Omaha daily bee., 1874-05-29

CONTINUED.

\ cloak. land Fulpp0 SAID you
beard was all brown and crispe,
with the fire; and 1 said that
knew better, for / sat on your knee
so often" She raised her hand t,
the thin, dark cheek. alt is no
true! 1t is so soft-so soft.n
The ~caressing hand was stayed
for a kiss before the answer came
Blanca mia, such idle talk is no
to be needed. Verify one may SEE
hell without leaving Verona!'
And the bitter tone showed that the
evenings insult was in the speak
er's shought.
"Oh, surely, it is not here! u
The startled child looked round as
if to see the flames.
"Bianchetta, Bianchetta, thou
art a foolish child, as well as a low
ing one. There Is naught here tC
harm thee. KnOwest thou not, lit
tie one, that man worketh for him
self hell, purgatory. and paradise"
Bianca's eyes, childishly grave,
looked up at him. Does Filippc
know that!
The F1Orentihe shrugged his
shoulders. a cannot tell /; Italy
is a poor place to learn it; nor is
the lesson easy to be learned al
court. Mayhap, thou canst teach
him. little Blanca.
"But he thinketh me so little
/ am only nine years old, and he
is eleven"
mime years DID," he repeated i'm
slow, measured tone. Mine years
old!" Verona and idle gossip, Del
la Scala and affronts, were all for
COTTON; the exile was again at Flor,
eEce, and the child Beatrice once
more looked upon him from the
window.
Blanca sat quiet fora while then
her hand stole up again to play with
the slandered brown beard. "Good
Messer Dante, thou didst speak OF
a tale; dost thou remember"
"Ay, Blanca. But L think We
We will have no story-but the
truth tonight. Thou art nine years
old, cdrissinid; shall I tell thee OF
the most noble lady whom | first
saw when she was but nine years
cld?"
"Oh! wilt thou tell me of Beat
rice ?" Blanca pronounced the
name with the reverent gesture that
she might have used in speaking OF
a saint.
"Yea, Blanca; l would tell thee
of her, who oft leadeth Messer
Dante from Verona into Paradise.
The vision is changed since / first
saw her. 1t was May as it is now /;
and as thou hadst May-day pas
time with thy playmates here, so
had i, a Florentine boy, at the
house of the Portinari. The lady
Beatrice stood in the doorway; a
little maid like thee, Blanca, and
dressed in the color that | love to
Q thee wear"
ooh. is that the reason that thou
likest mo crimson dress so well? ,"
ayes, little one. She moved
among us that day with a face like
the face of an angel, so calm and
serene was it. Nor was she neglec-
ted of our comfort. We we're her
guests that day; but she moved
through Our games like a being
from another sphere. Well do i re-
member the greeting she gave me.
l was tardier than the rest, and
stood hesitatingly, not knowing
which was the little queen of our
feast, and the signorina put out her
hands with: { / am Beatrice, Danta
Alighieri.'"
He paused fora while. "Did you
never see the most noble lady again,
Messer Dante??n asked Blanca TIM
idly.
"Once, Blanca mia: she passed
along the street, clothed i'm pure
white, and turning her head, gave
me salutaticn. 1t was to my soul
as if an angel had said, Aver Then
death deprived me of her living
presence; yet still she cometh unto
me-"
In your dreams?" whispered
Blanca. "Doth she bring those
wonderful sights thou seest? What
saith she when she cometh? How
looketh she?n
"More radient in her beauty is
my lady every time she cometh un-
TO me; and, lest my dazzled senses
should blind me that l miss her,
her greeting still falls: Il, even /,
am Beatrice Butt 1t groweth dusk,
little onei they will be seeking thee
i'm the palace"
He set down the child and rose
to go: GAS for Filippo's idle tales,
they are not worth needing, Bian-
ca; vex not thy little heart over
them"
NO." agreed Blanca. "But,
Messer Dante, thou sayest my
crimson dress is like the noble lady's
dost think that l could ever be like
her:r
A quick gesture of negation was
the answer; the childish desire
soundedlike proclamation to the lover
Of Beatrice. Blanca felt the dis
pleasure. "Was it a wicked thing
to say?o she asked, trembling.
"Nay, Blanca, not that; only
thou are like Filippo, and knowest
not what thou sayest. Dost see the
moon yonder?"
eyes" said Blanca, turning to
the east. "She is like a great silver
wheel tonight, so large and round;
/ like her best when she maketh
herself q bow"
"Dost see the little star above the
palace tower?"
"No; there is no star there. Oh.
there is one-a very little one,n
any lady is brighter than the
moon ; thou art less than the tiny
star. Thou need'st not fret, Bian-
ca" seeing the child's crestfallen
expression. "God maketh thee a
star-great or little as it pleaseth
Him. See that thou shine where
He placeth thee; then all will be
WELL" So saying, the poet led BIZ
anca back to the palace, and saw
her safe beside her mother, the
cousin of Uguccione della Faggino.
Ia, Pisa's exiled count, Dante's firm
friend, and Filippo's father. Then
he wandered forth again to seek the
company of the silent stars: those
stars Of which he wrote to the Flor
ence willing to receive him as peni-
tent not patriot, that they Were
everywhere free TO an exile's gaze;
the stars whose light he welcomes
passage through hell safely
.oAal urhDsa haiubsc purUofnrx-