently removed the padrone from the -foreground of her thoughts. - -Her anxiety for himself so filled her lover with delight that he felt -inspired for any exploit. "Of course I will go," he cried; "nothing can -drown me! I can swim like a fish; and it is only a pleasure to serve -you, Sora Mariuccia. If a boat is needed I dare say I can find some of -my friends to help me. Ah, what is that?" - -A sound of laughter and of oars beating the water came up through the -open window. Three heads were out in a moment, and then Rinaldo hailed -Peppino and some other youths who, with many bumps and splashes, had -just steered two shallow punts into the Via Santafede from the Ripetta. -"Hi, boys!" he shouted, "wait for me, I must come with you. Round to -the portone in the piazza, Peppino." - -"Make haste then," was the reply; "we are out on duty. One of the -bridges is gone, Ripetta is a sea, and the water is two feet deep in -Piazza Navona. Hurry!" - -Rinaldo dashed off and flew down the long flights of stairs. One boat -went round to meet him, while the other continued on its way to Piazza -Navona, the chief market-place of the city. Five minutes later a boat -shot down again towards Ripetta, and Rinaldo nearly dropped a paddle in -the effort to kiss his hand to the two heads still leaning out of the -fourth-floor window, one grizzled and dark as fate, the other golden -and lovely as hope's young dream. - -When he was out of sight the women were silent for a little, then -Giannella's face sank down on her old friend's shoulders, and Mariuccia -put her arms round her and comforted her quite tenderly, for the poor -child was shivering with fear for her lover. "Why did you send him?" -she wailed; "he will surely be drowned." She had never seen a flood -before except from the safe heights of the convent villa, and it -seemed terrible that her Rinaldo, so dear and beautiful and young, -should have to face its dangers. - -"Hush, cocca mia," crooned the old woman, "nothing will happen to him. -Those boys are as safe in the water as on land. I wish I had asked him -to bring us some bread--there is not a scrap left--and that was the -last of the wine." - -"Take some of the padrone's then," said Giannella vindictively; "he has -cost enough to-day, dragging that poor, brave boy out into such perils -to look for him. He shall pay in bread and wine at least." - - - - -CHAPTER XX - - -The avvocato De Sanctis lived in the Via Condotti, on higher ground -by some feet than the other end of the Ripetta. About the time when -Bianchi, fired with enthusiasm, was wading joyfully towards Palazzo -Cestaldini, the lawyer issued from his door with the same goal in -view. He had business with the Cardinal's maestro di casa concerning -some houses in the suburbs, his Eminence's property, of which the -leases were expiring, and which would require repairs before fresh -contracts could be signed. One secret of De Sanctis's success in his -profession was his very un-Italian habit of attending to each detail -as it came up, whenever that was possible. He was sure that the bad -weather would keep clients away to-day, and, undeterred by it himself, -set out to clear one piece of business off his crowded list. Of course -there was not a cab in sight, but he persevered, keeping to the higher -levels till it was necessary to strike off to the right to reach the -back entrance of Palazzo Cestaldini, which the Professor had also -fortunately recollected, thus avoiding the "sea" which, as Peppino had -assured Rinaldo, had already taken possession of the long street which -forms the southern bank of the Tiber. - -Signor Bianchi had been warmly welcomed by the Cardinal, who was -feeling very unwell, poor gentleman; a fact which he concealed -from his guest, merely saying that he regretted not being able to -accompany him on his search and thanking him for being willing to -undertake it in such unfavorable circumstances. He conscientiously -pointed out that Bianchi was committing an imprudence in doing so; -the vaults were always damp, and just now probably some inches under -water. But the Professor made light of his warnings and begged to be -allowed to descend at once. Many valuable fragments had been found in -and around the palace, which, like so many others, was largely built -out of ancient and mediæval remains: a headless male figure, the -head was probably close by--perhaps he himself would find it! So two -workmen were summoned to accompany him with picks and lanterns, and a -few minutes later he was in his element, grubbing about in the vast -dark crypt, regardless of time, weather, hunger, or any of the other -conditions which call a halt to humanity in everyday life. - -He had been thus employed for some hours when the avvocato De Sanctis, -having ended his business with the maestro di casa, inquired if he -might have the honor of paying his respects to the Cardinal. He -was much attached to the kind prelate, whom he regarded as very -good company, and who in his turn felt sincere affection for the -hard-working young lawyer who had attained success without ceasing to -be an honest Christian. - -This morning, however, the Cardinal received him with a slight -expression of amusement. He had felt feverish the evening before; -his anxious attendants had hastily summoned his doctor, who had -administered some of the heroic remedies with which the local -pharmacopœia bristled in those prehistoric days; and the Cardinal -thought that the doctor and the rest, believing his life to be in -danger, had followed his general directions that on the first hint of -such a possibility his confessor and his man of business were to be -sent for without a moment's delay. The confessor, Padre Anselmo, from -San Severino, had not appeared, but here was De Sanctis, doubtless -prepared to receive his expiring instructions. When De Sanctis, after -kissing his patron's ring, explained that having had to call on -professional affairs, he availed himself of the opportunity to inquire -after the illustrious health, the Cardinal smiled indulgently. - -"Figlio mio," he said, "I know all about these kind little accidental -visits. The doctor, and my chaplain, and that good old servant of mine, -thought that I was in danger, that the discovery of a statue in the -cellar had excited my nerves and brought on fever. So they summoned -you to attend my deathbed. I am surprised at not having yet received -a visit from Padre Anselmo, but they probably thought I could attend -to spiritual matters better when earthly ones were off my mind. Kind -souls, I am grateful to you all, and I trust that when I am in extremis -you will comfort me with your presence, but I think I shall be allowed -to give you plenty of trouble yet. I feel much better this morning, -though naturally a little weakened by our distinguished physician's -prescriptions. At my age, Guglielmo, one cannot be freely bled, and -dosed with quinine and palma Christi, without certain remorses of -nature making themselves felt." He laid two fingers delicately on his -broad red waistbelt to indicate the region of physical contrition, "but -as I said, I am much better this morning, in spite of the terrible -weather." - -"It gives me happiness to hear that, Eminenza," De Sanctis replied, -"for I was grieved to learn, on my arrival here, of your Eminence's -indisposition. Word of an honest man, that was the first I heard of -it. No one sent for me on that account. But the Eminenza must be very -careful for the next few days. The flood will cause much sickness in -the town, and the damage done is already great. I have noted with -satisfaction that this respected palace was built with forethought for -such emergencies, the whole level of the courtyard being considerably -higher than that of the street." - -"An arrangement I have often murmured at," the Cardinal said, "for the -steep incline under the portone makes the horses slip, and the coachman -objects to waiting there. However, in times like these one appreciates -the necessity of it. He is a treacherous neighbor, Sor Tevere. There is -already a good deal of water in the cellars, Domenico says, and I fear -that poor Professor Bianchi is exposing himself to catch a bad cold." - -"Professor Bianchi, Eminenza?" De Sanctis pricked up his ears. "Is he -in the vaults?" - -"Where else?" replied the Cardinal, turning on him a glance of mild -surprise; "naturally he is examining the statue. It is my misfortune -that I cannot be at his side, but Heaven's will be done. See, I have -just received this note from him." And he handed a scrap of paper -to the lawyer. Scribbled on it was these words: "Probably a Hermes. -Græco-Roman. Fine preservation. Seeking for head." - -As De Sanctis read, his eyes began to gleam with suppressed humor. His -familiar little demon of malice was whispering in his ear. He rose to -take his leave, and the Cardinal, who had been watching the sheets of -rain slipping down the window-panes, turned to him, saying, "Yes, go -home, my son, for unless you do that quickly you will have difficulty -in reaching your house." - -"Is there anything I can do for the Eminenza first?" De Sanctis -inquired. - -"Only this," said the Cardinal, "I shall be much obliged if you will be -so kind as to speak to the Professor and beg him, with my compliments, -to consider his health and desist from further work in that damp spot, -for the present. Please say, however, that I trust he will honor me -with another visit before taking his departure." - -"Your Eminence shall be obeyed," De Sanctis replied. "But may I venture -to remind you that if he returns upstairs and the flood increases, he -may have to stay here all day. That would be a great fatigue for the -Eminenza, I fear." - -"Fatigue?" The Cardinal's fine face lighted up as he spoke. "No, -indeed. A pleasure, a rare pleasure. We are two old enthusiasts, -Guglielmo, and have a thousand subjects of interest to discuss. I know -of no one whom I would rather have for my companion at such a time -than that learned man. I sit at his feet--as a humble disciple. I reap -instruction as he speaks." - -"Doubtless, doubtless," the lawyer replied gravely. "I will execute the -commission at once." - -As he sped down the stairs he laughed softly. "It is not professional," -he told himself, "but it will be great fun, and he really deserves a -fright." - -An hour later the Cardinal touched his handbell and Domenico's wrinkled -face at once appeared in the doorway. "Is the Signor Professore still -in the vaults?" the master inquired. "Please go down and see. It is -most imprudent for him to remain there any longer." - -In ten minutes the servant returned, looking rather scared. "Eminenza," -he said, "the gentleman must have left without coming upstairs. It is -impossible to go down into the vaults--they are full of water." - -The Cardinal seemed disappointed. "That is unfortunate," he said at -last, "but you need not be alarmed, my good Domenico. You know there -is nothing there to be injured, the foundations are solid, and, thank -Heaven, the statue cannot swim away. The Professor was right to leave -at once--I hope he did not get a chill. Yes, you may bring my soup now, -and then I will sleep a little." As Domenico retired, his master shook -his head over his own weakness. "Paolo mio," he told himself, "you are -a very imperfect kind of creature. You are really disappointed because -you have been cheated of hearing all Bianchi had to say about the -discovery. What children we all are--clamoring for our playfellows and -turning sulky when we are deprived of them." - -The vaults of Palazzo Cestaldini were much older than the dwelling -itself, being the indestructible remains of an Imperial mausoleum -which above ground had been partially overthrown in the course of -centuries of fighting, and then unscrupulously utilized as material -for the new palace. The vaults, deep and wide, ran the whole length of -the frontage, and were dimly lighted by heavily grated windows some -three feet above the level of the outer street. From within the space -had the appearance of a subterranean church with windows set high up -in the walls; from without, the few who were curious enough to look -down through the bars could see only depths of darkness with here and -there a corner of worn masonry catching the light. From the ground, -thirty feet below the windows, there rose on the street side a series -of shallow steps, like tiers in an amphitheater; these ran the whole -length of the wall and were surmounted by a narrow platform from which -it was possible to look out on the upper world. In truth the crypt had -been adapted by one of Paolo Cestaldini's ancestors for spectacular -purposes, the adjacent river, with its many conduits, providing all -that was necessary for mimic aquatic shows. Later, in more troubled -times, it had sheltered great numbers of fighting men, and the barred -windows had been crowded with rough faces and picturesque costumes, -and had served as loopholes and defenses in many a joyful riot. In -these days the vaulted roofs were gray with cobwebs and dark with -moisture. In one distant corner lay a pile of rococo plaster figures, -used long ago for some carnival pageant and then flung aside, legs and -arms interlaced and broken, to crumble into a gruesome resemblance to -blanched corpses deprived of burial. - -These melancholy surroundings struck chill on the lawyer's humor as -he descended the stairs and peered round for the Professor. Ah, there -he was, down on his knees digging madly at a mound of earth; one of -his workmen had left him; the other was holding a lantern for him -with evident impatience to be gone. Water was trickling and lapping -somewhere, and everything underfoot was moist and slippery, but -the Professor seemed unconscious of all but his quest. He stood up -suddenly, one hand to his aching back, the other raised in triumph. -"The head!" he shouted. "I can feel it through the mold. Nunc -Dimittis!" And he went down on his knees again and began to remove the -earth with extreme care, his face streaming with perspiration, his -spectacles two shifting blots of light in the beams of the lantern. - -Suddenly this was set down with a clang and the workman flew past -De Sanctis towards the exit. "Come away!" he cried, pointing at the -same time to the stairs, down which a thin, continuous sheet of water -was flowing. "The river is out at last. There will be a sea here in -half-an-hour." - -"Rubbish," replied De Sanctis, "that is only the rain." And he came -stealthily to Bianchi's side and, laying a heavy hand on his shoulder, -bent down and said sternly, "Signor Professore, what have you done with -Giannella Brockmann's money?" - -The Professor leaped to his feet with a scream and his pick fell -from his hand. He stared in the lawyer's face, his own sickly with -fear. In the scant up-thrown rays of the lantern it was impossible to -distinguish more than a pair of gleaming black eyes and an accusing -scowl; the rest was dreadful shadow. - -But ere another word had been spoken a ripple of water broke round De -Sanctis's feet. "Diamini, but he was right, that man!" he exclaimed; -and in an instant he too had dashed away towards the stairs. - -In that instant Bianchi had recognized him and breathed again. It -was only De Sanctis, after all; an inconvenient, intrusive person to -whom unimportant matters could easily be explained some other time. -Meanwhile he must hasten to uncover, and feast his eyes on, the marble -head which he was certain lay close to his hand; he must carry it up -to the Cardinal himself, if it were not too heavy. What a triumph that -would be. Ah, gently--there showed a gleam of whitish surface. Hands -now, not to injure the precious thing. Doubled over, down on his knees, -he worked like a demon, with blackened fingers and earth-choked nails, -till at last it lay revealed, a calm immortal countenance gazing up -at him with eyes that seemed to have been seeing in the grave; full, -closed lips smiling as if with Olympic scorn at the hopes and fears of -perishable man. Some under-ripple of life seemed to be pulsing over the -broad brow, the divinely moulded cheeks and chin. Bianchi sank back on -his knees, his hands clasped, trembling with unbearable joy. - -"Greek, Greek," he whispered, as the saints have whispered prayers in -ecstatic trances, "purest Greek. There were but five or six in the -whole world--I have found one more. Dio mio, Dio mio, let me not die of -happiness." - -He seized the light and bent tenderly to uncover the throat. Ah, there -it was, the original severance; the cement still clung to it where it -had been attached to the beautiful but far less ancient figure which -lay prone in mutilated grandeur in the trench, some twenty yards away. -The Professor bent closer still over the perfect thing, touching the -creamy marble with his cheek, with his tongue, while he rubbed the -mould off his fingers with his coat tails, his shirt front, anything -to leave their sensitive tips free to feel the marvelous surface, as -different from that of the figure yonder as true old Sevres from modern -imitation. Fra Tommaso was right; Bianchi could have told it in the -dark, that touch of the creator's chisel during the one short period -of perfect sculpture our world has ever known, the touch which made -every atom of the marble its living vehicle, which gave the uneven yet -flawless surface so closely resembling human flesh that the senses -tell us it breathes and dimples with the very tide of life. Brought to -Rome by Greece's conquerors, fitted to a body wrought, at the command -of an imperious ignorant master, by a Greek sculptor in captivity, -remembering through his tears the glories of Greece's past--here was -an immortal crown to which the stately figure had served as a humble -pedestal. What wonder that Carlo Bianchi, in his passionate reverence -for true art, trembled and worshiped, and shivered with insane -joy--while inch by inch the turbid waters of the Tiber rose on the -floor of his fane, poured in from the ten great windows high in the -wall a hundred feet away, covered the statue in the trench and crept up -the hollow at the foot of the stairs, gurgling pleasantly on the steps -as it reached them one by one. - -When it had cut off retreat behind him it swam forward with a leap, -broke over him where he knelt, drowned the white glory from his side -and swept his extinguished lantern far beyond his reach. - -Then indeed he sprang to his feet. But they slipped from under him -and he fell forward, his hand landing on the cold, submerged face. -In a moment he was up again, wading through the fast-rising flood, -staggering towards the blackness which shrouded the stairway. But -long before he reached it the shelving ground was letting him down, -down into the water, and at last he turned and struggled back in the -direction of the distant windows, gray blurs now upon an enormous pall -of darkness, with something that caught a gleam of light flowing in -and sliding over their edges. Again and again he fell, betrayed by the -uneven ground and the swaying current. He was wet to the skin but he -did not know it. For once in his semi-vitalized existence he was awake -to all realities. He knew that unless he could attain to some higher -level there would soon be another cold body lying among the antiquities -in the crypt. - -As he fell for the third time and scrambled up with his mouth and eyes -full of water, another reality, forgotten in the joy of his discovery, -and then in the fever of self-preservation, recurred to his mind. -He remembered Giannella, his all but fraudulent concealment of her -inheritance, his machinations to effect a marriage with her before -she should learn of it. If he were to die (oh, horrid thought!) would -not the Judge of souls ask him the same question that that brigand -De Sanctis had asked, "What have you done with Giannella Brockmann's -money?" Carlo Bianchi could certainly say "Domine Dio, it is all there -I have not spent a penny of it yet. It is at interest in the Banco di -Roma, three and a half per cent." Then the Lord would say, "All there, -two hundred scudi, and you have not let that poor child have the shoes -she needs so badly? You have let Mariuccia, who has saved you money for -twenty years, continue to work hard and eat little so as to share her -wages with Giannella Brockmann? Miser, idolater, begone! My good San -Pietro, have the kindness to take this sinner away and send him to hell -at once." - -Then it would be all over; and Carlo Bianchi would have to roast, and -gnash his teeth, and have nothing to look at for all eternity but ugly -grinning devils. No beautiful angels with Greek heads and Roman--no, -Græco-Roman, bodies. Would the wings be strong enough to carry all -that marble? Good God, he was going mad. And the water was up to his -waist. One more fight he must make for life, for nice dry clothes, -for Mariuccia's golden fries, for his cigar and slippers and _The -Archæological Review_ after dinner. Also, of course, for the chance to -undo the intended wrong to Giannella and get it erased from his account -this side of judgment. He vowed miserably that if the mercy of God -would but bring him safely out of this pit of destruction, his first -act should be to tell Giannella everything and give her even the whole -two hundred scudi to squander on shoes, ribbons, chocolates, theaters, -anything she liked. And (yes, the water was certainly getting deeper) -he would promise not to marry her unless she were quite willing. Higher -than that, human nature could not rise. - -When he had registered these generous vows he felt quite light-hearted -as to eternity, and more confident of reaching physical safety. Now he -was at the foot of the steps below the windows. Blessed steps. He had -forgotten their existence. He scrambled up them and sank down on one, -exhausted and dripping, but above the level of the flood. There was -just enough daylight here for him to see the perils he had escaped. He -shivered as he looked back on the expanse of black choppy water lost in -the shadows from which he had come. - -The sense of relief was great, but it was uncomfortably tempered by -finding that a thin sheet of liquid was flowing over his cold seat, -from the window above him, so he rose wearily and reached the window -itself at last. Standing there clinging to the bars, he looked out at -a changed upper world. The view seemed to embrace water everywhere. -Well-known landmarks of old Ripetta, a pillar here, a battered statue -there, a lamp-post all awry a little farther on--these seemed to be -holding their own with difficulty in the shadow tossing stream which -swept by, sending billow after billow through his opening and carrying -past the strangest kind of flotsam in its course. An open umbrella came -dancing towards him like an evil bird with claws to its wings; then a -derelict hencoop from some poulterer's shop, followed first by a wicker -cradle and then by a floating island of cabbages and carrots sustaining -a pair of old boots. Not a human being was in sight, and the poor -prisoner's heart sank within him, for he knew that only a speedy rescue -could save him from the effects of the chill which already had him in -its grip, causing his teeth to chatter pitifully. - -Suddenly he gave a shout, and waved an arm wildly through the bars. Far -down the street a boat had appeared, a boat with three or four men in -it, surely one of the rescue parties which never fail to give aid in -these periodical calamities. Heaven had taken pity on him; and at once -he began to think that in his recent excitement he had promised Heaven -too high a price for its mercies. Perhaps the arrangement would have to -be revised; he must reflect seriously before permitting Giannella to -embark on a course of extravagance and dissipation. - -Again he waved his arms and shouted to the boat. Oh horror, it was -turning round--he could see its side rocking in the swirl of the -current--it was heading the other way! It was gone! - - - - -CHAPTER XXI - - -"Who is it that is missing?" Peppino had asked of Rinaldo as their boat -was finally coaxed round the corner of Via Santafede into the Ripetta, -shipping a good deal of muddy water in the process. - -Rinaldo did not reply till this was bailed out; then, straightening -himself and resuming his rowing, he replied, "Old Bianchi. You know -him, boys, the archæologist. Those poor women think he is drowning -somewhere. It is only on their account that I care what becomes of him." - -"Bianchi? Bianchi?" came the chorus of scorn from three cheerful youths -with a wholesome contempt for age and learning. "Ber Bacco!" "It -requires a face! To take us off real work to look for that old bat!" -"Know him, who doesn't? And who would so much as cross the street to -help him?" - -Rinaldo waited till he could make himself heard, then he said laughing -at their protests, "You need not even do that. He is down there in -Palazzo Cestaldini, with the Cardinal. See, it is on this side and -quite near." - -"Put about," came Peppino's sharp command, and Rinaldo was obliged to -obey with the rest, who were executing the manœuver with much alacrity. -"Now," Peppino continued, when they were once more heading down stream, -"we will go where we are wanted, to help the bakers save their bread -and the butchers their meat. Are we to let the city starve to-morrow, -because old 'Brontolone' is sitting in peace and comfort with the -Cardinal in the piano nobile of Palazza Cestaldini? What do those -females take us for? Pull for Piazza Navora." - -"As you will, heartless one," Rinaldo replied, "only we were so near -that it would not have taken five minutes to assure ourselves that the -old brigand was still there, and I could have called up to the women -that he was safe." - -"Of course he is safe," snorted Peppino. "The women must learn sense -and have patience. There is man's work to do now. Look out." - -They were turning a corner again and bumped into a big boat full of -"guardie," the semi-military police who were responsible for the order -of the city. The leader hailed them joyfully and at once attached them -to his force for the rest of the day, a day of uncommonly hard work for -the easy-going young men. - -A strange sight met their eyes when they reached Piazza Navona. In -spite of yesterday's warnings, flower sellers, fruit vendors, dealers -in secondhand wares of every kind had installed themselves at break of -day in their usual spots; and when, a few hours later, the sewers had -suddenly gushed with improvised torrents, the unwary market people had -lost their heads, and, unfortunately, a good deal of their property. -The pyramid of huge water-melons piled round the base of the central -obelisk now rose like a green island in a muddy sea. The two rococo -fountains, fed from far away in the country through uncontaminated -conduits, tossed their spray into the air and flung down sheets of -pure crystal to meet the turbid, evil-smelling contributions which had -submerged their basins; Bernini's grotesque Tritons grinned fixedly on -the ever increasing disaster below them; and the long florid porch of -the church of Sant' Agnese, raised on its marble steps above the danger -level, was covered from end to end with salvage over which the owners -were weeping and wringing their hands. One old crone stood leaning far -out, fishing valiantly with her umbrella for a basket of lace which -wobbled round just out of reach, its bundles of heavy, handmade edgings -unrolling on the wavelets, while a bit of priceless old Venetian--such -as collectors would love and the uninitiated regard as a rag--was -twisting itself round the loosening laths of a towel-horse which had -been its neighbor on the paving stones. Old books and engravings, -prints of saints in prayer and goddesses in flirtation, danced along -shoulder to shoulder with plucked chickens and bobbing lemons; some -urchins on the church steps were daring each other to wade after the -spoils of the frying stall, which still wafted entrancing odors of hot -oil to their discriminating little noses. - -After the first stress had been relieved Peppino and his comrades, -known as they were for expert watermen, were told off to go through the -lowlying streets nearest the river, where the inhabitants, driven, some -hours earlier, from the ground floors to upper stories, might be in -need of supplies. Well loaded with provisions they set out, stopping -below the windows whence they were hailed, and sending up rations in -the baskets which came swinging down on strings, the coppers for the -food rattling inside them. Women called out, entreating the rescuers to -go and look for missing men of the family; but there was no delaying -for these appeals, and each and all received the truly Roman answer, -"He is safe, we have just seen him." That not one of the party knew -the name or face of the absent one made no difference at all. No loss -of life had been reported or was likely to be, so the statement as -to safety would probably be justified, while as to the other--well, -distressed females must be pacified, and a good common-sense lie was -the only practical means of doing that. - -There were other calls, however, which were instantly responded to. In -one house there was sudden sickness; a terrified woman screamed to the -men, and Rinaldo caught the word "Miserere," the synonym for the fruit -season scourge which slays in twelve hours. With all their might they -pulled for the nearest apothecary, threatened him with instant death if -he did not find his remedies in the twinkling of an eye, and then laid -violent hands on him and bore him back to the stricken house, where -they left him, disregarding his crazed entreaties that they would wait -and take him home again. - -Then came a still more urgent call; a woman was dying and wanted the -priest. Noting the street and number they promised the scared relatives -to bring one. Pausing for a moment they consulted as to the position -of the nearest. Peppino remembered his topography while the others were -still looking round them, and issued his orders. Some ten minutes later -the crew pulled up before the front steps of San Severino, and agile -Peppino bounded up them, three at a time, to summon the sacristan. -Rinaldo was tired of sitting on the narrow thwart, and he too sprang -out and stood on the steps, holding the boat with the boathook. All was -so changed by the strange aspect of the flood that he at first failed -to recognize the spot. His acquaintance with his parish church had been -chiefly carried on through the back entrance, but as he stood looking -up at the sky, which was clearing now, with sulky shafts from the low -sun tearing red rifts in the inky clouds, a sense of familiarity came -over him. Baring his heated brow he looked up, down, around. Why, of -course, it was Giannella's church, and Giannella herself was only a few -hundred yards away, waiting, with that adorable anxiety for him still -in her eyes; weeping, perhaps, in her fear lest harm had come to him. -He must get to her somehow, and tell her that he had not forgotten her -for a moment (a brazen untruth, but how could any woman understand -that even the most faithful masculine heart has no room for sentiment -in the midst of action?), but that every oar and every pair of hands -had been urgently needed throughout that long trying day. How glad she -would be to see him. Though of course she would pretend to be still -concerned about that animal, Bianchi, of whose society the Cardinal -must be horribly tired by this time if he had not managed to ship him -home already. There had not been a moment in which to attend to him, -but Rinaldo felt that he could not go back to Giannella without having -called at Palazzo Cestaldini at least: well, the day was drawing in, -the boys were all tired and hungry; they must quit work soon. After -this expedition with the priest, he himself would be free to go and -execute the belated commission. - -Ah, here he came, the good Father, reverently carrying the veiled -chalice, accompanied by a frightened acolyte with a lighted taper, and -Fra Tommaso, looking very serious and having much ado to hold up the -umbrella canopy and not slip on the wet steps. As they approached, -Rinaldo knelt with bared head; then he was on his feet, helping the -priest to bestow himself and his precious burden safely. The sacristan -knelt in the boat behind him, still sheltering him with the canopy, and -the boy climbed in, grinning and delighted now with the novelty of the -situation. - -It made an impressive picture as the young men, bare-headed and silent, -rowed fast down the yellow waterway, where the wavelets were crested -with bronze gold in the low rays of the sunset. The priest, looking -neither to right nor left, was praying in whispers, Fra Tommaso's deep -tones striking in with Amens and responses; the lurid sunbeams glowed -on his tonsured head, on the gold fringes of the canopy, on the young -men's faces stilled to worship by the careful honor of their mission. -It was not far to the house of death, a mean, discolored building in -a narrow alley, where pale watchers looking out from the doorway told -them they were still wanted, still in time. - -The neighbors gathered at their windows, sympathetic and curious. -Two or three women lighted candles and held them out in honor of the -Santissimo. Then the rowers waited in silence for some twenty minutes, -after which the padre reappeared, wrapped and prayerful as before, and -he and his attendants were conveyed home. - -"Now for supper," exclaimed Peppino. "I die of hunger." - -"One moment," said Rinaldo. "We are close to Palazzo Cestaldini, I -would just like to make an inquiry there." - -There was another outcry from his companions, and at that moment they -were all hailed by a passing boat, full of their friends of the River -Society. "Come on, boys," they called, "we are all dismissed for the -night. We are going to supper in Piazza Colonna--you follow us." - -"In a moment," Rinaldo answered, "we have one little thing to do first." - -"Nonsense!" protested the others. But Rinaldo was firm this time and -the malcontents, calling the other boat alongside, clambered into it -and shoved away. Peppino had remained with his friend. - -"You could not get this clumsy thing along by yourself, you pig-headed -brigand," he growled. "My poor outraged inside is crying for food, but -I will come with you. Pull now--mind that pillar. Here we are, but -the portone is closed, and God knows how we are going to get in. Good -heavens, what is that?" The current, carrying them swiftly along, had -flung the boat-side against the protruding grating of a window just -above its tide, and at the same instant a dripping object, apparently a -corpse in spectacles, rose behind the bars, a clawlike hand caught at -the gunwale, and a yell of entreaty assailed the rowers' ears. - -"For the love of God, take me out! Take me out! I perish, I die! -Madonna mia Santissima! Take me out!" - -"Stop dragging at the boat," cried Peppino when he had recovered his -breath. "Who are you? How did you get shut up here?" - -"Go to the devil," retorted the shuddering apparition. "Is this a -moment for questions? I have been in this sepulcher since the morning. -Get me out, I say." - -"Santo Dio," gasped Rinaldo, turning nearly as pale as the distracted -suppliant, "you--you are Professor Bianchi. Oh, assassin that I am! -Yes, I will get you out, instantly. Let go, let go, I can't pull you -through the grating." - -They had to tear his fingers off the gunwale, for the man was half -delirious in his terror of being abandoned. Then with two or three -strokes they reached the closed front door and pounded on it, shouting -for the porter. Their cries attracted heads to the first-floor windows; -Domenico, with the chaplain looking over his shoulder, leaned far out -and asked what this scandalous uproar meant. Did they know where they -were, these audacious ones? This was the Palazza Cestaldini, and the -Eminenza was within. If they did not depart at once, the police should -be summoned. - -Rinaldo shouted down Domenico's reproofs, explaining with extraordinary -fluency of invective that some dog, fathered by brigands and mothered -by wolves, and doomed with twenty generations of picked ancestors, to -eternal fires had kept Professor Bianchi imprisoned, in peril of death, -in a flooded crypt, since the morning. Let some Christian, if there was -one in that many times cursed household, open the portone and let him -come to their victim's rescue. - -Then indeed the faces above turned pale with consternation. Domenico -vanished, and the chaplain, nearly falling out in his earnestness, -clasped his hands and implored the gentleman to be quiet, to moderate -the transports of his just indignation. The Eminenza was ill--to learn -of this accident suddenly might be fatal to him. But at this point -Rinaldo, still calling down the wrath of Heaven on all implicated in -the tragedy, heard the heavy bolts withdrawn, and, through the slowly -opening portal, saw men standing up to their knees in water and the -steep ascent to the courtyard crowded with terrified servants. - -Leaving Peppino to take care of the boat, he sprang out and landed -among them like a firebrand. In five minutes he had picked out some -likely assistants and had them under orders, carrying ladders, ropes -and lanterns down the dark stairway which led from a corner of the -courtyard to the subterranean regions. - -When they had followed him down to the last step above water in the -crypt Rinaldo raised his lantern high above his head and peered across -an inky sea to locate the Professor, but all he could make out was a -crumpled heap sunk together on the stone platform beneath a window; -and no glad cries came from it to answer his encouraging shouts. He -tried the depth of the water at his feet and found some seven or eight -feet of it; so there was only one thing to do: he coiled a rope round -his body, placed one end in the hand of a trembling domestic, with -frightful threats of what would overtake him should he let go, and -then swam across to the outer wall. There he ran lightly up the steps -and lifted the Professor, who had fallen on his face in collapse and -unconsciousness at last. The reaction of relief when he had caught at -the boat, the agony of disappointment on seeing himself, as his dazed -senses told him, again forsaken, had been too much after the horrible -experience of the day, and he lay in Rinaldo's arms an inert and heavy -mass which it would be by no means easy to carry back. It would be -better to have help, so Rinaldo shouted to the men on the steps to go -and fetch his friend--and to see that the boat was made fast. A few -minutes later Peppino's cheery call sounded up in the echoing darkness -of the vaults, and the splash of his stroke as he shot through the -water struck pleasantly on Rinaldo's ear. - -Peppino turned white and shrank back when he touched Bianchi's -clay-cold hand, but Rinaldo assured him that the man had only -fainted--his heart was still beating. Between them they roped him to -themselves, slipped smoothly into the water, and swam in perfect unison -to the foot of the stairs. There Domenico and the chaplain fell on -their necks almost weeping in their thankfulness and their admiration -of what they called the young gentlemen's amazing courage. The boys -shook them off, laughing, for the little feat was ease and simplicity -itself; and then Rinaldo, picking up the still unconscious Professor, -imperiously demanded a warm bed for his patient. In an incredible -short time the poor chilled victim was rolled up in heated blankets, -surrounded by scalding bricks, and Rinaldo made him swallow a draught, -the hottest and fieriest that had ever passed his abstemious lips. - -He was quite alive now, but a little light-headed. He shed copious -tears of relief and weakness while he clung to and kissed Rinaldo's -hand, called him Hermes, and vowed that if only he would grow a beard -nobody would ever notice the place where his head was joined to his -body. - -Before all this was accomplished, the Cardinal's bell had been ringing -repeatedly, and at last the chaplain and Domenico, the latter quaking -with apprehension, presented themselves before him. - -"What is this commotion that I have been hearing?" the prelate asked -quite sternly. "Twice and three times have I rung the bell and no one -has come. I had never imagined that such remissness was possible. -Explain." - -"Eminenza," Domenico wailed, "there has been trouble, just a little -trouble. Nothing serious. Let the Eminenza not be alarmed." This last -in compliance to the young priest's grip of his arm and a frowning -reminder that the Cardinal must not be agitated. - -But Paolo Cestaldini was more than agitated, he was terribly incensed, -when the whole miserable story, wrapped in palliations and excuses, was -laid before him. - -"What?" he cried, his usually gentle face lighted up with a flame of -anger, "you actually left that good and illustrious man to suffer, to -drown, to accuse you of his death before his Maker? You, Domenico, you -never took the trouble to assure yourself that he had left the vault. -It is only by Heaven's mercy and that brave young stranger's charity -that you are not a murderer to-day. Coward, pagan, without heart, -without conscience--how can I ever endure to have you near me again?" - -"Eminenza, forgive him," the chaplain besought, "he could not know, he -did not reflect. He has served you faithfully for so many years." - -"Let the Eminenza have pity upon me!" Domenico implored, falling on his -knees with uplifted hands. "I have sinned, yes--but indeed no reasoning -person could have figured to himself that the Signor Professore was -still there. The Signor De Sanctis, the two workmen, they went away in -the first moment of danger. Was he an infant that he could not follow -them? And why did they leave him? Could they not have dragged him with -them? Is he not old and thin? Eminenza mia buona, the fault is with -them, not with me." - -The Cardinal still frowned on his contrite retainer, but he was too -just not to see that there was sense in his expostulations. He turned -to the chaplain who was standing silently by. "Caro mio," he said, "do -me the favor to return to our poor friend's bedside--he may require -something. I must say a word to Domenico here." When they were left -alone he addressed the major-domo: "You have been guilty of the gravest -neglect and disobedience, my poor Domenico, for I sent you downstairs -with express orders to ascertain whether the Professor was still below. -You gave one look from the upper step, you saw water, you returned, -very frightened, without having even asked the porter whether he had -seen him go out. I shall forgive you this time, and I must in justice -admit that you were not the only culprit. Certainly Signor De Sanctis -should have let someone know that the other gentleman had remained -behind. But I suppose that he was too alarmed and thought only of -himself. See, my son, what comes of selfishness! It is the ugliest of -all the sins, the one which Satan finds ready to his hand in every -human heart. It makes a man of education as stupid and cruel as the -beasts. Hell would be to let in a day but for selfishness." - -"Yes, indeed, Eminenza," said Domenico quickly. He always knew that -he was forgiven when his master embarked on a sermon and that light -of charity and sorrow began to shine in his eyes. But the sermons -were apt to be long, and just now the old man knew that he might be -wanted elsewhere. The Cardinal's physician had been summoned to attend -the Professor, remedies would be ordered, a servant would have to be -dispatched somehow to the apothecary--and what with the flood and the -accident, the servants were like a pack of frightened children this -evening! Oh, a dozen matters were certainly requiring his attention at -the other end of the house; he was the central wheel of the big solemn -establishment, the channel for every order, the paymaster for every -bill--and so jealous of his proud cares that no other member of the -household was ever allowed to act on his own initiative for a moment. -Everything began and ended with Sor Domenico--so the beloved Eminenza -must be induced to dismiss him promptly, or a lot of stupid mistakes -would be made. With the deftness of long habits he seized the first -opportunity of taking up the parable against himself. - -"Oh yes, Eminenza," he said very earnestly, "we are all--except your -illustrious self, of course--dreadful sinners in that way--egoists of -the most evil kind. The Eminenza will pray for me, and I will humbly -try to correct the fault in future. Meanwhile my heart is anxious -about the Signor Professore. The young gentleman who so nobly rescued -him may require my presence--" - -"Go, go, my son," exclaimed the Cardinal, "let Signor Bianchi want -for nothing. It will be an eternal remorse to me that this terrible -accident should have happened in my house, and we cannot do enough -to repair our fault. Meanwhile please ask that young man to come to -me here that I may thank him for his most valuable help. God was -truly merciful to send him to us. I shall not know how to express my -gratitude." - -Domenico departed, and in a few minutes the chaplain came to say that -Signor Goffi (he had ascertained his name) had asked permission to -withdraw at once, being very wet and not in a proper condition to -present himself before the Eminenza. If he might be allowed, he would -come and pay his respects to-morrow. And the doctor, who had now -arrived, entreated the Cardinal not to visit the Signor Professore this -evening. He must be kept very quiet, a sleeping draught, which should -have a most beneficent effect, had been administered, and the doctor -would remain through the night if necessary. He was confident that the -patient would be much better in the morning. Let the Eminenza lay all -anxiety aside and remember to take another dose of quinine himself at -nine o'clock, also the orange-flower water in order to sleep peacefully -after this deplorable shock to his nerves. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII - - -When night fell over the half-drowned city it seemed to Giannella that -ten years of suspense and misery had been compressed into a single day. -The few moments of wild happiness which had illuminated her sky during -Rinaldo's visit had only made the creeping hours afterwards the more -unbearable. As the weight of anxiety increased and no news came of -either Rinaldo or Bianchi, Mariuccia's temper became almost savage; and -Giannella, her hot Scandinavian blood roused at last, suddenly turned -on her and told her that instead of cursing the flood, the city, and -all connected with it she ought to be down on her knees praying for -those who were in danger and asking pardon for her hard-heartedness in -sending the bravest and kindest of men to look for a selfish old fellow -who could be trusted to take the very best care of himself. - -Mariuccia stopped short in her stride from window to window and stared -at the girl in amazement. Giannella's eyes were blazing, her cheeks -scarlet, her very hair, usually so goldenly smooth, was flying round -her forehead in wild disorder. Her hands were clenched, and she brought -her heel down on the bricks with a stamp which shook the rickety old -floor. - -"You have killed him, I know you have," she cried, all the torrent of -her pent-up wretchedness finding voice in the cry. "You old people -are all alike, only caring for dried-up old creatures like yourselves. -We--we, the young ones, who can think of something besides musty books -and dirty old statues and scraped pennies--we who can love, and suffer -for others, we are nothing. We may break our hearts and cry our eyes -out, and consume with anguish, and nobody cares. 'Gioventú'--youth--you -say, and shrug your shoulders, and forget all about it. Where is -Rinaldo, my fidanzato, I should like to know? Oh, you need not look so -shocked--he is my betrothed, and we will be married whether you or the -padrone or fifty thousand other cruel old people want us to or not. -Madonna mia, who is that?" - -Across the torrent of her anger a long knocking had broken, and the -cracked bell in the passage was jangling on its wires. Both the women -changed color. It was the first sound that had come to them from the -outer world since the morning, and it meant tidings. Good? Bad? Their -hearts stood still. Mariuccia, the hardy old peasant, gave out the -most completely, sinking down on a chair with both hands on her knees -and the sweat breaking out on her brow. Giannella stood rigid by the -table, staring towards the door. Then came a second knock, loud and -sharp. She sprang to life and flew to answer it. As she tore at the -chain and bolts, a word came through, the sweetest she had ever heard: -"Giannella, is it you?" - -Then the door was open, there was a stifled cry, and Giannella's head -was buried on her lover's shoulder, his arms held her to his heart, -his kisses were on her hair--Rinaldo had come back. - -How they rejoiced over him! Mariuccia laid violent hands on the -padrone's stores and cooked him a supper which he never forgot. He told -them, in carefully mitigated form, of the poor Professor's adventure, -dwelling much on the honor and comfort he was now enjoying and as -little as possible on the painful incarceration which had preceded it. -Mariuccia flushed with pride and delight when she learned that her -master was the guest of the revered Cardinal Cestaldini, and Giannella -listened with glowing eyes to the account of the rescue, telling -herself over and over again that her Rinaldo was the most valiant of -heroes for so cleverly and bravely going to the padrone's assistance. -If Rinaldo's part in the exploit lost nothing in the telling it was -only because the young man was too triumphantly happy to deprecate the -applause which Giannella lavished upon him. When at last Mariuccia -ordered him to bed in Bianchi's room--for she would not hear of his -attempting to return to his own lodging that night--he fell asleep in -a whirl of excitement, warmed, comforted, assured of the future, and -indescribably happy to feel that his beautiful, loving Giannella was -under the same roof with him, dreaming of him, somewhere on the other -side of the dingy whitewashed wall. - -He awoke the next morning dazed and puzzled at his surroundings and -rather stiff and sore from the exposure and fatigues of the day before; -but he had scarcely opened his eyes when Mariuccia entered with a -cup of steaming coffee, and his clothes, already carefully dried and -pressed, folded over her arm. It was so long since he had had a woman -to take care of him that his heart went out to her, and hers was always -ready to mother another child. So he told her that she was an angel, -and she said he was a good boy--and their compact for life was sealed. - -When he came out into the kitchen a little later Giannella was giving -the last touches to a truly Roman summer breakfast, delicate wafers -of smoked ham on one plate, a pile of fresh figs, pale emerald -globes, each carrying its dewdrop of honey at the tip, on another. -An enterprising "fruttarolo" had wheeled his handcart up the Via -Santafede at sunrise and the string and basket had done the rest. A few -fresh carnations, pulled from the cherished window plants, stood in a -glass with sprigs of lavender, and the repentant sunbeams played on a -straw-bound flask of red wine and a carafe of sparkling Trevi water. -The windows were open, the sky was blue; across the way Fra Tommaso's -flowers were lifting their heads again in a fringe of white and red, -and the pigeons were circling and calling to each other. The setting of -the picture was all that was gay and sweet, but the picture itself was -so enchanting that Rinaldo saw little else just then. Some rarer gold -seemed to have been shed on Giannella's hair this morning, there was a -new tenderness in her gray eyes, and her heart was so full of happiness -that she smiled unconsciously, and at any chance word elusive dimples -of laughter showed themselves at the corners of her pretty mouth. The -brightness of the day and the ease at her heart had made her unwilling -to put on her old dark dress. She had found, among a few things of -her mother's which Mariuccia had kept for her, a faded muslin, white -sprigged with pink, and this she had shaken out and put on, pinning a -flower where the open neck sank away from her fair throat, and a ribbon -round the long old-fashioned waist. Mariuccia understood, and nodded -approvingly when Giannella came out of her little room looking like a -rose in bloom; and Rinaldo, when he joined them, understood too, and -took her hands in his and whispered, "Good-morning, sposina mia." - -The storm was over and the sun had begun to shine on Rome again, and -on Giannella's life at last; and though happiness was such a new thing -to her, she knew it for what it was and took it to her heart in all -simplicity, in perfect trust that it would never fail her again. - -When Rinaldo was lighting his first cigarette Mariuccia announced -that, come what might, she was going to see for herself how the -padrone was getting on. She was sure he must need her after all he -had gone through--and he only just getting over that dreadful cold, -poverino--and of course there was nobody in the Cardinal's household -who could replace her at his bedside. What good were a lot of men to a -sick person, she would like to know? - -Rinaldo did not say that he was doubtful of her reception in the -strictly celibate domicile, but he protested that no woman could get -through the streets. The water had already subsided considerably, but -it still lay deep in some places while others were an expanse of mud -and slush not to be braved by petticoats. All this moved Mariuccia -not at all; she had made up her obstinate old mind, and all Rinaldo -obtained was that she would wait another hour or two. Then he would try -to pilot her to the Via Tresette, from which one could gain the narrow -alley leading to the back entrance of Palazzo Cestaldini, a facility -which had only been revealed to himself the night before. In spite of -his assurances that the doctor would certainly not allow the Professor -to be moved for two or three days, Mariuccia insisted on preparing her -master's bedroom for his reception. A huge warming-pan was placed in -his bed, the window was tightly closed, and sundry acrid-smelling herbs -were set on the fire for a "decotto" according to an ancient country -prescription quite infallible against the results of a chill. - -While she came and went, Rinaldo and Giannella sat and talked in low -tones. All their future lay before them to play with and every detail -of it was an enchanting subject to plan and think for. Now that he was -so near her Rinaldo felt that it would be absurd to wait till October -to be married, five whole weeks. No, that joyful event should take -place as soon as the appartamentino could be furnished, and Giannella -must come with him and choose every single thing. What sort of paper -would she like in the salotto--amber color, or mazarin blue with gold -flowers? (Both were much admired, he heard.) As for the bedroom, -Rinaldo had seen that of a newly-married friend, and the walls were -covered with pink roses as big as cabbages tied with blue ribbon. Oh, -it was most beautiful, and so gay. Giannella would be sure to like it, -and the roses would make it seem like summer all the year round. - -The roses flushed up in Giannella's cheeks just then; she became -silent, and finally dropped her eyes before Rinaldo's steady ardent -gaze. "What is it, my angel?" he asked, leaning forward anxiously. -"Does it not make you happy to know that you will so soon, in a few -days, core of my heart--be my own little wife?" - -"Too happy--I am too happy," she replied. "It almost hurts. Give me -time, amore mio--a girl must take breath." - -"Plenty of time to do that between now and next Sunday!" he declared. -"Five whole days. Is that not enough? I wish it could be to-morrow, -to-day." - -"Five days," cried Giannella. "But, Rinaldo, we could not be ready for -weeks. Think of all there is to do. Papering, furnishing, the linen to -get and sew--oh, it is dreadful that you should have all this great -expense, that I cannot do even a little to help in it. If they had only -let me earn money during these years. It is terrible to feel that I -have been so useless." - -"Giannella mia," said Rinaldo, looking very wise, "I will tell you -a secret. I do not believe I should ever have fallen in love with a -woman who was earning her living. It takes something away--something -very light, very delicate--I am too stupid to explain it properly--but -just what makes a woman adorable. It would break my heart if one of my -sisters should think of doing such a thing. What are the men there for? -We are very simple people, I and my family, but we are too proud for -that. If we cannot keep our women in decency and comfort, we might as -well throw ourselves into the river at once." - -"But I had no family," said Giannella; "but for Mariuccia, and the -padrone who let me stay here with her, I should have been brought up to -a trade, like other poor girls." - -Rinaldo interrupted her with something like sternness. "Giannella, once -for all, please forget all that. Thank Heaven Mariuccia understood her -responsibilities and carried them out nobly. We will make it all up -to her. And Signor Bianchi is not and has never been your 'padrone.' -Please stop speaking of him in that manner. Your father was a gentleman -and you belong to his class. The word 'padrone' offends me." - -"I would never do that," she cried, "forgive me, my heart. It is just a -habit that I have grown up with, because Mariuccia always speaks of the -Professor like that. But I too must tell you something. We cannot--be -married--quite so soon as you wish, because I am still determined that -those two, Signor Bianchi and the Princess, must be quite reconciled -and willing. Oh, you do not know how much I love you--it would -kill me to be parted from you. But when I come to our dear, pretty -appartamentino I must leave peace behind me. Then I can bring peace -with me. Disturbances, contradictions, there must be none of these to -remember on that day. Signor Bianchi must be our good friend always. -He will be much happier like that, and will soon forget that he ever -had this silly caprice about wanting to marry me. And the Principessa -has been good to me. But for her, amore mio, I should be an ignorant, -untaught creature, quite unfit to be your wife. So you owe her some -gratitude, and I a great deal. When you see her and explain everything -she will be sure to agree with you--who could help it? And it is not -long to wait. She will return in the beginning of October." - -"And take another six weeks to find time to see me--and six more to -make up her mind," was Rinaldo's scornful reply. "You are quite right, -Giannella, we certainly ought to have her most excellent blessing, but -I shall go to Santafede to get it. I do not mind that, my dear. I would -travel round the world to please you. As for Bianchi--I am going to ask -the Cardinal to bring him to reason as soon as the old fellow is able -to listen to it. Your gentle heart shall be satisfied, and then--" - -"Then," said Giannella, suddenly bending over and laying her fresh -lips on his hand, "then there will not be one little cloud in my whole -world. You will have to pretend to be cross with me sometimes, to keep -me from dying of happiness." - -Mariuccia came and stood beside them, her hands on her hips and a funny -grimace in her old face. "When you have done chattering, you two," she -said, "perhaps you will condescend to remember that we must go out. I -am not in love--and I want to get my padrone into his own bed. It is -nearly twelve o'clock." And she smiled down on them benevolently. - -Giannella ran off to change her dress, and soon returned, a bit of -lovely primness in her black frock, with the lace coif over her smooth -hair. The house was locked up and they all went down together. By -picking their steps carefully they reached their destination without -patent disaster, and were received by Domenico--Rinaldo warmly, but the -women with the reserve proper to an ecclesiastical household, where -such visitors came but rarely and were not encouraged. Leaving them -all in the second anteroom the major-domo went to inform his master of -their arrival. - -"Eminenza, I grieve to disturb you"--this was the invariable opening -of Domenico's communications--"but that young gentleman, Signor Goffi, -is in the sala, with two females who wish to see Signor Bianchi. And -Signor Goffi--he seems most respectable and polite--begs the great -favor of a few minutes' audience. I told him that I would ask, but that -of course--at this hour--" - -"But yes, of course I will see him," the Cardinal exclaimed. "Have I -not to thank him for averting the most terrible of disasters? Who are -the women?" he inquired, with instinctive suspicion of anything in -petticoats. - -"An old servant and a young lady--rather pretty," Domenico responded. -"They say they live with the Signor Professore, and are anxious about -his health." - -"Tell them to wait a minute," said his master. "Bring Signor Goffi -to me, and then go and see if the Professor is well enough to be -troubled with these persons. And one thing more, Domenico. You say -that the water has subsided in the streets--send a man at once to -Signor De Sanctis, and ask him to favor me with a visit as soon as he -conveniently can. I am anxious to hear his explanation of his unusual -conduct yesterday." - -Out in the sala the two women were conversing in whispers, a little -overawed by the stillness and the majesty of their surroundings, though -Mariuccia took on a certain air of proprietorship and looked quite -scornfully at the lacqueys in the outer room, mere hired servants -who could boast no connection with the finest family on earth. She, -Mariuccia Botti, belonged to the Cestaldini, and had a right to feel -at home in the palace which, she informed Giannella, was not nearly so -grand as the one at Castel Gandolfo. - -Rinaldo meanwhile was elaborating the idea with which Giannella's -remonstrances had inspired him. Personally he did not care a fig -what Bianchi might think or feel about their marriage, but since she -wished him to smile on it, smile he must, and fortune was putting into -Rinaldo's hands the very best means of accomplishing that miracle. -The Professor, still shuddering under the impression of yesterday's -horrible fright, should be brought to open his heart to his gallant -rescuer (why throw away the benefit of a good action?) and the -Cardinal, the great holy Cardinal, who could preach so eloquently -that he could cause the most hardened sinners to be dissolved with -contrition, he should use his authority and persuasion to effect this -happy result. Now he must think of how best to lay his case before the -prelate, and as he sat in the sala, staring at the high armoried canopy -which indicated that this was a princely house, he pondered whether -to begin his appeal in a strain of noble, reckless passion such, as -would touch an ordinary man of the world, or, more appropriately, -in one of gentle humility. The latter seemed more advisable on the -whole, and he began to rehearse an opening declaration of modesty and -single-heartedness--in all of which, despite his sense of dramatic -fitness, the good fellow would have claimed no more than his due, when -Giannella turned to him with a little remark. He looked into her sweet, -intelligent face and all apprehension left him. He felt that he had -but to remember it and the right words would be given to him. Oh, that -he could show her to the great man whose interest he wished to arouse. -There would be small need for his own pleading after that. Who would -not be glad to serve her? - -Then Domenico appeared, to conduct Rinaldo to the Cardinal. He told the -women that the doctor was with the Signor Professore; would they wait a -little and he would find out whether they could see him afterwards? - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII - - -When Domenico inquired whether the Professor's servant might come in -to see her master, the physician shook his head. "Better not," he -said, "the patient is very weak and nervous still, and has fever. I -cannot say whether it will abate at once. It is possible he may need -great care for several days. And you know what these good females are, -Sor Domenico. They weep, they wring their hands, they suggest sending -for the priest, and frighten the poor creature into believing he is -about to expire. Also they have ancient and noxious remedies used by -their great-grandmothers for sore fingers, which they will administer -to typhoid cases on the sly--and throw the doctor's medicines out of -the window. I have known them give a fever patient a plate of beans -because he happened to fancy it! No, the Signor Professore is better -without any visitors at present. Tell these women that he is improving -rapidly, that he is asleep--say that I have ordered him to have two -pounds of beefsteak for his dinner. They will believe anything and that -will reassure them. But mind you give him nothing but the soup, and the -orzata if he is thirsty. I will return this evening." - -Domenico nodded comprehendingly, showed the doctor out and, when -the door had closed on him, gave Mariuccia his report with a little -added color and embroidery to make it more convincing. The old woman -listened eagerly, and, on receiving a rather rash promise that she -should see her master the next day, declared herself satisfied, but -asked leave to wait until the Signorino Goffi should be dismissed -by his Eminence. She had the signorina with her--Domenico bowed -perplexedly to Giannella, whose status was by no means clear to -him--and the streets were in a dreadful condition still, Mariuccia -explained, not fit for two women alone to traverse. Domenico, all -politeness, begged them to be seated, and assured them that the -Signorino Goffi would rejoin them shortly; he was about to retire when -another visitor entered, the lawyer De Sanctis, looking troubled and -out of breath. The messenger had told him the story of the Professor's -adventure and had (after the manner of Italian servants, who consider -themselves and are considered a part of the family) given him a -friendly warning that the Eminenza was "proprio inchieto," very much -annoyed by what had happened, and would in all likelihood administer -some severe reproof to the Signor Avvocato. Sor Domenico had received -a terrific scolding, and it was understood in the house that but for -the intercession of Don Ignazio, the Eminenza's chaplain, he and the -porter and one or two others would have been dismissed on the spot. -The kind-hearted fellow suggested two or three good lies as possible -excuses, but De Sanctis knew that these would not pass with his -clear-sighted patron. He must take his scolding as best he might--and -revenge himself for it some day by discrediting Bianchi with the -Cardinal. That would be easy enough, as things stood. - -He was being conducted through the sala to await his turn elsewhere, -when he caught sight of Giannella. He halted, looked again at her and -her companion, and whispered to Domenico that he had a word to say -to the young lady; there was no need to wait for him; he would be in -the room beyond when the Eminenza should condescend to send for him. -And Domenico, glad to be dismissed, hurried off to attend to his many -duties. - -Then De Sanctis came towards Giannella with a pleasant smile of -recognition. "Signorina Brockmann," he said, "I fear you do not -remember me," for Giannella was meeting his glance with some surprise, -"yet it was I who had the pleasure of bringing you the news of your -accession to fortune some little time ago. How easily we become -accustomed to agreeable things! You have perhaps forgotten that you -were not always rich." - -Giannella had risen from her seat when he began to speak, but her -face was grave and cold. There was a touch of familiarity in his tone -which offended her. As he continued, however, her expression changed -to one of blank incomprehension. It was patent to De Sanctis that -Bianchi had never told her about her inheritance. The shabby dress, the -running out on mean errands, the discrepancies which had puzzled him, -were explained now. He had not had long to wait for his pretty little -revenge. Here was a weapon with which to turn the Cardinal's just -wrath in quite a new direction. He smiled on the girl gratefully for -providing him with it. - -"I remember you perfectly, sir," Giannella said at last, "but I do not -understand to what you allude. There is a mistake. You must be thinking -of some other person." - -Neither of them had noticed Mariuccia, who, through the colloquy, had -been staring at the lawyer with an ominous frown. She remembered him, -she recognized him, the visitor to whom she had wished twenty thousand -apoplexies in the last three months. - -Pushing Giannella aside she came before him, her eyes like fiery -gimlets boring for the truth--a rough-tongued, hard-handed Nemesis -prepared to chastise the disturber of household peace. "Ah, it is -you!" she began in a scornful growl, "Now perhaps you will tell me -what wickedness it was that you put into my poor padrone's head when -you came to see him? Till that day he was an angel, good, pacific, -regulated, thinking only of his studies, his blessed archæology and -his bits of stones, asking only that his house should be quiet and his -meals punctual and cheap. Never did he require more of us two poor -creatures than that--and as for matrimony--he would have run away -if anybody had had the temerity to speak to him of such folly. What -should he want with a wife at fifty-five, when he never wanted one at -the proper time? You come, Master Lawyer, and a thousand caprices come -with you and make an earthquake in his poor head! This child and I have -had no rest! He wants to marry the poor little thing, _marry_ her, -with the clothes she stands up in, a girl without a penny, who already -works for him without wages, as if she were my daughter and not a lady -born. Did you tell him, O assassin, that she is big enough and strong -enough to do the work of two? Does he want to send me away after twenty -years' service, to save my miserable wages--all that she and I have -in the world--and make her his wife so that she will have to work for -him, gratis, forever? Ah, that was it, was it? You said to him, 'Sor -Professore mio, why feed two females and pay one when you need only -feed one and pay her nothing? That old strega, Mariuccia, will soon be -aged and of little use. Giannella knows how to do everything now. Marry -her, so that she can live alone with you, and get rid of the other at -once.' Yes, that is what you advised, infidel, imprudent," thundered -the enraged seeress, "and you have committed a damnable sin, for which -the devil who taught it to you shall kick your soul and the souls of -all your ugly little dead about in hell for a thousand years! Madonna -mia, how could such wickedness enter a man's heart?" - -During this long impassioned address De Sanctis had stood quite still, -never taking his eyes from his adversary's face till she stopped, -gasping for breath, with clenched hands that seemed twitching to get at -his throat. Giannella was clinging to her arm and had been keeping up a -stream of remonstrances and entreaties that she would cease to insult -the gentleman, would refrain from making such a scandalous uproar in -the Cardinal's house. But all to no purpose. Mariuccia shook her off as -a wolfhound would shake off a spaniel, and only paused, as it seemed, -to find breath and inspiration for another tirade. - -De Sanctis had allowed her to say her say, for every word she uttered -only made the Professor's perfidy more plain; now his legal integrity -was sitting in judgment on the offender, while his personal grudge -against the man fed joyfully on the proofs of his double dealing. -Having learned all that he wished to know, he spoke to Mariuccia, -angrily enough. "You are a silly, ignorant woman, and you have been -saying things for which you will beg my pardon on your knees! You think -you know what I came to say to your master, do you? Well, listen, and -never again, so long as you live, dare to insult an honorable and -innocent person with vile suspicions. Yes, I thought the Professor -was like myself, an upright man, a man to be trusted. I thought he -had been the lifelong friend and helper of this young lady. And, as -she was still under age, I placed in his hands the wonderful fortune -which, largely through my disinterested efforts in discovering her, -had come to her from her father's brother in Denmark. Ah, you tremble, -you turn pale. Yes, that was what I came to tell Signor Bianchi--and -the brigand has never informed her of it--that Giannella Brockmann had -become a rich girl with an income of two thousand scudi, left her by -her uncle, two thousand big silver scudi every year, all for herself; -that she is no longer obliged to live on charity, but is now a young -lady with a dowry that will ensure her a good husband and a comfortable -establishment whenever she chooses. I came as the bearer of this -beautiful news--and you insult me as if I were an executioner!" - -The last part of this speech was lost on his audience. Mariuccia had -sunk back on a chair, her face gray with emotion, and Giannella was -kneeling beside her, covering her gnarled hands with kisses and crying -through a rain of happy tears, "Mariuccia, do you understand? I am -rich, rich, and now I can repay you for all your goodness to me. You -shall have clothes, shoes, meat, old wine--a new bed for your poor -tired body, with soft blankets--two thousand scudi--every year, for -always? Oh, you shall have a gold chain as thick as my finger and -earrings with pearls as big as figs. Oh, what have I done that such -happiness should come to me, Madonna mia Santissima--I shall die of -joy." - -Not a thought for herself, nor even for Rinaldo; not a glimmer of -resentment against Bianchi; only the passion of gratitude nearly -breaking her heart because it could be satisfied at last. - -Mariuccia bent down and kissed the golden head. Then she took the -girl's face in her two hands and looked into it long and silently, a -light on her own that had never shone there before. She tried to speak, -but could not; only, two slow tears trickled down her cheeks. Giannella -put up her soft fingers and brushed them away. - -"The very last you shall ever shed, Mariuccia mia," she murmured; "we -know, we two, what it has been. Domine Dio, it is all over!" - -Then the old woman rose to her feet and flung up her arms with a -magnificent gesture of thanksgiving, like a prophetess beholding the -victories of justice, the justifications of her God. "After twenty -years you have heard me, Mother of Mercy!" she cried, "Protector of the -fatherless, Consoler of the afflicted, blessed be your most sweet Name -for ever and ever!" - -De Sanctis turned away and walked to a farther window, where he stood -looking out and seeing nothing. His little fabric of false values had -tumbled to pieces. His shallow appreciations of human nature had scaled -off like a rotten shroud from a re-risen body. His own astuteness, -of which he had been so proud, Bianchi's dishonest avarice, the low -aims and rabid egoism with which he credited mankind at large--these -were not the spirit level by which to measure real men and women. That -was set by honest hearts incapable of selfish grief or sordid joy, -by Goffi, the obscure little artist, entreating his aid to obtain a -penniless bride, by the girl over there, pure of worldly taint, by -the ignorant old woman who had threatened him and his dead with hell. -He had looked deep into the hearts of all three, and had seen into -gold and crystal. Being only a prosaic Roman he did not put it so -poetically. "Good folk, good kind folk," he told himself. "Beati loro! -They are the happy ones. I wonder if there are many more of them in the -world?" - -When he looked round again he found that he was alone. No flooded -streets, no hesitations of timidity, could weigh with those two -rejoicing women. They were hastening to San Severino to give thanks -where thanks were due. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV - - -In the Cardinal's study Rinaldo, sitting on the very edge of a chair -with his hat on his knees, was looking eagerly into the benevolent face -of the prelate. The latter was expressing his thanks in the exquisite -Italian of the Roman noble; his hand, with his big amethyst ring, -fingered a malachite paper weight on the writing-table; his fine head, -crowned with the red berretta, reposed against the crimson damask of -his chair, for he was still languid from his recent indisposition. -Rinaldo was really thinking less of what the Cardinal said than of the -delightful picture he made--so different from the forlorn lay figure -stuck into the property chair and draped in the red tablecloth that -the artist felt as if he ought to do penance for all the calumnies on -cardinals that he had persuaded the dealers to buy from him. Oh, if -this beautiful old gentleman would let him paint his portrait, here in -the sober grandeur of his proper surroundings, with the long sunbeam -falling across his ring and sending its reflection up into his eyes. -Was it altogether out of the question? Oh, of course. He was not -distinguished enough to venture to suggest such a thing. What was this -that the Cardinal was saying? - -"So you see, Signor Goffi, that I have reason to be profoundly grateful -to you. But for your charity and courage my poor friend might have had -to remain yet longer in that terrible situation, and it is doubtful -whether he should have survived further exposure. And I had encouraged -him to go down there! Never can I forgive myself my thoughtlessness and -selfishness. I grieve to say that he is rather seriously indisposed, -but the doctor thinks that with care he will soon recover. I pray that -it may be so. And now, tell me, is there any way in which I can serve -you? To me it would be the greatest of pleasures--and old people can -sometimes be useful to young ones, you know." - -The charming urbanity of the tone, the courtesy which so delicately -annihilated the distance between a great noble, a prince of the Church, -and his unknown, middle-class self, touched Rinaldo deeply, and set -his heart beating with hope as he considered how best to frame his -request. The Cardinal saw that something was coming, and there was a -gentle twinkle in his eyes as he looked at his visitor. The candid, -handsome young face appealed to the inner spring of youth which life -may seal but never dry up in certain pure warm hearts. Rinaldo felt -the expressed goodwill as he might have become sensible of unexpected -warmth in the light of a fixed star; it shed a pleasant radiance from -very far away. Indeed they two could scarcely have been farther apart -had they lived till now on separate planets. There was no merging of -class and class in Rome, then. A prominent dignitary of the Church -moved in his own sphere of half-mystic greatness, linked with all -things sacred and regal. Except for a question of souls, he did not, in -the ordinary affairs of life (unless he happened to have risen from -the ranks himself), take any personal cognizance of those outside his -circle, ecclesiastical, political, and social. Paolo Cestaldini had -never heard of this young man till the night before, and apart from the -fact that he had nice manners, and evidently belonged to the educated -"mezzo ceto" had not the slightest clue by which to judge of his -circumstances. - -"Well," he said encouragingly, "what is it, my son? I see that your -heart has a desire. If it be possible for me, it would be my felicity -to satisfy it." - -"Oh, Eminenza," Rinaldo cried, "there is indeed something, if it would -not give you too great trouble to confer the greatest of benefits upon -me. Not as a recompense for the little service I was able to render -last night--any man would have done the same--and my friend, Sacchetti, -helped me--but if, out of the great goodness of your heart, you would -speak a word to Professor Bianchi, and tell him how wrong--" Rinaldo -paused, alarmed at the sudden sternness of the prelate's expression. - -"And what is it that I am to tell the distinguished Professor?" All -the encouragement was gone from the Cardinal's tone as he asked the -question. That an unknown youth should suggest criticism, actual -condemnation of anything in the conduct of a great light of science, -his own revered friend, appeared to him as a monstrous piece of -impertinence. - -But Rinaldo, conscious of the justice of his cause, caught boldly at -the receding opportunity. "Your Eminence will pardon me when I explain -what must sound so presumptuous," he said firmly. "The case is this: In -the Professor's house there is a young girl whom I wish to marry. We -love each other sincerely. She is good and beautiful, but very poor, an -orphan whom the Professor's servant adopted and brought up. She helps -the old woman to wait on him, and though her father was a gentleman -and she has received a good education, she has for years past been -contented to regard herself as Signor Bianchi's servant and to be so -regarded by him. A short time ago he suddenly declared that he wished -to marry her--" - -"Marry her?" the Cardinal exclaimed, sitting up straight in his chair. -"The Professor wanted to marry--a young girl? His servant? But what are -you telling me, Signor Goffi? Are you sure?" - -"Quite sure, Eminenza, strange as it may seem," Rinaldo replied. -"Giannella had no wish to marry him--the poor child shrank with horror -from the idea, and Mariuccia--that is the old woman--would not hear of -it. But he persisted, and at last induced the most excellent Princess -Santafede to interest herself on his behalf. Perhaps your Eminence does -not know that her Excellency had the great kindness to send Giannella -to the convent, where she received a beautiful education?" - -The Cardinal bent his head. "I remember hearing something of it," he -said. Then he smiled involuntarily at the recollection of Fra Tommaso's -impassioned appeal about a little girl and a poor woman from Castel -Gandolfo. He had quite forgotten the circumstance till now. - -"Well," Rinaldo continued, "her gratitude to the Princess and the -natural respect she felt for such a great and good lady made Giannella -desirous of obeying her in all things possible, and when her Excellency -told her that she should be only too thankful to find a disinterested -and honorable protector like Signor Bianchi, and that it was clearly -her duty to accept him--Giannella thought it might really be wrong to -disobey." - -The Cardinal gave an amused little groan. He had often warned his -sister that, like many pious ladies, she was too eager to pilot young -women into respectable homes. She had found husbands for three girls -during the past year; one had proved fairly satisfactory, but the -others had not turned out well. One poor thing had run away, no one -knew whither, because her husband maltreated her, and the other was -now working like a galley slave to support an idle man. And now he -learned that, undeterred by these failures, she was planning another -matrimonial mistake! Really, Teresa must be more prudent. - -Rinaldo went on after a short pause, "That was before Giannella and -I quite understood each other, Eminenza. Now I do not think she -would ever consent, but it will grieve us both to make an enemy of -Signor Bianchi, and Giannella wishes to have the approval of her -Excellency. I asked the avvocato De Sanctis to do something, since -it was after a visit from him that this strange caprice seemed to -have taken possession of the Professor, but I have heard nothing more -from him--and time passes and Giannella is in a very disagreeable -situation in the Professor's house. Oh, Eminenza, I want so much to -take my sposina to my own home and make her happy. I work hard, I have -had good fortune of late--I can support her. Will you, of your great -condescension, persuade Signor Bianchi that she is not for him, and -make him acquiesce in our marriage--and also please obtain for us the -consent of the Princess? Without that Giannella will not be content. We -would bless you from our hearts and pray for you every time we went to -Mass." - -The Cardinal had looked very grave since the mention of De Sanctis. -He recalled the pretty story of secret benevolence and ensuing good -fortune which he had found so consoling to a Christian heart. He -marshaled the facts in his mind and sorrowfully admitted to himself -that they were not edifying. It would have been bad enough to learn -that a distinguished, middle-aged man had lost his head about a pretty -girl, a mere child in comparison with himself; but the Cardinal could -have forgiven that. His long experience of human nature had taught him -that no vagaries were too wild to become facts where the relations -of man and woman were concerned. But there was something worse here, -something so ugly that it pierced his heart with pain to recognize it -for what it was--black mortal sin, covetousness, double dealing, an -apparent intention to defraud a defenseless girl of her liberty and -her property, since the goods of the wife would pass absolutely into -the keeping of the husband unless a pre-matrimonial contract were made -to secure them to her. And the man who was apparently planning this -cruelty had long been his own friend, his comrade in the delights of -high intellectual pursuits. The thing was horrible. He shuddered and -covered his eyes with his hand for a moment, praying for light on his -own duty in the matter. - -Rinaldo saw that his statement had gone home, and he did not venture -to interrupt the prelate's train of thought. At last the latter raised -his head, and his face looked sad and tired. His first duty at least -was clear to him already. The young people must not learn of the poor -sinner's fault if it were possible to keep it from them; he would -repent in time--had perhaps repented already, by the grace of God, and -the future must not be made harder for him by publicity and scandal. - -"Figlio mio," he said very gently, "this is a strange story, and -although I am sure you believe it yourself, I must know a little -more before I can, with any propriety, venture to advise the Signor -Professore on such delicate and private affairs. You are quite right -in wishing to reconcile him, and also my sister, to your marriage. -The Princess is in villeggiatura at present, but I will communicate -with her. As for Signor De Sanctis, he is my man of business, and I am -expecting him this morning. With your permission," here the fine old -head bent towards Rinaldo with exquisite courtesy, "I will speak to him -of this matter, and I have little doubt that a harmonious settlement -can be arrived at. You see, I am taking you on trust, my son. I hope -that your intentions regarding this young girl are as upright as -they appear; and also, if you will pardon an old man for speaking so -frankly, that your own life is orderly and pious; that you practice -our holy religion and keep away from bad companions. You must not be -incensed at my suggesting such questions. Matrimony is a holy state, -and many plunge into it all unprepared to fulfill its obligations." - -"Eminenza," Rinaldo replied, "I thank you most sincerely for taking -so much interest in my welfare, and I will answer your questions -veraciously. As for my morals--well, I have been too poor to have any -vices, and I was well brought up by good, kind parents, to whom I have -not done sufficient honor, but whom I have tried not to grieve. I have -worked hard, the masters at the Academy were satisfied with me, and I -obtained the silver medal before I left. The president of the Boating -Society will tell your Eminence that I never drink--except when I -swallow too much of the Tiber. As to religion, I am afraid I have been -forgetful sometimes. When I am very happy--or very unhappy--over a -picture, I lose count of the days of the week and find myself on the -church steps in my best clothes on Monday or Tuesday morning instead of -Sunday. And oh, since I am telling your Eminence so much about myself, -I must not forget a horrible crime that I have committed!" The Cardinal -looked up anxiously. "I have circulated the most shocking calumnies, -again and again, for money." He laughed ruefully, and the prelate's -face became a study of grief and reproach. "Yes, the Eminenza has a -right to look horrified. I had no excuse except hunger--and ignorance. -I have painted cardinals, at least twenty of them, from a crippled -lay figure with one leg, dressed in an old tablecloth, Heaven forgive -me--the foreigners who bought them had never beheld a cardinal, except -perhaps in the street, and I never had the honor of speaking to one -till this morning. But I perceive my errors. I repent, I will sin no -more." - -The prelate was laughing too now, and Rinaldo went on more earnestly. -"As for the Sunday Mass, Giannella will not let me forget that when we -are married. She goes every day. Oh, if the Eminenza could only see -her. She is so good, so beautiful--like Raffællo's youngest Madonna, -the 'Gran Duca.'" - -"Then the contemplation of her must correct your faults, my son," the -Cardinal said. "Bad art is a sin for which even the Grand Penitentiary -has no absolution. Ah, what is it?" - -The chaplain had entered and stood waiting to speak. He glanced at -Rinaldo disapprovingly. The unknown young man had been granted an -audience of unprecedented length, and it was Don Ignazio's business to -see that his revered superior should be spared fatigue, and also that -respectable visitors should not be kept waiting too long before being -admitted. - -"Eminenza," he said, "the avvocato De Sanctis has been here for some -time. I thought you could perhaps see him now? But I fear you are -tired with so much talking already. I could ask him to call again." - -Rinaldo had risen on the chaplain's entrance. "Your Eminence has been -too kind," he protested. "I am ashamed of having trespassed so far on -your goodness. I remove the inconvenience of my presence, with most -humble thanks for all the Eminenza's condescension and kindness." - -As he knelt to kiss the amethyst ring the Cardinal bent over to say -in a low tone: "I will see what can be done, and will send for you in -a day or two. Meanwhile, my son, we will observe silence on all this -matter, and you must ask your fidanzata to do the same. I have good -reasons." - -"The Eminenza shall be obeyed," Rinaldo replied. As he was passing -through the outer room, he encountered De Sanctis, who stopped to shake -hands with him, saying, "I have been having a little conversation with -the Signorina Brockmann and that old woman. Go to them, Signor Goffi, I -am sure they want you. Incidentally I may say that you will find them -prepared to answer all the questions with which you peppered me the -other day. Diascoci, I think it is lucky for Bianchi that he is ill in -bed, where you cannot get at him when you are satisfied as to the cause -of his alarming dementia. Arrivederci. Yes, Don Ignazio, here I come." -This to the chaplain, who was beckoning to him from a farther doorway. - -The study was empty when De Sanctis was ushered into it and he sat down -to wait for his patron. In ten minutes or so the latter returned. "I -have been to the Professor's room," the Cardinal explained when the -first greetings were over. "I wished to see for myself how he was going -on and to ascertain whether he would be equal to a little conversation -to-day." - -"I trust he is quite convalescent, Eminenza?" De Sanctis replied. "I am -deeply sorry to learn of his accident. I had no idea--" - -But the Cardinal held up his hand for silence, and the lawyer got his -lecture in stern, unsparing words, to which he listened with becoming -humility and an appearance of such true contrition that the prelate -softened, relented, and finally took him back into grace. - -Something had wrought a change in De Sanctis's mood. To his own -surprise he found himself inclined to admit that his desertion of the -absent-minded Professor the day before was rather a shabby action. In -consequence he was regretfully but logically obliged to lay aside his -intention of discrediting the other man in the Cardinal's estimation. -His natural curiosity, however, was by no means subdued, and he longed -to know why Goffi had remained an hour shut up with the prelate in his -study, and what, besides a mere polite acknowledgment of the artist's -timely help, could have furnished the matter of the interview. The -Cardinal himself led the conversation in the desired direction. - -"Signor Goffi has just left me," he said, "and he told me that he -called upon you the other day, Guglielmo. Since he spoke frankly about -the object of his visit, I hope you will not consider me indiscreet if -I ask you to do the same. He related a rather strange story. Should -you feel justified in telling me what you know about it?" - -"I think so, Eminenza," De Sanctis replied, "the Signorina Brockmann is -the person chiefly concerned, and she seems to be in need of help and -advice, which have failed her where she had a right to expect them. I -am betraying no confidence in telling your Eminence that she has only -this moment, and in this house, learned of her inheritance. For some -unexplained reason Professor Bianchi has abstained from informing her -of it." - -"Why did you not tell her yourself, at the time?" the Cardinal inquired. - -"The Professor was unwilling that I should speak to her on the -subject," said the lawyer. "He described her as rather a hysterical -girl. He feared the sudden excitement might be too much for her nerves, -and preferred to communicate the good news gently and in private." - -The Cardinal was silent for a moment. Then he asked, "Are you sure that -she was not told anything? What led you to speak to her about it now?" - -Then De Sanctis told him of his own slowly-awakened suspicions, of -Rinaldo's appeal and evident ignorance of the facts, which Giannella -would certainly have confided to him had she been in possession of -them, and finally he described Mariuccia's recent attack on him and -Giannella's intense emotion when she learned what had first brought him -to Professor Bianchi's house. All showed conclusively that Bianchi had -kept the matter to himself, together with the cash for which the girl -had signed a receipt in the lawyer's presence. - -When he had ended, the Cardinal asked one question more. "Is it true -that Bianchi is trying to marry the girl?" - -"So Mariuccia and Goffi affirm," replied the other. And for the life -of him he could not help adding, "He appears very anxious to do so -at once. This is August--and she will be of age on the eighth of -September." - -"Her money would become her husband's in any case, would it not?" the -Cardinal inquired. - -"It could be secured to her in the marriage contract if her friends so -wished," was the reply. "The usual proceeding is to set apart a certain -portion of the dowry for the wife's own use, while the remainder comes -under the jurisdiction of the husband, to be applied to family expenses -in common." - -"I know," said the Cardinal. "But if no agreement to this effect -were made before marriage, all monies she then possessed, knowingly -or unknowingly, would pass unconditionally to her husband?" The tone -implied a desire to have the statement contradicted. - -"They would pass unconditionally to her husband," De Sanctis repeated. -Then he began to study the pattern of the carpet, for the Cardinal was -leaning his head on his hand and evidently thinking deeply. At last -he looked up, saying, "In speaking to the girl did you comment on the -Professor's silence?" - -"I touched on it, Eminenza, but she appeared to take no notice, and -nothing more was said on that subject." - -"That is well," said the Cardinal; "and now, my son, since we are on -the question of marriages, what do you think of that young Goffi? He -struck me as an amiable, honest fellow. Would he make a good husband -for this poor child? Do you know anything about him?" - -"I too was pleased with him, Eminenza," replied De Sanctis heartily, -"and I took the trouble to make inquiries. He has an excellent record, -and a small property of his own. Giannella could not do better than -marry him." - -"And Giannella herself--is she all he thinks her?" The Cardinal put -the question with a doubtful smile. "These little females are sadly -deceptive sometimes, Guglielmo mio." The speaker sighed over the -general shortcomings of Eve's degenerate daughters. - -But the lawyer replied with an earnestness which was most unusual for -him, "I believe she is really as good as she is pretty, Eminenza, -and one cannot say more than that. Only her scruples have caused her -and Goffi some unhappiness. The eccelentissima Principessa, who knew -nothing of the other suitor, having told her that she ought to marry -Bianchi, she imagined it might be criminal to disobey. She has a good -heart. Just now, when she learned from me that she possessed this -little fortune, what do you suppose was her first thought? To reward -that cross old woman for taking care of her. She nearly went mad with -joy when she found she could do that. Oh, she will make a good wife, -that girl." - -"I am rejoiced to hear it," said the Cardinal; "as I have told you -before, Guglielmo, you should find such another for yourself. To live -alone is not good for a young man in the world. It either exposes him -to temptation--or else it hardens his heart. I have sometimes feared, -my son, that it might be having the latter effect upon you. I should -rejoice to know that you were happily married." - -"Eminenza," replied De Sanctis, smiling, "I perceive that matchmaking -runs in your illustrious family. I will remember your warning, and -try to find time to fall in love. Meanwhile, in order to avoid any -hardening of heart, shall I do what I can to arrange the affairs of -these devoted young people? Signor Bianchi being unable at this moment -to offer obstruction--" - -"Gently, gently," the Cardinal interrupted. "We must not overlook -him altogether, that would be discourteous. And he should have an -opportunity of explaining himself. Perhaps he was only planning a -pleasant surprise for his young friend on her birthday?" - -"Or on the day she was to become his wife?" suggested De Sanctis -sarcastically. "Oh, Eminenza, the casuistries of your charity are as -unscrupulous as any of those we poor disciples of the law are accused -of." - -The Cardinal smiled half apologetically as he replied, "Charity is -rather an abnormal creature, my dear Guglielmo. She often has to close -her eyes to find her way. When she opens them again she generally -beholds that which she desired to see. So for the present we will stand -aside and keep silence as to our opinion of our neighbor's conduct--and -Charity perhaps will whisper something in his ear. Then when she -beckons to us to approach and reckon with him we may find--that we were -mistaken all along, that his intentions were neither dishonest nor -unkind, but only a little unwise. That will give us all great pleasure, -will it not?" - -"I am conquered," declared De Sanctis. "Anything that gives you -pleasure, Eminenza, will certainly do so to me. You are the best -argument for Christianity that I ever met. Let me know, I pray, when -the marriage contract is required. It will be interesting to draw it -up--and to make the kind, candid Professor Bianchi witness it." - -"Go away. You are incorrigible," laughed the Cardinal. And the lawyer -bowed himself out. - - - - -CHAPTER XXV - - -Rinaldo learned from the servant in the hall that the women had left -the palazzo in haste, saying something about going to San Severino. -So he hurried thither by the tortuous side ways whence the water was -already draining rapidly. Meanwhile Mariuccia was standing in the -archway leading to the chapel of the Bona Mors, in excited colloquy -with Fra Tommaso. When the old sacristan understood the facts his face -beamed with satisfaction. Mariuccia's was not less radiant, though it -showed that she was still deeply impressed by the recent revelations. -To her the whole thing was a two-fold wonder--her Giannella's good -fortune, and a visible answer to her many prayers; also the vindication -of her sorely-tried belief in the rich relations "over there" whom -she had materialized for Giannella so many years ago out of her own -sense of the fitness of things. "Oh, Fra Tommaso mio," she cried, -"how I thank you for your good prayers. Surely you have obtained this -great happiness for me that Giannella does not go to her husband's -people like a beggar! My brother's daughters, even, brought enough to -be well received by their mothers-in-law--to be able to hold up their -heads on Sundays with the rest, and she, poor little thing, she was to -be married 'cola camicia,' without a sheet or a towel, or a pair of -earrings! No, the Madonna knew that it would break my heart. She has -spared me this shame. Giannella can show cupboards full of linen when -the rich mamma from Orbetello comes to poke her nose about in the young -people's house; she can make presents to the sisters of her husband, we -can send the confetti in beautiful gilt boxes! Quick, give me two of -your biggest candles. I have the money here for them--and light them -for me on the altar of the Addolorata." - -Fra Tommaso spread out his hands in deprecation. "Never mind about -paying for these candles, commara. I will gladly make you a present of -them, for I rejoice in your felicity. Did I not always tell you that -all would happen as you wished? The Biondina has grown up an angel--the -relations were there all the time, they have proved rich, and have -died in good dispositions, for all of which virtues may God reward -them and rest their souls. And here is the good, handsome young man -whom you had figured to yourself for Giannella's husband! Signorino, -my most respectful felicitations and good wishes to you and the young -lady." This last to Rinaldo, who at that moment arrived upon the scene. -He had caught a few words of the rhapsody, but they conveyed little -to him. Old people like Fra Tommaso could not speak without certain -extravagances of voice and gesture; they only meant that he was feeling -well and that his heart was even fuller than usual of sympathy with his -kind. Mariuccia had apparently announced the intended marriage, and the -good wishes of course referred to that. "I thank you, Fra Tommaso," he -answered, smiling at the sacristan's enthusiasm. "I am very much to be -congratulated, and I am flattered to know that you think my betrothed -is in the same good case. I hope you will soon ring the bells for a -fine wedding Mass. But," he turned to Mariuccia, "where is Giannella? -And why did you two run away so suddenly? I was just coming to see you -safely home." - -"Go and ask Giannella," Mariuccia replied triumphantly. "Let her tell -you what sent us here in such a hurry. We did not get so very wet -either." She turned up her foot to take a look at the sole of her boot. -"She is in the chapel inside there, the usual place." - -Rinaldo found Giannella kneeling as she had knelt on that first -morning, her face hidden in her hands, the white rosary slipping -through her fingers. He stood beside her, and this time she raised her -head and looked up into his face. Her own was very calm and radiant. -She slid her hand into his and motioned to him to kneel beside her. - -"God has been good to us," she whispered. "Finish the rosary with me, -and then I will tell you what has happened." - -An hour or two later the three were sitting at the round table in the -Professor's dining-room. Mariuccia had hastily got together a simple -feast, and the board was decorated by a great bunch of flowers pressed -upon her by Fra Tommaso, who had snipped off many a cherished carnation -and oleander blossom to send a "bel bocché" to the Biondina. - -Rinaldo had been told the story and was frankly delighted. "Not for -myself," he protested; "as for me, I am indifferentissimo about riches. -I had satisfied myself that Giannella could never want for anything, -not even for the drive on Sundays, the theater once a fortnight, and -the three week's villeggiatura in September, all of which are a wife's -due. All this I could have provided easily, and I give you my word as a -galantuómo that neither my family nor my friends should ever have known -that Giannella had no dowry. The linen we would have bought little -by little, and she should have embroidered it all in her maiden name -as is proper; so that when everything was ready, and we ask my good -mamma and the girls to come and see us, they would have beheld that -they must treat her with all respect. They are disinterested; yes, we -have never disquieted ourselves about money in my family, but certain -things are expected, as you know, and I should not have wished them to -be wanting. Nevertheless, this good fortune will bring a great increase -of happiness. Giannella can have many more pleasures, and there will -never be any anxieties. I shall continue to work perseveringly--we will -live in peace and much comfort; and all the money we do not spend we -will put aside for the education of our sons and the doweries of our -daughters. Mariuccia must live with us and grow fat--better late than -never, Sora Mariuccia mia! And we shall be the happiest family in Rome!" - -"And we will have the padrone--I mean the Signor Professore, to dinner -every Sunday," said Giannella, who had been listening breathlessly to -Rinaldo's description of the enchanting future; "poor man, he will be -so lonely without us two women." - -Rinaldo made a wry face. "I think I could do without the Signor -Professore," he ventured to say. "Without rancor, I must confess that -the part he has played in all this is most inexplicable, if he is at -all an honest man, which (Mariuccia, you must forgive me) I sadly -doubt. In fact I suspect--" - -But Giannella laid her fingers on his lips. "You suspect nothing, -Rinaldo mio. Are you rude enough to say that I am so ugly and so stupid -that he could not fall in love with me--properly in love? Can you doubt -that his affection prompted him to arrange a charming little surprise -for me when I should come of age? Incredulous one, that is the evident -truth, and to controvert known truth is mortal sin." - -"It requires a robust act of faith to accept your definition, my -angel," said Rinaldo, "but I suppose I must. Behold a new dogma! -Signor Carlo Bianchi is a disinterested old fellow with a singularly -susceptible heart. Fiat! Rome--that is to say, Giannella has spoken. -Doubt becomes transgression. I doubt no more." - -"Amen," came in Mariuccia's deepest tones from across the table, -where she has paused in splitting a fresh fig to listen frowningly -to Rinaldo's arraignment of the padrone's conduct. Now she smiled -contentedly at her two light-hearted children, finished her fig to the -last drop of honey, and dipped her fingers in the glass water bowl -which is never wanting on the poorest Roman table. "Come, bambini," -she said, "we will drink his health. May my poor little padroncino -recover immediately and come back to his own home." - -The three glasses were raised whole-heartedly; when they were set down, -it was evident that Charity had once more closed her eyes to find her -way. - - * * * * * * * - -As the day wore to its close, the half-drowned city seemed to raise -its head and, turning from the muddy deposits at its feet, to look up -at the clear new blue of the sky with deep thankfulness that the long, -depressing scirocco was over; that, although September was still to -come, the heat of the summer was broken and the ever-desired autumn -near at hand. A fresh breeze, with a touch of tramontana in it, was -blowing down over Soracte and the Cimmerian hills, and fretted with -crisp wavelets the stretches of yellow water which still trespassed on -Ripetta and the neighboring streets. On roof-garden and window-ledge -little lemon-trees and verbena bushes spread green arms to the tempered -sunshine, to the cool wind; swallows sailed joyously in ever-rising -circles, their white breasts flashing like silver shields as they -turned to the low sun, their shrill cries filling the air with sharp, -clear sound. Far away, behind Saint Peter's, the sky was streaked into -long level bars of gold and rose and crysophrase, bars where feathery -cloudlets caught and hung like notes of floating flame--the score of -some symphony played by the seraphs very far away. - -The sunset light shone softly into the windows of a bedroom in Palazzo -Cestaldini, and illuminated two faces, that of a sick sinner and his -friend. The Professor looked more gaunt and pale than ever sitting -up against his pillows in the spotless, ascetic little room. The -doctor had confided to the chaplain that the sick man appeared to have -something on his mind--could the Eminenza perhaps exercise the kind -condescension of paying him a visit? The Eminenza who had only been -waiting for the medico's permission, glided in a few moments later, -dismissed his attendant, and drew a chair to the bedside. - -Bianchi, sufficiently recovered to be grateful for this honor, began to -express his regret for having caused so much trouble in the illustrious -household, but the Cardinal forbade him to waste his strength in -unnecessary words, and in the most natural way made it appear that all -the honor and all the regrets were his. The Professor was to understand -that the master of the house and everyone else connected with the -recent events would never cease to reproach themselves for their part -in the catastrophe, and all that the Cardinal personally desired was an -opportunity to make some reparation. Was there not something he could -do for his good friend, some matter of business, great or small, which -might suffer by delay, and which the Professor could comfort his host's -heart by permitting him to attend to for him? In a life all devoted to -study, little things were apt to escape one, as he knew too well by -personal experience; he himself, he declared, was the most forgetful -of men, and during his recent indisposition, when he was lying awake -with fever, several neglected details had come back to him with painful -but wholesome persistence. He said that he had thus been led to make up -his mind to clear them off once for all; indeed to put all his personal -affairs into such good order and safe hands, that, if a real illness -came, and Heaven pleased to call him away, his poor soul should have no -distractions on the journey. That was sure to be a serious expedition -in any case, and one did not want to be weighed down with unportable -baggage! - -The suave voice ran on, with the echo of gentle laughter here and -there; the wise, untroubled eyes seemed to see all the sick man's inner -perturbations, and smiled their promise of comradeship and help; and, -as the words ceased, the brotherly hand laid itself on the Professor's -hot fingers with a strong, beneficent clasp that seemed to say, "If -temptation still lingers near, we will overcome it together." - -The sick man gazed at his comforter in ever-increasing wonder. Was it -true, then, that very holy persons could see into the minds of others; -needed no words to tell them what was passing there? Ah no, he was -growing fanciful; the Cardinal was no doubt talking academically, in -amiable generalities, like any polished man of the world. How could he -dream of the specters of fear and remorse which had crowded round Carlo -Bianchi in that horrible, submerged crypt? Before the final collapse -had robbed him of consciousness, every dream of the past three months -had been renounced, with vows, on condition of being brought out -alive, had been renounced again, with frenzied persistence, when death -loomed near and rescue failed. No allurement on earth should tempt -him to go back on his promises, to find himself in corporal peril and -mortal sin again at one and the same time. He had pondered how to begin -a confidence which was necessary to the instant clearing up of his -account towards Giannella, for he needed help, and there was no one, -except his host, whom he could entrust with a delicate commission. - -"How well your Eminence understands a scholar's mind," he said at last. -"How true it is that Science, like Sara, is a jealous mistress, and -will have the house to herself. Poor earthly matters are turned out, -homeless Hagars and Ishmaels, to take their chance, uncared for and -forgotten." - -The Cardinal looked amused. It was funny to have Scripture quoted at -him by a layman. The Professor continued more gravely, "Since your -Eminence is so very kind, there is a small matter which occurred to me -as I was lying here. But I hesitate to trouble you with such trifles." - -"Nothing which can conduce to your comfort is a trifle, my dear -friend," the Cardinal replied, "and it would rejoice me to have to -take any trouble for you, but I fear you will not favor me so greatly. -Is the matter connected with your household? Your servant and the -Signorina Brockmann were here this morning, inquiring anxiously for -your respected health. The doctor satisfied them on that point, but -would not permit you to be disturbed." - -"I am very much obliged to him," exclaimed Bianchi. "I mean, I should -prefer to see them later--when this little affair is regulated. The -truth is--it had passed from my mind--but there is some money," he -brought out the word with a half-impenitent sigh, "and also papers, -which should have been put into Giannella's hands in a week or -two--when she comes of age. Perhaps, considering all things, she had -better take them over--and--have the business explained to her now. It -will save time--and--would it be possible for your Eminence to send -a person of confidence to my apartment, with this key?" He fumbled -nervously under his pillow, where Domenico had bestowed the contents of -his pockets the night before, and drew out a rusty key. "The secretary -by the window, in my study--second shelf on the left hand--a parcel -tied up with a red string. If I could have it brought to me? But I am -ashamed of giving so much trouble." - -"My chaplain will fetch it himself, at once," the Cardinal assured him; -"he is most careful and trustworthy. If you will kindly touch that bell -at your side?" - -The summons was quickly answered and Don Ignazio received his orders -and departed to carry them out. "And now, amico," said the Cardinal, -leaning back in his chair, and folding his fingers tip to tip -while he looked into the Professor's face with a pleasant light of -satisfaction on his own, "if you are not too tired to bear a little -more conversation, I have a story to tell you, a love story. Figure to -yourself how badly I shall tell it. But it concerns two good young -people, your Giannella and a very respectable young man. And though -love stories are nearly as far from your province as from mine, I think -this one will interest you. Shall I go on?" - -The Professor turned a shade paler and his face twitched slightly, but -he begged the Eminenza to proceed. - -So the Cardinal, in few and direct words, gave him the history of the -little romance, described Goffi's circumstances and the disinterested -affection which he appeared to entertain for the girl, ignored -altogether the fact of the Professor's own intentions regarding her, -and the support so cunningly obtained thereto from the Princess, and -wound up by drawing an alluring picture of Giannella's old protector -and friend received as the honored and beloved guest in the cheerful -household, where, as age approached, he would find that atmosphere -of intimacy and affection which he had never had time to create for -himself. There would be young voices, fresh interests, little children -to take on his knee, the home, in fact, for which the Italian has no -name and has never needed one but which he understands and cherishes -with reverent care. The Churchman, who had put all family joys aside to -follow the strict counsels of perfection, described these things with -such tenderness and charm that some secret chord in his hearer's heart -was touched. Bianchi turned away his face, but put out his hand timidly -in search of his friend's. The mute appeal was instantly met, and this -time the Professor's fingers clung almost convulsively to those of -Paolo Cestaldini, who laid his other hand over them and sat thus for -awhile, letting the little spring of long-foregone emotion have its way -in silence in the other's heart. - -At last Bianchi spoke, low and huskily. "Eminenza, there was a young -man once, who put his youth behind him, not as you did, for the love of -God, but for ambition, desire of distinction, the saving of money, for -leisure to study, study, study, undisturbed by the claims of the heart, -of the family. And those things which were meant to be his servants -became his masters, and used his strength, his eyesight, his very life, -and gave him uncertain payments, sometimes generous, sometimes cruel -and bitter. But the years had passed and there was nothing else. And he -cheated himself into believing that he desired nothing else. But he was -always a little hungry, in his soul, for Religion, finding he did not -need her, had left him to himself. Then, when he was growing old, came -two temptations, a young girl in whom he began to take pleasure and -comfort, and money, which had always appeared to him a very desirable -thing. A little silence, a little harmless deception--and both, he -thought could be his. So he snatched at them--and fell, in intention -he fell, almost in deed." Here Bianchi turned his head and gazed at -the Cardinal very sadly through his spectacles. "Eminenza, how can he -regain his self-respect? How can he come and go in such a home as you -describe, when, but for a terrible and sudden warning, he would have -stolen the girl, and her fortune too, for his own solitary impoverished -self? Dove mai? Poveraccio, he can never look her or her husband in the -face--and they can never see him without remembering and detesting his -disloyalty." - -"If I knew that man of whom you speak," the Cardinal replied gravely, -"I would say to him, 'Amico mio, even for sins of intention some -chastisement is due, and perhaps you might put what you call the loss -of self-respect against that account, though in truth the loss you -deplore seems more like the loss of self-confidence. That, to poor -human nature, is like cutting off the finest branch of the tree, but -on the scar may be grafted two sweet and healing fruits, humanity and -vigilance. But for this shock who knows but that self-confidence might -have led you even more helplessly astray in time to come? Therefore, -friend, you are not poorer, but richer, by the deprivation.' And as -for the other point, that of how the persons concerned may regard -him, I would tell that man that very happy people have no time to -remember and detest. There is no room for resentment in hearts that -are full of joy and affection. A kind word, a pleasant look, a little -service rendered--and these good souls say to themselves, 'Behold, -it was all a mistake! How stupid we were to think he wished us ill. -Why, here is a good true friend--how could we ever have believed -him an enemy?' And should the poor man feel the need of making some -reparation, how many opportunities he will have of showing kindness, -of giving wise advice, of reconciling those small differences which -must arise from time to time even in the most united families! If he -ever really meditated an injury, he will convert it into a thousand -benefits which the recipients will bless him for, never dreaming that -he owes them anything, that he is paying them a debt. Oh, Professor -mio, only a priest knows what miracles of kindness and self-sacrifice -self-accusation can bring forth. Blessed are those who weep over their -own faults! Their tears are turned to sunshine for others ere they -fall." - -The sun had long set, the swift night had darkened the room, and the -Cardinal could not see his friend's face. His good-night blessing -was answered in an almost inaudible whisper, but, as he passed out, -something like a sob fell on his ear. The Professor's heart had come to -life at last. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI - - -It was the first Sunday in October, the jewel day of the Roman year. -Tiny clouds, mere flecks of transparent silver, chased each other -across the pale sapphire of the sky; a delicate breeze was dancing up -from the sea; the campagna looked like a mantle of gold fretted at -the rim with a crest of melting amethyst, where the Albans and the -Sabines, Soracte and the Cimmerian hills, lifted their strong yet -tender outlines to round the horizon in. The swallows, dainty sybarites -who take their pleasures seriously, were marshaling their airy forces -for migration, the wise old veterans, who have made the journey for -many an autumn, teaching the neophytes the secret of long flight, -shepherding them into their places in the V-shaped squadrons where the -strongest winged of the silver-breasted patriarchs cleaves the air like -a sentient arrow head, taking advantage of every current that sets in -the chosen direction, sailing gently on with it where it helps, and -the flock may sweep forward without a stroke, yet rising with instant -decision at the precise distance from the ground where flight would -lose its impetus. Perfect mathematicians, tracing their angles on -viewless maps--wary old commanders husbanding their followers' strength -to the last moment, seconded by a score of experienced officers who -accompany and follow the flock, herd in the would-be stragglers, -scold the lazy, encourage the weak, place the youngest of all in the -center of the battalion so that the encounter with a contrary breeze -may be broken for them and the untried wings helped by the fanning -of stronger pinions behind--who that has watched the mobilizing of -the swallows' army during the three weeks of the autumn, when the -Staff consults on the housetops and sends its drill sergeants out to -teach the recruits their business and train them into condition for -miracles of enduring flight--who that has watched this would ever dare -to arrogate the splendors of intelligence to mankind alone? Were one -race on this earth as dutiful to racial obligations, as perfect in -obedience, in endurance, in family discipline and military instinct as -the swallow--that race would rule the world. - -"Rondinella, pellegrina," Giannella murmured as she watched the -swallows from her workroom window on that Sunday morning, "I envy you -no longer. Fra Tommaso's pigeons are happier than you. One abiding home -for them, one home for me. And God grant I may never have to leave it. -Si, Mariuccia, I am ready." - -Yes, she was ready for her marriage. Robed in silk of the October -heaven's own blue even as Rinaldo had dreamed of her, with a white -veil over the golden hair that had so long been shaded by the black, -a little string of pearls round her soft neck, white prayer-book and -white rosary in the still whiter hands--a flush of gay carnation on -the cheek, the happiness of morning in her innocent eyes--Giannella -was ready for her marriage. The dark days were over; the sentinels of -sorrow and privation that had so long guarded her narrow path had shed -their somber armor now, and stood revealed, bright spirits of love and -trust, bidding her pass forward to the sunny glades beyond. - -As Mariuccia entered, Giannella came and kissed her old friend tenderly -and then stood back to admire her splendid appearance. The treasured -costume had come out of the goatskin trunk at last; here was the full -skirt of flowered silk, the scarlet corselet and sleeves, the gold -trimmings, the lace shawl and apron--creamy with the kiss of Time. But -Time seemed to have forgiven Mariuccia a score of years this morning; -the erect old figure was almost supple in its buoyancy, there was -color in her cheeks, a sparkle in her eyes, her head was held high, as -if to show off the fine fat pearls dangling from her ears. Her bosom -heaved with pride under a long heavy string of new red coral--and her -shoes creaked excruciatingly as she moved, for in the triumph of her -heart she had commanded that brigand of a shoemaker to put a double -"scrocchio" into each solid hole. Cipicchia! If people turned their -heads to look at her to-day, all the better for them! - -Giannella's admiration found no time for expression, for behind -Mariuccia appeared another figure, that of the Professor, solemnly -resplendent in full evening dress, white tie and white gloves. He -seemed happy too this October morning, and as he came forward to -present Giannella with an enormous bouquet of white camellias, his -eyes shone cheerfully behind a pair of gold-rimmed spectacles given to -him by Rinaldo and henceforth to be kept for great occasions. There -was nothing in his look or manner to suggest regrets, and if he had -had to struggle with depression and remorse, he had evidently bested -his enemies and turned them into peaceful denizens of the house of -his soul. The Cardinal, on the plausible pretext of Signor Bianchi's -illness, had himself seen to the transfer of Giannella's property into -her own keeping; and since the hour he had bidden his friend good-night -in the summer dusk, no word or look of those around him had reminded -the Professor of his fault. De Sanctis had been gently put aside by -the prelate when he offered to draw up the marriage contract. "No, -Guglielmo mio," said Carlo Bianchi's friend, "we will employ someone -else. You are too intimate with all the parties. You might have a -moment's distraction and neglect an important point. That would never -do." - -The young lawyer was nettled. "The Eminenza is afraid my sharp tongue -might disturb the general harmony," he ventured to remark. "But have I -not promised silence as to all inconvenient facts? Surely I might be -trusted to keep my word." - -"Yes," the Cardinal said, "your tongue would keep silence, I am -assured. But all the good will in the world will not banish that little -demon of malice and mockery from your glance and tone. So we will not -expose you to temptation. When all is over, the demon will find no fun -in making trouble, and then, if you wish, you can cultivate intimacy -with the Signor Professore and the Goffis. Just now, my son, it is -better for you to keep away from them." - -So Bianchi had enjoyed a short space of carefully-guarded convalescence -for body and mind. When he was able to leave his room he had had an -ecstatic hour over the Greek head, which was temporarily reposing on a -velvet cushion in the Cardinal's study. It was quite as beautiful as he -had thought when he found it in the wet darkness of the crypt, and he -had drawn much soothing and peace of spirit from the preparation of an -article on it, which _The Archæological Review_ would carry to lovers -of art all over the world. Yet he had not forgotten Paolo Cestaldini's -little sermon on reparation, and various pretty gifts from him had been -sent to the appartamentino on the roof where the sposini were to begin -life together. - -Now he was to take the bride to the church, and it was with much -stateliness that he offered her his arm and led her through the dark -passage, through the green door which she had so often run to open -for him, and down into the courtyard, where the carriage was waiting -for them. Mariuccia, after taking one look at the fire and another at -the collation on the dining-room table, hurried after them, thrusting -the heavy doorkey into the long-unused pocket of the best dress. She -laughed as she felt some hard objects there and discovered them to be -pellicles of pitted sugar. "Confetti! They must have lain there since -Stefano's marriage, more than thirty years ago. Mamma mia, we do grow -old!" - -As the little party ascended the steps of the San Severino, Giannella -trembling a little and looking indeed as lovely as the "youngest -Madonna," Mariuccia pulled three large silver pieces from the corner of -her new pocket handkerchief and presented them to the expectant beggars. - -The habitués of the porch were fewer by two than in the old days; the -parish epileptic had died suddenly and happily on the altar steps while -attending Mass; the footless baby had grown--not up, but big, and he -pattered about in great contentment on padded hands and knees; it was -understood that he had pensioned off his shiftless parent and had a -nice little home of his own. The blind man was truly blind now, and -the privileged cripple by the door was absent on rainy days, owing to -rheumatism, but on a fine Sunday morning he still raised the leather -curtain with his old grace. The blessings that followed the bride and -her companions were loud and long, and the many churchgoers, hurrying -to Mass before rushing out to the country for the day, stood smilingly -aside to let the wedding party pass in. - -Just within the doorway the bridegroom was waiting with a company -of his friends, all in evening dress and wearing flowers in their -buttonholes. Peppino, bubbling over with whispered fun, was trying to -calm Rinaldo, who, between discomfort in the unaccustomed costume, -tight white gloves which would not fasten properly, and doubt as to -which of his pockets contained the ring and which the gold and silver -coins he must produce when the priest should bid him endow Giannella -with all his worldly goods, had worked himself up to a condition allied -to frenzy. The sight of Giannella restored him to some command of -himself, and by the time they were kneeling together before the altar -of the Addolorata he could forget earthly preoccupations, listen to -the padre's exhortations on the duties of the married state, and pray -with true and humble faith never to fail in love and honor to his dear -beautiful bride. - -They came out when it was all over with the happiest light on their -faces, and though their hearts were only conscious of each other they -paused to return the kind wishes of their friends. Among these was Fra -Tommaso, beaming with satisfied benevolence. Rinaldo drew him aside and -slipped a gold piece into his hand. "Fra Tommaso mio," he said, with -some show of contrition, "I have a sad confidence to make to you, and -since this is a festal day, please promise me your pardon." - -"You do not look very sorry about it, signorino," replied the old -man. "What are you giving me gold for. Here, take it back. You owe me -nothing." - -"Oh yes, I do," said Rinaldo. "I have several times occupied your -loggia and paid nothing for it." - -"My loggia?" exclaimed the sacristan, "how could you have done that?" - -"I got there--from mine," was the reply, "and when I found that I -could see from there into my fidanzata's window, well, I came again. -I even spoke to her from there. Was not that a dreadful sin? But you -must forgive me, and I will give you another beautiful pigeon, my -Themistocles, who sometimes consented to carry a bit of a love letter. -You will not give him that exercise, and he will grow fat and rejoice -your heart with his funny tricks." - -"Themistocles? He wear a silver collar? He carried your love letters -to the Biondina? Oh, God be praised. You have lifted a weight from my -soul." And Fra Tommaso clasped his hands and raised thankful eyes to -heaven. - -"What do you mean? Explain!" cried Rinaldo, puzzled beyond expression. - -"No," said Fra Tommaso, "I shall not tell you. But you cost me my -dinner one day, O assassin, and many tears. Bad boy," and he laughed -happily, "I will keep the money now and spend it in Masses for the Holy -Souls whom I have teased with most unnecessary prayers. There run along -to your sposina, and do not send me that evil bird--he would finish in -my soup." - -Peppino was beckoning and Rinaldo, hurried away, leaving the problem -unsolved. In five minutes he had forgotten all about it, for the -Cardinal had sent the chaplain down to say that he wished to see the -sposini and give them his blessing. The bridegroom's supporters paused -on the threshold of the prelate's apartment, but the chaplain drove -them all in and the Cardinal, after greeting Rinaldo and Giannella, -had a cheery word for everyone, and especially for Peppino, whom he -had not had a chance to thank for his share in the memorable rescue, -and whose bright face and roguish smile delighted his heart. For his -friend Bianchi he had the warmest of welcomes, a little allusion to -their common interests, a remark about their last interview, to show -all concerned, in the most delicate way, that the Professor was still -his honored friend. - -Then he had some gifts to distribute; for "Botti's Mariuccia" a rosary -blessed by the Pope and a sprig of olive from Gethsemane, gifts which -he knew would be most precious to the unlearned, faithful heart, and -she wept for joy on receiving them and on finding that her feudal lord -remembered her name. When the chaplain began to lead the visitors away -to refresh them with coffee and sweetmeats, the Cardinal called Rinaldo -and Giannella to his side. Opening a drawer in the table, he took out a -small case and gave it to Giannella, saying that his sister had sent it -for her, with all good wishes for her happiness. Within lay a beautiful -miniature of Guido Reni's Addolorata and a few words in the Princess's -own handwriting, pious felicitations, through which glowed something -quite warm and kindly, and the request with which Teresa Santafede's -epistles always closed, "Pray for me." - -Giannella was touched and delighted. Only one good friend had been -silent on this happy day, dear Signora Dati "of good memery," but -Giannella had sent her a little message when she said her prayers that -morning. Now, now that all was duly done and ended, her thoughts found -answer in Rinaldo's eyes. "Andiamoci? Shall we go together, we two who -are one, shall we go into our garden of happiness?" - -Ah, there were a few things to be seen to first. Mariuccia's collation -had to be enjoyed. The Professor, charmed with the new sensation of -playing host to a gay young party, proposed healths; Sora Amalia, -mindful of future patronage, climbed the stairs with an armful of -flowers and a basket of fresh eggs, and was brought in and made to take -part in the feast. Then Peppino, by some magic, produced Rinaldo's -new morning suit and effected for him a grateful transformation in -the Professor's bedroom. Giannella's finery was covered with a crape -shawl, for it would be bad luck for a bride to change her dress before -she left her old home. Then the two were seen downstairs by all the -boys, and packed into the carriage waiting to take them to Albano for -a week's honeymoon, which was to include the joy of a visit to Mamma -Candida and the ever-dear Teresina and Annetta. - -"Madonna mia," exclaimed Giannella as the carriage passed out of the -portone and Rinaldo, curiously shy now, drew her hand into his, "who -can support so much happiness?" - -Don Onorato, who had learned trouble and wisdom in the last three -years, saw them pass. The story had all been told him by the maestro di -casa. "Beati loro!" he sighed, "I am glad that poor little girl has had -some good luck at last. I wonder if happiness will ever climb the grand -staircase?" - -On the fourth landing of the third staircase the door was still open. -Mariuccia listened till the last young footstep had died away, then -she turned back into the passage and found herself face to face with -the Professor. He looked at her sadly. "Well, Mariuccia," he said, "I -suppose you will want to go over to the appartamentino at once, so as -to have all things ready when the sposini come back? Of course, there -is much to do--I quite understand, and doubtless that young woman you -have engaged for me will be satisfactory. Still--if you could wait--for -a day or two longer--" He looked at her wistfully. - -Mariuccia laughed, but the laugh was a little shaky, "A day or two -longer?" she repeated, as she untied her lace apron and began to fold -it up. "Another twenty years, if God wills. Did you think I was going -to leave this quiet house and that noble kitchen to have my head -worried off my shoulders by two children who will laugh and chatter all -day and never remember the hours of their meals till they are hungry? -No, no, padroncino mio. The young woman is for them, she will laugh and -chatter with them--youth with youth. There will be three babies--till -the Madonna sends them a fourth. As for you and me, we stay together. -Do you figure to yourself that I would trust you, and your linen, and -your digestion--to a stranger? Dove mai? What an idea! Come take off -those beautiful clothes that I may put them away. Your others are all -ready on the bed in there. You will not want any dinner now, after all -those 'gingilli' and sweet wines--but this evening you shall have--let -me see--a fritto dorato--but of those! Eh, padroncino mio? It will be -like old times, just you and me!" - - -THE END - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GIANNELLA *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Giannella</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Mrs. Hugh Fraser</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: January 31, 2021 [eBook #64425]</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Martin Pettit and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)</div> - -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GIANNELLA ***</div> - -<div class="mynote"><p class="center">Transcriber's Note:<br /><br /> -Obvious typographic errors have been corrected.<br /><br /> -A Table of Contents has been added.<br /></p></div> - -<hr /> - -<div class="center"><img src="images/front.jpg" alt="front" /></div> - -<hr /> - -<h1>GIANNELLA</h1> - -<hr /> - -<div class="center"><img src="images/title.jpg" alt="title page" /></div> - -<hr /> - -<p class="bold2">GIANNELLA</p> - -<p class="bold space-above">BY</p> - -<p class="bold2"><span class="smcap">Mrs.</span> HUGH FRASER</p> - -<div class="center space-above"><img src="images/dec.jpg" alt="decoration" /></div> - -<p class="bold space-above">ST. LOUIS, MO., 1909<br /> -<span class="smcap">Published by B. Herder<br />17 South Broadway</span></p> - -<hr /> - -<p class="center">Copyright, 1909<br />by<br /><span class="smcap">Mrs. Hugh Fraser</span></p> - -<p class="center space-above">—BECKTOLD—<br />PRINTING AND BOOK MFG. CO.<br />ST. LOUIS, MO.</p> - -<hr /> - -<h2><span>CONTENTS</span></h2> - -<table summary="CONTENTS"> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td><span class="smaller">PAGE</span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">CHAPTER I</td> - <td><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">CHAPTER II</td> - <td><a href="#Page_12">12</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">CHAPTER III</td> - <td><a href="#Page_27">27</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">CHAPTER IV</td> - <td><a href="#Page_39">39</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">CHAPTER V</td> - <td><a href="#Page_50">50</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">CHAPTER VI</td> - <td><a href="#Page_64">64</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">CHAPTER VII</td> - <td><a href="#Page_76">76</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">CHAPTER VIII</td> - <td><a href="#Page_86">86</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">CHAPTER IX</td> - <td><a href="#Page_106">106</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">CHAPTER X</td> - <td><a href="#Page_125">125</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">CHAPTER XI</td> - <td><a href="#Page_136">136</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">CHAPTER XII</td> - <td><a href="#Page_151">151</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">CHAPTER XIII</td> - <td><a href="#Page_167">167</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">CHAPTER XIV</td> - <td><a href="#Page_180">180</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">CHAPTER XV</td> - <td><a href="#Page_193">193</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">CHAPTER XVI</td> - <td><a href="#Page_205">205</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">CHAPTER XVII</td> - <td><a href="#Page_219">219</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">CHAPTER XVIII</td> - <td><a href="#Page_233">233</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">CHAPTER XIX</td> - <td><a href="#Page_249">249</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">CHAPTER XX</td> - <td><a href="#Page_264">264</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">CHAPTER XXI</td> - <td><a href="#Page_278">278</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">CHAPTER XXII</td> - <td><a href="#Page_293">293</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">CHAPTER XXIII</td> - <td><a href="#Page_305">305</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">CHAPTER XXIV</td> - <td><a href="#Page_314">314</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">CHAPTER XXV</td> - <td><a href="#Page_330">330</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">CHAPTER XXVI</td> - <td><a href="#Page_344">344</a></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span></p> - -<p class="bold2">GIANNELLA</p> - -<h2>CHAPTER I</h2> - -<p>"And now, what are we to do about the child? Cannot you think of -something, Carl?"</p> - -<p>Carl stooped down to disentangle some very small fingers which had -been busy with his bootlaces, and as the baby crawled away to find -fresh mischief he straightened himself and watched her with a ruefully -puzzled expression.</p> - -<p>"Upon my word, Hans," he said at last, "I can think of nothing but the -Pietá. It seems hard, but all the boys are as poor as ourselves. The -only married one is Sigersen, and his wife is away—and not much good -when she is at home. The Vice-consul said we had better put the child -in the Rota—and I am afraid that is what we shall have to do. The nuns -will keep any name and address they find pinned on her clothes, and if -things go better with us, or if it should turn out that poor Brockmann -had any relations, and they ever inquire for her, we shall know where -to look for her."</p> - -<p>The speakers were two Scandinavian painters, young and kind and poor, -members of the little brotherhood which, year in, year out, finds its -way from the shores of the bleak North Sea to the blue and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span> gold of -the Mediterranean, to the marbles and the ilexes, to the campagna and -the hills; and have taken root in the classic, teeming soil which is -Rome. A friend and comrade, Niels Brockmann, had died a day or two -before this little colloquy took place, and he had left behind him a -dismantled studio, some good but unfinished studies, and a baby girl -whose pretty young mother had not survived her birth. Brockmann had -idolized the flaxen-haired mite for one year, and then had ended his -existence by catching a deadly chill while sketching in some beautiful -but malarious spot. The brotherhood had nursed him loyally and buried -him decently, but they were hopelessly perplexed as to how to dispose -of his daughter. Most of them lived on two or three pauls a day, -everything else being saved for studio rent and artists' materials; and -when one was lucky enough to sell a picture, there was a jolly supper -for everybody at the Lepre, with mighty songs and much beer; and then -what remained of the money was unhesitatingly divided among the poor -devils who were most deeply in debt to landlord or colorman.</p> - -<p>There was no room for a baby in that straitly-lodged, big-hearted -community, and Hans Stravenkilde had been driven to lay the case before -the Vice-consul of his nationality, hoping that he would undertake -the charge. But the official, a banker and a Roman, refused to be -responsible for the child in any way. Indeed, he was indignant at -the mere suggestion. He told Hans that if he were to take on all the -destitute orphans that pauper foreigners left <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span>behind them, he would -soon turn his house into a foundling hospital. And what was the Pietá -for, but just such waifs, he would like to know? Pin the child's name -on her clothes and drop her into the Rota. Good-morning.</p> - -<p>And Hans had departed and walked home, much depressed. He had stopped -a moment on his way, to look at the cushioned dumb-waiter open to the -street in the wall of the Pietá; he knew that one or other of the nuns -was stationed behind it through every minute of the night and day, to -turn it inwards the instant a child had been laid on the pillow, to -gather the poor abandoned little thing into safety and fellowship with -many hundreds of others who were sheltered behind those huge charitable -walls, and were better fed, better loved, better educated than most -of them would ever have been in their own homes. Hans knew all about -it, yet his heart ached at the thought of leaving this particular baby -there, and Carl fully shared his unwillingness. He had just picked -up Giannella and was making funny faces at her, so that the little -creature first seemed inclined to cry; then she caught the smile in her -tormentor's blue eyes and laughed aloud.</p> - -<p>At this a thin, dark woman in peasant's dress raised herself from where -she had been gathering up some littered papers in a corner, and came -towards the young men, holding out her arms to the child, who at once -sprang into them with the confidence of long familiarity. The woman -smoothed down the rumpled skirt, wiped off the dust which the small<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span> -pink palms had gathered on the floor, and then stood looking at the -two friends of her late master. They had been speaking in their own -language, but she knew they were talking about the baby, and she had -caught the words "Pietá" and "Rota."</p> - -<p>"Well," she said, in a deep masculine voice, "and what becomes of this -one?"</p> - -<p>"That is a hard question, Mariuccia," Hans replied. "There is nobody -who wants her, except we poor devils of artists who have nowhere to -put her—and the Signor Console told us we had better take her to the -Pietá."</p> - -<p>He had turned and looked out of the window as he spoke, and Carl -followed his example. Neither cared to meet the woman's glance; they -both knew how she loved the child.</p> - -<p>Mariuccia's brows met in a dark line and her eyes flashed angrily. "A -fine piece of advice," she cried. "That consul is an animal, without -heart. The Pietá indeed, for my poor padrone's child! Is there no good -lady who will take her and bring her up properly? Signor Brockmann of -good memory was a gentleman—though he had no money, poverino, and this -bit of sugar should be taken care of like a signorina."</p> - -<p>"What can we do, Mariuccia?" Hans exclaimed. "All that you say is -true, but there are no relations—and we and the other boys are not -married—it will have to be the Pietá, I am afraid."</p> - -<p>Mariuccia pondered, looking down at the small fluffy head on her -shoulder. At last she spoke. "Give her to me. I will take her to my -brother at Castel<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span> Gandolfo. His wife is a good woman. They have six -children—one more will make no difference. And there is at least bread -for all, and wine, and salad in the garden. She will do well there."</p> - -<p>"That is splendid," cried Hans. "Bravo, Mariuccia. We will send some -money for her whenever we can, and she will be happy with you."</p> - -<p>"I shall not stay in the country," Mariuccia replied. "I have to earn -my living. I must find another place, here in Rome. If the Signori can -help me to do that I shall be glad. But I shall get to see Giannella -sometimes, and when she grows big you signorini must manage to have her -go to school. You are good boys—the Madonna will help you to sell your -beautiful pictures—and then I will come and remind you of Giannella. -For she is a lady. She cannot grow up to gather chestnuts and work in -the fields. She must be instructed, like her poor papa."</p> - -<p>This was a long speech for Mariuccia, who was a rather saturnine person -generally. Evidently she had taken the matter deeply to heart, and her -solution seemed such a satisfactory one that the young men were only -too thankful to accept it.</p> - -<p>So the studio was cleared out and the landlord took the key and some -of the properties in lieu of rent due; a few feminine belongings left -behind by poor Mrs. Brockmann were packed away by Mariuccia to be kept -for Giannella; a coat and a pair of boots, almost all that had not been -sold during the artist's illness to provide necessaries, she begged for -as a propitiatory offering to her brother. Then the two<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span> young men went -back to their work, their hard, cheery lives, and trusty comrades; and -in a few hours they had managed to throw off the effects of the tragedy -which had absorbed them for the last ten days, for, thank Heaven, the -"Donna" had taken charge of the baby.</p> - -<p class="center">* * * * * * * * * *</p> - -<p>The sun was striking low through the boles of the ancient elms which -line the road from Albano to Castel Gandolfo. It was a hot September -evening, and the dust rose in a yellow haze under the feet of a woman -who was walking quickly towards the latter place. She was dressed in -the costume of the hills; the short, full skirt swung wide at every -step, the scarlet bodice gave easy play to her tall, spare figure. On -her shoulders was the beautifully draped little shawl crossing over -the bosom and showing the spotless camisole of heavy linen, ornamented -with handmade lace of ancient pattern; round her neck were the dark -red corals, and in her ears the long gold earrings—flashing now and -again in the last sunbeams—which testified that she came of good stock -and had inherited proper plenishings from the women of her race. She -walked as if the road, the woods on either hand, the campagna below -and the mountains beyond, belonged to her by right. The heavy basket -on her head might have been an archaic crown, so lightly did it poise -as she swung along, and she seemed equally untroubled by the weight of -a sleeping child on one arm and a nondescript collection of bundles in -the other. </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span></p> - -<p>Mariuccia was going home. It mattered little that the home was not -her own, but her brother's, that its four stone rooms were crowded -with children, and that she was bringing another to leave there, quite -uncertain of its reception. She was in her own country, striding -through the good dust instead of over the city pavements, smelling the -hot, dry fragrance of the grapes hanging in masses from the stripped -vines where the vineyards terraced down to the campagna on her left; -hearing the chestnut burrs rustle to the ground in the woods on her -right; heading for the place where she was born, for the grand sour -bread and honest wine, the snowy beds piled mountains high under -embroidered sheets and quilted coverlets, the blest palms and roses -round the picture of the Immacolata on the wall—for the fountain in -the piazza, the whispered greetings across the women's benches in the -church, for the well-known faces and the broad speech of home.</p> - -<p>It was three years since she had been there. Long ago she had made -up her mind not to marry, telling her relations that since a woman -must work for somebody, she chose to work for a master who would pay -her, and whom she could leave if she chose, rather than for a husband -who would give her no wages, would beat her if the fancy took him, -and with whom she must remain all her life. So she had taken service -in Rome, and, though her last venture had ended sadly, was on the -whole contented with her lot. She had saved the greater part of her -wages for the last ten years, had found kind, decent padroni of the -genial<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span> middle-class sort, and was looked upon by the relations in -the hills as a superior person of solid fortune whom it was well to -treat politely. She was bringing presents for the family now—cakes -and sweetmeats for the children, a bottle of rosolio and the boots -and coat for her brother, and a roll of linen and a green rosary for -the sister-in-law—and the rosary had been blessed by the Pope. Her -old friend, the sacristan of San Severino, had asked the Curato, and -the Curato had asked the Cardinal's secretary, and then the Cardinal -himself had procured the Holy Father's blessing; and Mariuccia had -put the sacred thing away till she should feel more worthy to use it. -Now the moment had come to do something really great, so that sister -Candida should be dazzled into receiving "la Pupa" with open arms, and -the rosary must be sacrificed.</p> - -<p>It is but a short distance from Albano, whither Mariuccia had traveled -in the disjointed vettura which daily lumbered out from Rome over the -Appian Way, to Castel Gandolfo, the summer sojourn of the Popes. As she -entered the little town, the girls were gathered round the fountain, -filling their urns and chattering as gaily as roosting sparrows; the -young men lounged on the steps of the church, hands in pockets, a -rose or carnation stuck behind the ear to show that they were in good -spirits; and a gathering of thirsty, dust-parched carrettieri, their -huge, brightly-colored carts obstructing the street, were drinking -bumpers of red wine in the low, dark doorway of the Osteria, under the -swinging bunch of broom which was its only sign.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span> Smells of cooking, of -freshly-baked bread, of wet linen hanging to dry from upper windows, -and many less savory scents filled Mariuccia's nostrils with familiar -pleasure. The Ave Maria was pealing from the tower, and she turned -aside to kneel for a moment in the well-known church. Then she came -out, turned up a side street and made for a little square house that -stood in its own vineyard just beyond the farther gate of the town.</p> - -<p>Ah, there was no doubt about her welcome. A tribe of black-eyed, -red-cheeked children broke upon her like a tornado, with yells of joy; -sister Candida came hurrying to the door and led her in rejoicing, -taking baby and burdens from her without a question; while brother -Stefano, who had just got his pigs safely home from the chestnut wood -behind the house, came clamping in with earth-stained clothes and a -week's beard on his beaming face, and kissed Mariuccia on both cheeks, -inquired for her health, told his wife to get her some supper, all -without more than one glance at the flaxen-haired infant who had been -deposited safely out of reach of the children, in the very middle of -the huge white bed which was the chief ornament of the room. Guests -must not be questioned, whatever they choose to bring; Mariuccia would -speak when she was ready.</p> - -<p>That moment did not come till all the presents had been produced and -rejoiced over, and the young ones had fallen asleep with open mouths -and sticky fingers, and the three elders were sitting round the table -by the light of the tall brass lamp in which all four<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span> burners had been -kindled in honor of the visitor. The pure olive oil glowed brightly and -cast a friendly radiance over the consultation. Mariuccia, desperately -in earnest now, was stating her case as she considered it should be -stated; not precisely as it really stood, of course; that would never -have done. Giannella, Stefano and his wife learnt, was certainly an -orphan, but there were rich relations in some barbaric country over -there—Mariuccia's gesture indicated enormous vagueness—who would wish -her to be well cared for, and who would pay splendidly for such care -when they came to fetch her, as they would do before very long. She was -a good-tempered little thing, and had never been ailing for a day since -she was born—and so pretty. There was not such another blonde head in -Rome. The people turned to look at her in the street when Mariuccia -took her out on a Sunday. Candida hesitated a little, then went and -looked at the sleeping child, all rosy and golden, on the white pillow. -Stefano glanced at her questioningly as she returned. This was going to -be her affair, not his, and she must decide.</p> - -<p>"It is well, Mariuccia," she said, without even looking towards her -husband. "You can leave her here. Is she baptised?"</p> - -<p>"I saw to that," Mariuccia replied. "Here is the certificate from San -Severino." And she drew out of her pocket a stiff paper which none of -the three could read, but on which they recognized the big, round seal -of the Keys and Tiara.</p> - -<p>"I will keep it," Mariuccia said, "and if it is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span> wanted you can send -for it. Her name is Giannella, don't forget. She eats soup and bread, -just what you gave your own babies at that age. Mamma mia, I am sorry -to part with her, pretty heart! But I must go back to Rome and find -a new, rich padrone, or how else can I leave a fortune to those fine -nephews and nieces of mine by-and-by?"</p> - -<p>"You are too good to the little rascals already," said Candida. She -was not a mercenary person; but Stefano, who had the family cares on -his mind, brightened up, and uncorked the rosolio. Three thimblefuls -were drunk to the general health; then the tapers were lighted on the -family altar, where a splendid Bambino Gesú, dressed in pink silk, held -out his waxen hands under the glass globe and smiled on his disciples. -The night prayers were said; one low light was left burning in each -room—since only the animals sleep in the dark—and Mariuccia fell -asleep beside Giannella in the best bed, with a great weight lifted off -her heart.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER II</h2> - -<p>Mariuccia only stayed two days in her native town; then she bade -farewell to Giannella (who had already made friends with the eldest -niece and the youngest pig) and returned, very light-handed, to seek -for a new master in Rome. She had made up her mind to find a quiet, -well-regulated bachelor to care for this time. No more heartaches over -young mothers and forsaken orphans for her. She realized fully the -responsibility she had assumed for the Brockmann baby, and courageously -faced the likelihood of having to meet most of its expenses herself. -Those young gentlemen were kind, yes, but they were just boys, and -would probably forget until she reminded them; and then it was always -doubtful whether they would have any money to give for their dead -friend's child. She had made light of this part of the question in -speaking to them, but she was resolved that Stefano and Candida, with -their own large family to provide for, should not be out of pocket on -Giannella's account; neither must they ever imagine that the payments -for the little girl come from anyone but the supposed rich relations -who were to hear such good news of her progress under their care. With -all their goodness, it would have wounded them deeply to think that -Mariuccia's spare cash, which would have helped to start the nephews -and nieces in the world, was <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span>being spent on the child of strangers. -She had two hundred and fifty scudi in the Savings Bank of the Pietá, -an institution which, with its merciful pawnbroking department, its -safe investments for the poor people's earnings, and its all-embracing -Foundling Hospital and affiliated Training Schools, met the wants of -the lower classes in those opulent days in a fairly complete manner. In -her steady Roman way, Mariuccia had thought out her own case, and was -resolved to find a quiet and solvent padrone with whom she could live -in peace and security for many years to come. So she went to consult -Fra Tommaso, the lay brother who acted as sacristan at San Severino, -a popular church served by some Marist Fathers, down in the oldest -quarter of the city, near the Tiber. Fra Tommaso was an old friend, -like herself a native of Castel Gandolfo, and the deep-seated clan -feeling imposed obligations of mutual helpfulness on the compatriots. -Ever careful of the courtesies, she had brought him a present of fruit -and wine, and a couple of plump pigeons, from the place of his birth, -and counted on his being able to interest the Fathers in finding a good -place for her. They knew everybody in the district and were the general -referees for a thousand matters civic and domestic.</p> - -<p>San Severino had an imposing entrance from the Via Ripetta, where it -stood, a little back from the street, in a semi-circular piazzale of -its own. A series of low, broad steps led up to the rounded platform, -wide enough to accommodate the blind man, the woman with the footless -baby, and the parish epileptic,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span> who all had their authorized stations -in a row near the door in order to receive the never-failing alms of -weekday worshipers and Sunday congregations. They brought their chairs -with them in the morning, and, after hearing the first Mass, settled -themselves for the day; their little stores of food were slipped under -the chairs; the woman had her stocking to knit (for the baby always -held out its hand for the coppers); the blind man had his tin box to -rattle at each approaching footstep; the epileptic had to put his -wooden alms bowl at his feet, since his hands trembled too much to -hold it. Among these three there was much good fellowship, but they -looked askance at the privileged cripple whose crutches reposed all -day against a battered arm-chair close to the church door, and who in -his turn held aloof from them. For he was an ancient man of decent -standing, having been in his day a mason who lost the use of his limbs -through a fall from the cupola of San Severino; he now considered -that he was as much a part of the church and its organization as the -Father Rector himself. He never solicited alms when, by an ingenious -arrangement of cords round his hand and the back of his chair, he -raised the heavy, padded leather curtain for people to pass into the -church; but many a silver paoletto or double baiocco was dropped into -the hat on his knees in the course of the day, and the calm, contented -expression of his face bespoke a mind at rest from earthly cares.</p> - -<p>Mariuccia nodded to the little parade of incurables as she came up the -steps on the morning after her<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span> return from Castel Gandolfo. She was of -the people, and they would have scorned to beg from her, but she found -a sugar-plum in her pocket for the baby's grimy little palm, a packet -of snuff for the blind man (who was accused of seeing fairly well after -dark) and a copper for the epileptic; they would all pray for her and -further her success. To Sor Checco, the cripple, she spoke a cheery -good-morning, and begged his acceptance of a small flask of "vino -santo," which, she assured him, would be good for his health. Then she -inquired whether Fra Tommaso were about? She was anxious to speak to -him.</p> - -<p>At that moment Fra Tommaso emerged from under the opposite side of the -leather curtain, broom in hand, and began to sweep down the steps. -When he had finished his task, accompanying it with his invariable -grumblings at the dirt that people would track up with them, he -declared himself at his countrywoman's disposal, and led her through -the church to a dark disused side-chapel where he kept his brooms and -pails, his oil and candles, and where there was one old chair which he -could offer to a visitor.</p> - -<p>After many preambles Mariuccia preferred her request. Did Fra Tommaso -know of a place for a respectable woman, over thirty, who could cook -and wash and iron with anybody? Yes, it was not to boast, but she could -say that she knew her business, and as for the marketing—well, she -could make a paolo go as far as any housekeeper in Rome.</p> - -<p>Fra Tommaso pondered, his chin in his hand, his eyes on the ground, -and Mariuccia watched him <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span>anxiously. He was a thin, wiry man of forty -or thereabouts, with a rather hollow face and very bright eyes. Hardy -old age was stamped on every seam and fold of his black cassock, -with its wide shoulder cape and leathern girdle, from which dangled -various keys and a heavy rosary. The Church, which finds a use for all -faithful enthusiasms, had taken him into her service many years before; -seeing that no amount of patient teaching could induct the knowledge -of Latin into his head, she had made him one of the doorkeepers of -the House of the Lord, and he was perfectly happy and contented in -that capacity. He had elevated sacristanship to a fine art. The three -or four dozen oil lamps which lighted the various altars and shrines -were always replenished, always bright, and the oil was measured out -as carefully as if it had been molten gold. The candlesticks were -burnished, every candle end utilized, and the droppings of virgin -wax collected and sold again to the Chandlers for the benefit of the -Church. The chairs were piled high at the far end of the nave and the -floor swept within half-an-hour after the last Mass of the day had -been said: and Fra Tommaso was a walking terror to the unruly urchins -who would try to slip in to chatter and play near the door when the -sun was too hot or the rain too chill in the streets. He was a little -severe on idlers and beggars, but for all the respectable poor he -had a friendly interest, taking a good deal of pride in the position -of trust which enabled him to lay their requests and perplexities -before one or other of the Fathers. The saint of the community, wise, -detached<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span> old Padre Ambrosio, still looked upon Fra Tommaso as a boy, -and sometimes warned him not to let himself be drawn too closely into -the thousand distracted interests of the world. "Even charity, my -son," he would say, "has its limitations. Beware of letting these good -people (especially the women, who would almost drive an archangel out -of heaven with their chatter) distract your mind from higher things. -You must become a saint, you know. No Latin is needed for that. Only -recollection, and prayer and faithfulness to the duties of your state."</p> - -<p>"You are right, Padre," Fra Tommaso would say, feeling duly contrite -under the gentle rebuke, "I will certainly be more careful." -But do what he would, his lively interest in the affairs of his -fellow-creatures sprang into life again the moment he came in contact -with them. He knew all the habitués of the church by sight; the stories -and circumstances of most of them were familiar to him; he would lie -awake at night sometimes, wondering if that poor Rosina were getting -on better with her mother-in-law, whether Rachel's boy had got the -place at the baker's, how much that brigand of a doctor was going to -charge the shoemaker for pulling his wife through the fever. If a new -face appeared, Fra Tommaso had to know all about its owner within a -given time, or he must invent a history for it before he could say his -prayers in peace. Padre Ambrosio was so old—and so holy! How could -he understand that a poor, uninstructed lay brother, who was running -about the church day in, day out, must feel more concerned with the -people<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span> than he, who now only descended from the steps of the altar to -give himself up to contemplation and prayer in his quiet, distant room? -And, when one came to think of it, the "Santissimo" and the blessed -Addolorata, and the kind, smiling Saints, were all in the church. They -would surely forgive their poor servant for taking pleasure in thinking -about his brothers and sisters and managing to be useful to them at the -same time.</p> - -<p>When Mariuccia explained her needs, Fra Tommaso's mind began to work -rapidly over his little map of humanity, and stopped, like a divining -rod, over the precise place for her. But certain hesitations and -discussions must be gone into, otherwise he and she would miss much -pleasant talk. He looked up and met her anxious eyes.</p> - -<p>"It is a good idea of yours, commara," he said; "a padrone without -family, and of regular habits. Yes, you would do well to find such an -one. Let me see—we must think a little. We shall find him in time. Who -goes softly goes safely, and also far. Now the other day, a gentleman -spoke to me—"</p> - -<p>"Yes?" said Mariuccia eagerly. "Who was he? Did he want a servant?"</p> - -<p>"He wanted to get rid of one—an extravagant woman, who, he said, was -ruining him. But of course he could not send her away till he had found -somebody to replace her?"</p> - -<p>"Tell me his name. I will present myself at once," exclaimed Mariuccia, -rising and reaching for her umbrella. </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span></p> - -<p>Fra Tommaso made a dignified gesture of the hand, which commanded her -to sit down again and listen patiently. She obeyed with a sigh. Then -the sacristan continued, "he is a professor at the university, Signor -Carlo Bianchi, a most learned man, who knows more about antiquities -than anybody in the world. Capperi! He can tell you who built the -palace of the Cæsars, and San Pietro, and the Colosseo. Whenever a -statue is found they send for Professor Bianchi, and he does not even -need to look at it—he wets his finger in his mouth and feels the -marble, and he says, 'Signorimiei, this is the work of Praxiteles, or -Scanderbeg, or—or Saint Thomas Aquinas.' Just like that! And they put -a ticket with the name on the pedestal and never ask another question. -Oh, a man of immense instruction! But they say ..." and Fra Tommaso -shook his head mysteriously, "that he has one ugly vice."</p> - -<p>Mariuccia's hand went up to her mouth, imitating the action of -drinking, and her eyebrows asked a question.</p> - -<p>"Macché!" exclaimed her adviser, looking much shocked, "not he? A man -of that instruction? No, to tell the truth—he is terribly stingy."</p> - -<p>"So am I," Mariuccia replied, laughing with relief. "We shall get on -well together."</p> - -<p>"You are economical, Sora Mariuccia," Fra Tommaso looked at her -approvingly, "but this poor Professor is truly avaricious. He is afraid -even to eat enough, and is as thin as the miller's donkey that carries -the grain and never gets any. One day some<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span> buffoon of a student -stole his purse as he was entering the lecture-room—oh, he gave it -back to him afterwards—but meanwhile the lecture had gone to little -pieces—clean out of his head. When the young rascal handed him his -purse back he nearly fainted, and they had to give him cognac before he -could walk home."</p> - -<p>"Poverino," Mariuccia cried indignantly, "it was a cruel joke! I am -not afraid of this vice, as you call it. He will have to pay me my -wages, and that is all that matters to me. I am indifferentissima as to -victuals. By the way, what does he pay?"</p> - -<p>"Ask for four scudi a month," Fra Tommaso commanded briskly. He -had caught sight of a sunbeam that suddenly shot through the round -window in the dome and lit, like a golden arrow, on the crown of the -Addolorata. That meant noon in a moment—and his bells to ring. "You -ask four, and he will give you three. Go to him to-day—Professor -Carlo Bianchi, Palazzo Santafede—it is close by here, you know. You -can go out at the back door of the church. Say I sent you. But no, no -thanks—for me it is a pleasure to serve you, commara, at any time. -Arrivederci!"</p> - -<p>The report of a cannon rent the hot, still air, the midday gun from -Castel Sant' Angelo. Instantly every church bell in Rome broke into -peals of sound, echoing the announcement of high noon to the city. Fra -Tommaso had leaped to his ropes and was working like a demon, trying -to outring all the neighboring bells, and especially the one of Santa -Eulalia, the <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span>convent on the other side of the river; between it and -San Severino there was on this point an ancient rivalry which deafened -all who lived near either.</p> - -<p>Mariuccia departed well content, and at once made her way to the -indicated address. The Palazzo Santafede was a huge pile belonging -to the prince of that name, and running the whole length of the -street which separated the Ripetta from a large quiet piazza, where -five well-known palaces had faced each other in dignified seclusion -for some centuries past, while many a tragedy and comedy had been -played in the great rooms behind their tall, impenetrable walls. The -Santafede residence stretched four-square round a vast sunny courtyard -where a fountain bubbled in the center, and battered statues of more -or less doubtful merit stood on pedestals under the deep colonnade -which ran round three sides and afforded shelter for the prince's -stables. The present prince was a very young man, with pronounced -sporting tendencies, and beautiful English carriage horses and Irish -hunters were groomed under the colonnade in the morning. The Princess -Mother lived with her son on the "piano nobile," the first floor of -the palace, in solemn and unchanging state. All the other apartments, -there being no married sons to be housed, were let to tenants whose -worldly importance diminished with each flight of stairs they -climbed—monsignori, diplomatists, nobles who had no dwelling of their -own in Rome paid high rents for spacious suites of rooms on second and -third floors. Above these came modest apartments occupied by humbler -individuals; and the vast attics,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span> which a couple of centuries ago had -accommodated four or five hundred retainers, were now let out, even in -single rooms, to all who could satisfy the maestro di casa of their -respectability.</p> - -<p>The reigning family was away at this time of year and the porter was -taking his ease in his shirt sleeves in the shade of the great doorway -when Mariuccia marched in and inquired for Professor Bianchi.</p> - -<p>"Third staircase to the right, fourth floor," was the reply. And as the -inquirer went on under the colonnade, the porter remarked to his wife, -who was sitting on the lodge steps nursing her baby, "I wager there -goes another cook for Professor Scortica sassi (Skin-the-stones). I -wonder how long she will stay?"</p> - -<p>Mrs. Porter glanced after the receding figure. There was something -impressive in that dragonlike stride; the brown hand gripped the thick -umbrella as if it had been a saber. "She looks pretty resolute, that -female," Mrs. Porter remarked. "I shouldn't wonder if he had found his -match this time. I'd rather not be in her place, though."</p> - -<p>Mariuccia stood before the green door on the fourth landing of the -third staircase. Her first ring at the bell elicited no response, but -at the second, footsteps approached and a thin, rasping voice asked the -regulation question: "Who is it?"</p> - -<p>Mariuccia gave the equally invariable reply, "Friends." Then the -shutter behind a tiny grating was pushed back and a pair of spectacled -eyes were applied to the bars. The next moment the door was open and -Mariuccia stood face to face with a slight,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span> dark man, hooked of nose -and hollow of cheek, but much younger than she had expected to behold.</p> - -<p>He understood her errand at once. Her costume and attitude were those -of the respectable servant at that time. Quite a gleam of joy came -into his eyes. His cook had departed in a rage the evening before, and -the unfortunate man of science had burnt a hole in his coat and nearly -asphyxiated himself in trying to light the charcoal fire to make his -coffee that morning. He led the new applicant for that honor through -a long, dark passage, where, as he passed, he hastily closed an open -door; but Mariuccia had caught sight of an unmade bed and personal -belongings in sad disorder. Instantly a maternal pity for the helpless -man took possession of her. That cook must have had a heart of stone to -leave the poor fellow like this! He conducted her into a study filled -with books, papers, plaster casts and fragments of marble, all arranged -carefully enough; but the confusion of his mind and his destitute -condition were illustrated by a breakfast tray which had been deposited -on the floor, flooded with coffee from an overturned pot which still -lay on its side.</p> - -<p>This was more than Mariuccia's soul could bear. Before entering on any -negotiation she picked up the depressing object and carried it out -to where her instinct told her she would find the kitchen. Here she -paused for a moment, tray in hand, to survey the possibilities of the -place. She nodded approvingly. "Here I remain," she informed herself. -"A kitchen of this noble size—full of light—with two windows<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span> on -the street. Capperi, one does not find that every day." She glanced -out of the window and saw that the opposite wall was that of the long -building, running back from San Severino, the building which had housed -the Fathers and their schools. Nothing could be better—she felt at -home already.</p> - -<p>The last occupant of the noble kitchen had left things in a horrible -condition, certainly; rubbish everywhere, coppers that could not have -been cleaned since Easter—a hecatomb of damaged crockery on the -dust-laden shelves. Never mind, all that would be changed in a day. And -now for the padrone. He would be wondering what had become of her.</p> - -<p>She made her way back to the study and stood at the open door for -a moment. The Professor seemed to have forgotten all about her. He -was examining some fragments of dirty earthenware on which a pattern -was dimly visible; fitting one to another with delicate care, he was -murmuring to himself, "Spurious, spurious. That poor Cardinal! Any -villain can take him in with rubbish that was baked last year and -buried in the right sort of earth! Etruscan indeed. I wonder what he -gave for this robaccia? What is it?" He had thrown the fragments down -on the table and caught sight of Mariuccia. "Ah yes, I remember—you -have come about the donna's place, I think. Who sent you to me?"</p> - -<p>"Fra Tommaso of San Severino," she replied; and the Professor looked -pleased. "I see the signore is busy, so I will, with his permission, -say that I can do everything he will require, and I respectfully ask -what<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span> wages he gives. I had five scudi a month with my last padrone."</p> - -<p>The Professor's hands flew up in the air and an expression of deepest -pain came across his countenance. Mariuccia's spirits rose; the -delightful excitement of bargaining was about to begin.</p> - -<p>The duel lasted three-quarters of an hour, with varying fortune, first -to one and then to the other, of the disputants. Twice Mariuccia seized -the cotton umbrella and made as if to depart, outraged at having her -just claims disregarded. The second time she almost meant to go; but a -deep sigh from her adversary softened her heart. Poor young man, he was -really quite "simpatico"—and so forlorn. She paused at the door—and -then she knew that she had won the day, for he came after her and laid -a hand on her arm.</p> - -<p>"It is ruinous, that four scudi a month," he said woefully, "and -fifteen baiocchi a day for your food is an insanity—you will die of -apoplexy, I know it. But—there—it is said. I must sacrifice myself. -Now do go and get me something to eat. That demon would not cook any -supper for me last night and I faint, my good woman, I faint."</p> - -<p>"Leave it all to me!" she replied. "Poverino! you shall suffer no -more." And at once she marched off to take possession of her kingdom.</p> - -<p>Within a week the Professor knew that he was in good strong hands; -in a month he suspected that he had found a ruler; but he was well -satisfied. Excepting the daily wrangle over the money for his -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span>marketing (the sums he proffered, Mariuccia told him, were quite -inadequate to the maintenance of his respected health), all went -smoothly and silently, as he liked it to go, in the quite shabby rooms -filled with books and flooded with sunshine, where he passed his -studious life. Three times a week he lectured at the university, and -on other days spent much time among the excavations which constantly -brought new treasures to light from Rome's inexhaustible soil. Few -visitors ever mounted those steep stairs; occasionally he spent an -evening with his illustrious and learned friend, Cardinal Cestaldini, -but otherwise he sat in his study after supper, perfectly happy with -his lamp, his books, and his cigar; and in all his habits he was -regular as clockwork. Mariuccia lay down night after night in her dark -bedroom off the passage, thanking Heaven for having bestowed on her the -padrone she had dreamed of. She laughed to herself as she thought of -his prophecy that she would die of apoplexy. She had brought her own -living expenses down to one-half of the sum which she had quite justly -claimed. The rest was put by for the baby she had left with Candida -at Castel Gandolfo. If no rich relations turned up—and if those nice -young friends of poor Signor Brockmann (of good memory) never sent any -money for la Giannella—there would be anxious times ahead for her -only protector. The Madonna and San Giuseppe would help—that could -be counted upon; but one must make what provision one could—with six -nephews and nieces on one's conscience!</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER III</h2> - -<p>It was three years before Mariuccia saw Giannella again. Then Candida -brought her to Rome, fat and well-looking, to show her to the -sister-in-law, who was to be moved, at sight of the pretty, well-fed -little girl, to grant a modest request. Once in three months during the -passing years a trusty carrettiere from Castel Gandolfo had brought -Mariuccia a letter, written for Candida by the official scribe of the -"Castello," reporting Giannella's good progress; and Fra Tommaso had -read it to the recipient in the empty chapel under the bell tower. -The same proven counselor had always written the answer for her, free -of charge (it would have been folly to pay the public letter-writer -in Piazza San Carlo for what she could get done for nothing!) and -had made up and sealed the little packet of money, growing heavier -with Giannella's growth, which the carrier took back with him when he -dawdled across the campagna to the hills, in his high cart, painted in -gorgeous reds and blues, piled with empty barrels in exchange for the -full ones he had brought in. A proud man was he. His sheepskin awning -was hung with twenty or thirty jingling brass bells; his horses moved -leisurely under their great burnished collars; his white lupetto, -the fierce little fox-dog without which the outfit would have been -incomplete, barked madly at everything on the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span> road and frenziedly -at all the other lupettos on the other carriers' vehicles, and took -sole charge of all property during the long pauses at the thatched -"Cappanne" where the jolly driver would have a glass of wine and a game -of bowls with his compeers to break the monotony of the journey.</p> - -<p>The letters he brought four times a year provided the great excitement -of Mariuccia's existence, and the Professor knew that for a day or two -in every quarter his housekeeper would be slightly less silent and -methodical than usual. He understood that there was a child at nurse -in the country, an occurrence so common that he never gave it a second -thought. He imagined it was Mariuccia's own, and as she never spoke -of having a husband, supposed that she was a widow. Once or twice he -wondered what kind of a man could have had the courage to espouse such -a carabineer in petticoats. He himself had a nervous terror of women, -whom he considered as brainless, extravagant creatures, and in spite -of his comparative youth, he seemed destined for an old bachelor, so -resolutely did he avoid feminine society.</p> - -<p>It was therefore a shock to him to return one bright winter day from -the university to find his apartment resounding with women's voices and -childish laughter. The front-door bell was broken and he was fighting -the maestro di casa as to who should pay for repairing it, so he had -let himself in with the latchkey and was coming on tiptoe down the -passage to have a peep at the intruders, when the kitchen door flew -open, and, out of the haze of sunshine within, a small,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span> golden-headed -whirlwind shot forward with a scream of laughter, bumped against -his knees, and went down on the bricks with a thud. He sprang back, -nearly as alarmed as the child; but before he could find his breath -for questioning—or she for crying—two excited women swooped down on -the little sufferer, picked her up, felt her all over, tried to drown -her sobs with caresses and promises, and finally bore her back to the -kitchen without having taken the slightest notice of the indignant -master of the house. He judged it best to withdraw to his sanctum, -where he sat down in dismal depression. He felt certain that this -cataclysm foreboded the destruction of his peace.</p> - -<p>It was poor Mariuccia's peace, however, which was disturbed by -Candida's visit. Giannella had been splendidly cared for; her clothes -were in excellent order. Sister Mariuccia could see for herself that -every penny sent for the child had been honestly expended on her. -Could she have those red cheeks and bright eyes, could she be such a -little wisp of activity and high spirits, if she were not well fed -and happy? Candida proudly asked. Surely the rich relations would be -more than satisfied. And, since this would redound to Mariuccia's -credit and magnify her reward from them, was it too much to ask that -she would come forward generously, like the dear, good soul she always -was, to help Candida, junior, the eldest niece, to a fine settlement -in life? The prosperous parents of a particularly nice young man had -made a proposal for Candiduccia. They were willing to take her without -a dowry if she could bring the proper<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span> plenishings, the bed and the -linen, the chest of drawers and the pearl earrings—and of course the -Sunday clothes—without which no self-respecting girl could enter a -family. Here was a chance for Candiduccia! But, to tell the truth, -things had not gone so very well with Stefano of late. The good donkey -had died suddenly; last year the filloxera had got at the grapes—and, -in fine, they looked to sister Mariuccia to remember her kind promises -and give the money for the outfit. How much? Why, well laid out, -perhaps a hundred scudi would do, since of course the linen was there -already—Candiduccia had been spinning it ever since she was ten, and -Sor Mariano had woven it for her for nothing. Yes, a hundred scudi -should do nicely. And dear Mariuccia was so rich and had no children to -provide for! A little thing like that would not make much difference to -her.</p> - -<p>Dear Mariuccia looked down at Giannella (who by this time had taken -her old new friend into grace, and had fallen asleep in her arms) and -wondered how much further her little stock of money would go. The three -years' payments had made sad inroads on the vaunted savings; but that -Candida must never know; the money was supposed to come from the rich -relations "fuori," myths in whom Mariuccia herself had come to believe -in a way at times, even tormenting herself with the possibility of -their coming to claim the little waif. For the woman who had refused -to marry had plenty of affection to bestow, and Giannella seemed to be -the only thing in the world which was her very own, had been her own<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span> -ever since she was born and her real mother had slipped away from the -costly joys of maternity. Mariuccia had woven pleasant little dreams -about the future, and seen herself bringing Giannella to live with -her when the child grew bigger and could be taught to move quietly -about the house and not disturb the Professor at his books; she had -seen her, in imagination, prettily dressed, as became her station in -life, and finally ensnaring the affections of some ideally good and -handsome young man—who would marry her and bring old Mariuccia to -take care of them both and of the beautiful children Heaven would -send them. But Giannella must eat many loaves of bread before these -pleasant visions could be realized, and who was to provide them but -Mariuccia? Four scudi a month was good pay, but how far would it go -alone when the precious savings had fitted out Candiduccia and her two -younger sisters—for what had been done for one must be done for the -others—for entrance into well-to-do families? Mamma mia, it was a -perplexing outlook! Well, the Madonna and San Giuseppe must provide. -These things were matters of destiny. There was no going back now.</p> - -<p>"You will do it, will you not?" came Candida's anxious question. The -suspense was almost unbearable to her.</p> - -<p>"Yes, I will do it, Candida mia!" the other woman replied slowly. Then -she added more cheerfully, "The 'tratto' is the most expensive part. -You had better leave the buying of that and the earrings to me. I can -combat with these brigands of merchants<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span> better than you can, and here -in the city there are fine shops for silk and cloth. You shall have -the things the next time the carrettiere goes out. I will give you the -money for the bed and the bureau to-day."</p> - -<p>Having once made up her mind, no more regrets were admitted and for -the next twenty-four hours Mariuccia's feelings were divided between -delight at the pretty ways of the child and anxiety lest the Professor -should find her trottings to and fro, her laughter and occasional -tears, too intolerably disturbing. But when it was explained to him -that the visitation was but a passing one, he was more patient than -could have been expected. The next day Candida bore little Giannella -away in good time to catch the vettura for Albano; her farewells took -the form of an all-embracing benediction for the generosity of the rich -sister; and that afternoon Mariuccia asked her master for permission -to go out for a couple of hours. She came home absolutely hoarse with -bargaining, bringing a roll of silk that would have stood alone—a -gorgeous brocade of red carnations on a cinnamon-colored ground—and -two feet of scarlet cloth which looked like geranium petals and felt -like a baby's cheek. It had cost five scudi a foot, and with some -broad gold trimmings would make the half sleeves from wrist to elbow -which were relatively the most expensive part of the superb Albanese -costume. It would also provide the stiff little stomacher into which -the voluminous shawl of fine lace would be tucked. For this last, -as well as for the lace apron,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span> Mariuccia had gone to the selling -department of the Pietá, where unredeemed pledges were disposed of, and -had found there just the right earrings, wide hoops of pale gold with -three fair-sized pearls dangling from each. If the bride lived to be -ninety and a great-grandmother, she would wear this dress every Sunday -and Feast Day at Mass and would leave it as a treasured heirloom to her -descendants. In the goatskin trunk under her bed Mariuccia kept the -one which her own mother and grandmother had worn at their weddings -and ever after. No holidays came into her dull life, but the "tratto" -must not be parted with while there was even a faint possibility of her -having to appear at church in her native town.</p> - -<p>The precious sendings were confided, a day or two later, with many -anxious recommendations, to Sebastiano the carrettiere, who promised -not to get off the cart for a moment, no matter what temptations might -assail him till they were safely deposited at their destination.</p> - -<p>"Leave it all to me," he exclaimed, slapping his chest proudly. "Am I -not a galantuómo? Do you think I would let such stuff as that out of my -sight for a moment? Diamini! We have our principles, we carrettieri! -Not a single glass will I drink before I reach Castel Gandolfo."</p> - -<p>Mariuccia fancied that the white lupetto on the driving seat winked one -eye, quite like a Christian, at this assurance, the like of which he -had probably heard before, and she felt a little uncomfortable about -the goods until, two weeks later, the receipt<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span> for them came in the -shape of a box of confetti tied with white ribbon, the usual "faire -part" of an accomplished wedding. She offered it, as in duty bound, to -the Professor, who accepted it blandly and made the sugar-plums suffice -for two meals, thereby effecting a saving of at least ten baiocchi.</p> - -<p class="center">* * * * * * * * *</p> - -<p>Another three years went by, and when Candida, as Mariuccia had -foreseen, came to solicit for Teresina the favors which had been -accorded to her elder sister, Mariuccia saw that some decisive step -must be taken; she could no longer pay for Giannella's board in her -brother's family. Twice already she had been to see Mr. Brockmann's -artist friends, and though they had received her with great kindness -and cordiality, they had been able to help her but little. One was -married, and had all he could do to maintain a wife and child; the -other seemed to be as poor as ever, and only necessity would have made -his visitor accept the few dollars which he insisted on giving her. -There was no one else to appeal to. Mariuccia gave almost her last -scudo to fit out Teresina for her wedding, and then, leaving Candida in -the kitchen with Giannella (a much quieter little person than of yore) -standing in awed silence beside her chair, marched boldly into the -Professor's study and asked his permission to keep the child with her -henceforth.</p> - -<p>Bianchi looked up from his papers in blank dismay. Keep a child in the -house? The thing was out of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span> question. What was Mariuccia thinking -of to propose such an absurdity?</p> - -<p>"If the Signor Professor really wants to know what I am thinking of," -she replied, "I will tell him, in all sincerity. I am thinking of a new -place, where I can have Giannella with me. I heard of one this morning. -And they give five scudi a month."</p> - -<p>Her master's opposition collapsed before this statesmanlike invention. -He could not part with his silent, economical jewel of domesticity, -to fall into strange and ruthless hands. No, better accept the child, -even if it should prove a demon, as he had heard that young children -mostly were, and keep his cook. But he made conditions. Under no -circumstances was the baby (the flight of time was forgotten by him -and he was thinking of something small and noisy that would trip him -up at every step) to enter his rooms. And also it must be understood, -once and for all, that he must never be asked to contribute to its -maintenance. Not a lump of sugar or a crust of bread was it to have -from his stores. If people were so silly as to take strange orphans to -bring up—Giannella's history had now been explained to him—they must -bear the punishment of their spendthrift insanity alone. Perhaps it -would teach them wisdom.</p> - -<p>Mariuccia's eyes blazed as he said this, and he began to fear that he -might have gone too far. But she was generous enough to overlook the -insults of a conquered adversary. She thanked him in set terms for -the permission to keep Giannella, assured him<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span> that he should neither -hear nor see the child; and then she calmed her ruffled feelings by -the first impertinent speech that had ever fallen from her lips. "Let -the padrone congratulate himself on one point. The chastisements due -to what he called spendthrift insanity, and which most persons would -consider common charity, would never fall on his respected head."</p> - -<p>Then she went back to Candida and told her that Giannella must now -remain in the city. Her invisible relations wished her to have a -superior education, such as was unattainable in her country home. -Candida was frankly sorry. She had come to love the paying nursling -almost as if it were her own; and the charge of Giannella, who was -looked upon by the neighbors as quite a highborn young heiress, -conferred much distinction on her foster parents. As for the child -herself, she was appalled at the prospect of being parted from -"Mamma Candida" and her lifelong playmates, to remain alone with -"Zia Mariuccia," who looked so old and stern. She flung herself into -Candida's arms and wept bitterly, the two women watching her in -silence. Candida rocked her in her arms while some tears of her own -trickled down over the golden hair in which she had taken such pride -for years past.</p> - -<p>Mariuccia let them weep together. These things were matters of destiny. -There was nothing for her to say. Their double grief showed that the -little one had been happy at least. Her own turn would come when the -parting was over; and though she was racking her brain as to ways and -means, she was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span> confident that she could make Giannella happy too. She -rose quietly and prepared as tempting a dinner as her resources would -provide, and her sorrowing guests did full justice to it at last. -Then all three went out to make the purchases for Teresina; and the -streets, the shops, the band playing stridently as a detachment of -French soldiers in gay uniforms marched down the Corso, all sent the -country-reared child wild with delight. She was finally put to bed with -a honey cake under her pillow, and never woke till Candida, who had -slipped away in the dawn, was far out on the Via Appia, so occupied -with anticipating Teresina's joy over the grand new clothes that there -was little place in her mind for anything else.</p> - -<p>A few days later Sebastiano brought a big bundle in which Mariuccia -found every garment that Giannella had outgrown carefully folded up -and saved by her scrupulous keepers, together with odds and ends of -playthings, and little pictures of the Saints given for good conduct -by the parish priest who had taught her her catechism. There was also -a present of cakes and fruit from the teeming Alban garden in the -hills. The padrone was offered his due of all, and actually smiled -when he found a little person, with round cheeks and funnily puckered -brow, reaching up with two hands to put a plate of fresh figs on his -dinner-table. The child nearly dropped it when she saw him enter, but -summoned up all her courage to shove it on safely. Then she turned -and ran at full speed all the way to the kitchen, where she rushed -to Mariuccia's side and hid her face in her protector's<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span> voluminous -skirts. "Oh, please, please, ask him not to eat me this time!" she -wailed. "I didn't know he was there—I will never do it again."</p> - -<p>For Mariuccia, determined that the padrone should have no just cause -of complaint, had confided to Giannella a terrible secret: the Signor -Professor never hurt little girls who obeyed orders, but it was well -known that he had once gobbled up a certain naughty child who did not -keep out of his way!</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER IV</h2> - -<p>The Principessa di Santafede was a lady of gravely gracious manners, -iron prejudices and active piety, and she entertained a profound -belief in the necessity of her own class to the well-being of the -world. So far as she was concerned secular history contained but one -record worthy of study and imitation, the record of the noble houses -of Rome. Each tradition and regulation connected with these was not -only a rubric but a dogma. To believe and act thereupon was to find -social salvation; all who rejected these articles of faith perish from -her consciousness; their names were erased from her "libro d'oro," -and they ceased to be. No taint of novelty had cast its shadow over -her education. Except that the history books were thicker and the -spelling modernized, the teaching she received in the convent along -with all the other noble damsels in Rome was the same as that which -had been bestowed on her ancestresses for generations past. It had -proved entirely sufficient for those eminent ladies, and neither -parents nor instructors could see any reason for changing a detail of -it. There would be Roman nobles so long as the world lasted; their -vast establishments would move ponderously and surely as they had -always moved; and a girl brought from her convent to be placed at the -head of such an establishment had but to leave<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span> its conduct to the -responsible persons, the major-domos, and stewards, and housekeepers, -descended from many generations of officials who had served the same -"Eccellentissima Casa" in the same capacities. She had but to watch and -copy her seniors in order to fulfill her obligations in society, in -matrimony, in maternity, to the complete satisfaction of all concerned. -Life was quite simple if only people did their duty.</p> - -<p>Political crises would occur, of course; the riots and revolutions -of 1848, for instance, had been most disturbing. But they had only -strengthened the beliefs of right-thinking persons, for, behold, they -had passed by like a wave of the sea breaking against the rocks, -leaving everything as it was before and as it would be "in sæcula -sæculorum" so far as Rome was concerned—and Rome was the world.</p> - -<p>Prince Santafede had died when their only son was quite a child, and -the responsibilities thus devolving on her sufficiently accounted -for his widow's grave outlook on life. It was, however, a peaceful -and happy life, clouded by few real anxieties, since Onorato had now -reached the age of eighteen without giving any serious trouble. He was -a cheerful, warm-hearted boy, with no more fixed aversion to study -than the remainder of his contemporaries. Accompanied by his tutor, -a learned ecclesiastic, he had attended the proper lectures at the -university, and, though his education included only the classics and -humanities, it had given him all that was then required of a gentleman, -fluent and elegant Latin,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span> a working acquaintance with his own and -foreign literatures, charming manners, and a fitting sense of what -was due to himself and others. If there was one cloud in his mother's -large sky, it was caused by the fact that he did not take her views on -the sacredness of family traditions in one or two minor directions, -notably that of the expenditure on the stables. Onorato had no other -extravagances, but he insisted on riding and driving magnificent -imported horses, declaring that it was a public duty to set a higher -standard than the prevailing one in such matters. The Princess and -Onorato's lamented father had been perfectly contented with their six -pairs of coal-black horses, bred on their own lands with hundreds of -others destined to be sold all over Italy and Austria. The animals -had been driven and cared for by coachmen and grooms also born on the -estates; and the Princess could not imagine anything more splendid -and appropriate than the high calèche on C. springs in which she took -her daily airing; the deep, hearse-like berline swung on leather -bands, which carried her to parties, seemed the perfection of comfort -and safety; and she felt something like reverence for the yellow -stage coach, with blazoned panels and glass sides, with gold-fringed -hammercloth and tasseled straps to which the three dazzlingly arrayed -footmen hung behind. It was only brought out on grand occasions, for -audiences with the Pope or Ambassadors' receptions, and the Princess -felt as if her skies were falling when her son, a "Principe del Solio" -(supporter of the throne), climbing into it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span> in all his magnificence -of doublet and ruff, gold chain and sword, to go and attend the Holy -Father on Easter morning, called it a "lumbering old pumpkin," and -declared that if he had his way he would make a bonfire of it in the -courtyard. His revolutionary ideas had not only demonstrated themselves -by importing foreign horses, but by filling the coachhouses with French -carriages and the stables with English grooms, barbarians who, while -fulfilling their other duties faithfully enough, grumbled at having to -go to church, and thus deeply scandalized the rest of the well-drilled -household.</p> - -<p>The Princess's brother, Cardinal Cestaldini, Professor Bianchi's -learned patron and friend, tried to console his sister for her son's -equine irregularities by pointing out that they were not so extravagant -as they appeared, since Onorato was bent on improving the Roman breed -and thus adding considerable value to the Santafede horse farms; also -that a young man might spend his money on worse things than horses. -This was at all events an innocent taste, and, seeing that Onorato -had no inclination for deeply serious pursuits, and was too young to -get married—well, his mother must be patient and not estrange him -by any undue severity. Paolo Cestaldini's own happy lot inspired him -with much indulgence for those less blessed. He felt that few were as -fortunate as himself, delivered from worldly distractions at the start -by what he considered the undeserved grace of a religious vocation, and -then provided with the most elevating and beneficent occupation for -his leisure.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span> In the delights of Art and Archæology, subjects which -he could discuss with the most learned, he found an inexhaustible -source of interest and recreation. Incapable of an ungenerous or -insincere thought, he was merciful and gentle in his judgment of -others. Religion, which had built up round his sister a wall of defense -against the temptations which assault those in the world, had turned -the other side of its golden shield to him, and mellowed and enriched -the man's ascetic nature and broadened his mind while it refined his -appreciations. To the married woman it was a fortress, to the lonely -prelate, a garden.</p> - -<p>The Princess listened rather despondently to her brother's encouraging -exhortations. They did not alter her conviction that Onorato was on the -wrong road, and she resolved to pray more earnestly (good soul, that -would hardly have been possible) and to apply herself with more fervor -to her many works of charity in order to obtain his reformation. Full -of these thoughts, she stopped at the church of San Severino on her way -home, dismissed her carriage, since the Palazzo Santafede was only a -few hundred yards away, and found a good deal of comfort in saying her -prayers in the silent, dusky church.</p> - -<p>Emerging half-an-hour later, she saw just before her in the street, a -servant woman leading a little girl by the hand. The airy poise of the -little figure, the light step and quick turn of the small head, took -the Princess's fancy. Above all, the shining golden braids hanging down -to the child's waist aroused her<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span> admiration, for to be fair is to -be loved, in dark Romagna. Mariuccia and Giannella, unconscious that -their unapproachably illustrious landlady was following them, passed up -the street, turned into the piazza, and disappeared under the arched -entrance of the palace. By the time the Princess reached it, they were -lost to view round the turn of the colonnade. She paused to ask the -porter, who was grounding his tasseled staff and sweeping the pavement -with his hat, if he could tell her who the child was. Did she belong to -anyone in the palazzo?</p> - -<p>The Excellency was informed that the woman conducting her was Professor -Bianchi's servant, and that the little girl had been brought by a -contadina from the country a few days before. Nothing more was known. -The "donna" rarely spoke to anyone. Did the Excellency wish inquiries -to be made?</p> - -<p>Certainly not, the Princess replied, Professor Bianchi's family was -his private affair. She discouraged all gossip about her tenants. -Ferretti, the mæstro di casa, was responsible for them and she never -interfered with his wise and careful management. Still, he had told -her, when letting the rooms, that the Professor was a bachelor; and -Bianchi was sufficiently distinguished in his own learned circle for -his rather crabbed characteristics to have become more or less known -to the public. The Princess, as she mounted the broad marble stairs to -her own apartment, wondered whether the child were some relation of -his, and felt a certain pity for the bright little thing if she were -really condemned to live<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span> with the parsimonious man of science and his -grim-looking servant.</p> - -<p>She was soon to know more about Giannella. Mariuccia was just now -terribly puzzled by a new responsibility which immediately faced her. -At seven years of age children must begin to go to school, and how was -this to be managed for Giannella? There were free schools all over -the city, kept by the nuns for the children of the poor. The little -ones were collected from their homes in the morning by trusty persons -who called for them and brought them back in the evening, receiving -a tiny monthly sum from the parents for the service. That was all -very well, and the nuns took fine care of the small people during the -day; but Mariuccia was obstinately set on one point, and she meant -to fight for her convictions; la Giannella was a lady. Providence -above seemed to have overlooked the fact and had steadily refused to -furnish the wherewithal to keep it before the eyes of the world; but -the self-constituted representative of Providence on earth would take -no denial on the subject, and nothing would have induced her to let -Giannella be herded with the children of the city plebeians, to learn -their rough ways, their common speech, to remember when she grew up -that she had been as one of them. It was one thing to be a paying -nursling in the clean, rich country, cared for and cherished by pious, -respectable people like Stefano and Candida, who kept their boys and -girls in the fear of God and would have punished a bad word, an act of -disobedience or even a disrespectful<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span> glance, with a sound beating; -it was quite another to mix with low-born children of the city, whose -parents, coming from no one knew where, owned no feudal master, no foot -of land, and had not been obliged to live up to the stern standard of -morals and manners required in the proud "castelli." Giannella had -learned her catechism and many pretty hymns from the parish priest, -and the first elements of reading from some Franciscan nuns at Castel -Gandolfo. Who was to take up the good work and endow her with all the -mysterious instruction which it seemed a lady should possess by the -time her hair went up and her skirts came down?</p> - -<p>Mariuccia put the question to her spiritual director, a Capuchin monk -of great age and sanctity, to whom she had been commended by the Curato -at home when she first came to Rome as a young woman some eighteen -years before, and to whom she had been loyally constant, tramping to -his distant monastery on the Palatine once a month from whatever part -of the town she happened to be living in. He could not help her much, -although he said he would keep the matter in mind and see if some -charitable person could get the little girl received as a boarder in -one of the many convent schools. But Mariuccia felt that this was a -vague outlook, and she confided her trouble to the ever-sympathetic -Fra Tommaso, who listened with his usual interest and curiosity to her -story.</p> - -<p>"But," he objected, when she had ceased speaking, "what has become of -the relations who used to send<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span> you the money for her? Will they not -pay any longer?"</p> - -<p>"Fra Tommaso mio," she replied, "I must tell you something. It is now -a long time since they sent any money for Giannella. Perhaps they are -ill—or affairs may not be going so very well over there—what do I -know? Meanwhile I could not let the child want, so you see—"</p> - -<p>The sacristan pursed his lips and shook his head. "That is bad—very -bad. And has Signor Bianchi been paying for her? That would be a -miracle indeed."</p> - -<p>"No," said poor Mariuccia, driven to tell the humiliating truth at -last, "I have had to find the money myself. Of course the relations -will repay me when they have time, but meanwhile two of my nieces have -got married, and that cost me a great deal; and now, until I hear from -over there," her thumb went over her shoulder indicating the unknown -regions where the Brockmann family was supposed to have its being, "I -do not know what to do. Giannella ought to go to a good school. She is -seven years old, and of an intelligence—God bless her! But I cannot -manage it."</p> - -<p>During this speech Fra Tommaso had been thinking with all his might. -Suddenly he banged his forehead with his clenched fist. "Head of a -pumpkin that thou art!" he exclaimed to the delinquent member. "We have -got it—and I never even thought of it. That Principessa of yours—the -Santafede—she was a Cestaldini." </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span></p> - -<p>This piece of genealogical information appeared to electrify Mariuccia. -"But what are you telling me?" she cried. "Is it true?"</p> - -<p>"Of course it is true," he asseverated; "a Cestaldini, the daughter of -the old prince who died in his palace at Castel Gandolfo just after -Stefano got his leg broken riding the bad mule. Don't you remember, -the church was hung with black for a month? And you snipped off a -piece of the stuff to dress a doll like a 'seminarista' to tease me -with, because I wanted to be a priest? Why, you belong to her father's -people—she must help you. Go to the Princess at once."</p> - -<p>"Of course she would help me," Mariuccia replied rather sadly, "if -I could ever get to speak to her. But that is impossible, quite -impossible! I should have to ask the porter to ask the lady's maid to -ask Signora Dati, the Princess's companion, to ask the Excellency—and -the message would never reach Signora Dati. Those familiars have no -hearts. We must think of something else."</p> - -<p>"Leave it to me to be done," Fra Tommaso said; "I will see about it."</p> - -<p>It was Mariuccia's turn to be curious. "But how?" she asked. "Would it -not be as hard for you as for me to speak with the Excellency?"</p> - -<p>"No," he replied; "she comes every morning to the seven o'clock Mass, -and I could speak to her quite easily. But I have a better way. Behold, -is not our Cardinal her brother? And has he not always been for me -of a goodness, of a condescension? Always<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span> a kind word or a little -joke when he sees me. 'How does it go, Tommaso? Have you worn out any -more bell ropes with that Herculean ringing?' (Hercules was the first -sacristan of St. Peters, you know, Sora Mariuccia, and was so strong -that he could ring the big bell with his hands.) Or else he says, 'You -are looking thin, my son. You should eat some of your fat pigeons.' -Ah, what an egregious ecclesiastic, what a man of learning, and yet -so simple! To him I will relate these facts, and he will say to his -sister, 'What is this? I learn that you have Botti's Mariuccia in your -house and you have never sent for her to let her kiss your hand? But -this is great neglect! What would our papa of good memory have said at -your thus overlooking one of his people? Let it be remedied at once!'"</p> - -<p>Mariuccia clasped her hands, "Fra Tommaso mio," she wailed, "I should -die of fright if I had to pass all those famigliari in the sala and go -into those fine rooms—and in these old clothes! If I were at home I -could wear the costume—but here! No, since you are so condescending, -so kind, do this. Tell that good Eminenza all about Giannella and how -I am astrologizing my head already to feed and clothe her—for the -padrone will not give her so much as a crumb from his table—and get -him to ask the Princess to send her to school. That indeed would be -an action of the greatest merit and the Madonna will accompany you -wherever you go!"</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER V</h2> - -<p>A few days later Fra Tommaso found an opportunity of laying Mariuccia's -case before the Cardinal. The latter usually paid a short visit to the -church in the late afternoon, on his return from the drive which was -as much a part of his daily life as the reading of his breviary. His -Mass was always said in his private chapel, but he found in the large, -quiet church greater space of detachment, an atmosphere rich with the -devotion of centuries, and an impersonal companionship very sympathetic -to him in the chapels and monuments which had been the silent witnesses -of his silent spirit's growth. It was but a few steps from the church -to his own door, and the constant presence of his chaplain and servants -on all other occasions made the short solitary walk a pleasure in -itself.</p> - -<p>Fra Tommaso ventured to ask him to come into the dark home of bell -ropes and candlesticks and there with many apologies for obtruding -such common affairs on his noble attention, explained poor Mariuccia's -perplexities and besought the Eminenza's intervention with his -illustrious and charitable sister.</p> - -<p>The Cardinal listened to him with much attention, disentangled the real -facts from the picturesque accompaniments of explanation and gesture -in which the sacristan involved them at every turn. When<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span> Fra Tommaso -mentioned Professor Bianchi, the prelate nodded his head, saying, "Ah, -the Signor Professore is known to me. He is a man much respected, -also very much occupied. Doubtless he has not had time to think about -the little girl. He is not rich, and it is not to be expected that he -should bear the charges of her education. I will speak to the Princess -and see what can be done."</p> - -<p>Fra Tommaso broke out into expressions of devout gratitude, and the -Cardinal smiled on him and slipped away. He had a strong feeling of -kindness for the cheerful, humble servant of the Fathers, a feeling -which, years ago, had been one of acute pity for a brokenhearted boy -who had nourished high hopes of entering the Church—open to peasant -as to prince if God have bestowed on him the needful gifts—and who -had found it impossible to assimilate the required learning. All -other requisites of the true vocation were there, singleness of -heart, deep humility, fervor and faith. But some congenital defect of -brain, unperceived until the intellect attempted to grapple with the -difficulties of Latin and theology, barred the way for Tommaso. When -this was so apparent that his patient instructors were obliged to give -their unfavorable verdict, the shock had almost overcome his reason and -his faith. Paolo Cestaldini, then a young priest just ordained, had -rescued both. He had kept the boy near him for some time, and had only -let him go when he saw that resignation had done its work, when he had -enabled Tommaso to realize that the glory of God required service of -many<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span> grades, and that all the virtues of a religious vocation can be -as well acquired, preserved, and practised, in the humblest as in the -most illustrious of these.</p> - -<p>The result of the conversation under the bell tower was a visit from -good Signora Dati, the humble but devoted companion of the Princess -and the chief intermediary of her many charities, to Mariuccia, who -was quite overcome by such an honor. The Princess had two excellent -qualities of the administrator; she spared no trouble and lost no time -in learning all that could be learned about a case presented for her -consideration; and then she took proper time to decide on her course of -action. The immense ramifications of charities in Rome provided answers -to almost all the problems connected with the relief of suffering and -poverty. The first step was to catalogue the applicant's needs. So -Signora Dati was commissioned to find out to what class of society the -golden-haired waif on the other side of the courtyard belonged, and -also to learn whatever she could of the morals of her defunct parents. -The Princess was convinced that heredity played a great part in the -drama of development and should be suppressed or fostered according to -its character.</p> - -<p>The Professor was absent when Mariuccia's visitor climbed the long -stairs and rang at the green door. She was a thin, pale little lady, -with the eyes of a saint and the mouth of a judge. Her costume gave -almost the impression of a conventual habit, with its full black -skirt and silk shoulder cape and black lace head covering. This last -indicated with delicate <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span>precision the exact rank of the wearer, an -educated and refined dependent, placed half way between the woman of -rank, who could wear a bonnet, and the woman of the people, who must go -bare-headed if she would preserve her reputation.</p> - -<p>Signora Dati had become an expert in charity. It was impossible -to deceive her as to character and veracity. After half-an-hour's -conversation with Mariuccia—conversation during which the latter stood -respectfully at a little distance from her interlocutor's chair and -gave her story with admirable directness, uncomplicated with legends -about Giannella's relations, and with a complete unconsciousness of -any merit on her own part—Signora Dati was satisfied on all the -points which she had come to investigate. Giannella's parents had been -respectable if unfortunate people; they had been duly married; there -was apparently no taint of crime or disease to descend to their child. -Only one thing more remained to be ascertained—what kind of training -in bearing and manners had this good but uneducated woman and her -family been able to give the child?</p> - -<p>"And now I would like to see the little girl," she said; "will you call -her in?"</p> - -<p>Mariuccia stamped away into the kitchen and returned, pushing Giannella -into the room before her. The child stood still for an instant looking -at the visitor. Then she came forward, raised Signora Dati's hand to -her fresh young lips, kissed it, and stepped back, looking the lady -full in the face with her innocent gray eyes, waiting to be spoken -to. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span> commissioner of charities, whose visit had purposely been -unannounced, returned the glance, taking in the smoothly braided hair, -the round cheeks and clean dimpled hands, the nicely ironed frock and -pinafore, the spotless stockings and strong strap shoes. An immense -respect for Mariuccia rose in her heart. What it must have cost the -woman to keep the child like this—on four scudi a month! It was -heroism—nothing less. And the manners were perfect; that, however, -was not so surprising, seeing that all Giannella's life had been spent -among the rigidly self-respecting inhabitants of the castelli. It was -only in large towns that the poorer classes had become insubordinate -and vulgar.</p> - -<p>After a few questions and answers, Signora Dati rose to go. Mariuccia -accompanied her to the door, and there, Giannella having been sent back -to the kitchen, she said that the Princess would consider the question -of the child's education and would communicate with her as soon as it -had been decided upon. Meanwhile it would be well to preserve silence -on the matter, as her Excellency did not care to have her charities -noised abroad.</p> - -<p>When Mariuccia went back to her interrupted task of preparing the -padrone's dinner, Giannella was standing at the window watching a flock -of pigeons hovering over a small terrace on the roof of the opposite -building. It was on a higher level than the Bianchi apartment, and -the parapet shut out any view of what might lie behind it, but the -parapet itself was gay with flowers; the deep red carnations that the -Romans<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span> love hung far over the edge, swaying in the sun and breeze; a -little lemon-tree in a green box held up its pale golden fruit among -shining leaves; the pigeons whirred about as if in great excitement, -while every now and then a dark masculine head bobbed up for a moment -above the line of red bricks, and then disappeared again. Giannella had -forgotten all about the visitor who had come to decide her fate, and -was completely absorbed in the brightness and movement across the way.</p> - -<p>Mariuccia came behind her and laid a hand on her shoulder, leaning -out to see what so interested the child. Then she smiled, and said, -half to herself, "That poor Fra Tommaso! He is at it again, feeding -his birds and talking to them as if they were Christians. Shall I tell -you something, Giannella? When I took you out to Castel Gandolfo—and -you were no longer than that—(she measured half-a-yard on her arm) -and as fat as a little calf—I brought back two pigeons in a cage for -Fra Tommaso, thinking he would cook and eat them. Figure to yourself -piccolina, that he made a little house for them up there on his loggia, -and fed them with Indian corn, and now behold, a family! They are his -children, those fowls, and he takes as much care of them as I do of -you."</p> - -<p>"I would like to go up and see them, and get some of the garofoli," -Giannella replied wistfully. "Zia Mariuccia, do take me up to Fra -Tommaso's loggia."</p> - -<p>"What an idea!" Mariuccia exclaimed. "Why, no woman has ever entered -that house. It is strict<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span> clausura. Only men can go in—the Fathers and -their pupils live there. They do not want to see little girls!"</p> - -<p>"Are they like the Signor Professore then?" Giannella asked, looking -across at the tall conventual building with a shiver of fear. "Is the -Signor Professore a padre too?"</p> - -<p>"No," said Mariuccia, looking down at the child in amusement. Then -she added impressively, "He is a most learned gentleman, and for that -reason dislikes noise and disturbance. He was very angry when you -knocked over the chair yesterday. You must be more careful, Giannella."</p> - -<p>To Mariuccia's amazement the child flung herself against her and broke -out into wild entreaty. "Zia Mariuccia, do please take me back to Mamma -Candida! It makes me so sad to be so quiet all the time. Mamma Candida -never scolded about the noise unless there was quarreling—and I want -Annetta and Richetto and the dog and the pigs and the donkey—so much! -Oh, do take me back!" Her little mouth was quivering with earnestness -and her eyes were brimming with tears which she kept back bravely. The -loneliness and confinement of the dull apartment, the terror of the -padrone, and Mariuccia's silent, undemonstrative ways, were becoming -more than the child could bear. Her heart was breaking for the cheery, -populous house in the olive orchard, where something was always -happening, where out-of-doors freedom and a tribe of <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span>children and -animals provided playground and playmates day in, day out.</p> - -<p>Her cry brought pain to the staunch heart of the woman. She had -not realized that the child could be unhappy while she herself was -straining every nerve to assure her welfare. Then, with a sigh, she -accepted the fact. Of course it was dull and sad for the little thing -here. Who was she, old Mariuccia, to take the place of busy, smiling -Candida, of the laughing, chattering boys and girls who had been as -brothers and sisters to Giannella? She remembered that even as a -grown woman, a confirmed spinster of twenty, she had wept some bitter -tears when she realized that she had left her "paese," with all its -friendliness and freedom, to live shut up in narrow rooms in the city -among strangers. So she sat down and took Giannella on her knee and -spoke with unusual gentleness.</p> - -<p>"Listen, cocca mia. It is not possible to take you back to Mamma -Candida any more, to stay, though if you are good you shall go to see -her some day. You know you are a signorina, and your poor papa of good -memory would not have wished you to be brought up as a contadina. The -good God has caused each one to be born in the position where he can -best save his soul. Annetta and Richetto and the others must work among -the olives and the grapes, and take care of the animals—that is their -destiny, and they will be happy, but it is not yours. You must go to -school and learn to read and write, and keep your hands clean for fine -embroidery and other<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span> things that ladies may work at. And I think soon -you will go to a beautiful school where there are most instructed nuns -who will teach you all this, and also many other children of your own -age with whom you can play and study. Thus you will be happy, and -by-and-by—"</p> - -<p>"Yes, by-and-by? Oh, please go on!" Giannella exclaimed, her eyes -shining at the prospect suddenly unfolded to her.</p> - -<p>Mariuccia looked up at the blue Roman sky, so near and kind in the -clearness of noonday. Yes, by-and-by? What possible future lay before -the forsaken child for whom she was so obstinately preserving the -privileges of gentle birth? "By-and-by? Hé Giannella, I must not tell -you everything at once. Arciprete!" as the midday gun boomed its signal -from Sant' Angelo and every bell in the city began to ring. "Run and -lay the cloth for the padrone while I get the soup and the bollito off -the fire. Poveretta me, the soup is like water. But if that blessed man -will only let me buy half-a-pound of meat for it, what am I to do? To -think that a man of his instruction can stay hungry with his pockets -full of money. What a vice is avarice! Libera nos Domine!"</p> - -<p>Mariuccia need really not have prayed against that temptation, -though she had often gone hungry of late when there were still a -few coppers in the corner of her handkerchief. La Giannella had a -fine appetite—and at that age who could have let the child remain -unsatisfied?</p> - -<p>Another week passed, and when Signora Dati came<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span> to say that on the -following day Mariuccia was to bring Giannella to kiss the hand of the -Princess, after which she herself would conduct her to a convent of -Sisters of Charity on the other side of the river, where the little -girl would be received as a boarder, and would have every benefit of -education, as well as fine air. The convent, she explained, was really -a villa, and the Sisters the kindest and best of instructors. Mariuccia -was too overjoyed to speak, until she remembered that for such a school -a certain outfit would be necessary; but Signora Dati informed her that -the Excellency, out of her great kindness of heart, had provided for -this, and that Mariuccia must repay her in prayers for her intentions, -and Giannella, the chief beneficiary, by the same, coupled with model -conduct and great application to her studies. They were to come to the -Princess's apartment at ten o'clock punctually.</p> - -<p>So the next morning Mariuccia, leading Giannella by the hand, was -met by Signora Dati and conducted through a long series of somberly -gorgeous rooms, such as she had never entered in her life, and finally -ushered into the presence of her illustrious patroness. The Princess -was still a comparatively young woman, tall and graceful, with a -calm, thoughtful face, on which her responsibilities had impressed -something like austerity. The weight of her guardianship to Onorato, -heir to the great Santafede estates, had come upon her so early as to -tinge her incompletely developed character with melancholy, loyally -combated by religious principle, it is true, yet potent<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span> enough to make -her a somewhat exigent and depressing parent for her light-hearted -son. Naturally inclined to piety, she had come to feel that only by -multiplying good works, by denying herself many little pleasures and -luxuries in order to respond to every genuine appeal, could she obtain -from Heaven the treasure she coveted, sanctification for her son's -soul, happiness and prosperity for his material life. She was even now -trying to light on the right wife for him, having already reached the -point of overstrained conscientiousness which unconsciously treats -Providence as the weaker party to an alliance, a party who will not -move a step without powerful co-operation. All this was a little -morbid, and might in the end endanger both her own happiness and that -of Onorato, but meanwhile was an active agent for good in the affairs -of obscure and oppressed people, notably, at this moment, those of -Giannella Brockmann and her one friend, Mariuccia Botti.</p> - -<p>Giannella was big-eyed with awe when she was led to where the Princess -was sitting at a writing-table covered with account-books and works of -devotion. On entering the dim and splendid rooms the child had felt -inclined to make the sign of the cross and go down on her knees; the -space and silence and crimson hangings seemed necessarily to belong to -a church. The Princess looked at her without speaking for a moment. -Giannella was so pretty, so wholesome and sweet in appearance, that -Teresa Santafede experienced a passing regret that she had been denied<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span> -a little daughter to brighten her lonely life. But this weakly human -sentiment was at once suppressed, and when Giannella had kissed her -hand the Princess made her a stereotyped speech on the moral advantages -she was about to enjoy and the obligation to make the most of them by -obedience and zeal. Giannella did not understand more than half of it, -but she felt that something very important was happening, and when the -Excellency gave her a rosary of white beads, with a very bright silver -medal, her eyes danced with pleasure. This wonderful lady seemed as -kind as the Madonna and as rich as the Befana, the beneficent witch who -walks over the roofs at Epiphany and brings presents to good children.</p> - -<p>Then Mariuccia was allowed to express her thanks, which she did very -eloquently, and without any shyness at all, feeling more at home in -the presence of a Cestaldini, one of the rulers of her clan, than she -had ever felt since she left the fortress of all her traditions in the -hills. The Princess asked one or two questions which showed that she -remembered the family; the hand-kissing was repeated; Signora Dati -received some murmured instructions, and the audience was over. Five -minutes later Mariuccia stood under the porte cochère and watched -Giannella being put into the closed carriage by Signora Dati. There -was a glimpse of the round little face and the golden hair behind the -glass, the carriage rumbled out, and Mariuccia turned to climb the -four flights of stairs to the Professor's apartment. There she applied -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span>herself rather vindictively to her work, wondering why the granting of -her dearest wish should result in making her feel so cross and lonely.</p> - -<p>It was not until three weeks later that Signor Bianchi discovered -Giannella's absence. He could not find a certain copy of <i>The -Archæological Review</i> and called Mariuccia to look for it, remarking -with asperity, "That is what comes of having a child running about the -house. You will have to send the little nuisance away if this happens -again. Of course she has taken it."</p> - -<p>"Signor Professore," said Mariuccia, facing him with square shoulders -and a terrific frown, "it is you who are a child. But no, an infant -in arms has eyes and ears—you, man of a thousand learnings, are -becoming blind and deaf. Giannella left the house three weeks ago. -The 'lustrissima Principessa has sent her to a fine school—and may -every benediction be hers for her charity. You say the coffee is like -water. Mamma mia, I had to put the last of my own into it to give it -a color at all. Yours was finished yesterday, and you would not give -me the money to buy any more. Now then, here is your purse—in the -pocket of your paletot—I must have two pauls at once, or you will get -no supper to-night. Come, padroncino, be good. You frighten me—you -consume before my eyes. There, I bring you cheese and dried figs. They -have cost you nothing—my brother sent them—eat, and I will find your -blessed paper for you."</p> - -<p>Giannella was gone; the brief enchanting reign of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span> her sunny little -presence in the dingy apartment was over; and Mariuccia's other child, -the owlish old young man who did not know how to take care of himself, -was once more received into grace. She had to mother something.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER VI</h2> - -<p>In the sun-flooded gardens and airy rooms of the convent across the -river nine radiant years of Giannella's childhood and girlhood slipped -happily away. The round of lessons and play, the cycle of workdays and -feastdays brought constant interest and variety, and the companionship -of children of her own age, passing from class to class with her in -the emulation which involved no rivalry or contention, satisfied -all the wants of her heart. The nuns were as kind as Mamma Candida, -though they inspired a profound respect and an unquestioning awe for -their ever-just rulings. There were pets to care for, flowers to -tend, beautiful little shrines to decorate them with if one had been -very good. All this was consciously enjoyed; less understood, but of -lasting importance was the religious training which gathered the little -comrades into companies first under the white badge of the Guardian -Angels—this for the youngest of all; then, at the time of First -Communion, under the green one of St. Joseph; and finally, when the -hour was approaching for grown girls to return to their homes in the -world and take up the whole duty of women, hung round their necks the -coveted blue ribbon and silver medal which marked their worthiness to -be enrolled among the "Enfants de Marie." These influences gave a deep -stability to Giannella's<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span> healthy normal character, and laid in her -heart the foundations of peace and right-thinking for which she was to -be deeply thankful later on.</p> - -<p>Once or twice in the year Mariuccia was allowed to come early in the -morning and take Giannella home for a day, bringing her back before Ave -Marie; and whenever it was possible she made time to go to the convent, -bearing some humble offering of fruits and cakes from the castello for -the "Suore," and satisfy herself that the child was well and happy. -The Princess came at stated periods, notably at the great Feasts, -when prizes were distributed and wonderful little plays representing -religious allegories were got up and acted—with what throbbing -excitement—by the best and whitest lambs in the flock, those who had -had no bad marks since the last great event of the kind. Since virtue, -and not dramatic talent, was the test of proficiency, the good nuns -had to work hard over these entertainments, but the result was always -satisfactory to them and their troupe, and was believed to afford the -highest artistic pleasure to the noble patronesses, of whom Princess -Santafede was the most distinguished.</p> - -<p>The Sisters kept open school for all the poorer children of the -quarter, but this part of their establishment was divided from that -devoted to the boarders by a twenty-foot wall, and no taint of the -streets was ever wafted across that impassable barrier. Within the -charmed circle, the girls, all of the better middle class, were as -jealously guarded, as well taught, and fed, and housed, as Teresa -Santafede <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span>herself had been in the aristocratic seclusion of her own -convent school, where only the daughters of nobles were received. The -one difference was that at Santa Eulalia less time was given to books -and more to fine needlework and embroidery, the only accomplishments -by which in those prehistoric days a refined woman in moderate -circumstances could earn a living. There were no lay schools for girls, -so there were no openings for teachers except as unpaid assistants to -the nuns, who employed some half dozen of their old pupils, homeless -orphans like Giannella, to help with the younger children. The Superior -confided to the Princess that she would gladly keep Giannella in that -capacity, her exquisite needlework and talent for design making her a -valuable help in the embroidery department. But the Princess replied -that the girl had received special training in these subjects because -there was a person—the woman who occasionally came to see her—who -had made great sacrifices on her behalf and for whom she could now, at -sixteen, do something in return. She could earn money at home; there -seemed to be no difficulty about her residing with Mariuccia Botti -under Signor Bianchi's roof—and work could always be obtained for her -there.</p> - -<p>It was with great regret that Giannella left this, her second home, -to return to the Professor's apartment in the Palazzo Santafede. Yet -she was glad that the moment had come when she could begin to repay -the untiring goodness which had saved her from the hard and lonely -fate of the forsaken child<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span> and procured for her the education which -in time would enable her to earn her living in retirement and peace. -No anxieties for the future whispered trouble to her heart. Mariuccia -would be ever at her side; and in the background was the beneficent -Princess, always accessible through kind Signora Dati, promising that -materials and sales should not fail for the beautiful work which -the girl really loved. So, after tearful partings with teachers and -companions, Giannella was fetched home, her little box full of naïf -farewell presents of pictures of Saints, tiny pincushions, muslin bags -stuffed with "gagia" blossoms and verbena leaves which would keep -their sweet scent for twenty years to come—artificial flowers and -embroidered handkerchiefs—all her inestimably precious, and quite -valueless, earthly possessions.</p> - -<p>Mariuccia told her to bestow these in a small empty room beyond the -kitchen, where she could set up her embroidery frame close to the big -window which looked more to the sky than to the street, and where she -could keep her delicate work free from all danger of dust or accident. -As for sleeping alone, that was out of the question. Giannella had -never tried it in her life and was sure she should never close an eye, -accustomed as she was to the big dormitory with its rows of white beds -and the curtained sanctuary in the corner, where the guardian nun was -supposed to lie awake saying her prayers all night, listening for -the first sound of whispering or larking, to issue forth with dire -retribution for the offenders. Mariuccia had made full preparation for -her Giannella in her<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span> own room, a windowless apartment on the dark -side of the passage. In it had stood for years a spindle-legged green -bed of impaired constitution, replaced, with much grumbling from the -padrone, by a stronger one when Mariuccia's wooden weight had three -separate times broken through it with a thump on the bricks in the dead -of night, causing the Professor to start from his slumbers in such a -fright that his nurse and guardian had to administer a sedative and -keep him on soup for two days to restore his nerves. The green wreck -was to have been sold at once, but just then a thrilling discovery of -new antiquities in the Foro Romano came to carry Signor Bianchi's mind -beyond the confines of personal subjects, and he had been guilty of the -frantic extravagance of forgetting to sell the bed. Mariuccia pushed it -into a corner behind the door, and had coaxed the carpenter retainer, -who had his workshop in a far recess of the colonnade, and who was -forever engaged in repairing some of the hundreds of doors and windows -in the vast building, to set the wreck safely on its legs again. One of -her own two mattresses was stuffed with fresh cornhusks smelling of the -country and brought by the carrettiere ally, and behold a nice white -couch, quite fit for a "signorina" like Mariuccia's Giannella.</p> - -<p>This time no permission was asked of Carlo Bianchi for her reception; -the chains of servitude had changed places in the many years of -Mariuccia's abode under his roof and were now firmly riveted on the -unconscious man, who grumbled freely when things annoyed him, but was -too much afraid of losing his <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span>economical housekeeper ever to really -quarrel with that grim but faithful domestic tyrant.</p> - -<p>So he only nodded in acquiescence when she told him that Giannella had -come home—to stay. Giannella herself appeared a moment later, intent -upon making her courtesy, inquiring after his respectable health, -and thanking him for the permission to remain in his house. The fine -gradations of social conditions had been carefully taught her by the -nuns. Since she had neither father nor uncles, there was no occasion -for her ever to kiss the hand of any gentleman, unless he were an -ecclesiastic. Otherwise this honor was to be paid only to women, her -superiors either in rank, like the Princess and the other patronesses -of the convent, or in age and virtue, like her teachers, Signora Dati, -and above all the good Sora Mariuccia, who had done so much for her. -How much, the Sisters did not quite know, but Giannella did. Signora -Dati had considered it right to make her understand the obligations -under which she lay to the unlettered, silent peasant woman who would -never refer to them herself; and Giannella, though still remembering -"Mamma Candida" with warmer affection, meant to love and cherish "Zia -Mariuccia" (as she had learned to call her when among the latter's real -nephews and nieces) all her life. But Mariuccia recoiled in horror when -Giannella attempted to kiss her hand. A young lady—the daughter of her -poor master of good memory? Dove mia? No indeed. Nor was she to call -her "Aunt" any longer, now that she was grown up. People must never be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span> -led to believe that any relationship existed between the "signorina" -and her humble self. She was already busy with Giannella's future and -had decided that some splendidly disinterested young man, of much -"educazione" and large fortune—fifty thousand scudi at least—was to -ask her in marriage at the proper time, which apparently came later for -persons of her class than for the country folk, who reckoned sixteen -the correct age for taking a husband and twenty the end of all chances -in that direction.</p> - -<p>It was with real pride that she watched Giannella's dignified little -greeting to the Professor and marked the expression of bewilderment -which came over his features as he turned and saw the new inmate of his -family standing in the doorway of the study. He failed for the moment -to connect the apparition with the child who had so incensed him by -knocking down chairs nine years before. That criminal had been effaced -from his memory for a long time, but was slowly recalled as he gazed -at the graceful girl whose deep gray eyes were full of intelligent -recollection of him. She had grown tall and straight, her features were -delicately aquiline, giving an impression of maturity in spite of the -dimple at the corner of her grave, fresh mouth; her faintly rosy skin -was translucent with health and vitality, and her hair was still of -the pure baby gold which had so delighted the hearts of Mariuccia and -Candida in the old days. Now it framed in her pretty face in broad, -shining braids hanging low before the ears, after the fashion of the -day, and gathered into coils at the back. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span> convent uniform had been -laid aside and Giannella was feeling strangely grand in the dark blue -dress (touching the ground at last) which she had made for herself, -under the direction of the nuns, for her first entrance into the great -world. Many earnest warnings against that world's distractions and -dissipations had accompanied the making of the dangerously secular -garment, in reality so rigid in its simplicity that but for the -finely embroidered collar and undersleeves it might have passed for a -modification of a religious habit. The kind nuns had sighed in secret -over Giannella's hair, the crown of glory which must attract attention -in church and street. "Poverina, she is too pretty. That hair is only -fit for a Saint in a picture," they would tell each other, "and the -world is not the place for it. But there, Our Lady will protect her, -and she has good, pious friends, thank Heaven."</p> - -<p>The Professor, who was a gentleman, for all his abstracted ways, rose -from his chair and bowed to the charming vision, saying something -which was meant to be extremely polite. The vision courtesied again -and disappeared; Mariuccia followed, closing the door behind her with -a joyful snap; and Carlo Bianchi went back to his book, but for at -least five minutes did not understand a word of the treatise on African -marbles which had so enthralled him earlier. Who was this girl? Where -had she come from? What on earth was she doing in his house, in his -kitchen, as the companion of that tough old war-horse, Mariuccia from -the Castel? He tried to piece<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span> together the few facts which Mariuccia -had told him about her in the dim past. None of them quite accounted -for her as he had beheld her just now, and at last he gave the question -up, deciding that "Giannella" (that seemed to be her only name) was a -problem which he would waste valuable time in trying to solve.</p> - -<p>And the Professor, who knew less about her than anyone else, had -catalogued Giannella rightly. She was a problem. What future lay before -her when she should have read through the odd dozen of gaudily bound -prize books that she had brought back from the convent, when she should -have exhausted the delights of embroidering Church vestments and bridal -trousseaux, the persons most interested in her welfare, with the one -exception of Mariuccia, who, loving much, believed all things, would -have found it hard to say. After all, that was scarcely their affair. -If her fresh youth was destined to burn itself out over the embroidery -frame in the bare little room beyond the kitchen, and her bright eyes -to grow dim over invisible stitches in gossamer cambric—well, that was -destiny's business. They had done what they could.</p> - -<p>Giannella herself was not concerned with her future, but she soon came -to realize that the present was anything but cheering. The silent -house, the confined life, the absence of young companionship, all -struck as coldly at her heart now as it had nine years before when -she had flung herself into Mariuccia's arms and entreated to be taken -back to Mamma<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span> Candida and the pigs and the donkey. After the breezy, -healthy existence at the convent, lighted by a thousand interests and -shared by numberless bosom friends with whom she had grown up, it -was torturing to sit for hours over the work which had been made so -pleasant by talk and variety over there at Santa Eulalia, to have only -Mariuccia, ever kind but so unresponsive, as a companion; to see the -sunshine through her window and watch the cloudlets chasing across the -blue in the breeze, and know that she was a prisoner except for a short -walk with Mariuccia in the morning, first to Mass at San Severino and -then to the near shops where they did their marketing. Even when work -was to be returned to Signora Dati and materials for more brought back, -Mariuccia must accompany her, for no girl of her age could cross the -threshold of her home alone, much less run the gauntlet of the grooms -hanging round the stables and the posse of footmen in the Princess's -antechamber. How different from the liberty she had enjoyed in the -sunswept gardens of the school beyond the river. But the teachings -received there, and a certain strain of courage and hardihood derived -from her northern ancestry, helped her to shake off her growing -depression and show a cheerful face to life, whatever privations it -might choose to bring.</p> - -<p>The periodical visits to Signora Dati in the great apartment on the -other side of the courtyard became a distinct interest and pleasure. -They gave her a glimpse into a large, majestic mode of life which had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span> -its own romance; and though "romance" was a word Giannella had scarcely -heard, its glamor warmed and lighted her imagination and brought her -much wordless consolation; for romance is the very sap of the tree of -youth and finds its own sustenance without external help or guidance. -Since Don Onorato had really grown up a certain element of color and -change had crept into the over-ascetic atmosphere of his mother's -surroundings. Her brother, the Cardinal, had done much to effect this, -both openly, by representing that the lad should find brightness and -sympathy with his young tastes in his home, and also more subtly, by -bringing fresh books, travels, essays, even good novels, always with -the plea that they might amuse Onorato and keep him from wasting his -time on inferior literature. As the Princess still felt it her duty to -read anything she recommended to her son, the Cardinal's contributions -helped her to pass many pleasant hours and also to enlarge her views -in many directions. When, according to her custom, she visited -Onorato's rooms to see that all was right there, she would carry -off any suspicious-looking volume and leave something better in its -place, and though Onorato was a grown man by this time, his awe of her -prevented his ever protesting against these exchanges. As time went on -he learned to put away the attractively scandalous French novels which -were occasionally smuggled into the city in spite of the tyrannical -censorship which examined every atom of print that was put into the -post or set in circulation, ruthlessly burned all immoral works<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span> -or indecent pictures, and aroused the anger of freeborn foreigners -by cutting out of the newspapers all scandalous or revolutionary -items. Sad days of bigotry and darkness, when evil was stamped out as -thoroughly as organization and power would permit—when any woman, -from a foreign peeress to a dancer at the opera, was sent across the -frontier the moment her behavior overstepped the bounds of propriety. -If well-brought-up young men went wrong, they had at least to take some -trouble to accomplish it.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER VII</h2> - -<p>It was ten o'clock in the morning and Giannella was waiting alone -in the second anteroom for the advent of Signora Dati. Mariuccia, -after also waiting a little, had left her, saying she would return in -half-an-hour to fetch her; meanwhile there was work to do at home, -and she was loth to waste any more time. At the end of a few months -of her new life, waiting had become a familiar trial to Giannella. -She often had to sit for a couple of hours in Signora Dati's room -while the Princess's lieutenant interviewed the numberless clients and -employees of the family, attended to the commands of the Excellency, -inspected the mountains of linen in the "guarda roba," and kept an eye -on the maids, all of whom were under her supervision and kept entirely -apart, in employment, housing, and feeding, from the men-servants, -for whom Ferretti, the maestro di casa, was alone responsible. When -Signora Dati knew that some time must elapse before she could speak -to Giannella, the latter was brought at once to her room, there to -occupy herself as best she might until her turn came. When the moment -at last arrived the pale little lady would glide in, sink into a chair -with a half-suppressed sigh of intense fatigue, and then throw herself -gallantly into the matter in hand with as much energy as if it had been -the first task of her day.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span> Each question that came up was gone into -thoroughly—whether the passion-flowers on the violet chasuble should -be picked out with crystal or amethyst beads; whether the web of beauty -which was to be the wedding handkerchief of Donna Laura Bracciano, the -Princess's niece, should have square or rounded corners; whether the -coarse but ample layettes piled up in the left-hand cupboard, for the -Foundling Hospital had better be counted over once again to make sure -that each was complete? In all these handiworks Giannella was employed -as best suited the needs of the moment, and nothing connected with them -seemed too infinitesimal for Signora Dati's profound consideration. -Giannella, who took her instructions day after day, conceived a deep -admiration for the character of the dignified but self-effacing -subordinate, who was often white to the lips with weariness but -who never neglected one of the thousand minutiæ of her overlapping -responsibilities.</p> - -<p>On this particular morning a treat was in store for Giannella. After -Mariuccia's departure word had come that Signora Dati was obliged -to go out and would take the "ricamatrice" (embroideress) with her. -She would join her in the sala in a few minutes. After receiving the -message Giannella sat tingling with pleasant excitement at the prospect -before her and ready to jump up the moment Signora Dati should appear. -The door opened suddenly and she ran forward with a smile of greeting, -ran almost into the arms of a young man who seemed to be choking with -laughter—Onorato, fresh from a long<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span> maternal lecture on the sin and -folly of owning too many expensive horses. He stopped half way and just -saved Giannella, crimson and rooted to the spot with embarrassment, -from impact with his singularly radiant waistcoat. She knew at once who -he was; only the son of the house would venture to race through it in -that fashion. But he, surprised for once out of his manners, stared at -her, took in the charming face with its arrested smile, appraised the -Etruscan gold of the hair under its light lace covering, found time -to wonder who the girl was and why she had seemed so pleased and then -so distressed at seeing him; then, with a word of apology, he passed -out of the room, much more sedately than he had entered it. Giannella, -conscious of having made an unpardonable mistake in thus thrusting -herself into his path, sank back into her seat, pale and trembling. -What would Signora Dati say?</p> - -<p>Signora Dati, coming upon the scene a moment later, and receiving -Giannella's almost tearful apology for her stupidity, smiled away her -anxieties at once. The Prince would not be offended—oh dear no. He -was most amiable and simple; it might have happened to anybody; it -was his fault, not Giannella's. He always rushed about the house in a -hurry, knocking things down sometimes as he dashed through the rooms. -He was still such a boy! Signora Dati smiled with the incorrigible -indulgence of middle-aged spinsterhood for impetuous young masculinity. -Yes, Giannella might set her mind at rest, the Prince would certainly -have forgotten all about her before he was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span> half way down the stairs. -Had she brought the patterns with her? Here they were at Massoni's, -and now for the white velvet for Donna Laura's wedding dress. Oh, -Giannella would have to treat the material like melting sugar when -she embroidered it. A breath, a speck of dust—and irretrievable ruin -would follow. Yes, please Sora Luisa, her Excellency had selected the -pattern, and now it must be seen in the piece, in a good light.</p> - -<p>The magnificent material was reverently unrolled and spread out in -snowy, sumptuous billows in the sunshine. Signora Dati examined it -with the gravity of the expert, and Giannella stood by, trying to find -the answer to the first disquieting question that had ever presented -itself to her mind. What mysterious ruling caused one girl to be born -Donna Laura Bracciano, clothed her in robes beautiful enough for an -angel, bestowed upon her at seventeen the dignity of espousing a young -man as fortunate as herself, amid the rejoicings and congratulations -of hundreds of friends—and decided that Giannella Brockmann, without -a relation of her own in the world, was to be a dependent on charity, -working in a lonely room for ten hours a day to pay charity's account? -There was no rebellion in her thoughts as she meditated on the problem, -only wonder, and a strange new sense of bereavement—the unconscious -hunger for something young and sweet to love and laugh with, the -reaching out of the plant in the shade to its comrades tossing their -heads in the sun.</p> - -<p>The encounter with Don Onorato, the light-hearted<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span> heir to accumulated -honors and wealth, the catching mirth that seemed bubbling over in his -laugh, in his bright face, had shaken her peace in some way, had, as -it were, blown aside the gray veil which closed in her own existence, -and shown her in a flash all that lay outside of it—for others. And -now the pictured vision of the radiant bride on whose finery she must -work till her back ached and her eyes smarted, had driven home the -sense of privation like a sword. The keenest pain of it all lay in the -fact that the few denizens of her tiny world took her fate as a settled -question, a matter of course, and considered that she ought to be -enthusiastically grateful for it. Ah, she was grateful, yes indeed, she -appreciated all that had been done for her by kind human beings; but if -they, on whom she had no claim, were so good and generous, could not -the Giver of all good things have been a little open-handed too? It all -seemed strange and sad, and Divine love just a little less loving than -she had been taught to believe.</p> - -<p>During the next two or three weeks Giannella had several glimpses -of Onorato Santafede. Once she and Mariuccia met him on the great -staircase; twice he burst into Signora Dati's room when she was sitting -there receiving instructions about the design of orange blossoms and -roses to be embroidered in silver on the grand white velvet dress. -Signora Dati smiled at the young gentleman, attended to his imperious -commands about some silk handkerchiefs which he declared had been -vilely mishandled by the laundrymaids, and seemed totally unconscious -that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span> the true object of his visit was to have another look at the -young embroideress, who stood silently aside and never opened her -lips during his laughing colloquy with the domestic oracle of the -household. No nascent romance had caught him in its web; Onorato -was as free from romance as most young Romans of his class, which, -whatever its failings, has rarely loved out of its sphere and in which -a <i>mésalliance</i> is practically a thing unknown. But he frankly admired -beauty, and enjoyed looking at Giannella as he would have enjoyed -contemplating a charming and rather strange picture. He had discovered -that she was the official embroideress for the family, that she was -often in the house, and he saw no reason for not taking advantage -of the facts to pass a pleasant moment or two in her presence. The -instant he entered the room, Giannella seemed relegated to Limbo by its -mistress. She simply did not exist until Onorato had departed. And he -was in the habit of lingering there sometimes, for it was the room to -which he had been accustomed to come all his life, first with childish -joys and sorrows, afterwards with his little fastidiousnesses about -wardrobe and service; and often, since he was a kind-hearted young -autocrat, to cheer up "that victim of piety and recluse of duty," as he -called Signora Dati, with some bit of fun and mischief.</p> - -<p>But the perspicacious little lady, while smiling at his extravagances, -noted that his eyes rested long on the golden head and half-averted -face near the window, and she decided that under no circumstances<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span> -must he find Giannella there again. Who could tell what evil snare the -devil (whose frantic machinations Signora Dati saw in every departure -from the established order of things) might not weave around two young -people who saw each other continually, even if no word passed between -them? She would say nothing to the Princess, but in future Giannella -should only come when she was sent for, and that would be when Onorato -was safely out of the house. He probably did not know that she lived -just across the courtyard, for he was never up in time to see her go -out with Mariuccia. All would be well, and the Excellency, who had so -much on her noble mind, need never even hear of her faithful acolyte's -passing anxiety.</p> - -<p>And all would have been well had not Onorato, who took a profane -delight in exploiting his solemn mother's complete lack of humor, -come in that evening to take his place at table with a long face and -some heavy sighs. To the Princess's anxious questions he replied that -he was not ill, but that a strange melancholy had come over him. He -believed—mamma must keep his secret—he really believed he had fallen -in love! There!</p> - -<p>Mamma gave a cry like a soul in pain, and then braced herself for the -worst. Onorato had been singularly stubborn in the matter of taking a -wife and to all his mother's entreaties had replied that life was very -pleasant now, that no one could say what marriage would make of it, -and finally that when mamma found a woman as charming as herself to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span> -propose to him he would think about it—not till then. Thus placated, -the Princess would hold her peace for a while, but Heaven was daily -stormed with prayers for the ideal daughter-in-law. Consternation -and hope divided her feelings at this sudden announcement. Unaided, -unguided—was it yet possible that her son's choice had fallen on some -really desirable maiden? With clasped hands she entreated him to speak, -she could bear the suspense no longer.</p> - -<p>Then the young rascal, with much sham hesitation and contrition, -confessed that his heart was gone from him forever—into the keeping of -the exquisitely beautiful creature who embroidered the family arms on -the sheets and towels! The Princess sank back in her chair, white with -the shock. This was the most dreadful thing that could have happened. -"My son," she gasped, "do you know what you are saying? But this is -perfectly horrible. I cannot believe it."</p> - -<p>"I never meant you to, you dear, solemn, innocent mamma," he cried, -laughing as he jumped up and came to throw his arms round her neck -and kiss her—he was very much of a child for all his twenty-eight -years—"I was only joking. Don't you understand? When I fall in -love—oh then there really will be trouble, for I intend to devote my -whole attention to the accomplishment. But now—no. There mamma mia -cara, smile again. Your little embroideress is as pretty as an angel, -but I am not going to make a fool of myself by losing my heart to her.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span> -Come, let us find her a husband. Wouldn't you like to marry her to -Ferretti? They say he is looking out for a second wife."</p> - -<p>The Princess rallied her courage with a heroic effort and pretended -to believe him. Calling up a strained smile, she said, "These are -not proper subjects for joking, my son. Marriage is a sacrament, -matrimony a holy state into which I trust you will enter with fitting -dispositions when the time comes. You are quite old enough, you know I -was thinking—"</p> - -<p>"For the love of Heaven," cried Onorato, terrified in his turn, "don't -'think,' I conjure you, don't think. You promised not to speak again on -that subject for at least six months. As for fitting dispositions, I -have not the first symptom of the disease at present and cannot imagine -where I shall find them when the fatal moment arrives. If Churchmen -could drive fast horses I assure you I could more easily catch the -distemper called a vocation. Uncle Paolo was a wise man and he strikes -me as a very happy one."</p> - -<p>"Your uncle had two elder brothers when he decided to enter the -Church," the Princess replied. "It pleased God to remove them before -either of them was married—a great misfortune. Pray speak of these -subjects with proper respect, Onorato."</p> - -<p>"I will respect everything—so long as it leaves me alone," he said -rather crossly. Really dear mamma made every word he spoke the occasion -for a lecture. What would become of him if there were another woman in -the house doing the same? He saluted her abruptly and went away to his -own rooms. </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span></p> - -<p>It was a long time before he caught sight of Giannella again. By eight -o'clock the next morning a note was brought to her from Signora Dati, -stating that there was much going on in the house at present, and that -the Excellency had intimated that it would be more convenient for her -to have the work sent across to the Professor's apartment, where the -writer would call in person on Tuesdays and Saturdays to inspect its -progress. Giannella need not come to the piano nobile in future.</p> - -<p>So the last door was shut on her prison, doubtless, as she told -herself, through some misdemeanor of her own. Tears welled up in her -eyes. Life meant to be cruel. For the first time a little line marked -itself between her brows and the fresh curves of her mouth closed in -a straight line. Then she dried her eyes angrily and sat down to the -embroidery frame where the silver orange blossoms on Donna Laura's -wedding dress were beginning to cover the material with regal splendor -of bloom.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER VIII</h2> - -<p>San Severino, as you pass under the portico of its front entrance, -appears to be very much like other Roman churches, spacious, -marble-floored, roofed with frescoed cupola and rounded arches; its -wide nave is flanked with chapels, some unowned and bare; others, -the vested property of great families, gorgeously or artistically -decorated, marking to the experienced eye the precise date of each -family's apogee of power—pure pre-Raphaelite, Renaissance, Barocco, -First Empire sham classic, Gregory the Sixteenth tawdry stucco and -color. Even the latest abomination, however, is chastened into harmony -by the merciful siftings of years, by the ever-lessening light which -struggles through the darkened yellow of windows set too high in dome -and walls to be meddled with more than once or twice in a century. When -the sun strikes them, long swathes of dusty gold shoot transversely -down the unpeopled spaces of the church touching the mote-laden air -to slow vibrations of light, calling back to a mockery of life some -periwigged or pseudo-classic bust on a monument, or lingering on the -lovely, flower-tinted lines of a Renaissance tomb. It is Rome in the -church as elsewhere, Rome, superbly indifferent to the quality of the -spoils Time chooses to fling in her lap, because she has but to let -them lie there awhile in the supernal alembic<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span> of her glory-haunted -air, to have them subdued, ripened, enriched, and finally incorporated -into her own stricken yet transcendent beauty.</p> - -<p>Out of the last chapel to the right of the High Altar of San Severino a -low swing door gives access to a darker, dimmer sanctuary, formerly a -choir, as the blackened stalls and lecterns testify, but now used only -once a month for the meeting of the Sodality of the Bona Mors. An unlit -altar rises against one wall, supporting a painting always curtained -from the dampness save when the doors are closed to the public and the -members congregate for their exercises. Only a few can tell what the -picture represents—whether Saint Joseph breathes his last sigh in -the arms of God Incarnate, or the Penitent Thief writhes on his cross -beside the King of the Jews. "Morte certa, modo incerto," the veiled -shrine seems to whisper, and something cold and deathly in the air -brings the first axiom at least shudderingly home to those who pass -through.</p> - -<p>Beyond this chapel lies a small irregular chamber, its walls and -pavement of marble so darkened with age that it is hard to decipher -the inscriptions with which both are covered, brief Latin epitaphs -recording the names of the dead who lie in the crypt below, good monks -of an order which once prayed in the little chapel of the Bona Mors and -has been superseded and absorbed in the course of centuries, even as -its modest temple has been absorbed and dominated by the great church -of San Severino.</p> - -<p>A heavy leather curtain hangs over the outer door<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span> of the marble -chamber of epitaphs, and is lifted for those who pass in and out by -courteous mendicants of a more retiring disposition than those who -guard the grand portico. A long, narrow courtyard, high walled but -pleasantly open to the sky, and ornamented with a fountain made out of -an acanthus capital, marks the final limits of the sacred premises, -which run, from the Ripetta, parallel with the Santafede palace, -through the entire block to the piazza of that name. The palace has its -imposing front on the piazza, but the back door of San Severino leads -into an obscure street opening out of the square. The street is narrow -and crooked, shut in between the side walls of two or three ancient -palaces, great houses of diminished splendors, whose owners do not -disdain to let the ground floors of these purlieus as livery stables -and small shops. Over one dark, malodorous doorway hangs a picture of a -fearfully obese cow, sadly contemplating a yellow ochre field under a -cracked blue sky, denoting that milk and butter are to be had within. -From a cavernous den opposite, an avalanche of vegetables invades -the sidewalk, crisp green lettuces, scarlet tomatoes, the magically -fragrant fennel, pumpkins like globes of battered gold—the cornucopia -of Ceres seems to be shaken out on the worn stones every morning. But -Ceres has grown old; she sits, dark-browed, saturnine, wrinkled, on a -low chair in the midst of her trophies, knitting stockings. Customers -pause, select their purchases, hold up as many fingers as may represent -the coppers they suppose them to be worth, and look<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span> inquiringly at -Ceres. She bends a frowning glance on the questioner; if the guess be -right, she nods her head; if mistaken, she corrects it by the same -finger language; and the coppers drop into the basket where her ball -of yarn dances at her feet. Few venture to bargain with Sora Rosa; she -considers it waste of time. People pay and carry away the stuff; or -they will not pay, and then somebody else will, for there is no other -vegetable stall within ten minutes' walk, and who is going to risk an -apoplexy from over-exercise?</p> - -<p>In the early morning, great ladies, quietly dressed, glide past Sora -Rosa, avoid the horses which are being confidentially curried in the -street, and disappear through the low doorway into the court of San -Severino on their way to Mass. During the rest of the day the genial -squalor of the Via Tresette is not disturbed by any jarring reminder -of the prosperity and cleanliness of neighboring quarters. Near the -ground at any rate all is dark, promiscuous, and prehistoric so far as -modern ways are concerned. But the monastery building of San Severino -rises up and up, a long, irregular pile, reaching the higher air -and the sunshine at last, and breaking out into little terraces and -balconies, flowery and bird-haunted, where the Fathers whom Fra Tommaso -served with such zeal took their rest after the labors of the day. -Fra Tommaso's own little loggia, the hanging garden which Giannella -had begged to be taken to see so many years ago, was one of these, -the least accessible from the larger apartments, but possessing for -its<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span> owner the immense advantage of looking directly down into the -Via Santafede and commanding a view of a section of the piazza at one -end and of the Ripetta at the other; also of some fifty windows of -the palace itself. The incorrigible amateur of the human drama, as he -climbed from his forum, the church, to his villa, the loggia, always -thanked Heaven for having cast his lines in pleasant places, and pitied -his immediate opposite neighbors, Mariuccia and Giannella, for being -exposed to the distracting temptations and vanities of the world and -at the same time deprived of the delights of flower tending and pigeon -feeding which he enjoyed on his terrace.</p> - -<p>The vanities of the world had only approached Giannella by proxy for -a long time past. Since Onorato's chance admiration and his untimely -bit of farce had closed the doors of the piano nobile to her, life had -become so narrow, so uniform, that she hardly recognized it for life -at all. Three colorless years had slipped by; good Signori Dati was -dead; the Princess, busy as ever, but in failing health, seemed to have -forgotten her former protegé's very existence. The brief churchgoing -and shopping with Mariuccia, the needlework by which she still earned -small sums from ladies who remembered her address, the assistance -rendered in housework and in waiting on the Professor, who, after his -first surprise at her presence, never seemed to know whether she or -Mariuccia brought him his meals—these made the round of Giannella's -days; and since she had, in obedience to the advice of her spiritual -director, put rebellion<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span> down and accepted her fate by sheer effort -of will, she lacked even the stimulus of conflict with her unnatural -destiny. She had not lost either her health or her beauty in the strait -abode of frowning circumstance, but her buoyancy seemed gone; her eyes -were deep rather than bright, and no gallant resolve to smile on life -could keep the corners of her pretty mouth from drooping pathetically -out of the happy upward curves of her childhood. That period was so -long past that it seemed to belong to life on another planet, one -much nearer the sun than this earth; but when, as in piety bound, she -made one meditation a month on the joys of paradise, the angels, and -the heavenly gardens and the celestial music, slid into the familiar -semblance of her friends and play-fellows at Castel Gandolfo, the -vineyards and the chestnut woods, the barking of the old dog—the -braying of the donkey—Madonna Santissima, what abominable sacrilege -were her thoughts committing? Dogs and donkeys in heaven? Those -red-cheeked, dusty-legged contadini children as angels of the Lord? Oh, -what a wicked girl Giannella Brockmann must be—and what would Padre -Anselmo say when she told him?</p> - -<p>She had fallen into this grievous sin for the twentieth time one -winter afternoon. The light was failing, and as she rose from her seat -to put her work away, the door bell, grown terribly decrepit in its -advanced age, jangled with an imperious querulousness which announced -a stranger. The Professor always handled it with tender care for fear -of expense in repairs. Mariuccia, who seemed to have grown suddenly -old, came out from the back room groaning<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span> with headache, for which she -had applied her favorite remedy of tufts of "madrecara" stuffed up her -nostrils. The sight of her thus adorned was one of the few things which -still made Giannella shake with laughter; the dear old face resembled a -boar's head in a butcher's window at Christmas time.</p> - -<p>"Go back to bed, Mariuccia," said the girl, "I will see who it is. The -padrone is in his study. I had better ask him if he wishes to see any -visitors."</p> - -<p>She went quickly down the passage, pausing to put her head in at the -study door. The Professor had grown older too, and bent more closely -over his book than of yore. Not risking speech, Giannella looked a -question as he raised his head; he nodded assent, and then the bell -began its crazy dance again. Giannella hastily opened the front door -and found herself face to face with a short, rather stout man, whose -features she could not discern in the gloom, but who asked in an -imperious tone whether the distintissimo Professor were at home. At the -same time he handed her a card, from which she decided that this must -be his first visit to the house.</p> - -<p>"Favorisca," she murmured, and the stout gentleman followed her to -Bianchi's room. She saw the Professor rise and come forward with a -puzzled air, and heard the visitor begin an apology for his intrusion. -Then she closed the door on them and went back to the kitchen, not -sufficiently interested even to glance at the card, which she dropped -on the little table beside the umbrella-stand in the passage.</p> - -<p>"Is he never going, then, this cataplasm of a <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span>visitor?" exclaimed -Mariuccia an hour later. "The padrone's supper is ready and spoiling. -Take in the lamp, Giannella. They must be in the dark in there."</p> - -<p>When Giannella entered the study, lamp in hand, she found that Bianchi -had lighted a candle and was examining some papers, which he laid -down quickly on seeing her. His sallow cheeks were flushed, and as he -glanced up it struck the girl that his eyes looked unusually bright.</p> - -<p>Opposite to him, leaning back in an arm-chair, sat the visitor, whom -the light revealed as a youngish man with narrow black eyes and a round -countenance, evidently intended for smiles, but disciplined just now -into a kind of judicial severity which could not altogether suppress -the under element of amusement with which he was regarding his host.</p> - -<p>He too glanced quickly up at the girl who stood in the doorway, the -lamp she carried illuminating her fair hair and grave young face. -After a moment's hesitation she advanced and set the lamp on the table -between the two men. Bianchi dropped his hands over the papers and -looked across to his guest.</p> - -<p>"This is Giannella Brockmann, Signor' Avvocato," he said; "you perceive -that she is alive and in good health."</p> - -<p>The stranger rose to his feet and seemed about to speak, but the -Professor raised a warning hand, and, turning to Giannella, dismissed -her with a nod of the head. As she closed the door she heard him say -hurriedly, "Later, later. Not at present—it is a nervous temperament."</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span></p> - -<p>Her curiosity was aroused from its years of sleep, awakened as by the -twang of a bowstring letting an invisible arrow fly past her. Was -Bianchi referring to her? What was the communication which the other -had wished to make and which he had arrested so peremptorily? She had -scarcely had time to formulate the queries in her mind when she heard -murmurs of farewells, the sound of the front door closing, and the -Professor's footsteps returning to his study, where he locked himself -in. It was all very unusual.</p> - -<p>She did not see the padrone again that evening, for Mariuccia, still -wearing her satyr-like adornment, took the tray from her hands and -carried in his supper. The next day, however, Giannella was surprised -by his pausing, as he met her in the passage, to return her dutiful -"good-morning," a mark of interest which he had never shown before. A -little later he actually called her by name and showed her a row of -books on a lower shelf, which, he said, required dusting. Mariuccia -seemed unwell, and she had much to do; would Giannella undertake to -dust the books regularly? He would be much obliged.</p> - -<p>When she informed Mariuccia of this order the old woman laughed -sardonically. "It has taken him a great many years to find out that I -have much to do," she sneered, "and I have waited on him when I was so -shaking with fever that the plates rattled in my hands—and he never -noticed that I was ill. Cipicchia! That visitor must have been an angel -in disguise, to have thus opened the padrone's heart to poor<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span> you and -me, Giannella. Let us hope that he will soon come again."</p> - -<p>He did come again, two or three times in the course of the next -fortnight, and with each visit the Professor's kind notice of Giannella -increased, until she began to have an uncomfortable feeling in his -hitherto impersonal presence. As she came and went, his eyes followed -her with a growing lambency behind the big spectacles. She was called -into his room on frivolous pretexts, and one day he asked her if she -could kindly cook his supper. Mariuccia had brought in some polpetti, -and he had remarked that Giannella cooked polpetti divinely.</p> - -<p>Mariuccia's sharp eyes had marked the padrone's new attitude and -she was much disquieted. Was it possible that at fifty-seven he was -committing the folly of falling in love? And that, suddenly and -unreasonably, with the girl who had waited on him for years past -without winning so much as a word or a glance of recognition from him? -If so, it was nothing but bewitchment, dark bewitchment. The lawyer who -came to see him now must be quite the opposite of an angel, since the -spell dated from his first visit. The spell had evidently been cast by -him.</p> - -<p>Well, she would counteract it if she could. Giannella should not go -near that fatal sitting-room and its occupant if she could help it. -Giannella seconded the precautionary measures with all her might. -She was thankful to be spared the attentions which were becoming -too obvious to be ignored. Resolutely she stayed at the other end -of the house, but Bianchi<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span> took to wandering over there after her. -She pondered on the possibility of paying for a place in the vettura -and taking refuge with the old friends at Castel Gandolfo; but money -was painfully scarce; she and Mariuccia now depended entirely on the -latter's wages and on the fifteen baiocchi a day which her generous -master had so unwillingly granted when she first came to live with him -twenty years before. No, a journey was out of the question; the prison -doors could not be pushed ajar.</p> - -<p>The door was opening even now, but Giannella had no premonition of it. -Having attained the sober age of twenty without possessing a single -young acquaintance in Rome (for none of her former schoolfellows lived -in that remote quarter), she was allowed by Mariuccia, when the old -joints felt stiff, to go out alone sometimes for Mass and marketing. -Mariuccia's dreams of a bright future for her foster-child were fading -sadly away at last; Giannella would be considered an old maid in -another year or two, and the good young man with fifty thousand scudi -had never come. Instead, by an ugly "scherzo" of fate, Carlo Bianchi, -the shrunken recluse who had never looked at anything more closely -resembling a woman than some statue thousands of years old, dead and -cold as the creature deserved to be for having been perpetuated in -such indecent nudity, Carlo Bianchi was waking up to the fact that -a beautiful young woman was a member of his household; and, unless -Mariuccia's own shrewdness was at fault, he would soon propose to -install her as its mistress. </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span></p> - -<p>With all his failings, his domestic tyrant could not credit him -with baser intentions, but this was bad enough. If he should -succeed—Mariuccia groaned aloud at the possibility—the rest of -Giannella's life would be "in Galera," that of a slave at the galleys. -Let the poor child get out into the air and sunshine, exchange a word -with Fra Tommaso, with stout, smiling Sora Amalia, who lived under the -sign of the cow, even with cross old Sora Rosa, who had so far unbent -to "la Biondina" as to make her a present of figs or cherries once or -twice. It was hard, after all the struggles to keep Giannella a lady, -that she should be reduced to friends like these, that not a person of -her own class should ever remember or notice her. But there, it was -destiny! "Run along, Giannella, and see if ricotta is cheap to-day. The -padrone would like some for his breakfast."</p> - -<p>So Giannella came and went a little more freely, and she did not -attract the attention which the good nuns had dreaded for that -dangerous golden hair when they let their dove fly from the convent -ark four years before. Everyone in the vicinity knew her by sight, and -it was a vicinity whose staid inhabitants rarely changed. The world, -the flesh, and the devil, might go roaring up and down the Corso a few -blocks away, but within sound of the bells of San Severino all was -calm, ancient, safe. Mariuccia's Biondina, as she was called, could -come and go, in her dark dress, with the bit of black lace veiling her -modest head, and no curious or disrespectful glance would follow her. -She could escape from the house and <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span>venture on a little walk by the -river, past the palace where kind Cardinal Cestaldini was basking in a -rarefied atmosphere of contemplation, good works, and learning, could -pass the time of day with Fra Tommaso and the incurables, and linger -among the monuments and frescoes of the church or try to decipher the -inscriptions in the funereal gallery beyond the chapel of the Bona -Mors, all without embarrassment or molestation. And as was natural, the -small, new liberty was sweet and reviving to her repressed youth. She -saw no tragedy in it, as did Mariuccia, to whom the acknowledgment of -Giannella's passing youth and apparently irrevocable spinsterhood was -a bitter trial. She was not sure now that in choosing the single state -for herself she had not made a big mistake; but then she had chosen it -for herself, and that was quite a different thing.</p> - -<p>The winter had softened into spring and the spring warmed to summer, -when Mariuccia's enemy, the mysterious avvocato, made his last visit -to the Professor. He carried an imposing sheaf of papers in his hand -and was accompanied by an older man who looked like a notary, for he -wore even bigger spectacles than the padrone's and his right forefinger -was dyed dark with ink. A few minutes after the two had been admitted, -Giannella was summoned to the study. Some very direct questions were -put to her by the lawyer, as to her name, age, and recollections of -childhood, questions which surprised her greatly, for she could not -imagine why these details should interest strangers. Then a paper was -laid before her which she<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span> was requested to sign. She drew back, a -chill fear coming over her that it might be a marriage contract—that -she was being entrapped into a union with Bianchi, who stood beside -her, breathing hard with suppressed excitement and considerately -holding a sand castor over the page, ready to dry the writing at once. -As she hesitated, he touched her arm with his free hand, and the touch -spelled compelling will. She was conscious that the other two men were -staring at her in bewilderment, and she obeyed—as she had obeyed -authority, in one form or another, all her life, and signed her name.</p> - -<p>Bianchi instantly took possession of the sheet and handed it to the -lawyer, who wrote on it in his turn. Then, as Bianchi signified to -Giannella that she might retire, the lawyer came round to her side -of the table, shook hands with her, congratulated her on her good -fortune, and, with quite a friendly ring in his voice, begged her to -consider his services at her disposal in the future. She thanked him, -inwardly wondering at his optimism. The only good fortune apparent in -her circumstances was the one of having found a shelter and a home—to -which she had less future claim than the swallows to their nests in the -palace eaves.</p> - -<p>Emerging from the study she found Mariuccia hovering near the door, -wild with curiosity and suspicion. Giannella described what had taken -place, and as soon as the visitors had departed Mariuccia stormed into -the study and assailed the Professor with angry questions as to what -the child had been made to sign. What was this indecent secrecy? What -had anyone<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span> to say to Giannella that she, who had brought her up, might -not hear? Was that abominable paper a marriage contract? She would -tear it up and light the fire with it. Did he figure to himself that -Giannella was to be disposed of without Mariuccia Botti's consent?</p> - -<p>Bianchi, who seemed calm and triumphant now, locked the drawer of his -secretary and put the key in his pocket before deigning to reply to her -tirade; indeed its fluency and fury left no opening for reply until -she paused for want of breath, her eyes like coals, her grizzled locks -shaking above her brow like angry snakes. The master had never seen -her in a passion before, and he shrank back instinctively. Then, as -she was opening her lips to speak again, he said quickly and with some -dignity, "Calm yourself, Mariuccia. One does not speak to one's padrone -in that manner. The paper which Giannella signed was just a legal one, -connected with ... business of mine. You cannot write—it would have -been useless to call you in. You perceive that you have made a foolish -mistake? Oh, I forgive you. You have had no instruction, and you women -of the people are ever illogical and suspicious. As to marriage ... -listen to me, and do not transport yourself with anger—it sours the -blood and might bring on an apoplexy which I have so greatly feared for -you, overloading yourself with food as you do. Fifteen baiocchi a day -for one woman. Holy Æsculapius, how have you survived it for twenty -years?"</p> - -<p>"Man without eyes, without vitals," cried Mariuccia, "what do you -suppose Giannella has lived on since<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span> she came back from the convent? -Air? Trevi water? Have I not fed the poor child for years? Have you -ever given her a crumb from your table, a sugar-plum at Epiphany, or a -maritozzo in Lent? Domine Dio, keep Thy Hand on my head or I shall end -by losing patience with this blind and heartless one."</p> - -<p>The Professor was roused to reprisals at last. "Do not imagine that I -am blind, O female without judgment!" he exclaimed. "Gladly would I -have made presents of food to Giannella, though I am a poor man and -could ill afford it—but I perceived that your charity to her might be -the means of saving your life, preventing you from dying of surfeit—a -most painful end. Thus has your good deed already had its reward. But -to show you, O ignorant and audacious one, that I have a true affection -for Giannella and a mind full of generosity I will now—" He choked, -then went on manfully, "I will now give you five baiocchi a day for -her board, out of my own pocket. It is imprudent—I shall suffer—but -I am resolved. Behold." And he held out five dingy coppers in his -half-closed hand.</p> - -<p>Then he found out what Mariuccia meant when she spoke of losing -patience. She came up to him in two strides and shook both hands in his -face. "What?" she screamed, "you want to pay for Giannella now? Why -have you never thought of it before? Four years last Easter she came -home, and never once have you said, 'Mariuccia mia, there is a paul, to -buy something for the girl—what do I know, a cake, a bit of ribbon?' -No, she grew up, she has<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span> waited on you and ironed for you and mended -your old rags of shirts that only hold together by the grace of God. -She has combated with the butcher and the baker and the fishmonger -till they had to take something off their prices for you—they fear -to see her coming, though she is as beautiful as an angel—and you -never even spoke to her till a few weeks ago. But now—the devil in -hell alone knows why—you have suddenly found out that she is good -and pretty, and you make big eyes at her and call her to dust your -wicked old books—and now you have the temerity to offer me money for -her! No indeed, Professore mio, this you shall never do. Go back to -your Veneres and Giunones—I wonder the Holy Father did not send the -shameless females to the galleys for having their portraits taken like -that—and leave Giannella to me."</p> - -<p>Bianchi had not listened to this tide of reproaches, accompanied as it -was by violently menacing gestures, without taking immediate measures -for self-preservation. He edged round the room, keeping his back to -the wall and facing Mariuccia, who followed him step by step, never -allowing the distance between them to diminish by a handbreadth, until -the door was reached. Carefully the Professor put out one hand behind -him and ascertained that it was ajar. Then with amazing agility he -stepped back into the passage, and from there hurled his last bomb. -"You spoke of marriage. Yes, woman of hard head and mountainous -ignorance, I intend to marry Giannella." Then the door was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span> slammed in -Mariuccia's face and the next moment the padrone was flying down the -stairs.</p> - -<p>His enemy, haggard, and trembling from reaction, remained in possession -of the field, but she knew that she was vanquished. When Giannella -heard the front door close she ran to the study, whence sounds of -battle had rolled for the last half-hour. She found her old friend with -her head sunk forward on the table while slow tears trickled through -her knotty fingers all over the padrone's papers. The master had -evidently been put to flight, but Mariuccia's victory seemed to have -been a costly one. She refused to confide to Giannella the subject of -her "piccolo argomento," as she called it, with Bianchi. The long habit -of silence gave her strength to keep her counsel about his alarming -proposal. Taken together with his changed attitude towards the girl, it -could, in her judgment, point to but one thing, "passione," the fatal, -sudden, all-devouring passion in which the Roman believes as blindly as -did the Greek tragedian. This poisoned arrow had entered the padrone's -heart. Mamma mia, here was a complication over which to astrologize -her poor head! Who was going to sustain the combat, day in day out, -under that narrow roof, with an obstinate man who was undoubtedly -being smitten in his dried-up middle age with just retribution for the -unnatural repressions of his youth, and who, moreover, held all the -advantages of the situation, since he was the master of the house? She -did not abandon her belief in the spell which she accused<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span> the strange -lawyer of weaving around the poor man; no, that was a part of the doom; -he was Satan's emissary, permitted, for some inexplicable reason, to -sow the seed which had taken such violent possession of the unfortunate -Professor. He had disappeared when his evil work was done and it could -probably not be undone by anyone else. It was all destiny—but most -afflicting.</p> - -<p>As for telling Giannella—no. Love was not a proper subject to discuss -with young girls, and then, such love as this? So she informed -Giannella that she had been asked to sign the mysterious paper as a -witness to something or other that had no connection with her, and that -the slight disagreement had arisen from Bianchi's irritation at being -questioned. Why had she been crying? Oh, she was feeling "strana" that -day—it was all the fault of the scirocco.</p> - -<p>The Professor returned towards evening, very haughty and dignified. -Mariuccio contradicted all her explanations of the morning by -forbidding Giannella to go near him, and carried in his supper tray -herself, in grim silence more aggressive than words, even those of her -rich vocabulary. She was only waiting for the rattle of a plate or the -turning of a door handle to put an end to the armistice and serve as -a declaration of renewed hostilities, but Bianchi was deaf and dumb. -He informed her, when she came in to remove his tray, that he would be -going to Ostia the next day; his coffee must be ready and his clothes -brushed by seven o'clock. Then he returned to the perusal of a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span> letter, -and Mariuccia, greatly relieved at the prospect of his absence for so -many hours, prayed for the intervention of protecting Providence in -Giannella's affairs before his return—and sat up till late, brushing -his clothes and preparing the frugal lunch which he always carried with -him on such archæological expeditions.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER IX</h2> - -<p>The morning after these disturbing events an exciting stir delighted -the inhabitants of the Via Tresette, the street of the cow. The owner -of the dairy had in the course of years become the proprietor of the -old house which sheltered his trade; and, having prospered of late, -he had built on the roof a new apartment, containing four small rooms -and a large airy studio, which he hoped to let to some painter. His -neighbors had shaken their heads over this bold speculation, but it -seemed that his optimism was justified, for here, at the small door -beside the shop, stood a handcart loaded with stiff-legged easels, -canvases tied together in a red tablecloth, a chair similarly protected -by a green one, the disjointed limbs of an iron bedstead, cooking -utensils, and various odds and ends, all of which proved incontestably -that a tenant had been found for the appartamentino on the roof.</p> - -<p>Beside the cart, helping the perspiring facchino to unload the things, -stood a young man of cheerful countenance and remarkably dapper -costume. Adjuring the porter to move delicately, he unearthed a -life-sized mummy-like object swathed in a drab sheet, which he hoisted -tenderly on the man's back. Then, turning to the landlord, who stood -by, beaming on this visible proof of his own good luck, he begged him, -in <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span>language more elegant than usually echoed through that obscure -thoroughfare, to favor him by keeping an eye on the other belongings -while he accompanied the bearer of this particular treasure up the -stairs.</p> - -<p>No sooner had he disappeared than an excited group gathered round the -owner of the premises to find out all about him. What was his name? Had -he really taken the new room? What rent was he going to pay? Even Sora -Rosa, the sybil among the cabbages opposite, raised her head and cocked -an ear to catch the answer.</p> - -<p>Why yes, the gentleman had taken the studio apartment for three years, -paying half-a-year's rent in advance. (The landlord in the just pride -of his heart mentioned precisely double the sum he had asked and -received.) The signorino's name was Goffi, Rinaldo Goffi, and he was an -artist—but distintissimo. Signor Freschi, the picture dealer in Via -Condotti, bought everything he painted, and for sums!</p> - -<p>At this juncture the distinguished artist came out from the doorway -and, quite unembarrassed by his growing audience, gathered up more of -his properties—a paint box under each arm, a saucepan in one hand and -a wicker cage tied up in a yellow handkerchief in the other, and, thus -loaded, ducked back into the Cimmerian darkness of the passage. The -handcart was now empty, the porter paid, with a joke and a "bicchiere" -thrown in, and Signor Goffi, rather out of breath, ascended the four -flights of stairs and took possession of his new domain.</p> - -<p>He was a Roman of the Romans, although not born<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span> within the walls of -the city. His father, a lawyer of good old provincial stock, had risen -to be mayor of his native town, Orbetello, and, being also the owner of -rich vine lands, was a man of solid position and comfortable fortune. -His eldest son was following in his father's steps, and would inherit -the fat Orbetello property; the second was a rising engineer; and the -third, Rinaldo, having early shown quick intelligence and some artistic -talent, had been sent to Rome for his education, with the understanding -that if he satisfactorily completed his studies at the university he -should be permitted to devote himself to the career of his choice in -the very cradle of Art itself.</p> - -<p>The parental allowance, a very modest one, was to be continued until -he could earn his own living; but having inherited from a maternal -relative a tiny property near Rome, he, as in duty bound, renounced the -allowance in order that his sisters' doweries might be increased, and -lived as Romans so well know how to live, decorously and comfortably, -on a very small income. The "vigna" outside Porta San Giovanni -was cultivated by peasants, whose family had tenanted it for some -generations, on the mezzadria system, an equal division of profits with -the owner. As hardly any taxes were levied in the Papal States, and no -duty assessed on provisions passing the city gates, the full value of -ownership and labor was reaped from the land, and the half-and-half -arrangement, while equally distributing the losses of lean years, -insured to both landlord and tenant the entire benefit of fat ones.</p> - -<p>The lean years had been few in the garden vineyard<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span> outside the Lateran -Gate; the vines flowered into heady fragrance in the divine Roman -spring behind their tall hedges of canes and roses, and bore their -splendid bunches nobly when the late summer rains came to swell, nearly -to bursting, the tightly clustered fruit baked black on the brown stems -whence every leaf had been stripped in August to let the sun and air do -their magic work. Then came the crown of the year, the October vintage, -when every little winepress poured its purple froth from under the -bare feet of the treaders into the seething vat below; when the very -air was wine, from Lombardy to Messina, and each Sunday of the glowing -month brought the population of the city, in gay attire, out to eat and -drink, to laugh and dance and make music, from dawn to dark, in the -garden of the gods, the vinelands of Romagna.</p> - -<p>Rinaldo went with the rest, inviting a chosen party of fellow-students -to the vigna, where the padroncino was always delightedly welcomed and -the best the house could afford brought out for him and his friends. -The meal was served in the open air, by the fountain, under the brown -thatch woven in between the branches of the four cypress-trees as a -shelter from the sun; old songs and young laughter accompanied the -repast; the new wine, cloudy and sweet still and of terrific headiness, -was tasted, and healths drunk in the safer product of past years. -Then a game of bowls was played, a substantial present made to the -"vignarolo," and, in the cool of the evening, the "raggazzi" climbed, -six at a time, into the small open carriage hired for the occasion, -and were borne<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span> back to the town. The jolly driver, who had had his -share of the day's good things, cracked his beribboned whip high over -the heads of the little black horses, who, with roses on their ears -and bows on their tails, frisked gaily along in a cloud of dust, -running races with dozens of other vehicles full of noisy, happy people -twanging guitars and shaking tamborines, very few of them at all the -worse for the innocent orgy. At last came the scamper for the Lateran -Gate before Ave Maria rang and it should be closed for the night, and -the usually severe guardians only smiled at the merry scramble and -closed the huge portals, regretfully when the last carrozzella had -romped safely through.</p> - -<p>Such holidays were the more enjoyed by Rinaldo because they were rare. -In general he led a life as orderly and studious as that of Carlo -Bianchi himself; but it was illuminated with hope for the future, with -pleasure in the present in spite of the slow labor necessary, in spite -of the many discouragements to be lived down before he could attain -even modest proficiency in his kindly art. His chief relaxation in the -summer time was provided by Father Tiber. The "Cannottieri" club had -not been organized in those early days, but its forerunner, a river -boating society, drew the young men together in the warm afternoons and -gave them many a cool swim and invigorating hour of rowing on the full -yellow tide. Rinaldo was a favorite with his compeers, but he never -allowed their importunities to interfere with the great business of his -life, success in his reasonable aims. He had gone through every step -of the art student's course with sturdy <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span>conscientiousness, trusting -nothing to inspiration, avoiding what he recognized as impressionism -(the word itself had not been coined) as he avoided bad women and -sour wine. He never imagined himself a genius; he was content to have -talent and to cultivate it faithfully. Month after month he copied -in the galleries, reverently tracing the perceptive lines of great -masterpieces on his canvas and his memory. Constant work in the Life -School filled the evening hours when the days were short, and humble -acceptance of the master's sharp criticisms corrected any slightest -tendency to conceit. With native shrewdness he had understood that -there was always a market for good, unostentatious work, and he was not -too proud to take commissions for copies when he could not sell his -own really charming little pictures. For Rinaldo had an end in view, -and he worked steadily towards it. Loneliness did not appeal to his -cheerful nature; he meant to find a pretty, sweet-tempered wife as soon -as he could support her, and to have a home as strongly foundationed as -the one in Orbetello, of which he retained admiring and affectionate -memories.</p> - -<p>Having no fortune beyond the small income derived from the vigna, he -could not expect to marry a girl with much of a dowry; in such matters -a certain similarity of circumstances was the accepted rule. So he -put by all that it was possible for him to save, resolved to marry -while young and in love with life, and equally resolved to feel no -pinch of poverty afterwards. His attitude was one not at all uncommon -among his fellow-students and contemporaries; nothing could have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span> been -further from the happy-go-lucky Bohemianism of the foreign artistic -coteries, Scandinavian, German, Anglo-Saxon, which swarmed in Rome -at that time. There is but one calling which makes Bohemians of the -sober-going yet light-hearted children of Latium, the musical one. -What would you have? When a man is born with a voice that can sing the -stars down from heaven and the angels from paradise, is it not to be -expected that he should also be born drunk with celestial wine? When -he can compose operas whose airs, after the first hearing, are sung in -every alley of the city—as happened the morning after the production -of the <i>Trovatore</i>—no one can demand that he should understand the -intricacies of account books. It is the world's business to see to the -daily wants of its Orpheuses and Apollos—and the world, as a rule, -attends to the obligation nobly.</p> - -<p>When Rinaldo took possession of his new studio he felt that he was -marking an important point on the road of his ambitions. Hitherto he -had shared the workshop of a friend, in the warren of studios which -climb from the Via Babuino to the lower terraces of the Pincian Hill. -Now, having sold some small pictures, and having secured through -the dealer an order from a rich foreigner for a large one, he felt -justified in assuming the responsibilities of quiet, airy quarters -where he could work without interruptions. As he sat among his queer -belongings—scattered over the floor in wild disorder—an unreasoning -joy took possession of him, a certainty that he had found more in this -new home than clean, bright rooms and a <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span>superb north light. He rose -and walked about, exploring his new domain, and lingering on the little -terrace to breathe in the breeze which, rioting over from the coast, -twenty miles away, seemed to disdain ever to sink into the hot streets -so far below.</p> - -<p>His attention was called to material things by the protests of -the inhabitant of the wicker cage, still wrapped in the yellow -handkerchief. He took it up gently and in a moment liberated a splendid -gray and purple pigeon, which hopped on his shoulder and began to preen -its ruffled feathers with a deeply injured air. "My poor Themistocles," -Rinaldo apologized, "I had forgotten all about you. And your grain is -spilt and your cup is empty." Gravely he attended to the creature's -wants, while it fluttered about, taking in all the possibilities of -the place. Themistocles was accused by Rinaldo's friends of being a -most uncanny bird, watching their actions with a sarcastic eye and -understanding many things which did not come within his province at -all. Though he was allowed to roam at will over the housetops he always -returned to his master in the evening and generally slept on the head -of the lay figure, the carefully swathed treasure which had so excited -the curiosity of the denizens of the street of the cow.</p> - -<p>Rinaldo had become so accustomed to this quaint feathered companion -that he would have felt lonely without him; indeed Themistocles had -been the recipient of many a confidence and ambition which his master -would have betrayed to no articulate listener. One must talk to -something about the things nearest<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span> one's heart, and it was fine to -have a confidant who never objected or contradicted.</p> - -<p>In an hour the properties were all in place. The little platform was -set in the best light, and the ancient chair, topped with gilt cherubs -and covered with ragged crimson velvet, was placed on it at the usual -angle. How many cardinals, fair ladies, and swaggering bravos had sat -in that chair during the last few years! Of each and all the corporeal -body was supplied by the trusty lay figure, which, now liberated from -its cerecloth, disclosed the amputation of one leg below the knee, the -dislocation of the other, incurable paralysis of the fingers; a pink -but blistered countenance, a nose injured by contact with a mahlstick -hurled at it by Rinaldo's former studio companion; vacuous blue eyes -and a set smile completed the model's attractions, and these were -crowned by a damaged wig of a sickly yellow hue, much impoverished -by the attentions of Themistocles, who was in the habit of tearing -out locks of hair when playing at building a nest in the angle of the -least-used easel. In a few minutes, however, the warworn veteran of -the studio was sitting in the gilt chair, cleverly robed in the red -tablecloth and impersonating a cardinal in full canonicals; a large -canvas was brought out, the dear, bedaubed paint boxes opened, the -favorite palette loaded with its daily rainbow of colors—and behold -Rinaldo, forgetful of everything else, utterly happy, absorbed in his -immortal work for the rich foreigner.</p> - -<p>That evening he sat and smoked on his loggia, lifted far above the -nightmare of fever which stalks in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span> lowlying streets on summer -nights. He felt that he had come into a new world, where stars and -sky were a part of the bargain. Going over to the balustrade he -leaned out and looked down into the street—a chasm of blackness at -that hour—then up at the violet dome of the heavens quivering with a -thousand points of tender radiance, and, remembering his schooldays, -softly quoted, "Donde uscimmo a riveder le stelle!"</p> - -<p>He too had left his purgatory behind and had entered a paradise -all-sufficing to his simple soul, save for one thing, it contained -no Beatrice. He did not call her that, however. Dante's impersonal -goddess would never have filled the vacant throne in Rinaldo's heart. -The unattainable had no charms for him, and the idea of worshiping -another man's wife at a respectful distance seemed both a mortal sin -and a waste of time; he meant to fall joyfully in love with his own -wife; and, being a sincere beauty worshiper, permitted himself to paint -an enchanting picture of the future Signora Goffi. For hard-working, -economical Rinaldo, with all his respect for conventionalities and -his sound Roman sense, was at heart an exuberant idealist and had -never considered it necessary to even clip the plumes of his radiant -imagination. He had not yet beheld, but he was sure he should find, the -face of holy fairness, the eyes of innocence and love, the golden hair -that was to be crown and halo in one—the dear, pretty sister of angels -and pattern of housekeepers whom he resolutely intended to marry.</p> - -<p>He fell asleep wondering what kind of paper she would ask him to put on -these whitewashed walls,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span> and woke—as it seemed to him, immediately -afterwards—with a violent start, to find the air full of the pealing -of bells, the bells of San Severino, which Fra Tommaso was ringing with -all his might for the first Mass.</p> - -<p>He jumped up and ran out on the terrace, pleased as a schoolboy, to see -what everything looked like at this early hour. Glancing over the iron -balustrade, he discovered that it lay at a right angle to the street -and looked directly into the back court of San Severino. The connection -with the church was evident, for there was a mendicant lifting the -leather curtain for a lady to pass in. The first ray of the sun shot -over the farther wall and lit on a golden head just disappearing under -the curtain; the beggar made an aggrieved gesture and stretched out his -hand for alms. Then the lady stepped back into the sunshine and stood -for a moment seeking for something in her purse. Yes, the head was -golden—Rinaldo's heart leaped for joy—and the fingers that dropped a -copper in the outstretched hand were white and fine. Then the curtain -was lifted once more, the lady disappeared, and the court was empty -save for the beggar, who at once assumed his professionally forlorn air -so as to be ready for the next passer-by.</p> - -<p>"I too will go to Mass," said Rinaldo to himself, "it is a pious -habit." Having dressed as fast as he could, he flew downstairs and made -his way into the church, quiet and dim still, and holding only a few -scattered worshipers. Mass had begun in a side chapel, and, kneeling on -a prièdieu before the altar<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span> steps was a girl, simply dressed in black, -her face hidden in her hands. A smooth roll of hair like spun gold -showed under a lace head covering; the figure was young and slight, and -the pose perfectly graceful.</p> - -<p>Rinaldo turned red with emotion. Might not—oh, Santa Speranza—might -not this be the embodiment of his dreams? He actually trembled with -apprehension lest the unseen face should fall short of what he asked -to find in it; yet how could it, he asked himself, do less than match -the harmony of the devout attitude, the fairness of the fingers through -which the beads of a white rosary slipped one by one?</p> - -<p>He drew nearer and leaned against the wall, where he could see her -profile whenever she should raise her head. He crossed himself, took -out his handkerchief and knelt down on it at the proper moments, and -tried to remember his prayers, but these did not get much further than -the attractive apparition before him and resolved themselves into -wordless but frightened entreaties that the vision would show its face. -The Mass was approaching its end when he was aware of a little stir -among the chairs; then an old woman with a scanty handkerchief thrown -over her head and its corners tightly held in her mouth, came and knelt -down between him and the girl. The latter moved her head slightly in -acknowledgment of her neighbor's presence, but continued her devotions -without looking up. "What is she praying for so earnestly?" Rinaldo -wondered. "Could Heaven refuse anything to such a santarella as that? -Oh, what a shame to disturb her."</p> - -<p>This was evidently not the old woman's view. She<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span> had something to say -and meant to get it off her mind at once. She pulled at the girl's -sleeve and whispered sharply, "Giannella, listen. I must go to the -cleaner for the padrone's coat—he is off to Ostia for the day, thank -the Lord—so you take the key and go home, and here is the money for -the tomatoes, don't forget."</p> - -<p>She fished a heavy housekey and some jingling coppers from her bulging -pocket and tried to thrust them into the girl's hand. The latter raised -her head and looked round slowly, as if coming back to things of earth -against her will. And then Rinaldo leaned heavily against the cold -wall and felt dizzy and faint. What he beheld was only a pure young -face with shadowed eyes and a rather sad mouth, but the expression -was one of such grace, sweetness and candor that the young man might -be forgiven the cry of his heart, "Amore mio, I have found you!" The -morning hour, the quiet church, with its incense-laden air, the first -slow sunbeams creeping across the spaces overhead—all combined to make -a perfect setting for the picture of his dreams. He closed his eyes so -that it should be imprinted on his memory for ever. Then he opened them -quickly, for the young girl and the old woman had risen and were moving -away. Should he follow them at once? No, better wait a moment; he could -catch up with them unnoticed as soon as they should have passed out -into the street. Ah, here came a friendly-looking old sacristan to put -the chairs back in their places; he might know by what name heavenly -visitants were called in this world of sin. </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span></p> - -<p>"La Biondina?" queried Fra Tommaso in answer to the eager inquiry. -"Oh, she lives with Sora Mariuccia somewhere over there in the Palazzo -Santafede. They serve Professor Bianchi, the archæologist—keep him -and his books clean and cook his meals when he gives them anything to -buy food with. La Giannella was an orphan whom Mariuccia took into -compassion and brought up. Now that she has grown big and pretty, they -say the Professor wants to marry her—what silliness! But she is a good -girl and a great help to Mariuccia. Thank you, Signorino. Arrivederci," -as Rinaldo pressed a coin into his hand and scuttled away down the -church in most unseemly haste.</p> - -<p>Fra Tommaso looked after him and shook his head with an indulgent -smile. Youth and romance appealed to the heart of him still, even -as the dew and the sunshine penetrate to the heart of the gray old -olive-tree and cause it to break out into leaf and fruit.</p> - -<p>When Rinaldo reached the street the elder woman had disappeared, but -"la Giannella" (he wished her name had not such a Florentine sound!) -was standing before the vegetable stall apparently bargaining for -tomatoes with the witch who presided there. The girl was smiling down -at her, but the witch kept her eyes on her knitting and growled, "Take -them or leave them. They are four baiocchi the pound to you as to -others."</p> - -<p>When Rinaldo, standing in the cover of his own doorway opposite, -wondered what would happen next, Giannella stealthily drew the big key -from her pocket<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span> and let it fall on the stones. The old lady looked up -at the sudden clatter to find the girl still smiling at her and holding -out three coppers in her hand.</p> - -<p>"It is all I may spend, Sora Rosa," she said coaxingly. "Won't you be -kind and give me the pound?"</p> - -<p>"Ah, furba, cunning one!" exclaimed the other, "you always get what you -want when you make me look at you. There, run along with my beautiful -pomidori—and I hope they will choke the old miser you work for," she -added viciously, as Giannella gathered up her spoils and went quickly -down the street.</p> - -<p>Of course Rinaldo followed her; that was a compliment one might pay -to any woman so long as the regulation distance was maintained and no -attempt made to attract her attention. He saw Giannella vanish into the -palace, and then he slowly approached the portone, to try and find out -which of the various stairways she would ascend. The building was so -enormous, reaching the whole length of the street from Piazza Santafede -to the Ripetta (on which thoroughfare its second façade opened) that it -would be difficult to locate the modest apartment probably occupied by -the Professor and his ministrants. Rinaldo gazed through the archway to -where a fountain was bubbling in the courtyard, and found courage to -put his question to the porter, who was lounging about, smoking a pipe -while his wife scrubbed the lower steps of the chief staircase. It was -so early that the maestro di casa had not come to open the cancelleria -or office, a hall of sepulchral grimness on the ground floor, where the -archives were kept and all the business of the <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span>household and estates -carried on. The palace was still in dressing-gown and slippers, so -to speak, and the porter in a fairly condescending mood, so Rinaldo -was informed that to find Professor Bianchi he must take the third -staircase to the right and ascend to the fourth floor, where he would -see the name on the door. Rinaldo passed in, bent on discovering -whether the apartment looked into the courtyard or out on the Via -Santafede; if the latter, there might be some chance of catching -another glimpse of that lovely girl at one of the windows. Passing -along under the colonnade, where grooms were whistling and joking as -they curried horses and sluiced down carriage wheels, he reached "Scala -III." and raced up the long flights of steps, with two doors on every -landing, and his heart beat more with exultation than exercise when at -last he sprang on to the fourth of these and ascertained that "Bianchi" -was the name on a shabby card nailed to the right-hand door. This was -the street side.</p> - -<p>Ten minutes later he was back on his own terrace, craning his neck -to catch a glimpse of the palace. Only a far corner was visible from -where he stood. Between him and it, adjoining the side of his loggia, -stretched the wide roof of the Fathers' dwelling, most picturesquely -diversified, as he now perceived, by detached rooms opening on flowery -terraces perched at different levels, connected by irregular little -flights of steps, and here and there by a small bridge, railed in where -it spanned the depth of some inner court designed to give light to the -central rooms of the old pile. </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span></p> - -<p>All was deserted at this hour; the Fathers were busy in the church or -with their pupils, far below; and Rinaldo, with a thrilling new sense -of adventure, started on a voyage of discovery. Vaulting over his own -parapet he landed on the flat gray tiles beyond and made his way, after -one or two mistakes, which led him to closed doors, to the farther side -of the little city on the roof. It struck him as a charming place, -quite operatic in arrangement, and much more appropriate for dreaming -lovers than meditating monks.</p> - -<p>As he dropped over the last division he started back, dazed by a -whirr of wings beating against his face. When they rose and hovered -above his head he saw that he had disturbed a flock of pigeons who -apparently had their home in this delightful retreat. He was standing -on a narrow loggia some twenty feet long, protected on the street side -by a solid parapet on whose broad top bloomed carnations, roses and -verbenas; a big oleander at one end waved its pink fragrant flowers -against the stainless blue of the sky; at the other, a fat little -lemon-tree displayed its pale rich fruit. Sweet herbs in boxes filled -all available corners, and against a side wall, shaded by a tile roof -which projected over a glass door, was a neat dovecote, showing that -the protesting pigeons were the rightful inhabitants of the place.</p> - -<p>The door was open, and Rinaldo, curious as a girl, peeped in. But there -was nothing to attract him inside. A pallet bed, a table, a straw -chair; a crucifix; and on the brick range a battered cooking pot; these -constituted the furniture, and an embrowned old sacred<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span> print the only -ornamentation. The explorer made a grimace at the austerity of the -abode and stepped back to the parapet to carry out the real object of -his visit. Yes, he had come to the right spot. Far below was the Via -Santafede, and opposite, on a level slightly lower than the one where -he stood, were certain fourth-floor windows which, by all the canons of -topography, should belong to the Bianchi apartment. Four were closed -and curtained; the fifth and sixth were open and evidently belonged -to the kitchen, for Rinaldo could see the bricks of the floor and -the corner of the range. There was one more beyond, open too, with a -carnation flowering on the sill. Within was a low chair with a basket -of work on it. Was this the spot where the Biondina was accustomed to -sit? Even as he framed the eager question, she came forward, put the -basket down beside the chair and settled herself to her sewing without -once glancing up. She had removed her lace veil, and her bent head -shone in the morning light as her needle flew in and out of the linen. -Once she turned to speak to someone in the room, and Rinaldo ducked -behind his flowered defenses in fear of being seen; but in a moment he -was leaning over again, taking in every detail of the picture across -the street.</p> - -<p>Now came another diversion. Giannella found some Indian corn on the -window sill and scattered it on the outer ledge, whistling softly. -One, two, half-a-dozen pigeons materialized out of blue space, paused -a moment among the flower-pots near Rinaldo, cocked their heads, -considered well, and then descended in a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span> flock to gather the golden -harvest. He heard the girl laugh as she pushed away one which had -boldly settled on her shoulder. Then someone within called sharply, and -she left her place in haste. Rinaldo lingered awhile, but she did not -return; and conscience, suddenly aware of the flight of time, drove him -back to his own quarters, to the society of Themistocles, who was sick -and sulky to-day, and of the lay figure, fallen stiffly aside in the -grand chair, as if the red cotton cardinal were tired of waiting for -his truant portrait painter.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER X</h2> - -<p>Mariuccia regarded it as too drastic an answer to her prayers when the -erring padrone returned from Ostia shivering and sneezing, his clothes -covered with green mud from the excavations where he had been joyously -burrowing over some valuable discoveries just made in Tiber's forgotten -port. His boots were soaked—his lunch uneaten.</p> - -<p>"Figlio mio," cried Mariuccia, all her animosity quenched in anxious -pity as she opened the door and beheld him in this heartbreaking -condition. "What have you been doing? But this is fatal. Domine Dio, -you shake, you have fever. Animal that I was to let you go in those old -boots. Come in and let me put you to bed at once."</p> - -<p>Bianchi resigned himself to her ministrations only too gladly, and -while she rolled him up in hot blankets and surrounded him with -fortifications of scalding bricks, Giannella, all undeterred by the -late hour, rushed off to the apothecary for quinine and other potent -drugs. She had never found herself in the street after dark before, but -charity gave her wings and she was whipped along by remorse. Suppose -the poor padrone were to die? And she had been feeling so cross with -him lately, had been so ungrateful for the little attentions which he -had been trying to show her and which probably only her own stupid -conceit had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span> distorted into anything more alarming than kindness and -condescension. Did man but know it, he has only to catch a cold in the -head to make the women of his establishment forget all the grumpinesses -and tyrannies of years. Poor darling, he wasn't well all the time! What -a shame to have resented shortcomings which one ought to have known -were but symptoms of approaching indisposition. Quick, cosset him, -doctor him, and in a few days perhaps the gentle invalid will feel well -enough to put his pretty foot on our necks again.</p> - -<p>The Professor basked contentedly enough in the excitement he had -caused, and by the end of the second day was feeling much better. -Mariuccia having reduced him to a state of apparent subjugation and -tucked him up in his blankets with fearful threats of what would -overtake him if he put so much as a hand out of bed, hoisted a basket -of wet linen on her head and climbed up to the roof where each tenant -was allowed a small space for drying clothes.</p> - -<p>Giannella had been feeling unusually light-hearted all day. The padrone -was better—what a comfort. And the house was peaceful; there had been -no more "little arguments" between him and Mariuccia. Then the morning -had been so lovely when she slipped out to the five o'clock Mass, a -summer morning with fragrance everywhere, as if ghostly violets and -roses had been dancing about the streets all night and had left their -sweetness behind them when they fled at the coming of the sun. This -was not her own idea; Giannella could not be called imaginative; she -had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span> found it in a book of very sentimental poems which somebody had -most inappropriately presented to the Professor. But it struck her -as pretty, and she had remembered it as she crossed the cool, empty -piazza in the summer dawn. Then it had been most consoling to see a -young man devoutly following the Mass. Young men were not in the habit -of coming to church on weekdays; Mariuccia said they were too lazy -or too frivolous. Mariuccia had a bad opinion of men in general, and -Giannella accepted it, as she accepted most axioms enounced by her -elders, in unruffled good faith. But here was living contradiction to -such pessimism, a sprightly-looking young gentleman, as well dressed -as Don Onorato himself, kneeling piously on a pretty silk handkerchief -from the "Deus in adjutorium" to the "Ite Missa Est." Giannella was -sure that she had never turned her head to look at him, and was a -little puzzled to know how she had ascertained all these attractive -details. True, she had dropped her rosary—very stupidly—and he had -picked it up and returned it to her with grave politeness but without -attempting to meet her glance of thanks. Ah, how comforting it was to a -Christian heart to witness such faith and piety. The world was perhaps -not so evil after all. Mariuccia, and the dear nuns who used to rail -at it, and Padre Anselmo, who told her to give special thanks for her -separation from it, had never seen a good, handsome young man saying -his prayers!</p> - -<p>So Giannella, singing softly to herself, was moving about, tidying up -the kitchen (still redolent with damp<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span> soap from Mariuccia's washtubs) -when she heard the Professor calling for her. She ran to his door and -looked in. There was very little of the Professor to be seen except -a pair of mournful eyes and a long nose; all the rest was blanket. -"Please give me my spectacles," he whispered hoarsely, "she took them -away, and I am like one blind. They are over there on the bureau. Santa -Pazienza! May I die of an apoplexy if I am ever so stupid as to catch -cold again. She makes me do my purgatory, that woman."</p> - -<p>Giannella brought the spectacles and respectfully placed them on the -sufferer's nose; he beamed at her through them gratefully. Then he -asked for something else, the Report of the Archæological Society, -there on the chair, under the coat. She handed it to him and was -about to move away when he slipped the pamphlet under his pillow and, -forgetting all his promises, put out a hand to detain the girl, saying, -"Wait a moment, Giannella. I have something to say to you—we may not -be alone again."</p> - -<p>Giannella gazed at him in surprise, "Well, Signor Professore?" she -asked.</p> - -<p>"It is this," he said; "but pray sit down. I fear you will be agitated. -Calm yourself, my child, and be prepared for a beautiful piece of news."</p> - -<p>He had never spoken to her so kindly before. What was coming? Something -very pleasant, certainly. Giannella carefully removed the coat and sat -down on the only chair, directly facing him, an expectant smile on her -pretty face.</p> - -<p>The Professor coughed and took a sip of barley<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span> water. "Giannella, you -are a good girl," he said solemnly, "and you are about to be rewarded. -Now—control your feelings—I intend to make you my wife."</p> - -<p>Giannella sprang to her feet with a shriek. He smiled indulgently. "I -warned you not to give way to emotion," he continued; "of course you -could not figure to yourself that this good fortune awaited you. There, -there, Giannella—be calm, I entreat you."</p> - -<p>The girl's face had turned crimson, she appeared about to choke. Then -she hid her face in her hands and turned away her head over the back of -the chair. Her shoulders were heaving convulsively.</p> - -<p>The grating of a key in the lock of the front door brought the -interview to a sudden end. "Run," whispered Bianchi, ducking down under -his coverings with an expression of terror, "she is coming. Not a word -to her. Run, you can thank me another time."</p> - -<p>Giannella was gone already, flying to the most distant corner in the -house, the corner behind her embroidery frame. There she stood, close -in the angle of the wall, her apron over her face, trying to suppress -all sound of the hysterical laughter which shook her from head to foot.</p> - -<p>Mariuccia's war-horse tread resounded on the bricks of the kitchen. She -called out through the open door, "Are you there, Giannella? Eh, but -the roof is scorching to-day. I thought the soles of my shoes would -come off." Receiving no answer she came and peered into the work-room, -saw the bowed figure in the corner, rushed to the girl and tore the -apron away<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span> from her face. "Giannella, what is the matter?" she cried. -"For the love of Heaven tell me what has happened."</p> - -<p>"Go to the padrone, quick," gasped Giannella, looking up at her with -scarlet cheeks and tear-drowned eyes. "Oh, mamma mia, I shall die of -laughing—it hurts—speak gently to him—he has gone mad."</p> - -<p>Mariuccia turned pale and her jaw fell. "Madonna Santissima," she -whispered, "give me strength. Has he got a knife?" In imagination she -saw the Professor leaping wildly round his room seeking for someone to -kill.</p> - -<p>"No, no, he is quiet—there is no danger, but he is quite mad, I fear. -It must be the fever, I suppose."</p> - -<p>"Leave it to me," Mariuccia exclaimed. "I will give him a calmante. -Where is the camomile?"</p> - -<p>A few minutes later she entered his room on tiptoe, inwardly cursing -the "scrocchio," the bit of hard-creaking leather which the shoemaker -always put into the soles of the boots (and charged extra for, the -brigand!) to make them sound new to their dying day. Bianchi was -pretending to be asleep. His nurse came and leaned over him anxiously. -He was breathing with suspicious regularity, and the confiscated -spectacles were still on his nose.</p> - -<p>"He has been getting up," she whispered to herself, "and the poor -boy has caught a chill. It has sent the blood to his head. But he -shall perspire, I will put on leeches—it will pass. Padroncino," she -murmured coaxingly, "wake up for a moment.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span> Drink this." And she held -the scalding cup to his lips.</p> - -<p>The invalid was astute enough to see his advantage in her anxiety. He -opened his eyes wearily and gazed up at her. "I do feel very ill," he -said, "and it is less from the cold I caught than from the agitation -I suffered before going to Ostia. Oh, my nerves are in a terrible -state. I was not fit to go—after you had made me that scene. My poor -Mariuccia, you must never so upset me again. It is not safe. I do not -know now whether I shall ever recover from the shock."</p> - -<p>"What do you feel?" she asked anxiously. "Is it the head? Oh, you break -my heart. Rash beast that I was to let my evil tongue so disturb you."</p> - -<p>"And all for nothing," continued the patient reproachfully. "What had -I done? Merely proposed an act of benevolence—which I intended to -follow up with one of noble generosity. But your ignorant impetuosity -shall not turn me from my purpose. If I recover from this terrible -illness, this fire in my head, this numbness in my limbs, then, my -good Mariuccia, you shall carry the burden of maintaining Giannella no -longer. That pertains to me in future. Have you not realized that I am -going to marry her?"</p> - -<p>"Dio mio," wailed the old woman, "the girl is right, the fever has gone -to his head." Then, forcing herself to be calm for the sick man's sake, -she said in soothing tones, "Padroncino mio bello, you are agitating -yourself again. You must not talk any<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span> more. Go to sleep—and when -you are better you shall say all that is in your mind. There, are you -comfortable?" She smoothed the pillows, drew up the coverings, and left -him in the darkened room.</p> - -<p>Outside in the passage she leaned back against the wall, faint with -fear and remorse. It was all her fault. Who could say how this dreadful -visitation would end? In a fatal illness, or in permanent derangement -of that illustrious understanding? She would fetch a doctor at -once—God send she should not have to go for the priest!</p> - -<p>There was an anxious consultation between the two women over the -kitchen table that night. The doctor, put in possession of the facts, -had diagnosed the distemper as "rabbia rientrata" (unvented anger), one -of the most dangerous known to the faculty. How many regrettable losses -to society had it not caused! And how unfortunate that the aid of -science should not have been invoked at once. What could one do after -well-intentioned but ignorant persons had taken it upon themselves to -treat it for forty-eight hours?</p> - -<p>Mariuccia and Giannella collapsed under this bitter reproach, and it -was only when the afflicted Professor had been finally lured to slumber -by innocent opiates of orange-flower water that Giannella recovered -sufficiently to remark to her companion, "I do not think we really made -so many mistakes, after all. What did the doctor order but just what -you had done? Leeches, quinine, a sedative—I wonder if he knows so -very much more than you do?"</p> - -<p>"Tell me, Giannella?" Mariuccia asked, lifting her<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span> head and looking -at the girl curiously, "I had not time to ask you before—what did the -padrone say to you? What was it that first showed you he was delirious?"</p> - -<p>Giannella thought for a moment, then she replied, while the lamplight -showed a gleam of rebellious amusement in her eyes, "He told me that -he had a piece of beautiful good news for me, and I sat down to hear -it—and then he said he—he intended to marry me. I could not help -laughing. He looked so funny, and the thought was such craziness. But I -am sorry—I should have had more heart."</p> - -<p>Mariuccia reflected; then she shook her head sagely. "This craziness -has been coming on for a long time, I believe," she said, "it is not -all the result of our little argument the other day. I must tell you -now—though I did not mean to—that we were talking about you then, -Giannella. He said he wished to pay for your board—he, who counts -his coins as if they were beads of a rosary. 'Santo Baiocco, ora pro -nobis!' Proverino, it is his only fault. I ought not to speak of it -now that he is in such danger. And then I was angry—and he said to me -what he said to you this morning, that he intended to marry you. Now -let us reason a little, figlia mia. You have been at home for over four -years, and the padrone hardly seemed to see you till three months ago. -He changed then, suddenly. Now have you no suspicion of what was the -cause?"</p> - -<p>"I cannot imagine," replied Giannella simply. "I thought at first that -perhaps he was sorry for me<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span> because I should soon be growing old and -ugly and my shoes were going to pieces—and since dear Signora Dati of -good memory died—and the Princess is too busy to remember, there is -no one to get me any work. But now he speaks of—marriage. What man in -his right senses could wish to marry me, nearly twenty-one and without -a penny?" She looked up in perplexed good faith as she asked the -question, and the lamplight fell on the calm, lovely face which had so -enchanted one man that he dreamed of it all night and crept down to the -church morning after morning to catch another glimpse of it.</p> - -<p>"There might be plenty," growled Mariuccia, "if they could only see -you. You will be beautiful till you are a hundred, core of my heart. -Now don't smother me!" for Giannella suddenly ran round the table and -hugged her friend. "But the padrone is not like other men. The time has -come when I must tell you what I have discovered. You are young, you -saw nothing, but I saw, I understood. This bewitchment had a beginning. -It came with the first visit of that stout gentleman who asked you such -strange questions. Do you remember? Ah, they could not deceive me. I -wish I had thought of it when he was last here. If he comes again I -will ask him some questions, I can tell you. What did he want here, -putting folly into my poor boy's head and disturbing the tranquillity -of a Christian family? I have lived twenty-three years with that poor -afflicted angel in there, and never have we had a disagreement till -that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span> fat demon, whoever he was, came to upset us all, and may his best -dead suffer for it. There, it is late, go to bed, Giannella, I am going -to sit up in here—the padrone may want something."</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER XI</h2> - -<p>Bianchi judged it prudent to prolong his relapse in order to profit -by the softening of heart it had induced in his attendants. He -obeyed Mariuccia's commands with touching submission and kept her -affectionately uneasy about him by well-timed sighs and complaints. She -would not leave the house till he should be better, and she would not -leave Giannella alone with him; in fact she bade her keep out of his -sight altogether, hoping rather forlornly that his mad project would -disappear with the other symptoms of his alarming indisposition.</p> - -<p>So Giannella went alone to Mass and marketing, and came home each day -with more pink in her cheeks, more light in her eyes. Her spirits -seemed to have returned and she hummed little tunes over her work, just -as she had done when she first came back from the convent. Some of the -moist sweetness of the summer morning followed her in when Mariuccia -opened the door to her and her parcels at seven o'clock; and through -the long hot days of July she looked as fresh and bright as an opening -rose in the first sunbeam.</p> - -<p>The inhabitants of the Via Tresette knew all about it long before -Giannella did. The dairyman's wife told her lord that the Signorino -Goffi was as good as in love, "bello che innamorato," with the -Biondina.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span> "Don't tell me," she declared, "that a young fellow like -that would go to church every day at five o'clock—and bring down a -clean handkerchief to kneel on every blessed morning—if he were not -in love! He is rich. Has he not a splendid vigna outside Porta San -Giovanni, from which he received fruit and wine but yesterday? The man -who brought it told me all about him. He is disinterested, one can see -that, for he did not bargain more than a day over the rooms, and he has -never tried to beat me down on the eggs and ricotta—oh, he will marry -Mariuccia's Biondina, and was I not the cleverest of women to insist on -your building a good apartment that could accommodate a family, instead -of just a studio and a cubbyhole of a kitchen as you wished to do?"</p> - -<p>Sora Rosa opposite nodded her old head in approval of these sentiments, -delivered in clarion tones on the dairyman's doorstep. She had seen it -happening for a week now, had seen Giannella come down the street from -Palazzo Santafede with the sun behind her and Rinaldo with the sun on -his face emerge from his door at the same moment; had seen them meet -at the low entrance to the San Severino courtyard, pause an instant, -smile involuntarily, and then disappear as the heavy old portal swung -to behind them.</p> - -<p>Fra Tommaso too knew all about it. Divided between sympathy for -the youth and romance, and jealousy for the respect due the sacred -precincts, he had watched his old and his new parishioner closely, but -had found nothing to criticise in their behavior. "Good children, good -children," he said to himself as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span> he saw Giannella go out and Rinaldo -follow her, with proper deliberation. Of course he had obtained the -young man's history in full from the communicative lady of the dairy, -and indulged in a little self-approval for having been the immediate -instrument of obtaining for the Biondina the fine instruction which -would fit her to be the sposa of that superior young gentleman, -Signorina Goffi. Padre Anselmo might talk about the evils of human -distractions, but there could not be anything very dangerous in them -when they had such splendid results at this.</p> - -<p>Things were nothing like so clear to the hero and heroine of the -popular little romance. They had traveled no farther than the outer -garden of love's fairy habitation, and Giannella at any rate did not -dream that anything sweeter or more perfect could lie beyond. The -thrilling excitement of seeing Rinaldo coming to meet her at the -doorway, the silent passage to their places in the chapel, the kneeling -so near each other for the blessed half hour—this had seemed enough -at first to bring her happiness for the day. But when on the fourth -morning Rinaldo had overtaken her in the court, and, with profound -apologies, returned to her the purse and key which she had left lying -on the chair—when, baring his head he looked in her face and she -saw the glow on his and heard his voice for the first time—then -Giannella's heart beat so wildly that she could find no words to say -and her trembling fingers almost dropped the objects he held out to her.</p> - -<p>Together they had left the courtyard, and Rinaldo,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span> lifting his hat -respectfully, had turned away fearing she might think he was going to -have the presumption to accompany her. But when, on looking round, he -saw her entering the dairy, he reached the threshold in two strides, -for here was his opportunity. Sora Amalia, the proprietress, should -introduce him properly. Then Giannella would know as much about him as -he already knew about her. After that—leave it to him to make the most -of the acquaintance.</p> - -<p>As he entered the dark cool shop, Giannella was burying her face in -a huge posy of carnations which stood on the marble counter midway -between the butter and the fresh eggs. Sora Amalia gave him a cheery -good-morning, and Giannella lifted her face, all rosy, and dewy from -the flowers, and drew back a little as if to wait her turn until the -new-comer should have been attended to. Rinaldo, with a quick movement -of the head, manifested his wish to Sora Amalia, who, smiling broadly, -said: "Signorina Giannella, this is Signor Goffi, the great painter, -who has taken our apartment. Some day, if you like, I will take you -upstairs and show you his pictures. For to me he is already like a son. -Oh, signorino, that salad you gave me from your vigna—it was a cream, -a flower of tenderness. That of Sora Rosa over there is material, -tough, compared to it. And the wine—of a sincerity we had a treat last -night, Pippo and I."</p> - -<p>She chattered on, to give the young people time to look at each other, -and also to impress Giannella with the importance of the new lodger. As -soon as she<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span> ceased, Rinaldo caught at the proposal contained in her -speech.</p> - -<p>"My pictures are nothing to mount the stairs for, signorina," he said -eagerly, "but the view—if you would condescend, and Sora Amalia could -come up now?"</p> - -<p>"Oh, not now, I am afraid I have not time," Giannella interposed, -addressing Sora Amalia; "another day, perhaps, if you can come—and -Signor Goffi permits?" she added, looking up at him and flushing -divinely. "Now I have still to go to the apothecary with this -prescription—and he is not very near—and does take so long to prepare -the medicine—and you know, Sora Amalia, there is much to do at home."</p> - -<p>"Is there illness in the family, signorina?" Rinaldo inquired with -concern. "It grieves me to hear it."</p> - -<p>Sora Amalia touched his hand as it lay on the counter and gave him -a broad wink with the eye Giannella could not see. "Illness?" she -exclaimed, "there is indeed. The Signor Professore has been in bed for -a week. Now, signorino, if you wish to do him a good turn—and get a -nice walk in the morning air for your health's sake—you will take -this prescription and get it made up, and bring it yourself to Sora -Mariuccia, who will thank you for sending Giannella home so quickly."</p> - -<p>She had whisked the paper from the girl's hand and held it out to him, -laughingly defending it from the rightful owner, who was trying to get -it back.</p> - -<p>"Oh, please, Sora Amalia," Giannella pleaded, "how can you imagine that -I would let Signor Goffi<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span> take all that trouble for us? I will go for -it myself, of course."</p> - -<p>But Rinaldo was quick to seize the golden opportunity. The paper -vanished into his pocket and he was making for the door when Giannella -ran after him. "Please, please, since you are determined to be so -charitable," she said, "here is the money to pay for it," and she -tendered a silver coin. He took it gravely, and they both paled a -little at the touch of hand and hand.</p> - -<p>"I will bring the medicine to the palazzo," he said rather huskily.</p> - -<p>"How could you, Sora Amalia?" Giannella remonstrated when he was gone; -"what will he think of being asked to do such a thing for a stranger?"</p> - -<p>"I will show you to-morrow what he thinks," replied the good woman, -"and perhaps I will give you some of it. There will be a pile of fruit -and vegetables a yard high, from his vigna, on this counter to-morrow -morning. Run along and tell Sora Mariuccia all about it—and be sure to -open the door to him yourself when he brings the medicine."</p> - -<p>Giannella was rather reticent with Mariuccia, however, and gave her -story of how Sora Amalia's lodger had run off with the prescription in -as few words as possible. She expected to receive a good scolding for -the indiscretion she must have committed—or permitted—before things -reached such a pass, though she could not quite see where she had been -in fault.</p> - -<p>Mariuccia had no such doubts. "That blessed Sora Amalia!" she -exclaimed, her eyebrows meeting<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span> in rhadamanthine severity across her -low forehead. "What a want of education! Could she not perceive that -she was taking the most indiscreet liberty—imposing on the gentleman's -good nature, so that he must have been deeply displeased? I will -apologize to him when he comes. I will tell him that we are shocked at -that woman's imprudence. Four flights of stairs to climb, and his time -wasted! I wonder you did not die of shame, Giannella, at being made the -occasion of such inconvenience to him."</p> - -<p>Giannella remembered Signor Goffi's ecstatic alacrity and ventured to -say that he did not seem at all annoyed, on the contrary, very happy to -be of service.</p> - -<p>"Then," thundered Mariuccia, "you have spoken to him before. You -have permitted him to make your acquaintance—in secret. Oh, this is -terrible. How can I ever let you out of my sight again?"</p> - -<p>"I never spoke to him till this morning," cried the girl. "I have -seen him, yes, how could I help it? He comes to Mass every day. Is -the church my private chapel? Is no one else to enter it while her -Excellency, Giannella Brockmann, is saying her prayers there? How dare -you say that I have made his acquaintance in secret? I will not hear -such things. You speak as if you believed evil of me."</p> - -<p>Was this Mariuccia's submissive Giannella, this outraged young woman -with scarlet cheeks and flashing eyes standing up to her inquisitor -with rebellion in every tone of her voice? Mariuccia drew back from her -in surprise, and before she had recovered enough to reply, the doorbell -tinkled hoarsely. </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span></p> - -<p>"There he is," said Giannella. "You must open to him yourself. I will -not. He would see that you have been pouring shame over me." And she -turned her back and sat down to her work, shaking with indignation.</p> - -<p>Mariuccia went to the door, nothing loth. "I shall see what he is like -at any rate," she told herself in the passage. "Some silly dandy who -thinks he can make eyes at a poor girl because she has to go out alone. -That's the kind. But I'll settle him." And she opened the door with -a jerk and stood squarely on the threshold as if barring the way to -impertinent intruders.</p> - -<p>"With permission?" inquired a courteous voice, and one hand held out -a small parcel while the other removed the hat from a handsome young -head. "I took the liberty—Sora Mariuccia will pardon me, I trust. I -have heard of her so much from Fra Tommaso—and I knew she was anxious -to have this as soon as possible. How is the chiarissimo Professore -this morning?"</p> - -<p>If the young man felt any chagrin at the substitution of this janitress -for a prettier one he effaced all signs of it from his address. He -was so good-looking, so urbane, there was such honest kindness in his -smile, that the hardest feminine heart must have softened to him. -Mariuccia thawed at once. What if he were to prove—but she chased away -the rosy dream, and answered his inquiry about the padrone's health, -thanked him for his amiability and, remembering that the Professor -was safe in bed, was actually going to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span> ask Rinaldo to enter. It went -against all her traditions to keep anyone standing at the threshold.</p> - -<p>But Rinaldo had his traditions too. One did not impose oneself as a -visitor on the strength of a rendered service. "Levo l' incommodo" (I -remove the inconvenience of my presence), he said, bowing and turning -to depart. Then a thought struck him, and he came back to ask: "Can -I be of any service in the way of commissions while the Professor is -ill? it would be for me a pleasure. I live over the dairy in the Via -Tresette, close by. A word to Sora Amalia, and I am at your disposal at -any time, day or night. Arrivederci, Sora Mariuccia."</p> - -<p>"A beautiful youth," she remarked to herself when she had thanked him -and closed the door. "And well brought up. He would not even come in. -I do not believe he is running after Giannella at all. Poor child—it -might be a good thing for her if he did—if he has any money. San -Giuseppe mio, send us a good husband for her, and restore my little -padrone to his right mind. I will never complain of his faults any more -if only he drops his crazy idea of marrying Giannella. Eccomi quá, here -I come!" This in answer to a querulous call from the invalid's room.</p> - -<p>When she returned to the kitchen Giannella's bad temper had -disappeared. She was standing at the window amusing herself with -feeding Fra Tommaso's pigeons, who looked upon her as their -supplementary Providence, since she always had crumbs and corn in store -for them. The wide window sill so near the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span> deep palace eaves was -shady in the hot hours, and the pretty tame creatures often haunted -it, strutting up and down, carrying on their little sham fights over -tempting morsels or boldly hopping on Giannella's shoulder to ask for -more. She was quite unconscious that she was ever watched from across -the way at these moments, but, to tell the truth, Rinaldo trespassed -unwarrantably on Fra Tommaso's premises and wasted a good deal of time -in the occupation of feeding his eyes on the sight of his goddess and -the preoccupation of preventing her or anyone else from finding it out.</p> - -<p>Themistocles was bolder. He had taken to Fra Tommaso's loggia and his -own kin there very kindly, and had wheeled towards Giannella's window -more than once in the wake of the rest; but he had never settled there -till this morning, when he at last permitted himself to be courted and -captured.</p> - -<p>"Fra Tommaso has got a new pigeon and a fine name for it too," said -Giannella as Mariuccia entered. She had made up her mind to pardon her -old friend and this seemed a good way of opening up a reconciliation. -"See, is he not a beauty? And he has a silver band round his neck, with -'Themistocles' on it. What grandeur! Fra Tommaso grows extravagant in -his old age. Ah, ungrateful one," she cried, as the bird slipped from -her hand and soared away over the convent roof, "being full you depart, -but you will return with great love when you are hungry again."</p> - -<p>"That reminds me," Mariuccia replied, catching<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span> at the flag of truce, -"that gentleman who brought the medicine just now spoke of Fra Tommaso. -He seems a nice quiet young man."</p> - -<p>"Who? Fra Tommaso?" Giannella asked. "He seems to me a nice talkative -old one." And she laughed, being too full of happiness to quarrel long -with anyone to-day. Her troubles seemed to have vanished into air. -The padrone was out of sight and mind, and the sun was rising on her -horizon at last.</p> - -<p>After this it was impossible to refuse to speak to Rinaldo when she met -him in the mornings, and the little conversations in the back court of -San Severino became very friendly and intimate. Rinaldo always began -with eager inquiries after the health of the illustrious Professor, as -if his peace of mind depended on the answer. Then he hoped that the -most respectable Sora Mariuccia was well. After that, conventionalities -were forgotten. In the most natural way in the world each came to know -all about the other. Rinaldo had learned Giannella's limited life -story from her own lips, had had to avow his admiration of Mariuccia's -goodness—"She is an angel, that woman," Giannella declared one -morning, her eyes suffused with emotion; "she seems cross and rough, -but she has a heart of gold. Oh, you will love her when you know her -better."</p> - -<p>And Rinaldo, his heart quite full of another love, proclaimed that -he already felt for the good woman the affection of a son. There was -nothing he would not do to prove it. Let Giannella try him. Meanwhile, -would she not persuade Sora Mariuccia to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span> bring her to his studio some -Sunday afternoon? They could have a little refreshment on the terrace, -and he would get his friend, Peppino Sacchetti, who sang divinely, to -come and bring his mandolin, and though indeed the pictures were not -worth looking at, the signorina would be amused at the antics of the -pigeon, Themistocles, who would dance about when Peppino played, and -was altogether a most sagacious bird.</p> - -<p>The first part of this speech opened up a dizzy vista of happiness not -to be contemplated for a moment when one had only one old frock and -one's shoes were going to pieces. So, with a determined gulp, Giannella -ignored it and replied to the last words only.</p> - -<p>"Oh, he is yours then, the one with the silver collar? I thought he -belonged to Fra Tommaso. Why, he comes to see me every day."</p> - -<p>"Beato lui, too happy bird!" cried Rinaldo, with sudden passion in eyes -and voice. "My little sister sent him to me from Orbetello, saying -he would bring me good fortune. It is he who is fortunate." Then, as -the color flushed up in Giannella's cheek at his cry, he went on more -quietly, "Signorina, I am coming to-morrow to bring Sora Mariuccia -something from the vigna—poor stuff, but fresher than we get in the -city. Then I shall myself invite her for next Sunday. What kind of -ice-cream do you like best."</p> - -<p>"Framboise," she replied, without a moment's hesitation. Then -she remembered. Such pleasures were not for her. She turned away -to hide the silly tears that would come into her eyes, and said -chokingly,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span> "Oh, please do not speak of it, Signor Goffi. It is quite -impossible—there are good reasons. We never go anywhere—we could not -come."</p> - -<p>Rinaldo was silent, looking at the averted head where the gold gleamed -royally through the carefully mended lace. His trained eye took in the -poverty of the thin black dress with its neat little darns here and -there; it clothed the delicate young form very kindly, but it was a -thousand times unworthy of such honor. Being artist as well as lover, -he understood, and his heart was so hot with love and pity that for -the first time in his life words failed him. Giannella moved towards -the outer gate of the court, and he followed dumbly, aching to find -expression for what he felt. But there was nothing to say which would -not have been an offense; he could not offer sympathy where he had no -right to seem to understand. His Latin tact came to his aid, however, -as he held the door open for her to pass out.</p> - -<p>"We will put off our party a little, then, signorina," he said, gentle -detaining her. "The weather is warm just now. Perhaps it would please -you better to come to the vigna, some day when the grapes are ripe? It -will be cooler then." And he added to himself, "And by that time, my -beautiful heart, you will have a Sunday dress of splendid blue silk, -and a gold chain to match your hair, and you will go to your own, for -the vigna will belong to you. We will be married on the first Sunday in -October, and what a sposina you will make!"</p> - -<p>Giannella murmured something and hastened away<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span> towards the Piazza -Santafede, and Rinaldo stood looking after her till she disappeared. -Then he regained his studio in haste, and applied himself to the -picture for the rich foreigner. He was to receive five hundred scudi -for it, and that was just the sum he wanted to put the apartment in -order and buy his wedding gifts for his bride. He had been tempted to -commit the extravagance of having a living model this time, so as to -get on faster; but he reflected that the hired peasant would not look -much more like a real cardinal than the ever-obedient but rickety clay -figure, and then—three pauls an hour! No, it was not to be thought -of—when one had set one's mind on that other extravagance, that holy -folly of marriage.</p> - -<p>"Come along, your Eminence," he exclaimed as he knocked Themistocles -off the ragged head and crowned it with a red skullcap. Then he got -his old friend seated in the cherub-crowned chair, pinned the red -tablecloth round him in dignified folds, and in half-an-hour had -forgotten that he was not contemplating a live dignitary of the Church.</p> - -<p>Towards evening the friend of whom he had spoken to Giannella, Peppino -Sacchetti, came to tempt him away to the Tiber for a row and a swim -before the sun went down.</p> - -<p>"Capperi, Nalduccio," he cried as he looked from the model to the -picture, "but you have a fine big imagination! I could not have drawn -that from our old manikin. I see Themistocles has been trying to mend -that bump on its nose. When are you going to have living models? You -are a rich man, you<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span> rascal, and you can pay for them now. I wish I -could."</p> - -<p>"Peppino mio," replied Rinaldo, as he worked his palette off his thumb -and prepared to wash his brushes, "I shall have a living model, and -a very beautiful one, next October. Meanwhile I have an imagination -which is neither fine nor big—but, thank Heaven, extremely obedient. -It saves me much money. While I am painting, I see a cardinal, and I -am most respectful to him. I address that person in the tablecloth -as 'your Eminence' and push him into his place with reverence when -he tumbles down. When the rich foreigner receives the picture, he -also sees a cardinal, and he admires him, for he has probably never -cast eyes on a real one. The picture goes with him to his nasty cold -heretic country where there are no cardinals. Everybody admires it, -and the naturally good of heart wish that they belonged to a Church -governed by noble ecclesiastics with pink cheeks and Chinese white -hair and beautiful taper fingers (I always draw the hands from those -same old casts), and if God is good to them they come to Rome and save -their souls. I obtain all these fine results and save many precious -scudi—because I have an obedient imagination. Cultivate one, Peppino -mio, it is as good as a savings bank."</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER XII</h2> - -<p>The hereditary lawyer of the Santafede family caused great -inconvenience about this time by leaving a world of woe and -circumlocution, to reap the reward stored up for honest men of business -elsewhere. Since that section of the heavenly mansions cannot be -overcrowded it is to be hoped that he met with a warm welcome. His -demise, lamentable though it appeared to his employers, brought solid -satisfaction to his successor, a stout young gentleman with a turn for -malicious humor, whom he had himself trained and designated as the -disciple on whom his mantle of faded parchments was to fall when he -himself should no longer have any use for it.</p> - -<p>Guglielmo De Sanctis swelled with pride when Ferretti, the power behind -the Santafede throne, sent for him to come to the cancelleria to make -out a new lease for one of the apartments. He had acquired considerable -knowledge of the Santafede affairs through having for some years passed -attended to those of the Princess's brother, Cardinal Cestaldini, who -had warmly endorsed his recommendation for the vacant post. As the -young lawyer saw in the appointment another source of income and honor -for the rest of his life, his heart was gay within him as he passed -under the archway into the Santafede palace<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span> to answer the maestro di -casa's summons one fine morning late in July.</p> - -<p>The Professor was better that day and Mariuccia intended to regale him -with one of her "golden fries;" Giannella, running out in haste to buy -whitebait and cucumbers, and counting her coppers in the corner of the -red handkerchief which takes the place of the market basket in Rome, -nearly bumped into the lawyer as he turned the angle of the colonnade. -She pulled up with hurried excuses; he declared they should come from -him; and then, recognizing the padrone's mysterious visitor of some -weeks ago, she greeted him politely and asked after his respectable -health. He did not reply at once, but stood looking at her with -slightly knitted brow and a puzzled expression. Then, calling up a -smile, he removed his hat and held it in his hand while he assured her -that his health was fairly good, thank Heaven, hoped the scirocco was -not too trying to that of the Signorina Brockmann; though indeed, if he -might be permitted to say so in all sincerity, that was evident, since -she looked so well (his eyes said: so pretty), and reminded her that he -was always at her command should she require his services.</p> - -<p>Giannella, unaccustomed to flowery speeches, was puzzled in her turn; -she thanked him briefly, and passed on, unwilling to be seen conversing -alone with any young man—except one. De Sanctis turned and gazed -after her. "What a curious girl!" he said to himself; "she has bought -no finery, she runs out marketing with a red handkerchief and a few -baiocchi<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span>—I wonder what she is doing with her money? I suppose she has -lived so long with Bianchi that she has caught some of his parsimonious -tricks. Oh well, it is none of my business. Now for Ferretti," and he -dived into the cool vaulted hall of the cancelleria.</p> - -<p>The Professor was certainly much better. Indeed he intended to go out -that afternoon to visit the Cardinal and have an exciting talk about a -discovery made by his Eminence, a bit of an inscription unearthed in -the Cestaldini cellars by the workmen who were repairing the drains. -At this time of year these were always looked to, as heavy rains -usually closed the long summer drought, and the Tiber, rising in his -silt-choked bed, was apt to bubble up and make improvised fountains in -unexpected places. On the discovery of the interesting fragment the -Cardinal had suspended the repairs, feeling sure that the remainder -of the inscription could be found, and had sent for his friend Carlo -Bianchi, that light of dark learnings, to come and advise him as to -further investigations.</p> - -<p>Bianchi was keen to get on the scent, but there was one visit he -proposed to pay before calling on the Cardinal. In all the dignity -of clean clothes and returning health, he summoned Giannella to his -study that morning and repeated his declaration of the generous -intention to add to all his past kindness to her by shortly making -her his wife. Seeing that he was perfectly well and otherwise in his -right mind she did not laugh this time, but told him, with a quiet -decision he had never yet seen her display, that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span> she could not even -pretend to consider his proposal an honor; it was degrading to himself -and repulsive to her. What possible grounds for a union, she asked, -could exist between them? He was old enough to be her father, rich -and distinguished. She was a waif and a pauper, and ignorant in the -extreme, having forgotten, as she mournfully declared, the little -book learning that the nuns had taught her, and being now only fit -to cook and clean and mend, services she was most willing to render -him in return for his charity in allowing her to live under his roof. -There she trusted she might still remain—if he would at once and -forever abandon a project, the fulfillment of which would only make him -ridiculous in the eyes of his friends, and to which she herself would -never, never consent.</p> - -<p>Exit Giannella, shaking with the anger of battle, so new to her calm, -equable nature, and enter Mariuccia, who had frankly listened at the -keyhole and heard every word. This time she would not let her feelings -master her. She preserved a respectful attitude—with superhuman effort -and many mental appeals to "Domine Dio" to keep His Hand on her head. -After repeating all Giannella's arguments, she implored her beloved -padroncino, whom she loved as a master and as a son, by all he held -dearest in life, personal comfort, avoidance of expense, the respect of -his many admiring friends, to put this caprice out of his clever head -and restore peace to his unfortunate but ever devoted family.</p> - -<p>Mariuccia's address was a triumph of good sense<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span> and good temper, but -Bianchi was unmoved by it. A stony silence ensued when she ceased. Then -Bianchi, glowering at her through those big spectacles, told her that -an ignorant female could be no judge of an instructed man's motives or -actions; that he thanked her for her expressions of affection, which he -wished she would prove by either minding her own business or by using -her influence to bring Giannella to a more reasonable frame of mind. -He intended—here he glanced at a fly-blown calendar on the wall and -appeared to be making a rapid mental calculation—yes, he intended to -espouse Giannella in about three weeks; in any case before the end of -August. Mariuccia might retire. He was going out.</p> - -<p>Mariuccia, cold at heart, found her way back to the kitchen, sank -into a chair and let her head fall forward on the table. Giannella, -who had been working off her feelings by some violent sweeping in the -inner room, came and knelt beside her and comforted her dumbly; both -their hearts were heavy with the sense of disaster, but Giannella -had something which Mariuccia had not—youth and love and hope, to -strengthen her hard tried courage.</p> - -<p>When he was left alone Bianchi locked the door and stuffed a bit of -paper into the key hole. Then he took a rusty key from his vest pocket -and opened the old secretary by the window. From one of the pigeon -holes he drew forth a bundle of papers, laid them on the table, and -read them through one by one. Had Giannella been able to look over -his shoulder her eyes would have opened wide at the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span> revelations -they contained, and at the same time all surprise at the padrone's -extraordinary infatuation would have died with the knowledge. But -Giannella, Bianchi was resolved, never should see them, never should -know that her unwillingly written signature was attached to the -acknowledgment of certain respectable sums accruing to her while she -should be still under the Professor's tutelage as a minor, and to be -delivered into her own keeping on her twenty-first birthday. For the -documents on Bianchi's table set forth that one Siegfried Brockmann, -a merchant in Copenhagen, had died about a year earlier, leaving -his modest fortune to the person who should prove to be his nearest -relation. As he had had a brother who lived abroad, the conscientious -authorities instituted a search, which resulted in the discovery that -the brother had met his end in Rome, and that the person who should -claim the benefit of Siegfried Brockmann's will was this brother's -daughter, proved by the records of the Danish Consulate to have -survived her father. Inquiries of the police (who in those days kept -a strict registry of the families of all householders), and of the -parish priests, revealed that the child had been taken in charge by -one Mariuccia Botti, who had ever since that date been in the service -of Professor Carlo Bianchi, the distinguished archæologist. As this -gentleman, when referred to, claimed to be the responsible guardian -of the girl, and furnished, from his hastily reconstructed memoirs, -convincing proofs of her identity, the negotiations for the transfer -of the money were carried on with him<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span> by Signor De Sanctis, the legal -adviser of the Danish Consulate, and he was now in command of some -two thousand scudi a year, to be handed over in due form to Giannella -on her coming of age in the ensuing September. Since that date was so -close when the business was finally wound up in July, it was agreed -that the principal, together with the year's income which had accrued -between the testator's death and the finding of his heir, should lie -at interest in the Banco di Roma, barring the sum of one hundred scudi -handed to Bianchi to pay him for Giannella's maintainance during the -interval, and two hundred to be given to the girl herself to provide -her with a proper wardrobe and a little pocket money.</p> - -<p>It was for this sum that Giannella had signed a receipt. The Professor, -on the first announcement of her inheritance, confided to De Sanctis -that the girl was of a nervous, excitable temperament, and begged to -be allowed to inform her of her good fortune himself. He would break -the news quietly and gently. He added that she was shy with strangers, -and, like so many young ladies, inclined to be hysterical on slight -provocation. Giannella would not have recognized herself from the -Professor's description. De Sanctis in his one short conversation with -her, had satisfied himself that she was of sound mind; her answers to -his questions as to her childhood at Castel Gandolfo, her education at -the convent, her having no friends except Signor Bianchi and Mariuccia, -were given with frankness and clearness. Bianchi, in a subsequent -interview with the lawyer,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span> told him that she had been much overcome -by the revelation made to her, and suggested, in order to avoid any -emotional scene, "so disturbing to a man of business," that he should -give her the two hundred dollars himself and she should sign a receipt -for it in De Sanctis' presence without any further discussion of the -subject.</p> - -<p>De Sanctis consented gladly. He had a horror of scenes, pleasant or -unpleasant, and was anxious to save time and get the little business -off his mind. The Professor's reputation for parsimony had rather -heightened than diminished the general opinion of his probity. It -seemed fortunate for the girl that she should have such an upright and -careful adviser. Nevertheless the lawyer's bewilderment was great at -meeting her quite a fortnight after the conclusion of the transaction -in the same garb of decent poverty, the same attitude of humble -domestic service in which he had first found her. But he reflected that -there was no accounting for tastes—and dismissed the matter from his -thoughts.</p> - -<p>So Mariuccia's brave inventions about the Brockmann relations had -materialized at last. No wonder that the Professor's attention was -attracted to Giannella. Even Mariuccia would have appeared less -forbidding in his eyes had she suddenly inherited money. As for -Giannella, he honestly wondered that he had never noticed before that -she was young and beautiful; now that he had time to think of it, he -remembered with what good-natured readiness she had waited on him and -worked for him; something like a real <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span>affection stirred in his heart. -It began to reach out for its rights in comradeship and sympathy, and -he permitted himself to look forward to the more cheerful aspects of -advancing years which he had seen others enjoy but had as yet not -provided for himself. If self was the central motive of his actions at -this juncture, at least his feelings towards the girl were as warm and -kind as his strange nature would permit; and he contemplated, as he -thought, no injury to her; her interests would be carefully safeguarded -in case of his dying first, and in the meantime he was doing her a -benefit by preventing her from squandering her money. So quickly does -self-deception do its work that in a few days after he made up his mind -to marry her he had persuaded himself that he would have done so long -ago had not common prudence barred the way. No man with a sense of duty -would take a portionless bride, of course. But since that reproach had -fallen from her, dear, pretty sweet-tempered Giannella would make an -excellent wife and do him credit, since, probably on account of the -regard felt for himself, she had received a decent education. She had -much to thank him for, he reflected, and he was glad that in the recent -manifesto of his intentions, so rudely received by her, he had not -permitted her to forget her obligations to him. Her unwillingness in -no way affected his calm conviction that he would carry his point in -the end, but there was no time to be lost. Giannella was within a few -weeks of her twenty-first birthday, and Bianchi, who, though he had no -particular impatience to enter heaven, was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span> mightily afraid of hell, -knew that unless she and her money had been lawfully and irrevocably -confined to his keeping before that date he must either become a common -thief or hand over her fortune to her as soon as she came of age.</p> - -<p>And then—good-bye pretty money, good-bye pretty Giannella. Mariuccia -and the Curato, and the honest gossips of the neighborhood would find -a pious, honest young man with a fortune more or less equal to hers; -there would be a wedding, and confetti, and a drive round the Villa -Borghese in a livery carriage; and the Professor would return to his -defrauded home and have to watch Mariuccia court a painful death by -devouring fifteen baiocchi's worth of food a day all to herself. No, -these wrongs must not be. The foolish women should know nothing of -defunct Scandinavian uncles until the unconscious heiress was safely -ticketed as a prudent man's wife. Then how pleased they would be if -he spent a few pauls of Giannella's money in taking them out of a -Sunday afternoon to one of the osterias beyond the gates where wine and -maccheroni were so good and cheap!</p> - -<p>But he told himself again that there was no time to lose if all his -pleasant dreams were to be realized. He had not counted on the girl's -resistance; it had caused him a painful surprise to find that any -young woman should be so devoid of proper feeling, should show such -a complete lack of gratitude for past benefits and those which he -now proposed to confer. Of course Mariuccia had much to do with it. -Opposition from her he had expected; it was not to be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span> supposed that -she would relish the idea of having to look upon Giannella as her -mistress. The "stultus vulgus" was always so jealous and suspicious. -And unfortunately Mariuccia's was a strong character in a vulgar way. -The kind-hearted Professor acknowledged to himself that it would -cost him many struggles to break down the combined resistance of two -obstinate women, and that discomfort would be added to conflict in the -process, since the ordering of his daily life was in their hands. He -must find an ally of their own sex, one sufficiently imposing to awe -them into good behavior. Who so fitted to speak with authority as the -Princess, to whom Giannella owed so much gratitude and respect? He -would lay the facts—with a few insignificant reservations—before the -great lady and beg her to intervene for the good of the orphan in whom -she had taken such benevolent interest a few years ago.</p> - -<p>Rather resenting the necessity of wasting time over these details when -that thrilling discovery of the Cardinal's awaited his inspection, he -presented himself at the Princess's door and sent in his card with -the respectful request that her Excellency would grant him a short -interview on a matter of great importance. He spent some trying moments -in the visitor's waiting-room, in uncertainty as to the result of his -application, and was greatly relieved when informed that the Princess -would have the pleasure of seeing him.</p> - -<p>Teresa Santafede was a good deal harassed at this time by domestic -matters; she missed her faithful Elena Dati more every day; Onorato -was distressing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span> her deeply by still evading the charms and chains of -matrimony; her health seemed breaking down, she began to feel old and -to lose confidence in herself. A mistake had been made somewhere; life -had proved unruly and would not fit into the frame she had made for -it. Still she was alert to the call of duty, and never sent away any -person who had a right to see her. This wearisome Professor evidently -wanted something. She hoped it could be quickly and reasonably granted -him—ask him to walk in.</p> - -<p>All her sense of duty could not disarm her manner of a certain -stiffness, the outcome of the nobles' deep-seated hereditary antagonism -to the middle class, the class which once furnished hundreds of clients -to every great patrician and is now independent of patronage yet still -mean, obscure, envious yet critical, nameless but ubiquitous, carrying -on its colorless existence entirely apart from their illuminated -sphere. A chasm of separation from her visitor was disclosed in the -Princess's slight, formal bow, and as Bianchi gingerly sat down -on the edge of a chair opposite her sofa, and dropped his hat and -gloves on the floor, his heart sank a little, not from any sense -of inferiority—the Romans are not snobs—but simply because the -atmosphere was not one of success. He was, however, conscious of -the justice of his cause, and after an opening speech, in which he -reminded his hearer of her former benevolence to a certain orphan -girl, unfolded his case with a good deal of tact and plausibility. As -he went on, the Princess became first interested, then sympathetic. -The undoubted benefit of such a <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span>marriage for a friendless young woman -was evident. Suppose, said Bianchi, that he or his old servant were to -die? In what an impossible position would Giannella find herself! Could -she remain in his home without a respectable female's companionship? -Could she, in case of his own demise (here the Princess made a polite -gesture of deprecation), be cast on the world, young and attractive -as she was, with only an aged peasant to protect her from its snares -and temptations? The Excellency must surely see that Giannella's only -safety lay in a respectable marriage, and the speaker's good heart, -yearning over the girl's future, had prompted him to throw himself into -the breach.</p> - -<p>The moment the word "temptation" sounded in her ears the Princess's -conscience hurled itself to the rescue of a soul in danger, just as the -nearest surgeon hastens to give first aid to the victim of a street -accident. Likes or dislikes, youthful romance or aged prejudice, all -must be swept aside to preserve the innocent and convert the sinful. -Safety awaited Giannella (whose existence had for some time escaped the -Princess's overburdened memory) as the wife of the good, disinterested -man who seemed to have put his own feelings out of the question and to -be pleading her cause alone with fine singleness of heart.</p> - -<p>"I see. Yes, I agree with you," the hostess said, bowing slightly -to show that the interview was ended. "Send the girl to me, and let -the servant accompany her. I will speak to Giannella alone, and will -then have a few words with the old woman, who can only be acting from -jealous and unworthy motives in thus<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span> opposing a marriage which, in -spite of a trifling difference of age, offers such advantages to -that unfortunate orphan. I am not at all surprised at the servant's -conduct. The common people are always ignorant and stubborn, but they -can see reason when it is explained to them. I have generally found -our contadini tractable. Excuse me for mentioning such a thing—but I -suppose there is no secret attachment, no foolish love affair which is -causing Giannella to behave so strangely? That is quite impossible, is -it not?"</p> - -<p>"Quite impossible, Excellency," the Professor declared. "We have -brought her up most strictly, have never let her out of our sight. I -can assure you that she has never spoken to a young man in her life!"</p> - -<p>Had the Princess become more human with the passing years? A gleam of -amused pity touched her eyes and mouth; but she replied gravely: "That -is as it should be. I shall expect her to-morrow then at ten o'clock. -I am leaving for Santafede at twelve and shall not return to Rome till -October. It was fortunate, Signor Professore, that you came to-day." -Bianchi bowed himself out with effusive thanks. As he went on his way -to keep his interesting appointment with the Cardinal, his appearance -was one of such elation that a student who belonged to his class at the -university laughingly pointed him out to his two companions, Rinaldo -Goffi and Peppino Sacchetti. "There goes old 'brontolone' (grumbler) -Bianchi, boys," he said, "just look at him. I never saw him so happy -before. He might have won a terno in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span> lottery! But I am sure it is -nothing more than a copper picked up in the street—or another mouldy -old statue discovered in a cabbage patch. What things some men do stick -for stars in their sky!"</p> - -<p>"Is that Professor Bianchi?" asked Rinaldo, looking after the receding -figure with sudden interest. "Capperi! He is no beauty!"</p> - -<p>"Who is, at that age?" laughed Peppino, and he began to hum, "La -gioventu é un fiore, che presto se ne vá."</p> - -<p>But Rinaldo did not laugh. A chance phrase of the sacristan of San -Severino came back to his mind. "Now that she is big and pretty, -they say he means to marry her." He had hardly thought of it again. -Giannella's eyes, Giannella's smile, had told him that he had no -rivals; but the insolence of the Professor's pretensions suddenly -kindled him to a fury of resentment. That sallow, hook-nosed, -round-shouldered old fellow would dare to approach her, was trying to -wrap the cobwebs of his ugly age round her sweet freshness? For the -first time in his life Rinaldo felt a passionate hatred fasten on his -heart and pump the lust of murder through his veins. He was standing -rooted to the spot, gazing at the entrance to Palazzo Cestaldini, -through which the Professor had disappeared.</p> - -<p>"Come on, Nalduccio," said Peppino, shaking him by the arm, "what on -earth is the matter? You look as if you had seen the Lupo Manaro."</p> - -<p>"I wish it would catch him," growled Rinaldo, turning to his friends -with such an expression that they drew back from him in horror. "May -he and all his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span> best dead be the werewolf's food forever. No, I shall -not come to the river. The sight of that antipatico Professor of yours -has upset me. It will be more prudent to go home and take a dose of -medicine than to go for a cold swim after such an emotion."</p> - -<p>"Is it as bad as that?" inquired Peppino with affectionate concern. -"Poveraccio, perhaps he has the evil eye?" and he fingered the coral -horn on his watch chain as he pronounced the fatal word. "If so, why, I -think I will come with you. This meeting might bring us bad luck on the -river. It is a Friday, too. Yes, I will go back with you, Rinaldo."</p> - -<p>"Stuff and nonsense!" exclaimed the third member of the party, the -irreverent student who had drawn attention to Bianchi; "I and thirty -others have been attending his lectures for the last year, and nothing -has happened to us. He is as ugly as hungry, and as tiresome as the -Latin in a sermon, but as for the other thing, I never heard that he -was accused of it. What a couple of superstitious young donkeys you -are!"</p> - -<p>"That is all very well," retorted Peppino, "but when the mere sight -of a man makes such an impression as that—are you feeling worse, -Nalduccio?" he inquired hastily, seeing the artist's face screwing -itself up into a frightful grimace—"it is folly, even impiety, to -disregard it. Come along, Rinaldo, we will stop at the apothecary's and -get him to prescribe for you, and I will come and sit with you till you -feel better."</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER XIII</h2> - -<p>The Professor had a delightful hour with Cardinal Cestaldini, an hour -during which personal preoccupations ceased to exist. The Cardinal, -indeed, never seemed to have any of these; his bland, benevolent, -well-ordered existence left no loophole for worry, the cipher word -which expresses in five letters regrets for the past, irritation in the -present, and anxiety concerning the future. Whatever the occupation of -the moment might be, he came to it gladly and preparedly, knew that it -was either obligatory or legitimate, and turned from it to the next -without haste, without delay, without a jarring note in the harmonious -modulations by which his spirit passed from key to key, from the inner -sanctuaries of prayer and contemplation to the apostolic publicity of -his sacredotal and hierarchical functions, the fulfillment of every -duty as a priest and a prince of the Church; and again from these to -the intellectual and artistic enjoyments which provided the recreation -necessary to preserve the elasticity of his well-balanced mind.</p> - -<p>He enjoyed few things, in a minor way, more than his occasional -conversations with Carlo Bianchi. Those were the days when the new -archæology was in its infancy, when the ground had been barely broken -over the rich depths of the second Rome, although its more visible -remains everywhere met the eye, built<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span> into palace and basilica or -standing up in sun-stained beauty of colonnade and temple, amphitheater -or triumphal arch. The first Rome lay still buried, still undreamed -of, far beneath the second, in its cerement of soil, so closely spaded -in by time that it served to bear the enormous weight of the Imperial -city, which in its turn supported Roma Terza, the Rome of the middle -ages and the popes. And every particle of that fine black soil had been -soaked in blood whirled by tempest, fused by fire; had incorporated -with itself uncounted thousands of human bodies, falling like living -grain in the swathe of the invader, who dropped into it in his turn and -was gathered to his enemy, hate to hate, Etruscan to Latin, Latin to -Roman, Roman to Barbarian, as Fortune flung the numbers from her ever -blood-bright wheel.</p> - -<p>Perhaps some prophetic thrill of discovery was in the air already when -Carlo Bianchi came to examine and discuss the Cardinal's fragment -of inscription that sultry July afternoon. The strangely archaic -lettering, the almost unintelligible elementariness of the few Latin -words, threw the two interpreters of antiquity into a state of -excitement most unusual to both of them. Their hearts warmed to this -mutilated ancestor of history, separated from all catalogued relics by -some great chasm of time; the Cardinal smiled like a boy and fingered -the pitted stone as if it had been a flower; the Professor's hands -trembled so that he had to take three rubbings before he could get a -satisfactory impression of the treasure. Could they but find the rest! -What might it not reveal! Ah, it might be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span> far away, if not already -ground to powder or built into the foundations of some ponderous -mausoleum. Well, they could but search. The Professor, forgetful of -all else, was for descending then and there to the vast vaults which -lay beneath the palace; remains of huge nameless ruins which had been -utilized as foundations for a fortress in mediæval times, a stronghold -which had in its turn been shorn away and its materials built into the -stately Renaissance dwelling erected by one of the Cardinal's ancestors -to mark the accession of his family to power.</p> - -<p>"Let me descend to this fortunate Avernus at once, Eminenza," Bianchi -pleaded. "Who knows but that the workmen in their ignorance may destroy -that which we so desire to find?"</p> - -<p>"No, amico," replied the prelate, "there is no fear of that. All work -was stopped at once when the foreman brought this to me, as he does -every fragment of marble which is turned up by his men. They have gone -away now. I would not have another spade struck into the earth until -I should have consulted you. But you must not visit the place now; it -is always damp, and especially unsafe at this hour, after the heat of -the day. The chill would strike to the bone—would you invite an ague? -No, if you will favor me by coming in the morning, having fortified -yourself with a little quinine, and, speaking with respect, with a -flannel vest, I will perhaps be so selfish as to accept your kind -offer, though I shall appear to you as a coward, for I have caught a -slight cold and dare not run the risk of accompanying you. It is like<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span> -stepping into a cold bath. Indeed, much as I wish to discover more, -my conscience tells me that you would do better to trust Michele, the -foreman, who is most obedient and intelligent, to go carefully over -the ground himself, to a permitted depth. Every atom of stone could be -brought here for your inspection. We should lose nothing, I am sure."</p> - -<p>The Cardinal spoke with all the emphasis he could muster, but there -was a wistful entreaty in his eyes, in the very tones of his voice, as -if he were unselfishly imploring some hero of romance not to lead a -forlorn hope to the rescue of one dear to him.</p> - -<p>The Professor, carried out of himself by true enthusiasm, was about -to reply that nothing should deter him from personally continuing the -search the following morning, when an old servant stole into the room -and stood waiting beside his master's chair for permission to speak.</p> - -<p>"What is it, Domenico?" the Cardinal inquired, looking up at him with a -friendly smile.</p> - -<p>"Eminenza," the man replied, "the avvocato De Sanctis is here. He says -that he has brought the papers of the Ariccia property. If the Eminenza -would condescend to sign them this evening he could go out and conclude -the affair to-morrow. But if it is inconvenient—"</p> - -<p>"Not at all!" replied the master. "Ask him to come in. A busy man -like that must not be made to lose his time." Then, as the servant -retired, he turned to Bianchi with gentle apology. "You will pardon the -interruption, my friend? The business will <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span>occupy but a few moments. -De Sanctis—but what is the matter? Are you indisposed?"</p> - -<p>The Professor had risen unsteadily to his feet, at the same time -turning sickly pale. De Sanctis! The last person he wished to meet -or to have reminded of his existence till after the little ceremony -which was to take place in three weeks! Distractedly he looked towards -the door. He must fly—but he would be flying into the lawyer's arms. -Well, better do that, and rush past him, than risk any polite inquiry -as to how the excitable Signorina Brockmann was enjoying spending her -abundant pocket money. There would be explanations—why keep such a -pretty story a secret? The Cardinal would see his sister before long -and would rally her on the fine good luck of her old protégée; and -if the Princess came to know of that, after his own high-sounding -protestations of disinterestedness that very afternoon—heavens, what a -feast for carrion crows would the corpse of Carlo Bianchi's reputation -become! The mere thought made him feel cold and sick.</p> - -<p>"I must beg your Eminence to excuse me," he found voice to stammer, "a -slight indisposition—pray incommode no one," for the Cardinal's hand -was on his bell; "it will pass in the open air. With permission of the -Eminenza I remove the inconvenience of my presence."</p> - -<p>Scarcely waiting to hear his host's expressions of regret, he hurried -from the room just in time to brush past De Sanctis, with averted -face, in the curtained shadow of the next deep doorway. How he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span> prayed -that the sharp-eyed young man might not recognize him, might not, -remembering the facts, entertain the kindhearted Cardinal with the -story of a poor orphan, once the beneficiary of his noble sister's -charity, who had, in the twinkling of an eye, become quite a little -heiress in a modest way.</p> - -<p>De Sanctis, intent on accomplishing his business, paid small attention -to the outgoing visitor. When he had kissed the Cardinal's ring, and -was preparing to spread his documents on the table, he carelessly -pushed aside the three-cornered fragment of marble which was so -precious in the eyes of the prelate.</p> - -<p>"Take care, Guglielmo," cried the latter, putting out both hands to -save his treasure, "that stone is more valuable to me than all the -Ariccia property."</p> - -<p>"Pardon my blindness, Eminenza," said De Sanctis. "Is this a new gem -to add to the great collection?" There was a touch of amusement in his -tone which jarred on the Cardinal's ear.</p> - -<p>"You could not be expected to appreciate its value," he replied with -gentle dignity; "that is for specialists like myself and Professor -Bianchi. He suspects that it antedates all existing inscriptions by -at least three hundred years. An account of it will appear in next -month's <i>Archæological Review</i>." He wrapped the thing in a red silk -handkerchief and signed to De Sanctis to deposit it on another table.</p> - -<p>The lawyer obeyed in respectful silence; then he dipped the pen in -the ink, handed it to his employer, shook the sand over the delicate -pointed signatures on the three sheets and laid them together. </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span></p> - -<p>The Cardinal looked up at him with a little smile, saying, "You are -very quiet to-day, my son. Did I reproach you too sharply for not -sharing my little enthusiasms? You must forgive me. We old fellows are -apt to grow querulous, you know."</p> - -<p>"But, Eminenza, what an idea!" exclaimed De Sanctis in shocked protest. -"No indeed. I fear my mind had wandered from the matter in hand. The -mention of Professor Bianchi had set me thinking. I apologize for my -bad manners."</p> - -<p>"You know the Professor?" the Cardinal asked. "Ah, I have a great -respect for him. Such deep learning and such simple modesty of -character are rarely met with."</p> - -<p>De Sanctis bowed in acquiescence. "I have only the honor of a slight -acquaintance with him," he replied, "but doubtless your Eminence's -discernment is not mistaken. Indeed I believe he hardly meets his due, -in general, for public opinion accuses him of avarice—and I have -caught him, red-handed, in a long-continued work of charity."</p> - -<p>The Cardinal's eyes shone with the light of that lovely virtue and he -leaned forward eagerly. "But this is delightful," he said, "tell me all -about it. How consoling it is to hear of good deeds done in secret!"</p> - -<p>"I will relate the facts with pleasure, Eminenza," the other answered. -"Since they only redound to Professor Bianchi's credit, I think I shall -not be guilty of any betrayal of confidence in doing so." And then he -told the story of how a forsaken child had been cared for during her -infancy by a kind-hearted <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span>gentleman; how when the burden became too -heavy for him, the listener's most excellent sister had sent the child -to school for nine years; how at the end of that time she had returned -to the archæologist, who had received her as his own daughter (De -Sanctis was convinced the Professor's daughter would have had to work -quite as hard as Giannella, and he was merely repeating the facts as he -had learned them from Bianchi himself); how Bianchi had kept her under -his roof ever since, shielding her from all care and temptation; how -the girl had unexpectedly inherited a competency which in her rank of -life entitled her to make a good marriage—and how happy all this had -made her benefactor. All that was wanting now was the appearance of a -good, suitable young man to complete the family circle.</p> - -<p>The Cardinal had completely forgotten his own intervention in the -matter of Giannella's education and his defense of Bianchi from Fra -Tommaso's reproaches at that time; he had received and attended to -several scores of like applications in the last fourteen years, and -never gave such things another thought when his part was done, so he -beamed approbation at the lawyer's narrative. Many sad stories, he -said, came to his ears, but few such encouraging ones. Did the Princess -know of it? If not, he would give himself the pleasure of telling -her; and as for the good young man—he laid his hand for a moment on -that of De Sanctis—if the girl was sweet and virtuous, why should -she not make the right wife for him? It<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span> was time he chose a partner -for life. His own circumstances were prosperous, his future assured; -and a good Christian wife would be a great comfort and assistance to -him. The Cardinal believed in the wisdom of fairly early marriages, -and De Sanctis, who had his own views on the subject, had to listen -submissively to a discourse full of eloquence and sweetness on the -benefits accruing to society and the individual from the experience and -example of a Christian union.</p> - -<p>"Your Eminence rates me too high," he said, when at last he could -interrupt the persuasive periods. "I am a poor selfish devil, set on -rising in my profession, and I have come to the conclusion that I can -do that best as a bachelor. Indeed I am not sure that a lawyer has much -more right to get married than a priest."</p> - -<p>"And why not?" inquired the Cardinal, rather shocked at this -unconventional proposition.</p> - -<p>"Because," De Sanctis replied with his sardonic little smile, "he acts -as a kind of father confessor to the public. And though the public is -quite ready to confide its innocent little secrets to him, it does not -care about having them shared with his pretty wife, who is sure to be -as curious as Eve and as talkative as a parrot. No, Eminenza, I cannot -afford to take on such a responsibility just yet. Eve was doubtless a -great comfort and pleasure to Adam in Paradise—but she never rested -till she got him turned out. She must have been more than woman if -she did not reproach him for the catastrophe afterwards—and he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span> must -have been more than man if he did not frequently wish that he had been -allowed to enjoy a peaceful existence alone."</p> - -<p>The Cardinal was laughing now, but his sermon was not ended. "You -are incorrigible, my son," he said, "but your fine philosophy will -go to pieces when you find yourself old and lonely and miserably -rich—with no child to inherit your money, no one to care whether you -are ill or well, alive or dead. Then you will have to follow Professor -Bianchi's example and adopt an orphan on whom to expend your natural -goodness of heart. However, I forgive your recalcitrancy this time, -for the sake of the charming story you told me. Good-bye—take care -of yourself when you go into the country to-morrow. The weather is -'bisbetico'—capricious just now. I fancy the rains are at hand. -Arrivederci."</p> - -<p class="center">* * * * * * *</p> - -<p>"It was a pretty story," De Sanctis said to himself as he walked home -through the darkening streets where the few oil lamps were winking -bravely under the onslaughts of the hot, moist wind, the scirocco -that caresses at one moment and sears in the next. "It was certainly -a pretty story and I told it to that saintly man just as it was told -to me. But—oh, you are a sad liar, Guglielmo mio," and he tapped his -own forehead reproachfully, "for you know that in your heart you don't -believe a word of it—the Professor's part of it at least. When the -wolf divides its food with the lamb, then we can begin to talk about -such a <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span>phenomenon. Diamini, here is the rain—and I have forgotten my -umbrella."</p> - -<p>The Professor returned to his home less gaily than he had quitted it. -He seemed to have little appetite for his supper; Mariuccia heard him -go out for a short time afterwards, and when he returned soon after -ten, he seemed more cheerful, but still looked pale and tired. "He has -caught another chill," she mournfully told herself, "I let him go out -too soon, stupid creature that I was. Oh, San Giuseppe mio, are these -troubles never to finish?"</p> - -<p>Bianchi had had a critical question to settle. Was it—or was it -not—safe to send Giannella to the Princess? He had little doubt that -the latter would gain his point for him with the girl; Giannella had -till now been singularly amenable to authority. Now that it seemed -necessary to analyze it, her temperament, he decided, was a cold one; -all northerners were like that; difficult to rouse, too sluggish to -fight long, though tiresomely obstinate when some prejudice was in -question. This was the first time she had ever attempted to oppose her -will to that of her elders; it was a whim; it would pass. The scirocco -had been blowing for several days—that probably accounted for it. Yes, -she had always been a docile little thing, giving no trouble at all; -he had no fear of the upshot if the Princess spoke to her as, a few -hours since, she had promised to speak. But there was that one small -but hideous possibility that De Sanctis—an apoplexy to him—might have -told the Cardinal of Giannella's<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span> good luck, and that the Cardinal, in -some caprice of amused benevolence, might, before to-morrow morning, -have related the same to his sister. He sometimes paid her a visit in -"prima sera," the early evening, always reserved for intimates; and -some demon might prompt him to come to-night to wish her a pleasant -journey to the country. All these possibilities were of the slightest -kind, yet the mere shadow of them was desperately disturbing. If none -of them became facts, all would go smoothly. To-morrow the Princess -would depart for her annual villeggiatura at Santafede, forty miles -away to the north, and when she returned in October she and her brother -would have forgotten all about Giannella Brockmann's unimportant -destinies, and, if they should ever hear or think of her, would never -raise the question of whether it was before or after the twenty-fifth -of July that she had inherited the forty thousand scudi which would -seem a trifle to personages like them, but the mere possession of which -would bring joy unspeakable to poor unobtrusive Carlo Bianchi.</p> - -<p>So he walked up and down his room in a fever of suspense, looking out -of his window every moment to see if the Cardinal's carriage were -coming up the street from the Ripetta; then he would turn and look at -the clock. If once the hands touched ten and the Cardinal had not come, -he knew that he was safe. It wanted twenty minutes yet of that magic -hour. Ah, there was a rumble of wheels. Again he was at the window, -peering down at something going by, a heavy carriage apparently. He -cursed his short sight, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span> the wretchedly dim light below, for he -could not make out the details. As the vehicle turned the corner and -disappeared into the piazza his heart stood still and a sudden rage -possessed him. He must know if that carriage had entered the porte -cochère, if it belonged to the Cardinal.</p> - -<p>He snatched up his hat and cloak and went downstairs as rapidly as he -dared, for the lights were few and the stone steps damp and slippery -from the scirocco. At last he was safely out under the colonnade. -Heaven be praised, the courtyard was empty. No hearse-like vehicle was -standing at the far end waiting for its occupant. He walked the length -of the colonnade and made sure that it was not under shelter at the -entrance to the Princess's apartment. As he reached the spot, the clock -in the porter's lodge struck ten, and the man came out, yawning, to -close the great doors for the night. No music had ever sounded sweeter -in the Professor's ears than those thin metallic strokes; the fat -porter in his shirt sleeves running the bolts home in their stanchions -was a bright, beneficent being shutting the demons of ill-luck out into -the darkness. Glad at heart, at peace with all the world, Carlo Bianchi -climbed the long stairs and regained his room. Now indeed he could go -to sleep.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER XIV</h2> - -<p>Giannella was amazed at learning the next morning that she and -Mariuccia were to wait on the Princess at ten o'clock. Bianchi called -her into the study to give her the message, without any explanation -or comment. Mariuccia had followed her to the door and listened -attentively at the keyhole, so she had little to learn when the girl -came out, grasped her arm excitedly, and dragged her back to the -kitchen. There they stood and stared at one another in dumb perplexity. -Mariuccia threw up her hands at last and turned away, as if giving the -problem up.</p> - -<p>Then Giannella broke out in agitated whispers: "What does it mean? She -forgets all about us for three years at least—and now, just as she is -going away, we are to be sure to go to her at ten o'clock. It must be -something very extraordinary. Everything is in a bustle down there; -they were packing the traveling carriages already when I went out to -Mass. What can she want of us?"</p> - -<p>"Better ask Pasquino,"<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> Mariuccia replied with a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span> toss of the head, -"I don't know. Perhaps the Princess means to take you to the country -with her."</p> - -<p>"That is very likely, is it not?" retorted Giannella, her eyes -flashing with sudden wrath, "after banishing me from her presence—for -nothing—all these years! I wish she had left me alone in the -beginning. Why didn't you all let me be a servant, earning my living -like other girls, poor like me, and not made miserable by being -educated above their wretched station in life? What good did the -reading and writing, the designing and embroidery, ever do me? Here I -am, a grown woman, still as dependent as a baby or an idiot. No, I am -not grateful to the Princess. If she began, she should have finished. I -could do for her what dear Signora Dati, of good memory, did—I could -write her letters and save her many steps, many annoyances—I could -have been useful to her or some other lady. That was what Signora Dati -meant for me—she told me so once. But no. The Princess takes a dislike -to me, and I am dropped out of sight. I would not take one step for her -now. I will not go down this morning."</p> - -<p>By this time Giannella's cheeks were flaming and tears of anger were -brimming in her eyes. She stood, tense and panting, her hands behind -her, the incarnation of sudden revolt. Mariuccia was appalled. The -revelation of slow secret suffering would have grieved her to the -heart at any other time, but now it was swallowed up in horror at -the audacity of the girl's declaration. Not obey the commands of a -Cestaldini, of Mariuccia's own Princess, the greatest <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span>personage in -her world except the Holy Father himself! And then, this outburst of -black ingratitude, why, it was like Lucifer rebelling against the -Divine mandates! The stern old peasant felt that she must conquer this -demon of insurrection on the spot. She came and put both her hands on -Giannella's shoulders and looked her straight in the eyes. The hands -felt heavy as flatirons, but the girl stiffened her shoulders under -their weight, and the gray eyes were bright and burning, for all the -tears, as they met the angry black ones.</p> - -<p>"You sometimes say that I have been like a mother to you," Mariuccia -began, her deep masculine tones rumbling like approaching thunder. "Do -you know what I would do if I were really your mother? For all that -you are long and large, I would take that little stick over there," -she pointed to a broomstick in the corner, "and give you a beating you -would never forget. That is how we teach obedience and respect in the -Castelli. But because you are not my child—though God knows I have -loved you as if you were—" The voice choked and a dimness came over -the old eyes that still never flinched from their steady, reproachful -gaze.</p> - -<p>Then Giannella's arms were flung round her neck, and the golden head -was buried on her shoulder, and the young heart was weeping out its -storm of love and sorrow and remorse against the old one.</p> - -<p>"Mariuccia mia," she sobbed, "you have been an angel to me, and I am a -wretch, an ingrate, but I love you. It was not true, not a single word. -I will do<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span> anything you wish, anything—even go down to the Princess."</p> - -<p>"What are you about, you females?" cried a sharp voice in the passage. -"Do you know that it is half-past nine? Make haste and get ready to -go to her Excellency." Then the study door was slammed impatiently. -Evidently the master was not in a good temper this morning.</p> - -<p>When the two women presented themselves at the Princess's door at -five minutes to ten, Giannella was led away alone, and Mariuccia, -much against her will, left to wait in the anteroom. All Giannella's -rage had evaporated by this time and the old awe, the sense of being -dominated by greater powers, stole over her as she followed the -attendant through the series of remembered rooms, silent and splendid, -darkened to keep out the heat, and pleasantly cool compared with the -burning air of the courtyard outside. She recalled her first childish -impression that the place must be a church; then, sooner than she -expected it, she found herself standing before the Princess in the -same old attitude of frightened submission. She knew that she would -do whatever was required of her if the regal black-robed woman in -the great chair by the table had any commands to issue. She had no -particular curiosity now as to what they might prove to be; she only -felt the oppressive weight of authority made visible.</p> - -<p>But the command, when it came, gave her a most disagreeable shock. -The Princess, with the gravity of a judge summing up the case against -a prisoner,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span> opened her discourse by stating the facts. An honorable -proposal had been made to Giannella by the kind and upright gentleman -to whom she already owed so much, and the judge was grieved to learn -that it had been met in a most unsuitable spirit. No opening was given -to the prisoner in which to express any private opinion, no loophole in -the argument permitted escape from the logical conclusion—namely, that -a young girl alone in the world was committing a great sin in refusing -the protection of a Christian husband. Such a course could only point -to one thing, an innate levity of character (the Princess, remembering -her former apprehensions about Onorato, looked sternly condemnatory as -she said this), a levity which, unchecked, must end in a disastrous -downward career. She spoke of the horrible temptations to which needy -and unprotected young women are exposed, warned her listener of the -abominable designs harbored by men who tried to make poor girls believe -that they admired them; contrasted Signor Bianchi's honorable behavior -with that of such base deceivers; and finally asked Giannella to -contemplate the picture of her own destiny should the Professor, justly -incensed at her ingratitude, refuse her in future the shelter of his -roof.</p> - -<p>The speaker felt that this was not a time to mince matters, and she -made her meaning so cruelly clear, that Giannella, who had never had -her attention drawn to the degraded aspects of human nature, was -overwhelmed with shame and horror, and found it impossible to control -the flood of tears which rose to her eyes. The Princess, seeing that -she had gained her<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span> point with the girl, sent for Mariuccia, who had -been fuming in the anteroom for three-quarters of an hour. When she -made her appearance, Giannella was standing beside the big chair, still -weeping bitterly; the Princess was holding her hand quite kindly. The -prisoner had repented, and was now to be forgiven in form.</p> - -<p>"There is nothing to cry about now, my child," the judge was saying; -"you are naturally sorry for having shown yourself so ungrateful and -unamiable to the good man who has done so much for you and only asks -to do more. But now you understand things better—how exceedingly -fortunate it is for you, who have no relations and no dowry, to find -an honest Christian husband to protect you from the dangers I have -been describing and which would certainly assail you if you were left -alone in the world. Now go home and tell Signor Bianchi that you will -do your best to be a good wife to him. Believe me, respect is a better -foundation for happiness in matrimony than any sentimental affection -such as young people sometimes permit themselves to dream of. Heaven -will grant you the necessary graces for fulfilling your duty in the -married state; and here is a little present"—the Princess picked up a -closed envelope from the table and put it into Giannella's hand—"with -which you can buy your wedding dress—you had better get a black silk, -it will be useful to you afterwards. Now wait outside while I speak -with this good woman a moment."</p> - -<p>Giannella, too much overcome to say a word, kissed the extended hand -and withdrew to digest her misery in the outer room while Mariuccia -should receive her<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span> own particular scolding. Giannella's world had -slipped from under her feet. Even her trust in Rinaldo was shaken. As -for speaking of him—her adored, beautiful Rinaldo—to the terrible -Princess—she felt that it would have been easier and quite as useful -to jump out of the window. Perhaps he was in reality like the wicked -men of whose existence she had shudderingly learned; but that was -hard to believe. Only that morning he had looked at her with such a -light of truth in his dark eyes, had told her so joyfully about the -big picture—and then, with such poignant regret, that the purchaser -was leaving in a few days and insisted on its being completed, so that -every moment of daylight must go to it, and Rinaldo feared he could not -even come to Mass till next Sunday. Would Giannella remember to pray -for him till then? He would be needing it so badly. And Giannella had -laughingly replied that the next day was Sunday, when he must certainly -come and pray for himself. And on that they had shaken hands for the -first time. It was like sealing a compact. And when his fingers touched -hers he had opened his lips as if to speak—and had kept back the words -with an evident effort. Oh, she knew what they would have been. But of -course he was too honorable to let them pass his lips before he had -Mariuccia's sanction. Did Mariuccia dream of anything? Was it possible -that she was even now making out some kind of a case for her wretched -Giannella against the plausible, desirable, unendurable Professor? -What a time she was in there! And then the door opened and Mariuccia -came towards<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span> her with averted eyes and a silent shake of the head, -and Giannella saw that all was lost. Her only ally had succumbed, like -herself. Who were they, poor women of the people, to argue or reason -with authority in high places?</p> - -<p>They returned home silently, Giannella too sick at heart to discuss the -sentence which destiny seemed to have passed upon her, and Mariuccia -so angry with everything and everybody that she was ferociously sulky -all day. The Professor wisely stayed away till the evening, so as to -give the Princess's admonitions time to sink in. When he came back for -supper, expecting to find Giannella all submission and repentance, he -was curtly informed that she was not well and had been sent to bed. -And Mariuccia would not tell him a single word of what had taken place -at the interview of the morning. What was more, he caught a glimpse of -a magnificent pile of fruit and vegetables on the kitchen table (one -of Rinaldo's now constant sendings from the vigna), and when his tray -appeared it was disappointingly empty of what he considered his dues of -the bounties which his servant's relatives seemed to have been sending -her of late with such praiseworthy generosity. This symptom appeared -to him most ominous. It could only indicate a most unusual state of -things and pointed clearly to open revolt. Well, with the Princess -away the worst danger had passed; he argued only good from Giannella's -indisposition; she was preparing to meet him in the right spirit, and -a few hours must be granted her in which to accustom her mind to the -new dispensation.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span> Now for the article on the Cardinal's inestimable -fragment.</p> - -<p>Giannella herself could scarcely have catalogued her thoughts as she -sat the next morning at the window of the workroom; she only knew that -she wished to keep out of the padrone's way and that to this inner -fortress he never ventured to penetrate. She had a headache and a -heartache and felt quite ill enough to justify Mariuccia's statement. -She almost hoped, with the delightful audacity of youth, that she was -going to die. That appeared to be the shortest and most becoming way -out of her troubles.</p> - -<p>Just as she had reached this conclusion there was a shadow of wings on -the window ledge, and then Themistocles alighted there, his head on one -side and an alluring air of hope and mystery in his bearing. Giannella -reached down for the little basket of grain which always stood under -the work-table, and when she raised her head again the pigeon hopped -in and began to peck from her hand. Suddenly she gave a little cry -and leaned over to look closer. There was a bit of ribbon under the -collar round his neck, and, peeping out from beneath one wing, a -minute fold of paper. He had brought her a message from Rinaldo! With -trembling fingers she untied the ribbon, and drew forth from its plumed -resting-place a three-cornered note, which she opened in a tumult of -happiness. The color flushed up to her temples and her eyes shone when -she found a leaf of verbena pasted to the paper, and two words written -beneath, "Amicizia eterna."</p> - -<p>Eternal friendship! That was all he had dared to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span> say, but how much -it meant. Love in the respectful dress of friendship—that meant -eternal love. Giannella raised the little leaf to her cheek, smelt its -delicate perfume, brought it to her lips and kissed it once, twice, -a dozen times. Its fragrance seemed to speak of all happy things, it -gave her back her courage, her buoyancy, her very life. Should she -answer? Ah no, that would be too bold; besides, there was no word in -her vocabulary that would express the delicate ecstacy that filled her -heart. Yet she would send something—a leaf of the rose geranium there, -sweet as the verbena itself, and meaning, as she remembered from old -sentimental friendships at the convent, "Constancy under suffering." -There was nothing unmaidenly in that.</p> - -<p>Her nimble fingers, still so white and fine, gathered the leaf, folded -it in thin paper, and attached it to the ribbon. Themistocles was -busily engaged on the Indian corn when she tied it on. Having picked -up the last grain he perched for a moment on the window ledge, glanced -this way and that, then flung himself off into the quivering sunshot -blue of the noon, rose, and flew steadily away over the monastery roof.</p> - -<p>"You make me a liar!" exclaimed Mariuccia, coming in a few minutes -later and looking at the suddenly recovered invalid with delighted -astonishment. "I told the padrone you were ill."</p> - -<p>"So I am," replied Giannella, laughing for joy, "too ill to see him -to-day. Oh, Mariuccia, if you love me just a little let me stay in -here. I cannot wait on the padrone this morning." </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Rest easy, figlia mia, you shall not," the old woman promised. "I told -him you were hot and cold, and consumed with fever. You looked like -that an hour or two ago, so I shall not get a sore tongue this time."</p> - -<p>"It is all true," cried Giannella, "I burn with fever—but it is a good -fever. I feel happy—I want to sing."</p> - -<p>"Better so," growled the other; "since it seems you must marry him, I -am glad you are pleased. It is another thing for me. I cannot say that -I am. What has made you change your mind so suddenly? Are you thinking -of the silk dress and the confetti?"</p> - -<p>All the color left Giannella's face and she gave a little cry. "Madonna -mia buona, I had forgotten! Oh, what shall I do? What shall I do?" -And she covered her eyes with her hands and rocked herself in her -chair. She had forgotten—for a few happy moments—all that had gone -before—the Princess's manifesto, her own conviction while listening to -it that there could be no right action in opposition to so much sense -and piety—her remorse for her own selfishness and willfulness, the -perception of the duty which stood unbendingly before her.</p> - -<p>She rose and paced the narrow room, all her senses at war. Who could -help her? Who would tell her which was right and to be obeyed—her -own intense repulsion for Bianchi, strengthened a thousandfold by the -upspringing of the new love, the first love, all unbaptized as yet, but -drawing her with every chord of the spirit, every fiber of the flesh, -to her natural<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span> mate? or the fiat of those whom God had placed in -authority over her, the Princess, the Professor? She thought of taking -her case to her confessor, Padre Anselmo, over there at San Severino; -but how could she lay it honestly before the dim-eyed old saint, who -seemed already to be hovering so far above earth that he could only see -things from above, as the angels see them? How could she bare her heart -to him, confess that it had become a shrine of glory where a thousand -love lamps burned round one worshiped picture, the picture of a man she -had known but a few weeks and who had spoken no word to her or to her -natural guardians to show that he meant to ask her in marriage?</p> - -<p>She felt that she should die of shame if she had to tell that, for who -would ever understand? In days gone by, before she had seen love's -face, she had listened, first hopefully and then despondingly, to -Mariuccia's prophecies about the good young husband who would come to -seek for her. Then, marriage had presented itself as a mere change of -state, very slightly connected with the shadowy wooer. She had never -read a novel, never spoken with a person in love; the relations of -husband and wife had been wrapped for her in the impenetrable veil so -strongly insisted on in the Castelli, where girls at that time grew -up to womanhood believing what their mothers told them—that the mere -breath of man, a kiss or even a sigh, was all that was needed to make a -maid a mother. Trusting to this complete impersonality of the married -relation, it might have been possible for the Giannella of three<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span> -months earlier to bow her pretty head to fate and accept even Carlo -Bianchi as a husband, had authority voiced its mandate then; but now, -now the new music, new yet tenderly familiar, was sounding in her ears; -life lay before her like an unblown rose that every hour of sunshine -was kissing into bloom; a new Giannella had been born, and her every -heart-beat cried aloud, "I will live, I will live."</p> - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTE:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> The mutilated statue which served as a gazette of public -opinion. All lampoons, caricatures, etc. were pasted on the pedestal -in the night, and there was generally a little crowd gathered round -it in the morning. The questions were affixed to another torso called -Marforio, near by, and "Pasquino" displayed the answers.</p></div></div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER XV</h2> - -<p>For two days Rinaldo adhered to his resolution of spending all the -daylight hours at his easel, but by the third morning his depression -was so great that he resolved to resume the good habit of going to -early Mass. He had made one or two trespassing excursions to Fra -Tommaso's loggia in the hope of catching a glimpse of Giannella at -her window; but her place was empty and there was a strange air of -deadness, of unnatural orderliness about the few details of the room -which came within his line of vision. At once a thousand fears assailed -him. Was she ill? Had she gone away? Had his diffident little greeting -brought trouble upon her? He had been wildly happy over her mute -answer to it, but now he began to ponder as to whether it had not some -hidden meaning which he, unversed in flower language, had perhaps not -understood. He must find out at once. Very likely Sora Amalia could -tell him. Women set store by these pretty mysteries, and although he -could hardly imagine the stout mistress of the dairy as sending a love -letter in flowers to its red-faced master, yet she had been young once, -and probably very sentimental. He had heard that sentimental people -were usually inclined to grow fat. He would run down and ask her, very -guardedly of course, whether she could help him. And then he might get -some <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span>tidings of Giannella; she and Mariuccia called there almost every -day for one thing or another.</p> - -<p>So when evening drew on and the sun was sinking, a ball of smoldering -fire, behind heavy clouds in the west, Rinaldo said good-night to -the pink-cheeked cardinal and descended to the shop, where darkness -would have reigned already but for one smoky lamp. The heat inside was -suffocating, and Sora Amalia, as she put things in order for the night, -mopped her heated face with the corner of a long-suffering apron which -seemed to have been applied to many and alien uses during the day. -The good woman brightened up at the sight of a customer so late and -bustled about joyfully to get the eggs and cheese which Rinaldo made -the pretext for his visit.</p> - -<p>"The signorino does his own cooking?" she inquired; "that must be -a great trouble. It is all to his advantage in one way, of course, -since he would never get such miraculously fresh stuff as this at a -trattoria. But it must make many steps, much work—and in this hot -weather too."</p> - -<p>"It saves me four hot walks a day," Rinaldo replied, "and also much -money. Those trattori are all brigands. They have an art, most -diabolical, of dressing up coarse food in disguising sauces and giving -it grand names. It is like a veglione in carnival—you never know what -is really under the mask. I am sure I have many a time eaten goat's -flesh and paid for lamb."</p> - -<p>"Of course you have," said Sora Amalia <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span>sympathetically. "Poverino! -What you want is a nice clever little wife to see to things for you. -Has your good Signora Mamma not chosen one for you yet?"</p> - -<p>"My Signora Mamma is a long way off," Rinaldo answered, "and, to tell -you a secret, I mean to choose a wife for myself. How does one go about -it, Sora Amalia? I am shy, and dreadfully afraid of making some young -lady very angry by my stupidity. How did Sor Augusto begin when he -wanted to make love to you?"</p> - -<p>Sora Amalia crossed her arms over her ample bosom and meditated for a -moment. "I am trying to remember," she said; "ah yes—he was in the -pork trade in those days, and he sent me a paper of sausages. They were -a cream! I ate them all, and, capperi, but I was ill afterwards!" She -chuckled at the recollection.</p> - -<p>This was a long way off from the language of flowers. Rinaldo tried -another opening. "How sweet your carnations smell," he remarked, -pulling one out of the glass and dangling it before his nose. -"Garofoli—what does the name mean, I wonder?"</p> - -<p>"Married happiness," she replied promptly. "Are you looking for numbers -to play in the lotto?"</p> - -<p>He caught at the idea. "Why yes, that is just what I do want. I thought -of a little ambo for next Saturday."</p> - -<p>"Benone, here is the book," and she pulled a ragged volume out from -under the counter and held it close to the light. "I will find them for -you. Here is the place. Garofolo, 81, you had better write it down."<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span> -Rinaldo gravely produced a pencil and scribbled on his cuff. "Now," she -went on, "what is the second object?"</p> - -<p>"I will have another flower," he said, "a geranium leaf blew on to my -loggia this morning. Can you find the number for that?"</p> - -<p>"Oh yes, here it is on the same page—geranium, 29—odd numbers both. -You will draw something, signorino."</p> - -<p>"That which is to be, will be," he replied, "but has this one a bad -meaning? That might bring me ill-luck."</p> - -<p>Sora Amalia turned to an index at the end of the worn evangel of -fortune and ran her finger down a list. "I don't know that you would -call it bad exactly," she informed him, "but to me it smells of -misfortune. 'Constancy under suffering.'"</p> - -<p>"Madonna mia!" cried the young man with such distress in his voice that -the woman looked up in surprise. He had changed color and was leaning -heavily with both hands on the counter. His adviser hastened to comfort -him.</p> - -<p>"Come! come," she said soothingly, "do not let yourself be agitated. -We will choose something else for you. Sora Rosa's chair broke down -with her this morning and she went plump into a basket of cherries. A -marmalade it was, when she got up! I will find the number for chair."</p> - -<p>"No, no, I will not play in the lottery this week, Sora Amalia," and -Rinaldo drew the book from her hand. "Listen, there is something else -I want to ask<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span> you. Did Sora Mariuccia come in this morning? I am -wondering whether she got the fruit I told my vignarolo to take her -yesterday. That poor man is of a stupidity sometimes."</p> - -<p>"She said nothing about it to me," replied Sora Amalia, falling into -the trap at once; "she seemed in a great hurry and pretty cross too. -I asked her what was the matter, and she said Giannella was ill—oh, -nothing serious, just the effect of the scirocco. Do not alarm -yourself, signorino. Listen to a fool and I will tell you something." -She leaned over and whispered in his ear, "It is probably a disease of -the heart, and there is an easy remedy for it."</p> - -<p>She looked so serious that Rinaldo caught her hand and cried:</p> - -<p>"Tell me, what is it? I would walk a hundred miles to get it for her. -What is the remedy?"</p> - -<p>"A pound of sausages!" Sora Amalia broke into a peal of laughter. But -Rinaldo fled, leaving his purchases behind him.</p> - -<p>The next morning he came down to the church and hung about the street -a little while in the hope of seeing Mariuccia, but she did not -appear, and he climbed back to his studio and began work with a heavy -heart. Later in the day he felt that he must have news of Giannella, -and, reflecting that he had a perfect right to go and ask for them, -even from the Professor himself, went boldly to the Palazzo Santafede -and stood once more before the green door, this time with a beating -heart and a certain hesitation as to ringing the bell. The notion -of encountering the master of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span> the house was extremely repellent to -him. Yet that was precisely what happened, for as he put his hand out -towards the bell, the door opened and Bianchi emerged in a hurry, -nearly knocking down the new arrival. As each started back with -protests and apologies, their eyes met, and Rinaldo felt himself again -possessed by the rampant antipathy he had experienced on his first view -of the Professor. No reason is asked or given for such impressions in -Rome. "Sympathy," "Antipathy," these terms cover everything, and to -fight against the sentiments they inspire is equal to flying in the -face of Providence. So the two men glared at each other for a moment, -the usual conventionalities arrested on their lips. Then Bianchi -inquired coldly, "What can I do to serve you?"</p> - -<p>"If you will so far favor me, sir," Rinaldo replied, "I would wish to -ask after the Signorina Giannella. I hear with deep regret that she is -unwell."</p> - -<p>A slow flush rose to the Professor's cheeks. Who was this good-looking, -well-dressed young man, and what possible right had he to be interested -in Giannella's health? What had been going on, that he should even -know her name? A storm of suspicion and anger swept over him at the -discovery of what could be nothing but some love intrigue, hidden from -him by the women with abominable cunning. His gorge rose so that he -could hardly reply with any show of self-restraint.</p> - -<p>"I ought to be much obliged for this kind interest in a member of my -family"—Bianchi had fairly good manners as a rule, but he could not -keep a sneer<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span> out of his tone—"especially as I have not the honor of -knowing your respected name." He paused, and Rinaldo, too angry to -speak, drew a card from his pocket and held it out with a stiff bow. -The other took it without glancing at it and continued, "I really -cannot understand why the young lady's health should concern a total -stranger. Perhaps you will be so kind as to explain?"</p> - -<p>He was still standing in the open doorway, and the impertinence of -not asking the visitor to enter was too much for Rinaldo's hot little -temper. "I explain nothing to persons wanting in common civility," he -retorted; "I should like to speak with Sora Mariuccia."</p> - -<p>For an answer the Professor stepped back into the passage and slammed -the door. Poor Giannella, lying on her bed at the other end of the -house, gave a cry of alarm and pressed her hands to her aching temples. -Mariuccia came down the passage to scold her bad boy. "Have you got -no heart, padrone? Have I not told you that Giannella has fever, that -she must be kept quiet? And there you go, slamming the door as if -you wanted to bring these old walls down on our heads. Have a little -consideration for that poor sick child."</p> - -<p>"Sick, indeed," snarled Bianchi, worked up to a frenzy by his new -suspicions; "don't tell lies. There is nothing the matter with her but -temper—and overeating. You give her too much meat, and that young -blood makes itself into fire at this season. And you spoil her and -humor her, till she thinks she is the mistress of the house already. -I'll teach her better soon, and you too, and if you don't care about -the lesson<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span> you can go and find another master. Do you understand?"</p> - -<p>And he flung off into his study, slamming the door, this time with -vicious satisfaction.</p> - -<p>Mariuccia shook her fist at it. "I knew this was coming," she muttered. -"You want to marry Giannella, so that she shall cook and wash and patch -for you gratis, and be starved to death into the bargain. And I, who -have served you twenty years and have saved you hundreds of scudi, -besides nursing you when you were ill and telling everybody, for the -honor of the house, fine Christian lies about your being such a good -master—I am to be turned out on the pavement to go and beg for new -service in my old age. No, Professore mio bello, that is not going to -happen. Rest easy, my son, you will not marry a new cook and you will -not get rid of the old one. Leave it to me."</p> - -<p>Giannella was really ailing now; the improvement which had surprised -Mariuccia had been short-lived. The summer was long and oppressive and -the scirocco had hung over the city for weeks past, stifling and heavy, -an invisible pall shutting off all freshness and sucking the life out -of man and beast. The older people felt it less, but to the young it -was a horrible trial; little children blanched and faded away; boys -and girls moved listlessly and wearily; and to those in the full tide -of their youthful vitality it was like a poison absorbed with every -breath. Giannella, the child of northerners, had not the yielding -wiriness of the Latin constitution. She fought against lassitude -and rated<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span> herself for idleness when, in the hot hours of the day, -while three-quarters of the population was wisely taking its siesta, -she tried task after task and dropped them all, from sheer fatigue. -And now the troubles at home, the mysterious persecutions of the -padrone, Mariuccia's only too natural breakdowns of temper—all these -irritations on the one hand, and on the other the disturbing happiness -of first love and the fear that it ought to be renounced—these things -were too much for the white northern rose set to achieve its growth in -the hot south, and Giannella broke down. Fever and its attendant demon, -headache, had fastened upon her; for one day she lay in the dark back -room, and then, feeling that she should go crazy there, she begged -Mariuccia to make up a bed for her in the little workroom where at any -rate the window admitted something to breathe. So Mariuccia settled -her comfortably, closed the venetians and left her to herself, only -looking in from time to time to bring her a sip of lemonade or turn her -crumpled pillow. The summer fever was a familiar ill, and the old woman -knew just what to do for it. It would pass—she had no anxiety on that -score. Her whole mind was turned to something else, the discovery of -some means by which to cure her padrone of the mad caprice which was -destroying the peace of the household and would inevitably break up the -household itself unless something were done to snap the spell.</p> - -<p>For a spell it was, an "incanto," a cursed enchantment, cast by that -stranger who had visited him some time ago but who now came no more. -Yes, she had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span> been right in fastening the blame of it on him. Again -she counted the days and weeks, with all the difficulty that besets -the uneducated in any attempt at accuracy, and assured herself that -she had not been mistaken. It was just two days after his first visit -that the padrone had discovered that Giannella cooked polpetti so -beautifully—that was the beginning of his symptoms. Yes, the strange -lawyer had brought the trouble (managgia to him and the best of his -little dead); he had woven the spell and, according to all the canons -of black magic, he alone must remove it. The only other cure would be -an exorcism in form, and Mariuccia doubted whether the master in his -present naughty state of mind would admit the priest and acolyte into -the house, much less stand still to be sprinkled with holy water and -have the prayers said over him.</p> - -<p>So the stranger must be found and coaxed or bribed or terrorized into -undoing his work. Mariuccia had no personal fear of him and no doubts -of her success, could she only lay her hand upon him. If Domine Dio -would but keep His Hand on her head so that she should not choke with -rage before she had said her say, that say would open the lawyer's -eyes to the punishments awaiting the servants of the Fiend. Cipicchia! -She would describe his future and that of all his descendants, as -well as the present torture of his ancestors for his misdoing, in -terms so scorching that the boldest miscreant's courage must give way -under them. All the splendidly vivid descriptions of hell that she -had listened to in church when some Passionist Father was invited to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span> -preach repentance during Lent had been stored up in her memory, clear -and sequent, as it is only possible for spoken words to be stored -in minds which have always depended on oral instruction alone. Each -grizzly, terrifying detail was as much a fact to Mariuccia as the -visible surroundings of her daily life.</p> - -<p>"Oh, give him to me, Madonna mia bella," she prayed, "and I will -teach him something for the good of his soul, besides obtaining the -cure of my poor padroncino! Tell me a little—is it his fault? How -should he, good pacific man, with his blind eyes that never seem to -see anything but his books and his stones—how should he recognize the -emissary of Satan, in that nice frock coat too, and with such pleasant -manners? That young man would have deceived anybody except an angel or -a saint. Now, if I find him, I will light a candle of three pounds' -weight—think of that, how grand it will look—over there at your altar -in San Severino! I will indeed, if I have to go without food for a week -to buy it."</p> - -<p>Having made this heroic promise, Mariuccia felt better. She would be -shown the way—who ever appealed to the Mother of Mercy in vain? And -as she went cheerily about the humble tasks which made the sum of her -life, a light came to her. She and Giannella must have a man to help -them, a man who could go about in the streets and public places and -seek out their enemy for them, as they themselves could not possibly -do. And the man was there. Who but that kind, clever Signorino Goffi, -who spoke so amiably, so condescendingly, not only to Giannella—small<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span> -wonder in that, she was the prettiest bit of sugar in Rome—but to -poor old Mariuccia Botti, who was little accustomed to courtesy and -attention and had not made a new friend in twenty years.</p> - -<p>Yes, she would tell him all about it, and he, so instructed, so -intelligent, would certainly do what was required. Here was the answer -to her prayer already. She would take the rest for granted and buy -that candle to-morrow. The blessed Madonna would not let a poor old -woman beat her in generosity—spend all that money in vain. That would -hardly be delicate, and delicacy, the most exquisite consideration -for the feelings of others, was, as Mariuccia knew, one of the Divine -characteristics, and could always be counted upon, if poor mortals were -only willing to do their part.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER XVI</h2> - -<p>Giannella was not the only person who was suffering from the effects -of the scirocco. Across the way good Fra Tommaso was weighed down by -unaccustomed spiritual depression hitherto unknown to his cheerful -nature. He did not ascribe it to the weather, but to the small progress -he was making towards the saintliness which the Cardinal, thirty years -before, had pointed out to him as his goal. Padre Anselmo had done -the same every week since then; and Fra Tommaso confessed to himself, -with many misgivings, that he was woefully far away from it still. -Twice lately he had lost his temper with the schoolboy who served -the first Mass; this morning he had been so carried away as to box -the youngster's ears for trying to trip him up as he came out of the -sacristy; also he had had more distractions than usual of late, and -only last Saturday had made up his mind that he would break the bonds -which held him to the world at one blow—and not look at a single face -in the church. This had been hard work indeed, but he had succeeded in -keeping his eyes on the ground as he went about his duties, and had not -even looked up when somebody knocked over a chair. Still he was very -unhappy, and when the midday gun boomed from Sant' Angelo found it hard -to put much spirit into his bell-ringing. That blessed fellow over at -Santa <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span>Eulalia would have it all his own way to-day, for Fra Tommaso's -arms ached, and his peals trailed off into silence while all the other -belfries were clanging with sound. As they ceased he heard his rival -still ding-donging it across the river, and it was with a dreadful -sense of deficiency and defeat that he closed the church and climbed -the long flights to his loggia.</p> - -<p>As he emerged from the semi-darkness of the stairs into the blaze of -light and heat on the roof he sank down in the strip of shade by the -doorstep of his room and leaned back, weary and breathless, against the -lintel. How hot and sweet the "basilica" was smelling there in its box -on the parapet, and how pleasantly the perfume mingled with that of -the cabbage soup simmering confidentially on the charcoal inside the -room! Ah, it was pleasant up here; the world and its temptations lay -six flights below; no distractions could climb as high as this, thank -Heaven.</p> - -<p>His pigeons came fluttering down from the eaves to welcome him, and -hopped about, anxiously waiting for their largesse of corn. He was -about to rise and fetch it when he glanced up and saw that one of -the number had not joined the rest, but perched on a flower-pot with -averted head as if in a fit of bad temper. Fra Tommaso feared it must -be ailing and, getting up stiffly, prepared to capture it. As he moved, -the others gathered eagerly round his feet, their burnished plumage -giving out splendid glints of purple and green in the sun. The old man -bent down to them laughing. "Patience, patience, you gluttonous ones," -he said, "you shall have it all in good time." </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span></p> - -<p>Then he rubbed his eyes and looked at them again. All the seven were -there, yes, seven. He looked up at the parapet, and there, viciously -pulling a grand red carnation to pieces, sat an eighth, an audacious -stranger who evidently intended to make himself at home.</p> - -<p>Out came Fra Tommaso's head from the strip of shade, the sun causing -him to blink painfully and showing the deep lines on his dark old face -and the greenish seams of his worn robe. With outstretched hand he -cautiously approached his visitor; but the caution was thrown away, for -the strange bird landed on his shoulder and began playfully pecking -at his grizzled hair, murmuring soft little sounds as if to entreat -his indulgence. It made no resistance when he lifted it off to see it -closer, but as he did so, his fingers came in contact with metal, with -ribbon—what was this? He almost let the creature go in his amazement, -when he discovered that it wore a tiny silver collar and that a ribbon, -slender as a thread, was attached to the collar and passed under one -wing. With shaking hand he pulled at the silk, and then almost reeled -in surprise, for out came a fold of paper with writing showing through -its thin tissue. Holy Saints preserve us! What portent was this?</p> - -<p>His first impulse was one of fear. He moved a step to hurl the uncanny -creature over the parapet; then curiosity overpowered him. He must see -what was written on the paper. He knew that he should have no more -peace of mind unless he did. Clumsily he got the missive free and -opened it with knotty fingers that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span> had never handled a love letter -before. All was dim till he pulled out his horn spectacles and fixed -them on his nose; then, careless of the sun that was beating on his -bare head, deaf to the cries of his faithful retainers clamoring for -food, he read this surprising message:</p> - -<blockquote><p>"Angel of my heart, for three days I have not seen thy beautiful -face. I expire of anguish. I consume with torment. When shall I -behold thee again? Ah, let it be soon, or I shall throw myself -into the river. I cannot support existence parted from thee. Thine -for all eternity.</p> - -<p class="right">R."</p></blockquote> - -<p>Now indeed Fra Tommaso's head reeled and he had to put out a hand to -the parapet to keep himself from falling. He nearly knocked over the -cherished lemon-tree, and as he bumped against it was aware of the -unknown bird perched on a branch, gazing at him with a wicked, knowing -gleam in its bright eyes. The sacristan recoiled in horror. What demon -was this, assailing him in his old age with lures which he had bravely -renounced in his distant youth? No other thought occurred to him than -that he had been singled out for supernatural trial by the powers of -darkness; as soon as he could collect his senses he breathed a fervent -prayer to dear Saint Anthony of the many temptations to preserve him -from yielding a hair's-breadth to their wiles.</p> - -<p>This was instantly effectual, for the unblessed visitor suddenly -spread its wings, rose up into the air and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span> fluttered away over the -roof. Fra Tommaso breathed more easily for a moment; then he realized -that he still retained the missive of evil in his hand. Ah, it must -be destroyed at once. In his haste to reach the fire he stumbled over -the uneven bricks, startling his own innocent pigeons so that they -scurried away from under his feet. Once inside his room he almost ran -to the square of bricks in the corner where the charcoal was burning -in one opening, lifted off the earthenware pot with its cabbage soup -bubbling so appetizingly, and dropped the communication of the Fiend -among the coals. Then, as if fearing that it would fly out in his face, -he replaced the pot firmly. He had conquered the first assault of the -enemy at one blow, but he felt that he must be on the alert for the -next attack.</p> - -<p>Exhausted with so many emotions, he sat down, wiping his face, to -collect his thoughts. What dreadful sin or weakness had he fallen -into of late? What inner traitor had opened his heart's door to -the adversary? Poor Fra Tommaso was conscious of having battled -rather manfully against his besetting sin, his love of watching the -congregation, of weaving his own little stories about the bright -young faces and the tired old ones, his sympathy for the widow who -always cried a little at Mass, and even for the pretty, naughty girl -who had actually passed a note from her prayer-book into the hand of -the young man who paused for a moment beside her chair. He had tried -not to wonder what could be the matter over there with Giannella, -that the blinds of her workroom window, whence she had often waved a -smiling greeting<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span> to her old friend the sacristan, should be tightly -closed—and that neither she nor Mariuccia should have come to the -church for some days. He was sure he had been faithful to last -Saturday's resolve to keep his eyes on the ground as he came and went. -Last Saturday, and this was Tuesday. Three days. The period mentioned -in that wicked letter!</p> - -<p>The terrible conviction was forced upon him that his tempter was some -member of the congregation who had noticed his refusal to look around -and, aided by the powers of darkness, was taking means to shake his -resolution. "For three days I have not seen thy beautiful face." There -was not a mirror in the whole of the San Severino establishment, and -Fra Tommaso had not seen his own face for some thirty years. He put -up his hand and felt it in a wondering way. It seemed very rough and -stubbly; the pious barber who shaved him for nothing only called on -Saturday evenings. Surely none but the Father of Lies could tell him -that it was beautiful!</p> - -<p>Well, that enemy could be subdued. He rose wearily; the first weapon -to employ being self-denial, Fra Tommaso sternly removed his dinner -from the fire and put it out of sight in the cupboard. Then, instead -of taking his siesta, he went down and set about cleaning one or two -corners of the church with such good will that his broom dislodged -clouds of dust and sent them flying about him till the stray sunbeams -caught them in the air and turned them into a hundred floating aureoles -above his good gray<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span> head. Perhaps they were reflections of some real -and lovely halo stored up for the single of heart.</p> - -<p class="center">* * * * * * * * *</p> - -<p>Twelve hours later Rome lay sleeping under the August moon, sleeping in -a flood of silver that spread and broadened as the perfect orb swung -slowly up till it marked its zenith in the faint yet living argent of -the sky. The stars seemed to withdraw from its path, their delicate, -infinite myriads weaving ethereal veils of moving silver arc above -arc, in the measureless spaces beyond, like immortal spirits watching -the progress of some incarnate loveliness through a world apart from -theirs, a world holding it by an unseen yet inseverable tie to its -splendid tangibilities of marble palaces and leaping fountains and deep -old gardens full of oleander fragrances and cypress shades.</p> - -<p>Rain had fallen in the hills, and with the full of the moon had come -a cool breeze from the west; before it the miasmas of the scirocco -broke up and fled. In the midnight silence the wind blew softly over -the seven hills, singing little songs of health and freshness near at -hand. On Fra Tommaso's loggia the carnations were reaching out to the -coolness, the little lemon-tree was spreading each leaf like a shining -spearhead in the calm, unscorching light; and between the carnations -and the lemon-tree a young man stood bareheaded, leaning over the -parapet and gazing with sorrowful eyes at a closed window in the palace -wall across the way. </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span></p> - -<p>Rinaldo had passed the most wretched day of his life; every hour of -it had been a drawn-out purgatory. This was the third of his trial, -for he had had no news of Giannella since the Saturday morning when -Sora Amalia had told him that she was ill. What was happening behind -those impenetrable walls? Was his beloved suffering, dying perhaps, -longing for a word from him, and wondering that she received none, -that he did not come to her? How could he? Twice each day he had rung -at the green door in the hope of learning something; and each time -the little shutter behind the grating had been withdrawn, two fierce -spectacled eyes had identified him from between the bars—and then the -shutter was pushed sharply into place and the guardian of the house had -retreated and closed another door within. The Professor had evidently -forbidden Mariuccia to answer the bell, and Rinaldo could think of no -means of communicating with her. As a forlorn hope he had despatched -Themistocles with an impassioned letter, and Themistocles, evil fowl, -had stayed away many hours, got rid of his message—and returned with -no answer. Giannella must be ill indeed if she could not send him one -little word to show that she was alive, was thinking of her faithful -Rinaldo. Perhaps, he told himself, his sudden declaration of love, the -adorable thing unnamed till now, had frightened or offended her. But -in that case surely she would have sent it back. No, he was sure that -she had received it, and almost sure that she was even now holding it -in her fast-chilling hand or <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span>pressing it feebly to her dying lips! -Death is forever on duty in the antechamber of youth's picturesque -imagination; the slightest accent of sorrow calls him up, and he seems -to put his head in at the door and say, "Here I am, my dear. Use me as -you like. Is it for yourself? Then it shall be all flowers and elegies -and lovely memories for your mourning friends. Oh, it is for your best -beloved? I see. I can manage that too, and leave you a hero and a -martyr, bravely carrying a broken heart to an early grave at your lost -one's side."</p> - -<p>And youth bows its head and weeps in ecstatic pain on the henchman's -indulgent shoulder, and then says, "Another time, good friend," and -then flies back, a thousand times deeper in love with living, to kind, -familiar life, strengthened and sane once more.</p> - -<p>Rinaldo's heart had been drawing him all day to the point when he could -at least feel near to Giannella, Fra Tommaso's loggia. In the cool -midnight, when he could count on the owner's heaviest sleep, he stole -thither and stood with outstretched hands, praying to the closed window -that barred in his dream of happiness. The breeze played comfortably -on his brow, the bath of moonlight calmed his fretted nerves; he -hardly knew whether the moisture in his eyes were tears or the dewy -benedictions of the night. "Giannella, Giannella, flower of my soul," -he murmured, "speak to me, dream of me. I am here, my heart calls -you—come, come."</p> - -<p>There was a sound across the way, the click of a receding bolt, the -stealthy scraping of wood on stone.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span> Then a shutter swung open, and -out of the dark rough frame, like a flower breaking in snow from its -rejected sheath, Giannella leaned out, a vision of whiteness mantled in -falling gold, and raised her lovely face to the sky.</p> - -<p>A cry broke from her lover's lips and startled her. She shook back -her hair and straightened herself, resting both hands on the sill as -her gaze explored the night, traveling slowly up to the higher level -opposite. Then a cry of terrified joy rang out in the stillness, for -she thought she saw a spirit—Rinaldo's.</p> - -<p>The next moment she knew it was her lover, in the flesh, though how he -came to be standing there seemed a secret between him and some kind -archangel—for a word came to her across the dividing depth, a word -so pulsing with passion that only living lips could have given it -utterance, "Amore mio, amore mio!"</p> - -<p>Rinaldo's hands were stretched out as if he would lift her over the -abyss to his side. They two were alone in the world of the night; above -them hung the gentle moon in calm, encouraging splendor; all barriers -save that of the narrow empty space were left far below, and what was -space to them? Each could hear the other's voice, see the other's eyes, -and there was none between them. What more could the delicate young -love desire as yet?</p> - -<p>"Rinaldo, is it you?" came the tremulous, happy tones. "O my soul, I -die of joy. It seemed as if I should never see you again." </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span></p> - -<p>"I have died a thousand deaths, Giannella," he answered. "They told me -you were ill—I could not get to you. O Heaven give me wings. Call, -call, my heart's love, and your sister angels will bring you over to -me."</p> - -<p>"To 'clausura?'" she replied. "Figlio mio, you stand on such holy -ground that its guardians would chase the angels away, if they were -sisters of mine. How did you get there? Is it safe for you? Oh, take -care. If anything should happen to you—" She leaned further out and he -could see all the tender anxiety in her eyes.</p> - -<p>"How I came?" he repeated. "Cuore mio, I have been here so often -watching for you as you came and went past that window—my feet would -find the way in the dark, I think."</p> - -<p>"But it is Fra Tommaso's loggia," she persisted. "I am afraid for -you! The Fathers will be so angry if they find you there. They might -send you to prison, and I should die of grief. Oh, go back now. I am -frightened. Where is Fra Tommaso?"</p> - -<p>"Sound asleep, in there," Rinaldo replied, laughing and pointing over -his shoulder to the tightly closed door of the one room. "Have no -fears, he is snoring sublimely. Do you think such a night as this was -made for snuffy old sacristans? No, indeed. All the lovers in paradise -are on our side, keeping him quiet so that we may speak at last. Tell -me, my beautiful angel, do you love me?"</p> - -<p>The beautiful angel did not answer in words, but held out her arms with -a gesture of such true <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></span>tenderness that Rinaldo's heart seemed to leap -across the gulf and nestle in them.</p> - -<p>"I knew it," came his enraptured cry. "You are for me, core of my -heart. Oh, but we shall be happy, happy."</p> - -<p>"Ah, Rinaldo," she replied, her face changing, "there are too many -obstacles—you do not know—they are trying to make me marry the -Professor."</p> - -<p>"They? Who?" he asked fiercely. "Tell me their names—then leave them -to me."</p> - -<p>"It is he, Bianchi, and the Princess. She said it was my duty. But it -is not." She straightened up with sudden energy. "I know now, thank -God, I know. But there is much trouble, Mariuccia wants to tell you -about it, to ask you to help us. You will see—you are so clever—you -will understand what should be done."</p> - -<p>"Why do anything, my dear, except walk over to San Severino with -Mariuccia and ask one of the Fathers to marry us? The home is ready, I -hunger for you. Leave everything behind and come."</p> - -<p>"No," she replied gravely, "that is not the way. We must leave no bad -feeling behind to make other people miserable. He is the padrone, he -has let me live here for years—he has never been unkind—till lately, -and Mariuccia thinks some evil person has cast a spell over him. We -must make him see reason, and the Princess must understand too. She was -very good to me once. It would seem a piece of treason to just run away -like that—it would not bring us happiness, Rinaldo mio." </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</a></span></p> - -<p>"You shall have it your own way, bene mio," he said, "but promise -me one thing. When we have done all we can to make them understand, -when it is explained to them that we love each other, that I am a -galantuómo, that I give you what they have never given you, a happy -home, such as the best, sweetest girl in the world should have—the -appartamentino is of a prettiness—and so cheap—then, if they still -oppose us, you will say, 'Arrivederci, signori miei. It is now -finished. I take the liberty of sending you some confetti, for I -espouse Rinaldo Goffi without another moment's delay.' Will you promise -me that, Giannella?"</p> - -<p>"Oh yes," she laughed back, "if Signor Goffi still wants me. Does he -know that I have no dowry, no family, no pretty clothes to wear when he -takes me out for a walk—that I am nearly twenty-one, and as stupid as -a cabbage? Has he considered all these tribulations?"</p> - -<p>"If you say another word I shall jump across the street into your -room," he declared; "love will carry me over quite safely. And how -Mariuccia will scold when she finds me there."</p> - -<p>"Audacious one, you grow indiscreet," said Giannella. "To-morrow -morning Mariuccia will look for you after the first Mass. Oh, I am so -much better. I shall not be ill any more. You have cured me, dear, -enlightened doctor. So to-morrow be sure to come to the church in time. -I shall not be there, she will not let me go out so soon, but she will -tell you everything. Now go, go, beloved, we have talked too<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</a></span> long. -Even the moon is getting tired of listening to us, see, she veils her -face. Good-night, good-night!"</p> - -<p>A little cloud had drifted up from the west, shadowing the silvery air -to gray, but Rinaldo saw Giannella lean forward and blow him a kiss. -Then she resolutely drew the blind into place; he heard the bolt click, -and turned to depart. Only just in time, for he became aware that Fra -Tommaso was moving in his room. The next instant Rinaldo was over the -dividing wall and racing for his own terrace through the ups and downs -of the little city on the roof. Then the sacristan's door opened with -a rusty creak and the old man, still dazed with sleep, came out and -looked about him. The paleness of dawn was in the east, his pigeons -stirred and scratched in their cote, and he went and drove them in -again with sharp taps.</p> - -<p>"Unmannerly fowls that you are," he grumbled, "what have you been -making such a disturbance about? I could have sworn someone was talking -here. Silly ones, it is only three o'clock. We can all go back to bed -for an hour."</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER XVII</h2> - -<p>Mariuccia, having decided on her course of action, had confided to -Giannella her intention of appealing to Signorino Goffi. She would look -for him in church in the morning, and if he was not there, she would -find him out at the top of Sora Amalia's house. Did not Giannella think -that a fine idea? The padrone had managed to enlist the most excellent -Princess on his side (Mariuccia had by this time concluded that the -Princess's verdict was given upon insufficient information, and might -be combated without impiety); well, she and Giannella would also find a -defender, and he at any rate should labor under no misapprehension as -to the true state of affairs. Then, closing the window so as to admit -no breath of the night air, which the Romans look upon as fatal, she -set all the doors open and retired to her cave beyond the kitchen on -the other side of the passage.</p> - -<p>Giannella had waited until the sound of her deep breathing came -regularly through the darkness. Then, panting for air, she had gently -closed her door and opened her window. Better malaria than asphyxia, -she thought.</p> - -<p>When she crept back to bed after her talk with Rinaldo it seemed as -if the little room was full of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</a></span> light and sweet music. Oh, God was -good, life was divine. No one in the world had ever been so happy as -she! Long she lay awake, going over every word her lover had spoken, -remembering every glance of his eyes, every expression of his face -which told her that he was all hers, forever and ever. When at last -she fell asleep, the chill airs of dawn were wandering through the -blind, and its first light showed her resting as peacefully as a child, -heartache and fever gone together, the round cheeks smooth as rose -leaves, the baby gold of the hair flung wide over the pillow and half -veiling the young white hands that lay crossed on her breast.</p> - -<p>So Mariuccia found her when she stole in before going out to the -church, and an exultant pride in her Giannella's loveliness rose in her -heart and brought a little moisture to her faithful old eyes. "Madonna -mia," she whispered, "were you more beautiful when Monsignore Gabriele -came and knelt before you and said, 'Ave gratia plena?' Oh, you must -indeed have had her poor mother under your mantle when she bore this -flower! Poverina, she never lived to rejoice over her, but that was -just as well, since she would not have known how to bring her up. But -there are heretics and heretics, eh, Madonne mia bella? And that poor -little thing knew no better, did she? She kissed your picture and the -crucifix when I held them to her lips, and she died for her baby—and -as for Signor Brockmann, good man, he never refused a paoletto to the -Cappuccino when he came to beg—and this angel has prayed for her -parents' souls ever<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</a></span> since she could speak—oh, they may say what they -like, Mother of Mercy, but you will see to it that she finds her poor -papa and mamma in paradise. I am quite sure of that."</p> - -<p>Softly she went out locked the door and took away the key, for was not -the unfortunate padrone, possessed of demons and no longer responsible -for his actions, sleeping at the other end of the house? She crossed -herself as she passed his door, and then, catching up her big umbrella, -for the morning was cloudy, she hurried off to San Severino, where Fra -Tommaso was ringing with a will for the first Mass.</p> - -<p>Rinaldo descended a few minutes later and hastened to the side chapel, -where he found Mariuccia already ensconced in her accustomed place. -She was saying her rosary with great fervor. Once she turned to the -young man with a look of tremendous meaning, and as soon as the last -Gospel was ended rose from her knees and strode towards the door. -Rinaldo followed and found her waiting for him in the outer court where -he and Giannella had learned to know one another. The fountain was -splashing rather sadly under a threatening sky; a drop or two of rain -fell, blotching the flags; the beggars looked singularly depressed, and -altogether the air was somewhat tragedy laden.</p> - -<p>"Where can we speak as two alone?" the old woman asked wheeling round -and facing the artist. Her black eyes were snapping under the colored -handkerchief she had thrown over her head on entering the church, and -her iron-gray hair was crinkling more<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</a></span> fiercely than usual round her -low, dark forehead. She was evidently in fighting mood and Rinaldo -hailed the symptoms joyfully. Between them they would make an end of -all this rubbish about impossible marriages and imaginary obligations. -He could have fought the world single-handed this morning.</p> - -<p>At Mariuccia's question he glanced up sideways at the distant -balustrade of his terrace, the spot whence he had first caught sight -of Giannella. "Well, Sora Mariuccia," he said, "if you will be so -complaisant as to climb ninety-three steps, we can discourse with much -tranquillity in my studio up there. We shall have the place all to -ourselves, at least."</p> - -<p>"If steps were destined to kill me I should be in San Lorenzo now," she -replied, shrugging her shoulders. "Let us go up."</p> - -<p>He led the way past the dairy to the side door and his companion -followed him up to the top landing without once pausing to take breath. -He flung the door open and stood aside to let her pass in, and she was -advancing when she suddenly backed against him with a scream of terror. -"Madonne mia Santissima, what is <i>that</i>?"</p> - -<p>Rinaldo, supporting her in his arms, looked over her shoulder and broke -into uncontrollable laughter. His trusty lay figure was stretched on -the floor in horrid disarray, one stiff, discolored arm raised as if -protesting against the ravages of Themistocles, who sat on its head, -tearing viciously at its matted<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</a></span> locks. Nothing so corpse-like and -ghastly had ever saluted Mariuccia's vision, and she was trying hard -not to faint. Suddenly Themistocles flew up with a moth-eaten ringlet -in his beak. This was the last stroke. Mariuccia covered her face with -her hands and rushed back, moaning, to the head of the stairs. Rinaldo -was beside her in a moment, entreating, reassuring, laughing.</p> - -<p>"Don't be alarmed," he pleaded, "it is only my mannechino, my -model—what I paint from, you know. I should have warned you. Donkey -without heart that I am, to give you such a fright! Come, I will show -you." He drew her back into the room. "I was in a hurry to get down -to the church this morning and knocked the old cripple over and never -stopped to pick it up."</p> - -<p>She turned her eyes unwillingly on the gruesome object while he -bestowed it safely against the wall. Then she found courage to laugh at -herself a little and sank, rather exhausted, into the chair of state, -which Rinaldo pulled forward for her. She made a strange picture there, -a homely sybil in peasant dress, with the strings of red coral round -her neck and the gold earrings in her ears. Her brow was knitted with -thought, her wrinkled hands grasped the two arms firmly; and behind -her, on either side of her majestic old head, the bloated gilt cherubs -dimpled and simpered as they had dimpled and simpered for powdered -beauties and courtly prelates in days gone by.</p> - -<p>Rinaldo, perched on a stool opposite, took in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</a></span> quaint picture and -made a mental note of it for future reference. Now he was in a hurry to -get to the business which had brought her there—without letting her -perceive that he knew something of it already.</p> - -<p>"I am so glad you wish to speak to me," he began. "It is a pleasure to -see you here. Is there anything I can do to serve you, my dear Sora -Mariuccia?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, there is, since you are so kind," she replied; "a very important -matter, a thing that is giving us much disquiet, Giannella and me. -Indeed, to tell you a secret, signorino, it has really made Giannella -ill."</p> - -<p>"Is she not better this morning?" he asked unguardedly and with a -mysterious smile.</p> - -<p>"How did you know she was ill?" Mariuccia's question was sharply put.</p> - -<p>He hastened to retrieve his mistake. "Oh, Sora Amalia told me, and I -was deeply grieved to hear it. I have been praying for her recovery."</p> - -<p>"You are a good boy," said Mariuccia, approvingly, "and your prayers -have been answered, for she is certainly better this morning. She was -sleeping like an image when I came out. But when she begins to go -about the house again, the Signor Professore (who is the best of men -you understand, only a little irritable just now) will begin to make -trouble—but trouble! Oh, Signorino Rinaldo, there seems no end to it, -and what can I do? You will help us, will you not?"</p> - -<p>"Only command me, command me," he cried, clasping his hands -imploringly. "I would die to serve her—and you," he added hastily. </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</a></span></p> - -<p>Mariuccia looked round, then leaned forward and spoke in a stage -whisper. "The padrone wants to marry her—in two weeks—and it is I, -who have lived with him for twenty years, who tell you this—if he -wants to, he will. When the devil gets into him—God forgive me for -speaking so of my own master—he is as obstinate as a mule, and, in one -manner or another, is sure to get his way. Giannella is a good obedient -child, and he persuaded the most excellent Princess to tell her that -it was her duty to consent. But if the Princess, who is a most noble -Christian, had known half what I know, she would let herself be eaten -by wolves before she tried to give him the girl. For he will starve -her to death—he cannot help it, that is the way the good God made -him, poor man—I know what I am talking about. Oh, what is the matter? -Madonna mia, are you going to have a fit?"</p> - -<p>For Rinaldo's face had turned alarmingly red, his eyes were half -closed and the veins stood out swollen and purple on his temples, -which he was hammering with his clenched fists. Mariuccia ran to him -and pulled his hands down from his head and shook him violently. Then -he seemed to come to himself. The flush ebbed from his face, leaving -him of a ghastly paleness, his arms fell at his sides, and he sank, -limp and exhausted, into the chair she had just quitted. She hastened -to bring him a drink of water, and when he had swallowed it he looked -up gratefully saying, "Thank you, I am better now——" He seemed to -speak with difficulty.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</a></span> "Pray excuse me. I was overcome for a moment. -You were telling me—oh, the words will choke me—that Bianchi—is -persecuting Giannella—that assassin, that executioner—he—"</p> - -<p>"Stop," cried Mariuccia; "you shall not speak of the padrone like that. -He is a good man. It is not his fault. You will understand when I tell -you how it all happened. Three months ago—"</p> - -<p>"Three months," Rinaldo exclaimed; "but why did you not tell me? Do you -not know that I adore Giannella? that I do not see the hour to marry -her myself?"</p> - -<p>"Traitor," thundered the old woman, "have you been daring to make love -to her in secret? You whom I took for a galantuómo, a man of honor—a -good Christian? Imbecile, donkey that I have been to trust you!"</p> - -<p>Her outbreak of righteous wrath was terrifying, and Rinaldo, who, when -not angry, was quite a gentle and unwarlike person, quailed under it -for a moment, and was half inclined to believe that he had behaved very -badly. But only for a moment. He remembered that there had never been -the slightest intention of deceiving Mariuccia or anybody else; that it -was only because she had stayed at home during the Professor's illness -that he had not spoken to her before. How he and Giannella had come -to understand each other was their own affair; he would submit to no -catechism on that point.</p> - -<p>Mariuccia was opening her mouth to speak again, but he held up his -hand for silence, and, coming close<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</a></span> to her, looked her squarely in -the eyes. "Sora Mariuccia," he said, "your first opinion of me is the -right one. I am an honest man and, I hope, a good Christian. I love -your Giannella so truly that since I first saw her I have had one -thought only, to make her my wife. I have never spoken one word to -her which I could not have spoken in church at the foot of the altar -with all the saints in paradise listening to me. I was only waiting -for an opportunity of opening my heart to you. I consume with love for -her—and I know that she loves me. I am not rich, but I can maintain -her in all comfort and decorum—though not as she deserves. Would -anything in the world be too good for her? No, but I will make her the -happiest woman in Rome. I promise you that. And you, dear, kind Sora -Mariuccia, you will leave that cataplasm of a Professor and come and -live with us, will you not?"</p> - -<p>He took both her hands in his, and there was great earnestness in his -bright eyes. He looked so true and gentle and handsome that Mariuccia's -heart became as melting wax. She threw her arms round his neck and -kissed him on both cheeks; then she stood back and looked at him again, -laughing and crying at once.</p> - -<p>"Figlio mio bello, I see, I understand. You have a heart of gold. -Forgive me for that outburst. What would you have? I was frightened -for a moment. You see I have kept Giannella like the Bambino Gesú down -there in the church, under glass. Till this year she never went out -alone except for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</a></span> the few yards from our door to San Severino and for -the marketing close by. She has never spoken to a stranger—except -you—she is a flower of candor, her soul is as pure as the wax on the -altar. What would you have? The world is bad and I am only a stupid old -woman, and I was frightened. But now let us discourse reasonably."</p> - -<p>She sat down again and Rinaldo drew his stool close to the big chair -and prepared to listen. She laid a hand on his knee and went on very -seriously. "If you want to marry Giannella, you must persuade two -persons, my padrone—oh, do hear me patiently!" for Rinaldo seemed on -the point of interrupting her—"yes, my padrone, and the most excellent -Princess——"</p> - -<p>"But what has that old lady got to do with it?" he asked, frowning.</p> - -<p>"A great deal," was the reply. "She gave Giannella nine years' splendid -education, she is her godmother of First Communion—and she is my -principessa. Do you think I am one of the profane, to go against one -of the family like that? No indeed. Why, none of my relations would -ever speak to me again. It would be a great sin. And the padrone told -her what he wanted and persuaded her that it was right. And she sent -for us and gave us both such a talking to that for a little while we -almost thought she was right too. What would you have? A great person -like that, so pious, with so much learning and cleverness! Of course -Giannella had not a word to say, and as for me, I did not dare to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</a></span> open -my mouth. And that was a big mistake. For afterwards I perceived that -the Principessa could not understand what she did not know, and that I -ought to have told her something—that this caprice, this extravagance -of my poor master has come suddenly upon him, that it is against his -nature and clearly of the devil."</p> - -<p>"You really talk very strangely, Sora Mariuccia," said Rinaldo. "Do you -not think that any man who knew Giannella would wish to marry her if he -could—even as I hope to do?"</p> - -<p>"I never expected you to take the padrone's part," she retorted -laughing. Then she went on more seriously. "But listen to me, -signorino. To me you appear a good boy, honest and kind and truly -simpatico, but that is not enough. You will not get my consent until -you have satisfied the parroco that you are fit to be Giannella's -husband. He will want to see your baptismal certificate, and your -ticket of this year's Easter Communion, and also the police report of -your conduct generally. If he is satisfied, we will order the confetti, -my son, but I say nothing till then."</p> - -<p>"He will be satisfied," Rinaldo assured her, more thankful than he had -ever expected to be that his record would bear scrutiny; "but tell me, -I must know, how far does the Professor's real power over Giannella -extend? Is he her legal guardian? That would give us trouble."</p> - -<p>"Legal guardian indeed!" snorted Mariuccia. "Only girls with dowries -require those. Not a poor<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</a></span> child who would have been taken to the Pietá -if I had had the heart to let her go there! Why, the padrone was always -telling me that that was the place for her. He grumbled at me for -bringing her into the house. He never took any notice of her till three -months ago—and then, from one day to another—he is crazy to marry -her. I astrologized my head for weeks to find out what had changed him -all in a moment like that. Then I perceived," she leaned closer and -spoke in a whisper, "that an evil enchantment was laid upon him."</p> - -<p>"Really? And by whom?" Rinaldo asked dubiously.</p> - -<p>Then Mariuccia related the story of the strange lawyer's visit, of how -Giannella had been called in and interrogated, and of how the master -looked better pleased than she had ever seen him before. "And," she -wound up triumphantly, "that very evening—no, the next—he finds out -that Giannella cooks polpetti divinely; then he wants her to take care -of his books. The lawyer comes again—an apoplexy to him—and the next -thing we know is that Giannella is good, that she is pretty—that -Heaven destines the padrone to be her husband. How does it appear to -you, signorino? To me it is magic of the most wicked."</p> - -<p>Rinaldo was walking up and down the studio in great excitement. -"Magic?" he cried; "no, Sora Mariuccia, I see worse than that. We have -here a great mystery. I fear some of her parents' relations have heard -how good and beautiful Giannella is, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</a></span> are trying to take her away -from Rome. Naturally the Professor—who must have eyes and a heart -somewhere, poveraccio—does not wish to lose her—I told you no man -could help loving her—and has thought of this as the only way to keep -her here. But we must know, we must know. You are right. I must find -that lawyer. He will tell us what it all means. Oh, for Heaven's sake, -try to remember his name."</p> - -<p>"I never heard it," she said; "he gave Giannella a card and she did -not read it, and when we looked for it later it was gone. We only know -he was a lawyer because the padrone called him 'Signor Avvocato' while -Giannella was in the room."</p> - -<p>"We must get hold of that card," Rinaldo declared. "When you go home -tell Giannella to look for it everywhere—she will find it, I am sure. -And I will come to the entrance of the palazzo this evening at Ave -Maria, and you will be so good as to come down and give it to me. After -that, leave it to me—I make it my affair. I would spare you the stairs -and come up, dear Sora Mariuccia, but the Professor might see me, and -he must suspect nothing as yet. Oh, tell Giannella—"</p> - -<p>But Mariuccia did not wait to hear the love messages. Fra Tommaso's -bells were pealing the hour, eight o'clock, and the padrone would -expect his coffee in precisely fifteen minutes. She sped downstairs -at a wonderful pace, opened her huge umbrella on the doorstep, which -was wet with rain, and nearly knocked down Sora Amalia, who was in her -doorway <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</a></span>exchanging the day's news with Sora Rosa opposite. They both -looked after the retreating figure and nodded to one another sagely.</p> - -<p>"I told you so," cried the lady of the dairy triumphantly. "You see! -they make the arrangements."</p> - -<p>"La Biondina will at least have the salad at her door," replied Sora -Rosa, "and that is a fine thing. But she will never have tomatoes at -three baiocchi a pound after she marries that rich Signorino Goffi! -Trust me!"</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER XVIII</h2> - -<p>As the quick southern dusk was falling Rinaldo stole to the foot of -the "Scala III.," concealed himself behind an open stable door, and -waited for Mariuccia. Like all his countrymen, he loved mystery. This -innocent conspiracy set his pulses throbbing pleasantly and cleared his -brain to crystal acuteness. Besides, he had made an ally of Mariuccia, -he had opened his heart to her, and, after her first explosion of -suspicion, had been received as a prospective son. The victory over -the Professor and his mighty endorser, the Princess, would be mere -child's play now, if only Giannella held firm. Although he had the -happiness of knowing that she loved him, the young man did not deceive -himself into believing that she would hold out forever under such -pressure as was being brought to bear on her. The little that he knew -of young girls had taught him otherwise; the better the girl, the more -attention she would pay to the commands of those whom she considered -in authority over her. He could not imagine that his own sisters -would not meekly accept the spouses selected for them. Giannella was -singularly docile and humble-minded. She had always been accustomed to -set her own wishes aside where those of others were in opposition to -them, and in his few talks with her he had seen that the Professor's<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</a></span> -awesome learning and the Princess's power, rank, and goodness, caused -the girl to regard those two as more or less anointed arbiters of her -destiny. Rinaldo himself had plenty of proper respect for his betters, -and was a most loyal son of Church and State (one in those palmy -days), but he came of a good old provincial stock, quite as proud in -its way as any Cestaldini or Santafede; and moreover his university -training and his artistic education had brought him in contact with -highly educated and broadminded men, so that his outlook on life was a -good deal more modern than Giannella's. She had not realized that she -was being cruelly imposed upon, that no past benefits could confer on -their donors the right to dispose of her entire future against her own -inclinations. If she could be brought to understand that, Rinaldo felt -that he would be the master of the situation; but there was no time to -lose if Bianchi had really made up his mind to marry her at once.</p> - -<p>The young man was revolving these thoughts in his dark corner when -the grotesquely stealthy tread of creaking shoes drew him from his -hiding-place to find Mariuccia peering round the side of the archway -leading to the stairs. With a dramatic gesture she beckoned to him, -laid a finger on her lips, and pushed a bit of pasteboard into his -hands.</p> - -<p>"Giannella found it between two of his books," she whispered. "Heaven -send he does not look for it to-morrow."</p> - -<p>"How is she this evening?" he inquired in the same tone. </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Only so-so," was the reply; "the Signora Principessa has actually -written her a letter—such an honor. But I almost wish she had not."</p> - -<p>"Written to Giannella!" he exclaimed. "What had she got to say?"</p> - -<p>"Oh, all that she said the other day and more still. She is very sure -that Giannella ought to accept. And the poor child, who had been so -happy because I told her what we were talking about this morning, has -been crying all day. She says that if it is her duty to marry the -padrone she will try to fulfill it, but that she will want to throw -herself into the Tiber afterwards. It is dreadful. If you can only find -this avvocato and get him to make the padrone change his mind, well and -good. But otherwise I see no way—"</p> - -<p>"I do," said Rinaldo sharply. "Giannella should have more sense. There -are wise men, good priests, who will tell her in four words where her -duty leads her. But we will try and reconcile everybody first, since -you and she wish it. Wait a minute, I will take this man's name and -address and then you can put this card back where Giannella found it. -Please hold this match for me."</p> - -<p>"Oh, make haste. Take care!" she exclaimed as Rinaldo struck a vesta -and put it into her fingers. "He may come down. If he sees us talking -together there will be more trouble."</p> - -<p>Rinaldo had copied the card while she was speaking. Now he returned it -to her, saying, as the match spluttered out, "If he does come, I will -speak to him,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</a></span> I promise you. I will tell the old meddler to go and get -himself fried—and all his best little dead too."</p> - -<p>Mariuccia shuddered at the suggestion of this deadliest insult in the -Roman's armory. "For the love of charity," she implored, "do nothing so -rash. He might hand you over to the police—or even cast the evil eye -upon you. I cannot say that anything has ever happened to me—but he -does squint dreadfully sometimes, poverino. Run, I hear someone coming."</p> - -<p>"As you will, I shall bring you good news to-morrow, I hope." And he -moved away and was lost in the darkness. Mariuccia drew back into the -shadow of the stable and from thence watched Bianchi emerge from the -archway. He was enveloped in the double-caped cloak which all the men -carried with them after sundown, and held a sheaf of papers in one -hand. He stumbled over a stone and the papers flew in every direction. -Patiently he stooped and began to gather them up. The instinct of -service was too strong for his old domestic. Instantly she was at his -side, assisting him deftly.</p> - -<p>"Is that you, Mariuccia?" he asked, peering round at her. "Where did -you come from? I thought I had left you in the house."</p> - -<p>"You think and you think, and you never see anything, Sor Professore," -she grumbled. "I came down the stairs behind you. I must get some -camomile for Giannella. She has a fever—of those!"</p> - -<p>He seemed in a kindlier mood than usual, for he shook his head quite -sympathetically and said, "That<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</a></span> is bad. I am sorry. But it is the -weather, and all that heating food. I warned you before. The young -blood is not like ours, my good Mariuccia. It makes itself to fire when -the sun is in Leo. Give her less to eat and keep her quiet and she will -be well in a few days." And he moved away, looking very like a brigand -in his big cloak with one end thrown over his shoulder.</p> - -<p>Mariuccia watched him disappear, with an expression of almost -omniscient pity. "Sor Carlo mio," she murmured, "you have all the -instructions of the holy Aristotle, and you can pull down Latin as I -used to pull down the chestnuts at Castel Gandolfo—but you are just a -baby in arms when it comes to serious things like food and drink. If I -were not with you, you would be dead in a month. Rinaldo thinks he and -Giannella will get me to live with them. Not a bit of it. They can take -care of each other, the Madonna assisting them, and I will continue to -protect this unfortunate man of learning till one of us is taken to San -Lorenzo."</p> - -<p>The evening was still young and Rinaldo thought he would go and -listen to the music in Piazza Colonna for a little, so he made his -way thither, guided by the strains of "Semiramide" which were ringing -out over the otherwise silent city. Piazza Colonna was the favorite -gathering place at this hour for citizens of the better class who were -not able to get away to the country; as he turned into the square he -saw it was already crowded with groups sitting before the cafés as -well as with an ever-moving stream of pedestrians<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</a></span> taking leisurely -exercise in the open space round the bandstand. He found a seat by -one of the little marble-topped tables, ordered the popular "orzata," -a milky-looking beverage of almond syrup and iced barley water, and, -drawing out his notebook, read over the indications he had copied -into it. The name Guglielmo De Sanctis, was a common though quite -respectable one; there must be at least a hundred De Sanctises in -and around Rome; but the address, a second floor in a fashionable -street, denoted that the gentleman in question was doing finely in -his business, a fact which, Rinaldo thought, argued well for his -character. He decided to call upon him the next morning, and then fell -to considering how best to put his rather difficult case.</p> - -<p>While the active part of his consciousness was thus employed, the -other, the artistic one, was enjoying the charming scene before him. -The great square, fronting on the Corso and sloping gently up to the -majestic façade of the General Post Office at the farther end, lay -under the dark night sky, fringed by a many-ringed circle of lights -twinkling and intermingling in a soft golden glow. From the center the -sculptured shaft of Marcus Aurelius' triumphal column shot up till its -crown was lost in darkness; the fountains near it poured their cool -sheets of water, gemmed with borrowed stars, into the marble basins, -with a rhythmical splash that made a pleasant under-theme to the full -music of the band; and every pause in the music was filled with talk -and laughter from the audience, delighted with the unexpected coolness -after a stifling day. The women looked charmingly pretty in their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</a></span> -embroidered muslins and pale summer silks, and these were diversified -by the rather theatrical uniforms of the French officers who, conscious -of their exalted mission of protecting the Holy Father, swaggered -happily about the city in those days, loving and beloved and blissfully -unwitting of history to be.</p> - -<p>The humming stream of humanity passed and re-passed before Rinaldo's -eyes, momentarily eclipsing the pearl and silver of the fountains and -then parting to let it shine forth again. Overhead the sky was a dome -of shadows; neither moon nor star shot a ray through the darkness -which, with the sudden cooling of the air, presaged some portentous -change of weather. Rinaldo was taking in all the attractions of the -scene, but such spectacles meant to him very much what they do to -the rest of his countrymen—pleasant accessories of existence, but -too familiar to merit any special attention, except from luckless -foreigners who, of course, coming from sad lands where the sun never -shone, where the grapes did not grow, where there were no pretty women -to admire, no saints to invoke and no feastdays to enjoy, naturally -went mad with delight on finding themselves in a country provided with -these necessaries of life, and talked a lot of nonsense about Italy -and the Italians, unconscious that the latter epithet is one which -every Roman indignantly rejects. "Italy" ceases with the frontiers -of Tuscany, which have the honor of bordering on the papal states -themselves, the setting of the city which is the jewel of the world. To -the south, below her feet, as it were, comes the "Regno," the kingdom -of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</a></span> the two Sicilies, in due subordination. All is—or rather was in -Rinaldo's day—as it should be, and as it undoubtedly would be for ever -and ever. All this the benighted foreigner could not be expected to -understand, and he was forgiven his ignorance in consideration of the -welcome addition to public and private revenues furnished by his lavish -expenditure. Rinaldo Goffi in particular had much reason to bless him -as an easily satisfied patron of the arts, for most of his pretty -genre pictures, not very original but pleasantly delicate in color and -correct in drawing, found their way to other lands. He had just put the -last touches to the venerable prelate who was going to supply him and -Giannella with furniture, and was calculating how soon it would be safe -to have him packed for shipment.</p> - -<p>"Day after to-morrow, perhaps, if it does not rain," he was thinking, -when a young man detached himself from the crowd and bore down upon -him with the alertness of a dog recognizing its master. It was little -Peppino Sacchetti, who, with his bright eyes, dark complexion and quick -movements, always suggested the appearance of a black-and-tan terrier -in gay tail-wagging mood.</p> - -<p>"How goes it, Nalduccio?" he inquired as he dragged a chair close to -that of his friend. "I was looking for you, my son. I have not seen you -for days. Have you been finishing his Eminence—or preparing a cup of -coffee<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> for the old gentleman who gave you such a turn that Friday?" </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Both, Peppino," Rinaldo replied, "but the coffee is only a mora dose, -and the most saintly of cardinals would endorse the prescription."</p> - -<p>"You will have to put it by to cool, then," Peppino declared; "we are -all going to be wanted very shortly. The river is out on the Prati,<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> -and if I am not mistaken, Ripetta will be a canal before the end of the -week."</p> - -<p>"But it has hardly rained yet," Rinaldo objected, looking up at the -sky; "and I was hoping it would hold off for a day or two longer to let -my picture dry."</p> - -<p>"You should have spoken to Santa Ribiana<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> about it," said Peppino. -"It seems to be all arranged now. The Senate sent us word to hold -ourselves and our boats in readiness for a call at any moment. It has -been raining in the hills, and Tiber and Anio are both over their banks -for miles. They may flood the campagna to Ostia if they like—one is so -thankful for this coolness."</p> - -<p>"There won't be much coolness for us if the boats are called out," -Rinaldo remarked with a wry face. "Do you remember the last flood? We -worked for twenty-four hours on end. I began to have some sympathy for -the poor devils of convicts at the galleys."</p> - -<p>Peppino laughed at his friend's dismay. "It all amuses me," he said; -"one saw such funny sights. I shall never forget that poor priest -floating down the Corso to his church with his feet in buckets. Do<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</a></span> -you remember how well he balanced himself with his umbrella? And the -old woman who called to us from a window to take her daughter-in-law -away and drown her? They had been quarrelling like two furies, and the -daughter-in-law came behind her and tried to pitch her out! How we -laughed!"</p> - -<p>Rinaldo smiled at the recollection; then he rose to go. "There is one -thing I must do to-morrow morning," he said, "whatever happens; so I -shall not be available for any boat work before midday. I think you are -mistaken, Peppino. It is not going to rain here to-night, and I do not -believe there will be much of a flood unless it does. In any case, of -course I shall be ready to do my share, but please manage not to have -me sent for before noon."</p> - -<p>"What is this tremendously important business?" Peppino asked. "Perhaps -I could help you with it." But Rinaldo slipped off into the crowd. The -only way to keep a secret from Peppino was to run away from him. He -had no reticences about his own affairs and possessed a marvelously -successful curiosity concerning those of others.</p> - -<p>The next morning fulfilled his prophecy and broke in sheets of rain. -Rinaldo, however, set out manfully and arrived at Signor De Sanctis's -door precisely at ten o'clock. He sent in his card—a thing of beauty -penned with many flourishes by his own hand—requesting the favor of -an interview on a matter of urgent importance. The lawyer received -him coolly enough, for Rinaldo in his second best clothes and soaked -boots did not look like a money-bringing client.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</a></span> The coolness froze to -hostility when the young man, in all good faith, disclosed the object -of his visit. Would Signor De Sanctis tell him anything of the business -which had brought him to call on Professor Bianchi, and in what way was -the Signorina Brockmann connected with it?</p> - -<p>De Sanctis leaned back in his chair and eyed Rinaldo with scorn. Did -Signor—he glanced contemptuously at the card on the table—ah, Goffi, -Signor Goffi, imagine that the affairs of clients were to be revealed -to unknown inquirers? Who did the visitor take him for that he should -venture to insult him with such a request?</p> - -<p>Rinaldo saw that he had begun at the wrong end of the skein. He -hastened to assure the incensed gentleman that nothing was further from -his thoughts than such transgression; that the delicacy and honor of -the distinguished avvocato De Sanctis were so well known that only to -him, of all the legal lights in Rome, would it be possible to confide -what he was about to relate; and he added that he was equally sure that -no one else could explain the extraordinary and mysterious change which -had come over Bianchi and which was afflicting his family and friends -so deeply.</p> - -<p>De Sanctis began to look interested; his suspicion that Rinaldo was -illicitly trying to ascertain the figure of the young lady's dowry was -allayed by the importance given to the Professor.</p> - -<p>"But what is this afflicting change?" he asked. "Signor Bianchi has -the reputation of being a man of fixed habits and entire absorption in -his studies. Do<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</a></span> you mean that his mind is affected? If so, you must -consult a physician. I am not an alienist."</p> - -<p>Then Rinaldo set himself to relate the facts, and very absurd they -sounded. Here was an elderly devotee of archæological science who had, -with many protests, permitted an orphan girl to live under his roof. -More he had never done; some little earnings from her embroidery, and -the charity of Signor Bianchi's kind-hearted cook had supplied all the -rest. Beyond giving her an order as he would to any servant, Signor -Bianchi had hardly ever spoken to Giannella, who was the best and most -beautiful girl in Rome.</p> - -<p>Too much excited to notice De Sanctis's amused smile at this -outburst of admiration, Rinaldo went on: "Behold, when she is nearly -twenty-one, a certain distinguished lawyer calls upon the Professor -and discourses with him at length. Before Ave Maria the next day -Signor Bianchi has found out that Giannella is good, that Giannella -is pretty, that Giannella cooks polpetti divinely, that Mariuccia -really ought to buy her a new dress. There is another visit or two from -the distinguished lawyer—and the Professor, who loves money so much -that it is like drawing blood to get a few pauls from him for his own -food, offers Mariuccia five baiocchi a day for Giannella's board. And -when Mariuccia, who is already "stranissima," worried to death with -all these new caprices, tells him to go to the devil with his five -baiocchi, why then, then, my dear sir, he says he is going to <i>marry</i>, -marry Giannella, who has lived on his own servant's charity and has not -a scudo in the world! Explain to me, Signor<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</a></span> Avvocato, the conduct of -this maniac! As the only friend of those two poor distracted women, I -have a right to ask you."</p> - -<p>De Sanctis stared at Rinaldo incredulously for several seconds after -he had ceased speaking. Then, to the young man's amazement, he burst -into peals of laughter. Tears of merriment were running down his cheeks -before he regained sufficient self-control to speak. Then he looked -at Rinaldo (who was red with anger) and managed to say, "And is that -really all you know? You are not playing a joke on me?"</p> - -<p>"A joke?" cried the artist hotly; "if there is one you are alone in the -enjoyment of it. I see no subject for laughter in these distressing -facts. Yes, that is all I know, except—"</p> - -<p>"Except?" asked De Sanctis, with a fine return to his professional -manner.</p> - -<p>"Except this," the other continued, "that when Giannella refused his -proposal with horror—Domine Dio, had she not reason?—Bianchi went -to the Signora Principessa Santafede and persuaded her to take his -side. And she sent for Giannella and Mariuccia and preached them each -such a sermon that neither found a word to say, and Giannella has -cried herself into a fever and says she was born to misfortune, and -that if it is her destiny to marry Bianchi she will do her duty like a -Christian and die of despair afterwards. Oh, Signor Avvocato, excuse -me, but I cannot even think of it. If you have a heart, save us from -all this misery."</p> - -<p>Rinaldo's head went down on the table and he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</a></span> sobbed like a Latin and a -child—which mean the same thing, very often.</p> - -<p>De Sanctis reached over and patted his shoulder consolingly. He was -quite convinced now of the young man's good faith, and also of the -Professor's perfidy. "Do not afflict yourself, Signor Goffi," he said; -"the affair is quite simple. Bianchi is not mad. On the contrary, he -is very clever indeed. And the young lady shall marry"—he smiled -quizzingly as Rinaldo suddenly raised his head—"shall marry a fine -honest young man who is desperately in love with her. I am right, am I -not? Are you sure, quite sure, that you want a wife who has not a scudo -in the world, who will come to her wedding in the clothes that a poor -old servant has given her? It is a serious thing, a wife—there is the -future to think of—and, excuse my indiscreetness—you are perhaps not -a rich man."</p> - -<p>"No," cried Rinaldo, "I am not, thank God. I have had no money to -hoard, to worship, to cause my heart to dry up while I am still alive. -But I have all the money I need to give that beautiful angel a home -and happiness, and also to reward the best Christian I ever knew for -her goodness to her. I have my art, my health, a little vigna outside -the gates, and I will work for those two women as long as I live, I -swear it to you, Signor De Sanctis! And may God abandon me and Our Lady -refuse to intercede for me if I break my word!"</p> - -<p>"Bravo," said De Sanctis; "and now I fear I must ask you to excuse me, -for I have much to do to-day. If you will condescend to return—let me -see—the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</a></span> day after to-morrow, I may perhaps have some consoling news -for you."</p> - -<p>"You are very good," replied Rinaldo; "you will see Bianchi, you will -bring him to reason? If he withdraws his proposal the Princess can -have no more to say, and it is the scruple about opposing her which is -causing the chief trouble. But I fear the Professor will not be easy to -argue with."</p> - -<p>"I shall have no difficulty with him," De Sanctis declared; "leave him -to me. And meanwhile if you have the opportunity, try, on your part, to -make the young lady understand that in this matter her destiny need not -involve either martyrdom or suicide. These girls! Oh, you are taking -the whole thing too seriously, Signor Goffi. They really enjoy a bit of -tragedy if only they can play the saint to an admiring audience while -they are acting it."</p> - -<p>"Giannella has no silly fancies of that kind," Rinaldo replied hotly. -"Mariuccia tells me she never considered the thing for a moment until -that meddlesome old Princess undertook to poke her nose into matters -she knew nothing about. Could you not see her first, Signor Avvocato, -and make her change her mind? It would be easier to convince her than -Bianchi."</p> - -<p>De Sanctis had bounded in his chair at Rinaldo's audacious words. Now -he turned on him angrily, saying, "I must insist that you speak of -the most excellent Princess with proper respect. You will please to -remember that she is a very noble and pious lady, whom I often have -the honor to serve. Only Christian benevolence has led her to interest -herself<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</a></span> in the Signorina Brockmann's establishment in life. From -her point of view—and being, as I perceive she was, in ignorance -of certain facts—a marriage with Bianchi must have appeared most -advantageous for the girl. I take it that nothing was told her of your -intentions in regard to the latter? No, of course not! That would have -been too much to expect of 'two poor distracted women.' Well then, you -see that they themselves left the Princess uninformed of an important -aspect of the affair. If she condescends to remember the incident the -next time she sends for me, all shall be explained to her; but she will -probably have forgotten all about it before she returns from Santafede. -Persons in her rank of life have many weighty matters to occupy their -minds." De Sanctis swelled with importance as he spoke, and Rinaldo -accepted the snubbing and henceforth believed that the lawyer was the -chief repository of the great lady's confidence. "And so have I!" De -Sanctis exclaimed, glancing at his watch. "Santa Pazienza! An hour and -a half have I been giving to your love affairs, my young friend. Now -I must turn to serious things. Accidenti! The rain has it in mind to -drown us all."</p> - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> Synonym for poison.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> Low-lying meadows near the Vatican.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> Patron saint of rain.</p></div></div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER XIX</h2> - -<p>The next afternoon the Cardinal was dictating letters to his chaplain, -who also acted as his secretary. A bad cold and the increasing rain -were keeping him a prisoner. So he sat in the little crimson-walled -study, leaning back in his chair and delivering his sentences in -beautiful epistolary Italian, less like every-day colloquial than -Horace is like Church Latin. The young priest bent over the table, -writing for dear life, torn between his desire to keep up with the -silver fluency of the speaker and his ambition to make the large page -look like a lithographed example of perfect penmanship.</p> - -<p>The entrance of Domenico promised him a breathing space, but it was a -vain hope. The Cardinal took no notice of the velvet-footed old man, -and continued his dictation. Only when the chaplain rose and brought -him the letter for inspection and signature did the master look up at -his servant, with a lifting of the eyebrows which said, "What is it? -You may speak."</p> - -<p>"Eminenza, it concerns the subterraneans," Domenico replied. "The -foreman says he will have to quit work, as a good deal of water is -coming up through the drain."</p> - -<p>"Well then, they must quit," the Cardinal replied, adding, with mild -expostulation, "It was not necessary<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</a></span> to come and inform me of that -while I was seriously occupied, my son."</p> - -<p>"I would not have ventured to come in for that alone, Eminenza," said -the man, smiling mysteriously, "but there is something else. In digging -to find out whether there was a leak in the chief conduit, they struck -upon a little mound, bricked in, and when they opened it they found—"</p> - -<p>"The rest of the inscription?" exclaimed the Cardinal, his eyes shining -with anticipation.</p> - -<p>"More than that, Eminenza. A statue; yes, a statue! Una bellezza!" And -he looked down into his master's face with the air of one announcing -the conquest of the world.</p> - -<p>"Is it possible?" cried the prelate, delighted out of his usual calm. -"Do you know what you are saying, Domenico? Oh, it will be some Barocco -horror thrown there out of the way. What is it, what is it? Speak."</p> - -<p>"How can I tell the Eminenza what it is? I am too uninstructed," the -servant replied. "But I went down to see, and I beheld in the hole a -large figure with no head and one arm gone—but a fine piece of a man."</p> - -<p>The Cardinal rose from his chair. "I must go down at once," he said; -"the other letters can be written to-morrow." This to the young priest -who stood beside him. "I must see for myself, immediately." And he -moved toward the door.</p> - -<p>Simultaneously the servant and the chaplain rushed after him, the -latter laying a hand on his arm and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</a></span> Domenico placing himself before -the door. "For Heaven's sake," cried the younger man, "let the Eminenza -not think of such a thing. The cold, the damp—it would be a most -terrible imprudence."</p> - -<p>Domenico took a still stronger stand. He held up his hand almost -authoritatively and said, "This is a risk not to be run. Let us send at -once for Professor Bianchi. He will descend to these catacombs, will -see, will comprehend all. Then, having made full inspection, he will -come up and tell us all about it. Is not this a better plan, Eminenza -mia bella?" he concluded coaxingly.</p> - -<p>The Cardinal laughed, sighed and submitted. "I suppose you are right, -you two," he said; "you keep me as the carabinieri keep a malefactor. -As if it would have hurt me to go down for five minutes! But have your -way. Send at once for the Signor Professore, however, and beg him to -come at his earliest convenience. Oh, if it could be a true antique! -But I dream—who am I to deserve such good fortune, such honor?"</p> - -<p>The Professor sent a flowery note in answer to the summons from Palazzo -Cestaldini. He would have the honor of waiting upon the Cardinal in -the morning, and he thanked him from his heart for permitting a humble -seeker after knowledge to share the joy of discovery with him.</p> - -<p>All that night, as the rain beat down with ever-increasing violence, -the two learned men slept fitfully, dreaming of Greek perfection, -turning, even as they looked at it, into some bit of degenerate Roman -work,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</a></span> a coarse, fulsome likeness, with a removable marble wig and -beard! Then they would wake to hear the rattle of rain in the streets, -the bubbling of unauthorized fountains; and the Professor would shiver -with fear lest the reported treasure should be buried, perhaps swept -away, in mud; and the Cardinal would fold his beautiful hands over his -rosary and pray to be delivered from all undue love of terrestrial -things. Giannella, poor child, read over the Princess's letter for the -twentieth time, trying to invalidate its solemn, well-worded arguments -and failing to quite succeed; and Rinaldo, wide awake too, paced up and -down his studio, looked out every few minutes to see if the clouds were -not breaking, and called down a monotonous string of curses, all ending -with apoplexy, on the heartless elements which were keeping his painted -cardinal too moist to pack, and would certainly prevent his seeing -Mariuccia in the church next morning to exchange tidings and sympathy.</p> - -<p>When he looked down in the gray of the morning, the little court and -street beyond were sheeted in water. Three months' heat and drought -were being atoned for in the torrential downpour. All over the lower -part of the city the sewers were throwing up volumes of muddy liquid -choked back from its customary outlets by the rise in the river. On -the front porch of San Severino no picket of mendicants was stationed -to-day. When Fra Tommaso came down to open the doors not even the -privileged cripple was there to lift the curtain for him. The old -sacristan stood under the portico and surveyed the street with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</a></span> a -troubled face. "Libera nos, Domine!" he murmured as he turned back into -the church. "Fiat Voluntus Tua, yes, Lord, but oh, please, of Your -Condescension, do not send any dying calls to-day. That time, five -years ago, when the big flood came, and the priest and the boy and -I—and the Santissimo—Domine Dio, shall I ever forget it?—were almost -tipped out of the boat at that corner by the bridge. Oh, not to-day, -please, dear Lord. The poor souls could not get to You through the -rain—and think of the angels' wings all wet. If any are to die, please -let them wait a day or two, and come to judgment dry at least."</p> - -<p>In the Professor's household consternation reigned, for the padrone -announced that he would get to Palazzo Cestaldini—if he had to swim -there. And Mariuccia, racked with anxieties, did not display her usual -energy in opposing him. Giannella, shocked out of her absorption in her -own affairs, took it upon herself to beg him to consider his precious -health and safety, and to remain at home. This evidence of interest -greatly pleased her elderly wooer and emboldened him to pat her on the -cheek and tell her that after next week, when they were married, he -would always listen to her advice, but now he really must go out. Would -she bring him his thickest boots?</p> - -<p>Giannella, scarlet and resentful, rushed back to the kitchen, and -Mariuccia brought him the boots, soles uppermost, while she pointed -in grim silence at a large hole in one of them. But the Professor -pretended not to see it, and five minutes later he was out in the -piazza,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</a></span> his umbrella turned inside out, his big cloak ballooning into -black wings around him, his eyeglasses rendered useless by streams -of water, but his will sternly set on reaching Palazzo Cestaldini as -soon as possible. After a few laments over his obstinacy the two women -upstairs relapsed into silence, and all was very quiet on the fourth -floor, as the morning dragged its wet length on.</p> - -<p>It went yet more slowly for Rinaldo. Twenty-four hours had passed since -his interview with De Sanctis, and although the lawyer had told him -nothing, yet he had comforted him greatly, and Rinaldo longed to impart -some of that comfort to Giannella. He was the more anxious to do this -at once because the flood was evidently assuming serious proportions -and he might at any moment be called upon to take his place in the -ranks of helpers to save property and distribute provisions. It was -now ten o'clock, but the storm was laying a pall of darkness over the -city, and the dampness crept up even to the studio on the roof with a -chill sufficient to terrify the fever-fearing Roman. Rinaldo, ruefully -contemplating yesterday's boots, soaking and shapeless, and the second -best suit still limp and damp on its peg, rapidly calculated the -chances of gaining admittance should he go boldly to Bianchi's door and -ask for Mariuccia. His last experiences in that way had been memorably -disagreeable, and in the diminution of martial spirit caused by the -gray, wet morning, Rinaldo rather shrank from repeating them. Yet he -was consumed with anxiety lest Giannella, her powers of resistance -also lessened by illness<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</a></span> and by the general depression, should select -this day, of all days, to immolate herself on the altar of phantom -duty, obey the Principessa, and consent to espouse Bianchi. That once -done, who could tell how things would turn out? She was a northerner -by blood, and Rinaldo had heard that northerners were dreadfully in -earnest about trifles like promises; she might consider her given word -as too binding to be recalled. Yes, he must see Giannella at once; -that risk was not to be run. Grumbling at Themistocles, who sat, sulky -and draggled, on the mustard-colored head of the lay figure, he pulled -on his wet boots and descended the staircase, where walls and steps -were oozing with moisture. At the lower entrance he paused and looked -up and down the street. Across the way old Sora Rosa had removed her -perishable wares and stood on her doorstep, so far carried out of her -usual saturnine impassiveness as to be wringing her hands and cursing -volubly. When she saw Rinaldo about to brave the elements she called -out to him to go back, out of danger. The Tiber was out; the municipal -guards had been round to warn all who lived on ground floors to move as -quickly as possible—no one could say how high the water would rise.</p> - -<p>But Rinaldo flourished his umbrella valiantly, plunged out, slipped and -found himself ankle deep in the muddy stream. Regaining the sidewalk he -struggled along towards the Piazza Santafede. It was hard work to get -there, but never mind, all the more reason for pressing on. The Bianchi -apartment was so high up that its denizens were far beyond the reach -of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[Pg 256]</a></span> danger, but the women might be frightened—there were terrible -stories of what the river could do when its temper was roused; or, they -might be in need of provisions; that blessed old Professor would not be -much of a help to them.</p> - -<p>These thoughts helped to tide him over the rough crossing where both -the piazza and the Via Tresette were sending their torrents down the -Via Santafede to the still lower level of Ripetta. Rinaldo reached -the farther side, drenched and half blinded by the rain, which seemed -to come from every direction at once, and grasped at the iron chains -which swung between truncated pillars all round the old palace. He took -one look at the well-known window. Sure enough, there was Mariuccia -peering out, deepest anxiety written on her countenance, scanning the -Via Santafede from end to end. Rinaldo waved a hand to attract her -attention. She saw and recognized him immediately. He could see that -she was speaking though no words came to him through the rattle of the -rain, but her face lighted up and she beckoned to him beseechingly. How -fortunate that he had been so courageous as to come.</p> - -<p>Still clinging to the helpful chains, he reached the palace entrance -and paused to survey a strange scene. Wetness and confusion reigned -everywhere, horses were neighing and kicking in the flooded stables, -and resisting the harassed grooms who were trying to lead them out. -The young Prince, with some other gentlemen, was actually attempting -to coax one beautiful animal up the grand staircase, a promotion for -which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[Pg 257]</a></span> it evidently had no desire; and, a few steps further up, stood -an irate woman, the Princess's housekeeper, frantically forbidding -the indecent sacrilege. Every time she waved her arms and shouted -her protests the nervous, high-spirited hunter danced and shied, and -finally began to rear and paw the air in menacing fashion. The Prince, -scarlet with anger, quieted him down, called a red-headed groom to -hold his head, and then, dashing up the steps, seized the woman in his -arms, dragged her down the steps and flung her into the porter's lodge -opposite, where he turned the key on her! She stood behind the glass -door, battering it with her fists and weeping copiously. The way being -now clear, the horse was induced to try it, and finding that the red -velvet carpet afforded comfortable foothold, mounted, with his excited -bodyguard, and the whole group, chattering and laughing, disappeared -round the first turn of the stairs.</p> - -<p>Much amused at this comedy, Rinaldo climbed to the Professor's -apartment and found Mariuccia waiting for him on the landing.</p> - -<p>"Figlio mio bello," she cried, "thank Heaven you have come. But, for -you—what craziness to venture through this deluge! You are half -drowned, poverino. Come in and dry your clothes, and then tell me -what to do, for we are in despair about the padrone. He went off this -morning soon after eight o'clock, and I know he will never get back -again. That man cannot be trusted to take care of himself. I am sure he -will come to some harm."</p> - -<p>Rinaldo stared at her, forgetting his own <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[Pg 258]</a></span>discomfort, his anxieties -about Giannella, everything, in his amazement at her speech. "What?" he -cried, "you are trembling—I do believe, crying—over what may happen -to that selfish old cataplasm of a Professor? Madonna mia, you women -are inexplicable. It would be a good thing if he never came back at -all."</p> - -<p>Mariuccia glared at him for one instant, then dealt him a sounding box -on the ear. "Infamous one," she screamed, "you dare to wish death to my -padrone? Oh, may you and your best dead—"</p> - -<p>But the curse never descended, for Giannella, pale and terrified, -suddenly parted the combatants, dragging Mariuccia away and waving -Rinaldo back with an imploring gesture; to tell the truth, he was -furiously angry, and his flashing eyes and clenched fists seemed to -indicate that he might so far forget himself as to return the blow. -At sight of the girl he loved, looking so pitiful in her fear and -distress, all his anger left him, and he held out his hands, saying -contritely, "It is nothing, Giannella mia, I spoke like a fool, -an animal. Sora Mariuccia must forgive me. I wish no harm to her -padrone—quite the contrary, for I wish he were more worthy of her -faithfulness. Happy he, to have such a valiant defender!"</p> - -<p>"Come in, come in," Giannella replied. "Holy Charity, you are wet -through. What a terrible day. Mariuccia mia, I am sure Signor Goffi did -not mean what he said just now, and he has been so brave to come to us -through this dreadful storm—won't you bring him in near the fire and -give him some coffee? And then, perhaps, he will find out where the -padrone<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[Pg 259]</a></span> is and bring him back to us. Oh, but we have been so unhappy -about him," she continued, turning her serious eyes to Rinaldo, "you do -not know. If anything were to happen to him we should never get over -it."</p> - -<p>"You too," Rinaldo murmured as he followed her and Mariuccia (silent -and mollified now) into the passage. "Well," he reflected, "it is said -that he who understands women understands all things. I renounce the -attempt." He was slightly nettled at the calmness with which Giannella -had taken command of the situation, vouchsafing him no single glance -which showed her consciousness of their own enchanting secret. He -did not notice that her cheeks were no longer pale, but of a deep -pink, and that her voice was uncertain, as if with the effort to -repress some strong emotion. Her actions at any rate were prompt and -business-like. Having led the way to the kitchen, where the charcoal -fire made a pleasant glow in the unnatural gloom, she pushed Mariuccia -down into one of the old straw-bottomed chairs, set the other near -the range for Rinaldo, got his wet coat away from him with a turn of -the hand, and made him slip on an old jacket of Bianchi's; then she -poured out a cup of steaming coffee, produced a ciambella to accompany -it, and disappeared. She returned in a moment with a pair of slippers -and some much-darned green socks, which last she warmed at the fire -while Rinaldo drank his coffee and wondered what she meant to do with -them—and him.</p> - -<p>She turned round, the socks rolled up between her<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[Pg 260]</a></span> hands, and offered -them to him with the slippers, all in the most collected way, as if she -had ministered to his wants for the last twenty years. He started back, -flushing furiously, for feet, as a subject, are almost as improper -in Rome as in China; and besides, all this was painfully unlike the -tenderly romantic meeting he had dreamed of. Was she never going to -look into his eyes and let him see that she remembered who he was?</p> - -<p>She came close to him and still he sat silent, gazing up hungrily into -her face. Ah, there it came, the mantling color, the quivering of the -lips, the lowering of the eyelids as if to veil some too bright flame.</p> - -<p>"Take them, signorino," she said, speaking huskily and holding the -things out to him, "excuse that they are old. You can go into the other -room and put them on. You will catch cold—like this—I am afraid—"</p> - -<p>But she did not finish the sentence. Rinaldo suddenly caught her two -hands in his and hid his face in them, kissing her fingers, the socks, -and her soft little palms with an indiscriminate adoration, with an -abandonment of joyful passion which touched the girl's whole being to -fire. It seemed in that moment that her life and his were fused into -one triumphant essence, steeped in glory.</p> - -<p>"Mamma mia," wailed a forgotten voice from very far away, from the -window, in fact, where Mariuccia had several minutes earlier resumed -her watch for her lost lamb, "it gets worse and worse. It would take -Sant' Antonio and his mantle to get across the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[Pg 261]</a></span> street now. Oh, where -is my poor little padrone?"</p> - -<p>She turned back into the room with a tragic sweep of the arm, as if -asking the question of two young people, who stood several feet apart, -with some strange-looking objects on the floor between them.</p> - -<p>It was now twelve o'clock and Mariuccia insisted on getting Rinaldo -some dinner; and then, his coat being a little drier, she suggested -that he should at once start on his search for the missing Professor, -who had said that he was only going to Palazzo Cestaldini and would -come home for his dinner.</p> - -<p>"Palazzo Cestaldini?" Rinaldo replied; "that is only a short way from -here, but there will be difficulty in traversing the distance now -without a boat. The Cardinal has surely kept the Signor Professore with -him."</p> - -<p>"I cannot be certain," Mariuccia persisted; "the padrone is—well, -obstinate, and when he wants to come home he will come or try to—and -then he will get into trouble. Do go out and look for him, signorino."</p> - - -<p>"But, Mariuccia, how can you?" Giannella protested indignantly. "The -signorino can do nothing—and he may be drowned. Oh, pray do not -go out," she exclaimed, clasping her hands and looking at Rinaldo -imploringly. Something had evidently removed the padrone from the -foreground of her thoughts.</p> - -<p>Her anxiety for himself so filled her lover with delight that he felt -inspired for any exploit. "Of course I will go," he cried; "nothing can -drown me! I can swim like a fish; and it is only a pleasure to serve -you,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[Pg 262]</a></span> Sora Mariuccia. If a boat is needed I dare say I can find some of -my friends to help me. Ah, what is that?"</p> - -<p>A sound of laughter and of oars beating the water came up through the -open window. Three heads were out in a moment, and then Rinaldo hailed -Peppino and some other youths who, with many bumps and splashes, had -just steered two shallow punts into the Via Santafede from the Ripetta. -"Hi, boys!" he shouted, "wait for me, I must come with you. Round to -the portone in the piazza, Peppino."</p> - -<p>"Make haste then," was the reply; "we are out on duty. One of the -bridges is gone, Ripetta is a sea, and the water is two feet deep in -Piazza Navona. Hurry!"</p> - -<p>Rinaldo dashed off and flew down the long flights of stairs. One boat -went round to meet him, while the other continued on its way to Piazza -Navona, the chief market-place of the city. Five minutes later a boat -shot down again towards Ripetta, and Rinaldo nearly dropped a paddle in -the effort to kiss his hand to the two heads still leaning out of the -fourth-floor window, one grizzled and dark as fate, the other golden -and lovely as hope's young dream.</p> - -<p>When he was out of sight the women were silent for a little, then -Giannella's face sank down on her old friend's shoulders, and Mariuccia -put her arms round her and comforted her quite tenderly, for the poor -child was shivering with fear for her lover. "Why did you send him?" -she wailed; "he will surely be drowned." She had never seen a flood -before <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[Pg 263]</a></span>except from the safe heights of the convent villa, and it -seemed terrible that her Rinaldo, so dear and beautiful and young, -should have to face its dangers.</p> - -<p>"Hush, cocca mia," crooned the old woman, "nothing will happen to him. -Those boys are as safe in the water as on land. I wish I had asked him -to bring us some bread—there is not a scrap left—and that was the -last of the wine."</p> - -<p>"Take some of the padrone's then," said Giannella vindictively; "he has -cost enough to-day, dragging that poor, brave boy out into such perils -to look for him. He shall pay in bread and wine at least."</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[Pg 264]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER XX</h2> - -<p>The avvocato De Sanctis lived in the Via Condotti, on higher ground -by some feet than the other end of the Ripetta. About the time when -Bianchi, fired with enthusiasm, was wading joyfully towards Palazzo -Cestaldini, the lawyer issued from his door with the same goal in -view. He had business with the Cardinal's maestro di casa concerning -some houses in the suburbs, his Eminence's property, of which the -leases were expiring, and which would require repairs before fresh -contracts could be signed. One secret of De Sanctis's success in his -profession was his very un-Italian habit of attending to each detail -as it came up, whenever that was possible. He was sure that the bad -weather would keep clients away to-day, and, undeterred by it himself, -set out to clear one piece of business off his crowded list. Of course -there was not a cab in sight, but he persevered, keeping to the higher -levels till it was necessary to strike off to the right to reach the -back entrance of Palazzo Cestaldini, which the Professor had also -fortunately recollected, thus avoiding the "sea" which, as Peppino had -assured Rinaldo, had already taken possession of the long street which -forms the southern bank of the Tiber.</p> - -<p>Signor Bianchi had been warmly welcomed by the Cardinal, who was -feeling very unwell, poor <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[Pg 265]</a></span>gentleman; a fact which he concealed -from his guest, merely saying that he regretted not being able to -accompany him on his search and thanking him for being willing to -undertake it in such unfavorable circumstances. He conscientiously -pointed out that Bianchi was committing an imprudence in doing so; -the vaults were always damp, and just now probably some inches under -water. But the Professor made light of his warnings and begged to be -allowed to descend at once. Many valuable fragments had been found in -and around the palace, which, like so many others, was largely built -out of ancient and mediæval remains: a headless male figure, the -head was probably close by—perhaps he himself would find it! So two -workmen were summoned to accompany him with picks and lanterns, and a -few minutes later he was in his element, grubbing about in the vast -dark crypt, regardless of time, weather, hunger, or any of the other -conditions which call a halt to humanity in everyday life.</p> - -<p>He had been thus employed for some hours when the avvocato De Sanctis, -having ended his business with the maestro di casa, inquired if he -might have the honor of paying his respects to the Cardinal. He -was much attached to the kind prelate, whom he regarded as very -good company, and who in his turn felt sincere affection for the -hard-working young lawyer who had attained success without ceasing to -be an honest Christian.</p> - -<p>This morning, however, the Cardinal received him with a slight -expression of amusement. He had felt feverish the evening before; -his anxious attendants<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[Pg 266]</a></span> had hastily summoned his doctor, who had -administered some of the heroic remedies with which the local -pharmacopœia bristled in those prehistoric days; and the Cardinal -thought that the doctor and the rest, believing his life to be in -danger, had followed his general directions that on the first hint of -such a possibility his confessor and his man of business were to be -sent for without a moment's delay. The confessor, Padre Anselmo, from -San Severino, had not appeared, but here was De Sanctis, doubtless -prepared to receive his expiring instructions. When De Sanctis, after -kissing his patron's ring, explained that having had to call on -professional affairs, he availed himself of the opportunity to inquire -after the illustrious health, the Cardinal smiled indulgently.</p> - -<p>"Figlio mio," he said, "I know all about these kind little accidental -visits. The doctor, and my chaplain, and that good old servant of mine, -thought that I was in danger, that the discovery of a statue in the -cellar had excited my nerves and brought on fever. So they summoned -you to attend my deathbed. I am surprised at not having yet received -a visit from Padre Anselmo, but they probably thought I could attend -to spiritual matters better when earthly ones were off my mind. Kind -souls, I am grateful to you all, and I trust that when I am in extremis -you will comfort me with your presence, but I think I shall be allowed -to give you plenty of trouble yet. I feel much better this morning, -though naturally a little weakened by our distinguished physician's -prescriptions. At my age, Guglielmo, one cannot be freely bled, and -dosed with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[Pg 267]</a></span> quinine and palma Christi, without certain remorses of -nature making themselves felt." He laid two fingers delicately on his -broad red waistbelt to indicate the region of physical contrition, "but -as I said, I am much better this morning, in spite of the terrible -weather."</p> - -<p>"It gives me happiness to hear that, Eminenza," De Sanctis replied, -"for I was grieved to learn, on my arrival here, of your Eminence's -indisposition. Word of an honest man, that was the first I heard of -it. No one sent for me on that account. But the Eminenza must be very -careful for the next few days. The flood will cause much sickness in -the town, and the damage done is already great. I have noted with -satisfaction that this respected palace was built with forethought for -such emergencies, the whole level of the courtyard being considerably -higher than that of the street."</p> - -<p>"An arrangement I have often murmured at," the Cardinal said, "for the -steep incline under the portone makes the horses slip, and the coachman -objects to waiting there. However, in times like these one appreciates -the necessity of it. He is a treacherous neighbor, Sor Tevere. There is -already a good deal of water in the cellars, Domenico says, and I fear -that poor Professor Bianchi is exposing himself to catch a bad cold."</p> - -<p>"Professor Bianchi, Eminenza?" De Sanctis pricked up his ears. "Is he -in the vaults?"</p> - -<p>"Where else?" replied the Cardinal, turning on him a glance of mild -surprise; "naturally he is <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[Pg 268]</a></span>examining the statue. It is my misfortune -that I cannot be at his side, but Heaven's will be done. See, I have -just received this note from him." And he handed a scrap of paper -to the lawyer. Scribbled on it was these words: "Probably a Hermes. -Græco-Roman. Fine preservation. Seeking for head."</p> - -<p>As De Sanctis read, his eyes began to gleam with suppressed humor. His -familiar little demon of malice was whispering in his ear. He rose to -take his leave, and the Cardinal, who had been watching the sheets of -rain slipping down the window-panes, turned to him, saying, "Yes, go -home, my son, for unless you do that quickly you will have difficulty -in reaching your house."</p> - -<p>"Is there anything I can do for the Eminenza first?" De Sanctis -inquired.</p> - -<p>"Only this," said the Cardinal, "I shall be much obliged if you will be -so kind as to speak to the Professor and beg him, with my compliments, -to consider his health and desist from further work in that damp spot, -for the present. Please say, however, that I trust he will honor me -with another visit before taking his departure."</p> - -<p>"Your Eminence shall be obeyed," De Sanctis replied. "But may I venture -to remind you that if he returns upstairs and the flood increases, he -may have to stay here all day. That would be a great fatigue for the -Eminenza, I fear."</p> - -<p>"Fatigue?" The Cardinal's fine face lighted up as he spoke. "No, -indeed. A pleasure, a rare pleasure. We are two old enthusiasts, -Guglielmo, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[Pg 269]</a></span> have a thousand subjects of interest to discuss. I know -of no one whom I would rather have for my companion at such a time -than that learned man. I sit at his feet—as a humble disciple. I reap -instruction as he speaks."</p> - -<p>"Doubtless, doubtless," the lawyer replied gravely. "I will execute the -commission at once."</p> - -<p>As he sped down the stairs he laughed softly. "It is not professional," -he told himself, "but it will be great fun, and he really deserves a -fright."</p> - -<p>An hour later the Cardinal touched his handbell and Domenico's wrinkled -face at once appeared in the doorway. "Is the Signor Professore still -in the vaults?" the master inquired. "Please go down and see. It is -most imprudent for him to remain there any longer."</p> - -<p>In ten minutes the servant returned, looking rather scared. "Eminenza," -he said, "the gentleman must have left without coming upstairs. It is -impossible to go down into the vaults—they are full of water."</p> - -<p>The Cardinal seemed disappointed. "That is unfortunate," he said at -last, "but you need not be alarmed, my good Domenico. You know there -is nothing there to be injured, the foundations are solid, and, thank -Heaven, the statue cannot swim away. The Professor was right to leave -at once—I hope he did not get a chill. Yes, you may bring my soup now, -and then I will sleep a little." As Domenico retired, his master shook -his head over his own weakness. "Paolo mio," he told himself, "you are -a very imperfect kind of creature. You are really disappointed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[Pg 270]</a></span> because -you have been cheated of hearing all Bianchi had to say about the -discovery. What children we all are—clamoring for our playfellows and -turning sulky when we are deprived of them."</p> - -<p>The vaults of Palazzo Cestaldini were much older than the dwelling -itself, being the indestructible remains of an Imperial mausoleum -which above ground had been partially overthrown in the course of -centuries of fighting, and then unscrupulously utilized as material -for the new palace. The vaults, deep and wide, ran the whole length of -the frontage, and were dimly lighted by heavily grated windows some -three feet above the level of the outer street. From within the space -had the appearance of a subterranean church with windows set high up -in the walls; from without, the few who were curious enough to look -down through the bars could see only depths of darkness with here and -there a corner of worn masonry catching the light. From the ground, -thirty feet below the windows, there rose on the street side a series -of shallow steps, like tiers in an amphitheater; these ran the whole -length of the wall and were surmounted by a narrow platform from which -it was possible to look out on the upper world. In truth the crypt had -been adapted by one of Paolo Cestaldini's ancestors for spectacular -purposes, the adjacent river, with its many conduits, providing all -that was necessary for mimic aquatic shows. Later, in more troubled -times, it had sheltered great numbers of fighting men, and the barred -windows had been crowded with rough faces and picturesque costumes, -and had served as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[Pg 271]</a></span> loopholes and defenses in many a joyful riot. In -these days the vaulted roofs were gray with cobwebs and dark with -moisture. In one distant corner lay a pile of rococo plaster figures, -used long ago for some carnival pageant and then flung aside, legs and -arms interlaced and broken, to crumble into a gruesome resemblance to -blanched corpses deprived of burial.</p> - -<p>These melancholy surroundings struck chill on the lawyer's humor as -he descended the stairs and peered round for the Professor. Ah, there -he was, down on his knees digging madly at a mound of earth; one of -his workmen had left him; the other was holding a lantern for him -with evident impatience to be gone. Water was trickling and lapping -somewhere, and everything underfoot was moist and slippery, but -the Professor seemed unconscious of all but his quest. He stood up -suddenly, one hand to his aching back, the other raised in triumph. -"The head!" he shouted. "I can feel it through the mold. Nunc -Dimittis!" And he went down on his knees again and began to remove the -earth with extreme care, his face streaming with perspiration, his -spectacles two shifting blots of light in the beams of the lantern.</p> - -<p>Suddenly this was set down with a clang and the workman flew past -De Sanctis towards the exit. "Come away!" he cried, pointing at the -same time to the stairs, down which a thin, continuous sheet of water -was flowing. "The river is out at last. There will be a sea here in -half-an-hour."</p> - -<p>"Rubbish," replied De Sanctis, "that is only the rain." And he came -stealthily to Bianchi's side and,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[Pg 272]</a></span> laying a heavy hand on his shoulder, -bent down and said sternly, "Signor Professore, what have you done with -Giannella Brockmann's money?"</p> - -<p>The Professor leaped to his feet with a scream and his pick fell -from his hand. He stared in the lawyer's face, his own sickly with -fear. In the scant up-thrown rays of the lantern it was impossible to -distinguish more than a pair of gleaming black eyes and an accusing -scowl; the rest was dreadful shadow.</p> - -<p>But ere another word had been spoken a ripple of water broke round De -Sanctis's feet. "Diamini, but he was right, that man!" he exclaimed; -and in an instant he too had dashed away towards the stairs.</p> - -<p>In that instant Bianchi had recognized him and breathed again. It -was only De Sanctis, after all; an inconvenient, intrusive person to -whom unimportant matters could easily be explained some other time. -Meanwhile he must hasten to uncover, and feast his eyes on, the marble -head which he was certain lay close to his hand; he must carry it up -to the Cardinal himself, if it were not too heavy. What a triumph that -would be. Ah, gently—there showed a gleam of whitish surface. Hands -now, not to injure the precious thing. Doubled over, down on his knees, -he worked like a demon, with blackened fingers and earth-choked nails, -till at last it lay revealed, a calm immortal countenance gazing up -at him with eyes that seemed to have been seeing in the grave; full, -closed lips smiling as if with Olympic scorn at the hopes and fears of -perishable man. Some under-ripple of life seemed to be pulsing over the -broad brow, the divinely moulded<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[Pg 273]</a></span> cheeks and chin. Bianchi sank back on -his knees, his hands clasped, trembling with unbearable joy.</p> - -<p>"Greek, Greek," he whispered, as the saints have whispered prayers in -ecstatic trances, "purest Greek. There were but five or six in the -whole world—I have found one more. Dio mio, Dio mio, let me not die of -happiness."</p> - -<p>He seized the light and bent tenderly to uncover the throat. Ah, there -it was, the original severance; the cement still clung to it where it -had been attached to the beautiful but far less ancient figure which -lay prone in mutilated grandeur in the trench, some twenty yards away. -The Professor bent closer still over the perfect thing, touching the -creamy marble with his cheek, with his tongue, while he rubbed the -mould off his fingers with his coat tails, his shirt front, anything -to leave their sensitive tips free to feel the marvelous surface, as -different from that of the figure yonder as true old Sevres from modern -imitation. Fra Tommaso was right; Bianchi could have told it in the -dark, that touch of the creator's chisel during the one short period -of perfect sculpture our world has ever known, the touch which made -every atom of the marble its living vehicle, which gave the uneven yet -flawless surface so closely resembling human flesh that the senses -tell us it breathes and dimples with the very tide of life. Brought to -Rome by Greece's conquerors, fitted to a body wrought, at the command -of an imperious ignorant master, by a Greek sculptor in captivity, -remembering through his tears the glories of Greece's past—here was -an immortal crown to which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[Pg 274]</a></span> the stately figure had served as a humble -pedestal. What wonder that Carlo Bianchi, in his passionate reverence -for true art, trembled and worshiped, and shivered with insane -joy—while inch by inch the turbid waters of the Tiber rose on the -floor of his fane, poured in from the ten great windows high in the -wall a hundred feet away, covered the statue in the trench and crept up -the hollow at the foot of the stairs, gurgling pleasantly on the steps -as it reached them one by one.</p> - -<p>When it had cut off retreat behind him it swam forward with a leap, -broke over him where he knelt, drowned the white glory from his side -and swept his extinguished lantern far beyond his reach.</p> - -<p>Then indeed he sprang to his feet. But they slipped from under him -and he fell forward, his hand landing on the cold, submerged face. -In a moment he was up again, wading through the fast-rising flood, -staggering towards the blackness which shrouded the stairway. But -long before he reached it the shelving ground was letting him down, -down into the water, and at last he turned and struggled back in the -direction of the distant windows, gray blurs now upon an enormous pall -of darkness, with something that caught a gleam of light flowing in -and sliding over their edges. Again and again he fell, betrayed by the -uneven ground and the swaying current. He was wet to the skin but he -did not know it. For once in his semi-vitalized existence he was awake -to all realities. He knew that unless he could attain to some higher -level there would soon be another cold body lying among the antiquities -in the crypt. </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[Pg 275]</a></span></p> - -<p>As he fell for the third time and scrambled up with his mouth and eyes -full of water, another reality, forgotten in the joy of his discovery, -and then in the fever of self-preservation, recurred to his mind. -He remembered Giannella, his all but fraudulent concealment of her -inheritance, his machinations to effect a marriage with her before -she should learn of it. If he were to die (oh, horrid thought!) would -not the Judge of souls ask him the same question that that brigand -De Sanctis had asked, "What have you done with Giannella Brockmann's -money?" Carlo Bianchi could certainly say "Domine Dio, it is all there -I have not spent a penny of it yet. It is at interest in the Banco di -Roma, three and a half per cent." Then the Lord would say, "All there, -two hundred scudi, and you have not let that poor child have the shoes -she needs so badly? You have let Mariuccia, who has saved you money for -twenty years, continue to work hard and eat little so as to share her -wages with Giannella Brockmann? Miser, idolater, begone! My good San -Pietro, have the kindness to take this sinner away and send him to hell -at once."</p> - -<p>Then it would be all over; and Carlo Bianchi would have to roast, and -gnash his teeth, and have nothing to look at for all eternity but ugly -grinning devils. No beautiful angels with Greek heads and Roman—no, -Græco-Roman, bodies. Would the wings be strong enough to carry all -that marble? Good God, he was going mad. And the water was up to his -waist. One more fight he must make for life, for nice dry clothes, -for Mariuccia's golden fries, for his cigar and <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[Pg 276]</a></span>slippers and <i>The -Archæological Review</i> after dinner. Also, of course, for the chance to -undo the intended wrong to Giannella and get it erased from his account -this side of judgment. He vowed miserably that if the mercy of God -would but bring him safely out of this pit of destruction, his first -act should be to tell Giannella everything and give her even the whole -two hundred scudi to squander on shoes, ribbons, chocolates, theaters, -anything she liked. And (yes, the water was certainly getting deeper) -he would promise not to marry her unless she were quite willing. Higher -than that, human nature could not rise.</p> - -<p>When he had registered these generous vows he felt quite light-hearted -as to eternity, and more confident of reaching physical safety. Now he -was at the foot of the steps below the windows. Blessed steps. He had -forgotten their existence. He scrambled up them and sank down on one, -exhausted and dripping, but above the level of the flood. There was -just enough daylight here for him to see the perils he had escaped. He -shivered as he looked back on the expanse of black choppy water lost in -the shadows from which he had come.</p> - -<p>The sense of relief was great, but it was uncomfortably tempered by -finding that a thin sheet of liquid was flowing over his cold seat, -from the window above him, so he rose wearily and reached the window -itself at last. Standing there clinging to the bars, he looked out at -a changed upper world. The view seemed to embrace water everywhere. -Well-known landmarks of old Ripetta, a pillar here,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[Pg 277]</a></span> a battered statue -there, a lamp-post all awry a little farther on—these seemed to be -holding their own with difficulty in the shadow tossing stream which -swept by, sending billow after billow through his opening and carrying -past the strangest kind of flotsam in its course. An open umbrella came -dancing towards him like an evil bird with claws to its wings; then a -derelict hencoop from some poulterer's shop, followed first by a wicker -cradle and then by a floating island of cabbages and carrots sustaining -a pair of old boots. Not a human being was in sight, and the poor -prisoner's heart sank within him, for he knew that only a speedy rescue -could save him from the effects of the chill which already had him in -its grip, causing his teeth to chatter pitifully.</p> - -<p>Suddenly he gave a shout, and waved an arm wildly through the bars. Far -down the street a boat had appeared, a boat with three or four men in -it, surely one of the rescue parties which never fail to give aid in -these periodical calamities. Heaven had taken pity on him; and at once -he began to think that in his recent excitement he had promised Heaven -too high a price for its mercies. Perhaps the arrangement would have to -be revised; he must reflect seriously before permitting Giannella to -embark on a course of extravagance and dissipation.</p> - -<p>Again he waved his arms and shouted to the boat. Oh horror, it was -turning round—he could see its side rocking in the swirl of the -current—it was heading the other way! It was gone!</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[Pg 278]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER XXI</h2> - -<p>"Who is it that is missing?" Peppino had asked of Rinaldo as their boat -was finally coaxed round the corner of Via Santafede into the Ripetta, -shipping a good deal of muddy water in the process.</p> - -<p>Rinaldo did not reply till this was bailed out; then, straightening -himself and resuming his rowing, he replied, "Old Bianchi. You know -him, boys, the archæologist. Those poor women think he is drowning -somewhere. It is only on their account that I care what becomes of him."</p> - -<p>"Bianchi? Bianchi?" came the chorus of scorn from three cheerful youths -with a wholesome contempt for age and learning. "Ber Bacco!" "It -requires a face! To take us off real work to look for that old bat!" -"Know him, who doesn't? And who would so much as cross the street to -help him?"</p> - -<p>Rinaldo waited till he could make himself heard, then he said laughing -at their protests, "You need not even do that. He is down there in -Palazzo Cestaldini, with the Cardinal. See, it is on this side and -quite near."</p> - -<p>"Put about," came Peppino's sharp command, and Rinaldo was obliged to -obey with the rest, who were executing the manœuver with much alacrity. -"Now," Peppino continued, when they were once more heading down stream, -"we will go where we<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[Pg 279]</a></span> are wanted, to help the bakers save their bread -and the butchers their meat. Are we to let the city starve to-morrow, -because old 'Brontolone' is sitting in peace and comfort with the -Cardinal in the piano nobile of Palazza Cestaldini? What do those -females take us for? Pull for Piazza Navora."</p> - -<p>"As you will, heartless one," Rinaldo replied, "only we were so near -that it would not have taken five minutes to assure ourselves that the -old brigand was still there, and I could have called up to the women -that he was safe."</p> - -<p>"Of course he is safe," snorted Peppino. "The women must learn sense -and have patience. There is man's work to do now. Look out."</p> - -<p>They were turning a corner again and bumped into a big boat full of -"guardie," the semi-military police who were responsible for the order -of the city. The leader hailed them joyfully and at once attached them -to his force for the rest of the day, a day of uncommonly hard work for -the easy-going young men.</p> - -<p>A strange sight met their eyes when they reached Piazza Navona. In -spite of yesterday's warnings, flower sellers, fruit vendors, dealers -in secondhand wares of every kind had installed themselves at break of -day in their usual spots; and when, a few hours later, the sewers had -suddenly gushed with improvised torrents, the unwary market people had -lost their heads, and, unfortunately, a good deal of their property. -The pyramid of huge water-melons piled round the base of the central -obelisk now rose like<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[Pg 280]</a></span> a green island in a muddy sea. The two rococo -fountains, fed from far away in the country through uncontaminated -conduits, tossed their spray into the air and flung down sheets of -pure crystal to meet the turbid, evil-smelling contributions which had -submerged their basins; Bernini's grotesque Tritons grinned fixedly on -the ever increasing disaster below them; and the long florid porch of -the church of Sant' Agnese, raised on its marble steps above the danger -level, was covered from end to end with salvage over which the owners -were weeping and wringing their hands. One old crone stood leaning far -out, fishing valiantly with her umbrella for a basket of lace which -wobbled round just out of reach, its bundles of heavy, handmade edgings -unrolling on the wavelets, while a bit of priceless old Venetian—such -as collectors would love and the uninitiated regard as a rag—was -twisting itself round the loosening laths of a towel-horse which had -been its neighbor on the paving stones. Old books and engravings, -prints of saints in prayer and goddesses in flirtation, danced along -shoulder to shoulder with plucked chickens and bobbing lemons; some -urchins on the church steps were daring each other to wade after the -spoils of the frying stall, which still wafted entrancing odors of hot -oil to their discriminating little noses.</p> - -<p>After the first stress had been relieved Peppino and his comrades, -known as they were for expert watermen, were told off to go through the -lowlying streets nearest the river, where the inhabitants, driven, some -hours earlier, from the ground floors to upper stories,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[Pg 281]</a></span> might be in -need of supplies. Well loaded with provisions they set out, stopping -below the windows whence they were hailed, and sending up rations in -the baskets which came swinging down on strings, the coppers for the -food rattling inside them. Women called out, entreating the rescuers to -go and look for missing men of the family; but there was no delaying -for these appeals, and each and all received the truly Roman answer, -"He is safe, we have just seen him." That not one of the party knew -the name or face of the absent one made no difference at all. No loss -of life had been reported or was likely to be, so the statement as -to safety would probably be justified, while as to the other—well, -distressed females must be pacified, and a good common-sense lie was -the only practical means of doing that.</p> - -<p>There were other calls, however, which were instantly responded to. In -one house there was sudden sickness; a terrified woman screamed to the -men, and Rinaldo caught the word "Miserere," the synonym for the fruit -season scourge which slays in twelve hours. With all their might they -pulled for the nearest apothecary, threatened him with instant death if -he did not find his remedies in the twinkling of an eye, and then laid -violent hands on him and bore him back to the stricken house, where -they left him, disregarding his crazed entreaties that they would wait -and take him home again.</p> - -<p>Then came a still more urgent call; a woman was dying and wanted the -priest. Noting the street and number they promised the scared relatives -to bring<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[Pg 282]</a></span> one. Pausing for a moment they consulted as to the position -of the nearest. Peppino remembered his topography while the others were -still looking round them, and issued his orders. Some ten minutes later -the crew pulled up before the front steps of San Severino, and agile -Peppino bounded up them, three at a time, to summon the sacristan. -Rinaldo was tired of sitting on the narrow thwart, and he too sprang -out and stood on the steps, holding the boat with the boathook. All was -so changed by the strange aspect of the flood that he at first failed -to recognize the spot. His acquaintance with his parish church had been -chiefly carried on through the back entrance, but as he stood looking -up at the sky, which was clearing now, with sulky shafts from the low -sun tearing red rifts in the inky clouds, a sense of familiarity came -over him. Baring his heated brow he looked up, down, around. Why, of -course, it was Giannella's church, and Giannella herself was only a few -hundred yards away, waiting, with that adorable anxiety for him still -in her eyes; weeping, perhaps, in her fear lest harm had come to him. -He must get to her somehow, and tell her that he had not forgotten her -for a moment (a brazen untruth, but how could any woman understand -that even the most faithful masculine heart has no room for sentiment -in the midst of action?), but that every oar and every pair of hands -had been urgently needed throughout that long trying day. How glad she -would be to see him. Though of course she would pretend to be still -concerned about that animal,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[Pg 283]</a></span> Bianchi, of whose society the Cardinal -must be horribly tired by this time if he had not managed to ship him -home already. There had not been a moment in which to attend to him, -but Rinaldo felt that he could not go back to Giannella without having -called at Palazzo Cestaldini at least: well, the day was drawing in, -the boys were all tired and hungry; they must quit work soon. After -this expedition with the priest, he himself would be free to go and -execute the belated commission.</p> - -<p>Ah, here he came, the good Father, reverently carrying the veiled -chalice, accompanied by a frightened acolyte with a lighted taper, and -Fra Tommaso, looking very serious and having much ado to hold up the -umbrella canopy and not slip on the wet steps. As they approached, -Rinaldo knelt with bared head; then he was on his feet, helping the -priest to bestow himself and his precious burden safely. The sacristan -knelt in the boat behind him, still sheltering him with the canopy, and -the boy climbed in, grinning and delighted now with the novelty of the -situation.</p> - -<p>It made an impressive picture as the young men, bare-headed and silent, -rowed fast down the yellow waterway, where the wavelets were crested -with bronze gold in the low rays of the sunset. The priest, looking -neither to right nor left, was praying in whispers, Fra Tommaso's deep -tones striking in with Amens and responses; the lurid sunbeams glowed -on his tonsured head, on the gold fringes of the canopy, on the young -men's faces stilled to worship by the careful honor of their mission. -It was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[Pg 284]</a></span> not far to the house of death, a mean, discolored building in -a narrow alley, where pale watchers looking out from the doorway told -them they were still wanted, still in time.</p> - -<p>The neighbors gathered at their windows, sympathetic and curious. -Two or three women lighted candles and held them out in honor of the -Santissimo. Then the rowers waited in silence for some twenty minutes, -after which the padre reappeared, wrapped and prayerful as before, and -he and his attendants were conveyed home.</p> - -<p>"Now for supper," exclaimed Peppino. "I die of hunger."</p> - -<p>"One moment," said Rinaldo. "We are close to Palazzo Cestaldini, I -would just like to make an inquiry there."</p> - -<p>There was another outcry from his companions, and at that moment they -were all hailed by a passing boat, full of their friends of the River -Society. "Come on, boys," they called, "we are all dismissed for the -night. We are going to supper in Piazza Colonna—you follow us."</p> - -<p>"In a moment," Rinaldo answered, "we have one little thing to do first."</p> - -<p>"Nonsense!" protested the others. But Rinaldo was firm this time and -the malcontents, calling the other boat alongside, clambered into it -and shoved away. Peppino had remained with his friend.</p> - -<p>"You could not get this clumsy thing along by yourself, you pig-headed -brigand," he growled. "My poor outraged inside is crying for food, but -I will<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[Pg 285]</a></span> come with you. Pull now—mind that pillar. Here we are, but -the portone is closed, and God knows how we are going to get in. Good -heavens, what is that?" The current, carrying them swiftly along, had -flung the boat-side against the protruding grating of a window just -above its tide, and at the same instant a dripping object, apparently a -corpse in spectacles, rose behind the bars, a clawlike hand caught at -the gunwale, and a yell of entreaty assailed the rowers' ears.</p> - -<p>"For the love of God, take me out! Take me out! I perish, I die! -Madonna mia Santissima! Take me out!"</p> - -<p>"Stop dragging at the boat," cried Peppino when he had recovered his -breath. "Who are you? How did you get shut up here?"</p> - -<p>"Go to the devil," retorted the shuddering apparition. "Is this a -moment for questions? I have been in this sepulcher since the morning. -Get me out, I say."</p> - -<p>"Santo Dio," gasped Rinaldo, turning nearly as pale as the distracted -suppliant, "you—you are Professor Bianchi. Oh, assassin that I am! -Yes, I will get you out, instantly. Let go, let go, I can't pull you -through the grating."</p> - -<p>They had to tear his fingers off the gunwale, for the man was half -delirious in his terror of being abandoned. Then with two or three -strokes they reached the closed front door and pounded on it, shouting -for the porter. Their cries attracted heads to the first-floor windows; -Domenico, with the <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[Pg 286]</a></span>chaplain looking over his shoulder, leaned far out -and asked what this scandalous uproar meant. Did they know where they -were, these audacious ones? This was the Palazza Cestaldini, and the -Eminenza was within. If they did not depart at once, the police should -be summoned.</p> - -<p>Rinaldo shouted down Domenico's reproofs, explaining with extraordinary -fluency of invective that some dog, fathered by brigands and mothered -by wolves, and doomed with twenty generations of picked ancestors, to -eternal fires had kept Professor Bianchi imprisoned, in peril of death, -in a flooded crypt, since the morning. Let some Christian, if there was -one in that many times cursed household, open the portone and let him -come to their victim's rescue.</p> - -<p>Then indeed the faces above turned pale with consternation. Domenico -vanished, and the chaplain, nearly falling out in his earnestness, -clasped his hands and implored the gentleman to be quiet, to moderate -the transports of his just indignation. The Eminenza was ill—to learn -of this accident suddenly might be fatal to him. But at this point -Rinaldo, still calling down the wrath of Heaven on all implicated in -the tragedy, heard the heavy bolts withdrawn, and, through the slowly -opening portal, saw men standing up to their knees in water and the -steep ascent to the courtyard crowded with terrified servants.</p> - -<p>Leaving Peppino to take care of the boat, he sprang out and landed -among them like a firebrand. In<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[Pg 287]</a></span> five minutes he had picked out some -likely assistants and had them under orders, carrying ladders, ropes -and lanterns down the dark stairway which led from a corner of the -courtyard to the subterranean regions.</p> - -<p>When they had followed him down to the last step above water in the -crypt Rinaldo raised his lantern high above his head and peered across -an inky sea to locate the Professor, but all he could make out was a -crumpled heap sunk together on the stone platform beneath a window; -and no glad cries came from it to answer his encouraging shouts. He -tried the depth of the water at his feet and found some seven or eight -feet of it; so there was only one thing to do: he coiled a rope round -his body, placed one end in the hand of a trembling domestic, with -frightful threats of what would overtake him should he let go, and -then swam across to the outer wall. There he ran lightly up the steps -and lifted the Professor, who had fallen on his face in collapse and -unconsciousness at last. The reaction of relief when he had caught at -the boat, the agony of disappointment on seeing himself, as his dazed -senses told him, again forsaken, had been too much after the horrible -experience of the day, and he lay in Rinaldo's arms an inert and heavy -mass which it would be by no means easy to carry back. It would be -better to have help, so Rinaldo shouted to the men on the steps to go -and fetch his friend—and to see that the boat was made fast. A few -minutes later Peppino's cheery call sounded up in the echoing darkness -of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[Pg 288]</a></span> vaults, and the splash of his stroke as he shot through the -water struck pleasantly on Rinaldo's ear.</p> - -<p>Peppino turned white and shrank back when he touched Bianchi's -clay-cold hand, but Rinaldo assured him that the man had only -fainted—his heart was still beating. Between them they roped him to -themselves, slipped smoothly into the water, and swam in perfect unison -to the foot of the stairs. There Domenico and the chaplain fell on -their necks almost weeping in their thankfulness and their admiration -of what they called the young gentlemen's amazing courage. The boys -shook them off, laughing, for the little feat was ease and simplicity -itself; and then Rinaldo, picking up the still unconscious Professor, -imperiously demanded a warm bed for his patient. In an incredible -short time the poor chilled victim was rolled up in heated blankets, -surrounded by scalding bricks, and Rinaldo made him swallow a draught, -the hottest and fieriest that had ever passed his abstemious lips.</p> - -<p>He was quite alive now, but a little light-headed. He shed copious -tears of relief and weakness while he clung to and kissed Rinaldo's -hand, called him Hermes, and vowed that if only he would grow a beard -nobody would ever notice the place where his head was joined to his -body.</p> - -<p>Before all this was accomplished, the Cardinal's bell had been ringing -repeatedly, and at last the chaplain and Domenico, the latter quaking -with apprehension, presented themselves before him.</p> - -<p>"What is this commotion that I have been <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[Pg 289]</a></span>hearing?" the prelate asked -quite sternly. "Twice and three times have I rung the bell and no one -has come. I had never imagined that such remissness was possible. -Explain."</p> - -<p>"Eminenza," Domenico wailed, "there has been trouble, just a little -trouble. Nothing serious. Let the Eminenza not be alarmed." This last -in compliance to the young priest's grip of his arm and a frowning -reminder that the Cardinal must not be agitated.</p> - -<p>But Paolo Cestaldini was more than agitated, he was terribly incensed, -when the whole miserable story, wrapped in palliations and excuses, was -laid before him.</p> - -<p>"What?" he cried, his usually gentle face lighted up with a flame of -anger, "you actually left that good and illustrious man to suffer, to -drown, to accuse you of his death before his Maker? You, Domenico, you -never took the trouble to assure yourself that he had left the vault. -It is only by Heaven's mercy and that brave young stranger's charity -that you are not a murderer to-day. Coward, pagan, without heart, -without conscience—how can I ever endure to have you near me again?"</p> - -<p>"Eminenza, forgive him," the chaplain besought, "he could not know, he -did not reflect. He has served you faithfully for so many years."</p> - -<p>"Let the Eminenza have pity upon me!" Domenico implored, falling on his -knees with uplifted hands. "I have sinned, yes—but indeed no reasoning -person could have figured to himself that the Signor<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[Pg 290]</a></span> Professore was -still there. The Signor De Sanctis, the two workmen, they went away in -the first moment of danger. Was he an infant that he could not follow -them? And why did they leave him? Could they not have dragged him with -them? Is he not old and thin? Eminenza mia buona, the fault is with -them, not with me."</p> - -<p>The Cardinal still frowned on his contrite retainer, but he was too -just not to see that there was sense in his expostulations. He turned -to the chaplain who was standing silently by. "Caro mio," he said, "do -me the favor to return to our poor friend's bedside—he may require -something. I must say a word to Domenico here." When they were left -alone he addressed the major-domo: "You have been guilty of the gravest -neglect and disobedience, my poor Domenico, for I sent you downstairs -with express orders to ascertain whether the Professor was still below. -You gave one look from the upper step, you saw water, you returned, -very frightened, without having even asked the porter whether he had -seen him go out. I shall forgive you this time, and I must in justice -admit that you were not the only culprit. Certainly Signor De Sanctis -should have let someone know that the other gentleman had remained -behind. But I suppose that he was too alarmed and thought only of -himself. See, my son, what comes of selfishness! It is the ugliest of -all the sins, the one which Satan finds ready to his hand in every -human heart. It makes a man of education as stupid and cruel as the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[Pg 291]</a></span> -beasts. Hell would be to let in a day but for selfishness."</p> - -<p>"Yes, indeed, Eminenza," said Domenico quickly. He always knew that -he was forgiven when his master embarked on a sermon and that light -of charity and sorrow began to shine in his eyes. But the sermons -were apt to be long, and just now the old man knew that he might be -wanted elsewhere. The Cardinal's physician had been summoned to attend -the Professor, remedies would be ordered, a servant would have to be -dispatched somehow to the apothecary—and what with the flood and the -accident, the servants were like a pack of frightened children this -evening! Oh, a dozen matters were certainly requiring his attention at -the other end of the house; he was the central wheel of the big solemn -establishment, the channel for every order, the paymaster for every -bill—and so jealous of his proud cares that no other member of the -household was ever allowed to act on his own initiative for a moment. -Everything began and ended with Sor Domenico—so the beloved Eminenza -must be induced to dismiss him promptly, or a lot of stupid mistakes -would be made. With the deftness of long habits he seized the first -opportunity of taking up the parable against himself.</p> - -<p>"Oh yes, Eminenza," he said very earnestly, "we are all—except your -illustrious self, of course—dreadful sinners in that way—egoists of -the most evil kind. The Eminenza will pray for me, and I will humbly -try to correct the fault in future. <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[Pg 292]</a></span>Meanwhile my heart is anxious -about the Signor Professore. The young gentleman who so nobly rescued -him may require my presence—"</p> - -<p>"Go, go, my son," exclaimed the Cardinal, "let Signor Bianchi want -for nothing. It will be an eternal remorse to me that this terrible -accident should have happened in my house, and we cannot do enough -to repair our fault. Meanwhile please ask that young man to come to -me here that I may thank him for his most valuable help. God was -truly merciful to send him to us. I shall not know how to express my -gratitude."</p> - -<p>Domenico departed, and in a few minutes the chaplain came to say that -Signor Goffi (he had ascertained his name) had asked permission to -withdraw at once, being very wet and not in a proper condition to -present himself before the Eminenza. If he might be allowed, he would -come and pay his respects to-morrow. And the doctor, who had now -arrived, entreated the Cardinal not to visit the Signor Professore this -evening. He must be kept very quiet, a sleeping draught, which should -have a most beneficent effect, had been administered, and the doctor -would remain through the night if necessary. He was confident that the -patient would be much better in the morning. Let the Eminenza lay all -anxiety aside and remember to take another dose of quinine himself at -nine o'clock, also the orange-flower water in order to sleep peacefully -after this deplorable shock to his nerves.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[Pg 293]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER XXII</h2> - -<p>When night fell over the half-drowned city it seemed to Giannella that -ten years of suspense and misery had been compressed into a single day. -The few moments of wild happiness which had illuminated her sky during -Rinaldo's visit had only made the creeping hours afterwards the more -unbearable. As the weight of anxiety increased and no news came of -either Rinaldo or Bianchi, Mariuccia's temper became almost savage; and -Giannella, her hot Scandinavian blood roused at last, suddenly turned -on her and told her that instead of cursing the flood, the city, and -all connected with it she ought to be down on her knees praying for -those who were in danger and asking pardon for her hard-heartedness in -sending the bravest and kindest of men to look for a selfish old fellow -who could be trusted to take the very best care of himself.</p> - -<p>Mariuccia stopped short in her stride from window to window and stared -at the girl in amazement. Giannella's eyes were blazing, her cheeks -scarlet, her very hair, usually so goldenly smooth, was flying round -her forehead in wild disorder. Her hands were clenched, and she brought -her heel down on the bricks with a stamp which shook the rickety old -floor.</p> - -<p>"You have killed him, I know you have," she cried, all the torrent of -her pent-up wretchedness finding<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[Pg 294]</a></span> voice in the cry. "You old people -are all alike, only caring for dried-up old creatures like yourselves. -We—we, the young ones, who can think of something besides musty books -and dirty old statues and scraped pennies—we who can love, and suffer -for others, we are nothing. We may break our hearts and cry our eyes -out, and consume with anguish, and nobody cares. 'Gioventú'—youth—you -say, and shrug your shoulders, and forget all about it. Where is -Rinaldo, my fidanzato, I should like to know? Oh, you need not look so -shocked—he is my betrothed, and we will be married whether you or the -padrone or fifty thousand other cruel old people want us to or not. -Madonna mia, who is that?"</p> - -<p>Across the torrent of her anger a long knocking had broken, and the -cracked bell in the passage was jangling on its wires. Both the women -changed color. It was the first sound that had come to them from the -outer world since the morning, and it meant tidings. Good? Bad? Their -hearts stood still. Mariuccia, the hardy old peasant, gave out the -most completely, sinking down on a chair with both hands on her knees -and the sweat breaking out on her brow. Giannella stood rigid by the -table, staring towards the door. Then came a second knock, loud and -sharp. She sprang to life and flew to answer it. As she tore at the -chain and bolts, a word came through, the sweetest she had ever heard: -"Giannella, is it you?"</p> - -<p>Then the door was open, there was a stifled cry, and Giannella's head -was buried on her lover's <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[Pg 295]</a></span>shoulder, his arms held her to his heart, -his kisses were on her hair—Rinaldo had come back.</p> - -<p>How they rejoiced over him! Mariuccia laid violent hands on the -padrone's stores and cooked him a supper which he never forgot. He told -them, in carefully mitigated form, of the poor Professor's adventure, -dwelling much on the honor and comfort he was now enjoying and as -little as possible on the painful incarceration which had preceded it. -Mariuccia flushed with pride and delight when she learned that her -master was the guest of the revered Cardinal Cestaldini, and Giannella -listened with glowing eyes to the account of the rescue, telling -herself over and over again that her Rinaldo was the most valiant of -heroes for so cleverly and bravely going to the padrone's assistance. -If Rinaldo's part in the exploit lost nothing in the telling it was -only because the young man was too triumphantly happy to deprecate the -applause which Giannella lavished upon him. When at last Mariuccia -ordered him to bed in Bianchi's room—for she would not hear of his -attempting to return to his own lodging that night—he fell asleep in -a whirl of excitement, warmed, comforted, assured of the future, and -indescribably happy to feel that his beautiful, loving Giannella was -under the same roof with him, dreaming of him, somewhere on the other -side of the dingy whitewashed wall.</p> - -<p>He awoke the next morning dazed and puzzled at his surroundings and -rather stiff and sore from the exposure and fatigues of the day before; -but he had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[Pg 296]</a></span> scarcely opened his eyes when Mariuccia entered with a -cup of steaming coffee, and his clothes, already carefully dried and -pressed, folded over her arm. It was so long since he had had a woman -to take care of him that his heart went out to her, and hers was always -ready to mother another child. So he told her that she was an angel, -and she said he was a good boy—and their compact for life was sealed.</p> - -<p>When he came out into the kitchen a little later Giannella was giving -the last touches to a truly Roman summer breakfast, delicate wafers -of smoked ham on one plate, a pile of fresh figs, pale emerald -globes, each carrying its dewdrop of honey at the tip, on another. -An enterprising "fruttarolo" had wheeled his handcart up the Via -Santafede at sunrise and the string and basket had done the rest. A few -fresh carnations, pulled from the cherished window plants, stood in a -glass with sprigs of lavender, and the repentant sunbeams played on a -straw-bound flask of red wine and a carafe of sparkling Trevi water. -The windows were open, the sky was blue; across the way Fra Tommaso's -flowers were lifting their heads again in a fringe of white and red, -and the pigeons were circling and calling to each other. The setting of -the picture was all that was gay and sweet, but the picture itself was -so enchanting that Rinaldo saw little else just then. Some rarer gold -seemed to have been shed on Giannella's hair this morning, there was a -new tenderness in her gray eyes, and her heart was so full of happiness -that she smiled unconsciously, and at any chance word elusive<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[Pg 297]</a></span> dimples -of laughter showed themselves at the corners of her pretty mouth. The -brightness of the day and the ease at her heart had made her unwilling -to put on her old dark dress. She had found, among a few things of -her mother's which Mariuccia had kept for her, a faded muslin, white -sprigged with pink, and this she had shaken out and put on, pinning a -flower where the open neck sank away from her fair throat, and a ribbon -round the long old-fashioned waist. Mariuccia understood, and nodded -approvingly when Giannella came out of her little room looking like a -rose in bloom; and Rinaldo, when he joined them, understood too, and -took her hands in his and whispered, "Good-morning, sposina mia."</p> - -<p>The storm was over and the sun had begun to shine on Rome again, and -on Giannella's life at last; and though happiness was such a new thing -to her, she knew it for what it was and took it to her heart in all -simplicity, in perfect trust that it would never fail her again.</p> - -<p>When Rinaldo was lighting his first cigarette Mariuccia announced -that, come what might, she was going to see for herself how the -padrone was getting on. She was sure he must need her after all he -had gone through—and he only just getting over that dreadful cold, -poverino—and of course there was nobody in the Cardinal's household -who could replace her at his bedside. What good were a lot of men to a -sick person, she would like to know?</p> - -<p>Rinaldo did not say that he was doubtful of her reception in the -strictly celibate domicile, but he <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[Pg 298]</a></span>protested that no woman could get -through the streets. The water had already subsided considerably, but -it still lay deep in some places while others were an expanse of mud -and slush not to be braved by petticoats. All this moved Mariuccia -not at all; she had made up her obstinate old mind, and all Rinaldo -obtained was that she would wait another hour or two. Then he would try -to pilot her to the Via Tresette, from which one could gain the narrow -alley leading to the back entrance of Palazzo Cestaldini, a facility -which had only been revealed to himself the night before. In spite of -his assurances that the doctor would certainly not allow the Professor -to be moved for two or three days, Mariuccia insisted on preparing her -master's bedroom for his reception. A huge warming-pan was placed in -his bed, the window was tightly closed, and sundry acrid-smelling herbs -were set on the fire for a "decotto" according to an ancient country -prescription quite infallible against the results of a chill.</p> - -<p>While she came and went, Rinaldo and Giannella sat and talked in low -tones. All their future lay before them to play with and every detail -of it was an enchanting subject to plan and think for. Now that he was -so near her Rinaldo felt that it would be absurd to wait till October -to be married, five whole weeks. No, that joyful event should take -place as soon as the appartamentino could be furnished, and Giannella -must come with him and choose every single thing. What sort of paper -would she like in the salotto—amber color, or mazarin blue with gold -flowers? (Both were much admired, he heard.) As<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[Pg 299]</a></span> for the bedroom, -Rinaldo had seen that of a newly-married friend, and the walls were -covered with pink roses as big as cabbages tied with blue ribbon. Oh, -it was most beautiful, and so gay. Giannella would be sure to like it, -and the roses would make it seem like summer all the year round.</p> - -<p>The roses flushed up in Giannella's cheeks just then; she became -silent, and finally dropped her eyes before Rinaldo's steady ardent -gaze. "What is it, my angel?" he asked, leaning forward anxiously. -"Does it not make you happy to know that you will so soon, in a few -days, core of my heart—be my own little wife?"</p> - -<p>"Too happy—I am too happy," she replied. "It almost hurts. Give me -time, amore mio—a girl must take breath."</p> - -<p>"Plenty of time to do that between now and next Sunday!" he declared. -"Five whole days. Is that not enough? I wish it could be to-morrow, -to-day."</p> - -<p>"Five days," cried Giannella. "But, Rinaldo, we could not be ready for -weeks. Think of all there is to do. Papering, furnishing, the linen to -get and sew—oh, it is dreadful that you should have all this great -expense, that I cannot do even a little to help in it. If they had only -let me earn money during these years. It is terrible to feel that I -have been so useless."</p> - -<p>"Giannella mia," said Rinaldo, looking very wise, "I will tell you -a secret. I do not believe I should ever have fallen in love with a -woman who was earning her living. It takes something away—something<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[Pg 300]</a></span> -very light, very delicate—I am too stupid to explain it properly—but -just what makes a woman adorable. It would break my heart if one of my -sisters should think of doing such a thing. What are the men there for? -We are very simple people, I and my family, but we are too proud for -that. If we cannot keep our women in decency and comfort, we might as -well throw ourselves into the river at once."</p> - -<p>"But I had no family," said Giannella; "but for Mariuccia, and the -padrone who let me stay here with her, I should have been brought up to -a trade, like other poor girls."</p> - -<p>Rinaldo interrupted her with something like sternness. "Giannella, once -for all, please forget all that. Thank Heaven Mariuccia understood her -responsibilities and carried them out nobly. We will make it all up -to her. And Signor Bianchi is not and has never been your 'padrone.' -Please stop speaking of him in that manner. Your father was a gentleman -and you belong to his class. The word 'padrone' offends me."</p> - -<p>"I would never do that," she cried, "forgive me, my heart. It is just a -habit that I have grown up with, because Mariuccia always speaks of the -Professor like that. But I too must tell you something. We cannot—be -married—quite so soon as you wish, because I am still determined that -those two, Signor Bianchi and the Princess, must be quite reconciled -and willing. Oh, you do not know how much I love you—it would -kill me to be parted from you. But when I come to our dear, pretty -appartamentino<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[Pg 301]</a></span> I must leave peace behind me. Then I can bring peace -with me. Disturbances, contradictions, there must be none of these to -remember on that day. Signor Bianchi must be our good friend always. -He will be much happier like that, and will soon forget that he ever -had this silly caprice about wanting to marry me. And the Principessa -has been good to me. But for her, amore mio, I should be an ignorant, -untaught creature, quite unfit to be your wife. So you owe her some -gratitude, and I a great deal. When you see her and explain everything -she will be sure to agree with you—who could help it? And it is not -long to wait. She will return in the beginning of October."</p> - -<p>"And take another six weeks to find time to see me—and six more to -make up her mind," was Rinaldo's scornful reply. "You are quite right, -Giannella, we certainly ought to have her most excellent blessing, but -I shall go to Santafede to get it. I do not mind that, my dear. I would -travel round the world to please you. As for Bianchi—I am going to ask -the Cardinal to bring him to reason as soon as the old fellow is able -to listen to it. Your gentle heart shall be satisfied, and then—"</p> - -<p>"Then," said Giannella, suddenly bending over and laying her fresh -lips on his hand, "then there will not be one little cloud in my whole -world. You will have to pretend to be cross with me sometimes, to keep -me from dying of happiness."</p> - -<p>Mariuccia came and stood beside them, her hands on her hips and a funny -grimace in her old face.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[Pg 302]</a></span> "When you have done chattering, you two," she -said, "perhaps you will condescend to remember that we must go out. I -am not in love—and I want to get my padrone into his own bed. It is -nearly twelve o'clock." And she smiled down on them benevolently.</p> - -<p>Giannella ran off to change her dress, and soon returned, a bit of -lovely primness in her black frock, with the lace coif over her smooth -hair. The house was locked up and they all went down together. By -picking their steps carefully they reached their destination without -patent disaster, and were received by Domenico—Rinaldo warmly, but the -women with the reserve proper to an ecclesiastical household, where -such visitors came but rarely and were not encouraged. Leaving them -all in the second anteroom the major-domo went to inform his master of -their arrival.</p> - -<p>"Eminenza, I grieve to disturb you"—this was the invariable opening -of Domenico's communications—"but that young gentleman, Signor Goffi, -is in the sala, with two females who wish to see Signor Bianchi. And -Signor Goffi—he seems most respectable and polite—begs the great -favor of a few minutes' audience. I told him that I would ask, but that -of course—at this hour—"</p> - -<p>"But yes, of course I will see him," the Cardinal exclaimed. "Have I -not to thank him for averting the most terrible of disasters? Who are -the women?" he inquired, with instinctive suspicion of anything in -petticoats. </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[Pg 303]</a></span></p> - -<p>"An old servant and a young lady—rather pretty," Domenico responded. -"They say they live with the Signor Professore, and are anxious about -his health."</p> - -<p>"Tell them to wait a minute," said his master. "Bring Signor Goffi -to me, and then go and see if the Professor is well enough to be -troubled with these persons. And one thing more, Domenico. You say -that the water has subsided in the streets—send a man at once to -Signor De Sanctis, and ask him to favor me with a visit as soon as he -conveniently can. I am anxious to hear his explanation of his unusual -conduct yesterday."</p> - -<p>Out in the sala the two women were conversing in whispers, a little -overawed by the stillness and the majesty of their surroundings, though -Mariuccia took on a certain air of proprietorship and looked quite -scornfully at the lacqueys in the outer room, mere hired servants -who could boast no connection with the finest family on earth. She, -Mariuccia Botti, belonged to the Cestaldini, and had a right to feel -at home in the palace which, she informed Giannella, was not nearly so -grand as the one at Castel Gandolfo.</p> - -<p>Rinaldo meanwhile was elaborating the idea with which Giannella's -remonstrances had inspired him. Personally he did not care a fig -what Bianchi might think or feel about their marriage, but since she -wished him to smile on it, smile he must, and fortune was putting into -Rinaldo's hands the very best means of accomplishing that miracle. -The Professor,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[Pg 304]</a></span> still shuddering under the impression of yesterday's -horrible fright, should be brought to open his heart to his gallant -rescuer (why throw away the benefit of a good action?) and the -Cardinal, the great holy Cardinal, who could preach so eloquently -that he could cause the most hardened sinners to be dissolved with -contrition, he should use his authority and persuasion to effect this -happy result. Now he must think of how best to lay his case before the -prelate, and as he sat in the sala, staring at the high armoried canopy -which indicated that this was a princely house, he pondered whether -to begin his appeal in a strain of noble, reckless passion such, as -would touch an ordinary man of the world, or, more appropriately, -in one of gentle humility. The latter seemed more advisable on the -whole, and he began to rehearse an opening declaration of modesty and -single-heartedness—in all of which, despite his sense of dramatic -fitness, the good fellow would have claimed no more than his due, when -Giannella turned to him with a little remark. He looked into her sweet, -intelligent face and all apprehension left him. He felt that he had -but to remember it and the right words would be given to him. Oh, that -he could show her to the great man whose interest he wished to arouse. -There would be small need for his own pleading after that. Who would -not be glad to serve her?</p> - -<p>Then Domenico appeared, to conduct Rinaldo to the Cardinal. He told the -women that the doctor was with the Signor Professore; would they wait a -little and he would find out whether they could see him afterwards?</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[Pg 305]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER XXIII</h2> - -<p>When Domenico inquired whether the Professor's servant might come in -to see her master, the physician shook his head. "Better not," he -said, "the patient is very weak and nervous still, and has fever. I -cannot say whether it will abate at once. It is possible he may need -great care for several days. And you know what these good females are, -Sor Domenico. They weep, they wring their hands, they suggest sending -for the priest, and frighten the poor creature into believing he is -about to expire. Also they have ancient and noxious remedies used by -their great-grandmothers for sore fingers, which they will administer -to typhoid cases on the sly—and throw the doctor's medicines out of -the window. I have known them give a fever patient a plate of beans -because he happened to fancy it! No, the Signor Professore is better -without any visitors at present. Tell these women that he is improving -rapidly, that he is asleep—say that I have ordered him to have two -pounds of beefsteak for his dinner. They will believe anything and that -will reassure them. But mind you give him nothing but the soup, and the -orzata if he is thirsty. I will return this evening."</p> - -<p>Domenico nodded comprehendingly, showed the doctor out and, when -the door had closed on him, gave Mariuccia his report with a little -added color and <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[Pg 306]</a></span>embroidery to make it more convincing. The old woman -listened eagerly, and, on receiving a rather rash promise that she -should see her master the next day, declared herself satisfied, but -asked leave to wait until the Signorino Goffi should be dismissed -by his Eminence. She had the signorina with her—Domenico bowed -perplexedly to Giannella, whose status was by no means clear to -him—and the streets were in a dreadful condition still, Mariuccia -explained, not fit for two women alone to traverse. Domenico, all -politeness, begged them to be seated, and assured them that the -Signorino Goffi would rejoin them shortly; he was about to retire when -another visitor entered, the lawyer De Sanctis, looking troubled and -out of breath. The messenger had told him the story of the Professor's -adventure and had (after the manner of Italian servants, who consider -themselves and are considered a part of the family) given him a -friendly warning that the Eminenza was "proprio inchieto," very much -annoyed by what had happened, and would in all likelihood administer -some severe reproof to the Signor Avvocato. Sor Domenico had received -a terrific scolding, and it was understood in the house that but for -the intercession of Don Ignazio, the Eminenza's chaplain, he and the -porter and one or two others would have been dismissed on the spot. -The kind-hearted fellow suggested two or three good lies as possible -excuses, but De Sanctis knew that these would not pass with his -clear-sighted patron. He must take his scolding as best he might—and -revenge himself<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[Pg 307]</a></span> for it some day by discrediting Bianchi with the -Cardinal. That would be easy enough, as things stood.</p> - -<p>He was being conducted through the sala to await his turn elsewhere, -when he caught sight of Giannella. He halted, looked again at her and -her companion, and whispered to Domenico that he had a word to say -to the young lady; there was no need to wait for him; he would be in -the room beyond when the Eminenza should condescend to send for him. -And Domenico, glad to be dismissed, hurried off to attend to his many -duties.</p> - -<p>Then De Sanctis came towards Giannella with a pleasant smile of -recognition. "Signorina Brockmann," he said, "I fear you do not -remember me," for Giannella was meeting his glance with some surprise, -"yet it was I who had the pleasure of bringing you the news of your -accession to fortune some little time ago. How easily we become -accustomed to agreeable things! You have perhaps forgotten that you -were not always rich."</p> - -<p>Giannella had risen from her seat when he began to speak, but her -face was grave and cold. There was a touch of familiarity in his tone -which offended her. As he continued, however, her expression changed -to one of blank incomprehension. It was patent to De Sanctis that -Bianchi had never told her about her inheritance. The shabby dress, the -running out on mean errands, the discrepancies which had puzzled him, -were explained now. He had not had long to wait for his pretty little -revenge. Here was a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[Pg 308]</a></span> weapon with which to turn the Cardinal's just -wrath in quite a new direction. He smiled on the girl gratefully for -providing him with it.</p> - -<p>"I remember you perfectly, sir," Giannella said at last, "but I do not -understand to what you allude. There is a mistake. You must be thinking -of some other person."</p> - -<p>Neither of them had noticed Mariuccia, who, through the colloquy, had -been staring at the lawyer with an ominous frown. She remembered him, -she recognized him, the visitor to whom she had wished twenty thousand -apoplexies in the last three months.</p> - -<p>Pushing Giannella aside she came before him, her eyes like fiery -gimlets boring for the truth—a rough-tongued, hard-handed Nemesis -prepared to chastise the disturber of household peace. "Ah, it is -you!" she began in a scornful growl, "Now perhaps you will tell me -what wickedness it was that you put into my poor padrone's head when -you came to see him? Till that day he was an angel, good, pacific, -regulated, thinking only of his studies, his blessed archæology and -his bits of stones, asking only that his house should be quiet and his -meals punctual and cheap. Never did he require more of us two poor -creatures than that—and as for matrimony—he would have run away -if anybody had had the temerity to speak to him of such folly. What -should he want with a wife at fifty-five, when he never wanted one at -the proper time? You come, Master Lawyer, and a thousand caprices come -with you and make an earthquake in his poor head! This child and I have -had no rest! He<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[Pg 309]</a></span> wants to marry the poor little thing, <i>marry</i> her, -with the clothes she stands up in, a girl without a penny, who already -works for him without wages, as if she were my daughter and not a lady -born. Did you tell him, O assassin, that she is big enough and strong -enough to do the work of two? Does he want to send me away after twenty -years' service, to save my miserable wages—all that she and I have -in the world—and make her his wife so that she will have to work for -him, gratis, forever? Ah, that was it, was it? You said to him, 'Sor -Professore mio, why feed two females and pay one when you need only -feed one and pay her nothing? That old strega, Mariuccia, will soon be -aged and of little use. Giannella knows how to do everything now. Marry -her, so that she can live alone with you, and get rid of the other at -once.' Yes, that is what you advised, infidel, imprudent," thundered -the enraged seeress, "and you have committed a damnable sin, for which -the devil who taught it to you shall kick your soul and the souls of -all your ugly little dead about in hell for a thousand years! Madonna -mia, how could such wickedness enter a man's heart?"</p> - -<p>During this long impassioned address De Sanctis had stood quite still, -never taking his eyes from his adversary's face till she stopped, -gasping for breath, with clenched hands that seemed twitching to get at -his throat. Giannella was clinging to her arm and had been keeping up a -stream of remonstrances and entreaties that she would cease to insult -the gentleman, would refrain from making such a scandalous uproar<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[Pg 310]</a></span> in -the Cardinal's house. But all to no purpose. Mariuccia shook her off as -a wolfhound would shake off a spaniel, and only paused, as it seemed, -to find breath and inspiration for another tirade.</p> - -<p>De Sanctis had allowed her to say her say, for every word she uttered -only made the Professor's perfidy more plain; now his legal integrity -was sitting in judgment on the offender, while his personal grudge -against the man fed joyfully on the proofs of his double dealing. -Having learned all that he wished to know, he spoke to Mariuccia, -angrily enough. "You are a silly, ignorant woman, and you have been -saying things for which you will beg my pardon on your knees! You think -you know what I came to say to your master, do you? Well, listen, and -never again, so long as you live, dare to insult an honorable and -innocent person with vile suspicions. Yes, I thought the Professor -was like myself, an upright man, a man to be trusted. I thought he -had been the lifelong friend and helper of this young lady. And, as -she was still under age, I placed in his hands the wonderful fortune -which, largely through my disinterested efforts in discovering her, -had come to her from her father's brother in Denmark. Ah, you tremble, -you turn pale. Yes, that was what I came to tell Signor Bianchi—and -the brigand has never informed her of it—that Giannella Brockmann had -become a rich girl with an income of two thousand scudi, left her by -her uncle, two thousand big silver scudi every year, all for herself; -that she is no longer obliged to live<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[Pg 311]</a></span> on charity, but is now a young -lady with a dowry that will ensure her a good husband and a comfortable -establishment whenever she chooses. I came as the bearer of this -beautiful news—and you insult me as if I were an executioner!"</p> - -<p>The last part of this speech was lost on his audience. Mariuccia had -sunk back on a chair, her face gray with emotion, and Giannella was -kneeling beside her, covering her gnarled hands with kisses and crying -through a rain of happy tears, "Mariuccia, do you understand? I am -rich, rich, and now I can repay you for all your goodness to me. You -shall have clothes, shoes, meat, old wine—a new bed for your poor -tired body, with soft blankets—two thousand scudi—every year, for -always? Oh, you shall have a gold chain as thick as my finger and -earrings with pearls as big as figs. Oh, what have I done that such -happiness should come to me, Madonna mia Santissima—I shall die of -joy."</p> - -<p>Not a thought for herself, nor even for Rinaldo; not a glimmer of -resentment against Bianchi; only the passion of gratitude nearly -breaking her heart because it could be satisfied at last.</p> - -<p>Mariuccia bent down and kissed the golden head. Then she took the -girl's face in her two hands and looked into it long and silently, a -light on her own that had never shone there before. She tried to speak, -but could not; only, two slow tears trickled down her cheeks. Giannella -put up her soft fingers and brushed them away. </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[Pg 312]</a></span></p> - -<p>"The very last you shall ever shed, Mariuccia mia," she murmured; "we -know, we two, what it has been. Domine Dio, it is all over!"</p> - -<p>Then the old woman rose to her feet and flung up her arms with a -magnificent gesture of thanksgiving, like a prophetess beholding the -victories of justice, the justifications of her God. "After twenty -years you have heard me, Mother of Mercy!" she cried, "Protector of the -fatherless, Consoler of the afflicted, blessed be your most sweet Name -for ever and ever!"</p> - -<p>De Sanctis turned away and walked to a farther window, where he stood -looking out and seeing nothing. His little fabric of false values had -tumbled to pieces. His shallow appreciations of human nature had scaled -off like a rotten shroud from a re-risen body. His own astuteness, -of which he had been so proud, Bianchi's dishonest avarice, the low -aims and rabid egoism with which he credited mankind at large—these -were not the spirit level by which to measure real men and women. That -was set by honest hearts incapable of selfish grief or sordid joy, -by Goffi, the obscure little artist, entreating his aid to obtain a -penniless bride, by the girl over there, pure of worldly taint, by -the ignorant old woman who had threatened him and his dead with hell. -He had looked deep into the hearts of all three, and had seen into -gold and crystal. Being only a prosaic Roman he did not put it so -poetically. "Good folk, good kind folk," he told himself. "Beati loro! -They are the happy ones. I wonder if there are many more of them in the -world?" </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">[Pg 313]</a></span></p> - -<p>When he looked round again he found that he was alone. No flooded -streets, no hesitations of timidity, could weigh with those two -rejoicing women. They were hastening to San Severino to give thanks -where thanks were due.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">[Pg 314]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER XXIV</h2> - -<p>In the Cardinal's study Rinaldo, sitting on the very edge of a chair -with his hat on his knees, was looking eagerly into the benevolent face -of the prelate. The latter was expressing his thanks in the exquisite -Italian of the Roman noble; his hand, with his big amethyst ring, -fingered a malachite paper weight on the writing-table; his fine head, -crowned with the red berretta, reposed against the crimson damask of -his chair, for he was still languid from his recent indisposition. -Rinaldo was really thinking less of what the Cardinal said than of the -delightful picture he made—so different from the forlorn lay figure -stuck into the property chair and draped in the red tablecloth that -the artist felt as if he ought to do penance for all the calumnies on -cardinals that he had persuaded the dealers to buy from him. Oh, if -this beautiful old gentleman would let him paint his portrait, here in -the sober grandeur of his proper surroundings, with the long sunbeam -falling across his ring and sending its reflection up into his eyes. -Was it altogether out of the question? Oh, of course. He was not -distinguished enough to venture to suggest such a thing. What was this -that the Cardinal was saying?</p> - -<p>"So you see, Signor Goffi, that I have reason to be profoundly grateful -to you. But for your charity and courage my poor friend might have had -to <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">[Pg 315]</a></span>remain yet longer in that terrible situation, and it is doubtful -whether he should have survived further exposure. And I had encouraged -him to go down there! Never can I forgive myself my thoughtlessness and -selfishness. I grieve to say that he is rather seriously indisposed, -but the doctor thinks that with care he will soon recover. I pray that -it may be so. And now, tell me, is there any way in which I can serve -you? To me it would be the greatest of pleasures—and old people can -sometimes be useful to young ones, you know."</p> - -<p>The charming urbanity of the tone, the courtesy which so delicately -annihilated the distance between a great noble, a prince of the Church, -and his unknown, middle-class self, touched Rinaldo deeply, and set -his heart beating with hope as he considered how best to frame his -request. The Cardinal saw that something was coming, and there was a -gentle twinkle in his eyes as he looked at his visitor. The candid, -handsome young face appealed to the inner spring of youth which life -may seal but never dry up in certain pure warm hearts. Rinaldo felt -the expressed goodwill as he might have become sensible of unexpected -warmth in the light of a fixed star; it shed a pleasant radiance from -very far away. Indeed they two could scarcely have been farther apart -had they lived till now on separate planets. There was no merging of -class and class in Rome, then. A prominent dignitary of the Church -moved in his own sphere of half-mystic greatness, linked with all -things sacred and regal. Except for a question of souls, he did not, in -the ordinary<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">[Pg 316]</a></span> affairs of life (unless he happened to have risen from -the ranks himself), take any personal cognizance of those outside his -circle, ecclesiastical, political, and social. Paolo Cestaldini had -never heard of this young man till the night before, and apart from the -fact that he had nice manners, and evidently belonged to the educated -"mezzo ceto" had not the slightest clue by which to judge of his -circumstances.</p> - -<p>"Well," he said encouragingly, "what is it, my son? I see that your -heart has a desire. If it be possible for me, it would be my felicity -to satisfy it."</p> - -<p>"Oh, Eminenza," Rinaldo cried, "there is indeed something, if it would -not give you too great trouble to confer the greatest of benefits upon -me. Not as a recompense for the little service I was able to render -last night—any man would have done the same—and my friend, Sacchetti, -helped me—but if, out of the great goodness of your heart, you would -speak a word to Professor Bianchi, and tell him how wrong—" Rinaldo -paused, alarmed at the sudden sternness of the prelate's expression.</p> - -<p>"And what is it that I am to tell the distinguished Professor?" All -the encouragement was gone from the Cardinal's tone as he asked the -question. That an unknown youth should suggest criticism, actual -condemnation of anything in the conduct of a great light of science, -his own revered friend, appeared to him as a monstrous piece of -impertinence.</p> - -<p>But Rinaldo, conscious of the justice of his cause, caught boldly at -the receding opportunity. "Your<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">[Pg 317]</a></span> Eminence will pardon me when I explain -what must sound so presumptuous," he said firmly. "The case is this: In -the Professor's house there is a young girl whom I wish to marry. We -love each other sincerely. She is good and beautiful, but very poor, an -orphan whom the Professor's servant adopted and brought up. She helps -the old woman to wait on him, and though her father was a gentleman -and she has received a good education, she has for years past been -contented to regard herself as Signor Bianchi's servant and to be so -regarded by him. A short time ago he suddenly declared that he wished -to marry her—"</p> - -<p>"Marry her?" the Cardinal exclaimed, sitting up straight in his chair. -"The Professor wanted to marry—a young girl? His servant? But what are -you telling me, Signor Goffi? Are you sure?"</p> - -<p>"Quite sure, Eminenza, strange as it may seem," Rinaldo replied. -"Giannella had no wish to marry him—the poor child shrank with horror -from the idea, and Mariuccia—that is the old woman—would not hear of -it. But he persisted, and at last induced the most excellent Princess -Santafede to interest herself on his behalf. Perhaps your Eminence does -not know that her Excellency had the great kindness to send Giannella -to the convent, where she received a beautiful education?"</p> - -<p>The Cardinal bent his head. "I remember hearing something of it," he -said. Then he smiled involuntarily at the recollection of Fra Tommaso's -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">[Pg 318]</a></span>impassioned appeal about a little girl and a poor woman from Castel -Gandolfo. He had quite forgotten the circumstance till now.</p> - -<p>"Well," Rinaldo continued, "her gratitude to the Princess and the -natural respect she felt for such a great and good lady made Giannella -desirous of obeying her in all things possible, and when her Excellency -told her that she should be only too thankful to find a disinterested -and honorable protector like Signor Bianchi, and that it was clearly -her duty to accept him—Giannella thought it might really be wrong to -disobey."</p> - -<p>The Cardinal gave an amused little groan. He had often warned his -sister that, like many pious ladies, she was too eager to pilot young -women into respectable homes. She had found husbands for three girls -during the past year; one had proved fairly satisfactory, but the -others had not turned out well. One poor thing had run away, no one -knew whither, because her husband maltreated her, and the other was -now working like a galley slave to support an idle man. And now he -learned that, undeterred by these failures, she was planning another -matrimonial mistake! Really, Teresa must be more prudent.</p> - -<p>Rinaldo went on after a short pause, "That was before Giannella and -I quite understood each other, Eminenza. Now I do not think she -would ever consent, but it will grieve us both to make an enemy of -Signor Bianchi, and Giannella wishes to have the approval of her -Excellency. I asked the avvocato De Sanctis to do something, since -it was after a visit<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319">[Pg 319]</a></span> from him that this strange caprice seemed to -have taken possession of the Professor, but I have heard nothing more -from him—and time passes and Giannella is in a very disagreeable -situation in the Professor's house. Oh, Eminenza, I want so much to -take my sposina to my own home and make her happy. I work hard, I have -had good fortune of late—I can support her. Will you, of your great -condescension, persuade Signor Bianchi that she is not for him, and -make him acquiesce in our marriage—and also please obtain for us the -consent of the Princess? Without that Giannella will not be content. We -would bless you from our hearts and pray for you every time we went to -Mass."</p> - -<p>The Cardinal had looked very grave since the mention of De Sanctis. -He recalled the pretty story of secret benevolence and ensuing good -fortune which he had found so consoling to a Christian heart. He -marshaled the facts in his mind and sorrowfully admitted to himself -that they were not edifying. It would have been bad enough to learn -that a distinguished, middle-aged man had lost his head about a pretty -girl, a mere child in comparison with himself; but the Cardinal could -have forgiven that. His long experience of human nature had taught him -that no vagaries were too wild to become facts where the relations -of man and woman were concerned. But there was something worse here, -something so ugly that it pierced his heart with pain to recognize it -for what it was—black mortal sin, covetousness, double dealing, an -apparent intention to defraud a defenseless<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_320" id="Page_320">[Pg 320]</a></span> girl of her liberty and -her property, since the goods of the wife would pass absolutely into -the keeping of the husband unless a pre-matrimonial contract were made -to secure them to her. And the man who was apparently planning this -cruelty had long been his own friend, his comrade in the delights of -high intellectual pursuits. The thing was horrible. He shuddered and -covered his eyes with his hand for a moment, praying for light on his -own duty in the matter.</p> - -<p>Rinaldo saw that his statement had gone home, and he did not venture -to interrupt the prelate's train of thought. At last the latter raised -his head, and his face looked sad and tired. His first duty at least -was clear to him already. The young people must not learn of the poor -sinner's fault if it were possible to keep it from them; he would -repent in time—had perhaps repented already, by the grace of God, and -the future must not be made harder for him by publicity and scandal.</p> - -<p>"Figlio mio," he said very gently, "this is a strange story, and -although I am sure you believe it yourself, I must know a little -more before I can, with any propriety, venture to advise the Signor -Professore on such delicate and private affairs. You are quite right -in wishing to reconcile him, and also my sister, to your marriage. -The Princess is in villeggiatura at present, but I will communicate -with her. As for Signor De Sanctis, he is my man of business, and I am -expecting him this morning. With your permission," here the fine old -head bent towards Rinaldo with exquisite courtesy, "I will speak to him -of this<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_321" id="Page_321">[Pg 321]</a></span> matter, and I have little doubt that a harmonious settlement -can be arrived at. You see, I am taking you on trust, my son. I hope -that your intentions regarding this young girl are as upright as -they appear; and also, if you will pardon an old man for speaking so -frankly, that your own life is orderly and pious; that you practice -our holy religion and keep away from bad companions. You must not be -incensed at my suggesting such questions. Matrimony is a holy state, -and many plunge into it all unprepared to fulfill its obligations."</p> - -<p>"Eminenza," Rinaldo replied, "I thank you most sincerely for taking -so much interest in my welfare, and I will answer your questions -veraciously. As for my morals—well, I have been too poor to have any -vices, and I was well brought up by good, kind parents, to whom I have -not done sufficient honor, but whom I have tried not to grieve. I have -worked hard, the masters at the Academy were satisfied with me, and I -obtained the silver medal before I left. The president of the Boating -Society will tell your Eminence that I never drink—except when I -swallow too much of the Tiber. As to religion, I am afraid I have been -forgetful sometimes. When I am very happy—or very unhappy—over a -picture, I lose count of the days of the week and find myself on the -church steps in my best clothes on Monday or Tuesday morning instead of -Sunday. And oh, since I am telling your Eminence so much about myself, -I must not forget a horrible crime that I have committed!" The Cardinal -looked up anxiously. "I have <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_322" id="Page_322">[Pg 322]</a></span>circulated the most shocking calumnies, -again and again, for money." He laughed ruefully, and the prelate's -face became a study of grief and reproach. "Yes, the Eminenza has a -right to look horrified. I had no excuse except hunger—and ignorance. -I have painted cardinals, at least twenty of them, from a crippled -lay figure with one leg, dressed in an old tablecloth, Heaven forgive -me—the foreigners who bought them had never beheld a cardinal, except -perhaps in the street, and I never had the honor of speaking to one -till this morning. But I perceive my errors. I repent, I will sin no -more."</p> - -<p>The prelate was laughing too now, and Rinaldo went on more earnestly. -"As for the Sunday Mass, Giannella will not let me forget that when we -are married. She goes every day. Oh, if the Eminenza could only see -her. She is so good, so beautiful—like Raffællo's youngest Madonna, -the 'Gran Duca.'"</p> - -<p>"Then the contemplation of her must correct your faults, my son," the -Cardinal said. "Bad art is a sin for which even the Grand Penitentiary -has no absolution. Ah, what is it?"</p> - -<p>The chaplain had entered and stood waiting to speak. He glanced at -Rinaldo disapprovingly. The unknown young man had been granted an -audience of unprecedented length, and it was Don Ignazio's business to -see that his revered superior should be spared fatigue, and also that -respectable visitors should not be kept waiting too long before being -admitted.</p> - -<p>"Eminenza," he said, "the avvocato De Sanctis has been here for some -time. I thought you could <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_323" id="Page_323">[Pg 323]</a></span>perhaps see him now? But I fear you are -tired with so much talking already. I could ask him to call again."</p> - -<p>Rinaldo had risen on the chaplain's entrance. "Your Eminence has been -too kind," he protested. "I am ashamed of having trespassed so far on -your goodness. I remove the inconvenience of my presence, with most -humble thanks for all the Eminenza's condescension and kindness."</p> - -<p>As he knelt to kiss the amethyst ring the Cardinal bent over to say -in a low tone: "I will see what can be done, and will send for you in -a day or two. Meanwhile, my son, we will observe silence on all this -matter, and you must ask your fidanzata to do the same. I have good -reasons."</p> - -<p>"The Eminenza shall be obeyed," Rinaldo replied. As he was passing -through the outer room, he encountered De Sanctis, who stopped to shake -hands with him, saying, "I have been having a little conversation with -the Signorina Brockmann and that old woman. Go to them, Signor Goffi, I -am sure they want you. Incidentally I may say that you will find them -prepared to answer all the questions with which you peppered me the -other day. Diascoci, I think it is lucky for Bianchi that he is ill in -bed, where you cannot get at him when you are satisfied as to the cause -of his alarming dementia. Arrivederci. Yes, Don Ignazio, here I come." -This to the chaplain, who was beckoning to him from a farther doorway.</p> - -<p>The study was empty when De Sanctis was ushered into it and he sat down -to wait for his patron. In ten minutes or so the latter returned. "I -have been<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_324" id="Page_324">[Pg 324]</a></span> to the Professor's room," the Cardinal explained when the -first greetings were over. "I wished to see for myself how he was going -on and to ascertain whether he would be equal to a little conversation -to-day."</p> - -<p>"I trust he is quite convalescent, Eminenza?" De Sanctis replied. "I am -deeply sorry to learn of his accident. I had no idea—"</p> - -<p>But the Cardinal held up his hand for silence, and the lawyer got his -lecture in stern, unsparing words, to which he listened with becoming -humility and an appearance of such true contrition that the prelate -softened, relented, and finally took him back into grace.</p> - -<p>Something had wrought a change in De Sanctis's mood. To his own -surprise he found himself inclined to admit that his desertion of the -absent-minded Professor the day before was rather a shabby action. In -consequence he was regretfully but logically obliged to lay aside his -intention of discrediting the other man in the Cardinal's estimation. -His natural curiosity, however, was by no means subdued, and he longed -to know why Goffi had remained an hour shut up with the prelate in his -study, and what, besides a mere polite acknowledgment of the artist's -timely help, could have furnished the matter of the interview. The -Cardinal himself led the conversation in the desired direction.</p> - -<p>"Signor Goffi has just left me," he said, "and he told me that he -called upon you the other day, Guglielmo. Since he spoke frankly about -the object of his visit, I hope you will not consider me indiscreet if -I ask you to do the same. He related a rather strange<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_325" id="Page_325">[Pg 325]</a></span> story. Should -you feel justified in telling me what you know about it?"</p> - -<p>"I think so, Eminenza," De Sanctis replied, "the Signorina Brockmann is -the person chiefly concerned, and she seems to be in need of help and -advice, which have failed her where she had a right to expect them. I -am betraying no confidence in telling your Eminence that she has only -this moment, and in this house, learned of her inheritance. For some -unexplained reason Professor Bianchi has abstained from informing her -of it."</p> - -<p>"Why did you not tell her yourself, at the time?" the Cardinal inquired.</p> - -<p>"The Professor was unwilling that I should speak to her on the -subject," said the lawyer. "He described her as rather a hysterical -girl. He feared the sudden excitement might be too much for her nerves, -and preferred to communicate the good news gently and in private."</p> - -<p>The Cardinal was silent for a moment. Then he asked, "Are you sure that -she was not told anything? What led you to speak to her about it now?"</p> - -<p>Then De Sanctis told him of his own slowly-awakened suspicions, of -Rinaldo's appeal and evident ignorance of the facts, which Giannella -would certainly have confided to him had she been in possession of -them, and finally he described Mariuccia's recent attack on him and -Giannella's intense emotion when she learned what had first brought him -to Professor Bianchi's house. All showed conclusively that Bianchi had -kept the matter to himself, together with the cash<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_326" id="Page_326">[Pg 326]</a></span> for which the girl -had signed a receipt in the lawyer's presence.</p> - -<p>When he had ended, the Cardinal asked one question more. "Is it true -that Bianchi is trying to marry the girl?"</p> - -<p>"So Mariuccia and Goffi affirm," replied the other. And for the life -of him he could not help adding, "He appears very anxious to do so -at once. This is August—and she will be of age on the eighth of -September."</p> - -<p>"Her money would become her husband's in any case, would it not?" the -Cardinal inquired.</p> - -<p>"It could be secured to her in the marriage contract if her friends so -wished," was the reply. "The usual proceeding is to set apart a certain -portion of the dowry for the wife's own use, while the remainder comes -under the jurisdiction of the husband, to be applied to family expenses -in common."</p> - -<p>"I know," said the Cardinal. "But if no agreement to this effect -were made before marriage, all monies she then possessed, knowingly -or unknowingly, would pass unconditionally to her husband?" The tone -implied a desire to have the statement contradicted.</p> - -<p>"They would pass unconditionally to her husband," De Sanctis repeated. -Then he began to study the pattern of the carpet, for the Cardinal was -leaning his head on his hand and evidently thinking deeply. At last -he looked up, saying, "In speaking to the girl did you comment on the -Professor's silence?" </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_327" id="Page_327">[Pg 327]</a></span></p> - -<p>"I touched on it, Eminenza, but she appeared to take no notice, and -nothing more was said on that subject."</p> - -<p>"That is well," said the Cardinal; "and now, my son, since we are on -the question of marriages, what do you think of that young Goffi? He -struck me as an amiable, honest fellow. Would he make a good husband -for this poor child? Do you know anything about him?"</p> - -<p>"I too was pleased with him, Eminenza," replied De Sanctis heartily, -"and I took the trouble to make inquiries. He has an excellent record, -and a small property of his own. Giannella could not do better than -marry him."</p> - -<p>"And Giannella herself—is she all he thinks her?" The Cardinal put -the question with a doubtful smile. "These little females are sadly -deceptive sometimes, Guglielmo mio." The speaker sighed over the -general shortcomings of Eve's degenerate daughters.</p> - -<p>But the lawyer replied with an earnestness which was most unusual for -him, "I believe she is really as good as she is pretty, Eminenza, -and one cannot say more than that. Only her scruples have caused her -and Goffi some unhappiness. The eccelentissima Principessa, who knew -nothing of the other suitor, having told her that she ought to marry -Bianchi, she imagined it might be criminal to disobey. She has a good -heart. Just now, when she learned from me that she possessed this -little fortune, what do you suppose was her first thought? To reward -that cross<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_328" id="Page_328">[Pg 328]</a></span> old woman for taking care of her. She nearly went mad with -joy when she found she could do that. Oh, she will make a good wife, -that girl."</p> - -<p>"I am rejoiced to hear it," said the Cardinal; "as I have told you -before, Guglielmo, you should find such another for yourself. To live -alone is not good for a young man in the world. It either exposes him -to temptation—or else it hardens his heart. I have sometimes feared, -my son, that it might be having the latter effect upon you. I should -rejoice to know that you were happily married."</p> - -<p>"Eminenza," replied De Sanctis, smiling, "I perceive that matchmaking -runs in your illustrious family. I will remember your warning, and -try to find time to fall in love. Meanwhile, in order to avoid any -hardening of heart, shall I do what I can to arrange the affairs of -these devoted young people? Signor Bianchi being unable at this moment -to offer obstruction—"</p> - -<p>"Gently, gently," the Cardinal interrupted. "We must not overlook -him altogether, that would be discourteous. And he should have an -opportunity of explaining himself. Perhaps he was only planning a -pleasant surprise for his young friend on her birthday?"</p> - -<p>"Or on the day she was to become his wife?" suggested De Sanctis -sarcastically. "Oh, Eminenza, the casuistries of your charity are as -unscrupulous as any of those we poor disciples of the law are accused -of."</p> - -<p>The Cardinal smiled half apologetically as he replied, "Charity is -rather an abnormal creature, my<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_329" id="Page_329">[Pg 329]</a></span> dear Guglielmo. She often has to close -her eyes to find her way. When she opens them again she generally -beholds that which she desired to see. So for the present we will stand -aside and keep silence as to our opinion of our neighbor's conduct—and -Charity perhaps will whisper something in his ear. Then when she -beckons to us to approach and reckon with him we may find—that we were -mistaken all along, that his intentions were neither dishonest nor -unkind, but only a little unwise. That will give us all great pleasure, -will it not?"</p> - -<p>"I am conquered," declared De Sanctis. "Anything that gives you -pleasure, Eminenza, will certainly do so to me. You are the best -argument for Christianity that I ever met. Let me know, I pray, when -the marriage contract is required. It will be interesting to draw it -up—and to make the kind, candid Professor Bianchi witness it."</p> - -<p>"Go away. You are incorrigible," laughed the Cardinal. And the lawyer -bowed himself out.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_330" id="Page_330">[Pg 330]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER XXV</h2> - -<p>Rinaldo learned from the servant in the hall that the women had left -the palazzo in haste, saying something about going to San Severino. -So he hurried thither by the tortuous side ways whence the water was -already draining rapidly. Meanwhile Mariuccia was standing in the -archway leading to the chapel of the Bona Mors, in excited colloquy -with Fra Tommaso. When the old sacristan understood the facts his face -beamed with satisfaction. Mariuccia's was not less radiant, though it -showed that she was still deeply impressed by the recent revelations. -To her the whole thing was a two-fold wonder—her Giannella's good -fortune, and a visible answer to her many prayers; also the vindication -of her sorely-tried belief in the rich relations "over there" whom -she had materialized for Giannella so many years ago out of her own -sense of the fitness of things. "Oh, Fra Tommaso mio," she cried, -"how I thank you for your good prayers. Surely you have obtained this -great happiness for me that Giannella does not go to her husband's -people like a beggar! My brother's daughters, even, brought enough to -be well received by their mothers-in-law—to be able to hold up their -heads on Sundays with the rest, and she, poor little thing, she was to -be married 'cola camicia,' without a sheet or a towel, or a pair of -earrings! No, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_331" id="Page_331">[Pg 331]</a></span> Madonna knew that it would break my heart. She has -spared me this shame. Giannella can show cupboards full of linen when -the rich mamma from Orbetello comes to poke her nose about in the young -people's house; she can make presents to the sisters of her husband, we -can send the confetti in beautiful gilt boxes! Quick, give me two of -your biggest candles. I have the money here for them—and light them -for me on the altar of the Addolorata."</p> - -<p>Fra Tommaso spread out his hands in deprecation. "Never mind about -paying for these candles, commara. I will gladly make you a present of -them, for I rejoice in your felicity. Did I not always tell you that -all would happen as you wished? The Biondina has grown up an angel—the -relations were there all the time, they have proved rich, and have -died in good dispositions, for all of which virtues may God reward -them and rest their souls. And here is the good, handsome young man -whom you had figured to yourself for Giannella's husband! Signorino, -my most respectful felicitations and good wishes to you and the young -lady." This last to Rinaldo, who at that moment arrived upon the scene. -He had caught a few words of the rhapsody, but they conveyed little -to him. Old people like Fra Tommaso could not speak without certain -extravagances of voice and gesture; they only meant that he was feeling -well and that his heart was even fuller than usual of sympathy with his -kind. Mariuccia had apparently announced the intended marriage, and the -good wishes of course referred to that. "I thank you, Fra Tommaso," he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_332" id="Page_332">[Pg 332]</a></span> -answered, smiling at the sacristan's enthusiasm. "I am very much to be -congratulated, and I am flattered to know that you think my betrothed -is in the same good case. I hope you will soon ring the bells for a -fine wedding Mass. But," he turned to Mariuccia, "where is Giannella? -And why did you two run away so suddenly? I was just coming to see you -safely home."</p> - -<p>"Go and ask Giannella," Mariuccia replied triumphantly. "Let her tell -you what sent us here in such a hurry. We did not get so very wet -either." She turned up her foot to take a look at the sole of her boot. -"She is in the chapel inside there, the usual place."</p> - -<p>Rinaldo found Giannella kneeling as she had knelt on that first -morning, her face hidden in her hands, the white rosary slipping -through her fingers. He stood beside her, and this time she raised her -head and looked up into his face. Her own was very calm and radiant. -She slid her hand into his and motioned to him to kneel beside her.</p> - -<p>"God has been good to us," she whispered. "Finish the rosary with me, -and then I will tell you what has happened."</p> - -<p>An hour or two later the three were sitting at the round table in the -Professor's dining-room. Mariuccia had hastily got together a simple -feast, and the board was decorated by a great bunch of flowers pressed -upon her by Fra Tommaso, who had snipped off many a cherished carnation -and oleander blossom to send a "bel bocché" to the Biondina. </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_333" id="Page_333">[Pg 333]</a></span></p> - -<p>Rinaldo had been told the story and was frankly delighted. "Not for -myself," he protested; "as for me, I am indifferentissimo about riches. -I had satisfied myself that Giannella could never want for anything, -not even for the drive on Sundays, the theater once a fortnight, and -the three week's villeggiatura in September, all of which are a wife's -due. All this I could have provided easily, and I give you my word as a -galantuómo that neither my family nor my friends should ever have known -that Giannella had no dowry. The linen we would have bought little -by little, and she should have embroidered it all in her maiden name -as is proper; so that when everything was ready, and we ask my good -mamma and the girls to come and see us, they would have beheld that -they must treat her with all respect. They are disinterested; yes, we -have never disquieted ourselves about money in my family, but certain -things are expected, as you know, and I should not have wished them to -be wanting. Nevertheless, this good fortune will bring a great increase -of happiness. Giannella can have many more pleasures, and there will -never be any anxieties. I shall continue to work perseveringly—we will -live in peace and much comfort; and all the money we do not spend we -will put aside for the education of our sons and the doweries of our -daughters. Mariuccia must live with us and grow fat—better late than -never, Sora Mariuccia mia! And we shall be the happiest family in Rome!"</p> - -<p>"And we will have the padrone—I mean the Signor Professore, to dinner -every Sunday," said<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_334" id="Page_334">[Pg 334]</a></span> Giannella, who had been listening breathlessly to -Rinaldo's description of the enchanting future; "poor man, he will be -so lonely without us two women."</p> - -<p>Rinaldo made a wry face. "I think I could do without the Signor -Professore," he ventured to say. "Without rancor, I must confess that -the part he has played in all this is most inexplicable, if he is at -all an honest man, which (Mariuccia, you must forgive me) I sadly -doubt. In fact I suspect—"</p> - -<p>But Giannella laid her fingers on his lips. "You suspect nothing, -Rinaldo mio. Are you rude enough to say that I am so ugly and so stupid -that he could not fall in love with me—properly in love? Can you doubt -that his affection prompted him to arrange a charming little surprise -for me when I should come of age? Incredulous one, that is the evident -truth, and to controvert known truth is mortal sin."</p> - -<p>"It requires a robust act of faith to accept your definition, my -angel," said Rinaldo, "but I suppose I must. Behold a new dogma! -Signor Carlo Bianchi is a disinterested old fellow with a singularly -susceptible heart. Fiat! Rome—that is to say, Giannella has spoken. -Doubt becomes transgression. I doubt no more."</p> - -<p>"Amen," came in Mariuccia's deepest tones from across the table, -where she has paused in splitting a fresh fig to listen frowningly -to Rinaldo's arraignment of the padrone's conduct. Now she smiled -contentedly at her two light-hearted children, finished her fig to the -last drop of honey, and dipped her fingers in the glass water bowl -which is never wanting on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_335" id="Page_335">[Pg 335]</a></span> the poorest Roman table. "Come, bambini," -she said, "we will drink his health. May my poor little padroncino -recover immediately and come back to his own home."</p> - -<p>The three glasses were raised whole-heartedly; when they were set down, -it was evident that Charity had once more closed her eyes to find her -way.</p> - -<p class="center">* * * * * * *</p> - -<p>As the day wore to its close, the half-drowned city seemed to raise -its head and, turning from the muddy deposits at its feet, to look up -at the clear new blue of the sky with deep thankfulness that the long, -depressing scirocco was over; that, although September was still to -come, the heat of the summer was broken and the ever-desired autumn -near at hand. A fresh breeze, with a touch of tramontana in it, was -blowing down over Soracte and the Cimmerian hills, and fretted with -crisp wavelets the stretches of yellow water which still trespassed on -Ripetta and the neighboring streets. On roof-garden and window-ledge -little lemon-trees and verbena bushes spread green arms to the tempered -sunshine, to the cool wind; swallows sailed joyously in ever-rising -circles, their white breasts flashing like silver shields as they -turned to the low sun, their shrill cries filling the air with sharp, -clear sound. Far away, behind Saint Peter's, the sky was streaked into -long level bars of gold and rose and crysophrase, bars where feathery -cloudlets caught and hung like notes of floating flame—the score of -some symphony played by the seraphs very far away. </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_336" id="Page_336">[Pg 336]</a></span></p> - -<p>The sunset light shone softly into the windows of a bedroom in Palazzo -Cestaldini, and illuminated two faces, that of a sick sinner and his -friend. The Professor looked more gaunt and pale than ever sitting -up against his pillows in the spotless, ascetic little room. The -doctor had confided to the chaplain that the sick man appeared to have -something on his mind—could the Eminenza perhaps exercise the kind -condescension of paying him a visit? The Eminenza who had only been -waiting for the medico's permission, glided in a few moments later, -dismissed his attendant, and drew a chair to the bedside.</p> - -<p>Bianchi, sufficiently recovered to be grateful for this honor, began to -express his regret for having caused so much trouble in the illustrious -household, but the Cardinal forbade him to waste his strength in -unnecessary words, and in the most natural way made it appear that all -the honor and all the regrets were his. The Professor was to understand -that the master of the house and everyone else connected with the -recent events would never cease to reproach themselves for their part -in the catastrophe, and all that the Cardinal personally desired was an -opportunity to make some reparation. Was there not something he could -do for his good friend, some matter of business, great or small, which -might suffer by delay, and which the Professor could comfort his host's -heart by permitting him to attend to for him? In a life all devoted to -study, little things were apt to escape one, as he knew too well by -personal experience; he himself, he declared, was the most forgetful -of men,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_337" id="Page_337">[Pg 337]</a></span> and during his recent indisposition, when he was lying awake -with fever, several neglected details had come back to him with painful -but wholesome persistence. He said that he had thus been led to make up -his mind to clear them off once for all; indeed to put all his personal -affairs into such good order and safe hands, that, if a real illness -came, and Heaven pleased to call him away, his poor soul should have no -distractions on the journey. That was sure to be a serious expedition -in any case, and one did not want to be weighed down with unportable -baggage!</p> - -<p>The suave voice ran on, with the echo of gentle laughter here and -there; the wise, untroubled eyes seemed to see all the sick man's inner -perturbations, and smiled their promise of comradeship and help; and, -as the words ceased, the brotherly hand laid itself on the Professor's -hot fingers with a strong, beneficent clasp that seemed to say, "If -temptation still lingers near, we will overcome it together."</p> - -<p>The sick man gazed at his comforter in ever-increasing wonder. Was it -true, then, that very holy persons could see into the minds of others; -needed no words to tell them what was passing there? Ah no, he was -growing fanciful; the Cardinal was no doubt talking academically, in -amiable generalities, like any polished man of the world. How could he -dream of the specters of fear and remorse which had crowded round Carlo -Bianchi in that horrible, submerged crypt? Before the final collapse -had robbed him of consciousness, every dream of the past three months -had been renounced, with vows, on condition of being<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_338" id="Page_338">[Pg 338]</a></span> brought out -alive, had been renounced again, with frenzied persistence, when death -loomed near and rescue failed. No allurement on earth should tempt -him to go back on his promises, to find himself in corporal peril and -mortal sin again at one and the same time. He had pondered how to begin -a confidence which was necessary to the instant clearing up of his -account towards Giannella, for he needed help, and there was no one, -except his host, whom he could entrust with a delicate commission.</p> - -<p>"How well your Eminence understands a scholar's mind," he said at last. -"How true it is that Science, like Sara, is a jealous mistress, and -will have the house to herself. Poor earthly matters are turned out, -homeless Hagars and Ishmaels, to take their chance, uncared for and -forgotten."</p> - -<p>The Cardinal looked amused. It was funny to have Scripture quoted at -him by a layman. The Professor continued more gravely, "Since your -Eminence is so very kind, there is a small matter which occurred to me -as I was lying here. But I hesitate to trouble you with such trifles."</p> - -<p>"Nothing which can conduce to your comfort is a trifle, my dear -friend," the Cardinal replied, "and it would rejoice me to have to -take any trouble for you, but I fear you will not favor me so greatly. -Is the matter connected with your household? Your servant and the -Signorina Brockmann were here this morning, inquiring anxiously for -your respected health. The doctor satisfied them on that point, but -would not permit you to be disturbed." </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_339" id="Page_339">[Pg 339]</a></span></p> - -<p>"I am very much obliged to him," exclaimed Bianchi. "I mean, I should -prefer to see them later—when this little affair is regulated. The -truth is—it had passed from my mind—but there is some money," he -brought out the word with a half-impenitent sigh, "and also papers, -which should have been put into Giannella's hands in a week or -two—when she comes of age. Perhaps, considering all things, she had -better take them over—and—have the business explained to her now. It -will save time—and—would it be possible for your Eminence to send -a person of confidence to my apartment, with this key?" He fumbled -nervously under his pillow, where Domenico had bestowed the contents of -his pockets the night before, and drew out a rusty key. "The secretary -by the window, in my study—second shelf on the left hand—a parcel -tied up with a red string. If I could have it brought to me? But I am -ashamed of giving so much trouble."</p> - -<p>"My chaplain will fetch it himself, at once," the Cardinal assured him; -"he is most careful and trustworthy. If you will kindly touch that bell -at your side?"</p> - -<p>The summons was quickly answered and Don Ignazio received his orders -and departed to carry them out. "And now, amico," said the Cardinal, -leaning back in his chair, and folding his fingers tip to tip -while he looked into the Professor's face with a pleasant light of -satisfaction on his own, "if you are not too tired to bear a little -more conversation, I have a story to tell you, a love story. Figure to -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_340" id="Page_340">[Pg 340]</a></span>yourself how badly I shall tell it. But it concerns two good young -people, your Giannella and a very respectable young man. And though -love stories are nearly as far from your province as from mine, I think -this one will interest you. Shall I go on?"</p> - -<p>The Professor turned a shade paler and his face twitched slightly, but -he begged the Eminenza to proceed.</p> - -<p>So the Cardinal, in few and direct words, gave him the history of the -little romance, described Goffi's circumstances and the disinterested -affection which he appeared to entertain for the girl, ignored -altogether the fact of the Professor's own intentions regarding her, -and the support so cunningly obtained thereto from the Princess, and -wound up by drawing an alluring picture of Giannella's old protector -and friend received as the honored and beloved guest in the cheerful -household, where, as age approached, he would find that atmosphere -of intimacy and affection which he had never had time to create for -himself. There would be young voices, fresh interests, little children -to take on his knee, the home, in fact, for which the Italian has no -name and has never needed one but which he understands and cherishes -with reverent care. The Churchman, who had put all family joys aside to -follow the strict counsels of perfection, described these things with -such tenderness and charm that some secret chord in his hearer's heart -was touched. Bianchi turned away his face, but put out his hand timidly -in search of his friend's. The mute appeal was instantly met, and this -time the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_341" id="Page_341">[Pg 341]</a></span> Professor's fingers clung almost convulsively to those of -Paolo Cestaldini, who laid his other hand over them and sat thus for -awhile, letting the little spring of long-foregone emotion have its way -in silence in the other's heart.</p> - -<p>At last Bianchi spoke, low and huskily. "Eminenza, there was a young -man once, who put his youth behind him, not as you did, for the love of -God, but for ambition, desire of distinction, the saving of money, for -leisure to study, study, study, undisturbed by the claims of the heart, -of the family. And those things which were meant to be his servants -became his masters, and used his strength, his eyesight, his very life, -and gave him uncertain payments, sometimes generous, sometimes cruel -and bitter. But the years had passed and there was nothing else. And he -cheated himself into believing that he desired nothing else. But he was -always a little hungry, in his soul, for Religion, finding he did not -need her, had left him to himself. Then, when he was growing old, came -two temptations, a young girl in whom he began to take pleasure and -comfort, and money, which had always appeared to him a very desirable -thing. A little silence, a little harmless deception—and both, he -thought could be his. So he snatched at them—and fell, in intention -he fell, almost in deed." Here Bianchi turned his head and gazed at -the Cardinal very sadly through his spectacles. "Eminenza, how can he -regain his self-respect? How can he come and go in such a home as you -describe, when, but for a terrible and sudden warning, he would have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_342" id="Page_342">[Pg 342]</a></span> -stolen the girl, and her fortune too, for his own solitary impoverished -self? Dove mai? Poveraccio, he can never look her or her husband in the -face—and they can never see him without remembering and detesting his -disloyalty."</p> - -<p>"If I knew that man of whom you speak," the Cardinal replied gravely, -"I would say to him, 'Amico mio, even for sins of intention some -chastisement is due, and perhaps you might put what you call the loss -of self-respect against that account, though in truth the loss you -deplore seems more like the loss of self-confidence. That, to poor -human nature, is like cutting off the finest branch of the tree, but -on the scar may be grafted two sweet and healing fruits, humanity and -vigilance. But for this shock who knows but that self-confidence might -have led you even more helplessly astray in time to come? Therefore, -friend, you are not poorer, but richer, by the deprivation.' And as -for the other point, that of how the persons concerned may regard -him, I would tell that man that very happy people have no time to -remember and detest. There is no room for resentment in hearts that -are full of joy and affection. A kind word, a pleasant look, a little -service rendered—and these good souls say to themselves, 'Behold, -it was all a mistake! How stupid we were to think he wished us ill. -Why, here is a good true friend—how could we ever have believed -him an enemy?' And should the poor man feel the need of making some -reparation, how many opportunities he will have of showing kindness, -of giving wise advice, of <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_343" id="Page_343">[Pg 343]</a></span>reconciling those small differences which -must arise from time to time even in the most united families! If he -ever really meditated an injury, he will convert it into a thousand -benefits which the recipients will bless him for, never dreaming that -he owes them anything, that he is paying them a debt. Oh, Professor -mio, only a priest knows what miracles of kindness and self-sacrifice -self-accusation can bring forth. Blessed are those who weep over their -own faults! Their tears are turned to sunshine for others ere they -fall."</p> - -<p>The sun had long set, the swift night had darkened the room, and the -Cardinal could not see his friend's face. His good-night blessing -was answered in an almost inaudible whisper, but, as he passed out, -something like a sob fell on his ear. The Professor's heart had come to -life at last.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_344" id="Page_344">[Pg 344]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER XXVI</h2> - -<p>It was the first Sunday in October, the jewel day of the Roman year. -Tiny clouds, mere flecks of transparent silver, chased each other -across the pale sapphire of the sky; a delicate breeze was dancing up -from the sea; the campagna looked like a mantle of gold fretted at -the rim with a crest of melting amethyst, where the Albans and the -Sabines, Soracte and the Cimmerian hills, lifted their strong yet -tender outlines to round the horizon in. The swallows, dainty sybarites -who take their pleasures seriously, were marshaling their airy forces -for migration, the wise old veterans, who have made the journey for -many an autumn, teaching the neophytes the secret of long flight, -shepherding them into their places in the V-shaped squadrons where the -strongest winged of the silver-breasted patriarchs cleaves the air like -a sentient arrow head, taking advantage of every current that sets in -the chosen direction, sailing gently on with it where it helps, and -the flock may sweep forward without a stroke, yet rising with instant -decision at the precise distance from the ground where flight would -lose its impetus. Perfect mathematicians, tracing their angles on -viewless maps—wary old commanders husbanding their followers' strength -to the last moment, seconded by a score of experienced officers who -accompany and follow the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_345" id="Page_345">[Pg 345]</a></span> flock, herd in the would-be stragglers, -scold the lazy, encourage the weak, place the youngest of all in the -center of the battalion so that the encounter with a contrary breeze -may be broken for them and the untried wings helped by the fanning -of stronger pinions behind—who that has watched the mobilizing of -the swallows' army during the three weeks of the autumn, when the -Staff consults on the housetops and sends its drill sergeants out to -teach the recruits their business and train them into condition for -miracles of enduring flight—who that has watched this would ever dare -to arrogate the splendors of intelligence to mankind alone? Were one -race on this earth as dutiful to racial obligations, as perfect in -obedience, in endurance, in family discipline and military instinct as -the swallow—that race would rule the world.</p> - -<p>"Rondinella, pellegrina," Giannella murmured as she watched the -swallows from her workroom window on that Sunday morning, "I envy you -no longer. Fra Tommaso's pigeons are happier than you. One abiding home -for them, one home for me. And God grant I may never have to leave it. -Si, Mariuccia, I am ready."</p> - -<p>Yes, she was ready for her marriage. Robed in silk of the October -heaven's own blue even as Rinaldo had dreamed of her, with a white -veil over the golden hair that had so long been shaded by the black, -a little string of pearls round her soft neck, white prayer-book and -white rosary in the still whiter hands—a flush of gay carnation on -the cheek, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_346" id="Page_346">[Pg 346]</a></span> happiness of morning in her innocent eyes—Giannella -was ready for her marriage. The dark days were over; the sentinels of -sorrow and privation that had so long guarded her narrow path had shed -their somber armor now, and stood revealed, bright spirits of love and -trust, bidding her pass forward to the sunny glades beyond.</p> - -<p>As Mariuccia entered, Giannella came and kissed her old friend tenderly -and then stood back to admire her splendid appearance. The treasured -costume had come out of the goatskin trunk at last; here was the full -skirt of flowered silk, the scarlet corselet and sleeves, the gold -trimmings, the lace shawl and apron—creamy with the kiss of Time. But -Time seemed to have forgiven Mariuccia a score of years this morning; -the erect old figure was almost supple in its buoyancy, there was -color in her cheeks, a sparkle in her eyes, her head was held high, as -if to show off the fine fat pearls dangling from her ears. Her bosom -heaved with pride under a long heavy string of new red coral—and her -shoes creaked excruciatingly as she moved, for in the triumph of her -heart she had commanded that brigand of a shoemaker to put a double -"scrocchio" into each solid hole. Cipicchia! If people turned their -heads to look at her to-day, all the better for them!</p> - -<p>Giannella's admiration found no time for expression, for behind -Mariuccia appeared another figure, that of the Professor, solemnly -resplendent in full evening dress, white tie and white gloves. He -seemed happy too this October morning, and as he came<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_347" id="Page_347">[Pg 347]</a></span> forward to -present Giannella with an enormous bouquet of white camellias, his -eyes shone cheerfully behind a pair of gold-rimmed spectacles given to -him by Rinaldo and henceforth to be kept for great occasions. There -was nothing in his look or manner to suggest regrets, and if he had -had to struggle with depression and remorse, he had evidently bested -his enemies and turned them into peaceful denizens of the house of -his soul. The Cardinal, on the plausible pretext of Signor Bianchi's -illness, had himself seen to the transfer of Giannella's property into -her own keeping; and since the hour he had bidden his friend good-night -in the summer dusk, no word or look of those around him had reminded -the Professor of his fault. De Sanctis had been gently put aside by -the prelate when he offered to draw up the marriage contract. "No, -Guglielmo mio," said Carlo Bianchi's friend, "we will employ someone -else. You are too intimate with all the parties. You might have a -moment's distraction and neglect an important point. That would never -do."</p> - -<p>The young lawyer was nettled. "The Eminenza is afraid my sharp tongue -might disturb the general harmony," he ventured to remark. "But have I -not promised silence as to all inconvenient facts? Surely I might be -trusted to keep my word."</p> - -<p>"Yes," the Cardinal said, "your tongue would keep silence, I am -assured. But all the good will in the world will not banish that little -demon of malice and mockery from your glance and tone. So we will not -expose you to temptation. When all is over, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_348" id="Page_348">[Pg 348]</a></span> demon will find no fun -in making trouble, and then, if you wish, you can cultivate intimacy -with the Signor Professore and the Goffis. Just now, my son, it is -better for you to keep away from them."</p> - -<p>So Bianchi had enjoyed a short space of carefully-guarded convalescence -for body and mind. When he was able to leave his room he had had an -ecstatic hour over the Greek head, which was temporarily reposing on a -velvet cushion in the Cardinal's study. It was quite as beautiful as he -had thought when he found it in the wet darkness of the crypt, and he -had drawn much soothing and peace of spirit from the preparation of an -article on it, which <i>The Archæological Review</i> would carry to lovers -of art all over the world. Yet he had not forgotten Paolo Cestaldini's -little sermon on reparation, and various pretty gifts from him had been -sent to the appartamentino on the roof where the sposini were to begin -life together.</p> - -<p>Now he was to take the bride to the church, and it was with much -stateliness that he offered her his arm and led her through the dark -passage, through the green door which she had so often run to open -for him, and down into the courtyard, where the carriage was waiting -for them. Mariuccia, after taking one look at the fire and another at -the collation on the dining-room table, hurried after them, thrusting -the heavy doorkey into the long-unused pocket of the best dress. She -laughed as she felt some hard objects there and discovered them to be -pellicles of pitted sugar. "Confetti! They must have lain there since<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_349" id="Page_349">[Pg 349]</a></span> -Stefano's marriage, more than thirty years ago. Mamma mia, we do grow -old!"</p> - -<p>As the little party ascended the steps of the San Severino, Giannella -trembling a little and looking indeed as lovely as the "youngest -Madonna," Mariuccia pulled three large silver pieces from the corner of -her new pocket handkerchief and presented them to the expectant beggars.</p> - -<p>The habitués of the porch were fewer by two than in the old days; the -parish epileptic had died suddenly and happily on the altar steps while -attending Mass; the footless baby had grown—not up, but big, and he -pattered about in great contentment on padded hands and knees; it was -understood that he had pensioned off his shiftless parent and had a -nice little home of his own. The blind man was truly blind now, and -the privileged cripple by the door was absent on rainy days, owing to -rheumatism, but on a fine Sunday morning he still raised the leather -curtain with his old grace. The blessings that followed the bride and -her companions were loud and long, and the many churchgoers, hurrying -to Mass before rushing out to the country for the day, stood smilingly -aside to let the wedding party pass in.</p> - -<p>Just within the doorway the bridegroom was waiting with a company -of his friends, all in evening dress and wearing flowers in their -buttonholes. Peppino, bubbling over with whispered fun, was trying to -calm Rinaldo, who, between discomfort in the unaccustomed costume, -tight white gloves which would not fasten properly, and doubt as to -which of his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_350" id="Page_350">[Pg 350]</a></span> pockets contained the ring and which the gold and silver -coins he must produce when the priest should bid him endow Giannella -with all his worldly goods, had worked himself up to a condition allied -to frenzy. The sight of Giannella restored him to some command of -himself, and by the time they were kneeling together before the altar -of the Addolorata he could forget earthly preoccupations, listen to -the padre's exhortations on the duties of the married state, and pray -with true and humble faith never to fail in love and honor to his dear -beautiful bride.</p> - -<p>They came out when it was all over with the happiest light on their -faces, and though their hearts were only conscious of each other they -paused to return the kind wishes of their friends. Among these was Fra -Tommaso, beaming with satisfied benevolence. Rinaldo drew him aside and -slipped a gold piece into his hand. "Fra Tommaso mio," he said, with -some show of contrition, "I have a sad confidence to make to you, and -since this is a festal day, please promise me your pardon."</p> - -<p>"You do not look very sorry about it, signorino," replied the old -man. "What are you giving me gold for. Here, take it back. You owe me -nothing."</p> - -<p>"Oh yes, I do," said Rinaldo. "I have several times occupied your -loggia and paid nothing for it."</p> - -<p>"My loggia?" exclaimed the sacristan, "how could you have done that?"</p> - -<p>"I got there—from mine," was the reply, "and when I found that I -could see from there into my fidanzata's window, well, I came again. -I even spoke<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_351" id="Page_351">[Pg 351]</a></span> to her from there. Was not that a dreadful sin? But you -must forgive me, and I will give you another beautiful pigeon, my -Themistocles, who sometimes consented to carry a bit of a love letter. -You will not give him that exercise, and he will grow fat and rejoice -your heart with his funny tricks."</p> - -<p>"Themistocles? He wear a silver collar? He carried your love letters -to the Biondina? Oh, God be praised. You have lifted a weight from my -soul." And Fra Tommaso clasped his hands and raised thankful eyes to -heaven.</p> - -<p>"What do you mean? Explain!" cried Rinaldo, puzzled beyond expression.</p> - -<p>"No," said Fra Tommaso, "I shall not tell you. But you cost me my -dinner one day, O assassin, and many tears. Bad boy," and he laughed -happily, "I will keep the money now and spend it in Masses for the Holy -Souls whom I have teased with most unnecessary prayers. There run along -to your sposina, and do not send me that evil bird—he would finish in -my soup."</p> - -<p>Peppino was beckoning and Rinaldo, hurried away, leaving the problem -unsolved. In five minutes he had forgotten all about it, for the -Cardinal had sent the chaplain down to say that he wished to see the -sposini and give them his blessing. The bridegroom's supporters paused -on the threshold of the prelate's apartment, but the chaplain drove -them all in and the Cardinal, after greeting Rinaldo and Giannella, -had a cheery word for everyone, and especially for Peppino, whom he -had not had a chance to thank<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_352" id="Page_352">[Pg 352]</a></span> for his share in the memorable rescue, -and whose bright face and roguish smile delighted his heart. For his -friend Bianchi he had the warmest of welcomes, a little allusion to -their common interests, a remark about their last interview, to show -all concerned, in the most delicate way, that the Professor was still -his honored friend.</p> - -<p>Then he had some gifts to distribute; for "Botti's Mariuccia" a rosary -blessed by the Pope and a sprig of olive from Gethsemane, gifts which -he knew would be most precious to the unlearned, faithful heart, and -she wept for joy on receiving them and on finding that her feudal lord -remembered her name. When the chaplain began to lead the visitors away -to refresh them with coffee and sweetmeats, the Cardinal called Rinaldo -and Giannella to his side. Opening a drawer in the table, he took out a -small case and gave it to Giannella, saying that his sister had sent it -for her, with all good wishes for her happiness. Within lay a beautiful -miniature of Guido Reni's Addolorata and a few words in the Princess's -own handwriting, pious felicitations, through which glowed something -quite warm and kindly, and the request with which Teresa Santafede's -epistles always closed, "Pray for me."</p> - -<p>Giannella was touched and delighted. Only one good friend had been -silent on this happy day, dear Signora Dati "of good memery," but -Giannella had sent her a little message when she said her prayers that -morning. Now, now that all was duly done and ended, her thoughts found -answer in Rinaldo's eyes. "Andiamoci? Shall we go together, we two<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_353" id="Page_353">[Pg 353]</a></span> who -are one, shall we go into our garden of happiness?"</p> - -<p>Ah, there were a few things to be seen to first. Mariuccia's collation -had to be enjoyed. The Professor, charmed with the new sensation of -playing host to a gay young party, proposed healths; Sora Amalia, -mindful of future patronage, climbed the stairs with an armful of -flowers and a basket of fresh eggs, and was brought in and made to take -part in the feast. Then Peppino, by some magic, produced Rinaldo's -new morning suit and effected for him a grateful transformation in -the Professor's bedroom. Giannella's finery was covered with a crape -shawl, for it would be bad luck for a bride to change her dress before -she left her old home. Then the two were seen downstairs by all the -boys, and packed into the carriage waiting to take them to Albano for -a week's honeymoon, which was to include the joy of a visit to Mamma -Candida and the ever-dear Teresina and Annetta.</p> - -<p>"Madonna mia," exclaimed Giannella as the carriage passed out of the -portone and Rinaldo, curiously shy now, drew her hand into his, "who -can support so much happiness?"</p> - -<p>Don Onorato, who had learned trouble and wisdom in the last three -years, saw them pass. The story had all been told him by the maestro di -casa. "Beati loro!" he sighed, "I am glad that poor little girl has had -some good luck at last. I wonder if happiness will ever climb the grand -staircase?"</p> - -<p>On the fourth landing of the third staircase the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_354" id="Page_354">[Pg 354]</a></span> door was still open. -Mariuccia listened till the last young footstep had died away, then -she turned back into the passage and found herself face to face with -the Professor. He looked at her sadly. "Well, Mariuccia," he said, "I -suppose you will want to go over to the appartamentino at once, so as -to have all things ready when the sposini come back? Of course, there -is much to do—I quite understand, and doubtless that young woman you -have engaged for me will be satisfactory. Still—if you could wait—for -a day or two longer—" He looked at her wistfully.</p> - -<p>Mariuccia laughed, but the laugh was a little shaky, "A day or two -longer?" she repeated, as she untied her lace apron and began to fold -it up. "Another twenty years, if God wills. Did you think I was going -to leave this quiet house and that noble kitchen to have my head -worried off my shoulders by two children who will laugh and chatter all -day and never remember the hours of their meals till they are hungry? -No, no, padroncino mio. The young woman is for them, she will laugh and -chatter with them—youth with youth. There will be three babies—till -the Madonna sends them a fourth. As for you and me, we stay together. -Do you figure to yourself that I would trust you, and your linen, and -your digestion—to a stranger? Dove mai? What an idea! Come take off -those beautiful clothes that I may put them away. Your others are all -ready on the bed in there. You will not want any dinner now, after all -those 'gingilli' and sweet wines—but this evening you<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_355" id="Page_355">[Pg 355]</a></span> shall have—let -me see—a fritto dorato—but of those! Eh, padroncino mio? It will be -like old times, just you and me!"</p> - -<p class="center space-above">THE END</p> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GIANNELLA ***</div> -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™ -concept and trademark. 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