which might easily have led a stranger to believe that there was a
similarity between their characters. Tall, like his brother, the priest
was a little less thin, and evidently far less nervous. The expression
of his face was thoughtful, and the deep, heavily-ringed eyes were like
Marzio's, but the forehead was broader, and the breadth ascended higher
in the skull, which was clearly defined by the short, closely-cropped
hair and the smooth tonsure at the back. The nose was larger and of more
noble shape, and Paolo's complexion was less yellow than his brother's;
the features were not surrounded by furrows or lines, and the leanness
of the priest's face threw them into relief. The clean shaven upper lip
showed a kind and quiet mouth, which smiled easily and betrayed a sense
of humour, but was entirely free from any suggestion of cruelty. Don
Paolo was scrupulous of his appearance, and his cassock and mantle were
carefully brushed, and his white collar was immaculately clean. His
hands were of the student type--white, square at the tips, lean, and
somewhat knotty.

Marzio, in his ill-humour, had no doubt flattered himself that his
family would wait for him for supper. But his family had studied him and
knew his ways. When he was not punctual, he seldom came at all, and a
quarter of an hour was considered sufficient to decide the matter.

"What are we waiting to do?" exclaimed Maria Luisa, in the odd Italian
idiom. "Marzio is in his humours--he must have gone to his friends. Ah!
those friends of his!" she sighed. "Let us sit down to supper," she
added; and, from her tone, the idea of supper seemed to console her for
her husband's absence.

"Perhaps he guessed that I was coming," remarked Don Paolo, with a
smile. "In that case he will be a little nervous with me when he comes