to be introduced to the Prince,
the brother of her new, exalted master, whom she had not until now had
the pleasure of seeing, although she had cooked for him already many
times. She remarked on this fact, with her bright, engaging smile. Her
manner was perfectly respectful, yet free from servility. It would not
have occurred to her that any one could have considered her little
conversational outburst a liberty; and she proceeded to introduce the
old man as her father.

"He has eighty-two years," she said, with a glance from the Prince to
the cure, "yet he thinks little of walking down from our old home far,
far away in the mountains in Italy, to pay me a visit. It was a surprise
this time, his coming. I met him near the market, and profited by
getting him to help with my parcels. Will Messieurs the Prince and Cure
figure to themselves, he married my mother when their two ages together
would not make thirty-five, and there in the mountains they brought up
eight of us. But, after the marriage, they were still children. It was
necessary for the priest to explain to my father why it is that the good
God ordained marrying. And look at him now!"

She laughed gayly, and the old man, who could speak only a _patois_ from
over the frontier, cackled without understanding what his daughter said.
He guessed well that he was the subject of the conversation, and
jokingly he reproved the middle-aged Madonna with a few toothless
mutterings more like Latin than Italian, more Arabic than either.

"And now, Messieurs," Filomena finished, "we must be hurrying on, or the
_dejeuner_ will be late. That would make me so angry, I should poison
all the fishes if I were thrown into the sea! How Monsieur the Prince is
handsome, and like my _patron_--yet different, too! Ah, it does seem to
me, begging Monsieur the Cure's pardon, that now-a-days the good God is
becoming more experienced and therefore fashioning finer men. When He
first began, He was but young and had no practice, so it is not strange
if He made mistakes."

"You people of this country are very free with the great name of your
Creator," remarked the cure, but not too sternly. "Think, Principino, I
have heard this very Filomena saying that after Christmas it is safe to
sin a little, for the enfant Jesus is so very small He takes no notice;
and between Good Friday and Easter He is dead, so then again there is a
chance. It is well that I know you mean no sacrilege, Filomena, or I
sh