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 Another Random Document on
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cloud, and tossed up again."

"Well, my young friend," said meek Mr. Rhind, "they were the first
I ever saw, you know, and every man may make a mistake."

"I wonder you did not take them for the burning bush," said
Hume, a little irreverently; "for, my dear Rhind, you had had the Old
Testament in your mouth from the moment we left Mantua, and you
had paid our bill to the Moabitish woman who cheated us so
fearfully. You called her by every gentile name you could muster,
simply because she would have twenty scudi more than her due."

"Well, I own I loved her not," replied Mr. Rhind.

"But she did not want you to love her!" retorted Hume; "she
wanted Gowrie to love her, and he would not; so she charged the
twenty scudi for the disappointment; and all she wanted with you
was to pay the money."

"Which I certainly would not have done, if I could have helped it,"
replied Mr. Rhind.

"But you could not, my dear sir," said Lord Gowrie; "depend upon
it, Rhind, there is no striving against woman, circumstances, or an
innkeeper's bill; and it is only waste of words and time to contest a
point with either."

"I am sorry you find it so, my dear lord," replied Mr. Rhind,
somewhat tartly, for he had been rather hardly pressed by his young
companions' gay humour during the morning. Lord Gowrie only
laughed, however, for his heart was very light. He was returning to
her he loved; he had known few sorrows since his very early years,
and each step of his horse's foot seemed, to hope and fancy, to
bring him nearer to happiness. He could have jested at that moment
good-humouredly with a fiend; and certainly Mr. Rhind did not
deserve that name. The young earl, however, saw clearly that his
former preceptor was somewhat annoyed, and he consequently
changed the subject, stretching out his hand, and saying, "Behold
the mighty Po. I know not how it is, but this river, about the part
where we are now, though less in course and in volume than either
the Rhine, the Rhone, or the Danube, always gives me more the
idea of a great river than they do. Perhaps it may be even from the
lack of beautiful scenery. With the others we lose the grandeur of
the river in the grandeur of its banks. Here the broad stream comes
upon us in the dead flat plain, without anything to distract the
attention or engage the eye. I am inclined to believe that a river, as
a river, is always more striking when there is no other great object to
be seen."

"And yet to me," said Hume, "the ocean itself, simply as the
ocean, without storms to lash it into magnificent fury, or rocky
shores to hem it in, like a defending and attacking army, but seen
from a plain sandy shore upon a calm day, is not half so sublime a
sight as poets and enthusiasts would have us believe. There is a
great deal of quackery in poetry, don't you think so, Gowrie? Poets
bolster themselves and one another up with associations and
images, till they believe things to be very sublime, which
abstractedly are very insignificant. I remember once standing upon a
low beach, and putting the whole sea out, by holding up a kerchief
at arm's length. I have never since been able to think it sublime
except during a storm."

"Take care how you try other things by such standards," said
Gowrie; "I am afraid, my dear Hume, that the same kerchief would
have equally reduced the finest, the noblest, and the best of all the
things of earth. It is he who extends his vision, not he who contracts
it, that learns to judge things most finely, and also, I believe, most
really."

As these words were passing, they were slowly approaching the

banks of the great river, which at that spot is broader perhaps than
at any other point of its course. The land on either side was bare
and dusty, and the heat became more and more intense from the
want of verdure around. At length a proposal was made that instead
of crossing at once in the ferry boat, and pursuing their journey on
horseback from the other side, they should hire a boat and drop
down to Occhiobello, leaving the horses and grooms to rest for an
hour or two at Massa, and then follow down the stream in the
course of the evening, when the weather would be less sultry. The
proposal came from Mr. Rhind, who was evidently a good deal
fatigued; and the Earl of Gowrie, ever anxious to contribute as much
as possible to his old tutor's comfort, acceded at once, although the
plan might cause a few hours' delay, and he was anxious to hasten
on as fast as possible, impelled by love and the expectation of
speedily meeting her for whom his affection seemed but to increase
by absence. There was some difficulty, indeed, in procuring a boat;
for although the large ferry-boat, which, like Charon's, had carried
over many a generation, was lying at its accustomed mooring place,
yet no small boats were near, and they had to ride slowly down the
bank of the stream for more than a mile before they came to a
village where they could procure what they wanted. There, however,
they engaged a small skiff of a rude kind, then commonly used by
the peasantry; the three gentlemen embarked without any of their
attendants; and the boatmen, after a little consultation amongst
themselves, put off from the shore.

"What were you talking about just now while you were looking at
the sky every minute?" asked Lord Gowrie, in Italian, addressing the
master of the boat.

"We were saying that we should not get back without a storm,
signor," replied the man. "I should not wonder if we had to stay at
Occhiobello to-night, for when the Po is angry she is a thorough
lion."

"I hope the storm will not come before we land," said Mr. Rhind,
who was of a timid and unadventurous nature.
 His two young companions only laughed, teazing him a little with
regard to his fears, for they were at that age when a portion of
danger is the sauce of life, giving a higher flavour to enjoyment. The
boatmen assured the old gentleman that the storm would not come
till evening; and away they went down the full quick stream, having
for the first half hour the same hot and glaring sun above them,
shining with undiminished force through the thin haze which lay
upon the landscape. If they expected to find fresher air upon the
water they were mistaken, for not a breath of wind rippled the
current of the stream, and the reflection of the light from its broad
glassy current rendered the heat more intense and scorching than
on the land. Sir John Hume amused himself by taking Mr. Rhind to
task for the bad success of his plan; but Lord Gowrie good-
humouredly remarked, that at all events they were saved the trouble
of riding. The boat dropped down the stream more rapidly than
usual, for there was a large body of water in the river at the time,
and the current was exceedingly fierce; but at the end of about a
quarter of an hour the wind suddenly changed to the southeast, and
blowing directly against the course of the eager waters, tossed them
into waves as if on the sea. The change was so sudden--from almost
a perfect calm, with the bright smooth glassy river hastening on
unrippled towards the Adriatic, to a gale of wind and a wild fierce
turbulent torrent--that good Mr. Rhind was nearly thrown off his
seat, and showed manifest symptoms of apprehension. The
boatmen showed no alarm, however, and Lord Gowrie and Sir John
Hume contented themselves with looking up towards the sky, which
in the zenith was becoming mottled with gray and white, while to
windward some heavy black masses of cloud were seen rising
rapidly in strange fantastic shapes. The air was as sultry as before,
however, and after blowing for about a quarter of an hour
sufficiently hard to retard the progress of the travellers very much,
the wind suddenly fell altogether, and a perfect calm succeeded. The
waters of the river still remained as much agitated as ever, and Lord
Gowrie called the attention of Hume to a very peculiar appearance in
the sky to the south.
 "Do you see that mass of leaden gray cloud, Hume?" he said,
"lying upon the black expanse behind. See how strangely it twists
itself into different forms, as if torn with some mortal agony."

"Agony enough," answered Sir John Hume, "for the poor cloud
looks as if it had the cholic; but I have remarked that it always is so
when the wind is in the southeast. We shall see presently if there be
thunder or anything else, for it is nothing strange to witness a
conflict of the elements at this season of the year, especially in this
dry and arid country, where the sun seems to reign supreme,
without one green blade of grass to refresh the eye, or one cheering
sound to raise a heart not utterly deprived of feeling for its fellow
creatures."

The young gentleman spoke in English; but the elder boatman, a

man who had numbered many years, and who with his three sons
was now still following the profession in which he had been bred in
his early youth, seemed to remark the direction of his eyes, and to
divine the subject of his thoughts and conversation. "Ah, sir," he
said, "I should not wonder if there were an earthquake before night.
You are staring at that queer-looking cloud; and I have rarely seen
such a fellow as that, working away as if it were twisting itself into
all sorts of shapes rather than begin the devastation, without its
ending in something very sharp."

The two young men, who comprehended every word, though

spoken in the broad Mantuan dialect, looked at each other in silence;
but Mr. Rhind, who, notwithstanding his long residence in Italy, had
with difficulty mastered the common terms of the language,
remained silent, merely observing, "Well, it is pleasant that the wind
has gone down, although the river is still tossing about in a strange
way; I am half-inclined to be sick as if I were at sea."

Half an hour passed without the prognostication of the fisherman

being fulfilled. The same lull in the air, the same agitation of the
water continued; Occhiobello was in sight, and the sun was sinking
far away over the Piedmontese hills, surrounded by a leaden purple
colour, in which it was difficult to say whether the dull stormy gray or
the crimson glow of evening predominated. In the south, the same
heavy clouds were seen, somewhat higher than when the wind fell,
cutting hard upon the blue sky overhead; and the large mass of
vapour, the peculiar appearance of which I have already mentioned,
lay contorting itself into a thousand different forms every moment.
On the right bank, not far behind them, when they looked back, the
travellers could see their horses and servants coming at an easy
pace down the course of the stream, the slow progress of the boat
having given an advantage to the party on land; and in front, a little
more than half way between them and Occhiobello, a row boat was
perceived crossing the broad river from the left bank to the right,
apparently with great difficulty, and heavily laden.

"That is Mantini's boat," said one of the boatmen to the other.

"Ay, he'll get himself into a scrape some day," said the old man.
"You see he's got horses in it now!"

"How is that likely to get him into a scrape?" asked Lord Gowrie.
"Is the boat not fitted for horses?"

"Oh yes, signor," replied the man; "but it is not that I spoke of.
The law says, no boat shall carry horses, oxen, or asses, except the
regular ferry boats."

"Few would get across, then, by any other conveyance," said Sir
John Hume; "for this infernal tossing is beginning to make me think
that none but asses, would go in a small boat when they could get a
big one. Come, row on, row on, my men; for if you lose time
grinning at my joke, I shall not take it as a compliment."

The men put their strength to the oar, and the boat flew on a
good deal more rapidly; for a gay good-humoured manner will
always do more with an Italian than either promises or commands.
The boat before them was rather more than half way across the
river, while they, in the mid-stream, were rapidly approaching it,
when suddenly the old boatman, starting up, pushed his way to the
stern between the earl and Mr. Rhind, and thrust his oar deep in the
water, somewhat in the fashion of a rudder, exclaiming, "It is
coming, by St. Antony! keep her head on, boys--keep her head on!"
and looking out along the course of the stream, Lord Gowrie saw a
wave rushing up against the current, not unlike that which, under
the name of the Mascaré, proves so frequently fatal to boats in
Dordogne. Towards the middle of the river, the height of this watery
wall, as it seemed to be, was not less than seven or eight feet,
though near the banks it was much less, and all along the top was
an overhanging crest of foam, snow-white, like an edge of curling
plumes. A loud roar accompanied it; and the fierce hurricane, which
was probably the cause of the phenomenon, seemed to precede the
billow it had raised by some forty or fifty yards; for the heavy-laden
boat which they had seen, and which, having approached much
nearer the bank, was much less exposed to the force of the rushing
wave than their own, was in an instant capsized by the violence of
the blast, and every one it contained cast into the rushing water.

Horses and men were seen struggling in the stream; and with
horror the earl beheld a woman's garments also. "Towards the
bank!--towards the bank!" he cried, "to give them help;" but the
boatmen paid not the least attention, and scarcely had the words
quitted his mouth when the wind struck their boat also. One of the
young men, who had been standing up, was cast headlong into the
bottom of the bark; those who were seated could hardly resist the
fury of the gale; and the next instant the wall of water struck them
with such force, that instead of rising over it, as the old boatman
had hoped, the skiff filled in a moment, and went down.

For an instant the Earl of Gowrie saw nothing but the green
flashing light of the wave, and heard nothing but the roaring of the
water in his ears; but accustomed from his infancy to breast the
dangerous billows of the Firth of Tay, he struck boldly out, rising to
the surface, with very little alarm for himself or for his companion
Hume, whom he knew to be a practised swimmer also. His first
thought was for his good old preceptor; but he soon saw that Mr.
Rhind was even in a better condition than himself, having somehow
got possession of an oar, over which he had cast his arms, so as
both to hold it fast, and to keep his head and shoulders out of water.
The old boatman and his two sons were seen at some little distance
striking away towards the shore; and Hume, never losing his
merriment even in the moment of the greatest peril, shouted loudly,
"Get to land, Gowrie--get to land! I will pilot Rhind to the bank, if he
will but keep his helm down, and his prow as near the wind as
possible."

As Hume was much nearer to the worthy tutor, Lord Gowrie

followed his advice; but the first two strokes which he took towards
the land, drifting, as he did so, part of the way down the stream,
showed him at a few yards' distance a scene of even greater interest
than that which actually surrounded him. It was that of the boat
which had been capsized by the first rush of the hurricane. It had
not sunk at once as his own smaller craft had done, and one or two
men were clinging to a part of it which appeared above the water.
Close by, a horse's head and neck protruded above the stream; and
the hoofs were seen beating the water furiously, in the poor animal's
violent efforts to reach the land. Considerably nearer to the earl was
a group of three persons, two men and a woman. One of the men,
only a few feet distant from the others, and apparently but little
practised in the art of swimming, was struggling furiously, with
energetic efforts, to reach a better swimmer, who was not only
making his own way towards the shore, but supporting coolly and
steadily with his left hand the head and shoulders of the girl beside
him. She herself was dressed in the garb of a peasant; but a feeling
of terror indescribable seized upon the earl, when in the face of the
man who supported her he recognised the features of his own
servant, Austin Jute. He saw in an instant that if the drowning man
once caught hold of them, all three must inevitably perish; and
swimming towards them as fast as possible, he shouted, "To the
shore, Austin--to the shore! Don't let him reach you, or you're lost!"
 "Here, take her, my lord," cried Austin Jute--"take her, and leave
me to settle with him. Drowning men catch at a straw; and he has
got hold of one of the tags of my jerkin--in God's name take her
quick, or he'll have us all down!"

As he spoke the earl reached his side. He asked no questions, for

one look at the girl's face before him was enough. The dark eyes
were closed. The long black hair floated in ringlets on the water, and
the face was very pale, but the small fair hands were clasped
together on the breast, as if with a strong effort to resist an almost
overpowering inclination to grasp at the objects near.

"She lives," thought the earl, cheered by that sign; and placing his
hand under her shoulders he bade the servant let go his hold. Then,
with no more exertion than was needful to support himself and her
in the water, and to guide them in an oblique line towards the shore,
he suffered the stream to bear them on. The only peril that
remained was to be encountered in passing the boat, where the
horse was still struggling furiously; but that was safely avoided, and
then, confident in his own strength and skill, the earl made more
directly for the bank, and reached it just as the sun was
disappearing in the west. For one so young, Lord Gowrie had known
in life both very bitter sorrow and very intense joy; but nothing that
he had ever felt was at all to be compared with his sensations at the
moment when, after staggering up the bank with Julia in his arms,
he placed her on the dry turf at the foot of a mulberry tree, and
gazed upon her fair face as she lay with the eyes still closed.

"Julia," he said, "Julia;" and then everything gave way to joy as

she faintly opened her eyes and unclasped her hands. The bright
purple light of evening was streaming around them, and glancing
through the vine leaves which garlanded the trees. There was no
one there but themselves; and with warm and passionate joy he
kissed her fair cheek again and again, and wrung the water from her
hair, and bound the long tresses round her ivory brow, while, with
wild words of tenderness and love, he poured forth the mingled
expression of joy and apprehension and thankfulness. For a moment
or two she did not speak. I know not indeed whether it was terror,
or exhaustion, or the overpowering emotions of the moment that
kept her silent; but even when she could find words they were at
first but two, "Oh, Gowrie!"

A moment after they were joined by Sir John Hume and Mr.
Rhind, and, looking up the stream, Gowrie saw a group of several
persons on the bank, busy apparently in helping sufferers out of the
water.

"Did you see my man Austin, Hume?" asked the earl, after some
other words had passed, of that quick and whirling kind by which
moments of much agitation are followed.

"Oh yes, he is safe," answered Hume. "Indeed, you need not

have asked the question, he'll not drown easily, though another
fellow near him did his best to prevent him keeping his head above
water."

"It was that which alarmed me for him," replied the earl; "and I
owe him too much this day, Hume, not to feel anxious for his safety.
Are you sure he reached the shore?"

"Quite sure," replied his friend, "and I trust that there are not
many lost from amongst us. Fair lady," he continued, taking Julia's
hand, "I rejoice indeed to see you safe, and if Gowrie will take my
advice, and you can find strength to walk, he will lead you at once to
the little town down there, where you can dry your wet garments
and obtain some refreshment and repose."

As the young knight spoke, Mr. Rhind turned an inquiring glance

to Lord Gowrie's face, as if he would fain have asked who the
beautiful creature before him was, and what was her connexion with
his former pupil. The earl did not remark the expression, however;
but Julia called his attention away by touching his hand and making
a sign to him to bend down his head. He did so at once, and after
listening to a few whispered but eager words, he said aloud, "No, we
will not go to Occhiobello. There is a village up there; it will do well
enough. Have you strength to go, Julia? If not, we will either get or
make a litter for you."

She rose, feebly, however, and though feeling faint and giddy,
declared that she was quite capable of walking. "Let us see first,"
she added, "if all the people are saved. It would darken the joy of
our own escape if any of the rest were lost."

"Here comes your man Jute," said Sir John Hume, addressing the
earl. "He will tell us how the others have fared."

They walked on a little way to meet the man who was

approaching; and as soon as he was within ear shot the earl called
to him, inquiring if all were safe.

"Two have gone to the bottom, my good lord," replied Austin;

"the master of our own boat for one, and the same fellow who tried
so hard to drag me down with him. For the former I am sorry
enough; for he seemed a good cheerful-minded man; but for the
latter I don't care a rush; and, to say truth, I believe he may be as
well where he is. He followed us down to the boat, my lord,"
continued Jute, in a whisper to the earl, "and jumped in, willy nilly,
just as we were putting off. I've a great notion he had no good will
to my young lady, for he kept his eyes fixed upon us the whole time,
as if ready to make a spring at us as soon as we got out of the
boat."

"You must tell me more by and by," said the earl. "Now let us
forward."

Thus saying, with Julia's arm drawn through his own, he walked
slowly on towards the group which was standing on the bank, while
Hume followed, conversing with Mr. Rhind, whom he seemed to be
teazing by exciting his curiosity in regard to Julia, without satisfying
him by a single word. Such broken sentences as, "Oh, very beautiful
indeed. Don't you think so?--Quite a mystery altogether--I can tell
you nothing about it, for I know nothing--Gowrie has known her a
long time--Her name? Lord bless you! my dear sir, I don't know her
name, I hardly know my own sometimes--" reached Gowrie's ear
from time to time, and brought a serious smile upon his lip. At
length, however, they approached the group upon the bank, and
found the whole of the Italians much more taken up with grief for
the various losses they had sustained than with joy at their own
escape from a watery grave. The brother of the man Mantini, who
had been drowned, was sitting upon the sand, pouring forth a
mixture of strange lamentations, sometimes for the boat, sometimes
for his brother. The other old fisherman and his two sons were
wringing their hands, and bemoaning the ruinous accident which
had befallen them. The old man could not be comforted; and his
sons seemed to increase the paroxysms of his grief from time to
time by recapitulating the various perfections of their little craft, and
the sums of money which had been expended upon her. Lord
Gowrie, however, contrived very speedily to tranquillize their
somewhat clamorous grief by saying, "Do not wring your hands so,
my good man; you lost your boat in my service, and the best you
can buy or build to replace it, you shall have at my cost. Show us
now the way to that village, for I see no path towards it; and come
and see whether you can procure some lodging for us there during
the night. I dare say you know most of the good people there, and
can tell us where we can find rest and provisions."

The old man declared that the best of everything was to be found
at the village, though there was a better inn, he said, at Occhiobello,
which was not above three quarters of a mile farther.

"That makes all the difference to the lady," replied the earl; "and
we shall do very well at the village for the night."

He then approached the younger Mantini, and attempted to

comfort him as he had done the other boatman, by promising to pay
the amount of his loss.
 "That wont buy back my brother," said the man, sadly. "I should
not have cared a straw about the old boat if it had not been for
that."

"That is God's doing, not man's," replied the earl; "and man
cannot undo it. This should be some comfort, for he deals better for
us than we could deal for ourselves; but think of what I have said,
and let me know the expense of a new boat, this night at the village
there. Can you tell who was the other unfortunate man who has
been drowned?"

"His name I don't know," answered the boatman; "but when I

wanted to keep him out of the boat, which was too heavy laden as it
was, he whispered that he was a messenger of the holy office, and
told me to refuse him a passage at my peril. He brought a curse into
our boat, I trow, or we should not have had such a storm; but there
is no use of my sitting here and watching the water. Two horses and
two men have gone down beside the boat, and no one will ever rise
again till the last trumpet calls them out of the grave. I may as well
go with you to the village as sit here watching the water that rolls
over them all;" and getting up, he followed the rest of the party with
his hands behind his back, in dull and silent grief.
 CHAPTER VIII.

Do you know well, dear reader, any of those large villages which
are scattered over what may be called the Mantuan plain? They
deserve not, indeed, the name of towns, though they often
approach them in size. I mean such places as San Felice, Gonzaga,
Bozzolo, Sanguinetto, and others of that class, which now present a
number of small scattered stone houses, with gardens generally
around them, and a road running through the midst; and here and
there a much larger house falling rapidly to decay, with no windows
to keep out the storm or the tempest, and very often the roof
completely off, while the tall square tower, which is certain to be
found stuck somewhere about the building, rises one, if not two
stories above the rest. The church is generally placed upon any little
rising ground, sometimes at one extreme of the village, sometimes
in the middle, with the priest's cottage close by; but in any of these
at the present day, you might as well look for an inn as for the shop
of a diamond merchant, unless you chose to call by that name the
little hovel, surrounded by a garden, where, on festival days, the
peasantry go to drink their glass of Rosolio and water, wine,
lemonade, or, since the Austrians have bestrid the land, vermouth.

In the days I speak of, however, when journeys were almost

always performed on horseback, and cross-roads shared more
liberally with highways in the patronage of travellers, those larger
houses which I have mentioned were all inhabited by wealthy
contadini, who often combined with their ordinary occupation of
farmers the more lucrative calling of inn-keeping. The large farms
which they held furnished abundance of provisions for any accidental
guests, and the upper parts of the house, though scantily decorated,
were kept ready for the reception of travellers, in case the blessing
of heaven, the plague in a neighbouring town, or the bad reputation
of the high road, brought the wayfarers to villages in preference to
cities. Very different, indeed, were the customs and habits of such
inns at that time, from those which have prevailed within the last
century, or, perhaps, even more; for though not more than two
hundred and fifty years have passed, yet from the end of the
sixteenth to the beginning of the seventeenth century, were times of
great change in the habits and manners of all the nations of Europe;
and at the small village inn in Italy, instead of seeing waiters,
tapsters, or drawers, or even barmaids and chambermaids, all
running eagerly to receive the unexpected guest, the landlord would
rise up from under his fig tree or his olive, with a courteous
salutation, and his sons and daughters would be called upon to
attend his guests.

Such was the reception of the Earl of Gowrie and his companions,
at the little inn in the village which I have described upon the banks
of the Po. One of the first houses they met with was a large building,
such as I have described, with its tall square tower of five stories at
one corner, the whole situated at the distance of a hundred yards
from the road, with a farm-yard in front. On the left of that farm-
yard was a vineyard, rich with grapes; and from a pole leaning over
the wall, hung suspended a garland, as indication sufficient that
hospitable entertainment was to be found within. The host himself
was seated under a tree in the vineyard, pigliar la fresca, as he
called it himself; but no sooner did he see the party enter the court-
yard, than up he started, notwithstanding his age and his fat, both
of which were considerable, and hurrying forward to do the honours
to his guests, called loudly for Bianca and Maria, and Pietronillo, to
assist in making the visitors comfortable. The whole house was
bustle and confusion in a moment; and although it could not afford
accommodation to all, yet the Earl of Gowrie and his own immediate
companions found every thing they could desire. Austin Jute was
immediately sent back to bring his fellow-servants, who were coming
down the river with the horses; and the boatmen were lodged in the
neighbouring houses, to fill the pitying ears of the villagers with
moving tales of disasters undergone.

Such details were not wanting to excite the interest, and in some
degree the wonder of the host, his daughters, and his son. There
was something in the air, the countenance, and even in the dress of
the gentlemen who made the house their temporary residence,
which seemed to show that they were foreigners; yet two of them
spoke the language with the most perfect purity even of accent, and
not the slightest tone of their fair companion indicated that she was
not a native of the country. But then, in her case, her dress was that
of a mere Paduan peasant on a gala day, while her language, her
manners, and her whole appearance, denoted a much higher
station, and from time to time she spoke to her companions in
another tongue, without the slightest appearance of difficulty or
hesitation. The pretty country girl, too, who aided her to change her
wet garments for others which she kindly and willingly supplied,
brought down the report that every part of her dress but the mere
gown and bodice, were of the very finest materials, and that she had
taken from her bosom a trinket shaped like a heart, surrounded with
what seemed to her, jewels of inestimable value.

The rooms which were assigned to the travellers were somewhat

difficult to allot, for each, as was and is still very common in Italian
houses, opened into the other; and the young earl had determined
that thenceforth Julia should be guarded by himself. When he
pointed out, therefore, as they passed through them, the end
chamber of the whole suite as that which was best suited to her, and
took possession of the next for himself, good Mr. Rhind's severe
notions seemed a little shocked, and though he did not venture to
make any observation, he looked exceedingly grave.

Lord Gowrie took no notice, though he did not fail to remark the
change of expression, for from the few private words which had
passed between himself and Julia, he felt that the time had come
when it would be necessary very speedily to give whatever
explanation he thought needful. It could not, indeed, be afforded at
the moment, but a few minutes after, stopping one of the daughters
of the host, he said, "Stay a moment, Bianchina. The signora may be
alarmed at sleeping in a strange house alone. You must kindly take
the other bed in her chamber."

"With much pleasure, sir," replied the girl, and tripped away. This
being arranged to the satisfaction of Lord Gowrie, and even to that
of Mr. Rhind, there remained another feat to be accomplished, which
was, to obtain a quiet unwatched private conversation with Julia, in
which he might learn all that had befallen her. The few words which
she had spoken on the bank of the river had given him a general
knowledge of the greater misfortunes which had happened, but to a
heart that loved as his did, the smallest particular, the most minute
detail was interesting. He longed to hear her tell all, to comfort her
for all, and his imagination, which was quick and eager, painted all
that she had endured--the sorrow, the terror, the agitation. He
grieved bitterly that he had not been present to protect and to
console her at the time when such evils had over-shadowed and
such difficulties obstructed her path of life, and he thirsted to pour
the balm of sympathy and affection into the gentle heart so bruised.

Many an obstacle presented itself, however, during the next hour,

to any private communication. The whole house was in a bustle;
beds were to be made, rooms arranged, supper prepared. Julia had
to change her dripping garments and to obtain others; the earl to
give various orders, and to bestow the promised compensation upon
the boatmen; the host, his son, his daughters, and a maid were
running from room to room, and chattering with everybody; the
servants who had been left to follow with the horses arrived to
increase the numbers and the confusion, and some time after Austin
Jute made his appearance, bearing the little packet which Julia had
carried with her from Padua.

"Nothing is lost," he observed, "but what is at the bottom of the

sea. Search saves seeking. All deep things have a bottom."
 It was easier to obtain speech of him than of Julia at that
moment, and the earl soon learned all that Austin himself knew--the
death of good old Manucci, the wild and absurd rumours which had
spread after his decease, and the risk which the beautiful girl herself
had run of being committed to prison upon the charge of taking part
in the old man's supposed unlawful arts, and being imbued with
heretical notions. The means taken to effect her escape were then
detailed, and Austin Jute went on to say, "We got on very well that
night, my lord, and reached a little country inn which I remembered
well, at Battaglia, where, although the accommodation was poor
enough, I thought we should be in safety. I was forced to tell many
a lie, it is true, and say that the young lady was my sister, which the
people believed, because we spoke nothing but English to each
other, although the family likeness is not very great, and she was
dressed like an Italian girl. The next morning, however, I found that
there were people out in pursuit of us. One of the sparrow-hawks
had stopped at the inn in the night to refresh his horse and himself;
and refreshing himself somewhat too much, he chattered about his
errand, for when the wine is in, the wit is out, my lord. The people
of the place were all agog about it, for they had not had a bit of
sorcery and heresy for a long time; and from their talk I found that
he was going towards Rovigo to give orders at the ferries and the
bridges for apprehending us. That forced us to turn out of our way,
and cross the Adige higher up; but I made up for lost time by selling
the two asses, and buying two good horses, and we crossed the
country between the Adige and the Po quick enough. The difficulty
was how to get over this great river, for I did not doubt that our
picture had been painted at every passage house; and besides, I
had seen, two or three times, a man who seemed to me watching
us. I went along the bank, therefore, till I found the boat in which
we did try to cross just ready to start with some of the peasants. For
a high bribe the man agreed to take us and our horses, though it's
against the law; but just as we were putting off, down came the
black looking fellow whom I had seen several times following,
jumped off his horse, tied the beast to the boat post, and forced his
way into the boat. All the rest you know, my lord, and all I can say
is, if he was upon a bad errand, the fellow has gone to answer for it.
He tried hard to drown me, but I would not let him."

Such was Austin Jute's brief tale; and in a few minutes after, the
boatman, Mantini, came in to receive what had been promised him.
His calculation regarding the value of the boat which had been lost
seemed to be just and even moderate; and after having paid him his
demand, the earl added ten Venetian ducats more.

"I cannot recall your brother to life, my good friend," said Gowrie,
"nor can I compensate for his loss to you and others; but if he has
left any children, distribute that small sum amongst them, on the
part of a foreign gentleman who sincerely commiserates their
misfortune."

The rough boatman, with the quick emotions of the south, caught
his hand and kissed it, saying, "God bless you, sir!" He then turned
away towards the door, but paused before he reached it, and coming
back, he said in a low voice, "I hear you know the signora who was
in our boat; and I think, from the way you looked at her, that you
love her. If so, start to-morrow morning at daybreak, avoid Ferara
and all this side of Italy, and get into the Parmesan, or some place
where they will not look for you."

The earl gazed at him for a moment in silence, and then replied,
"This is indeed a valuable hint, my good friend, if you have just
cause for suspecting any evil intended against us. So far I will
acknowledge you are right: the young lady is well known to me, and
her safety is dearer to me than my own."

"I have just cause, signor," replied the man. "The river has
delivered the signora from one of those who were pursuing her, but
there are others watching for her at Ferara, and all along the course
of the stream. The man who came into our boat just as we were
putting off--he who was drowned, I mean--told me, in a whisper,
that he was a messenger of the holy office, and bade me run to
Occhiobello at once, to ask the podesta for assistance to apprehend
the lady and the man who was with her, as soon as we landed from
the boat. It was that made me say he brought a curse with him, for
he seemed to rejoice as much at the thought of catching a poor
young thing like that, as others would at making her happy. I heard
all about the plans they had laid for taking her; and he said it was
the duty of every one to give instant information. I shall give none,
and you are safe for me; but there are other people here who will be
chattering, and the noise of the loss of the two boats, and the
drowning of two men, will bring plenty of inquiries to-morrow
morning. If I can put them on a wrong scent, however, I will."

The earl thanked him warmly for his information, and then held a
hurried consultation with Hume, to which, at the end of a few
minutes, Austin Jute was called. It was evident, no time was to be
lost in preparing for a very early departure on the following morning.
Horses had to be purchased, to supply the place of those which had
been drowned; and it seemed also needful to procure a different
dress for Julia, as it was now clear that the persons in pursuit of her
had obtained information of the costume in which she had left
Padua; and moreover, her travelling in the garments of a peasant
girl, with three gentlemen in a high station in society, would
assuredly attract attention at every inn where they stopped. Where
or how this change of apparel was to be obtained, proved a very
puzzling question; for although the use of ready-made garments was
in that day much more common than at present, yet it was not to be
expected that the village could supply such, nor that even
Occhiobello possessed a shop where anything of the kind could be
obtained.

"I will go and talk to one of the girls of the house about it," said
Hume. "There is supper being served, I see. You go in, Gowrie, and
partake, while I seize upon Bianchina or her sister, and try to
discover what is to be done."
 He was more fortunate than might have been anticipated, for he
found the two daughters of the innkeeper together, and quite willing
to enter into conversation or gossip upon any subject he chose.
Nevertheless, it was not very easy to explain to them what he
wanted, without explaining, at the same time, Julia's dangerous and
painful situation; but when he had at length accomplished the task,
well or ill, the younger girl looked at her sister with an expression of
intelligence.

"So," she said, "the lady wants a dress, does she? and that is all.
Well, I think that can be easily procured for her. Don't you
remember, Bianca, the Venetian lady who was here last year, and left
a coffre behind her?"

"Well," replied the other sister, looking shrewdly at Sir John

Hume, "I thought, when first I set eyes on her, that the signora was
not peasant born. Now, I'll warrant me, she has stolen away in
disguise from home, some dark night, to meet her lover here; and
the wild river had well nigh given them a mournful bridal bed--'tis
very strange that all the elements seem to make war against love. I
never yet heard of any of these stolen matches going forward
without being crossed for a while by storms and accidents."

Sir John Hume thought it might be no bad policy to suffer the

turn which the light-hearted girl had given to the fair Julia's flight
and disguise, to remain uncontradicted; and he replied, laughing,
"Well, thou art a little divineress. Don't you think I'm a proper man
for any fair lady to run away from home to mate with?"

"No, no," answered the girl, with a shrewd glance; "it is not you
she came to mate with; it is your friend; and you stand by, like the
dog by his master's chair, watching the good things provided for
him, and only taking what scraps he gives you--Ha! ha! gay signor,
have I touched you?"
 "By my faith you have, and hit hard," replied Sir John Hume; "but
I will have a kiss for that, Bianchina, before we part."

"It must be in the dark, then," cried the girl, laughing, "for fear I
should see your face and not like it."

"But about this Venetian lady's goods and chattels, my two pretty
maids," said the young knight, recurring to the subject. "We cannot
break her coffre open and steal her apparel."

"Trouble not your brain with that, gay signor," answered the girl
Maria. "We will not make you take part in robbery."

"Unless you steal my heart, and I lose it willingly," replied the

knight.

"No fear of that; it is not worth stealing," replied the girl. "If it has
been bestowed on every country girl you meet, it must be well nigh
worn out by this time. As to the apparel, it belongs to us, now. That
sweet lady's case was much of the same sort as this one's. She fled
from a hard father at Venice, and came hither to meet her lover, and
fly with him to Bergamo; but, by some mischance, it was nine whole
days before he found her, and all that time we hid her close, though
the pursuers tracked her almost to our door. We used to sit with her,
too, and comfort her, and talk of love, and how fortune often
favoured it at last, after having crossed it long. At the end of the
nine days, the young marquis came and found her; but as they were
obliged to fly for their lives on horseback, the coffre was left behind;
and when she got home and was married, she wrote to bid us keep
it for her love, and divide the contents between us. They are not
garments fit for such as we are; long black robes, which would cover
our feet and ankles, and trail upon the ground, mantles and hoods,
and veils of Venice lace. We cut up one velvet cloak, to make us
bodices for holidays, but that is all we have taken yet; and we can
well spare the lady garments enough for her journey, and more
becoming her than those which now she wears."
 This was very satisfactory news to the young Earl of Gowrie,
when his friend joined him at supper, after parting from the two gay
girls above, with an adieu better suited to the manners of that day
than to our notions in the present times. As soon as supper was
over, he hastened with his friend and Julia to conclude the bargain
for the contents of the Venetian lady's coffre; and, to say truth,
though good-humoured, lively, and kind-hearted, the innkeeper's
two daughters showed a full appreciation of that with which they
were parting, and did not suffer it to go below its value. To make up,
however, for this little trait of interestedness, Maria and Bianchina
set instantly to work with needles and thread and scissors, to make
the garments fit their new owner; and leaving Julia with them, after
a whispered petition that she would join him soon in the gardens,
the earl went down again to the eating room, purposing at once to
enter in explanation with Mr. Rhind, in order to save grave looks or
admonitions for the future.

He found his former tutor, however, sound asleep, worn out with
the fatigues and anxieties of the day, and soothed to slumber by a
hearty supper and a stoup of as good wine as the village could
afford.

"Faith, Gowrie," said Sir John Hume, "I could well nigh follow old
Rhind's example; but I may as well stroll through the village first,
and see what is going on. There is nothing like keeping watch and
ward. Will you come?"

The earl, however, declined, and strolled out into the gardens,
which extended to the banks of that little river which, taking its rise
somewhat above Nonantola, joins the Po not much higher up than
Occhiobello.
 CHAPTER IX.

The moon was clear in the heaven, the skies in which she shone
were of that deep intense blue which no European land but Italy or
Spain can display; there was an effulgence in her light, which
mingled the rays with the deep blue woof of the night heavens so
strongly, that the stars themselves seemed vanquished in the strife
for the empire of the sky, and looked out but faint and feeble.

In a small arbour covered with vines, on the bank of the stream,

sat the lady Julia and her lover. The bright rays of the orb of night
floated lightly on the water, changing the dark flowing mass into
liquid silver, while a hazy light poured through the olive, the fig, and
the vine, giving a faint mysterious aspect to the innumerable trees,
and enlivening various spots upon the dull, cold, gray earth, with the
yellow radiance of the queen of night.

I believe it is as fruitless as difficult to try to analyse the feelings

of the human heart, when that heart is strongly moved by the
impulses implanted in it by nature, called into activity by accidental
and concurring circumstances. That nature has laid down a rule, and
that the heart always acts upon it with more or less energy,
according to its original powers, I do strongly believe; but it seems
to me fruitless, or at all events but little beneficial, to investigate
why certain bosoms, especially those of southern climates, are
moved by more warm and eager feelings than others. The operation
of man's mind and of his heart are as yet mysteries; and no one who
has ever written upon the subject has done more than take the facts
as they found them, without at all approaching the causes. We talk
of eager love; we speak of the warm blood of the south; we name
certain classes of our fellow-beings, excitable, and others,
phlegmatic; but we ourselves little understand what we mean when
we apply such terms, and never try to dive into the sources of the
qualities or the emotions we indicate. We ask not how much is due
to education, how much to nature; and never think of the immense
sum of co-operating causes which go to form that which is in reality
education. Is man or woman merely educated by the lessons of a
master, or the instructions and exhortations of a parent? Are not the
acts we witness, the words we hear, the scenes with which we are
familiar, parts of our education? Is not the Swiss or the Highlander of
every land educated in part by his mountains, his valleys, his lakes,
his torrents? Is not the inhabitant of cities subjected to certain
permanent impressions by the constant presence of crowds and the
everlasting pressure of his fellow-men? Does not the burning sun,
the arid desert, the hot blast, teach lessons never forgotten, and
which become part of nature to one class of men; and frozen plains,
and lengthened winters, and long nights, other lessons to the
natives of a different region? Give man what instruction you will, by
spoken words or written signs, there is another education going on
for ever, not only for individuals, but for nations, in the works of God
around them, and in the circumstances with which his will has
encompassed their destiny.

Perhaps no two people upon earth had ever been educated more
differently than the two who sat together in that garden, and yet,
strange to say, in the character of each had been produced traits
which, while they left a strong distinction, disposed to the most
perfect harmony. Gowrie, born amidst rich and wild scenery, had
passed his earliest days in troublous and perilous events. Constant
activity, manly exercises, dangerous sports, and wild adventures,
had been alternated with calm study; and acting on a mind of an
inquiring and philosophic turn, and a frame naturally robust, had
increased and early matured the powers of each. Thus had passed
his days to the age of seventeen, and then a perfect change had
taken place in his course of life. Removed to Padua, he had devoted
himself for some years solely to the cultivation of his understanding;
and had followed eagerly, and with extraordinary success, inquiries
not alone into the lore of ancient days, but into those physical
sciences which were then known but to a few, and often perilous to
the possessor. Love had come at length to complete the education of
the heart, just when the education of body and mind was
accomplished.

Julia, on the contrary, had been snatched, at a period beyond her

memory, from the dangers and difficulties which had surrounded her
infancy. She had passed the whole period of early youth in calm and
quiet studies, directed to unite every grace and accomplishment with
strength of mind and firmness of principle. No tender, no gentle
affection had been crushed; her spirit had been embittered by no
harshness; her heart had been injured by no disappointment; no
rankling memory of any kind was in her bosom, and her affections
had been cultivated as well as her understanding. Bright and
cheerful, deep-feeling, and true by nature, a sense of duty had been
given her as a guide and not a tyrant; and her attachments and her
enjoyments, limited to a very small sphere, had gained intensity
from their concentration upon few objects.

And there they now sat, side by side, with her hand locked in his,
telling and hearing the tale of the first great griefs which she had
ever known. Youth forms but a faint idea of mortality till the dark
proofs are placed tangibly before its eyes. We know that those we
love must die; but hope still removes the period, and draws a veil
over the terrors of death. She had sometimes sat and thought of it--
especially when her old relation had pointed out that the great
enemy of the mortal frame was approaching more and more closely
to himself--but she had never been able to realize the grim features
as they appeared to her now, when she had seen them near; and
now, when she spoke of the loss of him in whom, for so many years,
all her feelings and her thoughts had centered, she leaned her head
upon Gowrie's shoulder, and the tears flowed fast.

It was natural--it was very natural that she should cling with but
the stronger affection to him who now sat beside her. The first
strong love of woman's heart had been given to him, and that is
intense and absorbing enough; but he was now the only one; there
was no partition of affection with any other being in the world;
neither brothers nor sisters, nor parents nor friends, shared her
thoughts or divided her attachment. The cup of love was full to the
brim. Not one drop had been spilt; and it was all his own.

Nor were his feelings less intense towards her, though different;
for man's part is ever different in the great moving passion of youth.
To protect, to defend, to befriend, is his allotted portion of the
compact between man and woman; and to feel that he was all in all
to her, that she had none to look to but him, that then and for ever
her fate rested on his power and his will, that his arm must be her
stay, his spirit her guide, his love her consolation, rendered the deep
passion which her beauty, her grace, her gentleness first kindled, but
the more warm and ardent. It was pure, and high, and noble, too.
He forgot not at that moment the promises which Manucci had
exacted from him. He proposed not to himself or her to break them.
He told her all that had passed; and though he expressed regret that
such delay must interpose before he could call her his own, and
showed how much easier, safer, and happier their course would be,
if she could at once give him her hand at the altar, yet he expressed
no desire at that time to deviate from the conduct pointed out.
Pledged to follow it, it seemed to him but as a road traced on a map,
which, though circuitous, would lead in the end to happiness, and
from which they could not turn aside without losing their way
entirely. It was only how they could best tread that path that they
considered; and there, indeed, much was to be thought of and
provided for. The first object was to place the fair girl in safety; for
although a sad smile came upon her countenance at the absurdity of
the accusation, when she spoke of the suspicions entertained
against her, yet those were days when innocence was no safeguard,
and the unreasonableness of a charge was no security. The only
course to be followed seemed that which had been pointed out by
the boatman, Mantini--namely, to ascend the river as rapidly as
possible, without venturing into the Venetian territory, and then to
pass straight through Piedmont and France, to England.
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