curiosity!—­he must see her and cross-examine her to satisfy himself that she was a true patriot, &c.  You know the style:  we neither of us like it.  Sandra was waiting to receive him when they pounced on him by the door.  Next day the woman struck at her.  Decidedly a handsome woman.  She is the exact contrast to the Countess Violetta in face, in everything.  Heart-disease will certainly never affect that pretty spy!  But, mark,” pursued Laura, warming, “when Carlo arrived, tears, penitence, heaps of self-accusations:  he had been unkind to her even on Lake Orta, where they passed their golden month; he had neglected her at Turin; he had spoken angry words in Milan; in fact, he had misused his treasure, and begged pardon;—­’If you please, my poor bleeding angel, I am sorry.  But do not, I entreat, distract me with petitions of any sort, though I will perform anything earthly to satisfy you.  Be a good little boat in the wake of the big ship.  I will look over at you, and chirrup now and then to you, my dearest, when I am not engaged in piloting extraordinary.’—­Very well; I do not mean to sneer at the unhappy boy, Merthyr; I love him; he was my husband’s brother in arms; the sweetest lad ever seen.  He is in the season of faults.  He must command; he must be a chief; he fancies he can intrigue poor thing!  It will pass.  And so will the hour to be forward to Rome.  But I call your attention to this:  when he heard of the dagger—­I have it from Colonel Corte, who was with him at the time in Turin—­he cried out Violetta d’Isorella’s name.  Why?  After he had buried his head an hour on Sandra’s pillow, he went straight to Countess d’Isorella, and was absent till night.  The woman is hideous to me.  No; don’t conceive that I think her Sandra’s rival.  She is too jealous.  She has him in some web.  If she has not ruined him, she will.  She was under my eyes the night she heard of his marriage:  I saw how she will look at seventy!  Here is Carlo at the head of a plot she has prepared for him; and he has Angelo Guidascarpi, and Ugo Corte, Marco Sana, Giulio Bandinelli, and about fifty others.  They have all been kept away from Rome by that detestable ----- you object to hear bad names cast on women, Merthyr.  Hear Agostino!  The poor old man comes daily to this house to persuade Carlo to lead his band to Rome.  It is so clearly Rome—­Rome, where all his comrades are; where the chief stand must be made by the side of Italy’s Chief.  Worst sign of all, it has been hinted semi-officially to Carlo that he may upon application be permitted to re-issue his journal.  Does not that show that the Government wishes to blindfold him, and keep him here, and knows his plans?”

Laura started up as the door opened, and Vittoria appeared leaning upon Carlo’s arm.  Countess Ammiani, Countess d’Isorella, and Pericles were behind them.  Laura’s children followed.

When Merthyr rose, Vittoria was smiling in Carlo’s face at something that had been spoken.  She was pale, and her arm was in a sling, but there was no appearance of her being unnerved.  Merthyr waited for her recognition of him.  She turned her eyes from Carlo slowly.  The soft dull smile in them died out as it were with a throb, and then her head drooped on one shoulder, and she sank to the floor.