"But it is so pleasant for me to see my generous padrone again.

Ah! how delighted the poor girl would be if she could see the padrone once again!"

"Ah, signor padrone!"

The padrone, a little round man, is always smiling.

For it is said that one day Our Lord was walking with Sampietro in Paradise, as the Padrone may do with his Fattore, when after a while He said, not as complaining exactly but as stating a fact, "Sampietro, this place is going down!" Here Sampietro, who is always impetuous and knew very well what He meant, dared to interrupt, "Il Santissimo can't blame me," said he huffily.

The wind played the very mischief with us last night!" "Many branches broken, Padrone?" asked Beppo, eagerly.

"If one is only to speak of what one has seen," urged the prompter of the uncle's ghost-story, "tell the Padrone of the witch that bewitched your sister.

"What a fright you have given us, Padrone!"

" "I!you!but how, caro Padrone?" "Ah! you haven't yet, I assure you, recognized your old acquaintance, the identical ghost which you favored with a bullet.

" "The padrone should have been too generous to complain of Pietro's clumsiness, since it met with its own punishment.

I must have told thee how near the beautiful signora was to sharing the fate of the gondola, and how the loss of the Roman marchese weighs, in addition, on the soul of the padrone.

Ill-luck may follow that brig on account of his death!" "Ill-luck follow her, say I, till she lays her bones on some rock that is harder than the heart of her padrone.

" "How does he call his felucca, and what is the name of the padrone?" "La Bella Sorrentina, commanded by a certain Stefano Milano, son of an ancient servant of Sant' Agata.

Her padrone has relations at Sant' Agata, as I have told your eccellenza, and his vessel has lain on the beach near the castle many a bleak winter.

"'Tis a padrone of Calabria, who oftentimes brings into the port excellent liquors of his country, and who would pass a cask of the red lachryma christi through the Broglio itself, and not a noble of them all should see it.

"A happy night to the Bella Sorrentina and her worthy padrone!" was the greeting of the gondolier, as he put his foot on the deck of the vessel.

" The Calabrian was not slow to answer; and in a few moments the padrone and his two visitors were in close and secret conference.

"If thou distrust that any here are the spies of the authorities," she observed to the padrone, with a manner that readily betrayed her wishes, "it will be in Gino's power to undeceive thee.

" "I begin to see into the nature of the trade," returned the pliant padrone, placing a finger on the side of his nose.

" Annina was not without secret doubts, but she suffered the padrone to lead her to the stairs of the cabin, as if she were disposed to descend.

For a few minutes the padrone of the Bella Sorrentina continued to pace her decks, snuffing the fresh breeze that came in over the Lido, and then he sought his rest.

* Il Padrone.

There is a large population that live wholly on the water: for the padrones of the parao have usually their families with them, which, from the great variety of ages and sexes, give a very different and much more bustling appearance to the crowd of boats, than would be the case if they only contained those who are employed to navigate them.

The unregulated private employment office, the padrone and the sweat-shop are the agencies who direct the newcomers to jobs, whether it be in the city or out in the country camp.

"Not so, Signor Tenentenot so," returned the vice-governatore; "the lugger that passed this morning, we know to be le Feu-Follet, inasmuch as she took one of our own feluccas, in the course of the night, coming from Livorno and Raoul Yvard permitted her to come in, as he said to her padrone, on account of the civil treatment he had received while lying in our port.