Page 197 (1/2)

Maria Vittoria listened very seriously till he carimace "That is very fine, moral, and poetical Your

Princess was born to be a queen But what if her throne is set up only

in your city of dreams? Well, it is some consolation to know that you

are one of the four"

"Nay, I will ue myself upon the way the world

treats you"

"Ah, but because it treats you well," cried she "There will be work for

you, hurryings to and fro, the opportunities of excelling, nights in the

saddle, and perhaps again the quick red life of battlefields It is well

with you, but what of an? What of an had no answer to that despairing

question He stood with his head bared till the carriage passed round a

corner and disappeared, but the voice rang for a long while in his ears

And for a long while the dark eyes abrihts He walked slowly back to his lodging,

and na, and towards the Apennines

On one of the lower slopes he came upon a villa just beyond a curve of