Chapter XIV

The sequel shall be told in a letter written by Theresa Leaney to Mansana's mother, and sent from the princess's Hungarian estate not long after the events set forth in the last chapter:

"DEAREST MOTHER,

"At last you shall have a connected account of all that has
happened since we parted at Naples. Excuse me if at times I repeat
what I have told you already.

"Well, then, you must know that after our wedding Giuseppe's gloomy
reserve was replaced by a devoted and humble zeal to do me service
which made me anxious; it seemed so strange in him. His old
confidence and self-reliance did not return till after our visit to
the town in which he had last been quartered. He quite understood
why you wanted us to go there first of all; and how worthy of our
love he showed himself! Among his comrades he had, as it were, to
run the gauntlet; he faced the trial at once, and with a courage
which I think may well be called heroic. And I should also like to
tell you a little about a certain young bride who helped him then.
You must understand that never in her life had she seemed more
brilliant, more joyous, than at this time, when it was a question
of supporting this noble lover through his days of humiliation. Her
gestures, her words, her whole bearing seemed to challenge the
question: 'Who dare say anything against him when I say nothing?'

"I have, I am afraid, still so much coquetry left as to be half
inclined to give you particulars of my costumes on each of these
three days. (I had got my maid to come to me from Ancona with some
dresses.) But I will have the modesty to forbear.

"And so it came about that, after those three days of struggle in
the mountain town, this same young bride found herself loved as not
many women have ever been loved before; for there is power in that
deep temperament, which you, dear friend, have given him out of
your own perfect soul. But I must not forget to praise the man
Sardi; for a man he is indeed! He had done a most excellent service
in giving it to be understood that Mansana had been ill--as, in
fact, he was--and that you and I had nursed him back to health. It
was fortunate that Mansana, who had already gained fame among his
comrades, had now laid up a store of affection in their hearts on
which he could make many demands before it is exhausted. They were
determined to think well of Giuseppe Mansana. My dear husband felt
that himself, and it made him very humble, for he was oppressed by
the thought that he had not deserved all this affection.

"In Ancona all went easily enough. The main obstacles had been
overcome. And now--now at last--he is all mine, and I have for my
own the noblest character in the world, cleansed and purified, the
most considerate husband, the most devoted companion, the manliest
lover that any Italian girl ever won. Pardon the vehemence of my
expressions. I know you do not like them, but they _will_ out.

"In Bologna--you see I hasten on--as we were walking about, we
happened to pass the town hall. There two marble tablets hang,
inscribed with the names of those who fell in the fight for the
liberation of the city. I felt a thrill pass through Giuseppe's
arm; and to this circumstance I owe a conversation which laid,
deeper than ever, the foundations of our union.

"You know, dearest mother, how my eyes were opened to the wrong I
did Giuseppe by my odious, egotistical caprices; they almost cost
him his life and both of us our happiness. You know how my soul is
constantly vexed by that state of public feeling which breeds in us
resentment, hatred, unreasonable fanaticism, and a disgraceful
intolerance. An unnatural, unhealthy state of opinion like this
does more harm to society than the most disastrous war, for it is
impossible to estimate how much it destroys of spiritual power and
efficiency, how many hearts it leaves empty, how many families it
lays waste. Believe me, mother, that any nation which has achieved
an unrighteous conquest, and annexed what belongs to others, makes
all its citizens participators in its wrong-doing. Not only does it
relax the moral fibre of every individual and add to the mischiefs
done by private chicanery, violence, and robbery, and the harsh
tyranny of officialism, but it robs the heart of its due rights in
the family and society.

"Some silly verses were once written about me by an enamoured fool;
not a word of truth was there in them. But now, my beloved mother,
I feel that, if I had never met Giuseppe, what was said in those
verses would have come to be true enough some time, for heartless
and vain as I then was, heartless and vain I should have remained
to the end! And why? Because the unhappy condition of public
affairs had sown poison in my whole nature.

"And my confessions were met by Giuseppe's. His defiant,
egotistical will had so mastered him that the most casual
interference with his desires might have cost him his life, the
merest accident have changed its whole course. But that same
defiant will--in what atmosphere had it been fostered?

"We gave one another the fullest confidence that evening in
Bologna, and then for the first time all doubts vanished and the
future seemed absolutely secure.

"Here, on this estate of mine that I love, he has set to work. Here
all was chaos, so that he has something on which his energies can
be brought to bear. He intends to resign his commission--he does
not care any longer to play the soldier in peace time. He needs to
be busy on definite objects, that lie near at hand, and if I divine
rightly, the objects dearest to him are those most carefully hidden
from the world. So, at any rate, it stands for the present; what
events may develop I know not. But this I do know: let Italy be in
danger, and he will place himself in the front rank, whatever the
circumstances may be.

"God's blessing on you! Come here soon; you must see him in this
active life of his, you must see him with me. Has any woman ever
had so devoted a husband, so gallant a lover? Ah, I know you do not
give me leave to talk in this extravagant vein. But I cannot help
it, and I must tell you again that these are the words I feel I
_must_ use.

"I love you, and again and again I long to embrace you, to kiss
you, you dear mother, to whom I owe my happiness.

"Dearest, so hardly tried and proven, from whose eyes there streams
a hymn of praise, from whose lips the words of help and comfort
pour their waters of refreshment, we want you to bow your grey head
over our happiness, that it may be blessed. Yes, you must let us
learn from you, so that the evil days do not come too soon upon us.

"Your son's wife, your own, your loving

"THERESA."

MOTHER'S HANDS