Cæsar concluded that it was not so easy to find a crack through which one could get information of what was going on in the clerical world.

“I see that the Church gives them all a defensive instinct which they make good use of. They are really only poor devils, but they have a great organization, and it cannot be easy to get one’s fingers through the meshes of their net.”

[ [!-- H2 anchor --] ]

XII. A MEETING ON THE PINCIO

A WALK IN THE VILLA BORGHESE

At the beginning of Holy Week Laura returned to the hotel, at lunch-time.

“And your husband?” Cæsar asked her.

“He didn’t want to come. Rome bores him. He is giving all his attention to taking care of the heart-disease he says he has.”

“Is it serious?”

“I think not. Every time I see him I find him with a new disease and a new diet; one time it is vegetarian, another nothing but meat, another time he says one should eat only grapes, or nothing but bread.”