er
cousin.

Such had been the story of Mrs. Roden's life, till tidings were
received in England that her husband was dead. The information had
been sent to Mrs. Vincent by the younger son of the late old Duke,
who was now a nobleman well known in the political life of his own
country. He had stated that, to the best of his belief, his brother's
first union had not been a legal marriage. He thought it right, he
had said, to make this statement, and to say that as far as he was
concerned he was willing to withdraw that compact upon which his
father had insisted. If his sister-in-law wished to call herself by
the name and title of Di Crinola, she might do so. Or if the young
man of whom he spoke as his nephew wished to be known as Duca di
Crinola he would raise no objection. But it must be remembered that
he had nothing to offer to his relative but the barren tender of the
name. He himself had succeeded to but very little, and that which he
possessed had not been taken from his brother.

Then there were sundry meetings between Mrs. Vincent and Mrs. Roden,
at which it was decided that Mrs. Roden should go to Italy with her
son. Her brother-in-law had been courteous to her, and had offered
to receive her if she would come. Should she wish to use the name of
Di Crinola, he had promised that she should be called by it in his
house; so that the world around might know that she was recognized by
him and his wife and children. She determined that she would at any
rate make the journey, and that she would take her son with her.

George Roden had hitherto learnt nothing of his father or his family.
In the many consultations held between his mother and Mrs. Vincent
it had been decided that it would be better to keep him in the dark.
Why fill his young imagination with the glory of a great title in
order that he might learn at last, as might too probably be the case,
that he had no right to the name,--no right to consider himself
even to be his father's son? She, by her folly,--so she herself
acknowledged,--had done all that was possible to annihilate herself
as a woman. There was no name which she could give to her son as
certainly as her own. This, which had been hers before she had been
allured into a mock marriage, would at any rate not be disputed. And
thus he had been kept in ignorance of his mother's story. Of course
he had asked. It was no more than natural that he should ask. But
when told that it was for his mother's co