ced at Gaspare, who joined in with him:

"Compare, compare, compareddu,
Io ti voglio molto bene,
Mangiamo sempre insieme--
Mangiamo carne e riso
E andiamo in Paradiso!"

"Carne e riso--si!" cried Maurice, laughing. "But Paradise! Must you go
to Paradise directly afterwards, before the dancing and before the
procession and before the fireworks?"

"No, signore," said Gaspare. "When we are very old, when we cannot dance
any more--non e vero, Amedeo?--then we will go to Paradiso."

"Yes," agreed the tall boy, quite seriously, "then we will go to
Paradiso."

"And I, too," said Maurice; "and Maddalena, but not till then."

What a long time away that would be!

"Here is the ristorante!"

They had reached a long room with doors open onto the square, opposite to
the rows of booths which were set up under the shadow of the church.
Outside of it were many small tables and numbers of chairs on which
people were sitting, contemplating the movement of the crowd of buyers
and sellers, smoking, drinking syrups, gazzosa, and eating ices and flat
biscuits.

Gaspare guided them through the throng to a long table set on a sanded
floor.

"Ecco, signorino!"

He installed Maurice at the top of the table.

"And you sit here, Donna Maddalena."

He placed her at Maurice's right hand, and was going to sit down himself
on the left, when Salvatore roughly pushed in before him, seized the
chair, sat in it, and leaned his arms on the table with a loud laugh that
sounded defiant. An ugly look came into Gaspare's face.

"Macche--" he began, angrily.

But Maurice silenced him with a quick look.

"Gaspare, you come here, by Maddalena!"

"Ma--"

"Come along, Gasparino, and tell us what we are to have. You must order
everything. Where's the cameriere? Cameriere! Cameriere!"

He struck on his glass with a fork. A waiter came running.

"Don Gaspare will order for us all," said Maurice to him, pointing to
Gaspare.

His diplomacy was successful. Gaspare's face cleared, and in a moment he
was immersed in an eager colloquy with the waiter, another friend of his
from Marechiaro. Amedeo Buccini took a place by Gaspare, and all those
from Marechiaro, who evidently considered that they belonged to the
Inglese's party for the day, arranged themselves as they pleased and
waited anxiously for the coming of the macaroni.

A certain formality now reigned over the ass