these fancied proofs would be like.
She still believed that Madame Mayer was mad.

"I have been remarking to Giovanni upon Donna Tullia's originality," said
old Saracinesca. "It is charming; it shows a talent for fiction which the
world has been long in realising, which we have not even suspected--an
amazing and transcendent genius for invention."

"It is pure insanity," answered Corona, in a tone of conviction. "The
woman is mad."

"Mad as an Englishman," asseverated the Prince, using the most powerful
simile in the Italian language. "We will have her in Santo Spirito before
night, and she will puzzle the doctors."

"She is not mad," said Giovanni, quietly. "I do not even believe we shall
find that her documents are forgeries."

"What?" cried his father. Corona looked quickly at Giovanni.

"You yourself," said the latter, turning to old Saracinesca, "were
assuring me half an hour ago that I was the victim of a plot. Now, if
anything of the kind is seriously attempted, you may be sure it will be
well done. She has a good ally in the man to whom she is engaged. Del
Ferice is no fool, and he hates me."

"Del Ferice!" exclaimed Corona, in surprise. As she went nowhere as yet,
she had, of course, not heard the news which had been published on the
previous evening. "You do not mean to say that she is going to marry Del
Ferice?"

"Yes, indeed," said Giovanni. "They both appeared last night and
announced the fact, and received everybody's congratulations. It is a
most appropriate match."

"I agree with you--a beautiful triangular alliteration of wit, wealth,
and wickedness," observed the Prince. "He has brains, she has money, and
they are both as bad as possible."

"I thought you used to like Donna Tullia," said Corona, suppressing a
smile.

"I did," said old Saracinesea, stoutly. "I wanted Giovanni to marry her.
It has pleased Providence to avert that awful catastrophe. I liked Madame
Mayer because she was rich and noisy and good-looking, and I thought
that, as Giovanni's wife, she would make the house gay. We are such a
pair of solemn bears together, that it seemed appropriate that somebody
should make us dance. It was a foolish idea, I confess, though I thought
it very beautiful at the time. It merely shows how liable we are to make
mistakes. Imagine Giovanni married to a lunatic!"

"I repeat that she is not mad," said Giovanni. "I cannot tell how they
have managed it, but I am sure it has been managed well,