"It was in my mind, in order that I might not be left naked, to sell houses and possessions, and to let the lira go for ten soldi."

Upon installing himself in an upper room, with a view of the blue circle of the gulf framed by the outlines of the balcony, Ferragut's first move was to change a bill for five liras into coppers, preparatory to asking various questions.

And now,"her voice rose more shrill and uncontrollable at every word, as she saw Lira's face turn white, and her anger gave desperate utterance to the lie,"and now he has the effrontery to come to meto meto me of all womenand to confess his abominable passion for that pure angel, imploring me to assist him in bringing destruction upon her and you.

"Thunder weather, you are a devilish young man!" said Von Lira, still panting.

Then, the afternoon papers are full of the whole affair, some right and some wrong, and I am bound to show the Contessina di Lira that this unfortunate accident does not touch my heart,

He felt sure that the Graf von Lira would go to it, and he was equally certain that Hedwig would not.

But, when I think of it, such a combination would seem absurdly vulgar by the side of Hedwig von Lira.

As he went down the street a closed carriage drove by with the Lira liveries.

By this he told me that he had no clue to the whereabouts of the Liras, and he implored me to make inquiries and discover where they had gone.

We put our heads together and debated how we might discover the Paris address of the Graf von Lira.

" "Pardon my curiosity," I interrupted, "but as you know everyone in Paris, could you inform me whether Count von Lira and his daughter are there at present?

"I can find out from Lira's banker, who is probably also mine.

Then of course he is in love with Mademoiselle de Lira, and has gone to Paris to find her, and cannot.

Well, I will find out about the Liras for you in a day or two, before I leave Rome again.

Nino wrote again, enclosing a letter addressed to the Contessina di Lira, which he implored me to convey to her, if I loved him.

"I wish your Liras were in Tophet," he continued, presently.

I went out again and telegraphed to Nino to say I was going at once in search of the Liras, and begging him to come home as soon as he should have finished his engagement.

I therefore got into the old stage that still runs to Palestrina and the neighbouring towns, for it is almost as quick as going by rail, and much cheaper; and half-an-hour later we rumbled out of the Porta San Lorenzo, and I had entered upon the strange journey to find Hedwig von Lira, concerning which frivolous people have laughed so unkindly.

If it were really old Lira who had chosen this retreat in which to imprison his daughter and himself, I asked myself whether I could do anything save send word to Nino as soon as possible.

Graf von Lira had a right to live anywhere he pleased with his daughter, and the fact that I had discovered the spot where he pleased to live did not constitute an introduction.

There was a postal service twice a week, and I was told that Count von Lira, whose name was no secret in the village, sent messengers very often to Subiaco.

I had imagined him to be but a chance acquaintance of the Lira family, having little or no personal interest in their doings.

He had amused himself by promising to come back and go with me on my search, perhaps to make a laughing-stock of me, or even of my boy, by telling the story to the Liras afterwards.

In another moment I was in the presence of Hedwig von Lira.

And it was anything but conventional to hear one friend shout to another, "Don't pay a lira for those mandarins; I got twice that many from this pirate!"