country, and, besides, he is also a Genovese. He will tell thee."

Luigi's eyes cleared, but he condescended to make no reply. It is not
for a man to take the advice of a woman. But when it was dark, and
Vincenza had gone to lie down with the Little One, Luigi took his hat
and went over to the shop of Biaggio Franchini.

Biaggio listened attentively; his pudgy hands, crossed on his stomach,
rose and fell with the undulations of the rolls of flesh beneath. From
time to time he ceased for a moment the contemplation of the strings of
garlic and sausage that hung from the fly-specked ceiling of his
diminutive shop, and turned his little black eyes sharply on Luigi.

"So," he said at last, "to-day a lady came to thy house, and after to
ask many questions left these three dollars. It was in this way?"

"Just so," replied Luigi, "and questions the most marvelous I have ever
heard. And in this country, where everyone asks the questions. How long
that I do not work, and if we have to eat?" Luigi laughed; "of a surety,
Biaggio, she asked that. She sees that we live--and she asks if we
eat--_ma! che!_ And then, if we have every day the meat? When I said
once, sometimes twice in the week--thou knowest it is not possible to
have more often, when one waits to buy the house--then it was she put on
the table the three dollars, and gave me a paper to sign----"

"Thou didst sign nothing?" Biaggio spoke eagerly.

"No. Once I signed the paper in English and it cost me two dollars; not
again. I said I could not write, and she wrote for me."

"_Bene_," Biaggio nodded approval. "It is not thy writing. It can do
nothing."

"Perhaps it is because I voted twice at the election last week? But
already I have taken the money for that. It was one only dollar. I----"

"Non, non, it is not that. Listen!" Slowly Biaggio shut both eyes, as if
to keep out the tremendous light that had dawned upon him, and nodded
his head knowingly. Then he opened them, shifted his huge bulk upright,
and clapped Luigi on the knee.

"Thou art in great luck friend," he cried, "and it is well that thou
hast asked me. If thou hadst gone to another, to a man not honest, who
knows? Listen. In our country when a rich man dies, he leaves always
something for the poor, but he leaves it to the church and it is the
fathers who give away the money. Corpo di Bacco! what that means thou
knowest well. Sometimes a little gets to the poor. Sometimes---- But in
this country it is