Patella

“ Patty stared. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I supposed you knew it. Her father's an artist or something of the sort. She's lived in Italy all her life; that's what makes her so queer."
Patty had once spent a sunshiny week in Sorrento herself, and the very memory of it was intoxicating. "Where is she?" she asked excitedly. "I want to talk to her."
"I don't know where she is. Out walking, probably. She goes off walking all by herself, and never speaks to any one, and then when we ask her to do something rational, like golf or basket-ball, she pokes in the house and reads Dante in Italian. Imagine!" ”

“ It’s my bad luck never to be let to rest long in my own country.”
“Oh, come now, Snippy,” said Flo; “you’re glad to be in Rome, you know you are.”
“Not in this stuffy place, Miss Flo. Italian air is bad and close enough, without stifling a body with velvet hangings pulled all about. And thick carpets, snug from wall to wall. As well be shut up in a jewel-case!”
“It is exactly like a jewel-case,” said Patty, laughing at the apt illustration. “All the rooms in Rome are, I believe.”
“Well, I like it,” said Flo; “and I’m so glad to be with you, Patty. ”

“ Then to Patty’s delight they stopped at a sidewalk café, and ate ices and little cakes, while they enjoyed the novel scenes all about.
Often whole families would be gathered round the tables, and little children would sit contentedly nibbling at buns or pastry.
“It’s lovely,” said Patty, with a little sigh, as she finished her ice; “I wouldn’t live here for anything, but I do enjoy seeing it all.”
“So do I,” said Flo. “But I’m ’most sure I’ll like Venice better than Florence. Shan’t you, Patty?”
“Yes, I expect so. I like Rome better, too; but still, Florence is a lovely city. ”

“ So Patty went back to bed and slept until the sun shone high over the Arno, in place of the moon.
The weeks in Florence passed rapidly, it seemed to the two girls. Each day Patty grew to love the beautiful city more.
“It goes along so smoothly,” she said to Nan, one day. “In Rome we were always flying around after some excitement, but Florence days just flow by, all exactly alike.”
“Why, Patty, I think our days are varied a great deal,” replied Nan, who was tying her veil, and was devoting most of her attention to that.
“No, they’re not. We always go to picture galleries in the morning. ”

“ The man pointed to large-lettered sign, which unmistakably announced Milano.
“Flo,” said Patty, in a scared, little voice, “I don’t know what it means, but it seems we are in Milan instead of in Venice.”
“Oh, Patty!” gasped Flo, as she clung desperately to Patty’s arm; “what shall we do?”
“I don’t know,” said Patty, slowly; “it’s a pretty serious thing for two girls to be alone in the middle of the night in a strange Italian city.
“But I took the train for Venice,” said Patty to the man, and her tone had in it a faint tinge of accusation, though of course the man was in no way responsible. ”

“ The few days in Rome were devoted to farewell glimpses of favourite spots.
Patty, with Flo and Snippy, roamed round the Forum, and gazed at the Coliseum, and re-visited many of the churches.
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One evening Mr. Leland took them all to dinner in a delightful restaurant that overlooked the Palatine.
“I don’t feel that I know my Palatine at all,” said Patty, regretfully.
“Don’t try to,” said Mr. Leland, kindly. “Nobody really knows the Palatine, except the great scholars. When in the Palatine, just flounder about, and get the whole as a general picture of ruined glory. That’s all you can do.” ”

“ Patty leaned forward with flushed cheeks, carried away by her own eloquence. "You know what Italy's like. It's a sort of disease. If you once get fond of it you'll never forget it, and you just can't be happy till you get back. And with Olivia it's her home, besides. She's never known anything else. And it's hard at first to keep your mind on mathematics when you're dreaming all the time of ilex groves and fountains and nightingales and—and things like that." ”

“ Top-full of these thoughts, I re-entered my grotto, shut my door and lighted my lamp; when going to my Patty (as I delighted to fancy her) , I thought I saw her eyes stir a little. I then set the lamp farther off for fear of offending them if she should look up; and warming the last glass I had reserved of my Madeira, I carried it to her, but she never stirred. I now supposed the fall had absolutely killed her, and was prodigiously grieved; when laying my hand on her breast I perceived the fountain of life had some motion. ”

“ Fairfield took the party to the Piazza for ices.
“Oh,” cried Patty, as she saw the gay scene; banners flying, a band playing, lights sparkling; people walking about, and sitting at small tables; “oh, why didn’t we come here sooner! Moonlight and water pale beside this fairyland! Oh,—ooh!”
Patty almost danced about in glee. She loved gay sound and sight, and this was so novel and so brilliant it delighted her beyond measure.
“There, there, child,” said her father; “calm your transports. Remember this is your first night in Venice. You must learn to get used to it.” ”

“ Leland’s, and Patty looked forward with pleasure to a visit to a real Roman home.
“Of course,” she said to Nan, “I don’t mean ancient Roman. I’ve learned better than to look for couches instead of dining chairs; but I think it will be fun to see how an American lives in Rome.”
So Patty ran away to her room to dress for the dinner party.
She chose a white chiffon, with a round, low-cut neck, and a skirt that billowed into soft frills, and to it she added a beautiful Roman sash that she had bought that very day. ”

“ Then, with a feeling of extraordinary relief—she hardly knew why—she saw a familiar, substantial person coming along the promenade with a sort of friendly swagger. She went forward to meet him, still feeling as though she were walking in her sleep.
"Mrs. Rendel!" said Pateley in his usual hearty tone, in which there was now an inflection of surprise and almost of anxiety.
Pateley had not met either of the Rendels since the day of his last interview with Sir William Gore, and he had carefully not investigated further the incident which had been of such great advantage to himself. ”

“ It was a lovely, sunshiny, autumn day when the Fairfields started for Naples.
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“Our party grows smaller every time we move,” said Patty to Flo. “Now we are dropping you and Snippy, but I suppose father and Nan and I will stick together till we reach New York.”
“You’ll have to,” said practical Flo, “unless you leave one at Naples or Gibraltar.”
“I wish you were going to Naples with us.”
“I wish so too, Patty; but mother has written us to come home, and we really must go. But it has been a lovely pleasure trip with you, and I’m sure we’ll meet again.” ”

“ Elizabeth, startled, lifted up her head, and disclosed to Patty's gaze in the candle-light a pale, and strained, and careworn face, "I was saying my prayers," she replied, with a dazed look. "Why are you out of bed, my darling? What is the matter?"
"That is what I want to know," said Patty, sitting down on the bed. "What is the matter with us all? What has come to us? Nelly has been crying ever since I put the light out—she thought I couldn't hear her, but she was mistaken—sobbing and sniffing under the bedclothes, and blowing her nose in that elaborately cautious way—"
"Oh, poor, dear child!" ”

“ Paletta saw that no question of modesty entered the model's mind, and she went back to her easel to paint the rounded limbs and marble huelessness of fair Dian, chastest of all Olympia's deities, wondering if, after all, what is called modesty does not come as much of habit as of nature—if the veiled face of the Oriental is not as immodest as the unclothedness of the artist's model. ”

“ And they departed together.
"She is so amusin'," said Lady Chaloner to Pateley. "I really don't know anybody that can be more amusin' when she likes."
Pateley gave a round, sonorous laugh of agreement, tantamount to a smile of assent in any one else. He wisely did not commit himself to any expression of opinion as to the accomplished wit of the Princess, which at all events as far as he had had opportunity of observing it, did not strike him as being of a very subtle character. ”

“ You ought to have your weapons ready."
"In time of peace prepare for war," quoted Rosalie.
"Do—you think it's quite ladylike to be a siren?" asked Patty dubiously.
"It's perfectly ladylike!" said Mae. "Nobody but a lady could possibly be one. Did you ever hear of a washerwoman who was a siren?"
"N-no," Patty confessed. "I don't believe I have."
"And look at Cleopatra," put in Rosalie. "I'm sure she was a lady." [206]
"All right!" Patty agreed. "What are we going to do?"
"We're going to become beautiful and fascinating, with a fatal charm that ensnares every man who approaches." ”

“ I never put any article of metal in my puddings or pies."
Duchess looked aghast, and tilted up the pie-dish.
"I have only four patty-pans, and they are all in the cupboard."
Duchess set up a howl.
"I shall die! I shall die! I have swallowed a patty-pan! Oh, my dear Ribby, I do feel so ill!"
"It is impossible, my dear Duchess; there was not a patty-pan." ”

“ A fresh-cheeked young country girl could not have been more demonstrative. But such is her single-mindedness: her heart is young, and that is no doubt one of the great causes of the depth of her beauty. An ocean voyage generally washes out the skin-deep variety, but when I saw Patti every day, rich Spanish beauty turned up with her every time. ”

“ This noble collection of pedestals was once the Basilica Julia.”
“Let’s play house,” said Patty, promptly. “I’ll be Julia, and live here. I’d love to be a Roman matron.”
“But the Julia in question wasn’t a Roman matron,” said Peter; “in fact, this basilica was named in honour of Mr. Julius Cæsar.”
“Oh,” said Patty, “and they called him Julia as a pet name, I suppose. How sweet of them!”
“We can play house just the same,” said Violet. “I’ll live in the temple of Saturn; it’s116 roomy and well ventilated. What do you choose, Mr. Homer?”
“I’ll live under the arch of Septimius Severus. ”

“ In the duet with the tenor (Brignoli) and with the baritone (Ferri) , and the mad scene, Miss Patti sang with sympathetic tenderness—a rare gift in one so young—and increased the enthusiasm of the audience to a positive furore, which was demonstrated in the usual way—recalls, bouquets, wreaths, etc., etc. The horticultural business was more extensive than usual.
"Of course we speak to-day only of Miss Patti's qualifications as a singer. Acting she has yet to learn; but artists, like poets, are born, not made. The mere convenances of the stage will come of themselves. ”

“ It was impossible to tell from the teacher's manner whether she considered the translation had really belonged to Patty. Her remark at [178] the time about the initials certainly favoured such a supposition, but she made no difference in her behaviour, and, indeed, several times praised Patty's work during the Latin lesson. The ownership of the book seemed likely to remain an unsolved mystery, one of those unpleasant occurrences which happen sometimes in a school, to the grief of the mistresses and the consternation of all concerned. ”

“ Patsy said. “His Antonio is the best cook in Rome. It is part of the law of compensation that the biggest bores always have the best chefs.”
We had perfect weather for the trip to Pales{242}trina. All the women, like Helen, had come for the day’s outing in the country, the men were grimly intent upon polygonal walls—all but one—Patsy, the uninvited, who turned up at the station and said he “would go along to have a try at the vino di paese and to see if the girls of Palestrina were as pretty as the girls of Præneste.” ”

“ There was a click, and the map of Africa had been photographed. Pateley unconsciously drew a quick breath of relief as he put the machine back. Sir William, as white as a sheet, dropped his hands in dismay.
"Good Heavens! What have you done? Have you photographed it?"
"Yes," said Pateley, trying to control his own excitement, and recovering his usual tone with an [Pg 170] effort. "That's all, thank you. It is much the simplest form of illustration." ”

“ The sectaries called themselves Cathari, or the pure. The origin of the term Patarin has been the subject of considerable dispute, but there would seem to be no doubt that it arose in Milan about the middle of the eleventh century, during the civil wars resulting from the papal efforts to enforce celibacy on the Milanese married clergy. In the Romance dialects pates signifies old linen ; rag-pickers in Lombardy were called Patari, and the quarter inhabited by them in Milan was known, even up to the last century, as Pattaria, or Contrada de' Pattari. ”

“ They are too much alike to be the ideal match. Patty is thin-skinned and passionate, too ready to be hurt to the heart by the mere little pin-pricks and mosquito bites of life; and Paul is proud and crotchety, and, like the great Napoleon, given to kick the fire with his boots when he is put out. There will be many little gusts of temper, little clouds of misunderstanding, disappointments, and bereavements, and sickness of mind and body; ”

“ XV Even in youth Catiline had many shameful intrigues—with a maiden of noble rank, with a priestess of Vesta [13] —and other affairs equally unlawful and impious. ”