e Nurse was obliged to return at once to Italy, and that she
would stay in the village to catch the mail; that indeed she would be of
no use in their establishment, as she could not speak a word of English;
but that he was sadly afraid Violante would pine for her. And Violante
did pine at first. But still, to a child it is so great a thing to find
a parent--to be at home--that, tender and grateful as Violante was, she
could not be inconsolable while her father was there to comfort.

For the first few days, Riccabocca scarcely permitted any one to be with
his daughter but himself. He would not even leave her alone with his
Jemima. They walked out together--sat together for hours in the
Belvidere. Then by degrees he began to resign her more and more to
Jemima's care and tuition, especially in English, of which language at
present she spoke only a few sentences, (previously perhaps, learned by
heart,) so as to be clearly intelligible.

CHAPTER IV.

There was one person in the establishment of Dr. Riccabocca, who was
satisfied neither with the marriage of his master nor the arrival of
Violante--and that was our friend Lenny Fairfield. Previous to the
all-absorbing duties of courtship, the young peasant had secured a very
large share of Riccabocca's attention. The sage had felt interest in the
growth of this rude intelligence struggling up to light. But what with
the wooing, and what with the wedding, Lenny Fairfield had sunk very
much out of his artificial position as pupil, into his natural station
of under-gardener. And on the arrival of Violante, he saw, with natural
bitterness, that he was clean forgotten, not only by Riccabocca, but
almost by Jackeymo. It was true that the master still lent him books,
and the servant still gave him lectures on horticulture. But Riccabocca
had no time nor inclination now to amuse himself with enlightening that
tumult of conjecture which the books created. And if Jackeymo had been
covetous of those mines of gold buried beneath the acres now fairly
taken from the Squire, (and good-naturedly added rent-free, as an aid to
Jemima's dower,) before the advent of the young lady whose future dowry
the produce was to swell--now that she was actually under the eyes of
the faithful servant, such a stimulus was given to his industry, that he
could think of nothing else but the land, and the revolution he designed
to effect in its natural English crops. The garden, save only the
orange-trees, was