"Everything! I do believe she'd die, or disappear, or drown herself if

anything happened to that boy."

"And Mr. Rossi?"

"He's been a second father to the boy ever since the young monkey was

born."

"Well, Joseph must come here sometimes, and let me try and be a second

mother to him too.... What is he saying now?"

Joseph had dragged down his father's head to whisper something in his

ear.

"He says he's frightened of your big porter downstairs."

"Frightened of him! He is only a man, my precious! Tell him you are a

little Roman boy, and he'll have to let you up. Will you remember? You

will? That's right! By-bye!"

Before going to sleep that night, Roma switched on the light that hung

above her head and read her letter again. She had been hoarding it up

for that secret hour, and now she was alone with it, and all the world

was still.

"Saturday Night.

"MY DEAR ONE,--Your sweet letter brought me the intoxication of

delight, and the momentous matter you speak of is under way. It is

my turn to be ashamed of all the great to-do I made about the

obstacles to our union when I see how courageous you can be. Oh,

how brave women are--every woman who ever marries a man! To take

her heart into her hands, and face the unknown in the fate of

another being, to trust her life into his keeping, knowing that if

he falls she falls too, and will never be the same again! What

man could do it? Not one who was ever born into the world. Yet

some woman does it every day, promising some man that she

will--let me finish your quotation-"'Meet, if thou require it, Both demands, Laying flesh and

spirit In thy hands.' "Don't think I am too much troubled about the Minghelli matter,

and yet it is pitiful to think how merciless the world can be even

in the matter of a man's name. A name is only a word, but it is

everything to the man who bears it--honour or dishonour, poverty

or wealth, a blessing or a curse. If it is a good name, everybody

tries to take it away from him, but if it's a bad name and he has

attempted to drop it, everybody tries to fix it on him afresh.

"The name I was compelled to leave behind me when I returned to

Italy was a bad name in nothing except that it was the name of my

father, and if the spies and ferrets of authority ever fix it upon

me God only knows what mischief they may do. But one thing I

know--that if they do fix my father's name upon me, and bring me

to the penalties which the law has imposed on it, it will not be

by help of my darling, my beloved, my brave, brave girl with the

heart of gold.




readonlinefreebook.com Copyright 2016 - 2024