although pierre knew that he would be unable to see cardinal sanguinetti before eleven o'clock, he nevertheless availed himself of an early train, so that it was barely nine when he alighted at the little station of frascati. he had already visited the place during his enforced idleness, when he had made the classical excursion to the roman castles which extend from frascati to rocco di papa, and from rocco di papa to monte cavo, and he was now delighted with the prospect of strolling for a couple of hours along those first slopes of the alban hills, where, amidst rushes, olives, and vines, frascati, like a promontory, overlooks the immense ruddy sea of the campagna even as far as rome, which, six full leagues away, wears the whitish aspect of a marble isle.

ah! that charming frascati, on its greeny knoll at the foot of the wooded tusculan heights, with its famous terrace whence one enjoys the finest view in the world, its old patrician villas with proud and elegant renascence facades and magnificent parks, which, planted with cypress, pine, and ilex, are for ever green! there was a sweetness, a delight, a fascination about the spot, of which pierre would have never wearied. and for more than an hour he had wandered blissfully along roads edged with ancient, knotty olive-trees, along dingle ways shaded by the spreading foliage of neighbouring estates, and along perfumed paths, at each turn of which the campagna was seen stretching far away, when all at once he was accosted by a person whom he was both surprised and annoyed to meet. he had strolled down to some low ground near the railway station, some old vineyards where a number of new houses had been built of recent years, and suddenly saw a stylish pair-horse victoria, coming from the direction of rome, draw up close by, whilst its occupant called to him: "what! monsieur l'abbe froment, are you taking a walk here, at this early hour?"

thereupon pierre recognised count luigi prada, who alighted, shook hands with him and began to walk beside him, whilst the empty carriage went on in advance. and forthwith the count explained his tastes: "i seldom take the train," he said, "i drive over. it gives my horses an outing. i have interests over here as you may know, a big building enterprise which is unfortunately not progressing very well. and so, although the season is advanced, i'm obliged to come rather more frequently than i care to do."

as prada suggested, pierre was acquainted with the story. the boccaneras had been obliged to sell a sumptuous villa which a cardinal of their family had built at frascati in accordance with the plans of giacomo della porta, during the latter part of the sixteenth century: a regal summer-residence it had been, finely wooded, with groves and basins and cascades, and in particular a famous terrace projecting like a cape above the roman campagna whose expanse stretches from the sabine mountains to the mediterranean sands. through the division of the property, benedetta had inherited from her mother some very extensive vineyards below frascati, and these she had brought as dowry to prada at the very moment when the building mania was extending from rome into the provinces. and thereupon prada had conceived the idea of erecting on the spot a number of middle-class villas like those which litter the suburbs of paris. few purchasers, however, had come forward, the financial crash had supervened, and he was now with difficulty liquidating this unlucky business, having indemnified his wife at the time of their separation.

"and then," he continued, addressing pierre, "one can come and go as one likes with a carriage, whereas, on taking the train, one is at the mercy of the time table. this morning, for instance, i have appointments with contractors, experts, and lawyers, and i have no notion how long they will keep me. it's a wonderful country, isn't it? and we are quite right to be proud of it in rome. although i may have some worries just now, i can never set foot here without my heart beating with delight."

a circumstance which he did not mention, was that his /amica/, lisbeth kauffmann, had spent the summer in one of the newly erected villas, where she had installed her studio and had been visited by all the foreign colony, which tolerated her irregular position on account of her gay spirits and artistic talent. indeed, people had even ended by accepting the outcome of her connection with prada, and a fortnight previously she had returned to rome, and there given birth to a son--an event which had again revived all the scandalous tittle-tattle respecting benedetta's divorce suit. and prada's attachment to frascati doubtless sprang from the recollection of the happy hours he had spent there, and the joyful pride with which the birth of the boy inspired him.

pierre, for his part, felt ill at ease in the young count's presence, for he had an instinctive hatred of money-mongers and men of prey. nevertheless, he desired to respond to his amiability, and so inquired after his father, old orlando, the hero of the liberation.

"oh!" replied prada, "excepting for his legs he's in wonderfully good health. he'll live a hundred years. poor father! i should so much have liked to install him in one of these little houses, last summer. but i could not get him to consent; he's determined not to leave rome; he's afraid, perhaps, that it might be taken away from him during his absence." then the young count burst into a laugh, quite merry at the thought of jeering at the heroic but no longer fashionable age of independence. and afterwards he said, "my father was speaking of you again only yesterday, monsieur l'abbe. he is astonished that he has not seen you lately."

this distressed pierre, for he had begun to regard orlando with respectful affection. since his first visit, he had twice called on the old hero, but the latter had refused to broach the subject of rome so long as his young friend should not have seen, felt, and understood everything. there would be time for a talk later on, said he, when they were both in a position to formulate their conclusions.

"pray tell count orlando," responded pierre, "that i have not forgotten him, and that, if i have deferred a fresh visit, it is because i desire to satisfy him. however, i certainly will not leave rome without going to tell him how deeply his kind greeting has touched me."

whilst talking, the two men slowly followed the ascending road past the newly erected villas, several of which were not yet finished. and when prada learned that the priest had come to call on cardinal sanguinetti, he again laughed, with the laugh of a good-natured wolf, showing his white fangs. "true," he exclaimed, "the cardinal has been here since the pope has been laid up. ah! you'll find him in a pretty fever."

"why?"

"why, because there's bad news about the holy father this morning. when i left rome it was rumoured that he had spent a fearful night."

so speaking, prada halted at a bend of the road, not far from an antique chapel, a little church of solitary, mournful grace of aspect, on the verge of an olive grove. beside it stood a ruinous building, the old parsonage, no doubt, whence there suddenly emerged a tall, knotty priest with coarse and earthy face, who, after roughly locking the door, went off in the direction of the town.

"ah!" resumed the count in a tone of raillery, "that fellow's heart also must be beating violently; he's surely gone to your cardinal in search of news."

pierre had looked at the priest. "i know him," he replied; "i saw him, i remember, on the day after my arrival at cardinal boccanera's. he brought the cardinal a basket of figs and asked him for a certificate in favour of his young brother, who had been sent to prison for some deed of violence--a knife thrust if i recollect rightly. however, the cardinal absolutely refused him the certificate."

"it's the same man," said prada, "you may depend on it. he was often at the villa boccanera formerly; for his young brother was gardener there. but he's now the client, the creature of cardinal sanguinetti. santobono his name is, and he's a curious character, such as you wouldn't find in france, i fancy. he lives all alone in that falling hovel, and officiates at that old chapel of st. mary in the fields, where people don't go to hear mass three times in a year. yes, it's a perfect sinecure, which with its stipend of a thousand francs enables him to live there like a peasant philosopher, cultivating the somewhat extensive garden whose big walls you see yonder."

the close to which he called attention stretched down the slope behind the parsonage, without an aperture, like some savage place of refuge into which not even the eye could penetrate. and all that could be seen above the left-hand wall was a superb, gigantic fig-tree, whose big leaves showed blackly against the clear sky. prada had moved on again, and continued to speak of santobono, who evidently interested him. fancy, a patriot priest, a garibaldian! born at nemi, in that yet savage nook among the alban hills, he belonged to the people and was still near to the soil. however, he had studied, and knew sufficient history to realise the past greatness of rome, and dream of the re-establishment of roman dominion as represented by young italy. and he had come to believe, with passionate fervour, that only a great pope could realise his dream by seizing upon power, and then conquering all the other nations. and what could be easier, since the pope commanded millions of catholics? did not half europe belong to him? france, spain, and austria would give way as soon as they should see him powerful, dictating laws to the world. germany and great britain, indeed all the protestant countries, would also inevitably be conquered, for the papacy was the only dike that could be opposed to error, which must some day fatally succumb in its efforts against such a barrier. politically, however, santobono had declared himself for germany, for he considered that france needed to be crushed before she would throw herself into the arms of the holy father. and thus contradictions and fancies clashed in his foggy brain, whose burning ideas swiftly turned to violence under the influence of primitive, racial fierceness. briefly, the priest was a barbarian upholder of the gospel, a friend of the humble and woeful, a sectarian of that school which is capable alike of great virtues and great crimes.

"yes," concluded prada, "he is now devoted to cardinal sanguinetti because he believes that the latter will prove the great pope of to-morrow, who is to make rome the one capital of the nations. at the same time he doubtless harbours a lower personal ambition, that of attaining to a canonry or of gaining assistance in the little worries of life, as when he wished to extricate his brother from trouble. here, you know, people stake their luck on a cardinal just as they nurse a 'trey' in the lottery, and if their cardinal proves the winning number and becomes pope they gain a fortune. and that's why you now see santobono striding along yonder, all anxiety to know if leo xiii will die and sanguinetti don the tiara."

"do you think the pope so very ill, then?" asked pierre, both anxious and interested.

the count smiled and raised both arms: "ah!" said he, "can one ever tell? they all get ill when their interest lies that way. however, i believe that the pope is this time really indisposed; a complaint of the bowels, it is said; and at his age, you know, the slightest indisposition may prove fatal."

the two men took a few steps in silence, then the priest again asked a question: "would cardinal sanguinetti have a great chance if the holy see were vacant?"

"a great chance! ah! that's another of those things which one never knows. the truth is people class sanguinetti among the acceptable candidates, and if personal desire sufficed he would certainly be the next pope, for ambition consumes him to the marrow, and he displays extraordinary passion and determination in his efforts to succeed. but therein lies his very weakness; he is using himself up, and he knows it. and so he must be resolved to every step during the last days of battle. you may be quite sure that if he has shut himself up here at this critical time, it is in order that he may the better direct his operations from a distance, whilst at the same time feigning a retreat, a disinterestedness which is bound to have a good effect."

then prada began to expatiate on sanguinetti with no little complacency, for he liked the man's spirit of intrigue, his keen, conquering appetite, his excessive, and even somewhat blundering activity. he had become acquainted with him on his return from the nunciature at vienna, when he had already resolved to win the tiara. that ambition explained everything, his quarrels and reconciliations with the reigning pope, his affection for germany, followed by a sudden evolution in the direction of france, his varying attitude with regard to italy, at first a desire for agreement, and then absolute rejection of all compromises, a refusal to grant any concession, so long as rome should not be evacuated. this, indeed, seemed to be sanguinetti's definite position; he made a show of disliking the wavering sway of leo xiii, and of retaining a fervent admiration for pius ix, the great, heroic pope of the days of resistance, whose goodness of heart had proved no impediment to unshakable firmness. and all this was equivalent to a promise that he, sanguinetti, would again make kindliness exempt from weakness, the rule of the church, and would steer clear of the dangerous compounding of politics. at bottom, however, politics were his only dream, and he had even formulated a complete programme of intentional vagueness, which his clients and creatures spread abroad with an air of rapturous mystery. however, since a previous indisposition of the pope's, during the spring, he had been living in mortal disquietude, for it had then been rumoured that the jesuits would resign themselves to support cardinal pio boccanera, although the latter scarcely favoured them. he was rough and stern, no doubt, and his extreme bigotry might be a source of danger in this tolerant age; but, on the other hand, was he not a patrician, and would not his election imply that the papacy would never cease to claim the temporal power? from that moment boccanera had been the one man whom sanguinetti feared, for he beheld himself despoiled of his prize, and spent his time in devising plans to rid himself of such a powerful rival, repeating abominable stories of cardinal pio's alleged complaisance with regard to benedetta and dario, and incessantly representing him as antichrist, the man of sin, whose reign would consummate the ruin of the papacy. finally, to regain the support of the jesuits, sanguinetti's last idea was to repeat through his familiars that for his part he would not merely maintain the principle of the temporal power intact, but would even undertake to regain that power. and he had a full plan on the subject, which folks confided to one another in whispers, a plan which, in spite of its apparent concessions, would lead to the overwhelming victory of the church. it was to raise the prohibition which prevented catholics from voting or becoming candidates at the italian elections; to send a hundred, then two hundred, and then three hundred deputies to the chamber, and in that wise to overthrow the house of savoy, and establish a federation of the italian provinces, whereof the holy father, once more placed in possession of rome, would become the august and sovereign president.

as prada finished he again laughed, showing his white teeth--teeth which would never readily relinquish the prey they held. "so you see," he added, "we need to defend ourselves, since it's a question of turning us out. fortunately, there are some little obstacles in the way of that. nevertheless, such dreams naturally have great influence on excited minds, such as that of santobono, for instance. he's a man whom one word from sanguinetti would lead far indeed. ah! he has good legs. look at him up yonder, he has already reached the cardinal's little palace--that white villa with the sculptured balconies."

pierre raised his eyes and perceived the episcopal residence, which was one of the first houses of frascati. of modern construction and renascence style, it overlooked the immensity of the roman campagna.

it was now eleven o'clock, and as the young priest, before going up to pay his own visit, bade the count good-bye, the latter for a moment kept hold of his hand. "do you know," said he, "it would be very kind of you to lunch with me--will you? come and join me at that restaurant yonder with the pink front as soon as you are at liberty. i shall have settled my own business in an hour's time, and i shall be delighted to have your company at table."

pierre began by declining, but he could offer no possible excuse, and at last surrendered, won over, despite himself, by prada's real charm of manner. when they had parted, the young priest only had to climb a street in order to reach the cardinal's door. with his natural expansiveness and craving for popularity, sanguinetti was easy of access, and at frascati in particular his doors were flung open even to the most humble cassocks. so pierre was at once ushered in, a circumstance which somewhat surprised him, for he remembered the bad humour of the servant whom he had seen on calling at the cardinal's residence in rome, when he had been advised to forego the journey, as his eminence did not like to be disturbed when he was ill. however, nothing spoke of illness in that pleasant villa, flooded with sunshine. true, the waiting-room, where he was momentarily left alone, displayed neither luxury nor comfort; but it was brightened by the finest light in the world, and overlooked that extraordinary campagna, so flat, so bare, and so unique in its beauty, for in front of it one ever dreams and sees the past arise. and so, whilst waiting, pierre stationed himself at an open window, conducting on to a balcony, and his eyes roamed over the endless sea of herbage to the far-away whiteness of rome, above which rose the dome of st. peter's, at that distance a mere sparkling speck, barely as large as the nail of one's little finger.

however, the young man had scarcely taken up this position when he was surprised to hear some people talking, their words reaching him with great distinctness. and on leaning forward he realised that his eminence in person was standing on another balcony close by, and conversing with a priest, only a portion of whose cassock could be seen. still, this sufficed for pierre to recognise santobono. his first impulse, dictated by natural discretion, was to withdraw from the window, but the words he next heard riveted him to the spot.

"we shall know in a moment," his eminence was saying in his full voice. "i sent eufemio to rome, for he is the only person in whom i've any confidence. and see, there is the train bringing him back."

a train, still as small as a plaything, could in fact be seen approaching over the vast plain, and doubtless it was to watch for its arrival that sanguinetti had stationed himself on the balcony. and there he lingered, with his eyes fixed on distant rome. then santobono, in a passionate voice, spoke some words which pierre imperfectly understood, but the cardinal with clear articulation rejoined, "yes, yes, my dear fellow, a catastrophe would be a great misfortune. ah! may his holiness long be preserved to us." then he paused, and as he was no hypocrite, gave full expression to the thoughts which were in his mind: "at least, i hope that he will be preserved just now, for the times are bad, and i am in frightful anguish. the partisans of antichrist have lately gained much ground."

a cry escaped santobono: "oh! your eminence will act and triumph."

"i, my dear fellow? what would you have me do? i am simply at the disposal of my friends, those who are willing to believe in me, with the sole object of ensuring the victory of the holy see. it is they who ought to act, it is they--each according to the measure of his means--who ought to bar the road to the wicked in order that the righteous may succeed. ah! if antichrist should reign--"

the recurrence of this word antichrist greatly disturbed pierre; but he suddenly remembered what the count had told him: antichrist was cardinal boccanera.

"think of that, my dear fellow," continued sanguinetti. "picture antichrist at the vatican, consummating the ruin of religion by his implacable pride, his iron will, his gloomy passion for nihility; for there can be no doubt of it, he is the beast of death announced by the prophecies, the beast who will expose one and all to the danger of being swallowed up with him in his furious rush into abysmal darkness. i know him; he only dreams of obstinacy and destruction, he will seize the pillars of the temple and shake them in order that he may sink beneath the ruins, he and the whole catholic world! in less than six months he will be driven from rome, at strife with all the nations, execrated by italy, and roaming the world like the phantom of the last pope!"

it was with a low growl, suggestive of a stifled oath, that santobono responded to this frightful prediction. but the train had now reached the station, and among the few passengers who had alighted, pierre could distinguish a little abbe, who was walking so fast that his cassock flapped against his hips. it was abbe eufemio, the cardinal's secretary, and when he had perceived his eminence on the balcony he lost all self-respect, and broke into a run, in order that he might the sooner ascend the sloping street. "ah! here's eufemio," exclaimed the cardinal, quivering with anxiety. "we shall know now, we shall know now."

the secretary had plunged into the doorway below, and he climbed the stairs with such rapidity that almost immediately afterwards pierre saw him rush breathlessly across the waiting-room, and vanish into the cardinal's sanctum. sanguinetti had quitted the balcony to meet his messenger, but soon afterwards he returned to it asking questions, venting exclamations, raising, in fact, quite a tumult over the news which he had received. "and so it's really true, the night was a bad one. his holiness scarcely slept! colic, you were told? but nothing could be worse at his age; it might carry him off in a couple of hours. and the doctors, what do they say?"

the answer did not reach pierre, but he understood its purport as the cardinal in his naturally loud voice resumed: "oh! the doctors never know. besides, when they refuse to speak death is never far off. /dio/! what a misfortune if the catastrophe cannot be deferred for a few days!"

then he became silent, and pierre realised that his eyes were once more travelling towards rome, gazing with ambitious anguish at the dome of st. peter's, that little, sparkling speck above the vast, ruddy plain. what a commotion, what agitation if the pope were dead! and he wished that it had merely been necessary for him to stretch forth his arm in order to take and hold the eternal city, the holy city, which, yonder on the horizon, occupied no more space than a heap of gravel cast there by a child's spade. and he was already dreaming of the coming conclave, when the canopy of each other cardinal would fall, and his own, motionless and sovereign, would crown him with purple.

"but you are right, my friend!" he suddenly exclaimed, addressing santobono, "one must act, the salvation of the church is at stake. and, besides, it is impossible that heaven should not be with us, since our sole desire is its triumph. if necessary, at the supreme moment, heaven will know how to crush antichrist."

then, for the first time, pierre distinctly heard the voice of santobono, who, gruffly, with a sort of savage decision, responded: "oh! if heaven is tardy it shall be helped."

that was all; the young man heard nothing further save a confused murmur of voices. the speakers quitted the balcony, and his spell of waiting began afresh in the sunlit /salon/ so peaceful and delightful in its brightness. but all at once the door of his eminence's private room was thrown wide open and a servant ushered him in; and he was surprised to find the cardinal alone, for he had not witnessed the departure of the two priests, who had gone off by another door. the cardinal, with his highly coloured face, big nose, thick lips, square-set, vigorous figure, which still looked young despite his sixty years, was standing near a window in the bright golden light. he had put on the paternal smile with which he greeted even the humblest from motives of good policy, and as soon as pierre had knelt and kissed his ring, he motioned him to a chair. "sit down, dear son, sit down. you have come of course about that unfortunate affair of your book. i am very pleased indeed to be able to speak with you about it."

he himself then took a chair in front of that window overlooking rome whence he seemed unable to drag himself. and the young priest, whilst apologising for coming to disturb his rest, perceived that he scarcely listened, for his eyes again sought the prey which he so ardently coveted. yet the semblance of good-natured attention was perfect, and pierre marvelled at the force of will which this man must possess to appear so calm, so interested in the affairs of others, when such a tempest was raging in him.

"your eminence will, i hope, kindly forgive me," continued the young priest.

"but you have done right to come, since i am kept here by my failing health," said the cardinal. "besides, i am somewhat better, and it is only natural that you should wish to give me some explanations and defend your work and enlighten my judgment. in fact, i was astonished at not yet having seen you, for i know that your faith in your cause is great and that you spare no steps to convert your judges. so speak, my dear son, i am listening and shall be pleased indeed if i can absolve you."

pierre was caught by these kind words, and a hope returned to him, that of winning the support of the all-powerful prefect of the index. he already regarded this ex-nuncio--who at brussels and vienna had acquired the worldly art of sending people away satisfied with indefinite promises though he meant to grant them nothing--as a man of rare intelligence and exquisite cordiality. and so once more he regained the fervour of his apostolate to express his views respecting the future rome, the rome he dreamt of, which was destined yet again to become the mistress of the world if she would return to the christianity of jesus, to an ardent love for the weak and the humble.

sanguinetti smiled, wagged his head, and raised exclamations of rapture: "very good, very good indeed, perfect! oh! i agree with you, dear son. one cannot put things better. it is quite evident; all good minds must agree with you." and then, said he, the poetic side deeply touched him. like leo xiii--and doubtless in a spirit of rivalry--he courted the reputation of being a very distinguished latinist, and professed a special and boundless affection for virgil. "i know, i know," he exclaimed, "i remember your page on the return of spring, which consoles the poor whom winter has frozen. oh! i read it three times over! and are you aware that your writing is full of latin turns of style. i noticed more than fifty expressions which could be found in the 'bucolics.' your book is a charm, a perfect charm!"

as he was no fool, and realised that the little priest before him was a man of high intelligence, he ended by interesting himself, not in pierre personally, but in the profit which he might possibly derive from him. amidst his feverish intrigues, he unceasingly sought to utilise all the qualities possessed by those whom god sent to him that might in any way be conducive to his own triumph. so, for a moment, he turned away from rome and looked his companion in the face, listening to him and asking himself in what way he might employ him--either at once in the crisis through which he was passing, or later on when he should be pope. but the young priest again made the mistake of attacking the temporal power, and of employing that unfortunate expression, "a new religion." thereupon the cardinal stopped him with a gesture, still smiling, still retaining all his amiability, although the resolution which he had long since formed became from that moment definitive. "you are certainly in the right on many points, my dear son," he said, "and i often share your views--share them completely. but come, you are doubtless not aware that i am the protector of lourdes here at rome. and so, after the page which you have written about the grotto, how can i possibly pronounce in your favour and against the fathers?"

pierre was utterly overcome by this announcement, for he was indeed unaware of the cardinal's position with respect to lourdes, nobody having taken the precaution to warn him. however, each of the catholic enterprises distributed throughout the world has a protector at rome, a cardinal who is designated by the pope to represent it and, if need be, to defend it.

"those good fathers!" sanguinetti continued in a gentle voice, "you have caused them great grief, and really our hands are tied, we cannot add to their sorrow. if you only knew what a number of masses they send us! i know more than one of our poor priests who would die of hunger if it were not for them."

pierre could only bow beneath the blow. once more he found himself in presence of the pecuniary question, the necessity in which the holy see is placed to secure the revenue it requires one year with another. and thus the pope was ever in servitude, for if the loss of rome had freed him of the cares of state, his enforced gratitude for the alms he received still riveted him to earth. so great, indeed, were the requirements, that money was the ruler, the sovereign power, before which all bowed at the court of rome.

and now sanguinetti rose to dismiss his visitor. "you must not despair, dear son," he said effusively. "i have only my own vote, you know, and i promise you that i will take into account the excellent explanations which you have just given me. and who can tell? if god be with you, he will save you even in spite of all!" this speech formed part of the cardinal's usual tactics; for one of his principles was never to drive people to extremes by sending them away hopeless. what good, indeed, would it do to tell this one that the condemnation of his book was a foregone conclusion, and that his only prudent course would be to disavow it? only a savage like boccanera breathed anger upon fiery souls and plunged them into rebellion. "you must hope, hope!" repeated sanguinetti with a smile, as if implying a multitude of fortunate things which he could not plainly express.

thereupon pierre, who was deeply touched, felt born anew. he even forgot the conversation he had surprised, the cardinal's keen ambition and covert rage with his redoubtable rival. besides, might not intelligence take the place of heart among the powerful? if this man should some day become pope, and had understood him, might he not prove the pope who was awaited, the pope who would accept the task of reorganising the church of the united states of europe, and making it the spiritual sovereign of the world? so he thanked him with emotion, bowed, and left him to his dream, standing before that widely open window whence rome appeared to him, glittering like a jewel, even indeed as the tiara of gold and gems, in the splendour of the autumn sun.

it was nearly one o'clock when pierre and count prada were at last able to sit down to /dejeuner/ in the little restaurant where they had agreed to meet. they had both been delayed by their affairs. however, the count, having settled some worrying matters to his own advantage, was very lively, whilst the priest on his side was again hopeful, and yielded to the delightful charm of that last fine day. and so the meal proved a very pleasant one in the large, bright room, which, as usual at that season of the year, was quite deserted. pink and blue predominated in the decoration, but cupids fluttered on the ceiling, and landscapes, vaguely recalling the roman castles, adorned the walls. the things they ate were fresh, and they drank the wine of frascati, to which the soil imparts a kind of burnt flavour as if the old volcanoes of the region had left some little of their fire behind.

for a long while the conversation ranged over those wild and graceful alban hills, which, fortunately for the pleasure of the eye, overlook the flat roman campagna. pierre, who had made the customary carriage excursion from frascati to nemi, still felt its charm and spoke of it in glowing language. first came the lovely road from frascati to albano, ascending and descending hillsides planted with reeds, vines, and olive-trees, amongst which one obtained frequent glimpses of the campagna's wavy immensity. on the right-hand the village of rocca di papa arose in amphitheatrical fashion, showing whitely on a knoll below monte cavo, which was crowned by lofty and ancient trees. and from this point of the road, on looking back towards frascati, one saw high up, on the verge of a pine wood the ruins of tusculum, large ruddy ruins, baked by centuries of sunshine, and whence the boundless panorama must have been superb. next one passed through marino, with its sloping streets, its large cathedral, and its black decaying palace belonging to the colonnas. then, beyond a wood of ilex-trees, the lake of albano was skirted with scenery which has no parallel in the world. in front, beyond the clear mirror of motionless water, were the ruins of alba longa; on the left rose monte cavo with rocca di papa and palazzuolo; whilst on the right castel gandolfo overlooked the lake as from the summit of a cliff. down below in the extinct crater, as in the depths of a gigantic cup of verdure, the lake slept heavy and lifeless: a sheet of molten metal, which the sun on one side streaked with gold, whilst the other was black with shade. and the road then ascended all the way to castel gandolfo, which was perched on its rock, like a white bird betwixt the lake and the sea. ever refreshed by breezes, even in the most burning hours of summer, the little place was once famous for its papal villa, where pius ix loved to spend hours of indolence, and whither leo xiii has never come. and next the road dipped down, and the ilex-trees appeared again, ilex-trees famous for their size, a double row of monsters with twisted limbs, two and three hundred years old. then one at last reached albano, a small town less modernised and less cleansed than frascati, a patch of the old land which has retained some of its ancient wildness; and afterwards there was ariccia with the palazzo chigi, and hills covered with forests and viaducts spanning ravines which overflowed with foliage; and there was yet genzano, and yet nemi, growing still wilder and more remote, lost in the midst of rocks and trees.

ah! how ineffaceable was the recollection which pierre had retained of nemi, nemi on the shore of its lake, nemi so delicious and fascinating from afar, conjuring up all the ancient legends of fairy towns springing from amidst the greenery of mysterious waters, but so repulsively filthy when one at last reaches it, crumbling on all sides but yet dominated by the orsini tower, as by the evil genius of the middle ages, which there seems to perpetuate the ferocious habits, the violent passions, the knife thrusts of the past! thence came that santobono whose brother had killed, and who himself, with his eyes of crime glittering like live embers, seemed to be consumed by a murderous flame. and the lake, that lake round like an extinguished moon fallen into the depths of a former crater, a deeper and less open cup than that of the lake of albano, a cup rimmed with trees of wondrous vigour and density! pines, elms, and willows descend to the very margin, with a green mass of tangled branches which weigh each other down. this formidable fecundity springs from the vapour which constantly arises from the water under the parching action of the sun, whose rays accumulate in this hollow till it becomes like a furnace. there is a warm, heavy dampness, the paths of the adjacent gardens grow green with moss, and in the morning dense mists often fill the large cup with white vapour, as with the steaming milk of some sorceress of malevolent craft. and pierre well remembered how uncomfortable he had felt before that lake where ancient atrocities, a mysterious religion with abominable rites, seemed to slumber amidst the superb scenery. he had seen it at the approach of evening, looking, in the shade of its forest girdle, like a plate of dull metal, black and silver, motionless by reason of its weight. and that water, clear and yet so deep, that water deserted, without a bark upon its surface, that water august, lifeless, and sepulchral, had left him a feeling of inexpressible sadness, of mortal melancholy, the hopelessness of great solitary passion, earth and water alike swollen by the mute spasms of germs, troublous in their fecundity. ah! those black and plunging banks, and that black mournful lake prone at the bottom!*

* some literary interest attaches to m. zola's account of nemi, whose praises have been sung by a hundred poets. it will be observed that he makes no mention of egeria. the religion distinguished by abominable practices to which he alludes, may perhaps be the worship of the egyptian diana, who had a famous temple near nemi, which was excavated by lord savile some ten years ago, when all the smaller objects discovered were presented to the town of nottingham. at this temple, according to some classical writers, the chief priest was required to murder his predecessor, and there were other abominable usages.--trans.

count prada began to laugh when pierre told him of these impressions. "yes, yes," said he, "it's true, nemi isn't always gay. in dull weather i have seen the lake looking like lead, and even the full sunshine scarcely animates it. for my part, i know i should die of /ennui/ if i had to live face to face with that bare water. but it is admired by poets and romantic women, those who adore great tragedies of passion."

then, as he and pierre rose from the table to go and take coffee on the terrace of the restaurant, the conversation changed: "do you mean to attend prince buongiovanni's reception this evening?" the count inquired. "it will be a curious sight, especially for a foreigner, and i advise you not to miss it."

"yes, i have an invitation," pierre replied. "a friend of mine, monsieur narcisse habert, an /attache/ at our embassy, procured it for me, and i am going with him."

that evening, indeed, there was to be a /fete/ at the palazzo buongiovanni on the corso, one of the few galas that take place in rome each winter. people said that this one would surpass all others in magnificence, for it was to be given in honour of the betrothal of little princess celia. the prince, her father, after boxing her ears, it was rumoured, and narrowly escaping an attack of apoplexy as the result of a frightful fit of anger, had, all at once, yielded to her quiet, gentle stubbornness, and consented to her marriage with lieutenant attilio, the son of minister sacco. and all the drawing-rooms of rome, those of the white world quite as much as those of the black, were thoroughly upset by the tidings.

count prada made merry over the affair. "ah! you'll see a fine sight!" he exclaimed. "personally, i'm delighted with it all for the sake of my good cousin attilio, who is really a very nice and worthy fellow. and nothing in the world would keep me from going to see my dear uncle sacco make his entry into the ancient /salons/ of the buongiovanni. it will be something extraordinary and superb. he has at last become minister of agriculture, you know. my father, who always takes things so seriously, told me this morning that the affair so worried him he hadn't closed his eyes all night."

the count paused, but almost immediately added: "i say, it is half-past two and you won't have a train before five o'clock. do you know what you ought to do? why, drive back to rome with me in my carriage."

"no, no," rejoined pierre, "i'm deeply obliged to you but i'm to dine with my friend narcisse this evening, and i mustn't be late."

"but you won't be late--on the contrary! we shall start at three and reach rome before five o'clock. there can't be a more pleasant promenade when the light falls; and, come, i promise you a splendid sunset."

he was so pressing that the young priest had to accept, quite subjugated by so much amiability and good humour. they spent another half-hour very pleasantly in chatting about rome, italy, and france. then, for a moment, they went up into frascati where the count wished to say a few words to a contractor, and just as three o'clock was striking they started off, seated side by side on the soft cushions and gently rocked by the motion of the victoria as the two horses broke into a light trot. as prada had predicted, that return to rome across the bare campagna under the vast limpid heavens at the close of such a mild autumn day proved most delightful. first of all, however, the victoria had to descend the slopes of frascati between vineyards and olive-trees. the paved road snaked, and was but little frequented; they merely saw a few peasants in old felt hats, a white mule, and a cart drawn by a donkey, for it is only upon sundays that the /osterie/ or wine-shops are filled and that artisans in easy circumstances come to eat a dish of kid at the surrounding /bastides/. however, at one turn of the road they passed a monumental fountain. then a flock of sheep momentarily barred the way before defiling past. and beyond the gentle undulations of the ruddy campagna rome appeared amidst the violet vapours of evening, sinking by degrees as the carriage itself descended to a lower and lower level. there came a moment when the city was a mere thin grey streak, speckled whitely here and there by a few sunlit house-fronts. and then it seemed to plunge below the ground--to be submerged by the swell of the far-spreading fields.

the victoria was now rolling over the plain, leaving the alban hills behind, whilst before it and on either hand came the expanse of meadows and stubbles. and then it was that the count, after leaning forward, exclaimed: "just look ahead, yonder, there's our man of this morning, santobono in person--what a strapping fellow he is, and how fast he walks! my horses can scarcely overtake him."

pierre in his turn leant forward and likewise perceived the priest of st. mary in the fields, looking tall and knotty, fashioned as it were with a bill-hook. robed in a long black cassock, he showed like a vigorous splotch of ink amidst the bright sunshine streaming around him; and he was walking on at such a fast, stern, regular pace that he suggested destiny on the march. something, which could not be well distinguished, was hanging from his right arm.

when the carriage had at last overtaken him prada told the coachman to slacken speed, and then entered into conversation.

"good-day, abbe; you are well, i hope?" he asked.

"very well, signor conte, i thank you."

"and where are you going so bravely?"

"signor conte, i am going to rome."

"what! to rome, at this late hour?"

"oh! i shall be there nearly as soon as yourself. the distance doesn't frighten me, and money's quickly earned by walking."

scarcely turning his head to reply, stepping out beside the wheels, santobono did not miss a stride. and prada, diverted by the meeting, whispered to pierre: "wait a bit, he'll amuse us." then he added aloud: "since you are going to rome, abbe, you had better get in here; there's room for you."

santobono required no pressing, but at once accepted the offer. "willingly; a thousand thanks," he said. "it's still better to save one's shoe leather."

then he got in and installed himself on the bracket-seat, declining with abrupt humility the place which pierre politely offered him beside the count. the young priest and the latter now saw that the object he was carrying was a little basket of fresh figs, nicely arranged and covered with leaves.

the horses set off again at a faster trot, and the carriage rolled on and on over the superb, flat plain. "so you are going to rome?" the count resumed in order to make santobono talk.

"yes," the other replied, "i am taking his eminence cardinal boccanera these few figs, the last of the season: a little present which i had promised him." he had placed the basket on his knees and was holding it between his big knotty hands as if it were something rare and fragile.

"ah! some of the famous figs of your garden," said prada. "it's quite true, they are like honey. but why don't you rid yourself of them. you surely don't mean to keep them on your knees all the way to rome. give them to me, i'll put them in the hood."

however, santobono became quite agitated, and vigorously declined the offer. "no, no, a thousand thanks! they don't embarrass me in the least; they are very well here; and in this way i shall be sure that no accident will befall them."

his passion for the fruit he grew quite amused prada, who nudged pierre, and then inquired: "is the cardinal fond of your figs?"

"oh! his eminence condescends to adore them. in former years, when he spent the summer at the villa, he would never touch the figs from other trees. and so, you see, knowing his tastes, it costs me very little to gratify him."

whilst making this reply santobono had shot such a keen glance in the direction of pierre that the count felt it necessary to introduce them to one another. this he did saying: "as it happens, monsieur l'abbe froment is stopping at the palazzo boccanera; he has been there for three months or so."

"yes, i'm aware of it," santobono quietly replied; "i found monsieur l'abbe with his eminence one day when i took some figs to the palazzo. those were less ripe, but these are perfect." so speaking he gave the little basket a complacent glance, and seemed to press it yet more closely between his huge and hairy fingers.

then came a spell of silence, whilst on either hand the campagna spread out as far as the eye could reach. all houses had long since disappeared; there was not a wall, not a tree, nothing but the undulating expanse whose sparse, short herbage was, with the approach of winter, beginning to turn green once more. a tower, a half-fallen ruin which came into sight on the left, rising in solitude into the limpid sky above the flat, boundless line of the horizon, suddenly assumed extraordinary importance. then, on the right, the distant silhouettes of cattle and horses were seen in a large enclosure with wooden rails. urged on by the goad, oxen, still yoked, were slowly coming back from ploughing; whilst a farmer, cantering beside the ploughed land on a little sorrel nag, gave a final look round for the night. now and again the road became peopled. a /biroccino/, an extremely light vehicle with two huge wheels and a small seat perched upon the springs, whisked by like a gust of wind. from time to time also the victoria passed a /carrotino/, one of the low carts in which peasants, sheltered by a kind of bright-hued tent, bring the wine, vegetables, and fruit of the castle-lands to rome. the shrill tinkling of horses' bells was heard afar off as the animals followed the well-known road of their own accord, their peasant drivers usually being sound asleep. women with bare, black hair, scarlet neckerchiefs, and skirts caught up, were seen going home in groups of three and four. and then the road again emptied, and the solitude became more and more complete, without a wayfarer or an animal appearing for miles and miles, whilst yonder, at the far end of the lifeless sea, so grandiose and mournful in its monotony, the sun continued to descend from the infinite vault of heaven.

"and the pope, abbe, is he dead?" prada suddenly inquired.

santobono did not even start. "i trust," he replied in all simplicity, "that his holiness still has many long years to live for the triumph of the church."

"so you had good news this morning when you called on your bishop, cardinal sanguinetti?"

this time the priest was unable to restrain a slight start. had he been seen, then? in his haste he had failed to notice the two men following the road behind him. however, he at once regained self-possession, and replied: "oh! one can never tell exactly whether news is good or bad. it seems that his holiness passed a somewhat painful night, but i devoutly hope that the next will be a better one." then he seemed to meditate for a moment, and added: "moreover, if god should have deemed it time to call his holiness to himself, he would not leave his flock without a shepherd. he would have already chosen and designated the sovereign pontiff of to-morrow."

this superb answer increased prada's gaiety. "you are really extraordinary, abbe," he said. "so you think that popes are solely created by the grace of the divinity! the pope of to-morrow is chosen up in heaven, eh, and simply waits? well, i fancied that men had something to do with the matter. but perhaps you already know which cardinal it is that the divine favour has thus elected in advance?"

then, like the unbeliever he was, he went on with his facile jests, which left the priest unruffled. in fact, the latter also ended by laughing when the count, after alluding to the gambling passion which at each fresh conclave sets wellnigh the whole population of rome betting for or against this or that candidate, told him that he might easily make his fortune if he were in the divine secret. next the talk turned on the three white cassocks of different sizes which are always kept in readiness in a cupboard at the vatican. which of them would be required on this occasion?--the short one, the long one, or the one of medium size? each time that the reigning pope falls somewhat seriously ill there is in this wise an extraordinary outburst of emotion, a keen awakening of all ambitions and intrigues, to such a point that not merely in the black world, but throughout the city, people have no other subject of curiosity, conversation, and occupation than that of discussing the relative claims of the cardinals and predicting which of them will be elected.

"come, come," prada resumed, "since you know the truth, i'm determined that you shall tell me. will it be cardinal moretta?"

santobono, in spite of his evident desire to remain dignified and disinterested, like a good, pious priest, was gradually growing impassioned, yielding to the hidden fire which consumed him. and this interrogatory finished him off; he could no longer restrain himself, but replied: "moretta! what an idea! why, he is sold to all europe!"

"well, will it be cardinal bartolini?"

"oh! you can't think that. bartolini has used himself up in striving for everything and getting nothing."

"will it be cardinal dozio, then?"

"dozio, dozio! why, if dozio were to win one might altogether despair of our holy church, for no man can have a baser mind than he!"

prada raised his hands, as if he had exhausted the serious candidates. in order to increase the priest's exasperation he maliciously refrained from naming cardinal sanguinetti, who was certainly santobono's nominee. all at once, however, he pretended to make a good guess, and gaily exclaimed: "ah! i have it; i know your man--cardinal boccanera!"

the blow struck santobono full in the heart, wounding him both in his rancour and his patriotic faith. his terrible mouth was already opening, and he was about to shout "no! no!" with all his strength, but he managed to restrain the cry, compelled as he was to silence by the present on his knees--that little basket of figs which he pressed so convulsively with both hands; and the effort which he was obliged to make left him quivering to such a point that he had to wait some time before he could reply in a calm voice: "his most reverend eminence cardinal boccanera is a saintly man, well worthy of the throne, and my only fear is that, with his hatred of new italy, he might bring us warfare."

prada, however, desired to enlarge the wound. "at all events," said he, "you accept him and love him too much not to rejoice over his chances of success. and i really think that we have arrived at the truth, for everybody is convinced that the conclave's choice cannot fall elsewhere. come, come; boccanera is a very tall man, so it's the long white cassock which will be required."

"the long cassock, the long cassock," growled santobono, despite himself; "that's all very well, but--"

then he stopped short, and, again overcoming his passion, left his sentence unfinished. pierre, listening in silence, marvelled at the man's self-restraint, for he remembered the conversation which he had overheard at cardinal sanguinetti's. those figs were evidently a mere pretext for gaining admission to the boccanera mansion, where some friend--abbe paparelli, no doubt--could alone supply certain positive information which was needed. but how great was the command which the hot-blooded priest exercised over himself amidst the riotous impulses of his soul!

on either side of the road the campagna still and ever spread its expanse of verdure, and prada, who had become grave and dreamy, gazed before him without seeing anything. at last, however, he gave expression to his thoughts. "you know, abbe, what will be said if the pope should die this time. that sudden illness, those colics, those refusals to make any information public, mean nothing good--yes, yes, poison, just as for the others!"

pierre gave a start of stupefaction. the pope poisoned! "what! poison? again?" he exclaimed as he gazed at his companions with dilated eyes. poison at the end of the nineteenth century, as in the days of the borgias, as on the stage in a romanticist melodrama! to him the idea appeared both monstrous and ridiculous.

santobono, whose features had become motionless and impenetrable, made no reply. but prada nodded, and the conversation was henceforth confined to him and the young priest. "why, yes, poison," he replied. "the fear of it has remained very great in rome. whenever a death seems inexplicable, either by reason of its suddenness or the tragic circumstances which attend it, the unanimous thought is poison. and remark this: in no city, i believe, are sudden deaths so frequent. the causes i don't exactly know, but some doctors put everything down to the fevers. among the people, however, the one thought is poison, poison with all its legends, poison which kills like lightning and leaves no trace, the famous recipe bequeathed from age to age, through the emperors and the popes, down to these present times of middle-class democracy."

as he spoke he ended by smiling, for he was inclined to be somewhat sceptical on the point, despite the covert terror with which he was inspired by racial and educational causes. however, he quoted instances. the roman matrons had rid themselves of their husbands and lovers by employing the venom of red toads. locusta, in a more practical spirit, sought poison in plants, one of which, probably aconite, she was wont to boil. then, long afterwards, came the age of the borgias, and subsequently, at naples, la toffana sold a famous water, doubtless some preparation of arsenic, in phials decorated with a representation of st. nicholas of bari. there were also extraordinary stories of pins, a prick from which killed one like lightning, of cups of wine poisoned by the infusion of rose petals, of woodcocks cut in half with prepared knives, which poisoned but one-half of the bird, so that he who partook of that half was killed. "i myself, in my younger days," continued prada, "had a friend whose bride fell dead in church during the marriage service through simply inhaling a bouquet of flowers. and so isn't it possible that the famous recipe may really have been handed down, and have remained known to a few adepts?"

"but chemistry has made too much progress," pierre replied. "if mysterious poisons were believed in by the ancients and remained undetected in their time it was because there were no means of analysis. but the drug of the borgias would now lead the simpleton who might employ it straight to the assizes. such stories are mere nonsense, and at the present day people scarcely tolerate them in newspaper serials and shockers."

"perhaps so," resumed the count with his uneasy smile. "you are right, no doubt--only go and tell that to your host, for instance, cardinal boccanera, who last summer held in his arms an old and deeply-loved friend, monsignor gallo, who died after a seizure of a couple of hours."

"but apoplexy may kill one in two hours, and aneurism only takes two minutes."

"true, but ask the cardinal what he thought of his friend's prolonged shudders, the leaden hue which overcame his face, the sinking of his eyes, and the expression of terror which made him quite unrecognisable. the cardinal is convinced that monsignor gallo was poisoned, because he was his dearest confidant, the counsellor to whom he always listened, and whose wise advice was a guarantee of success."

pierre's bewilderment was increasing, and, irritated by the impassibility of santobono, he addressed him direct. "it's idiotic, it's awful! does your reverence also believe in these frightful stories?"

but the priest of frascati gave no sign. his thick, passionate lips remained closed while his black glowing eyes never ceased to gaze at prada. the latter, moreover, was quoting other instances. there was the case of monsignor nazzarelli, who had been found in bed, shrunken and calcined like carbon. and there was that of monsignor brando, struck down in his sacerdotal vestments at st. peter's itself, in the very sacristy, during vespers!

"ah! /mon dieu/!" sighed pierre, "you will tell me so much that i myself shall end by trembling, and sha'n't dare to eat anything but boiled eggs as long as i stay in this terrible rome of yours."

for a moment this whimsical reply enlivened both the count and pierre. but it was quite true that their conversation showed rome under a terrible aspect, for it conjured up the eternal city of crime, the city of poison and the knife, where for more than two thousand years, ever since the raising of the first bit of wall, the lust of power, the frantic hunger for possession and enjoyment, had armed men's hands, ensanguined the pavements, and cast victims into the river and the ground. assassinations and poisonings under the emperors, poisonings and assassinations under the popes, ever did the same torrent of abominations strew that tragic soil with death amidst the sovereign glory of the sun.

"all the same," said the count, "those who take precautions are perhaps not ill advised. it is said that more than one cardinal shudders and mistrusts people. one whom i know will never eat anything that has not been bought and prepared by his own cook. and as for the pope, if he is anxious--"

pierre again raised a cry of stupefaction. "what, the pope himself! the pope afraid of being poisoned!"

"well, my dear abbe, people commonly assert it. there are certainly days when he considers himself more menaced than anybody else. and are you not aware of the old roman view that a pope ought never to live till too great an age, and that when he is so obstinate as not to die at the right time he ought to be assisted? as soon as a pope begins to fall into second childhood, and by reason of his senility becomes a source of embarrassment, and possibly even danger, to the church, his right place is heaven. moreover, matters are managed in a discreet manner; a slight cold becomes a decent pretext to prevent him from tarrying any longer on the throne of st. peter."

prada then gave some curious details. one prelate, it was said, wishing to dispel his holiness's fears, had devised an elaborate precautionary system which, among other things, was to comprise a little padlocked vehicle, in which the food destined for the frugal pontifical table was to be securely placed before leaving the kitchen, so that it might not be tampered with on its way to the pope's apartments. however, this project had not yet been carried into effect.

"after all," the count concluded with a laugh, "every pope has to die some day, especially when his death is needful for the welfare of the church. isn't that so, abbe?"

santobono, whom he addressed, had a moment previously lowered his eyes as if to contemplate the little basket of figs which he held on his lap with as much care as if it had been the blessed sacrament. on being questioned in such a direct, sharp fashion he could not do otherwise than look up. however, he did not depart from his prolonged silence, but limited his answer to a slow nod.

"and it is god alone, and not poison, who causes one to die. is that not so, abbe?" repeated prada. "it is said that those were the last words of poor monsignor gallo before he expired in the arms of his friend cardinal boccanera."

for the second time santobono nodded without speaking. and then silence fell, all three sinking into a dreamy mood.

meantime, without a pause, the carriage rolled on across the immensity of the campagna. the road, straight as an arrow, seemed to extend into the infinite. as the sun descended towards the horizon the play of light and shade became more marked on the broad undulations of the ground which stretched away, alternately of a pinky green and a violet grey, till they reached the distant fringe of the sky. at the roadside on either hand there were still and ever tall withered thistles and giant fennel with yellow umbels. then, after a time, came a team of four oxen, that had been kept ploughing until late, and stood forth black and huge in the pale atmosphere and mournful solitude. farther on some flocks of sheep, whence the breeze wafted a tallowy odour, set patches of brown amidst the herbage, which once more was becoming verdant; whilst at intervals a dog was heard to bark, his voice the only distinct sound amidst the low quivering of that silent desert where the sovereign peacefulness of death seemed to reign. but all at once a light melody arose and some larks flew up, one of them soaring into the limpid golden heavens. and ahead, at the far extremity of the pure sky, rome, with her towers and domes, grew larger and larger, like a city of white marble springing from a mirage amidst the greenery of some enchanted garden.

"matteo!" prada called to his coachman, "pull up at the osteria romana." and to his companions he added: "pray excuse me, but i want to see if i can get some new-laid eggs for my father. he is so fond of them."

a few minutes afterwards the carriage stopped. at the very edge of the road stood a primitive sort of inn, bearing the proud and sonorous name of "antica osteria romana." it had now become a mere house of call for carters and chance sportsmen, who ventured to drink a flagon of white wine whilst eating an omelet and a slice of ham. occasionally, on sundays, some of the humble classes would walk over from rome and make merry there; but the week days often went by without a soul entering the place, such was its isolation amidst the bare campagna.

the count was already springing from the carriage. "i shall only be a minute," said he as he turned away.

the /osteria/ was a long, low pile with a ground floor and one upper storey, the last being reached by an outdoor stairway built of large blocks of stone which had been scorched by the hot suns. the entire place, indeed, was corroded, tinged with the hue of old gold. on the ground floor one found a common room, a cart-house, and a stable with adjoining sheds. at one side, near a cluster of parasol pines--the only trees that could grow in that ungrateful soil--there was an arbour of reeds where five or six rough wooden tables were set out. and, as a background to this sorry, mournful nook of life, there arose a fragment of an ancient aqueduct whose arches, half fallen and opening on to space, alone interrupted the flat line of the horizon.

all at once, however, the count retraced his steps, and, addressing santobono, exclaimed: "i say, abbe, you'll surely accept a glass of white wine. i know that you are a bit of a vine grower, and they have a little white wine here which you ought to make acquaintance with."

santobono again required no pressing, but quietly alighted. "oh! i know it," said he; "it's a wine from marino; it's grown in a lighter soil than ours at frascati."

then, as he would not relax his hold on his basket of figs, but even now carried it along with him, the count lost patience. "come, you don't want that basket," said he; "leave it in the carriage."

the priest gave no reply, but walked ahead, whilst pierre also made up his mind to descend from the carriage in order to see what a suburban /osteria/ was like. prada was known at this place, and an old woman, tall, withered, but looking quite queenly in her wretched garments, had at once presented herself. on the last occasion when the count had called she had managed to find half a dozen eggs. this time she said she would go to see, but could promise nothing, for the hens laid here and there all over the place, and she could never tell what eggs there might be.

"all right!" prada answered, "go and look; and meantime we will have a /caraffa/ of white wine."

the three men entered the common room, which was already quite dark. although the hot weather was now over, one heard the buzzing of innumerable flies immediately one reached the threshold, and a pungent odour of acidulous wine and rancid oil caught one at the throat. as soon as their eyes became accustomed to the dimness they were able to distinguish the spacious, blackened, malodorous chamber, whose only furniture consisted of some roughly made tables and benches. it seemed to be quite empty, so complete was the silence, apart from the buzz of the flies. however, two men were seated there, two wayfarers who remained mute and motionless before their untouched, brimming glasses. moreover, on a low chair near the door, in the little light which penetrated from without, a thin, sallow girl, the daughter of the house, sat idle, trembling with fever, her hands close pressed between her knees.

realising that pierre felt uncomfortable there, the count proposed that they should drink their wine outside. "we shall be better out of doors," said he, "it's so very in mild this evening."

accordingly, whilst the mother looked for the eggs, and the father mended a wheel in an adjacent shed, the daughter was obliged to get up shivering to carry the flagon of wine and the three glasses to the arbour, where she placed them on one of the tables. and, having pocketed the price of the wine--threepence--in silence, she went back to her seat with a sullen look, as if annoyed at having been compelled to make such a long journey. meanwhile the three men had sat down, and prada gaily filled each of the glasses, although pierre declared that he was quite unable to drink wine between his meals. "pooh, pooh," said the count, "you can always clink glasses with us. and now, abbe, isn't this little wine droll? come, here's to the pope's better health, since he's unwell!"

santobono at one gulp emptied his glass and clacked his tongue. with gentle, paternal care he had deposited his basket on the ground beside him: and, taking off his hat, he drew a long breath. the evening was really delightful. a superb sky of a soft golden hue stretched over that endless sea of the campagna which was soon to fall asleep with sovereign quiescence. and the light breeze which went by amidst the deep silence brought with it an exquisite odour of wild herbs and flowers.

"how pleasant it is!" muttered pierre, affected by the surrounding charm. "and what a desert for eternal rest, forgetfulness of all the world!"

prada, who had emptied the flagon by filling santobono's glass a second time, made no reply; he was silently amusing himself with an occurrence which at first he was the only one to observe. however, with a merry expression of complicity, he gave the young priest a wink, and then they both watched the dramatic incidents of the affair. some scraggy fowls were wandering round them searching the yellow turf for grasshoppers; and one of these birds, a little shiny black hen with an impudent manner, had caught sight of the basket of figs and was boldly approaching it. when she got near, however, she took fright, and retreated somewhat, with neck stiffened and head turned, so as to cast suspicious glances at the basket with her round sparkling eye. but at last covetousness gained the victory, for she could see one of the figs between the leaves, and so she slowly advanced, lifting her feet very high at each step; and, all at once, stretching out her neck, she gave the fig a formidable peck, which ripped it open and made the juice exude.

prada, who felt as happy as a child, was then able to give vent to the laughter which he had scarcely been able to restrain: "look out, abbe," he called, "mind your figs!"

at that very moment santobono was finishing his second glass of wine with his head thrown back and his eyes blissfully raised to heaven. he gave a start, looked round, and on seeing the hen at once understood the position. and then came a terrible outburst of anger, with sweeping gestures and terrible invectives. but the hen, who was again pecking, would not be denied; she dug her beak into the fig and carried it off, flapping her wings, so quick and so comical that prada, and pierre as well, laughed till tears came into their eyes, their merriment increasing at sight of the impotent fury of santobono, who, for a moment, pursued the thief, threatening her with his fist.

"ah!" said the count, "that's what comes of not leaving the basket in the carriage. if i hadn't warned you the hen would have eaten all the figs."

the priest did not reply, but, growling out vague imprecations, placed the basket on the table, where he raised the leaves and artistically rearranged the fruit so as to fill up the void. then, the harm having been repaired as far as was possible, he at last calmed down.

it was now time for them to resume their journey, for the sun was sinking towards the horizon, and night would soon fall. thus the count ended by getting impatient. "well, and those eggs?" he called.

then, as the woman did not return, he went to seek her. he entered the stable, and afterwards the cart-house, but she was neither here nor there. next he went towards the rear of the /osteria/ in order to look in the sheds. but all at once an unexpected spectacle made him stop short. the little black hen was lying on the ground, dead, killed as by lightning. she showed no sign of hurt; there was nothing but a little streamlet of violet blood still trickling from her beak. prada was at first merely astonished. he stooped and touched the hen. she was still warm and soft like a rag. doubtless some apoplectic stroke had killed her. but immediately afterwards he became fearfully pale; the truth appeared to him, and turned him as cold as ice. in a moment he conjured up everything: leo xiii attacked by illness, santobono hurrying to cardinal sanguinetti for tidings, and then starting for rome to present a basket of figs to cardinal boccanera. and prada also remembered the conversation in the carriage: the possibility of the pope's demise, the candidates for the tiara, the legendary stories of poison which still fostered terror in and around the vatican; and he once more saw the priest, with his little basket on his knees, lavishing paternal attention on it, and he saw the little black hen pecking at the fruit and fleeing with a fig on her beak. and now that little black hen lay there, suddenly struck down, dead!

his conviction was immediate and absolute. but he did not have time to decide what course he should take, for a voice behind him exclaimed: "why, it's the little hen; what's the matter with her?"

the voice was that of pierre, who, letting santobono climb into the carriage alone, had in his turn come round to the rear of the house in order to obtain a better view of the ruined aqueduct among the parasol pines.

prada, who shuddered as if he himself were the culprit, answered him with a lie, a lie which he did not premeditate, but to which he was impelled by a sort of instinct. "but she's dead," he said. . . . "just fancy, there was a fight. at the moment when i got here that other hen, which you see yonder, sprang upon this one to get the fig, which she was still holding, and with a thrust of the beak split her head open. . . . the blood's flowing, as you can see yourself."

why did he say these things? he himself was astonished at them whilst he went on inventing them. was it then that he wished to remain master of the situation, keep the abominable secret entirely to himself, in order that he might afterwards act in accordance with his own desires? certainly his feelings partook of shame and embarrassment in presence of that foreigner, whilst his personal inclination for violence set some admiration amidst the revolt of his conscience, and a covert desire arose within him to examine the matter from the standpoint of his interests before he came to a decision. but, on the other hand, he claimed to be a man of integrity, and would assuredly not allow people to be poisoned.

pierre, who was compassionately inclined towards all creation, looked at the hen with the emotion which he always felt at the sudden severance of life. however, he at once accepted prada's story. "ah! those fowls!" said he. "they treat one another with an idiotic ferocity which even men can scarcely equal. i kept fowls at home at one time, and one of the hens no sooner hurt her leg than all the others, on seeing the blood oozing, would flock round and peck at the limb till they stripped it to the bone."

prada, however, did not listen, but at once went off; and it so happened that the woman was, on her side, looking for him in order to hand him four eggs which, after a deal of searching, she had discovered in odd corners about the house. the count made haste to pay for them, and called to pierre, who was lingering behind: "we must look sharp! we sha'n't reach rome now until it is quite dark."

they found santobono quietly waiting in the carriage, where he had again installed himself on the bracket with his spine resting against the box-seat and his long legs drawn back under him, and he again had the little basket of figs on his knees, and clasped it with his big knotty hands as though it were something fragile and rare which the slightest jolting might damage. his cassock showed like a huge blot, and in his coarse ashen face, that of a peasant yet near to the wild soil and but slightly polished by a few years of theological studies, his eyes alone seemed to live, glowing with the dark flame of a devouring passion. on seeing him seated there in such composure prada could not restrain a slight shudder. then, as soon as the victoria was again rolling along the road, he exclaimed: "well, abbe, that glass of wine will guarantee us against the malaria. the pope would soon be cured if he could imitate our example."

santobono's only reply was a growl. he was in no mood for conversation, but wrapped himself in perfect silence, as in the night which was slowly falling. and prada in his turn ceased to speak, and, with his eyes still fixed upon the other, reflected on the course that he should follow.

the road turned, and then the carriage rolled on and on over another interminable straight highway with white paving, whose brilliancy made the road look like a ribbon of snow stretching across the campagna, where delicate shadows were slowly falling. gloom gathered in the hollows of the broad undulations whence a tide of violet hue seemed to spread over the short herbage until all mingled and the expanse became an indistinct swell of neutral hue from one to the other horizon. and the solitude was now yet more complete; a last indolent cart had gone by and a last tinkling of horses' bells had subsided in the distance. there was no longer a passer-by, no longer a beast of the fields to be seen, colour and sound died away, all forms of life sank into slumber, into the serene stillness of nihility. some fragments of an aqueduct were still to be seen at intervals on the right hand, where they looked like portions of gigantic millepeds severed by the scythe of time; next, on the left, came another tower, whose dark and ruined pile barred the sky as with a huge black stake; and then the remains of another aqueduct spanned the road, assuming yet greater dimensions against the sunset glow. ah! that unique hour, the hour of twilight in the campagna, when all is blotted out and simplified, the hour of bare immensity, of the infinite in its simplest expression! there is nothing, nothing all around you, but the flat line of the horizon with the one splotch of an isolated tower, and yet that nothing is instinct with sovereign majesty.

however, on the left, towards the sea, the sun was setting, descending in the limpid sky like a globe of fire of blinding redness. it slowly plunged beneath the horizon, and the only sign of cloud was some fiery vapour, as if indeed the distant sea had seethed at contact with that royal and flaming visit. and directly the sun had disappeared the heavens above it purpled and became a lake of blood, whilst the campagna turned to grey. at the far end of the fading plain there remained only that purple lake whose brasier slowly died out behind the black arches of the aqueduct, while in the opposite direction the scattered arches remained bright and rosy against a pewter-like sky. then the fiery vapour was dissipated, and the sunset ended by fading away. one by one the stars came out in the pacified vault, now of an ashen blue, while the lights of rome, still far away on the verge of the horizon, scintillated like the lamps of light-houses.

and prada, amidst the dreamy silence of his companions and the infinite melancholy of the evening and the inexpressible distress which even he experienced, continued to ask himself what course he should adopt. again and again he mentally repeated that he could not allow people to be poisoned. the figs were certainly intended for cardinal boccanera, and on the whole it mattered little to him whether there were a cardinal the more or the fewer in the world. moreover, it had always seemed to him best to let destiny follow its course; and, infidel that he was, he saw no harm in one priest devouring another. again, it might be dangerous for him to intervene in that abominable affair, to mix himself up in the base, fathomless intrigues of the black world. but on the other hand the cardinal was not the only person who lived in the boccanera mansion, and might not the figs go to others, might they not be eaten by people to whom no harm was intended? this idea of a treacherous chance haunted him, and in spite of every effort the figures of benedetta and dario rose up before him, returned and imposed themselves on him though he again and again sought to banish them from his mind. what if benedetta, what if dario should partake of that fruit? for benedetta he felt no fear, for he knew that she and her aunt ate their meals by themselves, and that their cuisine and the cardinal's had nothing in common. but dario sat at his uncle's table every day, and for a moment prada, pictured the young prince suddenly seized with a spasm, then falling, like poor monsignor gallo, into the cardinal's arms with livid face and receding eyes, and dying within two hours.

but no, no! that would be frightful, he could not suffer such an abomination. and thereupon he made up his mind. he would wait till the night had completely gathered round and would then simply take the basket from santobono's lap and fling it into some dark hollow without saying a word. the priest would understand him. the other one, the young frenchman, would perhaps not even notice the incident. besides, that mattered little, for he would not even attempt to explain his action. and he felt quite calm again when the idea occurred to him to throw the basket away while the carriage passed through the porta furba, a couple of miles or so before reaching rome. that would suit him exactly; in the darkness of the gateway nothing whatever would be seen.

"we stopped too long at that /osteria/," he suddenly exclaimed aloud, turning towards pierre. "we sha'n't reach rome much before six o'clock. still you will have time to dress and join your friend." and then without awaiting the young man's reply he said to santobono: "your figs will arrive very late, abbe."

"oh!" answered the priest, "his eminence receives until eight o'clock. and, besides, the figs are not for this evening. people don't eat figs in the evening. they will be for to-morrow morning." and thereupon he again relapsed into silence.

"for to-morrow morning--yes, yes, no doubt," repeated prada. "and the cardinal will be able to thoroughly regale himself if nobody helps him to eat the fruit."

thereupon pierre, without pausing to reflect, exclaimed: "he will no doubt eat it by himself, for his nephew, prince dario, must have started to-day for naples on a little convalescence trip to rid himself of the effects of the accident which laid him up during the last month." then, having got so far, the young priest remembered to whom he was speaking, and abruptly stopped short.

the count noticed his embarrassment. "oh! speak on, my dear monsieur froment," said he, "you don't offend me. it's an old affair now. so that young man has left, you say?"

"yes, unless he has postponed his departure. however, i don't expect to find him at the palazzo when i get there."

for a moment the only sound was that of the continuous rumble of the wheels. prada again felt worried, a prey to the discomfort of uncertainty. why should he mix himself up in the affair if dario were really absent? all the ideas which came to him tired his brain, and he ended by thinking aloud: "if he has gone away it must be for propriety's sake, so as to avoid attending the buongiovanni reception, for the congregation of the council met this morning to give its decision in the suit which the countess has brought against me. yes, i shall know by and by whether our marriage is to be dissolved."

it was in a somewhat hoarse voice that he spoke these words, and one could realise that the old wound was again bleeding within him. although lisbeth had borne him a son, the charge levelled against him in his wife's petition for divorce still filled him with blind fury each time that he thought of it. and all at once he shuddered violently, as if an icy blast had darted through his frame. then, turning the conversation, he added: "it's not at all warm this evening. this is the dangerous hour of the roman climate, the twilight hour when it's easy to catch a terrible fever if one isn't prudent. here, pull the rug over your legs, wrap it round you as carefully as you can."

then, as they drew near the porta furba, silence again fell, more profound, like the slumber which was invincibly spreading over the campagna, now steeped in night. and at last, in the bright starlight, appeared the gate, an arch of the acqua felice, under which the road passed. from a distance, this fragment seemed to bar the way with its mass of ancient half-fallen walls. but afterwards the gigantic arch where all was black opened like a gaping porch. and the carriage passed under it in darkness whilst the wheels rumbled with increased sonority.

when the victoria emerged on the other side, santobono still had the little basket of figs upon his knees and prada looked at it, quite overcome, asking himself what sudden paralysis of the hands had prevented him from seizing it and throwing it into the darkness. such had still been his intention but a few seconds before they passed under the arch. he had even given the basket a final glance in order that he might the better realise what movements he should make. what had taken place within him then? at present he was yielding to increasing irresolution, henceforth incapable of decisive action, feeling a need of delay in order that he might, before everything else, fully satisfy himself as to what was likely to happen. and as dario had doubtless gone away and the figs would certainly not be eaten until the following morning, what reason was there for him to hurry? he would know that evening if the congregation of the council had annulled his marriage, he would know how far the so-called "justice of god" was venal and mendacious! certainly he would suffer nobody to be poisoned, not even cardinal boccanera, though the latter's life was of little account to him personally. but had not that little basket, ever since leaving frascati, been like destiny on the march? and was it not enjoyment, the enjoyment of omnipotence, to be able to say to himself that he was the master who could stay that basket's course, or allow it to go onward and accomplish its deadly purpose? moreover, he yielded to the dimmest of mental struggles, ceasing to reason, unable to raise his hand, and yet convinced that he would drop a warning note into the letter-box at the palazzo before he went to bed, though at the same time he felt happy in the thought that if his interest directed otherwise he would not do so.

and the remainder of the journey was accomplished in silent weariness, amidst the shiver of evening which seemed to have chilled all three men. in vain did the count endeavour to escape from the battle of his thoughts, by reverting to the buongiovanni reception, and giving particulars of the splendours which would be witnessed at it: his words fell sparsely in an embarrassed and absent-minded way. then he sought to inspirit pierre by speaking to him of cardinal sanguinetti's amiable manner and fair words, but although the young priest was returning home well pleased with his journey, in the idea that with a little help he might yet triumph, he scarcely answered the count, so wrapt he was in his reverie. and santobono, on his side, neither spoke nor moved. black like the night itself, he seemed to have vanished. however, the lights of rome were increasing in number, and houses again appeared on either hand, at first at long intervals, and then in close succession. they were suburban houses, and there were yet more fields of reeds, quickset hedges, olive-trees overtopping long walls, and big gateways with vase-surmounted pillars; but at last came the city with its rows of small grey houses, its petty shops and its dingy taverns, whence at times came shouts and rumours of battle.

prada insisted on setting his companions down in the via giulia, at fifty paces from the palazzo. "it doesn't inconvenience me at all," said he to pierre. "besides, with the little time you have before you, it would never do for you to go on foot."

the via giulia was already steeped in slumber, and wore a melancholy aspect of abandonment in the dreary light of the gas lamps standing on either hand. and as soon as santobono had alighted from the carriage, he took himself off without waiting for pierre, who, moreover, always went in by the little door in the side lane.

"good-bye, abbe," exclaimed prada.

"good-bye, count, a thousand thanks," was santobono's response.

then the two others stood watching him as he went towards the boccanera mansion, whose old, monumental entrance, full of gloom, was still wide open. for a moment they saw his tall, rugged figure erect against that gloom. then in he plunged, he and his little basket, bearing destiny.