ing-man's tools, even a
peasant's necessary donkey, so that out of every lira earned the
government takes from forty to sixty centimes; the fisheries of
Sampaolo, which are very valuable, were reserved for the
Sampaolesi,--now they are open to all Italy, and Sampaolo, an island,
cannot compete with Ancona, on the railway. In Sampaolo to-day, if you
have any public business to transact, from taking out a dog license to
seeking justice in the law-courts, every official you have to deal
with, including the judges, expects his buonamano. If you post a
letter, it is an even chance whether the Post-Office young men won't
destroy the letter and steal the stamps; while, if you go to the
Post-Office to buy stamps, it is highly possible that they will
playfully sell you forged ones."

She gave a bitter little laugh.

"The present Prefect of Sampaolo," she continued her illustrations,
"formerly kept a disreputable public house, a sailors' tavern, at
Ancona. He is known to be a Camorrista; and though his salary is only
a few thousand lire, he lives with the ostentation of a parvenu
millionaire, and no one doubts where he gets his money. These evils
are felt by everyone. But the worst evil of all is the condition of
the Church. In the old days the Sampaolesi were noted for their piety;
now, even in modern irreligious Italy, you would seek far to unearth a
people so flagrantly irreligious. From high to low the men are
atheists; and the few men who are not, have to be very careful how they
show it. It is as much as a tradesman's trade is worth, as much as an
employe's place is worth, to go to Mass; the one will sit behind a
deserted counter, the other will learn that his services are no longer
needed. The present regime is liked by no one save the officials who
benefit by it; but it tickles the vanity of the Sampaolesi to call
themselves citizens of a Great Power; and so, though many are
republicans, many socialists, none are legitimists. They would prefer
any burden to the burden of insignificance; and under the reign of the
Valdeschi, though free, prosperous, and happy, Sampaolo was
insignificant."

"You paint a very sad state of things," said Anthony.

"Believe me," said Susanna, "my painting is pale beside the reality."

"And, apparently, a hopeless state," he added.

"Some day the Kingdom of Italy must end in a tremendous smash-up.
Afterwards, perhaps, there will be a readjustment. Our hope is in
that," said sh