of affection in their hearts on
which he could make many demands before it is exhausted. They were
determined to think well of Giuseppe Mansana. My dear husband felt
that himself, and it made him very humble, for he was oppressed by
the thought that he had not deserved all this affection.

"In Ancona all went easily enough. The main obstacles had been
overcome. And now--now at last--he is all mine, and I have for my
own the noblest character in the world, cleansed and purified, the
most considerate husband, the most devoted companion, the manliest
lover that any Italian girl ever won. Pardon the vehemence of my
expressions. I know you do not like them, but they _will_ out.

"In Bologna--you see I hasten on--as we were walking about, we
happened to pass the town hall. There two marble tablets hang,
inscribed with the names of those who fell in the fight for the
liberation of the city. I felt a thrill pass through Giuseppe's
arm; and to this circumstance I owe a conversation which laid,
deeper than ever, the foundations of our union.

"You know, dearest mother, how my eyes were opened to the wrong I
did Giuseppe by my odious, egotistical caprices; they almost cost
him his life and both of us our happiness. You know how my soul is
constantly vexed by that state of public feeling which breeds in us
resentment, hatred, unreasonable fanaticism, and a disgraceful
intolerance. An unnatural, unhealthy state of opinion like this
does more harm to society than the most disastrous war, for it is
impossible to estimate how much it destroys of spiritual power and
efficiency, how many hearts it leaves empty, how many families it
lays waste. Believe me, mother, that any nation which has achieved
an unrighteous conquest, and annexed what belongs to others, makes
all its citizens participators in its wrong-doing. Not only does it
relax the moral fibre of every individual and add to the mischiefs
done by private chicanery, violence, and robbery, and the harsh
tyranny of officialism, but it robs the heart of its due rights in
the family and society.

"Some silly verses were once written about me by an enamoured fool;
not a word of truth was there in them. But now, my beloved mother,
I feel that, if I had never met Giuseppe, what was said in those
verses would have come to be true enough some tim