"Sir," said the priest, "I had hoped that you came here from a higher motive. It will do you no good to know, and I therefore decline telling you." Dick begged most humbly, but the priest was inexorable. At last Dick remembered having heard that an Italian was constitutionally unable to resist a bribe. He thought he might try. True, the priest was a gentleman; but perhaps an Italian gentleman was different from an English or American; so he put his hand in his pocket and blushing violently, brought forth a gold piece of about twenty dollars value. He held it out. The priest stared at him with a look that was appalling. "If you know--" faltered Dick--"any one--of course I don't mean yourself--far from it--but--that is--" "Sir," cried the priest, "who are you? Are there no bounds to your impudence? Have you come to insult me because I am a priest, and therefore can not revenge myself? Away!" The priest choked with rage. Dick walked out. Bitterly he cursed his wretched stupidity that had led him to this. His very ears tingled with shame as he saw the full extent of the insult that he had offered to a priest and a gentleman. He concluded to leave Rome at once. But at the very moment when he had made this desperate resolve he saw some one coming. A sharp thrill went through his heart. It was SHE! She looked at him and glanced modestly away. Dick at once walked up to her. "Signorina," said he, not thinking what a serious thing it was to address an Italian maiden in the streets. But this one did not resent it. She looked up and smiled. "What a smile!" thought Dick. "Signorina," he said again, and then stopped, not knowing what to say. His voice was very tremulous, and the expression of his face tender and beseeching. His eyes told all. "Signore," said the girl, with a sweet smile. The smile encouraged Dick. "Ehem--I have lost my way. I--I--could you tell me how I could get to Piazza del Popolo? I think I might find my way home from there." The girl's eyes beamed with a mischievous light. "Oh yes, most easily. You go down that street; when you pass four side-streets you turn; to the left--the left--remember, and then you keep on till you come to a large church with a fountain before it, then you turn round that, and you see the obelisk of the Piazza del Popolo." Her voice was the sweetest that Dick had ever heard. He listened as he would listen to music, and did not hear a single word that he comprehended. "Pardon me," said he, "but would you please to tell me again. I can not remember all. Three streets?" The girl laughed and repeated it Dick sighed. "I'm a stranger here, and am afraid that I can not find my way. I left my map at home. If I could find some one who would go with me and show me." He looked earnestly at her, but she modestly made a movement to go. "Are you in a great hurry?" said he. "No, Signore," replied the girl, softly.