tinguished from the blooded chivalry of knight errants and their ilk. The Mafia having no organization proper can have no leaders. Nevertheless, just as among duellists there are those who by rea son of unfailing success gain a certain noto riety, so it happens that there are Mafiosi who become leaders by silent acclamation through their bravery in fighting or their cunning in escaping punishment. It is not to be imagined that a Mafioso, no matter how powerful, can be distinguished by the uninitiated through any bearing of brag gadocio or through any outward sign. " The real Mafioso is generally humble in appear ance, talks and listens quietly, and shows the greatest patience; if offended in the presence of others, he will not retort, but later on he will kill." Just as it was incumbent upon all men of noble blood to observe 'the fixed and welldefined rules of chivalry and knighthood, so likewise the " rustic chivalry of the Mafia" has a distinct code which its disciples must observe. This, as we shall see, is adhered to most scrupulously. This code of honor is known to all stu dents of crime as " Omcrtá." It is an unwritten law which every Mafioso knows almost by instinct, just as we may be said to feel the moral law. The chief provisions of this code as given by Pitre and Maggiorani are, the absolute reticence and silence of a spectator regarding crimes committed in his presence; the duty, in case of need, of supplying false evidence so as to save the perpetrator; the carrying of weapons with out a license; the revenging one's self for injuries suffered without the "infamy" of resorting to law. The procedure followed will appear from the following examples : Two Mafiosi get into a dispute; after a while one of them will calmly say to the other, " My friend, you are right," and apparently the matter is settled. But it is but a seeming calm. If the one party feels that he has been slightly
offended, or is uncertain whether any offence was meant, he will interview his late opponent and ask for an explanation. This may lead to a stabbing or to- a peace-making over a bottle of wine. If, however, the aggrieved feels he has been grossly insulted then two ways are open to him according to the Omcrtá Code. He may, in the first place, without loss of time, meet his offender in some solitary place and must thereupon ask him if he is armed. If, as is unusual, he should not be armed, then the challenger must allow him time to get himself a weapon. No further preliminaries are necessary, and the actual fighting must thereupon proceed without any rules. Time ago, however, a distinction was made, as in Verga's " Cavalleria Rusticana," between a " tirata in caseta," where all blows must be aimed against the trunk (this more dangerous form being used to wipe out seri ous insults), and a "tirata in mnscnlu" where the blows must be directed only against the members. The victorious party kneels over his wounded or dead enemy, kisses him, and goes his way as if nothing had happened. The second method open to the offended and allowed by the Omertá Code is for him to abide his time, in the meanwhile making it appear that he has forgotten the incident. But neither the offender nor the offended for gets that there is a feud between them, and some fine day one of them is killed, cither openly or in ambush. But the most striking rule of Omcrtá is that which imposes upon the Mafioso the duty of reserving to himself the right of punishing his offender, and, in case of the law trying to assume the vicarious punishing of his enemy, the duty of placing every ob stacle in its course. Vaccaro gives an inter esting case. " A was mortally wounded by В in the presence of C. A on his deathbed declared to the representative of the law that he did not know who his assailant was, but before dying he told his brother that B was the assassin. The brother, instead of help
