The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1908-03-29

Tito had not intended to deceive
Tessa, but when he saw her innocent
Joy he delayed the explanation and
walked on with her, pleased to hear her
artless talk. So 1T happened that final
ly, when the time came to part, he
left her in the belief that she had
really been. married to him, and he
warned her that she must tell no one.
IF you are good, little Tessa," said he,
81 shall come back again; but II you
ever tell any one that you are mar
ried I shall stay away forever"
1t was with a sickening sense IF
impending ruin and shame that Tito
betook himself to meet Romola aft ;, +,
her visit to the dying friar. He saw
her approach and shrank away. Then,
like flash of lightning, he felt. rather
than saw, her eyes and the cry of love
with which she said: "Titov'
1T is all over" she said, weeping.
"He Is dead"
Hurriedly she told him that he had
warned her of a vision that he had
seen, in which he beheld q man whose
face was blank take her to the altar
und lead her thence to strange misery.
"Ah," he had cried at last. Sin the end
l saw his face. Romola, it was the
| Greek Tempter Do not marry him, I
Deseecn you. WIN tneSe words ne nau
died.
jTito's mind leaped back into sun
| light He was safel Tenderly he COM
| forted her. and she gazed into his
dark, shining eyes till the sadness
| faded out of her own.
| Now at last all the shadows of the
| past seemed to have removed tn en-
| selves from the path of Tito Melema.
| He had become the acknowledged
| favorite of Scala, secretary of the
| Florentine republic. Cardinals and
mobiles had him at their houses con-
Rtant'y. When Easter came his happi-
ness was crowned by his marriage to
Romola. and he took his place as an
honored and influential citizen.
Two and one-half years had passed
since he entered Florence first, and he
had been married more than a year, when
a great change came to the republic. In
November the people gathered with their
arms and drove out the Medicl. The ex-
lied enemies of that family were called
home again. The republic had recovered
the use of its WILL and prepared to re-
ceive a splendid guest-an unexampled
visitor who had come through the Alps
with such an army as Italy had never
seen before, on his way to take posses
sion of the kingdom Of Naples, and then
to set out for a conquest of the Turks.
Fra Girolamo Savonarola, prior of the
Dominican convent. had preached that
this visitor-Chares the Eighth Of France
was the scourge prophesied by God two
years before In a vision. That scourge,
he declared was to purify the earth from
iuiquity Let Florence repent and turn
from its ways and the scourge would
not fall there but elsewhere.
Among those who believed him were
the choicest spirits of the age, for Savon.
arola had a power rarely paralleled OF
making men believe him with shuddering
awe.
Fated to be wrecked at last by his at
tempt to achieve success, instead of re-
| naming the preacher and teacher; in.
volved in politics and action that made
| him contradict himself, he still succeeded
| for long while in swaying all Italy
| for he had great soul, a burning in.
| dignation at the sight of wrong and 9
! fervid and unfaltering belief in purity
| and divine justice.
| Florence looked forward to the coming
! of the French King with a thrill which
| did not. however prevent the populace
| from jesting at the oddities of the French
| advance professionally the hoof-shaped
| shoes which were known to have beer
| adopted in delicate fiattery of their rulers
| unpleasant superiority Of toes
] Thus when a small body of French foo
soldiers appeared with three men bound