called no one by the name of any four-footed beast or crawling,
venomous thing, yet she somehow brought order out of chaos. Her
language (for which she would have been fined thirty days in her
native land) charmed and enthralled the Venetians by its delicacy,
reserve, and restraint, and they dispersed pleasantly. The
sausage-vender wished good appetite to the cook,--she had need of
it, Heaven knows, and we had more,--while the spry girl embraced
the fritter-woman ardently, begging her to come in again soon and
make a longer visit.


VIII


CASA ROSA, June 10

I am saying all my good-byes--to Angelo and the gondola; to the
greedy pigeons of San Marco, so heavy in the crop that they can
scarcely waddle on their little red feet; to the bees and birds and
flowers and trees of the beautiful garden behind the casa; to the
Little Genius and her eagle's nest on the house-top; to "the city
that is always just putting out to sea." It has been a month of
enchantment, and although rather expensive, it is pleasant to think
that the padrona's mortgage is nearly paid.

It is a saint's day, and to-night there will be a fiesta. Coming
home to our island, we shall hear the laughter and the song
floating out from the wine shops and the caffes; we shall see the
lighted barges with their musicians; we shall thrill with the cries
of "Viva Italia! viva el Re!" The moon will rise above the white