THE PIRATES OF SEGNA. 425 



" Strange !" said the Proveditore musingly, " that so 

 hideous and repulsive an old creature should exercise 

 such commanding influence over these bandits." 



He looked round to his son as he spoke ; but 

 Antonio, \vorn out by the fatigues and agitation of 

 the day, had stretched himself upon a bench and Avas 

 already in a deep sleep. The Proveditore gazed at him 

 for a brief space, with an expression of mingled pity, 

 regret, and paternal affection upon his countenance. 



" As weak of body as infirm of purpose," he mur- 

 mured. " Alas ! that a name derived from old 

 Roman ancestors should be borne by one so little 

 qualified to do it honour ! Had it pleased Heaven 

 to preserve to me the child stolen in his infancy by 

 the Moslem, how different would have been my 

 position ! That masculine and noble boy, so full 

 of life and promise, would have proved a prop to 

 my old age, and an ornament to his country. But 

 now, alas ! " 



He continued for a while to indulge in vain regrets 

 that the course of events had not been otherwise ; 

 then turning to the window, he watched the efforts 

 made by the pirates to extinguish the flames, until a 

 dense cloud of smoke that overhung the town was 

 the only sign remaining of the conflagration. 



For some time the Proveditore paced up and down 

 the hall in anxious thought upon his critical position, 

 and the strange circumstances that had led to it. In 

 vain did he endeavour to reconcile, what IIOAV seemed 



