share his fate whatever it may be,
and to live his life, because it is now her own.

"And since I am in the way of pleading for her again, let me tell
you how simple you are to suppose that because you have never
disclosed your secret she may never have guessed it. Goodness me!
To think that men who can make women love them to madness itself
can be so ignorant as not to know that a woman can always tell if
a man loves her, and even fix the very day, and hour, and minute
when he looked into her eyes and loved her first.

"And if my unknown sister that ought to be knows that you love
her, be sure that she loves you in return. Then trust her. Take
the counsel of a woman and go to her. Remember, that if you are
suffering by this separation, perhaps she is suffering too, and if
she is worthy of the love and friendship of a better man than you
are, or ever hope to be (which, without disparaging her ladyship,
I respectfully refuse to believe), let her at least have the
refusal of one or both of them.

"Good-night! I go to the Chamber of Deputies again the day after
to-morrow, being so immersed in public matters (and public men)
that I can think of nothing else at present. Happily my bust is
out of hand, and the caster (not B. this time) is hard at work on
it.

"You won't hear anything about the M---- doings, yet I assure you
they are a most serious matter. Unless I am much mistaken there is
an effort on foot to connect you with my father, which is surely
sufficiently alarming. M---- is returning to Rome, and I hear
rumours of an intention to bring pressure on some one _here_ in
the hope of leading to identification. Think of it, I beg, I
pray!--Your friend,
"R."

VII

Next day Rossi's editorial assistant came with a troubled face. There
was bad news from the office. The morning's edition of the _Sunrise_ had
been confiscated by the police owing to the article on the King's speech
and procession. The proprietors of the paper were angry with their
editor, and demanded to see him immediately.

"Tell them I'll be at the office at four o'clock, as usual," said Rossi,
and he sat down to write a letter.

It was to Roma. The moment he took up the pen to write to her the air of
the room seemed to fill with a sweet fem