Don Orsino

had suffered profoundly, she had borne her trials with a rare courage, and her reward, if one may call it so, had been very gre

in conversation, she had even been thought old-fashioned in her prejudices concerning the books she read. But her judgment had rarely failed her at critical moments. Once only, she remembered having committed a great mistake, of which the sudden and unexpected consequences had almost wrecked her life. But in that case she h

rself, almost laughing at the thought, to look forward to the day when Orsino must cease to be a boy and must face the world

feed, any more than the very strong man is naturally impelled to lift every weight he sees or to fight with every man he meets. The persons whom others call romantic are rarely conscious of being so. They are generally far too much occupied with the one great thought which make their strongest, bravest and meanest actions seem perfectly commonplace to themselves. Coron

ould have laughed at in her own youth flitted through her brain from morning till night. Her fancy built up a life for her e

face or difficulties such as would have made even Giovanni, the incomparable, look grave. This radiant creature was also to love Orsino, as a matter of course, with a love vastly more angelic than human, but not hastily nor thoughtlessly, lest Orsino should get her too easily and not value her as he ought. Then she saw the two betrothed, side by side on shady lawns and moonlit terraces, in a perfectly bea

ndulged more than one passing affection, before he had been thirty years of age and had loved Corona. Giovanni would laugh too, if she told him of her vision of two young and beautiful married saints. And his laugh would be more sincere than her

ion of unspotted youth and pure maiden, the glory of unbroken faith kept whole by man and wife in holy wedlock, the pride of stainless name and stainless race-these thi

ough she did her best to call them back they lost all their reality from that hour. The plain fact that at one and twenty years the boy is a man, though a very young one, was made suddenly clear to her, and she was faced by another fact still more destructive of her ideals, namely, that a man is not to be kept from falling in

efinite concerning Maria Consuelo, and this was no easy matter. She c

nni. "And I do not know any one who does.

seriously in lov

ything. When he comes back Madame d'Aranjuez will have retired

man to disappear at the right mom

as presumably at a party or at the club. Sant' Ilario was enjoying the delight of spending an hour alone in his wife's society. They were in Corona's old boudoir, a p

isappear when one does n

i with a man's irritating indolence when he

, resting her chin upon her

rendered unc

ght, dear. You alway

mportance of what I say," sai

anni, squinting at the flames with on

e hand in hers and drawing it to her. "Orsino is probab

my dear. I could not be better occupied, and y

d in her deep

ns me. He will make love too well. Be ser

up in his room. To tell a boy not to bestow his affections in a certain quarter is like ramming a charge into a gun and then expecting that it will not come out by the sa

na. "Then at least find out who the

an hour a day at the club, if that will do any good-and you know how I dete

Madame d'Aranjuez during the next few days than he had devoted to anything connected wit

Among them were Frangipani and Montevarchi, who was formerly known as Ascanio Bellegra. There was also a certain young foreigne

y Del Ferice and his wife. The paragraph was written in the usual florid st

ss, Donna Maria Consuelo d'A--z d'A--a, in whose mysterious eyes are reflected the divi

and in the peculiar tone always used by a

varchi in the same breath. The young diplom

All three listened as though the fate o

med Frangipani. "There probably is

s one point upon which he justly prided himself. He was a superior authority on genealogy. It was his passion and no one ever disputed his k

uch person," h

said the young diplomatist,

to say, I have not. Nor, of course, if she is a friend of yours, would I like to say more on the subject. But I have taken some little interest in genealogy and I have a modest library-about two thousand volumes,

The young secretary of embassy was rather startled at the idea of searching through

g man. "Of course you are right. I have no idea who s

ed Sant' Ilario wi

ths, at Rio de Janeiro and then at Buenos Ayres. An Italian who had gone out there and made a fortune married her from the stage. In coming to Europe, he unfortunately fell overboard and she inherited all his money. People say that she w

Sant' Ilario,

if she happens to marry somebody," observed

ther story?" a

ed. The royal personage has had her educated in a convent and has sent her out into the wide world with a pretty fancy name of his own invention, plentifully supplied with money and regular documents referring to her union wi

enealogy, these stray rivulets of royal races, if I may so poetically call t

two the first is the less improbable. I have met her and talked to her and she is certainly not less than fi

," observed Sant' Ilario, speaking of her

her. "She has the sort of personality which is

dropped the Signor Aragno quietly overb

ite different from either

chi regretfully. "I am sorry for that. For the sake of her history

ll her poor old Donna Tullia," observed Frangipani. "I

ery long time ago. We were all young once, Filippo-but Donna Tullia is r

was much pleased by their appreciation. He and Frangipani began to talk together, and Sant' Ilario took up his paper ag

here is anything irregular about this

presented at Court-but that means nothing here. And there is a doub

ho told you

ace immediately l

tten," he said. "People ha

vanni left the young man and walked away in the opposite direction, inwardly meditating a piece of diplomacy quite foreign to his nature. He said to himself that he would watch the man in the world a

studio a quarter of an hour later, "do y

d upon an easel before him, set in an old frame. He had been touching it when Giovanni entered. "

zed at the pict

lly like these?"

h fi

her m

answered Gouach

with conviction, and he th

ful air. "Some are less angelic than others. You need

his person? French, S

t idea. She is not F

oes your wif

quickly at his

N

e negation of a fact. But the effort was not altogether successful. There was an almost imperceptible shade of surprise in the tone which did

knows anything definite," s

asked the artist, exami

Why S

ly. "By the way, Saracinesca, do you not think there

hould

noses of original portraits, all painted by the best masters and doubtless

nni l

wn us nearly five and twenty years without discovering that

aughed in

make sharp remarks

ance. He knew Spicca's habits very well, and was aware that when the sun was low he would certainly turn into one of the many houses where he was intimate, and spend an hour over a cup of tea. The difficulty lay in ascertaining which particular fires

in political opinion, and he had no reason whatever for calling on Flavia, especially as formal New Year's visits had lately been exchanged. However, as San Giacinto was now a leading authority on q

to be by some good master and other people wondered why they had lost courage in the bidding for a trifle of a hundred francs. Nothing ever turned out badly with him, but no success had the power to shake his solid prudence. No one knew how rich he was, but those who had watched him understood that he would never let the world guess at half his fortune. He was a giant in all ways and he had shown what he could do when he had dominated Flavia during the first year of their marriage. She had at first been proud of him, but about the time when she would have wearied of another man, she di

eabouts, retaining much of the brilliant prettiness which served her for beauty, and conspicu

of inquiry. It would have been like him to say that he had come to see her husband and not herself,

lavia?" he asked, as he sat down,

n's tea is good?" inquired the latter,

oking into the teapot, as though she coul

r," answered Gi

lead the conversation to the d

a, lighting a fresh cigarette. "You swallow so

st way-one is nev

allow people in the same wa

o," answered S

n the first day?" asked Gi

was-and you

that excellent Donna Tullia there

ened to be dying-she always dies at the beginning of the season-it used to be for economy

ith her?" asked Giovanni, d

e Madame d'Aranjuez-the most beautiful of Spanish princesses according to to-day's paper. I daresay you hav

Spanish," answ

rld is she?" asked G

it is very disagreeable for

reeabl

course. Everybody says

ess," said Giovanni sharply. "Because a boy ma

studio? I did

re irritable, and yet not daring to change the subject, lest he should lose some valuable information.

a lau

allowance for every fib I told-laughing at me all the time. At the end of the first quarter I positively had not a pair of shoes, and all my gloves had been cleaned twice. He used to keep all the fines in a special pocket-book-if you knew

ed a little, and puf

th rage at Orsino's new fancy, and you want to find out all about this Madame d'Aranjuez. So you came here, because we are Whites and you saw that she had b

d Giovanni, smiling

tell fibs?" asked Flavia. "No? Then why

ns. And you can

nows all about her. But he w

s tedious work for he was not a man who could talk against time on all occasions. But he struggled bravely and Spicca at last got up from

sino is falling in love with this pretty stranger.

ated a moment, and then looked s

hat I, and I especially, know any

hat you know

a turned from him and be

ed and laid a h

e this service?" h

stopped and l

than these marble steps. Do not let us quarrel now, old friend. When I tell you that my omniscience exists only in the vivid imaginations of people

heard him speak as he had just spoken. It was perfectly clear that he knew something very definite about Maria Consuelo, and he probably had no in

," said Sa

arting, and then Giovanni walked slowly homewar