170 Turnaside Cottage.

 

in my presence, I startled them, and myself too, by
the vehemence of my displeasure. Rinaldi might
pass henceforth unmolested ; but the pleasantest
result to me was that a friendship sprang up between
us, which lasted undimmed till his death. His was
a beautiful mind—enthusiastic, cultivated, ardent,
noble. I learned much from intercourse with him;
the mere hearkening to his high aspirations was
ennobling. He taught me his harmonious languages
and for his sake” (here my master laid his hand on
the Italian newspaper) “I still take a lively interest
in his country’s fate.

“We were leaving the schoolhouse together one
afternoon, Rinaldi and I—and I was in better spirits
than usual, because I had seen my sister with a
needle in her hand that morning for the first time
since my father’s departure, and augured well from
the sign—when a mob in the street attracted our
attention. It came towards us, and I was for push-
ing by and making my way out of it as speedily as
possible, when the words passing from mouth to
mouth attracted my attention. I made my way
into the midst, and found there, indeed, my poor
sister, habited in sackcloth, the garment she had
been busy over that morning—her hair flying, her
face unconscious of the staring, shouting mob—doing
penance, so she told me, for her sins. The people