lakes, till at last,
whenever he pleased, he could see swarms of all kinds of figures sweeping
along in the water.

"And one evening he thus saw, as in a glass, the form of his uncle who
had died, and in surprise he called out 'Zio mio!'--'My uncle!' Then the
uncle stopped, and the youth said, 'Didst thou but know how I am
suffering from poverty!' When he at once beheld in the water his home
and the wood near it, and a path, and the form of his uncle passed along
the path to a lonely place where there was a great stone. Then the uncle
pointed to the stone and vanished. The next day the young man went
there, and under the stone he found a great bag of gold--and I hope that
the same may happen to all of us!

"'He who has sheep has wool in store;
He who has mills hath plenty of flour;
He who hath land hath these at call;
He who has money has got them all.'"

THE BASHFUL LOVER
A LEGEND OF THE CHIESA SANTA LUCIA IN THE VIA DE' BARDI

"She never told her love--oh no!
For she was mild and meek,
And his for her he dared not show,
Because he hadn't the cheek.
'Tis pity this should e'er be past,
For, to judge by what all men say,
'Twere best such difference should last
Unto our dying day."

All who have visited Florence have noticed the Church of Santa Lucia in
the Via de' Bardi, from the figure of the patron with two angels over the
door in Lucca della Robbia ware. Of this place of worship there is in a
jest-book a droll story, which the reader may recall when he enters the
building.

"A young Florentine once fell desperately in love with a beautiful
lady of unsullied character and ready wit, and so followed her about
wherever she went; but he being sadly lacking in wit and sense, at
all four corners, never got the nearer to her acquaintance, though he
told all his friends how irresistible he would be, and what a
conquest he would make, if he could only once get a chance to speak
to her. Yet as this lady prized ready wit and graceful address in a
man above all things, it will be seen that his chance was thin as a
strip of paper.

"But one _festa_ the lady went to the Church of Santa Lucia in the
Via dei Bardi, and one of the friends of the slow-witted one said to
him, 'Now is the lucky hour and blooming chance for you. Go up and
speak to her when she approaches the font to take holy water.'

"Now