retrogression from established rule, a model of the immutability
of an ancient aristocracy, a living paradigm of what always had
been and a stubborn barrier against all that might be.

Such was the home to which Donna Faustina Montevarchi returned to
live after spending eight years in the convent of the Sacro Cuore.
During that time she had acquired the French language, a slight
knowledge of music, a very limited acquaintance with the history
of her own country, a ready memory for prayers and litanies--and
her manners. Manners among the Italians are called education. What
we mean by the latter word, namely, the learning acquired, is
called, more precisely, instruction. An educated person means a
person who has acquired the art of politeness. An instructed
person means some one who has learnt rather more than the average
of what is generally learnt by the class of people to whom he
belongs. Donna Faustina was extremely well educated, according to
Roman ideas, but her instruction was not, and was not intended to
be, any better than that imparted to the young girls with whom she
was to associate in the world.

As far as her character was concerned, she herself knew very
little of it, and would probably have found herself very much
embarrassed if called upon to explain what character meant. She
was new and the world was very old. The nuns had told her that she
must never care for the world, which was a very sinful place, full
of thorns, ditches, pitfalls and sinners, besides the devil and
his angels. Her sister Flavia, on the contrary, assured her that
the world was very agreeable, when mamma happened to go to sleep
in a corner during a ball; that all men were deceivers, but that
when a man danced well it made no difference whether he were a