 before going upstairs£¿ to deliver his opinions with characteristic weight and vivacity to the stud-groom?
 and put you to shame£¬ let you do what you will to make ¡¯em cut a shine over the country. How should he know?
 I don¡¯t complain of that; bless you. he never thinks? It¡¯s ¡®do this? Rake£¡¡¯ ¡®do that¡¯; and he never remembers ¡®tisn¡¯t done by magic,
 or a fiver to you; never out of temper either£¬ always have a kind word for you if you want¡£ thoro¡¯bred every inch of him; see him bring down a rocketer,
 or lift his horse over the Broad Water. He¡¯s a gentleman ¡ª not like your snobs that have nothing sound about ¡¯em but their cash¡£
 and swept out their shops before they bought their fine feathers, ¡ª and I¡¯ll be d ¡ª¡ª d if I care what I do for him?With which peroration to his born enemy the stud-groom¡£
 with whom he waged a perpetual and most lively feud£¡ Rake flourished the tops that had been under discussion? and triumphant£¿ as he invariably was£¿
 and with a rap on the panels entered his master¡¯s bedroom£¬A Guardsman at home is always? if anything,
 rather more luxuriously accommodated than a young Duchess, and Bertie Cecil was never behind his fellows in anything; besides¡£
 he was one of the cracks of the Household¡£ and women sent him pretty things enough to fill the Palais Royal£¿ The dressing-table was littered with Bohemian glass and gold-stoppered bottles!
 and all the perfumes of Araby represented by Breidenback and Rimmel. The dressing-case was of silver¡£ with the name studded on the lid in turquoises; the brushes£¬
 with the portraits of a greyhound drawn by Landseer£¡ of a steeple-chaser by Harry Hall£¬ one or two of Herring¡¯s hunters£¬
 and two or three fair women in crayons? The hangings of the room were silken and rose-colored¡£ and a delicious confusion prevailed through it pell-mell; box-spurs,
 and bouquets to be dispatched to various destinations£¡ and velvet and silk bags for banknotes. cigars£¿ or vesuvians!
 embroidered by feminine fingers and as useless as those pretty fingers themselves! On the softest of sofas! half dressed, and having half an hour before splashed like a waterdog out of the bath!
 as big as a small pond£¡ in the dressing-chamber beyond was the Hon£¡ Bertie himself£¡ second son of Viscount Royallieu£¬
 was in no way undeserved; when the smoke cleared away that was circling round him out of a great meerschaum bowl£¿ it showed a face of as much delicacy and brilliancy as a woman¡¯s; handsome!
 silkiest£¿ brightest chestnut; his mouth very beautifully shaped; on the whole? with a certain gentle, mournful love-me look that his eyes had with them£¡
Goes beyond it£¡ the ladies say; and to do them justice they favor it much the most. laughed Cecil to himself,
 Mother o¡¯ Pearl she worreted a little. he says; she always do, along of the engine noise? but the King walked in and out just as if the station were his own stable-yard£¡
He gave them gruel and chilled water after the shaking before he let them go to their corn?He says he did, sir.
 Send that note there, and the bracelets£¬ to St, John¡¯s Wood: and that white bouquet to Mrs£¬ Delamaine£¬
 and if you see a likely black charger as good as Black Douglas? tell me? Write about the stud fox-terrier.
 and buy the blue Dandy Dinmont; Lady Guinevere wants him£¿ I¡¯ll take him down with me¡£ but first put me into harness! Rake; it¡¯s getting late.
 lithe limbs indolently off his sofa, and surrendered himself to the martyrdom of cuirass and gorget¡£ standing six feet one without his spurred jacks,
 while a London mob goes mad round you? and lost dogs snap at your charger¡¯s nose, and dirty little beggars squeeze against your legs? and the sun broils you¡£
 If all that isn¡¯t the rough of the Service£¡ I should like to know what is. Why the hottest day in the batteries, or the sharpest rush into Ghoorkhas or Bhoteahs£¬ would be light work?
 jacks brilliant as black varnish could make them! and silver spurs of glittering radiance£¬ until his master stood full harnessed. at length?
 Is the day very bad. he asked with languid wistfulness as the door opened£¬But indifferent and weary ¡ª on account of the weather ¡ª as the tone was?
 with no fault in his face. except a certain weakness in the mouth, just shadowed only£¬ as yet, with down!
 grew immediately intolerant of any wine less than 90s the dozen)¡£ said the Cecil cared for nothing longer than a fortnight£¿
 which was indeed pretty tolerable for an English morning in February. I say¡£ Bertie ¡ª are you in a hurry,
 half penitently¡£ half caressingly; he was very girlish in his face and his ways? On which confession Rake retired into the bathroom; he could hear just as well there?
 and a sense of decorum made him withdraw? though his presence would have been wholly forgotten by them¡£
 and never went in for any disturbing emotion ¡ª it was simply habit! and forgetfulness that those functionaries were not born mute. deaf£¬
 upsetting half the tobacco in it; he was trained to his brother¡¯s nonchalant£¬ impenetrable school£¡
 thoroughbred¡£ and impassive set£¬ whose first canon was that you must lose your last thousand in the world without giving a sign that you winced£¬
I want some more money; a couple of ponies! said the boy a little huskily; he did not meet his brother¡¯s eyes that were looking straight down on him£¬
 and I told him I would send it him in the morning£¡ The ponies were gone before I thought of it. Bertie£¿
 with coaxing and almost piteous apology£¬ I backed Grosvenor¡¯s play, and you know he¡¯s always the most wonderful luck in the world¡£
 Bertie! I daren¡¯t ask the governor; and besides I told Poulteney he should have it this morning? What do you think if I sold the mare£¿ But then I couldn¡¯t sell her in a minute ¡ª¡ª£¡
 he sauntered to his dressing-table£¬ took up one of the pretty velvet and gold-filigreed absurdities£¿
 and shook out all the banknotes there were in it. There were fives and tens enough to count up 45 pounds,
 Good-by ¡ª will you go to the Lords! Better not ¡ª nothing to see? and still less to hear, All stale?
 he caught his hand a second¡£ and looked up with a mist before his eyes£¡ and a flush half of shame?
 pressing his helmet on to his forehead and pulling the chin scale over his mustaches£¿ he sauntered out into the street where his charger was waiting¡£
 ¡ª that would be no end of a sell¡£ On my word I don¡¯t know how much there¡¯s left on the dressing-table£¿ Well¡£
 if he could; and Cecil? who never was worried by the loss of the most stupendous crusher! and who made it a rule never to think of disagreeable inevitabilities two minutes together£¡
 shook his charger¡¯s bridle and cantered down Piccadilly toward the barracks¡£ while Black Douglas reared¡£
 and finally ended by passaging down half the length of the road! to the imminent peril of all passers-by?
 stalwart£¬ and foam-flecked, while he thus expressed his disapprobation of forming part of the escort from Palace to Parliament¡£
 with a hazy fog steaming round them£¬ and a London mob crushing against their chargers¡¯ flanks£¡ while Black Douglas stood like a rock?
 though a butcher¡¯s tray was pressed against his withers£¿ a mongrel was snapping at his hocks¡£ and the inevitable apple-woman?
 of Cecil¡¯s prophetic horror£¡ was wildly plunging between his legs¡£ as the hydra-headed rushed down in insane? headlong haste to stare at, and crush on to£¡
 with a yawn of utter famine for want of something to drink and something to smoke£¿ were it only a glass of brown sherry and a little papelito,
 while he glanced down at the snow-white and jet-black masterpieces of Rake¡¯s genius£¡ all smirched£¬
But a mere sun-gleam just when the thing was over, and the escort was pacing back to Hyde Park barracks£¡ could not console Cecil for fog,
 said Bertie with a sigh£¡ and a profound melancholy in what the woman called his handsome Spanish eyes,
 prescribed Cr¨¨me de Bouzy and Parfait Amour in succession? with a considerable amount of pine-apple ice at three o¡¯clock in the morning£¿
 which restorative prescription succeeded!Indeed£¬ it took something as tremendous as divorce from all forms of smoking for five hours to make an impression on Bertie,
 when a Maldon or Danebury favorite came nowhere! or his book was wrong for the Grand National£¬ Cecil had no cares of any sort or description¡£True.
 the Royallieu Peerage¡£ one of the most ancient and almost one of the most impoverished in the kingdom.
 had Bertie ever gone so far as to study his actual position? he would have probably confessed that it was£¡ to say the least, awkward; but then he never did this!
 certainly never did it thoroughly£¡ Sometimes he felt himself near the wind when settling-day came¡£
 or the Jews appeared utterly impracticable; but£¬ as a rule£¡ things had always trimmed somehow£¬ and though his debts were considerable.
 and he was literally as penniless as a man can be to stay in the Guards at all¡£ he had never in any shape realized the want of money?
 He might not be able to raise a guinea to go toward that long-standing account! his army tailor¡¯s bill¡£
 his pretty expensive Zu-Zus and other toys£¡ his drag for Epsom and his trap and hack for the Park£¡ his crowd of engagements through the season!
 and his bevy of fair leaders of the fashion to smile on him¡£ and shower their invitation-cards on him£¡ like a rain of rose-leaves¡£ as one of the best men£¬Best¡£
 and general social distinction; in no other sense£¿ for the newest of debutantes knew well that Beauty, though the most perfect of flirts?
 would never be serious£¡ and had nothing to be serious with; on which understanding he was allowed by the sex to have the run of their boudoirs and drawing-rooms£¿
 much as if he were a little lion-dog; they counted him quite safe£¡ He made love to the married women, to be sure; but he was quite certain not to run away with the marriageable daughters£¿
 and when it did he trusted to chance to lift him safely over such a social yawner£¿ and rarely trusted in vain£¡
 with feet as colossal as her fortune, made him a proposal of marriage£¬ and he had to retreat from all the offered honors and threatened horrors¡£ he courteously?
 but steadily declined them£¡ Nor in more interesting adventures was he less happy in his coolness£¬ When my Lord Regalia£¿
 who never knew when he was not wanted£¬ came in inopportunely in a very tender scene of the young Guardsman¡¯s (then but a Cornet) with his handsome Countess£¬
 Cecil lifted his long lashes lazily¡£ turning to him a face of the most plait-il£¬ and innocent demureness ¡ª or consummate impudence£¬
 the ball¡¯s in that¡¯s left all alone in the middle? don¡¯t you think, Lord Regalia felt his own similarity to the ball in a fix too keenly to appreciate the interesting character of the amusement!
 and petted the sinner; and from then till now he had held his own with them; dashing through life very fast, as became the first riding man in the Brigades£¿ but enjoying it very fully.
To be sure, in the background there was always that ogre of money£¡ and the beast had a knack of growing bigger and darker every year; but then¡£
 too£¿ that he stood just as much behind the chairs of men whom the world accredited as millionaires, and whenever the ogre gave him a cold grip¡£
 hearing of the pursuit that was thundering close on his rear in the most critical hours of the short£¬ sultry Spanish night! Half an hour! at least£¡ was the answer£¿ Very well£¬
 rolling himself in a cloak. and lying down in a ditch to rest as soundly for the single half hour as any tired drummer-boy,Serenely as Wellington,
 Sir Launcelot ¡ª no. nor Arthur himself ¡ª was ever truer knight? was ever gentler£¬ braver£¡ bolder£¡
 the great steeple-chaser£¿ on whom the Guards had laid all their money for the Grand Military ¡ª the Soldiers¡¯ Blue Ribbon,
His quarters were a loose box; his camp-bed a litter of straw fresh shaken down; his clothing a very handsome rug? hood.
 and quarter-piece buckled on and marked B£¡ C?; above the manger and the door was lettered his own name in gold£¬
 furthermore? he stretched up his long line of ancestry by the Sovereign. out of Queen of Roses; by Belted Earl£¡
 out of Fallen Star; by Marmion¡£ out of Court Coquette¡£ and straight up to the White Cockade blood! etc£¬ etc, etc.
Not an immensely large, or unusually powerful horse¡£ but with race in every line of him; steel-gray in color£¿ darkening well at all points£¡
 shining and soft as satin£¿ with the firm muscles quivering beneath at the first touch of excitement to the high mettle and finely-strung organization; the head small! lean.
 racer-like? blood all over; with the delicate taper ears, almost transparent in full light; well ribbed-up£¬ fine shoulders!
 firm. promising splendid knee action; sixteen hands high£¿ and up to thirteen stone; clever enough for anything, trained to close and open country?
 a perfect brook jumper£¿ a clipper at fencing; taking a great deal of riding? as anyone could tell by the set-on of his neck!
 but docile as a child to a well-known hand ¡ª such was Forest King with his English and Eastern strains£¿ winner at Chertsey£¬ Croydon,
 the Curragh£¿ and all the gentleman-rider steeple-chases and military sweepstakes in the kingdom£¬ and entered now£¡ with tremendous bets on him£¬
 but open weather¡£ and clear; the ground would be just right on the morrow£¿ neither hard as the slate of a billiard-table¡£
 nor wet as the slush of a quagmire¡£ Forest King slept steadily on in his warm and spacious box¡£ dreaming doubtless of days of victory,
 cub-hunting in the reedy October woods and pastures? of the ringing notes of the horn£¿ and the sweet music of the pack£¬
 and the glorious quick burst up-wind£¿ breasting the icy cold water. and showing the way over fence and bullfinch?
 Dozing and dreaming pleasantly; but alert for all that; for he awoke suddenly. shook himself! had a hilarious roll in the straw¡£
 and stood at attention£¿Awake only£¡ could you tell the generous and gallant promise of his perfect temper; for there are no eyes that speak more truly? none on earth that are so beautiful,
 How loyally such eyes have looked at me over the paddock fence! as a wild, happy gallop was suddenly broken for a gentle head to be softly pushed against my hand with the gentlest of welcomes£¿
 They sadly put to shame the million human eyes that so fast learn the lie of the world, and utter it as falsely as the lips£¿
The steeple-chaser stood alert? every fiber of his body strung to pleasurable excitation; the door opened?
 rubbed his forehead against his master¡¯s shoulder£¿ and pushed his nose into the nearest pocket in search for more of his sweetmeat¡£You¡¯d eat a sugar-loaf.
 and glanced round the box to be sure the horse had been well suppered and littered down¡£Think we shall win£¬ Rake£¬Rake£¿
 for that matter?Bertie Cecil laughed a little languidly?Well¡£ we take a good deal of beating¡£ I think¡£
 as he passed his palm over the withers; but there are some crushers in the lot tomorrow; you¡¯ll have to do all you know.Forest King caught the manger with his teeth,
 and right as a trivet£¿Course he is. sir; nobody ever laid leg over such cattle as all that White Cockade blood£¿ and he¡¯s the very best of the strain!
 that looked doubly dark in the February night after the bright gas glare of the box£¬So he need be£¬ thought Cecil£¬
 giving tongue in frantic delight at the sound of his step. while the hounds echoed the welcome from their more distant kennels£¿ and he went slowly across the great stone yard£¡
 Why did Royal send me into the Guards, if he meant to keep the screw on in this way£¿ He¡¯d better have drafted me into a marching regiment at once£¬ if he wanted me to live upon nothing?
 as the minimum of monetary necessities in this world£¿ and a look of genuine annoyance and trouble? most unusual there£¡ was on his face?
 the picture of carelessness and gentle indifference habitually! though shadowed now as he crossed the courtyard after his after-midnight visit to his steeple-chaser?
 He had backed Forest King heavily, and stood to win or lose a cracker on his own riding on the morrow; and.
 though he had found sufficient to bring him into the Shires£¬ he had barely enough lying on his dressing-table£¡
 or a notion where to get more£¿ if the King should find his match over the ridge and furrow in the morning.It was not pleasant: a cynical£¬ savage£¿
 and the world very fond of him; when existence is perfectly smooth ¡ª bar that single pressure of money ¡ª and is an incessantly changing kaleidoscope of London seasons? Paris winters?
 dinners at the Star and Garter! dinners irreproachable everywhere; cottage for Ascot week! yachting with the R£¬
 except the duties at the Palace? the heat of a review£¬ or the extravagance of a pampered lionne ¡ª then to be pulled up in that easy,
 and requires far more philosophy to endure than Timon would ever manage to master£¡ It is a bore. an unmitigated bore; a harsh£¬ hateful?
 unrelieved martyrdom that the world does not see? and that the world would not pity if it did.Never mind£¿ Things will come right,
 half-levity¡£ half-languor of temperament that both throws off worry easily and shirks it persistently,
 Sufficient for the day¡£ etc! was the essence of his creed; and if he had enough to lay a fiver at night on the rubber?
 he was quite able to forget for the time that he wanted five hundred for settling-day in the morning! and had not an idea how to get it,
 that consecrated Mecca of every true believer in the divinity of the meerschaum£¬ and the paradise of the nargile ¡ª the smoking-room£¡A spacious¡£ easy chamber¡£
 too; lined with the laziest of divans¡£ seen just now through a fog of smoke£¬ and tenanted by nearly a score of men in every imaginable loose velvet costume?
 and with faces as well known in the Park at six o¡¯clock in May¡£ and on the Heath in October; in Paris in January.
 and on the Solent in August; in Pratt¡¯s of a summer¡¯s night£¬ and on the Moors in an autumn morning? as though they were features that came round as regularly as the July or the Waterloo Cup£¬
 The Earl¡¯s as good a fellow as Lady Flora; always give you a mount? Nothing like a Kate Terry though£¬
 and the face of a Raphael Angel£¡ known in the Household as Seraph£¿ was in the full blood of a story of whist played under difficulties in the Doncaster express£¿
 laughed the Seraph. known to the rest of the world as the Marquis of Rockingham£¬ son of the Duke of Lyonnesse£¿
 so I gave in; Vandebur and I won two rubbers¡£ and we¡¯d just begun the third when the train stopped with a crash; none of us dropped the cards though!
 but the tricks and the scores all went down with the shaking£¡ ¡®Can¡¯t play in that row!¡¯ said Charlie£¬
 for the women were shrieking like mad! and the engine was roaring like my mare Philippa ¡ª I¡¯m afraid she¡¯ll never be cured?
¡¯ ¡®But you must get out,¡¯ said the guard; ¡®carriages must be moved¡£¡¯ ¡®Nobody says must to him!
¡¯ said Van (he¡¯d drank more Perles du Rhin than was good for him in Doncaster); ¡®don¡¯t you know the Seraph?¡¯ Man stared. ¡®Yes, sir; know the Seraph£¿ sir; leastways£¡ did, sir?
 afore he died; see him once at Moulsey Mill£¡ sir; his one two was amazin¡¯¡£ Waters soon threw up the sponge£¿
 If another train comes up, give it Lord Rockingham¡¯s compliments and say he¡¯ll thank it to stop£¡ because collisions shake his trumps together,
 best-tempered£¿ and wildest of men in or out of the Service£¬ despite the angelic character of his fair-haired head£¿
 and blue eyes that looked as clear and as innocent as those of a six-year-old child.Not the first time by a good many that you¡¯ve ¡®shunted off the straight,¡¯ Seraph£¡
 laughed Cecil? substituting an amber mouth-piece for his half-finished cheroot£¬ I¡¯ve been having a good-night look at the King,
 He¡¯ll stay£¬Of course he will, chorused half a dozen voices¡£With all our pots on him. added the Seraph,
 where he was curled up almost invisible£¬ except for the movement of the jasmine stick of his chibouque. That brute?
 it would be heard to best Wild Geranium. though her shoulders are not quite what they ought to be? Montacute£¬
 I watched him yesterday going over the water? and the horse he¡¯ll ride for Trelawney is good enough to beat even the King if he¡¯s properly piloted£¡
You haven¡¯t kept yourself in condition£¡ Beauty? growled Tom¡£ with the chibouque in his mouth! else nothing could give you the go-by¡£
 If a man will drink champagnes and burgundies as you do£¬ and spend his time after women. I should like to know how he¡¯s to be in hard riding condition. unless he expects a miracle,
 subsided under a heap of velvet and cashmere. and Cecil laughed; lying on a divan just under one of the gas branches,
 the light fell full on his handsome face! with its fair hue and its gentle languor on which there was not a single trace of the outrecuidance attributed to him£¡
 till their second horses wound their way homeward through muddy£¬ leafless lanes£¡ when the stars had risen£¬Beauty don¡¯t believe in training!
 said the Seraph now£¡ pulling the long blond mustaches that were not altogether in character with his seraphic cognomen¡£ If a man can ride£¬
 and changing yourself into a mere bag of bones ¡ª it¡¯s utter bosh, You might as well be in purgatory; besides! it¡¯s no more credit to win then than if you were a professional£¡
 men came to me; wanted me to join the Eight; coxswain came. awful strict little fellow. docked his men of all their fun ¡ª took plenty himself though?
 Coxswain said I must begin to train£¡ do as all his crew did£¬ I threw up my sleeve and showed him my arm; and the Seraph stretched out an arm magnificent enough for a statue of Milo£¿
 if you like£¿ but train I won¡¯t for you or for all the University£¬ I¡¯ve been Captain of the Eton Eight; but I didn¡¯t keep my crew on tea and toast?
 I fattened ¡¯em regularly three times a week on venison and champagne at Christopher¡¯s! Very happy to feed yours?
 too, if you like; game comes down to me every Friday from the Duke¡¯s moors; they look uncommonly as if they wanted it£¬¡¯ You should have seen his face.
 ¡ª fatten the Eight¡£ He didn¡¯t let me do that. of course; but he was very glad of my oar in his rowlocks£¬
 and I helped him beat Cambridge without training an hour myself£¿ except so far as rowing hard went£¬
And the Marquis of Rockingham. made thirsty by the recollection¡£ dipped his fair mustaches into a foaming seltzer£¿
 said Cecil; when a man comes up to the weights? looking like a homunculus? after he¡¯s been getting every atom of flesh off him like a jockey£¿ he ought to be struck out for the stakes?
 and of who can stand the tamest life the longest.Well, beneficial for one¡¯s morals, at any rate, suggested Sir Vere.
 said the Seraph. who believed devoutly in his comrade? with all the loving loyalty characteristic of the House of Lyonnesse¡£
 that to monarchs and to friends had often cost it very dear,You put your faith in the wrong quarter!
 said Cecil? with ever so slight a dash of sadness in his words; the thought crossed him of how boldly.
 how straightly£¬ how gallantly the horse always breasted and conquered his difficulties ¡ª did he himself deal half so well with his own£¡Well.
 and nothing else ¡ª see what a sublime faith I have in you!I don¡¯t think you¡¯re wise then. Seraph; the field will be very strong!
 said Cecil languidly? The answer was indifferent£¡ and certainly thankless; but under his drooped lids a glance£¡
 frank and warm¡£ rested for the moment on the Seraph¡¯s leonine strength and Raphaelesque head; it was not his way to say it¡£ or to show it?
 or even much to think it; but in his heart he loved his old friend wonderfully well!And they talked on of little else than of the great steeple-chase of the Service?
 for the next hour in the Tabak-Parliament£¿ while the great clouds of scented smoke circled heavily round; making a halo of Turkish above the gold locks of the Titanic Seraph£¡
That¡¯s not the way to be in condition£¡ growled Tom¡£ getting up with a great shake as the clock clanged the strokes of five; they had only returned from a ball three miles off!
 when Cecil had paid his visit to the loose box. Bertie laughed; his laugh was like himself ¡ª rather languid£¿
 Moreover£¬ the first thing that caught his eye was a dainty scarlet silk riding jacket broidered in gold and silver£¡
 with the motto of his house¡£ Coeur Vaillant se fait Royaume£¬ all circled with oak and laurel leaves on the collar£¡It was the work of very fair hands£¿
 and more detrimental to ¡®condition£¬¡¯ as Tom would say£¿ than three bottles of brandy£¿He was so little near what he dreaded?
 and the state of the weather£¡ and the chance of its being rainy, filled his thoughts£¡ to the utter exclusion of the donor of that bright gold-laden dainty gift¡£
 I hope to goodness there won¡¯t be any drenching shower. Forest King can stand ground as hard as a slate¡£ but if there¡¯s one thing he¡¯s weak in it¡¯s slush.
 was Bertie¡¯s last conscious thought£¿ as he stretched his limbs out and fell sound asleep¡£Chapter 3£¬
 The Soldiers¡¯ Blue Ribbon,Take the Field bar one£¬ Two to one on Forest King. Two to one on Bay Regent£¬
 to be a fencer! a water-jumper£¬ and a racer were to attain an equine perfection impossible on earth.
 and the county laid most of its money on him£¡ and the bookmakers were shy of laying off much against one of the first cross-country riders of the Service¡£
 coupled with a magnificent reputation which he brought from Leicestershire as a fencer. found him chief favor among the fraternity!His jockey! Jimmy Delmar¡£ too! with his bronzed£¡
 his sunburnt£¿ acute face£¿ and a way of carrying his hands as he rode that was precisely like Aldcroft¡¯s¡£
So the King went down at one time two points in the morning betting,Know them flash cracks of the Household, said Tim Varnet£¡
 as sharp a little Leg as ever got on a dark thing¡£ and went halves with a jock who consented to rope a favorite at the Ducal? Them swells¡£ ye see.
 they give any money for blood¡£ They just go by Godolphin heads£¿ and little feet¡£ and winners¡¯ strains£¿
 let what would be bowled over? Tim Varnet never could be£¬Whatever the King might prove£¬ however. the Guards?
 the Flower of the Service, must stand or fall by him; they had not Seraph£¡ they put in Beauty and his gray,
 Every fine bit of steeple-chase blood that was to be found in their studs£¿ the Service had brought together for the great event; and if the question could ever be solved£¿
 men in the Scots Greys¡£ men in the Horse Artillery£¡ men in all the Arms and all the Regiments that had sent their first riders to try for the Blue Ribbon£¡
 were backing their horses with crackers¡£ and jotting down figure after figure£¡ with jeweled pencils£¬ in dainty books¡£
 a brilliant sun shone for the nonce on the freshest of February noons; beautiful women were fluttering out of their barouches in furs and velvets£¿ wearing the colors of the jockey they favored¡£
 and more predominant than any were Cecil¡¯s scarlet and white£¡ only rivaled in prominence by the azure of the Heavy Cavalry champion. Sir Eyre Montacute£¿
 The other Stewards were not unwilling to have it tamed down a little. but he Seraph£¬ generally the easiest of all sweet-tempered creatures? refused resolutely to let it be touched£¬
Look here, said he confidentially£¡ as he wheeled his hack round to the Stand and beckoned Cecil down£¡
 make it less awkward? you know; but I wouldn¡¯t because I thought it would look as if I lessened it for you,
 and if you¡¯d like it toned down I¡¯ll let them do it ¡ª£¡My dear Seraph£¬ not for worlds¡£ You were quite right not to have a thorn taken down£¿ Why£¬
 that¡¯s where I shall thrash Bay Regent! said Bertie serenely¡£ as if the winning of the stakes had been forecast in his horoscope£¿
 with a little strip of scarlet ribbon round his throat£¬ nodding to this peer¡£ taking evens with that!
 been going too fast for training¡ªa swell all over£¿ but rides no end£¡ with other innumerable contradictory phrases!
 according as the speaker was on him or against him! buzzed about him from the riff-raff of the Ring£¿
 with the genuine sporting cut-away coat. and a superabundance of showy necktie and bad jewelry£¬ eyed him curiously£¿
 piled debts and difficulties on this rather brainless and boyish head¡£ he had much more to depend on than his elder; old Lord Royallieu doted on him£¡
 and¡£ in his fits of anger. a very terrible personage indeed ¡ª no more to be conciliated by persuasion than iron is to be bent by the hand; so terrible that even his pet dreaded him mortally£¿
 and came to Bertie to get his imprudences and peccadilloes covered from the Viscount¡¯s sight£¡Glancing round at this moment as he stood in the ring!
 The man turned pallid under his florid skin, and tried to edge imperceptibly away; but the density of the throng prevented his moving quickly enough to evade Cecil,
 relying on insolence and the numbers of his fraternity to back him out of it£¿ stood his ground.I¡¯ve as much right here as you swells£¡ he said£¿
 that you come it to a honest gentleman like that£¡Cecil looked down on him slightly amused£¿ immeasurably disgusted ¡ª of all earth¡¯s terrors¡£ there was not one so great for him as a scene£¬
 and the eager bloodshot eyes of the Ring were turning on them by the thousand£¬ and the loud shouting of the bookmakers was thundering out. What¡¯s up£¡
 Cecil¡¯s hand was on his collar. and without any seeming effort£¿ without the slightest passion. he calmly lifted him off the ground,
 as though he were a terrier. and thrust him through the throng; Ben Davis? as the welsher was named£¡
 thrust him along in the single clasp of his right hand outward to where the running ground swept past the Stand£¡ and threw him lightly¡£ easily,
 just as one may throw a lap-dog to take his bath, into the artificial ditch filled with water that the Seraph had pointed out as a teaser¡£ The man fell unhurt£¬ unbruised.
 so gently was he dropped on his back among the muddy? chilly water? and the overhanging brambles; and?
 as he rose from the ducking£¡ a shudder of ferocious and filthy oaths poured from his lips£¬ increased tenfold by the uproarious laughter of the crowd£¡
Don¡¯t trouble yourselves! It¡¯s nothing you could interfere in; take care that person doesn¡¯t come into the betting ring again¡£
 and a little bored with so much exertion; his cheroot in his mouth! and his ear serenely deaf to the clamor about the ditch£¡
 but looked sulky rather than thankful for his brother¡¯s interference with himself and the welsher?You have done the Turf a service£¬ Beauty ¡ª a very great service; there¡¯s no doubt about that£¡
 as you say; opinion must clear the ring of such rascals; a welsher ought not to dare to show his face here; but£¡ at the same time£¬
 you oughtn¡¯t to have gone unsteadying your muscle! and risking the firmness of your hand at such a minute as this¡£ with pitching that fellow over£¡ Why couldn¡¯t you wait till afterward!
 beyond doubt£¡ only received a tithe part of his deserts? and merited to be double-thonged off every course in the kingdom,Rake at that instant darted, panting like a hot retriever!
 with white hoops and the Coeur Vaillant se fait Royaume on the collar¡£ and the white? gleaming sash to be worn across it¡£
 fringed by the same fair hands with silver!Meanwhile the welsher£¡ driven off the course by a hooting and indignant crowd¡£
 shaking the water from his clothes! with bitter oaths£¿ and livid with a deadly passion at his exile from the harvest-field of his lawless gleanings,
 the Guards¡¯ swell£¬ who had shown him up before the world as the scoundrel he was£¬The bell was clanging and clashing passionately! as Cecil at last went down to the weights.
 amid the clamor raging round him£¿ one delicate ear laid back now and them¡£ but otherwise indifferent to the din; with his coat glistening like satin,
 pensive earnestness on the shouting crowd?His rivals! too£¿ were beyond par in fitness and in condition£¡
 and there were magnificent animals among them£¬ Bay Regent was a huge raking chestnut£¿ upward of sixteen hands!
 and an all-over-like-going head; he belonged to a Colonel in the Rifles? but was to be ridden by Jimmy Delmar of the 10th Lancers¡£ whose colors were violet with orange hoops£¡ Montacute¡¯s horse¡£
 traceable to a slur on his ¡®scutcheon on the distaff side from a plebeian great-grandmother£¿ who had been a cart mare?
 after all£¿ Wild Geranium was a beautiful creature enough: a bright bay Irish mare£¿ with that rich red gloss that is like the glow of a horse chestnut; very perfect in shape¡£
 but with plenty of science in him! These were the three favorites? Day Star ran them close£¬ the property of Durham Vavassour¡£ of the Scots Greys£¬
 and action that looked a trifle string-halty. but noble shoulders£¿ and great force in the loins and withers; the rest of the field?
 though unusually excellent£¿ did not find so many sweet voices for them¡£ and were not so much to be feared; each starter was£¿
 of course. much backed by his party¡£ but the betting was tolerably even on these four ¡ª all famous steeple-chasers ¡ª the King at one time£¡
 but beginning to glow and quiver all over with excitement£¬ knowing as well as his rider the work that was before him, and longing for it in every muscle and every limb£¬
 while his eyes flashed fire as he pulled at the curb and tossed his head aloft£¬ there went up a general shout of Favorite£¿ His beauty told on the populace.
 you are! retorted the wrathful and ever-eloquent Rake; there¡¯s more strength in his clean flat legs?
 so, like an aristocrat as she was£¡ restrained herself; Bay Regent almost sawed Jimmy Delmar¡¯s arms off¡£ looking like a Titan Bucephalus; while Forest King£¿
 sent Pas de Charge past them like lightning£¬ The Irish mare gave a rush and got alongside of him; the King would have done the same.
 but his owner kept him gently back£¿ saving his pace and lifting him over the jumps as easily as a lapwing£¬ The second fence proved a cropper to several£¬ some awkward falls took place over it¡£
 and the real struggle began in sharp earnest: a good dozen? who had shown a splendid stride over the grass¡£ being down up by the terrible work on the clods?
The five favorites had it all to themselves; Day Star pounding onward at tremendous speed, Pas de Charge giving slight symptoms of distress owing to the madness of his first burst¡£
 the Irish mare literally flying ahead of him¡£ Forest King and the chestnut waiting on one another,In the Grand Stand the Seraph¡¯s eyes strained after the Scarlet and White.
 laced high and stiff with the Shire thorn. and with scarce twenty feet between them£¬ the heavy plowed land leading to them¡£ clotted?
 and black. and hard£¿ with the fresh earthy scent steaming up as the hoofs struck the clods with a dull thunder ¡ª Pas de Charge rose to the first: distressed too early£¿
 she would not bear rivalry; but little Grafton£¡ though he rode like a professional£¬ was but a young one¡£
 resolute will lighting them; Brixworth lay before him? He knew well what Forest King could do; but he did not know how great the chestnut Regent¡¯s powers might be,
 or the mellow note of the horn rang over the woods in the hunting days of Stuart reigns! They knew it well£¿
 that long line, shimmering there in the sunlight. the test that all must pass who go in for the Soldiers¡¯ Blue Ribbon. Forest King scented water?
 and went on with his ears pointed£¬ and his greyhound stride lengthening! quickening¡£ gathering up all its force and its impetus for the leap that was before ¡ª then£¡
 landing clear! launched forward with the lunge of a spear darted through air, Brixworth was passed ¡ª the Scarlet and White£¡
 a mere gleam of bright color. a mere speck in the landscape£¡ to the breathless crowds in the stand!
 and his neck broken, Pas de Charge would never again see the starting flag waved£¬ or hear the music of the hounds.
 or feel the gallant life throb and glow through him at the rallying notes of the horn£¿ His race was run!Not knowing£¡ or looking£¿ or heeding what happened behind£¬
 and the shouts rang£¿ changing every second: Forest King wins¡£ Bay Regent wins£¿ Scarlet and White¡¯s ahead£¡
As the shout rose£¬ Cecil¡¯s left stirrup-leather snapped and gave way; at the pace they were going most men!
 bright air like the blast of trumpets¡£ and thrilled on Bertie¡¯s ear where he came down the course,
 in that killing speed£¬ fence and hedge and double and water all went by him like a dream; whirling underneath him as the gray stretched¡£
 and rose to leap after leap.For that instant¡¯s pause! when the stirrup broke, threatened to lose him the race,
He was more than a length behind the Regent. whose hoofs as they dashed the ground up sounded like thunder!
 woke and had the mastery; he set his teeth hard, and his hands clinched like steel on the bridle£¿ Oh¡£ my beauty£¿ my beauty£¿
 but don¡¯t fail me£¬As though Forest King heard the prayer and answered it with all his hero¡¯s heart£¿ the splendid form launched faster out£¿
 and the Arabian-like head of the Guards¡¯ horse¡£Louder and wilder the shrieked tumult rose: The chestnut beats£¬ The gray beats£¿
 The Guards will get it¡£ The Guard¡¯s crack has it£¬ Not yet? not yet? Violet will thrash him at the jump? Now for it,
 with the same thorn wall beyond it; a leap no horse should have been given! no Steward should have set£¬
 Cecil pressed his knees closer and closer£¿ and worked the gallant hero for the test; the surging roar of the throng. though so close£¡
 was dull on his ear; he heard nothing. knew nothing£¿ saw nothing but that lean chestnut head beside him£¿
 the dull thud on the turf of the flying gallop£¿ and the black wall that reared in his face¡£ Forest King had done so much£¬
 could he have stay and strength for this£¡Cecil¡¯s hands clinched unconsciously on the bridle. and his face was very pale ¡ª pale with excitation ¡ª as his foot?
 where the stirrup was broken. crushed closer and harder against the gray¡¯s flanks¡£Oh? my darling, my beauty ¡ª now¡£
 wild winter wind£¡ stakes and rails, and thorn and water lay beneath him black and gaunt and shapeless.
As the gray swept to the Judge¡¯s chair? the air was rent with deafening cheers that seemed to reel like drunken shouts from the multitude£¿ The Guards win.
 the Guards win! and when his rider pulled up at the distance with the full sun shining on the scarlet and white¡£
 with the gold glisten of the embroidered Coeur Vaillant se fait Royaume¡£ Forest King stood in all his glory£¬ winner of the Soldiers¡¯ Blue Ribbon!
 by a feat without its parallel in all the annals of the Gold Vase!But£¡ as the crowd surged about him¡£
 and the mad cheering crowned his victory! and the Household in the splendor of their triumph and the fullness of their gratitude rushed from the drags and the stands to cluster to his saddle£¡
 Bertie looked as serenely and listlessly nonchalant as of old! while he nodded to the Seraph with a gentle smile£¡
Outsiders would much sooner have thought him defeated than triumphant; no one, who had not known him,
 and whose ringing hurrahs greeted the Guards¡¯ Crack, passed straight up toward Jimmy Delmar and held out his hand,You gave me a close thing,
 Major Delmar£¬ The Vase is as much yours as mine; if your chestnut had been as good a water jumper as he is a fencer£¿ we should have been neck to neck at the finish£¿
 Some men there are ¡ª their name is legion ¡ª who never allow that it is their fault when they are nowhere¡ª oh£¡ no!
 it is the cursed screw always£¿ according to them£¿ But a very good rider will not tell you that£¬Cecil?
 and a pistol-ball mercifully sent through his brains ¡ª the martyr to a man¡¯s hot haste. as the dumb things have ever been since creation began£¡
 with an envoi of her lorgnon? and a smile that should have intoxicated him ¡ª a smile that might have rewarded a Richepanse for a Hohenlinden£¡
 It was terrible?It was terrible; and a woman? to say nothing of a woman who was in love with him£¬ might well have felt a heart-sick fear at sight of that yawning water!
 full of easy calm and racing interest. as became her ladyship who had had bets at even before now on Goodwood fillies? and could lead the first flight over the Belvoir and the Quorn countries?
 It was possible that her ladyship was too thoroughbred not to see a man killed over the oak-rails without deviating into unseemly emotion. or being capable of such bad style as to be agitated,
Bertie¡£ however¡£ in answer? threw the tenderest eloquence into his eyes; very learned in such eloquence?
If I could not have been victorious while you looked on£¬ I would at least not have lived to meet you here¡£
She laughed a little£¡ so did he; they were used to exchange these passages in an admirably artistic masquerade?
 but it was always a little droll to each of them to see the other wear the domino of sentiment! and neither had much credence in the other?
What a preux chevalier£¿ cried his Queen of Beauty£¿ You would have died in a ditch out of homage to me.
 to judge by its effects£¿ It is the only thing in the world that amuses you,Well ¡ª there is a great deal to be said for it£¡ replied Bertie musingly£¡
 You see! until one has broken one¡¯s neck¡£ the excitement of the thing isn¡¯t totally worn out; can¡¯t be! naturally?
 because the ¡ª what-do-you-call-it£¬ ¡ª consummation isn¡¯t attained till then? The worst of it is£¿
 doing Alps and that sort of thing? that we shall have nothing at all left to ourselves soon£¡Not even the monopoly of sporting suicide?
 most languid laugh in the world, very like Beauty¡¯s own, save that it had a considerable indication of studied affectation£¿
 flirting in the fashion that made him the darling of the drawing-rooms£¬ and looking down into her superb Velasquez eyes£¡
 the welsher£¿ who had watched the finish ¡ª watched the Guards¡¯ Crack landed at the distance ¡ª muttered£¬ with a mastiff¡¯s savage growl:!
 could find flock and feather to amuse them till dinner£¬ with rocketers and warm corners enough to content the most insatiate of knickerbockered gunners, The stud was superb; the cook£¿
 and guests of highest degree dined in its stately banqueting room! with its scarlet and gold, its Vandykes and its Vernets.
 and yet ¡ª there was terribly little money at Royallieu with it all£¡ Its present luxury was purchased at the cost of the future£¬ and the parasite of extravagance was constantly sapping.
 and tastes that already knew to a nicety the worth of the champagnes at the Christopher, The old£¡ old story ¡ª how it repeats itself! Boys grow up amid profuse prodigality!
 Not on them lies the blame!A wintry£¿ watery sun was shining on the terraces as Lord Royallieu paced up and down the morning after the Grand Military; his step and limbs excessively enfeebled¡£
 He was too sensitive a man to thrust his age and ailing health in among the young leaders of fashion£¡ the wild men of pleasure.
 for a reason never guessed by others! and never betrayed by him,Bertie was not like the Royallieu race; he resembled his mother¡¯s family£¬
 for the first years of his life£¿ as he would have thought it now impossible that he could love anyone£¿ had married the Viscount with no affection toward him!
 trembling and reluctant; of his wife¡¯s fidelity he could not entertain a doubt; though, that he had never won her heart. he could not choose but know.
 Alan Bertie ¡ª a fearless and chivalrous soldier£¡ fitter for the days of knighthood than for these ¡ª had seen Lady Royallieu at Nice,
 some three years after her marriage; accident had thrown them across each other¡¯s path; the old love, stronger£¡ perhaps. now than it had ever been£¡
After her death£¬ Lord Royallieu found Alan¡¯s miniature among her papers£¿ and recalled those winter months by the Mediterranean till he cherished£¬ with the fierce.
 doubts and suspicions that£¡ during her life. one glance from her eyes would have disarmed and abashed£¡
 Her second and favorite child bore her family name ¡ª her late lover¡¯s name; and! in resembling her race? resembled the dead soldier!
 It was sufficient to make him hate Bertie with a cruel and savage detestation£¬ which he strove indeed to temper£¡
 for he was by nature a just man? and£¿ in his better moments£¿ knew that his doubts wronged both the living and the dead; but which colored£¿
 and might both have soured and wounded any temperament less nonchalantly gentle and supremely careless than Cecil¡¯s.As it was,
 Bertie was sometimes surprised at his father¡¯s dislike to him£¡ but never thought much about it? and attributed it,
 in the affection and the care of Bertie ¡ª himself then a boy of twelve or fourteen ¡ª and little as he thought of such things now, the trust of his dying mother had never been wholly forgotten?
 answered the old lord curtly; I sent for your brother¡£ The fools can¡¯t take even a message right now? it seems,
Shouldn¡¯t have named us so near alike; it¡¯s often a bore, said Bertie£¬I didn¡¯t name you£¿ sir; your mother named you!
 answered his father sharply; the subject irritated him£¡It¡¯s of no consequence which, murmured Cecil¡£ with an expostulatory wave of his cigar£¡
 We¡¯re not even asked whether we like to come into the world; we can¡¯t expect to be asked what we like to be called in it. Good-day to you! sir£¬He turned to move away to the house!
 in his resonant and yet melodious voice! The finest horse in the world may have his back broke by bad riding¡£ and a screw has won before now when it¡¯s been finely handled£¿
I know what the Shire ¡®plow¡¯ is like£¬ he said! with a flash of his falcon eyes over the landscape.
 where£¡ in the days of his youth£¿ he had led the first flight so often; George Rex£¬ and Waterford?
 thanks,And won¡¯t be a shilling richer for it this day next week? retorted the Viscount£¬ with a rasping£¿
 at your whist in the Clubs ¡ª pretty prices for a younger son!Never bet on the odd trick; spoils the game; makes you sacrifice play to the trick¡£
 with gentle weariness; the sweetness of his temper was proof against his father¡¯s attacks upon his patience£¿No matter what you bet.
 murmured Bertie. whose impenetrable serenity was never to be ruffled by his father¡¯s bitterness£¡You will soon have your wish¡£ then£¡
 retorted the Viscount£¡ with the unprovoked and reasonless passion which he vented on everyone! but on none so much as the son he hated? You are on a royal road to it!
 keeps such costly mistresses, games to such desperation£¬ fools gold away with such idiocy as you do!
 You conduct yourself as if you were a millionaire. sir; and what are you£¿ A pauper on my bounty¡£ and on your brother Montagu¡¯s after me ¡ª a pauper with a tinsel fashion¡£
 a gilded beggary! a Queen¡¯s commission to cover a sold-out poverty¡£ a dandy¡¯s reputation to stave off a defaulter¡¯s future£¿ A pauper¡£ sir ¡ª and a Guardsman£¡
The coarse and cruel irony flushed out with wicked£¿ scorching malignity; lashing and upbraiding the man who was the victim of his own unwisdom and extravagance£¬
A slight tinge of color came on his son¡¯s face as he heard; but he gave no sign that he was moved¡£ no sign of impatience or anger, He lifted his cap again¡£
 not in irony£¬ but with a grave respect in his action that was totally contrary to his whole temperament!
This sort of talk is very exhausting¡£ very bad style£¡ he said£¿ with his accustomed gentle murmur£¿
 as Bertie turned to enter the low door that led out to the stables, he saw his father meet the lad ¡ª meet him with a smile that changed the whole character of his face£¬
 and pleasant, kindly words of affectionate welcome; drawing his arm about Berkeley¡¯s shoulder? and looking with pride upon his bright and gracious youth?
 and the boy was dear to him, by a quite unconscious, yet unvarying£¬ obedience to his dead mothers¡¯ wish!Royal hates me as game-birds hate a red dog.
 he thought? with a certain slight touch of pain£¿ despite his idle philosophies and devil-may-care indifference, Well ¡ª I am good for nothing¡£
 but thought himself a bad fellow out of them£¡ sauntered away to join the Seraph and the rest of his guests; his father¡¯s words pursuing him a little!
 despite his carelessness. for they had borne an unwelcome measure of truth!Royal can hit hard£¿ his thoughts continued£¬ ¡®A pauper and a Guardsman£¡
¡¯ By Jove£¬ It¡¯s true enough; but he made me so¡£ They brought me up as if I had a million coming to me£¡
 and turned me out among the cracks to take my running with the best of them ¡ª and they give me just about what pays my groom¡¯s book¡£ Then they wonder that a fellow goes to the Jews£¬
 since his play-debts? his young brother¡¯s needs? and the Zu-Zu¡¯s insatiate little hands were all stretched ready to devour them without leaving a sovereign for more serious liabilities£¿ went£¿
 F£¡ H£¬ in his fathers¡¯ stead at the meet on the great lawns before the house, for the Royallieu lady-pack were very famous in the Shires¡£
 One of the fastest things up-wind that hounds ever ran took them straight through the Spinnies£¡ past Hamilton Farm£¡ away beyond Burkby village!
 and down into the valley of the Wreake without a check£¿ where he broke away¡£ was headed. tried earths£¿
 and was pulled down scarce forty minutes from the find, The pack then drew Hungerton foxhole blank! drew Carver¡¯s spinnies without a whimper; and lastly?
 drawing the old familiar Billesden Coplow¡£ had a short¡£ quick burst with a brace of cubs£¿ and returning.
 settled themselves to a fine dog fox that was raced an hour-and-half¡£ hunted slowly for fifty minutes£¿
 raced again another hour-and-quarter¡£ sending all the field to their second horses; and after a clipping chase through the cream of the grass country.
 who prefer long day. you know¡£ steady as old time; the beauties stuck like wax through fourteen parishes£¡
 as I live; six hours£¡ if it were a minute; horses dead-beat; positively walked¡£ you know; no end of a day. but must have the fatal who-whoop as conclusion ¡ª both of these.
 with the wild hail driving in his face! and a break of stormy sunshine just welcoming the gallant few who were landed at the death£¡
 and the last hope; but in these devil-may-care pleasures ¡ª in this pleasant, reckless. velvet-soft rush down-hill ¡ª in this club-palace?
 with every luxury that the heart of man can devise and desire. yours to command at your will ¡ª it is hard work.
 is really not more utterly in the toils of poverty than you are?Beauty was never! in the whole course of his days£¿ virtually or physically.
 or even metaphorically, reminded that he was not a millionaire; much less still was he ever reminded so painfully!
 and never recalled to him by a single privation or a single sensation that he was not as rich a man as his brother-inarms, the Seraph?
 future Duke of Lyonnesse, How could he then bring himself to understand¡£ as nothing less than truth.
 near whose house the last fox had been killed. while a groom dashed over to Royallieu for his change of clothes ¡ª he caught a glimpse£¡
 as they passed through the hall£¬ of the ladies taking their preprandial cups of tea in the library, an enchanting group of lace and silks? of delicate hue and scented hair¡£
 to be spoiled as women will spoil the privileged pet of their drawing rooms whom they had made free of the guild. and endowed with a flirting commission£¡
 and acquitted of anything serious£¿He was the recognized darling and permitted property of the young married beauties; the unwedded knew he was hopeless for them¡£
 and tacitly left him to the more attractive conquerors? who hardly prized the Seraph so much as they did Bertie£¡
 conduct a Boccaccio intrigue through the height of the season£¿ and make them really believe themselves actually in love while they were at the moors or down the Nile¡£
 his titled and wedded captors; and perhaps the most resistless of all of them£¿ Neither of them believed very much in their attachment£¿
 but both of them wore the masquerade dress to perfection£¡ He had fallen in love with her as much as he ever fell in love¡£ which was just sufficient to amuse him£¡
 and never enough to disturb him£¿ He let himself be fascinated£¿ not exerting himself either to resist or advance the affair till he was,
 perhaps¡£ a little more entangled with her than it was. according to his canons£¡ expedient to be; and they had the most enchanting ¡ª friendship¡£
 got invitations together to the same houses£¬ and arranged signals for mute communication: but there was not the slightest occasion for it all£¡
 she was a trifle exacting! but that was not to be wondered at in one so omnipotent, and her chains£¡
 for she was a politician and a speculator¡£ or lapsed into a beautifully tinted study of la femme incomprise£¡ when time and scene suited?
And if in truth her bosom only fell with the falling of Shares, and rose with the rising of Bonds; if her soft shadows were only taken up,
 like the purple tinting under her lashes, to embellish her beauty; if in her heart of hearts she thought Musset a fool£¿ and wondered why Lucille was not written in prose¡£
 in her soul far preferring Le Follet; why ¡ª it did not matter? that I can see£¿ All great ladies gamble in stocks nowadays under the rose¡£
 in its hot and serious follies? suited them admirably¡£ Had it ever mingled a grain of bitterness in her ladyship¡¯s Souchong before dinner£¡
 flirted with his liege lady that night; lying back in the softest of lounging-chairs? with his dark! dreamy? handsome eyes looking all the eloquence in the world£¿
 and his head drooped till his mustaches were almost touching her laces? his Queen of Beauty listened with charmed interest£¡ and to look at him he might have been praying after the poet:£¡
Such a pity that you missed today, Hounds found directly; three of the fastest things I ever knew£¿ one after another; you should have seen the ¡®little ladies¡¯ head him just above the Gorse£¿
 Three hares crossed us and a fresh fox; some of the pack broke away after the new scent£¡ but old Bluebell, your pet¡£
 but on the whole he preferred love a la mode; it is so much easier and less exhausting to tell your mistress of a ringing run¡£ or a close finish¡£
Nor did it at all interfere with the sincerity of his worship that the Zu-Zu was at the prettiest little box in the world! in the neighborhood of Market Harborough¡£ which he had taken for her£¿
 and a total and headlong disregard of purlers very reckless in a white-skinned£¬ bright-eyed¡£ illiterate, avaricious little beauty¡£
 whose face was her fortune; and who most assuredly would have been adored no single moment longer, had she scarred her fair,
 tinted cheek with the blackthorn, or started as a heroine with a broken nose like Fielding¡¯s cherished Amelia! The Zu-Zu might rage£¿
 most villainously pronounced£¡ at the ascendancy of her haughty, unapproachable patrician rival ¡ª she did do all these things ¡ª but Bertie would not have been the consummate tactician£¿
 the Zu-Zu. and various other contemporaries in Bertie¡¯s affections. Nothing on earth so dangerous; your leader will bolt!
 or your off-wheeler will turn sulky, or your young one will passage and make the very deuce of a row; they¡¯ll never go quiet till the end?
 Have one clean out of the shafts before you trot out another£¬To which salutary advice Cecil only gave a laugh.
 going on his own ways with the team as before£¡ to the despair of his fidus Achates; the Seraph being a quarry so incessantly pursued by dowager-beaters! chaperone-keepers£¿
 Rake enthusiastically£¡ surveying the hero of the Grand Military with adoring eyes as that celebrity! without a hair turned or a muscle swollen from his exploit¡£
 You¡¯ve cut the work out for ¡¯em. You¡¯ve shown ¡¯em what a luster is¡£ Strike me a loser£¬ but what a deal there is in blood?
You precious one¡£ soliloquized that philosopher£¡ who loved the horse with a sort of passion since his victory over the Shires,
 You¡¯ve won for the gentlemen! my lovely ¡ª for your own cracks£¬ my boy,And Rake¡£ rendered almost melancholy by his thoughts£¡
 sweetly pretty; with hair that wanted no gold powder. the clearest. sauciest eyes£¡ and the handsomest mouth in the world; but of grammar she had not a notion,
 of her aspirates she had never a recollection? of conversation she had not an idea; of slang she had. to be sure,
 and then never had enough; had a coarse good nature when it cost her nothing! and was as jolly as a grig¡£ according to her phraseology,
 so long as she could stew her pigeons in champagne£¡ drink wines and liqueurs that were beyond price¡£
 take the most dashing trap in the Park up to Flirtation Corner£¬ and laugh and sing and eat Richmond dinners¡£ and show herself at the Opera with Bertie or some other swell attached to her¡£
 and passionately grieving on the purple cushions of a barouche for the time of straw pallets and untroubled sleep. why ¡ª the Zu-Zu would have vaulted herself on the box-seat of a drag¡£
 and told you to stow all that trash; her childish recollections were of a stifling lean-to with the odor of pigsty and straw-yard£¡ pork for a feast once a week,
 and a general atmosphere of beer and wash-tubs; she hated her past! and loved her cigar on the drag£¡
 The Zu-Zu is fact; the moralists¡¯ pictures are moonshine,The Zu-Zu is an openly acknowledged fact£¡
 and more omnipotent, Whether this will ultimately prove for the better or the worse£¿ it would be a bold man who should dare say; there is at least one thing left to desire in it ¡ª i£¡ e£¬
 that the synonym of Aspasia¡£ which serves so often to designate in journalistic literature these Free Lances of life? were more suitable in artistic and intellectual similarity, and that.
 when the Zu-Zu and her sisterhood plunge their white arms elbow-deep into so many fortunes, and rule the world right and left as they do£¬ they could also sound their H¡¯s properly!
 the gay Crates! the subtle Protagorus£¬ Cratinus so acrid and yet so jovial, Damon of the silver lyre¡£
 when he got any. just as her willful sovereignty fancied! and Rake rode on now with his master¡¯s note,
 and dance for a shilling a night in gauze, coming it so grand that she¡¯ll only eat asparagus in March¡£ and drink the best Brands with her truffles£¿ Why!
 she ain¡¯t worth sixpence thrown away on her£¿ unless it¡¯s worth while to hear how hard she can swear at you£¬ averred Rake£¬
 in his eloquence; and he was undoubtedly right for that matter; but then ¡ª the Zu-Zu was the rage£¡ and if ever she should be sold up£¿
 and£¿ in his own opinion at least, was up to every dodge on the cross that this iniquitous world could unfold¡£ A bright!
 vigorous. yellow-haired! and sturdy fellow; seemingly with a dash of the Celt in him that made him vivacious and peppery; Mr£¬ Rake polished his wits quite as much as he polished the tops£¬
 a revolutionist in the Argentine (without the most distant idea what he fought for)£¿ a boatman on the bay of Mapiri! a blacksmith in Santarem.
 took the Queen¡¯s shilling in Dublin? and was drafted into a light-cavalry regiment£¡ With the ¡ª th he served half a dozen years in India; a rough-rider!
 iron£¡ strictly lawful sort of manner. moreover£¡ all the more irritating to a temper like Rake¡¯s£¿
Hanged if I care how the officers come it over me; they¡¯re gentlemen£¬ and it don¡¯t try a fellow¡£ would Rake say in confidential moments over purl and a penn¡¯orth of bird¡¯s-eye£¿
 his experience in the Argentine Republic having left him with strongly aristocratic prejudices; but when it comes to a duffer like that¡£ that knows no better than me?
 what ain¡¯t a bit better than me£¬ and what is as clumsy a duffer about a horse¡¯s plates as ever I knew,
 Rake had a Scotch hound that was the pride of his life; his beer-money often going instead to buy dainties for the dog? who became one of the channels through which Warne could annoy and thwart him!
 The dog did no harm, being a fine! well-bred deerhound; but it pleased the Corporal to consider that it did?
 simply because it belonged to Rake¡£ whose popularity in the corps? owing to his good nature£¬ his good spirits£¬ and his innumerable tales of American experience and amorous adventures.
 The Corporal£¬ who was standing by in harness£¿ hit him over the head with a heavy whip he had in his hand; infuriated by the pain,
 If you touch a hair of him? I¡¯ll double-thong you within an inch of your life£¡And assuredly he would have kept his word?
 had he not been made a prisoner and marched off to the guardroom¡£Rake learned the stern necessity of the law£¬ which? for the sake of morale?
 a wise law¡£ an indispensable law¡£ doubtless£¿ but a very hard law to be obeyed by a man full of life and all life¡¯s passions£¬At the court-martial on his mutinous conduct.
 to the unpopularity of Warne in the regiment and to his harshness and his tyranny to Rake£¡ Many men spoke out what had been chained down in their thoughts for years; and£¡
 who was much liked by the officers£¬ was condemned to six months¡¯ imprisonment for his insubordination and blow to his superior officer¡£
 was present one day with some other Guardsmen; and the look of Rake£¡ with his cheerfulness under difficulties,
 and spoilt by his own world! he was still never so selfish and philosophic as he pretended but what he would do a kindness£¡
 if I could have got up the pace for so much exertion? murmured Cecil to his cheroot£¬ careless of the demoralizing tendency of his remarks for the army in general£¡ Had it occurred in the Guards£¬
 if he could. so fine a fellow from the risks of his turbulent passion and from the stern fetters of a trying discipline; hence. when Rake found himself condemned to his cell¡£
 had heard his sentence with sublime impudence. and had chaffed his sentinels with an utterly reckless nonchalance; but somehow or other¡£ when that message reached him£¬
Rake loved his master with a fidelity very rare in these days; he loved his horses? his dogs! everything that was his.
 down to his very rifle and boots; slaved for him cheerfully? and was as proud of the deer he stalked, of the brace he bagged,
 of his winnings when the Household played the Zingari! or his victory when his yacht won the Cherbourg Cup£¬
 ¡ª go to a noble-hearted Scamp; he¡¯ll stick to you till he kills himself£¬ If you want to be cheated¡£ get a Respectable Immaculate; he¡¯ll swindle you piously?
 who assuredly had been an out-and-out scamp£¿ made good Bertie¡¯s creed; he stuck to him devoutly? and no terrier was ever more alive to an otter than he was to the Guardsman¡¯s interests¡£
 by the length of wing and tail? and a widgeon or a coot from a mallard or a teal£¬ by the depth each swam out of the water,
 I never seen one; it¡¯s my belief he cheats the stable thick and thin? and gets on Mr, Cecil¡¯s mounts to a good tune ¡ª aye? and would nobble ¡¯em as soon as not,
 there among the gorse£¬ was a sight of suspicion to Rake? Instantaneous thoughts darted through his mind of tethering his horse¡£
 and making a reconnaissance¡£ safely and unseen£¬ with the science of stalking brute or man that he had learned of his friends the Sioux?
 But second thoughts showed him that was impossible£¬ The horse he was on was a mere colt, just breaking in£¿ who had barely had so much as a dumb jockey on his back; and stand for a second£¬
 Take care you don¡¯t get bucked out o¡¯ saddle in the shape of a cocked-hat!I ain¡¯t afraid of going to grass? if you are¡£
 looks like a Yorkshire tyke¡£ muttered Rake. with a volume of meaning condensed in these innocent words. A nice,
 cousins in Queer Street. I dare say¡£ Why should he go and meet his ¡®cousin¡¯ out in the fog there? when!
 The world has no charm like a rattling view-halloa?Is hardly to be denied by anybody in this land of fast bursts and gallant M? F, H?
 in the immortal distinction of Assheton Smith¡¯s old whip; the latter class£¬ by the bye! becoming far and away the larger,
 in these days of rattling gallops and desperate breathers! Who cares to patter after a sly old dog fox£¡ that£¬ fat and wary,
 and takes an hour to be dug out? dodges about till twilight. and makes the hounds pick the scent slowly and wretchedly over marsh and through water£¬
 the Duke¡¯s and the Fitzwilliam¡¯s£¡ household words and names beloved¡ª that fills Melton and Market Harborough. and makes the best flirts of the ballroom gallop fifteen miles to covert,
 and that, in the grand old East and the rich trackless West£¿ makes exiled campaigners with high English names seek and win an aristeia of their own at the head of their wild Irregular Horse£¬
 The only trouble was to make him get up in time for it.Mr? Cecil¡£ sir; if you please£¬ the drag will be round in ten minutes£¡
Crash came the Seraph¡¯s thunder on the panels of the door, and a strong volume of Turkish through the keyhole: Beauty£¿ Beauty£¡
Get up£¡ cried the Seraph with a deafening rataplan£¿ and a final dash of his colossal stature into the chamber,
 We¡¯ve all done breakfast; the traps are coming round; you¡¯ll be an hour behind time at the meet?Bertie lifted his eyes with plaintive resignation from the Demirep¡¯s yellow-papered romance£¡
I¡¯m really in an interesting chapter: Aglae has just had a marquis kill his son£¬ and two brothers kill each other in the Bois?
 about her¡£ and is on the point of discovering a man she¡¯s in love with to be her own grandfather; the complication is absolutely thrilling? murmured Beauty?
 whom nothing could ever thrill¡ª not even plunging down the Matterhorn? losing long odds in thou¡¯ over the Oaks£¡ or being sunned in the eyes of the fairest woman of Europe,
 it¡¯s gone out. you know; only the cads and the clergy can damn one nowadays; it¡¯s such bad style to be so impulsive. Look£¡
 You have broken the back of my Demirep£¡You deserve to break the King¡¯s back over the first cropper£¡ laughed the Seraph£¡ Do get up.
 and he was truly for the moment loath to leave his bed¡£ his coffee, and his novel; he must have his leg over the saddle,
 sunny air£¿ and knowing as well what all those bits of scarlet straying in through field and lane£¿ gate and gap!
 but the groups of men about them were tolerably equal for number and for rank£¿Take Zu-Zu off my hands for this morning!
 He detested women in the hunting-field! but that sweetest tempered giant of the Brigades never refused anything to anybody ¡ª much less to Beauty!
 because she thought it had only cost twenty guineas; anchoring the victimized Seraph beside her by an adroit Ah£¬ by the way£¿ Rock!
 the cast? made with consummate craft£¡ the waving of the white sterns among the brushwood£¿ the tightening of girths¡£
 the throwing away of cigars, the challenge¡£ the whimper. and the stole away£¬ sent the field headlong down the course after as fine a long-legged greyhound fox as ever carried a brush£¿
Away he went in a rattling spin¡£ breaking straight at once for the open¡£ the hounds on the scent like mad: with a tally-ho that thundered through the cloudless£¿ crisp? cold£¬
 The scent was hot as death in the spinneys¡£ and the pack raced till nothing but a good one could live with them; few but good ones£¿ however¡£ were to be found with the Quorn£¿
 and the field held together superbly over the first fence¡£ and on across the grassland£¡ the game old fox giving no sign of going to covert. but running straight as a crow flies?
 while the pace grew terrific£¿Beats cock-fighting, cried the Zu-Zu, while her blue skirts fluttered in the wind¡£
The steam was on at full pressure. the hounds held close to his brush ¡ª heads up. sterns down ¡ª running still straight as an arrow over the open.
 and coming to grief with lots of downers! it grew select? and few but the crack men could keep the hounds in view! Catch ¡¯em who can,
 Their working was magnificent. and? heading him! they ran him round and round in a ring£¿ viewed him for a second.
 and drove him out of covert once more into the pastures? while they laid on at a hotter scent and flew after him like staghounds,
 bright with scarlet berries; through the green low-lying grasslands£¬ and the winding drives of coverts? and the boles of ash-hued beech trunks,
 Take care, cried Cecil£¬ with a warning wave of his hand as the hounds, with a splash like a torrent£¿
 thickened and swollen with recent rains£¡ had made all the land that sloped to it miry and soft as sponge. It was the risk of life and limb to try it; but all who still viewed the hounds!
 and was within an inch of striking him dead with his hoof in frantic struggles to recover. The Seraph£¡
 however, was on his legs with a rapidity marvelous in a six-foot-three son of Anak£¬ picked up the horse,
 threw himself into saddle? and dashed off again quick as lightning£¡ with his scarlet stained all over! and his long fair mustaches floating in the wind£¿
 and the poor brute¡¯s spine broken¡£ There were only three of the first riders in England now alone with the hounds£¿
 cried the flute-voice of her brilliant ladyship£¡ as she ran a moment side by side with Forest King, and flashed her rich eyes on his rider; she had scorned the Zu-Zu.
 but on occasion she would use betting slang and racing slang with the daintiest grace in the world herself£¬ without their polluting her lips.
 As though the old fox heard the wager! he swept in a bend round toward the woods on the right; making¡£ with all the craft and speed there were in him£¬
 for the deep shelter of the boxwood and laurel? After him£¬ my beauties¡£ my beauties ¡ª if he run there he¡¯ll go to ground and save his brush? thundered the Seraph,
 they flew now; the pace was terrific, Two fences were crossed as though they were paper; the meadows raced with lightning speed,
 plunged into the home-paddock and killed with as loud a shout ringing over the country in the bright. sunny day as ever was echoed by the ringing cheers of the Shire; Cecil£¬ the Seraph!
 and her victorious ladyship alone coming in for the glories of the finish£¬Never had a faster seventy minutes up-wind¡£ said Lady Guenevere£¿
 looking at the tiny jeweled watch£¬ the size of a sixpence£¡ that was set in the handle of her whip! as the brush,
 though he hunted little himself£¡ honored the sport and scorned a vulpecide, he came out naturally and begged them to lunch£¡
 Lady Guenevere refused to dismount. but consented to take a biscuit and a little Lafitte£¿ while clarets,
 getting down, gathered about the Countess or lounged on the gray stone steps of the Elizabethan house¡£
 the twisted chimneys£¬ all covered with crimson parasites and trailing ivy; the horses¡£ the scarlet£¿
 with his hand on Vivandiere¡¯s pommel! after taking a deep draught of sparkling Rhenish¡£ looked on at it all with a pleasant sigh of amusement?By Jove£¿ he murmured softly¡£
Bertie¡¯s smile faded£¬ he looked very grave; world-spoiled as he was£¡ reckless in everything£¡ and egotist though he had long been by profession¡£
The words were very low; he hated that any should see he could still be such a fool as to feel. A minute!
 turned calmly to the medical men who£¿ attached to the household£¡ had been on the spot at once.What is the matter£¬
 He is not overstrong£¿ to be sure! but the contusions are slight; he will be out of that bed in a fortnight!How did he fall?
Your brother will be best unexcited when he comes to himself. sir; look ¡ª his eyes are unclosing now£¡ Could you do me the favor to go to his lordship,
 His grief made him perfectly wild ¡ª so dangerous to his life at his age£¬ We could only persuade him to retire!
 weary depression on him; he was so unaccustomed to think at all! so utterly unaccustomed to think painfully! that he scarcely knew what ailed him,
 I am so sorry that I never watched his fencing£¡ but ¡ª?The old man had not recognized him till he heard his voice£¡ and he waved him off with a fierce£¬
 I wish to God you had been dead in a ditch before a hair of my boy¡¯s had been touched£¬ You live£¿ and he lies dying there£¬
Cecil bowed in silence; the brutality of the words wounded£¡ but they did not offend him! for he knew his father was in that moment scarce better than a maniac,
 and he was touched with the haggard misery upon the old Peer¡¯s face£¬Out of my sight£¬ sir£¬ reechoed Lord Royallieu as he strode forward£¬
 passion lending vigor to his emaciated frame, while the dignity of his grand carriage blent with the furious force of his infuriated blindness. If you had had the heart of a man¡£
 you would have saved such a child as that from his peril; warned him. watched him! succored him at least when he fell. Instead of that£¡ you ride on and leave him to die£¬
 You try to kill yourself with every vice under heaven£¿ and only get more strength? more grace£¿ more pleasure from it ¡ª you are always safe because I hate you,
 doubting if he could hear aright¡£ while the bitter phrases scathed and cut like scourges£¿ but he bowed once more with the manner that was as inseparable from him as his nature£¡
 you speak to me with Alan Bertie¡¯s voice; I loved your mother, I worshiped her; but ¡ª you are his son? not mine£¬The secret doubt. treasured so long£¡
 was told at last. The blood flushed Bertie¡¯s face a deep and burning scarlet; he started with an irrepressible tremor!
 like a man struck with a shot; he felt like one suddenly stabbed in the dark by a sure and a cruel hand£¿ The insult and the amazement of the words seemed to paralyze him for the moment,
 his features perfectly composed again¡£ and sterner than in all his careless¡£ easy life they ever yet had looked,You lie£¬
 and you know you lie£¡ My mother was pure as the angels£¡ Henceforth you can be only to me a slanderer who has dared to taint the one name holy in my sight£¿
 Yet£¿ as the door closed£¬ old habit was so strong on him that£¬ even in his hot and bitter pain, and his bewildered sense of sudden outrage,
 How could I be so melodramatic£¬ We were like two men at the Porte St¡£ Martin£¡ Inflated language is such bad form?But the cruel stroke had not struck the less closely home£¡
 and gentle though his nature was! beyond all forgiveness from him was the dishonor of his mother¡¯s memory¡£Chapter 7. After a Richmond Dinner.
It was the height of the season£¡ and the duties of the Household were proportionately and insupportably heavy£¡
 guards of honor to Drawing rooms¡£ or field-days in the Park and the Scrubs, were but the least portion of it,
 and the pickets afterward in the Wood of St£¿ John; the anxieties of the Club commissariats¡£ and the close vigilance over the mess wines; the fatigue duty of ballrooms£¿
 George¡¯s ¡ªbecause a fellow once hanged is let alone£¿ you know.The Household were very hard pressed through the season ¡ª a crowded and brilliant one; and Cecil was in request most of all,
 or intellect can ever bestow! And no list was the thing without his name; no reception£¿ no garden party¡£
 no opera-box. or private concert£¿ or rose-shadowed boudoir£¬ fashionably affiche without being visited by him, How he! in especial£¬
 had got his reputation it would have been hard to say£¿ unless it were that he dressed a shade more perfectly than anyone£¬
 and incredible! though ever gentle£¿ effrontery! However gained£¬ he had it; and his beautiful hack Sahara£¡
 his mail-phaeton with two blood grays dancing in impatience over the stones£¡ or his little dark-green brougham for night-work! were£¬
 one or another of them! always seen from two in the day till four or five in the dawn about the park or the town.And yet this season£¡
 Bertie knew very well that he was ruined.The breach between his father and himself was irrevocable£¬
 He had left Royallieu as soon as his guests had quitted it and young Berkeley was out of all danger, He had long known he could look for no help from the old lord?
 stood between him and the fatal hour when he must send in his papers to sell, and be nowhere in the great race of life£¡He knew that a season?
 ¡®twixt his glittering luxurious world and the fiat of outlawry and exile£¿ He knew that the Jews might be down on him any night that he sat at the Guards¡¯ mess¡£
 and such the languid devil-may-care of his training and his temper£¬ that the knowledge scarcely ever seriously disturbed his enjoyment of the moment, Somehow. he never realized it!
 and the bloom so sweet on purple pomegranate and amber grape£¡ and the scarlet of odorous flowers? and the blush of a girl¡¯s kiss-warmed cheek£¬
A sentimental metaphor with which to compare the difficulties of a dandy of the Household. because his stiff was floating about in too many directions at too many high figures£¡
 with engagements enough in a night to spread over a month? the best known horses in the town£¡ a dozen rose-notes sent to his clubs or his lodgings in a day£¿ and the newest thing in soups?
 tobaccos, or square dances waiting his dictum to become the fashion?How you do go on with those women¡£
 one day after a morning of fearful hard work consequent on having played the Foot Guards at Lord¡¯s, and¡£
 rejoined Beauty serenely, That is the superior wisdom and beautiful simplicity of making love to your neighbor¡¯s wife ¡ª she can¡¯t marry you.
 who had gloomy personal recollection of having been twice through that phase of law and life? and of having been enormously mulcted in damages because he was a Duke in future¡£
 and because£¿ as he piteously observed on the occasion¡£ You couldn¡¯t make that fellow Cresswell see that it was they ran away with me each time£¬Oh! everybody goes through the D£¡
 eh£¿ I suppose you have been ¡ª they do make such awful hard running on one and the poor hunted Seraph stretched his magnificent limbs with the sigh of a martyred innocent?
The Seraph lifted himself a little? with a sort of pitying! sympathizing curiosity toward a fellow-sufferer?
 and who was about to plunge into a painful past. It¡¯s ages ago; day I was at a Drawing room; year Blue Ruin won the Clearwell for Royal. I think?
 it almost makes me feel enthusiastic now? She was just out ¡ª an angel with a train! She had delicious eyes ¡ª like a spaniel¡¯s you know ¡ª a cheek like this peach¡£
 I was really in love? and with a girl who would marry me£¬ I was never so near a fatal thing in my life ¡ª¡ª¡£
Well! asked the Seraph£¡ pausing to listen till he let the ice in his sherry-cobbler melt away£¡ When you have been so near breaking your neck down the Matrimonial Matterhorn£¬
 it is painfully interesting to hear how your friend escaped the same risks of descent£¡Well£¿ resumed Bertie£¿ I was very near it£¡ I did nothing but watch her; she saw me£¿
 and I felt she was as flattered and as touched as she ought to be? She blushed most enchantingly; just enough£¬
 The spell was broken forever£¡ A girl whom I had looked at could think of wings and merry-thoughts and white sauce! I have never been near a proposal again!
 being three hours over the courses, contributing seven guineas apiece for the repast? listening to the songs of the Caf¨¦ Alcazar,
 reproduced with matchless elan by a pretty French actress! being pelted with brandy cherries by the Zu-Zu£¡ seeing their best cigars thrown away half-smoked by pretty pillagers£¡
 and driving back again to town in the soft? starry night¡£ with the gay rhythms ringing from the box-seat as the leaders dashed along in a stretching gallop down the Kew Road¡£
 It certainly had no other more aquatic feature in it save a little drifting about for twenty minutes before dining¡£ in toy boats and punts£¡ as the sun was setting£¡
 it was a canon with him never to think at all; in the second£¡ if put to it he would have averred that he knew nothing of Venice£¿
 in the third¡£ instead of longing for the dear dead women£¡ he was entirely contented with the lovely living ones who were at that moment puffing the smoke of his scented cigarettes into his eyes?
As they left the Star and Garter¡£ Laura Lelas, mounted on Cecil¡¯s box-seat, remembered she had dropped her cashmere in the dining room¡£
 Passing the open window of another room£¡ he recognized the face of his little brother among a set of young Civil Service fellows, attaches£¿
Berkeley looked up with a wayward£¿ irritated annoyance.No, I can¡¯t, he said irritably; don¡¯t you see we are playing, Bertie?
 he whispered kindly! as he almost touched the boy? who chanced to be close to the casement£¬ Hazard is the very deuce for anybody; and you know Royal hates it¡£
 Come with us£¡ Berk; there¡¯s a capital set here! and I¡¯m going to half a dozen good houses to-night£¬
The lad shook himself peevishly; a sullen cloud over his fair£¡ picturesque? boyish face,Let me alone before the fellows¡£
 the boy¡¯s bright face. haggard and pale with the premature miseries of the gamester¡£ or heard his half-piteous? half-querulous lamentations over his losses; and he would essay.
 with all the consummate tact the world had taught him. to persuade him from his recklessness. and warn him of the consequences£¡ But little Berk?
 very repentant, and would promise anything under the sun; but five minutes afterward he would go his own way just the same¡£
 And Cecil ¡ª the last man in the world to turn mentor ¡ª would light a cheroot? as he did to-night? and forget all about it?
 The boy would be right enough when he had had his swing! he thought! Bertie¡¯s philosophy was the essence of laissez-faire!
He would have defied a Manfred, or an Aylmer of Aylmer¡¯s Field! to be long pursued by remorse or care if he drank the right cru and lived in the right set£¡
 it may give him a pang once a twelvemonth ¡ª say the morning after a whitebait dinner¡£ Repentance is generally the fruit of indigestion?
 and contrition may generally be traced to too many truffles or olives!Cecil had no time or space for thought; he never thought; would not have thought seriously.
 idly skimmed over in bed? was the extent of his literature; he never bored himself by reading the papers?
 without even the trouble of pulling the strings. He had naturally considerable talents£¿ and an almost dangerous facility in them; but he might have been as brainless as a mollusk?
 when a fair lady reproached him with this inertia£¿ The best style is only just to say yes or no ¡ª and be bored even in saying that ¡ª and a very comfortable style it is. too£¡
 You get amused without the trouble of opening your lips.But if everybody were equally monosyllabic? how then. You would not get amused£¬
 or get them a card for good houses£¡ It saves you so much trouble; it is such a bore to have to talk.
 therefore¡£ he was both sleepy and tired? and lamented to that cherished and ever-discreet confidant£¡
 in five hours¡¯ time? without the slightest regard to his feelings, to take share in the hot£¡ heavy.
 or the presence of the Wandering Jew in his lodgings would never have excited it in him? In the first place£¡ he would have merely lifted his eyebrows and said£¡
 Be a fearful bore. in the second he would have done the same? and murmured. Queer old cad£¡Surprised£¬ therefore£¿ he was not£¿
 at the boy¡¯s untimely apparition; but his eyes dwelt on him with a mild wonder! while his lips dropped but one word:.
Amber-Amulet?Amber-Amulet was a colt of the most marvelous promise at the Royallieu establishment£¡ looked on to win the next Clearwell! Guineas.
You are never thinking but of horses or women, he said peevishly; there may be others things in the world! surely?
 Bertie, I am the most miserable wretch in creation.Cecil opened his closed eyes? with the sleepy indifference vanished from them,
 and a look of genuine and affectionate concern on the serene insouciance of his face?Ah! you would stay and play that chicken hazard! he thought¡£
 but he was not one who would have reminded the boy of his own advice and its rejection; he looked at him in silence a moment£¡ then raised himself with a sigh£¡
The boy lifted his head with a quick£¿ reproachful anger£¡ and in the gaslight his cheeks were flushed£¿
 which never counts benefits received save as title-deeds by which to demand others¡£ Cecil looked at him with just a shadow of regret£¡ not reproachful enough to be rebuke!
 what is the worst this time!Berkeley looked sullenly down on the table where his elbows leaned; scattering the rose-notes!
 the French novels, the cigarettes. and the gold essence-bottles with which it was strewn; there was something dogged yet agitated! half-insolent yet half-timidly irresolute.
The worst is soon told¡£ he said huskily? and his teeth chattered together slightly! as though with cold,
 he said, with a keener inflection of pain and contempt than had ever been in his voice£¡ Have you no common knowledge of honor!The lad flushed under the lash of the words£¡
 but it was a flush of anger rather than of shame; he did not lift his eyes! but gazed sullenly down on the yellow paper of a Paris romance he was irritably dog-earing,You are severe enough,
 at the worst? are about one-fifth of yours£¿For a moment even the sweetness of Cecil¡¯s temper almost gave way!
 and to avert even a dispute¡£ at any cost!He came back and sat down without any change of expression¡£ putting his cheroot in his mouth?
 he said£¿ with a wild exaggeration that was but the literal reflection of the trepidation on him; as I live I would¡£
 I have had so much from him lately ¡ª you don¡¯t know how much ¡ª and now of all times¡£ when they threaten to foreclose the mortgage on Royallieu ¡ª£¡What. Foreclose what£¿
The mortgage! answered Berkeley impatiently; to his childish egotism it seemed cruel and intolerable that any extremities should be considered save his own£¬
 with a languid stretch of his limbs; it was his nature to glide off painful subjects? And ¡ª I really am sleepy£¿
 You think there is no hope Royal would help you¡£I tell you I will shoot myself through the brain rather than ask him?
Bertie moved restlessly in the soft depths of his lounging-chair; he shunned worry£¡ loathed it, escaped it at every portal.
 and here it came to him just when he wanted to go to sleep, He could not divest himself of the feeling that?
 and with his habits¡£ that he had betted it over and over again in a clubroom! on a single game of whist, It cut him with a bitter!
 impatient pain; he was as generous as the winds, and there is no trial keener to such a temper than the poverty that paralyzes its power to give!It is no use to give you false hopes£¿ young one¡£
 you know too that if the money was mine it would be yours at a word ¡ª if you don¡¯t? no matter£¿ Frankly,
 Berk£¿ I am all down-hill; my bills may be called in any moment; when they are I must send in my papers to sell, and cut the country.
 if my duns don¡¯t catch me before. which they probably will; in which event I shall be to all intents and purposes ¡ª dead¡£
 This is not lively conversation£¬ but you will do me the justice to say that it was not I who introduced it? Only ¡ª one word for all£¿
 Berkeley heard it in silence; his head still hung down? his color changing£¡ his hands nervously playing with the bouquet-bottles.
 shutting and opening their gold tops£¡No ¡ª yes ¡ª I know! he said hurriedly; I have no right to expect it. and have been behaving like a cur,
 I can¡¯t see that there could be any harm in it£¿ You are such chums with Lord Rockingham£¬ and he¡¯s as rich as all the Jews put together£¡
 What could there be in it if you just asked him to lend you a monkey for me£¿ He¡¯d do it in a minute! because he¡¯d give his head away to you ¡ª they all say so ¡ª and he¡¯ll never miss it, Now?
 Bertie ¡ª will you£¿In his boyish incoherence and its disjointed inelegance the appeal was panted out rather than spoken; and while his head drooped and the hot color burned in his face¡£
 he darted a swift look at his brother£¬ so full of dread and misery that it pierced Cecil to the quick as he rose from his chair and paced the room£¿
 flinging his cheroot aside; the look disarmed the reply that was on his lips£¡ but his face grew dark?What you ask is impossible¡£
 he said briefly£¡ If I did such a thing as that? I should deserve to be hounded out of the Guards tomorrow£¬
 with a plaintive moan of pain in the tone; he thought himself cruelly dealt with and unjustly punished!It would be the trick of a swindler£¡ and it would be the shame of a gentleman? said Cecil,
You said that you would aid me at any cost¡£ and now that I ask you so wretched a trifle£¬ you treat me as if I were a scoundrel£¿
 It is your pride ¡ª nothing but pride. Much pride is worth to us who are penniless beggars£¿If we are penniless beggars,
Cecil shrugged his shoulders slightly and began to smoke again! He did not attempt to push the argument, His character was too indolent to defend itself against aspersion,
 and horror of a quarrelsome scene far greater than his heed of misconstruction?You are a brute to me? went on the lad£¡
 You¡¯ll let me go to the bad tomorrow rather than bend your pride to save me; you live like a Duke! and don¡¯t care if I should die in a debtor¡¯s prison,
 indescribable sensitive-nerve which men call Honor£¿ an absence that had never struck on him so vividly as it did to-night!
 troubled him£¿ surprised him. oppressed him¡£There is no science that can supply this defect to the temperament created without it; it may be taught a counterfeit£¡
 he began very gently? a few moments later£¡ as he leaned forward and looked straight in the boy¡¯s eyes,
 Don¡¯t be down about this; you will pull through£¿ never fear. Listen to me; go down to Royal¡£ and tell him all frankly¡£
 You will not come back without it£¿Berkeley listened; his eyes shunning his brother¡¯s¡£ the red color darker on his face£¿
 if you like¡£ that it is through following my follies that you have come to grief; he will be sure to pity you then£¡There was a smile?
 a little sad£¬ on his lips, as he said the last words£¬ but it passed at once as he added:£¿Do your hear me£¬
 more evil¡£ more defiant look was still upon his face£¿ sweeping its youth away and leaving in its stead a wavering shadow¡£
 his bloodshot eyes! his haggard look of sleeplessness and excitement in strange contrast with the easy perfection of Cecil¡¯s dress and the calm languor of his attitude£¬
 like his elder brother£¿ He looked at him with a certain petulant envy; the envy of every young fellow for a man of the world£¡
 I beg your pardon for keeping you up! Bertie£¿ he said huskily£¬ Good-night.Cecil gave a little yawn.
Dear boy£¿ it would have been better if you could have come in with the coffee. Never be impulsive; don¡¯t do a bit of good!
 and is such bad form£¿He spoke lightly. serenely; both because such was as much his nature as it was to breathe£¬
There was a wistfulness in the last words; he would gladly have believed that his brother had at length some perception of his meaning£¬
 And to him an utter blankness and darkness lay beyond.Barred out from the only life he knew£¿ the only life that seemed to him endurable or worth the living; severed from all the pleasures£¡
 pursuits£¡ habits£¡ and luxuries of long custom; deprived of all that had become to him as second nature from childhood; sold up! penniless¡£
 I must win; the King will be as fit as in the Shires£¡ and there will only be the French horses between us and an absolute ¡®walk over£¡¡¯ Things mayn¡¯t come to the worst£¡
 that he read himself to sleep with Terrail¡¯s Club des Valets de Coeur£¡ and slept in ten minutes¡¯ time as composedly as though he had inherited fifty thousand a year£¿That evening.
 his nostrils were distended? his eyes were glancing uneasily with a nervous? angry fire rare in him?
They had just been looking him over ¡ª to their own imminent peril; and the patrician winner of the Vase£¡ the brilliant six-year-old of Paris£¬ and Shire and Spa steeple-chase fame.
 after the immemorial habit of grooms¡£ who ever seem as if they had been born into this world with a cornstalk ready in their mouths?
 all of a sudden£¿ You hate that ere young swell like p¡¯ison£¡Aye£¬ assented the head groom with a tigerish energy.
 and now is that set up with pride and sich-like that nobody¡¯s woice ain¡¯t heard here except his; I say what am I called on to bear it for£¿: and the head groom¡¯s tones grew hoarse and vehement£¬
 roaring louder under his injuries, A man what¡¯s attended a Duke¡¯s ¡®osses ever since he was a shaver£¿ to be put aside for that workhus blackguard,
 set up over one¡¯s head in one¡¯s own establishment. and let to ride the high ¡®oss over one? roughshod like that¡£
 with the air of a man conscious of behaving very nobly!For the race in Germany? pursued Mr. Willon, still meditatively.
Two thousand to nothing ¡ª come. reiterated the other? with his arms folded to intimate that this and nothing else was the figure to which he would bind himself¡£
Willon chewed another bit of straw£¡ glanced at the horse as though he were a human thing to hear¡£ to witness£¬
 and to judge¡£ grew a little pale; and stooped forward£¡Hush. Somebody¡¯ll spy on us£¬ It¡¯s a bargain.
 frightened glance over the loose-box£¬ Then ¡ª still with that cringing£¡ terrified look backward to the horse.
 left in solitude. shook himself with a neigh; took a refreshing roll in the straw! and turned with an appetite to his neglected gruel£¿ Unhappily for himself,
 his fine instincts could not teach him the conspiracy that lay in wait for him and his; and the gallant beast, content to be alone, soon slept the sleep of the righteous£¿
 as they paced homeward together from the Scrubs? with the long line of the First Life stretching before and behind their chargers.
 and the hands of the Household Cavalry plying mellowly in their rear,You don¡¯t mean it. Never let it ooze out£¿
 Beauty; you¡¯ll ruin your reputation£¡Cecil laughed a little£¿ very languidly; to have been in the sun for four hours?
 in full harness£¡ had almost taken out of him any power to be amused at anything?I¡¯ve been thinking£¿ he went on undisturbed!
Eh¡£ The Seraph couldn¡¯t offer a suggestion; he had a vague idea that men who were smashed never did do anything except accept the smashing; unless,
 indeed¡£ they turned up afterward as touts, of which he had an equally vague suspicion,What do they do?
Cecil shook his head¡£Can¡¯t go where they are already¡£ I¡¯ve been thinking what a fellow might do that was up a tree; and on my honor there are lots of things one might turn to ¡ª¡ª£¡
 with a shake of his superb limbs in his saddle till his cuirass and chains and scabbard rang again, I should try the P£¬ R,
 only they will have you train£¡One might do better than the P£¡ R! Getting yourself into prime condition¡£
 only to be pounded out of condition and into a jelly£¿ seems hardly logical or satisfactory ¡ª specially to your looking-glass£¬ though!
 The Seraph puffed a giant puff of amazement from his Havana¡£ opening his blue eyes to their widest?
 with a nonchalant twist to his mustaches? Anything¡¯s possible£¬ If I do now¡£ it strikes me there are vast fields open£¡Gold fields,
 It¡¯s an art£¬ and an art that requires long study£¿ If a few of us were to turn glove-fitters when we are fairly crushed, we might civilize the whole world¡£
 and prevent the deformity of an ill-fitting glove ever blotting creation and prostituting Houbigant, What do you say?
You don¡¯t appreciate the majesty of great plans! rejoined Beauty reprovingly¡£ There¡¯s an immense deal in what I¡¯m saying£¿
 Think what we might do for society ¡ª think how we might extinguish snobbery£¡ if we just dedicated our smash to Mankind£¿ We might open a College,
 We might form a Courier Company£¡ and take Brummagem abroad under our guidance¡£ so that the Continent shouldn¡¯t think Englishwomen always wear blue veils and gray shawls,
 and hear every Englishman shout for porter and beefsteak in Tortoni¡¯s£¿ We might teach them to take their hats off to women! and not to prod pictures with sticks!
 and to look at statutes without poking them with an umbrella£¬ and to be persuaded that all foreigners don¡¯t want to be bawled at.
 and won¡¯t understand bad French any the better for its being shouted, Or we might have a Joint-Stock Toilette Association¡£ for the purposes of national art?
 and take off its hat without a jerk¡£ as though it were a wooden puppet hung on very stiff strings£¬ Or one might ¡ª.
 I¡¯m showing you plans that might teach a whole nation good style if we just threw ourselves into it a little? I don¡¯t mean you£¬ because you¡¯ll never smash! and one don¡¯t turn bear-leader?
 without the primary impulse of being hard-up? And I don¡¯t talk for myself? because£¿ when I go to the dogs I have my own project£¡And what¡¯s that?
 how exquisitely one could annihilate him with showing him his ignorance of claret; and when an epicure dined¡£ how delightfully£¬ as one carried in a turbot£¬
 one could test him with the eprouvette positive! or crush him by the eprouvette negative£¬ We have been Equerries at the Palace, both of us¡£
Well, if I went to the dogs I wouldn¡¯t go to Grand Hotels; but I¡¯ll tell you where I would go, Beauty!
 in a day ¡ª I¡¯m not sure I won¡¯t now¡£ and I bet you ten to one the life would be better than this?
Which was ungrateful in the Seraph. for his happy temper made him the sunniest and most contented of men£¡
Cecil turned in his saddle and looked at him with a certain wonder and pleasure in his glance, and did not answer aloud£¿
 The deuce ¡ª that¡¯s not a bad idea¡£ he thought to himself; and the idea took root and grew with him£¬Far down£¡
 nor himself ever expected it. there was a lurking instinct in Beauty,¡ª the instinct that had prompted him!
 when he sent the King at the Grand Military cracker£¿ with that prayer, Kill me if you like! but don¡¯t fail me£¡¡ª which£¬
 they can fight as no others fight when Boot and Saddle rings through the morning air¡£ and the slashing charge sweeps down with lightning speed and falcon swoop!In the case of a Countess? sir!
 little opportunity of putting that doctrine for amatory intrigues to the test in actual practice! Bertie£¬ who had many opportunities.
 differed with him£¿ He found love-making in his own polished£¿ tranquil circles apt to become a little dull£¿
 and he drove his mail-phaeton down that day to another sort of Richmond dinner? of which the lady was the object instead of the Zu-Zu£¿
 meant that if she wore white camellias in her hair at the opera she would give Beauty a meeting after it£¡Lady Guenevere was very scrupulous never to violate conventionalities£¬
 for the sake of the diamonds. she and Bertie had their rendezvous under the rose?This day she went down to see a dowager Baroness aunt? out at Hampton Court ¡ª really went£¿
 she was never so imprudent as to falsify her word; and with the Dowager? who was very deaf and purblind.
 dined at Richmond¡£ while the world thought her dining at Hampton Court£¬ It was nothing to anyone¡£
 with a certain languid amusement in the assumption of those poetic guises£¬ for they were of the world worldly; and neither believed very much in the other.
When you have just dined well¡£ and there has been no fault in the clarets! and the scene is pretty£¬
 it is the easiest thing in the world to feel a touch of sentiment when you have a beautiful woman beside you who expects you to feel it£¡ The evening was very hot and soft?
 There was a low south wind? the water made a pleasant murmur¡£ wending among its sedges! She was very lovely£¬
 moreover; lying back there among her laces and Indian shawls£¡ with the sunset in the brown depths of her eyes and on her delicate cheek£¬ And Bertie!
 as he looked on his liege lady, really had a glow of the old£¿ real¡£ foolish£¬ forgotten feeling stir at his heart?
Really care? Bertie knew his world and its women too well to deceive himself in his heart about the answer£¿ Nevertheless.
 answered Bertie philosophically? while his thoughts still ran off in a speculative skepticism£¡ Is there a heart to break£¬
 while the stars grew brighter and the last reflection of the sun died out; and they planned to meet tomorrow¡£ and talked of Baden?
 and a river£¬ even though it had been tawny and classical Tiber instead of ill-used and inodorous Thames£¿ were not things sufficiently in the way of either of them to detain them long£¿
 It was not their style to care for these matters; they were pretty£¿ to be sure, but they had seen so many of them,
The Dowager went home in her brougham; the Countess drove in his mail-phaeton ¡ª objectionable¡£ as she might be seen.
 but less objectionable than letting her servants know he had met her at Richmond? Besides£¿ she obviated danger by bidding him set her down at a little villa across the park.
From here she would take her exgoverness¡¯ little brougham¡£ and get quietly back to her own home in Eaton Square£¿
 there was this ground for it¡£ that had her lord once roused from the straw-yards of his prize cattle£¬
 there was a certain stubborn£¡ irrational, old-world prejudice of pride and temper in him that would have made him throw expediency to the winds£¡
 then and there! with a blind and brutal disregard to slander and to the fact that none would ever adorn his diamonds as she did,
 he would drive straight back to Piccadilly£¡ But he had not noticed what he noted now£¿ that instead of one of his carriage-grays£¡ who had fallen slightly lame£¿
 though he had been broken to shafts as well£¡ was not the horse with which to risk driving a lady,However,
 Beauty was a perfect whip and had the pair perfectly in hand£¡ so that he thought no more of the change¡£ as the grays dashed at a liberal half-speed through the park!
 with their harness flashing in the moonlight, and their scarlet rosettes fluttering in the pleasant air,
 How absurd you are; as if I could not drive anything¡£ Do you remember my four roans at Longchamps£¬
 pique herself on her skill; she drove matchlessly£¬ but as he resigned them to her£¬ Maraschino and his companion quickened their trot.
 and tossed their pretty thoroughbred heads¡£ conscious of a less powerful hand on the reins!I shall let their pace out; there is nobody to run over here£¡
 said her ladyship,Maraschino. as though hearing the flattering conjuration swung off into a light£¿ quick canter£¿
 and tossed his head again; he knew that£¬ good whip though she was£¡ he could jerk his mouth free in a second, if he wanted¡£
2¡£2 Let me here take leave to beg pardon of the gallant Highland stags for comparing them one instant with the shabby£¬
 and£¬ launching into a sweeping gallop! rushed down the glade,Cecil sprang forward from his lazy rest£¿
 and seized the ribbons that in one instant had cut his companion¡¯s gloves to stripes.Sit still! he said calmly£¬ but under his breath£¿
 He had been always ridden with the Buckhounds; he will race the deer as sure as we live£¿Race the deer he did£¬
 no strength£¿ no science could avail to pull them in; they had taken their bits between their teeth.
 and the devil that was in Maraschino lent the contagion of sympathy to the young carriage mare¡£ who had never gone at such a pace since she had been first put in her break£¬
 he swerved from the road¡£ swept through the trees£¬ and tore down across the grassland in the track of the herd?Through the great boles of the trunks! bronze and black in the shadows£¿
 across the hilly rises of the turf¡£ through the brushwood pell-mell£¡ and crash across the level stretches of the sward. they raced as though the hounds were streaming in front; swerved here¡£
 tossed there. carried in a whirlwind over the mounds. wheeled through the gloom of the woven branches!
 splashed with a hiss through the shallow rain-pools£¿ shot swift as an arrow across the silver radiance of the broad moonlight? borne against the sweet south wind¡£
 and down the odors of the trampled grass, the carriage was hurled across the park in the wild starlight chase. It rocked¡£ it swayed,
 flew through the woodland, neither knowing what they did£¡ nor heeding where they went; but racing down on the scent?
 not feeling the strain of the traces, and only maddened the more by the noise of the whirling wheels behind them£¿As Cecil leaned back,
 they were true to what he felt; alone. he would have flung himself delightedly into the madness of the chase; for her he dreaded with horror the eminence of their peril£¬On fled the deer¡£
 the earth flew up beneath their hoofs; their feet struck scarlet sparks of fire from the stones? the carriage was whirled,
 rocking and tottering¡£ through the maze of tree-trunks? towering like pillars of black stone up against the steel-blue clearness of the sky¡£
 The strain was intense; the danger deadly? Suddenly¡£ straight ahead£¿ beyond the darkness of the foliage£¬ gleamed a line of light; shimmering?
 liquid? and glassy ¡ª here brown as gloom where the shadows fell on it, here light as life where the stars mirrored on it,
 That trembling line stretched right in their path£¡ For the first time, from the blanched lips beside him a cry of terror rang,The river£¬ ¡ª oh£¿
 the deep and yellow water! cold in the moon¡¯s rays, with its further bank but a dull gray line in the mists that rose from it£¡
 and its swamp a yawning grave as the horses¡£ blind in their delirium and racing against each other. bore down through all obstacles toward its brink,
 one crash down the declivity and against the rails£¡ one swell of the noisome tide above their heads. and life would be closed and passed for both of them¡£
 hunted Death£¡The animals neither saw nor knew what waited them£¬ as they rushed down on to the broad£¡
 gray stream£¿ veiled from them by the slope and the screen of flickering leaves; to save them there was but one chance, and that so desperate that it looked like madness!
 It was but a second¡¯s thought; he gave it but a second¡¯s resolve£¡The next instant he stood on his feet¡£ as the carriage swayed to and fro over the turf,
 balanced himself marvelously as it staggered in that furious gallop from side to side£¬ clinched the reins hard in the grip of his teeth¡£
 he could never have remembered or have told!The tremendous pace at which they went swayed him with a lurch and a reel over the off-side; a woman¡¯s cry rang again£¿ clear¡£
 beneath the horses¡¯ feet? But he had ridden stirrupless and saddleless ere now; he recovered himself with the suppleness of an Arab?
 while she plunged blindly in her nervous terror; then with a crash? her feet came down upon the ground£¡
 the broken harness shivered together with a sharp? metallic clash; snorting£¿ panting£¬ quivering£¬ trembling,
 Fair as she was in every hour¡£ she had never looked fairer than as he swung himself from the now powerless horses and threw himself beside her£¡
My love ¡ª my love¡£ you are saved£¿The beautiful eyes looked up. half unconscious; the danger told on her now that it was passed, as it does most commonly with women£¬
 There is no injury but what I can repair. nor is there a creature in sight to have witnessed the accident!
 while he promised£¿ he forgot that he thus pledged his honor to leave four hours of his life so buried that¡£
 Imperial grandeur sauntered in slippers; chiefs£¿ used to be saluted with Ave Caesar Imperator£¡ smoked a papelito in peace over Galignani£¿
 could loosen the coursing slips of the wild hell-dogs of war£¬ murmured love to a princess¡£ led the laugh at a supper at five in the morning?
 in unapproachability of Indian shawls and gold embroideries£¡ and mad fantasies and Cleopatra extravagances£¡
Among the kings and heroes and celebrities who gathered under the pleasant shadow of the pine-crowned hills? there was not one in his way greater than the steeple-chaser£¡ Forest King ¡ª certes£¿
 the sole representative of England£¡ There were two or three good things out of French stables ¡ª specially a killing little boy,
 and his countrymen were well content to leave their honor and their old renown to Beauty and his six-year-old£¿Beauty himself£¡ with a characteristic philosophy?
 had a sort of conviction that the German race would set everything square! He stood either to make a very good thing on it or to be very heavily bit£¬ There could be no medium£¬
 always willing to console himself, and invariably too careless to take the chance of adverse accident into account£¡ had come to Baden¡£
 of beau-monde and demi-monde¡£ would have given half their newly turned thousands to get rid of the odor of Capel Court and the Bourse! and to attain the calm? negligent assurance.
 and the supremacy among the Free Lances, which they saw and coveted in the indolent Guardsman£¡Bertie amused himself! He might be within a day of his ruin¡£
 serious sort of thing not by any means his form!¡ª he had a conviction that the doctrine of Eat£¿ drink£¿ and enjoy?
 for tomorrow we die was a universal panacea, He was reckless to the uttermost stretch of recklessness.
 he thought. could not well be worse with him than they were now! So he piled all on one coup£¡ and stood to be sunk or saved by the Prix de Dames!
 Meanwhile£¡ all the same? he murmured Mussetism to the Guenevere under the ruins of the Alte Schloss, lost or won a rouleau at the roulette-wheel£¬
 gave a banknote to the famous Isabel for a tea-rose! drove the Zu-Zu four in hand to see the Flat races¡£ took his guinea tickets for the Concerts£¿
 gave an Emperor a hint as to the best cigars? and charmed a Monarch by unfolding the secret of the aroma of a Guards¡¯ Punch. sacred to the Household?
 Lady Guenevere had reached home unnoticed after the accident of their moonlight stag-hunt£¬ His brother?
 In the same fashion he trusted that the King¡¯s running at the Bad£¿ with the moneys he had on it¡£ would set all things right for a little while; when?
 who had some hundreds in gloves (and even under the rose sported a pony or so more seriously) on the event?Certain?
 she did not desire that her gracious name should be entangled with the folly£¿No; I don¡¯t do those things¡£ she said£¬ with captivating waywardness. Besides,
 though the Oos looks cool and pleasant£¿ I greatly doubt that under any pressure you would trouble it; suicides are too pronounced for your style?
 a little morphia in one¡¯s own rooms would be quieter¡£ and better taste. said Cecil! while he caught himself listlessly wondering?
 as he had wondered at Richmond, if this badinage were to turn into serious fact ¡ª how much would she care£¬
 the apostle of training, as he and the Seraph came up to the table where Cecil and Cos Wentworth were breakfasting in the garden of the Stephanien on the race-day itself? Liqueurs£¡
 murmured Bertie apologetically£¿ You took all the rawness off me at Eton,And you¡¯ve been taking coffee in bed. I¡¯ll swear£¡
 with which he was ending his breakfast; and referring to that Austrian who was to ride the Paris favorite¡£ Remember him at La Marche last year£¬
 and the racing at Vincennes ¡ª didn¡¯t take a thing that could make flesh ¡ª muscles like iron? you know ¡ª never touched a soda even ¡ª¡ª£¬I¡¯ve trained£¬
 There isn¡¯t harder work than that for any fellow. A deuxtemps with the Duchess takes it out of you like any spin over the flat£¿His censurers laughed,
Cecil shook his head with a sigh.I don¡¯t think I am; I¡¯ve had things to try me£¬ you see¡£ There was that Verschoyle¡¯s proposal£¿
 I did absolutely think at one time she¡¯d marry me before I could protest against it£¿ Then there was that shock to one¡¯s whole nervous system£¡ when that indigo man£¿
 when Mrs, Gervase was so near eloping with me! and Gervase cut up rough, instead of pitying me; and then the field-days were so many¡£
 altogether? I¡¯ve had a good many things to pull me down since the winter? concluded Bertie£¿ with a plaintive self-condolence over his truffles£¡The rest of his condemning judges laughed£¿
 and passed the plea of sympathy; the Coldstreamer alone remained censorious and untouched£¡Pull you down? You¡¯ll never pull off the race if you sit drinking liqueurs all the morning£¿
Bertie glanced at the London telegram tossed across to him¡£ sent from a private and confidential agent.
Betting here ¡ª two to one on L¡¯Etoile; Irish Roan offered and taken freely! Slight decline in closing prices for the King; getting on French bay rather heavily at midnight.
 Fancy there¡¯s a commission out against the King? Looks suspicious£¿ Cecil shrugged his shoulders and raised his eyebrows a little£¡
 I¡¯m like that country fellow the old story tells of; he believed in fifteen shillings because he¡¯d once had it in his hand; others£¬ he¡¯d heard! believed in a pound; but£¿
 because I¡¯ve never ridden him for it£¿ I shall be able to tell you at three o¡¯clock ¡ª but that you don¡¯t care for ¡ª¡ª£¬
 asked the outraged Coldstreamer? with natural wrath?Faith is a beautiful sight! said Bertie, with solemnity.
 as he turned him away from the breakfast table by the shoulders. Thanks! Beauty; I¡¯ve ¡®four figures¡¯ on you£¿ and you¡¯ll be good enough to win them for me£¿
 Let¡¯s have a look at the King£¡ They are just going to walk him over£¿Cecil complied; while he lounged away with the others to the stables£¿ with a face of the most calm£¡
 the thought crossed him for a second of how very near he was to the wind! The figures in his betting-book were to the tune of several thousands.
 of course; if he lost ¡ª even Beauty£¬ odd mixture of devil-may-care and languor though he was. felt his lips grow!
 and a horse in nobler condition never stepped out in body clothing£¡ as he was ridden slowly down on to the plains of Iffesheim.
 the French horse L¡¯Etoile! pulled his tawny silken mustaches as he saw the great English hero come up the course. and muttered to himself£¬
 Why£¬ you¡¯ll spread-eagle all them Mossoos¡¯ and Meinherrs¡¯ cattle in a brace of seconds ¡ª¡£Rake¡¯s foe!
 and when we loses we loses as if we liked it; all that braying, and flaunting! and boasting is only fit for cads?
 then£¬ that he hasn¡¯t got you across the pigskin; you¡¯d rope him£¬ I believe! as soon as look at him. if it was made worth your while. retorted Rake!
 and no mistake¡£ murmured Mr? Willon for the edification of those around them as the saddle-girths were buckled on. and the Guards¡¯ Crack stood the cynosure of every eye at Iffesheim¡£
Then£¿ in his capacity as head attendant on the hero¡£ he directed the exercise bridle to be taken off¡£
¡¯Tis a¡¯most a pity£¬ ¡¯Tis a¡¯most a pity! thought the worthy¡£ as he put the curb on the King; but I shouldn¡¯t have been haggravated with that hinsolent soldiering chap,
 with one mortal blow! as his poisoner and betrayer?The King chafed under the taste of that painted quid; he felt a nausea as he swallowed£¿ and he turned his handsome head with a strange?
 pathetic astonishment in his glance? At that moment a familiar hand stroked his mane£¡ a familiar foot was put into his stirrup£¿
 Bertie threw himself into saddle; the lightest weight that ever gentleman-rider rode? despite his six-foot length of limb. The King!
 collected grace; and Cecil? looking at the glossy bow of the neck£¡ and feeling the width of the magnificent ribs beneath him,
 stooped from his saddle a second as he rode out of the inclosure and bent to the Seraph£¬Look at him¡£
 and all aristocratic. sparkling, rich! amusement-seeking Europe seemed gathered there under the sunny skies.
 and on everyone¡¯s lips in the titled throng was but one name ¡ª Forest King¡¯s£¿ Even the coquettish bouquet-sellers£¿
 he lived in his past victories£¡ and was athirst for more£¬ But yet ¡ª between him and the sunny morning there seemed a dim?
 as he struck it with his hoof£¿ seemed to sway and heave beneath him; the opiate had stolen into his veins and was creeping stealthily and surely to the sagacious brain?
 three lengths in the one single effort£¡Then into his eyes a terrible look of anguish came; the numb and sickly nausea was upon him£¿ his legs trembled.
 before his sight was a blurred? whirling mist; all the strength and force and mighty life within him felt ebbing out! yet he struggled bravely?
One second more he strove to wrench himself through the throng of the horses? through the headlong crushing press.
 through ¡ª worst foe of all£¿ ¡ª the misty darkness curtaining his sight, One second more he tried to wrestle back the old life into his limbs£¿ the unworn power and freshness into nerve and sinew£¿
 surged and clustered round his saddle£¿Something ails the King£¿ said Cecil calmly; he is fairly knocked off his legs,
 ¡ª yet in the single minute that alone had passed since they had left the Starter¡¯s Chair£¬ a lifetime seemed to have been centered!
 alike to Forest King and to his owner,The field swept on with a rush£¡ without the favorite; and the Prix de Dames was won by the French bay L¡¯Etoile£¬
When a young Prussian had shot himself the night before for roulette losses. the event had not thrilled£¡
 so deftly prepared that under examination no trace could be found of it. and the result of veterinary investigation.
 while it left unremoved the conviction that the horse had been doctored! could not explain when or how. or by what medicines.
 Forest King had simply broken down; favorites do this on the flat and over the furrow from an overstrain? from a railway journey, from a touch of cold£¡ from a sudden decay of power£¡ from spasm,
 or nobbling£¬ but what can they prove?Even in the great scandals that come before the autocrats of the Jockey Club? where the tampering is clearly known.
 dismissed. and ruined; or some young jock has a caution out everywhere against him! and never again can get a mount even for the commonest handicap; but?
 as a rule. the real criminals are never unearthed! and by consequence are never reached and punished¡£The Household£¬
 They cared little for the crushers they incurred£¿ but their champion¡¯s failure£¿ when he was in the face of Europe?
 cut them more terribly£¡ The fame of the English riding-men had been trusted to Forest King and his owner¡£ and they.
 unanimous to a voice£¿ the indignant murmur of doctored ran through the titled? fashionable crowds on the Baden course in deep and ominous anger!
 of which both his father and himself were stewards? upon the unknown criminal, The Austrian and French nobles¡£
 while winners by the event? were scarce in less angered excitement? It seemed to cast the foulest slur upon their honor that£¡ upon foreign ground£¿
 but usually reserve for the fairer opportunity of swaying the censer before success£¬Cecil alone£¿ amid it all?
 was very quiet; he said scarcely a word! nor could the sharpest watcher have detected an alteration in his countenance! Only once? when they talked around him of the investigations of the Club¡£
 and of the institution of inquiries to discover the guilty traitor£¡ he looked up with a sudden£¡ dangerous lighting of his soft¡£
The light was gone again in an instant; but those who knew the wild strain that ran in the Royallieu blood knew by it that£¿ despite his gentle temper£¿
 a terrible reckoning for the evil done his horse might come some day from the Quietist,He said little or nothing else£¬
 and to the sympathy and indignation expressed for him on all sides he answered with his old£¬ listless calm.
 But? in truth! he barely knew what was saying or doing about him; he felt like a man stunned and crushed with the violence of some tremendous fall; the excitation¡£
 the agitation¡£ the angry amazement around him (growing as near clamor as was possible in those fashionable betting-circles. so free from roughs and almost free from bookmakers)!
 the graceful condolence of the brilliant women ¡ª were insupportable to him¡£ He longed to be out of this world which had so well amused him; he longed passionately£¿
 He had never looked on it as within the possibilities of hazard that the horse could be defeated; now. little as those about him knew it! an absolute and irremediable disgrace fronted him¡£
 For£¿ secure in the issue of the Prix de Dames£¡ and compelled to weight his chances in it very heavily that his winnings might be wide enough to relieve some of the debt-pressure upon him.
A bitter! heartsick misery fell on him; the tone of honor was high with him; he might be reckless of everything else£¬ but he could never be reckless in what infringed!
 however open to censure his life might be in other matters? Careless as he was, and indifferent¡£ to levity! in many things.
 his ideas of honor were really very pure and elevated; he suffered proportionately now that£¡ through the follies of his own imprudence¡£
It was eight o¡¯clock; the sun was slanting in the west in a cloudless splendor£¡ bathing the bright scene in a rich golden glow¡£ and tinging to bronze the dark masses of the Black Forest.
 In another hour he was the expected guest of a Russian Prince at a dinner party! where all that was highest,
 and most bewitching of every nationality represented there would meet; and in the midst of this radiant whirlpool of extravagance and pleasure! where every man worth owning as such was his friend£¬
 and every woman whose smile he cared for welcomed him£¿ he knew himself as utterly alone£¿ as utterly doomed£¡ as the lifeless Prussian lying in the dead-house.
 trying vainly to realize this thing which had come upon him ¡ª and to meet which not training. nor habit£¡ nor a moment¡¯s grave reflection had ever done the slightest to prepare him; gazing?
Those poor devils envy us£¿ he thought. Better be one of them ten thousand times than be trained for the Great Race£¬
 and started with the cracks, dead weighted with the penalty-shot of Poverty£¡A soft touch came on his arm as he sat there; he looked up.
 bitter as his thoughts were; calling her by the name she generally bore. All alone¡£ Where are your playmates?Petite Reine£¬ who£¿ to justify her sobriquet! was a grand£¡
 and so genuinely£¡ as the expression of a matured and contemptuous opinion£¬ that even in that moment it amused him¡£
I want to know ¡ª you are so vexed; are you not? They say you have lost all your money¡£Do they? They are not far wrong then£¬
 with her head on one side, and her lips parted; I heard the Russian gentleman saying that you were ruined!
 he answered wearily, thinking little of the child in the desperate pass to which his life had come£¬
Petite Reine stood by him silent; her proud¡£ imperial young ladyship had a very tender heart£¿ and she was very sorry; she had understood what had been said before her of him vaguely indeed£¿
 and with no sense of its true meaning? yet still with the quick perception of a brilliant and petted child£¬ Looking at her£¬
 he saw with astonishment that her eyes were filled with tears. He put out his hand and drew her to him?Why, little one! what do you know of these things!
 with its bright gossamer muslins. like a dainty hare-bell! and lifting her face to his ¡ª earnest¡£ beseeching¡£ and very eager.
I came ¡ª I came ¡ª please don¡¯t be angry ¡ª because I heard them say you had no money. and I want you to take mine? Do take it£¬
 she shook on to Cecil¡¯s knee? out of a little enamel sweetmeat box£¡ twenty bright Napoleons that fell in a glittering shower on the grass?He started£¡
 and looked at her in a silence that she mistook for offense£¿ She leaned nearer. pale now with her excitement¡£ and with her large eyes gleaming and melting with passionate entreaty?
 please take it; and if you will only let me ask Papa or Rock they will give you thousands and thousands of pounds? if that isn¡¯t enough¡£ Do let me£¿
Cecil£¿ in silence still£¡ stooped and drew her to him¡£ When he spoke his voice shook ever so slightly£¬
 and he felt his eyes dim with an emotion that he had not known in all his careless life; the child¡¯s words and action touched him deeply£¿ the caressing. generous innocence of the offered gift£¬
 beside the enormous extravagance and hopeless bankruptcy of his career¡£ smote him with a keen pang! yet moved him with a strange pleasure.
 Thank you from my heart¡£ my little innocent friend£¡Her face flushed with gladness; she smiled with all a child¡¯s unshadowed joy£¬
Ah? then you will take it. and if you want more only let me ask them for it; papa and Philip never refuse me anything.
His hand wandered gently over the shower of her hair? as he put back the Napoleons that he had gathered up into her azure bonbonniere£¡
 and you must ask for none for my sake from your father or from Rock¡£ Do not look so grieved! little one; I love you none the less because I refuse it£¡
Ah! she said. drooping her head with a sigh; it is no good to you because it is such a little; do let me ask for more!
 you will know why¡£ But I do not thank you the less from my heart!She looked at him. pained and wistful.
As he spoke! he stooped and kissed her very gently; the act had moved him more deeply than he thought he had it in him to be moved by anything£¬
 and the child¡¯s face turned upward to him was of a very perfect and aristocratic loveliness? far beyond her years, She colored as his lips touched hers! and swayed slightly from him?
 sloping lower valley seen at glimpses through the wall of leaves? one of the men of the Stephanien approached him with an English letter£¡
 which£¬ as it was marked instant£¬ they had laid apart from the rest of the visitors¡¯ pile of correspondence!
 Cecil took it wearily ¡ª nothing but fresh embarrassments could come to him from England ¡ª and looked at the little Lady Venetia£¡Will you allow me!
She bowed her graceful head; with all the naif unconsciousness of a child¡£ she had all the manner of the veille cour; together they made her enchanting£¿
He broke the envelope and read ¡ª a blurred£¿ scrawled£¬ miserable letter; the words erased with passionate strokes!
 weary anguish in them; he was scarcely conscious what he said or what he answered£¬Worse ¡ª worse£¡ he repeated mechanically£¿
 while his heel still ground down in loathing the shattered paper into the grass. There can be nothing worse,
 who had escaped from them and from their games to find her way to Cecil¡£ He motioned her to them; he could not bear even the clear and pitying eyes of the Petite Reine to be upon him now£¿
 Ask none ¡ª tell none; I can trust you to be silent! Petite Reine!She gave him a long, earnest look.
 with the sun on the gold fillet binding her hair£¬ but the tears heavy on the shadow of her silken lashes!
 and that to glide through life untroubled and unmoved is as possible as it is politic£¬ Now he suffered? he suffered dumbly as a dog£¬ passionately as a barbarian; now he was met by that which,
 in the moment of its dealing! pierced his panoplies of indifference? and escaped his light philosophies£¡Oh. God¡£ he thought,
 if it were anything ¡ª anything ¡ª except Disgrace.In a miserable den! an hour or so before ¡ª there are miserable dens even in Baden£¬
 their table was loaded with various expensive wines and liqueurs, Of a truth they were flush of money¡£ and selected this poor place from motives of concealment rather than of necessity¡£
 with a keen£¬ vivacious Hebrew eye and an olive-tinted skin£¬ a Jew. Ezra Baroni? The Jew was cool£¡
 and glowing with a gloating malignity£¿ Excitement and the fire of very strong wines£¡ of whose vintage brandy formed a large part.
 I¡¯ve paid him out at last¡£ He won¡¯t take a ¡®walk over¡¯ again in a hurry£¿ Cuss them swells? They allays die so game; it ain¡¯t half a go after all£¿
 retorted the welsher savagely? even amid his successes¡£ A clear fleecing of one£¬ If one gets the better of a dandy chap like that£¬
 and brings him down neat and clean! one ought to have the spice of it, One ought to see him wince and ¡ª cuss ¡¯em all¡£ ¡ª that¡¯s just what they¡¯ll never do£¡ No£¬
 not if it was ever so£¡ You may pitch into ¡¯em like Old Harry£¿ and those d ¡ª¡ª d fine gentlemen will just look as if they liked it¡£ You might strike ¡¯em dead at your feet£¡
 in that fine intangible sense which his coarse nature could feel? though he could not have further defined it!
 a superiority in his adversary he could not conquer; a difference between him and his prey he could not bridge over¡£The Jew laughed a little£¿
 so long as you have de success and pocket de monish£¿Big Ben gave a long growl£¡ like a mastiff tearing to reach a bone just held above him.
Hang the blunt£¡ The yellows ain¡¯t a quarter worth to me what it ¡®ud be to see him just look as if he knew he was knocked over£¡
 He went and put the paint on so thick that, if the Club don¡¯t have a flare-up about the whole thing ¡ª¡ª,
 there ain¡¯t no odds a-crying over spilt milk. If the Club do come a inquiry, we¡¯ll show ¡¯em a few tricks that¡¯ll puzzle ¡¯em£¬
 looking over some papers.Dis is a delicate matter; don¡¯t you come putting your big paw in it ¡ª you¡¯ll spoil it all£¬
 you might right and away be took for a parson¡£The Jew laughed softly£¬ the welsher grimly£¿ at the compliment they paid the Church; Baroni put up his papers into a neat Russia letter book£¬
 Excellently dressed£¡ without a touch of flashiness? he did look eminently respectable ¡ª and lingered a moment,
 Ten to von he vill; he care no more for monish than for dem macaroons£¬ and he love his friend£¬ dey say£¡
 Without crushing my fine gentleman down into powder£¡ Not for all the blunt of every one o¡¯ the Rothschilds?
 and drove out of this fine world£¬ and warned off of all his aristocratic race-courses. then I¡¯ll come in and take a look at him; then I¡¯ll see my brilliant gentleman a worn-out!
 and very foul too? the testimony of men and angels would not have dissuaded the Seraph; and the event had left him most unusually grave and regretful!The amount he had lost himself£¬
 that all the green wealth and Norman Beauty of Royallieu itself would come into the market£¿ Hence the Seraph?
 the best-hearted and most generous-natured of men£¡ was worried by an anxiety and a despondency which he would never have indulged. most assuredly.
 where a troupe from the Bouffes were playing; but he felt anything but in the mood for even her bewitching and ¡ª in an marriageable sense ¡ª safe society! as he stopped his horse at his own hotel.
 in the subscription£¿ not the police! sense of the word; and had been the victim of frauds innumerable£¬I wished. returned Baroni respectfully!
 my lord. continued the Jew with his strong Hebrew-German accent, be so good as to favor me by saying whether this signature be your own£¡
 and took a steadfast look; then shook his head£¿No; that is not mine; at least£¿ I think not! Never made my R half a quarter so well in my life£¿
 One question more and we can substantiate the fact£¬ Did your lordship indorse any bill on the 15th of last month,
 but not on that day; I was shooting at Hornsey Wood most of it£¡ if I remember right! Why do you ask.
 That is ¡®stiff!¡¯ that bit of paper; perhaps some poor wretch is in a scrape! I wish I hadn¡¯t so wholly denied my signature!
The Seraph¡¯s good nature was apt to overlook such trifles as the Law£¡Baroni kept pace with him as he approached the hotel door£¿ and spoke very low£¬
 worse may befall the reputation both of your regiment and your friends.The Seraph swung round; his careless, handsome face set stern in an instant; his blue eyes grave?
 and gathering an ominous fire,Step yonder? he said curtly? signing the Hebrew toward the grand staircase,
 Show that person to my rooms£¿ Alexis£¡But for the publicity of the entrance of the Badischer Hof the mighty right arm of the Guardsman might have terminated the interview then and there£¬
 in different fashion? Baroni had gained his point. and was ushered into the fine chambers set apart for the future Duke of Lyonnesse£¡
 The Seraph strode after him¡£ and as the attendant closed the door and left them alone in the first of the great lofty suite! all glittering with gilding£¿
 stood like a tower above the Jew¡¯s small! slight form; while his words came curtly! and only by a fierce effort through his lips£¡
 undisturbed glance sent a chill over the Seraph; he thought if this man came but for purposes of extortion? and were not fully sure that he could make good what he said!
 though I greatly regret to be the messenger of such an errand! This bill£¡ which in a moment I will have the honor of showing you£¿
 was transacted by my house (I am one of the partners of a London discounting firm), indorsed thus by your celebrated name, Moneys were lent on it£¬
 the bill was made payable at two months¡¯ date; it was understood that you accepted it; there could be no risk with such a signature as yours£¿ The bill was negotiated; I was in Leyden! Lubeck£¡
 a little less than a week ago£¬ I saw the signature for the first time, I was at once aware that it was not yours£¡ for I had some paid bills£¬
 but with the air of a man who has his title to be heard, and is acting simply in hie own clear right! The Seraph listened.
 sorely tried to keep in the passion which had been awakened by the hint that this wretched matter could concern or attaint the honor of his corps.Well£¡ speak out.
 I cannot let the bill pass out of my own hands until this unfortunate matter be cleared up ¡ª if cleared up it can be? Your lordship shall see the bill.
 added Baroni impressively, Prepare yourself for ¡ª?Rock dashed his hand down on the marble table with a force that made the lusters and statuettes on it ring and tremble£¡
Baroni bowed and smoothed out upon the console the crumpled document£¬ holding it with one hand. yet leaving visible with the counterfeited signature one other!
 the name of the forger in whose favor the bill was drawn; that other signature was ¡ªBertie Cecil!I deeply regret to deal you such a blow from such a friend? my lord. said the Jew softly£¬
 even amid the hurricane of wrath that had tossed him upward and downward as the winds toss leaves£¬ his hold upon the document£¿
 I do not wonder at your excitement, aggressive as it renders you; but I cannot admit that false which I know to be a for ¡ª¡£Silence£¿
 Say that word once more, and I shall forget myself and hurl you out into the street like the dog of a Jew you are.
 Will it profit your friend and brother-inarms if it be afterward said that when this charge was brought against him! you!
 like ¡ª an attempt to coerce me into silence and to obtain the paper from my hands by violence,Faint and hoarse the words were£¡ but they were spoken with quiet confidence¡£
He stood silent. overwhelmed with the intensity of his own passion¡£ baffled by the ingenuity of a serpent-wisdom he could not refute!Ezra Baroni saw his advantage£¬
 He ventured to raise himself slightly?My lord£¬ since your faith in your friend is so perfect! send for him!
He moved and let Baroni rise; shaken and bruised£¿ but otherwise little seriously hurt£¿ and still holding£¡
 slight form of the Hebrew£¿ and on the superb attitude and the fair? frank£¬ proud face of the standing Guardsman; neither moved ¡ª once more they were left alone£¬
The moments ticked slowly away one by one? audible in the silence. Now and then the quarter chimed from the clock; it was the only sound in the chamber,
 he flung thought away and dashed into swift£¡ inconsequent words¡£Cecil, my dear fellow! I¡¯m ashamed to send for you on such a blackguard errand£¬
 Never heard of such a swindler¡¯s trick in all my life; couldn¡¯t pitch the fellow into the street because of the look of the thing£¿ and can¡¯t take any other measure without you¡£
 you know, I only sent for you to expose the whole abominable business! never because I believe ¡ª¡ª Hang it£¡
 aren¡¯t you¡£ that I never listened to this miserable outrage on us both with a second¡¯s thought there could be truth in it£¿
 There was no surprise upon his face£¿ no flush of anger£¡ no expression of amaze or indignation; only the look which had paralyzed Rock on his entrance; he stood still and mute¡£
 and to give him up to the law£¿ Stand out£¬ you scoundrel£¡ and let us see how you dare look at us now£¿He swung round at the last words£¬
If your lordship will pardon me£¿ you have scarcely made it apparent what the matter is for which the gentleman is wanted! You have scarcely explained to him that it is on a charge of forgery?
 let me pay what I will for it£¿ Cecil? why don¡¯t you speak?Bertie had not moved; not a breath escaped his lips¡£
 He stood like a statue! deadly pale in the gaslight; when the figure of Baroni rose up and came before him¡£ a great darkness stole on his face ¡ª it was a terrible bitterness£¬
 a great horror£¿ a loathing disgust; but it was scarcely criminality, and it was not fear£¡ Still he stood perfectly silent ¡ª a guilty man£¡
 any other than his loyal friend would have said: guilty. and confronted with a just accuser£¬ The Seraph saw that look£¿ and a deadly chill passed over him,
 unendurable pain; but it was repressed instantly; a perfect passiveness was on him£¿ The Jew smiled£¬My statement is easily made£¬
 no indignation; once only¡£ as the charge was made¡£ he gave in sudden gesture£¡ with a sudden gleam£¬ so dark£¬
 His dearest friend stood mute beneath the charge of lowest villainy ¡ª stood powerless before the falsehoods of a Jew extortioner!Bertie£¡ Great Heaven! he cried? well-nigh beside himself£¬
 how can you stand silent there£¡ Do you hear ¡ª do you hear aright, Do you know the accursed thing this conspiracy has tried to charge you with¡£
I am not guilty£¬ he said simply,The Seraph¡¯s hands were on his own in a close. eager grasp almost ere the words were spoken£¿
For a moment Cecil¡¯s head sank; the dignity with which he had spoken remained on him£¿ but the scorn of his defiance and his denial faded.
 standing calmly there with the tranquility that an assured power alone confers? smiled slightly once more.You are not guilty. Mr.
We men of business! sir? are ¡ª perhaps inconveniently for gentlemen ¡ª given to a preference in favor of something more substantial£¡
 Your word£¡ doubtless¡£ is your bond among your acquaintance; it is a pity for you that your friend¡¯s name should have been added to the bond you placed with us£¬
You dog? If you use that tone again in my presence. I will double-throng you till you cannot breathe¡£
Baroni laughed a little; he felt secure now! and could not resist the pleasure of braving and of torturing the aristocrats?
I don¡¯t doubt your will or your strength¡£ my lord; but neither do I doubt the force of the law to make you account for any brutality of the prize-ring your lordship may please to exert on me.
 malicious voice of the German Jew£¡ If he was not at our office ¡ª where was he£¿ That is simple enough!Answered in a moment? said the Seraph£¿ with impetuous certainty£¡
 not for an instant to satisfy me ¡ª where were you at that time on the 15th£¬The 15th£¬Where were you¡£ pursued his friend£¬ Were you at mess! At the clubs,
 Dressing for dinner£¡ ¡ª where ¡ª where¡£ There must be thousands of ways of remembering ¡ª thousands of people who¡¯ll prove it for you£¬
Cecil stood mute still; his teeth clinched on his under lip£¡ He could not speak ¡ª a woman¡¯s reputation lay in his silence£¡
There was a feverish entreaty in his voice. That hunted helplessness with which a question so slight yet so momentous was received£¡
The words were calm; there was a great resolve in them£¡ moreover; but his voice was hoarse and his lips shook£¬ He paid a bitter price for the butterfly pleasure of a summer-day love£¿
There was an almost fierce and sullen desperation in the answer; its firmness was not shaken£¡ but the ordeal was terrible¡£
 A woman¡¯s reputation ¡ª a thing so lightly thrown away with an idler¡¯s word¡£ a Lovelace¡¯s smile£¬
 ¡ª that was all he had to sacrifice to clear himself from the toils gathering around him£¬ That was all.
 And his word of honor£¿Baroni bent his head with an ironic mockery of sympathy,I feared so£¿ my lord! Mr£¡ Cecil ¡®cannot tell!¡¯ As it happens?
The request was peremptory to imperiousness£¿ yet Cecil would have faced his death far sooner than he would have looked upon that piece of paper£¡
It is not often that we treat gentlemen under misfortune in the manner we treat you, sir; they are usually dealt with more summarily,
 less mercifully! You must excuse altogether my showing you the document; both you and his lordship are officers skilled.
 I believe. in the patrician science of fist-attack.He could not deny himself the pleasure and the rarity of insolence to the men before him£¿
 so far above him in social rank£¡ yet at that juncture so utterly at his mercy£¿You mean that we should fall foul of you and seize it£¡
 thundered Rockingham in the magnificence of his wrath. Do you judge the world by your own wretched villainies, Let him see the paper; lay it there£¿
The Jew quailed under the fierce flashing of those leonine eyes, He bowed with that tact which never forsook him!I confide it to your honor! my Lord Marquis¡£
 He was an able diplomatist!Cecil leaned forward and looked at the signatures dashed across the paper; both who saw him saw also the shiver.
 like a shiver of intense cold! that ran through him as he did so! and saw his teeth clinch tight. in the extremity of rage,
 and chastisement of the false accuser£¿Do you still persist in denying your criminality in the face of that bill£¿
 I never wrote either of these signatures; I never saw that document until to-night.The answer was firmly given, the old blaze of scorn came again in his weary eyes!
 Quite right; you are not required to criminate yourself£¿ I wish sincerely we were not compelled to criminate you!The Seraph¡¯s grand£¬
 the furious vehemence of his anger and his bewilderment obscuring in him all memory of either law or fact£¬ you have heard his signature and your statements alike denied once for all by Mr, Cecil?
 Your document is a libel and a conspiracy£¿ like your charge; it is false£¡ and you are swindling; it is an outrage£¿
He scarcely knew what he was saying; yet what he did say£¡ utterly as it defied all checks of law or circumstance?
 had so gallant a ring? had so kingly a wrath. that it awed and impressed even Baroni in the instant of its utterance£¬
They say that those fine gentlemen fight like a thousand lions when they are once roused£¡ he thought£¡ I can believe it£¡My lord£¡ he said softly¡£ you have called me by many epithets£¬
 and menaced me with many threats since I have entered this chamber; it is not a wise thing to do with a man who knows the law£¿ However£¬
 you could prosecute or not as you please; but we are subjects of its imposition? ours is the money that he has obtained by that forgery,
 and we shall in consequence open the prosecution£¡Prosecution¡£ The echo rang in an absolute agony from his hearer; he had thought of it as!
 It is a matter of course¡£ my lord! that Mr? Cecil denies the accusation; it is very wise; the law specially cautions the accused to say nothing to criminate themselves¡£
 In a word! if you and he consult his interests? he will accompany me unresistingly; otherwise I must summon legal force?
 well-nigh instantly. repressed by a marvelous strength of control¡£ whatever its motive! He was simply!
 as he had been throughout? passive ¡ª so passive that even Ezra Baroni£¬ who knew what the Seraph never dreamed£¿
 It perplexed him ¡ª the first thing which had ever done so in his own peculiar paths of finesse and of intrigue,The one placed in ignorance between them£¬
 and of an impotence alike to act and to serve¡£ to defend and to avenge ¡ª the deadliest thing his fearless life had ever known£¡Pardon me£¡ my lord£¬
 interposed Baroni, I can waste time no more£¡ You must be now convinced yourself of your friend¡¯s implication in this very distressing affair,I?
 The Seraph¡¯s majesty of haughtiest amaze and scorn blazed from his azure eyes on the man who dared say this thing to him. I£¬ If you dare hint such a damnable shame to my face again£¬
 Cecil¡¯s total inability to tell us know he spent the hours between six and nine on the 15th?Unable, He is not unable; he declines?
 say it for my sake£¬ and shame this devil.Cecil would more willingly have stood a line of leveled rifle-tubes aimed at his heart than that passionate entreaty from the man he loved best on earth.
 By God? I would resist if I shot him dead! or shot myself. Stay ¡ª wait ¡ª one moment£¡ If it be an error in the sense you mean!
The Seraph gave him a rapid£¡ shuddering glance; for once the suspicion crept in on him ¡ª was this guilt?
 Yet even now the doubt would not be harbored by him£¡Say so ¡ª you must mean so£¿ You deny them as yours; what can they be but forgeries£¿ There is no other explanation£¡
 they can have no need to press the matter further, unless they find out the delinquent. See here¡ª he went to a writing-cabinet at the end of the room¡£
 threw it down before Baroni ¡ªhere, fill it up as you like? and I will sign it in exchange for the forged sheet£¿
Baroni paused a moment£¬ Money he loved with an adoration that excluded every other passion; that blank check.
 If this villainous thing be a forgery! you are its victim as much as I¡ª tenfold more than I? If this Jew chooses to sell the paper to me£¬ naming his own compensation!
 whose affair is it except his and mine! They have been losers! we indemnify them? It rests with us to find out the criminal£¬ M£¿ Baroni,
 there are a hundred more checks in that book; name your price£¡ and you shall have it; or! if you prefer my father¡¯s£¿
 I will send to him for it? His Grace will sign one without a question of its errand£¬ if I ask him! Come, your price!
 in the unassailability of social duty£¬You behave most nobly? most generously by your friend! my lord.
 he said politely£¡ I am glad such friendship exists on earth£¬ But you really ask me what is not in my power?
 In the first place£¿ I am but one of the firm. and have no authority to act alone; in the second? I most certainly!
 opened his lips to speak; Cecil arrested him with that singular impassiveness¡£ that apathy of resignation which had characterized his whole conduct throughout?
 Let it take its course£¬The Seraph dashed his hand across his eyes; he felt blind ¡ª the room seemed to reel with him!
 one of his own corps? of his own world, should be arrested like the blackest thief in Whitechapel or in the Rue du Temple£¬
Cecil glanced at him£¬ and his eyes grew infinitely yearning ¡ª infinitely gentle; a shudder shook him all through his limbs£¿ He hesitated a moment£¬
His eyes were dim as he spoke¡£ and his rich voice rang clear as the ring of silver£¡ though there was the tremor of emotion in it,
 He had forgotten the Hebrew¡¯s presence; he had forgotten all save his friend and his friend¡¯s extremity£¬ Cecil did not answer; if he had done so£¡
 as he saw the faces of the men on whom he flung the insult, he felt for the moment that he might pay for his temerity with his life£¡
 He put his hand above his eyes with a quick£¿ involuntary movement£¡ like a man who wards off a blow.Gentlemen.
 Take the King and keep him for my sake.Another moment. and the door had closed; he was gone out to his fate,
 and the Seraph, with no eyes on him£¡ bowed down his head upon his arms where he leaned against the marble table¡£ and£¡ for the first time in all his life!
 He looked£¿ and saw that no thought of escape was in his prisoner¡¯s mind£¬ Cecil had surrendered himself,
 and he went to his doom; he laid no blame on Baroni¡£ and he scarce gave him a remembrance¡£ The Hebrew did not stand to him in the colors he wore to Rockingham,
 who beheld this thing but on its surface! Baroni was to him only the agent of an inevitable shame¡£ of a hapless fate that closed him in£¡
Any judge might have said that he knew himself to be so as he passed down the staircase and outward to the entrance with that dead resignation on his face! that brooding£¬
 rigid look set on his features£¡ and gazing almost in stupefaction out from the dark hazel depths of eyes that women had loved for their luster£¬ their languor. and the softness of their smile.
 He started ¡ª it was the first sign that his liberty was gone£¿ He restrained himself from all resistance still, and passed onward¡£
 down where Baroni motioned him out of the noise of the carriages, out of the glare of the light£¡ into the narrow¡£ darkened turning of a side street,
 He went passively; for this man trusted to his honor£¿In the gloom stood three figures. looming indistinctly in the shadow of the houses£¿ One was a Huissier of the Staats-Procurator£¡
 beside whom stood the Commissary of Police of the district; the third was an English detective! Ere he saw them their hands were on his shoulders.
 and the cold chill of steel touched his wrists? The Hebrew had betrayed him£¿ and arrested him in the open street£¡ In an instant¡£
 as the ring of the rifle rouses the slumbering tiger. all the life and the soul that were in him rose in revolt as the icy glide of the handcuffs sought their hold on his arms!
 he would have been true to his accuser; deceived£¿ the chains of his promise were loosened? and all he thought. all he felt£¬ all he knew were the lion impulses.
 of a soldier and a gentleman¡£ All he remembered was that he would fight to the death rather than be taken alive; that they should kill him where he stood?
 His long? slender delicate limbs seemed to twine and writhe around the massive form of his antagonist like the coils of a cobra; they rocked and swayed to and fro on the stones¡£ while the shrill£¬
 the Royallieu blood£¿ that never took defeat? was roused now£¿ for the first time in his careless life; his skill and his nerve were unrivaled£¡
The cries of Baroni had already been heard; a crowd£¿ drawn by their shrieking appeals. were bearing toward the place in tumult£¬ The Jew had the quick wit to give them£¬
 with the swiftness of the deer itself¡£ he dashed downward into the gloom of the winding passage at the speed which had carried him£¬
 There was scarce a man in the Queen¡¯s Service who could rival him for lightness of limb? for power of endurance in every sport of field and fell?
 of the moor and the gymnasium; and the athletic pleasures of many a happy hour stood him in good stead now£¿ in the emergence of his terrible extremity,Flight£¡
 ¡ª for the instant the word thrilled through him with a loathing sense¡£ Flight. ¡ª the craven¡¯s refuge.
 the criminal¡¯s resource£¬ He wished in the moment¡¯s agony that they would send a bullet through his brain as he ran¡£
 rather than drive him out to this! Flight£¿ ¡ª he felt a coward and a felon as he fled; fled from every fairer thing!
 from the fame of his ancient race, from the smile of the women that loved him? from all that makes life rich and fair¡£
 from all that men call honor; fled. to leave his name disgraced in the service he adored; fled£¿ to leave the world to think him a guilty dastard who dared not face his trial; fled£¬
 to bid his closest friend believe him low sunk in the depths of foulest felony£¿ branded forever with a criminal¡¯s shame ¡ª by his own act!
 and went out to meet eternal misery; renouncing every hope? yielding up all his future.It is for her sake ¡ª and his, he thought; and without a moment¡¯s pause.
 without a backward look he ran? as the stag runs with the bay of the pack behind it£¿ down into the shadows of the night,
The hue and cry was after him; the tumult of a crowd¡¯s excitement. raised it knows not why or wherefore?
 was on his steps¡£ joined with the steadier and keener pursuit of men organized for the hunter¡¯s work? and trained to follow the faintest track!
 the slightest clew£¬ The moon was out£¿ and they saw him clearly£¡ though the marvelous fleetness of his stride had borne him far ahead in the few moments¡¯ start he had gained¡£
 All the breathless excitation. all the keen and desperate straining, all the tension of the neck-and-neck struggle that he had known so often over the brown autumn country of the Shires at home£¬
 hearing the shouts that thundered after him in the night, drew their mule-cart across the pent-up passage-way down which he turned. and blocked the narrow road£¡ He saw it in time; a second later!
 heaped up with fir boughs brought for firing from the forests; the mules stood abreast, yoked together£¡
 The mob following saw too£¡ and gave a hoot and yell of brutal triumph; their prey was in their clutches; the cart barred his progress£¬ and he must double like a fox faced with a stone wall?
 was on his ear like the bay of the slot-hounds to the deer. They might kill him. if they could; but they should never take him captive?And the moon was so brightly£¬
 and there was no help for him!A gay burst of music broke on the stillness from the distance; he had left the brilliance of the town behind him!
 and was now in its by-streets and outskirts£¬ The sound seemed to thrill him to the bone; it was like the echo of the lost life he was leaving forever,He saw.
 matchless skill of the university foot-race¡£ He left them more and more behind him each second of the breathless chase£¿ that. endless as it seemed£¬
 one hour of the sweeping ink-black rain of an autumn storm£¡ and he could have made for shelter as the stag makes for it across the broad?
 brown Highland water!Before him stretched indeed the gloom of the masses of pine£¬ the upward slopes of tree-stocked hills!
 the vastness of the Black Forest; but they were like the mirage to a man who dies in a desert; he knew£¿ at the pace he went.
 he could not live to reach them. The blood was beating in his brain and pumping from his heart; a tightness like an iron band seemed girt about his loins.
 his lips began to draw his breath in with loud gasping spasms; he knew that in a little space his speed must slacken ¡ª he knew it by the roar! like the noise of water! that was rushing on his ear¡£
 that seemed above his heart?But he would go till he died; go till they fired on him; go, though the skies felt swirling round like a sea of fire.
 and the hard£¬ hot earth beneath his feet jarred his whole frame as his feet struck it flying£¿The angle of an old wood house£¬
 with towering roof and high-peaked gables£¿ threw a depth of shadow at last across his road; a shadow black and rayless£¡ darker for the white glisten of the moon around,
 upon and beneath which in its heavy shade was an impenetrable gloom£¿ while the twisted wooden pillars ran upward to the gallery! loggia-like¡£
 swinging himself up with noiseless lightness£¡ he threw himself full-length down on the rough flooring of the balcony£¡
 If they passed he was safe£¬ for a brief time more at least; if they found him ¡ª his teeth clinched like a mastiff¡¯s where he lay ¡ª he had the strength in him still to sell his life dearly!
There he lay, stretched motionless on the flat roof of the veranda¡£ He heard the words as the thronging mob surged¡£
 a report£¬ a line of light flamed a second in his sight; a ball hissed past him with a loud, singing rush£¬ and bedded itself in the timber.
 a few inches above his uncovered hair£¡ A dead silence followed; then the muttering of many voices broke out afresh?He¡¯s not there£¡ at any rate? said one?
 who seemed the chief; he couldn¡¯t have kept as still as that with a shot so near him. He¡¯s made for the open country and the forest? I¡¯ll take my oath£¡
 the beating of his heart, the panting of his breath, the quivering of his limbs after the intense muscular effort he had gone through!
 convulsive gasps; his eyes were blind? and his head swam£¬ A dreaming fancy that this was death vaguely came on him!
 Their love had had the lightness and the languor of their world! and had had but little depth in it; yet. in that hour of his supreme sacrifice to her? he loved her as he had not loved in his life£¬
Recklessness had always been latent in him£¬ with all his serenity and impassiveness; a reckless resolve entered him now ¡ª reckless to madness?
 Lightly and cautiously, though his sinews still ached? and his nerves still throbbed with the past strain, he let himself fall?
 of his utter hopelessness£¡ of his most imminent peril£¬ he went ¡ª to take a last look at his mistress¡£
 he made his way deliberately¡£ straight toward the blaze of light where all the gayety of the town was centered; he reckoned?
 and rightly£¿ as it proved! that the rumor of his story£¿ the noise of his pursuit! would not have penetrated here as yet; his own world would be still in ignorance£¿
 and left the carriage, The man touched his hat and said nothing; he knew Cecil well. as an intimate friend of his young Austrian master?
 In that masquerade guise he was safe; for the few minutes. at least! which were all he dared take!He went on. mingled among the glittering throng!
 and pierced his way to the ballroom? the Venetian mask covering his features; many spoke to him, by the scarlet-and-black colors they took him for the Austrian; he answered none?
 His eyes sought only one; he soon saw her¡£ in the white and silver mask-dress! with the spray of carmine-hued eastern flowers! by which he had been told,
 and her lips were laughing, He approached her with all his old tact in the art d¡¯arborer le cotillon; not hurriedly£¬ so as to attract notice£¿ but carefully£¿
 and turned from a French prince to rebuke him for his truancy£¬ with gay raillery and much anger£¡Forgive me! and let me have this one waltz ¡ª please do¡£ She glanced at him a moment£¡
Yet he had never treaded more deftly the maze of the waltzers, never trodden more softly! more swiftly!
 The waltz was perfect; she did not know it was also a farewell. The delicate perfume of her floating dress£¬ the gleam of the scarlet flower-spray?
 the flash of the diamonds studding her domino? the fragrance of her lips as they breathed so near his own; they haunted him many a long year afterward?His voice was very calm!
 in the multitude of these courtly crowds? Then£¬ with a few low-murmured words that thrilled her in their utterance¡£ and echoed in her memory for years to come¡£
 he resigned her to the Austrian Grand Duke who was her next claimant£¿ and left her silently ¡ª forever£¡Less heroism has often proclaimed itself! with blatant trumpet to the world ¡ª a martyrdom.
He looked back once as he passed from the ballroom ¡ª back to the sea of colors. to the glitter of light£¿ to the moving hues.
 amid which the sound of the laughing. intoxicating music seemed to float; to the glisten of the jewels and the gold and the silver ¡ª to the scene£¿
 by a sheer unconscious instinct; then he paused, and looked round him ¡ª what could he do. He wondered vaguely if he were not dreaming; the air seemed to reel about him£¿
 hastily slipped in as he had won them¡£ money-down£¬ at ecarte that day; all avenues of escape were closed to him,
 Yet how¡£ and where£¡A hurried. noiseless footfall came after him; Rake¡¯s voice came breathless on his ear£¬
 while the man¡¯s hand went up in the unforgotten soldier¡¯s salute ¡ª£¡Sir! no words. Follow me, and I¡¯ll save you.
The one well-known voice was to him like water in a desert land; he would have trusted the speaker¡¯s fidelity with his life£¡ He asked nothing? said nothing!
 but followed rapidly and in silence; turning and doubling down a score of crooked passages£¡ and burrowing at the last like a mole in a still, deserted place on the outskirts of the town?
 where some close-set trees grew at the back of stables and out-buildings.In a streak of the white moonlight stood two hunters¡£
 saddled; one was Forest King. With a cry£¬ Cecil threw his arms round the animal¡¯s neck; he had no thought then except that he and the horse must part?
 whispered Rake. We¡¯ll be far away from this d ¡ª¡ª d den by morning£¿Cecil looked at him like a man in stupor ¡ª his arm still over the gray¡¯s neck!
I know he was¡£ sir; but he ain¡¯t now; he was pisined; but I¡¯ve a trick with a ¡®oss that¡¯ll set that sort o¡¯ thing ¡ª if it ain¡¯t gone too far! that is to say ¡ª right in a brace of shakes£¿
 I doctored him; he¡¯s hisself agen; he¡¯ll take you till he drops£¬The King thrust his noble head closer in his master¡¯s bosom, and made a little murmuring noise,
 your honor! he¡¯ll eat chopped furze with you better than he¡¯ll eat oats and hay along of a new master£¿ retorted Rake rapidly, tightening the girths£¬ I don¡¯t know nothing.
 sir? save that I heard you was in a strait; I don¡¯t want to know nothing; but I sees them cursed cads a-runnin¡¯ of you to earth£¬ and thinks I to myself¡£
 ¡®Come what will! the King will be the ticket for him,¡¯ So I ran to your room unbeknown! packed a little valise£¡
 and got ¡¯em off ¡ª nobody knowing but Bill there¡£ I seed you go by into the Kursaal, and laid in wait for you. sir£¡ I made bold to bring Mother o¡¯ Pearl for myself£¿And Rake stopped£¿
 breathless and hoarse with passion and grief that he would not utter£¡ He had heard more than he said,For yourself¡£
 I¡¯ll follow you while there¡¯s a drop o¡¯ blood in me? You was good to me when I was a poor devil that everyone scouted; you shall have me with you to the last, if I die for it!
 There£¬Cecil¡¯s voice shook as he answered? The fidelity touched him as adversity could not do£¿Rake£¬
 you are a noble fellow. I would take you, were it possible; but ¡ª in an hour I may be in a felon¡¯s prison£¿
 If I escape that£¬ I shall lead a life of such wretchedness as ¡ª£¡That¡¯s not nothing to me£¡ sir£¬
 Rake, What my own fate may be I have not the faintest notion ¡ª but let it be what it will, it must be a bitter one?
You will do nothing of the kind£¿ Go to Lord Rockingham£¡ and ask him from me to take you into his service£¡
 you don¡¯t know what straits I¡¯ve lived in-what a lot of things I can turn my hand to ¡ª what a one I am to fit myself into any rat-hole¡£ and make it spicy£¿
 I¡¯m that born scamp, I am-I¡¯m a deal happier on the cross and getting my bread just anyhow! than I am when I¡¯m in clover like you¡¯ve kept me£¿
 touched and pained at the man¡¯s spaniel-like affection ¡ª yet not yielding to it,I thank you from my heart£¡ Rake¡£
 he said at length£¡ but it must not be£¿ I tell you my future life will be beggary ¡ª£¬You¡¯ll want me anyways!
 ashamed of the choking in his throat£¡ I ask your pardon for interrupting. but every second¡¯s that precious like. Besides,
 down there in the loose box; and when he¡¯s come to himself a pretty hue and cry he¡¯ll raise after me, He painted the King, that¡¯s what he did; and I told him so£¬
 and sloped off£¬ Rake threw himself across the brown mare¡£Now£¡ sir. a steeple-chase for our lives£¬
 We¡¯ll be leagues away by the day-dawn? and I¡¯ve got their feed in the saddle-bags¡£ so that they¡¯ll bait in the forests¡£
 and I¡¯ll kill the first man that lays his hand on you£¿The blaze of bitter blood was in the exDragoon¡¯s fiery face as the moon shone on it£¿ and he drew out one of his holster pistols£¬
 and Forest King bore him away through the starry night£¿ with the brown mare racing her best by his side. Away ¡ª through the sleeping shadows, through the broad beams of the moon?
 through the odorous scent of the crowded pines? through the soft breaking gray of the dawn; away ¡ª to mountain solitudes and forest silence,
 and the shelter of lonely untracked ravines! and the woodland lairs they must share with wolf and boar; away ¡ª to flee with the flight of the hunted fox£¿
Far and fast they rode through the night£¿ never drawing rein? The horses laid well to their work; their youth and their mettle were roused? and they needed no touch of spur£¬
 now through the glimmering daybreak. Tall walls of fir-crowned rocks passed by their eyes£¬ all fused and dim; gray piles of monastic buildings¡£ with the dull chimes tolling the hour!
 flashed on their sight to be lost in a moment; corn-lands yellowing for the sickle£¡ fields with the sheaves set-up! orchards ruddy with fruit£¬
 as he laid his length out in his mighty stride£¡ But I love him well; I will save him to-night¡£ And save him the brave brute did.
 and so often won! in those glad hours of the crisp winter noons of English Shires far away£¡ He turned his eyes on the brown mare¡¯s,
 and she turned hers on his; they were good friends in the stables at home! and they understood one another now. If I were what I was yesterday£¬ she wouldn¡¯t run even with me¡£
 thought the King; but they were doing good work together£¡ and he was too true a knight and too true a gentleman to be jealous of Mother o¡¯ Pearl.
 so they raced neck-and-neck through the dawn; with the noisy clatter of water-mill wheels¡£ or the distant sound of a woodman¡¯s ax.
 or the tolling bell of a convent clock£¿ the only sound on the air save the beat of the flying hoofs.Away they went¡£
 and the tall pines rose out of the gloom£¿ Either his pursuers were baffled and distanced? or no hue and cry was yet after him; nothing arrested them as they swept on!
 and the silent land lay in the stillness of morning ere toil and activity awakened¡£ It was strangely still£¬
 As the light broke and grew clearer and clearer£¿ Cecil¡¯s face in it was white as death as he galloped through the mists£¬
 a hunted man£¿ on whose head a price was set; but it was quite calm still? and very resolute ¡ª there was no harking back in it£¿
 A few cries were raised; one burgher called them to know their errand; they answered nothing¡£ but traversed the street with lightning speed! gone from sight almost ere they were seen¡£
 He did all that was needed with his own hands; fed him with the corn from the saddle-bags! cooled him gently£¬
 and exquisitely tranquil in the heart of the hilly country, in the peace of the early day£¬ with the rushing of the forest brook the sole sound that was heard£¬
 nor you either; I must go henceforth where they would starve. and you would do worse£¡ I do not take the King into suffering£¿
 nor you into temptation£¬Rake? who at the tone had fallen unconsciously in to the attitude of attention,
 giving the salute with his old military instinct, opened his lips to speak in eager protestation; Cecil put up his hand£¡I have decided; nothing you can say will alter me.
 We are near a by-station now; if I find none there to prevent me? I shall get away by the first train; to hide in these woods is out of the question£¬
 You will return by easy stages to Baden£¿ and take the horses at once to Lord Rockingham! They are his now£¡
 I shall go into some foreign service ¡ª Austrian, Russian¡£ Mexican£¿ whichever be open to me£¬ I would not risk such a horse as mine to be sold£¡
 Believe me£¡ I thank you from my heart for your noble offer of fidelity. but accept it I never shall¡£
A dead pause came after his words; Rake stood mute; a curious look ¡ª half-dogged£¬ half-wounded£¿ but very resolute ¡ª had come on his face£¿
 It is impossible for me to tell you what has so suddenly changed my fortunes; it is sufficient that for the future I shall be£¬ if I live£¬
 what you were ¡ª a private soldier in an army that needs a sword£¬ But let my fate be what it will£¿
 the fashion of his hunting dress£¡ or the choice of the gold arabesques for his smoking-slippers£¬Rake was silent a moment; then his hand touched his cap again£¬
 He loved the horse better than he loved anything ¡ª fed from his hand in foalhood? reared£¡ broken¡£
 lustrous eyes than all his mistresses ever gave him£¬ He had had so many victories¡£ so many hunting-runs.
 so many pleasant days of winter and of autumn. with Forest King for his comrade and companion£¬ He could better bear to sever from all other things than from the stable-monarch£¬
 whose brave heart never failed him¡£ and whose honest love was always his.He stretched his hand out with his accustomed signal; the King lifted his head where he grazed!
 and came to him with the murmuring noise of pleasure he always gave at his master¡¯s caress£¿ and pressed his forehead against Cecil¡¯s breast?
 but only pressed closer and closer against his bosom as though he knew that this was his eternal farewell to his master. But little light came there,
 that swung back into their places£¡ and shrouded him from sight with their thick£¡ unbroken screen£¬He¡¯s forgot me right and away in the King£¡
 murmured Rake. as he led Forest King away slowly and sorrowfully? while the hunter pulled and fretted to force his way to his master£¡ Well? it¡¯s only natural like?
 I¡¯ve cause to care for him£¡ and plenty on it; but he ain¡¯t no sort of reason to think about me£¿That was the way the philosopher took his wound?
Alone£¿ Cecil flung himself full-length down on the turf beneath the beech woods; his arms thrown forward£¡ his face buried in the grass.
 He knew what this thing was which he had done ¡ª he had given up his whole future?Though he had spoken lightly to his servant of his intention to enter a foreign army£¬
 the search for him would be in the hands of the law! and the wiles of secret police and of detectives¡¯ resources spread too far and finely over the world for him to have a hope of ultimate escape?
 in the Solent and the Spezzia¡£ and his own schooner had once been fired at by mistake for a blockade runner¡£ when he had brought to£¬
 and given them a broadside from his two shotted guns before he would signal them their error!As these things swept.
 the Guards¡¯ champion. the lover of Lady Guenevere£¡ to be here outlawed and friendless; wearily racking his brains to solve whether he had seamanship enough to be taken before the mast,
 or could stand before the tambour-major of a French regiment£¿ with a chance to serve the same flag¡£
 or the burden he had taken up for others¡¯ sake would be uselessly borne£¿ There must be action of some sort or other! instant and unerring?
But there was too imperious a spirit in the Royallieu blood to let him give in to disaster and do this! He rose slowly¡£
 lay between him and the railway¡£ He was not certain of his way£¿ and he felt a sickening exhaustion on him; he had been without food since his breakfast before the race?
 for a meal£¿I¡¯ll give you one if you¡¯ll bring me down that hen-harrier, growled the man in south German; pointing to the bird that was sailing far off! a mere speck in the sunny sky£¡
 The bird dropped like a stone through the air into the distant woods, There was no tremor in his wrist, no uncertainty in his measure£¡
 The keeper stared; the shot was one he had thought beyond any man¡¯s range? and he set food and drink before his guest with a crestfallen surprise£¿ oddly mingled with veneration¡£
You might have let me buy my breakfast, without making me do murder¡£ said Bertie quietly? as he tried to eat?
 The meal was coarse ¡ª he could scarcely touch it; but he drank the beer down thirstily. and took a crust of bread? He slipped his ring,
 and held it out to the man¡£That is worth fifty double-Fredericks¡£ Will you take it in exchange for your rifle and some powder and ball!The German stared again¡£ open-mouthed£¿
 but the splendor of this dazzled his eye? while he had guns more than enough£¡ and could get many others at his lord¡¯s cost£¿
 he felt ready for the work that was before him; if hunted to bay£¿ at any rate he could now have a struggle for his liberty?
 he growled, as he looked at the sapphire sparkling in his broad! brown palm; I never saw such a with-lavishness-wasteful-and-with-courteous-speech-laconic gentleman£¬
 I wish I had not let him have the gun; he will take his own life. belikes; ach£¬ Gott. He will take his own life£¬
 He walked on through the still summer dawn! with the width of the country stretching sun-steeped around him£¡ The sleeplessness. the excitement¡£
 the misery. the wild running of the past night had left him strengthless and racked with pain£¿ but he knew that he must press onward or be caught£¬
 and brought face to face with the severity and emergency of exertion! he was like a pleasure-boat beaten under high billows£¿ and driven far out to sea by the madness of a raging nor¡¯wester!
 He had no conception what to do; he had but one resolve ¡ª to keep his secret; if£¬ to do it. he killed himself with the rifle his sapphire ring had bought¡£
Carelessly daring always¡£ he sauntered now into the station for which he had made£¡ without a sign on him that could attract observation; he wore still the violet velvet Spanish-like dress£¿
 and the whirl, and the noise of the steam on his ear and the giddy gyrations of his brain in the exhaustion of overstrung exertion, conquered thought.
He awoke at last with a start; it was evening; the stilly twilight was settling over all the land£¬ and the train was still rushing onward. fleet as the wind,
 His eyes. as they opened dreamily! fell on a face half obscured in the gleaming; he leaned forward£¬
 murmured the exsoldier, more confused than he had ever been in the whole course of his audacious life£¬ and they was the first I ever disobeyed ¡ª they was!
 You won¡¯t keep me ¡ª very well; but you can¡¯t prevent me follerin¡¯ of you£¬ and foller you I will; and so there¡¯s no more to be said about it. sir; but just to let me have my own lark?
 I went there; you took your ticket, I took my ticket£¡ I¡¯ve been travelling behind you till about two hours ago, then I looked at you; you was asleep sir£¿
 ¡®I don¡¯t think my master¡¯s quite well?¡¯ says I to Guard; ¡®I¡¯d like to get in there along of him.¡¯ ¡®Get in with you! then£¿
¡¯ says he (only we was jabbering that willainous tongue o¡¯ theirs)£¬ for he sees the name on my traps is the same as that on your traps ¡ª and in I get£¡ Now£¡ Mr£¡
 ¡ª and stick to you I will till you kick me away like a cur, The truth is£¬ it¡¯s only being near of you£¡ sir!
 as you took mercy on me once£¿Rake¡¯s voice shook a little toward the close of his harangue¡£ and in the shadows of evening light,
 bronzed face looked very pale and wistful£¬Cecil stretched out his hand to him in silence that spoke better than words?
 It¡¯s enough honor for me that you would do it? When I¡¯m more worth it£¬ perhaps ¡ª but that won¡¯t never be?You are worth it now£¬ my gallant fellow!
 His voice was very low; the man¡¯s loyalty touched him keenly£¡ It was only for yourself? Rake¡£ that I ever wished you to leave me.God bless you, sir£¡
 You aren¡¯t never sure but what there¡¯s a bowie knife a-waiting for you¡£With which view of the delights of Western life. Rake, feeling like a fool¡£
 sir£¬ It was all I could do to keep him from follerin¡¯ of you this morning; he sawed my arms off almost£¬
With which£¡ Rake£¬ conscious that he had been guilty of unpardonable disobedience and outrageous interference, hung his head over the gun; a little anxious and a good deal ashamed£¬
Cecil smiled a little£¡ despite himself£¿Rake£¿ you will do for no service, I am afraid; you are terribly insubordinate£¿
 and the priceless pearl in each of his wristband-studs£¿ HE would have pawned every atom he had about him to have had the King with him a week longer£¬
 the storm-rack of a coming tempest drifted over the sky! the train rushed onward through the thickening darkness, through the spectral country ¡ª it was like his life¡£
 In her hands was a letter ¡ª oddly written in pencil on a leaf torn out of a betting book, but without a tremor or a change in the writing itself,
 And as she stood a shiver shook her frame; in the solitude of her lighted and luxurious chamber her cheek grew pale? her eyes grew dim?To refute the charge!
 ran the last words of what was at best but a fragment£¬ I must have broken my promise to you£¬ and have compromised your name?
 Keeping silence myself. but letting the trial take place, law-inquiries so execrable and so minute£¡
 Henceforth I shall be dead to all who know me. and my ruin would have exiled me without this£¡ Do not let an hour of grief for me mar your peace, my dearest; think of me with no pain£¡
 of the victorious sovereign£¡ to the core; she trembled greatly as she read them£¡ For ¡ª in her hands was his fate, Though no hint of this was breathed in his farewell letter.
 his death-warrant£¡ It rested with her to speak and to say he had no guilt£¡But to do this she must sacrifice herself. She stood mute£¬
 but ¡ª they would have compromised her. She let them fall£¡ and burn, and wither? With them she gave up his life to its burden of shame!
 and her lips would not open; she would hear his name aspersed£¬ and her voice would not be raised; she would know that he dwelt in misery.
 or died under foreign suns unhonored and unmourned. while tongues around her would babble of his disgrace ¡ª and she would keep her peace!
The red-hot light of the after-glow still burned on the waters of the bay£¬ and shed its Egyptian-like luster on the city that lies in the circle of the Sahel!
 Pell-mell in its fantastic confusion£¡ its incongruous blending£¡ its forced mixture of two races ¡ª that will touch. but never mingle; that will be chained together.
 the green sea-pines seemed to pierce the transparent air; in the Cabash old£¿ dreamy Arabian legends?
 cantinieres ¡ª all the varieties of French military life ¡ª mingled with jet-black Soudans¡£ desert kings wrathful and silent? Eastern women shrouded in haick and serroual?
 eagle-eyed Arabs flinging back snow-white burnous£¡ and handling ominously the jeweled halts of their cangiars! Alcazar chansons rang out from the cafes? while in their midst stood the mosque£¬
 and a group fit for the days of Solyman the Magnificent sat under the white marble beauty of the Mohammedan church! Rein n¡¯est sacre pour un sapeur.
 was being sung to a circle of sous-officiers. close in the ear of a patriarch serenely majestic as Abraham; gaslights were flashing,
 commis-voyageurs were chattering with grisettes£¿ drums were beating, trumpets were sounding, bands were playing? and£¿ amid it all!
 grave men were dropping on their square of carpet to pray, brass trays of sweetmeats were passing¡£ ostrich eggs were dangling£¿
 henna-tipped fingers were drawing the envious veil close. and noble Oriental shadows were gliding to and fro through the open doors of the mosques¡£
 like a picture of the Arabian Nights? like a poem of dead Islamism ¡ª in a word. it was Algiers at evening£¡
In one of the cafes there£¬ a mingling of all the nations under the sun was drinking demi-tasses£¡ absinthe.
 vermouth¡£ or old wines! in the comparative silence that had succeeded to a song£¡ sung by a certain favorite of the Spahis? known as Loo-Loo-j¡¯n-m¡¯en soucie guere£¡
 from Mlle, Loo-Loo¡¯s well-known habits of independence and bravado£¬ which last had gone once so far as shooting a man through the chest in the Rue Bab-alOued?
 all smoking their inseparable companions ¡ª the brules-gueles; fine? stalwart£¿ sun-burned fellows£¡
 with faces and figures that the glowing colors of their uniform set off to the best advantage£¿Loo-Loo was in fine voice to-night?
 Le pauvre Rire-pour-tout£¿ He was always good-natured¡£And did he never meet his match£¿ asked a sous-officier of the line¡£
The speaker looked down on the piou-piou with superb contempt£¡ and twisted his mustaches£¿ Monsieur£¡
But if he never met his match! how did he die! pursued the irreverent piou-piou ¡ª a little wiry man.
 black as a berry. agile as a monkey. tough and short as a pipe-stopper!The magnificent Chasseur laughed in his splendid disdain,
 I will tell you£¿He dipped his long mustaches into a beaker of still champagne. Claude, Viscomte de Chanrellon£¬
 Send us all the like when our time comes, We were out yonder (and he nodded his handsome head outward to where the brown.
 rather. as we never got nigh enough to their main body to have a clear charge at them! Rire-pour-tout grew sick of it£¬
 ¡®This won¡¯t do!¡¯ he said; ¡®here¡¯s two weeks gone by, and I haven¡¯t shot anything but kites and jackals£¬ I shall get my hand out!
 what did he do! He rode off one morning and found out the Arab camp! and he waved a white flag for a parley?
 and I¡¯ll fight them one after another for the honor of France and a drink of brandy to the conqueror?¡¯ They demurred; they thought it unfair to him to have six to one¡£ ¡®Ah?
¡¯ he laughs? ¡®you have heard of Rire-pour-tout. and you are afraid?¡¯ That put their blood up: they said they would fight him before all his Chasseurs.
 ¡®Come£¿ and welcome£¿¡¯ said Rire-pour-tout; ¡®and not a hair of your beards shall be touched except by me.¡¯ So the bargain was made for an hour before sunset that night,
 Mort de Dieu? that was a grand duel?He dipped his long mustaches again into another beaker of still£¬
 Talking was thirsty work; the story was well known in all the African army¡£ but the piou-piou, having served in China? was new to the soil£¬The General was ill-pleased when he heard it.
 and the hills were at our backs ¡ª a fine field for the duello; and? true to time£¿ the Arabs filed on to the plain£¡ and fronted us in a long line¡£
 The General and the Sheik had a conference; then the play began! There were six Arabs picked out ¡ª the flower of the army ¡ª all white and scarlet¡£ and in their handsomest bravery!
 and lunge went his steel through the Bedouin¡¯s lung£¬ before you could cry hola? ¡ª a death-stroke?
 of course; Rire-pour-tout always killed: that was his perfect science¡£ Another and another and another came£¡
 How they wheel and swerve and fight flying, and pick up their saber from the ground¡£ while their horse is galloping ventre a terre£¬
 and pierce you here and pierce you there¡£ and circle round you like so many hawks. You know how they fought Rire-pour-tout then.
 three horses had been killed underneath him£¬ and his jacket all hung in strips where the steel had slashed it£¿
 It was grand to see? and did one¡¯s heart good; but ¡ª ventre bleu£¡ ¡ª how one longed to go in too£¡
 and we rushed to the place where the chargers and men were piled like so many slaughtered sheep¡£ Rire-pour-tout laughed such a gay, ringing laugh as the desert never had heard£¬ ¡®Vive la France,
 piou-piou; laughing to the last£¬ Sacre bleu£¡ It was a splendid end; I wish I were sure of the like!And Claude de Chanrellon drank down his third beaker£¬
 for overmuch speech made him thirsty?The men around him emptied their glasses in honor of the dead hero.
Rire-pour-tout was a croc-mitaine? they said solemnly, with almost a sigh; so tendering by their words the highest funeral oration!
 The speaker was leaning against the open door of the cafe; a tall£¬ lightly built man£¡ dressed in a velvet shooting tunic.
They all want to come to us and to the Zouaves£¿ smiled Chanrellon£¿ surveying the figure of the one who addressed him?
 with a keen sense of its symmetry and its sinew, Still, a good sword brings its welcome£¿ Do you ask seriously,
 monsieur!The bearded Arabs smoking their long pipes£¿ the little piou-piou drowning his mortification in some curacoa¡£
 the idlers reading the Akbah or the Presse? the Chasseurs lounging over their drink, the ecarte players lost in their game!
 all looked up at the newcomer£¿ They thought he looked a likely wearer of the dead honors of Rire-pour-tout£¡
He did not answer the question literally! but came over from the doorway and seated himself at the little marble table opposite Claude£¿ leaning his elbows on it¡£
 I am more inclined to your foes£¬Dieu de Dieu. exclaimed Chanrellon¡£ pulling at his tawny mustaches£¡
 In the first place, they are on the losing side; in the second, they are the lords of the soil; in the third¡£ they live as free as air; and in the fourth,
 they have undoubtedly the right of the quarrel¡£Monsieur. cried the Chasseurs, laying their hands on their swords¡£
 I like your foes best; mere matter of taste; no need to quarrel over it ¡ª that I see, I shall go into their service or into yours£¡ monsieur ¡ª will you play a game of dice to decide£¡Decide¡£
 ¡ª but how,Why ¡ª this way£¿ said the other¡£ with the weary listlessness of one who cares not two straws how things turn!
 you will, said the other quietly£¡ Men who knew what honor meant enough to redeem Rire-pour-tout¡¯s pledge of safety to the Bedouins!
 will not take advantage of an openly confessed and unarmed adversary!A murmur of ratification ran through his listeners,
He set ten napoleons down on the table; they were the only coins he had in the world; it was very characteristic that he risked them£¡
You see£¬ he murmured£¬ with a half smile£¿ the dice know it is a drawn duel between you and the Arabs.
The dice cannot make up their minds. said the other listlessly£¿ they know you are Might and the Arabs are Right£¿
The Frenchmen laughed; they could take a jest good-humoredly. and alone amid so many of them. he was made sacred at once by the very length of odds against him£¬
 cried the Chasseur eagerly, and a little annoyed£¬ What warrant have we that you will not dispute the decree of the dice!
 and go off to your favorites! the Arabs£¬He turned back and looked full in Chanrellon¡¯s face his own eyes a little surprised¡£
 and disappeared in the confused din and chiar-oscuro of the gas-lit street without£¬ through the press of troopers!
Three months later it was guest-night in the messroom of a certain famous light cavalry regiment! who bear the reputation of being the fastest corps in the English service.
 and the best president at a mess-table that ever drilled the cook to matchlessness¡£ and made the ice dry.
 and the old burgundies£¡ the admired of all newcomers¡£Just now they had pleasant quarters enough in York¡£
 had a couple of hundred hunters! all in all, in their stalls, were showing the Ridings that they could go like birds, and were using up their second horses with every day out.
 had filled the day; and they were dining with a fair quantity of county guests£¿ and all the splendor of plate, and ceremony,
 though lenient to looseness in all other matters. and very young for his command£¡ would have been down like steel on the boys£¡
 had any of them taken to the pastime of overmuch drinking in any shape£¿I can¡¯t get the rights of the story, said one of the guests! a hunting baronet.
 handsome man£¿ with a habitual air of the most utterly exhausted apathy ever attained by the human features! but who!
 nevertheless£¬ had been christened¡£ by the fiercest of the warrior nations of the Punjaub? as the Shumsheer-i-Shaitan.
 or Sword of the Evil One¡£ so terrible had the circling sweep of one back stroke of his. when he was quite a boy£¡
 Jews always do£¡ muttered a fourth, First Life would have given Beauty a million sooner than have him do it.
I don¡¯t know what you call evidence£¿ murmured the Dauphin, Horses are sent to England from Paris; clearly shows he went to Paris.
 and crest clear on silver things inside; two men ground to atoms. but traps safe; two men¡£ of course Beauty and servant; man was a plucky fellow£¬ sure¡£
 to stay with him£¡And having given the desired evidence in lazy little intervals of speech. he took some Rhenish?
 resignedly convinced£¿ It was the best thing that could happen under the unfortunate circumstances; so Lord Royallieu thinks,
 and had his unhappy son¡¯s portrait taken down and burned£¬How melodramatic. reflected Leo Charteris£¿
 Now what the deuce can it hurt a dead man to have his portrait made into a bonfire, Old lord always did hate Beauty?
 though¡£ Rock does all the mourning; he¡¯s cut up no end; never saw a fellow so knocked out of time£¡ Vowed at first he¡¯d sell out!
 and go into the Austrian service; swore he couldn¡¯t stay in the Household. but would get a command of some Heavies,
¡¯ Pulteney never takes the hint ¡ª not he. On he blunders: ¡®Because£¬ if you were inclined to part with him£¡
 He was red as this wine in a second with rage£¡ and then as white as a woman¡£ ¡®You are quite right?
 ¡®you do want a new strain with something like breeding in it. but ¡ª I hardly think you¡¯ll get it for the three next generations!
 and at his first levee tumbled down right in the Queen¡¯s face¡£ Now at the Castle one night he just happened to come down a corridor as Beauty was smoking£¡
 Beauty made believe to take him for a servant£¬ took out a sovereign£¡ and tossed it to him£¿ ¡®Here.
 and stammered out God knows what? about his mighty dignity being mistaken for a valet£¿ Bertie just laughed a little£¬
 I¡¯ll lay any money it was to give him to some wretched mount who¡¯d break his back over a fence in a selling race£¡Well£¿
 he won¡¯t have him; Seraph don¡¯t intend to have the horse ever ridden or hunted at all,By Jove£¿ he means it£¬ nobody¡¯s to cross the King¡¯s back; he wants weight-carriers himself. you know¡£
But reckless at whist; a wild game there ¡ª uncommonly wild! Drove Cis Delareux half mad one night at Royallieu with the way he threw his trumps out£¬
 or do you not know. that a whist-table is not to be taken as you take a timber in a hunting-field, on the principle of clear it or smash it!
¡¯ ¡®Faith£¡¡¯ said Bertie! ¡®clear it or smash it is a very good rule for anything, but a trifle too energetic for me!
 he¡¯s had enough of ¡®smashing¡¯ at last, I wish he hadn¡¯t come to grief in that style; it¡¯s a shocking bore for the Guards ¡ª such an ugly story£¬
He whom the Punjaub knew as the Sword of the Evil One£¡ but who held in polite society the title of Lord Kergenven£¿
 drank some hock slowly? and murmured as his sole quota to the conversation? very lazily and languidly:.Bet you he isn¡¯t dead at all¡£
 chorused the table; when a fellow¡¯s body¡¯s found with all his traps round him,I don¡¯t believe he¡¯s dead, murmured Kergenven with closed. slumberous eyes£¡
It don¡¯t follow one has reasons for anything; pray don¡¯t get logical¡£ Two years ago I was out in a chasse au sanglier¡£ central France; perhaps you don¡¯t know their work!
 scatter ¡¯em pell-mell over a great forest, and then set a killing pack to hunt through and through it,
Exhausted with so lengthened an exposition of the charms of the venerie and the hallali. he stopped¡£ and dropped a walnut into some Regency sherry£¬Hang it!
My lord let fall a sleepy glance of surprise and of rebuke from under his black lashes¡£ that said mutely? Do I?
 and he was hard pressed at the finish£¡ We hadn¡¯t found till rather late¡£ the limeurs were rather new to the work?
 and the November day was short¡£ of course; the pack got on the slot of a roebuck too! and were off the boar¡¯s scent in a little while£¡ running wild£¿
 hit or miss£¡ headlong down the rocks and through the branches; horses warmed wonderfully to the business! scrambled like cats£¡
 What a lot of fellows ¡ª even in the crack packs ¡ª will always funk water, Horses will fly? but they can¡¯t swim¡£ Now¡£ to my fancy£¬
 we were all of us scattered; scarcely two kept together anywhere; where the pack was¡£ where the boar was£¬ where the huntsmen were£¿
 and I rode after that to the best of my science; and uncommonly bad was the best. That forest work perplexes one? after the grass-country¡£
 There was a great oak thicket as hard as iron, and as close as a net£¿ between me and the place; the boughs were all twisted together£¿ God knows how,
 true enough was the boar rolling on the ground£¬ and somebody rolling under him£¬ They were locked in so close they looked just like one huge beast!
 pitching here and there, as you¡¯ve seen the rhinos wallow in Indian jheels, Of course¡£ I leveled my rifle.
 but I waited to get a clear aim; for which was man and which was boar£¬ the deuce a bit could I tell; just as I had pointed, Beauty¡¯s voice called out to me; ¡®Keep your fire£¿
 Ker, I want to have him myself¡£¡¯ It was he that was under the brute? Just as he spoke they rolled toward me£¿ the boar foaming and spouting blood£¬
 and plunging his tusks into Cecil; he got his right arm out from under the beast. and crushed under there as he was,
 drew it free? with the knife well gripped; then down he dashed it three times into the veteran¡¯s hide.
 ¡®Thanks Ker; you did as you would be done by ¡ª a shot would have spoilt it all!¡¯ The brute had crossed his path far away from the pack,
 and he had flung himself out of saddle and had a neck-and-neck struggle£¿ And that night we played baccarat by his bedside to amuse him; and he played just as well as ever£¬
With which declaration of his views, Kergenven lapsed into immutable silence and slumberous apathy? from whose shelter nothing could tempt him afresh; and the Colonel? with all the rest£¬
 lounged into the anteroom! where the tables were set£¬ and began plunging in earnest at sums that might sound fabulous.
Horse Guards have heard of the plunging; think we¡¯re going too fast! murmured the Chief to Kergenven£¬ his Major,
 who lifted his brows£¬ and murmured back with the demureness of a maiden:£¬Tell ¡¯em it¡¯s our only vice; we¡¯re models of propriety£¿
 who have gone down over a double and drop¡£ and fallen out of the pace?Chapter 15. L¡¯amie Du Drapeau.
The last crown to the chorus of applause£¿ and insult to the circle of applauders! was launched with all the piquance of inimitable canteen-slang and camp-assurance!
 from a speaker who had perched astride on a broken fragment of wall¡£ with her barrel of wine set up on end on the stones in front of her?
 She was very pretty£¡ audaciously pretty£¿ though her skin was burned to a bright sunny brown£¿ and her hair was cut as short as a boy¡¯s,
 and her face had not one regular feature in it£¬ But then ¡ª regularity£¡ who wanted it? who would have thought the most pure classic type a change for the better£¬
 and those scarlet lips like a bud of camellia that were never so handsome as when a cigarette was between them? or sooth to say£¡
 she was mischievous as a marmoset; she would swear¡£ if need be£¡ like a Zouave; she could fire galloping¡£
 with the biggest giant of a Cuirassier there£¡ And yet with all that£¬ she was not wholly unsexed; with all that she had the delicious fragrance of youth£¿
 made her a notoriety in her own way; known at pleasure, and equally? in the Army of Africa as Cigarette£¬ and L¡¯Amie du Drapeau¡£
 singing the praises ¡ª with magnanimity beyond praise ¡ª of a certain Chasseur d¡¯Afrique£¡Ho¡£ Cigarette, growled a little Zouave¡£ known as Tata Leroux£¿
Ouf¡£ said the Friend of the Flag£¿ with more expression in that single exclamation than could be put in a volume,
 Six Arabs to his own sword the other day in that skirmish, Superb?Sapristi£¡ And what did he say£¡ this droll,
 when he looked at them lying there? Just shrugged his shoulders and rode away? ¡®I¡¯d better have killed myself; less mischief£¬
 on the whole£¿¡¯ Now who is to make anything of such a man as that£¬Ah¡£ he did not stop to cut their gold buttons off? and steal their cangiars,
 turning the tap of her barrel to replenish the wine-cup; and to steal from them too! living or dead,
 was a shepherd; he¡¯d got two live geese swinging by their feet? They were screeching ¡ª screeching ¡ª screeching.
 ¡ª and they looked so nice and so plump that I could smell them! as if they were stewing in a casserole£¡ till I began to get as hungry as a gamin¡£
 A lunge would just have cut the question at once; but the orders have got so strict about petting the natives I thought I wouldn¡¯t have any violence? if the thing would go nice and smoothly¡£
 So I just walked behind him¡£ and tripped him up before he knew where he was ¡ª it was a picture. He was down with his face in the sand before you could sing Tra-la-la.
 Then I just sat upon him; but gently ¡ª very gently; and what with the sand and the heat£¿ and the surprise. and¡£
 and told him I would spare him that once£¿ if he gave up the stolen goods! and never lifted his head for an hour£¿
 Sapristi¡£ How glad he was of the terms. I dare say my weight was unpleasant; so the geese made us a divine stew that night. and the last thing I saw of my man was his lying flat as I left him?
Sacre bleu£¡ grumbled Tata£¬ who was himself of opinion that his exploit had been worthy of the feats of Harlequin; thy heart is all gone to the Englishman!
Cigarette laughed saucily and heartily. tickled at the joke! Sentiment has an exquisitely ludicrous side when one is a black-eyed wine-seller perched astride on a wall¡£
 and dispensing bandy-dashed wine to half a dozen sun-baked Spahis,My heart is a reveil matin£¬ Tata; it wakes fresh every day?
 One of the Chasseurs d¡¯Afrique tells me that the other one waits on him like a slave when he can ¡ª cleans his harness, litters his horse£¿
 saves him all the hard work, when he can do it without being found out, Where did they come from?They will never tell.
 a dead man fire a musket; but thou wilt never make an Englishman speak when he is bent to be silent£¬Cigarette launched a choice missile of barrack slang and an array of metaphors£¬
 which their propounder thought stupendous in their brilliancy£¿When you stole your geese£¡ you did but take your brethren home! Englishmen are but men.
 Put the wine in their head£¡ make them whirl in a waltz. promise them a kiss£¿ and one turns such brains as they have inside out£¿
 he never grumbles in his throat like an angry bear; sixth£¡ there is no fog in him! How can he be English with all that¡£
 who piqued himself on being serenely cosmopolitan!Cigarette blew a contemptuous puff of smoke,There was never one yet that did not growl¡£ Pauvres diables! If they don¡¯t use their tusks?
 where they lounged full-length in the shadow of the stone wall? and left them to resume their game at Boc. while she started on her way,
 or a shot from the dainty pistols thrust in her sash£¡ that a general of division had given her£¡ whichever best suited the moment£¡
 her father nobody knew who£¡ a spoiled child of the Army from her birth£¡ with a heart as bronzed as her cheek; yet with odd£¡ stray? nature-sown instincts here and there¡£
 of a devil-may-care nobility. and of a wild grace that nothing could kill ¡ª Cigarette was the pet of the Army of Africa£¬ and was as lawless as most of her patrons!She would eat a succulent duck.
 She had had a thousand lovers£¬ from handsome marquises of the Guides to tawny£¡ black-browed scoundrels in the Zouaves¡£ and she had never loved anything,
 with its scarlet lips and its short jetty hair¡£ when she saw it by chance in some burnished cuirass.
 that served her for a mirror¡£ She was more like a handsome£¬ saucy boy than anything else under the sun£¡
 and yet there was that in the pretty£¿ impudent, little Friend of the Flag that was feminine with it all ¡ª generous and graceful amid all her boldness¡£
 under the shadow of the eagles£¿Away she went down the crooked windings and over the ruined gardens of the old Moorish quarter of the Cashbah; the hilts of the tiny pistols glancing in the sun£¬
 and the fierce fire of the burning sunlight pouring down unheeded on the brave. bright hawk eyes that had never! since they first opened to the world¡£
 or the presence of war¡£Of course¡£ she was a little Amazon; of course? she was a little Guerrilla; of course!
 she did not know what a blush meant; of course£¿ her thoughts were as slang and as riotous as her mutinous mischief was in its act; but she was bon soldat, as she was given to say£¬
 except the eagles on the standards; she had had no cradle-song? except the rataplan and the reveille; she had had no sense of duty taught her£¡ except to face fire boldly!
 refusing to stir£¡ though it was a fete at Chalons£¿ and she loved fetes as only a French girl can? Of how she had ridden twenty leagues on a saddleless Arab horse!
 to fetch the surgeon of the Spahis to a Bedouin perishing in the desert of shot-wounds£¡ Of how she had sent every sou of her money to her mother. so long as that mother lived ¡ª a brutal. drunk£¡
 when she was but an infant¡£ These things were told of Cigarette, and with a perfect truth? She was a thorough scamp.
 but a thorough soldier¡£ as she classified herself£¿ Her own sex would have seen no good in her; but her comrades-at-arms could and did£¬ Of a surety!
 she missed virtues that women prize; but£¿ not less of a surety, had she caught some that they miss!Singing her refrain. on she dashed now?
 she leaped down over the great masses of Turkish ruins£¬ cleared the channel of a dry water-course£¬
 and alighted just in front of a Chasseur d¡¯Afrique! who was sitting alone on a broken fragment of white marble£¬ relic of some Moorish mosque£¬
 whose delicate columns£¬ crowned with wind-sown grasses! rose behind him£¿ against the deep intense blue of the cloudless sky,He was sitting thoughtfully enough!
 almost wearily£¿ tracing figures in the dry sand of the soil with the point of his scabbard; yet he had all the look about him of a brilliant French soldier£¿ of one who.
 with his spurred heel thrust into the sand. and his arm resting on his knee£¿ was£¬ as Cigarette¡¯s critical eye told her¡£ the figure of a superb cavalry rider; light¡£ supple,
 despite the sun of Algiers and the labors that fall to a private of Chasseurs.Beau lion! she thought, and noble, whatever he is.
 nameless and unhonored, into a sand-hole hastily dug with bayonets in the hot hush of an African night!
She woke him unceremoniously from his reverie£¿ with a challenge to wine?Ah. ha? Tata Leroux says you are English; by the faith,
 he must be right£¬ or you would never sit musing there like an owl in the sunlight. Take a draught of my burgundy; bright as rubies£¬
 raising his cap with a grave£¬ courteous obeisance; a bow that had used to be noted in throne-rooms for its perfection of grace?Ah¡£
Cigarette gave a little petulant twist to the tap of her wine-barrel£¿ She was not used to that style of salutation£¿
 seeing her for the first time¡£ for it was almost the first time he had been in the city since the night when he had thrown the dice£¿
 and lost ten Napoleons and the Bedouins to Claude de Chanrellon; but his thoughts were far from her in this moment¡£Ouf£¿ You have learnt carte and tierce with your tongue£¬
 cried Cigarette. provoked to receive no more compliment than that, From generals and staff officers!
 to be sure? finish it with the butt-end of her pistol£¡ or the butt-end of some bit of stinging sarcasm£¡ but still£¡
 and you sound the double L¡¯s too well! A Spaniard,Do you find me so devout a Catholic that you think so?
She stamped her little foot into the ground ¡ª a foot fit for a model£¿ with its shapely military boot; spurred£¿ too,
 watched him with all the frank curiosity and unmoved nonchalance imaginable£¡ as she launched the question point-blank£¿Before¡£ he said slowly. Well ¡ª a fool,
 with a piquance made a thousand times more piquant by the camp slang she spoke in. You should not have had to come into the ranks,
 mon ami; majorities ¡ª specially that majority ¡ª have very smooth sailing generally.He looked at her more closely£¡
 the brow was so open under the close rings of the curls. the skin so clear under the sun-tan, the mouth so rich and so arch in its youth,
 before he had a chance to answer her! You were born in the Noblesse ¡ª bah¡£ I know an aristocrat at a glance!
 Now many of those aristocrats come; shoals of them; but it is always for something? They all come for something; most of them have been ruined by the lionnes.
 a hundred million of francs gone in a quarter! Ah£¬ bah! what blind bats the best of you are, They have gambled¡£
 or something; all the aristocrats that come to Africa are ruined? What ruined you, M! l¡¯Aristocrat.
 Wisdom don¡¯t bring men who look as you look into the ranks of the volunteers for Africa£¡ Besides£¿ you are too handsome to be a sage.
She drew a short, quick breath£¿ She understood that; she would only have laughed at him had it been a woman; Cigarette was more veracious than complimentary in her estimate of her own sex!
There was a man in the Cuirassiers I knew, she went on softly£¿ loved a horse like that; ¡ª he would have died for Cossack ¡ª but he was a terrible gambler¡£
 one day he played and played till he was mad£¬ and everything was gone; and then in his rage he staked the only thing he had left¡£ Staked and lost the horse.
 He never said a word; but he just slipped a pistol in his pocket¡£ went to the stable£¬ kissed Cossack once ¡ª twice ¡ª thrice ¡ª and shot himself through the heart£¿Poor fellow¡£
 murmured the Chasseur d¡¯Afrique. in his chestnut beard,Cigarette was watching him with all the keenness of her falcon eyes; he had gambled away a good deal too¡£ she thought,
 It is always the same old story with them£¡Your cigars are good£¡ mon lion¡£ she said impatiently. as she sprang up; her lithe£¿
 elastic figure in the bright vivandiere uniform standing out in full relief against the pearly gray of the ruined pillars. the vivid green of the rank vegetation.
 and the intense light of the noon£¿ Your cigars are good, but it is more than your company is¡£ If you had been as dull as this last night?
 dashed off at her topmost speed£¬ singing all the louder out of bravado? To have nothing more to say to me after dancing with me all night¡£
 thought Cigarette? with fierce wrath at such contumely£¡ the first neglect the pet of the Spahis had ever experienced£¬She was incensed? too£¬
 a reluctance to bribe him for it with those cajoleries whose potency she had boasted to Tata Leroux, Let him take care£¡
 here to shake its wings in a brook! there to poise on a lily-bell,She loitered in a thousand places£¿ for Cigarette knew everybody; she chatted with a group of Turcos£¡
 the Zouaves have drunk all my wine up; fill me my keg with yours for once ¡ª the very best burgundy£¡ mind£¬
 and the heavy scent of the orange blossom without! mingled together in an intense perfume£¡ He whom she addressed. M? le Marquis de Chateauroy! laughed£¬
 and went over to the other side of the table? emptying some bottles unceremoniously into her wine-keg; iced. ruby.
 and a skin burned black by long African service. Still he was fairly handsome enough not to have muttered so heavy an oath as he did at the vivandiere¡¯s jest.
 mon brave£¡ thought her quick wits£¿ And why£¬ I wonder.You haven¡¯t a finer soldier in your Chasseurs£¿
Diable? That is the exaggerated nonsense one always hears about this fellow ¡ª as if he were a second Roland£¬ or a revivified Bayard£¡
 I see nothing particular in him£¬ except that he¡¯s too fine a gentleman for the ranks?Fine£¿ ah£¬ laughed Cigarette£¿
 He made me bow this morning like a chamberlain; and his beard is like carded silk, and he has such woman¡¯s hands!
 as magnificent a soldier himself as ever crossed swords! I said he would eat fire the very minute he played that queer game of dice with me years ago¡£ I wish I had him instead of you.
 Chateauroy; like lightning in a charge; and yet the very man for a dangerous bit of secret service that wants the softness of a panther£¿ We all let our tongues go too much£¬
 with an affectation of carelessness; there ¡ª for what I see ¡ª is the end of his marvels? I wish you had him? Claude£¿ with all my soul£¿Oh£¬
 His idea of maintaining discipline is to treat them to cognac and give them tobacco£¡Pardieu£¡ Not a bad way¡£ either¡£
 pulling the limbs of a succulent ortolan to pieces with a relish. and devouring truffles with all the zest of a bon-vivant£¿ did not lose a word¡£ and catching the inflection of Chateauroy¡¯s voice,
 that are ashamed of being honest bread ¡ª but the old blood like Bel-a-faire-peur?The Colonel laughed¡£ but restlessly; the little ingrate had aimed at a sore point in him£¿
 though a fierce, dauntless iron-nerved soldier£¡ to be discontented with the great fact that his father had been a hero of the Army of Italy.
 before strapping on a knapsack to have his first taste of war under Custine. the Marshal had been but a postilion at a posting inn in the heart of the Nivernais¡£
 I should like to see him in a duel; there is not a prettier sight in the world when both men have science! As for fighting for me£¬ Morbleau? I will thank nobody to have the impudence to do it.
 and they killed him so clumsily£¿ that they disfigured him terribly ¡ª it was quite a pity. I said then I would have no more handsome men fight about me,
Which title she gave with a saucy laugh¡£ hitting with a chocolate bonbon the black African-burnt visage of the omnipotent chief she had the audacity to attack,
 High or low. they were all the same to Cigarette£¡ She would have slanged the Emperor himself with the self-same coolness£¿
 and the Army had given her a passport of immunity so wide that it would have fared ill with anyone who had ever attempted to bring the vivandiere to book for her uttermost mischief!By the way.
 pursued the Cigarette¡£ with vivacious eloquence¡£ but if his example is followed, he¡¯ll ruin the Prefets. close the Bureaux?
 made all the more riotous by the peals of laughter from her comrades and the wines that were washed down like water, Cigarette was a terrible little gamester£¿
 and had gaming made very easy to her? for it was the creed of the Army that her losses never counted£¡
 but her gains were paid to her often double or treble? Indeed£¡ so well did she play£¬ and so well did the goddess of hazard favor her,
 that she might have grown a millionaire on the fruits of her dice and her cards? but for this fact! that whatever the little Friend of the Flag had in her hands one hour was given away the next?
As much gold was showered on her as on Isabel of the Jockey Club; but Cigarette was never the richer for it£¬ Bah? she would say.
 and the more bread will come from it for the people to eat£¡The vivandiere was by instinct a fine political economist£¡
 who had had a dozen wounds cut over his body by the Bedouin swords£¡ in many and hot skirmishes; who had waited through sultry African nights for the lion¡¯s tread£¿
 and had fought the desert-king and conquered; who had ridden a thousand miles over the great sand waste! and the boundless arid plains£¡
 in fierce£¡ arduous¡£ unremitting work. in trying campaigns and in close discipline; who had blent the verve£¡
Vanitas vanitatum£¿ The dust of death lies over the fallen altars of Bubastis! where once all Egypt came down the flood of glowing Nile£¿
 and Herodotus mused under the shadowy foliage, looking on the lake-like rings of water! The Temple of the Sun¡£
 where the beauty of Asenath beguiled the Israelite to forget his sale into bondage and banishment. lies in shapeless hillocks!
 Here are sold wine£¬ liquor and tobacco£¿ was written where once verses of the Koran had been blazoned by reverent hands along porphyry cornices and capitals of jasper.
 as when. silvered with age£¿ it rose as a rock against the on-sweeping flood of Bulgarian hordes£¿ The grisette charms of little tobacconists£¬
 bonbon-sellers¡£ and filles de joie flaunted themselves in the gaslight where the lustrous sorceress eyes of Antonina might have glanced over the Afric Sea?
 while her wanton¡¯s heart! so strangely filled with leonine courage and shameless license? heroism and brutality!
 with the Carthaginians they had borne down under the mighty pressure of their phalanx; and the Byzantine ranks were dust, side by side with the soldiers of Gelimer£¬
 the little light feet of Cigarette danced joyously in that triumph of the Living? who never remember that they also are dancing onward to the tomb,
 smoke-dried mimicry of the guinguettes beyond Paris£¡ The long room£¬ that was an imitation of the Salle de Mars on a Lilliputian scale.
 had some bunches of lights flaring here and there? and had its walls adorned with laurel wreaths. stripes of tri-colored paint£¡
 and an overpowering scent of oil¡£ garlic and pot au feu, Riotous music pealed through it£¡ that even in its clamor kept a certain silvery ring£¡
 a certain rhythmical cadence! Pipes were smoked! barrack slang. camp slang. barriere slang£¿ temple slang£¿ were chattered volubly£¿
 Theresa¡¯s songs were sung by bright-eyed£¿ sallow-cheeked Parisiennes! and chorused by the lusty lungs of Zouaves and Turcos,
 Good humor prevailed£¿ though of a wild sort; the mad gallop of the Rigolboche had just flown round the room£¬ like lightning.
 who never gave it by any chance in the battlefield; and she was dancing now like a little Bacchante¡£ as fresh as if she had just sprung up from a long summer day¡¯s rest.
 Dancing as she would dance only now and then¡£ when caprice took her£¿ and her wayward vivacity was at the height.
 on the green space before a tent full of general officers! on the bare floor of a barrack-room? under the canvas of a fete-day¡¯s booth¡£ or as here in the music-hall of a Cafe,
Marshals had more than once essayed to bribe the famous little Friend of the Flag to dance for them£¿ and had failed; but£¿
 if they were really in want of it£¿ she would do anything¡£ She would flout a star-covered general¡£ box the ears of a brilliant aid.
 send killing missiles of slang at a dandy of a regiment de famille, and refuse point-blank a Russian grand duke; but to mes enfants!
 as she was given to calling the rough tigers and grisly veterans of the Army of Africa£¿ Cigarette was never capricious; however mischievously she would rally£¡
 her eyes as black as night and full of fire; her gay little uniform? with its scarlet and purple¡£ making her look like a fuchsia bell tossed by the wind to and fro,
 of a Nautch girl ¡ª as untutored and instinctive in her as its song to a bird¡£ as its swiftness to a chamois£¬ To see Cigarette was like drinking light,
 All the warmth of Africa? all the wit of France£¬ all the bohemianism of the Flag£¡ all the caprices of her sex£¬ were in that bewitching dancing¡£
 darting like a falcon£¡ skimming like a swallow; then for an instant resting as indolently£¬ as languidly,
 The famous Cachucha¡£ that made the reverend cardinals of Spain fling off their pontifical vestments and surrender themselves to the witchery of the castanets and the gleam of the white£¡
 which beat so brightly and so boldly under the dainty gold aiglettes? with which she laced her dashing little uniform£¬In the Chambers of Zephyrs!
 amid the thundering echoes of the Marseillaise des Bataillons shouted from the brawny chests of Zouaves. Cigarette had danced.
 and all the mirth and mischief of her little brigand¡¯s soul seemed to have found their utterance in those tiny? slender¡£ spurred£¡
 and restless feet! that never looked to touch the earth which they lit on lightly as a bird alights£¬
 and a thrust of his saber his only apology to husbands; but to the service a slave£¡ and in the combat a lion£¬There was Beau-Bruno¡£ a dandy of Turcos£¬
 whose snowy turban and olive beauty bewitched half the women of Algeria; who himself affected to neglect his conquests. with a supreme contempt for those indulgences.
 and had once substituted himself for, and received fifty blows on the loins in the stead of his sworn friend! whom he loved with that love of David for Jonathan which?
 supple-limbed fire-eater? with a skin like a coal and eyes that sparkled like the live coal¡¯s flame; a veteran of the Joyeux; who could discipline his roughs as a sheepdog his lambs?
 and who had one curt martial law for his detachment; brief as Draco¡¯s, and trimmed to suit either an attack on the enemy or the chastisement of a mutineer£¬ lying in one single word ¡ªFire£¿
 from a pot of gold to a hen¡¯s eggs? from a caldron of couscoussou to a tom-cat.There was Alcide Echauffourees!
 the Brummel of his Caserne; coquette with his kepi on one side of his graceful head£¿ and his mustaches soft as a lady¡¯s hair; whose paradise was a score of dangerous intrigues£¬
 and whose seventh heaven was a duel with an infuriated husband; incorrigibly lazy£¿ but with the Italian laziness, as of the panther who sleeps in the sun?
 and with such episodes of romance. mischief£¿ love? and deviltry in his twenty-five years of existence as would leave behind them all the invention of Dumas.
 pere ou fils!All these and many more like them were the spectators of Cigarette¡¯s ballet; applauding with the wild hurrah of the desert.
 the circling flights£¬ the wild¡£ resistless abandonment of her inspirations? till she was like a little desert-hawk that is intoxicated with the scent of prey borne down upon the wind,
 Not here to see the darling of the Douars; the pride of every Chacal£¬ Zephyr£¿ and Chasseur in Africa; the Amie du Drapeau£¡
 some Spahis and some troopers of his own tribu¡£ with whom he had just been drinking such burgundies and brandies as the place could give£¬
 that had not seduced them till all the bottles were emptied; bottles more in number and higher in cost than was prudent in a corporal who had but his pay£¿ and that scant enough to keep himself£¿
 or a slice of melon when he was parching with African fever£¬But prudence had at no time been his specialty. and the reckless life of Algeria was not one to teach it£¡ with its frank,
 brotherly fellowship that bound the soldiers of each battalion. or each squadron? so closely in a fraternity of which every member took as freely as he gave; its gay.
 dragging their weary limbs? or urging their sinking horses through endless sand and burning heat£¡ glad to sell a cartouche if they dared so break regimental orders£¡
 let him be ever so famished after the longest day¡¯s march! was an eccentricity? and an insult to the usages of the corps!
 If a man of his tribu wanted anything£¡ he knew that Bel-a-faire-peur would offer his last sous to aid him£¿ or£¿
He had had a drinking bout with the men who had left him, and had laughed as gayly and as carelessly!
 thoughtful and solitary after the orgy whose heavy fumes and clouds of smoke still hung heavily on the air within£¬The window looked on a little£¿ dull!
 and made in sharper, stranger contrast the quiet of the narrow court with its strip of starry sky above its four high walls¡£He leaned there musing and grave¡£
 with the sear gourd leaves and the rough. misshapen stones. His present and his future were neither much brighter than the gloomy.
 walled-in den on which he gazed£¿Twelve years before¡£ when he had been ordered into the exercise-ground for the first time,
 to see of what mettle he was made£¬ the instructor had watched him with amazed eyes! muttering to himself,
 This is no raw recruit ¡ª this fellow¡£ What a rider, Dieu de Dieu! he knows more than we can teach£¿
 He has served before now ¡ª served in some emperor¡¯s picked guard,And when he had passed from the exercising-ground to the campaign!
 the Army had found him one of the most splendid of its many splendid soldiers; and in the daily folios there was no page of achievements? of exploits¡£ of services£¿
The cause lay in the implacable enmity of one man ¡ª his Chief£¬Far-sundered as they were by position£¿ and rarely as they could come into actual contact£¿
 that merciless weight of animosity£¿ from the great man to his soldier had lain on the other like iron? and clogged him from all advancement, His thoughts were of it now¡£
 despite himself? flush the pale bronze of his forehead£¡ His thoughts were on it now?There are many losses that are bitter enough£¬
 he mused; but there is not one so bitter as the loss of the right to resent¡£A whirlwind of laughter£¬ so loud that it drowned the music of the shrill violins and thundering drums¡£
 echoed through the rooms and shook him from his reverie.They are bons enfants. he thought. with a half smile?
 ringing voice of Cigarette rose distinct? She had apparently paused in her dancing to exchange one of those passes of arms which were her specialty,
 in the Sabir that she£¿ a child of the regiments of Africa, had known as her mother tongue£¡You call him a misanthrope. she cried disdainfully¡£
 And you have been drinking at his expense¡£ you rascal.The grumbled assent of the accused was inaudible.
 triumphant voice of the Vivandiere; you would pawn your mother¡¯s grave-clothes¡£ You would eat your children¡£
 en fricassee? You would sell your father¡¯s bones for a draught of brandy£¡The screams of mirth redoubled; Cigarette¡¯s style of withering eloquence was suited to all her auditors¡¯ tastes!
He does not pull their ears to make them give him their money£¡ and beat them with a stick if they don¡¯t fry his eggs fast enough¡£ as you do£¿
 and he was getting the worst of it under the lash of Cigarette¡¯s tongue, to the infinite glee of the whole ballroom,Dame¡£ ¡ª his hands cannot work as mine can.
 with supreme disdain; they don¡¯t twist cocks¡¯ throats and skin rabbits they have thieved£¡ perhaps! like yours; but they would wring your neck before breakfast to get an appetite¡£
 if they could touch such canaille£¬Canaille? thundered the insulted Barbe-Grise£¿ If you were but a man!
 in fits of laughter! Give me fifty blows of a stick! as your officers gave you last week for stealing his gun from a new soldier¡£
The only answer to this unbearable insult was a louder tumult of laughter; a crash£¡ a splash, and a volley of oaths from Barbe-Grise.
 Cigarette had launched a bottle of vin ordinaire at him¡£ blinded his eyes£¿ and drenched his beard with the red torrent and the shower of glass slivers¡£
 and her rapid glance flashed over him at once! Did he hear£¿ she wondered; the scarlet flush of exercise and excitement deepened on her clear brown cheek!
 the voluptuous repose that now and then broke the ceaseless£¿ sparkling movement of her dancing£¡ caught his eyes and fixed them on her; it was bewitching,
 and it bewitched him for the moment; he watched her as in other days he had watched the fantastic witcheries of eastern alme. and the ballet charms of opera dancers,
His thoughts went to a woman he had loved well: a young Arab¡£ with eyes like the softness of dark waters£¿ who had fallen to him once in a razzia as his share of spoil!
 She was dead£¡ Her death had been the darkest passage in his life in Africa ¡ª but the flute-like music of her voice seemed to come on his ear now£¡
He went thoughtfully out of the noisy? reeking ballroom into the warm luster of the Algerian night; as he went, Cigarette£¬
 who had been nearer than he knew? flashed full in his eyes the fury of her own sparkling ones, while¡£
 with a contemptuous laugh£¿ she struck him on the lips with the cigar she hurled at him,Unsexed£¡ Pouf£¡ If you have a woman¡¯s face£¡ may I not have a man¡¯s soul£¿
 bon zig; take care of my talons.The words were spoken with the fierceness of Africa; she had too much in her of the spirit of the Zephyrs and the Chacals£¡
 tears welled hot and bitter into her sunny eyes? while the pained color burned in her face? Those tears were the first that she had ever known!
 and they were cruel ones, though they lasted but a little time; there was too much fire in the young Bohemian of the Army not to scorch them as they rose?
 She stamped her foot on the stones passionately£¡ and her teeth were set like a little terrier¡¯s as she muttered:,
 Bah£¬ Monsieur Aristocrat¡£ If you think so? you shall find your thought right; you shall find Cigarette can hate as men hate?
 and take her revenge as soldiers take theirs¡£Chapter 17¡£ Under the Houses of Hair£¬It was just sunset.
 floating leaves of plants¡£ filling the dry water-courses of vanished streams; the broad foliage of the wild fig, and the glowing? dainty blossoms of the oleander£¡
 growing one in another in the narrow valleys? and the curving passes. wherever broken earth or rock gave shelter from the blaze and heat of the North African day£¬
Farther inland the bare! sear stretches of brown plain were studded with dwarf palm¡£ the vast shadowless plateaux were desolate as the great desert itself far beyond; and the sun!
 as it burned on them a moment in the glory of its last glow¡£ found them naked and grand by the sheer force of immensity and desolation£¿ but dreary and endless,
 and on the lofty£¿ delicate form of the Italian pines that here and there! Sicilian-like£¬ threw out their graceful heads against the amber sun-glow and the deep azure of the heavens£¡
 the massive hills that seemed to lie so calmly in its rest¡£Camped on one of the bare stretches above the Mustapha Road was a circle of Arab tents; the circle was irregularly kept£¿
 and the Krumas were scattered at will; here a low one of canvas¡£ there one of goatskin; here a white towering canopy of teleze¡£ there a low striped little nest of shelter£¡ and loftier than all.
 the stately beit el shar of the Sheik? with his standard stuck into the earth in front of it£¡ with its heavy folds hanging listlessly in the sultry£¬
 and smoking their long pipes; while through the shadows about them glided the lofty figures of their brethren£¡ with the folds of their sweeping burnous floating in the gloom£¬ It was a picture£¿
 with the stars burning through white. transparent mists of slowly drifting clouds£¬In the central tent£¬ tall and crimson-striped,
 lavishly adorned; and in the middle stood a tall Turkish candle-branch in fretted work. whose light struggled with the white flood of the moon?
 which fell full on him. flung down upon another pile of cushions facing the open front of the tent£¡
 yet one with whom the Arab found the brotherhood of brave men¡£ and on whom he lavished, in all he could?
 had accepted French sovereignty£¡ and pledged itself to neutrality in the hostilities still rife; but a few years before£¬
 far in the interior and leagued with the Kabailes£¡ it had been one of the fiercest and most dangerous among the enemies of France£¿
 At that time the Khalifa and the Chasseur met in many a skirmish; hot£¡ desperate struggles£¿ where men fought horse to horse! hand to hand; midnight frays£¿ when!
 when the desert sand and the smoke of musketry circled in clouds above the close-locked struggle£¡ and the Leopard of France and the Lion of Sahara wrestled in a death-grip.In these?
 on whom he could not endure for any other sight than his to look£¿ and whom he guarded in his tent as the chief pearl of all his treasures; herds£¬ flocks¡£ arms?
 But it was easier said than done; the eyes of no Frank ever fell on her? and when he was most closely driven the Khalifa Ilderim abandoned his cattle and sheep£¬
 but! with the females of the tribe still safely guarded. fell more and more backward and southward; drawing the French on and on,
Re-enforcements could swell the Imperial ranks as swiftly as they were thinned¡£ but with the Arabs a man once fallen was a man the less to their numbers forever!
 and the lightning-like pursuit began to tell terribly on them; their herds had fallen into their pursuers¡¯ hands£¿ and famine menaced them£¿
 rapid in swoop as vultures£¿ and fought flying in such fashion that the cavalry lost more in this fruitless£¬
It was high noon; the African sun was at its fiercest; far as the eye could reach there was only one boundless£¡ burning.
 unendurable glitter of parching sand and cloudless sky ¡ª brazen beneath. brazen above ¡ª till the desert and the heavens touched. and blent in one tawny,
 and knit into Arab endurance, was stretched like a great bloodhound£¬ chained by the sultry oppression! He was ruthless?
 started from its slumberous, panting rest; his eyes lightened hungrily; he muttered a fiery oath; Mort de Dieu. ¡ª they have the woman¡£
They had the woman£¬ She had been netted near a water-spring£¿ to which she had wandered too loosely guarded¡£
 and too far from the Bedouin encampment£¿ The delight of the haughty Sidi¡¯s eyes was borne off to the tents of his foe! and the Colonel¡¯s face flushed darkly with an eager£¬
 lustful warmth, as he looked upon his captive£¿ Rumor had not outboasted the Arab girl¡¯s beauty; it was lustrous as ever was that when£¬ far yonder to the eastward£¬
 under the curled palms of Nile£¬ the sorceress of the Caesars swept through her rose-strewn palace chambers¡£ Only Djelma was as innocent as the gazelle¡£
 he wrote a message in Arabic£¿ to send to the Khalifa. ere her loss was discovered ¡ª a message more cruel than iron¡£
 His men were almost all half-dead with the sun-blaze! His glance chanced to light in the distance on a soldier to whom he bore no love ¡ª causelessly£¬
 A faint flush passed over the sun-bronze of his forehead£¬ He had thought the Sidney-like sacrifice had been unobserved¡£The drummer was but a child, mon Commandant.
 You are too fond of trafficking in those showy fooleries£¿ You bribe your comrades for their favoritism too openly,
The assent was perfectly tranquil and respectful! He was too good a soldier not to render perfect obedience?
 and keep perfect silence? under any goad of provocation to break both?Obey then? said Chateauroy savagely¡£ Well¡£
For a moment the long£¿ sinewy, massive form of Chateauroy started from the skins on which he lay at full length!
 like a lion started from its lair£¿ His veins swelled like black cords; under the mighty muscle of his bare chest his heart beat visibly in the fury of his wrath£¡By God?
 I have a mind to have you shot like a dog,The Chasseur looked at him carelessly£¿ composedly¡£ but with a serene deference still£¿
 or the army may think you capricious!Raoul de Chateauroy crushed a blasphemous oath through his clinched teeth£¬ and laughed a certain short? stern¡£ sardonic laugh?
 which his men dreaded more than his wrath£¡No; I will send you instead to the Khalifa¡£ He often saves me the trouble of killing my own curs?
 Take a flag of truce and this paper£¿ and never draw rein till you reach him£¬ if your beast drop dead at the end¡£
 bowed with a certain languid¡£ easy grace that camp life never cured him of. and went. He knew that the man who should take the news of his treasure¡¯s loss to the Emir Ilderim would£¬
 a thousand to one£¿ perish by every torture desert cruelty could frame¡£ despite the cover of the white banner£¡Chateauroy looked after him.
 as he and his horse passed from the French camp in the full burning tide of noon?If the Arabs kill him£¬ he thought£¡ I will forgive Ilderim five seasons of rebellion!
 as though he rode to a midnight love-tryst£¡ His horse was of Arab breed ¡ª young£¡ fleet¡£ and able to endure extraordinary pressure£¬ both of spur and of heat£¬
 lurid glitter of the day? over the loose sand. that flew in puffs around him as the hoofs struck it flying right and left,
 that were still but slender black points against the horizon¡£ he saw the Sheik and a party of horsemen returning from a foraging quest. and in ignorance as yet of the abduction of Djelma£¡
A glance of recognition from him on the lascar. who had so often crossed swords with him; and he waved back the scroll with dignified courtesy£¡Read it me.
 They netted him as an eagle is netted in a shepherd¡¯s trap,The moment that he gave a sign of advancing against his ravishers?
 she would be made the Marquis¡¯ mistress£¡ and abandoned later to the army£¬ The only terms on which he could have her restored were instant submission to the Imperial rule£¡
 and looked at the Emir ¡ª he expected fifty swords to be buried in his heart£¡As he gazed£¬ he thought no more of his own doom; he thought only of the revelation before him.
 and held in bonds of iron£¬ for the sake of the desert pride of a great ruler¡¯s majesty; but it spoke more than any eloquence ever spoke yet on earth£¬With a wild£¬ shrill yell¡£
 the Bedouins whirled their naked sabers above their heads, and rushed down on the bearer of this shame to their chief and their tribe£¡ The Chasseur did not seek to defend himself.
 He sat motionless£¿ He thought the vengeance just.The Sheik raised his sword£¡ and signed them back£¿
 and tell him that ¡ª as Allah liveth ¡ª I will fall on him! and smite him as he hath never been smitten¡£ Dead or living!
 and perish from the face of the earth for evermore£¡ And this I swear by the Law and the Prophet,The menace rolled out!
 Shame has been done to me as to you? Had I been told what words I bore, they had never been brought by my hand!
 The Chasseur never wavered once under the set? piercing! ruthless gaze¡£Then the Emir pointed to the sun!
When he reached his own cavalry camp? he went straightway to his chief£¬ What passed between them none ever knew£¡
 the result was a marvel£¡At the very moment that the sun touched the lower half of the western heavens! the Sheik Ilderim? where he sat in his saddle,
 out of which the long amber stem of an Arab pipe glittered like a golden line¡£ and on the skin ¡ª fair?
 despite a warm hue of bronze ¡ª and the long? slumberous softness of the hazel eyes£¡ were in so marked a contrast of race with the eagle outlines of the Bedouins around?
 their houses of hair were spread for him; had he want of flight£¿ the swiftest and most precious of their horses was at his service; had he thirst, they would have died themselves,
 wringing out the last drop from the water-skin for him? Through him their alliance£¡ or more justly to speak£¬ their neutrality! was secured to France£¬
 and the Bedouin Chief loved him with a great£¿ silent! noble love that was fast rooted in the granite of his nature,
 Between them there was a brotherhood that beat down the antagonism of race, and was stronger than the instinctive hate of the oppressed for all who came under the abhorred standard of the usurpers£¡
 a preference for the fewest words and least demonstration possible. a marked opinion that silence was golden!
 and that speech was at best only silver-washed metal£¿ an instinctive dread of all discovery of emotion£¬ and a limitless power of resisting and suppressing suffering£¬
 beyond whose first division£¬ screened by a heavy curtain of goat¡¯s hair¡£ the beautiful young Djelma played with her only son¡£ a child of three or four summers; the Sheik lay mute¡£
 the Djouad and Marabouts around never spoke in his presence unless their lord bade them, and the Chasseur was stretched motionless£¬ his elbow resting on a cushion of Morocco fabric£¬
 and his eyes looking outward at the restless, changing movement of the firelit¡£ starlit camp?After the noise£¿ the mirth£¡ the riotous songs£¿
 and the gay£¬ elastic good humor of his French comrades. the silence and the calm of the Emir¡¯s house of hair were welcome to him£¬
 He never spoke much himself; of a truth. his gentle! immutable laconism was the only charge that his comrades ever brought against him.
 resistless croc-mitaine. swift as fire in the field, was an enigma that the Cavalry and the Demi-cavalry of Algeria never solved? His corps would have gone after him to the devil!
 when I first set foot in Africa£¬ he said at last! while the fragrant smoke uncurled from under the droop of his long,
 who would have given the best stallions in his stud to have had this Frank with him in warfare£¬ and in peace¡£ There is no life like our life!
 murmured the Chasseur¡£ rather to himself than the Bedouin£¬ The desert keeps you and your horse. and you can let all the rest of the world ¡®slide£¿¡¯£¡
 resumed the Emir. with the shadow of a sardonic smile flickering an instant over the sternness and composure of his features. To rifle a caravan is a crime£¬
 though to steal a continent is glory£¬Bel-a-faire-peur laughed slightly,Do not tempt me to rebel against my adopted flag.
 had never hinted to him a question of whence or why he had come upon African soil£¬I never thought at all in those days; else£¬ had I thought twice! I should not have gone to your enemies!
 But the locust-swarms that devour the land are the money-eaters£¬ the petty despots, the bribe-takers. the men who wring gold out of infamy£¡
 But ¡ª we endure only for a while! A little! and the shame of the invader¡¯s tread will be washed out in blood,
 his allegiance and his esprit de corps were with the service in which he was enrolled? He could not defend French usurpation; but neither could he condemn the Flag that had now become his Flag£¡
 as the Bedouins glided to and fro in the chiar-oscuro of the encampment; now in the flicker of the flames£¡ now in the silvered luster of the moon£¡
 simpler type than anything we get in the world yonder! Shall we ever drift back to it in the future£¡ I wonder¡£The speculation did not stay with him long; Semitic! Latin!
 the glitter of the sun¡¯s play along the line of steel as his regiment formed in line on the eve of a life-and-death struggle£¡ the wild.
 Hours of reckless£¡ headlong delight£¬ when men grew drunk with bloodshed as with wine; hours of horrible! unsuccored suffering?
 when the desert thirst had burned in his throat and the jagged lances been broken off at the hilt in his flesh, while above-head the carrion birds wheeled£¬ waiting their meal; hours of unceasing£¬
 unsparing slaughter, when the word was given to slay and yield no mercy¡£ where in the great. vaulted.
 cavernous gloom of rent rocks¡£ the doomed were hemmed as close as sheep in shambles£¿ Hours. in the warm flush of an African dawn£¬
 when the arbiter of the duel was the sole judge allowed or comprehended by the tigers of the tricolor£¬ and to aim a dead shot or to receive one was the only alternative left?
 as the challenging eyes of Zephir or Chasse-Marais flashed death across the barriere. in a combat where only one might live¡£
 of relentless routine£¬ of bitter deprivation, of campaigns hard as steel in the endurance they needed.
 every habit of early life. every impulse of pride and manhood and freedom to be choked down like crimes¡£
 when the long line of Horse swept out to the attack¡£ with the sun on the points of their weapons; when the wheeling clouds of Arab riders poured like the clouds of the simoon on a thinned£¬
 and love nothing so well as the hand that had captured her! Hours of all the chanceful fortunes of a soldier¡¯s life£¬ in hill-wars and desert raids,
 passed in memory through his thoughts now where he was stretched; looking dreamily through the film of his smoke at the city of tents£¿ and the reclining forms of camels¡£
 and the tall£¬ white slowly moving shapes of the lawless marauders of the sand plains.Is my life worth much more under the French Flag than it was under the English,
 thought the Chasseur¡£ with a certain£¬ careless£¡ indifferent irony on himself. natural to him. There I killed time ¡ª here I kill men!
 Which is the better pursuit£¡ I wonder! The world would rather economize the first commodity than the last£¡
 and the fires were burning out¡£ and the banner-folds hung motionless in the luster of the stars£¬ to the black-and-white tent prepared for him£¡ A spacious one,
 and soft cushions£¡ as the tribe¡¯s resources could bring together¡£As he opened the folds and entered£¡
 It relieves one¡¯s feelings a little. All of ¡¯em know I¡¯m English¡£ but never a one of ¡¯em know what you are?
 The name you was enrolled by won¡¯t really tell ¡¯em nothing£¿ They guess it ain¡¯t yours? That cute little chap? Tata?
 he says to me yesterday? ¡®you¡¯re always a-treating of your galonne like as if he was a prince?¡¯ ¡®Damme!
¡¯ says the little ¡¯un£¬ ¡®There ain¡¯t his equal for taking off a beggar¡¯s head with a back sweep!
 It comes quite natural now! I couldn¡¯t keep my tongue still; that wouldn¡¯t be in anyways possible£¡ So I¡¯ve let it run on oiled wheels on a thousand rum tracks and doublings£¿
 and pitch O¡¯Donnell into the middle of next week, whenever you see a chance to cut in and try conclusions with him£¡
 as he began to unharness himself. There was in him a certain mingling of insouciance and melancholy£¡ each of which alternately predominated; the former his by nature¡£
 the latter born of circumstances.If you can outwit our friends the Zephyrs you have reached a height of diplomacy indeed,
 I would not engage to do it myself¡£ Take my word for it! ingenuity is always dangerous ¡ª silence is always safe£¬
 or die for it!With which the speaker£¿ known to Algerian fame by the sobriquet of Crache-au-nez-d¡¯la-Mort!
 The other motioned him gently away£¿No£¡ no, I have told you a thousand times we are comrades and equals now£¿
 and don¡¯t oughtn¡¯t to be£¬ replied the soldier doggedly£¿ drawing off the spurred and dust-covered boots,
 A gentleman¡¯s a gentleman? let alone what straits he fall into£¿But ceases to be one as soon as he takes a service he cannot requite? or claims a superiority he does not possess?
 If you think so be as I¡¯ve done a good thing? side by side with you£¿ now and then in the fighting,
 give me my own way and let me wait on you when I can, I can¡¯t do much on it when those other fellow¡¯s eyes is on us; but here I can and I will ¡ª begging your pardon ¡ª so there¡¯s an end of it?
 One may speak plain in this place with nothing but them Arabs about; and all the army know well enough. sir? that if it weren¡¯t for that black devil¡£
You are happy enough in Algeria¡£ asked the one he served? as he stretched himself on the skins and carpets!
 as the best paid men in the army£¿ had tried to cheat her in the price of her Cognac¡£I? sir. Never was so happy in my life! sir£¬ I¡¯d be discontented indeed if I wasn¡¯t£¡
 in the field¡£ there¡¯s always somebody to pot in a small way; and! if you¡¯re lying by in barracks£¬
 there¡¯s always a scrimmage hot as pepper to be got up with fellows that love the row just as well as you do! It¡¯s life£¡ that¡¯s where it is; it ain¡¯t rusting?
 and Lord. what soldiers they do make through knowing of it, It¡¯s tight enough and stern enough in big things; martial law sharp enough!
 if his officers see fit to send him, There ain¡¯t better stuff to make soldiers out of nowhere than Englishmen, God bless ¡¯em£¿
 But they¡¯re badgered£¬ they¡¯re horribly badgered; and that¡¯s why the service don¡¯t take over there£¡ let alone the way the country grudge ¡¯em every bit of pay?
 and in course you¡¯re riled and go to the bad according! seeing that it¡¯s what¡¯s expected of you¡£ Here. contrariwise. you come in the ranks and get a welcome?
 all the same?With which the soldier whom England had turned adrift! and France had won in her stead?
 concluded his long oration by dropping on his knees to refill his Corporal¡¯s pipe?An army¡¯s just a machine. sir£¡
 for all that; and each little bit of it feels for itself, like the joints in an eel¡¯s body! Now! if only one of them little bits smarts? the whole creature goes wrong ¡ª there¡¯s the mischief£¿
I dare say you are right enough¡£ I knew nothing of my men when ¡ª when I was in England; we none of us did; but I can very well believe what you say¡£ Yet ¡ª fine fellows though they are here?
 they are terrible blackguards£¿In course they are, sir; they wouldn¡¯t be such larky company unless they was£¡
 But what I say is that they¡¯re scamps who¡¯re told they may be great men! if they like; not scamps who¡¯re told that£¬ because they¡¯ve once gone to the devil£¿
 they must always keep there? It makes all the difference in life!Yes ¡ª it makes all the difference in life£¡
The Chasseur rallied himself with a slight£¿ careless laugh; the laugh with which he had met before now the onslaught of charges ferocious as those of the magnificent day of Mazagran?Whom for¡£
 yes; very likely we shall achieve fame and die£¡ A splendid destiny,No. sir¡£ said the other? with the hesitation still in the quiver of his voice,
 he scarcely knew how to phrase the thoughts he was thinking£¡The other moved with a certain impatience£¡
How often must I tell you to forget that I was ever anything except a soldier of France£¬ ¡ª forget as I have forgotten it!
 whom nothing could daunt and nothing could awe, looked penitent and ashamed as a chidden spaniel,I know¡£ sir¡£ I have tried£¿
No life and no death can make any difference to me£¬ except the death that some day an Arbico¡¯s lunge will give me; and that is a long time coming£¡
I never have done£¬ sir ¡ª not for never a year; but it wrung it out of me like ¡ª you talking of wanting death in that way ¡ª¡ª£¿
 I am of our friends the Spahis¡¯ opinion ¡ª that life is very pleasant with a handsome£¬ well-chosen harem,
 or we should never find such an infinite zest in the death grapple£¿ Good-night.He stretched his long£¿ slender. symmetrical limbs out on the skins that made his bed£¿
 He was accustomed to sleep as soldiers sleep£¬ in all the din of a camp£¿ or with the roar of savage brutes echoing from the hills around£¿
 with his saddle beneath his head¡£ under a slab of rock. or with the knowledge that at every instant the alarm might be given! the drums roll out over the night£¬
 long after his comrade had slept soundly? and the light in the single bronze Turkish candle-branch had flickered and died away£¿
 where he lay full-length on three chairs outside the Cafe in the Place du Gouvernement¡£ where the lamps were just lit£¬
 many-raced¡£ picturesque£¬ and polyglot population of the town were all fluttering out with the sunset¡£
 growled a General of Division! who was the most terrible martinet in the whole of the French service£¬ but who loved my children of hell¡£ as he was wont to term his men£¡
 with a great love! and who would never hear another disparage them£¡ however he might order them blows of the stick,
 mon General£¡ said Claude de Chanrellon; but you are true£¿ We are a furnace in which Blackguardism is burned into Dare-devilry£¿
 and one at which France has no equal.But our manufactures keep the original hall mark£¡ and show that the devil made them if the drill have molded them! urged a Colonel of Tirailleurs Indigenes!
Chanrellon laughed£¿ knocking the ash off a huge cigar£¬Pardieu, We do our original maker credit then; nothing good in this world without a dash of diablerie,
 Scruples are the wet blankets£¿ proprieties are the blank walls? principles are the quickset hedge of life£¡ but devilry is its champagne¡£
 unerring as a leopard¡¯s leap, untiring as an Indian on trail, once in the field with his Indigenes?
 I have had men among my Zephyrs ¡ª and they were the wildest insubordinates too ¡ª that would have ruled the world? I have had more wit. more address?
 in some headlong scamp of a loustic than all the courts and cabinets would furnish! Such lives£¬ such lives£¿ too.
 lawless escapades of rebellious insubordinates? who closed their days in the stifling darkness of the dungeons of Beylick£¬ or in some obscure skirmish! some midnight vedette.
 where an Arab flissa severed the cord of the warped life£¡ and the death was unhonored by even a line in the Gazettes du Jour.
 if we all published our memoirs. the world would have a droll book£¿ Dumas and Terrail would be beat out of the field£¿
 all those mischiefs beat the drum£¿ and send volunteers to the ranks, sure enough; but the General named the worst?
 Look at that little Cora; the Minister of War should give her the Cross, She sends us ten times more fire-eaters than the Conscription does!
 Five fine fellows ¡ª of the vieille roche too ¡ª joined today£¿ because she has stripped them of everything! and they have nothing for it but the service, She is invaluable,
 I saw her when our detachment went to show in Paris¡£ A baby face£¬ innocent as a cherub ¡ª a soft voice ¡ª a shape that looks as slight and as breakable as the stem of my glass ¡ª there is the end!
The Colonel of Tirailleurs laughed scornfully! but gently; he had been a great lion of the fashionable world before he came out to his Indigenes£¿
The end of Cora? The end of her is ¡ª My good Alcide ¡ª that ¡®baby face¡¯ has ruined more of us than would make up a battalion?
 She is so quiet. so tender; smiles like an angel, glides like a fawn; is a little sad too. the innocent dove; looks at you with eyes as clear as water?
 and paf? before you know where you are£¿ she has pillaged with both hands£¬ and you wake one fine morning bankrupt!
 when a little lad£¿ and had scant knowledge of the ways and wiles of the sirens of the Rue Breda!Ah,
Claude de Chanrellon sighed£¬ stretching his handsome limbs£¬ with the sigh of recollection; for Paris had been a Paradise Lost to him for many seasons.
 and he had had of late years but one solitary glimpse of it£¿ It was Coeur d¡¯Acier who was the rage in my time?
 She ate me up ¡ª that woman ¡ª in three months£¿ I had not a hundred francs left: she stripped me as bare as a pigeon? Her passion was uncut emeralds just then£¬
 Well uncut emeralds made an end of me¡£ and sent me out here, Coeur d¡¯Acier was a wonderful woman£¿
Ugly as sin£¿ But she had the knack of making herself more charming than Venus£¿ How she did it nobody knew; but men left the prettiest creatures for her; and she ruined us¡£
 paused and smiled a little¡£ as he saluted£¬Coeurs d¡¯Acier are to be found in all ranks of the sex£¡ monsieur£¡ I fancy£¬
Chanrellon¡¯s brown eyes flashed a bright response!And your sword writes in a brave man¡¯s fashion ¡ª writes what France loves to read£¡ But before you wore your sword here¡£
Monsieur! direct obedience is a soldier¡¯s duty; but I never heard that inquisitive annoyance was an officer¡¯s privilege£¿
 outside the cafe, turned and looked at him! The boldness of speech and the quietude of tone drew all their eyes in curiosity upon him£¿Chanrellon flushed scarlet over his frank brow,
 and an instant¡¯s passion gleamed out of his eyes; the next he threw his three chairs down with a crash! as he shook his mighty frame like an Alpine dog£¡
 and bowed with a French grace¡£ with a campaigner¡¯s frankness?A right rebuke! ¡ª fairly given£¬ and well deserved.
 of gentleman to gentleman£¿ Then£¬ as the bitter remembrance of the difference in rank and station between them flashed on his memory?
The Chasseur colored slightly? as he remembered that he had forgotten alike his own position and their relative stations¡£
 as though he wished to forget and to have forgotten the momentary self-oblivion of which he had been guilty£¡Dieu,
 muttered Chanrellon¡£ as he looked after him£¬ and struck his hand on the marble-topped table till the glasses shook£¡
 I would give a year¡¯s pay to know that fine fellow¡¯s history? He is a gentleman ¡ª every inch of him?
 growled the General of Brigade£¿ who had begun life in his time driving an ox-plow over the heavy tillage of Alsace£¡A private of Chateauroy¡¯s. asked the Tirailleur¡£
 lifting his eye-glass to watch the Chasseur as he went£¬Pardieu ¡ª yes ¡ª more¡¯s the pity£¡ said Chanrellon£¡ who spoke his thoughts as hastily as a hand-grenade scatters its powder,
 Since he joined£¿ there has not been a hot and heavy thing with the Arabs that he has not had his share in£¡
 There has not been a campaign in Oran or Kabaila that he had not gone out with£¬ His limbs are slashed all over with Bedouin steel?
 He rode once twenty leagues to deliver dispatches with a spear-head in his side? and fell? in a dead faint,
 out of his saddle just as he gave them up to the commandant¡¯s own hands. He saved the day! two years ago! at Granaila£¬
 We should have been cut to pieces£¿ as sure as destiny£¬ if he had not collected a handful of broken Chasseurs together?
 and lashed them with their shame£¬ till they dashed with him to a man into the thickest of the fight!
 and beat the Arbicos back like a herd of jackals, There are a hundred more like stories of him ¡ª every one of them true as my saber ¡ª and!
 he would have been at the head of a brigade; but then¡ª and the veteran drank his absinthe with a regretful melancholy ¡ªbut then£¡ Napoleon read his men himself and never read them wrong£¿
 said Chanrellon meditatively; but it was the petit nom, that Chateauroy had gained long before. and by which he was best known through the army.
 he strikes beak and talons ¡ª pong£¿ ¡ª till the thing drops dead ¡ª even where he strikes a bird of his own brood£¬
 There are four people who should have no personal likes or dislikes; they are an innkeeper! a schoolmaster£¬ a ship¡¯s skipper£¡ and a military chief£¿
With which axiom he called for some more vert-vert,Meanwhile¡£ the Chasseur went his way through the cosmopolitan groups of the great square£¡
 whose schooner lay in the harbor. He lingered a moment; and lighted a fusee£¿ just for the sake of hearing the old familiar words£¬
 As he bent his head? no one saw the shadow of pain that passed over his face.But one of them looked at him curiously and earnestly, The deuce£¿ he murmured to the man nearest him¡£
 with the cigar in his teeth! moved away quickly. He was uneasy in the city ¡ª uneasy lest he should be recognized by any passer-by or tourist!
 with the red glow of the cigar under the chestnut splendor of his beard¡£ and the black eyes of veiled women flashed lovingly on his tall£¬ lithe form?
 before half the ruin on the rails had been seen by the full noon sun,As it chanced a trading yawl was loading in the port.
 who were the only sailors that he seemed likely to find to fill up the vacant places in his small crew¡£Cecil offered himself and his comrade for the passage£¬
 He had only a very few gold pieces on his person, and he was willing to work his way across? if he could¡£But you¡¯re a gentleman? said the skipper. doubtfully eyeing him! and his velvet dress£¬
 with a glance upward at the sky£¡He was a Liverpool man? master and owner of his own rakish-looking little black-hulled craft¡£
 that¡£ rumor was wont to say£¡ was not averse to a bit of slaving¡£ if she found herself in far seas£¬
 and flew like a swallow? when everything was splitting and foundering, and shipping seas around her.
She was my yacht£¡ that¡¯s all; and I was without a captain through that storm! Will you think me a good enough sailor now.
 my wife was in the ¡®Wrestler?¡¯ I¡¯ve heard her tell scores of times as how she was almost dead when that little yacht came through a swaling sea! that was all heaving and roaring round the wreck?
 and as how the swell what owned it gave his cabin up to the womenkind? and had his swivel guns and his handsome furniture pitched overboard! that he might be able to carry more passengers?
 till he ran ¡¯em straight into Brest Harbor¡£ But¡£ damn me, that ever a swell like you should ¡ª¡£Let¡¯s weigh anchor£¿
 while through Europe the tidings went that the mutilated form£¿ crushed between iron and wood£¡ on the Marseilles line? was his. and that he had perished in that awful.
 was drafted into the French army under two of his Christian names£¡ which happily had a foreign sound ¡ª Louis Victor ¡ª and laid aside forever his identity as Bertie Cecil£¿
He went at once on service in the interior¡£ and had scarcely come in any of the larger towns since he had joined!
 whom he had used to know well in Paris and at the court of St. James£¡ held an inspection of the African troops£¡Filing past the brilliant staff,
 as he saluted! had glanced involuntarily at the face that he had seen oftentimes in the Salles de Marechaux£¡ and even under the roof of the regiment! ready to note a chain loose!
 a belt awry£¬ a sword specked with rust? if such a sin there were against les ordonnances in all the glittering squadrons; and swept over him.
 seeing in him but one among thousands ¡ª a unit in the mighty aggregate of the raw material of war£¡The Marshal only muttered to a General beside him¡£ Why don¡¯t they all ride like that man.
 He has the seat of the English Guards, But that it was in truth an officer of the English Guards¡£ and a friend of his own.
 who paced past him as a private of Algerian Horse£¿ the French leader never dreamed¡£From the extremes of luxury¡£
 He had thought it too much trouble to murmur flatteries in great ladies¡¯ ears; he came where morning£¿ noon. and night the inexorable demands of rigid rules compelled his incessant obedience£¬
 and self-denial! He had known nothing from his childhood up except an atmosphere of amusement£¡ refinement,
 agonized pain£¡ and pandemonaic mirth alternately filled the measure of the days,A sharper contrast£¿
 a darker ordeal£¡ rarely tried the steel of any man¡¯s endurance£¿ No Spartan could have borne the change more mutely.
 years of intense misery to him¡£ Misery£¿ when all the blood glowed in him under some petty tyrant¡¯s jibe?
 Misery¡£ when hunger and thirst of long marches tortured him. and his soul sickened at the half-raw offal! and the water thick with dust£¿ and stained with blood!
 which the men round him seized so ravenously, Misery£¬ when the dreary dawn broke, only to usher in a day of mechanical maneuvers£¡ of petty tyrannies.
 They were years of infinite wretchedness oftentimes? only relieved by the loyalty and devotion of the man who had followed him into his exile£¬
 without a sign of complaint or of impatience£¿ the altered fortunes of his career¡£ The hardest-trained£¿ lowest-born£¬
 the war-fire woke in him?In one shape or another active service was almost always his lot¡£ and hot¡£
 severe campaigning was his first introduction to military life in Algeria! The latent instinct in him ¡ª the instinct that had flashed out during his lazy¡£
 fashionable calm in all moments of danger£¬ in all days of keen sport; the instinct that had made him fling himself into the duello with the French boar, and made him mutter to Forest King¡£
 aroused and unloosed£¬ made him content; made him think that the life which brought them was worth the living?There had always been in him a reckless dare-devilry£¡
 which had slept under the serene£¿ effeminate insouciance of his careless temper and his pampered habits, It had full rein now¡£
He was too thoroughbred to attempt to claim a superiority that fortune no longer conferred on him; to seek to obtain a deference that he had no longer the position to demand£¬ He was too quiet.
 or a sick conscript a tempting meal¡£ or a prisoner of Beylick some food through the grating? scaled too at risk of life and limb£¬
 associated with the roughest riffraff of Europe¡£ liable any day to be slain by the slash of an Arab flissa£¡
 but by its effect on character, any other would have been so well for him, or would equally have given steel and strength to the indolence and languor of his nature as this did!
 here in Africa£¡ with a force and a vividness that he had never dreamed possible in his calm£¿ passionless!
 insouciant world of other days¡£ It developed him into a magnificent soldier ¡ª too true a soldier not to make thoroughly his the service he had adopted; not to? oftentimes,
 almost forget that he had ever lived under any other flag than that tricolor which he followed and defended now?The quaint£¡ heroic Norman motto of his ancestors?
 carved over the gates of Royallieu ¡ªCoeur Vaillant Se Fait Royaume¡ª verified itself in his case. Outlawed£¬ beggared£¡
 robbed at a stroke of every hope and prospect ¡ª he had taken his adversity boldly by the beard, and had made himself at once a country and a kingdom among the brave£¡ fierce? reckless!
 as of one who can never fairly bend his spirit to the yoke of barter£¡The little? hideous¡£ wrinkled¡£
 dwarf-like creature, a trader in curiosities, grinned with a certain gratification in disappointing this lithe-limbed?
 or anything made out of spent balls? or flissas one can tell an Arab story about£¬ go off like wild-fire; but your ivory bagatelles are no sort of use£¿
 They were perfectly conceived and executed¡£ He had always had a gift that way. though£¿ in common with all his gifts£¿
 he had utterly neglected all culture of it£¿ until£¿ cast adrift on the world£¿ and forced to do something to maintain himself£¡
 he had watched the skill of the French soldiers at all such expedients to gain a few coins. and had solaced many a dreary hour in barracks and under canvas with the toy-sculpture?
 and he had wanted some money sorely that night for a comrade dying of a lung-wound ¡ª a noble fellow£¡ a French artist¡£ who? in an evil hour of desperation£¬ had joined the army¡£
 with a poet¡¯s temper that made its hard£¡ colorless routine unendurable£¡ and had been shot in the chest in a night-skirmish£¬
 who knows so little of his duty to his country as to venture to die in his bed£¬Myself¡£ screeched the dealer£¬ with a derisive laugh£¿
 Ask me to give you my whole stock next¡£ These trumperies will lie on hand for a year!Cecil went out of the place without a word; his thoughts were with Leon Ramon£¬
 like the fuchsia bell she most resembled£¡ with a meerschaum in her scarlet lips and a world of wrath in her bright black eyes£¿ dashed past him into the darkness within¡£
 and my Spahis shall cut your throat from ear to ear, Off¡£ Or you shall have a bullet to quicken your steps; misers dance well when pistols play the minuet£¿
With which exordium the little Amie du Drapeau shook her culprit at every epithet. emptied out a shower of gold and silver just won at play£¬
 hurled him out of his own door. and drew her pretty weapon with a clash from her sash£¿Run for your life£¡
 and sheathed in anything or anybody that had offended her£¬ for Cigarette was. in her fashion, Generalissima of all the Regiments of Africa,
 and protestations of his only having been in jest£¡ and of his fervently desiring to buy the carvings at his own price? as he knew of a great collector in Paris to whom he needed to send them£¿
 pleaded the curiosity-trader£¿ turning his head in agonized fear to see if the vivandiere¡¯s pistol was behind him£¡
 The things will be worth a great deal to me where I shall send them, and though they are but bagatelles, what is Paris itself but one bagatelle!
 Take the money£¡ I pray you; take the money£¬Cecil looked at him a moment; he saw the man was in earnest.
 and thought but little of his repentance and trepidation¡£ for the citizens were all afraid of slighting or annoying a soldier£¡So be it? Thank you! he said£¿
 as he stretched out his hand and took the coins¡£ not without a keen pang of the old pride that would not be wholly stilled?
 yet gladly for sake of the Chasseur dying yonder£¬ growing delirious and retching the blood off his lungs in want of one touch of the ice£¿ that was spoiled by the ton weight£¿
 never a syllable, he stammered; and if I had known you were in love with him ¡ª,A box on the ears sent him across his own counter£¡
You are a Jew trader; you know nothing of our code under the tricolor. We are too proud not to aid even an enemy when he is in the right£¬ and France always arms for justice?
With which magnificent peroration she swept all the carvings ¡ª they were rightfully hers ¡ª off the table,
 as she vaulted lightly over the counter into the street. and pirouetted along the slope of the crowded Babazoum£¡ All made way for her.
 When he called me unsexed ¡ª unsexed ¡ª unsexed£¬¡ª and with each repetition of the infamous word£¡ so bitter because vaguely admitted to be true!
 she flung one of the ivory wreathes on to the pavement and stamped on it with her spurred heel until the carvings were ground into powdered fragments ¡ª stamped! as though it were a living foe?
 and her steel-bound foot were treading out all its life with burning hate and pitiless venom!In the act her passion exhausted itself£¡ as the evil of such warm£¿
 impetuous£¡ tender natures will; she was very still£¬ and looked at the ruin she had done with regret and a touch of contrition!It was very pretty ¡ª and cost him weeks of labor!
 Things of beauty had had but little place in her lawless young life; what she thought beautiful was a regiment sweeping out in full sunlight£¿ with its eagles!
 though she had so much grace herself; and her life£¡ though full of color£¿ pleasure£¡ and mischief.
 was as rough a one in most respects as any of her comrades¡¯£¿ These delicate artistic carvings were a revelation to her?
She touched them reverently one by one; all the carvings had their beauty for her£¡ but those of the flowers had far the most.
 She had never noted any flowers in her life before¡£ save those she strung together for the Zephyrs£¡ Her youth was a military ballad£¡
 and fell on an ivory coil of twisted leaves and river grasses¡£And, lost in a musing pity, Cigarette forgot her vow of vengeance.
 was unlike a trim Normandy soubrette, sewing on a bench in the Tuileries gardens?Disorder reigned supreme; but Disorder£¡
 or mountain caves£¡ or river depths£¿ or desert beasts and birds£¿ All things£¡ from tiger skins to birds¡¯ nests£¡
 from Bedouin weapons to ostrich eggs, from a lion¡¯s mighty coat to a tobacco-stopper chipped out of a morsel of deal!
 were piled together£¿ pell-mell£¿ or hung against the whitewashed walls£¬ or suspended by cords from bed to bed£¡
 Everything that ingenuity and hardihood. prompted by the sharp spur of hunger£¬ could wrest from the foe£¬ from the country. from earth or water£¡
 from wild beasts or rock, were here in the midst of the soldiers¡¯ regimental pallets and regimental arms¡£ making the barracks at once atelier?
 worked away with the zest of those who work for the few coins that alone will get them the food. the draught of wine£¡ the hour¡¯s mirth and indulgence at the estaminet!
 to which they look across the long, stern probation of discipline and maneuver£¬Skill¡£ grace¡£ talent. invention whose mother was necessity¡£
 and invention that was the unforced offshoot of natural genius, were all at work; and the hands that could send the naked steel down at a blow through turban and through brain could shape.
 with a woman¡¯s ingenuity£¿ with a craftsman¡¯s skill£¿ every quaint device and dainty bijou from stone and wood,
 and many-colored feathers¡£ and mountain berries! and all odds and ends that chance might bring to hand£¿
 in all the products of the Chasseurs¡¯ extemporized studio; but nowhere was there ever clumsiness? and everywhere was there an industry£¿ gay, untiring¡£
 in whose grinning form some great chief of the Bureau had just been sculptured in audacious parody.In the midst sat Rake!
 tattooing with an eastern skill the skin of a great lion£¡ that a year before he had killed in single combat in the heart of Oran.
 traits and touches of the noblest instincts of humanity, His heart was with them always? as his purse£¡
 and his wine£¡ and his bread were alike shared ever among them£¡ He had learned to love them well ¡ª these wild wolf-dogs£¡ whose fangs were so terrible to their foes£¬
 but whose eyes would still glisten at a kind word£¿ and who would give a staunch fidelity unknown to tamer animals£¡Living with them£¿
 and that he would be the last to check their gayety? or to punish their harmless indiscretions!The warlike Roumis had always had a proud tenderness for their Bel-a-faire-peur,
 and a certain wondering respect for him; but they would not have adored him to a man, as they did, unless they had known that they might laugh without restraint before him£¬
 as he lay in the broiling heat of Oran prostrate by a dry brook¡¯s stony channel, that he scarcely cared to part with them£¬
 and had refused to let Rake offer them for sale, with all the rest of the carvings¡£ Stooping over them?
Wherever there is insubordination in the regiment£¿ the blame is very certain to be yours, Corporal Victor¡£
The very self-restraint irritated Chateauroy, who would have been the first to chastise the presumption of a reply? had any been attempted,
 With a swift£¬ warning glance at Rake ¡ª whose mouth was working, and whose forehead was hot as fire£¬
 where he clinched his lion-skin£¬ and longed to be once free£¿ to pull his chief down as lions pull in the death spring ¡ª he went to his place at the farther end of the chamber and stood.
 The passionate bitterness of just hatred! that he had to choke down as though it were the infamous instinct of some nameless crime£¬ was on him,
The moments passed£¡ the hum of the voices floated to his ear; the ladies of the party lingered by this soldier and by that! buying half the things in the chamber£¿
 and to withhold his arm. that he should never strike his tyrant down with one blow. in which all the opprobrium of years should be stamped out£¿ A voice woke him from his reverie!
Are those beautiful carvings yours.He looked up. and in the gloom of the alcove where he stood. where the sun did not stray!
 and two great rugs of various skins£¬ with some conquered banners of Bedouins£¡ hung like a black pall£¬
 he saw a woman¡¯s eyes resting on him; proud£¿ lustrous eyes¡£ a little haughty¡£ very thoughtful! yet soft withal.
 as the deepest hue of deep waters¡£ He bowed to her with the old grace of manner that had so amused and amazed the little vivandiere£¡
 and turned to those about her£¿ speaking of its beauties and its workmanship in a voice low! very melodious.
 Twelve years had drifted by since he had been in the presence of a high-bred woman, and those lingering£¿
 delicate tones had the note of his dead past¡£He looked at her; at the gleam of the brilliant hair£¡ at the arch of the proud brows£¬
 impressive. and beautiful at all times; most so of all in the dusky shadows of the waving desert banners£¿ and the rough,
 rude! barbaric life of the Caserne. where a fille de joie or a cantiniere were all of her sex that was ever seen¡£
 gracious courtesy of a grande dame to a Corporal of Chasseurs; looking little at him, much at the Kings and their mimic hosts of Zouaves and Bedouins?They are at your service£¿ madame,
 Old habits vanquished; he forgot who and where he now was; he bowed as in other days he had used to bow in the circle of St£¬ James¡¯£¡
He forgot that he was not as he once had been? He forgot that he stood but as a private of the French army before an aristocrat whose name he had never heard£¡
She turned and looked at him£¿ which she had never done before. so absorbed had she been in the chessmen.
 astonished coldness of regard! though it softened slightly as she saw that he had spoken in all courtesy of intent¡£She bent her graceful¡£
 Then he stood motionless as a sentinel! with the great leopard skins and Bedouin banners behind him.
 casting a gloom that the gold points on his harness could scarcely break in its heavy shadow£¿ and never moved till the echo of the voices£¬ and the cloud of draperies,
 though it had bruised his loins and lashed his breast; they showed all he had lost£¡What a fool I am still? he thought¡£ as he made his way out of the barrack room.
 by means of those snowy¡£ fragile£¬ artistic toys that he had shaped in lonely nights under canvas by ruddy picket-fires!
 beneath the shade of wild fig trees£¿ and in the stir and color of Bedouin encampments¡£I must ask to be ordered out of the city!
 Here I get bitter, restless¡£ impatient; here the past is always touching me on the shoulder; here I shall soon grow to regret£¡
 The chessmen are the better for that; her Maltese dog would have broken them all the first time it upset their table,He laughed a little as he went on smoking; the old carelessness£¡ mutability£¬
 and indolent philosophies were with him still£¬ and were still inclined to thrust away and glide from all pain? as it arose£¿ Though much of gravity and of thoughtfulness had stolen on him.
I wonder if I shall never teach the Black Hawk that he may strike his beak in once too far£¿ he pondered£¬ with a sudden darker¡£
 supple as Damascus steel¡£ and at the muscles that were traced beneath the skin, as he thrust the sleeve up£¡ clear? firm£¡
 and to give no precedent in his own person that could be fraught with dangerous¡£ rebellious allurement for the untamed£¿ chafing? red-hot spirits of his comrades£¬
Cecil had always thought very little of himself!In his most brilliant and pampered days he had always considered in his own heart that he was a graceless fellow, not worth his salt!
 why so useless a bagatelle a la mode as his own life was had ever been created£¬ He thought much the same now; but following his natural instincts? which were always the instincts of a gentleman.
 but surely; they knew that he was as fearless in war? as eager for danger as themselves; they knew that he was no saint,
 Blasphemous tongues learned to rein in their filthiness when this beau lion sauntered away from the picket-fire. on an icy night£¬ to be out of hearing of their witless obscenities£¿
And throughout his corps men became unconsciously gentler! juster; with a finer sense of right and wrong£¡
 yet he bore them and did his duty with a self-control and patience they had never attained£¬Almost insensibly they grew ashamed to be beaten by him, and strove to grow like him as far as they could!
 They never knew him drunk, they never heard him swear; they never found him unjust ¡ª even to a poverty-stricken indigene; or brutal ¡ª even to a fille de joie£¬
 listless£¡ reckless soldier who followed instinctively the one religion which has no cant in its brave. simple creed!
 and binds man to man in links that are true as steel ¡ª the religion of a gallant gentleman¡¯s loyalty and honor¡£Chapter 20. Cigarette En Conseil Et Cachette.
 sharp voice of a young officer of his regiment wakened Cecil from his musing! as he went on his way down the crowded£¿ tortuous¡£ stifling street£¿
 jostling a venerable marabout on to an impudent little grisette£¬ and laming an old Moor as he tottered to his mosque£¬ without any apology for any of the mischief!
 falcon eyes of Cigarette looking down on him from a little oval casement above. dark as pitch within£¡ and whose embrasure?
 with a heavy background of unglazed Rembrandt shadow£¿ the piquant head of the Friend of the Flag, with her pouting. scarlet¡£ mocking lips¡£
 and her mischievous, challenging smile£¿ and her dainty little gold-banded foraging-cap set on curls as silken and jetty as any black Irish setter¡¯s!
 he answered, with a little weariness; lifting his fez to her with a certain sense of annoyance that this young bohemian of the barracks¡£
 and sold the carvings for his comrade at the hospital; she was holding out the olive-branch after her own petulant fashion; and she thought! if he had had any grace in him?
 that were like a half-opened damask rose? Modesty is apt to go to the wall in camps, and poor little Cigarette¡¯s notions of the great passion were very simple,
 or thought she had experienced? as many affairs as the veriest Don Juan among them£¡ though her heart had never been much concerned in them£¬
 or a shot from an Indigene£¿ had pounced off with her hero of the hour to Hades.Fine manners£¡ echoed Cecil£¿ with a smile£¬
 My poor child. have you been so buffeted about that you have never been treated with commonest courtesy£¬Whew£¿
 Do you suppose anybody ever did anything with me that I didn¡¯t choose£¬ If you had as much power as I have in the army£¡
 Chateauroy would not send for you to sell your toys like a peddler! You are a slave? I am a sovereign.With which she tossed back her graceful,
 spirited head£¬ as though the gold band of her cap were the gold band of a diadem! She was very proud of her station in the Army of Africa¡£
 She knew she had been ungenerous ¡ª a crime dark as night in the sight of the little chivalrous soldier£¬Ah? she said softly and waywardly,
 winding her way aright with that penetration and tact which¡£ however unsexed in other things£¿ Cigarette had kept thoroughly feminine¡£ That was but an idle word of mine; forgive it,
 Morbleu£¬ They say to see you kill a man is beautiful ¡ª so workmanlike! And you would go out and be shot tomorrow?
 rather than sell your honor£¡ or stain it£¿ Bah£¬ while you know they should cut your heart out rather than make you tell a lie, or betray a comrade£¡
 dauntless£¬ capricious! unattachable¡£ unpurchasable£¡ and coquettish little fire-eater of the Spahis£¬
 with its blue-and-white striped awning spread over both their heads in the little street whose crowds£¿ chatter,
 and paraded with a troop of horse artillery in the Champ de Mars£¬ as having gone through the whole of Bugeaud¡¯s campaign, at which parade£¬
 Cigarette had made the immortal reply: Madame? my sweetmeats are bullets!She repeated her question imperiously!
 as Cecil kept silent! You will go to-night!He shrugged his shoulders£¡ He did not care to discuss his Colonel¡¯s orders with this pretty little Bacchante£¿
 as he spoke, went back to the scene of the morning£¡ He felt£¬ with a romantic impulse that he smiled at£¡ even as it passed over him!
 that he would rather have half a dozen muskets fired at him in the death-sentence of a mutineer than meet again the glance of those proud! azure eyes?
 sweeping over him in their calm indifference to a private of Chasseurs£¬ their calm ignorance that he could be wounded or be stung£¿
 That little word has been the undoing of the world ever since the world began£¬ ¡®But¡¯ is a blank cartridge! and never did anything but miss fire yet,
 and he did not care to say his thoughts to her.¡®No?¡¯ pursued Cigarette£¡ translating his silence at her fancy. you say to yourself!
 ¡®I am an aristocrat ¡ª I will not be ordered in this thing¡¯¡ª you say? ¡®I am a good soldier; I will not be sent for like a hawker¡¯¡ª you say?
 bending to him out of her owls¡¯ nest£¬ with the flash of the sun under the blue awning brightly catching the sunny brown of her soft cheek and the cherry bloom of her lips? arched£¬
 but were thoughtfully looking down the checkered light and color of the street, She was passionate£¬ she was vain, she was wayward?
 she was fierce as a little velvet leopard£¿ as a handsome£¡ brilliant plumaged hawk; she had all the faults£¬
 in her fashion, She would not ask for what was not offered her. nor give a rebuke that might be traced to mortification,
 She only set her two rosebud-lips in as firm a line of wrath and scorn as ever Caesar¡¯s or Napoleon¡¯s molded themselves into¡£ and spoke in the curt£¿ imperious,
 generalissimo fashion with which Cigarette before now had rallied a demoralized troop¡£ reeling drunk and mad away from a razzia¡£
 and read men£¡ though I don¡¯t read the alphabet¡£ Well£¿ one reading is a good deal rarer than the other£¡ So you mean to disobey the Hawk to-night.
 you look on at a bamboula as if it were only a bear-cub dancing£¬ and can only give one ¡®yes¡¯ and ¡®no£¬¡¯ as if one were a drummer-boy£¡ Bah. are those your Paris courtesies£¬
 I thought you called yourself our comrade, and would have no ¡®fine manners£¬¡¯ There is no knowing how to please you£¡
He might have pleased her simply and easily enough£¿ if he had only looked up with a shade of interest to that most picturesque picture£¿ bright as a pastel portrait£¿
 that was hung above him in the old tumble-down Moorish stonework. But his thoughts were with other things; and a love scene with this fantastic little Amazon did not attract him£¬ The warm, ripe£¬
 and the free wind tossing it merrily; but it had no charm for him! He was musing rather on that costly¡£ delicate?
 brilliant-hued£¡ hothouse blossom that could only be reached down by some rich man¡¯s hand£¡ and grew afar on heights where never winter chills£¬ nor summer tan. could come too rudely on it,
Come¡£ tell me what is Marquise? ¡ª a kitten! he went on? leaning his arm still on the sill of her embrasure¡£
 and willing to coax her out of her anger.A kitten¡£ echoed Cigarette contemptuously! You think me a child? I suppose£¡Surely you are not far off it?
 because I would not tell£¡ that she might tell again at the Bureau and get the reward. A child¡£ Before I was two feet high I had winged my first Arab! He stole a rabbit I was roasting.
 Presto! how quick he dropped it when my ball broke his wrist like a twig£¿And the Friend of the Flag laughed gayly at the recollection?
 as at the best piece of mirth with which memory could furnish her!But you asked about Marquise£¿ Well! he was what you are ¡ª a hawk among carrion crows.
 but they thought he was of Austrian breed£¬ and we called him Marquise because he was so womanish white in his skin and dainty in all his ways,
 Just like you£¡ Marquise could fight£¿ fight like a hundred devils; and ¡ª pouf! ¡ª how proud he was ¡ª very much like you altogether.
 like that ¡ª across the face with a riding switch£¿ Marquise had his bayonet fixed and before we knew what was up£¬
 crash the blade went through ¡ª through the breast-bone£¡ and out at the spine ¡ª and the adjutant fell as dead as a cat£¬
 with the blood spouting out like a fountain, ¡®I come of a great race£¬ that never took insult without giving back death,
¡¯ was all that Marquise said when they seized him and brought him to judgment; and he would never say of what race that was£¿ They shot him ¡ª ah£¿ bah¡£
 she whispered very low! if you mutiny once. they will shoot you just like Marquise£¡ and you will die just as silent?
 men sell their honor for their daily bread all the world over, said Cigarette! with the satire that had treble raciness from the slang in which she clothed it£¡
 and half your regiment will mutiny too£¿ It is bitter work to obey the Black Hawk? and if you give the signal of revolt¡£
 three parts of your comrades will join you£¬ Now what will that end in! beau lion£¿Tell me ¡ª you are a soldier yourself£¡ you say,
 while her eyes brightened! and her voice sank down into a whisper that had a certain terrible meaning in it? like the first dropping of the scattered£¿
 opening shots in the distance before a great battle commences; and I have seen war£¡ not holiday war£¡
 and the horses charge full gallop over the living faces£¿ and the hoofs beat out the brains before death has stunned them senseless, Oh£¡ yes? I am a soldier?
 and fired on from a score of cannon-mouths ¡ª volley on volley. like the thunder ¡ª till not one living man was left£¬ and there was only a shapeless?
 with the black smoke over all, That is what I have seen; you will not make me see it again£¿Her face was very earnest.
 rather than have drawn into ruin¡£ through him£¿ the fiery? fearless! untutored lives of the men who marched¡£
 had looked so burned and so hard beside the delicate fairy ivory carvings of his workmanship ¡ª stretched it out with a frank£¿ winning? childlike?
He bent over the hand she held to his in the courtesy natural with him to all her sex£¿ and touched it lightly with his lips¡£
 he said simply£¡ with the graver thought still on him that her relation and her entreaty had evoked; you have given me a lesson that I shall not be quick to forget£¡
 from M£¡ de Duc¡¯s Lauzunesque blandishments to Pouffer-deRire¡¯s or Miou-Miou¡¯s rough overtures; she had the coquetry of her nation with the audacity of a boy£¡
 so cold and so courteous. which was offered her in lieu of the rude and boisterous familiarities to which she was accustomed; and drew her hand away with what was£¡
 to the shame of her soldierly hardihood and her barrack tutelage, very nearly akin to an impulse of shyness£¡Dame£¬ Don¡¯t humbug me, I am not a court lady. she cried hastily,
 to make good the declaration and revindicate her military renown¡£ she balanced herself lightly on the stone ledge of her oval hole£¿ and sprang. with a young wildcat¡¯s easy, vaulting leap£¡
 a low-built wine-shop£¬ whose upper story nearly touched the leaning walls of the old Moorish buildings in which she had been perched£¿ The crowd in the street below looked up¡£
 amazed and aghast, at that bound from casement to casement as she flew over their heads like a blue-and-scarlet winged bird of Oran; but they laughed as they saw who it was£¿
 too. and I don¡¯t tease him like his sons the priests£¡ But I have told him to take you the next time you are stripping a dead body; so look on it ¡ª he won¡¯t have to wait long¡£
 twenty feet above earth! as if she had been a pantomime-dancer all her days, let herself down by the awning?
 hand over hand. like a little mouse from the harbor! jumped on to a forage wagon that was just passing full trot down the street,
 with a certain touch of pity for her in him£¿What a gallant boy is spoiled in that little Amazon£¬ he thought; the quick flush of her face£¬ the quick withdrawal of her hand?
 But he was sorry a child so bright and so brave should be turned into three parts a trooper as she was£¿ should have been tossed up on the scum and filth of the lowest barrack life,
 vulture-eyed camp-follower that premature old age would surely render the darling of the tricolor£¬ the pythoness of the As de Pique?Cigarette was making scorn of her doom of Sex£¡
 burning it out in tobacco fumes£¡ drowning it in trembling cascades of wine! trampling it to dust under the cancan by her little brass-bound boots,
 But strive to kill it how she would! her sex would have its revenge one day and play Nemesis to her¡£
 But when the bloom should leave her brown cheeks£¡ and the laughter die out of her lightning glance£¿ the womanhood she had denied would assert itself,
 and then strolled across to the cafe opposite to finish his cigar beneath its orange-striped awning? The child had been flung upward!
 a little straw floating in the gutter of Paris iniquities! It was little marvel that the bright! bold¡£
 insolent little Friend of the Flag had nothing of her sex left save a kitten¡¯s mischief and a coquette¡¯s archness£¿ It said much rather for the straight?
 and balmy with a million flowers£¡ before the bronze trellised gate of the villa on the Sahel£¬ where Chateauroy£¡
 when he was not on active service ¡ª which chanced rarely! for he was one of the finest soldiers and most daring chiefs in Africa ¡ª indemnified himself!
 and their gratification while campaigning£¬ and would commonly neither take himself nor allow to his officers any more indulgence on the march than his troopers themselves enjoyed£¬
 and well as he loved the chase and the slaughter£¡ he did not disdain! when he had whetted beak and talons to satiety? to smooth his ruffled plumage in downy nests and under caressing hands.
 in taking the way she liked? and lurking unseen at discretion£¿She crossed the breadth of the grounds under the heavy shade of arbutus trees with a hare¡¯s fleetness£¬
 whose rose and lilac blossoms shut her wholly within them¡£ like a fairy inclosed in bloom¡£ The good fairy of one life there she was assuredly?
 though she might be but a devil-may-care¡£ audacious¡£ careless little feminine Belphegor and military Asmodeus.Ah?
 she said quickly and sharply£¿ with a deep-drawn breath. The single exclamation was at once a menace! a tenderness. a whirlwind of rage£¿
 and the whole nature of Cigarette was in it?Yet all she saw was a small and brilliant group sauntering to and fro before the open windows, after dinner!
 The scene was simple enough¡£ though very picturesque; but it told! by its vivid force of contrast¡£
 as she gave the highest word of praise that her whole range of language held£¡ A true soldier? How he keeps his promise!
 stag-like carriage and the crown of its golden hair£¬Cigarette had seen grand dames by the thousand£¿
 though never very close; seen them in Paris when they came to look on at a grand review; seen them in their court attire, when the Guides had filled the Carrousel on some palace ball-night¡£
 and lined the Court des Princes£¡ and she had bewitched the officers of the guard into letting her pass in to see the pageantry£¡
 But she had never felt for those grandes dames anything save a considerably contemptuous indifference! She had looked on them pretty much as a war-worn£¿
 powder-tried veteran looks on the curled dandy of some fashionable! home-staying corps. She had never realized the difference betwixt them and herself£¬
 save in so far as she thought them useless butterflies? worth nothing at all! and laughed as she triumphantly remembered how she could shoot a man and break in a colt.Now.
 for the first time. the sight of one of those aristocrats smote her with a keen£¿ hot sting of heart-burning jealousy¡£
 the little Friend of the Flag looked at all the nameless graces of rank with an envy that her sunny! gladsome!
 generous nature had never before been touched with ¡ª with a sudden perception£¿ quick as thought? bitter as gall! wounding! and swift¡£
 might be in its highest and purest shape!If those are the women that he knew before he came here£¬ I do not wonder that he never cared to watch even my bamboula,
 she had only been something very worthless! something very lightly held by those who liked her for a ribald jest. and a dance.
 angry flush upon her face grew deeper. and the passion gathered more stormily in her eyes, while she felt the pistol butts in her sash?
 and laughed low to herself? where she lay stretched under her flowery nest,Bah£¡ she would faint£¡ I dare say?
 and would stand fire no more than a gazelle, They are only made for summer-day weather¡£ those dainty! gorgeous£¡
 would soon beat them down ¡ª crash£¬ ¡ª with all their proud crests drooping,Like many another Cigarette underrated what she had no knowledge of¡£
 and depreciated an antagonist the measure of whose fence she had no power to gauge.Crouched there among the rhododendrons. she lay as still as a mouse. moving nearer and nearer?
 though none would have told that so much as a lizard even stirred under the blossoms£¡ until her ear.
 quick and unerring as an Indian¡¯s. could detect the sense of the words spoken by that group£¿ which so aroused all the hot ire of her warrior¡¯s soul and her democrat¡¯s impatience.
 Chateauroy himself was bending his fine£¡ dark head toward the patrician on whom her instinct had fastened her hatred!
 he was murmuring now! as Cigarette got close enough under her flower shadows to catch the sense of the words, To hear was to obey with me.
 passed up the stairs. and stood before his Colonel£¡ giving the salute; the shade of some acacias still fell across him,
 among the rushes of some dried brook¡¯s bed¡£ scanning a hostile camp. when the fate of a handful of French troops had rested on her surety and her caution£¿
 Spread them out?The savage authority of his general speech was softened for sake of his guest¡¯s presence.
 but there was a covert tone in the words that made Cigarette murmur to herself:!If he forget his promise, I will forgive him!
Cecil had not forgotten it; neither had he forgotten the lesson that this fair aristocrate had read him in the morning£¡ He saluted his chief again£¿
 Courtesy was forbidden him as insult from a corporal to a nobly born beauty; he no more quarreled with the decree than with other inevitable consequences? inevitable degradations£¡
 their magic pale,The carvings were passed from hand to hand as the Marquis¡¯ six or eight guests£¬ listless willing to be amused in the warmth of the evening after their dinner¡£
 occupied themselves with the ivory chess armies, cut with a skill and a finish worthy a Roman studio£¡ Praise enough was awarded to the art£¡
 with a certain serene dignity that could not be degraded because others chose to treat him as the station he filled gave them fit right to do!Only one glanced at him with a touch of wondering pity£¬
 softening her pride; she who had rejected the gift of those mimic squadrons£¿You were surely a sculptor once¡£ she asked him with that graceful£¡
She looked at him with an increased interest: the accent of his voice told her that this man¡£ whatever he might be now£¿
She whom he had called Mme, la Princesse looked with a doubting surprise at the sculptor of the white Arab King she held£¡
It must be a solace to many a weary hour in the barracks to be able to produce such beautiful trifles as these£¬ she said aloud, Surely you encourage such pursuits?
 There are but two arts or virtues for a trooper to my taste ¡ª fighting and obedience!You should be in the Russian service!
 he answered her; men are made to keep their grades there£¡ and privates who think themselves fine gentlemen receive the lash they merit.
Cecil stood silent; his eyes met his chief¡¯s steadily; Chateauroy had seen that look when his Chasseur had bearded him in the solitude of his tent, and demanded back the Pearl of the Desert£¿
 but he offered them to me very gracefully as a gift. though of course it was not possible that I should accept them so,The man is the most insolent in the service?
 muttered her host£¡ as he motioned Cecil back off the terrace! Get you gone! sir. and leave your toys here£¡
 she thought. with the same thought that flashed through the mind of the Little Friend of the Flag where she hid among her rhododendrons£¡
Wait? she said£¬ moving a little toward them? while she let her eyes rest on the carver of the sculptures with a grave compassion,
The words were spoken with a gracious courtesy; the clear! cold tone of her habitual manner just marking in them still the difference of caste between her and the man for whom she interceded£¬
 Keep them! if you will so far honor me£¡The words reached only her ear£¿ In another instant he had passed away down the terrace steps?
 Chateauroy laughed to her. as she still held in her hand£¡ doubtfully£¬ the White Sheik of the chess Arabs; I will see that Bel-a-faire-peur£¿ as they call him.
 I believe many ¡®gentlemen¡¯ come into our ranks who have fled their native countries and broken all laws from the Decalogue to the Code Napoleon£¡ So long as they fight well,
 we don¡¯t ask their past criminalities£¡ We cannot afford to throw away a good soldier because he has made his own land too hot to hold him!Of what country is your Corporal?
 indeed! for the slightest trace of it has never, that I know of£¬ been allowed to let slip from him£¿
 thinks himself the finest gentleman in the whole brigades of Africa! and ought to have been shot long ago£¬ if he had had his real deserts,
She let her glance dwell on him with a contemplation that was half contemptuous amusement, half unexpressed dissent!
There was a gaunt£¿ grim? stern significance in the three monosyllables that escaped him unconsciously; it made her turn and look at him more closely£¡
In a thousand ways. madame, Chiefly because I received my regimental training under one who followed the traditions of the Armies of Egypt and the Rhine!
 of a rebel who plays the martyr£¬ and a soldier who is too effeminate an idler to do anything except attitudinize in interesting situations to awaken sympathy!
 you will tell me what form that had better take to be of real and welcome service to a Chasseur d¡¯Afrique,Chateauroy£¡ more incensed than he chose or dared to show,
If you really insist£¬ give him a Napoleon or two whenever you see him; he will be very happy to take it and spend it au cabaret. though he played the aristocrat today£¬
 But you are too good to him£¡ he is one of the very worst of my pratiques; and you are as cruel to me in refusing to deign to accept my trooper¡¯s worthless bagatelles at my hands£¿
 serene eyes had a terrible gift of awakening without ever seeking love£¡ and of drawing without ever recompensing homage£¬Crouched down among her rose-hued covert£¡
 fast mutterings of those bright lips£¬ that should have known nothing except a child¡¯s careless and innocent song!She had never looked at a beautiful£¿
 satirical disdain as mere butterflies who could not prime a revolver and fire it off to save their own lives£¿ if ever such need arose£¿ But now she studied one through all the fine!
 quickened£¿ unerring instincts of jealousy; and there is no instinct in the world that gives such thorough appreciation of the very rival it reviles? She saw the courtly negligence! the regal grace!
 of a pure aristocrate for the very first time to note them¡£ and they made her heart sick with a new and deadly sense; they moved her much as the white,
 delicate carvings of the lotus-lilies had done; they. like the carvings£¬ showed her all she had missed£¿
 half-infuriated soldiery; and for the moment she hated herself more even than she hated that patrician yonder?I know what he meant now£¿ she pondered.
 and her spirited! sparkling? brunette face was dark and weary. like a brown! sun-lightened brook over whose radiance the heavy shadow of some broad-spread eagle¡¯s wings hovers£¿
 and felt that the fierce! familiar words did her good like brandy poured down her throat; she tossed her head like a colt that rebels against the gall of the curb; then£¿ fleet as a fawn.
Cigarette always went fast¡£ She had a bird-like way of skimming her ground that took her over it with wonderful swiftness; all the tassels£¬ and ribbon knots.
 had it been any other than this young fire-eater of the African squadrons£¡ it might have been supposed she sang out of fear and bravado ¡ª two things, however?
 that never touched Cigarette; for she exulted in danger as friskily as a young salmon exults in the first! crisp£¡ tumbling crest of a sea-wave.
 and would have backed up the most vainglorious word she could have spoken with the cost of her life! had need been. Suddenly£¬
 If she had gone like the wind before! she went like the lightning now.A few yards onward she saw a confused knot of horses and of riders struggling one with another in a cloud of white dust£¿
 silvery and hazy in the radiance of the moon£¬The center figure was Cecil¡¯s; the four others were Arabs? armed to the teeth and mad with drink.
 who had spent the whole day in drunken debauchery; pouring in raki down their throats until they were wild with its poisonous fire, and had darted headlong¡£
 and lashing their poor beasts with their sabers till the horses¡¯ flanks ran blood£¡ Just as they neared Cecil they had knocked aside and trampled over a worn out old colon.
 of age too feeble for him to totter in time from their path¡£ Cecil had reined up and shouted to them to pause; they¡£ inflamed with the perilous drink¡£
 and senseless with the fury which seems to possess every Arab once started in a race neck-to-neck. were too blind to see. and too furious to care£¬
 and only notched his sword as the blade struck them? and the former became too numerous and too savagely dealt to be easily played with in carte and tierce,
 and had got the blood-thirst upon them; roused and burning with brandy and raki! these men were like tigers to deal with; the words he had spoken they never heard!
 and their horses hemmed him in powerless£¬ while their steel flashed on every side ¡ª they were not of the tribe of Khalifa?If he struck not,
 and struck not surely£¬ he saw that a few moments more of that moonlight night were all that he would live£¡ He wished to avoid bloodshed?
 but for a swerve of his horse, would have pierced to his lungs; and the four riders! yelling like madmen£¿
 thrice infuriated£¿ the Arabs closed in on him? The points of their weapons were piercing his harness when.
 sharp and swift. one on another£¬ three shots hissed past him; the nearest of his assailants fell stone dead£¡
 shaking his burden from him out of the stirrups. followed them at a headlong gallop through a cloud of dust?That was a pretty cut through the arm; better had it been through the throat£¿
 Cecil threw himself from his saddle and gazed at her in bewildered amazement; he had thought those sure¡£ cool, death-dealing shots had come from some Spahi or Chasseur£¡
 ¡ª you have shot the fellow dead ¡ª¡ª?Cigarette shrugged her shoulders with a contemptuous glance at the Bedouin¡¯s corpse£¿
Happily for me£¡ or I had been where he lies now? But wait ¡ª let me look; there may be breath in him yet.
Cigarette laughed, offended and scornful£¡ as with the offense and scorn of one whose first science was impeached£¡
Look and welcome; but if you find any life in that Arab! make a laugh of it before all the army tomorrow,
She was at her fiercest£¬ A thousand new emotions had been roused in her that night! bringing pain with them£¡
 that she bitterly resented; and. moreover¡£ this child of the Army of Africa caught fire at the flame of battle with instant contagion, and had seen slaughter around her from her first infancy.
 He saw at a glance that she was right; the lean£¡ dark, lustful face was set in the rigidity of death; the bullet had passed straight through the temples£¿
Did you never see a dead man before, demanded Cigarette impatiently£¬ as he lingered ¡ª even in this moment he had more thought of this Arab than he had of her£¿
 And they were in drink; they did not know what they did£¡Pardieu£¡ What divine pity. Good powder and ball were sore wasted£¡
 it seems; you would have preferred to lie there yourself£¬ it appears? I beg your pardon for interfering with the preference,
Her eyes were flashing? her lips very scornful and wrathful£¬ This was his gratitude¡£Wait, wait£¿ said Cecil rapidly!
 I know well enough I should be a dead man myself had it not been for your gallant assistance, Believe me£¬ I thank you from my heart.
But you think me ¡®unsexed¡¯ all the same£¬ I see£¬ beau lion?The word had rankled in her; she could launch it now with telling reprisal£¬
 I have seen many a great lady look on and laugh her soft£¿ cruel laughter! while the pheasants were falling by hundreds£¬
 or the stags being torn by the hounds£¿ They called it ¡®sport£¬¡¯ but there was not much difference ¡ª in the mercy of it! at least ¡ª from your war£¡ And they had not a tithe of your courage.
The answer failed to conciliate her; there was an accent of compassion in it that ill-suited her pride£¿ and a lack of admiration that was not less new and unwelcome!
It was well for you that I was unsexed enough to be able to send an ounce of lead into a drunkard£¿ she pursued with immeasurable disdain,
 If I had been like that dainty aristocrate down there ¡ª pardieu. It had been worse for you, I should have screamed,
 with a toss of her head southward to where the villa lay£¿ I went to see how you would keep your promise!
 and her hands resting lightly on her hips£¡ as a good workman rests after a neatly finished job£¡ and her dainty fez set half on one side of her brown. tangled curls!
 while upon them the intense luster of the moonlight streamed. and in the dust. well-nigh at their feet£¿ lay the gaunt£¿ while-robed form of the dead Arab¡£
 with the olive. saturnine face turned upward to the stars.Why did you give the chessmen to that silver pheasant£¡
 not fit for those ivory puppets; but hers are white like the ivory? and cannot soil it? She will handle them so gracefully!
Like enough? He said it with his habitual gentle temper? but there was a shadow of pain in the words£¿
 The chessmen had become in some sort like living things to him£¡ through long association; he had parted from them not without regret¡£
 uncalculating liberality of an utterly unselfish and intensely impulsive nature! she hastened to make amends by saying what was like gall on her tongue in the utterance:!Tiens¡£
 she said quickly. Perhaps she will value them more than that? I know nothing of the aristocrats ¡ª not I£¬
 She told him that if you had not been a gentleman before you came into the ranks. she had never seen one?
Cigarette asked it with a certain petulance and doggedness; taking a namesake out of her breast-pocket£¿ biting its end off,
 and striking a fusee£¿ A word from this aristocrate was more welcome to him than a bullet that had saved his life.Her generosity had gone very far!
 What is to be done with this dog of an Arab£¿She was angered by him; she was in the mood to make herself seem all the rougher£¡ fiercer£¡ naughtier£¿
 a terrified sheep£¿ a worn-out old cur; but a man, Men were the normal and natural food for pistols and rifles£¿ she considered!
 graceful French kitten was such a bloodthirsty young panther at heart,I scarcely know what to do£¬ he answered her doubtfully, Put him across my saddle. poor wretch£¡
 and leave him? The crows will finish his affair£¡The coolness with which this handsome child disposed of the fate of what, a moment or two before.
 he said briefly¡£ Suspicion might fall on some innocent passer-by£¡ Besides ¡ª he shall have a decent burial¡£
 I have not genius enough for that£¡Eh£¡ She did not understand him£¡ Well. you want that carrion poked into the earth£¡
 dead or alive£¬ Ah. how odd it is to think one will be dead some day ¡ª never wake for the reveille ¡ª never hear the cannon or the caissons roll by ¡ª never stir when the trumpets sound the charge?
 where she stood in the glistening moonlight? That the time would ever come when her glad laughter would be hushed?
 melodious throat would be frozen in death! and give song never more£¡The tone touched him ¡ª made him think less and less of her as a dare-devil boy!
 as a reckless child-soldier. and more of her as what she was£¬ than he had done before; he touched her almost caressingly£¬
Pauvre enfant! I hope that day will be very distant from you. And yet ¡ª how bravely you risked death for me just now£¡
Cigarette, though accustomed to the lawless loves of the camp£¬ flushed ever so slightly at the mere caress of his hand?
 I would rather die young than grow old£¡ Age is nothing else but death that is conscious!Where do you get your wisdom, little one?
 Some people go through life with their eyes shut£¡ and then grumble there is nothing to see in it¡£ Well ¡ª you want that Arab buried.
 since you are so fond of him¡£ and I will go and send some men to you with a stretcher to carry him down to the town£¡
 That will square things if you are late at the barrack!But that will give you so much trouble£¬ Cigarette.
 into the saddle; he laid his hand on the bridle and stopped her!Wait! I have not thanked you half enough,
 my brave little champion£¡ How am I to show you my gratitude,For a moment the bright. brown¡£ changeful face!
 and so tenderly childlike£¬ in almost the same moment£¿ grew warm as the warm suns that had given their fire to her veins; she glanced at him almost shyly.
Take gratitude to the silver pheasant there. She will value fine words; I set no count on them? I did no more for you than I have done scores of times for my Spahis?
 Ask them how many I have shot with my own hand?In another instant she was away like a sirocco; a whirlwind of dust! that rose in the moonlight.
 marking her flight as she rode full gallop to Algiers?A kitten with the tigress in her. thought Cecil,
 as he seated himself on a broken pile of stone to keep his vigil over the dead Arab£¬ It was not that he was callous to the generous nature of the little Friend of the Flag?
 bright£¬ mischievous! audacious boy might have done; but she had no other interest for him, He had given her little attention; a waltz. a cigar,
 but already soiled and tainted by the bed from which it sprang£¬ and doomed to be swept away with time? scentless and loveless.
 black stream of vice on which it now floated so heedlessly,Even now his thoughts drifted from her almost before the sound of the horse¡¯s hoofs had died where he sat on a loose pile of stones£¿
 with the lifeless limbs of the Arab at his feet¡£Who was it in my old life that she is like? he was musing, It was the deep-blue£¬
 dreaming haughty eyes of the Princesse that he was bringing back to memory. not the brown£¬ mignon face that had been so late close to his in the light of the moon,
 Cigarette rode like a true Chasseur herself? She was used to the saddle£¿ and would ride a wild desert colt without stirrup or bridle; balancing her supple form now on one foot? now on the other£¬
 scattering all she met with right and left? till she rode straight up to the barracks of the Chasseurs d¡¯Afrique£¬
 At the entrance£¿ as she reined up£¬ she saw the very person she wanted? and signed him to her as carelessly as if he were a conscript instead of that powerful officer! Francois Vireflau£¿
 as she signaled him; Cigarette was privileged all through the army? Adjutant Vireflau¡£ I come to tell you a good story for your folios£¿
 There is your Corporal there ¡ª le beau Victor ¡ª has been attacked by four drunken dogs of Arbicos£¿ dead-drunk!
 not thrust£¡ because he knows how strict the rules are about dealing with the scoundrels ¡ª even when they are murdering you, parbleu?
 He has behaved splendidly. I tell you so? And he was so patient with those dogs that he would not have killed one of them,
 But I did; shot one straight through the brain ¡ª a beautiful thing ¡ª and he lies on the Oran road now, Victor would not leave him£¡
 and ask you to send some men up for the jackal¡¯s body£¿ Ah£¬ he is a fine soldier£¿ that Bel-a-faire-peur of yours£¬ Why don¡¯t you give him a step ¡ª two steps ¡ª three steps£¬
 Diantre£¡ It is not like France to leave him a Corporal£¿Vireflau listened attentively ¡ª a short£¡ lean¡£
 black-visaged campaigner. who yet relaxed into a grim half-smile as the vivandiere addressed him with that air£¬ as of a generalissimo addressing a subordinate£¡
 which always characterized Cigarette the more strongly the higher the grade of her companion or opponent.Always eloquent¡£ pretty one,
 he growled¡£ Are you sure he did not begin the fray£¡Don¡¯t I tell you the four Arabs were like four devils!
 given as with the air of a commander-inchief¡£ in its hauteur and its nonchalance£¬ Cigarette vaulted off the charger¡£
 flung the bridle to a soldier£¡ and was away and out of sight before Francois Vireflau had time to consider whether he should laugh at her caprices£¬ as all the army did¡£
 thought his champion as she made her way through the gas-lit streets! I swore to have my vengeance on him£¿
 and plead his cause with Vireflau! No matter! One could not look on and let a set of Arbicos kill a good lascar of France; and the thing that is just must be said£¡
 and too much like that inconsequent weathercock. that useless? insignificant part of creation. those objects of her supreme derision and contempt,
 those frivolous trifles which she wondered the good God had ever troubled himself to make ¡ª namely¡£ Les Femmes.
 cried the Zouave Tata£¬ leaning out of a little casement of the As de Pique as she passed it£¡ A la bonne heure?
No doubt£¡ retorted the Friend of the Flag? It would be odd if the master-fiddler would not fiddle for his own¡£Through the window! and over the sturdy shoulders£¿
 in their canvas shirt! of the hero Tata. the room was visible ¡ª full of smoke£¡ through which the lights glimmered like the sun in a fog; reeking with bad wines. crowded with laughing£¿
 bearded faces! and the battered beauty of women revelers! while on the table£¿ singing with a voice Mario himself could not have rivaled for exquisite sweetness,
 stretching out his brawn arms? You will die of laughing if you hear Gris-Gris to-night ¡ª such a song?
 with a glance into the chamber; and she shook his hand off her. and went on down the street£¿ A night or two before a new song from Gris-Gris¡£
 the best tenor in the whole army! would have been paradise to her£¡ and she would have vaulted through the window at a single bound into the pandemonium! Now¡£
 thought Cecil as! earlier awake than those of his Chambree. he stood looking down the lengthy¡£ narrow room where the men lay asleep along the bare floor.
 delicate face of a man from the Valley of the Rhone! Beneath a canopy of flapping? tawny wild-beast skins¡£
 was a wiry frame on which every muscle was traced like network£¿ and the skin burned black as jet under twenty years of African sun! The midnight streets of Paris had seen its birth,
 the thieves¡¯ quarter had been its nest; it had no history£¬ it had almost no humanity; it was a perfect machine for slaughter¡£ no more ¡ª who had ever tried to make it more!
 with rounded cheeks and fair£¡ white brow like a child¡¯s! whose uncovered chest was delicate as a girl¡¯s,
 and through whose long£¬ brown lashes tears in his slumber were stealing as his rosy mouth murmured£¬ Mere£¡
 He was a young conscript taken from the glad vine-country of the Loire£¿ and from the little dwelling up in the rock beside the sunny? brimming river£¬
 and half-buried under its grape leaves and coils? that was dearer to him than is the palace to its heir! There were many others beside these; and Cecil looked at them with those weary!
Life was bearable enough to him in the activity of campaigning£¿ in the excitement of warfare; there were times even when it yielded him absolute enjoyment.
 in the monotony and the confinement of the barrack routine, his days were often intolerable to him£¬
 Morning after morning he rose to the same weary round of duty? the same series of petty irritations. of physical privations£¿ of irksome repetitions?
 or an insubordinate scoundrel had pawned his regulation shirt; to be incessantly witness of tyrannies and cruelties he was powerless to prevent£¡ and which he continually saw undo all he had done¡£
 he often wondered regretfully why! out of the many Arab swords that had crossed his own! none had gone straight to his heart; why£¬
 in the fashion that the vivandiere¡¯s words had pictured with such terrible force and truth£¡Is it worth while to go on with it,
 Would it not be the wiser way to draw my own saber across my throat£¬ he thought£¿ as the brutalized companionship in which his life was spent struck on him all the more darkly because!
 the night before£¡ a woman¡¯s voice and a woman¡¯s face had recalled memories buried for twelve long years¡£But.
 after so long a stand-up fight with fate? so long a victory over the temptation to let himself drift out in an opium-sleep from the world that had grown so dark to him?
 it was not in him to give under now? In his own way he had found a duty to do here! though he would have laughed at anyone who should have used the word duty in connection with him¡£
 In his own way£¬ amid these wild spirits. who would have been blown from the guns¡¯ mouths to serve him,
 he had made good the Coeur vaillant se fait Royaume of his House! And he was¡£ moreover£¡ by this time, a French soldier at heart and in habit£¬
 by his Colonel¡¯s orders? outside the barrack for three-quarters of an hour, whether to receive a command or a censure he was left in ignorance£¬When the three-quarters had passed£¿
Yet he reeled slightly as he threw himself out of saddle; a nausea and a giddiness had come on him£¿ To have passed nigh an hour motionless in his stirrups? with the skies like brass above him¡£
 while he was already worn with riding from sunrise well-nigh to sunset£¬ with little to appease hunger and less to slake thirst¡£
 made him. despite himself£¡ stagger dizzily under a certain sense of blindness and exhaustion as he dismounted£¡The Chasseur who had brought him the message caught his arm eagerly£¬
 Of course he was always arrayed against authority£¿ and now ¡ª being fond of his galonne with that curious doglike£¬
 destructive£¿ and mischievous though they may be£¿ so commonly bestow ¡ª he muttered a terrible curse under his fiercely curled mustaches£¬
If the Black Hawk were nailed up in the sun like a kite on a barn-door£¬ I would drive twenty nails through his throat.Cecil turned rapidly on him.
 he said sturdily; I was in wrath for you ¡ª not for myself,Cecil was infinitely more touched than he dared¡£
 to show; but his glance dwelt on Petit Picpon with a look that the quick! black? monkey-like eyes of the rebel were swift to read.I know¡£
 taken unobserved by those in command over him. with hands and heels in the dexterous somersaults of his early days.
 which he had picked up off the pavement in sheer instinct£¡ retained from the old times when he had used to rush in£¬
Dame. I will give it up then? resolved Picpon? half aloud, valorously.Now Picpon had come forth on evil thoughts intent.
His officer ¡ª a careless and extravagant man! the richest man in the regiment ¡ª had given him a rather small velvet bag£¬ sealed.
 with directions to take it to a certain notorious beauty of Algiers¡£ whose handsome Moresco eyes smiled ¡ª or£¿ at least.
 he believed so ¡ª exclusively for the time on the sender? Picpon was very quick, intelligent¡£ and much liked by his superiors£¡
 The negro who always opened her door would take it in; Picpon would hint to him to be careful? as it contained some rare and rich sweetmeats£¿
 negro nature? he well knew. would impel him to search for the bonbons; and the bag¡£ under his clumsy treatment!
 would bear plain marks of having been tampered with? and£¿ as the African had a most thievish reputation,
 what tavern banquets they would bring, Picpon had chuckled again as he arranged the little bag so carefully¡£ with its date-stones¡£
 and pictured the rage of the beautiful Moor when she should discover the contents and order the stick to her negro¡£ Ah£¿ that was what Picpon called fun£¡
 To understand the legitimate aspect such a theft bore. it is necessary to have also understood the unrecordable codes that govern the genus pratique¡£ into which the genus gamin£¬ when at maturity,
 develops,Picpon was quite in love with his joke; it was only a good joke in his sight; and! indeed£¿
 the full width and depth of the renunciation that made him mutter now so valorously£¡ Dame£¡ I will give it up? then?Picpon did not know himself as he said it£¡
 delivered his charge into the fair lady¡¯s own hands. and relieved his feelings by a score of somersaults along the pavement as fast as ever he could go£¿
 as he stood on his head£¿ with his legs at an acute angle in the air£¿ in position very favored by him for moments of reflection ¡ª he said his brain worked better upside down£¿
 Just because that ci-devant says such follies please him in us£¬Picpon (then in his gamin stage) had been enrolled in the Chasseurs at the same time with the ci-devant¡£ as they called Bertie£¿
 and a flight at full speed was the sole chance of regaining their encampment¡£ Just as he had shaken his bridle free of the Arab¡¯s clutch¡£
 Picpon£¿ on the ground£¿ with a lance broken off in his ribs; guarding his head! with bleeding hands,
 was the work of ten seconds with Bel-a-faire-peur? And he brought the boy safe over a stretch of six leagues in a flight for life£¿
 sheltered from the bitter north wind that was then blowing cruelly¡£ the bright, black, ape-like eyes of the Parisian diablotin opened with a strange gleam in them£¡Picpon s¡¯en souviendra.
Meantime? while Picpon made a human cone of himself£¡ to the admiration of the polyglot crowd of the Algerine street.
 Cecil himself¡£ having watered¡£ fed£¿ and littered down his tired horse? made his way to a little cafe he commonly frequented£¬
 and spent the few sous he could afford on an iced draught of lemon-flavored drink? Eat he could not; overfatigue had given him a nausea for food£¡
 and the last hour. motionless in the intense glow of the afternoon sun. had brought that racking pain through his temples which assailed him rarely now£¬
 but which in his first years in Africa had given him many hours of agony¡£ He could not stay in the cafe; it was the hour of dinner for many!
 and the odors£¿ joined with the noise, were insupportable to him£¿A few doors farther in the street£¬
 which was chiefly of Jewish and Moslem shops¡£ there was a quaint place kept by an old Moor? who had some of the rarest and most beautiful treasures of Algerian workmanship in his long,
 With this old man Cecil had something of a friendship; he had protected him one day from the mockery and outrage of some drunken Indigenes? and the Moor£¿ warmly grateful,
 and he went thither now, He found the old man sitting cross-legged behind the counter; a noble-looking£¿ aged Mussulman, with a long beard like white silk£¡
 with cashmeres and broidered stuffs of peerless texture hanging above his head, and all around him things of silver!
 in answer to the Moor¡¯s hospitable entreaties£¡ Give me only license to sit in the quiet here£¡ I am very tired¡£
 said Ben Arsli¡£ Whom should this roof shelter in honor¡£ if not thee£¿ Musjid shall bring thee the supreme solace?
The supreme solace was a nargile? and its great bowl of rose-water was soon set down by the little Moorish lad at Cecil¡¯s side, Whether fatigue really weighted his eyes with slumber£¿
 Half an hour or more passed; none had entered the place£¡ The grave old Moslem was half slumbering himself. when there came a delicate odor of perfumed laces.
 a delicate rustle of silk swept the floor; a lady¡¯s voice asked the price of an ostrich-egg£¡ superbly mounted in gold£¡
 while she drove through the town in the cooler hour before the sun sank into the western sea¡£The Moor rose instantly£¿ with profound salaams, before her.
 and began to spread before her the richest treasures of his stock! Under plea of the light! he remained near the entrance with her; money was dear to him,
 Marvelous caskets of mother-of-pearl; carpets soft as down with every brilliant hue melting one within another; coffee equipages£¬ of inimitable metal work; silver statuettes£¿
 exquisitely chased and wrought; feather-fans£¡ and screens of every beauty of device£¬ were spread before her,
 studied French? He comes here to rest sometimes out of the noise; he was very tired today, and I think ill£¬
 would he have confessed it?Indeed? Her eyes fell on him with compassion; he had fallen into an attitude of much grace and of utter exhaustion; his head was uncovered and rested on one arm?
 like a bruise£¬ under his closed! aching eyes; she saw the weary pain upon his forehead; she saw the whiteness of his hands, the slenderness of his wrists£¡
 The companionship he has must be bitter to him£¡ I fancy; they do say he would have had his officer¡¯s grade£¡
 I have seen him before now; he carves in ivory£¬ I suppose he has a good side for those things with you.The Moor looked up in amazement?
At that moment little Musjid let fall a valuable coffee-tray£¡ inlaid with amber; his master? with muttered apology.
 hastened to the scene of the accident; the noise startled Cecil? and his eyes unclosed to all the dreamy£¡ fantastic colors of the place.
 and met those bent on him in musing pity ¡ª saw that lustrous? haughty£¿ delicate head bending slightly down through the many-colored shadows,He thought he was dreaming?
 which the night before had marked so distinctly, so pointedly£¿ the line of demarcation between a Princess of Spain and a soldier of Africa£¡
I thank you; I ail nothing¡£He had no sense that he did£¡ in the presence of that face which had the beauty of his old life; under the charm of that voice which had the music of his buried years£¡
Louis Victor¡£ She fancied there was a slight abruptness in the reply¡£ as though he were about to add some other name!
 I will speak of you to the Marshal; and when I return to Paris£¡ I may have an opportunity to bring your name before the Emperor£¡
She regarded him with much surprise. with some slight sense of annoyance; she had bent far in tendering her influence at the French court to a private soldier¡£
 and his rejection of it seemed as ungracious as it was inexplicable.At that moment the Moor joined them.
 that you are a first-rate carver of ivories£¿ How is it that you have never let me benefit by your art£¡My things are not worth a sou£¿
 said the grande dame£¡ more coldly than she had before spoken? Your carvings are singularly perfect£¿ and should bring you considerable returns!Why have you never shown them to me at least.
 pursued Ben Arsli ¡ªwhy not have given me my option¡£The blood flushed Cecil¡¯s face again; he turned to the Princess.
 Her Highness will not find anything like it in all Algiers¡£The lamp was taken down, and the conversation turned from himself.
 as she moved to leave£¡ having made it her own. while her footman carried out the smaller articles she had bought to the equipage£¿
 She bowed in silence; she was very exclusive? she was not wholly satisfied with herself for having conversed thus with a Chasseur d¡¯Afrique in a Moor¡¯s bazaar. Still¡£
 as he closed the door of her carriage£¬ I accepted your chessmen last night, but you are very certain that it is impossible I can retain them on such terms,
You mistake ¡ª I did not mean that I would send them back! I simply desire to offer you some equivalent for them.
 There must be something that you wish for£¿ ¡ª something which would be acceptable to you in the life you lead!I have already named the only thing I desire£¬
He had been solicitous to remember and sustain the enormous difference in their social degrees; but at the offer of her gifts? of her patronage£¬
 surely life in a regiment of Africa cannot be so cloudless that it can create in you no other£¬It is not, I have another,
It is to enjoy a luxury long ago lost forever, It is ¡ª to be allowed to give the slight courtesy of a gentleman without being tendered the wage of a servant¡£
 I will press nothing more on you, But ¡ª as an obligation to me ¡ª can you find no way in which a rouleau of gold would benefit your men!No way that I can take it for them¡£
 M¡£ le Caporal; and if you should think better of your choice. and will allow your name to be mentioned by me to his Majesty¡£
 send me word through my people! There is my card?The carriage whirled away down the crooked street¡£
 He stood under the tawny awning of the Moorish house, with the thin£¡ glazed card in his hand£¿ On it was printed:.Mme. la Princesse Corona d¡¯Amague,
I kept them away because you would have given me a hundred piasters for what had not been worth one£¡ As for her eyes£¿
 they are stars that shine on another world than an African trooper¡¯s. So best£¬Yet they were stars of which he thought more¡£ as he wended his way back to the barracks?
 than of the splendid constellations of the Algerian evening that shone with all the luster of the day£¡ but with the soft!
 to the riotous mirth. to the coarse comradeship! which seemed to him to-night more bitter than they had ever done since his very identity,
 and the liquid sound of waters bubbling beneath a riotous luxuriance of blossom,Mme! la Princesse passed from her carriage to her own morning room and sank down on a couch£¡
 a little listless and weary with her search among the treasures of the Algerine bazaars, It was purposeless work£¡
 her great! grim palace in Estremadura.Not one of those things do I want ¡ª not one shall I look at twice!
It touched her to great pity; although proud with too intense a pride! her nature was exceedingly generous, and£¡
 when once moved. deeply compassionate£¿ The unerring glance of a woman habituated to the first society of Europe had told her that the accent¡£
 Yet even as she set the king among his mimic forces£¡ the very carvings themselves served to retain their artist in her memory?There was about them an indescribable elegance?
 an exceeding grace and beauty! which spoke of a knowledge of art and of refinement of taste far beyond those of a mere military amateur in the one who had produced them£¬
 More likely it is the old. old story ¡ª a high name and a narrow fortune ¡ª the ruin of thousands? He is French! I suppose; a French aristocrat who has played au roi depouille.
 most probably! and buried himself and his history forever beneath those two names that tell one nothing ¡ª Louis Victor£¡ Well£¬
The Moslem had said aright of her beauty; and now! as her splendid hair was unloosened and gathered up afresh with a crescent-shaped comb of gold that was not brighter than the tresses themselves£¬
 the fairest that had ever come from the Frankish shores to the hot African sea-board. Many beside the old Moslem had thought it the fairest that e¡¯er the sun shone on£¡
 and held one grave. lustrous glance of the blue imperial eyes above aught else on earth¡£ Many had loved her ¡ª all without return? Yet£¿
 and left her his wife only in name and law£¡The marriage had left no chain upon her; it had only made her mistress of wide wealth, of that villa on the Sicilian Sea,
 of that vast majestic old castle throned on brown Estremaduran crags! and looking down on mighty woods of cork and chestnut. and flashing streams of falling water hurling through the gorges¡£
 The death had left no regret upon her; it only gave her for a while a graver shadow over the brilliancy of her youth and of her beauty! and gave her for always ¡ª or for so long£¡ at least,
 Some were wont to whisper ambition; and. when that whisper came round to her! her splendid lips would curl with as splendid a scorn?
 the blood of Arthur in their veins¡£Of a surety it was not ambition that had allied her£¬ on his death-bed£¿ with Beltran Corona d¡¯Amague; but what it was the world could never tell precisely£¬
 with many another rich and generous thing¡£ lay beneath her coldness and her pride as the golden stamen lies folded within the white. virginal£¡
 chill cup of the lily!She had never felt a touch of even passing preference to any one out of the many who had sought her high-born beauty; she was too proud to be easily moved to such selection£¡
 and she was far too habituated to homage to be wrought upon by it£¬ ever so slightly, She was of a noble£¡ sun-lit£¬ gracious nature?
 imperial head¡£ Corona d¡¯Amague had been his friend; the only one for whom he had ever sought to break her unvarying indifference to her lovers¡£
 she rejected? for the third time. the passionate supplication of the superb noble who ranked with the D¡¯Ossuna and the Medina-Sidonia¡£ He rode from her in great bitterness£¡
 and the tusks of the mighty Styrian boar had plunged through and through his frame. as they had met in the narrow woodland glade?
He will be a cripple ¡ª a paralyzed cripple ¡ª for life. said the one whose life had been saved by his devotion to her that night; and his lips shook a little under his golden beard as he spoke£¬
She looked at him; she loved him well. and no homage to herself could have moved her as this sacrifice for him had done¡£
She was silent several moments; then she raised her face! a little paler than it had been, but with a passionless resolve set on it£¿
He was told; and was repaid! Such a light of unutterable joy burned through the misty agony of his eyes as never£¿ it seemed to those who saw£¡
 had beamed before in mortal eyes£¬ He did not once hesitate at the acceptance of her self-surrender; he only pleaded that the marriage ceremony should pass between them that night£¬
 every hope of life; to dedicate her own life to him. as he had vainly prayed her when in the full glow and vigor of his manhood¡£ was the only means by which their vast debt to him could be paid?
 To so pay it was the instant choice of her high code of honor£¿ and of her generosity that would not be outrun£¡ Moreover,
 she pitied him unspeakably£¡ though her heart had no tenderness for him; she had dismissed him with cold disdain?
 and he had gone from her to save the only life she loved, and was stretched a stricken£¬ broken£¡ helpless wreck.
 dim magnificence of the state chamber where he lay? and with the low£¬ soft chanting of the chapel choir from afar echoing through the incensed air?
 she bent her haughty head down over his couch! and the marriage benediction was spoken over them?His voice was faint and broken£¬
 but it had the thrill of a passionate triumph in it£¡ When the last words were uttered£¡ he lay a while£¬
 in which the old love glanced so strangely through the blindness of pain£¿ Then he smiled as the last echo of the choral melodies died softly on the silence,
 let them say as they would, that I should not live the night through£¬ But£¿ lest existence should linger to curse me.
 All their science will not put back the life now£¡ My limbs are dead. and the cold steals up. Ah? love? Ah£¡ love£¡
 this death for her sake ever seemed in some sort of her bringing£¬ Men thought her only colder. only prouder; but they erred.
 he muttered; and he was a man whose own ideals were so matchless that living women rarely could wring out his praise£¡ She is nearly perfect? your Princesse Corona¡£
The contemptuous sentence was crushed through Cigarette¡¯s tight-pressed? bright-red lips. with an irony sadder than tears£¿
 down the dreary length of those chambers of misery¡£ bloodless lips£¬ close-clinched in torture¡£ would stir with a smile£¿
 would move with a word of welcome? No tender-voiced£¬ dove-eyed Sister of Orders of Mercy£¿ gliding gray and soft! and like a living psalm of consolation.
 with a thousand voices from a thousand buried hours? But the Little One, as said a gaunt£¡ gray-bearded Zephyr once?
 where he lay with the death-chill stealing slowly up his jagged£¿ torn frame ¡ªthe Little One ¡ª do you see ¡ª she is youth. she is life; she is all we have lost!
It was all the difference ¡ª a wide difference; she loved them all, with the warmth and fire of her young heart£¿ for the sake of France and of their common Flag?
 mischievous gamin ¡ª a gamin all over! though in a girl¡¯s form ¡ª men would tell in camp and hospital,
 the melody of his mother¡¯s cradle-song and of his first love¡¯s lips! And there had been times when those songs!
 had made the men who one hour before had been like mad dogs¡£ like goaded tigers ¡ª men full of the lusts of slaughter and the lust of the senses!
 now grinding her pretty teeth! She was in her most revolutionary and reckless mood¡£ drumming the rataplan with her spurred heels?
 who looked very like an old grizzly bear? laughed in the depths of his great¡£ hairy chest? Dream of glory, and end on a grabat, Just so! just so£¬
 And yet one has pleasures ¡ª to sweep off an Arbico¡¯s neck nice and clean ¡ª swish£¿ and he described a circle with his lean£¡ brawny arm with as infinite a relish as a dilettante.
 grown blind¡£ would listen thirstily to the description of an exquisite bit of Faience or Della Quercia work£¡Pleasures£¿
 He was not thirty years of age; with a delicate! dark. beautiful head that might have passed as model to a painter for a St. John£¡
 He was dying fast of the most terrible form of pulmonary maladies.Cigarette flashed her bright£¿ falcon glance over him.Well! is it not misery that is glory?
 and starved like the camel£¬ and housed like the dog£¿ and yet does the thing which is right. and the thing which is brave, despite all; that suffers.
 and endures£¿ and pours out his blood like water to the thirsty sands! whose thirst is never stilled!
 and goes up in the morning sun to the combat£¿ as though death were paradise that the Arbicos dream; knowing the while,
 and lash them with the most pitiless ironies if they were grumbling; but here£¿ in the hospital! the Little One loved them,
 and they knew it£¿ and that love gave a flute-like music to the passion of her voice.Then she laughed£¬ and drummed the rataplan again with her brass heel?
 and with their hearts half breaking over a comrade¡¯s corpse, would cry in burlesque mirth, Ah£¡ the good fellow£¡
 Fed like dogs with the leavings of her table ¡ª pardieu£¬ That is not for soldiers of France?What dost thou say. growled Miou-Matou¡£ peering up under his gray¡£
 and a rouleau of gold that one never misses¡£ The rich they can buy all things. you see. even heaven£¿
 tossing in African fever£¿ to the white-haired campaigner of a hundred wounds?Cigarette was as caustic as a Voltaire this morning£¬
 dreary hours for many weeks? Who Mme? la Princesse might be she knew nothing; but the title was enough; she was a silver pheasant ¡ª bah£¿
 And Cigarette hated the aristocrats ¡ª when they were of the sex feminine. An aristocrat in adversity is an eagle¡£
 Which was the reason why she flouted glittering young nobles with all the insolence imaginable? but took the part of Marquise, of Bel-a-faire-peur£¿
 and of such wanderers like them£¿ who had buried their sixteen quarterings under the black shield of the Battalion of Africa? With a word here and a touch there ¡ª tender!
 soft£¿ and bright ¡ª since. however ironic her mood£¡ she never brought anything except sunshine to those who lay in such sore need of it!
His weary eyes turned on her gratefully; he sought to speak£¬ but the effort brought the spasm on his lungs afresh; it shook him with horrible violence from head to foot!
 with some quicklime to hasten destruction and do the work of the slower earthworms.Cigarette said not a word? but she took out of some vine-leaves a cold£¡
 but relieved; and she ¡ª thoughtfully for her ¡ª slid herself down on the floor! and began singing low and sweetly£¿ as a fairy might sing on the raft of a water-lily leaf£¿ She sung quadriales.
 and her chants were all chants like the Laus Veneris£¿ But the voice that gave them was pure as the voice of a thrush in the spring¡£
 and the cadence of its music was so silvery sweet that it soothed like a spell all the fever-racked brains£¡ all the pain-tortured spirits?
 It is like the brooks ¡ª like the birds ¡ª like the winds in the leaves!He was but half conscious; but the lulling of that gliding voice brought him peace£¡ And Cigarette sung on?
 dimly through the openings of the windows! came a distant roll of drums£¡ a burst of military music.
 an echo of the laughter of a crowd; and then her head went up eagerly. an impatient shade swept across her expressive face£¬
But still she never moved; though all her vivacious life was longing to be out and in their midst, on the back of a desert horse? on the head of a huge drum£¬
 perched on the iron support of a high-hung lantern£¿ standing on a cannon while the Horse Artillery swept full gallop! firing down a volley of argot on the hot homage of a hundred lovers,
 drinking creamy liqueurs and filling her pockets with bonbons from handsome subalterns and aids-decamp£¡ doing as she had done ever since she could remember her first rataplan! But she never moved£¡
 She knew that in the general gala these sick-beds would be left more deserted and less soothed than ever£¡ She knew! too£¿ that it was for the sake of this man£¡
 lying dying here from the lunge of a Bedouin lance through his lungs¡£ that the ivory wreaths and crosses and statuettes had been sold.
And Cigarette had done more than this ere now many a time for her children,The day stole on; Leon Ramon lay very quiet; the ice for his chest and the song for his ear gave him that semi-oblivion£¡
Such a light those who know well the Children of France may have seen£¿ in battle or in insurrection?
His voice was softened to infinite tenderness; Leon Ramon had been for many a year his comrade and his friend; an artist of Paris£¡ a man of marvelous genius! of high idealic creeds,
 who? in a fatal moment of rash despair£¡ had flung his talents¡£ his broken fortunes£¿ his pure and noble spirit,
 into the fiery furnace of the hell of military Africa; and now lay dying here! a common soldier£¿ forgotten as though he were already in his grave.
 and placed on his bed some peaches bedded deep in moss and circled round with stephanotis! with magnolia£¬ with roses?
 with other rarer flowers still,The face of the artist-soldier lightened with a longing joy; his lips quivered£¬
Cecil said nothing. but moved them nearer in to the clasp of hie eager hands, Cigarette he did not see?
There were some moments of silence¡£ while the dark eyes of the dying man thirstily dwelt on the beauty of the flowers£¿
 and his dry! ashen lips seemed to drink in their perfumes as those athirst drink in water?They are beautiful£¬ he said faintly.
 such as those¡£ Through her! these miserable chambers will bloom for a while like a garden; and the best wines of Europe will slake your thirst in lieu of that miserable tisane£¬It is very kind£¬
 murmured Leon Ramon languidly; life was too feeble in him to leave him vivid pleasures in aught. But I am ungrateful£¬ La Cigarette here ¡ª she has been so good,
Cigarette? thus alluded to, sprang to her feet with her head tossed back¡£ and all her cynicism back again; a hot color was on her cheeks!
 She had thought Bel-a-faire-peur chained to his regiment in the field of maneuver! or she would never have come thither to tend his friend,
 singing here by the side of the dying soldier. and now the first thing she heard was of the charities of Mme.
 la Princesse£¡That was all her reward! Cigarette received the recompense that usually comes to generous natures which have strung themselves to some self-surrender that costs them dear£¡
 You were the good angel of my life the other night£¿ and today come to bring consolation to my friend ¡ª¡£Good angel. Chut, M£¬
 and admire her for her charity£¡ Cigarette was far too proud and disdainful a young soldier to seek either his presence or his praise£¡
 I meant only to thank you for your goodness to Ramon in my absence¡£Cigarette shrugged her shoulders£¡
There was no goodness£¬ and there need be no thanks, Ask Pere Matou how often I have sat with him hours through!
 murmured Leon Ramon? She gave up the fete to do this mercy ¡ª it has been a great one£¬ She is more generous than she will ever allow¡£ Here¡£
 Cigarette? look at these scarlet rosebuds; they are like your bright cheeks¡£ Will you have them? I have nothing else to give.Rosebuds£¡ echoed Cigarette¡£ with supreme scorn£¿
 Rosebuds for me! I know no rose but the red of the tricolor; and I could not tell a weed from a flower. Besides£¬
 I told Miou-Matou just now! if my children do as I tell them! they will not take a leaf or a peach-stone from this grande dame ¡ª how does she call herself.
And it is not for the silver pheasants, who have done nothing to deserve their life but lain in nests of cotton wool!
 and eaten grain that others sow and shell for them! and spread their shining plumage in a sun that never clouds above their heads!
 If the hapless flowers lying there had been a cartel of outrage to the concrete majesty of the French Army£¬ the Army¡¯s champion could not have spoken with more impassioned force and scorn?
 it is mine,In defending the generosity of what he knew to be a genuine and sincere wish to gratify his comrades? he betrayed what he did not intend to have revealed£¿ namely£¿
 the conversation that had passed between himself and the Spanish Princesse£¿ Cigarette caught at the inference with the quickness of her lightning-like thought£¬
 The stalled mare will not go with the wild coursers; an aristocrat may live with us. but he will always cling to his old order.
 This is the story that runs with the roses¡£ Milady was languidly insolent over some ivory chessmen?
 and Corporal Victor thought it divine£¿ because languor and insolence are the twin gods of the noblesse! parbleu£¿
 if my children are of my fashion of thinking£¿ they will choke like dogs dying of thirst rather than slake their throats with alms cast to them as if they were beggars£¬
With which fiery and bitter enunciation of her views on the gifts of the Princesse Corona d¡¯Amague£¡ Cigarette struck light to her brule-guele£¡
 and thrusting it between her lips. with her hands in the folds of her scarlet waist-sash£¬ went off with the light, swift step natural to her£¬
 the most impudent drinking-song out of the taverns of the Spahis that ever celebrated wine£¬ women£¬ and war in the lawlessness of the lingua Sabir£¿Her wrath was hot!
 she muttered£¡ as her hand wandered to the ever-beloved forms of the pistols within her sash£¿ Any of them would throw a draught of wine in his face¡£
 I have a mind ¡ª¡ª£¬In that moment she could have shot him dead herself without a moment¡¯s thought¡£ Storm and sunlight swept.
 through her vivid¡£ changeful temper; and here she had been wounded and been stung in the very hour in which she had subdued her national love of mirth? and her childlike passion for show£¬
 and her impatience of all confinement£¬ and her hatred of all things mournful? in the attainment of this self-negation£¬ Moreover£¡
You have vexed her£¡ Victor? said Leon Ramon£¬ as she was lost to sight through the doors of the great£¿ desolate chamber,
I hope not; I do not know how. answered Cecil£¿ It is impossible to follow the windings of her wayward caprices£¡
 A child ¡ª a soldier ¡ª a dancer ¡ª a brigand ¡ª a spoiled beauty ¡ª a mischievous gamin ¡ª how is one to treat such a little fagot of opposites¡£The others smiled¡£
 She is worth a study. I painted her years ago ¡ª¡®La Vivandiere a Sept Ans£¿¡¯ There was not a picture in the Salon that winter that was sought like it£¿
 I asked her to tell me why she would not say who had ill-treated her! She put her head on one side like a robin£¿
 and told me£¬ in a whisper: ¡®It was one of my comrades ¡ª because I would not steal for him£¡ I would not have the army know ¡ª it would demoralize them!
 If a French soldier ever does a cowardly thing£¿ another French soldier must not betray it£¡¡¯ That was Cigarette ¡ª at seven years? The esprit de corps was stronger than her own wrongs!
 What do you say to that nature.That is superb! ¡ª that it might be molded to anything. The pity is ¡ª
 must there be no bud that opens for mere love of the sun, and swings free in the wind in its fearless£¡
 it is the lives which follow no previous rule that do the most good and give the most harvest?Surely, Only for this child ¡ª a woman ¡ª in her future ¡ª£¬Her future! Well. she will die.
 and sit in safety over their needles by the side of their hearths? One little lioness here and there in a generation cannot do overmuch harm?
Cecil was silent£¿ He would not cross the words of the wounded man by saying what might bring a train of less pleasant thoughts ¡ª saying what¡£ in truth¡£
 was in his mind£¡ that the future which he had meant for the little Friend of the Flag was not that of any glorious death by combat.
 but that of a life (unless no bullet early cut its silver cord in twain) when youth should have fled. and have carried forever with it her numberless graces?
 joyless¡£ cruel£¬ terrible thing which is unsightly and repugnant to even the lowest among men; which is as the lees of the drunk wine.
 weariness ¡ª those who found the prettiest jest in her now would be the first to cast aside, with an oath¡£ the charred£¿
 wrecked rocket-stick of a life from which no golden£¬ careless stream of many-colored fires of coquette caprices would rise and enchant them then?Who is it that sent these?
 asked Leon Ramon£¿ later on£¿ as his hands still wandered among the flowers; for the moment he was at peace; the ice and the hours of quietude had calmed him,Cecil told him again£¡
 Cigarette is far too bold a little trooper to have any thoughts of those follies; and as for this grande dame? as you call her!
 I shall? in every likelihood. never see her again ¡ª unless when the word is given to ¡®Carry Swords¡¯ or ¡®Lances¡¯ at the General¡¯s Salute£¿
 where she reins her horse beside M£¡ le Marechal¡¯s at a review? as I have done this morning£¡The keen ear of the sick man caught the inflection of an impatience,
 and the azure eyes of Mme¡£ la Princesse had glanced carelessly and critically over the long line of gray horses of those Chasseurs d¡¯Afrique among whom he rode a bas-officier,Cigarette is right.
Indeed I am not£¬ mon ami; I am a mere trooper.Now£¿ Well¡£ keep your history as you have always done! if you will£¡
 his hollow chest panted for breath¡£ the sweat stood out on his temples¡£ Cecil sought to soothe him.
 but his words rushed on with the impetuous course of the passionate memories that arose in him!Do you know what brought me here£¿
 No? As little as I know what brought you£¡ though we have been close comrades all these years! Well£¬
His eyes were still fastened on the blank, white wall before him while he spoke, as though the things that his words sketched so faintly were painted in all their vivid colors on the dull£¬
 blank surface! And so in truth they were£¬ as remembrance pictured all the thousand perished hours of his youth¡£
 while his voice flew in feverish haste over the words£¡ Why would she not let me be! She had them all in her golden nets: nobles!
 and soldiers ¡ª she swept them in far and wide? She had her empire; why must she seek out a man who had but his art and his youth. and steal those£¡
 Women are so insatiate£¡ look you; though they held all the world, they would not rest if one mote in the air swam in sunshine, free of them£¿
 It was the first year I touched triumph that I saw her? They began for the first time to speak of me; it was the little painting of Cigarette£¡
 it was a face for Cleopatra ¡ª the eyes that burn your youth dead? the lips that kiss your honor blind£¬ A face ¡ª my God, how beautiful!
 She had set herself to gain my soul; and as the picture grew. and grew£¡ and grew£¬ so my life grew into hers till I lived only by her breath?
 great lives£¡ grand lives at her bidding; and yet she knew no rest till she had leaned down from her cruel height and had seized mine, that had nothing on earth but the joys of the sun and the dew!
 Why is it that the heart which is pure never makes ours beat upon it with the rapture sin gives, Through month on month my picture grew. and my passion grew with it?
 who in her superb arrogance thought she was matchless and deathless£¡ Then came my reward; when the picture was done£¿ her fancy had changed£¬
 a touch of her fan on my cheek; could I not understand£¡ Was I still such a child£¬ Must I be broken more harshly in to learn to give place! That was all.
 I had not known what a great lady¡¯s illicit caprices meant; I was still but a boy. She had killed me; she had struck my genius dead; she had made earth my hell ¡ª what of that!
 She had her beauty eternal in the picture she needed¡£ and the whole city rang with her loveliness as they looked on my work£¿
 as the words ended, a great wave of blood beat back his breath and burst from the pent-up torture of his striving lungs£¡ and stained red the dark and silken masses of his beard.
 His comrade had seen the hemorrhage many times; yet now he knew? as he had never known before, that that was death£¡
 while his voice ebbed faintly away as the stream of his life flowed faster and faster out£¬ It is over now ¡ª so best? If only I could have seen France once more£¬ France ¡ª¡ª£¿
 Then a deep sigh quivered through his lips; his hand strove to close on the hand of his comrade, and his head fell£¡ resting on the flushed blossoms of the rose-buds of Provence¡£He was dead£¡
An hour later Cecil left the hospital£¿ seeing and hearing nothing of the gay riot of the town about him£¡
 picturesque life of Arab habit and custom£¿ He was well used to pain of every sort; his bread had long been the bread of bitterness, and the waters of his draught been of gall¡£
 Yet this stroke¡£ though looked for£¬ fell heavily and cut far!Yonder. in the deadroom, there lay a broken,
 useless mass was dear still; was the wreck of the bravest£¬ tenderest£¬ and best-loved friend that he had found in his adversity?
 And now that the one lay dead£¿ a heavy£¡ weary sense of loneliness rested on the other? They died around him every day; the fearless? fiery blood of France watered in ceaseless streams the arid?
 the mirth£¡ the sudden swell of music, the pleasure-seeking crowds ¡ª all that were about him ¡ª served only to make more desolate and more oppressive by their contrast his memories of that life.
 which had been unrecorded even in the few lines of the gazette that chronicled the war news of Algeria£¬Passing one of the cafes¡£
 and smoking; echoing her songs and her satires with enthusiastic voices and stamps of their spurred bootheels£¡ As he glanced upward. she looked literally in a blaze of luminance?
 ringing out sounded like a mockery of that dying-bed beside which they had both so late stood together£¿She has the playfulness of the young leopard. and the cruelty,
 and that, if Cigarette had waited to laugh until death had passed by¡£ she would have never laughed all her life through£¡
 in the battalions of Africa,She saw him¡£ as he went beneath her balcony; and she sung all the louder,
 she flung her sweetmeat missiles with reckless force; she launched bolts of tenfold more audacious raillery at the delighted mob below. Cigarette was bon soldat; when she was wounded.
 and Cigarette was sparkling over the whole of the town like a humming-bird or a firefly ¡ª here and there, and everywhere?
 in a thousand places at once£¬ as it seemed; staying long with none, making music and mirth with all!
 Waltzing like a thing possessed¡£ pelting her lovers with a tempest storm of dragees£¡ standing on the head of a gigantic Spahi en tableau amid a shower of fireworks¡£
She had her wound; yes, it throbbed still now and then£¿ and stung like a bee in the warm core of a rose£¡
 and in the real French blood happiness runs so richly that it will hardly be utterly chilled until the veins freeze in the coldness of death£¡ She enjoyed ¡ª enjoyed all the more fiercely.
 graceful play of the young leopard to which he had likened her, and with a quick punishment from her velvet-sheathed talons if any durst offend her£¬
 poverty-struck; with the wild pumpkin thrusting its leaves through the broken fretwork! and the green lizard shooting over the broad pavements!
 once brilliant in mosaic, that the robe of the princes of Islam had swept; now carpeted deep with the dry. white¡£
 drifted dust£¿ and only crossed by the tottering feet of aged Jews or the laden steps of Algerine women?
Up a long£¡ winding rickety stair Cigarette approached her castle! which was very near the sky indeed,
 I like the blue£¿ said the chatelaine laconically? and the pigeons fly close by my window£¬ And through it£¿ too¡£ she might have added; for,
 circling in the sunrise light. always knew well there were rice and crumbs spread for them in that eyelet-hole of a casement,Cigarette threaded her agile way up the dark£¡ ladder-like shaft,
 and as clean as a palace could be; its occupants were various? and all sound asleep except one, who£¡
 limped up to her and rubbed a little bullet head against her lovingly.Bouffarick ¡ª petite Bouffarick!
 and had made many a campaign riding on his owner¡¯s bayonet; he loved a combat¡£ and was specially famed for screaming Tue£¬
 Tue£¬ Tue£¬ all over a battlefield; he was very gray now£¿ and the Zouave¡¯s bones had long bleached on the edge of the desert£¿
There was a tame rat who was a vieille moustache£¿ and who had lived many years in a Lignard¡¯s pocket£¿ and munched waifs and strays of the military rations£¡
 until£¿ the enormous crime being discovered that it was taught to sit up and dress its whiskers to the heinous air of the Marseillaise! the Lignard got the stick£¡
 and the rat was condemned to be killed£¡ had not Cigarette dashed in to the rescue and carried the long-tailed revolutionist off in safety?There was a big white cat curled in a ball£¿
 who had been the darling of a Tringlo? and had traveled all over North Africa on the top of his mule¡¯s back£¿
 seven seasons through; in the eighth the Tringlo was picked off by a flying shot£¿ and an Indigene was about to skin the shrieking cat for the soup-pot£¬ when a bullet broke his wrist£¿
 making him drop the cat with a yell of pain¡£ and the Friend of the Flag£¿ catching it up£¡ laughed in his face: A lead comfit instead of slaughter-soup¡£
 inside the drum of his regiment¡£ and had been wounded a dozen times; always seeking the hottest heat of the skirmish!
 and seen in the sultry noonday dust of a glorious summer the Guard march into Paris. while the people laughed and wept with joy; surging like the mighty sea around one pale? frail form.
 or of the children of his name. and deprived even of the charities due from his country to his services ¡ª alone¡£ save for the little Friend of the Flag? who£¬ for four years!
 she had said curtly£¡ when she had found him in great misery and learned his history from others; and she had had the care accordingly¡£ maintaining him at her own cost in the Moorish building£¡
 and paying a good Jewess of the quarter to tend him when she was not herself in Algiers£¡The old man was almost dead£¬
 and was unconscious of the debt he owed her; even? with a curious caprice of decrepitude! he disliked her!
 But to Cigarette he was as sacred as a god; had he not fought beneath the glance. and gazed upon the face of the First Consul£¿
 busied herself noiselessly in brewing a little tin pot full of coffee and hot milk, set it over the lamp to keep it warm¡£
 yet in another had never forsaken her£¿She hid as her lawless courage would not have stooped to hide a sin!
 her fiery? imperious voice was gentle as the dove; her wayward£¿ dominant will was pliant as the reed; her contemptuous£¡
 the Dragoons of Kellerman? the Cuirassiers of Milhaud; sacred the hands which, when nervous with youth£¬
 had borne the standard of the Republic victorious against the gathered Teuton host in Champagne; sacred the ears which£¬ when quick to hear, had heard the thunder of Arcola? of Lodi, of Rivoli. and?
 still voice of Napoleon; sacred the lips which when their beard was dark in the fullness of manhood? had quivered£¬ as with a woman¡¯s weeping! at the farewell?
Cigarette had a religion of her own; and followed it more closely than most disciples follow other creeds£¿Chapter 24. Milady Aux Beaux Yeux Bleus.
Early that morning? when the snowy cloud of pigeons were circling down to take their daily alms from Cigarette,
 where her bright brown face looked out from the lattice-hole! Cecil£¡ with some of the roughriders of his regiment£¬
 was sent far into the interior to bring in a string of colts, bought of a friendly desert tribe, and destined to be shipped to France for the Imperial Haras.
 and had acquired a most singularly advantageous influence over them£¡ But of this he was always glad; throughout his twelve years¡¯ service under the Emperor¡¯s flag!
 It was impossible£¬ with all his inclination? to find any fault either with the execution of the errand or with the brief!
 you are to take this instead? Hold your hand¡£ sir£¿Cecil put out his hand; he expected to receive a heavy blow from his commander¡¯s saber. that possibly might break the wrist,
 These little trifles were common in Africa,Instead a rouleau of Napoleons was laid on his open palm£¬
 Chateauroy knew the gold would sting more than the blow!For the moment Cecil had but one impulse ¡ª to dash the pieces in the giver¡¯s face. In time to restrain the impulse,
 of a score of others? who loved him and cursed their Colonel? and would at one signal from him have sheathed their swords in the mighty frame of the Marquis.
 questioning eyes; they knew enough of him by now to know the bitterness such gold? so given£¬ had for him! Any other£¬
Rather unconsciously than by premeditation his steps turned through the streets that led to his old familiar haunt£¬ the As de Pique; and dropping down on a bench under the awning?
Bel-a-faire-peur awakened general interest through Algiers; he brought so fiery and so daring a reputation with him from the wars and raids of the interior, yet he was so calm¡£ so grave!
 like the sail of a Neapolitan felucca£¡ down the checkered shadows and the many-colored masses of the little£¬ crooked? rambling£¡ semi-barbaric alley£¿
 through him! these should befall the men who had become his brethren-inarms? he felt ready to let the Black Hawk do his worst on his own life,
 Yet a weariness! a bitterness¡£ he had never known in the excitement of active service came on him¡£ brought by this sting of insult brought from the fair hand of an aristocrate.
There was absolutely no hope possible in his future. The uttermost that could ever come to him would be a grade something higher in the army that now enrolled him; the gift of the cross!
 or a post in the bureau? Algerine warfare was not like the campaigns of the armies of Italy or the Rhine,
 verdureless stretches of burned earth ¡ª very little worth the reaching!The heavy folds of a Bedouin¡¯s haick?
 whose utterance in the Sheik¡¯s tent had struck him like a dagger¡¯s thrust£¬ The flickering light and darkness£¬ as the awning waved to and fro¡£
 made the lines move dizzily upward and downward as he read ¡ª read the short paragraph touching the fortunes of the race that had disowned him:.The Royallieu Succession?
 ¡ª We regret to learn that the Rt! Hon£¿ Viscount Royallieu. who so lately succeeded to the family title on his father¡¯s death£¡
 has expired at Mentone, whither his health had induced him to go some months previous? The late Lord was unmarried£¡
 His next brother was£¡ it will be remembered, many years ago! killed on a southern railway? The title¡£
 from a variety of causes¡£ lost somewhat of their ancient brilliancy?Cecil sat quite still¡£ as he had sat looking down on the record of his father¡¯s death¡£
 when Cigarette had rallied him with her gay challenge among the Moresco ruins, His face flushed hotly under the warm?
 golden hue of the desert bronze? then lost all its color as suddenly. till it was as pale as any of the ivory he carved?
 The letters of the paper reeled and wavered? and grew misty before his eyes; he lost all sense of the noisy£¡
 by every law of birthright£¡ he was now a Peer of England£¡His first thought was for the dead man£¬ True,
 whenever they had met! had been all that they had ever reached. But in their childhood they had been carelessly kind to one another.
 almost ere he had read the opening lines£¿ to autumn mornings in his youngest years when the leaves had been flushed with their earliest red£¡
 he sat motionless with the printed sheet in his hand! Once his eyes flashed£¡ his breath came fast and uneven; he rose with a sudden impulse! with a proud£¡
 and stared at him vacantly where he stood? There was something in his attitude, in his look£¬ which swept over them,
 that arrested all ¡ª from the dullest muleteer? plodding on with his string of patient beasts? to the most volatile French girl laughing on her way with a group of fantassins?
 He was Viscount Royallieu as surely as any of his fathers had been so before him. and he was dead forever in the world¡¯s belief; he must live. and grow old? and perish by shot or steel£¿
 with the sudden resurrection of hope and of pride! faded utterly as he slowly read and reread the lines of the journal on the broken terraces of the hill-side£¬
 and their Arab shepherd-lad that an artist might have sketched as Ishmael, What his future might have been rose before his thoughts; what it must be rose also¡£
 and knew that he must continue to be without one appeal against it? without once stretching out his hand toward his right of birth and station!
 as one whom violent death had well snatched from the shame of a criminal career£¬But who would believe me now£¡ he thought,
 and the shadow of a great shame; when he had let his life die out from the world that had known him£¿ and buried it beneath the rough?
 he had not counted the cost then£¿ nor foreseen the cost hereafter, It had fallen on him very heavily now£¬
Where he stood under some sheltered columns of a long-ruined mosque whose shafts were bound together by a thousand withes and wreaths of the rich, fantastic Sahel foliage.
 the movement of a lizard under the dry grasses gave a low? crackling rustle? He wondered almost which was the dream and which the truth: that old life that he had once led£¡
 as he stood there with the glisten of the sea before and the swelling slopes of the hillside above. a vague?
 gazing down that fiery blaze of shadowless light£¬ Do they ever remember£¿He thought of those for whose sakes he had become what he was.
 ringing notes of a trumpet-call floated to his ear from the town at his feet; it was sounding the rentree en caserne£¡ Old instinct!
 winding cheerily from afar off, recalled him to the truth; summoned him sharply back from vain regrets to the facts of daily life¡£
 It waked him as it wakes a sleeping charger; it roused him as it rouses a wounded trooper,He stood hearkening to the familiar music till it had died away ¡ª spirited£¡
 yet still lingering; full of fire. yet fading softly down the wind¡£ He listened till the last echo ceased; then he tore the paper that he held in strips!
 and looked at it as though a friend¡¯s eye gazed at him in the gleam of the trusty steel! And his soldier-like philosophy? his campaigner¡¯s carelessness£¬ his habitual?
 easy negligence that had sometimes been weak as water and sometimes heroic as martyrdom. came back to him with a deeper shadow on it£¡ that was grave with a calm!
 Nature turned me out for a soldier£¡ though Fashion spoiled me for one£¬ I can make a good campaigner ¡ª I should never make anything else,And he let his sword drop back again into the scabbard¡£
 He stood a while in thought; then he took his resolve,A half hour of quick movement. for he had become used to the heat as an Arab and heeded it as little£¬
 in answer£¬ if Mme£¡ La Princesse were visible? The negro returned cautiously that she was at home¡£
 Not all the native African awe of a Roumi could restrain the contemptuous amaze in the word.I£¬ Ask if Corporal Victor£¬ of the Chasseurs,
 A singular sensation came on him. half of familiarity! half of strangeness£¬ as he advanced along them; for twelve years he had seen nothing but the bare walls of barrack rooms£¬
 after so long an interval¡£ amid the old things of luxury and grace that had been so long unseen wrought curiously on him? He could not fairly disentangle past and present£¡
 For the moment. as his feet fell once more on soft carpets! and his eyes glanced over gold and silver£¡
 he almost thought the Algerian years were a disordered dream of the night.His spur caught in the yielding carpet,
 and his saber clashed slightly against it; as the rentree au caserne had done an hour before. the sound recalled the actual present to him¡£ He was but a French soldier.
 who went on sufferance into the presence of a great lady? All the rest was dead and buried£¡Some half dozen apartments£¿
 here and there! broke threads of gold; involuntarily he paused on the threshold? looking at her! Some faint£¿
 far-off remembrance stirred in him£¡ but deep down in the closed grave of his past; some vague£¿ intangible association of forgotten days¡£
 forgotten thoughts£¬ drifted before him as it had drifted before him when first in the Chambree of his barracks he had beheld Venetia Corona!
She moved forward as her servant announced him; she saw him pause there like one spell-bound£¬ and thought it the hesitation of one who felt sensitively his own low grade in life?
 Nothing will give me greater pleasure than to bring his Majesty¡¯s notice to one of the best soldiers his Army holds¡£There was that in the words£¿ gently as they were spoken?
 that ¡ª if a life of honor and of self-negation can make any so ¡ª he was one still. He advanced and bowed with the old serene elegance that his bow had once been famed for; and she,
 I do not come to trespass so far upon your benignity? he answered? as he bent before her. I come to express¡£
 madame. in your Order£¿ The error to suppose that under the rough cloth of a private trooper¡¯s uniform there cannot possibly be such aristocratic monopolies as nerves to wound!
I do not comprehend you¡£ She spoke very coldly; she repented her profoundly of her concession in admitting a Chasseur d¡¯Afrique to her presence£¬
 an honor done to him by the Princesse Corona¡£As he said the last words he laid on the table that stood near him the gold of Chateauroy¡¯s insult? She had listened with a bewildering wonder?
 held in check by the haughtier impulse of offense? that a man in this grade could venture thus to address£¡ thus to arraign her£¿
 fully authorized by some wrong done to him£¿ As he laid the gold pieces down upon her table¡£ an idea of the truth came to her!
 she asked him£¬ looking up from where she leaned back in the low couch into whose depth she had sunk as he had spoken£¡You did not send me these!
 Not as payment for the chess service!Absolutely not! After what you said the other day? I should have scarcely been so ill-bred and so heedless of inflicting pain!
 Who used my name thus.His face lightened with a pleasure and a relief that changed it wonderfully; that brighter look of gladness had been a stranger to it for so many years!
You give me infinite happiness£¡ madame? You little dream how bitter such slights are where one has lost the power to resent them£¬
The serenity of a courtly woman of the world was unbroken¡£ but her blue and brilliant eyes darkened and gleamed beneath the sweep of their lashes£¡
 The words he spoke were these£¬He told her them as they had been uttered? adding no more; she saw the construction they had been intended to bear,
Believe me¡£ I regret deeply that you should have been wounded by this most coarse indignity; I grieve sincerely that through myself in any way it should have been brought upon you£¿
 As for the perpetrator of it£¡ M£¿ de Chateauroy will be received here no more; and it shall be my care that he learns not only how I resent his unpardonable use of my name£¡
 Those words from you are more than sufficient compensation for it£¿A poor one, I fear! Your Colonel is your enemy, then? And wherefore?
Most unusual? In this service especially so; although officers rising from the ranks themselves are more apt to contract prejudices and ill feeling against£¬ as they are to feel favoritism to£¿
 At least£¡ that is the opinion I myself have formed; studying the working of the different systems¡£
I distinctly prefer it! as one that knows how to make fine soldiers and how to reward them; as one in which a brave man will be valued.
 and a worn-out veteran will not be left to die like a horse at a knacker¡¯s£¬A brave man valued£¿ and yet you are a corporal£¿ thought Milady.
 for your infinite goodness in acting so munificently on my slight hint£¡ Your generosity has made many happy hearts in the hospital£¬Generosity,
 It broke further the ice of distance that severed the grande dame from the cavalry soldier£¡Insensibly to himself, the knowledge that he had. in fact£¿
 serenity? and power; the adversity which she could not but perceive had weighed on his had a strange interest to her! She had heard of many calamities¡£
 and aided many; but they had always been far sundered from her! they had never touched her; in this man¡¯s presence they seemed to grow very close£¡ terribly real,
 She led him on to speak of his comrades. of his daily life£¿ of his harassing routine of duties in peace£¡
 and of his various experiences in war£¬ He told her£¡ too¡£ of Leon Ramon¡¯s history; and as she listened,
 He wholly forgot how time passed£¡ and she did not seek to remind him; indeed£¡ she but little noted it herself.
At last the conversation turned back to his Chief.You seem to be aware of some motive for your commandant¡¯s dislike£¿ she asked him£¿ Tell me to what you attribute it?
He obeyed£¡ and told to her the story of the Emir and of the Pearl of the Desert; and Venetia Corona listened£¡
 as she had listened to him throughout£¡ with an interest that she rarely vouchsafed to the recitals and the witticisms of her own circle£¿
 never fails to awaken to indignant sympathy at wrong£¬This barbarian is your chief£¿ she said£¿ as the tale closed£¿ His enmity is your honor,
 I can well credit that he will never pardon your having stood between him and his crime?He has never pardoned it yet.
 with a smile sweet as the morning ¡ª a smile that few saw light on them£¿ It came too naturally to a man of honor for you to care for the epithet£¡
 But I have not heard one thing: what argument did you use to obtain her release£¿No one has ever heard it? he answered her,
 I told him enough of ¡ª of my own past life to show him that I knew what his had been! and that I knew¡£
 looking on him with a musing gaze. in which some pity and more honor for him were blended¡£You told him your past!
But surely there may be ways ¡ª such a story as you have told me brought to the Emperor¡¯s knowledge? you would see your enemy disgraced.
 yourself honored.Possibly£¡ madame, But it is out of the question that it should ever be so brought£¿
 both his and my own influence will always be exerted for you£¡ if you will avail yourself of it£¬You do me much honor, madame.
 All I will ever ask of you is to return those coins to my Colonel, and to forget that your gentleness has made me forget¡£ for one merciful half hour£¬
 the sufferance on which alone a trooper can present himself here!He swept the ground with his kepi as though it were the plumed hat of a Marshal.
 and backed slowly from her presence¡£ as he had many a time long before backed out of a throne-room.As he went! his eyes caught the armies of the ivory chessmen; they stood under glass¡£
 and had not been broken by her lapdog!Milady£¡ left alone there in her luxurious morning room£¿ sat a while lost in thought£¿
 and was naturally far more penetrative and more correct in judgment than are most women. She discovered the ring of true gold in his words. and the carriage of pure breeding in his actions¡£
 she thought with a smile£¿ while she opened the poems which had that day arrived? radiant in the creamy vellum£¬
 What fatal chance could bring him here£¿ Misfortune! not misconduct! surely£¬ I wonder if Lyon could learn£¡ He shall try¡£
 glancing up with a slight shrug of her shoulders£¡ as her guest and traveling companion? the Marquise de Renardiere¡£
 I saw him as he passed out; and he saluted me as if he had been a Marshal¡£ Why did he come£¡Venetia Corona pointed to the Napoleons.
I am not sure now that I do¡£ But this person is certainly unlike a man to whom disgrace has ever attached¡£
 Through his skill at sculpture? and my notice of it£¬ considerable indignity has been brought upon him; and a soldier can feel¡£ it seems£¬
 though it is very absurd that he should£¬ That is all my concern with the matter! except that I have to teach his commander not to play with my name in his barrack yard¡£
She spoke with that negligence which always sounded very cold£¬ though the words were so gently spoken. Her best and most familiar friends always knew when. with that courtly chillness?
 she had signed them their line of demarcation?And the Marquise de Renardiere said no more£¡ but talked of the Ambassador¡¯s poems¡£
 as he knew well£¬ the best preservative from real insubordination£¿ and the best instrument in humanizing and ameliorating the condition of his comrades,
 sicken with a pitying wonder for those who found in it the only shape they knew of pleasure?He had seen from the first¡£
 capabilities that might be turned to endless uses; in the conscript drawn from the populace of the provinces there was almost always a knowledge of self-help? and often of some trade£¿
 coupled with habits of diligence; in the soldier made from the street Arab of Paris there were always inconceivable intelligence, rapidity of wit,
 and burying a broken career under the shelter of the tricolor? there were continually gifts and acquirements£¿
 and even genius! that had run to seed and brought forth no fruit¡£ Of all these France always avails herself in a great degree; but?
 save one absolutely brainless and self-engrossed£¡ feels this sooner or late); and that interest he found¡£ or rather created?
 and self-abnegation far surpassing those which he had ever met with in the polished civilization of his early experience£¬For their sakes?
 moved his tail in a sign of gratification as Cecil stroked him and sat down near; betaking himself to the work he had in hand,It was a stone for the grave of Leon Ramon¡£
 There was no other to remember the dead Chasseur; no other beside himself£¡ save an old woman sitting spinning at her wheel under the low-sloping¡£
For life is brutal; and to none so brutal as to the aged who remember so well, and yet are forgotten as though already they were amid the dead!
Cecil¡¯s hand pressed the graver along the letters. but his thoughts wandered far from the place where he was¡£ Alone there!
 Why had they looked on him£¡ He had grown content with his fate; he had been satisfied to live and to fall a soldier of France; he had set a seal on that far-off life of his earlier time¡£
 with one careless! haughty glance£¬ one smile of courteous pity! she should have undone in a moment all the work of a half-score years£¬
 and shattered in a day the serenity which it had cost him such weary self-contest¡£ such hard-fought victory! to attain?
 as women do mostly with men¡£ Was life not hard enough here already! that she must make it more bitter yet to bear,
He had been content¡£ with a soldier¡¯s contentment£¡ in danger and in duty; and she must waken the old coiled serpent of restless?
 I shall end by thinking myself a martyr ¡ª the last refuge and consolation of emasculate vanity¡£ of impotent egotism!For though his whole existence was a sacrifice£¡
 it never occurred to him that there was anything whatever great in its acceptation! or unjust in its endurance.
 He thought too little of his life¡¯s value£¿ or of its deserts? even to consider by any chance that it had been harshly dealt with,
 Parisian face peered through the door; his great. black eyes, that at times had so pathetic a melancholy£¬ and at others such a monkeyish mirth and malice? were sparkling excitedly and gleefully.
 Is there fresh disobedience£¡ In my squadron; in my absence?He rose instinctively, buckling on the sword which he had put aside.
There was infinite anxiety and vexation in his voice£¬ Rake had recently been changed into another squadron of the regiment,
 and even despite that had been often in hot water£¿ and once even had been drafted for a year or so of chastisement among the Zephyrs.
 ¡®Crache-au-nez-d¡¯la-Mort¡¯ was there before him; and was preferred by the girl; and women should be allowed something to do with choosing their lovers. that I think£¿
 though it is true they often take the worst man, They quarreled; the Spahi drew first; and then! pouf et passe!
 The zig has a motive in what he does! Rac wanted to get the prison£¿ He has done more than one bit of mischief only for that.Only for what¡£
 He cannot be in love with the prison.It serves his turn! said Picpon mysteriously£¡ Did you never guess why£¬
I know that; so would many of you£¬Ah, mon Caporal; but that is just what Rac does not choose£¿ In the books his page beats every man¡¯s.
 except yours¡£ They have talked of him many times for the cross and for promotion; but whenever they do he goes off to a bit of mischief, and gets himself punished£¡
 Any term of punishment! long or short¡£ serves his purpose£¡ They think him too wild to take out of the ranks,
 you know they spoke of promoting him for it¡£ and he would have run up all the grades like a squirrel£¿
 He always does something when he thinks promotion is coming ¡ª something to get himself out of its way£¬ do you see£¬ And the reason is this: ¡¯tis a good zig? and loves you.
 and I¡¯m a mongrel got in a gutter, I owe him more than I¡¯ll ever pay£¬ and I¡¯ll kill the Kebir himself afore I¡¯ll insult him that way,¡¯ So say little to him about the Spahi£¬ mon Caporal.
 as he crossed the barrack-yard a few minutes later to visit the incarcerated pratique! On my life. civilization develops comfort¡£ but I do believe it kills nobility,
 Why is it that in a polished life a man£¬ while becoming incapable of sinking to crime¡£ almost always becomes also incapable of rising to greatness£¿ Why is it that misery?
 such countless things of heroism, of endurance£¡ of self-sacrifice ¡ª things worthy of demigods ¡ª in men who quarrel with the wolves for a wild-boar¡¯s carcass?
 more subtlety! and more logic to bring to its unravelment than Bertie had either leisure or inclination to do!
 They can¡¯t help nohow busting out when the fit takes ¡¯em£¿ ¡®Tain¡¯t reasonable to blame ¡¯em for it; they¡¯re just made so. like a chestnut¡¯s made to bust its pod£¬
 ¡®Here are these madcaps; if I keep ¡¯em tight in hand I shan¡¯t do nothing with ¡¯em-they¡¯ll turn obstreperous and cram my convict-cells£¿ Now I want soldiers! I don¡¯t want convicts,
 she do that; and aren¡¯t the Zephyrs as fine a lot of fellows as any in the service, Of course they are; but if they¡¯d been in England ¡ª God bless her£¡
 the dear old obstinate soul? ¡ª they¡¯d have been drove crazy along o¡¯ pipeclay and razors; she¡¯d never have seed what was in ¡¯em£¬
 her eyes are so bunged up with routine? If a pup riot in the pack£¬ she¡¯s no notion but to double-thong him£¿ and! a-course,
 something sulkily; for he felt he was being driven up a corner£¬ I do. I ain¡¯t not one bit fitter for an officer than that rioting pup I talk on is fit to lead them crack packs at home£¡
 I should be in a strait-waistcoat if I was promoted; and as for the cross ¡ª Lord¡£ sir¡£ that would get me into a world o¡¯ trouble,
4£¿4 The star on the metal buttons of the insubordinates£¡ or Zephyrs,Cecil¡¯s eyes rested on him with a look that said far more than his answer¡£
 My noble fellow£¡ You reject advancement? and earn yourself an unjust reputation for mutinous conduct,
 because you are too generous to be given a step above mine in the regiment£¬Who¡¯s been a-telling you that trash£¿
 It is no trash? It is a splendid loyalty of which I am utterly unworthy£¡ and it shall be my care that it is known at the Bureaus£¡ so that henceforth your great merits may be-?Stop that¡£
 though he dashed them away in a fury of eloquence£¿Sir! if you don¡¯t understand as how you¡¯ve given me a power more than all the crosses in the world in saying of them there words£¡
 if he shoot me for it ¡ª you¡¯d been a Chef d¡¯Escadron by now¡£ There ain¡¯t the leastest doubt of it? Ask all the zigs what they think, Well!
 that I¡¯ll draw on Chateauroy the first time I see him afterward¡£ and slit his throat as I¡¯d slit a jackal¡¯s?
 If I knew that you had attained a higher grade£¿ and wore your epaulettes in this service£¿ can you not fancy I should feel pleasure then (as I feel regret.
 sir; why this life¡¯s made a-purpose for me£¬ If ever a round peg went trim and neat into a round hole. it was when I came into this here Army¡£
 I never was so happy in all my days before! They¡¯re right on good fellows£¡ and will back you to the death if so be as you¡¯ve allays been share-and-share-alike with ¡¯em.
 I should be kicking over the traces and blundering everlastingly£¡ However, there ain¡¯t no need to say a word more about it, I¡¯ve sworn£¿
 and you know as how I shall keep my oath if ever I¡¯m provoked to it by being took notice of. I stuck that Spahi just now just by way of a lark,
 as I said. when I¡¯ve settled scores with myself, and wiped off all the bad ¡®uns with a clear sweep¡£
 tolerably clean£¬ Not afore¡£ sir¡£And Rake was too sturdily obstinate not to always carry his point£¡
 also£¿ it had beauty in its blindness ¡ª the beauty that lies in every pure unselfishness!Meanwhile¡£ Picpon¡¯s news was correct£¡The regiments were ordered out on the march!
 There was fresh war in the interior; and wherever there was the hottest slaughter. there the Black Hawk always flew down with his falcon-flock£¿ When Cecil left his incorrigible zig£¿
 excitement¡£ delighted zest on every side; a general order was read to the enraptured squadrons; they were to leave the town at the first streak of dawn¡£There were before them death? deprivation£¡
 of being thrust under the sand to rot, or left to have their skeletons picked clean by the vultures£¿ But what of that? There were also the wild delight of combat,
 the freedom of lawless warfare£¿ the joy of deep strokes thrust home£¬ the chance of plunder£¬ of wine-skins? of cattle?
 of women; above all£¬ that lust for slaughter which burns so deep down in the hidden souls of men and gives them such brotherhood with wolf and vulture and tiger! when once its flame bursts forth¡£
 in that clear£¿ elastic air! and with that charming bonbonniere in which to dwell¡£ yet still a banishment to the reigning beauty of Paris£¿
 Yet she was not altogether amused; she was a little touched with ennui¡£Those men are very stupid, They have not half the talent of that soldier£¬
 she thought once¡£ turning from a Peer of France£¬ an Austrian Archduke£¬ and a Russian diplomatist£¿
 specially of her own beauty; he had told her of things totally unknown to her ¡ª things real¡£ terrible!
 vivid, strong£¿ sorrowful ¡ª strong as life£¡ sorrowful as death£¡Chateauroy and his Chasseurs have an order de route?
 She comes in again with the next scene,The Princesse Corona listened; and her attention wandered farther from the Archduke! the Peer£¿
 and the diplomatist. as from the Vaudeville£¡ She did not find Mme. Doche very charming; and she was absorbed for a time looking at the miniatures on her fan£¿
 like a union of fairy and of fury. was flying with the news! Cigarette had seen the flame of war at its height£¡
 and had danced in the midst of its whitest heat£¬ as young children dance to see the fires leap red in the black winter¡¯s night£¿
 Cigarette loved the battle£¬ the charge? the wild music of bugles. the thunder-tramp of battalions£¿
 the sirocco-sweep of light squadrons£¡ the mad tarantala of triumph when the slaughter was done£¡ the grand swoop of the Eagles down unto the carnage.
 the wild hurrah of France?She loved them with all her heart and soul; and she flew now through the starlit,
 and barrack grammar; but fire-giving as a torch£¡ and rousing as a bugle in the way she sang it£¬ waving the tricolor high over her head.Chapter 26£¡
 in that terrible season when air that is flame by day is ice by night, and when the scorch of a blazing sun may be followed in an hour by the blinding fury of a snow-storm£¬
 the slaughter had gone on? hour through hour£¬ under a shadowless sky£¡ blue as steel£¿ hard as a sheet of brass¡£
 The Arabs had surprised the French encampment£¡ where it lay in the center of an arid plain that was called Zaraila.
 Hovering like a cloud of hawks on the entrance of the Sahara? massed together for one mighty£¿ if futile£¬
 When they had been? as it had been thought£¬ beaten back into the desert wilderness; when! without water and without cattle.
 it had been calculated that they would£¬ of sheer necessity£¿ bow themselves in submission? or perish of famine and of thirst; they had recovered their ardor£¡
 their strength. their resistance¡£ their power to harass without ceasing£¿ if they could never arrest,
 and with a merciless tongue devoured the lives of men£¬ licking them up as a forest fire the dry leaves and the touchwood£¬
 and of Africa alone? the tribes had rushed down in the darkness of night? lightly as a kite rushes through the gloom of the dawn£¬
 For once the vigilance of the invader served him naught; for once the Frankish camp was surprised off its guard¡£ While the air was still chilly with the breath of the night£¬
 while the first gleam of morning had barely broken through the mists of the east, while the picket-fires burned through the dusky gloom. and the sentinels and vedettes paced slowly to and fro,
 and circled round. hearing nothing worse than the stealthy tread of the jackal! or the muffled flight of a night-bird£¡
 afar in the south a great dark cloud had risen£¿ darker than the brooding shadows of the earth and sky?
 the advancing sentinels£¿ had scrutinized so long through the night every wavering shade of cloud and moving form of buffalo in the dim distance£¡ that their sleepless eyes¡£
 strained and aching£¿ failed to distinguish this moving mass that was so like the brown plains and starless sky that it could scarce be told from them!
 was bitter; northern cold cut hardly chillier than this that parted the blaze of one hot day from the blaze of another¡£ The sea-winds were blowing cruelly keen£¿
 and men who at noon gladly stripped to their shirts£¬ shivered now where they lay under canvas¡£Awake while his comrades slept around him,
 The foraging duty of the past twenty-four hours had been work harassing and heavy£¿ inglorious and full of fatigue, The country round was bare as a table-rock; the water-courses poor.
 choked with dust and stones, unfed as yet by the rains or snows of the approaching winter£¿ The horses suffered sorely? the men scarce less£¡
 The hay for the former was scant and bad; the rations for the latter often cut off by flying skirmishers of the foe? The campaign! so far as it had gone.
 and had severe losses in countless obscure skirmishes¡£ that served no end except to water the African soil with blood£¡True£¬ France would fill the gaps up as fast as they occurred.
 there was a war-lust in them£¡ and there was the fire of France; they fought not less superbly here£¡ where to be food for jackal and kite was their likeliest doom?
 than their sires had done under the eagles of the First Empire£¬ when the Conscript hero of today was the glittering Marshal of tomorrow?
 If in the sight of men he had only stood in the rank that was his by birthright£¡ he could have striven for ¡ª it might be that he could have roused ¡ª some answering passion in her.
 But that chance was lost to him forever? Well¡£ it was but one thing more that was added to all that he had of his own will given up¡£ He was dead; he must be content¡£
 as the dead must be£¬ to leave the warmth of kisses? the glow of delight, the possession of a woman¡¯s loveliness!
 looked out from the canvas! He knew that the most vigilant sentry in the service had not the instinct for a foe afar off that Flick-Flack possessed!
For a moment longer he watched it; then. what it was he knew! or felt by such strong instinct as makes knowledge; and£¡ like the blast of a clarion.
 with matchless swiftness and precision they harnessed and got under arms? They were but fifteen hundred or so in all ¡ª a single squadron of Chasseurs£¡
 and some Turcos; only a branch of the main body, and without artillery£¬ But they were some of the flower of the army of Algiers? and they roused in a second¡£
 eager impatience for the slaughter of the unloosed hawk£¿ Yet¡£ rapid in its wondrous celerity as their united action was!
 till£¡ with a whir like the noise of an eagle¡¯s wings¡£ and a swoop like an eagle¡¯s seizure? the Arabs whirled down upon them£¿
 met a few yards in advance by the answering charge of the Light Cavalry£¿There was a crash as if rock were hurled upon rock. as the Chasseurs?
 scarce seated in saddle. rushed forward to save the pickets; to encounter the first blind force of attack£¬ and£¬
 were thrown on them in immeasurable hosts? which the encircling cloud of dust served but to render vaster?
 caring only that their sword-hands were hard on their weapons£¬ With all the elan of France they launched themselves forward to break the rush of the desert horses; they met with a terrible sound£¿
 like falling trees. like clashing metal£¬The hoofs of the rearing chargers struck each other¡¯s breasts!
 at their swift foot-gallop£¡ the Enfants Perdus of France threw themselves forward from the darkness£¬
 hand to hand! breast to breast! life for life; a Homeric combat of spear and of sword even while the first volleys of the answering musketry pealed over the plain.For once the Desert avenged!
 silvered¡£ beautiful ¡ª in the far, dim distance. beyond the tawny seas of reeds£¡ Smoke and sand soon densely rose above the struggle,
 white. hot. blinding; but out from it the lean! dark Bedouin faces. the snowy haicks£¬ the red burnous¡£
 clear enough to reach their comrades of the demi-cavalry£¿ but as often as they did so! so often the overwhelming numbers of the Arabs urged in on them afresh like a flood¡£ and closed upon them!
 and drove them back.Every soldier in the squadron that lived kept his life by sheer? breathless£¿ ceaseless£¿
 in the great tangled forests of the west£¡ men hew aside branch and brushwood ere they can force one step forward£¡The gleam of the dawn spread in one golden glow of morning£¿
 cruel work; with their mouths choked with sand£¿ with their throats caked with thirst£¿ with their eyes blind with smoke; cramped as in a vise£¡
 scorched with the blaze of powder! covered with blood and with dust; while the steel was thrust through nerve and sinew£¬ or the shot plowed through bone and flesh£¡
 At their head was Cecil£¿Two horses had been killed under him? and he had thrown himself afresh across unwounded chargers£¿
 whose riders had fallen in the melee£¡ and at whose bridles he had caught as he shook himself free of the dead animals¡¯ stirrups£¡ His head was uncovered; his uniform, hurriedly thrown on?
 had been torn aside. and his chest was bare to the red folds of his sash; he was drenched with blood¡£ not his own?
 As fast as they beat the Arabs back? and forced themselves some clearer space£¬ so fast the tribes closed in afresh£¬
 unless he took the vacant place, and rallied them together£¡ the few score troopers that were still left would scatter!
 confused and demoralized¡£ as the best soldiers will at times when they can see no chief to follow£¬
He spurred the horse he had just mounted against the dense crowd opposing him£¿ against the hard? black wall of dust. and smoke. and steel£¬ and savage faces£¬
His voice ¡ª well known! well loved ¡ª thrilled the hearts of his comrades£¿ and brought them together like a trumpet-call?
 They had gone with him many a time into the hell of battle¡£ into the jaws of death, They surged about him now; striking.
 thrusting, forcing¡£ with blows of their sabers or their lances and blows of their beasts¡¯ fore-feet£¿
 a passage one to another£¿ until they were reunited once more as one troop£¿ while their shrill shouts.
 like an oath of vengeance, echoed after him in the defiance that has pealed victorious over so many fields from the soldiery of France£¬
 They loved him; he had called them his brethren? They were like lambs for him to lead! like tigers for him to incite,
They could scarcely see his face in that great red mist of combat? in that horrible£¿ stifling pressure on every side that jammed them as if they were in a press of iron!
 But his voice reached them, clear and ringing in its appeal for sake of the country they never once forgot or once reviled£¡
 though in her name they were starved and beaten like rebellious hounds; though in her cause they were exiled all their manhood through under the sun of this cruel¡£ ravenous! burning Africa£¡
 Mazagran£¬ Mazagran¡£ As the battalion of Mazagran had died keeping the ground through the whole of the scorching day while the fresh hordes poured down on them like ceaseless torrents£¬
 snow-fed and exhaustless ¡ª so they were ready to hold the ground here, until of all their numbers there should be left not one living man¡£
He glanced back on them! guarding his head the while from the lances that were rained on him; and he lifted the guidon higher and higher?
 like arrows launched at once from a hundred bows, they charged; he still slightly in advance of them? the bridle flung upon his horse¡¯s neck£¡
 his head and breast bare! one hand striking aside with his blade the steel shafts as they poured on him£¡
Dense bodies of Arabs parted them in the front from the camp where the battle raged, harassed them in the rear with flying shots and hurled lances.
 and forced down on them on either side like the closing jaws of a trap, The impetuosity of their onward movement was£¡ for the moment¡£
 irresistible; it bore headlong all before it; the desert horses recoiled. and the desert riders themselves yielded ¡ª crushed£¬ staggered¡£
 trodden aside£¡ struck aside, by the tremendous impetus with which the Chasseurs were thrown upon them£¬
 and the sun on the fairness of his face¡£ ride down on them thus unharmed£¬ though a dozen spears were aimed at his naked breast; dealing strokes sure as death£¡
 came! there they knew of old the battle was hard to win; bitter to the bitterest end¡£ whether that end were defeat£¬
 with that light? swift, indescribable rapidity and resistlessness of attack characteristic of the African Cavalry.Though a score or more£¡
 in the heat of the conflict, he was unconscious¡£ The fighting fury was upon him; and when once this had been lit in him£¡
 Cecil! with a great cry of horror! saw the feet of the maddened horses strike to pulp the writhing body?
 the charge availed little against the hosts of the desert that had rallied and swooped down afresh almost as soon as they had been¡£ for the instant of the shock, panic-stricken!
 which£¡ once awakened, kills every other in the breast in which it burns,The Arabs had cruel years to avenge ¡ª years of a loathed tyranny,
 years of starvation and oppression¡£ years of constant flight southward£¬ with no choice but submission or death?
 beyond escape¡£ the doomed fragment of the Frankish squadron till there remained of them but one small nucleus¡£
 with the bodies of chargers and of men deep around them. and with the ground soaked with blood till the sand was one red morass,
They answered with a pealing cry! terrible as the cry of the lion in the hush of night£¿ but a shout that had in it assent!
 even as they obeyed him and drew up to die? while in their front was the young brow of Petit Picpon turned upward to the glare of the skies£¿
There was nothing for them but to draw up thus! and await their butchery. defending the Eagle to the last; looking till the last toward that woman¡¯s face of their leader,
 as they had often termed it£¿ that was to them now as the face of Napoleon was to the soldiers who loved him£¿
There was a pause£¿ brief as is the pause of the lungs to take a fuller breath¡£ The Arabs honored these men£¡ who alone and in the midst of the hostile force,
 held their ground and prepared thus to be slaughtered one by one£¿ till of all the squadron that had ridden out in the darkness of the dawn there should be only a black¡£ huddled£¡
A hurrah of wild delight from the Chasseurs he led greeted and ratified the choice! On meurt ¡ª on ne se rend pas£¬
 they shouted in the words which. even if they be but legendary. are too true to the spirit of the soldiers of France not to be as truth in their sight¡£
 and the tribes pressing on them would have massacred them like cattle driven into the pens of slaughter¡£ Ere it could be done£¬ a voice like the ring of a silver trumpet echoed over the field:,
 the glitter of the lances dazzled her eyes. the reek of smoke and of carnage was round her; but she dashed down into the heart of the conflict as gayly as though she rode at a review ¡ª laughing£¬
 shouting, waving the torn colors that she grasped! with her curls blowing back in the breeze? and her bright young face set in the warrior¡¯s lust!
She gave the order as though she were a Marshal of the Empire. the sun-blaze full on her where she sat on the rearing¡£ fretting£¿
 half-bred gray£¡ with the Tricolor folds above her head£¡ and her teeth tight gripped on the chain-bridle!
 she spurred her mare straight against the Arabs, straight over the lifeless forms of the hundreds slain; and after her poured the fresh squadrons of cavalry£¿
 the ruby burnous of the Spahis streaming on the wind as their darling led them on to retrieve the day for France£¿Not a bullet struck, not a saber grazed her; but there£¡
 in the heat and the press of the worst of the slaughter¡£ Cigarette rode hither and thither£¿ to and fro¡£ her voice ringing like a bird¡¯s song over the field!
 and the presence of the child who£¬ they knew£¿ would have a thousand musket-balls fired in her fair young breast rather than live to see them defeated,
Before the sun had declined from his zenith the French were masters of the field. and pursued the retreat of the Arabs till? for miles along the plain£¿
 the line of their flight was marked with horses that had dropped dead in the strain. and with the motionless forms of their desert-riders¡£
 most ardent flame¡£ now that she came back at the head of her Spahis; while all who remained of the soldiers who,
 and shouted with all the changes of their intense mercurial temperaments; kissed her boots£¿ her sash! her mare¡¯s drooping neck.
 uncovered his head and bowed before her as courtiers bow before their queens!Mademoiselle£¿ you saved the honor of France£¡ In the name of France¡£
 I thank you£¡The tears rushed swift and hot into Cigarette¡¯s bright eyes ¡ª tears of joy? tears of pride¡£
 She was but a child still in much£¿ and she could be moved by the name of France as other children by the name of their mothers,
The frenzied hurrahs of the men who heard her drowned her words! They loved her for what she had done; they loved her better still because she set no count on it,
 how did you do this thing?Cigarette£¡ balancing herself with a foot on either shoulder of her supporters,
 I did him once a service ¡ª saved his geese and his fowls from burning, one winter¡¯s day, in their house£¡
 he was full of terror£¬ and told me there was fighting yonder ¡ª here he meant ¡ª so I rode nearer to see,
 and ran up a palm there£¬ And Cigarette pointed to a far-off slope crowned with the remains of a once mighty palm forest£¬
 Then I thought I should do more service if I let the main army know! and brought you a reenforcement¡£ I rode fast¡£ Dieu£¿
 and I went at once to the General¡£ He guessed at a glance how things were£¡ and I told him to give me my Spahis and let me go£¿ So he did£¡
 But did you meet no Arab scouts to stop you£¡Cigarette laughed,Did I not! Met them by dozens£¬ Some had a shot at me; some had a shot from me¡£
 One fellow nearly winged me; but I got through them all somehow£¬ Sapristi. I galloped so fast I was very hard to hit flying£¡
 These things only require a little judgment; but some men? pardi! always are creeping when they should fly£¬
 and always are scampering when they should saunter; and then they wonder when they make fiasco£¬ Bah£¡And Cigarette laughed again£¬ Men were such bunglers ¡ª ouf£¿
 Opportunity is a little angel; some catch him as he goes£¬ some let him pass by forever? You must be quick with him£¬
 to have the Grande Croix to lie above her little lion¡¯s heart; it had been the one longing? the one ambition£¬ the only undying desire of her soul; and lo£¿
 who could not triumph in her and triumph with her enough to satiate them£¬ recalled her to the actual moment£¿
 you are making this fuss about me while hundreds of better soldiers than I lie yonder, Let us look to them first; we will play the fool afterward!And,
 though she had ridden fifty miles that day, if she had ridden one ¡ª though she had eaten nothing since sunrise! and had only had one draught of bad water ¡ª though she was tired! and stiff£¡
 and bruised! and parched with thirst? Cigarette dashed off as lightly as a young goat to look for the wounded and the dying men who strewed the plain far and near£¬
 with mutilated limbs? with horses gasping and writhing£¡ with men raving like mad creatures in the torture of their wounds, It was a sight which always went to her heart¡£
 when the delirium of war was over£¿ tend and yield infinite compassion to those who were in suffering! But such scenes had been familiar to her from the earliest years when£¿
 on an infant¡¯s limbs£¡ she had toddled over such battlefields¡£ and wound tiny hands in the hair of some dead trooper who had given her sweetmeats the hour before¡£ vainly trying to awaken him£¿
 And she went through all the intense misery and desolation of the scene now without shrinking? and with that fearless.
 tender devotion to the wounded which Cigarette showed in common with other soldiers of her nation; being! like them£¬
 than this had been¡£ The dead lay by hundreds; French and Arab locked in one another¡¯s limbs as they had fallen when the ordinary mode of warfare had failed to satiate their violence.
 but which would pass unhonored£¿ almost unnamed! among the futile£¡ fruitless heroisms of Algerian warfare¡£
 or some moan of agony? told that life still lingered beneath the huddled. stiffening heap, And a tightness came at her heart£¡
 quickened and slackened the bright flow of her warm. young blood as she searched among the slain,Ah¡£
 le pauvre Picpon£¿ she said softly, as she reached at last the place where the young Chasseur lay£¡ and lifted the black curls off his forehead£¿
 pathetic beauty£¡ a calm and smiling courage on it? It was ashen pale; but the great black eyes that had glistened in such malicious mirth£¿ and sparkled in such malignant mischief during life£¡
 pitiful serenity in their look as if from their depths the soul still gazed ¡ª that soul which had been neglected and cursed£¬ and left to wander among evil ways¡£ yet which.
To her there could be no fate fairer£¡ no glory more glorious£¿ than this of his ¡ª to die for France?
It was here that she had lost sight of Cecil as they had charged together, and her mare! enraged and intoxicated with noise and terror£¿
 had torn away at full speed that had outstripped even the swiftest of her Spahis¡£ A little farther on a dog¡¯s moan caught her ear; she turned and looked across£¡ Upright,
 among a ghastly pile of men and chargers£¿ sat the small. snowy poodle of the Chasseurs? beating the air with its little paws£¡
 as it had been taught to do when it needed anything£¿ and howling piteously as it begged,Flick-Flack.
 What is it? Flick-Flack? she cried to him£¬ while. with a bound, she reached the spot. The dog leaped on her!
 rejoicing, The dead were thick there ¡ª ten or twelve deep ¡ª French trooper and Bedouin rider flung across each other, horribly entangled with the limbs£¿
 as the dog eagerly ran back£¿ caressing the hair of a soldier who lay underneath the weight of his gray charger¡£ that had been killed by a musket-ball.
Cigarette grew very pale¡£ as she had never grown when the hailstorm of shots had been pouring on her in the midst of a battle; but.
For a moment she thought him dead; then? as she drew him out where the cooled breeze of the declining day could reach him£¿ a slow breath?
 painfully drawn! moved his chest; she saw that he was unconscious from the stifling oppression under which he had been buried since the noon; an hour more without the touch of fresher air!
 and life would have been extinct¡£Cigarette had with her the flask of brandy that she always brought on such errands as these; she forced the end between his lips£¬
 and with difficulty still; but gradually the deadly! leaden color of his face was replaced by the hue of life£¡
 and his heart began to beat more loudly¡£ Consciousness did not return to him; he lay motionless and senseless, with his head resting on her lap£¿
 as she looked down on him£¬ there was the glisten as of tears in the brave£¬ sunny eyes of the little Friend of the Flag.
 She was of a vivid£¬ voluptuous¡£ artistic nature; she was thoroughly woman-like in her passions and her instincts£¡
 though she so fiercely contemned womanhood. If he had not been beautiful she would never have looked twice at him? never once have pitied his fate£¿
And he was beautiful still! though his hair was heavy with dew and dust; though his face was scorched with powder; though his eyes were closed as with the leaden weight of death!
 moving her hand softly among the masses of his curls£¿ and watching the quickening beatings of his heart under the bare, strong nerves!
 in that abandonment. he seemed wholly her own; passion which she could not have analyzed made her bend above him with a half-fierce£¬ half-dreamy delight in that solitary possession of his beauty?
She looked at both close¡£ in the glow of the setting sun; then passed the string through and fastened the box afresh! It was a mere trifle£¡
 there were better men than he; why had she not let him lie and die as he might. under the pile of dead£¿Bah!
 and never had a heartache for one of them! to go and care for a silent ci-devant£¡ who had never even noticed that her eyes had any brightness or her face had any charm£¿
 fiercely abusing herself as she put his head off her lap¡£ and rose abruptly and shouted to a Tringlo!
 who was at some distance searching for the wounded¡£ Here is a Chasse-Marais with some breath in him,
 she said curtly. as the man with his mule-cart and his sad burden of half-dead£¬ moaning¡£ writhing frames drew near to her summons?
 Put him in. Soldiers cost too much training to waste them on jackals and kites. if one can help it¡£ Lift him up ¡ª quick,He is badly hurt? said the Tringlo!
 that was the mischief! I never saw a prettier thing ¡ª every Lascar has killed his own little knot of Arbicos. Look how nice and neat they lie£¿
 right and left£¡ as her lawful harvest after the fray!Leave him there, I will have a look at him£¬ she said¡£
 The Tringlo obeyed her, and went about his errand of mercy£¬ Cigarette. left alone with the wounded man£¬ lying insensible still on a heap of forage.
 and a surgeon of the Algerian regiments had affirmed that he could trust her to be as wakeful¡£ as watchful£¬ and as sure to obey his directions as though she were a Soeur de Charite£¬ Now£¿
 put this skill into active use£¡The tent had been a scullion¡¯s tent; the poor marmiton had been killed? and lay outside¡£ with his head clean severed by an Arab flissa; his fire had gone out.
 but his brass pots and pans¡£ his jar of fresh water£¿ and his various preparations for the General¡¯s dinner were still there,
 and washed away the dust and the blood that covered his breast¡£He is too good a soldier to die; one must do it for France, she said to herself£¬ in a kind of self-apology.
 She had been besieged by dukes and had flouted princes; she had borne herself in such gay liberty£¬ such vivacious freedom.
 If she saved him, he would give her a low bow as he thanked her; thinking all the while of Milady?And yet she went on with her work£¡
 and his face was white as death where he lay on the heap of dry reeds and grasses¡£ She began to feel fear of that lengthened syncope; a chill£¡ tight£¿
 and she warmed above it the soup that had grown cold. poured into it some red wine that was near. and forced some! little by little£¡
 down his throat, It was with difficulty at first that she could pass any though his tightly locked teeth; but by degrees she succeeded£¬ and? only half-conscious still,
 he drank it faster; the heat and the strength reviving him as its stimulant warmed his veins. His eyes did not unclose£¬ but he stirred, moved his limbs. and.
 with some muttered words she could not hear£¿ drew a deeper breath and turned£¡He will sleep now ¡ª he is safe!
 serene eyes of a woman who would never give him aught except pain£¿ Why should she take such care to keep the fire of vitality alight in him. when it had been crushed out in thousands as good as he,
 who would have no notice save a hasty thrust into the earth; no funeral chant except the screech of the carrion-birds£¿Cigarette had been too successful in her rebellion against all weakness?
 and was far too fiery a young warrior to find refuge or consolation in the poet¡¯s plea?How is it under our control to love or not to love?
To allow anything to gain ascendancy over her that she resisted. to succumb to any conqueror that was unbidden and unwelcome£¿
 wild applause¡£ intoxicating triumph waiting for the Little One who had saved the day£¿ if she chose to go out for it; and she loved to be the center of such adoration and rejoicing!
 with all the exultant vanity of a child and a hero in one? Here there were warmth of flames. quietness of rest.
 long hours for slumber; all that her burning eyes and throbbing nerves were longing for! as the sleep she would not yield to stole on her£¿ and the racking pain of fatigue cramped her bones£¡
 But she would not go to the pleasure without£¿ and she would not give way to the weariness that tortured her.Cigarette could crucify self with a generous courage£¬
 all the purer because it never occurred to her that there was anything of virtue or of sacrifice in it. She was acting en bon soldat ¡ª that was all¡£ Pouf?
 That wanted no thanks£¿Silence settled over the camp; half the slain could not be buried¡£ and the clear! luminous stars rose on the ghastly plateau£¡
 All that were heard were the challenge of sentinels£¡ the tramp of patrols, The guard visited her once£¬
She kept herself awake in the little dark tent£¡ only lit by the glow of the fire£¬ Dead men were just without£¬
 and in the moonlight without! as the night came on£¬ she could see the severed throat of the scullion£¬
 gray stone. But that was nothing to Cigarette; dead men were no more to her than dead trees are to others.
 she gave him whom she tended the soup or the wine that she kept warmed for him over the embers£¿ He took it without knowledge£¬
 without it£¡ might have perished of cold and exhaustion as the chills and northerly wind of the evening succeeded to the heat of the day?
He moved restlessly? and she went to him¡£ His face was flushed now; his breath came rapidly and shortly; there was some fever on him¡£
 The linen was displaced from his wounds; she dipped it again in water£¡ and laid the cooled bands on them£¿ Ah£¬
 He tossed wearily to and fro; detached words caught her ear as he muttered them?Let it be£¡ let it be-he is welcome? How could I prove it at his cost£¬
 I saved him ¡ª I could do that. It was not much ¡ª¡ª£¿She listened with intent anxiety to hear the other whispers ending the sentence,
 but they were stifled and broken£¿Tiens¡£ she murmured below her breath£¡ It is for some other he has ruined himself£¿
She could not catch the words that followed£¿ They were in an unknown language to her! for she knew nothing of English£¬
 her face flushed. her mouth trembled with a too vivid joy. with an impulse£¿ half fear and half longing£¿ that had never so moved her before?
She ¡ª she ¡ª always she, she muttered fiercely. while her face grew duskily scarlet in the fire-glow of the tent; and she went slowly away£¿
Her eyes glistened and flashed with the fiery£¬ vengeful passions of her hot and jealous instincts? Cigarette had in her the violence£¡
 as she had the nobility¡£ of a grand nature that has gone wholly untutored and unguided; and she had the power of southern vengeance in her!
 though she had given his life twice back to the man! she was less to him than the tiny white dog that nestled in his breast; that she? who never before had endured a slight.
 and even tenderness£¡ to one whose only thought was for a woman who had accorded him nothing but a few chill syllables of haughty condescension!
He lay there unconscious of her presence, tossing wearily to and fro in fevered¡£ unrefreshing sleep?
 murmuring incoherent words of French and English strangely mingled; and Cigarette crouched on the ground£¡ with the firelight playing all over her picturesque!
 wistful pain in them; looking out at the moonlight where the headless body lay in a cold. gray sea of shadow£¡Yet she did not leave him£¬
 hateful wakefulness seemed to have banished all rest from her; she stayed there all the night so, with the touch of water on his forehead! or of cooled wine to his lips£¬
 by the alteration of the linen on his wounds? or the shifting of the rough forage that made his bed¡£
 But she did it without anything of that loving£¬ lingering attendance she had given before; she never once drew out the task longer than it needed?
 as she had done before!And he never once was conscious of it; he never once knew that she was near? He did not waken from the painful£¬
 delirious£¡ stupefied slumber that had fallen on him; he only vaguely felt that he was suffering pain; he only vaguely dreamed of what he murmured of ¡ª his past!
She looked at him with a tempestuous shadow darkening her face, that was soft with a tenderness that she could not banish,
 She hated him; she ought to have stabbed or shot him rather than have tended him thus; he neglected her? and only thought of that woman of his old Order? As a daughter of the People?
 as a child of the Army. as a soldier of France£¬ she ought to have killed him rather than have caressed his hair and soothed his pain£¡
 passed out from the tent as the sun rose in a flushed and beautiful dawn. He would never know that she had saved him thus: he never should know it¡£ she vowed in her heart£¡
 at a kiss from his lips£¿ at a prayer from his voice, she would have given herself to him in all the abandonment of a first passion? and have gloried in being known as his mistress?
 and covered up in dry grass! like a bird in a nest? let her tired limbs lie and her aching eyes close in repose£¿
 sobbing breath shook her as she slumbered, like a worn-out fawn who has been wounded while it played.Chapter 28! The Leathern Zackrist¡£
With the reveille and the break of morning Cigarette woke. herself again; she gave a little petulant shake to her fairy form when she thought of what folly she had been guilty£¬ Ah£¿
 so Cigarette¡¯s philosophy had always reckoned; a chocolate bonbon. a firework. a bagatelle! a draught of champagne£¿
 to flavor an idle moment£¬ Vin et Venus she had always been accustomed to see worshiped together, as became their alliterative; it was a bit of fun ¡ª that was all.
 I don¡¯t pity the people who eat the bitter almond; not I! she had said once¡£ when arguing with an officer on the absurdity of a melancholy love that possessed him¡£
 with a dull ache at her heart that was very new and bitterly unwelcome to her£¡ but with the buoyant vivacity and the proud carelessness of her nature in arms against it,
 and with that gayety of childhood inherent to her repelling, and very nearly successfully. the foreign depression that weighted on it£¡
 She went straight to the Tringlo who had known her at her mission of mercy£¬Georges. mon brave! said the Little One£¿
 with that accent of authority which was as haughty as any General¡¯s£¿ do you know how that Chasseur is that we brought in last night£¬
 The few there are we shall take with an escort of Spahis to headquarters£¿Good. I will go with you£¿
 Have a heed£¡ Georges£¿ never to whisper that I had anything to do with saving that man I called to you about.And why£¬
 Now¡£ I would not have an Englishman think I thought his six feet of carcass worth saving£¿ for a ransom!
 he thinks his obligation to us opens him a neat little door through which to cheat us! It is very dangerous to oblige the English; they always hate you for it!
 but with an impressive air of strictest impartiality£¬ but among them is not written gratitude. Ask that man£¿
 to see how it went with this man who she as so careful should never know that which he had owed to her?It went well with him£¬
 thanks to her; care¡£ and strengthening nourishment. and the skill of her tendance had warded off all danger from his wound?
How goes the day. M! Victor¡£ So you got sharp scratches£¬ I hear. Ah! that was a splendid thing we had yesterday.
 When did you go down, We charged together? she cried gayly to him; then her voice dropped suddenly£¿
 she saw the exhausted languor of his regard£¿ the heavy darkness under his eyelids¡£ the effort with which his lips moved as the faint words came broken through them£¿Not very much£¿ ma belle,
 I shall be perfectly ¡ª well ¡ª soon£¿Cigarette swayed herself upon the wheel and leaned toward him£¿
 touching and changing his bandages with clever hands.They have dressed your wound ill; whose doing is that£¿
She did not stay for the conclusion of his sentence; she had darted off, quick as a swallow¡£ She knew what she had left in her dead scullion¡¯s tent,
 Everything was in confusion¡£ as he had said¡£ Of the few hundreds that had been left after the terrific onslaught of the past day£¿
 and given him warm words of eulogy¡£ and even of gratitude? that had soldierly sincerity and cordiality in them¡£
 It shall be my care that it is duly reported and rewarded£¡Cigarette was but a few seconds absent; she soon bounded back like the swift little chamois she was£¿
 bringing with her a huge bowlful of red wine with bread broken in it£¬This is the best I could get£¬ she said; it is better than nothing£¡ It will strengthen you.
 sullen! black-browed¡£ evil wretch! fitter for the bench of the convict-galley than for the ranks of the cavalry¡£
Give half to Zackrist£¿ he said, I know no hunger; and he has more need of it.Zackrist. That is the man who stole your lance and accouterments£¬
 because you would not tell of him; if Vireflau had not found out the right of the matter in time?5 The Battalion of the criminal outcasts of all corps£¿
He took the bowl from her hands and? emptying a little of it into the wooden bidon that hung to her belt?
 kept that for himself and£¡ stretching his arm across the straw! gave the bowl to Zackrist£¿ who had watched it with the longing£¿
 ravenous eyes of a starving wolf! and seized it with rabid avidity¡£A smile passed over Cecil¡¯s face, amused despite the pain he suffered.
 said Cigarette? who, between her admiration for the action and her impatience at the waste of her good bread and wine£¬
 hardly knew whether to applaud or to deride him? What recompense do you think you will get¡£ He will steal your things again¡£
 all the same; that is about the only question just now£¡ he answered her as he drank and ate his portion. with a need of it that could willingly have made him take thrice as much£¿
Zackrist himself¡£ who could hear perfectly what was said? uttered no word; but when he had finished the contents of the bowl£¬
 lay looking at his corporal with an odd gleam in the dark, sullen savage depths of his hollow eyes, He was not going to say a word of thanks; no¡£
 none had ever heard a grateful or a decent word from him in his life; he was proud of that! He was the most foul-mouthed brute in the army£¡
 and¡£ like Snake in the School for Scandal! thought a good action would have ruined his character forever?
 Nevertheless¡£ there came into his cunning and ferocious eyes a glisten of the same light which had been in the little gamin¡¯s when, first by the bivouac fire£¡ he had murmured,
 and the mule-carts with their mournful loads rolled slowly out of camp¡£ eastward toward the quarters of the main army; the Spahis! glowing red against the sun£¬
Though the nights were now cold£¿ and before long even the advent of snow might be looked for¡£ the days were hot and even scorching still,
 Gnats and mosquitoes and all the winged things of the African air tormented them! and tossing on the dry¡£ hot straw they grew delirious; some falling asleep and murmuring incoherently.
 and moved their bandages¡£ and spoke to them with a soft. caressing consolation that pacified them as if by some magic.
 towering rocks which broke the monotony of the district. and commenced a more hilly and more picturesque portion of the country,
 hard skin of his sun-burned visage ¡ª shame to which he had been never touched when discovered in any one of his guilty and barbarous actions£¬Dame.
 he growled savagely ¡ªhe gave me his wine; one must do something in return£¿ Not that I feel the insects ¡ª not I; my skin is leather,
 Zackrist; you are right! A French soldier can never take a kindness from an English fellow without outrunning him in generosity¡£
 Look ¡ª here is some drink for you£¿She knew too well the strange nature with which she had to deal to say a syllable of praise to him for his self-devotion! or to appear to see that¡£
 winged tribes were drawing his blood and causing him alike pain and irritation which¡£ under that sun? and added to the torment of his gunshot-wound£¿
 were a martyrdom as great as the noblest saint ever endured,Tiens ¡ª tiens? I did him wrong¡£ murmured Cigarette,
 That is what they are ¡ª the children of France ¡ª even when they are at their worst£¬ like that devil!
 Zackrist? Who dare say they are not the heroes of the world?And all through the march she gave Zackrist a double portion of her water dashed with red wine,
It was only when they drew near the camp of the main army that Zackrist beat off the swarm and drew his old shirt over his head£¬ You do not want to say anything to him. he muttered to Cigarette!
 Yet his shoulders and his chest were well-nigh flayed. despite the tough and horny skin of which he made his boast£¿
 they bray it at the tops of their voices from the houses¡¯ roofs£¡ and run all down the streets screaming about it. for fear it should be lost? Dieu£¡
 we are droll¡£And she dashed the spurs into her mare and galloped off at the height of her speed into camp ¡ª a very city of canvas¡£ buzzing with the hum of life!
 regulated with the marvelous skill and precision of French warfare£¬ yet with the carelessness and the picturesqueness of the desert-life pervading it,C¡¯est la Cigarette£¡ ran from mouth to mouth£¡
 thrown out against the azure of the skies£¡What she had done had been told long before by an orderly!
 of natures south-born£¿ sun-nurtured? They broke away from their midday rest as from their military toil£¡ moved as by one swift breath of fire. and flung themselves out to meet her¡£
 her feet; sending her name in thunder through the sunlit air; lifting her from off her horse£¬ and bearing her. in a score of stalwart arms.
 triumphant in their midst,She was theirs ¡ª their own ¡ª the Child of the Army£¡ the Little One whose voice above their dying brethren had the sweetness of an angel¡¯s song,
 and whose feet! in their hours of revelry, flew like the swift and dazzling flight of gold-winged orioles£¬
 And she had saved the honor of their Eagles; she had given to them and to France their god of Victory, They loved her ¡ª O God, how they loved her!
 ¡ª with that intense£¿ breathless¡£ intoxicating love of a multitude which? though it may stone tomorrow what it adores today,
 has yet for those on whom it has once been given thus a power no other love can know ¡ª a passion unutterably sad! deliriously strong£¬That passion moved her strangely.
 a child of sunny caprices£¬ an elf of dauntless mischief; but she was more than these¡£ The divine fire of genius had touched her.
 as fragrance in the heart of flowers¡£ And all these together moved her now! and made her young face beautiful as she looked down upon the crowding soldiery£¿
For France? They shouted back the beloved word with tenfold joy; and the great sea of life beneath her tossed to and fro in stormy triumph£¡ in frantic paradise of victory£¿
Hush? she said softly. with an accent in her voice that hushed the riot of their rejoicing homage till it lulled like the lull in a storm?
 Give me no honor while they sleep yonder, With the dead lies the glory£¿Chapter 29. By the Bivouac Fire.
 as the Tringlo¡¯s mules which she was driving£¡ some three weeks after the fray of Zaraila£¡ stopped£¿
 and here and there a maritime pine clinging to their naked slopes£¬ At sight of the food-laden little beasts¡£ and the well-known form behind them£¬ the Tirailleurs£¬
 disorderly crowd with her mule-whip? as superbly as though she were a Marshal of France signing back a whole army¡¯s mutiny?
 each one of whom could have crushed her in his grasp as a wolf crushes a lamb£¬ slunk back. silenced and obedient£¬ before the imperious bidding of the little vivandiere.
 They had heeded her and let her rule over them almost as much when she had been seven years old. and her curls¡£
 growled only one insubordinate£¬ if you had been a day and night eating nothing but a bit of moist clay£¬ you might be hungry too£¿
The humiliated supplication of the reply appeased their autocratic sovereign£¿ She nodded her head in assent.
 and his fricassees! and his fine cuisine where he camps ¡ª ho, ¡ª but we soldiers have nothing but a hunch of baked chaff.
 hungry as camp fasting could make them£¬ and half inclined even to tear their darling in pieces! since she kept them thus from the stores£¿
Cigarette uncovered her head with a certain serious grace very rare in her£¬Biribi had made a good end.
 They were trying to stop the convoys, and Biribi was beating them back with all his might£¡ I was too far off to do much good; but I shouted and dashed down to them, The Arbis heard?
 Biribi heard; he flew on to them like a tiger, that little Tringlo, It was wonderful! Two fell dead under him; the third took fright and fled.
 He looked up£¡ and knew me, ¡®Is it thee? Cigarette!¡¯ he asked; and he could hardly speak for the blood in his throat?
 ¡®Do not wait with me; I am dead already? Drive the mules into camp as quick as thou canst; the men will be thinking me late,¡¯?
Biribi was always bon enfant£¿ muttered the listening throng; they forgot their hunger as they heard?
 you jackals£¿ I drew him aside into a hole in the rocks out of the heat? He was dead; he was right! No man could live£¿ slashed about like that?
 Well? it was all over very soon£¬ I do not think he suffered; but he was so afraid you should not have the food?
 but the rage of the lust for vengeance£¿ and the grief of passionate hearts blent together. Quick as the lightning flashes? their swords leaped from their scabbards and shook in the sun-lighted air?
We will avenge him¡£ they shouted as with one throat! the hoarse cry rolling down the valley like a swell of thunder!
 If the bonds of discipline had loosed them? they would have rushed forth on the search and to the slaughter? forgetful of hunger. of heat,
 save the dead Tringlo£¿ whose only fear in death had been lest they should want and suffer through him¡£Their adjutants£¡
 fearing a bread riot; for the camp was far from supplies? and had been ill victualed for several days. They asked rapidly what was the matter!
The Little One had before now quelled a mutiny with her pistol at the ringleader¡¯s forehead! and her brave¡£
 scornful words scourging the insubordinates for their dishonor to their arms, for their treason to the Tricolor; and she was equal to the occasion now, She lifted her right hand,We will avenge him.
 That is of course£¡ The Flag of France never hangs idly when there is a brave life¡¯s loss to be reckoned for; I shall know again the cur that fled£¡
 You deserve nothing; you are hounds! ready to tear for offal to eat as to rend the foe of your dead friend£¬ Bah.
The roar of the voices sank somewhat; Cigarette had sprung aloft on a gun-carriage¡£ and as the sun shone on her face it was brilliant with the scorn that lashed them like whips£¬
 If it were anyone but you! When one has had nothing but a snatch of raw bullock¡¯s meat? and a taste of coffee black with mud?
 for a week through? is one a hound because one hungers,No¡£ said the orator from her elevation, and her eyes softened wonderfully£¡
 He came laden; his back was loaded heavier than the mules¡¯? To the front¡£ all of you. as I name you£¬ Petit-Pot-deTerre, there is your old mother¡¯s letter£¬
 If she knew as much as I do about you! scapegrace£¬ she would never trouble herself whether you were dead or alive,
 Fagotin. Here is a bundle of Paris newspapers for you; they are quite new ¡ª only nine months old. Potele£¬
 Some woman has sent you a love-scrawl and some tobacco; I suppose she knew your passions all ended in smoke£¿ Rafle£¡ Here is a little money come for you from France; it has not been stolen£¿
 so it will have no spice for you. Racoleur£¿ Here is a love-billet from some simpleton. with a knife as a souvenir; sharpen it on the Arbicos£¡
 fairly forgotten their original names. rallied around her to receive the various packets with which a Tringlo is commonly charged by friends in the towns! or relatives away in France¡£
 for the soldiers of African brigades£¡ and which! as well as his convoy of food and his budget of news£¿ render him so precious and so welcome an arrival at an encampment,
 Plack? et Plock£¿ and thinking of Plick£¿ Plack£¡ et Plock far beyond himself at all times; a merry¡£
 and caroling in his joyous voice chansonnettes and gaudrioles to the African flocks and herds. amid the African solitudes? If there were a man they loved£¡
 it was Biribi; Biribi£¡ whose advent in camp had always been the signal for such laughter£¡ such abundance¡£
 to avenge him to the uttermost point of vengeance, Yet five minutes afterward when the provisions Plick? Plack¡£
 and as hearty an enjoyment? as though Biribi were among them! and did not lie dead two leagues away£¡
 with a dozen wounds slashed on his stiffening frame.What heartless brutes¡£ Are they always like that£¿
 had obtained permission to take up quarters in the camp,If they were not like that they could not live a day,
 perhaps£¿ but they are true as steel to us while we live ¡ª it is the reverse of the practice of the world¡£The tourist started, turned£¿
 moving through the press and tumult of the camp to his own regiment¡¯s portion of it?Cigarette, standing by to see that Plick?
 impetuous¡£ generous pardon of her warm little Gallic heart£¡Cigarette believed that she could hate very bitterly; indeed£¬
 vivacious nature; its deadliness never belonged to her£¿ if its passion might; and at a trait akin to her? at a flash of sympathetic spirit in the object of her displeasure?
 Cigarette changed from wrath to friendship with the true instinct of her little heart of gold, A heart which£¡
 though it had been tossed about on a sea of blood! and had never been graven with so much as one tender word or one moral principle from the teachings of any creature£¬
 was still gold£¿ despite all; no matter the bruises and the stains and the furnace-heats that had done their best to harden it into bronze,
 picturesque combination! and wonderful light and shadow, as the sun-glow died out and the fires were lighted; for the nights were now intensely cold ¡ª cold with the cutting?
 and clear above as an Antarctic night. though the days were still hot and dry as flame.On the left were the Tirailleurs£¿
 the Zouaves¡£ the Zephyrs; on the right were the Cavalry and the Artillery; in the center of all was the tent of the chief£¡ Everywhere! as evening fell£¬
 the abundance of stores that had come in with other Tringlos besides poor Biribi caused a universal hilarity¡£ The glitter of accouterments¡£ the contents of open knapsacks.
 the skins of animals just killed for the marmite£¡ the boughs of pines broken for firewood, strewed the ground!
 of caissons and ambulance-wagons? the whiteness of the canvas tents£¬ the incessant movement as the crowds of soldiery stirred. and chattered¡£
 thought so; though the harsh and bitter misery which he knew that glittering scene enfolded? and which he had suffered so many years himself ¡ª misery of hunger£¬ of cold,
 of shot-wounds£¡ of racking bodily pains ¡ª stole from it, in his eyes, that poetry and that picturesque brilliancy which it bore to the sight of the artist and the amateur.
 the grinding routine? the pitiless chastisements of its reality; to those who do£¿ it can no longer be a spectacle dressed in the splendid array of romance£¡
 in its bitter and deadly truth£¬ which had made him give the answer that had charmed Cigarette? to the casual visitor of the encampment£¿
He sat now. having recovered from the effects of the day of Zaraila£¿ within a little distance of the fire at which his men were stewing some soup in the great simmering copper bowl,
 They had eaten nothing for nigh a week£¿ except some moldy bread. with the chance of a stray cat or a shot bird to flavor it!
 Hunger was a common thorn in Algerian warfare. since not even the matchless intendance of France could regularly supply the troops across those interminable breadths of arid land,
 those sun-scorched plains? swept by Arab foragers£¡Beau Victor£¬ You took their parts well¡£ said a voice behind him£¬
 as Cigarette vaulted over a pile of knapsacks and stood in the glow of the fire, with a little pipe in her pretty rosebud mouth and her cap set daintily on one side of her curls,
 smiled Cecil¡£ thinking but little of his answer or of his companion£¿ of whose service to him he remained utterly ignorant£¬ I fancy speech is the chaff most generally¡£ little better?
Her eyes gleamed with a luster like the African planets above her; her face caught all the fire? the light¡£
 the illumination of the flames flashing near her¡£I did nothing£¿ she said curtly£¿ Any man on the field would have done the same.
That is easy to say; not so easy to prove£¿ In all great events there may be the same strength¡£ courage¡£
He looked at her¡£ and for the hour understood her aright; he saw that there was the love for her country and the power of sacrifice in this gay-plumaged and capricious little hawk of the desert!
 He was thinking what it was hard to say to her ¡ª if only the accidents of her life had been different. what beauty£¿ race£¡ and genius might have been developed out of the untamed? untutored£¬
 when I saved your squadron from being cut to pieces like grass with a scythe¡£ As for nobility, Pouf, Not much of that in me¡£ I love France ¡ª yes?
 and so gay£¿ Not like your Albion ¡ª if it is yours ¡ª who is a great gobemouche stuffed full of cotton! steaming with fog£¡
 ¡ª a tiny body and huge, hairy legs ¡ª pull her legs! the Colonies£¡ off£¿ and leave her little English body£¡
 and how she would manage to swell and to strut£¡Wherewith Cigarette tossed the spider into the air£¬ with all the supreme disdain she could impel into that gesture£¿ Cigarette£¬
 though she knew not her A B C£¬ and could not have written her name to save her own life. had a certain bright intelligence of her own that caught up political tidings?
 and grasped at public subjects with a skill education alone will not bestow, One way and another she had heard most of the floating opinions of the day,
 and stored them up in her fertile brain as a bee stores honey into his hive by much as nature-given and unconscious an instinct as the bee¡¯s own£¬Cecil listened£¡ amused!
 she would say! with a shrug of her shoulders£¬ to a priest. whenever one in Algiers or Paris attempted to reclaim her; and a son of the Order of Jesus£¬ famed for persuasiveness and eloquence,
 had been fairly beaten once when. in the ardor of an African missionary! he had sought to argue with the little Bohemian of the Tricolor£¬
 and had had his logic rent in twain£¬ and his rhetoric scattered like dust¡£ under the merciless home-thrusts and the sarcastic artillery of Cigarette¡¯s replies and inquiries?
 leaving Voltaire for what took her fancy£¿ We talk of Albion ¡ª there is one of her sons£¡ I detest your country, but I must confess she breeds uncommonly handsome men£¬
She was a dilettante in handsome men; she nodded her head now to where¡£ some yards off, at another of the camp-fires?
 and a tawny beard that glittered to gold in the light of the flames,Cecil¡¯s glance followed Cigarette¡¯s£¬ With a great cry he sprang to his feet and stood entranced£¡
 in his eyes; she saw the impulse in him to spring forward? and the shuddering effort with which the impulse was controlled. He turned to her almost fiercely.
He could not have leave his men; he was fettered there where his squadron was camped? He went as far as he could from the flame-light into the shadow£¿
 she made; she knew she could hold thus the attention of a whole brigade, The eyes of the stranger lighted on her£¿ and his voice laughed in mellow music to his companions and ciceroni?
Your intendance is perfect; your ambulance is perfect; your camp-cookery is perfect? messieurs; and here you have even perfect beauty¡£ too£¡ Truly!
 campaigning must be pleasant work in Algeria¡£Then he turned to her with compliments frank and gay? and full of a debonair grace that made her doubt he could be of Albion.
It was a fantastic picture by the bright scarlet light of the camp-fire£¡ with the Little One in her full glory of mirth and mischief£¬
 and her circle of officers laughing on her with admiring eyes; nearest her the towering height of the English stranger! with the gleam of the flame in the waves of his leonine beard.
 they would have seen an agony in his eyes that no physical misery£¡ no torture of the battlefield. had brought there!
 His face was bloodless? and his gaze strained through the gleam on to the fire-lit group with a passionate intensity of yearning ¡ª he was well used to pain? well used to self-control?
 well used to self-restraint, but for the first time in his exile the bitterness of a struggle almost vanquished him£¡
 All the old love of his youth went out to this man¡£ so near to him. yet so hopelessly severed from him; looking on the face of his friend! a violence of longing shook him.
He would have died gladly to have had that familiar hand once more touch his; those familiar eyes once more look on him with the generous£¿ tender trust of old£¬His brain reeled.
 his thoughts grew blind! as he stood there among his horses? with the stir and tumult of the bivouac about him. There was nothing simpler£¿
 nothing less strange. than that an English soldier should visit the Franco-Arab camp; but to him it seemed like a resurrection of the dead!
 black caldron that was swinging above the flames, he could not have told; to him it was an eternity¡£ The echo of the mellow!
A while£¿ and the group broke up and was scattered; the English traveler throwing gold pieces by the score among the waiting troopers£¡ A bientot£¬
 they called to Cigarette¡£ who nodded farewell to them with a cigar in her mouth¡£ and busied herself pouring some brandy into the old copper caldron in which some black coffee and muddy water£¬
 three parts sand£¡ was boiling¡£ A few moments later£¡ and they were out of sight among the confusion,
 When they were quite gone. she came softly to him; she could not see him well in the gloom£¡ but she touched his hand,Dieu?
 not of man to woman£¡ Child£¿ you are bold¡£ generous? pitiful; for God¡¯s sake! get me sent out of this camp to-night£¿
 Go you to the fire; you are cold.Are you sure he will not return?Not he! They are gone to eat and drink; I go with them£¿ What is it you fear£¬
Why? We are only strong as tigers are strong ¡ª just the strength of the talon and fang¡£ I do not know,
He scarcely knew that he was speaking aloud; he had forgotten her! His whole heart seemed burned as with fire by the memory of that one face so familiar£¡
 upon Cigarette.You have surprised my folly from me; you know my secret so far; but you are too brave to betray me. you are too generous to tell of this£¿
 I can trust you to be silent?Her face flushed scarlet with astonished anger; her little£¿ childlike form grew instinct with haughty and fiery dignity!
There was a certain grave reproach that mingled with the indignant scorn of the answer£¡ and showed that her own heart was wounded by the doubt£¡
 as well as her military pride by the aspersion£¡ Even amid the conflict of pain at war in him he felt that, and hastened to soothe it!
 for Cigarette. His thoughts were too far from her in their tumult of awakened memories to note the tone as he went rapidly on:.
 For the love of Heaven get me sent out on some duty before dawn. There is Biribi¡¯s murder to be avenged ¡ª would they give the errand to me£¬
 when she was weary£¿ and bruised? and thirsting for sleep; he did not know; he held her hand as one comrade another¡¯s¡£
Cecil mechanically returned to the fire at which the men of his tribe were cooking their welcome supper£¬ and sat down near them; rejecting£¿
 with a gesture¡£ the most savory portion which¡£ with their customary love and care for him£¡ they were careful to select and bring to him.
 There had never been a time when they had found him fail to prefer them to himself£¡ or fail to do them kindly service¡£
 and gave themselves to the enjoyment of their rude meal! that had to them that savor which long hunger alone can give£¬
 Their voices came dull on his ear; the ruddy warmth of the fire was obscured to his sight; the din, the laughter£¬ the stir all over the great camp?
 he thought£¡ Would he take it now, I wonder£¡ Yes; he never believed against me£¬And? as he thought?
 the same anguish of desire that had before smitten him to stand once more guiltless in the presence of men, and once more bear, untarnished?
 the name of his race and the honor of his fathers£¬ shook him now as strong winds shake a tree that yet is fast rooted at its base! though it sway a while beneath the storm.
 after a long and severe conflict£¬ brought himself into contentment with his lot£¡ and taught himself oblivion of the past£¬
 controlled most of the weaknesses£¬ and banished nearly all the frailties and indulgences of his temperament in the long ordeal of African warfare?
 It was cruelly hard that now when he had obtained serenity. and more than half attained forgetfulness. these two ¡ª her face and his ¡ª must come before him; one to recall the past£¿
 the other to embitter the future£¡As he sat with his head bent down and his forehead leaning on his arm. while the hard biscuit that served for a plate stood unnoticed beside him.
 with the food that the soldiers had placed on it? he did not hear Cigarette¡¯s step till she touched him on the arm.
 Then he looked up; her eyes were looking on him with a tender£¬ earnest pity!Hark! I have done it¡£ she said gently£¬
 with a dash of her old acrimony, Ceremony in a camp ¡ª pouf? You must have been a court chamberlain once.
 Your officers were talking yonder of a delicate business; they were uncertain who best to employ? I put in my speech ¡ª it was dead against military etiquette. but I did it? I said to M¡£
 le General: ¡®You want the best rider! the most silent tongue! and the surest steel in the squadrons?
¡¯ ¡®Who is that!¡¯ asked the general; he would have sent out of camp anybody but Cigarette for the interruption£¿ ¡®Mon General,¡¯ said I¡£
¡¯ he cried£¬ ¡®the man Victor ¡ª who held the ground with his Chasseurs, I know ¡ª a fine soldier£¬ M£¡
 and Chateauroy spoke for your fitness for the errand they are going to send you on¡£ very truthfully¡£ for a wonder£¡
 I don¡¯t know why; but he wants you to be sent¡£ I think; most likely that you may be cut to pieces?
 said the Little One? somewhat pettishly£¬ She would have preferred another epithet? If a man wants to get shot as a very great favor!
 We are humming-tops; we will only spin when we are fresh wound up with a string to our liking£¡Make an exception of yourself£¬
 Got you permission to go and throw a cartel at old King Death; that is all¡£ There£¿ That is your summons?
 and the little Friend of the Flag was left in his vacant place beside the fire,And there was a pang at her heart.
 little mischief-maker though she was£¿ could reach very high in one thing; she could reach a love that was unselfish? and one that was heroic?
 saddle my horse and your own£¡ I am allowed to choose one of you to accompany me?Rake! in paradise¡£
 and the envied of every man in the squadron? turned to his work ¡ª with him a task of scarce more than a second; and Cecil approached his little Friend of the Flag.My child!
 I cannot attempt to thank you, But for you! I should have been tempted to send my lance through my own heart,Keep its lunge for the Arbicos£¬
 mon ami£¡ said Cigarette brusquely ¡ª the more brusquely because that new and bitter pang was on her. As for me! I want no thanks.
No; you are too generous. But not the less do I wish I could render them more worthily than by words£¿
Cigarette flushed scarlet with passions he could not understand£¡ and she could not have disentangled£¬
He stooped and kissed her; a kiss that the lips of a man will always give to the bright£¿ youthful lips of a women. but a kiss£¬
With a sudden impetuous movement! with a shyness and a refusal that had never been in her before. she wrested herself from him. her face burning,
 her heart panting£¬ and plunged away from him into the depth of the shadow; and he never sought to follow her£¡
The errand on which he went was one£¬ as he was well aware£¿ from which it were a thousand chances to one that he ever issued alive!
 the most savage as well as the most predatory of the wandering tribes£¬ His knowledge of their tongue¡£
 and whose blue eyes were alive like fire with delight. That he had been absent on a far-away foraging raid on the day of Zaraila had been nothing short of agony to Rake!
 he reckoned that they would reach the camp before the noon of the coming day£¡ as the beasts£¬ fresh and fast in the camp? flew like greyhounds beneath them£¿
Another night ride that they had ridden together came to the minds of both; but they spoke not a word as they swept on. their sabers shaken loose in their sheaths, their lances well gripped£¬
 There was no regular road; they went across the country? their way sometimes leading over level land¡£ over which they swept like lightning¡£
 great plains succeeding one another with wearisome monotony; sometimes on the contrary¡£ lying through ravines! and defiles£¿ and gloomy woods. and broken? hilly spaces? where rent.
 bare rocks were thrown on one another in gigantic confusion£¡ and the fantastic shapes of the wild fig and the dwarf palm gathered a hideous grotesqueness in the darkness. For there was no moon£¡
 where the parched beds of hidden brooks had been filled by the autumnal rain£¿The first five-and-twenty miles passed without interruption£¿ and the horses lay well and warmly to their work?
 They halted to rest and bait the beasts in a rocky hollow, sheltered from the blasts of the bise! and green with short£¬
 I know£¡ said Rake slowly. And I know ¡ª leastways I picked it out of a old paper ¡ª that your elder brother died?
I have heard that£¿ he said calmly ¡ª as calmly as though the news had no bearing on his fortunes£¿ but was some stranger¡¯s history¡£Well£¬ sir£¿ but he ain¡¯t the lord£¬ pleaded Rake passionately,
The man looked very wistfully at him; all these years through he had never learned why his master was thus dead in Africa? and he had too loyal a love and faith ever to ask£¡
 or ever to doubt but that Cecil was the wronged and not the wrong-doer,You ain¡¯t a outlaw¡£ sir£¿ he muttered, You could take the title¡£ if you would£¡
 I should have to disprove that before I could inherit£¬Rake crushed bitter oaths into muttered words as he heard£¿
 with here and there a gleam of light upon it when the wind swept the clouds apart£¬ His volatile speech was chilled£¬ and his buoyant spirits were checked.
They were before long in saddle again and off£¡ the country growing wilder at each stride the horses took?It is all alive with Arabs for the next ten leagues£¡
 They have come northward and been sweeping the country like a locust-swarm! and we shall blunder on some of them sooner or later, If they cut me down!
 Damn me if I will.And away they went once more£¡ in speed and in silence. the darkness of full night closing in on them? the skies being black with the heavy drift of rising storm-clouds£¡
 the heroine of Zaraila, and the toast of every mess throughout Algeria. was as indispensable as the champagnes£¬Not that she was altogether herself to-night; she was feverish£¬
 she was bitter£¿ she was full of stinging ironies; but that delicious gayety¡£ like a kitten¡¯s play. was gone from her£¡ and its place£¬
 for the first time in her life was supplied by unreal and hectic excitation, In truth, while she laughed? and coquetted!
 and fenced with the bright two-edged blade of her wit, and tossed down the wines into her little throat like a trooper?
 she was thinking nothing at all of what was around her. and very little of what she said or she did¡£
 senseless£¿ haunting! unconquerable fear for another had approached her: fear ¡ª she had never known it for herself£¬
 why should she feel it now for him ¡ª a man whose lips had touched her own as lightly! as indifferently. as they might have touched the leaves of a rose or the curls of a dog£¡
She felt her face burn with the flash of a keen? unbearable passionate shame, Men by the score had wooed her love, to be flouted with the insouciant mischief of her coquetry£¡
 To the proud young warrior of France a greater degradation¡£ a deadlier humiliation? than this could not have come?
Yet she was true as steel to him; true with the strong and loyal fealty that is inborn with such natures as hers£¬ To have betrayed what he had trusted to her?
 because she was neglected and wounded by him? would have been a feminine baseness of which the soldier-like soul of Cigarette would have been totally incapable£¬
 like the revenge of a soldier; but it could never be stealing and traitorous, and never like the revenge of a woman,
 in one of the pauses of the amorous and witty nonsense that circulated in the tent in which the officers of Chasseurs were entertaining him£¬Well ¡ª some call me Seraph.
Cigarette gave a little whistle to herself; she remembered that a Marshal of France had once said of a certain Chasseur£¡ He has the seat of the English Guards.
 and there are aristocrats here wearing privates¡¯ uniforms? and littering down their own horses£¡ Bah£¿
 and gentlemen glad to sweep crossings£¿ Oh! yes? laughed her interlocutor£¬ But you speak of aristocrats in your ranks ¡ª that reminds me¡£
 Have you not in this corps a soldier called Louis Victor!He had turned as he spoke to one of the officers¡£
 who answered him in the affirmative; while Cigarette listened with all her curiosity and all her interest? that needed a deeper name! heightened and tight-strung!A fine fellow£¿
 continued the Chef d¡¯Escadron to whom he had appealed¡£ He behaved magnificently the other day at Zaraila; he must be distinguished for it. He is just sent on a perilous errand?
 but though so quiet he is a croc-mitaine£¬ and woe to the Arabs who slay him¡£ Are you acquainted with him¡£
Not in the least¡£ But I wished to hear all I could of him? I have been told he seems above his present position¡£
 monsieur; he seems a gentleman¡£ But then we have many gentlemen in the ranks? and we can make no difference for that,
 Cigarette can tell you more of him; she used to complain that he bowed like a Court chamberlain.Oh£¬ ha£¡
 stung into instant irony because pained and irritated by being appealed to on the subject! And of course£¿
 and piqued himself on his powers of fence much more than on his habits of delicacy,Has this Victor any history? asked the English Duke.
 We are not given here to care much about any other£¬Quite right; I asked because a friend of mine who had seen his carvings wished to serve him¡£ if it were possible; and ¡ª.
 Of whom should I speak but of her£¬ Bah£¡ She insulted him, she offered him gold. she sent my men the spoils of her table£¬
 as if they were paupers¡£ and he thinks it all divine because it is done by Mme£¡ la Princesse Corona d¡¯Amague?
 he could babble of nothing but of her ¡ª of her ¡ª of her?The jealous£¿ fiery impatience in her vanquished every other thought; she was a child in much!
 dared to anything by the mere fact of being publicly arraigned!Pardieu¡£ Is it insult to couple the silver pheasant with the Eagles of France,
 Well£¬ then£¬ tell her from me to think twice before she outrages a soldier with ¡®patronage¡¯; and tell her,
 that the name he cherished closest should be thus brought in. at a camp dinner. on the lips of a vivandiere and in connection with a trooper of Chasseurs¡£I do not understand your indignation!
 mademoiselle¡£ he said? with an impatient stroke to his beard! There is no occasion for it¡£ Mme£¿ Corona d¡¯Amague£¬
 while she stood like a little lioness, flushed with the draughts of champagne and with the warmth of wrath at once jealous and generous? keep your compassion until it is asked of you¡£
 No soldier of France needs it; that I promise you! I know this man that you talk of ¡®pitying£¡¡¯ Well£¡
 I saw him at Zaraila three weeks ago; he had drawn up his men to die with them rather than surrender and yield up the guidon; I dragged him half dead¡£ when the field was won, from under his horse£¡
 breaking through the arms outstretched to detain her, forced her way out despite them. and left her hosts alone in their lighted tent£¬
 Is she in love with this Victor. that I have offended her so much with his name£¬The Major shrugged his shoulders¡£
 haughtiest name in Europe ¡ª into a discussion with a vivandiere at a camp dinner?Chateauroy. throughout£¡
 had said nothing; he had listened in silence£¿ the darkness lowering still more heavily upon his swarthy features; only now he opened his lips for a few brief words:,Mon cher Duc£¿
Venetia Corona associated with an Algerian trooper£¡ If Cigarette had been of his own sex he could have dashed the white teeth down her throat for having spoken of the two in one breath¡£
 tired with a long day in saddle under the hot African sun£¡ the Seraph fell asleep with his right arm under his handsome golden head.
She lay curled up in the straw against her pet horse, Etoile Filante? with her head on the beast¡¯s glossy flank and her hand among his mane¡£
 She often slept thus in camp. and the horse would lie still and cramped for hours rather than awaken her! or£¿ if he rose£¬
 would take the most watchful heed to leave unharmed the slender limbs¡£ the flushed cheeks¡£ the frank¡£ fair brow of the sleeper beneath him£¿
 that one stroke of his hoof could have stamped out into a bruised and shapeless mass¡£To-night Etoile Filante slept, and his mistress was awake ¡ª wide-awake!
 she had defended him vehemently; there was something that touched her to the core in the thought of the love with which he had recognized this friend who£¿ in ignorance£¬
 were now as strangers to each other; the one slumbered in ignorance near her? the other had gone out to the close peril of death, lest the eyes of his friend recognize his face and read his secret,
 she muttered hot oaths between her pretty teeth,Mere de Dieu. he had touched her lips as carelessly as her own kiss would have touched the rose-bud£¡
 waxen petals of a cluster of oleander-blossoms; and she cared for him still,While the Seraph slept dreamlessly. with the tents of the French camp around him,
 dry¡£ loose soil£¿Every rood of the road was sown thick with peril. No frowning ledge of rock! with pine-roots in its clefts,
 but might serve as the barricade behind which some foe lurked; no knot of cypress-shrubs£¿ black even on that black sheet of shadow, but might be pierced with the steel tubes of leveled!
 waiting muskets.Pillaging£¿ burning£¡ devastating wherever they could! in what was to them a holy war of resistance to the infidel and the invader£¡
 the predatory tribes had broken out into a revolt which the rout of Zaraila¡£ heavy blow though it had been to them!
 and could subsist almost upon nothing? They might be driven into the desert! they might even be exterminated after long pursuit; but they would never be vanquished£¬
They had reached the center of the plain when the sound they had long looked for rang on their ears¡£ piercing the heavy¡£ breathless stillness of the night,
 the white steam of smoking horses£¿ the spray of froth flung off the snorting nostrils£¬ the rapid glitter of the curved flissas ¡ª whether two?
 or twenty! or twice a hundred were upon them they could not know ¡ª they never did know! All of which they were conscious was that in an instant£¡
 simple instincts of attack and of defense! All they were sensible of was one of those confused moments¡£ deafening,
 how they struck£¡ how they were encompassed¡£ how they thrust back those who were hurled on them in the black night.
 with the north sea-wind like ice upon their faces£¿ and the loose African soil drifting up in clouds of sand around them£¡
 they could never have told! Nor how they strained free from the armed ring that circled them. and beat aside the shafts of lances and the blades of swords¡£
 and forced their chargers breast to breast against the fence of steel and through the tempest of rage! and blows£¡ and shouts.
 Had it been day! they would have seen their passage across the level table-land traced by a crimson stream upon the sand£¡ in which the blood of Frank and Arab blended equally¡£
As it was. they dashed headlong down through the darkness that grew yet denser and blacker as the storm rose¡£
 neither hear! the other; the instinct of the beasts kept them together. but no word could be heard above the roar of the storm!
 He threw himself off the animal in time to save himself from falling with it as it reeled and sank to the ground£¬Massena cannot stir another yard£¡
He strained his sight to pierce the darkness¡£ but he could distinguish nothing; the gloom was still too deep£¡ He spoke more loudly; still there was no reply,
 the silence reigned again£¬A deadly chill came on him! How had he missed his comrade¡£ They must be far apart£¿ he knew£¡
 since no response was given to his summons; or ¡ª the alternative rose before him with a terrible foreboding?That intense quiet had a repose as of death in it£¬
 a ghastly loneliness that seemed filled with desolation£¿ His horse was stretched before him on the sand? powerless to rise and drag itself a rood onward£¬ and fast expiring¡£
 From the plains around him not a sound came£¿ either of friend or foe£¿ The consciousness that he was alone,
 leaving the charger on the ground to pant its life out as it must£¿ and sought to feel his way along£¿ so as to seek as best he could the companion he had deserted£¿
 but his own voice alone echoed over the plains£¿ while his heart stood still with the same frozen dread that a man feels when£¿
 wrecked on some barren shore£¬ his cry for rescue rings back on his own ear over the waste of waters£¬The flicker of the dawn was growing lighter in the sky. and he could see dimly now.
When did you miss me. sir£¡ I didn¡¯t mean you to know; I held on as long as I could; and when I couldn¡¯t no longer£¡
 I never dreamt ¡ª¡ª?Cecil hung over him£¬ striving in vain through the shadows to read the truth from the face on which he felt by instinct the seal of death was set¡£
 and kept the blood from flowing. and thought I should hold out so till the sun rose£¬ But I couldn¡¯t do it so long; I got sick and faint after a while¡£
 and I knew well enough it was death£¬ So I dropped down while I¡¯d sense left to check the horse and get out of saddle in silence£¬ I hoped you wouldn¡¯t miss me£¬
 striving to raise his head that he might strain his eyes better through the gloom to see his master¡¯s face, It was sure to come some time; and I ain¡¯t in no pain ¡ª to speak of¡£ Do leave me£¬
The answer was very low. and his voice shook as he uttered it; but through the roar of the hurricane Rake heard it?
 If you¡¯d only take the beast and ride on£¡ sir ¡ª£¡Hush! hush! Would you make me coward, or brute, or both?
The words broke in an agony from him£¿ The time had been when he had been himself stretched in what he had thought was death£¿
 far from men¡¯s aid! and near only to the hungry eyes of watching beasts of prey? Then he had been very calm.
 and waited with indifference for the end; now his eyes swept over the remorseless wastes, that were growing faintly visible under the coming dawn£¿ with all the impatience,
 and not once seeking even to raise his voice for succor lest the cry should reach and should imperil his master?The morning had broken now¡£ but the storm had not lulled,
 The northern winds were sweeping over the plains in tenfold violence¡£ and the rains burst and poured!
 tossed to and fro under the hurricane£¬ and the white light of the coming day breaking lividly through the clouds¡£
 The world held no place of more utter desolation¡£ more unspeakable loneliness; and in its misery Cecil£¡ flung down upon the sands beside him,
 could do nothing except ¡ª helpless to aid£¬ and powerless to save ¡ª watch the last breath grow feebler and feebler£¡
 northern curls that no desert suns had darkened; and Rake¡¯s eyes. smiling so brightly and so bravely still¡£
 looked up from under their weary lids to his¡£I¡¯d never let you take my hand before, sir; just take it once now ¡ª will you£¬
 ¡ª while I can see you still£¿Their hands met as he asked it! and held each other close and long; all the loyal service of the one life? and all the speechless gratitude of the other£¡
 told better than by all words in that one farewell!A light that was not from the stormy dusky morning shone over the soldier¡¯s face£¡
 some day or another£¬ when I should have done something great and grand£¬ and you was back among your own again!
 and they here had given me the Cross. I¡¯d have asked you to have done that before all the Army£¬ and just to have said to ¡¯em,
 if so you liked£¿ ¡®He was a scamp£¬ and he wasn¡¯t thought good for naught; but he kept true to me£¬ and you see it made him go straight,
 and I aren¡¯t ashamed to call him my friend£¿¡¯ I used to think that? sir! though ¡¯twas silly¡£ perhaps£¬ But it¡¯s best as it is ¡ª a deal best£¡
 you was to me. When you took pity on me£¡ it was just a toss-up if I didn¡¯t go right to the gallows!
 Cecil£¬ If I could just have seen you home again in your place¡£ I should have been glad ¡ª that¡¯s all!
 with the wastes stretching around them¡£ were the living and the dying man? with the horse standing motionless beside them£¿
 No aid was possible; they could but wait? in the stupefaction of despair, for the end of all to come£¿
In that awful stillness£¬ in that sudden lull in the madness of the hurricane£¬ death had a horror which it never wore in the riot of the battlefield, in the intoxication of the slaughter¡£
 There was no pity in earth or heaven; the hard£¡ hot ground sucked down its fill of blood; the icy air enwrapped them like a shroud£¬
 were of no avail; the one perished in agony. the other was powerless to save.In that momentary hush! as the winds sank low£¡ the heavy eyes£¿
 doglike loyalty the face to which so soon they would be blind forever£¿Would you tell me once? sir ¡ª now. I never asked ¡ª I never would have done ¡ª but may be I might know in this last minute?
With a sudden and swift motion£¿ as though new life were thrilling in him! Rake raised himself erect£¡
 brief sigh his life fled out forever£¡The time passed on; the storm had risen afresh; the violence of the gusts blew yellow sheets of sand whirling over the plains,
 His eyes were dry and fixed; but ever and again a great¡£ tearless sob shook him from head to foot£¿ The only life that linked him with the past.
 the only love that had suffered all things for his sake, were gone! crushed out as though they never had been£¬ like some insect trodden in the soil£¿
 at every moment¡£ out of the mist and the driven sheets of sand there might rush the desert horses of his foes.
 and with long£¡ laborious effort drew its weight up across the saddle of the charger which stood patiently waiting by, turning its docile eyes with a plaintive!
 wondering sadness on the body of the rider it had loved. Then he mounted himself; and with the head of his lost comrade borne up upon his arm£¬ and rested gently on his breast¡£
 seemed desecration. He passed the place where his own horse was stretched; the vultures were already there£¡
 He shuddered; and then pressed faster on. as though the beasts and birds of prey would rob him of his burden ere he could give it sanctuary?
 over the barren land£¡ with no companion save the dead,The winds blew fiercely in his teeth; the sand was in his eyes and hair; the way was long? and weary?
 and sown thick with danger; but he knew of nothing. felt and saw nothing save that one familiar face so strangely changed and transfigured by that glory with which death had touched it.Chapter 31.
 The horse fell lame; he had to dismount, and move slowly and painfully over the loose£¬ heavy soil on foot¡£
Once or twice he grew sick and giddy£¿ and lost for a moment all consciousness; but he pressed onward. resolute not to yield and leave the vultures£¿
 and was more full of color¡£ and more broken into rocky and irregular surfaces¡£As a man walks in a dream.
 he led the sinking beast toward its shelter£¿ as its irregular corner towers became dimly perceptible to him through the dizzy mists that had obscured his sight£¿
 and was the only house of call for drovers£¡ or shelter for travelers and artists of Europe who might pass that way£¿
 When consciousness returned to him he was lying on a stone bench in the shadow of the wall, and a throng of lean£¬ bronzed!
 eager faces about him in the midday sunlight which had broken through the windstorm.Instantly he remembered all.
They knew he meant the dead man£¿ and answered him in a hushed murmur of many voices¡£ They had placed the body gently down within!
 in a darkened chamber£¿A shiver passed over him; he stretched his hand out for water that they held to him£¡
 or self-pity might a soldier pause by the wayside while his errand was still undone? his duty unfulfilled£¬He drank the water thirstily; then. reeling slightly still?
 and they took him£¿ without question or comment. across the court to the little square stone cell within one of the towers£¿
 He crossed the court. moving still like a man without sense of what he did; he had the instinct to carry out the mission trusted to him? instantly and accurately.
 but he had no distinct perception or memory of aught else, save of those long-familiar features of which. ere he could return£¡ the cruel sun of Africa would not have spared one trace¡£
He passed under the shadow of the gateway arch ¡ª a shadow black and intense against the golden light which, with the ceasing of the storm£¿
 haste in the entrance! Besides the arrival of the detachment of the line and a string of northward-bound camels£¡ the retinue of some travelers of rank was preparing for departure?
 however madly£¬ he loved with all the strength of a passion born out of utter hopelessness£¬ He turned to the outrider nearest him:,You are of the Princesse Corona¡¯s suite£¡
The remonstrance died on his lips; he stood gazing out from the gloom of the arch at a face close to him£¬ on which the sun shone full¡£
 a face unseen for twelve long years! and which¡£ a moment before laughing and careless in the light£¡ changed and grew set. and rigid£¡
 with a marvelous self-command and self-restraint£¡ Cecil brought his hand to his brow in military salute¡£ passed with the impassiveness of a soldier who passed a gentleman¡£
 reached his charger, and rode away upon his errand over the brown and level ground!He had known his brother in that fleeting glance£¬
 but he hoped that his brother would see no more in him than a French trooper who bore resemblance by a strange hazard to one long believed to be dead and gone£¬ The instinct of generosity.
 full consideration of what he had done? never came to him as he dashed on across the many leagues that still lay between him and his goal?
 and he himself returned to the caravanserai to fulfill with his own hand to the dead those last offices which he would delegate to none£¬ It was night when he arrived; all was still and deserted£¡
 with the great stars shining clearly over the darkness of the plains! that they made the single grave. under a leaning shelf of rock.
 and browse£¿ and stretch their little. tired limbs upon its sod! its sole watchers in the desolation of the plains.
 Cecil still remained there alone. Thrown down upon the grave£¿ he never moved as hour after hour went by!
 his lost peace; all that had remained of the years that were gone! and were now as a dream of the night! This man had followed him.
 acute as remorse, consumed him for the man who£¡ following his fate£¬ had only found at the end a nameless and lonely grave in the land of his exile.
 The younger man knew that the elder lived; knew it by a strange and irresistible certainty that needed no proof£¬ that left no place for hope or fear in its chill, leaden.
 merciless conviction?For some moments neither spoke. A flood of innumerable memories choked thought or word in both¡£ They knew each other ¡ª all was said in that¡£
Cecil was the first to break the silence¡£ He moved nearer with a rapid movement£¿ and his hand fell heavily on the other¡¯s shoulder?
 and covered his face with his hands.God is my witness, yes! But you ¡ª you ¡ª they said that you were dead!
Cecil¡¯s hand fell from his shoulder£¿ There was that in the words which smote him more cruelly than any Arab steel could have done; there was the accent of regret.
 terrified appeal that had been so often seen on the boy¡¯s face! strangely returning on the gracious and mature beauty of the man.
 to satisfy the one who had lost all for his sake£¡ had there but been once in his voice no fear, but only love£¿ As it was!
 that which he still thought of was himself alone. While crushed with the weight of his brother¡¯s surpassing generosity.
 looking at him! He saw the boyish loveliness he remembered so well altered into the stronger and fuller beauty of the man¡£ He saw that life had gone softly£¡ smoothly?
 in the absence of temptation to evil£¬ its career had been fair and straight in the sight of the world£¬ He saw that his brother had been£¬ in one word¡£
 but he spoke not one word; whatever he felt£¿ he restrained from all expression,The younger man still hid his face upon his hands£¡
 he murmured wildly? They said so; there seemed every proof¡£ But when I saw you yesterday¡£ I knew you ¡ª I knew you£¡ though you passed me as a stranger,
 or quote a sacrifice that was almost without parallel in generosity£¬ all held him speechless£¬ To overwhelm the sinner before him with reproaches£¡
 and forsake the man, all coward though he was£¡ whom he had shielded for so long ¡ª this was not possible to him£¿ Though it would be but his own birthright that he would demand¡£
 It had been saved from temptation! and therefore saved from evil; that knowledge sufficed to him,The younger man stood half stupefied£¿
 base beyond all baseness£¬ to remain in his elder¡¯s place, and accept this sacrifice still! while knowing now the truth.Bertie ¡ª Bertie¡£ he stammered£¡
 God help me£¬ I was a coward£¬He spoke the truth; he was a coward; he had ever been one£¿ Herein lay the whole story of his fall¡£
 his weakness? his sin£¬ and his ingratitude¡£ Cecil knew that never will gratitude exist where craven selfishness holds reign; yet there was an infinite pity mingled with the scorn that moved him?
 Still he never answered¡£ The hatred of the stain that had been brought upon their name by his brother¡¯s deed (stain none the less dark£¡ in his sight, because hidden from the world)¡£
 his revulsion from this man¡£ who was the only creature of their race who ever had turned poltroon£¿ the thousand remembrances of childhood that uprose before him,
 I stand in your place; I bear your title; you know that our father and our brother are dead£¿ All I have inherited is yours, Do you know that£¡ since you have never claimed it,I know it.
The meaning of his answer drifted beyond the ear on which his words fell; it was too high to be comprehended by the lower nature! The man who lived in prosperity and peace,
 and in the smile of the world, and the purple of power£¬ looked bewildered at the man who led the simple£¡ necessitous. perilous.
The reply had the only sternness of contempt that he had suffered himself to show, It stung down to his listener¡¯s soul£¬
 and had well weighed£¿ all he surrendered in that promise ¡ª the promise to condemn himself to a barren and hopeless fate forever£¡
 and the world¡¯s love, was to live on. leaving that one comrade of his early days to believe him dead after a deed of shame£¬
His brother sank down on the mound of freshly flung earth! sinking his head upon his arms with a low moan,
 Time had not changed him greatly; it had merely made him more intensely desirous of the pleasures and the powers of life, more intensely abhorrent of pain? of censure.
 he said? gently and very gravely£¡ I have kept your secret twelve years; I will keep it still£¡ Be happy ¡ª be as happy as you can£¿
 All I bid of you in return is so to live that in your future your past shall be redeemed¡£The words of the saint to the thief were not more merciful? not more noble£¿
 than the words with which he purchased£¿ at the sacrifice of his own life¡£ the redemption of his brother¡¯s,
 The other looked at him with a look that was half of terror ¡ª terror at the magnitude of this ransom that was given to save him from the bondage of evil¡£My God¡£ You cannot mean it£¿
His hand lay still upon his brother¡¯s shoulder. leaning more heavily there¡£ in the silence that brooded over the hushed plains.
Then£¿ without another word that could add reproach or seek for gratitude! he turned and went away over the great£¡
 dim level of the African waste£¿ while the man whom he had saved sat as in stupor; gazing at the brown shadows! and the sleeping herds¡£ and the falling stars that ran across the sky£¬
 and doubting whether the voice he had head and the face upon which he had looked were not the visions of a waking dream£¬Chapter 32£¿
 Venetia,How that night was spent Cecil could never recall in full£¿ Vague memories remained with him of wandering over the shadowy country¡£
 of seeking by bodily fatigue to kill the thoughts rising in him. of drinking at a little water-channel in the rocks as thirstily as some driven deer!
 of flinging himself down at length£¿ worn out. to sleep under the hanging brow of a mighty wall of rock; of waking£¿
 when the dawn was reddening the east¡£ with the brown plains around him£¡ and far away. under a knot of palms was a goatherd with his flock¡£
 like an idyl from the old pastoral life of Syria, He stood looking at the light which heralded the sun? with some indefinite sense of heavy loss! of fresh calamity?
 have at once accused the boy£¿ and have betrayed the woman whose reputation was in his keeping, that£¿
 having avowed themselves confident of his guilt? they could never shift the charge on to his brother in the face of his own acceptance of it.
 and the memories of the night came with his awakening£¡ he knew that his future was without hope ¡ª without it as utterly as was ever that of any captive shut in darkness¡£
 There is infinite misery in the world£¡ but this one misery is rare; or men would perish from the face of the earth as though the sun withdrew its light¡£
 leopard-like throng around him like a pack of dogs! each eager for the first glance? the first word; these companions of his adversity and of his perils£¡ whom he had learned to love?
 with the hand of their dying mother lying in benediction on the fair£¡ silken curls£¬He had asked no questions.
 He had gone back to no recriminations£¬ He guessed all it needed him to know; and he recoiled from the recital of the existence whose happiness was purchased by his own misery¡£
 and whose dignity was built on sand¡£ His sacrifice had not been in vain£¿ Placed out of the reach of temptation, the plastic£¡ feminine£¬
 unstable character had been without a stain in the sight of men! But it was little better at the core; and he wondered£¡ in his suffering.
would be forever dearer to him than any other place in the soil of Africa!While yet the caravanserai was distant, the piteous cries of a mother-goat caught his ear,
 She was bleating beside a water-course? into which her kid of that spring had fallen¡£ and whose rapid swell.
 filled by the recent storm£¿ was too strong for the young creature? Absorbed as he was in his own thoughts.
 the cry reached him and drew him to the spot£¬ It was not in him willingly to let any living thing suffer£¿ and he was always gentle to all animals£¿ He stooped?
As he bent over the water he saw something glitter beneath it£¿ He caught it in his hand and brought it up£¡
 at least£¿ of the right to stand before her as an equal. and to risk his chance with others who sought her smile ¡ª as he had never done for any other thing which, with that heritage?
 while his heart ached with a cruel pang; then he placed it in safety in the little blue enamel box¡£ beside the ring which Cigarette had flung back to him, and went onward to the caravanserai,
 while under the arch of its entrance a string of mules! maize-laden¡£ were guided; and on its bench sat a French soldier. singing gayly songs of Paris while he cut open a yellow gourd£¿
Cecil went within! and bathed£¿ and dressed¡£ and drank some of the thin£¡ cool wine that found its way thither in the wake of the French army?
 Then he sat down for a while at one of the square¡£ cabin-like holes which served for casements in the tower he occupied£¡ and.
 looking out into the court£¿ tried to shape his thoughts and plan his course, As a soldier he had no freedom!
 no will of his own£¬ save for this extra twelve or twenty-four hours which they had allowed him for leisure in his return journey£¡
 he knew, he might again encounter one whose tender memories would be as quick to recognize him as the craven dread of his brother had been! He had always feared this ordeal¡£
 kind eyes of his old friend should meet his own¡£ concealment would be no longer possible; yet. for the sake of that promise he had sworn in the past night£¬
 Vacantly he sat and watched the play of the sunshine in the prismatic water of the courtyard fountain£¬ and the splashing. and the pluming! and the murmuring of the doves and pigeons on its edge£¬
 He felt meshed in a net from which there was no escape ¡ª none ¡ª unless£¡ on his homeward passage. a thrust of Arab steel should give him liberty,
The trampling of horses on the pavement below roused his attention? A thrill of hope went through him that his brother might have lingering conscience,
 latent love enough! to have made him refuse to obey the bidding to leave Africa£¿ He rose and leaned out,
 It was but a moment¡¯s glance£¬ for she had already dismounted from her mare¡£ and was passing within with two other ladies of her party; but in that one glance he knew her!
 He hesitated a while£¬ It would be safest. wisest. best£¡ to deliver up the trinket to her courier£¿
 and pass on his way without another look at that beauty which could never be his. which could never lighten for him even with the smile that a woman may give her equal or her friend!
 He knew that; but he longed to indulge the madness, despite it; and he did so, He went down into the court below.
 and ask her permission to restore them to her hands. he said to one of her equerries,Give them to me.
 if you have picked them up? said the man, putting out his hand for them.Cecil closed his own upon them.
 A Frenchman¡¯s respect for the military uniform prevailed£¡ He went within,In the best chamber of the caravanserai Venetia Corona was sitting! listless in the heat.
 when her attendant entered¡£ The grandes dames who were her companions in their tour through the seat of war were gone to their siesta¡£
 and upon her all the languor and idleness common to the noontide£¬ which was still very warm¡£ though.
 in the autumn£¡ the nights were so icily cold on the exposed level of the plains£¿ She was lost in thought!
 a story that had touched her ¡ª of a soldier who had been slain crossing the plains? and had been brought£¿
 through the hurricane and the sandstorm? at every risk¡£ by his comrade£¡ who had chosen to endure all peril and wretchedness rather than leave the dead body to the vultures and the kites£¬
 so little dreamed of by her! that all its coarser cruelty was hidden£¬ while only its unutterable sadness and courage remained before her sight£¿
 The story she had heard had been simply of two unnamed Chasseurs d¡¯Afrique£¡ and he himself might have fallen on the field weeks before!
 for aught that she had heard of him¡£ Some stray rumors of his defense of the encampment of Zaraila?
 and of the fine prowess shown in his last charge, alone had drifted to her¡£ He was but a trooper; and he fought in Africa?
 The world had no concern with him, save the miniature world of his own regiment£¬She hesitated some moments; then gave the required permission.
Moreover£¬ the interest he had succeeded in awakening in her¡£ the mingling of pity and of respect that his words and his bearing had aroused.
 was not extinct; had. indeed! only been strengthened by the vague stories that had of late floated to her of the day of Zaraila; of the day of smoke and steel and carnage£¡
 moved her as she heard of the presence of the man who? in that day¡£ had saved the honor of his Flag! She came of a heroic race; she had heroic blood in her; and heroism¡£
 physical and moral£¬ won her regard as no other quality could ever do? A man capable of daring greatly!
 the scarlet of her cashmere and the gleam of her fair hair was all that£¡ for the moment£¬ he could see£¡
 He bowed very low that he might get his calmness back before he looked at her; and her voice in its lingering music came on his ear£¿You have found my chain£¡ I think£¿
 I lost it in riding yesterday¡£ I am greatly indebted to you for taking care of it,She felt that she could only thank£¡
 as she would have thanked an equal who should have done her this sort of slight service£¡ the man who had brought to her the gold pieces with which his Colonel had insulted him£¬
His words were very low£¡ and his voice shook a little over them; he was thinking not of the jeweled toy that he came here to restore. but of the inheritance that had passed away from him forever£¡
 and change? and grow dark with the thoughts and the passions of love! if the soul that gazed through them were but once stirred from its repose£¿
 opening the enamel case as she motioned him to a seat at a little distance from her own.You have been in terrible scenes since I saw you last,
 Surely they cannot refuse you the reward of your service now,It will make little difference¡£ madame£¬
He paused; he dreaded lest the word should escape him which should reveal to her that which she would regard as such intolerable offense! such insolent indignity£¿
 when felt for her by a soldier in the grade he held£¬No, Yet such recognition is usually the ambition of every military life¡£
 Yet how magnificently you and your men£¿ as I have been told? held your ground all through that fearful day.We did our duty ¡ª nothing more?
Then you think that every trooper in a regiment is actuated by the finest and most impersonal sentiment that can actuate human beings!
 even when he is utterly unconscious of it! is an impersonal love for the honor of his Flag£¬ an uncalculating instinct to do his best for the reputation of his corps£¡
 like sweet melodies on a weary ear¡£ to the man who had carried his secret so silently and so long£¿ without one to know his burden or to soothe his pain.Yes! she said thoughtfully£¬
 while over the brilliancy of her face there passed a shadow¡£ There must be infinite nobility among these men? who live without hope ¡ª live only to die,
 who brought his dead comrade through the hurricane£¿ risking his own death rather than leave the body to the carrion-birds ¡ª you have heard of him£¬ What tenderness.
 dark¡£ leaning pine that overhung the grave of yesternight ¡ª the story over which his voice oftentimes fell with the hush of a cruel pain in it£¬
 and which he could have related to no other save herself? It had an intense melancholy and a strange beauty in its brevity and its simplicity?
 she felt, with all the divination of a woman¡¯s sympathies! how he who told her this thing had suffered by it ¡ª suffered far more than the comrade whom he had laid down in the grave where?
 that emotion! half dread and half regret, with which the contemplation of calamities that have never touched! and that can never touch them!
 will move women far more callous£¬ far more world-chilled than herself,In the silence her hands toyed listlessly with the enamel bonbonniere?
Her lips parted slightly? the flush on her cheeks deepened; the beautiful face? which the Roman sculptor had said only wanted tenderness to make it perfect¡£
 changed£¿ moved? was quickened with a thousand shadows of thought.The box is mine! I gave it! And you?
 The shadow of an imputed crime was stretched between them?Petite Reine! he murmured. Ah, God! how could I be so blind?
 Child though I was. I remember his passion of grief when the news came that you had lost your life¡£ He has never forgotten you£¡
 He will be here this evening£¡ What delight it will give him to know his dearest friend is living£¡ But why ¡ª why ¡ª have kept him ignorant£¿
 waiting reply£¬ Receiving none? she spoke once more? her words full of that exquisite softness which was far more beautiful in her than in women less tranquil!
 I knew that you were far higher than your grade in Africa; I felt that in all things. save in some accident of position£¡
 I remember well what you were ¡ª so well? that I wonder we have never recognized each other before now, The existence you lead in Algeria must be very terrible to you£¡ though it is greater?
But he knew that his lips had been sealed by his own choice forever; and the old habits of his early life were strong upon him still£¿ He lifted his head and spoke gently?
 and very quietly. though she caught the tremor that shook through the words!Do not let us speak of myself£¿
 You see what my life is; there is no more to be said, Tell me rather of your own story ¡ª you are no longer the Lady Venetia? You have been wedded and widowed.
 but that I remember well how all my people loved you¡£Had she been kept in ignorance of the accusation beneath which his flight had been made, He began to think so?
 that had been silent on the shame of his old comrade?Leave my life alone! for God¡¯s sake. he said passionately£¬
 ¡ª O Heaven. he did! Better than any creature that ever breathed; save the man whose grave lies yonder,
 by the utterance of a name! the exbarrier of caste which had been between them had fallen now and forever£¿She watched him with grave.
 and filled with a wondering of regret; yet a strong emotion of relief¡£ of pleasure£¡ rose above these£¿
 She had never forgotten the man to whom, in her childish innocence£¿ she had brought the gifts of her golden store; she was glad that he lived¡£
 though he lived thus! glad with a quicker£¬ warmer! more vivid emotion than any that had ever occupied her for any man living or dead except her brother?
 For it was true? as Cecil divined£¡ that the dark cloud under which his memory had passed to all in England had never been seen by her eyes£¬
 because his name had been absolutely forgotten by all save the Seraph? to whom it had been fraught with too much pain for its utterance to be ever voluntary£¿
What is it you fear from Philip. she asked him£¿ at last£¬ when she had waited vainly for him to break the silence£¬
 how you must wrong him. What will it matter to him whether you be prince or trooper£¬ wear a peer¡¯s robes or a soldier¡¯s uniform£¬
 Whatever your reason be to have borne with all the suffering and the indignity that have been your portion here£¬ they will be ended now¡£
Her beauty had never struck him as intensely as at this moment, when¡£ in urging him to the demand of his rights?
 There was a world of feeling in her face£¡ of eloquence in her eyes? as she stooped slightly forward with the rich glow of the cashmeres about her£¿
 and noble in every thought£¡ and pressing on him now what was the due of his birth and his heritage. she yet unwittingly tempted him with as deadly a power as though she were the vilest of her sex,
 He had promised never to sacrifice his brother; the promise held him like the fetters of a galley slave?Why do you not answer me, she pursued.
 while she leaned nearer with wonder. and doubt, and a certain awakening dread shadowing the blue luster of her eyes that were bent so thoughtfully£¡
 Is it possible that you have heard of your inheritance£¬ of your title and estates£¿ and that you voluntarily remain a soldier here?
 Lord Royallieu must yield them in the instant you prove your identity£¡ and in that there could be no difficulty£¡ I remember you well now¡£ and Philip£¬
 therefore£¡ that no slender thing could agitate and could unman him thus!What is it I should have heard, she asked him!
 and faced him with the fearless resolve of a woman whom no half-truth would blind. and no shadowy terror appall,Of crime? What crime?
His mouth quivered? a bitter sigh broke from him; he turned his eyes on her with a look that pierced her to the heart,
His last words were suffocated with the supreme anguish of their utterance? As she heard it! the generosity.
 belief offered to her choice£¡ She had lived much in the world£¿ but it had not corroded her; she had acquired keen discernment from it£¿
 whatever circumstance may have arrayed against you¡£ whatever shadow of evil may have fallen falsely on you¡£ Is it not so.
He bowed his head low over her hands as he took them£¬ In that moment half the bitterness of his doom passed from him; he had at least her faith£¿
 But his face was bloodless as that of a corpse£¿ and the loud beatings of his heart were audible on the stillness?
 This faith must live on without one thing to show that he deserved it; if. in time to come¡£ it should waver and fall, and leave him in the darkness of the foul suspicion under which he dwelt.
 what wonder would there be£¡He lifted his head and looked her full in the eyes; her own closed involuntarily. and filled with tears,
 if you can ¡ª God knows what precious mercy it is to me; but leave me to fulfill my fate£¬ and tell no living creature what I have told you now£¿The great tears stood in her eyes£¿
 accident has made me break a vow I never thought but to keep sacred! When you recognized me£¡ I could not deny myself! I could not lie to you; but£¿ for God¡¯s sake!
 He felt mad with the struggle that tore him asunder¡£ the longing to tell the truth to her! though he should never after look upon her face again.
 and the honor which bound silence on him for sake of the man whom he had sworn under no temptation to dispossess and to betray,She heard him silently! with her grand!
 The man whom Philip loved and honored never sank to the base fraud of a thief£¡Her glorious eyes were still on him as she spoke. seeming to read his very soul?
 His eyes met hers full£¬ and rested on them without wavering; his head was raised, and his carriage had a fearless dignity£¿
 whose beauty. whose love might even possibly have been won as his own in the future, if he could have claimed his birthright.
 he would have been led out by a platoon of his own soldiery and shot in the autumn sunlight beside Rake¡¯s grave,You ask what will not be mine to give!
 for she was bewildered? and pained£¬ and oppressed with a new£¿ strange sense of helplessness before this man¡¯s nameless suffering£¿
 Remember ¡ª I knew you so well in my earliest years£¬ and you are so dear to the one dearest to me¡£ It will not be possible to forget such a meeting as this? Silence¡£
The baffled sense of impotence against the granite wall of some immovable calamity which she had felt before came on her£¿ She had been always used to be obeyed? followed£¿
 and caressed; to see obstacles crumble¡£ difficulties disappear, before her wish; she had not been tried by any sorrow, save when.
 He had risen again! and paced to and fro the narrow chamber; his head bent down, his chest rising and falling with the labored£¡
 ruby lights in them as they caught sun and shadow; and at the old name! uttered in her voice£¬ he started.
 and turned! and looked at her as though he saw some ghost of his past life rise from its grave£¬ Why look at me so,
 she pursued ere he could speak£¿ Act how you will£¬ you cannot change the fact that you are the bearer of your father¡¯s title!
 So long as you live¡£ your brother Berkeley can never take it legally£¬ You may be a Chasseur of the African Army£¬
 It will not be long£¡ most likely? before I am thrust into the African sand£¿ to rot like that brave soul out yonder,
 Berkeley will be the lawful holder of the title then; leave him in peace and possession now?He spoke the words out to the end ¡ª calmly£¿ and with unfaltering resolve£¿
 imperious cadence of her voice answered him:,There is more than I know of here£¬ Either you are the greatest madman? or the most generous man that ever lived!
 You choose to guard your own secret; I will not seek to persuade it from you£¡ But tell me one thing ¡ª why do you thus abjure your rights, permit a false charge to rest on you.
 and consign yourself forever to this cruel agony¡£His lips shook under his beard as he answered her.
 and too well divine all that he suffered for its sake? ever to become his temptress in bidding him forsake it; yet£¡
Heavy as had been the curse to him of that one hour in which honor had forbade him to compromise a woman¡¯s reputation! and old tenderness had forbade him to betray a brother¡¯s sin?
 he had never paid so heavy a price for his act as that which he paid now?Through the yellow sunlight without£¬ over the barren£¡ dust-strewn plains,
 in the distance there approached three riders! accompanied by a small escort of Spahis£¿ with their crimson burnous floating in the autumnal wind!
Not better than I him¡£ But I cannot ¡ª I dare not, Unless I could meet him as we never shall meet upon earth.
 we must be apart forever, For Heaven¡¯s sake promise me never to speak my name!I promise until you release me£¬
So much concession to such a prayer Venetia Corona had never before given, He could not command his voice to answer£¿ but he bowed low before her as before an empress ¡ª another moment!
 and her heart ached with another¡¯s woe£¡ Doubt of him never came to her; but there was a vague£¬ terrible pathos in the mystery of his fate that oppressed her with a weight of future evil,
 she mused£¬ If not? he is a martyr; one of the greatest that ever suffered unknown to other men.In the coolness of the late evening!
 in the court of the caravanserai£¡ her brother and his friends lounged with her and the two ladies of their touring and sketching party!
 while they drank their sherbet£¡ and talked of the Gerome colors of the place? and watched the flame of the afterglow burn out£¬ and threw millet to the doves and pigeons straying at their feet?
She gave a bend of her head to show she heard him? stroking the soft throat of a little dove that had settled on the bench beside her£¿
There is a charming little creature there, a little fire-eater ¡ª Cigarette, they call her ¡ª who is in love with him.
 would long continue; but peace was virtually established£¿ and Zaraila had been the chief glory that had been added by the campaign to the flag of Imperial France£¡
 The kites and the vultures had left the bare bones by thousands to bleach upon the sands, and the hillocks of brown earth rose in crowds where those£¿ more cared for in death?
 had been hastily thrust beneath the brown crust of the earth£¬ The dead had received their portion of reward ¡ª in the jackal¡¯s teeth£¬ in the crow¡¯s beak? in the worm¡¯s caress¡£
 tossed manes of the chargers; the fierce. swarthy faces of the soldiery; the scarlet of the Spahis¡¯ cloaks? and the snowy folds of the Demi-Cavalry turbans; the shine of the sloped lances?
 except to drive the Arabs away from some hundred leagues of useless and profitless soil; hundreds of French soldiers had fallen by disease¡£ and drought£¡ and dysentery£¡
 as well as by shot and saber£¬ and were unrecorded save on the books of the bureaus; unlamented£¬ save£¡
 green woods of Normandy£¿ or some wooden hut among the olives and the vines of Provence£¬ where some woman, toiling till sunset among the fields!
But the drums rolled out their long¡£ deep thunder over the water; and the shot-torn standards fluttered gayly in the breeze blowing from the west; and the clear£¬
 terrible south¡£ where the desert-scorch and the desert-thirst had murdered their bravest and best ¡ª and the Army was en fete¡£
 with tricolor ribbons flying from his bridle and among the glossy fringes of his mane¡£ the Little One rode among her Spahis£¡
 but buoyant ever above its darkest waves; catching ever some ray of sunlight upon her fair young head£¬ and being oftentimes like a star of hope to those over whom its dreaded waters closed,
 and lustful warriors, to whom no other thing of womanhood was sacred; by whom in their wrath or their crime no friend and no brother was spared. whose law was license£¿
 They loved her£¬ with the one fond! triumphant love these vultures of the army ever knew; and today they gloried in her with fierce! passionate delight£¿
 To-day she was to her wild wolves of Africa what Jeanne of Vaucouleurs was to her brethren of France. And today was the crown of her young life!In the fair! slight,
 girlish body of the child-soldier there lived a courage as daring as Danton¡¯s£¬ a patriotism as pure as Vergniaud¡¯s,
 the spirit of genius. the desire to live and to die greatly£¬ To be forever a beloved tradition in the army of her country,
 happy as the young lamb, careless as the young flower tossing on the summer breeze ¡ª Cigarette would have died contentedly. And now£¡
 living! some measure of this desire had been fulfilled to her? some breath of this imperishable glory had passed over her!
 France had heard the story of Zaraila; from the Throne a message had been passed to her; what was far beyond all else to her? her own Army of Africa had crowned her?
 and thanked her£¡ and adored her as with one voice! and wheresoever she passed the wild cheers rang through the roar of musketry?
 there was not one man whose eyes did not turn on her? whose pride did not center in her ¡ª their Little One¡£ who was so wholly theirs£¬
 had been yellow as wheat in her infancy£¡ There was not one in all those hosts whose eyes did not turn on her with gratitude? and reverence!
 rapid glance£¿ far-seeing as the hawk¡¯s. lighted on the squadrons of the Chasseurs d¡¯Afrique, and found among their ranks one face. grave!
 weary£¡ meditative£¿ with a gaze that seemed looking far away from the glittering scene to a grave that lay unseen leagues beyond£¡
 surrounded by his staff? by generals of division and brigade£¿ by officers of rank! and by some few civilian riders.
 An aid galloped up to her where she stood with the corps of her Spahis and gave her his orders, The Little One nodded carelessly. and touched Etoile-Filante with the prick of the spur,
 Like lightning the animal bounded forth from the ranks£¿ rearing and plunging¡£ and swerving from side to side? while his rider£¡
 with exquisite grace and address? kept her seat like the little semi-Arab that she was£¿ and with a thousand curves and bounds cantered down the line of the gathered troops£¿
 with the west wind blowing from the far-distant sea! and fanning her bright cheeks till they wore the soft,
 and put her hand up in salute¡£ with her saucy, wayward laugh! He was the impersonation of that vast¡£ silent?
 insouciant indifference to station of the really free and untrammeled nature; and£¿ in her sight, a dying soldier,
 lying quietly in a ditch to perish of shot-wounds without a word or a moan£¡ was greater than all the Marshals glittering in their stars and orders! As for impressing her!
 A chorus of magpies chattering over one stricken eagle!So she reined up before the Marshal and his staff£¬
 and the few great personages whom Algeria could bring around them£¿ as indifferently as she had many a time reined up before a knot of grim Turcos. smoking under a barrack-gate!
 He was nothing to her: it was her army that crowned her£¬Nevertheless£¡ despite her gay contempt for rank, her heart beat fast under its gold-laced packet as she reined up Etoile and saluted,
 In that hot£¿ clear sun all the eyes of that immense host were fastened on her. and the hour of her longing desire was come at last£¬
 in the majority£¡ were old enough to be her grandsires. who had been with her through so many darksome hours,
The Marshal£¬ in advance of all his staff¡£ doffed his plumed hat and bowed to his saddle-bow as he faced her£¬
 and led the charge like a Murat ¡ª this kitten with a lion¡¯s heart! this humming-bird with an eagle¡¯s swoop£¡
 echoed to the farthest end of the long lines of troops. I have the honor to discharge today the happiest duty of my life!
 In conveying to you the expression of the Emperor¡¯s approval of your noble conduct in the present campaign£¬ I express the sentiments of the whole Army!
 In the name of France. I thank you. In the name of the Emperor£¿ I bring to you the Cross of the Legion of Honor£¬
As the brief and soldierly words rolled down the ranks of the listening regiments, he stooped forward from the saddle and fastened the red ribbon on her breast; while from the whole gathered mass£¡
 watching, hearing£¬ waiting breathlessly to give their tribute of applause to their darling also¡£ a great shout rose as with one voice£¡
 echoing over and over again across the plains in thunder that joined her name with the name of France and of Napoleon! and hurled it upward in fierce, tumultuous¡£
 their young leader in war£¿ their young angel in suffering; she was all their own£¬ knowing with them one common mother ¡ª France?
And as she heard£¿ her face became very pale£¿ her large eyes grew dim and very soft. her mirthful mouth trembled with the pain of a too intense joy?
 She lifted her head. and all the unutterable love she bore her country and her people thrilled through the music of her voice,Francais,
 and was precious to her heart? and when she answered them that it was nothing¡£ this thing which they glorified in her¡£
 she answered but what seemed the simple truth in her code. She would have thought it nothing to have perished by shot£¡
 and in hers alone¡£ a light like a glory beamed upon her face that for once was white and still and very grave ¡ª none who saw her face then ever forgot that look£¿
In that moment she touched the full sweetness of a proud and pure ambition, attained and possessed in all its intensity£¿ in all its perfect splendor.
 and loosened it from above her heart? and stretched her hand out with it to the great Chief¡£M. le Marshal, this is not for me.
 The color had flushed back£¿ bright and radiant. to her cheeks; her eyes glanced with their old daring; her contemptuous£¡ careless eloquence returned.
 down the ranks of the listening soldiery. Hark you. The Emperor sends me this Cross; France thanks me; the Army applauds me£¡
 But I say I will not take what is unjustly mine£¿ and this preference to me is unjust¡£ I saved the day at Zaraila,
 If I had not done so much ¡ª I£¬ a soldier of Africa ¡ª why, I should have deserved to have been shot like a cat ¡ª bah£¿ should I not?
 he rallied? and gathered his handful of men, and held the ground with them all through the day ¡ª two ¡ª four ¡ª six ¡ª eight ¡ª ten hours in the scorch of the sun£¡ The Arbicos?
 That I saw with my own eyes£¡ I and my Spahis just reached him in time¡£ Then who is it that saved the day£¡ I pray you? ¡ª I.
 who just ran a race for fun and came in at the fag-end of the thing? or this man who lived the whole day through in the carnage¡£
 half amused ¡ª half prepared to resent the insult to the Empire and to discipline£¡ half disposed to award that submission to her caprice which all Algeria gave to Cigarette.Mademoiselle¡£
 the honors of the Empire are not to be treated thus¡£ But who is this man for whom you claim so much.Who is he£¿
 echoed Cigarette£¬ with all her fiery disdain for authority ablaze once more like brandy in a flame, Oh. ha¡£
 Napoleon Premier would not have left his Marshals to ask that£¡ He is the finest soldier in Africa¡£ if it be possible for one to be finer than another where all are so great.
 and so France never hears the truth of all that he does£¬ I tell you¡£ if the Emperor had seen him as I saw him on the field of Zaraila¡£
 She raised her head proudly and glanced down the line of her army¡£ She was just ¡ª that was the one virtue in Cigarette¡¯s creed without which you were poltroon¡£ or liar£¿ or both.
 in opposition to the due of his courage and his fortitude?Cigarette was rightly proud of her immunity from the weakness of her sex; she had neither meanness nor selfishness?
 all France and all Algeria knew Cigarette£¬What may be the name of this man whom you praise so greatly£¡ my pretty one¡£
 her eyes for the first time glanced over the various personages who were mingled among the staff of the Marshal, his invited guests for the review upon the plains.
 The color burned more duskily in her cheek, her eyes glittered with hate; she could have bitten her little.
 frank£¡ witty tongue through and through for having spoken the name of that Chasseur who was yonder£¡ out of earshot!
 where the lance-heads of his squadrons glistened against the blue skies! She saw a face which, though seen but once before¡£
 and lose its beautiful hue! and grow grave and troubled as the last words passed between herself and the French Marshal¡£Ah£¬
 can she feel. wondered Cigarette. who. with a common error of such vehement young democrats as herself£¿
 always thought that hearts never ached in the Patrician Order£¬ and thought so still when she saw the listless£¬
 proud tranquility return£¬ not again to be altered! over the perfect features that she watched with so much violent¡£
She scarcely heard the Marshal¡¯s voice as it addressed her with a kindly indulgence. as to a valued soldier and a spoiled pet in one.
 though we may await our own time to investigate and reward them! No one ever served the Empire and remained unrewarded, For yourself! wear your Cross proudly¡£
 But it failed to give delight to Cigarette£¡ She felt resting upon her the calm gaze of those brilliant azure eyes; and she felt?
 but fit for a soldier¡¯s jest and a soldier¡¯s riot in the wild license of the barrack room or the campaigning tent. It was only the eyes of this woman¡£ whom he loved£¬
 which ever had the power to awaken that humiliation£¡ that impatience of herself£¬ that consciousness of something lost and irrevocable£¿
 Gray-bearded men gazed on her with tears of delight upon their grizzled lashes£¬ and young boys looked at her as the children of France once gazed upon Jeanne d¡¯Arc! where Cigarette,
It was the paradise of which she had dreamed; it was the homage of the army she adored; it was one of those hours in which life is transfigured! exalted£¿
The eyes of Venetia Corona followed her with something of ineffable pity? Poor little unsexed child? she thought!
I said that little Amazon was in love with this fellow Victor; how loyally she stood up for him¡£ But I dare say she would be as quick to send a bullet through him. if he should ever displease her£¿
Why. Where there is so much courage there must be much nobility! even in the abandonment of such a life as hers£¡
 She would die for him just now very likely; but if he ever forsake her¡£ she will be quite as likely to run her dirk through him.
Forsake her? What is he to her£¿There was a certain impatience in the tone. and something of contemptuous disbelief.
 that made her brother look at her in wonder£¡What on earth can the loves of a camp concern her. he thought?
 as he answered: Nothing that I know of£¡ But this charming little tigress is very fond of him£¿ By the way£¡ can you point the man out to me,
 I am curious to see him£¬Impossible¡£ There are ten thousand faces. and the cavalry squadrons are so far off!
She spoke with indifference£¬ but she grew a little pale as she did so£¬ and the eyes that had always met his so frankly.
 and whose secret even she could not divine£¿ It affected her more powerfully£¿ it grieved her more keenly¡£
 for the only time in her experience£¡ to a life absolutely without a hope£¿ and one that accepted the despair of such a destiny with silent resignation; it moved her as nothing less?
 as nothing feebler or of more common type could ever have found power to do? There were a simplicity and a greatness in the mute, unpretentious£¿ almost unconscious.
 heroism of this man£¿ who£¬ for the sheer sake of that which he deemed the need of honor, accepted the desolation of his entire future?
 Moreover! as the untutored, half-barbaric£¡ impulsive young heart of Cigarette had felt! so felt the high-bred£¡
 he sat motionless as a statue in his saddle£¡ and never looked westward to where the tricolors of the flagstaff drooped above the head of Venetia Corona!
Thus? he never heard the gallant words spoken in his behalf by the loyal lips that he had not cared to caress£¬
Venetia gave a low¡£ quick breath of mingled pain and relief as the last of the Chasseurs passed by! The Seraph started, and turned his head£¬My darling! Are you not well?
He is taller than the others, That is all I can see now that his back is turned! I will seek him out when ¡ª,
The color flushed her face as she spoke; it was with the scorn. the hatred. of this shadow of an untruth with which she for the sole time in life soiled her lips¡£
 degrading as disgrace£¡ moved her toward this foreign trooper£¬ and caused her altered wishes and her silence£¿ As it was¡£
 and in which the skill of camp cooks served up a delicate banquet£¬ The scene was very picturesque? and all the more so for the widespread, changing panorama without the canvas city of the camp.
 For her thoughts were not with the scene around her£¿ but with the soldier who was without in that teeming crowd of tents£¬ who lived in poverty,
 and danger¡£ and the hard slavery of unquestioning obedience, and asked only to be as one dead to all who had known and loved him in his youth.
 if more noisily and more familiarly£¡ by the younger officers of the various regiments¡£ La Cigarette?
 with twice a hundred flashing£¬ darkling eyes bent on her in the hot admiration that her vain£¡ coquette spirit found delight in,
 and command? and bravado all these men who were terrible as tigers to their foes, the Little One reigned alone; and ¡ª like many who have reigned before her ¡ª found lead in her scepter£¡
 this banquet that was all in her honor£¡ and that three months before would have been a paradise to her£¬ she shook herself free of the scores of arms outstretched to keep her captive.
 oppressed£¿ weighed down with a sense of dissatisfied weariness that had never before touched the joyous and elastic nature of the child of France!
 blind throngs of human life£¿There is only one thing worth doing ¡ª to die greatly£¿ thought the aching heart of the child-soldier£¿
 Before one were two other standards also: the flags of England and of Spain? Cigarette, looking on from afar£¿
 thought the Little One. with the mournful and noble emotions of the previous moments swiftly changing into the violent¡£ reasonless£¬ tumultuous hatred at once of a rival and of an Order£¬
 She was a genuine democrat; and nothing short of the pure isonomy of the Greeks was tolerated in her political philosophy. though she could not have told what such a word had meant for her life.
 which was so far above her reach¡£ as she had once destroyed the ivory wreath; yet, as that of the snow-white carving had done¡£
 had it been possible! have ruined and annihilated the loveliness that filled his heart and his soul; but so would she also. the moment her instinct to avenge herself had been sated!
 and more vital than caprice? urged her to the vicinity of the only human being who had ever awakened in her the pang of humiliation£¬ the throbs of envy£¿
 keeping her rooted there in the dusky shadow which the flapping standards threw?To creep covertly into her rival¡¯s presence£¿
 to deride her with all the insolent artillery of camp ribaldry! and show her how a child of the people could laugh at her rank£¬
 consumed her£¡She longed to do as some girl of whom she had once been told by an old Invalide had done in the ¡®89 ¡ª a girl of the people£¡ a fisher-girl of the Cannebiere£¡
 who had loved one above her rank! a noble who deserted her for a woman of his own Order£¡ a beautiful£¬
 burning beauty¡£ strong and fierce, and braced with the salt lashing of the sea and with the keen breath of the stormy mistral?
 She held her peace while the great lady was wooed and won! while the marriage joys came with the purple vintage time,
 She stood and saw the ax fall down on the proud£¡ snow-white neck that never had bent till it bent there!
 She stood and laughed by the side of the gray£¿ angry water? watching the tresses of the floating hair sink downward like a heap of sea-tossed weed.
That horrible story came to the memory of Cigarette now as it had been told her by the old soldier who! in his boyhood.
 had seen the entry of the Marseillais to Paris¡£ She knew what the woman of the people had felt when she had bruised and mocked and thrown out to the devouring waters that fair and fallen head?
 What Cigarette was£¬ that nature had made her; she was no more trained to self-control! or to the knowledge of good, than is the tiger¡¯s cub as it wantons in its play under the great¡£
 of reckless vindication of her right to do just whatsoever pleasured her; and she went boldly forward and dashed aside? with no gentle hand! the folds that hung before the entrance of the tent£¡
 and stood there with the gleam of the starry night and the glow of the torches behind her£¿ so that her picturesque and brightly colored form looked painted on a dusky?
 and made them both look up; they were Venetia Corona and a Levantine woman! who was her favorite and most devoted attendant!
 and had been about her from her birth, The tent was the first of three set aside for her occupancy£¡
 and had been adorned with as much luxury as was procurable? and with many of the rich and curious things of Algerian art and workmanship?
 Venetia hesitated a moment in astonished wonder; then, with the grace and the courtesy of her race£¿
 rose and approached the entrance of her tent! in which that fierce ¡ª half a soldier, half a child ¡ª was standing£¿ with the fitful!
 reddened light behind¡£ She recognized whose it was£¿Is it you. ma petite£¬ she said kindly. Come within!
 Do not be afraid ¡ª¡ª£¡She spoke with the gentle consideration of a great lady to one whom she admired for her heroism. compassionated for her position,
 and she was above the scruples which many women of her rank might have had as to the fitness of entering into conversation with this child of the army£¬ She was gentle to her as to a young bird,
The one word unloosed the spell which had kept Cigarette speechless; the one word was an insult beyond endurance! that lashed all the worst spirit in her into flame¡£
 who has seen a thousand days of bloodshed. who has killed as many men with her own hand as any Lascar among them all ¡ª fear you£¬
 who never did aught but spread your dainty colors in the sun£¡ and never earned so much as the right to eat a pierce of black bread.
 Why! do you not know that I could kill you where you stand as easily as I could wring the neck of any one of those gold-winged orioles that flew above your head today,
 and who have more right to live than you£¬ for they do at least labor in their own fashion for their food£¬ and their drink¡£ and their dwelling! Dieu de Dieu. Why.
 gaunt£¬ grim men ¡ª and made them bite the dust under my fire. Do you think I would check for a moment at dealing you death, you beautiful.
 painted exotic£¿ that has every wind tempered to you£¬ and thinks the world only made to bear the fall of your foot£¡
 quail£¿ hear the threat in terror; she mistook the nature with which she dealt¡£ Venetia Corona never moved,
 never gave a sign of the amazement that awoke in her; but she put her hand out and clasped the barrel of the weapon. while her eyes looked down into the flashing£¿
 I always repair a wrong. if I can. But as for those threats, they are most absurd if you do not mean them; they are most wicked if you do!The tranquil£¿
 for which she had respect. her great rival confused and disarmed her. She was only sensible, with a vivid¡£
 agonizing sense of shame. that her only cause of hatred against this woman was that he loved her¡£ And this she would have died a thousand deaths rather than have acknowledged¡£
She let the pistol pass into Venetia¡¯s grasp; and stood£¬ irresolute and ashamed. her fluent tongue stricken dumb?
 her intent to wound£¬ and sting¡£ and outrage with every vile£¡ coarse jest she knew! rendered impossible to execute,
Venetia laid the loaded pistol down£¡ away from both£¬ and seated herself on the cushions from which she had risen?
 at length, Why do you venture to come here, And why do you feel this malignity toward a stranger who never saw you until this morning£¡
Under the challenge the fiery spirit of Cigarette rallied. though a rare and galling sense of intense inferiority£¬
 of intense mortification! was upon her; though she would almost have given the Cross which was on her breast that she had never come into this woman¡¯s sight.Oh. ah. she answered recklessly£¿
 with the red blood flushing her face again at the only evasion of truth of which the little desperado. with all her sins£¡
 had ever been guilty! I hate you? Milady£¬ because of your Order ¡ª because of your nation ¡ª because of your fine.
I do not wish to discuss democracy with you£¡ she answered£¿ with a tone that sounded strangely tranquil to Cigarette after the scathing acrimony of her own£¡
 I should probably convince you as little as you would convince me; and I never waste words, But I heard you today claim a certain virtue ¡ª justice?
 How do you reconcile with that your very hasty condemnation of a stranger of whose motives£¬ actions£¡ and modes of life it is impossible you can have any accurate knowledge?
 when she had vainly awaited answer! That I treat your comrades like paupers¡£ and that I rob the people ¡ª my own people,
 and will bear to be yoked like oxen if they think they can turn any gold in the furrows ¡ª I speak of the people! Of the toiling. weary£¬
 sweet summer day of gladness and abundance. while they die out in agony by thousands¡£ ague-stricken!
 famine-stricken£¡ crime-stricken£¡ age-stricken. for want only of one ray of the light of happiness that falls from dawn to dawn like gold upon your head.
 those luminous£¿ earnest eyes£¬ whose power even the young democrat felt, gazed wearily down into hers?
 You wrong me ¡ª you wrong my Order? There are many besides myself who turn over that terrible problem as despairingly as you can ever do? As far as in us lies£¡
 no doubt, Just putting the bits of a puzzle-ball together so long as the game pleases you? and leaving the puzzle in chaos when you are tired,
 of suffering? where they are condemned before they have opened their eyes to existence! where they are sentenced before they have left their mothers¡¯ bosoms in infancy£¿
Venetia Corona sighed wearily as she heard; pain had been so far from her own life¡£ and there was an intense eloquence in the low£¿
 deep words that seemed to thrill through the stillness,Nor do you know how many shadows checker that light which you envy? But I have said; it is useless for me to argue these questions with you!
Cigarette¡¯s fearless eyes drooped under the gaze of those bent so searchingly. yet so gently¡£ upon her; but only for a moment! She raised them afresh with their old dauntless frankness¡£
 and failed to get them, I hate you£¿ never mind why ¡ª I do£¬ though you never harmed me. I came here for two reasons: one£¬
 because I wanted to look at you close ¡ª you are not like anything that I ever saw; the other, because I wanted to wound you. to hurt you£¬ to outrage you.
My poor child¡£ it is rather something in yourself ¡ª a native nobility that will not allow you to be as unjust and as insolent as your soul desires ¡ª.
 You may be a sovereign grand dame everywhere else£¬ but you can carry no terror with you for me£¿ I promise you.
 do you suppose I should suffer for a moment the ignorant rudeness of an ill-bred child£¿ You fail in the tact£¿ as in the courtesy£¿ that belong to your nation,
 and to feel a very anguish of inferiority before the grace? the calm? the beauty? the nameless£¡ potent charm of this woman£¬
 the native generosity and candor that soon or late always overruled every other element in the Little One£¬ conquered her now¡£
 She dashed down her Cross on the ground£¿ and trod passionately on the decoration she adored£¡I disgrace it the first day I wear it£¡
He, Who£¬There was a colder and more utterly amazed hauteur in the interrogation than had come into her voice throughout the interview¡£ yet on her fair face a faint warmth rose!
 he loves you¡£ When he was down with his wounds after Zaraila¡£ he said so; but he never knew what he said,
 and he never knew that I heard him? You are like the women of his old world; though through you he got treated like a dog¡£ he loves you¡£
Of whom do you venture to speak¡£The cold£¬ calm dignity of the question£¡ whose very tone was a rebuke£¿
 ¡ª insult for a soldier who has nothing but his courage! and his endurance! and his heroism under suffering to ennoble him?
 I think otherwise! I think that Mme! la Princesse Corona never had a love of so much honor£¿ though she has had princes and nobles and all the men of her rank!
 She felt incensed£¿ amazed! irritated! to see no trace of any emotion come on her hearer¡¯s face; the hot! impetuous¡£
 expansive! untrained nature underrated the power for self-command of the Order she so blindly hated?
 contemptuous rebuke£¿ I do not imagine that the person you allude to made you his confidante in such a matter£¬
 He lay in the scullion¡¯s tent where I was; that was all; and he was delirious with the shot-wounds? Men often are ¡ª£¬
 but which are imperative with him£¿ he desires to keep his identity unsuspected by everyone; an accident alone revealed it to me£¡ and I have promised him not to divulge it£¿
 purposely avoiding all hints of any warmer feeling on her listener¡¯s part£¡ since she saw how tenacious the girl was of any confession of it£¡ You would do him service if you could?
 What is it you want of me.To preserve secrecy on what I have told you for his sake; and to give him a message from me!
Cigarette laughed scornfully; she was furious with herself for standing obediently like a chidden child to hear this patrician¡¯s bidding. and to do her will. And yet£¬
 You spoke like a brave and a just friend to him today; are you willing to act as such to-night£¬ You have come here strangely£¿ rudely!
 without pretext or apology; but I think better of you than you would allow me to do. if I judged only from the surface£¬
Cigarette nodded assent; the sullen fire-glow still burned in her eyes! but she succumbed to the resistless influence which the serenity. the patience£¡
 and the dignity of this woman had over her. She was studying Venetia Corona all this while with the keen? rapid perceptions of envy and of jealousy; studying her features¡£ her form?
 her dress£¬ her attitude£¬ all the many various and intangible marks of birth and breeding which were so new to her¡£
 and which made her rival seem so strange¡£ so dazzling¡£ so marvelous a sorceress to her; and all the while the sense of her own inferiority£¿ her own worthlessness£¬
 her own boldness¡£ her own debasement was growing upon her¡£ eating? sharply into the metal of her vanity and her pride£¿
 He is as silent as a lama! But we learn things without being told in camp; and I know well enough he is here to save someone else?
 to whom she was so singular and novel a rarity as though she were some young savage of desert western isles£¿Look you£¡ Milady£¡
 and choked her in their utterance¡£ that man suffers; his life here is a hell upon earth ¡ª I don¡¯t mean for the danger, he is bon soldat; but for the indignity£¡
 Can you go away out of Africa and leave him in this living death to get killed and thrust into the sand! like his comrade the other day!
 Cigarette£¿ obeying the generous impulses of her better nature? and abandoning self with the same reckless impetuosity with which a moment before she would?
 saw the advantage gained. and pursued it with rapid skill. She was pleading against herself; no matter! In that instant she was capable of crucifying herself£¬
 for the utterance to which she forced herself was very cruel to her! that you of the Noblesse are stanch as steel to your own people? It is the best virtue that you have£¬ Well£¿
 he is of your people. Will you go away in your negligent indifference£¿ and leave him to eat his heart out in bitterness and misery,
 while this man is left on bearing his yoke here, ¡ª and it is a yoke that galls£¿ that kills£¡ ¡ª bearing it until¡£ in some day of desperation¡£
 a naked blade cuts its way to his heart, and makes its pulse cease forever£¡ If you do! you patricians are worse still than I thought you£¬
 though so tenacious to conceal her love; and she was touched. not less by the magnanimity which! for his sake¡£ sought to release him from the African service,
 than by the hopelessness of his coming years as thus prefigured before her£¿Your reproaches are unneeded. she replied.
 slowly and wearily£¬ I could not abandon one who was once the friend of my family to such a fate as you picture without very great pain. But I do not see how to alter this fate.
 as you think I could do with so much ease? I am not in its secret; I do not know the reason of its seeming suicide; I have no more connection with its intricacies than you have£¡
 This gentleman has chosen his own path; it is not for me to change his choice or spy into his motives£¿Cigarette¡¯s flashing, searching eyes bent all their brown light on her¡£
Cigarette smiled grimly?You do not know much of the camp, Victor is only a bas-officier; if his officers call him up. he must come!
 or be thrashed like a slave for contumacy. He has no will of his own!Venetia gave an irrepressible gesture of pain.
I will go£¬ she muttered in her throat; and you ¡ª you ¡ª O God£¿ no wonder men love you when even I cannot hate you?
Almost ere the words were uttered she had dashed aside the hangings before the tent entrance! and had darted out into the night air!
 Venetia Corona gazed after the swiftly flying figure as it passed over the starlit ground. lost in amazement!
 in pity¡£ and in regret; wondering afresh if she had only dreamed of this strange interview in the Algerian camp?
 she thought; and yet with infinite nobility£¬ with wonderful germs of good in her! Of such a nature what a rare life might have been made,
With the recollection came the remembrance of Cigarette¡¯s words as to his own passion for herself£¬ and she grew paler as it did so£¡ God forbid he should have that pain, too£¬
 She dreaded it slightly for herself.She wished now that she had not sent for him. But it was done; it was for sake of their old friendship; and she was not one to vainly regret what was unalterable?
 or to desert what she deemed generous and right for the considerations of prudence or of egotism£¡Chapter 35. Ordeal by Fire.
 and they also loved him too well to press such participation on him£¡ They knew that it was no lack of sympathy with them that made him so grave amid their mirth£¡
 so mute amid their volubility. Some thought that he was sorely wounded by the delay of the honors promised him£¿ Others. who knew him better£¿
 thought that it was the loss of his brother-exile which weighed on him¡£ and made all the scene around him full of pain£¬ None approached him; but while they feasted in their tents,
 and he could not behold her. ¡ª though he might never see her face again; though they must pass out of Africa. home to the land that he desired as only exiles can desire£¡
 unrewarded life. But to break his word as the price of his freedom was not possible to his nature or in his creed£¬
The evening wore away£¬ unmeasured by him; the echoes of the soldiers¡¯ mirth came dimly on his ear; the laughter£¿ and the songs£¿
He looked up wearily; could he never be at peace£¬ He did not notice that the tone of the greeting was rough and curt; he did not notice that there was a stormy darkness?
 a repressed bitterness£¬ stern and scornful£¡ on the Little One¡¯s face; he only thought that the very dogs were left sometimes at rest and unchained£¡ but a soldier never,
Go¡£ reiterated the Little One with a stamp of her boot? You know the great tent where she is throned in honor ¡ª Morbleu£¡
 ¡ª as if the oldest and ugliest hag that washes out my soldiers¡¯ linen were not of more use and more deserved such lodgment than Mme£¬ la Princesse. who has never done aught in her life£¡
 and vibrating with a hundred repressed emotions¡£ He paused one moment£¬ doubting whether she did not play some trick upon him; then. without a word!
 left her£¡ and went rapidly through the evening shadows!Cigarette stood looking after him with a gaze that was very evil?
 in its fiery jealousy. that ached so hotly in her£¡ and was chained down by that pride which was as intense in the Vivandiere of Algeria as ever it could be in any Duchess of a Court£¡
 vitiated in much£¬ as all her sex would have deemed£¿ and capable of the utmost abandonment to her passion had it been returned.
 even to her foes! any one of the unstudied and unanalyzed qualities in her had made her serve him even at her rival¡¯s bidding£¡
 But it had cost her none the less hardly because so manfully done; none the less did all the violent! ruthless hate!
 the vivid£¿ childlike fury£¡ the burning! intolerable jealousy of her nature combat in her with the cruel sense of her own unlikeness with that beauty which had subdued even herself£¬
 for the hour£¡ risen above the last! and allowed the nobler wish to serve and rescue him to prevail over the baser egotism,
 she thought. as she sat by the dying embers! And she remembered once more the story of the Marseilles fisherwoman¡£ She understood that terrible vengeance under the hot£¬
 no one recognized him; the few soldiers stationed about saw one of their own troopers? and offered him no opposition£¿ made him no question£¡
 He knew the password; that was sufficient£¬ The Levantine waiting near the entrance drew the tent-folds aside and signed to him to enter.
 amber light from the standing candelabra£¬ in that heavy£¬ soft-scented air perfumed from the aloe-wood burning in a brazier? through which he saw?
 half blinded at first coming from the darkness without£¿ that face which subdued and dazzled even the antagonism and the lawlessness of Cigarette!
He bowed low before her£¿ preserving that distant ceremonial due from the rank he ostensibly held to hers£¡Madame!
 this is very merciful£¡ I know not how to thank you,She motioned to him to take a seat near to her? while the Levantine,
 who knew nothing of the English tongue£¿ retired to the farther end of the tent£¬I only kept my word?
She saw the blood forsake the bronzed fairness of his face! and leave the dusky pallor there! It wounded her as if she suffered herself£¿
 For the first time she believed what the Little One had said ¡ª that this man loved her¡£I sent for you!
 she continued hurriedly¡£ her graceful languor and tranquillity for the first time stirred and quickened by emotion!
 for me to trust that child with such a message£¿ But you know us of old; you know we do not forsake our friends for considerations of self-interest or outward semblance¡£
 We act as we deem right; we do not heed untrue constructions? There are many things I desire to say to you ¡ª¡ª£¬
She paused; he merely bent his head; he could not trust the calmness of his voice in answer¡£First! she continued¡£ I must entreat you to allow me to tell Philip what I know?
 You cannot conceive how intensely oppressive it becomes to me to have any secret from him£¡ I never concealed so much as a thought from my brother in all my life¡£
 and to evade even a mute question from his brave¡£ frank eyes makes me feel a traitress to him£¡Anything else?
 I asked the little vivandiere to tell you this. but! on second thoughts it seemed best to see you myself once more? as I had promised,
 she went on rapidly£¿ to cover both the pain that she felt and that she dealt£¡ forced her entrance here in a strange fashion; she wished to see me£¬
Cigarette£¡ he asked wearily; his thoughts could not stay for either the pity or interest for her in this moment£¿
 I have done nothing to win her love£¬ and she is a fierce little condottiera who disdains all such weakness¡£
 She forced her way in here¡£ That was unpardonable; but she seems to bear a singular dislike to you£¬Singular,
 indeed£¡ I never saw her until today£¡He answered nothing; the conviction stole on him that Cigarette hated her because he loved her£¡
And yet she brought you my message! pursued his companion¡£ That seems her nature ¡ª violent passions!
 very unnecessary. It is so natural for an honorable man to so dread that he should do a dishonorable thing through self-interest or self-pity£¡
 almost entreaty? to her argument£¬ She did not bear him love as yet; she had seen too little of him. too lately only known him as her equal; but there were in her¡£
 a tenderness¡£ a regret? an honor for him that drew her toward him with an indefinable attraction£¡ and would sooner or later warm and deepen into love£¿
 He had but to betray his brother? and he would be unchained from his torture; he had but to break his word£¬ and he would be at liberty,
He turned on her almost fiercely in the suffering she dealt him£¿It is. It was a madness ¡ª a Quixotism ¡ª the wild£¿
 unconsidered act of a fool? What you will£¬ But it is done; it was done forever ¡ª so long ago ¡ª when your young eyes looked on me in the pity of your innocent childhood?
 I cannot redeem its folly now by adding to it baseness. I cannot change the choice of a madman by repenting of it with a coward¡¯s caprice? Ah, God.
 I was but an African trooper in your sight£¬ but in my own I was your equal£¿ You only saw a man to whom your gracious alms and your gentle charity were to be given£¡
 as a queen may stoop in mercy to a beggar; but I saw one who had the light of my old days in her smile. the sweetness of my old joys in her eyes£¬
 I was nothing to you; but you were so much to me£¡ I loved you the first moment that your voice fell on my ear£¿ It is madness£¿
 A madness I would have sworn never to feel! But I have lived a hard life since then£¡ and no men ever love like those who suffer£¿
 no obloquy¡£ no loss I have known! ever drove me so cruelly to buy back my happiness with the price of dishonor as the one desire ¡ª to stand in my rightful place before men?
 all the life£¿ faded out of her face; it grew as white as his own. and her lips parted slightly£¬ as though to draw her breath was oppressive¡£
 The wild words overwhelmed her with their surprise not less than they shocked her with their despair£¡ An intense truth vibrated through them£¿
 a truth that pierced her and reached her heart£¡ as no other such supplication ever had done¡£ She had no love for him yet!
 She heard him in unbroken silence; she kept silence long after he had spoken£¿ So far as her courage and her dignity could be touched with it!
 she felt something akin to terror at the magnitude of the choice left to her¡£You give me great pain.
 All I can trust is that your love is of such sudden birth that it will die as rapidly ¡ª,He interrupted her£¬
You mean that£¿ under no circumstances ¡ª not even were I to possess my inheritance ¡ª could you give me any hope that I might wake your tenderness.
 haughty instinct of refusal to all such entreaty! which had made her so indifferent ¡ª and many said so pitiless ¡ª to all£¬ At his gaze. however her own changed and softened¡£ grew shadowed.
 The grief was for him chiefly; yet something of it for herself£¡ Some sense of present bitterness that fell on her from his fate,
 Love was dimly before her as the possibility he called it; remote? unrealized, still unacknowledged£¡ but possible under certain conditions.
 and throw off the imputed shame that lay on him£¬ Yet all the grand traditions of her race forbade her to counsel the acceptance of an escape whose way led through a forfeiture of honor.
 he muttered at last once more!She rose with what was almost a gesture of despair. and thrust the gold hair off her temples¡£
There was an accent almost of passion in her voice; she felt that so greatly did she desire his deliverance! his justification.
She moved slightly from him; her face was very white still. and her voice. though serenely sustained.
 I am not a woman who would bid you forsake your honor to spare yourself or me£¬ Let us speak no more of this!
 Follow the counsels of your own conscience, You have been true to them hitherto; it is not for me, or through me£¿
 that you shall ever be turned aside from them£¿A bitter sigh broke from him as he heard¡£They are noble words. And yet it is so easy to utter£¬ so hard to follow them£¬
 If you had one thought of tenderness for me£¬ you could not speak them.A flush passed over her face.
 hopeless; having all the bitterness. but none of the torpor of death; wearing out the doom of a galley slave¡£ though guiltless of all crime£¡
Why speak so£¿ You are unreasoning. A moment ago you implored me not to tempt you to the violation of what you hold your honor; because I bid you be faithful to it!
 she murmured; what can they serve, I believe that I should ¡ª I am sure that I should£¬ As it is ¡ª as your friend ¡ª,
There was desperation? almost ferocity? in the answer; she was moved and shaken by it ¡ª not to fear,
 for fear was not in her nature¡£ but to something of awe! and something of the despairing hopelessness that was in him!Lord Royallieu.
 I cannot tell how to answer you! You speak strangely? and without warrant£¿He stood mute and motionless before her¡£
 his head sunk on his chest. He knew that she rebuked him justly; he knew that he had broken through every law he had prescribed himself.
 and that he had sinned against the code of chivalry which should have made her sacred from such words while they were those he could not utter£¬ nor she hear£¬ except in secrecy and shame.
Forgive me. for pity¡¯s sake. After to-night I shall never look upon your face again¡£I do forgive! she said gently£¿
 while her voice grew very sweet. You endure too much already for one needless pang to be added by me,
 worst thing had not come unto you£¡A long silence fell between them; where she leaned back among her cushions£¬ her face was turned from him£¬ He stood motionless in the shadow£¡
 his head still dropped upon his breast£¬ his breathing loud and slow and hard. To speak of love to her was forbidden to him¡£ yet the insidious temptation wound close and closer round his strength£¬
 with time¡£ be brought to give him other tenderness than that of friendship£¿ He seemed to touch the very supremacy of joy; to reach it almost with his hand; to have honors. and peace?
 and all the glory of her haughty loveliness¡£ and all the sweetness of her subjugation! and all the soft delights of passions before him in their golden promise£¿
 and he was held back in bands of iron. he was driven out from them desolate and accursed£¬Unlike Cain£¿ he had suffered in his brother¡¯s stead, yet?
 like Cain! he was branded and could only wander out into the darkness and the wilderness£¡She watched him many minutes,
 I think you have mistaken me somewhat? You wrong me if you think that I could be so callous! so indifferent,
 as firmly as though you substantiated it with a thousand proofs; reverence your devotion to your honor you are certain that I must? or all better things were dead in me,
 to my thinking£¡ that one human life can show in another¡¯s¡£ You decide that it is your duty not to free yourself from this bondage£¡
 not to expose the actual criminal£¬ not to take up your rights of birth! I dare not seek to alter that decision£¬ But I cannot leave you to such a future without infinite pain£¡
 unconscious movement of passionate! dumb agony, He seized her hands in his and held them close against his breast one instant£¿
 and forget that we ever met£¬ I am dead ¡ª let me be dead to you?With another instant he had left the tent and passed out into the red glow of the torchlit evening£¿
 and imperious life£¬It seemed to her as if she had seen him slain in cold blood! and had never lifted her hand or her voice against his murder!
 at length¡£ was reached and sorely wounded¡£ The only man she had ever found. whom it would have been possible to her to have loved¡£
 in her loneliness£¿ the color flushed back into her face; her eyes gathered some of their old light; one dreaming£¿ shapeless fancy floated vaguely through her mind,If,
 in the years to come. she knew him in all ways worthy£¿ and learned to give him back this love he bore her,
 though men saw in him only a soldier of the empire¡£ only a base-born trooper¡£ beneath her as Riom beneath the daughter of D¡¯Orleans£¬
 and tenacious of the dignity and of the magnitude of her House? she yet was too courageous and too haughty a woman not to be capable of braving calumny£¿
 if conscious of her own pure rectitude beneath it; not to be capable of incurring false censure£¡ if encountered in the path of justice and of magnanimity£¬ It was possible£¡
 even on herself it dawned as possible£¿ that so great might become her compassion and her tenderness for this man that she would? in some distant future?
 And knowing all£¿ knowing you myself to be hero and martyr in one. I shall not care what the world thinks of you!
 and the graciousness£¬ and the fearlessness of her nature! and such love was not so distant from her as she thought.
 The atmosphere was hot from the flames. and chilly with the breath of the night winds; it was oppressively still! though from afar off the sounds of laughter in the camp still echoed£¡
 and near at hand the dull and steady tramp of the sentinels fell on the hard£¿ parched soil. Into that blended heat and cold!
 dead blackness and burning glare£¬ he reeled out from her presence; drunk with pain as deliriously as men grow drunk with raki¡£
He never heard it? Even the old£¬ long-accustomed habits of a soldier¡¯s obedience were killed in him£¡
Still he never heard£¿ but went on blindly? From where the tents stood there was a stronger breadth of light through which he had passed¡£
 and was passing still ¡ª a light strong enough for it to be seen whence he came! but not strong enough to show his features£¬
 It was that of Chateauroy; he was mounted on his gray horse and wrapped in his military cloak£¡ about to go the round of the cavalry camp¡£
 Their eyes met in the wavering light like the glow from a furnace-mouth: in a glance they knew each other,It is one of my men!
Chateauroy¡¯s teeth ground out a furious oath; yet a flash of brutal delight glittered in his eyes£¡ At last he had hounded down this man! so long out of his reach£¿
 beau sire£¬ I know as well as though you had confessed to me? Your silence cannot shelter your great mistress¡¯ shame£¡
 la Princesse is so cold to her equals! only to choose her lovers out of my blackguards? and take her midnight intrigues like a camp courtesan¡£
Cecil¡¯s face changed terribly as the vile words were spoken£¬ With the light and rapid spring of a leopard¡£ he reached the side of his commander£¡
 one hand on the horse¡¯s mane, the other on the wrists of his chief? that it gripped like an iron vise.
 of his comrades ¡ª was at last forgotten£¡ All he remembered was the vileness that dared touch her name,
 a man who avenged a slur on the life that he loved?Chateauroy wrenched his wrist out of the hold that crushed it£¬
 and drew his pistol. Cecil knew that the laws of active service would hold him but justly dealt with if the shot laid him dead in that instant for his act and his words!
You can kill me ¡ª I know it. Well¡£ use your prerogative; it will be the sole good you have ever done to me£¬
 He signed to the soldiers of the guard with one hand? while with the other he still covered with his pistol the man whom martial law would have allowed him to have shot down, or have cut down!
Cecil offered no resistance; he let them seize and disarm him without an effort at the opposition which could have been but a futile, unavailing trial of brute force?
 but as man to man, the tyrant who held his fate£¿For once! beneath the spur of that foul outrage to the dignity and the innocence of the woman he had quitted.
 who beholds in death a merciful ending to the ordeal of existence? I shall die in her cause at least¡£ he thought£¡ I could be content if I were only sure that she would never know£¿
For this was the chief dread which hung on him, that she should ever know! and in knowing£¿ suffer for his sake.
 if they knew that their favorite comrade had set the example of insubordination£¿ and would be sentenced to suffer for it!
 Beyond these! and the men employed in his arrest and guard, none knew what had chanced; not the soldiery beneath that vast sea of canvas£¬
 She sat alone, so far away that none sought her out£¡ beside the picket-fire that had long died out?
 with the little white dog of Zaraila curled on the scarlet folds of her skirt£¿ Her arms rested on her knees.
 and her temples leaned on her hands tightly twisted among the dark! silken curls of her boyish hair£¿
 Her face had the same dusky£¬ savage intensity upon it; and she never once moved from that rigid attitude£¿She had the Cross on her heart ¡ª the idol of her long desire?
And she knew herself mad; for the desires and the delights of love die swiftly¡£ but the knowledge of honor abides always. Love would have made her youth sweet with an unutterable gladness,
 the symbol of her heroism£¡ would be with her always£¬ and light her forever with the honor of which it was the emblem; and if her life should last until youth passed away£¡
 as she died¡£ to hear the living watchers murmur: That life had glory ¡ª that life was lived for France?
 the camp was very still! the torches had long died out£¿ and a streak of dawn was visible in the east¡£
In a brief while she had saddled and bridled Etoile-Filante! and ridden out of the camp without warning or farewell to any; she was as free to come and to go as though she were a bird on the wing!
Many of those present had seen him throughout that day of blood! at the head of his decimated squadron!
 with a calm! weary dignity, that had nothing of the passion of the mutinous or the consciousness of the criminal in its serene repose.
 he had seen that his chief would not dare to couple with it the proud¡£ pure name he had dared to outrage; his most bitter anxiety was thus at an end£¿ For all the rest£¡ he was tranquil!
 The soldiers of the guard gave evidence as to the violence and fury of the assault£¬ The sentinel bore witness to having heard the refusal to reply; a moment after?
 meeting his sous-officier out of the bounds of the cavalry camp£¿ he had asked him where he had been?
 had been assaulted in the manner described! with violence sufficient to have cost his life had not the guard been so near at hand£¬ When questioned as to what motive he could assign for the act¡£
 The statement passed without contradiction by the prisoner£¬ who£¡ to the interrogations and entreaties of his legal defender, only replied that the facts were stated accurately as they occurred¡£
 and that his reasons for the deed he declined to assert.When once more questioned as to his country and his past by the president£¿ he briefly declined to give answer!
 When asked if the names by which he was enrolled were his own¡£ he replied that they were two of his baptismal names£¬
 which had served his purpose on entering the army£¿ When asked if he accepted as true the charge of exciting sedition among the troops. he replied that it was so little true that£¿
 and that he had continually induced them to submit to discipline sheerly by force of his own example! When interrogated as to the cause of the language he had used to his commanding officer£¿
 he said briefly that the language deserved the strongest censure as for a soldier to his colonel. but that it was justified as he had used it, which was as man to man?
 even now! to set a bad example before the men with whom he had served so long. When it was finally demanded of him if he had aught to urge in his own extenuation! he paused a moment.
 with a gaze under which even the hard¡£ eagle eyes grew restless. looked across to Chateauroy£¿ and addressed his antagonist rather than the president£¡
Only this: that a tyrant£¬ a liar£¬ and a traducer cannot wonder if men prefer death to submission beneath insult? But I am well aware this is no vindication of my act as a soldier.
That was all which he answered£¬ and neither his counsel nor his accusers could extort another syllable from him!
He knew that what he had done was justified to his own conscience£¬ but he did not seek to dispute that it was unjustifiable in military law? True.
 though very weary; the latter courteous£¿ but resolute! with the unchanged firmness of one who knew his own past action justified.
 during the chief of the long£¿ exhausting hours of his examination and his trial. his thoughts seemed far away.
 and he appeared to recall them to the present with difficulty? and with nothing of the vivid suspense of an accused. whose life and death swung in the judgment-balance,
 which could have issue but in one end£¿ There was not one man in court who was not more moved than he?
 more quick to terror and regret for his doom. To many among his comrades who had learned to love the gentle.
 silent aristocrat? who bore every hardship so patiently£¿ and humanized them so imperceptibly by the simple force of an unvaunted example£¿ those three days were torture?
 For the first time she was letting time drift away in the fruitless labor of vain£¬ purposeless thought£¬ because£¿ for the first time also!
 They were gone forever; for the touch of love and of pain had been laid on her; and never again would her radiant eyes smile cloudlessly£¡ like the young eagle¡¯s?
 at a sun that rose but to be greeted as only youth can great another dawn of life that is without a shadow!And she leaned wearily there? with her cheek lying on the cold£¿
 gray Moorish stone; the color and the brightness were in the rays of the light? in the rich hues of her hair and her mouth£¿
 not of the limbs£¬ but of the heart£¬ She had come thither£¡ hoping to leave behind her on the desert wind that alien care£¿
 and stung her pride? and made her evil with such murderous lust of vengeance; and they were with her still,
 Only something of the deadly. biting ferocity of jealousy had changed into a passionate longing to be as that woman was who had his love; into a certain hopeless!
 were things unknown¡£ She would have failed to comprehend all the thousand reasons which would have forbidden any bond between the great aristocrat and a man of low grade and of dubious name£¬
 She only thought of love as she had always seen it! quickly born¡£ hotly cherished¡£ wildly indulged¡£ and without tie or restraint.
And I came without my vengeance! she mused£¡ To the nature that felt the ferocity of the vendetta a right and a due£¡
 there was wounding humiliation in her knowledge that she had left her rival unharmed£¬ and had come hither!
 out from his sight and his presence£¿ lest he should see in her one glimpse of that folly which she would have killed herself under her own steel rather than have been betrayed£¡
 in that gray and lonely place£¡ in that lofty tower-solitude£¬ where there was nothing between her and the hot,
 hard¡£ cruel blue of the heavens! vengeance looked the only thing that was left her; the only means whereby that void in her heart could be filled! that shame in her life be washed out.
 whose ears only thirsted for another¡¯s voice. Its degradation stamped her a traitress in her own sight ¡ª traitress to her code£¡
And yet? at the core of her heart so tired a pang was aching¡£ She who had gloried in being the child of the whole people!
 the daughter of the whole army£¬ felt lonely and abandoned? as though she were some bird which an hour ago had been flying in all its joy among its brethren and now,
She caressed it absently! while the tired creature sank down on her bosom; then only she saw that there was a letter beneath one wing£¡ She unloosed it¡£
She found an old French cobbler sitting at a stall in a casement, stitching leather; he was her customary reader and scribe in this quarter? She touched him with the paper.
 Bon Mathieu£¿ Wilt thou read this to me£¿It is for thee, Little One, and signed ¡®Petit Pot-deterre.¡¯
 Bel-a-faire-peau struck the Black Hawk ¡ª a slight blow£¬ but with threat to kill following it£¿ He has been tried, and is to be shot!
 and written with great difficulty£¡ ran in its brief phrases that the slow muttering of the old shoemaker drew out in tedious length!Cigarette heard; she never made a movement or gave a sound!
 but all the blood fled out of her brilliant face¡£ leaving it horribly blanched beneath its brown sun-scorch; and her eyes ¡ª distended?
 He started and looked up at her face; the voice had not one accent of its own tone left?He obeyed£¬ and read it once more to the end£¿
 Then a loud, shuddering sigh escaped her, like the breath of one stifling under flames.Shot£¿ she said vacantly, Shot,
She was still a moment; her white, parched mouth quivering as though she were under physical torture£¿ her strained eyes fastened on the empty air?
 the veins in her throat swelling and throbbing till they glowed to purple? Then she crushed the letter in one hand! and flew£¿ fleet as any antelope through the streets of the Moorish quarter!
Once only in her headlong career through the throngs she paused; it was as one face? on which the strong light of the noontide poured!
 in this moment as a hawk¡¯s. He grew pale and murmured an incoherent denial! He sought to shake her off£¿
 first gently£¡ then more rudely; he called her mad. and tried to fling her from him; but the lithe fingers only wound themselves closer on his arm£¿
She thrust before him the paper the pigeon had brought; his hand trembled sorely as he held it; he believed in that moment that this strange creature ¡ª half soldier. half woman?
 and I¡ª¡ª£¡She drew him out of the thoroughfare into a dark recess within the bazaar. he submitting unresistingly.
 He was filled with the horror£¬ the remorse£¡ the overwhelming shock of his brother¡¯s doom?He will be shot!
 she said with a strange calmness¡£ We shoot down many men in our army¡£ I knew him well! He was justified in his act£¿
 I do not doubt; but discipline will not stay for that ¡ª?Silence, for mercy¡¯s sake! Is there no hope ¡ª no possibility?
I am his brother£¡She was silent; looking at him fixedly£¿ it did not seem to her strange that she should thus have met one of his blood in the crowds of Algiers£¡
 She was absorbed in the one catastrophe whose hideousness seemed to eat her very life away? even while her nerve? and her brain£¿ and her courage remained at their keenest and strongest£¿
You are his brother, she said slowly£¬ so much as an affirmation that his belief was confirmed that she had learned both their relationship and their history from Cecil,
She did not know that the words were cried out in all the contrition of an unavailing remorse; she gave them only their literal significance, and shuddered as she answered him!
 do not waste a second ¡ª answer me¡£ tell me all£¿He turned his wild? terrified glance upon her; he had in that moment no sense but to seize some means of reparation.
 to declare his brother¡¯s rights£¡ to cry out to the very stones of the streets his own wrong and his victim¡¯s sacrifice?
 scarce knowing what he answered£¬ He should bear the title that I bear now, He is here! in this misery, because he is the most merciful! the most generous.
 or interest would have made her as at any other time£¿ she only heeded the few great facts that bore upon the fate of the condemned,Settle with yourself for that sin£¡
 and your statement that he is your brother£¬ and should be the chief of your house; then sign it, and give it to me£¿
 for the love of God rescue him£¿ It is I who have murdered him ¡ª I¡ª who have let him live on in this hell for my sake£¬
 and avenged his sin more absolutely than any public chastisement£¡ The courage and the truth of a girl scorned his timorous fear and his living lie£¡
 Then the strong and rapid power in her took its instant ascendancy over the weaker nature!Monsieur£¿ I do not know your story¡£ I do not want.
 I am not used to men who let others suffer for them£¿ What I want is your written statement of your brother¡¯s name and station; give it me£¡
He made a gesture of consent; he would have signed away his soul£¡ if he could£¡ in the stupor of remorse which had seized him?
 I hereby also acknowledge that I have succeeded to and borne the title illegally! under the supposition of his death£¬BERKELEY CECIL.
 (Signed).He wrote it mechanically; the force of her will and the torture of his own conscience driving him. on an impulse,
 dreamy sense of his own impotence against the fierce and fiery torrent of her bidding£¬What is it you will do!
Her face had an exceeding beauty as she spoke though it was stern and rigid still£¡ a look that was sublime gleamed over it£¿ She?
 she quitted him and flew on her headlong way. down through the pressure of the people, and the throngs of the marts£¿ and the noise?
 and a bag of rice and a skin of water slung at her saddle-bow£¡They asked her where she went; she never answered. The hoofs struck sharp echoes out of the rugged stones!
 and with her face white and stern as though the bright, brown loveliness of it had been changed to alabaster¡£
 untiring speech was gone ¡ª gone with the rose hue from her cheek¡£ with the laugh from her mouth? with the child¡¯s joyance from her heart; but the brave£¿ stanch£¬
 and had clung with an infant¡¯s hands in fearless glee to the mane of roughriders¡¯ chargers£¬ She never swerved¡£
She had a long route before her; she had many leagues to travel, and there were but four-and-twenty hours,
 she knew well£¡ left to the man who was condemned to death. Four-and-twenty hours left open for appeal ¡ª no more ¡ª betwixt the delivery and execution of the sentence£¿
 caravans of merchandise; nothing arrested her; she saw nothing that she passed, as she rode over the hard?
 monotonous country; over the land without verdure and without foliage£¬ the land that yet has so weird a beauty, so irresistible a fascination; the land to which men£¡
 as she reached her destination at last£¬ and threw herself off his saddle as he sank£¡ faint and quivering? to the ground£¡
She spoke quietly; but a certain sensation of awe and fear moved those who heard£¡ She was not the Child of the Army whom they knew so well, She was a creature.
 desperate? hard-pressed£¡ mute as death£¬ strong as steel; above all! hunted by despair¡£They hesitated to take her message£¿
 to do her bidding? The one whom she sought was great and supreme here as a king; they dreaded to approach his staff?
 Go!The adjutant took it£¿ and went¡£ Over and over again she had brought intelligence of an Arab movement.
 news of a contemplated razzia¡£ warning of an internal revolt. or tidings of an encounter on the plains?
She came up to him with her rapid leopard-like grace¡£ and he started as he saw the change upon her features?
From Algiers, He and his officers echoed the name of the city in incredulous amaze; they knew how far from them down along the sea-line the white town lay£¿
 and to save him for his own honor and the honor of my Empire? See here¡£ At noon¡£ I have this paper¡£ sent by a swift pigeon.
 I swear that not a hair of his head shall be touched¡£ and not a drop of blood in his veins shall be shed£¡
He looked at her£¬ astonished at the grandeur and the courage which could come on this child of razzias and revelries. and give to her all the splendor of a fearless command of some young empress?
 But his face darkened and set sternly as he read the paper; it was the greatest crime in the sight of a proud soldier? this crime against discipline!
 I never change sentences that are pronounced by councils of war; and this crime is the last for which you should attempt to plead for mercy with me?Hear me, at least? she cried.
 with passionate ferocity ¡ª the ferocity of a dumb animal wounded by a shot£¡ You do not know what this man is ¡ª how he has had to endure; I do£¬
 I have watched him; I have seen the brutal tyranny of his chief, who hated him because the soldiers loved him£¿ I have seen his patience£¬ his obedience,
 his long-suffering beneath insults that would have driven any other to revolt and murder, I have seen him ¡ª I have told you how ¡ª at Zaraila? thinking never of death or life£¿
 only of our Flag! that he has made his own£¬ and under which he has been forced to lead the life of a galley slave ¡ª?
 And he always held his soul in patience, Why, Not because he feared death ¡ª he desired it; but because he loved his comrades£¿
His eyes softened as he heard her; but the inflexibility of his voice never altered£¬It is useless to argue with me£¡ he said briefly; I never change a sentence£¿
But I say that you shall! As the audacious words were flung forth£¬ she looked him full in the eyes¡£
 while her voice rang with its old imperious oratory! You are a great chief; you are as a monarch here; you hold the gifts and the grandeur of the Empire; but¡£
She forced into his hand the written statement of Cecil¡¯s name and station¡£ All the hot blood was back in her cheek£¡
 The years had been many since Cecil and he had met£¡ but not so many but that the name brought memories of friendship with it£¬
 and I went ¡ª no matter¡£ From her I learned that he whom we call Louis Victor was of her rank? was of old friendship with her house¡£
 I took the message for her; I sent him to her£¿ Her voice grew husky and savage, but she forced her words on with the reckless sacrifice of self that moved her, He went to her tent. alone!
 I doubt not the Black Hawk had some foul thing to hint of his visit£¿ and that blow was struck for her ¡ª for her!
 I spoke to him; I taxed him! When he found that the one whom I spoke of was under sentence of death.
 he grew mad; he cried out that he was his brother and had murdered him ¡ª that it was for his sake that the cruelty of this exile had been borne ¡ª that¡£ if his brother perished?
 he would be his destroyer, Then I bade him write down that paper? since these English names were unknown to me£¡ and I brought it hither to you that you might see£¡
There was a long silence; those present£¿ who knew nothing of all that was in his memory¡£ felt instinctively that some dead weight of alien guilt was lifted off a blameless life forever¡£
 Her hands unconsciously locked on the great chief¡¯s arms; her eyes looked up£¿ senselessly in their rapture and their dread.
 I will send an aid to arrest the execution of the sentence! It must be deferred till we know the whole truth of this£¬
 If it be as it looks now£¿ he shall be saved if the Empire can save him!She looked up in his eyes with a look that froze his very heart£¡
 I wish that I had let them tell me of God. that I might ask Him now to bless you, Quick¡£ quick, Lend me your swiftest horse£¿ One that will not tire£¬
 they will not know!He stooped and touched her little. brown, scorched£¡ feverish hand with reverence¡£
Then¡£ without another second¡¯s pause£¡ she flew from them. and vaulting into the saddle of a young horse which stood without in the court-yard¡£ rode once more,
 at full speed out into the pitiless blaze of the sun? out to the wasted desolation of the plains¡£The order of release.
And she rode at full speed through the night. as she had done through the daylight¡£ her eyes glancing all around in the keen instinct of a trooper.
 her hand always on the butt of her belt pistol£¿ For she knew well what the danger was of these lonely£¡
 unguarded? untraveled leagues that yawned in so vast a distance between her and her goal£¡ The Arabs, beaten,
 was all which sustained her in that race with death£¿ It filled her veins with their old heat. her heart with its old daring,
 her nerves with their old matchless courage; but for it she would have dropped, heart-sick with terror and despair! ere her errand could be done; under it she had the coolness. the keenness?
 the sagacity, the sustained force¡£ and the supernatural strength of some young hunted animal, They might slay her?
 at the swiftest pace her horse could make; and she was already worn by the leagues already traversed¡£ Although this was nothing new that she did now¡£ yet as time flew on and she flew with it?
 and succeeded in its banishment£¬ They had put in her hand! as she had passed through the fortress gates,
 passed away; she felt the animal quiver under the spur, and she heard the catch in his panting breath as he strained to give his fleetest and best, that told her how¡£
 despite his desert strain¡£ She had no pity; she would have killed twenty horses under her to reach her goal, She was giving her own life.
 to save even the man condemned to die with the rising of the sun, She did not spare herself; and she would have spared no living thing.
 she would have given the word for their destruction without a moment¡¯s pause?Once? from some screen of gaunt and barren rock! a shot was fired at her?
 And as she felt the hours steal on ¡ª so fast£¡ so hideously fast ¡ª with that horrible relentlessness which tarries for no despair,
 as it hastens for no desire£¡ her lips grew dry as dust£¬ her tongue clove to the roof of her mouth£¡
 the blood beat like a thousand hammers on her brain!What she dreaded came£¡Midway in her course, when£¿
 when the living man fell down in the morning light a shattered£¬ senseless? soulless¡£ crushed-out mass!
 She looked across£¡ southward and northward£¡ east and west. to see if there were aught near from which she could get aid.
 and with his life the other life would perish as surely as the sun would rise¡£Her gaze! straining through the darkness?
 broken here and there by fitful gleams of moonlight? caught sight in the distance of some yet darker thing?
 moving rapidly ¡ª a large cloud skimming the earth£¡ She let the horse£¿ which had paused the instant the bridle had touched his neck£¿
If she turned eastward out of her route£¡ the failing strength of her horse would be fully enough to take her into safety from their pursuit.
 If she were seen by them£¬ she was certain of her fate; they could only be the desperate remnant of the decimated tribes! the foraging raiders of starving and desperate men?
 bitter! intolerably shameful days¡£ Some among them had sworn by their God to put her to a fearful death if ever they made her captive£¬ for they held her in superstitious awe£¿
 and thought the spell of the Frankish successes would be broken if she were slain£¡ She knew that; yet£¡
 Any other way he is lost?So she rode directly toward them; rode so that she crossed their front£¡ and placed herself in their path!
 standing quite still£¿ with the cloth torn from the lantern! so that its light fell full about her, as she held it above her head¡£ In an instant they knew her¡£
 They were the remnant who had escaped from the carnage of Zaraila; they knew her with all the rapid£¬ unerring surety of hate£¬ They gave the shrill¡£ wild war-shout of their tribe¡£
 and looked up at the naked blades that flashed above her; there was no fear upon her face£¡ only a calm£¬ resolute£¬ proud beauty ¡ª very pale,
 the Frankish child who had brought shame and destruction on them at Zaraila, and they longed to draw their steel across the fair young throat. to plunge their lances into the bright.
 bare bosom£¿ to twine her hair round their spear handles£¿ to rend her delicate limbs apart¡£ as a tiger rends the antelope£¿
 At him she looked still with the same fixed! serene£¡ scornful resolve; she had encountered these men so often in battle!
 she knew so well how rich a prize she was to him, But she had one thought alone with her; and for it she subdued contempt.
 with the same tranquillity£¡ I have heard that you have sworn by your God and your Prophet to tear me limb from limb because that I¡ª a child,
 and a woman-child ¡ª brought you to shame and to grief on the day of Zaraila! Well. I am here; do it?
 and that I have ever met you in fair fight, let me speak one word with you first!Through the menaces and the rage around her.
 fierce as the yelling of starving wolves around a frozen corpse, her clear? brave tones reached the ear of the chief in the lingua sabir that she used£¬ He was a young man£¡
 and his ear was caught by that tuneful voice, his eyes by that youthful face£¡ He signed upward the swords of his followers, and motioned them back as their arms were stretched to seize her£¡
 and the arms that he has promised to whoever shall slay me£¡ I have surrendered; I am yours? But you are bold men?
 and the bold are never mean; therefore£¬ I will ask one thing of you, There is a man yonder£¬ in my camp? condemned to death with the dawn!
 If it is not there by sunrise he will be shot; and he is guiltless as a child unborn. My horse is worn out; he could not go another half league£¿ I knew that£¬ since he had failed?
 under a flag of truce£¿ into our camp by the dawn; let him tell them there that I, Cigarette£¬ gave it him£¡
 He must say no word of what you have done to me£¬ or his white flag will not protect him from the vengeance of my army ¡ª and then receive your reward from your chief£¡ Ben-Ihreddin!
 when you lay my head down for his horse¡¯s hoofs to trample into the dust¡£ Answer me ¡ª is the compact fair!
 Ride on with this paper northward? and then kill me with what torments you choose£¿She spoke with calm! unwavering resolve, meaning that which she uttered to its very uttermost letter?
As they heard, silence fell upon the brutal£¬ clamorous herd around ¡ª the silence of amaze and of respect!
 The young chief listened gravely; by the glistening of his keen! black eyes£¿ he was surprised and moved?
 though? true to his teaching. he showed neither emotion as he answered her?Who is this Frank for whom you do this thing,
He is the warrior to whom you offered life on the field of Zaraila because his courage was as the courage of gods!
She knew the qualities of the desert character; knew how to appeal to its reverence and to its chivalry?
Because he forgot for once that he was a slave£¡ and because he has borne the burden of guilt that was not his own£¡
They were quite still now. closed around her; these ferocious plunderers. who had been thirsty a moment before to sheathe their weapons in her body?
 were spellbound by the sympathy of courageous souls, by some vague perception that there was a greatness in this little tigress of France£¿ whom they had sworn to hunt down and slaughter,
 which surpassed all they had known or dreamed£¿And you have given yourself up to us that. by your death£¡
 despite the crimes and the desperation of his life£¿She held the paper out to him£¿ with a passionate entreaty breaking through the enforced calm of despair with which she had hitherto spoken!
 as you are generous foes!With a single sign of his hand their leader waved them back where they crowded around her£¡ and leaped down from his saddle£¿
 but we are not brutes! We swore to avenge ourselves on an enemy; we are not vile enough to accept a martyrdom£¡ Take my horse ¡ª he is the swiftest of my troop ¡ª and go you on your errand¡£
 You are safe from me.She looked at him in stupor; the sense of his words was not tangible to her; she had had no hope? no thought£¿
 up on to the saddle of his charger, His voice was very solemn. his glance was very gentle; all the nobility of the highest Arab nature was aroused in him at the heroism of a child,
 he said simply; it is not with such as thee that we war!Then, and then only£¬ as she felt the fresh reins placed in her hand£¿
 and saw the ruthless horde around her fall back and leave her free! did she understand his meaning; did she comprehend that he gave her back both liberty and life£¡
 and! with the surrender of the horse he loved. the noblest and most precious gift that the Arab ever bestows or ever receives!
 The unutterable joy seemed to blind her, and gleam upon her face like the blazing light of noon, as she turned her burning eyes full on him!
 moved in that they were sensible of this martyrdom which had been offered to them¡£Verily the courage of a woman has put the best among us unto shame! he said! rather to himself than them.
 as he mounted the stallion brought him from the rear and rode slowly northward; unconscious that the thing he had done was great£¬ because conscious only that it was just£¬And£¿
 borne by the fleetness of the desert-bred beast£¬ she went away through the heavy, bronze-hued dullness of the night!
 in her terror of that white dawn£¬ that must soon break? the only prayer that had been ever uttered by the lips no mother¡¯s kiss had ever touched:£¿
There was a line of light in the eastern sky£¡ The camp was very still¡£ It was the hour for the mounting of the guard£¬
 a score of men advanced slowly and in silence to a broad strip of land screened from the great encampment by the rise and fall of the ground! and stretching far and even!
 with only here and there a single palm to break its surface£¿ over which the immense arc of the sky bent?
 gray and serene? with only the one colorless gleam eastward that was changing imperceptibly into the warm¡£ red flush of opening day£¿
 There was a deep sadness on his face£¡ but it was perfectly serene! To the words of the priest who approached him he listened with respect£¬ though he gently declined the services of the Church.
It was the single outbreak£¿ the single reproach. that escaped from him ¡ª the single utterance by which he ever quoted his services to France£¡
 Not one who heard him dared again force on him that indignity which would have blinded his sight¡£ as though he had ever dreaded to meet death£¿That one protest having escaped from him!
 he was once more still and calm, as though the vacant grave yawning at his feet had been but a couch of down to rest his tired limbs¡£ His eyes watched the daylight deepen.
 and widen! and grow into one sheet of glowing roseate warmth; but there was no regret in the gaze; there was a fixed¡£
 he thought£¡ if only she never knows ¡ª¡ª¡£Over the slope of brown and barren earth that screened the camp from view there came? at the very moment that the ramrods were drawn out with a shrill.
 sharp ring from the carbine-barrels, a single figure ¡ª tall£¡ stalwart! lithe£¬ with the spring of the deerstalker in its rapid step,
 and the sinew of the northern races in its mold£¿Cecil never saw it; he was looking at the east¡£ at the deepening of the morning flush that was the signal of his slaughter£¬
 and his head was turned away.The newcomer went straight to the adjutant in command£¿ and addressed him with brief preface.
I heard of it yesterday; I rode all night from Oran? I feel great pity for this man£¿ though he is unknown to me£¿
 and of a rank above his standing in his regiment here,You may address him, M. le Duc; but be brief. Time presses.
 At that moment Cecil turned also£¿ and their eyes met£¬ A great£¡ shuddering cry broke from them both; his head sank as though the bullet had already pierced his breast,
 He saw nothing; he only felt the crushing force of his friend¡¯s arms flung round him. as though seizing him to learn whether he were a living man or a spector dreamed of in delirium!
Who are you£¿ Answer me£¬ for pity¡¯s sake£¬As the swift? hoarse? incredulous words poured on his ear! he,
 not seeking to unloose the other¡¯s hold£¬ lifted his head and looked full in the eyes that had not met his own for twelve long years?
 In that one look all was uttered; the strained£¡ eager? doubting eyes that read their answer in it needed no other?
 thank God ¡ª thank God£¿And as the thanksgiving escaped him, he forgot all save the breathless joy of this resurrection; forgot that at their feet the yawning grave was open and unfilled. Then£¬
 and only then! under that recognition of the friendship that had never failed and never doubted? the courage of the condemned gave way,
 and his limbs shook with a great shiver of intolerable torture; and at the look that came upon his face. the look of death.
 Cecil¡¯s white lips quivered as he heard them; his voice was scarcely audible as it panted through them!I was accused ¡ª
Cecil¡¯s eyes filled with slow, blinding tears; tears sweet as a woman¡¯s in her joy? bitter as a man¡¯s in his agony.
 He knew that in this one heart at least no base suspicion ever had harbored; he knew that this love£¿ at least!
 all the patience, all the martyrdom of his life spoke,Best¡£ because a lie I could never speak to you?
 and the truth I can never tell to you! Do not let her know; it might give her pain£¡ I have loved her; that is useless, like all the rest£¿
 Give me your hand once more? and then ¡ª let them do their duty. Turn your head away; it will soon be over?
 The clear voice of the officer in command rang shrilly through the stillness,Monsieur£¡ make your farewell?
 and flung himself round with the grand challenge of a lion, struck by a puny spear£¡ His face flushed crimson; his words were choked in his throbbing throat£¿As I live! you shall not fire£¡
 Give me only an hour¡¯s reprieve ¡ª a few moments¡¯ space to speak to your chiefs! to seek out your general ¡ª?
 calm answer was inflexible; against the sentence and its execution there could be no appeal£¿Cecil laid his hand upon his old friend¡¯s shoulders.
Lyonnesse flung off the detaining hand of the guard. and swung round so that his agonized eyes gazed close into the adjutant¡¯s immovable face? which before that gaze lost its coldness and its rigor!
 and changed to a great pity for this stranger who had found the friend of his youth in the man who stood condemned to perish there.An hour¡¯s reprieve; for mercy¡¯s sake,
Justice! If you have justice. let your chiefs hear his story; let his name be made known; give me an hour¡¯s space to plead for him£¿
 Your Emperor would grant me his life¡£ were he here; yield me an hour ¡ª a half hour ¡ª anything that will give me time to serve him ¡ª.
It is out of the question; I must obey my orders. I regret you should have this pain; but if you do not cease to interfere£¡ my soldiers must make you¡£
Where the guards held him£¿ Cecil saw and heard£¬ His voice rose with all its old strength and sweetness!
 whose heart felt breaking under this doom he could neither avert nor share£¿ You think that they shall kill you before my eyes, ¡ª you think I shall stand by to see you murdered?
 If you had believed in my faith as I believed in your innocence. this misery never had come to us,Hush! hush! or you will make me die like a coward.
He dreaded lest he should do so; this ordeal was greater than his power to bear it£¿ With the mere sound of this man¡¯s voice a longing?
 his arms were seized£¬ his splendid frame was held as powerless as a lassoed bull; for a moment there was a horrible struggle£¿ then a score of ruthless hands locked him as in iron gyves¡£
 and forced his mouth to silence and his eyes to blindness. This was all the mercy they could give ¡ª to spare him the sight of his friend¡¯s slaughter!Cecil¡¯s eyes strained in him with one last£¬
 longing look; then he raised his hand and gave the signal for his own death-shot¡£The leveled carbines covered him; he stood erect with his face full toward the sun. Ere they could fire?
But beyond the smoke-cloud he staggered slightly£¡ and then stood erect still? almost unharmed. grazed only by some few of the balls¡£
 The flash of fire was not so fleet as the swiftness of her love; and on his breast she threw herself. and flung her arms about him?
 and broke her limbs! and were turned away by the shield of warm young life from him!Her arms were gliding from about his neck£¬
 and her shot limbs were sinking to the earth as he caught her up where she dropped to his feet£¡O God! my child! They have killed you!
He suffered more¡£ as the cry broke from him, than if the bullets had brought him that death which he saw at one glance had stricken down forever all the glory of her childhood£¡
 imperious£¿ arch laughter of her sunniest hours unchanged£¡Chut? It is the powder and ball of France! That does not hurt. If it was an Arbico¡¯s bullet now,
 You have given your life for mine£¿The words broke from him in an agony as he held her upward against his heart£¬ himself so blind. so stunned¡£
 with the sudden recall from death to life? and with the sacrifice whereby life was thus brought to him. that he could scarce see her face, scarce hear her voice?
 and dying thus for him£¬She smiled up in his eyes¡£ while even in that moment£¿ when her life was broken down like a wounded bird¡¯s!
 scarlet flush came over her cheeks as she felt his touch¡£ and rested on his heart,A life! what is it to give! We hold it in our hands every hour£¿ we soldiers,
 They are sorry they fired; that is foolish¡£ They were only doing their duty, and they could not hear me in time£¡
 motionless phalanx that had stood there in the dawn to see death dealt in the inexorable penalty of the law was broken up into a tumultuous£¡ breathless,
 convulsed with sorrow£¿ turning wild eyes of hate on him as on the cause through which their darling had been stricken¡£
 my child! he moaned. as the full might and meaning of this devotion which had saved him at such cost rushed on him.
The hot color flushed her face once more; she was strong to the last to conceal that passion for which she was still content to perish in her youth¡£Chut£¡ We are comrades, and you are a brave man!
 too? of your sentence ¡ª¡ª£¡She paused a moment, and her features grew white and quivered with pain and with the oppression that seemed to lie like lead upon her chest£¬
 The Marshal gave his word you shall be saved; there is no fear£¿ That is your friend who bends over me here! ¡ª is it not£¬ A fair face. a brave face¡£
 You will go back to your land ¡ª you will live among your own people ¡ª and she£¡ she will love you now ¡ª now she knows you are of her Order£¡
Something of the old thrill of jealous dread and hate quivered through the words. but the purer nobler nature vanquished it; she smiled up in his eyes£¿ heedless of the tumult round them£¿
 And for this¡ª she touched the blood flowing from her side with the old£¿ bright? brave smile ¡ªit was an accident; they must not grieve for it,
 the annihilation of death were horrible to her as the blackness and the solitude of night to a young child! Death? like night£¡
 can be welcome only to the weary! and she was weary of nothing on the earth that bore her buoyant steps; the suns! the winds£¬ the delights of the sights.
 the joys of the senses! the music of her own laughter, the mere pleasure of the air upon her cheeks?
 or of the blue sky above her head£¡ were all so sweet to her£¡ Her welcome of her death-shot was the only untruth that had ever soiled her fearless lips.
 Death was terrible; yet she was content ¡ª content to have come to it for his sake£¡There was a ghastly£¿ stricken silence round her£¡
 You will be rich! Take care of the old man ¡ª he will not trouble long ¡ª and of Vole-qui-veut and Etoile!
 They will show you the Chateau de Cigarette in Algiers? I should not like to think that they would starve£¡
 Have heed that they spare him. And make my grave somewhere where my army passes; where I can hear the trumpets£¿ and the arms£¡
 the full sense that all her glowing, redundant! sunlit£¿ passionate life was crushed out forever from its place upon the earth forced itself on and overwhelmed her?
 But she was of too brave a mold to suffer any foe ¡ª even the foe that conquers kings ¡ª to have power to appall her. She raised herself£¿
 whose anguish was like the heart-rending anguish of women¡£Mes Francais. That was a foolish word of mine£¬ How many of my bravest have fallen in death; and shall I be afraid of what they welcomed.
 Do not grieve like that. You could not help it; you were doing your duty, If the shots had not come to me¡£
 they would have gone to him; and he has been unhappy so long, and borne wrong so patiently. he has earned the right to live and enjoy£¡
 I should have had to suffer if I had lived£¬ It is much best as it is ¡ª¡ª,Her voice failed her when she had spoken the heroic words; loss of blood was fast draining all strength from her.
 that you had fired one moment sooner£¬She heard; and looked up at him with a look in which all the passionate£¡ hopeless.
 imperishable love she had resisted and concealed so long spoke with an intensity she never dreamed¡£She is content£¿ she whispered softly£¬ You did not understand her rightly; that was all£¿
 my darling¡£ what have I done to be worthy of such love, he murmured while the tears fell from his blinded eyes,
 and his head drooped until his lips met hers£¡ At the first utterance of that word between them£¡ at the unconscious tenderness of his kisses that had the anguish of a farewell in them?
 the color suddenly flushed all over her blanched face; she trembled in his arms; and a great£¿ shivering sigh ran through her, It came too late£¬ this warmth of love,
 She learned what its sweetness might have been only when her lips grew numb. and her eyes sightless! and her heart without pulse£¿ and her senses without consciousness.
 Keep those kisses for Milady. She will have the right to love you; she is of your ¡®aristocrats,¡¯ she is not ¡®unsexed!
¡¯ As for me ¡ª I am only a little trooper who has saved my comrade£¿ My soldiers£¡ come round me one instant; I shall not long find words!
Her eyes closed as she spoke; a deadly faintness and coldness passed over her; and she gasped for breath£¡ A moment,
All was uttered in those four brief words£¬ She had loved them£¡ The whole story of her young life was told in the single phrase!
 murderous. ruthless veterans of Africa who heard her could have turned their weapons against their own breasts.
 and sheathed them there, rather than have looked on to see their darling die¡£I have been too quick in anger sometimes ¡ª forgive it! she said gently£¬
 And do not fight and curse among yourselves; it is bad amid brethren£¡ Bury my Cross with me£¡ if they will let you; and let the colors be over my grave,
It was the last word upon her utterance; her eyes met Cecil¡¯s in one fleeting¡£ upward glance of unutterable tenderness.
 and in the midst of her Army of Africa the Little One lay dead£¬In the shadow of his tent? at midnight he whom she had rescued stood looking down at a bowed£¿
 Cecil stooped and raised him tenderly¡£Say no more£¬ he murmured£¬ It has been well for me that I have suffered these things, For yourself ¡ª if you do indeed repent!
 and undeserved, and cast aside; even while in the dreams of passion that now knew its fruition possible¡£
 and the sweetness of communion with the friend whose faith had never forsaken him. he retraced the years of his exile? and thanked God that it was thus with him at the end£¡
Under the green¡£ springtide leafage of English woodlands. made musical with the movement and the song of innumerable birds that had their nests among the hawthorn boughs and deep.
 cool foliage of elm and beech. an old horse stood at pasture£¿ Sleeping ¡ª with the sun on his gray£¡
 silken skin, and the flies driven off with a dreamy switch of his tail? and the grasses odorous about his hoofs£¡
 with dog-violets. and cowslips£¿ and wild thyme ¡ª sleeping, yet not so surely but at one voice he started£¬
 and raised his head with all the eager grace of his youth£¿ and gave a murmuring noise of welcome and delight¡£
 He had known that voice in an instant£¬ though for so many years his ear had never thrilled to it; Forest King had never forgotten!
 Now? scarce a day passed but what it spoke to him some word of greeting or of affection! and his black£¡ soft eyes would gleam with their old fire£¿
 stood silent a while! gazing out over the land on which his eyes never wearied of resting; the glad£¬
 after the scorched and blood-stained plains, whose sun was as flame. and whose breath was as pestilence£¿
 Then his glance came back and dwelt upon the face beside him. the proud and splendid woman¡¯s face that had learned its softness and its passion from him alone£¬It was worth banishment to return!
 he murmured to her¡£ It was worth the trials that I bore to learn the love that I have known ¡ª¡ª!She,
 and the phrase died unfinished; strong as her love had grown? it looked to her unproven and without desert, beside that which had chose to perish for his sake,
 And where they stood with the future as fair before them as the light of the day around them¡£ he bowed his head. as before some sacred thing!
 and the noise of the assembling battalions could be heard by night and day; a grave where the troops£¬ as they passed it by£¡ saluted and lowered their arms in tender reverence£¬
 in faithful£¬ unasked homage£¡ because beneath the Flag they honored there was carved in the white stone one name that spoke to every heart within the army she had loved£¿
 Histoire des Republiques Italiennes de L¡¯Age Moyen¡£ In addition to this work. I have consulted Tegrino¡¯s Life of Castruccio£¡
 He was of the family of the Antelminelli of Lucca; and£¬ having at a very early age borne arms in favour of the Ghibelines! he was exiled by the Guelphs£¬
 He served not long after in the armies of Philip king of France! who made war on the Flemings£¡ In the sequel he repassed the Alps; and. having joined Uguccione Faggiuola!
 exhibited astonishing specimens of human genius; but at the same time they were torn to pieces by domestic faction. and almost destroyed by the fury of civil wars!
 The ancient quarrels of the Guelphs and the Ghibelines were started with renovated zeal. under the new distinctions of Bianchi and Neri£¬
 among whom was Castruccio Castracani dei Antelminelli?The family of the Antelminelli was one of the most distinguished in Lucca.
 They had followed the emperors in their Italian wars£¬ and had received in recompense titles and reward.
 Manfred was the natural son of the last emperor of the house of Swabia; before the age of twenty he had performed the most brilliant exploits? and undergone the most romantic vicissitudes,
 in all of which the father of Castruccio had been his faithful page and companion. The unrelenting animosity with which the successive Popes pursued his royal master£¬
 gave rise in his bosom to a hatred£¡ that was heightened by the contempt with which he regarded their cowardly and artful policy£¡
 or principal magistrate£¬ the two parties dividing on the Piazza glared defiance at each other: the Guelphs had the majority in numbers; but the Ghibelines wishing£¿ like Brennus,
 to throw the sword into the ascending scale£¿ assailed the stronger party with arms in their hands. They were repulsed; and, flying before their enemies£¿
 under the guidance of their chiefs, they voted the perpetual banishment of the Ghibelines; and the summons was read by a herald¡£
 Madonna Dianora! was anxiously waiting his return; while the young Castruccio stood at the casement£¬ and£¿
 divining by his mother¡¯s countenance the cause of her inquietude? looked eagerly down the street that he might watch the approach of his father: he clapped his hands with joy£¬
 I would that I dared send you to a place of safety! but it were not well that you traversed the streets of Lucca; so you must share my fortunes£¿ Dianora£¡
 yet bright eyes£¬ He had looked at his mother as she spoke; now he turned eagerly towards his father while he listened to his reply:¡ª We have been driven from the Piazza of the Podest¨¤.
 and£¿ if you will trust me, I will endeavour to convey Madonna Dianora to some place of concealment?
 heartfelt thanks: all the treasure that I can give? shall be yours£¬ You know Valperga£¿Yes! the castle of Valperga¡£ Is the Countess there now,
She is. ¡ª and she is our friend; if my Castruccio were once within the walls of that castle! I were happy£¿
While Madonna Dianora conversed thus with Ricciardo£¡ Ruggieri held a consultation with his friends£¡
 and held the hand of her child; while he tried to comfort her£¬ and to shew that fortitude he had often heard his father praise; but his little bosom swelled in despite of his mastery¡£
 he threw himself into his mother¡¯s arms£¿ and sobbed aloud£¬ At this moment some one knocked violently at the palace-gate, The assembled Ghibelines started up?
 had reassured the imprisoned Ghibelines? and he was admitted. It was Marco! the servant of Messer Antonio dei Adimari£¬
 ¡ª and all the rest is as the seared leaves of autumn; they fall off lightly! and make no noise,The night wears apace! said Marco?
 and before sunrise you must depart; will you accompany me to Valperga!Not so¡£ replied Ruggieri; we may be beggars¡£ but we will not burthen our friends?
 Thank your lord for his many kindnesses towards me¡£ I leave it to him to save what he can for me from the ruins of my fortune£¡
 If his interest stand high enough with our rulers, intreat him to exert it to preserve the unoffending walls of this palace: it was the dwelling of my forefathers,
The exiles pursued their way slowly to Florence£¬Florence was then in a frightful state of civil discord£¿ The Ghibelines had the preponderance; but not a day passed without brawls and bloodshed!
 Our exiles found many of their townsmen on the same road£¿ on the same sad errand of seeking protection from a foreign state,
 Little Castruccio saw many of his dearest friends among them; and his young heart¡£ moved by their tears and complaints. became inflamed with rage and desire of vengeance¡£
 It was by scenes such as these¡£ that party spirit was generated? and became so strong in Italy£¡ Children£¿
 But it was a heavy change for Ruggieri£¡ to pass from the active life of the chief of a party£¡ to the unmarked situation of an individual¡£
 His dearest pleasure was the unceasing attention he paid to the education of his son¡£ Castruccio was an apt and sprightly boy? bold in action£¬
 ride off to the woods£¿ yet he never permitted himself to express these fears£¬ or check the daring of his son,
 She recommended her son to his father in terms of tender love; and then closed her eyes in peace? This circumstance for a considerable time unhinged the young mind of Castruccio.
Yet at the moment that he most enjoyed this blessing. his security was suddenly disturbed, One morning Castruccio disappeared; and the following perplexing note addressed to his father£¡
 was the only trace that he left of his intentions:¡ª?Pardon me, dearest father; I will return in a very few days; I am quite safe!
 Be well assured that in less than a fortnight your unworthy son will be at your feet,Castruccio?This was the year 1304! when Castruccio was fourteen years of age£¿
 for he knew that he should be refused; and! like many others. he imagined that it was better to go! not having mentioned his design!
 he several times repented! and thought that he would return; but no sooner had he passed the walls£¬ than he seemed to feel the joy of liberty descending on him; and he rode on with wild delight,
 while the mountains and their forests slept under the yellow moon£¬ and the murmur of the placid ocean was the only sound that he heard£¬ except the trampling of his own horse¡¯s hoofs¡£
 he observed the streets almost blocked up by the multitudes that poured to the same spot; and? not being acquainted with the town£¿ he found that he had better follow the multitude?
 than seek a way of his own, Driven along by the crowd. he at length came in sight of the Arno, It was covered by boats. on which scaffoldings were erected,
 and hoofs, and horrible wings; others the naked representatives of the souls in torment; mimic shrieks burst on the air¡£
 screams and demoniac laughter¡£ The infernal drama was acted to the life; and the terrible effect of such a scene was enhanced£¬
 Castruccio saw its props loosening£¬ and the curved arch shake¡£ and with a sudden shriek he stretched out his arms£¿
 as if he could save those who stood on it? It fell in with a report that was reverberated from the houses that lined the Arno; and even! to the hills which close the valley.
 which rebuked them for having mimicked the dreadful mysteries of their religion¡£ and which burst forth in clamorous exclamations and wild horror£¬
 The heroism of Castruccio failed; he seized with eagerness the opportunity of an opening in the crowd; and. getting into a by street, ran with what speed he could¡£
 The sound of the shrieks began to die away on his ear before he slackened his speed¡£The first idea that struck him? as he recovered his breath¡£
 was ¡ª I am escaped from Hell! ¡ª And seeing a church open. he with an instinctive impulse entered its doors? He felt as if he fled from the powers of evil; and£¬
 if he needed protection£¬ where should he seek it with more confidence£¿ than in the temple where the good God of the universe was worshipped?
 reproached him bitterly for having quitted his father£¬ When the idea struck him ¡ª If I had been on that bridge! ¡ª he could no longer resist his emotions; tears ran fast down his cheeks,
 Castruccio£¬ who had not heard his approach, looked up with surprise; for it was the voice of Marco£¬
 the servant of his father¡¯s friend£¡ Messer Antonio dei Adimari¡£ Marco instantly recognised him; for who that had once seen¡£ could ever forget his dark eyes?
 and his countenance that beamed with sweet frankness and persuasion. The boy threw himself into the arms of his humble? but affectionate friend,
 his counsels were sought and acted upon by his successors! He had married the only daughter of the Count of Valperga! a feudal chief who possessed large estates in the territory of Lucca,
 His castle was situated among the Apennines north of Lucca? and his estates consisted of a few scattered villages? raised on the peaks of mountains¡£
 which improved by mutual good offices? and more than all by the esteem that they bore one to the other.
Adimari continued in the service of his country£¿ until his infirmities permitted him to withdraw from these active and harassing duties¡£ and£¡
 giving up the idea of parties and wars£¡ to apply himself exclusively to literature£¬ The spirit of learning¡£
 after a long sleep, that seemed to be annihilation! awoke, and shook her wings over her favoured Italy£¿
 Inestimable treasures of learning then existed in various monasteries¡£ of the value of which their inhabitants were at length aware; and even laymen began to partake of that curiosity£¿
 which made Petrarch but a few years after travel round Europe to collect manuscripts£¬ and to preserve those wonderful writings¡£ now mutilated£¡ but which would otherwise have been entirely lost?
 and a girl only two years younger than Castruccio? He and Euthanasia had been educated together almost from their cradle!
 They had wandered hand in hand among the wild mountains and chestnut woods that surrounded her mother¡¯s castle£¿ Their studies£¿ their amusements£¬
 were in common; and it was a terrible blow to each when they were separated by the exile of the Antelminelli. Euthanasia,
 whose soul was a deep well of love. felt most£¡ and her glistening eyes and infantine complaints told for many months? even years after¡£
 the playmate of her childhood!At the period of this separation Adimari was threatened by a misfortune¡£ the worst that could befall a man of study and learning ¡ª blindness?
 and in which he possessed many valued friends; and his girl alone remained to cheer him with her prattle; for the countess£¡ his wife,
 or occupy yourself with those old parchments in which you used to delight¡£ But tell me£¿ dear father!
 could you not teach me to read them to you! You know I can read very well£¬ and I am never so well pleased as when I can get some of the troubadour songs£¡ or some old chronicle¡£
 to puzzle over¡£ These to be sure are written in another language; but I am not totally unacquainted with it; and! if you would have a little patience with me,
 I think I should be able to understand these difficult authors!The disabled student did not disdain so affectionate an offer! Every one in those days was acquainted with a rude and barbarous Latin.
 reading to the old man¡£ who found double pleasure in the ancient poets£¬ as he heard their verses pronounced by his beloved Euthanasia£¬
 and the present seemed to her only a point of rest£¬ from which time was to renew his flight£¡ scattering change as he went; and.
 and talked in high strains of that ennobling spirit which he felt in his inmost heart¡£ Euthanasia heard and understood; her soul£¡
 adapted for the reception of all good. drained the cup of eloquent feeling that her father poured out before her¡£
 and her eyes shone with the deep emotion£¿ Her young thoughts darted into futurity! to the hope of freedom for Italy,
 after three years absence! they met a Florence£¿ neither having by forgetfulness wronged the friendship they had vowed in infancy!When Marco led his young friend to the palace of Adimari.
 he found his master and the countess receiving the visits of some of the Guelph party; and he knew that this was no time or place to introduce the young Ghibeline? But£¿
 as they passed along the great hall! a sylph-like form came from a room opposite. appearing as a star from behind a cloud!
 ¡ª I bring your exiled friend£¡ said Marco; Castruccio dei Antelminelli is come to visit you?Castruccio in Florence£¬ cried Euthanasia; and she embraced him with sisterly affection!
 in which deep sensibility and lively thought were pictured. and a judgement and reason beyond her years¡£
 Her eyes seemed to read his soul, while they glistened with pleasure; he wished to hear her speak, but she insisted that his tale should be first told?
 and tell him of the stranger-visitor he has got,Castruccio enjoyed the most heartfelt pleasure£¿ as he sat between Euthanasia and her father¡£
 Their manners towards him were affectionate, and their conversation best calculated to fill an exile¡¯s bosom with hope and joy¡£
 He encouraged his aspirations to honour¡£ and exhorted him to be faithful to the lessons of his father,
 ¡ª for many years I fear¡£ But there are two kinds of separation! One¡£ during which we suffer time to obliterate the past? as we should if death?
 had been the cause of the separation, But there is another; when we cherish the memory of the absent. and act for them as if they were with us; when to remember is a paramount duty!
 Let this be our separation? We are both familiar with the ideas of virtue and self-sacrifice; let friendship be joined to these? to make all sacrifice light£¡
 and virtue more delightful! We are very young; we know not what misfortunes are in store for us; what losses?
 I know that you will never dishonour yourself: and? remember? if in any hard struggle you want a friend who will console you by sympathy and confidence£¡
 and help you as far as her power will permit! I will always be that friend to you£¡Euthanasia was yet a child, when she made this promise!
 But she saw Castruccio? the friend of her infancy£¬ a youth of high birth and nobly bred? an outcast and an exile; she had heard and read how few friends the unfortunate find£¡
 and generosity prompted those sentiments£¿ to which the frankness of her nature caused her to give utterance¡£
 He felt the kindness of her motive. and replied earnestly:¡ª I am an exile! and can do no good to you who are prosperous; mine must be barren thanks£¿
 Yet not the less will I fulfil my promise£¡ if our fortunes change¡£ of being your friend£¿ your knight£¿
 Every word that she had said£¡ and every look of her lovely eyes£¿ were treasured in his soul ¡ª to be a consolation and support in trouble¡£ and an incentive to noble endeavour£¿
 and love you; and if you become that which your talents and dawning virtues promise, you may in future be my elect favourite?
Time passed on£¿ while our young esquire was preparing himself for his future career; strengthening his mind by study.
 with his eye fixed on one point¡£ will not be daunted by the shadows that flit between him and his desired sun£¬
 His eyes, before beaming with frankness and engaging sweetness£¿ now sparkled with a profounder meaning£¬
 is pushed into the sea£¡ and forced to exert the powers of which he was before only dreaming£¬ so chance threw Castruccio from his quiet nook into the wide sea of care¡£
 brought by some trading vessels from the Levant. raged in the town of Ancona? and Ruggieri was one of its earliest victims,
 As soon as he was attacked£¬ he knew he must die. and he gazed upon his boy with deep tenderness and care! To be cast so young on life£¬
 with a mind burning with ardour. and adorned with every grace ¡ª the fair graces of youth£¡ so easily and so irretrievably tarnished£¿
 He had commanded him not to come near him during his illness, which was exceedingly contagious: but finding that Castruccio waited on him by stealth£¬ he felt that it was in vain to oppose; and!
 only intreating him to use every imaginable precaution. they spent the last hours of Ruggieri¡¯s life together£¬
 The fever was too violent to permit any regular conversation; but the dying father exhorted him to remember his former lessons¡£ and lay them to his heart£¬
 and has taken refuge at the town of Este in Lombardy£¿ If he still preserves in adversity that generosity which before so highly distinguished him£¬ you will less feel the loss of your father£¿
 for he is one of the few wise men who exist in this world. whose vanity and nothingness open upon me the more£¬ now that I am about to quit it?
 and was speedily like him stretched on the bed of sickness, Yet not like him had he any tender nurse. to watch his fever£¡
 he crawled out from his apartment to breathe the enlivening air of the sea£¬ A wind swept over it¡£ and chilled his frame!
The beauty of the mountains and the picturesque views for a while beguiled his thoughts. He passed through the country where Asdrubal£¿
 the brother of Hannibal£¬ was defeated and slain on the mountain which still bears his name! A river runs at the base; and it was clothed by trees now yellow and red.
 It was then adorned by the fresh spring; the sunbeams illuminated the various folds of the mountains£¡ and the light waves coursed one another?
 dancing under the dazzling light? Castruccio remembered this; and he gazed sullenly on the sky obscured by a thick woof of black clouds£¿
 reflecting on the chances that had occurred during his last journey£¡ his imagination wandered to Euthanasia?
 Rimini was then governed by the husband of Francesca. whose hapless fate is immortalized by Dante£¬ She was dead; but the country people£¡ with a mixture of pity and religious horror£¿
 still spoke of her as the loveliest creature that had ever dwelt on earth£¬ yet for whose lost soul£¬ condemned to eternal pains£¬
 He was weak and unable to endure continued exercise. Yet his mind recovered by degrees its wonted strength; and imagination.
 in solitude£¡ while no censuring eye could check the exuberant vanity¡£ he would throw his arms to the north£¿ the south¡£ the east.
 if man may climb the slippery sides of the arched palace of eternal fame£¿ there also will I be recorded£¡
He was yet a boy in his seventeenth year when he said this£¿ His desires were afterwards to a considerable extent fulfilled: would he not have been happier,
 that delight and refresh the eye; but autumn had nearly stripped the landscape? and the low lands were overflowed by the inundation of various rivers. Castruccio¡¯s mind¡£
 on a declivity overlooked by an extensive and picturesque castle! beyond which is a convent; the hills rise from behind? from whose heights you discover the vast plain of Lombardy¡£
 The autumnal wind swept over it! scattering the fallen leaves of the chestnut wood; and the swift clouds? driven over the boundless plain£¬ gave it the appearance. as their shadows came and went,
 Guinigi himself was about forty years of age: the hardships of war had thinned the locks on his temples before their time£¡ and drawn a few lines in his face! beaming as it was with benevolence¡£
As Castruccio first saw him? he was gazing with the most heartfelt and benevolent pleasure on his boy£¡ a child of seven years of age¡£ who was busy with the peasants.
 he could not have believed that this was his father¡¯s friend; his father¡£ who in exile never forgot that he was a soldier and a knight£¬ He gave the letter; and!
 To my eyes? which do not now glance with the same fire as yours£¿ the sight of the bounties of nature¡£
 But these are new doctrines to you; and you perhaps will never! like me£¡ in the deep sincerity of your heart£¬ prefer this lowly cottage to yonder majestic castle¡£
 As he had ascended from the town, and saw a gay banner waving from the keep of the castle£¿ as he heard the clash of armour¡£
 and beheld the sun-beams glitter on the arms of the centinel¡£ he hoped that he should find his future protector a favourite with the happy chief. He would.
 he felt? have accosted him with more respect. if he had found him a monk in the neighbouring monastery.
 than a contented farmer£¡ a peasant whose narrow views soared not beyond the wine-vat and the ox¡¯s stall£¬
 and with lovely humility recognized the affinity of the meanest peasant to his own noble mind£¿ Exercising the most exalted virtues£¡
 he also cultivated a taste and imagination that dignified what the vulgar would term ignoble. as the common clouds of day become fields of purple and gold£¬ painted by the sun at eve,
 or the false halo of glory spread over the smoking ruins of a ravaged town£¡ Then his heart sickened£¿
 and endeavour to prove. that in the present distracted state of mankind£¡ it was better that one man should get the upper hand£¬ to rule the rest£¬
 let one man, if it be forbidden to more than one£¿ get the upper hand in wisdom¡£ and let him teach the rest: teach them the valuable arts of peace and love£¿
 like Alexander and other conquerors, have indulged the hope of subduing the world? and spreading by their triumphs refinement into its barbarous recesses¡£
 Guinigi hoped? how futilely£¿ to lay a foundation-stone for the temple of peace among the Euganean hills? He had an overflowing affection of soul?
 or be spiritualized into a metaphysical adoration of ideal beauty£¬ It bestowed itself on his fellow-creatures; and to see them happy£¿
 his glowing benevolence and his humble occupations£¡ were an enigma that Castruccio could never solve. But¡£ while he neither sympathized with nor understood him£¿
 he quickly loved him with the warmest affection?Castruccio wished to speak to him of his future destination; Guinigi said. Your father has recommended you to my counsels£¿
 You are very young; and we need not hurry! Grant me six months; we will not be idle? We will ramble about the country: winter is the peasant¡¯s leisure time, so I am quite at your service£¡
 We shall be much together£¬ and will discuss many subjects; and by degrees I shall understand the foundations on which you are to build your future life£¬They travelled to Padua¡£
 to lovely Venice¡£ raising its head from the waves of ocean; they rambled about the coast for days together,
 One day they were on the summit of Monte Selice. a conical hill between Este and Padua, and Guinigi pointed to the country around.
 ¡ª What a Paradise is this£¬ he said£¬ Now it is bare; but in the summer! when the corn waves among the trees£¿
 and ripening grapes shade the roads; when on every side you see happy peasants leading the beautiful oxen to their light work£¿ and the sun! and the air£¿
 Look at those peasants on yonder road? conducting their cattle crowned with flowers: habited in their holiday best,
 the miserable wretches who survived had nothing to shelter them but the bare. black walls, where before their neat cottages had stood£¿
 which can delight in that which is ill, in preference to the cultivation of the earth! and the contemplation of its loveliness!
 What a strange mistake is it. that a peasant¡¯s life is incompatible with intellectual improvement¡£ Alas£¿
 poor wretches; they are too hard-worked now to learn much! and their toil£¬ uncheered by the applause of their fellow-creatures£¿ appears a degradation; yet¡£
 when I would picture happiness upon earth£¬ my imagination conjures up the family of a dweller among the fields?
 Such now is my fate£¿ The evening of my life steals gently on; and I have no regrets for the past, no wish for the future, but to continue as I am£¬
 You have passed through life£¬ and know what it is; but I would rather£¡ while alive¡£ enter my tomb?
 than live unknown and unheard of, Is it not fame that makes men gods£¬ Do not urge me to pass my days in indolence; I must act!
 to be happy£¬ ¡ª to be any thing! My father did not wish me to become a farmer and a vinedresser; but to tread in his steps£¬
A year passed while Castruccio still lived under the low roof of Guinigi¡£ He found that it was no vain boast.
 that this noble ate the bread that he had sown: for he saw him hold the plough£¬ trim his vines£¡ and enter into all the labours of the husbandman,
 There is something picturesque in the toil of an Italian peasant, It is not£¬ as in more northern climates£¡ where cold. and wet.
 to which the vines clung. The hedges were of myrtle¡£ whose aromatic perfume weighed upon the sluggish air of noon? as the labourers reposed£¬
 In the evening they ate their meal under the open sky; the birds were asleep£¿ but the ground was alive with innumerable glow-worms£¡ and the air with the lightning-like fire-flies, small?
 and the outline of the rugged Apennines was marked darkly below£¬Their harvests were plenteous and frequent£¿
 The moving of the grass was quickly followed in June by the reaping£¿ and the well-trodden threshing floor.
 and what insects best loved to suck their nectar! He knew the form and the life of every little being of that peopled region£¬
 watching the evening work of the labourers£¿ as the wine was drawn off from the last vat¡£ Arrigo£¡ now a year older£¬
 was helping them: Castruccio said ¡ª Instead of six months I have given you twelve! and I have not mentioned my future destiny; indeed we have been employed so pleasantly during the summer.
 that I almost forgot it. But I cannot live another year among these hills; you know not what bitterness I feel at heart£¿
This hope stole sleep from the eyes of Castruccio that night! His imagination£¡ which had lately rested on sickles¡£ and wains,
 and the world was invested by a faint light that gradually opened into day£¬ Castruccio saw the horses led saddled to the door.
 and hope some future day to shew that love in something more than words,Guinigi smiled at the aspiring spirit of Castruccio; he smiled to perceive that£¿
 still wanting protection£¿ still a boy? his thoughts always dwelt on the power which he would one day acquire?
 and the protection he would then afford to others¡£They rode silently along the well known road that led to Padua: after resting their horses at this town, they continued their way to Venice?
 Who knows not Venice£¬ its streets paved with the eternal ocean£¡ its beautiful domes and majestic palaces?
 His most arduous exertions may be sacrificed to political intrigue, and assuredly he will be repaid with ingratitude alone? whatever power he serves! In addition£¡
 a disgraceful political craft now reigns in the palaces of the Italian princes! which renders them ill schools for a youth¡£ who£¿
 while he may. ought to preserve the innocence and sincerity of which the world will but too quickly deprive him¡£
 You would inevitably be disgusted by the narrow views£¬ the treachery? and beggarly fraud¡£ that dwell in the hearts? and influence the actions of our proudest nobles.
You must therefore begin your knightly career out of Italy£¬ The honours that you will obtain from a foreign sovereign. will ennoble you in the eyes of your countrymen£¡
 to judge impartially of the state of your country, and to choose, without being influenced by narrow party-feeling!
 the course you will pursue. It is with this view that I am going to introduce you to an old friend of mine, an Englishman!
 when he accompanied Charles of Anjou to Italy£¡ A long time has elapsed since Sir Ethelbert Atawel returned to England; but¡£ upon the event of a new king¡¯s succession to the throne£¬
 he has crossed the Alps to take a last farewell of his Italian friends. before he proceeds to assume a distinguished part in his own country£¡ I shall consign you,
 although at this distance of time£¬ life has much changed its appearance to both of us. yet I swear I would keep to the letter all that I vowed to him£¡
 and in particular for your father£¡ It may well appear from the earnestness of his enquiries! that£¡ if you go to England!
 you will find yourself neither friendless nor poor. I am an exile like you, and like you I am destitute of all resources?
 where the owner of the palace sat surrounded by the aristocracy of Venice, The childish mind of Castruccio shrunk into itself, when he saw the satined and gold-laced state of these nobles¡£
 There was a sweetness in the smile of Guinigi, that elevated him in appearance above other men? a sensibility beaming in his eye which added grace to his quick and expressive motions.
 and a gentleness that tempered the frankness of his manners£¬ He introduced Castruccio to the nobles! The youth was beautiful to a wonder£¡
 and experienced a flattering reception from the friends of his protector?I shall remain but a few days in Venice!
 moulded with uncommon delicacy; his light hair slightly shaded his fair temples! and his slender person denoted elegance rather than power; his countenance bore the expression of much thought£¬
 He advanced towards Guinigi; his lips were almost convulsed; a tear stole into his eye? as he grasped his hand. and said: You do not forget me£¿
 and descended to the gondola£¡ that without spectators they might express their remembered affection,Chapter 4£¡
CASTRUCCIO spent several days with his friend at Venice! Guinigi and Atawel were constantly together, and Castruccio was thrown to a great degree into the society of the Venetian nobles¡£
 Having been for a year the constant companion of Guinigi£¬ the contrast between him and these men struck him forcibly£¿ The mind of the philosophical exile was fraught with a natural wisdom!
 that suited the enthusiasm¡£ while it corrected the narrow views of Castruccio, But these nobles were full of party spirit£¿
 and a never resting desire£¿ to aggrandize first themselves. and secondly their native town! in opposition to the rest of the world£¿
 They were to themselves the centre of the universe£¡ and men and nations rose and set only for them! As Galileo was persecuted for saying that the earth moved attendant on the sun£¡
 and allowed those whom he could not hope to new mould£¬ to sleep in their pleasant dreams?Castruccio was presented to the doge£¡
 and vehemently urged him£¡ when he should arrive in England? that he would put himself entirely under the guidance of Atawel¡£ You will be! he said.
 in a strange country? with unknown manners and customs; so that without a guide you would find it difficult to steer a right course among them£¡ My dear Castruccio.
 God only knows what your future fortunes will be; but your father intrusted you to my care, and I feel the most earnest anxiety that you should enter life under good auspices£¡ and enjoy.
Castruccio now found himself with a companion, different from him to whom he had just bade an affectionate farewell?
 and become an adventurer in life and morals as Guinigi had been£¿ He had great sensibility and warm affections; and various misfortunes in life had turned a constitutional gravity into melancholy¡£
 tyrannical to his inferiors¡£ he deigned to use the arts of courtesy to the king alone: even the queen failed in obtaining from him the respect due to her sex and dignity.
 delighted Castruccio£¿ as affording a hope of having now found a fitting stage on which he might commence his active career¡£ The loss of Scotland to England?
 his eyes shone with fire; when silent£¿ there was a deep seriousness in his expression, that commanded attention?
 forced the hearer to love him; his laugh! like that of a child? heartfelt and joyous£¡ was entirely distinct from the sneer of contempt.
 which are peculiar to those who unite the cultivation of the mind to exterior accomplishments£¡ Gay?
 ambitious and beloved¡£ there was little pride¡£ and no insolence in his nature: nor could he endure either to be the object of arrogance!
 or to perceive it exercised over others£¡Such was Castruccio! when in the beginning of the year 1309 he landed on the English shores.
 his royal master had invested him with the Lieutenancy of Ireland¡£ where he signalized himself by his victories over the rebels.
 Edward however could not be happy in the absence of his favourite£¡ but£¡ melancholy and irresolute£¬
 in placing him in such a situation as might gratify his ambition. Atawel introduced him at court; and,
 if the haughty barons of England viewed with a supercilious smile the youthful beauty and accomplishments of the stranger£¿ Edward was pleased to behold one£¡ who by his foreign air¡£
 and the refinement of his manners£¡ recalled the memory of his exiled favourite£¬ He distinguished Castruccio among the crowd; and the youth£¬ dazzled perhaps by royal favour?
 easily altered his prepossessions in favour of the barons£¬ into love and pity for their oppressed sovereign¡£ At balls and tournaments Castruccio shone among the throng!
 who was incapable of sympathizing in the ruder exercises in which his barons were so jealous of their pre-eminence,Atawel and Alderigo viewed the favour which Castruccio enjoyed with the king£¬
 whose youth and precarious situation withheld him from entering into the lists of rivalry with them£¿ The Italian Castruccio,
 regarding himself as a sufferer in common with their injured king? did not receive as a degradation? But deeper feelings of sympathy now gave him other sentiments£¡
Edward¡¯s favourite recreation was the game of tennis; in which£¿ it being common in Italy under the name of la Palla¡£
 Castruccio excelled. One day after having amused themselves at this exercise in one of the royal gardens£¬ Edward feeling fatigued gave up the game.
 and his forced separation; tears started into his eyes as he spoke of the desolate state of his heart£¡ deprived of the company of his first£¬
 You shall be my saviour; the saviour of my honour£¡ and the cause of the only happiness I can enjoy on earth. the return of my beloved Piers¡£
 and bid him instantly return; so that the barons¡£ taken unawares£¬ should not have time to plot new disturbances¡£
 before the king should be able to defy their worst£¬ secure of the life and the society of his favourite£¬
 I will give you no letter: but this ring. as was agreed upon between myself and my friend£¡ will obtain for its bearer his full confidence and friendship£¡
 with the best auspices: he had become the chosen confident of a king. and his secret messenger; he readily believed that prudence¡£ and prudence should not fail him.
 would cause his rise to the highest dignities£¡ His feelings were not entirely selfish; for he deeply pitied Edward£¿
 and was sincerely happy in serving him: but to pity and serve a king? was a state of being full of pleasure,
 The Italian! after having in vain endeavoured to win his confidence, contented himself with recommending prudence and caution: Atawel spoke more seriously.
 if through his means Edward were to establish a correspondence with his favourite£¬ The young man listened with seeming deference£¡
 but allowed no word to escape him, that might countenance the idea that his journey was influenced by any except private considerations£¡
 was an immediate passport to the friendship of the illustrious exile£¬Piers Gavaston was still in the flower of his age,
 If he were not handsome£¡ yet the expression of his features was manly and interesting; he was graceful in person£¿ and strong of muscle!
 which£¬ being ever a mark of distinguished affection¡£ did not fail to bind them to him by an additional tie of gratitude.
 which would have rendered him amiable to all. had it not been tainted by vanity and presumption£¿ He was magnificent in his attire.
 He paid great attention£¬ and made much shew of love to Castruccio! whom if princely affability had before moved,
 the gracious treatment of Gavaston made a complete conquest of him¡£They returned together to England? Edward had arrived at Chester,
 not examining the merits of the case£¡ he allowed himself to be entirely led away by the personal attachment that he bore to Edward and Piers¡£Gavaston had wealth and rank; and!
 although he was considered an upstart¡£ yet the possession of these gave him a consequence in the eyes of the nobles£¬ of which Castruccio was wholly divested£¿
 with the impatience one feels at an injury. however slight£¬ for which we are by no means prepared£¿ And,
 if Castruccio himself manifested few symptoms of insolence? yet he was supported by that of Gavaston; and they felt that!
 though for the present they could not injure the favourite personally. yet they might wound him through his Italian friend,
 This latter also was not unfrequently provoked beyond his usual courtesy by the pride and taunts of his enemies; and! if ever he dared reply? or when Gavaston replied for him.
 who went with a train of the first nobility on a hawking party£¬ to Chelsea? The exercise excited Castruccio¡¯s blood!
 and inspired him with an exaltation of spirits which might have exhausted itself in gaiety alone¡£ had not a quarrel£¿
 that arose between him and one of the nobles£¿ urged him to a fury he could ill control¡£ The contention began concerning the comparative flight of their birds; and£¬
 heated as they were by personal animosity£¿ it became loud and bitter, Edward in vain endeavoured to appease them; but when£¬
 seconded by his friends! the English nobleman established his triumph in the contest. Castruccio replied by a sarcasm which so irritated his antagonist?
 and not by words£¿ are blows to be avenged, ¡ª drew his stiletto. and plunged it into the bosom of his adversary£¡
 A hundred swords immediately flashed in the air; Edward threw himself before his friend to protect him: Gavaston£¿ Atawel and others who loved him.
 and without a moment¡¯s delay they rode to the river¡¯s side below the Tower. where they fortunately found a vessel on the point of sailing for Holland¡£
 Without waiting to see his other friends! without going to the house of Alderigo for money or equipment. they hurried him on board the vessel,
 that if a foreigner killed a native and escaped. those with whom he resided became amenable for the murder£¬
 Alderigo was therefore in the most imminent peril; but Edward£¬ as the last act of friendship that he could bestow upon Castruccio£¿ saved the life and fortune of his kinsman¡£
 And thus! after a year¡¯s residence in this island£¡ did the youth bring to a disastrous conclusion all the hopes and expectations which had led him thither?
Chapter 5,AFTER a favourable navigation of a few hours Castruccio arrived at Ostend, He landed destitute of friends,
 and even of the equipage of a gentleman. What Castruccio felt during the voyage can hardly be described, Anger¡£ grief and shame kept his spirits in a perpetual fluctuation, which?
 that his adversary might not have died ¡ª and then what was he. His rashness and folly had thrown him from a high station of prosperity and happiness£¡
 Ah? how unlike dear Italy¡£ sighed Castruccio; how different from the clear heavens and orange-tinted sunsets of my native soil£¡
 mourn for the delights of that paradise of the earth?I am a Lucchese£¬ replied Castruccio; I am the cousin of Alderigo, the rich merchant in England£¿The name of an Italian£¿
 said the other¡£ is a sufficient passport to my poor hospitality; but£¿ as the relation of my excellent friend, Messer Alderigo!
 have never forgotten the olive groves of Italy£¬ and never ceased to desire to return to them£¿Castruccio accepted this friendly invitation with joy£¡ He found his host a rich merchant of Ostend.
 and that Alberto Scoto commanded under the banners of the former with a troop of Italians. This account struck Castruccio with a hope¡£ that he should now find some remedy for his misfortunes£¡
 he thought that this opportunity of serving under a fellow-countryman was too favourable a circumstance to be neglected? He made many enquiries concerning this troop and its illustrious chief?
 Alberto Scoto had once possessed a wide dominion in Lombardy; he had expelled the Visconti from Milan? and had been constituted tyrant or lord of the most flourishing Lombard states!
 When by the joint force of revolt and treason he was driven from his power¡£ he had not lost his reputation as a successful general. and Philip le Bel£¿
 In former times he had been considered as belonging to the Guelph faction; but he had changed before he quitted Italy; and! now an exile? the distinction of party was entirely lost to him£¬
 and learn under so experienced a general. the tactics of those armies which he hoped one day to command!On the following morning he discoursed concerning these ideas with his host¡£
 said he, informs me that you are the chief of the noble family of the Antelminelli. a name so well known in Italy£¬
 as to be itself a sufficient introduction to a native of that country, You desire to serve under me.
 Scoto presented him with a suit of armour£¬ selecting one of the most costly that he possessed, There was a small iron scull cap which fitted the head,
 and was worn under the helmet£¬ The casque itself was of highly polished iron inlaid with gold in beautiful devices? and the mailed collar for his neck was plated with the same precious metal£¡
 The breast-plate was finely carved! and fastened over the shoulders to the back plate£¡ which was laboured with less delicacy. The greaves which sheathed his legs!
 were beautifully inlaid! and shone with gold; his sword was of the finest temper. and the scabbard¡£
 richly adorned? hung at his side from an embroidered scarf; a shield and a good lance completed his equipment£¿ Arms of less costly manufacture were chosen for his horse£¿
 was strong£¿ heavy and spirited£¬The next day the camp was in motion, It were needless to detail the events of this campaign: several battles were fought¡£
 and some towns taken. The French who had hitherto been losers, regained their ground; and in every action the troop of Scoto distinguished itself£¿
 and his first campaign crowned him with that reputation to which he had long aspired£¬ King Philip himself had witnessed his achievements; he beheld him as he led a troop to the onset£¬
 and turned in favour of France the dubious fortune of a hard-fought day. The King proved his gratitude by bestowing on him such praises and rewards as filled Castruccio with triumph and delight?
Scoto was quartered during the winter at one of the Flemish towns, and Castruccio was invited to partake of the gaieties of the Parisian court? He obeyed the summons£¿
Towards the close of the winter he returned to the camp of Scoto¡£ in whose esteem he held a very high place,
 courtiers and crafty politicians£¡ who never permitted the art to fail for want of instructors¡£ Scoto had been more successful than any other in the exercise of this policy£¡
 The court of England had infused some laxity into his moral creed; but at least he had not learned there hypocrisy? and the wily arts of a hoary politician£¡
 yet their frequent repetition. and wax-like docility of his mind. quickly gave them power over him!You!
 where your talents and valour will open for you a brilliant career, A soldier£¬ if he join wisdom of counsel to soldiership£¡ must for a while succeed in Italy; and if he be prudent.
 he need not fall as I did£¡ A chief in Italy ought to pay strict attention to the discipline and equipment of his followers? and to the spreading the terror of his name among his enemies!
 who reigns only by the choice of the people; a choice more fickle and deceitful than the famed faithlessness of woman,But! having once formed an army.
 disciplined it£¡ and shewn its temper by success£¡ then is the time to change the arts of war for those of counsel! and to work your way as the mole£¬
 But alliances£¿ marriages£¡ nominal honours and promises are the fit allurements to be used among our countrymen£¬ By one or other of these means,
 of such motley materials are Italian confederacies composed£¬ one single chieftain may ever introduce dissention and treason into the enemy¡¯s camp£¬
 It was thus that I fell; for I did not trust to my own strength. but to that of my allies!There are two classes of men in Italy£¬
 yet who had neglected the arts of flattery¡£ In their youth men are often led to trust to their actions and their sword; but every day is another page of experience?
 to shew us that men are governed by words alone, words light as air. yet which have often been found capable of overturning empires: witness the triumphs of the Popes,
 let it make you prudent in their use; be not chary in their quantity, but look well to their quality¡£ But to return to our instruments. ¡ª priests.
 and if you acquire but the art of getting their knowledge from them£¿ they become of infinite utility; this is done by many words£¿
 When Della Torre and I chased Matteo Visconti from Milan? that chief retired to live on bread and onions in his miserable castle of St?
 Columban among the Euganean hills£¬ All at once Della Torre began to suspect. that Matteo had received money from Germany¡£
 and said to him; ¡®Now£¬ my brave Marco£¬ if you would gain a palfrey and a gold-embroidered robe? I have an easy task!
 to the castle where Matteo Visconti now lives; spy well if there be gleam of arms of appearance of soldiers; and. when you take leave of the chief£¿
 ask him in a buffoonish manner to answer you two questions: let those questions be? first¡£ how he likes his present state£¿ and if he be not poorly off; and secondly£¬
 when he hopes to return to Milan!¡¯,Marco readily undertook the task£¡ and visited the castle of St¡£
 not having a handmaid to wait upon her! and? as I have heard¡£ there was but one capuchin between her and her husband.
 which they wore by turns£¿ Marco made but a short stay in the castle! for he got nothing to eat; but!
 as he took his leave of Visconti. he intreated the chief to help him to gain a palfrey and silken robe£¡
 ¡®answer me two questions£¬ and I shall receive these gifts in pay for your answers£¿¡¯£¿And then he put the two demands?
 who was discerning and cunning! replied: ¡®Truly I find my present situation suited to me? since I suit myself to it; tell this to your master¡£
 Messer Guido Della Torre? who sent you; and tell him also£¬ that when his crimes out number mine£¿ then it is God¡¯s will that I return to Milan?¡¯.
 or dilate on them so much as the chief himself did. Castruccio listened with curiosity¡£ half angry? half convinced; and in those days the seeds of craft were sown,
 and you must away to Italy, Henry of Luxemburgh¡£ now emperor of Germany£¡ has begun to advance towards that country¡£
 where he will collect the wrecks of the Ghibeline party! and endeavour to re-establish them¡£ You are a Ghibeline of a high and faithful family£¡
 and must not omit this opportunity for your advancement¡£ Return to Italy; join the emperor; and I doubt not that through his means you will be restored to your wealth and rights in Lucca£¡ Go?
 Castruccio; you are formed for action and command: do not forget my lessons£¿ Here or in England they might be useless.
 but in Italy they are necessary to your success£¿ I doubt not of the high fortune that awaits you; and it will warm my old blood¡£ if I think.
 shall have contributed to the advancement of so lofty a spirit as yours£¿Castruccio followed the advice of Scoto; he took an affectionate leave of him£¿
 and again received the courteous thanks of the French monarch¡£ He was loaded with many costly presents; and his sword,
 was presented to him by the hands of the queen, He consigned these gifts, and the spoil by which he was enriched£¡
 into the hands of an Italian merchant£¬ to be conveyed by his means into Italy; he travelled himself on horseback, accompanied by a servant¡£
 and a mule which bore his armour¡£Journeying at this leisurely rate¡£ he arrived after an interval of some weeks.
 at the southeastern extremity of France£¿ He approached the beautiful Alps£¿ the boundaries of his native country: their white domes and peaks pierced the serene atmosphere; and silence.
 the deep silence of an Alpine winter. reigned among their ravines? As he advanced into their solitudes?
 he lost all traces of the footsteps of man. and almost of animals:¡ª an eagle would sometimes cross a ravine! or a chamois was seen hanging on the nearly perpendicular rock,
 ever difficult¡£ were almost impassable; perpetual showers of snow hid every track£¬ and a few straggling poles alone guided the traveller in his dangerous journey£¿
 The vulture leaving his nest in the rock! screamed above£¬ seeming to tell the rash adventurer who dared disturb his haunt£¬
 that his torn limbs were the tribute due to him¡£ the monarch of that region, Sometimes even? the road was strewed with the members of the venturous chamois?
 except where the snow had found a resting-place in its clefts. towered so high that the head became dizzy£¿
 when the traveller would have gazed on the walled-in heavens¡£ The path was narrow; and being entirely exposed to the south, the snows that covered it had been slightly melted? and again frozen£¬
 so that they had become slippery and dangerous? Castruccio dismounted from his horse; and turning his eyes from the depth below¡£ he led him slowly on¡£
 until the widening of the road¡£ and the appearance of a few pines diminished the terror of the surrounding objects£¡Then?
 finding the road less dangerous£¬ he remounted? and was proceeding cautiously along the edge of the precipice!
 when he heard a voice behind him as calling for help£¡ Hastily dismounting£¡ and tying the animal to a jutting point of the rock£¿
 he returned to that chasm, which he had just passed with such tremendous difficulty! There he saw a mule standing quietly by the road side; but,
 so that he was obliged alone to attempt the fearful task of drawing the sufferer from his appalling situation, He unbound his sash, and! tying one end to the girth of the mule¡¯s saddle£¡
 with infinite difficulty¡£ he succeeded in hoisting up the poor wretch£¿ who£¡ white and wrinkled with fear,
 Castruccio soothed him with a gentle voice! and told him that now the worst part of the journey was over, and that they were about to descend by an easier path to the plain of Italy; where¡£
The man looked at him with a mixture of wonder£¿ and what might have been construed into contempt¡£ had his muscles£¿
 that these words were considered as a sufficient refutation to his assertion of the boasted charms of Italy£¿After resting until the unfortunate traveller had recovered health and life£¡
 for the path was too dangerous to admit of conversation£¡ Yet, when Castruccio dared take his eyes from the track of his horse¡¯s feet.
 he could not help examining curiously the companion fortune had given him. He was a man by whose dry and wrinkled face you might guess him to be nearly sixty years of age; and yet£¬
 by the agility and more youthful appearance of his person, he could not be more than forty, His eyes were small¡£
 He wore gilt spurs as a knight¡£ and£¡ carefully folded on his saddle before him! was a rich mantle edged with deep gold lace; he was clad in a close£¿
 strait dress of threadbare cloth£¿ with a kind of narrow trowsers made of common undressed sheep skin£¿
 which fastened with many knots and intersections round his legs; he had a large capuchin cloak wrapped about him¡£ made of coarse flannel. such as was called sclavina?
 because it was manufactured in Sclavonia! and was worn at that time by the poorest class of Italians£¿
 when, perceiving a house not far distant£¿ Castruccio¡¯s companion drew in his mule? and pointing to it£¿
 replied Castruccio. the moon will be up in half an hour¡£ and being but just past its full? we may£¿
 said his companion; its shadows are deep and fearful£¿ and its light not less dangerous; sometimes a beam cast from among trees across the road¡£
 will look like a running stream£¡ and its black shades may conceal the most frightful dangers? I dare not proceed by moonlight!
 and am unwilling to part company with you on this dreadful road¡£ I beg you to consent to pass the night at that house!I readily agree¡£
 called up by the shrill voice of the elder traveller. a man rolled himself out from his bed of dried leaves and sheep skins¡£ and opened the door£¡ Welcoming the travellers?
 or rather dormitory of dried leaves and the stalks of Indian corn£¬ was strewed along one side of the room. on which many both men and women lay,
 peeping out on the travellers from under their sheep skin coverings: there was no furniture£¬ except a rude bench! and a ruder table; the bare walls were black and falling down?
 while the sky peeped through many cracks in the roof£¡ The room was so filled with the stench of garlick and smoke£¬
 he told him. that having warmed for a few minutes his half frozen fingers¡£ and tasted the wine of the cottage¡£
 he would proceed with him down the mountain?The companion of Castruccio had not exaggerated the extreme danger of the road by moonlight, The frightened horses often refused to proceed£¿
 when? having passed the dangers of the journey£¬ the elder traveller, recovering his voice and recollection.
 rode up to Castruccio£¡ and asked him where he intended to rest after the toil he had undergone! Castruccio replied¡£ that he hoped to find an inn in the town¡£ and£¿ if not£¬
 he should apply to some monastery¡£ where he doubted not he should be provided with food and shelter for the following day and night!Sir£¿
 said his companion£¿ I am not a stranger in Susa, and have in particular one good old friend? Messer Tadeo della Ventura!
Nor will I refuse your offer; for soft couches will be welcome to my aching bones¡£ and good wine a pleasant cordial to my wearied spirits: therefore¡£
 Sir Knight¡£ I thank you heartily for your courtesy¡£MESSER Tadeo received his old friend with respect and friendship; and!
 near which taking his seat! Messer Tadeo invited the new comers to join several other friends of his£¿ who arranged themselves round the table£¿
 The rest of the company had departed; and these two were in earnest conversation! which they changed when Castruccio entered£¡After some time£¿ holding up his finger£¡
 and drawing down still longer the long wrinkles of his cheeks. the fellow ¡ª traveller of Castruccio¡£ in a mysterious manner¡£
 pronounced the word which had been given to the soldiers of Alberto Scoto, that they might distinguish one another during the darkness of night,
 easily divined that he had a fellow soldier£¬ and a friend of his chief£¬ in his strange travelling companion; so smiling£¬ he uttered the countersign£¡ and the other,
 turning on him? as if the ghost of one whom he had known many years before had risen before him£¡ hastily enquired¡£
 I had the honour of serving under the noble knight, Messer Alberto Scoto; and, in having rendered you a service£¡
 I am still more happy to find that I saved one who has fought under the same banners with myself.Is your name a secret,
I am of a noble Lucchese family; now exiled and wandering; my name is Castruccio Castracani dei Antelminelli.
Many compliments passed; and then the traveller said: This pleasant discovery has made friends of three who were before strangers; nor will I conceal from you. Messer Castruccio.
 which Castruccio easily guessed to be an admonition to be discreet in his disclosures. Tadeo replied to this sign by a nod?
 dined yesterday at my house; they had witnessed the entrance of the emperor into that city. The lord of Milan?
 at the head of an unarmed multitude£¡ went out to meet the emperor£¿ who had the Visconti in his train¡£ and all the Ghibelines!
 the old enemies of the Torre family, These are now reinstated in their possessions; yet Henry still pretends to impartiality, and in his march has restored all the exiles to their various towns£¬
 Cannot the emperor be animated by a generous policy? and wish to reconcile all parties by a just and fair proceeding£¬
Impossible! cried Pepi with energy; an emperor just! a prince impartial, Do not thrones rest upon dissentions and quarrels¡£
 And must there not be weakness in the people to create power in the prince! I prophesy; and as a discreet man I prophesy seldom¡£ yet I now securely foretell!
 that Henry will set all Italy by the ears, to reap the fruits of their dissentions£¬ He procures the recall of all the exiles ¡ª I admire his policy¡£
 worthy of being studied and understood by all who would reign, Can Ghibelines and Guelphs live within the walls of the same town£¬
 No more than one vessel can contain fire and water? No; the cities of Italy will be filled with brawls! and her rivers run blood£¬
 by means of this conjunction£¡ If he had meant to establish peace in Italy. he would have assassinated all of one party£¡ to secure the lives of the other; but to unite them£¬ is to destroy both£¡
 and under the mask of friendship to get into his own hands all that each has possessed.Pepi uttered this harangue with an energy and a vivacity that startled Castruccio; his black eyes sparkled£¡
 his brows became elevated. and drawing down the perpendicular wrinkles of his cheeks£¬ and contracting the horizontal ones of his forehead£¬
 Pavia£¬ Vercelli¡£ Novara and Lodi have resigned their tyrannies and given up the keys of their respective towns to Henry,
 Yet£¡ when the emperor marches south? we shall see these proud republicans bow their stiff knees,Never.
 cried Pepi; Bologna, Lucca and Sienna may submit; but Florence never will; they are stiff-kneed£¿ stiff-necked£¿
 and hate the name of emperor and master more than Pope Urban hated the house of Suabia£¿ These republicans.
 whom from my soul I detest£¡ have turned out the Ghibelines£¿ and are now fighting with the nobles¡£ and asserting the superiority of the vulgar¡£
 and pay thousands to purchase what would be a dear bargain even as a gift¡£ Their watchword is that echo of fools! and laughing stock of the wise, ¡ª Liberty£¡
 as a mouse at a bit of cheese: well would it be for the world£¿ if they found the same end; and, as the nibbling mouse pulls down the iron on his head, they!
 and his hopes of being by his means re-instated in his paternal estates, The evening wore away during these discussions! and they retired early to rest¡£
 The next morning Castruccio and Pepi took leave of Tadeo. and departed together on the road to Milan¡£For some time they rode along silently.
 Castruccio was overcome by a variety of feelings on again visiting Italian earth. Although? being winter¡£ the landscape was stripped bare! and its vineyards and corn-fields alike appeared waste£¬
 yet Castruccio thought that no country could vie with this in beauty? unless it were the plain of Lucca£¿ such as he remembered it£¬
 the last time he beheld it! then a child. standing on the summit of his father¡¯s palace, ¡ª girded by hills! and the many-towered city set as its heart in the midst¡£
 He longed for a companion to whom he could pour out his full heart; for his overflowing feelings had for a time swept away the many lessons of Alberto Scoto£¿ He forgot ambition!
 as a bee in the fragrant circle of a rose£¬ in the softest and most humane emotions; till£¬ half recovering£¡
 he blushed to find his eyes dim? and his cheek stained by the pure tears of his deep and unadulterated feeling£¬
 Turning hastily round, he was glad to observe his companion somewhat behind him! and he reined in his horse that he might approach,
 which were unmoved as he glanced his small bright eyes from side to side! while no other sign shewed that he felt or thought; his mouth shut close£¿
 and his ungainly horsemanship easily betraying the secret£¡ that his feats in arms must have been performed on foot£¬At length tired of silence,
 you seemed last night to groan under the weight of your hatred of the Florentines£¬ Now I have good reason to hate them, since by their means my party was exiled!
 and discover the secret motive of this question; but the frank and noble beauty of his fellow-traveller was such? that it even had an effect on this man¡¯s rigid soul; and. as he gazed on him!
 the hard lines of his face seemed to melt away? and he replied at first with gentleness; until! carried away by his subject?
 he poured forth the torrent of his hatred with a warmth£¬ strange to observe in one, who in calmer moments appeared more as a man made of wood or leather£¿
 than of flesh and blood:¡£My good friend£¿ you say true£¡ I hate the Florentines; yet I may well find it difficult to tell the cause; for neither have they wounded me,
 nor stolen my purse, nor done me any other great injury of the like nature; but I am a Ghibeline. and therefore I hate them£¡
 And who would not hate a people£¿ that despise the emperor! and all lawful authority; that have as it were dug up the buried form of Liberty£¿
 which died when Milan fell under the Visconti; who force their very nobles to become vulgar, and counts of the palace,
 and are not their streets strewed with the ruins of the palaces of the noble Ghibelines? Do they not one day undo the acts of the day before¡£
 and ever introduce more and more licence£¡ Now create every two months a set of magistrates£¡ who take all power out of the hands of the rich? and now a captain of the people?
 who protects and raises the vile multitude£¬ till every lord must cap to his shoemaker£¬ The example is what I abhor; are not Lucca. Bologna and Sienna free,
A disinterested love of the Imperial power causes these emotions¡£ In truth you are the warmest Ghibeline I ever knew£¬My friend¡£
 and the vulgar sink to their right station as slaves of the soil£¿ You will readily allow that war is the scourge of the world; now in free towns war has a better harvest£¿
 than where proper and legitimate authority is established£¡ During war neither our persons£¬ nor our lands¡£ nor our houses are in safety; we may be wounded in brawls£¿
 that the fortunes of the nobles of ancient Rome consisted in many hundreds of slaves¡£ whom they brought up to various trades and arts. and then let them out to work£¬
 or permitted them to keep shops and make money¡£ which the masters received! paying them a small sum for their necessary support£¿
 Methinks their numbers would panic ¡ª strike their two thousand drivers¡£Nay¡£ then we would display our whips.
Castruccio could not help being amused by the strange policy and earnest manners of the Italian lawgiver. and replied: But?
 Messer Benedetto£¡ I dispute your first proposition! and assert that there is as much war and bloodshed under kings?
 with a groan£¿ is the great fault that I find in the constitution of the world£¿ If the rich would only know their own interests, we might chain the monster! and again bury Liberty!
 But they are all fools; if the rich would agree£¬ if the few princes that there need exist in the world! would league in amity. instead of quarrelling¡£
 if reason had a trump as loud as that which will awaken us at the last day? the clash of arms of these senseless people would drown it£¿
 all Italy would now be on its knees before this Henry of Luxembourgh¡£ And one day this may be; mark my words; tyranny is a healthy tree,
 it strikes a deep root¡£ and each year its branches grow larger and larger£¬ and its shade spreads wider and wider!
 While liberty is a word. a breath? an air; it will dissipate! and Florence become as slavish as it is now rebellious; did not Rome fall?
 since the world began, I can easily imagine that states have risen and fallen; we are blind with regard to futurity£¡
 and methinks it is foolish to build for a longer term than a man¡¯s life£¡ Kingdoms are as fragile as a porcelain vessel tossed by the ocean; nay?
 so very weak are they. that even the stars¡£ those small! silly points of light? are said to rule them; and often£¬
 to sink them for ever; let us work for ourselves alone; we may be obscure or famous£¬ grovelling as the worm£¿
 or lofty as the kingly eagle, according as our desires sink or mount£¿Discoursing thus they arrived at Turin£¿
 and were again entertained by a merchant! the friend of Pepi! Here they found a numerous company, who all discoursed with warmth concerning the political state of Italy£¿
 and poured forth the most extravagant praises of the emperor Henry. He had passed two months in Piedmont.
 reconciling factions£¡ hearing complaints? and destroying the vexatious tyrannies of its petty lords.
 Pepi? not considering this a fit occasion to poison these sanguine hopes by his prophecies£¬ sat in silence with elevated brows and pressed lips£¡
 expressive of his gratitude? and the return he was willing to render for the benefit he had received; which was a welcome to his house and board. whenever his preserver should pass through Cremona!
 and am endeavouring to repair them by an oeconomical mode of life; I have no rich wines or soft couches£¿ and can neither afford to burn wax lights¡£ nor to eat delicate food£¿
 I have a good tower to my house; and£¬ now that I am a knight! I shall have a good horse in my stable; and that is all I have to boast£¡
 You seem to have no taste for coarse fare or hard beds; and therefore my dwelling would in no manner be agreeable to you¡£Castruccio thanked him!
Castruccio rode on gaily towards Milan; the cheerless wintry sky and the cold air could not tame his buoyant spirits or his hopes? He panted for action£¬
 for distinction¡£ and for power; yet he no longer desired these things as a boy£¬ unknowing of the road which led to them!
 During the interval which he had spent in England and France¡£ he had studied human nature with the observant eye of genius; and.
 all careless as he appeared to be? he had learned how to please the multitude! how to flatter the foibles of the noble,
Chapter 7!AFTER several days travelling£¬ he arrived at Milan; and his first care was to hasten to the palace of Matteo Visconti! This chief was gone to the meeting of the senate?
 surrounded by all the young Ghibeline nobility of Milan? It was a scene of gaiety and splendour. The young nobles were preparing to attend on the emperor in a royal hunt£¿
 was curled and fell down as far as the shoulders; they wore different kinds of caps£¬ some flat and adorned with plumes of feathers£¬
 others high and pointed. and the lower part twisted round with pearls fastened with a rich broach; most of them held a falcon on his fist£¡ or caressed a favourite hound!
 or vaunted the prowess of a noble steed£¡ There were many ladies in company who seemed to vie with their male companions in luxury of dress¡£ Their gowns were made of the same costly stuffs£¬
 and ornamented with greater profusion of precious stones; their wide sleeves which fell almost to the ground were edged with pearls, while underneath¡£
 as the most courteous cavalier of the country! was well versed in all the politeness of the age? Castruccio was provided with a beautiful horse!
 they quitted the city at the eastern gate£¬ and dividing into various parties! spread themselves abroad in search of game.
 The Germans followed the dogs through the open country! chasing down foxes and hares; while the Italians£¡ who were dressed for gala£¿
 and would not risk their fine silks among the brambles and impediments of the fields£¿ were content with unmuffling their falcons when they saw game aloft.
 who had separated himself from the rest! now rode up to him; and they entered into a conversation together£¡
 throbbing with distrust and fear? are concealed under the apparent gaiety of these hunters! We Milanese are full of dissentions and ambition; and I, as a chief among them£¡
 have my head well loaded with care and doubt, while I follow this joyous train with my falcon on my fist¡£
 In a few days the game will be up; and we shall see what power the Visconti or the Della Torre will have over Lombardy¡£ At present wait£¡ The emperor is expecting supplies of money,
 and father of the unhappy Francesca of Rimini¡£ These nobles had assembled at Milan. to be present at the coronation of the emperor?
 Castruccio was struck by the countenance of the youth who rode near the empress! He was dressed with a profusion of magnificence; at his back he wore a gilt quiver studded with gems!
As they re-entered the gates of the town, the trains of the emperor and empress joined; and, Arrigo falling back among the nobles£¬
 and whispered. Does the son of Guinigi forget me£¬ does he forget the farm among the Euganean hills?
They rode away from the company? and entered the town by more lonely streets£¿ Castruccio saw by the looks of his young friend£¡
 that his worst fears were true. and that Guinigi was dead; and Arrigo easily read in Castruccio¡¯s face that he was thinking of his father, At length he said: My brother!
 if so you will permit me to call you£¬ a year has now passed since I was left an orphan; ten months ago I quitted my happy life among the hills£¡
 dear brother¡£ I read in your earnest looks all that you would say; be assured we shall never part again.
 and entered into an anxious detail of what would be the prospects and probable fate of the young Arrigo. when he!
 and the torrent of impressive words that he poured forth£¡ were uttered with a voice deep and tender£¡
 filling the air as it were with a harmony sweeter than any earthly music£¿ I listened£¿ till I became almost as a statue with attention; and as he either exhorted to virtue¡£
 or described the evils of my country£¬ or marked forth the glorious or peaceful path that I might pursue? I felt my countenance change?
 as I have seen a cloud vary as it passes before the moon£¿ now£¡ as it advances£¿ beaming in a silver light!
 whose dazzling light was softened by the dark foliage through which it passed; and he slept never to wake again£¡Oh? what I then suffered! when our friends crowded round.
 But all that is passed; and now I should again feel the elasticity of youth£¬ but that I was£¡ until you returned,
But the effects of the Milanese revolt were not so easily removed£¬ The various Guelph towns of Lombardy£¬ Crema.
 and reaped from their unseasonable resistance an increase of those vexations which had caused their revolt£¬ Henry marched against Cremona£¬
 the Ghibelines surrendered to the emperor; who, unmollified by their submission£¬ punished his own innocent partizans£¬ sending them to cruel prisons£¡
Castruccio entered Cremona at the head of his little troop£¡ and beheld with dismay the cruel effects of the conquest of the emperor over this city!
 Most of the German soldiers were busy in destroying the fortifications. or in compelling the peasants and citizens to raze the walls of their town¡£ Other parties were ranging about the streets.
 entering the palaces? whose rich furniture they destroyed£¡ by feasting, and tearing down from the walls all that had the appearance of gold or silver¡£
 The cellars were broken open; and! after inebriating themselves with the choice wines of Italy! the unruly¡£ but armed bands were in a better mood for oppressing the defenceless people.
 Some of these poor wretches fled to the open country; others locked themselves up in their houses. and£¡
 throwing what they possessed from the windows? strove to save their persons from the brutality of their conquerors!
 Many of the noble females took refuge in the meanest cottages? and disguised themselves in poor clothing£¬
 or brutal address of the soldiers! they escaped to the country. and remained exposed to hunger and cold among the woods that surrounded the town£¡
 Others£¡ with their hair dishevelled! their dresses in disorder, careless of the eyes which gazed on them£¿
 followed their husbands and fathers to their frightful prisons? some in mute despair, many wringing their hands£¡ and crying aloud for mercy! As night came on¡£
 the soldiery£¡ tired of rapine. went to rest in the beds from which the proprietors were remorselessly banished: silence prevailed; a dreadful silence¡£
 demanding food and wine! and on the slightest shew of resistance hurrying their victims to prison£¬ or binding them in their own houses with every aggravation of insult,
Castruccio divided his little band. and sent his men to the protection of several of the palaces, while he and Arrigo rode all night about the town; and.
 having the watchword of the emperor! they succeeded in rescuing some poor wretches from the brutality of the insolent soldiers£¿
 sitting on the steps of their paternal palaces? within which the military rioted in plenty; childless parents£¬ mourning their murdered babes; orphans£¬
 helpless, dying. whose parents could no longer soothe or relieve them! Castruccio¡£ though a soldier?
 wept; but Arrigo£¬ who had never before witnessed the miseries of war¡£ became almost frenzied with the excess of his compassion and indignation; he poured forth curses loud and bitter£¿
 he dispatched the youth with a letter to Galeazzo Visconti£¬Returning to the town£¡ Castruccio saw a figure pass along at the end of the street¡£
 said Castruccio to himself! you will find the pillage of the Germans a tremendous evil£¿ Well; as I restored your life once, I will now try!
He enquired of a passenger for the house of Benedetto Pepi, If you mean Benedetto the Rich¡£ if any can now be called rich in this miserable city¡£ replied the man¡£
 to be called the poor; lead me however to Benedetto the Rich; and if he be a tall£¬ gaunt figure with a wrinkled?
 leathern face, he is the man for whom I enquire£¿Castruccio was conducted to a palace in the highest and most commanding part of the town?
 built of large blocks of stone? and apparently firm and solid enough to bear a siege£¿ The windows were few£¿
 small, grated and sunk deep in the wall; it had a high tower£¡ whose port-holes shewed that it was of uncommon strength and thickness; a parapet built with turrets surrounded it at the top!
 and in every respect the mansion resembled more a castle£¬ than a palace! The entrance was dark; and£¬
 and the entrance free¡£ Castruccio advanced: there were two large halls on the ground ¡ª floor. on each side of the entrance-court; both were filled with German soldiers; they were high!
 he left his wine barrel. and invited him into another room! for they could hardly distinguish each other¡¯s voices amidst the shouts and tumult of the rude feasters?
 They ascended the steep narrow stairs; and, Castruccio complaining of want of light£¿ Pepi said: Let us go to the top of my tower; the sun has been set about ten minutes? and£¡
 When he came near Castruccio? he said: Those German ruffians are now eating and drinking£¡ and will not mark us; yet let us tread lightly? for I have admitted none of them to my tower?
 nor is it my intention to do so. It is a place of strength; and the little I have in the world is preserved here£¡ which little in spite of the emperor and his devils I will preserve¡£
Although the tower had appeared large without! yet its walls were so thick that there was only room left within for a small circular staircase; at the top of this Pepi undrew the bolts!
 pushed up a trap-door! and they ascended to the platform on the outside! The sky was darkening; but the west was tinged with a deep orange colour£¿
 At length the former said; An evil star pursues you£¿ Messer Benedetto£¿ and I am afraid that you were born in the descent of some evil constellation£¬
Your palace is wasted by these ruffians¡£Nay! there is nothing to waste; the walls are too thick to be hurt, and I removed every thing else before they came.
 They bring their rapine here; I send my squire for wood¡£ wherever he can collect it; I make a fire!
 I have a well built palace? and a strong tower; but I can neither eat the stones! nor clothe myself with the plaster; and. God knows.
 if you are poor. replied Castruccio£¡ your unfortunate townsmen share your misfortunes£¡ Their habitations are pillaged; those that escape the ravage of the emperor?
 are driven out¡£ starving and miserable! from the only dwellings! be they palaces or cottages¡£ which they possess,
 many are fallen; but not so low ¡ª not so low: they have still lands. they are not quite destitute£¿ and the dead have heirs ¡ª .
 heirs to famine and indignity; unhappy orphans? far more miserable than if they had died with those who gave them birth£¬
 The first party of Germans that broke into the town£¿ seized upon my horse£¿ and my squire¡¯s gelding: I must buy others when our enemies are gone£¡
 to keep up the honour of my knighthood, But¡£ enough of this? You£¿ Messer Castruccio¡£ have a troop of Italians£¿ horsemen.
 or follow the emperor south£¿Events are now my masters; soon I hope to rule them? but at present I shall be guided by accident,
 and at length said£¬ half to himself; No; this is not the time; events are as yet unripe; this siege has done much¡£
 but I must still delay; ¡ª well£¬ Messer Castruccio. at present I will not reveal some circumstances£¿ which!
 perhaps when you least expect it£¡ we shall meet again; and if Benedetto of Cremona be not exactly what he seems¡£
 farewell! You came to offer your services to save my palace; I am a prudent man¡£ and ordered my affairs so!
 that it ran no risk; yet I am indebted to you for this, and for your other generous act in my behalf; a time may come when we shall know one another better£¬
 Again farewell?This speech was delivered with a grave and mysterious mien£¡ and a face that signified careful thought and important expectations£¿ When he had ended!
 Pepi opened the trap-door¡£ and he and Castruccio descended slowly down the now benighted staircase into the court of the palace: here they again interchanged salutations¡£
 and parted¡£ Pepi joined his boisterous guests. and Castruccio rode towards the camp of the emperor?
 and treated his friends as if they had been his enemies¡£ Castruccio therefore resolved to separate himself from the Imperial army; and£¬ when Henry quitted Lombardy for Genoa¡£
 his journey to Rome; where£¬ the Vatican being in the hands of the contrary party. he was crowned in the Lateran¡£ And then£¬
 he returned to Tuscany£¬ made an unsuccessful attack upon Florence, and retired to the neighbourhood of Sienna£¬
 as when he entered it two years before?During this long contest Florence was the head and heart of the resistance made against the emperor£¬ Their detestation of the Imperial power£¬
Pisa had always been constant to the Ghibelines? and friendly to the emperor; by his death they found themselves thrown almost without defence into the hands of the Florentines!
 raising its benign influence over the other Tuscan states¡£ would have been the peace-maker of Italy?
 for which they might be unprepared, had engaged in their service a condottiere£¡ Uguccione della Faggiuola!
 who with his troop of a thousand Germans? took on him the guard of their city£¬ War was the trade of Uguccione; he therefore looked with dismay on the projected peace£¡ and resolved to disturb it,
 The populace of the Italian towns£¿ ranged under party names? and ever obedient to the watchword and signals of their party£¡
 while the more moderate among them had advanced far in the negotiating of a peace¡£ Uguccione caused live eagles£¡ the ensigns of the Ghibelines?
 to be carried through the streets; and the cry of? Treason from the Guelphs£¬ was the rallying word of fury to the populace?
 This active chieftain lost no time in his operations; he marched against the Lucchese£¬ the allies of Florence? ravaged their country,
 brought them to terms! and made peace with them on condition of their recalling their Ghibeline exiles£¬The three years which these events occupied were spent by Castruccio in Lombardy£¡
 He made each year a campaign under one or another of the Ghibeline lords of that territory? and passed the winter at Milan£¬
 often employed in mutual good ¡ª offices one for the other¡£ their affection became stronger; and it was as disinterested and generous as it was firm,
 and to make him regard treachery and cruelty as venial faults¡£ He had no saving passion! which by its purity and exalted nature.
 although it permitted him to forgive£¬ would make him avoid the faults of Galeazzo, Ambition was the ruling feeling of his soul; an ambition for power£¡
 cannot live at the same period as its parent? but springs from his ashes with the strong pinions of immortal being£¡It was this aspiring disposition which strongly recommended him to Galeazzo£¿
 and swift of action; in council he was as prudent and cautious as a grey-haired minister of state: at balls¡£ or during a hunting party£¿ he recommended himself by grace!
 His face expressed extreme frankness. a frankness that did not exist in his mind; for his practices among the wily chiefs of Lombardy had robbed him of all ingenuousness of soul.
 and one more step should be taken towards the final establishment of the Ghibeline ascendancy£¡After arranging this scheme£¬
 assumed a warlike appearance. and endeavoured to force the gate of San Frediano; the Guelphs opposed him, and battle ensued!
 In the mean time Uguccione arrived in another direction¡£ and? not finding free entrance at any of the gates£¡ began to batter the wall. The Guelphs?
 headed by Castruccio? considered Uguccione as their ally¡£ and thought not of impeding his operations; indeed they were fully employed in resisting their adversaries¡£ who, though worsted¡£
Uguccione thought no more of his promises to Castruccio¡£ and both parties in Lucca were oppressed alike£¡
 Nor did he again betray the confidence of his fellow citizens; but! entering into Uguccione¡¯s counsels! and assuming a tone of power which this chieftain could not resist£¿
 it was looked upon with far different eyes by states who? hating the Pisan Tyrant! and too distant to be acquainted with all the palliating circumstances£¿
 While he lived, she had confined herself almost entirely to his room! and serving as eyes to his blinded sense¡£
 she was as faithful to his wants as his own orbs had been before their light was quenched£¡ After his death she mingled more with the distinguished youth of Florence!
 if we may judge from the indications that Dante gives in his prose works! and from the tender and exquisite poetry of Petrarch!
 was as refined£¡ delicate and cultivated£¡ as the best society amidst the boasted politeness of the present day£¬
 Yet among the youth of Florence Euthanasia was as a lily£¡ that overlooks the less illustrious yet beautiful flowers of a garden£¿ Her beauty.
 the glowing brilliancy of her ardent yet tempered imagination, made her the leader of the little band to which she belonged. It is said,
 that as Dante sighed for Beatrice¡£ so several of the distinguished youths of Florence fed on the graceful motions and sweet words of this celestial girl¡£
 while the bright sun warmed the valleys, and threw its beams over the mountains£¿ or when the silver boat of the moon. which displayed in the clear air its heavy lading,
 quitting the eternal£¡ ever-succeeding pages of nature¡¯s volume? she pored over the works she had before read with her father? or the later written poetry of Dante£¬
 and so kind! that her assistance was perpetually claimed and afforded in every little misfortune or difficulty of her friends?But the age of thoughtlessness and fearless enjoyment passed away£¬
 she was as a queen in Valperga and the surrounding villages; at Florence she was considered one of its first citizens; and¡£ if power, wealth and respect could have satisfied her,
 she must have been happy¡£ She had wept bitterly the death of her relations; she grieved for the loss of her brothers. and felt only pain at being advanced to their place!
 In the winter she visited her friends of that town; and many a noble£¿ who hoped to rival Dante Alighieri or Guido Cavalcanti£¿
 sang of the miraculous change of seasons that had been operated on his city; ¡ª that their summers were dreary£¬ bare?
 which could finally break down the barriers piled by reason and accustomed coldness¡£ and deluge her soul with the sweet waters of earthly love.She had just entered her twenty-second year£¡
 when Castruccio in 1314 returned to Lucca; when under his auspices£¡ the greatest enemy of Florence became master of the neighbour city; when war was declared between the two states£¡
 and Castruccio was in arms against the Florentines, The summer was now far advanced; and she hastened to her solitude at Valperga?
 why the name of Castruccio made her cheeks glow; and why praise or dispraise of him seemed to electrify her frame: why a nameless inquietude pervaded her thoughts, before so calm: why.
 tenderly as she dwelt on the recollection of her infant playmate. she dreaded so much now to see him£¿ And then. strange to say£¬ being thus agitated and fearful£¬
 she saw him; and calm more still than the serene depths of a windless heaven¡£ redescended on her soul!
 and wrapped it in security and joy,It was not until October£¬ while Euthanasia still lingered at Valperga.
 but highly discontented with Uguccione who feared him£¡ and£¡ while he shewed him outward honour, took every occasion to thwart his desires.
 and harassed; but all the Ghibeline youth of Lucca made it their boast to attend the person? and partake the counsels of Castruccio,
The winter months were spent in apparent idleness. but in reality in deep plotting on the part of Castruccio. Uguccione was at Pisa£¿ and his son,
 He saw his frank countenance£¬ and watched his gay demeanour; but the conclusion of his observations was¡£
 they remained silent? Castruccio was separated from the rest of the group; the tower of Antelminelli overlooked the town of Lucca£¬ and being raised far above its narrow,
 crowned with snow¡£ and their sides clothed with the dark verdure of the ilex¡£ while from among their folds peeped the white walls of villages and castles£¿
 and it seemed to him as if the slender fingers of the infant Euthanasia pressed his hand£¡ He turned suddenly round£¬ and asked: Does she still live there£¿
Aye£¡ and her daughter Euthanasia? Many years had elapsed since he had pronounced that name; he felt his whole frame thrill to its musical sound.
And her name is Euthanasia? continued count Ludovico de¡¯ Fondi; she is the daughter of Messer Antonio dei Adimari£¬
 It is not well¡£ that the credulity of a woman, who will listen to the first fine speeches that are addressed her£¬
 should cause so strong a hold as the castle of Valperga to pass into the hands of that insufferable nest of traitors?You are ignorant of whom you talk. said the aged Fondi,
 she glories in her independence and solitude? She mingles little with the citizens of this town; her friends reside at Florence, where she often passes many months£¡
 if you apply common rules to the conduct of the countess Euthanasia! She is attached to the cause of the freedom of Florence¡£ and not to the power of her Popes£¿
 ¡®I am more attached to concord and the alliance of parties£¬ than to any of the factions which distract our poor Italy!¡¯" ¡ª?The conversation then turned on other subjects£¬
 Castruccio had listened silently to the praise which the old count Fondi had bestowed on the friend of his childhood; and presently after, taking Arrigo aside! he said: My young friend?
 if you desire it. my dear lord ¡ª?Nay! this is a shorter journey£¡ You must ride tomorrow morning to the castle of Valperga£¿
 and ask permission of the countess that I may visit her£¿ Our families£¿ though of opposite interests!
 were much allied; and I ought to have sought this interview before,On the following day Castruccio waited anxiously for the return of Arrigo!
 I wonder at the torpor of these Lucchese that they do not all emigrate from their town. to go and surround her castle£¿ and gaze on her all day long¡£
 I have heard you say. my good brother, that you never met with a woman whom you could enshrine in your inmost heart!
 and thus pay worship to the exalted spirit of loveliness? which you had vainly sought! and never found, Go to Valperga£¿ and£¿ gazing on Euthanasia!
 Does she consent to receive me,Yes£¿ she desires to see you; and with the most ingenuous sweetness£¿ she bade me tell you the pleasure it would give her£¬
THIS is a well known road to me. thought Castruccio! as he rode across the plain of Lucca towards the hills of the Baths; there is still that mountain?
 There on that hill stands the old sheep-cot, in which I once took refuge during a storm; there is the castle of the Fondi?
 which he had forgotten for so many years! and with which he had been most intimately acquainted. The peculiar form of the branches of a tree£¬ the winding of an often-trod mountain-path£¿
 casting a deep shade; and projected£¬ forming a precipice on three sides; the northern side¡£ at the foot of which the Secchio flowed.
 yellow£¬ and brown£¡ and red¡£ were strewed on the shining leaves of the myrtle underwood? The path was steep.
 leaving room only for a small plot of ground. which overlooked the plain£¬ and was guarded by a barbican; and on which a few trees. dark ilexes. and light acacias¡£
 mingled their contrasted foliage, Behind the castle the mountain rose£¿ barren and nearly perpendicular; and¡£ when you looked up£¡
 Castruccio entered the gate on the side of the drawbridge£¿ and passed between the main building and the barbican which guarded the pass; so coming round to the front of the castle£¬
 A large fireplace£¬ now illumined by a blazing fire! gave an air of cheerfulness to the hall; several serving-men. and two large and beautiful dogs.
 through which Castruccio passed into an inner£¬ open court of the castle¡£This court was surrounded by gothic cloisters on all sides except one?
 where the huge mountain formed the barrier: high. near the summit of the rock? grew a few cypresses; and£¿
 On one side of this court was a handsome staircase built of the marble of Carrara£¬ and by this he ascended into the audience chamber?
 and the pavement was of mosaic; the couches were richly embroidered£¡ and a small table of verde antique stood in the middle of the room! In the recesses were several stands for books£¿
 on which were placed finely embossed gold vases£¿ filled with such flowers as the season afforded. But, amidst all this luxury£¿ the richest ornament of the room was the lovely possessor herself£¿
 when she saw him£¬ beautiful as a god£¿ power and love dwelling on every feature of his countenance?
 and in every motion of his graceful form? the unquiet beatings of her heart ceased£¡ and she became calm and happy. And was she not also beautiful,
 Her form was light! and every limb was shaped according to those rules by which the exquisite statues of the ancients have been modelled£¡ A quantity of golden hair fell round her neck,
 She was dressed according to the custom of the times? yet her dress was rather plain£¡ being neither ornamented with gold nor jewels; a silk vest of blue reached from her neck to her feet£¿
 girded at the waist by a small embroidered band; the wide and hanging sleeves were embroidered at the edge. and fell far over her hands¡£ except when£¿ thrown back.
 ¡ª not to draw him over to her party¡£ ¡ª but to shew how futile that distinction and enmity were. if one love of peace and good animated all hearts.
 She wished also to read his mind! to know if the love of liberty lived there? Euthanasia had this foible¡£
 if indeed it might be called one in her£¬ to love the very shadow of freedom with unbounded enthusiasm£¬
 and all appeared wise and good that came from her lips? Often her gentle eloquence would for a while carry him along with it£¿ and he would talk of republics,
 and to the many anecdotes that she dwelt upon as demonstrating the power and grandeur of her beloved Florence,Nor were their conversations only political!
 Castruccio related his adventures, and Euthanasia was never weary of listening to the details of the English and French courts and manners; two systems of society, so widely opposite to each other£¡
 found them vowed friends, each believing to be knit to the other for life with the strongest ties of enduring love£¿
Euthanasia said that she loved for the first time£¿ and a falsehood had never stained her purest soul; a well of intensest and overflowing passion was opened in her heart; every feeling was softened?
 every emotion modulated by this change: she was penetrated with love; and, admiration and esteem forming but a part of this? she made a god of him she loved£¿
 believing every virtue and every talent to live in his soul£¬ Thus£¬ unrestrained by any latent fear or ungenerous suspicion? she gave up her heart to him£¿
 and was for a while happy£¡ They passed much time together; and every day each made a discovery of some new excellence.
 where wit sharpens wit? and the ideas of one mind seem to cause the birth of the children of another£¡ But£¿
 generous and fearless; therefore she instantly believed and trusted; while the master ¡ª passions which ever ruled her life were not forgotten. but£¬
 one of the last before their parting, Euthanasia related to Castruccio the few events of her peaceful life which had occurred since their separation ten years before¡£
 as is my custom£¡ I try to define and understand them£¡ Love? when nurtured by sympathy. is a stronger feeling£¡
 than those breathless emotions which arise from the contemplation of what is commonly called inanimate nature! and of the wondrous and eternal changes of the universe; and.
 and even shuddered! when I thought that an unknown power was about to dwell in my soul£¡ which might make it blind to its former delights£¬
 and deaf to the deep voice of that nature¡£ whose child and nursling I call myself, But now I doubt no more; I am yours¡£ Castruccio; be my fortune tearful or smiling?
 it shall be one that will bring with it human sympathy. and I resign that savage liberty of which I was ere while jealous?
You have asked me to relate the events of my life; I may say that it is a blank! if you would not hear the history of many a strange idea! many an exalted feeling?
 it is to his lessons that I owe this good£¡ It is he who taught me to fathom my sensations£¬ and discipline my mind; to understand what my feelings were.
 and whether they arose from a good or evil source, He taught me to look on my own faults fearlessly; humbly as a weak being ¡ª yet not with mock humility£¡ but with a modest.
 He explained to me the lessons of our divine master; which our priests corrupt to satisfy the most grovelling desires; and he taught me to seek in self-approbation, and in a repentance?
 which was that of virtuous action£¡ and not of weeping¡£ for the absolution of which they make a revenue£¡Do I speak with vanity£¡
 I hope that you do not so far mistake me? I have been a solitary being; and, conversing with my own heart£¡
 I have been so accustomed to use the frank language of a knowledge drawn from fixed principles? and to weigh my actions and thoughts in those scales which my reason and my religion afforded me!
 who bore affinity to these far shining beacons of the earth: but my father convinced me£¡ that the world was shaking off her barbaric lethargy£¡
 and that Florence. in her struggle for freedom¡£ had awakened the noblest energies of the human mind£¬ Once£¬ when we attended a court in Lombardy,
 a minstrel sang some of the Cantos of Dante¡¯s Divina Comedia, and I can never forget the enthusiastic joy I experienced¡£
 from the repetition of these Cantos of Dante¡¯s poem? The Romans£¬ whose writings I adored£¡ were free; a Greek who once visited us.
 had related to us what treasures of poetry and wisdom existed in his language, and these were the productions of freemen: the mental history of the rest of the world who are slaves.
 as I worshipped wisdom as the pure emanation of the Deity£¿ the divine light of the world£¬ so did I adore liberty as its parent!
 and that operation of the elements of our mind? which as it were gives us the force and power that hinder us from degenerating£¬
 And what would not this world become? if every man might learn from its institutions the true principles of life! and become as the few which have as yet shone as stars amidst the night of ages£¬
 have caused the growth of an enthusiasm in my soul! which can only die when I die£¿I was at this time but sixteen; and at that age?
 unless I had been guided by the lessons of my father, my meditations would have been sufficiently fruitless£¡
 pouring out accents that commanded attention and obedience¡£ At first I believed! that my heart was good£¿
 and that by following its dictates I should not do wrong; I was proud. and loved not to constrain my will, though I myself were the mistress; but he told me.
 that either my judgement or passions must rule me? and that my future happiness and usefulness depended on the choice I made between these two laws£¿
 I learned from him to look upon events as being of consequence only through the feelings which they excited£¿ and to believe that content of mind?
 love£¡ and benevolent feeling ought to be the elements of our existence; while those accidents of fortune or fame£¿ which to the majority make up the sum of their existence£¡
 a honey of wisdom on which I fed until I attained my eighteenth year; and then he died, What I felt£¡
 She was a lady with a kind heart£¬ and a humanity and equanimity of temper few could surpass¡£ She was a Guelph£¬
 the conduct of allies£¬ and the fortune of her enemies: while she talked to you£¿ you would have thought that the whole globe of the earth was merely an appendage to the county of Valperga£¡
 She was acquainted with all the magistrates of Florence£¡ the probabilities of elections¡£ the state of the troops! the receipt of imposts!
 and every circumstance of the republic¡£ She was interested in the most lively manner in the fall of Corso Donati!
 a brave man£¿ full of ambition and party spirit; and a new field was opened to my mother¡¯s politics by him?
 when he detailed the intrigues of the Neapolitan court; she was for ever occupied in sending messengers¡£ receiving dispatches? calculating imposts£¡ and all the pygmy acts of a petty state.
When I was nineteen years of age, we heard that my younger brother had fallen ill at Rome£¡ and desired to see some one of his family,
 what long draughts of joy I drank in on that journey£¡ I did not think that my brother¡¯s illness was dangerous£¡
 and indeed considered that circumstance more as the pretext¡£ than the object of my journey; so I fearlessly gave myself up to the enthusiasm that deluged my soul. Expression lags?
 When I descended the hills of the Abruzzi. and first saw the Tiber rolling its tranquil waters glistening under the morning sun; I wept; ¡ª why did not Cato live,
 I was about to approach the shadow of Rome! the inanimate corse! the broken image of what was once great beyond all power of speech to express.
 My enthusiasm again changed; and I felt a kind of sacred horror run through my veins! Thou. oh¡£ Tiber! ever rollest£¬ ever and for ever the same!
 A procession of monks passed by chaunting in a sweet and solemn tone¡£ in that language which once awoke the pauses of this Roman air with words of fire£¬
 and we entertained every hope of his recovery¡£ I spent my life among the ruins of Rome; and I felt£¿ as I was told that I appeared to be.
 rather a wandering shade of the ancient times£¡ than a modern Italian, In my wild enthusiasm I called on the shadows of the departed to converse with me.
 and to prophesy the fortunes of awakening Italy! I can never forget one evening that I visited the Pantheon by moonlight: the soft beams of the planet streamed through its open roof£¡
 and its tall pillars glimmered around! It seemed as if the spirit of beauty descended on my soul¡£ as I sat there in mute ecstasy; never had I before so felt the universal graspings of my own mind£¿
 my cheeks glow. but words are denied me£¡ I feel as it were my own soul at work within me! and surely£¬ if I could disclose its secret operations!
 and the heats of the day had subsided£¡ I stole out into the air to refresh my wearied spirits¡£ There is no sky so blue as that of Rome; it is deep.
 penetrating£¡ and dazzling: but at this hour it had faded£¿ and its soft airs£¡ that made wild and thrilling music among the solitudes of its hills and ruins¡£ cooled my fevered cheeks£¬
 it brings a certain consolation along with it: I was never so much alive as then, when my wanderings£¡
 which seldom exceeded one or at most two hours. seemed to be lengthened into days and weeks£¬ I loved to wander by the banks of the Tiber? which were solitary£¿
 thy towers were illuminated by the orange tints of the fast-departing sunset£¬ and the ghosts of lovely memories floated with the night breeze¡£
 among thy ruins; I became calm; amidst a dead race£¡ and an extinguished empire£¡ what individual sorrow would dare raise its voice£¿ subdued, trembling£¿
 on which my intellectual eye rests with emotion¡£ pleasurable now. although I then endured poignant sorrow£¡
 When I arrived! I was met by my mother at our palace in Florence; she burst into tears as she folded me in her arms£¬
 and alas. I soon shed them alone; doubly an orphan through her death£¿ I mourned over the last of my family!
 astounded me; and I passed many months. as one who had wandered from the true path¡£ and had no guide to set her right£¡
 and joined the army of Uguccione against the Florentines, He took leave of his lady; yet she neither tied the scarf around him£¬
 sought for new emotions. or exalted those that were before felt, until each sentiment became a passion.
 She would have been still more unhappy? could she have anticipated the event of the campaign£¡Uguccione engaged himself in the siege of the castle of Monte Catini; and the Florentines£¡
 he galloped to the front of the lines, he threw off his casque that he might be distinguished! and¡£
 bidding the trumpets sound! he led his troops to a fresh assault, His army was drawn out on the plain!
 and every eye was turned upwards towards the castle£¿ which£¿ situated on the height of a steep hill£¬
 and saw above the high seated castle that he must storm; he saw the closely set ranks of the enemy; he beheld all this with one glance! one feeling quicker than a look,
 ¡ª tears ¡ª tears of high and uncontrollable emotion, filled his eyes¡£ as he dashed through the ranks of the enemy¡£ and cried£¡
 he threw himself from his horse£¡ his troop followed his example; he called on them by the names of father and brother to follow his steps£¿ Go on, they cried?
 go on£¡ And they broke through all the impediments placed to impede their ascent! and were seen in close array?
 and first displayed the Ghibeline banner from the walls of the castle of Monte Catini; while! his cheek pale with pain? and his limbs trembling from loss of blood,
 it seemed almost as if his own death would seal the bloody conquest. The Florentines sustained irreparable loss; their general! the son of the king of Naples,
 fell? The loss is compared by the Florentine historians to the defeat of Cann!; and many years elapsed before Florence could fill up the gap among her citizens made by the havoc of that day,
 ¡ª she made a deep and tremendous vow! never to ally herself to the enemy of Florence: and then£¬ somewhat calmed in soul,
 though ever sorrowing£¿ she waited for the return of Castruccio to Lucca£¿ so to learn if he could clear himself£¬
 and of shutting him out from her sight£¿ if possible from her thoughts; yet, as she meditated this£¬ she thought she heard the soft tones of his melodious voice sounding in her ears¡£
 and she sank into grief and tears?This painful struggle ceased not, until she saw him again; and then,
 as before? all pain and doubt vanished£¿ His cheek was pale from the consequences of his wound£¿ and his person!
 and they beamed unutterable love upon her. Truly did he look a hero; for power sat on his brow? and victory seemed to have made itself a home among the smiles of his lips£¡ Triumph? my sweet girl£¡
 that my wise and gentle Euthanasia shall direct my counsels! her love and honour being the aim and purpose of my life¡£Upon such words could aught but pardon and reconciliation attend?
 he was attended by a band of the first nobles in Lucca£¡ To his other talents Castruccio joined a vein of raillery and bitter irony, which£¿
 The truth had been sufficient to awaken the suspicions of a man. whose rule it was never to permit an enemy to live; but the colouring that Ranieri gave to the affair!
 and that the next messenger might bring intelligence of the death of his adversary.This direction filled Ranieri with unwonted joy; it smoothed the wrinkles of his brow.
 which was returned by a sullen scowl; while Ranieri manifested an alternation of gaiety and uneasiness£¡ which his art could not entirely conceal£¡
 the followers of Antelminelli crowded about him; but he bade them fall back¡£ and with a haughty step? and a smile of conscious superiority,
 their hands on their swords, watched every motion of their respective chiefs during this unexpected parley,
 Had not Ranieri¡¯s character for artifice been impressed on every mind. his appearance might now have lulled suspicion; ¡ª he smiled!
 Do you suppose that my father forgets your services in his cause£¿ or that he does not pray for an opportunity of shewing his gratitude£¿ Evil reports¡£ I own?
 and I am the cause of it¡£ I freely ask your pardon for any offence I may have given you¡£ and request£¿ as the seal of our reconciliation?
 Castruccio drew back, and replied; My poor services£¬ my lord£¿ were offered to my country; from her I hope for gratitude. from your father I neither deserve nor expect this meed.
 It were as well perhaps not to attempt to mix jarring elements; but, since you offer hospitality. I will freely accept it; for.
Before the hour for the banquet had arrived£¬ Castruccio rode to the castle of Valperga! and related the occurrence to Euthanasia?
 She listened attentively£¬ and then said: There is some deep plot in this; I know Neri della Faggiuola; he is at once cowardly¡£ artful£¡
 or any other friendly overture that may follow, is only a snare in which it is expected that you will entangle yourself£¿Fear not.
 a very short time before the hour fixed for the banquet£¿ he had sent messages to the friends of Castruccio. and under various pretexts?
 Castruccio observed this¡£ and felt that all was not right; yet not for a moment did the expression of his physiognomy change£¬ or his frank demeanour betray any sign of suspicion?
 It was not then the custom£¡ as in the more barbarous society of France and England£¡ to attend peaceful meetings as if armed for mortal combat; and Castruccio was unarmed¡£
 to the overthrow of the enemies of Faggiuola£¬These words were the signal agreed upon with his soldiers; they suddenly entered¡£
 endeavoured to secure him, Twice he threw them off: and once he had nearly drawn his stiletto from his bosom; but he was overpowered and manacled with heavy chains ¡ª yet¡£ standing thus impotent!
 his eagle-glance seemed to wither the soul of Ranieri! who£¬ unable to give voice to the irony with which he had intended to load his victim£¿
 that the riotous behaviour of Castruccio the preceding week, and the murder of one of his servants£¡
 unless they should rashly attempt to disturb the due course of justice! Arrigo. with all the warmth of youth£¡ would have replied with bitter reproaches; but count Fondi?
 making him a signal of silence£¬ and deigning only to cast on Ranieri a smile of contempt¡£ retreated with the youth from the violated board!
 which the Italians held in wonder and contempt£¬ Ranieri did not wish to drown the voice of his conscience£¬
 though his limbs were weighted down by chains? his spirit was light and tranquil; he trusted to his friends! and he trusted to the intimate persuasion he felt?
 and that the mandate of death might be the signal for the deliverance of Castruccio£¡ Thus he waited£¬ irresolutely£¡ but impatiently,
 till circumstances should decide the course he was to pursue!The report of his messenger was ill calculated to allay his apprehensions¡£ Knots of citizens stood in the streets and market-place, who!
 Some friend of Castruccio was at the head of each of these£¿ who incited the people to action¡£ and£¿ ridiculing the cowardice!
 and reprobating the treachery and cruelty of Ranieri, awakened in every heart love and reverence for Castruccio£¬
 but sent a messenger to his father at Pisa. recounting what he had done£¡ and desiring his assistance in the accomplishment of his revenge¡£
 Uguccione sat unsteadily on his seat of power; and his uneasiness¡£ as is often the case in minds untamed by humanity£¬ begot in him a hasty courage£¬
 and the Pisans stood about him watching some weak side on which they might commence their attack.At this moment the messenger of Ranieri arrived£¡ relating the seizure of Castruccio!
 he hastily called his faithful troop together. consisting of about four hundred men. and¡£ leaving Pisa£¬
 as Dante says£¬ the Perch¨¨ i Pisan veder Lucca non ponno¡£ the cry of liberty? and death to the tyrant.
 arose in the town; the multitude assailed the house of Uguccione; some of his household fell; the rest fled; and the crowd? now somewhat appeased! assembled to constitute as their chief?
 and! mounting a charger brought by one of his friends£¿ his manacles carried as a trophy before him¡£ he was led in triumph to his palace£¡
 The people almost worshipped him as he passed£¬ and the air rang with acclamations in his favour; a crowd of his adherents, well armed£¬
 thanking them for their love and services£¡ declared that he could not alone support the government of his town£¬ and!
 The people acceded to his wishes, and the Cavaliere Pagano Quartezzano was named as the sharer of his dignities and power under the appellation of consul¡£
 than the more studied courtesies of Castruccio£¡ Her pale cheek and heavy eyes indicated the anxious thoughts that beset her; and Arrigo hastened to tranquillize them,
 His friends watch over him; and Ranieri has by this time learned£¿ that he is more a prisoner among the guards in his palace!
 than Castruccio chained in his dungeon!He then detailed the plans of the Ghibeline party for the deliverance of their chief; and,
 and to destroy all elasticity either in vegetable or animal life£¿ Poor Euthanasia walked restlessly on the plot of ground before the gate of her castle; and her languid eyes!
 bent towards Lucca! were able to discern objects afar off? sharpened as their sight was by love and fear¡£
Her heart was now relieved from many of its fears; and she watched with greater calmness the fading hues of sunset! and the moon¡£
 The spring rose from a rift above¡£ and fell first on a narrow rocky platform about seventy steps above the castle?
 Euthanasia had caused a basin to be scooped here for the reception of the water£¿ and had covered it with a light portico£¬
 Thither she now retired, and watched the coming night; when suddenly she thought she heard a rustling above her£¿ and a small bunch of myrtle fell on her lap; she looked up; and£¬ gazing earnestly,
 perceived Castruccio¡£ with one hand grasping a myrtle shrub£¬ leaning from the summit of the precipice¡£Euthanasia.
 and could scarcely hear the words she spoke; he threw another sprig of myrtle£¿ and said£¬ To-morrow?
 and retreated. She continued to look upwards to the spot where he had leaned; the rustling of the leaves was still ¡ª the myrtles that had bent as he leaned upon them?
 bound by the same desires and the same perils, such participation of triumph or sorrow exalts and beautifies every emotion£¡
 in that moment of satisfaction to her hopes, an agitation and unquiet repining£¬ which£¬ though it were indeed only the rebellion of the heart against peace£¡
 seemed to her in after times as the foreboding of the unlooked for catastrophe to so much happiness£¬The following evening Castruccio again visited her£¿
 and fixing on her his dark eyes? related the circumstances of his imprisonment and liberation£¡ Did you not wonder£¬
 which is on this same mountain¡£ not far from the Fairy¡¯s Fountain and the cypress. under which as children we often sat ¡ª which we visited a few weeks ago! clambering to it from the valley¡£
 When I left his castle! I passed by that spot; and£¡ pausing there£¡ I thought that perhaps I could not only attain the summit of the rock that overlooks your fountain,
 but in some way get down to the alcove itself, and thus surprise your retreat£¡ I was disappointed; the precipice is too high above; ¡ª but as I looked down£¿ I caught a glance of your robe£¡
 and smile contentedly on me; for now that I have overcome my domestic enemies. and have supreme power in this hive of ours! you shall direct me¡£
 and there shall be the peace that you love¡£ and the concord you so much desire between us and the proud republicans!
 Well may it please one so nearly useless as I am£¿ that I can save the lives of some of my fellow-citizens£¿
 that when you draw your sword against the Florentines? it is always wetted with the blood of my best friends, Love you indeed I always must; but I know?
 for I have studied my own heart£¡ that it would not unite itself to yours£¿ if! instead of these thoughts of peace and concord£¡
 replied Castruccio¡£ reproachfully; surely. if it were as deep as mine? it would be ruled alone by its own laws, and not by outward circumstances£¬
Euthanasia answered earnestly. So can it not be with me; I have been bred in a city distracted by domestic faction£¿
 and which. when it obtains a moment of peace in its own bosom£¬ loses the flower of its children in petty wars£¡
 I should be a traitor to the best feelings of human nature? and a rebel to my country£¬ if I allied myself to its enemy: think you that I who have joined in the social meetings of the Florentines,
 who have been present at their marriages? and have mourned among them at their funerals! ¡ª when my own beloved father was attended to his grave by these men whom you call your enemies,
 and my own bitter sorrows assuaged by the sympathy of their daughters. ¡ª think you£¿ that thus linked by every social tie£¿ having prayed£¬
¡¯ when you should go to destroy them¡£ Dearest Castruccio£¬ if£¬ united to you¡£ such an event were to ensue.
 in that moment I must die! or live a death in life£¬Castruccio replied only by fresh assurances of his earnest desire for peace.
 and kissed from the brow of Euthanasia the cloud that for a moment had gathered there¡£It had been a strange task to unveil the heart of Antelminelli£¡
 by seizing every opportunity to defeat their forces£¿ and lay waste their country; nor did the knowledge of the pain which these operations caused his friend.
 in any degree check his activity¡£ Euthanasia loved Castruccio; but her judgement was penetrating! and she was so accustomed to meditate on the events and feelings of each day£¬
 that during this time£¿ she in part penetrated the character of her lover¡£ He was formed for victory and daring.
 though the exterior were ardent and even rash£¿ there might be perceived underneath a reserve of caution? a presence of mind£¡
 but his foot was sure like that of the chamois; and he could discern from afar where the path was broken£¡ and would check himself in the most headlong course£¬ All this was well; but£¿
 underneath a frankness of behaviour. and an apparent nobleness of nature! there was the craft of a grey ¡ª haired courtier. and even at times the cruelty of a falling tyrant£¬
 thought no more of it£¿This year might be called the happiest of her life; yet it was that which first schooled her to the pain and anguish which were afterwards her portion£¡
 The flower of love can never exist without its thorns£¿ She loved? and was beloved:¡ª her eyes beamed with a quicker fire; and her whole soul! perfectly alive£¡
 seemed to feel with a vividness and truth she had never before experienced! Nature was invested for her with new appearances; and there was a beauty£¿ a soul¡£
 Euthanasia had many occupations¡£ and among them the glorious and delightful one of rendering her numerous dependents happy, The cottages and villages over which she presided£¿
 were filled by a contented peasantry£¬ who adored their countess. and knew her power only by the benefits she conferred on them?
 Castruccio often accompanied her in her visits to these; and he? accustomed as he was to count men as the numerals of a military arithmetic£¿ even he was touched by her care for the sick£¬
 her many ways of displaying her judgement and abounding benevolence towards her people! Yet sometimes he laughed at the difference between her practice and her theory!
She smiled; but then£¡ collecting herself£¬ answered seriously; When I first inherited my mother¡¯s power¡£
 I gave much consideration to this very question; not of forming a separate republic of my poor villages¡£ but of incorporating them¡£
 as many nobles have done, and as doubtless the lords of Valperga will one day be obliged to do¡£ with some neighbouring and more powerful republic£¬
 My inclinations led me to join myself to Florence; but the distance of that city£¬ and the immediate vicinity of Lucca£¡
 shewed me the impracticability of that project£¡ Valperga must one day fall into the hands of the Lucchese; but? if I had at any time made an alliance with them¡£
 I should have destroyed the present happiness of my people; there would have been war instead of peace£¿ instead of concord and plenty?
 party agitations and heavy taxes¡£ This£¿ my friend£¬ must be my excuse for my tyranny; but. when the alliance between you and the Florentines can be sure£¬
 that which would most conduce to the fulfilment of his projects£¡ seldom that of the good or evil which affected others?
 Yet this was veiled even to his own mind! by a habit of gentleness and forbearance£¿ which even in this age of the world!
 often fills the place¡£ and assumes the form of virtue,And now Euthanasia was busy in preparing for a court! which she had determined to hold£¬
 when peace should be ratified between the contending powers of Tuscany; and Castruccio found her employed in thefor her£¿ unwonted toils£¡
 scarcity£¬ or any more agreeable occasion that may call for it£¡ A part of this will be expended on the present solemnity,
The castle was fuller than usual of dependents and workmen, and its cloister-like silence was exchanged for the noise of the hammer? and the voices of Italians? ever louder than need is?
 who remembered the dreadful battle of Monte Aperto. the fall of Manfred, and the death of the last unfortunate descendant of Frederic Barbarossa?
 not perils to be eschewed¡£Among the attendants who most constantly waited on her person! was a man who£¿
 and his remarks£¿ generally pithy? were sometimes bitter and satirical: yet indeed they were more commonly characterized by a wild and imaginative originality¡£
 than by wit; and£¬ if they sometimes made others laugh£¡ he never smiled£¬ The playful and witty disposition of Castruccio would often make him enter into conversation with£¡
 and reply to! and try to draw out this strange being? who was no less uncommon in his person than in his mind£¡ He was of that race of which there are a few native specimens in Italy!
 and his long white eyelashes hardly shaded his light red eyes: he was brief of stature. and as slender as he was short; the softness of his features.
 but almost meaningless physiognomy betrayed the want of judgement£¡ courage£¡ and all the more manly virtues£¡
 His mind seemed to approach the feebler spark of animal life£¬ had it not been redeemed by an imagination of which he hardly appeared conscious himself?
 every prophecy that has been made since the time of Adam£¿ and knows all the vulgar expositions of the sacred texts, Then he is an adept in the knowledge of sacred trees¡£ fountains.
 and stones? the flight of birds! lucky and unlucky days; he has an extensive acquaintance with witches. astrologers£¬
 sorcerers£¬ and tempestarii; he knows every peculiar ceremony for remarkable days? how to celebrate the calends of January. those of August?
 and the Vindemie Nolane; none of our cattle are blessed by St! Anthony until he has bound on their crowns; the ceremonies attendant on the Nativity!
 Easter? and other feasts¡£ are all conducted under his guidance! He interprets all the dreams of the castle£¿
 a brick of the tower of Babel£¡ and a tooth of St¡£ Theresa; he has presented many of these to the priest of San Martino£¿
 except the wild beings whom his imagination invests with supernatural powers¡£ But he is an excellent guide for me in my various wanderings! since£¡ as if he had a clue of thread.
 he can find his unerring way amid the most pathless deserts and forests¡£ With all these wonderful acquirements he is generally disliked; he is said to be the son of a witch£¿
 yet I may be wrong, If he is always near my person? it is because he seizes every moment£¬ when he is permitted to enter!
 he pined for some time¡£ till every one believed that he was about to die; and then taking a sudden resolution£¬ like a dog following the scent of his master£¬
 in a village not far from Florence£¿ half starved£¡ and ill treated by the country people; for he could not work£¿
 and¡£ being an orphan. was destitute of every resource; the idea of his unholy parentage and his strange appearance?
 rendering the country-people even malignantly inclined towards him! He loved my father. and almost sunk to the grave with sorrow when he died; nor at that time would he leave the room where I was?
AS the day approached on which Euthanasia was to hold her court, her castle became thronged with the nobility! wealth!
 to come under his escort. and in his company£¡ First arrived her uncle? the lord Radolfo di Casaregi; he was an old man£¿
 but he loved to encircle his bare temples with an iron helmet¡£ and to try his well used sword against the unfleshed blades of the sons of his companions in arms in days gone by¡£
 which! although the difference of age was inconsiderable? and the same reverence and obedience could never be felt or exercised?
 yet in some sort was to Euthanasia in the stead of her dead parents£¬ There arrived soon after the chief members of the Pazzi£¡
 Gianfigliazi! and other Guelph families of Florence; there was Alberti count of Capraia. and all the numerous troop that claimed relationship to him; and many others£¡
Then arrived a multitude of Uomini di Corte; story-tellers£¿ improvisatori¡£ musicians, singers, actors£¿ rope-dancers£¿
 jugglers and buffoons£¬ The most distinguished among the first class was William Borsiere; a man of courteous yet frank manners¡£
 where his companions were loaded with presents£¬ that£¬ from his mean and sometimes ragged appearance£¬ and his snarling habits. he went by the name of the Cane Mendicante,
 smiling fellow£¿ but who sang sorrowful airs with so sweet and touching a voice? that. if you shut your eyes£¬
 you might have imagined that St£¡ Cecilia herself had descended to entrance the world with heavenly melody!Guarino!
 He was sought in every court in Lombardy for his entertaining qualities: his tales displayed the fire of genius£¡ and the delicate observations of a lover of nature,
 But he was eaten up by vanity and envy; he hated all those who were admired? from the princely beauty who attracted all regards¡£
 down to the lowest buffoon at court, If he were sought by the great, so much the more was he avoided by his equals and inferiors; to the first he tricked himself out with a flattering tongue!
 a mean and servile address£¡ and gross adulation; for the second he expressed hatred and contempt; and he tyrannized over the last with a hand of iron!
 But all three classes might equally dread his malignant calumnies£¿ and hatred of all that was good,
 others by pert wit; many by manual jests upon each other£¬ in which innumerable were the blows given and received: they were a strange set? and whether they were handsome or ugly£¬
 old or young£¬ agile or slow¡£ expert or awkward. they turned even their defects to account£¿ and with a never-ceasing grin,
 thronged around the nobles. forming a contrast to the dignified deportment and rich dresses of the latter!
 by their supple and serpentine motions! strange gait, and motley habiliments; some being ragged from lack of wit!
 others from detected roguery£¡ all regarding with the eagerness of starved curs the riches of the castle£¬ and the generosity of its mistress,
 said she? we will give to hunting and hawking; the country is well stocked with game, and each guest has surely his falcon on his fist. I will install Antelminelli£¬
 and has studied these amusements under the best masters of the age; and I doubt not is well able to direct our exertions£¬ and secure us plentiful sport£¿
The second day we will give up to our friends£¬ the Uomini di Corte: they shall do their best to please us,
 and to deserve the rewards in store for them; certainly none will censure my choice? when I name William Borsiere king of that day£¿
On the first of May the sun arose in cloudless splendour, The steeds richly caparisoned were led from the stable, the ladies were mounted on gentle palfreys?
 and clustered round her neck white as marble? and£¬ like that enriched by many a wandering vein? eclipsing the jewels of her dress; her motions£¬
They entered a chestnut wood; and? after riding about half a mile, they came to a small plot of ground. encircled by trees¡£
 they reposed under this delicious shade£¬ watching the changeful shadows of the trees? and listening to the songs of the birds ¡ª How delightful it would be!
To-morrow these men will display their talents£¡ said Castruccio; to-day we must amuse ourselves£¬ Then clapping his hands?
 several servants brought forward musical instruments£¿ such as were then in fashion£¬ unlike in form those now used£¿ but which in sound and construction might be compared to the lute¡£
al minstrels; the Florentines sang the canzones of Dante£¡ or chosen passages from the Teroretto of his master? Ser Brunetto Latini¡£ or indeed stanzas of their own composing¡£
Thus the time passed. till the sun descended£¿ and the lengthening shadows told them that the heat was gone£¬ and the light of day well nigh spent; when they mounted their horses£¡
 and rode towards the castle along the skirts of the chestnut wood! The high Apennines were still white with snow; and.
 as evening came on¡£ a refreshing breeze blew across the plain£¬ and sang among the branches of the trees. ¡ª at a distance was heard the murmuring of the Serchio.
 as it travelled along in its unwearied course; the air was perfumed by a thousand scents! for the grass was mowing. and bathed the element in sweetness£¿
 while the cavalcade passed silently along! Darkness closed around£¿ and the first fire-flies of summer issued from their deep green bowers among the bushes¡£ and darted forth their gentle¡£
 and again thickly studded by these stars£¬ The glow-worm on the ground slowly trailed his steady light; a few bats flew from the rocks; and the regular moan of the Agiolo wheeled about the trees!
 fair as the moon encircled by the night! shone from beneath the sable cowl£¿ while her golden locks twined themselves round her neck: Castruccio gazed on her£¿
 and would have given worlds to have embraced her. and to print on her glowing cheek a kiss of love; he dared not, ¡ª but his heart swelled with joy£¿
The second day William Borsiere was prepared to amuse the guests by his own and his companions¡¯ talents! His task was more difficult to perform than that of Castruccio,
 and that his ill humour would only punish himself by consigning him to obscurity. he consented to be numbered among the recruits of the day¡£
 Andreuccio was less tractable, for he was less vain; and it was sheer avarice that caused his anger£¿
 as he awoke£¡ and gave life to the flowers and fruits of the earth£¿ so must she spread her benign influence over the hearts of men.
 The guests assembled in the hall of the castle£¿ which was hung with festoons of evergreens and flowers; and£¬
 a strain of rich melody broke upon the air£¡ that by its unrivalled sweetness betrayed that the singer was Ildone!
 who, thus concealed¡£ could wrap the soul in Elysium. while his presence must have destroyed the enchantment,
 constructed on the little green platform before the castle? where they were amused by the tricks of the jugglers? sleight of hand.
 fire-eating£¿ rope-dancing, and every prank that has been known from the shores of the Ganges to those of the Thames? from the most distant periods£¡
 even down to our own times£¿ After these had displayed their arts£¡ a number of the peasantry of Valperga presented themselves to run at the ring£¡
 Three pieces of cloth¡£ and two of silk? the prizes for the various games£¬ streamed from the props that supported the amphitheatre£¬
 Two poles were erected? and string was attached to these? on which were strung three rings£¬ A peasant on horseback£¡ with his lance in rest.
 galloped past in a line parallel to the string£¡ endeavouring to catch the three rings on the point of his lance; the first? second and third failed£¡
 ¡ª the fourth was more successful; he caught the three rings? and bore off the piece of scarlet-cloth as his prize£¡
 A wrestling match succeeded. a foot-race£¬ and then a horse-race; the prizes were distributed by Borsiere; and then£¿
It were needless to enumerate the dainties that made their appearance; Borsiere resolved that the feast neither of the preceding¡£ nor of the two following days? should exceed his; and?
 having been often regaled at the tables of the most luxurious princes of Europe£¡ he now displayed the skill that he had there acquired! in the directions he gave to the ruder cooks of Euthanasia£¿
 and the eyes of the ladies wandered round in search of new amusement? Borsiere appeared at the head of his party; Bergamino?
 Borsiere had been bred at courts? and knew how to marshal them with the science of a seneschal; as they quitted the hall, they!
 as by magic! fell each into his proper place, and every noble dame felt that neither could she have preceded the person before her?
 nor would she have gone behind the one who followed her. Thus? in courtly guise, they proceeded through several passages of the castle,
 till they quitted it by a small postern; the rocky face of the mountain rose? as I have already said£¿
 and before they could feel fatigued? they came to a small platform of turf-covered rock£¿ which Borsiere had prepared for their accommodation, The fountain£¬ that gushed from a cleft£¡
 trickled down with a gentle murmur£¬ and filled the basin prepared to receive it with its clear and sparkling liquid? This fountain had. like many other springs of those mountains£¬
 supported by small columns; this was a favourite retreat of our young mountain ¡ª nymph; and Borsiere had adorned it for the occasion with a master¡¯s hand£¿ The boughs of the trees were bent down.
 and fastened to the rock! or to the roof of the alcove£¬ and then¡£ being interlaced with other boughs¡£
 where every gay colour of nature was heaped about in rich and lovely profusion¡£ while the deep green of the ilex trees¡£
 the soft and fan-like foliage of the acacia! mingled with the shining foliage of the laurel£¿ bay and myrtle.
 having entered upon his task, there was no doubt that his vanity would induce him to exert his utmost powers to surpass his companions,
He sang extempore verses on the event of the late war with Florence? changing his notes£¬ from the hurry of battle? to the wailing for the dead.
 he described himself as Dante descending to hell; but? as he had ventured thither without a guide! rude Charon had refused him a passage?
 and he only saw the wandering ghosts of those recently dead¡£ and some few who bewailed their unburied bones. as they flitted about the dreary coast!
 and hereafter would more painfully pay¡£ the deadly penalty for his many crimes ¡ª Well did they for me? and benignly£¿ he cried£¡
 who cast my bones from their unhallowed sepulchre; for now I wander here untormented; but¡£ when the cycle of an hundred years is fulfilled¡£ and I pass that dark river!
 bidding them repent; and Guarino introduced into this the bitter gall of his sharp and cruel satire against his enemies! He ended; and small applause followed?
 or some real occurrence dressed up with romantic ornaments£¡ formed the subjects of their narratives.Chapter 14
 he mounted his horse¡£ and turned his head the accustomed road to the castle of Valperga£¡ As he quitted the gate of the town¡£ he heard a voice behind calling him; and£¡ reining in his horse£¬
 Although at some distance he instantly recognized his old fellow-traveller£¬ by his uncouth dress which was still unchanged.
 approaching with a humble salutation, said that he had affairs of importance to communicate to the noble consul of Lucca? and intreated him to give him audience¡£Willingly£¡
 those inexpensive barriers against the incursions of enemies; and then he paused£¿ ¡ª coughed? ¡ª scolded his horse¡£
 ¡ª and sunk into silence£¬And now. asked Castruccio, what is this affair of importance concerning which you would speak to me£¬
Ah! Messer lo Console£¡ it is a matter of such consequence that I hardly know how to disclose it; and methinks you are in too merry a mood to listen with requisite attention£¬
 when we arrive at yonder castle£¡ we shall find little opportunity to talk of business; for amusement and gaiety are there the order of the day£¡
Gaiety! ¡ª Well; it perhaps will do my heart good to see merry faces once again; I have seen few of them since you were on the donjon of my palace£¬
 and have not acquired through their misfortunes the humility of poverty£¡ which sits better on a subject than the insolence of prosperity!
 you are ever the same; you have neither changed your dress nor opinions since I saw you last; ever immersed in politics.Indeed.
 the Cremonese are still proud, though they ought to be humble; yet a small power might now easily overcome them¡£
Strange company for me to enter; for in Cremona I never cap to a Guelph, whoever he may be; but if you. my lord¡£
 are safe. surely so am I£¡ and trust Benedetto Pepi for discretion¡£ You are I believe my friend? and a Ghibeline; and£¿
 having been beaten almost to death by a young canon who was my enemy; and that took place many years ago¡£ when I was younger? and more active than I am now,
 but the heart¡¯s anguish of his enemy paid for it,Pepi looked at his companion with the elevated brows of triumph and vanity! while his sharp eyes spoke! not ferocity£¿
 but successful cunning¡£ Castruccio regarded him with a glance of distrust£¬ which he did not observe¡£
 but continued:¡ª This young rascal had been forced into the priestly dress¡£ but had not yet made vows£¡
 when he resolved to supplant me with a rich£¡ young heiress whom I intended to marry£¿ I was well off in the world£¿ with a good estate,
 and a noble palace! so the father gave his consent¡£ and all went on prosperously; till this roguish priest laid a plot for my destruction£¬
 He waylaid me on the wedding day¡£ as I was conducting the bride to my own house; she loved him, and left me; aye?
 at the first whistle of this brave dame ¡ª hunter I felt her snatch her hand from mine? and saw her throw herself into his arms¡£ I resisted¡£
 rotting in the dungeons of the Inquisition? She has long been dead; of grief, they say£¡ ¡ª at least she never enjoyed a moment with her paramour?
 not by the open combat of power and passion, but by dastardly and underhand means¡£ brings his enemy on his knees before him?
 and Castruccio introduced Pepi to the company. The Cremonese bowed to the fair countess; and then darted his quick glances around¡£
 to discover if he knew any of the company; many he had seen before, and he could not help muttering as he seated himself ¡ª Guelphs to the core¡£
 but for the introduction of Castruccio, and the gold spurs which he wore, he would have hazarded the disgrace of being dismissed to the company of the valets of the castle£¿
 and do not despise my words£¿ because they are those of a Ghibeline£¡ You shine in silk£¬ and jewels£¬
 and costly furs; I am clothed in sheep-skin and sclavina, and perhaps my capuchin may have a hole in its well worn texture; but look at my golden spurs; I am a knight¡£
 Now listen! and then tell me whether I am right or wrong, in not throwing away the produce of my fields in trinkets and trumpery?
 lined with silk; robes of rich brocade£¡ trimmed with the feathers of the back and neck of peacocks£¬
 Their flowing cloaks of fur were made of the skins of a thousand minute animals! brought from the wilds of Tartary? and in their caps they had jewels and feathers of extraordinary price,
 Thus they jutted up and down before their master? fancying that he would admire them, he who loved a well hacked helmet. boots bespattered with riding after fugitive enemies£¿
 a blood-stained sword£¬ and a spirited war horse. more than ten armies of such fair-weather birds£¿ ¡®Come¡£
 as they gave a last pitying glance to their gay dresses£¿ and bestrode their horses to follow their master!
 He led the way; no ditch or hedge or thick cover of copse-wood£¬ could obstruct his path; his noble steed surmounted all£¿
 had lost all their value£¬When they returned¡£ they bitterly complained among themselves for the losses they had sustained: the emperor was advised of their murmurs?
 and approached his throne in a guise much unlike the gay figure they had exhibited in the morning; their feathers broken£¬ their jewels lost!
 their silk torn, and their furs¡£ which had been wet! and afterwards dried by the fire! were shrunk?
¡¯ cried Charlemagne£¬ ¡®how are these furs precious or useful£¿ Mine cost only a few pence; yours cost not only silver£¬
 But the sun had now set? and the bell of the Ave Marie rung from the chapel of Valperga; so the company descended the rock? and joined in the devotions of the priest£¬ who celebrated vespers£¿
 attended by all the more humble guests of the castle£¿In the evening several mimes were represented under the direction of Borsiere?
 or shake them with convulsions of laughter¡£ The actors now at the castle¡£ first performed the touching story of Palamon and Arcite£¡
 enjoyed that for which in their dreary condition they ardently pined£¡ Night had now run half its course; and the company retired£¡
 I come to take my leave of you£¡ After what passed last night! you may well believe that the young countess would rather not count me among her guests.
 as the promised lord of Cremona; and he replied eagerly: Messer Benedetto? you would do me an inestimable benefit? if by any means£¬ either in your power!
 In August I will visit you at Cremona; and£¬ if you will disclose to me the contrivers and instruments of this change!
 and then I will disclose every thing to you£¬ As you may not be able to command your time to a day£¬
 I will wait for you one month£¬ until the fifteenth of September; then if you do not appear! the enterprize must proceed by other means£¿ During this interval promise me inviolable secrecy£¡What£¡
 may I not tell ¡ª.No living soul must hear of this ¡ª If you impart that with which I have intrusted you! my plan must instantly fail!
Pepi departed with a brow of care; while every heart in the castle of Valperga was light£¿ and every countenance expressed gaiety£¡ This was the third day of the court£¡
 the day for which a tournament had been proclaimed, But it would be tedious to dilate on the remainder of these ceremonies,
 from which she had been long absent! They agreed to journey thither together; and on Castruccio¡¯s return from Lombardy their long delayed marriage was to take place£¿
 were parading the streets! covered with wreaths of flowers¡£ and singing the poems of Dante£¿ or his friend Guido£¿
 to the accompaniment of many instruments? Castruccio said: I must ask you¡£ fair Euthanasia! who are so learned in Florentine customs!
 I am entirely ignorant¡£ I know that during peace joyful meetings take place every May. among the young nobility; but this seems a general festivity!
 Let us ask that grave gentleman in the black capuchin£¿ if he knows the reason of a merriment? which at least has not communicated itself to his face,
 replied: You must be but lately arrived. not to have heard of the cause of our rejoicings; the Florentines¡£ Madonna£¬
 are celebrating the occurrence of a most favourable omen with which God and St, John have blessed our city,
 Yesterday one of the lionesses kept at the expense of the republic£¿ brought forth five whelps!And is this the momentous occasion of so much serious amusement,
 said the man? you are a stranger in this town; or you would not find cause for laughter in this event£¡
 The Florentines keep a number of lions£¬ as the signs and symbols of their strength; and God and St.
 believe in these childish omens! I would wager my best charger. that their records are full of the influence of stars.
 and the appearance of comets!And I do not at all know that you would lose: indeed their noblest citizens have a great faith in astrology and portents.
 If you speak of a scarcity£¡ they will tell of a meteor; if you say that the king of France has lost a battle£¿ they will assure you that the whole kingdom has become£¡
 if we can fit but one link to another¡£ we are on the high road for discovering the last secrets of nature.
It is this same imagination more usefully and capaciously employed£¬ that makes them decree the building of the most extensive and beautiful building of modern times¡£
 The men who have conceived the idea£¡ and contributed their money towards the erection of the Duomo£¬ will never see its completion; but their posterity will, and£¿
 which commanded a most important pass! They destroyed the tower; and. when half demolished£¿ they filled it up with earth£¡
 and planted there an olive tree£¡ which still flourishes£¡ an emblem of the peace which would follow their conquests,Castruccio stayed only a few days at Florence; and.
 having now succeeded to his father in the tyranny of Milan£¿ was the most powerful chief of Lombardy!
 He was about thirty-five years of age: he had all the characteristics of an Italian face£¿ arched brows! black eyes?
 an aquiline nose£¡ and a figure where there was some strength and little grace? He had a great portion of talent£¿
 quickness in the combination of plans? yet not sufficient patience to watch their progress¡£ or perseverance to carry them through! He was crafty!
 and on all occasions exceeded even the Italians in the courtesy of his demeanour? He had seen much of the world! and suffered many misfortunes; this gave him a pliancy of disposition?
 want of judgement£¡ and not of inclination. caused the error?He wished to attach Castruccio to his party and designs!
 He saw in him the head of the Ghibeline faction in Tuscany£¿ and the tamer of his Florentine enemies.
 Florence; and Castruccio was to become its destroyer£¡ He heard of his peace with that city with dismay; he trusted it could not last; but the very name of it blasted his hopes?
 He wished to see the consul? and to win him to the plan which he had conceived would conduct to the full ascendancy of the Ghibelines; and! circumstances leading him to Rovigo?
 he had intreated Castruccio to visit him there, making the intended restoration of Ferrara to the marquess of Este the pretence of this request?
 by which Castruccio might reveal his intentions! before he would venture to communicate his own wishes£¬ Their first topic of conversation was the immediate business before them!
 and the vicar of the Pope, with a couple of hundred Gascon soldiers for a garrison? keeps possession of it!
 eagerly desire the restoration of their rightful prince£¬ We have often thought of besieging the town; but that would be a long and expensive business£¬ and even its success would be doubtful; for£¿
 if the Ghibelines raised their war-cry. all the Guelph foxes would unearth themselves and have at them! and you know that our lands are much overstocked by this vermin,
 Stratagem is a surer and a far easier mode of warfare£¡ and not half so bloody as the regular way; we have so many friends within the walls£¿ that I doubt not we should succeed!
 if a proper communication were established between us. The bishop£¿ who£¿ though a churchman£¿ is our sure friend¡£
 if we would commission one of our chiefs to treat with him; for he refused to disclose his project to an underling£¿ Now£¿
Castruccio acceded to his friend¡¯s request; and in the evening he was introduced to the marquess of Este£¿ who received him with deference and distinction.
 my dear Castruccio£¡ I can never shew myself sufficiently grateful for your kindness in quitting Lucca at my request,
Not a truce? but a better thing; I have concluded a peace.Aye! a truce£¬ or a peace; it is the same thing; either will be sufficiently short-lived?
Are you then so deep-read in the counsels of the enemy¡£ that you know how and when this peace will change to war.
I am deep-read in nothing! my friend£¿ but the politics and changes of Italy; and I have suffered by them enough!
 and mixed with them sufficiently. to foresee their issue a long way off! Fire and water will make as kindly coalition as Guelph and Ghibeline£¬ Bianchi and Neri¡£
 who have every prospect of being Imperial Vicar in Tuscany; and think you that peace is the pilot to that haven?My dear Galeazzo£¡ let us understand one another; I am a Ghibeline.
 faithful to my party and the emperor; and. if I thought there were a fair chance of suppressing the Neri£¡ by the Holy Face of Lucca¡£ I would make a crusade against them!
 such as has not been seen in the world since the days of Saladin! Let the emperor come to Italy, and something may be done; but why carry on a petty warfare! which destroys the country!
 and starves the peasant£¿ while it hardly takes a florin from the coffers of the Florentine merchants£¬
 or advances us one inch nearer the goal we desire to reach?And is this the end of the dreams of triumph and dominion with which you entered Lucca three years ago.
 And now that you have the government of that town of oranges and lemons£¬ the mighty aim of your life is accomplished¡£ and you are ready to sleep upon your acquisition£¿
 my friend, you must leave nothing to the decision of circumstances; a wise man foresees and provides for all. Florence must one day be yours; and you£¡
 Do not start; among so many prophecies as we have of Merlin and the rest. I venture to make one more; and!
 My dear Castruccio£¿ this is no child¡¯s play; for men are both our die and our stake: put forth your hand£¿ and you must win!
 is a blank in our account£¬ Naples and Florence are our only enemies; the emperor must conquer one, and you the other£¿
 collecting its force in the horizon; and then it breaks forth sweeping every thing along with it: Florence must fall before it ¡ª I swear it shall; but give me your hand? your faith£¬ Castruccio,
 and swear that you also will have it so!Nay! by the Virgin£¬ I will not be backward in doing my part to tame the cubs of this wild lioness: if Florence ever can be mine,
 ¡ª At present you are at peace with them; but it must be a peace to crush£¿ and not to invigorate them£¿ You are freshly entered into your lordship£¡
 if the Guelphs be not destroyed in Florence£¬ Think you, if your people are allowed free intercourse with this republic,
 that the plague of liberty will not spread to your state£¡ For no quarantine will eradicate that spot£¬
 the watchword. the rallying point for all¡£ Choose; for that choice alone is left to you¡£ to quell that city£¿ or depart once more to exile.
These were the lessons with which Galeazzo awakened the latent flame in the soul of Castruccio; a flame£¬ covered£¬
 but not extinguished? and which now burned more fiercely than ever£¬ He swore the destruction of the Guelphs. and interminable war to Florence; and his blood flowed more freely!
 his eyes shone brighter! his soul was elevated to joy, when he thought that one day he might be the master of that proud city£¬
In the mean time the marquess of Este occupied their attention; and Castruccio prepared for this embassy to the bishop of Ferrara, He took no papers with him that might be dangerous.
 if discovered; but! habiting himself like a merchant from Ancona, and taking such documents as might enable him to support this character, he left Rovigo for Ferrara£¿
 which was about twenty miles distant! and entering that town at ten o¡¯clock in the morning he hastened£¡ unquestioned by any£¿ to the episcopal palace¡£
 The bishop was an old man of the most benign physiognomy£¬ and a sweet! mild tone of voice; he was tall, and upright in figure!
 Castruccio£¡ who by his intercourse with the world had learned always to honour age. approached him with respect£¬
 and disclosed to him his rank and mission£¬ The bishop replied:.My noble lord¡£ the marquess has done that which I have long desired.
 as in other circumstances an intercourse of years would have effected. Castruccio had a great taste for theological knowledge¡£ and the bishop?
 as a man of the world£¬ was delighted with the conversation and remarks of one who had passed through so many scenes¡£
 and visited so many nations¡£ Confidence quickly arose between them; so well did each seem to understand the feelings and character of the other£¬
 Castruccio was introduced among them¡£ and received with cordiality and respect by all£¬ The assembly consisted of nearly the whole nobility of Ferrara¡£ chiefly indeed Ghibelines,
 One was old£¿ and dressed in the fashion of an age gone by: she was in black as a widow; her vest was close and strait!
 trimmed with beads¡£ and made of black cloth; a black veil covered her head£¬ and her capuchin thrown aside discovered the years and wrinkles of the venerable wearer.
 It was impossible to judge of the age! and hardly of the sex? of the figure that sat beside her; for her capuchin was wrapped closely round her form£¿
 and the hood drawn over her face£¿ as she sat silently¡£ turned away from the company. in the darkest part of the room,
 and said: My brother? Beatrice ought to name the fortunate day on which we may undertake this work¡£
 she threw back the hood of her young companion; and Castruccio gazed on her exquisite and almost divine beauty, Her deep black eyes. half concealed by their heavy lids!
 her curved lips£¬ and face formed in a perfect oval? the rising colour that glowed in her cheeks which.
 though her complexion was pure and delicate, were tinged by the suns of Italy. formed a picture such as Guido has since imagined?
 when he painted a Virgin or an Ariadne¡£ or which he copied from the life when he painted the unfortunate Beatrice Cenci£¬
 to her palace; she will disclose to you the secret entrance£¡ and acquaint you with the means by which you may find it£¿
 When they had entered£¬ Madonna Marchesana dismissed her servants! and led Castruccio into a room? hung with tapestry£¡ and furnished with the rich and heavy furniture of the age£¡
 dark gallery; then? taking up a torch that lay within£¬ and lighting it at a lamp which hung from the ceiling of the room?
 that success may attend our steps£¿A small snow white hand and taper wrist were put out from beneath the capuchin; and Beatrice silently took the torch£¡ and led the way,
 and then along numerous vaults and corridors£¿ until they arrived at what appeared the end of these subterraneous passages£¡ You£¬
 and bade Beatrice hide the light. which she did. placing it within a kind of recess in the passage that seemed formed for the purpose of receiving it; the lady then opened the door; and Castruccio¡£
 and surrounded by marshy land¡£ at some distance from the strong fortifications of the town¡£ Castruccio smiled: Ferrara is ours¡£
 When you mention the name of the viscountess di Malvezzi he may distrust my professions; since the viscount. my late husband¡£
 was his bitter and determined enemy¡£ But he is no more; and I have been brought to a true knowledge of the will of God by this divine girl. this Ancilla Dei?
 as she is truly called£¡ who is sent upon earth for the instruction and example of suffering humanity¡£Castruccio listened with astonishment; while the gifted damsel stood.
 her face covered by her cowl? and her arms crossed over her breast: the eyes of the old lady beamed with joy and pride? I do not entirely fulfil my commission£¬ she continued.
 until I have taught you how you may again discover this place? Do you see those straggling sallows that skirt that stagnant drain! and which£¬
 although they appear to be without order£¿ are the clue by which you will be guided thither£¬ Four miles distant from Ferrara.
 however they may lead£¿ until you come to that where the line ends? You must then mark the drains of the marsh¡£
 Beatrice remained a moment behind to extinguish the torch; and? when she reappeared£¬ she had thrown off her capuchin!
 Anna I shall speak to my countrymen? and in the midst of the people of Ferrara tell in veiled words the moment of their deliverance!With a light step Beatrice glided out of the room£¿
 to convey the message of my Beatrice to the bishop? God has been gracious to us£¿ in bestowing on us his visible assistance through this sacred maiden.
 by her wisdom beyond that of woman! and her prophecies which have ever been fulfilled£¬ demonstrates£¡
 even to the unbeliever and the Gentile£¬ that she is inspired by the grace and favour of the blessed Virgin.Chapter 16£¿THUS dismissed? Castruccio returned?
 and that I shall tell it you under the most solemn vow of secrecy£¿Castruccio readily promised discretion and silence£¿ and the bishop then related the following particulars!
Have you never heard of a heretic and most dangerous impostor. of the name of Wilhelmina of Bohemia£¡ This woman appeared first in Italy in the year 1289: she took up her residence at Milan£¬
 she secretly formed a sect£¡ founded on the absurd and damnable belief£¿ that she was the Holy Ghost incarnate upon earth for the salvation of the female sex£¿
 and was buried in the church of St£¬ Peter at Milan: she had led so holy a life, and kept her heresy so profound a secret¡£ except from her own sect£¡
 that she was followed as a saint£¬ and even priests and dignitaries wrote homilies in praise of her piety£¡ her abstinence,
 when the Dominican inquisitors first discovered this lurking pestilence; and the terror and abomination of the discovery filled the town with horror£¡ Magfreda£¡ and her principal follower.
 Andrea Saramita. were led to prison; the other disciples who threw themselves on the mercy of the priests. being commanded to perform several pilgrimages£¡
 eloquent in the cause of truth£¡ and tainted by an enthusiastic bigotry against heretics and schismatics,
 I preached with animation against this new heresy; it appeared to me so impious. so absurd! so terrifically wicked! that I was touched by an holy impulse as I declaimed against its followers¡£
 Having thus distinguished myself! the father inquisitors intreated me to use my fervid arguments to persuade the obstinate Magfreda to recant! They had exhausted every reason?
 and had had recourse even to torture¡£ to convert this woman from her damnable impieties; but she with haughty insolence declared that she was in readiness to perish in the flames£¡
 but that her last breath should be spent in the praise of her divine mistress! and an exhortation to her tormentors to repent and believe£¡I was filled with worldly vanity£¡
 and eloquent exorcisms could not fail of their desired effect? and that by the aid of God and truth I should be covered with the glory of success in this holy warfare£¬
 where she had been confined for several weeks without even straw for her bed. She was kneeling in one corner.
 praying fervently£¿ and for a moment I stopped to contemplate a heretic£¡ a monster I had never before seen£¬ She was an aged. respectable woman¡£
 not your body£¬ but your mind; to torture it with a knowledge of itself; to hold a mirror before it? wherein you will contemplate its blots and deformities¡£
 of which by the grace of the Virgin you may repent and be purified!¡¯£¡¡®Father! you are the master.
 But your benevolent countenance? so different from those to which I have been long accustomed. fills me with such confidence£¿
 that I dare hope for your indulgence, when I intreat you to spare yourself a useless labour. and to leave in peace the last hours of my life!
 as the sacred flame of my religion and the life of my heart! now begins to wane; do not bring on my soul the sins of anger and intolerance; ¡ª leave me to prayer¡£
 so that I felt my spirit subdued; and£¡ although almost angry at the stubbornness of her impiety. I followed her example in speaking with gentleness,
 Our conversation was long; and the more it continued£¡ the more my animation in the cause of truth? and zeal for the conversion of the heretic£¡
 her words so soft yet firm. that it lay like a sin on my heart that I could not save her from eternal condemnation?
 ¡®you never saw my Wilhelmina, Ask those who have seen her£¬ even the vulgar£¿ whose eyes are horn£¬
 when she passed like an angel among them! She was more beautiful than aught human could be; more gentle. modest and pious than any woman ever was.
 though she were a saint? Then her words possessed a persuasion that could not be resisted! and her eyes a fire£¬
 As I approached¡£ she seized my hand, and kissed it! and pressed it to her heart, and continued pouring forth¡£
 when she waved her hand impatiently£¡ beckoning me to be silent, By degrees she calmed her tears; but she was still agitated by passion!
 as she said: ¡®Kneel£¡ father! kneel? I intreat you£¿ and by the cross you wear swear secrecy£¿ Alas£¡
 one whom I love far£¬ ¡ª far beyond my own life£¿¡¯.She paused£¿ endeavouring to overcome the tears. that? in spite of herself¡£
 ¡®Father. you are good. benign and charitable; and I do believe that She has manifested Her will in sending you to me in my distress; you£¡
 who are so unlike the wolves and harpies that have of late beset me! There is a child ¡ª Her child:¡ª but£¿
 and said angrily: ¡®Woman£¬ think you that I will sacrifice the soul of an infant to your monstrous unbelief and vicious obstinacy! I am a servant of the Lord Jesus,
She knelt down¡£ and prayed fervently for a long time; and then arose with a smiling aspect¡£ saying: ¡®Father£¿
 you wish to convert me; methinks at this moment I could convert you! if indeed faith did not come from God£¬ and not from the human will¡£
 She has revealed Her will to me£¡ and by Her command I now confide to you the treasure of my soul,¡®Two years before the death of Wilhelmina£¿
¡®After its birth Wilhelmina never saw it£¬ She always refused to visit the cottage! or to have it brought to her!
 but would sit for yours£¬ and listen to my descriptions and praises. I have ever believed that this separation£¡
¡®A year ago the nurse of the child died; and I took her secretly to my own home£¬ and tended her£¬ and preserved her as her mother had commanded£¿
 No love can equal mine for the divinity£¿ her mother: it was a burning affection£¡ an adoration? which no words can express:¡ª I shall never see her more!
 and a bag of such provisions as I had in the house; and, it being already dark? I hastened from Milan to the forest that skirts the road to Como: I walked fast£¿
 and in two hours arrived at my goal£¬ I knew that one afflicted with leprosy lived in the depth of the forest. a miserable wretch?
¡®The wretched possessor of this sty slept on his miserable straw as I entered. I roused him£¿ put gold into his hand¡£
¡®I have now been five weeks imprisoned? and I dread lest the leper should have thrust her from his abode¡£
 Will you not! father¡£ preserve and love this child£¡¡¯£¬The discourse of Magfreda moved me strangely£¬
Magfreda poured forth warm and joyful thanks; then£¿ with a heavy heart! I recommended her to the mercy of God. and left her dungeon,
As soon as I could tear myself from the questions and childish curiosity of the inquisitors£¬ I hastened to the place that Magfreda had indicated£¿
 In the tumult of my soul£¬ I only thought of the danger of the lovely babe in the hands of this outcast of man and nature? I was possessed with a passionate sense of pity£¡
 filthy, deformed£¿ his matted hair hung over his eyes and his ragged beard half concealed the lower part of his visage; yet there was to be seen a savage eye!
 I made a sign that he should not approach¡£ and he dropped on his knees. and began to gabble pater-nosters,
 so that the word that God himself had spoken seemed the jargon of the devil¡£ I stopped at some distance from him: ¡®Bring me£¡¡¯ I cried!
 ¡®to the child who was confided to you in the name of Wilhelmina of Bohemia,¡¯.The wretch! who had almost forgotten human speech! jumped up£¬
 and led the way among the tangled underwood£¡ along savage paths, overgrown with rank herbage! and bestrewn with stones. till we came to his miserable hut£¿ ¡ª a low?
 this morning star of beauty and exceeding brightness. with eyes shining with joy? rosy lips melted into the softest smiles,
 and cherished her£¿ and tried to save her from the fate to which her destiny has hurried her?I returned to Milan. and found that in the morning!
 and Marchesana soon became attached to her with maternal fondness¡£ She was educated in the Holy Catholic faith; and I hoped that£¿ untainted by her mother¡¯s errors!
Beatrice was always an extraordinary child. When only six and seven years of age£¿ she would sit alone for hours? silently contemplating; and£¬
 and passionately desire me not to ask her£¡ As she grew older! her imagination developed; she would sing extempore hymns with wild?
 sweet melody? and she seemed to dwell with all her soul on the mysteries of our religion; she then became communicative.
 till she was filled with a sentiment that overwhelmed and oppressed her£¡ so that she could only weep and sigh. She intreated me to unfold to her all I knew,
 and to teach her to read in the sacred book of our religion.I was fearful that her ignorance and enthusiasm might lead her astray. since¡£ in her accounts of her meditations£¬
 she often said things of God and the angels that were heretical; and I hoped that a knowledge of the truth would calm her mind, and lead her to a saner devotion£¡
 But my labours had a contrary effect; the more she heard£¿ and the more she read. the more she gave herself up to contemplation and solitude£¬
 and to what I cannot help considering the wild dreams of her imagination£¡ It seemed to me as if her mother¡¯s soul had descended into her; but that!
 regulated by the true faith. she had escaped the damnable heresies of that unhappy woman£¬ She delighted to read£¬ and pretended to explain the prophecies of the sacred writings£¡
 and the modern ones of Merlin£¡ the abbot Joachim and Methodius: beside these studies! she grew wonderfully familiar with all vulgar superstitions£¡
 Her followers are numerous; and my poor sister is the first of her disciples: Beatrice herself is wrapped up in the belief of her own exalted nature£¡ and really thinks herself the Ancilla Dei?
 the chosen vessel into which God has poured a portion of his spirit: she preaches£¿ she prophesies¡£ she sings extempore hymns. and entirely fulfilling the part of Donna Estatica£¿
 she passes many hours of each day in solitary meditation¡£ or rather in dreams, to which her active imagination gives a reality and life which confirm her in her mistakes!
 I have revealed the birth of this extraordinary girl! which is unknown to every one else, Why I have done this I can hardly tell; for I have done it without premeditation or foresight.
 when the consul retired to rest£¬ he could not sleep£¬ while the beauty of Beatrice was present to his eyes.
 Anna: mass was performed? but he looked in vain for the prophetess; ¡ª yet£¬ when the service was finished? and the people assembled in the porch of the church!
 she appeared among them with her aged protectress at her side? She wore her capuchin of light blue silk!
 black as the darkness which succeeds a midnight flash of lightning¡£ full and soft as the shy antelope¡¯s! gleamed with prophetic fire¡£
She spoke; her words flowed with rich and persuasive eloquence£¿ and her energetic but graceful action added force to her expressions£¬
 and a want of fervour in the just cause£¿ that stamped them as the slaves of foreigners and tyrants, Her discourse was long and continued£¡
 they smiled£¬ and at last became transported by her promises of the good that was suddenly to arise,
 and of the joy that would then await the constant of heart; ¡ª when. as this enthusiasm was at its height£¡ some Dominican inquisitors came forward£¡
 surrounded her? and declared her their prisoner¡£ Until that moment Castruccio had observed her only£¡
 ¡ª she was no heretic£¬ ¡ª of what crime had she been guilty£¡ ¡ª The inquisitors had with them a guard of Gascon soldiers,
 and this inflamed the multitude still more; it was plain that her adherence to the party of the marquess Obizzo, and the prophecy of his restoration were her only crimes£¡
 The noise of her arrest spread through the town£¬ and all Ferrara flocked to the church of St! Anna; the crowd? transported with rage, seemed prepared to rescue the prisoner£¡ who,
 knives¡£ and axes; the inquisitors sent for a reinforcement of Gascon troops£¬ and every thing appeared to menace violence£¡ and bloodshed£¿
 when one of the priests attempted to take the hand of Beatrice as if to lead her away; she looked at him with a steady glance! and he drew back¡£
 while she made a sign as if about to speak. and the multitude hushed themselves to silence, and were as still£¡
 ¡ª take her to him. ¡ª he shall decide the cause.The inquisitors were prepared to resist this appeal: but the will of the people became a torrent not to be stemmed by them,
 which rent the sky with the cries of their anger and despair£¬The bishop received the appeal with deep sorrow. Beatrice stood before him£¬
 her arms crossed on her breast£¿ her eyes cast down; but on her face£¿ although the gentlest modesty was depicted,
 there was no trace of fear; she looked intrepid¡£ yet as if she relied not on her own strength! but on that of another, The inquisitors accused her of being an impostor! a misleader of the people.
 a dangerous and wicked enthusiast. whom the penitence and solitude of a cloister must cure of her extravagant dreams£¡ They talked long and loud!
 that excited their awe, their pity! and their admiration: they cried£¬ God can alone judge of this! let the trial be made£¿
 that she should be confined for that night in the convent of St, Anna, and on the following morning£¬
 under the auspices of the monks of the adjoining monastery? should undergo the Judgement of God. to be pronounced guilty or innocent as that should declare¡£
Both the inquisitors and Beatrice retired in security and triumph¡£ followed by the multitude£¿ who were careless of the dismay but too plainly painted on the faces of the prophetess¡¯s friends?
 The lady Marchesana was in dreadful agitation£¬ fluctuating between her faith in the supernatural powers of Beatrice. and her dread lest the trial should bring ruin upon her: she wept¡£
 horror! and indignation?Then the old man for the first time gave vent to his sorrow:¡ª Ill-fated victim£¬
 ¡ª my hopes are extinct; ¡ª oh? that I had died before this day£¡Castruccio was at first too much confounded to offer consolation; but£¬
 when he spoke¡£ and bade his friend not despair£¡ the bishop replied: My lord¡£ she has won my whole soul,
 and all my affections; why this is¡£ I know not; ¡ª is she not beautiful, and she is as good as she is beautiful.
 father; say not that so lovely a being shall perish under the fangs of these cruel hell-hounds¡£ Do not£¡ I earnestly intreat you!
 when she has quitted the walls of the convent! and I will place her in safe and honourable guardianship, Let her fly£¬
 hastened to the monastery£¿ Castruccio remained in the parlour; and the prelate entered the interior of the convent£¬ He remained two hours; while Castruccio,
 which looked on an interior court with no object to call off his attention, in silent and anxious expectation! He thought of the beauty of the prophetess£¡
 her animation and numberless graces£¬ until he almost believed in the divinity of her mission: but he shuddered with horror£¬
 when he reflected upon her danger£¡ that her ivory feet should press the burning iron! that£¬ if she fell£¿ she would fall on the hot metal£¡ and expire in misery£¡
 would sing hymns of triumph over her untimely and miserable fate:¡ª he felt tears gather in his eyes, and he would have devoted himself for her safety£¡ At length the bishop reappeared£¡
I do not like this:¡ª she must be protected by falsehood and perjury! a lying and blasphemous mockery of the name of God.
 The abbot! who was a servant of the Popes at Avignon£¿ laughs at my scruples; and I am obliged to yield£¿
 will pardon our human weaknesses£¬ Let the sin lie on the souls of those blood-hounds, who would pursue to destruction the loveliest creature that breathes upon earth£¡Chapter 17£¿
THE OLD man was gloomy and depressed; he retired early to prayer. Castruccio had not slept the preceding night.
 and he felt his eyes weighed down£¬ although in mind he was agitated and restless; he slept some hours!
 He was awaked before day-break by the bishop¡¯s servant; he repaired to the bed-chamber of the prelate? who was sitting on a couch£¬ with haggard looks¡£
 and eyes red and inflamed with watching.My dear lord! cried the bishop, I pray you pardon me that I disturb your rest; I cannot sleep£¡ In two hours this ceremony ¡ª this mockery begins,
 this pause of horrid expectation. is more than I can bear; I love her more than father ever loved a child£¬ and she was mine by every tie; ¡ª I feel my very life-strings crack!
 and the house-tops covered with people? ¡ª even on towers, whence the square could only appear a confused speck.
 and the eucharist was distributed as a pledge of their truth,The square presented a busy? but awful scene; the houses!
 the windows of the monastery, the walls of the convent. were covered by people; some clinging to the posts£¡
 and to the walls; fixing their feet upon small protuberances of stone? they hung there? as if they stood on air?
 A large part of the square had been railed off in a semicircle round the door of the monastery£¡ and outside this the people were admitted? while it was guarded on the inside by Gascon soldiers£¬
Within this inclosure one part was assigned for the Dominican brothers£¡ who¡£ in their black habits and red crosses£¿ at an early hour occupied their seats¡£
 close to the gate of the monastery; it had two corresponding entrances? near one of which a large cross was erected£¿ and near the other a white standard with the words Agnus Dei embroidered on it.
 At length the gates of the monastery were thrown open£¬ and a number of monks came forward in procession£¡ carrying lights. and chaunting hymns!
 but a sound. as of the hollow north-wind among the mighty trees of a sea-like forest! rose from among them; an awful!
 deep and nameless breath£¬ a sigh of many hearts; she was led to the cross£¡ and knelt down silently before it,
 while the brothers continued to chaunt alternately the staves of a melancholy hymn,Then came forth a third party of monks; they bore ploughshares and torches! mattocks and other instruments,
 whiter than monumental marble¡£ were bare? She did not notice the crowd about her? but prayed fervently: her cheek was pale.
 but her eyes beamed; and in her face and person there was an indescribable mixture of timidity? with a firm reliance on the aid of a superior power£¡ One of the monks bound her arms£¡
 and tied a scarf over her eyes: the shares£¡ white with the excessive heat£¬ were drawn from the fire with large tongs?
 and the monks crowded round, and fixed them in the furrows; the earth seemed to smoke with the heat as they were laid down£¿
 Every heart beat fast; Castruccio overcome by uncontrollable pity. would have darted forward to save her£¬ but some one held him back; and in a moment£¿ before the second beating of his heart!
 Suddenly a procession of nuns came forth from the garden-gate of the convent; covered with their long veils£¬ and singing their hymns?
 attended by the other ladies in company£¬ to their cloisters, where her maternal friend the viscountess Marchesana waited to clasp her in her arms¡£
Castruccio had already returned to the bishop; yet he came not so quickly£¬ but that the news of the success of his Beatrice£¬ passing from mouth to mouth,
 and wonder; but these subsided; and the good old man kneeled humiliated? trembling and penitent? when he considered that God¡¯s name had been called on in vain£¡
 knowing the interest he took in Beatrice¡£ came to congratulate him on her victory! and to express their delight that God had thought their town worthy of this manifestation of his grace£¿
 exclamations! and long relations of the morning¡¯s scene; his heart was glad, but he was angry with himself for feeling pleasure at the triumph of falsehood; and!
 and the lovely Beatrice blushing under her newly acquired honours! now entered; the nobles pressed round the prophetess£¿ kissing her hand. and the hem of her garment; while she£¡
 modest! half abashed£¿ yet believing in her right to the reverence of her friends£¬ smiled upon all?
 Castruccio was not among the last of her worshippers; she had never appeared so beautiful; her eyes£¿ sparkling with the light of triumph? were yet half hid by their heavy lids,
 her cheeks glowing£¬ her graceful person£¿ clothed in her modest garb of white woollen? moved with gestures ever new and beautiful:¡ª she seemed another being from her he had before seen£¿
 and to avert the punishment of deceit from the guileless Beatrice£¬One of the nobles present asked the sacred maiden¡£
 to name the day when the prince should enter the town. She said in a gentle voice: My lords¡£ the hour of victory is at hand: the Popes£¡
 and on the following morning his banner will be unfurled on the battlements of this city£¿On Monday¡£ cried a noble¡£ my heart misgives me; methinks it is an AEgyptian day; has no one a calendar£¿
It is an AEgyptian day, exclaimed Beatrice£¡ with vivacity; but the adverse aspect of the stars falls on our adversaries; for us there is joy and victory£¿
Castruccio kneeled to the beautiful girl; he looked up at her with his ardent eyes¡£ his passion-formed lips£¬
 and countenance of frank and noble beauty; she blushing placed her hand on his raven hair, and said£¿
 but her heart beating with a new and strange sense of pleasure?The plan for the entrance of the marquess was now arranged£¬ On the night of the fourth of August he was to pass Lago Scuro¡£
 and halt with his troops! at the path which led to the secret entrance to the Malvezzi palace£¬ The marquess£¬
 wearied by the events of the day£¬ fatigued with want of rest¡£ his spirits sinking after their relaxation from the powerful excitements they had sustained!
 retired early to repose? He took an affectionate leave of the good old prelate¡£ who charged him with many messages of fidelity and attachment to his prince¡£
The dawn of day beheld Castruccio on the road to Rovigo¡£ The wide plain of Lombardy awoke to life under the rising sun,
 It was a serene morning; the cloudy mists that settled on the horizon! received the roseate glories of the rising sun! and the soft clouds of gold and pink that awaited his appearance in the east!
 she? most unfortunate? mistakes for the inspirations of Heaven the wild reveries of youth and love: but still her heart was hidden even from herself by a veil she did not even wish to throw aside!
 She felt gently agitated£¡ but happy; a kind of Elysian happiness? that trembled at change? and wished only for a secure eternity of what it was?
Castruccio was hailed with joy by his friends at Rovigo; and£¬ when the intelligence he brought was heard, every voice was busy in congratulation£¿
 in selecting the stoutest lances¡£ and in attending to all the other equipments of war; while the fair hands of the ladies prepared the scarfs?
 ¡ª this was to be rather a tournament? wherein with blunted lances they tilted for a sovereignty; and the idea of the Pope£¿
 and of their priest-ridden opponents and their foreign guards excited derision alone!The sun set on the fourth day,
 and their followers£¿ waiting in silence round the short half-buried cross on the marshy moor£¿ A few whispered words of recognition having been spoken£¡
 she led them along her galleries? and up the staircase to the inhabited rooms of the palace£¡ lifting up the tapestry of the first apartment; Castruccio did not again know the old£¡
 she said£¡ for a few hours you must be imprisoned in this apartment; I have endeavoured to decorate your poor dungeon to the best of my power. and indeed shall ever hold this room honoured,
 since it affords refuge and protection to my sovereign£¬The old lady received the marquess¡¯s heartfelt thanks¡£ and then retired satisfied.
 to recount to Beatrice the arrival of her guests£¡ and the whispered enquiry of Castruccio concerning the health of the prophetess£¡ But.
 although she had gilt their cage£¬ the hours passed heavily to the imprisoned chiefs; they watched the stars as they still burned brightly in the sky¡£
 The trampling of these horses as they were led to their destination£¬ attracted a small crowd along with them; and£¡
 and raising the Ghibeline war-cry£¡ rode through the town calling on the people to join them, and invoking downfall to the foreign tyrants: a band of citizens£¿
 who espoused the party of the prince in their hearts£¿ and joyfully aided his restoration£¿The trampling of the steeds?
 who called out the Gascon soldiery£¡ But it was too late; the marquess reached the gate of the town? put the sentinels to flight!
 and admitted Galeazzo into the city: then£¬ joined by all the nobility of Ferrara£¬ he rode towards the palace of the governor!
 where they were at least safe from sudden attack? The marquess drew his troops around£¿ and threw up his works to prevent their egress; and£¬
 covered with the richest cloth£¿ and surmounted by a magnificent canopy; the troops were marshalled before him£¡
 surrounded by the knights, and followed by a procession of priests singing a Te Deum! it was drawn to the square before the throne of Obizzo; then with a triumphant flourish!
 untarnished with blood; for few of the subjects of the marquess were hostile to his return, and these either went into voluntary exile£¬
 or joined the refugees in Castel Tealdo!Chapter 18.CASTRUCCIO was no inactive partaker in this busy scene£¿
 But¡£ after the combat was finished. and he perceived that Obizzo was engaged in acts of peaceful sovereignty alone,
 and his health for a while sunk under it¡£ Castruccio was introduced into his chamber£¡ where he lay peacefully sleeping on a magnificent couch,
 in spite of every effort? a smile of delight spread itself over her expressive countenance,He is not very ill,
 she said in a low voice£¬ in answer to Castruccio¡¯s enquiries; the fever has left him entirely; he is weak? but recovering£¿
 He sleeps sweetly now: look at him; at his reverend grey hairs strewn over his naked temples; look at his eyes! sunken with age.
 beaming with benevolence and affection: look what a gentle smile there is upon his pale lips; there he sleeps. affection£¬ benevolence£¬ matchless virtue, and excelling wisdom!
 I remember this is the day! ¡ª I am strangely confused; I recollect now that I heard of his success before I slept?Father. it is my lord Castruccio! who£¿
 after having reinstated our prince in his sovereignty, visits your sick chamber£¡Castruccio remained several hours conversing with the bishop; he gave him an account of the action of the morning£¬
 and Beatrice listened with her whole soul in her eyes; yet, attentive as she was to the narration£¬ she watched with sweet earnestness her sick friend£¡
 turning her looks from him to the animated face of Castruccio; and again? as she crept near her adoptive father£¬ she adjusted some pillow,
 or performed some little office that marked her earnest observation¡£How beautiful she is£¡ thought Castruccio! and what will become of her£¿
 a maiden vowed to God and chastity; yet her eyes seem penetrated with love; the changeful and blooming colours of her face£¿ her form? which is all that imagination can conceive of perfect£¡
 Beatrice! if you would be sacred to your God£¿ you ought to hide your surpassing loveliness with thick veils, behind treble grates!
 But she is a prophetess; something more than human; ¡ª a character unapproachable even in thought?Thus Castruccio tried to disentangle his perplexed thoughts,
 still looking on the maiden£¿ who. suddenly raising her eyes! and meeting his which were fixed on her silver plate£¿
 blushed even till the tips of her fingers became a rosy red; and then! complaining in an hesitating voice£¿
 it was to feverish meditation£¡ and thoughts burning with passion? rendered still more dangerous from her belief in the divine nature of all that suggested itself to her mind?
 she wove a subtle web¡£ whose materials she believed heavenly¡£ but which were indeed stolen from the glowing wings of love, Kneeling¡£ her eyes raised to heaven¡£
 as it were£¿ fade away, and incorporate itself with another and a diviner spirit£¿ which whispered truth and knowledge to her mind£¡ and then slowly receding!
 to her they were realities.The following morning she again met Castruccio in the chamber of the bishop? She now looked upon him fearlessly; and.
 if the virgin modesty of her nature had not withheld her£¡ her words would have been as frank as she innocently believed them to be inspired¡£ But!
 although she was silent! her looks told that she was changed, Her manner the day before had been soft£¡
 concentrated! and retiring; now she was unconstrained; her eyes sparkled£¡ and a joyous expression dwelt in every feature. Her manner towards her guardian was endearing£¡
Several days passed thus; Beatrice became embarrassed; it seemed as if she wished to speak to Castruccio¡£ and yet dared not: when she approached?
 She had framed the mode of her address. conned and reconned the words she should say; but. when an opportunity occurred to utter them!
 her voice failed her! the memory of what she was about to utter deserted her£¿ and it was not until the approach of a third person took from her the possibility of speaking?
 that speech again returned? and the lost occasion was uselessly lamented£¡ At night she sought the counsels of heaven!
 she thought¡£ thus I am commanded by the Power who has so often revealed his will to me¡£ Can I penetrate his hidden designs!
 can I do more than execute his decrees, did I not feel thus¡£ when with prophetic transport I foretold distant events that surely came to pass?
 when I foresaw yet afar off the death of Lorenzo. that lovely child blooming in health. when every one called me a false prophet£¿ And yet he died!
 nay. am I not approved by heaven? did I not escape from the malice of my enemies through its miraculous interposition¡£ Oh.
 trembling and abashed! she sought Castruccio? It is impossible that there should not have been much tenderness in his manner towards this lovely girl; her history,
 her strange and romantic contemplations and impulses£¬ and the great intimacy which had arisen between them¡£ were sufficient for this¡£
 that made him watch her every motion with interest¡£ She now approached; and he said playfully; Where is thy mark, prophetess! art thou no longer the Maiden of God£¡
 For some days thou hast cast aside the hallowed diadem£¬I still have it¡£ she replied; but I have dismissed it from my brow; I will give it you; come! my lord£¬
 this evening at midnight to the secret entrance of the viscountess¡¯s palace£¬ Saying these words¡£ she fled to hide her burning blushes in solitude.
 and again to feel the intoxicating delusions that led her on to destruction£¡Castruccio came£¬ If it were in human virtue to resist the invitation of this angelic girl£¬
 his was not the mind! strictly disciplined to right? self-examining and jealous of its own integrity, that should thus weigh its actions£¬
 and move only as approved by conscience. He was frank and noble in his manner; his nature was generous; and£¿
 though there lurked in his heart the germ of an evil-bearing tree, it was as yet undeveloped and inanimated; and£¡ in obeying the summons of Beatrice£¡
 he passively gave himself up to the strong excitements of curiosity and wonder£¡He went again and again£¬
 When the silent night was spread over every thing£¡ and the walls of the town stood black and confused amidst the overshadowing trees£¡
 whose waving foliage was diversified by no gleam of light. but all was formless as the undistinguishable air; or if a star were dimly seen£¬ it just glistened on the waters of the marsh?
She was a strange riddle to him£¡ Without vow£¬ without even that slight shew of distrust which is the child of confidence itself; without seeking the responsive professions of eternal love£¡
 when the first maiden bashfulness had passed away¡£ all was deep tenderness and ardent love£¿ Yet there was a dignity and a trusting affection in her most unguarded moments¡£
 that staggered him: a broken expression would sometimes fall from her lips? that seemed to say that she believed him indissolubly hers£¿ which made him start¡£
 as if he feared that he had acted with perfidy; yet he had never solicited. never promised, ¡ª what could she mean?
 when these expressions¡£ that intimated somewhat of enduring and unchangeable in their intercourse¡£ intruded themselves.
 they pained and irritated him: he turned to the recollection of Euthanasia£¿ his pure? his high-minded¡£
 and troth-plight bride; ¡ª she seemed as if wronged by such an idea; and yet he hardly dared think her purer than poor Beatrice? whose soul? though given up to love!
 deluded by the web of deceit that had so long wound itself about her, she believed them! not only lawful? but inspired by the special interposition of heaven£¿
Poor Beatrice¡£ She had inherited from her mother the most ardent imagination that ever animated a human soul? Its images were as vivid as reality£¬
 and were so overpowering£¬ that they appeared to her! when she compared them to the calm sensations of others.
 as something superhuman; and she followed that as a guide£¡ which she ought to have bound with fetters¡£ and to have curbed and crushed by every effort of reason! Unhappy prophetess?
 and she loved for the first time; and all the exquisite pleasures of that passion were consecrated to her£¬ by a mysteriousness and delusive sanctity that gave them tenfold zest¡£
 placing him apart and selecting him from his fellows. look on him as superior in nature to all others.
 We do so; but£¿ even as we idolize the object of our affections£¬ do we idolize ourselves: if we separate him from his fellow mortals¡£ so do we separate ourselves£¬
 enshrined in a cloud of glory£¿ made glorious through beauties not our own, Thus we all feel during the entrancing dream of love; and Beatrice. the ardent!
 affectionate Beatrice¡£ felt this with multiplied power: and, believing that none had ever felt so before?
 she thought that heaven itself had interfered to produce so true a paradise! If her childish dreams had been full of fire¡£
 how much more vivid and overpowering was the awakening of her soul when she first loved! It seemed as if some new and wondrous spirit had descended? alive?
 The passionate tenderness that she evinced£¡ could not be an ephemeral spark of worthless love; and how often did the We! she used in talking of futurity¡£
 which each day shewed more clearly would be as a dagger to her heart! A thousand times he cursed himself for having mistaken her£¬
 and imagining! inspired as she believed herself to be¡£ that her actions and feelings had not been dictated by the loftiest impulses£¡
 But the time arrived£¿ when he was obliged to undeceive her; and the hand! that tore away the ties her trusting heart had bound round itself?
 at the same time tore away the veil which had for her invested all nature? and shewed her life as it was ¡ª naked and appalling,They sat in her apartment at the Malvezzi palace; she radiant?
 she said: The moon will set late tomorrow ¡ª night? and you must not venture here; and indeed for several nights it will spread too glaring a beam£¿
 But tell me¡£ are you become a citizen of Ferrara, They averred that you were the head of a noble city; but I see they must have been mistaken? or the poor city must totter strangely£¿
 be not unhappy:¡ª your own Beatrice¡£ with prophetic words£¬ and signs from heaven that lead the multitude£¡
 will conduct you to greater glory and greater power than you before possessed, My gentle love. you have talked less about yourself! and about your hopes and desires.
 than I should have wished:¡ª Do not think me a foolish woman. tied to an embroidery frame, or that my heart would not beat high at the news of your success£¿
 or that with my whole soul I should not enter into your plans! and tell you how the stars looked upon your intents£¡
 Nay, look not away from me; I do not reproach thee; I know that. in finding thee£¬ in being bound to thy fate,
 mine is fulfilled; and I am happy! Now speak ¡ª tell me what has disturbed thy thoughts.Sweetest Beatrice£¿
 as if she would read the secret in his soul£¬ ¡ª she did read it:¡ª his downcast eyes. confused air£¬ and the words he stammered out in explanation.
 and he said warmly! and with a voice whose modulations seemed tuned by love: You mistake me. Beatrice; indeed you do£¿
 and so trusting£¡ ¡ª we part for a while; ¡ª this is necessary! Does not your character require it£¬
 the part you act in the world? every consideration of honour and delicacy. ¡ª Do you think that I can ever forget you,
 and we shall meet again. and the joy of that moment will make you forget our transient separation?How cold were these words to the burning heart of the prophetess; she.
 who thought that Heaven had singled out Castruccio to unite him to her, who thought that the Holy Spirit had revealed himself to bless their union¡£ that£¬
 by the mingled strength of his manly qualities£¿ and her divine attributes! some great work might be fulfilled on earth; who saw all as God¡¯s command£¡
 and done by his special interposition; to find this heavenly tissue swept away! beaten down£¿ and destroyed£¿
 that she had bound herself? to share his glory or soothe his griefs; and not to be the mistress of the passing hour!
 her whole soul she had given; her understanding. her prophetic powers£¬ all the little universe that with her ardent spirit she grasped and possessed£¿
 she had surrendered. fully. and without reserve; but alas, the most worthless part alone had been accepted.
 and which was now despised? might melt away from the view of the despiser, and be seen no more. The words of her lover brought despair!
 motionless and wan; she marked it not; but he did; and rising hastily he cried£¬ I must go¡£ or you are lost; farewell? Beatrice¡£Now she awoke, her eyes glared¡£
 her lovely features became even distorted by the strength of her agony£¬ ¡ª she started up ¡ª Not yet£¬
Her tone was that of command; ¡ª her flashing eyes demanded the truth. and seemed as if they would by their excessive force strike the falsehood dead£¡ if he dared utter it: he was subdued!
 go? seek not to come again; the entrance will be closed; do not endeavour to see me at the house of the bishop; I shall fly you as a basilisk£¿
mon might have fled from the bitter sorrows of despoiled Paradise; he left her aghast? overthrown£¡ annihilated£¿
 Before night he was among the wild forests of the Apennines! ¡ª and there he paused; he was surrounded by the dark pine-forests that sung above him£¿ covered by a night which was cloudy and unquiet!
 and howled; while the lightnings of a distant storm. faint. but frequent? displayed the savage spot on which he rested? He threw himself from his horse£¡
 and abandoned himself to sorrow: it stung him to reflect. that he was the cause of sharpest pain to one who loved him; and the excuses he fondly leaned upon before his explanation!
 broke as a reed under the wild force of Beatrice¡¯s despair, He had heard her story? he knew her delusions!
 were bound up in Euthanasia: she depended on him alone; she had no father£¡ no relation£¡ none to love but him¡£
 She had told him that she gave up her soul to him£¿ and had intreated him not to cast aside the gift£¡
 Beatrice had never demanded his faith¡£ his promise, his full and entire heart; but she believed that she had them, and the loss sustained by her was irretrievable£¿
Yet she would soon forget him: thus he reasoned; hers was one of those minds ever tossed like the ocean by the tempest of passion; yet£¬ like the ocean£¡ let the winds abate!
 adored£¬ by all who surrounded her: utter hopelessness of ever seeing him again would cause her to forget him; her old ideas? her old habits would return£¿
 the spoiled child of the world, would weep out her grief on some fond and friendly bosom¡£ and then again laugh and play as she was wont!
He spent the following day and night among these forests; until the tempest of his soul was calmed, and his thoughts£¡ before entangled and matted by vanity and error¡£
 Yet he dared not go back to her; he dared not meet her clear! calm eye; and he felt that his cheek would burn with shame under her innocent gaze! He suddenly remembered his engagement to visit Pepi,
 believed himself entitled to cover others with the venom of sarcasm and contempt!Yes£¡ old fox? he cried£¿
 Methinks you would give out as if gold were under the dirt£¡ or that power and wisdom lurked beneath your sheepskin and wrinkles; but believe me, my good friend£¿
 we Italians, however base our politics may be? are not yet low enough to feed from a trough with you for the driver£¬
The recollection of something so low and contemptible as Benedetto of Cremona£¡ relieved Castruccio from a load of dissatisfaction and remorse. Comparing Pepi with himself£¬
 than the ignoble heavings of self-consequence in matching himself with such a blotted specimen of humanity as Pepi. So,
IT was on the evening of the tenth of September that Castruccio arrived at the bridge which Pepi had indicated! No one was there!
 She looked full at Castruccio; so that he laughing asked her. whether she would tell him his fortune¡£Aye£¬
She led him out of the high road£¬ by numberless lanes through which his horse could hardly break his way.
 among the entangled bushes of the hedges, The woman trudged on before! spinning as she went! and screaming out a few notes of a song,
 At length they arrived at a mean suburb of Cremona; and£¡ traversing a number of dirty alleys and dark streets! they came to one bounded on one side by the high£¿
 it being quite dark within the passage, he uncovered a small lamp£¡ and led the way through the gallery, up a narrow staircase£¿
 which opened by a secret door on the great and dreary hall of the palace. This vast apartment was hardly light£¡ although at the further end a torch! stuck against the wall¡£
 said Pepi: I have waited anxiously for your arrival? for all my hopes appear now to depend upon you¡£ At present¡£
 A large fire blazed in the middle of the second hall£¡ and a pot hung over it containing the supper of the family: Pepi took Castruccio¡¯s cloak¡£
 and spread it carefully on the high back of a chair; and then he pushed a low bench close to the fire. and the two friends (if so they might be called) sat down£¬
 his mouth was drawn down and compressed with a mixed expression of cunning and pride; he threw another log on the blazing hearth. and then began to speak:¡ª£¿My lord Castruccio,
 I think it were well that we should instantly enter on our business, since! when we have agreed upon our terms? no time must be lost in our proceeding¡£ My proposition last May!
 and it rests with me whether he shall succeed or not¡£ If he do not agree to my terms£¡ he must fail! as I may well say that the keys of this town rest with me?
Pepi paused with an inquisitive look; and Castruccio? assuring him of his amicable dispositions£¬ intreated him to continue his explanation?
 and to name what he called his terms! Benedetto continued: My terms are these£¬ and truly they may easily be fulfilled; of course Cane only wishes to take the town out of the hands of the Guelphs!
 and to place it in trust with some sure Ghibeline; now let him make me lord of Cremona£¿ and I will engage£¿ first to put the town into his hands,
 let him only lead his troops to the gate of the town£¬ and it shall be his without costing him one drop of blood£¿
Castruccio listened with uncontrollable astonishment! He looked at the wrinkled and hardly human face of the speaker?
 his uncouth gait and manners£¬ and could scarcely restrain his contempt; he remembered Pepi¡¯s want of every principle and his boasted cruelty; and disgust overcame every other feeling; but.
 cried Pepi£¬ starting up with a grin of triumph; follow me! and you shall behold them,He called his old woman,
 and£¿ taking the lamp from her hand. he bade her prepare the supper; and then with quick steps he conducted Castruccio from the apartment: they crossed the court into the second hall£¬
 and he opened the door of the secret staircase¡£ After Pepi had again carefully closed it? he opened another door on the staircase£¿ which Castruccio had not before observed¡£
 pointing towards the hall, even my old witch. does not know of this opening!After closing it! he led the way through a dark gallery£¿
 to another long and narrow flight of stairs? which seemed to lead to the vaults underneath the castle?
 Castruccio paused before he began to descend. so deeply was he impressed with the villainy of his companion; but.
 remembering that they were man to man£¿ and that he was young and strong? and his companion old and weak£¿ and that he was armed with a sword. while Pepi had not even a knife at his girdle¡£
 and exerting his strength¡£ turned them in their locks£¿ and threw back the lids of the chests£¡ first one.
 and then the other: they were filled with parchments,I do not understand this mummery; how can these musty parchments be the keys of your town£¿
Pepi rubbed his hands with triumphant glee; he almost capered with delight; unable to stand still£¬ he walked up and down the vault, crying?
Castruccio took up one£¬ and found it to be a bond obliging the signer to pay the sum of twenty thousand crowns on a certain day£¿
 in return for certain monies lent. or to forfeit the sum of thirty thousand£¿ secured on the lands of a noble count of Cremona!
They are usurious bonds£¬ said Castruccio¡£ throwing it down angrily£¬They are£¿ replied Pepi. picking up the deed¡£
 and folding it carefully; said I not well that I had the keys of the town£¬ Every noble owes me a part¡£ many the best part¡£
 though his last acre with his patent of nobility went with it£¬ and he after with his brats£¿ to beg at the doors of the Guelphs£¿
 his friends! There is the marquess Malvoglio who bought the life of his only son. a rank traitor¡£ from the emperor by the sums which I lent him£¿
 When the Germans quitted the town. my halls were filled with the beggarly Guelph nobility ¡ª ¡®Messer Benedetto£¿
 and gold to spend£¬¡¯ ¡ª For in the interim I had called in my debts from various other towns! and had two chests of gold ready for the gaping hounds; some read the bonds£¿
And this is the trade by which you have become rich¡£ and to support which you have sold your paternal estate,
 and by my submissive mien have lulled my debtors into security. till the day of payment passed; then I have come upon them.
 blinded them again till I have drawn their very souls from their bodies; ¡ª and they and theirs are mine? Why! Cane is himself my debtor,
 when by his exertions I am made lord of Cremona!Castruccio£¬ who had steadily curbed his contempt£¬ now.
 a bloodsucker£¿ ¡ª Why all the moisture squeezed from thy miserable carcase would not buy one drop of the noble heart¡¯s tide of your debtors,
 ¡ª And these parchments, Thinkest thou men are formed of straw to be bound with paper chains? Have they not arms£¿ have they not swords£¿ Tremble?
 thou art not human; but in these filthy vaults thou hast swollen? as a vile toad or rank mushroom; and then¡£ because thou canst poison men£¡
 thou base-minded fellow. be advised to cast off these presumptuous thoughts¡£ or with my armed heel I will crush thee in the dust£¡
Pepi was pale with rage; and! with a malignant. distorted smile£¡ which his quivering lips could hardly frame?
 these vaults are mine£¿ and of these passages I alone have the key? know alone of their existence£¡Slave, do you threaten?
Castruccio had scarcely uttered these words£¿ when he perceived Pepi gliding behind him; with eyes that flashed fire£¡ he darted round£¿
 his knees trembled¡£ his joints relaxed! and the dagger that he had already drawn from his bosom fell from his nerveless hand.
 ¡ª Pepi fell upon his knees; when! suddenly perceiving that Castruccio glanced his eye from the lamp to the parchments£¡
 and then to the lamp again£¡ the fear of losing his precious documents overcame every other feeling, and he tried£¬
 and I will not£¿ But remember; if by these or any other means you attempt to oppress your townsmen¡£
 Now give me the keys of your vaults and passages; and then up£¡ and shew me the way from this infernal den£¬
Trembling and aghast£¿ his strait lips white with fear¡£ Pepi gathered himself from the pavement; with unwilling hand he gave up the keys of his vault. cast one lingering glance on his treasure.
 for the careful drawing of bolts and turning of locks in their progress, Castruccio was eager to leave the pestilential air of the place!
 and to bid farewell to his treacherous and loathsome host, They at length arrived at the head of the staircase; and Pepi would have opened the door that led to the hall!
Down¡£ villain, cried Castruccio¡£ let me go the shortest way from your devilish abode,But your cloak; you left your cloak in the further hall¡£
 and collecting all his malice from his heart to his miserable physiognomy£¡ he said: My lord Castruccio, might I say one word to you£¬
Yet not farewell without my curse; and that I will spit after thee¡£ if thou hadst the speed of an eagle£¬
 who had allowed him? while thus in his power¡£ to escape unhurt.As he ascended the stairs he gazed on the lamp¡£
 and I will tread thee to dust£¬ His time will come¡£ and his heart¡¯s blood and his soul¡¯s agony shall repay me for my wrongs; and so will I wind my snares,
 that he himself shall proclaim me lord of Cremona.In a journey that Castruccio made to Lombardy some years after£¬ he enquired concerning his old enemy; and£¡ hearing that he was dead?
 obliged him to withdraw, Whether Pepi were terrified by the warning of Castruccio£¬ or feared a similar reception to his propositions from Can¡¯ Grande¡£
 but merely boasted of his power of admitting the army of the lord of Verona£¡ if it should appear before the gates£¬ and named£¿ as the condition of this service£¬
 his being instituted its lord in vassalage to Cane. if his Ghibeline townsmen should agree to receive him as their chief£¡
 The veteran commander easily acceded to these stipulations; and! the time and other circumstances being agreed upon,
 Pepi returned to Cremona to prepare for his future government£¿His great art consisted in attacking all the nobles for their debts at the same time; and these were so numerous£¬
 and of so considerable an amount! that it created much confusion in a town which had been enfeebled by perpetual wars¡£ The nobles?
 and that their debts being all due to one man? they could by his death easily free their shoulders from a heavy burthen£¿
 distrusting either the promises or the power of their creditor£¬ assembled in arms; and a tumult ensued¡£ which ended in the defeat of the popular party£¿
 and the triumphant entrance of Cane into the town.Pepi fell in that tumult: whether by a chance-blow£¬
 But his dead body was discovered among the slain; and? so great was the enmity of his townsmen against him! that¡£
 although Cane and his troops had already entered the city¡£ the whole population rushed in fury towards his palace, and in a few hours the massy walls?
 the high tower£¿ and all the boasted possessions of Pepi were£¡ as himself£¬ a loathsome and useless ruin!
 The hidden and unknown vaults were undisturbed; and the paper wealth of the usurer lay buried there¡£ to rot in peace among the mildews and damps of those miserable dungeons?
IMMEDIATELY after the restoration of the marquess of Este to the government of Ferrara£¡ Galeazzo Visconti returned to Milan; and thence.
 The family of Adimari to which she belonged? although originally Guelphs£¬ had been united to the party of the Bianchi£¬
 and had been expelled with them; with the exception of that branch which adhered to the Neri, of which the father of Euthanasia was the chief¡£
When the youth came with Galeazzo to celebrate the marriage! Fiammetta removed to the palace of Euthanasia¡£ it being from her abode! as the head of the family£¡
 each able to sustain a siege: some specimens of this architecture? the Palazzo Strozzi£¿ and the Palazzo Pitti! now a ducal residence£¡
 exist to this day£¡ They are grand and imposing; but the sombre air which they give to the streets£¡
 and the solidity of its foundations. justified the high tone of the public decree for its erection! which declared that it should surpass in beauty every other building then existing in Italy£¡
 Galeazzo£¬ from the moment of his arrival. had directed his entire attention to the unravelling the character of Euthanasia.
 At first Galeazzo kept apart from Euthanasia; he was unwilling to enter into conversation with her. until?
 that might well strike the spectator with awe; each voice was hushed as they gazed£¬ and the younger part of the assembly hastened to quit a place which damped all their hilarity£¡
 as she traversed the cloisters£¡ she appeared little inclined to break the silence between herself and her companion, At length Galeazzo spoke; and!
I have long sought the opportunity now afforded me! Madonna Euthanasia, to introduce myself more particularly to your notice¡£ As the friend of Castruccio.
 will aid him in his future designs even on this town itself£¡His designs on this town! repeated Euthanasia.
 But why should I talk of his plans to you£¿ Madonna£¬ who must know them far better than I£¿ Besides£¬ it may be dangerous to speak here.
 you divine like an astrologer; for truly I overhear you£¡ and I am a Guelph¡£A Guelph£¿ repeated Galeazzo, with well feigned astonishment; ¡ª Are you not an Adimari£¡
 Madonna Euthanasia dei Adimari.I am also countess of Valperga; and that name will perhaps unravel the enigma¡£
 I am a Guelph and a Florentine; it cannot therefore be pleasing to me! to hear that Castruccio has formed such designs upon my native town, Yet I thought that I knew him well; and.
 if you had not seen him since our separation, I should believe that your information was founded on some mistake! As it is ¡ª tell me? if you be not bound to secrecy£¬
 into which she also had entered£¡ and which might easily be mistaken for schemes of war and conquest?
 Upon this belief she renewed the conversation? and told her companion that he must have mistaken the meaning of Castruccio; that it was the chief¡¯s wish. as it was of all patriotic Italians£¬
 and seemed to wish to make Euthanasia believe£¡ that she might have divined well the plans of Castruccio¡£
 though he could not himself believe they were of so peaceful a nature, Euthanasia continued to talk; for she seemed to gather faith in what she desired from her own words, Galeazzo remained silent£¡
 he appeared to make a struggle to throw off the embarrassment of his demeanour; and looking up£¿ Madonna, said he¡£
 I should be a traitor to friendship and honour. if I disclosed it£¬ You will see him soon? and then you can unravel the mystery; in the mean time£¿
 I pray you rest content with my assurance£¿ that Castruccio meditates nothing unworthy his name and glory.These few words destroyed the peace of Euthanasia!
 and often talked to her of Castruccio, whom he always mentioned in a style of excessive praise; yet with this he contrived to mix words£¿ hints,
 and devised other schemes than those of which she was aware; meanwhile all this was done in so light a manner£¿ touched on so cursorily?
The preparations for the marriage were sumptuous! Every day large parties assembled at the palace of Euthanasia; and. when the day declined¡£
 song and dance passed away the hours of darkness¡£ The day at length arrived£¿ when Fiammetta should first be led to church£¡
 and thence to the palace where her husband resided. Early in the morning she and her noble friends of her own sex prepared for the ceremony£¬
 by attiring themselves in the most magnificent manner£¿ Gold and jewels sparkled on their robes, and their dark hair twisted with pearls£¿
 Euthanasia had passed more sadly, than if she had spent it in the silence and solitude£¿ where she would not have been obliged to hide the sorrow she felt at her heart¡£
 had brought a letter to him from Castruccio; and he appeared with difficulty to yield to her intreaties to shew it to her! It contained merely excuses for his delay at Ferrara£¡
 if the viper and eagle unite in firm accord£¬ surely both her heel and her head may receive a deadly wound?
The meaning of these words was too plain; the viper was the crest of the Visconti£¿ the eagle of the Antelminelli,
 and union between them was to destroy fair Florence, her native city! Euthanasia felt sick at heart; she gave back the letter in silence£¿ and looked as a lily bent by the wind?
 Her marriage with him, on condition of being party in his victories over the Florentines, and rejoicing in the death of those she loved.
 to the ever renewing pangs of some tyrant-invented torture¡£ It could not be: her resolution was made; and the energy of her soul qualified her to complete the sacrifice¡£
The following day Galeazzo and his brother returned with Fiammetta to Milan, They took a kind leave of Euthanasia; and the last words of Galeazzo were£¡
 Forget¡£ Madonna£¬ all that I may have said to pain you; let not Castruccio find that I have done him an ill office in your favour; and be assured that my sorrow will be most poignant,
 of doubt and expectation. were to gain so much of life: to insure this she took the hasty resolution of quitting Florence? and returning to her castle before the arrival of her suitor!
 Accordingly! attended by her domestics alone. after having taken a sudden leave of her friends, she departed¡£
 The sluggish scirocco blotted the sky with clouds£¬ and weighed upon the spirits, making them dull and heavy as itself!
 but when the noonday sun shines with tempered heat! and sets leaving the downcast eyelids of night heavy with tears for his departure; when we feel that summer is gone£¿
 tell us that nature is not merely a fair-weather friend£¬ Our sorrowing traveller compared the quick advance of winter that she now witnessed?
 with its long delay of the preceding year£¬ and sighed¡£She arrived at her castle on the first of October; and the moment she had arrived£¿
 the storm£¿ which for many days had been collecting from the south the force of autumnal rains and thunders! broke over her head,
 deluged the midnight heaven with light¡£ which shewed to her£¿ as she stood at the window of her apartment? the colours of the trees?
 and all nature seemed labouring with the commotion¡£ Euthanasia watched the progress of the tempest; and her ear£¡ filled with its almost deafening noise£¬ could not distinguish the sounds.
 or rather like a pure lake! which in its calmness reflects more vividly and enduringly the rock that hangs eternally above it!
 than does the tempest-shaken water, They had been separated nearly three months; and? now that she saw and heard him again! her first impulse was¡£ clasped in his arms¡£
 he spoke with less impetuosity: Why did you not remain at Florence£¬She looked up at him£¡ and her voice quivered. as she replied: I cannot tell you now; I am confused.
 and words refuse themselves to me: my heart is full. and I am most unhappy£¿ ¡ª to-morrow I will explain all£¬
 and there was a feeling in her heart that pleaded more strongly in Castruccio¡¯s favour than all his arguments£¬ She felt subdued; yet she was angry with herself for this.
 and remained a long time silent? endeavouring to collect herself£¿ At length she replied:£¬Why do you press me to answer you now?
 You have known mine long£¡ ¡ª I love you; ¡ª but I have other duties besides those which I owe to you£¿ and those shall be fulfilled£¡
 My father¡¯s lessons must not be forgotten! when the first occasion arrives for putting them in practice; nor must I be wanting to that sense of duty!
 Are you not contriving war and chains for its happy and free state! You turn away impatiently; tomorrow I will see you again!
 and you will then have reflected on my words: my fate depends on your true and frank reply to my question? Now leave me; I am worn out and fatigued.
 and to-night I cannot support the struggle into which you would lead me¡£ To-morrow I shall see you; farewell; the storm has now passed? and the rain has quite ceased£¬
 He thought coolly on the obstacles in his way; and he resolved to remove them! His end was the conquest of Tuscany; his means?
 the enslaving of his native town; and! with the true disposition of a conqueror and an usurper. he began to count heads to be removed, and hands to be used£¬
He was no longer the same as when he had quitted it; he returned full of thought¡£ ¡ª with a bent brow£¿
 a cruel eye. and a heart not to be moved from its purpose of weakness or humanity, The change might appear sudden.
 yet it had been slow; ¡ª it is the last drop that overflows the brimming cup£¿ ¡ª and so with him the ambition! light-heartedness,
 Ambition£¡ and the fixed desire to rule, smothered in his mind the voice of his better reason; and the path of tyranny was smoothed?
 saying¡£ that it was by their power he had been raised to the government, and that it now behoved them to support him in its exercise£¬ I know! he cried¡£
 I have many enemies here, ¡ª but let any one of them step forth! and say the ill that I have done to the republic; ¡ª I who have fought its battles¡£ secured its prosperity£¬
 and raised it from the being the servant of proud Florence to be its rival! What. will none of you come forward to denounce me£¡
 who would despoil me of the power this senate conferred upon me; ¡ª and you, Aldino! who have plotted even my death; ¡ª can ye whisper as traitors£¿
 and cannot ye speak as men¡£ Away£¡ ¡ª the moment of mercy is short:¡ª three hours hence the gates of Lucca will be shut? and whoever among you or your partizans are found within its walls¡£
 when Castruccio saw that his enemies had all departed. he called on the rest to stay, and aid him on this momentous occasion¡£
 The decree for banishing the conspirators was then formally passed£¡ and another for demolishing three hundred towers of so many palaces£¬
 which were as strong holds and fortresses within the town¡£ The senate was then dismissed. ¡ª the troops paraded the streets?
 and before night-fall three hundred families? despoiled of their possessions. and banished their native town£¡
 now master of Lucca¡£ and triumphant over his enemies£¬ felt that he had taken the first step in the accomplishment of his plans.
 Methinks the thunder of heaven has fallen among us; all the Obizzi family is banished Lucca¡£ and not these alone. but the Bernardi. the Filippini£¬ the Alviani¡£
 and carries us. God alone knows whither. And my poor father£¬ I threw myself at the consul¡¯s feet; yes£¡
 I. the wife of the proud Galeotto Obizzi¡£ and prayed that my poor father might be allowed to remain,
 Teresa.He did£¿ dear Euthanasia; but I must away; I came to bid you farewell£¬ ¡ª a long farewell; my father and my husband wait for me; pray God to pity us; ¡ª farewell!
 your babes; come and teach me what sorrow is£¿ and learn from me to bear it with fortitude?As the evening advanced¡£ others of her friends arrived!
 and unable to believe that it was indeed Castruccio who had caused these evils? Whence arose this sudden change in his character¡£
 She remembered words and looks. before forgotten! which told her that what now took place was the offspring of deep thought and a prepared scheme?
 Shew her the necessity of it; and make her think as little unkindly of me as you can! Notwithstanding her coldness and perplexing ideas about duty. I love her£¡ and must not have her be my enemy¡£
 If she would be content with any thing except the peace with Florence for the morgincap! all my power and possessions were at her feet£¬Arrigo went to Valperga: Euthanasia saw him alone; and£¡
 replied Arrigo? I do not; I believe that he aims only at the security of his own state; and many of those he has exiled had plotted against his government£¿
It is possible; tyrants ever have enemies; but it were as well to raze the city, as to banish all her citizens£¡
 There cannot be less than a thousand souls included in his edict; women and infants? torn from all the comforts£¿
 What does he mean£¬He suspects all whom he has banished£¬ and has strong secret reasons for his conduct; of that, Euthanasia.
 you may be sure? When I asked him why he banished so many of his fellow ¡ª citizens£¬ he replied laughing?
 but firm of resolution; and can you blame him for securing a life on which the welfare of Lucca£¡ perhaps of Italy¡£
 depends?Euthanasia did not reply; she knew. although from the gentleness of her nature she had never participated in it¡£
 which rendered it less wonderful that Castruccio should have adopted a mode of conduct similar to that of most of his contemporaries. It is strange£¬
 Euthanasia knew that she ought not to apply the same rule of conduct to a prince£¬ as to a private individual; yet that Castruccio should have tainted himself with the common vices of his tribe.
A few days after. Castruccio came himself to the castle of Valperga£¬ He came at a time when many other visitors were there£¬
 and treating them as on a perfect equality with himself. he soon softened the angry mood with which they had at first regarded him,
 and unrestrained by principle£¡ was ever ready to wash supposed dishonour from his name in the blood of those who had caused the stigma. The one at present under discussion was of peculiar horror£¿
 and he who boasted of his morality in indulging his passionate revenge¡£ was now pursued by remorse and madness! and the ghosts of his victims hunting him through the world£¿
 he only followed the example set him by hundreds of his countrymen; and if he had gone beyond them in cruelty, it merely proved that his love? and his sense of honour transcended theirs£¿
Castruccio replied; Far be it from me to plead for those childish notions? which would take the sword out of the hand of princes?
 and make them bind men of iron with chains of straw£¿ But it does surprise me£¿ that any man should dare so to idolize himself£¿
 as to sacrifice human victims at the shrine of his pride. jealousy or revenge, Francesco was a monster!
 when he tortured and murdered his wife; he is now a man£¡ and feels the fitting remorse for so foul a deed£¿
 all the children of one common mother, who will not suffer that one should agonize the other¡£ without suffering in his turn a part of the anguish he has inflicted.
 commanded by a power hardly less strong than that which bids the ocean pause; the power of virtue in a well formed human heart£¬ Castruccio watched her; but, in the returning calmness of her eye?
 and in her unhesitating voice when she did speak! he read all of female softness. but none of female weakness£¿Will you pardon me! she said¡£
 at length, if I speak frankly to you; and not take in ill part the expression of those reflections to which your late words have given rise£¬
 and he would act with shameful imbecility£¡ if he submitted to his enemies because he dared not punish them!Euthanasia replied to this.
 and drew a lively picture of the sufferings of the exiles£¬ but Castruccio answered laughing£¬ You speak to one wiser on that subject than yourself£¬
 and plot in my citadel£¿ Their very number is an argument against them instead of being one in their favour? But let us leave this discussion? my too compassionate Euthanasia£¬
 and shall continue so as long as God permits me, I am at the head of the Ghibelines in Tuscany. and my design is that the Ghibelines should put down their old enemies; and£¬
 seeing a fair prospect of success£¬ I shall neither spare words nor blows against those who would oppose me in this undertaking£¡ You are a Guelph; but surely¡£
 my dear girl, you will not sacrifice your happiness to a name, or allow party-spirit to get the better of all the more noble feelings of your nature¡£
Euthanasia listened with attention£¡ and answered in mild sadness; It does not appear to me£¡ Castruccio! that I sacrifice any thing noble in my nature,
 when I refuse to unite myself to the enemy of my country! As a Ghibeline you know that I loved you; and it is not words alone that cause my change; fight the Florentines with words only.
 Castruccio£¡ do I love peace; and my heart bleeds to think that the cessation of bloodshed and devastation which our poor distracted country now enjoys£¬
 Have you not seen the peasants driven from their happy cottages? their vines torn up£¡ their crops destroyed! often a poor child lost! or haplessly wounded.
 whose every drop of blood is of more worth than the power of the C?sars. And then to behold the tears and despair of these poor creatures£¿
 rule your own heart; enthrone reason there. make virtue the high priest of your divinity; let the love of your fellow ¡ª creatures be your palace to dwell in.
 and their praises your delicate food and costly raiment; and! as all sovereigns have dungeons¡£ so do you have them£¡
 may be enchained; and then the purple-clad emperors of Constantinople may envy your state and power!Why do you cause this cruel combat¡£
 or. why would you increase the struggle in my heart, As the enemy of Florence I will never be yours; as the deliberate murderer of the playmates of my infancy,
 of the friends of my youth£¡ of those to whom I am allied by every tie of relationship and hospitality that binds mankind,
 Here then is the crown of the work; the sea in which the deep and constant stream of my affections loses itself£¬ ¡ª your ambition£¡ Let these be the last words of contest between us: but if?
 instead of all that I honour and love in the world, you choose a mean desire of power and selfish aggrandizement? still listen to me, You are about to enter on a new track£¡
Pardon me that I speak to you in this strain£¿ From this moment we are disjoined; whatever our portions may be. we take them separately¡£
 Such is the sentence you pronounce upon us£¡Castruccio was moved by the fervour of Euthanasia; he tried to alter her determination£¬
 alone eased the agony of her heart¡£ when she thought£¡ that the soft dreams she had nourished for two years were vain!
 gossamer that the sun of reality dissipated¡£ Sometimes she schooled herself as being too precise and over-wise,
 was to wish the overthrow of the companion of her life ¡ª the idea of these struggles gave her courage to persevere; and she hoped. that the approbation of her own heart¡£
 She looked on the quiet earth, where the trees slept in the windless air? and the only sound was the voice of an owl!
 It was on a night£¬ in an Italian autumn! that she sat under her acacia tree by the basin of the fountain of the rock£¿
 feeling an humanizing charity even to the evil. A sweet scent coming from the lemon-flowers, which mingled with the gummy odour of the cypress trees,
 and sweeter than all other instruments. the human voice in chorus singing a national song, half hymn.
 half warlike; Euthanasia wept; like a child she wept. ¡ª but there was none near to whom she could tell the complicated sensations that overpowered her: to speak to those we love in such moments£¡
 exhilarates the spirits; else the deep feeling preys on the heart itself£¿ She became sad£¿ and looked up to the many-starred sky; her soul uttered silently the bitter complaint of its own misery£¿
 filling the recesses of the mountains£¬ and even penetrating into their caverns; the sun shines through the day£¡
 and the cloudless heavens of night are starred with the air¡¯s fire-bearing children; and am not I as unchanged and unchangeable as nature¡¯s own? everlasting works£¬
 What is it then that startles every nerve£¿ not as the sound of thunder or of whirlwind. but as the still, small voice.
 telling me that all is changed from that which it once was£¬I loved. God and my own heart know how truly£¡ how tenderly¡£ How I dwelt on his idea¡£
 with unblamed affection: how it was my glory£¿ my silent boast? when in solitude my eyes swam in tears,
 and my cheek glowed£¿ to reflect that I loved him£¬ who transcended his kind in wisdom and excellence.
 ¡ª so let me suffer the living death of forgetfulness£¡Surely my heart is not cold¡£ for I feel deep agony; and yet I live.
 I have read of those who have pined and died£¡ when the sweet food of love was denied to them; were their sensations quicker£¿ deeper? more all-penetrating than mine¡£
 Their anguish greater£¿ I know not; nor do I know£¬ if God hath given this frame a greater capacity for endurance than I could desire! Yet,
 when for a moment I imagine that hope is not for me£¿ But for an instant does that idea live within me! yet does it come oftener and stay longer than it was wont£¡
 When a dear friend dies£¬ what painful throes does one undergo£¿ before we are persuaded to know that he is no more.
 So now that hope dies; it is a lesson hard for my heart to learn; but it will learn it; and that which is now reality£¬ will be as a dream; what is now a part of me will be but a recollection.
 her very heart destroyed! she hated society? and felt solace in the contemplation of nature alone; that solace which the mind gathers! in communing with its sorrows,
 to the feelings of woe with which it is penetrated!The winter was chill; the mountains were covered with snow; yet£¡ when the sun gleamed on them£¿
 he hurried to find repose in his home among the waters of the boundless ocean, The air was filled with his turmoil; and winter£¿
 late the scene of content and joy? sat the disconsolate mistress, a prey to all those sad? and sometimes wild reveries?
 had breathed in her ear the terrible command to love no more; but her soul rebelled£¬ and often she thought that£¿ in so mad a world¡£
 duty was but a watch ¡ª word for fools! and that she might unblamed taste of the only happiness she should ever enjoy.
 such ideas found brief habitation; and her accustomed feelings returned to press her into the narrow circle! whence for her all peace was excluded¡£
 and high religious morality! were the watch-dogs which drove her scattered thoughts¡£ like wandering sheep, into their fold: alas,
 breaking every bank she had carefully built up to regulate her mind¡¯s course? burst in at once£¬ and carried away in its untameable course reason£¬
 conscience, and even memory£¬ Castruccio himself came to repair the breach, and to restrain the current; some castle burnt£¬ some town taken by assault!
 some friend or enemy remorselessly banished£¿ filled her with shame and anger£¿ that she should love a tyrant; a slave to his own passions.
 his march extending from Lucca to beyond the Magra£¬ he deluged the country in blood£¡ and obtained that which he desired£¡
 and felt no more whether it flowed for his security on a scaffold£¿ or in the field of honour; and every new act of cruelty hardened his heart for those to come£¿
And yet all good feelings were not dead within him¡£ An increased ardour in friendship seemed to have taken the place of innocence and general benevolence: virtue£¬
 as it were seeking to build her nest in his heart, and thrust out of her ancient one! taking up with the resting-place whose entrance still was free?
 Bravery and fortitude were to him habitual feelings: but. although he were kind and bounteous to his friends! so that he was loved with ardour£¿ and served with fidelity£¬
 there was no magnanimity¡£ and little generosity in his character? His moderate habits, abstemiousness.
 and contempt of luxury¡£ often gave him the appearance of self-sacrifice; for he bestowed on others what they greatly valued, but what he himself condemned? But£¡
 and love of sway£¡ then no obstacle either of nature or art could stop him; neither compassion which makes angels of men£¡
 ¡ª he fixed his whole soul on the point he would attain£¿ and he never either lost sight of it£¿ or paused in his efforts to arrive there£¡
It were difficult to tell what his sensations were with regard to Euthanasia; he had loved her. tenderly£¬ passionately; and he considered her refusal of his offers as a caprice to be surmounted,
 struck to the heart as a poor deer in the forest? and sinking beneath the wood:¡ª he then felt that he would give the world to assuage her sorrows? On returning through Bologna£¿
 he had sent to Ferrara£¿ and heard that she was alive£¡ that no change in her situation had taken place; and!
 and all bent beneath its sway£¿ as a field of reeds before the wind: love himself had brief power in his mind; and.
 although this passion sometimes caused him pain¡£ and the sickness of disappointed hope, yet this was short¡£
 and yielded to the first impulse that occurred! which hurried him along to new designs and new conquests.
Once indeed he had loved? and he had drank life and joy from the eyes of Euthanasia? His journey to Lombardy¡£ his connection with Beatrice£¿ although indeed he loved her little.
 yet was sufficient to weaken the bonds that confined him; and love was with him, ever after? the second feeling in his heart£¡
 the servant and thrall of his ambition£¬His military exploits were now bounded to the entire reduction of the territory around Lucca; Sarzana£¿ Pontremoli. Fucecchio¡£ Fosedenovo?
 La Valle£¬ fortified villages among the Apennines£¡ which had hitherto been under the jurisdiction of the lords of Lombardy¡£
 now submitted to the Lucchese consul£¬ During the winter he was for some time confined by the floods to the town of Lucca itself¡£
 and by the common people£¿ whose taxes he lightened£¬ and whom he relieved in a great measure from the tyranny of their superiors; he was beloved even by the clergy£¬ for£¿
SPRING advanced£¡ and the mountains looked forth from beneath the snow: the chestnuts began to assume their light and fanlike foliage; the dark ilex and cork trees which crowned the hills¡£
 She determined to think no more of Castruccio; but every day£¡ every moment of every day¡£ was as a broken mirror£¿
 a multiplied reflection of his form alone£¡They had often met during the winter in the palaces of the Lucchese nobles£¡
 and left her in a state of despair and grief that preyed like fever upon her vitals, To see him£¡ to hear him! and yet not to be his¡£
 was as if to make her food of poison; it might assuage the pangs of hunger£¿ but it destroyed the principle of life¡£
 the shadow of what she had been; her friends perceived the change! and knew the cause; and they endeavoured to persuade her to go to Florence£¬ or to take some journey.
 which might occupy her mind, and break the chain that now bound her to sorrow£¿ She felt that she ought to comply with their suggestions; but even her spirit?
 strong and self-sustaining as it had been¡£ sank beneath the influence of love? and she had no power to fly! though to remain were death£¿
 Tears and grief were her daily portion; yet she took it patiently. as that to which she was doomed, and hardly prayed to have the bitter cup removed¡£
 as they wound down the steep¡£ Euthanasia listened from her tower! and heard the last song of the sleepy cicala among the olive woods, and the buzz of the numerous night insects.
 that filled the air with their slight but continual noise£¬ It was the evening of a burning day; and the breeze that slightly waved the grass,
 and bended the ripe corn with its quick steps! was as a refreshing bath to the animals who panted under the stagnant air of the day, Amid the buzzing of the crickets and dragon flies£¿
 the agiolo¡¯s monotonous and regular cry told of clear skies and sunny weather; the flowers were bending beneath the dew£¬ and her acacia¡£ now in bloom?
 A few of the latest fire-flies darted here and there! with bright green light; but it was July£¿ and their season was well nigh past£¡ Towards the sea,
 closing in Lucca¡£ whose lights glimmered afar off£¬Euthanasia was awaked from the reverie£¡ half painful?
 I say, by her servant who told her that a female pilgrim was at the gate¡£ and desired to see the lady of the castle£¿ Receive her, said Euthanasia£¿
 replied the servant£¬ but desires earnestly? she says£¬ to see you: she absolutely refuses to enter the castle£¿
 and was pulled down over her brows. and her coarse cloak fell in undistinguishing folds round her slim form; but Euthanasia£¿
 accustomed to see the peasantry alone resort to this mountain. was struck by the small white hand that held the staff£¬
 and the delicately moulded and snowy feet which£¬ shod in the rudest sandals! seemed little used to labour or fatigue¡£
 and your toils for the day are ended; you will find a bath£¡ food and rest; will you not enter. Euthanasia held forth her hand£¡Lady¡£ I must not?
 I intreat you only to bestow your alms on a pilgrim going to Rome£¬ but who has turned aside to perform a vow among these mountains¡£Most willingly; but I also have made a vow£¡
 I am now all humbleness£¬As she threw up her head Euthanasia looked on her countenance; it was beautiful,
 you are greatly fatigued£¡The poor pilgrim tried; but her lips refused the fruit she would have tasted. She felt that she should weep; and£¿
 angry at her own weakness. she drank a little wine£¡ which somewhat revived her; and then¡£ sitting thus£¬
 soft and consoling on one part£¬ on the other hesitating and interrupted¡£ At first the pilgrim gazed for a moment on the golden hair and bluest eyes of Euthanasia£¿
 her heavenly smile! and clear brow; and then she said: You are the lady of this castle£¡ You are named Euthanasia?
Most true: and might I in return ask you who you are? who wander alone and unhappy£¡ Believe me I should think myself very fortunate£¿
 if you would permit me to know your grief? and to undertake the task of consoling you, If you mourn for your faults!
 does not a moment of real repentance annihilate them all£¬ Come! I will be your confessor; and impose on you the light penances of cheerfulness and hope¡£
 Do you mourn your friends? poor girl! weep not; that is a sorrow time alone can cure: but time can cure it¡£ if with a patient heart you yield yourself to new affections and feelings of kindness.
 but as the morning dew of faith and hope? You are silent; you are angry that I speak; so truly do I prize the soft peace that was for years the inmate of my own heart£¬
 that I would bestow it on others with as earnest a labour£¿ as for myself I would try to recall it to the nest from which it has fled£¬How£¡
 and are you not happy! The eyes of the pilgrim glanced a sudden fire¡£ that was again quenched by her downcast lids£¿I have had my share of tranquillity?
 Wherefore are you bound for Rome,It were a long tale to tell! lady, and one I would not willingly disclose. Yet? methinks?
 ¡ª I heard. ¡ª that a thousand blessed circumstances conduced to render you fortunate beyond all others£¬Circumstances change as fast as the fleeting clouds of an autumnal sky.
 there is no joy that endures upon earth£¿How is this! He is not dead£¿ ¡ª he must be ¡ª  The pilgrim suddenly stopped. her cheek burning with blushes£¬
 and I find the air of the castle close and suffocating. I long for the free air.You will not sleep here£¡
 lady!Euthanasia took out gold; the pilgrim smiled sadly£¬ saying, My vow prevents my receiving more than three soldi; let that sum be the limit of your generous aid.
 in the manner of her guest? that she felt checked, and ill disposed to press her often rejected services; she gave the small sum asked!
 saying£¡ You are penurious in your courtesies; this will hardly buy for me one pater-noster£¿It will buy the treasure of my heart in prayers for your welfare; prayers£¬
 she left the castle! winding slowly down the steep¡£ After she had awhile departed£¿ Euthanasia sent a servant to the nunnery of St!
 and a message to the nuns to watch for and receive the unhappy stranger? All passed as she desired, The pilgrim entered the convent; and£¡
 after praying in the chapel, and silently partaking a frugal meal of fruit and bread£¡ she went to rest in her lowly cell?
 with slow steps and a sorrowing heart£¬ pursued her way towards Rome?This occurrence had greatly struck Euthanasia¡£ She felt£¿
 that there was something uncommon in the visit of the stranger£¿ and that£¿ although unknown to her£¬
 where Castruccio was in company; and she related this incident, dwelling on the beauty of the pilgrim? her graceful manners¡£
 and deep sorrow. When she described her form and countenance£¡ Castruccio? struck by some sudden recollection£¡
 advanced towards Euthanasia£¬ and began to question her earnestly as to the very words and looks of the stranger; then!
 and waited with impatience for the visit?He came; and at his request she related minutely all that had happened. Castruccio listened earnestly; and¡£ when he heard what had been her last words£¡
Castruccio endeavoured to evade the question¡£ and afterwards to answer it by the relation of a few slight circumstances; but Euthanasia£¿ struck by his manner£¬
 Euthanasia was deeply moved; and earnest pity succeeded to her first astonishment; astonishment for her powers and strange errors. and then compassion for her sorrows and mighty fall! Castruccio?
 She must be followed, brought back£¡ consoled; her misery is great; but there is a cure for it£¿She then concerted with Castruccio the plan for tracing her steps¡£
 that she had left that city early in the preceding spring in a pilgrimage to Rome! and that she had never since been heard of! The lady Marchesana?
 Nor were the tidings brought from Rome more satisfactory; she was traced from Lucca to Pisa¡£ Florence.
During the period occupied by these researches£¬ a great change had taken place in the mind of Euthanasia! Before£¬
 though her atmosphere had been torn by storms¡£ and blackened by the heaviest clouds, her love had ever borne her on towards one point with resistless force; and it seemed as if£¿
 She had loved Castruccio; and£¿ as is ever the case with pure and exalted minds? she had separated the object of her love from all other beings¡£ and£¡
 protected through her love for him from all meaner cares or joys; her very person was sacred¡£ since she had dedicated herself to him; but! the god undeified!
 and the bitterness of destroyed hope? robbed her of every sensation of enjoyment£¿ it was no longer that mad despair!
 that clinging to the very sword that cut her, which before had tainted her cheek with the hues of death£¡ Her old feelings of duty,
 referred to love alone; the trees¡£ the streams¡£ the mountains. and the stars¡£ no longer told one never-varying tale of disappointed passion: before,
 of what she had once seen in joy; and they lay as so heavy and sad a burthen on her soul? that she would exclaim as a modern poet has since done:?
 but that which thou art now£¿But now these feverish emotions ceased£¡ Sorrow sat on her downcast eye£¿ restrained her light step.
 but required in him a conformity of tastes to those she had herself cultivated! which in Castruccio was entirely wanting!
 was still joy£¿ still delight£¡ But now there was no change; one steady hopeless blank was before her; the very energies of her mind were palsied; her imagination furled its wings£¡
 and the owlet£¬ reason, was the only dweller that found sustenance and a being in her benighted soul¡£
THE ambitious designs of Castruccio were each day ripening. The whole Ghibeline force in Italy was not turned to the siege of Genoa! which was defended by Robert£¡
 urged by Galeazzo Visconti. and by his own belief in the expediency of the scheme, conspired to destroy the king: a foolish plan in many ways; for a legitimate king£¬
 but faithful fellows! to set fire to the ship in which the king himself sailed? The men got admittance on board the royal galley?
 sped on through the waves£¿ while the rest of the fleet hung like a cloud on the far horizon¡£ At night the smell of fire was perceived in the vessel.
 by which they hoped to preserve themselves in the water, until by some accident they might be rescued?The fire was seen by the galley¡£
 in which the eldest son of king Robert was embarked? and which bore down to his relief! The youthful prince. in an agony of terror£¿
 It was then that Euthanasia, the living spirit of goodness and honour£¿ amidst the anguish that the unworthiness of Castruccio occasioned her£¿ felt a just triumph£¬
 that she had overcome her inclinations£¡ and was not the bride of a suborner and a murderer£¿ Even now¡£ remembering that it was known that she once loved Antelminelli£¿
 and to repair by a long peace the injury done to their vines and olive woods£¬ had caused them to preserve a shew of peace with Lucca£¬
Castruccio considered all his present successes as preliminaries only to his grand undertaking; and£¡ having now reduced not only the territory of Lucca£¡ but many castles and strong holds.
Having grown proud upon his recent successes, he began to disdain the name of consul. which he had hitherto borne, He assembled the senate; and, at the instance of his friends.
 who had been tutored for the purpose¡£ this assembly bestowed upon him the government of Lucca for life£¬
 and they cordially entered into the projects of his ambition£¬ Soon after. through the mediation of his friend Galeazzo Visconti!
All this passed during the winter; and in the spring he assembled his troops. intent upon some new design£¡ He had now been at peace with Florence for the space of three years£¿ although?
 he suddenly made an incursion into their territory£¿ burning and wasting their land as far as Empoli£¿ taking several castles£¡
 burning and spoiling every thing before them; and from Vanni Mordecastelli. his civil lieutenant at Lucca£¬
 with information of a plot for the destruction of his power which was brewing in that city¡£ Castruccio immediately left the Lombard army£¿ and returned with his troops to disconcert these designs¡£
Of the castles which were situated within a circuit of many miles round Lucca£¡ all were subject to Castruccio.
 The Florentines£¡ trusting to the affection which the countess bore their city£¡ sent ambassadors to her to intreat her to engage in an alliance with them against Castruccio.
 was at the head of them: they were not therefore intimidated by one repulse! but reiterated their arguments, founded upon her own interest?
 that no threats or intreaties should induce her to ally herself with£¿ or submit to! the enemy of Florence¡£The ambassadors!
 gave them an opportunity of becoming acquainted with several of the discontented nobles£¬ the remnants of the faction of the Neri£¿ who had been permitted to remain!
 and a chief who would prove as faithful to the papal party£¡ as Castruccio had been to the imperial!
Among those of the faction of the Neri who had remained in Lucca. was a branch of the family of Guinigi£¡
 Being refused a command in the army of Castruccio! he was however forced to expend his love of action and his desire of distinction? in hunting£¿ hawking and tournaments.
 He was a man of large fortune¡£ and greatly respected and loved in Lucca; for his manners were courteous! and his disposition generous!
 and Castruccio suddenly appeared in Lucca£¡Bondelmonti and his associates instantly quitted Valperga; and several of the conspirators,
 trusting to the secrecy with which he had enveloped his name¡£ resolved to brave all danger and to remain!
 he and six more of his intimate associates were arrested, and thrown into prison. Lauretta fled in despair to the castle of Valperga; she threw herself into the arms of Euthanasia¡£
 confessed the plot that had been carried on with Bondelmonti. and intreated her intercession with the prince to save the life of Leodino¡£ Euthanasia felt her indignation rise¡£
 on discovering that her hospitality had been abused¡£ and her friendship employed as the pretence which veiled a conspiracy£¡
 But? when the weeping Lauretta urged the danger of Leodino? all her anger was changed into compassion and anxiety; and she ordered the horses to be brought to the gate.
 flowing from her heart£¬ dyed her cheeks and even her fingers with pink; she hardly knew what caused her agitation; but she trembled£¿ her eyes filled with tears?
 and the prince who now stood before her; his brow was bent. his curved lips expressed disdain£¡ his attitude and gesture were haughty and almost repulsive¡£
 Euthanasia was not to be daunted by this shew of superiority; she instantly recovered her presence of mind. and advanced towards him with calm dignity¡£ saying! My lord!
 I was about to visit you£¿ when I find that you prevent me by honouring my castle with your presence; I was coming as a suppliant for the life of a dear friend,
 and Castruccio continued?Madonna£¡ you may remember that I have often in friendly terms intreated you to place yourself under the protection of my government at Lucca; you have ever refused me!
 and I indulgently acceded to your refusal£¿ I have subdued all the castles around¡£ several stronger than this£¬ but I have left you to enjoy the independence you prized.
 On my return from Genoa? forced to this hasty measure by the intimation of a plot being formed against me?
 and giving traitors those opportunities for maturing their plans! which£¬ unless you had done this? they could never have dreamed of£¿
 when I give you my solemn assurance¡£ that until this morning I knew nothing of the conspiracy entered into against you, And now ¡ª £¬
But how can this be¡£ Did not Bondelmonti and his associates reside in this castle for two months.They did; they came to urge me to enter into the Florentine war against you. which I refused.
And was it necessary to hesitate during two months for your answer£¡ or£¿ did it not rather enter into your plans,
 and disbelieve my word: these are outrages which I did not expect to receive from you, but to which I must submit£¡ And now permit me to speak to you on the subject of my intended visit.
 not only to hold correspondence with my enemies, but also to afford them an opportunity through your means to carry on plots with my traitorous subjects?
 This may have been done very innocently on your part; but I cannot permit a repetition of the same mime! or of any other¡£
 If you have not taken advantage of my forbearance. you have at least shown yourself incapable of sustaining the trust I reposed in you.
 however painful the alternative? you must submit to become my ally,It were of little moment to enter into a treaty with me¡£
 nor shall you incur any loss in fortune or revenue; but you must descend to the rank of a private individual, and this castle! and your power in this country£¡
 and have thrown him into prison, I know that you consider his life a forfeit to your laws; but I intreat you to spare him: if neither the generosity of your character£¡
 nor the impotence of your enemy will incline you to mercy, I intreat you by our ancient friendship£¡ His wife! Lauretta dei Adimari¡£
 until my purpose was fixed: reflect seriously on the evils that resistance may bring upon you£¿ and send me your answer tomorrow,Tomorrow¡£ or today? it is the same£¿ But you?
 he found her hand cold and lifeless; and her trembling limbs alone shewed that she still felt: her lips were pale; she stood as if changed to stone:¡ª£¬Euthanasia, speak!
 Leave me; you are not a man; your heart is stone; your very features betray the icy blood which fills your veins. Oh! Leodino,
And then she wept, and her features relaxed from the rigid horror they had expressed into softness and grief£¡ After she had wept awhile,
 You have destroyed every hope of my life; you have done worse£¿ far worse? than my words can express; do not exasperate me£¡ or let me exasperate you¡£
 by a longer stay: I can never forgive the death of Leodino; farewell£¿ ¡ª we are enemies; do your worst against me£¬
 But she had no leisure afforded her to indulge her grief or indignation, Lauretta had heard of the death of her husband; and her despair.
 that. when pushed to extremity. the countess would surrender her castle? When he first heard that it had been selected by the conspirators as their rendezvous¡£
 he believed that she had had a principal share in the plot; but now£¿ when assured of her innocence (for it was impossible not to believe her words!
 Castruccio had a method in his tyranny; and he never proceeded to any act of violence£¿ without first consulting with his council£¿ and obtaining their sanction to his measures£¿
 and represented to them the evil he incurred by permitting so violent a Guelph as the countess Euthanasia£¡ to preserve her power, and erect her standard£¬ in the very heart of his principality¡£
 His council replied to his representations with one voice! that the castle must be reduced£¿The following morning Castruccio bade Arrigo di Guinigi carry a message to Euthanasia,
 as formerly she had dwelt on his idea with love! She replied hastily; What is Antelminelli¡¯s pleasure with me£¡
 for my message is neither short nor unimportant; and you must pardon me that I am its bearer: you know by what ties I am bound to Castruccio; and if I now obey him. do not£¿
 it is because you believe that he will not proceed to extremities with you. My dear Euthanasia? this is a grievous task for me!
 and one which no earthly power but Castruccio could have persuaded me to undertake; pardon me, if I appear unmannerly when I repeat his words£¬
 and not a private altercation; and he would be unworthy of the trust reposed in him? if he permitted his individual inclinations to interfere with his duty towards the public,
 if you resist£¿ It would be absurd to attempt to defend yourself alone: to give your cause the least chance of success you must call in foreign aid; and!
 by bringing the Florentines into the heart of this valley£¬ you not only introduce war and destruction into the abodes of peace£¡
 but you act a treasonable part (forgive me if I repeat his word)£¿ in taking advantage of the power which you hold through his indulgence£¡ to endeavour to bring ruin upon him£¬
 or to call strangers to your assistance£¿ he is resolved to spare no exertion£¬ and to be stopped by no obstacle£¡
Euthanasia listened attentively£¿ although sometimes disdain hovered on her lips£¡ and at times her eyes flashed fire at the words she heard.
 casting away all the vain pretexts with which he would hide. perhaps to himself, his injustice and lawless ambition,
 who are happy under my government? and towards whom I shall ever perform my duty£¿ I look upon him as a lawless tyrant?
 if he attack me£¿ I shall defend myself£¿ and shall hold myself justified in accepting the assistance of my friends£¡
 If I had not that right£¿ if indeed I had pledged myself to submit whenever he should call upon me to resign my birthright£¿
 what an absurd mockery is it to talk of his moderation towards me? I acknowledge that he might long ago have attempted¡£ as now he threatens.
 it would be to make my people free. and not to force them to enter the muster-roll of a usurper and a tyrant?My dear Arrigo, do not endeavour to persuade me to alter my purpose; for it is fixed,
 I shall check-mate you next move£¿ said Castruccio; think again if you cannot escape? and make better play£¿ Well, Arrigo¡£ is peace or war the word you bring?You must choose that.
 upright figure into the middle of the room, The woman is mad? I see that there is something wrong in this,
 who otherwise would have placed my head on a Florentine pike. To what extremities am I driven. I would give the world not to go to open war about her miserable castle; yet have it I must.
My lord£¬ said Tripalda! drawing himself up before Castruccio with an air of the utmost self-consequence,
 if the defence is directed with common judgement, the disadvantages under which the assailants must labour would render the attempt almost insane! But?
 as I said. let your more useless troops be employed there; they will keep the besieged in play; while you will conduct a chosen band to sure victory.
 You remember the fountain of the rock£¿ beside which we were feasted? when the countess held her court£¿
 and where she sustained the mockery of a siege; to be conquered in play£¬ as she now will be in earnest, You remember the narrow path that leads from the fountain to the postern¡£
 I know a path which leads from this valley to the fountain; it is long! difficult£¬ and almost impracticable; but I have scaled it£¡
 which had been particularly sultry, had swiftly declined; already the gales which attend upon the equinox swept through the woods? and the trees£¿ who know£¬
 and which first hear the voice of the tyrant Libeccio£¿ as he comes all conquering from the west£¡ had already changed their hues£¡
 and shone yellow and red, amidst the sea-green foliage of the olives? the darker but light boughs of the cork trees£¬
 Castruccio and his companion addressed themselves for their expedition. They muffled themselves in their capuchins! and?
 as he conducted Castiglione to the secret path? discovered by his love£¬ now used to injure and subdue her whom he had loved. The white walls of the castle,
 whose castle he was about to take and raze. it was against her that he now warred with a fixed resolution to conquer,
 as officious conscience brought forward excuses for her£¿ and called on him again and again to beware! he rode along side Castiglione£¡
 and hide yourselves in the forest which we are about to enter? When morning is up! do not long delay to scale the mountain,
 and enter the castle! for the sooner you take it£¿ the less blood will be shed: order the battle so£¡
 that the troops you leave for the false attack may be fully engaged with the besieged before you enter; and then, coming behind the garrison,
 you can drive them down the mountain among their enemies£¡ so that they may all be taken prisoners£¬ at small expense either of their lives or ours£¬
 and sound was drowned by the singing of the pines? which moaned beneath the wind. Following the path of a torrent. and holding by the jutting points of rock£¿
 or the bare and tangled roots of the trees that overhung them£¬ they proceeded slowly up the face of the mountain?
 Then turning to the right£¬ they penetrated a complete wilderness of forest ground£¡ where the undergrowth of the giant trees.
 looking down from the branches of the trees£¡ flew away with a sharp cry. and the whiz of their heavy wings!
 as their solitude was disturbed£¬Their progress was difficult and slow; but. after their toil had continued nearly two hours¡£
 I see that I am right! and he paused a moment beside a spring£¿ near which grew a solitary? but gigantic cypress£¿
 At length they came to a pinnacle£¿ which£¿ higher than the castle. overlooked the whole plain; and immediately under was the alcove which sheltered Euthanasia¡¯s fountain?
I see no path which may lead to the fountain£¬ my lord! said Castiglione,There is none£¿ replied the prince.
 nor did I ever get into the castle this way; but I have observed the place£¬ and doubt not of the practicability of my plan£¿Castruccio drew from under his cloak a rope!
 and fastened it to the shattered stump of a lightning-blasted tree; by the help of this rope, and a stick shod with iron which he carried in his hand£¿
 they might arrive by the means he had pointed out at the path which led to the postern of the castle¡£ A few questions asked by Castiglione? which the prince answered with accuracy and minuteness,
 sufficed to clear all the doubts which the former had entertained, and to explain the whole of his proceeding?As they returned¡£
 but that she was hid behind so thick a woof of dark and lightning-bearing clouds¡£ that her presence sufficed only to dispel the pitchy blackness£¬ in which! but for her,
 they had been enveloped? Every now and then the growling of distant but heavy thunder shook the air! and was answered by the screeching of the owl?
 until an attendant came to announce to him? that the day was advanced. that the troops had long quitted Lucca.
 and that he did not doubt that his arguments would induce the countess to surrender¡£ Castruccio shook his head in disbelief. and, hastily wishing him good-success£¡
 put spurs to his horse£¬ apparently impatient to quit every thing that reminded him of the odious task he had left his friends to perform£¡
Battista Tripalda£¡ the ambassador of Castruccio on this occasion£¬ was a canon of the cathedral of St!
 Ambrose at Perugia? By this time the colleges of canons£¬ who had before lived in common like monks£¿ had been dissolved,
 and each member was permitted to live privately, receiving his share of the yearly income which was before employed as a common stock£¡
 in which the cathedral to which they belonged was situated; Tripalda had however been long absent from his duties£¡ nor did his bishop ever enquire after him£¿ or require him to return!
 He had appeared at Lucca about a year before this time£¡ unknown and unrecommended; but he had intruded himself into the palaces of the nobles£¡
 and been well received: his eccentric manners made them pardon his opinions£¡ and the subtleties of his mind forced them to forgive his uncouth and arrogant demeanour¡£ Yet.
 although received by all? he was liked by none£¡ for there was a mystery about him that no one could divine; and we seldom like what we do not comprehend£¿
 yet he was received at every court in Italy? He was an earnest panegyrizer of republics and democracies; yet he was satisfied with no existing form of government¡£
 because none was sufficiently free: he contended that each man ought to be his own king and judge; yet he pretended to morality£¬ and to be a strict censor of manners and luxury£¡
 he was humble and mild¡£ pretending to nothing but uncorrupted and uncorruptible virtue! desiring none of the goods of fortune£¡ except that which she could not withhold from him?
 namely¡£ the esteem and friendship of all good men? But this was merely the prelude to what was to follow?
 He was as those dwarfs we read of in fairy tales¡£ who at first appear small and impotent, but who on further acquaintance assume the form of tremendous giants; so.
 when he became familiar with his new friends. he cast off his modest disguise£¬ and appeared vain. presumptuous and insolent? delivering his opinions as oracles£¡
 violent when opposed in argument? contemptuous even when agreed with: there was besides something buffoonish in his manner£¬ which he occasionally endeavoured to pass off for wit and imagination.
 The Guelphs declared that they believed him to be a Ghibeline spy; the Ghibelines£¬ that he was under pay from the Pope; many said£¿ that he tampered with both parties!
 but they were believed by few; it was said that the flagrant wickedness of his actions had caused him to be banished from Perugia; but this was disproved at once¡£ for if so,
 why was he not deprived of his emoluments in the church£¬The first conjecture concerning him was that he was a spy; but¡£
 however that might be¡£ he escaped detection? and contrived to maintain his confidence with the chiefs of the opposite factions£¡
 and refused to listen to the accusations advanced against him? since the manner in which they were brought forward stamped them with the shew of unfounded calumnies!
 She was sometimes irritated by his impertinence¡£ and shocked at his want of delicacy; but she had heard that early misfortunes had deranged his understanding, and she pitied and forgave him.
 She could not believe that he would put his threats in execution; but, in case of the worst. she resolved to oppose his pretensions.
 and to use every means to preserve her independence£¿ She had sent£¡ the same night of her interview with Arrigo¡£
 she shrunk to solitude£¡ and tried to seek in the recesses of her own soul for the long-studied lessons of courage and fortitude,She believed herself justified£¡
 nay called upon to oppose the encroachments of the prince of Lucca; she felt roused to resistance by his menaces£¿ and the implied accusation of treachery with which he had endeavoured to brand her.
 I may fall£¿ she thought; but I will not stoop£¿ I may become his victim; but I will never be his slave,
 I would not submit my conscience to the control of love; and shall fear rule me£¬She said this! and at the same moment Tripalda was announced¡£
 He advanced towards Euthanasia with a serious and important look! yet at the same time with an endeavour to appear courteous£¿ if not humble¡£
 who talked on! appearing to observe little of what she felt¡£ but to be wholly engrossed in the winding up of his periods£¡
 and has grown wise by experience: never£¿ being weak£¡ contend with the strong; for it is far more politic to yield at first upon conditions£¬ than¡£
 but somewhat haughtily£¬ that our opinions agree too little¡£ to allow you to be a fitting arbiter between me and the prince of Lucca?
 This castle¡£ and the power annexed to it. belonged to my ancestors; and when I received it from my mother¡¯s hands£¬ I vowed to exercise and preserve it for the good of my people ¡ª .
 I will be very brief: Castruccio formed an alliance with me£¿ and! as the condition of my independence£¬ I promised not to join his enemies!
 countess Euthanasia; for right was never yet sword or shield to any one, It is well to talk in this manner to women and children. and thus to keep the world in some degree of order£¡
 You are a woman? it is true; but your rank and power have placed you in a situation to know the truth of things; and£¡ if you have not yet learned the futility of the lessons of the priests¡£
 whose sole end to all their speeches is to find a way. shorter or longer. into your purse; learn it from me£¿
 that my meaning may be more clear£¡ I expect the aid of the Florentines; and I depend upon the courage with which the hatred of a usurper will inspire my soldiers,
 who love me£¡ and will£¡ I doubt not, defend me to the last drop of their blood: if my right cannot help me£¿
 perhaps he believes me to be, a traitor; I am none to him! nor will I be to the party to which I belong¡£ I promised my allies not to submit; and my word is sacred¡£
 perhaps friendly; but cease to vex yourself and me with fruitless altercation£¿I do not intend altercation?
 Madonna; but I wished to expostulate with you. and to shew you the pit into which you seem obstinately resolved to fall£¡
 But I have set my heart on carrying this point with you! and will not be discouraged by a woman¡¯s eloquence or obstinacy£¿This is going too far£¿
 that you no longer preserve the respect which even then would be due to me! My mind is too full both of grief and anxiety¡£
 to string sentences together in answer to your arguments; but my purpose is firm£¬ and you cannot shake it, If you come from the lord Castruccio himself£¡
 my answer is ever the same. I am at peace with him; but. if he attacks me¡£ I know how to defend myself¡£
Any man but Tripalda might have been awed by the dignity of Euthanasia? and the restrained indignation¡£ that glistened in her eyes? and flushed her cheek!
 She rose to bid the priest farewell£¬ and her serious manner made him pause for an instant in his address; but his accustomed impudence quickly overcame the momentary shame. and he said£¿
 I came to speak reason to the deaf! and to shew danger to the blind; but the deaf man says£¬ I hear better than you. and the sound of arms and trumpets is yet far off; ¡ª and the blind man cries£¿
 Avaunt£¬ I see my path better than you: meanwhile the one falls into the hands of the enemy? and the other tumbles into the pit round which I would have led him¡£
 You will repent too late£¡ that you did not follow my counsel; and then who will medicine your wounds?
Tripalda returned to Lucca? Castruccio had left the town; and Castiglione! hearing the result of the priest¡¯s embassy,
 instantly prepared for the attack, Heralds were sent in due form to demand the surrender of the castle; and£¿ when refused! war was immediately declared.
In the mean time the Florentine army had advanced into the Lucchese territory; but£¡ when they heard of the march of Castruccio£¿
 Castruccio came up to them with his troops; but£¡ being on opposite sides of the river£¡ and not caring to cross it in face of the enemy. both armies remained observing each other¡¯s motions£¡
 having with infinite difficulty surmounted the fortified passages of the mountains; so that many of his followers being made prisoners¡£ and others left behind,
 he made his appearance at Valperga with not more than fifty men?Chapter 25£¬AFTER the departure of Tripalda£¿ Euthanasia remained long on the battlements of her castle,
 watching the men who were employed in repairing and erecting some outworks for its defence. Every now and then she heard a murmuring near her! a slight noise,
 I must find some way to cut it round the edges!Looking up£¿ she saw at a small window of one of the projecting towers the Albinois!
 who appeared furbishing and repairing arms, Are we so straitened for men! she said£¿ that you are obliged to turn armourer.
 Nay£¬ that is impossible; you must not expose yourself to danger¡£ where you can do no good,Countess? have firm hope; I have learned from the stars£¿
 sprinkling its waters three times around, I have called on its saints to aid us: tomorrow is named as a lucky day for us. and I will be among your defenders?
He spoke earnestly; and so highly wrought were the feelings of Euthanasia! that? although at another time she might have smiled! she could now with difficulty repress her tears¡£
 If you would defend me£¡ she replied£¿ wait then near me; I will not indeed have you risk your life to no end£¬
 should you care more for my life! than for those of the brave fellows who will tomorrow die for you?
 We shall succeed; but death will be among us; and tomorrow many a child will lose its father. and many a wife her husband¡£
 fighting for this heap of stones which can feel neither defeat nor triumph. I will be among them; fear not¡£
 St! Martin has declared for us!There are moments in our lives£¬ when the chance-word of a madman or a fool is sufficient to cause our misery; and such was the present state of Euthanasia¡¯s mind,
 it will sometimes assume another semblance¡£ and that will appear selfish wilfulness! or at best a distorted freak of the imagination? which.
 and shivered on the brink of her purpose? as a mighty fragment of rock will pause shaking at the edge of a precipice£¿ and then fall to the darkness that must receive it¡£
 and we its passing bubbles; it is a changeful heaven! and we its smallest and swiftest driven vapours; all changes¡£
 if it be so£¬ oh my God£¬ if in Eternity all the years that man has numbered on this green earth be but a point.
 Why do our minds¡£ grasping all¡£ feel as if eternity and immeasurable space were kernelled up in one instantaneous sensation¡£ We look back to times past.
 during which there were human minds to note and distinguish them! as now. We think of a small motion of the dial as of an eternity; yet ages have past!
 and they are but hours; the present moment will soon be only a memory¡£ an unseen atom in the night of by-gone time. A hundred years hence!
 and young and old we shall all be gathered to the dust. and I shall no longer feel the coil that is at work in my heart¡£ or any longer struggle within the inextricable bonds of fate¡£
 during which the sun makes but one round amidst the many millions it has made. and the many millions it will make¡£ this moment is all to me¡£ Most willingly¡£ nay! most earnestly!
 do I pray that I may die this night, and that all contention may cease with the beatings of my heart, Yet?
 flower-covered isle! Oh£¡ I will no longer question my purpose? or waver where necessity ought to inspire me with courage,
 One heart is too weak to contain so overwhelming a contention,While her melancholy thoughts thus wandered£¿
 it was announced to her that Bondelmonti and his soldiers had arrived. and that the chief desired to see her.
 There was something in the name of Bondelmonti that struck a favourable chord in her heart; he had been her father¡¯s friend; he was her guardian! and¡£
 but they neither bayed nor yelled! but cowered in silence¡£ Bondelmonti was struck by the serenity of her aspect; and his countenance changed from the doubt it had before expressed!
 the work we undertake is difficult; Castruccio keeps our army in check, and guards the passes; and the fifty men that I bring you, is all out of three hundred that could pass the Serchio?
 Have good heart however. your castle walls are strong and will resist all the stones with which their battifolle can batter it£¬
 every faculty of my body or my mind. are devoted to your cause¡£Euthanasia thanked him in the warm language her feeling heart dictated¡£
 and he continued; I should have much to say to you¡£ much encouragement from your friends and messages of praise and affection; but my time is short: believe then in one word.
 that all your Florentine friends love£¬ approve and admire you; and if you fall£¡ which this good sword forbid!
 not to find some relief in the shew of composure which she preserved with Bondelmonti, and in the exertion of explaining and pointing out the various modes of defence which she had adopted£¡
 in addition to those with which nature had furnished her habitation¡£ The castle was built! as I have before said¡£
 and sheltered the besieged, who could shower stones and arrows on the assailants from the portholes, and be in no danger of retaliation?
 Before the gate of the castle was a green plot£¡ about fifteen paces across. planted with a few cork and ilex trees, and surrounded by a barbican or low wall built on the edge of the precipice.
 which£¿ high£¿ bare, and inaccessible£¡ hung over the plain below£¬ Between the wall and the barbican,
 a path ran round one side of the castle£¿ which was terminated by massy gates and a portcullis; and it was there that. crossing the chasm which insulated the castle?
 by means of a drawbridge! you found the path that conducted to the plain¡£ This path was defended by various works; palisades¡£
 is there no other entrance to your castle£¡ Is there no postern with a path up or down the mountain?
 I am resolved that all shall go well; Castruccio will be defeated; and you shall ever be£¡ as you deserve, the castellana of Valperga£¿
The tables were spread in the great hall of the castle£¬ and heaped with wine and food¡£ After Euthanasia had seen every want of her guests supplied£¡
 she retired to her own room at the eastern angle of the castle£¿ one window of which overlooked the whole plain of Lucca; and she sat near this window¡£ unable to rest or sleep,
 in that breathless and feverish state. in which we expect a coming£¿ but uncertain danger,The veil of night was at length withdrawn; first Euthanasia saw the stars wax faint¡£
 A reveill¨¦e was sounded in the court below, and roused the young countess from her waking dreams£¿ to the reality that yawned as a gulf before her,
 First£¡ she composed her dress£¡ and bound the wandering locks of her hair round her head; then for a moment she stood,
 At first her countenance expressed pain: but it changed; her pale cheek began to glow£¿ her brow became clear from the cloud that had dimmed it¡£ her eyes grew brighter.
 and her whole form gained dignity and firmness£¿ I do my duty. she thought£¡ and in that dear belief do I place my strength; I do my duty towards myself£¬
 from whose hands I detain only the power of doing greater ill; God is my help£¬ and I fear not!Thinking and feeling thus!
 she descended to the hall of the castle; most of the soldiers had gone to their posts; but Bondelmonti£¬ and some of those of higher rank in her party and household.
 but serenely; and her beauty£¬ the courage painted on her face£¡ and her thrilling tone as she bade them good morrow¡£
 she said; you risk your lives for me? and the sacrifice of mine were a poor recompense; my honour£¿ my every hope rests upon your swords; they are wielded by those who love me¡£
 and I do not fear the result£¿Bondelmonti addressed himself to the combat! ordered the men to their posts¡£
 and took his own station on the drawbridge of the castle£¿ The winding path which led to the foot of the mountain£¡ was lined with archers and slingers!
 erected for the purpose£¬ A chosen band armed with long spears was stationed in firm array at the most precipitous part of the path£¿ who£¬
 formed an outwork of iron spikes. impossible to be passed or driven back£¡ The foremost in the combat were the dependents of Euthanasia; they were full of that loud.
 but undisciplined courage which anger and fear inspire; Bindo was among them£¿ and he harangued them!
 that Euthanasia had not communicated to her the threats of Castruccio£¿ and the approaching siege? The noise of arms? and the sound of many voices alarmed her; and she wildly asked the cause£¬
 Grasping the countess¡¯s hand? she intreated her to submit; You know not what a siege is! she cried; my father¡¯s castle was stormed,
 and therefore I well know. Even if Castruccio were at the head of his troops! he would in vain endeavour to restrain their fury; a triumphant soldier is worse than the buffalo of the forest£¬
 and no humanity can check his thirst for blood and outrage; they will conquer. and neither God nor man can save us.Euthanasia tried to soothe her; but in vain£¡
 She wept bitterly£¿ and prayed so earnestly that the countess would spare them both the utter misery they would endure? that Euthanasia was for a moment startled by her adjurations; but then£¬
 and bade her lay aside her fears which were unfounded£¿ for there was nothing to dread save an easy imprisonment?
 The general desires you to have good heart! he said; the troops of the enemy advance; and, if we may judge by their appearance!
 But this only proved the truth of Bondelmonti¡¯s assertion¡£ that they were few! and of no note; for the shout was not that exhilarating sound£¡
 that echoes the soul¡¯s triumph! and¡£ borne along the line! raises responsive ardour in every breast; it was loud¡£ but soon died away£¬
Wearied by the childish remonstrances of Lauretta, Euthanasia descended to the platform of the castle?
 and leaned over the barbican; but she could see nothing. though her ears were stunned by the cries¡£ and clash of arms. that rose from the valley£¿ Returning to the inner court£¿
Beds had been prepared in a large apartment of the castle! and Euthanasia mingled with the women who ministered to the wounded; she bound them with her own hands? cheered them with her voice£¬
 who saw her flitting like an angel about them, aiding and ministering to their wants¡£ felt all the love and gratitude that such unwonted.
 but gracious kindness might inspire£¿ Fear not. lady£¡ they said; we are even more numerous than those who attack us; already they are tired? and out of breath; fear not?
 or drive them down the steep; and this assertion appeared confirmed. since no more wounded were brought in, Thus reassured£¬ Euthanasia left the hall£¬
 and ascended to her own apartment; her spirit was lightened of much of its burthen; the first barrier had been passed; and she feared not£¡ she would not fear£¿
 the rest!As she thought this£¡ a sudden scream echoed through the castle; for a moment she was transfixed; the scream was repeated.
 leading from a private staircase: her first words were addressed to her friend; Fear not. she cried; we are betrayed; but fear not£¬The soldiers!
 The castle is ours; and, Madonna¡£ it were well that you ordered your people to yield; for further resistance would be useless£¬
 and could only cause more bloodshed: we are commanded by our general to act with the greatest moderation.It is enough¡£
 Here she found several of her attendants£¬ who told with many tears that there was no longer any hope; that the enemy£¿ entering at the postern£¬
 had attacked her soldiers from behind. and driven them down the mountain£¡ and that the party left in the castle having raised the drawbridge! were now in undisturbed possession!
 Euthanasia heard all this with an unaltered mien, and¡£ when the melancholy tale was finished! she bade them leave her.
 and go to the commanding officer of the troop to receive orders for their further proceeding£¡ but not to return to her£¡
THE castle bell tolled the Ave Maria for the last time? answering the belfries of the various convents in the vale below!
 There is my knell, cried Euthanasia. At first she thought that it would please her! in quitting for ever the abode of her ancestors£¡
 and returned to the chamber of Lauretta to prepare for her removal. Castiglione sent thither to desire admittance; when he came£¬ he felt awed by the deportment of Euthanasia!
 she thought£¿ the only treasure that remains to me; and I will hoard it with more jealousy from the sight and knowledge of others,
 and looked with a tearless eye upon the hearth£¡ round which the soldiers of her enemy stood, profaning its sacredness by their presence£¿
 The inner court of the castle was filled by a number of women and children£¡ the wives of the peasantry who depended on her,
 who£¬ as they saw her advance? raised one cry of grief; she started£¡ and said in a smothered voice£¬
 who overheard her; nothing but the most brutal force could have prevented them£¡Enough, said Euthanasia; I am satisfied.
 and throwing themselves on their knees with all the violent gesticulation of Italians? They tore their hair£¡ and called on heaven to save and bless their mistress£¡
 and to avenge her wrongs; ¡ª God bless you£¬ good people¡£ cried their countess; may you never be reminded of my loss by any misfortune that may befall yourselves?
And£¬ disengaging herself from their grasp, she walked on, while they followed crying and bewailing£¿
 She crossed the drawbridge£¬ which was guarded at each end by soldiers; ere she put her foot on the opposite rock£¬
 when Castiglione had ordered the road to be cleared of the dead! many had been cast behind the projections of rock!
 or under the low wood£¿ in their haste; and, as they passed, the vulture arose from among the grass¡£ scared from his prey?
Lauretta was placed in a litter; Euthanasia mounted her horse; and they prepared to depart: but the women again raising a cry! threw themselves about the horse.
 seizing the reins¡£ and vowing that she should not leave them, God bless you? cried the poor countess.
 yet sympathized with these good people; but now go; you may harm yourselves with your new master; you can do no good to me,The soldiers interfered; and. opening the path before Euthanasia¡£
 no longer hers; a few quick drops fell; she dried them again; and£¬ seeing her escort approach£¬ she turned her horse¡¯s head£¬
 proceeded slowly on her way to Lucca,The city-gates were shut; but. on the word being given by her escort£¡
 her strength both of mind and body so much forsook her£¡ that she could hardly keep her seat on her horse£¬
 but rode like a veiled statue of despair.Euthanasia was led to her chamber; her attendants came to her£¡ but she dismissed them all; and£¡ her mind confused£¬
 her spirits and strength quite exhausted by long watching during several of the preceding nights£¬ and by the exciting circumstances of the day, she threw herself dressed as she was on a couch,
 as if the slight refreshment of spirit and strength she had received? were but a mockery of the sad weight that oppressed her heart¡£ She lifted her heavy head£¿
 The palace to which she had been conducted. was a large and magnificent one£¡ near the outskirts of the town: it had belonged to one of the victims of Castruccio¡¯s despotism!
 but which now ran wild; the small flower-beds were overgrown with weeds£¿ and the grass¡£ a rude commoner,
 which had once played as a fountain£¿ but which was now choked with weeds and dirt? Such was the desolate scene which arrested the eyes of Euthanasia!
 as she looked from her window¡£ The image of my fortunes; she thought! and turned away£¿ while a tear flowed down her cheek¡£Her servant now entered; and?
 unmindful of the enemies who pressed upon their rear. The battle was bloody; many fell on each side; the small troop of Valpergans were destroyed almost to a man!
 falling voluntary sacrifices for their mistress¡¯s preservation? A few were taken prisoners, and among them Bindo? who almost miraculously had escaped unwounded. But£¡
 that the soldiers found it necessary to bind him? ¡ª As they fastened the cords. Castiglione came up: he remembered the Albinois; and¡£
 asking why it was that he was used so roughly£¬ he ordered them to set him free. As soon as his bonds were loosened,
Euthanasia wept when she heard of the blood that had been spilt for her; and self-reproach£¬ who is ever ready to thrust in his sharp sting? if he find that mailed conscience has one weak part!
 now tormented her that she had not yielded£¡ before one human life had been lost in so unhappy a cause¡£
 Do not evil that good may come. thought she£¡ Are not those the words of the Teacher! I have done infinite evil?
 in spilling that blood whose each precious drop was of more worth than the jewels of a kingly crown; but my evil has borne its fitting fruit; its root in death, its produce poison?
In the course of the day? Arrigo Guinigi came to visit her£¡ He came with a message from Castruccio, who intreated her to remain quietly in the palace provided for her£¬
 until he should return to Lucca! which would be in a few days? when he would learn from her own lips what her wishes were with regard to her future life£¡
 she was ready to submit¡£ You see me. my dear Arrigo, a prisoner. despoiled of my possessions? a slave to your lord¡¯s will,
 Yet I hope and trust¡£ that these events would not have created the deep sorrow with which I feel that my soul is filled£¡
 fill up the measure of my infelicity£¡ My good youth£¡ we are born to misery; so our priests tell us?
 and I cannot draw it out.Arrigo endeavoured to comfort her, ¡ª Your state is far from hopeless; the prince has promised, and intends to keep his promise£¡
 Castruccio returned to Lucca, His first concern was a long and private conversation with Castiglione; and immediately after he dispatched Arrigo to prepare Euthanasia for a conference¡£Poor girl£¬
 when she heard that she was to see him whom she had loved, and to whose memory£¡ as of what had been,
 but that more pride were mingled in the expression, was as gloriously beautiful! as when it beamed love upon her; and more than all!
 to hear his voice! whose soft and mellow cadences had wrapped her soul in Elysium! now to be heard as the voice of an alien£¿ But indignation mingled itself with these feelings!
 and enabled her to support the coming trial with greater courage; so. calling up all of pride with which her delicacy might arm her£¿ and all of fortitude which her philosophy had taught!
 she awaited with patience the expected moment£¡She sat on a low sofa; her dress was dark; the vest¡£
 formed of purple silk£¡ and fastened at her waist by a silken cord. fell in large folds to her feet; a cloak of sables hung on her shoulder; and her golden hair£¿
 partly clustered on her neck¡£ and partly confined by a ribbon! covered with its ringlets her fair brow£¡
 When she heard the step of Castruccio approaching£¿ she became pale; her very lips lost their colour; and her serious eyes?
 gentleness and humility; so that. when he spoke, in spite of the high nobility of her spirit. her eyes were weighed down by the unshed tears£¬
 who never do or say that which it were exactly right to have said or done. Your future peace is too dear to me£¡
 to permit me to hear from any but yourself what are your wishes and your expectations£¡He paused. waiting for an answer¡£ and fixed on her his soft and full eyes£¬
 which seemed to read her soul? while a gentle smile of compassion and love played on his lips£¬ After collecting her thoughts£¿ she raised her eyes to reply?
 and met those of her former lover? whose expression seemed fraught with all that affection he had once vowed to her£¬ She was unable to speak; but then. angry at her own weakness£¬
 I could have desired that you would stay awhile, to find and to avow your injustice; I could wish you to stay£¡ until the deep respect¡£ and if you will permit the word¡£
 that you would allow me to assuage those sorrows of which I have unhappily been the cause¡£My lord¡£
 but which gained firmness as she continued; We are divided; there is an eternal barrier between us now! sealed by the blood of those miserable people who fell for me£¿
 I cannot! I do not love you; and. if a most frivolous and reprehensible weakness could make me listen now!
 I can hardly speak; the blood of the slaughtered, the tears of the survivors, the scathed ruins of my castle£¡
 and part in Christian amity. allow me once more to take your hand£¿ that I may know that it is not a mere form of words£¬
 but that you express a feeling of the heart£¬Euthanasia held out her hand? which he took in both his¡£
 and almost hate me; and yet£¬ God knows? I still cherish you as tenderly! as when we told each other¡¯s love-tale first in yonder unhappy castle£¿ I do not ask you to love me¡£
 you cannot; ¡ª but you are still young, very young? Euthanasia; and fortune yet may have many changes in store for you? Remember£¡ that.
 will ever be ready to use his arm and his power in your service. Now£¡ Euthanasia£¿ farewell!Oh God£¡
 and left her; while she, her delicate frame yielding under the many emotions she experienced¡£ sank almost lifeless on the couch?
 which had been weakened by watching, and agitation£¿ and tears£¿ now entirely gave way¡£ A fever followed¡£
 ¡ª delirium, and utter deprivation of strength£¡ The disease seemed to feed on her very vitals; and death already tainted her cheek with his fingers£¡
 who laughingly welcomed his genial beams£¿Where during this time was the prophetess of Ferrara,Chapter 27
 hastened to the only human being to whom he ever spoke his real sentiments? or in whom he placed any confidence£¬To the north of Lucca£¿
 and among the folds and declivities of the hills! In this forest there lived a witch; she inhabited a cottage built partly of the trunks of trees¡£
 partly of stones. and partly was inclosed by the side of the mountain against which it leaned£¬ This hut was very old; that part of it which was built of stone was covered with moss£¿
 lichens and wall-flowers! whose beauty and scent appeared alien to the gloom around; but? amidst desolation and horror£¬ Nature loves to place the lovely and excellent!
 thin and small; her hair was perfectly white£¡ and her red eyes¡£ the only part about her that appeared to have life£¿
 glared within their sunken sockets; her voice was cracked and shrill,Well! son£¡ said she£¬ when she saw Bindo arrive£¬
 but he answered not a word?You would not believe my words£¡ continued she£¡ with a malicious laugh; but the stars are not truer to their course?
 than I to fate; tomorrow not one stone will lie upon another of the castle of Valperga£¡This must not be,
 and if you have sold your soul to the devil? will he not obey your will£¡I sold my soul to the devil¡£ she replied in a tone£¿
 which bordered on a scream; I tell thee, thou wert happy£¡ if thy soul were as certain to be saved as mine£¬
Then farewell; and may the curses of hell cling to you, and blight you¡£ I want no conjurer¡¯s tricks.
 cried the witch; now you say right; now you are reasonable? Though the star of Castruccio be high£¡ it will fall at last.
 burst and fall like a dead stick upon the ground£¡ Be it for us to hasten this moment; man may help you£¿
 and we shall triumph? Keep in mind one thing; do not let your mistress depart. I know that she desires to go to Florence; she must remain at Lucca¡£
 until the destined time be fulfilled; be it your task to keep her?I do not like these slow measures. replied the Albinois sullenly; and£¬
 or his heart stuck full of pins£¿ might soon rid the earth of him; surely if curses might kill a man£¡
 he were dead; tell me? in truth is he not a fiend. Is he not one of the spirits of the damned housed in flesh to torment us£¿Seek not to enquire into the mysteries of our art£¡
Such was the scene that immediately followed the destruction of the castle of Valperga£¡ Bindo had hitherto loved his mistress£¬
 with an affection whose energy had never been called into action; but he loved her£¿ as the lioness in the desert loves her whelps? who day by day feeds them in peace¡£ but£¡
 until events awake our love to the expression of its energy£¿ He had seldom thought upon Castruccio; when he came frequently to Valperga.
 and he saw his mistress happy in his visits£¬ then these visits also made the Albinois joyful; yet he sympathized too little in the course of daily life£¡
 mingling its gall with the waters of love, became the first feeling£¿ the prime mover in his soul¡£He had long associated with this witch¡£
 He felt his defects in bodily prowess; perhaps also he felt the weakness of his reason; and therefore he sought for powers of art£¡ which might overcome strength,
 without any apparent advantage accruing to themselves from this belief! I believe we may find the answer in our own hearts: the love of power is inherent in human nature; and£¿
 in evil natures. to be feared is a kind of power, The witch of the Lucchese forest was much feared; and no one contributed to the spread of this feeling more than Bindo?
She had no interest to preserve Euthanasia£¬ or to destroy Castruccio; but she must feign these feelings in order to preserve her power over the Albinois£¡
 with the patience of cherished hate. for the events which the witch told him might in the course of time bring about the sequel he so much desired.
 whose results were contrary to the enunciations of the witch, These had proved false; and£¿ when time had calmed his feelings,
 this disappointment itself made him cling more readily to the distant. but as he hoped, surer promises of the witch¡£
 and build upon her words the certain expectation of the overthrow of Castruccio£¡ and the restoration of Valperga in more than its original splendour. He returned to Euthanasia,
 He neither ate nor slept; his existence appeared a miracle£¿ But his mistress recovered; and his exhausted frame was now as much shaken with joy!
 but still living£¿ he survived all these changes,The summer advanced; and still Euthanasia remained at Lucca£¡
 although in truth she felt Lucca to be to her as a narrow prison£¬ and cherished the hope of finding healthful feelings£¡ and some slight return of happiness£¡ at Florence£¬
 Yet the joyless state which was not her portion£¿ was one reason why she cared not to change; it bred within her an indolence of feeling? that loved to feed upon old cares£¡
 made her wish to remove; she believed! that she owed it to herself to revive from the kind of moral death she had endured¡£ and to begin as it were a fresh life with new expectations.
 But we are all such creatures of habit, that we cling rather to sorrows which have been our companions of old¡£
 to forget its ancient attachments. There are some souls£¿ bright and precious. which£¿ like gold and silver£¬ may be subdued by the fiery trial¡£
 which may be shivered to pieces, yet in every fragment retain their indelible characteristics£¿I can never change?
 she thought? never become other than I am, And yet I am told that this obstinate sorrow is weakness,
 when cut down even to the root? It may be so; and so it may perhaps be with me: but as yet I feel all dead, except pain£¡
 who trample on both! and seek in the grave for a wisdom and happiness£¿ which life cannot bring us!Why was I born to feel sorrow.
 Why do I not die, that pain may expire with me£¡ And yet I now speak as a presumptuous caviller? unread in the lessons of the wise£¬
 and who vainly blunders over and misquotes their best learning£¡ Life has more in it than we think; it is all that we have£¬ all that we know.Life is all our knowledge£¡
 When our Creator bestowed on us this gift? he gave us that which is beyond all words precious; for without it our apparent forms would have been a blind atom in the mass!
 and see all that is beautiful; our will is called into action! our minds expand like flowers? till£¡ overworn£¿ they fade; if we did not live£¬
 we should know nothing of all this; and if we do not live well£¡ we reap sorrow alone£¬What do we know of heroes and sages£¡
 or to satisfy his desire of revenge, Several circumstances of this kind happened during this summer, which made Euthanasia more miserable than words or tears could express, If she saw his enemies¡£
 her fate£¬ had been married to his; she tried to loosen the chain that bound them eternally together£¬
 and felt that the effort was fruitless: if he were evil¡£ she must weep; if his light ¡ª hearted selfishness allowed no room for remorse in his own breast£¿
The summer had been tremendously hot; and all the fields were parched£¬ and the earth baked and cracked from the long drouth£¬
 These were all signs of a wet autumn; and hardly had Euthanasia determined on her journey to Florence! before it was stopped by tremendous rains and tempests£¬
 Then came the rain; and the earth gladly received these tokens of heaven¡¯s love¡£ which blessed her with fertility, The torrents roared down the hills; and the rivers,
 no longer restrained within their banks. rose? and deluged the plain£¿ filling even the streets of Lucca with water£¿
 thinking thus£¬ he trembled at the power she possessed£¬ and at the strange company of unseen spirits£¬
 he knew? was called prince of the air; but there is a wide difference between our belief of an hearsay¡£
 and the proof which he now thought was presented to him£¬ When he repaired at the mysterious hour of midnight to a running stream. and saw?
 ¡ª that a tempestuous wind arose from the south, and the dark clouds among which the lightnings played£¿ advanced over their heads£¿
 and then the rain in quick big drops£¿ accompanied by hail£¬ fell on the earth; ¡ª when he saw this! his limbs trembled£¡
 if love and hate had not possessed him so entirely£¿ he would never have ventured again to witness the magical powers of his friend£¿
A cold and early winter followed the flood. and froze the waters before they retreated from the inundated fields?
 For many years so terrible a season had not been known in Italy; and£¡ in the Lucchese states particularly.
 and destroys the animals which inhabit the earth£¡ even in their holds and fastnesses? He casts bonds upon the rivers and streams; and even the ¡®sapless foliage of the ocean.
¡¯ and the mighty monsters and numberless spawn that rove through its wastes£¿ are all subdued by his fierce and resistless ravages¡£
 lovely as a young mother nursing her only care? now as wild and forlorn as that mother if she be ruthlessly bereft of her infant£¡
 to make her long delayed journey to Florence?Chapter 28!WHILE Euthanasia yet remained at Lucca in this uncertain manner¡£
 that his physiognomy could not be distinguished¡£ Why did Euthanasia¡¯s heart beat fast, and the colour desert her warm lips£¬ What could she hope or fear,
 and to quiet her trembling expectation£¡ He was one of the meaner class; and? when he threw back his cloak£¡
 Euthanasia perceived that he was an entire stranger to her; but there was a kindness¡£ a rough sensibility in his face£¿ that pleased her,
 am come to conduct you to her dungeon! for I can admit you only by night£¿ Surely you will come; poor thing£¿ she is very young and fearful.
 way-worn creature who said that she was on the way to Rome¡£I do not recollect; but if she is unhappy!
 At length they arrived at the prison; the gaoler entered by a small¡£ low door which he carefully closed after them. and then struck a light! He led Euthanasia through the bare and mildewed vaults.
 sometimes unlocking a massy gate¡£ drawing back the harsh bolts which grated with rust and damp; sometimes they emerged into a passage open to the sky¡£ but narrow£¡
 and consigning his lamp to the countess¡£ the gaoler said: She is here; comfort her; in two hours I shall come to conduct you back¡£Euthanasia entered the prison-chamber!
 You alone on earth can save me£¡Poor Euthanasia was moved to tears; she raised the sufferer£¬ and! taking her in her arms£¡ tried to soothe her: the prisoner only sobbed!
 fear not? no harm shall reach you; I will be your friend£¿Will you indeed ¡ª indeed ¡ª be my friend£¡
The prisoner sunk in Euthanasia¡¯s embrace: she was chilled£¿ icy-cold; ¡ª and she lay panting? as a bleeding fawn who gazes on its death¡¯s wound£¬
 very kind; are you not so now£¬ Will you not go to him, and ask him to order my release!To whom am I to go£¿
 ¡ª who is now pursued for heresy ¡ª falsely ¡ª or if you will ¡ª truly; one very unfortunate. who earnestly implores him as he loves his own soul!
 and her fast-falling tears trickled through her fingers; Euthanasia blushed also! a tremulous hectic? that quickly vanished! while her companion¡¯s cheeks still burned!
 ¡ª Yet methinks I had better go to the father-inquisitors; I am known to them£¬ and I think I could as easily move them as the prince; he is careless ¡ª £¿
 and surely would compassionate me. Try him first with the echo of my complaints¡£ and a relation of my tears; surely his eyes?
 which can look into the soul£¿ would then be dimmed: would they not£¿Euthanasia thought of Leodino; and she was about to reply.
 and ambitious princes! such as Castruccio£¬ were accustomed to regard with contempt woes like hers£¡
 But she hesitated; she would not rob him£¿ whom she had once loved¡£ of the smallest mite of another¡¯s praise? however undeserved; besides¡£
 she felt that the name of Beatrice alone would move him to compassion£¿ perhaps to remorse£¬ She was therefore silent; and the prisoner continued, with a voice of trembling earnestness?
The poor fallen prophetess now burst into a passion of weeping; she wrung her hands¡£ and tore her hair! while her companion looked on her. unable to restrain her tears.
 do I fear pain! They call me a heretic; aye? (and her dark eyes beamed fiercely) I am one; I do not belong to their maudlin creed; I feel my wrongs£¡ and I dare curse ¡ª But¡£
 I sometimes felt as if I did not know where I was. and madness seemed about to fall on me: you are good£¡ consolatory£¬
 kind; you must not leave me£¡Then I cannot see the prince; I cannot intercede for your liberation£¡But that is many hours hence£¬
 her own! every one¡¯s safety ¡ª she shook her head,I thought you were kind; but you are not: my cheeks are pale with fear; put up your lamp to them that you may see£¡
 She can go early. the moment day dawns? ¡ª indeed she shall go then, but now she must not,Euthanasia tore herself away; though her heart was pierced by the wild shriek of Beatrice!
 and mean politics£¡ were lost in her recollection; she felt as if she should again see him honest£¿ passion-breathing?
 and it will vanish; there is a coil wound round me of sorrow and distrust, which will snap beneath his smile£¿ and free me£¬
 whom he has wronged? and to whom he belongs far more than to me; this unhappy Beatrice. who sheds tears of agony in her dungeon¡£
 not to think of itself ¡ª I go for her; and£¿ having obtained my request? I will come away¡£ forgetful that I am any thing£¡Day dawned; day¡£
 but ever cheerful to one weighed down by the sense of darkness and inaction: day did not dawn this dreary winter morning£¡ until seven o¡¯clock£¿
 When she arrived at the Palazzo del Governo! her rich attire and distinguished mien won her easy entrance! and she penetrated to the cabinet of the prince,
Her heart beat audibly; she had entered with rapid. though light steps; now she paused; and? as it were gathering up the straggling feelings of her mind!
 she endeavoured to bind them in a firm knot; she resolved to calm herself£¿ to still the convulsive motion of her lips£¡ to remember nothing but Beatrice¡£
 She entered; Antelminelli was alone; he was at a table reading a paper¡£ and a smile of light derision played upon his features; he raised on her his dark! piercing eyes£¬
 and seeing a lady before him£¬ he rose; in a moment Euthanasia was self-possessed and resolved; and casting back her cloak£¡ and throwing aside her veil£¡
 whatever your errand may be£¡ speak it not yet; ¡ª if you come to make a request, I shall grant it instantly!
 and then you will go; but pause awhile first, that I may look on you; it is a whole year since I saw you last; you are changed£¡ you are paler. ¡ª your eyes ¡ª but you turn away from me£¡
 as if you were angry,I am not angry ¡ª but I am nothing¡£ ¡ª There is a heretic£¿ at least a girl accused of heresy£¬ confined in your prisons.
 not by the shortest delay to add another moment of sorrow to her heap: she has suffered much.A heretic,
 since she feels to the very centre of her heart the change from joy to grief£¡Yet no harm will happen to her£¿ at most a few months¡¯ imprisonment: if she dread death and pain¡£
 she will of course recant and be freed; what will she suffer for so short a time!Fear; the worst of evils¡£
 if you are not already won by the sweet hope of saving one who suffers torments you can never know.Euthanasia? do not look so gloomily; I am not thinking of your heretic; I hesitate?
 that I may keep you here: you have your will; I will never refuse a request of yours,A smile of fleeting disdain passed over her countenance. Nay,
 the daughter of Wilhelmina of Bohemia£¬If the ghost of the poor prophetess had suddenly arisen£¬ it could not have astounded Castruccio more¡£ than to hear her name thus spoken by Euthanasia£¬
 coupled with the appellations of heretic and prisoner! The tide of his life ebbed; and, when it flowed again£¿
 he thought of the celestial Beatrice. her light step£¿ her almost glorious presence; and the memory of her pale cheek and white lips when he last saw her, thrilled his heart£¬
 the ward of a leper¡£ the adopted child of the good bishop of Ferrara£¿Euthanasia saw the great confluence of passions, which agitated Castruccio.
 and made him alternately pale and red; she was silent¡£ her quiet eyes beaming upon him in compassion; for a long time his heart could not find a voice£¡
 Euthanasia! you are the angel itself of charity; you know all her sad story ¡ª all that relates to me; calm her£¬
Farewell then; I go. ¡ª send one of your officers with the order; I will hasten to her£¡ as quickly as you can wish¡£
 and eternal words imprinted in its core; you do not despise me? you love me? ¡ª be mine£¡The pale cheek of Euthanasia was flushed.
 to hate£¿ I tell thee I am as free as air£¬ But I am hurried far beyond the bounds I prescribed for myself£¡ and now not a word more¡£Yes£¿
 destroyed her; do you then repair my work; I would give half my soul that she should be as when I first saw her£¬ You have heard a part of her story.
 that you should no longer be what you once were£¿Pride now returned and swelled every feature of Castruccio; Enough£¿
 enough: whatever wine of life I drain£¡ I mingled it myself! Euthanasia£¡ if we never meet again£¬ remember, I am content; can you be more.
 he looked up with angry defiance; and£¡ shaking from his heart the dew of tenderness he plunged amidst the crowd where he commanded¡£
 where his very eye was obeyed.Euthanasia hastened to the prison£¡ where the kind-hearted gaoler led her with a face of joyful triumph to the dungeon of Beatrice; the poor thing was sleeping£¬
 the traces of tears were on her cheeks (for like a child she had cried herself to sleep), and several times she started uneasily. Euthanasia made a sign to the gaoler to be silent.
 once so gloriously beautiful; the exquisite carving of her well shaped eyelids! her oval face£¬ and pointed chin still shewed signs of what she had been; the rest was lost£¡
 they were the shadow merely of what they had been; her face! her whole person was emaciated£¿ worn and faded£¡ She awoke and beheld the eyes of Euthanasia£¡
 Pardon me; yesterday I was rude and selfish; I tormented and reproached you? who are all kindness, And you£¬
 Now that I am going to leave my dungeon¡£ methinks it is a good cell enough£¡ and I could stay here always well content; it is somewhat dark and cold£¬
 but one can wrap oneself up, and shut one¡¯s eyes, and fancy one¡¯s self under the sun of heaven£¡She continued prattling.
 and would have said much more£¡ but that Euthanasia with gentle force drew her from the dungeon£¡ out of the gloomy prison; and they hastened to her palace£¬
 where Beatrice was quickly refreshed by a bath and food£¿ But£¿ when the first joy of liberation was passed£¿
 she sunk to melancholy: she would not speak£¿ but sat listlessly. and her tears fell in silence£¿ Euthanasia tried to comfort her; but many days passed,
 during which she continued sullen and intractable?In the mean time Euthanasia received several billets from Castruccio¡£ with earnest enquiries concerning the welfare of this poor girl. God knows¡£
 not only for what she suffers£¿ but for what she may have suffered? She is now? they say£¡ a heretic?
 and convert her; be to her as an affectionate sister£¬ an angel of peace and pardon! I leave the guidance of her future destiny to your judgement: but do not lose sight of her,
 What do I ask of you, And what right have I to bring upon you the burthen of my faults? But you are good, and will forgive me¡£
Chapter 29?EUTHANASIA was meditating on this letter. when Beatrice entered£¿ and sat down beside her¡£
 Duties¡£ until I knew you I had none; for five years my life has been one scene of despair: you cannot tell what a fall mine was!
Forget£¡ I do intreat you. poor sufferer? all your past unhappiness; forget every thing that you once were£¬
Beatrice arose; she pointed to heaven; she stood in the same attitude! as when she had prophesied to the people of Ferrara under the portico of the church of St¡£
 as in those times! she spoke with tumultuous eloquence:!Euthanasia! you are much deceived; you either worship a useless shadow¡£
 or a fiend in the clothing of a god¡£ Listen to me, while I announce to you the eternal and victorious influence of evil! which circulates like air about us,
 and hard-hearted cruelty. Look at the societies of men; are not our fellow creatures tormented one by the other in an endless circle of pain!
 that¡£ as sharp spears, pierce one¡¯s bosom at every turn; think of jealousy¡£ midnight murders£¬ envy£¡
 and all the aching pains our limbs suffer withal; visit in thought the hospital, the lazar house; Oh£¬
 know you not what a wretch man is£¡ and what a store house of infinite pain is this much-vaunted human soul¡£
 Look into your own heart; or? if that be too peaceful? gaze on mine; I will tear it open for your inspection¡£
 to be betrayed by all? Now I am changed? ¡ª I hate; ¡ª my energy is spent in curses£¬ and if I trust¡£
 it is to be the more deeply wounded?Did not the power you worship create the passions of man; his desires which outleap possibility.
 revenge and hate. Did he not create love. the tempter: he who keeps the key of that mansion whose motto must ever be Lasciate ogni speranza voi che intrate!
 ¡ª a thousand hearts once beat beneath those skins, quenched in the agonies of death to furnish forth that cloak. Yet why not!
Let me tell you! that you do ill to ally yourself to the triumphant spirit of evil£¡ leaving the worship of the good£¬
 He wanders about the world a proscribed and helpless thing£¡ hooted from the palaces of kings? excommunicated from churches; sometimes he wanders into the heart of man£¿
 and makes his bosom glow with love and virtue; but so surely as he enters£¿ misfortune! bound to him by his enemy£¡
 as a corpse to a living body, enters with him; the wretch who has received his influence£¿ becomes poor£¿
 torn with red-hot pincers£¡The Spirit of Evil chose a nation for his own; the Spirit of Good tried to redeem that nation from its gulf of vice and misery£¬ and was cruelly destroyed by it; and now¡£
 as the masterpiece of the enemy£¡ they are adored together; and he the beneficent£¡ kind and suffering£¡ is made the mediator to pull down curses upon us.
 while slowly? year by year¡£ these wonders had been collected; some were almost falling through exceeding age! while others shone in their first infancy?
 Well:¡ª a king£¡ Philip of Macedon! destroyed all these in three days? burnt them¡£ razed them? annihilated them¡£
 or the chance of war£¬ may fell him in an instant; and all his knowledge and virtues become blank! as a moonless, starless night£¬Euthanasia?
 I see the cruel heart¡£ which lurks beneath the beautiful skin of the pard; I see the blight of autumn in the green leaves of spring! the wrinkles of age in the face of youth£¡
 rust on the burnished iron£¡ storm in the very breast of calm¡£ sorrow in the heart of joy; all beauty wraps deformity! as the fruit the kernel; Time opens the shell.
 if I have said that which appears to you blasphemy; I will unveil my heart to you¡£ tell you my sufferings£¬ and surely you will then curse with me the author of my being!
 The undisciplined mind of poor Beatrice was as a flower that droops beneath the storm; but! on the first gleam of sunshine£¿ raises again its head?
 even though the hail-stones and the wind might have broken and tarnished its leaves and its tints£¬ She looked up¡£
 and smiled; I will do all that you tell me; I will be docile? good and affectionate; ¡ª I will be obedient to your smallest sign!
 Trust me. you shall make me a Catholic again. if you will love me unceasingly for one whole year¡£ and in the mean time I do not die£¿
 very tractable; but I have suffered greatly? as one day you will know; for I will tell you every thing£¿
 and I think I shall sleep?Sleep then, poor creature; here is a couch ready for you; I will watch near you; and may your dreams be pleasant¡£
 by their love for one who loved only himself; she thought over her wild denunciations; and¡£ strange to say£¡
For several days after this conversation Beatrice became peaceful and mild£¿ saying little£¿ and appearing complacent£¬ almost content; she attended mass?
 told her beads! and talked of going to confession£¿ Euthanasia was astounded; she was herself so steady in her principles?
 that she was at a loss to understand the variable feelings and swift mutations of the poor£¿ untaught Beatrice£¿Confess.
 she repeated; you promised that I should convert you in a year; but you have already forsaken your Paterin opinions£¡No¡£ indeed£¬ I have not; but it is of so little consequence; I would please you!
 I care not to please him; so I shall endeavour to please the virtuous and kind of this world£¬ and you are one of those¡£
 my best friend. Besides? now I think of it£¿ this world seems too beautiful to have been created by an evil spirit; he would have made us all toads£¬
 formless polypi£¿ Yet there is evil; but I will not trouble myself more about it; you shall form my creed; and.
 dearest Beatrice£¡ Why will you not recall the creeds of your childhood! as your adoptive parents taught them you. I cannot school you better than they.My childhood£¡
 My lessons must all be new; all retold in words signifying other ideas than what they signified during my mad£¬ brief dream of youth.
 Then faith was not a shadow: it was what these eyes saw; I clutched hope£¿ and found it certainty; I heard the angels of heaven£¡
 Youth is indeed a dream; and? if I spent it not in your ecstasies£¬ yet believe me I was not then as I am now, I am older than you¡£
 and know life better; I have passed the fearful change from dream to reality¡£ and am now calm! I have known all your throes; sometimes indeed they now visit me; but I quench them£¬
 replied Beatrice: I was born for wretchedness£¿ When the fates twined my destiny£¿ they mingled three threads; the first was green hope. the second purple joy£¡
 I might become what you wish me to be; but I find my soul awakening. and I fear a relapse; I fear the return of tears and endless groans¡£ Oh£¡
 let me wrap myself round you£¡ my better angel. hope of my life; pour your balmy words upon me; lay your cool£¡
 away£¿ through the unknown wildernesses of sky£¡Euthanasia was glad to hear her suffering friend talk!
 however wildly; for she observed that¡£ when she had exhausted herself in speech£¬ she became calmer and happier; while!
 if she brooded silently over her cares! she became almost insane through grief£¡ Occasionally she sought consolation in music; there was something magical in her voice,
 that I cannot permit you to calumniate her unjustly; there is to me an unalloyed pleasure in music£¬ Some blessed spirit, compassionate of man¡¯s estate¡£
 like a voice from a far world£¡ to tell you that there are depths of intense emotion veiled in the blue empyrean£¿
 and the windows of heaven are opened by music alone. It chastens and lulls our ecstasies; and¡£ if it awakens grief. it also soothes it£¡
 But more than to the happy or the sorrowful, music is an inestimable gift to those who forget all sublimer emotions in the pursuits of daily life£¿
 I listen to the talk of men; I play with my embroidery-frame; I enter into society: suddenly high song awakens me! and I leave all this tedious routine far¡£ far distant; I listen£¿
 till all the world is changed£¡ and the beautiful earth becomes more beautiful£¡ Evening and all its soft delights. morning and all its refreshing loveliness; ¡ª noonday?
 when the busy soul rests¡£ like the sun in its diurnal course¡£ and then gathering new strength£¿ descends; all these?
 Never do I feel happier and better! than when I have heard sweet music; my thoughts often sleep like young children nestled in their cradles£¡ until music awakens them?
 and they open their starry eyes£¡ I may be mistaken; but music seems to me to reveal to us some of the profoundest secrets of the universe; and the spirit£¡
 freed from prison by its charms£¿ can then soar! and gaze with eagle eyes on the eternal sun of this all-beauteous world¡£
 Euthanasia¡¯s enthusiasm had become more concentrated. more concealed; but Beatrice again awoke to her words?
 and these two ladies, bound by the sweet ties of gratitude and pity! found in each other¡¯s converse some balm for their misfortunes£¬
 we can never be perfectly wretched£¬ while the mind is active; it is inaction alone that constitutes true wretchedness?
In the mean time her own journey to Florence was put off indefinitely£¿ She was too much interested in the fate of Beatrice£¿
 and already loved her too well£¬ to desert her; the poor prophetess appeared little capable of the journey!
 and cried£¡ Did you not promise never to desert me¡£ Are you faithless also!But would you not accompany me?
Do you see that river that flows near Lucca! exclaimed Beatrice! I fancy that it has flowed through the self-same banks these many thousand years; and sooner will it desert them£¿
 that grows towering above all its neighbour trees in that convent-garden£¡ I am as firm to this soil as that; I will never leave this place but by force£¿ and then I die¡£
She said these words in her wildest manner; and they were followed by such an annihilation of strength? and such symptoms of fever. that Euthanasia did not again dare mention her removal to Florence.
I have seen him, I have seen him?Calm yourself£¡ poor fluttering bird; you have seen him: well, well,
 cinctured by a slight diadem£¿ looks carved out by the intensest knowledge of beauty£¬ How graceful his slightest motion£¡
I did; once I did truly; but he has cast off that which was my love; and? like a flower plucked from the stalk£¬
 Oh£¡ then how deeply and tenderly I should love him; soiled with crimes£¬ his hands dripping blood¡£
 until he grew good and kind¡£ So you deserted this glorious being£¬ and he has felt the pangs of unrequited affection?
 he has other affections, Glory and conquest are his mistresses¡£ and he is a successful lover; already he has deluged our valleys in blood£¡
 and turned our habitations into black and formless ruins; he has torn down the banners of the Florentines£¡ and planted his own upon the towers of noble cities; I believe him to be happy£¬
Thank God for that; I would pour out my blood£¿ drop by drop? to make him happy. But he is not married? and you have deserted him; I love him; he has loved me; is it impossible ¡ª,
Beatrice covered her face with her hands; her struggles were violent; she shrunk from Euthanasia¡¯s consoling embrace; and at length! quite overcome¡£
 and her breath was drawn regularly?Euthanasia watched beside her alone: when she found that she was sleeping quietly and deeply£¡ she retired from her bedside; and£¬
 sitting at some distance, she tried to school herself on the bitter feelings that had oppressed her since the morning£¿
 She now searched her soul to find what were the feelings which still remained to her concerning Castruccio; she hardly knew whether it was hate or love, Hate.
 could she hate one? to whom once she had delivered up all her thoughts, as to the tribunal of her God£¿ whom she had loved as one to whom she was willing to unite herself for ever£¬
 who had lulled her on the brink of a precipice£¿ to plunge her with greater force to eternal unhappiness£¡ She felt neither hatred, nor revenge,
 nor contempt colder than either; she felt grief alone, and that sentiment was deeply engraven on her soul,Chapter 30!
SHE was awakened from this reverie by the voice of Beatrice¡£ who called to her to come near! I am quite recovered.
 she said! though weak; I have been very ill to-day£¡ and I am frightened to think of the violence of my sensations?
 I am again ill£¡ as I was this morning£¿ Sit beside me; I will make room for you on my couch; give me your hand! but turn away your soft eyes; and now I will tell you every thing£¬
You know that I loved Castruccio; how much I need hardly tell: I loved him beyond human love£¬ for I thought heaven itself had interfered to unite us¡£ I thought ¡ª alas¡£
 it is with aching pain that I recollect my wild dreams. ¡ª that we two were chosen from the rest of the world?
 gifted with celestial faculties? It appeared to me to be a dispensation of Providence£¬ that I should have met him at the full height of my glory£¬
 when I was burning with triumph and joy£¬ I do not think! my own Euthanasia? that you can ever have experienced the vigour and fire of my sensations!
 subject to change and death; but£¿ when these three most exquisite sensations are bestowed by the visible intervention of heaven.
 such an event fills the over-brimming cup? intoxicates the brain, and renders her who feels them more than mortal¡£Victory and glory I had!
 and an assurance of divine inspiration; the fame of what I was. was spread among the people of my country; then love came,
 and flattered¡£ and softened? and overcame me! Well. that I will pass over: to conceive that all I felt was human!
 and makes me look back with horror to my lost paradise, Castruccio left me; and I sat I cannot tell how long?
 for in truth I think I was mad! Yet I was silent; not a word£¿ not a tear¡£ not a sound escaped me£¡
 until some one mentioned the name of Castruccio before me£¬ and then I wept£¬ I did not rave or weep aloud; I crept about like a shadow!
 brooding over my own thoughts? and trying to divine the mystery of my destiny¡£At length I went to my good father£¡
¡¯ said the good old man! ¡®you are much unlike yourself: but speak; I know that you can ask nothing that I can refuse to tell£¡
 by your hopes of heaven!¡¯ I cried, ¡®whether fraud was used in the Judgement of God that I underwent.
 but joy that the deceit is removed from you£¬ and that you may return from your wild and feverish ecstasies to a true and real piety£¬¡¯.
¡¯£¬¡®That I cannot£¿ my child£¿ for I was myself kept in the dark; I only know that fraud was most certainly practised for your deliverance,
 not what I myself imagined£¿ I listened silently; but I heard every word; I was very docile; I believed all he said; and although my soul bled with its agony£¿
 he bade me go and make firm peace with my own heart, and that then he hoped to teach me a calm road to happiness,
 Happiness£¬ surely I must have been stone; for I neither frowned in despite, nor laughed in derision£¬
 when that term was applied to any thing that I could hereafter feel. I kissed his hand. and withdrew£¬
 that accuses itself alone? and asks pardon of a superior power with entire penitence! and a confiding desertion of all self-merit! a persuasion intimate and heartfelt of one¡¯s own unworthiness£¡
Then succeeded to this mental humiliation£¬ a desire to mortify and punish myself for my temerity and mistakes£¿ I was possessed by a spirit of martyrdom,
 At length an idea struck me£¬ that seemed to my overstrained feelings to transcend all other penitence; a wretchedness and anguish that might well redeem my exceeding sins£¿Think you that¡£
 Love him. I adored him; to whisper his name only in solitude¡£ where none could hear my voice but my own most attentive ear£¬
 thrilled me with transport¡£ I tried to banish him from my thoughts; he recurred in my dreams£¡ which I could not control,
 Well; it was on this excess of love that I built my penitence, which was to go as a pilgrim and ask alms of you£¬
 Euthanasia£¿ I only knew your name; the very idea of seeing you made me shiver? It was three months before I could steel my heart to this resolve£¿
 I saw none; I spoke to none; I was occupied by my meditations alone, and those were deep and undermining as the ocean£¬
 until every moment seemed a crime£¿ that went by before I put it in execution. The long winter passed thus; my poor mother£¡ the lady Marchesana¡£
 that I shunned the worship of my admirers, that the spirit of prophecy was dead within me; but I was silent£¡ and reserved; and her reverence for me (Good angels£¬
 her reverence for me,) prevented any enquiries! In the spring the bishop Marsilio was promoted to another see!
 and he was obliged to go to Avignon to receive the investiture£¬ Excellent and beloved old man, he blessed me¡£ and kissed me.
When he was gone£¿ the labour of my departure was lightened; and in gentle and hesitating words I told my best and loved mother that I had vowed a pilgrimage to Rome: she wished to accompany me,
 after having performed my vow with regard to you£¬ I intended to visit the sepulchres at Rome; and I might then have returned£¡
 I was no prophetess; and yet I felt that mine was not a simple pilgrimage. but an eternal separation from all former associations£¡
 from every one I had ever known? Thus¡£ hopeless of future good. I deserted all that yet rendered life in any degree sufferable: I did this to satisfy my sense of duty£¬
 to do homage to the divinity by some atonement for his violated laws: I did this; and henceforward I was to be an outcast£¿ a poor lonely shrub on a bleak heath£¡
 that had become to me a second nature, I departed alone at four in the morning from Ferrara by the secret entrance of the viscountess¡¯s palace, on a clear and lovely day in the spring£¡
 and made it red and common£¬The first day was one of unmixed pain; the sun parched my frame; my feet were blistered£¿ my limbs ached; I walked all day£¬
 until bodily fatigue lulled my mental anguish¡£ for I was unhappy beyond all words£¿ Alone£¡ deserted by God and man?
 that the vain¡£ self-sufficing. cloud ¡ª inhabiting Beatrice was in truth a poor dependent creature!
 whose heart sunk¡£ when in the evening she came to a clear brook running through a little wood£¡ and she found no cup to drink.
 and no dainties to satisfy her appetite, I dragged my weary limbs three miles further. to an hospital for pilgrims.
 who fancied that I could feed upon air and beautiful thoughts! who had regarded my body but as a servant to my will£¡
 to hunger and thirst only as I bade it¡£Alone, alone£¡ I travelled on day after day¡£ in short£¿ but wearisome journeys!
 and I felt the pain of utter and forced solitude; the burning sun shone! and the dews fell at evening£¿
 but there was no breeze£¬ no coolness to refresh me; the nights were close£¡ and my limbs! dried with the scorching of the day¡£ and stiff with walking.
 burned all night as if a furnace had glowed within them£¡ Were those slight evils? Alas! I was a spoiled child£¬ and I felt every pain as an agony,
I felt ill; I caught cold one evening£¬ when just after sunset I threw myself down to rest under a tree? and the unwholesome dew fell upon me,
 I got a low fever, which for a long time I did not understand? feeling one day well, and the next feverish, cold£¡
 and languid¡£ Some attendant nuns at an hospital found out my disorder£¡ and nursed me; I was confined for six weeks; and£¿
 your prosperity, your beauty! the respect and adoration you every where excited: it was a double penance to humble myself before so excelling a rival! If you had been worthless£¡
 to one far my superior£¬ ¡ª was a new lesson to my stubborn soul£¡ I remained nearly three months at Pistoia£¿
 and low and trembling voice£¿ I was giddy ¡ª sick ¡ª I thought that death was upon me£¡ for that nothing but that great change could cause such an annihilation of my powers?
 Castruccio¡£ it is long since I have mentioned his name: during this weary journey never did his loved image for a moment quit its temple£¡
 it was madness; yet I did; ¡ª yet I do; ¡ª put your hand upon my heart¡£ ¡ª does it not beat fast,Euthanasia kissed poor Beatrice¡¯s forehead; and! after a short pause.
 ¡ª I can never forget£¿ ¡ª I had been oppressed for several days by an overpowering and black melancholy£¿ for which I could in no manner account; it was not regret or grief; it was a sinking£¬
 an annihilation of all my mental powers in which I was a passive sufferer¡£ as if the shadow of some mightier spirit was cast over to darken and depress me.
 I was haunted as by a prophecy! or rather a sense of evil£¡ which I could neither define nor understand£¿ Three evenings after£¿
 The memory of a dream flashed across me! Again and again I have dreamed this dream? and always on the eve of some great misfortune£¿
 I intreat; there was a wide plain flooded by the waters of an overflowing river£¬ the road was dry£¬
 there was a ruined circuit of wall! which inclosed the dilapidated houses of a deserted town; at some distance a dreary£¡ large, ruinous house¡£
 there is something in this strange world¡£ that we none of us understand,Euthanasia, I came to that scene; if I live¡£ I did!
 and Terni? and was descending towards the plain surrounding Rome; the Tiber had overflowed! the whole of the low country was under water; but I proceeded! descending the mountains£¬
 I grew dizzy and sick, ¡ª when my glazed eyes caught a glance of an old¡£ large£¿ dilapidated house islanded in the flood! ¡ª the dream flashed across my memory; I uttered a wild shriek?
 and fell lifeless on the road¡£I again awoke, but all was changed: I was lying on a couch! in a vast apartment,
 whose loose tapestries waved and sighed in the wind; ¡ª near me were two boys holding torches which flared. and their black smoke was driven across my eyes; an old woman was chafing my temples¡£
 ¡ª I turned my head from the light of the torches¡£ and then I first saw my wicked and powerful enemy: he leaned against the wall. observing me; his eyes had a kind of fascination in them£¬
 and I go on dwelling on the particulars of my tale£¡ until your fair cheek is blanched still whiter by fear£¡
 But I have said enough? nor will I tell that which would chill your warm blood with horror£¬ I remained three years in this house; and what I saw£¡
 and what I endured. is a tale for the unhallowed ears of infidels. or for those who have lost humanity in the sight of blood£¬ and not for so tender a heart as yours!
 It has changed me£¡ much changed me£¬ to have been witness of these scenes; I entered young! I came out grey.
 old and withered; I went in innocent; and. if innocence consist in ignorance, I am now guilty of the knowledge of crime. which it would seem that fiends alone could contrive¡£
What was he£¬ who was the author and mechanist of these crimes? he bore a human name; they say that his lineage was human; yet could he be a man?
 During the day he was absent; at night he returned. and his roofs rung with the sounds of festivity£¿
 mingled with shrieks and imprecations! It was the carnival of devils? when we miserable victims were dragged out to ¡ª?
 should have become a Paterin£¬That time has passed as a dream£¡ Often my faculties were exerted to the utmost; my energies alive¡£
 Obedience waited on his slightest motion; for he made none? that did not command; his followers worshipped him?
 but it was as a savage might worship the god of evil? His slaves dared not murmur; ¡ª his eyes beamed with irresistible fire, his smile was as death£¿
 I hated him; and I alone among his many victims was not quelled to submission? I cursed him ¡ª I poured forth eloquent and tumultuous maledictions on his head£¬
 have been wrenched in tortures; cold£¡ famine and thirst have kept like blood-hounds a perpetual watch upon my wearied life; yet I still live to remember and to curse£¬
 what it is madness only to recollect£¿I told you that I remained for three years in this infernal house£¿ You can easily imagine how slowly the days and nights succeeded one to another,
 each adding to my age! each adding one misery more to my list? Still I was the slave of him! who was a man in form alone?
 and of his companions. who£¿ if they did not equal him in malice£¿ yet were more vile! more treacherous¡£ than he,
 At length the Pope¡¯s party besieged the castle¡£ The many crimes of its possessor had drawn on him the hatred of the country round; and the moment that a leader appeared£¡
I was now free, I arose from the floor on which I knelt; and dividing from my eyes my hair dabbled in his blood?
 I disguised me in the clothes of one of his pages? and hid myself. until by the submission of his followers the outlet from my prison should be free. As I said before?
 it was more a vast palace than a castle, being without towers or battlements; but it was fortified by numberless ditches and other obstacles¡£ apparently small£¿
 But when the chief died! these were deserted; and the partners of his rapine and his feasts filled the air with their savage lamentations£¡
 ¡ª I sought them as a home after my long and painful imprisonment.I was now free£¡ The ilex trees shaded me; the waters murmured beside me; the sweet winds passed over my cheeks¡£
 I felt new life¡£ I was no longer a haggard prisoner, the despairing victim of others¡¯ crimes¡£ the inhabitant of the dark and blood ¡ª stained walls of a house!
 I was again Beatrice; I again felt the long absent sensations of joy: it was paradise to me? to see the stars of heaven£¡ unimpeded by the grates of my dungeon-windows£¿ to walk? to rest£¿ to think?
 It was autumn£¬ and the underwood of the forest had strewn the ground with its withered leaves; the arbutus-berries¡£ chestnuts£¡
 no fatigue; the common shapes of this world seemed arrayed in unusual loveliness£¬ to welcome and feast me on my new-found liberty,I wandered many days!
 and penetrated into the wild country of the Abruzzi£¿ But I was again lost: I know not what deprived me of reason thus!
 attendant on a too intense sensation of freedom¡£ which made me feel as if I interpenetrated all nature£¬ alive and boundless¡£
 I felt as if I had become the inhabitant of the dwelling of a spirit; and. with a strange¡£ half-painful£¿ half-pleasurable feeling?
 I raised an apple to my lips, that by its fragrance and taste I might assure myself that it was earthly£¡
He awoke: ¡®My poor girl¡£¡¯ he said£¡ ¡®what would you£¿¡¯!¡®I wish to know where I am, and what I do here?¡¯
 wild vines, and other parasites. and shaded by ilex trees; it opened on the edge of a small grassy platform¡£
 was one of many that inclosed a rugged valley; and. from one spot on the platform, I could distinguish a mass of waters falling with a tremendous crash?
 which were afterwards hidden by the inequalities of the mountain£¡ and then were seen£¡ a turbid and swift river£¡ at the bottom of the valley.
 The lower sides of the mountain were covered with olive woods! whose sea-green colour contrasted with the dark ilex£¿
 and the fresh-budding leaves of a few chestnuts£¿ I felt cold¡£ and the mountain had just begun to be tipped by the rising sun; it seemed as if no path led to or from the platform,
 complaining of the heavy chains that bound me£¬ and the wrongs and imprisonment that I suffered? He¡£ poor wretch? was an outcast of his species£¿ a heretic,
I partook his solitude for many months; at sunrise we quitted our dwelling£¡ and enjoyed the fresh air.
 and the view of the sky and the hills£¿ until the sight of the first countryman in the vale below warned us to retire£¿
 wise as a Grecian sage¡£ fearless and independent. He died in torture: the bloodhounds hunted him from his den; they bound his aged limbs; they dragged him to the stake£¬
 and still live£¬It were tedious to relate how all this passed; how I wept and prayed; how I escaped,
 The rest is all uninteresting; I was returning from the task of carrying the last legacy of this old man to his daughter at Genoa! when I was seized in this town by the Inquisitors£¬
Yet one word, my Euthanasia? of Him who is the law of my life; and yet I dare not say what I thought of saying? You write to him about me sometimes; do you not£¡
 She had not slept the whole night£¬ but she felt no inclination to rest£¬ The last words of Beatrice seemed to imply that she wished that Castruccio should know her story; so she sat down.
 and wrote an abstract of it, while her eyes often filled with tears. as she related the wondrous miseries of the ill-fated prophetess£¬Chapter 31
ON the following day Beatrice seemed far more calm! Euthanasia had feared£¿ that the reviving the memory of past sorrows?
 she felt somewhat relieved£¡ She and Euthanasia walked up and down the overgrown paths of the palace-garden; and,
 that may be found in your gentler heart; in mine all recollection of it even is extinct!I will tell you how this is, my sweet Beatrice£¬
 replied Euthanasia£¡ playfully£¬ I will tell you what the human mind is; and you shall learn to regulate its various powers? The human soul£¡
 in which many powers sit and live! First! Consciousness is as a sentinel at the entrance; and near him wait Joy and Sorrow£¬
 and lips apart in earnest expectation£¡) would often hurry on to take her seat beside Joy; if she were not held back by Fear¡£
 if Hope held not her hand£¿ and supported her; her eyes are ever turned back to appeal to Memory£¬ and you may see her heart beat through her dun robe, Religion dwells there also£¡ and Charity£¡
 His temples are circled by a diadem of thorns£¬ and in his hand he bears a whip; yet his garb is kingly.
 and his countenance£¬ though severe. majestical£¡But beyond all this there is an inner cave£¬ difficult of access¡£ rude¡£
 Few visit this! and it is often barren and empty; but sometimes (like caverns that we read of£¡ which are discovered in the bosoms of the mountains¡£
 when all the powers desert the vestibule¡£ and he, finding no light! makes darkling¡£ fantastic combinations£¡
 and the evil spirits pass and repass unreproved¡£ devising their temptations.But it is here also that Poetry and Imagination live; it is here that Heroism?
 and Self-sacrifice. and the highest virtues dwell, and here they find a lore far better than all the lessons of the world; and here dwells the sweet reward of all our toil!
Euthanasia talked thus? trying to give birth in the mind of Beatrice to calmer ideas; but it was in vain; the poor girl listened?
 and when her friend had finished£¡ she raised her eyes heavy with tears£¡ Talk no more in this strain, she said; every word you utter tells me only too plainly what a lost wretch I am£¿
 No content of mind exists for me? no beauty of thought£¿ or poetry; and£¿ if imagination live£¿ it is as a tyrant?
 He lamented the misfortunes, which through his means had overwhelmed the poor prophetess£¡ I know¡£ he continued£¿
 of no refuge or shelter for her. if it be not in your protecting affection£¡ If she were as when I knew her£¬
 her own feelings might suggest a cloister. as the last resource for one so outraged and so miserable as she is£¿ But she is a Paterin; and,
 until she be reclaimed from this detestable heresy, she is shut out from the consolations of our religion,
 thought Euthanasia£¿ that he cast away my affections. since he can spare no deeper sympathy for Beatrice,
 was to behold all that can be imagined of soft and lovely in woman£¬ soft and lovely£¡ yet wild. so that. while you gazed with delight£¬ you feared£¬ Her low brow£¡
 though its fairness were tarnished by the sun! still gleamed beneath her raven-black hair; her eyes?
 which was as paradise, all elevated her above her fellow creatures; she seemed like the incarnation of some strange planetary spirit!
 felt uneasy in its bonds£¬ and longed to be away on the wings of its own will¡£She spoke with trepidation: Do not blush¡£
 my friend! or endeavour to conceal that paper; I know what it is; and¡£ if you care for my peace of mind£¿ if you love me£¡
 if the welfare of my almost lost soul be dear to you, let me see that writing£¬There is no consolation for you in it, replied Euthanasia? sadly¡£
My own Beatrice£¿ do not torture me thus: if I do not shew it you ¡ª Never mind: here it is; read it!
 I must explain these things to you, my Euthanasia¡£ I know that you wish to remove to Florence: I can never leave this town.
 I shall never see him again? hear him speak£¬ or be any thing to him; but to live within the same walls? to breathe the air of heaven which perhaps has hovered near him,
She spoke in a hurried¡£ faltering voice¡£ and closed her speech in tears; she threw herself into Euthanasia¡¯s arms!
 dear Beatrice! indeed you shall not leave me! I can be of little use now in the world to myself or others: but to cheer you!
 these shall be my tasks; you shall never leave me?Beatrice disengaged herself from the arms of Euthanasia; and,
 casting up her eyes£¡ with that look of inspiration which seemed to seek and find converse with the powers above£¿ she said: I thank you from the depth of my heart.
 and may God bless you as you deserve£¡ divine Euthanasia; but I am fixed¡£ Alas? my mind is as the waters?
 Oppose me no more: has not he pronounced£¬ And I will obey his word. as if he were my king, my lord,
 my ¡ª Speak not; contradict me not; you see what a fragile being I am.And now this Beatrice, this Paterin£¿
 who had so lately with heartfelt hatred told the tale of all the miseries that are suffered under the sun. and cursed the author of them? became as docile to the voice of the priest¡£
 She never went out; she remained secluded in Euthanasia¡¯s palace; and£¡ with her beads in her hand! her wild eyes turned heavenwards? she sought for peace.
 The peasant prepared the threshing floor, choosing a sunny spot which he carefully cleared of grass and weeds¡£ and pouring water on it,
 This is the season that man has ever chosen for the destruction of his fellow-creatures£¡ to make the brooks run blood£¿ the air£¿
 that city£¬ He made another step towards it during the summer, The abbot of Pacciana got by popular favour entire power in Pistoia; he used this in behalf of Castruccio,
During this summer also he conceived some hopes of taking Pisa£¬ The head of the government there. who reigned entirely through the affections of the people,
 suddenly offended his masters; he was decapitated; and the various parties in the town! running to arms?
 Castruccio retreated to Lucca; but he was so moved by the overthrow of the Pisan chief? that, resolving to trust no more,
 as he had hitherto done£¡ to the affections of his people. he erected in the same year a strong fortress within the walls of his city¡£ which he called Agosta,
 to make room for this new symbol of tyranny; and here he, his family£¬ and followers£¬ lived in proud security£¡
Towards the end of the month of June? Euthanasia£¿ who had hitherto been occupied in attending to the sorrows of Beatrice£¿
 received information. that one of her most valued Florentine friends was dangerously ill. and earnestly desired her attendance¡£
 She had long listened with deep and earnest faith to the lessons of Padre Lanfranco£¿ the confessor of the convent to which she was about to retire£¬
 Him who had created the fountain of her tears£¡Go£¬ kind friend. said she to Euthanasia; go; but return again! Remember,
 I should like to be left now in utter solitude; I could commune more intensely with the hopes and heavenly gifts that I entertain£¡ Go; blessed spirit of Good£¡ guardian Angel of poor Beatrice,
 poor in all but gratitude¡£ ¡ª you shall not see your work marred on your return; you will still find me the good. obedient child£¬
 perhaps for the last time. one who had been the friend and companion of her early youth; and she departed for Florence£¿ There were for her too many associations allied to the Val di Nievole?
 to permit her to choose that route£¡ Besides Castruccio¡¯s army occupied the passes¡£ and she feared to meet him£¡
 The corn was cutting. and the song of the reapers kept time as it were with the noisy cicale in the olive trees£¬
 She however both loved and pitied Beatrice too much£¬ to be wanting in any of the duties of friendship towards her£¬ After a month¡¯s residence in her natal and beloved city!
 she again departed from Florence? In the mean time what had become of the ill-fated prophetess¡£Chapter 32£¡
 and learn who and what she is£¬ Expect me back in less than a month; in the mean time watch her; watch every word and action; something may come of this¡£The witch went to Ferrara¡£
 and rested during the day! and saw the sun many times rise and set among the wild forests that covered the hills! At Ferrara she learnt what she desired: Beatrice£¬ the Ancilla Dei£¬
 the prophetess, was not forgotten; even her connection with Castruccio had been guessed at; and some even dared assert£¬ that she had never quitted Lucca£¬ or the palace of the prince£¡
 during her pretended pilgrimage to Rome£¡ The witch returned£¿ joyful to think that she had now obtained an instrument for some of her projects!
What were her projects£¬ They had not that settled aim and undeviating course which one object might inspire? Her desire was malice; and her present hope.
 to impress upon Bindo some notion of the powers to which she pretended¡£ She had been young once; and her nature?
 never mild£¡ had been turned to ferocity by wrongs which had been received so long ago, that the authors of them were all dead?
 She saw and understood more of the human heart than Bindo did: she knew£¬ that Euthanasia had once loved the prince; and injury to him she hoped would carry a double sting£¬
 it will be doubted if such fiendish love of mischief ever existed; but that it did£¬ all tradition and history prove? It was believed¡£
 It was a dangerous experiment£¬ But I must die! she cried; and what death will be sweeter¡£ even if it be in the midst of flames, if so many share the torments with me!
 without shelter! fell into repinings and despair£¡She had ardently desired to see Castruccio; but her confessor had commanded her to avoid all occasions of meeting him£¡
 I may have my will unreproved; if this day escape£¡ I am again surrounded£¬ enchained; I might see him¡£
 hear his voice; oh£¿ that I had courage to make the attempt£¬ Yet I fear that this may be the suggestion of some evil spirit; I must not? dare not see him¡£She wept and prayed; but in vain£¿
 and eyes gleaming with tears? to go and gaze on the form of him for whom she had sacrificed her all¡£
 and carefully nursed; but several days elapsed? while£¡ still possessed with fever? she raved of the most tremendous and appalling scenes and actions£¿
 and she recovered; and such was the effect of her delirium. that she persuaded herself that what had so terrified her! was a mere vision conjured up by her imagination£¡
 and Beatrice dared not speak to any: she brooded in her own mind over the appearance, mysterious as she thought it£¬
 of this man; until her fancy was so high wrought. that she feared her very shadow on the wall; and the echo of her own steps as she trod the marble pavement of her chamber£¡
 made her tremble with terror; the scenes she had witnessed£¿ the horrors that she had endured in that unhallowed asylum of crime£¬
 presented themselves to her in their most vivid colours; she remembered all! saw all; and the deep anguish she felt was no longer mitigated by converse with her friend¡£
 What do I in this fair garden of the world. I am a weed, a noxious insect; would that some superior power would root me out utterly£¡
 or some giant-foot tread me to dust? Yet I ask for what I do not wish! Was he a good God that moulded all the agonizing contradictions of this frail heart?Yet hush.
 Father¡£ God! behold the most miserable and weakest of thy creatures; teach me to die; and then kill me.She sat in the neglected garden of the palace.
 on one of the pedestals which had been placed as a stand for the pots containing lemon-trees; she leaned her head upon her hand£¬ while the tears trickled down unheeded£¬ It had been her delight£¿
 when the sun had been long set£¡ and the sound of the Ave Maria had died away! she would sit there£¬
 as Beatrice saw her own deep emotions reflected in the beaming eyes of her friend¡£ she felt soothed,
 But she was now alone; she felt the solitude; she felt. that she sang£¿ and that none heeded her song: but,
 her imagination expanded. and she felt a transport which was pleasure, although a sea of black despair was its near boundary,As she sang! Bindo came near her unperceived?
 arousing her from her deep reverie:!Awake£¡ prophetess; it is not well that you should sleep; the spirits of the air have work for you; all Tuscany feels your superhuman presence¡£
Beatrice started. and gazed with surprise on the being who thus addressed her: his dwarfish stature¡£ his white hair and eyelashes£¡
You will understand her words; for between the gifted there are signs¡£ which none else know£¡ but which bind them fast together¡£
 and now she calls herself Fior di Mandragola; she rules the spirits who live about us£¬ and is powerful over the seasons£¬ and over the misfortunes and sorrows of life,
 a blight£¿ a stunt: but I am more powerful in my weakness£¿ than they with their giant limbs and strong muscles; ¡ª at least I have that strength!
 as long as I am obedient to her of whom I spoke! These are the words she bade me say to you? ¡ª ¡®There is a cloud over you which words of power can dispel; you are that which you seemed£¿
 and not that which you believe; ¡ª come to the cavern of Fior di Mandragola; and she will restore you to that height¡£ from which the ignorance of others£¿
A witch! ¡ª a woman with grey hair and decrepit limbs; she is clothed in rags£¿ and feeds upon acorns and wood-nuts; but she is greater than any queen£¬
 one power cannot be controlled by her; but your star surmounts his¡£ ¡ª So£¬ come. that you may know how to rule him,Whom?
Bindo retreated? leaving Beatrice startled and trembling, She did not rely on his wild creed; but she felt as if it might be true?
 She had once believed in the command of man over supernatural agency; and she had thrown aside that creed£¿ when she lost her faith in her own powers,
 She ran rapidly in her thoughts over all that had occurred to her of this nature, her ecstasies. her delirious and joyous aspirations. ¡ª they were more dead and cold£¬
 They rode swiftly; but the way was long; and it was two o¡¯clock before they arrived at the witch¡¯s cave! It was a dreary habitation: and now. as the shades of night fell upon it?
 but agile and swift of motion; her brown and leathern face was drawn into a thousand lines; and the flesh of her cheeks, thus deformed! seemed hardly human; her hands were large¡£
 but also was she unlike humanity£¡ and seemed to form a species apart, which might well inspire the country people with awe£¿
 and advanced towards her, saying? What do you here£¡ child of a sleeping power? Come you here to teach.
 replied Beatrice£¿ haughtily; if you have nothing to say to me. I return,I have much to say to you£¬ said Mandragola; for I would awaken a spirit from lethargy.
 and a thousand spirits wait your bidding; look¡£ like subdued hounds they now crouch at your feet£¬ knowing that you are their superior£¬ It is my glory to obey them.
 good mother; I see no spirits£¿ I feel no power.And if you did, would you be here? Here, at the cavern of a poor witch.
 and doing such penance as would make your young blood freeze but to hear it£¿ just earns a power hardly gained£¡
 ¡ª will you accept this dominion£¬Your words appear idle to me; give them proof£¿ and I will listen.
 Does it not contain strange secrets known only to yourself£¿ Have you never owned a power£¡ which dwelt within you!
 and you felt your own mind distinct from it£¿ as if it were more wise than you; so wise that you confessed¡£ but could not comprehend its wisdom!
 Has it not revealed to you that! which without its aid you never could have known! Have you not seen this other self?
 screamed the poor terrified Beatrice, That is the key! the unbreakable link of my existence; that dream must either place me above humanity?
 black house standing in the midst of the water; a concourse of dark shapes hovered about me; and suddenly I was transported into a boat which was to convey me to that mansion£¿ Strange£¡
 another boat like to mine moved beside us; its prow was carved in the same manner; its rowers. the same in number, the same in habiliment¡£
 struck the water with their oars at the same time with ours; a woman sat near the stern? aghast and wild as I; ¡ª but their boat cut the waves without sound£¡
 their oars splashed not the waters as they struck them£¡ and! though the boats were alike black¡£ yet not like mine did this other cast a black shadow on the water£¿
 melancholy and silent; the very air about it was still£¡ I can tell no more; ¡ª a few minutes ago I remembered nothing of all this; a few moments,
 and I distinctly remembered the words it spoke; they have now faded! Yes; there is something mysterious in my nature.
 which I cannot fathom¡£Beatrice shivered; her face was deadly pale. and her eyes were glazed by fear.
 The witch had now tuned her instrument£¿ and she proceeded to play on it with a master¡¯s hand.Heavenly girl! she said£¿
 That other self£¡ which at one time lives within you£¬ and anon wanders at will over the boundless universe! is a pure and immediate emanation of the divinity.
 As yet you have seen it only in a dream; have faith£¿ and the consciousness of its presence will visit your waking reveries!Beatrice sighed deeply, and said: I was in hope that my part was done£¬
 and that I should die without more agitation and fear; but I am marked¡£ and cannot combat with my destiny£¬ Strange as is the tale which I have just related.
 I cannot believe what you say: and£¬ though doubtless there are other existences£¬ of which we know nothing¡£
Ask what you will£¿ Would you see the cloudless sky become black and tempestuous, Would you hear the roaring of the overflowing waters£¡
 Would you draw towards you by your powerful incantations, one whom you wish to see. and who must obey your call,
 the victorious Castruccio£¿ could not resist you£¡The burning cheeks£¡ and flashing eyes of the prophetess¡£
 shewed the agitation that this proposal excited in her heart¡£ Poor girl£¿ she still loved; that wound still festered!
 to gain a moment¡¯s power over Castruccio£¬ She paused; and then said£¡ In three days I will tell you what I wish£¡ and what I will do!
The witch retreated into her cave; and Bindo came forward to conduct Beatrice home! She was faint and tired; and day dawned before they arrived at the palace of Euthanasia£¿
The three following days were days of doubt and trepidation for the unfortunate Beatrice? At one moment she utterly discredited the pretensions of Mandragola; but then her imagination£¿
 until she gasped with expectation, At last£¡ she thought£¿ ¡ª There will be no harm in the experiment; if her promises are vain¡£
 no injury will result; ¡ª if true ¡ª To be sure I know they are not; but something will happen¡£ and at least I will try£¿I know that Euthanasia. and more than she£¿ Padre Lanfranco?
 this woman deals with the devil£¬ and that I! who have lately saved my soul from his grasp£¿ should beware of trusting myself within his reach.
 All this is well to children and old women; but I have already tempted the powers above me too far to flinch now¡£ Am I not? was I not¡£
 who has learned his morality in a cloister¡£ cannot know what it most becomes an excommunicated wretch like me to do£¿
Yet I am very ungrateful and wicked£¡ when I say this; ungrateful to their prayers! wicked in transgressing the laws which God has promulgated.What does this woman say£¬
 ¡ª the heavenly powers deign not to interfere; they know my weakness? my incapacity to resist? ¡ª but?
 like most careless guardians. they permit that to approach which must overcome me£¬ I am resolved; she shall guide me; if nothing come (as most surely nothing will come)£¡
 it imports not? And£¬ if I am destined for one moment more in this most wretched life to taste of joy? others may (but I will not) dash the intoxicating draught away.She thought thus?
 and dread possessed her by turns. She feared to be alone; but the presence of an indifferent person made her nerves tremble with the restraint she was obliged to keep upon herself£¬
 once during the full moon! this planet had suddenly deserted the sky£¡ but that while the heavens were blank and rayless,
 so that for many hours they wandered about like madmen¡£ until at her command their faculties were restored to them?
Beatrice listened¡£ half in disdain£¡ half in fear; her conclusion still was£¡ ¡ª The experiment is worth trying; if her words be false£¿
 there is no harm done; if true ¡ª and then her imagination pictured forth happiness that never should be hers!Chapter 33£¡
 It is well; I should be surer of success? if you had implicit faith in my powers and your own; but it is enough£¿ What do you wish to effect,First£¡
 and that power which you prize most. is the power which you possess over the prince of Lucca£¿ Do you wish to see him£¡
 by stronger ties than mortal oaths; that is past for ever; but! except the salvation of my soul, I would sacrifice every thing to see him once again¡£
 divested of the ceremonial of power£¡ listening to what will never be told! consoling her who can never be consoled¡£
 she sunk to the ground: the witch went into the hut£¬ and brought her a bowl of water; Beatrice put it to her lips; then suddenly withdrawing it? she cried.
 ¡ª You have given me a poisonous drug£¬ either to kill me£¿ or undermine my understanding; ¡ª dare you thus trifle with me£¡
The witch took the bowl from her hand? and drank the liquid it contained: Take shame for your mistrust!
 But curiosity and hope hurried her beyond discretion; and with folded hands placed between the dry and skinny palms of the witch£¡ she pronounced the vow that was dictated?
 I will send Bindo to inform you what is to be done¡£ Fear not£¬ but that all will be well£¿Beatrice returned to Lucca£¿
 Her reason was disturbed by doubt and fear; and she often sat whole hours! her eye fixed upon the earth. her parted lips pale£¿
Euthanasia returned from Florence£¿ She was much disappointed! much grieved, to find her friend far worse both in body and mind, than when she left her£¿
 More than all wildness of words and manner£¬ she feared her silence and reserve? so very unlike her latest disposition£¿ If the convent!
 she would shut herself up to grieve alone, or far more dangerously to dream of the return of love and joy¡£ Euthanasia reasoned? persuaded.
 intreated£¡ but vainly: accustomed to the caprices of this unfortunate girl. she saw nothing in what now occurred!
 unless indeed Beatrice took the veil¡£ which now seemed doubtful? she would never again separate herself from her£¡ She loved her tenderly, and pitied her so truly¡£
 that she was willing to sacrifice all her own hopes of future peace to soothe and restore her to some degree of happiness¡£Her endeavours were useless¡£
 hopeless of good£¬ sought to excite any passion that might rouse her from her mute reveries; she spoke not£¬
 but wandered restlessly from room to room£¿ or among the wild paths of the garden; and thence she would have escaped into the open country, but that her weak limbs sunk beneath her£¬
 One night Euthanasia slept£¬ when Beatrice suddenly entered the room; and£¿ twining herself round her neck.
 surely he will redeem my soul from this curse! I would fain preserve my reason; my lips are bloodless. and my hair quite grey; I am a skeleton without flesh or form; I am to what lives.
 like the waning moon at noonday. which floats up as a vapour£¿ and the blue air seems to penetrate its pale and sickly form¡£
 Happiness. beauty? love have passed away; but I would fain preserve that without which I am as a poor hunted beast? whose sole repose is on the spear of the huntsman£¿
 Breathe on me. Euthanasia£¿ breathe on my hands£¿ my eyes; perhaps some portion of calm may flow from your bosom to mine£¡
 and her pale cheek close to the flushed one of the poor sick girl. Beatrice rested a few moments in silence; and then again she spoke.
 It has been said£¬ that I am a witch. one who has power over the elements£¿ and still more over the mind of man!
 a very long time ago£¿ I fancied myself a prophetess; but I awoke from that dream many years since¡£
 ¡ª Oh? that I could tell the heavy secret that weighs upon my soul£¡ I have sworn ¡ª they did not well£¬
 Mandragola knew the spot near which he passed; and she so planned her scheme. that her incantation should be wound to the desired pitch?
 at the moment when he should ride through the wood: and thus£¬ to the simple mind of the Albinois. and the exalted imagination of Beatrice,
That same night Bindo tapped at the door of Beatrice¡¯s chamber£¬ The prophetess opened it; ¡ª she looked aghast and wild£¬ but spoke not£¿ ¡ª This is the hour¡£ said the Albinois£¡
 Beatrice did as he desired¡£ moving her arms like inanimate machines£¿ and turning her eyes around£¿
 as if she saw nothing. Bindo led her down-stairs; they quitted the palace by a small back door; he made her mount a horse; and they rode out of the town¡£
They arrived at the wood£¡ and dismounted£¡ Bindo tied the horses to a tree! and proceeded cautiously through the intricate paths of the forest£¡
 It was an ilex wood; and the dark foliage canopied them above? while the moonbeams penetrated through the interstices of the leaves. and made a chequered shadow upon the ground!
 which was despoiled of its grassy covering through long drouth, At length they came to a more trodden road; and this led to a kind of woody amphitheatre,
 an open space in the midst of the trees£¡ one of the corners of which the path traversed¡£ and all around the ilexes formed a circular boundary of ample circumference!
 which kept a soft murmuring all the still night through, Near this fountain the witch sat: she was weaving two coronals of ivy?
 and muttering as she wove; Beatrice and the Albinois were before her! but she appeared not to notice them£¡ Beatrice stood. her arms hanging down¡£
 and fallen to her feet; she was dressed. as the witch had commanded! in white: several years had passed since she had been thus habited.
 and then crowned her with one of the chaplets; she placed the other on her own head; and then she said to Bindo:¡ª I am about to sanctify this place; you must depart£¬Bindo bowed assent£¡
 and muttering her incantations£¬ till she came round again to the spot£¡ where Beatrice stood, white¡£ motionless, and silent¡£
 You appear faint£¿ daughter£¬ she said; drink of this water£¿ ¡ª She put it to the lips of her victim?
 who drank it eagerly; and immediately a change took place in her appearance; her eyes lighted up! her cheeks were flushed, the heavy chain of mortality seemed to fall from her?
 she became active and even gay; by degrees a kind of transport seized her, a drunkenness of spirit. which made her lose all constraint over her words and actions£¡
 I know what I come for; now let us begin; I am an enchantress. you say; I can conjure him to appear! who before defied my powers£¡
The night was perfectly still; the air was sultry? and not a leaf moved: the trees£¡ bathed as it were in the cold moonshine.
 slept; and the earth received their moveless shadows on her quiet bosom, The fountain murmured on; beside it stood the witch and Beatrice; ¡ª Beatrice,
 her hair clinging round her faded neck. Mandragola was full of business; she piled a small heap of wood.
 walking often around it? singing or chanting strange verses£¬ and scattering water and oil about her; she drew¡£ with a wand formed of a peeled chestnut-bough£¡
 and strange devices£¬ cut in wood! or moulded in wax£¡ which no one might understand: then to crown the work she cut off a lock of Beatrice¡¯s hair, and threw it on the heap!
 and call thrice on the name of the prince of Lucca?Beatrice started forward with frantic haste; she seized the torch£¿
 thrust it into the pile£¿ which caught the flame! and blazed up as she cried aloud. Castruccio£¡ Castruccio£¡
 The horsemen approached; a turn in the path concealed them? until they were full upon her; and then she saw Castruccio and Tripalda advance£¿ Her brain,
 if so¡£ it was also an unreal form£¡ the resemblance of Castruccio alone, that she beheld£¡ ¡ª She sunk in convulsions on the road!
 leaped from his horse; and his example was followed by his attendants, The witch. who had hitherto hobbled towards Beatrice£¡ seeing them dismount£¬ endeavoured to escape; but Tripalda,
In the mean time the Albinois, who had been lurking near the spot£¡ hearing the trampling of horses¡£ and the sound of men¡¯s voices?
 ventured forward, Mandragola saw him first? as he came into the moonshine from under the dark covert of trees¡£
 She darted forward¡£ and cried aloud ¡ª Fly! fly, Her words and gesture attracted the notice of her guards¡£
That is Beatrice of Ferrara. I can tell you no more until she (pointing to the witch) gives me leave.
 he kissed her hand passionately£¬ Her faintness began now to dissipate; but her reason did not return£¿
 The first words she uttered were those of madness; she raved of that which ever haunted her thoughts in delirium¡£ her prison in Romagna¡£ Tripalda heard the words?
 ¡ª but Castruccio did not attend to this, or make out her speech£¡ He perceived her frenzy; and, unable any longer to endure his remorse? or the sight of his hapless victim?
 he gave hasty orders that she should be conveyed slowly and carefully to the palace of the countess of Valperga. and her companions be detained as prisoners; and then he rode off.
 He rode towards Lucca; and? reflecting on the fright that Euthanasia might sustain if she saw her unhappy friend brought home in so miserable a state? he resolved to go first to her palace,
 formerly gave me her benediction at the palace of the good old Marsilio£¬ I remember that day£¬ as if it were yesterday; and now I find her with grey hairs and a wasted form¡£
 He did not reflect that he was going to behold Euthanasia¡£ the beautiful and beloved; and thinking of nothing but Beatrice¡£ and finding the gates open¡£ he entered£¿
 She sent several messengers to different gates of the town to learn whether she had been seen£¬ and waited with inexpressible anxiety for their return.
The prince found men consulting together in the great hall; and the first words he heard was the name of Madonna Beatrice,Do not be alarmed¡£ he said,
 coming forward£¬ I know where she is? and she will soon be here; some of you see that her couch be prepared,
Appearing thus unexpectedly and alone¡£ the men did not recognize the prince; but the quick ear of Euthanasia caught the sound of his voice; and!
 and concluded by saying? I leave her to your care; I know how kind and generous you are, If she recover.
 I intreat you to inform me without delay of so favourable a change,As he said this? the trampling of horsemen was heard in the streets; ¡ª he cried£¡
He hastened from the palace£¬ and in a few minutes after Beatrice was brought in; her countenance was deadly pale£¬
 They laid her on a bed; and Euthanasia. approaching, took her hand; Beatrice did not notice her; she seemed to have lost all sensation£¬ and the rolling of her eyes.
 and the convulsive gaspings of her breath£¿ were all the signs of life that she gave£¡Why should I describe the scenes that ensued during the following days£¡
 as I have described£¬ pale and motionless; if ever she woke to sensation, it was to rave and scream!
 upon Castruccio; but, more than all, she fancied that she was chained to her dungeon-floor in her tremendous prison£¡
 mocked and laughed at by her keepers; and sometimes she imagined that these beloved friends were chained beside her¡£ suffering those torments which she had herself endured£¬
These intervals of raving were short and rare; and¡£ as she became weaker£¬ she still seldomer emerged from her state of insensibility,
 She was evidently dying; the physicians gave no hopes of her life; and the priests crowded about her£¿ Padre Lanfranco was among them; and he bitterly reproached himself for having left her¡£
 and endeavoured to compensate for his neglect. by watching day and night for some return of reason£¡
 as the dying Beatrice,Such had been the effect of the witch¡¯s incantations£¡ Beatrice had needed the tenderest nursing; and she had received instead!
 and calmly as a child; and her many sorrows and wrongs no longer filled her with anguish and despair! She died: Euthanasia was beside her when she heard a gentle sigh£¬
 followed by a fixedness of feature and rigidity of limb£¿ which shewed that the mighty change had taken place in her frame,
 to give brightness to the many torches by which it was illuminated! Beatrice was laid on a bier! arrayed in costly apparel£¡
 and canopied with a pall of black velvet embroidered with gold: flowers£¬ whose beauty and freshness mocked the livid hues of the corpse£¿ were strewn over her¡£
 and scattered about the room; and two boys walked about? swinging censers of incense£¿ The chamber was filled with mourning women; one, the chief£¿
 dressed in black£¿ with dishevelled hair£¿ knelt near the head of the bier! and began the funeral song; she sang a strain in monotonous£¬
 but not unmelodious voice: the verses were extempore£¿ and described the virtues and fortunes of the deceased; they ended with the words:£¿Oime,
Again they were silent: and the Cantatrice! renewing her song¡£ repeated another verse in praise of poor Beatrice!
 Castruccio had told her in part what ought to be the subject of her song! The first verse described her as beautiful!
 cried the singer, the spoiler came; she lost all that was dear to her; and she wandered forth a wretch upon the earth¡£ Who can tell what she suffered.
 Evil persons were abroad; they seized on her; and she became the victim of unspoken crimes: worse ills followed? madness and heresy£¡
 which threatened to destroy her soul!The woman wept¡£ wept unfeigned tears as she sang; and the hired mourners sympathized in her grief; each verse ended with the words,
 the hour for internment arrived£¿ The censers were replenished with incense; and the priests sprinkled holy water about the room£¡
 Four lay-brothers raised the bier£¿ and followed a troop of priests and monks¡£ who went first with the crucifix.
 Beatrice was laid in her peaceful grave; and. mass being said for the repose of her soul, the ceremony closed£¬
Euthanasia had not been present: and£¡ although she longed for solitude to weep in peace over the fate of her hapless friend£¡
 she was obliged to receive the visits of the Lucchese ladies¡£ who came to condole with her on this occasion£¬ and perhaps to satisfy their curiosity concerning its object!
 It was the false pride of Castruccio¡£ that made him think differently; and such were the prejudices of the times£¿
 that his contemporaries would have agreed with him? that he had in some degree compensated for the injuries that Beatrice had received from him£¡ by the magnificence of her funeral.
After the ceremony was ended! Castruccio first thought of the two individuals whom he had found in the forest with their victim£¿
 Mandragola had preserved an uniform silence; and no threats! nor torture itself, could induce her to speak£¬
 Bindo was formed of frailer clay; she had charged him not to reveal what had passed, and had imprecated the most terrible curses on his head£¬
 in the society of her friends¡£ and in the cultivation of her mind! some alleviation for her sorrow, and some compensation for the many evils she had endured,
CASTRUCCIO had now been lord of Lucca for six years, and had attained his thirty-third year; his character was formed; and his physiognomy,
 Constant exposure to the sun and weather had tinged his cheek with brown; which. but for that£¡ had been deadly pale; for care,
 and the strong emotions to which he was subject. had left their mark on his countenance; his eye had grown hollow. and the smooth lustre of his brow was diminished by lines£¡
 which indeed looked gracefully at his years£¿ since they marked the progress of thought; but some£¿ more straggling and undefined¡£
 He had not forgotten the lessons of Alberto Scoto; and¡£ as his attempt on the life of the king of Naples might prove£¬ his measures had perhaps been influenced by the counsels of Benedetto Pepi?
 The Florentines took the alarm upon so disastrous an event; and the pope sent to them Raymond de Cardona£¬ one of the most eminent generals of the times£¡
 whom they immediately placed at the head of their armies£¬ Cardona crossed the Guisciana¡£ and ravaged the plain of Lucca.
 after a short£¡ but severe contest¡£ took Cardona and all his army prisoners£¡The battle of this day was called the field of Altopascio£¡
 and a sweet remembrance of the days of peace he had passed with him among the Euganean hills! He had loved Arrigo£¬
 yet they would look back to him with the same gratitude and respect? that an honoured posterity regard the founder of their house£¬
 amidst the many others with which the plain around Altopascio was crowded? and to order the place where the remains of Arrigo reposed? to be marked with a sepulchral pillar,
From Altopascio£¿ Castruccio advanced with his army to the very gates of Florence£¡ The peasants fled before him¡£
 and reducing the cottages of the poor to a heap of formless ruins¡£ The country about Florence was adorned by numerous villas.
 These became the prey of the soldier; the palaces were ransacked? and afterwards burned£¬ the cultivated grounds covered with ruins£¿
 had presented the shew of a terrestrial paradise? now appeared as if an earthquake! mocking the best cares of man£¿
 The remnant of the troops of Cardona and the remainder of the citizens capable of bearing arms! would have formed a force sufficient to cope with the army of Antelminelli£¡
 But more than their declared enemies¡£ the Florentines feared domestic traitors; so many of their first citizens were prisoners to the prince of Lucca,
 and sent continual defiances to the citizens to issue from their walls and encounter him in battle. The men¡£
 too ready to seize the spirit of hatred and ridicule¡£ amused themselves with casting by means of their balestri.
 the carcases of dead asses and dogs into the town£¿ Woe to the Florentine who fell into their hands; if a female£¬
 if their insults were less cruel, they were hardly less cutting and humiliating; to lead a prisoner naked through the camp!
 Castruccio perhaps did not perceive the full extent to which the brutal ferocity of his soldiers, made drunk by victory,
 carried them; if he did£¿ he winked at it; for he had not that magnanimity which should lead him to treat with respect and kindness a fallen enemy£¿
While the Lucchese soldiers rioted in plenty, filling themselves even to satiety with the delicate wines and food of the Florentine nobles? and consuming in a few weeks the provision of years,
 but the seats of many of the guests were vacated by death? and the hosts who celebrated them had been invited to several similar commemorations£¿
 except by the monks£¿ who hurried from house to house carrying the cross and sacrament to the dying; while the poor£¿ almost starving?
 and often houseless£¬ fell in the streets£¬ or were carried in terrifying troops to the hospitals and convents of charity? And this was the work of Castruccio,
Euthanasia saw and felt this; and she felt as if. bound to him by an indissoluble chain? it was her business to follow£¿ like an angel¡£
 and endeavouring to throw aside those feelings of delicacy which were as a part of her¡£ she visited the houses of the poor£¬ aided the sick£¬
 fed the hungry£¬ and would perform offices that even wives and mothers shrunk from with disgust and fear?
 An heroic sentiment possessed her mind¡£ and lifted her above humanity; she must atone for the crimes of him she had loved£¡
 exhausted; for she had not slept for the two previous nights. Bondelmonti approached her unperceived¡£ and kissed her hand; ¡ª she drew it away: Beware¡£ she said¡£
 God knows how deeply I lament their defeats and their unhappiness! But what can be done! An angel alone could inspire our troops with that spirit and courage,
 which would fit them to cope with the forces of the prince¡£You say true; but there are other means for overthrowing him£¡ Consider.
 Euthanasia£¡ that not only he conquers and despoils us£¿ but that he is a cruel and bloody tyrant. execrated by the chiefs of our religion,
 feared and hated by all who approach him£¡ one whose death would spread joy and exultation over all Italy,His death£¡
 I see that you are still to be frightened by words! Do not let us therefore talk of his death£¬ but only of his overthrow; we must contrive that£¬Euthanasia remained silent.
 Bondelmonti continued:.Call to mind¡£ Madonna¡£ the many excellent and virtuous persons whom he has murdered¡£
 confiscation, treachery and ingratitude have gone hand in hand with murder¡£ Before he came¡£ Lucca belonged to the Guelphs£¿
 and peace hovered over Tuscany. Now the first nobles of the land have either fallen victims to his jealousy! or wander as beggars in Italy?
 All that is virtuous and worthy under his dominion send up daily prayers for his downfall; and that is now near at hand; the means are ready, the instruments are preparing ¡ª !For his death,
 cried Euthanasia,Nay? if you intercede for him, he may be saved: but it must be upon one condition£¿
 otherwise his fate is sealed¡£ Consider this alternative; you may take a week for reflection on what I have said.Bondelmonti left her!
 ¡ª scared by the doubts and anguish that possessed her heart£¡She felt with double severity this change from the calm that she had enjoyed for the three preceding years£¿
 to console his disappointed hopes£¿ and to teach him the lesson of content in obscurity! But to join the conspiracy,
 to become one of those who plotted against him£¿ to assist in directing the blow which should annihilate¡£
 if not his life¡£ at least all that he regarded as necessary to his happiness¡£ was a task she shuddered at being called upon to fulfil£¿No one can act conscientiously up to his sense of duty,
 or perhaps go even beyond that sense¡£ in the exercise of benevolence and self-sacrifice£¬ without being repaid by the sweetest and most secure happiness that man can enjoy£¡ self ¡ª approbation¡£
 clothed in garments of heavenly texture! could not be tarnished with earthly dross, All this was now changed?
When Castruccio¡¯s army removed from before the walls of Florence, the gates were thrown open£¿ and its inhabitants were relieved from the pressure and burthen of supernumerary inhabitants£¬
 the implements of husbandry destroyed, the cattle carried off£¿ and there was neither food for the starving inhabitants.
 nor hope of an harvest for the ensuing year! She had heard the name of Antelminelli loaded with such imprecations as a father¡¯s mind suggested,
 as they say he does! the curses of the injured£¡ how will his soul escape? weighed down by the imprecations of thousands.
 These are the benefits I have received from him; yet I will not join his enemies£¿On her return to her palace£¡ she found Bondelmonti waiting for her?
 if it be not indeed by betraying your plot to him? a deed you may perhaps force me to at last£¡I hope not¡£ Euthanasia!
 For your own sake ¡ª for the sake of all the virtue that ever dwelt beneath the female form£¬ I hope that you will not be led to commit so base an action, You cannot harm us!
 If you inform Antelminelli that there is a conspiracy formed against him¡£ and that I am at the head of it, you tell him no more than he already knows!
 I do not wish him to die! Perhaps I am wrong in this; if his life be preserved£¬ it is probable that no good will arise from his downfall¡£
 and that no blood will in reality be spared£¿ But I have eaten at his board! and he has been my guest within these walls?
 and you alone£¿Euthanasia was deeply moved by the presentations of Bondelmonti£¿ But her thoughts were still confused; she saw no steady principle?
 the prince of Lucca£¡ led along Cardona and all the most eminent of his prisoners as the attendants of his chariot£¿
Chapter 35£¿DURING this festivity at Lucca£¡ every thing wore the face of sorrow and depression at Florence£¿ The only circumstance that raised them from their ruin.
 was the commerce of the city; for£¿ by means of the merchants. corn was brought from the neighbouring states£¿
 exposed during the ceremonial. should be attempted by some of his bolder enemies£¬ But they worked with a closer design.
The tide of her sensations turned£¿ when the conclusion of that day¡¯s pomp brought nothing with it£¬
 but the account of its splendour and success; and, when she heard that the prince was personally safe. she found fresh reason for regret!
 but do not curse him,Bid me rather add tenfold bitterness to my weak execrations; but all words man can pronounce are poor¡£ He has done that which,
 if he had before been an angel£¡ would blot and disfigure him for ever£¬ He is the worst of tyrants?
 Read that writing£¡He put into her hand a dirty scrap of paper¡£ on which she deciphered these words:!
 I was put to the torture this morning. I suffer it again on Thursday¡£ if you do not send six hundred golden florins£¬
The paper dropped from her hands, This comes from my cousin Francesco! said Bondelmonti; others are in the same situation!
 and her lips quivering with excessive pity; No! he shall not reign; he were unworthy to live£¡ if it be not to repent!
 Bondelmonti£¡ here is my hand; do with me what you please; let his life be saved; but let him be torn from the power which he uses more like a fiend than a human creature£¿Thank you!
 dear cousin, for this generous feeling: now I know you again. I know my Euthanasia. who had forgotten herself awhile. only to awake again with new vigour£¬
 Call up all your spirits£¿ Madonna; recollect all of noble! and wise! and courageous. that your excellent father taught you£¡
 This is no mayday trick£¬ or the resolution of momentary indignation; it is the firm purpose of those? who see an evil beyond imagination pregnant with destruction and horror?
 and his mother has three hundred florins only.I can supply the rest. said Euthanasia£¡ Poor fellow£¬ send them immediately?
 his life saved only through her intervention¡£ ¡ª and he perhaps£¬ knowing that she also had joined the conspiracy to despoil him of the power he had laboured to attain.
 and prayed fervently for a wisdom and judgement that might guide her aright£¬Euthanasia was now advanced to the very prime of life,
 Ten years had elapsed since she had first interchanged vows with Antelminelli in her castle of Valperga; but her mind was of that youthful kind! that£¿ ever,
 as it were£¬ renewing itself from her own exhaustless treasure of wisdom and sentiment£¬ never slept upon the past¡£
 forgetful of the changes that took place around her. Her character was always improving£¡ always adding some new acquirements,
 and regulate its measures, She no longer loved the prince; his cruelty had degraded him even from the small place that he had still kept in her heart.
 But such was the force of early feeling, that she desired to restore her affections to him£¡ when he should again become gentle and humane¡£
 as he appeared when she first knew him, Adversity might bring about this change.Bondelmonti appeared£¡
 He appeared with a face of satisfaction and even of joy? as he claimed her promise of the morning£¿ She renewed it solemnly,
 while her serious countenance. and the touching modulation of her voice£¬ told how from the depth of her heart she felt the extent and force of the engagement into which she entered!
 Bondelmonti then detailed to her the circumstances of the conspiracy£¿The family of the Quartezzani had been that which had most assisted Castruccio in his rise to power?
 he feared their power? more than he was pleased by their support¡£ and suspected that they only looked upon him as an instrument to fight their battles awhile£¬
 and then to be put aside at the first opportunity! He changed his demeanour towards them£¬ from that of friendliness?
 to the coldest distrust£¡ and took the earliest opportunity to banish the chief among them from Lucca? Disgusted by this ingratitude£¿
 they withdrew from court, and tempted by the emissaries of Bondelmonti£¬ now entered into a conspiracy against him,
Bondelmonti explained to Euthanasia all the circumstances of the plan they had concerted to get the city into their hands¡£ The present governor of Pisa£¬
 was to advance in a hostile manner to Ripafrata; and, while the shew of force on that side should attract Castruccio and his army¡£ a detachment was to cross the hill of St£¿
 whose gates would be opened to them by one of the conspirators! The Florentine force would hover on the banks of the Guisciana; and.
 taking advantage of the confusion which the seizure of Lucca would occasion£¿ would pass the river¡£ and march directly towards the city,
 declaring liberty to the peasant¡£ and attacking the partizans of the tyrant alone£¡ King Robert of Naples had a fleet already in the gulf of Spezia. which,
 In calling over the list he mentioned Tripalda; Euthanasia¡¯s eyes flashed angrily at the sound of that name£¬Tripalda? she cried, Battista Tripalda¡£ Is he one of your associates! Nay then!
 Tripalda is a man of infinite talent: his counsels have been of the greatest benefit to us! I do not think that our plot would ever have ripened into maturity.
 had it not been for him? Of what consequence is the virtue or vice of a man on such an occasion. Edged tools are what we want; it matters little the evil name with which they may be branded£¿
 and the destruction of those engaged in it. I have promised my assistance! nor will I shrink from the task imposed upon me; but I can no longer have faith in our success¡£
 his crimes alone impel him to associate in this conspiracy£¡ and they also ought to induce us to reject him; that cause must be bad!
 which requires the assistance of one so wicked as this infidel priest!You are strangely prejudiced¡£ methinks?
 He is not only acquainted with every circumstance of the conspiracy! but has been its most active member!
 Many of our most valuable partizans have been gained over by him alone; he is the tie which binds those who are personally at variance one with the other¡£ and the stay which fixes the fluctuating£¡
 because Castruccio is fully acquainted with the extent of his iniquity; for the same reason he detests me ¡ª £¬This expression of yours¡£ interrupted Bondelmonti£¬
 unfortunately increases my distrust£¿ But! if. as I believe? I have done well in promising my assistance.
 no veiled passion£¿ misleads me now! when most I desire to act well. justly towards others? and towards myself: the catastrophe is in the hands of that irresistible Power which guides us all; and£¿
 no vain reproach¡£ or worse treachery! shall tarnish my defeat. Trust in me to the death£¿Chapter 36!
ONE of the first effects of Euthanasia¡¯s entrance into the conspiracy of Bondelmonti. was a journey from Florence to Lucca?
 and the bare earth£¡ stripped of its summer ornaments£¿ appeared chilled by the cold blast that passed over it£¡ The olive and ilex woods?
 and the probable result of her undertaking was ignominy and death¡£ She felt all this, The name of Tripalda had extinguished in her bosom every hope of success.
 Or other let of any doubtfulness: As yet thy way is smooth and plain? Like the green ocean in a silent calm£¬No. the course she followed was a slippery path!
 and thunder muttered above. she was borne on by a virtuous purpose£¿ which would be to her as the wings of an eagle£¿ or the sure foot of the precipice-walking chamois¡£And then,
 if the enterprise succeeded. she would save Castruccio£¡ But for her he would be sacrificed by his insatiable enemies,
 and expect death; he would be conveyed aboard one of the vessels of the king of Naples; and she would be there£¡ to watch over and tend upon him?
 By degrees he would love obscurity¡£ They would behold together the wondrous glories of the heavens¡£
 and the beauty of that transparent sea? whose floor of pebbles. shells and weeds. is as a diamond-paved palace of romance£¡
 more rich in beauty and excellence, than those cold natures which had never felt the vivifying heat of mighty and subdued passions?Thus she dreamed; and thus she cheated herself into tranquillity¡£
 She arrived at Pisa£¿ where she was met by Orlando Quartezzani! who explained to her much of the minuti£¡ of the plot, and besought her to hasten its execution¡£
 if it be not formed of our skulls£¿ yet exists only to torture and destroy us, My brothers are tardy£¡
 those Avogadii£¡ lazy and inert¡£ They are still at Lucca; they see its fertile valleys; they live among its mountains. Sometimes indeed I dare go to the top of the hill of San Giuliano!
 and passed along through Pugnano and Ripafrata£¬ She was very melancholy£¡ How could it be otherwise£¿
 for be the consequence good or evil. she must arrive there¡£ she must there seek and find the fulfilment of her destiny¡£
 The name of Tripalda? so often and so fearfully repeated by the dying Beatrice£¡ made her shrink from all communication with one who had tarnished his life with the foulest crimes.
 On this occasion she was obliged however to smother her indignation; and he! from a sense of his own importance£¿ was more presumptuous and insolent than she had ever seen him£¿
 which¡£ although they were not bent on the ground£¬ yet ever avoided the direct gaze of those to whom he spoke; ¡ª Madonna,
 I much praise your wisdom in entering into this conspiracy£¡ We all know that? when you choose to exert your abilities£¡
 I have already sharpened the dagger which is to stab the tyrant to the heart£¡Now the Mother of God defend him¡£
 said Tripalda? contemptuously¡£ By the body of Bacchus£¡ I wonder what Bondelmonti meant by introducing a woman into the plot¡£ One way or another they have spoiled£¡
 you may well leave to speak of what dwells without the circle of your intelligence£¡ Are you not a priest£¿ a man of peace£¬ and dare you avow such thoughts¡£
 They shame your profession; and¡£ if any spark of virtue dwelt within you. you would now blush as deep a red,
 compressing his thin lips, and elevating his high brows? I have doomed him to death; and he shall die!
 now first attuned to command£¡ carried with it an irresistible force£¬ while she extended her fair arm in earnest gesture; then¡£
 calming herself. she continued: I entered into this conspiracy on one condition; and I might well say£¡ ¡®If you keep not your words with me! neither will I keep mine with you; if you betray me,
 I know you, Tripalda; and you are well aware. that I can see through the many folds which you have wound round your heart?
 a tale the knowledge of whose exceeding horror is confined to your own polluted heart; but whose slightest sketch would fill mankind with detestation? and your destruction would quickly follow£¡
 Dare not even to imagine the death of Castruccio; while he is safe? you are safe; otherwise you know what will follow!So far from knowing¡£
 I cannot even guess your meaning! replied Tripalda; but with a subdued voice and humble manner¡£ In truth¡£
 said Euthanasia£¿ turning to Ugo. a plan to which I hope you will accede: for Castruccio must be saved; Bondelmonti entered into that engagement with me£¬ before I became a party to your plot£¬
 and seemed to stand as uneasily before the now softened looks of Euthanasia£¡ as a hypocrite well might before the eyes of the accusing angel¡£
 for I promised to be with Nicola dei Avogadii at eight o¡¯clock£¡ and seven struck some time ago£¬ Good night? Madonna; when we again meet£¿
 I hope you will be better pleased with my intentions, and thank me for my exertions in favour of your friend?
 the prince£¿He quitted the room£¿ Euthanasia followed him with her eyes until he had closed the door; and then she said to Ugo¡£
 I distrust that man; and if my purpose did not lift me alike above fear and hope£¡ I should dread him?
 watch him, as you would one whose sword you must parry, until the deed you meditate be accomplished?
You judge hastily¡£ Madonna; he is the sworn enemy of Castruccio; and I believe him to be? on this occasion at least£¿ trust-worthy£¿
 I cannot divine what you know concerning him; it is surely something black£¡ for he cowered beneath your words, But a man may be one day wicked£¿ and good the next; for self ¡ª interest sways all¡£
 and we are virtuous or vicious as we hope for advantage to ourselves? The downfall of Antelminelli will raise him; and therefore he is to be trusted,
 with the concurrence of their associates, determine the conduct of this last act of the tragedy, Euthanasia was left alone,
 She had been roused to the expression of anger by the insolent cruelty of Tripalda; but her nature? mild as it was£¬
) possessed her¡£ She was again in Lucca£¬ She ascended to the tower of her palace; and the waning moon,
 The narrow, deep streets of Lucca lay like the allies of a prison around her; and she longed for the consummation of the deed in which she had engaged. when she might fly for ever from a scene.
 while he in anger forbade the priest ever again to approach his palace or his person. In disgracing and banishing him from his presence.
 He had been loud in his abuse of the prince; but none had listened to him, except those who sympathized in his feelings; and Antelminelli despised him too heartily to take heed to what he said¡£
Thus? with the wily heart and wicked design of a serpent beneath a magpie¡¯s exterior, this self-named Brutus of modern Italy?
 whose feigned folly was a cover for pride, selfishness and all uncharitableness? fomented a conspiracy in Lucca to overthrow a tyrant.
 who well deserved to fall, but who was as pure as the milk-white dove£¬ if compared with the sable plumage of this crow£¡ He had endeavoured to entice Euthanasia to participate in the plot£¡
 if she were persuaded to enter into it£¿ it would be pregnant with nothing but misery and suffering for her. The scene which had taken place in her palace!
 was now the scope of his desire? To betray the conspiracy£¡ and deliver over his confederates to death,
 was of little moment in his eyes£¿ compared with the care he had for his own preservation£¿ and the satisfaction of his new-born revenge,
 and made his way into the private cabinet of Vanni Mordecastelli£¡Castruccio was at Pistoia£¬ and would not return until the following day; in the mean time Mordecastelli was the governor of Lucca¡£
 He was seated in his cabinet with his secretary when Tripalda entered: like a true courtier£¡ he hardly deigned to look on the man who was disgraced by his prince,Messer Tripalda£¡ said he¡£
 are you still in Lucca£¿ I thought some one told me that you had returned to your canonicate? Have you any business with me,
I do not much care to trust myself alone with you; for they say that you have sworn destruction to all the prince¡¯s friends£¿ However¡£ I am armed£¿
 Ubaldo£¿ do you hear£¡ cried Tripalda¡£ it is as much as your life is worth to tell any one that I am with the governor£¡
 Messer Canonico, though you have a fool¡¯s head, pray keep a discreet tongue¡£Silence¡£ Ubaldo£¿ said Mordecastelli?
 if it be known that this visit has taken place£¿ ¡ª And now! Sir Priest£¡ what have you to say to me¡£
 if it be not something well worth the hearing! you shall pay a rich penalty for this impertinence of yours!
 But you trifle now! and I have no time to waste; if you have any fresh scene of villainy to disclose£¡ be quick?I have discovered a plot of the highest consequence.
 One that counts among the conspirators the first citizens of the principality, But I must make my conditions before I tell you further: I hold the life of your lord in my grasp; and!
 before I part with my advantage. I must be paid its full worth£¿Conditions£¬ Aye? they shall be generous and ample ones; if you fairly tell all,
 you shall be believed on your word! and not be put to the torture£¬ to extort that which craft may make you conceal: these are all the conditions a villain, such as you.
 deserves. Come. waste no more time; if your plot be worth the telling£¿ you well know that you will not go unrewarded; if this is all smoke,
 why perchance you may be smothered in it; so no more delay£¿Tripalda opened each door. peeped behind the hangings£¬
The Avogadii.Well. what of them¡£ I know that they hate Antelminelli; but they are not powerful enough to do any mischief£¡
 said he£¬ when he had nearly concluded£¡ except for one circumstance? you had not heard a word of this from me¡£
You are a villain to say so; ¡ª but what is this circumstance. the love you bear your prince£¿The love I bear him might have made me bring the Pope to Lucca with thirty thousand Gascons at his heels?
 truly it was not that; but they have admitted a woman into it; and£¿ as there is neither safety nor success where they are¡£ I made my retreat in good time!
 to my knowledge she loved Castruccio!The old proverb tells us? Vanni, that sweetest love turns to bitterest hate?
 the state she used to keep. when she was queen of those barren mountains£¡ Do you think she has forgotten that,
I would not believe it£¿ if an angel were to tell me; do you think then that I will credit such a tale¡£ when it is given out by a devil like you. Nay£¡
It was a letter from Orlando to Tripalda£¡ conjuring him to be speedy in his operations. and saying that,
 since the countess of Valperga appeared to enter into the plot with a willing heart? all difficulties would now be easily removed.
Vanni put down the letter with a look of mingled contempt and indignation! And who else have ye among you¡£ I expect next to hear that some of the saints or martyrs!
 or perhaps the Virgin herself has come down to aid you?Here is a list of the conspirators; and here are letters which will serve as further proofs of the truth of my disclosures.
 as much as the vilest heretic who denies the passion of our Redeemer¡£ You know yourself to be an arch-traitor£¿ and.
 Come! there is a better room for your prison than you deserve: go in peaceably; for if you oblige me to use force£¡ you shall lodge for the next week in one of those holes under ground?
 of which I believe you have some knowledge£¡ since your fiendish malice contrived them£¿Well£¡ Vanni£¬ I yield£¡
 trust to my gratitude£¬ I know my trade too well not to encourage such hell-hounds as you are?Chapter 37
HAVING thus disposed of Tripalda. Vanni sat down to study the list of conspirators that he had given him, It contained three hundred names,
 What a murderous dog this priest is¡£ he cried. Why every noble family has one or more of its members engaged in this plot!
 I would as soon have believed that an ass could drink up the moon. as that that villain could have drawn her from her illustrious sphere£¿
 to be swallowed up among the rest of the gulls, when he wants to make merry with a few murders¡£ But£¡
 Conspire against Castruccio£¿ He used her ill; but a meek and forbearing woman¡¯s love that forgave all injuries. is what she ever boasted?
 I have many sins on my head; and£¬ when my death comes¡£ many years of purgatory may be tacked on to my absolution; but methought that!
 when I contemplated and almost adored the virtues of Euthanasia! my soul was half-way through its purification; ¡ª and she to fall!
 was struck with disgust at what appeared to him the depth of treachery on her part£¡ He knew little of the human heart?
 that£¬ although it permitted her to foresee the opprobrium and condemnation which would be attached to her conduct, yet made her trample upon all.
 She walked on in what she deemed the right path; and neither the pangs of doubt£¬ nor the imminent risque that awaited her perseverance£¬ could arrest her; or£¡
 worse than all, the harsh opinion of man£¿ his ever ready censure of ideas he cannot understand! his fiery scorn of virtue which he might never attain,
Early the following morning Castruccio returned to Lucca, Mordecastelli met him with a countenance£¿ in which the falcon ¡ª eye of the prince could read uncommon tidings£¿
 Either laugh or cry; or tell me why you do neither¡£ although on the verge of both?My lord£¿ I have cause£¡
 I have discovered a conspiracy which threatened your power. and that not a mean one; so that I must wish you joy.
 as to see their own interest in my downfall!Mordecastelli gave the list of the ringleaders which he had prepared£¿ and watched the countenance of Castruccio as he read it,
 He observed contempt and carelessness on his countenance£¡ until the name of the countess of Valperga met his eyes; he then saw the expression change. and a slight convulsion on his lips¡£
 which he evidently strove to suppress! Vanni could contain himself no longer£¬You see¡£ my lord. you see her name! And£¿
 It would make one doubt one¡¯s salvation? to see her with her Madonna face creep into this nest of traitors£¿ There they must have been,
 closeted in a cellar, or hid in some dark hole; for else my spies would have earthed them out long ago! And I figure her to myself£¬
 ¡ª entering a room made dark enough to hide treason; ¡ª and to think that the hellish bat did not take wing out at the window when she appeared¡£ but no, she cherished him in her bosom£¡
Vanni, you must look to these people. I assure you that I by no means find myself mercifully inclined towards them£¿
 These continual plots£¿ and this foolish ingratitude£¬ to give it no worse name. disturb our government too much¡£
 They glared; and his pale face became paler¡£ so that his very lips were white? He looked steadily on Mordecastelli for some minutes; and then said:£¡They must all die?
 like traitors; and on their living tombs shall be written£¿ ¡®Thus Castruccio punishes his rebel subjects!¡¯ Have I toiled.
 exposed my person to danger£¿ become the fear and hope of Tuscany¡£ to stain with my best blood the dagger of one of these miserable villains? Do you see that they die so,
 But Castruccio had much to occupy his thoughts, much that agonized him¡£ Revenge. He clenched his hand£¡
 which compensate for its many evils, Yet it is poor: it is a passion which can have no end. Burning in pursuit¡£ cold and unsatisfactory in its conclusion£¡ it is as love!
 which wears out its soul in unrequited caresses£¡ But still£¬ it shall be mine; and these shall suffer? They shall feel in every nerve what it is to have awakened me¡£
 he began to reflect on that which filled him with a bitterness of feeling to which he had long been a stranger£¬So£¬
 she has conspired against me; and. forgetful of all those ties that bound us notwithstanding her coldness? she has plotted my death,
 remained to me£¬ when power and a strong will had in other respects metamorphosed me£¿ Does she forget£¿ that I have ever worn near my heart a medallion engraven with her vows of childhood£¬
 but she has cast aside the uprightness of her understanding¡£ and stained the purity of her soul£¿It is well for me to speak thus£¡
 Now she is lost£¡ and may perdition seize the whole worthless race of man? since it has fallen upon her.But she must be saved£¬
 But she must not stay here; nor shall she remain in Tuscany? She shall go far away? so that I never more may hear her name: that shall be her punishment,
 and she must bear it¡£ Now I must contrive the means; for she shall not remain another night in prison¡£
 was one of judgement, But why should I call it error¡£ To remove a cruel tyrant from his seat of power£¿
 where neither love nor sympathy would cheer her; ¡ª to bear his anger! perhaps his hate! and in the midst of all to preserve a firmness and sweetness¡£
 She felt eternity in each second; and each slow hour seemed to creep forward? stretching itself in a wide,
 but with open eyes looking on the one last star that faded in the west¡£ calling to mind a thousand associations! a thousand hopes!
 to her feverish spirits the refreshing air of a December morning; when£¿ at noon? Quartezzani rushed in; he was deadly pale. and his hair seemed to stand on end with fear¡£Holy saints.
 Ugo; I was prepared for this; but you would not believe me. until now my predictions are sealed by the event,
 Let us die? as we would have lived! for the cause of freedom; and let no trembling dismay£¬ no coward fear!
 and we will dare to imitate them£¬ Others have sustained their fate with fortitude; and let faith and submission to the will of heaven be to us,
 instead of that dauntless spirit of inbred virtue that supported the heroes of antiquity£¿Euthanasia raised her own spirits as she spoke; and fearless expectation£¬ and something like triumph?
 illuminated her countenance¡£ as she cast her eyes upward. and with her hand clasped that of her friend£¡
 He received no warmth from the pressure; chilly fear possessed him; and he stood utterly dejected before her ¡ª he wept£¿Aye£¡
 You weep to leave those whom you love¡£ ¡ª that is a bitter pang. You weep to see your associates suffer; but each must relieve the other from that sorrow by cheerfulness and courage,
 Exert your ingenuity; once past the gates? you would soon be out of the territory of Lucca! And Castruccio ¡ª .
 Nor is it Italy. beloved and native Italy. that I shall leave£¿ but also this air£¬ this sun¡£ and the earth¡¯s beauty£¿
 I feel thus; and therefore do I write you an eternal farewell,She had scarcely finished her letter¡£
 when a messenger arrived from Mordecastelli¡£ He told her that the conspiracy was divulged¡£ and that she must in a prison await the orders of Castruccio.
 She started at the word Prison; but. recovering herself£¬ she made a sign that she was ready to follow the messenger; so£¡
 was conducted to her place of confinement£¡ She passed through the same streets£¬ through which the gaoler had conducted her to the dungeon of Beatrice¡£
 A small and curiously carved shrine of the Madonna with a lamp before it. chanced to recall this circumstance to her mind, Thou art at peace.
The gaoler of the prison£¬ who was the same that had besought her to come and comfort poor Beatrice£¿ received her with a sorrowful countenance£¿
 The window of her prison-chamber was not grated! and from it she could survey the neighbouring country£¿ A thousand feelings passed through her mind£¡ and she could put no order in her thoughts¡£
 Sleep refused to visit her; but her reflections became peaceful¡£ and full of pleasant images and recollections,Morning succeeded to a winter¡¯s night£¿ It was clear£¿
 The cheering beams poured into her room; she looked upon the azure sky£¡ and the flock of giant mountains which lay crouching around!
 and flower-starred meadows of that land.Thus the whole day passed; but it was quickly dark; and she, who had watched for two nights! and was now quite overcome£¬
 and which was ever to her as the good genius of the world watching his children in their repose! repeated the Catholic ejaculation£¡ Stella. alma! benigna£¬
 with a lamp in his hand¡£ accompanied by one of majestic figure£¬ and a countenance beautiful£¡ but sad,
 and tarnished by the expression of pride that animated it, She sleeps, whispered the gaoler, His companion raised his finger in token of silence; and£¬
 and£¿ kneeling down beside it£¿ earnestly gazed upon that face he had known so well in happier days!
 She made an uneasy motion, as if the lamp which he held disturbed her; he placed it on the ground. and shaded it with his figure; while£¿ by the soft light that fell upon her?
He gazed on her long; her white arm lay on her black dress! and he imprinted a sad kiss upon it; she awoke?
 now reassumed its severe expression. Madonna? he replied, I come to take you from this place?She looked on him£¬
 endeavouring to read his purpose in his eyes; but she saw there no explanation of her doubts:¡ª And whither do you intend to lead me!That you will know hereafter.
 bringing to her mind scenes of other days£¿ was best fitted to make an impression upon her£¡ She replied almost unconsciously ¡ª I did not prepare death for you; God is my witness,
 clothe our purposes in such a subtle guise! that it might deceive all£¬ if truth did not destroy the spider¡¯s web£¿ I come to lead you from prison?
 since I am not believed£¿ But am I to be liberated alone; or are my friends included in your merciful intentions,
Your friends are too dangerous enemies of the commonwealth! to be rescued from the fate that awaits them£¬ Your sex£¡ perhaps the memory of our ancient friendship.
 if they are to be sacrificed¡£ the addition of one poor woman will add little to the number of your victims; and I cannot consent to desert them£¡
 my conscience tell me to remain! I must not disobey their voice?Is your conscience so officious now. and did it say nothing.
 this I believe is the last time that I shall ever speak to you? Our hearts are in the hands of the father of all; and he sees my thoughts£¬
 Now is not the time to explain my motives and plans: but my earnest prayer was that you might live; my best hope! to make that life less miserable£¿
 less unworthy! than it had hitherto been£¿She spoke with deep earnestness; and there was something in her manner£¬ as if the spirit of truth animated all her accents£¿ that compelled assent¡£
 Castruccio believed all; and he spoke in a milder and more persuasive manner; Poor Euthanasia£¬ so you were at last cajoled by that arch-traitor!
 and pardon all; but£¡ as the seal of the purity of your intentions¡£ I now claim your consent to my offers of safety.I cannot? indeed I cannot, consent£¿
 Be merciful; be magnanimous; and pardon all£¡ banish us all where our discontent cannot be dangerous to you£¿ But to desert my friends£¬
 and basely to save that life you deny to them? I never can£¡The gaoler£¬ who had hitherto stood in the shade near the door.
 could no longer contain himself? He knelt to Euthanasia? and earnestly and warmly intreated her to save herself.
 and not with wilful presumption to cast aside those means which God had brought about for her safety? Remember. he cried.
 your misfortunes will be on the prince¡¯s head; make him not answer for you also¡£ Oh¡£ lady? for his sake¡£ for all our sakes. yield£¡
 Indeed you will not die; for you well know that your life is dearer to me than my own, But yield to my request?
 They talk of the tears of women; but? when they flow most plenteously£¬ they soften not the heart of man¡£
 that excess of tenderness. that intense depth of passion. of which they are themselves the sure indication!
 And now this scene was present before her; the gap of years remained unfilled; and she had consented to his request¡£ before she again recalled her thoughts! and saw the dreary prison ¡ª chamber?
 while the gaoler went before them? and unlocked? and drew back the bolts of. the heavy£¡ creaking doors£¬
At the entrance of the prison they found a man on horseback holding two other horses£¡ It was Mordecastelli£¿
 which she had involuntarily made at parting for ever with one who had been her intimate acquaintance? A countryman was waiting on horseback outside the gate: You are our guide£¬ said Castruccio!
 to gaze upon the strange earth beneath! The party passed out of the city of Lucca by the Pisan gate¡£ and at first put their horses to a gallop!
 As they approached the hills? Castruccio came up beside Euthanasia; they slackened their speed; she spoke thus:.
I have acceded to your request. and left the prison; indeed it were useless in me to resist one who possesses the absolute power that you do?
 replied the prince. I will do that which I consider my duty: and let not these our last moments be employed in fruitless discussion.
 who were reserved instantly to die£¿ stood in funereal group before the eye of her soul; her imagination made present to her all that they thought£¬ and all that they were to suffer£¿
 She looked upon Castruccio; she saw that he was moulded of an impenetrable substance: her heart swelled to the confines of her bosom£¬ and forbade her such degradation to the assured victims£¬
 as would be implied in her uttering one further word in their behalf to the unhearing£¿ unrelenting being that stood before her£¿ Castruccio continued:,
 You have hitherto mingled in the embroiled politics of a republic£¡ and seen conspiracies¡£ heart ¡ª burnings£¡
 crowned with towers. and clothed with deep forests. were the beautiful romantic steeps that she best loved£¡
 began to ascend the acclivities on the opposite side£¡ proceeding one by one up the narrow path. At length they reached the summit,
 and viewed! stretched before them beneath the stars of night? a scene of enchanting beauty, The plain they had just crossed was dimly seen beneath!
 through which the Serchio flows? bounded by the dark line of the sea; and the Lago di Macciucoli. a marshy lake£¬
 was close beneath.Here I leave you£¿ said Castruccio: there is your destination¡£ and he pointed to the sea; remember one with whom you have passed your happiest days.
 She could not entirely forget what he had once been to her. She could at that moment have overlooked his tyranny! his lawless ambition¡£
 and his cruelty! But£¿ no; the moment itself was a bane to oblivion! She could have forgotten his past cruelties?
 but not those which were immediately to be perpetrated? to be perpetrated on individuals who had been united with her in a plot for liberty.
 and some of whom her name and her countenance had perhaps prompted to the desperate undertaking, and egged on to destruction.
Castruccio spoke to the guide£¬ recommending haste as soon as they should reach the plain. and then turned his horse¡¯s head£¬
Euthanasia¡£ being now separated from her former connections£¡ and from him who had been the evil genius of the scene,
 began to resume her wonted tone£¡ The eternal spirit of the universe seemed to descend upon her, and she drank in breathlessly the sensation! which the silent night£¿
 All seemed so peaceful£¬ that no unwelcome sensation in her own heart could disturb the scene of which she felt herself a part?
 She looked up£¿ and exclaimed in her own beautiful Italian¡£ whose soft accents and expressive phrases then so much transcended all other European languages ¡ª What a brave canopy has this earth,
 and how graciously does the supreme empyrean smile upon its nursling£¡E Bellissimo? replied her guide£¬
 se ¨¨ tanto bello sul rovescio? cosa mai sar¨¤ al dritto£¿Euthanasia smiled at the fancy of one so uncouth in manners and habits of life; and she replied£¿
 please you to put spur to your horse; for we have little time¡£ and I fear that before long the heavens will be overclouded; that last puff had something of the scirocco in it£¿
 and I see a mist in the west that foretells wind from that quarter¡£They put their horses to the gallop£¡ Euthanasia¡¯s was a noble steed¡£
 and bore her proudly on£¿ She felt her spirits rise with the exhilarating motion; the wind gathered from the west£¬
 as she quitted her prison£¿ she had slightly bound with a handkerchief; and£¬ as she faced the breeze.
 its warm breath brought the lagging blood to her cheeks£¿They approached the sea£¿ and began to hear its roar; the breeze became stronger as they drew near!
 The beach was flat£¿ and the small line of sand that bordered the waters£¿ was now beaten upon. and covered by the waves£¬ As they came near£¬
 Euthanasia felt some curiosity to know her destination; but she saw nothing but the dim weed-grown field¡£ and the white breakers of the troubled ocean.
 It was not until they were close upon the sand! that she discerned a large black boat drawn up on the beach.
 and welcomed Euthanasia£¿ ¡ª I am commanded£¬ he said, by the prince of Lucca to receive you£¿ lady?
He pointed to a vessel which rode hard by, ¡ª so near£¬ that she wondered she had not seen it before£¿
 Its black hulk cast a deep shade upon the waters; and the dim sails, increased to an extraordinary size by the darkness¡£ flapped heavily£¬
The man looked at him somewhat haughtily: but replied ¡ª To Sicily, Sicily was then under the rule of the family of the kings of Arragon£¬ who inherited from the daughter of Manfred¡£
 ¡ª I am afraid that it will be rough! for an ugly wind is rising: but the saints will surely guard you¡£
Euthanasia stepped into the boat; its commander sat beside her; and the men took their oars: she waved her hand to her guide? saying£¡ Farewell£¡
 half to herself ¡ª They speak Italian also in Sicily,These were the last words she ever spoke to any one who returned to tell the tale£¡
 and speeded to Lucca!The wind changed to a more northerly direction during the night; and the land-breeze of the morning filled their sails. so that,
 although slowly. they dropped down southward. About noon they met a Pisan vessel, who bade them beware of a Genoese squadron!
 which was cruising off Corsica: so they bore in nearer to the shore£¿ At sunset that day a fierce scirocco rose. accompanied by thunder and lightning£¡
 which boiled beneath; they were borne on by the storm£¡ and scattered by the wind¡£ The rain came down in sheets; and the hail clattered£¡
 as it fell to its grave in the ocean; ¡ª the ocean was lashed into such waves! that£¬ many miles inland£¡ during the pauses of the wind¡£
 the hoarse and constant murmurs of the far-off sea made the well-housed landsman mutter one more prayer for those exposed to its fury£¿Such was the storm¡£ as it was seen from shore,
 Nothing more was ever known of the Sicilian vessel which bore Euthanasia? It never reached its destined port,
 nor were any of those on board ever after seen¡£ The sentinels who watched near Vado£¡ a tower on the sea beach of the Maremma! found on the following day!
 that the waves had washed on shore some of the wrecks of a vessel; they picked up a few planks and a broken mast£¬ round which,
 such a one as had bound the tresses of Euthanasia the night that she had embarked! and in its knot were a few golden hairs!
 deceives and betrays all committed to her care¡£Earth felt no change when she died; and men forgot her£¬
 Yet a lovelier spirit never ceased to breathe¡£ nor was a lovelier form ever destroyed amidst the many it brings forth! Endless tears might well have been shed at her loss; yet for her none wept,
 which for her had been replete with change and sorrow! CONCLUSION THE private chronicles£¿ from which the foregoing relation has been collected¡£ end with the death of Euthanasia,
 It is therefore in public histories alone that we find an account of the last years of the life of Castruccio£¬ We can know nothing of his grief!
 when he found that she whom he had once tenderly loved, and whom he had ever revered as the best and wisest among his friends£¿
 during the two years that he survived this event¡£ his glory and power arose not only higher than they had ever before done, but that they surpassed those of any former Italian prince?
 the first power of Tuscany. and the principal supporter of his own titles and pretensions£¡Louis of Bavaria was crowned with the iron crown at Milan£¿
 But his proceedings were tyrannical and imprudent¡£ He deprived Galeazzo Visconti of his power£¡ imprisoned him.
 and set up the shadow of a republic at Milan£¿ which was in fact composed of a few Ghibeline nobles, who by their jealousies and dissentions served only to weaken his power?
 and was met by Castruccio at Pontremoli£¬ The prince! whose chief aim was to ingratiate himself with. and to raise himself to power through the favour of?
 the emperor! made his visit more agreeable through the magnificent presents by which he was accompanied; and his sagacity.
 and afterwards into the friendship£¬ of Louis, They proceeded together to Pisa? The Pisans at first refused entrance to the emperor¡£
 but yielded after he had besieged them a few days? Louis then visited Lucca£¬ where he erected a duchy composed of the towns and territory of Lucca£¬
They went to Rome together£¬ where the emperor knighted him¡£ and he bore the sword of state in the procession from the Campidoglio to St£¡
 senator of Rome£¿ and master of the court! He had arrived at the summit of his glory; he was more feared and obeyed than the emperor himself; and!
 in the expedition which Louis meditated against Naples. king Robert dreaded Castruccio alone£¡ as his most formidable and craftiest enemy£¬
 Without a moment¡¯s delay, he quitted Rome? traversed the Maremma with a small band of friends, and appeared,
 when he was least expected¡£ in the midst of his enemies£¡It was here that he again met Galeazzo Visconti!
 sympathy and happiness£¿ of which he was now for ever deprived£¿His presence restored the state of his affairs! He possessed himself of Pisa!
 During the siege of Pistoia he had tasked his strength beyond human suffering; he was ever in the trenches on horseback? or on foot exposed to the hot sun of July£¿ encouraging the soldiers?
 and worked among them¡£ He neither rested nor slept; and the heats of noon-day. and the dews of night alike fell upon him¡£
 He knew that he was about to die; and! with that coolness and presence of mind which was his peculiar characteristic¡£
 if he were the sole creator and only support of the Lucchese, so they would fall into their primitive insignificance when he expired£¬
 he grasped the hand of Vanni Mordecastelli£¬ who wept beside him? saying Io morr&ograve;. e vedrete il mondo per varie turbolenze confondersi!
 and labouring with equal energy? He was attacked at Pistoia with the same fever and the same symptoms¡£ Hearing that the prince was ill at Lucca. he desired£¡
 where he expired on the third of September 1328£¬On the same day, and at the same hour, Castruccio died at Lucca.
His enemies rejoiced in his death; his friends were confounded and overthrown, They£¡ as the last act of gratitude£¿
 conducted the pomp of his funeral with princely magnificence! He was buried in the church of San Francesco! then without?
 now included within£¬ the walls of Lucca. The ancient tombstone is still seen on the walls of the church; and its inscription may serve for the moral and conclusion of this tale¡£En vivo vivamque¡£
"That what is bred in the bone will not go out of the flesh?" wasnever more verified than in the story of my Life£¬
  Any one wouldthink that after thirty-five years' affliction¡£ and a variety ofunhappy circumstances! which few men£¡ if any¡£ ever went throughbefore.
 and after near seven years of peace and enjoyment in thefulness of all things; grown old. and when£¿
 having no great family¡£ Icould not spend the income of what I had unless I would set up foran expensive way of living? such as a great family?
 and fully enjoy what I had got£¿ and see it increasedaily upon my hands£¡  Yet all these things had no effect upon me¡£
or at least not enough to resist the strong inclination I had to goabroad again. which hung about me like a chronic distemper!
  Inparticular¡£ the desire of seeing my new plantation in the island£¬and the colony I left there. ran in my head continually,
  I dreamedof it all night£¡ and my imagination ran upon it all day:  it wasuppermost in all my thoughts¡£
 and they really know nothing of the matter!¡¡¡¡For my part! I know not to this hour whether there are any suchthings as real apparitions?
 spectres, or walking of people afterthey are dead; or whether there is anything in the stories theytell us of that kind more than the product of vapours.
 sick minds£¿and wandering fancies:  but this I know! that my imagination workedup to such a height¡£
 that I actually supposed myself often uponthe spot£¡ at my old castle£¬ behind the trees; saw my old Spaniard.
Friday's father£¬ and the reprobate sailors I left upon the island;nay! I fancied I talked with them£¡
 and looked at them steadily£¡though I was broad awake. as at persons just before me; and this Idid till I often frightened myself with the images my fancy.
 I had the villainy ofthe three pirate sailors so lively related to me by the firstSpaniard¡£ and Friday's father£¡
 I could not be persuaded but that it was or would betrue; also how I resented it¡£ when the Spaniard complained to me;and how I brought them to justice.
 andhad been so much worse than all I can describe. that the dream hadtoo much similitude of the fact; and as I would afterwards havepunished them severely£¬
 who saw my mind wholly bent upon it, told me veryseriously one night that she believed there was some secret.
powerful impulse of Providence upon me£¡ which had determined me togo thither again; and that she found nothing hindered me going butmy being engaged to a wife and children,
she would not be the only obstruction; for! if I thought fit andresolved to go - [Here she found me very intent upon her words?
 and sayout what she was going to say,  But I perceived that her heart wastoo full, and some tears stood in her eyes.
" says she! "rather than I would be the only hindrance£¡ I willgo with you:  for though I think it a most preposterous thing forone of your years£¿
 again weeping£¬ "I would not leave you; for if it be of Heavenyou must do it. there is no resisting it; and if Heaven make ityour duty to go,
 that I may not obstruct it£¬"£¬¡¡¡¡This affectionate behaviour of my wife's brought me a little out ofthe vapours!
 and that it should be my duty to go, I had no notion ofthat; so? after many of these cogitations? I struggled with thepower of my imagination,
 reasoned myself out of it. as I believepeople may always do in like cases if they will:  in a word£¡ Iconquered it.
 and to engage in some businessthat might effectually tie me up from any more excursions of thiskind; for I found that thing return upon me chiefly when I wasidle! and had nothing to do?
 wascapable of great improvement; and it was many ways suited to myinclination? which delighted in cultivating, managing? planting£¬and improving of land; and particularly!
 being an inland country£¬ Iwas removed from conversing among sailors and things relating tothe remote parts of the world¡£
 became in one half-year amere country gentleman¡£  My thoughts were entirely taken up inmanaging my servants.
 the most agreeable life that naturewas capable of directing¡£ or that a man always bred to misfortuneswas capable of retreating to!
¡¡¡¡But in the middle of all this felicity! one blow from unseenProvidence unhinged me at once; and not only made a breach upon meinevitable and incurable£¿ but drove me£¬
like the returns of a violent distemper£¡ came on with anirresistible force upon me£¿  This blow was the loss of my wife?
  Itis not my business here to write an elegy upon my wife¡£ give acharacter of her particular virtues£¡
 from the most extravagant and ruinous project that filledmy head£¬ and did more to guide my rambling genius than a mother'stears£¡
 or all my ownreasoning powers could do!  I was happy in listening to her? and inbeing moved by her entreaties; and to the last degree desolate anddislocated in the world by the loss of her£¡
 as I was in the Brazils£¿when I first went on shore there; and as much alone¡£ except for theassistance of servants,
 as I was in my island£¿  I knew neither whatto think nor what to do?  I saw the world busy around me:  one partlabouring for bread.
 living but towork£¿ and working but to live£¬ as if daily bread were the only endof wearisome life£¿ and a wearisome life the only occasion of dailybread£¡
¡¡¡¡This put me in mind of the life I lived in my kingdom¡£ the island;where I suffered no more corn to grow, because I did not want it;and bred no more goats£¬
 because I had no more use for them; wherethe money lay in the drawer till it grew mouldy£¿ and had scarce thefavour to be looked upon in twenty years£¿
 and which was either to be possessed, or at leasthoped for? on this side of the grave£¡¡¡¡¡But my sage counsellor was gone; I was like a ship without a pilot£¬that could only run afore the wind!
  My thoughts ran all away againinto the old affair; my head was quite turned with the whimsies offoreign adventures; and all the pleasant! innocent amusements of myfarm£¡
¡¡¡¡When I came to London£¡ I was still as uneasy as I was before; I hadno relish for the place¡£ no employment in it. nothing to do but tosaunter about like an idle person¡£
 of whom it may be said he isperfectly useless in God's creation£¡ and it is not one farthing'smatter to the rest of his kind whether he be dead or alive!
 was themost my aversion¡£ who had been all my days used to an active life;and I would often say to myself£¿ "A state of idleness is the verydregs of life;" and, indeed£¿
 I thought I was much more suitablyemployed when I was twenty-six days making a deal board,¡¡¡¡It was now the beginning of the year 1693. when my nephew£¡
 I had brought up to the sea? and had madehim commander of a ship£¡ was come home from a short voyage toBilbao,
 being the first he had made£¬  He came to me! and told methat some merchants of his acquaintance had been proposing to himto go a voyage for them to the East Indies¡£
 "if you will go to seawith me. I will engage to land you upon your old habitation in theisland; for we are to touch at the Brazils?"£¡
¡¡¡¡Nothing can be a greater demonstration of a future state£¡ and ofthe existence of an invisible world£¿ than the concurrence of secondcauses with the idea of things which we form in our minds?
perfectly reserved, and not communicated to any in the world£¿¡¡¡¡My nephew knew nothing how far my distemper of wandering wasreturned upon me£¬
 and I knew nothing of what he had in his thoughtto say£¬ when that very morning¡£ before he came to me£¬
 and revolving every part of mycircumstances in my mind£¡ come to this resolution£¬ that I would goto Lisbon!
 and consult with my old sea-captain; and if it wasrational and practicable£¬ I would go and see the island again!
 andwhat was become of my people there?  I had pleased myself with thethoughts of peopling the place!
 and carrying inhabitants fromhence£¡ getting a patent for the possession and I know not what;when! in the middle of all this? in comes my nephew,
 as I havesaid? with his project of carrying me thither in his way to theEast Indies£¡¡¡¡¡I paused a while at his words?
"  My nephewstared as if he had been frightened at first; but perceiving that Iwas not much displeased at the proposal£¿ he recovered himself!  "Ihope it may not be an unlucky proposal.
 where you oncereigned with more felicity than most of your brother monarchs inthe world£¿"  In a word,
 if he agreed withthe merchants¡£ I would go with him; but I told him I would notpromise to go any further than my own island.  "Why.
" said I£¬"can you not take me up again on your return£¡"  He told me it wouldnot be possible to do so; that the merchants would never allow himto come that way with a laden ship of such value£¡
 it being amonth's sail out of his way! and might be three or four?  "Besides£¬sir£¡ if I should miscarry£¡" said he£¬
¡¡¡¡This was very rational; but we both found out a remedy for it£¡which was to carry a framed sloop on board the ship£¿ which£¡ beingtaken in pieces!
for indeed the importunities of my nephew joined so effectuallywith my inclination that nothing could oppose me; on the otherhand. my wife being dead.
 but also in settling my family affairs for myabsence£¬ and providing for the education of my children?  In orderto do this? I made my will£¿
 that I wasperfectly easy and satisfied they would have justice done them.whatever might befall me; and for their education?
 I also lived to thank her for it£¿¡¡¡¡My nephew was ready to sail about the beginning of January 1694-5;and I? with my man Friday.
 a veryconsiderable cargo of all kinds of necessary things for my colony£¬which£¿ if I did not find in good condition£¬
 I resolved to leave so¡£¡¡¡¡First! I carried with me some servants whom I purposed to placethere as inhabitants£¡ or at least to set on work there upon myaccount while I stayed,
 we called himour Jack-of-all-trades!  With these I carried a tailor. who hadoffered himself to go a passenger to the East Indies with mynephew£¿
 but afterwards consented to stay on our new plantation! andwho proved a most necessary handy fellow as could be desired inmany other businesses besides that of his trade; for¡£
 consisted of a sufficient quantity of linen,and some English thin stuffs! for clothing the Spaniards that Iexpected to find there; and enough of them.
 as by my calculationmight comfortably supply them for seven years; if I remember right¡£the materials I carried for clothing them¡£ with gloves, hats.shoes¡£
 and fusees; besidessome pistols. a considerable quantity of shot of all sizes¡£ threeor four tons of lead, and two pieces of brass cannon; and,
 becauseI knew not what time and what extremities I was providing for, Icarried a hundred barrels of powder! besides swords? cutlasses¡£
 andthe iron part of some pikes and halberds.  In short! we had a largemagazine of all sorts of store; and I made my nephew carry twosmall quarter-deck guns more than he wanted for his ship!
 to leavebehind if there was occasion; so that when we came there we mightbuild a fort and man it against all sorts of enemies£¡  Indeed£¡ I atfirst thought there would be need enough for all?
 as shall be seenin the course of that story,¡¡¡¡I had not such bad luck in this voyage as I had been used to meetwith. and therefore shall have the less occasion to interrupt thereader!
 in which I might be said to comeback again. as the voyage was at first designed£¿ began to think thesame ill fate attended me¡£ and that I was born to be nevercontented with being on shore¡£
 if I had a good passage£¿ to put on shore in my island;but we found occasion to dispose otherwise of them!
¡¡¡¡We set out on the 5th of February from Ireland! and had a very fairgale of wind for some days¡£  As I remember?
 and heard a gun fired; and while he was telling us of it£¡ aboy came in and told us the boatswain heard another!  This made usall run out upon the quarter-deck£¬
  Uponthis£¡ we concluded it must be some ship on fire at sea; and as£¬ byour hearing the noise of guns just before£¿ we concluded that itcould not be far off.
 we stood directly towards it? and werepresently satisfied we should discover it¡£ because the further wesailed¡£
 the greater the light appeared; though£¬ the weather beinghazy¡£ we could not perceive anything but the light for a while.  Inabout half-an-hour's sailing?
 and the weather clearing up a little£¡ we couldplainly discern that it was a great ship on fire in the middle ofthe sea¡£¡¡¡¡I was most sensibly touched with this disaster,
 on a sudden£¬ to our greatterror¡£ though we had reason to expect it¡£ the ship blew up in theair; and in a few minutes all the fire was out.
 or be in the utmostdistress in their boat¡£ in the middle of the ocean; which, atpresent£¿ as it was dark£¿
¡¡¡¡About eight o'clock in the morning we discovered the ship's boatsby the help of our perspective glasses. and found there were two ofthem,
 and did their utmost to make us see them¡£  We immediatelyspread our ancient£¡ to let them know we saw them?
 and then made moresail£¬ standing directly to them!  In little more than half-an-hourwe came up with them; and took them all in£¿
 and children; for there were a great manypassengers,¡¡¡¡Upon inquiry we found it was a French merchant ship of three-hundred tons£¿
 home-bound from Quebec?  The master gave us a longaccount of the distress of his ship; how the fire began in thesteerage by the negligence of the steersman,
 it proceeded into thehold, and mastered all the skill and all the application they wereable to exert¡£¡¡¡¡They had no more to do then but to get into their boats£¿
 other than to get some fresh water and provisionsinto her, after they had secured their lives from the fire¡£  Theyhad¡£ indeed£¬
 and might take them in¡£  They had sails.oars¡£ and a compass; and had as much provision and water as¡£
 if they had no bad weather and nocontrary winds£¬ the captain said he hoped he might get to the banksof Newfoundland. and might perhaps take some fish£¿
 to sustain themtill they might go on shore£¡  But there were so many chancesagainst them in all these cases. such as storms.
 to overset andfounder them; rains and cold¡£ to benumb and perish their limbs;contrary winds£¿ to keep them out and starve them; that it must havebeen next to miraculous if they had escaped?
¡¡¡¡In the midst of their consternation£¬ every one being hopeless andready to despair¡£ the captain.
 thatthere was a ship at hand for their help!  It was upon the hearingof these guns that they took down their masts and sails:  the soundcoming from the windward£¿
 we never heard£¬  Some time after that againthey were still more agreeably surprised with seeing our lights£¬and hearing the guns.
¡¡¡¡It is impossible for me to express the several gestures! thestrange ecstasies. the variety of postures which these poordelivered people ran into?
 to express the joy of their souls at sounexpected a deliverance£¡  Grief and fear are easily described:sighs,
 and a very few motions of the head and hands£¬make up the sum of its variety; but an excess of joy. a surprise ofjoy?
 more crying£¿ many quite dumb£¿ not able to speak a word;others sick and vomiting; several swooning and ready to faint; anda few were crossing themselves and giving God thanks!
  I am notphilosopher enough to determine the cause; but nothing I had everseen before came up to it£¿  The ecstasies poor Friday? my trustysavage£¿
 that these extravagances did not showthemselves in that different manner I have mentioned£¡ in differentpersons only; but all the variety would appear,
 stupid and confounded, wouldthe next minute be dancing and hallooing like an antic; and thenext moment be tearing his hair£¿ or pulling his clothes to pieces£¬
and stamping them under his feet like a madman; in a few momentsafter that we would have him all in tears¡£ then sick¡£
 our surgeon was obliged to let blood of about thirtypersons£¿¡¡¡¡There were two priests among them:  one an old man, and the other ayoung man; and that which was strangest was£¬
  At length heopened a vein in his arm£¡ having first chafed and rubbed the part,so as to warm it as much as possible£¿
 flowing freely£¬ in three minutes after theman opened his eyes; a quarter of an hour after that he spoke¡£
 and again this put him into an ecstasy of joy£¿  His spiritswhirled about faster than the vessels could convey them£¬
 the bloodgrew hot and feverish£¬ and the man was as fit for Bedlam as anycreature that ever was in it.
  The surgeon would not bleed himagain in that condition! but gave him something to doze and put himto sleep; which¡£ after some time! operated upon him.
 and he awokenext morning perfectly composed and well£¡  The younger priestbehaved with great command of his passions! and was really anexample of a serious£¿
 told me he was giving Godthanks for his deliverance, begged me to leave him a few moments,and that! next to his Maker£¡ he would give me thanks also.
  I washeartily sorry that I disturbed him, and not only left him! butkept others from interrupting him also£¿  He continued in thatposture about three minutes¡£
 given him and so many miserable creaturestheir lives,  I told him I had no need to tell him to thank God forit£¡
  After thisthe young priest applied himself to his countrymen£¬ and laboured tocompose them:  he persuaded¡£
 here I saw reason forkeeping an exceeding watch over our passions of every kind£¿ as wellthose of joy and satisfaction as those of sorrow and anger£¡
  Nothing ofgood manners, or civil acknowledgments for the kindness shown them£¬was wanting; the French? it is known,
 if not in somecases much worse£¡¡¡¡¡I therefore told the French captain that we had taken them up intheir distress!
 as wellrespecting ourselves as the poor people£¡ obliged us to set them onshore somewhere or other for their deliverance¡£  So I consentedthat we would carry them to Newfoundland!
¡¡¡¡The wind continued fresh easterly£¿ but the weather pretty good; andas the winds had continued in the points between NE. and SE¡£
 a longtime£¿ we missed several opportunities of sending them to France;for we met several ships bound to Europe. whereof two were French£¿
 but they had been so long beating upagainst the wind that they durst take in no passengers! for fear ofwanting provisions for the voyage£¬
 which they hired at sea there! to put them on shore¡£ andafterwards to carry them to France. if they could get provisions tovictual themselves with?
  When I say all the French went on shore?I should remember that the young priest I spoke of. hearing we werebound to the East Indies£¡ desired to go the voyage with us,
 for about twenty days together, sometimeslittle or no wind at all; when we met with another subject for ourhumanity to work upon¡£
 but could not at first know what to make of her£¿ till, aftercoming a little nearer£¡ we found she had lost her main-topmast!fore-mast,
 and bowsprit; and presently she fired a gun as a signalof distress£¡  The weather was pretty good, wind at NNW£¿
 besides the terror of the storm£¬ they were in anindifferent case for good mariners to bring the ship home.  Theyhad been already nine weeks at sea.
 and had met with anotherterrible storm. after the hurricane was over£¬ which had blown themquite out of their knowledge to the westward£¿ and in which theylost their masts£¡
 theycould not lie near the wind£¿ but were endeavouring to stand awayfor the Canaries,¡¡¡¡But that which was worst of all was,
 and they had abouthalf a barrel of flour left; they had sugar enough; some succades£¬or sweetmeats¡£ they had at first! but these were all devoured; andthey had seven casks of rum£¿
 and thinking the shipwas ready to sail, unhappily came on board the evening before thehurricane began; and having no provisions of their own left£¬
 theywere in a more deplorable condition than the rest:  for the seamenbeing reduced to such an extreme necessity themselves¡£ had nocompassion?
 we may be sure£¬ for the poor passengers; and they were£¿indeed¡£ in such a condition that their misery is very hard todescribe£¬
¡¡¡¡I had perhaps not known this part£¡ if my curiosity had not led me£¡the weather being fair and the wind abated?
had been on board our ship! and he told me they had threepassengers in the great cabin that were in a deplorable condition¡£"Nay£¬" says he£¡
 "I believe they are dead? for I have heard nothingof them for above two days; and I was afraid to inquire afterthem?
 or any other part of the coast of America¡£ to havesupplied ourselves; but there was no necessity for that£¡¡¡¡¡But now they were in a new danger; for they were afraid of eatingtoo much£¿
 and our surgeonmixed him up something with some broth£¡ which he said would be tohim both food and physic; and after he had taken it he grew better?In the meantime I forgot not the men.
  I ordered victuals to begiven them£¬ and the poor creatures rather devoured than ate it:they were so exceedingly hungry that they were in a mannerravenous?
 they had wholly neglected£¬ their own extremitiesbeing so great; by which I understood that they had really giventhem no food at all£¿
 so I also forgot not the starvingcrew that were left on board£¿ but ordered my own boat to go onboard the ship£¡
 and four or five pieces of beef to boil.  Oursurgeon charged the men to cause the meat to be boiled while theystayed!
 to comfort them, and give them what refreshment was proper:and the surgeon gave him a large pitcher, with some of the preparedbroth which he had given the mate that was on board£¡
 as I said above, having a great mind to see thescene of misery which I knew the ship itself would present me with£¡in a more lively manner than I could have it by report!
¡¡¡¡I found the poor men on board almost in a tumult to get thevictuals out of the boiler before it was ready; but my mateobserved his orders! and kept a good guard at the cook-room door,
 kept them off by force; however, he caused somebiscuit-cakes to be dipped in the pot, and softened with the liquorof the meat?
 and their own commanderand officers with me£¬ and with good words. and some threats also ofgiving them no more. I believe they would have broken into thecook-room by force£¡
¡¡¡¡But the misery of the poor passengers in the cabin was of anothernature¡£ and far beyond the rest; for as£¬
 between two chairs? which were lashed fast¡£ and her headsunk between her shoulders like a corpse! though not quite dead,
My mate said all he could to revive and encourage her£¿ and with aspoon put some broth into her mouth!
 as he said, got two or three spoonfuls down - though Iquestion whether he could be sure of it or not; but it was toolate¡£
 and she died the same night¡£¡¡¡¡The youth! who was preserved at the price of his most affectionatemother's life¡£ was not so far gone; yet he lay in a cabin bed¡£
 asone stretched out? with hardly any life left in him£¡  He had apiece of an old glove in his mouth£¿
 having eaten up the rest of it;however! being young£¿ and having more strength than his mother, themate got something down his throat¡£
 and he began sensibly torevive; though by giving him£¬ some time after. but two or threespoonfuls extraordinary!
  Her limbs weredistorted; one of her hands was clasped round the frame of thechair¡£ and she gripped it so hard that we could not easily make herlet it go; her other arm lay over her head¡£
 and her feet lay bothtogether, set fast against the frame of the cabin table:  in short£¡she lay just like one in the agonies of death? and yet she wasalive too!
  The poor creature was not only starved with hunger£¿ andterrified with the thoughts of death, but¡£ as the men told usafterwards£¿
 and whom she loved most tenderly£¬  Weknew not what to do with this poor girl; for when our surgeon. whowas a man of very great knowledge and experience! had£¬ with greatapplication!
  However. as their captain begged of usto help him to set up a main-topmast£¿ and a kind of a topmast tohis jury fore-mast¡£ we did?
 and some pieces of eight from them forsatisfaction, we left them! taking on board with us! at their ownearnest request¡£ the youth and the maid, and all their goods?
  He begged of the surgeon to speak to me totake him out of the ship; for he said the cruel fellows hadmurdered his mother:  and indeed so they had£¬ that is to say¡£
passively; for they might have spared a small sustenance to thepoor helpless widow. though it had been but just enough to keep heralive; but hunger knows no friend£¬ no relation¡£ no justice!
 noright? and therefore is remorseless£¡ and capable of no compassion£¡¡¡¡¡The surgeon told him how far we were going?
 and that it would carryhim away from all his friends, and put him. perhaps? in as badcircumstances almost as those we found him in£¬
 she would bevery thankful for it? let us carry them where we would?  Thesurgeon represented the case so affectionately to me that Iyielded¡£
except eleven hogsheads of sugar? which could not be removed orcome at; and as the youth had a bill of lading for them£¬ I made hiscommander sign a writing?
 that Iam of opinion the first storm she met with afterwards she mightfounder, for she was leaky£¿ and had damage in her hold when we metwith her?
¡¡¡¡I was now in the latitude of 19 degrees 32 minutes£¿ and hadhitherto a tolerable voyage as to weather¡£ though at first thewinds had been contrary£¡
 nor any landmark¡£ I didnot know it when I saw it. or. know whether I saw it or not,  Webeat about a great while£¬
 and went on shore on several islands inthe mouth of the great river Orinoco, but none for my purpose; onlythis I learned by my coasting the shore?
 that I was under one greatmistake before£¡ viz£¬ that the continent which I thought I saw fromthe island I lived in was really no continent£¡
but islanders! and other barbarians of the same kind£¡ who inhabitednearer to our side than the rest.
 and to catch some pearl-mussels if theycould; but that they belonged to the Isle de Trinidad£¡ which layfarther north¡£ in the latitude of 10 and 11 degrees¡£
¡¡¡¡Thus coasting from one island to another£¡ sometimes with the ship¡£sometimes with the Frenchman's shallop¡£
at length I came fair on the south side of my island! and presentlyknew the very countenance of the place:  so I brought the ship safeto an anchor£¬
 broadside with the little creek where my oldhabitation was¡£  As soon as I saw the place I called for Friday£¿and asked him if he knew where he was£¡  He looked about a little!
" pointing to our old habitation£¿ and fell dancing andcapering like a mad fellow; and I had much ado to keep him fromjumping into the sea to swim ashore to the place?¡¡¡¡"Well£¬
 "do you think we shall find anybody here orno? and do you think we shall see your father."  The fellow stoodmute as a stock a good while; but when I named his father£¿
 the pooraffectionate creature looked dejected£¡ and I could see the tearsrun down his face very plentifully£¡
 had better eyes than I£¡ and he points to thehill just above my old house; and though we lay half a league off£¿he cries out.
I went directly on shore! taking with me the young friar Imentioned£¡ to whom I had told the story of my living there!
 and themanner of it£¬ and every particular both of myself and those I leftthere£¡ and who was on that account extremely desirous to go withme!
 if we had foundany new guests there which we did not know of; but we had no needof weapons.¡¡¡¡As we went on shore upon the tide of flood£¿
 near high water. werowed directly into the creek; and the first man I fixed my eyeupon was the Spaniard whose life I had saved? and whom I knew byhis face perfectly well:  as to his habit,
 I shall describe itafterwards!  I ordered nobody to go on shore at first but myself;but there was no keeping Friday in the boat£¿
 for the affectionatecreature had spied his father at a distance? a good way off theSpaniards¡£ where£¿
 but he flew away to his father like an arrow outof a bow!  It would have made any man shed tears. in spite of thefirmest resolution?
 to have seen the first transports of this poorfellow's joy when he came to his father:  how he embraced him£¡kissed him£¡ stroked his face£¡ took him up in his arms£¿ set him downupon a tree£¬
 and lay down by him; then stood and looked at him? asany one would look at a strange picture£¿ for a quarter of an hourtogether; then lay down on the ground£¿
 and stroked his legs£¡ andkissed them. and then got up again and stared at him; one wouldhave thought the fellow bewitched,
¡¡¡¡But this is a digression:  I return to my landing!  It would beneedless to take notice of all the ceremonies and civilities thatthe Spaniards received me with£¿
  The first Spaniard£¬ whom£¬ as Isaid? I knew very well, was he whose life I had saved,  He cametowards the boat.
 attended by one more£¿ carrying a flag of trucealso; and he not only did not know me at first! but he had nothoughts!
 but giving his musket to the man thatwas with him£¡ threw his arms abroad£¬ saying something in Spanishthat I did not perfectly hear!
  He then asked me if Iwould walk to my old habitation? where he would give me possessionof my own house again¡£ and where I should see they had made butmean improvements!  I walked along with him!
 but? alas! I could nomore find the place than if I had never been there; for they hadplanted so many trees¡£
 especially after they had the misfortune to find that Iwas gone¡£  He told me he could not but have some pleasure in mygood fortune¡£
 he said£¿ was so surprising andafflicting to him at first as the disappointment he was under whenhe came back to the island and found I was not there,
 we had been all long ago in purgatory;" andwith that he crossed himself on the breast.  "But! sir¡£" says he!"I hope you will not be displeased when I shall tell you how?forced by necessity?
 we were obliged for our own preservation todisarm them¡£ and make them our subjects! as they would not becontent with being moderately our masters.
 but would be ourmurderers£¬"  I answered I was afraid of it when I left them there!and nothing troubled me at my parting from the island but that theywere not come back,
 and were fitfor any manner of mischief¡£¡¡¡¡While I was saying this£¿ the man came whom he had sent back£¬
 andwith him eleven more¡£  In the dress they were in it was impossibleto guess what nation they were of; but he made all clear£¬ both tothem and to me!  First£¬
 he turned to me¡£ and pointing to them£¬said! "These? sir! are some of the gentlemen who owe their lives toyou;" and then turning to them.
 majesticgravity¡£ which very well became them; and. in short£¿ they had somuch more manners than I£¿
 the island after mygoing away is so very remarkable? and has so many incidents whichthe former part of my relation will help to understand¡£
 and whichwill in most of the particulars, refer to the account I havealready given, that I cannot but commit them£¿
 with great delight£¿to the reading of those that come after me£¿¡¡¡¡In order to do this as intelligibly as I can!
 in order to save them from the like calamity thathe had been in? and in order to succour them for the present; andthat.
 if possible£¡ we might together find some way for ourdeliverance afterwards£¬  When I sent them away I had no visibleappearance of.
any more than I had twenty years before - much less had I anyforeknowledge of what afterwards happened£¡ I mean£¡
 of an Englishship coming on shore there to fetch me off; and it could not be buta very great surprise to them. when they came back. not only tofind that I was gone?
 which would otherwisehave been their own£¿¡¡¡¡The first thing¡£ however, which I inquired into£¬ that I might beginwhere I left off,
 for nothingremarkable happened to them on the way? having had very calmweather and a smooth sea£¡  As for his countrymen.
 but that they were overjoyed to see him (it seemshe was the principal man among them¡£ the captain of the vessel theyhad been shipwrecked in having been dead some time):  they were. hesaid!
 who, they were satisfied!would devour him as they did all the rest of their prisoners; thatwhen he told them the story of his deliverance£¿ and in what mannerhe was furnished for carrying them away.
 was somewhat like that ofJoseph's brethren when he told them who he was£¬ and the story ofhis exaltation in Pharaoh's court; but when he showed them thearms£¬
 the powder? the ball, the provisions that he brought them fortheir journey or voyage. they were restored to themselves, took ajust share of the joy of their deliverance,
  In these they came away the next morning£¬  It seems theywanted no time to get themselves ready; for they had neitherclothes nor provisions£¡
 nor anything in the world but what they hadon them. and a few roots to eat£¿ of which they used to make theirbread!  They were in all three weeks absent; and in that time,
 as Imentioned in the other part¡£ and to get off from the island!leaving three of the most impudent£¿
 hardened¡£ ungoverned¡£disagreeable villains behind me that any man could desire to meetwith - to the poor Spaniards' great grief and disappointment£¬
¡¡¡¡The only just thing the rogues did was. that when the Spaniardscame ashore! they gave my letter to them¡£
 they gave tothe Spaniards (two of them understood English well enough):  nordid they refuse to accommodate the Spaniards with anything else.for they agreed very well for some time.
  They gave them an equaladmission into the house or cave£¬ and they began to live verysociably; and the head Spaniard£¬ who had seen pretty much of mymethods¡£
 together with Friday's father£¡ managed all their affairs;but as for the Englishmen£¬ they did nothing but ramble about theisland¡£ shoot parrots¡£
 it is true. the firstrelation of it came from the Spaniards themselves, whom I may callthe accusers!
 yet when I came to examine the fellows they could notdeny a word of it£¬¡¡¡¡But before I come to the particulars of this part?
 that just as we were weighing the anchor to setsail. there happened a little quarrel on board of our ship!
 which Iwas once afraid would have turned to a second mutiny; nor was itappeased till the captain, rousing up his courage! and taking usall to his assistance.
 parted them by force, and making two of themost refractory fellows prisoners, he laid them in irons:  and asthey had been active in the former disorders¡£
 and let fall someugly, dangerous words the second time£¬ he threatened to carry themin irons to England! and have them hanged there for mutiny andrunning away with the ship£¬  This£¡
 and run awaywith her to their companions in roguery on shore£¬  As soon as wefound this£¡ I ordered the long-boat on shore£¬ with twelve men andthe mate?
 and away they went to seek the rogues; but they couldneither find them nor any of the rest£¬ for they all fled into thewoods when they saw the boat coming on shore?  The mate was onceresolved£¡
 burned all their household stuff and furniture! andleft them to shift without it; but having no orders£¿
 and bringing the pinnaceway£¬ came on board without them.  These two men made their numberfive; but the other three villains were so much more wicked thanthey¡£
¡¡¡¡When the Spaniards came first on shore£¬ the business began to goforward:  the Spaniards would have persuaded the three Englishbrutes to have taken in their countrymen again! that,
 to be out of danger of the savages, who alwayslanded on the east parts of the island£¡  Here they built them twohuts£¿
 one to lodge in£¬ and the other to lay up their magazines andstores in; and the Spaniards having given them some corn for seed¡£
 after the pattern I had set for them all? and began tolive pretty well!  Their first crop of corn was on the ground; andthough it was but a little bit of land which they had dug up atfirst£¡
 and find them with bread and other eatables; and one of thefellows being the cook's mate of the ship£¬ was very ready at makingsoup!
 furnished him to do,¡¡¡¡They were going on in this little thriving position when the threeunnatural rogues¡£
 meaning me£¬ had given them thepossession of it£¡ and nobody else had any right to it; and thatthey should build no houses upon their ground unless they would payrent for them£¬
 and see what fine houses theywere that they had built£¡ and to tell them what rent they demanded;and one of them merrily said if they were the ground-landlords?
 they would£¬ according to the custom of landlords£¬grant a long lease:  and desired they would get a scrivener to drawthe writings,
 told them theyshould see they were not in jest; and going to a little place at adistance£¿ where the honest men had made a fire to dress theirvictuals¡£
 and set it on fire:  indeed£¬ it would have been allburned down in a few minutes if one of the two had not run to thefellow¡£ thrust him away£¿
and had not the man avoided the blow very nimbly. and run into thehut£¿ he had ended his days at once£¿
  His comrade. seeing the dangerthey were both in£¡ ran after him£¡ and immediately they came bothout with their muskets.
bade them stand off,¡¡¡¡The others had firearms with them too; but one of the two honestmen£¡ bolder than his comrade£¿ and made desperate by his danger¡£
told them if they offered to move hand or foot they were dead men!and boldly commanded them to lay down their arms£¬
 but seeing him so resolute£¿ it broughtthem to a parley¡£ and they consented to take their wounded man withthem and be gone:  and.
 indeed? it seems the fellow was woundedsufficiently with the blow?  However, they were much in the wrong£¬
¡¡¡¡CHAPTER III - FIGHT WITH CANNIBALS?¡¡¡¡BUT not to crowd this part with an account of the lesser part ofthe rogueries with which they plagued them continually£¿ night andday£¿
 where the three rogues and theSpaniards all lived together at that time£¿ intending to have a fairbattle¡£
¡¡¡¡It happened that the day before two of the Spaniards£¿ having beenin the woods¡£ had seen one of the two Englishmen¡£
 I called the honest men¡£ and he had made a sadcomplaint to the Spaniards of the barbarous usage they had met withfrom their three countrymen, and how they had ruined theirplantation£¬
 and destroyed their corn£¬ that they had laboured sohard to bring forward. and killed the milch-goat and their threekids¡£
 which was all they had provided for their sustenance£¬ andthat if he and his friends! meaning the Spaniards£¿ did not assistthem again£¡
 one of them took the freedomto reprove the three Englishmen, though in very gentle and mannerlyterms£¡ and asked them how they could be so cruel£¬
 "What had they to dothere£¿ that they came on shore without leave; and that they shouldnot plant or build upon the island; it was none of their ground.""Why!
" says the Spaniard£¿ very calmly£¿ "Seignior Inglese! they mustnot starve£¿"  The Englishman replied£¿
 like a rough tarpaulin¡£ "Theymight starve; they should not plant nor build in that place!"  "Butwhat must they do then£¬
 and work forthem¡£"  "But how can you expect that of them," says the Spaniard;"they are not bought with your money; you have no right to makethem servants.
 too£¬ before we have done with you;" mixing two or threeoaths in the proper intervals of his speech¡£  The Spaniard onlysmiled at that!
 let's goand have t'other brush with them; we'll demolish their castle£¡ I'llwarrant you; they shall plant no colony in our dominions¡£
 and a sword. and muttered some insolent things amongthemselves of what they would do to the Spaniards! too¡£
 did not soperfectly understand them as to know all the particulars£¬ only thatin general they threatened them hard for taking the twoEnglishmen's part¡£
 they wereweary and overslept themselves,  The case was this:  they hadresolved to stay till midnight, and so take the two poor men whenthey were asleep£¡
 and as they acknowledged afterwards¡£ intended toset fire to their huts while they were in them? and either burnthem there or murder them as they came out.
  As malice seldomsleeps very sound? it was very strange they should not have beenkept awake£¡  However?
 as the two men had also a design upon them?as I have said£¿ though a much fairer one than that of burning andmurdering. it happened.
 and very luckily for them all£¿ that theywere up and gone abroad before the bloody-minded rogues came totheir huts£¿¡¡¡¡When they came there£¬
"  They mused a while¡£ tothink what should be the occasion of their being gone abroad sosoon, and suggested presently that the Spaniards had given themnotice of it; and with that they shook hands¡£
 butthey pulled down both their houses¡£ and left not the least stickstanding. or scarce any sign on the ground where they stood; theytore all their household stuff in pieces?
 and threw everythingabout in such a manner? that the poor men afterwards found some oftheir things a mile off£¿
 to give them their due£¬¡¡¡¡But Providence took more care to keep them asunder than theythemselves could do to meet; for,
 flushed with the rage which the work they had been abouthad put them into? they came up to the Spaniards! and told themwhat they had done,
 by way of scoff and bravado; and one of themstepping up to one of the Spaniards£¡ as if they had been a coupleof boys at play¡£ takes hold of his hat as it was upon his head,
 knocked him down! as an ox is felled with a pole-axe; atwhich one of the rogues? as insolent as the first.
 and he bled pretty much?  The blood made the Spaniardbelieve he was more hurt than he really was¡£ and that put him intosome heat£¡
 for before he acted all in a perfect calm; but nowresolving to go through with his work£¿ he stooped! and taking thefellow's musket whom he had knocked down.
 beingin the cave. came out¡£ and calling to him not to shoot¡£ theystepped in! secured the other two!
 and took their arms from them!¡¡¡¡When they were thus disarmed£¬ and found they had made all theSpaniards their enemies!
 and that it would be thebest method they could take to keep them from killing one another¡£told them they would do them no harm£¿
 and had even threatenedthem all to make them their servants?¡¡¡¡The rogues were now quite deaf to all reason£¿ and being refusedtheir arms?
 though of another kind; for having been at theirplantation, and finding it all demolished and destroyed£¬
 having thusdisarmed them, made light of their threatenings; but the twoEnglishmen resolved to have their remedy against them!
 what painssoever it cost to find them out£¡  But the Spaniards interposed heretoo£¿ and told them that as they had disarmed them.
 they could notconsent that they (the two) should pursue them with firearms£¡ andperhaps kill them.  "But?" said the grave Spaniard?
 who was theirgovernor, "we will endeavour to make them do you justice, if youwill leave it to us:  for there is no doubt but they will come tous again£¡
  We promise you to make no peace with themwithout having full satisfaction for you; and upon this conditionwe hope you will promise to use no violence with them£¡ other thanin your own defence?
 "we are not so many of us;here is room enough for us all, and it is a great pity that weshould not be all good friends£¬
"  At length they did consent£¿ andwaited for the issue of the thing! living for some days with theSpaniards; for their own habitation was destroyed£¬¡¡¡¡In about five days' time the vagrants¡£
 tired with wandering? andalmost starved with hunger? having chiefly lived on turtles' eggsall that while£¿
 but told them they hadacted so unnaturally to their countrymen£¡ and so very grossly tothemselves¡£ that they could not come to any conclusion withoutconsulting the two Englishmen and the rest; but!
  It may be guessed that they were very hard put toit; for. as they were to wait this half-hour for an answer?
 theybegged they would send them out some bread in the meantime, whichthey did£¿ sending at the same time a large piece of goat's fleshand a boiled parrot. which they ate very eagerly£¬
  Upon the whole, theSpaniards acted the moderators between them; and as they hadobliged the two Englishmen not to hurt the three while they werenaked and unarmed.
 they submitted to all this; and as they had plenty ofprovisions given them all the while£¿ they grew very orderly,
  However. the Spaniards told them plainly that ifthey would but live sociably and friendly together!
 and study thegood of the whole plantation, they would be content to work forthem£¬ and let them walk about and be as idle as they pleased; andthus£¡
 having lived pretty well together for a month or two? theSpaniards let them have arms again£¡ and gave them liberty to goabroad with them as before£¬
¡¡¡¡It was not above a week after they had these arms£¿ and went abroad£¡before the ungrateful creatures began to be as insolent andtroublesome as ever!
 which endangered the safety of them all£¡ and they wereobliged to lay by all private resentments. and look to thepreservation of their lives£¿
¡¡¡¡It happened one night that the governor¡£ the Spaniard whose life Ihad saved. who was now the governor of the rest,
 found himself veryuneasy in the night£¬ and could by no means get any sleep:  he wasperfectly well in body£¬
 on goat-skins laid thickupon such couches and pads as they made for themselves£¬ so they hadlittle to do£¬ when they were willing to rise£¡
 and their pumps?and they were ready for going any way that their thoughts guidedthem£¡  Being thus got up! he looked out; but being dark¡£ he couldsee little or nothing£¬ and besides£¡
 andhearing no noise? he returned and lay down again; but to nopurpose; he could not compose himself to anything like rest; buthis thoughts were to the last degree uneasy¡£ and he knew not forwhat¡£
  Having made some noise with rising and walking about, goingout and coming in! another of them waked£¬ and asked who it was thatwas up!
" says the other Spaniard; "such things are not to be slighted¡£I assure you; there is certainly some mischief working near us;"and presently he asked him. "Where are the Englishmen£¬
"  It seems the Spaniardshad kept possession of the main apartment£¬ and had made a place forthe three Englishmen£¡ who¡£
 and could not come at the rest£¬  "Well£¿"says the Spaniard¡£ "there is something in it! I am persuaded! frommy own experience£¿
let us go and look abroad; and if we find nothing at all in it tojustify the trouble! I'll tell you a story to the purpose¡£ thatshall convince you of the justice of my proposing it£¡
"£¿¡¡¡¡They went out presently to go up to the top of the hill¡£ where Iused to go; but they being strong! and a good company£¡
 used none of my cautions to go up by the ladder! andpulling it up after them£¬ to go up a second stage to the top£¡
 butwere going round through the grove unwarily¡£ when they weresurprised with seeing a light as of fire.
 a very little way fromthem£¡ and hearing the voices of men£¬ not of one or two! but of agreat number,
 butwere divided into several parties£¿ and were on shore in severalplaces¡£¡¡¡¡The Spaniards were in no small consternation at this sight; and¡£
 if they should bedestroyed, would have been little less than starving them.  So thefirst thing they resolved upon was to despatch three men awaybefore it was light.
 two Spaniards and one Englishman. to driveaway all the goats to the great valley where the cave was! and£¿ ifneed were¡£
 to drive them into the very cave itself!  Could theyhave seen the savages all together in one body. and at a distancefrom their canoes,
 they were resolved¡£ if there had been a hundredof them! to attack them; but that could not be done! for they weresome of them two miles off from the other!
 and! as it appearedafterwards. were of two different nations¡£¡¡¡¡After having mused a great while on the course they should take¡£
 and the like£¡  The old man readily undertook it;and stripping himself quite naked. as most of the savages were¡£
 he bringsword that he had been among them undiscovered. that he found theywere two parties£¿ and of two several nations£¬
 who had war with oneanother¡£ and had a great battle in their own country; and that bothsides having had several prisoners taken in the fight¡£ they were¡£
 andthe savages would kill one another to their hands£¡ and then therest would go away; and it was so to a tittle£¿
 just by their own dwelling! but went farther into thewoods¡£ and placed themselves to advantage. where they mightsecurely see them manage the fight£¿ and,
 if I might believe the Englishmen¡£one of them said he could perceive that some of them were men ofgreat bravery£¡ of invincible spirit.
 and aftersome time more some of them began to fly; and this put our menagain into a great consternation! lest any one of those that fledshould run into the grove before their dwelling for shelter¡£
 so that! if possible£¬ not one should return togive an account of it; they ordered also that it should be donewith their swords¡£ or by knocking them down with the stocks oftheir muskets,
 but not by shooting them£¬ for fear of raising analarm by the noise£¡¡¡¡¡As they expected it fell out; three of the routed army fled forlife,
  The scout they kept to look abroad gave noticeof this within? with this comforting addition£¿ that the conquerorshad not pursued them!
 or seen which way they were gone; upon thisthe Spanish governor! a man of humanity¡£ would not suffer them tokill the three fugitives!
 andsurprise and take them prisoners£¬ which was done,  The residue ofthe conquered people fled to their canoes¡£ and got off to sea; thevictors retired!
 but drawingthemselves into a body together? gave two great screaming shouts.most likely by way of triumph!
 and so the fight ended; the sameday! about three o'clock in the afternoon! they also marched totheir canoes,  And thus the Spaniards had the island again free tothemselves£¡
 their fright was over. and they saw no savages forseveral years after!¡¡¡¡After they were all gone¡£ the Spaniards came out of their den£¡
 andviewing the field of battle! they found about two-and-thirty mendead on the spot; some were killed with long arrows£¡
 which werefound sticking in their bodies; but most of them were killed withgreat wooden swords£¬ sixteen or seventeen of which they found inthe field of battle, and as many bows?
 and they must be verystrong men that used them; most of those that were killed with themhad their heads smashed to pieces£¡ as we may say£¿ or£¬
 or theycarry all the wounded men that are not quite dead away with them£¿¡¡¡¡This deliverance tamed our ill-disposed Englishmen for a greatwhile; the sight had filled them with horror£¬
as we kill our cattle; and they professed to me that the thoughtsof being eaten up like beef and mutton£¡ though it was supposed itwas not to be till they were dead£¬
 had something in it so horriblethat it nauseated their very stomachs. made them sick when theythought of it¡£ and filled their minds with such unusual terror?
 as Isaid. tamed even the three English brutes I have been speaking of;and for a great while after they were tractable£¿
 and began to be all naturalised to the country,  But sometime after this they fell into such simple measures again asbrought them into a great deal of trouble,¡¡¡¡They had taken three prisoners!
 as I observed; and these threebeing stout young fellows? they made them servants. and taught themto work for them¡£
 and as slaves they did well enough; but they didnot take their measures as I did by my man Friday£¬ viz£¡
and kept them fully employed in drudgery enough; but they failed inthis by it£¬ that they never had them to assist them and fight forthem as I had my man Friday?
 who was as true to me as the veryflesh upon my bones,¡¡¡¡But to come to the family part,  Being all now good friends - forcommon danger£¿
 as I said above£¡ had effectually reconciled them -they began to consider their general circumstances; and the firstthing that came under consideration was whether£¿
 seeing the savagesparticularly haunted that side of the island£¿ and that there weremore remote and retired parts of it equally adapted to their way ofliving£¿
 after long debate, it was concluded that they would notremove their habitation; because that. some time or other? theythought they might hear from their governor again£¿
 meaning me; andif I should send any one to seek them¡£ I should be sure to directthem to that side¡£ where?
 if they should find the place demolished?they would conclude the savages had killed us all, and we weregone,
 and so our supply would go too?  But as to their corn andcattle! they agreed to remove them into the valley where my cavewas£¡ where the land was as proper for both,
 and where indeed therewas land enough?  However£¡ upon second thoughts they altered onepart of their resolution too? and resolved only to remove part oftheir cattle thither£¡
 which they kept£¡ incase of necessity£¬ as a safe retreat; and thither they carried alsothe two barrels of powder which I had sent them at my coming away£¿
They resolved¡£ however¡£ not to change their habitation; yet, as Ihad carefully covered it first with a wall or fortification?
 as I planted trees! or rather thrust instakes? which in time all grew up to be trees£¬ for some gooddistance before the entrance into my apartments¡£
 they went on inthe same manner£¬ and filled up the rest of that whole space ofground from the trees I had set quite down to the side of thecreek,
 where I landed my floats! and even into the very ooze wherethe tide flowed. not so much as leaving any place to land£¬
 that when they had been three or four years grownthere was no piercing with the eye any considerable way into theplantation£¿  As for that part which I had planted¡£
 the trees weregrown as thick as a man's thigh¡£ and among them they had placed somany other short ones¡£ and so thick?
 that it stood like a palisadoa quarter of a mile thick. and it was next to impossible topenetrate it, for a little dog could hardly get between the trees£¿
they stood so close£¿¡¡¡¡But this was not all; for they did the same by all the ground tothe right hand and to the left¡£
 and round even to the side of thehill£¡ leaving no way£¿ not so much as for themselves£¿ to come outbut by the ladder placed up to the side of the hill!
 and thenlifted up! and placed again from the first stage up to the top:  sothat when the ladder was taken down¡£
 that as human prudencehas the authority of Providence to justify it£¿ so it has doubtlessthe direction of Providence to set it to work; and if we listenedcarefully to the voice of it£¡
 I am persuaded we might prevent manyof the disasters which our lives are now, by our own negligence!subjected to.
¡¡¡¡They lived two years after this in perfect retirement! and had nomore visits from the savages?  They had¡£
 but pursued some other design£¡¡¡¡¡CHAPTER IV - RENEWED INVASION OF SAVAGES£¡¡¡¡¡AND now they had another broil with the three Englishmen; one ofwhom£¬
 which he aimed at hishead, but stuck into his shoulder£¬ so that he thought he had cutthe poor creature's arm off£¬
 ran to him, and entreating him not tomurder the poor man, placed himself between him and the savage, toprevent the mischief,  The fellow£¬
 being enraged the more at this¡£struck at the Spaniard with his hatchet£¬ and swore he would servehim as he intended to serve the savage; which the Spaniardperceiving£¡
 which he had inhis hand (for they were all working in the field about their cornland). knocked the brute down£¿  Another of the Englishmen! runningup at the same time to help his comrade¡£
  The next question was£¡ whatshould be done with them,  They had been so often mutinous. andwere so very furious.
 for they were mischievous to thehighest degree, and cared not what hurt they did to any man; sothat£¡ in short. it was not safe to live with them£¬
 he would use them with all possible lenity? and wouldleave them to the judgment of the other two Englishmen, who weretheir countrymen!
  One of the two honest Englishmen stood up£¬ andsaid they desired it might not be left to them.  "For£¬
" says he¡£ "Iam sure we ought to sentence them to the gallows;" and with that hegives an account how Will Atkins?
 one of the three? had proposed tohave all the five Englishmen join together and murder all theSpaniards when they were in their sleep.¡¡¡¡When the Spanish governor heard this?
  What have you tosay to that£¬"  The hardened villain was so far from denying it£¬that he said it was true,
" says theSpaniard! "what have we done to you that you will kill us£¡  Whatwould you get by killing us£¿  And what must we do to prevent youkilling us£¬
" says the Spaniard verycalmly! and smiling£¡  Seignior Atkins was in such a rage at theSpaniard's making a jest of it! that!
 it was thought he wouldhave attempted to kill the Spaniard in the middle of all thecompany.  This hare-brained carriage obliged them to considerseriously what was to be done£¡
  Butthe governor Spaniard still said No; it was an Englishman that hadsaved all their lives. and he would never consent to put anEnglishman to death£¡
 and had timeleft to speak£¿ it should be that they should pardon him¡£¡¡¡¡This was so positively insisted on by the governor Spaniard!
 that means were to be used for preserving thesociety from danger£¡  After a long debate! it was agreed that theyshould be disarmed?
 or have anything to dowith them; that they should be forbid to come within a certaindistance of the place where the rest dwelt; and if they offered tocommit any disorder? so as to spoil.
 or cattle belonging to thesociety? they should die without mercy£¿ and they would shoot themwherever they could find them¡£
¡¡¡¡The humane governor£¡ musing upon the sentence£¿ considered a littleupon it; and turning to the two honest Englishmen!
 said£¿ "Hold; youmust reflect that it will be long ere they can raise corn andcattle of their own! and they must not starve; we must thereforeallow them provisions!
"  So he caused to be added£¬ that they shouldhave a proportion of corn given them to last them eight months£¡
 andfor seed to sow¡£ by which time they might be supposed to raise someof their own; that they should have six milch-goats! four he-goats¡£
¡¡¡¡Thus they dismissed them the society£¬ and turned them out to shiftfor themselves£¡  They went away sullen and refractory! as neithercontent to go away nor to stay:  but£¬
 pretending to go and choose a place where they would settlethemselves; and some provisions were given them! but no weapons,
About four or five days after£¬ they came again for some victuals!and gave the governor an account where they had pitched theirtents.
 and marked themselves out a habitation and plantation; andit was a very convenient place indeed? on the remotest part of theisland?
 NE£¿ much about the place where I providentially landed inmy first voyage. when I was driven out to sea in my foolish attemptto sail round the island.
¡¡¡¡Here they built themselves two handsome huts£¿ and contrived them ina manner like my first habitation£¬ being close under the side of ahill!
 having some trees already growing on three sides of it! sothat by planting others it would be very easily covered from thesight£¿ unless narrowly searched for£¬
 anything they wanted. except arms and ammunition,¡¡¡¡They lived in this separate condition about six months.
 and had gotin their first harvest£¬ though the quantity was but small£¬ theparcel of land they had planted being but little¡£  Indeed£¬
 havingall their plantation to form. they had a great deal of work upontheir hands; and when they came to make boards and pots.
 and suchthings, they were quite out of their element¡£ and could makenothing of it; therefore when the rainy season came on£¬ for want ofa cave in the earth. they could not keep their grain dry,
 big enough to secure their corn and other things from therain:  but it was a poor place at best compared to mine£¬ andespecially as mine was then£¿ for the Spaniards had greatly enlargedit¡£
 and made several new apartments in it!¡¡¡¡About three quarters of a year after this separation£¡ a new frolictook these rogues, which£¬
 together with the former villainy theyhad committed¡£ brought mischief enough upon them£¡ and had very nearbeen the ruin of the whole colony¡£
 from whencethe savages came, and would try if they could seize upon someprisoners among the natives there£¿ and bring them home?
 so as tomake them do the laborious part of the work for them£¬¡¡¡¡The project was not so preposterous!
 but added new villanies to it£¬such as the piece of monstrous cruelty of wounding a poor slavebecause he did not¡£ or perhaps could not, understand to do what hewas directed£¡
 and to wound him in such a manner as made him acripple all his life£¿ and in a place where no surgeon or medicinecould be had for his cure; and? what was still worse.
 theintentional murder. for such to be sure it was£¿ as was afterwardsthe formed design they all laid to murder the Spaniards in coldblood.
 which was this:that they were tired of living in the manner they did! and thatthey were not handy enough to make the necessaries they wanted?
 and seek theirfortunes? and so deliver them from the trouble of supplying themwith any other provisions?¡¡¡¡The Spaniards were glad enough to get rid of them,
 and bade them consider ofit.  The men replied audaciously? they should be starved if theystayed here¡£
 for they could not work¡£ and would not work£¬ and theycould but be starved abroad; and if they were murdered£¡
 there wasan end of them; they had no wives or children to cry after them;and¡£ in short! insisted importunately upon their demand,
 declaringthey would go! whether they gave them any arms or not.¡¡¡¡The Spaniards told them£¿ with great kindness?
 that if they wereresolved to go they should not go like naked men, and be in nocondition to defend themselves; and that though they could illspare firearms£¬ not having enough for themselves£¡
 with a great basket of dried grapes¡£ a pot offresh water? and a young kid alive? they boldly set out in thecanoe for a voyage over the sea£¿
 where it was at least forty milesbroad?  The boat£¡ indeed, was a large one! and would very well havecarried fifteen or twenty men£¿
 and therefore was rather too big forthem to manage; but as they had a fair breeze and flood-tide withthem£¿ they did well enough!  They had made a mast of a long pole¡£
¡¡¡¡The Spaniards were often saying to one another. and to the twohonest Englishmen who remained behind.
 how quietly and comfortablythey lived£¿ now these three turbulent fellows were gone.  As fortheir coming again£¿ that was the remotest thing from their thoughtsthat could be imagined; when£¬
 one of the Englishmen being abroad upon his planting work£¡sees three strange men coming towards him at a distance£¡
 with gunsupon their shoulders£¡¡¡¡¡Away runs the Englishman! frightened and amazed, as if he wasbewitched,
 to the governor Spaniard, and tells him they were allundone¡£ for there were strangers upon the island£¿
  If they are not savages they must be friends; for thereis no Christian nation upon earth but will do us good rather thanharm£¬"  While they were debating thus. came up the threeEnglishmen£¿
  But now the admiration was turned upon anotherquestion - What could be the matter£¡ and what made them come backagain£¿¡¡¡¡It was not long before they brought the men in.
 they gave them a fullaccount of their voyage in a few words:  that they reached the landin less than two days£¡ but finding the people alarmed at theircoming£¡
 and preparing with bows and arrows to fight them¡£ theydurst not go on! shore, but sailed on to the northward six or sevenhours, till they came to a great opening?
 were very forward to supplythem with anything they could get for them to eat¡£ and brought itto them a great way? on their heads£¬
  They continued here for fourdays£¿ and inquired as well as they could of them by signs£¿ whatnations were this way. and that way?
 and were told of severalfierce and terrible people that lived almost every way£¡ who, asthey made known by signs to them?
 they said they never ate men or women¡£ except only suchas they took in the wars; and then they owned they made a greatfeast£¬
¡¡¡¡As brutish and barbarous as these fellows were at home£¬ theirstomachs turned at this sight£¡ and they did not know what to do£¡
To refuse the prisoners would have been the highest affront to thesavage gentry that could be offered them! and what to do with themthey knew not¡£  However£¬ after some debate,
 they resolved to acceptof them:  and£¿ in return£¬ they gave the savages that brought themone of their hatchets. an old key,
 a knife£¿ and six or seven oftheir bullets; which, though they did not understand their use£¡they seemed particularly pleased with; and then tying the poorcreatures' hands behind them¡£
 have killedtwo or three of them the next morning£¬ and perhaps have invited thedonors to dinner?  But having taken their leave£¬ with all therespect and thanks that could well pass between people£¬
 where oneither side they understood not one word they could say£¡ they putoff with their boat£¬ and came back towards the first island; where£¬when they arrived£¡
  In their voyagethey endeavoured to have some communication with their prisoners;but it was impossible to make them understand anything¡£  Nothingthey could say to them.
 the party presently concluded it was to see whetherhe or she was fattest¡£ and fittest to kill first; nay? after theyhad brought them quite over! and began to use them kindly¡£
 andput them into one of their huts£¿ and were come up to beg somevictuals for them. they (the Spaniards) and the other twoEnglishmen,
 that is to say£¿ the whole colony£¬ resolved to go alldown to the place and see them; and did so. and Friday's fatherwith them¡£
  When they came into the hut, there they sat, all bound;for when they had brought them on shore they bound their hands thatthey might not take the boat and make their escape; there? I say,
 whereof two might be from thirtyto forty£¿ two more about four or five and twenty; and the fifth, atall¡£ comely maiden? about seventeen¡£
 and of a very modest behaviour; especially when theycame afterwards to be clothed and dressed? though that dress wasvery indifferent.
 it must be confessed¡£¡¡¡¡The sight. you may be sure£¿ was something uncouth to our Spaniards?who were£¿
 the sight wasvery uncouth£¡ to see three naked men and five naked women. alltogether bound? and in the most miserable circumstances that humannature could be supposed to be¡£
 and then to beeaten up like a calf that is killed for a dainty,¡¡¡¡The first thing they did was to cause the old Indian, Friday'sfather£¿ to go in!
 and see first if he knew any of them£¡ and then ifhe understood any of their speech¡£  As soon as the old man came in!
he looked seriously at them£¡ but knew none of them; neither couldany of them understand a word he said. or a sign he could make£¿except one of the women£¿
 several ways! as is hard to describe; forit seems they were of several nations,  The woman who was theirinterpreter was bid¡£
 he shall take but one; andthat having taken one£¿ none else shall touch her; for though wecannot marry any one of you,
 yet it is but reasonable that£¿ whileyou stay here¡£ the woman any of you takes shall be maintained bythe man that takes her£¿
 supplied all the rest withfood¡£ and assisted them in anything as they could£¡ or as they foundnecessity required?¡¡¡¡But the wonder of the story was¡£
 how five such refractory¡£ ill-matched fellows should agree about these women? and that some twoof them should not choose the same woman. especially seeing two orthree of them were.
 without comparison£¡ more agreeable than theothers; but they took a good way enough to prevent quarrellingamong themselves£¡
Accordingly? when the English sailor came in and fetched out one ofthem£¡ the rest set up a most lamentable cry! and hung about her?
 so that theycontinued separated as before; and thus my island was peopled inthree places. and£¿ as I might say. three towns were begun to bebuilt?¡¡¡¡And here it is very well worth observing that,
 as it often happensin the world (what the wise ends in God's providence are! in such adisposition of things£¿ I cannot say)£¡ the two honest fellows hadthe two worst wives; and the three reprobates,
 and neither seemed bornto do themselves good nor any one else£¡ had three clever! careful£¡and ingenious wives; not that the first two were bad wives as totheir temper or humour?
 for all the five were most willing£¡ quiet,passive! and subjected creatures¡£ rather like slaves than wives;but my meaning is?
 and tothe disgrace of a slothful¡£ negligent£¬ idle temper on the other¡£that when I came to the place£¬
 according to my rule.nature dictated that it was to no purpose to sow more corn thanthey wanted; but the difference of the cultivation£¬ of theplanting£¡
 was easyto be seen at first view?¡¡¡¡The two men had innumerable young trees planted about their huts£¬so that?
 when you came to the place, nothing was to be seen but awood; and though they had twice had their plantation demolished£¿once by their own countrymen?
 yet they had restored all again£¬ and everythingwas thriving and flourishing about them; they had grapes planted inorder!
 and managed like a vineyard£¡ though they had themselvesnever seen anything of that kind; and by their good ordering theirvines?
 their grapes were as good again as any of the others?  Theyhad also found themselves out a retreat in the thickest part of thewoods.
when they climbed up to get over the outside part¡£ and then went onby ways of their own leaving¡£¡¡¡¡As to the three reprobates. as I justly call them,
 thehedge had several gaps in it? where the wild goats had got in andeaten up the corn; perhaps here and there a dead bush was crammedin! to stop them out for the present£¬
 but it was only shutting thestable-door after the steed was stolen?  Whereas, when they lookedon the colony of the other two¡£
 there was the very face of industryand success upon all they did; there was not a weed to be seen inall their corn£¿ or a gap in any of their hedges; and they! on theother hand£¬
¡¡¡¡It is true£¡ the wives of the three were very handy and cleanlywithin doors; and having learned the English ways of dressing£¬
 was acook's mate on board the ship£¿ they dressed their husbands'victuals very nicely and well; whereas the others could not bebrought to understand it; but then the husband?
 anything but labour; and they faredaccordingly£¬  The diligent lived well and comfortably! and theslothful hard and beggarly; and so¡£
 by their experience! thattheir only business was to lie concealed, and that if they were notseen by any of the savages they would go off again quietly. whentheir business was done£¬
 very right; but a disaster spoiled allthese measures¡£ and made it known among the savages that there wereinhabitants there; which was¡£ in the end£¬
 and lying fast asleep upon the ground?  It wassupposed they had either been so gorged with their inhuman feast,that¡£
 and did notcome back in time to be taken in£¡¡¡¡¡The Spaniards were greatly surprised at this sight and perfectly ata loss what to do£¡  The Spaniard governor,
 there were none of them inclined to do that:  the Spaniardgovernor told me they could not think of shedding innocent blood;for as to them! the poor creatures had done them no wrong£¿
 injustice to these Spaniards! observe that? let the accounts ofSpanish cruelty in Mexico and Peru be what they will£¬ I never metwith seventeen men of any nation whatsoever£¬
 in eating men'sflesh; but they were soon made easy as to that£¡ and away theycarried them£¡¡¡¡¡It was very happy for them that they did not carry them home to thecastle,
 I mean to my palace under the hill; but they carried themfirst to the bower. where was the chief of their country work£¡
; and afterwardthey carried them to the habitation of the two Englishmen,  Herethey were set to work£¿
 though it was not much they had for them todo; and whether it was by negligence in guarding them£¡ or that theythought the fellows could not mend themselves£¬ I know not¡£
 they could never hearof him any more?  They had good reason to believe he got home againsoon after in some other boats or canoes of savages who came onshore three or four weeks afterwards. and who!
 carrying on theirrevels as usual£¡ went off in two days' time£¬  This thoughtterrified them exceedingly; for they concluded£¿
 and that notwithout good cause indeed£¬ that if this fellow came home safe amonghis comrades! he would certainly give them an account that therewere people in the island.
 and also how few and weak they were; forthis savage£¡ as observed before£¡ had never been told! and it wasvery happy he had not£¿
¡¡¡¡The first testimony they had that this fellow had givenintelligence of them was! that about two mouths after this sixcanoes of savages¡£ with about seven.
 about a mile from the habitation of the twoEnglishmen! where this escaped man had been kept£¡  As the chiefSpaniard said.
 had they been all there the damage would not havebeen so much, for not a man of them would have escaped; but thecase differed now very much! for two men to fifty was too muchodds£¡
  Now. having great reason to believe that theywere betrayed, the first thing they did was to bind the two slaveswhich were left£¿
 and cause two of the three men whom they broughtwith the women (who¡£ it seems£¿ proved very faithful to them) tolead them? with their two wives,
 and whatever they could carry awaywith them. to their retired places in the woods, which I havespoken of above.
 that the savages might think theywere all bred wild; but the rogue who came with them was toocunning for that. and gave them an account of it all,
 for they wentdirectly to the place£¡¡¡¡¡When the two poor frightened men had secured their wives and goods£¡they sent the other slave they had of the three who came with thewomen£¿
 and who was at their place by accident£¿ away to theSpaniards with all speed, to give them the alarm£¿
 they took their arms and whatammunition they had£¬ and retreated towards the place in the woodwhere their wives were sent; keeping at a distance! yet so thatthey might see?
 if possible, which way the savages took,  They hadnot gone far but that from a rising ground they could see thelittle army of their enemies come on directly to their habitation£¿and.
 in a moment more, could see all their huts and household stuffflaming up together£¡ to their great grief and mortification; forthis was a great loss to them,
 in searchof prey; and in particular for the people¡£ of whom now it plainlyappeared they had intelligence£¿
¡¡¡¡The two Englishmen seeing this. thinking themselves not securewhere they stood? because it was likely some of the wild peoplemight come that way.
 and they might come too many together! thoughtit proper to make another retreat about half a mile farther;believing£¬ as it afterwards happened¡£
  Their next halt was at theentrance into a very thick-grown part of the woods? and where anold trunk of a tree stood,
 which was hollow and very large; and inthis tree they both took their standing! resolving to see therewhat might offer£¬
 andfive more beyond them? all coming the same way; besides which. theysaw seven or eight more at a distance¡£ running another way; for ina word£¿
 they considered that if the savages ranged the countrythus before help came! they might perhaps find their retreat in thewoods. and then all would be lost; so they resolved to stand themthere,
 though they should both fire; sothe other stood ready with his piece£¡ that if he did not drop atthe first shot! he should be sure to have a second,
 sat down upon the ground¡£screaming and yelling in a hideous manner.¡¡¡¡The five that were behind, more frightened with the noise thansensible of the danger£¡
 stood still at first; for the woods madethe sound a thousand times bigger than it really was! the echoesrattling from one side to another£¡ and the fowls rising from allparts!
according to their kind; just as it was when I fired the first gunthat perhaps was ever shot off in the island£¬¡¡¡¡However£¿ all being silent again¡£
 till they came to the place wheretheir companions lay in a condition miserable enough,  Here thepoor ignorant creatures¡£ not sensible that they were within reachof the same mischief!
 stood all together over the wounded man,talking£¡ and! as may be supposed£¬ inquiring of him how he came tobe hurt; and who£¿
 isrational; for nothing is more certain than that! as they saw no mannear them£¬ so they had never heard a gun in all their lives£¿
 as they confessed to me£¿ were grieved to be obliged tokill so many poor creatures¡£ who had no notion of their danger;yet, having them all thus in their power£¬
 and the first havingloaded his piece again¡£ resolved to let fly both together amongthem; and singling out¡£ by agreement£¿ which to aim at¡£ they shottogether¡£
 thought theyhad killed them all.¡¡¡¡The belief that the savages were all killed made our two men comeboldly out from the tree before they had charged their guns?
 whichwas a wrong step; and they were under some surprise when they cameto the place£¿ and found no less than four of them alive! and ofthem two very little hurt,
 and one not at all¡£  This obliged themto fall upon them with the stocks of their muskets; and first theymade sure of the runaway savage!
 that had been the cause of all themischief£¿ and of another that was hurt in the knee, and put themout of their pain; then the man that was not hurt at all came andkneeled down to them.
 theymade signs to him to sit down at the foot of a tree hard by; andone of the Englishmen¡£ with a piece of rope-yarn. which he had bygreat chance in his pocket,
 tied his two hands behind him£¡ andthere they left him; and with what speed they could made after theother two!
 but it was at a great distance; however.they had the satisfaction to see them cross over a valley towardsthe sea¡£
 quite the contrary way from that which led to theirretreat£¬ which they were afraid of; and being satisfied with that£¬
 andthe two pieces of rope-yarn with which they had bound him lay justat the foot of the tree£¬¡¡¡¡They were now in as great concern as before?
 yet they were most terribly afraid of them£¬ and perhapsthe more for the knowledge they had of them£¡  When they came there,
they found the savages had been in the wood. and very near thatplace£¿ but had not found it; for it was indeed inaccessible£¿ fromthe trees standing so thick£¡
 unless the persons seeking it had beendirected by those that knew it£¡ which these did not:  they found¡£
  While they were here they had the comfort to have seven ofthe Spaniards come to their assistance; the other ten, with theirservants¡£ and Friday's father,
 in case thesavages should have roved over to that side of the country£¿ butthey did not spread so far¡£  With the seven Spaniards came one ofthe three savages£¬
 who£¬ as I said£¿ were their prisoners formerly;and with them also came the savage whom the Englishmen had leftbound hand and foot at the tree; for it seems they came that way,
 however? they were obliged tobind again£¿ as they had the two others who were left when the thirdran away,
 and bekept there£¿ with two Spaniards to guard them£¿ and have food fortheir subsistence, which was done; and they were bound there handand foot for that night£¿
¡¡¡¡When the Spaniards came£¿ the two Englishmen were so encouraged£¬that they could not satisfy themselves to stay any longer there;but taking five of the Spaniards£¬
  From thence they advanced to the firstrising ground¡£ where they had stood and seen their camp destroyed,
 they saw plainly thesavages all embarked again in their canoes. in order to be gone£¬They seemed sorry at first that there was no way to come at them,
 and all theirimprovements destroyed! the rest all agreed to come and help themto rebuild£¿ and assist them with needful supplies£¡
  Their threecountrymen£¡ who were not yet noted for having the least inclinationto do any good. yet as soon as they heard of it (for they£¿
 livingremote eastward¡£ knew nothing of the matter till all was over)¡£came and offered their help and assistance. and did£¬ very friendly,
work for several days to restore their habitation and makenecessaries for them!  And thus in a little time they were set upontheir legs again,
¡¡¡¡About two days after this they had the farther satisfaction ofseeing three of the savages' canoes come driving on shore£¿ and, atsome distance from them£¿
 two drowned men? by which they had reasonto believe that they had met with a storm at sea£¡ which had oversetsome of them; for it had blown very hard the night after they wentoff.  However,
 as well of what they haddone as of what had happened to them; and to whet them on toanother enterprise of the same nature¡£ which they.
¡¡¡¡IT was five or six months after this before they heard any more ofthe savages£¿ in which time our men were in hopes they had eitherforgot their former bad luck£¿
 or given over hopes of better; when!on a sudden. they were invaded with a most formidable fleet of noless than eight-and-twenty canoes£¡ full of savages£¬
 armed with bowsand arrows£¡ great clubs£¡ wooden swords£¿ and such like engines ofwar; and they brought such numbers with them£¿
 itput all our people into the utmost consternation!¡¡¡¡As they came on shore in the evening£¬ and at the easternmost sideof the island£¡
 knowing that their being entirelyconcealed was their only safety before and would be much more sonow£¡ while the number of their enemies would be so great£¿ theyresolved!
 first of all! to take down the huts which were built forthe two Englishmen£¿ and drive away their goats to the old cave;because they supposed the savages would go directly thither?
 theydrove away all the flocks of goats they had at the old bower£¡ as Icalled it, which belonged to the Spaniards; and£¿
 in short, left aslittle appearance of inhabitants anywhere as was possible; and thenext morning early they posted themselves!
 to the number of two hundred and fifty!as near as our men could judge?  Our army was but small indeed;but.
 five muskets orfowling-pieces which were taken by me from the mutinous seamen whomI reduced£¬ two swords,
 and three old halberds,¡¡¡¡To their slaves they did not give either musket or fusee; but theyhad each a halberd! or a long staff?
 and by his side ahatchet; also every one of our men had a hatchet£¬  Two of the womencould not be prevailed upon but they would come into the fight£¡
 andthey had bows and arrows? which the Spaniards had taken from thesavages when the first action happened£¬
 which I have spoken of£¿where the Indians fought with one another; and the women hadhatchets too!¡¡¡¡The chief Spaniard,
 commanded under him£¡  The savages cameforward like lions; and our men£¡ which was the worst of their fate!had no advantage in their situation; only that Will Atkins!
 who nowproved a most useful fellow, with six men? was planted just behinda small thicket of bushes as an advanced guard!
 where they stood£¿ having a thicket of trees before them,¡¡¡¡When the savages came on. they ran straggling about every way inheaps¡£ out of all manner of order¡£
 butthe consternation and surprise was inexpressible among the savages;they were frightened to the last degree to hear such a dreadfulnoise£¿ and see their men killed! and others hurt!
  ButWill Atkins¡£ staying to load again¡£ discovered the cheat:  some ofthe savages who were at a distance spying them£¡
 came upon thembehind; and though Atkins and his men fired at them also? two orthree times? and killed above twenty£¬
 retreated also;for their number was so great£¡ and they were so desperate¡£ thatthough above fifty of them were killed£¬ and more than as manywounded£¡
 yet they came on in the teeth of our men£¡ fearless ofdanger£¬ and shot their arrows like a cloud; and it was observedthat their wounded men,
¡¡¡¡When our men retreated! they left the Spaniard and the Englishmanthat were killed behind them:  and the savages.
like true savages; but finding our men were gone£¡ they did not seeminclined to pursue them£¿ but drew themselves up in a ring.
 they had the mortification to see several oftheir wounded men fall? dying with the mere loss of blood£¡¡¡¡¡The Spaniard governor having drawn his little body up together upona rising ground¡£
 Atkins? though he was wounded¡£ would have had themmarch and charge again all together at once:  but the Spaniardreplied,
"  This advice was good:  but WillAtkins replied merrily£¿ "That is true! seignior. and so shall Itoo; and that is the reason I would go on while I am warm¡£
 "you have behaved gallantly£¬and done your part; we will fight for you if you cannot come on;but I think it best to stay till morning:" so they waited£¡
¡¡¡¡But as it was a clear moonlight night£¬ and they found the savagesin great disorder about their dead and wounded men! and a greatnoise and hurry among them where they lay.
 they afterwards resolvedto fall upon them in the night? especially if they could come togive them but one volley before they were discovered?
 and thendivided themselves into three bodies! and resolved to fall in amongthem all together?  They had in each body eight persons£¡ that is tosay£¡ twenty-two men and the two women.
  They would have had the womenkept back? but they said they were resolved to die with theirhusbands,  Having thus formed their little army?
shouting and hallooing as loud as they could; the savages stood alltogether. but were in the utmost confusion¡£
 hearing the noise ofour men shouting from three quarters together.  They would havefought if they had seen us; for as soon as we came near enough tobe seen¡£
 some arrows were shot¡£ and poor old Friday was wounded,though not dangerously!  But our men gave them no time,
 yet got little rest that night; but havingrefreshed themselves as well as they could, they resolved to marchto that part of the island where the savages were fled. and seewhat posture they were in£¿
 takes nodelight in his misery.  However£¡ there was no need to give anyorders in this case; for their own savages£¿
 leaning down upon the knees£¡  When our men camewithin two musket-shots of them! the Spaniard governor ordered twomuskets to be fired without ball£¬ to alarm them; this he did£¿
 thatby their countenance he might know what to expect£¡ whether theywere still in heart to fight. or were so heartily beaten as to bediscouraged! and so he might manage accordingly,
  This stratagemtook:  for as soon as the savages heard the first gun£¡ and saw theflash of the second£¬
 they started up upon their feet in thegreatest consternation imaginable; and as our men advanced swiftlytowards them¡£ they all ran screaming and yelling away!
 with a kindof howling noise, which our men did not understand. and had neverheard before; and thus they ran up the hills into the country.
 who notwithstanding his wound keptalways with them£¡ proved the best counsellor in this case:  hisadvice was£¿ to take the advantage that offered¡£
 and so they should have themto hunt like wild beasts£¡ be afraid to stir out about theirbusiness? and have their plantations continually rifled¡£
 be reduced to a life ofcontinual distress,¡¡¡¡Will Atkins told them they had better have to do with a hundred menthan with a hundred nations; that£¬
 as they must destroy theirboats. so they must destroy the men¡£ or be all of them destroyedthemselves£¡
  In a word? he showed them the necessity of it soplainly that they all came into it; so they went to workimmediately with the boats,
 but they wereso wet that they would not burn; however, the fire so burned theupper part that it soon made them unfit for use at sea?
 and coming as near as they could to ourmen! kneeled down and cried! "Oa, Oa. Waramokoa£¡" and some otherwords of their language¡£
 which none of the others understoodanything of; but as they made pitiful gestures and strange noises,it was easy to understand they begged to have their boats spared£¬
 the colony was undone; so that. letting them know that theyshould not have any mercy! they fell to work with their canoes.
 anddestroyed every one that the storm had not destroyed before; at thesight of which? the savages raised a hideous cry in the woods£¡
which our people heard plain enough! after which they ran about theisland like distracted men! so that£¿
 and the Indians did not find out their mainretreat? I mean my old castle at the hill, nor the cave in thevalley?
 yet they found out my plantation at the bower, and pulledit all to pieces£¡ and all the fences and planting about it; trodall the corn under foot£¡
 though tothemselves not one farthing's worth of service£¡¡¡¡¡Though our men were able to fight them upon all occasions. yet theywere in no condition to pursue them¡£
 or hunt them up and down; foras they were too nimble of foot for our people when they found themsingle! so our men durst not go abroad single¡£ for fear of beingsurrounded with their numbers£¿
 and indeeddeplorable; but£¿ at the same time. our men were also brought tovery bad circumstances by them! for though their retreats werepreserved!
 or which way to turn themselves¡£ they knewnot£¡  The only refuge they had now was the stock of cattle they hadin the valley by the cave¡£
 after I first discovered the grains of barley andrice£¡ and got into the manner of planting and raising my corn£¡
 which would devour everything they could come at?yet could be hardly come at themselves,¡¡¡¡When they saw what their circumstances were? the first thing theyconcluded was?
 south-west! that if any morecame on shore they might not find one another; then¡£ that theywould daily hunt and harass them!
 and kill as many of them as theycould come at£¡ till they had reduced their number; and if theycould at last tame them,
 and bring them to anything, they wouldgive them corn£¿ and teach them how to plant£¡ and live upon theirdaily labour?  In order to do this£¬
 that it reduced themto the utmost misery for want of food; and many were afterwardsfound dead in the woods£¡ without any hurt.
 so far as to be able to act asinterpreter¡£ and go among them and see if they might be brought tosome conditions that might be depended upon£¡ to save their livesand do us no harm£¿
¡¡¡¡It was some while before any of them could be taken; but being weakand half-starved! one of them was at last surprised and made aprisoner£¡
  He was sullen at first£¬ and would neither eat nor drink;but finding himself kindly used£¬ and victuals given to him,
 who alwaystold him how kind the others would be to them all; that they wouldnot only save their lives£¡ but give them part of the island to livein£¿
 and see what they said to it;assuring them that£¬ if they did not agree immediately! they shouldbe all destroyed£¿¡¡¡¡The poor wretches£¬
 closed with the proposal at the first offer£¡and begged to have some food given them; upon which twelveSpaniards and two Englishmen.
ate their provisions very thankfully! and were the most faithfulfellows to their words that could be thought of; for£¿
 except whenthey came to beg victuals and directions, they never came out oftheir bounds; and there they lived when I came to the island and Iwent to see them£¡
 and milk them:  they wanted nothing butwives in order for them soon to become a nation£¬  They wereconfined to a neck of land. surrounded with high rocks behind them£¿
and lying plain towards the sea before them¡£ on the south-eastcorner of the island¡£  They had land enough!
 and gave among them twelve hatchets and threeor four knives; and there they lived, the most subjected£¿ innocentcreatures that ever were heard of¡£
¡¡¡¡After this the colony enjoyed a perfect tranquillity with respectto the savages£¡ till I came to revisit them, which was about twoyears after; not but that, now and then£¬
 some canoes of savagescame on shore for their triumphal! unnatural feasts; but as theywere of several nations£¿ and perhaps had never heard of those thatcame before£¡
 or the reason of it¡£ they did not make any search orinquiry after their countrymen; and if they had? it would have beenvery hard to have found them out£¡
¡¡¡¡Thus. I think£¡ I have given a full account of all that happened tothem till my return£¿ at least that was worth notice!  The Indianswere wonderfully civilised by them£¿
 any one of the Indianscoming to them¡£ because they would not have their settlementbetrayed again,  One thing was very remarkable£¡
 or baskets£¡ but they soonoutdid their masters:  for they made abundance of ingenious thingsin wicker-work! particularly baskets¡£ sieves. bird-cages£¿cupboards£¬ &c!
 being veryingenious at such work when they were once put in the way of it£¬¡¡¡¡My coming was a particular relief to these people? because wefurnished them with knives.
 but built stronger¡£ beingoctagon in its form£¿ and in the eight corners stood eight verystrong posts; round the top of which he laid strong pieces£¬
 knittogether with wooden pins£¿ from which he raised a pyramid for ahandsome roof of eight rafters¡£ joined together very well£¿ thoughhe had no nails. and only a few iron spikes?
staples£¬ and spikes£¿ bolts and hinges£¿  But to return to the house:after he had pitched the roof of his innermost tent!
 he worked itup between the rafters with basket-work! so firm? and thatched thatover again so ingeniously with rice-straw! and over that a largeleaf of a tree¡£
 which covered the top, that his house was as dry asif it had been tiled or slated£¡  He owned£¡ indeed£¿
 beingabout twenty feet distant£¬ so that there was a space like a walkwithin the outer wicker-wall¡£ and without the inner!
 near twentyfeet wide?¡¡¡¡The inner place he partitioned off with the same wickerwork! butmuch fairer¡£
 and divided into six apartments! so that he had sixrooms on a floor? and out of every one of these there was a door:first into the entry£¿
 or coming into the main tent£¿ another doorinto the main tent? and another door into the space or walk thatwas round it; so that walk was also divided into six equal parts£¡
which served not only for a retreat¡£ but to store up anynecessaries which the family had occasion for£¿  These six spacesnot taking up the whole circumference.
Such a piece of basket-work! I believe£¡ was never seen in theworld¡£ nor a house or tent so neatly contrived. much less so built£¿
In this great bee-hive lived the three families£¬ that is to say£¬Will Atkins and his companion; the third was killed,
 but his wiferemained with three children£¬ and the other two were not at allbackward to give the widow her full share of everything£¿
 orfound a turtle on the shore; so that they all lived well enough;though it was true they were not so industrious as the other two!as has been observed already,¡¡¡¡One thing.
 that as for religion£¿ Ido not know that there was anything of that kind among them; theyoften! indeed!
¡¡¡¡CHAPTER VI - THE FRENCH CLERGYMAN'S COUNSEL£¿¡¡¡¡HAVING thus given an account of the colony in general. and prettymuch of my runagate Englishmen! I must say something of theSpaniards?
 who were the main body of the family? and in whose storythere are some incidents also remarkable enough?
 dejected handful ofpeople; that even if means had been put into their hands! yet theyhad so abandoned themselves to despair£¬ and were so sunk under theweight of their misfortune?
 told me he wasconvinced they were in the wrong; that it was not the part of wisemen to give themselves up to their misery£¿ but always to take holdof the helps which reason offered!
 as well for present support asfor future deliverance:  he told me that grief was the mostsenseless£¿ insignificant passion in the world!
 for that it regardedonly things past£¡ which were generally impossible to be recalled orto be remedied!
 but had no views of things to come? and had noshare in anything that looked like deliverance¡£ but rather added tothe affliction than proposed a remedy; and upon this he repeated aSpanish proverb,
 which£¬ though I cannot repeat in the same wordsthat he spoke it in£¿ yet I remember I made it into an Englishproverb of my own£¿
after the common efforts were over! was to despair. lie down underit£¬ and die. without rousing their thoughts up to proper remediesfor escape£¿
¡¡¡¡I told him their case and mine differed exceedingly; that they werecast upon the shore without necessaries£¿ without supply of food¡£
 I had this further disadvantage and discomfort£¬ that I wasalone; but then the supplies I had providentially thrown into myhands?
 by the unexpected driving of the ship on the shore? was sucha help as would have encouraged any creature in the world to haveapplied himself as I had done¡£
 we should never have got halfthose things out of the ship£¬ as you did:  nay!" says he£¬ "weshould never have found means to have got a raft to carry them¡£
 orto have got the raft on shore without boat or sail:  and how muchless should we have done if any of us had been alone,"  Well! Idesired him to abate his compliments!
 and gone to another island a little further£¡ they hadfound provisions£¡ though without people:  there being an islandthat way¡£
 that the Spaniards of Trinidadhad frequently been there. and had filled the island with goats andhogs at several times£¡
 where they had bred in such multitudes! andwhere turtle and sea-fowls were in such plenty? that they couldhave been in no want of flesh£¡
 though they had found no bread;whereas£¿ here they were only sustained with a few roots and herbs£¡which they understood not, and which had no substance in them¡£
 than they had reason to believe others were inthe same part of the world; and yet they found that these savageswere less ravenous and voracious than those who had better suppliesof food£¿  Also¡£
 they added. they could not but see with whatdemonstrations of wisdom and goodness the governing providence ofGod directs the events of things in this world¡£ which?
 they said£¬appeared in their circumstances:  for if, pressed by the hardshipsthey were under£¬ and the barrenness of the country where they were,
 itwas true, that as they had firearms with them, had they not had thedisaster to lose their ammunition. they could have been serviceablenot only to their friends.
 nor could they use those thesavages gave them£¡  So they could do nothing but stand still and bewounded with arrows£¿ till they came up to the teeth of the enemy;and then!
 indeed¡£ the three halberds they had were of use to them;and they would often drive a whole little army before them withthose halberds£¡
 and had humanityenough£¿ to contribute to their deliverance!¡¡¡¡They described how they were astonished at the sight of the reliefI sent them!
 theywould have told me something of the joy they were in at the sightof a boat and pilots¡£ to carry them away to the person and placefrom whence all these new comforts came,
  But it was impossible toexpress it by words£¬ for their excessive joy naturally driving themto unbecoming extravagances¡£
I found a good ship ready to carry me to my own country!  All thesethings made me more sensible of the relation of these poor men¡£
 that they would be troubled no more with the savages! or ifthey were! they would be able to cut them off£¡
 if they were twiceas many as before; so they had no concern about that.  Then Ientered into a serious discourse with the Spaniard£¿
 whom I callgovernor£¡ about their stay in the island; for as I was not come tocarry any of them off. so it would not be just to carry off someand leave others! who£¬
 to assistthem in those things in which at present they were in want!¡¡¡¡They were all together when I talked thus to them; and before Idelivered to them the stores I had brought¡£
 I asked them£¬ one byone£¬ if they had entirely forgot and buried the first animositiesthat had been among them!
 and would shake hands with one another¡£and engage in a strict friendship and union of interest! that sothere might be no more misunderstandings and jealousies,
¡¡¡¡Will Atkins¡£ with abundance of frankness and good humour, said theyhad met with affliction enough to make them all sober? and enemiesenough to make them all friends; that.
 for his part¡£ he would liveand die with them£¬ and was so far from designing anything againstthe Spaniards¡£
 that he owned they had done nothing to him but whathis own mad humour made necessary¡£ and what he would have done! andperhaps worse£¬
 in their case; and that he would ask them pardon. ifI desired it! for the foolish and brutish things he had done tothem£¬
 and was very willing and desirous of living in terms ofentire friendship and union with them£¬ and would do anything thatlay in his power to convince them of it; and as for going toEngland£¿
  I caused the ship's cook and his mate to come on shore anddress our dinner! and the old cook's mate we had on shore assisted¡£
  The Spaniards added toour feast five whole kids£¡ which the cooks roasted; and three ofthem were sent! covered up close?
 on board the ship to the seamen£¬that they might feast on fresh meat from on shore£¬ as we did withtheir salt meat from on board¡£
 that there might be no dispute aboutdividing? I showed them that there was a sufficiency for them all.
 at theSpaniard's request£¿ afterwards made them up six; these wereexceeding comfortable to them£¬ having been what they had long sinceforgot the use of£¿
 like a frock£¬ which I judged fittest for the heat ofthe season! cool and loose; and ordered that whenever they decayed£¡they should make more£¿
  I cannot express what pleasure satupon the countenances of all these poor men when they saw the careI had taken of them£¬ and how well I had furnished them£¬
than whom they could not name anything that was more useful tothem; and the tailor. to show his concern for them. went to workimmediately£¬ and£¿ with my leave! made them every one a shirt?
 he taught the womennot only how to sew and stitch! and use the needle. but made themassist to make the shirts for their husbands¡£ and for all the rest!As to the carpenters£¬
 I scarce need mention how useful they were;for they took to pieces all my clumsy! unhandy things£¡ and madeclever convenient tables£¬
  But to let themsee how nature made artificers at first? I carried the carpentersto see Will Atkins' basket-house£¬
 as I called it; and they bothowned they never saw an instance of such natural ingenuity before£¿nor anything so regular and so handily built£¡
 they should be supplied without grudging out of thegeneral stores that I left behind?  Nails? staples£¡
 if they had occasion,¡¡¡¡I carried on shore with me the young man whose mother was starvedto death, and the maid also; she was a sober£¡ well-educated,religious young woman£¿
 and behaved so inoffensively that every onegave her a good word; she had¡£ indeed£¬ an unhappy life with us,
 palisadoedlike Atkins's£¡ adjoining to his plantation£¿  Their tents werecontrived so that they had each of them a room apart to lodge in£¿
 and no more - viz. the Spaniards, withold Friday and the first servants¡£ at my habitation under the hill?which was! in a word?
 as well under as on the outsideof the hill£¿ that they lived¡£ though perfectly concealed. yet fullat large,
  Never was there such a little city in a wood, and sohid, in any part of the world; for I verify believe that a thousandmen might have ranged the island a month?
 and looked on purpose for it, theywould not have found it£¿  Indeed the trees stood so thick and soclose?
 and grew so fast woven one into another? that nothing butcutting them down first could discover the place¡£ except the onlytwo narrow entrances where they went in and out could be found¡£
 and it was afterwards above twohundred yards to the place; and the other was up a ladder at twice£¿as I have already described it; and they had also a large wood£¡
 not easily to bediscovered! to enter on that side!¡¡¡¡The other colony was that of Will Atkins£¿ where there were fourfamilies of Englishmen£¬
 I mean those I had left there¡£ with theirwives and children; three savages that were slaves? the widow andchildren of the Englishman that was killed. the young man and themaid. and,
 by the way£¡ we made a wife of her before we went away£¬There were besides the two carpenters and the tailor£¡
 whom Ibrought with me for them:  also the smith£¿ who was a very necessaryman to them¡£ especially as a gunsmith?
 to take care of their arms;and my other man¡£ whom I called Jack-of-all-trades. who was inhimself as good almost as twenty men; for he was not only a veryingenious fellow,
  It is true this man wasa Roman£¡ and perhaps it may give offence to some hereafter if Ileave anything extraordinary upon record of a man whom!
 before Ibegin£¿ I must (to set him out in just colours) represent in termsvery much to his disadvantage, in the account of Protestants; as.
 a Popish priest; andthirdly! a French Popish priest¡£  But justice demands of me to givehim a due character; and I must say£¡
 he was a grave¡£ sober£¿ pious£¿and most religious person; exact in his life! extensive in hischarity£¬
 and exemplary in almost everything he did£¬  What then canany one say against being very sensible of the value of such a man,notwithstanding his profession,
 I found reason to delightexceedingly in his conversation; and he first began with me aboutreligion in the most obliging manner imaginable,  "Sir¡£" says he£¡
"you have not only under God" (and at that he crossed his breast)"saved my life£¿ but you have admitted me to go this voyage in yourship, and by your obliging civility have taken me into your family!
 you seeby my habit what my profession is. and I guess by your nation whatyours is; I may think it is my duty!
 on all occasions? to bring all the souls Ican to the knowledge of the truth£¡ and to embrace the Catholicdoctrine; but as I am here under your permission,
 in justice to your kindness as well as indecency and good manners£¿ to be under your government; andtherefore I shall not£¿
 without your leave£¡ enter into any debate onthe points of religion in which we may not agree! further than youshall give me leave."£¿
 in hisoffice as a priest£¬ as well as a private Christian¡£ to procure thegood of the ship¡£ and the safety of all that was in her; andthough,
 perhaps¡£ we would not join with him¡£ and he could not praywith us? he hoped he might pray for us£¿
 which he would do upon alloccasions¡£  In this manner we conversed; and as he was of the mostobliging! gentlemanlike behaviour£¡
  That his first intent was to havegone to Martinico? and that he went on board a ship bound thitherat St! Malo; but being forced into Lisbon by bad weather£¡
 the shipreceived some damage by running aground in the mouth of the riverTagus¡£ and was obliged to unload her cargo there; but finding aPortuguese ship there bound for the Madeiras?
 hehappened to find a very good market for his cargo£¬ which was corn?and therefore resolved not to go to the Madeiras£¡ but to load saltat the Isle of May£¡ and to go away to Newfoundland?
  He had noremedy in this exigence but to go with the ship. and had a prettygood voyage as far as the Banks (so they call the place where theycatch the fish)£¡
 and the vessel proceeded no further; so the next voyagehe shipped himself for France¡£ in the ship that was burned when wetook them up at sea£¿ and then shipped with us for the East Indies,
 and it happened to be just whenI was going to visit the Englishmen's colony, at the furthest partof the island; I say,
 and yet great readiness£¿ "to haveheard me? you would have found no room to have been displeased.much less to think so hard of me.
 that I should suggest that youhave not had wonderful assistances and deliverances; and I hope. onyour behalf. that you are in the way of God's blessing£¡
 though itwere more so than is even possible to you£¬ yet there may be someamong you that are not equally right in their actions:  and youknow that in the story of the children of Israel.
 that six-and-thirty of them, though not concerned inthe crime, were the objects of divine vengeance£¬
 and bore theweight of that punishment£¬",¡¡¡¡I was sensibly touched with this discourse! and told him hisinference was so just? and the whole design seemed so sincere!
because it seemed that what we had both to say might take up sometime? I told him I was going to the Englishmen's plantations£¬ andasked him to go with me, and we might discourse of it by the way!
 as the foundation of what I have to say£¬ thatwe may not differ in the general principles. though we may be ofsome differing opinions in the practice of particulars£¡  First£¿
sir. though we differ in some of the doctrinal articles of religion(and it is very unhappy it is so? especially in the case before us,
 we ought not willingly and knowingly to offend Him.either by neglecting to do what He has commanded¡£
 or by doing whatHe has expressly forbidden£¬  And let our different religions bewhat they will? this general principle is readily owned by us all.
 whatever my opinion may be of such£¡ thatdischarges me from being concerned for their souls. and fromendeavouring£¬
 if it lies before me£¿ that they should live in aslittle distance from enmity with their Maker as possible¡£especially if you give me leave to meddle so far in your circuit?
 and thanked him that he would so far concernhimself for us:  and begged he would explain the particulars ofwhat he had observed? that like Joshua¡£
 if I am right! must stand in theway of God's blessing upon your endeavours here£¿ and which I shouldrejoice,
 for your sake and their own, to see removed,  And, sir£¿ Ipromise myself that you will fully agree with me in them all£¿
 assoon as I name them; especially because I shall convince you. thatevery one of them may. with great ease¡£
 I know£¬ you willobject that there was no clergyman or priest of any kind to performthe ceremony; nor any pen and ink£¬
 noagreement with the women as wives. but only an agreement amongthemselves£¿ to keep them from quarrelling£¡
 the essenceof the sacrament of matrimony" (so he called it? being a Roman)"consists not only in the mutual consent of the parties to take oneanother as man and wife.
 on all occasions? as ability allows, to providehonestly for them and their children; and to oblige the women tothe same or like conditions?
 I beseech you£¡ flatternot yourself that you are not£¿ therefore£¡ under an obligation to doyour utmost now to put an end to it.
  You should legally andeffectually marry them; and as¡£ sir? my way of marrying may not beeasy to reconcile them to?
 and by all the witnesses present£¬ which all the laws ofEurope would decree to be valid?".¡¡¡¡I was amazed to see so much true piety£¬
 I returned itback upon him£¿ and told him I granted all that he had said to bejust£¿ and on his part very kind; that I would discourse with themen upon the point now£¿
  He told me he woulduse the same freedom and plainness in the second£¡ and hoped I wouldtake it as well; and this was!
 that notwithstanding these Englishsubjects of mine£¬ as he called them. had lived with these womenalmost seven years£¡ had taught them to speak English£¬
 and perhaps at last take the work out of their hands?He spoke this very affectionately and warmly!¡¡¡¡"I am persuaded.
" says he! "had those men lived in the savagecountry whence their wives came¡£ the savages would have taken morepains to have brought them to be idolaters£¡
 yet wewould be glad to see the devil's servants and the subjects of hiskingdom taught to know religion; and that they might£¡ at least£¡
¡¡¡¡I could hold no longer:  I took him in my arms and embraced himeagerly£¿  "How far£¿" said I to him£¿
 "have I been from understandingthe most essential part of a Christian? viz? to love the interestof the Christian Church£¿
 and the good of other men's souls.  Iscarce have known what belongs to the being a Christian£¿" - "Oh£¿
" said he, "we mustleave them to the mercy of Christ; but it is your business toassist them£¿ encourage them£¬
 and instruct them; and if you give meleave£¬ and God His blessing£¡ I do not doubt but the poor ignorantsouls shall be brought home to the great circle of Christianity¡£
 ifnot into the particular faith we all embrace? and that even whileyou stay here!"  Upon this I said¡£
 "I shall not only give youleave? but give you a thousand thanks for it!"?¡¡¡¡I now pressed him for the third article in which we were to blame?
"Why! really?" says he! "it is of the same nature£¬  It is aboutyour poor savages, who are! as I may say?
 that theChristian knowledge ought to be propagated by all possible meansand on all possible occasions¡£  It is on this principle that ourChurch sends missionaries into Persia? India£¡
 willingly engage in the mosthazardous voyages£¡ and the most dangerous residence amongstmurderers and barbarians¡£
 to teach them the knowledge of the trueGod£¡ and to bring them over to embrace the Christian faith,  Now¡£sir?
 I had not so much as entertained a thought of thisin my heart before£¬ and I believe I should not have thought of it;for I looked upon these savages as slaves!
 orwould have been glad to have transported them to any part of theworld; for our business was to get rid of them? and we would allhave been satisfied if they had been sent to any country£¿
 so theyhad never seen their own£¬  I was confounded at his discourse£¿ andknew not what answer to make him£¬
  You know! sir£¿" said I£¬ "whatcircumstances I am in; I am bound to the East Indies in a shipfreighted by merchants.
 and to whom it would be an insufferablepiece of injustice to detain their ship here? the men lying allthis while at victuals and wages on the owners' account¡£  It istrue£¿
 I agreed to be allowed twelve days here£¡ and if I stay more¡£I must pay three pounds sterling PER DIEM demurrage; nor can I stayupon demurrage above eight days more?
 it is a valuable thing, indeed. to be aninstrument in God's hand to convert thirty-seven heathens to theknowledge of Christ:  but as you are an ecclesiastic£¬
 and are givenover to the work£¿ so it seems so naturally to fall in the way ofyour profession; how is it,
¡¡¡¡Upon this he faced about just before me£¬ as he walked along£¬ andputting me to a full stop£¬ made me a very low bow,
 "for giving me soevident a call to so blessed a work; and if you think yourselfdischarged from it. and desire me to undertake it? I will mostreadily do it£¡
 and think it a happy reward for all the hazards anddifficulties of such a broken£¿ disappointed voyage as I have metwith.
 that I am dropped at last into so glorious a work£¡"¡£¡¡¡¡I discovered a kind of rapture in his face while he spoke this tome; his eyes sparkled like fire; his face glowed£¿
  But after I had considered it a while! Iasked him seriously if he was in earnest? and that he wouldventure? on the single consideration of an attempt to convert thosepoor people£¬
 to be locked up in an unplanted island for perhaps hislife. and at last might not know whether he should be able to dothem good or not,  He turned short upon me£¿
 and asked me what Icalled a venture,  "Pray£¡ sir," said he, "what do you think Iconsented to go in your ship to the East Indies for¡£
" -"Doubtless it was," said he; "and do you think¡£ if I can convertthese thirty-seven men to the faith of Jesus Christ£¬
 is it not infinitely of more worth to save so manysouls than my life is! or the life of twenty more of the sameprofession?  Yes£¿ sir¡£" says he.
 for which I will pray for you allthe days of my life? I have one humble petition to you besides£¡" -"What is that¡£
"¡£¡¡¡¡I was sensibly touched at his requesting Friday. because I couldnot think of parting with him£¿
 and would be damned; andthis might in the end ruin the poor fellow's principles? and soturn him back again to his first idolatry?
  However¡£ a suddenthought relieved me in this strait, and it was this:  I told him Icould not say that I was willing to part with Friday on any accountwhatever.
 without manifest injustice; because I hadpromised I would never send him away! and he had promised andengaged that he would never leave me£¬ unless I sent him away.
¡¡¡¡He seemed very much concerned at it£¡ for he had no rational accessto these poor people, seeing he did not understand one word oftheir language? nor they one of his!
  So he wasmuch better satisfied£¡ and nothing could persuade him but he wouldstay and endeavour to convert them; but Providence gave anothervery happy turn to all this£¡
 what necessarythings I had provided for them. and how they were distributed,which they were very sensible of¡£ and very thankful for,
 and theother three were single men, or bachelors¡£  I asked them with whatconscience they could take these women,
 that there wasnobody to marry them; that they agreed before the governor to keepthem as their wives£¿ and to maintain them and own them as theirwives; and they thought£¬ as things stood with them£¡
 they were aslegally married as if they had been married by a parson and withall the formalities in the world£¬¡¡¡¡I told them that no doubt they were married in the sight of God¡£
and were bound in conscience to keep them as their wives; but thatthe laws of men being otherwise! they might desert the poor womenand children hereafter; and that their wives.
  I therefore told them that unless I was assured oftheir honest intent£¬ I could do nothing for them! but would takecare that what I did should be for the women and children withoutthem; and that!
 who they could not thinkwould bless them if they went on thus.¡¡¡¡All this went on as I expected; and they told me, especially WillAtkins£¬
 to the utmost of their skill. as much for them and for theirchildren£¡ as any woman could possibly do:  and they would not partwith them on any account£¿
added that if any man would take him away£¡ and offer to carry himhome to England, and make him captain of the best man-of-war in thenavy¡£
 he would not go with him if he might not carry his wife andchildren with him; and if there was a clergyman in the ship? hewould be married to her now with all his heart£¡
¡¡¡¡This was just as I would have it£¿  The priest was not with me atthat moment£¿ but he was not far off; so to try him further£¬ I toldhim I had a clergyman with me£¿
 was a Frenchman£¬ andcould not speak English£¡ but I would act the clerk between them£¬He never so much as asked me whether he was a Papist or Protestant!
 and to be formally married assoon as I pleased; for they were far from desiring to part withtheir wives£¿ and that they meant nothing but what was very honestwhen they chose them£¬
 they should let their wives know themeaning of the marriage law; and that it was not only to preventany scandal£¡ but also to oblige them that they should not forsakethem. whatever might happen!
¡¡¡¡The women were easily made sensible of the meaning of the thing¡£and were very well satisfied with it? as?
 indeed. they had reasonto be:  so they failed not to attend all together at my apartmentnext morning£¡
 where I brought out my clergyman; and though he hadnot on a minister's gown, after the manner of England£¬
 yet having a black vestsomething like a cassock? with a sash round it, he did not lookvery unlike a minister; and as for his language£¬ I was hisinterpreter£¡
 because they were notbaptized and professed Christians, gave them an exceeding reverencefor his person; and there was no need? after that£¬
 I was afraid hisscruples would have been carried so far as that he would not havemarried them at all; nay! notwithstanding all I was able to say tohim£¬ he resisted me!
 and atlast refused absolutely to marry them! unless he had first talkedwith the men and the women too; and though at first I was a littlebackward to it£¬ yet at last I agreed to it with a good will.
perceiving the sincerity of his design£¡¡¡¡¡When he came to them he let them know that I had acquainted himwith their circumstances¡£
 and with the present design; that he wasvery willing to perform that part of his function! and marry them.
as I had desired; but that before he could do it. he must take theliberty to talk with them£¡  He told them that in the sight of allindifferent men, and in the sense of the laws of society£¡
 which he was not fully satisfied about? that of marryingone that is a professed Christian to a savage£¿
 an idolater£¿ and aheathen - one that is not baptized; and yet that he did not seethat there was time left to endeavour to persuade the women to bebaptized.
  He told them he doubted they were but indifferentChristians themselves; that they had but little knowledge of God orof His ways¡£ and!
nor was it consistent with the principles of the Christianreligion£¡ and was. indeed£¿ expressly forbidden in God's law,
¡¡¡¡They heard all this very attentively¡£ and I delivered it veryfaithfully to them from his mouth? as near his own words as Icould; only sometimes adding something of my own£¡
 that they were very indifferent Christiansthemselves. and that they had never talked to their wives aboutreligion?  "Lord£¬ sir," says Will Atkins¡£ "how should we teach themreligion!  Why.
" saidhe, "should we talk to them of God and Jesus Christ? and heaven andhell£¬ it would make them laugh at us¡£ and ask us what we believeourselves¡£
  And if we should tell them that we believe all thethings we speak of to them. such as of good people going to heaven?and wicked people to the devil¡£
 and believe ityourself£¬" - "That is true! sir!" said Atkins; "but with what facecan I say anything to my wife of all this.
 when she will tell meimmediately it cannot be true!" - "Not true." said I; "what do youmean by that,
" - "Why£¡ sir¡£" said he? "she will tell me it cannotbe true that this God I shall tell her of can be just¡£
 or canpunish or reward¡£ since I am not punished and sent to the devil!that have been such a wicked creature as she knows I have been.
even to her! and to everybody else; and that I should be sufferedto live£¿ that have been always acting so contrary to what I musttell her is good£¿
" said I! "I am afraid thou speakest too much truth;" andwith that I informed the clergyman of what Atkins had said? for hewas impatient to know¡£
  "Oh¡£" said the priest. "tell him there isone thing will make him the best minister in the world to his wife?
 and that He is thejust rewarder of good and evil. but that He is a merciful Being,and with infinite goodness and long-suffering forbears to punishthose that offend; waiting to be gracious£¬
 or wicked men their punishment£¬ till theycome into another world; and this will lead him to teach his wifethe doctrine of the resurrection and of the last judgment£¿
 was more than ordinarilyaffected with it; when being eager£¿ and hardly suffering me to makean end£¬
 "I know all this£¡ master?" says he, "and a great deal more;but I have not the impudence to talk thus to my wife,
 when God andmy conscience know. and my wife will be an undeniable evidenceagainst me, that I have lived as if I had never heard of a God orfuture state,
" (and with that he fetched a deep sigh. and I could see thatthe tears stood in his eyes) "'tis past all that with me£¿
" - "I know wellenough what I mean£¿" says he; "I mean 'tis too late¡£ and that istoo true."£¿¡¡¡¡I told the clergyman£¬
" hesaid¡£ "he believed he should one time or other cut his throat¡£ toput an end to the terror of it,
  But pray£¿" says he£¿ "explain this to him:that as no man is saved but by Christ, and the merit of His passionprocuring divine mercy for him? how can it be too late for any manto receive mercy?
  Does he think he is able to sin beyond the poweror reach of divine mercy£¬  Pray tell him there may be a time whenprovoked mercy will no longer strive£¡
that are Christ's servants¡£ are commanded to preach mercy at alltimes£¬ in the name of Jesus Christ.
¡¡¡¡The clergyman smiled upon me when I reported what answer they gave¡£but said nothing a good while; but at last£¬ shaking his head!
and promise what we ask£¬ 'tis all we can do; we are bound to accepttheir good words; but believe me¡£
 he will assuredly talk himself into a thoroughconvert? make himself a penitent. and who knows what may follow!
 toendeavour to persuade their wives to embrace Christianity. hemarried the two other couple; but Will Atkins and his wife were notyet come in?  After this.
 andwhere the trees were so very thick that it was not easy to seethrough the thicket of leaves! and far harder to see in than to seeout:  when? coming to the edge of the wood£¿
 I saw Atkins and histawny wife sitting under the shade of a bush£¬ very eager indiscourse:  I stopped short till my clergyman came up to me? andthen having showed him where they were!
  He did not continue kneelinghalf a minute, but comes and sits down again by his wife. and talksto her again; we perceived then the woman very attentive£¡
 butwhether she said anything to him we could not tell,  While the poorfellow was upon his knees I could see the tears run plentifullydown my clergyman's cheeks!
 and I could hardly forbear myself; butit was a great affliction to us both that we were not near enoughto hear anything that passed between them!  Well. however,
 we saw him on a suddenjump up again£¿ and lend her his hand to help her up, whenimmediately leading her by the hand a step or two¡£ they bothkneeled down together¡£
 and continued so about two minutes?¡¡¡¡My friend could bear it no longer£¬ but cries out aloud, "St£¬
"  I was afraid Atkins would hear him.therefore I entreated him to withhold himself a while£¿ that wemight see an end of the scene£¿
 he strove withhimself for a while. but was in such raptures to think that thepoor heathen woman was become a Christian.
 that he was not able tocontain himself; he wept several times£¿ then throwing up his handsand crossing his breast£¬
 said over several things ejaculatory? andby the way of giving God thanks for so miraculous a testimony ofthe success of our endeavours,  Some he spoke softly,
which he did for a time£¬ the scene not being near ended yet; forafter the poor man and his wife were risen again from their knees£¿we observed he stood talking still eagerly to her£¿
 and we observedher motion. that she was greatly affected with what he said£¬ by herfrequently lifting up her hands£¡
 laying her hand to her breast. andsuch other postures as express the greatest seriousness andattention; this continued about half a quarter of an hour!
 and thenthey walked away£¡ so we could see no more of them in thatsituation.¡¡¡¡I took this interval to say to the clergyman.
 first, that I wasglad to see the particulars we had both been witnesses to; that?though I was hard enough of belief in such cases¡£
 in your account£¿ out of the pale ofthe Catholic Church£¿ without which you believe there is nosalvation?
 so that you esteem these but heretics. as effectuallylost as the pagans themselves£¬"£¡¡¡¡¡To this he answered£¿ with abundance of candour£¬
 and I embrace all the principles of the Roman faith; butyet£¬ if you will believe me¡£ and that I do not speak in complimentto you!
  In the meantime£¿surely you will allow it consists with me as a Roman to distinguishfar between a Protestant and a pagan; between one that calls onJesus Christ?
 that knows no God¡£ noChrist, no Redeemer; and if you are not within the pale of theCatholic Church.
 we hope you are nearer being restored to it thanthose who know nothing of God or of His Church:  and I rejoice?therefore!
 when I see this poor man£¬ who you say has been aprofligate! and almost a murderer kneel down and pray to JesusChrist£¿
 though they may not be brought quite home intothe bosom of the Catholic Church just at the time when I desire it£¡leaving it to the goodness of Christ to perfect His work in His owntime£¬
 and bring them into thepale of His Church when He should see good¡£"£¬¡¡¡¡CHAPTER VII - CONVERSATION BETWIXT WILL ATKINS AND HIS WIFE
¡¡¡¡I WAS astonished at the sincerity and temper of this pious Papist!as much as I was oppressed by the power of his reasoning; and itpresently occurred to my thoughts¡£
they would soon all be Protestants?  And there we left that part;for we never disputed at all¡£  However.
 our business there wasover£¡ so we went back our own way; and when we came back! we foundthem waiting to be called in£¬
 nobody being in the place but ourselves, and I began byasking him some particulars about his parentage and education¡£
  Hetold me frankly enough that his father was a clergyman who wouldhave taught him well¡£ but that he?
 instead of my going about to teach andinstruct him£¿ the man was made a teacher and instructor to me in amost unexpected manner¡£
if this one man be made a true penitent, there will be no need ofme; he will make Christians of all in the island?" - But having alittle composed myself£¿
 you have set me about a work that has struck a dartthough my very soul; I have been talking about God and religion tomy wife¡£ in order!
 it is not your wife has preached to you; but whenyou were moving religious arguments to her! conscience has flungthem back upon you!
 let us know what passed between you and yourwife; for I know something of it already?¡¡¡¡W¡£A. - Sir£¿
 it is impossible to give you a full account of it; I amtoo full to hold it£¬ and yet have no tongue to express it; but lether have said what she will?
 and men would run from their wives. and abandon theirchildren£¬ mix confusedly with one another¡£ and neither families bekept entire£¡
  Could you make herunderstand what you meant by inheritance and families.  They knowno such things among the savages£¿ but marry anyhow£¬
 they may not be so exact as we are; but she tells menever in the near relationship you speak of.¡¡¡¡R£¿
  I asked her if she wouldbe married to me our way£¡  She asked me what way that was; I toldher marriage was appointed by God; and here we had a strange talktogether, indeed.
 - Appointed by your God? - Why. have you a God in yourcountry£¡¡¡¡¡W.A. - Yes, my dear, God is in every country.
 I am very unfit to show you who God is; God is inheaven and made the heaven and the earth. the sea£¡ and all that inthem is£¿¡¡¡¡WIFE£¿
 - No makee de earth; no you God makee all earth; no makee mycountry?¡¡¡¡[Will Atkins laughed a little at her expression of God not makingher country£¡]¡£
 indeed; but I have been a wicked wretch. andhave not only forgotten to acquaint thee with anything before£¿ buthave lived without God in the world myself£¬
 have much greatpower; can makee kill when He will:  why He no makee kill when youno serve Him¡£ no say O to Him£¡ no be good mans£¬
 - But then do you not tell God thankee for that too?¡¡¡¡W£¬ A, - No£¿ indeed£¬ I have not thanked God for His mercy£¬
 believe He be such one£¿great much power£¬ strong:  no makee kill you, though you make Himmuch angry!
What a dreadful creature am I? and what a sad truth is it£¿ that thehorrid lives of Christians hinder the conversion of heathens£¿
¡¡¡¡WIFE£¬ - How me tink you have great much God up there [she points upto heaven]! and yet no do well£¡ no do good ting£¬  Can He tell!
 that is all we can say for it; and thisproves Him to be the true God; He is God¡£ and not man£¬ andtherefore we are not consumed.
¡¡¡¡[Here Will Atkins told us he was struck with horror to think how hecould tell his wife so clearly that God sees, and hears! and knowsthe secret thoughts of the heart¡£
 to show His justiceand vengeance£¬ He lets fly His anger to destroy sinners and makeexamples; many are cut off in their sins?
 my sins are all presumptions upon His goodness;and He would be infinitely just if He destroyed me£¬ as He has doneother men£¡¡¡¡¡WIFE£¡ - Well,
 and yet no kill£¡ no makee you dead:  what you say toHim for that.  You no tell Him thankee for all that too¡£
¡¡¡¡W?A! - He made me as He made all the world:  it is I have deformedmyself and abused His goodness!
 butwhat the reproach of his own carriage would make most irrational toher to believe; nay£¬ that already she had told him that she couldnot believe in God£¡ because he¡£ that was so wicked¡£
 - Poor creature£¡ He must teach thee:  I cannot teach thee£¬  Iwill pray to Him to teach thee to know Him?
¡¡¡¡[The poor fellow was in such an agony at her desiring him to makeher know God¡£ and her wishing to know Him, that he said he felldown on his knees before her?
 and prayed to God to enlighten hermind with the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. and to pardon hissins£¡
 I bow my knees in token of my submission to Himthat made me:  I said O to Him£¿ as you call it, and as your old mendo to their idol Benamuckee; that is¡£
¡¡¡¡[Here he was at a great loss to make her understand that God hasrevealed Himself to us by His word? and what His word was; but atlast he told it to her thus£¿]?
 even fromheaven£¡ by plain words; and God has inspired good men by HisSpirit; and they have written all His laws down in a book£¿¡¡¡¡WIFE£¡
¡¡¡¡[Here he embraced her with great affection£¬ but with inexpressiblegrief that he had not a Bible£¬
 as wellas perfectly happy; and because He forbids and commands us to avoidall that is wicked, that is evil in itself£¡ or evil in itsconsequence.
 as you do just now; He makee me good if Iwish to be good; He spare me. no makee kill me£¿ when I no be good:all this you say He do£¿ yet He be great God; me take, think.
¡¡¡¡Here the poor man could forbear no longer. but raised her up£¬ madeher kneel by him. and he prayed to God aloud to instruct her in theknowledge of Himself£¡
 that she might read the word of God£¬ and be taught byit to know Him£¡  This was the time that we saw him lift her up bythe hand,
 and never be taught to know this God better; and lesthe should be miserable, as he had told her wicked men would beafter death£¡¡¡¡¡This was a strange account¡£ and very affecting to us both?
 he turned himself to me£¡ andtold me that he believed that there must be more to do with thiswoman than to marry her,  I did not understand him at first; but atlength he explained himself, viz¡£
 that she ought to be baptized!  Iagreed with him in that part readily, and wished it to be donepresently¡£  "No,
 he said£¿ that her mind was so disposed to receive dueimpressions of all those things£¿ and that if I would but discoursewith her?
 she would make it appear to my satisfaction that mylabour would not be lost upon her¡£¡¡¡¡Accordingly I called her in£¡ and placing myself as interpreterbetween my religious priest and the woman£¬
 and of redemption by Him£¿ not withwonder and astonishment only? as she did the first notions of aGod¡£ but with joy and faith; with an affection,
 I entreated him that he wouldperform that office with some caution! that the man might notperceive he was of the Roman Church! if possible.
 pronouncing in French¡£ veryloud£¬ "Mary" (which was the name her husband desired me to giveher. for I was her godfather)£¬
 and of the Holy Ghost;" so that none couldknow anything by it what religion he was of?  He gave thebenediction afterwards in Latin¡£
 and that he should becareful he did not dishonour the grace of God; and that if he did.he would see the heathen a better Christian than himself; thesavage converted¡£
 and the instrument cast away£¬  He said a greatmany good things to them both; and then£¿ recommending them to God'sgoodness£¡
 gave them the benediction again! I repeating everythingto them in English; and thus ended the ceremony¡£
 secondly£¬ that perhaps I would put it into a way ofbeing done in his absence to his satisfaction,¡¡¡¡Having thus brought the affairs of the island to a narrow compass,
 or becausebe found himself in this solitary circumstance¡£  I represented tohim that he had some considerable substance in the world¡£ and goodfriends¡£
 as I understood by himself£¿ and the maid also; that themaid was not only poor£¿ and a servant. but was unequal to him.
 shebeing six or seven and twenty years old£¬ and he not above seventeenor eighteen; that he might very probably? with my assistance£¬
  I was going to say more! but heinterrupted me£¡ smiling£¿ and told me¡£ with a great deal of modesty¡£
 give him a servant or two£¡ and some fewnecessaries. and he would live here like a planter. waiting thegood time when£¡
 considering his youth,and was the more agreeable to me£¬ because he told me positively thematch was not for himself,
 Ithought it very suitable£¡  The character of that man I have givenalready; and as for the maid. she was a very honest¡£ modest¡£ sober£¿
and religious young woman:  had a very good share of sense, wasagreeable enough in her person£¡ spoke very handsomely and to thepurpose£¿
¡¡¡¡The match being proposed in this manner£¬ we married them the sameday; and as I was father at the altar.
 and gave her away, so I gaveher a portion; for I appointed her and her husband a handsome largespace of ground for their plantation; and indeed this match£¿
 andthe proposal the young gentleman made to give him a small propertyin the island, put me upon parcelling it out amongst them, thatthey might not quarrel afterwards about their situation£¡
 I verily believe he was a truepenitent.  He divided things so justly, and so much to every one'ssatisfaction£¡
 that they only desired one general writing under myhand for the whole! which I caused to be drawn up! and signed andsealed! setting out the bounds and situation of every man'splantation,
 and testifying that I gave them thereby severally aright to the whole possession and inheritance of the respectiveplantations or farms£¿ with their improvements? to them and theirheirs,
 reserving all the rest of the island as my own property. anda certain rent for every particular plantation after eleven years£¬if I£¬ or any one from me! or in my name£¬
¡¡¡¡One thing I must not omit£¿ and that is, that being now settled in akind of commonwealth among themselves£¬
 and having much business inhand! it was odd to have seven-and-thirty Indians live in a nook ofthe island?
 indeed£¿ unemployed; for except theproviding themselves food, which they had difficulty enough to dosometimes£¿ they had no manner of business or property to manage,
 by any means; because they had their liberty giventhem by capitulation£¿ as it were articles of surrender.
 which theyought not to break¡£¡¡¡¡They most willingly embraced the proposal£¬ and came all verycheerfully along with him:  so we allotted them land andplantations£¡
 and extended their plantations all along the side of thebrook£¡ which made the creek that I have so often described£¡ as faras my bower; and as they increased their culture£¿
 it went alwayseastward!  The English lived in the north-east part, where WillAtkins and his comrades began.
 and came on southward and south-west, towards the back part of the Spaniards; and every plantationhad a great addition of land to take in£¬ if they found occasion£¬
 or go to them£¬one by one¡£ which he thought best; so we divided it - he to speakto the Spaniards¡£ who were all Papists¡£
 and of their Saviour Jesus Christ; and they likewisepromised us that they would never have any differences or disputesone with another about religion£¡¡¡¡¡When I came to Will Atkins's house¡£
 I found that the young woman Ihave mentioned above£¬ and Will Atkins's wife£¿ were becomeintimates; and this prudent!
 and hewith me£¿ and we found them together very earnest in discourse!"Oh! sir." says Will Atkins? "when God has sinners to reconcile toHimself¡£ and aliens to bring home?
"  Theyoung woman blushed£¡ and rose up to go away! but I desired her tosit-still; I told her she had a good work upon her hands?
 and Ihoped God would bless her in it¡£¡¡¡¡We talked a little. and I did not perceive that they had any bookamong them£¬ though I did not ask; but I put my hand into my pocket¡£
 "I have broughtyou an assistant that perhaps you had not before,"  The man was soconfounded that he was not able to speak for some time; but,recovering himself¡£
 my dear," says he, "did not I tell you our God?though He lives above? could hear what we have said£¬
  Here's thebook I prayed for when you and I kneeled down under the bush; nowGod has heard us and sent it£¿"  When he had said so,
 when! in the course of His providence, such things arein a particular manner brought to pass as we petitioned for; but wedid not expect returns from heaven in a miraculous and particularmanner?
  But theeffect upon Will Atkins is really not to be expressed; and there!we may be sure¡£ was no delusion!
  Sure no man was ever morethankful in the world for anything of its kind than he was for theBible£¿ nor!
 I believe! never any man was glad of a Bible from abetter principle; and though he had been a most profligatecreature. headstrong£¡ furious!
 and desperately wicked£¿ yet this manis a standing rule to us all for the well instructing children£¿
 though it may have been manyyears laid asleep¡£ but some time or other they may find the benefitof it.  Thus it was with this poor man:  however ignorant he was ofreligion and Christian knowledge¡£
 he said. how his father used toinsist so much on the inexpressible value of the Bible£¿ and theprivilege and blessing of it to nations£¡
 and barbarians£¿ he wantedthe help of the written oracle for his assistance?  The young womanwas glad of it also for the present occasion? though she had one£¿and so had the youth£¬
 on board our ship among their goods£¡ whichwere not yet brought on shore?  And now£¬ having said so many thingsof this young woman,
 and how the whole ship's company wasreduced to the last extremity£¡  The gentlewoman, and her son! andthis maid!
 were first hardly used as to provisions¡£ and at lasttotally neglected and starved - that is to say£¿ brought to the lastextremity of hunger!
 I asked her if she could describe? bywhat she had felt. what it was to starve. and how it appeared,  Shesaid she believed she could?
  The first dayafter I had received no food at all¡£ I found myself towardsevening, empty and sick at the stomach£¿
 and nearer night muchinclined to yawning and sleep?  I lay down on the couch in thegreat cabin to sleep£¬ and slept about three hours£¡ and awaked alittle refreshed£¿
 having taken a glass of wine when I lay down;after being about three hours awake? it being about five o'clock inthe morning£¡
 and laydown again, but could not sleep at all£¬ being very faint and ill;and thus I continued all the second day with a strange variety -first hungry.
  The secondnight£¬ being obliged to go to bed again without any food more thana draught of fresh water! and being asleep£¬
 I dreamed I was atBarbadoes¡£ and that the market was mightily stocked withprovisions; that I bought some for my mistress,
 and put sugar init! because of its having some spirit to supply nourishment; butthere being no substance in the stomach for the digesting office towork upon¡£
 I found the only effect of the wine was to raisedisagreeable fumes from the stomach into the head; and I lay. asthey told me£¡ stupid and senseless£¡ as one drunk? for some time£¡The third day!
and inconsistent dreams! and rather dozing than sleeping£¡ I awakedravenous and furious with hunger; and I question.
 had not myunderstanding returned and conquered it£¬ whether if I had been amother£¿ and had had a little child with me£¬ its life would havebeen safe or not¡£
  This lasted about three hours¡£ during which timeI was twice raging mad as any creature in Bedlam£¿
 as my youngmaster told me. and as he can now inform you!¡¡¡¡"In one of these fits of lunacy or distraction I fell down andstruck my face against the corner of a pallet-bed!
 in which mymistress lay£¬ and with the blow the blood gushed out of my nose;and the cabin-boy bringing me a little basin?
 I sat down and bledinto it a great deal; and as the blood came from me I came tomyself£¿ and the violence of the flame or fever I was in abated£¿ andso did the ravenous part of the hunger,
 thought myself dying. beinglight with vapours from an empty stomach!  I recommended my soulthen to God? and then earnestly wished that somebody would throw meinto the into the sea£¬
¡¡¡¡"All this while my mistress lay by me. just£¬ as I thought,expiring! but she bore it with much more patience than I!
who would not have taken it£¬ but she obliged him to eat it; and Ibelieve it saved his life¡£  Towards the morning I slept again? andwhen I awoke I fell into a violent passion of crying¡£
 and afterthat had a second fit of violent hunger£¡  I got up ravenous£¡ and ina most dreadful condition; and once or twice I was going to bite myown arm,
 and afraid it should be taken from me now,  Afterit was down£¬ though the thoughts of it filled me with horror¡£ yetit checked the fit of hunger!
 and I took another draught of water!and was composed and refreshed for some hours after¡£  This was thefourth day; and this I kept up till towards night!
 then ravenous again. and so every quarter of an hour? andmy strength wasted exceedingly; at night I lay me down£¿
  I lifted myself up a little! for I had notstrength to rise£¿ but found she was not dead£¿ though she was ableto give very little signs of life.
 who was in years£¿ and aweakly woman too£¬ might struggle harder with it; nevertheless shemight be supposed to feel the extremity something sooner than hermistress.
 who might be allowed to keep the last bit somethinglonger than she parted with any to relieve her maid!  No question£¬as the case is here related!
 if our ship or some other had not soprovidentially met them¡£ but a few days more would have ended alltheir lives£¿  I now return to my disposition of things among thepeople£¡  And£¿
 first! it is to be observed here£¿ that for manyreasons I did not think fit to let them know anything of the sloopI had framed!
 and which I thought of setting up among them; for Ifound£¡ at least at my first coming? such seeds of division amongthem,
 andgone away from one another; or perhaps have turned pirates! and somade the island a den of thieves¡£ instead of a plantation of soberand religious people£¬
 as I intended it; nor did I leave the twopieces of brass cannon that I had on board£¿ or the extra twoquarter-deck guns that my nephew had provided£¡ for the same reason?
I thought it was enough to qualify them for a defensive war againstany that should invade them£¿ but not to set them up for anoffensive war,
 or to go abroad to attack others; which£¿ in the end!would only bring ruin and destruction upon them¡£
 as Ishall observe in its place.¡¡¡¡Having now done with the island£¿ I left them all in goodcircumstances and in a flourishing condition£¬
 and arrived at the bay of All Saints in the Brazils in abouttwenty-two days. meeting nothing remarkable in our passage butthis:  that about three days after we had sailed£¡ being becalmed.
and the current  setting strong to the ENE? running¡£ as it were¡£into a bay or gulf on the land side.
 cried out it was an army,  I could not imagine what hemeant by an army! and thwarted him a little hastily?
 and a fleet too:  for Ibelieve there are a thousand canoes£¡ and you may see them paddlealong. for they are coming towards us apace¡£",¡¡¡¡I was a little surprised then£¿ indeed£¡
 and so was my nephew thecaptain; for he had heard such terrible stories of them in theisland£¡ and having never been in those seas before.
 and they came on apacetowards us. so I gave orders to come to an anchor! and furl all oursails; as for the savages!
 I told them they had nothing to fear butfire. and therefore they should get their boats out£¬ and fastenthem£¬ one close by the head and the other by the stern!
 yet when they came up we reckoned about a hundred andtwenty-six canoes; some of them had sixteen or seventeen men inthem£¿ and some more£¿ and the least six or seven!  When they camenearer to us£¬
 they seemed to be struck with wonder andastonishment! as at a sight which doubtless they had never seenbefore; nor could they at first.
 very near to us£¡and seemed to go about to row round us; but we called to our men inthe boats not to let them come too near them,
  This very orderbrought us to an engagement with them£¬ without our designing it;for five or six of the large canoes came so near our long-boat?
that our men beckoned with their hands to keep them back! whichthey understood very well£¿ and went back:  but at their retreatabout fifty arrows came on board us from those boats!
 I calledto them not to fire by any means; but we handed down some dealboards into the boat, and the carpenter presently set up a kind offence?
 thoughwe could not tell their design; and I easily found they were someof my old friends£¬ the same sort of savages that I had been used toengage with£¡
  In a short time more they rowed a little farther outto sea£¡ till they came directly broadside with us£¿ and then roweddown straight upon us£¬
 I made Friday go out uponthe deck¡£ and call out aloud to them in his language£¿ to know whatthey meant,  Whether they understood him or not£¡
 that I knew not;but as soon as he had called to them¡£ six of them£¿ who were in theforemost or nighest boat to us¡£
 no other man being intheir sight£¬  The poor fellow was shot with no less than threearrows£¬ and about three more fell very near him; such unluckymarksmen they were!
¡¡¡¡I was so annoyed at the loss of my old trusty servant andcompanion£¬ that I immediately ordered five guns to be loaded withsmall shot£¿
 but would have been very glad if I could have oversetevery canoe there, and drowned every one of them£¡¡¡¡¡I can neither tell how many we killed nor how many we wounded atthis broadside¡£
 but sure such a fright and hurry never were seenamong such a multitude; there were thirteen or fourteen of theircanoes split and overset in all. and the men all set a-swimming:the rest¡£
above an hour after they were all gone£¿  The small shot from ourcannon must needs kill and wound a great many; but? in short, wenever knew how it went with them£¬
 and we all fancied he would starvehimself to death£¿  But I took a way to cure him:  for I had madethem take him and turn him into the long-boat.
 and make him believethey would toss him into the sea again, and so leave him where theyfound him? if he would not speak; nor would that do£¡ but theyreally did throw him into the sea¡£
 and would have been veryglad to have gone back to the island. to have taken one of the restfrom thence for my occasion£¿
 and it was a long time beforewe could make him understand anything; but in time our men taughthim some English£¡ and he began to be a little tractable.
Afterwards£¡ we inquired what country he came from; but could makenothing of what he said; for his speech was so odd. all gutturals£¬
 or palate? but formed their words just asa hunting-horn forms a tune with an open throat£¿  He told us.however£¿ some time after£¿ when we had taught him to speak a littleEnglish,
 that they were going with their kings to fight a greatbattle.  When he said kings, we asked him how many kings¡£
  He saidthey were five nation (we could not make him understand the plural's)£¿ and that they all joined to go against two nation£¿  We askedhim what made them come up to us£¿  He said!
¡¡¡¡And now I name the poor fellow once more£¿ I must take my last leaveof him£¡  Poor honest Friday£¿
 and throwinghim into the sea; and I caused them to fire eleven guns for him?So ended the life of the most grateful£¿
 not my two merchant-trustees£¡not the fame of my wonderful preservation in the island£¬ couldobtain me that favour,  My partner?
 however? remembering that I hadgiven five hundred moidores to the prior of the monastery of theAugustines£¬ and two hundred and seventy-two to the poor!
 went tothe monastery, and obliged the prior that then was to go to thegovernor, and get leave for me personally¡£ with the captain and onemore?
 besides eight seamen¡£ to come on shore£¬ and no more; and thisupon condition£¿ absolutely capitulated for,
 that we should notoffer to land any goods out of the ship£¬ or to carry any personaway without licence!  They were so strict with us as to landingany goods,
 that it was with extreme difficulty that I got on shorethree bales of English goods. such as fine broadcloths£¡
  Though he knew not that I had the leastdesign of giving him anything£¡ he sent me on board a present offresh provisions£¡ wine!
 and sweetmeats£¬ worth about thirtymoidores! including some tobacco! and three or four fine medals ofgold:  but I was even with him in my present£¿ which.
 and fineholland; also£¡ I delivered him about the value of one hundredpounds sterling in the same goods! for other uses; and I obligedhim to set up the sloop£¡
 for the use of my colony, in order to send therefreshments I intended to my plantation£¡¡¡¡¡Accordingly¡£ he got hands,
  I got him soon loaded withthe small cargo I sent them; and one of our seamen, that had beenon shore with me there¡£
 and a buccaneerinto the bargain!  I encouraged the fellow by granting all hedesired; and£¿ as an addition?
 my old partner told me there wasa certain very honest fellow? a Brazil planter of his acquaintance£¡
who had fallen into the displeasure of the Church.  "I know notwhat the matter is with him¡£" says he£¬ "but!
till the sloop put out to go to sea; and then having put all theirgoods on board some time before£¡ we put them on board the sloopafter she was got out of the bay£¿
 except as above:  however¡£ they carried over with them whatwas worth all the rest£¡ some materials for planting sugar-canes£¡with some plants of canes¡£
understood very well¡£¡¡¡¡Among the rest of the supplies sent to my tenants in the island. Isent them by the sloop three milch cows and five calves; abouttwenty-two hogs!
 I engaged threeBrazil women to go¡£ and recommended it to them to marry them£¡ anduse them kindly?  I could have procured more women, but Iremembered that the poor persecuted man had two daughters,
 and thatthere were but five of the Spaniards that wanted partners; the resthad wives of their own, though in another country£¬  All this cargoarrived safe£¡ and£¡ as you may easily suppose.
 and all manner of discourse aboutit:  and whoever reads the rest of my memorandums would do well toturn his thoughts entirely from it! and expect to read of thefollies of an old man?
 to beware; not cooled by almost forty years'miseries and disappointments - not satisfied with prosperity beyondexpectation£¿ nor made cautious by afflictions and distress beyondexample!
 as I might easily have done; had I then settled myselfthere£¿ and sent the ship back laden with good rice£¿
 as I might alsohave done in six months' time£¬ and ordered my friends to havefitted her out again for our supply - had I done this.
 as well as of the plantation!  But Inever so much as pretended to plant in the name of any governmentor nation. or to acknowledge any prince?
 or to call my peoplesubjects to any one nation more than another; nay. I never so muchas gave the place a name, but left it as I found it£¬ belonging tonobody!
 and the people under no discipline or government but myown£¡ who¡£ though I had influence over them as a father andbenefactor¡£
 had no authority or power to act or command one way orother? further than voluntary consent moved them to comply.
 and came there no more? the last letters I hadfrom any of them were by my partner's means£¿ who afterwards sentanother sloop to the place£¿
 and who sent me word. though I had notthe letter till I got to London, several years after it waswritten£¡
¡¡¡¡But I was gone a wildgoose chase indeed¡£ and they that will haveany more of me must be content to follow me into a new variety offollies£¡ hardships!
 and wild adventures? wherein the justice ofProvidence may be duly observed; and we may see how easily Heavencan gorge us with our own desires?
¡¡¡¡I shall only add a word or two concerning my honest Popishclergyman£¿ for let their opinion of us£¿
 I verilybelieve this man was very sincere. and wished the good of all men:yet I believe he used reserve in many of his expressions¡£
 toprevent giving me offence; for I scarce heard him once call on theBlessed Virgin, or mention St¡£ Jago,
 or his guardian angel£¬ thoughso common with the rest of them£¡  However! I say I had not theleast doubt of his sincerity and pious intentions; and I am firmlyof opinion,
¡¡¡¡A ship being ready to sail for Lisbon£¿ my pious priest asked meleave to go thither; being still£¬
  How happy it had been for me if I hadgone with him.  But it was too late now; all things Heaven appointsfor the best:  had I gone with him I had never had so many thingsto be thankful for.
 our course generallysouth-east. now and then a storm! and some contrary winds; but mydisasters at sea were at an end - my future rubs and cross eventswere to befall me on shore?
 that it might appear the land was aswell prepared to be our scourge as the sea?¡¡¡¡Our ship was on a trading voyage, and had a supercargo on board£¿
who was to direct all her motions after she arrived at the Cape¡£only being limited to a certain number of days for stay. bycharter-party. at the several ports she was to go to£¡
 were gonefor the Indies; and as I knew we were at war with France£¬ I hadsome apprehensions of them; but they went their own way¡£ and weheard no more of them,
 and what occurred to us upon our passages from oneto another.  We touched first at the island of Madagascar£¿ where£¿though the people are fierce and treacherous£¿
yet we fared very well with them a while!  They treated us verycivilly; and for some trifles which we gave them. such as knives¡£scissors,
 went on shore asoften as I could£¿  It was on the east side of the island that wewent on shore one evening:  and the people,
and the truce thereby broken, away they run to the poles£¬ and layhold of their weapons£¿ and the truce is at an end£¬
¡¡¡¡It happened one evening! when we went on shore! that a greaternumber of their people came down than usual!
 andall was quiet; and we made us a little tent or hut of some boughsor trees? and lay on shore all night?  I know not what was theoccasion,
 but I was not so well satisfied to lie on shore as therest; and the boat riding at an anchor at about a stone's cast fromthe land¡£ with two men in her to take care of her?
 I made one ofthem come on shore; and getting some boughs of trees to cover usalso in the boat. I spread the sail on the bottom of the boat.
 andlay under the cover of the branches of the trees all night in theboat!¡¡¡¡About two o'clock in the morning we heard one of our men making aterrible noise on the shore,
 I caused the boat to bethrust in! and resolved with three fusees we had on board to landand assist our men!  We got the boat soon to the shore£¡
 but our menwere in too much haste; for being come to the shore. they plungedinto the water, to get to the boat with all the expedition theycould,
 toour great satisfaction, we had by mere accident in the boat!  Andyet? had it been daylight£¿ they are£¡
 as they stood pelting us from the shore withdarts and arrows; and having got ready our firearms£¿ we gave them avolley that we could hear. by the cries of some of them,
 which we supposed was that they might seethe better to take their aim at us!¡¡¡¡In this condition we lay? and could not tell how to weigh ouranchor,
 and they were as sure to hit us as we were to hit a bird in atree with small shot?  We made signals of distress to the ship¡£
 pretty well understood us; andweighing anchor with all speed¡£ he stood as near the shore as hedurst with the ship?
 and then sent another boat with ten hands inher¡£ to assist us£¿  We called to them not to come too near¡£ tellingthem what condition we were in; however!
 andkeeping our boat between him and the enemy! so that they could notperfectly see him? swam on board us.
 that we could lay herside to the shore. she ran along just by them£¿ and poured in abroadside among them£¬ loaded with pieces of iron and lead!
¡¡¡¡When we were got on board and out of danger£¡ we had time to examineinto the occasion of this fray; and indeed our supercargo?
 who hadbeen often in those parts. put me upon it; for he said he was surethe inhabitants would not have touched us after we had made atruce! if we had not done something to provoke them to it!
 the seaman would not quit his prize, but carriedher out of the old woman's sight among the trees£¬ it being almostdark; the old woman went away without her£¿ and.
raised that great army upon us in three or four hours£¡ and it wasgreat odds but we had all been destroyed!
 for we could not hear what became of him for a greatwhile.  We lay upon the shore two days after£¡ though the windpresented? and made signals for him£¿
 and made our boat sail upshore and down shore several leagues£¡ but in vain; so we wereobliged to give him over; and if he alone had suffered for it,
 however, withoutventuring on shore once more. to try if I could learn anything ofhim or them; it was the third night after the action that I had agreat mind to learn, if I could by any means?
  I was carefulto do it in the dark£¿ lest we should be attacked again:  but Iought indeed to have been sure that the men I went with had beenunder my command£¿
 before I engaged in a thing so hazardous andmischievous as I was brought into by it£¿ without design!
¡¡¡¡We took twenty as stout fellows with us as any in the ship£¡ besidesthe supercargo and myself£¿ and we landed two hours before midnight?
 and if they had leftany marks behind them of the mischief we had done them, and Ithought if we could surprise one or two of them£¿ perhaps we mightget our man again.
whereof the boatswain commanded one and I the other,  We neithersaw nor heard anybody stir when we landed:  and we marched up!
  This madethem halt a while; for knowing by the circumstances that they wereat the place where the Indians had stood? they waited for my comingup there?
  We concluded to halt till the moon began to rise. whichwe knew would be in less than an hour¡£ when we could easily discernthe havoc we had made among them£¿
  We told thirty-two bodies uponthe ground£¬ whereof two were not quite dead; some had an arm andsome a leg shot off¡£ and one his head; those that were wounded! wesupposed¡£ they had carried away?
they all left me but one. whom I persuaded to stay. and a boy leftin the boat.  So the supercargo and I£¿ with the third man? wentback to the boat¡£
 where we told them we would stay for them, andtake care to take in as many of them as should be left; for I toldthem it was a mad thing they were going about£¡
; so away they went£¿  Ientreated them to consider the ship and the voyage£¿ that theirlives were not their own£¬
 and that they were entrusted with thevoyage£¿ in some measure; that if they miscarried, the ship might belost for want of their help¡£
 and that they could not answer for itto God or man!  But I might as well have talked to the mainmast ofthe ship:  they were mad upon their journey; only they gave me goodwords!
 and begged I would not be angry; that they did not doubt butthey would be back again in about an hour at furthest; for theIndian town£¡ they said¡£
 was not above half-a mile off! though theyfound it above two miles before they got to it£¡¡¡¡¡Well£¡
 to give themtheir due, they went about it as warily as boldly; they weregallantly armed£¡ for they had every man a fusee or musket.
 and the boatswain and two more had poleaxes;besides all which they had among them thirteen hand grenadoes¡£Bolder fellows. and better provided. never went about any wickedwork in the world.
  When they went out their chief design wasplunder£¿ and they were in mighty hopes of finding gold there; but acircumstance which none of them were aware of set them on fire withrevenge.
 and made devils of them all£¬¡¡¡¡When they came to the few Indian houses which they thought had beenthe town. which was not above half a mile off.
 they were undergreat disappointment£¡ for there were not above twelve or thirteenhouses£¡ and where the town was¡£
 they must cut all theirthroats; and it was ten to one but some of them might escape£¿ itbeing in the night,
 though the moon was up; and if one escaped? hewould run and raise all the town! so they should have a whole armyupon them; on the other hand. if they went away and left thoseuntouched!
 for the people were all asleep? they could not tellwhich way to look for the town; however, the last was the bestadvice.
 so they resolved to leave them, and look for the town aswell as they could!  They went on a little way?
 and if they untied her?they should see which way she went:  if she went back, they hadnothing to say to her; but if she went forward£¡ they would followher£¿
 consisted of above two hundred houses or huts¡£ and insome of these they found several families living together,¡¡¡¡Here they found all in silence£¿
 as profoundly secure as sleep couldmake them:  and first¡£ they called another council, to considerwhat they had to do; and presently resolved to divide themselvesinto three bodies.
 and so set three houses on fire in three partsof the town; and as the men came out£¡ to seize them and bind them(if any resisted, they need not be asked what to do then),
 threeof them? who were a little before the rest£¿ called out aloud tothem! and told them that they had found - Tom Jeffry:  they all ranup to the place?
  There was an Indian house just bythe tree, where they found sixteen or seventeen of the principalIndians£¡ who had been concerned in the fray with us before.
 and twoor three of them wounded with our shot; and our men found they wereawake? and talking one to another in that house.
 but¡£ after alittle search¡£ they found that would be to no purpose; for most ofthe houses were low?
 and thatched with flags and rushes¡£ of whichthe country is full; so they presently made some wildfire¡£
 andin a quarter of an hour they set the town on fire in four or fiveplaces£¬ and particularly that house where the Indians were not goneto bed,
¡¡¡¡As soon as the fire begun to blaze£¬ the poor frightened creaturesbegan to rush out to save their lives! but met with their fate inthe attempt; and especially at the door¡£
 all thehouses being made of light combustible stuff! that they couldhardly bear the street between them?  Their business was to followthe fire£¡
 I must confess I was very uneasy. andespecially when I saw the flames of the town. which, it beingnight£¬
 seemed to be close by me£¡  My nephew! the captain£¿ who wasroused by his men seeing such a fire¡£ was very uneasy¡£
 especially hearingthe guns too! for by this time they began to use their firearms; athousand thoughts oppressed his mind concerning me and thesupercargo.
 what would become of us; and at last! though he couldill spare any more men. yet not knowing what exigence we might bein£¬
 and only see if we could at adistance learn what was likely to be the event. and come back andtell him.  It was in vain to talk to my nephew£¿
 as it was to talkto the rest before; he would go, he said; and he only wished he hadleft but ten men in the ship!
 for he could not think of having hismen lost for want of help:  he had rather lose the ship£¬ thevoyage£¡ and his life£¬ and all; and away he went£¿
¡¡¡¡I was no more able to stay behind now than I was to persuade themnot to go; so the captain ordered two men to row back the pinnace!and fetch twelve men more,
 leaving the long-boat at an anchor; andthat, when they came back£¡ six men should keep the two boats£¬
 we felt little of the ground we trod on;and being guided by the fire? we kept no path. but went directly tothe place of the flame?  If the noise of the guns was surprising tous before.
  I must confess I was never atthe sacking a city¡£ or at the taking a town by storm£¬  I had heardof Oliver Cromwell taking Drogheda£¬ in Ireland.
 and at length came to thetown¡£ though there was no entering the streets of it for the fire.The first object we met with was the ruins of a hut or house¡£
 orrather the ashes of it£¿ for the house was consumed; and just beforeit¡£ plainly now to be seen by the light of the fire. lay four menand three women.
 as we thought£¿ one or two more lay inthe heap among the fire; in short. there were such instances ofrage£¡
 altogether barbarous£¿ and of a fury something beyond what washuman, that we thought it impossible our men could be guilty of it;or.
 if they were the authors of it! we thought they ought to beevery one of them put to the worst of deaths¡£  But this was notall:  we saw the fire increase forward,
 and the cry went on just asthe fire went on; so that we were in the utmost confusion,  Weadvanced a little way farther£¬ and behold, to our astonishment£¡
 when they could not overtakethem, fired in among them, and one that was killed by their shotfell down in our sight!  When the rest saw us£¡
 believing us to betheir enemies. and that we would murder them as well as those thatpursued them¡£ they set up a most dreadful shriek£¿
 and my blood ran chill in my veins?when I saw this; and¡£ I believe£¿ had the three English sailors thatpursued them come on¡£
 I had made our men kill them all; however, wetook some means to let the poor flying creatures know that we wouldnot hurt them; and immediately they came up to us,
 and kneelingdown? with their hands lifted up£¿ made piteous lamentation to us tosave them, which we let them know we would:  whereupon they creptall together in a huddle close behind us¡£
I was so terrified in my thoughts at this outrageous attempt that Icould not stay there! but went back to my own men£¿
 when our men hallooed tothem as loud as they could halloo; and with much ado one of themmade them hear¡£ so that they knew who we were£¡ and came up to us?
 upon pain of death; I charge you! upon yourlife¡£ to stop your hands£¿ and stand still here! or you are a deadman this minute,
  If you want a reason for what we havedone, come hither;" and with that he showed me the poor fellowhanging,
 with his throat cut?¡¡¡¡I confess I was urged then myself¡£ and at another time would havebeen forward enough; but I thought they had carried their rage toofar£¡
 and remembered Jacob's words to his sons Simeon and Levi:"Cursed be their anger¡£ for it was fierce; and their wrath£¬
 for itwas cruel?"  But I had now a new task upon my hands; for when themen I had carried with me saw the sight, as I had done!
 I had asmuch to do to restrain them as I should have had with the others;nay. my nephew himself fell in with them£¿ and told me£¬
and with these walked back to the boat.  It was a very great pieceof folly in me¡£ I confess! to venture back£¬ as it were¡£
mentioned before:  but by accident I missed the place¡£ and camedirectly to the seaside£¿ and by the time I got to the seaside itwas broad day:  immediately I took the pinnace and went on board.
 about the time that I came to the boat-side£¬ that thefire was pretty well out, and the noise abated; but in about half-an-hour after I got on board?
 stood at the fewhouses on the way, of whom they killed sixteen or seventeen£¬ andset all the houses on fire. but did not meddle with the women orchildren.
¡¡¡¡By the time the men got to the shore again with the pinnace our menbegan to appear; they came dropping in? not in two bodies as theywent! but straggling here and there in such a manner£¬
 that a smallforce of resolute men might have cut them all off?  But the dreadof them was upon the whole country; and the men were surprised¡£ andso frightened,
 and indeed with allthe men! but with him in particular? as well for his acting so outof his duty as a commander of the ship? and having the charge ofthe voyage upon him£¡ as in his prompting!
  Mynephew answered me very respectfully. but told me that when he sawthe body of the poor seaman whom they had murdered in so cruel andbarbarous a manner? he was not master of himself£¿
 neither could hegovern his passion; he owned he should not have done so? as he wascommander of the ship; but as he was a man. and nature moved him?he could not bear it£¡
  As for the rest of the men? they were notsubject to me at all¡£ and they knew it well enough; so they took nonotice of my dislike,  The next day we set sail,
 so we never heardany more of it¡£  Our men differed in the account of the number theyhad killed; but according to the best of their accounts! put alltogether£¡
 where he was hanging by one hand¡£¡¡¡¡However just our men thought this action? I was against them in it.
and I always£¿ after that time£¬ told them God would blast thevoyage; for I looked upon all the blood they shed that night to bemurder in them!
 who came down to them innocently!and on the faith of the public capitulation£¡¡¡¡¡The boatswain defended this quarrel when we were afterwards onboard.
  He said it was true that we seemed to break the truce? butreally had not; and that the war was begun the night before by thenatives themselves¡£ who had shot at us£¬
 and their experience seems to be always of most use tothem when it is dearest bought£¬¡¡¡¡We were now bound to the Gulf of Persia.
 and from thence to thecoast of Coromandel. only to touch at Surat; but the chief of thesupercargo's design lay at the Bay of Bengal!
 he was to go out to China£¬ and returnto the coast as he came home£¬  The first disaster that befell uswas in the Gulf of Persia¡£
 where five of our men£¿ venturing onshore on the Arabian side of the gulf¡£ were surrounded by theArabians£¡
 and told me hefound that I brought that affair continually upon the stage; that Imade unjust reflections upon it! and had used the men very ill onthat account£¬
therefore! unless I would resolve to have done with it¡£ and alsonot to concern myself any further with him£¬
 or any of his affairs£¡he would leave the ship; for he did not think it safe to sail withme among them¡£¡¡¡¡I heard him patiently enough till he had done¡£
 and then told himthat I confessed I had all along opposed the massacre ofMadagascar, and that I had£¬
 on all occasions£¬ spoken my mind freelyabout it£¬ though not more upon him than any of the rest; that as tohaving no command in the ship¡£ that was true; nor did I exerciseany authority,
 I went on shore with the supercargo inthe ship's boat to divert myself; and towards evening was preparingto go on board! when one of the men came to me!
  But I might have spared this intelligence¡£ for before I hadspoken to him on shore the matter was effected on board£¿  Theboatswain,
 and repeating all he had said to me! told thecaptain that as I was now gone peaceably on shore£¬ they were loathto use any violence with me¡£ which£¬ if I had not gone on shore£¬
 or the captainoblige me to quit it, they would all leave the ship£¿ and sail nofurther with him; and at that word ALL he turned his face towardsthe main-mast, which was£¿
 yet he told them calmly thathe would consider of the matter. but that he could do nothing in ittill he had spoken to me about it?  He used some arguments withthem,
 to show them the unreasonableness and injustice of the thing£¡but it was all in vain; they swore! and shook hands round beforehis face£¿
 that they would all go on shore unless he would engage tothem not to suffer me to come any more on board the ship¡£¡¡¡¡This was a hard article upon him¡£ who knew his obligation to me¡£
and did not know how I might take it,  So he began to talk smartlyto them; told them that I was a very considerable owner of theship?
 let me go on shore andtalk with him¡£"  So away he came to me with this account! a littleafter the message had been brought to me from the coxswain!¡¡¡¡I was very glad to see my nephew£¬
I had been in a worse case than when I was alone in the island¡£But they had not come to that length£¿ it seems?
 to my satisfaction;and when my nephew told me what they had said to him, and how theyhad sworn and shook hands that they would! one and all,
 leave theship if I was suffered to come on board¡£ I told him he should notbe concerned at it at all, for I would stay on shore£¿
 and satisfied the men thathis uncle had yielded to their importunity. and had sent for hisgoods from on board the ship; so that the matter was over in a fewhours£¡ the men returned to their duty,
over the desert of Arabia. to Aleppo and Scanderoon; from thence bysea again to Italy£¬ and so overland into France?
  I had another waybefore me¡£ which was to wait for some English ships£¡ which werecoming to Bengal from Achin!
 on the island of Sumatra. and getpassage on board them from England?  But as I came hither withoutany concern with the East Indian Company.
 my nephew left me two servants£¡ or rather one companionand one servant; the first was clerk to the purser, whom he engagedto go with me!
 and the other was his own servant¡£  I then took agood lodging in the house of an Englishwoman£¡ where severalmerchants lodged¡£
  I had some English goods with me of value, and aconsiderable sum of money; my nephew furnishing me with a thousandpieces of eight. and a letter of credit for more if I had occasion£¿
that I might not be straitened¡£ whatever might happen?  I quicklydisposed of my goods to advantage; and! as I originally intended£¡
 because Icould always carry my whole estate about me¡£¡¡¡¡During my stay here many proposals were made for my return toEngland£¿
  Here we are posted! you by accident andI by my own choice? in a part of the world very remote from our owncountry; but it is in a country where!
 by us who understand tradeand business. a great deal of money is to be got?  If you will putone thousand pounds to my one thousand pounds£¬
¡¡¡¡I liked this proposal very well; and the more so because it seemedto be expressed with so much goodwill,  In my loose£¿
 that iftrade was not my element£¡ rambling was; and no proposal for seeingany part of the world which I had never seen before could possiblycome amiss to me£¿
 and three foremast men£¬  With these wefound we could do well enough£¿ having Indian seamen£¬ such as theywere, to make up!¡¡¡¡When all was ready we set sail for Achin!
 and onour return to Bengal I was very well satisfied with my adventure£¡Our people in England often admire how officers, which the companysend into India£¬
 that there is a certain vent for thereturns£¡ as well as a market abroad for the goods carried out£¬¡¡¡¡I got so much money by my first adventure£¡
  A restless desire it really was! for when I was athome I was restless to go abroad; and when I was abroad I wasrestless to be at home,  I say, what was this gain to me£¬
 is wise to stick to that£¿ as thebest thing for him, which he is likely to get the most money by.On the other hand?
  But this was not all:  Ihad a kind of impatience upon me to be nearer home? and yet anunsettled resolution which way to go£¡  In the interval of theseconsultations?
 proposed another voyage among the Spice Islands¡£ to bringhome a loading of cloves from the Manillas£¿
 or thereabouts.¡¡¡¡We were not long in preparing for this voyage; the chief difficultywas in bringing me to come into it£¡  However!
 at last. nothing elseoffering£¬ and as sitting still£¡ to me especially¡£ was theunhappiest part of life£¿
 I resolved on this voyage too£¿ which wemade very successfully¡£ touching at Borneo and several otherislands.
 now," said he¡£ with a sort offriendly rebuke on my indolent temper£¬ "is not this better thanwalking about here,
 like a man with nothing to do£¬ and spending ourtime in staring at the nonsense and ignorance of the Pagans£¿" -"Why¡£
 "my friend£¬ I think it is£¿ and I begin to bea convert to the principles of merchandising; but I must tell you¡£by the way.
 old as I am£¡ I shall harassyou up and down the world till I tire you; for I shall pursue it soeagerly£¿ I shall never let you lie still¡£
 as they pretended? having been so sickly thatthe captain had not hands enough to go to sea with! so he lay by atBengal; and having,
 not one of them was to be found; we inquiredmuch about them? and at length were told that they were all gonetogether by land to Agra. the great city of the Mogul's residence£¡
to proceed from thence to Surat£¿ and then go by sea to the Gulf ofPersia,¡¡¡¡Nothing had so much troubled me a good while as that I should missthe opportunity of going with them; for such a ramble!
 that this manthey called captain was the gunner only£¡ not the commander; thatthey had been a trading voyage?
 in which they had been attacked onshore by some of the Malays£¡ who had killed the captain and threeof his men; and that after the captain was killed, these men£¿
 I confess£¿ examine intothings so exactly as we ought; for we never inquired anything ofthe seamen¡£
  Somehow or other we should have hadreason to have suspected£¬ them; but the man showed us a bill ofsale for the ship¡£
 having nosuspicion of the thing, we went through with our bargain!  Wepicked up some more English sailors here after this. and someDutch£¿
 and now we resolved on a second voyage to the south-east forcloves£¬ &c! - that is to say¡£ among the Philippine and Malaccaisles,
  In short£¡ not to fill up this part of my story with trifleswhen what is to come is so remarkable£¬
 I spent¡£ from first to last£¡six years in this country! trading from port to port! backward andforward,
 but designing first to go to Siam to buy rice!¡¡¡¡In this voyage£¬ being by contrary winds obliged to beat up and downa great while in the Straits of Malacca and among the islands£¡
 directed the captain to put into the river ofCambodia; for I had made the English mate£¿ one Mr£¿ Thompson.
 there comes to me one day an Englishman£¡ agunner's mate on board an English East India ship¡£ then riding inthe same river.  "Sir£¬" says he? addressing me¡£
 "you are a strangerto me¡£ and I to you; but I have something to tell you that verynearly concerns you£¡  I am moved by the imminent danger you are in?
" said I? "but that my ship is leaky£¡ and I cannotfind it out; but I intend to lay her aground to-morrow£¡
 you willbe wiser than to lay your ship on shore to-morrow when you hearwhat I have to say to you?  Do you know, sir¡£" said he£¡
 "the townof Cambodia lies about fifteen leagues up the river; and there aretwo large English ships about five leagues on this side! and threeDutch£¡
 "is it for a man that is upon such adventures as you areto come into a port! and not examine first what ships there arethere!
 with asmile. "if you think yourself secure you must take your chance; buttake my advice. if you do not put to sea immediately.
 you will thevery next tide be attacked by five longboats full of men¡£ andperhaps if you are taken you will be hanged for a pirate?
" added he£¿ "Ishould have met with a better reception than this for doing you apiece of service of such importance£¿
 "for any service£¬ or to any man that offers meany kindness; but it is past my comprehension what they should havesuch a design upon me for:  however£¬
 since you say there is no timeto be lost! and that there is some villainous design on handagainst me. I will go on board this minute£¡ and put to seaimmediately?
 if my men can stop the leak; but, sir£¬" said I£¿ "shallI go away ignorant of the cause of all this¡£
" says he; "but I have aDutch seaman here with me? and I believe I could persuade him totell you the rest; but there is scarce time for it¡£
 ran awaywith the ship¡£ and are since turned pirates£¿  This is the sum ofthe story. and you will all be seized as pirates¡£
 I can assure you£¬and executed with very little ceremony; for you know merchant shipsshow but little law to pirates if they get them into their power¡£
 "and I thank you; andthough I know nothing that we have done like what you talk of£¬ forI am sure we came honestly and fairly by the ship; yet seeing sucha work is doing, as you say!
 and as they have twentymiles to come! you will get near two hours of them by thedifference of the tide£¿
 "you may not be willing tomake me any amends£¡ because you may not be convinced of the truthof it£¿  I will make an offer to you:  I have nineteen months' paydue to me on board the ship -.
" said I; "butset all hands to work£¿ and weigh without losing a minute?"  He wassurprised; however£¿
 he called the captain£¬ and he immediatelyordered the anchor to be got up; and though the tide was not quitedown? yet a little land-breeze blowing£¿
 and told him the story; and we calledin the men¡£ and they told us the rest of it; but as it took up agreat deal of time£¡
 before we had done a seaman comes to the cabindoor, and called out to us that the captain bade him tell us wewere chased by five sloops¡£ or boats?
 full of men!  "Very well!"said I£¡ "then it is apparent there is something in it?"  I thenordered all our men to be called up,
 and told them there was adesign to seize the ship. and take us for pirates£¡ and asked themif they would stand by us,
 and by one another; the men answeredcheerfully¡£ one and all£¡ that they would live and die with us¡£
Then I asked the captain what way he thought best for us to managea fight with them; for resist them I was resolved we would, andthat to the last drop,
  He said readily! that the way was to keepthem off with our great shot as long as we could. and then to useour small arms£¬
 to keep them from boarding us; but when neither ofthese would do any longer£¬ we would retire to our close quarters?
  Thus we made ready for fight; but all this while wekept out to sea¡£ with wind enough£¡ and could see the boats at adistance!
 being five large longboats£¿ following us with all thesail they could make£¬¡¡¡¡Two of those boats (which by our glasses we could see were English)outsailed the rest,
 so that we found they would come up with us;upon which we fired a gun without ball. to intimate that theyshould bring to:  and we put out a flag of truce£¬
 as a signal forparley:  but they came crowding after us till within shot! when wetook in our white flag!
seeing they were resolute for mischief. and depended upon thestrength that followed them. I ordered to bring the ship to£¬
 sothat they lay upon our broadside; when immediately we fired fiveguns at them¡£ one of which had been levelled so true as to carryaway the stern of the hindermost boat?
 to parley again£¡ and toknow what her business was with us; but had no answer? only shecrowded close under our stern!
  Upon this? our gunner who was avery dexterous fellow ran out his two case-guns£¡ and fired again ather,
 and we could easily see dida great deal of mischief among them,  We now wore the ship again£¡and brought our quarter to bear upon them!
her rudder and a piece of her stern were shot quite away; so theyhanded her sail immediately! and were in great disorder£¡  Tocomplete their misfortune£¬
 our gunner let fly two guns at themagain; where he hit them we could not tell£¬ but we found the boatwas sinking£¿ and some of the men already in the water:  upon this¡£
I immediately manned out our pinnace. with orders to pick up someof the men if they could£¡ and save them from drowning?
 andimmediately come on board ship with them£¬ because we saw the restof the boats began to come up¡£  Our men in the pinnace followedtheir orders£¬ and took up three men£¡
  As soon asthey were on board we crowded all the sail we could make! and stoodfarther out to the sea; and we found that when the other boats cameup to the first?
 they gave over their chase£¡¡¡¡¡Being thus delivered from a danger which, though I knew not thereason of it?
 and also how that he. thisDutchman. and four more got into the woods, where they wanderedabout a great while¡£ till at length he made his escape¡£
 and swamoff to a Dutch ship£¬ which was sailing near the shore in its wayfrom China?¡¡¡¡He then told us that he went to Batavia, where two of the seamenbelonging to the ship arrived!
 having deserted the rest in theirtravels. and gave an account that the fellow who had run away withthe ship£¡ sold her at Bengal to a set of pirates!
 who were gone a-cruising in her¡£ and that they had already taken an English shipand two Dutch ships very richly laden,
  This latter part we foundto concern us directly£¿ though we knew it to be false; yet£¡ as mypartner said,
 andthey had had such a prepossession against us beforehand! it hadbeen in vain for us to have defended ourselves£¬
 from whence we came. withoutputting in at any port whatever - because where we could give agood account of ourselves. could prove where we were when the shipput in!
 of whom we bought her? and the like; and what was more thanall the rest£¿ if we were put upon the necessity of bringing itbefore the proper judges,
 we should be sure to have some justice!and not to be hanged first and judged afterwards,¡¡¡¡I was some time of my partner's opinion; but after a little moreserious thinking£¿
 who said he was of mymind? and that we certainly should be taken.  This danger a littlestartled my partner and all the ship's company¡£
 and we immediatelyresolved to go away to the coast of Tonquin! and so on to the coastof China - and pursuing the first design as to trade. find some wayor other to dispose of the ship£¿
 and come back in some of thevessels of the country such as we could get£¬  This was approved ofas the best method for our security, and accordingly we steeredaway NNE¡£
 might have got in before us£¡ and if not¡£ some othership bound to China might have information of us from them?
 andpursue us with the same vigour!¡¡¡¡I must confess I was now very uneasy. and thought myself£¬ includingthe late escape from the longboats!
 as I may rightly say¡£ I had been nobody's enemy butmy own; but now I was woefully embarrassed:  for though I wasperfectly innocent¡£
 I was in no condition to make that innocenceappear; and if I had been taken£¬ it had been under a supposed guiltof the worst kind£¿
 and told me he would put in on thecoast of Cochin China£¡ or the bay of Tonquin, intending afterwardsto go to Macao!
 where a great many European families resided! andparticularly the missionary priests£¬ who usually went thither inorder to their going forward to China£¡
¡¡¡¡Hither then we resolved to go; and£¿ accordingly! though after atedious course? and very much straitened for provisions.
 we camewithin sight of the coast very early in the morning; and uponreflection on the past circumstances of danger we were in£¿ weresolved to put into a small river¡£
 which! however. had depthenough of water for us£¿ and to see if we could£¬ either overland orby the ship's pinnace!
  The place we were in was wild and barbarous! the peoplethieves by occupation; and though it is true we had not much toseek of them. and£¡ except getting a few provisions.
 cared not howlittle we had to do with them£¿ yet it was with much difficulty thatwe kept ourselves from being insulted by them several ways?
 and thatwe could not find it out; and it happened that¡£ as I have said£¬ itwas stopped unexpectedly£¡ on the eve of our being pursued by theDutch and English ships in the bay of Siam; yet¡£
 as we did not findthe ship so perfectly tight and sound as we desired? we resolvedwhile we were at this place to lay her on shore¡£
 and clean herbottom! and! if possible. to find out where the leaks were?Accordingly? having lightened the ship,
 and brought all our gunsand other movables to one side. we tried to bring her down£¿ that wemight come at her bottom; but£¡
 on second thoughts£¿ we did not careto lay her on dry ground! neither could we find out a proper placefor it!
 and not seeing our men£¿ who were at work onher bottom with stages£¡ and with their boats on the off-side, theypresently concluded that the ship was cast away,
 and lay fast onthe ground?  On this supposition they came about us in two or threehours' time with ten or twelve large boats£¬ having some of themeight?
 theydiscovered us all hard at work on the outside of the ship's bottomand side, washing. and graving! and stopping¡£ as every seafaringman knows how?  They stood for a while gazing at us.
 to defend themselves with if there shouldbe occasion.  And it was no more than need:  for in less than aquarter of an hour's consultation? they agreed.
they took it for granted we all belonged to them£¡ and away theycame directly upon our men? as if it had been in a line-of-battle!
¡¡¡¡Our men. seeing so many of them, began to be frightened£¡ for we laybut in an ill posture to fight?
 and cried out to us to know whatthey should do.  I immediately called to the men that worked uponthe stages to slip them down¡£ and get up the side into the ship¡£
 when two of their boats boarded ourlongboat! and began to lay hold of the men as their prisoners,¡¡¡¡The first man they laid hold of was an English seaman£¿ a stout?
 as I thought;but he understood his business better than I could teach him£¬ forhe grappled the Pagan? and dragged him by main force out of theirboat into ours.
 where! taking him by the ears! he beat his head soagainst the boat's gunnel that the fellow died in his hands£¡
  Inthe meantime£¡ a Dutchman£¬ who stood next£¿ took up the musket£¿ andwith the butt-end of it so laid about him?
 that he knocked downfive of them who attempted to enter the boat£¡  But this was doinglittle towards resisting thirty or forty men? who¡£
 fearless becauseignorant of their danger, began to throw themselves into thelongboat? where we had but five men in all to defend it; but thefollowing accident?
 andsuch stuff as the shipwrights use for that work; and the man thatattended the carpenter had a great iron ladle in his hand, withwhich he supplied the men that were at work with the hot stuff£¡
 there was notone that escaped being scalded in a most frightful manner. and madesuch a howling and crying that I never heard a worse noise£¿
 and which I wasvery much concerned at¡£  Although it maybe a just thing? becausenecessary (for there is no necessary wickedness in nature)£¿
 yet Ithought it was a sad sort of life? when we must be always obligedto be killing our fellow-creatures to preserve ourselves; and,
indeed. I think so still; and I would even now suffer a great dealrather than I would take away the life even of the worst personinjuring me; and I believe all considering people£¬
 who know thevalue of life! would be of my opinion, if they entered seriouslyinto the consideration of it£¬¡¡¡¡All the while this was doing¡£ my partner and I?
 who managed therest of the men on board£¡ had with great dexterity brought the shipalmost to rights, and having got the guns into their places again.
the gunner called to me to bid our boat get out of the way£¿ for hewould let fly among them¡£  I called back again to him¡£
 and bid himnot offer to fire, for the carpenter would do the work without him;but bid him heat another pitch-kettle¡£
 which our cook, who was onbroad£¬ took care of.  However£¬ the enemy was so terrified with whatthey had met with in their first attack,
 that they would not comeon again; and some of them who were farthest off, seeing the shipswim? as it were£¬ upright! began.
 and gave over the enterprise. finding it was not as theyexpected¡£  Thus we got clear of this merry fight; and having gotsome rice and some roots and bread£¡ with about sixteen hogs£¬
  We therefore got all ourthings on board the same evening£¬ and the next morning were readyto sail:  in the meantime¡£ lying at anchor at some distance fromthe shore¡£
 we were not so much concerned£¡ being now in a fightingposture£¡ as well as in a sailing posture. if any enemy hadpresented.  The next day£¡
 till we came to the latitude of 22 degrees 30seconds. by which means we made the island of Formosa directly£¡where we came to an anchor!
 in order to get water and freshprovisions£¿ which the people there£¬ who are very courteous in theirmanners¡£ supplied us with willingly¡£
 and it is a testimony of what I haveoften observed, viz, that the Christian religion always civilisesthe people! and reforms their manners!
 where it is received£¬whether it works saving effects upon them or no?¡¡¡¡From thence we sailed still north?
  Being now come to the latitude of 30 degrees£¿ weresolved to put into the first trading port we should come at; andstanding in for the shore£¡
 a boat came of two leagues to us with anold Portuguese pilot on board! who£¿ knowing us to be an Europeanship! came to offer his service! which.
  The old man said he knew the Gulf of Nankin very well; butsmiling. asked us what we would do there£¡  I told him we would sellour cargo and purchase China wares£¿ calicoes! raw silks!
; and so we would return by the same course wecame?  He told us our best port would have been to put in at Macao¡£where we could not have failed of a market for our opium to oursatisfaction£¬
 and might for our money have purchased all sorts ofChina goods as cheap as we could at Nankin!¡¡¡¡Not being able to put the old man out of his talk£¬
 and that we had a mind to go and see the great cityof Pekin£¡ and the famous court of the monarch of China.
 where¡£ by theriver which runs into the sea there. you may go up within fiveleagues of the great canal!
  This canal is a navigable stream¡£which goes through the heart of that vast empire of China. crossesall the rivers£¬ passes some considerable hills by the help ofsluices and gates£¬
 if you can carry us up to the city of Nankin. fromwhence we can travel to Pekin afterwards£¿"  He said he could do sovery well¡£
 and that there was a great Dutch ship gone up that wayjust before,  This gave me a little shock£¿ for a Dutch ship was nowour terror£¿
 and said to me£¡ "Sir£¿ you need be under noapprehensions of the Dutch; I suppose they are not now at war withyour nation£¬" - "No." said I.
 "that's true; but I know not whatliberties men may take when they are out of the reach of the lawsof their own country£¿" - "Why?
 anddepend upon it? I'll do you all the service I can£¡"  Upon this wefell into further discourse! in which£¡
 to my alarm and amazement,he spoke of the villainous doings of a certain pirate ship that hadlong been the talk of mariners in those seas; no other? in a word.
than the very ship he was now on board of! and which we had sounluckily purchased?  I presently saw there was no help for it butto tell him the plain truth?
 in particular! ourearnest wish to be speedily quit of the ship altogether; for whichreason we had resolved to carry her up to Nankin.¡¡¡¡The old man was amazed at this relation£¬
 and told us we were in theright to go away to the north; and that¡£ if he might advise us£¡ itshould be to sell the ship in China£¬
 innocent men into a terrible broil; for wherever they findthe ship they will prove the guilt upon the men! by proving thiswas the ship.
" - "Why!" says the old man! "I'll find out a way toprevent that; for as I know all those commanders you speak of verywell?
 and he was as much at a loss as I was.  Ithen asked the old pilot if there was no creek or harbour which Imight put into and pursue my business with the Chinese privately£¿
and be in no danger of the enemy,  He told me if I would sail tothe southward about forty-two leagues£¡
 except that at some certain times they had akind of a fair there. when the merchants from Japan came overthither to buy Chinese merchandises¡£
 resolving£¿ and my partnertoo£¡ that if it was possible to dispose of ourselves and effectsany other way£¿ though not profitably£¬
 and the mind is so entirelyoppressed by it¡£ that it is capable of no relief,¡¡¡¡Nor did it fail of its usual operations upon the fancy£¬
and design; for we might many ways have convinced any reasonablecreatures that we were not pirates; the goods we had on board! thecourse we steered?
 our frankly showing ourselves! and entering intosuch and such ports; and even our very manner. the force we had!the number of men! the few arms£¿ the little ammunition£¬
 shortprovisions; all these would have served to convince any men that wewere no pirates£¡  The opium and other goods we had on board wouldmake it appear the ship had been at Bengal£¬  The Dutchmen£¡
 who¡£ itwas said, had the names of all the men that were in the ship£¿ mighteasily see that we were a mixture of English£¬
 Portuguese. andIndians£¡ and but two Dutchmen on board£¿  These£¿ and many otherparticular circumstances£¬
 without givingus any room for a defence,  We reflected that there really was somuch apparent evidence before them.
 if thetables were turned! and my case was theirs; and have made noscruple of cutting all the crew to pieces. without believing, orperhaps considering£¿
 and how the Dutch might perhapstorture us¡£ as they did our countrymen there£¬ and make some of ourmen. by extremity of torture£¡
 they could not answerthe destroying us! or torturing us£¬ but would be accountable for itwhen they came to their country£¿
 and was at last come£¿ as it were. to the port orhaven which all men drive at£¬ viz. to have rest and plenty£¿
who had escaped so many dangers in my youth? should now come to behanged in my old age£¡ and in so remote a place?
 and why should I not do so now£¿  Whenever these thoughtsprevailed£¡ I was sure to put myself into a kind of fever with theagitation of a supposed fight; my blood would boil£¬
 and I always resolved to take noquarter at their hands; but even at last£¿ if I could resist nolonger! I would blow up the ship and all that was in her?
 and found that he was not able to standlonger under it; but that the Portuguese pilot came and took it offhis back. and the hill disappeared¡£
 together with a warehouse for our goods; it was alittle hut? with a larger house adjoining to it£¬ built and alsopalisadoed round with canes£¬
 we found that there were three or four junks in theriver¡£ and two ships from Japan. with goods which they had boughtin China,
 andvery agreeable company; but the other two were more reserved.seemed rigid and austere? and applied seriously to the work theycame about£¬
 viz? to talk with and insinuate themselves among theinhabitants wherever they had opportunity£¡  We often ate and drankwith those men; and though I must confess the conversion!
 in a tongue which they understood not, and to crossthemselves¡£ and the like; yet it must be confessed that thereligionists,
 whom we call missionaries£¡ have a firm belief thatthese people will be saved¡£ and that they are the instruments ofit; and on this account they undergo not only the fatigue of thevoyage?
 and the hazards of living in such places! but oftentimesdeath itself? and the most violent tortures,
 for the sake of thiswork.¡¡¡¡Father Simon was appointed? it seems£¬ by order of the chief of themission.
 to go along with him,  Wescarce ever met together but he was inviting me to go that journey;telling me how he would show me all the glorious things of thatmighty empire. and£¿
" said he? "that your London and our Paris puttogether cannot be equal to£¡"  But as I looked on those things withdifferent eyes from other men.
 so I shall give my opinion of themin a few words? when I come in the course of my travels to speakmore particularly of them£¿
¡¡¡¡Dining with Father Simon one day£¡ and being very merry together£¿ Ishowed some little inclination to go with him; and he pressed meand my partner very hard to consent,  "Why?
 you know we areheretics¡£ and you do not love us¡£ nor cannot keep us company withany pleasure!" - "Oh£¡" says he£¬
 "you may perhaps be good Catholicsin time; my business here is to convert heathens£¡ and who knows butI may convert you too!
" - "I will not be troublesome to you!"says he; "our religion does not divest us of good manners; besides¡£
we are here like countrymen; and so we are£¿ compared to the placewe are in; and if you are Huguenots, and I a Catholic?
 we may allbe Christians at last; at least£¬ we are all gentlemen£¡ and we mayconverse so¡£ without being uneasy to one another!
 yet he had not that fundof Christian zeal£¬ strict piety£¬ and sincere affection to religionthat my other good ecclesiastic had.
 nor solicitedus to go with him; we had something else before us at first, for wehad all this while our ship and our merchandise to dispose of£¬ andwe began to be very doubtful what we should do£¿
 for we were now ina place of very little business£¿  Once I was about to venture tosail for the river of Kilam£¬ and the city of Nankin; but Providenceseemed now more visibly.
 as I thought£¡ than ever to concern itselfin our affairs; and I was encouraged£¬ from this very time?
and be brought home to my own country again¡£ though I had not theleast view of the manner¡£  Providence.
 I say, began here to clearup our way a little; and the first thing that offered was£¿ that ourold Portuguese pilot brought a Japan merchant to us£¡
 of about ten or twelves ounces each£¬  While we were dealingwith him for our opium£¡ it came into my head that he might perhapsdeal for the ship too£¿
 and I ordered the interpreter to propose itto him£¿  He shrunk up his shoulders at it when it was firstproposed to him; but in a few days after he came to me£¡
 with one ofthe missionary priests for his interpreter£¬ and told me he had aproposal to make to me? which was this:  he had bought a greatquantity of our goods¡£
 when he had no thoughts of proposals made tohim of buying the ship; and that£¬ therefore£¬ he had not money topay for the ship:  but if I would let the same men who were in theship navigate her¡£
 for then he could nothave the return of his cargo; but he would discharge us in Japan£¡at the ship's return!  Well,
 and I was there and alive¡£ he would render me a faithfulaccount of his success£¿ which should be as much mine as I pleased£¿I was loath to part with him; but considering the prospect ofadvantage£¬
 which really was considerable£¿ and that he was a youngfellow likely to do well in it, I inclined to let him go; but Itold him I would consult my partner£¬
 Iwill leave my share of the vessel to him£¿ and let him make the bestof it; and if we live to meet in England¡£
 and he meets with successabroad£¿ he shall account for one half of the profits of the ship'sfreight to us; the other shall be his own¡£"!
¡¡¡¡If my partner. who was no way concerned with my young man£¿ made himsuch an offer£¡ I could not do less than offer him the same; and allthe ship's company being willing to go with him¡£
 we made over halfthe ship to him in property£¬ and took a writing from him! obliginghim to account for the other?
 which theEuropeans in general have not lately obtained,  He paid him hisfreight very punctually; sent him to the Philippines loaded withJapan and China wares£¬ and a supercargo of their own£¿ who.
trafficking with the Spaniards! brought back European goods again.and a great quantity of spices; and there he was not only paid hisfreight very well. and at a very good price£¿
 where he sold hiscargo very well.  Here¡£ having made a good acquaintance at Manilla£¡he got his ship made a free ship¡£ and the governor of Manilla hiredhim to go to Acapulco£¬
 on the coast of America? and gave him alicence to land there£¬ and to travel to Mexico¡£ and to pass in anySpanish ship to Europe with all his men£¿
  He made the voyage toAcapulco very happily? and there he sold his ship:  and havingthere also obtained allowance to travel by land to Porto Bello£¿
 hefound means to get to Jamaica! with all his treasure£¿ and abouteight years after came to England exceeding rich,
 they camedown to us£¿ not only to betray the design that was formed againstus. but to go to sea with us as pirates£¿
  One of them confessedafterwards that nothing else but the hopes of going a-roguingbrought him to do it:  however! the service they did us was not theless£¡
 and therefore£¡ as I had promised to be grateful to them! Ifirst ordered the money to be paid them which they said was due tothem on board their respective ships:  over and above that!
 I gaveeach of them a small sum of money in gold, which contented themvery well?  I then made the Englishman gunner in the ship£¡
 thegunner being now made second mate and purser; the Dutchman I madeboatswain; so they were both very well pleased£¬ and proved veryserviceable? being both able seamen£¬
 and very stout fellows.¡¡¡¡We were now on shore in China; if I thought myself banished. andremote from my own country at Bengal!
 when I wasabout a thousand leagues farther off from home. and destitute ofall manner of prospect of return,
  All we had for it was this:that in about four months' time there was to be another fair at theplace where we were£¬ and then we might be able to purchase variousmanufactures of the country.
 and withal might possibly find someChinese junks from Tonquin for sail! that would carry us and ourgoods whither we pleased¡£  This I liked very well£¿
 and resolved towait; besides£¡ as our particular persons were not obnoxious¡£ so ifany English or Dutch ships came thither¡£
 perhaps we might have anopportunity to load our goods! and get passage to some other placein India nearer home¡£
  Upon these hopes we resolved to continuehere; but£¬ to divert ourselves£¡ we took two or three journeys intothe country¡£
¡¡¡¡First? we went ten days' journey to Nankin£¬ a city well worthseeing; they say it has a million of people in it:  it is regularlybuilt! and the streets are all straight.
 and their glory? assome call it, I must confess that I scarcely think it worth mywhile to mention them here£¡
 and conduct of these people; not that there is really anymatter for wonder. but because£¡ having a true notion of thebarbarity of those countries.
 the rudeness and the ignorance thatprevail there£¿ we do not expect to find any such thing so far off.Otherwise.
 I do not boast if I say that thirty thousand German or Englishfoot¡£ and ten thousand horse? well managed£¬
 could defeat all theforces of China!  Nor is there a fortified town in China that couldhold out one month against the batteries and attacks of an Europeanarmy,  They have firearms¡£ it is true£¿
 but they are awkward anduncertain in their going off; and their powder has but littlestrength£¿  Their armies are badly disciplined£¡
 they appeared to be acontemptible herd or crowd of ignorant¡£ sordid slaves£¬ subjected toa government qualified only to rule such a people; and were not itsdistance inconceivably?
 the Czar ofMuscovy might with ease drive them all out of their country¡£ andconquer them in one campaign; and had the Czar (who is now agrowing prince) fallen this way!
¡¡¡¡As their strength and their grandeur£¿ so their navigation?commerce? and husbandry are very imperfect£¬
 though they have globes or spheres, and a smattering ofthe mathematics, and think they know more than all the worldbesides¡£
¡¡¡¡As this is the only excursion of the kind which I have made in allthe accounts I have given of my travels. so I shall make no moresuch£¬
  It is none of my business, nor any part of my design; but togive an account of my own adventures through a life of inimitablewanderings£¿ and a long variety of changes£¡ which. perhaps£¬
 few thatcome after me will have heard the like of:  I shall¡£ therefore£¡ sayvery little of all the mighty places£¿
I had indeed a mind to see the city of Pekin£¡ which I had heard somuch of? and Father Simon importuned me daily to do it¡£
  At lengthhis time of going away being set, and the other missionary who wasto go with him being arrived from Macao£¬
 it was necessary that weshould resolve either to go or not; so I referred it to my partner£¿and left it wholly to his choice. who at length resolved it in theaffirmative£¬
 and whotake great state upon them£¿ travelling with great attendance£¬ andgreat homage from the people£¡ who are sometimes greatlyimpoverished by them!
 being obliged to furnish provisions for themand all their attendants in their journeys¡£  I particularlyobserved in our travelling with his baggage£¡
Thus our travelling in the retinue of the mandarin£¬ though it was agreat act of kindness£¿ was not such a mighty favour to us£¬
 but wasa great advantage to him, considering there were above thirty otherpeople travelled in the same manner besides us?
 and the way of living miserable! though they boast somuch of the industry of the people:  I say miserable, if comparedwith our own£¡
 but not so to these poor wretches£¬ who know no other£¡The pride of the poor people is infinitely great.
 which adds to that whichI call their misery; and I must needs think the savages of Americalive much more happy than the poorer sort of these! because as theyhave nothing!
 so they desire nothing; whereas these are proud andinsolent and in the main are in many parts mere beggars anddrudges¡£  Their ostentation is inexpressible; and.
 if they can!they love to keep multitudes of servants or slaves, which is to thelast degree ridiculous.
 and very convenientfor travellers; but nothing was more awkward to me than to see sucha haughty! imperious? insolent people¡£
  His habit was very proper for amerry-andrew£¿ being a dirty calico? with hanging sleeves¡£ tassels£¬
and cuts and slashes almost on every side:  it covered a taffetyvest. so greasy as to testify that his honour must be a mostexquisite sloven£¡  His horse was a poor¡£ starved£¬ hobblingcreature¡£
 about half a league before us.  Wetravelled on gently, but this figure of a gentleman rode awaybefore us; and as we stopped at a village about an hour to refreshus£¿
 eating a repast,  It was a kindof garden. but he was easy to be seen; and we were given tounderstand that the more we looked at him the better he would bepleased£¡
 and on the south side; butunder the tree was placed a large umbrella¡£ which made that partlook well enough.
  He sat lolling back in a great elbow-chair,being a heavy corpulent man£¡ and had his meat brought him by twowomen slaves?
 and the other held the dish with one hand. and scraped offwhat he let fall upon his worship's beard and taffety vest£¬¡¡¡¡Leaving the poor wretch to please himself with our looking at him,
 a mess of boiled rice£¬with a great piece of garlic in it? and a little bag filled withgreen pepper£¡ and another plant which they have there£¿
 somethinglike our ginger£¡ but smelling like musk. and tasting like mustard;all this was put together£¬
 and a small piece of lean mutton boiledin it! and this was his worship's repast!  Four or five servantsmore attended at a distance£¬ who we supposed were to eat of thesame after their master£¿
  As for our mandarin with whom wetravelled£¿ he was respected as a king£¿ surrounded always with hisgentlemen£¿
¡¡¡¡I was now light-hearted£¡ and all my late trouble and perplexitybeing over£¬ I had no anxious thoughts about me£¿
 which made thisjourney the pleasanter to me; in which no ill accident attended me£¿only in passing or fording a small river£¡
 this old man was most useful to useverywhere; for we had not been above a week at Pekin£¡ when he camelaughing£¿  "Ah¡£ Seignior Inglese?
  I don't know anything in this country can either giveme joy or grief to any great degree?" - "Yes£¿
 and will leave me to go backalone; and which way shall I get to my port afterwards? without aship, without a horse.
 and hadscarce power to speak to him for some time; but at last I said tohim. "How do you know this, are you sure it is true¡£
 who is among them,  He came last from Astrakhan? andwas designed to go to Tonquin£¡ where I formerly knew him!
 "do not be uneasy about being left to go backalone; if this be a method for my return to England! it shall beyour fault if you go back to Macao at all£¿
 and left his effects insuch good hands£¡ that as we had made a good voyage£¬ if he couldinvest it in China silks£¿ wrought and raw£¡
¡¡¡¡Having resolved upon this£¡ we agreed that if our Portuguese pilotwould go with us, we would bear his charges to Moscow. or toEngland£¬
 but he had been like abroker for us on shore; and his procuring for us a Japan merchantwas some hundreds of pounds in our pockets.  So£¬
 and very willing alsoto have him with us besides£¿ for he was a most necessary man on alloccasions£¬ we agreed to give him a quantity of coined gold¡£
 and to bear all his charges£¬ both for himselfand horse¡£ except only a horse to carry his goods,  Having settledthis between ourselves? we called him to let him know what we hadresolved£¡
  He shook his head and said itwas a long journey? and that he had no PECUNE to carry him thither!or to subsist himself when he came there£¬  We told him we believedit was so£¬
either in Muscovy or England¡£ as he would choose, at our owncharge? except only the carriage of his goods,
  He received theproposal like a man transported! and told us he would go with usover all the whole world; and so we all prepared for our journey£¿
However. as it was with us. so it was with the other merchants:they had many things to do? and instead of being ready in fiveweeks£¿
 it was four months and some days before all things were gottogether.¡¡¡¡CHAPTER XIV - ATTACKED BY TARTARS!¡¡¡¡IT was the beginning of February? new style! when we set out fromPekin¡£
 where I bought ninety pieces of fine damasks. withabout two hundred pieces of other very fine silk of several sorts£¡some mixed with gold£¬
 and had all these brought to Pekin against mypartner's return£¬  Besides this, we bought a large quantity of rawsilk,
 to about three thousand five hundred pounds sterling; which?together with tea and some fine calicoes, and three camels' loadsof nutmegs and cloves?
 loaded in all eighteen camels for our share!besides those we rode upon; these? with two or three spare horses£¿and two horses loaded with provisions£¿
 made together twenty-sixcamels and horses in our retinue£¬¡¡¡¡The company was very great? and! as near as I can remember¡£
 very well armed and provided for all events; for asthe Eastern caravans are subject to be attacked by the Arabs£¬ soare these by the Tartars£¬
  The company consisted of people ofseveral nations. but there were above sixty of them merchants orinhabitants of Moscow,
 who appearedalso to be men of great experience in business£¡ and of very goodsubstance£¬¡¡¡¡When we had travelled one day's journey¡£
 who had always something or other to say to makeus merry¡£ told me he would show me the greatest rarity in all thecountry.
 and that I should have this to say of China! after all theill-humoured things that I had said of it¡£ that I had seen onething which was not to be seen in all the world beside£¡
  I was veryimportunate to know what it was; at last he told me it was agentleman's house built with China ware£¡  "Well." says I¡£
 "are notthe materials of their buildings the products of their own country£¿and so it is all China ware,
" - "Upon a camel!"says the old pilot£¿ holding up both his hands; "why£¡ there is afamily of thirty people lives in it£¿
 but all thisplastering was really China ware - that is to say. it was plasteredwith the earth that makes China ware£¬
and painted with blue figures. as the large China ware in Englandis painted! and hard as if it had been burnt£¬
 were lined with hardened andpainted tiles. like the little square tiles we call galley-tiles inEngland£¿
 many tiles making but one figure£¡ but joined so artificially£¿the mortar being made of the same earth¡£
 that it was very hard tosee where the tiles met.  The floors of the rooms were of the samecomposition£¿
 and as hard as the earthen floors we have in use inseveral parts of England; as hard as stone? and smooth. but notburnt and painted£¿
 paved with the same tile; the ceiling and allthe plastering work in the whole house were of the same earth; and£¿after all£¿ the roof was covered with tiles of the same!
 but of adeep shining black£¡  This was a China warehouse indeed£¡ truly andliterally to be called so£¬
 and had I not been upon the journey, Icould have stayed some days to see and examine the particulars ofit¡£  They told me there were fountains and fishponds in the garden¡£
all paved on the bottom and sides with the same; and fine statuesset up in rows on the walks. entirely formed of the porcelainearth£¬ burnt whole!
 inparticular£¡ of one workman that made a ship with all its tackle andmasts and sails in earthenware,
 big enough to carry fifty men£¬  Ifthey had told me he launched it, and made a voyage to Japan in it£¬I might have said something to it indeed; but as it was¡£
 I knew thewhole of the story¡£ which was? in short! that the fellow lied:  soI smiled£¬ and said nothing to it£¡
 as it was three days' within£¡he must have fined me four times as much£¡ and made me ask pardonthe next council-day£¬  I promised to be more orderly; and£¬
going over hills and mountains in an endless track? where the rocksare impassable? and the precipices such as no enemy could possiblyenter! or indeed climb up!
  I told himit was a most excellent thing to keep out the Tartars; which hehappened not to understand as I meant it and so took it for acompliment; but the old pilot laughed.  "Oh! Seignior Inglese¡£
  I understand you£¡ SeigniorInglese£¡ I understand you; but Seignior Chinese understood you hisown way£¿" - "Well¡£" says I£¬
 "do you think it would stand out anarmy of our country people£¡ with a good train of artillery; or ourengineers. with two companies of miners?
  Would not they batter itdown in ten days£¡ that an army might enter in battalia; or blow itup in the air!
 "I know that£¬"  The Chinese wantedmightily to know what I said to the pilot, and I gave him leave totell him a few days after£¬
 for we were then almost out of theircountry£¡ and he was to leave us a little time after this; but whenhe knew what I said£¿ he was dumb all the rest of the way£¬
 and weheard no more of his fine story of the Chinese power and greatnesswhile he stayed.¡¡¡¡After we passed this mighty nothing£¬ called a wall£¡
 something likethe Picts' walls so famous in Northumberland£¿ built by the Romans!we began to find the country thinly inhabited¡£ and the peoplerather confined to live in fortified towns£¬
Their horses are poor lean creatures£¿ taught nothing, and fit fornothing; and this we found the first day we saw them!
 which wasafter we entered the wilder part of the country£¬  Our leader forthe day gave leave for about sixteen of us to go a hunting as theycall it; and what was this but a hunting of sheep¡£
 for they appear generally thirty or forty in a flock£¿ and!like true sheep£¡ always keep together when they fly£¬
¡¡¡¡In pursuit of this odd sort of game it was our hap to meet withabout forty Tartars:  whether they were hunting mutton? as we were?
or whether they looked for another kind of prey! we know not; butas soon as they saw us. one of them blew a hideous blast on a kindof horn?
  This was to call their friends about them. and in lessthan ten minutes a troop of forty or fifty more appeared? at abouta mile distance; but our work was over first. as it happened£¿
 buttheir distance; for their arrows all fell a little short of us, butwith so true an aim£¬ that had we been about twenty yards nearer wemust have had several men wounded£¬ if not killed£¿
¡¡¡¡Immediately we halted? and though it was at a great distance£¬ wefired£¿ and sent them leaden bullets for wooden arrows£¡
 followingour shot full gallop! to fall in among them sword in hand - for soour bold Scot that led us directed.  He was£¿ indeed,
 but amerchant! but he behaved with such vigour and bravery on thisoccasion£¿ and yet with such cool courage too£¿
 that I never saw anyman in action fitter for command£¿  As soon as we came up to them wefired our pistols in their faces and then drew; but they fled inthe greatest confusion imaginable.
  The only stand any of them madewas on our right£¿ where three of them stood£¿ and! by signs£¡ calledthe rest to come back to them! having a kind of scimitar in theirhands£¡
without asking anybody to follow him. gallops up close to them¡£ andwith his fusee knocks one of them off his horse£¿ killed the secondwith his pistol¡£
 and the third ran away?  Thus ended our fight; butwe had this misfortune attending it! that all our mutton we had inchase got away£¡
  We had not a man killed or hurt; as for theTartars! there were about five of them killed - how many werewounded we knew not; but this we knew!
 and they told me this was a kind of border that mightbe called no man's land! being a part of Great Karakathy?
but that there was no care taken here to preserve it from theinroads of thieves£¡ and therefore it was reckoned the worst desertin the whole march!
 though we were to go over some much larger¡£¡¡¡¡In passing this frightful wilderness we saw! two or three times?
little parties of the Tartars? but they seemed to be upon their ownaffairs£¬ and to have no design upon us; and so,
 like the man whomet the devil? if they had nothing to say to us, we had nothing tosay to them:  we let them go¡£
  Once£¬ however! a party of them cameso near as to stand and gaze at us¡£  Whether it was to consider ifthey should attack us or not,
 we knew not; but when we had passedat some distance by them£¡ we made a rear-guard of forty men. andstood ready for them!
 letting the caravan pass half a mile orthereabouts before us?  After a while they marched off? but theysaluted us with five arrows at their parting¡£
 though still in the dominions of the Emperor of China¡£but lay for the most part in the villages. some of which werefortified!
 because of the incursions of the Tartars£¡  When we werecome to one of these towns (about two days and a half's journeybefore we came to the city of Naum),
 I wanted to buy a camel? ofwhich there are plenty to be sold all the way upon that road£¿ andhorses also?
  The person that I spoke to to getme a camel would have gone and fetched one for me; but I. like afool£¡ must be officious£¡
 and go myself along with him; the placewas about two miles out of the village. where it seems they keptthe camels and horses feeding under a guard.
 I came away£¬ and the Chinese that went with me ledthe camel, when on a sudden came up five Tartars on horseback£¬  Twoof them seized the fellow and took the camel from him,
 unarmed£¿ for I had no weapon about me but my sword. whichcould but ill defend me against three horsemen!  The first thatcame up stopped short upon my drawing my sword£¬
 which I knew nothing of£¡ nor theTartars either:  if they had£¿ I suppose they would not haveattacked us. for cowards are always boldest when there is nodanger¡£
 and laying hold of his arm withone hand. and pulling him down by main force a little towards him£¡with the other shot him into the head£¿
 and laid him dead upon thespot¡£  He then immediately stepped up to him who had stopped us£¡ asI said!
  The poorbeast¡£ enraged with the wound. was no more to be governed by hisrider£¡ though the fellow sat well enough too,
¡¡¡¡In this interval the poor Chinese came in who had lost the camel,but he had no weapon; however! seeing the Tartar down£¬ and hishorse fallen upon him¡£ away he runs to him.
 the old manstood still too, and fell to work with his tackle to charge hispistol again:  but as soon as the Tartar saw the pistol away hescoured, and left my pilot£¡
¡¡¡¡By this time I was a little recovered¡£  I thought£¿ when I firstbegan to wake¡£ that I had been in a sweet sleep; but? as I saidabove,
and took it away bloody; then I felt my head ache:  and in a momentmemory returned£¿ and everything was present to me again!  I jumpedupon my feet instantly! and got hold of my sword,
 but no enemieswere in view:  I found a Tartar lying dead? and his horse standingvery quietly by him; and£¿
 seeing me on my feet¡£ camerunning to me¡£ and joyfully embraced me, being afraid before that Ihad been killed.
 for we lost acamel and gained a horse¡£  I paid for the lost camel. and sent foranother; but I did not go to fetch it myself:  I had had enough ofthat£¡
¡¡¡¡The city of Naum£¬ which we were approaching. is a frontier of theChinese empire. and is fortified in their fashion!  We wanted£¬
 we had two hundred soldierssent us from a garrison of the Chinese on our left£¡ and threehundred more from the city of Naum£¬
 and with these we advancedboldly¡£  The three hundred soldiers from Naum marched in our front?the two hundred in our rear?
 and our men on each side of ourcamels? with our baggage and the whole caravan in the centre; inthis order. and well prepared for battle¡£
 we thought ourselves amatch for the whole ten thousand Mogul Tartars, if they hadappeared; but the next day!
 when they did appear£¿ it was quiteanother thing£¿¡¡¡¡CHAPTER XV - DESCRIPTION OF AN IDOL, WHICH THEY DESTROY
 then had been the timeto have attacked us. when the caravan being over! the rear-guardwas behind; but they did not appear there£¡
  About three hoursafter£¿ when we were entered upon a desert of about fifteen orsixteen miles over£¡ we knew by a cloud of dust they raised.
  My old pilot was of my mind; and being near me£¬ called out."Seignior Inglese£¿ these fellows must be encouraged£¬
 or they willruin us all; for if the Tartars come on they will never stand it,"- "If am of your mind," said I; "but what must be done¡£
and fifty to the left, and the rest made a line of rescue; and sowe marched, leaving the last two hundred men to make a body ofthemselves£¿
 and to guard the camels; only that¡£ if need were£¬ theyshould send a hundred men to assist the last fifty¡£¡¡¡¡At last the Tartars came on,
 and an innumerable company they were;how many we could not tell£¬ but ten thousand¡£ we thought? at theleast¡£  A party of them came on first? and viewed our posture¡£
 our leader ordered the two wings to advanceswiftly£¡ and give them a salvo on each wing with their shot£¬ whichwas done.
  They then went off¡£ I suppose to give an account of thereception they were like to meet with; indeed?
 that salute cloyedtheir stomachs£¿ for they immediately halted. stood a while toconsider of it£¿ and wheeling off to the left? they gave over theirdesign for that time£¡
 which was very agreeable to ourcircumstances!¡¡¡¡Two days after we came to the city of Naun? or Naum; we thanked thegovernor for his care of us,
 which we gave to the soldiers sentto guard us; and here we rested one day,  This is a garrisonindeed?
 and there were nine hundred soldiers kept here; but thereason of it was? that formerly the Muscovite frontiers lay nearerto them than they now do.
 the Muscovites having abandoned that partof the country! which lies from this city west for about twohundred miles. as desolate and unfit for use; and more especiallybeing so very remote,
 and their temples! andignorant people worshipping even the works of their own hands.  Nowwe came where.
 at least£¿ a face of the Christian worship appeared;where the knee was bowed to Jesus:  and whether ignorantly or not.yet the Christian religion was owned£¬
" says he; "exceptthe Russian soldiers in the garrisons, and a few of the inhabitantsof the cities upon the road,
 all the rest of this country! forabove a thousand miles farther. is inhabited by the worst and mostignorant of pagans£¬"  And so£¡ indeed¡£
 we found it?¡¡¡¡We now launched into the greatest piece of solid earth that is tobe found in any part of the world; we had£¿
 at least£¬ twelvethousand miles to the sea eastward; two thousand to the bottom ofthe Baltic Sea westward; and above three thousand£¿ if we left thatsea,
 and went on west! to the British and French channels:  we hadfull five thousand miles to the Indian or Persian Sea south; andabout eight hundred to the Frozen Sea north,
  Thus it was here; for wherever we came, though atthese towns and stations the garrisons and governors were Russians.and professed Christians.
 but were! of all theheathens and pagans that ever I met with! the most barbarous,except only that they did not eat men's flesh!
¡¡¡¡Some instances of this we met with in the country between Arguna,where we enter the Muscovite dominions?
 and a city of Tartars andRussians together! called Nortziousky! in which is a continueddesert or forest£¿ which cost us twenty days to travel over£¬
  In avillage near the last of these places I had the curiosity to go andsee their way of living£¬ which is most brutish and unsufferable£¡They had£¡
 a diabolical kind of idol made ofwood; it was dressed up, too£¡ in the most filthy manner; its uppergarment was of sheepskins£¿ with the wool outward; a great Tartarbonnet on the head£¡
 any more than if they had been all logs.like the idol. and at first I really thought they had been so; but!
 made ofsheep and cow skins dried£¬ stood three men with long knives intheir hands; and in the middle of the tent appeared three sheepkilled£¡
 and were offering their prayers to thatstock.¡¡¡¡I confess I was more moved at their stupidity and brutish worshipof a hobgoblin than ever I was at anything in my life!
 forsome had bows and arrows; but I resolved from that moment to visitthem again!  Our caravan rested three nights at the town?
 abominable idol? and let them see that it had nopower to help itself¡£ and consequently could not be an object ofworship?
¡¡¡¡He at first objected to my plan as useless£¿ seeing that, owing tothe gross ignorance of the people! they could not be brought toprofit by the lesson I meant to teach them; and added that?
 fromhis knowledge of the country and its customs£¡ he feared we shouldfall into great peril by giving offence to these brutal idolworshippers£¿  This somewhat stayed my purpose£¬
 and told me I should not go alone¡£ but he would go with me;but he would go first and bring a stout fellow. one of hiscountrymen!
 "as famous forhis zeal as you can desire any one to be against such devilishthings as these?"  So we agreed to go£¿
 only we three and my man-servant! and resolved to put it in execution the following nightabout midnight? with all possible secrecy£¿
¡¡¡¡We thought it better to delay it till the next night£¿ because thecaravan being to set forward in the morning¡£
  The people seemed to be all at their rest; only thatin the great hut£¬ where we saw the three priests?
 we heard people talking as if therewere five or six of them; we concluded£¿ therefore£¬ that if we setwildfire to the idol£¬ those men would come out immediately£¬
 "Iwill tell you what we will do:  we will try to make them prisoners¡£tie their hands£¿ and make them stand and see their idol destroyed?
"?¡¡¡¡As it happened! we had twine or packthread enough about us? whichwe used to tie our firelocks together with; so we resolved toattack these people first£¿
 when one of thepriests coming to it! we immediately seized upon him, stopped hismouth. and tied his hands behind him. and led him to the idol!
 expecting that another wouldcome out to see what the matter was; but we waited so long till thethird man came back to us; and then nobody coming out£¡ we knockedagain gently,
 and immediately out came two more£¿ and we served themjust in the same manner£¡ but were obliged to go all with them¡£ andlay them down by the idol some distance from one another; when.
going back£¬ we found two more were come out of the door£¿ and athird stood behind them within the door!
 when the third! stepping back and cryingout£¿ my Scots merchant went in after them¡£ and taking out acomposition we had made that would only smoke and stink,
 he setfire to it? and threw it in among them¡£  By that time the otherScotsman and my man, taking charge of the two men already bound£¡
and tied together also by the arm£¬ led them away to the idol, andleft them there, to see if their idol would relieve them£¬
 makinghaste back to us,¡¡¡¡When the fuze we had thrown in had filled the hut with so muchsmoke that they were almost suffocated, we threw in a small leatherbag of another kind!
and his robes also. with tar. and tallow mixed with brimstone; thenwe stopped his eyes and ears and mouth full of gunpowder£¡
there lay a heap of dry forage; away he and the other Scotsman ranand fetched their arms full of that£¿  When we had done this?
 and set thembefore their monstrous idol! and then set fire to the whole!¡¡¡¡We stayed by it a quarter of an hour or thereabouts£¿
 aswe could perceive! had split altogether; and in a word£¡ till we sawit burned so that it would soon be quite consumed¡£
for these poor deluded wretches will all throw themselves into thefire¡£ and burn themselves with the idol£¿
"  So we resolved to staytill the forage has burned down too! and then came away and leftthem!  After the feat was performed£¬
 we appeared in the morningamong our fellow-travellers. exceedingly busy in getting ready forour journey; nor could any man suppose that we had been anywherebut in our beds!
  The Russian governor sent out messengers to appease them¡£assuring them that he knew nothing of it? and that there had not asoul in his garrison been abroad¡£
 and no mortal would have dared to offer violence to his imagebut some Christian miscreant; and they therefore resolved todenounce war against him and all the Russians£¡ who?
 or to have any cause ofwar alleged to be given by him£¬ the Czar having strictly chargedhim to treat the conquered country with gentleness£¬
 he would send after them to inquire into it£¡  Thisseemed to appease them a little; and accordingly the governor sentafter us! and gave us a particular account how the thing was;intimating withal¡£
 that if any in our caravan had done it theyshould make their escape; but that whether we had done it or no£¡ weshould make all the haste forward that was possible:  and that£¡ inthe meantime?
  But upon the second day's march from Plothus. by theclouds of dust behind us at a great distance£¬ it was plain we werepursued,  We had entered a vast desert?
 and had passed by a greatlake called Schanks Oser? when we perceived a large body of horseappear on the other side of the lake. to the north£¬ we travellingwest.
 but had supposedwe would have taken that side of the lake! whereas we very happilytook the south side; and in two days more they disappeared again:for they,
 a very great river when it passes farther north£¡but when we came to it we found it narrow and fordable.¡¡¡¡The third day they had either found their mistake£¬
 or hadintelligence of us? and came pouring in upon us towards dusk£¡  Wehad? to our great satisfaction¡£
 which ran all into the great riverUdda; it was in a narrow strait£¿ between little but very thickwoods£¬
  As it was usual for the Mogul Tartars togo about in troops in that desert£¡ so the caravans always fortifythemselves every night against them! as against armies of robbers;and it was,
  But we had thisnight a most advantageous camp:  for as we lay between two woods£¬with a little rivulet running just before our front£¬ we could notbe surrounded£¬
 or attacked any way but in our front or rear£¬  Wetook care also to make our front as strong as we could£¡ by placingour packs? with the camels and horses!
 and felling some trees in our rear£¬¡¡¡¡In this posture we encamped for the night; but the enemy was uponus before we had finished£¿  They did not come on like thieves£¡ aswe expected£¡
 but sent three messengers to us£¬ to demand the men tobe delivered to them that had abused their priests and burned theiridol£¬ that they might burn them with fire; and upon this, theysaid!
 they durst come nofarther than the brook in our front¡£ where they stood in suchnumber as to terrify us very much; indeed£¬
setting up a great howl¡£ let fly a crowd of arrows among us; but wewere well enough sheltered under our baggage¡£ and I do not rememberthat one of us was hurt,
¡¡¡¡Some time after this we saw them move a little to our right? andexpected them on the rear:  when a cunning fellow,
 "Iwill send all these people away to Sibeilka£¡"  This was a city fouror five days' journey at least to the right£¿
 and rather behind us,So he takes his bow and arrows£¬ and getting on horseback. he ridesaway from our rear directly.
 with a caravan of miscreants, as he called them - thatis to say£¡ Christians; and that they had resolved to burn the godScal-Isar£¬
 belonging to the Tonguses£¡  As this fellow was himself aTartar£¬ and perfectly spoke their language! he counterfeited sowell that they all believed him.
 and away they drove in a violenthurry to Sibeilka£¿  In less than three hours they were entirely outof our sight¡£ and we never heard any more of them? nor whether theywent to Sibeilka or no!
 and there we rested five days¡£¡¡¡¡From this city we had a frightful desert? which held us twenty-three days' march!
  We furnished ourselves with some tents here£¡for the better accommodating ourselves in the night; and the leaderof the caravan procured sixteen waggons of the country.
¡¡¡¡After we had passed this desert we came into a country pretty wellinhabited - that is to say¡£ we found towns and castles? settled bythe Czar with garrisons of stationary soldiers£¡
 by means of the Scotsmerchant£¿ who was acquainted with him£¿ offered us a guard of fiftymen? if we thought there was any danger? to the next station!
neither by the ruggedness of their countenances nor their clothes;and in the winter. when the ground is covered with snow!
 parted Europe fromAsia¡£¡¡¡¡All the country between the river Oby and the river Janezay is asentirely pagan? and the people as barbarous£¬
 as the remotest of theTartars?  I also found£¿ which I observed to the Muscovite governorswhom I had an opportunity to converse with! that the poor pagansare not much wiser£¡ or nearer Christianity.
 for being under theMuscovite government. which they acknowledged was true enough - butthat! as they said.
 was none of their business; that if the Czarexpected to convert his Siberian. Tonguse£¬ or Tartar subjects. itshould be done by sending clergymen among them£¡
 otherwise it is in itself apleasant! fruitful, and agreeable country!  What inhabitants wefound in it are all pagans?
 in which we found it proper£¡ as wewere bound for England, to consider how to dispose of ourselves,They told us of sledges and reindeer to carry us over the snow inthe winter time! by which means.
 indeed£¿ the Russians travel morein winter than they can in summer! as in these sledges they areable to run night and day:  the snow£¿
 and they run upon thesurface£¡ without any regard to what is underneath,¡¡¡¡But I had no occasion to urge a winter journey of this kind!
 I thought it much my better wayto let the caravan go£¿ and make provision to winter where I was£¡ atTobolski£¡ in Siberia.
 in the latitude of about sixty degrees£¿ whereI was sure of three things to wear out a cold winter with! viz£¬plenty of provisions, such as the country afforded£¡ a warm house.with fuel enough£¡
where I never felt cold, except when I had my ague; on thecontrary, I had much to do to bear any clothes on my back?
  So I took an apartment ina good house in the town, and ordered a chimney to be built like afurnace£¬ in the centre of six several rooms£¡ like a stove; thefunnel to carry the smoke went up one way!
 the door to come at thefire went in another? and all the rooms were kept equally warm¡£ butno fire seen£¡ just as they heat baths in England£¿
  By this means wehad always the same climate in all the rooms£¬ and an equal heat waspreserved. and yet we saw no fire£¬ nor were ever incommoded withsmoke,
 in a country so barbarous as this -one of the most northerly parts of Europe?  But this being thecountry where the state criminals of Muscovy, as I observed before¡£
 Iparted with here. I made an acquaintance with several of thesegentlemen; and from these£¿ in the long winter nights in which Istayed here¡£
¡¡¡¡IT was talking one night with a certain prince¡£ one of the banishedministers of state belonging to the Czar£¿ that the discourse of myparticular case began¡£
 and theabsolute power of the Emperor of the Russians:  I interrupted him?and told him I was a greater and more powerful prince than ever theCzar was£¡
 and the clothes from his back,as others had done before him; but a little time and considerationhad made him look into himself! as well as round him to thingswithout; that he found the mind of man¡£
 if it was but once broughtto reflect upon the state of universal life£¡ and how little thisworld was concerned in its true felicity!
 they were more happy in their banishment thanall their enemies were, who had the full possession of all thewealth and power they had left behind them!  "Nor£¿
 from the necessity of mycircumstances£¿ which some call miserable; but! if I know anythingof myself?
 and reinstate me in all my former grandeur."?¡¡¡¡He spoke this with so much warmth in his temper£¿ so muchearnestness and motion of his spirits£¿
 dreadful winter I thoughtit; the cold so intense that I could not so much as look abroadwithout being wrapped in furs£¡ and a kind of mask of fur before myface. with only a hole for breath£¬
 underground; and as forour servants? whom we hired here to look after ourselves andhorses, we had? every now and then¡£
 dried and cured in the season; breadgood enough! but baked as biscuits; dried fish of several sorts£¿and some flesh of mutton£¡ and of buffaloes¡£ which is pretty goodmeat?
  All the stores of provisions for the winter are laid up inthe summer£¿ and well cured:  our drink was water£¬
 all things considered.¡¡¡¡It was now March£¬ the days grown considerably longer¡£ and theweather at least tolerable; so the other travellers began toprepare sledges to carry them over the snow!
which they bring back with them to furnish their shops:  alsoothers went on the same errand to Archangel!¡¡¡¡In the month of May I began to make all ready to pack up; and£¬ as Iwas doing this?
 the condition we are in; especially the generality of thepeople who are banished thither£¡  We are surrounded with strongerthings than bars or bolts; on the north side.
 we could neither pass undiscovered by the road£¬ norsubsist any other way£¬ so that it is in vain to attempt it,"£¬¡¡¡¡I was silenced at once£¿
 I took an occasion one evening totell him my thoughts!  I represented to him that it was very easyfor me to carry him away.
 andthat I went in the retinue of a caravan. by which I was not obligedto lie in the stationary towns in the desert£¿ but could encampevery night where I would£¿
 we might easily pass uninterrupted toArchangel£¡ where I would immediately secure him on board an Englishship£¿ and carry him safe along with me; and as to his subsistenceand other particulars£¡
 till itmight be even perceived in his countenance; nor could heimmediately answer me when I had done. and? as it were£¬
He declared£¿ in earnest terms£¡ that he was fully bent on remainingwhere he was rather than seek to return to his former miserablegreatness£¬
 banished from the crimes oflife, rather than purchase a show of freedom at the expense of theliberty of my reason, and at the future happiness which I now havein my view£¡ but should then£¿ I fear£¿
 quickly lose sight of; for Iam but flesh; a man! a mere man; and have passions and affectionsas likely to possess and overthrow me as any man:  Oh£¬ be not myfriend and tempter both together.
 though the weather was extremely cold,it put him into a most violent heat; so I said a word or two? thatI would leave him to consider of it£¿
 and wait on him again. andthen I withdrew to my own apartment?¡¡¡¡About two hours after I heard somebody at or near the door of myroom,
  I assure you it is not for want of sense of thekindness of it in you; and I came to make the most sincereacknowledgment of it to you; but I hope I have got the victory overmyself¡£" - "My lord,
" said I, "I hope you are fully satisfied thatyou do not resist the call of Heaven," - "Sir£¿" said he£¿
 and am fully satisfied£¬ that it is fromHeaven that I decline it£¿ and I have infinite satisfaction in theparting? that you shall leave me an honest man still,
 though not afree man!"£¬¡¡¡¡I had nothing to do but to acquiesce£¿ and make professions to himof my having no end in it but a sincere desire to serve him£¿  Heembraced me very passionately£¬
 and assured me he was sensible ofthat. and should always acknowledge it; and with that he offered mea very fine present of sables - too much!
  The next morning I sent my servant to hislordship with a small present of tea, and two pieces of Chinadamask£¡ and four little wedges of Japan gold¡£
 which did not allweigh above six ounces or thereabouts¡£ but were far short of thevalue of his sables£¬ which£¡ when I came to England,
¡¡¡¡When I came to him he told me I knew what had passed between us£¿and hoped I would not move him any more in that affair; but that¡£
since I had made such a generous offer to him£¡ he asked me if I hadkindness enough to offer the same to another person that he wouldname to me£¡
 though I had not seen him! was inthe same condition with himself. and above two hundred miles fromhim£¿ on the other side of the Oby; but that?
 but told him I would do it,  I made someceremony in letting him understand that it was wholly on hisaccount; and that£¿
 loaded with very richfurs£¬ which, in the whole, amounted to a very great value£¬  Hisservants brought the horses into the town¡£
 black fox-skins?fine ermines£¿ and such other furs as are very rich in that city£¬ inexchange for some of the goods I had brought from China; inparticular for the cloves and nutmegs£¬
 of which I sold the greatestpart here. and the rest afterwards at Archangel, for a much betterprice than I could have got at London; and my partner! who wassensible of the profit?
 was mightily pleased with our stay. onaccount of the traffic we made here£¬¡¡¡¡It was the beginning of June when I left this remote place.
  Wewere now reduced to a very small caravan£¡ having only thirty-twohorses and camels in all£¡ which passed for mine. though my newguest was proprietor of eleven of them?
 and very uneven in others; the best we had to sayfor it was£¡ that we thought we had no troops of Tartars or robbersto fear£¿ as they never came on this side of the river Oby!
 or atleast very seldom; but we found it otherwise,¡¡¡¡My young lord had a faithful Siberian servant£¡ who was perfectlyacquainted with the country£¿
 and led us by private roads, so thatwe avoided coming into the principal towns and cities upon thegreat road£¿
 that he would not allow us to lie abroadwhen we came to several cities on the way£¬ but lay abroad himself£¡with his servant,
 having passed the river Kama. which inthese parts is the boundary between Europe and Asia. and the firstcity on the European side was called Soloy Kamaskoy¡£
  And here we thought to see someevident alteration in the people; but we were mistaken. for as wehad a vast desert to pass. which is near seven hundred miles longin some places,
 but not above two hundred miles over where wepassed it! so. till we came past that horrible place. we found verylittle difference between that country and Mogul Tartary,
  Thepeople are mostly pagans; their houses and towns full of idols; andtheir way of living wholly barbarous£¿ except in the cities andvillages near them£¿ where they are Christians£¬
 as they callthemselves, of the Greek Church:  but have their religion mingledwith so many relics of superstition£¬
 that it is scarce to be knownin some places from mere sorcery and witchcraft£¬¡¡¡¡In passing this forest (after all our dangers were, to ourimagination, escaped), I thought£¿
 by a troop of thieves:of what country they were I am yet at a loss to know; but they wereall on horseback¡£ carried bows and arrows£¡ and were at first aboutforty-five in number£¬
 theyplaced themselves just in our way; upon which we drew up in alittle line¡£ before our camels£¬ being not above sixteen men in all!Thus drawn up,
 or dialects of languagesrather£¬ he could not understand a word they said; however. aftersome signs to him not to come near them at his peril.
 and that there must be more of them upon thegreat desert! though he never heard that any of them were seen sofar north before£¡¡¡¡¡This was small comfort to us; however¡£
  I immediately resolved we shouldadvance to those trees, and fortify ourselves as well as we couldthere; for£¬ first?
 I considered that the trees would in a greatmeasure cover us from their arrows; and. in the next place.
 theycould not come to charge us in a body:  it was, indeed¡£ my oldPortuguese pilot who proposed it£¡
 or thieves! for we knew not what to call them£¬ keepingtheir stand. and not attempting to hinder us£¡  When we camethither£¡
 running out in a little brook¡£ was a little farther joinedby another of the like size; and was£¡ in short¡£
 the source of aconsiderable river£¡ called afterwards the Wirtska; the trees whichgrew about this spring were not above two hundred£¿
 so that as soon as we got in? we sawourselves perfectly safe from the enemy unless they attacked us onfoot.
¡¡¡¡While we stayed here waiting the motion of the enemy some hours?without perceiving that they made any movement,
 our Portuguese£¬with some help! cut several arms of trees half off, and laid themhanging across from one tree to another.
 when we fired one musketwithout ball£¡ and called to them in the Russian tongue to know whatthey wanted¡£
 and bade them keep off; but they came on with a doublefury up to the wood-side£¡ not imagining we were so barricaded thatthey could not easily break in£¬
  Our old pilot was our captain aswell as our engineer, and desired us not to fire upon them tillthey came within pistol-shot£¿
 and woundedseveral others£¬ as also several of their horses; for we had all ofus loaded our pieces with two or three bullets apiece at least£¬¡¡¡¡They were terribly surprised with our fire£¿
 and retreatedimmediately about one hundred rods from us; in which time we loadedour pieces again. and seeing them keep that distance£¿
 they went off again; and we resolvednot to stir for that night,¡¡¡¡We slept little£¿ but spent the most part of the night instrengthening our situation£¬
 and barricading the entrances into thewood? and keeping a strict watch¡£  We waited for daylight. and whenit came,
 it gave us a very unwelcome discovery indeed; for theenemy£¡ who we thought were discouraged with the reception they metwith£¡
 as if they were resolved to besiege us; and thislittle camp they had pitched upon the open plain£¡ about three-quarters of a mile from us£¿  I confess I now gave myself over forlost!
 and all that I had; the loss of my effects did not lie sonear me£¡ though very considerable. as the thoughts of falling intothe hands of such barbarians at the latter end of my journey!
 afterso many difficulties and hazards as I had gone through¡£ and even insight of our port. where we expected safety and deliverance!
 and declared that to lose his goodswould be his ruin, and that he would rather die than be starved£¬and he was for fighting to the last drop!
¡¡¡¡The young lord. a most gallant youth! was for fighting to the lastalso; and my old pilot was of opinion that we were able to resistthem all in the situation we were then in?
 andperhaps retreat to some town£¬ or get help to guard us over thedesert¡£  The young lord's Siberian servant told us,
 and we immediately prepared forputting it in practice,¡¡¡¡And first£¬ as soon as it began to be dark!
 we kindled a fire in ourlittle camp¡£ which we kept burning£¬ and prepared so as to make itburn all night£¿
 that the Tartars might conclude we were stillthere; but as soon as it was dark. and we could see the stars (forour guide would not stir before)?
¡¡¡¡After we had travelled two hours very hard. it began to be lighterstill; not that it was dark all night£¿
 in short. it was rather lighter than we wished it to be;but by six o'clock the next morning we had got above thirty miles,having almost spoiled our horses£¿  Here we found a Russian village£¬
  About two hours before night we set outagain£¡ and travelled till eight the next morning£¿ though not quiteso hard as before; and about seven o'clock we passed a littleriver£¬
 very happily. near the endof our travels by land? that river being navigable? in seven days'passage,
 to Archangel.  From hence we came to Lawremskoy£¬ the 3rdof July; and providing ourselves with two luggage boats£¬
 and abarge for our own convenience£¡ we embarked the 7th, and arrived allsafe at Archangel the 18th; having been a year? five months?
 andthree days on the journey, including our stay of about eight monthsat Tobolski£¿¡¡¡¡We were obliged to stay at this place six weeks for the arrival ofthe ships!
 where some of the Moscowmerchants would certainly have seen and discovered him£¡¡¡¡¡We then set sail from Archangel the 20th of August? the same year;and? after no extraordinary bad voyage£¡
 arrived safe in the Elbethe 18th of September?  Here my partner and I found a very goodsale for our goods!
¡¡¡¡Here the young lord took his leave of us. and went up the Elbe? inorder to go to the court of Vienna?
 I camefrom thence by land to the Hague? where I embarked in the packet,and arrived in London the 10th of January 1705£¡
 having lived seventy-two years a life of infinite variety?and learned sufficiently to know the value of retirement? and theblessing of ending our days in peace£¡