n the city and thousands perished. The poor
crept away to die in the almshouse, and thither by night and day came
the Sister of Mercy to tend them.

One Sabbath morning Evangeline passed through the deserted streets and
entered the gates of the almshouse. On her way she paused to pluck some
flowers from the garden, that the dying might be comforted by their
fragrance. As she mounted the stairs she heard the chime of church-bells
and the sound of distant psalm-singing, and a deep calm came over her
soul, for something within her seemed to say, "At length thy trials are
ended!"

Suddenly, as she was passing down the wards, she stood still and uttered
a cry of anguish. On the pallet before her lay an old man with long gray
hair, and, as she gazed, she saw that this was none other than her
lover, Gabriel. She knelt by his bedside and the dying man opened his
eyes and tried to whisper her name, but his strength was spent, and with
one last look he passed away from her.

Evangeline's weary quest was over; sweetly and patiently she took up her
life again and henceforth lived only for others. And now, in the little
Catholic churchyard of this far-away city, side by side the lovers are
sleeping.

_The
Falcon
of
Ser
Federigo_

Not far from the fair town of Florence lived a wondrously beautiful
maiden named Monna Giovanna. Of lovers she had no lack, but the two whom
she most favored were gallant Ser Federigo, and his rival, Ser Enrico.

Ser Federigo had inherited a great fortune and large estates from his
father, and, anxious to win favor in the sight of his lady, he lavished
his wealth in costly banquets and tournaments, never stopping to
consider whether she would approve of his extravagance. So reckless was
Ser Federigo that at last all his fortune was spent, and in order to
obtain fresh supplies he sold his estates, reserving only one small farm
for himself, and wasted all that money also.

Monna Giovanna by no means approved of her wooer's extravagance--she
refused his gifts, and disdained his banquets. "A spendthrift will not
make a prudent husband," thought she, and so she married the more
careful Ser Enrico, and for some years lived very happily with him in a
distant land.

Meanwhile Ser Federigo, become a sadder and wiser man, retired to his
little farm on the outskirts of the city, taking with him his falcon,
the only creature which remained true to him, for all his former friends
shunned him in his