est, which,
however, was of no avail; and the boy grew up to be called the Marchese
di San Griacinto. He learned the story of his birth from his mother, and
protested in his turn. He ruined himself in trying to push his suit in
the Neapolitan courts; and finally, in the days of Napoleon's success, he
took service under Murat, receiving the solemn promise of the Emperor
that he should be reinstated in his title. But the Emperor forgot his
promise, or did not find it convenient to keep it, having perhaps reasons
of his own for not quarrelling with Pius the Seventh, who protected the
Roman Saracinesea Then came 1815, the downfall of the Empire, the
restoration of Ferdinand IV. in Naples, the confiscation of property from
all who had joined the Emperor, and the consequent complete ruin of San
Giacinto's hopes. He was supposed to have been killed, or to have made
away with himself. Saracinesea himself acknowledges that his grandson is
alive, and possesses all the family papers. Saracinesca himself has
discovered, seen, and conversed with the lawful head of his race, who, by
the blessing of heaven and the assistance of the courts, will before long
turn him out of house and home, and reign in his stead in all the glories
of the Palazzo Saracinesca, Prince of Rome, of the Holy Roman Empire,
grandee of Spain of the first class, and all the rest of it. Do you
wonder I rejoice, now that I am sure of putting an innkeeper over my
enemy's head? Fancy the humiliation of old Saracinesca, of Giovanni, who
will have to take his wife's title for the sake of respectability, of the
Astrardente herself, when she finds she has married the penniless son of
a penniless pretender!"

Del Ferice knew enough of the Saracinesca's family history to know that
something like what he had so fluently detailed to Donna Tullia had
actually occurred, and he knew well enough that she would not remember
every detail of his rapidly told tale. Hating the family as he did, he
had diligently sought out all information about them which he could
obtain without gaining access to their private archives. His ready wit
helped him to string the whole into a singularly plausible story. So
plausible, indeed, that it entirely upset all Donna Tullia's
determination to be angry at Del Ferice, and filled her with something of
the enthusiasm he showed. For himself he hoped that there was enough in
his story to do some palpable injury to the Saracinesca; but his more
immediate