and said not another word during the whole evening.

After once giving utterance to her will, Ginevra affected
inconceivable coolness. She opened the piano and sang, played charming
nocturnes and scherzos with a grace and sentiment which displayed a
perfect freedom of mind, thus triumphing over her father, whose
darkling face showed no softening. The old man was cruelly hurt by
this tacit insult; he gathered in this one moment the bitter fruits of
the training he had given to his daughter. Respect is a barrier which
protects parents as it does children, sparing grief to the former,
remorse to the latter.

The next day, when Ginevra sought to leave the house at the hour when
she usually went to the studio, she found the gates of the mansion
closed to her. She said nothing, but soon found means to inform Luigi
Porta of her father's severity. A chambermaid, who could neither read
nor write, was able to carry letters between the lovers. For five days
they corresponded thus, thanks to the inventive shrewdness of the
youth.

The father and daughter seldom spoke to each other. Both were nursing
in the depths of their heart a sentiment of hatred; they suffered, but
they suffered proudly, and in silence. Recognizing how strong were the
ties of love which bound them to each other, they each tried to break
them, but without success. No gentle thought came, as formerly, to
brighten the stern features of Piombo when he contemplated his
Ginevra. The girl had something savage in her eye when she looked at
her father; reproach sat enthroned on that innocent brow; she gave
herself up, it is true, to happy thoughts, and yet, at times, remorse
seemed to dull her eyes. It was not difficult to believe that she