He retired:  whereupon Laura inquired how her friend could reasonably suppose that a man would ever endure being thanked in public.

“I shall never understand and never care to understand them,” said Vittoria.

“It is a knowledge that is forced on us, my dear.  May heaven make the minds of our enemies stupid for the next five hours!—­Apropos of what I was saying, women and men are in two hostile camps.  We have a sort of general armistice and everlasting strife of individuals—­Ah!” she clapped hands on her knees, “here comes your doctor; I could fancy I see a pointed light on his head.  Men of science, my Sandra, are always the humanest.”

The chill air of wind preceding thunder was driving round the head of the vale, and Mr. Sedley, wrapped in furs, and feebly remonstrating with his medical adviser, stepped into his carriage.  The doctor followed him, giving a grave recognition of Vittoria’s gaze.  Both gentlemen raised their hats to the ladies, who alighted as soon as they had gone in the direction of the Vintschgau road.

“One has only to furnish you with money, my Beppo,” said Vittoria, complimenting his quick apprehensiveness.  “Buy bread and cakes at one of the shops, and buy wine.  You will find me where you can, when you have seen him safe.  I have no idea of where my home will be.  Perhaps England.”

“Italy, Italy! faint heart,” said Laura.

Furnished with money, Beppo rolled away gaily.

The doubt was in Laura whether an Englishman’s wits were to be relied on in such an emergency; but she admitted that the doctor had looked full enough of serious meaning, and that the Englishman named Merthyr Powys was keen and ready.  They sat a long half-hour, that thumped itself out like an alarm-bell, under the poplars, by the clamouring Passeyr, watching the roll and spring of the waters, and the radiant foam, while band-music played to a great company of visitors, and sounds of thunder drew near.  Over the mountains above the Adige, the leaden fingers of an advance of the thunder-cloud pushed slowly, and on a sudden a mighty gale sat heaped blank on the mountain-top and blew.  Down went the heads of the poplars, the river staggered in its leap, the vale was shuddering grey.  It was like the transformation in a fairy tale; Beauty had taken her old cloak about her, and bent to calamity.  The poplars streamed their length sideways, and in the pauses of the strenuous wind nodded and dashed wildly and white over the dead black water, that waxed in foam and hissed, showing its teeth like a beast enraged.  Laura and Vittoria joined hands and struggled for shelter.  The tent of a travelling circus from the South, newly-pitched on a grassplot near the river, was caught up and whirled in the air and flung in the face of a marching guard of soldiery, whom it swathed and bore sheer to earth, while on them and around them a line of poplars fell flat, the wind whistling over them.  Laura directed Vittoria’s