efied
competition, and was ready to laugh at it in a rather good-natured way,
for she knew what she had, and was satisfied.

As for the rest, she was merely clever and fearless, and her moral
inheritance was not all that might be desired; for her father had left
her mother in a fit of pardonable jealousy, after nearly killing her and
quite killing his rival, and her mother had not redeemed her character
after his abrupt departure. On the contrary, if an accident had not
carried her off suddenly, Regina's virtuous parent would probably have
sold the girl into slavery. Poor people are not all honest, any more
than other kinds of people are. Regina did not mourn her mother, and
hardly remembered her father at all, and she never thought of either.

She owed Paoluccio and Nanna nothing, in her opinion. They had fed her
sufficiently, and clothed her decently for the good of the house; she
had done the work of two women in return, because she was strong, and
she had been honest, because she was proud. Even the innkeeper and his
wife would not have pretended that she owed them much gratitude; they
were much too natural for that, and besides, the girl was too handsome,
and there might be some scandal about her any day which would injure the
credit of the inn. Nanna thought Paoluccio much too fond of watching
her, as it was, and reflected that if she went to the city she would be
well out of the way, and might go to the devil if she pleased.

Regina's plan for taking Marcello was simple, like most plans which
succeed, and only depended for its success on being carried out
fearlessly.

The wine-carters usually came to the inn from the hills between nine and
eleven o'clock at night, and the carts, heavy-laden with wine casks,
stood in a line along the road, while the men went into the kitchen to
eat and drink. They generally paid for what they consumed by giving a
measure or two of wine from the casks they were bringing, and which they
filled up with water, a very simple plan which seems to have been in use
for ages. It has several advantages; the owner of the wine does not
suffer by it, since he gets his full price in town; the man who buys the
wine in Rome does not suffer, because he adds so much water to the wine
before selling it that a little more or less makes no difference; the
public does not suffer, as it is well known that wine is much better for
the health when drunk with plenty of water; and the carters do not
suffe