h he had endured the year
before, what time he had lost her--his jealousy, his anger, his nameless
torments. Then, as now, the nights were serene and calm, and filled
with perfume, and yet how they weighed upon his spirit! He inhaled the
fragrant breath of the roses blooming in the little gardens about, and
watched the flock of sheep passing through the Piazza below.

The mass of thick white fleece advanced with a continuous undulating
motion, a compact and unbroken surface, like a muddy wave pouring over
the pavement. A sharp quavering bleat would mingle with the tinkling
bells to be answered by other voices, fainter and more timid; from time
to time, the mounted shepherds, riding at either side or behind the
flock, gave a sharp word of command, or used their long staves. The
splendour of the moonlight lent to this passage of flocks through the
midst of the slumbering city the mystery of things seen in a dream.

Andrea recalled one serene February night when, on coming away from a
ball at the English Embassy, he and Elena had met a flock of sheep in
the Via Venti Settembre which obliged their carriage to stop. Elena, her
face pressed to the window, watched the sheep crowding against the
carriage wheels, and pointed to the little lambs with childish delight;
and he with his face close to hers, his eyes half closed, listened to
the pattering hoofs, the bleating, the tinkling bells.

Why should these recollections of Elena come back to him just now?--He
resumed his way slowly up the steps, his feet heavy with fatigue, his
knees giving way beneath him. Suddenly the thought of death flashed
across his mind. 'What if I were killed, or received such a wound as to
maim me for life?' But his thirst for life and pleasure caused his whole
being to revolt against such a sinister possibility. 'I _must_ come off
victorious!' he said to himself. And he began reviewing all the
advantages that would fall to him from this second victory: the prestige
of his success, the fame of his prowess, Ippolita's kisses, new loves,
new pleasures, the gratification of new whims.

Presently, however, he bethought him of the necessary precautions for
insuring his bodily vigour. He went to bed and slept soundly till he
was awakened by the arrival of his seconds; took his customary
shower-bath; had a strip of linoleum laid down and invited Santa
Margherita and then Barbarisi to exchange a few passes with him, during
which he executed with precision s