od a great favorite
of Herrera, the first architect in Spain, who had already expressed his
love for the young girl, and now this vagabond pauper, this immature
boy, had come to destroy the prosperity of her child's life.

She upbraided Coello with being faithless to his paternal duty, and
called him a thoughtless booby. Instead of turning the ungrateful rascal
out of the house, he, the dunce, had given him hopes of becoming her
poor, dazzled, innocent daughter's husband. During the ensuing weeks,
Senora Petra prepared Coello many bad days and still worse nights; but
the painter persisted in his resolution to give Isabella to Ulrich, if
in a year and a half he returned from Italy a skilful artist.

CHAPTER XXI.

The admiral's ship, which bore King Philip's ambassador to Venice,
reached its destination safely, though it had encountered many severe
storms on the voyage, during which Ulrich was the only passenger, who
amid the rolling and pitching of the vessel, remained as well as an old
sailor.

But, on the other hand his peace of mind was greatly impaired, and any
one who had watched him leaning over the ship's bulwark, gazing into the
sea, or pacing up and down with restless bearing and gloomy eyes, would
scarcely have suspected that this reserved, irritable youth, who was
only too often under the dominion of melancholy moods, had won only
a short time before a noble human heart, and was on the way to the
realization of his boldest dreams, the fulfilment of his most ardent
wishes.

How differently he had hoped to enter "the Paradise of Art!"

Never had he been so free, so vigorous, so rich, as in the dawn of the
day, at whose close he was to unite Isabella's life with his own--and
now--now!

He had expected to wander through Italy from place to place as
untrammelled, gay, and free as the birds in the air; he had desired
to see, admire, en joy, and after becoming familiar with all the great
artists, choose a new master among them. Sophonisba's home was to have
become his, and it had never entered his mind to limit the period of his
enjoyment and study on the sacred soil.

How differently his life must now be ordered! Until he went on board of
the ship in Valencia, the thought of calling a girl so good, sensible
and loving as Isabella his own, rejoiced and inspired him, but
during the solitary hours a sea-voyage so lavishly bestows, a strange
transformation in his feelings occurred.

The wider became th