Suddenly _Orsini_ presses his way to _Rienzi's_ side, and draws his knife. But _Rienzi_ is saved by his breastplate. He sentences all the nobles to death, and the festa ends in tragedy. But _Adriano_ pleads for his father's life, and finally _Rienzi_ pardons all the conspirators on their oath of submission. The third act is ushered in by alarm-bells. The nobles are again in insurrection; the people clamor for _Rienzi_, who appears, swearing to exterminate the faithless patricians. He goes out to victory, and presently the body of _Colonna_ is borne past his son, _Adriano_, who forthwith deserts _Rienzi's_ cause. _Adriano_ finds his opportunity for revenge in confirming a story which gains credence with the fickle Roman populace; he declares that _Rienzi_ is a traitor to his country, and meant himself to become a noble through the marriage of his sister with _Adriano_. _Rienzi_ appears in a procession, marching toward church. As he places his foot on the steps, a malediction sounds from within the sanctuary. _Cardinal Raimondo_ steps to the door and pronounces upon him the ban of excommunication. The nobles have won victory for their cause by an alliance with the Church. In the hall of the capitol, _Rienzi_ prays that his work for freedom may not be undone. _Irene_ and _Adriano_ enter, and _Rienzi_ begs them to flee together from danger. But _Irene_ refuses to desert her brother's cause. The noise outside the besieged capitol increases. The scene shifts to the open square, where the populace, deaf to _Rienzi_, who from a balcony seeks to address them, sets fire to the capitol. _Adriano_, darting in and out among the mob, sees _Irene_ arm in arm with her brother, within a huge flower of flame which curls about them. Through the fire he rushes toward her; at that moment the capitol collapses, and he is caught with _Rienzi_ and _Irene_ in its ruins. The nobles turn upon the people, and with drawn swords cut them down like blades of grass. WHERE ROOSEVELT USED THE PHRASE "THE STRENUOUS LIFE." In speaking to you, men of the greatest city of the West, men of the State which gave to the country Lincoln and Grant, men who preeminently and distinctly embody all that is most American in the American character, I wish to preach, not the doctrine of ignoble ease, but the doctrine of =the strenuous life=--the life of toil and effort, of labor and strife; to preach that highest form of success which comes, not to the man who desires mere easy peace, but to the man who does not shrink from danger, from hardship, or from bitter toil, and who out of these wins the splendid ultimate triumph. Theodore Roosevelt in a speech delivered before the Hamilton Club of Chicago, April 10, 1899. SYMBOLISM OF PLAYING-CARDS. Soldier Arrested for Shuffling the Pasteboards in Church During Divine Service Won His Liberty by Convincing Magistrate That They May Be Utilized as Pages of a Prayer-Book.