will do that for me, and will wear it constantly round your neck, I hope, until" he added, with a faint smile,—" until you replace it by the portrait of some gentle lady, who will have more right to be there than a rough fellow like me." Paul pressed his hand, and time now pressing, prepared to go. "I have had some of the books you most liked, Pietrino," he said, "put into a box for you, and 'Sandro will bring it up this afternoon. They have all my name in them, so will be as good a souvenir as I could leave you. I need not say that I shall write to you as regularly as I can, and you must let me know everything that happens. Above all, you must tell me if there is anything in which I can help you, for of what use will it be my having money and abundance if you are in want? Directly I am permitted, I shall come back here; and when I am my own master I mean to buy the old villa, if it is to be sold, and we will live there like brothers. Goodbye, mother, God bless you! Good-bye, Pietrino; we shall see each other again, never fear. We are only parting for a time, and the same sun will shine upon us, and the same good and great God will watch over us, though I may be in England and you in Tuscany!" Thus speaking he embraced them both tenderly, tore himself at last from the arms of his friend, and ran down the stairs with precipitation to hide his feelings from them, which he could not hide notwithstanding. He waved his hat to the two heads which were watching him out of the window, as he reached the corner, and muttering a blessing upon them, walked away. The old gardener, Giannetti's words were true: there were smiles when he went in, and there were many tears shed when he departed. CHAPTER III. Paul's letter-The boating excursion-A stiff breeze- THE following letter, written by Paul to his friend Pietrino, will inform our readers of his movements after quitting the villa. "Leghorn, April 15th, 18—. "MY DEAR PIETRINO,-You will have heard from 'Sandro, whom I charged with a message for you when he took leave of me, poor fellow, that I arrived here all right with Mr. Freeman. That gentleman has been very kind to me, and I am now living in his house. He has no children of his own, and his wife is away, so that we have the house, a very large one, all to ourselves. He was afraid I should be lonely, and wanted to invite some young people of my age to keep me company, but I have no wish to make new friends, so I thanked him and begged him not to give himself any trouble about me, as I should manage to amuse myself till the time came for me to leave dear Italy. He keeps two horses, and therefore lets me ride one whenever I please, and as Giorgio, the groom, has other things to do, I go out very often alone, for Mr. Freeman is engaged till six in his office. I take great plea sure in these long solitary rides by the sea, where I am often, by the hour together, alone with my own thoughts, for there are few people to be met with in the roads I take at an early hour in the day. "I cannot explain to you what I feel when I find myself in these retired places, with nothing but the open sea before me, and a solitary ship or two in sight. It is sometimes so calm that the vessels appear like birds with their wings spread out, sleeping upon the water, without a sound to wake them up or a breath to fan their sails. At other times there is a fresh breeze blowing, which breaks the sea up into thousands of little waves, each with a milky crest, making the water look a still deeper blue from contrast with its creamy foam. But what I most love, is when the wild Libeccio* is blowing upon the shore, dashing the billows on to the rocks, and sending the spray in clouds over the land. Then everything seems to find a voice. The waters dash, and groan, and rage; the wind fiercely threatens as it comes crashing through the bushes which grow high upon the beach; the sea-gulls wail as they fly low and close in shore; and the trees cower down as if they tried to hide their heads from the storm. This state of the weather always has a great effect on me. If I am on horseback, I ride at full gallop on the shore, and fancy myself some wild spirit of the tempest. And if I am on foot, I creep down as near to the water's edge as I can get, and try to dodge the showers of spray as they come flying *The south-west wind. PAUL'S LETTER TO PIETRINO. 23 along, behind some great rock or mass of earth, which does not always give me shelter. "But all my time is not spent in these occupations. I have other amusements which likewise engage me, and as I am only waiting here till the vessel which is to take me to England is ready, I am allowed to follow them just as I feel inclined. "I have always been fond of boating and sailing. You must often have heard me say so, dear Pietrino, and how pleased I used to be when the bathing season came round, and my dear parents removed to the sea-side for the hot months of the year. Spezia was our favourite place, but sometimes we came to Leghorn; but whether one or the other, whenever I could get the chance, I was sure to be found among the boatmen, and would spend best part of my pocket-money in little boating excursions round the coast. “This inclination has not left me. I am a good customer to most of the Barchettajoli of the port; and whenever I make my appearance near the waterside, I am sure to be saluted with remarks about the fineness of the day, and of its being a capital morning for a sail,' when perhaps there is not a breath of wind. "Within the last day or two, however, I have given all my custom to a certain Giacomo, an old man, who lives near the Mole, and has a famous little boat, which I and Giannetto, his grandson, a lad about my own age, are just able to manage. "It is the completest little thing you ever saw —not at all like the naviscelli on the Arno, caro |