He remarked to himself that this was always his luck, and the remark was characteristic of the man; it was charged with the feeling of the moment, but it was not absolutely just; it was the result of an acute impression made by the particular occasion; but it failed in appreciation of a providence which had sprinkled Longueville's career with happy accidents--accidents, especially, in which his characteristic gallantry was not allowed to rust for want of exercise.

He lounged, however, contentedly enough through these bright, still days of a Tuscan April, drawing much entertainment from the high picturesqueness of the things about him.

Siena, a few years since, was a flawless gift of the Middle Ages to the modern imagination.

No other Italian city could have been more interesting to an observer fond of reconstructing obsolete manners.

This was a taste of Bernard Longueville's, who had a relish for serious literature, and at one time had made several lively excursions into mediaeval history.