perceived were open; and in another moment
all would have been over, but
Mucius——"

"Blessings on him!" exclaimed the
mother.

———" Sprang forward from the prow, clutched
the prize in his hand, ordered me with the
greatest coolness to keep beating the water
all round him with the oar; he slapped the
surface at the same time with his disengaged
hand, and slowly —- still eyeing the animal,
which watched, but did not dare to touch him
while in motion he got to the side of the
skiff. Then, raising his voice, he ordered
the sailors to fire upon the enemy not to
mind hitting him, for the child by this time
was safe under the gunwale; and the water
was soon scattered into twenty little jets by
the bullets that were aimed at the monster.
A rope was thrown over; Mucius climbed
up the ship's side, and we soon got the baby
lifted up also, for I held it in my arms while
the latter part of the struggle was going on.
And now the threatener of Porsenna must
tell the rest of the story himself, for the
supper looks delightful. ——- Halloa! that
greedy little Geronymo has abstracted all
the ham!"

"I knew if there was a noble thing to be
done in the world," said Giuseppe, embracing
the hero of the adventure, "my brother was
the man to do it."

The sisters all kissed him in turn.

His brother also folded him in his arms.

"And no kiss for me, my son?" said
the mother, her eyes filled with tears of
pride.

"When they are all gone," said Mucius,
"I have to tell you more." He looked as if
he wished the party to disperse, and they
rapidly withdrew.

He threw himself on his knees before his
mother, and placed his arms round her
waist.

"Mother of my soul," he said, looking up
in her face, "it is all true what my uncle the
abbé has related, but he did not tell you he
could not tell you, what happened when I
got upon the deck. There lay on one of the
sofas a lady with the rescued infant on her
breast. She is so beautiful, so tender, so
noble, my sweet mother! —- her voice reminded
me of yours. She thanked me with such eyes!
I know not if she gave utterance to her gratitude
in words; but she asked me who I
was, that she might pray for me at morn and
evening prayer. I told her all —- I told her
of you; and said if she would condescend to
land, though only for an hour, that you
would rejoice to see her. But she was on
the way to France. She is a Frenchwoman,
mother, though she comes from
some island far away in the great ocean;
but she says she will never forget me, and
I—- O! friend, dearer than all friends —- I
shall never forget her —- no, never, never
more!"

"How old is she, my son?"

"The beautiful have no years. I know
not. In ancient times altars would have
been raised to her as Venus the pure and
holy. In our days I must only look upon
her as my protectress. I will pray to no
created being but to her."

"Sister," at this moment cried out the
abbé, "are you coming home?" He put his
head through an orifice in the hedge that
divided them from the high-road. "We're
waiting for you under the lime."

"And more, dear mother: she gave me a
memorial. She took from her neck a locket.
She says it contains the hair of herself and
her two children. Look how beautiful
it is."

It was a small gold locket, surrounded
with pearls, and containing a heart, in hair
of various colour.

"Forgive me for remarking," said the
father, looking over the low space between
the dromedary's humps, "that the clock of
St. James ——"

"The King of Westphalia, region of hams,
is crying for more pork!" exclaimed the
reverend uncle. "Quiet, Geronymo, you
little beast!"

"Can you read the names upon the back !"
continued Mucius. "The moon is for a
moment obscured."

The mother tried to decipher the inscription
on the locket.

"The Queen of Naples, realm of maccaroni,"
again ejaculated the priest, "is
afraid of catching cold. Bid them be quick,
Paulina ——-"

"I see —- I see the words. They are only
Christian names. There are no surnames,"
said the mother.

"The Roman princess is gone on before,"
once more intoned the abbé. "Go, Jerome,
son of perdition! run after Paulina——-"

"The names," said the mother, "are
Josephine, Eugene, Hortense."

"Forgive me for remarking," said the
father, making his appearance over the
tail of the peacock "forgive me, Madame
Buonaparte, if I press you to make
haste."

"Come then, my Napoleon." said the
mother," give me your arm. We shall hear
more of Josephine ere long. Meanwhile to
our house in Ajaccio."

"On the word of a priest," cried the abbe,
out of all patience, " I can assure you, Sister
Letitia, that his Eminence Cardinal Fesch is
absolutely starving. Come on, or I shall
perish of hunger on the road."