The Valley Of Decision

cobble-stones of theducal streets. These streets were so dark, being lit but by some lanternprojecting here and there from the angle of a wall, or by the flare ofan oil-lamp under a shrine, that

rbed only by the watchman's cryor by a flash of light and noise as a sedan chair passed with its escortof linkmen and servants. All this was amazing enough to the sleepy eyesof the little boy so unexpectedly translated from the

anxious to please the servants than theyto oblige him, led the way up a shining marble staircase where beggarswhined on the landings and powdered footmen in the ducal livery wererunning to and fro with trays of refreshments. Odo, who knew that hismother lived in the Duke's palace, had vaguely

er impressions crowding his brain, that these were scarcely felt, andhe passed as in a dream through rooms where servants were quarrellingover ca

ried, springing forwar

le and handsome, pushed back

grief has clouded his wits--'tis inconceivable how he mournshis father!"Donna Laura's eyebrows rose in a faint smile. "May he never have worseto grieve for!" said she in French; then, extending her scented hand tothe little boy, she added so

h, "I perceive they have nodancing-master at

crying, to be sure. Mother of God! as for crying,there's enough to cry about." She put the chil

he abate, raising his hands.

mpatiently. "As great a

e such a to-doabout giving me." She rose and began to pace the room in disorder. "I'ma ruined woman," she cried, "and it's a dis

ol--she hates me becauseLelio won't look at her, and she thinks it's my fault. As if I caredwhom he looks at! Sometimes I think he has money put away...all I wantis two hundred ducats...a woman of my rank!" She turned suddenly on Odo,who stood, very small and frightened, in the corner to which she hadpushed him. "What ar

l passivity with which children accept theimprobable, so that he passed from one novel impression to another aseasily and with the same exhilaration as if he had been lis

amber. Donna Laura continued to show theliveliest symptoms of concern, but the child perceived her distress tobe but indirectly connected with the loss she had suffered, and he hadseen enough of poverty at the farm to guess that the need of money wassomehow at the bottom of her troubles. How

ant figure, with a bag full of cosmeticsand curling-irons--the abate, always running in and out with messagesand letters, and taking no more notice of Odo than if he had

twenty, and who hadthe coldest insolent air, was treated with profound respect by all butDonna Laura, who was for ever quarrelling with him when he was present,yet could not support his absence without lamentations and alarm. Theabate appeared to act as messenger between the two, and when he came tosay that the Count ro

anna, who seemedthe most good-natured of the women, cried out on his pale looks when shebrought him his cup of chocolate. "I declare," she exclaimed, "the childhas had no air since he came in from the farm. What does your excellencysay? Shall the hunchback ta

repersons of a certain condition waited (the outer being given over toservants and tradesmen), they found a lean humpbacked boy, shabbi

she hurried away; and Odo, trembling a little, laid his hand in theboy's.

high cheekbones. "I?--From theInnocenti, if

o.""Ah, indeed?" said the boy with a queer look. "Well, she's my sister,then. Give her my compliments when you see her,

antry...and my father very likelygoes in velvet and carries a sword at his side."The boy's voice had grown shrill, and his eyes blazed like an owl's inthe dark. Odo would have given the world to be back in his corner, buthe was ashamed to betray his lack of heart; and to give himself couragehe asked haughtily: "And what is your name, boy?"The hunchback gave him a gleaming look. "Call me Brutus," he cried, "forBrutus killed a tyrant." He gave Odo's hand a pull. "Come along," saidhe, "and I'll show you his statue in the garden--Brutus's statue in aprince's garde

plantations more artfulthan the vineyards and mulberry orchards about Pontesordo, theseperspectives of clipped beech and yew, these knots of box filled in withmulti-coloured sand, appeared, with the fountains, colonnades andtrellised arbours surmounted by g

arily enough, the paths along which he wasnow led; but never after did he renew the first enchanted

ils andauriculas; but the scent of the orange-blossoms and the bright coloursof the flowers moved Odo less than the noble ordonnance of the pleachedalleys, each terminated by a statue or a marble seat

ow your excellency theaviaries."From the aviaries they passed to the Chinese pavilion, where the Dukesupped on summer evenings, and thence to the bowling-alley, thefish-stew and the fruit-garden. At every step some fresh surprisearrested Odo; but the terrible vision of that other garden planted withthe dead bodies of the Innocents robbed the spectacle of its brightness,dulled the plumage of the birds behind their gilt wires and cast adeeper shade over the beech-grove, where figures of goat-faced menlurked balefully in the twilight. O