ne grey sister walked hastily homeward from the Piazza di an Marco, and trod the bridge again, and turned in at the arge door in the Via de' Bardi, her footsteps were marked arkly on the thin carpet of snow, and her cowl fell laden nd damp about her face.

She went up to her room, threw off her serge, destroyed Le parting letters, replaced all her precious trifles, unbound er hair, and put on her usual black dress. Instead of taking long exciting journey, she was to sit down in her usual ace. The snow fell against the windows, and she was

one.

She felt the dreariness, yet her courage was high, like at of a seeker who has come on new signs of gold. She was ing to thread life by a fresh clue. She had thrown all the ergy of her will into renunciation. The empty tabernacle mained locked, and she placed Dino's crucifix outside it. Nothing broke the outward monotony of her solitary me, till the night came like a white ghost at the windows. t it was the most memorable Christmas-eve in her life to mola, this of 1494.

volves to d among ther And there w fellow wo

herefore,

C

join the L She had ighting sava by strong for of the Germ r the Leag w he had in he coast was iLeghorn el Florence! F

edged in as Pope and the reach her?

The gover

this urgent n ekt, raising

lecting th atory emba ay becoming

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These acts
Savonarola ma

s without
ey saw clear
r the public

and make com
tead of draw
a foreign
tizens, instead
the shape of

-olves to drive away all other wolves, and then to see which mong themselves could snatch the largest share of the prey. nd there was a general disposition to regard Florence not as fellow wolf, but rather as a desirable carcase. Florence, erefore, of all the chief Italian States, had alone declined join the League, adhering still to the French alliance.

She had declined at her peril. At this moment Pisa, still ghting savagely for liberty, was being encouraged not only strong forces from Venice and Milan, but by the presence the German Emperor Maximilian, who had been invited the League, and was joining the Pisans with such troops he had in the attempt to get possession of Leghorn, while e coast was invested by Venetian and Genoese ships. And Leghorn should fall into the hands of the enemy, woe to Drence! For if that one outlet towards the sea were closed, Aged in as she was on the land by the bitter ill-will of the pe and the jealousy of smaller States, how could succours ch her?

The government of Florence had shown a great heart in surgent need, meeting losses and defeats with vigorous ort, raising fresh money, raising fresh soldiers, but not lecting the good old method of Italian defence -conatory embassies. And while the scarcity of food was every becoming greater, they had resolved, in opposition to old cedent, not to shut out the starving country people, and mendicants driven from the gates of other cities, who e flocking to Florence like birds from a land of snow. These acts of a government in which the disciples of onarola made the strongest element were not allowed to = without criticism. The disaffected were plentiful, and y saw clearly that the government took the worst course the public welfare. Florence ought to join the League make common cause with the other great Italian States, ead of drawing down their hostility by a futile adherence foreign ally. Florence ought to take care of her own ens, instead of opening her gates to famine and pestilence e shape of starving contadini and alien mendicants.

Every day the distress became sharper: every day the murmurs became louder. And, to crown the difficulties of the government, for a month and more in obedience to a mandate from Rome Fra Girolamo had ceased to preach. But on the arrival of the terrible news that the ships from Marseilles had been driven back, and that no corn was coming, the need for the voice that could infuse faith and patience into the people became too imperative to be resisted. In defiance of the Papal mandate the Signoria requested Savonarola to preach. And two days ago he had mounted again the pulpit of the Duomo, and had told the people only to wait and be steadfast and the divine help would certainly

come.

It was a bold sermon: he consented to have his frock stripped off him if, when Florence persevered in fulfilling the duties of piety and citizenship, God did not come to her

rescue.

When we

?And & taining th

Yet at present, on this morning of the thirtieth, there were no signs of rescue. Perhaps if the precious Tabernacle of the Madonna dell' Impruneta were brought into Florence and carried in devout procession to the Duomo, that Mother, rich in sorrows and therefore in mercy, would plead for the suffering city? For a century and a half there were records how the Florentines, suffering from drought, or flood, or famine, or pestilence, or the threat of wars, had fetched the potent image within their walls, and had found deliverance. And grateful honour had been done to her and her ancient church of L'Impruneta; the high house of Buondelmonti, patrons of the church, had to guard her hidden image with bare sword; wealth had been poured out for prayers at her shrine, for chantings, and chapels, and ever-burning lights; and lands had been added, till there was much quarrelling for the privilege of serving her. The Florentines were deeply convinced of her graciousness to them, so that the sight of her tabernacle within their walls was like the parting of the cloud, and the proverb ran, that the Florentines had a Madonna who would do what they pleased.

high

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ards the Por
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He's dead, I t
enough to tak

When were they in more need of her pleading pity than ? And already, the evening before, the tabernacle aining the miraculous hidden image had been brought high and reverend escort from L'Impruneta, the priged spot six miles beyond the gate of San Piero that looks ards Rome, and had been deposited in the church of San gio, outside the gate, whence it was to be fetched in nn procession by all the fraternities, trades, and authos of Florence.

But the Pitying Mother had not yet entered within the s, and the morning arose on unchanged misery and ondency. Pestilence was hovering in the track of famine. only the hospitals were full, but the courtyards of private es had been turned into refuges and infirmaries; and still was unsheltered want. And early this morning, as , members of the various fraternities who made it part of duty to bury the unfriended dead, were bearing away orpses that had sunk by the wayside. As usual, sweet nly forms, with the refined air and carriage of the wellbut in the plainest garb, were moving about the streets eir daily errands of tending the sick and relieving the y.

e of these forms was easily distinguishable as Romola ardi. Clad in the simplest garment of black serge, plain piece of black drapery drawn over her head, so hide all her hair, except the bands of gold that rippled on her brow, she was advancing from the Ponte Vecchio Is the Por' Santa Maria-the street in a direct line with idge when she found her way obstructed by the g of a bier, which was being carried by members of the ny of San Jacopo del Popolo, in search for the unburied The brethren at the head of the bier were stooping to e something, while a group of idle workmen, with s paled and sharpened by hunger, were clustering and all talking at once.

e's dead, I tell you! Messer Domeneddio has loved him ough to take him,"