himself up, and threw a look of insolent pride at the
speaker.

"Mayhap I do, your Highness," was the ready answer; "and out of that
very forgetfulness let your Highness take a warning. I say, once more,
I distrust the people about you; and as to this conspiracy at Carrara,
I'll wager a round sum on it that it was hatched on t 'other side of
the Alps, and paid for in good florins of the Holy Roman Empire. At all
events, give me time to investigate the matter. Let me have till the
end of the week to examine into it, and, if I find nothing to confirm
my views, I 'll say not one word against all the measures of precaution
that your Council are bent on importing from Austria."

"Take your own way; I promise nothing," said the Duke, haughtily; and,
with a motion of his hand, dismissed his adviser.

CHAPTER XXVII. CARRARA

To all the luxuriant vegetation and cultivated beauty of Massa, glowing
in the "golden glories" of its orange-groves,--steeped in the perfume of
its thousand gardens,--Carrara offers the very strongest contrast.
Built in a little cleft of the Apennines, it is begirt with great
mountains,--wild, barren, and desolate. Some, dark and precipitous, have
no traces in their sides but those of the torrents which are formed by
the melting snows; others show the white caves, as they are called, of
that pure marble which has made the name of the spot famous throughout
Europe. High in the mountain sides, escarped amidst rocks, and
zig-zagging over many a dangerous gorge and deep abyss, are the rough
roads trodden by the weary oxen,--trailing along their massive loads
and straining their stout chests to drag the great white blocks of
glittering stone. Far down below, crossed and recrossed by splashing
torrents, sprinkled with the spray of a hundred cataracts, stands
Carrara itself,--a little marble city of art, every house a studio,
every citizen a sculptor. Hither are sent all the marvellous conceptions
of genius,--the models which mighty imaginations have begotten,--to
be converted into imperishable stone. Here are the grand conceptions
gathered for every land and clime, treasures destined to adorn the great
galleries of nations, or the splendid palaces of kings.

Some of these studios are of imposing size and vast proportions, and not
devoid of a certain architectural pretension,--a group, a figure, or a
bas-relief usually adorning the space over the door, and by its subject
giving some indication of the tas