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+		Wagner, the Wehr-Wolf, by George W. M. Reynolds
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+<pre>
+
+Project Gutenberg's Wagner, the Wehr-Wolf, by George W. M. Reynolds
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Wagner, the Wehr-Wolf
+
+Author: George W. M. Reynolds
+
+Release Date: November 8, 2008 [EBook #27202]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WAGNER, THE WEHR-WOLF ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Barbara Tozier, Bill Tozier and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+	<div id="titlepage">
+		<h1><a class="pagenum disguise" id="pagei" title="i">&nbsp;</a>WAGNER, THE WEHR-WOLF.</h1>
+
+		<!-- PART I --> <!-- Note: This line was originally part of the title page, but I've left it out to avoid confusion. The book actually contains both parts-->
+
+		<p id="author">By GEORGE W. M. REYNOLDS.</p>
+
+		<p id="published">NEW YORK<br />
+        <span id="publisher">HURST &amp; COMPANY</span><br />
+		Publishers</p>
+
+		<!-- <a class="pagenum disguise" id="pageii" title="ii">&nbsp;</a>[Blank Page] -->
+	</div>
+	<div id="contents"> <!-- Not part of original book -->
+		<h2>Contents</h2>
+		<table summary="Table of Contents">
+		<tr>
+			<td colspan="5"><a href="#part_1" title="Go to Part 1">Part I</a></td>
+		</tr>
+		<tr>
+			<td><a href="#prologue" title="Go to the Prologue">Prologue</a></td>
+		</tr>
+		<tr>
+			<td title="chapters 1 to 10">
+				<a href="#chapter_01" title="Go to chapter 1">I</a><br />
+				<a href="#chapter_02" title="Go to chapter 2">II</a><br />
+				<a href="#chapter_03" title="Go to chapter 3">III</a><br />
+				<a href="#chapter_04" title="Go to chapter 4">IV</a><br />
+				<a href="#chapter_05" title="Go to chapter 5">V</a><br />
+				<a href="#chapter_06" title="Go to chapter 6">VI</a><br />
+				<a href="#chapter_07" title="Go to chapter 7">VII</a><br />
+				<a href="#chapter_08" title="Go to chapter 8">VIII</a><br />
+				<a href="#chapter_09" title="Go to chapter 9">IX</a><br />
+				<a href="#chapter_10" title="Go to chapter 10">X</a>
+			</td>
+			<td title="chapters 11 to 20">
+				<a href="#chapter_11" title="Go to chapter 11">XI</a><br />
+				<a href="#chapter_12" title="Go to chapter 12">XII</a><br />
+				<a href="#chapter_13" title="Go to chapter 13">XIII</a><br />
+				<a href="#chapter_14" title="Go to chapter 14">XIV</a><br />
+				<a href="#chapter_15" title="Go to chapter 15">XV</a><br />
+				<a href="#chapter_16" title="Go to chapter 16">XVI</a><br />
+				<a href="#chapter_17" title="Go to chapter 17">XVII</a><br />
+				<a href="#chapter_18" title="Go to chapter 18">XVIII</a><br />
+				<a href="#chapter_19" title="Go to chapter 19">XIX</a><br />
+				<a href="#chapter_20" title="Go to chapter 20">XX</a>
+			</td>
+			<td title="chapters 21 to 30">
+				<a href="#chapter_21" title="Go to chapter 21">XXI</a><br />
+				<a href="#chapter_22" title="Go to chapter 22">XXII</a><br />
+				<a href="#chapter_23" title="Go to chapter 23">XXIII</a><br />
+				<a href="#chapter_24" title="Go to chapter 24">XXIV</a><br />
+				<a href="#chapter_25" title="Go to chapter 25">XXV</a><br />
+				<a href="#chapter_26" title="Go to chapter 26">XXVI</a><br />
+				<a href="#chapter_27" title="Go to chapter 27">XXVII</a><br />
+				<a href="#chapter_28" title="Go to chapter 28">XXVIII</a><br />
+				<a href="#chapter_29" title="Go to chapter 29">XXIX</a><br />
+				<a href="#chapter_30" title="Go to chapter 30">XXX</a>
+			</td>
+			<td title="chapters 31 to 40">
+				<a href="#chapter_31" title="Go to chapter 31">XXXI</a><br />
+				<a href="#chapter_32" title="Go to chapter 32">XXXII</a><br />
+				<a href="#chapter_33" title="Go to chapter 33">XXXIII</a><br />
+				<a href="#chapter_34" title="Go to chapter 34">XXXIV</a><br />
+				<a href="#chapter_35" title="Go to chapter 35">XXXV</a><br />
+				<a href="#chapter_36" title="Go to chapter 36">XXXVI</a><br />
+				<a href="#chapter_37" title="Go to chapter 37">XXXVII</a><br />
+				<a href="#chapter_38" title="Go to chapter 38">XXXVIII</a><br />
+				<a href="#chapter_39" title="Go to chapter 39">XXXIX</a><br />
+				<a href="#chapter_40" title="Go to chapter 40">XL</a>
+			</td>
+			<td title="chapters 41 to 44 (end of part 1)">
+				<a href="#chapter_41" title="Go to chapter 41">XLI</a><br />
+				<a href="#chapter_42" title="Go to chapter 42">XLII</a><br />
+				<a href="#chapter_43" title="Go to chapter 43">XLIII</a><br />
+				<a href="#chapter_44" title="Go to chapter 44">XLIV</a>
+			</td>
+		</tr>
+		<tr>
+			<td colspan="5" style="padding:2em;">
+				<a href="#part_2" title="Go to Part 2">Part II</a>
+			</td>
+		</tr>
+		<tr>
+			<td title="chapters 45 to 50">
+				<a href="#chapter_45" title="Go to chapter 45">XLV</a><br />
+				<a href="#chapter_46" title="Go to chapter 46">XLVI</a><br />
+				<a href="#chapter_47" title="Go to chapter 47">XLVII</a><br />
+				<a href="#chapter_48" title="Go to chapter 48">XLVIII</a><br />
+				<a href="#chapter_49" title="Go to chapter 49">XLIX</a><br />
+				<a href="#chapter_50" title="Go to chapter 50">L</a>
+			</td>
+			<td title="chapters 51 to 55">
+				<a href="#chapter_51" title="Go to chapter 51">LI</a><br />
+				<a href="#chapter_52" title="Go to chapter 52">LII</a><br />
+				<a href="#chapter_53" title="Go to chapter 53">LIII</a><br />
+				<a href="#chapter_54" title="Go to chapter 54">LIV</a><br />
+				<a href="#chapter_55" title="Go to chapter 55">LV</a>
+			</td>
+			<td title="chapters 56 to 60">
+				<a href="#chapter_56" title="Go to chapter 56">LVI</a><br />
+				<a href="#chapter_57" title="Go to chapter 57">LVII</a><br />
+				<a href="#chapter_58" title="Go to chapter 58">LVIII</a><br />
+				<a href="#chapter_59" title="Go to chapter 59">LIX</a><br />
+				<a href="#chapter_60" title="Go to chapter 60">LX</a>
+			</td>
+			<td title="chapters 61 to 64">
+				<a href="#chapter_61" title="Go to chapter 61">LXI</a><br />
+				<a href="#chapter_62" title="Go to chapter 62">LXII</a><br />
+				<a href="#chapter_63" title="Go to chapter 63">LXIII</a><br />
+				<a href="#chapter_64" title="Go to chapter 64">LXIV</a>
+			</td>
+		</tr>
+		</table>
+	</div>
+	<p class="second_title"><a class="pagenum disguise" id="page1" title="1">&nbsp;</a>WAGNER, THE WEHR-WOLF.<br />
+		<span class="author_line">By GEORGE W. M. REYNOLDS.</span></p>
+	<h2 class="part_title" id="part_1">PART I.</h2>
+	<div id="prologue" class="chapter">
+		<h3>PROLOGUE.</h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">It</span> was the month of January, 1516.</p>
+
+		<p>The night was dark and tempestuous; the thunder growled
+		around; the lightning flashed at short intervals: and the wind
+		swept furiously along in sudden and fitful gusts.</p>
+
+		<p>The streams of the great Black Forest of Germany babbled in
+		playful melody no more, but rushed on with deafening din,
+		mingling their torrent roar with the wild creaking of the huge
+		oaks, the rustling of the firs, the howling of the affrighted
+		wolves, and the hollow voices of the storm.</p>
+
+		<p>The dense black clouds were driving restlessly athwart the sky;
+		and when the vivid lightning gleamed forth with rapid and eccentric
+		glare, it seemed as if the dark jaws of some hideous
+		monster, floating high above, opened to vomit flame.</p>
+
+		<p>And as the abrupt but furious gusts of wind swept through
+		the forest, they raised strange echoes—as if the impervious
+		mazes of that mighty wood were the abode of hideous fiends and
+		evil spirits, who responded in shrieks, moans, and lamentations
+		to the fearful din of the tempest.</p>
+
+		<p>It was, indeed, an appalling night!</p>
+
+		<p>An old—old man sat in his cottage on the verge of the Black
+		Forest.</p>
+
+		<p>He had numbered ninety years; his head was completely bald—his
+		mouth was toothless—his long beard was white as snow,
+		and his limbs were feeble and trembling.</p>
+
+		<p>He was alone in the world; his wife, his children, his grandchildren,
+		all his relations, in fine, <em>save one</em>, had preceded him on
+		that long, last voyage, from which no traveler returns.</p>
+
+		<p>And that <em>one</em> was a grand-daughter, a beauteous girl of sixteen,
+		who had hitherto been his solace and his comfort, but who
+		had suddenly disappeared—he knew not how—a few days previously
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page2" title="2"> </a>to the time when we discover him seated thus lonely in
+		his poor cottage.</p>
+
+		<p>But perhaps she also was dead! An accident might have
+		snatched her away from him, and sent her spirit to join those of
+		her father and mother, her sisters and her brothers, whom a
+		terrible pestilence—<em>the Black Death</em>—hurried to the tomb a few
+		years before.</p>
+
+		<p>No: the old man could not believe that his darling granddaughter
+		was no more—for he had sought her throughout the
+		neighboring district of the Black Forest, and not a trace of
+		her was to be seen. Had she fallen down a precipice, or perished
+		by the ruthless murderer’s hand, he would have discovered her
+		mangled corpse: had she become the prey of the ravenous
+		wolves, certain signs of her fate would have doubtless somewhere
+		appeared.</p>
+
+		<p>The sad—the chilling conviction therefore, went to the old
+		man’s heart, that the only being left to solace him on earth,
+		had deserted him; and his spirit was bowed down in despair.</p>
+
+		<p>Who now would prepare his food, while he tended his little
+		flock? who was there to collect the dry branches in the forest,
+		for the winter’s fuel, while the aged shepherd watched a few
+		sheep that he possessed? who would now spin him warm clothing
+		to protect his weak and trembling limbs?</p>
+
+		<p>“Oh! Agnes,” he murmured, in a tone indicative of a breaking
+		heart, “why couldst thou have thus abandoned me? Didst
+		thou quit the old man to follow some youthful lover, who will
+		buoy thee up with bright hopes, and then deceive thee? O Agnes—my
+		darling! hast thou left me to perish without a soul to
+		close my eyes?”</p>
+
+		<p>It was painful how that ancient shepherd wept.</p>
+
+		<p>Suddenly a loud knock at the door of the cottage aroused him
+		from his painful reverie; and he hastened, as fast as his trembling
+		limbs would permit him, to answer the summons.</p>
+
+		<p>He opened the door; and a tall man, apparently about forty
+		years of age, entered the humble dwelling. His light hair
+		would have been magnificent indeed, were it not sorely neglected;
+		his blue eyes were naturally fine and intelligent, but
+		fearful now to meet, so wild and wandering were their glances:
+		his form was tall and admirably symmetrical, but prematurely
+		bowed by the weight of sorrow, and his attire was of costly
+		material, but indicative of inattention even more than it was
+		travel-soiled.</p>
+
+		<p>The old man closed the door, and courteously drew a stool
+		near the fire for the stranger who had sought in his cottage a
+		refuge against the fury of the storm.</p>
+
+		<p>He also placed food before him; but the stranger touched it
+		not—horror and dismay appearing to have taken possession of
+		his soul.</p>
+
+		<p>Suddenly the thunder which had hitherto growled at a distance,
+		burst above the humble abode; and the wind swept by
+		with so violent a gust, that it shook the little tenement to its
+		foundation, and filled the neighboring forest with strange, unearthly
+		noises.</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page3" title="3"> </a>Then the countenance of the stranger expressed such ineffable
+		horror, amounting to a fearful agony, that the old man was
+		alarmed, and stretched out his hand to grasp a crucifix that
+		hung over the chimney-piece; but his mysterious guest made a
+		forbidding sign of so much earnestness mingled with such proud
+		authority, that the aged shepherd sank back into his seat without
+		touching the sacred symbol.</p>
+
+		<p>The roar of the thunder past—the shrieking, whistling, gushing
+		wind became temporarily lulled into low moans and subdued
+		lamentations, amid the mazes of the Black Forest; and the
+		stranger grew more composed.</p>
+
+		<p>“Dost thou tremble at the storm?” inquired the old man.</p>
+
+		<p>“I am unhappy,” was the evasive and somewhat impatient
+		reply. “Seek not to know more of me—beware how you question
+		me. But you, old man, are <em>not</em> happy! The traces of care
+		seem to mingle with the wrinkles of age upon your brow!”</p>
+
+		<p>The shepherd narrated, in brief and touching terms, the unaccountable
+		disappearance of his much-beloved granddaughter
+		Agnes.</p>
+
+		<p>The stranger listened abstractedly at first; but afterward he
+		appeared to reflect profoundly for several minutes.</p>
+
+		<p>“Your lot is wretched, old man,” said he at length: “if you
+		live a few years longer, that period must be passed in solitude
+		and cheerlessness:—if you suddenly fall ill you must die the
+		lingering death of famine, without a soul to place a morsel of
+		food, or the cooling cup to your lips; and when you shall be no
+		more, who will follow you to the grave? There are no habitations
+		nigh; the nearest village is half-a-day’s journey distant;
+		and ere the peasants of that hamlet, or some passing traveler,
+		might discover that the inmate of this hut had breathed his
+		last, the wolves from the forest would have entered and mangled
+		your corpse.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Talk not thus!” cried the old man, with a visible shudder;
+		then darting a half-terrified, half-curious glance at his guest, he
+		said, “but who are you that speak in this awful strain—this
+		warning voice?”</p>
+
+		<p>Again the thunder rolled, with crashing sound, above the cottage;
+		and once more the wind swept by, laden, as it seemed,
+		with the shrieks and groans of human beings in the agonies of
+		death.</p>
+
+		<p>The stranger maintained a certain degree of composure only
+		by means of a desperate effort, but he could not altogether subdue
+		a wild flashing of the eyes and a ghastly change of the
+		countenance—signs of a profoundly felt terror.</p>
+
+		<p>“Again I say, ask me not who I am!” he exclaimed, when
+		the thunder and the gust had passed. “My soul recoils from
+		the bare idea of pronouncing my own accursed name! But—unhappy
+		as you see me—crushed, overwhelmed with deep
+		affliction as you behold me—anxious, but unable to repent for
+		the past as I am, and filled with appalling dread for the future
+		as I now proclaim myself to be, still is my power far, far beyond
+		that limit which hems mortal energies within so small a
+		sphere. Speak, old man—wouldst thou change thy condition?
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page4" title="4"> </a>For to me—and to me alone of all human beings—belongs the
+		means of giving thee new life—of bestowing upon thee the
+		vigor of youth, of rendering that stooping form upright and
+		strong, of restoring fire to those glazing eyes, and beauty to that
+		wrinkled, sunken, withered countenance—of endowing thee, in
+		a word, with a fresh tenure of existence and making that existence
+		sweet by the aid of treasures so vast that no extravagance
+		can dissipate them!”</p>
+
+		<p>A strong though indefinite dread assailed the old man as this
+		astounding proffer was rapidly opened, in all its alluring
+		details, to his mind;—and various images of terror presented
+		themselves to his imagination;—but these feelings were almost
+		immediately dominated by a wild and ardent hope, which became
+		the more attractive and exciting in proportion as a rapid
+		glance at his helpless, wretched, deserted condition led him to
+		survey the contrast between what he then was, and what, if the
+		stranger spoke truly, he might so soon become.</p>
+
+		<p>The stranger saw that he had made the desired impression;
+		and he continued thus:</p>
+
+		<p>“Give but your assent, old man, and not only will I render
+		thee young, handsome, and wealthy; but I will endow thy mind
+		with an intelligence to match that proud position. Thou shalt
+		go forth into the world to enjoy all those pleasures, those delights,
+		and those luxuries, the names of which are even now
+		scarcely known to thee!”</p>
+
+		<p>“And what is the price of this glorious boon?” asked the old
+		man, trembling with mingled joy and terror through every
+		limb.</p>
+
+		<p>“There are two conditions,” answered the stranger, in a low,
+		mysterious tone. “The first is, that you become the companion
+		of my wanderings for one year and a half from the present
+		time, until the hour of sunset, on the 30th of July, 1517, when
+		we must part forever, you to go whithersoever your inclinations
+		may guide you, and I—— But of <em>that</em>, no matter!” he added,
+		hastily, with a sudden motion as if of deep mental agony, and
+		with wildly flashing eyes.</p>
+
+		<p>The old man shrank back in dismay from his mysterious guest:
+		the thunder rolled again, the rude gust swept fiercely by, the
+		dark forest rustled awfully, and the stranger’s torturing feelings
+		were evidently prolonged by the voices of the storm.</p>
+
+		<p>A pause ensued; and the silence was at length broken by the
+		old man, who said, in a hollow and tremulous tone, “To the
+		first condition I would willingly accede. But the second?”</p>
+
+		<p>“That you prey upon the human race, whom I hate; because
+		of all the world I alone am so deeply, so terribly accurst!” was
+		the ominously fearful yet only dimly significant reply.</p>
+
+		<p>The old man shook his head, scarcely comprehending the
+		words of his guest, and yet daring not to ask to be more enlightened.</p>
+
+		<p>“Listen!” said the stranger, in a hasty but impressive voice: “I
+		require a companion, one who has no human ties, and who still
+		ministers to my caprices,—who will devote himself wholly and
+		solely to watch me in my dark hours, and endeavor to recall me
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page5" title="5"> </a>back to enjoyment and pleasure, who, when he shall be acquainted
+		with my power, will devise new means in which to exercise
+		it, for the purpose of conjuring up those scenes of enchantment
+		and delight that may for a season win me away from
+		thought. Such a companion do I need for a period of one year
+		and a half; and you are, of all men, the best suited to my design.
+		But the Spirit whom I must invoke to effect the promised change
+		in thee, and by whose aid you can be given back to youth and
+		comeliness, will demand some fearful sacrifice at your hands.
+		And the nature of that sacrifice—the nature of the condition to
+		be imposed—I can well divine!”</p>
+
+		<p>“Name the sacrifice—name the condition!” cried the old man,
+		eagerly. “I am so miserable—so spirit-broken—so totally without
+		hope in this world, that I greedily long to enter upon that
+		new existence which you promised me! Say, then, what is the
+		condition?”</p>
+
+		<p>“That you prey upon the human race, whom <em>he</em> hates as well
+		as I,” answered the stranger.</p>
+
+		<p>“Again these awful words!” ejaculated the old man, casting
+		trembling glances around him.</p>
+
+		<p>“Yes—again those words,” echoed the mysterious guest, looking
+		with his fierce burning eyes into the glazed orbs of the aged
+		shepherd. “And now learn their import!” he continued, in a
+		solemn tone. “Knowest thou not that there is a belief in many
+		parts of our native land that at particular seasons certain
+		doomed men throw off the human shape and take that of ravenous
+		wolves?”</p>
+
+		<p>“Oh, yes—yes—I have indeed heard of those strange legends
+		in which the Wehr-Wolf is represented in such appalling colors!”
+		exclaimed the old man, a terrible suspicion crossing his mind.</p>
+
+		<p>“’Tis said that at sunset on the last day of every month the
+		mortal, to whom belongs the destiny of the Wehr-Wolf, must exchange
+		his natural form for that of the savage animal; in which
+		horrible shape he must remain until the moment when the morrow’s
+		sun dawns upon the earth.”</p>
+
+		<p>“The legend that told thee this spoke truly,” said the stranger.
+		“And now dost thou comprehend the condition which
+		must be imposed upon thee?”</p>
+
+		<p>“I do—I do!” murmured the old man with a fearful shudder.
+		“But he who accepts that condition makes a compact with the
+		evil one, and thereby endangers his immortal soul!”</p>
+
+		<p>“Not so,” was the reply. “There is naught involved in this
+		condition which—— But hesitate not,” added the stranger,
+		hastily: “I have no time to waste in bandying words. Consider
+		all I offer you: in another hour you shall be another
+		man!”</p>
+
+		<p>“I accept the boon—and on the conditions stipulated!” exclaimed
+		the shepherd.</p>
+
+		<p>“’Tis well, Wagner——”</p>
+
+		<p>“What! you know my name!” cried the old man. “And yet,
+		meseems, I did not mention it to thee.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Canst thou not already perceive that I am no common mortal?”
+		demanded the stranger, bitterly. “And who I am, and
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page6" title="6"> </a>whence I derive my power, all shall be revealed to thee so soon
+		as the bond is formed that must link us for eighteen months
+		together! In the meantime, await me here!”</p>
+
+		<p>And the mysterious stranger quitted the cottage abruptly, and
+		plunged into the depths of the Black Forest.</p>
+
+		<p>One hour elapsed ere he returned—one mortal hour, during
+		which Wagner sat bowed over his miserably scanty fire, dreaming
+		of pleasure, youth, riches, and enjoyment; converting, in
+		imagination, the myriad sparks which shone upon the extinguishing
+		embers into piles of gold, and allowing his now uncurbed
+		fancy to change the one single room of the wretched
+		hovel into a splendid saloon, surrounded by resplendent mirrors
+		and costly hangings, while the untasted fare for the stranger on
+		the rude fir-table, became transformed, in his idea, into a magnificent
+		banquet laid out, on a board glittering with plate,
+		lustrous with innumerable lamps, and surrounded by an atmosphere
+		fragrant with the most exquisite perfumes.</p>
+
+		<p>The return of the stranger awoke the old man from his charming
+		dream, during which he had never once thought of the conditions
+		whereby he was to purchase the complete realization of
+		the vision.</p>
+
+		<p>“Oh! what a glorious reverie you have dissipated!” exclaimed
+		Wagner. “Fulfill but one tenth part of that delightful
+		dream——”</p>
+
+		<p>“I will fulfill it all!” interrupted the stranger: then, producing
+		a small vial from the bosom of his doublet, he said, “Drink!”</p>
+
+		<p>The old man seized the bottle, and speedily drained it to the
+		dregs.</p>
+
+		<p>He immediately fell back upon the seat, in a state of complete
+		lethargy.</p>
+
+		<p>But it lasted not for many minutes; and when he awoke again,
+		he experienced new and extraordinary sensations. His limbs
+		were vigorous, his form was upright as an arrow; his eyes, for
+		many years dim and failing, seemed gifted with the sight of an
+		eagle, his head was warm with a natural covering; not a wrinkle
+		remained upon his brow nor on his cheeks; and, as he smiled
+		with mingled wonderment and delight, the parting lips revealed
+		a set of brilliant teeth. And it seemed, too, as if by one magic
+		touch the long fading tree of his intellect had suddenly burst
+		into full foliage, and every cell of his brain was instantaneously
+		stored with an amount of knowledge, the accumulation of which
+		stunned him for an instant, and in the next appeared as familiar
+		to him as if he had never been without it.</p>
+
+		<p>“Oh! great and powerful being, whomsoever thou art,” exclaimed
+		Wagner, in the full, melodious voice of a young man of
+		twenty-one, “how can I manifest to thee my deep, my boundless
+		gratitude for this boon which thou hast conferred upon me!”</p>
+
+		<p>“By thinking no more of thy lost grand-child Agnes, but by
+		preparing to follow me whither I shall now lead thee,” replied
+		the stranger.</p>
+
+		<p>“Command me: I am ready to obey in all things,” cried
+		Wagner. “But one word ere we set forth—who art thou, wondrous
+		man?”</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page7" title="7"> </a>“Henceforth I have no secrets from thee, Wagner,” was the
+		answer, while the stranger’s eyes gleamed with unearthly
+		luster; then, bending forward, he whispered a few words in the
+		other’s ear.</p>
+
+		<p>Wagner started with a cold and fearful shudder as if at some
+		appalling announcement; but he uttered not a word of reply—for
+		his master beckoned him imperiously away from the humble
+		cottage.</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_01" class="chapter">
+		<h3>CHAPTER I.<br />
+			<span class="subtitle">THE DEATH-BED—THE OATH—THE LAST INJUNCTIONS.</span></h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">Our</span> tale commences in the middle of the month of November,
+		1520, and at the hour of midnight.</p>
+
+		<p>In a magnificently furnished chamber, belonging to one of
+		the largest mansions of Florence, a nobleman lay at the point of
+		death.</p>
+
+		<p>The light of the lamp suspended to the ceiling played upon
+		the ghastly countenance of the dying man, the stern expression
+		of whose features was not even mitigated by the fears and uncertainties
+		attendant on the hour of dissolution.</p>
+
+		<p>He was about forty-eight years of age, and had evidently been
+		wondrously handsome in his youth: for though the frightful
+		pallor of death was already upon his cheeks, and the fire of his
+		large black eyes was dimmed with the ravages of a long-endured
+		disease, still the faultless outlines of the aquiline profile remained
+		unimpaired.</p>
+
+		<p>The most superficial observer might have read the aristocratic
+		pride of his soul in the haughty curl of his short upper lip,—the
+		harshness of his domineering character in the lines that marked
+		his forehead,—and the cruel sternness of his disposition in the
+		expression of his entire countenance.</p>
+
+		<p>Without absolutely scowling as he lay on that bed of death,
+		his features were characterized by an inexorable severity which
+		seemed to denote the predominant influence of some intense
+		passion—some evil sentiment deeply rooted in his mind.</p>
+
+		<p>Two persons leant over the couch to which death was so
+		rapidly approaching.</p>
+
+		<p>One was a lady of about twenty-five: the other was a youth
+		of nineteen.</p>
+
+		<p>The former was eminently beautiful; but her countenance
+		was marked with much of that severity—that determination—and
+		even of that sternness, which characterized the dying nobleman.
+		Indeed, a single glance was sufficient to show that they
+		stood in the close relationship of father and daughter.</p>
+
+		<p>Her long, black, glossy hair now hung disheveled over the
+		shoulders that were left partially bare by the hasty negligence
+		with which she had thrown on a loose wrapper; and those shoulders
+		were of the most dazzling whiteness.</p>
+
+		<p>The wrapper was confined by a broad band at the waist; and
+		the slight drapery set off, rather than concealed, the rich contours
+		of a form of mature but admirable symmetry.</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page8" title="8"> </a>Tall, graceful, and elegant, she united easy motion with fine
+		proportion; thus possessing the lightness of the Sylph and the
+		luxuriant fullness of the Hebe.</p>
+
+		<p>Her countenance was alike expressive of intellectuality and
+		strong passions. Her large black eyes were full of fire, and their
+		glances seemed to penetrate the soul. Her nose, of the finest
+		aquiline development,—her lips, narrow, but red and pouting,
+		with the upper one short and slightly projecting over the lower,—and
+		her small, delicately rounded chin, indicated both decision
+		and sensuality: but the insolent gaze of the libertine would have
+		quailed beneath the look of sovereign hauteur which flashed
+		from those brilliant eagle eyes.</p>
+
+		<p>In a word, she appeared to be a woman well adapted to command
+		the admiration—receive the homage—excite the passions—and
+		yet repel the insolence of the opposite sex.</p>
+
+		<p>But those appearances were to some degree deceitful; for never
+		was homage offered to her—never was she courted nor flattered.</p>
+
+		<p>Ten years previously to the time of which we are writing—and
+		when she was only fifteen—the death of her mother, under
+		strange and mysterious circumstances, as it was generally reported,
+		made such a terrible impression on her mind, that she
+		hovered for months on the verge of dissolution; and when the
+		physician who attended upon her communicated to her father
+		the fact that her life was at length beyond danger, that assurance
+		was followed by the sad and startling declaration, that
+		she had forever lost the sense of hearing and the power of
+		speech.</p>
+
+		<p>No wonder, then, that homage was never paid nor adulation
+		offered to Nisida—the deaf and dumb daughter of the proud
+		Count of Riverola!</p>
+
+		<p>Those who were intimate with this family ere the occurrence
+		of that sad event—especially the physician, Dr. Duras, who had
+		attended upon the mother in her last moments, and on the
+		daughter during her illness—declared that, up to the period
+		when the malady assailed her, Nisida was a sweet, amiable and
+		retiring girl; but she had evidently been fearfully changed by
+		the terrible affliction which that malady had left behind. For
+		if she could no longer express herself in words, her eyes darted
+		lightnings upon the unhappy menials who had the misfortune
+		to incur her displeasure; and her lips would quiver with the
+		violence of concentrated passion, at the most trifling neglect or
+		error of which the female dependents immediately attached to
+		her own person might happen to be guilty.</p>
+
+		<p>Toward her father she often manifested a strange ebullition
+		of anger—bordering even on inveterate spite, when he offended
+		her: and yet, singular though it were, the count was devotedly
+		attached to his daughter. He frequently declared that, afflicted
+		as she was, he was proud of her: for he was wont to behold
+		in her flashing eyes—her curling lip—and her haughty air, the
+		reflection of his own proud—his own inexorable spirit.</p>
+
+		<p>The youth of nineteen to whom we have alluded was Nisida’s
+		brother; and much as the father appeared to dote upon the
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page9" title="9"> </a>daughter, was the son proportionately disliked by that stern and
+		despotic man.</p>
+
+		<p>Perhaps this want of affection—or rather this complete aversion—on
+		the part of the Count of Riverola toward the young
+		Francisco, owed its origin to the total discrepancy of character
+		existing  between the father and son. Francisco was as amiable,
+		generous-hearted, frank and agreeable as his sire was austere,
+		stern, reserved and tyrannical. The youth was also unlike his
+		father in personal appearance, his hair being of a rich brown,
+		his eyes of a soft blue, and the general expression of his countenance
+		indicating the fairest and most endearing qualities which
+		can possibly characterize human nature.</p>
+
+		<p>We must, however, observe, before we pursue our narrative,
+		that Nisida imitated not her father in her conduct toward Francisco;
+		for she loved him—she loved him with the most ardent
+		affection—such an affection as a sister seldom manifests toward
+		a brother. It was rather the attachment of a mother for her
+		child; inasmuch as Nisida studied all his comforts—watched
+		over him, as it were, with the tenderest solicitude—was happy
+		when he was present, melancholy when he was absent, and
+		seemed to be constantly racking her imagination to devise new
+		means to afford him pleasure.</p>
+
+		<p>To treat Francisco with the least neglect was to arouse the
+		wrath of a fury in the breast of Nisida; and every unkind look
+		which the count inflicted upon his son was sure, if perceived by
+		his daughter, to evoke the terrible lightnings of her brilliant
+		eyes.</p>
+
+		<p>Such were the three persons whom we have thus minutely described
+		to our readers.</p>
+
+		<p>The count had been ill for some weeks at the time when this
+		chapter opens; but on the night which marks that commencement,
+		Dr. Duras had deemed it his duty to warn the nobleman
+		that he had not many hours to live.</p>
+
+		<p>The dying man had accordingly desired that his children
+		might be summoned; and when they entered the apartment, the
+		physician and the priest were requested to withdraw.</p>
+
+		<p>Francisco now stood on one side of the bed, and Nisida on the
+		other; while the count collected his remaining strength to address
+		his last injunctions to his son.</p>
+
+		<p>“Francisco,” he said, in a cold tone, “I have little inclination
+		to speak at any great length; but the words I am about to utter
+		are solemnly important. I believe you entertain the most sincere
+		and earnest faith in that symbol which now lies beneath
+		your hand.”</p>
+
+		<p>“The crucifix!” ejaculated the young man. “Oh, yes, my
+		dear father!—it is the emblem of that faith which teaches us
+		how to live and die!”</p>
+
+		<p>“Then take it up—press it to your lips—and swear to obey
+		the instructions which I am about to give you,” said the count.</p>
+
+		<p>Francisco did as he was desired; and, although tears were
+		streaming from his eyes, he exclaimed, in an emphatic manner,
+		“I swear most solemnly to fulfill your commands, my dear
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page10" title="10"> </a>father, so confident am I that you will enjoin nothing that involves
+		aught dishonorable!”</p>
+
+		<p>“Spare your qualifications,” cried the count, sternly; “and
+		swear without reserve—or expect my dying curse, rather than
+		my blessing.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Oh! my dear father,” ejaculated the youth, with intense anguish
+		of soul; “talk not of so dreadful a thing as bequeathing
+		me your dying curse! I swear to fulfill your injunctions—without
+		reserve.”</p>
+
+		<p>And he kissed the holy symbol.</p>
+
+		<p>“You act wisely,” said the count, fixing his glaring eyes upon
+		the handsome countenance of the young man, who now awaited,
+		in breathless suspense, a communication thus solemnly prefaced.
+		“This key,” continued the nobleman, taking one from beneath
+		his pillow as he spoke, “belongs to the door in yonder corner of
+		the apartment.”</p>
+
+		<p>“That door which is never opened!” exclaimed Francisco,
+		casting an anxious glance in the direction indicated.</p>
+
+		<p>“Who told you that the door was never opened,” demanded
+		the count, sternly.</p>
+
+		<p>“I have heard the servants remark——” began the youth in a
+		timid, but still frank and candid manner.</p>
+
+		<p>“Then, when I am no more, see that you put an end to such
+		impertinent gossiping,” said the nobleman, impatiently; “and
+		you will be the better convinced of the propriety of thus acting,
+		as soon as you have learned the nature of my injunctions. That
+		door,” he continued, “communicates with a small closet, which
+		is accessible by no other means. Now my wish—my command
+		is this:—Upon the day of your marriage, whenever such an
+		event may occur—and I suppose you do not intend to remain
+		unwedded all your life—I enjoin you to open the door of that
+		closet. You must be accompanied by your bride—and by no
+		other living soul. I also desire that this may be done with the
+		least possible delay—the very morning—within the very hour
+		after you quit the church. That closet contains the means of
+		elucidating a mystery profoundly connected with me—with you—with
+		the family—a mystery, the developments of which may
+		prove of incalculable service alike to yourself and to her who
+		may share your title and your wealth. But should you never
+		marry, then must the closet remain unvisited by <em>you</em>; nor need
+		you trouble yourself concerning the eventual discovery of the
+		secret which it contains, by any person into whose hands the
+		mansion may fall at your death. It is also my wish that your
+		sister should remain in complete ignorance of the instructions
+		which I am now giving you. Alas! poor girl—she cannot hear
+		the words which fall from my lips! neither shall you communicate
+		their import to her by writing, nor by the language of the
+		fingers. And remember that while I bestow upon you my blessing—my
+		dying blessing—may that blessing become a withering
+		curse—the curse of hell upon you—if in any way you violate one
+		tittle of the injunctions which I have now given you.”</p>
+
+		<p>“My dearest father,” replied the weeping youth, who had listened
+		with the most profound attention, to these extraordinary
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page11" title="11"> </a>commands; “I would not for worlds act contrary to your
+		wishes. Singular as they appear to me, they shall be fulfilled
+		to the very letter.”</p>
+
+		<p>He received from his father’s hand the mysterious key, which
+		he had secured about his person.</p>
+
+		<p>“You will find,” resumed the count after a brief pause, “that
+		I have left the whole of my property to you. At the same time
+		my will specifies certain conditions relative to your sister Nisida,
+		for whom I have made due provision only in the case—which is,
+		alas! almost in defiance of every hope!—of her recovery from
+		that dreadful affliction which renders her so completely dependent
+		upon your kindness.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Dearest father, you know how sincerely I am attached to
+		my sister—how devoted she is to me——”</p>
+
+		<p>“Enough, enough!” cried the count; and overcome by the
+		effort he had made to deliver his last injunction, he fell back
+		insensible on his pillow.</p>
+
+		<p>Nisida, who had retained her face buried in her hands during
+		the whole time occupied in the above conversation, happened to
+		look up at that moment; and, perceiving the condition of her
+		father, she made a hasty sign to Francisco to summon the physician
+		and the priest from the room to which they had retired.</p>
+
+		<p>This commission was speedily executed, and in a few minutes
+		the physician and the priest were once more by the side of the
+		dying noble.</p>
+
+		<p>But the instant that Dr. Duras—who was a venerable looking
+		man of about sixty years of age—approached the bed, he darted,
+		unseen by Francisco, a glance of earnest inquiry toward Nisida,
+		who responded by one of profound meaning, shaking her head
+		gently, but in a manner expressive of deep melancholy, at the
+		same time.</p>
+
+		<p>The physician appeared to be astonished at the negative thus
+		conveyed by the beautiful mute; and he even manifested a sign
+		of angry impatience.</p>
+
+		<p>But Nisida threw upon him a look of so imploring a nature,
+		that his temporary vexation yielded to a feeling of immense
+		commiseration for that afflicted creature: and he gave her to
+		understand, by another rapid glance, that her prayer was accorded.</p>
+
+		<p>This interchange of signs of such deep mystery scarcely occupied
+		a moment, and was altogether unobserved by Francisco.</p>
+
+		<p>Dr. Duras proceeded to administer restoratives to the dying
+		nobleman—but in vain!</p>
+
+		<p>The count had fallen into a lethargic stupor, which lasted
+		until four in the morning, when his spirit passed gently away.</p>
+
+		<p>The moment Francisco and Nisida became aware that they
+		were orphans, they threw themselves into each other’s arms,
+		and renewed by that tender embrace the tacit compact of sincere
+		affection which had ever existed between them.</p>
+
+		<p>Francisco’s tears flowed freely; but Nisida did not weep!</p>
+
+		<p>A strange—an almost portentous light shone in her brilliant
+		black eyes; and though that wild gleaming denoted powerful
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page12" title="12"> </a>emotions, yet it shed no luster upon the depths of her soul—afforded
+		no clew to the real nature of these agitated feelings.</p>
+
+		<p>Suddenly withdrawing himself from his sister’s arms, Francisco
+		conveyed to her by the language of the fingers the following
+		tender sentiment:—“You have lost a father, beloved
+		Nisida, but you have a devoted and affectionate brother left to
+		you!”</p>
+
+		<p>And Nisida replied through the same medium, “Your happiness,
+		dearest brother, has ever been my only study, and shall
+		continue so.”</p>
+
+		<p>The physician and Father Marco, the priest, now advanced,
+		and taking the brother and sister by the hands, led them from
+		the chamber of death.</p>
+
+		<p>“Kind friends,” said Francisco, now Count of Riverola, “I
+		understand you. You would withdraw my sister and myself
+		from a scene too mournful to contemplate. Alas! it is hard to
+		lose a father; but especially so at my age, inexperienced as I
+		am in the ways of the world!”</p>
+
+		<p>“The world is indeed made up of thorny paths and devious
+		ways, my dear young friend,” returned the physician; “but a
+		stout heart and integrity of purpose will ever be found faithful
+		guides. The more exalted and the wealthier the individual, the
+		greater the temptations he will have to encounter. Reflect upon
+		this, Francisco: it is advice which I, as an old—indeed, the oldest
+		friend of your family—take the liberty to offer.”</p>
+
+		<p>With these words, the venerable physician wrung the hands
+		of the brother and sister, and hurried from the house, followed
+		by the priest.</p>
+
+		<p>The orphans embraced each other, and retired to their respective
+		apartments.</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_02" class="chapter">
+		<h3>CHAPTER II.<br />
+			<span class="subtitle">NISIDA—THE MYSTERIOUS CLOSET.</span></h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">The</span> room to which Nisida withdrew, between four and five
+		o’clock on that mournful winter’s morning, was one of a suit
+		entirely appropriated to her own use.</p>
+
+		<p>This suit consisted of three apartments, communicating with
+		each other, and all furnished in the elegant and tasteful manner
+		of that age.</p>
+
+		<p>The innermost of the three rooms was used as her bed-chamber,
+		and when she now entered it, a young girl of seventeen,
+		beautiful as an angel, but dressed in the attire of a dependent,
+		instantly arose from a seat near the fire that blazed on the
+		hearth, and cast a respectful but inquiring glance toward her
+		mistress.</p>
+
+		<p>Nisida gave her to understand, by a sign, that all was over.</p>
+
+		<p>The girl started, as if surprised that her lady indicated so little
+		grief; but the latter motioned her, with an impatient gesture,
+		to leave the room.</p>
+
+		<p>When Flora—such was the name of the dependent—had retired
+		Nisida threw herself into a large arm-chair near the fire, and
+		immediately became buried in a deep reverie. With her splendid
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page13" title="13"> </a>hair flowing upon her white shoulders—her proud forehead
+		supported on her delicate hand—her lips apart, and revealing
+		the pearly teeth—her lids with their long black fringes half-closed
+		over the brilliant eyes—and her fine form cast in voluptuous
+		abandonment upon the soft cushions of the chair—she indeed
+		seemed a magnificent creature!</p>
+
+		<p>But when, suddenly awaking from that profound meditation,
+		she started from her seat with flashing eyes—heaving bosom—and
+		an expression of countenance denoting a fixed determination
+		to accomplish some deed from which her better feelings
+		vainly bade her to abstain:—when she drew her tall—her even
+		majestic form up to its full height, the drapery shadowing
+		forth every contour of undulating bust and exquisitely modeled
+		limb—while her haughty lip curled in contempt of any consideration
+		save her own indomitable will—she appeared rather
+		a heroine capable of leading an Amazonian army, than a
+		woman to whom the sighing swain might venture to offer up
+		the incense of love.</p>
+
+		<p>There was something awful in the aspect of this mysterious
+		being—something ineffably grand and imposing in her demeanor—as
+		she thus suddenly rose from her almost recumbent posture,
+		and burst into the attitude of a resolute and energetic woman.</p>
+
+		<p>Drawing the wrapper around her form, she lighted a lamp,
+		and was about to quit the chamber, when her eyes suddenly
+		encountered the mild and benignant glance which the portrait
+		of a lady appeared to cast upon her.</p>
+
+		<p>This portrait, which hung against the wall precisely opposite
+		to the bed, represented a woman of about thirty years of age—a
+		woman of a beauty much in the same style as that of Nisida, but
+		not marred by anything approaching to a sternness of expression.
+		On the contrary, if an angel had looked through those mild
+		black eyes, their glances could not have been endowed with a
+		holier kindness; the smiles of good spirits could not be more
+		plaintively sweet than those which the artist had made to play
+		upon the lips of that portrait.</p>
+
+		<p>Yet, in spite of this discrepancy between the expression of
+		Nisida’s countenance and that of the lady who had formed the
+		subject of the picture, it was not difficult to perceive a certain
+		physical likeness between the two; nor will the reader be surprised
+		when we state that Nisida was gazing on the portrait of
+		her deceased mother.</p>
+
+		<p>And that gaze—oh! how intent, how earnest, how enthusiastic
+		it was! It manifested something more than love—something
+		more impassioned and ardent than the affection which a
+		daughter might exhibit toward even a living mother; it showed
+		a complete devotion—an adoration—a worship!</p>
+
+		<p>Long and fixedly did Nisida gaze upon that portrait; till suddenly
+		from her eyes, which shot forth such burning glances,
+		gushed a torrent of tears.</p>
+
+		<p>Then—probably fearful lest this weakness on her part might
+		impair the resolution necessary to execute the purpose which she
+		had in view—Nisida dashed away the tears from her long lashes,
+		hastily quitted the room.</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page14" title="14"> </a>Having traversed the other two apartments of her own suit,
+		she cast a searching glance along the passage which she now
+		entered; and, satisfied that none of the domestics were about,
+		for it was not yet six o’clock on that winter’s morning, she hastened
+		to the end of the corridor.</p>
+
+		<p>The lamp flared with the speed at which she walked; and its
+		uncertain light enhanced the pallor that now covered her countenance.</p>
+
+		<p>At the bottom of the passage she cautiously opened the door,
+		and entered the room with which it communicated.</p>
+
+		<p>This was the sleeping apartment of her brother.</p>
+
+		<p>A single glance convinced her that he was wrapt in the arms
+		of slumber.</p>
+
+		<p>He slept soundly too—for he was wearied with the vigil which
+		he had passed by the death-bed of his father—worn out also by
+		the thousand conflicting and unsatisfactory conjectures that
+		the last instructions of his parent had naturally excited in his
+		mind.</p>
+
+		<p>He had not, however, been asleep a quarter of an hour when
+		Nisida stole, in the manner described, into his chamber.</p>
+
+		<p>A smile of mingled joy and triumph animated her countenance,
+		and a carnation tinge flushed her cheeks when she found
+		he was fast locked in the embrace of slumber.</p>
+
+		<p>Without a moment’s hesitation, she examined his doublet,
+		and clutched the key that his father had given to him scarcely
+		six hours before.</p>
+
+		<p>Then, light as the fawn, she left the room.</p>
+
+		<p>Having retraced her steps half-way up the passage, she paused
+		at the door of the chamber in which the corpse of her father
+		lay.</p>
+
+		<p>For an instant—a single instant—she seemed to revolt from
+		the prosecution of her design, then, with a stern contraction of
+		the brows, and an imperious curl of the lip—as if she said within
+		herself, “<em>Fool that I am to hesitate!</em>”—she entered the room.</p>
+
+		<p>Without fear—without compunction, she approached the bed.
+		The body was laid out: stretched in its winding sheet, stiff and
+		stark did it seem to repose on the mattress—the countenance
+		rendered more ghastly than even death could make it, by the
+		white band which tied up the under jaw.</p>
+
+		<p>The nurse who had thus disposed the corpse, had retired to
+		snatch a few hours of rest; and there was consequently no spy
+		upon Nisida’s actions.</p>
+
+		<p>With a fearless step she advanced toward the closet—the mysterious
+		closet relative to which such strange injunctions had
+		been given.</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_03" class="chapter">
+		<h3>CHAPTER III.<br />
+		<span class="subtitle">THE MANUSCRIPT—FLORA FRANCATELLI.</span></h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">Nisida’s</span> hand trembled not as she placed the key in the lock;
+		but when it turned, and she knew that in another instant she
+		might open that door if she chose, she compressed her lips firmly
+		together—she called all her courage to her aid—for she seemed
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page15" title="15"> </a>to imagine that it was necessary to prepare herself to behold
+		something frightfully appalling.</p>
+
+		<p>And now again her cheeks were deadly pale; but the light
+		that burned in her eyes was brilliant in the extreme.</p>
+
+		<p>White as was her countenance, her large black orbs appeared
+		to shine—to glow—to burn, as if with a violent fever.</p>
+
+		<p>Advancing with her left hand, she half-opened the door of the
+		closet with her right.</p>
+
+		<p>Then she plunged her glances with rapidity into the recess.</p>
+
+		<p>But, holy God! what a start that courageous, bold, and energetic
+		woman gave—a start as if the cold hand of a corpse
+		had been suddenly thrust forth to grasp her.</p>
+
+		<p>And oh! what horror convulsed her countenance—while her
+		lips were compressed as tightly as if they were an iron vise.</p>
+
+		<p>Rapidly and instantly recoiling as that glance was, it had
+		nevertheless revealed to her an object of interest as well as of
+		horror; for with eyes now averted, she seized something within
+		the closet, and thrust it into her bosom.</p>
+
+		<p>Then, hastily closing the door, she retraced her way to her
+		brother’s chamber.</p>
+
+		<p>He still slept soundly; Nisida returned the key to the pocket
+		whence she had taken it, and hurried back to her own room,
+		from which she had scarcely been absent five minutes.</p>
+
+		<p>And did she seek her couch? did she repair to rest?</p>
+
+		<p>No; that energetic woman experienced no weariness—yielded
+		to no lassitude.</p>
+
+		<p>Carefully bolting the door of her innermost chamber, she
+		seated herself in the arm-chair and drew from her bosom the
+		object which she had taken from the mysterious closet.</p>
+
+		<p>It was a manuscript, consisting of several small slips of paper,
+		somewhat closely written upon.</p>
+
+		<p>The paper was doubtless familiar to her; for she paused not to
+		consider its nature, but greedily addressed herself to the study
+		of the meaning which it conveyed. And of terrible import
+		seemed that manuscript to be; for while Nisida read, her countenance
+		underwent many and awful changes—and her bosom
+		heaved convulsively at one instant, while at another it remained
+		motionless, as if respiration were suspended.</p>
+
+		<p>At length the perusal was completed; and grinding her teeth
+		with demoniac rage, she threw the manuscript upon the floor.
+		But at the same moment her eyes, which she cast wildly about
+		her, caught the mild and benign countenance of her mother’s
+		portrait; and, as oil stills the fury of the boiling billows, did
+		the influence of that picture calm in an instant the tremendous
+		emotions of Nisida’s soul.</p>
+
+		<p>Tears burst from her eyes, and she suddenly relapsed from
+		the incarnate fiend into the subdued woman.</p>
+
+		<p>Then stooping down, she picked up the papers that lay scattered
+		on the floor: but as she did so she averted her looks, with
+		loathing and disgust, as much as possible from the pages that
+		her hands collected almost at random.</p>
+
+		<p>And now another idea struck her—an idea the propriety of
+		which evidently warred against her inclination.</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page16" title="16"> </a>She was not a woman of mere impulses—although she often
+		acted speedily after a thought had entered her brain. But she
+		was wondrously quick at weighing all reasons for or against the
+		suggestions of her imagination; and thus, to any one who was
+		not acquainted with her character, she might frequently appear
+		to obey the first dictates of her impetuous passions.</p>
+
+		<p>Scarcely three minutes after the new idea had struck her, her
+		resolution was fixed.</p>
+
+		<p>Once more concealing the papers in her bosom, she repaired
+		with the lamp to her brother’s room—purloined the key a
+		second time—hastened to the chamber of death—opened the
+		closet again—and again sustained the shock of a single glance
+		at its horrors, as she returned the manuscript to the place
+		whence she had originally taken it.</p>
+
+		<p>Then, having once more retraced her way to Francisco’s chamber,
+		she restored the key to the folds of his doublet—for he continued
+		to sleep soundly; and Nisida succeeded in regaining her
+		own apartments just in time to avoid the observation of the domestics,
+		who were now beginning to move about.</p>
+
+		<p>Nisida sought her couch and slept until nearly ten o’clock,
+		when she awoke with a start—doubtless caused by some unpleasant
+		dream.</p>
+
+		<p>Having ascertained the hour by reference to a water-clock, or
+		clepsydra, which stood on a marble pedestal near the head of
+		the bed, she arose—unlocked the door of her apartment—rang a
+		silver bell—and then returned to her bed.</p>
+
+		<p>In a few minutes Flora, who had been waiting in the adjoining
+		room, entered the chamber.</p>
+
+		<p>Nisida, on regaining her couch, had turned her face toward
+		the wall, and was therefore unable to perceive anything that took
+		place in the apartment.</p>
+
+		<p>The mere mention of such a circumstance would be trivial in
+		the extreme, were it not necessary to record it in consequence of
+		an event which now occurred.</p>
+
+		<p>For, as Flora advanced into the room, her eyes fell on a written
+		paper that lay immediately beneath the arm-chair; and conceiving
+		from its appearance that it had not been thrown down
+		on purpose, as it was in nowise crushed nor torn, she mechanically
+		picked it up and placed it on the table.</p>
+
+		<p>She then proceeded to arrange the toilet table of her mistress,
+		preparatory to that lady’s rising; and while she is thus employed,
+		we will endeavor to make our readers a little better acquainted
+		with her than they can possibly yet be.</p>
+
+		<p>Flora Francatelli was the orphan daughter of parents who had
+		suddenly been reduced from a state of affluence to a condition
+		of extreme poverty. Signor Francatelli could not survive this
+		blow: he died of a broken heart; and his wife shortly afterward
+		followed him to the tomb—also the victim of grief. They left
+		two children behind them: Flora, who was then an infant, and
+		a little boy, named Alessandro, who was five years old. The
+		orphans were entirely dependent upon the kindness of a maiden
+		aunt—their departed father’s sister. This relative, whose name
+		was, of course, also Francatelli, performed a mother’s part toward
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page17" title="17"> </a>the children: and deprived herself, not only of comforts,
+		but at times even of necessaries, in order that they should not
+		want. Father Marco, a priest belonging to one of the numerous
+		monasteries of Florence, and who was a worthy man, took compassion
+		upon this little family; and not only devoted his attention
+		to teach the orphans to read and write—great accomplishments
+		among the middle classes in those days—but also procured
+		from a fund at the disposal of his abbot, certain pecuniary
+		assistance for the aunt.</p>
+
+		<p>The care which this good relative took of the orphans, and the
+		kindness of Father Marco, were well rewarded by the veneration
+		and attachment which Alessandro and Flora manifested toward
+		them. When Alessandro had numbered eighteen summers, he
+		was fortunate enough to procure, through the interest of Father
+		Marco, the situation of secretary to a Florentine noble, who was
+		charged with a diplomatic mission to the Ottoman Porte; and
+		the young man proceeded to Leghorn, whence he embarked for
+		Constantinople, attended by the prayers, blessings, and hopes
+		of the aunt and sister, and of the good priest, whom he left
+		behind.</p>
+
+		<p>Two years after his departure, Father Marco obtained for
+		Flora a situation about the person of the Lady Nisida; for the
+		monk was confessor to the family of Riverola, and his influence
+		was sufficient to secure that place for the young maiden.</p>
+
+		<p>We have already said that Flora was sweetly beautiful. Her
+		large blue eyes were fringed with dark lashes, which gave them
+		an expression of the most melting softness; her dark brown
+		hair, arranged in the modest bands, seemed of even a darker
+		hue when contrasted with the brilliant and transparent clearness
+		of her complexion, and though her forehead was white
+		and polished as alabaster, yet the rose-tint of health was upon
+		her cheeks, and her lips had the rich redness of coral. Her nose
+		was perfectly straight; her teeth were white and even, and the
+		graceful arching of her swan-neck imparted something of nobility
+		to her tall, sylph-like, and exquisitely proportioned figure.</p>
+
+		<p>Retiring and bashful in her manners, every look which fell
+		from her eyes—every smile which wreathed her lips, denoted
+		the chaste purity of her soul. With all her readiness to oblige—with
+		all her anxiety to do her duty as she ought, she frequently
+		incurred the anger of the irascible Nisida; but Flora supported
+		those manifestations of wrath with the sweetest resignation, because
+		the excellence of her disposition taught her to make every
+		allowance for one so deeply afflicted as her mistress.</p>
+
+		<p>Such was the young maiden whom the nature of the present
+		tale compels us thus particularly to introduce to our readers.</p>
+
+		<p>Having carefully arranged the boudoir, so that its strict neatness
+		might be welcome to her mistress when that lady chose to
+		rise from her couch, Flora seated herself near the table, and
+		gave way to her reflections.</p>
+
+		<p>She thought of her aunt, who inhabited a neat little cottage
+		on the banks of the Arno, and whom she was usually permitted
+		to visit every Sabbath afternoon—she thought of her absent
+		brother, who was still in the service of the Florentine Envoy to
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page18" title="18"> </a>the Ottomon Porte, where that diplomatist was detained by the
+		tardiness that marked the negotiations with which he was
+		charged; and then she thought—thought too, with an involuntary
+		sigh—of Francisco, Count of Riverola.</p>
+
+		<p>She perceived that she had sighed—and, without knowing precisely
+		wherefore, she was angry with herself.</p>
+
+		<p>Anxious to turn the channel of her meditations in another
+		direction, she rose from her seat to examine the clepsydra. That
+		movement caused her eyes to fall upon the paper which she had
+		picked up a quarter of an hour previously.</p>
+
+		<p>In spite of herself the image of Francisco was still uppermost
+		in her thoughts; and, in the contemplative vein thus encouraged,
+		her eyes lingered, unwittingly—and through no base motive of
+		curiosity—upon the writing which that paper contained.</p>
+
+		<p>Thus she actually found herself reading the first four lines of
+		the writing, before she recollected what she was doing.</p>
+
+		<p>The act was a purely mechanical one, which not the most rigid
+		moralist could blame.</p>
+
+		<p>And had the contents of the paper been of no interest, she
+		might even have continued to read more in that same abstracted
+		mood; but those four first lines were of a nature which sent a
+		thrilling sensation of horror through her entire frame; the feeling
+		terminating with an icy coldness of the heart.</p>
+
+		<p>She shuddered without starting—shuddered as she stood; and
+		not even a murmur escaped her lips.</p>
+
+		<p>The intenseness of that sudden pang of horror deprived her
+		alike of speech and motion during the instant that it lasted.</p>
+
+		<p>And those lines, which produced so strange an impression
+		upon the young maiden, ran thus:</p>
+
+		<blockquote>
+			<p class="continued_paragraph">“merciless scalpel hacked and hewed away at the still almost
+			palpitating flesh of the murdered man, in whose breast the dagger
+			remained buried—a ferocious joy—a savage hyena-like triumph——”</p>
+		</blockquote>
+
+		<p>Flora read no more; she could not—even if she had wished.</p>
+
+		<p>For a minute she remained rooted to the spot; then she threw
+		herself into the chair, bewildered and dismayed at the terrible
+		words which had met her eyes.</p>
+
+		<p>She thought that the handwriting was not unknown to her;
+		but she could not recollect whose it was. One fact was, however,
+		certain—it was not the writing of her mistress.</p>
+
+		<p>She was musing upon the horrible and mysterious contents of
+		the paper, when Nisida rose from her couch.</p>
+
+		<p>Acknowledging with a slight nod of the head the respectful
+		salutation of her attendant, she hastily slipped on a loose wrapper,
+		and seated herself in the arm-chair which Flora had just
+		abandoned.</p>
+
+		<p>The young girl then proceeded to comb out the long raven
+		hair of her mistress.</p>
+
+		<p>But this occupation was most rudely interrupted: for Nisida’s
+		eyes suddenly fell upon the manuscript page on the table; and
+		she started up in a paroxysm of mingled rage and alarm.</p>
+
+		<p>Having assured herself by a second glance that it was indeed
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page19" title="19"> </a>a portion of the writings which had produced so strange an effect
+		upon her a few hours previously, she turned abruptly toward
+		Flora; and, imperiously confronting the young maiden,
+		pointed to the paper in a significant manner.</p>
+
+		<p>Flora immediately indicated by a sign that she had found it
+		on the floor, beneath the arm-chair.</p>
+
+		<p>“And you have read it!” was the accusation which, with
+		wonderful rapidity, Nisida conveyed by means of her fingers—fixing
+		her piercing, penetrating eyes on Flora’s countenance at
+		the same time.</p>
+
+		<p>The young maiden scorned the idea of a falsehood; although
+		she perceived that her reply would prove far from agreeable to
+		her mistress, she unhesitatingly admitted, by the language of
+		the hands. “I read the first four lines, and no more.”</p>
+
+		<p>A crimson glow instantly suffused the face, neck, shoulders,
+		and bosom of Nisida; but instantly compressing her lips—as
+		was her wont when under the influence of her boiling passions,
+		she turned her flashing eyes once more upon the paper, to ascertain
+		which leaf of the manuscript it was.</p>
+
+		<p>That rapid glance revealed to her the import, the dread, but
+		profoundly mysterious import of the four first lines on that
+		page; and, again darting her soul-searching looks upon the
+		trembling Flora, she demanded, by the rapid play of her delicate
+		taper fingers “Will you swear that you read no more?”</p>
+
+		<p>“As I hope for salvation!” was Flora’s symbolic answer.</p>
+
+		<p>The penetrating, imperious glance of Nisida dwelt long upon
+		the maiden’s countenance; but no sinister expression—no suspicious
+		change on that fair and candid face contradicted the
+		assertion which she had made.</p>
+
+		<p>“I believe you; but beware how you breathe to a living soul
+		a word of what you did read!”</p>
+
+		<p>Such was the injunction which Nisida now conveyed by her
+		usual means of communication; and Flora signified implicit
+		obedience.</p>
+
+		<p>Nisida then secured the page of writing in her jewel casket;
+		and the details of the toilet were resumed.</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_04" class="chapter">
+		<h3>CHAPTER IV.<br />
+			<span class="subtitle">THE FUNERAL—THE INTERRUPTION OF THE CEREMONY.</span></h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">Eight</span> days after the death of the Count of Riverola, the
+		funeral took place.</p>
+
+		<p>The obsequies were celebrated at night, with all the pomp
+		observed amongst noble families on such occasions. The church
+		in which the corpse was buried, was hung with black cloth;
+		and even the innumerable wax tapers which burned upon the
+		altar and around the coffin failed to diminish the lugubrious
+		aspect of the scene.</p>
+
+		<p>At the head of the bier stood the youthful heir of Riverola;
+		his pale countenance of even feminine beauty contrasting
+		strangely with the mourning garments which he wore, and his
+		eyes bent upon the dark chasm that formed the family vault
+		into which the remains of his sire were about to be lowered.</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page20" title="20"> </a>Around the coffin stood Dr. Duras and other male friends of
+		the deceased: for the females of the family were not permitted,
+		by the custom of the age and the religion, to be present on occasions
+		of this kind.</p>
+
+		<p>It was eleven o’clock at night: and the weather without was
+		stormy and tempestuous.</p>
+
+		<p>The wind moaned through the long aisles, raising strange and
+		ominous echoes, and making the vast folds of sable drapery
+		wave slowly backward and forward, as if agitated by unseen
+		hands. A few spectators, standing in the background, appeared
+		like grim figures on a black tapestry; and the gleam of the wax
+		tapers, oscillating on their countenances, made them seem
+		death-like and ghastly.</p>
+
+		<p>From time to time the shrill wail of the shriek-owl, and the
+		flapping of its wings against the diamond-paned windows of
+		the church, added to the awful gloom of the funeral scene.</p>
+
+		<p>And now suddenly arose the chant of the priests—the parting
+		hymn for the dead!</p>
+
+		<p>Francisco wept, for though his father had never manifested
+		toward him an affection of the slightest endearing nature, yet
+		the disposition of the young count was excellent; and, when he
+		gazed upon the coffin, he remembered not the coldness with
+		which its inmate in his lifetime had treated him—he thought
+		only of a parent whom he had lost, and whose remains were
+		there!</p>
+
+		<p>And truly, on the brink of the tomb no animosity should ever
+		find a resting-place in the human heart. Though elsewhere men
+		yield to the influence of their passions and their feelings, in
+		pursuing each his separate interests—though, in the great world,
+		we push and jostle each other, as if the earth were not large
+		enough to allow us to follow our separate ways—yet, when we
+		meet around the grave, to consign a fellow creature to his last
+		resting-place, let peace and holy forgiveness occupy our souls.
+		There let the clash of interests and the war of jealousies be forgotten;
+		and let us endeavor to persuade ourselves that, as all
+		the conflicting pursuits of life must terminate at this point at
+		last, so should our feelings converge to the one focus of amenity
+		and Christian love. And, after all, how many who have considered
+		themselves to be antagonists must, during a moment of
+		solemn reflection, become convinced that, when toiling in the
+		great workshop of the world, they have been engaged, in unconscious
+		fraternity, in building up the same fabric!</p>
+
+		<p>The priests were in the midst of their solemn chant—a deathlike
+		silence and complete immovability prevailed among the
+		mourners and the spectators—and the wind was moaning beneath
+		the vaulted roofs, awaking those strange and tomb-like
+		sounds which are only heard in large churches,—when light
+		but rushing footsteps were heard on the marble pavement; and
+		in another minute a female, not clothed in a mourning garb,
+		but splendidly as for a festival, precipitated herself toward the
+		bier.</p>
+
+		<p>There her strength suddenly seemed to be exhausted; and,
+		with a piercing scream, she sank senseless on the cold stones.</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page21" title="21"> </a>The chant of the priest was immediately stilled; and Francisco
+		hurrying forward, raised the female in his arms, while
+		Dr. Duras asked for water to sprinkle on her countenance.</p>
+
+		<p>Over her head the stranger wore a white veil of rich material,
+		which was fastened above her brow by a single diamond of
+		unusual size and brilliant luster. When the veil was drawn
+		aside, shining auburn tresses were seen depending in wanton
+		luxuriance over shoulders of alabaster whiteness: a beautiful
+		but deadly pale countenance was revealed; and a splendid
+		purple velvet dress delineated the soft and flowing outlines of a
+		form modeled to the most perfect symmetry.</p>
+
+		<p>She seemed to be about twenty years of age,—in the full
+		splendor of loveliness, and endowed with charms which presented
+		to the gaze of those around a very incarnation of the
+		ideal beauty which forms the theme of raptured poets.</p>
+
+		<p>And now, as the vacillating and uncertain light of the wax-candles
+		beamed upon her, as she lay senseless in the arms of the
+		Count Riverola, her pale, placid face appeared that of a classic
+		marble statue; but nothing could surpass the splendid effects
+		which the funeral tapers produced on the rich redundancy of
+		her hair, which seemed dark where the shadows rested on it,
+		but glittering as with a bright glory where the luster played on
+		its shining masses.</p>
+
+		<p>In spite of the solemnity of the place and the occasion, the
+		mourners were struck by the dazzling beauty of that young
+		female, who had thus appeared so strangely amongst them; but
+		respect still retained at a distance those persons who were merely
+		present from curiosity to witness the obsequies of one of the
+		proudest nobles of Florence.</p>
+
+		<p>At length the lady opened her large hazel eyes, and glanced
+		wildly around, a quick spasm passing like an electric shock over
+		her frame at the same instant; for the funeral scene burst upon
+		her view, and reminded her where she was, and why she was
+		there.</p>
+
+		<p>Recovering herself almost as rapidly as she had succumbed
+		beneath physical and mental exhaustion, she started from Francisco’s
+		arms; and turning upon him a beseeching, inquiring
+		glance, exclaimed in a voice which ineffable anguish could not
+		rob of its melody: “Is it true—oh, tell me is it true that the
+		Count Riverola is no more?”</p>
+
+		<p>“It is, alas! too true, lady,” answered Francisco, in a tone of
+		the deepest melancholy.</p>
+
+		<p>The heart of the fair stranger rebounded at the words which
+		thus seemed to destroy a last hope that lingered in her soul; and
+		a hysterical shriek burst from her lips as she threw her snow-white
+		arms, bare to the shoulders, around the head of the pall-covered
+		coffin.</p>
+
+		<p>“Oh! my much-loved—my noble Andrea!” she exclaimed, a
+		torrent of tears now gushing from her eyes.</p>
+
+		<p>“That voice!—is it possible?” cried one of the spectators who
+		had been hitherto standing, as before said, at a respectful distance:
+		and the speaker—a man of tall, commanding form, graceful
+		demeanor, wondrously handsome countenance, and rich
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page22" title="22"> </a>attire—immediately hurried toward the spot where the young
+		female still clung to the coffin, no one having the heart to remove
+		her.</p>
+
+		<p>The individual who had thus stepped forward, gave one rapid
+		but searching glance at the lady’s countenance; and, yielding
+		to the surprise and joy which suddenly animated him, he exclaimed:
+		“Yes—it is, indeed, the lost Agnes!”</p>
+
+		<p>The young female started when she heard her name thus pronounced
+		in a place where she believed herself to be entirely unknown;
+		and astonishment for an instant triumphed over the
+		anguish of her heart.</p>
+
+		<p>Hastily withdrawing her snow-white arms from the head of
+		the coffin, she turned toward the individual who had uttered
+		her name, and he instantly clasped her in his arms, murmuring,
+		“Dearest—dearest Agnes, art thou restored——”</p>
+
+		<p>But the lady shrieked, and struggled to escape from that tender
+		embrace, exclaiming, “What means this insolence? will no
+		one protect me?”</p>
+
+		<p>“That will I,” said Francisco, darting forward, and tearing
+		her away from the stranger’s arms. “But, in the name of
+		Heaven! let this misunderstanding be cleared up elsewhere.
+		Lady—and you, signor—I call on you to remember where you
+		are, and how solemn a ceremony you have both aided to interrupt.”</p>
+
+		<p>“I know not that man!” ejaculated Agnes, indicating the
+		stranger. “I come hither, because I heard—but an hour ago—that
+		my noble Andrea was no more. And I would not believe
+		those who told me. Oh! no—I could not think that Heaven
+		had thus deprived me of all I loved on earth!”</p>
+
+		<p>“Lady, you are speaking of my father,” said Francisco, in a
+		somewhat severe tone.</p>
+
+		<p>“Your father!” cried Agnes, now surveying the young count
+		with interest and curiosity. “Oh! then, my lord, you can pity—you
+		can feel for me, who in losing your father have lost all
+		that could render existence sweet!”</p>
+
+		<p>“No—you have not lost all!” exclaimed the handsome
+		stranger, advancing toward Agnes, and speaking in a profoundly
+		impressive tone. “Have you not one single relative
+		left in the world? Consider, lady—an old, old man—a shepherd
+		in the Black Forest of Germany——”</p>
+
+		<p>“Speak not of him!” cried Agnes, wildly. “Did he know
+		all, he would curse me—he would spurn me from him—he
+		would discard me forever! Oh! when I think of that poor old
+		man, with his venerable white hair,—that aged, helpless man,
+		who was so kind to me, who loved me so well, and whom I so
+		cruelly abandoned. But tell me, signor,” she exclaimed, in suddenly
+		altered tone, while her breath came with the difficulty of
+		acute suspense,—“tell me, signor, does that old man still live?”</p>
+
+		<p>“He lives, Agnes,” was the reply. “I know him well; at
+		this moment he is in Florence!”</p>
+
+		<p>“In Florence!” repeated Agnes; and so unexpectedly came
+		this announcement, that her limbs seemed to give way under
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page23" title="23"> </a>her, and she would have fallen on the marble pavement, had
+		not the stranger caught her in his arms.</p>
+
+		<p>“I will bear her away,” he said; “she has a true friend in me.”</p>
+
+		<p>And he was moving off with his senseless burden, when Francisco,
+		struck by a sudden idea, caught him by the elegantly
+		slashed sleeve of his doublet, and whispered thus, in a rapid
+		tone: “From the few, but significant words which fell from
+		that lady’s lips, and from her still more impressive conduct, it
+		would appear, alas! that my deceased father had wronged her.
+		If so, signor, it will be my duty to make her all the reparation
+		that can be afforded in such a case.”</p>
+
+		<p>“’Tis well, my lord,” answered the stranger, in a cold and
+		haughty tone. “To-morrow evening I will call upon you at
+		your palace.”</p>
+
+		<p>He then hurried on with the still senseless Agnes in his arms;
+		and the Count of Riverola retraced his steps to the immediate
+		vicinity of the coffin.</p>
+
+		<p>This scene, which so strangely interrupted the funeral ceremony,
+		and which has taken so much space to describe, did not
+		actually occupy ten minutes from the moment when the young
+		lady first appeared in the church, until that when she was borne
+		away by the handsome stranger. The funeral obsequies were
+		completed; the coffin was lowered into the family vault; the
+		spectators dispersed, and the mourners, headed by the young
+		count, returned in procession to the Riverola mansion, which
+		was situated at no great distance.</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_05" class="chapter">
+		<h3>CHAPTER V.<br />
+		<span class="subtitle">THE READING OF THE WILL.</span></h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">When</span> the mourners reached the palace, Francisco led the
+		way to an apartment where Nisida was awaiting their coming.</p>
+
+		<p>Francisco kissed her affectionately upon the forehead; and
+		then took his seat at the head of the table, his sister placing herself
+		on his right hand.</p>
+
+		<p>Dressed in deep mourning, and with her countenance unusually
+		pale, Nisida’s appearance inspired a feeling of profound interest
+		in the minds of those who did not perceive that, beneath
+		her calm and mournful demeanor, feelings of painful intensity
+		agitated within her breast. But Dr. Duras, who knew her well—better,
+		far better than even her own brother—noticed an occasional
+		wild flashing of the eye, a nervous motion of the lips,
+		and a degree of forced tranquillity of mien, which proved how
+		acute was the suspense she in reality endured.</p>
+
+		<p>On Francisco’s left hand the notary-general, who had acted as
+		one of the chief mourners, took a seat. He was a short, thin, middle-aged
+		man, with a pale complexion, twinkling gray eyes, and
+		a sharp expression of countenance. Before him lay a sealed
+		packet, on which the eyes of Nisida darted, at short intervals,
+		looks, the burning impatience of which were comprehended by
+		Dr. Duras alone; for next to Signor Vivaldi, the notary-general—and
+		consequently opposite to Nisida—sat the physician.</p>
+
+		<p>The remainder of the company consisted of Father Marco and
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page24" title="24"> </a>those most intimate friends of the family who had been invited
+		to the funeral; but whom it is unnecessary to describe more
+		particularly.</p>
+
+		<p>Father Marco having recited a short prayer, in obedience to
+		the custom of the age, and the occasion, the notary-general proceeded
+		to break the seals of the large packet which lay before
+		him: then, in a precise and methodical manner, he drew forth
+		a sheet of parchment, closely written on.</p>
+
+		<p>Nisida leaned her right arm upon the table, and half-buried
+		her countenance in the snowy cambric handkerchief which she
+		held.</p>
+
+		<p>The notary-general commenced the reading of the will.</p>
+
+		<p>After bestowing a few legacies, one of which was in favor of
+		Dr. Duras, and another in that of Signor Vivaldi himself, the
+		testamentary document ordained that the estates of the late
+		Andrea, Count of Riverola, should be held in trust by the notary-general
+		and the physician, for the benefit of Francisco, who was
+		merely to enjoy the revenues produced by the same until the
+		age of thirty, at which period the guardianship was to cease,
+		and Francisco was then to enter into full and uncontrolled possession
+		of those immense estates.</p>
+
+		<p>But to this clause there was an important condition attached;
+		for the testamentary document ordained that should the Lady
+		Nisida—either by medical skill, or the interposition of Heaven—recover
+		the faculties of hearing and speaking at any time during
+		the interval which was to elapse ere Francisco would attain
+		the age of thirty, then the whole of the estates, with the exception
+		of a very small one in the northern part of Tuscany, were
+		to be immediately made over to her; but without the power of
+		alienation on her part.</p>
+
+		<p>It must be observed that, in the middle ages many titles of
+		nobility depended only on the feudal possession of a particular
+		property. This was the case with the Riverola estates; and the
+		title of Count of Riverola was conferred simply by the fact of
+		the ownership of the landed property. Thus, supposing that
+		Nisida became possessed of the estates, she would have enjoyed
+		the title of countess, while her brother Francisco would have
+		lost that of count.</p>
+
+		<p>We may also remind our readers that Francisco was now
+		nineteen; and eleven years must consequently elapse ere he
+		could become the lord and master of the vast territorial possessions
+		of Riverola.</p>
+
+		<p>Great was the astonishment experienced by all who heard the
+		provisions of this strange will—with the exception of the notary-general
+		and Father Marco, the former of whom had drawn it up,
+		and the latter of whom was privy to its contents (though under
+		a vow of secrecy) in his capacity of father-confessor to the late
+		count.</p>
+
+		<p>Francisco was himself surprised, and, in one sense, hurt; because
+		the nature of the testamentary document seemed to imply
+		that the property would have been inevitably left to his sister,
+		with but a very small provision for himself, had she not been so
+		sorely afflicted as she was; and this fact forced upon him the
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page25" title="25"> </a>painful conviction that even when contemplating his departure
+		to another world, his father had not softened toward his
+		son!</p>
+
+		<p>But, on the other hand, Francisco was pleased that such consideration
+		had been shown toward a sister whom he so devotedly
+		loved; and he hastened, as soon as he could conquer his first
+		emotions, to request the notary-general to permit Nisida to peruse
+		the will, adding, in a mournful tone, “For all that your
+		excellency has read has been, alas! unavailing in respect to
+		her.”</p>
+
+		<p>Signor Vivaldi handed the document to the young count, who
+		gently touched his sister’s shoulder and placed the parchment
+		before her.</p>
+
+		<p>Nisida started as if convulsively, and raised from her handkerchief
+		a countenance so pale, so deadly pale, that Francisco
+		shrank back in alarm.</p>
+
+		<p>But instantly reflecting that the process of reading aloud a
+		paper had been as it were a kind of mockery in respect to his
+		afflicted sister, he pressed her hand tenderly, and made a sign
+		for her to peruse the document.</p>
+
+		<p>She mechanically addressed herself to the task; but ere her
+		eyes—now of burning, unearthly brilliancy—fell upon the
+		parchment, they darted one rapid, electric glance of ineffable
+		anguish toward Dr. Duras, adown whose cheeks large tears were
+		trickling.</p>
+
+		<p>In a few minutes Nisida appeared to be absorbed in the perusal
+		of the will; and the most solemn silence prevailed throughout
+		the apartment!</p>
+
+		<p>At length she started violently, tossed the paper indignantly
+		to the notary-general, and hastily wrote on a slip of paper these
+		words:</p>
+
+		<p>“Should medical skill or the mercy of Heaven restore my
+		speech and faculty of hearing, I will abandon all claim to the
+		estates and title of Riverola to my dear brother Francisco.”</p>
+
+		<p>She then handed the slip of paper to the notary-general, who
+		read the contents aloud.</p>
+
+		<p>Francisco darted upon his sister a look of ineffable gratitude
+		and love, but shook his head, as much as to imply that he could
+		not accept the boon even if circumstances enabled her to confer
+		it!</p>
+
+		<p>She returned the look with another, expressive of impatience
+		at his refusal: and her eyes seemed to say, as eyes never yet
+		spoke, “Oh, that I had the power to give verbal utterance to
+		my feelings!”</p>
+
+		<p>Meantime the notary-general had written a few words beneath
+		those penned by Nisida, to whom he had handed back
+		the slip; and she hastened to read them, thus: “Your ladyship
+		has no power to alienate the estates, should they come into your
+		possession.”</p>
+
+		<p>Nisida burst into an agony of tears and rushed from the room.</p>
+
+		<p>Her brother immediately followed to console her; and the
+		company retired, each individual to his own abode.</p>
+
+		<p>But of all that company who had been present at the reading
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page26" title="26"> </a>of the will, none experienced such painful emotions as Dr.
+		Duras.</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_06" class="chapter">
+		<h3>CHAPTER VI.<br />
+		<span class="subtitle">THE PICTURES—AGNES AND THE UNKNOWN—MYSTERY.</span></h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">When</span> Agnes awoke from the state of stupor in which she had
+		been conveyed from the church, she found herself lying upon an
+		ottoman, in a large and elegantly furnished apartment.</p>
+
+		<p>The room was lighted by two silver lamps suspended to the
+		ceiling, and which, being fed with aromatic oil of the purest
+		quality, imparted a delicious perfume to the atmosphere.</p>
+
+		<p>The walls were hung with paintings representing scenes of
+		strange variety and interest, and connected with lands far—far
+		away. Thus, one depicted a council of red men assembled
+		around a blazing fire, on the border of one of the great forests
+		of North America; another showed the interior of an Esquimaux
+		hut amidst the eternal ice of the Pole;—a third delineated, with
+		fearfully graphic truth, the writhing of a human victim in the
+		folds of the terrific anaconda in the island of Ceylon; a fourth exhibited
+		a pleasing contrast to the one previously cited, by having
+		for its subject a family meeting of Chinese on the terraced roof
+		of a high functionary’s palace at Perkin; a fifth represented the
+		splendid court of King Henry the Eighth in London; a sixth
+		showed the interior of the harem of the Ottoman Sultan.</p>
+
+		<p>But there were two portraits amongst this beautiful and varied
+		collection of pictures, all of which, we should observe, appeared
+		to have been very recently executed—two portraits which we
+		must pause to describe. One represented a tall man of about
+		forty years of age, with magnificent light hair—fine blue eyes,
+		but terrible in expression—a countenance indisputably handsome,
+		though every lineament denoted horror and alarm—and a
+		symmetrical form, bowed by the weight of sorrow. Beneath
+		this portrait was the following inscription:—“<em>F., Count of A.,
+		terminated his career on the 1st of August, 1517.</em>”</p>
+
+		<p>The other portrait alluded to was that of an old—old man,
+		who had apparently numbered ninety winters. He was represented
+		as cowering over a few embers in a miserable hovel,
+		while the most profound sorrow was depicted on his countenance.
+		Beneath this picture was the ensuing inscription:—“<em>F. W.,
+		January 7th, 1516. His last day thus.</em>”</p>
+
+		<p>There was another feature in that apartment to which we
+		must likewise direct our reader’s attention, ere we pursue the
+		thread of our narrative. This was an object hanging against
+		the wall, next to the second portrait just now described. It also
+		had the appearance of being a picture—or at all events a frame
+		of the same dimensions as the others; but whether that frame
+		contained a painting, or whether it were empty, it was impossible
+		to say, so long as it remained concealed by the large black
+		cloth which covered it, and which was carefully fastened by
+		small silver nails at each corner.</p>
+
+		<p>This strange object gave a lugubrious and sinister appearance
+		to a room in other respects cheerful, gay, and elegant.</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page27" title="27"> </a>But to resume our tale.</p>
+
+		<p>When Agnes awoke from her stupor, she found herself reclining
+		on a soft ottoman of purple velvet, fringed with gold;
+		and the handsome stranger, who had borne her from the church,
+		was bathing her brow with water which he took from a crystal
+		vase on a marble table.</p>
+
+		<p>As she slowly and languidly opened her large hazel eyes, her
+		thoughts collected themselves in the gradient manner; and
+		when her glance encountered that of her unknown friend, who
+		was bending over her with an expression of deep interest on his
+		features, there flashed upon her mind a recollection of all that
+		had so recently taken place.</p>
+
+		<p>“Where am I?” she demanded, starting up, and casting her
+		eyes wildly around her.</p>
+
+		<p>“In the abode of one who will not injure you,” answered the
+		stranger, in a kind and melodious tone.</p>
+
+		<p>“But who are you? and wherefore have you brought me
+		hither?” exclaimed Agnes. “Oh! remember—you spoke of that
+		old man—my grandfather—the shepherd of the Black Forest——”</p>
+
+		<p>“You shall see him—you shall be restored to him,” answered
+		the stranger.</p>
+
+		<p>“But will he receive me—will he not spurn me from him?”
+		asked Agnes, in a wildly impassioned—almost hysterical tone.</p>
+
+		<p>“The voice of pity cannot refuse to heave a sigh for thy fall,”
+		was the response. “If thou wast guilty in abandoning one who
+		loved thee so tenderly, and whose earthly reliance was on thee,
+		he, whom you did so abandon, has not the less need to ask pardon
+		of thee. For he speedily forgot his darling Agnes—he traveled
+		the world over, yet sought her not—her image was, as it
+		were, effaced from his memory. But when accident——”</p>
+
+		<p>“Oh! signor, you are mistaken—you know not the old man
+		whom I deserted, and who was a shepherd on the verge of the
+		Black Forest!” interrupted Agnes, in a tone expressive of bitter
+		disappointment, “for he, who loved me so well, was old—very
+		old, and could not possibly accomplish those long wanderings
+		of which you speak. Indeed, if he be still alive—but that is
+		scarcely possible——”</p>
+
+		<p>And she burst into tears.</p>
+
+		<p>“Agnes,” cried the stranger, “the venerable shepherd of
+		whom you speak accomplished those wanderings in spite of the
+		ninety winters which marked his age. He is alive, too——”</p>
+
+		<p>“He is alive!” ejaculated the lady, with reviving hopes.</p>
+
+		<p>“He is alive—and at this moment in Florence!” was the emphatic
+		answer. “Did I not ere now tell thee as much in the
+		church?”</p>
+
+		<p>“Yes—I remember—but my brain is confused!” murmured
+		Agnes, pressing her beautiful white hands upon her polished
+		brow. “Oh, if he be indeed alive—and so near me as you say—delay
+		not in conducting me to him; for he is now the only being
+		on earth to whom I dare look for solace and sympathy.”</p>
+
+		<p>“You are even now beneath the roof of your grandfather’s
+		dwelling,” said the stranger, speaking slowly and anxiously
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page28" title="28"> </a>watching the effect which this announcement was calculated to
+		produce upon her to whom he addressed himself.</p>
+
+		<p>“Here!—this my grandsire’s abode!” she exclaimed, clasping
+		her hands together, and glancing upward, as if to express her
+		gratitude to Heaven for this welcome intelligence. “But how
+		can that old man, whom I left so poor, have become the owner
+		of this lordly palace? Speak, signor!—all you have told me
+		seems to involve some strange mystery,” she added with breathless
+		rapidity. “Those wanderings of which you ere now spoke—wanderings
+		over the world, performed by a man bent down
+		by age; and then this noble dwelling—the appearances of
+		wealth which present themselves around—the splendor—the
+		magnificence——”</p>
+
+		<p>“All—all are the old man’s,” answered the stranger, “and
+		may some day become thine!”</p>
+
+		<p>“Holy Virgin!” exclaimed Agnes, sinking upon the ottoman
+		from which she had ere now risen, “I thank thee that thou hast
+		bestowed these blessings on my relative in his old age. And
+		yet,” she added, again overwhelmed by doubts, “it is scarcely
+		possible—no, it is too romantic to be true! Signor, thou art of
+		a surety mistaken in him whom thou supposes to be my grandsire?”</p>
+
+		<p>“Give me thine hand, Agnes—and I will convince thee,” said
+		the stranger.</p>
+
+		<p>The young lady complied mechanically; and her unknown
+		friend led her toward the portrait of the old man of ninety.</p>
+
+		<p>Agnes recognized the countenance at a single glance, and
+		would have fallen upon the floor had not her companion supported
+		her in his arms.</p>
+
+		<p>Tears again came to her relief; but hastily wiping them away,
+		she extended her arms passionately toward the portrait, exclaiming,
+		“Oh! now I comprehend you, signor! my grandsire lives
+		in this dwelling indeed—beneath this roof; but lives only in that
+		picture! Alas! alas! It was thus, no doubt, that the poor old
+		man seemed when he was abandoned by me—the lost, the guilty
+		Agnes! It was thus that he sat in his lonely dwelling—crushed
+		and overwhelmed by the black ingratitude of his granddaughter!
+		Oh! that I had never seen this portrait—this perpetuation
+		of so much loneliness and so much grief! Ah! too faithful delineation
+		of that sad scene which was wrought by me—vainly
+		penitent that I am!”</p>
+
+		<p>And covering her face with her hands she threw herself on her
+		knees before the portrait, and gave way to all the bitterness
+		and all the wildness of her grief.</p>
+
+		<p>The stranger interrupted her not for some minutes: he allowed
+		the flood of that anguish to have its full vent: but when it was
+		partially subsiding he approached the kneeling penitent, raised
+		her gently, and said, “Despair not! your grandsire lives.”</p>
+
+		<p>“He lives!” she repeated, her countenance once more expressing
+		radiant hope, as the sudden gleam of sunshine bursts forth
+		amidst the last drops of the April shower.</p>
+
+		<p>But, almost at the same instant that she uttered those words,
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page29" title="29"> </a>her eyes caught sight of the inscription at the foot of the picture;
+		and, bounding forward she read it aloud.</p>
+
+		<p>“Holy Virgin! I am deceived—basely, vilely deceived!” she
+		continued, all the violence of her grief, which had begun to ebb
+		so rapidly, now flowing back upon her soul; then turning abruptly
+		round upon the stranger, she said in a hoarse hollow tone:
+		“Signor, wherefore thus ungenerously trifle with my feelings—my
+		best feelings? Who art thou? what would’st thou with me?
+		and wherefore is that portrait here?”</p>
+
+		<p>“Agnes—Agnes!” exclaimed her companion, “compose yourself,
+		I implore you! I do not trifle with you—I do not deceive
+		you! Your grandsire, Fernand Wagner, is alive—and in this
+		house. You shall see him presently; but in the meantime, listen
+		to what I am about to say.”</p>
+
+		<p>Agnes placed her finger impatiently upon the inscription at
+		the bottom of the portrait, and exclaimed in a wild, hysterical
+		tone, “Canst thou explain this, signor? ‘January 7th, 1516,’—that
+		was about a week after I abandoned him; and, oh! well indeed
+		might those words be added—‘His last day thus!’”</p>
+
+		<p>“You comprehend not the meaning of that inscription!”
+		ejaculated the stranger, in an imploring tone, as if to beseech
+		her to have patience to listen to him. “There is a dreadful
+		mystery connected with Fernand Wagner—connected with me—connected
+		with these two portraits—connected also with——”</p>
+
+		<p>He checked himself suddenly, and his whole form seemed convulsed
+		with horror as he glanced toward the black cloth covering
+		the neighboring frame.</p>
+
+		<p>“A mystery?” repeated Agnes. “Yes—all is mystery: and
+		vague and undefinable terrors oppress my soul!”</p>
+
+		<p>“Thou shalt soon—too soon—be enlightened!” said the stranger,
+		in a voice of profound melancholy; “at least, to a certain
+		extent,” he added, murmuringly. “But contemplate that other
+		portrait for a few moments—that you may make yourself acquainted
+		with the countenance of a wretch who, in conferring a
+		fearful boon upon your grandsire, has plunged him into an abyss
+		of unredeemable horror!”</p>
+
+		<p>Agnes cast her looks toward the portrait of the tall man with
+		the magnificent hair, the flashing blue eyes, the wildly expressive
+		countenance, and the symmetrical form bowed with affliction;
+		and, having surveyed it for some time with repugnance
+		strongly mingled with an invincible interest and curiosity, she
+		suddenly pointed toward the inscription.</p>
+
+		<p>“Yes, yes; there is another terrible memorial!” cried the
+		stranger. “But art thou now prepared to listen to a wondrous—an
+		astonishing tale—such a tale as even nurses would scarcely
+		dare narrate to lull children——”</p>
+
+		<p>“I <em>am</em> prepared,” answered Agnes. “I perceive there is a
+		dreadful mystery connected with my grandsire—with you, also—and
+		perhaps with me;—and better learn at once the truth,
+		than remain in this state of intolerable suspense.”</p>
+
+		<p>Her unknown friend conducted her back to the ottoman,
+		whereon she placed herself.</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page30" title="30"> </a>He took a seat by her side, and, after a few moments’ profound
+		meditation, addressed her in the following manner.</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_07" class="chapter">
+		<h3>CHAPTER VII.<br />
+			<span class="subtitle">REVELATIONS.</span></h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">“You</span> remember, Agnes, how happily the times passed when
+		you were the darling of the old man in his poor cottage. All
+		the other members of his once numerous family had been swept
+		away by pestilence, malady, accident, or violence; and you
+		only were left to him. When the trees of this great Black
+		Forest were full of life and vegetable blood, in the genial
+		warmth of summer, you gathered flowers which you arranged
+		tastefully in the little hut; and those gifts of nature, so culled
+		and so dispensed by your hands, gave the dwelling a more
+		cheerful air than if it had been hung with tapestry richly
+		fringed. Of an evening, with the setting sun, glowing gold,
+		you were wont to kneel by the side of that old shepherd; and
+		together ye chanted a hymn giving thanks for the mercies of
+		the day, and imploring the renewal of them for the morrow.
+		Then did the music of your sweet voice, as it flowed upon the
+		old man’s ears in its melting, silvery tones, possess a charm for
+		his senses which taught him to rejoice and be grateful that,
+		though the rest of his race was swept away, thou, Agnes, was
+		left!</p>
+
+		<p>“When the winter came, and the trees were stripped of their
+		verdure, the poor cottage had still its enjoyments; for though
+		the cold was intense without, yet there were warm hearts
+		within; and the cheerful fire of an evening, when the labors
+		of the day were passed, seemed to make gay and joyous companionship.</p>
+
+		<p>“But suddenly you disappeared; and the old man found himself
+		deserted. You left him, too, in the midst of winter—at a
+		time when his age and infirmities demanded additional attentions.
+		For two or three days he sped wearily about, seeking you
+		everywhere in the neighboring district of the Black Forest. His
+		aching limbs were dragged up rude heights, that he might
+		plunge his glances down into the hollow chasms; but still not a
+		trace of Agnes! He roved along the precipices overlooking the
+		rustling streams, and searched—diligently searched the mazes of
+		the dark wood; but still not a trace of Agnes! At length the
+		painful conviction broke upon him that he was deserted—abandoned;
+		and he would sooner have found thee a mangled and
+		disfigured corpse in the forest than have adopted that belief.
+		Nay—weep not now; it is all past; and if I recapitulate these incidents,
+		it is but to convince thee how wretched the old man
+		was, and how great is the extenuation for the course which he
+		was so soon persuaded to adopt.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Then, who art thou that knowest all this?” exclaimed Agnes,
+		casting looks of alarm upon her companion.</p>
+
+		<p>“Thou shalt soon learn who I am,” was the reply.</p>
+
+		<p>Agnes still gazed upon him in mingled terror and wonder; for
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page31" title="31"> </a>his words had gone to her heart, and she remembered how he
+		had embraced her when she first encountered him in the church.
+		His manners, too, were so mild, so kind, so paternal toward her;
+		and yet he seemed but a few years older than herself.</p>
+
+		<p>“You have gazed upon the portrait of the old man,” he continued,
+		“as he appeared on that memorable evening which
+		sealed his fate!”</p>
+
+		<p>Agnes started wildly.</p>
+
+		<p>“Yes, sealed his fate, but spared him his life!” said the unknown,
+		emphatically. “As he is represented in that picture,
+		so was he sitting mournfully over the sorry fire, for the morrow’s
+		renewal of which there was no wood! At that hour a
+		man appeared—appeared in the midst of the dreadful storm
+		which burst over the Black Forest. This man’s countenance
+		is now known to thee; it is perpetuated in the other portrait to
+		which I directed thine attention.”</p>
+
+		<p>“There is something of a wild and fearful interest in the aspect
+		of that man,” said Agnes, casting a shuddering glance behind
+		her, and trembling lest the canvas had burst into life, and
+		the countenance whose lineaments were depicted thereon was
+		peering over her shoulder.</p>
+
+		<p>“Yes, and there was much of wild and fearful interest in his
+		history,” was the reply; “but of that I cannot speak—no, I dare
+		not. Suffice it to say that he was a being possessed of superhuman
+		powers, and that he proffered his services to the wretched—the
+		abandoned—the deserted Wagner. He proposed to endow
+		him with a new existence—to restore him to youth and manly
+		beauty—to make him rich—to embellish his mind with wondrous
+		attainments—to enable him to cast off the wrinkles of
+		age——”</p>
+
+		<p>“Holy Virgin! now I comprehend it all!” shrieked Agnes,
+		throwing herself at the feet of her companion: “and you—<em>you</em>——”</p>
+
+		<p>“I am Fernand Wagner!” he exclaimed, folding her in his
+		embrace.</p>
+
+		<p>“And can you pardon me, can you forgive my deep—deep ingratitude?”
+		cried Agnes.</p>
+
+		<p>“Let us forgive each other!” said Wagner. “You can now
+		understand the meaning of the inscription beneath my portrait.
+		‘His last day thus’ signifies that it was the last day on which I
+		wore that aged, decrepit, and sinking form.”</p>
+
+		<p>“But wherefore do you say, ‘Let us forgive each other?’” demanded
+		Agnes, scarcely knowing whether to rejoice or weep at
+		the marvelous transformation of her grandsire.</p>
+
+		<p>“Did I not ere now inform thee that thou wast forgotten
+		until accident threw thee in my way to-night?” exclaimed Fernand.
+		“I have wandered about the earth and beheld all the
+		scenes which are represented in those pictures—ay, and many
+		others equally remarkable. For eighteen months I was the servant—and
+		slave of him who conferred upon me this fatal
+		boon——”</p>
+
+		<p>“At what price, then, have you purchased it?” asked Agnes,
+		with a cold shudder.</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page32" title="32"> </a>“Seek not to learn my secret, girl!” cried Wagner, almost
+		sternly; then, in a milder tone, he added, “By all you deem
+		holy and sacred, I conjure you, Agnes, never again to question
+		me on that head! I have told thee as much as it is necessary
+		for thee to know——”</p>
+
+		<p>“One word—only one word!” exclaimed Agnes in an imploring
+		voice. “Hast thou bartered thine immortal soul——”</p>
+
+		<p>“No—no!” responded Wagner, emphatically. “My fate is
+		terrible indeed—but I am not beyond the pale of salvation.
+		See! Agnes—I kiss the crucifix—the symbol of faith and hope!”</p>
+
+		<p>And, as he uttered these words, he pressed to his lips an
+		ivory crucifix of exquisite workmanship, which he took from
+		the table.</p>
+
+		<p>“The Virgin be thanked that my fearful suspicion should
+		prove unfounded!” ejaculated Agnes.</p>
+
+		<p>“Yes—I am not altogether lost,” answered Wagner. “But
+		<em>he</em>—the unhappy man who made me what I am—— And yet I
+		dare not say more,” he added, suddenly checking himself. “For
+		one year and a half did I follow him as his servitor—profiting by
+		his knowledge—gaining varied information from his experience—passing
+		with the rapidity of thought from clime to clime—surveying
+		scenes of ineffable bliss, and studying all the varieties
+		of misery that fall to the lot of human nature. When he—my
+		master—passed away——”</p>
+
+		<p>“On the 1st of August, 1517,” observed Agnes, quoting from
+		the inscription beneath the portrait of the individual alluded to.</p>
+
+		<p>“Yes; when he passed away,” continued Wagner, “I continued
+		my wanderings alone until the commencement of last year,
+		when I settled myself in Florence. The mansion to which I
+		have brought you is mine. It is in a somewhat secluded spot
+		on the banks of the Arno, and is surrounded by gardens. My
+		household consists of but few retainers; and they are elderly
+		persons—docile and obedient. The moment that I entered this
+		abode, I set to work to paint those portraits to which I have
+		directed your attention—likewise these pictures,” he added,
+		glancing around, “and in which I have represented scenes that
+		my own eyes have witnessed. Here, henceforth, Agnes, shalt
+		thou dwell; and let the past be forgotten. But there are three
+		conditions which I must impose upon thee.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Name them,” said Agnes; “I promise obedience beforehand.”</p>
+
+		<p>“The first,” returned Fernand, “is that you henceforth look
+		upon me as your brother, and call me such when we are alone
+		together or in the presence of strangers. The second is that you
+		never seek to remove the black cloth which covers yon
+		place——”</p>
+
+		<p>Agnes glanced toward the object alluded to and shuddered—as
+		if the veil concealed some new mystery.</p>
+
+		<p>“And the third condition is that you revive not on any future
+		occasion the subject of our present conversation, nor even question
+		me in respect to those secrets which it may suit me to retain
+		within my own breast.”</p>
+
+		<p>Agnes promised obedience, and, embracing Wagner, said,
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page33" title="33"> </a>“Heaven has been merciful to me, in my present affliction, in
+		that it has given me <em>a brother</em>!”</p>
+
+		<p>“Thou speakest of thine afflictions, Agnes!” exclaimed Wagner;
+		“this is the night of revelations and mutual confidences—and
+		this night once passed, we will never again allude to the
+		present topics, unless events should render their revival necessary.
+		It now remains for thee to narrate to me all that has befallen
+		thee since the winter of 1516.”</p>
+
+		<p>Agnes hastened to comply with Fernand’s request, and commenced
+		her history in the following manner:</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_08" class="chapter">
+		<h3>CHAPTER VIII.<br />
+			<span class="subtitle">THE HISTORY OF AGNES.</span></h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">“When</span> you, dear brother—for so I shall henceforth call you—commenced
+		your strange and wondrous revelations ere now,
+		you painted in vivid colors the happiness which dwelt in our
+		poor cottage on the borders of the Black Forest. You saw how
+		deeply your words affected me—I could not restrain my tears.
+		Let me not, however, dwell upon this subject; but rather hasten
+		to explain those powerful causes which induced me to quit that
+		happy home.</p>
+
+		<p>“It was about six weeks before my flight that I went into the
+		forest to gather wood. I was in the midst of my occupation,
+		gayly thrilling a native song, when the sound of a horse’s feet
+		upon the hard soil of the beaten path suddenly interrupted me.
+		I turned around, seeing a cavalier of strikingly handsome countenance—though
+		somewhat stern withal, and of noble mien.
+		He was in reality forty-four years of age—as I afterward learnt;
+		but he seemed scarcely forty, so light did time sit upon his
+		brow. His dress was elegant, though of some strange fashion;
+		for it was Italian costume that he wore. The moment he was
+		close to the spot where I stood he considered me for a short
+		while, till I felt my cheeks glowing beneath his ardent gaze. I
+		cast down my eyes; and the next instant he had leapt from his
+		horse and was by my side. He addressed me in gentle terms;
+		and when again I looked at him his countenance no more
+		seemed stern. It appeared that he was staying with the Baron
+		von Nauemberg, with whom he had been out hunting in the
+		Black Forest, and from whom and his suite he was separated
+		in the ardor of the chase. Being a total stranger in those parts,
+		he had lost his way. I immediately described to him the proper
+		path for him to pursue; and he offered me gold as a recompense.
+		I declined the guerdon; and he questioned me concerning my
+		family and my position. I told him that I lived hard-by, with
+		an only relative—a grandsire, to whom I was devotedly attached.
+		He lingered long in conversation with me; and his
+		manner was so kind, so condescending, and so respectful, that I
+		thought not I was doing wrong to listen to him. At length he
+		requested me to be on the same spot at the same hour on the
+		morrow; and he departed.</p>
+
+		<p>“I was struck by his appearance—dazzled by the brilliancy of
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page34" title="34"> </a>his discourse; for he spoke German fluently, although an Italian.
+		He had made a deep impression on my mind; and I felt a secret
+		longing to meet him again. Suddenly it occurred to me that I
+		was acting with impropriety, and that you would be angry with
+		me. I therefore resolved not to mention to you my accidental
+		encounter with the handsome cavalier; but I determined at the
+		same time not to repair to the forest next day. When the appointed
+		hour drew near, my good genius deserted me; and I
+		went. He was there, and he seemed pleased at my punctuality.
+		I need not detail to you the nature of the discourse which he
+		held toward me. Suffice it to say, that he declared how much
+		he had been struck with my beauty, and how fondly he would
+		love me; and he dazzled me still more by revealing his haughty
+		name; and I found that I was beloved by the Count of Riverola.</p>
+
+		<p>“You can understand how a poor girl, who had hitherto
+		dwelt in the seclusion of a cottage on the border of a vast wood,
+		and who seldom saw any person of higher rank than herself,
+		was likely to be dazzled by the fine things which that great
+		nobleman breathed in her ear.</p>
+
+		<p>“And I was dazzled—flattered—excited—bewildered. I consented
+		to meet him again: interview followed interview, until I
+		no longer required any persuasion to induce me to keep the appointments
+		thus given. But there were times when my conscience
+		reproached me for conduct which I knew you would
+		blame; and yet I dared not unburden my soul to you!</p>
+
+		<p>“Six weeks thus passed away; I was still innocent—but madly
+		in love with the Count of Riverola. He was the subject of my
+		thoughts by day—of my dreams by night; and I felt that I could
+		make any sacrifice to retain his affection. That sacrifice was
+		too soon demanded! At the expiration of the six weeks he informed
+		me that on the following day he must return to Italy,
+		whither important affairs called him sooner than he had anticipated.
+		He urged me to accompany him; I was bewildered—maddened
+		by the contemplation of my duty on the one hand,
+		of my love on the other. My guardian saint deserted me; I
+		yielded to the persuasion of the count—I became guilty—and
+		there was now no alternative save to fly with him!</p>
+
+		<p>“Oh! believe me when I declare that this decision cost me a
+		dreadful pang; but the count would not leave me time for reflection.
+		He bore me away on his fleet steed, and halted not until
+		the tall towers of Nauemberg Castle appeared in the distance.
+		Then he stopped at a poor peasant’s cottage, where his gold insured
+		me a welcome reception. Having communicated the plan
+		which he proposed to adopt respecting our journey to Florence,
+		he took an affectionate leave of me, with a promise to return on
+		the ensuing morning. The remainder of the day was passed
+		wretchedly enough by me; and I already began to repent of the
+		step I had taken. The peasants who occupied the cottage vainly
+		endeavored to cheer me; my heart was too full to admit of consolation.
+		Night came at length, and I retired to rest; but my
+		dreams were of so unpleasant a nature—so filled with frightful
+		images—that never did I welcome the dawn with more enthusiastic
+		joy. Shortly after daybreak the count appeared at the
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page35" title="35"> </a>cottage, attended by one of his numerous suite—a faithful attendant
+		on whom he could rely implicitly. They were mounted
+		on good steeds; and Antonio—such was the name of the servitor—led
+		a third by the bridle. This one the count had purchased
+		at an adjacent hamlet, expressly for my use. He had also procured
+		a page’s attire; for in such disguise was it agreed that I
+		should accompany the count to Italy.</p>
+
+		<p>“I should observe that the nobleman, in order to screen our
+		<em>amour</em> as much as possible, had set out from Nauemberg Castle,
+		attended by Antonio alone, alleging as an excuse that certain
+		affairs compelled him to travel homeward with as much celerity
+		as possible. The remainder of his suit were therefore ordered
+		to follow at their leisure.</p>
+
+		<p>“Oh! with what agonizing emotion did my heart beat, as, in
+		a private chamber of the cottage, I laid aside my peasant’s garb
+		and donned the doublet, hose, cap and cloak of a youthful page.
+		I thought of you—of your helplessness—your age,—and also of
+		my native land, which I was about to quit—perhaps forever!
+		Still I had gone too far to retreat, and regrets were useless. I
+		must also confess that when I returned to the room where the
+		count was waiting for me, and heard the flattering compliments
+		which he paid me on my appearance in that disguise, I smiled—yes,
+		I smiled, and much of my remorse vanished!</p>
+
+		<p>“We set out upon our journey toward the Alps; and the count
+		exerted all his powers of conversation to chase away from my
+		mind any regrets or repinings that might linger there. Though
+		cold and stern—forbidding and reserved—haughty and austere
+		in his bearing toward others, to me he was affectionate and
+		tender. To be brief, yet with sorrow must I confess it, at the
+		expiration of a few days I could bear to think, without weeping,
+		of the fond relative whom I had left behind in the cottage of the
+		Black Forest!</p>
+
+		<p>“We crossed the Alps in safety, but not without experiencing
+		much peril; and in a short time glorious Italy spread itself out
+		at our feet. The conversation of the count had already prepared
+		me to admire——”</p>
+
+		<p>At this moment, Agnes’ narrative was interrupted by a piercing
+		shriek which burst from her lips; and extending her arms
+		toward the window of the apartment, she screamed hysterically,
+		“Again that countenance!” and fell back on the ottoman.</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_09" class="chapter">
+		<h3>CHAPTER IX.<br />
+			<span class="subtitle">CONCLUSION OF THE HISTORY OF AGNES.</span></h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">In</span> order that the reader may understand how Agnes could
+		perceive any object outside the window, in the intense darkness
+		of that tempestuous night—or rather morning, for it was now
+		past one o’clock—we must observe that not only was the apartment
+		in which Wagner and herself were seated brilliantly
+		lighted by the silver lamps, but that, according to Florentine
+		custom, there were also lamps suspended outside to the
+		veranda, or large balcony belonging to the casements of the
+		room above.</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page36" title="36"> </a>Agnes and Wagner were, moreover, placed near the window
+		which looked into a large garden attached to the mansion; and
+		thus it was easy for the lady, whose eyes happened to be fixed
+		upon the casement in the earnest interest with which she was
+		relating her narrative, to perceive the human countenance that
+		appeared at one of the panes.</p>
+
+		<p>The moment her history was interrupted by the ejaculation
+		of alarm that broke from her lips, Wagner started up and hastened
+		to the window; but he could see nothing save the waving
+		evergreens in his garden, and the light of a mansion which
+		stood at a distance of about two hundred yards from his own
+		abode.</p>
+
+		<p>He was about to open the casement and step into the garden,
+		when Agnes caught him by the arm, exclaiming wildly, “Leave
+		me not—I could not—I could not bear to remain alone!”</p>
+
+		<p>“No, I will not quit you, Agnes,” replied Wagner, conducting
+		her back to the sofa and resuming his seat by her side. “But
+		wherefore that ejaculation of alarm? Whose countenance did
+		you behold? Speak, dearest Agnes!”</p>
+
+		<p>“I will hasten to explain the cause of my terror,” retorted
+		Agnes, becoming more composed. “Ere now I was about to
+		detail the particulars of my journey to Florence, in company
+		with the Count of Riverola, and attended by Antonio; but as
+		those particulars are of no material interest, I will at once pass
+		on to the period when we arrived in this city.”</p>
+
+		<p>“But the countenance at the window?” said Wagner, somewhat
+		impatiently.</p>
+
+		<p>“Listen—and you will soon know all,” replied Agnes. “It
+		was in the evening when I entered Florence for the first time.
+		Antonio had proceeded in advance to inform his mother—a
+		widow who resided in a decent house, but in an obscure street
+		near the cathedral—that she was speedily to receive a young
+		lady as a guest. This young lady was myself; and accordingly,
+		when the count assisted me to alight from my horse at the gate
+		of Dame Margaretha’s abode, the good widow had everything in
+		readiness for my reception. The count conversed with her apart
+		for a few minutes; and I observed that he also placed a heavy
+		purse in her hand—doubtless to insure her secrecy relative to the
+		<em>amour</em>, with the existence of which he was of course compelled
+		to acquaint her. Having seen me comfortably installed in Dame
+		Margaretha’s best apartment, he quitted me, with a promise to
+		return on the morrow.”</p>
+
+		<p>Agnes paused for a few moments, sighed, and continued her
+		narrative in the following manner:</p>
+
+		<p>“Fortunately for me, Dame Margaretha was a German
+		woman, who had married an Italian, otherwise my condition
+		would have been wretched in the extreme. She treated me with
+		great kindness, mingled with respect; for though but a poor
+		peasant girl, I was beloved and protected by one of the most
+		powerful nobles of Florence. I retired early to rest:—sleep did
+		not, however, immediately visit my eyes! Oh! no—I was in
+		Florence, but my thoughts were far away in my native Germany,
+		and on the borders of the Black Forest. At length I fell into an
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page37" title="37"> </a>uneasy slumber, and when I awoke the sun was shining through
+		the lattice. I arose and dressed myself, and to my ineffable delight
+		found that I was no longer to wear the garb of a page.
+		That disguise had been removed while I slept, and in its place
+		were costly vestments, which I donned with a pleasure that triumphed
+		over the gloom of my soul. In the course of the morning
+		rich furniture was brought to the house, and in a few hours
+		the apartments allotted to me were converted, in my estimation,
+		into a little paradise. The count arrived soon afterward, and I
+		now—pardon me the neglect and ingratitude which my words
+		confess—I now felt very happy. The noble Andrea enjoined me
+		to go abroad but seldom, and never without being accompanied
+		by Dame Margaretha; he also besought me not to appear to recognize
+		him should I chance to meet him in public at any time,
+		nor to form acquaintances; in a word, to live retired and secluded
+		as possible, alike for his sake and my own. I promised
+		compliance with all he suggested, and he declared in return that
+		he would never cease to love me.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Dwell not upon details, Agnes,” said Wagner; “for, although
+		I am deeply interested in your narrative, my curiosity is
+		strangely excited to learn the meaning of that terror which
+		overcame you ere now.”</p>
+
+		<p>“I will confine myself to material facts as much as possible,”
+		returned Agnes. “Time glided rapidly away;—months flew by,
+		and with sorrow and shame must I confess that the memories
+		of the past, the memories of the bright, happy days of my innocence
+		intruded but little on the life which I led. For, though
+		he was so much older than I, yet I loved the Count of Riverola devotedly.
+		Oh! Heaven knows how devotedly! His conversation
+		delighted, fascinated me; and he seemed to experience a pleasure
+		in imparting to me the extensive knowledge which he had
+		acquired. To me he unbent as, doubtless, to human being he
+		never unbent before; in my presence his sternness, his somber
+		moods, his gloomy thoughts vanished. It was evident that he
+		had much preying upon his mind; and perhaps he loved me thus
+		fondly because—by some unaccountable whim or caprice, or
+		strange influence—he found solace in my society. The presents
+		which he heaped upon me, but which have been nearly all
+		snatched from me, were of immense value; and when I remonstrated
+		with him on account of a liberality so useless to one
+		whom he allowed to want for nothing, he would reply, ‘But remember,
+		Agnes, when I shall be no more, riches will constitute
+		your best friend, your safest protection; for such is the order of
+		things in this world.’ He generally spent two hours with me
+		every day, and frequently visited me again in the evening.
+		Thus did time pass; and at length I come to that incident which
+		will explain the terror I ere now experienced.”</p>
+
+		<p>Agnes cast a hasty glance toward the window, as if to assure
+		herself that the object of her fears was no longer there; and, satisfied
+		on this head, she proceeded in the following manner:</p>
+
+		<p>“It was about six months ago that I repaired as usual on the
+		Sabbath morning to mass, accompanied by Dame Margaretha,
+		when I found myself the object of some attention on the part of
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page38" title="38"> </a>a lady, who was kneeling at a short distance from the place
+		which I occupied in the church. The lady was enveloped in a
+		dark, thick veil, the ample folds of which concealed her countenance,
+		and meandered over her whole body’s splendidly symmetrical
+		length of limb in such a manner as to aid her rich
+		attire in shaping, rather than hiding, the contours of that matchless
+		form. I was struck by her fine proportions, which gave her,
+		even in her kneeling attitude, a queen-like and majestic air; and
+		I longed to obtain a glimpse of her countenance—the more so as
+		I could perceive by her manner and the position of her head that
+		from beneath her dark veil her eyes were intently fixed upon
+		myself. At length the scrutiny to which I was thus subjected
+		began to grow so irksome—nay, even alarming, that I hurriedly
+		drew down my own veil, which I had raised through respect
+		for the sacred altar whereat I was kneeling. Still I knew that
+		the stranger lady was gazing on me; I <em>felt</em> that she was. A certain
+		uneasy sensation—amounting almost to a superstitious awe—convinced
+		me that I was the object of her undivided attention.
+		Suddenly the priests, in procession, came down from the altar;
+		and as they passed us, I instinctively raised my veil again,
+		through motives of deferential respect. At the same instant I
+		glanced toward the stranger lady; she also drew back the dark
+		covering from her face. Oh! what a countenance was then revealed
+		to me—a countenance of such sovereign beauty that,
+		though of the same sex, I was struck with admiration; but, in
+		the next moment, a thrill of terror shot through my heart—for
+		the fascination of the basilisk could scarcely paralyze its victim
+		with more appalling effect than did the eyes of that lady. It
+		might be conscience qualms, excited by some unknown influence—it
+		might even have been imagination; but it nevertheless
+		appeared as if those large, black, burning orbs shot forth lightnings
+		which seared and scorched my very soul! For that splendid
+		countenance, of almost unearthly beauty, was suddenly
+		marked by an expression of such vindictive rage, such ineffable
+		hatred, such ferocious menace, that I should have screamed had
+		I not been as it were stunned—stupefied!</p>
+
+		<p>“The procession of priests swept past. I averted my head
+		from the stranger lady. In a few moments I again glanced hurriedly
+		at the place which she had occupied—but she was gone.
+		Then I felt relieved! On quitting the church, I frankly narrated
+		to old Margaretha these particulars as I have now unfolded them
+		to you; and methought that she was for a moment troubled as
+		I spoke! But if she were, she speedily recovered her composure—endeavored
+		to soothe me by attributing it all to my imagination,
+		and earnestly advised me not to cause any uneasiness
+		to the count by mentioning the subject to him. I readily promised
+		compliance with this injunction; and in the course of a few
+		days ceased to think upon the incident which has made so
+		strange but evanescent an impression on my mind.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Doubtless Dame Margaretha was right in her conjecture,”
+		said Wagner; “and your imagination——”</p>
+
+		<p>“Oh, no—no! It was not fancy!” interrupted Agnes, hastily.
+		“But listen, and then judge for yourself. I informed you ere
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page39" title="39"> </a>now that it was about six months ago when the event which I
+		have just related took place. At that period, also, my noble
+		lover—the ever-to be lamented Andrea—first experienced the
+		symptoms of that internal disease which has, alas! carried him
+		to the tomb.”</p>
+
+		<p>Agnes paused, wiped away her tears, and continued thus:</p>
+
+		<p>“His visits to me consequently became less frequent;—I was
+		more alone—for Margaretha was not always a companion who
+		could solace me for the absence of one so dearly loved as my
+		Andrea; and repeated fits of deep despondency seized upon my
+		soul. At those times I felt as if some evil—vague and undefinable,
+		but still terrible—were impending over me. Was it my
+		lord’s approaching death of which I had a presentiment? I
+		know not! Weeks passed away; the count’s visits occurred at
+		intervals growing longer and longer—but his affection toward me
+		had not abated. No: a malady that preyed upon his vitals retained
+		him much at home;—and at last, about two months ago,
+		I received through Antonio the afflicting intelligence that he
+		was confined to his bed. My anguish now knew no bounds. I
+		would fly to him—oh! I would fly to him:—who was more
+		worthy to watch by his couch than I, who so dearly loved him!
+		Dame Margaretha represented to me how painful it would be to
+		his lordship were our <em>amour</em> to transpire through any rash proceeding
+		on my part—the more so, as I knew that he had a daughter
+		and a son! I accordingly restrained my impetuous longing
+		to hasten to his bedside:—I could not so easily subdue my grief!</p>
+
+		<p>“One night I sat up late in my lonely chamber—pondering on
+		the melancholy position in which I was placed,—loving so tenderly,
+		yet not daring to fly to him whom I loved,—and giving
+		way to all the mournful ideas which presented themselves to my
+		imagination. At length my mind grew bewildered by those
+		sad reflections; vague terrors gathered around me—multiplying
+		in number and augmenting in intensity,—until at length the
+		very figures on the tapestry with which the room was hung appeared
+		animated with power to scare and affright me. The
+		wind moaned ominously without, and raised strange echoes
+		within; oppressive feelings crowded on my soul. At length the
+		gale swelled to a hurricane—a whirlwind, seldom experienced
+		in this delicious clime. Howlings in a thousand tones appeared
+		to flit through the air; and piercing lamentations seemed to
+		sound down the black clouds that rolled their mighty volumes
+		together, veiling the moon and stars in thickest gloom. Overcome
+		with terror, I retired to rest—and I slept. But troubled
+		dreams haunted me throughout the night, and I awoke at an early
+		hour in the morning. But—holy angels protect me!—what did
+		I behold? Bending over me, as I lay, was that same countenance
+		which I had seen four months before in the church,—and
+		now, as it was <em>then</em>, darting upon me lightning from large black
+		eyes that seemed to send shafts of flame and fire to the inmost
+		recesses of my soul! Yet—distorted as it was with demoniac
+		rage—that face was still endowed with the queen-like beauty—the
+		majesty of loveliness, which had before struck me, and
+		which even lent force to those looks of dreadful menace that
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page40" title="40"> </a>were fixed upon me. There were the high forehead—the proud
+		lip, curled in scorn,—the brilliant teeth, glistening between the
+		quivering vermilion,—and the swan-like arching of the dazzling
+		neck; there also was the dark glory of the luxuriant hair!</p>
+
+		<p>“For a few moments I was spell-bound—motionless—speechless.
+		Clothed with terror and sublimity, yet in all the flush of
+		the most perfect beauty, a strange—mysterious being stood
+		over me: and I knew not whether she were a denizen of this
+		world, or a spirit risen from another. Perhaps the transcendent
+		loveliness of that countenance was but a mask and the wondrous
+		symmetry of that form but a disguise, beneath which all
+		the passions of hell were raging in the brain and in the heart
+		of a fiend. Such were the ideas that flashed through my imagination;
+		and I involuntarily closed my eyes, as if this action
+		could avert the malignity that appeared to menace me. But
+		dreadful thoughts still pursued me—enveloping me, as it were,
+		in an oppressive mist wherein appalling though dimly seen
+		images and forms were agitating; and I again opened my eyes.
+		The lady—if an earthly being she really were—was gone. I
+		rose from my couch and glanced nervously around—expecting
+		almost to behold an apparition come forth from behind the
+		tapestry, or the folds of the curtains. But my attention was
+		suddenly arrested by a fact more germane to worldly occurrences.
+		The casket wherein I kept the rich presents made to me
+		at different times by my Andrea had been forced open and the
+		most valuable portion of its contents were gone. On a closer
+		investigation I observed that the articles which were left were
+		those that were purchased new; whereas the jewels that had
+		been abstracted were old ones, which, as the count had informed
+		me, had belonged to his deceased wife.</p>
+
+		<p>“On discovering this robbery, I began to suspect that my
+		mysterious visitress, who had caused me so much alarm, was
+		the thief of my property; and I immediately summoned old
+		Margaretha. She was of course astounded at the occurrence
+		which I related; and, after some reflection, she suddenly remembered
+		that she had forgotten to fasten the house-door ere she retired
+		to rest on the preceding evening. I chided her for a neglect
+		which had enabled some evil-disposed woman to penetrate
+		into my chamber, and not only terrify but also plunder me.
+		She implored my forgiveness, and besought me not to mention
+		the incident to the count when next we met. Alas! my noble
+		Andrea and I never met again.</p>
+
+		<p>“I was sorely perplexed by the event which I have just related.
+		If the mysterious visitress were a common thief, why
+		did she leave any of the jewels in the casket? and wherefore
+		had she on two occasions contemplated me with looks of such
+		dark rage and infernal menace? A thought struck me. Could
+		the count’s daughter have discovered our <em>amour</em>? and was it
+		she who had come to gain possession of jewels belonging to the
+		family? I hinted my suspicions to Margaretha; but she speedily
+		convinced me that they were unfounded.</p>
+
+		<p>“‘The Lady Nisida is deaf and dumb,’ she said, ‘and cannot
+		possibly exercise such faculties of observation, nor adopt such
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page41" title="41"> </a>means of obtaining information as would make her acquainted
+		with all that has occurred between her father and yourself.
+		Besides—she is constantly in attendance on her sire, who is very,
+		very ill.</p>
+
+		<p>“I now perceived the improbability of a deaf and dumb
+		female discovering an <em>amour</em> so carefully concealed; but to
+		assure myself more fully on that head, I desired Margaretha to
+		describe the Lady Nisida. This she readily did, and I learnt
+		from her that the count’s daughter was of a beauty quite different
+		from the lady whom I had seen in the church and in my
+		own chamber. In a word, it appears that Nisida has light hair,
+		blue eyes and a delicate form: whereas, the object of my interest,
+		curiosity, and fear, is a woman of dark Italian loveliness.</p>
+
+		<p>“I have little more now to say. The loss of the jewels and
+		the recollection of the mysterious lady were soon absorbed in
+		the distressing thoughts which the serious illness of the count
+		forced upon my mind. Weeks passed away, and he came not; but
+		he sent repeated messages by Antonio, imploring me to console
+		myself, as he should soon recover, and urging me not to take
+		any step that might betray the existence of our <em>amour</em>. Need
+		I say how religiously I obeyed him in the latter respect? Day
+		after day did I hope to see him again, for I knew not that he
+		was dying: and I used to dress myself in my gayest attire—even
+		as now I am appareled—to welcome his expected visit. Alas!
+		he never came; and his death was concealed from me, doubtless
+		that the sad event might not be communicated until after the
+		funeral, lest in the first frenzy of anguish I should rush to the
+		Riverola palace to imprint a last kiss upon the cheek of the corpse.
+		But a few hours ago, I learned the whole truth from two female
+		friends of Dame Margaretha who called to visit her, and whom
+		I had hastened to inform that she was temporarily absent. My
+		noble Andrea was dead, and at that very moment his funeral
+		obsequies were being celebrated in the neighboring church—the
+		very church in which I had first beheld the mysterious lady!
+		Frantic with grief—unmindful of the exposure that would ensue—reckless
+		of the consequences, I left the house—I hastened to
+		the church—I intruded my presence amidst the mourners. You
+		know the rest, Fernand. It only remains for me to say that the
+		countenance which I beheld ere now at the window—strongly
+		delineated and darkly conspicuous amidst the blaze of light outside
+		the casement—was that of the lady whom I have thus seen
+		for the third time! But, tell me, Fernand, how could a stranger
+		thus obtain admission to the gardens of your mansion?”</p>
+
+		<p>“You see yon lights, Agnes!” said Wagner, pointing toward
+		the mansion which, as we stated at the commencement of that
+		chapter, was situated at a distance of about two hundred yards
+		from Fernand’s dwelling, the backs of the two houses thus
+		looking toward each other. “Those lights,” he continued,
+		“are shining in a mansion the gardens of which are separated
+		from my own by a simple hedge of evergreens, that would not
+		bar even the passage of a child. Should any inmate of that
+		mansion possess curiosity sufficient to induce him or her to
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page42" title="42"> </a>cross the boundary, traverse my gardens, and approach the casements
+		of my residence, that curiosity may be easily gratified.”</p>
+
+		<p>“And to whom does yon mansion belong?” asked Agnes.</p>
+
+		<p>“To Dr. Duras, an eminent physician,” was the reply.</p>
+
+		<p>“Dr. Duras, the physician who attended my noble Andrea in
+		his illness!” exclaimed Agnes. “Then the mysterious lady of
+		whom I have spoken so much, and whose countenance ere now
+		appeared at the casement, must be an inmate of the house of
+		Dr. Duras; or at all events, a visitor there! Ah! surely there is
+		some connection between that lady and the family at Riverola?”</p>
+
+		<p>“Time will solve the mystery, dearest sister, for so I am
+		henceforth to call you,” said Fernand. “But beneath this roof,
+		no harm can menace you. And now let me summon good
+		Dame Paula, my housekeeper, to conduct you to the apartments
+		which have been prepared for your reception. The morning
+		is far advanced, and we both stand in need of rest.”</p>
+
+		<p>Dame Paula, an elderly, good-tempered, kind-hearted matron,
+		shortly made her appearance; and to her charge did Wagner
+		consign his newly-found relative, whom he now represented to
+		be his sister.</p>
+
+		<p>But as Agnes accompanied the worthy woman from the apartment,
+		she shuddered involuntarily as she passed the frame
+		which was covered with the black cloth, and which seemed
+		ominous amidst the blaze of light that filled the room.</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_10" class="chapter">
+		<h3>CHAPTER X.<br />
+			<span class="subtitle">FRANCISCO, WAGNER AND NISIDA.</span></h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">On</span> the ensuing evening, Francisco, Count of Riverola, was
+		seated in one of the splendid saloons of his palace, pondering
+		upon the strange injunction which he had received from his deceased
+		father, relative to the mysterious closet, when Wagner
+		was announced.</p>
+
+		<p>Francisco rose to receive him, saying in a cordial though melancholy
+		tone, “Signor, I expected you.”</p>
+
+		<p>“And let me hasten to express the regret which I experienced
+		at having addressed your lordship coldly and haughtily last
+		night,” exclaimed Wagner. “But, at the moment, I only beheld
+		in you the son of him who had dishonored a being very
+		dear to my heart.”</p>
+
+		<p>“I can well understand your feelings on that occasion,
+		signor,” replied Francisco. “Alas! the sins of the fathers are
+		too often visited upon the children in this world. But, in whatever
+		direction our present conversation may turn, I implore you
+		to spare as much as possible the memory of my sire.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Think not, my lord,” said Wagner, “that I should be so
+		ungenerous as to reproach you for a deed in which you had no
+		concern, and over which you exercised no control. Nor should
+		I inflict so deep an injury upon you, as to speak in disrespectful
+		terms of him who was the author of your being, but who is now
+		no more.”</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page43" title="43"> </a>“Your kind language has already made me your friend,” exclaimed
+		Francisco. “And now point out to me in what manner
+		I can in any way repair—or mitigate—the wrong done to
+		that fair creature in whom you express yourself interested.”</p>
+
+		<p>“That young lady is my sister,” said Wagner, emphatically.</p>
+
+		<p>“Your sister, signor! And yet, meseems, she recognized you
+		not——”</p>
+
+		<p>“Long years have passed since we saw each other,” interrupted
+		Fernand; “for we were separated in our childhood.”</p>
+
+		<p>“And did you not both speak of some relative—an old man
+		who once dwelt on the confines of the Black Forest of Germany,
+		but who is now in Florence?” asked Francisco.</p>
+
+		<p>“Alas! that old man is no more,” returned Wagner. “I did
+		but use his name to induce Agnes to place confidence in me, and
+		allow me to withdraw her from a scene which her wild grief so
+		unpleasantly interrupted; for I thought that were I then and
+		there to announce myself as her brother, she might not believe
+		me—she might suspect some treachery or snare in a city so notoriously
+		profligate as Florence. But the subsequent explanations
+		which took place between us cleared up all doubts on that
+		subject.”</p>
+
+		<p>“I am well pleased to hear that the poor girl has found so
+		near a relative and so dear a friend, signor,” said Francisco.
+		“And now acquaint me, I pray thee, with the means whereby
+		I may, to some extent, repair the injury your sister has sustained
+		at the hands of him whose memory I implore you to
+		spare!”</p>
+
+		<p>“Wealth I possess in abundance—oh! far greater abundance
+		than is necessary to satisfy all my wants!” exclaimed Wagner,
+		with something of bitterness and regret in his tone; “but, even
+		were I poor, gold would not restore my sister’s honor. No—let
+		that subject, however, pass. I would only ask you, count,
+		whether there be any scion of your family—any lady connected
+		with you—who answers this description?”</p>
+
+		<p>And Wagner proceeded to delineate, in minute terms, the portraiture
+		of the mysterious lady who had inspired Agnes on three
+		occasions with so much terror, and whom Agnes herself had
+		depicted in such glowing language.</p>
+
+		<p>“Signor! you are describing the Lady Nisida, my sister!” exclaimed
+		Francisco, struck with astonishment at the fidelity of
+		the portrait thus verbally drawn.</p>
+
+		<p>“Your sister, my lord!” cried Wagner. “Then has Dame
+		Margaretha deceived Agnes in representing the Lady Nisida to
+		be rather a beauty of the cold north than of the sunny south.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Dame Margaretha!” said Francisco; “do you allude, signor,
+		to the mother of my late father’s confidential dependent, Antonio?”</p>
+
+		<p>“The same,” was the answer. “It was at Dame Margaretha’s
+		house that your father placed my sister Agnes, who has resided
+		there nearly four years.”</p>
+
+		<p>“But wherefore have you made those inquiries relative to the
+		Lady Nisida?” inquired Francisco.</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page44" title="44"> </a>“I will explain the motive with frankness,” responded
+		Wagner.</p>
+
+		<p>He then related to the young count all those particulars relative
+		to the mysterious lady and Agnes, with which the reader is
+		already acquainted.</p>
+
+		<p>“There must be some extraordinary mistake—some strange
+		error, signor, in all this,” observed Francisco. “My poor sister
+		is, as you seem to be aware, so deeply afflicted that she possesses
+		not faculties calculated to make her aware of that <em>amour</em> which
+		even I, who possess those faculties in which she is deficient,
+		never suspected, and concerning which no hint ever reached
+		me, until the whole truth burst suddenly upon me last night at
+		the funeral of my sire. Moreover, had accident revealed to
+		Nisida the existence of the connection between my father and
+		your sister, signor, she would have imparted the discovery to
+		me, such is the confidence and so great is the love that exists
+		between us. For habit has rendered us so skillful and quick in
+		conversing with the language of the deaf and dumb, that no
+		impediment ever exists to the free interchange of our thoughts.”</p>
+
+		<p>“And yet, if the Lady Nisida <em>had</em> made such a discovery,
+		her hatred of Agnes may be well understood,” said Wagner;
+		“for her ladyship must naturally look upon my sister as the
+		partner of her father’s weakness—the dishonored slave of his
+		passions.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Nisida has no secret from me,” observed the young count,
+		firmly.</p>
+
+		<p>“But wherefore did Dame Margaretha deceive my sister in
+		respect to the personal appearance of the Lady Nisida?” inquired
+		Wagner.</p>
+
+		<p>“I know not. At the same time——”</p>
+
+		<p>The door opened, and Nisida entered the apartment.</p>
+
+		<p>She was attired in deep black; her luxuriant raven hair, no
+		longer depending in shining curls, was gathered up in massy
+		bands at the sides, and a knot behind, whence hung a rich veil
+		that meandered over her body’s splendidly symmetrical length
+		of limb in such a manner as to aid her attire in shaping rather
+		than hiding the contours of that matchless form. The voluptuous
+		development of her bust was shrouded, not concealed, by the
+		stomacher of black velvet which she wore, and which set off in
+		strong relief the dazzling whiteness of her neck.</p>
+
+		<p>The moment her lustrous dark eyes fell upon Fernand Wagner,
+		she started slightly; but this movement was imperceptible alike
+		to him whose presence caused it, and to her brother.</p>
+
+		<p>Francisco conveyed to her, by the rapid language of the
+		fingers, the name of their visitor, and at the same time intimated
+		to her that he was the brother of Agnes, the young and lovely
+		female whose strange appearance at the funeral, and avowed
+		connection with the late noble, had not been concealed from the
+		haughty lady.</p>
+
+		<p>Nisida’s eyes seemed to gleam with pleasure when she understood
+		in what degree of relationship Wagner stood toward
+		Agnes; and she bowed to him with a degree of courtesy seldom
+		displayed by her to strangers.</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page45" title="45"> </a>Francisco then conveyed to her in the language of the dumb,
+		all those details already related in respect to the “mysterious
+		lady” who had so haunted the unfortunate Agnes.</p>
+
+		<p>A glow of indignation mounted to the cheeks of Nisida; and
+		more than usually rapid was the reply she made through the
+		medium of the alphabet of the fingers.</p>
+
+		<p>“My sister desires me to express to you, signor,” said Francisco,
+		turning toward Wagner, “that she is not the person
+		whom the Lady Agnes has to complain against. My sister,” he
+		continued, “has never to her knowledge seen the Lady Agnes;
+		much less has she ever penetrated into her chamber; and indignantly
+		does she repel the accusation relative to the abstraction
+		of the jewels. She also desires me to inform you that last night
+		after reading of our father’s last testament, she retired to her
+		chamber, which she did not quit until this morning at the usual
+		hour; and that therefore it was not her countenance which the
+		Lady Agnes beheld at the casement of your saloon.”</p>
+
+		<p>“I pray you, my lord, to let the subject drop now, and forever!”
+		said Wagner, who was struck with profound admiration—almost
+		amounting to love—for the Lady Nisida: “there is
+		some strange mystery in all this, which time alone can clear up.
+		Will your lordship express to your sister how grieved I am that
+		any suspicion should have originated against her in respect to
+		Agnes?”</p>
+
+		<p>Francisco signaled these remarks to Nisida; and the latter,
+		rising from her seat, advanced toward Wagner, and presented
+		him her hand in token of her readiness to forget the injurious
+		imputations thrown out against her.</p>
+
+		<p>Fernand raised that fair hand to his lips, and respectfully
+		kissed it; but the hand seemed to burn as he held it, and when
+		he raised his eyes toward the lady’s countenance, she darted on
+		him a look so ardent and impassioned that it penetrated into his
+		very soul.</p>
+
+		<p>That rapid interchange of glances seemed immediately to establish
+		a kind of understanding—a species of intimacy between
+		those extraordinary beings; for on the one side, Nisida read in
+		the fine eyes of the handsome Fernand all the admiration expressed
+		there, and he, on his part, instinctively understood that
+		he was far from disagreeable to the proud sister of the young
+		Count of Riverola. While he was ready to fall at her feet and
+		do homage to her beauty, she experienced the kindling of all the
+		fierce fires of sensuality in her breast.</p>
+
+		<p>But the unsophisticated and innocent-minded Francisco observed
+		not the expression of these emotions on either side, for
+		their manifestation occupied not a moment. The interchange
+		of such feelings is ever too vivid and electric to attract the
+		notice of the unsuspecting observer.</p>
+
+		<p>When Wagner was about to retire, Nisida made the following
+		signal to her brother:—“Express to the signor that he will ever
+		be a welcome guest at the palace of Riverola; for we owe kindness
+		and friendship to the brother of her whom our father dishonored.”</p>
+
+		<p>But, to the astonishment of both the count and the Lady
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page46" title="46"> </a>Nisida, Wagner raised his hands, and displayed as perfect a
+		knowledge of the language of the dumb as they themselves possessed.</p>
+
+		<p>“I thank your ladyship for this unexpected condescension,”
+		he signaled by the rapid play of his fingers; “and I shall not
+		forget to avail myself of this most courteous invitation.”</p>
+
+		<p>It were impossible to describe the sudden glow of pleasure
+		and delight which animated Nisida’s splendid countenance,
+		when she thus discovered that Wagner was able to hold converse
+		with her, and she hastened to reply thus: “We shall expect
+		you to revisit us soon.”</p>
+
+		<p>Wagner bowed low and took his departure, his mind full of
+		the beautiful Nisida.</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_11" class="chapter">
+		<h3>CHAPTER XI.<br />
+			<span class="subtitle">NISIDA AND WAGNER—FRANCISCO AND FLORA—THE APPROACH OF SUNSET.</span></h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">Upward</span> of two months had passed away since the occurrences
+		related in the preceding chapter, and it was now the 31st
+		of January, 1521.</p>
+
+		<p>The sun was verging toward the western hemisphere, but the
+		rapid flight of the hours was unnoticed by Nisida and Fernand
+		Wagner, as they were seated together in one of the splendid saloons
+		of the Riverola mansion.</p>
+
+		<p>Their looks were fixed on each other’s countenance; the eyes
+		of Fernand expressing tenderness and admiration, those of
+		Nisida beaming with all the passions of her ardent and sensual
+		soul.</p>
+
+		<p>Suddenly the lady raised her hands, and by the rapid play of
+		the fingers, asked, “Fernand, do you indeed love me as much as
+		you would have me believe I am beloved?”</p>
+
+		<p>“Never in this world was woman so loved as you,” he replied,
+		by the aid of the same language.</p>
+
+		<p>“And yet I am an unfortunate being—deprived of those
+		qualities which give the greatest charm to the companionship of
+		those who love.”</p>
+
+		<p>“But you are eminently beautiful, my Nisida; and I can fancy
+		how sweet, how rich-toned would be your voice, could your lips
+		frame the words, ‘<em>I love thee!</em>’”</p>
+
+		<p>A profound sigh agitated the breast of the lady; and at the
+		same time her lips quivered strangely, as if she were essaying
+		to speak.</p>
+
+		<p>Wagner caught her to his breast; and she wept long and plenteously.
+		Those tears relieved her; and she returned his warm,
+		impassioned kisses with an ardor that convinced him how dear
+		he had become to that afflicted, but transcendently beautiful
+		being. On her side, the blood in her veins appeared to circulate
+		like molten lead; and her face, her neck, her bosom were suffused
+		with burning blushes.</p>
+
+		<p>At length, raising her head, she conveyed this wish to her
+		companion: “Thou hast given me an idea which may render me
+		ridiculous in your estimation; but it is a whim, a fancy, a caprice,
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page47" title="47"> </a>engendered only by the profound affection I entertain for thee.
+		I would that thou shouldst say, in thy softest, tenderest tones,
+		the words ‘<em>I love thee!</em>’ and, by the wreathing of thy lips, I shall
+		see enough to enable my imagination to persuade itself that
+		those words have really fallen upon my ears.”</p>
+
+		<p>Fernand smiled assent; and, while Nisida’s eyes were fixed
+		upon him with the most enthusiastic interest, he said, “I love
+		thee!”</p>
+
+		<p>The sovereign beauty of her countenance was suddenly lighted
+		up with an expression of ineffable joy, of indescribable delight;
+		and, signaling the assurance, “I love thee, dearest, dearest
+		Fernand!” she threw herself into his arms.</p>
+
+		<p>But almost at the same moment voices were heard in the adjacent
+		room: and Wagner, gently disengaging himself from
+		Nisida’s embrace, hastily conveyed to her an intimation of the
+		vicinity of others.</p>
+
+		<p>The lady gave him to understand by a glance that she comprehended
+		him; and they remained motionless, fondly gazing
+		upon each other.</p>
+
+		<p>“I know not how it has occurred, Flora,” said the voice of
+		Francisco, speaking in a tender tone, in the adjoining room—“I
+		know not how it has occurred that I should have addressed you
+		in this manner—so soon, too, after the death of my lamented
+		father, and while these mourning garments yet denote the loss
+		which myself and sister have sustained——”</p>
+
+		<p>“Oh! my lord, suffer me to retire,” exclaimed Flora Francatelli,
+		in a tone of beseeching earnestness; “I should not have
+		listened to your lordship so long in the gallery of pictures,
+		much less have accompanied your lordship hither.”</p>
+
+		<p>“I requested thee to come with me to this apartment, Flora,
+		that I might declare, without fear of our interview being interrupted,
+		how dear, how very dear, thou art to me, and how honorable
+		is the passion with which thou hast inspired me. Oh,
+		Flora,” exclaimed the young count, “I could no longer conceal
+		my love for thee! My heart was bursting to reveal its secret;
+		and when I discovered thee alone, ere now, in the gallery of
+		pictures, I could not resist the favorable opportunity accident
+		seemed to have afforded for this avowal.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Alas! my lord,” murmured Flora, “I know not whether to
+		rejoice or be sorrowful at the revelation which has this day met
+		my ears.”</p>
+
+		<p>“And yet you said ere now that you could love me, that you
+		did love me in return,” ejaculated Francisco.</p>
+
+		<p>“I spoke truly, my lord,” answered the bashful maiden;
+		“but, alas! how can the humble, obscure, portionless Flora become
+		the wife of the rich, powerful and honored Count of
+		Riverola? There is an inseparable gulf fixed between us, my
+		lord.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Am I not my own master? Can I not consult my own happiness
+		in that most solemn and serious of the world’s duties—marriage?”
+		cried Francisco, with all the generous ardor of
+		youth and his own noble disposition.</p>
+
+		<p>“Your lordship is free and independent in point of fact,” said
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page48" title="48"> </a>Flora, in a low, tender and yet impressive tone; “but your
+		lordship has relations—friends.”</p>
+
+		<p>“My relations will not thwart the wishes of him whom they
+		love,” answered Francisco; “and those who place obstacles in
+		the way of my felicity cannot be denominated my friends.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Oh! my lord—could I yield myself up to the hopes which
+		your language inspires!” cried Flora.</p>
+
+		<p>“You can—you may, dearest girl!” exclaimed the young
+		count. “And now I know that you love me! But many
+		months must elapse ere I can call thee mine; and, indeed, a remorse
+		smites my heart that I have dared to think of my own
+		happiness, so soon after a mournful ceremony has consigned a
+		parent to the tomb. Heaven knows that I do not the less deplore
+		his loss—but wherefore art thou so pale, so trembling,
+		Flora?”</p>
+
+		<p>“Meseems that a superstitious awe of evil omens has seized
+		upon my soul,” returned the maiden, in a tremulous tone. “Let
+		us retire, my lord; the Lady Nisida may require my services
+		elsewhere.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Nisida!” repeated Francisco, as if the mention of his sister’s
+		name had suddenly awakened new ideas in his mind.</p>
+
+		<p>“Ah! my lord,” said Flora, sorrowfully, “you now perceive
+		that there is at least one who may not learn with satisfaction
+		the alliance which your lordship would form with the poor and
+		humble dependent.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Nay, by my patron saint, thou hast misunderstood me!” exclaimed
+		the young count warmly. “Nisida will not oppose her
+		brother’s happiness; and her strong mind will know how to
+		despise those conventional usages which require that high birth
+		should mate with high birth, and wealth ally itself to wealth.
+		Yes; Nisida will consult my felicity alone; and when I ere now
+		repeated her name as it fell from your lips, it was in a manner
+		reproachful to myself, because I have retained my love for thee
+		a secret from her. A secret from Nisida! Oh! I have been
+		cruel, unjust, not to have confided in my sister long ago!
+		And yet,” he added more slowly, “she might reproach me for
+		my selfishness in bestowing a thought on marriage soon, so very
+		soon, after a funeral! Flora, dearest maiden, circumstances demand
+		that the avowal which accident and opportunity have led
+		me this day to make, should exist as a secret, known only unto
+		yourself and me. But, in a few months I will explain all to my
+		sister, and she will greet thee as her brother’s chosen bride.
+		Are thou content, Flora, that our mutual love should remain
+		thus concealed until the proper time shall come for its revelation?”</p>
+
+		<p>“Yes, my lord, and for many reasons,” was the answer.</p>
+
+		<p>“For many reasons, Flora!” exclaimed the young count.</p>
+
+		<p>“At least for more than one,” rejoined the maiden. “In the
+		first instance, it is expedient your lordship should have due
+		leisure to reflect upon the important step which you propose to
+		take—a step conferring so much honor on myself, but which
+		may not insure your happiness.”</p>
+
+		<p>“If this be a specimen of thy reasons, dear maiden,” exclaimed
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page49" title="49"> </a>Francisco, laughing, “I need hear no more. Be well
+		assured,” he added seriously, “that time will not impair the
+		love I experience for you.”</p>
+
+		<p>Flora murmured a reply which did not reach Wagner, and
+		immediately afterward the sound of her light steps was heard
+		retreating from the adjacent room. A profound silence of a
+		few minutes occurred; and then Francisco also withdrew.</p>
+
+		<p>Wagner had been an unwilling listener to the preceding
+		conversation; but while it was in progress, he from time to time
+		threw looks of love and tenderness on his beautiful companion,
+		who returned them with impassioned ardor.</p>
+
+		<p>Whether it were that her irritable temper was impatient of
+		the restraint imposed upon herself and her lover by the vicinity
+		of others, or whether she was annoyed at the fact of her brother
+		and Flora being so long together (for Wagner had intimated to
+		her who their neighbors were, the moment he had recognized
+		their voices), we cannot say; but Nisida showed an occasional
+		uneasiness of manner, which she, however, studied to subdue
+		as much as possible, during the scene that took place in the
+		adjoining apartment.</p>
+
+		<p>Fernand did not offer to convey to her any idea of the
+		nature of the conversation which occupied her brother and
+		Flora Francatelli; neither did she manifest the least curiosity to
+		be enlightened on that head.</p>
+
+		<p>The moment the young lovers had quitted the next room
+		Wagner intimated the fact to Nisida; but at the same instant,
+		just as he was about to bestow upon her a tender caress, a
+		dreadful, an appalling reminiscence burst upon him with such
+		overwhelming force that he fell back stupefied on the sofa.</p>
+
+		<p>Nisida’s countenance assumed an expression of the deepest
+		solicitude, and her eloquent, sparkling eyes, implored him to
+		intimate to her what ailed him.</p>
+
+		<p>But, starting wildly from his seat, and casting on her a look
+		of such bitter, bitter anguish, that the appalling emotions thus
+		expressed struck terror to her soul—Fernand rushed from the
+		room.</p>
+
+		<p>Nisida sprung to the window; and, though the obscurity of
+		the evening now announced the last flickerings of the setting
+		sunbeams in the west, she could perceive her lover dashing
+		furiously on through the spacious gardens that surrounded the
+		Riverola Palace.</p>
+
+		<p>On—on he went toward the River Arno; and in a few minutes
+		was out of sight.</p>
+
+		<p>Alas! intoxicated with love, and giving himself up to the one
+		delightful idea—that he was with the beauteous Nisida—then,
+		absorbed in the interest of the conversation which he had overheard
+		between Francisco and Flora—Wagner had forgotten
+		until it was nearly too late, <em>that the sun was about to set on the
+		last day of the month</em>.</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_12" class="chapter">
+		<h3><a class="pagenum" id="page50" title="50"> </a>CHAPTER XII.<br />
+			<span>THE WEHR-WOLF.</span></h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">’Twas</span> the hour of sunset.</p>
+
+		<p>The eastern horizon, with its gloomy and somber twilight,
+		offered a strange contrast to the glorious glowing hues of vermilion,
+		and purple, and gold, that blended in long streaks
+		athwart the western sky.</p>
+
+		<p>For even the winter sunset of Italy is accompanied with resplendent
+		tints—as if an emperor, decked with a refulgent
+		diadem, were repairing to his imperial couch.</p>
+
+		<p>The declining rays of the orb of light bathed in molten gold
+		the pinnacles, steeples, and lofty palaces of proud Florence, and
+		toyed with the limpid waves of the Arno, on whose banks innumerable
+		villas and casinos already sent forth delicious strains
+		of music, broken only by the mirth of joyous revelers.</p>
+
+		<p>And by degrees as the sun went down, the palaces of the
+		superb city began to shed light from their lattices, set in rich
+		sculptured masonry; and here and there, where festivity prevailed,
+		grand illuminations sprung up with magical quickness,
+		the reflection from each separate galaxy rendering it bright as
+		day far, far around.</p>
+
+		<p>Vocal and instrumental melody floated through the still air;
+		and the perfume of exotics, decorating the halls of the Florentine
+		nobles, poured from the widely-opened portals, and rendered
+		the air delicious.</p>
+
+		<p>For Florence was gay that evening—the last day of each month
+		being the one which the wealthy lords and high-born ladies set
+		apart for the reception of their friends.</p>
+
+		<p>The sun sank behind the western hills; and even the hothouse
+		flowers closed up their buds—as if they were eyelids
+		weighed down by slumber, and not to wake until the morning
+		should arouse them again to welcome the return of their lover—that
+		glorious sun!</p>
+
+		<p>Darkness seemed to dilate upon the sky like an image in the
+		midst of a mirage, expanding into superhuman dimensions—then
+		rapidly losing its shapeliness, and covering the vault above
+		densely and confusedly.</p>
+
+		<p>But, by degrees, countless stars began to stud the colorless
+		canopy of heaven, like gems of orient splendor; for the last—last
+		flickering ray of the twilight in the west had expired in the
+		increasing obscurity.</p>
+
+		<p>But, hark! what is that wild and fearful cry?</p>
+
+		<p>In the midst of a wood of evergreens on the banks of the Arno,
+		a man—young, handsome, and splendidly attired—has thrown
+		himself upon the ground, where he writhes like a stricken serpent,
+		in horrible convulsions.</p>
+
+		<p>He is the prey of a demoniac excitement: an appalling consternation
+		is on him—madness is in his brain—his mind is on
+		fire.</p>
+
+		<p>Lightnings appear to gleam from his eyes, as if his soul were
+		dismayed, and withering within his breast.</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page51" title="51"> </a>“Oh! no—no!” he cries with a piercing shriek, as if wrestling
+		madly, furiously, but vainly against some unseen fiend that
+		holds him in his grasp.</p>
+
+		<p>And the wood echoes to that terrible wail; and the startled
+		bird flies fluttering from its bough.</p>
+
+		<p>But, lo! what awful change is taking place in the form of
+		that doomed being? His handsome countenance elongates into
+		one of savage and brute-like shape; the rich garments which he
+		wears become a rough, shaggy, and wiry skin; his body loses
+		its human contours, his arms and limbs take another form; and,
+		with a frantic howl of misery, to which the woods give horribly
+		faithful reverberations, and, with a rush like a hurling wind,
+		the wretch starts wildly away, no longer a man, but a monstrous
+		wolf!</p>
+
+		<p>On, on he goes: the wood is cleared—the open country is
+		gained. Tree, hedge, and isolated cottage appear but dim points
+		in the landscape—a moment seen, the next left behind; the very
+		hills appear to leap after each other.</p>
+
+		<p>A cemetery stands in the monster’s way, but he turns not
+		aside—through the sacred inclosure—on, on he goes. There are
+		situated many tombs, stretching up the slope of a gentle acclivity,
+		from the dark soil of which the white monuments stand
+		forth with white and ghastly gleaming, and on the summit of
+		the hill is the church of St. Benedict the Blessed.</p>
+
+		<p>From the summit of the ivy-grown tower the very rooks, in
+		the midst of their cawing, are scared away by the furious rush
+		and the wild howl with which the Wehr-Wolf thunders over the
+		hallowed ground.</p>
+
+		<p>At the same instant a train of monks appear round the angle
+		of the church—for there is a funeral at that hour; and their
+		torches flaring with the breeze that is now springing up, cast
+		an awful and almost magical light on the dark gray walls of
+		the edifice, the strange effect being enhanced by the prismatic
+		reflection of the lurid blaze from the stained glass of the oriel
+		window.</p>
+
+		<p>The solemn spectacle seemed to madden the Wehr-Wolf. His
+		speed increased—he dashed through the funeral train—appalling
+		cries of terror and alarm burst from the lips of the holy fathers—and
+		the solemn procession was thrown into confusion. The
+		coffin-bearers dropped their burden, and the corpse rolled out
+		upon the ground, its decomposing countenance seeming horrible
+		by the glare of the torch-light.</p>
+
+		<p>The monk who walked nearest the head of the coffin was
+		thrown down by the violence with which the ferocious monster
+		cleared its passage; and the venerable father—on whose brow
+		sat the snow of eighty winters—fell with his head against a
+		monument, and his brains were dashed out.</p>
+
+		<p>On, on fled the Wehr-Wolf, over mead and hill, through valley
+		and dale. The very wind seemed to make way: he clove the air—he
+		appeared to skim the ground—to fly.</p>
+
+		<p>Through the romantic glades and rural scenes of Etruria the
+		monster sped—sounds, resembling shrieking howls, bursting ever
+		and anon from his foaming mouth—his red eyes glaring in the
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page52" title="52"> </a>dusk of the evening like ominous meteors—and his whole aspect
+		so full of appalling ferocity, that never was seen so monstrous,
+		so terrific a spectacle!</p>
+
+		<p>A village is gained; he turns not aside, but dashes madly
+		through the little street formed by the huts and cottages of the
+		Tuscan vine-dressers.</p>
+
+		<p>A little child is in his path—a sweet, blooming, ruddy, noble
+		boy; with violet-colored eyes and flaxen hair—disporting merrily
+		at a short distance from his parents, who are seated at the threshold
+		of their dwelling.</p>
+
+		<p>Suddenly a strange and ominous rush—an unknown trampling
+		of rapid feet falls upon their ears; then, with a savage cry, a
+		monster sweeps past.</p>
+
+		<p>“My child! my child!” screams the affrighted mother; and
+		simultaneously the shrill cry of an infant in the sudden agony
+		of death carries desolation to the ear!</p>
+
+		<p>’Tis done—’twas but the work of a moment; the wolf has
+		swept by, the quick rustling of his feet is no longer heard in the
+		village. But those sounds are succeeded by awful wails and
+		heart-rending lamentations: for the child—the blooming, violet-eyed,
+		flaxen-haired boy—the darling of his poor but tender
+		parents, is weltering in his blood!</p>
+
+		<p>On, on speeds the destroyer, urged by an infernal influence
+		which maddens the more intensely because its victim strives
+		vainly to struggle against it: on, on, over the beaten road—over
+		the fallow field—over the cottager’s garden—over the grounds
+		of the rich one’s rural villa.</p>
+
+		<p>And now, to add to the horrors of the scene, a pack of dogs
+		have started in pursuit of the wolf—dashing—hurrying—pushing—pressing
+		upon one another in all the anxious ardor of the
+		chase.</p>
+
+		<p>The silence and shade of the open country, in the mild starlight,
+		seem eloquently to proclaim the peace and happiness of a
+		rural life; but now that silence is broken by the mingled howling
+		of the wolf, and the deep baying of the hounds—and this
+		shade is crossed and darkened by the forms of the animals as
+		they scour so fleetly—oh! with such whirlwind speed along.</p>
+
+		<p>But that Wehr-Wolf bears a charmed life; for though the hounds
+		overtake him—fall upon him—and attack him with all the courage
+		of their nature, yet does he hurl them from him, toss them
+		aside, spurn them away, and at length free himself from their
+		pursuit altogether!</p>
+
+		<p>And now the moon rises with unclouded splendor, like a
+		maiden looking from her lattice screened with purple curtains;
+		and still the monster hurries madly on with unrelaxing speed.</p>
+
+		<p>For hours has he pursued his way thus madly; and, on a sudden,
+		as he passes the outskirts of a sleeping town, the church-bell
+		is struck by the watcher’s hand to proclaim midnight.</p>
+
+		<p>Over the town, over the neighboring fields—through the far-off
+		forest, clanged that iron tongue: and the Wehr-Wolf sped all
+		the faster, as if he were running a race with that Time whose
+		voice had just spoken.</p>
+
+		<p>On, on went the Wehr-Wolf; but now his course began to deviate
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page53" title="53"> </a>from the right line which he had hitherto pursued, and to
+		assume a curved direction.</p>
+
+		<p>From a field a poor man was turning an ox into the main
+		road, that he might drive the animal to his master’s residence by
+		daylight; the wolf swept by, and snapped furiously at the ox as
+		he passed: and the beast, affrighted by the sudden appearance,
+		gushing sound, and abrupt though evanescent attack of the infuriate
+		monster, turned on the herdsman and gored him to
+		death.</p>
+
+		<p>On went the terrific wolf, with wilder and more frequent
+		howlings, which were answered in a thousand tones from the
+		rocks and caverns overlooking the valley through whose bosom
+		he was now careering with whirlwind speed along.</p>
+
+		<p>It was now two o’clock in the morning, and he had already
+		described an immense circuit from the point where he had
+		begun to deviate from a direct course.</p>
+
+		<p>At a turning of the road, as he emerged from the valley, the
+		monster encountered a party of village girls repairing with the
+		produce of their dairies, and of their poultry-yards, to some still
+		far distant town, which they had hoped to reach shortly after
+		daybreak.</p>
+
+		<p>Fair, gay, and smiling was the foremost maiden, as the bright
+		moon and the silver starlight shone upon her countenance; but
+		that sweet face, clad in the richest hues of health, was suddenly
+		convulsed with horror, as the terrible Wehr-Wolf thundered by
+		with appalling howls.</p>
+
+		<p>For a few moments the foremost village maiden stood rooted
+		to the spot in speechless horror: then, uttering a wild cry, she
+		fell backward, rolled down a steep bank, and was ingulfed in
+		the rapid stream that chafed and fretted along the side of the
+		path.</p>
+
+		<p>Her companions shrieked in agony of mind—the wail was
+		echoed by a despairing cry from the drowning girl—a cry that
+		swept frantically over the rippling waters; and, in another moment,
+		she sank to rise no more!</p>
+
+		<p>The breeze had by this time increased to a sharp wind, icy and
+		cold, as it usually is, even in southern climes, when the dawn is
+		approaching; and the gale now whistled through the branches
+		of the evergreen wood in the neighborhood of Florence—that
+		vicinity to which the Wehr-Wolf was at length returning!</p>
+
+		<p>Still was his pace of arrow-like velocity—for some terrible
+		power appeared to urge him on; and though his limbs failed not,
+		though he staggered not in his lightning speed, yet did the foam
+		at his mouth, the thick flakes of perspiration on his body, and
+		the steam that enveloped him as in a dense vapor, denote how
+		distressed the unhappy being in reality was.</p>
+
+		<p>At last—at last a faint tinge was visible above the eastern horizon;
+		gradually the light increased and put to flight the stars.</p>
+
+		<p>But now the Oriental sky was to some extent obscured with
+		clouds; and the Wehr-Wolf gnashed his teeth with rage, and
+		uttered a savage howl, as if impatient of the delay of dawn.</p>
+
+		<p>His speed began to relax; the infernal influence which had
+		governed him for so many hours already grew less stern, less
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page54" title="54"> </a>powerful, and as the twilight shone forth more plainly in proportion
+		did the Wehr-Wolf’s velocity diminish.</p>
+
+		<p>Suddenly a piercing chill darted through his frame, and he
+		fell in strong convulsions upon the ground, in the midst of the
+		same wood where his transformation had taken place on the
+		preceding evening.</p>
+
+		<p>The sun rose angrily, imparting a lurid, reddened hue to the
+		dark clouds that hung upon the Oriental heaven, as if the mantling
+		curtains of a night’s pavilion strove to repel the wooing
+		kisses of the morn; and the cold chill breeze made the branches
+		swing to and fro with ominous flapping, like the wings of the
+		fabulous Simoorg.</p>
+
+		<p>But in the midst of the appalling spasmodic convulsions, with
+		direful writhings on the soil, and with cries of bitter anguish,
+		the Wehr-Wolf gradually threw off his monster-shape; and at
+		the very moment when the first sunbeam penetrated the wood
+		and glinted on his face he rose a handsome, young, and perfect
+		man once more!</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_13" class="chapter">
+		<h3>CHAPTER XIII.<br />
+			<span>NISIDA’S EMOTIONS—THE DISGUISE—THE PLOT.</span></h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">We</span> must now return to Nisida, whom we left gazing from
+		the window of the Riverola mansion, at the moment when Wagner
+		rushed away from the vicinity of his lady-love on the approach
+		of sunset.</p>
+
+		<p>The singularity of his conduct—the look of ineffable horror
+		and anguish which he cast upon her, ere he parted from her
+		presence—and the abruptness of his departure, filled her mind
+		with the most torturing misgivings, and with a thousand wild
+		fears.</p>
+
+		<p>Had his senses suddenly left him? was he the prey to fits of
+		mental aberration which would produce so extraordinary an effect
+		upon him? had he taken a sudden loathing and disgust to
+		herself? or had he <em>discovered</em> anything in respect to her which
+		had converted his love into hatred?</p>
+
+		<p>She knew not—and conjecture was vain! To a woman of her
+		excitable temperament, the occurrence was particularly painful.
+		She had never known the passion of love until she had seen
+		Wagner; and the moment she did see him, she loved him. The
+		sentiment on her part originated altogether in the natural sensuality
+		of her disposition; there was nothing pure—nothing holy—nothing
+		refined in her affection for him; it was his wonderful
+		personal beauty that had made so immediate and profound an
+		impression upon her heart.</p>
+
+		<p>There was consequently something furious and raging in that
+		passion which she experienced for Fernand Wagner—a passion
+		capable of every extreme—the largest sacrifices, or infuriate
+		jealousies—the most implicit confidence, or the maddest suspicion!
+		It was a passion which would induce her to ascend the
+		scaffold to save him; or to plunge the vengeful dagger into his
+		heart did she fancy that he deceived her!</p>
+
+		<p>To one, then, whose soul was animated by such a love, the
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page55" title="55"> </a>conduct of Fernand was well adapted to wear even an exaggerated
+		appearance of singularity; and as each different conjecture
+		swept through her imagination, her emotions were excited to an
+		extent which caused her countenance to vary its expressions a
+		hundred times in a minute.</p>
+
+		<p>The fury of the desolating torrent, the rage of the terrific volcano,
+		the sky cradled in the blackest clouds, the ocean heaving
+		tempestuously in its mighty bed, the chafing of a tremendous
+		flood against an embankment which seems ready every moment
+		to give way, and allow the collected waters to burst forth upon
+		the broad plains and into the peaceful valleys—all these occurrences
+		in the physical world were imagined by the emotions that
+		now agitated within the breast of the Italian lady.</p>
+
+		<p>Her mind was like the sea put in motion by the wind; and
+		her eyes flashed fire, her lips quivered, her bosom heaved convulsively,
+		her neck arched proudly, as if she were struggling
+		against ideas that forced themselves upon her and painfully
+		wounded her boundless patrician pride.</p>
+
+		<p>For the thought that rose uppermost amidst all the conjectures
+		which rushed to her imagination, was that Fernand had
+		conceived an invincible dislike toward her.</p>
+
+		<p>Wherefore did he fly thus—as if eager to place the greatest
+		possible distance between herself and him?</p>
+
+		<p>Then did she recall to mind every interchange of thought that
+		had passed between them through the language of the fingers;
+		and she could fix upon nothing which, emanating from herself,
+		had given him offense.</p>
+
+		<p>Had he then really lost his senses?</p>
+
+		<p>Madly did he seem to be rushing toward the Arno, on whose
+		dark tide the departing rays of the setting sun glinted with oscillating
+		and dying power.</p>
+
+		<p>She still continued to gaze from the window long after he had
+		disappeared; obscurity was gathering rapidly around; but, even
+		had it been noonday, she would have seen nothing. Her ideas
+		grew bewildered: mortification, grief, anger, suspicion, burning
+		desire, all mingled together and at length produced a species of
+		stunning effect upon her, so that the past appeared to be a
+		dream, and the future was wrapt in the darkest gloom and uncertainty.</p>
+
+		<p>This strange condition of her mind did not, however, last long;
+		the natural energy of her character speedily asserted its empire
+		over the intellectual lethargy which had seized upon her, and,
+		awakening from her stupor, she resolved to waste not another
+		instant in useless conjecture as to the cause of her lover’s conduct.</p>
+
+		<p>Hastening to her own apartments, she dismissed Flora Francatelli,
+		whom she found there, with an abruptness of gesture
+		and a frowning expression of countenance amounting to an act
+		of cruelty toward that resigned and charming girl; so that as
+		the latter hastened from the room, tears started from her eyes,
+		and she murmured to herself, “Can it be possible that Donna
+		Nisida suspects the attachment her brother has formed toward
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page56" title="56"> </a>me? Oh! if she do, the star of an evil destiny seems already to
+		rule my horoscope!”</p>
+
+		<p>Scarcely had Flora disappeared in this sorrowing manner,
+		when Nisida secured the outer door of her own suit of apartments,
+		and hurried to her bed-chamber. There she threw aside
+		the garb belonging to her sex, and assumed that of a cavalier,
+		which she took from a press opening with a secret spring.
+		Then, having arranged her hair beneath a velvet tocque shaded
+		with waving black plumes, in such a manner that the disguise
+		was as complete as she could render it, she girt on a long rapier
+		of finest Milan steel, and throwing the short cloak edged with
+		costly fur, gracefully over her left shoulder, she quitted her
+		chamber by a private door opening behind the folds of the bed
+		curtains.</p>
+
+		<p>A narrow and dark staircase admitted her into the gardens of
+		the Riverola mansion. These she crossed with a step so light
+		and free, that had it been possible to observe her in the darkness
+		of the evening, she would have been taken for the most elegant
+		and charming cavalier that ever honored the Florentine Republic
+		with his presence.</p>
+
+		<p>In about a quarter of an hour she reached the abode of Dr.
+		Duras; but instead of entering it, she passed round one of its
+		angles, and opening a wicket by means of a key which she had
+		about her, gained access to the gardens in the rear of the mansion.</p>
+
+		<p>She traversed these grounds with hasty steps, passing the
+		boundary which separated them from the gardens of Wagner’s
+		dwelling, and then relaxing her pace, advanced with more caution
+		to the windows of this very apartment where Agnes had
+		been so alarmed two months previously, by observing the countenance
+		at the casement.</p>
+
+		<p>But all was now dark within. Wagner was not in his favorite
+		room—for Nisida <em>knew</em> that this was her lover’s favorite apartment.</p>
+
+		<p>Perhaps he had not yet returned?</p>
+
+		<p>Thus thought the lady; and she walked slowly round the spacious
+		dwelling, which, like the generality of the patrician mansions
+		of Florence in those times—as indeed is now the case to a
+		considerable extent—stood in the midst of extensive gardens.</p>
+
+		<p>There were lights in the servants’ offices; but every other
+		room seemed dark. No; one window in the front, on the
+		ground-floor, shone with the luster of a lamp.</p>
+
+		<p>Nisida approached it, and beheld Agnes reclining in a pensive
+		manner on a sofa in a small but elegantly-furnished apartment.
+		Her countenance was immediately overclouded; and for an
+		instant she lingered to gaze upon the sylph-like form that was
+		stretched upon that ottoman. Then she hastily pursued her
+		way; and, having perfected the round of the building, once
+		more reached the windows of her lover’s favorite room.</p>
+
+		<p>Convinced that he had not returned, and fearful of being
+		observed by any of the domestics who might happen to pass
+		through the gardens, Nisida retraced her way toward the dwelling
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page57" title="57"> </a>of Dr. Duras. But her heart was now heavy, for she knew
+		not how to act.</p>
+
+		<p>Her original object was to obtain an interview with Wagner
+		that very night, and learn, if possible, the reason of his extraordinary
+		conduct toward her: for the idea of remaining in suspense
+		for many long, long hours, was painful in the extreme to
+		a woman of her excitable nature.</p>
+
+		<p>She was, however, compelled to resign herself to this alternative;
+		and, having let herself through the wicket belonging to
+		the physician’s gardens, she directed her steps homeward.</p>
+
+		<p>On her way she passed by the gate of the Convent of Carmelite
+		Nuns—one of the wealthiest, most strictly disciplined, and
+		celebrated monastic establishments in the Florentine Republic.</p>
+
+		<p>It appeared that a sudden thought here struck her; for ascending
+		to the steep leading to the gate, she paused beneath the lamp
+		of the deep Gothic portico, took out her tablets, and hastily wrote
+		the following words:</p>
+
+		<p>“Donna Nisida of Riverola requests an interview with the
+		Lady Abbess Maria to-morrow at midday, on a matter seriously
+		regarding the spiritual welfare of a young female who has shown
+		great and signal disregard for the rites and ordinances of the
+		most Holy Catholic Church: and in respect to whom the most
+		severe measures must be adopted. Donna Nisida will visit the
+		holy mother to-morrow at midday.”</p>
+
+		<p>Having written these words, Nisida tore off the leaf and thrust
+		it through a small square grating set in the massive door of the
+		convent. Then ringing the bell to call attention to the gate, she
+		hastily pursued her way homeward.</p>
+
+		<p>She had gained the gardens of the Riverola mansion, and was
+		advancing toward the door of the private staircase leading to
+		her chamber, when she suddenly perceived two dark figures
+		standing within a few yards of her. Fearful that they might be
+		domestics belonging to the household, she hastily and noiselessly
+		retreated within the deep shade of the wall of the mansion, and
+		there she remained motionless.</p>
+
+		<p>We must now detail the conversation which passed between
+		the two individuals whose presence in the garden had thus
+		alarmed the Lady Nisida.</p>
+
+		<p>“But are you sure of what you say, Antonio?” demanded one
+		of the men.</p>
+
+		<p>“By Saint Jacopo! I cannot be mistaken,” was the reply.
+		“The closet has been locked up for years and years, and the old
+		count always used to keep the keys in an iron chest, which was
+		also carefully locked and chained round. What can the place
+		possibly contain but a treasure?”</p>
+
+		<p>“After all it is only conjecture on your part; and that being
+		the case, it is not worth while to risk one’s life——”</p>
+
+		<p>“You are a coward, Stephano!” exclaimed Antonio, angrily.
+		“The closet has got a heavy, massive door, and a prodigiously
+		strong lock; and if these precautions were not adopted to protect
+		a hoard of wealth, why were they taken at all, let me ask
+		you?”</p>
+
+		<p>“There is something in what you say,” replied Stephano;
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page58" title="58"> </a>“but you do wrong to call me a coward. If it were not that
+		we were cousins, and linked by a bond of long maintained
+		friendship, I would send my rapier through your doublet in a
+		twinkling.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Nay; I do not mean to anger thee, Stephano,” cried the valet.
+		“But let us speak lower: chafe not, I pray thee!”</p>
+
+		<p>“Well—well!” said the other, gloomily; “go on, in the name
+		of your patron saint! Only keep a guard upon your tongue, for
+		it wags somewhat too freely; and remember that a man who
+		has been for fifteen years the captain of as gallant a band as
+		ever levied contributions on the lieges of the republic, is not to
+		have ‘<em>coward</em>’ thrown in his teeth.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Let it pass, good Stephano!” urged the valet. “I tell thee
+		that a closet whereof I have spoken, can contain naught save a
+		treasure—perhaps in gold—perhaps in massive plate.”</p>
+
+		<p>“We can dispose of either to our advantage,” observed the
+		bandit, with a coarse chuckle.</p>
+
+		<p>“Will you undertake the business?” demanded Antonio.</p>
+
+		<p>“I will,” was the resolute answer; “and as much to convince
+		you that Stephano is not a coward, as for any other reason.
+		But when is it to be done? and why did you make an appointment
+		to meet me here, of all places in Florence?”</p>
+
+		<p>“It can be done when you choose,” replied Antonio; “and as
+		for the other questions, I desired you to meet me here, because I
+		knew that you would not refuse a fine chance; and, suspecting
+		this much it was necessary to show you the geography of the
+		place.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Good!” observed the robber-chief. “To-morrow night I
+		have a little affair in hand for a reverend and holy father, who
+		is sure to be chosen superior of his order if his rival in the candidature
+		be removed; and in four-and-twenty hours the said
+		rival must be food for the fishes of the Arno.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Then the night after that?” suggested Antonio.</p>
+
+		<p>“Pre-engaged again,” returned the bandit-captain coolly.
+		“A wealthy countess has been compelled to pledge her diamonds
+		to a Jew; on Sunday next she must appear with her
+		husband at the palace of the Medici; and on Saturday night,
+		therefore, the diamonds must be recovered from the Jew.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Then the husband knows not that they are so pledged?” said
+		Antonio.</p>
+
+		<p>“Scarcely,” answered the brigand. “They were deposited
+		with the Jew for a loan which the countess raised to accommodate
+		her lover. Now do you understand?”</p>
+
+		<p>“Perfectly. What say you to next Monday night?”</p>
+
+		<p>“I am at your service,” responded Stephano. “Monday will
+		suit me admirably, and midnight shall be the hour. And now
+		instruct me in the nature of the locality.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Come with me, and I will show you by which way you and
+		your comrades must effect an entry,” said Antonio.</p>
+
+		<p>The valet and the robber-chief now moved away from the spot
+		where they had stood to hold the above conversation; and the
+		moment they had turned the adjacent angle of the mansion,
+		Nisida hastened to regain her apartment by the private staircase—resolving,
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page59" title="59"> </a>however, to see Wagner as early as possible in
+		the morning.</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_14" class="chapter">
+		<h3>CHAPTER XIV.<br />
+			<span class="subtitle">THE LAST MEETING OF AGNES AND THE STRANGER LADY.</span></h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">While</span> all nature was wrapped in the listening stillness of admiration
+		at the rising sun, Fernand Wagner dragged himself
+		painfully toward his home.</p>
+
+		<p>His garments were besmeared with mud and dirt; they were
+		torn, too, in many places; and here and there were stains of
+		blood, still wet, upon them.</p>
+
+		<p>In fact, had he been dragged by a wild horse through a thicket
+		of brambles, he could scarcely have appeared in a more wretched
+		plight.</p>
+
+		<p>His countenance was ghastly pale; terror still flashed from his
+		eyes, and despair sat on his lofty brow.</p>
+
+		<p>Stealing through the most concealed part of his garden, he
+		was approaching his own mansion with the air of a man who returns
+		home in the morning after having perpetrated some dreadful
+		deed of turpitude under cover of the night.</p>
+
+		<p>But the watchful eyes of a woman have marked his coming
+		from the lattice of her window; and in a few minutes Agnes,
+		light as a fawn, came bounding toward him, exclaiming, “Oh!
+		what a night of uneasiness have I passed, Fernand! But at
+		length thou art restored to me—thou whom I have ever loved so
+		fondly; although,” she added, mournfully, “I abandoned thee
+		for so long a time!”</p>
+
+		<p>And she embraced him tenderly.</p>
+
+		<p>“Agnes!” cried Fernand, repulsing her with an impatience
+		which she had never experienced at his hands before: “wherefore
+		thus act the spy upon me? Believe me, that although we
+		pass ourselves off as brother and sister, yet I do not renounce
+		that authority which the real nature of those ties that bind us
+		together——”</p>
+
+		<p>“Fernand! Fernand! this to me!” exclaimed Agnes, bursting
+		into tears. “Oh! how have I deserved such reproaches?”</p>
+
+		<p>“My dearest girl, pardon me, forgive me!” cried Wagner, in
+		a tone of bitter anguish. “My God! I ought not to upbraid thee
+		for that watchfulness during my absence, and that joy at my
+		return, which prove that you love me! Again I say, pardon me,
+		dearest Agnes.”</p>
+
+		<p>“You need not ask me, Fernand,” was the reply. “Only
+		speak kindly to me——”</p>
+
+		<p>“I do, I will, Agnes,” interrupted Wagner. “But leave me
+		now! Let me regain my own chamber alone; I have reasons,
+		urgent reasons for so doing; and this afternoon, Agnes, I shall
+		be composed—collected again. Do you proceed by that path; I
+		will take this.”</p>
+
+		<p>And, hastily pressing her hand, Wagner broke abruptly away.</p>
+
+		<p>For a few moments Agnes stood looking after him in vacant
+		astonishment at his extraordinary manner, and also at his
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page60" title="60"> </a>alarming appearance, but concerning which latter she had not
+		dared to question him.</p>
+
+		<p>When he had entered the mansion by a private door, Agnes
+		turned and pursued her way along a circuitous path shaded on
+		each side by dark evergreens, and which was the one he had
+		directed her to take so as to regain the front gate of the dwelling.</p>
+
+		<p>But scarcely had she advanced a dozen paces, when a sudden
+		rustling among the trees alarmed her; and in an instant a female
+		form—tall, majestic, and with a dark veil thrown over her head,
+		stood before her.</p>
+
+		<p>Agnes uttered a faint shriek: for, although the lady’s countenance
+		was concealed by the veil, she had no difficulty in recognizing
+		the stranger who had already terrified her on three previous
+		occasions, and who seemed to haunt her.</p>
+
+		<p>And, as if to dispel all doubt as to the identity, the majestic
+		lady suddenly tore aside her veil, and disclosed to the trembling,
+		shrinking Agnes, features already too well known.</p>
+
+		<p>But, if the lightning of those brilliant, burning, black eyes had
+		seemed terrible on former occasions, they were now absolutely
+		blasting, and Agnes fell upon her knees, exclaiming, “Mercy!
+		mercy! how have I offended you?”</p>
+
+		<p>For a few moments those basilisk-eyes darted forth shafts of
+		fire and flame, and the red lips quivered violently, and the
+		haughty brow contracted menacingly, and Agnes was stupefied,
+		stunned, fascinated, terribly fascinated by that tremendous rage,
+		the vengeance of which seemed ready to explode against her.</p>
+
+		<p>But only a few moments lasted that dreadful scene; for the
+		lady, whose entire appearance was that of an avenging fiend in
+		the guise of a beauteous woman, suddenly drew a sharp poniard
+		from its sheath in her bodice, and plunged it into the bosom of
+		the hapless Agnes.</p>
+
+		<p>The victim fell back; but not a shriek—not a sound escaped
+		her lips. The blow was well aimed, the poniard was sharp and
+		went deep, and death followed instantaneously.</p>
+
+		<p>For nearly a minute did the murderess stand gazing on the
+		corpse—the corpse of one erst so beautiful; and her countenance,
+		gradually relaxing from its stern, implacable expression, assumed
+		an air of deep remorse—of bitter, bitter compunction.</p>
+
+		<p>But probably yielding to the sudden thought that she must
+		provide for her own safety, the murderess drew forth the dagger
+		from the white bosom in which it was buried: hastily wiped it
+		upon a leaf; returned it to the sheath; and, replacing the veil
+		over her countenance, hurried rapidly away from the scene of
+		her fearful crime.</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_15" class="chapter">
+		<h3>CHAPTER XV.<br />
+			<span class="subtitle">THE SBIRRI—THE ARREST.</span></h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">Scarcely</span> ten minutes had elapsed since the unfortunate
+		Agnes was thus suddenly cut off in the bloom of youth and
+		beauty, when a lieutenant of police, with his guard of sbirri,
+		passed along the road skirting Wagner’s garden.</p>
+
+		<p>They were evidently in search of some malefactor, for, stopping
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page61" title="61"> </a>in their course, they began to deliberate on the business
+		which they had in hand.</p>
+
+		<p>“Which way could he possibly have gone?” cried one, striking
+		the butt-end of his pike heavily upon the ground.</p>
+
+		<p>“How could we possibly have missed him?” exclaimed another.</p>
+
+		<p>“Stephano is not so easily caught, my men,” observed the
+		lieutenant. “He is the most astute and cunning of the band of
+		which he is the captain. And yet, I wish we had pounced upon
+		him, since we were so nicely upon his track.”</p>
+
+		<p>“And a thousand ducats offered by the state for his capture,”
+		suggested one of the sbirri.</p>
+
+		<p>“Yes; ’tis annoying!” ejaculated the lieutenant, “but I could
+		have sworn he passed this way.”</p>
+
+		<p>“And I could bear the same evidence, signor,” observed the
+		first speaker. “Maybe he has taken refuge in those bushes.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Not unlikely. We are fools to grant him a moment’s vantage
+		ground. Over the fence, my men, and beat amongst these
+		gardens.”</p>
+
+		<p>Thus speaking, the lieutenant set the example, by leaping
+		the railing, and entering the grounds belonging to Wagner’s
+		abode.</p>
+
+		<p>The sbirri, who were six in number, including their officer,
+		divided themselves into two parties, and proceeded to search the
+		gardens.</p>
+
+		<p>Suddenly a loud cry of horror burst from one of the sections;
+		and when the other hastened to the spot, the sbirri composing it
+		found their comrades in the act of raising the corpse of Agnes.</p>
+
+		<p>“She is quite dead,” said the lieutenant, placing his hand
+		upon her heart. “And yet the crime cannot have been committed
+		many minutes, as the corpse is scarcely cold, and the
+		blood still oozes forth.”</p>
+
+		<p>“What a lovely creature she must have been,” exclaimed one
+		of the sbirri.</p>
+
+		<p>“Cease your profane remarks, my man,” cried the lieutenant.
+		“This must be examined into directly. Does any one know who
+		dwells in that mansion?”</p>
+
+		<p>“Signor Wagner, a wealthy German,” was the reply given by
+		a sbirro.</p>
+
+		<p>“Then come with me, my man,” said the lieutenant; “and
+		let us lose no time in searching his house. One of you must remain
+		by the corpse—and the rest may continue the search after
+		the bandit, Stephano.”</p>
+
+		<p>Having issued these orders, the lieutenant, followed by the
+		sbirro whom he had chosen to accompany him, hastened to the
+		mansion.</p>
+
+		<p>The gate was opened by an old porter, who stared in astonishment
+		when he beheld the functionaries of justice visiting that
+		peaceful dwelling. But the lieutenant ordered him to close and
+		lock the gate; and having secured the key, the officer said, “We
+		must search this house; a crime has been committed close at
+		hand.”</p>
+
+		<p>“A crime!” ejaculated the porter; “then the culprit is not
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page62" title="62"> </a>here—for there is not a soul beneath this roof who would perpetrate
+		a misdeed.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Cease your prating, old man,” said the lieutenant, sternly.
+		“We have a duty to perform—see that we be not molested in
+		executing it.”</p>
+
+		<p>“But what is the crime, signor, of which——”</p>
+
+		<p>“Nay—that you shall know anon,” interrupted the lieutenant.
+		“In the name of his serene highness, the duke, I command you
+		in the first place to lead me and my followers to the presence of
+		your master.”</p>
+
+		<p>The old man hastened to obey this mandate, and he conducted
+		the sbirri into the chamber where Wagner, having thrown off
+		his garments, was partaking of that rest which he so much
+		needed.</p>
+
+		<p>At the sound of heavy feet and the clanking of martial
+		weapons, Fernand started from the slumber into which he had
+		fallen only a few minutes previously.</p>
+
+		<p>“What means this insolent intrusion?” he exclaimed, his
+		cheeks flushing with anger at the presence of the police.</p>
+
+		<p>“Pardon us, signor,” said the lieutenant, in a respectful tone:
+		“but a dreadful crime has been committed close by—indeed
+		within the inclosure of your own grounds——”</p>
+
+		<p>“A dreadful crime!” ejaculated Wagner.</p>
+
+		<p>“Yes, signor; a crime——”</p>
+
+		<p>The officer was interrupted by an ejaculation of surprise
+		which burst from the lips of his attendant sbirro; and, turning
+		hastily round, he beheld his follower intently scrutinizing the
+		attire which Fernand had ere now thrown off.</p>
+
+		<p>“Ah! blood-stains!” cried the lieutenant, whose attention
+		was directed toward those marks by the finger of his man.
+		“Then is the guilty one speedily discovered! Signor!” he added,
+		turning once more toward Wagner, “are those your garments?”</p>
+
+		<p>An expression of indescribable horror convulsed the countenance
+		of Fernand; for the question of the officer naturally reminded
+		him of his dreadful fate—the fate of a Wehr-Wolf—although,
+		we should observe, he never remembered, when restored
+		to the form of a man, what he might have done during
+		the long hours that he wore the shape of a ferocious monster.</p>
+
+		<p>Still, as he knew that his garments had been soiled, torn and
+		blood-stained in the course of the preceding night, it was no
+		wonder that he shuddered and became convulsed with mental
+		agony when his terrible doom was so forcibly called to his mind.</p>
+
+		<p>His emotions were naturally considered to be corroborative
+		evidence of guilt: and the lieutenant laying his hand upon
+		Wagner’s shoulder, said in a stern, solemn manner, “In the
+		name of his highness our prince, I arrest you for the crime of
+		murder!”</p>
+
+		<p>“Murder!” repeated Fernand, dashing away the officer’s arm;
+		“you dare not accuse me of such a deed!”</p>
+
+		<p>“I accuse you of murder, signor,” exclaimed the lieutenant.
+		“Within a hundred paces of your dwelling a young lady——”</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page63" title="63"> </a>“A young lady!” cried Wagner, thinking of Agnes, whom he
+		had left in the garden.</p>
+
+		<p>“Yes, signor, a young lady has been most barbarously murdered!”
+		added the officer in an impressive tone.</p>
+
+		<p>“Agnes! Agnes!” almost screamed the unhappy man, as this
+		dreadful announcement fell upon his ears. “Oh! is it possible
+		that thou art no more, my poor Agnes!”</p>
+
+		<p>He covered his face with his hands and wept bitterly.</p>
+
+		<p>The lieutenant made a sign to his follower, who instantly
+		quitted the room.</p>
+
+		<p>“There must be some mistake in this, signor,” said the old
+		porter, approaching the lieutenant and speaking in a voice
+		tremulous with emotion. “The master whom I serve, and whom
+		you accuse, is incapable of the deed imputed to him.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Yes. God knows how truly you speak!” ejaculated Wagner,
+		raising his head. “That girl—oh! sooner than have harmed one
+		single hair of her head—— But how know you that it is Agnes
+		who is murdered?” he cried abruptly, turning toward the lieutenant.</p>
+
+		<p>“It was you who said it, signor,” calmly replied the officer,
+		as he fixed his dark eyes keenly upon Fernand.</p>
+
+		<p>“Oh! it was a surmise—a conjecture—because I parted with
+		Agnes a short time ago in the garden,” exclaimed Wagner,
+		speaking in hurried and broken sentences.</p>
+
+		<p>“Behold the victim!” said the lieutenant, who had approached
+		the window, from which he was looking.</p>
+
+		<p>Wagner sprung from his couch, and glanced forth into the
+		garden beneath.</p>
+
+		<p>The sbirri were advancing along the gravel pathway, bearing
+		amongst them the corpse of Agnes upon whose pallid countenance
+		the morning sunbeams were dancing, as if in mockery
+		even at death.</p>
+
+		<p>“Holy Virgin! it is indeed Agnes!” cried Wagner, in a tone of
+		the most profound heart-rending anguish, and he fell back senseless
+		in the arms of the lieutenant.</p>
+
+		<p>An hour afterward, Fernand Wagner was the inmate of
+		a dungeon beneath the palace inhabited by the Duke of Florence.</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_16" class="chapter">
+		<h3>CHAPTER XVI.<br />
+			<span class="subtitle">NISIDA AND THE CARMELITE ABBESS.</span></h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">Punctually</span> at midday, the Lady Nisida of Riverola proceeded,
+		alone and unattended, to the Convent of Carmelite Nuns,
+		where she was immediately admitted into the presence of the
+		abbess.</p>
+
+		<p>The superior of this monastic establishment, was a tall, thin,
+		stern-looking woman, with a sallow complexion, an imperious
+		compression of the lips, and small, grey eyes, that seemed to
+		flicker with malignity rather than to beam with the pure light
+		of Christian love.</p>
+
+		<p>She was noted for the austerity of her manners, the rigid
+		discipline which she maintained in the convent, and the inexorable
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page64" title="64"> </a>disposition which she showed toward those who, having
+		committed a fault, came within her jurisdiction.</p>
+
+		<p>Rumor was often busy with the affairs of the Carmelite Convent;
+		and the grandams and gossips of Florence would huddle
+		together around their domestic hearths, on the cold winter’s
+		evenings, and venture mysterious hints and whispers of strange
+		deeds committed within the walls of that sacred institution;
+		how from time to time some young and beautiful nun had suddenly
+		disappeared, to the surprise and alarm of her companions;
+		how piercing shrieks had been heard to issue from the
+		interior of the building, by those who passed near it at night,—and
+		how the inmates themselves were often aroused from their
+		slumbers by strange noises resembling the rattling of chains,
+		the working of ponderous machinery, and the revolution of huge
+		wheels.</p>
+
+		<p>Such food for scandal as those mysterious whispers supplied,
+		was not likely to pass without exaggeration; and that love of
+		the marvelous which inspired the aforesaid gossips, led to the
+		embellishment of the rumors just glanced at—so that one declared
+		with a solemn shake of the head, how spirits were seen to
+		glide around the convent walls at night—and another averred
+		that a nun, with whom she was acquainted, had assured her that
+		strange and unearthly forms were often encountered by those
+		inmates of the establishment who were hardy enough to venture
+		into the chapel, or to traverse the long corridors or gloomy
+		cloisters after dusk.</p>
+
+		<p>These vague and uncertain reports did not, however, prevent
+		some of the wealthiest families in Florence from placing their
+		daughters in the Carmelite Convent. A nobleman or opulent
+		citizen who had several daughters, would consider it a duty to
+		devote one of them to the service of the church; and the votive
+		girl was most probably compelled to perform her novitiate and
+		take the veil in this renowned establishment. It was essentially
+		the convent patronized by the aristocracy; and no female would
+		be received within its walls save on the payment of a considerable
+		sum of money.</p>
+
+		<p>There was another circumstance which added to the celebrity
+		and augmented the wealth of the Carmelite Convent. Did a
+		young unmarried lady deviate from the path of virtue, or did a
+		husband detect the infidelity of his wife, the culprit was forthwith
+		consigned to the care of the abbess, and forced to take up
+		her abode in that monastic institution. Or, again—did some female
+		openly neglect her religious duties, or imprudently express
+		an opinion antagonistic to the Roman Catholic Church, the family
+		to which she belonged would remove her to the spiritual
+		care of the abbess.</p>
+
+		<p>The convent was therefore considered to be an institution recognized
+		by the state as a means of punishing immorality, upholding
+		the Catholic religion, persuading the skeptical,—confirming
+		the wavering, and exercising a salutary terror over the
+		ladies of the upper class, at that period renowned for their dissolute
+		morals. The aristocracy of Florence patronized and protected
+		the institution—because its existence afforded a ready means to
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page65" title="65"> </a>get rid of a dishonored daughter, or an unfaithful wife; and it
+		was even said that the abbess was invested with extraordinary
+		powers by the rescript of the duke himself, powers which warranted
+		her interference with the liberty of young females who
+		were denounced to her by their parents, guardians, or others
+		who might have a semblance of a right to control or coerce
+		them.</p>
+
+		<p>Luther had already begun to make a noise in Germany; and
+		the thunders of his eloquence had reverberated across the Alps
+		to the Italian states. The priesthood was alarmed; and the conduct
+		of the reformer was an excuse for rendering the discipline
+		of the monastic institutions more rigid than ever. Nor was
+		the Abbess Maria a woman who hesitated to avail herself of this
+		fact as an apology for strengthening her despotism and widening
+		the circle of her influence.</p>
+
+		<p>The reader has now heard enough to make him fully aware
+		that the Carmelite Convent was an establishment enjoying influence,
+		exercising an authority, and wielding a power, which—if
+		these were misdirected—constituted an enormous abuse in
+		the midst of states bearing the name of a republic. But the career
+		of the Medici was then hastening toward a close; and in
+		proportion as the authority of the duke became more circumscribed,
+		the encroachments of the ecclesiastical orders grew more
+		extensive.</p>
+
+		<p>The Abbess Maria, who was far advanced in years, but was
+		endowed with one of those vigorous intellects against which
+		Time vainly directs his influence, received the Lady Nisida in a
+		little parlor plainly furnished. The praying desk was of the
+		most humble description; and above it rose a cross of wood so
+		worm-eaten and decayed that it seemed as if the grasp of a
+		strong hand would crush it into dust. But this emblem of the
+		creed had been preserved in the Carmelite Convent since the period
+		of the Second Crusade, and was reported to consist of a
+		piece of the actual cross on which the Saviour suffered in Palestine.</p>
+
+		<p>Against the wall hung a scourge, with five knotted thongs,
+		whereon the blood-stains denoted the severity of that penance
+		which the abbess frequently inflicted upon herself. On a table
+		stood a small loaf of coarse bread and a pitcher of water; for although
+		a sumptuous banquet was every day served up in the
+		refectory, the abbess was never known to partake of the delicious
+		viands nor to place her lips in contact with wine.</p>
+
+		<p>When Nisida entered the presence of the abbess, she sank on
+		her knees, and folded her arms meekly across her bosom. The
+		holy mother gave her a blessing, and made a motion for her to
+		rise. Nisida obeyed, and took a seat near the abbess at the
+		table.</p>
+
+		<p>She then drew forth her tablets, and wrote a few lines, which
+		the superior read with deep attention.</p>
+
+		<p>Nisida placed a heavy purse of gold upon the table, and the
+		abbess nodded an assent to the request contained in the lines inscribed
+		on the tablet.</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page66" title="66"> </a>The interview was about to terminate, when the door suddenly
+		opened, and an elderly nun entered the room.</p>
+
+		<p>“Ursula,” said the lady abbess, in a cold but reproachful tone,
+		“didst thou not know that I was engaged? What means this
+		abrupt intrusion?”</p>
+
+		<p>“Pardon me, holy mother!” exclaimed the nun: “but the
+		rumor of such a frightful murder has just reached us——”</p>
+
+		<p>“A murder!” ejaculated the abbess. “Oh! unhappy Florence,
+		when wilt thou say farewell to crimes which render thy name
+		detestable among Italian states?”</p>
+
+		<p>“This indeed, too, holy mother, is one of inordinate blackness,”
+		continued Sister Ursula. “A young and beautiful
+		lady——”</p>
+
+		<p>“We know not personal beauty within these walls, daughter,”
+		interrupted the abbess, sternly.</p>
+
+		<p>“True, holy mother! and yet I did but repeat the tale as the
+		porteress ere now related it to me. However,” resumed Ursula,
+		“it appears that a young female, whom the worldly-minded
+		outside these sacred walls denominate beautiful, was barbarously
+		murdered this morning—shortly after the hour of sunrise——”</p>
+
+		<p>“Within the precincts of Florence?” inquired the abbess.</p>
+
+		<p>“Within a short distance of the convent, holy mother,” answered
+		the nun. “The dreadful deed was accomplished in the
+		garden attached to the mansion of a certain Signor Wagner,
+		whom the worldly-minded style a young man wondrously handsome.”</p>
+
+		<p>“A fair exterior often conceals a dark heart, daughter,” said
+		the abbess. “But who was the hapless victim?”</p>
+
+		<p>“Rumor declares, holy mother——”</p>
+
+		<p>The nun checked herself abruptly, and glanced at Nisida, who,
+		during the above conversation, had approached the windows
+		which commanded a view of the convent garden, and whose
+		back was therefore turned toward the abbess and Ursula.</p>
+
+		<p>“You may speak fearlessly, daughter,” said the abbess; “that
+		unfortunate lady hears you not—for she is both deaf and dumb.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Holy Virgin succor her,” exclaimed Ursula, crossing herself.
+		“I was about to inform your ladyship,” she continued, “that
+		rumor represents the murdered woman to have been the sister of
+		this Signor Wagner of whom I spoke; but it is more than probable
+		that there was no tie of relationship between them—and
+		that——”</p>
+
+		<p>“I understand you, daughter,” interrupted the abbess. “Alas!
+		how much wickedness is engendered in this world by the sensual,
+		fleshly passion which mortals denominate love! But is the
+		murderer detected?”</p>
+
+		<p>“The murderer was arrested immediately after the perpetration
+		of the crime,” responded Ursula; “and at this moment he
+		is a prisoner in the dungeon of the palace.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Who is the lost man that has perpetrated such a dreadful
+		crime?” demanded the abbess, again crossing herself.</p>
+
+		<p>“Signor Wagner himself, holy mother,” was the reply.</p>
+
+		<p>“The pious Duke Cosmo bequeathed gold to this institution,”
+		said the abbess, “that masses might be offered up for the souls
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page67" title="67"> </a>of those who fall beneath the weapon of the assassin. See that
+		the lamented prince’s instructions be not neglected in this instance,
+		Ursula.”</p>
+
+		<p>“It was to remind your ladyship of this duty that I ventured
+		to break upon your privacy,” returned the nun, who then
+		withdrew.</p>
+
+		<p>The abbess approached Nisida, and touched her upon the
+		shoulder to intimate to her that they were again alone together.</p>
+
+		<p>She had drawn down her veil, and was leaning her forehead
+		against one of the iron bars which protected the window—apparently
+		in a mood of deep thought.</p>
+
+		<p>When the abbess touched her, she started abruptly round—then,
+		pressing the superior’s hand with convulsive violence, hurried
+		from the room.</p>
+
+		<p>The old porteress presented the alms-box as she opened the
+		gate of the convent; but Nisida pushed it rudely aside, and hurried
+		down the steps as if she were escaping from a lazar-house,
+		rather than issuing from a monastic institution.</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_17" class="chapter">
+		<h3>CHAPTER XVII.<br />
+			<span class="subtitle">WAGNER IN PRISON—A VISITOR.</span></h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">It</span> was evening; and Wagner paced his narrow dungeon with
+		agitated steps.</p>
+
+		<p>Far beneath the level of the ground, and under the ducal
+		palace, was that gloomy prison, having no window, save a grating
+		in the massive door to admit the air.</p>
+
+		<p>A lamp burned dimly upon the table, whereon stood also the
+		coarse prison fare provided for the captive, but which was untouched.</p>
+
+		<p>The clanking of the weapons of the sentinels, who kept guard
+		in the passage from which the various dungeons opened, fell
+		mournfully upon Fernand’s ears, and every moment reminded
+		him of the apparent impossibility to escape—even if such an
+		idea possessed him.</p>
+
+		<p>The lamp had burned throughout the day in his dungeon; for
+		the light of heaven could not penetrate that horrible subterranean
+		cell—and it was only by the payment of gold that he
+		had induced the jailer to permit him the indulgence of the artificial
+		substitute for the rays of the glorious sun.</p>
+
+		<p>“Oh! wretched being that I am!” he thought within himself,
+		as he paced the stone floor of his prison-house; “the destiny of
+		the accursed is mine! Ah! fool—dotard that I was to exchange
+		the honors of old age for the vicissitudes of a renewed existence!
+		Had nature taken her course, I should probably now be sleeping
+		in a quiet grave—and my soul might be in the regions of
+		the blessed. But the tempter came, and dazzled me with prospects
+		of endless happiness—and I succumbed! Oh! Faust!
+		would that thou hadst never crossed the threshold of my humble
+		cottage in the Black Forest! How much sorrow—how much
+		misery should I have been spared! Better—better to have remained
+		in poverty—solitude—helplessness—worn down by the
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page68" title="68"> </a>weight of years—and crushed by the sense of utter loneliness—oh!
+		better to have endured all this, than to have taken on myself
+		a new tenure of that existence which is so marked with
+		misery and woe!”</p>
+
+		<p>He threw himself upon a seat, and endeavored to reflect on his
+		position with calmness; but he could not!</p>
+
+		<p>Starting up, he again paced the dungeon in an agitated
+		manner.</p>
+
+		<p>“Holy God!” he exclaimed aloud, “how much wretchedness
+		has fallen upon me in a single day! Agnes murdered—Nisida
+		perhaps forever estranged from me—myself accused of a dreadful
+		crime, whereof I am innocent—and circumstances all combining
+		so wonderfully against me! But who could have perpetrated
+		the appalling deed? Can that mysterious lady, whom
+		Agnes spoke of so frequently, and who, by her description, so
+		closely resembled my much-loved Nisida—can she——”</p>
+
+		<p>At that moment the bolts were suddenly drawn back from the
+		door of the dungeon—the clanking chains fell heavily on the
+		stone pavement outside—and the jailer appeared, holding a lamp
+		in his hand.</p>
+
+		<p>“Your brother, signor, is come to visit you,” said the turnkey.
+		“But pray let the interview be a brief one—for it is as much as
+		my situation and my own liberty are worth to have admitted
+		him without an order from the chief judge.”</p>
+
+		<p>“With these words the jailer made way for a cavalier to enter
+		the dungeon;” and as he closed the door, he said, “I shall return
+		shortly to let your brother out again.”</p>
+
+		<p>Surprise had hitherto placed a seal upon Wagner’s lips; but
+		even before the visitor had entered the cell, a faint suspicion—a
+		wild hope had flashed to his mind that Nisida had not forgotten
+		him, that she would not abandon him.</p>
+
+		<p>But this hope was destroyed almost as soon as formed, by the
+		sudden recollection of her affliction;—for how could a deaf and
+		dumb woman succeed in bribing and deceiving one so cautious
+		and wary as the jailer of a criminal prison?</p>
+
+		<p>Nevertheless the moment the visitor had entered the cell—and
+		in spite of the deep disguise which she wore, the eyes of the lover
+		failed not to recognize the object of his adoration in that elegant
+		cavalier who now stood before him.</p>
+
+		<p>Scarcely had the jailer closed and bolted the massive door
+		again, when Fernand rushed forward to clasp Nisida in his arms;—but,
+		imperiously waving her hand, she motioned him to stand
+		back.</p>
+
+		<p>Then, with the language of the fingers, she rapidly demanded—“Will
+		you swear upon the cross that the young female who
+		has been murdered, was not your mistress?”</p>
+
+		<p>“I swear,” answered Fernand in the same symbolic manner;
+		and, as the light of the lamp played on his handsome countenance,
+		his features assumed so decided an expression of truth,
+		frankness, and sincerity, that Nisida was already more than half
+		convinced of the injustice of her suspicions.</p>
+
+		<p>But still she was determined to be completely satisfied; and,
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page69" title="69"> </a>drawing forth a small but exquisitely sculptured crucifix from
+		her doublet, she presented it to her lover.</p>
+
+		<p>He sank upon one knee, received it respectfully, and kissed it
+		without hesitation.</p>
+
+		<p>Nisida then threw herself into his arms, and embraced him
+		with a fondness as warm, as wild, as impassioned as her suspicions
+		had ere now been vehement and fearfully resentful.</p>
+
+		<p>Her presence caused Fernand to forget his sorrow—to forget
+		that he was in a dungeon—to forget, also, the tremendous
+		charge that hung over his head. For never had his Nisida appeared
+		to him so marvelously beautiful as he now beheld her,
+		disguised in the graceful garb of a cavalier of that age. Though
+		tall, majestic, and of rich proportions for a woman, yet in the
+		attire of the opposite sex she seemed slight, short, and eminently
+		graceful. The velvet cloak sat so jauntily on her sloping
+		shoulder;—the doublet became her symmetry so well;—and the
+		rich lace collar was so arranged as to disguise the prominence
+		of the chest—that voluptuous fullness which could not be compressed.</p>
+
+		<p>At length a sudden thought struck Fernand, and he inquired,
+		in the usual manner, how Nisida had gained access to him?</p>
+
+		<p>“A faithful friend contrived the interview for me,” she replied,
+		with her wonted rapidity of play upon the fingers. “He
+		led the jailer to believe that I was a German, and totally unacquainted
+		with the Italian tongue. Thus not a word was addressed
+		to me; and gold has opened the door which separated
+		me from you. The same means shall secure your escape.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Dearest Nisida,” signaled Wagner, “I would not escape
+		were the door of my dungeon left open and the sentinels removed.
+		I am innocent—and that innocence must be proved!”</p>
+
+		<p>The lady exhibited extraordinary impatience at this reply.</p>
+
+		<p>“You do not believe me guilty?” asked Wagner.</p>
+
+		<p>She shook her head in a determined manner, to show how
+		profound was her conviction of his innocence.</p>
+
+		<p>“Then do not urge me, beloved one, to escape and be dishonored
+		forever,” was the urgent prayer he conveyed to her.</p>
+
+		<p>“The evidence against you will be overwhelming,” she gave
+		him to understand: then with an air of the most heart appealing
+		supplication, she added, “Escape, dearest Fernand, for my
+		sake!”</p>
+
+		<p>“But I should be compelled to fly from Florence—and
+		wouldst thou accompany me?”</p>
+
+		<p>She shook her head mournfully.</p>
+
+		<p>“Then I will remain here—in this dungeon! If my innocence
+		be proved, I may yet hope to call the sister of the Count of
+		Riverola my wife: if I be condemned——”</p>
+
+		<p>He paused:—for he knew that, even if he were sentenced to
+		death, he could not die,—that some power, of which, however,
+		he had only a vague notion, would rescue him,—that the compact,
+		which gave him renewed youth and a long life on the fatal
+		condition of his periodical transformation into a horrid monster,
+		must be fulfilled; and, though he saw not—understood not how
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page70" title="70"> </a>all this was to be, still he knew that it <em>would</em> happen if he should
+		really be condemned!</p>
+
+		<p>Nisida was not aware of the motive which had checked her
+		lover as he was conveying to her his sense of the dread alternatives
+		before him; and she hastened to intimate to him the following
+		thought:—</p>
+
+		<p>“You would say that if you be condemned, you will know
+		how to meet death as becomes a brave man. But think of <em>me</em>—of
+		Nisida, who loves you!”</p>
+
+		<p>“Would you continue to love a man branded as a murderer?”</p>
+
+		<p>“I should only think of you as my own dear Fernand!”</p>
+
+		<p>He shook his head—as much as to say, “It cannot be!”—and
+		then once more embraced her fondly—for he beheld, in her
+		anxiety for his escape, only a proof of her ardent affection.</p>
+
+		<p>At this moment the jailer returned: and while he was unbolting
+		the door, Nisida made one last, imploring appeal to her lover
+		to give his assent to escape, if the arrangements were made for
+		that purpose.</p>
+
+		<p>But he conveyed to her his resolute determination to meet the
+		charge, with the hope of proving his innocence: and for a few
+		moments Nisida seemed convulsed with the most intense anguish
+		of soul.</p>
+
+		<p>The jailer made his appearance; and Wagner, to maintain the
+		deceit which Nisida informed him to have been practiced on
+		the man, said a few words aloud in German—as if he was really
+		taking leave of a brother.</p>
+
+		<p>Nisida embraced him tenderly; and covering her countenance,
+		as much as possible, with her slouched hat, the waving plumes
+		of which she made to fall over her face, this extraordinary being
+		issued from the cell.</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_18" class="chapter">
+		<h3>CHAPTER XVIII.<br />
+			<span class="subtitle">FLORA FRANCATELLI—THE THREE NUNS—THE CHAIR.</span></h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">Nisida</span> regained her apartment, by the private staircase, without
+		any molestation. Having laid aside her male attire, she assumed
+		a loose wrapper, and then, throwing herself into an armchair,
+		gave way to her reflections.</p>
+
+		<p>These were apparently of no pleasurable nature; for they were
+		frequently interrupted by convulsive starts and rapid glancings
+		around the room—as if she were fearful lest some terrible specter
+		were present to scare her.</p>
+
+		<p>Once or twice her eyes lingered on her mother’s portrait; and
+		then profound sighs escaped her bosom.</p>
+
+		<p>Presently the beautiful Flora Francatelli entered the apartment;
+		but Nisida made her a sign of dismissal.</p>
+
+		<p>The maiden withdrew; and we must now follow her to her
+		own chamber.</p>
+
+		<p>On reaching her bedroom, Flora did not immediately retire to
+		rest. She felt that she should not sleep, even were she to seek
+		her pillow: for she had much—very much to ponder upon!</p>
+
+		<p>There was a marked, undisguised reserve about her mistress
+		which materially affected her. Although she could not control
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page71" title="71"> </a>her affections, yet she felt as if she were acting with duplicity
+		toward the Lady Nisida in having listened to the love-tale of
+		Francisco, and, retaining that revelation of his affection a
+		secret in her own breast.</p>
+
+		<p>Yet—had he not implored, had he not enjoined her to keep
+		that avowal to herself? Yes, and when she looked at the
+		matter, as it were, face to face, she could not justly reproach
+		herself:—nevertheless, that secret love weighed upon her conscience
+		like a crime!</p>
+
+		<p>She could not understand wherefore Nisida’s manner had
+		changed toward her. Francisco had assuredly made no communication
+		to his sister; and nothing had transpired to excite a
+		suspicion of the real truth in her mind. Still there <em>was</em> a
+		coolness on the part of that lady:—or might it not be that
+		Flora’s imagination deceived her?</p>
+
+		<p>There was another, and even a more serious cause of grief
+		weighing upon her mind. Dispatches had been received from
+		the nobleman in whose suit her brother Alessandro had repaired
+		to Constantinople; and the secretary of the council of
+		Florence had intimated to Signora Francatelli (Flora’s aunt) that
+		Alessandro had abjured the faith of his forefathers and had embraced
+		the Mussulman creed. It was also stated that the young
+		man had entered the service of grand vizier; but whether he
+		had become a renegade through love for some Turkish maiden,
+		or with the hope of ameliorating his condition in a worldly point
+		of view, whether, indeed, self-interest or a conscientious belief
+		in the superiority of the Moslem doctrines over those of Christianity,
+		had swayed Alessandro, no one could say.</p>
+
+		<p>His aunt was almost heart-broken at the news. Father Marco,
+		through whose influence he had obtained the post of secretary
+		to the Florentine Envoy, was shocked and grieved; and Flora
+		was not the less afflicted at an event which, as she had been
+		taught to believe, must inevitably place her much-loved brother
+		beyond the hope of spiritual salvation.</p>
+
+		<p>Amidst the gloomy reflections excited by the Lady Nisida’s
+		coolness, and the disagreeable tidings which had been received
+		concerning her brother, there was nevertheless one gleam of
+		consolation for Flora Francatelli.</p>
+
+		<p>This was the love which Francisco entertained for her, and
+		which she so tenderly, so sincerely reciprocated.</p>
+
+		<p>Yes, a maiden’s first love is ever a source of solace amidst the
+		gloom of affliction; because it is so intimately intertwined with
+		hope! For the soul of the innocent, artless girl who fondly
+		loves, soars aloft in a heaven of her own creation, dove-like on
+		the wings of faith!</p>
+
+		<p>It was already late when Flora began to unbraid and set at
+		liberty her dark brown tresses, preparatory to retiring to rest,
+		when a low knock at the chamber-door startled her in the midst
+		of her occupation.</p>
+
+		<p>Thinking it might be the Lady Nisida who required her attendance
+		she hastened to open the door; and immediately three
+		women, dressed in religious habits and having black veils
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page72" title="72"> </a>thrown over their heads so as completely to conceal their faces,
+		entered the room.</p>
+
+		<p>Flora uttered a faint scream—for the sudden apparition of
+		those specter-like figures, at such a late hour of the night, was
+		well calculated to alarm even a person of maturer age and
+		stronger mind than Signora Francatelli.</p>
+
+		<p>“You must accompany us, young lady,” said the foremost
+		nun, advancing toward her. “And beware how you create any
+		disturbance—for it will avail you nothing.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Whither am I to be conducted?” asked Flora, trembling
+		from head to foot.</p>
+
+		<p>“That we cannot inform you,” was the reply. “Neither
+		must you know at present; and therefore our first duty is to
+		blindfold you.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Pity me—have mercy upon me!” exclaimed Flora, throwing
+		herself on her knees before the nun who addressed her in so
+		harsh, so stern a manner. “I am a poor, unprotected girl: have
+		mercy upon me!”</p>
+
+		<p>But the three nuns seized upon her; and while one held the
+		palm of her hand forcibly over her mouth so as to check her
+		utterance, the others hastily blindfolded her.</p>
+
+		<p>Flora was so overcome by this alarming proceeding, that she
+		fainted.</p>
+
+		<p>When she came to her senses, she found herself lying on a
+		hard and sorry couch in a large apartment, almost entirely denuded
+		of furniture and lighted by a feebly-burning lamp suspended
+		to the low ceiling.</p>
+
+		<p>For a moment she thought she was laboring under the influence
+		of a hideous dream; but, glancing around, she started with
+		affright, and a scream burst from her lips, when she beheld the
+		three nuns standing by the bed.</p>
+
+		<p>“Why have you brought me hither?” she demanded, springing
+		from the couch, and addressing the recluses with frantic
+		wildness.</p>
+
+		<p>“To benefit you in a spiritual sense,” replied the one who had
+		before acted as spokeswoman: “to purge your mind of those
+		mundane vanities which have seized upon it, and to render you
+		worthy of salvation. Pray, sisters—pray for this at present benighted
+		creature!”</p>
+
+		<p>Then, to the surprise of the young maiden, the three nuns all
+		fell upon their knees around her, and began to chant a solemn
+		hymn in most lugubrious notes.</p>
+
+		<p>They had thrown aside their veils, and the flickering light of
+		the dim lamp gave a ghastly and unearthly appearance to their
+		pale and severe countenances. They were all three elderly persons:
+		and their aspect was of that cold, forbidding nature,
+		which precludes hope on the part of any one who might have
+		to implore mercy.</p>
+
+		<p>The young maiden was astounded—stupefied—she knew not
+		what to conjecture. Where was she? who were those nuns that
+		had treated her so harshly? why was she brought to that cold,
+		cheerless apartment? what meant the hymn that seemed chanted
+		expressly on her account?</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page73" title="73"> </a>She could not bear up against the bewilderment and alarm
+		produced by these questions which she asked herself, and none
+		of which she could solve. An oppressive sensation came over
+		her; and she was about to sink back upon the couch from which
+		she had risen, when the hymn suddenly ceased—the nuns rose
+		from their suppliant posture—and the foremost, addressing the
+		poor girl in a reproachful tone, exclaimed, “Oh! wicked—worldly-minded
+		creature, repent—repent—repent!”</p>
+
+		<p>There was something so awful—so appalling—in this strange
+		conduct on the part of the nuns, that Flora began to doubt
+		whether she were not laboring under some terrible delusion.
+		She feared lest her senses were leaving her: and, covering her
+		face with her hands, so as to close her eyes against external objects,
+		she endeavored to look inward, as it were, and scrutinize
+		her own soul.</p>
+
+		<p>But she was not allowed time to reflect; for the three nuns
+		seized upon her, the foremost saying, “You must come with us!”</p>
+
+		<p>“Mercy! mercy!” screamed the wretched girl, vainly struggling
+		in the powerful grasp of the recluses.</p>
+
+		<p>Her long hair, which she had unbraided before she was carried
+		off from the Riverola mansion, floated over her shoulders,
+		and enhanced the expression of ineffable despair which her
+		pallid countenance now wore.</p>
+
+		<p>Wildly she glanced around, as she was being hurried from
+		the room; and frantic screams escaped her lips. But there was
+		no one nigh to succor—no one to melt at the outbursts of her
+		anguish!</p>
+
+		<p>The three nuns dragged, rather than conducted her to an adjacent
+		apartment, which was lighted by a lamp of astonishing
+		brilliancy, and hung in a skylight raised above the roof.</p>
+
+		<p>On the floor, immediately beneath this lamp, stood an armchair
+		of wicker-work; and from this chair two stout cords
+		ascended to the ceiling, through which they passed by means of
+		two holes perforated for the purpose.</p>
+
+		<p>When Flora was dragged by the nuns to the immediate vicinity
+		of the chair, which her excited imagination instantly converted
+		into an engine of torture, that part of the floor on which
+		the chair stood seemed to tremble and oscillate beneath her
+		feet, as if it were a trap-door.</p>
+
+		<p>The most dreadful sensations now came over her: she felt as
+		if her brain was reeling—as if she must go mad.</p>
+
+		<p>A fearful scream burst from her lips, and she struggled with
+		the energy of desperation, as the nuns endeavored to thrust her
+		into the chair.</p>
+
+		<p>“No—no!” she exclaimed, frantically; “you shall not torture
+		me—you dare not murder me! What have I done to merit this
+		treatment! Mercy! mercy!”</p>
+
+		<p>But her cries and her struggles were alike useless; for she was
+		now firmly bound to the chair, into which the nuns had forced
+		her to seat herself.</p>
+
+		<p>Then commenced the maddening scene which will be found
+		in the ensuing chapter.</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_19" class="chapter">
+		<h3><a class="pagenum" id="page74" title="74"> </a>CHAPTER XIX.<br />
+ 			<span class="subtitle">THE DESCENT—THE CHAMBER OF PENITENCE.</span></h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">Having</span> bound Flora Francatelli to the chair in the manner
+		just described, the three nuns fell back a few paces, and the
+		wretched girl felt the floor giving way under her.</p>
+
+		<p>A dreadful scream burst from her lips, as slowly—slowly the
+		chair sank down, while the working of hidden machinery in the
+		roof, and the steady, monotonous revolution of wheels, sounded
+		with ominous din upon her ears.</p>
+
+		<p>An icy stream appeared to pour over her soul; wildly she cast
+		around her eyes, and then more piercing became her shrieks, as
+		she found herself gradually descending into what seemed to be
+		a pit or well—only that it was square instead of round.</p>
+
+		<p>The ropes creaked—the machinery continued its regular movement,
+		and the lamp fixed in the skylight overhead became less
+		and less brilliant.</p>
+
+		<p>And bending over the mouth of this pit into which she was
+		descending were the three nuns—standing motionless and
+		silent like hideous specters, on the brink of the aperture left by
+		the square platform or trap, whereon the chair was fixed.</p>
+
+		<p>“Mercy! Mercy!” exclaimed Flora, in a voice expressive of
+		the most acute anguish.</p>
+
+		<p>And stretching forth her snowy arms (for it was round the
+		waist and by the feet that she was fastened to the chair), she
+		convulsively placed her open palms against the wooden walls of
+		the pit, as if she could by that spasmodic movement arrest the
+		descent of the terrible apparatus that was bearing her down into
+		that hideous, unknown gulf! But the walls were smooth and
+		even, and presented nothing whereon she could fix her grasp.</p>
+
+		<p>Her brain reeled, and for a few minutes she sat motionless, in
+		dumb, inert despair.</p>
+
+		<p>Then again, in obedience to some mechanical impulse, she
+		glanced upward; the light of the lamp was now dimly seen, like
+		the sun through a dense mist—but the dark figures were still
+		bending over the brink of the abyss, thirty yards above.</p>
+
+		<p>The descent was still progressing and the noise of the machinery
+		still reached her ears, with buzzing, humming, monotonous
+		indistinctness.</p>
+
+		<p>She shrieked not now—she screamed not any more; but it was
+		not resignation that sealed her lips;—it was despair!</p>
+
+		<p>Suddenly she became aware of the gradual disappearance of
+		the three nuns; as she descended, the wall seemed to rise slowly
+		upward and cover them from her view.</p>
+
+		<p>Then, for an instant there was a slight shock given to the
+		platform whereon the chair was placed—as if it rested on something
+		beneath.</p>
+
+		<p>But no;—the fearful descent still went on—for, when she
+		again stretched forth her hand to touch the walls, they appeared
+		to be slowly rising—rising!</p>
+
+		<p>She was now involved in almost total darkness; but far—far
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page75" title="75"> </a>overhead the dim luster of the lamp was seen; and the four
+		walls of the gulf now appeared to touch the ceiling of the room
+		above, and to inclose that faint but still distinct orb within the
+		narrow space thus shut in.</p>
+
+		<p>The noise of the machinery also reached her still—but merely
+		with a humming sound that was only just audible.</p>
+
+		<p>For an instant she doubted whether she was still descending;
+		but, alas! when her arms were a third time convulsively
+		stretched forth, her fair hands felt the walls slipping away
+		from her touch—gliding upward, as it were, with steady emotion.</p>
+
+		<p>Then she knew that the descent had not ceased.</p>
+
+		<p>But whither was she going? to what awful depth was she
+		progressing?</p>
+
+		<p>Already she conjectured, was she at least sixty yards beneath
+		that dim yellow orb which every instant appeared to shine as
+		through a deeper, deepening mist.</p>
+
+		<p>For what fate was she reserved? and where was she?</p>
+
+		<p>Suddenly it struck her that she was an inmate of the Carmelite
+		Convent; for the rumors alluded to in a preceding chapter
+		had often met her ears; and her imagination naturally associated
+		them with the occurrences of that dreadful night.</p>
+
+		<p>The piercing shrieks—the noise of machinery—the disappearance
+		from time to time of some member of that monastic institution,
+		all the incidents, in fine, to which those rumors had
+		ever pointed, now seemed to apply to her own case.</p>
+
+		<p>These reflections flashed, with lightning rapidity, through her
+		brain, and paralyzed her with horror.</p>
+
+		<p>Then she lost all further power of thought; and though not
+		absolutely fainting, she was stunned and stupefied with the tremendous
+		weight of overwhelming despair.</p>
+
+		<p>How long she remained in this condition she knew not; but
+		she was suddenly aroused by the opening of a low door in the
+		wall in front of her.</p>
+
+		<p>Starting as from a dreadful dream, she stretched forth her
+		arms, and became aware that the descent had stopped; and at
+		the same moment she beheld a nun, bearing a lamp, standing
+		on the threshold of the door which had just opened.</p>
+
+		<p>“Sister, welcome to the chamber of penitence!” said the recluse,
+		approaching the terrified Flora.</p>
+
+		<p>Then, placing the lamp in a niche near the door, the nun proceeded
+		to remove the cords which fastened the young maiden
+		to the chair.</p>
+
+		<p>Flora rose, but fell back again on the seat—for her limbs were
+		stiff in consequence of the length of time they had been retained
+		in one position. The nun disappeared by the little door for a
+		few minutes; and, on her return, presented the wretched girl a
+		cup of cold water. Flora swallowed the icy beverage, and felt
+		refreshed.</p>
+
+		<p>Then, by the light of the lamp in the niche, she hastily
+		examined the countenance of the nun; but its expression was
+		cold—repulsive—stern: and Flora knew that it was useless to
+		seek to make a friend of her.</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page76" title="76"> </a>A frightful sense of loneliness, as it were, struck her like an
+		ice-shaft penetrating to her very soul; and clasping her hands
+		together, she exclaimed: “Holy Virgin! protect me!”</p>
+
+		<p>“No harm will befall you, daughter,” said the nun, “if you
+		manifest contrition for past errors and a resolution to devote
+		your future years to the service of Heaven.”</p>
+
+		<p>“My past errors!” repeated Flora, with mingled indignation
+		and astonishment. “I am not aware that I ever injured a living
+		soul by a word or deed—nor entertained a thought for which
+		I need to blush! Neither have I neglected those duties which
+		manifest the gratitude of mortals for the bounties bestowed
+		upon them by Providence.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Ah! daughter,” exclaimed the nun, “you interpret not your
+		own heart rightly. Have you never abandoned yourself to
+		those carnal notions—those hopes—those fears—those dreams of
+		happiness—which constitute the passion which the world calls
+		love?”</p>
+
+		<p>Flora started, and a blush mantled on her cheeks, before so
+		pale!</p>
+
+		<p>“You see that I have touched a chord which vibrates to your
+		heart’s core, daughter,” continued the nun, on whom that sudden
+		evidence of emotion was not lost. “You have suffered
+		yourself to be deluded by the whisperings of that feeling whose
+		tendency was to wean your soul from Heaven.”</p>
+
+		<p>“And is it possible that a pure and virtuous love can be construed
+		into a crime?” demanded the young maiden, her indignation
+		overpowering her fears.</p>
+
+		<p>“A love that is founded on, and fostered by ambition is a sin,”
+		replied the nun. “Marriage is doubtless an institution ordained
+		by Heaven; but it becomes a curse, and is repulsive to all pious
+		feelings, when it unites those whose passion is made up of sensuality
+		and selfishness.”</p>
+
+		<p>“You dare not impute such base considerations to me!” exclaimed
+		Flora, her cheeks again flushing, but with the glow of
+		conscious innocence shamefully outraged by the most injurious
+		suspicions.</p>
+
+		<p>“Nay, daughter,” continued the nun, unmoved by the manner
+		of the young maiden; “you are unable to judge rightly of
+		your own heart. You possess a confidence in integrity of purpose,
+		which is but a mental blindness on your part.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Of what am I accused? and wherefore am I brought hither?”
+		asked Flora, beginning to feel bewildered by the sophistry that
+		characterized the nun’s discourse.</p>
+
+		<p>“Those who are interested in your welfare,” replied the nun
+		evasively, “have consigned you to the care of persons devoted
+		to the service of Heaven, that your eyes may be opened to the
+		vanity of the path which you have been pursuing, but from
+		which you are so happily rescued.”</p>
+
+		<p>“And where am I? is this the Convent of the Carmelites?
+		why was I subjected to all the alarms—all the mental tortures
+		through which I have just passed?” demanded the young
+		maiden, wildly and rapidly.</p>
+
+		<p>“Think not that we have acted toward you in a spirit of persecution,”
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page77" title="77"> </a>said the nun. “The mysteries which have alarmed
+		you will be explained at a future period, when your soul is prepared
+		by penance, self-mortification, and prayer to receive the
+		necessary revelation. In the meantime, ask no questions, forget
+		the world, and resolve to embrace a life devoted to the service
+		of Heaven.”</p>
+
+		<p>“To embrace a conventual existence!” almost shrieked the
+		wretched girl. “Oh! no, never!”</p>
+
+		<p>“Not many days will elapse ere your mind will undergo a salutary
+		change,” said the nun, composedly. “But if you will
+		follow me—as you appear to be somewhat recovered—I will
+		conduct you to your cell adjoining the Chamber of Penitence.”</p>
+
+		<p>Flora, perceiving that any further attempt to reason with the
+		recluse would be fruitlessly made, rose and followed her into a
+		narrow, dark passage, at the end of which was a door standing
+		half open.</p>
+
+		<p>The nun extinguished her lamp, and led the way into a large
+		apartment hung with black. At the further end there was an
+		altar, surmounted by a crucifix of ebony, and lighted up with
+		four wax candles, which only served to render the gloom of the
+		entire scene more apparent.</p>
+
+		<p>At the foot of the altar knelt five women, half naked, and
+		holding scourges in their hands.</p>
+
+		<p>“These are the penitents,” whispered the nun to Flora.
+		“Pause for a moment and contemplate them.”</p>
+
+		<p>A minute elapsed, during which the five penitents remained
+		motionless as statues, with their heads bowed upon their bosoms,
+		and their hands hanging down by their sides, as if those limbs
+		were lifeless—save in respect to the hands that held the scourges.
+		But, suddenly, one of them—a young and beautiful woman—exclaimed,
+		in a tone of piercing anguish, “It is my fault! it is
+		my fault! it is my fault!”—and the others took up the wail in
+		voices equally characteristic of heartfelt woe.</p>
+
+		<p>Then they lacerated their shoulders with the hard leathern
+		thongs of their scourges; and a faintness came over Flora
+		Francatelli when she observed the blood appear on the back of
+		the young and beautiful penitent who had given the signal for
+		this self-mortification.</p>
+
+		<p>The nun, perceiving the effect thus produced upon the maiden,
+		touched her upon the shoulder as a signal to follow whither she
+		was about to lead; and, opening one of the several doors communicating
+		with the Chamber of Penitence, she said in a low
+		whisper—“This is your cell. May the Virgin bless you!”</p>
+
+		<p>Flora entered the little room allotted to her, and the nun
+		retired, simply closing, but not bolting the door behind her.</p>
+
+		<p>A taper burnt before a crucifix suspended to the wall; and
+		near it hung a scourge, from which last mentioned object Flora
+		averted her eyes with horror.</p>
+
+		<p>A bed, a simple toilet-table, a praying-desk, and a single chair,
+		completed the furniture of the cell, which was of very narrow
+		dimensions.</p>
+
+		<p>Seating herself on the bed, Flora burst into an agony of tears.</p>
+
+		<p>What would her aunt think when she received the news of her
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page78" title="78"> </a>disappearance? for she could not suppose that any friendly feeling
+		on the part of her persecutors would induce them to adopt a
+		course which might relieve that much-loved relative’s mind concerning
+		her. What would Francisco conjecture? Oh! these
+		thoughts were maddening!</p>
+
+		<p>Anxious to escape from them, if possible, the almost heartbroken
+		girl proceeded to lay aside her garments and retire to
+		rest.</p>
+
+		<p>Physical and mental exhaustion cast her into a deep sleep; but
+		the horrors of her condition pursued her even in her dreams; so
+		that when she awoke she was not startled to find herself in that
+		gloomy cell.</p>
+
+		<p>Casting her eyes around, she observed two circumstances
+		which showed her that some one had visited her room during
+		the hours she slept; for a new taper was burning before the
+		crucifix, and her own garments had been removed,—the coarse
+		garb of a penitent now occupying their place on the chair.</p>
+
+		<p>“Oh! is it possible that I am doomed to bid farewell to the
+		world forever?” exclaimed Flora, in a voice of despair, as she
+		clasped her hands convulsively together.</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_20" class="chapter">
+		<h3>CHAPTER XX.<br />
+			<span class="subtitle">FRANCISCO AND NISIDA—DR. DURAS AND THE LETTER.</span></h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">The</span> greatest confusion prevailed in the Riverola Palace,
+		when, in the morning, the disappearance of Flora Francatelli was
+		discovered.</p>
+
+		<p>Nisida hastened, at an early hour, to her brother’s apartment,
+		and intimated to him the fact that she was nowhere to be found.</p>
+
+		<p>Francisco, who was already dressed, was overwhelmed with
+		grief at this announcement, and, in the first excess of excitement,
+		conveyed to her his intention of seeking the young maiden
+		throughout the city.</p>
+
+		<p>He was hastening to quit the room, when Nisida held him
+		back, and intimated to him that his anxiety in this respect would
+		create suspicions injurious alike to his reputation and that of
+		Flora Francatelli—the more so, as she was but a menial in the
+		household.</p>
+
+		<p>Francisco paused and reflected for a few moments; then, having
+		tenderly embraced his sister, he hastily addressed her by the
+		symbolic language in which they were accustomed to converse:</p>
+
+		<p>“Pardon me, beloved Nisida, for having kept a secret from
+		thee—the only one that my heart has ever so selfishly cherished.”</p>
+
+		<p>Nisida appeared to be profoundly astonished at this communication,
+		and made an impatient sign for him to proceed.</p>
+
+		<p>“You will not be surprised at my anxiety to seek after the
+		missing girl,” he continued, “when I intimate to you that I
+		love her—and that, next to yourself, she is dearer to me than I
+		can express.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Your passion can scarcely be an honorable one, Francisco,”
+		was the reproach conveyed by Nisida, while her countenance
+		wore a corresponding expression.</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page79" title="79"> </a>“I would sooner die than harbor an injurious thought in respect
+		to that virtuous and beautiful creature!” responded the
+		young count, his face flushed with the glow of generous
+		emotions. “My happiness is intimately connected with this attachment,
+		Nisida, and I feel convinced that you would rather
+		forward my views than oppose them.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Yes, dear brother,” was the reply which she conveyed to
+		him: “your happiness is my only consideration.”</p>
+
+		<p>But, as she gave this assurance, an ill-subdued sigh escaped
+		her breast, and she compressed her lips tightly to crush the
+		emotions that were agitating her. A cloud evanescently appeared
+		on the broad and marble forehead; the penciled brows
+		contracted, and the eyes flashed brightly—oh! far more brightly
+		than glanced the ray of the morning sun through the windows,
+		upon the glossy surface of her luxuriant hair. A momentary
+		spasm seemed to convulse the full and rounded form; and the
+		small, elegantly shaped foot which peered from beneath her
+		flowing robe, tapped the floor twice with involuntary movement.</p>
+
+		<p>Mistress as she usually was of even her most intense feelings,
+		and wonderfully habituated by circumstances to exercise the
+		most complete command over her emotions, she was now for an
+		instant vanquished by the gush of painful sentiments which
+		crowded on her soul.</p>
+
+		<p>Francisco did not, however, observe that transitory evidence
+		of acute feeling on the part of his sister—a feeling which seemed
+		to partake of the nature of remorse, as if she were conscience-stricken!</p>
+
+		<p>For she loved her brother deeply—tenderly, but after the fashion
+		of her own wild and wonderful disposition—a love that was
+		not calculated always to prove friendly to his interests.</p>
+
+		<p>Francisco paced the room in an agitated manner.</p>
+
+		<p>At length he stopped near where his sister was standing, and
+		intimated to her that Flora might perhaps have repaired to the
+		residence of her aunt.</p>
+
+		<p>Nisida conveyed to him this answer: “The moment that I
+		missed Flora ere now, I dispatched a domestic to her aunt’s cottage;
+		but she has not been there since Sunday last.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Some treachery is at work here, Nisida,” was the young
+		count’s response. “Flora has not willingly absented herself.”</p>
+
+		<p>At this moment Francisco’s page entered the apartment to announce
+		that Dr. Duras was in the reception-room.</p>
+
+		<p>The young count made a sign to his sister to accompany him;
+		and they proceeded to the elegant saloon where the physician
+		was waiting.</p>
+
+		<p>Having saluted the count and Nisida with his usual urbanity,
+		Dr. Duras addressed himself to the former, saying, “I have
+		just learnt from your lordship’s page that the favorite attendant
+		on your sister has most unaccountably disappeared.”</p>
+
+		<p>“And both Nisida and myself are at a loss what to conjecture,
+		or how to act,” replied Francisco.</p>
+
+		<p>“Florence is at this moment the scene of dreadful crimes,”
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page80" title="80"> </a>observed the physician. “Yesterday morning a young female
+		was murdered by a near neighbor of mine——”</p>
+
+		<p>“I was astounded when I heard of the arrest of Signor Wagner
+		on such a charge,” interrupted the count. “He was latterly
+		a frequent guest at this house: although, I believe, you never
+		happened to meet him here?”</p>
+
+		<p>“No,” answered the physician; “but I saw him at the funeral
+		of your lamented father, and once or twice since in the garden
+		attached to his mansion; and I certainly could not have supposed,
+		from his appearance, that he was a man capable of so
+		black a crime. I was, however, about to observe that Florence
+		is at this moment infested by a class of villains who hesitate at
+		no deed of turpitude. This Signor Wagner is a foreigner,
+		possessed of immense wealth, the sources of which are totally
+		unknown; and, moreover, it is declared that the sbirri, yesterday
+		morning, actually traced the robber-captain Stephano to
+		the vicinity of his mansion. All this looks black enough, and
+		it is more than probable that Wagner was in league with the
+		redoubtable Stephano and his banditti. Then the mysterious
+		disappearance of Flora is, to say the least, alarming, for I believe
+		she was a well conducted, virtuous, estimable young
+		woman.”</p>
+
+		<p>“She was—she was indeed!” exclaimed Francisco. “At least,”
+		he added, perceiving that the physician was somewhat astonished
+		at the enthusiasm with which he spoke—“at least, such is my
+		firm impression; such, too, is the opinion of my sister.”</p>
+
+		<p>“The motive which brought me hither this morning,” said
+		Dr. Duras, “was to offer you a little friendly advice, which my
+		long acquaintance with your family, my dear count, will prevent
+		you from taking amiss.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Speak, doctor—speak your thoughts!” cried Francisco, pressing
+		the physician’s hand gratefully.</p>
+
+		<p>“I would recommend you to be more cautious how you form
+		an intimacy with strangers,” continued Dr. Duras. “Rumor
+		has a thousand tongues—and it is already reported in Florence
+		that the alleged murderer was on familiar terms with the noble
+		Count of Riverola and Lady Nisida.”</p>
+
+		<p>“The duke himself is liable to be deceived in respect to the real
+		character of an individual,” said Francisco proudly.</p>
+
+		<p>“But his highness would not form hasty acquaintances,” replied
+		the physician. “After all, it is with the best possible feeling
+		that I offer you my counsel—knowing your generous heart,
+		and also how frequently generosity is imposed upon.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Pardon the impatience with which I answered you, my dear
+		friend,” exclaimed the young count.</p>
+
+		<p>“No pardon is necessary,” said the physician; “because you
+		did not offend me. One word more and I must take my leave.
+		Crimes are multiplying thickly in Florence, and Stephano’s band
+		becomes each day more and more daring; so that it is unsafe to
+		walk alone in the city after dusk. Beware how you stir unattended,
+		my dear Francisco, at unseasonable hours.”</p>
+
+		<p>“My habits are not of that nature,” replied the count. “I,
+		however, thank you cordially for your well-meant advice. But
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page81" title="81"> </a>you appear to connect the disappearance of Flora Francatelli,”
+		he added, very seriously, “with the dreadful deed supposed to
+		be committed by Signor Wagner!”</p>
+
+		<p>“I merely conjecture that this Wagner is associated with that
+		lawless horde who have become the terror of the republic,”
+		answered the physician; “and it is natural to suppose that
+		these wretches are guilty of all the enormous crimes which have
+		lately struck the city with alarm.”</p>
+
+		<p>Francisco turned aside to conceal the emotions which these
+		remarks excited within him; for he began to apprehend that she
+		whom he loved so fondly had met with foul play at the hands of
+		the bravoes and banditti whom Stephano was known to command.</p>
+
+		<p>Dr. Duras seized that opportunity to approach Nisida, who
+		was standing at the window; and as he thrust into her hand a
+		note, which was immediately concealed in her dress, he was
+		struck with surprise and grief at the acute anguish that was
+		depicted on her countenance.</p>
+
+		<p>Large tears stood on her long, dark lashes, and her face was
+		ashy pale.</p>
+
+		<p>The physician made a sign of anxious inquiry; but Nisida,
+		subduing her emotions with an almost superhuman effort,
+		pressed his hand violently and hurried from the room.</p>
+
+		<p>Dr. Duras shook his head mournfully, but also in a manner
+		which showed that he was at a loss to comprehend that painful
+		manifestation of feeling on the part of one whom he well
+		knew to be endowed with almost miraculous powers of self-control.</p>
+
+		<p>His meditations were interrupted by Francisco, who, addressing
+		him abruptly, said, “In respect to the missing young lady,
+		whose absence will be so acutely felt by my sister, the only course
+		which I can at present pursue, is to communicate her mysterious
+		disappearance to the captain of police.”</p>
+
+		<p>“No time should be lost in adopting that step,” responded the
+		doctor. “I am about to visit a sick nobleman in the neighborhood
+		of the captain’s office: we will proceed so far in each other’s
+		company.”</p>
+
+		<p>The young count summoned his page to attend upon him, and
+		then quitted the mansion in company with the physician.</p>
+
+		<p>In the meantime Nisida had retired to her own apartment,
+		where she threw herself into a seat, and gave vent to the dreadful
+		emotions which had for the last hour been agitating within
+		her bosom.</p>
+
+		<p>She wept—oh! she wept long and bitterly: it was terrible and
+		strange to think how that woman of iron mind now yielded to
+		the outpourings of her anguish.</p>
+
+		<p>Some time elapsed ere she even attempted to control her feelings;
+		and then her struggle to subdue them was as sudden and energetic
+		as her grief had a moment previously been violent and
+		apparently inconsolable.</p>
+
+		<p>Then she recollected the note which Dr. Duras had slipped into
+		her hand, and which she had concealed in her bosom; and she
+		hastened to peruse it. The contents ran as follows:</p>
+
+		<blockquote>
+			<p><a class="pagenum" id="page82" title="82"> </a>“In accordance with your request, my noble-hearted and
+			much-enduring friend, I have consulted eminent lawyers in respect
+			to the will of the late Count of Riverola. The substance
+			of their opinion is unanimously this: The estates are inalienably
+			settled on yourself, should you recover the faculties of hearing
+			and speaking at any time previous to your brother’s attainment
+			of the age of thirty; and should you enter into possession of the
+			estates, and allow your brother to enjoy the whole or greater
+			part of the revenues, in direct contradiction to the spirit of your
+			father’s will, the estates would become liable to confiscation by
+			his highness the duke. In this case your brother and yourself
+			would alike be ruined.</p>
+
+			<p>“Now, the advice that these lawyers give is this: A memorial
+			should be addressed to his highness, exhibiting that you refuse
+			to undergo any surgical treatment or operation for the restoration
+			of the faculties of hearing and speech, inasmuch as you
+			would not wish to deprive your brother of the enjoyment of the
+			estates nor of the title conferred by their possession: that you
+			therefore solicit a decree, confirming his title of nobility, and
+			dispensing with the prerogative of confiscation on the part of
+			the prince, should you recover the faculties of hearing and
+			speech, and act in opposition to the will of your late father in
+			respect to the power of alienating the estates from your own
+			possession.</p>
+
+			<p>“Such, my generous-minded friend, is the counsel offered by
+			eminent advocates; and, by the memory of your sainted mother,
+			if not for the sake of your own happiness, I implore you to act
+			in accordance with these suggestions. You will remember that
+			this advice pretty accurately corresponds with that which I gave
+			you, when, late on the night that the will was read, you quitted
+			your sleepless couch and came to my dwelling to consult me on
+			a point so intimately connected with your felicity in this world.</p>
+
+			<p class="closing">“Your sincerely devoted friend,<br />
+			<span class="signature">“Jeronymo Duras.”</span></p>
+		</blockquote>
+
+		<p>While Nisida was occupied in the perusal of the first paragraph
+		of this letter, dark clouds lowered upon her brow; but as she
+		read the second paragraph, wherein the salutary advice of the
+		lawyers was conveyed to her, those clouds rapidly dispersed, and
+		her splendid countenance became lighted up with joyous, burning,
+		intoxicating hope!</p>
+
+		<p>It was evident that she had already made up her mind to adopt
+		the counsel proffered her by the eminent advocates whom the
+		friendly physician had consulted on her behalf.</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_21" class="chapter">
+		<h3>CHAPTER XXI.<br />
+			<span class="subtitle">THE SUBURB OF ALLA CROCE—THE JEW—THE ROBBER CHIEF’S
+		LOVE.</span></h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">It</span> was past the hour of ten on Saturday night, when a tall,
+		powerfully built man emerged from what might be termed the
+		fashionable portion of the city of Florence, and struck into the
+		straggling suburb of Alla Croce.</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page83" title="83"> </a>This quarter of the town was of marvelously bad reputation,
+		being infested by persons of the worst description, who, by herding,
+		as it were, together in one particular district, had converted
+		the entire suburb into a sort of sanctuary where crime might
+		take refuge, and into which the sbirri, or police-officers, scarcely
+		dared to penetrate.</p>
+
+		<p>The population of Alla Croce was not, however, entirely composed
+		of individuals who were at variance with the law, for
+		poverty as well as crime sought an asylum in that assemblage
+		of forbidding-looking dwellings, which formed so remarkable a
+		contrast with the marble palaces, noble public buildings, and
+		handsome streets of the city of Florence itself.</p>
+
+		<p>And not only did the denizens of penury and crushing toil,
+		the artisans, the vine-dressers, the gardeners, the water-carriers,
+		and the porters of Florence occupy lodgings in the suburb of
+		Alla Croce, but even wealthy persons—yes, men whose treasures
+		were vast enough to pay the ransom of princes—buried
+		themselves and their hoards in this horrible neighborhood.</p>
+
+		<p>We allude to that most undeservedly-persecuted race, the Jews—a
+		race endowed with many virtues and generous qualities, but
+		whose characters have been blackened by a host of writers
+		whose narrow minds and illiberal prejudices have induced them
+		to preserve all the exaggerations and misrepresentations which
+		tradition hands down in the Christian world relative to the
+		cruelly-treated Israelite.</p>
+
+		<p>The enlightened commercial policy of those merchant princes,
+		the Medici, had, during the primal glories of their administrative
+		sway in the Florentine Republic, relaxed the severity of the
+		laws against the Jews, and recognizing in the persecuted Israelites
+		those grand trading and financial qualities which have ever
+		associated the idea of wealth with their name, permitted them
+		to follow unmolested their specific pursuits.</p>
+
+		<p>But at the time of which we are writing—the year 1521—the
+		prince who had the reins of the Florentine Government, had
+		yielded to the representations of a bigoted and intolerant clergy,
+		and the Jews had once more become the subjects of persecution.
+		The dissipated nobles extorted from them by menace those loans
+		which would not have been granted on the security proffered;
+		and the wealthy members of the “scattered race” actually
+		began to discover that they could repose greater confidence in
+		the refuse of the Florentine population than in the brilliant
+		aristocracy, or even in the famous sbirri themselves. Thus had
+		many rich Jews established themselves in the quarter of Alla
+		Croce; and by paying a certain sum to the syndic, or magistrate
+		of this suburb—a functionary elected by the inhabitants themselves,
+		and in virtue of a law of their own enactment—the persecuted
+		Israelites enjoyed comparative security and peace.</p>
+
+		<p>We now return to the man we left plunging into the suburbs
+		of which we have afforded a short and necessary account.</p>
+
+		<p>This individual was dressed in simple attire, but composed of
+		excellent materials. His vest was of dark velvet, slashed, but
+		not embroidered; and on his breast he wore a jazeran, or mailed
+		cuirass, which was not only lighter than a steel corselet, but was
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page84" title="84"> </a>equally proof against poniard or pike. In his broad leather belt
+		were stuck two pairs of pistols, and a long dagger; a heavy
+		broadsword also hung by his side. His black boots came up
+		nearly to the knee—in contravention of the prevailing fashion of
+		that age, when these articles of dress seldom reached above the
+		swell of the leg. A large slouched hat, without plumage or any
+		ornament, was drawn down as much as possible over his features;
+		and the broad <em>mantello</em>, or cloak, was gathered round the body
+		in such a manner that it covered all the left side and the
+		weapons fastened in the belt, but left the sword arm free for use
+		in any sudden emergency.</p>
+
+		<p>Behind the wayfarer stretched the magnificent city of Florence,
+		spreading over the deep vale, on both sides of the Arno,
+		and, as usual, brilliant with light, like a world of stars shining
+		in mimic rivalry of those that studded the purple vault above.</p>
+
+		<p>Before him were the mazes of the Alla Croce, the darkness of
+		which suburb was only interrupted by a few straggling and
+		feeble lights gleaming from houses of entertainment, or from
+		huts whose poverty required not the protection of shutters to the
+		casements.</p>
+
+		<p>And now, as one of those faint lights suddenly fell upon the
+		wayfarer’s countenance, as he passed the abode in which it
+		shone—let us avail ourselves of the opportunity afforded by that
+		glimpse, to state that this man’s features were handsome, but
+		coarse, bearing the traces of a dissolute life. His age was apparently
+		forty; it might even have been a few years more matured—but
+		his coal-black hair, mustachio, and bushy whiskers, unstreaked
+		by silver, showed that time sat lightly on his head, in
+		spite of the evident intimacy with the wine-cup above alluded to.</p>
+
+		<p>Having threaded the greater portion of the suburb, which was
+		almost knee-deep in mud—for it had been raining nearly all day,
+		and had only cleared up after sunset—the individual whom we
+		have been describing stopped at the corner of a street, and gave
+		a shrill whistle.</p>
+
+		<p>The signal was immediately answered in a similar fashion,
+		and in a few minutes a man emerged from the darkness of a by-street.
+		He also was well-armed, but much more plainly dressed
+		than the other; and his countenance was such as would not have
+		proved a very friendly witness in his favor in a court of justice.</p>
+
+		<p>“Lomellino?” said the first individual whom we have described
+		in this chapter.</p>
+
+		<p>“Captain Stephano!” responded the other.</p>
+
+		<p>“All right, my fine lad,” returned the bandit-captain. “Follow
+		me.”</p>
+
+		<p>The two robbers then proceeded in silence until they reached
+		a house larger and stronger in appearance than any other in
+		the same street. The shutters which protected the casements
+		were massive and strengthened with iron bars and huge nails,
+		somewhat after the fashion of church doors.</p>
+
+		<p>The walls were of solid gray stones, whereas those of the adjacent
+		huts were of mud or wood. In a word, this dwelling
+		seemed a little fortress in the midst of an exposed and unprotected
+		town.</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page85" title="85"> </a>Before this house the robbers stopped.</p>
+
+		<p>“Do you remain on the other side of the street, Lomellino,”
+		said the bandit-chief; “and if need be, you will answer to my
+		accustomed signal.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Good, captain,” was the reply; and Lomellino crossed over
+		the way to the deep shade of the houses on that side.</p>
+
+		<p>Stephano then gave a low knock at the door of the well-defended
+		dwelling above described.</p>
+
+		<p>Several minutes elapsed; and no sounds were heard within.</p>
+
+		<p>“The old usurer is at home, I know,” muttered Stephano to
+		himself; for the moment he had knocked a gleam of light, peeping
+		through a crevice in an upper casement, had suddenly disappeared.
+		He now rapped more loudly at the door with the
+		handle of his heavy broadsword.</p>
+
+		<p>“Ah! he comes!” muttered the bandit-chief, after another
+		long pause.</p>
+
+		<p>“Who knocks so late?” demanded a weak and tremulous
+		voice from within.</p>
+
+		<p>“I—Stephano Verrina!” cried the brigand pompously: “open—and
+		fear not.”</p>
+
+		<p>The bolts were drawn back—a chain fell heavily on the stone
+		floor inside—and the door opened, revealing the form of an old
+		and venerable-looking man, with a long white beard. He held
+		a lamp in his hand: and, by its fitful glare, his countenance, of
+		the Jewish cast, manifested an expression denoting the terror
+		which he vainly endeavored to conceal.</p>
+
+		<p>“Enter. Signor Stephano,” said the old man. “But wherefore
+		here so late?”</p>
+
+		<p>“Late, do ye call it. Signor Isaachar?” ejaculated the bandit,
+		crossing the threshold. “Meseems there is yet time to do a
+		world of business this night, for those who have the opportunity
+		and the inclination.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Ah! but you and yours turn night into day,” replied the
+		Jew, with a chuckle intended to be of a conciliatory nature:
+		“or rather you perform your avocations at a time when others
+		sleep.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Every one to his calling, friend Isaachar,” said the brigand
+		chief. “Come! have you not made that door fast enough yet?
+		you will have to open it soon again—for my visit will be none
+		of the longest.”</p>
+
+		<p>The Jew having replaced the chains and fastened the huge
+		bolts which protected the house-door, took up the lamp and led
+		the way to a small and meanly-furnished room at the back of
+		his dwelling.</p>
+
+		<p>“What business may have brought you hither to-night, good
+		Captain Verrina?” he inquired in a tone of ill-subdued apprehension.</p>
+
+		<p>“Not to frighten thee out of thy wits, good Isaachar,” responded
+		Stephano, laughing.</p>
+
+		<p>“Ah! ha!” exclaimed the Jew, partially reassured: “perhaps
+		you have come to repay me the few crowns I had the honor to
+		lend you—without security, and without interest——”</p>
+
+		<p>“By my patron saint! thou wast never more mistaken in thy
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page86" title="86"> </a>life, friend Isaachar!” interrupted the robber chief. “The
+		few crowns you speak of, were neither more nor less than a
+		tribute paid on consideration that my men should leave unscathed
+		the dwelling of worthy Isaachar ben Solomon: in other
+		words, that thy treasures should be safe at least from them.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Well—well! be it so!” cried the Jew. “Heaven knows I do
+		not grudge the amount in question—although,” he added slowly,
+		“I am compelled to pay almost an equal sum to the syndic.”</p>
+
+		<p>“The syndic of Alla Croce and the captain of the banditti are
+		two very different persons,” returned Stephano. “The magistrate
+		protects you from those over whom he has control: and I,
+		on my side, guaranty you against the predatory visits of those
+		over whom I exercise command. But let us to business.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Ay—to business!” echoed the Jew, anxious to be relieved
+		from the state of suspense into which this visit had thrown him.</p>
+
+		<p>“You are acquainted with the young, beautiful, and wealthy
+		Countess of Arestino, Isaachar?” said the bandit.</p>
+
+		<p>The Jew stared at him in increased alarm, now mingled with
+		amazement.</p>
+
+		<p>“But, in spite of all her wealth,” continued Stephano, “she
+		was compelled to pledge her diamonds to thee, to raise the money
+		wherewith to discharge a gambling debt contracted by her lover,
+		the high-born, handsome, but ruined Marquis of Orsini.”</p>
+
+		<p>“How knowest thou all this?” inquired the Jew.</p>
+
+		<p>“From her ladyship’s own lips,” responded Stephano. “At
+		least she told me she had raised the sum to accommodate a very
+		particular friend. Now, as the transaction is unknown to her
+		husband, and as I am well assured that the Marquis of Orsini is
+		really on most excellent terms with her ladyship—moreover, as
+		this same marquis did pay a certain heavy gambling debt within
+		an hour after the diamonds were pledged to you—it requires but
+		little ingenuity to put all these circumstances together, to arrive
+		at the result which I have mentioned. Is it not so, Isaachar?”</p>
+
+		<p>“I know not the motive for which the money was raised,”
+		answered the Jew, wondering what was coming next.</p>
+
+		<p>“Oh! then the money was raised with you,” cried Stephano,
+		“and consequently you hold the diamonds.”</p>
+
+		<p>“I did not say so—I——”</p>
+
+		<p>“A truce to this fencing with my words!” ejaculated the bandit,
+		impatiently. “I have an unconquerable desire to behold
+		these diamonds——”</p>
+
+		<p>“You, good captain!” murmured Isaachar, trembling from
+		head to foot.</p>
+
+		<p>“Yes, I! And wherefore not? Is there anything so marvelous
+		in a man of my refined tastes and exquisite notions taking
+		a fancy to inspect the jewels of one of the proudest beauties
+		of gay Florence? By my patron saint! you should thank me
+		that I come in so polite a manner to request a favor, the granting
+		of which I could so easily compel without all this tedious
+		circumlocution.”</p>
+
+		<p>“The diamonds!” muttered the Jew, doubtless troubled at the
+		idea of surrendering the security which he held for a very considerable
+		loan.</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page87" title="87"> </a>“Perdition seize the man!” thundered Stephano, now waxing
+		angry. “Yes, the diamonds, I say; and fortunate will it be for
+		you if they are produced without further parley.”</p>
+
+		<p>Thus speaking the bandit suffered his cloak to fall from over
+		his belt, and the Jew’s quick eye recoiled from the sight of those
+		menacing weapons, with which his visitor was armed, as it
+		were, to the teeth.</p>
+
+		<p>Then without further remonstrance, but with many profound
+		sighs, Isaachar proceeded to fetch a small iron box from another
+		room; and in a few moments the diamond case, made of sandal
+		wood inlaid with mother-of-pearl, was in the bandit captain’s
+		hands.</p>
+
+		<p>“Let me convince myself that it is all right!” exclaimed
+		Stephano, examining the lid of the case. “Yes, there are the
+		arms of Arestino, with the ciphers of the Countess, G. A.—Giulia
+		Arestino—a very pretty name, by my troth! Ah, how
+		the stones sparkle!” he cried, as he opened the case. “And the
+		inventory is complete, just as it was described to me by her
+		ladyship. You are a worthy man, Isaachar, a good man; you
+		will have restored tranquillity to the mind of the beautiful
+		countess,” continued Stephano, in a bantering tone: “and she
+		will be enabled to appear at court to-morrow, with her husband.
+		Good-night, Isaachar; my brave men shall receive orders to the
+		effect that the first who dares to molest you may reckon upon
+		swinging to the highest tree that I can find for his accommodation.”</p>
+
+		<p>“You violate your compact, Signor Verrina!” exclaimed the
+		Jew, his rage now mastering his fears. “Wherefore should I
+		pay you tribute to protect me, when you enter my house and
+		rob me thus vilely?”</p>
+
+		<p>“In this case a lady is concerned, good Isaachar,” responded
+		the bandit, calmly; “and you know that with all true cavaliers
+		the ladies are pre-eminent. Once more, a fair night’s repose,
+		my much respected friend.”</p>
+
+		<p>Thus saying, Stephano Verrina rose from the seat on which
+		he had been lounging; and the Jew, knowing that altercation
+		and remonstrance were equally useless, hastened to afford the
+		means of egress to so unwelcome a visitor.</p>
+
+		<p>Stephano lingered a moment opposite the house until he heard
+		the door bolted and chained behind him; then crossing the
+		street, he rejoined his follower, Lomellino.</p>
+
+		<p>“All right, captain?” said the latter, inquiringly.</p>
+
+		<p>“All right!” answered Stephano. “Poor Isaachar is inconsolable,
+		no doubt; but the countess will be consoled at his expense.
+		Thus it is with the world, Lomellino; what is one person’s
+		misery is another’s happiness.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Dost grow sentimental, good captain?” exclaimed the man,
+		whose ears were entirely unaccustomed to such language on the
+		part of his chief.</p>
+
+		<p>“Lomellino, my friend,” answered Verrina, “when a man is
+		smitten in a certain organ, commonly called the heart, he is apt
+		to give utterance to that absurdity which the world denominates
+		sentiment. Such is my case.”</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page88" title="88"> </a>“You are, then, in love, captain?” said Lomellino, as they
+		retraced their way through the suburb of Alla Croce.</p>
+
+		<p>“Just so,” replied the bandit chief. “I will tell you how it
+		happened. Yesterday morning, when those impertinent sbirri
+		gave me a harder run than I have ever yet experienced, I was
+		fain to take refuge in the garden of that very same Signor Wagner——”</p>
+
+		<p>“Who was yesterday arrested for murder?” interrupted Lomellino.</p>
+
+		<p>“The identical one,” returned Stephano. “I concealed myself
+		so well that I knew I might bid defiance to those bungling
+		sbirri—although their scent was sharpened by the hope of the
+		reward set on my head by the prince. While I thus lay hidden,
+		I beheld a scene that would have done good to the heart of
+		even such a callous fellow as yourself—I mean callous to female
+		qualifications. In a word, I saw one woman stab another as effectually
+		as——”</p>
+
+		<p>“But it was Wagner who killed the woman!” ejaculated Lomellino.</p>
+
+		<p>“No such thing,” said Stephano quietly. “The murderess is
+		of the gentle sex—though she can scarcely be gentle in disposition.
+		And such a splendid creature, Lomellino! I beheld her
+		countenance for a few minutes, as she drew aside her veil that
+		her eyes might glare upon her victim; and I whispered to myself,
+		‘That woman must be mine; she is worthy of me!’ Then
+		the blow descended—her victim lay motionless at her feet—and
+		I never took my eyes off the countenance of the murderess.
+		‘She is an incarnate fiend,’ I thought, ‘and admirably fitted
+		to mate with the bandit captain.’ Such was my reflection
+		then; and the lapse of a few hours has only served to strengthen
+		the impression. You may now judge whether I have formed an
+		unworthy attachment!”</p>
+
+		<p>“She <em>is</em> worthy of you, captain!” exclaimed Lomellino.
+		“Know you who she is?”</p>
+
+		<p>“Not a whit,” replied Stephano Verrina. “I should have
+		followed her when she left the garden, and complimented her
+		on her proficiency in handling a poniard, but I was not so foolhardy
+		as to stand the chance of meeting the sbirri. Moreover,
+		I shall speedily adopt measures to discover who and what she is;
+		and when I present myself to her, and we compare qualifications,
+		I do not think there can arise any obstacle to our happiness—as
+		lovers are accustomed to say.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Then it was <em>she</em> who murdered the Lady Agnes?” said Lomellino.</p>
+
+		<p>“Have I not told you so? Signor Wagner is as innocent of
+		that deed as the babe unborn; but it is not for me to step forward
+		in his behalf, and thereby criminate a lady on whom I
+		have set my affections.”</p>
+
+		<p>“That were hardly to be expected captain,” returned Lomellino.</p>
+
+		<p>“And all that I have now told thee thou wilt keep to thyself,”
+		added Stephano; “for to none else of the band do I speak
+		so freely as to thee.”</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page89" title="89"> </a>“Because no one is so devoted to his captain as I,” rejoined
+		Lomellino. “And now that we are about to separate,” added
+		the man, as they reached the verge of the suburb, which was
+		then divided by a wide, open space from the city itself, and
+		might even be termed a detached village—“now that we are
+		about to separate, captain, allow me to ask whether the affair
+		of Monday night still holds good?”</p>
+
+		<p>“The little business at the Riverola Palace, you mean?” said
+		Stephano. “Most assuredly! You and Piero will accompany
+		me. There is little danger to be apprehended; and Antonio has
+		given me the necessary information. Count Francisco sleeps
+		at a great distance from the point where we must enter; and as
+		for his sister—she is as deaf as if she had her ears sealed up.”</p>
+
+		<p>“But what about the pages, the lackeys——”</p>
+
+		<p>“Antonio will give them all a sleeping draught. Everything,”
+		added the robber-chief, “is settled as cleverly as can be.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Antonio is your cousin, if I err not?” said Lomellino.</p>
+
+		<p>“Something of the kind,” replied Stephano; “but what is better
+		and more binding—we are friends. And yet, strange to say, I
+		never was within the precincts of the Riverola mansion until the
+		night before last, and—more singular still—I have never, to my
+		knowledge, seen any members of the family in whose service
+		Antonio has been so long.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Why, Florence is not much honored with your presence
+		during the day-time,” observed Lomellino; “and at night the
+		great lords and high-born ladies who happen to be abroad, are
+		so muffled up—the former in their cloaks, the latter in their
+		veils——”</p>
+
+		<p>“True—true; I understand all you would say, Lomellino,” interrupted
+		the captain; “but you know how to be rather tedious
+		at times. Here we separate, I repair to the Arestino Palace, and
+		you——”</p>
+
+		<p>“To the cavern,” replied Lomellino: “where I hope to sleep
+		better than I did last night,” he added.</p>
+
+		<p>“What! a renewal of those infernal shriekings and screamings,
+		that seem to come from the bowels of the earth?” exclaimed
+		the captain.</p>
+
+		<p>“Worse than ever,” answered Lomellino. “If they continue
+		much longer, I must abandon my office of treasure-keeper, which
+		compels me to sleep in the innermost room——”</p>
+
+		<p>“That cannot be allowed, my worthy friend,” interrupted the
+		captain; “for I should not know whom to appoint in your
+		place. If it were not that we should not betray our own stronghold,”
+		continued Stephano, emphatically, “we would force our
+		way into the nest of our noisy neighbors, and levy such a tribute
+		upon them as would put them on their good behavior for
+		the future.”</p>
+
+		<p>“The scheme is really worth consideration,” remarked Lomellino.</p>
+
+		<p>“We will talk more of it another time,” said the captain.
+		“Good-night, Lomellino. I shall not return to the cavern until
+		very late.”</p>
+
+		<p>The two banditti then separated—Lomellino striking off to
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page90" title="90"> </a>the right, and Stephano Verrina pursuing his way toward the
+		most aristocratic quarter of Florence.</p>
+
+		<p>Upon entering the sphere of marble palaces, brilliantly lighted
+		villas, and gay mansions, the robber chief covered his face with
+		a black mask—a mode of disguise so common at that period,
+		not only amongst ladies, but also with cavaliers and nobles, that
+		it was not considered at all suspicious, save as a proof of amatory
+		intrigue, with which the sbirri had no right of interference.</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_22" class="chapter">
+		<h3>CHAPTER XXII.<br />
+		    <span class="subtitle">THE COUNTESS OF ARESTINO.</span></h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">We</span> must now introduce our readers to a splendid apartment
+		in the Arestino Palace.</p>
+
+		<p>This room was tastefully decorated and elegantly furnished.
+		The tapestry was of pale blue; and the ottomans, ranged round
+		the walls in Oriental style, were of rich crimson satin embroidered
+		with gold. In the middle stood a table covered with ornaments
+		and rich trinkets lately arrived from Paris—for France
+		already began to exercise the influence of its superior civilization
+		and refinement over the south of Europe.</p>
+
+		<p>The ceiling of that room was a master-piece of the united
+		arts of sculpture and painting. First, the hand of the sculptor
+		had carved it into numerous medallions, on which the pencil of
+		the painter had then delineated the most remarkable scenes in
+		early Florentine history. Round the sides, or cornices, were
+		beautifully sculptured in marble the heads of the principal ancestors
+		of the Count of Arestino.</p>
+
+		<p>It was within half an hour of midnight, and the beautiful
+		Giulia Arestino was sitting restlessly upon an ottoman, now
+		holding her breath to listen if a step were approaching the private
+		door behind the tapestry—then glancing anxiously toward
+		a clepsydra on the mantel.</p>
+
+		<p>“What can detain him thus? will he deceive me?” she murmured
+		to herself. “Oh! how foolish—worse than foolish—mad—to
+		confide in the promise of a professed bandit! The jewels
+		are worth a thousand times the reward I have pledged myself to
+		give him! wretched being that I am!”</p>
+
+		<p>And with her fair hand she drew back the dark masses of her
+		hair that had fallen too much over her polished brow: and on
+		this polished brow she pressed that fair hand, for her head
+		ached with the intensity of mingled suspense and alarm.</p>
+
+		<p>Her position was indeed a dangerous one as the reader is already
+		aware. In the infatuation of her strong, unconquerable, but not
+		less guilty love for the handsome spendthrift Orsini, she had
+		pledged her diamonds to Isaachar ben Solomon for an enormous
+		sum of money, every ducat of which had passed without an
+		hour’s delay into the possession of the young marquis.</p>
+
+		<p>Those diamonds were the bridal gift of her fond and attached,
+		but, alas! deceived husband, who, being many years older than
+		herself, studied constantly how to afford pleasure to the wife of
+		whom he was so proud. He was himself an extraordinary judge
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page91" title="91"> </a>of the nature, purity and value of precious stones; and, being
+		immensely rich, he had collected a perfect museum of curiosities
+		in that particular department. In fact, it was his amateur
+		study, or, as we should say in these times, his peculiar hobby;
+		and hence the impossibility of imposing on him by the substitution
+		of a hired or a false set of diamonds for those which he had
+		presented to his wife.</p>
+
+		<p>It was, therefore, absolutely necessary to get these diamonds
+		back from Isaachar, by fair means or foul. The fair means were
+		to redeem them by the payment of the loan advanced upon them;
+		but the sum was so large that the countess dared not make such
+		a demand upon her husband’s purse, because the extravagances
+		of her lover had lately compelled her to apply so very, very frequently
+		to the count for a replenishment of her funds. The foul
+		means were therefore resorted to—an old woman, who had been
+		the nurse of the countess in her infancy, and to whom in her
+		distress she applied for advice, having procured for the patrician
+		lady the services of Stephano Verrina, the bandit-captain.</p>
+
+		<p>It is not to be wondered at, then, if the Countess of Arestino
+		were a prey to the most poignant anxiety, as each successive
+		quarter of an hour passed without bringing either Stephano or
+		any tidings from him. Even if she feigned illness, so as to escape
+		the ceremony of the following day, relief would only be
+		temporary, for the moment she should recover, or affect to recover,
+		her husband would again require her to accompany him
+		to the receptions of the prince.</p>
+
+		<p>Giulia’s anguish had risen to that point at which such feelings
+		become intolerable, and suggest the most desperate remedies—suicide,—when
+		a low knock behind the pale-blue arras suddenly
+		imparted hope to her soul.</p>
+
+		<p>Hastily raising the tapestry on that side whence the sound
+		had emanated, she drew back the bolt of a little door communicating
+		with a private staircase (usually found in all Italian
+		mansions at that period), and the robber chief entered the room.</p>
+
+		<p>“Have you succeeded?” was Giulia’s rapid question.</p>
+
+		<p>“Your ladyship’s commission has been executed,” replied
+		Stephano, who, we should observe, had laid aside his black mask
+		ere he appeared in the presence of the countess.</p>
+
+		<p>“Ah! now I seem to live—breathe again!” cried Giulia, a tremendous
+		weight suddenly removed from her mind.</p>
+
+		<p>Stephano produced the jewel-case from beneath his cloak; and
+		as the countess hastily took it—nay, almost snatched it from
+		him, he endeavored to imprint a kiss upon her fair hand.</p>
+
+		<p>Deep was the crimson glow which suffused her countenance—her
+		neck—even all that was revealed of her bosom, as she drew
+		haughtily back, and with a sublime patrician air of offended
+		pride.</p>
+
+		<p>“I thank you—thank you from the bottom of my soul, Signor
+		Verrina,” she said in another moment; for she felt how
+		completely circumstances had placed her in the power of the
+		bandit-chief, and how useless it was to offend him. “Here is
+		your reward,” and she presented him a heavy purse of gold.</p>
+
+		<p>“Nay, keep the jingling metal, lady,” said Stephano; “I stand
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page92" title="92"> </a>in no need of it—at least for the present. The reward I crave is
+		of a different nature, and will even cost you less than you proffer
+		me.”</p>
+
+		<p>“What other recompense can I give you?” demanded Giulia,
+		painfully alarmed.</p>
+
+		<p>“A few lines written by thy fair hand to my dictation,” answered
+		Stephano.</p>
+
+		<p>Giulia cast upon him a look of profound surprise.</p>
+
+		<p>“Here, lady, take my tablets, for I see that your own are not
+		at hand,” cried the chief. “Delay not—it grows late, and we
+		may be interrupted.”</p>
+
+		<p>“We may indeed,” murmured Giulia, darting a rapid look at
+		the water-clock. “It is within a few minutes of midnight.”</p>
+
+		<p>She might have added—“And at midnight I expect a brief
+		visit from Manuel d’Orsini, ere the return of my husband from
+		a banquet at a friend’s villa.” But of course this was her secret;
+		and anxious to rid herself of the company of Stephano, she took
+		the tablets with trembling hands and prepared to write.</p>
+
+		<p>“I, Giulia, Countess of Arestino,” began the brigand, dictating
+		to her, “confess myself to owe Stephano Verrina a deep debt of
+		gratitude for his kindness in recovering my diamonds from the
+		possession of the Jew Isaachar, to whom they were pledged for
+		a sum which I could not pay.”</p>
+
+		<p>“But wherefore this document?” exclaimed the countess,
+		looking up in a searching manner at the robber-chief; for she had
+		seated herself at the table to write, and he was leaning over the
+		back of her chair.</p>
+
+		<p>“’Tis my way at times,” he answered, carelessly, “when I
+		perform some service for a noble lord or a great lady, to solicit
+		an acknowledgment of this kind in preference to gold.” Then,
+		sinking his voice to a low whisper, he added with an air of deep
+		meaning, “Who knows but that this document may some day
+		save my head?”</p>
+
+		<p>Giulia uttered a faint shriek, for she comprehended in a moment
+		how cruelly she might sooner or later be compromised
+		through that document, and how entirely she was placing herself
+		in the bandit’s power.</p>
+
+		<p>But Stephano’s hand clutched the tablets whereon the countess
+		had, almost mechanically, written to his subtle dictation; and
+		he said, coolly: “Fear not, lady—I must be reduced to a desperate
+		strait indeed when my safety shall depend on the use I can
+		make of this fair handwriting.”</p>
+
+		<p>Giulia felt partially relieved by this assurance: and it was with
+		ill-concealed delight that she acknowledged the ceremonial
+		bow with which the bandit-chief intimated his readiness to
+		depart.</p>
+
+		<p>But at that moment three low and distinct knocks were heard
+		at the little door behind the arras.</p>
+
+		<p>Giulia’s countenance became suffused with blushes: then, instantly
+		recovering her presence of mind, she said in a rapid,
+		earnest tone, “He who is coming knows nothing concerning
+		the jewels, and will be surprised to find a stranger with me.
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page93" title="93"> </a>Perhaps he may even recognize you—perhaps he knows you by
+		sight——”</p>
+
+		<p>“What would you have me do, lady?” demanded Stephano.
+		“Speak, and I obey you.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Conceal yourself—here—and I will soon release you.”</p>
+
+		<p>She raised the tapestry on the side opposite to that by which
+		Stephano had entered the room; and the robber-chief hid himself
+		in the wide interval between the hangings in the wall.</p>
+
+		<p>All this had scarcely occupied a minute; and Giulia now hastened
+		to open the private door, which instantly gave admittance
+		to the young, handsome, and dissipated Marquis of Orsini.</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_23" class="chapter">
+		<h3>CHAPTER XXIII.<br />
+			<span class="subtitle">THE LOVE OF WOMAN—GIULIA AND HER LOVER.</span></h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">Silence</span>, and calmness, and moonlight were without the walls
+		of the Arestino villa; for the goddess of night shone sweetly but
+		coldly on the city of Florence, and asserted her empire even
+		over the clouds that ere now had seemed laden with storm.
+		Nor beamed she there alone—that fair Diana; for a countless
+		host of handmaidens—the silver-faced stars—had spread themselves
+		over the deep purple sky; and there—there—they all
+		shone in subdued and modest glory—those myriads of beacons
+		floating on the eternal waves of that far-off and silent sea!</p>
+
+		<p>Shine on, sweet regent of the night—and ye, too, silver-faced
+		stars, whose countenances are reflected and multiplied endlessly,
+		as they are rocked to and fro, on the deep blue bosom of the
+		Arno; while on the banks of that widely-famed stream, Nature
+		herself, as if wearied of her toils, appears to be sleeping.</p>
+
+		<p>Would that the soul of man could thus lie down in its night of
+		sorrow or of racking passion, on the margin of the waters of
+		hope, confident that the slumber of contentment and peace will
+		seal his eyelids, heavy with long vigils in a world where conflicting
+		interests need constant watching, and that the stillness
+		of the unfathomable depths of those waters will impart its influence
+		unto him!</p>
+
+		<p>For, oh! if calmness, silence, and moonlight prevail without
+		the walls of the Arestino villa, yet within there be hearts agitated
+		by passions and emotions, from which the gentle genius
+		of slumber shrinks back aghast.</p>
+
+		<p>In the brilliantly lighted apartment, to which we have already
+		introduced our readers, the Countess Giulia receives her lover,
+		the dissipated but handsome Marquis of Orsini; the bandit-captain
+		is concealed behind the richly-worked tapestry; and at the
+		door—not the little private one—of that room, an old man is
+		listening; an old man whose ashy pale countenance, clinched
+		hands, quivering white lips, and wildly rolling eyes indicate how
+		terrible are the feelings which agitate within his breast.</p>
+
+		<p>This old man was the Count of Arestino, one of the mightiest
+		nobles of the republic. Naturally his heart was good, and his
+		disposition kind and generous—but, then, he was an Italian—and
+		he was jealous! Need we say more to account for the
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page94" title="94"> </a>change which had now taken place in his usually calm, tranquil,
+		yet dignified, demeanor? Or shall we inform our readers that at
+		the banquet to which he had been invited at a friend’s villa
+		that evening, he had overheard two young nobles, in a conversation
+		which the generous wine they had been too freely imbibing
+		rendered indiscreetly loud, couple the names of Giulia
+		Arestino, his own much-loved wife, and Manuel d’Orsini, in a
+		manner which suddenly excited a fearful, a blasting suspicion
+		in his mind? Stealing away unperceived from the scene of
+		revelry, the count had returned unattended to the immediate
+		vicinity of his mansion; and from the shade of a detached
+		building he had observed the Marquis of Orsini traverse the
+		gardens and enter a portico leading to the private staircase
+		communicating with that wing of the palace which contained
+		the suit of apartments occupied by Giulia.</p>
+
+		<p>This was enough to strengthen the suspicion already excited
+		in the old nobleman’s mind; but not quite sufficient to confirm
+		it. The countess had several beautiful girls attached to her person;
+		and the marquis might have stooped to an intrigue with
+		one of them. The Lord of Arestino was therefore resolved to
+		act with the caution of a prudent man: but he was also prepared
+		to avenge, in case of the worst, with the spirit of an Italian.</p>
+
+		<p>He hurried round to the principal entrance of his palace, and
+		gave some brief but energetic instructions to a faithful valet,
+		who instantly departed to execute them. The count then ascended
+		the marble staircase, traversed the corridors leading toward
+		his lady’s apartments, and placed himself against the door
+		of that one wherein Giulia had already received her lover.</p>
+
+		<p>Thus, while silence, and calmness, and moonlight reign without—yet
+		within the walls of the Arestino mansion a storm has
+		gathered, to explode fearfully. And all through the unlawful,
+		but not less ardent, love of Giulia for the spendthrift Marquis of
+		Orsini!</p>
+
+		<p>Sober-minded men, philosophic reasoners, persons of business-habits,
+		stern moralists—all these may ridicule the poet or the
+		novelist who makes Love his everlasting theme; they may hug
+		themselves, in the apathy of their own cold hearts, with the belief
+		that all the attributes of the passion have been immensely
+		exaggerated; but they are in error, deeply, profoundly, indisputably
+		in error. For Love, in its various phases, among which
+		are Jealousy, Suspicion, Infidelity, Rivalry, and Revenge, has
+		agitated the world from time immemorial—has overthrown empires,
+		has engendered exterminating wars, and has extended its
+		despotic sway alike over the gorgeous city of a consummate civilization,
+		and the miserable wigwam of a heathen barbarism!
+		Who, then, can wonder—if the theme of Love be universal—that
+		it should have evoked the rude and iron eloquence of the
+		Scandinavian Scald as well as the soft and witching poesy of the
+		bards of more genial climes, or that its praises or its sorrows
+		should be sung on the banks of the Arno, the Seine, or the
+		Thames, as well as amidst the pathless forests of America, or
+		the burning sands of Africa, or in the far-off islands of the
+		Southern Seas.</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page95" title="95"> </a>But, alas! it is thou, O woman! who art called on to make the
+		most cruel sacrifices at the altar of this imperious deity—love!
+		If thou lovest honorably, ’tis well; but if thou lovest unlawfully
+		how wretched is thy fate! The lover, for whose sake thou
+		hast forgotten thy duties as a wife, has sacrificed nothing to
+		thee, whilst thou hast sacrificed everything to him. Let the
+		<em>amour</em> be discovered, and who suffers? Thou! He loses not
+		caste, station, name, nor honor;—thou art suddenly robbed of
+		all these! The gilded saloons of fashion throw open their doors
+		to the seducer; but bars of adamant defend that entrance
+		against the seduced. For his sake thou risketh contumely,
+		shame, reviling, scorn, and the lingering death of a breaking
+		heart,—for <em>thee</em> he would not risk one millionth part of all
+		that! Shouldst thou be starving, say to him, “Go forth and
+		steal to give me bread; dare the dishonor of the deed, and make
+		the sacrifice of thy good name for me. Or go and forge, or
+		swindle, or lie foully, so that thou bringest me bread; for have
+		I not dared dishonor, made the sacrifice of my good name, and
+		done as much, ay, far more than all that, for thee?”</p>
+
+		<p>Shouldst thou, poor, seduced, weak one, address thy seducer
+		thus, he will look upon thee as a fiend-like tempter—he will
+		rush from thy sight—he will never see thee more; his love will
+		be suddenly converted into hatred! Yes, man demands that
+		woman should dishonor herself for <em>his</em> sake; but he will not
+		allow a speck to appear upon what he calls <em>his</em> good name—no,
+		not to save that poor, confiding, lost creature from the lowest
+		depths and dregs of penury into which her frailty may have
+		plunged her!</p>
+
+		<p>Such is the selfishness of man! Where is his chivalry?</p>
+
+		<p>But let us return to the Arestino Palace.</p>
+
+		<p>The moment Manuel d’Orsini entered the apartment by means
+		of the private door, he embraced Giulia with a fondness which
+		was more than half affected—at least on that occasion—and she
+		herself returned the kiss less warmly than usual—but this was
+		because she was constrained and embarrassed by the presence
+		of the bandit-captain, who was concealed behind the tapestry.</p>
+
+		<p>“You appear cool—distant, Giulia,” said Manuel, casting
+		upon her an inquiring glance.</p>
+
+		<p>“And you either love me less, or you have something on
+		your mind,” returned the countess, in a low tone.</p>
+
+		<p>“In the first instance you are wrong—in the second you are
+		right, my well-beloved,” answered the marquis. “But tell
+		me——”</p>
+
+		<p>“Speak lower, Manuel—we may be overheard. Some of my
+		dependents are in the adjacent room, and——”</p>
+
+		<p>“And you wish me to depart as soon as possible, no doubt?”
+		said the marquis, impatiently.</p>
+
+		<p>“Oh! Manuel—how can you reproach me thus?” asked Giulia,
+		in a voice scarcely above a whisper; for that woman who dared
+		be unfaithful to her husband revolted from the thought that a
+		coarse-minded bandit should be in a position to overhear her
+		conversation with her lover:—“how can you reproach me thus,
+		Manuel?” she repeated;—“have I not given thee all the proofs
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page96" title="96"> </a>of tenderest love which woman can bestow? Have I not risked
+		everything for thee?”</p>
+
+		<p>“I do not reproach you, Giulia,” he replied, pressing his hand
+		to his brow, “but I am unhappy—miserable!”</p>
+
+		<p>And he flung himself upon the nearest ottoman.</p>
+
+		<p>“Oh! what has occurred to distract thee thus?” exclaimed the
+		countess, forgetting the presence of Stephano Verrina in the all-absorbing
+		interest of her lover’s evident grief.</p>
+
+		<p>“Am I ever to find thee oppressed with care—thee, who art
+		so young—and so gloriously handsome?” she added, her voice
+		suddenly sinking to a whisper.</p>
+
+		<p>Manuel gazed for a few moments, without speaking, on the
+		countenance of his mistress as she leant over him: then, in a deep,
+		hollow tone—a tone the despair of which was too real and natural
+		to be in the slightest degree affected, he said, “Giulia, I am
+		a wretch,—unworthy of all this sweet love of thine!—I have
+		broken the solemn vow which I pledged thee—I have violated
+		my oath——”</p>
+
+		<p>“Oh, Manuel!” ejaculated the countess, still forgetting the
+		presence of the bandit: “thou hast——”</p>
+
+		<p>“Gambled once more—and lost!” cried the marquis wildly.
+		“And the sum that I am bound in honor to pay on Monday—by
+		noon, is nearly equal in amount to that which thy generosity
+		lent me the other day.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Holy Virgin aid you, my unhappy Manuel!” said Giulia.</p>
+
+		<p>“For thou canst not?” exclaimed the young noble, with a
+		profound sigh. “Oh! I am well aware that I have no claim
+		upon thee——”</p>
+
+		<p>“Ah! wherefore that reproach?—for a reproach it is!” interrupted
+		the countess. “No claim on me! Hast thou not my heart?
+		and in giving thee that, Manuel, I laid at thy feet a poor offering,
+		which, though so poor, yet absorbs all others of which I
+		may dispose! Do not reproach me, Manuel—for I would lay
+		down my life to save thy soul from pain, or thy name from dishonor!”</p>
+
+		<p>“Now art thou my own Giulia!” cried the marquis, pressing
+		her hand to his lips. “An accursed fatality seems to hang over
+		me! This habit of gaming entraps me as the wine cup fascinates
+		the bibber who would fain avoid it, but cannot. Listen to
+		me for one moment, Giulia. In the public casino—which, as
+		thou well knowest, is a place of resort where fortunes are lost
+		and won in an hour—ay, sometimes in a minute—I have met a
+		man whose attire is good, and whose purse is well filled, but
+		whose countenance I like as little as I should that of the captain
+		of the sbirri, or his lieutenant, if I had committed a crime.
+		This individual of whom I speak—for I know not his name—was
+		the favored votary of Dame Fortune who won of me that
+		sum which thy kindness, Giulia, alone enabled me to pay but a
+		few days past. And now am I a second time this man’s debtor.
+		An hour ago he entered the casino; he stayed but for ten minutes—and
+		in that time——”</p>
+
+		<p>“Oh! Manuel, is not this conduct of thine something bordering
+		on madness?” interrupted the countess. “And if thou art
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page97" title="97"> </a>thus wedded to that fatal habit, how canst thou find room in thy
+		heart for a single gleam of affection for me?”</p>
+
+		<p>“Now dost thou reproach me in thy turn, Giulia!” exclaimed
+		the young marquis. “But believe me, my angel,” he continued,
+		exerting all his powers to bend her to his purpose,—“believe
+		me when I declare—oh! most solemnly declare, by all that I put
+		faith in, and by all I hope for hereafter—that could I be relieved
+		from this embarrassment—extricated from this difficulty——”</p>
+
+		<p>“Heavens! how can it be done?” interrupted the countess,
+		casting her eyes wildly round; for the time was passing—she
+		suddenly remembered that the bandit was still concealed in the
+		room—and then, her husband might return earlier than was expected.</p>
+
+		<p>“Oh! if you despair of the means, Giulia,” said the marquis,
+		“I must fly from Florence—I must exile myself forever from
+		the city of my birth, and which is still more endeared to me because,”
+		he added, sinking his voice to a tender tone,—“because,
+		my well-beloved, it contains thee!”</p>
+
+		<p>“No, Manuel—you must not quit Florence and leave a dishonored
+		name behind thee!” exclaimed this lovely woman, who
+		was thus sublimely careful of the reputation of him for whom
+		she had so long compromised her own. “What can be done?
+		would that I had the means to raise this sum——”</p>
+
+		<p>“It is with shame that I suggest——” said Manuel.</p>
+
+		<p>“What? Speak—speak! The means?”</p>
+
+		<p>“Thy jewels, dearest—thy diamonds——”</p>
+
+		<p>“Merciful heavens! if you did but know all!” cried Giulia, almost
+		frantically. “These diamonds were pledged to the Jew
+		Isaachar ben Solomon, to raise the sum with which thy last
+		debt was paid, Manuel; and—but forgive me if I did not tell
+		thee all this before—not half an hour has elapsed since——”</p>
+
+		<p>She stopped short; for she knew that the bandit overheard
+		every syllable she uttered.</p>
+
+		<p>Nor had she time, even if she possessed the power, to continue
+		her most painful explanation; for scarcely had she thus paused
+		abruptly, when the door burst open, and the Count of Arestino
+		stood in the presence of the guilty pair.</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_24" class="chapter">
+		<h3>CHAPTER XXIV.<br />
+			<span class="subtitle">THE INJURED HUSBAND—THE GUILTY WIFE—AND THE INSOLENT
+		LOVER.</span></h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">In</span> fury of heart and agony of mind, rushed the old lord into
+		that apartment. Oh! how had he even been able to restrain
+		himself so long, while listening at the door? It was that the
+		conversation between his wife and the marquis had, as the
+		reader is aware, been carried on in so low a tone—especially on
+		the side of the countess, that he had not been able to gather sufficient
+		to place beyond all doubt the guilt of that fair creature;
+		and even in the midst of his Italian ire, he had clung to the
+		hope that she might have been imprudent—but not culpable, as
+		yet!</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page98" title="98"> </a>Oh! in this case, how gladly would that old lord have forgiven
+		the past, on condition of complete reformation for the future!
+		He would have removed his young wife afar from the scene of
+		temptation—to a distant estate which he possessed; and there
+		by gentle remonstrances and redoubled attention, he would
+		have sought to bind her to him by the links of gratitude and respect,
+		if not by those of love.</p>
+
+		<p>But this dream—so honorable to that old man’s heart—was
+		not to be realized; for scarcely was it conceived, when the discourse
+		of the youthful pair turned upon the diamonds—those
+		diamonds which he had given her on the bridal day!</p>
+
+		<p>Giulia spoke clearly and plainly enough <em>then</em>—in spite of the
+		presence of the bandit in that chamber; for she was about to explain
+		to her lover how willingly she would comply with his suggestion
+		to raise upon the jewels the sum he again required—a
+		readiness on her part which might be corroborated by the fact
+		that she had already once had recourse to this expedient, and
+		for <em>him</em>—but she dared not adopt the same course again, as her
+		husband might detect the absence of the valuables ere she could
+		obtain funds to redeem them.</p>
+
+		<p>When she acknowledged to her lover that “these diamonds
+		were pledged to the Jew Isaachar ben Solomon, to raise the sum
+		with which his last debt was paid,” it flashed to the old nobleman’s
+		mind that his wife had exhibited some little confusion
+		when he had spoken to her a day or two previously concerning
+		her jewels: and now it was clear that they had been used as the
+		means to supply the extravagances of an unprincipled spendthrift.
+		How could he any longer cling to the hope that Giulia
+		was imprudent only, and not guilty? Must she not be guilty,
+		to have made so large a sacrifice and run so great a risk for the
+		sake of the Marquis of Orsini?</p>
+
+		<p>It was under the influence of these excited feelings that the
+		Count of Arestino burst into the room.</p>
+
+		<p>Fortunately—so far as outward appearance went—there was
+		nothing more to confirm the old nobleman’s suspicions; the
+		youthful pair were not locked in each other’s arms; their hands
+		were not even joined. Manuel was seated on the sofa, and Giulia
+		was standing at a short distance from him.</p>
+
+		<p>But conscious guilt elicited a faint scream from her lips; and
+		the boiling blood, after rushing to her countenance, seemed to
+		ebb away as rapidly again—leaving her beauteous face as pale as
+		marble; while she clung to the mantel-piece for support.</p>
+
+		<p>“I am glad that your lordship is returned,” said the marquis,
+		rising from his seat and advancing toward the count in a manner
+		so insolently cool and apparently self-possessed, that Giulia
+		was not only astonished but felt her courage suddenly revive:
+		“I was determined—however uncourteous the intrusion and unseemly
+		the hour—to await your lordship’s coming; and as her
+		ladyship assured me that you would not tarry late——”</p>
+
+		<p>“My lord marquis,” interrupted the old nobleman, who was
+		himself so taken by surprise at this unembarrassed mode of address,
+		that he began to fancy his ears must have deceived him
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page99" title="99"> </a>and his suspicions beguiled him; “on what business could you
+		possibly have needed my services at this late hour?”</p>
+
+		<p>“I will explain myself,” returned Orsini, who was a perfect
+		adept in the art of dissimulation, and who, never losing his presence
+		of mind, embraced at a glance the whole danger of Giulia’s
+		position and his own, and the probability that their conversation
+		might have been overheard; “I was explaining to her ladyship
+		the temporary embarrassment under which I lay, and from
+		which I hoped that your friendship might probably release
+		me——”</p>
+
+		<p>“And her ladyship spoke of her diamonds—did she not?” demanded
+		the count, addressing himself to the marquis, but fixing
+		a keen and penetrating glance on Giulia.</p>
+
+		<p>“Her ladyship was remonstrating with me on my extravagancies,”
+		hastily replied the marquis, “and was repeating to
+		me—I must say in a manner too impressive to be agreeable—the
+		words which my own sister had used to me a few days ago,
+		when explaining, as her motive for refusing me the succor
+		which I needed, that she actually had been compelled to pledge
+		her diamonds——”</p>
+
+		<p>“Ah! they were your sister’s diamonds that were pledged to
+		Isaachar the Jew?” said the count, half ironically and half in
+		doubt; for he was fairly bewildered by the matchless impudence
+		of the young marquis.</p>
+
+		<p>“Yes, my lord—my dear sister, who, alas! is ruining herself
+		to supply me with the means of maintaining my rank. And as
+		my sister and her ladyship, the countess, are on the most
+		friendly terms, as you are well aware, it is not surprising if she
+		should have communicated the secret of the diamonds to her
+		ladyship, and also beg her ladyship to remonstrate with me——”</p>
+
+		<p>“Well, my lord,” interrupted the count impatiently, “your
+		own private affairs have no particular interest for me—at this
+		moment; and as for any business on which you may wish to
+		speak to me, I shall be pleased if you postpone it till to-morrow.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Your lordship’s wishes are commands with me,” said
+		Manuel, with a polite salutation. And having made a low bow
+		to Giulia, he quitted the room—not by the private door, be it
+		well understood, but by that which had ere now admitted the
+		Count of Arestino.</p>
+
+		<p>The moment the door had closed behind the Marquis of
+		Orsini, the count approached his wife, and said in a cold, severe
+		manner: “Your ladyship receives visitors at a late hour.”</p>
+
+		<p>He glanced as he spoke toward the dial of the clepsydra, and
+		Giulia followed his look in the same direction; it was half an
+		hour after midnight.</p>
+
+		<p>“The marquis explained to your lordship, or partially so, the
+		motive of his importunate visit,” said Giulia, endeavoring to
+		appear calm and collected.</p>
+
+		<p>“The marquis is an unworthy—reckless—unprincipled young
+		man,” exclaimed the count, fixing a stern, searching gaze upon
+		Giulia’s countenance, as if with the iron of his words he would
+		probe the depths of her soul. “He is a confirmed gamester—overwhelmed
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page100" title="100"> </a>with debts—and has tarnished, by his profligacy,
+		the proud name that he bears. Even the friendship which existed
+		for many, many years between his deceased father and
+		myself, shall no longer induce me to receive at this house a
+		young man whose reputation is all but tainted, even in a city of
+		dissipation and debauchery, such as, alas! the once glorious
+		Florence has become! For his immorality is not confined to
+		gaming and wanton extravagance,” continued the count, his
+		glance becoming more keen, as his words fell like drops of
+		molten lead upon the heart of Giulia; “but his numerous intrigues
+		amongst women—his perfidy to those confiding and deceived
+		fair ones——”</p>
+
+		<p>“Surely, my lord,” said the countess, vainly endeavoring to
+		subdue the writhings of torture which this language excited,—“surely
+		the Marquis d’Orsini is wronged by the breath of
+		scandal?”</p>
+
+		<p>“No, Giulia, he is an unprincipled spendthrift,” returned the
+		count, who never once took his eyes off his wife’s countenance
+		while he was speaking:—“an unprincipled spendthrift,” he
+		added emphatically,—“a man lost to all sense of honor—a ruined
+		gamester—a heartless seducer—a shame, a blot, a stigma upon
+		the aristocracy of Florence;—and now that you are acquainted
+		with his real character, you will recognize the prudence of the
+		step which I shall take to-morrow—that is, to inform him that
+		henceforth the Count and Countess of Arestino must decline to
+		receive him again at their villa. What think you, Giulia?”</p>
+
+		<p>“Your lordship is the master to command, and it is my duty
+		to obey,” answered the countess; but her voice was hoarse and
+		thick, the acutest anguish was rending her soul, and its intensity
+		almost choked her utterance.</p>
+
+		<p>“She is guilty!” thought the count within himself; and to
+		subdue an abrupt explosion of his rage, until he had put the last
+		and most certain test to his lady’s faith, he walked twice up and
+		down the room; then, feeling that he had recovered his powers
+		of self-control, he said, “To-morrow, Giulia, is the reception
+		day of his highness the duke, and I hope thou hast made suitable
+		preparations to accompany me in the manner becoming the
+		wife of the Count of Arestino.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Can your lordship suppose for an instant that I should appear
+		in the ducal presence otherwise than is meet and fitting for
+		her who has the honor to bear your name?” said Giulia, partially
+		recovering her presence of mind, as the conversation appeared
+		to have taken a turn no longer painful to her feelings—for,
+		oh! cannot the reader conceive the anguish, the mortal anguish,
+		she had ere now endured when her husband was heaping
+		ashes on the reputation of her lover!</p>
+
+		<p>“I do not suppose that your ladyship will neglect the preparations
+		due to your rank and to that name which you esteem it
+		an honor to bear, and which no living being should <em>dishonor</em>
+		with impunity!”</p>
+
+		<p>Giulia quailed—writhed beneath the searching glance which
+		now literally glared upon her.</p>
+
+		<p>“Nevertheless,” continued the count, “I was fearful you
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page101" title="101"> </a>might have forgotten that to-morrow is the reception day. And
+		while I think of it, permit me to examine your diamonds for a
+		few minutes—to convince myself that the settings are in good
+		order, as you know,” he added, with a strange, unearthly kind
+		of laugh, “that I am skilled in the jewelers’ craft.”</p>
+
+		<p>The old man paused; but he thought within himself, “Now
+		what subterfuge can she invent if my suspicions be really true,
+		and if my ears did not ere now deceive me?”</p>
+
+		<p>How profound then was his astonishment, when Giulia, with
+		the calm and tranquil demeanor which innocence usually wears,
+		but with the least, least curl of the upper lip, as if in haughty
+		triumph, leisurely and deliberately drew the jewel-case from beneath
+		the cushion of the ottoman whereon she was seated, and,
+		handing it to him, said, “Your lordship perceives that I had
+		not forgotten the reception which his highness holds to-morrow,
+		since I ere now brought my diamonds hither to select those
+		which it is my intention to wear.”</p>
+
+		<p>The count could have pressed her hand as he took the case in
+		his own—he could have fallen at her feet and demanded pardon
+		for the suspicions which he had entertained, for it now seemed
+		certain beyond all possibility of doubt, that the explanation volunteered
+		by the marquis was a true one—yes, he could have
+		humbled himself in her presence—but his Italian pride intervened,
+		and he proceeded to examine the diamonds with no
+		other view than to gain time to reflect how he should account
+		for the abrupt manner in which he had entered the room ere
+		now, and for the chilling behavior he had maintained toward
+		his wife.</p>
+
+		<p>On her side Giulia, relieved of a fearful weight of apprehension,
+		was only anxious for this scene to have a speedy termination,
+		that she might release the robber-captain from his imprisonment
+		behind the tapestry.</p>
+
+		<p>Three or four minutes of profound silence now ensued.</p>
+
+		<p>But suddenly the count started, and uttered an ejaculation of
+		mingled rage and surprise.</p>
+
+		<p>Giulia’s blood ran cold to her very heart’s core, she scarcely
+		knew why.</p>
+
+		<p>The suspense was not, however, long—though most painful;
+		for, dashing the jewel-case with its contents upon the table, the
+		old nobleman approached her with quivering lips and a countenance
+		ghastly white, exclaiming, “Vile woman! thinkest thou to
+		impose upon me thus? The diamonds I gave thee are gone—the
+		stones set in their place are counterfeit!”</p>
+
+		<p>Giulia gazed up toward her husband’s countenance for a few
+		moments in a manner expressive of blank despair; then falling
+		on her knees before him, clasping her hands together, she
+		screamed frantically, “Pardon! pardon!”</p>
+
+		<p>“Ah! then it is all indeed too true!” murmured the unhappy
+		nobleman, staggering as if with a blow: but, recovering
+		his balance, he stamped his foot resolutely upon the floor, and
+		drawing himself up to his full height, while he half averted his
+		eyes from his kneeling wife, he exclaimed: “Lost—guilty—abandoned
+		woman, how canst thou implore pardon at my
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page102" title="102"> </a>hands? For pardon is mercy, and what mercy hast thou shown
+		to me? Giulia, I am descended from an old and mighty race,
+		and tradition affords no room to believe that any one who has
+		borne the name of Arestino has dishonored it—until now! Oh!
+		fool—dotard—idiot that I was to think that a young girl could
+		love an aged man like me! For old age is a weed, which, when
+		twined round the plant of love, becomes like the deadly nightshade,
+		and robs the rose-bush of its health! Alas! alas! I thought
+		that in my declining years, I should have one to cheer me, one
+		who might respect me, if she could not love me—one who
+		would manifest some gratitude for the proud position I have
+		given her—and the boundless wealth that it would have been
+		my joy to leave her. And now that hope is gone—withered—crushed—blighted,
+		woman, by thy perfidy! Oh! wherefore did
+		you accompany the old man to the altar, if only to deceive him?
+		Wherefore did you consent to become his bride, if but to plunge
+		him into the depth of misery? You weep! Ah! weep on; and
+		all those tears, be they even so scalding as to make seams on
+		that too fair face, cannot wipe away the stain which is now affixed
+		to the haughty name of Arestino! Weep on, Giulia; but
+		thy tears cannot move me now!”</p>
+
+		<p>And the old lord’s tone changed suddenly from the deep,
+		touching pathos of tremulousness to a stern, fixed, cold severity,
+		which stifled the germs of hope that had taken birth in the
+		heart of his guilty wife.</p>
+
+		<p>“Mercy! mercy!” she shrieked, endeavoring to grasp his
+		hand.</p>
+
+		<p>“No!” thundered the Count of Arestino; and he rang violently
+		a silver bell which stood upon the table.</p>
+
+		<p>“Holy Virgin, what will become of me? For what fate am I
+		destined?” implored Giulia, frantically.</p>
+
+		<p>The old nobleman approached her, gazed on her sternly for
+		nearly a minute, then bending down said, in a hollow, sepulchral
+		tone:</p>
+
+		<p>“Thou art doomed to eternal seclusion in the convent of the
+		Carmelites!”</p>
+
+		<p>He then turned hastily round and advanced to the door, to
+		which steps were already distinctly heard drawing near in the
+		corridor.</p>
+
+		<p>For an instant Giulia seemed paralyzed by the dreadful announcement
+		that had been made to her; but suddenly a ray of
+		hope flashed on her mind, and darting toward that part of the
+		tapestry behind which the robber was concealed, she said, in a
+		low and rapid tone:</p>
+
+		<p>“Thou hast heard the fate that awaits me. I charge thee to
+		seek Manuel d’Orsini, and let him know all.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Fear not, lady; you shall be saved!” answered Stephano, in
+		a scarcely audible but yet profoundly emphatic whisper.</p>
+
+		<p>She had only just time to turn away when the count’s faithful
+		valet, accompanied by three nuns, wearing their black veils
+		over their faces, entered the room.</p>
+
+		<p>Half an hour afterward the Carmelite Convent received another
+		inmate.</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_25" class="chapter">
+		<h3><a class="pagenum" id="page103" title="103"> </a>CHAPTER XXV.<br />
+			<span class="subtitle">THE MARQUIS OF ORSINI.</span></h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">Upon</span> quitting the Arestino palace, the Marquis of Orsini suddenly
+		lost that bold, insolent, self-sufficient air with which he
+		had endeavored to deceive the venerable count, whose wife he
+		had dishonored.</p>
+
+		<p>For dishonor now menaced <em>him</em>!</p>
+
+		<p>Where could he raise the sum necessary to liquidate the debt
+		which he had contracted with the stranger at the Casino, or
+		gaming-house? And as the person to whom he found himself
+		thus indebted <em>was</em> a stranger—a total stranger to him, he had no
+		apology to offer for a delay in the payment of the money due.</p>
+
+		<p>“Perdition!” he exclaimed aloud, as he issued rapidly from
+		the grounds attached to the Arestino mansion; “is there no
+		alternative save flight? Giulia cannot assist me—her jewels are
+		gone, they are pledged to the Jew Isaachar—she was telling me
+		so when the count broke in upon us. What course can I adopt?
+		what plan pursue? Shall the name of Orsini be dishonored—that
+		proud name which for three centuries has been maintained
+		spotless? No, no—this must not be!”</p>
+
+		<p>And in a state of most painful excitement—so painful, indeed,
+		that it amounted almost to a physical agony—the marquis
+		hastened rapidly through the mazes of the sleeping city, reckless
+		whither he was going, but experiencing no inclination to repair
+		to his own abode.</p>
+
+		<p>The fact of the diamonds of his mistress having been pledged
+		to Isaachar ben Solomon was uppermost in his mind: for the
+		reader must remember that he was unaware of the circumstance
+		of their restoration to Giulia—as it was at the moment when
+		she was about to give him this explanation that the old Lord of
+		Arestino had interrupted their discourse.</p>
+
+		<p>The diamonds, then, constituted the pivot on which his
+		thoughts now revolved. They seemed to shine like stars amidst
+		the deep haze which hung upon his mind. Could he not possess
+		himself of them? The name of Orsini would be dishonored if
+		the gambling debt were not paid; and one bold—one desperate
+		step might supply him with the means to save himself from the
+		impending ruin—the imminent disgrace.</p>
+
+		<p>But as the thoughts encouraged by those simple words—“the
+		diamonds”—assumed a more palpable shape in his imagination,
+		he shrank back dismayed from the deed which they suggested:
+		for gamester, debauchee, spendthrift as he was, he had never
+		yet perpetrated an act that could be termed a crime. The
+		seduction of the Countess of Arestino was not a crime in his
+		estimation—oh! no, because man may seduce, and yet may not
+		be dishonored in the eyes of the world. It is his victim, or the
+		partner of his guilty pleasure, only, who is dishonored. Such
+		is the law written in society’s conventional code. Vile, detestable,
+		unjust law!</p>
+
+		<p>To weigh and balance the reasons for or against the perpetration
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page104" title="104"> </a>of a crime, to pause only for an instant to reflect whether
+		the deed shall or shall not be done—this is to yield at once to the
+		temptation. The desperate man who hovers hesitatingly between
+		right and wrong, invariably adopts the latter course.</p>
+
+		<p>And Manuel of Orsini was not an exception to the general
+		rule.</p>
+
+		<p>Silence, and calmness, and moonlight were still spread over
+		the City of Flowers, while the marquis pursued the path leading
+		to the suburb of Alla Droce. And the silver-faced stars shone
+		on—shone on, brightly and sweetly, as the young nobleman
+		knocked at the well-protected door of Isaachar ben Solomon.</p>
+
+		<p>For a long time his summons remained unanswered; and he
+		repeated it several times ere it received the slightest attention.</p>
+
+		<p>At last a casement was opened slowly on the upper story; and
+		the Jew demanded who sought admittance at that hour.</p>
+
+		<p>“’Tis I, the Marquis of Orsini!” exclaimed the nobleman.</p>
+
+		<p>“A thousand pardons, my lord; I come directly,” answered
+		the Jew, not daring to offend a scion of the omnipotent aristocracy
+		of Florence, yet filled with some misgivings, the more
+		painful because they were so vague and undefined.</p>
+
+		<p>In a few moments Manuel was admitted into the abode of
+		Isaachar ben Solomon, who carefully barred and bolted the door
+		again, ere he even thought of alleviating his acute suspense by
+		inquiring the nobleman’s business.</p>
+
+		<p>“Deign to enter this humble apartment, my lord,” said the
+		Jew, at length, as he conducted the marquis into the same room
+		where he had a few hours previously received the bandit-captain.</p>
+
+		<p>“Isaachar,” exclaimed Manuel, flinging himself upon a seat,
+		“you behold a desperate man before you!”</p>
+
+		<p>“Alas! my lord, what can a poor, aged, and obscure individual
+		like myself do to assist so great and powerful a noble as
+		your lordship?” said the Jew in a trembling tone.</p>
+
+		<p>“What can you do?” repeated the marquis: “much—everything,
+		old man! But listen patiently, for a few moments only.
+		A noble lady’s fame, honor, reputation are at stake; and I am
+		the guilty, unhappy cause of the danger that threatens her. To
+		minister to my necessities she has pledged her jewels——”</p>
+
+		<p>“Yes, yes, my lord—I understand,” said Isaachar, trembling
+		from head to foot, “’tis a plan by no means unusual nowadays
+		in Florence.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Her husband suspects the fact, and has commanded her to
+		produce her diamonds to-morrow——”</p>
+
+		<p>“Her diamonds!” articulated the Jew in a stifling tone.</p>
+
+		<p>“Yes, <em>her diamonds</em>,” exclaimed Manuel emphatically; “and
+		they are in your possession. Now do you understand me?”</p>
+
+		<p>“I—I—my lord——”</p>
+
+		<p>“Let us not waste time in idle words, Isaachar,” cried the
+		marquis. “Will you permit this scandal to be discovered, and
+		involve the Countess of Arestino—myself—ay, and <em>yourself</em>, old
+		man, in danger, and perhaps ruin? Perhaps, did I say? Nay,
+		that ruin is certain to fall upon <em>her</em>—certain also to overwhelm
+		<em>you</em>—for the Count of Arestino is a councilor of state, and,”
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page105" title="105"> </a>added Manuel, with slow, measured emphasis, “<em>the dungeons
+		of the inquisition open at his commands</em> to receive the heretic or
+		the Jew!”</p>
+
+		<p>Isaachar ben Solomon vainly endeavored to reply; fear choked
+		his utterance; and he sank trembling and faint upon a low ottoman,
+		where he sat, the picture of dumb despair.</p>
+
+		<p>“Ruin, then, awaits the countess, ruin, and the inquisition
+		yawn to ingulf you; and dishonor in having involved that noble
+		lady in such a labyrinth of perils attends upon me,” continued
+		Orsini, perceiving that his dark threats had produced the effect
+		which he desired.</p>
+
+		<p>“My lord—my lord,” gasped the unfortunate Israelite, who
+		could not close his eyes against the truth, the terrible truth of
+		the prospect submitted to his contemplation.</p>
+
+		<p>“It is for you to decide against the ruin of one, two, three
+		persons, yourself being he who will, if possible, suffer most,”
+		resumed the marquis, impressively—“it is, I say, for you to
+		decide between exposure and the inquisition on one hand, and
+		the surrender of those paltry diamonds on the other!”</p>
+
+		<p>“The diamonds, the diamonds, they are gone!” exclaimed the
+		Jew, his voice becoming almost frantic with the wild hope that
+		suddenly struck him of being able to shift the danger from his
+		own head to that of another. “The captain of banditti, Stephano
+		Verrina, was here a few hours ago, here, in this very
+		room, and he sat where your lordship now sits!”</p>
+
+		<p>“Well, well?” cried the marquis, impatiently; for his heart
+		began to grow sick with the fear of disappointment in respect
+		to his plan of obtaining the diamonds of his mistress.</p>
+
+		<p>“And Stephano Verrina took them from me—basely, vilely,
+		wrenched them as it were from my grasp!” continued the Jew.</p>
+
+		<p>“’Tis false! a miserable subterfuge on your part!” ejaculated
+		the marquis, starting from his seat and striding in a menacing
+		manner toward Isaachar ben Solomon.</p>
+
+		<p>“’Tis true!—I will give your lordship the proof!” cried the
+		Jew: and Manuel fell back a few paces. “Stephano came and
+		told me all. He said that the countess had pledged her jewels
+		for the sake of her lover—of you, my lord—you, the Marquis of
+		Orsini. ’Twas to pay a gambling debt which your lordship had
+		contracted; and that debt was paid within an hour or two from
+		the moment when the sum was advanced on the diamonds.
+		Moreover,” continued Isaachar, still speaking in a rapid, excited
+		tone—“moreover, Stephano was hired by the countess to regain
+		them from me!”</p>
+
+		<p>“Liar!” thundered the marquis, again rushing toward the defenseless
+		old man.</p>
+
+		<p>“Patience, my lord—patience for an instant—and you will
+		see that I am no utterer of base falsehoods. The robber-captain
+		examined the diamonds carefully—yes, most carefully—and,
+		while occupied in the scrutiny, he let drop expressions which
+		convinced me that he was hired by the countess. ‘The inventory
+		is complete,’ he said, ‘just as it was described to me by her
+		ladyship. You are a worthy man, Isaachar,’ he added; ‘you
+		will have restored tranquillity to the mind of this beautiful
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page106" title="106"> </a>countess; and she will be enabled to appear at court to-morrow
+		with her husband.’ Now does your lordship believe me?”</p>
+
+		<p>The marquis was staggered; for several minutes he made no
+		answer. Was it possible that the Countess of Arestino could
+		have employed the dreaded chieftain of the Florentine banditti
+		to wrest her diamonds from the possession of Isaachar? or had
+		the Jew invented the tale for an obvious purpose? The latter
+		alternative scarcely seemed feasible. How could Isaachar have
+		learned that the sum raised was for the payment of a gambling
+		debt? Giulia would not have told him so. Again, how had he
+		learned that this debt had been paid within an hour or two after
+		the money was procured? and how had he ascertained that the
+		countess had actually required her diamonds to accompany her
+		husband the count?</p>
+
+		<p>“Perdition!” ejaculated Orsini, bewildered by conflicting
+		ideas, suspicions, and alarms: and he paced the room with
+		agitated steps.</p>
+
+		<p>Nearly a quarter of a hour elapsed—the silence being occasionally
+		broken by some question which the marquis put to the Jew,
+		and to which the latter had his reply ready. And each question
+		thus put, and every answer thus given, only served to corroborate
+		Isaachar’s tale, and banish hope still further from the breast
+		of the ruined nobleman.</p>
+
+		<p>At length the latter stopped short—hesitated for a few moments,
+		as if wrestling with some idea or scheme that had taken
+		possession of his mind;—then turning abruptly toward the Jew,
+		he said in a deep, hollow tone—“Isaachar, I need gold!”</p>
+
+		<p>“Gold—gold, my lord!” ejaculated the Jew, all his fears returning;
+		“surely—surely, my lord, her ladyship will supply you
+		with——”</p>
+
+		<p>“Fool—dolt!” cried the marquis, terribly excited; “do you
+		not see that she herself is menaced with ruin—that the villain
+		Stephano must have kept the diamonds for himself? that is,
+		granting your tale to be true——”</p>
+
+		<p>At this moment there was an authoritative knock at the house-door.</p>
+
+		<p>“This is Stephano Verrina himself!” exclaimed the Jew. “I
+		know his manner of knocking with the rude handle of his
+		sword. What can he want? What will become of me?”</p>
+
+		<p>“Stephano Verrina, say you?” cried the marquis, hastily.
+		“Then admit him by all means; and the possession of the diamonds
+		of the countess shall be disputed between him and me at
+		the sword’s point.”</p>
+
+		<p>Manuel d’Orsini was naturally brave, and the desperate position
+		in which he was placed, rendered his tone and bearing so
+		resolute—so determined, that Isaachar feared lest blood should
+		be shed in his dwelling.</p>
+
+		<p>“My lord—my lord,” he said in an imploring tone, “depart,
+		or conceal yourself——”</p>
+
+		<p>“Silence, signor!” ejaculated the marquis; “and hasten to admit
+		the captain of banditti. I have heard much of Stephano
+		Verrina, and would fain behold this formidable chieftain.”</p>
+
+		<p>The Jew proceeded, with trembling limbs and ghastly countenance,
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page107" title="107"> </a>to obey the orders of the marquis; and in a few moments
+		he returned to the room, accompanied by Stephano Verrina.</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_26" class="chapter">
+		<h3>CHAPTER XXVI.<br />
+			<span class="subtitle">A COMBAT—THE DESPISED AND PERSECUTED ISRAELITE.</span></h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">Isaachar</span> had taken away the lamp with him to give admission
+		to the bandit, and the marquis had remained for a few
+		instants in the dark.</p>
+
+		<p>When the Jew reappeared, bearing the light, Orsini’s first and
+		natural impulse was to cast a rapid, searching glance at the
+		brigand captain. At the same moment this individual burst
+		into a loud, coarse, joyous laugh; and the marquis, to his profound
+		surprise, recognized in Stephano Verrina the person with
+		whom he had twice played so unsuccessfully at the gambling
+		house.</p>
+
+		<p>“Good, my lord!” exclaimed Verrina, flinging himself upon
+		the ottoman which the Jew had ere now occupied; “there is
+		not in all Florence a man whom I would rather have encountered
+		than yourself.”</p>
+
+		<p>“You are somewhat pressing for the trifle—the miserable
+		trifle in which I am indebted to you, signor,” said the marquis
+		haughtily; “seeing that scarce two hours have elapsed since I
+		lost the amount at the casino.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Pshaw! who alluded to the affair, save yourself?” cried
+		Stephano. “It was for another motive——”</p>
+
+		<p>“Yes; and I also wished to see Signor Stephano Verrina for
+		another motive,” exclaimed Manuel emphatically.</p>
+
+		<p>“Ah! then you know me, my lord?” said the bandit. “And
+		yet methought I was a stranger to you, although you were none
+		to me at the casino.”</p>
+
+		<p>“You were a stranger until now,” continued Orsini; “but
+		Isaachar knew by the knock which you dealt so lustily on his
+		door, who was his visitor.”</p>
+
+		<p>“And your lordship was desirous to see me?”</p>
+
+		<p>“Very much so. I believe you expressed a similar wish?”</p>
+
+		<p>“Precisely, my lord,” returned Stephano. “But as you hold
+		the higher rank in the world, precedence in the way of explanation
+		belongs to your lordship.”</p>
+
+		<p>“It is rather an explanation which I seek, than one which I
+		have to give,” rejoined Manuel, in a cold but resolute manner.
+		“In a word, my business with thee is touching the diamonds of
+		the Duchess of Arestino.”</p>
+
+		<p>“And my business with your lordship is touching the countess
+		herself,” observed Verrina, also in a cool and deliberate manner.</p>
+
+		<p>“Ah!” cried the marquis, with a sudden start.</p>
+
+		<p>“Yes, my lord. But this is no place for explanations on that
+		head,” added Stephano, glancing toward the Jew.</p>
+
+		<p>“I understand you, signor; we must confer alone,” said the
+		marquis. “We will go out together presently; but in the meantime,
+		one word concerning the diamonds which the Countess of
+		Arestino——”</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page108" title="108"> </a>“Employed me to procure for her,” exclaimed Stephano,
+		finishing the nobleman’s sentence for him. “I presume that
+		old Isaachar here has informed you of the particulars of my
+		previous visit to him this night—or rather last night, for it is
+		now the Sabbath morning.”</p>
+
+		<p>“I am well informed of those particulars, Sir Captain,” returned
+		Manuel; “but I would fain know what has become of
+		the jewels which you obtained from Isaachar.”</p>
+
+		<p>“I might with reason question your lordship’s right to catechise
+		me——”</p>
+
+		<p>“Ah! villain—would you dare?” exclaimed the marquis, his
+		countenance becoming flushed with rage: for he imagined that
+		the robber chief was trifling with him. “Far as you are beneath
+		me—wide as is the gulf that separates the Marquis of Orsini
+		from the proscribed bravo—yet will I condescend to wreak upon
+		thee, base-born as thou art, that vengeance which the law has
+		not yet been able to inflict.”</p>
+
+		<p>And Manuel unsheathed his weapon with such rapidity that
+		the polished blade of Milan steel flashed like lightning in the
+		glare of the lamp.</p>
+
+		<p>“Since this is your object, I will bear with your humor,”
+		muttered Stephano, starting from his seat and drawing his heavy
+		sword.</p>
+
+		<p>“My lord—good Signor Verrina—in mercy—not here—I implore——”
+		ejaculated the Jew, speaking in a piteous tone, and
+		wringing his hands in alarm at this hostile demonstration.</p>
+
+		<p>“Stand back!” thundered the bandit chief; and the Jew retreated
+		to the most remote corner of the room, where he fell
+		upon his knees and began to offer up prayers that no blood
+		would be spilt—for he was a humane and kind-hearted man.</p>
+
+		<p>The marquis and the captain of banditti crossed their weapons;
+		and the combat began. The former was lighter, younger, and
+		therefore, more active than his opponent; but the latter was far
+		more experienced in the use of his sword; and, moreover, the
+		space was too narrow to enable the marquis to gain any advantage
+		from his superior agility. The fight lasted about ten minutes,
+		when the bandit parried a desperate thrust that was made
+		at him by his opponent, and at the next moment wounded the
+		marquis in the sword arm. The weapon fell from Manuel’s
+		hand, and he stood at the mercy of his conqueror.</p>
+
+		<p>“You are wounded, my lord—and the blood is flowing!” cried
+		Stephano. “Hasten, friend Isaachar—and fetch water, bandages——”</p>
+
+		<p>“It is nothing—a mere scratch,” exclaimed the marquis, tearing
+		away with his left hand the right sleeve of his doublet, and
+		displaying a tolerably severe gash, which ran down the forearm
+		lengthwise, and from which the blood trickled on the floor. “Be
+		kind enough to bind it with my scarf, Signor Verrina, and let
+		us continue in a more peaceful manner the discourse which has
+		been somewhat rudely interrupted.”</p>
+
+		<p>Isaachar, however, supplied water in an ewer, and linen bandages;
+		and the old man, forgetting the object of Manuel’s predatory
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page109" title="109"> </a>visit to his abode, hastened himself to wash and bind up the
+		wounded arm.</p>
+
+		<p>“Thou art a good Jew—and hast something of the feeling of
+		the Christian in thee,” said the marquis, when the operation was
+		completed.</p>
+
+		<p>“Didst thou ever suppose that different creeds made different
+		hearts, my lord?” asked the old man, in a half melancholy, half
+		reproachful tone.</p>
+
+		<p>“Isaachar, I shall not forget this kindness on your part,” said
+		the marquis, blushing with shame at himself, when he reflected
+		on the purpose for which he had sought the Jew’s dwelling.
+		“Heaven knows it is not in my power to reward you with gold;
+		but whenever I may henceforth hear your race traduced, reckon
+		upon me as its champion.”</p>
+
+		<p>The old man cast a look of gratitude upon the marquis; and,
+		after some little hesitation, he said in a tremulous tone, “Your
+		lordship hinted ere now—at least methought I understood as
+		much—that you required gold. I take Father Abraham above
+		to witness that I am not so rich as ye Christians deem me to be;
+		but—since your lordship can say a kind word of the Jew—I—I
+		will lend you such sum as you may need—without interest—without
+		bond——”</p>
+
+		<p>Orsini, in whose breast all generous feeling had not been entirely
+		crushed by the vices which had proved his ruin, extended
+		his left hand—for his right now hung in a sling—to the kind-hearted
+		Jew, exclaiming, “There is the signor to whom I am
+		indebted, worthy Isaachar; it is for him to say whether he will
+		press me immediately for the sum that I have fairly lost to him
+		with the dice.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Not I!” ejaculated Stephano, in his blunt, coarse manner.
+		“And therefore your lordship need not lay yourself under any
+		obligation to the Jew, who, after all, is a worthy signor in his
+		way.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Yes,” exclaimed the marquis, “I shall ever lie under an
+		obligation to him; nor shall I be ashamed to proclaim the fact
+		in the presence of all Florence.”</p>
+
+		<p>“And now, my lord,” resumed Stephano, “I will give you
+		that explanation relative to the diamonds which you might have
+		had without bloodshed; but patience and aristocracy are as
+		much at variance as a thief and the headsman. Read this paper,
+		my lord; it is not the worst testimonial which I could produce
+		in proof of good character.”</p>
+
+		<p>And he handed to the marquis the document which he had
+		compelled the Countess of Arestino to sign.</p>
+
+		<p>Manuel read it with astonishment.</p>
+
+		<p>“Then she <em>has</em> the diamonds in her possession!” he exclaimed;
+		“and you must have seen her since I was there!”</p>
+
+		<p>“My lord,” replied Stephano, as he received back the paper,
+		“I was at the Arestino Palace ere now, at the same time, and in
+		the same room, as yourself. But this is a mystery I will explain
+		presently. As for the diamonds—Isaachar here can tell
+		your lordship what he has done with the <em>real</em> stones, for those
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page110" title="110"> </a>that I received from him which I handed to her ladyship were
+		<em>false</em>.”</p>
+
+		<p>Orsini glanced toward the Jew, who was now pale and trembling.</p>
+
+		<p>“It was to make inquiries on this point,” continued Stephano,
+		“that I came here on the present occasion. And to speak truly,
+		it was also with the intention of making the old Israelite disgorge
+		his plunder.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Plunder!” repeated the Jew, in a tone almost of indignation,
+		in spite of the terror with which the bandit-captain inspired
+		him. “Did I not lend my good golden ducats upon those diamonds?
+		and must I be blamed, if knowing—ah! knowing too well,
+		the base artifices of which many of even the best-born Florentine
+		nobles and great ladies are capable, must I be blamed, I say,
+		if aware of all this, I adopted a device which the wickedness of
+		others, and not our own, has rendered common amongst those
+		of our race who traffic in loans upon jewels and precious
+		stones.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Isaachar speaks naught save the pure truth,” remarked Orsini,
+		blushing at the justice which dictated these reproaches
+		against the aristocracy whereof he was a member. “Signor
+		Verrina,” he continued, “you are a brave man—and I believe
+		you to be a generous one. Confirm this opinion on my part, by
+		refraining from further molestation toward the Jew, and thou
+		wilt doubly render me thy debtor.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Be that as you will, my lord,” grumbled the bandit-chief.
+		“And now let us depart—for I have much to communicate to
+		your lordship.”</p>
+
+		<p>“I am ready to accompany you,” returned the marquis, putting
+		on his plumed hat, and settling his cloak with his left
+		hand.</p>
+
+		<p>“One word, my lord,” said Isaachar, in his habitual nervous
+		and trembling tone. “Should the Countess of Arestino <em>really</em>
+		need her diamonds—<em>really</em> need them, my lord—I—should not—object—that
+		is, my lord,” he added in a firmer voice, as if
+		ashamed at the hesitation with which he was expressing his
+		readiness to do a good action, “I will at once give them up to
+		her, trusting to her ladyship’s honor to pay me my moneys at
+		her most befitting convenience.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Her ladyship does not require them now!” exclaimed the
+		bandit-chief, emphatically.</p>
+
+		<p>The marquis looked at Stephano inquiringly, for there was
+		something ominously mysterious in his words; but the brigand
+		stalked in a dogged manner toward the door, as if anxious to
+		hurry the departure so long protracted, and Manuel, having renewed
+		the expressions of his gratitude toward Isaachar ben Solomon,
+		hastily followed Verrina from the house.</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_27" class="chapter">
+		<h3><a class="pagenum" id="page111" title="111"> </a>CHAPTER XXVII.<br />
+			<span class="subtitle">STEPHANO  AND  THE  MARQUIS—THE STRONGHOLD OF  THE
+			BANDITTI.</span></h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">The</span> moment Stephano and the marquis were alone together
+		in the open street the former related all the incidents which had
+		occurred at the Arestino Palace after the departure of Manuel
+		himself; and the young nobleman now learned, with feelings of
+		remorse and sorrow, that the unfortunate countess had been
+		hurried away to the convent of the Carmelites—that species of
+		inquisition the gates of which so seldom opened more than once
+		for each new female victim.</p>
+
+		<p>“But you promised to save her, signor!” he exclaimed, with
+		enthusiastic warmth.</p>
+
+		<p>“I gave this pledge in the manner described to your lordship,”
+		returned Verrina, “and I shall not swerve from it.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Think you that her liberation can be effected?” demanded
+		Manuel. “Remember that the convent is protected by the
+		highest personages in the state—that violence never will succeed
+		in accomplishing the object—for should an armed man dare to
+		pass that sacred threshold, every sbirro in Florence would fly to
+		the spot——”</p>
+
+		<p>“It is, then, your lordship who is afraid of attempting the
+		rescue of the countess!” interrupted Stephano, in a contemptuous
+		tone.</p>
+
+		<p>“That observation is hardly fair, Signor Verrina,” said the
+		young nobleman; “considering that my right arm is disabled,
+		and that the wound was received in combat with yourself.”</p>
+
+		<p>“I crave your lordship’s pardon,” exclaimed the bandit-captain.
+		“My remark was most uncourteous—particularly to one
+		who has ere now given no equivocal proof of his valor. But I
+		pretend not to courtly manners; and such as I am you will find
+		me faithfully devoted to your service and that of the Lady
+		Giulia. The attempt to rescue her will be somewhat hazardous;
+		it is, however, tolerably sure of success. But it can only be undertaken
+		on certain conditions; and these regard your lordship’s
+		self. Indeed, had I not so opportunely met you at the Jew’s
+		house, I should have sent one of my fellows to you to-morrow.”</p>
+
+		<p>“In what way do the conditions that you speak of, regard
+		myself?” inquired the marquis.</p>
+
+		<p>“To this extent,” returned the robber-chief; “that you accompany
+		me to my stronghold, wherever it may be; that you
+		join us in any project or plan that may be undertaken with a
+		view to liberate the Countess of Arestino; and that you remain
+		with us until such project or plan be attempted; then, whether
+		it succeed or fail, you shall be at liberty to take your departure.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Agreed!” exclaimed Manuel; “and now permit me to ask
+		you one question:—On what ground do you manifest this interest
+		in behalf of the countess and myself? You are well aware
+		that from me you have little to hope in the shape of reward;
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page112" title="112"> </a>and that the countess will be in no better condition than myself
+		to recompense you, even if you succeed in effecting her rescue.”</p>
+
+		<p>“I am well aware of this, my lord,” answered Stephano;
+		“and I will give you an explanation of my motives as frankly
+		as you solicit it. In the first place it suits my projects to make
+		friends as much as possible with nobles and great ladies; as no
+		one can say how or when such interest may be available to me
+		or to those connected with me. Secondly, I am not sorry to
+		have an excuse for paying a visit to the Carmelite Convent;
+		and in case of failure, it will be as well to have a Florentine noble
+		amongst us. Because the statutes of our glorious Republic are
+		somewhat unequal in their application; thus, for instance, if a
+		plebeian commit sacrilege, he is punished with death; but a
+		patrician is merely reprimanded by the judge and mulcted in a
+		sum which is devoted to religious purposes. In this latter case,
+		too, the companions of the patrician are punished only as he
+		himself is. Now, therefore, your lordship’s presence amongst
+		us will be a guarantee for our safety. Lastly, for I have another
+		and less selfish motive, I admire the spirit with which your lordship
+		spends money, drinks a flagon of good wine, and loses your
+		thousands at dice; for saving your lordship’s presence, there is
+		much in all those facts which finds sympathy with my own inclinations.
+		Thus, everything considered, Stephano Verrina and
+		fifty as gallant fellows as ever bore the name of banditti, are
+		completely at your lordship’s service, and that of the dear lady
+		who has the good taste to prefer a dashing roistering blade like
+		yourself, to a gentleman no doubt very worthy of esteem, but
+		certainly old enough to be her father.”</p>
+
+		<p>The marquis made no reply to this tirade; but he reflected
+		profoundly upon all that the robber-chieftain said as they
+		walked leisurely along through the suburb of Alla Croce, and
+		toward the city.</p>
+
+		<p>He reflected because he now saw all the dangers that were
+		associated with the step he was taking, the chance of being arrested
+		with the whole band of lawless freebooters, and the dishonor
+		that would attach itself to his name, were such an event
+		to occur. But on the other hand, Giulia was immured in consequence
+		of her love for him; and his naturally chivalrous disposition
+		triumphed over selfish considerations. Could her liberation
+		be effected, he would fly with her into another state; and
+		the revenues arising from her own little patrimony which had
+		been settled on herself at her marriage would enable them to
+		live comfortably, if not affluently. And who could tell but
+		that her husband might die intestate? and then all his wealth
+		would become hers by law.</p>
+
+		<p>Thus did he reason with himself.</p>
+
+		<p>“Well, my lord—you do not reply?” exclaimed the robber-captain,
+		impatient of the long silence which had followed his
+		explanations. “Are you content to abide by the conditions I
+		ere now proposed?”</p>
+
+		<p>“Perfectly content,” answered the marquis.</p>
+
+		<p>He knew that it was useless to reason with the brigand
+		against the spoliation of the convent, which he had more than
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page113" title="113"> </a>hinted at; for it was not likely that the robbers would incur so
+		great a risk as that involved in the sacrilegious invasion of the
+		sacred establishment, unless it were with the hope of reaping an
+		adequate reward.</p>
+
+		<p>The bandit-chief and the young nobleman had now reached
+		the boundary of the city; but instead of entering the streets,
+		they turned abruptly to the right, Stephano acting as guide, and
+		plunged into a thick grove of evergreens.</p>
+
+		<p>“Here, my lord,” said Stephano, stopping short, “you must
+		consent to be blindfolded.”</p>
+
+		<p>“And wherefore?” demanded Manuel, indignantly. “Think
+		you that I shall betray the secrets of your dwelling, wherever
+		and whatever it may be?”</p>
+
+		<p>“I entertain no such base suspicion,” returned Verrina.
+		“But we banditti are governed by a code of laws which none
+		of us—not even I, the chief—dare violate. To the observance
+		of this code we are bound by an oath of so deadly—so dreadful
+		a nature, that bold and reckless as we are, we could not forget
+		<em>that</em>. And I should alike break our laws and depart from my
+		oath, were I to conduct an uninitiated stranger to our stronghold
+		otherwise than blindfolded.”</p>
+
+		<p>“I offer no further opposition, Signor Verrina,” said the marquis.
+		“Fix on the bandage.”</p>
+
+		<p>Stephano tied his scarf over the nobleman’s eyes, and then
+		conducted him slowly through the mazes of the grove.</p>
+
+		<p>In this manner they proceeded for nearly a quarter of an
+		hour, when they stopped, and Stephano, quitting Manuel’s
+		hand, said in a low tone, “Stand still just where you are for a
+		moment, while I give the signal, and do not move a single step—for
+		it is a dangerous neighborhood.”</p>
+
+		<p>About half a minute elapsed, during which it struck Manuel
+		that he heard a bell ring far—far under ground. The sound
+		was very faint: but still he felt convinced that he did hear it,
+		and that it appeared to come from the bowels of the earth.</p>
+
+		<p>But he had not much time for reflection; for Stephano once
+		more took his hand, saying, “You are now about to descend a
+		flight of steps.”</p>
+
+		<p>They proceeded downward together for some distance, when
+		the steps ceased, and they pursued their way on a flat surface
+		of pavement; but the echoes of their footsteps convinced the
+		marquis that he was treading a subterranean cavern or passage.</p>
+
+		<p>Presently a huge door, sounding as if it were made of iron,
+		was closed behind them, and Stephano exchanged a few words in
+		a whisper with some one who spoke to him at that point. Then
+		they descended a few more steps, and at the bottom another
+		door was banged heavily, when they had passed its threshold,—the
+		echoes resounding like pistol-shots throughout the place.</p>
+
+		<p>For a few minutes more did they proceed on another level-paved
+		floor: and then the gurgling rush of a rapid stream met
+		the ears of the marquis.</p>
+
+		<p>“Be careful in following me,” said Stephano; “for you are
+		about to cross a narrow bridge, my lord—and one false step is
+		destruction.”</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page114" title="114"> </a>Slowly they passed over the bridge, which seemed to be a
+		single plank of about thirty feet in length and excessively narrow,
+		he had no doubt, both from the caution which he had received
+		and the elasticity of that dangerous pathway.</p>
+
+		<p>On the opposite side, the level-paved surface was continued;
+		and at the expiration of another minute, heavy folding-doors
+		closed behind them.</p>
+
+		<p>“Take off the bandage, my lord,” said Stephano, as he untied
+		the knot which fastened the scarf at the back of the young
+		nobleman’s head.</p>
+
+		<p>The Marquis of Orsini gladly availed himself of this permission;
+		and when the bandage fell from his eyes, he found himself
+		in a spacious cavern, paved with marble, hung with rich tapestry,
+		and lighted by four chandeliers of massive silver.</p>
+
+		<p>Six pillars of crystal supported the roof, and rendered the
+		luster of the chandeliers almost insupportably brilliant by means
+		of reflection.</p>
+
+		<p>In the midst of this subterranean apartment stood a large
+		table, covered with flagons, empty wine flasks, and drinking-cups;
+		but the revelers had retired to rest—and the marquis and
+		Stephano were alone in that banqueting-hall.</p>
+
+		<p>“Follow me, my lord,” said the bandit-captain; “and I will
+		conduct you to a place where you will find as dainty a couch as
+		even a nobleman so accustomed to luxury as your lordship need
+		not despise.”</p>
+
+		<p>Thus speaking Stephano opened an iron door at the end of the
+		hall, and led the way along a narrow and low corridor, lighted
+		by lamps placed in niches at short intervals. At the end of this
+		corridor he knocked at another door, which was opened in a few
+		moments by a man who had evidently been aroused from his
+		slumber.</p>
+
+		<p>“I bring a guest, Lomellino,” said Verrina. “See that his
+		lordship be well cared for.”</p>
+
+		<p>Stephano then retraced his way along the corridor, and Lomellino
+		closed and bolted the iron door.</p>
+
+		<p>But no pen can describe the astonishment of the marquis
+		when he found himself in a spacious room, heaped all around
+		with immense riches. Massive plate, splendid chandeliers, gorgeous
+		suits of armor and martial weapons incrusted with gold
+		or set with precious stones, chalices and dishes of silver, bags of
+		money piled in heaps, an immense quantity of jewelry spread
+		upon shelves, and an infinite assortment of the richest wearing
+		apparel—all these, suddenly bursting upon the young nobleman’s
+		view by the light of a lamp suspended to the roof, produced
+		an effect at once brilliant and astounding.</p>
+
+		<p>When Lomellino addressed him with a request to follow
+		whither he should lead, it seemed as if some rude voice were
+		suddenly awaking him from a delicious dream—save that the
+		cause of his pleasure and wonder was still present. Then,
+		ashamed at having allowed himself to be so attracted by the
+		spectacle of boundless wealth around him, he followed Lomellino
+		to an alcove at the further end of the caverned room, and
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page115" title="115"> </a>the entrance of which was covered by a purple velvet curtain,
+		richly fringed with gold.</p>
+
+		<p>Within were two beds, having a screen between them. These
+		couches were of the most comfortable description, and such as
+		in those times were not usually seen elsewhere than in the
+		dwellings of the wealthy. Near each bed stood a toilet-table
+		and wash-stand, with ewers of massive silver and towels of
+		fine linen; and to the walls hung two large mirrors—articles of
+		exclusive luxury at that period. The floor was richly carpeted,
+		and a perfumed lamp burned in front of the dial of a water-clock.</p>
+
+		<p>Lomellino respectfully informed the marquis that one division
+		of the alcove was at his service; and Manuel was too much
+		wearied by the adventures of the evening not to avail himself
+		of the information.</p>
+
+		<p>The brigand seeing that he was wounded, but without asking
+		any questions as to the cause, proffered his aid to divest the
+		marquis of his upper clothing; and at length the young nobleman
+		was comfortably stretched in one of the voluptuous beds.</p>
+
+		<p>Sleep had just closed his eyelids, and he had even already
+		entered upon a vision of fairy enchantment,—doubtless conjured
+		up to his imagination by the gorgeous spectacle of the treasure-room,—when
+		he was startled by screams which appeared
+		to issue from the very wall of the alcove, at the head of his
+		bed.</p>
+
+		<p>He listened—and those screams became more and more piercing
+		in their nature, although their tone was subdued, as if by
+		the existence of a thick intervening partition.</p>
+
+		<p>“Holy Virgin! what sounds are those?” he exclaimed, more
+		in pity than in fear—for they were unmistakably female shrieks
+		which he heard.</p>
+
+		<p>“Perdition seize on those Carmelite nuns!” cried Lomellino;
+		“they seem to have got another victim!”</p>
+
+		<p>“<em>Another victim!</em>” murmured the marquis falling back in his
+		bed, a prey to the most torturing feelings; and then his lips
+		framed the sweet and tender name of “<strong class="special_emphasis">Giulia</strong>!”</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_28" class="chapter">
+		<h3>CHAPTER XXVIII.<br />
+			<span class="subtitle">A FEARFUL ACCUSATION.</span></h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">Fair</span> and beauteous art thou, O City of Flowers! with thy
+		domes and spires, and turrets overlooking the Arno’s silver
+		stream, and crowding together in that river’s classic pale;
+		surrounded, too, by oak-covered hills, and cypress groves, and
+		gardens of olives and evergreens, and presenting to the view of
+		the spectator who stands on the lofty summit of Monte Senario,
+		so vast an assemblage of palaces as to justify the saying of
+		Ariosto, that it seemed as if the very soil produced them!</p>
+
+		<p>Or seen from the olive-crowned hill of Fesole, consecrated by
+		the genius of Milton, how glorious is thy rich combination of
+		beauty, thou Athens of Etruria!</p>
+
+		<p>The sun dawned upon the eventful night, the incidents of
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page116" title="116"> </a>which have occupied so many chapters. The golden flood
+		poured upon the Florentine scene, so fair even in winter, bathing
+		in yellow luster the mighty dome of the cathedral of St.
+		Mary, the ducal palace on its left, and the cupola of the Medicean
+		chapel on its right, and bringing out into strong relief
+		against the deep foliage of the evergreens the marble fronts of
+		palaces, villas, and convents, seated amidst the hills, or scattered
+		through the vale—the whole affording a rich and varied view,
+		as if eternal summer reigned in that delightful region and beneath
+		the purple canopy of that warm Italian sky!</p>
+
+		<p>Alas! that the selfish interests, dark passions, conflicting feeling,
+		clashing aims, and black, black crimes of men should mar
+		the serenity and peace which ought to maintain an existence
+		congenial to this scene!</p>
+
+		<p>Scarcely had the orient beams penetrated through the barred
+		casements of the Jew Isaachar’s house in the suburb of Alla
+		Croce, when the old man was awakened from a repose to which
+		he had only been able to withdraw a couple of hours previously,
+		by a loud and impatient knocking at his gate.</p>
+
+		<p>Starting from his couch, he glanced from the window, and, to
+		his dismay, beheld the lieutenant of police, accompanied by
+		half a dozen of his terrible sbirri, and by an individual in the
+		plain, sober garb of a citizen.</p>
+
+		<p>A cold tremor came over the unhappy Israelite, for he knew
+		that this official visit could bode him no good: and the dread of
+		having encountered the resentment of the Count of Arestino,
+		immediately conjured up appalling scenes of dungeons, chains,
+		judgment-halls and tortures, to his affrighted imagination.</p>
+
+		<p>The dark hints which Manuel d’Orsini had dropped relative to
+		the possibility of the count’s discovering the affair of the diamonds,
+		and the certain vengeance that would ensue, flashed to
+		the mind of Isaachar ben Solomon; and he stood, as it were,
+		paralyzed at the window, gazing with the vacancy of despair
+		upon the armed men, on whose steel morions and pikes the
+		morning sunbeams now fell in radiant glory.</p>
+
+		<p>The knocking was repeated more loudly and with greater impatience
+		than before; and Isaachar, suddenly restored to himself,
+		and remembering that it was dangerous as well as useless
+		to delay the admittance of those who would not hesitate to
+		force a speedy entry, huddled on his garments, and descended
+		to the door.</p>
+
+		<p>The moment it was opened, the sbirri and the citizen entered;
+		and the lieutenant, turning shortly round upon the Jew, said,
+		“His Excellency the Count of Arestino demands, through my
+		agency, the restoration of certain diamonds which his lordship
+		has good reason to believe are in your possession. But think
+		not that his lordship is desirous of plundering you of these
+		jewels which you hold as security for certain moneys advanced,
+		for here is the gold to repay thee.”</p>
+
+		<p>Thus speaking, the lieutenant produced from beneath his
+		cloak a heavy bag of gold; and Isaachar, now considerably
+		relieved of his apprehensions, led the way into the apartment
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page117" title="117"> </a>where he had received the Marquis of Orsini and Stephano de
+		Verrina during the past night.</p>
+
+		<p>“Hast thou heard my message, Israelite?” demanded the lieutenant.</p>
+
+		<p>“Yes, yes; and his lordship is a worthy man—an estimable
+		man. No oppressor of the poor defenseless Jew is he! Would
+		that Florence abounded in such nobles as the Count of Arestino!”</p>
+
+		<p>“Cease thy prating, Jew, and let us dispatch this business,”
+		cried the officer. “You see,” he added, glancing toward his
+		men, “that with these at my disposal, the ransacking of your
+		dwelling would be a light and easy matter.”</p>
+
+		<p>“I will not render it necessary,” returned the Jew. “Tarry
+		ye here a few moments and the diamonds shall be delivered up.”</p>
+
+		<p>Isaachar proceeded into another apartment, the lieutenant
+		following him as far as the passage to see that he did not escape.
+		When the old man returned, he had a small rosewood
+		case in his hand: and from this box he produced the stones
+		which had been extracted from the settings the very day the
+		jewels were first mortgaged to him.</p>
+
+		<p>“Now, signor,” said the lieutenant, turning to the citizen in
+		the plain sober garb, “as you are the diamond merchant of
+		whom his lordship the count originally purchased the precious
+		stones which have been traced to the possession of Isaachar, it
+		is for you to declare whether those be the true diamonds or not.”</p>
+
+		<p>The citizen examined the stones, and having pronounced them
+		to be the genuine ones, took his departure, his services being no
+		longer required.</p>
+
+		<p>The lieutenant secured the rosewood case with its valuable
+		contents about his person, and then proceeded to settle with interest
+		the amount claimed by the Jew, as the sum which he had
+		advanced on the jewels.</p>
+
+		<p>While this transaction was in progress, the notice of one of
+		the sbirri was attracted by the marks of blood which appeared
+		on the floor, and which, as the reader will recollect, had been
+		caused by the wound that the Marquis of Orsini had received
+		from the robber Stephano.</p>
+
+		<p>“It is decidedly blood,” whispered the sbirro to one of his
+		companions.</p>
+
+		<p>“Not a doubt of it,” observed another. “We must mention
+		it to the lieutenant when he has done counting out that gold.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Do you know what I have heard about the Jews?” asked
+		the first speaker, drawing his comrades still further aside.</p>
+
+		<p>“What?” was the general question.</p>
+
+		<p>“That they kill Christian children to mix the blood in the
+		dough with which they make the bread used at their religious
+		ceremonies,” answered the sbirro.</p>
+
+		<p>“Depend upon it. Isaachar has murdered a Christian child
+		for that purpose!” said one of his companions.</p>
+
+		<p>This atrocious idea gained immediate belief among the ignorant
+		sbirri; and as the Jew now quitted the room for a few moments
+		to secure the gold which he had just received, in his coffer
+		in the adjacent apartment, the police officers had leisure to point
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page118" title="118"> </a>out to their superior the traces of blood which they had noticed,
+		and the suspicion which these marks had engendered.</p>
+
+		<p>The lieutenant was not further removed beyond the influence
+		of popular prejudice and ridiculous superstition than even his
+		men: and though by no means of a cruel disposition, yet he
+		thought it no sin nor injustice to persecute the Hebrew race,
+		even when innocent and unoffending. But, now that suspicion,
+		or what he chose to consider suspicion, pointed at Isaachar ben
+		Solomon as a dreadful criminal, the lieutenant did not hesitate
+		many moments how to act.</p>
+
+		<p>Thus, when the Jew returned to the room with the fond hope
+		of seeing his visitors take their speedy departure, he was met
+		by the terrible words, uttered by the officer of the sbirri. “In
+		the name of the most high inquisition, Isaachar, do I make you
+		my prisoner!”</p>
+
+		<p>The unhappy Jew fell upon his knees, stunned, terrified by
+		the appalling announcement; and although he assumed this attitude
+		of supplication, he had not the power to utter a syllable
+		of intercession or of prayer. Horror had for the moment
+		stricken him dumb: and a thousand images of terror, conjured
+		up by the fearful words, “the inquisition,” suddenly sprung
+		up to scare, bewilder and overwhelm him.</p>
+
+		<p>“Bind him, gag him!” ejaculated the lieutenant: and this
+		order was immediately obeyed: for whenever a prisoner was
+		about to be conveyed to the dungeons of the inquisition, he was
+		invariably gagged, in order that no questions on his part might
+		evoke answers at all calculated to afford him a clew to the cause
+		of his arrest.</p>
+
+		<p>This precaution was originally adopted in reference to those
+		only who were ignorant of the charges laid against them: but it
+		had subsequently become common in all cases of arrest effected
+		in the name or on the part of the holy brotherhood.</p>
+
+		<p>The Palazzo del Podesta, or ducal palace, was one of the most
+		celebrated edifices in Florence. In strong contrast with the various
+		beautiful specimens of composite Tuscan, combined with
+		a well-assimilated portion of the Grecian character, which
+		abounded in Florence, the ducal palace was remarkable for the
+		stern and gloomy character of its architecture. Its massive and
+		heavy tower, crowned with embattled and overhanging parapets,
+		seemed to frown in sullen and haughty defiance at the lapse of
+		Time. The first range of windows were twelve feet from the
+		ground, and were grated with enormous bars of iron, producing
+		a somber and ominous effect. Within were the apartments of
+		the duke’s numerous dependents; and the lower portion of the
+		palace had been rendered thus strong to enable the edifice to
+		withstand a siege in those troublous times, when the contentions
+		of the Guelphs and Ghibelines desolated Florence. On the
+		second floor there was in front a plain and simple architrave,
+		and on that story the windows were high and arched; for those
+		casements belonged to the ducal apartments. The upper stories
+		were in the same style; but the general aspect was stern and
+		mournful to a degree.</p>
+
+		<p>The palace was built, as indeed nearly all the Florentine mansions
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page119" title="119"> </a>then were, and still are, in the form of a square; and
+		around this court, which was of an antique and gloomy cast,
+		were numerous monumental stones, whereon were inscribed the
+		names of the nobles and citizens who had held high offices in the
+		state previous to the establishment of the sway of the Medici.</p>
+
+		<p>It was beneath the Palazzo del Podesta that the dungeons of
+		the criminal prison and also those of the inquisition were situated.</p>
+
+		<p>In a cell belonging to the former department, Fernand Wagner
+		was already a captive; and Isaachar ben Solomon now
+		became the inmate of a narrow, cold, and damp stone chamber,
+		in that division of the subterrane which was within the jurisdiction
+		of the holy office.</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_29" class="chapter">
+		<h3>CHAPTER XXIX.<br />
+			<span class="subtitle">THE VISIT OF THE BANDITTI TO THE RIVEROLA PALACE.</span></h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">It</span> was Monday night, and within an hour of the time appointed
+		by Stephano for the meditated invasion of the Riverola
+		Palace.</p>
+
+		<p>Francisco had already retired to rest, for he was wearied with
+		vain and ineffectual wandering about the city and its environs
+		in search of some trace that might lead him to discover his lost
+		Flora.</p>
+
+		<p>Indeed, the few days which had now elapsed since her mysterious
+		disappearance had been passed by the young count in
+		making every possible inquiry and adopting every means which
+		imagination could suggest to obtain a clew to her fate. But all in
+		vain. And never for a moment did he suspect that she might be
+		an inmate of the Carmelite Convent, for, although he was aware
+		of the terrible power wielded by that institution, yet feeling convinced
+		that Flora herself was incapable of any indiscretion, it
+		never struck him that the wicked machinations of another
+		might place her in the custody of the dreaded Carmelite abbess.</p>
+
+		<p>We said that Francisco had retired to rest somewhat early on
+		the above-mentioned night, and the domestics, yielding to the
+		influence of a soporific which Antonio, the faithless valet, had
+		infused into the wine which it was his province to deal out to
+		them under the superintendence of the head butler, had also
+		withdrawn to their respective chambers.</p>
+
+		<p>Nisida had dismissed her maids shortly before eleven, but she
+		did not seek her couch. There was an expression of wild determination,
+		of firm resolve, in her dark black eyes and her compressed
+		lips which denoted the courage of her dauntless but impetuous
+		mind. For of that mind the large piercing eyes seemed
+		an exact transcript.</p>
+
+		<p>Terrible was she in the decision of her masculine—oh! even
+		more than masculine—character, for beneath that glorious
+		beauty with which she was arrayed beat a heart that scarcely
+		knew compunction, or that, at all events, would hesitate at
+		nothing calculated to advance her interests or her projects.</p>
+
+		<p>Though devoured with ardent passions, and of a temperament
+		naturally voluptuous and sensual even to an extreme, she had
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page120" title="120"> </a>hitherto remained chaste, as much for want of opportunity to
+		assuage the cravings of her mad desires, as through a sentiment
+		of pride—but since she had loved Wagner—the first and only
+		man whom she had ever loved—her warm imagination had excited
+		those desires to such a degree, that she felt capable of
+		making any sacrifice, save one—to secure him to herself.</p>
+
+		<p>And that one sacrifice which she could not make was not her
+		honor: no, of that she now thought but little in the whirlwind
+		of her impetuous, ardent, heated imagination. But, madly as
+		she loved Fernand Wagner—that is, loved him after the fashion
+		of her own strange and sensual heart—she loved her brother
+		still more; and this attachment was at least a pure, a holy sentiment,
+		and a gloriously redeeming trait in the character of this
+		wondrous woman, of a mind so darkly terrible.</p>
+
+		<p>And for her brother’s sake it was that there was one sacrifice—a
+		sacrifice of a tremendous, but painfully persevered-in project—which
+		she would not make even to her love for Fernand
+		Wagner! No, rather would she renounce him forever—rather
+		would she perish, consumed by the raging fires of her own ungratified
+		passions, than sacrifice one tittle of what she deemed
+		to be her brother’s welfare to any selfish feeling of her own!</p>
+
+		<p>Wherefore do we dwell on this subject now?</p>
+
+		<p>Because such was the resolution which Nisida vowed within
+		her own heart, as she stood alone in her chamber, and fixed her
+		eyes upon a document, bearing the ducal seal that lay upon the
+		table.</p>
+
+		<p>That document contained the decision of his highness in respect
+		to the memorial which she had privately forwarded to him
+		in accordance with the advice given her a few days previously
+		by Dr. Duras. The duke lost no time in vouchsafing a reply;
+		and this reply was unfavorable to the hopes of Nisida. His
+		highness refused to interfere with the provisions of the late
+		count’s will; and this decision was represented to be final.</p>
+
+		<p>Therefore it was that Nisida solemnly vowed within herself to
+		persevere in a course so long ago adopted, and ever faithfully,
+		steadily, sternly adhered to since the day of its commencement;
+		and, as if to confirm herself in the strength of this resolution,
+		she turned her eyes with adoring, worshiping look toward the
+		portrait of her maternal parent, those eloquent, speaking orbs
+		seeming almost to proclaim the words which her lips could not
+		utter, “Yes, mother—sainted mother! thou shalt be obeyed!”</p>
+
+		<p>Then she hastily secured the ducal missive in an iron box
+		where she was in the habit of keeping her own private papers,
+		and which opened with a secret spring.</p>
+
+		<p>But did she, then, mean to renounce her love for Wagner?
+		Did she contemplate the terrible alternative of abandoning him
+		in his misfortune, in his dungeon?</p>
+
+		<p>No—far from that! She would save him if she could; she
+		would secure him to herself, if such were possible; but she would
+		not sacrifice to these objects the one grand scheme of her life,
+		that scheme which had formed her character as we now find it,
+		and which made her stand alone, as it were, among the millions
+		of her own sex!</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page121" title="121"> </a>And it was to put into execution the plan which she had devised
+		to effect Wagner’s freedom, that she was now arming herself
+		with all the resolution, all the magnanimity, all the firmness
+		with which her masculine soul was capable.</p>
+
+		<p>The dial on the mantel in the chamber marked the hour of
+		eleven; and Nisida commenced her preparations.</p>
+
+		<p>Having divested herself of her upper garment, she put on a
+		thin, but strong, and admirably formed corselet, made so as to
+		fit the precise contour of her ample bust, and completely to
+		cover her bosom. Then she assumed a black velvet robe, which
+		reached up to her throat, and entirely concealed the armor beneath.
+		Her long flexible dagger was next thrust carefully into
+		a sheath formed by the wide border of her stomacher; and her
+		preparations for defense in case of peril were completed.</p>
+
+		<p>She now took from a cupboard six small bags, which were
+		nevertheless heavy, for they were filled with gold; and these she
+		placed on a table. Then seating herself at that table, she wrote
+		a few lines on several slips of paper, and these she thrust into
+		her bosom.</p>
+
+		<p>Having accomplished her arrangements thus far, the Lady
+		Nisida took a lamp in her hand, and quitted her apartments.</p>
+
+		<p>Ascending a staircase leading to the upper story, she paused
+		at one of several doors in a long corridor, and slowly and
+		noiselessly drew the bolt, by which that door might be fastened
+		outside.</p>
+
+		<p>This was Antonio’s room; and thus, by Nisida’s precaution,
+		was he made a prisoner.</p>
+
+		<p>She then retraced her way to the floor below, and proceeded
+		to the apartment in which her father breathed his last, and
+		where the mysterious closet was situated.</p>
+
+		<p>No one until now had entered that room since the day of the
+		late count’s funeral; and its appearance was gloomy and mournful
+		in the extreme; not only on account of the dark, heavy
+		hangings of the bed, and the drawn curtains of the windows,
+		but also from the effect of the ideas associated with that
+		chamber.</p>
+
+		<p>And as Nisida glanced toward the closet-door, even she trembled,
+		and her countenance became ashy pale; for not only did
+		she shudder at the thought of the horrors which that closet contained,
+		but through her brain also flashed the dreadful history
+		revealed to her by the manuscript—of which, however, only a
+		few lines have as yet been communicated to the reader. But
+		she knew all—she had read the whole; and well—oh! well
+		might she shudder and turn pale.</p>
+
+		<p>For terrible indeed must have been the revelations of a
+		manuscript whereof the few lines above alluded to gave promise
+		of such appalling interest,—those lines which ran thus:
+		“Merciless scalpel hacked and hewed away at the still almost
+		palpitating flesh of the murdered man, in whose breast the
+		dagger remained deeply buried,—a ferocious joy—a savage,
+		hyena-like triumph now——”</p>
+
+		<p>But we are to some extent digressing from the thread of our
+		narrative.</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page122" title="122"> </a>Nisida placed the lamp in the chimney, in such a way that
+		its light was concealed so as to leave all the immediate vicinity
+		of the door in a state of complete darkness; and she seated
+		herself in a chair close by, to await the expected events of
+		midnight.</p>
+
+		<p>Slowly, slowly passed the intervening twenty minutes; and
+		the lady had ample leisure to reflect upon all the incidents of
+		her life—ay, and to shudder too at one which had dyed her
+		hand with blood—the blood of Agnes!</p>
+
+		<p>Yet, though she shuddered thus, she did not look upon it with
+		that unbounded, tremendous horror that would be experienced
+		by a lady similarly placed in these times; for jealousy was a
+		feeling that, by the tacit convention of a vitiated society, was
+		an excuse for even murder; and, moreover, she possessed the
+		true Italian heart, which deemed the death of a rival in love a
+		justifiable act of vengeance.</p>
+
+		<p>But she felt some compunction, because she had learnt, when
+		it was too late, that Agnes was not the mistress of Fernand
+		Wagner; and she was convinced that in affirming this much he
+		had uttered the strictest truth.</p>
+
+		<p>Thus was she rather grieved at the fatal mistake than appalled
+		by the deed itself; and she shuddered because she knew that her
+		fearful impetuosity of disposition had led to the unnecessary
+		deed which had entailed so dark a suspicion and so much peril
+		upon her lover.</p>
+
+		<p>She was in the midst of these and other reflections connected
+		with the various salient features of her life, when the door of
+		the room was slowly and cautiously opened, and a man entered,
+		bearing a lantern in his hand.</p>
+
+		<p>Two others followed close behind him.</p>
+
+		<p>“Shut the door, Lomellino,” said the foremost.</p>
+
+		<p>“But are you sure that this is the room?” asked the man thus
+		addressed.</p>
+
+		<p>“Certain,” was the reply. “Antonio described its situation
+		so clearly——”</p>
+
+		<p>“Then why did he not join us?”</p>
+
+		<p>“How do I know? But that need not prevent us——”</p>
+
+		<p>Nisida at this moment raised the lamp from the fire-place, and
+		the light flashing at that end of the room, produced a sudden
+		start and ejaculation on the part of the banditti.</p>
+
+		<p>“Perdition!” cried Stephano, “what can this mean?”</p>
+
+		<p>Nisida advanced toward the robbers in a manner so calm, so
+		dignified, so imperious, and so totally undaunted by their presence,
+		that they were for a moment paralyzed and rooted to the
+		spot as if they were confronted by a specter.</p>
+
+		<p>But at the next instant Stephano uttered an exclamation of
+		mingled surprise and joy, adding, “By my patron saint!
+		Lomellino, this is the very lady of whom I spoke to you the
+		other evening!”</p>
+
+		<p>“What, the one who did the business so well in——”</p>
+
+		<p>“Yes, yes,” cried Stephano hastily; “you know what I mean—in
+		Wagner’s garden! But——”</p>
+
+		<p>Nisida had in the meantime drawn from her bosom one of the
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page123" title="123"> </a>slips of paper before alluded to; and, handing it to the bandit-chief,
+		she made a hasty and imperious motion for him to read it.</p>
+
+		<p>He obeyed her with the mechanical submission produced by
+		astonishment and curiosity, mingled with admiration for that
+		bold and daring woman, whom he already loved and resolved
+		to win: but his surprise was increased a hundred-fold, when he
+		perused these lines:—“I am the Lady Nisida of Riverola. Your
+		design is known to me; it matters not how. Rumor has doubtless
+		told you that I am deaf and dumb; hence this mode of communicating
+		with you. You have been deluded by an idle knave—for
+		there is no treasure in the closet yonder. Even if there
+		had been, I should have removed it the moment your intended
+		predatory visit was made known to me. But you can serve
+		me; and I will reward you well for your present disappointment.”</p>
+
+		<p>“What does the paper say?” demanded Lomellino and Piero,
+		the captain’s two companions, almost in the same breath.</p>
+
+		<p>“It says just this much,” returned Stephano—and he read the
+		writing aloud.</p>
+
+		<p>“The Lady Nisida!” ejaculated Lomellino. “Then it is she
+		who used her dagger so well in Wagner’s garden.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Peace, silly fool!” cried Stephano. “You have now let out
+		the secret to Piero. True, ’tis no matter, as he is as stanch to
+		me as you are; and therefore he may as well know that this
+		lady here was the murderess of the young female in Wagner’s
+		garden: for I saw her do the deed when I was concealed among
+		the evergreens there. She is as much in our power as we are in
+		hers, and we will let her know it if she means any treachery.”</p>
+
+		<p>“But how could she have discovered that we meant to come
+		here to-night, and what our object was?” asked Piero.</p>
+
+		<p>“Antonio must have peached, that’s clear!” returned Stephano;
+		“and therefore he did not join us, as agreed, in the hall
+		down-stairs. But no matter. It seems there’s gold to be earned
+		in this lady’s service: and even if there wasn’t I have such an
+		affection for her I would cut the throat of the duke or the
+		cardinal archbishop himself merely to give her pleasure.”</p>
+
+		<p>Then turning toward Nisida, whose courage seemed partially
+		to have abandoned her, for her countenance was ghastly pale,
+		and her hand trembled so that it could scarcely hold the lamp,
+		Stephano made a low bow, as much as to imply that he was entirely
+		at her service.</p>
+
+		<p>Nisida made a powerful effort to subdue the emotions that
+		were agitating her: and, advancing toward the door, she made
+		a sign for the banditti to follow her.</p>
+
+		<p>She led them to her own suit of apartments, and to the innermost
+		room—her own bed-chamber—having carefully secured
+		the several doors through which they passed.</p>
+
+		<p>The banditti stood round the table, their eyes wandering from
+		the six tempting-looking money-bags to the countenance of Nisida,
+		and then back to the little sacks; but Stephano studied
+		more the countenance than the other objects of attraction; for
+		Nisida’s face once more expressed firm resolution and her
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page124" title="124"> </a>haughty, imperious, determined aspect, combined with her
+		extraordinary beauty, fired the robber-chieftain’s heart.</p>
+
+		<p>Taking from her bosom another slip of paper, she passed it to
+		Stephano, who read its contents aloud for the benefit of his
+		companions—“The trial of Fernand Wagner will take place
+		this day week. If he be acquitted, your services will not be required.
+		If he be condemned, are ye valiant and daring enough
+		(sufficiently numerous ye are, being upward of fifty in all) to
+		rescue him on his way back from the judgment-hall to the prison
+		of the ducal palace? The six bags of gold now upon the table
+		are yours, as an earnest of reward, if ye assent. Double that
+		amount shall be yours if ye succeed.”</p>
+
+		<p>“It is a generous proposition,” observed Lomellino.</p>
+
+		<p>“But a dangerous one,” said Piero.</p>
+
+		<p>“Nevertheless, it shall be accepted, if only for her fair self’s
+		sake,” exclaimed Stephano, completely dazzled by Nisida’s surpassing
+		majesty of loveliness; then, with a low bow, he intimated
+		his readiness to undertake the enterprise.</p>
+
+		<p>Nisida handed him a third paper, on which the following
+		lines were written:—“Take the gold with you, as a proof of the
+		confidence I place in you. See that you deceive me not; for I
+		have the power to avenge as well as to reward. On Sunday
+		evening next let one of you meet me, at ten o’clock, near the
+		principal entrance of the Cathedral of St. Mary, and I will deliver
+		the written instructions of the mode of proceeding which
+		circumstances may render necessary.”</p>
+
+		<p>“I shall keep the appointment myself,” said Stephano to his
+		companions; and another obsequious but somewhat coarse bow
+		denoted full compliance with all that Nisida had required through
+		the medium of the slips of paper.</p>
+
+		<p>She made a sign for the banditti to take the bags of gold from
+		the table, an intimation which Piero and Lomellino did not hesitate
+		to obey.</p>
+
+		<p>The private staircase leading into the garden then afforded
+		them the means of an unobserved departure; and Nisida felt rejoiced
+		at the success of her midnight interview with the chiefs
+		of the Florentine banditti.</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_30" class="chapter">
+		<h3>CHAPTER XXX.<br />
+			<span class="subtitle">FLORA’S CAPTIVITY—A COMPANION—THE LIVING TOMB.</span></h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">Six</span> days had now elapsed since Flora Francatelli became an
+		inmate of the Carmelite Convent.</p>
+
+		<p>During this period she was frequently visited in her cell by
+		Sister Alba, the nun who had received her at the bottom of the
+		pit or well into which she descended by means of the chair;
+		and that recluse gradually prepared her to fix her mind upon
+		the necessity of embracing a conventual life.</p>
+
+		<p>It was not, however, without feelings of the most intense—the
+		most acute—the most bitter anguish, that the unhappy
+		maiden received the announcement that she was to pass the
+		remainder of her existence in that monastic institution.</p>
+
+		<p>All the eloquence—all the sophistry—all the persuasion of
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page125" title="125"> </a>Sister Alba, who presided over the department of the penitents,
+		failed to make her believe that such a step was necessary for her
+		eternal salvation.</p>
+
+		<p>“No,” exclaimed Flora, “the good God has not formed this
+		earth so fair that mortals should close their eyes upon its beauties.
+		The flowers, the green trees, the smiling pastures, the cypress
+		groves were not intended to be gazed upon from the barred
+		windows of a prison-house.”</p>
+
+		<p>Then the nun would reason with her on the necessity of self-denial
+		and self-mortification; and Flora would listen attentively;
+		but if she gave no reply, it was not because she was convinced.</p>
+
+		<p>When she was alone in her cell she sat upon her humble pallet,
+		pondering upon her mournful condition, and sometimes
+		giving way to all the anguish of her heart, or else remaining
+		silent and still in the immovability of dumb despair.</p>
+
+		<p>Her suspicions often fell upon the Lady Nisida as the cause of
+		her terrible immurement in that living tomb—especially when
+		she remembered the coldness with which her mistress had
+		treated her a day or two previous to her forced abduction from
+		the Riverola Palace. Those suspicions seemed confirmed, too,
+		by the nature of the discourse which Sister Alba had first addressed
+		to her, when she upbraided her with having given way
+		to “those carnal notions—those hopes—those fears—those
+		dreams of happiness, which constitute the passion that the world
+		calls love.”</p>
+
+		<p>The reader will remember that Flora had suspected the coolness
+		of Nisida to have risen from a knowledge of Francisco’s
+		love for the young maiden; and every word which Sister Alba
+		had uttered in allusion to the passion of love seemed to point to
+		that same fact.</p>
+
+		<p>Thus was Flora convinced that it was this unfortunate attachment,
+		in which for a moment she had felt herself so supremely
+		blest, that was the source of her misfortunes. But then, how
+		had Nisida discovered the secret? This was an enigma defying
+		conjecture; for Francisco was too honorable to reveal his love
+		to his sister, after having so earnestly enjoined Flora herself not
+		to betray that secret.</p>
+
+		<p>At times a gleam of hope would dawn in upon her soul, even
+		through the massive walls of that living tomb to which she appeared
+		to have been consigned. Would Francisco forget her?
+		Oh! no, she felt certain that he would leave no measure untried
+		to discover her fate, no means unessayed to effect her deliverance.</p>
+
+		<p>But, alas! then would come the maddening thought that he
+		might be deceived with regard to her real position; that the
+		same enemy or enemies who had persecuted her might invent
+		some specious tale to account for her absence, and deter him
+		from persevering in his inquiries concerning her.</p>
+
+		<p>Thus was the unhappy maiden a prey to a thousand conflicting
+		sentiments; unable to settle her mind upon any conviction
+		save the appalling one which made her feel the stern truth of
+		her captivity.</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page126" title="126"> </a>Oh! to be condemned so young to perpetual prisonage, was
+		indeed hard, too hard—enough to make reason totter on its
+		throne and paralyze the powers of even the strongest intellect.</p>
+
+		<p>Sister Alba had sketched out to her the course of existence on
+		which she must prepare to enter. Ten days of prayer and sorry
+		food in her own cell were first enjoined as a preliminary, to be
+		followed by admission into the number of penitents who lacerated
+		their naked forms with scourges at the foot of the altar.
+		Then the period of her penitence in this manner would be determined
+		by the manifestations of contrition which she might
+		evince, and which would be proved by the frequency of her self-flagellations,
+		the severity with which the scourge was applied,
+		and the anxiety which she might express to become a member
+		of the holy sisterhood. When the term of penitence should arrive,
+		the maiden would be removed to the department of the
+		convent inhabited by the professed nuns; and then her flowing
+		hair would be cut short, and she would enter on her novitiate
+		previously to taking the veil, that last, last step in the conventual
+		regime, which would forever raise up an insuperable barrier
+		between herself and the great, the beautiful, the glorious world
+		without!</p>
+
+		<p>Such was the picture spread for the contemplation of this
+		charming, but hapless maiden.</p>
+
+		<p>Need we wonder if her glances recoiled from her prospects, as
+		if from some loathsome specter, or from a hideous serpent
+		preparing to dart from its coils and twine its slimy folds around
+		her?</p>
+
+		<p>Nor was the place in which she was a prisoner calculated to
+		dissipate her gloomy reflections.</p>
+
+		<p>It seemed a vast cavern hollowed out of the bowels of the
+		earth, rendered solid by masonry and divided into various compartments.
+		No windows were there to admit the pure light of
+		day; an artificial luster, provided by lamps and tapers, prevailed
+		eternally in that earthly purgatory.</p>
+
+		<p>Sometimes the stillness of death, the solemn silence of the
+		tomb reigned throughout that place: then the awful tranquillity
+		would be suddenly broken by the dreadful shrieks, the prayers,
+		the lamentations, and the scourges of the penitents.</p>
+
+		<p>The spectacle of these unfortunate creatures, with their naked
+		forms writhing and bleeding beneath the self-inflicted stripes,
+		which they doubtless rendered as severe as possible in order to
+		escape the sooner from that terrible preparation for their novitiate—this
+		spectacle, we say, was so appalling to the contemplation
+		of Flora, that she seldom quitted her own cell to set foot in
+		the chamber of penitence. But there were times when her
+		thoughts became so torturing, and the solitude of her stone
+		chamber so terrible, that she was compelled to open the door
+		and escape from those painful ideas and that hideous loneliness,
+		even though the scene merely shifted to a reality from which her
+		gentle spirit recoiled in horror and dismay.</p>
+
+		<p>But circumstances soon gave her a companion in her cell.
+		For, on the second night of her abode in that place, the noise of
+		the well-known machinery was heard; the revolution of wheels
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page127" title="127"> </a>and the play of the dreadful mechanism raised ominous echoes
+		throughout the subterrane. Another victim came: all the
+		cells were tenanted: and the new-comer was therefore lodged
+		with Flora, whose own grief was partially forgotten, or at all
+		events mitigated, in the truly Christian task of consoling a fellow-sufferer.</p>
+
+		<p>Thus it was that the Countess of Arestino and Flora Francatelli
+		became companions in the Carmelite convent.</p>
+
+		<p>At first the wretched Giulia gave way to her despair, and refused
+		all comfort. But so gentle, so willing, so softly fascinating
+		were the ways of the beautiful Flora, and so much sincerity
+		did the charming girl manifest in her attempts to revive that
+		frail but drooping flower which had been thrown as it were at
+		her feet; at the feet of her, a pure though also drooping rosebud
+		of innocence and beauty: so earnest did the maiden seem in her
+		disinterested attentions, that Giulia yielded to the benign influence,
+		and became comparatively composed.</p>
+
+		<p>But mutual confidence, that outpouring of the soul’s heavy
+		secrets, which so much alleviates the distress of the female
+		mind, did not spring up between the countess and Flora; because
+		the former shrank from revealing the narrative of her
+		frailty, and the latter chose not to impart her love for the young
+		Count of Riverola. Nevertheless, the countess gave her companion
+		to understand that she had friends without, who were
+		acquainted with the fact of her removal to the Carmelite convent,
+		and on whose fidelity as well as a resolute valor she could
+		reckon; for the promise made to her by the robber-captain, and
+		the idea that the Marquis of Orsini would not leave her to the
+		dreadful fate of eternal seclusion in that place, flashed to her
+		mind when the first access of despair had passed.</p>
+
+		<p>Flora was delighted to hear that such a hope animated the
+		Countess of Arestino: and throwing herself at her feet, she said,
+		“Oh! lady, should’st thou have the power to save me——”</p>
+
+		<p>“Thinkest thou that I would leave thee here, in this horrible
+		dungeon?” interrupted the countess, raising Flora from her suppliant
+		position on the cold pavement of the cell, and embracing
+		her. “No, if those on whom I rely fulfill the hope that we have
+		entertained we shall go forth together. And, oh!” added the
+		countess, “were all Florence to rise up against this accursed institution,
+		pillage it, and sack it, and raze it to the ground, so that
+		not one stone shall remain upon another, heaven could not
+		frown upon the deed! For surely demons in mortal shape must
+		have invented that terrible engine by means of which I was consigned
+		to this subterrane!”</p>
+
+		<p>The recollection of the anguish she had suffered during the
+		descent, a mental agony that Flora herself could fully appreciate,
+		she having passed through the same infernal ordeal, produced a
+		cold shudder which oscillated throughout Giulia’s entire form.</p>
+
+		<p>But we shall not dwell upon this portion of our tale; for the
+		reader is about to pass to scenes of so thrilling a nature, that all
+		he has yet read in the preceding chapters are as nothing to the
+		events which will occupy those that are to follow.</p>
+
+		<p>We said then, at the opening of this chapter, that six days had
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page128" title="128"> </a>elapsed since Flora became an inmate of the convent, and four
+		since circumstances had given her a companion in the person
+		of Giulia of Arestino.</p>
+
+		<p>It was on the sixth night, and the two inmates of the gloomy
+		cell were preparing to retire to their humble pallet, after offering
+		their prayers to the Virgin, for adversity had already taught
+		the countess to pray, and to pray devoutly, too, when they were
+		startled and alarmed by the sudden clang of a large bell fixed in
+		some part of the subterrane.</p>
+
+		<p>The echoes which it raised, and the monotonous vibration of
+		the air which it produced, struck terror to their souls.</p>
+
+		<p>A minute elapsed, and again the bell struck.</p>
+
+		<p>Flora and the countess exchanged glances of terror and mysterious
+		doubt, so ominous was that sound.</p>
+
+		<p>Again a minute passed, and a third time clanged that heavy
+		iron tongue.</p>
+
+		<p>Then commenced a funeral hymn, chanted by several female
+		voices, and emanating as yet from a distance, sounding, too, as
+		if the mournful melody was made within the very bowels of
+		the earth.</p>
+
+		<p>But by degrees the strain became louder, as those who sang
+		approached nearer; and in a short time the sound of many light
+		steps on the stone pavement of the chamber of penitence were
+		heard by Giulia and her companion in their cell.</p>
+
+		<p>Again did they exchange terrified glances, as if demanding of
+		each other what this strange interruption of night’s silence
+		could mean. But at that instant the hymn ceased—and again
+		the loud bell clanged, as if in some far-off gallery hollowed out
+		of the earth.</p>
+
+		<p>Oh! in that convent where all was mysterious, and where a
+		terrific despotism obeyed the dictates of its own wild will, such
+		sounds as that funeral chant, and that deafening bell, were but
+		too fairly calculated to inspire the souls of the innocent Flora
+		and the guilty Giulia with the wildest apprehension!</p>
+
+		<p>Suddenly the door opened, and Sister Alba, who presided over
+		the chamber of penitence, appeared on the threshold.</p>
+
+		<p>“Come forth, daughters!” she exclaimed; “and behold the
+		punishment due to female frailty.”</p>
+
+		<p>The Countess of Arestino and Flora Francatelli mechanically
+		obeyed this command; and a strange—a heart-rending sight met
+		their eyes.</p>
+
+		<p>The chamber of penitence was filled with nuns in their convent-garbs;
+		and the penitents in a state of semi-nudity. On one
+		side of the apartment, a huge door with massive bolts and
+		chains stood open, allowing a glimpse, by the glare of the lamps,
+		tapers, and torches, of the interior of a small cell that looked
+		like a sepulcher. Near the entrance to that tomb, for such, indeed,
+		it was—stood the lady abbess: and on the pavement near
+		her knelt a young and beautiful girl, with hands clasped and
+		countenance raised in an agony of soul which no human pen
+		can describe. The garments of this hapless being had been torn
+		away from her neck and shoulders, doubtless by the force used
+		to drag her thither: and her suppliant attitude, the despair that
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page129" title="129"> </a>was depicted by her appearance, her extreme loveliness, and the
+		wild glaring of her deep blue eyes, gave her the appearance of
+		something unearthly in the glare of that vacillating light.</p>
+
+		<p>“No, daughter,” said the abbess, in a cold, stern voice; “there
+		is no mercy for you on earth.”</p>
+
+		<p>Then echoed through the chamber of penitence a scream, a
+		shriek so wild, so long, so full of agony, that it penetrated to
+		the hearts of Flora, the countess, and some of the penitents,
+		although the abbess and her nuns seemed unmoved by that appalling
+		evidence of female anguish. At the same instant the
+		bell struck again; and the funeral hymn was recommenced by
+		the junior recluses.</p>
+
+		<p>Sister Alba now approached Flora and the countess, and said
+		in a low whisper, “The vengeance of the conventual discipline
+		is terrible on those who sin! That miserable girl completed her
+		novitiate five months ago; and the night before she was to take
+		the veil she escaped. This awful crime she committed for the sake
+		of some man she had known ere she first entered the convent,
+		and for whom she thus endangered her immortal soul. But her
+		justly incensed relations yesterday discovered her retreat; and
+		she was restored to this house of penitence and peace. Alas!
+		the effects of her frailty were but too apparent; and that benighted
+		girl would become a mother—<em>had she long enough to
+		live</em>!”</p>
+
+		<p>These last words were uttered with terrible significancy; and
+		the nun turned aside, leaving Flora and the countess each a prey
+		to the most unspeakable horror.</p>
+
+		<p>In the meantime the helpless victim of ecclesiastical vengeance—the
+		poor erring creature, who had dared and sacrificed
+		everything for the love of her seducer—had risen from her suppliant
+		posture, and flown wildly—madly round to the elder nuns
+		in succession, imploring mercy, and rending the very roof of the
+		subterrane with piercing screams. But those to whom she appealed
+		turned a deaf ear; for a convent is a tomb in which all
+		human sympathies are immured—a vortex wherein all the best
+		feelings that concrete in the mortal heart are cruelly engulfed!</p>
+
+		<p>And while this wretched girl—for she was scarcely yet a
+		woman, although were life spared her, on the way to maternity—was
+		thus fruitlessly imploring the mercy of hearts that were
+		stern and remorseless, the hymn continued, and the bell tolled
+		at short intervals.</p>
+
+		<p>Suddenly at a particular verse in the funeral chant, the three
+		nuns who usually did the bidding of the lady abbess, glided
+		noiselessly—but surely, like black serpents—toward the victim—seized
+		her in their powerful grasp—and bore her to the cell in
+		which she was to be immured.</p>
+
+		<p>The choir of nuns raised their voices, and the bell now clanged
+		quickly with its almost deafening note—and those human and
+		metallic sounds combined to deaden the screams that burst from
+		the miserable girl, on whom the huge door at length closed with
+		fearful din.</p>
+
+		<p>The massive bolts were drawn—the key turned harshly in the
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page130" title="130"> </a>lock and still the shrieks came from within the sepulcher where
+		a human being was <em>entombed alive</em>!</p>
+
+		<p>So sickening a sensation came over Flora and the countess,
+		when the last act of the awful tragedy was thus concluded, that
+		they reeled back to their cell with brains so confused, and such
+		horrible visions floating before their eyes, that their very senses
+		appeared to be abandoning them.</p>
+
+		<p>When they were enabled to collect their scattered ideas, and
+		the incidents of the last half-hour assumed a definite shape in their
+		memories, the sound of hymn and bell had ceased—the chamber
+		of penitence was deserted—the silence of death reigned throughout
+		the subterrane—nor did even the faintest shriek or scream
+		emanate from the cell in which the victim was entombed.</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_31" class="chapter">
+		<h3>CHAPTER XXXI.<br />
+			<span class="subtitle">THE BANDITTI.</span></h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">The</span> night of which we are speaking was destined to be one
+		pregnant with alarms for the Countess of Arestino and Signora
+		Francatelli.</p>
+
+		<p>Scarcely had they recovered from the effects of the appalling
+		tragedy which had just been enacted, when their attention was
+		drawn to a strange noise on one side of the cell.</p>
+
+		<p>They listened, and the noise continued—resembling an attempt
+		to remove the massive masonry at that part of the stone
+		chamber.</p>
+
+		<p>“Merciful heavens!” said Flora, in a subdued whisper; “what
+		new terror can now be in store for us!”</p>
+
+		<p>But scarcely were these words uttered, when a considerable
+		portion of the masonry fell in with a loud crash; and had not
+		the countess and Flora already withdrawn to the vicinity of the
+		door, when the mysterious sound first began, they would either
+		have been killed or seriously hurt by the falling of the huge
+		stones.</p>
+
+		<p>A faint scream burst from Flora’s lips, and she would have
+		rushed from the cell, had not an ejaculation of joy escaped the
+		countess.</p>
+
+		<p>For at the aperture formed by the falling in of the masonry,
+		and by the glare of the light that shone on the other side, as
+		well as by the dim taper that burnt before the crucifix in the
+		cell, Giulia had in an instant recognized the countenance of the
+		Marquis of Orsini.</p>
+
+		<p>“Manuel!—dearest Manuel!” she exclaimed, rushing toward
+		the aperture: “art thou come to save me?”</p>
+
+		<p>“Yes, Giulia,” replied the marquis. “But by what good
+		fortune art thou the very first whom it is my destiny to encounter?
+		and who is thy companion?”</p>
+
+		<p>“A good—a generous-hearted girl, whom you must save also
+		from this dreadful place,” answered the countess. “And as for
+		this accidental, but most fortunate encounter, I can tell you
+		no more than that this is our cell. It is rather for me to ask——”</p>
+
+		<p>“We have no time to waste in idle talk, my lord,” said
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page131" title="131"> </a>Stephano, who now appeared at the aperture. “Pardon my
+		roughness, noble lady—but every moment is precious. Is there
+		any danger of an alarm being given?”</p>
+
+		<p>“None that I am aware of,” returned the countess. “The
+		place where we now are must be a hundred yards below the
+		surface of the earth——”</p>
+
+		<p>“No, my lady—that is impossible,” interrupted Stephano; “a
+		hundred feet at the most—and even that is above the mark.
+		But stand back, my lady, while we remove some more of this
+		solid masonry.”</p>
+
+		<p>Giulia obeyed the robber-chief, and turned to embrace Flora
+		with the liveliest manifestations of joy, which the young maiden
+		sincerely shared—for escape now appeared to be at hand.</p>
+
+		<p>The aperture was rapidly enlarged by those who worked on
+		the other side, and in a few minutes it was spacious enough to
+		admit the passage of a human form. Then Giulia and Flora
+		quitted their dismal cell, and entered the innermost chamber of
+		the robbers’ hold, but from which the treasures described in a
+		previous chapter had all been removed away.</p>
+
+		<p>Giulia embraced the marquis with grateful affection; but
+		Stephano exclaimed, “Come, my lord! Remember your oath,
+		and join us in this expedition to the end!”</p>
+
+		<p>At that moment the awful tragedy of the night flashed back
+		to Flora’s memory, from which nothing could have dispelled it
+		even for an instant, save the thrilling excitement attendant on
+		the escape from the convent; and in a few hurried words, she
+		told the dreadful tale.</p>
+
+		<p>But what was the astonishment of all present, when Piero,
+		one of the banditti, exclaimed in a tone of mingled rage and
+		grief, “’Tis Carlotta! the victim can be none other—the dates you
+		have mentioned, signora, convince me! Yes—five months ago
+		she fled from that accursed convent—and yesterday she disappeared.
+		Ah! my poor Carlotta!”</p>
+
+		<p>And the rude but handsome brigand wept.</p>
+
+		<p>Flora, forgetting the danger of re-entering the walls of the
+		terrible institution, exclaimed, “Follow me—it may not be too
+		late—I will show you the cell——”</p>
+
+		<p>And she once more passed through the aperture, closely followed
+		by Stephano, Piero, Lomellino, and a dozen other banditti.
+		The Marquis of Orsini stayed behind a few moments, to
+		breathe a reassuring word to Giulia, whom he left in the treasure
+		chamber (as that apartment of the robbers’ hold was called),
+		and then hastened after those who had penetrated into the subterrane
+		of the convent.</p>
+
+		<p>The party entered the chamber of penitence, where the long
+		wax candles were still burning before the altar; and Flora having
+		hastily given Stephano as much information as she could
+		relative to the geography of the place, that chieftain placed sentinels
+		around. Flora had already pointed out the door of the
+		dungeon to which Carlotta had been consigned; and Piero hastened
+		to call upon his mistress to answer him.</p>
+
+		<p>It was a touching spectacle to behold that lawless and bold,
+		bad man melting into tenderness beneath the influence of love!</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page132" title="132"> </a>But no reply came from within that dungeon; and though the
+		bolts were easily drawn back, yet the lock was strong, and the
+		key was not there!</p>
+
+		<p>By this time the penitents, who slept in the various cells adjoining
+		the chamber, had become alarmed by the heavy tread
+		and the voices of men, and had opened their doors. But they
+		were desired to keep back by the sentinels, whom Stephano had
+		posted around to maintain order and prevent a premature
+		alarm, but who, nevertheless, gave assurances of speedy escape
+		to those who might choose to profit by the opportunity.</p>
+
+		<p>Suddenly a door, which Flora had never noticed before in the
+		chamber of penitence, opened, and two recluses appeared on
+		the threshold.</p>
+
+		<p>“The abbess!” ejaculated Flora, yielding to a sudden impulse
+		of alarm.</p>
+
+		<p>But almost at the same instant Stephano sprung forward,
+		caught the abbess by the arm, and dragged her into the chamber;
+		then rushing up a flight of narrow stone steps, with
+		which that door communicated, and which the other recluse
+		had already turned to ascend, he brought her forcibly back
+		also. This latter nun was Sister Alba, the presiding authority
+		of the chamber of penitence.</p>
+
+		<p>Her astonishment, as well as that of the lady abbess, at the
+		spectacle of a number of armed men in the most private part of
+		the entire establishment, may well be conceived; nor was this
+		disagreeable surprise unmixed with intense alarm. But they
+		had little time for reflection.</p>
+
+		<p>“The key of that door!” cried Stephano in a fierce and menacing
+		tone, as he pointed toward Carlotta’s dungeon.</p>
+
+		<p>The abbess mechanically drew forth the key from beneath her
+		convent-habit, and Piero, rushing forward, clutched it eagerly.
+		In a few moments it turned in the lock—the next moment the
+		door stood open.</p>
+
+		<p>But what a spectacle met the view of Piero, Flora, and those
+		who were near enough to glance within! Stretched upon the
+		stone floor of the narrow cell lay the victim—motionless and
+		still! Drops of gore hung to her lips; in the agony of her grief
+		she had burst a blood-vessel—and death must have been almost
+		instantaneous.</p>
+
+		<p>Flora staggered back—sick at the dreadful sight; and she
+		would have fallen to the ground had not the Marquis of Orsini
+		suddenly sprung forward to sustain her.</p>
+
+		<p>“This is no place for you, young lady,” he said. “Permit
+		me to conduct you back to the companionship of the Countess
+		of Arestino.”</p>
+
+		<p>Flora leant upon his arm, and he half carried, rather than led
+		her away from the chamber of penitence into the robbers’ hold.
+		But as they passed through the aperture formed by the removal
+		of the masonry, a terrible menace met their ears.</p>
+
+		<p>“Vengeance!” cried Piero, furiously; “vengeance on the
+		murderess of Carlotta!”</p>
+
+		<p>“Yes—vengeance shalt thou have, comrade,” returned the
+		deep, sonorous voice of Stephano.</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page133" title="133"> </a>But scarcely were those words uttered, when the loud clanging
+		of the bell struck up; and the abbess exclaimed joyfully,
+		“We are saved! we are saved!”</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_32" class="chapter">
+		<h3>CHAPTER XXXII.<br />
+			<span class="subtitle">THE MYSTERY OF THE CHAIR—THE CATASTROPHE.</span></h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">The</span> reader will recollect that when Flora Francatelli was released
+		from the chair at the bottom of the pit or well, Sister
+		Alba had led her along a narrow, dark passage communicating
+		with the chamber of penitence.</p>
+
+		<p>In a small dome-like cavity, hollowed out of the roof of this
+		passage, hung a large bell; and in a cell opening from the side
+		of the passage immediately beneath the dome, dwelt an old nun,
+		who, for some dreadful misdeed committed in her youth, had
+		voluntarily consigned herself to the convent of the Carmelites,
+		and, having passed through the ordeal of the chamber of penitence,
+		had accepted the office of sextoness in that department of
+		the establishment.</p>
+
+		<p>It was her duty to keep the chamber of penitence clean,
+		maintain tapers constantly burning before the altar, supply also
+		the cells of the penitents themselves with lights, and toll the
+		bell whenever occasion required. She it was who had visited
+		Flora’s cell the first night of her arrival at the convent, to renew
+		the taper that burnt before her crucifix, and to exchange
+		the maiden’s attire for the conventual garb.</p>
+
+		<p>This old nun it was, then, who suddenly tolled the bell, at the
+		moment when Piero and Stephano were menacing the abbess
+		and Sister Alba with their vengeance, and when the Marquis of
+		Orsini was bearing away Flora to the robbers’ hold, that she
+		might have the companionship of Giulia.</p>
+
+		<p>The way in which the old nun rang the bell was such that the
+		inmates of the convent would perceive it to be an alarm; and
+		moreover, so sudden was its startling clang, that Stephano and
+		Piero abandoned their hold upon the abbess and Sister Alba,
+		and retreated a few paces, uncertain how to act; hence the exclamation
+		of the superior of the convent, “We are saved! we
+		are saved!”</p>
+
+		<p>But little did that stern, imperious woman know of the desperate
+		characters of those with whom she had now to deal.
+		Ashamed of their momentary hesitation, Stephano and Piero
+		rushed on the abbess and Sister Alba, and dragged them, in
+		spite of their deafening screams, into that fatal cell, where they
+		threw them headlong over the lifeless corpse of their victim.</p>
+
+		<p>Scarcely, however, had they closed the door on the wretched
+		woman, when the Marquis of Orsini returned; and, too well divining
+		what had passed, he exclaimed, “In the name of Heaven,
+		captain!—by all that is holy, Piero! I implore you not to consummate
+		this dreadful crime!”</p>
+
+		<p>“My lord,” said Stephano, “ere we entered on this expedition
+		to-night, you bound yourself by an oath to obey me as the leader.
+		I command you then not to interfere with our proceedings; but,
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page134" title="134"> </a>on the contrary, go and ascertain whence comes the clanging of
+		that infernal bell.”</p>
+
+		<p>The marquis turned aside, sick at heart at the deed of vengeance
+		which was in progress, but unable to remonstrate
+		further, in consequence of the oath which he had taken. It
+		was, however, a relief for him to move away from the vicinity
+		of the living tomb, whence emanated the shrieks of the abbess
+		and the nun; and guided by the sound of the bell, he rushed,
+		with whirling brain and desperate resolution, into the passage
+		leading from the chamber of penitence.</p>
+
+		<p>In a few moments the clanging of the bell ceased, for the
+		marquis had discovered the old sextoness in her cell, and compelled
+		her to desist.</p>
+
+		<p>All the events yet recorded in the preceding and the present
+		chapter had occurred with a rapidity which the reader can
+		scarcely comprehend, because their complicated nature and
+		variety have forced us to enter into minute details requiring a
+		considerable time to peruse. Those events which we are now
+		about to describe also succeeded each other with marvelous
+		speed, and occupied an incredibly short space of time, although
+		our narrative must necessarily appear prolix in comparison.</p>
+
+		<p>Extraordinary was the excitement that now prevailed in all
+		the subterranean department of the convent. The victims of a
+		stern but just vengeance were sending forth appalling screams
+		from the fatal dungeon; and some of the penitents in their cells,
+		which were still guarded by the sentinels, were also giving vent
+		to their affright by means of piercing shrieks, though others remained
+		tranquil in hope of the promised release.</p>
+
+		<p>Stephano had entirely recovered his presence of mind, and
+		now issued his orders with wondrous rapidity.</p>
+
+		<p>Pointing to the door by which the abbess and Sister Alba had
+		entered the chamber of penitence, he said, “Lomellino, that is
+		the way to the upper part of the convent—there can be no doubt
+		of it! Take Piero and half a dozen of the men, and hasten up
+		that staircase. Secure the front gate of the building, and possess
+		yourself of the plate and treasure. But no violence, remember—no
+		violence to the nuns.”</p>
+
+		<p>Lomellino, Piero, and six of the banditti hastened to obey
+		these commands, while Stephano remained below to act as circumstances
+		might require. He went the round of the five cells
+		belonging to the penitents, and enjoined those who were yielding
+		to their terrors to hold their peace, as they had nothing to
+		fear, but much to gain—at least, he observed, if they valued
+		their freedom; and to those who were tranquil he repeated the
+		assurances of speedy liberation already given by his men.</p>
+
+		<p>For thirty years the old woman had not seen a being of the
+		male sex; and she was terrified by the appearance of an armed
+		man in that place which she had so long deemed sacred against
+		the possibility of such an intrusion.</p>
+
+		<p>“Fear nothing,” said the marquis, “no one will harm you.
+		But what will be the effect of that alarm which you have
+		rung?”</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page135" title="135"> </a>“Merely to warn those above that something unusual is
+		taking place below,” answered the old woman.</p>
+
+		<p>“And by what means can access be obtained to this subterrane?”
+		demanded the marquis.</p>
+
+		<p>“There is a staircase leading from the chamber of penitence
+		up into the hall of the convent——”</p>
+
+		<p>“Of the existence of that staircase I am aware,” interrupted
+		the marquis, who had seen the abbess and Sister Alba enter
+		the chamber of penitence a few minutes previously, as stated
+		in the preceding chapter; “but are there no means of ingress
+		or egress?”</p>
+
+		<p>“Yes; follow me,” said the sextoness.</p>
+
+		<p>Taking up a lamp from the table in her cell, she led the way
+		to the further end of the passage, threw open a door, and thrusting
+		forth the light beyond the opening, exclaimed in a tone denoting
+		a reminiscence the bitterness of which long years had
+		scarcely mitigated—“That is the road whereby I came hither;
+		and many, many others have traveled the same downward
+		path!”</p>
+
+		<p>The marquis seized the lamp, and beheld, a few paces from
+		from him, a wicker chair, to which two ropes, hanging perpendicularly
+		down, were fastened. He raised his eyes, following
+		the direction of the ropes, but as there was now no other light
+		in the pit than the feeble, flickering one shed by the lamp which
+		he held, his glances could not penetrate the dense obscurity that
+		prevailed above.</p>
+
+		<p>“What means this chair, with its two ropes? and for what
+		purpose is this narrow, square compartment, the mouth of
+		which is shrouded in darkness?” inquired Manuel.</p>
+
+		<p>“This is the method of descent to this region, for all those
+		who come to this convent either as willing penitents, or who are
+		sent hither against their inclination,” returned the sextoness.
+		“And though I came a willing penitent, yet never, never while
+		the breath shall animate this poor, weak form, and reason shall
+		remain, can I forget the mental agony, the intense anguish, of
+		that fearful descent. Ah! it is a cruel engine of torture, although
+		it tears not the flesh, nor racks the limbs, nor dislocates
+		the joints. And even though thirty long years have passed
+		since I made that dread journey,” she continued, glancing upwards—“thirty
+		years since I last saw the light of day—and
+		though I have since learned and seen how much of the horror
+		of that descent is produced by the delusion of mechanical ingenuity—yet
+		still I shudder, and my blood runs cold within
+		me.”</p>
+
+		<p>“To me, old woman,” said the marquis, “your words are an
+		enigma. But you have excited my curiosity: speak quickly,
+		and explain yourself, for I may not linger here.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Behold this basket,” returned the nun, without further preface—“these
+		ropes connect it with complicated machinery in
+		some chamber adjoining the well itself. In that basket those
+		who are doomed to pass the ordeal of penitence are lowered
+		from an apartment above. This apartment is really but a short
+		distance overhead: but the art of the mechanist has so contrived
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page136" title="136"> </a>the four wooden walls of the well, that when the descent of the
+		basket ceases, those walls rise slowly upward, and thus descent
+		appears to be continued. Then, when the affrighted female
+		stretches forth her hands wildly, she encounters the ascending
+		walls, and she believes that she is still going down—down—down!
+		Oh! signor, it is most horrible, but a fitting prelude to
+		the terrors of that place!”</p>
+
+		<p>And she pointed back toward the chamber of penitence. The
+		marquis was about to make some observation in reply to the
+		strange disclosures of the old sextoness, when suddenly the din
+		of a tumult, occurring, as it seemed, in that department of the
+		convent far overhead, reached his ears, commencing with the
+		rushing of many feet—the ejaculations of hostile bands—and
+		then continuing with the clash of arms, and the shrieks of
+		affrighted women—until, in a few moments, those ominous
+		sounds were broken in upon and dominated by the wild, terrific
+		cry of “Fire! fire!”</p>
+
+		<p>“Oh! wherefore have I tarried here so long?” exclaimed the
+		marquis; and he was about to return to the chamber of penitence,
+		when a sudden blaze of light appeared at the mouth of
+		the pit, thirty yards above. Looking hastily up, he beheld the
+		flames rolling over the entrance of that well at the bottom of
+		which he stood; and, in another minute, the forked fire burst
+		from the sides, forcing for itself a way through the wooden
+		walls; and the old dry timber and planks yielded to the devouring
+		element as if they had been steeped in oil.</p>
+
+		<p>But while the marquis was still standing at the bottom looking
+		up the pit, the clash of weapons, the tread of many steps, and
+		the vociferations of combatants appeared to grow nearer; then
+		in another moment he became aware that the hostile sounds
+		came down the well, and proceeded from the room far above,
+		where the fire as well as the war was raging.</p>
+
+		<p>Manuel had again turned around to hurry back to the chamber
+		of penitence, when a loud cry of despair came vibrating
+		down, and in another instant the heavy form of a man was
+		precipitated into the well. The wicker chair fortunately broke
+		his fall, and he rose with a dreadful imprecation.</p>
+
+		<p>“Piero!” cried the marquis.</p>
+
+		<p>“Ah! my lord, is it you?” said the bandit faintly, as he staggered
+		back and fell heavily on the floor. “This is a bad business—the
+		sbirri were alarmed, and broke in—Lomellino has got
+		away, but the rest who were with me are slain——”</p>
+
+		<p>“And you are wounded, Piero,” ejaculated the marquis,
+		rushing forward to assist the bandit, from whose breast he now
+		perceived the blood to be flowing.</p>
+
+		<p>“Never mind me, my lord!” said Piero faintly. “Haste and
+		tell Verrina that—our men fought well—it was not their fault—nor
+		mine—the nuns must have given—the—alarm——”</p>
+
+		<p>His voice had grown fainter as he spoke: and, while the
+		marquis was endeavoring to raise him, he fell back again, and
+		expired with the name of Carlotta upon his tongue.</p>
+
+		<p>The combat had ceased above, but the flames had increased
+		in the well to such an extent that the marquis was compelled to
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page137" title="137"> </a>beat a rapid retreat toward the chamber of penitence, whither
+		the old sextoness had already fled. At the entrance of that
+		apartment he met Stephano, who, alarmed by the clashing of
+		arms and the cries of “fire” that had reached his ears, and
+		which seemed to come from the direction of the passage, was
+		hurrying thither to learn the cause. In a few words the marquis
+		informed him of all that had occurred.</p>
+
+		<p>“Back to the cavern, my friends!” cried Stephano, in a loud
+		tone. “If the sbirri discover us there, we will resist them to
+		the death.”</p>
+
+		<p>And followed by the marquis and two or three of his men,
+		the captain passed through the aperture made from the cell
+		recently occupied by Flora and the countess, into the treasure-chamber.</p>
+
+		<p>But scarcely had those few individuals effected their retreat
+		in this manner, when a tremendous crash was heard, cries and
+		shrieks of horror and dismay burst from those who had not as
+		yet passed through the opening, and then the roof of the chamber
+		of penitence and all the adjacent cells gave way with a din as of
+		a thousand cannon, burying beneath their weight the sextoness,
+		the five penitents, the inmates of Carlotta’s cell, and seven of
+		the banditti.</p>
+
+		<p>Those who were in the treasure-chamber felt the ground shake
+		beneath their feet; the sides—although hollowed from the solid
+		rock—appeared to vibrate and groan, and the aperture leading
+		into the subterrane of the convent was closed up by the massive
+		masonry that had fallen in.</p>
+
+		<p>Flora and Giulia threw themselves into each other’s arms,
+		weeping bitterly; for they saw how dearly their freedom had
+		been purchased, and they trembled for the result.</p>
+
+		<p>But the Marquis of Orsini, although greatly shocked at the
+		terrible sacrifice of human life which had occurred, exerted himself
+		to console and reassure the two terrified ladies.</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_33" class="chapter">
+		<h3>CHAPTER XXXIII.<br />
+			<span class="subtitle">LOMELLINO’S ESCAPE—STEPHANO’S INTENTIONS.</span></h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">Stephano Verrina</span> was not the man to allow his energies to
+		be paralyzed by the reverse he had just sustained. He immediately
+		commanded a general muster of his men to be held in the
+		banqueting-hall, that he might accurately ascertain the loss his
+		corps had sustained.</p>
+
+		<p>Giulia and Flora were left in the treasure-chamber to snatch
+		a few hours’ repose, if they could, as it was now past two o’clock
+		in the morning, and the marquis accompanied Stephano to the
+		banqueting-hall. Scarcely were the men mustered, when the
+		usual signals announcing the approach of a member of the band
+		were heard, and in a few moments Lomellino appeared amongst
+		the troop.</p>
+
+		<p>All crowded round him to hear the account which he had to
+		give of his expedition and its failure.</p>
+
+		<p>His tale was soon told. It seemed that on reaching what
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page138" title="138"> </a>might be properly termed the main building of the convent, he
+		found the greatest alarm and confusion prevailing amongst the
+		nuns, the shrieks of the abbess, Sister Alba, and the penitents,
+		and the alarm of the bell, having reached the ears of the recluses.
+		Their consternation was increased almost to madness when they
+		suddenly perceived several armed men emerging from the private
+		staircase leading to the subterranean department, and
+		Lomellino found it impossible to tranquilize them either by
+		threats or fair speaking. A guard of sbirri must have been passing
+		at the time, for loud knocks resounded at the gate, which the
+		old portress immediately opened before Lomellino or any of his
+		men could interfere to prevent her. A number of police officers
+		rushed in, and then commenced a terrific combat between the
+		banditti and the sbirri, the former of whom were forced into an
+		apartment, the door of which was originally locked, but was
+		burst open in the deadly struggle. There the strife was continued,
+		when suddenly the cry of “Fire” arose, and the flames,
+		which had caught a bed in the apartment, spread rapidly to the
+		cumbrous and time-worn woodwork that supported the ceiling.
+		How the fire originated, Lomellino knew not, but as some of the
+		nuns carried lamps in their hands, and rushed wildly about in
+		all directions in their terror, it was not very difficult to hazard
+		a conjecture as to the cause of the conflagration. From that
+		apartment, where the fire began, the flames drove the combatants
+		into an inner room, and there Lomellino saw his comrade
+		Piero hurled down some steep place, he himself being too sorely
+		pressed by his assailants to be able to repair to his assistance.</p>
+
+		<p>At length, seeing that all his companions were slain, Lomellino
+		had fought his way desperately through the police-officers,
+		and had succeeded in escaping from the convent, though closely
+		pursued by three of the sbirri. They were rapidly gaining
+		upon him, when an awful crash suddenly met their ears, as
+		they were hurrying along the street leading to the wood; and,
+		looking back, Lomellino beheld a tremendous pillar of flame
+		shoot up from the place where the convent had stood, to the
+		very sky, rendering for the space of a minute everything as light
+		as day around. The building had fallen in, and Heaven only
+		knows how many of the nuns and sbirri had escaped, or how
+		many had perished beneath the ruins! Those officers who were
+		in pursuit of Lomellino were so astounded by the sudden din
+		and the column of flame, that they remained rooted to the spot
+		where they had turned to gaze on the evidence of the catastrophe:
+		and Lomellino had succeeded in effecting a safe and
+		unobserved return to the stronghold.</p>
+
+		<p>This account was particularly welcome to the robbers, inasmuch
+		as it convinced them that the sbirri had no clew to the
+		secret entrance of their stronghold, and that none of their band
+		had been captured in the conflict: for they would rather hear
+		of the death of their comrades than that they had been taken
+		prisoners; because, were the latter the case, the tortures of the
+		rack or the exhortations of the priest might elicit confessions
+		hostile to the interests of the corps.</p>
+
+		<p>Stephano Verrina now proceeded to count his men, who had
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page139" title="139"> </a>mustered fifty strong previously to the expedition of that fatal
+		night, which, it was ascertained, had reduced the number to
+		thirty-six—seven, including Piero, having been slain by the
+		sbirri, and as many having perished by the falling in of the
+		chamber of penitence.</p>
+
+		<p>The captain then addressed the troop in the following manner:</p>
+
+		<p>“Worthy comrades,—our number is sadly reduced; but regrets
+		will not bring back those gallant fellows who are gone. It,
+		therefore, behooves us to attend to our own interests; and, for
+		that purpose, I demand your attention for a few minutes. In
+		pursuance of the resolution to which we came the night before
+		last at the general council that was held, the treasures and possessions
+		amassed during many years of adventure and peril have
+		been fairly divided, and each man’s portion has been settled by
+		lot. The fourteen shares that revert to us by the death of our
+		comrades shall be equally subdivided to-morrow; and the superintendence
+		of that duty, my friends, will be the last act in my
+		chieftainship. Yes, brave comrades,—I shall then leave you, in
+		accordance with the announcement I made the night before
+		last. It will grieve me to part with you; but you will choose
+		another captain——”</p>
+
+		<p>“Lomellino! Lomellino!” exclaimed the banditti with one accord;
+		“he shall succeed our gallant Verrina!”</p>
+
+		<p>“And you could not make a better choice,” continued Stephano.
+		“Lomellino——”</p>
+
+		<p>“Pardon me, captain,” interrupted the individual thus alluded
+		to: “but is not that little expedition to take place on Monday,
+		in case the lady requires it? We have received her gold as
+		an earnest——”</p>
+
+		<p>“And double that amount was promised if the affair should
+		turn out successful,” added Stephano. “But I have reasons of
+		my own, which you may perhaps understand, Lomellino, for
+		desiring that all idea of that business should be abandoned.
+		And in order that the band may not be losers by this change of
+		intentions, I will give you from my own share of our long accumulated
+		treasures——”</p>
+
+		<p>“No! no!” cried the banditti, enthusiastically; “we will not
+		receive our gallant Stephano’s gold! Let him act according to
+		his own wishes!”</p>
+
+		<p>“I thank you, my friends, for this generosity on your part,”
+		said Stephano.</p>
+
+		<p>Their meeting then broke up; and the robbers sat down to the
+		banqueting table, to luxuriate in the rich wines with which the
+		stronghold was well stored.</p>
+
+		<p>The Marquis of Orsini was compelled, through fear of giving
+		offense, to share in the festival.</p>
+
+		<p>“This resolution to abandon the command of your gallant
+		band is somewhat sudden, meseems, Signor Stephano,” he said:
+		for not having been present at the council held two nights previously,
+		he was unaware of the captain’s intention until it was
+		alluded to in that individual’s speech on the present occasion.</p>
+
+		<p>“Yes, my lord,” was the reply; “the resolution <em>is</em> sudden,
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page140" title="140"> </a>But,” he added, sinking his voice to a whisper, “a certain little
+		blind god is at the bottom of it.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Ah! signor, you are in love!” said the marquis, laughing.</p>
+
+		<p>“And therefore, I mean to turn honest man,” observed Verrina,
+		also laughing. “In truth, I am not sorry to have found
+		a good excuse to quit a mode of life which the headsman yearns
+		to cut short. Not that I reck for peril; but, methinks, twenty
+		years of danger and adventure ought to be succeeded by a season
+		of tranquillity.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Love has a marvelous influence over you, Signor Verrina,”
+		said the marquis; “for love alone could have inspired such
+		sentiments in <em>your</em> breast.”</p>
+
+		<p>“I am fain to confess that your lordship is not far wrong,”
+		returned the bandit. “I have discovered a woman who is
+		worthy of me—although she may not consider me to be altogether
+		deserving of her. But of that no matter; for I am not accustomed
+		to consult the inclinations of others, when mine own are concerned.
+		And now a word in respect to yourself, my lord. When
+		do you propose to quit this place? for according to my promise,
+		you are now the master of your own actions.”</p>
+
+		<p>“The mysterious assault made upon the convent—the destruction
+		of the entire establishment—and the lives that have been
+		lost, will doubtless create a terrible sensation in Florence,” replied
+		the nobleman; “and should it transpire that I was in any
+		way implicated——”</p>
+
+		<p>“That is impossible, my lord,” interrupted Stephano. “These
+		men whom you behold around you could alone betray that
+		secret; and you must have seen enough of them——”</p>
+
+		<p>“To know that they are stanch and true,” added the marquis.
+		“Yes, on reflection, I perceive that I have nothing to fear; and
+		therefore, with your leave, the countess, her young companion,
+		and myself will take our departure to-morrow.”</p>
+
+		<p>“In the evening, when it is dusk,” said Stephano. “But your
+		lordship will not remain in Florence?”</p>
+
+		<p>“The news which you brought me, a few days ago, of the
+		arrest of that poor Israelite on a ridiculous but most monstrous
+		charge, has affected me strangely,” observed Manuel; “and as
+		it is in my power to explain away that charge, I must tarry in
+		Florence the necessary time to accomplish this object. The
+		Count of Arestino will imagine that his wife has perished in the
+		ruins of the convent; and hence her temporary concealment in
+		the city will be easily effected.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Well, my lord,” said Stephano, “it is not for me to dictate
+		nor to advise. But as I always entertain an esteem for a man
+		with whom I have measured weapons—and as I have somehow
+		formed a liking for your lordship—pardon my boldness—I should
+		recommend you not to remain in Florence on account of the
+		Jew. The Lady Giulia might be discovered by her husband,
+		and you would lose her again. To tell your lordship the truth,”
+		he added, in a low and confidential tone, “a friend of mine,
+		who commands a trading vessel, sails in a few days from Leghorn
+		for the Levant; and I intend to be a passenger on board,
+		in company with the sweet lady whom I have honored with my
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page141" title="141"> </a>affections. What says your lordship? will it suit you to embark
+		in that vessel?”</p>
+
+		<p>“A thousand thanks, Signor Verrina,” replied the marquis;
+		“but I must remain at Florence to prove the innocence of that
+		poor, persecuted Jew.”</p>
+
+		<p>Stephano offered no further remonstrance; and the conversation
+		which ensued possessed not the least interest for our
+		readers.</p>
+
+		<p>On the following evening the Marquis, Giulia, and Flora
+		quitted the robbers’ stronghold—all three were carefully blindfolded,
+		and safely conducted amidst the dangers of the egress
+		by Stephano, Lomellino, and another bandit. When in the
+		grove with which the entrance of the stronghold communicated,
+		the bandages were removed from their eyes, and the two
+		ladies, as well as the marquis, were once more enabled to rejoice
+		in their freedom.</p>
+
+		<p>According to a previous arrangement between them, and in
+		consequence of the intention of the marquis to remain a few
+		days in Florence, Giulia accompanied Flora to the dwelling of
+		the young maiden’s aunt, who was rejoiced to behold the reappearance
+		of her niece, and who willingly afforded an asylum
+		to the countess.</p>
+
+		<p>The marquis, having conducted the two ladies to the hospitable
+		cottage of this good woman, returned to his own dwelling,
+		his protracted absence from which had caused serious apprehensions
+		amongst the few domestics whom his means permitted
+		him to maintain. Ere we conclude this chapter, we shall observe
+		in a few words that the greatest excitement prevailed in
+		Florence relative to the attack on the convent and its destruction.
+		Many of the nuns had escaped from the building at the
+		commencement of the fire; and these took up their abode in
+		another institution of the same order. But the thrilling events
+		which occurred in the chamber of penitence did not transpire;
+		nor was it ascertained who were the sacrilegious invaders of
+		the establishment, nor by what means they had obtained an
+		entry.</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_34" class="chapter">
+		<h3>CHAPTER XXXIV.<br />
+			<span class="subtitle">THE ABDUCTION.</span></h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">It</span> was originally Stephano Verrina’s intention to observe good
+		faith with Nisida in respect to the service on which she had intimated
+		her desire to employ him and his band. But so dazzled
+		was he by her almost supernatural majesty of beauty on that
+		night when he and his companions encountered her in the Riverola
+		palace, that he would have promised, or indeed undertaken,
+		anything calculated to please or benefit her.</p>
+
+		<p>When, however, he came to reflect calmly upon the service in
+		which Nisida had enlisted him, he began to suspect that some
+		motive more powerful than the mere desire to effect the liberation
+		of an innocent man influenced that lady. Had she not put
+		to death a beautiful creature who had resided in the same dwelling
+		with Fernand Wagner? and did not that deed bear upon its
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page142" title="142"> </a>aspect the stamp of an Italian woman’s vengeance? Thus
+		thought Stephano, and he soon arrived at the very natural conclusion
+		that Nisida loved Fernand Wagner. Wagner was therefore
+		his rival; and Verrina did not consider it at all in accordance
+		with his own particular views in respect to Nisida, to aid
+		in effecting that rival’s liberation, should he be condemned by
+		the tribunal.</p>
+
+		<p>Again Stephano reflected that as Wagner’s acquittal was
+		within the range of probability, it would be expedient to possess
+		himself of Nisida <em>before</em> the trial took place;—and what opportunity
+		could be more favorable than the one which that lady herself
+		afforded by the appointment she had given him for the Sunday
+		evening at the gate of Saint Mary’s Cathedral?</p>
+
+		<p>All these considerations had determined the bandit to adopt
+		speedy and strenuous measures to possess himself of Nisida, of
+		whom he was so madly enamored that the hope of gratifying
+		his passion predominated even over the pride and delight he had
+		hitherto experienced in commanding the Florentine robbers.</p>
+
+		<p>The appointed evening came; and Stephano, disguised in his
+		black mask, repaired a few minutes before ten to the immediate
+		vicinity of the old cathedral. At the corner of an adjacent
+		street, two men, mounted on powerful horses, and holding a
+		third steed by the bridle, were in readiness; and, crouched in the
+		black darkness formed by the shade of a huge buttress of the
+		cathedral, two members of the troop which Lomellino now commanded
+		lay concealed—for the new captain of banditti had lent
+		some of his stanchest followers to further the designs of the ex-chieftain.</p>
+
+		<p>A heavy rain had fallen in the early part of the day; but it
+		ceased ere the sun went down; and the stars shone forth like
+		beauty’s eyes when the tears of grief have been wiped away by
+		the lips of the lover.</p>
+
+		<p>Stephano paced the arena in front of the sacred edifice; and
+		at length a gentle tread and a rustling of velvet met his ears.
+		Then, in a few moments, as if emerging from the darkness, the
+		majestic form of Nisida appeared; and when Stephano approached
+		her, she drew aside her veil for an instant—only for a
+		single instant, that he might convince himself of her identity
+		with the lady for whom he was waiting.</p>
+
+		<p>But as the light of the silver stars beamed for a moment on
+		the countenance of Nisida, that mild and placid luster was out-vied
+		by the dazzling brilliancy of her large black eyes: and
+		mental excitement had imparted a rich carnation hue to her
+		cheek, rendering her so surpassingly beautiful that Stephano
+		could almost have fallen on his knees to worship and adore her.
+		But, oh! what lovely skins do some snakes wear!—and into
+		what charming shapes does satan often get!</p>
+
+		<p>Nisida had replaced her veil while yet Verrina’s eyes were
+		fixed on her bewitching countenance; then, placing her finger
+		lightly upon his arm—oh! how that gentle touch thrilled
+		through him!—she made a sign for him to follow her toward a
+		niche in the deep gateway of the cathedral: for in that niche
+		was an image of the Madonna, and before it burnt a lamp night
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page143" title="143"> </a>and day. To gain that spot it was necessary to pass the buttress
+		in whose shade the two banditti lay concealed.</p>
+
+		<p>Stephano trembled as he followed that lady whom he knew to
+		be as intrepid, bold, and desperate as she was beautiful:—he
+		trembled, perhaps for the first time in his life, because never
+		until now had he felt himself overawed by the majesty of loveliness
+		and the resolute mind of a woman. But he had gone too
+		far to retreat—even if that temporary and almost unaccountable
+		timidity had prompted him to abandon his present design;—yes,
+		he had gone too far—for at that moment when Nisida
+		was passing the huge buttress, the two brigands sprung forth:
+		and though her hand instantly grasped her dagger, yet so suddenly
+		and effectually was she overpowered that she had not
+		even time to draw it from its sheath.</p>
+
+		<p>Fortunately for the scheme of Stephano, the great square in
+		front of the cathedral was at that moment completely deserted
+		by the usual evening loungers; and thus did he and his companions
+		experience not the slightest interruption as they bore Nisida
+		firmly and rapidly along to the corner of the street where the
+		horses were in attendance.</p>
+
+		<p>The lady’s hands were already bound, and her dagger had
+		been taken from her; and thus the resistance she was enabled
+		to make was very slight, when Stephano, having sprung upon
+		one of the horses, received the charming burden from the banditti,
+		and embraced that fine voluptuous form in his powerful
+		arms.</p>
+
+		<p>The two men who had waited with Stephano’s horse were
+		already mounted on their own, as before stated, and the little
+		party was now in readiness to start.</p>
+
+		<p>“No further commands, signor?” said one of the banditti who
+		had first seized upon Nisida.</p>
+
+		<p>“None, my brave fellow. Tell Lomellino that I sent him my
+		best wishes for his prosperity. And now for a rapid journey to
+		Leghorn!”</p>
+
+		<p>“Good-night, signor.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Good-night. Farewell—farewell, my friends!” cried Verrina;
+		and clapping spurs to his steed, he struck into a quick gallop,
+		his two mounted companions keeping pace with him, and
+		riding one on either side, so as to prevent any possibility of
+		escape on the part of Donna Nisida of Riverola.</p>
+
+		<p>In a few minutes the little party gained the bank of the
+		Arno, along which they pursued their rapid way, lighted by the
+		lovely moon, which now broke forth from the purple sky, and
+		seemed, with its chaste beams playing on the surface of the
+		water, to put a soul into the very river as it ran!</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_35" class="chapter">
+		<h3>CHAPTER XXXV.<br />
+			<span class="subtitle">WAGNER AND THE TEMPTER—PHANTASMAGORIA.</span></h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">While</span> Stephano was bearing away the Lady Nisida in the
+		manner described in the preceding chapter, Fernand Wagner
+		was pacing his solitary cell, conjecturing what would be the
+		result of the morrow’s trial.</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page144" title="144"> </a>Nisida had visited him a second time on the preceding evening—disguised,
+		as on the former occasion, in male attire; and she
+		had implored him, in the language of the deaf and dumb, but
+		far more eloquently with her speaking eyes and the expression
+		of her beauteous countenance, to allow measures to be that
+		night adopted to effect his immediate escape. But he had resolutely
+		persisted in his original determination to undergo his
+		trial: for by pursuing this course, he stood the chance of an acquittal;
+		and he knew on the other hand that if he were sentenced
+		to die, the decree of the human tribunal could not be
+		carried into execution. How his escape from that fate (should
+		death be indeed ordained) was beyond his power of comprehension;
+		but that he possessed a superhuman protector he knew
+		full well.</p>
+
+		<p>Without revealing to Nisida his motives for meeting the criminal
+		judges, he refused to yield to her silently but eloquently
+		pleaded prayer that he would escape should gold induce the
+		jailers to throw open the door of his cell: but he conveyed to
+		her the assurance that the deep interest she manifested in his
+		behalf only bound him the more sincerely and devotedly to
+		her.</p>
+
+		<p>During eight or nine days of his imprisonment, he had reflected
+		deeply upon the murder of Agnes. He naturally associated
+		that black deed with the mystery of the strange lady who
+		had so alarmed Agnes on several occasions; and he had of
+		course been struck by the likeness of his much loved Nisida to
+		her whom his dead granddaughter had so minutely described to
+		him. But, if ever suspicion pointed toward Nisida as the murderess
+		of Agnes, he closed his eyes upon the bare idea—he
+		hurled it from him; and he rather fell back upon the unsatisfactory
+		belief that the entire case was wrapped in a profound
+		mystery than entertain a thought so injurious to her whom he
+		loved so tenderly.</p>
+
+		<p>We said that Nisida had visited him on Saturday night. She
+		had determined to essay her powers of mute persuasion once
+		more ere she finally arranged with the bandit for his rescue.
+		But that arrangement was not to take place; for on the Sabbath
+		evening she was carried away, in the manner already described.
+		And it was now, also, on that Sabbath evening that Wagner was
+		pacing his dungeon—pondering on the probable result of his
+		trial, and yet never ceasing to think of Nisida. His memory re-traveled
+		all the windings, and wanderings, and ways which his
+		feet had trodden during a long, long life, and paused to dwell
+		upon that far back hour when he loved the maiden who became
+		the wife of his first period of youth—for he was now in a second
+		period of youth; and he felt that he did not love her so devotedly—so
+		tenderly—so passionately as he loved Nisida now. Suddenly,
+		as he paced his dungeon and pondered on the past as
+		well as on the present, the lamp flickered; and, before he could
+		replenish it with oil, the wick died in its socket. He had the
+		means of procuring another light; but he cared not to avail himself
+		thereof, and he was about to lay aside his vesture, preparatory
+		to seeking his humble pallet, when he was struck by the
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page145" title="145"> </a>appearance of a dim and misty luster which seemed to emanate
+		from the wall facing the door. He was not alarmed; he had
+		seen and passed through too much in this world to be readily
+		terrified:—but he stood gazing, with intense curiosity and profound
+		astonishment, upon that phenomenon for which his imagination
+		suggested no natural cause.</p>
+
+		<p>Gradually the luster became more powerful; but in the midst of
+		it there appeared a dark cloud, which by degrees assumed the
+		appearance of a human form; and in a few minutes Wagner beheld
+		a tall, strange-looking figure standing before him.</p>
+
+		<p>But assuredly that was no mortal being; for, apart from the
+		mysterious mode in which he had introduced himself into the
+		dungeon, there was on his countenance so withering—bitter—scornful—sardonic
+		a smile, that never did human face wear so
+		sinister an expression. And yet this being wore a human shape,
+		and was attired in the habiliments of that age;—the long doublet,
+		the tight hose, the trunk breeches, the short cloak, and the laced
+		collar: but his slouched hat, instead of having a large and gracefully
+		waving plume, was decorated with but a single feather.</p>
+
+		<p>Fernand stood with fascinated gaze fixed upon the being
+		whose eyes seemed to glare with subdued lightnings, like those
+		of the basilisk. There was something awful in that form—something
+		wildly and menacingly sinister in the sardonic smile that
+		curled his lips as if with ineffable contempt, and with the consciousness
+		of his own power!</p>
+
+		<p>“Wagner!” he said, at length breaking silence, and speaking
+		in a deep sonorous voice, which reverberated even in that narrow
+		dungeon like the solemn tone of the organ echoing amidst
+		cloistral roofs: “Wagner, knowest thou who the being is that
+		now addresseth thee?”</p>
+
+		<p>“I can conjecture,” answered Fernand, boldly. “Thou art
+		the Power of Darkness.”</p>
+
+		<p>“So men call me,” returned the demon, with a scornful laugh,
+		“Yes—I am he whose delight it is to spread desolation over a
+		fertile and beautiful earth—he, whose eternal enmity against
+		man is the fruitful source of so much evil! But of all the disciples
+		who have ever yet aided me in my hostile designs on the
+		human race, none was so serviceable as Faust—that Count of
+		Aurana, whose portrait thou hast so well delineated, and which
+		now graces the wall of thy late dwelling.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Would that I had never known him!” ejaculated Wagner
+		fervently.</p>
+
+		<p>“On the contrary,” resumed the demon; “thou should’st be
+		thankful that in the wild wanderings of his latter years he
+		stopped at thy humble cottage in the Black Forest of Germany.
+		Important to thee were the results of that visit—and still more
+		important may they become!”</p>
+
+		<p>“Explain thyself, fiend!” said Wagner, nothing dismayed.</p>
+
+		<p>“Thou wast tottering with age—hovering on the brink of the
+		tomb—suspended to a thread which the finger of a child might
+		have snapped,” continued the demon; “and in one short hour
+		thou wast restored to youth, vigor, and beauty.”</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page146" title="146"> </a>“And by how dreadful a penalty was that renovated existence
+		purchased!” exclaimed Wagner.</p>
+
+		<p>“Hast thou not been taught by experience that no human
+		happiness can be complete?—that worldly felicity must ever
+		contain within itself some element of misery and distress?” demanded
+		the fiend. “Reflect—and be just! Thou art once more
+		young—and thy tenure of life will last until that age at which
+		thou would’st have perished, had no superhuman power intervened
+		to grant thee a new lease of existence! Nor is a long life
+		the only boon conferred upon thee hitherto. Boundless wealth
+		is ever at thy command; the floor of this dungeon would be
+		strewed with gold, and jewels, and precious stones, at thy bidding—as
+		thou well knowest! Moreover, thou wast ignorant—illiterate—uninformed:
+		now all the sources of knowledge—all
+		the springs of learning—all the fountains of science and art, are
+		at thy disposal, and with whose waters thou canst slake the
+		thirst of thine intellect. Endowed with a youthfulness and a
+		vigor of form that will yield not to the weight of years—that
+		will defy the pressure of time—and that no malady can impair,—possessed
+		of wealth having no limit,—and enriched with a
+		mind so stored with knowledge that the greatest sage is as a child
+		in comparison with thee,—how darest thou complain or repent
+		of the compact which has given to thee all these, though associated
+		with the destiny of a Wehr-Wolf?”</p>
+
+		<p>“It is of this fatal—this terrible destiny that I complain and
+		that I repent,” answered Wagner. “Still do I admit that the
+		advantages which I have obtained by embracing that destiny
+		are great.”</p>
+
+		<p>“And may be far greater!” added the demon, impressively.
+		“Handsome, intelligent, and rich—all that thou dost require is
+		power!”</p>
+
+		<p>“Yes,” exclaimed Wagner, eagerly—and now manifesting,
+		for the first time since the appearance of the fiend in his cell,
+		any particular emotion: “I have need of <em>power!</em>—power to
+		avert those evils into which my sad destiny may plunge me,—power
+		to dominate instead of being subject to the opinions of
+		mankind,—power to prove my complete innocence of the
+		dreadful crime now imputed to me,—power to maintain an untarnished
+		reputation, to which I cling most lovingly,—power,
+		too,” he added in a slower and also a more subdued tone—“power
+		to restore the lost faculties of hearing and speech to her
+		whom I love.”</p>
+
+		<p>Strange was the smile that curled the demon’s lips as Wagner
+		breathed these last words.</p>
+
+		<p>“You require power—power almost without limit,” said the
+		fiend, after a few moments’ pause; “and that aim is within thy
+		reach. Handsome, intelligent, and rich,” he continued, dwelling
+		on each word with marked emphasis, “how happy may’st
+		thou be when possessed of the power to render available, in all
+		their glorious extent, the gifts—the qualities wherewith thou
+		art already endowed! When in the service of Faust—during
+		those eighteen months which expired at the hour of sunset on
+		the thirtieth of July, 1517——”</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page147" title="147"> </a>“Alas!” cried Wagner, his countenance expressing emotions of
+		indescribable horror; “remind me not of that man’s fate! Oh!
+		never—never can I forget the mental agony—the profound and
+		soul-felt anguish which he experienced, and which he strove not
+		to conceal, when at the gate of Vienna on that evening he bade
+		me farewell—forever.”</p>
+
+		<p>“But thou wast happy—supremely happy in his service,” said
+		the demon; “and thou didst enjoy a fair opportunity of appreciating
+		the value of the power which he possessed. By his superhuman
+		aid wast thou transported from clime to clime—as rapidly
+		as thought is transfused by the interchange of lovers’ glances; and
+		in that varied, bustling, busied life wast thou supremely happy.
+		The people of Europe spoke of that western world, the discovery
+		of which recently rewarded the daring venture of great navigators;
+		and you were desirous to behold that new continent. Your
+		master repeated the wish; and by my invisible agency, ye stood
+		in a few moments in the presence of the red men of North
+		America. Again—you accompanied your master to the eternal
+		ice of the northern pole, and from the doorway of the Esquimaux
+		hut he beheld the wondrous play of the boreal lights.
+		On a third occasion, and in obedience to your wish, you stood
+		with your master in the Island of Ceylon, where the first scene
+		that presented itself to your view was an occurrence which,
+		though terrible, is not uncommon in that reptile-infested clime.
+		Afterward, my power—although its active agency was but
+		partially known to you—transported you and the count your
+		master—<em>now my victim</em>—to the fantastic and interesting scenes
+		of China—then to the court of the wife-slaying tyrant of England,
+		and subsequently to the most sacred privacy of the imperial
+		palace at Constantinople. How varied have been thy
+		travels!—how rapid thy movements. And that the scenes which
+		thine eyes did thus contemplate made a profound impression
+		upon thy mind is proved by the pictures now hanging to the
+		walls of thy late dwelling.”</p>
+
+		<p>“But wherefore this recapitulation of everything I know so
+		well already?” asked Wagner.</p>
+
+		<p>“To remind thee of the advantages of that power which
+		Faust, thy master, possessed, and which ceased to be available
+		to thee when the term of his compact with myself arrived.
+		Yes,” continued the demon emphatically, “the powers which
+		he possessed may be possessed by thee—and thou may’st, with a
+		single word, at once and forever shake off the trammels of thy
+		present doom—the doom of a Wehr-Wolf!”</p>
+
+		<p>“Oh! to shake off those trammels, were indeed a boon to be
+		desired!” exclaimed Wagner.</p>
+
+		<p>“And to possess the power to gratify thy slightest whim,”
+		resumed the demon, “to possess the power to transport thyself
+		at will to any clime, however distant—to be able to defy the
+		machinations of men and the combination of adverse circumstances,
+		such as have plunged thee into this dungeon—to be able,
+		likewise, to say to thy beloved Nisida, ‘Receive back the faculties
+		which thou hast lost——’”</p>
+
+		<p>And again was the smile sinister and strange that played upon
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page148" title="148"> </a>the lips of the demon. But Wagner noticed it not. His imagination
+		was excited by the subtle discourse to which he had lent
+		so ready an ear.</p>
+
+		<p>“And hast <em>thou</em> the power,” he cried impatiently, “to render
+		me thus powerful?”</p>
+
+		<p>“I have,” answered the demon.</p>
+
+		<p>“But the terms—the conditions—the compact!” exclaimed
+		Wagner, in feverish haste, though with foreboding apprehension.</p>
+
+		<p>“<strong class="special_emphasis">Thine immortal soul</strong>!” responded the fiend, in a low but
+		sonorous and horrifying whisper.</p>
+
+		<p>“No—no!” shrieked Wagner, covering his face with his hands.
+		“Avaunt, Satan, I defy thee! Ten thousand, thousand times
+		preferable is the doom of the Wehr-Wolf, appalling even though
+		that be!” With folded arms and scornful countenance, did the
+		demon stand gazing upon Wagner, by the light of the supernatural
+		luster which filled the cell.</p>
+
+		<p>“Dost thou doubt my power?” he demanded, in a slow and
+		imperious tone. “If so, put it to the test, unbelieving mortal
+		that thou art! But remember—should’st thou require evidence
+		of that power which I propose to make available to thee, it
+		must not be to give thee liberty, nor aught that may enhance
+		thy interest.”</p>
+
+		<p>“And any other evidence thou wilt give me?” asked Wagner,
+		a sudden idea striking him.</p>
+
+		<p>“Yes,” answered the demon, who doubtless divined his
+		thoughts, for again did a scornful smile play upon his lips. “I
+		will convince thee, by any manifestation thou may’st demand,
+		subject to the condition ere now named, I will convince thee
+		that I am he whose power was placed at the disposal of thy late
+		master, Faust, and by means of which thou wast transported,
+		along with him, to every climate on the earth.”</p>
+
+		<p>“I will name my wish,” said Wagner.</p>
+
+		<p>“Speak!” cried the fiend.</p>
+
+		<p>“Show me the Lady Nisida as she now is,” exclaimed Fernand,
+		his heart beating with the hope of beholding her whom he
+		loved so devotedly; for, with all the jealousy of a lover, was he
+		anxious to convince himself that she was thinking of him.</p>
+
+		<p>“Ah! ’tis the same as with Faust and his Theresa,” murmured
+		the demon to himself; then aloud he said, “Rather ask me to
+		show you the Lady Nisida as she will appear four days hence.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Be it so!” cried Wagner, moved by the mysterious warning
+		those words appeared to convey.</p>
+
+		<p>The demon extended his arm, and chanted in deep, sonorous
+		tones, the following incantation:</p>
+
+		<div class="poem">
+		    <p>“Ye powers of darkness who obey</p>
+		    <p>Eternally my potent sway,</p>
+		    <p>List to thy sovereign master’s call!</p>
+		    <p>Transparent make this dungeon wall;</p>
+		    <p>And now annihilated be</p>
+		    <p>The space ’twixt Florence and the sea!</p>
+		    <p>Let the bright luster of the morn</p>
+		    <p>In golden glory steep Leghorn;</p>
+		    <p><a class="pagenum" id="page149" title="149"> </a>Show where the dancing wavelets sport</p>
+		    <p>Round the gay vessels in the port,</p>
+		    <p>Those ships whose gilded lanterns gleam</p>
+		    <p>In the warm sun’s refulgent beam;</p>
+		    <p>And whose broad pennants kiss the gale,</p>
+		    <p>Woo’d also by the spreading sail!—</p>
+		    <p>Now let this mortal’s vision mark</p>
+		    <p>Amidst that scene the corsair’s bark,</p>
+		    <p>Clearing the port with swan-like pride;</p>
+		    <p>Transparent make the black hull’s side,</p>
+		    <p>And show the curtain’d cabin, where</p>
+		    <p>Of earth’s fair daughters the most fair—</p>
+		    <p>Sits like an image of despair,</p>
+		    <p class="i2">Mortal, behold! thy Nisida is there!”</p>
+		</div>
+
+		<p>The strange phantasmagorian spectacle rapidly developed itself
+		in obedience to the commands of the demon.</p>
+
+		<p>First, it appeared to Wagner that the supernatural luster
+		which pervaded the dungeon, gathered like a curtain on one
+		side and occupied the place of the wall. This wondrous light
+		became transparent, like a thin golden mist; and then the distant
+		city of Leghorn appeared—producing an effect similar to
+		that of the dissolving views now familiar to every one. The
+		morning sun shone brightly on the fair scene; and a forest of
+		masts stood out in bold relief against the western sky. The
+		gilded lanterns on the poops of the vessels—the flags and
+		streamers of various hues—the white sails of those ships that
+		were preparing for sea—and the richly painted pinnaces that
+		were shooting along in the channel between the larger craft
+		rendered the scene surpassingly gay and beautiful.</p>
+
+		<p>But amidst the shipping, Wagner’s eyes were suddenly attracted
+		by a large galley, with three masts—looking most rakish
+		with its snow-white sail, its tapering spars, its large red streamer,
+		and its low, long, and gracefully sweeping hull, which was
+		painted jet black. On its deck were six pieces of brass ordnance;
+		and stands of fire-arms were ranged round the lower parts of
+		the masts.</p>
+
+		<p>Altogether, the appearance of that vessel was as suspicious
+		and menacing as it was gallant and graceful; and from the incantation
+		of the demon, Wagner gleaned its real nature.</p>
+
+		<p>And now—as that corsair-ship moved slowly out of the port
+		of Leghorn—its black side suddenly seemed to open, or at least
+		to become transparent; and the interior of a handsomely fitted
+		up cabin was revealed.</p>
+
+		<p>Fernand’s heart had already sunk within him through foreboding
+		apprehension; but now an ejaculation of mingled rage and
+		grief burst from his lips, when, on a sofa in that cabin, he beheld
+		his loved—his dearly loved Nisida, seated “like an image of despair,”
+		motionless and still, as if all the energies of her haughty
+		soul, all the powers of her strong mind had been suddenly paralyzed
+		by the weight of misfortune!</p>
+
+		<p>Wagner stood gazing—unable to utter another word beyond
+		that one ejaculation of mingled rage and grief—gazing—gazing,
+		himself a kindred image of despair, upon this mysterious and
+		unaccountable scene.</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page150" title="150"> </a>But gradually the interior of the cabin grew more and more
+		indistinct, until it was again completely shut in by the black
+		side of the harbor—her dark hull disappearing by degrees, and
+		melting away in the distance. Wagner dashed his open palm
+		against his forehead, exclaiming, “Oh! Nisida—Nisida! who
+		hath torn thee from me!”</p>
+
+		<p>And he threw himself upon a seat, where he remained absorbed
+		in a painful reverie, with his face buried in his hands—totally
+		unmindful of the presence of the demon.</p>
+
+		<p>Two or three minutes passed—during which Fernand was deliberating
+		within himself whether he were the sport of a wild
+		and fanciful vision, or whether he had actually received a warning
+		of the fate which hung over Nisida.</p>
+
+		<p>“Art thou satisfied with the proof of my power?” demanded
+		a deep voice, sounding ominously upon his ear.</p>
+
+		<p>He raised his hand with a spasmodic start; before him stood
+		the demon with folded arms and scornful expression of countenance—and
+		though the phantasmagorian scene had disappeared,
+		the supernatural luster still pervaded the dungeon.</p>
+
+		<p>“Fiend!” cried Wagner, impatiently; “thou hast mocked—thou
+		hast deceived me!”</p>
+
+		<p>“Thus do mortals ever speak, even when I give them a
+		glimpse of their own eventual fate, through the medium of painful
+		dreams and hideous nightmares,” said the demon, sternly.</p>
+
+		<p>“But who has dared—or rather, who <em>will</em> dare—for that vision
+		is a prospective warning of a deed to happen four days hence—who,
+		then, I ask, will dare to carry off the Lady Nisida—my own
+		loved and loving Nisida?” demanded Wagner, with increased
+		impatience.</p>
+
+		<p>“Stephano Verrina, the formidable captain of the Florentine
+		banditti, has this night carried away thy lady-love, Wagner,”
+		replied the demon. “Thou hast yet time to save her; though
+		the steed that bears her to Leghorn be fleet and strong, I can
+		provide thee with a fleeter and a stronger. Nay, more—become
+		mine, consent to serve me as Faust served me, and within an
+		hour, within a minute if thou wilt, Nisida shall be restored to
+		thee, she shall be released from the hands of her captors, thou
+		shalt be free, and thy head shall be pillowed on her bosom, in
+		whatever part of the earth it may suit thee thus to be united to
+		her. Reflect, Wagner—I offer thee a great boon—nay, many
+		great boons: the annihilation of those trammels which bind thee
+		to the destiny of a wehr-wolf, power unlimited for the rest of
+		thy days, and the immediate possession of that Nisida whom
+		thou lovest so fondly, and who is so beautiful, so exceedingly
+		beautiful.”</p>
+
+		<p>Desperate was the struggle that took place in the breast of
+		Wagner. On one side was all he coveted on earth; on the other
+		was the loss of the immortal soul. Here the possession of Nisida—there
+		her forced abduction by a brigand; here his earthly happiness
+		might be secured at the expense of his eternal welfare—there
+		his eternal welfare must be renounced if he decided in
+		favor of his earthly happiness. What was he to do? Nisida
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page151" title="151"> </a>was weighing in the balance against his immortal soul: to have
+		Nisida he must renounce his God!</p>
+
+		<p>Oh! it was maddening—maddening, this bewilderment!</p>
+
+		<p>“An hour—an hour to reflect!” he cried, almost frantically.</p>
+
+		<p>“Not a quarter of an hour,” returned the demon, “Nisida
+		will be lost to you—haste—decide!”</p>
+
+		<p>“Leave me—leave me for five minutes only!”</p>
+
+		<p>“No—no, not for a minute. Decide—decide!”</p>
+
+		<p>Wagner threw up his arms in the writhings of his ineffable
+		anguish:—his right hand came in contact with a crucifix that
+		hung against the wall; and he mechanically clutched it—not
+		with any motive prepense—but wildly, unwittingly.</p>
+
+		<p>Terrific was the expression of rage which suddenly distorted
+		the countenance of the demon: the lightnings of ineffable fury
+		seemed to flash from his eyes and play upon his contracting
+		brow;—and yet a strong spasmodic shuddering at the same time
+		convulsed his awful form; for as Wagner clung to the crucifix
+		to prevent himself from falling at the feet of the malignant
+		fiend, the symbol of Christianity was dragged by his weight
+		from the wall—and, as Wagner reeled sideways, the cross which
+		he retained with instinctive tenacity in his grasp, waved across
+		the demon’s face.</p>
+
+		<p>Then, with a terrific howl of mingled rage and fear, the fiend
+		fell back and disappeared through the earth—as if a second time
+		hurled down in headlong flight before the thunderbolts of
+		heaven. Wagner fell upon his knees and prayed fervently.</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_36" class="chapter">
+		<h3>CHAPTER XXXVI.<br />
+			<span class="subtitle">THE TRIAL OF FERNAND WAGNER.</span></h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">On</span> the ensuing morning Wagner stood before the judge of the
+		Criminal Tribunal of the Republic.</p>
+
+		<p>The judgment hall was a large and lofty room in the Palazzo
+		del Podesta, or ducal palace. The judges sat in antique and
+		richly carved chairs, placed on a platform, beneath a canopy of
+		purple velvet fringed with gold.</p>
+
+		<p>On the left, at a handsome desk covered with papers, was
+		seated the procurator fiscal or attorney-general of the republic,
+		distinguished in attire from the judges only by the fact of the
+		ermine upon his scarlet robe being narrower than theirs. Opposite
+		to this functionary was a bench whereon the witnesses
+		were placed. The prisoner stood between two sbirri in a small
+		pew, in the center of the court. Defendants in civil cases were
+		alone permitted in that age and country to retain counsel in
+		their behalf; persons accused of crimes were debarred this privilege.
+		Wagner was therefore undefended.</p>
+
+		<p>The proceedings of the tribunal were usually conducted privately;
+		but about a dozen gentlemen and twice as many ladies
+		had obtained orders of admission on this occasion, the case having
+		produced considerable sensation in Florence, on account of the
+		reputed wealth of the accused. Perhaps, also, the rumor that
+		he was a young man endowed with extraordinary personal attractions,
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page152" title="152"> </a>had exercised its influence upon the susceptible hearts
+		of the Florentine ladies. Certain it is, that when he was conducted
+		into the judgment hall, his strikingly handsome exterior—his
+		air of modest confidence—his graceful gait, and his youthful
+		appearance, so far threw into the back-ground the crime imputed
+		to him, that the ladies present felt their sympathies deeply enlisted
+		in his behalf.</p>
+
+		<p>The usher of the tribunal having commanded silence in a loud
+		voice, the chief judge began the usual interrogatory of the
+		prisoner.</p>
+
+		<p>To the questions addressed to him, the accused replied that
+		his name was Fernand Wagner; that he was a native of Germany;
+		that he had no profession, avocation nor calling; that he
+		was possessed of a large fortune; and that having traveled over
+		many parts of the world, he settled in Florence, where he had
+		hoped to enjoy a tranquil and peaceful existence.</p>
+
+		<p>“The murdered female was reputed to be your sister,” said
+		the chief judge. “Was such the fact?”</p>
+
+		<p>“She was a near relative,” answered Wagner.</p>
+
+		<p>“But was she your sister?” demanded the procurator fiscal.</p>
+
+		<p>“She was not.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Then in what degree of relationship did she stand toward
+		you?” asked the chief judge.</p>
+
+		<p>“I must decline to reply to that question.”</p>
+
+		<p>“The tribunal infers, therefore, that the murdered female was
+		not related to you at all,” observed the judge. “Was she not
+		your mistress?”</p>
+
+		<p>“No, my lord!” cried Wagner, emphatically. “As truly as
+		Heaven now hears my assertion, it was not so!”</p>
+
+		<p>“Was she your wife?” demanded the chief judge.</p>
+
+		<p>A negative answer was given.</p>
+
+		<p>The chief judge and the procurator fiscal then by turns
+		questioned and cross-questioned the prisoner in the most subtle
+		manner, to induce him state the degree of relationship subsisting
+		between himself and Agnes; but he either refused to respond
+		to their queries, or else answered direct ones by means of a
+		positive denial.</p>
+
+		<p>The lieutenant of the sbirri was at length called upon to give
+		an account of the discovery of the dead body and the suspicious
+		circumstances which had led to the arrest of Wagner. Two of
+		these circumstances appeared to be very strong against him.
+		The first was the soiled and blood-stained appearance of the garments
+		which were found in his chamber; the other was the
+		exclamation—“But how know you that it is Agnes who is
+		murdered?”—uttered before any one had informed who had been
+		murdered.</p>
+
+		<p>Wagner was called upon for an explanation. He stated that
+		he had been out the whole night; that the blood upon his garments
+		had flowed from his own body, which had been scratched
+		and torn in the mazes of the woods; that on his return home he
+		met Agnes in the garden; that he had left her there; and that
+		he was told a young lady had been assassinated in the
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page153" title="153"> </a>vicinity of his dwelling, he immediately conceived that the
+		victim must be Agnes.</p>
+
+		<p>When questioned concerning the motives of his absence from
+		home during the entire night he maintained a profound silence;
+		but he was evidently much agitated and excited by the queries
+		thus put to him. He said nothing about the stranger-lady who
+		had so frequently terrified Agnes; because, in relating the proceedings
+		of that mysterious female in respect to his deceased
+		grand-daughter—especially the incident of the abstraction of the
+		antique jewels which the late Count of Riverola had given to
+		her—he would have been compelled to enter into details concerning
+		the <em>amour</em> between those who were no more. And this subject
+		he was solicitous to avoid, not only through respect for the
+		memory of the murdered Agnes, but also to spare the feelings
+		of Count Francisco and Donna Nisida.</p>
+
+		<p>The judges and the procurator fiscal, finding that they could
+		elicit nothing from Wagner relative to the cause of his absence
+		from home during the night preceding the murder, passed on to
+		another subject.</p>
+
+		<p>“In an apartment belonging to your residence,” said the
+		chief judge, “there are several pictures and portraits.”</p>
+
+		<p>Wagner turned pale and trembled. The judge made a signal
+		to an officer of the court, and that functionary quitted the
+		judgment hall. In a few minutes he returned, followed by
+		three subordinates bearing the two portraits mentioned in the
+		sixth chapter of this tale, and also the frame covered over with
+		the large piece of black cloth. On perceiving this last object,
+		Wagner became paler still, and trembled violently.</p>
+
+		<p>“There are six other pictures in the room whence these have
+		been taken,” said the judge; “but these six are not of a character
+		to interest the tribunal. We however require explanations
+		concerning the two portraits and the frame with the black cloth
+		cover now before us.”</p>
+
+		<p>The greatest excitement at present prevailed amongst the audience.</p>
+
+		<p>“On one of the portraits,” continued the chief judge, “there
+		is an inscription to this effect,—<em>F., Count of A., terminated his
+		career on the 1st. of August, 1517.</em>—What does this inscription
+		mean?”</p>
+
+		<p>“It means that Faust, Count of Aurana, was a nobleman with
+		whom I traveled during a period of eighteen months,” replied
+		Wagner; “and he died on the day mentioned in that inscription.”</p>
+
+		<p>“The world has heard strange reports relative to Faust,” said
+		the chief judge, in a cold voice and with unchanged manner, although
+		the mention of that name had produced a thrill of horror
+		on the part of his brother judges and the audience. “Art thou
+		aware that rumor ascribes to him a compact with the Evil
+		One?”</p>
+
+		<p>Wagner gazed around him in horrified amazement, for the incident
+		of the preceding night returned with such force to
+		his mind that he could scarcely subdue an agonizing ebullition
+		of emotion.</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page154" title="154"> </a>The chief judge next recited the inscription on the other
+		portrait:—“<em>F. W. January 7th, 1516. His last day thus.</em>” But
+		Wagner maintained a profound silence, and neither threats nor
+		entreaties could induce him to give the least explanation concerning
+		that inscription.</p>
+
+		<p>“Let us then proceed to examine this frame with the black
+		cloth cover,” said the chief judge.</p>
+
+		<p>“My lord,” whispered one of his brother judges, “in the name
+		of the Blessed Virgin! have naught more to do with this man.
+		Let him go forth to execution: he is a monster of atrocity,
+		evidently a murderer, doubtless leagued with the Evil One, as
+		Faust, of whose acquaintance he boasts, was before him——”</p>
+
+		<p>“For my part, I credit not such idle tales,” interrupted the
+		chief judge, “and it is my determination to sift this matter to
+		the very foundation. I am rather inclined to believe that the
+		prisoner is allied with the banditti who infest the republic, than
+		with any preterhuman powers. His absence from home during
+		the entire night, according to his own admission, his immense
+		wealth, without any ostensible resources, all justify my suspicion.
+		Let the case proceed,” added the chief judge aloud; for he
+		had made the previous observations in a low tone. “Usher, remove
+		the black cloth from the picture!”</p>
+
+		<p>“No! no!” exclaimed Wagner, wildly: and he was about to
+		rush from the dock, but the sbirri held him back. The usher’s
+		hand was already on the black cloth.</p>
+
+		<p>“I beseech your lordship to pause!” whispered the assistant
+		judge who had before spoken.</p>
+
+		<p>“Proceed!” exclaimed the presiding functionary in a loud
+		authoritative tone; for he was a bold and fearless man.</p>
+
+		<p>And scarcely were these word uttered, when the black cloth
+		was stripped from the frame; and the usher who had removed
+		the covering recoiled with a cry of horror, as his eyes obtained a
+		glimpse of the picture which was now revealed to view.</p>
+
+		<p>“What means this folly?” ejaculated the chief judge. “Bring
+		the picture hither.”</p>
+
+		<p>The usher, awed by the manner of this great functionary,
+		raised the picture in such a way that the judges and the procurator
+		fiscal might obtain a full view of it.</p>
+
+		<p>“A Wehr-Wolf!” ejaculated the assistant judge, who had
+		previously remonstrated with his superior; and his countenance
+		became pale as death.</p>
+
+		<p>The dreadful words were echoed by other tongues in the court;
+		and a panic fear seized on all save the chief judge and Wagner
+		himself. The former smiled contemptuously, the latter had
+		summoned all his courage to aid him to pass through this terrible
+		ordeal without confirming by his conduct the dreadful suspicion
+		which had been excited in respect to him.</p>
+
+		<p>For, oh! the subject of that picture was indeed awful to contemplate!
+		It had no inscription, but it represented, with the
+		most painful and horrifying fidelity, the writhings and agonizing
+		throes of the human being during the progress of transformation
+		into the lupine monster. The countenance of the unhappy
+		man had already elongated into one of savage and
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page155" title="155"> </a>brute-like shape; and so admirably had art counterfeited nature,
+		that the rich garments seemed changed into a rough, shaggy,
+		and wiry skin! The effect produced by that picture was indeed
+		of thrilling and appalling interest!</p>
+
+		<p>“A Wehr-Wolf!” had exclaimed one of the assistant judges:
+		and while the voices of several of the male spectators in the
+		body of the court echoed the words mechanically, the ladies
+		gave vent to screams, as they rushed toward the doors of the
+		tribunal. In a few moments that part of the court was entirely
+		cleared.</p>
+
+		<p>“Prisoner!” exclaimed the chief judge, “have you ought
+		more to advance in your defense, relative to the charge of murder?”</p>
+
+		<p>“My lord, I am innocent!” said Wagner, firmly but respectfully.</p>
+
+		<p>“The tribunal pronounces you guilty!” continued the chief
+		judge: then, with a scornful smile toward his assistants and the
+		procurator fiscal—who all three, as well as the sbirri and the
+		officers of the court were pale and trembling with vague fear—the
+		presiding functionary continued thus:—“The tribunal condemns
+		you, Fernand Wagner, to death by the hand of the common
+		headsman; and it is now my duty to name the day and fix
+		the hour for your execution. Therefore I do ordain that the
+		sentence just pronounced be carried into effect precisely at the
+		hour of sunset on the last day of the present month!”</p>
+
+		<p>“My lord! my lord!” exclaimed the procurator fiscal; “the
+		belief is that on the last day of each month, and at the hour of
+		sunset——”</p>
+
+		<p>“I am aware of the common superstition,” interrupted the
+		chief judge, coldly and sternly; “and it is to convince the world
+		of the folly of putting faith in such legends that I have fixed
+		that day and that hour in the present instance. Away with the
+		prisoner to his dungeon.”</p>
+
+		<p>And the chief judge waved his hand imperiously, to check
+		any further attempts at remonstrance; but his assistant functionaries,
+		the procurator fiscal and the officers of the court, surveyed
+		him with mingled surprise and awe, uncertain whether
+		they ought to applaud his courage or tremble at his rashness.
+		Wagner had maintained a calm and dignified demeanor during
+		the latter portion of the proceedings; and, although the sbirri
+		who had charge of him ventured not to lay a finger upon
+		him, he accompanied them back to the prison of the Palazzo del
+		Podesta.</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_37" class="chapter">
+		<h3>CHAPTER XXXVII.<br />
+			<span class="subtitle">THE SHIPWRECK.</span></h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">Ten</span> days had elapsed since the incidents related in the preceding
+		chapter. The scene changes to an island in the Mediterranean
+		Sea. There, seated on the strand, with garments dripping
+		wet, and with all the silken richness of her raven hair floating
+		wildly and disheveled over her shoulders, the Lady Nisida
+		gazed vacantly on the ocean, now tinged with living gold by
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page156" title="156"> </a>the morning sun. At a short distance, a portion of a shipwrecked
+		vessel lay upon the shore, and seemed to tell her tale.
+		But where were the desperate, daring crew who had manned the
+		gallant bark? where were those fearless freebooters who six days
+		previously had sailed from Leghorn on their piratical voyage?
+		where were those who hoisted the flag of peace and assumed the
+		demeanor of honest trader when in port, but who on the broad
+		bosom of the ocean carried the terrors of their black banner far
+		and wide? where, too, was Stephano Verrina, who had so boldly
+		carried off the Lady Nisida?</p>
+
+		<p>The gallant bark had struck upon a shoal, during the tempest
+		and the obscurity of the night, and the pilot knew not where
+		they were. His reckoning was lost—his calculations had all been
+		set at naught by the confusion produced by the fearful storm
+		which had assailed the ship and driven her from her course.
+		The moment the corsair galley struck, that confusion increased
+		to such an extent that the captain lost all control over his men;
+		the pilot’s voice was unheeded likewise.</p>
+
+		<p>The crew got out the long-boat and leaped into it, forcing the
+		captain and the pilot to enter it with them. Stephano Verrina,
+		who was on deck when the vessel struck, rushed down into the
+		cabin appropriated to Nisida, and by signs endeavored to convey
+		to her a sense of the danger which menaced them. Conquering
+		her ineffable aversion for the bandit, Nisida followed
+		him hastily to the deck. At the same instant that her eyes
+		plunged, as it were, into the dense obscurity which prevailed
+		around, the lightning streamed in long and vivid flashes over
+		the turbulent waters, and with the roar of the billows suddenly
+		mingled deafening shrieks and cries—shrieks and cries of wild
+		despair, as the long-boat, which had been pushed away from the
+		corsair-bark, went down at a little distance. And as the lightning
+		played upon the raging sea, Nisida and Verrina caught
+		hurried but frightful glimpses of many human faces, whereon
+		was expressed the indescribable agony of the drowning.</p>
+
+		<p>“Perdition!” cried Verrina; “all are gone save Nisida and
+		myself! And shall we too perish ere she has become mine?
+		shall death separate us ere I have reveled in her charms? Fool
+		that I was to delay my triumph hitherto! Fool that I was to
+		be overawed by her impetuous signs, or melted by her silent
+		though strong appeals!”</p>
+
+		<p>He paced the deck in an excited manner as he uttered these
+		words aloud.</p>
+
+		<p>“No!” he exclaimed wildly, as the tempest seemed to increase,
+		and the ship was thrown further on shoal: “she shall not
+		escape me thus, after all I have done and dared in order to possess
+		her! Our funeral may take place to-night—but our bridal
+		shall be first. Ha! ha!”—and he laughed with a kind of despairing
+		mockery, while the fragments of the vessel’s sails flapped
+		against the spars with a din as if some mighty demon were
+		struggling with the blast. The sense of appalling danger seemed
+		to madden Stephano only because it threatened to separate him
+		from Nisida; and, fearfully excited, he rushed toward her, crying
+		wildly, “You shall be mine!”</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page157" title="157"> </a>But how terrible was the yell which burst from his lips, when
+		by the glare of a brilliant flash of lightning, he beheld Nisida
+		cast herself over the side of the vessel!</p>
+
+		<p>For a single instant he fell back appalled, horror-struck; but
+		at the next, he plunged with insensate fury after her. And the
+		rage of the storm redoubled.</p>
+
+		<p>When the misty shades of morning cleared away, and the
+		storm had passed, Nisida was seated alone upon the strand,
+		having miraculously escaped that eternal night of death which
+		leads to no dawn. But where was Stephano Verrina? She
+		knew not; although she naturally conjectured, and even hoped,
+		that he was numbered with the dead.</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_38" class="chapter">
+		<h3>CHAPTER XXXVIII.<br />
+			<span class="subtitle">THE ISLAND IN THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA.</span></h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">Fair</span> and beauteous was the Mediterranean isle whereon the
+		Lady Nisida had been thrown.</p>
+
+		<p>When the morning mists had dispersed, and the sunbeams
+		tinged the ridges of the hills and the summits of the tallest
+		trees, Nisida awoke as it were from the profound lethargic
+		reverie in which she had been plunged for upward of an hour,
+		since the moment when the billows had borne her safely to the
+		shore.</p>
+
+		<p>The temperature of that island was warm and genial, for there
+		eternal summer reigned, and thus, though her garments were
+		still dripping wet, Nisida experienced no cold. She rose from
+		the bank of sand whereon she had been seated, and cast anxious,
+		rapid, and searching glances around her. Not a human being
+		met her eyes; but in the woods that stretched, with emerald
+		pride, almost down to the golden sands, the birds and insects—nature’s
+		free commoners—sent forth the sounds of life and welcomed
+		the advent of the morn with that music of the groves.</p>
+
+		<p>The scenery which now presented itself to the contemplation
+		of Nisida was indescribably beautiful. Richly wooded hills rose
+		towering above each other with amphitheatrical effect; and behind
+		the verdant panorama were the blue outlines of pinnacles
+		of naked rocks. But not a trace of the presence of human
+		beings was to be seen—not a hamlet, nor a cottage, nor the
+		slightest sign of agriculture! At a short distance lay a portion
+		of the wreck of the corsair-ship. The fury of the tempest of
+		the preceding night had thrown it so high upon the shoal
+		whereon it had struck, and the sea was now comparatively so
+		calm, that Nisida was enabled to approach close up to it. With
+		little difficulty she succeeded in reaching the deck,—that deck
+		whose elastic surface lately vibrated to the tread of many daring,
+		desperate young men—but now desolate and broken in
+		many parts.</p>
+
+		<p>The cabin which had been allotted to her, or rather to which
+		she had been confined, was in the portion of the wreck that
+		still remained; and there she found a change of raiment, which
+		Stephano had provided ere the vessel left Leghorn. Carefully
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page158" title="158"> </a>packing up these garments in as small and portable a compass
+		as possible, she fastened the burden upon her shoulders by the
+		means of a cord, and, quitting the vessel, conveyed it safe and
+		dry to the shore.</p>
+
+		<p>Then she returned again to the wreck in search of provisions,
+		considerable quantities of which she fortunately found to be
+		uninjured by the water; and these she was enabled to transport
+		to the strand by means of several journeys backward and forward
+		between the shore and the wreck. The occupation was
+		not only necessary in order to provide the wherewith to sustain
+		life, but it also abstracted her thoughts from a too painful contemplation
+		of her position. It was long past the hour of noon
+		when she had completed her task; and the shore in the immediate
+		vicinity of the wreck was piled with a miscellaneous assortment
+		of objects—bags of provisions, weapons of defense,
+		articles of the toilet, clothing, pieces of canvas, cordage, and
+		carpenter’s tools. Then, wearied with her arduous toils, she
+		laid aside her dripping garments, bathed her beauteous form in
+		the sea, and attired herself in dry apparel.</p>
+
+		<p>Having partaken of some refreshment, she armed herself with
+		weapons of defense, and quitting the shore, entered upon that
+		vast amphitheater of verdure to which we have already slightly
+		alluded. The woods were thick and tangled; but though, when
+		seen from the shore, they appeared to form one dense, uninterrupted
+		forest, yet they in reality only dotted the surface of the
+		islands with numerous detached patches of grove and copse; and
+		in the intervals were verdant plains or delicious valleys, exhibiting
+		not the slightest sign of agriculture, but interspersed with
+		shrubs and trees laden with fruits rich and tempting.</p>
+
+		<p>Nature had indeed profusely showered her bounties over that
+		charming isle; for the trees glowed with their blushing or golden
+		produce, as if gems were the fruitage of every bough.</p>
+
+		<p>Through one of the delicious valleys which Nisida explored,
+		a streamlet, smooth as a looking-glass, wound its way. To its
+		sunny bank did the lady repair; and the pebbly bed of the river
+		was seen as plainly through the limpid waters as an eyeball
+		through a tear.</p>
+
+		<p>Though alone was Nisida in that vale, and though many bitter
+		reflections, deep regrets, and vague apprehensions crowded
+		upon her soul; yet the liveliness of the scene appeared to diminish
+		the intenseness of the feelings of utter solitude, and its soft
+		influence partially lulled the waves of her emotions. For never
+		had mortal eyes beheld finer fruit upon the trees, nor lovelier
+		flowers upon the soil; all life was rejoicing, from the grasshopper
+		at her feet to the feathered songsters in the myrtle, citron,
+		and olive groves; and the swan glided past to the music of the
+		stream. Above, the heavens were more clear than her own
+		Italian clime, more blue than any color that tinges the flowers
+		of the earth.</p>
+
+		<p>She roved along the smiling bank which fringed the stream
+		until the setting sun dyed with the richest purple the rocky pinnacles
+		in the distance, and made the streamlet glow like a golden
+		flood. And Nisida—alone, in the radiance and glory of her own
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page159" title="159"> </a>charms—alone amidst all the radiance and glory of the charms
+		of nature—the beauteous Nisida appeared to be the queen of that
+		Mediterranean isle. But whether it were really an island or a
+		portion of the three continents which hem in that tideless ocean,
+		the lady as yet knew not.</p>
+
+		<p>Warned by the splendors of the setting sun to retrace her way,
+		she turned and sped back to the strand, where the stores she
+		had saved from the wreck were heaped up. When first she had
+		set out upon her exploring ramble, she had expected every moment
+		to behold human forms—her fellow-creatures—emerge
+		from the woods; but the more she saw of that charming spot
+		whereon her destinies had thrown her, the fainter grew the hope
+		or the fear—we scarcely know which to term the expectation.
+		For no sign of the presence of man was there; Nature appeared
+		to be the undisputed empress of that land; and Nisida returned
+		to the shore with the conviction that she was the sole human
+		inhabitant of this delicious region.</p>
+
+		<p>And now, once more seated upon the strand, while the last
+		beams of the sun played upon the wide blue waters of the Mediterranean,
+		Nisida partook of her frugal repast, consisting of the
+		bread supplied by the wreck and a few fruits which she gathered
+		in the valley. The effects of the tempest had totally disappeared
+		in respect to the sea, which now lay stretched in glassy
+		stillness. It seemed as if a holy calm, soft as an infant’s sleep,
+		lay upon the bosom of the Mediterranean, now no longer terrible
+		with storm, but a mighty emblem of mild majesty and
+		rest!</p>
+
+		<p>Nisida thought of the fury which had lately convulsed that
+		sea, now so placid, and sighed at the conviction which was
+		forced upon her—that no such calm was for the mortal breast
+		when storms had once been there! For she pondered on her
+		native land, now, perhaps, far—oh! how far away; and the images
+		of those whom she loved appeared to rise before her—Francisco
+		in despair at his sister’s unaccountable disappearance—and
+		Fernand perchance already doomed to die! And tears
+		flowed down her cheeks, and trickled upon her snowy bosom,
+		gleaming like dew amongst lilies. Of what avail was the energy
+		of her character in that land along whose coast stretched
+		the impassable barrier of the sea? Oh! it was enough to make
+		even the haughty Nisida weep, and to produce a terrible impression
+		on a mind hitherto acting only in obedience to its own
+		indomitable will.</p>
+
+		<p>Though the sun had set some time, and no moon had yet appeared
+		in the purple sky, yet was it far from dark. An azure
+		mantle of twilight seemed to wrap the earth—the sea—the
+		heavens; and so soft, so overpowering was the influence of the
+		scene and of the night, that slumber gradually stole upon the
+		lady’s eyes. There now, upon the warm sand, slept Nisida; and
+		when the chaste advent of the moon bathed all in silver, as the
+		sun had for twelve hours steeped all in gold, the beams of the
+		goddess of the night played on her charming countenance without
+		awakening her. The raven masses of her hair lay upon her
+		flushed cheeks like midnight on a bed of roses, her long black
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page160" title="160"> </a>lashes reposed on those cheeks, so surpassingly lovely with their
+		rich carnation hues. For she dreamt of Fernand; and her
+		vision was a happy one. Imagination played wild tricks with
+		the shipwrecked, lonely lady, as if to recompense her for the
+		waking realities of her sad position. She thought that she was
+		reposing in the delicious valley which she had explored in the
+		afternoon—she thought that Fernand was her companion—that
+		she lay in his arms—that his lips pressed hers—that she was all
+		to him as he was all to her, and that love’s cup of enjoyment
+		was full to the very brim.</p>
+
+		<p>But, oh! when she slowly awoke, and under the influence of
+		the delightful vision, raised her eyes in the dewy light of voluptuous
+		languor to the blue sky above her, the sunbeams that were
+		heralding in another day cruelly dispelled the enchanting illusions
+		of a warm and excited fancy, and Nisida found herself
+		alone on the sea-shore of the island.</p>
+
+		<p>Thus the glory of that sunrise had no charms for her; although
+		never had the orb of day come forth with greater pomp, nor to
+		shine on a lovelier scene. No words can convey an idea of
+		the rapid development of every feature in the landscape, the
+		deeper and deepening tint of the glowing sky, the roseate hue of
+		the mountain-peaks as they stood out against the cloudless
+		orient, and the rich emerald shades of the woods sparkling with
+		fruit. The fragrant rose and the chaste lily, the blushing peony
+		and the gaudy tulip, and all the choicest flowers of that delicious
+		clime, expanded into renewed loveliness to greet the sun: and
+		the citron and the orange, the melon and the grape, the pomegranate
+		and the date drank in the yellow light to nourish their
+		golden hues.</p>
+
+		<p>Nisida’s eyes glanced rapidly over the vast expanse of waters,
+		and swept the horizon: but there was not a sail, nor even a
+		cloud which imagination might transform into the white wing
+		of a distant ship. And now upon the golden sand the lovely
+		Nisida put off her garments one by one: and set at liberty the
+		dark masses of her shining hair, which floated like an ample
+		veil of raven blackness over the dazzling whiteness of her skin.
+		Imagination might have invested her forehead with a halo, so
+		magnificent was the lustrous effect of the sun upon the silken
+		glossiness of that luxuriant hair.</p>
+
+		<p>The Mediterranean was the lady’s bath: and, in spite of the
+		oppressive nature of the waking thoughts which had succeeded
+		her delicious dream, in spite of that conviction of loneliness
+		which lay like a weight of lead upon her soul, she disported in
+		the waters like a mermaid.</p>
+
+		<p>Now she plunged beneath the surface, which glowed in the
+		sun like a vast lake of quicksilver: now she stood in a shallow
+		spot, where the water rippled no higher than her middle, and
+		combed out her dripping tresses; then she waded further in, and
+		seemed to rejoice in allowing the little wavelets to kiss her
+		snowy bosom. No fear had she, indeed, no thought of the monsters
+		of the deep: could the fair surface of the shining water
+		conceal aught dangerous or aught terrible? Oh! yes, even as
+		beneath that snowy breast beat a heart stained with crime, often
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page161" title="161"> </a>agitated by ardent and impetuous passions, and devoured by
+		raging desire.</p>
+
+		<p>For nearly an hour did Nisida disport in Nature’s mighty bath
+		until the heat of the sun became so intense that she was compelled
+		to return to the shore and resume her apparel. Then she
+		took some bread in her hand, and hastened to the groves to pluck
+		the cooling and delicious fruits whereof there was so marvelous
+		an abundance. She seated herself on a bed of wild flowers on
+		the shady side of a citron and orange grove, surrounded by a
+		perfumed air. Before her stretched the valley, like a vast carpet
+		of bright green velvet fantastically embroidered with flowers of
+		a thousand varied hues. And in the midst meandered the crystal
+		stream, with stately swans and an infinite number of other
+		aquatic birds floating on its bosom. And the birds of the
+		groves, too, how beautiful were they, and how joyous did they
+		seem! What variegated plumage did they display, as they flew
+		past the Lady Nisida, unscared by her presence! Some of them
+		alighted from the overhanging boughs, and as they descended
+		swept her very hair with their wings; then, almost to convince
+		her that she was not an unwelcome intruder in that charming
+		land, they hopped round her, picking up the crumbs of bread
+		which she scattered about to attract them.</p>
+
+		<p>For the loneliness of her condition had already attuned the
+		mind of this strange being to a susceptibility of deriving amusement
+		from incidents which a short time previously she would
+		have looked upon as the most insane triflings;—thus was the
+		weariness of her thoughts relieved by disporting in the water,
+		as we ere now saw her, or by contemplating the playfulness of
+		the birds. Presently she wandered into the vale, and gathered
+		a magnificent nosegay of flowers: then the whim struck her that
+		she would weave for herself a chaplet of roses; and as her work
+		progressed, she improved upon it, and fashioned a beauteous
+		diadem of flowers to protect her head from the scorching noonday
+		sun.</p>
+
+		<p>But think not, O reader! that while thus diverting herself with
+		trivialities of which you would scarcely have deemed the
+		haughty—imperious—active disposition of Nisida of Riverola to
+		be capable—think not that her mind was altogether abstracted
+		from unpleasant thoughts. No—far, very far from that! She
+		was merely relieved from a portion of that weight which oppressed
+		her; but her entire burden could not be removed from
+		her soul. There were moments when her grief amounted almost
+		to despair. Was she doomed to pass the remainder of her
+		existence in that land? was it really an island and unknown to
+		navigators? She feared so: for did it join a continent, its loveliness
+		and fruitfulness would not have permitted it to remain
+		long unoccupied by those who must of necessity discover it.</p>
+
+		<p>And oh! what would her brother think of her absence? what
+		would Fernand conjecture? And what perils might not at that
+		moment envelop her lover, while she was not near to succor
+		him by means of her artifice, her machinations, or her gold.
+		Ten thousand-thousand maledictions upon Stephano, who was
+		the cause of all her present misery! Ten thousand-thousand
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page162" title="162"> </a>maledictions on her own folly for not having exerted all her energies
+		and all her faculties to escape from his power, ere she
+		was conveyed on board the corsair ship, and it was too late!</p>
+
+		<p>But useless now were regrets and repinings; for the past could
+		not be recalled, and the future might have much happiness in
+		store for Nisida. For oh! sweetest comes the hope which is
+		lured back because its presence is indispensable; and, oppressed
+		as Nisida was with the weight of her misfortunes, her soul was
+		too energetic, too sanguine, too impetuous to yield to despair.</p>
+
+		<p>Day after day passed, and still not a ship appeared. Nisida
+		did not penetrate much further into the island than the valley
+		which we have described, and whither she was accustomed to
+		repair to gather the flowers that she wove into diadems. She
+		lingered for the most part near the shore on which she had been
+		thrown, fearing lest, if away, a ship might pass in her absence.</p>
+
+		<p>Each day she bathed her beauteous form in the Mediterranean;
+		each day she devoted some little time to the adornment of her
+		person with wreaths of flowers. She wove crowns for her head—necklaces,
+		bracelets, and scarfs,—combining the flowers so as
+		to form the most wild and fanciful devices, and occasionally
+		surveying herself in the natural mirror afforded her by the
+		limpid stream. Purposely wearing an apparel as scanty as possible,
+		on account of the oppressive heat which prevailed during
+		each day of twelve long hours, and which was not materially
+		moderated at night, she supplied to some extent the place of the
+		superfluous garments thus thrown aside, by means of tissues of
+		cool, refreshing, fragrant flowers.</p>
+
+		<p>Thus, by the time she had been ten or twelve days upon the
+		island, her appearance seemed most admirably to correspond
+		with her new and lonely mode of life, and the spot where her
+		destinies had cast her. Habited in a single linen garment, confined
+		round the slender waist with a cestus of flowers, and with
+		light slippers upon her feet, but with a diadem of roses on her
+		head, and with wreaths round her bare arms, and her equally
+		bare ankles, she appeared to be the goddess of that island—the
+		genius of that charming clime of fruits, and verdure, and crystal
+		streams, and flowers. The majesty of her beauty was softened,
+		and thus enhanced, by the wonderful simplicity of her
+		attire; the dazzling brilliancy of her charms was subdued by the
+		chaste, the innocent, the primitive aspect with which those fantastically
+		woven flowers invested her. Even the extraordinary
+		luster of her fine dark eyes was moderated by the gaudy yet
+		elegant assemblage of hues formed by those flowers which she
+		wore. Was it not strange that she whose soul we have hitherto
+		seen bent on deeds or schemes of stern and important nature—who
+		never acted without a motive, and whose mind was far too
+		deeply occupied with worldly cares and pursuits to bestow a
+		thought on trifles—who, indeed, would have despised herself
+		had she wasted a moment in toying with a flower, or watching
+		the playful motions of a bird,—was it not strange that Nisida
+		should have become so changed as we now find her in that
+		island of which she was the queen?</p>
+
+		<p>Conceive that same Nisida who planned dark plots against
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page163" title="163"> </a>Flora Francatelli, now tripping along the banks of the sunlit
+		stream, bedecked with flowers and playing with the swans.
+		Imagine that same being, who dealt death to Agnes, now seated
+		beneath the shade of myrtles and embowering vines, distributing
+		bread or pomegranate seeds to the birds that hopped cheerfully
+		around her. Picture to yourself that woman of majestic beauty,
+		whom you have seen clad in black velvet and wearing a dark
+		thick veil, now weaving for herself garments of flowers, and
+		wandering in the lightest possible attire by the seashore, or by
+		the rippling stream, or amidst the mazes of the fruit-laden
+		groves.</p>
+
+		<p>And sometimes, as she sat upon the yellow sand, gazing on the
+		wavelets of the Mediterranean, that were racing one after
+		another, like living things from some far off region, to that
+		lovely but lonely isle, it would seem as if all the low and sweet
+		voices of the sea—never loud and sullen now, since the night of
+		storm which cast her on that strand—were heard by her, and
+		made delicious music to her ears! In that island must we leave
+		her now for a short space,—leave her to her birds, her flowers,
+		and her mermaid-sports in the sea,—leave her also to her
+		intervals of dark and dismal thoughts, and to her long, but
+		ineffectual watchings for the appearance of a sail in the horizon.</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_39" class="chapter">
+		<h3>CHAPTER XXXIX.<br />
+			<span class="subtitle">THE WEHR-WOLF.</span></h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">It</span> was the last day of the month; and the hour of sunset was
+		fast approaching. Great was the sensation that prevailed
+		throughout the city of Florence. Rumor had industriously
+		spread, and with equal assiduity exaggerated, the particulars of
+		Fernand Wagner’s trial, and the belief that a man on whom the
+		horrible destiny of a Wehr-Wolf had been entailed, was about
+		to suffer the extreme penalty of the law, was generally prevalent.</p>
+
+		<p>The great square of the ducal palace, where the scaffold was
+		erected, was crowded with the Florentine populace; and the
+		windows were literally alive with human faces. Various were
+		the emotions and feelings which influenced that mass of spectators.
+		The credulous and superstitious—forming more than
+		nine-tenths of the whole multitude—shook their heads, and
+		commented amongst themselves, in subdued whispers, on the
+		profane rashness of the chief judge, who dared to doubt the existence
+		of such a being as a Wehr-Wolf. The few who shared
+		the skepticism of the judge applauded that high functionary for
+		his courage in venturing so bold a stroke in order to destroy
+		what he and they deemed an idle superstition.</p>
+
+		<p>But the great mass were dominated by a profound and indeed
+		most painful sensation of awe; curiosity induced them to remain,
+		though their misgivings prompted them to fly from the
+		spot which had been fixed upon for the execution. The flowers
+		of Florentine loveliness—and never in any age did the republic
+		boast of so much female beauty—were present: but bright eyes
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page164" title="164"> </a>flashed forth uneasy glances, and snowy bosoms beat with alarms,
+		and fair hands trembled in the lover’s pressure. In the midst
+		of the square was raised a high platform covered with black
+		cloth, and presenting an appearance so ominous and sinister that
+		it was but little calculated to revive the spirits of the timid.
+		On this scaffold was a huge block: and near the block stood the
+		headsman, carelessly leaning on his ax, the steel of which was
+		polished and bright as silver. A few minutes before the hour
+		of sunset, the chief judge, the procurator fiscal, the two assistant-judges,
+		and the lieutenant of sbirri, attended by a turnkey
+		and several subordinate police officers, were repairing in procession
+		along the corridor leading to the doomed prisoner’s cell.</p>
+
+		<p>The chief judge alone was dignified in manner; and he alone
+		wore a demeanor denoting resolution and at the same time self-possession.
+		Those who accompanied him were, without a single
+		exception, a prey to the most lively fear; and it was evident
+		that had they dared to absent themselves they would not have
+		been present on this occasion. At length the door of the prisoner’s
+		cell was reached; and there the procession paused.</p>
+
+		<p>“The moment is now at hand,” said the chief judge, “when
+		a monstrous and ridiculous superstition, imported into our
+		country from that cradle and nurse of preposterous legends—Germany—shall
+		be annihilated forever. This knave who is
+		about to suffer has doubtless propagated the report of his lupine
+		destiny, in order to inspire terror and thus prosecute his career
+		of crime and infamy with the greater security from chances of
+		molestation. For this end he painted the picture which appalled
+		so many of you in the judgment hall, but which, believe, my
+		friends, he did not always believe destined to retain its sable
+		covering. Well did he know that the curiosity of a servant or
+		of a friend would obtain a peep beneath the mystic veil; and he
+		calculated that the terror with which he sought to invest himself
+		would be enhanced by the rumors and representations
+		spread by those who had thus penetrated into its feigned secrets.
+		But let us not waste that time which now verges toward a crisis,
+		whereby doubt shall be dispelled and a ridiculous superstition
+		destroyed forever.”</p>
+
+		<p>At this moment a loud, a piercing, and an agonizing cry burst
+		from the interior of the cell.</p>
+
+		<p>“The knave has overheard me, and would fain strike terror
+		to your hearts!” exclaimed the chief judge; then in a still
+		louder tone, he commanded the turnkey to open the door of the
+		dungeon. But when the man approached, so strange, so awful,
+		so appalling were the sounds which came from the interior of
+		the cell, that he threw down the key in dismay and rushed from
+		the dreadful vicinity.</p>
+
+		<p>“My lord, I implore you to pause!” said the procurator fiscal,
+		trembling from head to foot.</p>
+
+		<p>“Would you have me render myself ridiculous in the eyes of
+		all Florence?” demanded the chief judge sternly.</p>
+
+		<p>Yet, so strange were now the noises which came from the interior
+		of the dungeon—so piercing the cries of agony—so violent
+		the rustling and tossing on the stone floor, that for the first time
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page165" title="165"> </a>this bold functionary entertained a partial misgiving, as if he
+		had indeed gone too far. But to retreat was impossible; and,
+		with desperate resolution, the chief judge picked up the key and
+		thrust it into the lock.</p>
+
+		<p>His assistants, the procurator fiscal, and the sbirri drew back
+		with instinctive horror, as the bolts groaned in the iron work
+		which held them; the chain fell with a clanking sound; and as
+		the door was opened, the horrible monster burst forth from the
+		dungeon with a terrific howl. Yells and cries of despair reverberated
+		through the long corridor: and those sounds were for
+		an instant broken by that of the falling of a heavy body.</p>
+
+		<p>’Twas the chief judge, hurled down and dashed violently
+		against the rough uneven masonry, by the mad careering of the
+		Wehr-Wolf as the monster burst from his cell. On, on he sped,
+		with the velocity of lightning, along the corridor, giving vent to
+		howls of the most horrifying description.</p>
+
+		<p>Fainting with terror, the assistant judges, the procurator fiscal,
+		and the sbirri were for a few moments so overcome by the
+		appalling scene they had just witnessed, that they thought not
+		of raising the chief judge, who lay motionless on the pavement.
+		But at length some of the police-officers so far recovered themselves
+		as to be able to devote attention to that high functionary—it
+		was, however, too late—his skull was fractured by the violence
+		with which he had been dashed against the rough wall,
+		and his brains were scattered on the pavement. Those who now
+		bent over his disfigured corpse exchanged looks of unutterable
+		horror.</p>
+
+		<p>In the meantime the Wehr-Wolf had cleared the corridor,
+		rapid as an arrow shot from the bow; he sprung, bounding up a
+		flight of steep stone stairs as if the elastic air bore him on, and
+		rushing through an open door, burst suddenly upon the crowd
+		that was so anxiously waiting to behold the procession issue
+		thence.</p>
+
+		<p>Terrific was the yell that the multitude sent forth—a yell
+		formed of a thousand combining voices, so long, so loud, so
+		wildly agonizing, that never had the welkin rung with so appalling
+		an ebullition of human misery before! Madly rushed the
+		wolf amidst the people, dashing them aside, overturning them,
+		hurling them down, bursting through the mass too dense to
+		clear a passage of its own accord, and making the scene of horror
+		more horrible still by mingling his hideous howlings with
+		the cries—the shrieks—the screams that escaped from a thousand
+		tongues.</p>
+
+		<p>No pen can describe the awful scene of confusion and death
+		which now took place. Swayed by no panic fear, but influenced
+		by terrors of dreadful reality, the people exerted all their force to
+		escape from that spot; and thus the struggling, crushing, pushing,
+		crowding, fighting, and all the oscillations of a multitude
+		set in motion by the direst alarms, were succeeded by the most
+		fatal results. Women were thrown down and trampled to
+		death, strong men were scarcely able to maintain their footing,
+		many females were literally suffocated in the pressure of the
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page166" title="166"> </a>crowd, and mothers with young children in their arms excited
+		no sympathy.</p>
+
+		<p>Never was the selfishness of human nature more strikingly
+		displayed than on this occasion: no one bestowed a thought upon
+		his neighbor: the chivalrous Florentine citizens dashed aside the
+		weak and helpless female who barred his way with as little remorse
+		as if she were not a being of flesh and blood; and even
+		husbands forgot their wives, lovers abandoned their mistresses,
+		and parents waited not an instant to succor their daughters.</p>
+
+		<p>Oh! it was a terrible thing to contemplate, that dense mass,
+		oscillating furiously like the waves of the sea, sending up to
+		heaven such appalling sounds of misery, rushing furiously
+		toward the avenues of egress, falling back baffled and crushed,
+		in the struggle where only the very strongest prevailed, laboring
+		to escape from death, and fighting for life, fluctuating and rushing,
+		and wailing in maddening excitement like a raging ocean.
+		Oh! all this wrought a direful sublimity, with those cries of
+		agony and that riot of desperation. And all this while the wolf
+		pursued its furious career, amid the mortal violence of a people
+		thrown into horrible disorder, pursued its way with savage
+		howls, glaring eyes, and foaming mouth, the only living being
+		there that was infuriate and not alarmed, battling for escape,
+		and yet unhurt.</p>
+
+		<p>As a whirlpool suddenly assails the gallant ship, makes her
+		agitate and rock fearfully for a few moments and then swallows
+		her up altogether, so was the scaffold in the midst of the square
+		shaken to its very basis for a little space, and then hurled down,
+		disappearing altogether amidst the living vortex.</p>
+
+		<p>In the balconies and at the windows overlooking the square,
+		the awful excitement spread like wild-fire, and a real panic prevailed
+		among those who were at least beyond the reach of danger.
+		But horror paralyzed the power of sober reflection, and the
+		hideous spectacle of volumes of human beings battling, and roaring,
+		and rushing, and yelling in terrific frenzy, produced a kindred
+		effect, and spread the wild delirium among the spectators
+		at those balconies and those windows. At length, in the square
+		below, the crowds began to pour forth from the gates, for the
+		Wehr-Wolf had by this time cleared himself a passage and
+		escaped from the midst of that living ocean so fearfully agitated
+		by the storms of fear. But even when the means of egress were
+		thus obtained, the most frightful disorder prevailed, the people
+		rolling in heaps upon heaps, while infuriate and agile men ran
+		on the tops of the compact masses, and leapt in their delirium,
+		as with barbarous intent.</p>
+
+		<p>On—on sped the Wehr-Wolf, dashing like a whirlwind
+		through the streets leading to the open country, the white flakes
+		of foam flying from his mouth like spray from the prow of a
+		vessel, and every fiber of his frame vibrating as if in agony.
+		And oh! what dismay—what terror did that monster spread in
+		the thoroughfares through which he passed; how wildly, how
+		madly flew the men and women from his path; how piteously
+		screamed the children at the house-doors in the poor neighborhoods!
+		But, as if sated with the destruction already wrought
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page167" title="167"> </a>in the great square of the palace, the wolf dealt death no more
+		in the precincts of the city; as if lashed on by invisible demons,
+		his aim, or his instinct, was to escape.</p>
+
+		<p>The streets are threaded, the suburbs of the city are passed,
+		the open country is gained; and now along the bank of the Arno
+		rushes the monster, by the margin of that pure stream to whose
+		enchanting vale the soft twilight lends a more delicious charm.</p>
+
+		<p>On the verge of a grove, with its full budding branches all
+		impatient for the spring, a lover and his mistress were murmuring
+		fond language to each other. In the soft twilight blushed the
+		maiden, less in bashfulness than in her own soul’s emotion, her
+		countenance displaying all the magic beauty not only of feature
+		but of feeling; and she raised her large blue eyes in the
+		dewy light of a sweet enthusiasm to the skies, as the handsome
+		youth by her side pressed her fair hand and said, “We must
+		now part until to-morrow, darling of my soul! How calmly has
+		this day, with all its life and brightness, passed away into the
+		vast tomb of eternity. It is gone without a single hour’s unhappiness
+		for us—gone without leaving a regret on our minds—gone,
+		too, without clouds in the heavens or mists upon the
+		earth, most beautiful even at the moment of its parting! Tomorrow,
+		beloved one, will unite us again in your parents’ cot,
+		and renewed happiness——”</p>
+
+		<p>The youth stopped, and the maiden clung to him in speechless
+		terror: for an ominous sound, as of a rushing animal and then
+		a terrific howl, burst upon their ears! No time had they
+		for flight, not a moment even to collect their scattered thoughts.
+		The infuriate wolf came bounding over the greensward, the
+		youth uttered a wild and fearful cry, a scream of agony burst
+		from the lips of the maiden as she was dashed from her lover’s
+		arms, and in another moment the monster had swept by.</p>
+
+		<p>But what misery, what desolation had his passage wrought!
+		Though unhurt by his glistening fangs—though unwounded by
+		his sharp claws, yet the maiden—an instant before so enchanting
+		in her beauty, so happy in her love—lay stretched on the
+		cold turf, the cords of life snapped suddenly by that transition
+		from perfect bliss to the most appalling terror!</p>
+
+		<p>And still the wolf rushed madly, wildly on.</p>
+
+		<p class="prose_break">*****</p>
+
+
+		<p>It was an hour past sunrise; and from a grove in the immediate
+		neighborhood of Leghorn a man came forth. His countenance,
+		though wondrously handsome, was deadly pale; traces of
+		mental horror and anguish remained on those classically chiseled
+		features, and in those fine eloquent eyes. His garments were
+		soiled, blood-stained, and torn.</p>
+
+		<p>This man was Fernand Wagner. He entered the city of
+		Leghorn, and purchased a change of attire, for which he paid
+		from a purse well filled with gold. He then repaired to a
+		hostel, or public tavern, where he performed the duties of the
+		toilet, and obtained the refreshment of which he appeared to
+		stand so much in need. By this time his countenance was
+		again composed; and the change which new attire and copious
+		ablution had made in his appearance, was so great that no one
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page168" title="168"> </a>who had seen him issue from the grove and beheld him now,
+		could have believed in the identity of the person. Quitting the
+		hostel, he repaired to the port, where he instituted inquiries
+		relative to a particular vessel which he described, and which
+		had sailed from Leghorn upward of a fortnight previously.</p>
+
+		<p>He soon obtained the information which he sought; and an
+		old sailor, to whom he had addressed himself, not only hinted
+		that the vessel in question was suspected, when in the harbor,
+		to be of piratical character, but also declared that he himself
+		had seen a lady conveyed on board during the night preceding
+		the departure of the ship. Further inquiries convinced Wagner
+		that the lady spoken of had been carried by force, and against
+		her will, to the corsair vessel; and he was now certain that the
+		demon had not deceived him, and that he had indeed obtained a
+		trace of his lost Nisida!</p>
+
+		<p>His mind was immediately resolved how to act; and his measures
+		were as speedily taken.</p>
+
+		<p>Guided by the advice of the old sailor from whom he had
+		gleaned the information he sought, he was enabled to purchase
+		a fine vessel and equip her for sea within the space of a few days.
+		He lavished his gold with no niggard hand, and gold is a wondrous
+		talisman to remove obstacles and facilitate designs. In a
+		word, on the sixth morning after his arrival at Leghorn,
+		Fernand Wagner embarked on board his ship, which was
+		manned with a gallant crew, and carried ten pieces of ordnance.
+		A favoring breeze prevailed at the time, and the gallant bark
+		set sail for the Levant.</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_40" class="chapter">
+		<h3>CHAPTER XL.<br />
+			<span class="subtitle">WAGNER IN SEARCH OF NISIDA.</span></h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">The</span> reader may perhaps be surprised that Fernand Wagner
+		should have been venturous enough to trust himself to the possibilities
+		of a protracted voyage, since every month his form must
+		undergo a frightful change—a destiny which he naturally endeavored
+		to shroud in the profoundest secrecy.</p>
+
+		<p>But it must be recollected that the Mediterranean is dotted
+		with numerous islands; and he knew that, however changeable
+		or adverse the winds might be, it would always prove an easy
+		matter to make such arrangements as to enable him to gain
+		some port a few days previously to the close of the month.
+		Moreover, so strong, so intense was his love for Nisida, that,
+		even without the prospect afforded by this calculation, he would
+		have dared all perils, incurred all risks, exposed himself to all
+		hostile chances, rather than have remained inactive while he believed
+		her to be in the power of a desperate, ruthless bandit.
+		For, oh! ever present to his mind was the image of the lost fair
+		one; by day, when the sun lighted up with smiles the dancing
+		waves over which his vessel bounded merrily, merrily; and by
+		night, when the moon shone like a silver lamp amidst the curtains
+		of heaven’s pavilion.</p>
+
+		<p>His was not the love which knows only passionate impulse:
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page169" title="169"> </a>it was a constant, unvarying tender sentiment—far, far more
+		pure, and therefore more permanent, than the ardent and burning
+		love which Nisida felt for him. His was not the love which
+		possession would satiate and enjoyment cool down: it was a
+		feeling that had gained a soft yet irresistible empire over his
+		heart.</p>
+
+		<p>And that love of his was nurtured and sustained by the most
+		generous thoughts. He pictured to himself the happiness he
+		should experience in becoming the constant companion of one
+		whose loss of hearing and of speech cut her off as it were from
+		that communion with the world which is so grateful to her sex:
+		he imagined to himself, with all the fond idolatry of sincere
+		affection, how melodiously soft, how tremulously clear would
+		be her voice, were it restored to her, and were it first used to
+		articulate the delicious language of love. And then he thought
+		how enchanting, how fascinating, how fraught with witching
+		charms, would be the conversation of a being endowed with so
+		glorious an intellect, were she able to enjoy the faculty of
+		speech. Thus did her very imperfections constitute a ravishing
+		theme for his meditation; and the more he indulged in dreams
+		like these, the more resolute did he become never to rest until
+		he had discovered and rescued her.</p>
+
+		<p>Seven days had elapsed since the ship sailed from Leghorn;
+		and Sicily had already been passed by, when the heavens grew
+		overclouded, and everything portended a storm. The captain,
+		whom Wagner had placed in charge of his vessel, adopted all
+		the precautions necessary to encounter the approaching tempest;
+		and soon after the sun went down on the seventh night a
+		hurricane suddenly swept the surface of the Mediterranean.
+		The ship bent to the fury of the gust—her very yards were deep
+		in the water. But when the rage of that dreadful squall subsided,
+		the gallant bark righted again, and bounded triumphantly
+		over the foaming waves.</p>
+
+		<p>A night profoundly dark set in; but the white crests of the
+		billows were visible through that dense obscurity: while the
+		tempest rapidly increased in violence, and all the dread voices
+		of the storm, the thunder in the heavens, the roaring of the sea,
+		and the gushing sounds of the gale, proclaimed the fierceness of
+		the elemental war. The wind blew not with that steadiness
+		which the skill of the sailor and the capacity of the noble ship
+		were competent to meet, but in long and frequent gusts of intermittent
+		fury. Now rose the gallant bark on the waves, as if
+		towering toward the starless sky, in the utter blackness of which
+		the masts were lost; then it sank down into the abyss, the foam
+		of the boiling billows glistening far above, on all sides, amidst
+		the obscurity. What strange and appalling noises are heard on
+		board a ship laboring in a storm—the cracking of timber, the
+		creaking of elastic planks, the rattling of the cordage, the flapping
+		of fragments of sails, the failing of spars, the rolling of
+		casks got loose, and at times a tremendous crash throughout the
+		vessel, as if the whole framework were giving way and the very
+		sides collapsing!</p>
+
+		<p>And amidst those various noises and the dread sounds of the
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page170" title="170"> </a>storm, the voices of the sailors were heard—not in prayer nor
+		subdued by terror—but echoing the orders issued by the captain,
+		who did not despair of guiding—nay, fighting, as it were, the
+		ship through the tumultuous billows and against the terrific
+		blast.</p>
+
+		<p>Again a tremendous hurricane swept over the deep: it passed,
+		but not a spar remained to the dismantled bark. The tapering
+		masts, the long graceful yards were gone, the cordage having
+		snapped at every point where its support was needed—snapped
+		by the fury of the tempest, as if wantonly cut by a sharp knife.
+		The boats—the crew’s last alternative of hope—had likewise disappeared.
+		The ship was now completely at the mercy of the
+		wild raging of the winds and the fury of the troubled waters; it
+		no longer obeyed its helm, and there were twenty men separated,
+		all save <em>one</em>, from death only by a few planks and a few nails!
+		The sea now broke so frequently over the vessel that the pumps
+		could scarcely keep her afloat; and at length, while it was yet
+		dark, though verging toward the dawn, the sailors abandoned
+		their task of working at those pumps. Vainly did the captain
+		endeavor to exercise his authority—vainly did Wagner hold out
+		menaces and promises by turns; death seemed imminent, and
+		yet those men, who felt that they were hovering on the verge of
+		destruction, flew madly to the wine-stores.</p>
+
+		<p>Then commenced a scene of the wildest disorder amidst those
+		desperate men; and even the captain himself, perceiving that
+		they could laugh, and shout, and sing, in the delirium of intoxication,
+		rushed from the side of Wagner and joined the rest.
+		It was dreadful to hear the obscene jest, the ribald song, and
+		the reckless execration, sent forth from the cabin, as if in answer
+		to the awful voices in which Nature was then speaking to
+		the world. But scarcely had a faint gleam appeared in the
+		orient sky—not quite a gleam, but a mitigation of the intenseness
+		of the night—when a tremendous wave—a colossus amongst
+		giants—broke over the ill-fated ship, while a terrible crash of
+		timber was for a moment heard in unison with the appalling din
+		of the whelming billows. Wagner was the only soul on deck at
+		that instant: but the fury of the waters tore him away from the
+		bulwark to which he had been clinging, and he became insensible.</p>
+
+		<p>When he awoke from the stupor into which he had been
+		plunged, it was still dusk, and the roar of the ocean sounded in
+		his ears with deafening din.</p>
+
+		<p>But he was on land, though where he knew not. Rising from
+		the sand on which he had been cast, he beheld the billows breaking
+		on the shore at the distance of only a few paces; and he retreated
+		further from their reach. Then he sat down, with his
+		face toward the east, anxiously awaiting the appearance of the
+		morn that he might ascertain the nature and the aspect of the
+		land on which he had been cast. By degrees the glimmering
+		which had already subdued the blackness of night into the less
+		profound obscurity of duskiness, grew stronger; and a yellow
+		luster, as of a far-distant conflagration, seemed to struggle
+		against a thick fog. Then a faint roseate streak tinged the eastern
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page171" title="171"> </a>horizon, growing gradually deeper in hue, and spreading
+		higher and wider—the harbinger of sunrise; while, simultaneously,
+		the features of the land on which Wagner was thrown
+		began to develop themselves like specters stealing out of complete
+		security; till at length the orient luster was caught successively
+		by a thousand lofty pinnacles of rock; and finally the
+		majestic orb itself appeared, lighting up a series of verdant
+		plains, delicious groves, glittering lakes, pellucid streams, as
+		well as the still turbulent ocean and the far-off mountains which
+		had first peeped from amidst the darkness.</p>
+
+		<p>Fair and delightful was the scene that thus developed itself to
+		the eyes of Wagner; but as his glance swept the country which
+		rose amphitheatrically from the shore not a vestige of the presence
+		of man could be beheld. No smoke curled from amidst the
+		groves, no church spire peeped from amongst the trees; nor had
+		the wilderness of nature been disturbed by artificial culture.</p>
+
+		<p>He turned toward the ocean; there was not a trace of his vessel
+		to be seen. But further along the sand lay a dark object,
+		which he approached, with a shudder, for he divined what it
+		was.</p>
+
+		<p>Nor was he mistaken; it was the swollen and livid corpse of
+		one of the sailors of his lost ship.</p>
+
+		<p>Wagner’s first impulse was to turn away in disgust, but a better
+		feeling almost immediately animated him: and, hastening
+		to the nearest grove, he broke off a large bough, with which he
+		hollowed a grave in the sand. He deposited the corpse in the
+		hole, throwing back the sand which he had displaced, and thus
+		completed his Christian task.</p>
+
+		<p>During his visit to the grove, he had observed with delight
+		that the trees were laden with fruit; and he now returned
+		thither to refresh himself by means of the banquet thus bountifully
+		supplied by nature. Having terminated his repast, he
+		walked further inland. The verdant slope stretched up before
+		him, variegated with flowers, and glittering with morning dew.
+		As he advanced, the development of all the features of that land—lakes
+		and woods; hills undulating like the sea in sunset, after
+		hours of tempest: rivulets and crystal streams, each with its
+		own peculiar murmurs, but all of melody; groves teeming with
+		the most luxurious fruit of the tropics, and valleys carpeted with
+		the brightest green, varied with nature’s own embroidery of
+		flowers—the development of this scene was inexpressibly beautiful,
+		far surpassing the finest efforts of creative fancy.</p>
+
+		<p>Wagner seated himself on a sunny bank, and fell into a profound
+		meditation. At length, glancing rapidly around, he exclaimed
+		aloud, as if in continuation of the chain of thoughts
+		which had already occupied his mind, “Oh, if Nisida were here—here,
+		in this delicious clime, to be my companion! What happiness—what
+		joy! Never should I regret the world from which
+		this isle—for an isle it must be—is separated! Never should I
+		long to return to that communion with men from which we
+		should be cut off! Here would the eyes of my Nisida cast forth
+		rays of joy and gladness upon everything around; here would
+		the sweetest transitions of sentiment and feeling take place!
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page172" title="172"> </a>Nisida would be the island queen; she should deck herself with
+		these flowers, which her fair hands might weave into wildly
+		fantastic arabesques! Oh! all would be happiness—a happiness
+		so serene, that never would the love of mortals he more truly
+		blessed! But, alas!” he added, as a dreadful thought broke rudely
+		upon this delightful vision, “I should be compelled to reveal to
+		her my secret—the appalling secret of my destiny: that when
+		the period for transformation came round, she might place herself
+		in safety——”</p>
+
+		<p>Wagner stopped abruptly, and rose hastily from his seat on
+		the sunny bank. The remembrance of this dreadful fate had
+		spoiled one of the most delicious waking dreams in which he had
+		ever indulged; and, dashing his hands against his forehead, he
+		rushed wildly toward the chain of mountains which intersected
+		the island.</p>
+
+		<p>But suddenly he stopped short, for on the ground before him
+		lay the doublet of a man—a doublet of the fashion then prevalent
+		in Italy. He lifted it up, examined it, but found nothing in
+		the pockets; then, throwing it on the ground, he stood contemplating
+		it for some minutes.</p>
+
+		<p>Could it be possible that he was in some part of Italy? that
+		the ship had been carried back to the European Continent during
+		the tempest of the night? No; it was impossible that so
+		lovely a tract of land would remain uninhabited, if known to
+		men. The longer he reflected the more he became convinced
+		that he was on some island hitherto unknown to navigators,
+		and on which some other shipwrecked individual had probably
+		been cast. Why the doublet should have been discarded he
+		could well understand, as it was thick and heavy, and the heat
+		of the sun was already intense, although it was not yet near
+		the meridian.</p>
+
+		<p>Raising his eyes from the doublet which had occasioned
+		these reflections, he happened to glance toward a knot of fruit
+		trees at a little distance; and his attention was drawn to a large
+		bough which hung down as if almost broken away from the
+		main stem. He approached the little grove; and several circumstances
+		now confirmed his suspicion that he was not the
+		only tenant of the island at that moment. The bough had been
+		forcibly torn down, and very recently, too; several of the fruits
+		had been plucked off, the little sprigs to which they had originally
+		hung still remaining and bearing evidence to the fact. But
+		if additional proof were wanting of human presence there,
+		it was afforded by the half-eaten fruits that were strewed
+		about.</p>
+
+		<p>Wagner now searched for the traces of footsteps; but such
+		marks were not likely to remain in the thick rich grass, which
+		if trampled down, would rise fresh and elastic again with the
+		invigorating dew of a single night. The grove, where Wagner
+		observed the broken bough and the scattered fruits, was further
+		from the shore than the spot where he had found the doublet;
+		and he reasoned that the man, whoever he might be, had thrown
+		away his garment, when overpowered by the intensity of the
+		heat, and had then sought the shade and refreshment afforded
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page173" title="173"> </a>by the grove. He therefore concluded that he had gone inland,
+		most probably toward the mountains, whose rocky pinnacles,
+		of every form, now shone with every hue in the glorious sunlight.</p>
+
+		<p>Overjoyed at the idea of finding a human being in a spot
+		which he had at first deemed totally uninhabited, and filled with
+		the hope that the stranger might be able to give him some information
+		relative to the geographical position of the isle, and
+		even perhaps aid him in forming a raft by which they might together
+		escape from the oasis of the Mediterranean, Wagner proceeded
+		toward the mountains. By degrees the wondrous beauty
+		of the scene became wilder, more imposing, but less bewitching,
+		and when he reached the acclivities of the hill, the groves of
+		fruits and copses of myrtles and citrons, of vines and almond
+		shrubs, were succeeded by woods of mighty trees.</p>
+
+		<p>Further on still the forests ceased and Fernand entered on a
+		wild region of almost universal desolation, yet forming one of
+		the sublimest spectacles that nature can afford. The sounds of
+		torrents, as yet concealed from his view, and resembling the
+		murmur of ocean’s waves, inspired feelings of awe; and it was
+		now for the first time since he entered on the region of desolation,
+		having left the clime of loveliness nearly a mile behind,
+		that his attention was drawn to the nature of the soil, which
+		was hard and bituminous in appearance.</p>
+
+		<p>The truth almost immediately struck him: there was a volcano
+		amongst those mountains up which he was ascending;
+		and it was the lava which had produced that desolation, and
+		which, cold and hardened, formed the soil whereon he walked.
+		It was now past midday; and he seated himself once more to
+		repose his limbs, wearied with the fatigues of the ascent and
+		overcome by the heat that was there intolerable. At the distance
+		of about two hundred yards on his right was a solitary
+		tree, standing like a sign to mark the tomb of nature’s vegetation.
+		Upon this tree his eyes were fixed listlessly, and he was
+		marveling within himself how that single scion of the forest
+		could have been spared, when the burning lava, whenever the
+		eruption might have taken place, had hurled down and reduced
+		to cinders its verdant brethren.</p>
+
+		<p>Suddenly his attention was more earnestly riveted upon the
+		dense and wide-spreading foliage of that tree; for the boughs
+		were shaken in an extraordinary manner, and something appeared
+		to be moving about amongst the canopy of leaves. In
+		another minute a long, unmistakable, appalling object darted
+		forth—a monstrous snake—suspending itself by the tail to one
+		of the lower boughs, and disporting playfully with its hideous
+		head toward the ground. Then, with a sudden coil, it drew
+		itself back into the tree, the entire foliage of which was shaken
+		with the horrible gambolings of the reptile.</p>
+
+		<p>Wagner remembered the frightful spectacle which he had beholden
+		in Ceylon, and an awful shudder crept through his frame;
+		for, although he knew that he bore a charmed life, yet he
+		shrank with a loathing from the idea of having to battle with
+		such a horrible serpent. Starting from the ground, he rushed—flew,
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page174" title="174"> </a>rather than ran, higher up the acclivity, and speedily
+		entered on a wild scene of rugged and barren rocks: but he
+		cared not whither the windings of the natural path which he
+		now pursued might lead him, since he had escaped from the
+		view of the hideous boa-constrictor gamboling in the solitary
+		tree.</p>
+
+		<p>Wearied with his wanderings, and sinking beneath the oppressive
+		heat of the sun, Wagner was rejoiced to find a cavern
+		in the side of a rock, where he might shelter and repose himself.
+		He entered, and lay down upon the hard soil; the sounds of the
+		torrents, which rolled still unseen amidst the chasms toward
+		which he had approached full near, produced a lulling influence
+		upon him, and in a few minutes his eyes were sealed in slumber.
+		When he awoke he found himself in total darkness. He started
+		up, collected his scattered ideas, and advanced to the mouth of
+		the cavern.</p>
+
+		<p>The sun had set: but outside the cave an azure twilight prevailed,
+		and the adjacent peaks of the mountains stood darkly
+		out from the partially though faintly illuminated sky.</p>
+
+		<p>While Wagner was gazing long and intently upon the sublime
+		grandeur of the scene, a strange phenomenon took place.
+		First a small cloud appeared on the summit of an adjacent hill;
+		then gradually this cloud became more dense and assumed a
+		human shape. Oh! with what interest—what deep, enthusiastic
+		interest, did Fernand contemplate the spectacle; for his well-stored
+		mind at once suggested to him that he was now the witness
+		of that wondrous optical delusion, called the mirage.</p>
+
+		<p>Some human being in the plain on the other side of that range
+		of mountains was the subject of that sublime scene; might it
+		not be the individual of whom he was in search, the owner of
+		the doublet? But, ah! wherefore does Wagner start with surprise?</p>
+
+		<p>The shadow of that human being, as it gradually assumed
+		greater density and a more defined shape—in a word, as it was
+		now properly developed by the reflection of twilight—wore the
+		form of a female! Were there, then, many inhabitants on the
+		opposite side of the mountains? or was there only one female,
+		she whose reflected image he now beheld? He knew not; but
+		at all events the pleasure of human companionship seemed
+		within his reach; the presence of the doublet had convinced him
+		that there was another man upon the island, and now the mirage
+		showed him the semblance of a woman!</p>
+
+		<p>Vast—colossal—like a dense, dark, shapely cloud, stood that
+		reflected being in the sky; for several minutes it remained thus,
+		and though Wagner could trace no particular outline of features,
+		yet it seemed to him as if the female were standing in a pensive
+		attitude. But as the twilight gradually subsided, or rather
+		yielded to the increasing obscurity, the image was absorbed
+		likewise in the growing gloom; until the dusky veil of night
+		made the entire vault above of one deep, uniform, purple hue.
+		Then Wagner once more returned to the cavern, with the
+		resolution of crossing the range of hills on the ensuing morn.</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_41" class="chapter">
+		<h3><a class="pagenum" id="page175" title="175"> </a>CHAPTER XLI.<br />
+			<span class="subtitle">THE ISLAND QUEEN.</span></h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">Oh!</span> how beautiful—how enchantingly beautiful seemed Nisida,
+		as her delicate feet bore her glancingly along the sunny banks
+		of the crystal stream, to the soft music of its waters. How the
+		slight drapery which she wore set off the rich undulations of
+		that magnificent form! How the wreaths and garlands of
+		fantastically woven flowers became the romantic loveliness of
+		her person—that glowing Hebe of the South!</p>
+
+		<p>Holding in her fair hand a light, slim wand, and moving through
+		the delicious vale with all the soft abandonment of gait and
+		limb which feared no intrusion on her solitude, she appeared
+		that Mediterranean island’s queen. What, though the evening
+		breeze, disporting with her raiment, lifted it from her glowing
+		bosom?—she cared not; no need for sense of shame was there!
+		What though she laid aside her vesture to disport in the sea at
+		morn?—no furtive glances did she cast round; no haste did she
+		make to resume her garments; for whose eye, save that of God,
+		beheld her?</p>
+
+		<p>But was she happy? Alas! there were moments when despair
+		seized upon her soul; and, throwing herself on the yellow
+		sand, or on some verdant bank, she would weep—oh! she would
+		weep such bitter, bitter tears, that those who have been forced
+		to contemplate her character with aversion, must now be compelled
+		to pity her.</p>
+
+		<p>Yes; for there were times when all the loveliness of that island
+		seemed but a hideous place of exile, an abhorrent monotony
+		which surrounded her—grasped her—clung to her—hemmed
+		her in, as if it were an evil spirit, having life and the power to
+		torture her. She thought of those whom she loved, she pondered
+		upon all the grand schemes of her existence, and she felt
+		herself cut off from a world to which there were so many ties
+		to bind her, and in which she had so much to do. Then she
+		would give way to all the anguish of her soul—an anguish that
+		amounted to the deepest, blackest despair, when her glances
+		wildly swept the cloudless horizon, and beheld not a sail—no!
+		nor a speck on the ocean to engender hope. But when this tempest
+		of grief and passion was past, she would be angry with
+		herself for having yielded to it; and, in order to distract her
+		thoughts from subjects of gloom, she would bound toward the
+		groves, light as a fawn, the dazzling whiteness of her naked and
+		polished ankles gleaming in contrast with the verdure of the
+		vale.</p>
+
+		<p>One morning after Nisida had been many, many days on the
+		island, she was seated on the sand, having just completed her
+		simple toilet on emerging from the mighty bath that lay
+		stretched in glassy stillness far as the eye could reach, when
+		she suddenly sprung upon her feet, and threw affrighted looks
+		around her. Had she possessed the faculty of hearing, it
+		would be thought that she was thus startled by the sound of a
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page176" title="176"> </a>human voice which had at that instant broken upon the solemn
+		stillness of the isle—a human voice emanating from a short
+		distance behind her. As yet she saw no one; but in a few moments
+		a man emerged from the nearest grove, and came slowly
+		toward her.</p>
+
+		<p>He was dressed in a light jerkin, trunk-breeches, tight hose,
+		and boot—in all as an Italian gentleman of that day, save in
+		respect to hat and doublet, of which he had none. Neither wore
+		he a sword by his side, nor carried any weapons of defense; and
+		it was evident he approached the island queen with mingled
+		curiosity and awe.</p>
+
+		<p>Perhaps he deemed her to be some goddess, endowed with the
+		power and the will to punish his intrusion on her realm; or peradventure
+		his superstitious imagination dwelt on the tales which
+		sailors told in those times—how mermaids who fed on human
+		flesh dwelt on the coasts of uninhabited islands, and assuming
+		the most charming female forms, lured into their embrace the
+		victims whom shipwreck cast upon their strand, and instead of
+		lavishing on them the raptures of love, made them the prey of
+		their ravenous maws.</p>
+
+		<p>Whatever were his thoughts, the man drew near with evident
+		distrust. But, now—why does Nisida’s countenance become
+		suddenly crimson with rage? why rushes she toward the stores
+		which still remained piled up on the strand? and wherefore,
+		with the rapidity of the most feverish impatience, does she hurl
+		the weapons of defense into the sea, all save one naked sword,
+		with which she arms herself? Because her eagle glance, quicker
+		than that of the man who is approaching her, has recognized
+		<em>him</em>, ere he has even been struck with a suspicion relative to
+		who <em>she</em> is—and that man is Stephano Verrina!</p>
+
+		<p>Now, Nisida! summon all thine energies to aid thee; for a
+		strong, a powerful, a remorseless man, devoured with lust for
+		thee, is near. And thou art so ravishingly beautiful in thy aerial
+		drapery, and thy wreaths of flowers, that an anchorite could
+		not view thee with indifference! Ah! Stephano starts—stops
+		short—advances: the suspicion has struck him! The aquiline
+		countenance, those brilliant large, dark eyes, that matchless
+		raven hair, that splendid symmetrical maturity of form, and
+		withal, that close compression of the vermilion lips, O Nisida!
+		have been scanned in rapid detail by the brigand!</p>
+
+		<p>“Nisida!” he exclaimed; “Yes, it is she!”</p>
+
+		<p>And he bounded toward her with outstretched arms.</p>
+
+		<p>But the sharp sword was presented to his chest; and the lady
+		stood with an air of such resolute determination, that he stopped
+		short gazing upon her with mingled wonderment and admiration.
+		Heavens! he had never beheld so glorious a specimen of
+		female loveliness as that whereon his eyes were fastened,—fastened
+		beyond the possibility of withdrawal. How glossy black
+		was that hair with its diadem of white roses! How miserably
+		poor appeared the hues of the carnations and the pinks that
+		formed her necklace, when in contrast with her flushing cheeks!
+		How dingy were the lilies at her waist, compared with her heaving
+		breast!</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page177" title="177"> </a>The reason of the brigand reeled, his brain swam round, and
+		for a moment it seemed to him that she was not a being of this
+		world; not the Nisida he had known and carried off from Italy,
+		but a goddess, another and yet the same in all the glory of those
+		matchless charms which had heretofore ravished—no, maddened
+		him!</p>
+
+		<p>And now the spirit of this bold and reckless man was subdued—subdued,
+		he knew not how nor wherefore; but still subdued
+		by the presence of her whom he had deemed lost in the waves,
+		but who seemed to stand before him, with flowers upon her
+		brow and a sharp weapon in her hand—radiant, too, with loveliness
+		of person, and terrible with the fires of hatred and indignation!</p>
+
+		<p>Yes! he was subdued—overawed—rendered timid as a young
+		child in her presence; and sinking upon his knees, he exclaimed—forgetful
+		that he was addressing Nisida the deaf and dumb—“Oh!
+		fear not—I will not harm thee! But, my God! take compassion
+		on me—spurn me not—look not with such terrible anger
+		upon one who adores, who worships you! How is it that I
+		tremble and quail before you—I, once so reckless, so rude. But,
+		oh! to kiss that fair hand—to be your slave—to watch over you—to
+		protect you—and all this but for thy smiles in return—I
+		should be happy—supremely happy! Remember—we are alone
+		on this island—and I am the stronger; I might compel you by
+		force to yield to me—to become mine; but I will not harm you—no,
+		not a hair of your head, if you will only smile upon me!
+		And you will require one to defend and protect you—yes, even
+		here in this island, apparently so secure and safe;—for there are
+		terrible things in this clime—dreadful beings, far more formidable
+		than whole hordes of savage men—monsters so appalling
+		that not all thy courage, nor all thy energy would avail thee a
+		single moment against them. Yes, lady, believe me when I
+		tell thee this! For many—many days have I dwelt, a lonely
+		being, on the other side of this isle, beyond that chain of mountains—remaining
+		on that shore to which the wild waves carried
+		me on the night of shipwreck. But I hurried away at last—I
+		dared all the dangers of mighty precipices, yawning chasms,
+		and roaring torrents—the perils of yon mountains—rather than
+		linger on the other side. For the anaconda, lady, is the tenant
+		of this island—the monstrous snake—the terrible boa, whose
+		dreadful coils, if wound round that fair form of yours, would
+		crush it into a hideous, loathsome mass?”</p>
+
+		<p>Stephano had spoken so rapidly, and with such fevered excitement
+		that he had no time to reflect whether he were not wasting
+		his words upon a being who could not hear them; until
+		exhausted and breathless with the volubility of his utterance he
+		remembered that he was addressing himself to Nisida the deaf
+		and dumb. But happily his appealing and his suppliant posture
+		had softened the lady: for toward the end of his long speech a
+		change came over her countenance, and she dropped the point of
+		her sword toward the ground.</p>
+
+		<p>Stephano rose, and stood gazing on her for a few moments
+		with eyes that seemed to devour her. His mind had suddenly
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page178" title="178"> </a>recovered much of its wonted boldness and audacity. So long
+		as Nisida seemed terrible as well as beautiful, he was subdued;—now
+		that her eyes had ceased to dart forth lightnings, and the
+		expression of her countenance had changed from indignation
+		and resolute menace to pensiveness and a comparatively mournful
+		softness, the bandit as rapidly regained the usual tone of his
+		remorseless mind.</p>
+
+		<p>Yes; he stood gazing on her for a few moments, with eyes
+		that seemed to devour her:—then, in obedience to the impulse of
+		maddening desire, he rushed upon her, and in an instant
+		wrenched the sword from her grasp. But rapid as lightning,
+		Nisida bounded away from him, ere he could wind his arms
+		around her; and fleet as the startled deer, she hastened toward
+		the groves.</p>
+
+		<p>Stephano, still retaining the sword in his hand, pursued her
+		with a celerity which was sustained by his desire to possess her
+		and by his rage that she had escaped him. But the race was
+		unequal as that of a lion in chase of a roe; for Nisida seemed
+		borne along as it were upon the very air. Leaving the groves
+		on her left she dashed into the vale. Along the sunny bank of
+		the limpid stream she sped;—on, on toward a forest that
+		bounded the valley at the further end, and rose amphitheatrically
+		up toward the regions of the mountains!</p>
+
+		<p>Stephano Verrina still pursued her, though losing ground
+		rapidly; but still he maintained the chase. And now the verge
+		of the forest is nearly gained; and in its mazes Nisida hopes to
+		be enabled to conceal herself from the ruffian whom, by a
+		glance hastily cast behind from time to time, she ascertains to
+		be upon her track. But, oh! whither art thou flying thus wildly,
+		beauteous Nisida?—into what appalling perils art thou rushing,
+		as it were, blindly? For there, in the tallest tree on the verge
+		of the forest to which thou now art near,—there, amidst the
+		bending boughs and the quivering foliage—one of the hideous
+		serpents which infest the higher region of the isle is disporting—the
+		terrible anaconda—the monstrous boa, whose dreadful
+		coils, if wound round that fair form of thine, would crush it
+		into a loathsome mass!</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_42" class="chapter">
+		<h3>CHAPTER XLII.<br />
+			<span class="subtitle">THE TEMPTATION—THE ANACONDA.</span></h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">In</span> the meantime Fernand Wagner was engaged in the attempt
+		to cross the chain of mountains which intersected the island
+		whereon the shipwreck had thrown him. He had clambered
+		over rugged rocks and leapt across many yawning chasms in
+		that region of desolation,—a region which formed so remarkable
+		a contrast with the delicious scenery which he had left behind
+		him. And now he reached the base of a conical hill, the summit
+		of which seemed to have been split into two parts: and the
+		sinuous tracks of the lava-streams, now cold, and hard, and
+		black, adown its sides, convinced him that this was the volcano,
+		from whose rent crater had poured the bituminous fluid so fatal
+		to the vegetation of that region.</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page179" title="179"> </a>Following a circuitous and naturally formed pathway round
+		the base, he reached the opposite side; and now from a height
+		of three hundred feet above the level of the sea, his eyes commanded
+		a view of a scene as fair as that behind the range of
+		mountains. He was now for the first time convinced of what
+		he had all along suspected—namely, that it was indeed an
+		island on which the storm had cast him. But though from the
+		eminence where he stood his view embraced the immense range
+		of the ocean, no speck in the horizon—no sail upon the bosom
+		of the expanse imparted hope to his soul.</p>
+
+		<p>Hunger now oppressed him; for he had eaten nothing since
+		the noon of the preceding day, when he had plucked a few fruits
+		in the groves on the other side of the island. He accordingly
+		commenced a descent toward the new region which lay stretched
+		before him, fair as—even fairer than—the one which had first
+		greeted his eyes.</p>
+
+		<p>But he had not proceeded many yards amidst the defiles of the
+		rugged rocks which nature had piled around the base of the volcano,
+		when he found his way suddenly barred by a vast chasm,
+		on the verge of which the winding path stopped.</p>
+
+		<p>The abyss was far too wide to be crossed save by the wing
+		of the bird: and in its unfathomable depths boiled and roared a
+		torrent, the din of whose eddies was deafening to the ear.</p>
+
+		<p>Wagner retraced his way to the very base of the volcano, and
+		entered another defile: but this also terminated on the edge of
+		the same precipice.</p>
+
+		<p>Again and again did he essay the various windings of that
+		scene of rock and crag: but with no better success than at first;
+		and after passing a considerable time in these fruitless attempts
+		to find a means of descent into the plains below, he began to
+		fear that he should be compelled to retrace his way into the
+		region of verdure which he had quitted the day before, and
+		which lay behind the range of mountains. But the thought of
+		the hideous snake which he had seen in the tree caused a cold
+		shudder to pass over him—then, in the next moment, he remembered
+		that if the region on one side of the mountain were invested
+		with reptiles of that terrible species, it was not probable
+		that the forests which he beheld as it were at his feet, were free
+		from the same source of apprehension. Still he had hoped to
+		find human companionship on this side of the mountains which
+		he had so far succeeded in reaching—the companionship of the
+		man who had cast away the doublet, and of the woman whom
+		he had seen in the mirage.</p>
+
+		<p>And was it not strange that he had not as yet overtaken, or at
+		least obtained a trace of, the man who thus occupied a portion
+		of his thoughts? If that man were still amongst the mountains,
+		they would probably meet; if he had succeeded in descending
+		into the plains below, the same pathway that conducted him
+		thither would also be open to Wagner. Animated with these reflections,
+		and in spite of the hunger which now sorely oppressed
+		him, Wagner prosecuted with fresh courage his search for a
+		means of descent into the lovely regions that lay stretched before
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page180" title="180"> </a>him, when he was suddenly startled by the sound of a
+		human voice near him.</p>
+
+		<p>“My son, what dost thou amidst this scene of desolation?”
+		were the words which, uttered in a mild benignant tone, met
+		his ears.</p>
+
+		<p>He turned and beheld an old man of venerable appearance,
+		and whose beard, white as snow, stretched down to the rude
+		leathern belt which confined the palmer’s gown that he wore.</p>
+
+		<p>“Holy anchorite!” exclaimed Wagner—“for such must I
+		deem thee to be,—the sound of thy voice is most welcome in
+		this solitude, amidst the mazes of which I vainly seek to find an
+		avenue of egress.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Thus it is oft with the troubles and perplexities of the world,
+		my son,” answered the hermit, “that world which I have quitted
+		forever.”</p>
+
+		<p>“And dost thou dwell in this desolate region?” asked Fernand.</p>
+
+		<p>“My cave is hard by,” returned the old man. “For forty
+		years have I lived in the heart of these mountains, descending
+		only into the plains at long intervals, to gather the fruits that
+		constitute my food:—and then,” he added, in a tone which, despite
+		the sanctity of his appearance, struck cold and ominous to
+		the very heart of Wagner,—“and then, too, at the risk of becoming
+		the prey of the terrible anaconda!”</p>
+
+		<p>“Thou sayest, holy hermit,” exclaimed Fernand, endeavoring
+		to conquer a feeling of unaccountable aversion which he had
+		suddenly entertained toward the old man, “thou sayest that
+		thy cave is hard by. In the name of mercy! I beseech thee to
+		spare me a few fruits, and a cup of water, for I am sinking with
+		fatigue, hunger, and thirst.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Follow me, young man,” said the hermit; and he led the
+		way to a cave opening from a narrow fissure in the rock.</p>
+
+		<p>The anchorite’s abode was, as Wagner had expected to find it,
+		rude and cheerless. A quantity of dry leaves were heaped in
+		one corner—evidently forming the old man’s couch; and in several
+		small hollows made in the walls of rock, were heaps of
+		fruit—fresh and inviting, as if they had only just been gathered.
+		On the ground stood a large earthen pitcher of water. Upon
+		this last object did the thirsty Wagner lay his left hand; but ere
+		he raised it, he glanced hastily round the cave in search of a
+		crucifix, in the presence of which he might sign the form of the
+		cross with his right hand. But to his astonishment the emblem
+		of Christianity was not there; and it now struck him
+		for the first time that the anchorite wore no beads around his
+		waist.</p>
+
+		<p>“Young man, I can divine your thoughts,” said the hermit,
+		hastily; “but drink, eat, and ask a blessing presently. Thou
+		art famished, pause not to question my motives. I will explain
+		them fully to thee when thy body is refreshed with that pure
+		water and those delicious fruits.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Water shall not pass my lips, nor fruits assuage the cravings
+		of hunger, until I know more of thee, old man!” exclaimed
+		Wagner, a terrible suspicion flashing to his mind; and without
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page181" title="181"> </a>another instant’s hesitation or delay, he made the sign of the
+		cross.</p>
+
+		<p>A yell of rage and fury burst from the lips of the false
+		anchorite, while his countenance became fearfully distorted—his
+		eyes glared fiercely—his whole aspect changed—and in a few
+		moments he stood confessed in shape, attire and features, the
+		demon who had appeared to Fernand in the prison of Florence!</p>
+
+		<p>“Fiend! what wouldst thou with me?” exclaimed Wagner,
+		startled and yet unsubdued by this appearance of the evil spirit
+		amidst that region of desolation.</p>
+
+		<p>“Mortal,” said the demon, in his deepest and most serious
+		tones, “I am here to place happiness—happiness ineffable—within
+		thy reach. Nay, be not impatient: but listen to me for a
+		few moments. ’Twas my power that conducted thy ship, amidst
+		the fury of the storm which <em>He</em> whose name I dare not mention
+		raised, to the shores of this island. ’Twas my influence which
+		yesterday, as thou wast seated on the sunny banks, filled thine
+		imagination with those delicious thoughts of Nisida. And it was
+		I also who, by the wonders of the mirage, showed thee the form
+		of the only female inhabitant of this isle. And that one female,
+		Wagner—that woman who is now as it were within thy reach—that
+		lovely being whose presence on this island would teach
+		thee to have no regret for the world from which you are separated,
+		and whose eyes would cast forth rays of joy and gladness
+		upon everything around—that charming lady, who has already
+		decked herself with those flowers which her fair hands have
+		woven into wildly fantastic arabesques, that being is thy Nisida,
+		the Island Queen.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Fiend! you mock—you deceive me,” cried Fernand, wildly
+		hovering between joyous hope and acute fear.</p>
+
+		<p>“Did I deceive thee, Wagner, when I showed thee thy Nisida
+		in the power of the corsairs?” said the demon, with a smile of
+		bitter, sardonic triumph. “I tell thee, then, that Nisida is on
+		this island—there, in the very region into which thou wouldst
+		descend, but to which thou wilt find no avenue save by my aid.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Nisida is here—on this island,” exclaimed Fernand in an
+		ecstasy of joy.</p>
+
+		<p>“Yes—and Stephano, the bandit, likewise,” added the demon.
+		“It was his doublet which you found—it was he who slaked
+		his thirst with the juice of the fruits which I, then invisible, beheld
+		thee contemplate with attention.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Stephano here also!” cried Wagner. “Oh! Nisida—to thy
+		rescue!”</p>
+
+		<p>And he bounded forth from the cave, and was rushing madly
+		down one of the tortuous defiles leading toward the chasm,
+		when the voice of the demon suddenly caused him to stop short.</p>
+
+		<p>“Fool!—insensate mortal!” said the fiend, with a derisive laugh.
+		“How canst thou escape from these mountains? But tarry a
+		moment—and behold thy Nisida—behold also her persecutor,
+		who lusts after her.”</p>
+
+		<p>Thus speaking; he handed Wagner a magic telescope, which
+		immediately brought the most remote objects to a distance of
+		only a few yards.</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page182" title="182"> </a>Then what a delicious scene met Fernand’s eyes! He beheld
+		Nisida bathing in the sea—sporting like a mermaid with the
+		wavelets—plunging into the refreshing depths—then wringing
+		out the water from her long raven hair, now swimming and
+		diving, then wading on her feet,—unconscious that a human eye
+		beheld her.</p>
+
+		<p>At length she came forth from the sea, beauteous as a Venus
+		rising from the ocean; and her toilet commenced upon the sand.
+		But scarcely had she decked herself with the flowers which she
+		had gathered early in the morning for the purpose, when she
+		started and rose up; and then Wagner beheld a man approaching
+		her from the nearest grove.</p>
+
+		<p>“That is Stephano Verrina!” murmured the demon in his
+		ears.</p>
+
+		<p>Fernand uttered a cry of dismay, and threw down the telescope.</p>
+
+		<p>“You may save her—save her yet,” said the demon, speaking
+		in a tone of unusual haste. “In a few minutes she will be in
+		his power—he is strong and desperate; be mine, and consent to
+		serve me—and in a moment Nisida shall be clasped in thy arms—the
+		arms of thee, her deliverer.”</p>
+
+		<p>“No—no! I will save her without thine aid, dread fiend!” exclaimed
+		Wagner, a prey to the most terrible excitement.</p>
+
+		<p>Then making the sign of the cross, he rushed forward to leap
+		the yawning chasm; his feet touched the opposite side, but he
+		lost his balance, reeled, and fell back into the tremendous abyss,
+		while the demon, again baffled, and shrinking in horror from
+		the emblem of Christianity, disappeared with cries of rage and
+		vexation.</p>
+
+		<p>Down—down fell Wagner,—turning over and over in the
+		hideous vacancy, and clutching vainly at the stunted shrubs
+		and dead roots which projected from the rugged sides of the
+		chasm.</p>
+
+		<p>In another moment he was swallowed up by the boiling torrent;
+		but his senses did not leave him, and he felt himself hurried
+		along with the furious speed of the mad waters. Thus
+		nearly a minute passed; and then his headlong course was suddenly
+		arrested by the boughs of a tree, which, having given way
+		at the root, bent over into the torrent. He clung to the boughs
+		as if they were arms stretched out to rescue him; he raised himself
+		from amidst the turbid waters—and in a few moments
+		reached a bank which shelved upward to the edge of a dense
+		forest.</p>
+
+		<p>Precisely on the opposite or inner side there was an opening
+		in the rocks, and Wagner’s eye could trace upward a steep but
+		still practicable path, doubtless formed by some torrent of the
+		spring, which was now dried up amidst the mountains above,—that
+		path reaching to the very basis of the volcano.</p>
+
+		<p>Thus, had circumstances permitted him to exercise his patience
+		and institute a longer search among the defiles formed by
+		the crags and rocks around the conical volcano, he would have
+		discovered a means of safe egress from that region without
+		daring the desperate leap of the chasm, desperate even for him,
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page183" title="183"> </a>although he bore a charmed life, because his limbs might have
+		been broken against the rugged sides of the precipice.</p>
+
+		<p>Between the opening to the steep path just spoken of, and the
+		shelving bank on which Wagner now stood, there was so narrow
+		a space, that the bent tree stretched completely across the torrent;
+		thus any one, descending from the mountains by the natural
+		pathway, might cross by means of the tree to the side which
+		Fernand had gained.</p>
+
+		<p>“This, then, must have been the route by which the villain
+		Stephano emerged from the mountains,” he said to himself,
+		“and the fiend deceived me when he declared that I could not
+		reach the plains below without his aid.”</p>
+
+		<p>Such were his reflections as he hurried up the shelving bank:
+		and when he reached the summit his glance embraced a scene
+		already described to the reader.</p>
+
+		<p>For, flying wildly on toward the forest, was his beauteous
+		Nisida, scattering flowers in her whirlwind progress, those flowers
+		that had ere now decked her hair, her neck and her waist.</p>
+
+		<p>At some distance behind her was the bandit Stephano; with
+		sword in hand he still maintained the chase, though breathless
+		and ready to sink from exhaustion. Not an instant did Wagner
+		tarry upon the top of the bank which he had reached; but darting
+		toward Nisida, who was now scarce fifty yards from him, he
+		gave vent to an ejaculation of joy.</p>
+
+		<p>She saw him—she beheld him: and her speed was checked in
+		an instant with the overpowering emotion of wonder and delight.</p>
+
+		<p>Then, as he hurried along the verge of the forest to encounter
+		her—to fold her in his fond embrace—to protect her,—she once
+		more sprung forward, with outstretched arms, to fly into his
+		arms, which were open to receive her. But at that instant there
+		was a horrible rustling amidst the foliage of the huge tree beneath
+		which she was hastening on;—a monstrous snake darted
+		down with a gushing sound, and in another moment the beauteous
+		form of Nisida was encircled by its hideous coils.</p>
+
+		<p>Then fled that wondrous self-command which for long years
+		she had exercised with such amazing success:—then vanished
+		from her mind all the strong motives which had induced her to
+		undertake so terrible a martyrdom as that of simulating the loss
+		of two faculties most dear and most valuable to all human beings;—and
+		with a cry of ineffable anguish, she exclaimed, “<em>Fernand,
+		save me! save me!</em>”</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_43" class="chapter">
+		<h3>CHAPTER XLIII.<br />
+			<span class="subtitle">NISIDA AND WAGNER.</span></h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">Oh!</span> with what astonishment and joy would Wagner have welcomed
+		the sound of that voice, so long hushed, and now so musical
+		even in its rending agony,—had not such an appalling incident
+		broken the spell that for years had sealed the lips of his
+		beloved! But he had no time for thought—there was not a moment
+		for reflection. Nisida lay senseless on the ground, with
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page184" title="184"> </a>the monster coiled around her—its long body hanging down from
+		the bough to which it was suspended by the tail. Simultaneously
+		with the cry of anguish that had come from the lips of
+		Nisida, exclamations of horror burst alike from Wagner and
+		Stephano.</p>
+
+		<p>The latter stood transfixed as it were for a few moments, his
+		eyes glaring wildly on the dreadful spectacle before him; then,
+		yielding to the invincible terror that had seized upon him, he
+		hurled away the sword—knowing not what he did in the excitement
+		of his mind, and fled! But the gleaming of the naked
+		weapon in the sunbeams met Wagner’s eyes as it fell, and darting
+		toward it, he grasped it with a firm hand—resolving also
+		to use it with a stout heart. Then he advanced toward the
+		snake, which was comparatively quiescent—that portion of its
+		long body which hung between the tree and the first coil that
+		it made round the beauteous form of Nisida alone moving; and
+		this motion was a waving kind of oscillation, like that of a bell-rope
+		which a person holds by the end and swings gently.</p>
+
+		<p>But from the midst of the coils the hideous head of the monster
+		stood out—its eyes gleaming malignantly upon Wagner as
+		he approached. Suddenly the reptile, doubtless alarmed by the
+		flashing of the bright sword, disengaged itself like lightning from
+		the awful embrace in which it had retained the Lady Nisida,
+		and sprung furiously toward Fernand. But the blow that he
+		aimed at its head was unerring and heavy; its skull was cloven
+		in two—and it fell on the long grass, where it writhed in horrible
+		convulsions for some moments, although its life was gone.</p>
+
+		<p>Words cannot be found to describe the delirium of joy which
+		Wagner felt, when having thus slain the terrible anaconda, he
+		placed his hand on Nisida’s heart and felt that it beat—though
+		languidly. He lifted her from the ground—he carried her in
+		his arms to the bank of the limpid stream—and he sprinkled
+		water upon her pale cheeks.</p>
+
+		<p>Slowly did she recover; and when her large black eyes at
+		length opened, she uttered a fearful shriek, and closed them
+		again—for with returning life the reminiscence of the awful embrace
+		of the serpent came back also. But Wagner murmured
+		words of sweet assurance and consolation—of love and joy, in
+		her ears; and she felt that it was no dream, but that she was
+		really saved! Then, winding her arms round Fernand’s neck,
+		she embraced him in speechless and still almost senseless trance,
+		for the idea of such happy deliverance was overpowering—amounting
+		to an agony which a mortal creature could scarcely
+		endure.</p>
+
+		<p>“Oh! Nisida,” at length exclaimed Wagner, “was it a delusion
+		produced by the horrors of that scene?—or did thy voice
+		really greet mine ears ere now!”</p>
+
+		<p>There was a minute’s profound silence—during which, as
+		they sat upon the bank of the stream, locked in a fond embrace,
+		their eyes were fixed with fascinating gaze upon each other, as
+		if they could not contemplate each other too long—he in tenderness,
+		and she in passion.</p>
+
+		<p>“Yes, Fernand,” said Nisida, breaking that deep silence at
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page185" title="185"> </a>last, and speaking in a voice so mellifluously clear, so soft, so
+		penetrating in its tone, that it realized all the fond ideas which
+		her lover had conceived of what its nature would be if it were
+		ever restored, “yes, Fernand, dearest Fernand,” she repeated,
+		“you did indeed hear my voice, and to <em>you</em> never again shall I
+		be mute.”</p>
+
+		<p>Wagner could not allow her time to say more: he was almost
+		wild with rapture! His Nisida was restored to him, and no longer
+		Nisida the deaf and dumb, but Nisida who could hear the fond
+		language which he addressed to her, and who could respond in
+		the sweetest, most melting and delicious tones that ever came
+		from woman’s lips.</p>
+
+		<p>For a long time their hearts were too full, alike for total
+		silence or connected conversation, and while the world from
+		which they were cut off was entirely forgotten, they gathered so
+		much happiness from the few words in which they indulged,
+		and from all that they read in each other’s eyes, that the emotions
+		which they experienced might have furnished sensations
+		for a lifetime.</p>
+
+		<p>At length—she scarcely knew how the subject began, although
+		it might naturally have arisen of its own spontaneous suggestion—Nisida
+		found herself speaking of the long period of deception
+		which she had maintained in relation to her powers of
+		speech and hearing.</p>
+
+		<p>“Thou lovest me well, dearest Fernand,” she said in her musical
+		Italian tones; “and thou would’st not create a pang in my
+		heart? Then never seek to learn wherefore, when at the still
+		tender age of fifteen, I resolved upon consummating so dreadful
+		a sacrifice as to affect dumbness. The circumstances were, indeed,
+		solemnly grave and strangely important, which demanded
+		so awful a martyrdom. But well did I weigh all the misery and
+		all the peril that such a self-devotion was sure to entail upon
+		me. I knew that I must exercise the most stern—the most remorseless—the
+		most inflexible despotism over my emotions—that
+		I must crush as it were the very feelings of my soul—that
+		I must also observe a caution so unwearied and so constantly
+		wakeful, that it would amount to a sensitiveness the most painful—and
+		that I must prepare myself to hear the merry jest without
+		daring to smile, or the exciting narrative of the world’s stirring
+		events without suffering my countenance to vary a hue!
+		Oh! I calculated—I weighed all this, and yet I was not appalled
+		by the immensity of the task. I knew the powers of my own
+		mind, and I did not deceive myself as to their extent. But, ah!
+		how fearful was it at first to hear the sounds of human voices,
+		and dare not respond to them; how maddening at times was it to
+		listen to conversation in which I longed to join, and yet be compelled
+		to sit like a passionless statue! But mine was a will of iron
+		strength—a resolution of indomitable power! Even when alone
+		when I knew that I should not be overheard—I never essayed the
+		powers of my voice, I never murmured a single syllable to myself
+		so fearful was I lest the slightest use of the glorious gift of
+		speech might render me weak in my purpose. And strange as it
+		may seem to you, dearest Fernand, not even on this island did I
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page186" title="186"> </a>yield to the temptation of suddenly breaking that long, that awful
+		silence which I had imposed upon myself. And, until this day,
+		one human being only, save myself, was acquainted with that
+		mighty secret of ten long years, and that man was the generous-hearted,
+		the noble-minded Dr. Duras. He it was who aided me
+		in my project of simulating the forlorn condition of the deaf and
+		dumb: he it was who bribed the turnkeys to admit me unquestioned
+		to your cell in the prison of the ducal palace. And for
+		years, perhaps, should I have retained my wondrous secret even
+		from <em>you</em>, dearest Fernand; for through dangers of many kinds—in
+		circumstances of the most trying nature, have I continued
+		firm in my purpose; abjuring the faculty of speech even when
+		it would have saved me from much cruel embarrassment or
+		from actual peril. Thus, when the villain Stephano Verrina
+		bore me away by force from my native city, I maintained the
+		seal upon my lips, trusting to circumstances to enable me to
+		escape from his power without being compelled to betray a
+		secret of such infinite value and importance to myself. But
+		when I found that I was so narrowly watched at Leghorn that
+		flight was impossible, I seriously debated, in my own mind, the
+		necessity of raising an alarm in the house where I was kept a
+		prisoner for two whole days; and then I reflected that I was in
+		the power of a desperate bandit and his two devoted adherents,
+		who were capable of any atrocity to forward their designs or
+		prevent exposure. Lastly, when I was conveyed at dead of
+		night on board the corsair-ship, the streets were deserted, and
+		the pirates with whom Stephano was leagued, thronged the
+		port. I therefore resigned myself to my fate, trusting still to
+		circumstances, and retaining my secret. But that incident of
+		to-day—oh! it was enough to crush energies ten thousand times
+		more powerful than mine: it was of so horrifying a nature as to
+		be sufficient to loose the bands which confine the tongue of one
+		really dumb.”</p>
+
+		<p>And a strong shudder convulsed the entire form of Nisida, as
+		she thus, by her own words, recalled so forcibly to mind that
+		terrible event which had broken a spell of ten years’ duration.</p>
+
+		<p>Fernand pressed her to his bosom, exclaiming, “Oh, beloved
+		Nisida, how beautiful dost thou appear to me!—how soft and
+		charming is that dear voice of thine! Let us not think of the
+		past, at least not now; for I also have explanations to give thee,”
+		he added, slowly and mournfully; then, in a different and again
+		joyous tone, he said: “Let us be happy in the conviction that
+		we are restored to each other; let this be a holiday—nay, more,”
+		he added, sinking his voice almost to a whisper; “let it be the
+		day on which we join our hands together in the sight of Heaven.
+		No priest will bless our union, Nisida; but we will plight our
+		vows—and God will accord us his blessing.”</p>
+
+		<p>The lady hid her blushing, glowing countenance on his breast,
+		and murmured in a voice melodious as the music of the stream
+		by which they sat, “Fernand, I am thine—thine forever.”</p>
+
+		<p>“And I am thine, my beauteous Nisida; thine forever, as thou
+		art mine!” exclaimed Wagner, lifting her head and gazing on
+		her lovely, blushing face as on a vision of heaven.</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page187" title="187"> </a>“No; she is mine!” thundered the voice of the forgotten Stephano,
+		and in a moment the bandit flung himself upon Wagner,
+		whom he attempted to hurl into the crystal but deep river.</p>
+
+		<p>Fernand, however, caught the arm of the brigand and dragged
+		him along with him into the water, while a terrific scream burst
+		from the lips of Nisida. Then furious was the struggle that
+		commenced in the depths of the stream. But Stephano lay
+		beneath Wagner, who held him down on the pebbly bottom. In
+		another moment Nisida herself plunged into the river with the
+		wild hope of aiding her lover to conquer his foe, or to rescue
+		him from the grasp which the bandit maintained upon him with
+		the tenacity that was strengthened rather than impaired by the
+		agony of suffocation.</p>
+
+		<p>But she rose again to the surface in an instant by the indomitable
+		influence of that instinct for self-preservation which no
+		human being, when immersed in the deep water, can resist if
+		the art of swimming has been attained. Again she dived to
+		succor her lover, but her aid, even if she could have afforded
+		any, was no longer necessary, for Fernand rose from the crystal
+		depths and bore his Nisida to the bank, while the corpse of the
+		drowned bandit was carried away by the current.</p>
+
+		<p>Wagner and Nisida were now the sole human inhabitants of
+		that isle—the king and queen of the loveliest clime on which the
+		sun shone. Toward the sea-shore they repaired, hand in hand,
+		and having partaken of the fruits which they gathered in their
+		way, they set to work to form a hut with the planks, cordage,
+		and canvas of the wreck. It will be remembered that Nisida
+		had saved the carpenter’s tools, and thus the task became a comparatively
+		easy one.</p>
+
+		<p>By the time the sun went down a tenement was formed, rude,
+		it is true, but still perfect enough to harbor them in a clime
+		where the nights were warm and where the dews prevailed
+		only in the verdant parts of the isle. Then with what joyous
+		feelings did Nisida deck the walls of the hut with a tapestry of
+		flowers and prepare the bridal couch with materials which she
+		had saved from the wreck.</p>
+
+		<p>Softly and sweetly shone the moon that night; and, as its silver
+		rays penetrated through the crevices of the little cottage so
+		hastily and so rudely formed, they played kissingly upon the
+		countenances of the happy pair who had wedded each other in
+		the sight of Heaven.</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_44" class="chapter">
+		<h3>CHAPTER XLIV.<br />
+			<span class="subtitle">ALESSANDRO FRANCATELLI.</span></h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">In</span> order that the reader should fully understand the stirring
+		incidents which yet remain to be told, it is necessary for us to
+		explain certain particulars connected with Alessandro Francatelli,
+		the brother of the beautiful Flora. It will be recollected
+		that this young man accompanied the Florentine envoy to Constantinople,
+		in the honorable capacity of secretary, some few
+		years previous to the commencement of our tale.</p>
+
+		<p>Alessandro was strikingly handsome, tall, well-formed, and
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page188" title="188"> </a>of great physical strength. His manners were pleasing, his conversation
+		agreeable to a degree. Indeed, he had profited so
+		well by the lessons of the excellent-hearted Father Marco, that
+		his mind was well stored with intellectual wealth. He was,
+		moreover, a finished musician, and played the violin, at that
+		period a rare accomplishment, to perfection. In addition to all
+		these qualifications, he was a skillful versifier, and composed the
+		most beautiful extemporaneous poetry, apparently without an
+		effort. But his disposition was by no means light or devoted to
+		pursuits which worldly-minded persons would consider frivolous.
+		For he himself was worldly-minded, keen, shrewd, far-seeing,
+		and ambitious. He deplored the ruin which had overtaken his
+		family, and longed ardently to rebuild its fortunes, adding
+		thereto the laurels of glory and the honors of rank.</p>
+
+		<p>The situation which he enjoyed in the establishment of the
+		Florentine envoy appeared to him the stepping-stone to the attainment
+		of these objects, but the embassy had not been long
+		settled at Constantinople, when Alessandro found that his master
+		was one who, being ignorant himself, was jealous of the
+		talents displayed by others. Great interest had alone procured
+		the envoy the post which he held as negotiator plenipotentiary
+		with the Ottoman Porte, on behalf of the Republic of Florence;
+		and the Turkish reis-effendi, or minister of foreign affairs, soon
+		perceived that the Christian embassador was quite incompetent
+		to enter into the intricacies of treaties and the complex machinery
+		of diplomacy. But suddenly the official notes which the
+		envoy addressed to the reis-effendi began to exhibit a sagacity
+		and an evidence of far-sighted policy which contrasted strongly
+		with the imbecility which had previously characterized those
+		communications. It was at that period a part of the policy of
+		the Ottoman Port to maintain spies in the household of all the
+		foreign embassadors residing in Constantinople; and through
+		this agency the reis-effendi discovered that the Florentine envoy
+		had condescended to avail himself of the brilliant talents of his
+		secretary, Alessandro Francatelli, to infuse spirit into his official
+		notes.</p>
+
+		<p>The reis-effendi was himself a shrewd and sagacious man; and
+		he recognized in the abilities evinced by the youthful secretary,
+		those elements which, if properly developed, would form a great
+		politician. The Turkish Minister accordingly resolved to leave
+		no stone unturned, in order to entice so promising an individual
+		into the service of the sultan. To accomplish this object indirect
+		means were at first attempted; and the secret agents of the
+		minister sounded Alessandro upon the subject. He listened to
+		them at first in silence, but not unwillingly. They grew bolder,
+		and their speech became more open. He encouraged them to
+		lay bare their aims; and they hinted to him how glorious a
+		career might be opened to him were he to enter the service of
+		the high and mighty sultan, Solyman the Magnificent, who then
+		sat upon the proud throne of the Ottoman Empire.</p>
+
+		<p>The more attentively Alessandro listened, the less reserved became
+		those who were instructed to undermine his fidelity toward
+		his master, the Florentine Envoy. They represented to him how
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page189" title="189"> </a>Christians, who had abjured their creed and embraced the Moslem
+		faith, had risen to the highest offices, even to the post of
+		grand vizier, or prime minister of the empire. Alessandro was
+		completely master of his emotions; he had not studied for some
+		years in the school of diplomacy without learning how to render
+		the expression of his countenance such as at any moment to
+		belie the real state of his feelings. He did not, therefore, suffer
+		the spies and agents of the reis-effendi to perceive how deep an
+		impression their words had made upon him; but he said and
+		looked enough to convince them that the topics of their discourse
+		would receive the most serious consideration at his
+		hands. His mind was already made up to accept the overtures
+		thus made to him; but he affected to hesitate, for he saw that
+		his services were ardently longed for, and he resolved to drive
+		as advantageous a bargain as possible.</p>
+
+		<p>He was one afternoon lounging through the principal bezestein
+		or bazaar, when he was struck by the elegant form, imposing
+		air, and rich apparel of a lady who rode slowly along
+		upon a mule, attended by four female slaves on foot. The outlines
+		of her figure shaped the most admirable symmetry he had
+		ever beheld; and though her countenance was concealed by a
+		thick veil, in accordance with the custom of the East, yet he
+		seemed to have been impressed with an instinctive conviction
+		that the face beneath that invidious covering was eminently
+		beautiful. Moreover, the eyes whose glances flashed through
+		the two holes which were formed in the veil so as to permit the
+		enjoyment of the faculty of sight, were gloriously brilliant, yet
+		black as jet. Once, too, when the lady raised her delicate white
+		hand, sparkling with jewels, to arrange the folds of that hated
+		veil, Alessandro caught a rapid, evanescent glimpse of a neck as
+		white as snow.</p>
+
+		<p>The little procession stopped at the door of a merchant’s shop
+		in the bazaar; the slaves assisted the lady to dismount, and she
+		entered the warehouse, followed by her dependents, the mule
+		being left in charge of one of the numerous porters who thronged
+		in the bezestein.</p>
+
+		<p>Alessandro lingered near the door, and he beheld the merchant
+		displaying various pieces of rich brocade before the eyes
+		of the lady, who, however, scrupulously retained the dense veil
+		over her countenance. Having made her purchases, which
+		were taken charge of by one of the slaves, the lady came forth
+		again; and Alessandro, forgetting that his lingering near now
+		amounted to almost an act of rudeness, was chained to the
+		spot, lost in admiration of her elegant gesture, her graceful
+		yet dignified carriage, and the exquisite contour of her perfect
+		shape. Her feet and ankles, appearing beneath the full trousers,
+		that were gathered in just at the commencement of the swell
+		of the leg, were small and beautifully shaped; and so light was
+		her tread, that she scarcely seemed to touch the ground on which
+		she walked.</p>
+
+		<p>As the lady issued from the door of the merchant’s shop, she
+		cast a rapid but inquiring look toward Alessandro, though
+		whether in anger or curiosity he was unable to determine, for
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page190" title="190"> </a>the eyes only could he see, and it was impossible for him to
+		read the meaning of the glances they sent forth, when unassisted
+		by a view of the general expression worn by her countenance at
+		the same time.</p>
+
+		<p>Accident, however, favored him far more than he could have
+		possibly anticipated. At the very moment when the lady’s
+		head was turned toward him, she tripped over the cordage of a
+		bale of goods that had shortly before been opened beneath the
+		painted awning over the front of the shop, and she would have
+		fallen had not Alessandro sprung forward and caught her in
+		his arms.</p>
+
+		<p>She uttered a faint scream, for her veil had shifted aside from
+		its proper position; and her countenance was thus revealed to a
+		man, and that man evidently by his dress a Christian!</p>
+
+		<p>Instantly recovering her self-possession, she readjusted her
+		veil, gave a gentle but graceful inclination of the head toward
+		Alessandro, mounted her mule by the assistance of the slaves,
+		and rode away at a somewhat hasty pace. Alessandro stood
+		gazing after her until she turned the angle of the nearest
+		street, and it struck him that her glance was for an instant cast
+		rapidly back toward him, ere she disappeared from his view.</p>
+
+		<p>And no wonder that he stood thus rooted to the spot, following
+		her with his eyes; for the countenance which accident had
+		revealed to him was already impressed upon his heart. It was
+		one of those lovely Georgian faces, oval in shape, and with a
+		complexion formed of milk and roses, which have at all times
+		been prized in the East, as the very perfection of female beauty;
+		a face which, without intellectual expression, possesses an ineffable
+		witchery, and all the charms calculated to fascinate the
+		beholder. The eyes were black as jet, the hair of a dark auburn,
+		and luxuriantly rich in its massive beauty; the lips were
+		of bright vermilion, and between them were two rows of pearl,
+		small and even. The forehead was high and broad, and white
+		as marble, with the delicate blue veins visible through the transparent
+		complexion.</p>
+
+		<p>Alessandro was ravished as he reflected on the wondrous
+		beauty thus for a moment revealed to him, but his raptures
+		speedily changed to positive grief when he thought how improbable
+		it was that this fair creature would ever cross his path
+		again. He entered the warehouse, made a small purchase, and
+		inquired casually of the Turkish merchant if he knew who the
+		lady was. The reply was in the negative, but the merchant informed
+		Alessandro that he had no doubt the lady was of some
+		rank, from the profound respect with which her slaves treated
+		her, and from the readiness with which she paid the prices demanded
+		of her for the goods she had purchased, Turkish ladies
+		generally being notorious for their disposition to drive a hard
+		bargain with traders.</p>
+
+		<p>Alessandro returned to the suburb of Pera, in which the mansion
+		of the Florentine Embassy was situated—his mind full of
+		the beautiful creature whose countenance he had seen for a moment,
+		and whose soft form he had also for a moment—a single
+		moment—held in his arms. He could not apply himself to the
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page191" title="191"> </a>duties of his office, but feigned indisposition and retired to the
+		privacy of his own apartment. And never did that chamber
+		seem so lonely, so cold, so cheerless. His entire disposition appeared
+		to have become suddenly changed; he felt that the world
+		now contained something the possession of which was positively
+		necessary to his happiness. One sole idea absorbed all his
+		thoughts: the most lovely countenance which, in his estimation,
+		he had ever seen was so indelibly reflected in the mirror of his
+		mind, that his imagination could contemplate naught besides.
+		He knew not that whenever he went abroad, he was watched by
+		one of the spies of the reis-effendi; and he was therefore surprised
+		when, on the following day, that secret agent of the minister
+		whispered in his ear, “Christian, thou lovest—and it depends
+		on thyself whether thou wilt be loved in return!”</p>
+
+		<p>Alessandro was stupefied at these words. His secret was
+		known, or at least suspected. He questioned the individual who
+		had thus addressed him, and he found that the incident of the
+		preceding day was indeed more than suspected—it <em>was</em> known.
+		He besought to know who the lady was; but the spy would not,
+		or could not satisfy him. He, however, promised that he would
+		endeavor to ascertain a point in which Alessandro appeared to
+		be so deeply interested. The intriguing spirit of Turkish dependents
+		is notorious: the reader will not therefore be surprised when
+		we state that in a few days the spy made his appearance in
+		Alessandro’s presence with a countenance denoting joyous
+		tidings. The young Italian was impatient to learn the results
+		of the agent’s inquiries.</p>
+
+		<p>“I know not who the lady is,” was the reply; “but this much
+		I have to impart to you, signor—that she did not behold you
+		the other day with indifference; that she is grateful for the attention
+		you paid in offering your aid to save her from perhaps a
+		serious accident—and that she will grant you a few moments’
+		interview this evening, provided you assent to certain conditions
+		to be imposed upon you, respecting the preliminary arrangements
+		for your meeting.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Name them! name them!” exclaimed Alessandro, wild with
+		joy, and almost doubting whether he were not in the midst of a
+		delicious dream.</p>
+
+		<p>“That you consent to be blindfolded while being conducted
+		into her presence—that you maintain the most profound silence
+		while with those who will guide you to her abode—and that you
+		return from the interview under the same circumstances.”</p>
+
+		<p>“I should be unworthy the interest which she deigns to manifest
+		in my behalf, were I to refuse compliance with those
+		terms,” answered Alessandro.</p>
+
+		<p>“An hour after sunset,” said the spy, “you will meet me at
+		the gate of the Mosque of Selimya;” and with those words he
+		hurried away, leaving the young Florentine in a state of excited
+		hope, amounting to a delirium of joy.</p>
+
+		<p>Alessandro was well aware that adventures, such as the one
+		in which he found himself suddenly involved, were by no means
+		uncommon in the East; and that ladies of the most unimpeachable
+		virtue, as well as of the highest rank, frequently accorded
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page192" title="192"> </a>interviews of this private nature to those men who were fortunate
+		enough to merit their attention—such visits being the
+		first step toward matrimonial connections. But then he remembered
+		that he was a Christian, and the fair object of his
+		devotion was probably of the Moslem faith. What, then, would
+		be the result? Was some wealthy lady of high rank about to
+		abandon her creed for his sake? or would the sacrifice of his
+		faith be required as the only condition on which his complete
+		happiness might be achieved? He knew not—cared but little;
+		it was sufficient for him that he was to meet the charming being
+		whose image had never once quitted his mind, from the first
+		moment he had seen her in the bezestein!</p>
+
+		<p>Even before the appointed hour was Alessandro pacing the
+		square in front of the splendid temple which the Sultan Selim—the
+		conqueror of Egypt—had erected, and which bore his imperial
+		name. At length the agent, for whom he waited, made
+		his appearance. This man, though actually a Turkish dependent
+		in the service of the Florentine Envoy, was, as before stated,
+		neither more nor less than one of the numerous spies placed by
+		the reis-effendi round the person of that embassador. Alessandro
+		was aware of this, in consequence of the offers and representations
+		that had been made to him through the means of
+		this agent, and though the youth suspected that the man
+		knew more concerning the beauteous idol of his heart than he
+		had chosen to admit, yet he had seen enough to convince him
+		of the inutility of questioning him on that head.</p>
+
+		<p>It was, therefore, in silence that Alessandro followed his guide
+		through several by-streets down to the margin of the waters of
+		the Golden Horn. There a boat, in which two rowers and a
+		female slave were seated, was waiting.</p>
+
+		<p>“Here, must you be blindfolded,” said the spy.</p>
+
+		<p>For a few moments Alessandro hesitated, in regret that he
+		had gone so far with this adventure. He had heard fearful tales
+		of dark deeds committed on the waters of the Bosporus and the
+		Golden Horn; and he himself, when roving during his leisure
+		hours along the verdant banks of those waters, had seen the
+		livid corpse float with the tale-telling bow-string fastened round
+		the neck.</p>
+
+		<p>The spy seemed to divine his thoughts.</p>
+
+		<p>“You hesitate, signor,” he said; “then let us retrace our way.
+		But remember,” he added in a low tone, “that were treachery
+		intended, it would be as easy to perform the deed where you now
+		stand, as on the bosom of that star-lit gulf.”</p>
+
+		<p>Alessandro hesitated no longer, but suffered himself to be completely
+		hooded in a cap which the spy drew over his countenance.
+		He was then conducted into the boat and guided to a
+		seat next to the female slave. The spy leapt upon the strand, the
+		boatmen plied their oars, and the skiff shot away from the
+		bank, no one uttering a word.</p>
+	</div>
+	<p class="part_end">[END OF PART I.]</p>
+	<!-- WAGNER, THE WEHR-WOLF.
+	BY GEORGE W. M. REYNOLDS. -->
+	<!-- Originally part of the page, taken out to avoid confusion -->
+	<h2 class="part_title" id="part_2"><a class="pagenum" id="page193" title="193">&nbsp;</a>PART II.</h2>
+	<div id="chapter_45" class="chapter">
+		<h3>CHAPTER XLV.<br />
+			<span class="subtitle">THE LADY OF CONSTANTINOPLE.</span></h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">For</span> upward of half an hour did the boat skim the surface of
+		the Golden Horn, the dip of the oars in the water and the rippling
+		around the sharp prow alone breaking the solemn silence
+		of the night. At length the skiff stopped, and the female slave
+		took Alessandro’s hand, whispering in a low tone, “I will serve
+		as thy guide, Christian; but speak not till thou hast permission.”</p>
+
+		<p>She then led him from the boat, up a flight of steps, and
+		through a garden—for he occasionally came in contact with the
+		outstretching branches of shrubs, and there was moreover a
+		delicious odor of flowers, as he proceeded in the total darkness
+		of his blindfolding. At the expiration of ten minutes the guide
+		stopped; and Alessandro heard a key turn in a lock.</p>
+
+		<p>“Enter there,” said the slave, pushing him gently forward,
+		and speaking in a low tone. “Take off the cap—attire yourself
+		in the raiment you will find ready provided, and then pass fearlessly
+		through the door at the further end of the room. You
+		will meet me again in the hall which you will thus reach.”</p>
+
+		<p>And, without waiting for a reply, the slave closed and locked
+		the door through which Alessandro had just passed. Hastily
+		did he remove the cap, which had indeed almost suffocated
+		him; and he now found himself in a small apartment, elegantly
+		furnished in the most luxurious Oriental fashion, and brilliantly
+		lighted. A table spread with confectionery, cakes, fruits, and
+		even wines—though the fermented juice of the grape be expressly
+		forbidden by the laws of the Prophet Mohammed—occupied
+		the center of the room. Around the walls were continuous
+		sofas, or ottomans, so conducive to the enjoyment of a voluptuous
+		indolence; the floor was spread with a carpet so thick that
+		the feet sunk into the silky texture, as into newly fallen snow;
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page194" title="194"> </a>and whichever way he turned Alessandro beheld his form
+		reflected in vast mirrors set in magnificent frames. There were
+		no windows on any side of this apartment; but there was a
+		cupola fitted with stained glass on the roof, and Alessandro
+		judged that he was in one of those voluptuous kiosks usually
+		found in the gardens of wealthy Turks.</p>
+
+		<p>Precisely as the slave had informed him, he found an elegant
+		suit of Moslem garments set out on the sofa for his use; and he
+		hastened to exchange his Italian costume for the Oriental raiment.
+		As he thus attired himself, it was necessary to contemplate himself
+		in the mirror facing him, so as properly to adjust clothes to
+		which he was totally unaccustomed; and it struck him that the
+		garb of the infidel became him better than that of the Christian.
+		He did not, however, waste time in the details of this strange
+		toilet; but as soon as it was completed he opened the door at
+		the further end of the room, in pursuance of the instructions he
+		had received. Alessandro found himself in a large marble hall,
+		from which several flights of stairs led to the apartments above.
+		The place was refulgent with the light of numerous chandeliers,
+		the glare of which was enhanced by the vast mirrors attached to
+		the walls, and the crystal pillars that supported the roof.</p>
+
+		<p>Not a human being met Alessandro’s eyes; and he began to
+		fear either that he had mistaken the directions he had received,
+		or that some treachery was intended, when a door opened, and
+		the female slave, wrapped in a veil, made her appearance.
+		Placing her forefinger upon that part of the veil which covered
+		her lips, to enjoin silence, she led the way up the nearest staircase,
+		Alessandro following with a heart beating audibly. They
+		reached a door at which a negro male slave was stationed.</p>
+
+		<p>“The hakim” (physician), said Alessandro’s guide, laconically
+		addressing herself to the negro, who bowed in silence and threw
+		open the door. The female slave conducted the pretended physician
+		into a small but splendidly furnished ante-room, in which
+		there were several other dependents of her own sex. A door at
+		the further end was opened, and Alessandro passed through into
+		another, larger, and still more magnificently furnished room; the
+		door closed behind him, and he found himself alone with the idol
+		of his adoration.</p>
+
+		<p>Half seated, half lying upon cushions of scarlet brocade, the
+		glossy bright hue of which was mellowed by the muslin spread
+		over it, appeared the beauteous creature whose image was so
+		faithfully delineated in his memory. She was attired in the
+		graceful and becoming dualma, a purple vest which set close to
+		her form, and with a species of elasticity shaped itself so as to
+		develop every contour.</p>
+
+		<p>But in accordance with the custom of the clime and age, the
+		dualma was open at the bosom, sloping from each lovely white
+		shoulder to the waist, where the two folds joining, formed an
+		angle, at which the purple vest was fastened by a diamond
+		worth a monarch’s ransom. The sleeves were wide, but short,
+		scarcely reaching to the elbow, and leaving all the lower part of
+		the snowy arms completely bare. Her ample trousers were of
+		purple silk, covered with the finest muslin, and drawn in tight a
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page195" title="195"> </a>little above the ankles, which were naked. On her feet she
+		wore crimson slippers cut very low, and each ornamented with
+		a diamond. Round her person below the waist she wore a magnificent
+		shawl, rolled up, as it were, negligently, so as to form a
+		girdle or zone, and fastened in front with two large tassels of
+		pearls. Diamond bracelets adorned her fair arms; and her
+		head-dress consisted of a turban or shawl of light but rich material,
+		fastened with golden bodkins, the head of each being a
+		pearl of the best water. Beneath this turban, her rich auburn
+		hair, glowing like gold in the light of the perfumed lamps, and
+		amidst the blaze of diamonds which adorned her, was parted
+		in massive bands, sweeping gracefully over her temples and
+		gathered behind the ears, then falling in all the luxuriance
+		of its rich clustering folds over the cushion whereon she
+		reclined. Her finger-nails were slightly tinged with henna,
+		the rosy hue the more effectually setting off the lily whiteness
+		of her delicate hand and full round arm. But no need had
+		she to dye the lashes of her eyes with the famous kohol, so much
+		used by Oriental ladies, for those lashes were by nature formed
+		of the deepest jet—a somewhat unusual but beauteous contrast
+		with the color of her hair. The cheeks of the lovely creature
+		were slightly flushed, or it might have been a reflection of the
+		scarlet brocade of the cushion on which, as we have said, she
+		was half-seated, half-lying, when Alessandro appeared in her
+		presence.</p>
+
+		<p>For a few moments the young Italian was so dazzled by her
+		beauty, so bewildered by the appearance of that lady, whose
+		richness of attire seemed to denote the rank of sultana, that he
+		remained rooted to the spot, uncertain whether to advance, to
+		retire, or to fall upon his knees before her. But in an encouraging
+		tone, and in a voice musical as a silver bell, the lady said:
+		“Approach, Christian!” and she pointed to a low ottoman within
+		a few paces of the sofa which she herself occupied. Alessandro
+		now recovered his presence of mind; and no longer embarrassed
+		and awkward, but with graceful ease and yet profound respect,
+		he took the seat indicated.</p>
+
+		<p>“Beauteous lady,” he said, “how can I ever demonstrate the
+		gratitude—the illimitable, boundless gratitude which fills my
+		heart, for the joy, the truly elysian delight afforded me by this
+		meeting?”</p>
+
+		<p>“You speak our language well, Christian,” observed the lady,
+		smiling faintly at the compliment conveyed by the words of
+		Alessandro, but evading a direct reply.</p>
+
+		<p>“I have for some years past been in the service of the Florentine
+		envoy, lady,” was the answer; “and the position which I
+		occupy at the palace of the embassy has led me to study the
+		beauteous language of this clime, and to master its difficulties.
+		But never, never did that language sound so soft and musical
+		upon my ears as now, flowing from those sweet lips of thine.”</p>
+
+		<p>“The Moslem maiden dares not listen to the flattery of the infidel,”
+		said the beauteous stranger in a serious but not severe
+		tone. “Listen to me, Christian, with attention, for our meeting
+		must not be prolonged many minutes. To say that I beheld
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page196" title="196"> </a>thee with indifference when we first encountered each other in
+		the bazaar, were to utter a falsehood which I scorn; to admit that
+		I can love thee, and love thee well,” she added, her voice
+		slightly trembling, “is an avowal which I do not blush to make.
+		But never can the Moslem maiden bestow her hand on the infidel.
+		If thou lovest me—if thou wouldst prove thyself worthy
+		of that affection which my heart is inclined to bestow upon
+		thee, thou wilt renounce the creed of thy forefathers, and embrace
+		the Mussulman faith. Nor is this all that I require of
+		thee, or that thou must achieve to win me. Become a true believer—acknowledge
+		that Allah is God and Mohammed is his
+		prophet—and a bright and glorious destiny will await thee. For
+		although thou wilt depart hence without learning my name, or
+		who I may be, or the place to which you have been brought to
+		meet me,—though we shall behold each other no more until
+		thou hast rendered thyself worthy of my hand, yet shall I ever
+		be mindful of thee, my loved one! An unseen, an unknown influence
+		shall attend thee: thy slightest wishes will be anticipated
+		and fulfilled in a manner for which thou wilt vainly seek
+		to account,—and, as thou provest thy talents or thy valor, so
+		will promotion open its doors to thee with such rapidity that
+		thou wilt strain every nerve to reach the highest offices in the
+		state—for then only may’st thou hope to receive my hand, and behold
+		the elucidation of the mystery which up to that date will
+		envelop thy destinies.”</p>
+
+		<p>While the lady was thus speaking, a fearful struggle took
+		place in the breast of Alessandro—for the renunciation of his
+		creed, a creed in which he must ever in his heart continue to
+		believe, though ostensibly he might abjure it—was an appalling
+		step to contemplate. Then to his mind also came the images of
+		those whom he loved, and who were far away in Italy:—his
+		aunt, who had been so kind to him, his sister whom he knew to
+		be so proud of him, and Father Marco, who manifested such
+		deep interest in his behalf. But on his ears continued to flow
+		the honeyed words and the musical tones of the charming temptress;
+		and, as she gradually developed to his imagination the
+		destinies upon which he might enter, offering herself as the
+		eventual prize to be gained by a career certain to be pushed on
+		successfully through the medium of a powerful, though mysterious
+		influence—Florence, relatives, and friends, became as
+		secondary considerations in his mind; and by the time the lady
+		brought her long address to a conclusion—that address which
+		had grown more impassioned and tender as she proceeded—Alessandro
+		threw himself at her feet, exclaiming, “Lovely houri
+		that thou art—beauteous as the maidens that dwell in the paradise
+		of thy prophet—I am thine. I am thine!”</p>
+
+		<p>The lady extended her right hand, which he took and pressed
+		in rapture to his lips. But the next moment she rose lightly to
+		her feet, and assuming a demeanor befitting a royal sultana, said
+		in a sweet, though impressive tone:</p>
+
+		<p>“We must now part—thou to enter on thy career of fame, I
+		to set in motion every spring within my reach to advance thee
+		to the pinnacle of glory and power. Henceforth thy name is
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page197" title="197"> </a>Ibrahim! Go, then, my Ibrahim, and throw thyself at the feet
+		of the reis-effendi, and that great minister will forthwith present
+		thee to Piri Pasha, the grand vizier. Toil diligently—labor
+		arduously—and the rest concerns me. Go, then, my Ibrahim, I
+		say, and enter on the path which will lead thee to the summit
+		of fame and power!”</p>
+
+		<p>She extended her arms toward him—he snatched her to his
+		breast, and covered her cheeks with kisses. In that paradise of
+		charms he could have reveled forever; but the tender caresses
+		lasted not beyond a few moments, for the lady tore herself
+		away from his embrace and hurried into an adjacent apartment.
+		Alessandro—or rather, the renegade, Ibrahim—passed into the
+		anteroom where his guide, the female slave, awaited his return.
+		She conducted him back to the hall, and advanced toward the
+		door of the voluptuous kiosk, where he had changed his raiment.</p>
+
+		<p>“Goest thou forth a Christian still, or a true believer?” she
+		asked turning suddenly round.</p>
+
+		<p>“As a Mussulman,” answered the renegade, while his heart
+		sank within him, and remorse already commenced its torture.</p>
+
+		<p>“Then thou hast no further need of the Christian garb,” said
+		the slave. “Await me here.”</p>
+
+		<p>She entered the kiosk, and returned in a few moments with
+		the cap, which, in obedience to her directions, he once more
+		drew on his head and over his countenance. The slave then led
+		him into the garden, which they treaded in profound silence.
+		At length they reached the steps leading down to the water,
+		and the slave accompanied him into the boat, which immediately
+		shot away from the bank. Alessandro had now ample time
+		for calm reflection. The excitement of the hurried incidents of
+		the evening was nearly over, and, though his breast was still
+		occupied with the image of his beautiful unknown, and with
+		the brilliant prospects which she had opened to view, he nevertheless
+		shrank from the foul deed of apostasy which he had
+		vowed to perpetrate. But we have already said that he was
+		essentially worldly-minded, and, as he felt convinced that the
+		petty jealousy of the Florentine Envoy would prevent him from
+		rising higher in the diplomatic hierarchy than the post of secretary,
+		he by degrees managed to console himself for his renegadism
+		on the score that it was necessary—the indispensable stepping-stone
+		to the gratification of his ambition.</p>
+
+		<p>Thus by the time the boat touched the landing-place where he
+		had first entered it, he had succeeded to some extent in subduing
+		the pangs of remorse. The female slave now bade him remove
+		the cap from his face and resume his turban. A few moments
+		sufficed to make this change; and he was about to step
+		on shore, when the woman caught him by the sleeve of his caftan,
+		and, thrusting a small case of sandal-wood into his hand,
+		said: “She whom you saw ere now, commanded me to give
+		thee this.”</p>
+
+		<p>The slave pushed him toward the bank: he obeyed the impulse
+		and landed, she remaining in the boat, which instantly darted
+		away again, most probably to convey her back to the abode of
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page198" title="198"> </a>her charming mistress. On the top of the bank the renegade
+		was accosted by the spy whom he had left there when he embarked
+		in the skiff.</p>
+
+		<p>“Allah and the Prophet be praised!” exclaimed the man, surveying
+		Alessandro attentively by the light of the lovely moon.
+		“Thou art now numbered amongst the faithful!”</p>
+
+		<p>The apostate bit his lips to keep down a sigh of remorse
+		which rose to them; and his guide, without uttering another
+		word, led the way to the palace of the reis-effendi. There
+		Alessandro or Ibrahim, as we must henceforth call him—was
+		lodged in a splendid apartment, and had two slaves appointed
+		to wait upon him. He, however, hastily dismissed them, and
+		when alone, opened the case that had been placed into his hands
+		by the female slave. It contained a varied assortment of jewelry
+		and precious stones, constituting a treasure of immense value.</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_46" class="chapter">
+		<h3>CHAPTER XLVI.<br />
+			<span class="subtitle">THE APOSTATE IBRAHIM.</span></h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">Constantinople</span>, like haughty Rome, is built on seven hills—the
+		houses being so disposed that they do not intercept the view
+		commanded by each on the amphitheatrical acclivities. But
+		the streets are narrow, crooked, and uneven; and the grand
+		effects of the numerous stately mosques and noble edifices are
+		subdued, and in many cases altogether lost, either by the very
+		insignificant width of the thoroughfares in which they stand,
+		or by the contiguity of mean and miserable wooden tenements.</p>
+
+		<p>The mosque of St. Sophia, once a Christian church, with its
+		magnificent portico, supported by marble columns, its nine vast
+		folding doors, adorned with bas-reliefs, and its stupendous
+		dome, a hundred and twenty feet in diameter; the mosque of
+		the Sultan Solyman, forming an exact square with four noble
+		towers at the angles, and with its huge cupola, in the midst;
+		the mosque of the Sultan Ahmed, with its numerous domes, its
+		tall minarets, and its colonnades supported by marble pillars;
+		and the mosque of the Sultana Valida, or queen mother of
+		Mohammed the Fourth, exceeding all other Mussulman churches
+		in the delicacy of its architecture and the beauty of its columns
+		of marble and jasper, supplied by the ruins of Troy—these are
+		the most remarkable temples in the capital of the Ottoman
+		empire.</p>
+
+		<p>The Grand Bezestein, or exchange, is likewise a magnificent
+		structure—consisting of a spacious hall of circular form, built
+		of free-stone, and surrounded by shops displaying the richest
+		commodities of Oriental commerce. In the Ladies’ Bazaar
+		there is a marble column of extraordinary height, and on the
+		sides of which, from the foot to the crown, are represented in
+		admirable bas-reliefs the most remarkable events which characterized
+		the reign of the Emperor Arcadius, ere the capital of
+		Roman dominions of the East fell into the hands of the descendants
+		of Osman.</p>
+
+		<p>But of all the striking edifices at Constantinople, that of the
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page199" title="199"> </a>Sultan’s Palace, or seraglio, is the most spacious and the most
+		magnificent. Christian writers and readers are too apt to confound
+		the seraglio with the harem, and to suppose that the
+		former means the apartments belonging to the sultan’s ladies;
+		whereas the word seraglio, or rather <em>sernil</em>, represents the entire
+		palace of which the harem, or females’ dwelling, is but a comparatively
+		small portion.</p>
+
+		<p>The seraglio is a vast inclosure, occupying nearly the entire
+		site of the ancient city of Byzantium, and embracing a circumference
+		of five miles. It contains nine enormous courts of quadrangular
+		form, and an immense number of buildings—constituting
+		a complete town of itself. But within this inclosure
+		dwell upward of ten thousand persons—the entire court of the
+		sultan. There reside the great officers of state, the body guards,
+		the numerous corps of bostandjis, or gardeners, and baltojis, or
+		fire-wood purveyors—the corps of white and black eunuchs, the
+		pages, the mutes, the dwarfs—the ladies of the harem, and all
+		their numerous attendants.</p>
+
+		<p>There are nine gates to the palace of the sultan. The principal
+		one opens on the square of St. Sophia, and is very magnificent
+		in its architecture. It is this gate which is called the
+		Sublime Porte—a name figuratively given to the court of the
+		sultan, in all histories, records, and diplomatic transactions. It
+		was within the inclosure of the seraglio that Alessandro Francatelli,
+		whom we shall henceforth call by his apostate name of
+		Ibrahim—was lodged in the dwelling of the reis-effendi or
+		minister of foreign affairs. But in the course of a few days the
+		renegade was introduced into the presence of Piri Pasha, the
+		grand vizier—that high functionary who exercised a power
+		almost as extensive and as despotic as that wielded by the sultan
+		himself.</p>
+
+		<p>Ibrahim, the apostate, was received by his highness Piri Pasha
+		at a private audience—and the young man exerted all his powers,
+		and called to his aid all the accomplishments which he possessed,
+		to render himself agreeable to that great minister. He discoursed
+		in an intelligent manner upon the policy of Italy and
+		Austria, and gave the grand vizier considerable information relative
+		to the customs, resources, and condition of these countries.
+		Then, when the vizier touched upon lighter matters, Ibrahim
+		showed how well he was already acquainted with the works of
+		the most eminent Turkish poets and historians; and the art of
+		music being mentioned, he gave the minister a specimen of his
+		proficiency on the violin. Piri Pasha was charmed with the
+		young renegade, whom he immediately took into his service as
+		one of his private secretaries.</p>
+
+		<p>Not many weeks elapsed before the fame of Ibrahim’s accomplishments
+		and rare talents reached the ears of the sultan, Solyman
+		the Magnificent; and the young renegade was honored
+		with an audience by the ruler of the East. On this occasion he
+		exerted himself to please even more triumphantly than when he
+		was introduced to the grand vizier; and the sultan commanded
+		that henceforth Ibrahim should remain attached to his person in
+		the capacity of keeper of the imperial archives.</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page200" title="200"> </a>We should observe that the dispatches which the Florentine
+		Envoy wrote to the government of the republic, contained but a
+		brief and vague allusion to the apostasy of Alessandro Francatelli;
+		merely mentioning that the youth had become a Mussulman,
+		and entered the service of the grand vizier, but not stating
+		either the name which he had adopted or the brilliant prospects
+		which had so suddenly and marvelously opened before him.
+		The Florentine Embassador treated the matter thus lightly,
+		because he was afraid of incurring the blame of his government
+		for not having kept a more stringent watch over his subordinate,
+		were he to attach any importance to the fact of Alessandro’s
+		apostasy. But he hoped that by merely glancing at the event
+		as one scarcely worth special notice, the Council of Florence
+		would be led to treat it with equal levity. Nor was the embassador
+		deceived in his calculation; and thus the accounts which
+		reached Florence relative to Alessandro’s renegadism—and which
+		were not indeed communicated to the council until some months
+		after the occurrence of the apostasy itself—were vague and
+		indefinite to a degree.</p>
+
+		<p>And had Ibrahim no remorse? Did he never think of his
+		lovely sister Flora, and of his affectionate aunt who, in his boyhood,
+		had made such great and generous sacrifices to rear them
+		honorably? Oh! yes;—but a more powerful idea dominated
+		the remembrance of kindred, and the attachment to home—and
+		that idea was ambition! Moreover, the hope of speedily
+		achieving that greatness which was to render him eligible and
+		worthy to possess the charming being whose powerful influence
+		seemed to surround him with a constant halo of protection, and
+		to soothe down all the asperities which are usually found in the
+		career of those who rise suddenly and rise highly—this ardent,
+		longing hope not only encouraged him to put forth all his energies
+		to make himself master of a glorious position, but also
+		subdued to no small extent the feelings of compunction which
+		would otherwise have been too bitter, too agonizing to endure.</p>
+
+		<p>His mind was, moreover, constantly occupied. When not in
+		attendance upon the sultan, he devoted all his time to render
+		himself intimately acquainted with the laws, polity, diplomatic
+		history, resources, condition, and finances of the Ottoman Empire;
+		he also studied the Turkish literature, and practiced composition,
+		both in prose and verse, in the language of that country
+		which was now his own! But think not, reader, that in his
+		heart he was a Mussulman, or that he had extinguished the
+		light of Christianity within his soul. No—oh! no; the more he
+		read on the subject of the Mohammedan system of theology, the
+		more he became convinced not only of its utter falsity, but also
+		of its incompatibility with the progress of civilization. Nevertheless,
+		he dared not pray to the True God whom he had renounced
+		with his lips; but there was a secret adoration, an interior
+		worship of the Saviour, which he could not and sought
+		not to subdue.</p>
+
+		<p>Solyman the Magnificent, was an enlightened prince, and a
+		generous patron of the arts and sciences. He did not persecute
+		the Christians, because he knew, in his own heart, that they
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page201" title="201"> </a>were further advanced in all human ideas and institutions than
+		the Ottomans. He was, therefore, delighted whenever a
+		talented Christian embraced the Moslem faith and entered his
+		service; and his keen perception speedily led him to discern
+		and appreciate all the merits and acquirements of his favorite
+		Ibrahim.</p>
+
+		<p>Such was the state of things at Constantinople, when those
+		rapidly successive incidents, which we have already related,
+		took place in Florence. At this time immense preparations
+		were being made by the sultan for an expedition against the
+		Island of Rhodes, then in the possession of the Knights of
+		St. John, commanded by their grand master, Villiers of Isle
+		Adam.</p>
+
+		<p>This chieftain, aware of the danger which menaced him, dispatched
+		envoys to the courts of Rome, Genoa, Venice, and
+		Florence, imploring those powers to send him assistance against
+		the expected invasion of the Turks. Each of these states
+		hastened to comply with this request; and numerous bodies of
+		auxiliaries sailed from various ports in Italy to fight beneath the
+		glorious banner of Villiers of Isle Adam, one of the stanchest
+		veteran champions of Christendom.</p>
+
+		<p>Thus, at the very time when Nisida and Wagner were united
+		in the bonds of love on the island of which they were the
+		possessors—while, too, Isaachar the Jew languished in the
+		prisons of the Inquisition of Florence, at which city the chivalrous-hearted
+		Manuel d’Orsini tarried to hasten on the trial and
+		give his testimony in favor of the Israelite—and moreover while
+		Flora, and the Countess Giulia dwelt in the strictest retirement
+		with the young maiden’s aunt—at this period, we say, a fleet of
+		three hundred sail quitted Constantinople under the command
+		of the kapitan-pasha, or lord high admiral, and proceeded
+		toward the Island of Rhodes. At the same time, Solyman the
+		Magnificent crossed into Asia Minor, and placing himself at the
+		head of an army of a hundred thousand men, commenced his
+		march toward the coast facing the island, and where he intended
+		to embark on his warlike expedition. His favorite Ibrahim accompanied
+		him, as did also the Grand Vizier Piri Pasha, and the
+		principal dignitaries of the empire.</p>
+
+		<p>It was in the spring of 1521 that the Ottoman fleet received
+		the army on board at the Cape in the Gulf of Macri, which is
+		only separated by a very narrow strait from the Island of Rhodes;
+		and in the evening of the same day on which the troops had thus
+		embarked, the mighty armament appeared off the capital city of
+		the Knights of St. John.</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_47" class="chapter">
+		<h3>CHAPTER XLVII.<br />
+			<span class="subtitle">THE SIEGE OF RHODES.</span></h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">On</span> the following morning, salvoes of artillery throughout the
+		fleet announced to the inhabitants and garrison of Rhodes, that
+		the sultan was about to effect a landing with his troops.</p>
+
+		<p>The debarkment was not resisted; for it was protected by the
+		cannonade which the ships directed against the walls of the city,
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page202" title="202"> </a>and the Christians had no vessel capable of demonstrating any
+		hostility against the mighty fleet commanded by the kapitan-pasha.</p>
+
+		<p>Villiers of Isle Adam, the generalissimo of the Christian forces,
+		had reduced to ashes all circumjacent villages, and received
+		their inhabitants into the city itself. But the Ottomans cared
+		not for the waste and desolation thus created around the walls
+		of the city; but while their artillery, alike on land and by sea,
+		maintained an incessant fire on the town, they threw up works
+		of defense and established depots of provisions and ammunition.
+		The sultan went in person accompanied by Ibrahim, and attended
+		by a numerous escort, to reconnoiter the fortifications,
+		and inspect the position of his troops.</p>
+
+		<p>On the other side, Villiers of Isle Adam distributed his forces
+		in such a manner that the warriors of each nation defended particular
+		gates. Thus the corps of Spaniards, French, Germans,
+		English, Portuguese, Italian, Auvergnese and Provincials,
+		respectively defended eight of the gates of Rhodes; while
+		the lord general himself, with his body-guard, took his post at
+		the ninth. For the knights of Rhodes comprised natives of
+		nearly all Christian countries, and the mode in which Villiers
+		thus allotted a gate to the defense of the warriors of each nation,
+		gave an impulse to that emulative spirit which ever induces
+		the soldiers of one clime to vie with those of another.</p>
+
+		<p>The Ottoman troops were disposed in the following manner:
+		Ayaz Pasha, Beglerbeg (or governor) of Roumilia, found himself
+		placed in front of the walls and gates defended by the
+		French and Germans; Ahmed Pasha was opposed to the Spaniards
+		and Auvergnese; Mustapha Pasha had to contend with the
+		English: Kasim, Beglerbeg of Anatolia, was to direct the attack
+		against the bastion and gates occupied by the natives of
+		Provence; the Grand Vizier, Piri Pasha, was opposed to the
+		Portuguese, and the sultan himself undertook the assault
+		against the defenses occupied by the Italians.</p>
+
+		<p>For several days there was much skirmishing, but no advantage
+		was gained by the Ottomans. Mines and countermines
+		were employed on both sides, and those executed by the Christians
+		effected terrible havoc amongst the Turks. At length in
+		pursuance of the advice of the renegade Ibrahim, the sultan
+		ordered a general assault to be made upon the city, and heralds
+		went through the entire encampment, proclaiming the imperial
+		command. Tidings of this resolution were conveyed into the
+		city by means of the Christians’ spies; and while the Ottomans
+		were preparing for the attack, Villiers of Isle Adam was actively
+		employed in adopting all possible means for the defense.</p>
+
+		<p>At daybreak, the general assault commenced, and the aga (or
+		colonel) of the janizaries succeeded in planting his banner on
+		the gate intrusted to the care of the Spaniards and Auvergnese.
+		But this success was merely temporary in that quarter; for the
+		Ottomans were beaten back with such immense slaughter, that
+		fifteen thousand of their choicest troops were cut to pieces in
+		the breach and the ditch. But still the assault was prosecuted
+		in every quarter and every point, and the Christian warriors
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page203" title="203"> </a>acquitted themselves nobly in the defense of the city. The
+		women of Rhodes manifested a courage and zeal which history
+		has loved to record as most honorable to their sex. Some of
+		them carried about bread and wine to recruit the fainting and
+		refresh the wearied, others were ready with bandages and lint
+		to stanch the blood which flowed from the wounded, some conveyed
+		earth in wheelbarrows, to stop up the breaches made in
+		the walls, and others bore along immense stones to hurl down
+		upon the assailants.</p>
+
+		<p>Oh! it was a glorious, but a sad and mournful sight—that
+		death-struggle of the valiant Christians against the barbarism
+		of the East. And many touching proofs of woman’s courage
+		and daring characterized that memorable siege. Especially does
+		this fact merit our attention:—The wife of a Christian captain,
+		seeing her husband slain, and the enemy gaining ground rapidly,
+		embraced her two children tenderly, made the sign of the cross
+		upon their brows, and then, having stabbed them to the heart,
+		threw them into the midst of a burning building near, exclaiming,
+		“The infidels will not now be able, my poor darlings, to
+		wreak their vengeance on you, alive or dead!” In another moment
+		she seized her dead husband’s sword, and plunging into
+		the thickest of the fight, met a death worthy of a heroine.</p>
+
+		<p>The rain now began to fall in torrents, washing away the
+		floods of gore which, since daybreak, had dyed the bastions and
+		the wall; and the assault continued as arduously as the defense
+		was maintained with desperation. Solyman commanded in
+		person the division which was opposed to the gate and the fort
+		intrusted by the lord general of the Christians to the care of the
+		Italian auxiliaries. But, though it was now past noon, and the
+		sultan had prosecuted his attack on that point with unabated
+		vigor since the dawn, no impression had yet been made. The
+		Italians fought with a heroism which bade defiance to the numerical
+		superiority of their assailants; for they were led on by
+		a young chieftain who, beneath an effeminate exterior, possessed
+		the soul of a lion. Clad in a complete suit of polished armor,
+		and with crimson plumes waving from his steel helmet, to which
+		no visor was attached, that youthful leader threw himself into
+		the thickest of the medley, sought the very points where danger
+		appeared most terrible—and, alike by his example and his words,
+		encouraged those whom he commanded to dispute every inch
+		of ground with the Moslem assailants.</p>
+
+		<p>The sultan was enraged when he beheld the success with
+		which that Italian chieftain rallied his men again after every
+		rebuff; and, calling to Ibrahim to keep near him, Solyman the
+		Magnificent advanced toward the breach which his cannon had
+		already effected in the walls defended so gallantly by the Italian
+		auxiliaries. And now, in a few minutes, behold the sultan himself,
+		nerved with wonderful energy, rushing on—scimiter in
+		hand—and calling on the young Italian warrior to measure
+		weapons with him. The Christian chieftain understood not the
+		words which the sultan uttered, but full well did he comprehend
+		the anxiety of that great monarch to do battle with him;
+		and the curved scimiter and the straight, cross-handled sword
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page204" title="204"> </a>clashed together in a moment. The young warrior knew that
+		his opponent was the sultan, whose imperial rank was denoted
+		by the turban which he wore; and the hope of inflicting chastisement
+		on the author of all the bloodshed which had taken
+		place on the walls of Rhodes inspired the youth with a courage
+		perfectly irresistible.</p>
+
+		<p>Not many minutes had this combat lasted, before Solyman
+		was thrown down in the breach, and the cross-handled sword
+		of his conqueror was about to drink his heart’s blood, when the
+		renegade Ibrahim dashed forward from amidst the confused
+		masses of those who were fighting around, and by a desperate
+		effort hurled the young Italian warrior backward.</p>
+
+		<p>“I owe thee my life, Ibrahim,” said the sultan, springing upon
+		his feet. “But hurt not him who has combated so gallantly:
+		we must respect the brave!”</p>
+
+		<p>The Italian chieftain had been completely stunned by his fall;
+		he was, therefore, easily made prisoner and carried off to Ibrahim’s
+		tent.</p>
+
+		<p>Almost at the same moment a messenger from Ahmed Pasha
+		presented to the sultan a letter, in which was stated that the
+		grand master, Villiers of Isle Adam, anxious to put a stop to
+		the fearful slaughter that was progressing, had offered to capitulate
+		on honorable terms. This proposition was immediately
+		agreed to by the sultan, and a suspension of hostilities was proclaimed
+		around the walls. The Ottomans retired to their camp,
+		having lost upward of thirty thousand men during the deadly
+		strife of a few hours; and the Christians had now leisure to
+		ascertain the extent of their own disasters, which were proportionately
+		appalling.</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_48" class="chapter">
+		<h3>CHAPTER XLVIII.<br />
+			<span class="subtitle">THE PRISONER.</span></h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">In</span> the meantime Ibrahim had ordered his prisoner, the young
+		Italian chieftain, to be conveyed to his tent; and when the renegade’s
+		slaves had disencumbered the Christian of his armor, he
+		began to revive. As Ibrahim bent over him, administering
+		restoratives, a suspicion, which had already struck him the moment
+		he first beheld his face, grew stronger and stronger; and
+		the apostate at length became convinced that he had seen that
+		countenance on some former occasion.</p>
+
+		<p>Ordering his slaves to withdraw, Ibrahim remained alone
+		with his prisoner, who was now able to sit up on the sofa and
+		gaze around him.</p>
+
+		<p>“I understand it all!” he exclaimed, the blood rushing back
+		to his pale cheek; “I am in the power of the barbarians!”</p>
+
+		<p>“Nay, call us not harsh names, brave chieftain,” said Ibrahim,
+		“seeing that we do not treat you unworthily.”</p>
+
+		<p>“I was wrong!” cried the prisoner; then, fixing his fine blue
+		eyes upon the renegade, he added, “Were you not habited as a
+		Moslem, I should conceive, by the purity with which you speak
+		my native language, that you were a Christian, and an Italian.”</p>
+
+		<p>“I can speak many languages with equal fluency,” said Ibrahim,
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page205" title="205"> </a>evasively, as a pang shot through his heart. “But tell
+		me thy name, Christian—for thou art a brave man, although so
+		young.”</p>
+
+		<p>“In my own country,” answered the youth, proudly, “I am
+		called the Count of Riverola.”</p>
+
+		<p>We have before stated that Ibrahim was the complete master
+		of his emotions: but it required all his powers of self-possession
+		to subdue them now, when the name of that family into which
+		he was well aware his sister had entered fell upon his ears. His
+		suspicion was well founded; he had indeed seen Francisco before
+		this day—had seen him when he was a mere boy, in
+		Florence, for Alessandro was three or four years older than the
+		young count. But he had never, in his native land, exchanged
+		a word with Francisco; he had merely, occasionally, seen him
+		in public; and it was quite evident that even if Francisco had
+		ever noticed him at that time, he did not recollect him now.
+		Neither did Ibrahim wish the young count to ascertain who he
+		was; for the only thing which the renegade ever feared was the
+		encounter of any one who had known him as a Christian, and
+		who might justly reproach him for that apostasy which had led
+		him to profess Mohammedanism.</p>
+
+		<p>“Lord Count of Riverola,” said Ibrahim, after a short pause,
+		“you shall be treated in a manner becoming your rank and your
+		bravery. Such, indeed, was the command of my imperial master,
+		the most glorious sultan; but even had no such order been
+		issued, my admiration of your gallant deportment in this day’s
+		strife would lead to the same result.”</p>
+
+		<p>“My best thanks are due for these assurances,” returned
+		Francisco. “But tell me how fares the war without?”</p>
+
+		<p>“The grand master has proffered a capitulation, which has
+		been accepted,” answered Ibrahim.</p>
+
+		<p>“A capitulation!” exclaimed Francisco. “Oh! it were better
+		to die in defense of the cross, than live to behold the crescent
+		triumphant on the walls of Rhodes!”</p>
+
+		<p>“The motive of the grand master was a humane one,”
+		observed Ibrahim; “he has agreed to capitulate, to put an end to
+		the terrific slaughter that is going on.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Doubtless the lord general acts in accordance with the dictates
+		of a matured wisdom!” exclaimed the Count of Riverola.</p>
+
+		<p>“Your lordship was the leader of the Italian auxiliaries?”
+		said Ibrahim, interrogatively.</p>
+
+		<p>“Such was the honorable office intrusted to me,” was the reply.
+		“When messengers from Villiers of Isle-Adam arrived in
+		Florence, beseeching succor against this invasion, which has,
+		alas! proved too successful, I panted for occupation to distract
+		my mind from ever pondering on the heavy misfortunes which
+		had overtaken me.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Misfortunes!” exclaimed Ibrahim.</p>
+
+		<p>“Yes—misfortunes of such a nature that the mere thought of
+		them is madness!” cried Francisco, in an excited tone. “First,
+		a beauteous and amiable girl—one who, though of humble origin,
+		was endowed with virtues and qualifications that might
+		have fitted her to adorn a palace, and whom I fondly, devotedly
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page206" title="206"> </a>loved—was-snatched from me. She disappeared I know not
+		how! All trace of her was suddenly lost, as if the earth had
+		swallowed her up and closed over her again! This blow was in
+		itself terrible. But it came not alone. A few days elapsed, and
+		my sister—my dearly beloved sister—also disappeared, and in
+		the same mysterious manner. Not a trace of her remained—and
+		what makes this second affliction the more crushing—the more
+		overwhelming, is that she is deaf and dumb! Oh! Heaven grant
+		me the power to resist, to bear up against these crowning miseries!
+		Vain were all my inquiries—useless was all the search I
+		instituted to discover whither had gone the being whom I would
+		have made my wife, and the sister who was ever so devoted to
+		me! At length, driven to desperation, when weeks had passed
+		and they returned not—goaded on to madness by bitter, bitter
+		memories—I resolved to devote myself to the service of the cross.
+		With my gold I raised and equipped a gallant band; and a favoring
+		breeze wafted us from Leghorn to this island. The grand
+		master received me with open arms; and, forming an estimation
+		of my capacities far above my deserts, placed me in command
+		of all the Italian auxiliaries. You know the rest; I fought
+		with all my energy, and your sultan was within the grasp of
+		death, when you rushed forward and saved him. The result is
+		that I am your prisoner.”</p>
+
+		<p>“So young—and yet so early acquainted with such deep affliction!”
+		exclaimed Ibrahim. “But can you form no idea, Christian,
+		of the cause of that double disappearance? Had your sister
+		no attendants who could throw the least light upon the subject?”
+		he asked, with the hope of eliciting some tidings relative
+		to his own sister, the beauteous Flora.</p>
+
+		<p>“I dare not reflect thereon!” cried Francisco, the tears starting
+		into his eyes. “For, alas! Florence has long been infested
+		by a desperate band of lawless wretches—and my God! I apprehend
+		the worst—the very worst.”</p>
+
+		<p>Thus speaking, he rose and paced the spacious tent with agitated
+		steps; for this conversation had awakened in his mind all
+		the bitter thoughts and dreadful alarms which he had essayed
+		to subdue amidst the excitement and peril of war. A slave now
+		entered to inform Ibrahim that the sultan commanded his immediate
+		presence in the imperial pavilion.</p>
+
+		<p>“Christian,” said Ibrahim, as he rose to obey this mandate,
+		“wilt thou pledge me thy word, as a noble and a knight, not to
+		attempt to escape from this tent?”</p>
+
+		<p>“I pledge my word,” answered Francisco, “seeing that thou
+		thyself art so generous to me.”</p>
+
+		<p>Ibrahim then went forth; but he paused for a few moments
+		outside the tent to command his slaves to serve up choice refreshments
+		to the prisoner. He then hastened to the pavilion of
+		the sultan, whom he found seated upon a throne, surrounded
+		by the beglerbegs, the councilors of state, the viziers, the lieutenant-generals
+		of the army, and all the high dignitaries who
+		had accompanied him on his expedition. Ibrahim advanced
+		and prostrated himself at the foot of his throne; and at the same
+		moment two of the high functionaries present threw a caftan of
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page207" title="207"> </a>honor over his shoulders—a ceremony which signified that the
+		sultan had conferred upon him the title of beglerbeg, or “prince
+		of princes.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Rise, Ibrahim Pasha!” exclaimed Solyman, “and take thy
+		place in our councils, for Allah and his prophet have this day
+		made thee their instrument to save the life of thy sovereign.”</p>
+
+		<p>The newly-created pasha touched the imperial slipper with his
+		lips, and then rising from his prostrate position, received the
+		congratulations of the high functionaries assembled.</p>
+
+		<p>Thus it was that in a few months, protected by that secret
+		influence which was hurrying him so rapidly along in his ambitious
+		career, the Italian apostate attained to a high rank in
+		the Ottoman Empire; but he was yet to reach the highest, next
+		to that of the sovereign, ere he could hope to receive the fair
+		hand of his mysterious patroness as the crowning joy of his
+		prosperity, for her image, her charming image, ever dwelt in
+		his mind, and an ardent fancy often depicted her as she appeared,
+		in all the splendor of her beauty, reclining on the sofa at the
+		dwelling to which he had been conducted with so much precaution,
+		as detailed in a preceding chapter. On the following
+		day peace was formally concluded between the Ottomans and
+		the knights of Rhodes, the latter consenting to surrender the
+		island to the formidable invaders. An exchange of prisoners
+		was the result, and Francisco, Count of Riverola, again found
+		himself free within twenty-four hours after his capture.</p>
+
+		<p>“Your lordship is now about to sail for your own clime,” said
+		Ibrahim, when the moment of separation came. “Is there aught
+		within my power that I can do to testify my friendship for one
+		so brave and chivalrous as thou art?”</p>
+
+		<p>“Nothing, great pasha!” exclaimed Francisco, who felt his
+		sympathy irresistibly attracted toward Ibrahim, he knew not
+		why, “but, on the other hand, receive my heartfelt thanks for
+		the kindness which I have experienced during the few hours I
+		have been thy guest.”</p>
+
+		<p>“The history of thy afflictions has so much moved me,” said
+		Ibrahim Pasha, after a brief pause, “that the interest I experience
+		in your behalf will not cease when you shall be no longer
+		here. If then you would bear in mind the request I am about
+		to make, gallant Christian——”</p>
+
+		<p>“Name it!” cried Francisco; “’tis already granted!”</p>
+
+		<p>“Write me from Florence,” added Ibrahim, “and acquaint
+		me with the success of thy researches after thy lost sister and
+		the maiden whom thou lovest. The ships of Leghorn trade to
+		Constantinople, whither I shall speedily return, and it will not
+		be a difficult matter to forward a letter to me occasionally.”</p>
+
+		<p>“I should be unworthy of the kind interest you take in my
+		behalf, great pasha, were I to neglect this request,” answered
+		Francisco. “Oh! may the good angels grant that I may yet recover
+		my beloved sister Nisida, and that sweetest of maidens—Flora
+		Francatelli!”</p>
+
+		<p>Francisco was too overpowered by his own emotions to observe
+		the sudden start which Ibrahim gave, and the pallor which
+		instantaneously overspread his cheeks as the name of his sister
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page208" title="208"> </a>thus burst upon his ears—that sister who, beyond doubt, had
+		disappeared most strangely.</p>
+
+		<p>But, with an almost superhuman effort, he subdued any
+		further expression of the agony of his feelings, and, taking
+		Francisco’s hand, said, in a low, deep tone: “Count of Riverola,
+		I rely upon your solemn promise to write me, and write soon
+		and often. I shall experience a lively pleasure in receiving and
+		responding to your letters.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Fear not that I shall forget my promise, your highness,” responded
+		Francisco.</p>
+
+		<p>He then took leave of Ibrahim Pasha, and returned to the city
+		of Rhodes, whence he embarked on the same day for Italy, accompanied
+		by the few Florentine auxiliaries who had survived
+		the dreadful slaughter on the ramparts. The hustle and excitement
+		attending the departure from Rhodes somewhat absorbed
+		the grief which Ibrahim felt on account of the mysterious
+		disappearance of his sister Flora.</p>
+
+		<p>Solyman left a sufficient force, under an able commander, to
+		garrison the island, which was speedily evacuated by Villiers of
+		Isle Adam and his knights; and by the middle of May the sultan,
+		attended by Ibrahim and the other dignitaries of the empire,
+		once more entered the gates of Constantinople.</p>
+
+		<p>Not many days had elapsed when, at a divan or state council,
+		at which Solyman the Magnificent himself presided, Ibrahim
+		Pasha was desired to give his opinion upon a particular question
+		then under discussion. The renegade expressed his sentiments
+		in a manner at variance with the policy recommended
+		by the grand vizier; and this high functionary replied, in terms
+		of bitterness and even grossness, at the same time reproaching
+		Ibrahim with ingratitude. The apostate delivered a rejoinder
+		which completely electrified the divan. He repudiated the
+		charge of ingratitude on the ground of being influenced only
+		by his duty toward the sultan; and he entered upon a complete
+		review of the policy of the Grand Vizier Piri Pasha. He
+		proved that the commerce of the country had greatly fallen off—that
+		the revenues had diminished—that arrears were due to
+		the army and navy—that several minor powers had not paid
+		their usual tribute for some years past—and, in a word, drew
+		such a frightful picture of the maladministration and misrule,
+		that the grand vizier was overwhelmed with confusion, and the
+		sultan and other listeners were struck with the lamentable truth
+		of all which had fallen from the lips of Ibrahim Pasha. Nor
+		less were they astonished at the wonderful intimacy which he
+		displayed with even the minutest details of the machinery of
+		the government; in a word, his triumph was complete.</p>
+
+		<p>Solyman the Magnificent broke up the divan in haste, ordering
+		the members of the council to return each immediately to
+		his own abode. In the evening a functionary of the imperial
+		household was sent to the palace of the grand vizier to demand
+		the seals of office; and thus fell Piri Pasha.</p>
+
+		<p>It was midnight when the sultan sent to order Ibrahim Pasha
+		to wait upon him without delay. The conference that ensued
+		was long and interesting, and it was already near daybreak
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page209" title="209"> </a>when messengers were dispatched to the various members of
+		the divan to summon them to the seraglio. Then, in the presence
+		of all the rank and talent in the capital, the sultan demanded
+		of Ibrahim whether he felt sufficient confidence in himself
+		to undertake the weight and responsibility of office. All
+		eyes were fixed earnestly upon that mere youth of scarcely
+		twenty-three, who was thus solemnly adjured.</p>
+
+		<p>In a firm voice he replied that with the favor of the sultan
+		and the blessing of the Most High, he did not despair of being
+		enabled to restore the Ottoman Empire to its late prosperity and
+		glory. The astronomer of the court declared that the hour was
+		favorable to invest the new grand vizier with the insignia of
+		office; and at the moment when the call to prayer, “God is
+		great!” sounded from every minaret in Constantinople, Ibrahim
+		Pasha received the imperial seals from the hand of the sultan.</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_49" class="chapter">
+		<h3>CHAPTER XLIX.<br />
+			<span class="subtitle">THE NEW GRAND VIZIER.</span></h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">The</span> call to prayer, “<em>God is great</em>,” sounded from every minaret
+		in Constantinople, when Solyman the Magnificent raised
+		the renegade Ibrahim to a rank second only to his own imperial
+		station. The newly appointed prime minister received the
+		congratulations of the assembled dignitaries of the empire; and
+		when this ceremony was accomplished, he repaired to the palace
+		of the viziership, which Piri Pasha had vacated during the
+		night.</p>
+
+		<p>A numerous escort of slaves, and a guard of honor, composed
+		of an entire company of Janizaries, attended Ibrahim to his new
+		abode, the streets through which he passed being lined with
+		spectators anxious to obtain a glimpse of the new minister.</p>
+
+		<p>But calm, almost passionless, was the expression of Ibrahim’s
+		countenance: though he had attained to his present high station
+		speedily, yet he had not reached it unexpectedly; and, even in
+		the moment of this, his proud triumph, there was gall mingled
+		with the cup of honey which he quaffed. For, oh! the light of
+		Christianity was not extinguished within his breast; and though
+		it no longer gleamed there to inspire and to cheer, it nevertheless
+		had strength enough to burn with reproachful flame.</p>
+
+		<p>The multitudes cheered and prostrated themselves as he
+		passed; but his salutation was cold and indifferent, and he felt
+		at that moment that he would rather have been wandering
+		through the Vale of Arno, hand-in-hand with his sister, than be
+		welcomed in the streets of Constantinople as the Grand Vizier of
+		the Ottoman Empire!</p>
+
+		<p>O crime! thou may’st deck thy brow with flowers, and adorn
+		thy garments with the richest gems—thou may’st elicit the
+		shouts of admiring myriads, and proceed attended by guards
+		ready to hew down those who would treat thee with disrespect—thou
+		may’st quit the palace of a mighty sovereign to repair
+		to a palace of thine own—and in thy hands thou may’st hold
+		the destinies of millions of human beings; but thou canst not
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page210" title="210"> </a>subdue the still small voice that whispers reproachfully in
+		thine ear, nor pluck from thy bosom the undying worm.</p>
+
+		<p>Though Ibrahim Pasha felt acutely, yet his countenance, as
+		we have before said, expressed nothing—he was still sufficiently
+		master of his emotions to retain them pent up in his own breast;
+		and if he could not appear perfectly happy, he would not allow
+		the world to perceive that his soul harbored secret care. He entered
+		the palace now destined to become his abode, and found
+		himself the lord and master of an establishment such as no
+		Christian monarch in Europe possessed. But as he passed
+		through marble halls and perfumed corridors lined with prostrate
+		slaves—as he contemplated the splendor and magnificence,
+		the wealth and the luxury, by which he was now surrounded—and
+		as he even dwelt upon the hope—nay, the more than hope,
+		the conviction, that he should full soon be blest with the hand
+		of a being whose ravishing beauty was ever present to his mental
+		vision—that still small voice which he could not hush, appeared
+		to ask what avail it was for a man, if he gain the whole world
+		but lose his own soul?</p>
+
+		<p>But Ibrahim Pasha was not the man to give way to the influence
+		of even reflections so harrowing as these; and he immediately
+		applied himself to the business of the state, to divert his
+		mind from unpleasurable meditations. Holding a levee that
+		same day, he received and confirmed in their offices all the subordinate
+		ministers; he then dispatched letters to the various
+		governors of provinces to announce to them his elevation to the
+		grand viziership; and he conferred the Pashalic of Egypt upon
+		the fallen minister, Piri Pasha. In the afternoon he granted
+		audiences to the embassadors of the Christian powers; but the
+		Florentine envoy, it should be observed, had quitted Constantinople
+		some weeks previously—indeed, at the time when the
+		sultan undertook his expedition against Rhodes; for the representative
+		of the republic had entirely failed in the mission which
+		had been intrusted to him by his government.</p>
+
+		<p>In the evening, when it was quite dusk, Ibrahim retired to his
+		apartment; and hastily disguising himself in a mean attire, he
+		issued forth by a private gate at the back part of the palace. Intent
+		upon putting into execution a scheme which he had hastily
+		planned that very afternoon, he repaired to the quarter inhabited
+		by the Christians. There he entered a house of humble appearance
+		where dwelt a young Greek, with whom he had been
+		on friendly terms at that period when his present greatness was
+		totally unforeseen—indeed, while he was simply the private secretary
+		of the Florentine envoy. He knew that Demetrius was
+		poor, intelligent and trustworthy; and it was precisely an agent
+		of this nature that Ibrahim required for the project which he
+		had in view.</p>
+
+		<p>Demetrius—such was the young Greek’s name—was seated in
+		a small and meanly furnished apartment, in a desponding manner,
+		and scarcely appearing to notice the efforts which his sister,
+		a beautiful maiden of nineteen, was exerting to console him,
+		when the door opened, and a man dressed as a water-carrier entered
+		the room.</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page211" title="211"> </a>The young Greek started up angrily, for he thought the visitor
+		was one of the numerous petty creditors to whom he was
+		indebted, and whose demands he was unable to liquidate; but
+		the second glance which he cast, by the light of the lamp that
+		burnt feebly on the table, toward the countenance of the meanly
+		dressed individual, convinced him of his mistake.</p>
+
+		<p>“His highness the grand vizier!” ejaculated Demetrius, falling
+		on his knees; “Calanthe!” he added, speaking rapidly to his
+		sister, “bow down to the representative of the sultan!”</p>
+
+		<p>But Ibrahim hastened to put an end to this ceremony, and assured
+		the brother and sister that he came thither as a friend.</p>
+
+		<p>“A friend!” repeated Demetrius, as if doubting whether his
+		ears heard aright; “is it possible that Heaven has indeed sent
+		me a friend in one who has the power to raise me and this poor
+		suffering maiden from the depths of our bitter, bitter poverty?”</p>
+
+		<p>“Dost thou suppose that my rapid elevation has rendered me
+		unmindful of former friendships?” demanded Ibrahim; although,
+		had he not his own purposes to serve, he would never have
+		thought of seeking the abode, nor inquiring after the welfare of
+		the humble acquaintance of his obscure days.</p>
+
+		<p>The young Greek knew not, however, the thorough selfishness
+		of the renegade’s character; and he poured forth his gratitude
+		for the vizier’s kindness and condescension with the most sincere
+		and heart-felt fervor: while the beauteous Calanthe’s large
+		dark eyes swam in tears of hope and joy, as she surveyed with
+		mingled wonder and admiration the countenance of that high
+		functionary whose rapid rise to power had electrified the Ottoman
+		capital, and whom she now saw for the first time.</p>
+
+		<p>“Demetrius,” said Ibrahim, “I know your worth—I have appreciated
+		your talents; and I feel deeply for the orphan condition
+		of your sister and yourself. It is in my power to afford
+		you an employment whereby you may render me good service,
+		and which shall be liberally rewarded. You are already acquainted
+		with much of my former history; and you have often
+		heard me speak, in terms of love and affection, of my sister
+		Flora. During my recent sojourn in the island of Rhodes, a
+		Florentine nobleman, the Count of Riverola, became my prisoner.
+		From him I learned that he was attached to my sister,
+		and his language led me to believe that he was loved in return.
+		But alas! some few months ago Flora suddenly disappeared;
+		and the Count of Riverola instituted a vain search to discover
+		her. Too pure-minded was she to fly of her own accord from
+		her native city; too chaste and too deeply imbued with virtuous
+		principles was she to admit the suspicion that she had fled with
+		a vile seducer. No; force or treachery—if not <em>murder</em>,” added
+		Ibrahim, in a tone indicative of profound emotion, “must have
+		caused her sudden disappearance. The Count of Riverola has
+		doubtless ere now arrived in Italy; and his researches will most
+		assuredly be renewed. He promised to communicate to me the
+		result, but as he knew not to whom that pledge was given—as
+		he recognized not in me the brother of the Flora whom he loves—I
+		am fearful lest he forget or neglect the promise. It is, therefore,
+		my intention to send a secret agent to Florence—an agent
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page212" title="212"> </a>who will convey rich gifts to my aunt, but without revealing
+		the name of him who sends them—an agent, in a word, who
+		may minister to the wants and interests of my family, and report
+		to me whether my beloved sister be yet found, and if so,
+		the causes of her disappearance. It seems to me that you, Demetrius,
+		are well fitted for this mission. Your knowledge of
+		the Italian language, your discreetness, your sound judgment,
+		all render you competent to enact the part of a good genius
+		watching over the interests of those who must not be allowed
+		to learn whence flow the bounties which suddenly pour upon
+		them!”</p>
+
+		<p>“Gracious lord,” said the young Greek, his countenance radiant
+		with joy. “I will never lose any opportunity of manifesting
+		my devotion to the cause in which your highness condescends
+		to employ me.”</p>
+
+		<p>“You will proceed alone to Italy,” continued Ibrahim; “and
+		on your arrival in Florence, you will adopt a modest and reserved
+		mode of life, so that no unpleasant queries may arise as
+		to your object in visiting the republic.”</p>
+
+		<p>Demetrius turned a rapidly inquiring glance upon Calanthe,
+		who hastened to observe that she did not fear being left unprotected
+		in the city of Constantinople. Ibrahim placed a heavy
+		purse and a case containing many costly jewels in the hands of
+		Demetrius, saying: “These are as an earnest of my favor and
+		friendship;”—then, producing a second case, tied round with a
+		silken cord, he added, “And this is for my aunt, the Signora
+		Francatelli.”</p>
+
+		<p>Demetrius promised to attend to all the instructions which he
+		had received; and Ibrahim Pasha took his leave of the brother
+		and the charming sister, the latter of whom conveyed to him
+		the full extent of her gratitude for his kindness and condescension
+		toward them in a few words uttered in a subdued tone, but
+		with all the eloquence of her fine dark eyes.</p>
+
+		<p>“Did I not love my unknown protectress,” murmured Ibrahim
+		to himself, as he sped rapidly back to his palace, “I feel
+		that Calanthe’s eyes would make an impression upon my
+		heart.”</p>
+
+		<p>Scarcely had he resumed his magnificent garb, on his return
+		home, when a slave announced to him that his imperial majesty,
+		the sultan, required his immediate attendance at the seraglio,
+		whither he was to repair in the most private manner possible.
+		A sudden misgiving darted through Ibrahim’s imagination.
+		Could Solyman have repented of the step which he had taken
+		in thus suddenly elevating him to the pinnacle of power? Was
+		his viziership to last but a few short hours? had the secret influence,
+		which had hitherto protected him, ceased?</p>
+
+		<p>Considering the times and the country in which he lived, these
+		fears were justifiable; and it was with a rapidly beating heart
+		that the new minister hastened, attended only by a single slave,
+		to the dwelling of his imperial master. But when he was
+		ushered into the presence of the sultan—his own slave remaining
+		in the ante-room—his apprehensions were dissipated by the
+		smiling countenance with which the monarch greeted him.
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page213" title="213"> </a>Having signaled his attendants to retire, Solyman the Magnificent
+		addressed the grand vizier in the following manner:</p>
+
+		<p>“Thy great talents, thy zeal in our service, and the salvation
+		which I owed to thee in the breach at Rhodes, have been instrumental,
+		oh, Ibrahim! in raising thee to thy present high state.
+		But the bounties of the sultan are without end, as the mercy of
+		Allah is illimitable! Thou hast doubtless heard that among my
+		numerous sisters, there is one of such unrivaled beauty—such
+		peerless loveliness, that the world hath not seen her equal.
+		Happy may the man deem himself on whom the fair Aischa
+		shall be bestowed; and thou art that happy man, Ibrahim—and
+		Aischa is thine.”</p>
+
+		<p>The grand vizier threw himself at the feet of his imperial
+		master, and murmured expressions of gratitude—but his heart
+		sank within him—for he knew that in marrying the sultan’s
+		sister he should not be allowed the enjoyment of the Mussulman
+		privilege of polygamy, and thus his hopes of possessing the beautiful
+		unknown to whom he owed so much appeared to hover on
+		the verge of annihilation. But might not that unknown lady
+		and the beauteous Aischa be one and the same person? The unknown
+		was evidently the mistress of an influence almost illimitable;
+		and was it not natural to conceive that she, then, must
+		be the sister of the sultan? Again, the sultan had many sisters;
+		and the one who had exerted her interest for Ibrahim, might
+		not be the Princess Aischa, who was now promised to him! All
+		these conjectures and conflicting speculations passed through
+		the mind of Ibrahim in far less time than we have taken to describe
+		their nature; and he was cruelly the prey to mingled
+		hope and alarm, when the sultan exclaimed, “Rise, my Vizier
+		Azem, and follow me.”</p>
+
+		<p>The apostate obeyed with beating heart, and Solyman the Magnificent
+		conducted him along several passages and corridors to
+		a splendidly furnished room, which Ibrahim immediately recognized
+		as the very one in which he had been admitted, many
+		months previously, to an interview with the beauteous unknown.
+		Yes—that was the apartment in which he had listened to the
+		eloquence of her soft, persuasive voice—it was there that, intoxicated
+		with passion, he had abjured the faith of a Christian and
+		embraced the creed of the false Prophet Mohammed. And, reclining
+		on the very sofa where he had first seen her—but attended
+		by a troop of charming female slaves—was the fair unknown—his
+		secret protectress—more lovely, more bewitching,
+		than she appeared when last they met.</p>
+
+		<p>An arch smile played upon her lips, as she rose from the
+		magnificent cushions—a smile which seemed to say, “I have
+		kept my word, I have raised thee to the highest dignity, save
+		one in the Ottoman Empire—and I will now crown thine happiness
+		by giving thee my hand.”</p>
+
+		<p>And, oh, so beauteous, so ravishingly lovely did she appear,
+		as that smile revealed teeth whiter than the Oriental pearls,
+		which she wore, and as a slight flush on her damask cheek and
+		the bright flashing of her eyes betrayed the joy and triumph
+		which filled her heart—so elegant and graceful was her faultless
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page214" title="214"> </a>form, which the gorgeous Ottoman garb so admirably became,
+		that Ibrahim forgot all his recent compunction—lost sight of
+		home and friends—remembered not the awful apostasy of which
+		he had been guilty—but fell upon his knees in adoration of that
+		charming creature, while the sultan with a smile which showed
+		that he was no stranger to the mysteries of the past, exclaimed
+		in a benignant tone, “Vizier Azem! receive the hand of my well-beloved
+		sister Aischa!”</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_50" class="chapter">
+		<h3>CHAPTER L.<br />
+			<span class="subtitle">THE COUNT OF ARESTINO—THE PLOT THICKENS.</span></h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">Return</span> we now to the fair city of flowers—to thee, delightful
+		Florence—vine crowned queen of Tuscany! The summer
+		has come, and the gardens are brilliant with dyes and hues of
+		infinite variety; the hills and the valleys are clothed in their
+		brightest emerald garment—and the Arno winds its peaceful
+		way between banks blushing with choicest fruits of the earth.</p>
+
+		<p>But, though gay that July scene—though glorious in its splendor
+		that unclouded summer sun, though gorgeous the balconies
+		filled with flowers, and brilliant the parterres of Tuscan roses,
+		yet gloomy was the countenance and dark were the thoughts of
+		the Count of Arestino, as he paced with agitated steps one of the
+		splendid apartments of his palace. The old man was actually
+		endowed with a good, a generous, a kind and forgiving disposition;
+		but the infidelity of his wife, the being on whom he had so
+		doted, and who was once his joy and his pride—that infidelity
+		had warped his best feelings, soured his temper, and aroused the
+		dark spirit of vengeance.</p>
+
+		<p>“She lives! she lives!” he murmured to himself, pausing for a
+		moment to press his feverish hand to his heated brow; “she
+		lives! and doubtless under the protection of her paramour! But
+		I shall know more presently. Antonio is faithful—he will not
+		deceive me!”</p>
+
+		<p>And the count resumed his agitated walk up and down the
+		room. A few minutes elapsed, when the door opened slowly,
+		and Antonio, whom the reader may remember to have been a
+		valet in the service of the Riverola family, made his appearance.</p>
+
+		<p>The count hastened toward him, exclaiming: “What news,
+		Antonio? Speak—hast thou learnt aught more of—of <em>her</em>?”</p>
+
+		<p>“My lord,” answered the valet, closing the door behind him,
+		“I have ascertained everything. The individual who spoke
+		darkly and mysteriously to me last evening, has within this
+		hour made me acquainted with many strange things.”</p>
+
+		<p>“But the countess?—I mean the guilty, fallen creature who
+		once bore my name?” ejaculated the old nobleman, his voice
+		trembling with impatience.</p>
+
+		<p>“There is no doubt, my lord, that her ladyship lives, and that
+		she is still in Florence,” answered Antonio.</p>
+
+		<p>“The shameless woman,” cried the Count of Arestino, his
+		usually pale face becoming perfectly death-like through the
+		violence of his inward emotions. “But how know you all this?”
+		demanded his lordship, suddenly turning toward the dependent;
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page215" title="215"> </a>“who is your informant—and can he be relied on? Remember
+		I took thee into my service at thine own solicitation—I have no
+		guarantee for thy fidelity, and I am influential to punish as well
+		as rich to reward!”</p>
+
+		<p>“Your lordship has bound me to you by ties of gratitude,”
+		responded Antonio, “for when discarded suddenly by the young
+		Count of Riverola, I found an asylum and employment in your
+		lordship’s palace. It is your lordship’s bounty which has enabled
+		me to give bread to my aged mother; and I should be a
+		villain were I to deceive you.”</p>
+
+		<p>“I believe you, Antonio,” said the count: “and now tell me
+		how you are assured that the countess escaped from the conflagration
+		and ruin of the institution to which my just vengeance had
+		consigned her—how, too, you have learnt that she is still in
+		Florence.”</p>
+
+		<p>“I have ascertained, my lord, beyond all possibility of doubt,”
+		answered the valet, “that the assailants of the convent were a
+		terrible horde of banditti, at that time headed by Stephano Verrina,
+		who has since disappeared no one knows whither; that the
+		Marquis of Orsini was one of the leaders in the awful deed of
+		sacrilege, and that her ladyship the countess, and a young
+		maiden named Flora Francatelli, were rescued by the robbers
+		from their cells in the establishment. These ladies and the
+		marquis quitted the stronghold of the banditti together, blindfolded
+		and guided forth by that same Stephano Verrina whom
+		I mentioned just now, Lomellino (the present captain of the
+		horde), and another bandit.”</p>
+
+		<p>“And who is your informant? how learned you all this?” demanded
+		the count, trembling with the excitement of painful
+		reminiscences reawakened, and with the hope of speedy vengeance
+		on the guilty pair, his wife and the marquis.</p>
+
+		<p>“My lord,” said Antonio, “pardon me if I remain silent; but
+		I dare not compromise the man——”</p>
+
+		<p>“Antonio,” exclaimed the count, wrathfully, “you are deceiving
+		me! Tell me who was your informant—I command
+		you—hesitate not——”</p>
+
+		<p>“My lord! my lord!” cried the valet, “is it not enough that I
+		prove my assertions—that I——”</p>
+
+		<p>“No!” cried the nobleman; “I have seen so much duplicity
+		where all appeared to be innocence—so much deceit where all
+		wore the aspect of integrity, that I can trust man no more. How
+		know I for certain that all this may not be some idle tale which
+		you yourself have forged, to induce me to put confidence in
+		you, to intrust you with gold to bribe your pretended informant,
+		but which will really remain in your own pocket? Speak,
+		Antonio—tell me all, or I shall listen to you no more, and your
+		servitude in this mansion then ceases.”</p>
+
+		<p>“I will speak frankly, my lord,” replied the valet; “but in
+		the course you may adopt——”</p>
+
+		<p>“Fear not for yourself, nor for your informant, Antonio,” interrupted
+		the count, impatiently. “Be ye both leagued with
+		the banditti yourselves, or be ye allied to the fiends of hell,” he
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page216" title="216"> </a>added, with fiercer emphasis, “I care not so long as I can render
+		ye the instruments of my vengeance!”</p>
+
+		<p>“Good, my lord!” exclaimed Antonio, delighted with this
+		assurance; “and now I can speak fearlessly and frankly. My
+		informant is that <em>other</em> bandit who accompanied Stephano Verrina
+		and Lomellino when the countess, Flora, and the marquis
+		were conducted blindfold from the robbers’ stronghold. But
+		while they were yet all inmates of that stronghold, this same
+		bandit, whose name is Venturo, overheard the marquis inform
+		Stephano Verrina that he intended to remain in Florence to
+		obtain the liberation of a Jew who was imprisoned in the dungeons
+		of the inquisition: and this Jew, Venturo also learnt by
+		subsequent inquiry from Verrina, is a certain Isaachar ben
+		Solomon.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Isaachar ben Solomon!” ejaculated the count, the whole
+		incident of the diamonds returning with all its painful details
+		to his mind. “Oh! no wonder,” he added, bitterly, “that the
+		marquis has so much kindness for him! But, proceed—proceed,
+		Antonio.”</p>
+
+		<p>“I was about to inform your lordship,” continued the valet,
+		“that Venturo, of whom I have spoken, happened the next day
+		to overhear the marquis inform the countess that he should be
+		compelled to stay for that purpose in Florence; whereupon
+		Flora Francatelli offered her ladyship a home at her aunt’s
+		residence, whither she herself should return on her liberation
+		from the stronghold. Then it was that the maiden mentioned
+		to the countess the name of her family, and when Venturo
+		represented all these facts to me just now, I at once knew who
+		this same Flora Francatelli is and where she dwells.”</p>
+
+		<p>“You know where she dwells!” cried the count, joyfully.
+		“Then, Giulia, the false, the faithless, the perjured Giulia is in
+		my power! Unless, indeed,” he added, more slowly—“unless she
+		may have removed to another place of abode——”</p>
+
+		<p>“That, my lord, shall be speedily ascertained,” said Antonio.
+		“I will instruct my mother to call, on some pretext, at the
+		cottage inhabited by Dame Francatelli: and she will soon learn
+		whether there be another female resident there besides the aunt
+		and the niece Flora.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Do so, Antonio,” exclaimed the count. “Let no unnecessary
+		delay take place. Here is gold—much gold, for thee to
+		divide between thyself and the bandit informant. See that thou
+		art faithful to my interests, and that sum shall prove but a small
+		earnest of what thy reward will be.”</p>
+
+		<p>The valet secured about his person the well-filled purse that
+		was handed to him, and retired.</p>
+
+		<p>The Count of Arestino remained alone to brood over his plans
+		of vengeance. It was horrible—horrible to behold that aged
+		and venerable man, trembling as he was on the verge of eternity,
+		now meditating schemes of dark and dire revenge. But his
+		wrongs were great—wrongs which, though common enough in
+		that voluptuous Italian clime, and especially in that age and city
+		of licentiousness and debauchery, were not the less sure to be
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page217" title="217"> </a>followed by a fearful retribution, where retribution was within
+		the reach of him who was outraged.</p>
+
+		<p>“Ha! ha!” he chuckled fearfully to himself, as he now paced
+		the room with a lighter step—as if joy filled his heart; “all
+		those who have injured me are within the reach of my vengeance.
+		The Jew in the inquisition; the marquis open to a charge
+		of diabolical sacrilege—and Giulia assuredly in Florence! I
+		dealt too leniently with that Jew—I sent to pay for the redemption
+		of jewels which were my own property! All my life have
+		I been a just—a humane—a merciful man; I will be so no more.
+		The world’s doings are adverse to generosity and fair-dealing.
+		In my old age have I learnt this! Oh! the perfidy of women
+		toward a doting—a confiding—a fond heart, works strange alterations
+		in the heart of the deceived one! I, who but a year—nay,
+		six months ago—would not harm the meanest reptile that
+		crawls, now thirst for vengeance—vengeance,” repeated the old
+		man, in a shrieking, hysterical tone, “upon those who have
+		wronged me! I will exterminate them at one fell swoop—exterminate
+		them all—all!” And his voice rang screechingly and
+		wildly through the lofty room of that splendid mansion.</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_51" class="chapter">
+		<h3>CHAPTER LI.<br />
+			<span class="subtitle">THE MEETING.</span></h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">On</span> the bank of the Arno, in a somewhat retired situation,
+		stood a neat cottage in the midst of a little garden, surrounded
+		by no formal pile of bricks to constitute a wall, but protected
+		only by its own sweet hedge or fragrant shrubs and blooming
+		plants. Over the portico of the humble but comfortable tenement
+		twined the honeysuckle and the clematis; and the sides of
+		the building were almost completely veiled by the vines amidst
+		the verdant foliage of which appeared large hunches of purple
+		grapes.</p>
+
+		<p>At an open casement on the ground floor, an elderly female,
+		very plainly but very neatly attired, and wearing a placid smile
+		and a good-natured expression upon a countenance which had
+		once been handsome, sat watching the glorious spectacle of the
+		setting sun. The orb of day went down in a flood of purple and
+		gold, behind the western hills; and now the dame began suddenly
+		to cast uneasy glances toward the path that led along the
+		bank of the river.</p>
+
+		<p>But the maiden for whose return the good aunt felt anxious,
+		was not far distant; indeed Flora Francatelli, wearing a thick
+		veil over her head, was already proceeding homeward after a
+		short ramble by the margin of the stream, when the reverie in
+		which she was plunged was interrupted by the sounds of hasty
+		footsteps behind. Ever fearful of treachery since the terrible
+		incident of her imprisonment in the Carmelite Convent, she
+		redoubled her speed, blaming herself for having been beguiled
+		by the beauty of the evening to prolong her walk farther than
+		she intended on setting out—when the increasing haste of the
+		footsteps behind her excited the keenest alarms within her
+		bosom—for she now felt convinced that she was pursued.</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page218" title="218"> </a>The cottage was already in sight, and a hundred paces only
+		separated her from its door, when a well-known voice—a voice
+		which caused every fiber in her heart to thrill with surprise and
+		joy—exclaimed: “Flora! beloved one; fly not! Oh! I could not
+		be deceived in the symmetry of thy form—the graciousness of
+		thy gait—I knew it was thou.”</p>
+
+		<p>And in another moment the maiden was clasped in the arms of
+		Francisco, Count of Riverola. Impossible were it to describe the
+		ecstatic bliss of this meeting—a meeting so unexpected on
+		either side: for a minute before, Flora had deemed the young
+		nobleman to be far away, fighting in the cause of the cross,
+		while Francisco was proceeding to make inquiries at the cottage
+		concerning his beloved, but with a heart that scarcely dared
+		nourish a hope of her reappearance.</p>
+
+		<p>“Oh! my well-beloved Flora!” exclaimed Francisco; “and are
+		we indeed thus blest, or is it a delusive dream? But tell me,
+		sweet maiden, tell me whether thou hast ceased to think of one,
+		from whose memory thine image has never been absent since the
+		date of thy sudden and mysterious disappearance.”</p>
+
+		<p>Flora could not reply in words—her heart was too full for the
+		utterance of her feelings; but as she raised the veil from her
+		charming countenance, the tears of joy which stood upon her
+		long lashes, and the heavenly smile which played upon her lips,
+		and the deep blushes which overspread her cheeks spoke far
+		more eloquently of unaltered affection than all the vows and
+		pledges which might have flowed from the tongue.</p>
+
+		<p>“Thou lovest me—lovest me—lovest me still!” exclaimed the
+		enraptured count, again clasping her in his arms, and now imprinting
+		innumerable kisses on her lips, her cheeks, and her fair
+		brow. Hasty explanations speedily ensued, and Francisco now
+		learnt for the first time the cause of Flora’s disappearance—her
+		incarceration in the convent—and the particulars of her release.</p>
+
+		<p>“But who could have been the author of that outrage?” exclaimed
+		the count, his cheeks flushing with indignation, and
+		his hand instinctively grasping his sword; “whom could you,
+		sweet maiden, have offended? what fiend thus vented his malignity
+		on thee?”</p>
+
+		<p>“Hold, my lord!” cried Flora, in a beseeching tone; “perhaps
+		you——”</p>
+
+		<p>And she checked herself abruptly.</p>
+
+		<p>“Call me not ‘<em>my lord</em>,’ dearest maiden,” said the count; “to
+		thee I am Francisco, as thou to me art Flora—my own beloved
+		Flora! But wherefore didst thou stop short thus? wherefore
+		not conclude the sentence that was half uttered? Oh, Flora—a
+		terrible suspicion strikes me! Speak—relieve me from the
+		cruel suspicion under which I now labor; was it my sister—my
+		much lamented sister, who did thee that foul wrong?”</p>
+
+		<p>“I know not,” replied Flora, weeping; “but—alas! pardon
+		me, dear Francisco—if I suspect aught so bad of any one connected
+		with thee—and yet Heaven knows how freely, how sincerely
+		I forgive my enemy——” Her voice was lost in sobs; and
+		her head drooped on her lover’s breast.</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page219" title="219"> </a>“Weep not, dearest one!” exclaimed Francisco. “Let not
+		our meeting be rendered mournful with tears. Thou knowest,
+		perhaps, that Nisida disappeared as suddenly and as mysteriously
+		as thou didst; but could she also have become the victim
+		of the Carmelites? And did she, alas! perish in the ruins of the
+		convent?”</p>
+
+		<p>“I am well assured that the Lady Nisida was not doomed to
+		that fate,” answered Flora; “for had she been consigned to the
+		convent, as a punishment for some real offense, or on some
+		groundless charge, she must have passed the ordeal of the
+		chamber of penitence, where I should have seen her. Yes,
+		Francisco—I have heard of her mysterious disappearance, and I
+		have shed many, many tears when I have thought of her, poor
+		lady! although,” added the maiden in a low and plaintive tone,
+		“I fear, Francisco, that it was indeed she who doomed me to
+		that monastic dungeon. Doubtless, her keen perception—far
+		more keen than in those who are blessed with the faculties
+		which were lost to her—enabled her to penetrate the secret of
+		that affection with which you had honored me, and in which I
+		felt so much happiness.”</p>
+
+		<p>“I confessed my love to Nisida,” interrupted Francisco; “but
+		it was not until your disappearance I was driven to despair,
+		Flora. I was mad with grief, and I could not, neither did I, attempt
+		to conceal my emotion. I told Nisida all: and well—oh!
+		well—do I recollect the reply which she gave me, giving fond
+		assurance that my happiness would alone be consulted.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Alas! Was there no double meaning in that assurance?”
+		asked Flora, gently. “The Lady Nisida knew well how inconsistent
+		with your high rank—your proud fortunes—your great
+		name, was that love which you bore for a humble and obscure
+		girl——”</p>
+
+		<p>“A love which I shall not be ashamed to own in the sight of
+		all Florence,” exclaimed Francisco in an impassioned tone.
+		“But if Nisida were the cause of that cruel outrage on thee, my
+		Flora, we will forgive her—for she could have acted only through
+		conscientious, though most mistaken, motives. Mistaken, indeed!
+		for never could I have known happiness again hadst thou
+		not been restored to me. It was to wean my mind from pondering
+		on afflictions that goaded me to despair that I embarked in
+		the cause of Christendom against the encroachments of Moslem
+		power. Thinking that thou wast forever lost to me—that my
+		sister also had become the victim of some murderous hand,—harassed
+		by doubts the most cruel—an uncertainty the most
+		agonizing,—I sought death on the walls of Rhodes; but the destroying
+		angel’s arrow rebounded from my corselet—his sword
+		was broken against my shield!</p>
+
+		<p>“During my voyage back to Italy—after beholding the crescent
+		planted on the walls where the Christian standard had
+		floated for so many, many years—a storm overtook the ship; and
+		yet the destroying angel gave me not the death I courted. This
+		evening I once more set foot in Florence. From my own mansion
+		Nisida is still absent: and no tidings have been received of
+		her. Alas! is she then lost to me forever? Without tarrying
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page220" title="220"> </a>even to change my travel-soiled clothes, I set out to make inquiries
+		concerning another whom I love—and that other is thyself!
+		Here, thanks to a merciful Heaven, my heart has not been
+		doomed to experience a second and equally cruel disappointment;
+		for I have found thee at last, my Flora—and henceforth my arm
+		shall protect thee from peril.”</p>
+
+		<p>“How have I deserved so much kindness at thine hands?”
+		murmured the maiden, again drooping her blushing head. “And
+		oh! what will you think, Francisco—what will you say, when
+		you learn that I was there—there in that cottage—with my aunt—when
+		you called the last time to inquire if any tidings had been
+		received of me——”</p>
+
+		<p>“You were there!” exclaimed Francisco, starting back in
+		surprise not unmingled with anger; “you were there, Flora—and
+		you knew that I was in despair concerning thee—that I
+		would have given worlds to have heard of thy safety,—I, who
+		thought that some fiend in human shape had sent thee to an
+		early grave?”</p>
+
+		<p>“Forgive me, Francisco: forgive me!” cried Flora, bursting
+		into tears; “but it was not my fault! On the night following
+		the one in which the banditti stormed the convent, as I ere now
+		detailed to your ears, I returned home to my aunt. When the
+		excitement of our meeting was past, and when we were alone
+		together, I threw myself at her feet, confessed all that had
+		passed between thee and me, and implored her advice.</p>
+
+		<p>“‘Flora,’ she said, while her tears fell upon me as I knelt,
+		‘no happiness will come to thee, my child, from this attachment
+		which has already plunged thee into so much misery. It
+		is beyond all doubt certain that the relations of the count were
+		the authors of thy imprisonment; and their persecutions would
+		only be renewed, were they to learn that the count was made
+		aware of your reappearance in Florence. For thy sake, then,
+		my child, I shall suffer the impression of thy continued absence
+		and loss to remain on the minds of those who may inquire concerning
+		thee; and should his lordship call here again, most especially
+		to him shall I appear stricken with grief on account of
+		thee. His passion, my child, is one of boyhood—evanescent,
+		though ardent while it endures. He will soon forget thee; and
+		when he shall have learnt to love another there will no
+		longer be any necessity for thee to live an existence of concealment.’</p>
+
+		<p>“Thus spoke my aunt, dear Francisco, and I dared not gainsay
+		her. When you came the last time. I heard your voice; I
+		listened from my chamber door to all you said to my aunt, and
+		I longed to fly into your arms. You went away and my heart
+		was nearly broken. Some days afterward we learnt the strange
+		disappearance of the Lady Nisida and then knew that you must
+		have received a severe blow, for I was well aware how much
+		you loved her. Two or three weeks elapsed, and then we heard
+		that you were about to depart to the wars. Oh! how bitter were
+		the tears that I shed, how fervent were the prayers that I offered
+		up for your safety.”</p>
+
+		<p>“And those prayers have been heard on high, beloved one,
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page221" title="221"> </a>exclaimed Francisco, who had listened with melting heart and
+		returning tenderness to the narrative which the maiden told so
+		simply but so sincerely, and in the most plaintive tones of her
+		musical voice.</p>
+
+		<p>“Can you forgive me now?” asked the blushing maiden, her
+		swimming eyes bending on her lover glances eloquently expressive
+		of hope.</p>
+
+		<p>“I have nothing to forgive, sweet girl,” replied Francisco.
+		“Your aunt behaved with a prudence which in justice I cannot
+		condemn; and you acted with an obedience and submission to
+		your venerable relative which I could not be arbitrary enough
+		to blame. We have both endured much for each other, my
+		Flora; but the days of our trials are passed; and your good aunt
+		will be convinced that in giving your young heart to me, you
+		have not confided in one who is undeserving of so much love.
+		Let us hasten into her presence. But one question have I yet
+		to ask you,” he added, suddenly recollecting an idea which had
+		ere now made some impression on his mind. “You informed
+		me how you were liberated from the convent, and you mentioned
+		the name of the Countess of Arestino, whom circumstances
+		had made your companion in that establishment, and to
+		whom your aunt gave an asylum. Know you not, dearest Flora,
+		that fame reports not well of that same Giulia of Arestino—and
+		that a woman of tarnished reputation is no fitting associate for
+		an innocent and artless maiden such as thou?”</p>
+
+		<p>“During the period that the Lady of Arestino and myself
+		were companions in captivity,” responded Flora, with a frankness
+		as amiable as it was convincing, “she never in the most
+		distant manner alluded to her love for the Marquis of Orsini.
+		When the marquis appeared in the convent, in company with
+		the robbers, I was far too much bewildered with the passing
+		events, to devote a thought to what might be the nature of their
+		connection; and even when I had more leisure for reflection,
+		during the entire day which I passed in the stronghold of the
+		banditti, I saw naught in it save what I conceived to be the
+		bond of close relationship. I offered her ladyship an asylum at
+		the abode of my aunt, as I should have given a home, under such
+		circumstances, to the veriest wretch crawling on the face of the
+		earth. But in that cottage the countess and myself have not
+		continued in close companionship; for my aunt accidentally learnt
+		that fame reported not well of the Lady of Arestino, and in a
+		gentle manner she begged her to seek another home at her earliest
+		leisure. The countess implored my venerable relative to permit
+		her to retrain at the cottage, as her life would be in danger
+		were she not afforded a sure and safe asylum. Moved by her
+		earnest entreaties, my aunt assented; and the countess has almost
+		constantly remained in her own chamber. Sometimes—but
+		very rarely—she goes forth after dusk, and in a deep disguise;
+		the marquis has not, however, visited the cottage since
+		my aunt made this discovery relative to the reputation of the
+		Lady of Arestino.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Thanks, charming Flora, for that explanation!” cried the
+		young count. “Let us now hasten to thine aunt; and in her
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page222" title="222"> </a>presence will I renew to thee all the vows of unalterable and
+		honorable affection which my heart suggests, as a means of
+		proving that I am worthy of thy love.”</p>
+
+		<p>And, hand-in-hand, that fine young noble and that beauteous,
+		blushing maiden proceeded to the cottage.</p>
+
+		<p>Two persons, concealed in an adjacent grove, had overheard
+		every syllable of the above conversation. These were the valet
+		Antonio, and his mother, Dame Margaretha, at whose dwelling,
+		it will be recollected, the unfortunate Agnes had so long resided,
+		under the protection of the late Count of Riverola.</p>
+
+		<p>“This is fortunate, mother!” said Antonio, when Francisco
+		and Flora had retired from the vicinity of the grove. “You
+		are spared the trouble of a visit to the old Signora Francatelli;
+		and I have learned sufficient to enable me to work out all my
+		plans alike of aggrandizement and revenge. Let us retrace our
+		way into the city; thou wilt return to thy home—and I shall
+		hence straight to the Lord Count of Arestino.”</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_52" class="chapter">
+		<h3>CHAPTER LII.<br />
+ 			<span class="subtitle">THE GREEK PAGE—SONG OF THE GREEK PAGE—A REVELATION.</span></h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">Three</span> months had now elapsed since Ibrahim-Pasha had
+		risen to the exalted rank of grand vizier, and had married the
+		sister of Solyman the Magnificent. The sultan daily became
+		more attached to him; and he, on his part, acquired influence
+		over his imperial master. Vested with a power so nearly absolute
+		that Solyman signed without ever perusing the hatti-sheriffs,
+		or decrees, drawn up by Ibrahim,—and enjoying the confidence
+		of the divan, all the members of which were devoted to his interests,—the
+		renegade administered according to his own discretion,
+		the affairs of that mighty empire. Avaricious, and
+		ever intent upon the aggrandizement of his own fortunes, he
+		accumulated vast treasures; but he also maintained a household
+		and lived in a style unequaled by any of his predecessors
+		in office. Having married a sister of the sultan, he was not
+		permitted a plurality of wives;—but he purchased the most
+		beauteous slaves for his harem, and plunged headlong into a
+		vortex of dissipation and pleasure.</p>
+
+		<p>For some weeks he had manifested the most ardent and impassioned
+		attachment toward Aischa, who, during that period,
+		was happy in the belief that she alone possessed his heart. But
+		the customs of the East, as well as the duties of his office, kept
+		them so much apart, that he had no leisure to discover the
+		graces of her mind, nor to appreciate all the powers of her naturally
+		fine, and indeed well-cultivated intellect; so that the
+		beauty of her person constituted the only basis on which his affection
+		was maintained. The fervor of such a love soon cooled
+		with satiety: and those female slaves whom he had at first procured
+		as indispensable appendages to his rank and station, were
+		not long in becoming the sources of new pleasure and voluptuous
+		enjoyment. Aischa beheld his increasing indifference,
+		and strove to bind him to her by representing all she had done
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page223" title="223"> </a>for him. He listened coldly at first; but when, on several occasions,
+		the same remonstrances were repeated, he answered
+		angrily.</p>
+
+		<p>“Had it not been for my influence,” she said to him one day,
+		when the dispute had become more serious than preceding quarrels
+		of the kind, “you might still have been an humble secretary
+		to a Christian noble.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Not so,” replied the grand vizier; “for at the very time
+		when I first beheld thee in the Bezestein, certain offers had
+		been secretly conveyed to me from the reis-effendi.”</p>
+
+		<p>“In whose service you would have lingered as a mere subordinate
+		for long, long years,” returned Aischa. “It was I who
+		urged you on. Have I not often assured you that your image
+		dwelt in my memory after the accident which first led to our
+		meeting—that one of my faithful women noticed my thoughtful
+		mood—and that when I confessed to her the truth, she stated to
+		me that, by a singular coincidence, her own brother was employed
+		by the reis-effendi as an agent to tempt you with the
+		offers to which you have alluded? Then, inquiries which my
+		slave instituted, brought to my ears the flattering tidings that
+		you also thought of me, and I resolved to grant you an interview.
+		From that moment my influence hurried you on to power—and
+		when you became the favorite of the mighty Solyman, I
+		confessed to him that I had seen and that I loved you. His fraternal
+		attachment to me is great—greater than to any other of
+		his sisters, seeing that himself and I were born of the same
+		mother, though at a long interval. Thus was it that my persuasion
+		made him think higher and oftener of you than he
+		would else have done—and now that you have attained the summit
+		of glory and power, she who has helped to raise you is neglected
+		and loved no longer.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Cease these reproaches, Aischa,” exclaimed Ibrahim, who
+		had listened impatiently to her long address, “or I will give
+		thee less of my company than heretofore. See that the next
+		time I visit thee my reception may be with smiles instead of
+		tears—with sweet words instead of reproaches.” And in this
+		cruel manner the heartless renegade quitted his beauteous wife,
+		leaving her plunged in the most profound affliction.</p>
+
+		<p>But as Ibrahim traversed the corridors leading to his own
+		apartments, his heart smote him for the harshness and unfeeling
+		nature of his conduct; and as one disagreeable idea, by disposing
+		the spirits to melancholy, usually arouses others that
+		were previously slumbering in the cells of the brain, all the
+		turpitude of his apostasy was recalled with new force to his
+		mind.</p>
+
+		<p>Repairing to a small but magnificently furnished saloon in a retired
+		part of the palace, he dismissed the slaves who were waiting
+		at the door, ordering them, however, to send into his presence a
+		young Greek page who had recently entered his service. In a
+		few minutes the youth made his appearance, and stood in a
+		respectful attitude near the door.</p>
+
+		<p>“Come and sit at my feet, Constantine,” said the grand
+		vizier, “and thou shalt sing to me one of those airs of thy
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page224" title="224"> </a>native Greece with which thou hast occasionally delighted mine
+		ears. I know not how it is, boy—but thy presence pleases me,
+		and thy voice soothes my soul, when oppressed with the cares
+		of my high office.”</p>
+
+		<p>Joy flashed from the bright black eyes of the young Greek
+		page as he glided noiselessly over the thick carpet, but that emotion
+		of pleasure was instantly changed to one of deep deference.</p>
+
+		<p>“Proceed,” said his master, “and sing me that plaintive song
+		which is supposed to depict the woes of one of the unhappy
+		sons of Greece.”</p>
+
+		<p>“But may not its sentiments offend your highness?” asked the
+		page.</p>
+
+		<p>“It is but a song,” responded Ibrahim. “I give thee full permission
+		to sing those verses, and I should be sorry were you to
+		subdue aught of the impassioned feelings which they are well
+		calculated to excite within thee.”</p>
+
+		<p>The page turned his handsome countenance up toward the
+		grand vizier, and commenced in melodious, liquid tones, the
+		following song—</p>
+
+		<h4>SONG OF THE GREEK PAGE.</h4>
+
+		<div class="poem">
+		<div class="stanza">
+		<p>“Oh, are there not beings condemned from their birth,</p>
+		<p>To drag, without solace or hope o’er the earth,</p>
+		<p class="i2">The burden of grief and of sorrow?</p>
+		<p>Doomed wretches who know, while they tremblingly say,</p>
+		<p>‘The star of my fate appears brighter to-day,’</p>
+		<p>That it is but a brief and a mocking ray,</p>
+		<p class="i2">To make darkness darker to-morrow.</p>
+		</div>
+
+		<div class="stanza">
+		<p>“And ’tis not to the vile and base alone</p>
+		<p>That unchanging grief and sorrow are known,</p>
+		<p class="i2">But as oft to the pure and guileless;</p>
+		<p>And he, from whose fervid and generous lip,</p>
+		<p>Gush words of the kindest fellowship,</p>
+		<p>Of the same pure fountain may not sip</p>
+		<p class="i2">In return, but it is sad and smileless!</p>
+		</div>
+
+		<div class="stanza">
+		<p>“Yes; such doomed mortals, alas! there be</p>
+		<p>And mine is that self-same destiny;</p>
+		<p class="i2">The fate of the lorn and lonely;</p>
+		<p>For e’en in my childhood’s early day,</p>
+		<p>The comrades I sought would turn away;</p>
+		<p>And of all the band, from the sportive play</p>
+		<p class="i2">Was I thrust and excluded only.</p>
+		</div>
+
+		<div class="stanza">
+		<p>“When fifteen summers had passed o’er my head,</p>
+		<p>I stood on the battle-field strewn with the dead.</p>
+		<p class="i2">For the day of the Moslem’s glory</p>
+		<p>Had made me an orphan child, and there</p>
+		<p>My sire was stretched; and his bosom bare</p>
+		<p>Showed a gaping wound; and the flowing hair</p>
+		<p class="i2">Of his head was damp and gory.</p>
+		</div>
+
+		<div class="stanza">
+		<p>“My sire was the chief of the patriot band,</p>
+		<p>That had fought and died for their native land,</p>
+		<p class="i2">When her rightful prince betrayed her;</p>
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page225" title="225"> </a>On his kith and kin did the vengeance fall</p>
+		<p>Of the Mussulman foes—and each and all</p>
+		<p>Were swept from the old ancestral hall,</p>
+		<p class="i2">Save myself, by the fierce invader!</p>
+		</div>
+
+		<div class="stanza">
+		<p>“And I was spared from that blood-stained grave</p>
+		<p>To be dragged away as the Moslem’s slave,</p>
+		<p class="i2">And bend to the foe victorious,—</p>
+		<p>But, O Greece! to thee does my memory turn</p>
+		<p>Its longing eyes—and my heart-strings yearn</p>
+		<p>To behold thee rise in thy might and spurn,</p>
+		<p class="i2">As of yore, thy yoke inglorious!</p>
+		</div>
+
+		<div class="stanza">
+		<p>“But oh! whither has Spartan courage fled?</p>
+		<p>And why, proud Athens! above thine head</p>
+		<p class="i2">Is the Mussulman crescent gleaming?</p>
+		<p>Have thine ancient memories no avail?</p>
+		<p>And art thou not fired at the legend tale</p>
+		<p>Which reminds thee how the whole world grew pale,</p>
+		<p class="i2">And recoiled from thy banners streaming?”</p>
+		</div>
+		</div>
+
+		<p>“Enough, boy,” exclaimed Ibrahim: then in a low tone, he
+		murmured to himself, “The Christians have indeed much
+		cause to anathematize the encroachments and tyranny of the
+		Moslems.”</p>
+
+		<p>There was a short pause, during which the grand vizier was
+		absorbed in profound meditation, while the Greek page never
+		once withdrew his eyes from the countenance of that high
+		functionary.</p>
+
+		<p>“Boy,” at length said Ibrahim, “you appear attached to me.
+		I have observed many proofs of your devotion during the few
+		months that you have been in my service. Speak—is there
+		aught that I can do to make you happy? Have you relations or
+		friends who need protection? If they be poor, I will relieve
+		their necessities.”</p>
+
+		<p>“My lips cannot express the gratitude which my heart feels
+		toward your highness,” returned the page, “but I have no
+		friends in behalf of whom I might supplicate the bounty of your
+		highness.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Are you yourself happy, Constantine?” asked Ibrahim.</p>
+
+		<p>“Happy in being permitted to attend upon your highness,”
+		was the reply, delivered in a soft and tremulous tone.</p>
+
+		<p>“But is it in my power to render you happier?” demanded the
+		grand vizier.</p>
+
+		<p>Constantine hung down his head—reflected for a few moments,
+		and then murmured “Yes.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Then, by Heaven!” exclaimed Ibrahim Pasha, “thou hast
+		only to name thy request, and it will be granted. I know not
+		wherefore, but I am attached to thee much. I feel interested in
+		thy welfare, and I would be rejoiced to minister to thy happiness.”</p>
+
+		<p>“I am already happier than I was—happier, because my lips
+		have drunk in such words flowing from the lips of one who is
+		exalted as highly as I am insignificant and humble.” said the
+		page, in a voice tremulous with emotion, but sweetly musical.
+		“Yes, I am happier,” he continued—“and yet my soul is filled
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page226" title="226"> </a>with the image of a dear, a well-beloved sister, who pines in
+		loneliness and solitude, ever dwelling on a hapless love which
+		she has formed for one who knows not that he is so loved, and
+		who perhaps may never—never know it.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Ah, thou hast a sister, Constantine?” exclaimed the grand
+		vizier. “And is she as lovely as a sister of a youth so handsome
+		as thou art ought to be?”</p>
+
+		<p>“She has been assured by those who have sought her hand,
+		that she is indeed beautiful,” answered Constantine. “But of
+		what avail are her charms, since he whom she loves may
+		never whisper in her ear the delicious words, ‘I love thee in return.’”</p>
+
+		<p>“Does the object of her affections possess so obdurate a
+		heart?” inquired the grand vizier, strangely interested in the
+		discourse of his youthful page.</p>
+
+		<p>“It is not that he scorns my sister’s love,” replied Constantine;
+		“but it is that he knows not of its existence. It is true
+		that he has seen her once—yet ’twere probable that he remembers
+		not there is such a being in the world. Thus came it to
+		pass, my lord—an officer, holding a high rank in the service of
+		his imperial majesty, the great Solyman, had occasion to visit a
+		humble dwelling wherein my sister resided. She—poor silly
+		maiden! was so struck by his almost god-like beauty—so dazzled
+		by his fascinating address—so enchanted by the sound of
+		his voice, that she surrendered up her heart suddenly and secretly—surrendered
+		it beyond all power of reclamation. Since
+		then she has never ceased to ponder upon this fatal passion—this
+		unhappy love; she has nursed his image in her mind, until
+		her reason has rocked with the wild thoughts, the ardent hopes,
+		the emotions of despair—all the conflicting sentiments of feeling,
+		in a word, which so ardent and so strange a love must
+		naturally engender. Enthusiastic, yet tender; fervent, yet
+		melting in her soul; and while she does not attempt to close her
+		eyes to the conviction that she is cherishing a passion which is
+		preying upon her very vitals, she nevertheless clings to it as a
+		martyr to the stake! Oh! my lord, canst thou marvel if I feel
+		deeply for my unhappy sister?”</p>
+
+		<p>“But wherefore doth she remain thus unhappy?” demanded
+		Ibrahim-Pasha. “Surely there are means of conveying to the
+		object of her attachment an intimation how deeply he is beloved?
+		and he must be something more than human,” he added, in an
+		impassioned tone, “if he can remain obdurate to the tears and
+		sighs of a beauteous creature, such as thy sister doubtless is.”</p>
+
+		<p>“And were he to spurn her from him—oh! your highness, it
+		would kill her!” said the page, fixing his large, eloquent eyes
+		upon the countenance of the grand vizier. “Consider his exalted
+		rank and her humble position——”</p>
+
+		<p>“Doth she aspire to become his wife?” asked Ibrahim.</p>
+
+		<p>“She would be contented to serve him as his veriest slave,”
+		responded Constantine, now strangely excited, “were he but to
+		look kindly upon her: she would deem herself blest in receiving
+		a smile from his lips, so long as it was bestowed as a reward for
+		all the tender love she bears him.”</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page227" title="227"> </a>“Who is this man that is so fortunate as to have excited so
+		profound an interest in the heart of one so beautiful?” demanded
+		the grand vizier. “Name him to me—I will order him to appear
+		before me—and, for thy sake, I will become an eloquent
+		pleader on behalf of thy sister.”</p>
+
+		<p>Words cannot express the joy which flashed from the eyes of
+		the page, and animated his handsome though softly feminine
+		countenance, as, casting himself on his knees at the feet of Ibrahim
+		Pasha, he murmured, “Great lord, that man whom my
+		sister loves, and for whom she would lay down her life, is thyself!”</p>
+
+		<p>Ibrahim was for some minutes too much overcome by astonishment
+		to offer an observation—to utter a word; while the page
+		remained kneeling at his feet. Then suddenly it flashed to the
+		mind of the grand vizier that the only humble abode which he
+		had entered since he had become an officer holding a high rank
+		in the service of Solyman, was that of his Greek emissary, Demetrius;
+		and it now occurred to him, that there was a striking
+		likeness between the young page and the beautiful Calanthe:
+		whom he had seen on that occasion.</p>
+
+		<p>“Constantine,” he said, at length, “art thou, then, the
+		brother of that Demetrius whom I dispatched some three months
+		ago to Florence?”</p>
+
+		<p>“I am, my lord—and ’tis our sister Calanthe of whom I have
+		spoken,” was the reply. “Oh! pardon my arrogance—my presumption,
+		great vizier!” he continued, suddenly rising from his
+		kneeling position, and now standing with his arms meekly folded
+		across his breast—“pardon the arrogance, the insolence of
+		my conduct,” he exclaimed; “but it was for the sake of my
+		sister that I sought service in the household of your highness.
+		I thought that if I could succeed in gaining your notice—if in
+		any way I could obtain such favor in your eyes as to be admitted
+		to speak with one so highly raised above me as thou art, I
+		fancied that some opportunity would enable me to make those
+		representations which have issued from my lips this day. How
+		patiently I have waited that occasion, Heaven knows! how ardent
+		have been my hopes of success, when from time to time
+		your highness singled me out from amongst the numerous free
+		pages of your princely household to attend upon your privacy—how
+		ardent, I say, these hopes have been, your highness may
+		possibly divine. And now, my lord, that I <em>have</em> succeeded in
+		gaining your attention and pouring this secret into your ears,
+		I will away to Calanthe and impart all the happiness that is in
+		store for her. Though the flowers may hold up their heads high
+		in the light of the glorious sun, yet she shall hold hers higher
+		in the favor of your smile. Generous master,” he added, suddenly
+		sinking his voice to a lower tone and reassuming the
+		deferential air which he had partially lost in the excitement of
+		speaking, “permit me now to depart.”</p>
+
+		<p>“This evening, Constantine,” said the grand vizier, fixing his
+		dark eyes significantly upon the page, “let your sister enter the
+		harem by the private door in the garden. Here is a key; I will
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page228" title="228"> </a>give the necessary instructions to the female slaves to welcome
+		her.”</p>
+
+		<p>Constantine received the key, made a low obeisance, and
+		withdrew, leaving the grand vizier to feast his voluptuous imagination
+		with delicious thoughts of the beauteous Calanthe.</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_53" class="chapter">
+		<h3>CHAPTER LIII.<br />
+			<span class="subtitle">THE SULTANA VALIDA—THE THREE BLACK SLAVES.</span></h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">In</span> the meantime the Princess Aischa, the now neglected wife
+		of the grand vizier, had repaired to the imperial seraglio to obtain
+		an interview with her brother, Solyman the Magnificent.
+		The sultan, as the reader has already learnt, was deeply attached
+		to Aischa. Their mother, the sultana, or empress mother,
+		who was still alive, occupied apartments in the seraglio. Her
+		children entertained the greatest respect for her: and her influence
+		over the sultan, who possessed an excellent heart,
+		though his sway was not altogether unstained by cruelties, was
+		known to be great.</p>
+
+		<p>It was therefore to her mother and her brother that the beautiful
+		Aischa proceeded; and when she was alone with them in
+		the Valida’s apartment, and removed her veil, they immediately
+		noticed that she had been weeping. Upon being questioned
+		relative to the cause of her sorrow, she burst into an agony of
+		tears, and was for some time unable to reply. At length, half
+		regretting that she had taken the present step, Aischa slowly
+		revealed her various causes of complaint against the grand
+		vizier.</p>
+
+		<p>“By Allah!” exclaimed the sultan, “the ungrateful Ibrahim
+		shall not thus spurn and neglect the costly gift which I, his
+		master, condescended to bestow upon him! What! when the
+		Shah of Persia, the Khan of the Tartars, and the Prince of Karamania
+		all sought thine hand, and dispatched embassadors laden
+		with rich gifts to our court to demand thee in marriage, did I
+		not send them back with cold words of denial to their sovereigns?
+		And was it to bestow thee, my sister, on this ungrateful
+		boy, who was so late naught save a dog of a Christian, ready to
+		eat the dirt under our imperial feet,—was it to bestow thee on
+		such an one as he, that I refused the offers of the Persian Shah!
+		By the tomb of the prophet! this indignity shall cease!”</p>
+
+		<p>“Restrain your wrath, my son,” said the Sultana Valida.
+		“Ibrahim must not be openly disgraced: the effects of his punishment
+		would redound on our beloved Aischa. No—rather
+		intrust this affair to me; and fear not that I shall fail in compelling
+		this haughty pasha to return to the arms of his wife—ay,
+		and implore her pardon for his late neglect.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Oh! dearest mother, if thou canst accomplish this,” exclaimed
+		Aischa, her countenance becoming animated with joy
+		and her heart palpitating with hope, “thou wouldst render me
+		happy indeed.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Trust to me, daughter,” replied the Sultana Valida. “In
+		the meantime seek not to learn my intentions; but, on thy
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page229" title="229"> </a>return home, send me by some trusty slave thy pass-key to the
+		harem. And thou, my son, wilt lend me thine imperial signet-ring
+		for twelve hours!”</p>
+
+		<p>“Remember,” said the sultan, as he drew the jewel from his
+		finger, “that he who wears that ring possesses a talisman of
+		immense power—a sign which none to whom it is shown dares
+		disobey; remember this, my mother, and use it with caution.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Fear not, my dearly beloved son,” answered the Sultana
+		Valida, concealing the ring in her bosom. “And now, Aischa,
+		do you return to the palace of your haughty husband, who ere
+		twelve hours be passed, shall sue for pardon at thy feet.”</p>
+
+		<p>The sultan and Aischa both knew that their mother was a
+		woman of powerful intellect and determined character; and
+		they sought not to penetrate into the secret of her intentions.</p>
+
+		<p>Solyman withdrew to preside at a meeting of the divan; and
+		Aischa returned to the palace of the grand vizier, attended by
+		the slaves who had waited for her in an anteroom leading to
+		her mother’s apartments.</p>
+
+		<p>It was now late in the afternoon, and the time for evening
+		prayer had arrived ere the Sultana Valida received the pass-key
+		to Ibrahim Pasha’s harem. But the moment it was conveyed
+		to her, she summoned to her presence three black slaves, belonging
+		to the corps of the bostanjis, or gardeners, who also
+		served as executioners, when a person of rank was to be subjected
+		to the process of bowstring, or when any dark deed was
+		to be accomplished in silence and with caution. Terrible appendages
+		to the household of Ottoman sultans were the black
+		slaves belonging to that corps—like snakes, they insinuated
+		themselves, noiselessly and ominously into the presence of their
+		victims, and it were as vain to preach peace to the warring elements
+		which God alone can control, as to implore mercy at the
+		hands of those remorseless Ethiopians!</p>
+
+		<p>To the three black slaves did the Sultana Valida issue her
+		commands; and to the eldest she intrusted Solyman’s signet-ring
+		and the pass-key which Aischa had sent her. The slaves
+		bowed three times to the empress mother—laid their hands on
+		their heads to imply that they would deserve decapitation if they
+		neglected the orders they had received—and then withdrew.
+		There was something terribly sinister in their appearance, as
+		they retired noiselessly but rapidly through the long, silent
+		and darkened corridors of the imperial harem.</p>
+
+		<p>It was night—and the moon shone softly and sweetly upon
+		the mighty city of Constantinople, tipping each of its thousand
+		spires and pinnacles as with a star.</p>
+
+		<p>Ibrahim Pasha, having disposed of the business of the day,
+		and now with his imagination full of the beautiful Calanthe,
+		hastened to the anteroom, or principal apartment of the harem.</p>
+
+		<p>The harem, occupying one complete wing of the vizier’s palace,
+		consisted of three stories. On the ground floor were the apartments
+		of the Princess Aischa and her numerous female dependents.
+		These opened from a spacious marble hall; and at the
+		folding-doors leading into them, were stationed two black
+		dwarfs, who were deaf and dumb. Their presence was not in
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page230" title="230"> </a>any way derogatory to the character of Aischa, but actually denoted
+		the superior rank of the lady who occupied those apartments
+		in respect to the numerous females who tenanted the
+		rooms above. As she was the sister of the sultan, Ibrahim dared
+		not appear in her presence without obtaining her previous assent
+		through the medium of one of the mutes, who were remarkably
+		keen in understanding and conveying intelligence by
+		means of signs. A grand marble staircase led from the hall to
+		the two floors containing the apartments of the ladies of the
+		harem; and thus, though Aischa dwelt in the same wing as
+		those females, her own abode was as distinct from theirs as if
+		she were the tenant of a separate house altogether.</p>
+
+		<p>On the first floor there was a large and magnificently furnished
+		room in which the ladies of the harem were accustomed
+		to assemble when they chose to quit the solitude of their own
+		chambers for the enjoyment of each other’s society. The ceiling
+		of the anteroom; as this immense apartment was called,
+		was gilt entirely over; it was supported by twenty slender columns
+		of crystal; and the splendid chandeliers which were
+		suspended to it, diffused a soft and mellow light, producing the
+		most striking effects on that mass of gilding, those reflecting
+		columns, and the wainscoted walls inlaid with mother-of-pearl,
+		and with ivory of different colors. A Persian carpet three inches
+		thick was spread upon the floor. Along two opposite sides ran
+		continuous sofas, supported by low, white marble pillars, and
+		covered with purple figured velvet fringed with gold. In the
+		middle of this gorgeous apartment was a large table, shaped like
+		a crescent, and spread with all kinds of preserved fruits, confectionery,
+		cakes, and delicious beverages of a non-alcoholic
+		nature.</p>
+
+		<p>The room was crowded with beauteous women when the
+		presence of Ibrahim was announced by a slave. There were the
+		fair-complexioned daughters of Georgia—the cold, reserved, but
+		lovely Circassians—the warm and impassioned Persians—the
+		voluptuous Wallachians—the timid Tartars—the dusky
+		Indians—the talkative Turkish ladies—beauties, too, of Italy,
+		Spain, and Portugal—indeed, specimens of female perfection
+		from many, many nations. Their various styles of beauty, and
+		their characteristic national dresses, formed a scene truly
+		delightful to gaze upon: but the grand vizier noticed none of the
+		countenances so anxiously turned toward him to mark on which
+		his eyes would settle in preference; and the ladies noiselessly
+		withdrew, leaving their master alone with the slave in the anteroom.</p>
+
+		<p>Ibrahim threw himself on a sofa, and gave some hasty instructions
+		to the slave, who immediately retired. In about a
+		quarter of an hour he came back, conducting into the anteroom
+		a lady veiled from head to foot. The slave then withdrew
+		altogether; and Ibrahim approached the lady, saying, “Calanthe—beauteous
+		Calanthe! welcome to my palace.”</p>
+
+		<p>She removed her veil; and Ibrahim fixed his eager eyes upon
+		the countenance thus disclosed to him; but he was immediately
+		struck by the marvelous resemblance existing between his page
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page231" title="231"> </a>Constantine, and the charming Calanthe. It will be remembered
+		that when he called, in a mean disguise, at the abode of
+		Demetrius, he saw Calanthe for the first time, and only for a
+		short period; and though he was even then struck by her beauty,
+		yet the impression it made was but momentary: and he had so
+		far forgotten Calanthe as never to behold in Constantine the
+		least resemblance to any one whom he had seen before.</p>
+
+		<p>But now that Calanthe’s countenance burst upon him in all
+		the glory of its superb Greek beauty, that resemblance struck
+		him with all the force of a new idea; and he was about to express
+		his astonishment that so wondrous a likeness should subsist
+		between brother and sister, when the maiden sunk at his
+		feet, exclaiming, “Pardon me, great vizier; but Constantine
+		and Calanthe are one and the same thing.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Methought the brother pleaded with marvelous eloquence
+		on behalf of his sister,” said Ibrahim, with a smile; and raising
+		Calanthe from her suppliant posture, he led her to a seat, gazing
+		on her the while with eyes expressive of intense passion.</p>
+
+		<p>“Your highness,” observed the maiden, after a short pause,
+		“has heard from my own lips how profound is the attachment
+		which I have dared to conceive for you—how great is the admiration
+		which I entertain for the brilliant powers of your intellect.
+		To be with thee, great Ibrahim, will I abandon my country, friends—ay,
+		and even creed, shouldst thou demand that concession;
+		for in thee—and in thee only—are all my hopes of happiness
+		now centered!”</p>
+
+		<p>“And those hopes shall not be disappointed, dearest Calanthe!”
+		exclaimed Ibrahim, clasping her in his arms. “But a
+		few minutes before you entered this room a hundred women—the
+		choicest flowers of all climes—were gathered here; and yet
+		I value one smile on thy lips more than all the tender endearments
+		that those purchased houris could bestow. For thy love
+		was unbought—it was a love that prompted thee to attach thyself
+		to me in a menial capacity——”</p>
+
+		<p>The impassioned language of the grand vizier was suddenly
+		interrupted by the opening of the door, and three black slaves
+		glided into the anteroom—half crouching as they stole along—and
+		fixing on the beauteous Calanthe eyes, the dark pupils of
+		which seemed to glare horribly from the whites in which they
+		were set.</p>
+
+		<p>“Dogs! what signifies this intrusion?” exclaimed Ibrahim
+		Pasha, starting from the sofa, and grasping the handle of his
+		scimiter.</p>
+
+		<p>The chief the three slaves uttered not a word of reply, but exhibited
+		the imperial signet, and at the same time unrolled from
+		the coil which he had hitherto held in his hand a long green
+		silken bowstring. At that ominous spectacle Ibrahim fell back,
+		his countenance becoming ashy pale, and his frame trembling
+		with an icy shudder from head to foot.</p>
+
+		<p>“Choose between this and her,” whispered the slave, in a deep
+		tone, as he first glanced at the bowstring and then looked
+		toward Calanthe, who knew that some terrible danger was impending,
+		but was unable to divine where or when it was to fall.</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page232" title="232"> </a>“Merciful Allah!” exclaimed the grand vizier; and throwing
+		himself upon the floor, he buried his face in his hands.</p>
+
+		<p>In another moment Calanthe was seized and gagged, before
+		even a word or a scream could escape her lips; but Ibrahim
+		heard the rustling of her dress as she unavailingly struggled
+		with the monsters in whose power she was. The selfish ingrate!
+		he drew not his scimiter to defend her—he no longer remembered
+		all the tender love she bore him—but, appalled by the
+		menace of the bowstring, backed by the warrant of the sultan’s
+		signet ring, he lay groveling on the rich Persian carpet, giving
+		vent to his alarms by low and piteous groans.</p>
+
+		<p>Then he heard the door once more close as softly as possible:
+		he looked up—glared with wild anxiety around—and breathed
+		more freely on finding himself alone! For the Ethiopians had
+		departed with their victim! Slowly rising from his supine posture,
+		Ibrahim approached the table, filled a crystal cup with
+		sherbet to the brim, and drank the cooling beverage, which
+		seemed to go hissing down his parched throat—so dreadful was
+		the thirst which the horror of the scene just enacted had produced.</p>
+
+		<p>Then the sickening as well as maddening conviction struck to
+		his very soul, that though the envied and almost worshiped
+		vizier of a mighty empire—having authority of life and death
+		over millions of human beings, and able to dispose of the governments
+		and patronage of huge provinces and mighty cities—he
+		was but a miserable, helpless slave in the eyes of another greater
+		still—an ephemeron whom the breath of Solyman the Magnificent
+		could destroy! And overcome by this conviction, he threw
+		himself on the sofa, bursting into an agony of tears—tears of
+		mingled rage and woe. Yes; the proud, the selfish, the haughty
+		renegade wept as bitterly as ever even a poor, weak woman was
+		known to weep!</p>
+
+		<p class="prose_break">*****</p>
+
+		<p>How calm and beautiful lay the waters of the Golden Horn
+		beneath the light of that lovely moon which shone so chastely
+		and so serenely above, as if pouring its argent luster upon a
+		world where no evil passions were known—no hearts were
+		stained with crime—no iniquity of human imagining was in
+		the course of perpetration. But, ah! what sound is that which
+		breaks on the silence of the night! Is it the splash of oars? No—for
+		the two black slaves who guide yon boat which has shot
+		out from the shore into the center of the gulf, are resting on the
+		slight sculls—the boat itself, too, is now stationary—and not a
+		ripple is stirred up by its grotesquely-shaped prow. What, then,
+		was that sound?</p>
+
+		<p>’Twas the voice of agony bursting from woman’s throat; and
+		the boat is about to become the scene of a deed of horror, though
+		one of frequent—alas! too frequent—occurrence in that clime,
+		and especially on that gulf.</p>
+
+		<p>The gag has slipped from Calanthe’s mouth; and a long loud
+		scream of agonizing despair sweeps over the surface of the
+		water—rending the calm and moonlit air—but dying away ere it
+		can raise an echo on either shore. Strong are the arms and relentless
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page233" title="233"> </a>is the black monster who has now seized the unhappy
+		Greek maiden in his ferocious grasp—while the luster of the
+		pale orb of night streams on that countenance lately radiant
+		with impassioned hope, but now convulsed with indescribable
+		horror.</p>
+
+		<p>Again the scream bursts from the victim’s lips; but its thrilling,
+		cutting agony is interrupted by a sudden plunge—a splash—a
+		gurgling and a rippling of the waters—and the corpse of the
+		murdered Calanthe is borne toward the deeper and darker
+		bosom of the Bosporus.</p>
+
+		<p>The sun was already dispersing the orient mists, when the
+		chief of the three black slaves once more stood in the presence
+		of the grand vizier, who had passed the night in the anteroom,
+		alone, and a prey to the most lively mental tortures. So noiselessly
+		and reptile-like did the hideous Ethiopian steal into the
+		apartment, that he was within a yard of the grand vizier ere the
+		latter was aware that the door had even opened. Ibrahim
+		started as if from a snake about to spring upon him—for the
+		ominous bowstring swung negligently from the slave’s hand,
+		and the imperial signet still glistened on his finger.</p>
+
+		<p>“Mighty pasha!” spoke the Ethiopian in a low and cold tone;
+		“thus saith the Sultana Valida: ‘Cease to treat thy wife with
+		neglect. Hasten to her—throw thyself at her feet—implore her
+		pardon for the past—and give her hope of affection for the
+		future. Shouldst thou neglect this warning, then every night
+		will the rival whom thou preferrest to her be torn from thine
+		arms, and be devoted as food for the fishes. She whom thou
+		didst so prefer this night that is passed sleeps in the dark green
+		bed of the Bosporus. Take warning, pasha; for the bowstring
+		may be used at last. Moreover, see that thou revealest not to
+		the Princess Aischa the incident of the night, nor the nature of
+		the threats which send thee back repentant to her arms.’”</p>
+
+		<p>And, with these words, the slave glided hastily from the room,
+		leaving the grand vizier a prey to feelings of ineffable horror.
+		His punishment on earth had begun—and he knew it. What
+		had his ambition gained? Though rich, invested with high
+		rank, and surrounded by every luxury, he was more wretched
+		than the meanest slave who was accustomed to kiss the dust at
+		his feet.</p>
+
+		<p>But, subduing the fearful agitation which oppressed him—composing
+		his feelings and his countenance as well as he was
+		able, the proud and haughty Ibrahim hastened to implore admittance
+		to his wife’s chamber, and when the boon was accorded,
+		and he found himself in her presence, he besought her pardon
+		in a voice and with a manner expressive of the most humiliating
+		penitence. Thus, at the moment when thousands—perhaps
+		millions, were envying the bright fortunes and glorious destiny
+		of Ibrahim the Happy, as he was denominated—the dark and
+		terrible despotism of the Sultana Valida made him tremble for
+		his life, and compelled him to sue at Aischa’s feet for pardon.
+		And if, at the same instant of his crushed spirit and wounded
+		pride, there were a balm found to soothe the racking fibers of
+		his heart, the anodyne consisted in the tender love which Aischa
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page234" title="234"> </a>manifested toward him, and the touching sincerity with which
+		she assured him of her complete forgiveness.</p>
+
+		<p class="prose_break">*****</p>
+
+		<p>Return we again to that Mediterranean island on which Fernand
+		Wagner and the beauteous Nisida espoused each other by
+		solemn vows plighted in the face of Heaven, and where they
+		have now resided for six long months. At first how happy—how
+		supremely happy was Nisida, having tutored herself so far
+		to forget the jarring interests of that world which lay beyond
+		the sea, as to abandon her soul without reservation to the delights
+		of the new existence on which she had entered. Enabled
+		once more to use that charming voice which God had given her,
+		but which had remained hushed for so many years,—able also
+		to listen to the words that fell from the lips of her lover, without
+		being forced to subdue and crush the emotions which they
+		excited,—and secure in the possession of him to whom she was
+		so madly devoted, and who manifested such endearing tenderness
+		toward herself, Nisida indeed felt as if she were another
+		being, or endowed with the lease of a new life.</p>
+
+		<p>At first, too, how much had Wagner and Nisida to say to each
+		other,—how many fond assurances to give—how many protestations
+		of unalterable affection to make! For hours would they
+		sit together upon the seashore, or on the bank of the limpid
+		stream in the valley, and converse almost unceasingly, wearying
+		not of each other’s discourse, and sustaining the interests
+		and the enjoyment of that interchange of thoughts by flying
+		from topic to topic just as their unshackled imagination suggested.
+		But Fernand never questioned Nisida concerning the
+		motive which had induced her to feign dumbness and deafness
+		for so many years; she had given him to understand that family
+		reasons of the deepest importance, and involving dreadful mysteries
+		from the contemplation of which she recoiled with horror,
+		had prompted so tremendous a self-martyrdom:—and he loved
+		her too well to outrage her feelings by urging her to touch more
+		than she might choose on that topic.</p>
+
+		<p>Careful not to approach the vicinity of large trees, for fear of
+		these dreadful tenants of the isle who might be said to divide its
+		sovereignty with them, the lovers—may we not venture to call
+		them husband and wife?—would ramble hand-in-hand, along
+		the stream’s enchanting banks, in the calm hours of moonlight,
+		which lent softer charms to the scene than when the gorgeous
+		sun was bathed all in gold. Or else they would wander on the
+		sands to the musical murmur of the rippling sea,—their arms
+		clasping each other’s neck—their eyes exchanging glances of
+		fondness—hers of ardent passion, his of more melting tenderness.
+		But there was too much sensuality in the disposition of
+		Nisida to render her love for Wagner sufficient and powerful
+		enough to insure permanent contentment with her present lot.</p>
+
+		<p>The first time that the fatal eve drew near when he must exchange
+		the shape of man for that of a horrid wolf, he had said
+		to her, “Beloved Nisida, I remember that there are finer and
+		different fruits on the other side of the island, beyond the range
+		of mountains; and I should rejoice to obtain for thee a variety.
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page235" title="235"> </a>Console thyself for a few hours during mine absence; and on my
+		return we shall experience renewed and increased happiness, as
+		if we were meeting again after a long separation.” Vainly did
+		Nisida assure him that she reckoned not for a more extensive
+		variety of fruits than those which the nearest grove yielded, and
+		that she would rather have his society than all the luxuries
+		which his absence and return might bring; he overruled her remonstrances—and
+		she at length permitted him to depart. Then
+		he crossed the mountains by means of the path which he had
+		described when he escaped from the torrent at the point where
+		the tree stretched across the stream, as described in the preceding
+		chapter; and on the other side of the range of hills he fulfilled
+		the dreadful destiny of the Wehr-Wolf! On his return to
+		Nisida—after an absence of nearly twenty-four hours, for the
+		time occupied in crossing and recrossing the mountains was
+		considerable—he found her gloomy and pensive. His long absence
+		had vexed her: she in the secrecy of her own heart had
+		felt a craving for a change of scene—and she naturally suspected
+		that it was to gratify a similar want that Fernand had
+		undertaken the transmontane journey. She received his fruits
+		coldly; and it was some time ere he could succeed in winning
+		her back to perfect good humor.</p>
+
+		<p>The next interval of a month glided away, the little incident
+		which had for a moment ruffled the harmony of their lives was
+		forgotten—at least by Nisida;—and so devoted was Fernand in
+		his attention, so tenderly sincere in his attachment toward her—and
+		so joyful, too, was she in the possession of one whose
+		masculine beauty was almost superhumanly great, that those
+		incipient cravings for change of scene—those nascent longings
+		for a return to the great and busy world, returned but seldom
+		and were even then easily subdued in her breast.</p>
+
+		<p>When the second fatal date after their union on the island
+		approached, Wagner was compelled to urge some new but necessarily
+		trivial excuse for again crossing the mountains; and Nisida’s
+		remonstrances were more authoritative and earnest than
+		on the previous occasion. Nevertheless he succeeded in obtaining
+		her consent: but during his absence of four or five-and-twenty
+		hours, the lady had ample leisure to ponder on home—the
+		busy world across the sea—and her well-beloved brother
+		Francisco. Fernand when he came back, found her gloomy
+		and reserved; then, as he essayed to wean her from her dark
+		thoughts, she responded petulantly and even reproachingly.</p>
+
+		<p>The ensuing month glided away as happily as the two former
+		ones; and though Fernand’s attentions and manifestations of
+		fondness increased, if possible, still Nisida would frequently sigh
+		and look wistfully at the sea as if she would have joyed to behold
+		a sail in the horizon. The third time the fatal close of the
+		month drew nigh, Wagner knew not how to act; but some petulance
+		on the part of Nisida furnished him with an excuse which
+		his generous heart only had recourse to with the deepest, the
+		keenest anguish. Throwing back the harsh word at her whom
+		he loved so devotedly, he exclaimed, “Nisida, I leave thee for a
+		few hours until thy good humor shall have returned;” and without
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page236" title="236"> </a>waiting for a reply he darted toward the mountains. For
+		some time the lady remained seated gloomily upon the sand; but
+		as hour after hour passed away, and the sun went down, and the
+		moon gathered power to light the enchanting scene of landscape
+		and of sea, she grew uneasy and restless. Throughout that night
+		she wandered up and down on the sands, now weeping at the
+		thought that she herself had been unkind—then angry at the
+		conviction that Fernand was treating her more harshly than she
+		deserved.</p>
+
+		<p>It was not till the sun was high in the heavens that Wagner
+		reappeared; and though Nisida was in reality delighted to find
+		all her wild alarms, in which the monstrous snakes of the isle
+		entered largely, thus completely dissipated, yet she concealed
+		the joy which she experienced in beholding his safe return, and
+		received him with gloomy hauteur. Oh! how her conduct went
+		to Wagner’s heart!—for he knew that, so long as the direful
+		necessity which had compelled his absence remained unexplained,
+		Nisida was justified in attributing that absence to unkind
+		feelings and motives on his part. A thousand times that
+		day was he on the point of throwing himself at her feet and revealing
+		all the details of that frightful destiny; but he dared not—oh!
+		no, he dared not—and a profound melancholy seized upon
+		his soul. Nisida now relented, chiefly because she herself felt
+		miserable by the contemplation of his unhappiness; and harmony
+		was restored between them.</p>
+
+		<p>But during the fourth month of their union, the lady began to
+		speak more frequently and frankly of the weariness and monotony
+		of their present existence; and when Fernand essayed to
+		console her, she responded by deep-drawn sighs. His love was
+		based on those enduring elements which would have rendered
+		him content to dwell forever with Nisida on that island, which
+		had no sameness for him so long as she was there to be his companion;
+		but <em>her</em> love subsisted rather sensually than mentally;
+		and now that her fierce and long-pent up desires had experienced
+		gratification, she longed to return to the land of her
+		birth, to embrace her brother Francisco; yes, even though she
+		should be again compelled to simulate the deaf and dumb. The
+		close of the fourth month was at hand, and Wagner was at a loss
+		how to act. New excuses for a fresh absence were impossible;
+		and it was with a heart full of anguish that he was compelled to
+		seize an opportunity in the afternoon of the last day of the
+		month, to steal away from Nisida and hasten across the mountains.
+		Oh! what would she think of his absence now?—an absence
+		for which he had not prepared her, and which was not on this
+		occasion justified by any petulance or willfulness on her part?
+		The idea was maddening, but there was no alternative.</p>
+
+		<p>It was noon on the ensuing day when Fernand Wagner, pale
+		and care-worn, again sought that spot on the strand where the
+		rudely constructed cottage stood; but Nisida was not within the
+		hut. He roved along the shore to a considerable distance, and
+		still beheld her not. Terrible alarms now oppressed him. Could
+		she have done some desperate deed to rid herself of an existence
+		whereof she was weary? or had some fatal accident befallen
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page237" title="237"> </a>her. From the shore he hastened to the valley; and there,
+		seated by the side of the crystal stream, he beheld the object of
+		his search. He ran—he flew toward her; but she seemed not to
+		observe him; and when he caught a glimpse of her countenance,
+		he shrank back in dismay—it was so pale, and yet so expressive
+		of deep, concentrated rage!</p>
+
+		<p>But we cannot linger on this portion of our tale. Suffice it to
+		say that Wagner exerted all his eloquence, all his powers of
+		persuasion to induce Nisida to turn a kind glance upon him;
+		and it was only when, goaded to desperation by her stern silence
+		and her implacable mien, he exclaimed, “Since I am no longer
+		worthy of even a look or a syllable, I will quit thee forever!” It
+		was only when these words conveyed to Nisida a frightful
+		menace of loneliness, that she relented and gradually suffered
+		herself to be appeased. But vainly did she question him relative
+		to the cause of his absence on this occasion; he offered a variety
+		of excuses, and she believed none of them.</p>
+
+		<p>The month that followed was characterized by many quarrels
+		and disputes; for Nisida’s soul acquired all the restlessness
+		which had marked it ere she was thrown on the island, but
+		which solitude at first and then the possession of Wagner, had
+		for a time so greatly subdued. Nevertheless, there were still
+		occasions when she would cling to Wagner with all the confiding
+		fondness of one who remembered how he had saved her life
+		from the hideous anaconda, and who looked up to him as her
+		only joy and solace in that clime, the beauty of which became
+		painful with its monotony—yes, she would cling to him as they
+		roved along the sands together—she would gaze up into his
+		countenance, and as she read assurances of the deepest affection
+		in his fine dark eyes, she would exclaim rapturously, “Oh! how
+		handsome—how god-like art thou, my Fernand! Pardon me—pardon
+		me, that I should ever have nursed resentment against
+		thee!”</p>
+
+		<p>It was when she was in such a mood as this that he murmured
+		in her ears, “Nisida dearest, thou hast thy secret which I have
+		never sought to penetrate. I also have my secret, beloved one,
+		as I hinted to thee on that day which united us in this island;
+		and into that mystery of mine thou mayest not look. But at
+		certain intervals I must absent myself from thee for a few hours,
+		as I hitherto have done; and on my return, O dearest Nisida!
+		let me not behold that glorious countenance of thine clouded
+		with anger and with gloom!”</p>
+
+		<p>Then ere she could utter a word of reply, he sealed her lips
+		with kisses—he pressed her fervently to his heart, and at that
+		moment she thought he seemed so divinely handsome, and she
+		felt so proud of possessing the love of a man invested with such
+		superhuman beauty and such a splendid intellect, that she attempted
+		not a remonstrance nor a complaint against what
+		was but the preface to a fifth absence of four-and-twenty hours.
+		And when Fernand Wagner reappeared again, his Nisida hastened
+		to meet him as he descended from the mountains—those
+		mountains which were crossed over by a surefooted and agile
+		man with so much difficulty, and which he knew it would be
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page238" title="238"> </a>impossible for him to traverse during that mad career in which
+		he was monthly doomed to whirl along in his lupine shape—yes,
+		she hurried to meet him—receiving him with open arms—smiled
+		tenderly upon him—and led him to the sea-shore, where she had
+		spread the noonday meal in the most inviting manner.</p>
+
+		<p>The unwearied and unchanging nature of his love had touched
+		her heart; and, during the long hours of his fifth absence, she
+		had reasoned on the folly of marring the sweet harmony which
+		should prevail between the only two human tenants of that
+		island. The afternoon passed more happily than many and
+		many a previous day had done; Nisida thought that Fernand
+		had never seemed so handsome, though somewhat pale, and he
+		fancied that his companion had never appeared so magnificently
+		beautiful as now, while she lay half reclining in his arms, the
+		rays of the setting sun faintly illuminating her aquiline countenance,
+		and giving a glossy richness to the luxuriant black hair
+		which floated negligently over her naked shoulders.</p>
+
+		<p>When the last beams of the orb of day died flickeringly in the
+		far horizon, the tender pair retired to their hut rejoicing in the
+		serene and happy way in which the last few hours had glided
+		over their heads—when a dark figure passed along the sand and
+		stopped at a short distance from the door of the rudely constructed
+		tenement.</p>
+
+		<p>And assuredly this was no mortal being—nor wore it now a
+		mortal shape—but Satan—in all the horrors of his ugliness,
+		though still invested with that sublimity of mien which marked
+		the mighty fallen angel—Satan, clothed in terrors ineffable, it
+		was.</p>
+
+		<p>For a few moments he stood contemplating the hut wherein
+		the sleepers lay; dread lightnings flushed from his eyes, and the
+		forked electric fluid seemed to play round his haughty brow,
+		while his fearful countenance, the features of which no human
+		pen may venture to describe, expressed malignant hate, anticipated
+		triumph, and tremendous scorn.</p>
+
+		<p>Then, extending his right hand toward the hut, and speaking
+		in that deep sonorous tone, which when heard by mortal ears,
+		seemed to jar against the very soul, he chanted the following
+		incantation:—</p>
+
+		<div class="poem">
+		    <p>“Woman of wild and fierce desires!</p>
+		    <p>Why languish thus the wonted fires</p>
+		    <p>That arm’d thine heart and nerved thine hand</p>
+		    <p>To do whate’er thy firmness planned?</p>
+		    <p>Has maudlin love subdued thy soul,</p>
+		    <p>Once so impatient of control?</p>
+		    <p>Has amorous play enslaved the mind</p>
+		    <p>Where erst no common chains confined?</p>
+		    <p>Has tender dalliance power to kill</p>
+		    <p>The wild, indomitable will?</p>
+		    <p>No more must love thus paralyze</p>
+		    <p>And crush thine iron energies;</p>
+		    <p>No more must maudlin passion stay</p>
+		    <p>Thy despot soul’s remorseless sway;</p>
+		    <p>Henceforth thy lips shall cease to smile</p>
+		    <p>Upon the beauties of this Isle;</p>
+		    <p><a class="pagenum" id="page239" title="239"> </a>Henceforth thy mental glance shall roam,</p>
+		    <p>O’er the Mediterranean foam,</p>
+		    <p>Toward thy far-off Tuscan home!</p>
+		    <p>Alarms for young Francisco’s weal,</p>
+		    <p>And doubts into thy breast steal;</p>
+		    <p>While retrospection carries back</p>
+		    <p>Thy memory o’er time’s beaten track</p>
+		    <p>And stops at that dread hour when thou</p>
+		    <p>With burning eyes and flashing brow,</p>
+		    <p>Call’d Heaven to hear the solemn vow</p>
+		    <p>Dictated with the latest breath</p>
+		    <p>Of the fond mother on the untimely bed of death.”</p>
+		</div>
+
+		<p>Thus spoke the demon; and having chanted the incantation,
+		full of menace and of deep design, he turned to depart.</p>
+
+		<p>Sleep was still upon the eyes of Fernand and Nisida as they
+		lay in each other’s arms—the island and the sea, too, were
+		sleeping in the soft light of the silver moon, and the countless
+		stars which gemmed the vault of heaven,—when the dark
+		figure passed along the sand, away from the rudely-constructed
+		tenement.</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_54" class="chapter">
+		<h3>CHAPTER LIV.</h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">When</span> the sun rose again from the orient wave, Fernand
+		repaired to the grove, as was his wont, to gather fruits for the
+		morning repast, while Nisida bathed her fair form in the waters
+		of the Mediterranean.</p>
+
+		<p>But there was a gloom upon that lady’s brow, and there was
+		a somber flashing in her large dark eyes which denoted an
+		incipient conflict of emotions stirring within her breast.</p>
+
+		<p>She had retired to rest, as we have seen on the previous evening,
+		with a heart glowing toward her beloved and handsome
+		Fernand—she had fallen asleep with the tender sounds of his
+		musical yet manly voice in her ears, and the image of his beautiful
+		countenance in her mind—but in the night—she knew not
+		at what hour—strange dreams began to oppress her, ominous
+		visions filled her with anxiety.</p>
+
+		<p>It seemed as if some being, having right to reproach and
+		power to taunt, whispered to her as she slept, stern remonstrances
+		against the idle, voluptuous, and dreaming life she was
+		leading, mocking her for passing her time in the maudlin delights
+		of love, calling upon her to arouse her latent energies and
+		shake off that luxurious lethargy, teaching her to look upon the
+		island, beauteous though it were, as one vast prison in which
+		she was confined, from whence there were, nevertheless, means
+		of escape, raising up before her mental vision all the most alluring
+		and bustling scenes of her own fair, native city of Florence,
+		then bitterly reproaching her for having allowed her soul to be
+		more wrapped up in the society of Fernand Wagner, than solicitous,
+		as it was wont to be, for the welfare of her brother
+		Francisco, creating, too, wild doubts in her imagination as to
+		whether circumstances might not, after all, have united her
+		brother and Flora Francatelli in the bonds of a union which for
+		many reasons she abhorred, and lastly thundering in her ears
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page240" title="240"> </a>the terrific accusation that she was perjured to a solemn and
+		an awful vow pledged by her lips, on a dread occasion, and to
+		the dictating voice of her dying mother.</p>
+
+		<p>When she awoke in the morning her brain appeared to be in
+		confusion, but as her thoughts gradually settled themselves in
+		the various cells of the seat of memory, the entire details of her
+		long dream assumed the semblance of a connected chain, even
+		as we have just described them.</p>
+
+		<p>For these thoughts had arisen in the nature and order commanded
+		by the demon.</p>
+
+		<p>Fernand Wagner saw that the mind of his lovely companion,
+		his charming bride, was ruffled; and, as he embraced her tenderly,
+		he inquired the cause. His caresses for the moment
+		soothed her, and induced her to struggle against the ideas
+		which oppressed: <em>for there are thoughts that Satan excites
+		within us</em>, which we can wrestle with—ay, and conquer if we
+		will.</p>
+
+		<p>Finding that Nisida became more composed, and that she
+		treated her mournfulness and his agitation merely as the results
+		of a disagreeable dream, Fernand rose, hastened to perform his
+		own ablutions, and then repaired to the adjacent grove, as
+		above stated. But Nisida remained not long in the Mediterranean’s
+		mighty bath; the moment Wagner had departed from
+		her presence, thoughts which had recently passed in sad procession
+		through her brain came back with renewed vigor; forcing
+		themselves, as it were, upon her contemplation, because she
+		offered but a feeble resistance to their returning invasion. And
+		as she stood on the shore, having donned her scant clothing, and
+		now combing out her long, luxuriant hair, to the silk richness
+		of which the salt water had lent a more glorious gloss—she became
+		a prey to an increasing restlessness—an augmenting anxiety,
+		a longing to quit the island, and an earnest desire to behold
+		her brother Francisco once again, sentiments and cravings
+		which gave to her countenance an expression of somber lowering
+		and concentrated passion, such as it was wont to exhibit in
+		those days when her simulated deafness and dumbness forced
+		her to subdue all the workings of her excited soul, and compress
+		her vermilion lips to check the ebullition of that language which
+		on those occasions struggled to pour itself forth.</p>
+
+		<p>“O Italy! Italy!” she exclaimed in an impassioned tone;
+		“shall I ever behold thee again? O! my beloved native land,
+		thou too, fair city, whose name is fraught with so many varied
+		reminiscences for me, am I doomed never to visit ye more?”</p>
+
+		<p>“Nisida—dearest Nisida!” said Wagner, who had returned to
+		her unperceived, and unheard—for his feet passed noiselessly
+		over the sand; “wherefore those passionate exclamations? why
+		this anxious longing to revisit the busy, bustling world? Are
+		not the calm and serene delights of this island sufficient for our
+		happiness? or art thou wearied of me who love thee so tenderly?”</p>
+
+		<p>“I am not wearied of thee, my Fernand!” replied Nisida,
+		“nor do I fail to appreciate all thy tender affection toward me.
+		But—I can conceal it from myself and from thee no longer—I
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page241" title="241"> </a>am overcome with the monotony of this isle. Unvaried sunshine
+		during the day, unchanging calmness by night, pall upon
+		the soul. I crave variety, even the variety that would be
+		afforded by a magnificent storm, or the eruption of yon sleeping
+		volcano. My thoughts wander in spite of myself toward Italy;
+		I think, too, of my brother—the young and inexperienced Francisco!
+		Moreover, there is in our mansion at Florence, a terrible
+		mystery which prying eyes may seek to penetrate,—a closet
+		containing a fearful secret, which, if published to the world,
+		would heap loathing execrations and disgrace on the haughty
+		name of Riverola! And now Francisco is the sole guardian of
+		that mystery, which he himself knows not, or at least knew not,
+		when last we were together. But it requires a strong and energetic
+		mind, like my own, to watch over that awful secret. And
+		now, Fernand, dear Fernand, thou canst not blame me, thou
+		wilt not reproach me, if I experience an irresistible longing to
+		return to my native land?”</p>
+
+		<p>“And know you not, Nisida,” said Wagner, in a tone of mingled
+		mournfulness and reproach, “that, even if there were any
+		means for thee to return to Florence, I could not accompany
+		thee? Dost thou not remember that I informed thee, that being
+		doomed to death, I escaped from the power of the authorities—it
+		matters not how; and that were I to set foot in Florence, it
+		would be to return to my dungeon?”</p>
+
+		<p>“Alas! all this I remember well—too well!” exclaimed Nisida.
+		“And think not, my Fernand, that I feel no pang, when I lay
+		bare to thee the state of my soul. But if it were possible for us
+		to go to Italy, thou couldst dwell secretly and retiredly in some
+		suburb of Florence, and we should be together often—very
+		often!”</p>
+
+		<p>“No—Nisida,” answered Wagner; “that were impossible!
+		Never more may I venture into that city—and if thou couldst
+		even find the means to revisit thy native clime, thither must
+		thou go, and there must thou dwell <em>alone</em>!”</p>
+
+		<p>For Wagner knew full well that were the lady to return to
+		Florence, she would hear of the frightful incidents which
+		marked his trial and also the day of his escape; and, though he
+		had at first inclined to impart to her the terrible secret of his
+		fate—yet subsequent and more calm deliberation in his own
+		mind had convinced him of the imprudence of giving her love a
+		shock by such a tremendous—such an appalling revelation.</p>
+
+		<p>“Fernand,” said Nisida, breaking silence after a long pause,
+		during which she was wrapped in profound meditation, “thy
+		words go to my heart like fiery arrows! O my handsome—my
+		beautiful—my beloved Fernand, why does destiny thus persecute
+		us? It is impossible for thee to return to Florence:—it is
+		equally impossible for me to renounce the first opportunity
+		which Heaven may afford for me to repair thither! My God!
+		wherefore do our fates tend in such opposite directions? to separate
+		from thee were maddening: to abandon my brother Francisco—to
+		desert the grave and solemn interests which demand
+		my presence at home, were to render myself perjured to a vow
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page242" title="242"> </a>which I breathed and which Heaven witnessed, when I knelt
+		long years ago at the death-bed of my mother!”</p>
+
+		<p>“After all thou hast said, my beloved Nisida,” exclaimed Fernand,
+		in a voice expressive of the deepest melancholy, “I should
+		be wrong—I should be even criminal to listen only to the whispering
+		of my own selfishness and retain thee here, did opportunity
+		serve for thy departure. But on this island shall I remain—perhaps
+		forever! And if the time should come when you
+		grew wearied of that bustling world across the sea, and thy
+		memory traveled to this lonely isle where thy Fernand was left
+		behind thee,—haply thou wouldst embark to return hither and
+		pass the remainder of thy days with one who can never cease to
+		love thee!”</p>
+
+		<p>Tears came into the eyes of Nisida—of her who so seldom, so
+		very seldom wept;—and throwing herself into Wagner’s arms,
+		she exclaimed, “God grant that I may revisit my native land;
+		and believe me, oh! believe me, when I declare that I would
+		come back to thee the moment the interests of my brother no
+		longer demanded my presence!”</p>
+
+		<p>They embraced fondly, and then sat down upon the sand to
+		partake of their morning repast.</p>
+
+		<p>But the thoughts of both were naturally intent upon the recent
+		topic of their discourse; and their conversation, though
+		each endeavored to force it into other channels, reverted to the
+		subject which was now uppermost in their minds.</p>
+
+		<p>“What must my poor brother Francisco conjecture to be the
+		cause of my prolonged, and to him mysterious absence?” said
+		Nisida, as her eyes were cast wistfully over the wide expanse of
+		waters. “Methinks that I have already hinted to thee how the
+		foolish passion which he had conceived for a maiden of low degree
+		and obscure birth, compelled me, in accordance with his
+		nearest and best interest, to consign the object of his boyish
+		love to the convent of the Carmelites? Yes, and it was with
+		surprise and dismay incredible that I heard, ere I was torn away
+		from Florence by the villain Stephano, how that convent was
+		sacked and destroyed by unknown marauders——”</p>
+
+		<p>“Full intelligence of which terrible sacrilege you communicated
+		to me by signs the second and last time you visited me in
+		my dungeon,” observed Wagner.</p>
+
+		<p>“And I heard also, with increased fear,” continued Nisida,
+		“that some of the inmates of that convent had escaped; and,
+		being unable, in consequence of my simulated deafness and
+		dumbness, to set on foot the necessary inquiries, I could not
+		learn whether Flora Francatelli was amongst those who had so
+		escaped the almost general ruin. O! if she should have survived
+		that fatal night—and if she should have again encountered my
+		brother! Alas! thou perceivest, my Fernand, how necessary it
+		is for me to quit the island on the first occasion which may
+		serve for that purpose!”</p>
+
+		<p>“And wouldst thou, Nisida,” asked Wagner reproachfully,
+		“place thyself as a barrier between the Count of Riverola and
+		her whom he loves?”</p>
+
+		<p>“Yes!” ejaculated Nisida, her countenance suddenly assuming
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page243" title="243"> </a>a stern and imperious expression: “for the most important
+		interests are involved in the marriage which he may contract.
+		But enough of this, Fernand,” she added, relapsing into a more
+		tender mood. “And now tell me—canst thou blame me for the
+		longing desire which has seized upon me—the ardent craving to
+		return to Florence?”</p>
+
+		<p>“Nay—I do not blame thee, dearest Nisida!” he exclaimed;
+		“but I pity thee—I feel for thee! Because,” he continued, “if
+		I understand rightly, thou wilt be compelled to feign deafness
+		and dumbness once more, in order to work out thy mysterious
+		aims;—thou wilt be compelled to submit to that awful
+		martyrdom—that terrible duplicity which thou wilt find so
+		painful and difficult to resume, after the full enjoyment of the
+		blessed faculties of speech and hearing.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Alas! such will be my duty!” murmured Nisida; “and oh!
+		that destiny is a sad one! But,” she exclaimed, after a moment’s
+		pause, and as a reminiscence appeared suddenly to strike her,
+		“dost thou not think that even such a destiny as that becomes
+		tolerable, when it is fulfilled as the only means of carrying out
+		the conditions of a vow breathed to a well-beloved and dying
+		mother? But wearisome—oh! crushingly tedious was that mode
+		of existence;—and the first bright day of real happiness which I
+		enjoyed, was that when I first knew that thou didst love me!
+		And again, Fernand—oh! again was I supremely happy when,
+		one evening—thou may’st remember well,—it was the eve that
+		my brother and the minion Flora exchanged tender words together
+		in the room adjoining that where we were seated—on
+		that evening, Fernand, I besought by signs that thou wouldst
+		breathe the words—<em>I love thee!</em> and thou didst so—and I drank
+		in those words as a person dying with thirst would imbibe pure
+		spring water placed to his lips!”</p>
+
+		<p>Fernand pressed Nisida to his heart—for he saw, in spite of
+		her anxiety to return to Italy, that she really loved him.</p>
+
+		<p>But though sensual and impassioned feelings led the beauteous
+		Nisida thus frequently to melt into softness and tenderness
+		when she contemplated the wondrously handsome countenance
+		of Fernand, yet from this day forth her longing to return to
+		Italy became more earnest—more irresistible; and she would
+		compel him to sit by her side for hours together on the shore,
+		while she eagerly watched for the appearance of a sail in the
+		horizon. And Fernand, who divined her object, himself now
+		longed for the advent of a ship;—so sincere was his love for
+		Nisida that he was ready to make any sacrifice in order to promote
+		her happiness. Thus passed away the sixth month; and
+		on the afternoon of the last day thereof, when Wagner was
+		about to observe to her that the time had now arrived for him
+		to pass the mountains once again, she said of her own accord,
+		“Fernand, my beloved, when next you visit the other side of
+		the island, you would do well to raise some sign, or leave some
+		permanent mark to show that there are inhabitants on this
+		island. For a ship might touch at that point—the sailors
+		might seek the shore for water, and they would then search
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page244" title="244"> </a>to discover where those who raised the signal-post are dwelling.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Your wish shall be fulfilled, dearest,” answered Wagner;
+		“and without delay will I seek the other side of the island.”</p>
+
+		<p>They then embraced tenderly, and Fernand departed, once
+		more to fulfill his frightful doom! Nisida watched his receding
+		form until it was lost in the groves intervening between the
+		plains and the acclivities of the range of mountains; and then
+		she seated herself again on the sand, wondering of what nature
+		her husband’s secret could be, and why it compelled him to absent
+		himself occasionally from her. Though <em>he</em> kept an accurate
+		calculation of the lapse of time, and counted the passing
+		days with unvarying precision, yet she retained no such faithful
+		calendar in her memory, and had not observed that his absence
+		always occurred on the last day of the month.</p>
+
+		<p>The hour of sunset was now rapidly approaching, and as
+		Nisida was wrapped in thought, but with her eyes fixed wistfully
+		upon the mighty bosom of the deep, a slight sound as of the
+		rustling of garments fell upon her ears. She started up and
+		glanced suddenly around. But how ineffable was her astonishment—how
+		great was her sudden joy, when she beheld the
+		figure of a man approaching her; for it instantly struck her that
+		the same ship which had conveyed him thither might bear her
+		away from a scene which had latterly become insupportably
+		monotonous.</p>
+
+		<p>The individual whose presence thus excited her astonishment
+		and her delight, was tall, thin, and attired rather in the German
+		than in the Italian fashion: but, as he drew nearer, Nisida experienced
+		indefinable emotions of alarm, and vague fears rushed
+		to her soul—for the expression of that being’s countenance was
+		such as to inspire no pleasurable emotions. It was not that he
+		was ugly;—no—his features were well formed, and his eyes were
+		of dazzling brilliancy. But their glances were penetrating and
+		reptile-like,—glances beneath which those of ordinary mortals
+		would have quailed; and his countenance was stamped with a
+		mingled sardonism and melancholy which rendered it painful
+		to contemplate.</p>
+
+		<p>Nisida attributed her feeling of uneasiness and embarrassment
+		to the shame which she experienced at finding herself half-naked
+		in the presence of a stranger, for so oppressive bad become
+		the heat of the summer, that her clothing was most
+		scanty, and she had long ceased to decorate her person with
+		garlands and wreaths of fantastically woven flowers.</p>
+
+		<p>“Fear not, lady,” said the demon, for he indeed it was; “I
+		am come to counsel and solace, not to alarm thee.”</p>
+
+		<p>“How knowest thou that I require counsel? and who art thou
+		that talkest to me of solace?” asked Nisida, her sentiment of
+		shame yielding to one of boundless surprise at hearing herself
+		thus addressed by a being who appeared to read the very inmost
+		secrets of her soul.</p>
+
+		<p>“I am one who can penetrate into all the mysteries of the
+		human heart,” returned the fiend, in his sonorous, deep-toned
+		voice; “and I can gather thy history from the expression of thy
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page245" title="245"> </a>countenance, the attitude in which I first beheld thee, while
+		thou wast still seated upon the strand, and the mingled emotions
+		of surprise and joy with which thou didst mark my presence.
+		Is it, then, difficult to imagine that thou requirest counsel to
+		teach thee how to proceed so as to obtain thine emancipation
+		from this isle? or would it be extraordinary if, moved by thy
+		sorrow, I offered to befriend thee? And is it not ever the way
+		with mortals—poor, weak, miserable beings that they are—to
+		grow speedily dissatisfied with their lot? In the spirit of religion
+		ye say that Heaven controls your destinies according to
+		its own wise purposes; and when all goes well with ye, and you
+		have your desires, ye pray and are thankful, because, forsooth,”
+		added the demon, with a smile of bitter scorn, “it is so easy to
+		pray when ye are contented and happy, and so easy to be thankful
+		when ye are pampered with all ye require. Here art thou,
+		lady, on an island teeming with all the choicest fruits of the
+		earth, and enjoying an eternal summer, where all is pleasant to
+		the view, and to whose silent shores the cares of the great world
+		cannot come; and yet thou wouldst quit this calm retreat, and
+		rush back into the vortex of evil passions, warring interests,
+		conflicting pursuits! But I will not weary thee with my reflections;
+		although it is my nature first to upbraid and taunt those
+		whom I intend to serve!”</p>
+
+		<p>“And who art thou, strange being, that reasoneth morally
+		with the smile of scorn upon thy lips?” demanded Nisida, the
+		vague alarms which had previously influenced her reviving with
+		additional power; “who art thou, I say, that comest to reproach,
+		and yet profferest thine aid?”</p>
+
+		<p>“No matter who I am,” replied the fiend. “Some day thou
+		may’st know me better, if thou——”</p>
+
+		<p>“But how camest thou hither? Where is the ship that
+		brought thee—the boat that landed thee?” demanded Nisida in
+		a tone of feverish impatience.</p>
+
+		<p>“No ship brought me hither—no boat set me on the shore,”
+		answered the demon, fixing his eyes—those piercing eyes upon
+		Nisida’s countenance, as if to read the impression which this
+		strange revelation made upon her secret soul.</p>
+
+		<p>“Then who art thou?” exclaimed the lady, a cold shudder
+		passing over her entire frame, although she retreated not nor
+		withdrew the glances which she, through her wondrous strength
+		of mind, was enabled to retain fixed upon the demon’s countenance.</p>
+
+		<p>“Seek not to learn as yet who I am,” said the fiend. “Let it
+		suffice for thee to know that I am something more than a mere
+		mortal—a being gifted with powers which, in the hands of such
+		a one as thou, would throw the entire world into convulsions;
+		for there is much in thee after my own heart, beauteous Nisida
+		of Riverola.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Ah! thou art even acquainted with my name,” cried Nisida,
+		again shuddering violently in spite of her powerful efforts to
+		appear calm and fearless.</p>
+
+		<p>“I am acquainted with thy name, and with all that concerns
+		thee and thine, Nisida,” replied the fiend; “ay,” he added, with
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page246" title="246"> </a>a malignant chuckle, “even to the mystery of the closet in thy
+		late father’s chamber, and the contents of the terrible manuscript
+		which taught thee such dreadful secrets! I know, too, all
+		that thou hast done to serve thine aims—thy simulated deafness
+		and dumbness—the assassination of Agnes—the imprisonment
+		of Flora in the convent——”</p>
+
+		<p>“Then art thou indeed some superhuman power,” interrupted
+		Nisida, in a tone of inexpressible alarm; “and I dare hold no
+		further converse with thee.”</p>
+
+		<p>“One moment—and thou wilt think differently!” exclaimed
+		the demon. “But I will give thee an evidence of my power.
+		Here, take this instrument—’tis called a telescope—and use it
+		for a single minute. Glance across the waters, and thou shalt
+		behold a scene which will interest thee somewhat, I trow.”</p>
+
+		<p>The fiend handed her a telescope and directed her to apply it
+		to her eyes. She obeyed him, though reluctantly; but intense
+		curiosity overcame her scruples, and, moreover, her extraordinary
+		strength of mind aided her in supporting the presence of
+		one whom she knew to be invested with superhuman powers—but
+		of what nature she feared to guess. Nisida turned toward
+		the sea, and used the magic telescope as directed, while the
+		demon stood behind her, his countenance expressing a diabolical
+		triumph, mingled with blighting scorn.</p>
+
+		<p>But ah! what does Nisida behold? The moment she applies
+		the telescope to her eye, she is transported as it were to her own
+		native city. She is in Florence—yes, in the fair capital of Tuscany.
+		Every familiar scene is presented to her again; and she
+		once more views the busy crowds and the bustling haunts of
+		men. She sweeps them all with a hurried glance; and then her
+		look settled upon a young couple walking together in a secluded
+		place on the banks of the Arno. But oh! how terribly flashed
+		her eyes—how changed with wrath and concentrated rage suddenly
+		becomes her countenance! For in that fond pair, wandering
+		so lovingly together on the Arno’s margin she recognized
+		her brother Francisco and the maiden Flora Francatelli!</p>
+
+		<p>“Thou hast seen enough!” cried the demon, snatching the
+		telescope from her hands. “And now, more than ever,” he
+		added with a malignant smile of triumph, “dost thou long to
+		revisit thy native land. It was to confirm that longing that I
+		showed thee the scene thou hast just witnessed.”</p>
+
+		<p>“And canst thou give me the means to return thither?” demanded
+		Nisida, almost maddened by the spectacle that had met
+		her eyes.</p>
+
+		<p>“Listen!” exclaimed the fiend, “and hear me patiently. I
+		charge thee not to breathe to thy Fernand one word descriptive
+		of this interview which thou hast had with me. Thou
+		couldst simulate dumbness for ten long years or more, with a
+		success which rendered thee great and glorious in my eyes—for
+		I love the hypocrite and the deceiver,” he added with one
+		of his diabolical smiles; “although I myself deceive them! Be
+		dumb, then, in all that relates to my visit to thee here. But
+		thou mayst so beset thy Fernand with earnest entreaties to
+		give thee the means of departure from this island—for he can
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page247" title="247"> </a>do so, if he have the will—that he shall be unable to resist thy
+		prayer—thy fears—thy anguish, real or feigned, whichever that
+		anguish may be. And should he not yield to thy intercessions,
+		then assail him on another point. Tell him that thou wilt
+		never rest until thou shalt have discovered the cause of those
+		periodical visits which he makes to the other side of the mountains—threaten
+		to accompany him the next time he goes thither.
+		But I need not teach you how to be energetic nor eloquent.
+		For thou art a woman of iron mind and of persuasive tongue;
+		and thy perseverance, as is thy will, is indomitable. Follow
+		my counsel, then—and, though the future to a great extent be
+		concealed from my view, yet I dare prophesy success for thee!
+		And now farewell, Nisida—farewell!”</p>
+
+		<p>And the demon retreated rapidly toward the forests, as if to
+		seek the abode of those terrible serpents whose cunning was
+		akin to his own.</p>
+
+		<p>Nisida was too much astonished by the nature of the counsel
+		which his deep sonorous voice had wafted to her ear, to be able
+		to utter a word until his receding form was no longer visible,
+		and then she exclaimed wildly; “I have assuredly seen Satan
+		face to face!”</p>
+
+		<p>And her blood ran cold in her veins. But a few moments
+		were sufficient to enable that woman of wondrous energy to recover
+		her presence of mind and collect her scattered thoughts;
+		and she sat down on the sand to ponder upon the strange
+		incidents which had so terribly varied the monotony of her existence.
+		She thought, too, of the scene which she had beholden
+		on the banks of the Arno—her worst fears were confirmed;
+		Flora had escaped from the ruin of the Carmelite convent—was
+		alive, was at liberty—and was with Francisco! Oh! how she
+		now longed for the return of Fernand Wagner; but many hours
+		must elapse—a night must pass—and the orb of day which had
+		by this time gone down, must gain the meridian once more ere
+		he would come back. And in the meantime, although she suspected
+		it not, he must fulfill the awful doom of a Wehr-Wolf,
+		as the reader will find by the perusal of the next chapter.</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_55" class="chapter">
+		<h3>CHAPTER LV.</h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">It</span> was within a few minutes of sunset, as Fernand Wagner,
+		having crossed the mountains, hastened down that bituminous
+		declivity constituting the scene of desolation which separated
+		the range of volcano hills from the delightful plains and verdant
+		groves stretching to the sea-shore.</p>
+
+		<p>A shudder passed over his frame as he beheld the solitary
+		tree in which he had seen the monstrous snake playing and
+		gamboling, on the morning when he was thrown upon this
+		Mediterranean isle.</p>
+
+		<p>“Oh!” he exclaimed aloud, as he sped onward, “what happiness
+		and also what misery have I known in this clime. But,
+		doomed and fated being that I am, such is my destiny; and so
+		must I be, here or elsewhere, in whichever land I may visit, in
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page248" title="248"> </a>whatever part of the earth I may abide. Oh! merciful Heaven,
+		can no prayer, no self-mortification, remove the ban—the curse—from
+		my devoted head?</p>
+
+		<p>“Oh! just Heaven,” he exclaimed, stretching forth his arms
+		toward the sky, and with ineffable anguish depicted on his upturned
+		countenance; “spare me! Have I not been punished
+		enough! Oh! take away from me this appalling doom—let me
+		become old, wrinkled, forlorn, and poor once more,—let me return
+		to my humble cot in the Black Forest, or let me die. Almighty
+		power! if thou wilt—but spare me—spare me now!
+		Wretch—wretch that I was to be dazzled by the specious
+		promises, O Faust! But I am justly punished—thy vengeance,
+		O Heaven, is well deserved—sinner, sinner that I am!”</p>
+
+		<p>Those were the last human sounds he uttered for several hours;
+		for, scarcely had they escaped his lips, when the horrible change
+		began, and in a few moments a wild yell rent the air, and a
+		monstrous wolf sprung from the spot where Wagner had fallen
+		down in such agonizing writhings.</p>
+
+		<p>Away—away went the ferocious animal heading toward the
+		sea—careering, thundering on, as if intent on plunging into the
+		silent depths, and there ending its course in a watery grave.</p>
+
+		<p>But no: death yawns not for the Wehr-Wolf! Scarcely have
+		its feet touched the verge of the water, when the monster wheels
+		round and continues its whirlwind way without for an instant
+		relaxing one tittle of its speed. Away—away, through the
+		fruit-bearing groves, clearing for itself a path of ruin and havoc,—scattering
+		the gems of the trees, and breaking down the richly-laden
+		vines; away—away flies the monster, hideous howls bursting
+		from its foaming mouth. The birds scream and whistle
+		wildly, as startled from their usual tranquil retreats, they spread
+		their gay and gaudy plumage, and go with gushing sound
+		through the evening air. He reaches the bank of a stream, and
+		bounds along its pleasant margin, trampling to death noble
+		swans which vainly seek to evade the fury of the rushing monster.</p>
+
+		<p>Away—away toward the forest hurries the Wehr-Wolf—impelled,
+		lashed on by an invincible scourge, and filling the woods
+		with its appalling yells—while its mouth scatters foam like thick
+		flakes of snow. Hark, there is an ominous rustling in one of
+		the trees of the forest; and the monster seems to instinctively
+		know the danger which menaces it. But still its course is not
+		changed;—it seems not to exercise its own will in shaping its
+		course. Down the tremendous snake flings itself from the
+		tree—and in an instant its hideous coils are wound round the
+		foaming, steaming, palpitating body of the wolf. The air is
+		rent with the yell of agony that bursts from the throat of the
+		horrified monster as it tumbles over and over, as if it had run to
+		the length of a tether—for the snake clings with its tail to the
+		bough from which it has darted down. But the yielding of the
+		wolf is only momentary; up—up it springs again—and away,—away
+		it careers, more madly, more desperately, more ferociously,
+		if possible, than before.</p>
+
+		<p>And the snake? Oh! poor, weak and powerless was even that
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page249" title="249"> </a>dread reptile of forty feet in length, when combated with a
+		monster lashed on and also protected by invisible fiends. For,
+		as the wolf sped on again, the boa was dragged as if by a
+		thousand horses from its coiling hold upon the bough—and
+		shaken, lacerated, and affrighted, the hideous reptile unwound
+		itself from the ferocious animal, and fell powerless on the grass,
+		where the vermin of the forest attacked it with their greedy
+		maws ere its pestilential breath had ceased.</p>
+
+		<p>Away—away toward the mountains rushes the Wehr-Wolf,—those
+		mountains which constitute the barrier of safety to protect
+		Nisida from the fangs of the animal that would mangle her
+		fair form were she to cross its path. But, ah! he rushes up the
+		acclivity—he clears rugged rock and jutting crag with wondrous
+		bounds;—just Heaven! will he pass those heights—will he
+		cross the range of volcanic hills?</p>
+
+		<p>Oh! Nisida, who art on the other side of that range, little
+		dreamest thou of the peril that menaces thee. Joy! joy!—the
+		danger has passed; the wolf turns aside from a loftier impediment
+		of crag than had yet appeared in its course: and down—down
+		again toward the groves and valleys—over the bituminous
+		waste made by the volcano—on, on goes the monster.
+		Away, away, through the verdant scenes once more, fresh havoc—fresh
+		desolation—fresh ruin marking his maddening course,—away,
+		away the Wehr-Wolf speeds.</p>
+
+		<p>The moon rises to give a stronger and purer light to the dreadful
+		spectacle, a light stronger and purer than that of night
+		itself, which is never completely dark in the tropics. Away,
+		away, and still on, on—outstripping time—running a race with
+		the fleeting moments, till hours and hours of unrelaxing speed
+		are numbered—thus goes the wolf. And now he snuffs the
+		morning air: the fresh breeze from the east raises the foam of
+		the Mediterranean waves, and allays the heat on the body of
+		the careening, bounding, and almost flying monster.</p>
+
+		<p>His howling grows less ferocious—his yells become less terrible;
+		and now his pace is a trifle more measured,—that relaxation
+		of a whirlwind speed gradually increasing.</p>
+
+		<p>’Tis done; the course is o’er—the race is run;—and the Wehr-Wolf
+		falls in writhing agonies upon the fresh grass, whence in
+		a few moments rises Fernand Wagner—a man once more! But
+		as he throws a glance of horror around on the scene of his
+		night’s dread employment, he starts back with mingled aversion
+		and alarm; for there—with folded arms, eyes terrible to
+		look upon, and a countenance expressing infernal triumph and
+		bitter scorn, stood the demon.</p>
+
+		<p>“Fiend, what would’st thou with me?” demanded Wagner.
+		“Are not the sufferings which I have just endured, enough to
+		satisfy thy hatred of all human beings? are not the horrors of
+		the past night sufficient to glut even thine insatiate heart?”</p>
+
+		<p>“Mortal,” said the demon, speaking in his profound and awe-inspiring
+		tones, “didst thou take all thy miseries which at this
+		moment afflict thy race, combine all the bitter woes, and crushing
+		sorrows that madden the brains of men, mix up all the
+		tears and collect all the sobs and sighs that tell of human agony,
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page250" title="250"> </a>then multiply the aggregate by ten million, million times its
+		sum, and go on multiplying by millions and millions, till thou
+		wast tired of counting, thou would’st not form even an idea of
+		that huge amount of human misery which could alone appease
+		me. For on man do I visit the hate wherewith my own fall has
+		animated me; powerless on high, where once I was so powerful,
+		I make my kingdom of earth and hell—and in both my
+		influence is great and is terrible!”</p>
+
+		<p>“Yes—yes; too great—too terrible!” exclaimed Wagner.
+		“But why dost thou persecute me with thy presence? I did
+		not call thee—I did not invoke thine aid.”</p>
+
+		<p>“No, but thou requirest it!” said the demon, with a satirical
+		smile. “Thinkest thou to be enabled to dream away thine existence
+		in this island, with the warm, impassioned Nisida? No,
+		mortal—no! Already doth she pine for her own native Italian
+		clime; and she will end by loathing thee and this land, if she
+		continue to dwell here, and with only thee as her companion.
+		But it is in thy power to make Nisida forget Italy—Francisco—Flora—and
+		all the grave interests and dreadful mysteries which
+		seem to demand her presence in the busy world;—it is in thy
+		power to render her happy and contented in this island—to
+		attach her to thee for the remainder of thine existence—to provide
+		her with the means of preserving her youth and her beauty
+		unimpaired, even as thine own—to crush forever all those pinings
+		and longings which now carry her glances wistfully across the
+		sea,—in a word, to bend her mind to all thy wishes—her soul
+		to all thy purposes! Yes;—it is in thy power to do all this—and
+		the same decision which shall place that amount of ineffable
+		happiness within thy reach, will also redeem thee from the horrible
+		destiny of a Wehr-Wolf—leaving thee thy youth and thy
+		beauty, and investing thee with a power equal to that enjoyed
+		by thy late master, Faust.”</p>
+
+		<p>“And doubtless on the same conditions?” said Wagner, half-ironically,
+		and half in horror at the mere thought of surrendering
+		his soul to Satan.</p>
+
+		<p>“Art thou blind to the means of promoting thy earthly happiness?”
+		demanded the demon, fixing on Fernand a glance intended
+		to appal and intimidate, but at which he on whom it
+		was bent quailed not. “Hast thou not received sufficient experience
+		of the terrific sufferings which twelve times a year thou
+		art doomed to endure? Knowest thou not on each occasion
+		thou destroyest human life, where mortal beings are in thy path—or
+		that thou ravagest the fair scenes which He whose name I
+		dare not mention has created? and art thou ignorant of the tremendous
+		horror and loathsome obloquy which attach themselves
+		to the name of a Wehr-Wolf? See—thou art already wearied of
+		traveling through the various climes of the earth; thou no longer
+		delightest in cultivating thine intellect, so marvelously adapted
+		to receive knowledge of all kinds; and thy power to create whole
+		mines of wealth is exercised no more. But thou would’st fix
+		thine abode in this island forever, were Nisida to remain thy
+		companion! Well—and if thou losest her? for assuredly a vessel
+		will some day touch on these shores—what would’st thou do
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page251" title="251"> </a>then? All lonely, desolate, forlorn, thou would’st curse the day
+		that gave thee regenerated life—thou would’st seek death—and
+		to thee death may not come yet for many, many years! Fernand,
+		thou art worse than mad not to embrace my offers. Consent
+		to become mine—mine eternally, when thy mortal breath
+		shall leave thy body, and in the meantime I promise thee power
+		illimitable—happiness such as no human being ever yet enjoyed——”</p>
+
+		<p>“No—no!” exclaimed Wagner. “Rather the destiny of a
+		Wehr-Wolf—rather the solitude of this island for the remainder
+		of my days—than resign all chance of salvation! And that
+		mine immortal soul is yet safe, the very temptations thou
+		offerest with such eloquent persuasion fully proves! Oh! Heaven,
+		of its infinite mercy, will receive the dreadful sufferings ’tis
+		mine to endure each month, as an atonement for that hour of
+		weakness, madness, folly, when dazzled by the words of Faust,
+		and overwhelmed by a weight of miseries, I accepted a regenerated
+		existence. Yes, Heaven will forgive me yet: and therefore
+		avaunt, fiend! avaunt!” And as he uttered these words he
+		made the sign of the cross, and the demon fled away howling.
+		Wagner turned aside in dismay, and sank upon the ground as if
+		blasted by the lightning. A deep sleep fell on Fernand’s eyes,
+		and in his dreams he thought he heard a solemn but rejoicing
+		strain of music filling the air. That divine melody seemed to
+		speak a language eloquent and intelligible, and to give him hope
+		and promise of a deliverance from the dreadful destiny which
+		his weakness and folly had entailed upon him. The music grew
+		fainter and fainter, and at the moment when it died away altogether
+		a heavenly and radiant being rose in the midst of a cloud,
+		an angel, clad in white and shining garments, and with snowy
+		wings closed, and drooping from its shoulders. Looking benignly
+		upon the sleeping Wagner the angel said in a soft and
+		liquid tone, “Thrice hast thou resisted the temptations of the
+		enemy of mankind: once in thy dungeon at Florence, a second
+		time amidst the defiles of yon mountains, and now on this spot.
+		He will appear to thee no more, unless thou thyself summon
+		him. Much hast thou already done in atonement for the crime
+		that endangered thy soul when, withdrawing thy faith from
+		Heaven, thou didst accept new life on the conditions proposed
+		to thee by the agent of Satan; but much more must thou yet do,
+		ere that atonement will be complete!” The form ceased to
+		speak, and gradually became fainter and fainter, until it disappeared
+		with its glorious halo altogether.</p>
+
+		<p>Then Fernand awoke, and his dream was vividly impressed
+		upon his memory.</p>
+
+		<p>Assuming a kneeling posture, he clasped his hands fervently
+		together, and said aloud, “Merciful Heaven! be the vision one
+		divinely sent, or be it but the sport of an imagination fevered by
+		a long night of suffering, I receive it as an emblem and as a sign
+		of hope and promise!”</p>
+
+		<p>He arose. The sun was now high in the heaven, and he hastened
+		to the shore to perform his ablutions. Refreshed in body
+		with the bath which he took in the Mediterranean, and in mind
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page252" title="252"> </a>with the influence of the vision, he retraced his way toward the
+		mountains. The range was passed in safety, and he once more
+		set foot on that section of the island where Nisida was so anxiously
+		awaiting his presence.</p>
+
+		<p>The hour at which Fernand Wagner was accustomed to return
+		after his periodical excursions beyond the mountains, had
+		long passed; for it will be remembered that he had fallen asleep
+		and slumbered some time, after his restoration to human shape
+		and his encounter with the demon. Nisida was already a prey
+		to the wildest alarms, which were not altogether untainted with
+		selfishness; for the enemy of mankind had led her to believe that
+		Wagner had within his reach certain means of enabling her to
+		quit the island, and she trembled lest death might have intervened
+		to snatch him away, and thus annihilate the hopes which
+		had been so insidiously infused into her soul. She was also distressed
+		at his prolonged absence on grounds more creditable to
+		her heart, for she shuddered at the idea that her handsome Fernand
+		might at that very moment be writhing in the coils of a
+		horrible snake. Then, arousing herself, Nisida resolved to attempt
+		the passage of the mountains, and seek for her lover and
+		rescue him if possible, and if not, to die with him. But as she
+		drew near the craggy mountains she suddenly beheld the object
+		of her anxiety approaching her, and in a few minutes they were
+		locked in each other’s arms.</p>
+
+		<p>“My Fernand,” said Nisida at length, “I feared that some
+		danger had befallen you, and I was hastening to join you on the
+		other side of these heights, either to aid you in escaping from
+		the peril, or to share its consequences with you.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Beloved Nisida!” exclaimed Wagner, “how welcome to me
+		is this proof of thy regard, this earnest of thy love.”</p>
+
+		<p>“I can never cease to love you, dear Fernand,” answered Nisida,
+		turning her fine large eyes upon his handsome face. “Oh,
+		that I should seek to quit thee! The thought smites me to the
+		inmost recesses of my heart. And yet it is to some extent thy
+		fault, for wherefore wilt thou not accompany me?”</p>
+
+		<p>“In the first place, beloved one,” replied Wagner, “thou talkest
+		as if a ship were already in sight, or a boat lay ready to
+		launch from this shore; secondly, I have before assured thee
+		that I dared not return to Florence, and that as I cannot therefore
+		be thy companion thither, it would be better for me to
+		remain on the island, to which, perhaps,” he added in a mournful
+		tone, “you might, after all, never come back!”</p>
+
+		<p>“Oh! Fernand, think not so ill of your Nisida!” she cried,
+		throwing one of her snowy full arms round his neck, and looking
+		earnestly, but yet tenderly on his countenance. “Never,
+		never shall I know happiness again until I have revisited
+		Florence. Each day that passes without giving me a hope to
+		see this aim fulfilled, increases my misery, adds to my uneasiness,
+		augments my anxiety—so that in a short time my suspense
+		will become intolerable. It is nearly so already, Fernand—but
+		pity me; yes—and help me, if you can!”</p>
+
+		<p>“Dearest Nisida, willingly would I sacrifice my own inclinations
+		to forward thine,” exclaimed Wagner in a tone of deep
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page253" title="253"> </a>sincerity; “but how is it possible that I can aid thee? I have
+		not wings to affix to thy fair shoulder, I have not a voice
+		powerful enough to raise echoes on a shore whence assistance
+		might be sent. Nay, look not so sternly on me, beloved Nisida,
+		I did not intend to vex thee with idle jestings; but thou knowest
+		that I cannot aid thee.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Fernand, you love me not!” exclaimed Nisida, suddenly
+		withdrawing her arm from its fond position about his neck, and
+		retreating a few paces. “No; you do not love me as you were
+		wont, or as I love you! You doubtless have some means of
+		gratifying my ardent longings. A secret voice whispers within
+		me that if you chose to exert all your powers, you might render
+		me happy—at least so happy as I could be when separated from
+		you! I have assured you that naught save the most important
+		interests would render me thus anxious to return to my native
+		city; and if you find me thus importunate, you should pity me,
+		not refuse to aid me.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Holy Virgin! this is maddening!” cried Wagner. “Nisida—be
+		reasonable; how can I assist thee? how can I enable thee
+		to cross that sea which appears to us boundless? And thou accusest
+		me of not loving thee, Nisida! Oh! this is too cruel!”</p>
+
+		<p>“No, it is thou who art cruel!” exclaimed Nisida, in an impassioned
+		tone. “I know that you are not a being of an ordinary
+		stamp, that your intellect is as wonderful as your person is
+		godlike,—and that you possess a mine of knowledge in the extent
+		of which no mortal can equal thee. Is it strange—is it
+		marvelous, then, that I should implore thee to exert thy powers—the
+		vast powers of thy glorious intelligence, to forward my
+		design? Nay, seek not to interrupt me, Fernand, denial is vain!
+		A secret voice continues to whisper within me that thou art able
+		to do all I ask; I know not the means to be used—I seek not to
+		know them; but that thou hast such means within thy reach, is
+		a conviction firmly impressed upon my mind. Here, then, Fernand,
+		at thy feet, on my knees, do I implore thee, beseech
+		thee, not to refuse the boon which I, thy loving wife, crave at
+		the hands of thee, my husband, as if I were a humble suppliant
+		suing at the footstool of a throned king!”</p>
+
+		<p>“Nisida, Nisida!” cried Fernand, painfully excited by this
+		sudden movement on her part, and endeavoring to rise: “what
+		means so strange a proceeding? Rise, dearest, rise; it is not to
+		me that you must thus humble yourself!”</p>
+
+		<p>“No; I will not quit this suppliant attitude until you shall have
+		granted my request—my prayer,” said Nisida. “Refuse me
+		not, my Fernand. Oh! I implore you not to refuse me! Whatever
+		means be within your reach, exert them on my behalf. A
+		brother’s interest, the remembrance of a solemn vow breathed
+		only to my lamented and much-wronged mother—and the safeguard
+		of a mystery, the discovery of which by curious and prying
+		eyes would heap infamy and disgrace upon the family that
+		bears the name of Riverola—all these reasons render me thus
+		anxious to return to Italy. And if you keep me here, Fernand,
+		I shall pine away—I shall perish before your eyes, and you will
+		repent of your harshness when it is too late. Or else,” she added,
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page254" title="254"> </a>speaking with wild rapidity, “I shall be reduced to despair, and
+		in a moment of excitement shall seek death in those silent waters,
+		or climb yon craggy mountains to fling myself headlong from
+		their summit.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Nisida, your menaces are maddening as your supplications
+		to me are vain and useless!” said Wagner, himself now laboring
+		under a fearful excitement. “Rise, I implore you, rise, and let
+		us endeavor to converse more calmly—more rationally.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Yes—I will rise,” said Nisida, now affecting a sullen haughtiness,
+		and preparing to wield another of the weapons which the
+		demon had placed in her hand: “I rise, Fernand, because I feel
+		that I was wrong thus to abase myself—I, who bear the proud
+		name of Riverola;”—and she tossed her head indignantly.
+		“Well—it seems that you are resolved to keep me chained to
+		your side on this island. Be it so: but henceforth let there be
+		no mistrust—no mystery—no secrets between us. If Italy must
+		be forgotten forever, then this isle shall become our world, and
+		our thoughts shall travel not beyond its confines. All shall be
+		mutual confidence—a reciprocal outpouring of our minutest
+		thoughts. On that condition only will existence <em>here</em> be tolerable
+		to us both. And now as a proof that thou wilt assent to
+		this proposal—than which nothing can be more rational—let our
+		new life of mutual confidence date from this moment. Tell me
+		then, my Fernand,” she proceeded, assuming a winning manner,
+		and throwing as much pathos as possible into her sweetly
+		musical voice—that voice which gave new and indescribable,
+		charms to the soft Italian language—“tell me then, my Fernand,
+		wherefore thou quittest me at certain intervals—why thou
+		invariably seekest on those occasions the opposite side of the
+		island—and whether thou wilt in future suffer me to be the
+		companion of those journeys?”</p>
+
+		<p>“Thou be my companion—thou, Nisida!” exclaimed Wagner,
+		his whole frame convulsed with mental agony. “Merciful
+		Heaven! what fiend has prompted thee thus to speak! Nisida,”
+		he said, suddenly exercising a strong mastery over his emotions,
+		as he seized her hand and pressed it with spasmodic violence—“Nisida,
+		as thou valuest our happiness seek not to penetrate
+		into my secret—proffer not that mad request again!”</p>
+
+		<p>And dropping her hand he paced the shore with the agitation
+		of reviving excitement.</p>
+
+		<p>“Fernand,” said Nisida, approaching him, and once more
+		speaking in a resolute and even severe tone—“listen to me.
+		When we met upon the island, an accident of a terrible nature
+		led me to forget my vow of self-imposed dumbness; and when
+		the excitement occasioned by that accident had somewhat passed
+		you were in doubt whether you had really heard my voice or
+		had been deluded by fevered imagination. It would have been easy
+		for me to simulate dumbness again; and you would have believed
+		that the bewilderment of the dread scene had misled you. But
+		I chose not to maintain a secret from thee—and I confess that
+		my long supposed loss of two glorious faculties was a mere
+		deed of duplicity on my part. At that time you said that you
+		also had explanations to give; and yet months and months have
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page255" title="255"> </a>passed by, and confidence has not begotten confidence. Let this
+		mistrust on your part cease. Reveal to me the cause of these
+		frequent excursions across the mountains; or else the next time
+		that you set out on one of these mysterious journeys, I shall assuredly
+		become your companion.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Now, Nisida,” exclaimed Wagner, his heart rent with indescribable
+		tortures—“it is you who are cruel—you are unjust!”</p>
+
+		<p>“No, Fernand—it is you!” cried Nisida, in a thrilling, penetrating
+		tone, as if of anguish.</p>
+
+		<p>“Merciful Heaven! what misery is in store for us both!” said
+		Wagner, pressing his hand to his burning brow. “Oh! that
+		some ship would appear to bear thee away—or that my destiny
+		were other than it is!”</p>
+
+		<p>And he flung himself upon the sand in a fit of blank despair.
+		Nisida now trembled at the violence of those emotions which she
+		had raised in the breast of him whom she loved; and for a minute
+		she reproached herself for having so implicitly obeyed the
+		counsel of the evil spirit.</p>
+
+		<p>Her own feelings were worked up to that pitch of excitement
+		with which women—even in the strongest-minded,
+		must have its vent in tears; and she burst into an agony of
+		weeping.</p>
+
+		<p>The sound of those sobs was more than the generous-hearted
+		and affectionate Fernand could bear; and starting from the
+		sand whereon he had flung himself, he exclaimed, “Nisida,
+		my beloved Nisida, dry those tears, subdue this frenzied grief!
+		Let us say no more upon these exciting topics this evening; but
+		I will meditate, I will reflect upon the morrow, and then I will
+		communicate to thee the result of my deliberations.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Oh! there is then hope for me yet!” cried Nisida, joyfully;
+		“and thou hast the means to grant my wishes, but thou fearest
+		to use them. We will say no more this evening on subjects
+		calculated to give so little pleasure; but to-morrow, my Fernand,
+		to-morrow.”</p>
+
+		<p>And Nisida stopped her own utterance by pressing her lips to
+		those of Wagner, winding her beauteous arms most lovingly
+		round his neck at the same time, and pressing him to her
+		bosom.</p>
+
+		<p>But that night and the ensuing morn were destined to wring
+		the heart-cords of the unhappy Fernand: for the influence of
+		the demon, though unknown and unrecognized, was dominant
+		with Nisida.</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_56" class="chapter">
+		<h3>CHAPTER LVI.</h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">It</span> was night—and Fernand was pacing the sand with even
+		greater agitation than he had manifested during the cruel scene
+		of the evening. He was alone on the seashore; and Nisida slept
+		in the hut. Terrible thoughts warred in the breast of Wagner.
+		Nisida’s language had astonished and alarmed him: he was convinced
+		that Satan himself had inspired her with those ideas, the
+		utterance of which had nearly goaded him to madness. She
+		had insisted on the belief that he was acquainted with the means
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page256" title="256"> </a>of enabling her to return to Italy; and yet Nisida was not a
+		mere girl—a silly, whimsical being, who would assert the wildest
+		physical impossibilities just as caprice might prompt her.
+		No—she really entertained that belief—but without having any
+		ostensible grounds to establish it.</p>
+
+		<p>“Such an impression could only have been made upon her
+		mind by the fiend who seeks to entangle me in his meshes!”
+		murmured Wagner to himself, as he paced the strand. “The
+		demon has failed to tempt me as yet—thrice has he failed;—and
+		now he musters all his force to assail me,—to assail me, too, in
+		the most vulnerable points! But, O Heaven, give me strength
+		to resist the dread influence thus brought to bear upon me!
+		What course can I adopt? what plan pursue? If to-morrow
+		must witness a renewal of that scene which occurred this evening,
+		I shall succumb—I shall yield; in a moment of despair I
+		shall exclaim, ‘Yes, Nisida—I will sacrifice everything to acquire
+		the power to transport thee back to Italy;’—and I shall
+		hurry to yon mountains, and seeking their wildest defile, shall
+		evoke the enemy of mankind, and say, ‘Come, Satan, I give
+		thee my soul in exchange for the illimitable power thou offerest.’
+		And thus will be the terrible result—the fearful catastrophe.”</p>
+
+		<p>Big drops of agony stood upon Fernand’s brow as he uttered
+		these words. He saw that he was hovering on the verge of a
+		fearful abyss—and he trembled lest he should fall, so intense
+		was his love for Nisida. At one moment he thought of the
+		soothing vision, full of hope and promise, which had occupied
+		his slumber in the morning; at another he pondered on the
+		tears, the prayers, and the threats of Nisida. The conflicting
+		thoughts were, indeed, sufficient to urge him on to a state of utter
+		despair:—his eternal salvation and the happiness of her whom he
+		loved so tenderly were placed in such antagonistic position that
+		they raised a fierce—a painful—an agonizing warfare in his
+		breast. Now he would fall upon his knees and pray—and pray
+		fervently for strength to continue in the right path: then he
+		would again give way to all the maddening influences of his
+		bitter reflections; and, while in this mood, had Satan suddenly
+		stood before him, he would have succumbed—yes, he would
+		have succumbed. But the fiend had no longer any power to
+		offer direct temptation to the wretched Wagner. Oh! if he
+		could die that moment, how gladly would he release himself
+		from an existence fraught with so much misery; but death was
+		not yet within the reach of him who bore the doom of a Wehr-Wolf!
+		The morning dawned, and Fernand Wagner was still
+		pacing the sand—dreading to meet Nisida again, and not daring
+		to seek to avoid her. Were he to fly to the mountains or to the
+		forests, she would search after him; and thus he would only be
+		leading her into perils amidst yawning precipices, or where she
+		might become the prey of the terrible anaconda. To remain
+		were anguish—to fly were madness!</p>
+
+		<p>“Oh, wretch, miserable wretch that I am!” exclaimed Wagner,
+		as he beheld the twilight—so short in the tropics—growing more
+		powerful, and knew that Nisida would soon come forth from
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page257" title="257"> </a>the hut. In a few minutes the orb of day appeared above the
+		Orient wave—and almost at the same time the lady made her
+		appearance on the shore.</p>
+
+		<p>“Fernand, thou hast not sought repose throughout the night
+		just past!” she said, advancing toward him, and endeavoring to
+		read upon his countenance the thoughts which filled his brain.</p>
+
+		<p>“Nisida,” he replied, in a rapid and excited tone, “I have
+		gone through so much during the last few hours that ’tis a marvel
+		reason has maintained its seat. If thou lovest me, let us
+		forget all those topics which have so strongly excited us both:
+		and let us unite our prayers that Heaven will send thee means
+		to quit this isle and return to thy native land.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Fernand,” said Nisida, in a tone of deep disappointment and
+		reproach, “I was not prepared for this. Your words imply that
+		you possess the power to aid my departure hence, but that you
+		have resolved not to use it. Is that your decision?”</p>
+
+		<p>“I scorn to deceive thee, Nisida, by a direct falsehood in so
+		serious a matter as this,” exclaimed Wagner. “Knowest thou,
+		my beloved, at what price must be purchased the power which
+		alone can enable <em>me</em> to effect thy return to Italy? canst thou
+		divine the immeasurable sacrifice which I must make to gratify
+		thy wishes?”</p>
+
+		<p>“Fernand,” answered Nisida, in a reproachful and yet resolute
+		tone, “there is no price that I would not pay to obtain the
+		means of pleasing thee!—there is no sacrifice that I should shrink
+		from were your happiness at stake!”</p>
+
+		<p>“Nisida,” ejaculated Wagner, in a tone of fearful excitement,
+		“you drive me to despair! Have mercy upon me, Nisida,
+		have mercy upon me! My God! if you taunt me—if you reproach
+		me—thus I will do all that you command; but force me
+		not to believe, Nisida—my well beloved Nisida—that, in espousing
+		thee in the sight of Heaven, I took to my bosom a fiend instead
+		of a woman, a relentless demon in the most charming
+		female shape that evil spirit ever wore. Oh! if you knew all,
+		you would pity me as it is. So wretched on earth you would
+		not compel me to renounce every hope of salvation; for, know,
+		Nisida,” he added, his countenance wearing an expression of
+		indescribable horror, “know that in demanding of me this last
+		sacrifice, you ordain that I should sell my immortal soul to
+		Satan!”</p>
+
+		<p>For a moment Nisida appeared shocked and appalled at the
+		words which met her ears; but she rather recoiled from the
+		manner of fearful excitement in which they were uttered, than
+		from the intelligence which they conveyed.</p>
+
+		<p>“He who truly loves,” she said coldly, as she recovered her
+		equanimity, “would make <em>even that</em> sacrifice! and now listen—Fernand,”
+		she continued, her eyes flashing fire, and her naked
+		bosom heaving convulsively as she spoke, while her splendid
+		form was drawn up to its full height, and her whole aspect sublimely
+		terrible and wondrously beautiful, even in that fit of agitated
+		passion—“listen, Fernand!” she cried, in her musical,
+		flute-like voice, which, however, assumed the imperious accent
+		and tone of command: “thou art a coward, and unworthy such
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page258" title="258"> </a>an earnest—such a profound, such a devoted love as mine, if
+		thou refusest to consummate a sacrifice which will make us
+		both powerful and great as long as we live! Consider, my Fernand—the
+		spirit with whom thou wouldst league thyself can
+		endow us with an existence running over centuries to come, can
+		invest us with eternal youth, can place countless treasures at
+		our disposal, can elevate us to the proudest thrones of Christendom!
+		Oh! wilt thou spurn advantages like those? wilt thou refuse
+		to avail thyself of gifts that must render us so supremely
+		happy? No, no: and we can return together to my native
+		city, we can enter Florence in triumph, thou no longer fearing
+		the terror of the law, I no longer compelled to simulate the
+		doom of the deaf and dumb! Our enemies shall lick the dust
+		at our feet, and we shall triumph wherever success may be desirable.
+		Oh! I understand that beseeching, appealing look, Fernand:
+		thou thinkest that I shall love thee less if this immense
+		sacrifice be consummated, that I shall look upon thee with
+		loathing. No, not so: and to convince thee that mine is a soul
+		endowed with an iron will, that mine is an energy which can
+		grapple even with remorse, I will reveal to thee a secret which
+		thou hast perhaps never even suspected. Fernand!” she exclaimed,
+		now becoming absolutely terrible with the excitement
+		that animated her; “Fernand!” she repeated, “’twas I who
+		murdered the girl Agnes, in the garden of thy mansion at
+		Florence!”</p>
+
+		<p>“Thou, thou, Nisida?” almost shrieked Wagner wildly; “oh,
+		no, no! Recall that dreadful avowal! And yet—oh! yes—I see
+		it all—my former suspicions are confirmed. Wretched woman.
+		What harm did the unfortunate Agnes do to thee?”</p>
+
+		<p>“I saw in her a rival, Fernand—or fancied that she was so,”
+		answered Nisida; “I overheard your conversation with her that
+		morning in the garden—I saw her embrace thee tenderly—mine
+		ears drank in her words; oh, I remember them even now! She
+		said, ‘Oh, what a night of uneasiness have I passed! But at
+		length thou art restored to me; thou whom I have ever loved so
+		fondly; although I abandoned thee for so long a time!’ Were
+		not those her very words? And thou didst speak to her in a
+		tone equally tender. Ah! I have ever suspected that she was
+		thy mistress; although thou didst swear upon the cross, in thy
+		dungeon, that she was not. But so great was my love for thee,
+		that I smothered the dread suspicion——”</p>
+
+		<p>“Suspicion,” repeated Wagner, in the penetrating tone of
+		heart-rending anguish,—an anguish so intense that his brain
+		whirled, and he knew not what he said or did. “Oh, wretched
+		woman, and thou didst slay Agnes on a mere suspicion?”</p>
+
+		<p>“I hated her—even before I entertained that suspicion,”
+		exclaimed Nisida, impatiently; “for she was the mistress of my
+		father! Thinkest thou that my quick ears had not gleaned the
+		mysterious whisperings which frequently passed between my
+		sire and his valet Antonio, relative to the lady who dwelt in
+		seclusion at the abode of that menial’s mother? or thinkest thou
+		that when I once obtained a clew to my father’s degrading passion,
+		I scrupled to watch him, to follow him, to learn all his
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page259" title="259"> </a>proceedings? No; for it was the more easily to enact the spy
+		upon my own father that originally simulated the doom of the
+		deaf and dumb. A purse of gold induced Dame Margaretha,
+		Antonio’s mother, to give me admission into her house; though
+		she also believed that I was really deprived of the faculties of
+		hearing and of speech. But often and often was I concealed in
+		the chamber adjacent to that where my father passed hours
+		with his mistress; and it was not without advantage that I so
+		acted. For I discovered that amongst the presents which he
+		had given her, were the jewels which had belonged to my
+		sainted mother—that mother whose wrongs were so manifold,
+		and whose sufferings were so great. Yes: and I possessed
+		myself of those jewels, leaving the girl the other gifts which
+		she had received from my sire.</p>
+
+		<p>“And now, since I am involved in relations of such import,
+		I shall do well to inform thee, Fernand, that I had seen and
+		loved thee before thou didst come as a visitor to our mansion in
+		Florence. For it was my habit to proceed occasionally to the
+		dwelling of the good Dr. Duras, the depositary of my grand secret
+		of the feigned loss of faculties; and while wandering alone in
+		his garden I once beheld thee! And the moment I beheld I
+		loved thee. Often—often after that would I visit the kind
+		physician’s grounds, whereof I possessed a pass-key; and my
+		admiration of thee led me to pass the slight boundary which
+		separated his garden from thine. Then I would approach the
+		windows of thy dwelling and contemplate thee as thou wast
+		seated in thy favorite apartment. On the night of my father’s
+		funeral, although so very late when all the subsequent business
+		connected with the reading of the will was concluded, my mind
+		was so perturbed and restless that I could not sleep; and quitting
+		the Riverola mansion by a private door, I sought the fresh
+		air with the hope that it would calm me. Some vague and indescribable
+		sentiment of curiosity, or else something that I
+		heard on the return of the mourners, relative to the strange
+		scene enacted in the church, I know not which, led me to the
+		vicinity of your abode; and there, in your favorite room, I beheld
+		you seated, listening attentively to some sweet words,
+		doubtless, which Agnes was breathing into your ear. But she
+		caught a glimpse of my countenance by the light of the
+		lamps——”</p>
+
+		<p>“Enough! enough!” exclaimed Wagner; “thou hast indeed
+		cleared up innumerable mysteries! But, oh! Nisida—would
+		that thou hadst remained silent—that thou hadst not drawn
+		aside the veil which my elevated opinion of thee had thrown
+		over the suspicions that, I admit, from time to time——”</p>
+
+		<p>“And if I have told thee all this, Fernand,” interrupted
+		Nisida, impatiently, “it is that thou may’st be convinced not only
+		of the natural energy of my mind, but also of the deep love
+		which I bear thee. And now, now that thou seest me in my
+		true character, a murderess if thou wilt,” she added with an emphasis
+		of bitter scorn, “now canst thou refuse that sacrifice——”</p>
+
+		<p>“Nisida! Nisida! enough crime has been perpetrated by both
+		us, Heaven knows!” ejaculated Wagner, still writhing with
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page260" title="260"> </a>the anguish produced by the avowal which had so lately met
+		his ears. “Oh! accursed be the day, blotted from the annals of
+		Time be the hour, Nisida, when thy hand struck the fatal dagger
+		into the heart of Agnes.”</p>
+
+		<p>“What! this to my face?” said Nisida, her countenance becoming
+		crimson with indignation, and not her face only, but
+		her swan-like neck, her shoulders, and her bosom. “Then she
+		<em>was</em> thy mistress, Fernand! And thou didst love her, while I
+		fancied, false one that thou art, thine affections to be wholly
+		and solely mine.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Nisida,” exclaimed Fernand, cruelly bewildered, “you drive
+		me to despair. I know not whether to loathe thee for this
+		avowal which thou hast made, or to snatch thee to my arms,
+		abandon all hope of salvation, and sacrifice myself entirely for
+		one so transcendently beautiful as thou art. But thy suspicions
+		relative to Agnes are ridiculous, monstrous, absurd. For, as
+		surely as thou art there, Nisida—as the heaven is above us and
+		the earth beneath us—as surely as that I love thee so well as to
+		be unable to reproach thee more for the deed which thou hast
+		confessed—so surely, Nisida, was Agnes my own granddaughter,
+		and I—I, Fernand Wagner—young, strong, and
+		healthy as thou beholdest me, am fourscore and fifteen years of
+		age.”</p>
+
+		<p>Nisida started in affright, and then fixed a scrutinizing glance
+		upon Fernand’s countenance; for she feared that his reason was
+		abandoning him—that he was raving.</p>
+
+		<p>“Ah! Nisida, I see that you do not credit my words,” he
+		exclaimed; “and yet I have told thee the solemn, sacred truth.
+		But mine is a sad history and a dreadful fate; and if I
+		thought that thou would’st soothe my wounded spirit, console,
+		and not revile me, pity, and not loathe me, I would tell thee
+		all.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Speak, Fernand, speak!” she cried; “and do me not so much
+		wrong as to suppose that I could forget my love for thee—that
+		love which made me the murderer of Agnes. Besides,” she
+		added, enthusiastically, “I see that we are destined for each
+		other; that the dark mysteries attached to both our lives engender
+		the closest sympathies; that we shall flourish in power,
+		and glory, and love, and happiness together.”</p>
+
+		<p>Wagner threw his arms around Nisida’s neck, and clasped
+		her to his breast. He saw not in her the woman who had dealt
+		death to his granddaughter; he beheld in her only a being of
+		ravishing beauty and wondrous mind, so intoxicated was he with
+		his passion, and so great was the magic influence which she
+		wielded o’er his yielding spirit. Then, as her head reclined upon
+		his breast, he whispered to her, in a few hurried, but awfully
+		significant words, the nature of his doom, the dread conditions
+		on which he had obtained resuscitated youth, an almost superhuman
+		beauty, a glorious intellect, and power of converting the
+		very clods of the earth into gold and precious stones at will.</p>
+
+		<p>“And now, dearest,” he added, in a plaintive and appealing
+		tone, “and now thou may’st divine wherefore on the last day of
+		every month I have crossed these mountains; thou may’st divine,
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page261" title="261"> </a>too, how my escape from the prison of Florence was accomplished;
+		and, though no mortal power can abridge my days—though
+		the sword of the executioner would fall harmless on
+		my neck, and the deadly poison curdle not in my veins—still,
+		man can bind me in chains, and my disgrace is known to all
+		Florence.”</p>
+
+		<p>“But thou shalt return thither, Fernand,” exclaimed Nisida,
+		raising her countenance and gazing upon him, not with horror
+		and amazement, but in pride and triumph; “thou shalt return
+		thither, Fernand, armed with a power that may crush all thine
+		enemies, and blast with destructive lightning the wretches who
+		would look slightingly on thee. Already thou art dearer, far
+		dearer to me than ever thou wast before; for I love the marvelous—I
+		glory in the supernatural—and thou art a being whom
+		such women as myself can worship and adore. And thou
+		repinest at thy destiny? thou shudderest at the idea of that
+		monthly transformation which makes thy fate so grand, because
+		it is so terrible? Oh, thou art wrong, thou art wrong, my
+		Fernand. Consider all thou hast gained, how many, many
+		years of glorious youth and magnificent beauty await thee!
+		Think of the power with which thy boundless command of
+		wealth may invest thee. Oh, thou art happy, enviable, blest.
+		But I—I,” she added, the impassioned excitement of her tone
+		suddenly sinking into subdued plaintiveness as her charming
+		head once more fell upon his breast—“I am doomed to fade and
+		wither like the other human flowers of the earth. Oh, that
+		thought is now maddening. While thou remainest as thou art
+		now, vested with that fine, manly beauty which won my heart
+		when first I saw thee, and before I knew thee: I shall grow old,
+		wrinkled, and thou wilt loathe me. I shall be like a corpse by
+		the side of one endowed with vigorous life. Oh, Fernand; this
+		may not be; and thou canst purchase the power to bestow unperishing
+		youth, unchanging beauty upon me; the power, moreover,
+		to transport us hence, and render us happy in inseparable
+		companionship for long, long years to come.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Merciful heavens! Nisida,” exclaimed Fernand, profoundly
+		touched by the urgent, earnest appeal of the lovely siren whose
+		persuasive eloquence besought him to seal his own eternal
+		damnation—“would’st thou have me yield up my soul to the
+		enemy of mankind?”</p>
+
+		<p>“Do you hesitate? Can you even pause to reflect?” cried
+		Nisida, with whose tongue the demon himself was as it were
+		speaking. “Oh, Fernand, you love me not, you have never,
+		never loved me.” And she burst into a flood of tears. Wagner
+		was painfully moved by this spectacle, which constituted so
+		powerful an argument to support the persuasive eloquence of
+		her late appeal. His resolution gave way rapidly—the more
+		agonizing became her sobs the weaker grew his self-command;
+		and his lips were about to murmur the fatal assent to her prayer—about
+		to announce his readiness to summon the enemy of
+		mankind and conclude the awful compact—when suddenly
+		there passed before his eyes the image of the guardian angel
+		whom he had seen in his vision, dim and transparent as the
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page262" title="262"> </a>thinnest vapor, yet still perceptible and with an expression of
+		countenance profoundly mournful. The apparition vanished in
+		a moment; but its evanescent presence was fraught with salvation.
+		Tearing himself wildly and abruptly from Nisida’s embrace,
+		Wagner exclaimed in a tone indicative of the horror
+		produced by the revulsion of feeling in his mind, “No—never—never!”
+		and, fleet as the startled deer he ran—he flew toward
+		the mountains. Frightened and amazed by his sudden cry and
+		simultaneous flight, Nisida cast her eyes rapidly around to
+		ascertain the cause of his alarm, thinking that some dreadful
+		spectacle had stricken terror to his soul. But ah—what sees
+		she? Why do her glances settle fixedly in one direction?
+		What beholds she in the horizon? For a few moments she is
+		motionless, speechless, she cannot believe her eyes. Then her
+		countenance, which has already experienced the transition
+		from an expression of grief and alarm to one of suspense and
+		mingled hope and fear, becomes animated with the wildest joy;
+		and forgetting the late exciting scene as completely as if it had
+		never taken place, but with all her thoughts and feelings absorbed
+		in the new—the one idea which now engrosses her—she
+		turns her eyes rapidly round toward the mountains, exclaiming,
+		“Fernand, dearest Fernand! a sail—a sail.”</p>
+
+		<p>But Wagner hears her not: she stamps her foot with impatient
+		rage upon the sand; and in another moment the groves
+		conceal her lover from view.</p>
+
+		<p>Yes; Wagner looked not round; heard not the voice of Nisida
+		invoking him to return, but continued his rapid flight toward
+		the mountains, as if hurrying in anguish and in horror from the
+		meshes which had been spread to ensnare his mortal soul. And
+		now Nisida became all selfishness; there was at length a hope,
+		a sudden hope that she should be speedily enabled to quit the
+		hated monotonous island, and her fine, large dark eyes were
+		fixed intently upon the white sails which gradually grew more
+		and more palpable in the azure horizon. She was not deceived;
+		there was no doubt, no uncertainty, as to the nature of the object
+		which now engrossed all her thoughts, and filled her heart
+		with the wildest joy. It was indeed a ship, and its course was
+		toward the island; for, as she gazed with fixed and longing eyes,
+		it by degrees assumed a more defined shape; and that which had
+		at first appeared to be but one small white piece of canvas,
+		gradually developed the outlines of many sails, and showed the
+		tapering spars, until at last the black hull appeared, completing
+		the form of a large and noble vessel. Joy! joy—she should yet
+		be saved from the island. And, ah—do the chances of that
+		hoped-for safety multiply? Is it indeed another ship which has
+		caught her eye in the far-off horizon? Yes; and not one only,
+		but another, and another, and another, until she can count
+		seven vessels, all emerging from the mighty distance, and
+		spreading their snow-white canvas to the breeze which wafts
+		them toward the isle.</p>
+
+		<p>Crowds of conflicting thoughts now rush to the mind of
+		Nisida; and she seats herself upon the strand to deliberate as
+		calmly as she may upon the course which she should adopt.
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page263" title="263"> </a>Alas, Fernand: thou wast not then uppermost in the imagination
+		of thy Nisida, although she had not entirely forgotten thee.
+		But the principal topic of her meditations, the grand question
+		which demanded the most serious weighing and balancing in
+		her mind, was whether she should again simulate the deafness
+		and dumbness which she had now for many months been accustomed
+		to affect. Grave and important interests and a deeply-rooted
+		attachment to her brother on the one side urged the
+		necessity of so doing; but on the other, a fearful disinclination
+		to resume that awful duplicity—that dreadful self-sacrifice, an
+		apprehension lest the enjoyment of the faculties of hearing and
+		speech for so long a period should have unfitted her for the successful
+		revival and efficient maintenance of the deceit; these
+		were the arguments on the negative side. But Nisida’s was not
+		a mind to shrink from any peril or revolt from any sacrifice
+		which her interests or her aims might urge her to encounter;
+		and it was with fire-flashing eyes and a neck proudly arching, that
+		she raised her head in a determined manner, exclaiming aloud,
+		“Yes, it must be so. But the period of this renewed self-martyrdom
+		will not last long. So soon as thine interests shall have
+		been duly cared for, Francisco, I will quit Florence forever, I
+		will return to this island, and here will I pass the remainder of
+		my days with thee, my beloved Fernand! And that I <em>do</em> love
+		thee still, Fernand, although thou hast fled from my presence
+		as if I were suddenly transformed into a loathsome monster,
+		that I must ever continue to love thee, Fernand, and that I
+		shall anxiously long to return to thine arms, are truths as firmly
+		based as the foundations of the island. Thine, then, shall be
+		the last name, thy name shall be the last word that I will suffer
+		my lips to pronounce ere I once more place the seal upon them.
+		Yes, I love thee, Fernand; oh! would to God that thou could’st
+		hear me proclaim how much I love thee, my beauteous, my
+		strangely-fated Fernand!”</p>
+
+		<p>It was almost in a despairing tone that Nisida gave utterance
+		to these last words; for as the chance of escape from the island
+		grew every moment less equivocal, by the nearer approach of
+		the fleet, which was, however, still far from the shore, the intensity
+		of her sensual passion for Wagner, that passion which
+		she believed to be the purest and most firmly rooted love, revived;
+		and her heart smote her for her readiness to abandon him
+		to the solitude of that island. But as she was now acquainted
+		with all the mysteries of his fate, as she knew that he could not
+		die for many, many years to come, nor lose that glorious beauty
+		which had proved alike her pleasure and her pride, her remorse
+		and her alarms were to a considerable degree mitigated: for she
+		thought within herself, <em>although she now spoke aloud no more</em>;
+		“Death will not snatch him from me, disease will not impair his
+		godlike features and elegant form, and he loves me too well
+		not to receive me with open arms when I shall be enabled to return
+		to him.” These were her thoughts: and starting upon her
+		feet, she compressed her lips tightly, as if to remind herself that
+		she had once more placed a seal there, a seal not to be broken
+		for some time. An hour had now passed since Fernand Wagner
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page264" title="264"> </a>and Nisida separated on the seashore; and he did not come back.
+		Meantime the fleet of ships had drawn nearer, and though she
+		more than once entertained the idea of hastening after Wagner
+		to implore him to accompany her whithersoever those vessels
+		were bound, or at least to part with the embrace of tenderness,
+		yet her fear lest the ships might sail past without touching at
+		the island, predominated over her softer feelings. And now,
+		having settled in her mind the course she was to adopt, she hastened
+		to the stores which she had saved from the wreck of the
+		corsair vessel, and which had been piled up on the strand the
+		day after she was first thrown on that Mediterranean isle.</p>
+
+		<p>It will be remembered that amongst the articles thus saved
+		were changes of apparel, which Stephano Verrina had procured
+		for her use at Leghorn ere the corsair-bark set sail on that voyage
+		from which it never returned, and during Nisida’s long
+		sojourn on the island, she had frequently examined those garments,
+		and had been careful to secure them from the effects of
+		rain or damp, in the hope that the day would sooner or later
+		come when she might assume them for the purpose of bidding
+		adieu to that lovely but monotonous island. And now that day
+		has come; and the moment so anxiously longed for appeared to
+		be rapidly approaching. Nisida accordingly commenced her
+		toilet, as if she had only just risen from her couch and was preparing
+		to dress to go abroad amongst the busy haunts of human
+		beings.</p>
+
+		<p>Her dark luxuriant hair, which so long had floated negligently
+		upon her ivory shoulders, was now gathered up in broad massive
+		bands at the sides, and artistically plaited and confined at
+		the back of her well-shaped head. The tight bodice was next
+		laced over the swelling bosom: hose and light boots imprisoned
+		the limbs which had so often borne her glancing along in their
+		nudity to the soft music of the stream in the vale or of the
+		wavelets of the sea; broidery set off the fine form of Nisida in
+		all the advantage of its glowing, full and voluptuous proportions.
+		Then the large black veil was fastened to the plaits of
+		her hair, whence its ample folds swept over that admirable
+		symmetry of person, endowing her once more with the queen-like
+		air which became so well her splendid, yet haughty style
+		of beauty! Yes: no longer subdued by simplicity of attire—no
+		longer tender and soft, was the loveliness of Nisida; but grand,
+		imperious, and dazzling did she now seem again, as erst she
+		seemed ere her foot trod that island-shore.</p>
+
+		<p>Appareled in handsome garments, and with the rich carnation
+		glow of health and animation on her cheeks, and with her eyes
+		flashing the fires of hope, but with the vermilion lips compressed,
+		Nisida now stood on the strand where so oft she had
+		wandered like a naiad, feeling no shame at her semi-nudity.</p>
+
+		<p>During the time occupied by her toilet, the fleet of seven
+		ships had approached much nearer to the island, and now they
+		were not more than three miles distant. The hulls, which at
+		first had seemed quite black, shone, as they drew closer, with
+		the gay colors in which they were painted, the gorgeous sunlight
+		playing vividly on the gilding of the prows, the streaks of
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page265" title="265"> </a>red and white along the sides, and the splendid decorations of
+		the poop lanterns. Noble and mighty ships they were—ships of
+		size such as Nisida had never seen before, and in comparison
+		with which all the merchant-vessels she had beheld at Leghorn
+		were but mere boats. There was no need to raise a signal to invite
+		them to approach—for that fleet was evidently steering
+		toward the island. Whence did this fleet come? whither was it
+		bound? to what nation did it belong? and would those on board
+		treat her with attention and respect?</p>
+
+		<p>Such were the thoughts which flashed across her brain—and
+		her heart beat with anxiety for the arrival of the moment
+		which should solve those questions. Absorbed as she was in
+		the contemplation of the noble ships—those mighty but graceful
+		swans of the ocean—she did not forget to cast, from time
+		to time, a rapid glance around, to see if Fernand were retracing
+		his way toward her. Alas! no—he came not—and she must
+		quit the isle without embracing him—without assuring him of
+		her constant love—without renewing her oft-repeated promise
+		to return. Ah! a thought struck her: she would leave a note
+		for him in the hut! No sooner was the project determined on
+		than she set about its execution; for there were writing materials
+		amidst the stores saved from the corsair-wreck. A brief
+		but tender letter was hastily penned, and then secured in a
+		place where she knew he must find it should he revisit the rude
+		tenement in which they had so often slept in each other’s arms.
+		And that he would revisit it she both fondly hoped and firmly
+		believed—revisit it so soon as the excitement and the terror,
+		under the influence of which he had parted from her, should
+		have subsided. Her mind was now much easier, and her beauty
+		was wonderfully enhanced by the glow of animation which suffused
+		itself over her countenance, giving additional light to her
+		ever brilliant eyes, and rendering her noble aquiline face resplendent
+		to gaze upon.</p>
+
+		<p>The ships came to anchor at a distance of about two miles
+		from the shore: and though the banners of each were fluttering
+		in the breeze, yet Nisida was not well skilled enough in discriminating
+		the flags of different nations to be able immediately
+		to satisfy herself to which country that fleet belonged. But as
+		she stood with her eyes fixed on the foremost vessel, which was
+		also the largest, she observed that there was a gilt crescent in the
+		middle of the blood-red standard that floated over her central
+		poop-lantern; and a chill struck to her heart—for the thought
+		of African pirates flashed to her mind! This alarm was, however,
+		as evanescent as it was poignant; for another moment’s
+		reflection convinced her that none of the princes of Africa could
+		send so proud a fleet to sea. Following up the chain of reasoning
+		thus suggested, and calling to her aid all the accounts she
+		had read of naval fights between the Christians and the Moslems,
+		she at length remembered that the blood-red banner, with
+		the gilt crescent in the middle, denoted the presence of the
+		Kapitan-Pasha, or Lord High Admiral of the Ottoman Empire.
+		Confidently believing that peace existed between Italy and
+		Turkey, she had now no longer any fears as to the treatment
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page266" title="266"> </a>she was likely to experience at the hands of the Mohammedans;
+		and it was with unfeigned joy that she beheld a boat, which
+		had put off from the admiral’s ship, at length approaching the
+		shore.</p>
+
+		<p>As the magnificently painted and gorgeously gilt barge,
+		which twenty-four white-turbaned rowers urged along with
+		almost horse-race speed, neared the strand, Nisida observed, beneath
+		a velvet canopy in the stern, a personage, who by his
+		splendid apparel, his commanding demeanor, and the respect
+		paid to him by the slaves accompanying him, was evidently of
+		exalted rank. She accordingly conceived that this must be the
+		kapitan-pasha himself. But she was mistaken. Her delight
+		at the approach of the barge, which she fondly hoped would
+		prove the means of her deliverance from the island, was only
+		equaled by the surprise of those on board at beholding a beautiful
+		and elegantly dressed lady, unattended and alone, on the seashore,
+		as if awaiting their arrival. And, during the few minutes
+		which now elapsed ere the barge touched the strand, it was evident
+		that the high functionary seated beneath the canopy surveyed
+		Nisida with increasing wonder and admiration; while she,
+		on her side, could not help noticing that he was remarkably
+		handsome, very young, and possessing a countenance rather of
+		an Italian than a Turkish cast of features.</p>
+
+		<p>Meantime a profound silence, broken only by the slight and
+		uniform sounds produced by the oars, prevailed: and when the
+		boat touched the strand, a long and wide plank, covered with
+		velvet, was so placed as to enable the high functionary before
+		alluded to to land conveniently. Attended by two slaves, who
+		followed at a respectful distance, the Mussulman chief advanced
+		toward Nisida, whom he saluted in a manner which
+		strengthened her suspicion that he was not of Turkish origin,
+		although habited in the richest Oriental costume she had ever
+		seen, and evidently holding some very superior office among
+		the Ottomans. She returned his salutation with a graceful
+		bow and a sweet smile: and he immediately addressed her in
+		the Italian tongue—her own dear and delightful language,
+		saying, “Lady, art thou the queen of this land? or art thou, as
+		appearances would almost lead one to conjecture, a solitary inhabitant
+		here?”</p>
+
+		<p>For he saw that she was alone—beheld no traces of culture;
+		and there was but one miserable dwelling, and that such as
+		she might have built up with her own hands. Nisida shook her
+		head mournfully, making signs that she was deaf and dumb.
+		The Mussulman chief uttered an ejaculation of mingled surprise
+		and grief, and surveyed the lady with additional interest and
+		admiration. But in a few moments his countenance assumed a
+		sudden expression of astonishment, as if a light had broken in
+		upon him, suggesting something more than a mere suspicion—nay,
+		indeed, a positive conviction; and having examined her
+		features with the most earnest attention, he abruptly took his
+		tablets from the folds of his garment, and wrote something on
+		them. He then handed them to Nisida; and it was now her turn
+		to experience the wildest surprise—for on the page opened to
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page267" title="267"> </a>her view were these words, traced in a beautiful style of calligraphy,
+		and in the Italian language: “Is it possible that your
+		ladyship can be the Donna Nisida of Riverola?”</p>
+
+		<p>Nisida’s eyes wandered in astonishment from the tablets to
+		the countenance of him who had penciled that question; but
+		his features were certainly not familiar to her—and yet she
+		thought that there was something in the general expression
+		of that handsome face not altogether unknown to her. As
+		soon as she had partially recovered from the surprise and bewilderment
+		produced by finding that she at least was known
+		to the Ottoman functionary, she wrote beneath his question
+		the following reply: “I am indeed Nisida of Riverola, who for
+		seven long months have been the only inhabitant of this
+		island, whereon I was shipwrecked, and I am now anxious to return
+		to Italy—or at all events to the first Christian port at which
+		your fleet may touch. Have mercy upon me, then; and take
+		me hence! But who are you, signor, that I should prove no
+		stranger to you?”</p>
+
+		<p>The Ottoman chief read these words, and hastened to reply in
+		the following manner: “I have the honor to be the grand vizier
+		of his imperial highness the glorious Sultan Solyman, and my
+		name is Ibrahim. A few months ago I encountered your brother
+		Francisco, Count of Riverola, who was then in command of a
+		body of Tuscan auxiliaries, raised to assist in defending Rhodes
+		against the invading arms of the mighty Solyman. Your
+		brother became my prisoner, but I treated him worthily. He
+		informed me with bitter tears of the strange and mysterious
+		disappearance of his well-beloved sister, who had the misfortune
+		to be deprived of the faculties of hearing and speech. Your
+		brother was soon set free, after the fall of Rhodes, and he returned
+		to his native city. But from all he told me of thee, lady,
+		it was natural that I should ere now conjecture who thou must
+		be.”</p>
+
+		<p>Ibrahim did not choose to add that he had remembered to
+		have seen Nisida occasionally in their native city of Florence,
+		and that he was indeed the brother of her late dependent, Flora
+		Francatelli. But the explanation which he did give was quite
+		sufficient to renew her deepest surprise, as she now learnt for
+		the first time that during her absence her brother had been engaged
+		in the perils of warfare. The grand vizier gently withdrew
+		from Nisida’s hand the tablets on which her eyes were
+		positively riveted; but it was only to trace a few lines to afford
+		her additional explanations. When he returned the tablets to
+		her again she read as follows: “By a strange coincidence the
+		glorious fleet which has wafted me hither to deliver you from
+		this lonely isle, and which is under the command of the kapitan-pasha
+		in person, is bound for the western coast of Italy. Its
+		mission is at present known only to myself and a faithful Greek
+		dependent; but your ladyship shall receive worthy attention
+		and be duly conveyed to Leghorn. The squadron has been
+		driven from its course by a tempest which assailed us off the
+		island of Candia; our pilot lost his reckonings, and when land
+		was descried this morning, it was believed to be the coast of
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page268" title="268"> </a>Sicily. Hast thou, lady, any means of enlightening us as to the
+		geographical position of this island?”</p>
+
+		<p>Nisida answered in the ensuing manner: “I have not the
+		least notion of the geographical position of the island. An
+		eternal summer appears to prevail in this clime, which would be
+		a terrestrial paradise were not the forests infested by hideous
+		serpents of an enormous size.”</p>
+
+		<p>Ibrahim Pasha, having read this reply, summoned from the
+		barge the officer in command: and to him he communicated the
+		intelligence which he had just received from Nisida. That
+		officer’s countenance immediately underwent a dreadful change;
+		and, falling on his knees at Ibrahim’s feet, he made some strong
+		appeal, the nature of which Nisida could only divine by its
+		emphatic delivery and the terrified manner of the individual.
+		Ibrahim smiled contemptuously, and motioned the officer with
+		an imperious gesture to rise and return to the barge. Then,
+		again, having recourse to the tablets, he conveyed the following
+		information to Nisida: “Lady, it appears that this is the
+		Isle of Snakes, situated in the Gulf of Sictra, on the African
+		coast. Horrible superstitions are attached to this clime: and I
+		dare not remain longer on its shore, lest I should seriously offend
+		the prejudices of those ignorant sailors. Come, then, lady, you
+		shall receive treatment due to your rank, your beauty, and your
+		misfortunes.”</p>
+
+		<p>In the meantime the officer had returned to the barge, where
+		whispers speedily circulated in respect to the land on which that
+		boat had touched; and the reader may imagine the extent of the
+		loathing which the mere name of the isle was calculated to inspire
+		in the breasts of the superstitious Mussulmans, when we
+		observe that the existence of that island was well known to the
+		Turks and also to the Africans, but was left uninhabited, and
+		was never visited knowingly by any of their ships. Nisida saw
+		that the grand vizier was in haste to depart, not through any
+		ridiculous fears on his part, because he was too enlightened to
+		believe in the fearful tales of mermaids, genii, ghouls, vampires,
+		and other evil spirits by which the island was said to be haunted,
+		but because his renegadism had been of so recent a date that he
+		dared not, powerful and altered as he was, afford the least
+		ground for suspecting that the light of Christianity triumphed
+		in his soul over the dark barbarism of his assumed creed. Seeing,
+		then, that Ibrahim Pasha was anxious to yield to the superstitious
+		feelings of the sailors, Nisida intimated, with a graceful
+		bend of the head, her readiness to accompany him. But, as she
+		advanced toward the boat, she cast a rapid and searching glance
+		behind her. Alas! Wagner appeared not.</p>
+
+		<p>A feeling of uneasiness, amounting almost to a pang of remorse,
+		took possession of her, as she placed her foot upon the
+		velvet-covered plank; and for an instant she hesitated to proceed.</p>
+
+		<p>Could she abandon Fernand to the solitude of that isle? Could
+		she renounce the joys which his love had taught her to experience?
+		And might she not be enabled to persuade him to make
+		that sacrifice which would invest him with a power that she
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page269" title="269"> </a>herself would direct and wield according to her own pleasure
+		and suitably to her own interests? But, oh! that hesitation
+		lasted not more than a moment; for her feet were on the plank
+		leading to the barge, and at a short distance floated the ship that
+		would bear her away from the isle.</p>
+
+		<p>One longing, lingering look upon the shore of that island
+		where she had enjoyed so much happiness, even if she had experienced
+		so much anxiety; one longing, lingering look, and
+		she hesitated no more. Ibrahim escorted her to a seat beneath
+		the velvet canopy; the officer in command gave the signal, the
+		barge was shoved off, the rowers plied their oars, and the island
+		was already far behind, ere Nisida had the courage to glance
+		toward it again!</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_57" class="chapter">
+		<h3>CHAPTER LVII.</h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">Let</span> us now return to Fernand Wagner, whom we left flying
+		from his Nisida, flying in horror and alarm from her whom he
+		nevertheless loved so tenderly and devotedly. He fled as if
+		from the brink of the yawning pit of hell, into which the malignant
+		fiend who coveted his soul was about to plunge him. Nor
+		once did he look back. Absorbed as his feelings were in the full
+		conviction of the tremendous peril from which he had just escaped,
+		he still found room for the reflection that were he to turn
+		and catch but one glimpse of the beauteous, oh! too beauteous
+		creature from whom he had torn himself away, he should be
+		lost. His mind was bent upon the salvation of his immortal
+		soul; and he knew that the enemy of mankind was assailing
+		him with a power and with an energy which nothing save the
+		assistance of Heaven could enable him to resist. He knew also
+		that Heaven helps only those who are willing and anxious to
+		help themselves; and of this doctrine he had received a striking
+		and triumphant proof in the sudden and evanescent appearance
+		of his guardian angel at the instant when, overpowered by the
+		strong, the earnest, and the pathetic pleading of the siren
+		Nisida, he was about to proclaim his readiness to effect the
+		crowning sacrifice. And it was to avoid the chance of that
+		direful yielding—to fly from a temptation which became irresistible
+		when embellished with all the eloquence of a woman on
+		whom he doted, that Wagner sped with lightning rapidity
+		toward the mountains.</p>
+
+		<p>But the beauteous form of Nisida met not now his eyes; and
+		deeply, profoundly, ardently as he still loved her, and felt that
+		he must ever love her, yet, to speak soothly, he deplored not that
+		she was no longer there. The vision of the previous night had
+		so firmly established hope in his soul, that he had prepared and
+		tutored himself, during his journey across the mountains, to
+		sacrifice all his happiness on earth to insure the eternal felicity
+		of heaven.</p>
+
+		<p>No. Nisida was not there. But as he drew closer to the shore,
+		he beheld, to his ineffable joy, the dark spot gradually assume
+		that defined shape which left no room to doubt the truth of his
+		vision, even were he inclined to be skeptical. For there, indeed,
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page270" title="270"> </a>touching the strand, but still so far in the water that a slight
+		exertion would send it completely afloat, was a large boat, curiously
+		shaped, and painted in a variety of fantastic colors. It
+		had a mast standing, but the sail was lowered and, on a closer
+		inspection, the boat proved to be altogether unimpaired.</p>
+
+		<p>“Heaven delights to effect its wise intentions by natural
+		means,” thought Wagner within himself. “But surely it could
+		not have been through the agency of Nisida that this boat was
+		left upon the shore? No,” he added aloud, after a still closer
+		inspection; “the rope fastened to the prow has been snapped
+		asunder! Doubtless the boat became detached from one of the
+		ships which appeared off the island yesterday, and which,” he
+		said in a low murmuring voice, and with an ill-subdued sigh,
+		“have afforded Nisida the means of departure hence.”</p>
+
+		<p>He sat down, exhausted; and as he found leisure for recollection—as
+		his thoughts composed themselves and settled down
+		into something like collected calmness—he felt a sensation of
+		indescribable joy at having triumphed over the appalling
+		temptations which had beset him. And in his soul a voice
+		seemed to be singing an anthem of delight and gratitude; and
+		he soon experienced a serenity of mind such as he had not
+		known for many hours past! When man, having yielded to
+		temptation, succeeds in escaping the perils of the consequences,
+		he beholds a strong motive for self-gratulation;—but how ineffably
+		more sweet is it to be able to reflect that the temptation
+		itself has been avoided in the first instance, and that the dangers
+		of the results have never even been risked.</p>
+
+		<p>Thus thought Wagner:—but not for a moment did he attribute
+		to any strength of mind on his own part, the escape which had
+		just been effected from the snares set by the evil one. No; he
+		acknowledged within himself, and with all due humility, that the
+		hand of the Almighty had sustained him in his most trying
+		moments of peril; and ere he thought of resuming his journey
+		to that side of the island on which Nisida was not, he knelt in
+		fervent prayer. Rising from his knees, his eyes accidentally
+		swept the sea:—and he was riveted to the spot from which he
+		was about to turn away—for the white sails of the Ottoman
+		fleet met his astonished view. He remained gazing on those objects
+		for some time, until he was convinced they were nearing
+		the island. For a few moments a deep regret took possession of
+		him:—he should lose his Nisida irrevocably! But his next impulse
+		was to wrestle with this feeling—to combat this weakness.
+		How could he have hoped ever to rejoin her without rendering
+		himself again liable to the witchery of her siren tongue—the
+		eloquence of her silver-toned voice—the persuasiveness of her
+		graceful manners? No; it were better that she should depart; it
+		were preferable that he should lose her and preserve his immortal
+		soul. Thus reasoned he;—and that reasoning was effectual.
+		He waited only long enough to assure himself that the fleet was
+		positively approaching the island:—he then knew that she would
+		depart;—and, without permitting himself to yield again to the
+		weakness which had for a few moments threatened to send him
+		back within the sphere of Nisida’s fatal influence, he tore himself
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page271" title="271"> </a>away from that point amongst the heights which commanded
+		the view of the side of the island where she was. Hastening
+		around the base of the volcano, he reached the defiles leading
+		to that part of the isle where he had periodically fulfilled his
+		dreadful destiny as a Wehr-Wolf. Carefully avoiding the outskirts
+		of the forest and the knots of large trees, he proceeded
+		toward the shore; and his heart was rent with feelings of deep
+		anguish as he everywhere beheld the traces of destruction left
+		behind him by his recent run in the horrible form of a savage
+		monster. Then, too, when melancholy thoughts had once again
+		entered his soul, the image of Nisida appeared to flit before him
+		in the most tempting manner; and the more he endeavored to
+		banish from his memory the recollection of her charms, the
+		more vividly delineated did they become.</p>
+
+		<p>At length jealousy took possession of him;—and suddenly
+		stopping short in his progress toward the shore, he exclaimed
+		aloud, “What if she should be wooed and won by another?
+		If she return to her native land, as assuredly she now will, she
+		may meet some handsome and elegant cavalier who will succeed
+		in winning her passions:—and I—I, who love her so well—shall
+		be forgotten! Oh! this is madness! To think that another may
+		possess her, clasp her in his arms, press his lips to hers, feel her
+		fragrant breath fan his cheek, play with the rich tresses of her
+		beauteous hair, oh! no, no, the bare thought is enough to goad
+		me to despair! She must not depart thus, we have separated,
+		if not in anger at least abruptly, too abruptly, considering how
+		we have loved, and that we have wedded each other in the sight
+		of Heaven! Heaven!” repeated Wagner, his tone changing
+		from despair to a deep solemnity; “heaven! Oh! I rejoice that
+		I gave utterance to the word;—for it reminds me that to regain
+		my Nisida I must lose heaven!”</p>
+
+		<p>And, as if to fly from his own reflections, he rushed on toward
+		the sea; and there he stopped to gaze, as oft before he had gazed,
+		on the mighty expanse, seeming, in the liquid sunlight, as it
+		stretched away from the yellow sand, a resplendent lake of
+		molten silver bounded by a golden shore.</p>
+
+		<p>“How like to the human countenance art thou, oh mighty
+		sea!” thought Wagner, as he stood with folded arms on the
+		brink of the eternal waters. “Now thou hast smiles as soft
+		and dimples as beautiful as ever appeared in the face of innocence
+		and youth, while the joyous sunlight is on thee. But if
+		the dark clouds gather in the heaven above thee, thou straightway
+		assumed a mournful and a gloomy aspect, and thou
+		growest threatening and somber. And in how many varied
+		voices dost thou speak. Oh, treacherous and changeful sea!
+		Now thou whisperest softly as if thy ripples conveyed faint
+		murmurs of love;—but, if the gale arise, thou canst burst forth
+		into notes of laughter as thy waters leap to the shore with
+		bounding mirth;—and, if the wind grow higher, thou canst
+		speak louder and more menacingly; till, when the storm comes
+		on, thou lashest thyself into a fury,—thou boilest with rage,
+		and thy wrathful voice vies with the rush of the tempest and
+		the roar of the thunder! Deceitful sea—imaging the beauties,
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page272" title="272"> </a>thoughts, and passions of the earth! Within thy mighty depths,
+		too, thou hast gems to deck the crowns of kings and the brows
+		of loveliness; and yet thou cravest for more—more—and engulfest
+		rich argosies with all their treasures—thou insatiate sea!
+		And in thy dark caverns are the skeletons of the myriads of
+		human beings whom thou hast swallowed up in thy fury; and
+		whose bones are trophies which thou retainest in thy fathomless
+		depths, as the heart of man enshrineth the relics of those
+		hopes which have wasted away and perished!”</p>
+
+		<p>Thus thought Wagner, as he stood gazing upon the sea, then
+		so calm and beautiful, but which he knew to be so treacherous.
+		When wearied of the reflections which that scene inspired, and
+		not daring to allow his mind to dwell upon the image of Nisida,
+		he repaired to the nearest grove and refreshed himself with the
+		cooling fruits which he plucked. Then he extended his rambles
+		amongst the verdant plains, and strove strenuously to divert
+		his thoughts as much as possible from the one grand and mournful
+		idea—the departure of Nisida from the island! But vainly
+		did he endeavor to fix his attention upon the enchanting characteristics
+		of that clime;—the flowers appeared to him less brilliant
+		in hue than they were wont to be—the fruits were less inviting—the
+		verdure was of a less lively green—and the plumage
+		of the birds seemed to have lost the bright gloss that rendered
+		its colors so gorgeous in the sunlight. For, oh! the powers of
+		his vision were almost completely absorbed in his mind; and
+		that mind was a mirror wherein was now reflected with a painful
+		vividness all the incidents of the last few hours.</p>
+
+		<p>But still he was sustained in his determination not to retrace
+		his way to the spot where he had left Nisida; and when several
+		hours had passed, and the sun was drawing near the western
+		horizon, he exclaimed, in a moment of holy triumph, “She has
+		doubtless by this time quitted the island, and I have been enabled
+		to resist those anxious longings which prompted me to
+		return and clasp her in my arms! O God! I thank thee that
+		thou hast given me this strength!”</p>
+
+		<p>Wagner now felt so overcome with weariness after his wanderings
+		and roamings of so many hours, especially as the two
+		preceding nights had been sleepless for him—that he sat down
+		upon a piece of low rock near the shore. A quiet, dreamy repose
+		insensibly stole over him: in a few minutes his slumber was
+		profound. And now he beheld a strange vision. Gradually the
+		darkness which appeared to surround him grew less intense;
+		and a gauzy vapor that rose in the midst, at first of the palest
+		bluish tint possible, by degrees obtained more consistency, when
+		its nature began to undergo a sudden change, assuming the
+		semblance of a luminous mist. Wagner’s heart seemed to flutter
+		and leap in his breast, as if with a presentiment of coming
+		joy; for the luminous mist became a glorious halo, surrounding
+		the beauteous and holy form of a protecting angel, clad in
+		white and shining garments, and with snowy wings drooping
+		slowly from her shoulders! And ineffably—supernally benign
+		and reassuring was the look which the angel bent upon the sleeping
+		Wagner, as she said in the softest, most melodious tones,
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page273" title="273"> </a>“The choir of the heavenly host has hymned thanks for thy salvation!
+		After thou hadst resisted the temptations of the enemy
+		of mankind when he spoke to thee with his own lips, an angel
+		came to thee in a dream to give thee assurance that thou hadst
+		already done much in atonement for the crime that endangered
+		thy soul; but he warned thee then that much more remained to
+		be done ere that atonement would be complete. And the rest is
+		now accomplished; for thou hast resisted the temptations of the
+		evil one when urged by the tongue and in the melodious voice
+		of lovely woman! This was thy crowning triumph: and the
+		day when thou shalt reap thy reward is near at hand; for the
+		bonds which connect thee with the destiny of a Wehr-Wolf
+		shall be broken, and thy name shall be inscribed in Heaven’s
+		own Book of Life! And I will give thee a sign, that what thou
+		seest and hearest now in thy slumber is no idle and delusive
+		vision conjured up by a fevered brain. The sign shall be this:
+		On awaking from thy sleep, retrace thy way to the spot where
+		this morning thou didst separate from her whom thou
+		lovest; and there shalt thou find a boat upon the sand. The
+		boat will waft thee to Sicily; and there, in the town of Syracuse,
+		thou must inquire for a man whose years have numbered one
+		hundred and sixty-two; for that man it is who will teach thee
+		how the spell which has made thee a Wehr-Wolf may be broken.”</p>
+
+		<p>Scarcely had the angel finished speaking, when a dark form
+		rose suddenly near that heavenly being; and Wagner had no difficulty
+		in recognizing the demon. But the enemy of mankind
+		appeared not armed with terrors of countenance, nor with the
+		withering scorn of infernal triumph; for a moment his features
+		denoted ineffable rage—and then that expression yielded to one
+		of the profoundest melancholy, as if he were saying within himself,
+		“There is salvation for repentant man, but none for me!”
+		A cloud now seemed to sweep before Wagner’s eyes; denser and
+		more dense it grew—first absorbing in its increasing obscurity
+		the form of the demon, and then enveloping the radiant being
+		who still continued to smile sweetly and benignly upon the
+		sleeping mortal until the glorious countenance and the shining
+		garments were no longer visible, but all was black darkness
+		around. And Fernand Wagner continued to sleep profoundly.</p>
+
+		<p>Many hours elapsed ere he woke; and his slumber was serene
+		and soothing. At length when he opened his eyes and slowly
+		raised his head from the hard pillow which a mass of rock had
+		formed, he beheld the rich red streaks in the eastern horizon,
+		heralding the advent of the sun; and as the various features of
+		the island gradually developed themselves to his view, as if
+		breaking slowly from a mist, he collected and rearranged in his
+		mind all the details of the strange vision which he had seen. For
+		a few minutes he was oppressed with a fear that his vision
+		would indeed prove the delusive sport of his fevered brain; for
+		there seemed to be in its component parts a wild admixture of
+		the sublime and the fantastic. The solemn language of the
+		angel appeared strangely diversified by the intimation that he
+		would find a boat upon the shore, that this boat would convey
+		him to a place where he was to inquire for a man whose age was
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page274" title="274"> </a>one hundred and sixty-two years, and that this man was the
+		being destined to save him from the doom of a Wehr-Wolf.</p>
+
+		<p>Then, again, he thought that heaven worked out its designs
+		by means often inscrutable to human comprehension: and he
+		blamed himself for having doubted the truth of the vision.
+		Feelings of joy therefore accompanied the reassurance of his
+		soul; and, having poured forth his thanksgivings for the merciful
+		intervention of Providence in his behalf, he tarried not even
+		to break his fast with the fruits clustering at a short distance
+		from him, but hastened to retrace his way across the mountains,
+		no longer doubting to find the sign fulfilled and the boat upon
+		the shore. And now these thoughts rose within him. Should
+		he again behold Nisida? Was the fleet, which he had seen on
+		the previous day, still off the island? Or had it departed, bearing
+		Nisida away to another clime?</p>
+
+		<p>He expected not to behold either the fleet or his loved one;
+		for he felt convinced that the angel would not send him back
+		within the influence of her temptations. Nor was he mistaken,
+		for having traversed the volcanic range of heights, he beheld
+		naught to break the uniform and monotonous aspect of the sunlit
+		sea. But, on drawing nearer to the shore, he saw a dark
+		spot almost immediately in front of the little hut which Nisida
+		and himself had constructed, and wherein they had passed so
+		many, many happy hours.</p>
+
+		<p>He now advanced with a beating heart to the hut. The door
+		was closed. Was it possible that Nisida might be within? Oh,
+		how weak in purpose is the strongest minded of mortals. For an
+		instant a pleasing hope filled Wagner’s breast; and then, again
+		summoning all his resolutions to his aid, he opened the door,
+		resolved, should she indeed be there, to remain proof against all
+		the appeals she might make to induce him to sacrifice to their
+		mundane prosperity his immortal soul. But the hut was empty.
+		He lingered in it for a few moments; and the reminiscences of
+		happy hours passed therein swept across his brain. Suddenly
+		the note which Nisida had left for him met his eyes; and it
+		would be representing him as something far more or else far less
+		than human, were we to declare he did not experience a feeling
+		of intense pleasure at beholding the memorial of her love. The
+		tears flowed down his cheeks as he read the following lines:</p>
+
+		<blockquote>
+		<p>“The hour approaches, dearest Fernand, when, in all probability,
+		I shall quit the island. But think not that this hope is
+		unaccompanied by severe pangs. Oh, thou knowest that I love
+		thee, and I will return to thee, my own adored Fernand, so soon
+		as my presence shall be no longer needed at Florence. Yes, I
+		will come back to thee, and we will not part until death shall
+		deprive thee of <em>me</em>—for I must perish first, and while thou still
+		remainest in all the glory of regenerated youth. Alas, thou hast
+		fled from me this morning in anger—perhaps in disgust. But
+		thou wilt forgive me, Fernand, if, yielding to some strange influence
+		which I could not control, I urged an appeal so well calculated
+		to strike terror into thy soul. Oh, that I could embrace
+		thee ere I leave this isle; but alas! thou comest not back—thou
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page275" title="275"> </a>hast fled to the mountains. It is, however, in the ardent hope
+		of thy return to this spot, that I leave these few lines to assure
+		thee of my undying affection, to pledge to thee my intention to
+		hasten back to thine arms as soon as possible, and to implore
+		thee not to nourish anger against thy devoted      <span class="signature">Nisida.”</span></p>
+		</blockquote>
+
+		<p>Wagner placed the letter to his lips, exclaiming, “Oh, wherefore
+		did an evil influence ever prove its power on thee, thou
+		loving, loved, and beauteous being. Why was thy hand raised
+		against the hapless Agnes? wherefore did fate make thee a
+		murderess—and why, oh, why didst thou assail me with prayers,
+		tears, reproaches, menaces, to induce me to consign my soul to
+		Satan? Nisida, may Heaven manifest its merciful goodness
+		unto thee, even as that same benign care has been extended to
+		me.”</p>
+
+		<p>Fernand then placed the letter in his bosom, next to his heart,
+		and dashing away the tears from his long lashes, began to turn
+		his attention toward the preparation for his own departure from
+		the island. As he approached the pile of stores, he beheld the
+		light drapery which Nisida had lately worn, but which she had
+		laid aside previous to leaving the island; and he also observed
+		that the rich dress, which he had often seen her examine with
+		care, was no longer there.</p>
+
+		<p>“How beautiful she must have appeared in the garb!” he
+		murmured to himself. “But, alas! she returns to the great
+		world to resume her former character of the deaf and dumb.”</p>
+
+		<p>Nisida and himself had often employed themselves in gathering
+		quantities of those fruits which form an excellent aliment
+		when dried in the sun; and there was a large supply of these
+		comestibles now at his disposal. He accordingly transferred
+		them to the boat; then he procured a quantity of fresh fruits;
+		and lastly he filled with pure water a cask which had been saved
+		by Nisida from the corsair-wreck. His preparations were speedily
+		completed; and he was about to depart, when it struck him
+		that he might never behold Nisida again, and that she might
+		perform her promise of returning to the island sooner or later.
+		He accordingly availed himself of the writing materials left
+		amongst the stores, to pen a brief but affectionate note, couched
+		in the following terms:</p>
+
+		<blockquote>
+		<p>“<span class="salutation">Dearest Nisida</span>,—I have found, read, and wept over thy
+		letter. Thou hast my sincerest forgiveness, because I love thee
+		more than man ever before loved woman. Heaven has sent me
+		the means of escape from this island—and the doom at which
+		my regenerated existence was purchased, will shortly lose its
+		spell. But perhaps my life may be surrendered up at the same
+		time; at all events, everything is dark and mysterious in respect
+		to means by which that spell is to be broken. Should we never
+		meet again, but shouldst thou return hither and find this note,
+		receive it as a proof of the unchanging affection of thy</p>
+
+		<p class="signature">“Fernand.”</p>
+		</blockquote>
+
+		<p>The letter was placed in the hut, in precisely the same spot
+		where the one written by Nisida had been left; and Wagner then
+		hastened to the boat, which he had no difficulty in pushing away
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page276" title="276"> </a>from the shore. Without being able to form any idea of the
+		direction in which the island of Sicily lay, but trusting entirely
+		to the aid of Heaven to guide him to the coast whither his
+		destiny now required him to proceed, he hoisted the sail and
+		abandoned the boat to the gentle breeze which swept the surface
+		of the Mediterranean.</p>
+
+		<p class="prose_break">*****</p>
+
+		<p>The state-cabins—they might more properly be called spacious
+		apartments—occupied by the Grand Vizier Ibrahim Pasha, on
+		board the ship of the lord high admiral, were fitted up in a most
+		sumptuous and luxurious manner. They consisted of two large
+		saloons in a suit, and from each of which opened, on either
+		side, a number of small cabins, tenanted by the officers immediately
+		attached to the grand vizier’s person, and the page
+		and slaves in attendance on him.</p>
+
+		<p>The first of the two large saloons was lighted by a handsome
+		conical skylight on the deck: the innermost had the advantage
+		of the stern windows. The drapery—the curtains, the carpets,
+		the sofas, and the hangings were all of the richest materials;
+		the sides and ceilings of the cabin were beautifully painted and
+		elaborately gilded, and the wood-work of the windows was incrusted
+		with thin slabs of variously-colored marbles, on which
+		were engraved the ciphers of the different lord high admirals
+		who had hoisted their flags at any time on board that ship. For
+		the state-apartments which we are describing properly belonged
+		to the kapitan-pasha himself; but they had been surrendered to
+		the grand vizier, as a mark of respect to the superior rank of
+		this minister, during his stay on board.</p>
+
+		<p>The little cabins communicating with the large saloons were
+		in reality intended to accomodate the ladies of the kapitan-pasha’s
+		harem; but Ibrahim did not turn them to a similar use,
+		because it was contrary to Ottoman usage for the Princess
+		Aischa, being the sultan’s sister, to accompany her husband on
+		any expedition; and he had received so menacing a warning in
+		the fate of Calanthe not to provoke the jealousy of Aischa or
+		the vengeance of her mother, the Sultana Valida, that he had
+		brought none of the ladies of his own harem with him. Indeed,
+		since the violent death of Calanthe the harem had been maintained
+		at Constantinople rather as an appendage of high rank
+		than as a source of sensual enjoyment.</p>
+
+		<p>Nisida of Riverola was treated with the utmost deference and
+		attention by the Grand Vizier, Ibrahim Pasha; and on reaching
+		the lord high admiral’s ship, she was instantly conducted to
+		the innermost saloon, which she was given to understand by
+		signs would be exclusively appropriated to her own use. The
+		slaves occupying the small cabins opening therefrom were removed
+		to another part of the ship; and the key of the door connecting
+		the two saloons was handed by the polite Ibrahim to the
+		lady as a guaranty, or at least an apparent one, of the respect
+		with which she should be treated and the security she might
+		hope to enjoy.</p>
+
+		<p>The fleet weighed anchor and set sail again almost immediately
+		after the return of the grand vizier to the admiral’s ship;
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page277" title="277"> </a>and as she was wafted away from the Island of Snakes, Nisida
+		sat at the window of her splendid saloon gazing at the receding
+		shores, and so strangely balancing between her anxiety to revisit
+		Florence and her regrets at abandoning Fernand Wagner,
+		that while smiles were on her lips, tears were in her eyes, and if
+		her bosom palpitated with joy at one moment it would heave
+		with profound sighs at the next.</p>
+
+		<p>In the afternoon four male slaves entered Nisida’s cabin, and
+		spread upon the table a magnificent repast, accompanied with
+		the most delicious wines of Cyprus and Greece—and while the
+		lady partook slightly of the banquet, two other slaves appeared
+		and danced in a pleasing style for several minutes. They retired,
+		but shortly returned, carrying in their hands massive silver
+		censers, in which burnt aloes, cinnamon and other odoriferous
+		woods diffused a delicious perfume around. The four slaves
+		who attended at table removed the dishes on splendid silver
+		salvers, and then served sherbet and a variety of delicious
+		fruits; and when the repast was terminated, they all withdrew,
+		leaving Nisida once more alone. The Island of Snakes had been
+		lost sight of for some hours, and the fresh breeze of evening was
+		playing upon the cheeks of the Lady Nisida as she sat at the
+		open casement of her splendid saloon, watching the ships that
+		followed in the wake of that in which she was, when the sounds
+		of voices in the adjacent cabin attracted her attention; and as
+		the partition was but slight, and the persons discoursing spoke
+		Italian, she could not help overhearing the conversation which
+		there look place, even if she had possessed any punctilious feelings
+		to have prevented her from becoming a willing listener.</p>
+
+		<p>“The Lady Nisida is a magnificent woman, Demetrius,”
+		observed a voice which our heroine immediately recognized to
+		be that of the grand vizier. “Such a splendid aquiline countenance
+		I never before beheld! Such eyes, too, such a delicious
+		mouth, and such brilliant teeth! What a pity ’tis that she has
+		not the use of her tongue! The voice of such a glorious creature,
+		speaking mine own dear Italian language, would be music itself.
+		And how admirably is she formed—upon somewhat too large a
+		scale, perhaps, to precisely suit my taste, and yet the contours
+		of her shape are so well rounded—so perfectly proportioned in
+		the most harmonious symmetry, that were she less of the Hebe
+		she would be less charming.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Is your highness already enamored of Donna Nisida?” asked
+		the person to whom the grand vizier had addressed the preceding
+		observations.</p>
+
+		<p>“I must confess that I am, Demetrius,” replied Ibrahim; “I
+		would give a year of my life to become her favored lover for
+		one day. But considering that I hope to see my sister Flora become
+		the wife of Donna Nisida’s brother Francisco, I must restrain
+		this passion of mine within due bounds. But wherefore
+		do you sigh thus heavily, Demetrius?”</p>
+
+		<p>“Alas! my lord, the mention you make of your sister reminded
+		me that I once possessed a sister also,” returned the
+		Greek in a plaintive tone. “But when I returned to Constantinople,
+		I sought vainly for her, and Heaven knows what has become
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page278" title="278"> </a>of her, and whether I shall ever see her more. Poor Calanthe!
+		some treachery has doubtless been practiced toward
+		thee!”</p>
+
+		<p>“Don’t give way to despair, Demetrius,” said the grand vizier.
+		“Who knows but Calanthe may have espoused some youth on
+		whom her affections were set——”</p>
+
+		<p>“Ah! my lord!” interrupted the Greek, “it is considerate—it
+		is kind on the part of your highness to suggest such a consolatory
+		belief; but Calanthe would not keep an honorable bridal
+		secret. Yet better were it that she should be dead—that she
+		should have been basely murdered by some ruthless robber, than
+		that she should live dishonored. However, I will not intrude
+		my griefs upon your highness, although the friendship and the
+		condescension which your highness manifests toward me, emboldens
+		me to mention these sorrows in your presence.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Would that I could really console thee, Demetrius,” answered
+		Ibrahim, with well-affected sincerity; “for thou hast
+		shown thyself a sincere friend to my poor sister Flora. And
+		now that we are alone together, Demetrius, for almost the first
+		time since this hastily undertaken voyage began, let us recapitulate
+		in detail all the occurrences which have led me to enter
+		upon the present expedition the real nature of which you alone
+		know, save my imperial master. And, moreover, let us continue
+		to discourse in Italian; for thou canst speak that language
+		more fluently than I can express myself in thy native
+		Greek; besides, it rejoices my heart,” he added with a sigh,
+		“to converse in a tongue so dear as that of the land which
+		gave me birth. And, if Donna Nisida only knew that in the
+		representative of the mighty Solyman she had beholden the
+		brother of her late menial, Flora, how surprised would she be!”</p>
+
+		<p>“And it were not prudent that she should learn that fact,
+		my lord!” observed Demetrius, “for more reasons than one;
+		since from sundry hints which the Signora Francatelli, your
+		lordship’s worthy aunt, dropped to me, it is easy to believe that
+		the Donna Nisida was averse to the attachment which her
+		brother Francisco had formed, and that her ladyship indeed was
+		the means of consigning your highness’ sister to the convent of
+		the Carmelites.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Albeit I shall not treat Count Francisco’s sister the less
+		worthily, now that she is in my power,” said Ibrahim Pasha;
+		“indeed, her matchless beauty would command my forbearance,
+		were I inclined to be vindictive. Moreover, deaf and
+		dumb as she is, she could not obtain the least insight into my
+		plans; and therefore she is unable to thwart them.”</p>
+
+		<p>The reader may suppose that not one single word of all this
+		conversation was lost upon Nisida, who had indeed learnt, with
+		the most unbounded wonderment, that the high and mighty
+		grand vizier of the Ottoman Empire—a man enjoying an almost
+		sovereign rank, and who bore a title which placed him on a level
+		with the greatest princes of Christendom, was the brother of
+		the detested Flora Francatelli! During a short pause which ensued
+		in the dialogue between Ibrahim Pasha and his Greek confidant,
+		Nisida stole gently up to the door in the partitions between
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page279" title="279"> </a>the two saloons, so fearful was she of losing a single
+		word of a discourse that so deeply interested and nearly concerned
+		her.</p>
+
+		<p>“But, as I was saying ere now, Demetrius,” resumed the
+		grand vizier, who, young as he was, had acquired all the methodical
+		habits of a wise statesman, “let us examine in detail the
+		whole posture of affairs in Florence, so that I may maturely
+		consider the precise bearings of the case, and finally determine
+		how to act. For, although I have at my disposal a fleet which
+		might cope with even that of enterprising England or imperious
+		France, though twenty thousand well-disciplined soldiers on
+		board these ships are ready to draw the sword at my nod, and
+		though, as the seraskier and sipehsalar of the armies of the sultan,
+		I am responsible for my actions to his majesty alone, yet it
+		is not a small thing, Demetrius, to march an invading force
+		into the heart of Italy, and thereby risk a war with all Christendom.
+		Therefore, let us pause to reflect upon every detail of all
+		those incidents which occurred two months ago at Florence.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Good, my lord,” said Demetrius. “I will therefore begin
+		with my arrival in that fair city, to which I repaired with all
+		possible dispatch, as soon as I had received the instructions of
+		your highness. It would appear that the Lord Count of Riverola
+		reached Florence the same day as myself, he having been detained
+		at the outset of his voyage home from Rhodes by contrary
+		winds and a severe storm. It was somewhat late in the evening
+		when I called at the cottage of the Signora Francatelli, your
+		highness’ worthy aunt; for I previously passed a few hours in
+		instituting by indirect means as many inquiries concerning her
+		circumstances and welfare as could be prudently made. To my
+		grief, however, I could not ascertain any tidings concerning
+		your highness’ sister; and I therefore came to the mournful
+		conclusion that her disappearance still remained unaccounted
+		for. Pondering upon the sad tidings which, in this respect, I
+		should have to forward to your highness, and having already
+		devised a fitting tale whereby to introduce myself to your lordship’s
+		aunt, I went to the cottage, which, as I heard in the course
+		of a subsequent conversation, Don Francisco of Riverola had just
+		quitted. Your highness’ aunt received me with as much cordiality
+		as she could well show toward a stranger. Then, in accordance
+		with my pre-arranged method of procedure, I stated I
+		was sent by a son of a debtor to the estate of the late Signor
+		Francatelli, to repay to any of his surviving relations a large sum
+		of money which had been so long—so very long owing, and the
+		loss of which at the time had mainly contributed to plunge Signor
+		Francatelli into embarrassment. I added that the son of the
+		debtor having grown rich, had deemed it an act of duty and honor
+		to liquidate this liability on the part of his deceased father. My
+		tale was believed; the case of jewels, which I had previously
+		caused to be estimated by a goldsmith in Florence, was received
+		as the means of settling the fictitious debt; and I was forthwith
+		a welcome friend at the worthy lady’s table.”</p>
+
+		<p>“The stratagem was a good one, Demetrius,” observed the
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page280" title="280"> </a>grand vizier. “But proceed, and fear not that thou wilt weary
+		me with lengthened details.”</p>
+
+		<p>“I stayed to partake of the evening repast,” continued the
+		Greek; “and the Signora Francatelli grew confiding and communicative,
+		as was nothing more than natural, inasmuch as I
+		necessarily appeared in the light of the agent of a worthy and
+		honorable man who had not forgotten the obligation to a family
+		that had suffered by his father’s conduct. I assured the signora
+		that the person by whom I was employed to liquidate that
+		debt, would be rejoiced to hear of the success of the Francatellis,
+		and I ventured to make inquiries concerning the orphan
+		children of the late merchant.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Proceed, Demetrius,” said the grand vizier, “spare not a
+		single detail.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Your highness shall be obeyed,” returned the Greek, though
+		now speaking with considerable diffidence. “The worthy lady
+		shook her head mournfully, observing that Alessandro, the son
+		of the late merchant, was in Turkey, she believed; and then she
+		rose hastily, and opening a door leading to a staircase, called her
+		niece to descend, as ‘there was only a friend present.’ I was
+		overjoyed to learn thus unexpectedly, that the Signora Flora
+		had reappeared; and when she entered the room, could scarcely
+		conceal my delight beneath that aspect of mere cold courtesy
+		which it became a stranger to wear. The young lady appeared
+		perfectly happy, and no wonder! For when she had retired,
+		after staying a few minutes in the room, her good aunt, in the
+		fullness of her confidence in me, not only related all the particulars
+		of the Signora Flora’s immurement in the Carmelite
+		Convent, but also explained to me her motives for so long concealing
+		the young lady’s return home, as I have heretofore narrated
+		to your highness. The worthy aunt then informed me
+		that the Count of Riverola had only returned that day from the
+		wars—that he had made honorable proposals to her on behalf of
+		the Signora Flora—and that it was intended to sustain the mystery
+		which veiled the young lady’s existence and safety in the
+		cottage, until the marriage should have been privately effected,
+		when it would be too late for the count’s friends to interfere or
+		renew their persecutions against your lordship’s sister. Your
+		highness’ aunt dropped hints intimating her suspicion that the
+		Lady Nisida was the principal, if not indeed the sole means of
+		those persecutions which had consigned the innocent young
+		maiden to the Carmelite Convent. And the more I reflect on
+		this point, in view of all I know of the affairs, and of Donna
+		Nisida’s strange and resolute character, the more I am convinced
+		that she really perpetrated that diabolical outrage.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Were it not for young Francisco’s sake, and that I should
+		bring dishonor into a family with which my sister will, I hope,
+		be soon connected with marriage ties,” exclaimed Ibrahim, “I
+		would avenge myself and my sister’s wrongs by forcing the
+		cruel Nisida to yield herself to my arms. But no, it must
+		not be.”</p>
+
+		<p>And Nisida, who overheard every syllable, curled her lips,
+		while her eyes flashed fire at the dark menace which the
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page281" title="281"> </a>renegade had dared to utter, qualified though it were by the
+		avowal of the motive which would prevent him from putting it
+		into execution.</p>
+
+		<p>“No, it must not be,” repeated Ibrahim. “And yet, she is
+		so wondrously beautiful that I would risk a great deal to win
+		her love. But proceed, Demetrius—we now come to that portion
+		of the narrative which so nearly concerns my present proceedings.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Yes, my lord, and God give your highness success!” exclaimed
+		the young Greek. “Having taken leave of your excellent
+		aunt, who invited me to visit her again, as I had casually
+		observed that business would detain me in Florence for some
+		time, and having promised the strictest secrecy relative to all she
+		had told me, I repaired to the inn at which I had put up,
+		intending to devote the next day to writing the details of all
+		those particulars which I have just related, and which I purposed
+		to send by some special messenger to your highness.
+		But it then struck me that I should only attract undue attention
+		to myself by conducting at a public tavern a correspondence
+		having so important an aspect, and I accordingly
+		rose very early in the morning to sally forth to seek after a
+		secluded but respectable lodging, I eventually obtained suitable
+		apartments in the house of a widow named Dame Margaretha,
+		and there I immediately took up my abode. Having written
+		my letters to your highness, I was anxious to get them
+		expedited to Constantinople, for I was well aware that your
+		highness would be rejoiced to hear that your beloved sister was
+		indeed in the land of the living, that she was in good health,
+		and that a brilliant marriage was in store for her. I accordingly
+		spoke to Dame Margaretha relative to the means of obtaining
+		a trusty messenger who would undertake a journey to Constantinople.
+		The old woman assured me that her son Antonio,
+		who was a valet in the service of the Count of Arestino, would
+		be able to procure me such a messenger as I desired, and in the
+		course of the day that individual was fetched by his mother to
+		speak to me on the subject. Having repeated my wishes to him,
+		he asked me several questions which seemed to indicate a prying
+		disposition, and a curiosity as impertinent as it was inconvenient.
+		In fact, I did not like his manner at all; but conceiving
+		that his conduct might arise from sheer ignorance, and from
+		no sinister motive, I still felt inclined to avail myself of his assistance
+		to procure a messenger. Finding that he could not sift
+		me, he at length said that he had no doubt a friend of his, whom
+		he named Venturo, would undertake my commission, and he
+		promised to return with that individual in the evening. He
+		then left me, and true to his promise, he came back shortly
+		after dusk, accompanied by this same Venturo. The bargain
+		was soon struck between us, and he promised to set off that
+		very night for Rimini, whence vessels were constantly sailing
+		for Constantinople. I gave him a handsome sum in advance,
+		and also a sealed packet, addressed to your highness’ private
+		secretary, but containing an inclosure, also well sealed, directed
+		to your highness, for I did not choose to excite the curiosity of
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page282" title="282"> </a>these Italians by allowing them to discover that I was corresponding
+		with the grand vizier of the Ottoman Empire, Venturo
+		accordingly left me, promising to acquit himself faithfully
+		of his mission.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Your plans were all wisely taken,” said the grand vizier,
+		“and no human foresight could have anticipated other than
+		successful results. Proceed, for although you have hastily
+		sketched all these particulars to me before, yet I am anxious to
+		consider them in more attentive detail.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Having thus disposed of that important business,” resumed
+		the young Greek, “I went out to saunter through the streets of
+		Florence, and while away an hour or two in viewing the splendid
+		appearance of that charming city, when lighted up with the
+		innumerable lamps of its palaces and casinos. At length I entered
+		a dark and obscure street, which I knew must lead toward
+		the river. I had not proceeded far down the street when I heard
+		the sound of many steps rapidly approaching, as if of a patrol.
+		I stepped aside under a deep archway, but as chance would
+		have it, they stopped short within a few paces of the spot where
+		I was shrouded in the utter obscurity of the arch. I should
+		have immediately passed on my way, but was induced to stop
+		by hearing a voice which I recognized to be that of Venturo,
+		whom I believed to be already some miles away from Florence.
+		I was perfectly astounded at this discovery, and if I had entertained
+		any doubts as to the identity of that voice, they were
+		speedily cleared up by the conversation between the men. ‘We
+		had better separate here,’ said Venturo, ‘and break into at least
+		two parties, as at the bottom of this street we shall come within
+		the blaze of the lights of the casinos on the Arno’s bank.’ ‘Well
+		spoken,’ returned a voice which, to my increasing wonder, I
+		recognized to be that of Antonio, my landlady’s son; ‘you
+		and I, Venturo, will keep together, and our friends can
+		go on first. We will follow them in a few minutes, and
+		then unite again at the angle of the grove nearest to Dame
+		Francatelli’s cottage. What say you, Lomellino?’ ‘Just as you
+		think fit, Antonio,’ returned a third person, whom I naturally
+		concluded to be the individual addressed as Lomellino. ‘You,
+		or rather your master, the Count of Arestino, pays for this business,
+		and so I am bound to obey you.’ ‘Listen, then,’ resumed
+		Antonio, ‘the young Count of Riverola, whom I have traced to
+		the cottage this evening, will no doubt be coming away about
+		the time we shall all meet down there; and therefore we shall
+		have nothing to do but to carry him off to the cave.’ ‘Why is
+		the Count of Arestino so hostile to young Riverola?’ demanded
+		the man who had answered to the name of Lomellino. ‘He
+		cares nothing about young Riverola, either one way or the
+		other,’ replied Antonio, ‘but I have persuaded his lordship that
+		if Francisco be left at large, he will only use his influence to
+		mitigate the vengeance of the law against the Countess Giulia,
+		who is the friend of Flora Francatelli: and so the Count of
+		Arestino has consented to follow my advice and have Francisco
+		locked up until the inquisition has dealt with the countess, her
+		lover, the Marquis of Orsini, and the Francatellis, aunt and
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page283" title="283"> </a>niece.’ ‘Then you have a spite against this man,’ said Lomellino.
+		‘Truly have I,’ responded Antonio. ‘You remember that
+		night when you, with Stephano Verrina and Piero, got into the
+		Riverola Palace some months ago? Well, I don’t know who
+		discovered the plot, but I was locked in my room, and next
+		morning young Francisco dismissed me in a way that made me
+		his mortal enemy: and I must have vengeance. For this
+		purpose I have urged on the count to cause Flora Francatelli,
+		whom Francisco loves and wishes to marry, to be
+		included in the proceedings taken by the inquisition at his
+		lordship’s instigation against the Countess Giulia and the Marquis
+		d’Orsini; and the old aunt must necessarily be thrown in,
+		into the bargain, for harboring sacrilegious persons.’ ‘And so
+		young Francisco is to lose his mistress, Flora, and be kept a
+		prisoner in the cavern till he has been condemned along with
+		the others?’ said Lomellino. ‘Neither more nor less than what
+		you imagine, and I only wish I had the Lady Nisida also in my
+		power, for I have no doubt she instigated her brother to turn
+		me off suddenly like a common thief, because from all you have
+		since told me, Lomellino, I dare swear it was she who got an
+		inkling of our intentions to plunder the Riverola Palace; though
+		how she could have done so, being deaf and dumb, passes my
+		understanding.’ ‘Well, well,’ growled Lomellino, ‘it is no use
+		to waste time talking of the past: let us only think of the present.
+		Come, my men, we will go on first, as already agreed.’
+		Three or four armed ruffians then put themselves in motion,
+		passing close by the place where I was concealed, but fortunately
+		without discovering my presence.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Oh! those miscreants would have assuredly murdered you,
+		my faithful Demetrius,” said the grand vizier.</p>
+
+		<p>“Of that, my lord, there is little doubt,” returned the young
+		Greek; “and I must confess that I shuddered more than once
+		while listening to the discourse of the cold-blooded monsters.
+		But Venturo and Antonio still remained behind for a few minutes,
+		and the discourse which took place between them, gave
+		me a still further insight into the characters of the gang. ‘Well,
+		Venturo,’ said Antonio, after a short pause, ‘have you examined
+		the packet which was intrusted to you?’ ‘I have, and the contents
+		are written in Greek or Arabic, or some such outlandish
+		tongue, for I could not read a word of them,’ answered Venturo;
+		‘and so I thought the best plan was to destroy them.’ ‘You
+		acted wisely,’ observed Antonio; ‘by the saints! it was a good
+		thought of mine to introduce you to my mother’s lodger as a
+		trustworthy messenger! If he only knew that we had shared
+		his gold, and were laughing at him for his credulity, he would
+		not be over well pleased. His purse appears to be pretty well
+		lined, and when we have got all our present business off our
+		hands we will devote our attention to the lodger. The Arno is
+		deep and a foreigner the less in the city will not be noticed.’ ‘Not
+		at all,’ answered Venturo; ‘but let us now hasten to join our
+		companions. At what time are the officers of the inquisition to
+		visit the cottage?’ ‘They are no doubt already in the neighborhood,’
+		replied Antonio, ‘and will pounce upon their victims as
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page284" title="284"> </a>soon as young Francisco leaves the place. Another set of officers
+		are after the Marquis of Orsini.’ The two miscreants then
+		departed, continuing their conversation in a low tone as they
+		went along the street, but I overheard no more.”</p>
+
+		<p>“The wretches!” exclaimed the grand vizier, in an excited
+		voice. “But vengeance will light upon them yet!”</p>
+
+		<p>“Heaven grant that they may not go unpunished!” said
+		Demetrius. “Your highness may imagine the consternation
+		with which I had listened to the development of the damnable
+		plots then in progress; but I nevertheless experienced a material
+		solace in the fact that accident had thus revealed to me the
+		whole extent of the danger which menaced those whom your
+		highness held dear. Without pausing to deliberate, I resolved,
+		at all risks, to proceed at once to the cottage, and, if not too late,
+		warn your aunt and lovely sister of the terrible danger which
+		menaced them. Nay, more—I determined to remove them immediately
+		from Florence—that very night—without an unnecessary
+		moment’s delay. Darting along the streets, as if my speed
+		involved matters of life and death, I succeeded in passing the
+		two villains, Venturo and Antonio, before they had entered the
+		sphere of the brilliant illuminations of the casinos in the vale of
+		Arno; and I beard one say to the other, ‘There’s some cowardly
+		knave who has just done a deed of which he is no doubt afraid.’
+		Convinced by this remark that they suspected not who the person
+		that passed them so rapidly was, I hurried on with increasing
+		speed, and likewise with augmented hope to be enabled
+		to save not only your lordship’s aunt and sister from
+		the officers of the inquisition, but also the young Count of
+		Riverola from the power of his miscreant enemies. Alas! my
+		anticipations were not to be fulfilled! I lost my way amongst
+		a maze of gardens connected with the villas bordering on the
+		Arno; and much valuable time at such a crisis was wasted in the
+		circuits which I had to make to extricate myself from the
+		labyrinth and reach the bank of the river. At length I drew
+		within sight of the cottage; but my heart beat with terrible alarms
+		as I beheld lights moving rapidly about the house. ‘It is too
+		late,’ I thought: and yet I rushed on toward the place. But
+		suddenly the door opened, and by a glare of light within, I saw
+		three females closely muffled in veils, led forth by several armed
+		men. It instantly struck me that the third must be the Countess
+		Giulia of Arestino to whom I heard the miscreants allude. I
+		stopped short—for I knew that any violent demonstration or interference
+		on my part would be useless, and that measures of
+		another kind must be adopted on behalf of the victims. As the
+		procession now advanced from a cottage, I concealed myself in
+		the adjacent grove, wondering whether Count Francisco had
+		been already arrested or whether he had managed to elude his
+		enemies. The procession, consisting of the officers of the inquisition
+		with their three female prisoners, who were dragged
+		rather than led along, passed by the spot where I lay concealed;
+		and the deep sobs which came from the unfortunate ladies,
+		gagged though they evidently were, filled my heart with horror
+		and anguish. As soon as they had disappeared I struck further
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page285" title="285"> </a>into the grove, knowing by its situation that the outlet on the
+		other side would conduct me to the nearest road to that quarter
+		of the city in which I lodged. But scarcely had I reached the
+		outskirts of the little wood in the direction which I have
+		named, when I saw a party of men moving on in front of me,
+		through the obscurity of the night. It struck me that this
+		party might consist of Antonio, Venturo, and other worthies,
+		and I determined to ascertain whether Count Francisco had
+		fallen into their hands. I accordingly followed them as
+		cautiously as possible, taking care to skirt the grove in such a
+		manner that I was concealed by its deep shade, whereas those
+		whom I was watching proceeded further away from the trees.
+		Thus the party in advance and myself continued our respective
+		paths for nearly a quarter of an hour, during which I ascertained
+		beyond all doubt that the men whom I was following
+		were really the villains of the Antonio gang, and that they had
+		a prisoner with them who could be no other than the Count of
+		Riverola.</p>
+
+		<p>“At length the grove terminated, and I was about to abandon
+		further pursuit as dangerous, when it struck me that I should
+		be acting in a cowardly and unworthy manner not to endeavor
+		to ascertain the locality of the cave of which I had heard the
+		miscreants speak, and to which they were most probably conveying
+		him who was so dear to the beautiful Signora Flora.
+		Accordingly I managed to track the party across several fields
+		to a grove of evergreens. But as they advanced without caring
+		how they broke through the crackling thickets, the noise of
+		their movements absorbed the far fainter sounds which accompanied
+		my progress. So successful was my undertaking that I
+		was soon within twenty paces of them. But it was profoundly
+		dark, and I was unable to observe their movements. I computed
+		the distance they were from me, and calculated so as to
+		form an idea of the exact spot where they were standing; for,
+		by an observation which one of the villains let drop, I learnt that
+		they had reached the entrance of their cavern. It also struck
+		me that I heard a bell ring as if in the depths of the earth, and
+		I concluded that this was a signal to obtain admittance. While
+		I was weighing these matters in my mind, Lomellino suddenly
+		exclaimed, ‘Let the prisoner be taken down first; and have a
+		care, Venturo, that the bandage is well fastened.’ ‘All right,
+		captain,’ was the reply; and thus I ascertained that Lomellino
+		was the chief of some band most probably, I thought, of robbers;
+		for I remembered the allusions which had been made that evening
+		by Antonio to a certain predatory visit some months previously
+		to the Riverola mansion. ‘God help Francisco,’ I said
+		within myself, as I reflected upon the desperate character of
+		the men who had him in their power; and then I was consoled
+		by the remembrance that he was merely to be detained as a
+		prisoner for a period, and not harmed.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Unfortunately such demons as those Florentine banditti are
+		capable of every atrocity,” observed the grand vizier.</p>
+
+		<p>“True, my lord,” observed Demetrius; “but let us hope that
+		all those in whom your highness is interested, will yet be saved.
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page286" title="286"> </a>I shall, however, continue my narrative. Three or four minutes
+		had elapsed since the robbers had come to a full stop, when I
+		knew by the observations made amongst them, that they were
+		descending into some subterranean place. I accordingly waited
+		with the utmost anxiety until I was convinced that they had all
+		disappeared with their prisoner; and then I crept cautiously
+		along to the place at which I had already reckoned them to have
+		paused. I stooped down, and carefully felt upon the ground,
+		until I was enabled to ascertain the precise point at which the
+		marks of their footsteps had ceased. At this moment the moon
+		shone forth with such extreme brilliancy, that its beams penetrated
+		the thick foliage; and I now observed with horror that I
+		had advanced to the very verge of a steep precipice, on the
+		brink of which the grove suddenly ceased. Had not the moon
+		thus providentially appeared at that instant, I should have continued
+		to grope about in the utter darkness, and have assuredly
+		fallen into the abyss. I breathed a fervent prayer for this signal
+		deliverance. But not a trace of any secret entrance to a cavern
+		could I find—no steps, no trap-door! Well aware that it would
+		be dangerous for me to be caught in that spot, should any of the
+		banditti emerge suddenly from their cave, I was reluctantly
+		compelled to depart. But before I quitted the place, I studied it
+		so well that I should have no difficulty in recognizing it again.
+		In fact, just at the precise spot where the footsteps of the
+		banditti ceased, an enormous chestnut tree, which for more than
+		a century must have continued to draw from the earth its nourishment,
+		slopes completely over the precipice, while on the right
+		of this tree, as you face the abyss, is a knot of olives, and on the
+		left an umbrageous lime. These features of the spot I committed
+		to memory, with the idea that such a clew to the robbers’
+		retreat might not eventually prove useless.</p>
+
+		<p>“I will extirpate that nest of vipers—that horde of remorseless
+		banditti!” exclaimed Ibrahim Pasha, in a tone indicative of
+		strong excitement.</p>
+
+		<p>“Your highness has the power,” responded Demetrius; “but
+		the Florentine authorities must be completely impotent in respect
+		to such a formidable horde of lawless men. The remainder
+		of my narrative is soon told, my lord,” returned the young
+		Greek. “I returned to my lodgings in safety, but determined not
+		to remain there a single hour longer than necessary. For apart
+		from the resolve which I had formed already, in consequence
+		of the various and unforeseen incidents which had occurred, to
+		return to Constantinople, the murderous designs of Antonio and
+		Venturo in respect to myself, would have hastened my removal
+		at all events to another lodging. That night sleep never visited
+		my eyes—so amazed and grieved was I at the calamities which
+		had befallen those who were so dear to your highness. Very
+		early in the morning I arose from a feverish bed and sallied
+		forth to learn tidings of the Marquis of Orsini. ‘For,’ thought
+		I, ‘if this nobleman has escaped arrest by the officers of the inquisition,
+		he might be enabled to effect somewhat in aiding the
+		female victims.’ But I heard at his dwelling that he had been
+		arrested the previous evening on a charge of sacrilege, perpetrated
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page287" title="287"> </a>with others, in respect to the Carmelite Convent. Frustrated
+		in this quarter, I repaired to the principal clerk of the
+		criminal tribunal, and inquired the name and address of a lawyer
+		of eminence and repute. The clerk complied with my demand,
+		and recommended me to Angelo Duras, the brother of a
+		celebrated Florentine physician.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Both of whom are known to me by name,” observed the
+		grand vizier; “and Angelo Duras is a man of unblemished integrity.
+		It delights me much to know you employed him.”</p>
+
+		<p>“I found him, too,” continued Demetrius, “a kind-hearted
+		and benevolent man. He received me with affability; and I
+		narrated to him as much as necessary of the particulars which
+		I have detailed to your highness. Without stating by whom I
+		was employed, I merely represented to him that I was deeply
+		interested in the Francatelli family, and that it was of the
+		utmost importance to obtain a delay for two or three months
+		in the criminal proceedings instituted against those innocent
+		females, as, in the meantime, I should undertake a journey to a
+		place at some considerable distance, but the result of which
+		would prove materially beneficial to the cause of the accused.
+		He observed that the interest of the Count of Arestino, who
+		would doubtless endeavor to hasten the proceedings in order to
+		wreak speedy vengeance upon his wife and the Marquis of
+		Orsini, was very powerful to contend against; but that gold
+		could accomplish much. I assured him that there would be no
+		lack of funds to sustain even the most expensive process; and I
+		threw down a heavy purse as an earnest of my ability to bear
+		the cost of the suit. He committed to paper all the particulars
+		that I had thought it prudent to reveal to him, and after some
+		consideration, said, ‘I now see my way clearly. I will undertake
+		that the final hearing of this case, at least so far as it regards
+		the Francatellis, shall be postponed for three months. You
+		may rely upon the fulfillment of this promise, let the Count of
+		Arestino do his worst.’ Thus assured, I quitted the worthy
+		pleader, and proceeded to visit Father Marco, who, as I had
+		happened to learn when in conversation with your highness’
+		aunt, was the family confessor. I found that excellent man
+		overwhelmed with grief at the calamities which had occurred;
+		and to him I confided, under a solemn promise of inviolable secrecy,
+		who the present grand vizier of the Ottoman Empire
+		really was, and how I had been employed by you to visit Florence
+		for the purpose of watching over the safety of your relatives.
+		I however explained to Father Marco that his vow of
+		secrecy was to cease to be binding at any moment when the
+		lives of the Francatellis should be menaced by circumstances
+		that might possibly arise in spite of all the precautions that I
+		had adopted to postpone the final hearing of their case; and that
+		should imminent peril menace those lives, he was immediately
+		to reveal to the Duke of Florence the fact of the relationship of
+		the Francatellis with one who has power to punish any injury
+		that might be done to them. Though well knowing, my lord,
+		the obstinancy of the Christian states in venturing to beard
+		Ottoman might, I considered this precaution to be at all events
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page288" title="288"> </a>a prudent one; and Father Marco promised to obey my injunctions
+		in all respects.”</p>
+
+		<p>“I was not mistaken in thee, Demetrius,” said the grand vizier,
+		“when I chose thee for that mission on account of thy discreetness
+		and foresight.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Your highness’ praises are my best reward,” answered the
+		Greek. “I have now done all that I could possibly effect or
+		devise under the circumstances which prompted me to think or
+		act; and it grieved me that I was unable to afford the slightest
+		assistance to the young Count of Riverola. But I dare not wait
+		longer in Italy; and I was convinced that the authorities in
+		Florence were too inefficient to root out the horde of banditti,
+		even had I explained to them the clew which I myself obtained
+		to the stronghold of those miscreants. I accordingly quitted
+		Florence in the afternoon of the day following the numerous
+		arrests which I have mentioned; and had I not been detained so
+		long at Rimini, by adverse winds, your highness would not have
+		been kept for so many weeks without the mournful tidings
+		which it was at length my painful duty to communicate in person
+		to your lordship.”</p>
+
+		<p>“That delay, my faithful Demetrius,” said the grand vizier,
+		“was no fault of thine. Fortunately the squadron was already
+		equipped for sea; and, instead of repairing to the African frontier
+		to chastise the daring pirates, it is on its way to the Tuscan
+		coast, where, if need be, it will land twenty thousand soldiers
+		to liberate my relations and the young Count of Riverola. A
+		pretext for making war upon the Italian states has been afforded
+		by their recent conduct in sending auxiliaries to the succor of
+		Rhodes; and of that excuse I shall not hesitate to avail myself
+		to commence hostilities against the proud Florentines should a
+		secret and peaceful negotiation fail. But now that thou hast
+		recapitulated to me all those particulars which thou didst merely
+		sketch forth at first, it seems to me fitting that I anchor the
+		fleet at the mouth of the Arno, and that I send thee, Demetrius,
+		as an envoy in a public capacity, but in reality to stipulate
+		privately for the release of those in whom I am interested.”</p>
+
+		<p>Thus terminated the conference between Ibrahim Pasha and
+		his Greek dependent—a conference which had revealed manifold
+		and astounding occurrences to the ears of the Lady Nisida
+		of Riverola. Astounding indeed! Francisco in the hands of
+		the formidable banditti—Flora in the prison of the inquisition—and
+		the Ottoman grand vizier bent upon effecting the marriage
+		which Nisida abhorred—these tidings were sufficient to
+		arouse all the wondrous energies of that mind which was so
+		prompt in combining intrigues and plots, so resolute in carrying
+		them out, and so indomitable when it had formed a will of its
+		own.</p>
+
+		<p>Ominous were the fires which flashed in her large dark eyes,
+		and powerful were the workings of those emotions which caused
+		her heaving bosom to swell as if about to burst the bodice which
+		confined it, when, retreating from the partition floor between
+		the two saloons, and resuming her seat at the cabin-windows to
+		permit the evening breeze to fan her fevered cheek, Nisida
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page289" title="289"> </a>thought within herself, “It was indeed time that I should quit
+		that accursed island, and return to Italy!”</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_58" class="chapter">
+		<h3>CHAPTER LVIII.</h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">The</span> roseate streaks which the departing glories of a Mediterranean
+		sunset left lingering for a few minutes in the western
+		horizon, were yielding to the deeper gloom of evening, a few
+		days after the scene related in the preceding chapter, as Nisida
+		rose from her seat at the open windows of her splendid saloon
+		on board the Ottoman Admiral’s ship, and began to lay aside
+		her apparel, preparatory to retiring to rest. She was already
+		wearied of the monotonous life of ship-board; and the strange
+		revelations which the discourse between Ibrahim Pasha and
+		Demetrius had developed to her ears, rendered her doubly anxious
+		to set foot upon her native soil.</p>
+
+		<p>The grand vizier had paid his respects to her every day since
+		she first embarked on board the Turkish ship; and they exchanged
+		a few observations, rather of courtesy than in any
+		deeper interest, by means of the tablets. Ibrahim’s manner
+		toward her was respectful; but when he imagined himself to be
+		unperceived by her, his eyes were suddenly lighted up with the
+		fires of ardent passion; and he devoured her with his burning
+		glances. She failed not to notice the effect which her glorious
+		beauty produced upon him, and she studiously avoided the imprudence
+		of giving him the least encouragement; not from any
+		innate feeling of virtue, but because she detested him as a man
+		who was bent on accomplishing a marriage between her brother
+		and Flora Francatelli. This hatred she concealed, and even the
+		eagle-sighted Ibrahim perceived not that he was in any way
+		displeasing to the lovely Nisida. With the exception of the
+		grand vizier, and the slaves who waited upon her, the lady saw
+		no one on board the ship; for she never quitted the saloon allotted
+		to her, but passed her time chiefly in surveying the broad
+		sea and the other vessels of the fleet from the windows, or in
+		meditating upon the course which she should pursue on her
+		arrival in Florence.</p>
+
+		<p>But let us return to the thread of our narrative. The last tints
+		of the sunset were, we said, fading away, when the Lady Nisida
+		commenced her preparations for retiring to rest. She closed the
+		casements, satisfied herself that the partition door between the
+		two saloons was well secured, and then threw herself upon the
+		voluptuous couch spread in one of the smaller cabins opening
+		from her own magnificent apartment. She thought of Fernand,
+		her handsome Fernand, whom she had abandoned on the Isle of
+		Snakes, and profound sighs escaped her. Then she thought of
+		Francisco; and the idea of serving that much-beloved brother’s
+		interests afforded her a consolation for having thus quitted the
+		clime where she had passed so many happy days with Wagner.</p>
+
+		<p>At length sleep fell upon her, and closed over the large, dark,
+		brilliant eyes the white lids, beneath the transparent skin of
+		which the blue veins were so delicately traced; and the long,
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page290" title="290"> </a>jetty lashes reposed on the cheeks which the heat of the atmosphere
+		tinged with a rich carnation glow. And when the moon
+		arose that night, its silver rays streamed through the window
+		set in the porthole of that small cabin, upon the beauteous face
+		of the sleeper.</p>
+
+		<p>But hark! there is the light sound of a footfall in the saloon
+		from which that cabin opens.</p>
+
+		<p>The treacherous Ibrahim possesses a key to the partition door;
+		and having successfully wrestled with his raging desires until
+		this moment, he is at length no longer able to resist the temptation
+		of invading the sanctity of Nisida’s sleeping-place. Already
+		has he set his foot upon the very threshold of the little side-cabin,
+		having traversed the spacious saloon, when a hand is laid
+		upon his shoulder, and a voice behind him says in a low tone,
+		“Your highness has forgotten the fate of the murdered
+		Calanthe.”</p>
+
+		<p>Ibrahim started, shook the hand from off him, and exclaimed,
+		“Dog of a negro! what and who has made thee a spy upon my
+		actions?”</p>
+
+		<p>At the same instant that Ibrahim felt the hand on his shoulder,
+		and heard the well-known voice uttering the dreadful warning in
+		his ears, Nisida awoke. Her first impulse was to start up; but,
+		checking herself with wondrous presence of mind, as the part of
+		the deaf and dumb person which she had imposed upon herself to
+		play flashed with lightning velocity across her brain—comprehending,
+		too, in an instant, that the grand vizier had violated her
+		privacy, but that some unknown succor was at hand, she remained
+		perfectly motionless, as if still wrapped up in an undisturbed
+		slumber. The grand vizier, and the individual whom he had in his
+		rage addressed as a “dog of a negro,” retreated into the saloon,
+		Nisida holding her very breath so as not to lose a word that
+		might pass between them should their dialogue be resumed.</p>
+
+		<p>“Your highness asks me what and who has made me a spy
+		upon your actions,” said the negro in a low, monotonous voice,
+		and speaking with mingled firmness and respect. “Those
+		questions are easily answered. The same authority which ordered
+		me to wrest from thine arms some months past the lady
+		who might be unfortunate enough to please your highness’
+		fancy, exercises an unceasing supervision over you, even on
+		this ship, and in the middle of the mighty sea. To that authority
+		all your deeds and acts are matters of indifference save
+		those which would render your highness faithless to an adoring
+		wife. Remember, my lord, the fate of Calanthe, the sister of
+		your dependent Demetrius, she who was torn from your arms,
+		and whose beauteous form became food for the fishes of the
+		Bosporus.”</p>
+
+		<p>“How knew you who she was?” demanded the grand vizier,
+		in a low, hoarse voice, the power of his utterance having been
+		temporarily suspended by the rage that filled his soul at finding
+		his iniquitous design in respect to Nisida thus suddenly
+		baffled by the chief of the three black slaves, whose attendance
+		in this expedition had been forced upon him by the Sultana
+		Valida; “how knew you who she was?” he again asked.</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page291" title="291"> </a>“Rather demand, my lord, what can escape the prying eyes
+		of those by whom your highness has been surrounded ever since
+		the seals of office were in your grasp,” returned the slave.</p>
+
+		<p>“But you would not betray that secret to Demetrius, who is
+		now devoted to me, who is necessary to me, and who would
+		loathe me were he to learn the dreadful fate of his sister!” said
+		the grand vizier, with rapid and excited utterance.</p>
+
+		<p>“I have no eyes and no ears, great pasha,” said the negro,
+		“save in respect to those matters which would render you faithless
+		to the sister of the sultan.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Would to Heaven that you had neither eyes nor ears at all—that
+		you did not exist, indeed!” exclaimed Ibrahim, unable to
+		repress his wrath; then, in a different and milder tone, he immediately
+		added, “Slave, I can make thee free—I can give
+		thee wealth—and thou mayest dwell in happy Italy, whither we
+		are going, for the remainder of thy days. Reflect, consider! I
+		love that deaf and dumb Christian woman who sleepeth there—I
+		already love her to distraction! Thwart me not, good slave,
+		and thou mayest command my eternal gratitude.”</p>
+
+		<p>“My lord, two other slaves overhear every word that now
+		passes between us,” responded the Ethiopian, his voice remaining
+		calm and monotonous; “and even were we alone in all respects,
+		I would not betray the trust reposed in me. But not on
+		your highness would the effects of your infidelity to the Princess
+		Aischa fall. No, my lord—I have no authority to harm you.
+		Had your highness succeeded in your purpose ere now, the bow-string
+		would have forever stifled the breath in the body of that
+		deaf and dumb Christian lady; and her corpse would have been
+		thrown forth from these windows into the sea. Such are my instructions,
+		my lord; and thus every object of your sated passion
+		must become your victim also.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Better—better were it,” exclaimed Ibrahim, in a tone denoting
+		the profoundest mental anguish, “to be the veriest mendicant
+		who implores alms at the gate of the mosque of St.
+		Sophia, than the grand vizier of the Ottoman Empire.”</p>
+
+		<p>With these words he rushed into the adjoining saloon, the
+		negro following and fastening the door behind him. Nisida
+		now began to breathe freely once more. From what perils had
+		she escaped! The violation of her couch by the unprincipled
+		Ibrahim would have been followed by her immediate assassination
+		at the hands of the Ethiopian whom the sultana-mother
+		had placed as a spy on the actions of her son-in-law. On the
+		other hand, she felt rejoiced that the incident of this night had
+		occurred; for it had been the means of revealing to her a secret
+		of immense importance in connection with the grand vizier.
+		She remembered the terms of grief and affection in which Demetrius
+		had spoken of the disappearance of Calanthe; and she
+		had heard enough on that occasion to convince her that the
+		Greek would become the implacable enemy of any man who
+		had wronged that much-loved sister. How bitter, then, would
+		be the hatred of Demetrius—how dreadful would be the vengeance
+		which he must crave against him whose lustful passion
+		had led to the murder of Calanthe. Yes, Ibrahim, thy secret
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page292" title="292"> </a>is now in possession of Nisida of Riverola; in the possession of
+		that woman of iron mind and potent energy, and whom thou
+		fondly believest to be deaf and dumb!</p>
+
+		<p>Nisida slept no more that night, the occurrences of which furnished
+		her with so much food for profound meditation: and
+		with the earliest gleam of dawn that tinged the eastern heaven,
+		she rose from her couch. Entering the saloon, she opened the
+		windows to admit the gentle breeze of morning; and ere she
+		commenced her toilet, she lingered to gaze upon the stately
+		ships that were plowing the blue sea in the wake of the admiral’s
+		vessel wherein she was. Suddenly her eyes fell upon
+		what appeared to be a small speck at a little distance; but as
+		this object was moving rapidly along on the surface of the
+		Mediterranean, it soon approached sufficiently near to enable
+		her to discern that it was a boat impelled by a single sail. Urged
+		by an undefinable and yet a strong sentiment of curiosity,
+		Nisida remained at the saloon window, watching the progress
+		of the little bark, which bounded over the waves with extraordinary
+		speed, bending gracefully to the breeze that thus wafted
+		it onward. Nearer and nearer toward the vessel it came, though
+		not pursuing the same direction; and in five minutes it passed
+		within a few yards of the stern of the kapitan-pasha’s ship.</p>
+
+		<p>But, oh! wondrous and unaccountable fact. There, stretched
+		upon his back in that bounding boat, and evidently buried in
+		deep slumber, with the rays of the rising sun gleaming upon his
+		fine and now slightly flushed countenance, lay he whose image
+		was so indelibly impressed upon the heart of Nisida—her handsome
+		and strangely-fated Fernand Wagner! The moment the
+		conviction that the sleeper was indeed he struck to the mind of
+		Nisida, she would have called him by name—she would have
+		endeavored to awake him, if only to exchange a single word of
+		fondness, for her assumed dumbness was for the moment forgotten;
+		but she was rendered motionless and remained speechless—stupefied,
+		paralyzed, as it were, with mingled wonder and
+		joy; wonder that he should have found the means of escape
+		from the island, and joy that she was thus permitted to behold
+		him at least once again. But the pleasure which this incident
+		excited in her mind was transitory indeed; for the boat swept by,
+		as if urged on by a stronger impulse than that of the gentle
+		breeze of morning—and in another minute Nisida beheld it no
+		more.</p>
+
+		<p>The sun was setting behind the western hills of Sicily as Fernand
+		Wagner entered the squalid suburb which at that period
+		stretched from the town of Syracuse to the sea. His step was
+		elastic, and he held his head high—for his heart was full of joyous
+		and burning hope. Hitherto the promises of the angel who
+		had last appeared to him were completely fulfilled. The boat
+		was wafted by a favorable breeze direct from the Island of
+		Snakes to the shores of Sicily; and he had landed in the immediate
+		vicinity of Syracuse—the town in which a further revelation
+		was to be made in respect to the breaking of the spell which
+		had fixed upon him the frightful doom of the Wehr-Wolf! But
+		little suspected Fernand Wagner that one morning, while he
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page293" title="293"> </a>slept, his boat had borne him through the proud fleet of the
+		Ottomans—little wist he that his beloved Nisida had caught
+		sight of him as he was wafted rapidly past the stern of the kapitan-pasha’s
+		ship! For on that occasion he had slept during
+		hours; and when he had awakened, not a bark nor sail save his
+		own was visible on the mighty expanse of water.</p>
+
+		<p>And now it was with elastic step and joyous heart that the
+		hero of our tale entered the town of Syracuse. But suddenly
+		he remembered the singular nature of the inquiry that he was
+		there to make—an inquiry concerning a man whose years had
+		numbered one hundred and sixty-two!</p>
+
+		<p>“Nevertheless,” thought Wagner, “that good angel who gave
+		me a sign whereby I should become convinced of the reality of
+		her appearance, and whose promises have all been fulfilled up
+		to this point, could not possibly mislead me. No; I will obey
+		the command which I received, even though I should visit every
+		human dwelling in the town of Syracuse! For Heaven works
+		out its wise purposes in wondrous manners; and it is not for me
+		to shrink from yielding obedience to its orders, nor to pause to
+		question their propriety. And oh! if I can but shake off that
+		demon influence which weighs upon my soul—if I can but escape
+		from the shackles which still enchain me to a horrible
+		doom, how sincere will be my thanks to Heaven, how unbounded
+		my rejoicings!”</p>
+
+		<p>As Wagner had reached this point in his meditations, he stopped
+		at the door of a barber shop of mean appearance—the pole,
+		with the basin hanging to it, denoting that the occupant of the
+		place combined, as was usual in those times, the functions of
+		shaver and blood-letter or surgeon. Hastily surveying the exterior
+		of the shop, and fancying that it was precisely the one at
+		which his inquiries should commence—barbers in that age being
+		as famous for their gossiping propensities as in this—Fernand
+		entered, and was immediately accosted by a short, sharp-visaged,
+		dark-complexioned old man, who pointed to a seat,
+		saying in a courteous, or rather obsequious tone, “What is
+		your will, signor?”</p>
+
+		<p>Fernand desired the barber-surgeon to shave his superfluous
+		beard and trim his hair; and while that individual was preparing
+		his lather and sharpening his razor in the most approved
+		style of the craft, Wagner asked in a seemingly careless tone,
+		“What news have you, good master, in Syracuse?”</p>
+
+		<p>“Naught of importance, signor,” was the reply; “mere everyday
+		matters. Syracuse is indeed wretchedly dull. There were
+		only two murders and three attempts at assassination reported
+		to the lieutenant of police this morning, and that is nothing for
+		a town usually so active and bustling as ours. For my part, I
+		don’t know what has come over the people? I stepped as far as
+		the dead-house just now to view the body of a young lady, unclaimed
+		as yet, who had her head nearly severed from her trunk
+		last night; and then I proceeded to the great square to see
+		whether any executions are to take place to-morrow; but really
+		there is nothing of any consequence to induce one to stir abroad
+		in Syracuse just at this moment.”</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page294" title="294"> </a>“Murders and attempts at assassination are matters of very
+		common occurrence amongst you, then?” said Wagner, inquiringly.</p>
+
+		<p>“We get a perfect surfeit of them, signor,” returned the barber,
+		now applying the soap to his customer’s face. “They fail
+		to create any sensation now, I can assure you. Beside, one gets
+		tired of executions.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Naturally enough,” said Fernand. “But I have heard that
+		there are some very extraordinary personages in Syracuse; indeed,
+		there is one who has lived to a remarkable age——”</p>
+
+		<p>“The oldest person I know of, is the Abbot of St. Mary’s,”
+		interrupted the barber, “and he——”</p>
+
+		<p>“And he——” repeated Wagner, with feverish impatience.</p>
+
+		<p>“Is ninety-seven and three months, signor; a great age, truly,”
+		responded the barber-surgeon.</p>
+
+		<p>Fernand’s hopes were immediately cooled down; but thinking
+		that he ought to put his inquiry in a direct manner, he said:
+		“Then it is not true that you have in Syracuse an individual
+		who has reached the wondrous age of a century three-score and
+		two?”</p>
+
+		<p>“Holy Virgin have mercy upon you, signor!” ejaculated the
+		barber, “if you really put faith in the absurd stories that people
+		tell about the Rosicrucians!”</p>
+
+		<p>“Ah! then the people of Syracuse do talk on such matters?”
+		said Wagner, conceiving that he had obtained a clew to the aim
+		and object of his inquiry.</p>
+
+		<p>“Have you never heard, signor, of the Order of the Rosy
+		Cross?” demanded the barber, who was naturally of a garrulous
+		disposition, and who now appeared to have entered on a favorite
+		subject.</p>
+
+		<p>“I have heard, in my travels, vague mention made of such an
+		order,” answered Fernand; “but I never experienced any
+		curiosity to seek to learn more—and, indeed, I may say, that I
+		know nothing of the Rosicrucians save their mere name.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Well, signor,” continued the barber, “for common pass-talk,
+		it is as good a subject as any other; but no one shall ever
+		persuade me either that there is really such an order as the
+		Brothers of the Rosy Cross, or that it is possible for human
+		beings to attain the powers attributed to that fraternity.”</p>
+
+		<p>“You interest me much by your remarks, good leech,” exclaimed
+		Fernand; “I pray you to give me further explanation.”</p>
+
+		<p>“With infinite pleasure, signor, since you appear to desire
+		it,” returned the barber, still pursuing his tonsorial duties.
+		“You must know that there are many wild legends and stories
+		abroad concerning these invisible beings denominated Rosicrucians.
+		But the one which gains most general credence is that
+		the brotherhood was founded by a certain Christianus Rosencrux,
+		a German philosopher, who fancied that the arts and sciences
+		might be developed in such a manner as to confer the
+		greatest possible blessings on the human race.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Then the aims of Rosencrux are entirely good and philanthropic?”
+		said Wagner, interrogatively.</p>
+
+		<p>“As a matter of course, signor,” said the barber; “and therefore,
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page295" title="295"> </a>if such a man ever did live, he must have been an insane
+		visionary—for who would believe that knowledge could possibly
+		make us richer, happier, or better? All the philosophy in the
+		universe could never convert this shop into a palace.”</p>
+
+		<p>“But you are wandering from your subject, my good friend,”
+		gently remonstrated Fernand.</p>
+
+		<p>“I crave your pardon, signor. Let me see. Oh, I recollect;
+		we were talking of Christianus Rosencrux. Well, signor, the
+		fabled philosopher was a monk, and a very wise as well as a
+		very good man. I am only telling you the most generally received
+		legend, mind, and would not have you think that I believe
+		it myself. So this Rosencrux, finding that his cloistral
+		existence was inconvenient for the prosecution of his studies,
+		traveled into the East, and spent many years in acquiring the
+		knowledge handed down to the wise men of those climes by the
+		ancient Magi and Chaldeans. He visited Egypt, and learnt many
+		wonderful secrets by studying the hieroglyphics on the Egyptian
+		pyramids. I forget how long he remained in the East; but it is
+		said that he visited every place of interest in the Holy Land, and
+		received heavenly inspirations on the spot where our Saviour was
+		crucified. On his return to Europe, he saw full well that if he
+		revealed all his knowledge at once, he would be put to death by
+		the inquisition as a wizard, and the world would lose the benefit
+		of all the learning he had acquired. So says the legend; and it
+		goes on to recite that Christianus Rosencrux then founded the
+		order of the Rosy Cross, which was nothing more or less than a
+		brotherhood of wise men whom he initiated in all his secrets,
+		with the intention that they should reveal from time to time
+		small portions thereof, and thus give to the world by very slow
+		degrees that immense amount of knowledge which he supposed
+		would have stupefied and astounded everybody if made public
+		all at once.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Strange—most strange,” thought Wagner within himself,
+		“that I should never have gleaned all these details before, eager
+		as my inquiries and researches in the pursuit of knowledge have
+		been. But Heaven has willed everything for the best; and it is
+		doubtless intended that my salvation shall proceed from the very
+		quarter which was least known to me, and concerning which I
+		have manifested the most contemptuous indifference, in the
+		sphere of knowledge!”</p>
+
+		<p>“You appear to be much interested, signor,” said the barber,
+		“in this same tale of Christianus Rosencrux. But there is too
+		much intelligence depicted on your countenance to allow me to
+		suppose that you will place any reliance on the absurd story.
+		How is it possible, signor, that an order could have existed for
+		so many years without any one member ever having betrayed
+		the secrets which bind them all together? Moreover, their
+		place of abode and study is totally unknown to the world; and
+		if they inhabited the deepest caverns under the earth accident
+		must, sooner or later, have led to its discovery. Believe me,
+		signor, ’tis naught save a ridiculous legend; though a poor,
+		ignorant man myself, I hope I have too much good sense and
+		too much respect for my father-confessor, to suppose for a minute
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page296" title="296"> </a>that there is on earth any set of men more learned than the
+		holy ministers of the church.”</p>
+
+		<p>“How long ago is Christianus Rosencrux reported to have
+		lived?” demanded Wagner, suddenly interrupting the garrulous
+		and narrow-minded Sicilian.</p>
+
+		<p>“There we are again!” he ejaculated. “The credulous declare
+		that Rosencrux discovered in the East the means of prolonging
+		existence, and though he was born as far back as the
+		year 1359, he is still alive.”</p>
+
+		<p>Had not the barber turned aside at that precise instant to fill
+		an ewer and place a towel for his customer’s use, he would have
+		been surprised by the sudden start and the expression of ineffable
+		joy which denoted Fernand’s emotions, as by a rapid calculation
+		mentally made, our hero perceived that if Rosencrux were
+		born in 1359, and alive at that moment—namely, in 1521—his
+		age would be exactly one hundred and sixty-two!</p>
+
+		<p>“It is Christianus Rosencrux, then,” he said to himself,
+		“whom I have inquired for—whom I am to see—and who will
+		dissolve the spell that has been placed upon me. But where
+		shall I seek him? whither shall I go to find his secret abode?”</p>
+
+		<p>The duties of the barber were completed; and Wagner threw
+		down a piece of gold, saying, “Keep that coin, friend, for your
+		discourse has greatly interested me, and has indeed well deserved
+		it.”</p>
+
+		<p>The poor old man had never possessed in all his life so much
+		money at one time; and so vast was his joy that he could only
+		mutter a few broken sentences to express his gratitude.</p>
+
+		<p>“I require not thanks, my good friend,” said Wagner. “But
+		one word ere I depart. Knowest thou the spot which rumor
+		indicates as the abode of that sect of whom we have been speaking?”</p>
+
+		<p>“Nay, excellent signor,” replied the barber; “there your
+		question masters me; for in this case rumor goes not to such a
+		length as to afford hints for an investigation which would prove
+		its utter fallacy. All that I have heard, signor, concerning the
+		Rosicrucians, you have learnt from my lips; and I know no
+		more.”</p>
+
+		<p>Wagner, finding that further inquiry in that quarter was useless,
+		took leave of the old man, and traversing the suburb, entered
+		the town of Syracuse.</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_59" class="chapter">
+		<h3>CHAPTER LIX.</h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">Fernand</span> was now at a loss how to act. He felt convinced
+		that it was useless to institute any further inquiries relative to
+		the whereabouts of the secret Order of the Rosy Cross; because,
+		had popular rumor ever hinted at any clew in that respect, the
+		garrulous and inquisitive barber would have been sure to hear
+		of it. He was not, however, disheartened. No—very far from
+		that; for he was confident that the same supernal power that
+		had hitherto directed him, and which was rapidly clearing away
+		all obstacles in his path toward perfect emancipation from the
+		influence of the evil one, would carry him to a successful and
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page297" title="297"> </a>triumphant issue. Throwing himself, therefore, entirely on the
+		wisdom and mercy of Heaven, he roamed about the town of
+		Syracuse, without any settled object in view, until he was
+		much wearied and it was very late. He then entered a miserable
+		hostel, or inn—the best, however, that he could discover;
+		and there, having partaken of some refreshment, he retired to
+		the chamber allotted to him. Sleep soon visited his eyes; but he
+		had not long enjoyed the sweets of slumber, when that balmy
+		repose was interrupted either by a touch or sound, he knew not
+		which. Starting up in his couch, he perceived a tall figure,
+		muffled in a huge dark mantle, and wearing a slouched broad-brimmed
+		hat, standing by the side of the bed.</p>
+
+		<p>“Rise, Fernand Wagner,” said a mild but masculine voice,
+		“and follow me. He whom thou seekest has sent me to lead
+		thee to him.”</p>
+
+		<p>Wagner did not hesitate to obey this mandate, which he felt
+		certain was connected with the important business that had
+		borne him to Syracuse. His apparel was speedily assumed;
+		and he said, “I am ready to follow thee, stranger, whoever thou
+		art, and whithersoever thou mayst lead; for my faith is in
+		Heaven.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Those who have faith shall prosper,” observed the stranger,
+		in a solemn tone.</p>
+
+		<p>He then led the way noiselessly down the steep staircase of
+		the inn, and issued forth by the front gate, closely followed by
+		Wagner. In deep silence did they proceed through the dark,
+		narrow, and tortuous streets, leaving at length the town behind
+		them, and then entering upon a barren and uneven waste. By
+		degrees an object, at first dimly seen in the distance, and by the
+		uncertain moonlight, which was constantly struggling with the
+		dark clouds of a somewhat tempestuous night, assumed a more
+		defined appearance, until a mass of gigantic ruins at length
+		stood out from the somber obscurity. In a few moments the
+		moon shone forth purely and brightly; and its beams, falling on
+		decayed buttresses, broken Gothic arches, deep entrance-ways,
+		remnants of pinnacles and spires, massive walls of ruined
+		towers, gave a wildly romantic and yet not unpicturesque aspect
+		to the remains of what was evidently once a vast monastic
+		institution. The muffled stranger led the way amongst the ruins,
+		and at last stopped at a gate opening into a small square inclosure
+		formed by strong iron railings, seven feet high and shaped
+		at the points like javelins. Passing through the gateway, the
+		guide conducted Wagner into a cemetery, which was filled
+		with the marble tombs of the mitered abbots who had once
+		held sway over the monastery and the broad lands attached
+		to it.</p>
+
+		<p>“You behold around you,” said the muffled stranger, waving
+		his arm toward the ruins, “all that remains of a sanctuary
+		once the most celebrated in Sicily for the piety and wisdom of
+		its inmates. But a horrible crime, a murder perpetrated under
+		circumstances unusually diabolical, the criminal being no less
+		a person than the last lord abbot himself, and the victim a
+		beauteous girl whom he had seduced, rendered this institution
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page298" title="298"> </a>accursed in the eyes of God and man. The monks abandoned
+		it: and the waste over which you have passed is now the unclaimed
+		but once fertile estate belonging to the abbey. The
+		superstition of the Sicilians has not failed to invent terrific tales
+		in connection with these ruins: and the belief that each night
+		at twelve o’clock the soul of the guilty abbot is driven by the
+		scourge of the demon through the scene alike of his episcopal
+		power and his black turpitude, effectually prevents impertinent
+		or inconvenient intrusion.”</p>
+
+		<p>The observation with which the muffled stranger concluded
+		his brief narrative, convinced Wagner that it was amongst
+		those ruins the brethren of the Rosy Cross had fixed their secret
+		abode. But he had no time for reflection, inasmuch as his guide
+		hurried him on amidst the tombs, on which the light of the silver
+		moon now streamed with a power and an effect that no dark
+		cloud for the time impaired. Stopping at the base of one of the
+		most splendid monuments in the cemetery, the muffled stranger
+		touched some secret spring, and a large marble block immediately
+		opened like a door, the aperture revealing a narrow flight
+		of stone steps. Wagner was directed to descend first, a command
+		which he obeyed without hesitation, his guide closing the
+		marble entrance ere he followed. For several minutes the two
+		descended in total darkness. At length, a faint, glimmering
+		light met Wagner’s view; and as he proceeded it grew stronger
+		and stronger, until it became of such dazzling brilliancy that
+		his eyes ached with the supernatural splendor. That glorious
+		luster was diffused from a silver lamp, hanging to the arched
+		roof of a long passage, or corridor of masonry, to which the
+		stone steps led.</p>
+
+		<p>“Fernand Wagner,” said the guide, in his mild and somewhat
+		monotonous voice, “thou now beholdest the eternal lamp of
+		the Rosicrucians. For a hundred and twenty years has that
+		lamp burnt with as powerful a luster as that which it now sheds
+		forth; and never once—no, not once during that period, has it
+		been replenished. No human hand has touched it since the day
+		when it was first suspended there by the great founder of our
+		sect.”</p>
+
+		<p>All doubt was now dispelled from the mind of Wagner—if a
+		doubt he had even for a moment entertained since the muffled
+		stranger had summoned him from the inn:—he was indeed in
+		the secret abode of the holy sect of the Rosy Cross! His guide,
+		too, was a member of that brotherhood—and there, almost too
+		dazzling to gaze upon, burnt the eternal lamp which was the
+		symbol of the knowledge cherished by the order! Wagner
+		turned to gaze in wonder and admiration upon his guide: and
+		beneath the broad brim of the slouched hat, he beheld a countenance
+		venerable with years, imposing with intelligence, and
+		benevolent with every human charity. “Wise and philanthropic
+		Rosicrucian!” exclaimed Wagner, “I offer thee my
+		deepest gratitude for having permitted me to enter this sanctuary.
+		But how camest thou to learn that I sought admittance
+		hither? and unveil to me the great mysteries of this place.”</p>
+
+		<p>“We are the servants of holy angels, who reveal to us in visions
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page299" title="299"> </a>the will of the Most High,” answered the Rosicrucian;
+		“and they who commanded me to bring thee hither, will induce
+		thine heart to retain our secret inviolable.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Not for worlds,” cried Wagner, with an enthusiasm which
+		denoted sincerity, “would I betray ye!”</p>
+
+		<p>“’Tis well,” said the Rosicrucian, with philosophic calmness—as
+		if he put more faith in the protecting influence of Heaven
+		than in the promises of man. “I shall not accompany thee
+		further. Follow that passage: at the extremity there are two
+		corridors branching off in different directions; but thou wilt
+		pursue the one leading to the right. Proceed fearlessly, and
+		stop not till thou shalt stand in the presence of the founder of
+		the sect.”</p>
+
+		<p>Fernand hastened to obey these directions, and having
+		threaded the two passages, he entered a large and rudely-hollowed
+		cavern, where the feelings of mingled awe and suspense
+		with which he had approached it were immediately changed
+		into deep veneration and wonder as he found himself in the
+		presence of one who, by his appearance, he knew could he none
+		other than Christianus Rosencrux! Never had Fernand beheld
+		a being of such venerable aspect; and, though old—evidently
+		very old, as indeed Wagner knew him to be—yet the founder of
+		the celebrated Rosicrucians manifested every appearance of
+		possessing a vigorous constitution, as he was assuredly endowed
+		with a magnificent intellect. His beard was long and white as
+		snow; a century and three score years had not dimmed the
+		luster of his eyes; and his form, though somewhat bent, was
+		masculine and well-knit. He was seated at a table covered
+		with an infinite variety of scientific apparatus; and articles of
+		the same nature were strewed upon the ground. To the roof
+		hung an iron lamp, which indeed burnt faintly after the brilliant
+		luster of the eternal flame that Wagner had seen in the
+		passage; but its flickering gleam shone lurid and ominous on a
+		blood-red cross suspended to the wall. Fernand drew near the
+		table, and bowed reverentially to the Rosicrucian chief, who
+		acknowledged his salutation with a benignant smile.</p>
+
+		<p>“Wagner,” he said, in a firm but mild tone, “I have been
+		forewarned of thy coming, and am prepared to receive thee.
+		Thy constant and unvarying faith in Heaven has opened to thee
+		the gates of salvation; and it is mine to direct thee how to act,
+		that the dreadful doom which thou hast drawn upon thyself
+		may be annihilated soon and forever.”</p>
+
+		<p>The venerable man paused, and Fernand again bowed lowly
+		and with profound respect.</p>
+
+		<p>“So soon as the morning’s sun shall have revisited this hemisphere,”
+		continued Rosencrux, “thou must depart for Italy.
+		Start not, Fernand—but prepare to obey that power which will
+		sustain thee. On arriving in Italy, proceed direct to Florence;
+		and fear not to enter that city even in the broad daylight. Thou
+		wilt not be harmed! There await the current of those circumstances
+		that must lead to the grand event which is ordained to
+		break the spell that has cast upon thee the doom of a Wehr-Wolf.
+		For as thou didst voluntarily unite thyself in the face of
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page300" title="300"> </a>heaven with Donna Nisida of Riverola, so it is decreed, for the
+		wisest purposes, that a circumstance intimately connected with
+		her destiny must become a charm and a talisman to change
+		thine own. On thine arrival in Florence, therefore, seek not to
+		avoid Lady Nisida; but rather hasten at once to her presence—and
+		again I say, a supernal power will protect thee from
+		any baneful influence which she might still exercise over thee.
+		For, the spell that the evil one hath cast upon thee, Fernand
+		Wagner, shall be broken only on that day and in that hour
+		when thine eyes shall behold the skeletons of two innocent victims
+		suspended to the same beam!”</p>
+
+		<p>Having uttered these words in a louder and hurried, but not
+		the less impressive tone, than he had at first used, Christianus
+		Rosencrux motioned impatiently for Wagner to depart. And
+		Fernand, amazed and horrified at the dreadful words which had
+		met his ears, retreated from the cavern and sped rapidly back to
+		the spot where he had quitted his guide, whom he found waiting
+		his return beneath the undying lamp. The Rosicrucian
+		conducted Wagner in silence from that deep and subterranean
+		abode beneath the tomb; thence through the cemetery amidst
+		the ruins of the monastery—and across the wild waste, back to
+		Syracuse; nor did the muffled brother of the Rosy Cross take
+		leave of Fernand until they had reached the door of the hostel.
+		There they parted, the Rosicrucian invoking a blessing upon the
+		head of Wagner, who regained his chamber without disturbing
+		the other inmates of the house: but with the conflicting emotions
+		of ardent hopes and appalling fears, and holy aspirations,
+		filling his breast. By degrees, however, as he was enabled to
+		reason to himself with increasing calmness, the fears and the
+		doubts became fainter and fainter, while the hopes and the aspirations
+		grew stronger and stronger: and at length, throwing
+		himself upon his knees, he exclaimed fervently, “O Lord, deal
+		with me as thou wilt—thy will be done!”</p>
+
+		<p>It was late in the afternoon of a sultry day, toward the close
+		of September, or, to be more particular, on the 25th of that
+		month, that a numerous and brilliant cavalcade, on emerging
+		from a grove which bounded one of the sinuosities of the Arno,
+		came within sight of the towers and pinnacles of Florence.</p>
+
+		<p>On the white felt turbans of a hundred and fifty Ottoman
+		soldiers glistened the crescent, the symbol of Islamism; and
+		their steel-sheathed scimiters and the trappings of their horses
+		sent forth a martial din as they were agitated by the rapidity of
+		the march.</p>
+
+		<p>Forty-eight slaves, also mounted on steeds procured at Leghorn,
+		followed the soldiers with a short interval between the two
+		corps, and in the space thus left, rode the Greek Demetrius and
+		Lady Nisida of Riverola. The latter wore the garb of her sex,
+		and sat upon her horse with the grace of an amazonian queen.</p>
+
+		<p>The moment the cavalcade came in sight of the fair City of
+		Flowers, a flush of joy and triumph suddenly diffused itself over
+		Nisida’s countenance; and her lips were simultaneously compressed
+		to prevent the utterance of that exclamation of gladness
+		which her heart sent up to her tongue.</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page301" title="301"> </a>Demetrius now commanded a temporary halt; addressing
+		himself to a Turkish youth, who had been attached to his person
+		in the capacity of secretary, he said, “Yakoub, hie thou in advance,
+		with an escort of two soldiers and two slaves, and push
+		on to Florence. There seek an immediate interview with the
+		president of the council of state, and acquaint that high functionary
+		with the tidings of my approach. Thou wilt inform him
+		that I am about to enter Florence in the peaceful capacity of
+		envoy from the puissant and most glorious Ibrahim Pasha, the
+		vizier of the sultan, to treat on divers matters interesting to the
+		honor of the Ottoman Porte and the welfare of all Italy. In the
+		meantime, I shall so check our speed that we may not reach the
+		city until after sunset, which arrangement will afford you two
+		full hours to accomplish the mission which I now trust to thee.”</p>
+
+		<p>Yakoub bowed, and hastened to obey the commands which he
+		had received—speeding toward Florence, attended by two soldiers
+		and two slaves. Demetrius then ordered his party to dismount
+		and rest for a short space upon the banks of the Arno.
+		Some of his slaves immediately pitched a tent, into which he
+		conducted Nisida; and refreshments were served to them.</p>
+
+		<p>When the repast was concluded, and they were left alone together
+		for a few minutes, Nisida’s manner suddenly changed from
+		calm patrician reserve to a strange agitation—her lips quivered,
+		her eyes flashed fire;—and then, as if desperately resolved to put
+		into execution the idea which she had formed, she seized Demetrius
+		by the hand, bent her head toward him, and murmured
+		in the faintest whisper possible, “Start not to hear the sound
+		of my voice! I am neither deaf nor dumb. But this is not the
+		place for explanations. I have much to tell, you much to hear—for
+		I can speak to thee of Calanthe, and prove that he whom
+		thou servest so zealously is a wretch meriting only thy vengeance.”</p>
+
+		<p>“My God! my God!—what marvels are now taking place!”
+		murmured the Greek, surveying Nisida in profound astonishment
+		not unmingled with alarm.</p>
+
+		<p>“Silence—silence, I implore you!” continued she, in the rapid,
+		low, and yet distinctly audible whisper, “for <em>your</em> sake—for
+		<em>mine</em>, betray me not! Deaf and dumb must I appear—deaf and
+		dumb must I yet be deemed for a short space. But to-night, at
+		twelve o’clock, you will meet me, Demetrius, in the garden of
+		the Riverola mansion;—and then I will conduct you to an apartment
+		where we may confer without fear of being overheard—without
+		danger of interruption.”</p>
+
+		<p>“I will not fail thee, lady,” said the Greek, scarcely able to
+		recover from the amazement into which Nisida’s sudden revelation
+		of her power of speech and hearing had thrown him: then,
+		as an oppressive feeling seized upon his soul, he demanded,
+		“But Calanthe, lady, in the name of heaven! one word more
+		and let that word give me hope that I may see my sister again!”</p>
+
+		<p>“Demetrius,” answered Nisida, her countenance becoming
+		ominous and somber, “you will never behold her more. The
+		lust of Ibrahim Pasha—nay, start not so violently—brought
+		destruction and death upon Calanthe!”</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page302" title="302"> </a>The features of the young Greek were at first distorted with
+		anguish, and tears started from his eyes: but in the next
+		moment their expression changed to one denoting the fiercest
+		rage.</p>
+
+		<p>Nisida understood all that was passing in his soul; and she
+		bent upon him a significant glance, which said more eloquently
+		than language could have done—“Yes, vengeance thou shalt
+		have!”</p>
+
+		<p>She then rose from the velvet cushions which had been spread
+		upon the ground within the tent, and waving her hand in token
+		of temporary farewell to Demetrius, hastened forth, mounted
+		her horse, and departed, alone and unattended, toward Florence.</p>
+
+		<p>Great was the surprise that evening of the numerous servants
+		and dependents at the Riverola mansion, when Donna Nisida
+		suddenly reappeared after an absence of very nearly seven
+		months—and that absence so unaccountable to them! Although
+		her haughty and imperious manner had never been particularly
+		calculated to render her beloved by the menials of the household,
+		yet her supposed affliction of deafness and dumbness
+		had naturally made her an object of interest; and, moreover,
+		as close upon three months had elapsed since Count Francisco
+		himself had disappeared in a strange and alarming
+		way two days only after his return from the wars, the domestics
+		were pleased to behold at least one member of the lost
+		family come back amongst them. Thus it was with sincere
+		demonstrations of delight that the dependents and menials
+		welcomed Donna Nisida at Riverola; and she was not
+		ungracious enough to receive their civilities with coldness. But
+		she speedily escaped from the ceremonies of this reception: and,
+		intimating by signs to the female minions who were about to
+		escort her to her apartments that she was anxious to be alone,
+		she hurried thither, her heart leaping with joy at the thought
+		of being once more beneath the roof of the palace of her forefathers.
+		And, Fernand—wast thou forgotten? Oh! no—no; in
+		spite of all her revived schemings and new plots, Nisida, thy
+		well-beloved Nisida, had room in her heart for thine image! On
+		reaching her own suit of apartments, the key of which had been
+		handed to her by one of the female dependents, Nisida found
+		everything in the same state as when she last was there; and it
+		appeared to her a dream, yes, a very wondrous dream, that she
+		had been absent for nearly seven months, and during that
+		period had seen and experienced such strange vicissitudes. The
+		reader need scarcely be informed that Nisida’s first impulse, on
+		entering her own suit of apartments in the Riverola mansion,
+		was to hasten and gaze once more upon the portrait of her
+		mother, and intent, earnest, enthusiastic was the upraised look
+		now fixed upon that portrait, even as when we first saw Nisida
+		contemplating the sweet and benignant countenance in the second
+		chapter of our narrative. Yes:—and again was her gaze
+		indicative of a devotion, an adoration, a worship.</p>
+
+		<p>“Oh! my sainted mother,” thought Nisida within her breast,
+		“I have not proved ultimately faithless to the solemn vows I
+		pledged to thee upon thy death-bed! No; if for a time I yielded
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page303" title="303"> </a>to the voluptuous idleness of love and passion in that now far
+		off Mediterranean isle, yet, at last did I arouse myself to energy
+		for young Francisco’s sake, and I came back as soon as Heaven
+		sent me the means of return to the place where my presence
+		may best serve <em>his</em> interests, and carry out <em>thy</em> wishes! For, oh!
+		when thou wast alive, my worshiped, my adored mother, how
+		good, how kind, how affectionate wast thou toward me. And
+		that tenderness of a mother for her offspring, ah! how well can
+		I comprehend it now; for I also shall soon become a mother.
+		Yes, Fernand! within the last week I have received the conviction
+		that a being bearing thine image will see the light in due
+		time; and the honor of the proud name of Riverola requires that
+		our child must not be born of an unwedded mother! But wilt
+		thou seek me out, Fernand? Oh! where art thou now? whither
+		was the bark, in which I beheld thee last, wafting thee away?”</p>
+
+		<p>And, all the while that these thoughts were agitating within
+		her mind, Donna Nisida kept her eyes intently fixed on the
+		portrait; but on reflecting a second time that should she fail to
+		meet with Wagner soon again, or should he prove faithless to
+		her, or if, indeed, he should nurse resentment and loathing for
+		her on account of her unworthy conduct toward him on the
+		island, and that her child should be born of an unwedded
+		mother,—when, we say, she thought of this dread probability a
+		second time, she burst into tears, and turned away from the
+		contemplation of her mother’s countenance. And Nisida so
+		seldom wept, that when tears did escape the usually sealed up
+		springs of her emotions, they came in torrents, and were most
+		bitter and painful to shed. But she at length triumphed over
+		her feelings, or rather, their outpourings relieved her; and now
+		the remembrance of another duty which she had resolved upon
+		performing the moment she should reach home again was
+		uppermost in her mind. She contemplated a visit to the mysterious
+		closet—the dark cabinet of horrible secrets, in order to
+		ascertain whether curiosity had triumphed over Francisco’s
+		prudence, or if any one indeed had violated the loneliness of
+		that chamber in which the late Count of Riverola, had breathed
+		his last. She accordingly took a lamp in her hand, for it was
+		now far advanced in the evening, and proceeded to the apartment
+		where a father’s dying injunctions had been given to her
+		brother, and which that father and that brother had so little
+		suspected to have been heard and greedily drunk in by her ears.
+		The door of the room was locked; Nisida accordingly proceeded
+		forthwith to her brother’s chamber; and there, in a secret place
+		where she knew he had been accustomed to keep papers or
+		valuables, she found the key of the chamber containing the
+		mysterious closet, but not the key of the closet itself. Of this
+		latter circumstance she was glad; inasmuch as she conceived
+		that he had adopted her counsel to carry it invariably secured
+		about his person, so that no prying domestics might use it in
+		his absence. Returning, therefore, with the one key which she
+		had found, she entered the apartment where her father had
+		breathed his last.</p>
+
+		<p>Unchanged was its appearance, in mournfulness and gloom
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page304" title="304"> </a>unchanged, in arrangements and features precisely the same as
+		when she last was there, on the night when she intercepted the
+		banditti in their predatory visit. She drew aside the hangings
+		of the bed, a cloud of dust flew out—and for a few moments she
+		stood gazing on the couch where the dark spirit of her sire
+		had fled from its mortal tenement! And as she still lingered
+		near the bed, the remembrance of the death-scene came so
+		vividly back to her mind, that for an instant she fancied she
+		beheld the cold, stern, relentless countenance of the late Count
+		of Riverola upon the pillow; and she turned away more in loathing
+		and abhorrence than alarm, for through her brain flashed in
+		dread association with his memory, the awful words—“And as
+		the merciless scalpel hacked and hewed away at the still almost
+		palpitating flesh of the murdered man, in whose breast the dagger
+		remained deeply buried—a ferocious joy—a savage, hyena-like
+		triumph filled my soul; and I experienced no remorse for
+		the deed I had done!”</p>
+
+		<p>Yes, she turned aside, and was advancing rapidly toward the
+		mysterious closet, when—holy God!—was it reality or imagination?
+		Was it a human being or a specter from another world?
+		For a tall, dark form, muffled apparently in a long cowl—or it
+		might be a cloak, but Nisida was too bewildered to discriminate
+		aright—glided from the middle of the room where her eyes first
+		beheld it, and was lost to view almost as soon as seen. Strong
+		minded as Nisida was, indomitable as was her courage, and far
+		away as she was from being superstitious, yet now she staggered,
+		reeled, and would have fallen had she not come in contact
+		with the mysterious closet, against which she leaned for
+		support. She gasped for breath, and her eyes were fixed wildly
+		upon the door by which the figures had disappeared. Nevertheless,
+		she had so far retained her presence of mind as to grasp the
+		lamp firmly in her hand, for at that moment, after such a fright,
+		in the room where her father had died, and in the close vicinity
+		of the fearful cabinet, even Nisida would have fainted with terror
+		to be left in darkness.</p>
+
+		<p>“’Twas imagination—naught save imagination,” she thought
+		within herself, as she exerted all her power to surmount the
+		alarms that had seized upon her. “But no! I remember to
+		have closed the door carefully behind me, and now it is open!”</p>
+
+		<p>As that reminiscence and conviction flashed to her mind, she
+		nerved herself to advance into the passage; but all was silent,
+		and not a soul was there save herself. Scarcely knowing what
+		to think, yet ashamed to give way to superstitious fears, Nisida
+		retraced her steps, and proceeded to examine the door of the
+		closet. She was satisfied that it had never been opened since the
+		night of her father’s death; for the seals which she had induced
+		Francisco to place upon the lock next day were still there. But
+		all the while she was thus scrutinizing the door, the lock, and the
+		seals, she could not help occasionally casting a furtive glance
+		around, to convince herself that the tall, dark, muffled form was
+		not standing behind her: and, as she retraced her way to her own
+		apartments, she stopped now and then through dread that <em>other</em>
+		footsteps beside her own echoed in the long and lonely corridors of
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page305" title="305"> </a>the old mansion. She, however, regained her chamber in safety,
+		and fell into a deep reverie respecting the tall figure she had
+		seen. Were it not for the fact, of which she was confident, of
+		her having closed the door on entering the room where her
+		father had died, she would have concluded that her imagination
+		had deluded her; but she now feared lest she might be watched
+		by spies for some unknown and hostile purpose. It was perplexing,
+		to say the least of it; and Nisida determined to adopt
+		all possible precautions against her secret enemies, whoever they
+		might be.</p>
+
+		<p>She accordingly arose from her seat—put off her upper garment—donned
+		her thin but strong corselet—and then assumed
+		the black velvet robe which reached up to her throat, concealing
+		the armor beneath. Her flexible dagger—that fatal weapon
+		which had dealt death to the unfortunate Agnes—was next
+		thrust into the sheath formed by the wide border of her stomacher;
+		and Nisida smiled with haughty triumph as if in defiance
+		to her foes. She then repaired to one of the splendid saloons of
+		the mansion; and ere she sat down to the repast that was served
+		up, she dispatched a note acquainting Dr. Duras with her return,
+		and requesting his immediate presence. In about half an hour
+		the physician arrived, and his joy at beholding Nisida again was
+		only equaled by his impatience to learn the cause of her long absence
+		and all that had befallen her during the interval.</p>
+
+		<p>She made a sign for the old man to follow her to the retirement
+		of her own apartments; and then, having closed the door,
+		she said to him in a low tone, “Doctor, we will converse by
+		means of signs no more; for, though still forced to simulate the
+		deaf and dumb in the presence of the world, yet now—with
+		you, who have all along known my terrible secret—our discourse
+		must be too important to be carried on by mere signs.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Nisida,” returned Duras, also in a low and cautious tone,
+		“thou knowest that I love thee as if thou wast my own daughter;
+		and thy voice sounds like music upon my ears. But when
+		will the dreadful necessity which renders thee dumb before the
+		world—when will it cease, Nisida?”</p>
+
+		<p>“Soon—soon, doctor—if thou wilt aid me,” answered the lady.</p>
+
+		<p>A long and earnest conversation then ensued; but it is not
+		necessary to give the details to the reader, inasmuch as their
+		nature will soon transpire. Suffice it to say that Nisida urged
+		a particular request, which she backed by such explanation and
+		we must also say misrepresentations as she thought suitable to
+		her purpose; and that Dr. Duras eventually, though not without
+		compunction and hesitation, at length acceded to her
+		prayer. She then gave him a brief account of her abduction
+		from Florence by the villain Stephano—her long residence on
+		the island of snakes—and her deliverance from thence by the
+		Ottoman fleet, which was now off the port of Leghorn. But
+		she said nothing of Fernand Wagner: nor did she inform the
+		physician that she was acquainted with the cause of Francisco’s
+		disappearance and the place where he was detained. At length
+		Dr. Duras took his leave; but ere he left the room Nisida caught
+		him by the hand, saying, in a low, yet impressive tone—“Remember
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page306" title="306"> </a>your solemn promise, my dear friend, and induce your
+		brother to leave Flora Francatelli to her fate.”</p>
+
+		<p>“I will—I will,” answered the physician. “And after all
+		you have told me, and if she be really the bad, profligate, and
+		evil-disposed girl you represent her, it will be well that the
+		inquisition should hold her tight in its grasp.”</p>
+
+		<p>With these words Dr. Duras departed, leaving Nisida to gloat
+		over the success which her plans had thus far experienced.</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_60" class="chapter">
+		<h3>CHAPTER LX.</h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">It</span> was verging toward midnight, and the moon was concealed
+		behind dark clouds, when a tall figure, muffled in a cloak,
+		climbed over the railing which inclosed one portion of the
+		spacious garden attached to the Riverola Palace. That person
+		was Fernand Wagner. He had arrived in Florence two days
+		before that on which Nisida returned to the ancestral dwelling:—he
+		had entered the city boldly and openly in the joyous sun-light—and
+		yet no one molested him. He even encountered
+		some of the very sbirri who had arrested him in the preceding
+		month of February; they saluted him respectfully—thus showed
+		that they recognized him—but offered not to harm him. His
+		trial, his condemnation, and his escape appeared all to have been
+		forgotten. He repaired to his mansion; his servants, who had
+		remained in possession of the dwelling, received him with demonstrations
+		of joy and welcome as if he had just returned under
+		ordinary circumstances from a long journey. Truly, then, he
+		was blessed by the protection of Heaven. And—more wondrous
+		still—on entering his favorite room he beheld all his pictures
+		in their proper places, as if none of them had ever been removed—as
+		if the confiscation of several by the criminal
+		tribunal had never taken place. Over the one which had proclaimed
+		the secret of his doom to the judges and the audience
+		on the occasion of his trial, still hung the black cloth; and an
+		undefinable curiosity—no, not a sentiment of curiosity, but one
+		of hope—impelled him to remove the covering. And how exquisite
+		was his joy, how great his amazement, how sincere his
+		thanksgivings, when he beheld but a blank piece of canvas.
+		The horrible picture of the Wehr-Wolf, a picture which he had
+		painted when in a strangely morbid state of mind—had disappeared.
+		Here was another sign of Heaven’s goodness—a further
+		proof of celestial mercy.</p>
+
+		<p>On instituting inquiries, Fernand had learnt that Donna Nisida
+		had not yet come back to Florence: but he employed trusty persons
+		to watch and give him notice of her arrival the instant it
+		should occur. Thus Nisida had not been half an hour at the
+		Riverola mansion when Fernand was made acquainted with her
+		return. From the conversation which had taken place between
+		them at various times on the island, and as the reader is well
+		aware, Wagner felt convinced that Nisida would again simulate
+		deafness and dumbness; and he was therefore desirous to avoid
+		giving her any surprise by appearing abruptly before her—a proceeding
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page307" title="307"> </a>which might evoke a sudden ejaculation, and thus betray
+		her secret. Moreover, he knew not whether circumstances
+		would render his visits, made in a public manner, agreeable to
+		her: and, perhaps—pardon him, gentle reader—perhaps he was
+		also curious to learn whether she still thought of him, or whether
+		the excitement of her return had absorbed all tender feelings of
+		that nature.</p>
+
+		<p>Influenced by these various motives, Wagner muffled himself
+		in a long Tuscan cloak and repaired to the vicinity of the
+		Riverola mansion. He passed through the gardens without encountering
+		any one, and, perceiving a side door open, he entered
+		the building. Ascending the stairs, he thought that he should
+		be acting in accordance with the advice given him by Rosencrux,
+		and also consistent with prudence, were he at once to seek
+		an interview with Nisida privately. He therefore repaired in
+		the direction of the principal saloons of the palace; but losing his
+		way amidst the maze of corridors, he was about to retire, when
+		he beheld the object of his search, the beautiful Nisida, enter a
+		room with a lamp in hand. He now felt convinced that he
+		should meet her alone, and he hurried after her. In pursuance
+		of his cautious plan, he opened the door gently, and was already
+		in the middle of the apartment, when he perceived Nisida standing
+		by the side of a bed, and with her head fixed in that immovable
+		manner which indicates intent gazing upon some object.
+		Instantly supposing that some invalid reposed in that couch, and
+		now seized with a dreadful alarm lest Nisida, on beholding him,
+		should utter a sudden ejaculation which would betray the secret
+		of her feigned dumbness, Fernand considerately retreated with
+		all possible speed: nor was he aware that Nisida had observed
+		him, much less that his appearance there had excited such fears
+		in her breast, those fears being greatly enhanced by his negligence
+		in leaving the door open behind him.</p>
+
+		<p>Oh! had Nisida known it was thou, Fernand Wagner, how
+		joyous, how happy she would have been; for the conviction that
+		she bore the pledge of your mutual passion had made her heart
+		yearn that eve to meet with thee again. And was it a like attraction
+		on thy part, or the mysterious influence that now guided
+		all thy movements, which induced thee at midnight to enter the
+		Riverola gardens again, that thou mightest be, as it were, upon
+		the same spot where she dwelt, and scent the fragrance of the
+		same flowers that perfumed the atmosphere which she breathed?
+		Oh! doubtless it was that mysterious influence; for thou hast
+		now that power within thee which made thee strong to resist
+		all the blandishments of the siren, and to prefer the welfare of
+		thine own soul to aught in this world beside!</p>
+
+		<p>We said, then, at the commencement of this chapter that
+		Fernand entered the Riverola gardens shortly after midnight.
+		But scarcely had he crossed the iron railings, turned into the
+		nearest path formed by shrubs and evergreens, when he was
+		startled by hearing another person enter the grounds in the
+		same unceremonious manner. Fernand accordingly stood aside
+		in the deep shade of the trees; and in a few moments a figure,
+		muffled like himself in a cloak, passed him rapidly by. Wagner
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page308" title="308"> </a>was debating in himself what course he should pursue—for he
+		feared that some treachery was intended toward Nisida—when
+		to his boundless surprise, he heard the mysterious visitant say
+		in a low tone. “Is it you, lady?”—to which question the unmistakable
+		and never-to-be-forgotten voice of his Nisida answered,
+		“’Tis I, Demetrius. Follow me noiselessly, and breathe
+		not another word for the present!”</p>
+
+		<p>Fernand was shocked and grieved at what he had just heard,
+		and which savored so strongly of an intrigue. Had not his ears
+		deceived him? was this the Nisida from whom he had parted
+		but little more than three weeks back, and who had left him
+		that tender note which he had found in the hut on the island?
+		But he had no time for reflection; the pair were moving rapidly
+		toward the mansion—and Wagner unhesitatingly followed, his
+		footsteps being soundless on the damp soil of the borders of
+		flowers, and his form being concealed by the shade of the tall
+		evergreens which he skirted.</p>
+
+		<p>He watched Nisida and her companion until they disappeared
+		by a small private door at the back of the mansion; and this
+		door was by them incautiously left unlocked, though shut close.
+		It opened rapidly to Wagner’s hand, and he found himself at the
+		foot of a dark staircase, the sound of ascending steps on which
+		met his ears. Up that narrow flight he sped, noiselessly but
+		hastily; and in a few moments he was stopped by another door
+		which had just closed behind those whom he was following.
+		Here he was compelled to pause, in the hope that the partition
+		might not be so thick as completely to intercept the sounds of
+		the voices in the chamber; but after listening with breathless
+		attention for a few minutes, he could not catch even the murmuring
+		of a whisper. It now struck him that Nisida and her
+		companion might have passed on into a room more remote than
+		the one to which that door had admitted them; and he resolved
+		to follow on. Accordingly, he opened the door with such successful
+		precaution that not a sound—not even the creaking of
+		the hinge was the result; and he immediately perceived that
+		there was a thick curtain within; for it will be recollected that
+		this door was behind the drapery of Nisida’s bed. At the
+		same time, a light, somewhat subdued by the thick curtain, appeared;
+		and the sound of voices met Fernand’s ears.</p>
+
+		<p>“Signor,” said the melodious voice of Nisida, in its sweetest,
+		softest tones, “it is due to myself to tender fitting excuse for introducing
+		you thus into my private chamber; but the necessity
+		of discoursing together without fear of interruption, and in some
+		place that is secure from the impertinence of eavesdroppers,
+		must serve as an apology.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Lady,” replied Demetrius, “it needed no explanation of your
+		motive in bringing me hither to command on my part that respect
+		which is due to you.”</p>
+
+		<p>A weight was removed from Wagner’s mind: it was assuredly
+		no tender sentiment that had brought Nisida and the Greek together
+		this night; and the curiosity of Fernand was therefore excited
+		all the more strongly.</p>
+
+		<p>“We will not waste time in unnecessary parlance,” resumed
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page309" title="309"> </a>Nisida, after a short pause; “nor must you seek to learn the
+		causes—the powerful causes, which have urged me to impose
+		upon myself the awful sacrifice involved in the simulation of
+		loss of speech and hearing. Suffice it for you to know that,
+		when on board the kapitan-pasha’s ship, I overheard every syllable
+		of the conversation which one day took place between the
+		apostate Ibrahim and yourself,—a conversation wherein you
+		gave a detailed account of all your proceedings at Florence, and
+		in the course of which you spoke feelingly of your sister Calanthe.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Alas! poor Calanthe!” exclaimed Demetrius, in a mournful
+		tone; “and is she really no more?”</p>
+
+		<p>“Listen to me while I relate the manner in which I became
+		aware of her fate,” said Nisida.</p>
+
+		<p>She then explained the treacherous visit of the grand vizier
+		to the cabin wherein she had slept on board the Ottoman admiral’s
+		ship—the way in which the Ethiopian slave had interfered
+		to save her—and the conversation that had taken place
+		between Ibrahim and the negro, revealing the dread fate of
+		Calanthe.</p>
+
+		<p>“Is it possible that I have served so faithfully a man possessed
+		of such a demon-heart?” cried Demetrius. “But I will
+		have vengeance, lady; yes, the murdered Calanthe shall be
+		avenged!”</p>
+
+		<p>“And I too must have vengeance upon the proud and insolent
+		vizier who sought to violate all the laws of hospitality in
+		respect to me,” observed Nisida, “and who seeks to marry his
+		sister, the low-born Flora, the sister of the base renegade, to
+		the illustrious scion of the noble house of Riverola! Vengeance,
+		too, must I have upon the wretch Antonio, the panderer to my
+		father’s illicit and degrading <em>amours</em>—the miscreant who sought
+		to plunder this mansion, and who even dared to utter threats
+		against me in that conversation with his accomplice Venturo,
+		which you, signor, overheard in the streets of Florence. This
+		game wretch it is, too, who consigned my brother to the custody
+		of banditti; and though, for certain reasons, I deplore not
+		that captivity which Francisco has endured, inasmuch as it has
+		effectually prevented him from interesting himself on behalf
+		of Flora Francatelli, yet as Antonio was animated by vengeance
+		only in so using my brother, he shall pay the penalty
+		due on account of all his crimes!”</p>
+
+		<p>“And in the task of punishing Antonio, lady,” said Demetrius,
+		“shall I be right glad to aid—for did not the villain deceive
+		me infamously in respect to the dispatches which I sought
+		to forward to Constantinople when last I was at Florence? and,
+		not contented with that vile treachery, even plotted with his accomplice
+		Venturo against my life.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Vengeance, then, upon our enemies, Demetrius!” exclaimed
+		Nisida. “And this is how our aims shall be accomplished,” she
+		continued, in a lower and less excited tone: “The ambitious
+		views of Ibrahim Pasha must experience a signal defeat; and as
+		he is too powerful to be personally injured by us, we must torture
+		his soul by crushing his relations—we must punish him
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page310" title="310"> </a>through the medium of his sister and his aunt. This evening I
+		had a long discourse with Dr. Duras, who is devoted to my interests,
+		and over whom I wield a wondrous power of persuasion.
+		He has undertaken to induce his brother, Angelo Duras, to
+		abandon the cause of the Francatellis; and the inquisition will,
+		therefore, deal with them as it lists. Father Marco I can also
+		manage as I will; he understands the language in which the
+		deaf and dumb converse, for he has so long been confessor to
+		our family. To-morrow I will undertake to send him to Rome on
+		some charitable mission connected with the church. Thus the
+		only persons whom you secured when last you were in Florence,
+		in the interests of the Francatellis, will cease to watch over
+		them; and, as they are accused of being accomplices in the sacrilege
+		perpetrated in the Carmelite Convent, naught will save
+		them from the flames of the <em>auto-da-fe</em>.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Oh! spirit of the murdered Calanthe,” exclaimed Demetrius,
+		with savage joy, “thou wilt be avenged yet! And thou,
+		false vizier, shalt writhe in the flames at the stake!”</p>
+
+		<p>“Now, as for Antonio, and the rest of the banditti who
+		stormed the convent and gave freedom to the hated Flora—who
+		have likewise captured my brother—and who have so long been
+		a terror to Florence,” continued Nisida; “we must annihilate
+		them all at one blow; not a soul of the gang must be spared!”</p>
+
+		<p>Nisida knew full well that at least some of the banditti were
+		acquainted with the fact that she was the murderess of Agnes,
+		and that they could also tell an awkward tale of how she sought
+		to bribe them to rescue Fernand Wagner in case of an adverse
+		judgment on the part of the criminal tribunal. The total
+		annihilation of the horde was consequently the large aim at
+		which she aspired, and her energetic mind shrunk not from
+		any difficulties that might appear in the way toward the execution
+		of that object.</p>
+
+		<p>“The design is grand, but not without its obstacles,” observed
+		Demetrius. “Your ladyship will moreover adopt measures to
+		rescue the Lord Count of Riverola first.”</p>
+
+		<p>“By means of gold everything can be accomplished amongst
+		villains,” returned Nisida, “and the necessary preliminaries to
+		the carrying out of our object rest with you, signor. To-morrow
+		morning must you seek Antonio. He knows not that you suspect
+		his villainy and, as you will say nothing relative to the
+		failure in the arrival of your dispatches at Constantinople, he
+		will rest secure in the belief that you have not yet discovered
+		that deed of treachery. You must represent yourself as the
+		mortal enemy of the Count of Riverola, and so speak as to lead
+		Antonio to confess to you where he is and offer to become the
+		instrument of your vengeance. Then bribe Antonio heavily to
+		deliver up Francisco into your power to-morrow night at a particular
+		hour, and at a place not far from the spot where you
+		know the secret entrance of the banditti’s stronghold to be.”</p>
+
+		<p>“All this, lady,” said Demetrius, “can be easily arranged.
+		Antonio would barter his soul for gold; much more readily, then,
+		will he sell the Count of Riverola to one who bids high for the
+		possession of the noble prisoner.”</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page311" title="311"> </a>“But this is not all,” resumed Nisida, “’tis merely the preface
+		to my plan. So soon as the shades of to-morrow’s evening shall
+		have involved the earth in obscurity, a strong party of your
+		soldiers, properly disguised, but well armed, must repair in small
+		sections, or even singly, to that grove where you have already
+		obtained a clew to the entrance of the robbers’ stronghold. Let
+		them conceal themselves amongst the trees in the immediate
+		vicinity of the enormous chestnut that overhangs the precipice.
+		When the robbers emerge from their lurking-place with Francisco,
+		your soldiers will immediately seize upon them. Should
+		you then discover the secret of the entrance to the stronghold,
+		the object will be gained,—your men will penetrate into the subterranean
+		den,—and the massacre of the horde will prove an
+		easy matter. But should it occur that those banditti who may
+		be employed in leading forth my brother, do shut up the entrance
+		of their den so speedily that your dependents discover
+		not its secrets, then must we trust to bribery or threats to wrest
+		that secret from the miscreants. At all events Antonio will be
+		present to accompany Francisco to the place which you will appoint
+		to meet them; and as the villain will fall into your power,
+		it will perhaps prove less difficult to induce him to betray his
+		comrades, than it might be to persuade any of the banditti
+		themselves.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Lady, your plan has every element of success,” observed
+		Demetrius; “and all shall be done as you suggest. Indeed, I
+		will myself conduct the expedition. But should you thus at
+		once effect the release of Don Francisco, will he not oppose your
+		designs relative to the condemnation of Flora Francatelli by the
+		inquisition?”</p>
+
+		<p>“Dr. Duras is well acquainted with the precise process,” answered
+		Nisida; “and from him I learnt that the third examination
+		of the prisoners will take place to-morrow, when judgment
+		will be pronounced should no advocate appear to urge a feasible
+		cause of delay.”</p>
+
+		<p>“The arrests took place on the 3d of July,” said Demetrius;
+		“and Angelo Duras undertook to obtain a postponement for
+		three months. To-morrow, lady, is but the 26th of September.”</p>
+
+		<p>“True,” responded Nisida; “but were a delay granted, it
+		would be for eight days—and thus you perceive how nicely Angelo
+		Duras had weighed all the intricacies of the case, and how
+		accurately he had calculated the length of the term to be gained
+		by the exercise of the subtleties of the inquisitorial law. Therefore,
+		as no advocate will appear to demand delay, Flora is certain
+		to be condemned to-morrow night, and the release of Francisco
+		may take place simultaneously—for when once the grand
+		inquisitor shall have pronounced the extreme sentence, no human
+		power can reverse it. And now,” added Nisida, “but one word
+		more. The grand vizier commanded you to dispatch a courier
+		daily to Leghorn with full particulars of all your proceedings;
+		see that those accounts be of a nature to lull the treacherous
+		Ibrahim into security—for, were he to learn that his aunt and
+		sister are in dread peril, he would be capable of marching at the
+		head of all his troops to sack the city of Florence.”</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page312" title="312"> </a>“Fear not on that subject, lady,” answered Demetrius. “I
+		will so amuse the demon-hearted grand vizier by my dispatches,
+		that he shall become excited with joyous hopes—so that the
+		blow—the dread blow which we are preparing for him—may be
+		the more terribly severe.”</p>
+
+		<p>The Greek then rose to take his leave of Donna Nisida; and
+		Wagner, having closed the secret door as noiselessly as he had
+		opened it, hurried away from the Riverola mansion bewildered
+		and grieved at all he had heard—for he could no longer conceal
+		from himself that a very fiend was incarnate in the shape of her
+		whom he had loved so madly.</p>
+
+		<p>Having tossed on a feverish couch for upward of an hour,—unable
+		to banish from his mind the cold blooded plot which
+		Nisida and Demetrius had resolved upon in order to consign Flora
+		Francatelli and her equally innocent aunt to the stake,—Wagner
+		at last slept through sheer exhaustion. Then Christianus
+		Rosencrux appeared to him in a dream and said:—“Heaven
+		hath chosen thee as the instrument to defeat the iniquitous purposes
+		of Riverola in respect of two guiltless and deserving women.
+		Angelo Duras is an upright man; but he is deluded and misled
+		by the representations made to him by Nisida, through his
+		brother, the physician, relative to the true character of Flora.
+		In the evening at nine o’clock, hie to Angelo Duras—command
+		him in the name of justice and humanity, to do his duty toward
+		his clients—and he will obey thee. Then, having performed this
+		much, speed thou without delay to Leghorn, and seek the grand
+		vizier, Ibrahim Pasha. To him shalt thou merely state that
+		Demetrius is a traitor, and that tremendous perils hang over the
+		heads of the vizier’s much-loved relatives. Manifest no hatred
+		to the vizier on account of his late treacherous intention with
+		regard to the honor of Nisida: for vengeance belongeth not to
+		mortals. And in these measures only, of all the deeply ramified
+		plots and designs which thou didst hear discussed between
+		Nisida and Demetrius, shall thou interfere. Leave the rest to
+		Heaven.”</p>
+
+		<p>The founder of the Rosicrucians disappeared: and when Fernand
+		awoke late in the day—for his slumber had been long and
+		deep—he remembered the vision which he had seen, and resolved
+		to obey the order he had received.</p>
+
+		<p>Beneath the massive and heavy tower of the Palazzo del
+		Podesta, or Ducal Palace of Florence, was the tribunal of the
+		holy inquisition. Small, low, and terribly somber in appearance
+		was this court—with walls of the most solid masonry, an
+		arched roof, and a pavement formed of vast blocks of dark-veined
+		marble. Thither the light of heaven never penetrated;
+		for it was situate far below the level of the earth, and at the
+		very foundation of that tower which rose, frowning and sullen,
+		high above. Iron lamps diffused a lurid luster around, rendering
+		ghastly the countenance alike of the oppressors and the
+		oppressed; and when it was deemed necessary to invest the
+		proceedings with a more awe-inspiring solemnity than usual,
+		torches, borne by the familiars or officers of the inquisition, were
+		substituted for these iron lamps. Over the judgment-seat was
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page313" title="313"> </a>suspended a large crucifix. On one side of the court were three
+		doors,—one communicating with the corridor and flight of stone
+		steps leading to and from the tribunal; the second affording admission
+		into the torture-chamber and the third opening to the
+		prisons of the inquisition.</p>
+
+		<p>It was about seven o’clock in the evening, on the 26th of September,
+		that Flora Francatelli and her aunt were placed before
+		the grand inquisitor, to be examined for the second time. When
+		the familiars, habited in their long, black, ecclesiastical dresses
+		with the strange cowls or hoods shading their stern and remorseless
+		countenances, led in the two females from the separate
+		cells in which they had been confined, the first and natural impulse
+		of the unhappy creatures was to rush into each other’s
+		arms;—but they were immediately torn rudely asunder, and so
+		stationed in the presence of the grand inquisitor as to have a
+		considerable interval between them.</p>
+
+		<p>But the glances which the aunt and niece exchanged, gave
+		encouragement and hope to each other, and the sentiments
+		which prompted those glances were really cherished by the persecuted
+		females; inasmuch as Father Marco, who had been permitted
+		to visit them occasionally, dropped sundry hints of coming
+		aid, and powerful, though invisible, protection—thereby
+		cheering their hearts to some little extent, and mitigating the
+		intensity of their apprehensions. Flora was very pale—but
+		never, perhaps, had she appeared more beautiful—for her large
+		blue eyes expressed the most melting softness, and her dark
+		brown hair hung disheveled over her shoulders, while her bosom
+		heaved with the agitation of suspense.</p>
+
+		<p>“Woman,” said the grand inquisitor, glancing first to the
+		aunt and then to the niece, his eyes, however, lingering upon
+		the latter, “know ye of what ye are accused? Let the younger
+		speak first.”</p>
+
+		<p>“My lord,” answered Flora, in a firmer tone than might have
+		been expected from the feelings indicated by her outward appearance,
+		“when on a former occasion I stood in the presence
+		of your eminence, I expressed my belief that secret enemies were
+		conspiring, for their own bad purposes, to ruin my beloved relative
+		and myself; and yet I call Heaven to witness my solemn
+		declaration that knowingly and willfully we have wronged no
+		one by word or deed.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Young woman,” exclaimed the grand inquisitor, “thou hast
+		answered my questions evasively. Wast thou not an inmate of
+		that most holy sanctuary, the convent of Carmelite nuns? wast
+		thou not there the companion of Giulia of Arestino? did not a
+		sacrilegious horde of miscreants break into the convent, headed
+		or at least accompanied by a certain Manuel d’Orsini who was
+		the lover of the countess? was not this invasion of the sacred
+		place undertaken to rescue that guilty woman? and did she not
+		find an asylum at the abode of your aunt, doubtless with your
+		connivance, until the day of her arrest?”</p>
+
+		<p>“None of those circumstances, my lord,” replied Flora, “do I
+		attempt to deny: but it is so easy to give them a variety of
+		colorings, some of which, alas! may seem most unfavorable to
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page314" title="314"> </a>my venerable relative and to myself. Oh, my lord, do with me
+		what thou wilt,” exclaimed Flora, clasping her hands together
+		in a single paroxysm of anguish; “but release that aged woman,
+		suffer not my beloved aunt—my more than mother to be thus
+		persecuted! have mercy, my lord, upon <em>her</em>—oh! have mercy,
+		great judge, upon her.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Flora—dearest Flora,” cried Dame Francatelli, the tears
+		trickling fast down her countenance, “I do not wish to leave
+		you—I do not seek to be set free—I will stay in this dreadful
+		place so long as you remain a prisoner also; for though we are
+		separated——”</p>
+
+		<p>“Woman,” exclaimed the grand inquisitor, not altogether
+		unmoved by this touching scene, “the tribunal cannot take
+		heed of supplications and prayers of an impassioned nature. It
+		has to do with facts, not feelings.”</p>
+
+		<p>At this moment there was a slight sensation amongst the
+		familiars stationed near the door of the judgment-hall; and an
+		individual who had just entered the court, and who wore the
+		black robe and the cap or toque of a counselor, advanced
+		toward the grand inquisitor.</p>
+
+		<p>“My lord,” said the advocate, with a reverential bow, “the
+		day after the arrest of these females, I submitted to the council
+		of state a memorial, setting forth certain facts which induced
+		the president of the council to issue his warrant to order the
+		postponement of the second examination of the two prisoners
+		now before your eminence, until this day.”</p>
+
+		<p>“And the case has been postponed accordingly,” answered
+		the grand inquisitor. “It will now proceed, unless reasonable
+		cause be shown for further delay. The prisoners are obstinate.
+		Instead of confessing their heinous crimes, and throwing themselves
+		on the mercy of Heaven—for past the hope of human mercy
+		they are—they assuredly break forth into impassioned language,
+		savoring of complaint. Indeed, the younger attributes to the
+		machinations of unknown enemies the position in which she is
+		placed. Yet have we positive proof that she was leagued with
+		those who perpetrated the sacrilege which ended in the destruction
+		of the Carmelite Convent; and the elder prisoner gave refuge
+		not only to the young girl, her niece, but also to a woman
+		more guilty still—thus rendering herself infamous as one who
+		encouraged and concealed the enemies of the church, instead of
+		giving them up to the most holy inquisition. Wherefore,” continued
+		the grand inquisitor, “it remaineth only for me to order
+		the prisoners to be put to the torture, that they may confess
+		their crimes and receive the condemnation which they merit.”</p>
+
+		<p>At the terrible word “<em>torture</em>,” Dame Francatelli uttered a
+		cry of agony—but it was even more on account of her beloved
+		niece than herself; while Flora, endowed with greater firmness
+		than her aunt, would have flown to console and embrace her,
+		had not the familiars cruelly compelled the young maiden to
+		retain her place.</p>
+
+		<p>“My lord,” said Angelo Duras—for he was the advocate who
+		appeared on behalf of the prisoners—“I formally and earnestly
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page315" title="315"> </a>demand a delay of eight days ere this final examination be proceeded
+		with.”</p>
+
+		<p>“It is impossible,” returned the grand inquisitor, while his
+		words went like ice-shafts to the hearts of the unhappy women.
+		“In addition to the charges against them which I have already
+		glanced at, it appeareth that one Alessandro Francatelli, who is
+		nearly related to them both, hath abjured the Christian faith
+		and become a Mussulman. This fact was reported many months
+		ago to the council of state: and in the cottage lately habited by
+		the prisoners was found a costly set of jewels, ornamented with
+		sundry Moslem devices and symbols, all of which are hateful to
+		the true Catholic. It is therefore natural to suppose that they
+		themselves have secretly abjured their country’s religion, and
+		have already received the reward of their apostasy.”</p>
+
+		<p>“No—never, never!” exclaimed the aunt, clasping her hands
+		together, and showing more anguish by this cruel suspicion
+		than by any other portion of the treatment which she had received
+		at the hands of the inquisition.</p>
+
+		<p>On her side, Flora appeared to be astounded at the accusation
+		made against her aunt and herself by the grand inquisitor.</p>
+
+		<p>“My lord,” said Angelo Duras, “the very statement which
+		has just been put forth by your eminence furnishes a new ground
+		whereon I base my requisition for a delay of eight days, in order
+		to prepare a fitting defense on behalf of the prisoners. The
+		council of state is now sitting in deliberation on certain demands
+		made by the newly arrived Ottoman envoy, and should your
+		eminence refuse my requisition for a delay, it will be my duty
+		forthwith to apply to that august body.”</p>
+
+		<p>The grand inquisitor endeavored to reason with the advocate
+		on the inconvenience of obstructing the business of the tribunal—but
+		Angelo Duras, knowing that he had the law on his
+		side, was firm; and the judge was finally compelled to accord
+		the delay. Flora and her aunt were accordingly conveyed back
+		each to her separate cell; while Angelo Duras retired, murmuring
+		to himself, “I shall doubtless offend my brother by my conduct
+		in this respect, after my solemn promise to him to abandon
+		the cause of the Francatellis; but I prefer having obeyed that
+		young man of godlike aspect and persuasive manner who visited
+		me ere now to abjure me not to neglect my duty.”</p>
+
+		<p>The next case that occupied the attention of the grand inquisitor
+		on the present occasion was that of the Jew Isaachar ben
+		Solomon. The old man was indeed a miserable spectacle. His
+		garments hung loosely about his wasted and attenuated form—his
+		countenance was wan and ghastly—but the fire of his eyes
+		was not altogether quenched. He was heavily chained—and,
+		as he walked between the two familiars who led him into the
+		tribunal, he could scarcely drag himself along. For the persecuted
+		old man had been confined for nearly seven months in the
+		prison of the inquisition; and during that period he had suffered
+		acutely with the damps of his dungeon—the wretched food doled
+		out to him—and the anguish occasioned by conscious innocence
+		unjustly accused of a dreadful crime.</p>
+
+		<p>“Jew,” said the grand inquisitor, “when last thou wast examined
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page316" title="316"> </a>by me, thou didst obstinately refuse to confess thy
+		grievous sins. This is the day for the final investigation of thy
+		case: and thou may’st produce witnesses in thy favor, if thou
+		canst.”</p>
+
+		<p>“My lord,” replied Isaachar ben Solomon, in a weak and
+		tremulous voice, “unless Heaven should work a miracle in my
+		favor, I have no hope in this life. I do not fear death, my
+		lord; for, persecuted, reviled, despised, accused as I am, I can
+		yet lay my hand on my heart and say I have never injured a
+		fellow-creature. But, my lord,” he continued, his voice growing
+		stronger with excitement, “it is sufficient that I am a Jew
+		to insure my condemnation; and yet strange indeed is that
+		Christian faith, or rather should I say, most inconsistent is the
+		conduct of those who profess it, in so far as this ruthless persecution
+		of my race is concerned. For where, my lord, is your
+		charity, where is your tolerance, where is your mercy? If I be
+		indeed involved in mental darkness, ’tis for you to enlighten me
+		with argument, not coerce me with chains. Never have I insulted
+		a Christian on account of his creed: wherefore should I be
+		insulted in mine? Granting that the Jew is in error, he surely
+		deserves pity, not persecution. For how came I by the creed
+		which I profess? Even as your lordship obtained yours, which
+		is that of Christian. Our parents reared us each in the belief
+		which they respectively professed; and there is no more merit
+		due to your eminence for being a Christian, than there is blame
+		to be attached to me for being a Jew. Had all the religions of
+		the earth been submitted to our consideration when we were
+		children, and had it been said to each of us, ‘Select a faith for
+		yourself,’ then there might be some merit in choosing the one
+		most popular and the most assuredly conducive to personal
+		safety. But such was not the case, my lord; and I am a Jew
+		for the same reason that you are a Christian—and I cling to the
+		creed of my forefathers even as you adhere tenaciously to that
+		faith which your ancestors have handed down to you. Reproach
+		me not, then, because I am a Jew. And now I will pass to another
+		subject, my lord,” continued Isaachar, becoming more
+		and more animated as he proceeded.</p>
+
+		<p>“I am accused of a fearful crime, of murder. The evidence
+		rests upon the fact that stains of blood were observed upon the
+		floor of a room in my house. The answer is simple. Two men—one
+		of noble birth, the other a robber, fought in the room;
+		and the blood of one of them flowed from a slight wound.
+		This is the truth—and yet I know that I am not believed.
+		Merciful heavens! of what would you accuse me? Of murder!—and
+		it was hinted, when last I stood before your eminence,
+		that the Jews have been known to slay Christian children as an
+		offering to Heaven. My lord, the Jews worship the same God as
+		the Christians—for the Christians adopt that book in which the
+		Jews put faith. Then I appeal to your eminence whether the
+		God whom the Christians worship would delight in such sacrifices?—and
+		as you must answer ‘Nay,’ the reply acquits the
+		Jews also of the hideous calumny sought to be affixed upon us.
+		The Jews, my lord, are a merciful and humane race. The records
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page317" title="317"> </a>of your tribunals will prove that the Jews are not addicted
+		to the shedding of blood. They are too patient—enduring—and
+		resigned, to be given to vengeance. Behold how they cling to
+		each other—how they assist each other in distress;—and charity
+		is not narrowed to small circles, my lord, it is a sentiment which
+		must become expansive, because it nourisheth itself and is
+		cherished by those good feelings which are its only reward.
+		Think you, my lord, that if I saw a fellow-creature starving in
+		the street, I should wait to ask him whether he were a Christian,
+		a Jew, or a Mussulman? Oh! no—no; the world’s bread was
+		given for men of all nations and all creeds!”</p>
+
+		<p>Isaachar would have continued his address to the grand inquisitor;
+		but sheer exhaustion compelled him to desist—and he
+		would have sunk upon the cold marble, had not the familiars
+		supported him.</p>
+
+		<p>“By his own words is he convicted of disbelief in the most
+		holy Catholic faith,” said the grand inquisitor. “But I find, by
+		a memorial which was addressed to me many mouths ago—indeed,
+		very shortly after the arrest of this miserable unbeliever—and
+		signed by Manuel Marquis of Orsini, that the said marquis
+		hath important evidence to give on behalf of the Jew. Now,
+		though Manuel d’Orsini be himself a prisoner of the holy office,
+		yet as he hath not yet been judged, he is a competent witness.”</p>
+
+		<p>Orders were then given to introduce the marquis; and Isaachar
+		ben Solomon murmured to himself, “Is it possible that the
+		young man can have felt sympathy for me? Ah, then I was
+		not mistaken in him; in spite of his dissipation and his wildness
+		he possesses a generous heart.”</p>
+
+		<p>In a few minutes the Marquis of Orsini was led into the judgment-hall.
+		He was chained;—but he carried his head erect—and,
+		though his countenance was pale and careworn, his spirit
+		was not crushed. He bowed respectfully, but not cringingly,
+		to the grand inquisitor, and bestowed a friendly nod of recognition
+		upon the Jew.</p>
+
+		<p>“This memorial, dated in the month of March last, was signed
+		by you?” said the grand inquisitor interrogatively, as he displayed
+		a paper to the marquis.</p>
+
+		<p>“That memorial was signed by me,” answered Orsini, in a
+		firm tone, “and I rejoice that your eminence has at length
+		granted me an opportunity of explaining the matter hinted at
+		therein. Your eminence sits there, it is presumed, to administer
+		justice; then let justice be done toward this innocent man—albeit
+		that he is a Jew—for solemnly do I declare that the blood
+		which stained the floor in Isaachar’s house flowed from my
+		right arm. And it may not be amiss to observe,” continued the
+		marquis, “that the worthy Jew there did not only bind the
+		wound for me with as much care as if I myself had been an
+		Israelite, or he a Christian—but he moreover offered me the aid
+		of his purse; and therefore am I under obligations to him which
+		I can never wholly discharge. In good sooth, my lord,” added
+		Manuel, in whom neither a lengthened imprisonment nor the
+		awful solemnity of the present scene could entirely subdue the
+		flippancy which was habitual to his speech,—“in good sooth,
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page318" title="318"> </a>my lord, he is a splendid specimen of a Jew—and I pray your
+		eminence to discharge him forthwith.”</p>
+
+		<p>“This levity ill becometh you, Manuel d’Orsini,” said the
+		grand inquisitor; “for you yourself are in terrible danger.”</p>
+
+		<p>Then, upon a signal given, the familiars conveyed the marquis
+		back to his dungeon: but ere he left the judgment-hall, he had
+		the satisfaction of beholding the Jew’s eyes fixed upon him with
+		an expression of boundless gratitude and deep sympathy. Tears,
+		too, were trickling down the cheeks of the Israelite: for the old
+		man thought within himself, “What matters it if the rack dislocate
+		my limbs? But it is shocking—oh! it is shocking to reflect
+		that thy fellow-creatures, noble youth, shall dare to deface
+		and injure that godlike form of thine!”</p>
+
+		<p>“Jew,” suddenly exclaimed the grand inquisitor, “I put no
+		faith in the testimony of the witness who has just appeared in
+		thy favor. Confess thy sins—avow openly that thou hast murdered
+		Christian children to obtain their blood for use in thy
+		sacrifices—and seek forgiveness from Heaven by embracing the
+		faith of Jesus!”</p>
+
+		<p>The unhappy Israelite was so appalled by the open, positive,
+		and undisguised manner in which an atrocious charge was revived
+		against him, that he lost all power of utterance, and stood
+		stupefied and aghast.</p>
+
+		<p>“Away with him to the torture-chamber!” cried the grand inquisitor,
+		in a stern and remorseless tone.</p>
+
+		<p>“Monster!” exclaimed the Jew, suddenly recovering his speech,
+		as that dreadful mandate warned him that he would now require
+		all his energy—all his presence of mind:—“monster!” he
+		repeated, in a voice indicative of loathing and contempt;—“and
+		thou art a Christian!”</p>
+
+		<p>The familiars hurried Isaachar away to the torture-chamber,
+		which, as we before stated, opened upon the tribunal. And terrible,
+		indeed, was the appearance of that earthly hell—that terrestrial
+		hades, invented by fiends in human shape—that den of
+		horrors constituting, indeed, a fitting foretaste of trans-stygian
+		torment! The grand inquisitor followed the victim and the familiars
+		into this awful place: and, on a signal being given by
+		that high functionary, Isaachar was stripped of all his upper
+		clothing, and stretched on the accursed rack. Then commenced
+		the torture—the agonizing torture by means of that infernal instrument,
+		a torture which dislocated the limbs, appeared to tear
+		the members asunder, and produced sensations as if all the
+		nerves of the body were suddenly being drawn out through the
+		brain.</p>
+
+		<p>“Dost thou confess? and wilt thou embrace the Christian
+		faith?” demanded the grand inquisitor from time to time.</p>
+
+		<p>“I have nothing to confess—I will not renounce the creed of
+		my forefathers!” answered Isaachar in a tone of bitter agony, as
+		he writhed upon the rack, while every fresh shock and jerk of
+		the infernal engine seemed as if it would tear the very life out
+		of him. But the old man remained firm in the declaration of
+		his innocence of the dreadful crime imputed to him: stanch also
+		to his creed did he remain; and having endured the full extent
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page319" title="319"> </a>of that special mode of torture, he was borne back to his dungeon,
+		cruelly injured, with dislocated limbs, blood streaming
+		from his mouth and nostrils, and these terrible words of the
+		grand inquisitor ringing in his ears—“Obstinate and impenitent
+		one, Satan claims thee as his own; therefore art thou condemned
+		to death by fire at the approaching <em>auto de-fe</em>!”</p>
+
+		<p>Half an hour afterward another human being lay stretched
+		upon that accursed rack, and agonizing—oh! most agonizing
+		were the female shrieks and rending screams which emanated
+		from the lips of the tortured victim, but which reached not beyond
+		the solid masonry of those walls and the massive iron-plated
+		door. The white and polished arms were stretched out
+		in a position fearfully painful beyond the victim’s head, and the
+		wrists were fastened to a steel bar by means of a thin cord,
+		which cut through flesh, muscle and nerve to the very bone!
+		The ankles were attached in a similar manner to a bar at the
+		lower end of the rack, and thus from the female’s hands and
+		feet thick clots of gore fell on the stone pavement. But even
+		the blood flowed not so fast from her lacerated limbs as streamed
+		the big drops of agony from her distorted countenance—that
+		countenance erst so beautiful, and so well beloved by thee,
+		Manuel d’Orsini! For, oh! upon that rack lay stretched the fair
+		and half-naked form of Giulia of Arestino, its symmetry convulsing
+		in matchless tortures, the bosom palpitating awfully
+		with the pangs of that earthly hell, and the exquisitely-modeled
+		limbs enduring all the hideous pains of dislocation, as if the
+		fibers that held them in their sockets were drawn out to a tension
+		at which they must inevitably snap in halves!</p>
+
+		<p>But who gazes on that awful spectacle? whose ears drink in
+		those agonizing screams, as if they made a delicious melody?
+		With folded arms, compressed lips, and remorseless, though
+		ashy pale countenance, the old Lord of Arestino stands near the
+		rack; and if his eyes can for a moment quit that feast which
+		they devour so greedily, it is but to glance with demoniac
+		triumph toward Manuel d’Orsini, whom an atrocious refinement
+		of cruelty, suggested by the vengeful count himself, has made a
+		spectator of that appalling scene! And terrible are the emotions
+		which rend the heart of the young marquis! But he is powerless—he
+		cannot stretch forth a hand to save his mistress from the
+		hellish torments which she is enduring, nor can he even whisper
+		a syllable to inspire her with courage to support them. For he
+		is bound tightly—the familiars, too, have him in their iron grasp,
+		and he is gagged! Nevertheless he can see, and he can hear; he
+		can behold the rending tortures of the rack—and he is compelled
+		to listen to the piercing screams which the victim sends forth.
+		If he close his eyes upon the horrible spectacle, imagination
+		instantly makes it more horrible even still; and, moreover, in
+		the true spirit of a chivalrous heart, he seeks by the tenderness of
+		his glances to impart at least a gleam of solace to the soul of her
+		who has undergone so much, and is suffering now so much more,
+		through her fatal love of him! The grand inquisitor, who is an
+		intimate friend of the Count of Arestino, ministers well and
+		faithfully to the infernal vengeance of that old Italian noble: for
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page320" title="320"> </a>the remorseless judge urges on the torturers to apply the powers
+		of the rack to the fullest extent; and while the creaking sound
+		of wheels mingles with the cracking noise of dislocating limbs,
+		the Count of Arestino exclaims, “I was once humane and benevolent,
+		Giulia, but thy conduct has made me a fiend!”</p>
+
+		<p>“A fiend!” shrieked the tormented woman: “Oh! yes—yes—thou
+		art a fiend—a very fiend—I have wronged thee—but this
+		vengeance is horrible—mercy—mercy!—oh! for one drop of
+		water—mercy—mercy!”</p>
+
+		<p>The rack gave the last shock of which its utmost power was
+		capable—a scream more dreadful, more agonizing, more piercing
+		than any of its predecessors, rent this time the very walls of the
+		torture-chamber: and with this last outburst of mortal agony,
+		the spirit of the guilty Giulia fled forever! Yet was not the
+		vengeance of the Count of Arestino satisfied; and the grand inquisitor
+		was prepared to gratify the hellish sentiment to the
+		fullest extent. The still warm and palpitating corpse of the
+		countess was hastily removed from the rack: and the familiars
+		stripped—nay, tore off the clothing of Manuel d’Orsini. The
+		countenance of the young nobleman was now terribly somber,
+		as if the darkest thoughts were occupying his inmost soul, and
+		his eyes were bent fixedly on the dreadful engine, to the tortures
+		of which it appeared to be his turn to submit.</p>
+
+		<p>The familiars, in order to divest him of his garments, and
+		also to stretch him in such a way on the rack that his arms
+		might be fastened over his head to the upper end of that instrument,
+		had removed the chains and cords which had hitherto
+		bound him. And now the fatal moment seemed to be at hand,
+		and the familiars already grasped him rudely to hurl him on the
+		rack, when, as if suddenly inspired by a superhuman strength,
+		the young nobleman dashed the men from him; then, with
+		lightning speed, he seized a massive iron bar that was used to
+		move the windlass of the rack, and in another instant, before
+		a saving arm could intervene, the deadly instrument struck
+		down the Count of Arestino at the feet of the grand inquisitor,
+		who started back with a cry of horror! The next moment the
+		marquis was again powerless and secure in the grasp of the familiars—but
+		he had accomplished his purpose, he had avenged
+		his mistress and himself—and the old Lord of Arestino lay, with
+		shattered skull, a corpse upon the cold pavement of the torture-chamber!</p>
+
+		<p>“Back—back with the murderer to his dungeon!” exclaimed
+		the grand inquisitor, in a tone of fearful excitement and rage.
+		“We must not afford him a chance of dying upon that engine
+		of torture. No—no: the lingering flames of the <em>auto-da-fe</em> are
+		reserved for the Marquis d’Orsini!”</p>
+
+		<p>And in pursuance of the sentence thus pronounced, Manuel
+		was hurried away to his dark and solitary cell, there to remain
+		a prey to all the dreadful thoughts which the occurrences of
+		that fatal evening were so well calculated to marshal in horrible
+		array to his imagination.</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_61" class="chapter">
+		<h3><a class="pagenum" id="page321" title="321"> </a>CHAPTER LXI.</h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">While</span> these awful scenes were being enacted in the subterranes
+		of the holy inquisition, Demetrius was actively engaged
+		in directing those plans and effecting those arrangements which
+		the scheming disposition of Nisida of Riverola had suggested.
+		We should observe that in the morning he had sought and found
+		Antonio, with whom he had so expertly managed that the villain
+		had fallen completely into the snare spread to entrap him,
+		and had not only confessed that he held at his disposal the liberty
+		of the Count of Riverola, but had also agreed to deliver
+		him up to the Greek. In a word, every thing in this respect took
+		place precisely as Nisida had foreseen. Accordingly, so soon as
+		it was dark in the evening, sixty of the Ottoman soldiers quitted
+		by two and threes the mansion which the Florentine Government
+		had appropriated as a dwelling for the envoy and his suit. The
+		men whom Demetrius thus intrusted with the execution of his
+		scheme, and whose energy and fidelity he had previously secured
+		by means of liberal reward and promise of more, were disguised
+		in different ways, but were all well armed. To be brief, so well
+		were the various dispositions taken, and so effectually were they
+		executed, that those sixty soldiers had concealed themselves in
+		the grove indicated by their master, without having excited in
+		the minds of the Florentine people the least suspicion that anything
+		unusual was about to take place. It was close upon eleven
+		o’clock at night, when Demetrius, after having obtained a hasty
+		interview with Nisida, whom he acquainted with the progress
+		of the plot, repaired to the grove wherein his men were already
+		distributed, and took his station in the midst of the knot of
+		olives on the right of the huge chestnut tree which overhung
+		the chasm.</p>
+
+		<p>Nearly a quarter of an hour elapsed, and naught was heard
+		save the waving of the branches and the rustling of the foliage,
+		as the breeze of night agitated the grove; but at the expiration
+		of that brief period, the sound of voices was suddenly heard
+		close by the chestnut tree—not preceded by any footsteps nor
+		other indication of the presence of men—and thus appearing as
+		if they had all at once and in an instant emerged from the earth.</p>
+
+		<p>Not a moment had elapsed—no, not a moment—ere those individuals
+		whose voices were thus abruptly heard, were captured
+		and secured by a dozen Ottoman soldiers, who sprung upon
+		them from the dense thickets around or dropped amongst them
+		from the branches overhead—and so admirably was the swoop
+		made, that five persons were seized, bound and held powerless
+		and incapable of resistance ere the echo of the cry of alarm which
+		they raised had died away in the maze of the grove. And simultaneously
+		with the performance of this skillful maneuver, a shrill
+		whistle was wafted from the lips of Demetrius through the
+		wood, and as if by magic, a dozen torches were seen to light up
+		and numbers of men, with naked scimiters gleaming in the
+		rays of those firebrands, rushed toward the spot where the capture
+		had been made. The effect of that sudden illumination—those
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page322" title="322"> </a>flashing weapons—and that convergence of many warriors
+		all toward the same point, was striking in the extreme, and as
+		the glare of the torches shone on the countenances of the four
+		men in the midst of whom was Francisco (the whole five, however,
+		being held bound and powerless by the Ottoman soldiers), it
+		was evident that the entire proceeding had inspired the guilty
+		wretches with the most painful alarm. Demetrius instantly
+		knew that the handsome and noble-looking young man in the
+		midst of the group of captives and captors, must be Don Francisco
+		of Riverola, and he also saw at a glance that one of the
+		ruffians with him was Antonio. But he merely had leisure at
+		the moment to address a word of reassurance and friendship to
+		Nisida’s brother—for, lo! the secret of the entrance to the robbers’
+		stronghold was revealed—discovered! Yes—there, at the
+		foot of the tree, and now rendered completely visible by the
+		glare of the torch-light, was a small square aperture, from which
+		the trap door had been raised to afford egress to the captured
+		party.</p>
+
+		<p>“Secure that entrance!” cried Demetrius, hastily; “and hasten
+		down those steps, some dozen of you, so as to guard it well!”—then,
+		the instant this command was obeyed he turned toward
+		Francisco, saying, “Lord of Riverola—am I right in thus addressing
+		you?”</p>
+
+		<p>“Such is my name,” answered Francisco; “and if you, brave
+		chief, will but release me and lend me a sword, I will prove to
+		thee that I have no particular affection for these miscreants.”</p>
+
+		<p>Demetrius gave the necessary order—and in another moment
+		the young Count of Riverola was not only free, but with a
+		weapon in his hand. The Greek then made a rapid, but significant—fatally
+		significant sign to his men; and—quick as thought,—the
+		three robbers and their confederate Antonio were strangled
+		by the bowstrings which the Ottomans whipped around their
+		necks. A few stifled cries—and all was over! Thus perished
+		the wretch Antonio—one of those treacherous, malignant, and
+		avaricious Italians who bring dishonor on their noble nation,—a
+		man who had sought to turn the vindictive feelings of the Count
+		of Arestino to his own purposes, alike to fill his purse and to
+		wreak his hateful spite on the Riverola family! Scarcely was
+		the tragedy enacted, when Demetrius ordered the four bodies to
+		be conveyed down the steps disclosed by the trap-door; “for,”
+		said he, “we will endeavor so to direct our proceedings that not
+		a trace of them shall be left upon ground; as the Florentines
+		would not be well-pleased if they learnt that foreign soldiers
+		have undertaken the duties which they themselves should perform.”
+		Several of the Ottomans accordingly bore the dead
+		bodies down the steps; and Demetrius, accompanied by Francisco,
+		followed at the head of the greater portion of the troops,
+		a sufficient number, however, remaining behind to constitute a
+		guard at the entrance of the stronghold.</p>
+
+		<p>While they were yet descending the stone stairs, Demetrius
+		seized the opportunity of that temporary lull in the excitement
+		of the night’s adventures, to give Francisco hasty but welcome
+		tidings of his sister; and the reader may suppose that the generous-hearted
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page323" title="323"> </a>young count was overjoyed to learn that Nisida
+		was not only alive, but also once more an inmate of the ancestral
+		home. Demetrius said nothing relative to Flora; and Francisco,
+		not dreaming for a moment that his deliverer even knew
+		there was such a being in existence, asked no questions on that
+		subject. His anxiety was not, however, any less to fly to the
+		cottage; for it must be remembered that he was arrested first,
+		on the 3d of July, and had yet to learn all the afflictions which
+		had fallen upon Flora and her aunt—afflictions of the existence
+		whereof he had been kept in utter ignorance by the banditti
+		during his long captivity of nearly three months in their stronghold.
+		But while we are thus somewhat digressing, the invaders
+		are penetrating further into the stronghold. Headed by Demetrius
+		and Francisco, and all carrying their drawn scimiters in
+		their hands, the corps proceeded along a vast vaulted subterrane,
+		paved with flag-stones, until a huge iron door, studded with
+		nails, barred the way.</p>
+
+		<p>“Stay!” whispered Francisco, suddenly recollecting himself,
+		“I think I can devise a means to induce the rogues to open this
+		portal, or I am much mistaken.”</p>
+
+		<p>He accordingly seized a torch and hurried back to the foot of
+		the stone-steps; in the immediate vicinity of which he searched
+		narrowly for some object. At last he discovered the object of
+		his investigation—namely a large bell hanging in a niche, and
+		from which a strong wire ran up through the ground to the surface.
+		This bell Francisco set ringing, and then hurried back to
+		rejoin his deliverers. Scarcely was he again by the side of
+		Demetrius, when he saw that his stratagem had fully succeeded;
+		for the iron door swung heavily round on its hinges—and in
+		another moment the cries of terror which the two robber-sentinels
+		raised on the inner side, were hushed forever by the Turkish
+		scimiters. Down another flight of steps the invaders then
+		precipitated themselves, another door, at the bottom, having
+		been opened in compliance with the same signal which had led
+		to the unfolding of the first—and now the alarm was given by
+		the sentinels guarding the second post—those sentinels flying
+		madly on, having beholden the immolation of their comrades.
+		But Demetrius and Francisco speedily overtook them just as
+		they emerged from another long vaulted and paved cavern-passage,
+		and were about to cross a plank which connected the
+		two sides of a deep chasm in whose depths a rapid stream rushed
+		gurgling on.</p>
+
+		<p>Into the turbid waters the two fugitive sentinels were cast:
+		over the bridge poured the invaders, and into another caverned
+		corridor, hollowed out of the solid rock, did they enter, the
+		torch-bearers following immediately behind the Greek and the
+		young count. It was evident that neither the cries of the surprised
+		sentinels nor the tread of the invaders had alarmed the
+		main corps of the banditti; for, on reaching a barrier formed
+		by massive folding doors, and knocking thereat, the portals instantly
+		began to move on their hinges—and in rushed the Ottoman
+		soldiers, headed by their two gallant Christian leaders.
+		The robbers were in the midst of a deep carouse in their magnificent
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page324" title="324"> </a>cavern-hall, when their festivity was thus rudely interrupted.</p>
+
+		<p>“We are betrayed!” thundered Lomellino, the captain of the
+		horde; “to arms! to arms!”</p>
+
+		<p>But the invaders allowed them no time to concentrate themselves
+		in a serried phalanx, and tremendous carnage ensued.
+		Surprised and taken unaware as they were, the banditti fought
+		as if a spell were upon them, paralyzing their energies and
+		warning them that their last hour was come. The terrible
+		scimiters of the Turks hewed them down in all directions;
+		some, who sought to fly, were literally cut to pieces. Lomellino
+		fell beneath the sword of the gallant Count of Riverola; and
+		within twenty minutes after the invaders first set foot in the
+		banqueting hall, not a soul of the formidable horde was left
+		alive!</p>
+
+		<p>Demetrius abandoned the plunder of the den to his troops;
+		and when the portable part of the rich booty had been divided
+		amongst them, they returned to their own grove, into which
+		the entrance of the stronghold opened. When the subterrane
+		was thus cleared of the living, and the dead alone remained in
+		that place which had so long been their home, and was now their
+		tomb, Demetrius ordered his forces to disperse and return to
+		their quarters in Florence in the same prudent manner which
+		had characterized their egress thence a few hours before. Francisco
+		and Demetrius, being left alone together in the grove, proceeded
+		by torchlight to close the trap-door, which they found to
+		consist of a thick plate of iron covered with earth, so prepared,
+		by glutinous substances no doubt, that it was hard as rock; and
+		thus, when the trap was shut down, not even a close inspection
+		would lead to a suspicion of its existence, so admirably did it fit
+		into its setting and correspond with the soil all around.</p>
+
+		<p>It required, moreover, but a slight exercise of their imaginative
+		powers to enable Demetrius and Francisco to conjecture
+		that every time any of the banditti had come forth from their
+		stronghold they were accustomed to strew a little fresh earth
+		over the entire spot, and thus afford an additional precaution
+		against the chance of detection on the part of any one who
+		might chance to stray in that direction. We may also add that
+		the trap-door was provided with a massive bolt which fastened
+		it inside when closed, and that the handle of the bell-wire, which
+		gave the signal to open the trap, was concealed in a small hollow
+		in the old chestnut-tree. Having thus satisfied his curiosity by
+		means of these discoveries, Demetrius accompanied Francisco to
+		the city; and during their walk thither, he informed the young
+		count that he was an envoy from the Ottoman Grand Vizier to
+		the Florentine Government—that he had become acquainted
+		with Nisida on board the ship which delivered her from her
+		lonely residence on an island in the Mediterranean—and that as
+		she had by some means or other learnt where Francisco was
+		imprisoned, he had undertaken to deliver him. The young
+		count renewed his warmest thanks to the chivalrous Greek for
+		the kind interest he had manifested in his behalf; and they
+		separated at the gate of the Riverola mansion, into which
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page325" title="325"> </a>Francisco hurried to embrace his sister; while Demetrius repaired
+		to his own abode.</p>
+
+		<p>The meeting between Nisida and her brother Francisco was
+		affecting in the extreme; and for a brief space the softer feelings
+		in the lady’s nature triumphed over those strong, turbulent, and
+		concentrated passions which usually held such indomitable
+		sway over her. For her attachment to him was profound and
+		sincere; and the immense sacrifice she had made in what she
+		conceived to be his welfare and interests had tended to strengthen
+		this almost boundless love.</p>
+
+		<p>On his side, the young count was rejoiced to behold his sister,
+		whose strange disappearance and long absence had filled his
+		mind with the worst apprehensions. Yes, he was rejoiced to
+		see her once more beneath the ancestral roof; and, with a fond
+		brother’s pride, he surveyed her splendid countenance, which
+		triumph and happiness now invested with an animation that
+		rendered her surpassingly beautiful!</p>
+
+		<p>A few brief and rapidly-given explanations were exchanged
+		between them, by means of the language of the fingers,—Francisco
+		satisfying Nisida’s anxiety in respect to the success of her
+		project, by which the total extermination of the banditti had
+		been effected,—and she conveying to him as much of the outline
+		of her adventures during the last seven months as she thought
+		it prudent to impart. They then separated, it being now very
+		late; and, moreover, Nisida had still some work in hand for that
+		night. The moment Francisco was alone, he exclaimed aloud,
+		“Oh! is it possible that this dear sister who loves me so much,
+		is really the bitter enemy of Flora? But to-morrow—to-morrow
+		I must have a long explanation with Nisida; and Heaven
+		grant that she may not stand in the way of my happiness! Oh,
+		Flora—dearest Flora, if you knew how deeply I have suffered on
+		your account during my captivity in that accursed cavern!
+		And what must you have thought of my disappearance—my
+		absence! Alas! did the same vengeance which pursued me
+		wreak its spite also on thee, fair girl?—did the miscreant, Antonio,
+		who boastingly proclaimed himself to my face the author
+		of my captivity, and who sullenly refused to give me any tidings
+		of those whom I cared for, and of what was passing in the
+		world without,—did he dare to molest thee? But suspense is
+		intolerable, I cannot endure it even for a few short hours! No—I
+		will speed me at once to the dwelling of my Flora, and thus assuage
+		her grief and put an end to my own fears at the same
+		time!”</p>
+
+		<p>Having thus resolved, Francisco repaired to his own apartment,
+		enveloped himself in a cloak, secured weapons of defense
+		about his person, and then quitted the mansion, unperceived
+		by a living soul. Almost at the same time, but by another
+		mode of egress—namely, the private staircase leading from her
+		own apartments into the garden, and which has been so often
+		mentioned in the course of this narrative—Donna Nisida stole
+		likewise from the Riverola palace. She was habited in male
+		attire; and beneath her doublet she wore the light but strong
+		cuirass which she usually donned ere setting out on any nocturnal
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page326" title="326"> </a>enterprise, and which she was now particularly cautious
+		not to omit from the details of her toilet, inasmuch as the mysterious
+		appearance of the muffled figure, which had alarmed
+		her on the previous evening, induced her to adopt every precaution
+		against secret and unknown enemies. Whither was the
+		Lady Nisida now hurrying, through the dark streets of Florence?—what
+		new object had she in contemplation?</p>
+
+		<p>Her way was bent toward an obscure neighborhood in the
+		immediate vicinity of the cathedral; and in a short time she
+		reached the house in which Dame Margaretha, Antonio’s
+		mother, dwelt. She knocked gently at the door, which was
+		shortly opened by the old woman, who imagined it was her son
+		that sought admittance; for, though in the service of the Count
+		of Arestino, Antonio was often kept abroad late by the various
+		machinations in which he had been engaged, and it was by no
+		means unusual for him to seek his mother’s dwelling at all
+		hours.</p>
+
+		<p>Margaretha, who appeared in a loose wrapper hastily thrown
+		on, held a lamp in her hand; and when its rays streamed not on
+		the countenance of her son, but showed the form of a cavalier
+		handsomely appareled, she started back in mingled astonishment
+		and fear. A second glance, however, enabled her to recognize
+		the Lady Nisida; and an exclamation of wonder escaped
+		her lips. Nisida entered the house, closed the door behind her,
+		and motioned Dame Margaretha to lead the way into the nearest
+		apartment. The old woman obeyed tremblingly; for she
+		feared that the lady’s visit boded no good; and this apprehension
+		on her part was not only enhanced by her own knowledge of all
+		Antonio’s treachery toward Count Francisco, but also by the
+		imperious manner, determined looks, and strange disguise of
+		her visitress. But Margaretha’s terror speedily gave way to
+		indescribable astonishment when Nisida suddenly addressed her
+		in a language which not for many, many years, had the old
+		woman heard flow from that delicious mouth!</p>
+
+		<p>“Margaretha,” said Nisida, “you must prepare to accompany
+		me forthwith! Be not surprised to hear me thus capable of rendering
+		myself intelligible by means of an organ on which a
+		seal was so long placed. A marvelous cure has been accomplished
+		in respect to me, during my absence from Florence.
+		But you must prepare to accompany me, I say; your son Antonio——”</p>
+
+		<p>“My son!” ejaculated the woman, now again trembling from
+		head to foot, and surveying Nisida’s countenance in a manner
+		denoting the acutest suspense.</p>
+
+		<p>“Your son is wounded—mortally wounded in a street skirmish——”</p>
+
+		<p>“Wounded!” shrieked Margaretha. “Oh, dear lady—tell me
+		all—tell me the worst! What has happened to my unfortunate
+		son? He is dead—he is dead! Your manner convinces me that
+		hope is past!”</p>
+
+		<p>And she wrung her hands bitterly, while tears streamed down
+		her wrinkled cheeks.</p>
+
+		<p>“No, he is not dead, Margaretha!” exclaimed Nisida; “but he
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page327" title="327"> </a>is dying—and he implored me, by everything I deemed sacred, to
+		hasten thither and fetch you to him, that he may receive your
+		blessing and close his eyes in peace.”</p>
+
+		<p>“In peace!” repeated the old woman bitterly: then, to herself
+		she said, “Donna Nisida suspects not his perfidy—knows not all
+		his wickedness.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Delay not,” urged the lady, perceiving what was passing
+		in her mind. “You are well aware that my brother, who, alas!
+		has disappeared most mysteriously, dismissed Antonio abruptly
+		from his service many months ago; but, whatever were the
+		cause, it is forgotten, at least by me. So tarry not, but prepare
+		to accompany me.”</p>
+
+		<p>Margaretha hastened to her bedroom, and reappeared in a few
+		minutes, completely dressed and ready to issue forth.</p>
+
+		<p>“Keep close by me,” said Nisida, as she opened the house-door;
+		“and breathe not a word as we pass through the streets.
+		I have reasons of my own for assuming a disguise, and I wish
+		not to be recognized.”</p>
+
+		<p>Margaretha was too much absorbed in the contemplation of
+		the afflicting intelligence which she had received, to observe
+		anything at all suspicious in these injunctions; and thus it was
+		that the two females proceeded in silence through the streets
+		leading toward the Riverola mansion.</p>
+
+		<p>By means of a pass-key Nisida opened the wicket-gate of the
+		spacious gardens, and she traversed the grounds, Margaretha
+		walking by her side. In a few minutes they reached a low
+		door, affording admission into the basement-story of the palace,
+		and of which Nisida always possessed the key.</p>
+
+		<p>“Go first,” said the lady, in a scarcely audible whisper; “I
+		must close the door behind us.”</p>
+
+		<p>“But wherefore this way?” demanded Margaretha, a sudden
+		apprehension starting up in her mind. “This door leads down
+		to the cellars.”</p>
+
+		<p>“The officers of justice are in search of Antonio—and I am
+		concealing him for your sake,” was the whispered and rapid assurance
+		given by Nisida. “Would you have him die in peace
+		in your arms, or perish on the scaffold?”</p>
+
+		<p>Margaretha shuddered convulsively, and hurried down the
+		dark flight of stone steps upon which the door opened. Terrible
+		emotions raged in her bosom—indescribable alarms, grief, suspicion,
+		and also a longing eagerness to put faith in the apparent
+		friendship of Nisida.</p>
+
+		<p>“Give me your hand,” said the lady; and the hand that was
+		thrust into hers was cold and trembling.</p>
+
+		<p>Then Nisida hurried Margaretha along a narrow subterranean
+		passage, in which the blackest night reigned; and, though the
+		old woman was a prey to apprehensions that increased each
+		moment to a fearful degree, she dared not utter a word either
+		to question—to implore—or to remonstrate. At length they
+		stopped; and Nisida, dropping Margaretha’s hand, drew back
+		heavy bolts which raised ominous echoes in the vaulted passage.
+		In another moment a door began to move stubbornly on its
+		hinges; and almost at the same time a faint light gleamed forth—increasing
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page328" title="328"> </a>in power as the door opened wider, but still attaining
+		no greater strength than that which a common iron lamp
+		could afford. Margaretha’s anxious glances were plunged into
+		the cellar or vault to which the door opened, and whence the
+		light came: but she saw no one within. It, however, appeared
+		as if some horrible reminiscence, connected with the place,
+		came back to her startled mind; for, falling on her knees, and
+		clinging wildly to her companion, she cried in a piercing tone,
+		“Oh! lady, wherefore have you brought me hither?—where is
+		my son?—what does all this horrible mystery mean? But,
+		chiefly now of all—why, why are we here—at this hour?”</p>
+
+		<p>“In a few moments you shall know more!” exclaimed Nisida;
+		and as she spoke, with an almost superhuman strength she
+		dragged, or rather, flung the prostrate woman into the vault,
+		rushing in herself immediately afterward, and closing the door
+		behind her.</p>
+
+		<p>“Holy God!” shrieked Margaretha, gazing wildly round the
+		damp and naked walls of solid masonry, and then up at the
+		lamp suspended to the arched ceiling, “is this the place? But
+		no! you are ignorant of all that; it was not for that you brought
+		me hither! Speak, lady, speak! Where is Antonio? What
+		have I done to merit your displeasure? Oh, mercy! mercy!
+		Bend not those terrible glances upon me! Your eyes flash fire!
+		You are not Nisida—you are an evil spirit! Oh, mercy!
+		mercy!”</p>
+
+		<p>And thus did the miserable woman rave, as, kneeling on the
+		cold, damp ground she extended her tightly-clasped hands in
+		an imploring manner toward Nisida, who, drawn up to her full
+		height, was contemplating the groveling wretch with eyes that
+		seemed to shoot forth shafts of devouring flame! Terrible, indeed,
+		was the appearance of Nisida! Like to an avenging deity
+		was she—no longer woman in the glory of her charms and the
+		elegance of her disguise, but a fury—a very fiend, an implacable
+		demoness, armed with the blasting lightnings of infernal
+		malignity and hellish rancor!</p>
+
+		<p>“Holy Virgin, protect me!” shrieked Margaretha, every nerve
+		thrilling with the agony of ineffable alarm.</p>
+
+		<p>“Yes, call upon Heaven to aid you, vile woman!” said Nisida,
+		in a thick, hoarse, and strangely altered voice, “for you are beyond
+		the reach of human aid! Know ye whose remains—or
+		rather the mangled portions of whose remains—lie in this unconsecrated
+		ground? Ah! well may you start in horror and
+		surprise, for I know all—all!”</p>
+
+		<p>A terrific scream burst from the lips of Margaretha; and she
+		threw her wild looks around as if she were going mad.</p>
+
+		<p>“Detestable woman!” exclaimed Nisida, fixing her burning
+		eyes more intently still on Margaretha’s countenance: “you are
+		now about to pay the penalty of your complicity in the most
+		odious crimes that ever made nights terrible in Florence! The
+		period of vengeance has at length arrived! But I must torture ere
+		I slay ye! Yes, I must give thee a foretaste of that hell to
+		which your soul is so soon to plunge down! Know, then, that
+		Antonio—your son Antonio—is no more. Not three hours have
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page329" title="329"> </a>elapsed since he was slain—assassinated—murdered, if you will
+		so call it—and by my commands.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Oh! lady, have pity upon me—pity upon me, a bereaved
+		mother!” implored the old woman, in a voice of anguish so penetrating,
+		that vile as she was, it would have moved any human
+		being save Nisida. “Do not kill me—and I will end my miserable
+		days in a convent! Give me time to repent of all my sins—for
+		they are numerous and great! Oh! spare me, dear lady—have
+		mercy upon me—have mercy upon me!”</p>
+
+		<p>“What mercy had you on them whose mangled remains are
+		buried in the ground beneath your feet?” demanded Nisida, in
+		a voice almost suffocated with rage. “Prepare for death—your
+		last moment is at hand!” and a bright dagger flashed in the
+		lamp-light.</p>
+
+		<p>“Mercy—mercy!” exclaimed Margaretha, springing forward,
+		and grasping Nisida’s knees.</p>
+
+		<p>“I know not what mercy is!” cried the terrible Italian woman,
+		raising the long, bright, glittering dagger over her head.</p>
+
+		<p>“Holy God! protect me! Lady—dear lady, have pity upon
+		me!” shrieked the agonized wretch, her countenance hideously
+		distorted, and appallingly ghastly, as it was raised in such bitterly
+		earnest appeal toward that of the avengeress. “Again I
+		say mercy—mercy!”</p>
+
+		<p>“Die, fiend!” exclaimed Nisida; and the dagger, descending
+		with lightning speed, sunk deep into the bosom of the prostrate
+		victim. A dreadful cry burst from the lips of the wretched
+		woman; and she fell back—a corpse!</p>
+
+		<p>“Oh! my dear—my well-beloved and never-to-be-forgotten
+		mother!” said Nisida, falling upon her knees by the side of the
+		body, and gazing intently upward—as if her eyes could pierce
+		the entire building overhead, and catch a glimpse of the spirit
+		of the parent whom she thus apostrophized—“pardon me—pardon
+		me for this deed! Thou didst enjoin me to abstain from
+		vengeance—but when I thought of all thy wrongs, the contemplation
+		drove me mad—and an irresistible power—a force which
+		I could not resist—has hurried me on to achieve the punishment
+		of this wretch who was so malignant an enemy of thine;
+		dearest mother, pardon me—look not down angrily on thy
+		daughter!”</p>
+
+		<p>Then Nisida gave way to all the softer emotion which attended
+		the reaction that her mind was now rapidly undergoing, after
+		being so highly strung, as for the last few hours it was—and
+		her tears fell in torrents. For some minutes she remained in
+		her kneeling position, and weeping, till she grew afraid—yes,
+		afraid of being in that lonely place, with the corpse stretched
+		on the ground—a place, too, which for other reasons awoke such
+		terrible recollections in her mind.</p>
+
+		<p>Starting to her feet—and neither waiting to extinguish the
+		lamp, which she herself had lighted at an early period of the
+		night, nor to withdraw her dagger from the bosom of the murdered
+		Margaretha—Nisida fled from the vault, and regained her
+		own apartment in safety, and unperceived.</p>
+
+		<p class="prose_break">*****</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page330" title="330"> </a>When morning dawned, Nisida rose from a couch in which
+		she had obtained two hours of troubled slumber, and, having
+		hastily dressed herself, proceeded to the chamber of her brother
+		Francisco.</p>
+
+		<p>But he was not there—nor had his bed been slept in during
+		the past night.</p>
+
+		<p>“He is searching after his Flora,” thought Nisida. “Alas,
+		poor youth—how it grieves me thus to be compelled to thwart
+		thee in thy love! But my oath—and thine interests, Francisco,
+		demand this conduct on my part. And better—better it is that
+		thou shouldst hear from strangers the terrible tidings that thy
+		Flora is a prisoner in the dungeon of the inquisition, where she
+		can issue forth only to proceed to the stake! Yes—and better,
+		too, is it that she should die, than that this marriage shall be accomplished!”</p>
+
+		<p>Nisida quitted the room, and repaired to the apartment where
+		the morning repast was served up.</p>
+
+		<p>A note, addressed to herself, lay upon the table. She instantly
+		recognized the handwriting of Dr. Duras, tore open the
+		billet, and read the contents as follows:</p>
+
+		<blockquote>
+		<p>“My brother Angelo came to me very late last night and informed
+		me that a sense of imperious duty compelled him to
+		change his mind relative to the two women Francatelli. He accordingly
+		appeared on their behalf, and obtained a delay of eight
+		days. But nothing can save them from condemnation at the
+		end of this period, unless indeed immense interests be made on
+		their account with the duke. My brother alone deserves your
+		blame, dear friend; let not your anger fall on your affectionate
+		and devoted servant.</p>
+
+		<p class="signature">“Jeronymo Duras.”</p>
+		</blockquote>
+
+		<p>Nisida bit her lips with vexation. She now regretted she had
+		effected the liberation of Francisco before she was convinced
+		that Flora was past the reach of human mercy;—but, in the next
+		moment she resumed her haughty composure, as she said within
+		herself, “My brother may essay all <em>his</em> influence: but mine shall
+		prevail!”</p>
+
+		<p>Scarcely had she established this determination in her mind,
+		when the door was burst open, and Francisco—pale, ghastly,
+		and with eyes wandering wildly—staggered into the apartment.</p>
+
+		<p>Nisida, who really felt deeply on his account, sprung forward—received
+		him in her arms—and supported him to a seat.</p>
+
+		<p>“Oh! Nisida, Nisida!” he exclaimed aloud, in a tone expressive
+		of deep anguish; “what will become of your unfortunate
+		brother? But it is not you who have done this! No—for you
+		were not in Florence at the time which beheld the cruel separation
+		of Flora and myself!”</p>
+
+		<p>And, throwing himself on his sister’s neck, he burst into tears.
+		He had apostrophized her in the manner just related, not because
+		he fancied that she could hear or understand him; but because
+		he forgot, in the maddening paroxysms of his grief, that
+		Nisida was (as he believed) deaf and dumb! She wound her
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page331" title="331"> </a>arms round him—she pressed him to her bosom—she covered
+		his pale forehead with kisses; while her heart bled at the sight
+		of his alarming sorrow.</p>
+
+		<p>Suddenly he started up—flung his arms wildly about—and exclaimed,
+		in a frantic voice, “Bring me my steel panoply! give
+		me my burgonet—my cuirass—and my trusty sword;—and let
+		me arouse all Florence to a sense of its infamy in permitting
+		that terrible inquisition to exist! Bring me my armor, I say—the
+		same sword I wielded on the walls of Rhodes—and I will
+		soon gather a trusty band to aid me!”</p>
+
+		<p>But, overcome with excitement, he fell forward—dashing his
+		head violently upon the floor, before Nisida could save him.
+		She pealed the silver bell that was placed upon the breakfast-table,
+		and assistance soon came. Francisco was immediately
+		conveyed to his chamber—Dr. Duras was sent for—and on his
+		arrival, he pronounced the young nobleman to be laboring under
+		a violent fever. The proper medical precautions were adopted;
+		and the physician was in a few hours able to declare that Francisco
+		was in no imminent danger, but that several days would
+		elapse ere he could possibly become convalescent. Nisida remained
+		by his bedside, and was most assiduous—most tender—most
+		anxious in her attentions toward him; and when he raved,
+		in his delirium, of Flora and the inquisition, it went to her very
+		heart to think that she was compelled by a stern necessity to
+		abstain from exerting her influence to procure the release of
+		one whose presence would prove of far greater benefit to the
+		sufferer than all the anodynes and drugs which the skill of Dr.
+		Duras might administer!</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_62" class="chapter">
+		<h3>CHAPTER LXII.<br />
+			<span class="subtitle">THE SICK-ROOM—FLORENCE IN DISMAY.</span></h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">It</span> was about an hour past daybreak on the 1st of October,—five
+		days after the incidents related in the three preceding
+		chapters. Nisida, worn out with long watchings and vigils in
+		her brother’s chamber, had retired to her own apartment; but
+		not before she had seen Francisco fall into a sleep which, under
+		the influence of a narcotic ordered by the physician, promised to
+		be long and soothing. The lady had not quitted the chamber
+		of the invalid ten minutes, when the door was slightly
+		opened; and some one’s looks were plunged rapidly and searchingly
+		into the room:—then the visitor, doubtless satisfied by the
+		result of his survey, stole cautiously in.</p>
+
+		<p>He advanced straight up to the table which stood near the
+		bed, drew a small vial from the bosom of his doublet—and
+		poured its crystal contents into the beverage prepared to quench
+		the thirst of the invalid. Then, as he again secured the vial
+		about his person, he murmured, “The medicament of Christian
+		Rosencrux will doubtless work greater wonders than those of Dr.
+		Duras, skilled though the latter be!”</p>
+
+		<p>Having thus mused to himself, the visitor shook Francisco
+		gently; and the young count awoke, exclaiming petulantly that
+		he was athirst. A goblet of the beverage containing the Rosicrucian
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page332" title="332"> </a>fluid, was immediately conveyed to his lips, and he drank
+		the refreshing draught with eagerness.</p>
+
+		<p>The effect was marvelous, indeed;—a sudden tinge of healthy
+		red appeared upon the cheeks a moment before so ashy pale—and
+		fire once more animated the blue eyes—and Francisco recovered
+		complete consciousness and self-possession for the first time
+		since the dread morning when he was attacked with a dangerous
+		illness.</p>
+
+		<p>He closed his eyes for a few minutes; and when he opened
+		them again, he was surprised to perceive by his bedside a young,
+		well-attired, and very handsome man, whose countenance appeared
+		to be familiar to him.</p>
+
+		<p>“Count of Riverola,” said the visitor, bending over him, and
+		speaking in a low but kind tone, “despair not! Succor is at
+		hand—and ere forty-eight hours shall have passed away, your
+		well-beloved Flora will be free!”</p>
+
+		<p>Joy lighted up the countenance of the young nobleman, as these
+		delightful words met his ears; and, seizing his consoler’s hand,
+		he exclaimed:</p>
+
+		<p>“A thousand thanks for this assurance! But, have we not
+		met before?—or was it in those wild dreams which have haunted
+		my imagination that I have seen thee?”</p>
+
+		<p>“Yes—we have met before, count,” was the reply. “Dost thou
+		not remember Fernand Wagner?”</p>
+
+		<p>Francisco passed his hand across his brow, as if to settle his
+		scattered thoughts: then, at the expiration of a few moments, he
+		said: “Oh! yes—I recollect you—I know that I had conceived a
+		great friendship for you, when some strange incident—I cannot
+		remember what, and it is of no matter—parted us!”</p>
+
+		<p>“Do not excite yourself too much by racking your memory to
+		decipher the details of the past,” returned Wagner. “I dare
+		not stay another minute with you now: therefore listen attentively
+		to what more I have to say. Yield yourself not up to
+		despondency—on the contrary, cherish every hope that is dear
+		to you. Within a few days Flora shall be yours! Yes—solemnly
+		do I assure you that all shall take place as I affirm.
+		But <span class="small_all_caps">YOUR</span> agency is not needed to insure her liberation: Heaven
+		will make use of <span class="small_all_caps">OTHER</span> means. Compose your mind, then,—and
+		suffer not yourself to be tortured by vain fears as to the
+		future. Above all, keep my visit to thee a profound secret—intimate
+		not to thy sister Nisida that thou hast seen me. Follow
+		my counsel in all these respects—and happiness is in store for
+		thee!”</p>
+
+		<p>Fernand pressed the young count’s hand warmly as he terminated
+		these rapidly delivered injunctions, and then retreated
+		from the chamber ere the invalid had time to utter a syllable indicative
+		of his gratitude.</p>
+
+		<p>But how different was Francisco now—how different did
+		Nisida find him, on her return to his room, from what he was
+		when she had left him two hours before! Nor less was Dr.
+		Duras astonished, at his next visit, to perceive that his patient
+		had made in those two hours as rapid strides toward convalescence
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page333" title="333"> </a>as he could barely have hoped to see accomplished in a
+		week.</p>
+
+		<p>In obedience to a hint rapidly conveyed by a signal from
+		Nisida to the physician, the latter touched gently upon the subject
+		of Flora Francatelli; but Francisco, resolute in his endeavors
+		to follow the advice of Fernand Wagner, and to avoid all
+		topics calculated to excite, responded briefly, and immediately
+		spoke on another matter.</p>
+
+		<p>But he did not think the less deeply on that interesting subject.
+		No; he cherished the image of his Flora, and the hope of
+		being yet united to her, with an enthusiasm which a love so ardent
+		as his passion alone could feel.</p>
+
+		<p>And Nisida congratulated herself on the conviction which she
+		now very naturally entertained, that he had resigned himself to
+		the loss of the young maiden, and was exerting his utmost to
+		banish her altogether from his memory!</p>
+
+		<p>Throughout the day Francisco continued to improve rapidly,
+		and on the following morning he was enabled to leave his couch.
+		Indeed, his recovery was so marvelously quick that Dr. Duras
+		considered it to be a perfect phenomenon in the history of medicine;
+		and Nisida looked upon the physician, whom she conceived
+		to be the author of this remarkable change, with unfeigned
+		admiration.</p>
+
+		<p>It was verging toward the hour of sunset, the 2d of October,
+		when a rumor of a most alarming nature circulated with the
+		celerity of wild-fire through the city of Florence. At first the
+		report was received with contemptuous incredulity; but by degrees—as
+		circumstances tended to confirm it—as affrighted
+		peasants came flying into the town from their country homes,
+		bearing the dread tidings, the degenerate and voluptuous Florentines
+		gave way to all the terrors which, in such cases, were
+		too well adapted to fill the hearts of an emasculated people with
+		dismay.</p>
+
+		<p>For, while the dwellers of the City of Flowers were thinking
+		only of the gay festival which invariably commenced their winter
+		season, while the nobles and wealthy burghers were whiling
+		their time pleasantly in the regilding and decoration of their
+		palaces or mansions, while the duke was projecting splendid
+		banquets, and the members of the council of state were dreaming
+		of recreation and enjoyment, rather than of the duties of
+		office, while, too, preparations were being made for the approaching
+		<em>auto-da-fe</em>—that terrible spectacle which the inquisition
+		annually offered to the morbid tastes of a priest-ridden
+		people—while, in a word, Florence seemed wrapped up in security
+		and peace—at such a moment the astounding intelligence
+		arrived, that a mighty army was within a few hours’ march of
+		the sovereign city of Tuscany!</p>
+
+		<p>Yes; this was the news that suddenly spread confusion and
+		dismay throughout Florence, the news which told how the
+		Ottoman fleet, for some days past moored off the port of Leghorn,
+		had vomited forth legions, and how the formidable force
+		was approaching at a rapid rate, under the command of the
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page334" title="334"> </a>grand vizier in person, the seraskier and sipehsalar of the armies
+		of the sultan!</p>
+
+		<p>The moment these things were bruited abroad in the city,
+		Demetrius, the Greek, fled secretly; for he too well understood
+		that his treacherous intentions had, in some unaccountable
+		manner, transpired, and reached the ears of Ibrahim Pasha.
+		Nisida was perfectly astounded; and, for the first time in her
+		life, she felt her energies paralyzed—all her powers of combination
+		suddenly laid prostrate. As for Francisco, he could not
+		help thinking that the invasion of Italy by the Turks was connected
+		with the succor so mysteriously, but confidently promised
+		by Wagner; although he was not only ignorant of the
+		relationship subsisting between the grand vizier and his beloved
+		Flora, but was even unaware of the fact that this high functionary
+		was the same Ibrahim whose prisoner he had been for a few
+		hours on a former occasion in the Island of Rhodes.</p>
+
+		<p>The council of state assembled to deliberate upon the proper
+		course which should be adopted at so critical a moment; but
+		when the resources of Florence and the means of resisting the
+		invaders were scrutinized, when it was discovered that there
+		were not three thousand soldiers to defend the place, nor arms
+		sufficient to equip more than fifteen hundred volunteers in addition
+		to the regular force, all idea of attempting to make a
+		stand against an army which was in reality twenty thousand
+		strong, but which the exaggerations of fear had trebled in
+		amount, was ultimately abandoned.</p>
+
+		<p>The sun went down, and was succeeded by no illuminations
+		that night. Florence was in mourning. A spell had fallen upon
+		the City of Flowers; her streets were deserted; and within the
+		houses, those who possessed wealth were busily engaged in concealing
+		their gold and jewels in cellars, holes dug in the ground,
+		or at the bottom of wells. The general consternation was terrific
+		indeed; and the solemn stillness which prevailed throughout
+		the town so lately full of animation and happiness was even
+		more dreadful than that which had accompanied the plague two
+		centuries before.</p>
+
+		<p>It was near midnight when messengers from the grand vizier,
+		who was now within three miles’ march of the city, arrived at
+		the western gate, and demanded admission, that they might
+		obtain an immediate audience of the duke. The request was
+		directly complied with, and the envoys were conducted to the
+		palazzo, where the prince immediately assembled the council of
+		state to receive them, himself presiding.</p>
+
+		<p>The audience was in other respects strictly private; but the
+		nature of the interview was soon proved to have been most unexpectedly
+		pacific; for two hours after the reception of the
+		envoys, criers proceeded throughout the city, proclaiming the
+		joyful news that the grand vizier had of his own accord proposed
+		such terms as the council of state had not hesitated to
+		accept.</p>
+
+		<p>Thus, at two o’clock in the morning, were the Florentines at
+		first alarmed by hearing the monotonous voices of the criers
+		breaking upon the solemn stillness; but their fear changed into
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page335" title="335"> </a>gladness ineffable, ere those functionaries had uttered a dozen
+		words of the proclamation which they were intrusted to make.</p>
+
+		<p>What the terms were did not immediately transpire; but two
+		circumstances which occurred ere it was daybreak, and which,
+		though conducted with considerable secrecy, nevertheless soon
+		became generally known—these circumstances, we say, afforded
+		ample scope for comment and gossip.</p>
+
+		<p>The first was the occupation of the Riverola Palace by the
+		Ottoman soldiers who had accompanied Demetrius as an escort,
+		and whom he had left in Florence; and the second was the fact
+		that two females, closely muffled up, were removed from the
+		prison of the inquisition, and delivered over to the charge of the
+		grand vizier’s messengers, who conveyed them out of the city.</p>
+
+		<p>But the curiosity excited by these incidents was absorbed in
+		the general anxiety that was evinced by the Florentine people
+		to feast their eyes with the grand, interesting, and imposing
+		spectacle which the dawn of day revealed to their view.</p>
+
+		<p>For, far as the eye could reach, on the western side of Florence,
+		and commencing at the distance of about a quarter of a
+		mile from the city, a mass of innumerable tents and pavilions
+		showed where the Ottoman army was encamped! Myriads of
+		banners, of all colors, floated from the tall javelins to which
+		they were affixed before the entrance of the chief officers’ tents,
+		and in front of the entire encampment waved, at the summit of
+		a spear planted in the ground, the three crescents, which invariably
+		accompany the march of a Turkish army. The sunbeams
+		glittered on thousands of bright crescents; and the brazen pommels
+		of the mounted sentinels’ saddles shone like burnished gold.
+		It was, indeed, a grand and imposing spectacle:—and the din of
+		innumerable voices mingling with the sounds of martial music,
+		reached the ears of those Florentines who, more daring than the
+		rest, advanced nearly up to the outposts of the encampment.</p>
+
+		<p>But in the meantime, a scene of profound and touching interest
+		had taken place in the gorgeous pavilion of the grand
+		vizier.</p>
+
+		<p>While it was yet dark—and ere that martial panorama of
+		tents and pavilions developed itself to the admiring and astonished
+		eyes of the Florentines—two females, closely muffled
+		in handsome cashmere shawls, which had been presented to
+		them for the purpose, were treading the Ottoman encampment,
+		under the guidance of the messengers to whom they had been
+		consigned.</p>
+
+		<p>It is hardly necessary to inform the reader that these females
+		were the elder Signora Francatelli and her beautiful niece
+		Flora.</p>
+
+		<p>Their sudden and most unexpected deliverance from the terrible
+		dungeons of the inquisition, and the profound respect with
+		which they were treated by those into whose charge the familiars
+		of the holy office had surrendered them, inspired them with
+		the most lively joy; and their congratulations were expressed by
+		frequent pressures of each other’s hands as they proceeded in
+		company with their guides. But they knew not by whom, or
+		how, nor wherefore they had been released—and yet a vague
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page336" title="336"> </a>suspicion, founded solely on the fact that their conductors wore
+		the Ottoman garb, that Alessandro must be in some way connected
+		with the matter, had entered their minds. It was, at all
+		events, clear that no harm was intended them, for they were not
+		treated as prisoners, and thus they hastened on in confidence
+		and hope.</p>
+
+		<p>It was not until they had left the city some distance behind,
+		that the bright moon showed them a confused mass of white
+		objects in front; and they were both marveling what the strange
+		and unknown spectacle could be, when their party was suddenly
+		challenged by the sentries of an outpost. The leader of
+		the little escort gave the watchword; and now, as the two
+		females drew nearer to the encampment, the mass of white objects
+		became more shapely, until, in a few minutes, the pointed
+		tops of the tents and pavilions stood out in strong relief against
+		the now purple sky.</p>
+
+		<p>What could this unusual spectacle mean? They were still in
+		the dungeons of the inquisition when the alarm, caused by an
+		approaching army, had circulated through Florence; and the
+		rumor had not reached their ears. For the first time since the
+		moment of their release they now hung back, and manifested
+		signs of fear.</p>
+
+		<p>“Be not terrified, ladies,” said the chief of the escort, speaking
+		in excellent Italian; “ye have no cause for apprehension!
+		Before you spread the innumerable tents of the Ottoman army;
+		and it is to the presence of this mighty host that ye are indebted
+		for your freedom.”</p>
+
+		<p>“But whither are you taking us?” inquired Flora, scarcely
+		reassured.</p>
+
+		<p>“To the pavilion of his Highness, Ibrahim-Pasha, the grand
+		vizier of the glorious Sultan Solyman,” answered the Turk;
+		“and at the hands of that powerful minister ye will receive
+		naught but honorable and kind treatment.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Know you, signor,” inquired Flora, “if there be in the
+		Ottoman camp a young man who, when a Christian,” she added,
+		with a profound sigh, “bore the name of Alessandro Francatelli?”</p>
+
+		<p>“There is such a young man,” responded the Turkish messenger;
+		“and you will see him presently.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Oh! is it then to him that we owe our deliverance?” demanded
+		the beauteous maiden, her heart fluttering with varied
+		emotions at the idea of meeting her brother. “Is he attached
+		to the person of that mighty man whom you denominate the
+		grand vizier? and shall we see him in the pavilion of his highness?”</p>
+
+		<p>“You will see him in the pavilion of his highness,” answered
+		the Turk.</p>
+
+		<p>“And the grand vizier himself—is he a good, kind man?”
+		asked Flora. “Is my brother—I mean Alessandro—a favorite
+		with him?”</p>
+
+		<p>“I believe that the mighty Ibrahim loves no man more than
+		Alessandro Francatelli, lady,” said the Turk, highly amused by
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page337" title="337"> </a>these questions which were put to him, although his manner
+		was respectful and calm.</p>
+
+		<p>“Then there is a chance that Alessandro will rise in the service
+		of the sultan?” continued Flora, naturally anxious to glean
+		all the information she could respecting her brother.</p>
+
+		<p>“There is not a more enviable personage in the imperial service
+		than he whom you style Alessandro Francatelli.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Heaven be thanked that he is so prosperous, poor boy!” exclaimed
+		the aunt, who had been an attentive listener to the preceding
+		discourse. “But your grand vizier, signor, must be very
+		powerful to have a great army at his disposal.”</p>
+
+		<p>“The grand vizier, lady,” returned the Ottoman envoy, “is
+		second only to the sultan, and in him we see a reflection of the
+		imperial majesty. At a sign from the great and potent Ibrahim
+		every scimiter throughout this host of twenty thousand men
+		would leap from its sheath in readiness to strike where and at
+		whom he might choose to order. Nay, more, lady—he has the
+		power to gather together mighty armies, so numerous that they
+		would inundate Christendom as with a desolating sea. Allah
+		be thanked! there is no limit to the power of the mighty Ibrahim
+		so long as he holdeth the seals of his great office.”</p>
+
+		<p>The two females made no further observation aloud; but they
+		thought profoundly on all that they had just heard. For in a
+		short time they were to stand in the presence of this puissant
+		chief whom the Ottomans seemed to worship as a god, and who
+		wielded a power which placed him on a level with the proudest
+		potentates in the Christian world.</p>
+
+		<p>In the meantime the little party had entered the precincts of
+		the Ottoman encampment, a complete city of tents and pavilions,
+		ranged in the most admirable order, and with all the regularity
+		of streets.</p>
+
+		<p>A solemn silence prevailed throughout the camp, interrupted
+		only by the measured pace and the occasional challenge of
+		sentinels.</p>
+
+		<p>At length Flora and her aunt perceived, in the clear moonlight,
+		a pavilion loftier, larger, and more magnificent than any
+		they had yet seen. The pinnacle glittered as if it were tipped
+		with a bright star; the roof was of dazzling whiteness; and the
+		sides were of dark velvet, richly embroidered with gold. It
+		stood in the midst of a wide space, the circumjacent tents forming
+		a complete circle about it. Within this inclosure of tents
+		the sentries were posted at very short intervals; and instead of
+		walking up and down, they stood motionless as statues, their
+		mighty scimiters gleaming in the moonlight.</p>
+
+		<p>In profound silence did the little party proceed toward the
+		entrance of the vast pavilion, which the females had no difficulty
+		in discerning to be the habitation of the potent and
+		dreaded chief into whose presence they were now repairing.</p>
+
+		<p>In front of this splendid tent floated two large banners, each
+		from the summit of a tall javelin, the head of which was of
+		burnished gold. One of these enormous flags was green; the
+		other was blood-red. The first was the sacred standard of the
+		Prophet Mohammed, and accompanied the grand vizier in his
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page338" title="338"> </a>capacity of representative and vice-regent of the sultan; and the
+		latter was the banner which was always planted in front of the
+		pavilion inhabited by the seraskier, or commander-in-chief of
+		the Ottoman army.</p>
+
+		<p>At the entrance of the vast tent stood four mounted sentinels,
+		horses and men alike so motionless that they seemed to be as
+		many equestrian statues.</p>
+
+		<p>“In a few moments,” whispered the leader of the little escort
+		to the two females, “you will be in the presence of the grand
+		vizier, who will receive you alone.”</p>
+
+		<p>“And Alessandro Francatelli?” inquired Flora, in a tone of
+		disappointment, “will he not be there also?”</p>
+
+		<p>“Fear not, you shall behold him shortly,” answered the Turk;
+		and passing behind the mounted sentinels, he drew aside the
+		velvet curtain, at the same time bidding Flora and her aunt enter
+		the pavilion.</p>
+
+		<p>A blaze of light bursting forth from the interior of the magnificent
+		tent dazzled and bewildered them, as the Ottoman gently
+		gushed them onward—for they hung back in vague and groundless
+		alarm.</p>
+
+		<p>The curtain was instantly closed behind them; and they now
+		found themselves inside the gorgeous abode of the grand vizier.
+		The pavilion was decorated in the most sumptuous manner.
+		Crystal chandeliers were suspended to the spars which supported
+		the canvas ceiling; and the pillars which supported those spars
+		were gilt and inlaid with mother-of-pearl. Rich sofas placed
+		around the sides—vases, some containing flowers and others delicious
+		perfumes—tables laden with refreshments of the most
+		exquisite kind,—in a word, all the evidences of enormous
+		wealth and all the accessories of luxurious splendor were displayed
+		in this sumptuous abode.</p>
+
+		<p>At the further end of the pavilion was seated an individual,
+		whom, by the intimation they had already received, and by the
+		magnificence of his attire, Flora and her aunt immediately
+		knew to be the grand vizier. He soon granted them the opportunity
+		they so anxiously awaited, and it was not a great while
+		ere they found themselves completely reassured, and conversing
+		with a freedom which they had hardly hoped would characterize
+		their interview.</p>
+
+		<p>But who can describe the wonder and amazement which
+		overwhelmed Flora and her aunt, when, in the person of the
+		grand vizier, was revealed to them the long absent brother and
+		nephew, Alessandro Francatelli!</p>
+
+		<p>It is needless to give in detail the events which were narrated
+		in their conversation. After a long and interesting recapitulation
+		of the thrilling events which had attended them thus far,
+		they turned to that more immediate matter which lay nearest
+		their hearts.</p>
+
+		<p>When the Count of Riverola at length joined the party, the
+		young nobleman, taking Flora’s hand, exclaimed:</p>
+
+		<p>“I am anxious to secure this jewel as soon as possible. Our
+		union may be celebrated privately and without useless pomp
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page339" title="339"> </a>and ceremony; a few hours hence may see us allied to part no
+		more. I have a friend in Florence—Fernand Wagner——”</p>
+
+		<p>“And if he be your friend, count, you cannot possess one
+		more likely to be sincere!” exclaimed the vizier.</p>
+
+		<p>“He has, indeed, proved a warm friend to me,” continued
+		Francisco. “Two days ago I was stretched upon a bed of
+		sickness—delirious, my mind wandering, and my reason
+		gone——”</p>
+
+		<p>“Merciful heavens!” cried Flora, shuddering from head to
+		foot, and contemplating her intended husband with the deepest
+		solicitude.</p>
+
+		<p>“Yes, I was in a desperate state,” said the count. “But Wagner
+		came—he breathed words of hope in my ears, and I recovered
+		rapidly; so rapidly and so completely that I feel not as if I had
+		ever known indisposition save by name. I was, however, about
+		to observe that there is an oratory in Signor Wagner’s mansion;
+		and there may the ceremony be performed. Fernand is, moreover,
+		well acquainted with the language by which the deaf and
+		dumb communicate their ideas; and through friendship for me
+		he will break the tidings of my marriage to my sister.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Be it as you propose,” said the grand vizier; then, after a
+		moment’s pause, he added, speaking in a low and mysterious
+		whisper: “and if you will not shrink from the contact of the
+		renegade at the altar of God—a renegade in name only, and not
+		in heart—a renegade to suit his worldly purposes, and not from
+		conviction—then shall I be present at the ceremony. Yes,” he
+		continued, perceiving that his aunt, his sister, and the young
+		count surveyed him with mingled pleasure and amazement—“yes,
+		in a deep disguise I will quit the encampment and enter
+		Florence, for it would grieve me deeply to be excluded from the
+		solemn scene.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Dearest Alessandro—for thus you will permit me still to call
+		you,” exclaimed his aunt, “your words have made my happiness
+		complete. Oh! you are still a Christian in heart, thank God!”</p>
+
+		<p>“Not for worlds would I that you should be absent from the
+		ceremony which makes your sister the Countess of Riverola!”
+		exclaimed Francisco.</p>
+
+		<p>The arrangements so happily come to and so amicably digested,
+		were now to be carried into effect. The expectant bridegroom
+		accordingly took a temporary leave of the vizier, Flora
+		and the aunt, and returned to the city to seek his friend Fernand
+		Wagner, it being understood that those whom he had just left
+		should meet him at that signor’s mansion by mid-day.</p>
+
+		<p>The morning was now breaking: and every roof top in Florence
+		was crowded with persons anxious to obtain a view of the
+		encampment, as we have stated at the close of the preceding
+		chapter.</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_63" class="chapter">
+		<h3>CHAPTER LXIII.<br />
+			<span class="subtitle">THE MANUSCRIPT.</span></h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">In</span> accordance with the plans detailed in the preceding chapter,
+		Francisco and Flora, accompanied by the good dame Francatelli,
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page340" title="340"> </a>and preceded by a suitable guard, now departed from the gorgeous
+		pavilion of the grand vizier, on their way to the mansion
+		of Wagner.</p>
+
+		<p>On arriving at the walls of the city, the Ottoman guard left
+		them, and retraced their steps to the Turkish encampment, while
+		our little party proceeded on its way through the now crowded
+		streets, and soon arrived at the residence of Wagner.</p>
+
+		<p>With many congratulations did Fernand receive them; and
+		being informed of the purport of their visit, hastened to acquaint
+		his chaplain of the duties that were required of him; and
+		before the sun was an hour higher in the heavens, Francisco,
+		Count of Riverola, and Flora Francatelli were joined together
+		in the indissoluble bonds of wedlock.</p>
+
+		<p>It was now, for the first time since his recovery, that the recollection
+		of the solemn oath Francisco had made to his dying
+		father came across his mind—that on that day and that hour in
+		which he was married, he and his bride should visit the secret
+		chamber: and he hurriedly told Wagner that it was of the utmost
+		importance that he should be at the Riverola palace within
+		the hour; and at the same time he requested his kind friend to
+		accompany him.</p>
+
+		<p>On arriving at the Riverola palace, the party were instantly
+		admitted, notwithstanding that the Turkish soldiers placed there
+		by the grand vizier still guarded the gates: and Francisco proceeded
+		alone to his sister’s apartment, where he found her
+		sitting, busied in conjecturing the cause of her recent detention—for
+		Ibrahim, on the completion of the marriage ceremony,
+		of which he had been an unseen observer, had given
+		orders to free her from all restraint on her person.</p>
+
+		<p>On perceiving Francisco, Nisida tenderly embraced him; and
+		by signs he informed her that a person wished to be admitted to
+		her presence. Having signified her acquiescence, Francisco retired,
+		and in a few moments returned, leading by the hand his
+		blushing bride, while Wagner followed, a few paces in the rear.</p>
+
+		<p>No sooner had Nisida’s eyes fallen on the form of Flora, than
+		she started from her seat, her eyes flashing with concentrated
+		hate, and her haughty lip curled in withering contempt, for well
+		she guessed the purport of her visit: but the next moment her
+		eyes fell on the advancing form of her adored Wagner—and
+		those eyes, lit up as with the fires of hell, lost their demoniac
+		glare in the beams of love which gleamed in their dark depths;
+		and her lip of scorn was changed into an enchanting smile of
+		the sweetest welcome—a transition from hate to love, a change
+		of feelings as well as features of which woman, loving woman,
+		alone is capable—and the next moment, regardless of the presence
+		of Francisco and Flora, she rushed into the arms of her
+		long-lost, her adored Wagner.</p>
+
+		<p class="prose_break">*****</p>
+
+		<p>Nisida was now acquainted with the marriage of her brother,
+		the secret chamber had been visited, the manuscript brought
+		forth to be read; but one of the party that but a few moments
+		before occupied that room was no more—<em>Fernand Wagner was
+		dead</em>! True to the letter were the words of the founder of the
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page341" title="341"> </a>order of the Rosy Cross, that “the spell which the Evil One hath
+		cast upon thee, Fernand Wagner, shall be broken only on that
+		day and that hour when thine eyes shall behold the bleached
+		skeletons of two innocent victims suspended to the same
+		beam.”</p>
+
+		<p>Flora and Francisco had visited the secret chamber alone, but
+		the scream of horror which came from the bride on seeing the
+		spectacle which there presented itself to her, brought Wagner
+		and Nisida to their side. Instantly on seeing the skeletons, the
+		prophecy of Rosencrux rushed on the mind of Wagner; a complete
+		revolution came over his whole frame, beautiful visions
+		floated before his eyes, as of angels waiting to receive him and
+		herald him to eternal glory; then stretching forth his arms, as
+		if to embrace something immaterial, he fell heavily to the earth,
+		and in a few moments he had breathed his last in the arms of
+		Nisida.</p>
+
+		<p class="prose_break">*****</p>
+
+		<p>We will now proceed to the reading of the manuscript, and
+		pass over a detail of the indescribable agony that rent the heart
+		of Nisida on seeing her beloved Wagner a corpse, and the revulsion
+		of her feelings on beholding the loathsome change that
+		came over the face and form of the once god-like Fernand, a
+		repetition of which would grate too harshly on the feelings of
+		the reader.</p>
+
+
+		<h4>THE MANUSCRIPT.</h4>
+
+		<p>“In order that you, Francisco—and she who as your bride,
+		shall accompany you on your visit to the secret cabinet wherein
+		you are destined to find this manuscript—in order, I say, that
+		you may both fully comprehend the meaning of the strange and
+		frightful spectacle there prepared to meet your eyes, it is necessary
+		that I should enter into a full and perfect detail of certain
+		circumstances, the study of which will, I hope, prove beneficial
+		to the lady whom you may honor with the proud name of Riverola.</p>
+
+		<p>“In the year 1494 I visited Naples on certain pecuniary business,
+		an intimation of which I found amongst the private papers
+		of my father, who had died about ten months previously. I
+		was then just one-and-twenty, and had not as yet experienced
+		the influence of the tender passion. I had found the ladies of
+		Florence so inveterately given to intrigue, and had seen so many
+		instances in which the best and most affectionate of husbands
+		were grossly deceived by their wives, that I had not only conceived
+		an abhorrence at the idea of linking my fortunes with
+		one of my own countrywomen, but even made a solemn vow
+		that if ever I married, my choice should not fall upon a Tuscan.
+		It was with such impressions as these that I quitted Florence on
+		the business to which I have alluded: and I cared not if I never
+		returned thither—so shallow, heartless, and superficial did its
+		gay society appear to me.</p>
+
+		<p>“On my arrival at Naples I assumed the name of Cornari,
+		and, representing myself as a young man of humble birth and
+		moderate fortune, mixed in the best society that would receive
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page342" title="342"> </a>a stranger of such poor pretensions. I had already learned at
+		Florence that the fair sex are invariably dazzled by titles and
+		riches; and I had a curiosity to try whether I should be at all
+		sought after when apparently unpossessed of such qualifications.
+		Not that I had any serious thoughts of matrimony; for I was
+		far from being so romantic as to suppose that any beautiful lady
+		of high birth would fall in love with me so long as I passed for
+		plain Signor Cornari. No; it was merely a whim of mine—would
+		that I had never undertaken to gratify it.</p>
+
+		<p>“I was altogether unattended by any retinue, having quitted
+		Florence with only a single valet, who died of sudden illness on
+		the road. Thus did I enter Naples alone, with my package of
+		necessaries fastened to the saddle of the steed that bore me. I
+		put up at a small, but respectable hostel; and the first few days
+		of my residence at the Neapolitan capital were passed in making
+		inquiries concerning the individual whose large debt to my
+		deceased father had been the principal cause of my journey
+		thither.</p>
+
+		<p>“I found him, at length, but perceiving that he was totally
+		unable to liquidate the claim upon him, I did not discover my real
+		name, and took my leave, resolving to think no more of the
+		matter.</p>
+
+		<p>“Returning to the inn, I happened to pass through one of the
+		most squalid and miserable parts of the city, when my attention
+		was suddenly fixed upon the most charming female figure I had
+		ever seen in my life. The object of my interest was respectably
+		but plainly clad; indeed, she appeared to belong to the class of
+		petty tradespeople. Her form was most perfect in its symmetry;
+		her gait was peculiarly graceful, and her manners were evidently
+		modest and reserved: for she looked neither to the right
+		nor to the left, but pursued her way with all the unobtrusiveness
+		of strict propriety. I longed to behold her face; and, quickening
+		my steps, presently passed her. I then had an opportunity
+		of beholding the most beautiful countenance that ever adorned
+		a woman. Heaven seemed to smile through the mirror of her
+		mild black eyes; and there was such an indescribable sweetness
+		in the general expression of her face, that it might have served
+		a limner to copy for the countenance of an angel! She saw that
+		I gazed intently upon her, and instantly turned aside into another
+		street; for I should observe that females of the lower
+		orders in Naples are not permitted to wear veils.</p>
+
+		<p>“I stood looking after her until she was lost to my view; and
+		then I went slowly back to the inn, my mind full of the image
+		of the beautiful unknown.</p>
+
+		<p>“Day after day did I rove through that same quarter of the
+		city in the hope of meeting her again; and every evening did I
+		return to my lonely chamber, chagrined and disappointed. My
+		spirits sank, my appetite fled, and I grew restless and melancholy.
+		At length I one morning beheld her in the flower-market,
+		and I stood gazing on her with such enthusiastic, and
+		yet such respectful admiration, that though she turned away,
+		still methought it was not with a feeling of resentment.</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page343" title="343"> </a>“I was transfixed to the spot for some minutes, and it was not
+		until she had disappeared amidst the crowd gathered in that
+		quarter, that I could so collect my scattered thoughts as to curse
+		my folly for having omitted such an opportunity of accosting
+		her. I however inquired of an old woman of whom she had
+		purchased some flowers, who she was; but all the information I
+		could glean was, that she had recently been in the habit of buying
+		a few flowers every Wednesday of that same old woman. I
+		went away more contented than I had felt for many days, because
+		I now felt certain that I knew where to meet the lovely
+		creature again. Nevertheless, during the six succeeding days I
+		rambled about the flower market and the squalid quarter of the
+		city where I had first seen her, but my search was unsuccessful;
+		and the greater the disappointment I experienced, the more powerful
+		grew my love. Yes, it was indeed love which I now felt,
+		for the first time, and for a being to whom I had never spoken—whom
+		I had only seen twice, and on these occasions only for
+		a few minutes, and whom I knew, by her garb, to belong to the
+		poorer class. But on the following Wednesday I saw her for the
+		third time; and when she beheld me standing near the old woman’s
+		flower stall, she appeared vexed and surprised, and was
+		about to turn away. I however approached her, besought her
+		to accept of the choicest nosegay which I had been able to find,
+		and continued to speak to her in so ardent, yet respectful a
+		manner, that she no longer viewed me with resentment, but with
+		something approaching to interest. And if I had been charmed
+		by her beauty when as yet I had seen her at a comparative distance,
+		how enraptured was I now by a nearer contemplation of
+		that heavenly countenance.</p>
+
+		<p>“I assured her that her image had never been absent from my
+		heart since first I saw her, that I should never know peace or
+		happiness again until she would give me some hope, and that I
+		would sooner die than have her construe my words into an insult.
+		She was touched by the earnestness and evident sincerity
+		of my manner; and, encouraged by her silence, I proceeded
+		hastily to inform her that my name was Cornari, that I was a
+		young man of humble birth, but that I possessed a modest competency,
+		and was my own master. I then pressed her to accept
+		my nosegay; but, suddenly bursting into tears, she exclaimed—</p>
+
+		<p>“‘O, signor, you know not whom you have thus honored
+		with your notice,’ and hurried away, leaving me absolutely
+		stupefied with astonishment and grief. It immediately struck
+		me that she was a lost and degraded creature, who dared not
+		respond to a virtuous love. But a few moments’ reflection
+		told me that such innocence, such artlessness, such candor
+		never could be assumed—never feigned; no, they were most
+		natural! And this conviction, added to the intense curiosity
+		which now inspired me to fathom the mystery of her singular
+		remark, rendered me more anxious than ever to meet
+		with her again. Several weeks passed without seeing the gratification
+		of my wish; and I was becoming seriously ill with disappointment
+		and defeated hope, when accident led me to encounter
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page344" title="344"> </a>her once more. She would have avoided me, but I
+		absolutely compelled her to stop. Seizing her hand, I said,—</p>
+
+		<p>“‘Look at me—behold to what I am reduced—mark these
+		pale and sunken cheeks, and have pity on me!’</p>
+
+		<p>“‘And I, too,’ she murmured, ‘have been very miserable since
+		we last met.’</p>
+
+		<p>“‘Then you have thought of me?’ I exclaimed, retaining her
+		hand still in mine, and reading love in the depths of her large
+		dark eyes.</p>
+
+		<p>“‘I have,’ she answered bitterly, withdrawing her hand at
+		the same time; then in a tone of deep anguish she added, ‘I implore
+		you to let me proceed on my way; and if you value your
+		own happiness you will never seek to see me more.’</p>
+
+		<p>“‘But my happiness depends on seeing you often,’ I exclaimed;
+		‘and if the offer of an honest heart be acceptable, I
+		have that to give.’</p>
+
+		<p>“She shuddered dreadfully from head to foot.</p>
+
+		<p>“‘Surely you are not married already?’ I said, rendered desperate
+		by her strange and incomprehensible manner.</p>
+
+		<p>“‘I married!’ she absolutely shrieked forth. Then perceiving
+		that I was perfectly amazed and horrified by the wild vehemence
+		of her ejaculations, she said in a subdued, melancholy
+		tone, ‘I adjure you to think of me no more.’</p>
+
+		<p>“‘Listen, beauteous stranger,’ I exclaimed; ‘I love and adore
+		you. My happiness is at stake. Repeat that cruel adjuration,
+		and you inflict a death-blow. If I be loathsome to your sight,
+		tell me so; but leave me not a prey to the most horrible suspense.
+		If you have a father, I will accompany you to him and
+		make honorable proposals.’</p>
+
+		<p>“‘My father!’ she murmured, while her countenance was suddenly
+		swept by a passing expression of anguish so intense that I
+		began to tremble for her reason.</p>
+
+		<p>“I implored her to speak candidly and openly, and not in
+		brief sentences of such ominous mystery. She scarcely appeared
+		to listen to my words, but seemed totally absorbed in the mental
+		contemplation of a deeply seated woe. At length she suddenly
+		turned her large dark eyes upon me, and said in a low, plaintive,
+		profoundly touching tone:</p>
+
+		<p>“‘Signor Cornari, again I adjure you to think of me no more.
+		But for my own sake I would not have you believe that unmaidenly
+		conduct on my part is the cause of the solemn prayer I
+		thus make to you. No, no; I have naught wherewith I can reproach
+		myself; but there are reasons of terrible import that
+		compel me to address you in this manner. Nevertheless,’ she
+		added, more slowly and hesitatingly, ‘if you really should continue
+		to entertain so deep an interest in me as to render you desirous
+		to hear the last explanation from my lips, then may you
+		rely upon meeting me on this spot, and at the same hour, fifteen
+		days hence.’</p>
+
+		<p>“She then hurried away. How that fortnight passed I can
+		scarcely tell. To me it appeared an age. I was deeply, madly
+		enamored of that strange, beautiful, and apparently conscientious
+		being; and the mystery which involved her threw around
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page345" title="345"> </a>her a halo of interest that fanned the flame of my passion. I
+		was prepared to make any sacrifice rather than abandon all hope
+		of calling her my own. The proud title of Riverola was as nothing
+		in my estimation when weighed in the balance against her
+		charms—her bewitching manner—her soft, retiring modesty. I
+		moreover flattered myself that I was not indifferent to her; and
+		I loved her all the more sincerely because I reflected that if she
+		gave her heart to me, it would be to the poor and humble Cornari,
+		and not to the rich and mighty Lord of Riverola.</p>
+
+		<p>“At length the day—the memorable day—came; and she
+		failed not to keep her appointment. She was pale—very pale—but
+		exquisitely beautiful; and she smiled in spite of herself
+		when she beheld me. She endeavored to conceal her emotions,
+		but she could not altogether subdue the evidence of that gratification
+		which my presence caused her.</p>
+
+		<p>“‘You have disregarded my most earnest prayer,’ she said,
+		in a low and agitated tone.</p>
+
+		<p>“‘My happiness depends upon you,’ I answered; ‘in the
+		name of Heaven keep me not in suspense; but tell me, can you
+		and will you be mine?’</p>
+
+		<p>“‘I could be thine, but I dare not,’ she replied, in a voice
+		scarcely audible.</p>
+
+		<p>“‘Reveal to me the meaning of this strange contradiction, I
+		implore you!’ said I, again a prey to the most torturing suspense.
+		‘Do you love another?’</p>
+
+		<p>“‘Did I love another,’ she exclaimed, withdrawing the hand
+		which I had taken, ‘I should not be here this day.’</p>
+
+		<p>“‘Pardon me,’ I cried; ‘I would not offend you for worlds!
+		If you do not love another, can you love me?’</p>
+
+		<p>“Again she allowed me to take her hand; and this concession,
+		together with the rapid but eloquent glance she threw upon
+		me, was the answer to my question.</p>
+
+		<p>“‘Then, if you can love me,’ I urged, ‘why cannot you be
+		mine?’</p>
+
+		<p>“‘Because,’ she replied, in that tone of bitterness which did
+		me harm to hear it, ‘you are born of parents whose name and
+		whose calling you dare mention; whereas you would loathe
+		me as much as you now declare that you love me, were you to
+		learn who my father is! For mother, alas! I have none; she
+		has been dead many years!’ And tears streamed down her
+		cheeks. I also wept, so deeply did I sympathize with her.</p>
+
+		<p>“‘Beloved girl,’ I exclaimed, ‘you wrong me! What is it to
+		me if your father be the veriest wretch, the greatest criminal
+		that crawls upon the face of the earth, so long as you are pure
+		and innocent?’”</p>
+
+		<p>“‘No, no,’ she cried hastily, ‘you misunderstand me. There
+		breathes not a more upright man than my father.’</p>
+
+		<p>“‘Then wherefore should I be ashamed to own my marriage
+		with his daughter?’ I asked in an impassioned manner.</p>
+
+		<p>“‘Because,’ she said, in a tone of such intense anguish that
+		it rent my heart as she began to speak; ‘because,’ she repeated
+		slowly and emphatically, ‘he is viewed with abhorrence by that
+		world which is so unjust; for that which constitutes the stigma
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page346" title="346"> </a>is hereditary office in his family—an office that he dares not vacate
+		under pain of death; and now you can too well comprehend
+		that my sire is the <strong class="special_emphasis">Public Executioner of Naples</strong>!’</p>
+
+		<p>“This announcement came upon me like a thunderbolt. I
+		turned sick at heart—my eyes grew dim—my brain whirled—I
+		staggered and should have fallen had I not come in contact
+		with a wall. It appeared to me afterward that sobs of ineffable
+		agony fell upon my ears, while I was yet in a state of semi-stupefaction—and
+		methought likewise that a delicate, soft hand
+		pressed mine convulsively for a moment. Certain it was, that
+		when I recovered my presence of mind, when I was enabled to
+		collect my scattered thoughts, the executioner’s daughter was
+		no longer near me. I was in despair at the revelation which
+		had been made—overwhelmed with grief, too, at having suffered
+		her thus to depart—for I feared that I should never see
+		her more. Before me was my hopeless love, behind me, like an
+		evil dream, was the astounding announcement which still rang
+		in my ears, though breathed in such soft and plaintive tones!
+		Three or four minutes were wasted in the struggles of conflicting
+		thoughts, ere I was sufficiently master of myself to remember
+		that I might still overtake the maiden who had fled from
+		me. It struck me that her father’s dwelling must be near the
+		criminal prison; and this was in the squalid quarter of the town
+		where I had first encountered her. Thither I sped—into the
+		dark streets, so perilous after dusk, I plunged; and at length I
+		overtook the object of my affection, just as she was skirting the
+		very wall of the prison. I seized her by the hand and implored
+		her to forgive me for the manner in which I had received the
+		last explanation to which I had urged her.</p>
+
+		<p>“‘It was natural that you should shrink in loathing from the
+		bare idea,’ she said, in a tone which rent my heart. ‘And now
+		leave me, signor; for further conversation between us is useless.’</p>
+
+		<p>“‘No,’ I exclaimed; ‘I will not leave you until I shall have
+		exacted from you a promise that you will be mine, and only
+		mine! For I could not live without you; and most unjust
+		should I be, most unworthy of the name of a man, if I were to
+		allow a contemptible prejudice to stand in the way of my happiness.’</p>
+
+		<p>“She returned no answer, but the rapidity of her breathing
+		and the ill subdued sobs which interrupted her respiration at
+		short intervals, convinced me that a fierce struggle was taking
+		place within her bosom. For it was now quite dark and I could
+		not see her face; the hand, however, which I held clasped in my
+		own, trembled violently.</p>
+
+		<p>“‘Beautiful maiden,’ I said after a long pause, ‘wherefore
+		do you not reply to me? Were I the proudest peer in Christendom,
+		I would sacrifice every consideration of rank and family
+		for your sake. What more can man say? What more can he
+		do?’</p>
+
+		<p>“‘Signor Cornari,’ she answered at length, ‘prudence tells me
+		to fly from you; but my heart prompts me to remain. Alas! I
+		feel that the latter feeling is dominant within me!’</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page347" title="347"> </a>“‘And you will be mine?’ I demanded eagerly.</p>
+
+		<p>“‘Thine forever!’ she murmured, her head sinking upon my
+		breast.</p>
+
+		<p>“But I shall not dwell unnecessarily on this portion of my
+		narrative. Suffice it to say we parted, having arranged another
+		meeting for the next evening. It was on this occasion that I
+		said to her:</p>
+
+		<p>“‘Vitangela, I have thought profoundly on all that passed between
+		us yesterday; and I am more than ever determined to
+		make you my wife. Let us away to your father, and demand
+		his consent to our union.’</p>
+
+		<p>“‘Stay,’ she said, in an emphatic tone, ‘and hear me patiently
+		ere you either renew the promise to wed me, or reiterate your
+		desire to seek my father. You must know,’ she continued,
+		while I listened with painful suspense, ‘that my father will not
+		oppose a step in which his daughter’s happiness is involved. But
+		the very moment that sees our hands joined, will behold the
+		registry of the marriage in the book kept by the lieutenant of
+		police; and thereby will be constituted a record of the name of
+		one who, if need be, must assume the functions of that office
+		which my sire now fills.’</p>
+
+		<p>“‘What mean you, Vitangela?’ I demanded, horrified by the
+		dim yet ominous significance of these horrible words.</p>
+
+		<p>“‘I mean,’ she continued, ‘that the terrible post of public executioner
+		must remain in our family while it exists; and those
+		who form marriages with us, are considered to enter into our
+		family. When my father dies, my brother will succeed him,
+		but should my brother die without leaving issue, or having a
+		son to take his place, you, signor, if you become my husband,
+		will be forced to assume the terrible office.’</p>
+
+		<p>“‘But I am not a Neapolitan,’ I exclaimed; ‘and I should
+		hope that when we are united, you will not insist upon dwelling
+		in Naples.’</p>
+
+		<p>“‘I would give worlds to leave this odious city,’ she said, emphatically.</p>
+
+		<p>“‘Nothing detains me here another day, nor another hour,’
+		I cried; ‘let the priest unite our hands, and we forthwith set off
+		for Florence. But why should not our marriage take place
+		privately, unknown even to your father? and in that case no
+		entry could be made in the books of the lieutenant of police.’</p>
+
+		<p>“‘You have expressed that desire which I myself feared to
+		utter, lest you should think it unmaidenly,’ she murmured.
+		‘For your sake I will quit home and kindred without further
+		hesitation.’</p>
+
+		<p>“I was rejoiced at this proof of affection and confidence on
+		her part; and it was arranged between us that we should be
+		married on the ensuing evening, and in the most private way
+		possible.</p>
+
+		<p>“Before we parted, however, I drew from her a solemn pledge
+		that, when once she had become my wife, she would never
+		even allude to her family—that she would not communicate to
+		them the name of her husband nor the place of our abode, under
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page348" title="348"> </a>any circumstance—in a word, that she would consider her father
+		and brother as dead to her,—and she to them.</p>
+
+		<p>“With streaming eyes and sobbing heart she gave the sacred
+		promise I required, ratifying it with an oath which I made her
+		repeat to my dictation.</p>
+
+		<p>“On the ensuing evening Vitangela met me according to
+		appointment, and it was then I revealed to her my real name
+		and rank.</p>
+
+		<p>“‘Dearest girl,’ I said, ‘you gave me your heart, believing
+		me to be a poor and humble individual; and you have consented
+		to become my wife and abandon home and kindred for
+		my sake. Profoundly then do I rejoice that it is in my power
+		to elevate you to a position of which your beauty, your amiability
+		and your virtue render you so eminently worthy; and in
+		my own native Florence, no lady will be more courted, nor
+		treated with greater distinction than the Countess of Riverola.’</p>
+
+		<p>“She uttered an exclamation of sorrow and would have fallen
+		to the ground if I had not supported her.</p>
+
+		<p>“‘Oh!’ she murmured, ‘I would have been happier were you
+		indeed the humble Signor Cornari!’</p>
+
+		<p>“‘No; think not thus,’ I urged, ‘wealth and rank are two
+		powerful aids to happiness in this life. But at all events; my
+		beloved Vitangela, you now recognize more than ever the paramount
+		necessity which induces you to maintain inviolate your
+		solemn vow of yesterday.’</p>
+
+		<p>“‘I require no such inducement to compel me to keep that
+		pledge,’ she answered. ‘Think you that I would bring disgrace
+		on the name, whether humble or lofty, with which you have
+		proposed to honor me? Oh! no—never, never!”</p>
+
+		<p>“I embraced her fondly; and we proceeded to the dwelling of
+		a priest, by whom our hands were united in the oratory attached
+		to his abode. At daybreak we quitted Naples, and in
+		due time we reached Florence, where my bride was received
+		with enthusiastic welcome by all the friends of the Riverola
+		family. My happiness appeared to have been established on a
+		solid foundation by this alliance; and the birth of Nisida in 1495—just
+		one year after the marriage—was a bond which seemed
+		to unite our hearts the more closely if possible. Indeed, I can
+		safely assert that not a harsh word ever passed between us, nor
+		did aught occur to mar our complete felicity for years after our
+		union. In 1500, however, a circumstance took place which
+		proved to be the first link in the chain of incidents destined to
+		wield a dire influence over my happiness. It was in the month
+		of April of that year—oh! how indelibly is the detested date
+		fixed on my memory—the Duke Piero de Medici gave a grand
+		entertainment to all the aristocracy of Florence. The banquet
+		was of the most excellent description; and the gardens of the palace
+		were brilliantly illuminated. The days of Lorenzo the
+		Magnificent seemed to have been revived for a short period by
+		his degenerate descendant. All the beauty and rank of the republic
+		were assembled at this festival; but no lady was more
+		admired for the chaste elegance of her attire, the modest dignity
+		of her deportment, and the loveliness of her person, than Vitangela,
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page349" title="349"> </a>Countess of Riverola. After the banquet the company
+		proceeded to the gardens, where bands of music were stationed,
+		and while some indulged in the exhilarating dance, others sauntered
+		through the brilliantly lighted avenues. I need not inform
+		you that no husband, unless he were anxious to draw down
+		upon himself the ridicule which attaches itself to extreme uxoriousness,
+		would remain linked to his wife’s side all the evening
+		at such an entertainment as the one of which I am speaking. I
+		was therefore separated from the countess, whom I left in an
+		arbor with some other ladies, and I joined the group which had
+		assembled around the prince. I know not exactly how it was
+		I happened to quit my companions, after a lively conversation
+		which had probably lasted about an hour; certain, however, it
+		is that before midnight I was proceeding alone down a long
+		avenue in which utter darkness reigned, but outside of which
+		the illuminations shone brilliantly.</p>
+
+		<p>“Suddenly I heard voices near me; and one of them appeared
+		to be that of the Countess of Riverola—but they were speaking
+		in so subdued a tone that I was by no means confident in my
+		suspicion. The voices approached; and a sentiment of curiosity,
+		unaccountable at the time, as I believed Vitangela to be purity
+		itself, impelled me to listen more attentively. To conceal myself
+		was not necessary; I had to remain perfectly still for my
+		presence to be unknown, utter darkness prevailing in the avenue.
+		The persons who were conversing advanced.</p>
+
+		<p>“‘You know,’ said the soft and whispering voice which I believed
+		to be that of my wife, ‘you know how sincerely, how
+		tenderly I love you, and what a frightful risk I run in according
+		you thus a few moments’ private discourse!’</p>
+
+		<p>“The voice of a man made some reply, the words of which
+		did not reach my ears; then the pair stopped and I heard the
+		billing sound of kisses. O! how my blood boiled in my veins!
+		I grasped the handle of my sword—but I was nailed to the spot—my
+		state of mind was such that though I longed—I thirsted
+		for vengeance—yet was I powerless—motionless—paralyzed.
+		To the sound of kisses succeeded those of sobbing and of grief
+		on the part of the lady whose voice had produced such a terrible
+		effect upon me.</p>
+
+		<p>“‘Holy Virgin!’ I thought, ‘she deplores the fate that chains
+		her to her husband! she weeps because she has not courage to
+		fly with her lover!’ and now I experienced just the same sensations
+		as those which stunned and stupefied me on that evening
+		at Naples when I first heard that Vitangela was the child of the
+		public executioner. Several minutes must have passed while I
+		was in this condition of comparative insensibility; or rather
+		while I was a prey to the stunning conviction that I was deceived
+		by her whom I had loved so well and deemed so pure.
+		When I awoke from that dread stupor all was still in the dark
+		avenue; not a footstep, not a whispering voice was heard. I hurried
+		along amidst the trees, my soul racked with the cruelest
+		suspicions. And yet I was not confident that it was positively
+		my wife’s voice that I had heard; and the more I pondered on
+		the circumstance, the more anxious was I to arrive at the conviction
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page350" title="350"> </a>that I had indeed been deceived by some voice closely
+		resembling hers. I accordingly hurried back to the arbor where
+		I had last seen her in the company of several Florentine ladies.
+		Joy animated my soul when I beheld Vitangela seated in that
+		arbor, and in the very spot, too, where I had beheld her upward
+		of an hour previously. But she was now alone.</p>
+
+		<p>“‘Where are your friends?’ I asked, in a kind tone, as I approached
+		and gently took her hand.</p>
+
+		<p>“‘Indeed I know not,’ she replied, casting a hurried glance
+		around, and now appearing surprised to find that there was not
+		another lady near her. She seemed confused; and I also observed
+		that she had been weeping very recently. The joy which
+		had for a moment animated me, was now succeeded by a sudden
+		chill that went to my heart death-like—icy. But, subduing my
+		emotion, I said:</p>
+
+		<p>“‘Your ladyship has not surely remained here ever since I last
+		saw you, more than an hour ago?’</p>
+
+		<p>“‘Yes,’ she responded, without daring to raise her eyes to
+		meet mine. I knew that she lied, most foully lied: her confusion,
+		her whole manner betrayed her. But I exercised a powerful
+		mastery over my mind; the suspicion which I had all along entertained
+		was strengthened greatly, but not altogether confirmed;
+		and I resolved to wait for confirmation ere I
+		allowed my vengeance to burst forth. Moreover, it was necessary
+		to discover who the gallant might be—the favored one who
+		had superseded me in the affections of Vitangela! I, however,
+		promised myself that when once my information was complete,
+		my revenge should be terrible; and this resolution served as a
+		solace for the moment, and as an inducement for me to conceal
+		alike the suspicions I had imbibed and the dreadful pain they
+		had caused me.</p>
+
+		<p>“Presenting my hand, therefore, to Vitangela, I escorted her to
+		that part of the ground where the company were now assembled,
+		and where I hoped that some accident might make known to
+		me the person of the gallant with whom, as I supposed, she had
+		walked in the avenue. Anxiously, but unsuspected, did I watch
+		the manner of the countess every time she returned the salutation
+		of the various nobles and cavaliers whom we encountered
+		in our walk; but not a blush, not a sign of confusion on her
+		part, not one rapidly dealt, but significant glance, afforded me
+		the clew I so ardently sought. And yet it struck me that she
+		often cast furtive and uneasy, or rather searching looks hither
+		and thither, as if to seek and single out some one individual in the
+		multitudes moving about the illuminated gardens. She was
+		certainly pre-occupied, and even mournful, but I affected not
+		to observe that a cloud hung over her spirits, and in order to
+		throw her completely off her guard, I talked and laughed quite
+		as gayly as was my wont. To be brief, the festivities terminated
+		a little before sunrise, and I conducted the countess back
+		to our mansion. From that night forth I maintained the strictest
+		watch upon her conduct and proceedings. I appointed Margaretha,
+		the mother of my page Antonio, to act the spy upon
+		her; but weeks and months passed, and nothing occurred to
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page351" title="351"> </a>confirm the terrible suspicion that haunted me night and day.
+		I strove to banish that suspicion from my mind—Heaven
+		knows how hard I tried to crush it. But it was immortal—and
+		it beset me as if it were the ghost of some victim I had ruthlessly
+		murdered. Vitangela saw that my manner had somewhat
+		changed toward her, and she frequently questioned me
+		on the subject. I, however, gave her evasive answers, for I
+		should have been ashamed to acknowledge my suspicion if it
+		were false, and it was only by keeping her off her guard I
+		should receive confirmation if it were true. Thus nearly nine
+		months passed away from the date of the ducal banquet, and
+		then you, Francisco, were born. The presence of an heir to my
+		name and wealth was a subject of much congratulation on the
+		part of my friends; but to me it was a source of torturing doubts
+		and racking fears. You never bore the least—no, not the least
+		resemblance, either physical or mental, to me; whereas the very
+		reverse was the case with Nisida, even in her infancy. From
+		the moment of your birth—from the first instant that I beheld
+		you in the nurse’s arms—the most agonizing feelings took possession
+		of my soul. Were you indeed my son?—or were you
+		the pledge of adulterous love? Merciful heavens! in remembering
+		all I suffered when the terrible thoughts oppressed me, I
+		wonder that you, Francisco, should now be alive—that I did not
+		strangle you as you lay in your cradle. And, oh God! how
+		dearly I could have loved you, Francisco, had I felt the same
+		confidence in your paternity as in that of your sister Nisida! But
+		no—all was at least doubt and uncertainty in that respect—and,
+		as your cast of features and physical characteristics developed
+		themselves, that hideous doubt and that racking uncertainty
+		increased until there were times when I was nearly
+		goaded to do some desperate deed. Those mild blue eyes—that
+		rich brown hair—that feminine softness of expression which
+		marked your face belonged not to the family of Riverola!</p>
+
+		<p>“Time wore on, and my unhappiness increased. I suspected
+		my wife, yet dared not proclaim the suspicion. I sought to give
+		her back my love, but was utterly unable to subdue the dark
+		thoughts and crush the maddening uncertainties that agitated my
+		soul. At last I was sinking into a state of morbid melancholy,
+		when an incident occurred which revived all the energies of my
+		mind. It was in 1505—Nisida being then ten years old, and you,
+		Francisco, four—when Margaretha informed me one evening
+		that the countess had received a letter which had thrown her
+		into a state of considerable agitation, and which she had immediately
+		burned. By questioning the porter at the gate of the
+		mansion, I learnt that the person who delivered the letter was
+		a tall, handsome man of about thirty-two, with brown hair, blue
+		eyes, and a somewhat feminine expression of countenance.
+		Holy Virgin! this must be the gallant—the paramour of my wife—the
+		father of the boy on whom the law compelled me to bestow
+		my own name. Such were the ideas that immediately
+		struck me; and I now prepared for vengeance. Margaretha
+		watched my wife narrowly, and on the evening following the
+		one on which the letter had been delivered, Vitangela was seen
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page352" title="352"> </a>to secure a heavy bag of gold about her person, and quit the
+		mansion by the secret staircase of her apartment—that apartment
+		which is now the sleeping-place of your sister Nisida.</p>
+
+		<p>“Margaretha followed the countess to an obscure street, at the
+		corner of which the guilty woman encountered a tall person,
+		enveloped in a cloak, and who was evidently waiting for her.
+		To him she gave the bag of gold, and they embraced each other
+		tenderly. Then they separated—the countess returning home,
+		unconscious that a spy watched her movements. Margaretha
+		reported all that had occurred to me; and I bade her redouble
+		her attention in watching her mistress. Now that the lover is
+		once more in this city, I thought, and well provided with my
+		gold to pursue his extravagance, there will soon be another meeting—and
+		then for vengeance such as an Italian must have. But
+		weeks and months again passed without affording the opportunity
+		which I craved; yet I knew that the day must come—and I
+		could tutor myself to await its arrival, if not with patience, at
+		least with so much outward composure as to lull the countess
+		into belief of perfect security.</p>
+
+		<p>“Yes, weeks and months passed away, ay, and years, too,
+		and still I nursed my hopes and projects of vengeance, the craving
+		for which increased with the lapse of time.</p>
+
+		<p>“And now I come to the grand, the terrible, the main incident
+		in this narrative. It was late one night, in the month of
+		January, 1510, Nisida being then fifteen and thou, Francisco,
+		nine, that Margaretha came to me in my own apartment and
+		informed me that she had seen the tall gallant traverse the
+		garden hastily and obtain admission into the countess’ chamber
+		by means of the secret staircase. The hour for vengeance
+		had at length come. Margaretha was instantly dispatched
+		to advise two bravoes whose services I had long
+		secured for the occasion, that the moment had arrived when
+		they were to do the work for which they had been so well
+		paid in advance, and by the faithful performance of which they
+		would still further enrich themselves. Within half an hour all
+		the arrangements were completed. Margaretha had retired to
+		her own chamber and the bravoes were concealed with me in the
+		garden. Nor had we long to wait. The private door opened
+		shortly, and two persons appeared on the threshold. The night
+		was clear and beautiful, and from my hiding-place I could discern
+		the fondness of the embrace that marked their parting.
+		And they parted, too, never to meet again in this life!</p>
+
+		<p>“Vitangela closed the door—and her lover was passing rapidly
+		along amidst the trees in the garden, when a dagger suddenly
+		drank his heart’s blood. That dagger was mine, and wielded
+		by my hand! He fell without a groan—dead, stone-dead at my
+		feet. Half of my vengeance was now accomplished; the other
+		half was yet to be consummated. Without a moment’s unnecessary
+		delay the corpse was conveyed to a cellar beneath the
+		northern wing of the mansion: and the two bravoes then hastened,
+		to Vitangela’s chamber, into which they obtained admission by
+		forcing the door of the private staircase. In pursuance of the
+		orders which they had received from me, they bound and
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page353" title="353"> </a>gagged her, and conveyed her through the garden to the very
+		cellar where, by the light of a gloomy lamp, she beheld her husband
+		standing close by a corpse!</p>
+
+		<p>“‘Bring her near!’ I exclaimed, unmoved by the looks of indescribable
+		horror which she threw around.</p>
+
+		<p>“When her eyes caught sight of the countenance of that lifeless
+		being, they remained fixed with frenzied wildness in their
+		sockets, and even if there had been no gag between her teeth,
+		I do not believe that she could have uttered a syllable. And
+		now commenced the second act in this appalling tragedy!
+		While one of the bravoes held the countess in his iron grasp, in
+		such a manner that she could not avert her head, the other, who
+		had once been a surgeon, tore away the garments from the
+		corpse, and commenced the task which I had before assigned to
+		him. And as the merciless scalpel hacked and hewed away at
+		the still almost palpitating flesh of the murdered man, in whose
+		breast the dagger remained deeply buried,—a ferocious joy—a
+		savage, hyena-like triumph filled my soul; and I experienced
+		no remorse for the deed I had done! Far—very far from that—for
+		as the work progressed, I exclaimed—</p>
+
+		<p>“‘Behold, Vitangela, how the scalpel hews that form so loved
+		by thee! Now hack away at the countenance—deface that
+		beauty—pick out those mild blue eyes!’—and I laughed madly!</p>
+
+		<p>“The countess fainted, and I ordered her to be carried back to
+		her apartment, where Margaretha awaited her. Indeed I had
+		naturally foreseen that insensibility would result from the appalling
+		spectacle which I compelled my wife to witness: and
+		Margaretha was prepared to breathe dreadful menaces in her
+		ears the moment she should recover—menaces of death to herself
+		and both her children if she should reveal, even to her
+		father confessor, one tittle of the scene which that night had
+		been enacted! The surgeon-bravo did his work bravely; and the
+		man who had dishonored me was reduced to naught save a
+		skeleton! The flesh and the garments were buried deep in the
+		cellar; the skeleton was conveyed to my own chamber, and suspended
+		to a beam in the closet where you, Francisco, and your
+		bride, are destined to behold it—<span class="small_all_caps">ALONG WITH ANOTHER</span>!</p>
+
+		<p>“My vengeance was thus far gratified—the bravos were dismissed,
+		and I locked myself up in my chamber for several days,
+		to brood upon all I had done, and occasionally to feast my eyes
+		with the grim remains of him who had dared to love my wife.
+		During those days of seclusion I would see no one save the servant
+		who brought me my meals. From him I learnt that the
+		countess was dangerously ill—that she was indeed dying, and
+		that she besought me to visit her if only for a moment. But I
+		refused—implacably refused. I was convinced that she craved
+		my forgiveness; and that I could not give.</p>
+
+		<p>“Dr. Duras, who attended upon her, came to the door of my
+		chamber and implored me to grant him an interview:—then
+		Nisida sought a similar boon; but I was deaf to each and all.</p>
+
+		<p>“Yes—for there was still a being on whom I yet longed to
+		wreak my vengeance;—and that being was yourself, Francisco?
+		I looked upon you as the living evidence of my dishonor—the
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page354" title="354"> </a>memorial of your mother’s boundless guilt. But I recoiled in
+		horror from the idea of staining my hands with the blood of a
+		little child—yet I feared if I came near you—if I saw your clinging
+		affectionately to Vitangela—if I heard you innocently and
+		unconsciously mock me by calling me ‘father!’—I felt I should
+		be unable to restrain the fury of my wrath!</p>
+
+		<p>“I know not how long I should have remained in the seclusion
+		of my own chamber—perhaps weeks and months, but one
+		morning shortly after daybreak, I was informed by the only
+		servant whom I would admit near me, that the countess had
+		breathed her last during the night, and that Nisida was so
+		deeply affected by her mother’s death, that she, poor girl, was
+		dangerously ill. Then I became frantic on account of my
+		daughter; and I quitted my apartment, not only to see that
+		proper aid was administered to her, but to complete the scheme
+		of vengeance which I had originally formed. Thus, in the first
+		place, Dr. Duras was enjoined to take up his abode altogether in
+		the Riverola Palace, so long as Nisida should require his services;
+		and, on the other hand, a splendid funeral was ordered for
+		the Countess Riverola. But Vitangela’s remains went not in
+		the velvet-covered coffin to the family vault;—no—her flesh was
+		buried in the same soil where rotted the flesh of her paramour—and
+		her skeleton was suspended from the same beam to which
+		his bones had been already hung. For I thought within myself:
+		‘This is the first time that the wife of a Count of Riverola
+		has ever brought dishonor and disgrace upon her husband; and
+		I will take care that it shall be the last. To Nisida will I leave
+		all my estates—all my wealth, save a miserable pittance as an
+		inheritance for the bastard Francisco. She shall inherit the
+		title, and the man on whom she may confer her hand shall be
+		the next Count of Riverola. The wedding-day will be marked
+		by a revelation of the mystery of this cabinet; and the awful
+		spectacle will teach him, whoever he may be, to watch his wife
+		narrowly—and will teach <em>her</em> what it is to prove unfaithful to a
+		fond husband! To both, the lesson will be as useful as the manner
+		of conveying it will be frightful, and they will hand down
+		the tradition to future scions of the Riverola family. Francisco,
+		too, shall learn the secrets of the cabinet; he shall be taught
+		why he is disinherited—why I have hated him: and thus even
+		from the other world shall the spirits of the vile paramour and
+		the adulterous wife behold the consequences of their crime perpetuated
+		in this.’</p>
+
+		<p>“Such were my thoughts—such were my intentions. But an
+		appalling calamity forced me to change my views. Nisida, after
+		a long and painful illness, became deaf and dumb; and Dr.
+		Duras gave me no hope of the restoration of her lost faculties.</p>
+
+		<p>“Terrible visitation! Then was it that I reasoned with myself—that
+		I deliberated long and earnestly upon the course
+		which I should pursue. It was improbable that, afflicted as
+		Nisida was, she would ever marry; and I felt grieved, deeply
+		grieved, to think that you, Francisco, being disinherited, and
+		Nisida remaining single, the proud title of Riverola would
+		become extinct; I therefore resolved on the less painful alternative
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page355" title="355"> </a>of disinheriting you altogether; and I accordingly made a
+		will by which I left you the estates, with the contingent title
+		Count of Riverola, under certain conditions which might yet
+		alienate both property and rank from you, and endow therewith
+		your sister Nisida. For should she recover the faculties of
+		speech and hearing by the time she shall have attained the age
+		of thirty-six, she will yet be marriageable and may have issue;
+		but should that era in her life pass, and she still be deaf and
+		dumb, all hope of her recovery will be dead!</p>
+
+		<p>“Thus if she still be so deeply afflicted at that age, you, Francisco,
+		will inherit the vast estates and the lordly title which,
+		through the circumstances of your birth, it grieves me to believe
+		will ever devolve upon you.</p>
+
+		<p>“Such were my motives for making that will which you are
+		destined to hear read, doubtless before the time comes for you to
+		peruse this manuscript. And having made that will, and experiencing
+		the sad certainty that my unfortunate daughter will
+		never become qualified to inherit my title and fortune, but that
+		the name of Riverola must be perpetuated through your
+		marriage, I have determined that to you and to your bride
+		alone shall the dread secrets of the cabinet be revealed.”</p>
+
+		<p>Thus terminated the manuscript.</p>
+
+		<hr class="thoughtbreak" />
+
+
+		<p>Powerful in meaning and strong in expression as the English
+		language may be rendered by one who has the least experience
+		in the proper combination of words, yet it becomes totally inadequate
+		to the task of conveying an idea of those feelings—those
+		harrowing emotions—those horrifying sentiments, which
+		were excited in the breasts of Francisco di Riverola and the
+		beautiful Flora by the revolution of the manuscript. At first
+		the document begat a deep and mournful interest, as it related
+		the interviews of the late count with Vitangela in the streets of
+		Naples; then amazement was engendered by the announcement
+		of that lovely and unhappy being’s ignominious parentage—but
+		a calmness was diffused through the minds of Flora and Francisco,
+		as if they had found a resting place amidst the exciting
+		incidents of the narrative when they reached that part which
+		mentioned the marriage.</p>
+
+		<p>Their feelings were, however, destined to be speedily and
+		most painfully wrung once more; and Francisco could scarcely
+		restrain his indignation—yes, his indignation even against the
+		memory of his deceased father—when he perused those injurious
+		suspicions which were recorded in reference to the honor of
+		his mother. Though unable to explain the mystery in which
+		all that part of the narrative was involved, yet he felt firmly
+		convinced that his mother was innocent; and he frequently interrupted
+		himself in the perusal of the manuscript to give utterance
+		to passionate ejaculations expressive of that opinion. But
+		it was when the hideous tragedy rapidly developed itself, and
+		the history of the presence of two skeletons in the closet was detailed,
+		it was then that language became powerless to describe
+		the mingled wrath and disgust which Francisco felt, or to delineate
+		the emotions of boundless horror and wild amazement
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page356" title="356"> </a>that were excited in the bosom of Flora. In spasmodic shuddering
+		did the young countess cling to her husband when she had learned
+		how fearfully accurate was the manner in which the few lines
+		of the manuscript which she had read many months previously
+		in Nisida’s boudoir, fitted in the text, and how appalling was the
+		tale which the entire made. She was cruelly shocked, and her
+		heart bled for that fine young man whom she was so proud to
+		call her husband, but whom his late father had loathed to recognize
+		as a son. And Nisida—what were her feelings as she lay
+		stretched upon a couch, listening to the contents of the manuscript
+		which she had read before? At first one hope—one idea
+		was dominant in her soul, the hope that Flora would be crushed
+		even to death by revelations which were indeed almost sufficient
+		to overwhelm a gentle disposition and freeze the vital current in
+		the tender and compassionate heart.</p>
+
+		<p>But as Francisco read on, and when he came to those passages
+		which described the sufferings and the cruel fate of her mother,
+		then Nisida became a prey to the most torturing feelings—dreadful
+		emotions were expressed by her convulsed countenance and
+		wildly-glaring eyes—and she muttered deep and bitter anathemas
+		against the memory of her own father. For well does the
+		reader know that she had loved her mother to distraction; and
+		thus the horrifying detail of the injuries heaped upon the head
+		and on the name of that revered parent aroused all her fiercest
+		passions of rage and hate as completely as if that history had
+		been new to her, and as if she were now becoming acquainted
+		with it for the first time. Indeed, so powerful, so terrible, was
+		the effect produced by the revival of all those dread reminiscences
+		and heart-rending emotions on the part of Nisida that, forgetting
+		her malignant spite and her infernal hope with regard to Flora,
+		she threw her whole soul into the subject of the manuscript:
+		and the torrent of feelings to which she thus gave way was
+		crushing and overwhelming to a woman of such fierce passions,
+		and who had received so awful a shock as that which had
+		stretched her on the couch where she now lay. For the fate of
+		him whom she had loved with such ardor, and the revulsion
+		that her affection experienced on account of the ghastly spectacle
+		which Wagner presented to her view in his dying moments—the
+		disgust and loathing which had been inspired in her mind
+		by the thought that she had ever fondled that being in her arms
+		and absolutely doted on the superhuman beauty that had
+		changed to such revolting ugliness, it was all this that had struck
+		her down—paralyzed her—inflicted a mortal, though not an instantaneous
+		blow upon that woman so lately full of energy, so
+		strong in moral courage, and so full of vigorous health. Thus
+		impressed with the conviction that her end was approaching,
+		the moment the perusal of the manuscript was concluded the
+		Lady Nisida said, in a faint and dying tone of voice:</p>
+
+		<p>“Francisco, draw near—as near as possible—and listen to
+		what I have now to communicate, for it is in my power to clear
+		up all doubt, all mystery relative to the honor of our sainted
+		mother, and convince thee that no stigma, no disgrace attaches
+		itself to thy birth!”</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page357" title="357"> </a>“Alas! my beloved sister,” exclaimed the young count, “you
+		speak in a faint voice, you are very ill! In the name of the
+		Holy Virgin! I conjure you to allow me to send for Dr. Duras!”</p>
+
+		<p>“No, Francisco,” said Nisida, her voice recovering somewhat
+		of its power as she continued to address him: “I implore you to
+		let me have my own way, to follow my own inclinations! Do
+		not thwart me, Francisco; already I feel as if molten lead were
+		pouring through my brain, and a tremendous weight lies upon
+		my heart! Forbear, then, from irritating me, my well-beloved
+		Francisco——”</p>
+
+		<p>“Oh! Nisida,” cried the young count, throwing his arms
+		around his sister’s neck and embracing her fondly; “if you love
+		me now, if you ever loved me, grant me one boon! By the
+		memory of our sainted mother I implore you, by your affection
+		for her I adjure you, Nisida——”</p>
+
+		<p>“Speak, speak, Francisco,” interrupted his sister, hastily: “I
+		can almost divine the nature of the boon you crave—and—my
+		God!” she added, tears starting from her eyes, as a painful
+		thought flashed across her brain,—“perhaps I have been too
+		harsh—too severe! At all events, it is not now—on my death-bed—that
+		I can nurse resentment——”</p>
+
+		<p>“Your death-bed!” echoed Francisco, in a tone or acute
+		anguish, while the sobs which convulsed the bosom of the young
+		countess were heard alike by him and his sister.</p>
+
+		<p>“Yes, dearest brother, I am dying,” said Nisida, in a voice of
+		profound and mournful conviction; “and therefore let me not
+		delay those duties and those explanations which can alone unburden
+		my heart of the weight that lies upon it! And first,
+		Francisco, be thy boon granted—for I know that thou wouldst
+		speak to me of her who is now thy bride. Come to my arms,
+		then. Flora, embrace me as a sister, and forgive me if thou
+		canst, for I have been a fierce and unrelenting enemy to thee!”</p>
+
+		<p>“Oh, let the past be forgotten, my friend, my sister!” exclaimed
+		the weeping Flora, as she threw herself into Nisida’s
+		outstretched arms.</p>
+
+		<p>And the young wife and the young woman embraced each
+		other tenderly—for deep regrets and pungent remorse at last
+		attuned the mind of Nisida to sweet and holy sympathy.</p>
+
+		<p>“And now,” said Nisida, “sit down by my side, and listen to
+		the explanations which I have promised. Give me your hand.
+		Flora, dear Flora, let me retain it in mine; for at the last hour,
+		and when I am about to leave this fair and beauteous earth, I
+		feel an ardent longing to love those who walk upon its face, and
+		to be loved by them in return. But, alas, alas!” she added, somewhat
+		bitterly, “reflections and yearnings of this nature come
+		too late! O Flora! the picture of life is spread before you—while
+		from me it is rapidly receding, and dissolving into the past.
+		Like our own fair city of palaces and flowers, when seen from
+		a distance beneath the glorious lights of the morning, may that
+		glorious picture continue to appear to thee; and may’st thou
+		never draw near enough to recognize the false splendors in which
+		gorgeous hues may deck the things of this world; may’st thou
+		never be brought so close to the sad realities of existence as to
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page358" title="358"> </a>be forced to contemplate the breaking hearts that dwell in palaces,
+		or to view in disgust the slime upon flowers.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Nisida,” said Francisco, bending over his sister, and speaking
+		in a voice indicative of deep emotion, “the kind words you
+		utter to my beloved Flora shall ever—ever remain engraven
+		upon my heart.”</p>
+
+		<p>“And on mine also,” murmured the young countess, pressing
+		Nisida’s hand with grateful ardor, while her eyes, radiant with
+		very softness, threw a glance of passionate tenderness upon her
+		generous-hearted and handsome husband.</p>
+
+		<p>“Listen to me,” resumed Nisida, after a short pause, during
+		which she gave way to all the luxury of those sweet and holy
+		reflections which the present scene engendered: and these were
+		the happiest moments of the lady’s stormy life. “Listen to
+		me,” she repeated; “and let me enter upon and make an end of
+		my explanations as speedily as possible. And first, Francisco,
+		relative to our sainted—our innocent—our deeply-wronged and
+		much-injured mother. You have already learned that she was
+		the daughter of the public executioner of Naples; and you have
+		heard that ere she became our father’s wife she swore a solemn
+		oath—she pledged herself in the most solemn manner that she
+		would never even allude to her family—that she would not communicate
+		to them the name of her husband nor the place of his
+		abode, under any circumstances—in a word, that she would
+		consider her father and brother as dead to her! And yet she had
+		a tender heart; and after she became the Countess of Riverola
+		she very often thought of the parent who had reared her tenderly
+		and loved her affectionately; she thought also of her
+		brother Eugenio, who had ever been so devoted to his sister.
+		But she kept her promise faithfully for five years; until that
+		fatal day of April, 1500, which our father has so emphatically
+		mentioned in his narrative. It was in the garden belonging to
+		the ducal palace that she suddenly encountered her brother
+		Eugenio——”</p>
+
+		<p>“Her brother!” ejaculated Francisco, joyfully. “Oh! I
+		knew, I felt certain that she was innocent.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Yes, she was indeed innocent,” repeated Nisida, “But let
+		me pursue my explanations as succinctly as possible. It appeared
+		that the old man—the executioner of Naples—was no
+		more; and Eugenio, possessing himself of the hoardings of his
+		deceased father, had fled from his native city to avoid the dread
+		necessity of assuming the abhorrent office. Accident led the
+		young adventurer to Florence in search of a more agreeable
+		employment as a means whereby to earn his livelihood, and
+		having formed the acquaintance of one of the duke’s valets, he
+		obtained admittance to the gardens on that memorable evening
+		when the grand entertainment was given. In spite of the strict
+		injunctions he had received not to approach the places occupied
+		by the distinguished guests, he drew near the arbor in which
+		our mother had been conversing with other ladies, but where
+		she was at that moment alone. The recognition was immediate,
+		and they flew into each other’s arms. It would have been useless,
+		as well as unnatural, for our mother to have refused to reveal
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page359" title="359"> </a>her rank and name; her brilliant attire was sufficient to
+		convince her brother that the former was high, and inquiry
+		would speedily have made him acquainted with the latter. She
+		accordingly drew him apart into a secluded walk and told him
+		all; but she implored him to quit Florence without delay, and
+		she gave him her purse and one of her rich bracelets, thereby
+		placing ample resources at his disposal. Five years passed away,
+		and during that period she heard no more of her brother Eugenio.
+		But at the expiration of that interval she received a
+		note stating that he was again in Florence—that necessity had
+		alone brought him hither, and that he would be at a particular
+		place at a certain hour to meet either herself or some confidential
+		person whom she might instruct to see him. Our mother
+		filled a bag with gold, and put into it some of her choicest jewels,
+		and thus provided, she repaired in person to the place of appointment.
+		It grieved her generous heart thus to be compelled
+		to meet her brother secretly, as if he were a common robber or
+		a midnight bravo; but for her husband’s peace, and in obedience
+		to the spirit of the oath which imperious circumstances
+		had alone led her in some degree to violate, she was forced to
+		adopt that sad and humiliating alternative.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Alas! poor mother!” sobbed Francisco, deeply affected by
+		this narrative.</p>
+
+		<p>“Again did five years elapse without bringing tidings to our
+		mother of Eugenio,” continued Nisida, “and then he once more
+		set foot in Florence. The world bad not used him well—Fortune
+		had frowned upon him—and, though a young man of fine
+		spirit and noble disposition, he failed in all his endeavors to
+		carve out a successful career for himself. Our mother determined
+		to accord him an interview in her own apartment. She
+		longed to converse with him at her ease—to hear his tale from
+		his own lips—to sympathize with and console him. Oh! who
+		could blame her if in so doing she departed from the strict and
+		literal meaning of that vow which had bound her to consider
+		her relations as dead to her? But the fault—if fault it were—was
+		so venial, that to justify it is to invest it with an importance
+		which it would not have possessed save for the frightful results
+		to which it led. You have already heard how foully he was
+		waylaid, how ruthlessly he was murdered! Holy Virgin! my
+		brain whirls when I reflect upon that hideous cruelty which
+		made our mother the spectator of his dissection; for, even had
+		he been a lover—even were she guilty—even if the suspicions of
+		our father had all been well-founded——”</p>
+
+		<p>“Dwell not upon this frightful topic, my beloved Nisida!” exclaimed
+		Francisco, perceiving that she was again becoming
+		greatly excited, for her eyes dilated and glared wildly, her
+		bosom heaved in awful convulsions, and she tossed her arms
+		frantically about.</p>
+
+		<p>“No, I will not—I dare not pause to ponder thereon,” she
+		said, falling back upon the pillow, and pressing her hands to
+		that proud and haughty brow behind which the active, racking
+		brain appeared to be on fire.</p>
+
+		<p>“Tranquilize yourself, dearest sister,” murmured Flora, bending
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page360" title="360"> </a>over the couch and pressing her lips on Nisida’s burning
+		cheek.</p>
+
+		<p>“I will, I will, Flora, whom I now love as much as I once
+		hated!” exclaimed the dying lady. “But let me make an end of
+		my explanations. You already know that our dear mother was
+		gagged when she was compelled to witness the horrible deeds
+		enacted in the subterranean charnel-house by the dim light of a
+		sickly lamp; but even if she had not been, no word would have
+		issued from her lips, as the manuscript justly observes. During
+		her illness, however, she sought an interview with her husband
+		for the purpose of proving to him her complete innocence,
+		by revealing the fact that his victim was her own brother! But
+		he refused all the entreaties proffered with that object, and our
+		unfortunate mother was forced to contemplate the approach of
+		death with the sad conviction that she should pass away without
+		the satisfaction of establishing her guiltlessness in the eyes
+		of our father. Then was it that she revealed everything to me—to
+		me alone—to me, a young girl of only fifteen when those
+		astounding facts were breathed into my ears. I listened with
+		horror, and I began to hate my father, for I adored my mother.
+		She implored me not to give way to any intemperate language
+		or burst of passion which might induce the inmates of the mansion
+		to suspect that I was the depositary of some terrible
+		secret.</p>
+
+		<p>“‘For,’ said our mother, when on her death-bed, ‘if I have
+		ventured to shock your young mind by so appalling a revelation,
+		it is only that you may understand wherefore I am about to
+		bind you by a solemn vow to love, protect, and watch over
+		Francisco, as if he were your own child, rather than your
+		brother. His father, alas! hates him. This I have observed
+		ever since the birth of that dear boy, but it is only by means of
+		the dread occurrence of the other night that I have been able to
+		divine the origin of that dislike and unnatural loathing. Your
+		father, Nisida,’ continued my mother, ‘believes that I have been
+		unfaithful, and suspects that Francisco is the offspring of a guilty
+		<em>amour</em>. With this terrible impression upon his mind, he may
+		persecute my poor boy; he may disinherit him; he may even seek
+		to rid him of life. Kneel, then, by my bedside, Nisida, and
+		swear by all you deem sacred—by the love you bear for me—and
+		by your hopes of salvation, that you will watch unweariedly
+		and unceasingly over the welfare and the interests of Francisco—that
+		you will make any sacrifice, incur any danger, or
+		undergo any privation, to save him from the effects of his
+		father’s hate—that you will exert all possible means to cause
+		the title and fortune of his father to descend to him, and that
+		you will in no case consent to supplant him in those respects—and
+		lastly, that you will keep secret the dread history of my
+		brother’s fate and your knowledge of your father’s crime.’ To
+		all these conditions of the vow I solemnly and sacredly pledged
+		myself, calling Heaven to witness the oath. But I said to our
+		mother, ‘My father will not forever remain locked up in his
+		own apartment; he will come forth sooner or later, and I must
+		have an opportunity of speaking to him. May I not justify you,
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page361" title="361"> </a>my dear mother, in his eyes? May I not assure him that Eugenio
+		was your brother? He will then cease to hate Francisco, and
+		may even love him as he loves me; and you may then have no
+		fears on his account.”</p>
+
+		<p>“‘Alas! the plan which you suggest may not be put into execution,’
+		replied our dying mother; ‘for were your father to be
+		aware that I had revealed the occurrences of that dread night
+		to you, Nisida, he would feel that he must be ever looked upon
+		as a murderer by his own child! Moreover, such appears to be
+		the sad and benighted state of his mind, that he might peradventure
+		deem the tale relative to Eugenio a mere excuse and
+		vile subterfuge. No; I must perish disgraced in his eyes, unless
+		he should accord ere I die, the interview which yourself and
+		the good Dr. Duras have so vainly implored him to grant me.’</p>
+
+		<p>“Our dear mother then proceeded to give me other instructions,
+		Francisco, relative to yourself; but these,” added Nisida,
+		glancing toward Flora, “would <em>now</em> be painful to unfold. And
+		yet,” she continued, hastily, as a second thought struck her, “it
+		is impossible, my sweet Flora, that you can be weak-minded—for
+		you have this day seen and heard enough to test your mental
+		powers to the extreme possibility of their endurance. Moreover,
+		I feel that my conduct toward you requires a complete
+		justification; and that justification will be found in the last instructions
+		which I received from the lips of my mother.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Dearest Nisida,” said the young countess, “no justification
+		is needed—no apology is required in reference to that subject;
+		for your kind words, your altered manner toward me now, your
+		recognition of me as a sister, made so by union with your
+		brother—oh! this would efface from my mind wrongs ten thousand
+		times more terrible than any injury which I have sustained
+		at your hands. But,” continued Flora, in a slow and gentle
+		tone, “if you wish to explain the nature of these instructions
+		which you received from the lips of your dying parent, let not
+		my presence embarrass you.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Yes, I do wish to render my explanation as complete as possible,
+		dearest Flora,” replied Nisida; “for if I have acted
+		severely toward you, it was not to gratify any natural love of
+		cruelty, nor any mean jealousy or spite; on the contrary, the
+		motives were engendered by that imperious necessity which has
+		swayed my conduct, modeled my disposition, and regulated my
+		mind ever since that fatal day when I knelt beside my mother’s
+		death-bed, and swore to obey her last words. For thus did she
+		speak, Flora—‘Nisida, there is one more subject relative to
+		which I must advise you, and in respect to which you must
+		swear to obey me. My own life furnished a sad and terrible lesson
+		of the impropriety of contracting an unequal marriage. All
+		my woes—all my sorrows—all the dreadful events which have
+		occurred—may be traced to the one great fact that the Count of
+		Riverola espoused a person of whose family he was ashamed.
+		Nisida,’ she continued, her voice becoming fainter and fainter,
+		‘watch you narrowly and closely over the welfare of Francisco
+		in this respect. Let him not marry beneath him; let him not
+		unite himself to one whose family contains a single member deserving
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page362" title="362"> </a>obloquy or reproach. Above all, see that he marries not
+		till he shall have reached an age when he will be capable of examining
+		his own heart through the medium of experience
+		and matured judgment. If you see him form a boyish attachment
+		of which you have good and sufficient reason to disapprove,
+		exert yourself to wean him from it: hesitate not to thwart him;
+		be not moved by the sorrows he may manifest at the moment;
+		you will be acting for his welfare; and the time will speedily
+		come when he will rejoice that you have rescued him from the
+		danger of contracting a hasty, rash, and ill-assorted marriage.’
+		These were the last instructions of our mother, Francisco; and
+		I swore to obey them. Hence my sorrow, my fears, my anger
+		when I became aware of the attachment subsisting between
+		yourself, dear brother, and you, my sweet Flora: and that sorrow
+		was enhanced—those fears were augmented—that danger
+		was increased, Flora, when I learnt that your brother Alessandro
+		had renounced the creed of the true God, and that your
+		family thereby contained a member deserving of obloquy and
+		reproach. But that sorrow, those fears, and that anger have now
+		departed from my soul. I recognize the finger of Heaven—the
+		will of the Almighty in the accomplishment of your union,
+		despite of all my projects, all my intrigues to prevent it. I am
+		satisfied, moreover, that there is in this alliance a fitness and a
+		propriety which will insure your happiness: and may the spirit
+		of my sainted mother look down from the empyrean palace
+		where she dwells, and bless you both, even as I now implore the
+		divine mercy to shed its beauties and diffuse its protecting influence
+		around you.”</p>
+
+		<p>Nisida had raised herself up to a sitting posture as she uttered
+		this invocation so sublimely interesting and solemnly sincere;
+		and the youthful pair, simultaneously yielding to the same impulse,
+		sank upon their knees to receive the blessing of one who had
+		never bestowed a blessing on mortal being until then! She extended
+		her hands above those two beautiful, bending heads: and
+		her voice, as she adjured Heaven to protect them, was plaintively
+		earnest and tremulously clear, and its musical sound
+		seemed to touch the finest chord of sympathy, devotion, and love
+		that vibrated in the hearts of that youthful noble and his virgin
+		bride. When this solemn ceremony was accomplished, an immense
+		weight appeared to have been removed from the soul of
+		the Lady Nisida of Riverola; and her countenance wore a calm
+		and sweet expression, which formed a happy contrast with the
+		sovereign hauteur and grand contempt that were wont to mark
+		it.</p>
+
+		<p>“I have now but little more to say in explanation of my past
+		conduct,” she resumed, after a long pause. “You can readily
+		divine wherefore I affected the loss of those most glorious faculties
+		which God has given me. I became enthusiastic in my resolves
+		to carry out the injunctions of my dear and much-loved
+		mother; and while I lay upon a bed of sickness—a severe illness
+		produced by anguish and horror at all I had heard from her lips,
+		and by her death, so premature and sad—I pondered a thousand
+		schemes, the object of which was to accomplish the great aims I
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page363" title="363"> </a>had in view. I foresaw that I—a weak woman—then, indeed, a
+		mere girl of fifteen—should have to constitute myself the protectress
+		of a brother who was hated by his own father; and I
+		feared lest that hatred should drive him to the adoption of some
+		dreadful plot to rid himself of your presence, Francisco—perhaps
+		even to deprive you of your life. I knew that I must watch all
+		his movements and listen to all his conversations with those unprincipled
+		wretches who are ever ready to do the bidding of the
+		powerful and the wealthy. But how was all this to be accomplished?—how
+		was I to become a watcher and a listener—a spy
+		ever active, and an eavesdropper ever awake—without exciting
+		suspicions which would lead to the frustration of my designs,
+		and perhaps involve both myself and my brother in ruin? Then
+		was it that an idea struck me like a flash of lightning; and like
+		a flash of lightning was it terrible and appalling, when breaking
+		on the dark chaos of my thoughts. At first I shrank from it—recoiled
+		from it in horror and dismay;—but the more I considered
+		it—the longer I looked that idea in the face—the more I contemplated
+		it, the less formidable did it seem. I have already said that
+		I was enthusiastic and devoted in my resolves to carry out the
+		dying injunctions of my mother:—and thus by degrees I learnt
+		to reflect upon the awful sacrifice which had suggested itself to
+		my imagination as a species of holy and necessary self-martyrdom.
+		I foresaw that if I affected the loss of hearing and speech,
+		I should obtain all the advantages I sought and all the means I
+		required to enable me to act as the protectress of my brother
+		against the hatred of my father. I believed also that I should
+		not only be considered as unfit to be made the heiress of the
+		title and fortune of the Riverola family, but that our father,
+		Francisco, would see the absolute necessity of treating you in
+		all respects as his lawful and legitimate son, in spite of any suspicions
+		which he might entertain relative to your birth. There
+		were many other motives which influenced me, and which arose
+		out of the injunctions of our mother,—motives which you can
+		well understand, and which I need not detail. Thus it was
+		that, subduing the grief which the idea of making so tremendous
+		a sacrifice excited, on the one hand—and arming
+		myself with the exultation of a martyr, on the other,—thus it
+		was that I resolved to simulate the character of the deaf and
+		dumb. It was, however, necessary to obtain the collusion of
+		Dr. Duras; and this aim I carried after many hours of argument
+		and persuasion. He was then ignorant—and still is ignorant—of
+		the real motives which had prompted me to this self-martyrdom;—but
+		I led him to believe that the gravest and most important
+		family interests required that moral immolation of my
+		own happiness;—and I vowed that unless he would consent to
+		aid me, it was my firm resolve to shut myself up in a convent
+		and take the veil. This threat, which I had not the least design
+		of carrying into effect, induced him to yield a reluctant acquiescence
+		with my project: for he loved me as if I had been his
+		child. He was moreover consoled somewhat by the assurance
+		which I gave him, and in which I myself felt implicit confidence
+		at the time, that the necessity for the simulation of deafness
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page364" title="364"> </a>and dumbness on my part would cease the moment my father
+		should be no more. In a word, the kind Dr. Duras promised to
+		act entirely in accordance with my wishes; and I accordingly
+		became Nisida the deaf and dumb!”</p>
+
+		<p>“Merciful heavens! that immeasurable sacrifice was made
+		for me!” cried Francisco, throwing himself into the arms of his
+		sister and imprinting a thousand kisses on her cheeks.</p>
+
+		<p>“Yes—for your sake and in order to carry out the dying commands
+		of our mother, the sainted Vitangela?” responded Nisida.
+		“I shall not weary you with a description of the feelings and
+		emotions with which I commenced that long career of duplicity;
+		by the very success that attended the part which I had undertaken
+		to perform you may estimate the magnitude and the
+		extent of the exertions which it cost me thus to maintain myself
+		a living—a constant—and yet undetected lie! Ten years passed
+		away—ten years, marked by many incidents which made me
+		rejoice, for your sake, Francisco, that I had accepted the self-martyrdom
+		which circumstances had suggested to me. At
+		length our father lay upon his death bed: and then—oh! then I
+		rejoiced—yes, rejoiced, though he was dying; for I thought that
+		the end of my career of duplicity was at hand. Judge, then, of
+		my astonishment—my grief—my despair, when I heard the last
+		injunctions which our father addressed to you, Francisco, on
+		that bed of death. What could the mystery of the closet mean?
+		Of that I <em>then</em> knew nothing. Wherefore was I to remain in
+		complete ignorance of the instructions thus given to you? And
+		what was signified by the words relative to the disposal of our
+		father’s property? For you may remember that he spoke thus,
+		addressing himself of course to you:—‘You will find that I have
+		left the whole of my property to you. At the same time my
+		will specifies certain conditions relative to your sister Nisida,
+		for whom I have made due provision only in the case—which is,
+		alas! almost in defiance of every hope!—of her recovery from
+		that dreadful affliction which renders her so completely dependent
+		upon your kindness.’ These ominous and mysterious words
+		seemed to proclaim defeat and overthrow to all the hopes that I
+		had formed relative to the certainty of your being left the sole
+		and unconditional heir alike to title and estate. I therefore
+		resolved to maintain the character of the deaf and dumb until I
+		should have fathomed the secrets of the closet, and have
+		become acquainted with the conditions of the will. Oh! well
+		do I remember the glance which the generous-hearted Duras
+		cast toward me, when, returning to the chamber, he inquired
+		by means of that significant look whether the last words of our
+		dying father were prognostic of hope for me—whether, indeed,
+		the necessity of sustaining the dreadful duplicity would cease
+		when he should be no more. And I remember, also, that the
+		look and the sign, by which I conveyed a negative answer were
+		expressive of the deep melancholy that filled his soul.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Alas! my dear self-sacrificed sister,” murmured Francisco,
+		tears trickling down his cheeks.</p>
+
+		<p>“Yes—my disappointment was cruel indeed,” continued
+		Nisida. “But the excitement of the scenes and incidents which
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page365" title="365"> </a>followed rapidly the death of our father, restored my mind to
+		its wonted tone of fortitude, vigor, and proud determination.
+		That very night, Francisco, I took the key of the cabinet from
+		your garments, while you slept—I sped to the chamber of death—I
+		visited the depository of horrible mysteries—and for the
+		first time I became aware that two skeletons were contained in
+		that closet! And whose fleshless relics those skeletons were, the
+		dreadful manuscript speedily revealed to me. Then was it also
+		for the first time that I learnt how Margaretha was the detestable
+		spy whose agency had led to such a frightful catastrophe
+		in respect to Eugenio and Vitangela; then I became aware
+		that our mother’s corpse slept not in the vault to which a coffin
+		had been consigned:—in a word, the full measure of our sire’s
+		atrocity—O God! that I should be compelled thus to speak—was
+		revealed to me! But on Margaretha have I been avenged,”
+		added Nisida, in a low tone, and with a convulsive shudder produced
+		by the recollection of that terrible night when she immolated
+		the miserable woman above the grave where lay a portion
+		of the remains of her mother and of Eugenio.</p>
+
+		<p>“You have been avenged on Margaretha, sister,” ejaculated
+		Francisco, surveying Nisida with apprehension.</p>
+
+		<p>“Yes,” she replied, her large black eyes flashing with a
+		scintillation of the former fires: “that woman—I have slain
+		her! But start not, Flora—look not reproachfully upon me,
+		Francisco: ’twas a deed fully justified, a vengeance righteously
+		exercised, a penalty well deserved! And now let me hasten to
+		bring my long and tedious explanations to a conclusion—for they
+		have occupied a longer space than I had at first anticipated, and
+		I am weak and faint. Little, however, remains to be told. The
+		nature of our father’s will compelled me to persist in my self-martyrdom:
+		for I had sworn to my dying mother not to accept
+		any conditions or advantages which should have the effect of
+		disinheriting you, Francisco.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Oh! what a debt of gratitude do I owe thee, my beloved
+		sister!” exclaimed the young count, deeply affected by the generous
+		sacrifices made by Nisida on his behalf.</p>
+
+		<p>“And think you I have experienced no reward?” asked the
+		lady in a sweet tone, and with a placid smile: “do you imagine
+		that the consciousness of having devoted myself to the fulfillment
+		of my adored mother’s wishes has been no recompense?
+		Yes—I have had my consolations and my hours of happiness, as
+		well as my sufferings and periods of profound affliction. But I
+		feel a soft and heavenly repose stealing over me—’tis a sweet
+		sleep, and yet it is not the slumber of death! No, no; ’tis a
+		delicious trance into which I am falling—’tis as if a celestial
+		vision——”</p>
+
+		<p>She said no more. Her eyes closed, she fell back and slept
+		soundly.</p>
+
+		<p>“Merciful Heavens! my sister is no more!” exclaimed Francisco,
+		in terror and despair.</p>
+
+		<p>“Fear not, my beloved husband,” said Flora; “Nisida sleeps,
+		and ’tis a healthy slumber. The pulsations of her heart are regular;
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page366" title="366"> </a>her breath comes freely. Joy, joy, Francisco, she will
+		recover!”</p>
+
+		<p>“The Holy Virgin grant that your hope may be fulfilled!” returned
+		the young count. “But let us not disturb her. We
+		will sit down by the bedside, Flora, and watch till she shall
+		awake.”</p>
+
+		<p>But scarcely had he uttered these words when the door of the
+		chamber opened, and an old man of venerable appearance, and
+		with a long beard as white as snow, advanced toward the newly
+		married pair.</p>
+
+		<p>Francisco and Flora beheld him with feelings of reverence and
+		awe, for something appeared to tell them that he was a mortal
+		of no common order.</p>
+
+		<p>“My dear children,” he said, addressing them in a paternal
+		manner, and his voice firm, but mild, “ye need not watch here
+		for the present. Retire, and seek not this chamber again until
+		the morning of to-morrow. Fear nothing, excellent young man,
+		for thou hast borne arms in the cause of the cross. Fear
+		nothing, amiable young lady, for thou art attended by guardian
+		angels.”</p>
+
+		<p>And as the venerable man thus addressed them severally, he
+		extended his hands to bless them; and they received that blessing
+		with holy meekness, and yet with a joyous feeling which
+		appeared to be of glorious augury for their future happiness.
+		Then, obedient to the command of the stranger, they slowly
+		quitted the apartment—urged to yield to his will by a secret influence
+		which they could not resist, but which nevertheless animated
+		them with a pious confidence in the integrity of his purpose.
+		The door closed behind them, and Christian Rosencrux
+		remained in the room with the dead Wagner and the dying
+		Nisida.</p>
+	</div>
+	<div id="chapter_64" class="chapter">
+		<h3>CHAPTER LXIV.</h3>
+
+		<p><span class="first_word">While</span> the incidents related in the last few chapters were
+		taking place at the Riverola Palace, the council of state had assembled
+		to receive the grand vizier, the mighty Ibrahim, who
+		had signified his intention of meeting that august body at three
+		o’clock in the afternoon. Accordingly, as soon as he had witnessed
+		the marriage ceremony which united his sister to the
+		Count of Riverola, he returned from Wagner’s mansion to his
+		own pavilion in the midst of the Ottoman encampment. There
+		he arrayed him in a manner becoming his exalted rank, and
+		mounting his splendid caparisoned steed, he repaired with a
+		brilliant escort to the ducal palace. The streets of the city of
+		Florence were thronged with multitudes eager to gain a sight of
+		the representative of the sultan—a view of the man whose will
+		and pleasure swayed the greatest empire in existence at that
+		period of the world’s age!</p>
+
+		<p>And as Ibrahim passed through those avenues so well known to
+		him—threaded those thoroughfares, each feature of which was so
+		indelibly impressed upon his memory—and beheld many, many
+		familiar spots, all of which awakened in his mind reminiscences
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page367" title="367"> </a>of a happy childhood, and of years gone by; when, too, he reflected
+		that he had quitted Florence poor, obscure, and unmarked
+		amidst the millions of his fellow-men; and that now, as he entered
+		the beauteous city, multitudes came forth to gaze upon
+		him, as on one invested with a high rank and enjoying a power
+		mighty to do much; when he thought of all this, his bosom
+		swelled with mingled emotions of pride and tenderness, regret
+		and joy; and while tears trembled upon his long black lashes, a
+		smile of haughty triumph played on his lips. On, on the procession
+		goes, through the crowded streets and across the spacious
+		squares, watched by the eyes of transcendent beauty and proud
+		aristocracy from the balconies of palaces and the casements of
+		lordly mansions; on, on, amidst a wondering and admiring populace,
+		and grateful, too, that so great a chief as Ibrahim should
+		have spared their city from sack and ruin.</p>
+
+		<p>At length the grand vizier, attended by the great beglerbegs
+		and pashas of his army, entered the square of the ducal palace;
+		and as his prancing steed bore him proudly beneath the massive
+		arch, the roar of artillery announced to the City of Flowers that
+		the Ottoman Minister was now within the precincts of the dwelling
+		of the Florentine sovereign. The duke and the members of
+		the council of state were all assembled in the court of the Palazzo
+		to receive the illustrious visitor, who, having dismounted
+		from his horse, accompanied the prince and those high dignitaries
+		to the council-chamber. When the personages thus assembled
+		had taken their seats around the spacious table, covered
+		with a rich red velvet cloth, the grand vizier proceeded to address
+		the duke and the councilors.</p>
+
+		<p>“High and mighty prince, and noble and puissant lords,” he
+		said, in the tone of one conscious of his power, “I am well
+		satisfied with the manner in which my demands have been fulfilled
+		up to this moment. Two ladies, in whom I feel a deep
+		and sincere interest, and who were most unjustly imprisoned to
+		suit the vindictive purposes of the Count of Arestino, have been
+		delivered up to me: and ye have likewise agreed to make full
+		and adequate atonement for the part which Florence enacted in
+		the late contest between the Christians and Mussulmans in the
+		Island of Rhodes. I have therefore determined to reduce my
+		demands upon the republic, for indemnity and compensation,
+		to as low a figure as my own dignity and a sense of that duty
+		which I owe to my sovereign (whom God preserve many days!)
+		will permit. The sum that I now require from your treasury,
+		mighty prince and puissant lords, is a hundred thousand pistoles;
+		and in addition thereto, I claim peculiar privileges for
+		Ottoman vessels trading to Leghorn, guaranty of peace on the
+		part of the republic for three years, and the release of such prisoners
+		now in the dungeons of the inquisition, whom it may seem
+		good to me thus to mark out as deserving of your mercy.”</p>
+
+		<p>“A hundred thousand pistoles, my lord, would completely
+		exhaust the treasury of the republic,” said the duke, with dismay
+		pictured upon his countenance.</p>
+
+		<p>“Think you,” cried the grand vizier, angrily, “that I shall
+		dare to face my imperial master, on my return to Constantinople,
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page368" title="368"> </a>unless I be able to lay at his feet a sum adequate to meet the
+		expenses incurred by this expedition of a great fleet and a powerful
+		army?”</p>
+
+		<p>“Your highness will at least accord us a few days wherein to
+		obtain the amount required,” said the duke, “for it will be necessary
+		to levy a tax upon the republic!”</p>
+
+		<p>“I grant you until sunset, my lord—until sunset this evening.”
+		added the grand vizier, speaking with stern emphasis. “And if
+		you will permit me to tender my advice, you will at once command
+		the grand inquisitor and the Count of Arestino to furnish
+		the sum required: for the former, I am inclined to suspect, is a
+		most unjust judge, and the latter, I am well convinced, is a
+		most cruel and revengeful noble.”</p>
+
+		<p>“The Count of Arestino is no more, your highness,” answered
+		the duke. “The Marquis of Orsini murdered him before the very
+		eyes of the grand inquisitor, and will therefore head the procession
+		of victims at the approaching <em>auto-da-fe</em>.”</p>
+
+		<p>“By the footstool of Allah! that shall not be!” exclaimed
+		Ibrahim. “The machinations of the Count of Arestino threw
+		into the inquisition dungeons those two ladies whom ye delivered
+		up to me last night; and it was my intention, when I
+		spoke of releasing certain prisoners ere now, to stipulate for the
+		freedom of all those whom the vengeance of that count has immured
+		in your accursed prison-house. See then, my lords, that
+		all those of whom I speak be forthwith brought hither into our
+		presence!”</p>
+
+		<p>It may be proper to inform the reader that Flora had solicited
+		her brother to save the Marquis of Orsini and the Countess
+		Giulia, to whom the young wife of Francisco had been indebted
+		for her escape from the Carmelite Convent; for, as the secrets
+		of the torture chamber were never suffered to transpire, she was
+		of course ignorant of the death of the guilty Giulia, and of the
+		assassination of the Count of Arestino by the Marquis of Orsini.</p>
+
+		<p>At the command of Ibrahim Pasha, who spoke in a firm and
+		resolute manner, the duke summoned a sentinel from the corridor
+		adjoining the council chamber, and issued the necessary
+		orders to fulfill the desire of the grand vizier. Nearly a quarter
+		of an hour elapsed during which one of the councilors drew up
+		the guaranty of peace and of the commercial privileges demanded
+		by Ibrahim. At length the door opened, and several
+		familiars made their appearance, leading in Manuel d’Orsini and
+		Isaachar ben Solomon, both heavily chained. The former
+		walked with head erect, and proud bearing; the latter could
+		scarcely drag his wasted, racked, and tottering limbs along, and
+		was compelled to hang upon the arms of the familiars for support.
+		Nevertheless, there was something so meek—so patient
+		and so resigned in the expression of the old and persecuted Israelite’s
+		countenance, that Ibrahim Pasha’s soul was touched
+		with a sentiment of pity in his behalf.</p>
+
+		<p>“But these are not all the prisoners,” exclaimed the grand
+		vizier, turning angrily toward the duke; “where is the Countess
+		Giulia of Arestino?”</p>
+
+		<p>“My lord, she is no more,” answered the prince.</p>
+
+		<p><a class="pagenum" id="page369" title="369"> </a>“And Heaven be thanked that she is indeed no more!” cried
+		Manuel d’Orsini, in a tone of mingled rage and bitterness.
+		“Fortunate is it for her that death has snatched her away from
+		the grasp of miscreants in human shape and who call themselves
+		Christians. My lord,” he continued, turning toward
+		Ibrahim, “I know not who you are; but I perceive by your
+		garb that you are a Moslem, and I presume that your rank is
+		high by the title addressed to you by the duke——”</p>
+
+		<p>“Presume not thus to intrude your observations on his highness
+		the grand vizier!” exclaimed one of the councilors in a
+		severe tone.</p>
+
+		<p>“On the contrary,” said Ibrahim Pasha, “let him speak, and
+		without reserve. My Lord of Orsini, fear not—I will protect
+		you.”</p>
+
+		<p>“The remark I was about to make, illustrious vizier,” cried
+		Manuel, “is brief, though it may prove not palatable to the
+		patrons of the inquisition and the supporters of that awful engine
+		of despotism and cruelty,” he added, glancing fiercely at
+		the duke and the assembled councilors. “I was anxious to
+		observe that the Christian Church has founded and maintained
+		that abhorrent institution; and that there is more true mercy—more
+		genuine sympathy—and more of the holy spirit of forgiveness
+		in the breast of this reviled, despised and persecuted
+		Jew, than in the bosoms of all the miserable hypocrites who
+		have dared to sanction the infernal tortures which have been
+		inflicted upon him. For myself, I would not accept mercy at
+		their hands; and I would rather go in the companionship of this
+		Jew to the funeral pile, than remain alive to dwell amongst a
+		race of incarnate fiends, calling themselves Christians!”</p>
+
+		<p>“This insolence is not to be borne,” exclaimed the duke,
+		starting from his seat, his countenance glowing with indignation.</p>
+
+		<p>“Your highness and all the councilors now assembled well
+		merit the reproaches of the Marquis of Orsini,” said the grand
+		vizier, sternly. “But it is for <em>me</em> to command here, and for
+		<em>you</em> to obey, proud prince! Let the chains be removed from
+		those prisoners forthwith.”</p>
+
+		<p>The duke sank back in his chair, and, subduing his rage as
+		well as he was able, he made a sign to the familiars to set the
+		Jew and the marquis at liberty.</p>
+
+		<p>“Grand vizier,” exclaimed Manuel, “the life and the liberty
+		which, at your all-powerful nod are restored to me will prove
+		irksome and valueless if I be compelled to remain in a Christian
+		land. Confer not favors by halves, my lord—render me
+		completely grateful to you! Take me into your service—even
+		as a slave, if your highness will; but let me accompany to a
+		Mussulman country a Mussulman who can teach the Christians
+		such a fine lesson of mercy and forgiveness.”</p>
+
+		<p>“You shall go with me to Constantinople, Manuel—but not
+		as a slave,” returned Ibrahim, profoundly touched by the sincere
+		tone and earnest manner of the young noble; “no—you
+		shall accompany me as a friend.”</p>
+
+		<p>“A thousand thanks, grand vizier, for this kindness—this
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page370" title="370"> </a>generosity!”  said the marquis, deeply affected; then as a sudden
+		idea struck him, he turned toward the Jew exclaiming, “But
+		we must not leave this old man behind us. ’Twere the same as
+		if we were to abandon a helpless child in the midst of a forest
+		inhabited by ferocious wolves.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Yes—yes—let me accompany you, excellent young man!”
+		murmured Isaachar, clinging to the arm of the marquis, for
+		their chains were now knocked off. “You were the first Christian
+		who ever spoke kindly to me; and I have no kith—no kindred
+		on the face of the earth. I am a lone—desolate old man;
+		but I have wealth—much wealth, Manuel d’Orsini—and all
+		that I have shall be thine.”</p>
+
+		<p>“The Jew shall accompany us, my lord,” said Ibrahim, addressing
+		himself to the marquis; then, turning toward the duke,
+		he exclaimed in a severe tone, “But a few hours remain till
+		sunset, and the ransom of a hundred thousand pistoles must be
+		paid to me; or I will deliver up this proud palace and the homes
+		of the councilors now assembled to the pillage of my troops.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Nay—nay, my lord!” cried the Jew, horror-struck at the
+		threat; “bring not the terrors of sack, and storm, and carnage
+		into this fair city! A hundred thousand pistoles, your highness
+		says,—a hundred thousand pistoles,” he added, in a slower and
+		more musing tone; “’tis a large sum—a very large sum! And
+		yet—to save so many men and their innocent families from ruin—from
+		desolation—— Yes, my lord,” he exclaimed, hastily interrupting
+		himself—“I—I will pay you the ransom-money.”</p>
+
+		<p>“No—by Allah!” ejaculated Ibrahim; “not a single pistole
+		shall be thus extorted from thee! Sooner shall the Florentine
+		Treasury grant thee an indemnification for the horrible tortures
+		which thou hast endured, than thy wealth be poured forth to
+		furnish this ransom-money. Come, my Lord of Orsini—come,
+		worthy Jew,” continued the grand vizier, rising from his seat,
+		“we will depart to the Ottoman encampment.”</p>
+
+		<p>“Patience, your highness, for a few hours,” urged the duke,
+		“and the hundred thousand pistoles shall be counted out before
+		thee.”</p>
+
+		<p>“This poor man,” answered the grand vizier, indicating the
+		Jew with a rapid glance, “has been so racked and tortured in
+		your accursed prison-house, that he cannot be too speedily
+		placed under the care of my own chirurgeon. For this reason
+		I depart at once; see that the ransom be dispatched to my pavilion
+		ere the sun shall have set behind the western hills.”</p>
+
+		<p>With these words the grand vizier bowed haughtily to the
+		duke, and quitted the council chamber. Manuel d’Orsini followed,
+		supporting Isaachar ben Solomon; and, on reaching the
+		court, one of Ibrahim’s slaves took the Jew up behind him on
+		his steed. The marquis was provided with a horse; and the cavalcade
+		moved rapidly away from the precincts of the ducal
+		palace. Profiting by the hint which Ibrahim Pasha had offered
+		them, the duke and the councilors instantly levied a heavy fine
+		upon the grand inquisitor; and the remainder of the money required
+		to make up the amount demanded, was furnished from
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page371" title="371"> </a>the public treasury. Thus by the hour of sunset the ransom
+		was paid.</p>
+
+		<p class="prose_break">*****</p>
+
+		<p>At an early hour on the ensuing morning, Francisco di Riverola
+		and his beautiful, blushing bride quitted the chamber
+		where they had passed the night in each other’s arms, and repaired
+		to the apartment where so many terrible mysteries had
+		been revealed to them, and so many dreadful incidents had occurred
+		on the preceding day. Hand in hand they had traversed
+		the passages and the corridors leading to that room in which
+		they had left Christian Rosencrux with the dead Wagner and
+		the dying Nisida; hand in hand and silently they went—that
+		fine young noble and charming bride!</p>
+
+		<p>On reaching the door of the chamber, Francisco knocked
+		gently; and the glance of intelligence which passed between
+		himself and Flora showed that each was a prey to the same
+		breathless suspense; the same mingled feelings of bright hopes
+		and vague fears. In a few moments the door was slowly opened;
+		and the venerable old man appeared, his countenance wearing a
+		solemn and mournful aspect. Then Francisco and the young
+		countess knew that all was over; and tears started into their
+		eyes.</p>
+
+		<p>Christian Rosencrux beckoned them to advance toward the
+		bed, around which the curtains were drawn closer; and as they
+		entered the room, the rapid and simultaneous glances which
+		they cast toward the spot where Fernand Wagner fell down and
+		surrendered up his breath, showed them that the corpse had
+		been removed. Approaching the bed with slow and measured
+		steps, Rosencrux drew aside the drapery; and for a moment
+		Francisco and Flora shrank back from the spectacle which met
+		their view; but at the next instant they advanced to the couch,
+		and contemplated with mournful attention the scene presented
+		to them. For there—upon that couch—side by side, lay Fernand
+		Wagner and Nisida of Riverola—stiff, motionless, cold.</p>
+
+		<p>“Grieve not for her loss, children,” said Christian Rosencrux;
+		“she has gone to a happier realm—for the sincere repentance
+		which she manifested in her last hours has atoned for all the
+		evil she wrought in her lifetime. From the moment, young
+		lady, when she banished from her soul the rancor long harbored
+		there against thee—from the instant that she received thee in
+		her arms, and called thee sister—the blessing of Heaven was
+		vouchsafed unto her. She was penitent, very penitent, while I
+		administered to her the consolations of religion, and a complete
+		change came over her mind. Grieve not, then, for her; happy
+		on earth she never could have been again—but happy in heaven
+		she doubtless now is!”</p>
+
+		<p>Francisco and the young countess knelt by the side of the
+		couch, and prayed for a long time in silence, with their faces
+		buried in their hands. When they again raised their heads, and
+		glanced around, the venerable old man no longer met their eyes.
+		Christian Rosencrux had departed, leaving Francisco and Flora
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page372" title="372"> </a>in complete ignorance of his name; but they experienced a secret
+		conviction that he was something more than an ordinary mortal;
+		and the remembrance of the blessing which he had bestowed
+		upon them the preceding day, shed a soothing and holy influence
+		over their minds.</p>
+
+		<p>Little now remains to be said; a few brief observations and a
+		rapid glance at the eventual fortunes and fates of the leading
+		characters in the tale, will acquit us of our task. Nisida and
+		Wagner were entombed in the same vault; and their names
+		were inscribed upon the same mural tablet. The funeral was
+		conducted with the utmost privacy—and the mourners were few,
+		but their grief was sincere. And among them was Dr. Duras,
+		who had loved Nisida as if she had been his own child. On the
+		night following the one on which these obsequies took place, another
+		funeral procession departed from the Riverola Palace to
+		the adjacent church; and two coffins were on this occasion, as
+		on the former, consigned to the family tomb. But the ceremony
+		was conducted with even more privacy than the first; and
+		one mourner alone was present. This was Francisco himself;
+		and thus did he perform the sad duty of interring in sacred
+		ground the remains of his ill-fated mother Vitangela and her
+		brother Eugenio. The manuscript of the late Count of Riverola
+		was burnt; the closet which so long contained such fearful mysteries
+		was walled up; the chamber where so many dreadful incidents
+		had occurred was never used during the lifetime of Francisco
+		and Flora. The grand vizier remained with his army a few
+		days beneath the walls of Florence: and during that time Isaachar
+		ben Solomon so far recovered his health and strength, under
+		the skillful care of an Egyptian physician, as to be able to visit
+		his dwelling in the suburb of Alla Croce, and secure the immense
+		wealth which he had amassed during a long life of activity and
+		financial prosperity.</p>
+
+		<p>When the day of the grand vizier’s departure arrived, he took
+		a tender farewell of his sister Flora and his aunt, both of whom
+		he loaded with the most costly presents; and in return, he received
+		from Francisco a gift of several horses of rare breed and
+		immense value. Nor did this species of interchange of proofs of
+		attachment end here, for every year, until Ibrahim’s death, did
+		that great minister and the Count of Riverola forward to each
+		other letters and rich presents—thus maintaining to the end
+		that friendship which had commenced in the Island of Rhodes,
+		and which was cemented by the marriage of Francisco and
+		Flora. Isaachar ben Solomon and Manuel d’Orsini accompanied
+		the grand vizier to Constantinople, and were treated by him with
+		every mark of distinction. But the Jew never completely recovered
+		from the tortures which he had endured in the prison
+		of the inquisition; and in less than two years from the date of his
+		release, he died in the arms of the marquis, to whom he left the
+		whole of his immense fortune. Manuel d’Orsini abjured Christianity,
+		and entered the Ottoman service, in which his success
+		was brilliant and his rise rapid, thanks to the favor of the grand
+		vizier. The reader of Ottoman history will find the name of
+		Mustapha Pasha frequently mentioned with honor in the reign
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page373" title="373"> </a>of Solyman the Magnificent—and Mustapha Pasha, beglerbeg
+		of the mighty province of Anatolia, was once Manuel d’Orsini.</p>
+
+		<p>For nearly sixteen years did Ibrahim Pasha govern the Ottoman
+		realms in the name of the sultan: for nearly sixteen years
+		did he hold the imperial seals which had been intrusted to him
+		at a period when the colossal power of the empire seemed tottering
+		to its fall. During that interval he raised the Ottoman
+		name to the highest pinnacle of glory—extended the dominions
+		of his master—and shook the proudest thrones in Christendom
+		to their foundation. Ferdinand, King of Hungary, called him
+		“brother,” and the Emperor Charles the Fifth of Germany
+		styled him “cousin” in the epistolary communications which
+		passed between them. But a Greek who had long, long cherished
+		a deadly hatred against the puissant grand vizier, at last
+		contrived to enter the service of the sultan in the guise of a
+		slave; and this man, succeeding in gaining that monarch’s ear,
+		whispered mysterious warnings against the ambition of Ibrahim.
+		Solyman became alarmed; and, opening his eyes to the real
+		position of affairs, perceived that the vizier was indeed far more
+		powerful than himself. This was enough to insure the immediate
+		destruction of a Turkish minister.</p>
+
+		<p>Accordingly, one evening, Ibrahim was invited to dine with
+		the sultan, and to sleep at the imperial palace. Never had
+		Solyman appeared more attached to his favorite than on this
+		occasion and Ibrahim retired to a chamber prepared for him,
+		with a heart elated by the caresses bestowed upon him by his
+		imperial master. But in the dead of night he was awakened
+		by the entrance of several persons into the room; and starting
+		up with terror, the grand vizier beheld <em>four black slaves</em>, headed
+		by a Greek, creep snake-like toward his couch. And that
+		Greek’s countenance, sinister and menacing, was immediately
+		recognized by the affrighted Ibrahim—though more than fifteen
+		years had elapsed since he had set eyes upon those features.
+		Short and ineffectual was the struggle against the messengers
+		of death; the accursed bowstring encircled the neck of the unhappy
+		Ibrahim, and at the moment when the vindictive Greek
+		drew tight the fatal noose, the last words which hissed in the
+		ears of the grand vizier, were—“The wrongs of Calanthe are
+		avenged!”</p>
+
+		<p>Thus perished the most powerful minister that ever held the
+		imperial seals of Ottoman domination;—and the long-pent-up
+		but never subdued vindictive feelings of Demetrius were assuaged
+		at length! Dame Francatelli had long been numbered with those
+		who were gone to their eternal homes when the news of the death
+		of Ibrahim Pasha reached Florence. But the Count and Countess
+		of Riverola shed many, many tears at the sad and untimely fate
+		of the grand vizier.</p>
+
+		<p>Time, however, smooths down all grief; and happiness again
+		returned to the Riverola Palace. For when Francisco and Flora
+		looked around them and beheld the smiling progeny which had
+		blessed their union,—when they experienced the sweet solace of
+		each other’s sympathy, the outpourings of two hearts which
+		beat as one, ever in unison, and filled with a mutual love which
+		<a class="pagenum" id="page374" title="374"> </a>time impaired not,—then they remembered that it was useless
+		and wrong to repine against the decrees of Providence; and, in
+		this trusting faith in Heaven and in the enjoyment of each
+		other’s unwearying affection, they lived to a good old age—dying
+		at length in the arms of their children.</p>
+	</div>
+	<p class="the_end" id="endmatter">[THE END.]</p>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
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+</body>
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+Project Gutenberg's Wagner, the Wehr-Wolf, by George W. M. Reynolds
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Wagner, the Wehr-Wolf
+
+Author: George W. M. Reynolds
+
+Release Date: November 8, 2008 [EBook #27202]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WAGNER, THE WEHR-WOLF ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Barbara Tozier, Bill Tozier and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+                         WAGNER, THE WEHR-WOLF.
+
+
+                       By GEORGE W. M. REYNOLDS.
+
+
+                                NEW YORK
+                            HURST & COMPANY
+                               PUBLISHERS
+
+
+
+
+_PART I._
+
+
+
+
+PROLOGUE.
+
+
+It was the month of January, 1516.
+
+The night was dark and tempestuous; the thunder growled around; the
+lightning flashed at short intervals: and the wind swept furiously along
+in sudden and fitful gusts.
+
+The streams of the great Black Forest of Germany babbled in playful
+melody no more, but rushed on with deafening din, mingling their torrent
+roar with the wild creaking of the huge oaks, the rustling of the firs,
+the howling of the affrighted wolves, and the hollow voices of the
+storm.
+
+The dense black clouds were driving restlessly athwart the sky; and when
+the vivid lightning gleamed forth with rapid and eccentric glare, it
+seemed as if the dark jaws of some hideous monster, floating high above,
+opened to vomit flame.
+
+And as the abrupt but furious gusts of wind swept through the forest,
+they raised strange echoes--as if the impervious mazes of that mighty
+wood were the abode of hideous fiends and evil spirits, who responded in
+shrieks, moans, and lamentations to the fearful din of the tempest.
+
+It was, indeed, an appalling night!
+
+An old--old man sat in his cottage on the verge of the Black Forest.
+
+He had numbered ninety years; his head was completely bald--his mouth
+was toothless--his long beard was white as snow, and his limbs were
+feeble and trembling.
+
+He was alone in the world; his wife, his children, his grandchildren,
+all his relations, in fine, _save one_, had preceded him on that long,
+last voyage, from which no traveler returns.
+
+And that _one_ was a grand-daughter, a beauteous girl of sixteen, who
+had hitherto been his solace and his comfort, but who had suddenly
+disappeared--he knew not how--a few days previously to the time when we
+discover him seated thus lonely in his poor cottage.
+
+But perhaps she also was dead! An accident might have snatched her away
+from him, and sent her spirit to join those of her father and mother,
+her sisters and her brothers, whom a terrible pestilence--_the Black
+Death_--hurried to the tomb a few years before.
+
+No: the old man could not believe that his darling granddaughter was no
+more--for he had sought her throughout the neighboring district of the
+Black Forest, and not a trace of her was to be seen. Had she fallen down
+a precipice, or perished by the ruthless murderer's hand, he would have
+discovered her mangled corpse: had she become the prey of the ravenous
+wolves, certain signs of her fate would have doubtless somewhere
+appeared.
+
+The sad--the chilling conviction therefore, went to the old man's heart,
+that the only being left to solace him on earth, had deserted him; and
+his spirit was bowed down in despair.
+
+Who now would prepare his food, while he tended his little flock? who
+was there to collect the dry branches in the forest, for the winter's
+fuel, while the aged shepherd watched a few sheep that he possessed? who
+would now spin him warm clothing to protect his weak and trembling
+limbs?
+
+"Oh! Agnes," he murmured, in a tone indicative of a breaking heart, "why
+couldst thou have thus abandoned me? Didst thou quit the old man to
+follow some youthful lover, who will buoy thee up with bright hopes, and
+then deceive thee? O Agnes--my darling! hast thou left me to perish
+without a soul to close my eyes?"
+
+It was painful how that ancient shepherd wept.
+
+Suddenly a loud knock at the door of the cottage aroused him from his
+painful reverie; and he hastened, as fast as his trembling limbs would
+permit him, to answer the summons.
+
+He opened the door; and a tall man, apparently about forty years of age,
+entered the humble dwelling. His light hair would have been magnificent
+indeed, were it not sorely neglected; his blue eyes were naturally fine
+and intelligent, but fearful now to meet, so wild and wandering were
+their glances: his form was tall and admirably symmetrical, but
+prematurely bowed by the weight of sorrow, and his attire was of costly
+material, but indicative of inattention even more than it was
+travel-soiled.
+
+The old man closed the door, and courteously drew a stool near the fire
+for the stranger who had sought in his cottage a refuge against the fury
+of the storm.
+
+He also placed food before him; but the stranger touched it not--horror
+and dismay appearing to have taken possession of his soul.
+
+Suddenly the thunder which had hitherto growled at a distance, burst
+above the humble abode; and the wind swept by with so violent a gust,
+that it shook the little tenement to its foundation, and filled the
+neighboring forest with strange, unearthly noises.
+
+Then the countenance of the stranger expressed such ineffable horror,
+amounting to a fearful agony, that the old man was alarmed, and
+stretched out his hand to grasp a crucifix that hung over the
+chimney-piece; but his mysterious guest made a forbidding sign of so
+much earnestness mingled with such proud authority, that the aged
+shepherd sank back into his seat without touching the sacred symbol.
+
+The roar of the thunder past--the shrieking, whistling, gushing wind
+became temporarily lulled into low moans and subdued lamentations, amid
+the mazes of the Black Forest; and the stranger grew more composed.
+
+"Dost thou tremble at the storm?" inquired the old man.
+
+"I am unhappy," was the evasive and somewhat impatient reply. "Seek not
+to know more of me--beware how you question me. But you, old man, are
+_not_ happy! The traces of care seem to mingle with the wrinkles of age
+upon your brow!"
+
+The shepherd narrated, in brief and touching terms, the unaccountable
+disappearance of his much-beloved granddaughter Agnes.
+
+The stranger listened abstractedly at first; but afterward he appeared
+to reflect profoundly for several minutes.
+
+"Your lot is wretched, old man," said he at length: "if you live a few
+years longer, that period must be passed in solitude and
+cheerlessness:--if you suddenly fall ill you must die the lingering
+death of famine, without a soul to place a morsel of food, or the
+cooling cup to your lips; and when you shall be no more, who will follow
+you to the grave? There are no habitations nigh; the nearest village is
+half-a-day's journey distant; and ere the peasants of that hamlet, or
+some passing traveler, might discover that the inmate of this hut had
+breathed his last, the wolves from the forest would have entered and
+mangled your corpse."
+
+"Talk not thus!" cried the old man, with a visible shudder; then darting
+a half-terrified, half-curious glance at his guest, he said, "but who
+are you that speak in this awful strain--this warning voice?"
+
+Again the thunder rolled, with crashing sound, above the cottage; and
+once more the wind swept by, laden, as it seemed, with the shrieks and
+groans of human beings in the agonies of death.
+
+The stranger maintained a certain degree of composure only by means of a
+desperate effort, but he could not altogether subdue a wild flashing of
+the eyes and a ghastly change of the countenance--signs of a profoundly
+felt terror.
+
+"Again I say, ask me not who I am!" he exclaimed, when the thunder and
+the gust had passed. "My soul recoils from the bare idea of pronouncing
+my own accursed name! But--unhappy as you see me--crushed, overwhelmed
+with deep affliction as you behold me--anxious, but unable to repent for
+the past as I am, and filled with appalling dread for the future as I
+now proclaim myself to be, still is my power far, far beyond that limit
+which hems mortal energies within so small a sphere. Speak, old
+man--wouldst thou change thy condition? For to me--and to me alone of
+all human beings--belongs the means of giving thee new life--of
+bestowing upon thee the vigor of youth, of rendering that stooping form
+upright and strong, of restoring fire to those glazing eyes, and beauty
+to that wrinkled, sunken, withered countenance--of endowing thee, in a
+word, with a fresh tenure of existence and making that existence sweet
+by the aid of treasures so vast that no extravagance can dissipate
+them!"
+
+A strong though indefinite dread assailed the old man as this astounding
+proffer was rapidly opened, in all its alluring details, to his
+mind;--and various images of terror presented themselves to his
+imagination;--but these feelings were almost immediately dominated by a
+wild and ardent hope, which became the more attractive and exciting in
+proportion as a rapid glance at his helpless, wretched, deserted
+condition led him to survey the contrast between what he then was, and
+what, if the stranger spoke truly, he might so soon become.
+
+The stranger saw that he had made the desired impression; and he
+continued thus:
+
+"Give but your assent, old man, and not only will I render thee young,
+handsome, and wealthy; but I will endow thy mind with an intelligence to
+match that proud position. Thou shalt go forth into the world to enjoy
+all those pleasures, those delights, and those luxuries, the names of
+which are even now scarcely known to thee!"
+
+"And what is the price of this glorious boon?" asked the old man,
+trembling with mingled joy and terror through every limb.
+
+"There are two conditions," answered the stranger, in a low, mysterious
+tone. "The first is, that you become the companion of my wanderings for
+one year and a half from the present time, until the hour of sunset, on
+the 30th of July, 1517, when we must part forever, you to go
+whithersoever your inclinations may guide you, and I---- But of _that_,
+no matter!" he added, hastily, with a sudden motion as if of deep mental
+agony, and with wildly flashing eyes.
+
+The old man shrank back in dismay from his mysterious guest: the thunder
+rolled again, the rude gust swept fiercely by, the dark forest rustled
+awfully, and the stranger's torturing feelings were evidently prolonged
+by the voices of the storm.
+
+A pause ensued; and the silence was at length broken by the old man, who
+said, in a hollow and tremulous tone, "To the first condition I would
+willingly accede. But the second?"
+
+"That you prey upon the human race, whom I hate; because of all the
+world I alone am so deeply, so terribly accurst!" was the ominously
+fearful yet only dimly significant reply.
+
+The old man shook his head, scarcely comprehending the words of his
+guest, and yet daring not to ask to be more enlightened.
+
+"Listen!" said the stranger, in a hasty but impressive voice: "I require
+a companion, one who has no human ties, and who still ministers to my
+caprices,--who will devote himself wholly and solely to watch me in my
+dark hours, and endeavor to recall me back to enjoyment and pleasure,
+who, when he shall be acquainted with my power, will devise new means in
+which to exercise it, for the purpose of conjuring up those scenes of
+enchantment and delight that may for a season win me away from thought.
+Such a companion do I need for a period of one year and a half; and you
+are, of all men, the best suited to my design. But the Spirit whom I
+must invoke to effect the promised change in thee, and by whose aid you
+can be given back to youth and comeliness, will demand some fearful
+sacrifice at your hands. And the nature of that sacrifice--the nature of
+the condition to be imposed--I can well divine!"
+
+"Name the sacrifice--name the condition!" cried the old man, eagerly. "I
+am so miserable--so spirit-broken--so totally without hope in this
+world, that I greedily long to enter upon that new existence which you
+promised me! Say, then, what is the condition?"
+
+"That you prey upon the human race, whom _he_ hates as well as I,"
+answered the stranger.
+
+"Again these awful words!" ejaculated the old man, casting trembling
+glances around him.
+
+"Yes--again those words," echoed the mysterious guest, looking with his
+fierce burning eyes into the glazed orbs of the aged shepherd. "And now
+learn their import!" he continued, in a solemn tone. "Knowest thou not
+that there is a belief in many parts of our native land that at
+particular seasons certain doomed men throw off the human shape and take
+that of ravenous wolves?"
+
+"Oh, yes--yes--I have indeed heard of those strange legends in which the
+Wehr-Wolf is represented in such appalling colors!" exclaimed the old
+man, a terrible suspicion crossing his mind.
+
+"'Tis said that at sunset on the last day of every month the mortal, to
+whom belongs the destiny of the Wehr-Wolf, must exchange his natural
+form for that of the savage animal; in which horrible shape he must
+remain until the moment when the morrow's sun dawns upon the earth."
+
+"The legend that told thee this spoke truly," said the stranger. "And
+now dost thou comprehend the condition which must be imposed upon thee?"
+
+"I do--I do!" murmured the old man with a fearful shudder. "But he who
+accepts that condition makes a compact with the evil one, and thereby
+endangers his immortal soul!"
+
+"Not so," was the reply. "There is naught involved in this condition
+which---- But hesitate not," added the stranger, hastily: "I have no
+time to waste in bandying words. Consider all I offer you: in another
+hour you shall be another man!"
+
+"I accept the boon--and on the conditions stipulated!" exclaimed the
+shepherd.
+
+"'Tis well, Wagner----"
+
+"What! you know my name!" cried the old man. "And yet, meseems, I did
+not mention it to thee."
+
+"Canst thou not already perceive that I am no common mortal?" demanded
+the stranger, bitterly. "And who I am, and whence I derive my power, all
+shall be revealed to thee so soon as the bond is formed that must link
+us for eighteen months together! In the meantime, await me here!"
+
+And the mysterious stranger quitted the cottage abruptly, and plunged
+into the depths of the Black Forest.
+
+One hour elapsed ere he returned--one mortal hour, during which Wagner
+sat bowed over his miserably scanty fire, dreaming of pleasure, youth,
+riches, and enjoyment; converting, in imagination, the myriad sparks
+which shone upon the extinguishing embers into piles of gold, and
+allowing his now uncurbed fancy to change the one single room of the
+wretched hovel into a splendid saloon, surrounded by resplendent mirrors
+and costly hangings, while the untasted fare for the stranger on the
+rude fir-table, became transformed, in his idea, into a magnificent
+banquet laid out, on a board glittering with plate, lustrous with
+innumerable lamps, and surrounded by an atmosphere fragrant with the
+most exquisite perfumes.
+
+The return of the stranger awoke the old man from his charming dream,
+during which he had never once thought of the conditions whereby he was
+to purchase the complete realization of the vision.
+
+"Oh! what a glorious reverie you have dissipated!" exclaimed Wagner.
+"Fulfill but one tenth part of that delightful dream----"
+
+"I will fulfill it all!" interrupted the stranger: then, producing a
+small vial from the bosom of his doublet, he said, "Drink!"
+
+The old man seized the bottle, and speedily drained it to the dregs.
+
+He immediately fell back upon the seat, in a state of complete lethargy.
+
+But it lasted not for many minutes; and when he awoke again, he
+experienced new and extraordinary sensations. His limbs were vigorous,
+his form was upright as an arrow; his eyes, for many years dim and
+failing, seemed gifted with the sight of an eagle, his head was warm
+with a natural covering; not a wrinkle remained upon his brow nor on his
+cheeks; and, as he smiled with mingled wonderment and delight, the
+parting lips revealed a set of brilliant teeth. And it seemed, too, as
+if by one magic touch the long fading tree of his intellect had suddenly
+burst into full foliage, and every cell of his brain was instantaneously
+stored with an amount of knowledge, the accumulation of which stunned
+him for an instant, and in the next appeared as familiar to him as if he
+had never been without it.
+
+"Oh! great and powerful being, whomsoever thou art," exclaimed Wagner,
+in the full, melodious voice of a young man of twenty-one, "how can I
+manifest to thee my deep, my boundless gratitude for this boon which
+thou hast conferred upon me!"
+
+"By thinking no more of thy lost grand-child Agnes, but by preparing to
+follow me whither I shall now lead thee," replied the stranger.
+
+"Command me: I am ready to obey in all things," cried Wagner. "But one
+word ere we set forth--who art thou, wondrous man?"
+
+"Henceforth I have no secrets from thee, Wagner," was the answer, while
+the stranger's eyes gleamed with unearthly luster; then, bending
+forward, he whispered a few words in the other's ear.
+
+Wagner started with a cold and fearful shudder as if at some appalling
+announcement; but he uttered not a word of reply--for his master
+beckoned him imperiously away from the humble cottage.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+THE DEATH-BED--THE OATH--THE LAST INJUNCTIONS.
+
+
+Our tale commences in the middle of the month of November, 1520, and at
+the hour of midnight.
+
+In a magnificently furnished chamber, belonging to one of the largest
+mansions of Florence, a nobleman lay at the point of death.
+
+The light of the lamp suspended to the ceiling played upon the ghastly
+countenance of the dying man, the stern expression of whose features was
+not even mitigated by the fears and uncertainties attendant on the hour
+of dissolution.
+
+He was about forty-eight years of age, and had evidently been wondrously
+handsome in his youth: for though the frightful pallor of death was
+already upon his cheeks, and the fire of his large black eyes was dimmed
+with the ravages of a long-endured disease, still the faultless outlines
+of the aquiline profile remained unimpaired.
+
+The most superficial observer might have read the aristocratic pride of
+his soul in the haughty curl of his short upper lip,--the harshness of
+his domineering character in the lines that marked his forehead,--and
+the cruel sternness of his disposition in the expression of his entire
+countenance.
+
+Without absolutely scowling as he lay on that bed of death, his features
+were characterized by an inexorable severity which seemed to denote the
+predominant influence of some intense passion--some evil sentiment
+deeply rooted in his mind.
+
+Two persons leant over the couch to which death was so rapidly
+approaching.
+
+One was a lady of about twenty-five: the other was a youth of nineteen.
+
+The former was eminently beautiful; but her countenance was marked with
+much of that severity--that determination--and even of that sternness,
+which characterized the dying nobleman. Indeed, a single glance was
+sufficient to show that they stood in the close relationship of father
+and daughter.
+
+Her long, black, glossy hair now hung disheveled over the shoulders that
+were left partially bare by the hasty negligence with which she had
+thrown on a loose wrapper; and those shoulders were of the most dazzling
+whiteness.
+
+The wrapper was confined by a broad band at the waist; and the slight
+drapery set off, rather than concealed, the rich contours of a form of
+mature but admirable symmetry.
+
+Tall, graceful, and elegant, she united easy motion with fine
+proportion; thus possessing the lightness of the Sylph and the luxuriant
+fullness of the Hebe.
+
+Her countenance was alike expressive of intellectuality and strong
+passions. Her large black eyes were full of fire, and their glances
+seemed to penetrate the soul. Her nose, of the finest aquiline
+development,--her lips, narrow, but red and pouting, with the upper one
+short and slightly projecting over the lower,--and her small, delicately
+rounded chin, indicated both decision and sensuality: but the insolent
+gaze of the libertine would have quailed beneath the look of sovereign
+hauteur which flashed from those brilliant eagle eyes.
+
+In a word, she appeared to be a woman well adapted to command the
+admiration--receive the homage--excite the passions--and yet repel the
+insolence of the opposite sex.
+
+But those appearances were to some degree deceitful; for never was
+homage offered to her--never was she courted nor flattered.
+
+Ten years previously to the time of which we are writing--and when she
+was only fifteen--the death of her mother, under strange and mysterious
+circumstances, as it was generally reported, made such a terrible
+impression on her mind, that she hovered for months on the verge of
+dissolution; and when the physician who attended upon her communicated
+to her father the fact that her life was at length beyond danger, that
+assurance was followed by the sad and startling declaration, that she
+had forever lost the sense of hearing and the power of speech.
+
+No wonder, then, that homage was never paid nor adulation offered to
+Nisida--the deaf and dumb daughter of the proud Count of Riverola!
+
+Those who were intimate with this family ere the occurrence of that sad
+event--especially the physician, Dr. Duras, who had attended upon the
+mother in her last moments, and on the daughter during her
+illness--declared that, up to the period when the malady assailed her,
+Nisida was a sweet, amiable and retiring girl; but she had evidently
+been fearfully changed by the terrible affliction which that malady had
+left behind. For if she could no longer express herself in words, her
+eyes darted lightnings upon the unhappy menials who had the misfortune
+to incur her displeasure; and her lips would quiver with the violence of
+concentrated passion, at the most trifling neglect or error of which the
+female dependents immediately attached to her own person might happen to
+be guilty.
+
+Toward her father she often manifested a strange ebullition of
+anger--bordering even on inveterate spite, when he offended her: and
+yet, singular though it were, the count was devotedly attached to his
+daughter. He frequently declared that, afflicted as she was, he was
+proud of her: for he was wont to behold in her flashing eyes--her
+curling lip--and her haughty air, the reflection of his own proud--his
+own inexorable spirit.
+
+The youth of nineteen to whom we have alluded was Nisida's brother; and
+much as the father appeared to dote upon the daughter, was the son
+proportionately disliked by that stern and despotic man.
+
+Perhaps this want of affection--or rather this complete aversion--on the
+part of the Count of Riverola toward the young Francisco, owed its
+origin to the total discrepancy of character existing between the father
+and son. Francisco was as amiable, generous-hearted, frank and agreeable
+as his sire was austere, stern, reserved and tyrannical. The youth was
+also unlike his father in personal appearance, his hair being of a rich
+brown, his eyes of a soft blue, and the general expression of his
+countenance indicating the fairest and most endearing qualities which
+can possibly characterize human nature.
+
+We must, however, observe, before we pursue our narrative, that Nisida
+imitated not her father in her conduct toward Francisco; for she loved
+him--she loved him with the most ardent affection--such an affection as
+a sister seldom manifests toward a brother. It was rather the attachment
+of a mother for her child; inasmuch as Nisida studied all his
+comforts--watched over him, as it were, with the tenderest
+solicitude--was happy when he was present, melancholy when he was
+absent, and seemed to be constantly racking her imagination to devise
+new means to afford him pleasure.
+
+To treat Francisco with the least neglect was to arouse the wrath of a
+fury in the breast of Nisida; and every unkind look which the count
+inflicted upon his son was sure, if perceived by his daughter, to evoke
+the terrible lightnings of her brilliant eyes.
+
+Such were the three persons whom we have thus minutely described to our
+readers.
+
+The count had been ill for some weeks at the time when this chapter
+opens; but on the night which marks that commencement, Dr. Duras had
+deemed it his duty to warn the nobleman that he had not many hours to
+live.
+
+The dying man had accordingly desired that his children might be
+summoned; and when they entered the apartment, the physician and the
+priest were requested to withdraw.
+
+Francisco now stood on one side of the bed, and Nisida on the other;
+while the count collected his remaining strength to address his last
+injunctions to his son.
+
+"Francisco," he said, in a cold tone, "I have little inclination to
+speak at any great length; but the words I am about to utter are
+solemnly important. I believe you entertain the most sincere and earnest
+faith in that symbol which now lies beneath your hand."
+
+"The crucifix!" ejaculated the young man. "Oh, yes, my dear father!--it
+is the emblem of that faith which teaches us how to live and die!"
+
+"Then take it up--press it to your lips--and swear to obey the
+instructions which I am about to give you," said the count.
+
+Francisco did as he was desired; and, although tears were streaming from
+his eyes, he exclaimed, in an emphatic manner, "I swear most solemnly to
+fulfill your commands, my dear father, so confident am I that you will
+enjoin nothing that involves aught dishonorable!"
+
+"Spare your qualifications," cried the count, sternly; "and swear
+without reserve--or expect my dying curse, rather than my blessing."
+
+"Oh! my dear father," ejaculated the youth, with intense anguish of
+soul; "talk not of so dreadful a thing as bequeathing me your dying
+curse! I swear to fulfill your injunctions--without reserve."
+
+And he kissed the holy symbol.
+
+"You act wisely," said the count, fixing his glaring eyes upon the
+handsome countenance of the young man, who now awaited, in breathless
+suspense, a communication thus solemnly prefaced. "This key," continued
+the nobleman, taking one from beneath his pillow as he spoke, "belongs
+to the door in yonder corner of the apartment."
+
+"That door which is never opened!" exclaimed Francisco, casting an
+anxious glance in the direction indicated.
+
+"Who told you that the door was never opened," demanded the count,
+sternly.
+
+"I have heard the servants remark----" began the youth in a timid, but
+still frank and candid manner.
+
+"Then, when I am no more, see that you put an end to such impertinent
+gossiping," said the nobleman, impatiently; "and you will be the better
+convinced of the propriety of thus acting, as soon as you have learned
+the nature of my injunctions. That door," he continued, "communicates
+with a small closet, which is accessible by no other means. Now my
+wish--my command is this:--Upon the day of your marriage, whenever such
+an event may occur--and I suppose you do not intend to remain unwedded
+all your life--I enjoin you to open the door of that closet. You must be
+accompanied by your bride--and by no other living soul. I also desire
+that this may be done with the least possible delay--the very
+morning--within the very hour after you quit the church. That closet
+contains the means of elucidating a mystery profoundly connected with
+me--with you--with the family--a mystery, the developments of which may
+prove of incalculable service alike to yourself and to her who may share
+your title and your wealth. But should you never marry, then must the
+closet remain unvisited by _you_; nor need you trouble yourself
+concerning the eventual discovery of the secret which it contains, by
+any person into whose hands the mansion may fall at your death. It is
+also my wish that your sister should remain in complete ignorance of the
+instructions which I am now giving you. Alas! poor girl--she cannot hear
+the words which fall from my lips! neither shall you communicate their
+import to her by writing, nor by the language of the fingers. And
+remember that while I bestow upon you my blessing--my dying
+blessing--may that blessing become a withering curse--the curse of hell
+upon you--if in any way you violate one tittle of the injunctions which
+I have now given you."
+
+"My dearest father," replied the weeping youth, who had listened with
+the most profound attention, to these extraordinary commands; "I would
+not for worlds act contrary to your wishes. Singular as they appear to
+me, they shall be fulfilled to the very letter."
+
+He received from his father's hand the mysterious key, which he had
+secured about his person.
+
+"You will find," resumed the count after a brief pause, "that I have
+left the whole of my property to you. At the same time my will specifies
+certain conditions relative to your sister Nisida, for whom I have made
+due provision only in the case--which is, alas! almost in defiance of
+every hope!--of her recovery from that dreadful affliction which renders
+her so completely dependent upon your kindness."
+
+"Dearest father, you know how sincerely I am attached to my sister--how
+devoted she is to me----"
+
+"Enough, enough!" cried the count; and overcome by the effort he had
+made to deliver his last injunction, he fell back insensible on his
+pillow.
+
+Nisida, who had retained her face buried in her hands during the whole
+time occupied in the above conversation, happened to look up at that
+moment; and, perceiving the condition of her father, she made a hasty
+sign to Francisco to summon the physician and the priest from the room
+to which they had retired.
+
+This commission was speedily executed, and in a few minutes the
+physician and the priest were once more by the side of the dying noble.
+
+But the instant that Dr. Duras--who was a venerable looking man of about
+sixty years of age--approached the bed, he darted, unseen by Francisco,
+a glance of earnest inquiry toward Nisida, who responded by one of
+profound meaning, shaking her head gently, but in a manner expressive of
+deep melancholy, at the same time.
+
+The physician appeared to be astonished at the negative thus conveyed by
+the beautiful mute; and he even manifested a sign of angry impatience.
+
+But Nisida threw upon him a look of so imploring a nature, that his
+temporary vexation yielded to a feeling of immense commiseration for
+that afflicted creature: and he gave her to understand, by another rapid
+glance, that her prayer was accorded.
+
+This interchange of signs of such deep mystery scarcely occupied a
+moment, and was altogether unobserved by Francisco.
+
+Dr. Duras proceeded to administer restoratives to the dying
+nobleman--but in vain!
+
+The count had fallen into a lethargic stupor, which lasted until four in
+the morning, when his spirit passed gently away.
+
+The moment Francisco and Nisida became aware that they were orphans,
+they threw themselves into each other's arms, and renewed by that tender
+embrace the tacit compact of sincere affection which had ever existed
+between them.
+
+Francisco's tears flowed freely; but Nisida did not weep!
+
+A strange--an almost portentous light shone in her brilliant black eyes;
+and though that wild gleaming denoted powerful emotions, yet it shed no
+luster upon the depths of her soul--afforded no clew to the real nature
+of these agitated feelings.
+
+Suddenly withdrawing himself from his sister's arms, Francisco conveyed
+to her by the language of the fingers the following tender
+sentiment:--"You have lost a father, beloved Nisida, but you have a
+devoted and affectionate brother left to you!"
+
+And Nisida replied through the same medium, "Your happiness, dearest
+brother, has ever been my only study, and shall continue so."
+
+The physician and Father Marco, the priest, now advanced, and taking the
+brother and sister by the hands, led them from the chamber of death.
+
+"Kind friends," said Francisco, now Count of Riverola, "I understand
+you. You would withdraw my sister and myself from a scene too mournful
+to contemplate. Alas! it is hard to lose a father; but especially so at
+my age, inexperienced as I am in the ways of the world!"
+
+"The world is indeed made up of thorny paths and devious ways, my dear
+young friend," returned the physician; "but a stout heart and integrity
+of purpose will ever be found faithful guides. The more exalted and the
+wealthier the individual, the greater the temptations he will have to
+encounter. Reflect upon this, Francisco: it is advice which I, as an
+old--indeed, the oldest friend of your family--take the liberty to
+offer."
+
+With these words, the venerable physician wrung the hands of the brother
+and sister, and hurried from the house, followed by the priest.
+
+The orphans embraced each other, and retired to their respective
+apartments.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+NISIDA--THE MYSTERIOUS CLOSET.
+
+
+The room to which Nisida withdrew, between four and five o'clock on that
+mournful winter's morning, was one of a suit entirely appropriated to
+her own use.
+
+This suit consisted of three apartments, communicating with each other,
+and all furnished in the elegant and tasteful manner of that age.
+
+The innermost of the three rooms was used as her bed-chamber, and when
+she now entered it, a young girl of seventeen, beautiful as an angel,
+but dressed in the attire of a dependent, instantly arose from a seat
+near the fire that blazed on the hearth, and cast a respectful but
+inquiring glance toward her mistress.
+
+Nisida gave her to understand, by a sign, that all was over.
+
+The girl started, as if surprised that her lady indicated so little
+grief; but the latter motioned her, with an impatient gesture, to leave
+the room.
+
+When Flora--such was the name of the dependent--had retired Nisida threw
+herself into a large arm-chair near the fire, and immediately became
+buried in a deep reverie. With her splendid hair flowing upon her white
+shoulders--her proud forehead supported on her delicate hand--her lips
+apart, and revealing the pearly teeth--her lids with their long black
+fringes half-closed over the brilliant eyes--and her fine form cast in
+voluptuous abandonment upon the soft cushions of the chair--she indeed
+seemed a magnificent creature!
+
+But when, suddenly awaking from that profound meditation, she started
+from her seat with flashing eyes--heaving bosom--and an expression of
+countenance denoting a fixed determination to accomplish some deed from
+which her better feelings vainly bade her to abstain:--when she drew her
+tall--her even majestic form up to its full height, the drapery
+shadowing forth every contour of undulating bust and exquisitely modeled
+limb--while her haughty lip curled in contempt of any consideration save
+her own indomitable will--she appeared rather a heroine capable of
+leading an Amazonian army, than a woman to whom the sighing swain might
+venture to offer up the incense of love.
+
+There was something awful in the aspect of this mysterious
+being--something ineffably grand and imposing in her demeanor--as she
+thus suddenly rose from her almost recumbent posture, and burst into the
+attitude of a resolute and energetic woman.
+
+Drawing the wrapper around her form, she lighted a lamp, and was about
+to quit the chamber, when her eyes suddenly encountered the mild and
+benignant glance which the portrait of a lady appeared to cast upon her.
+
+This portrait, which hung against the wall precisely opposite to the
+bed, represented a woman of about thirty years of age--a woman of a
+beauty much in the same style as that of Nisida, but not marred by
+anything approaching to a sternness of expression. On the contrary, if
+an angel had looked through those mild black eyes, their glances could
+not have been endowed with a holier kindness; the smiles of good spirits
+could not be more plaintively sweet than those which the artist had made
+to play upon the lips of that portrait.
+
+Yet, in spite of this discrepancy between the expression of Nisida's
+countenance and that of the lady who had formed the subject of the
+picture, it was not difficult to perceive a certain physical likeness
+between the two; nor will the reader be surprised when we state that
+Nisida was gazing on the portrait of her deceased mother.
+
+And that gaze--oh! how intent, how earnest, how enthusiastic it was! It
+manifested something more than love--something more impassioned and
+ardent than the affection which a daughter might exhibit toward even a
+living mother; it showed a complete devotion--an adoration--a worship!
+
+Long and fixedly did Nisida gaze upon that portrait; till suddenly from
+her eyes, which shot forth such burning glances, gushed a torrent of
+tears.
+
+Then--probably fearful lest this weakness on her part might impair the
+resolution necessary to execute the purpose which she had in
+view--Nisida dashed away the tears from her long lashes, hastily quitted
+the room.
+
+Having traversed the other two apartments of her own suit, she cast a
+searching glance along the passage which she now entered; and, satisfied
+that none of the domestics were about, for it was not yet six o'clock on
+that winter's morning, she hastened to the end of the corridor.
+
+The lamp flared with the speed at which she walked; and its uncertain
+light enhanced the pallor that now covered her countenance.
+
+At the bottom of the passage she cautiously opened the door, and entered
+the room with which it communicated.
+
+This was the sleeping apartment of her brother.
+
+A single glance convinced her that he was wrapt in the arms of slumber.
+
+He slept soundly too--for he was wearied with the vigil which he had
+passed by the death-bed of his father--worn out also by the thousand
+conflicting and unsatisfactory conjectures that the last instructions of
+his parent had naturally excited in his mind.
+
+He had not, however, been asleep a quarter of an hour when Nisida stole,
+in the manner described, into his chamber.
+
+A smile of mingled joy and triumph animated her countenance, and a
+carnation tinge flushed her cheeks when she found he was fast locked in
+the embrace of slumber.
+
+Without a moment's hesitation, she examined his doublet, and clutched
+the key that his father had given to him scarcely six hours before.
+
+Then, light as the fawn, she left the room.
+
+Having retraced her steps half-way up the passage, she paused at the
+door of the chamber in which the corpse of her father lay.
+
+For an instant--a single instant--she seemed to revolt from the
+prosecution of her design, then, with a stern contraction of the brows,
+and an imperious curl of the lip--as if she said within herself, "_Fool
+that I am to hesitate!_"--she entered the room.
+
+Without fear--without compunction, she approached the bed. The body was
+laid out: stretched in its winding sheet, stiff and stark did it seem to
+repose on the mattress--the countenance rendered more ghastly than even
+death could make it, by the white band which tied up the under jaw.
+
+The nurse who had thus disposed the corpse, had retired to snatch a few
+hours of rest; and there was consequently no spy upon Nisida's actions.
+
+With a fearless step she advanced toward the closet--the mysterious
+closet relative to which such strange injunctions had been given.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+THE MANUSCRIPT--FLORA FRANCATELLI.
+
+
+Nisida's hand trembled not as she placed the key in the lock; but when
+it turned, and she knew that in another instant she might open that door
+if she chose, she compressed her lips firmly together--she called all
+her courage to her aid--for she seemed to imagine that it was necessary
+to prepare herself to behold something frightfully appalling.
+
+And now again her cheeks were deadly pale; but the light that burned in
+her eyes was brilliant in the extreme.
+
+White as was her countenance, her large black orbs appeared to shine--to
+glow--to burn, as if with a violent fever.
+
+Advancing with her left hand, she half-opened the door of the closet
+with her right.
+
+Then she plunged her glances with rapidity into the recess.
+
+But, holy God! what a start that courageous, bold, and energetic woman
+gave--a start as if the cold hand of a corpse had been suddenly thrust
+forth to grasp her.
+
+And oh! what horror convulsed her countenance--while her lips were
+compressed as tightly as if they were an iron vise.
+
+Rapidly and instantly recoiling as that glance was, it had nevertheless
+revealed to her an object of interest as well as of horror; for with
+eyes now averted, she seized something within the closet, and thrust it
+into her bosom.
+
+Then, hastily closing the door, she retraced her way to her brother's
+chamber.
+
+He still slept soundly; Nisida returned the key to the pocket whence she
+had taken it, and hurried back to her own room, from which she had
+scarcely been absent five minutes.
+
+And did she seek her couch? did she repair to rest?
+
+No; that energetic woman experienced no weariness--yielded to no
+lassitude.
+
+Carefully bolting the door of her innermost chamber, she seated herself
+in the arm-chair and drew from her bosom the object which she had taken
+from the mysterious closet.
+
+It was a manuscript, consisting of several small slips of paper,
+somewhat closely written upon.
+
+The paper was doubtless familiar to her; for she paused not to consider
+its nature, but greedily addressed herself to the study of the meaning
+which it conveyed. And of terrible import seemed that manuscript to be;
+for while Nisida read, her countenance underwent many and awful
+changes--and her bosom heaved convulsively at one instant, while at
+another it remained motionless, as if respiration were suspended.
+
+At length the perusal was completed; and grinding her teeth with
+demoniac rage, she threw the manuscript upon the floor. But at the same
+moment her eyes, which she cast wildly about her, caught the mild and
+benign countenance of her mother's portrait; and, as oil stills the fury
+of the boiling billows, did the influence of that picture calm in an
+instant the tremendous emotions of Nisida's soul.
+
+Tears burst from her eyes, and she suddenly relapsed from the incarnate
+fiend into the subdued woman.
+
+Then stooping down, she picked up the papers that lay scattered on the
+floor: but as she did so she averted her looks, with loathing and
+disgust, as much as possible from the pages that her hands collected
+almost at random.
+
+And now another idea struck her--an idea the propriety of which
+evidently warred against her inclination.
+
+She was not a woman of mere impulses--although she often acted speedily
+after a thought had entered her brain. But she was wondrously quick at
+weighing all reasons for or against the suggestions of her imagination;
+and thus, to any one who was not acquainted with her character, she
+might frequently appear to obey the first dictates of her impetuous
+passions.
+
+Scarcely three minutes after the new idea had struck her, her resolution
+was fixed.
+
+Once more concealing the papers in her bosom, she repaired with the lamp
+to her brother's room--purloined the key a second time--hastened to the
+chamber of death--opened the closet again--and again sustained the shock
+of a single glance at its horrors, as she returned the manuscript to the
+place whence she had originally taken it.
+
+Then, having once more retraced her way to Francisco's chamber, she
+restored the key to the folds of his doublet--for he continued to sleep
+soundly; and Nisida succeeded in regaining her own apartments just in
+time to avoid the observation of the domestics, who were now beginning
+to move about.
+
+Nisida sought her couch and slept until nearly ten o'clock, when she
+awoke with a start--doubtless caused by some unpleasant dream.
+
+Having ascertained the hour by reference to a water-clock, or clepsydra,
+which stood on a marble pedestal near the head of the bed, she
+arose--unlocked the door of her apartment--rang a silver bell--and then
+returned to her bed.
+
+In a few minutes Flora, who had been waiting in the adjoining room,
+entered the chamber.
+
+Nisida, on regaining her couch, had turned her face toward the wall, and
+was therefore unable to perceive anything that took place in the
+apartment.
+
+The mere mention of such a circumstance would be trivial in the extreme,
+were it not necessary to record it in consequence of an event which now
+occurred.
+
+For, as Flora advanced into the room, her eyes fell on a written paper
+that lay immediately beneath the arm-chair; and conceiving from its
+appearance that it had not been thrown down on purpose, as it was in
+nowise crushed nor torn, she mechanically picked it up and placed it on
+the table.
+
+She then proceeded to arrange the toilet table of her mistress,
+preparatory to that lady's rising; and while she is thus employed, we
+will endeavor to make our readers a little better acquainted with her
+than they can possibly yet be.
+
+Flora Francatelli was the orphan daughter of parents who had suddenly
+been reduced from a state of affluence to a condition of extreme
+poverty. Signor Francatelli could not survive this blow: he died of a
+broken heart; and his wife shortly afterward followed him to the
+tomb--also the victim of grief. They left two children behind them:
+Flora, who was then an infant, and a little boy, named Alessandro, who
+was five years old. The orphans were entirely dependent upon the
+kindness of a maiden aunt--their departed father's sister. This
+relative, whose name was, of course, also Francatelli, performed a
+mother's part toward the children: and deprived herself, not only of
+comforts, but at times even of necessaries, in order that they should
+not want. Father Marco, a priest belonging to one of the numerous
+monasteries of Florence, and who was a worthy man, took compassion upon
+this little family; and not only devoted his attention to teach the
+orphans to read and write--great accomplishments among the middle
+classes in those days--but also procured from a fund at the disposal of
+his abbot, certain pecuniary assistance for the aunt.
+
+The care which this good relative took of the orphans, and the kindness
+of Father Marco, were well rewarded by the veneration and attachment
+which Alessandro and Flora manifested toward them. When Alessandro had
+numbered eighteen summers, he was fortunate enough to procure, through
+the interest of Father Marco, the situation of secretary to a Florentine
+noble, who was charged with a diplomatic mission to the Ottoman Porte;
+and the young man proceeded to Leghorn, whence he embarked for
+Constantinople, attended by the prayers, blessings, and hopes of the
+aunt and sister, and of the good priest, whom he left behind.
+
+Two years after his departure, Father Marco obtained for Flora a
+situation about the person of the Lady Nisida; for the monk was
+confessor to the family of Riverola, and his influence was sufficient to
+secure that place for the young maiden.
+
+We have already said that Flora was sweetly beautiful. Her large blue
+eyes were fringed with dark lashes, which gave them an expression of the
+most melting softness; her dark brown hair, arranged in the modest
+bands, seemed of even a darker hue when contrasted with the brilliant
+and transparent clearness of her complexion, and though her forehead was
+white and polished as alabaster, yet the rose-tint of health was upon
+her cheeks, and her lips had the rich redness of coral. Her nose was
+perfectly straight; her teeth were white and even, and the graceful
+arching of her swan-neck imparted something of nobility to her tall,
+sylph-like, and exquisitely proportioned figure.
+
+Retiring and bashful in her manners, every look which fell from her
+eyes--every smile which wreathed her lips, denoted the chaste purity of
+her soul. With all her readiness to oblige--with all her anxiety to do
+her duty as she ought, she frequently incurred the anger of the
+irascible Nisida; but Flora supported those manifestations of wrath with
+the sweetest resignation, because the excellence of her disposition
+taught her to make every allowance for one so deeply afflicted as her
+mistress.
+
+Such was the young maiden whom the nature of the present tale compels us
+thus particularly to introduce to our readers.
+
+Having carefully arranged the boudoir, so that its strict neatness might
+be welcome to her mistress when that lady chose to rise from her couch,
+Flora seated herself near the table, and gave way to her reflections.
+
+She thought of her aunt, who inhabited a neat little cottage on the
+banks of the Arno, and whom she was usually permitted to visit every
+Sabbath afternoon--she thought of her absent brother, who was still in
+the service of the Florentine Envoy to the Ottomon Porte, where that
+diplomatist was detained by the tardiness that marked the negotiations
+with which he was charged; and then she thought--thought too, with an
+involuntary sigh--of Francisco, Count of Riverola.
+
+She perceived that she had sighed--and, without knowing precisely
+wherefore, she was angry with herself.
+
+Anxious to turn the channel of her meditations in another direction, she
+rose from her seat to examine the clepsydra. That movement caused her
+eyes to fall upon the paper which she had picked up a quarter of an hour
+previously.
+
+In spite of herself the image of Francisco was still uppermost in her
+thoughts; and, in the contemplative vein thus encouraged, her eyes
+lingered, unwittingly--and through no base motive of curiosity--upon the
+writing which that paper contained.
+
+Thus she actually found herself reading the first four lines of the
+writing, before she recollected what she was doing.
+
+The act was a purely mechanical one, which not the most rigid moralist
+could blame.
+
+And had the contents of the paper been of no interest, she might even
+have continued to read more in that same abstracted mood; but those four
+first lines were of a nature which sent a thrilling sensation of horror
+through her entire frame; the feeling terminating with an icy coldness
+of the heart.
+
+She shuddered without starting--shuddered as she stood; and not even a
+murmur escaped her lips.
+
+The intenseness of that sudden pang of horror deprived her alike of
+speech and motion during the instant that it lasted.
+
+And those lines, which produced so strange an impression upon the young
+maiden, ran thus:
+
+    "merciless scalpel hacked and hewed away at the still almost
+    palpitating flesh of the murdered man, in whose breast the
+    dagger remained buried--a ferocious joy--a savage hyena-like
+    triumph----"
+
+Flora read no more; she could not--even if she had wished.
+
+For a minute she remained rooted to the spot; then she threw herself
+into the chair, bewildered and dismayed at the terrible words which had
+met her eyes.
+
+She thought that the handwriting was not unknown to her; but she could
+not recollect whose it was. One fact was, however, certain--it was not
+the writing of her mistress.
+
+She was musing upon the horrible and mysterious contents of the paper,
+when Nisida rose from her couch.
+
+Acknowledging with a slight nod of the head the respectful salutation of
+her attendant, she hastily slipped on a loose wrapper, and seated
+herself in the arm-chair which Flora had just abandoned.
+
+The young girl then proceeded to comb out the long raven hair of her
+mistress.
+
+But this occupation was most rudely interrupted: for Nisida's eyes
+suddenly fell upon the manuscript page on the table; and she started up
+in a paroxysm of mingled rage and alarm.
+
+Having assured herself by a second glance that it was indeed a portion
+of the writings which had produced so strange an effect upon her a few
+hours previously, she turned abruptly toward Flora; and, imperiously
+confronting the young maiden, pointed to the paper in a significant
+manner.
+
+Flora immediately indicated by a sign that she had found it on the
+floor, beneath the arm-chair.
+
+"And you have read it!" was the accusation which, with wonderful
+rapidity, Nisida conveyed by means of her fingers--fixing her piercing,
+penetrating eyes on Flora's countenance at the same time.
+
+The young maiden scorned the idea of a falsehood; although she perceived
+that her reply would prove far from agreeable to her mistress, she
+unhesitatingly admitted, by the language of the hands. "I read the first
+four lines, and no more."
+
+A crimson glow instantly suffused the face, neck, shoulders, and bosom
+of Nisida; but instantly compressing her lips--as was her wont when
+under the influence of her boiling passions, she turned her flashing
+eyes once more upon the paper, to ascertain which leaf of the manuscript
+it was.
+
+That rapid glance revealed to her the import, the dread, but profoundly
+mysterious import of the four first lines on that page; and, again
+darting her soul-searching looks upon the trembling Flora, she demanded,
+by the rapid play of her delicate taper fingers "Will you swear that you
+read no more?"
+
+"As I hope for salvation!" was Flora's symbolic answer.
+
+The penetrating, imperious glance of Nisida dwelt long upon the maiden's
+countenance; but no sinister expression--no suspicious change on that
+fair and candid face contradicted the assertion which she had made.
+
+"I believe you; but beware how you breathe to a living soul a word of
+what you did read!"
+
+Such was the injunction which Nisida now conveyed by her usual means of
+communication; and Flora signified implicit obedience.
+
+Nisida then secured the page of writing in her jewel casket; and the
+details of the toilet were resumed.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+THE FUNERAL--THE INTERRUPTION OF THE CEREMONY.
+
+
+Eight days after the death of the Count of Riverola, the funeral took
+place.
+
+The obsequies were celebrated at night, with all the pomp observed
+amongst noble families on such occasions. The church in which the corpse
+was buried, was hung with black cloth; and even the innumerable wax
+tapers which burned upon the altar and around the coffin failed to
+diminish the lugubrious aspect of the scene.
+
+At the head of the bier stood the youthful heir of Riverola; his pale
+countenance of even feminine beauty contrasting strangely with the
+mourning garments which he wore, and his eyes bent upon the dark chasm
+that formed the family vault into which the remains of his sire were
+about to be lowered.
+
+Around the coffin stood Dr. Duras and other male friends of the
+deceased: for the females of the family were not permitted, by the
+custom of the age and the religion, to be present on occasions of this
+kind.
+
+It was eleven o'clock at night: and the weather without was stormy and
+tempestuous.
+
+The wind moaned through the long aisles, raising strange and ominous
+echoes, and making the vast folds of sable drapery wave slowly backward
+and forward, as if agitated by unseen hands. A few spectators, standing
+in the background, appeared like grim figures on a black tapestry; and
+the gleam of the wax tapers, oscillating on their countenances, made
+them seem death-like and ghastly.
+
+From time to time the shrill wail of the shriek-owl, and the flapping of
+its wings against the diamond-paned windows of the church, added to the
+awful gloom of the funeral scene.
+
+And now suddenly arose the chant of the priests--the parting hymn for
+the dead!
+
+Francisco wept, for though his father had never manifested toward him an
+affection of the slightest endearing nature, yet the disposition of the
+young count was excellent; and, when he gazed upon the coffin, he
+remembered not the coldness with which its inmate in his lifetime had
+treated him--he thought only of a parent whom he had lost, and whose
+remains were there!
+
+And truly, on the brink of the tomb no animosity should ever find a
+resting-place in the human heart. Though elsewhere men yield to the
+influence of their passions and their feelings, in pursuing each his
+separate interests--though, in the great world, we push and jostle each
+other, as if the earth were not large enough to allow us to follow our
+separate ways--yet, when we meet around the grave, to consign a fellow
+creature to his last resting-place, let peace and holy forgiveness
+occupy our souls. There let the clash of interests and the war of
+jealousies be forgotten; and let us endeavor to persuade ourselves that,
+as all the conflicting pursuits of life must terminate at this point at
+last, so should our feelings converge to the one focus of amenity and
+Christian love. And, after all, how many who have considered themselves
+to be antagonists must, during a moment of solemn reflection, become
+convinced that, when toiling in the great workshop of the world, they
+have been engaged, in unconscious fraternity, in building up the same
+fabric!
+
+The priests were in the midst of their solemn chant--a deathlike silence
+and complete immovability prevailed among the mourners and the
+spectators--and the wind was moaning beneath the vaulted roofs, awaking
+those strange and tomb-like sounds which are only heard in large
+churches,--when light but rushing footsteps were heard on the marble
+pavement; and in another minute a female, not clothed in a mourning
+garb, but splendidly as for a festival, precipitated herself toward the
+bier.
+
+There her strength suddenly seemed to be exhausted; and, with a piercing
+scream, she sank senseless on the cold stones.
+
+The chant of the priest was immediately stilled; and Francisco hurrying
+forward, raised the female in his arms, while Dr. Duras asked for water
+to sprinkle on her countenance.
+
+Over her head the stranger wore a white veil of rich material, which was
+fastened above her brow by a single diamond of unusual size and
+brilliant luster. When the veil was drawn aside, shining auburn tresses
+were seen depending in wanton luxuriance over shoulders of alabaster
+whiteness: a beautiful but deadly pale countenance was revealed; and a
+splendid purple velvet dress delineated the soft and flowing outlines of
+a form modeled to the most perfect symmetry.
+
+She seemed to be about twenty years of age,--in the full splendor of
+loveliness, and endowed with charms which presented to the gaze of those
+around a very incarnation of the ideal beauty which forms the theme of
+raptured poets.
+
+And now, as the vacillating and uncertain light of the wax-candles
+beamed upon her, as she lay senseless in the arms of the Count Riverola,
+her pale, placid face appeared that of a classic marble statue; but
+nothing could surpass the splendid effects which the funeral tapers
+produced on the rich redundancy of her hair, which seemed dark where the
+shadows rested on it, but glittering as with a bright glory where the
+luster played on its shining masses.
+
+In spite of the solemnity of the place and the occasion, the mourners
+were struck by the dazzling beauty of that young female, who had thus
+appeared so strangely amongst them; but respect still retained at a
+distance those persons who were merely present from curiosity to witness
+the obsequies of one of the proudest nobles of Florence.
+
+At length the lady opened her large hazel eyes, and glanced wildly
+around, a quick spasm passing like an electric shock over her frame at
+the same instant; for the funeral scene burst upon her view, and
+reminded her where she was, and why she was there.
+
+Recovering herself almost as rapidly as she had succumbed beneath
+physical and mental exhaustion, she started from Francisco's arms; and
+turning upon him a beseeching, inquiring glance, exclaimed in a voice
+which ineffable anguish could not rob of its melody: "Is it true--oh,
+tell me is it true that the Count Riverola is no more?"
+
+"It is, alas! too true, lady," answered Francisco, in a tone of the
+deepest melancholy.
+
+The heart of the fair stranger rebounded at the words which thus seemed
+to destroy a last hope that lingered in her soul; and a hysterical
+shriek burst from her lips as she threw her snow-white arms, bare to the
+shoulders, around the head of the pall-covered coffin.
+
+"Oh! my much-loved--my noble Andrea!" she exclaimed, a torrent of tears
+now gushing from her eyes.
+
+"That voice!--is it possible?" cried one of the spectators who had been
+hitherto standing, as before said, at a respectful distance: and the
+speaker--a man of tall, commanding form, graceful demeanor, wondrously
+handsome countenance, and rich attire--immediately hurried toward the
+spot where the young female still clung to the coffin, no one having the
+heart to remove her.
+
+The individual who had thus stepped forward, gave one rapid but
+searching glance at the lady's countenance; and, yielding to the
+surprise and joy which suddenly animated him, he exclaimed: "Yes--it is,
+indeed, the lost Agnes!"
+
+The young female started when she heard her name thus pronounced in a
+place where she believed herself to be entirely unknown; and
+astonishment for an instant triumphed over the anguish of her heart.
+
+Hastily withdrawing her snow-white arms from the head of the coffin, she
+turned toward the individual who had uttered her name, and he instantly
+clasped her in his arms, murmuring, "Dearest--dearest Agnes, art thou
+restored----"
+
+But the lady shrieked, and struggled to escape from that tender embrace,
+exclaiming, "What means this insolence? will no one protect me?"
+
+"That will I," said Francisco, darting forward, and tearing her away
+from the stranger's arms. "But, in the name of Heaven! let this
+misunderstanding be cleared up elsewhere. Lady--and you, signor--I call
+on you to remember where you are, and how solemn a ceremony you have
+both aided to interrupt."
+
+"I know not that man!" ejaculated Agnes, indicating the stranger. "I
+come hither, because I heard--but an hour ago--that my noble Andrea was
+no more. And I would not believe those who told me. Oh! no--I could not
+think that Heaven had thus deprived me of all I loved on earth!"
+
+"Lady, you are speaking of my father," said Francisco, in a somewhat
+severe tone.
+
+"Your father!" cried Agnes, now surveying the young count with interest
+and curiosity. "Oh! then, my lord, you can pity--you can feel for me,
+who in losing your father have lost all that could render existence
+sweet!"
+
+"No--you have not lost all!" exclaimed the handsome stranger, advancing
+toward Agnes, and speaking in a profoundly impressive tone. "Have you
+not one single relative left in the world? Consider, lady--an old, old
+man--a shepherd in the Black Forest of Germany----"
+
+"Speak not of him!" cried Agnes, wildly. "Did he know all, he would
+curse me--he would spurn me from him--he would discard me forever! Oh!
+when I think of that poor old man, with his venerable white hair,--that
+aged, helpless man, who was so kind to me, who loved me so well, and
+whom I so cruelly abandoned. But tell me, signor," she exclaimed, in
+suddenly altered tone, while her breath came with the difficulty of
+acute suspense,--"tell me, signor, does that old man still live?"
+
+"He lives, Agnes," was the reply. "I know him well; at this moment he is
+in Florence!"
+
+"In Florence!" repeated Agnes; and so unexpectedly came this
+announcement, that her limbs seemed to give way under her, and she would
+have fallen on the marble pavement, had not the stranger caught her in
+his arms.
+
+"I will bear her away," he said; "she has a true friend in me."
+
+And he was moving off with his senseless burden, when Francisco, struck
+by a sudden idea, caught him by the elegantly slashed sleeve of his
+doublet, and whispered thus, in a rapid tone: "From the few, but
+significant words which fell from that lady's lips, and from her still
+more impressive conduct, it would appear, alas! that my deceased father
+had wronged her. If so, signor, it will be my duty to make her all the
+reparation that can be afforded in such a case."
+
+"'Tis well, my lord," answered the stranger, in a cold and haughty tone.
+"To-morrow evening I will call upon you at your palace."
+
+He then hurried on with the still senseless Agnes in his arms; and the
+Count of Riverola retraced his steps to the immediate vicinity of the
+coffin.
+
+This scene, which so strangely interrupted the funeral ceremony, and
+which has taken so much space to describe, did not actually occupy ten
+minutes from the moment when the young lady first appeared in the
+church, until that when she was borne away by the handsome stranger. The
+funeral obsequies were completed; the coffin was lowered into the family
+vault; the spectators dispersed, and the mourners, headed by the young
+count, returned in procession to the Riverola mansion, which was
+situated at no great distance.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+THE READING OF THE WILL.
+
+
+When the mourners reached the palace, Francisco led the way to an
+apartment where Nisida was awaiting their coming.
+
+Francisco kissed her affectionately upon the forehead; and then took his
+seat at the head of the table, his sister placing herself on his right
+hand.
+
+Dressed in deep mourning, and with her countenance unusually pale,
+Nisida's appearance inspired a feeling of profound interest in the minds
+of those who did not perceive that, beneath her calm and mournful
+demeanor, feelings of painful intensity agitated within her breast. But
+Dr. Duras, who knew her well--better, far better than even her own
+brother--noticed an occasional wild flashing of the eye, a nervous
+motion of the lips, and a degree of forced tranquillity of mien, which
+proved how acute was the suspense she in reality endured.
+
+On Francisco's left hand the notary-general, who had acted as one of the
+chief mourners, took a seat. He was a short, thin, middle-aged man, with
+a pale complexion, twinkling gray eyes, and a sharp expression of
+countenance. Before him lay a sealed packet, on which the eyes of Nisida
+darted, at short intervals, looks, the burning impatience of which were
+comprehended by Dr. Duras alone; for next to Signor Vivaldi, the
+notary-general--and consequently opposite to Nisida--sat the physician.
+
+The remainder of the company consisted of Father Marco and those most
+intimate friends of the family who had been invited to the funeral; but
+whom it is unnecessary to describe more particularly.
+
+Father Marco having recited a short prayer, in obedience to the custom
+of the age, and the occasion, the notary-general proceeded to break the
+seals of the large packet which lay before him: then, in a precise and
+methodical manner, he drew forth a sheet of parchment, closely written
+on.
+
+Nisida leaned her right arm upon the table, and half-buried her
+countenance in the snowy cambric handkerchief which she held.
+
+The notary-general commenced the reading of the will.
+
+After bestowing a few legacies, one of which was in favor of Dr. Duras,
+and another in that of Signor Vivaldi himself, the testamentary document
+ordained that the estates of the late Andrea, Count of Riverola, should
+be held in trust by the notary-general and the physician, for the
+benefit of Francisco, who was merely to enjoy the revenues produced by
+the same until the age of thirty, at which period the guardianship was
+to cease, and Francisco was then to enter into full and uncontrolled
+possession of those immense estates.
+
+But to this clause there was an important condition attached; for the
+testamentary document ordained that should the Lady Nisida--either by
+medical skill, or the interposition of Heaven--recover the faculties of
+hearing and speaking at any time during the interval which was to elapse
+ere Francisco would attain the age of thirty, then the whole of the
+estates, with the exception of a very small one in the northern part of
+Tuscany, were to be immediately made over to her; but without the power
+of alienation on her part.
+
+It must be observed that, in the middle ages many titles of nobility
+depended only on the feudal possession of a particular property. This
+was the case with the Riverola estates; and the title of Count of
+Riverola was conferred simply by the fact of the ownership of the landed
+property. Thus, supposing that Nisida became possessed of the estates,
+she would have enjoyed the title of countess, while her brother
+Francisco would have lost that of count.
+
+We may also remind our readers that Francisco was now nineteen; and
+eleven years must consequently elapse ere he could become the lord and
+master of the vast territorial possessions of Riverola.
+
+Great was the astonishment experienced by all who heard the provisions
+of this strange will--with the exception of the notary-general and
+Father Marco, the former of whom had drawn it up, and the latter of whom
+was privy to its contents (though under a vow of secrecy) in his
+capacity of father-confessor to the late count.
+
+Francisco was himself surprised, and, in one sense, hurt; because the
+nature of the testamentary document seemed to imply that the property
+would have been inevitably left to his sister, with but a very small
+provision for himself, had she not been so sorely afflicted as she was;
+and this fact forced upon him the painful conviction that even when
+contemplating his departure to another world, his father had not
+softened toward his son!
+
+But, on the other hand, Francisco was pleased that such consideration
+had been shown toward a sister whom he so devotedly loved; and he
+hastened, as soon as he could conquer his first emotions, to request the
+notary-general to permit Nisida to peruse the will, adding, in a
+mournful tone, "For all that your excellency has read has been, alas!
+unavailing in respect to her."
+
+Signor Vivaldi handed the document to the young count, who gently
+touched his sister's shoulder and placed the parchment before her.
+
+Nisida started as if convulsively, and raised from her handkerchief a
+countenance so pale, so deadly pale, that Francisco shrank back in
+alarm.
+
+But instantly reflecting that the process of reading aloud a paper had
+been as it were a kind of mockery in respect to his afflicted sister, he
+pressed her hand tenderly, and made a sign for her to peruse the
+document.
+
+She mechanically addressed herself to the task; but ere her eyes--now of
+burning, unearthly brilliancy--fell upon the parchment, they darted one
+rapid, electric glance of ineffable anguish toward Dr. Duras, adown
+whose cheeks large tears were trickling.
+
+In a few minutes Nisida appeared to be absorbed in the perusal of the
+will; and the most solemn silence prevailed throughout the apartment!
+
+At length she started violently, tossed the paper indignantly to the
+notary-general, and hastily wrote on a slip of paper these words:
+
+"Should medical skill or the mercy of Heaven restore my speech and
+faculty of hearing, I will abandon all claim to the estates and title of
+Riverola to my dear brother Francisco."
+
+She then handed the slip of paper to the notary-general, who read the
+contents aloud.
+
+Francisco darted upon his sister a look of ineffable gratitude and love,
+but shook his head, as much as to imply that he could not accept the
+boon even if circumstances enabled her to confer it!
+
+She returned the look with another, expressive of impatience at his
+refusal: and her eyes seemed to say, as eyes never yet spoke, "Oh, that
+I had the power to give verbal utterance to my feelings!"
+
+Meantime the notary-general had written a few words beneath those penned
+by Nisida, to whom he had handed back the slip; and she hastened to read
+them, thus: "Your ladyship has no power to alienate the estates, should
+they come into your possession."
+
+Nisida burst into an agony of tears and rushed from the room.
+
+Her brother immediately followed to console her; and the company
+retired, each individual to his own abode.
+
+But of all that company who had been present at the reading of the will,
+none experienced such painful emotions as Dr. Duras.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+THE PICTURES--AGNES AND THE UNKNOWN--MYSTERY.
+
+
+When Agnes awoke from the state of stupor in which she had been conveyed
+from the church, she found herself lying upon an ottoman, in a large and
+elegantly furnished apartment.
+
+The room was lighted by two silver lamps suspended to the ceiling, and
+which, being fed with aromatic oil of the purest quality, imparted a
+delicious perfume to the atmosphere.
+
+The walls were hung with paintings representing scenes of strange
+variety and interest, and connected with lands far--far away. Thus, one
+depicted a council of red men assembled around a blazing fire, on the
+border of one of the great forests of North America; another showed the
+interior of an Esquimaux hut amidst the eternal ice of the Pole;--a
+third delineated, with fearfully graphic truth, the writhing of a human
+victim in the folds of the terrific anaconda in the island of Ceylon; a
+fourth exhibited a pleasing contrast to the one previously cited, by
+having for its subject a family meeting of Chinese on the terraced roof
+of a high functionary's palace at Perkin; a fifth represented the
+splendid court of King Henry the Eighth in London; a sixth showed the
+interior of the harem of the Ottoman Sultan.
+
+But there were two portraits amongst this beautiful and varied
+collection of pictures, all of which, we should observe, appeared to
+have been very recently executed--two portraits which we must pause to
+describe. One represented a tall man of about forty years of age, with
+magnificent light hair--fine blue eyes, but terrible in expression--a
+countenance indisputably handsome, though every lineament denoted horror
+and alarm--and a symmetrical form, bowed by the weight of sorrow.
+Beneath this portrait was the following inscription:--"F., _Count of_
+A., _terminated his career on the 1st of August, 1517_."
+
+The other portrait alluded to was that of an old--old man, who had
+apparently numbered ninety winters. He was represented as cowering over
+a few embers in a miserable hovel, while the most profound sorrow was
+depicted on his countenance. Beneath this picture was the ensuing
+inscription:--"F. W., _January 7th, 1516. His last day thus._"
+
+There was another feature in that apartment to which we must likewise
+direct our reader's attention, ere we pursue the thread of our
+narrative. This was an object hanging against the wall, next to the
+second portrait just now described. It also had the appearance of being
+a picture--or at all events a frame of the same dimensions as the
+others; but whether that frame contained a painting, or whether it were
+empty, it was impossible to say, so long as it remained concealed by the
+large black cloth which covered it, and which was carefully fastened by
+small silver nails at each corner.
+
+This strange object gave a lugubrious and sinister appearance to a room
+in other respects cheerful, gay, and elegant.
+
+But to resume our tale.
+
+When Agnes awoke from her stupor, she found herself reclining on a soft
+ottoman of purple velvet, fringed with gold; and the handsome stranger,
+who had borne her from the church, was bathing her brow with water which
+he took from a crystal vase on a marble table.
+
+As she slowly and languidly opened her large hazel eyes, her thoughts
+collected themselves in the gradient manner; and when her glance
+encountered that of her unknown friend, who was bending over her with an
+expression of deep interest on his features, there flashed upon her mind
+a recollection of all that had so recently taken place.
+
+"Where am I?" she demanded, starting up, and casting her eyes wildly
+around her.
+
+"In the abode of one who will not injure you," answered the stranger, in
+a kind and melodious tone.
+
+"But who are you? and wherefore have you brought me hither?" exclaimed
+Agnes. "Oh! remember--you spoke of that old man--my grandfather--the
+shepherd of the Black Forest----"
+
+"You shall see him--you shall be restored to him," answered the
+stranger.
+
+"But will he receive me--will he not spurn me from him?" asked Agnes, in
+a wildly impassioned--almost hysterical tone.
+
+"The voice of pity cannot refuse to heave a sigh for thy fall," was the
+response. "If thou wast guilty in abandoning one who loved thee so
+tenderly, and whose earthly reliance was on thee, he, whom you did so
+abandon, has not the less need to ask pardon of thee. For he speedily
+forgot his darling Agnes--he traveled the world over, yet sought her
+not--her image was, as it were, effaced from his memory. But when
+accident----"
+
+"Oh! signor, you are mistaken--you know not the old man whom I deserted,
+and who was a shepherd on the verge of the Black Forest!" interrupted
+Agnes, in a tone expressive of bitter disappointment, "for he, who loved
+me so well, was old--very old, and could not possibly accomplish those
+long wanderings of which you speak. Indeed, if he be still alive--but
+that is scarcely possible----"
+
+And she burst into tears.
+
+"Agnes," cried the stranger, "the venerable shepherd of whom you speak
+accomplished those wanderings in spite of the ninety winters which
+marked his age. He is alive, too----"
+
+"He is alive!" ejaculated the lady, with reviving hopes.
+
+"He is alive--and at this moment in Florence!" was the emphatic answer.
+"Did I not ere now tell thee as much in the church?"
+
+"Yes--I remember--but my brain is confused!" murmured Agnes, pressing
+her beautiful white hands upon her polished brow. "Oh, if he be indeed
+alive--and so near me as you say--delay not in conducting me to him; for
+he is now the only being on earth to whom I dare look for solace and
+sympathy."
+
+"You are even now beneath the roof of your grandfather's dwelling," said
+the stranger, speaking slowly and anxiously watching the effect which
+this announcement was calculated to produce upon her to whom he
+addressed himself.
+
+"Here!--this my grandsire's abode!" she exclaimed, clasping her hands
+together, and glancing upward, as if to express her gratitude to Heaven
+for this welcome intelligence. "But how can that old man, whom I left so
+poor, have become the owner of this lordly palace? Speak, signor!--all
+you have told me seems to involve some strange mystery," she added with
+breathless rapidity. "Those wanderings of which you ere now
+spoke--wanderings over the world, performed by a man bent down by age;
+and then this noble dwelling--the appearances of wealth which present
+themselves around--the splendor--the magnificence----"
+
+"All--all are the old man's," answered the stranger, "and may some day
+become thine!"
+
+"Holy Virgin!" exclaimed Agnes, sinking upon the ottoman from which she
+had ere now risen, "I thank thee that thou hast bestowed these blessings
+on my relative in his old age. And yet," she added, again overwhelmed by
+doubts, "it is scarcely possible--no, it is too romantic to be true!
+Signor, thou art of a surety mistaken in him whom thou supposes to be my
+grandsire?"
+
+"Give me thine hand, Agnes--and I will convince thee," said the
+stranger.
+
+The young lady complied mechanically; and her unknown friend led her
+toward the portrait of the old man of ninety.
+
+Agnes recognized the countenance at a single glance, and would have
+fallen upon the floor had not her companion supported her in his arms.
+
+Tears again came to her relief; but hastily wiping them away, she
+extended her arms passionately toward the portrait, exclaiming, "Oh! now
+I comprehend you, signor! my grandsire lives in this dwelling
+indeed--beneath this roof; but lives only in that picture! Alas! alas!
+It was thus, no doubt, that the poor old man seemed when he was
+abandoned by me--the lost, the guilty Agnes! It was thus that he sat in
+his lonely dwelling--crushed and overwhelmed by the black ingratitude of
+his granddaughter! Oh! that I had never seen this portrait--this
+perpetuation of so much loneliness and so much grief! Ah! too faithful
+delineation of that sad scene which was wrought by me--vainly penitent
+that I am!"
+
+And covering her face with her hands she threw herself on her knees
+before the portrait, and gave way to all the bitterness and all the
+wildness of her grief.
+
+The stranger interrupted her not for some minutes: he allowed the flood
+of that anguish to have its full vent: but when it was partially
+subsiding he approached the kneeling penitent, raised her gently, and
+said, "Despair not! your grandsire lives."
+
+"He lives!" she repeated, her countenance once more expressing radiant
+hope, as the sudden gleam of sunshine bursts forth amidst the last drops
+of the April shower.
+
+But, almost at the same instant that she uttered those words, her eyes
+caught sight of the inscription at the foot of the picture; and,
+bounding forward she read it aloud.
+
+"Holy Virgin! I am deceived--basely, vilely deceived!" she continued,
+all the violence of her grief, which had begun to ebb so rapidly, now
+flowing back upon her soul; then turning abruptly round upon the
+stranger, she said in a hoarse hollow tone: "Signor, wherefore thus
+ungenerously trifle with my feelings--my best feelings? Who art thou?
+what would'st thou with me? and wherefore is that portrait here?"
+
+"Agnes--Agnes!" exclaimed her companion, "compose yourself, I implore
+you! I do not trifle with you--I do not deceive you! Your grandsire,
+Fernand Wagner, is alive--and in this house. You shall see him
+presently; but in the meantime, listen to what I am about to say."
+
+Agnes placed her finger impatiently upon the inscription at the bottom
+of the portrait, and exclaimed in a wild, hysterical tone, "Canst thou
+explain this, signor? 'January 7th, 1516,'--that was about a week after
+I abandoned him; and, oh! well indeed might those words be added--'His
+last day thus!'"
+
+"You comprehend not the meaning of that inscription!" ejaculated the
+stranger, in an imploring tone, as if to beseech her to have patience to
+listen to him. "There is a dreadful mystery connected with Fernand
+Wagner--connected with me--connected with these two portraits--connected
+also with----"
+
+He checked himself suddenly, and his whole form seemed convulsed with
+horror as he glanced toward the black cloth covering the neighboring
+frame.
+
+"A mystery?" repeated Agnes. "Yes--all is mystery: and vague and
+undefinable terrors oppress my soul!"
+
+"Thou shalt soon--too soon--be enlightened!" said the stranger, in a
+voice of profound melancholy; "at least, to a certain extent," he added,
+murmuringly. "But contemplate that other portrait for a few
+moments--that you may make yourself acquainted with the countenance of a
+wretch who, in conferring a fearful boon upon your grandsire, has
+plunged him into an abyss of unredeemable horror!"
+
+Agnes cast her looks toward the portrait of the tall man with the
+magnificent hair, the flashing blue eyes, the wildly expressive
+countenance, and the symmetrical form bowed with affliction; and, having
+surveyed it for some time with repugnance strongly mingled with an
+invincible interest and curiosity, she suddenly pointed toward the
+inscription.
+
+"Yes, yes; there is another terrible memorial!" cried the stranger. "But
+art thou now prepared to listen to a wondrous--an astonishing tale--such
+a tale as even nurses would scarcely dare narrate to lull children----"
+
+"I _am_ prepared," answered Agnes. "I perceive there is a dreadful
+mystery connected with my grandsire--with you, also--and perhaps with
+me;--and better learn at once the truth, than remain in this state of
+intolerable suspense."
+
+Her unknown friend conducted her back to the ottoman, whereon she placed
+herself.
+
+He took a seat by her side, and, after a few moments' profound
+meditation, addressed her in the following manner.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+REVELATIONS.
+
+
+"You remember, Agnes, how happily the times passed when you were the
+darling of the old man in his poor cottage. All the other members of his
+once numerous family had been swept away by pestilence, malady,
+accident, or violence; and you only were left to him. When the trees of
+this great Black Forest were full of life and vegetable blood, in the
+genial warmth of summer, you gathered flowers which you arranged
+tastefully in the little hut; and those gifts of nature, so culled and
+so dispensed by your hands, gave the dwelling a more cheerful air than
+if it had been hung with tapestry richly fringed. Of an evening, with
+the setting sun, glowing gold, you were wont to kneel by the side of
+that old shepherd; and together ye chanted a hymn giving thanks for the
+mercies of the day, and imploring the renewal of them for the morrow.
+Then did the music of your sweet voice, as it flowed upon the old man's
+ears in its melting, silvery tones, possess a charm for his senses which
+taught him to rejoice and be grateful that, though the rest of his race
+was swept away, thou, Agnes, was left!
+
+"When the winter came, and the trees were stripped of their verdure, the
+poor cottage had still its enjoyments; for though the cold was intense
+without, yet there were warm hearts within; and the cheerful fire of an
+evening, when the labors of the day were passed, seemed to make gay and
+joyous companionship.
+
+"But suddenly you disappeared; and the old man found himself deserted.
+You left him, too, in the midst of winter--at a time when his age and
+infirmities demanded additional attentions. For two or three days he
+sped wearily about, seeking you everywhere in the neighboring district
+of the Black Forest. His aching limbs were dragged up rude heights, that
+he might plunge his glances down into the hollow chasms; but still not a
+trace of Agnes! He roved along the precipices overlooking the rustling
+streams, and searched--diligently searched the mazes of the dark wood;
+but still not a trace of Agnes! At length the painful conviction broke
+upon him that he was deserted--abandoned; and he would sooner have found
+thee a mangled and disfigured corpse in the forest than have adopted
+that belief. Nay--weep not now; it is all past; and if I recapitulate
+these incidents, it is but to convince thee how wretched the old man
+was, and how great is the extenuation for the course which he was so
+soon persuaded to adopt."
+
+"Then, who art thou that knowest all this?" exclaimed Agnes, casting
+looks of alarm upon her companion.
+
+"Thou shalt soon learn who I am," was the reply.
+
+Agnes still gazed upon him in mingled terror and wonder; for his words
+had gone to her heart, and she remembered how he had embraced her when
+she first encountered him in the church. His manners, too, were so mild,
+so kind, so paternal toward her; and yet he seemed but a few years older
+than herself.
+
+"You have gazed upon the portrait of the old man," he continued, "as he
+appeared on that memorable evening which sealed his fate!"
+
+Agnes started wildly.
+
+"Yes, sealed his fate, but spared him his life!" said the unknown,
+emphatically. "As he is represented in that picture, so was he sitting
+mournfully over the sorry fire, for the morrow's renewal of which there
+was no wood! At that hour a man appeared--appeared in the midst of the
+dreadful storm which burst over the Black Forest. This man's countenance
+is now known to thee; it is perpetuated in the other portrait to which I
+directed thine attention."
+
+"There is something of a wild and fearful interest in the aspect of that
+man," said Agnes, casting a shuddering glance behind her, and trembling
+lest the canvas had burst into life, and the countenance whose
+lineaments were depicted thereon was peering over her shoulder.
+
+"Yes, and there was much of wild and fearful interest in his history,"
+was the reply; "but of that I cannot speak--no, I dare not. Suffice it
+to say that he was a being possessed of superhuman powers, and that he
+proffered his services to the wretched--the abandoned--the deserted
+Wagner. He proposed to endow him with a new existence--to restore him to
+youth and manly beauty--to make him rich--to embellish his mind with
+wondrous attainments--to enable him to cast off the wrinkles of age----"
+
+"Holy Virgin! now I comprehend it all!" shrieked Agnes, throwing herself
+at the feet of her companion: "and you--_you_----"
+
+"I am Fernand Wagner!" he exclaimed, folding her in his embrace.
+
+"And can you pardon me, can you forgive my deep--deep ingratitude?"
+cried Agnes.
+
+"Let us forgive each other!" said Wagner. "You can now understand the
+meaning of the inscription beneath my portrait. 'His last day thus'
+signifies that it was the last day on which I wore that aged, decrepit,
+and sinking form."
+
+"But wherefore do you say, 'Let us forgive each other?'" demanded Agnes,
+scarcely knowing whether to rejoice or weep at the marvelous
+transformation of her grandsire.
+
+"Did I not ere now inform thee that thou wast forgotten until accident
+threw thee in my way to-night?" exclaimed Fernand. "I have wandered
+about the earth and beheld all the scenes which are represented in those
+pictures--ay, and many others equally remarkable. For eighteen months I
+was the servant--and slave of him who conferred upon me this fatal
+boon----"
+
+"At what price, then, have you purchased it?" asked Agnes, with a cold
+shudder.
+
+"Seek not to learn my secret, girl!" cried Wagner, almost sternly; then,
+in a milder tone, he added, "By all you deem holy and sacred, I conjure
+you, Agnes, never again to question me on that head! I have told thee as
+much as it is necessary for thee to know----"
+
+"One word--only one word!" exclaimed Agnes in an imploring voice. "Hast
+thou bartered thine immortal soul----"
+
+"No--no!" responded Wagner, emphatically. "My fate is terrible
+indeed--but I am not beyond the pale of salvation. See! Agnes--I kiss
+the crucifix--the symbol of faith and hope!"
+
+And, as he uttered these words, he pressed to his lips an ivory crucifix
+of exquisite workmanship, which he took from the table.
+
+"The Virgin be thanked that my fearful suspicion should prove
+unfounded!" ejaculated Agnes.
+
+"Yes--I am not altogether lost," answered Wagner. "But _he_--the unhappy
+man who made me what I am---- And yet I dare not say more," he added,
+suddenly checking himself. "For one year and a half did I follow him as
+his servitor--profiting by his knowledge--gaining varied information
+from his experience--passing with the rapidity of thought from clime to
+clime--surveying scenes of ineffable bliss, and studying all the
+varieties of misery that fall to the lot of human nature. When he--my
+master--passed away----"
+
+"On the 1st of August, 1517," observed Agnes, quoting from the
+inscription beneath the portrait of the individual alluded to.
+
+"Yes; when he passed away," continued Wagner, "I continued my wanderings
+alone until the commencement of last year, when I settled myself in
+Florence. The mansion to which I have brought you is mine. It is in a
+somewhat secluded spot on the banks of the Arno, and is surrounded by
+gardens. My household consists of but few retainers; and they are
+elderly persons--docile and obedient. The moment that I entered this
+abode, I set to work to paint those portraits to which I have directed
+your attention--likewise these pictures," he added, glancing around,
+"and in which I have represented scenes that my own eyes have witnessed.
+Here, henceforth, Agnes, shalt thou dwell; and let the past be
+forgotten. But there are three conditions which I must impose upon
+thee."
+
+"Name them," said Agnes; "I promise obedience beforehand."
+
+"The first," returned Fernand, "is that you henceforth look upon me as
+your brother, and call me such when we are alone together or in the
+presence of strangers. The second is that you never seek to remove the
+black cloth which covers yon place----"
+
+Agnes glanced toward the object alluded to and shuddered--as if the veil
+concealed some new mystery.
+
+"And the third condition is that you revive not on any future occasion
+the subject of our present conversation, nor even question me in respect
+to those secrets which it may suit me to retain within my own breast."
+
+Agnes promised obedience, and, embracing Wagner, said, "Heaven has been
+merciful to me, in my present affliction, in that it has given me _a
+brother_!"
+
+"Thou speakest of thine afflictions, Agnes!" exclaimed Wagner; "this is
+the night of revelations and mutual confidences--and this night once
+passed, we will never again allude to the present topics, unless events
+should render their revival necessary. It now remains for thee to
+narrate to me all that has befallen thee since the winter of 1516."
+
+Agnes hastened to comply with Fernand's request, and commenced her
+history in the following manner:
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+THE HISTORY OF AGNES.
+
+
+"When you, dear brother--for so I shall henceforth call you--commenced
+your strange and wondrous revelations ere now, you painted in vivid
+colors the happiness which dwelt in our poor cottage on the borders of
+the Black Forest. You saw how deeply your words affected me--I could not
+restrain my tears. Let me not, however, dwell upon this subject; but
+rather hasten to explain those powerful causes which induced me to quit
+that happy home.
+
+"It was about six weeks before my flight that I went into the forest to
+gather wood. I was in the midst of my occupation, gayly thrilling a
+native song, when the sound of a horse's feet upon the hard soil of the
+beaten path suddenly interrupted me. I turned around, seeing a cavalier
+of strikingly handsome countenance--though somewhat stern withal, and of
+noble mien. He was in reality forty-four years of age--as I afterward
+learnt; but he seemed scarcely forty, so light did time sit upon his
+brow. His dress was elegant, though of some strange fashion; for it was
+Italian costume that he wore. The moment he was close to the spot where
+I stood he considered me for a short while, till I felt my cheeks
+glowing beneath his ardent gaze. I cast down my eyes; and the next
+instant he had leapt from his horse and was by my side. He addressed me
+in gentle terms; and when again I looked at him his countenance no more
+seemed stern. It appeared that he was staying with the Baron von
+Nauemberg, with whom he had been out hunting in the Black Forest, and
+from whom and his suite he was separated in the ardor of the chase.
+Being a total stranger in those parts, he had lost his way. I
+immediately described to him the proper path for him to pursue; and he
+offered me gold as a recompense. I declined the guerdon; and he
+questioned me concerning my family and my position. I told him that I
+lived hard-by, with an only relative--a grandsire, to whom I was
+devotedly attached. He lingered long in conversation with me; and his
+manner was so kind, so condescending, and so respectful, that I thought
+not I was doing wrong to listen to him. At length he requested me to be
+on the same spot at the same hour on the morrow; and he departed.
+
+"I was struck by his appearance--dazzled by the brilliancy of his
+discourse; for he spoke German fluently, although an Italian. He had
+made a deep impression on my mind; and I felt a secret longing to meet
+him again. Suddenly it occurred to me that I was acting with
+impropriety, and that you would be angry with me. I therefore resolved
+not to mention to you my accidental encounter with the handsome
+cavalier; but I determined at the same time not to repair to the forest
+next day. When the appointed hour drew near, my good genius deserted me;
+and I went. He was there, and he seemed pleased at my punctuality. I
+need not detail to you the nature of the discourse which he held toward
+me. Suffice it to say, that he declared how much he had been struck with
+my beauty, and how fondly he would love me; and he dazzled me still more
+by revealing his haughty name; and I found that I was beloved by the
+Count of Riverola.
+
+"You can understand how a poor girl, who had hitherto dwelt in the
+seclusion of a cottage on the border of a vast wood, and who seldom saw
+any person of higher rank than herself, was likely to be dazzled by the
+fine things which that great nobleman breathed in her ear.
+
+"And I was dazzled--flattered--excited--bewildered. I consented to meet
+him again: interview followed interview, until I no longer required any
+persuasion to induce me to keep the appointments thus given. But there
+were times when my conscience reproached me for conduct which I knew you
+would blame; and yet I dared not unburden my soul to you!
+
+"Six weeks thus passed away; I was still innocent--but madly in love
+with the Count of Riverola. He was the subject of my thoughts by day--of
+my dreams by night; and I felt that I could make any sacrifice to retain
+his affection. That sacrifice was too soon demanded! At the expiration
+of the six weeks he informed me that on the following day he must return
+to Italy, whither important affairs called him sooner than he had
+anticipated. He urged me to accompany him; I was bewildered--maddened by
+the contemplation of my duty on the one hand, of my love on the other.
+My guardian saint deserted me; I yielded to the persuasion of the
+count--I became guilty--and there was now no alternative save to fly
+with him!
+
+"Oh! believe me when I declare that this decision cost me a dreadful
+pang; but the count would not leave me time for reflection. He bore me
+away on his fleet steed, and halted not until the tall towers of
+Nauemberg Castle appeared in the distance. Then he stopped at a poor
+peasant's cottage, where his gold insured me a welcome reception. Having
+communicated the plan which he proposed to adopt respecting our journey
+to Florence, he took an affectionate leave of me, with a promise to
+return on the ensuing morning. The remainder of the day was passed
+wretchedly enough by me; and I already began to repent of the step I had
+taken. The peasants who occupied the cottage vainly endeavored to cheer
+me; my heart was too full to admit of consolation. Night came at length,
+and I retired to rest; but my dreams were of so unpleasant a nature--so
+filled with frightful images--that never did I welcome the dawn with
+more enthusiastic joy. Shortly after daybreak the count appeared at the
+cottage, attended by one of his numerous suite--a faithful attendant on
+whom he could rely implicitly. They were mounted on good steeds; and
+Antonio--such was the name of the servitor--led a third by the bridle.
+This one the count had purchased at an adjacent hamlet, expressly for my
+use. He had also procured a page's attire; for in such disguise was it
+agreed that I should accompany the count to Italy.
+
+"I should observe that the nobleman, in order to screen our _amour_ as
+much as possible, had set out from Nauemberg Castle, attended by Antonio
+alone, alleging as an excuse that certain affairs compelled him to
+travel homeward with as much celerity as possible. The remainder of his
+suit were therefore ordered to follow at their leisure.
+
+"Oh! with what agonizing emotion did my heart beat, as, in a private
+chamber of the cottage, I laid aside my peasant's garb and donned the
+doublet, hose, cap and cloak of a youthful page. I thought of you--of
+your helplessness--your age,--and also of my native land, which I was
+about to quit--perhaps forever! Still I had gone too far to retreat, and
+regrets were useless. I must also confess that when I returned to the
+room where the count was waiting for me, and heard the flattering
+compliments which he paid me on my appearance in that disguise, I
+smiled--yes, I smiled, and much of my remorse vanished!
+
+"We set out upon our journey toward the Alps; and the count exerted all
+his powers of conversation to chase away from my mind any regrets or
+repinings that might linger there. Though cold and stern--forbidding and
+reserved--haughty and austere in his bearing toward others, to me he was
+affectionate and tender. To be brief, yet with sorrow must I confess it,
+at the expiration of a few days I could bear to think, without weeping,
+of the fond relative whom I had left behind in the cottage of the Black
+Forest!
+
+"We crossed the Alps in safety, but not without experiencing much peril;
+and in a short time glorious Italy spread itself out at our feet. The
+conversation of the count had already prepared me to admire----"
+
+At this moment, Agnes' narrative was interrupted by a piercing shriek
+which burst from her lips; and extending her arms toward the window of
+the apartment, she screamed hysterically, "Again that countenance!" and
+fell back on the ottoman.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+CONCLUSION OF THE HISTORY OF AGNES.
+
+
+In order that the reader may understand how Agnes could perceive any
+object outside the window, in the intense darkness of that tempestuous
+night--or rather morning, for it was now past one o'clock--we must
+observe that not only was the apartment in which Wagner and herself were
+seated brilliantly lighted by the silver lamps, but that, according to
+Florentine custom, there were also lamps suspended outside to the
+veranda, or large balcony belonging to the casements of the room above.
+
+Agnes and Wagner were, moreover, placed near the window which looked
+into a large garden attached to the mansion; and thus it was easy for
+the lady, whose eyes happened to be fixed upon the casement in the
+earnest interest with which she was relating her narrative, to perceive
+the human countenance that appeared at one of the panes.
+
+The moment her history was interrupted by the ejaculation of alarm that
+broke from her lips, Wagner started up and hastened to the window; but
+he could see nothing save the waving evergreens in his garden, and the
+light of a mansion which stood at a distance of about two hundred yards
+from his own abode.
+
+He was about to open the casement and step into the garden, when Agnes
+caught him by the arm, exclaiming wildly, "Leave me not--I could not--I
+could not bear to remain alone!"
+
+"No, I will not quit you, Agnes," replied Wagner, conducting her back to
+the sofa and resuming his seat by her side. "But wherefore that
+ejaculation of alarm? Whose countenance did you behold? Speak, dearest
+Agnes!"
+
+"I will hasten to explain the cause of my terror," retorted Agnes,
+becoming more composed. "Ere now I was about to detail the particulars
+of my journey to Florence, in company with the Count of Riverola, and
+attended by Antonio; but as those particulars are of no material
+interest, I will at once pass on to the period when we arrived in this
+city."
+
+"But the countenance at the window?" said Wagner, somewhat impatiently.
+
+"Listen--and you will soon know all," replied Agnes. "It was in the
+evening when I entered Florence for the first time. Antonio had
+proceeded in advance to inform his mother--a widow who resided in a
+decent house, but in an obscure street near the cathedral--that she was
+speedily to receive a young lady as a guest. This young lady was myself;
+and accordingly, when the count assisted me to alight from my horse at
+the gate of Dame Margaretha's abode, the good widow had everything in
+readiness for my reception. The count conversed with her apart for a few
+minutes; and I observed that he also placed a heavy purse in her
+hand--doubtless to insure her secrecy relative to the _amour_, with the
+existence of which he was of course compelled to acquaint her. Having
+seen me comfortably installed in Dame Margaretha's best apartment, he
+quitted me, with a promise to return on the morrow."
+
+Agnes paused for a few moments, sighed, and continued her narrative in
+the following manner:
+
+"Fortunately for me, Dame Margaretha was a German woman, who had married
+an Italian, otherwise my condition would have been wretched in the
+extreme. She treated me with great kindness, mingled with respect; for
+though but a poor peasant girl, I was beloved and protected by one of
+the most powerful nobles of Florence. I retired early to rest:--sleep
+did not, however, immediately visit my eyes! Oh! no--I was in Florence,
+but my thoughts were far away in my native Germany, and on the borders
+of the Black Forest. At length I fell into an uneasy slumber, and when I
+awoke the sun was shining through the lattice. I arose and dressed
+myself, and to my ineffable delight found that I was no longer to wear
+the garb of a page. That disguise had been removed while I slept, and in
+its place were costly vestments, which I donned with a pleasure that
+triumphed over the gloom of my soul. In the course of the morning rich
+furniture was brought to the house, and in a few hours the apartments
+allotted to me were converted, in my estimation, into a little paradise.
+The count arrived soon afterward, and I now--pardon me the neglect and
+ingratitude which my words confess--I now felt very happy. The noble
+Andrea enjoined me to go abroad but seldom, and never without being
+accompanied by Dame Margaretha; he also besought me not to appear to
+recognize him should I chance to meet him in public at any time, nor to
+form acquaintances; in a word, to live retired and secluded as possible,
+alike for his sake and my own. I promised compliance with all he
+suggested, and he declared in return that he would never cease to love
+me."
+
+"Dwell not upon details, Agnes," said Wagner; "for, although I am deeply
+interested in your narrative, my curiosity is strangely excited to learn
+the meaning of that terror which overcame you ere now."
+
+"I will confine myself to material facts as much as possible," returned
+Agnes. "Time glided rapidly away;--months flew by, and with sorrow and
+shame must I confess that the memories of the past, the memories of the
+bright, happy days of my innocence intruded but little on the life which
+I led. For, though he was so much older than I, yet I loved the Count of
+Riverola devotedly. Oh! Heaven knows how devotedly! His conversation
+delighted, fascinated me; and he seemed to experience a pleasure in
+imparting to me the extensive knowledge which he had acquired. To me he
+unbent as, doubtless, to human being he never unbent before; in my
+presence his sternness, his somber moods, his gloomy thoughts vanished.
+It was evident that he had much preying upon his mind; and perhaps he
+loved me thus fondly because--by some unaccountable whim or caprice, or
+strange influence--he found solace in my society. The presents which he
+heaped upon me, but which have been nearly all snatched from me, were of
+immense value; and when I remonstrated with him on account of a
+liberality so useless to one whom he allowed to want for nothing, he
+would reply, 'But remember, Agnes, when I shall be no more, riches will
+constitute your best friend, your safest protection; for such is the
+order of things in this world.' He generally spent two hours with me
+every day, and frequently visited me again in the evening. Thus did time
+pass; and at length I come to that incident which will explain the
+terror I ere now experienced."
+
+Agnes cast a hasty glance toward the window, as if to assure herself
+that the object of her fears was no longer there; and, satisfied on this
+head, she proceeded in the following manner:
+
+"It was about six months ago that I repaired as usual on the Sabbath
+morning to mass, accompanied by Dame Margaretha, when I found myself the
+object of some attention on the part of a lady, who was kneeling at a
+short distance from the place which I occupied in the church. The lady
+was enveloped in a dark, thick veil, the ample folds of which concealed
+her countenance, and meandered over her whole body's splendidly
+symmetrical length of limb in such a manner as to aid her rich attire in
+shaping, rather than hiding, the contours of that matchless form. I was
+struck by her fine proportions, which gave her, even in her kneeling
+attitude, a queen-like and majestic air; and I longed to obtain a
+glimpse of her countenance--the more so as I could perceive by her
+manner and the position of her head that from beneath her dark veil her
+eyes were intently fixed upon myself. At length the scrutiny to which I
+was thus subjected began to grow so irksome--nay, even alarming, that I
+hurriedly drew down my own veil, which I had raised through respect for
+the sacred altar whereat I was kneeling. Still I knew that the stranger
+lady was gazing on me; I _felt_ that she was. A certain uneasy
+sensation--amounting almost to a superstitious awe--convinced me that I
+was the object of her undivided attention. Suddenly the priests, in
+procession, came down from the altar; and as they passed us, I
+instinctively raised my veil again, through motives of deferential
+respect. At the same instant I glanced toward the stranger lady; she
+also drew back the dark covering from her face. Oh! what a countenance
+was then revealed to me--a countenance of such sovereign beauty that,
+though of the same sex, I was struck with admiration; but, in the next
+moment, a thrill of terror shot through my heart--for the fascination of
+the basilisk could scarcely paralyze its victim with more appalling
+effect than did the eyes of that lady. It might be conscience qualms,
+excited by some unknown influence--it might even have been imagination;
+but it nevertheless appeared as if those large, black, burning orbs shot
+forth lightnings which seared and scorched my very soul! For that
+splendid countenance, of almost unearthly beauty, was suddenly marked by
+an expression of such vindictive rage, such ineffable hatred, such
+ferocious menace, that I should have screamed had I not been as it were
+stunned--stupefied!
+
+"The procession of priests swept past. I averted my head from the
+stranger lady. In a few moments I again glanced hurriedly at the place
+which she had occupied--but she was gone. Then I felt relieved! On
+quitting the church, I frankly narrated to old Margaretha these
+particulars as I have now unfolded them to you; and methought that she
+was for a moment troubled as I spoke! But if she were, she speedily
+recovered her composure--endeavored to soothe me by attributing it all
+to my imagination, and earnestly advised me not to cause any uneasiness
+to the count by mentioning the subject to him. I readily promised
+compliance with this injunction; and in the course of a few days ceased
+to think upon the incident which has made so strange but evanescent an
+impression on my mind."
+
+"Doubtless Dame Margaretha was right in her conjecture," said Wagner;
+"and your imagination----"
+
+"Oh, no--no! It was not fancy!" interrupted Agnes, hastily. "But listen,
+and then judge for yourself. I informed you ere now that it was about
+six months ago when the event which I have just related took place. At
+that period, also, my noble lover--the ever-to be lamented Andrea--first
+experienced the symptoms of that internal disease which has, alas!
+carried him to the tomb."
+
+Agnes paused, wiped away her tears, and continued thus:
+
+"His visits to me consequently became less frequent;--I was more
+alone--for Margaretha was not always a companion who could solace me for
+the absence of one so dearly loved as my Andrea; and repeated fits of
+deep despondency seized upon my soul. At those times I felt as if some
+evil--vague and undefinable, but still terrible--were impending over me.
+Was it my lord's approaching death of which I had a presentiment? I know
+not! Weeks passed away; the count's visits occurred at intervals growing
+longer and longer--but his affection toward me had not abated. No: a
+malady that preyed upon his vitals retained him much at home;--and at
+last, about two months ago, I received through Antonio the afflicting
+intelligence that he was confined to his bed. My anguish now knew no
+bounds. I would fly to him--oh! I would fly to him:--who was more worthy
+to watch by his couch than I, who so dearly loved him! Dame Margaretha
+represented to me how painful it would be to his lordship were our
+_amour_ to transpire through any rash proceeding on my part--the more
+so, as I knew that he had a daughter and a son! I accordingly restrained
+my impetuous longing to hasten to his bedside:--I could not so easily
+subdue my grief!
+
+"One night I sat up late in my lonely chamber--pondering on the
+melancholy position in which I was placed,--loving so tenderly, yet not
+daring to fly to him whom I loved,--and giving way to all the mournful
+ideas which presented themselves to my imagination. At length my mind
+grew bewildered by those sad reflections; vague terrors gathered around
+me--multiplying in number and augmenting in intensity,--until at length
+the very figures on the tapestry with which the room was hung appeared
+animated with power to scare and affright me. The wind moaned ominously
+without, and raised strange echoes within; oppressive feelings crowded
+on my soul. At length the gale swelled to a hurricane--a whirlwind,
+seldom experienced in this delicious clime. Howlings in a thousand tones
+appeared to flit through the air; and piercing lamentations seemed to
+sound down the black clouds that rolled their mighty volumes together,
+veiling the moon and stars in thickest gloom. Overcome with terror, I
+retired to rest--and I slept. But troubled dreams haunted me throughout
+the night, and I awoke at an early hour in the morning. But--holy angels
+protect me!--what did I behold? Bending over me, as I lay, was that same
+countenance which I had seen four months before in the church,--and now,
+as it was _then_, darting upon me lightning from large black eyes that
+seemed to send shafts of flame and fire to the inmost recesses of my
+soul! Yet--distorted as it was with demoniac rage--that face was still
+endowed with the queen-like beauty--the majesty of loveliness, which had
+before struck me, and which even lent force to those looks of dreadful
+menace that were fixed upon me. There were the high forehead--the proud
+lip, curled in scorn,--the brilliant teeth, glistening between the
+quivering vermilion,--and the swan-like arching of the dazzling neck;
+there also was the dark glory of the luxuriant hair!
+
+"For a few moments I was spell-bound--motionless--speechless. Clothed
+with terror and sublimity, yet in all the flush of the most perfect
+beauty, a strange--mysterious being stood over me: and I knew not
+whether she were a denizen of this world, or a spirit risen from
+another. Perhaps the transcendent loveliness of that countenance was but
+a mask and the wondrous symmetry of that form but a disguise, beneath
+which all the passions of hell were raging in the brain and in the heart
+of a fiend. Such were the ideas that flashed through my imagination; and
+I involuntarily closed my eyes, as if this action could avert the
+malignity that appeared to menace me. But dreadful thoughts still
+pursued me--enveloping me, as it were, in an oppressive mist wherein
+appalling though dimly seen images and forms were agitating; and I again
+opened my eyes. The lady--if an earthly being she really were--was gone.
+I rose from my couch and glanced nervously around--expecting almost to
+behold an apparition come forth from behind the tapestry, or the folds
+of the curtains. But my attention was suddenly arrested by a fact more
+germane to worldly occurrences. The casket wherein I kept the rich
+presents made to me at different times by my Andrea had been forced open
+and the most valuable portion of its contents were gone. On a closer
+investigation I observed that the articles which were left were those
+that were purchased new; whereas the jewels that had been abstracted
+were old ones, which, as the count had informed me, had belonged to his
+deceased wife.
+
+"On discovering this robbery, I began to suspect that my mysterious
+visitress, who had caused me so much alarm, was the thief of my
+property; and I immediately summoned old Margaretha. She was of course
+astounded at the occurrence which I related; and, after some reflection,
+she suddenly remembered that she had forgotten to fasten the house-door
+ere she retired to rest on the preceding evening. I chided her for a
+neglect which had enabled some evil-disposed woman to penetrate into my
+chamber, and not only terrify but also plunder me. She implored my
+forgiveness, and besought me not to mention the incident to the count
+when next we met. Alas! my noble Andrea and I never met again.
+
+"I was sorely perplexed by the event which I have just related. If the
+mysterious visitress were a common thief, why did she leave any of the
+jewels in the casket? and wherefore had she on two occasions
+contemplated me with looks of such dark rage and infernal menace? A
+thought struck me. Could the count's daughter have discovered our
+_amour_? and was it she who had come to gain possession of jewels
+belonging to the family? I hinted my suspicions to Margaretha; but she
+speedily convinced me that they were unfounded.
+
+"'The Lady Nisida is deaf and dumb,' she said, 'and cannot possibly
+exercise such faculties of observation, nor adopt such means of
+obtaining information as would make her acquainted with all that has
+occurred between her father and yourself. Besides--she is constantly in
+attendance on her sire, who is very, very ill.
+
+"I now perceived the improbability of a deaf and dumb female discovering
+an _amour_ so carefully concealed; but to assure myself more fully on
+that head, I desired Margaretha to describe the Lady Nisida. This she
+readily did, and I learnt from her that the count's daughter was of a
+beauty quite different from the lady whom I had seen in the church and
+in my own chamber. In a word, it appears that Nisida has light hair,
+blue eyes and a delicate form: whereas, the object of my interest,
+curiosity, and fear, is a woman of dark Italian loveliness.
+
+"I have little more now to say. The loss of the jewels and the
+recollection of the mysterious lady were soon absorbed in the
+distressing thoughts which the serious illness of the count forced upon
+my mind. Weeks passed away, and he came not; but he sent repeated
+messages by Antonio, imploring me to console myself, as he should soon
+recover, and urging me not to take any step that might betray the
+existence of our _amour_. Need I say how religiously I obeyed him in the
+latter respect? Day after day did I hope to see him again, for I knew
+not that he was dying: and I used to dress myself in my gayest
+attire--even as now I am appareled--to welcome his expected visit. Alas!
+he never came; and his death was concealed from me, doubtless that the
+sad event might not be communicated until after the funeral, lest in the
+first frenzy of anguish I should rush to the Riverola palace to imprint
+a last kiss upon the cheek of the corpse. But a few hours ago, I learned
+the whole truth from two female friends of Dame Margaretha who called to
+visit her, and whom I had hastened to inform that she was temporarily
+absent. My noble Andrea was dead, and at that very moment his funeral
+obsequies were being celebrated in the neighboring church--the very
+church in which I had first beheld the mysterious lady! Frantic with
+grief--unmindful of the exposure that would ensue--reckless of the
+consequences, I left the house--I hastened to the church--I intruded my
+presence amidst the mourners. You know the rest, Fernand. It only
+remains for me to say that the countenance which I beheld ere now at the
+window--strongly delineated and darkly conspicuous amidst the blaze of
+light outside the casement--was that of the lady whom I have thus seen
+for the third time! But, tell me, Fernand, how could a stranger thus
+obtain admission to the gardens of your mansion?"
+
+"You see yon lights, Agnes!" said Wagner, pointing toward the mansion
+which, as we stated at the commencement of that chapter, was situated at
+a distance of about two hundred yards from Fernand's dwelling, the backs
+of the two houses thus looking toward each other. "Those lights," he
+continued, "are shining in a mansion the gardens of which are separated
+from my own by a simple hedge of evergreens, that would not bar even the
+passage of a child. Should any inmate of that mansion possess curiosity
+sufficient to induce him or her to cross the boundary, traverse my
+gardens, and approach the casements of my residence, that curiosity may
+be easily gratified."
+
+"And to whom does yon mansion belong?" asked Agnes.
+
+"To Dr. Duras, an eminent physician," was the reply.
+
+"Dr. Duras, the physician who attended my noble Andrea in his illness!"
+exclaimed Agnes. "Then the mysterious lady of whom I have spoken so
+much, and whose countenance ere now appeared at the casement, must be an
+inmate of the house of Dr. Duras; or at all events, a visitor there! Ah!
+surely there is some connection between that lady and the family at
+Riverola?"
+
+"Time will solve the mystery, dearest sister, for so I am henceforth to
+call you," said Fernand. "But beneath this roof, no harm can menace you.
+And now let me summon good Dame Paula, my housekeeper, to conduct you to
+the apartments which have been prepared for your reception. The morning
+is far advanced, and we both stand in need of rest."
+
+Dame Paula, an elderly, good-tempered, kind-hearted matron, shortly made
+her appearance; and to her charge did Wagner consign his newly-found
+relative, whom he now represented to be his sister.
+
+But as Agnes accompanied the worthy woman from the apartment, she
+shuddered involuntarily as she passed the frame which was covered with
+the black cloth, and which seemed ominous amidst the blaze of light that
+filled the room.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+FRANCISCO, WAGNER AND NISIDA.
+
+
+On the ensuing evening, Francisco, Count of Riverola, was seated in one
+of the splendid saloons of his palace, pondering upon the strange
+injunction which he had received from his deceased father, relative to
+the mysterious closet, when Wagner was announced.
+
+Francisco rose to receive him, saying in a cordial though melancholy
+tone, "Signor, I expected you."
+
+"And let me hasten to express the regret which I experienced at having
+addressed your lordship coldly and haughtily last night," exclaimed
+Wagner. "But, at the moment, I only beheld in you the son of him who had
+dishonored a being very dear to my heart."
+
+"I can well understand your feelings on that occasion, signor," replied
+Francisco. "Alas! the sins of the fathers are too often visited upon the
+children in this world. But, in whatever direction our present
+conversation may turn, I implore you to spare as much as possible the
+memory of my sire."
+
+"Think not, my lord," said Wagner, "that I should be so ungenerous as to
+reproach you for a deed in which you had no concern, and over which you
+exercised no control. Nor should I inflict so deep an injury upon you,
+as to speak in disrespectful terms of him who was the author of your
+being, but who is now no more."
+
+"Your kind language has already made me your friend," exclaimed
+Francisco. "And now point out to me in what manner I can in any way
+repair--or mitigate--the wrong done to that fair creature in whom you
+express yourself interested."
+
+"That young lady is my sister," said Wagner, emphatically.
+
+"Your sister, signor! And yet, meseems, she recognized you not----"
+
+"Long years have passed since we saw each other," interrupted Fernand;
+"for we were separated in our childhood."
+
+"And did you not both speak of some relative--an old man who once dwelt
+on the confines of the Black Forest of Germany, but who is now in
+Florence?" asked Francisco.
+
+"Alas! that old man is no more," returned Wagner. "I did but use his
+name to induce Agnes to place confidence in me, and allow me to withdraw
+her from a scene which her wild grief so unpleasantly interrupted; for I
+thought that were I then and there to announce myself as her brother,
+she might not believe me--she might suspect some treachery or snare in a
+city so notoriously profligate as Florence. But the subsequent
+explanations which took place between us cleared up all doubts on that
+subject."
+
+"I am well pleased to hear that the poor girl has found so near a
+relative and so dear a friend, signor," said Francisco. "And now
+acquaint me, I pray thee, with the means whereby I may, to some extent,
+repair the injury your sister has sustained at the hands of him whose
+memory I implore you to spare!"
+
+"Wealth I possess in abundance--oh! far greater abundance than is
+necessary to satisfy all my wants!" exclaimed Wagner, with something of
+bitterness and regret in his tone; "but, even were I poor, gold would
+not restore my sister's honor. No--let that subject, however, pass. I
+would only ask you, count, whether there be any scion of your
+family--any lady connected with you--who answers this description?"
+
+And Wagner proceeded to delineate, in minute terms, the portraiture of
+the mysterious lady who had inspired Agnes on three occasions with so
+much terror, and whom Agnes herself had depicted in such glowing
+language.
+
+"Signor! you are describing the Lady Nisida, my sister!" exclaimed
+Francisco, struck with astonishment at the fidelity of the portrait thus
+verbally drawn.
+
+"Your sister, my lord!" cried Wagner. "Then has Dame Margaretha deceived
+Agnes in representing the Lady Nisida to be rather a beauty of the cold
+north than of the sunny south."
+
+"Dame Margaretha!" said Francisco; "do you allude, signor, to the mother
+of my late father's confidential dependent, Antonio?"
+
+"The same," was the answer. "It was at Dame Margaretha's house that your
+father placed my sister Agnes, who has resided there nearly four years."
+
+"But wherefore have you made those inquiries relative to the Lady
+Nisida?" inquired Francisco.
+
+"I will explain the motive with frankness," responded Wagner.
+
+He then related to the young count all those particulars relative to the
+mysterious lady and Agnes, with which the reader is already acquainted.
+
+"There must be some extraordinary mistake--some strange error, signor,
+in all this," observed Francisco. "My poor sister is, as you seem to be
+aware, so deeply afflicted that she possesses not faculties calculated
+to make her aware of that _amour_ which even I, who possess those
+faculties in which she is deficient, never suspected, and concerning
+which no hint ever reached me, until the whole truth burst suddenly upon
+me last night at the funeral of my sire. Moreover, had accident revealed
+to Nisida the existence of the connection between my father and your
+sister, signor, she would have imparted the discovery to me, such is the
+confidence and so great is the love that exists between us. For habit
+has rendered us so skillful and quick in conversing with the language of
+the deaf and dumb, that no impediment ever exists to the free
+interchange of our thoughts."
+
+"And yet, if the Lady Nisida _had_ made such a discovery, her hatred of
+Agnes may be well understood," said Wagner; "for her ladyship must
+naturally look upon my sister as the partner of her father's
+weakness--the dishonored slave of his passions."
+
+"Nisida has no secret from me," observed the young count, firmly.
+
+"But wherefore did Dame Margaretha deceive my sister in respect to the
+personal appearance of the Lady Nisida?" inquired Wagner.
+
+"I know not. At the same time----"
+
+The door opened, and Nisida entered the apartment.
+
+She was attired in deep black; her luxuriant raven hair, no longer
+depending in shining curls, was gathered up in massy bands at the sides,
+and a knot behind, whence hung a rich veil that meandered over her
+body's splendidly symmetrical length of limb in such a manner as to aid
+her attire in shaping rather than hiding the contours of that matchless
+form. The voluptuous development of her bust was shrouded, not
+concealed, by the stomacher of black velvet which she wore, and which
+set off in strong relief the dazzling whiteness of her neck.
+
+The moment her lustrous dark eyes fell upon Fernand Wagner, she started
+slightly; but this movement was imperceptible alike to him whose
+presence caused it, and to her brother.
+
+Francisco conveyed to her, by the rapid language of the fingers, the
+name of their visitor, and at the same time intimated to her that he was
+the brother of Agnes, the young and lovely female whose strange
+appearance at the funeral, and avowed connection with the late noble,
+had not been concealed from the haughty lady.
+
+Nisida's eyes seemed to gleam with pleasure when she understood in what
+degree of relationship Wagner stood toward Agnes; and she bowed to him
+with a degree of courtesy seldom displayed by her to strangers.
+
+Francisco then conveyed to her in the language of the dumb, all those
+details already related in respect to the "mysterious lady" who had so
+haunted the unfortunate Agnes.
+
+A glow of indignation mounted to the cheeks of Nisida; and more than
+usually rapid was the reply she made through the medium of the alphabet
+of the fingers.
+
+"My sister desires me to express to you, signor," said Francisco,
+turning toward Wagner, "that she is not the person whom the Lady Agnes
+has to complain against. My sister," he continued, "has never to her
+knowledge seen the Lady Agnes; much less has she ever penetrated into
+her chamber; and indignantly does she repel the accusation relative to
+the abstraction of the jewels. She also desires me to inform you that
+last night after reading of our father's last testament, she retired to
+her chamber, which she did not quit until this morning at the usual
+hour; and that therefore it was not her countenance which the Lady Agnes
+beheld at the casement of your saloon."
+
+"I pray you, my lord, to let the subject drop now, and forever!" said
+Wagner, who was struck with profound admiration--almost amounting to
+love--for the Lady Nisida: "there is some strange mystery in all this,
+which time alone can clear up. Will your lordship express to your sister
+how grieved I am that any suspicion should have originated against her
+in respect to Agnes?"
+
+Francisco signaled these remarks to Nisida; and the latter, rising from
+her seat, advanced toward Wagner, and presented him her hand in token of
+her readiness to forget the injurious imputations thrown out against
+her.
+
+Fernand raised that fair hand to his lips, and respectfully kissed it;
+but the hand seemed to burn as he held it, and when he raised his eyes
+toward the lady's countenance, she darted on him a look so ardent and
+impassioned that it penetrated into his very soul.
+
+That rapid interchange of glances seemed immediately to establish a kind
+of understanding--a species of intimacy between those extraordinary
+beings; for on the one side, Nisida read in the fine eyes of the
+handsome Fernand all the admiration expressed there, and he, on his
+part, instinctively understood that he was far from disagreeable to the
+proud sister of the young Count of Riverola. While he was ready to fall
+at her feet and do homage to her beauty, she experienced the kindling of
+all the fierce fires of sensuality in her breast.
+
+But the unsophisticated and innocent-minded Francisco observed not the
+expression of these emotions on either side, for their manifestation
+occupied not a moment. The interchange of such feelings is ever too
+vivid and electric to attract the notice of the unsuspecting observer.
+
+When Wagner was about to retire, Nisida made the following signal to her
+brother:--"Express to the signor that he will ever be a welcome guest at
+the palace of Riverola; for we owe kindness and friendship to the
+brother of her whom our father dishonored."
+
+But, to the astonishment of both the count and the Lady Nisida, Wagner
+raised his hands, and displayed as perfect a knowledge of the language
+of the dumb as they themselves possessed.
+
+"I thank your ladyship for this unexpected condescension," he signaled
+by the rapid play of his fingers; "and I shall not forget to avail
+myself of this most courteous invitation."
+
+It were impossible to describe the sudden glow of pleasure and delight
+which animated Nisida's splendid countenance, when she thus discovered
+that Wagner was able to hold converse with her, and she hastened to
+reply thus: "We shall expect you to revisit us soon."
+
+Wagner bowed low and took his departure, his mind full of the beautiful
+Nisida.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+NISIDA AND WAGNER--FRANCISCO AND FLORA--THE APPROACH OF SUNSET.
+
+
+Upward of two months had passed away since the occurrences related in
+the preceding chapter, and it was now the 31st of January, 1521.
+
+The sun was verging toward the western hemisphere, but the rapid flight
+of the hours was unnoticed by Nisida and Fernand Wagner, as they were
+seated together in one of the splendid saloons of the Riverola mansion.
+
+Their looks were fixed on each other's countenance; the eyes of Fernand
+expressing tenderness and admiration, those of Nisida beaming with all
+the passions of her ardent and sensual soul.
+
+Suddenly the lady raised her hands, and by the rapid play of the
+fingers, asked, "Fernand, do you indeed love me as much as you would
+have me believe I am beloved?"
+
+"Never in this world was woman so loved as you," he replied, by the aid
+of the same language.
+
+"And yet I am an unfortunate being--deprived of those qualities which
+give the greatest charm to the companionship of those who love."
+
+"But you are eminently beautiful, my Nisida; and I can fancy how sweet,
+how rich-toned would be your voice, could your lips frame the words, '_I
+love thee!_'"
+
+A profound sigh agitated the breast of the lady; and at the same time
+her lips quivered strangely, as if she were essaying to speak.
+
+Wagner caught her to his breast; and she wept long and plenteously.
+Those tears relieved her; and she returned his warm, impassioned kisses
+with an ardor that convinced him how dear he had become to that
+afflicted, but transcendently beautiful being. On her side, the blood in
+her veins appeared to circulate like molten lead; and her face, her
+neck, her bosom were suffused with burning blushes.
+
+At length, raising her head, she conveyed this wish to her companion:
+"Thou hast given me an idea which may render me ridiculous in your
+estimation; but it is a whim, a fancy, a caprice, engendered only by the
+profound affection I entertain for thee. I would that thou shouldst say,
+in thy softest, tenderest tones, the words '_I love thee!_' and, by the
+wreathing of thy lips, I shall see enough to enable my imagination to
+persuade itself that those words have really fallen upon my ears."
+
+Fernand smiled assent; and, while Nisida's eyes were fixed upon him with
+the most enthusiastic interest, he said, "I love thee!"
+
+The sovereign beauty of her countenance was suddenly lighted up with an
+expression of ineffable joy, of indescribable delight; and, signaling
+the assurance, "I love thee, dearest, dearest Fernand!" she threw
+herself into his arms.
+
+But almost at the same moment voices were heard in the adjacent room:
+and Wagner, gently disengaging himself from Nisida's embrace, hastily
+conveyed to her an intimation of the vicinity of others.
+
+The lady gave him to understand by a glance that she comprehended him;
+and they remained motionless, fondly gazing upon each other.
+
+"I know not how it has occurred, Flora," said the voice of Francisco,
+speaking in a tender tone, in the adjoining room--"I know not how it has
+occurred that I should have addressed you in this manner--so soon, too,
+after the death of my lamented father, and while these mourning garments
+yet denote the loss which myself and sister have sustained----"
+
+"Oh! my lord, suffer me to retire," exclaimed Flora Francatelli, in a
+tone of beseeching earnestness; "I should not have listened to your
+lordship so long in the gallery of pictures, much less have accompanied
+your lordship hither."
+
+"I requested thee to come with me to this apartment, Flora, that I might
+declare, without fear of our interview being interrupted, how dear, how
+very dear, thou art to me, and how honorable is the passion with which
+thou hast inspired me. Oh, Flora," exclaimed the young count, "I could
+no longer conceal my love for thee! My heart was bursting to reveal its
+secret; and when I discovered thee alone, ere now, in the gallery of
+pictures, I could not resist the favorable opportunity accident seemed
+to have afforded for this avowal."
+
+"Alas! my lord," murmured Flora, "I know not whether to rejoice or be
+sorrowful at the revelation which has this day met my ears."
+
+"And yet you said ere now that you could love me, that you did love me
+in return," ejaculated Francisco.
+
+"I spoke truly, my lord," answered the bashful maiden; "but, alas! how
+can the humble, obscure, portionless Flora become the wife of the rich,
+powerful and honored Count of Riverola? There is an inseparable gulf
+fixed between us, my lord."
+
+"Am I not my own master? Can I not consult my own happiness in that most
+solemn and serious of the world's duties--marriage?" cried Francisco,
+with all the generous ardor of youth and his own noble disposition.
+
+"Your lordship is free and independent in point of fact," said Flora, in
+a low, tender and yet impressive tone; "but your lordship has
+relations--friends."
+
+"My relations will not thwart the wishes of him whom they love,"
+answered Francisco; "and those who place obstacles in the way of my
+felicity cannot be denominated my friends."
+
+"Oh! my lord--could I yield myself up to the hopes which your language
+inspires!" cried Flora.
+
+"You can--you may, dearest girl!" exclaimed the young count. "And now I
+know that you love me! But many months must elapse ere I can call thee
+mine; and, indeed, a remorse smites my heart that I have dared to think
+of my own happiness, so soon after a mournful ceremony has consigned a
+parent to the tomb. Heaven knows that I do not the less deplore his
+loss--but wherefore art thou so pale, so trembling, Flora?"
+
+"Meseems that a superstitious awe of evil omens has seized upon my
+soul," returned the maiden, in a tremulous tone. "Let us retire, my
+lord; the Lady Nisida may require my services elsewhere."
+
+"Nisida!" repeated Francisco, as if the mention of his sister's name had
+suddenly awakened new ideas in his mind.
+
+"Ah! my lord," said Flora, sorrowfully, "you now perceive that there is
+at least one who may not learn with satisfaction the alliance which your
+lordship would form with the poor and humble dependent."
+
+"Nay, by my patron saint, thou hast misunderstood me!" exclaimed the
+young count warmly. "Nisida will not oppose her brother's happiness; and
+her strong mind will know how to despise those conventional usages which
+require that high birth should mate with high birth, and wealth ally
+itself to wealth. Yes; Nisida will consult my felicity alone; and when I
+ere now repeated her name as it fell from your lips, it was in a manner
+reproachful to myself, because I have retained my love for thee a secret
+from her. A secret from Nisida! Oh! I have been cruel, unjust, not to
+have confided in my sister long ago! And yet," he added more slowly,
+"she might reproach me for my selfishness in bestowing a thought on
+marriage soon, so very soon, after a funeral! Flora, dearest maiden,
+circumstances demand that the avowal which accident and opportunity have
+led me this day to make, should exist as a secret, known only unto
+yourself and me. But, in a few months I will explain all to my sister,
+and she will greet thee as her brother's chosen bride. Are thou content,
+Flora, that our mutual love should remain thus concealed until the
+proper time shall come for its revelation?"
+
+"Yes, my lord, and for many reasons," was the answer.
+
+"For many reasons, Flora!" exclaimed the young count.
+
+"At least for more than one," rejoined the maiden. "In the first
+instance, it is expedient your lordship should have due leisure to
+reflect upon the important step which you propose to take--a step
+conferring so much honor on myself, but which may not insure your
+happiness."
+
+"If this be a specimen of thy reasons, dear maiden," exclaimed
+Francisco, laughing, "I need hear no more. Be well assured," he added
+seriously, "that time will not impair the love I experience for you."
+
+Flora murmured a reply which did not reach Wagner, and immediately
+afterward the sound of her light steps was heard retreating from the
+adjacent room. A profound silence of a few minutes occurred; and then
+Francisco also withdrew.
+
+Wagner had been an unwilling listener to the preceding conversation; but
+while it was in progress, he from time to time threw looks of love and
+tenderness on his beautiful companion, who returned them with
+impassioned ardor.
+
+Whether it were that her irritable temper was impatient of the restraint
+imposed upon herself and her lover by the vicinity of others, or whether
+she was annoyed at the fact of her brother and Flora being so long
+together (for Wagner had intimated to her who their neighbors were, the
+moment he had recognized their voices), we cannot say; but Nisida showed
+an occasional uneasiness of manner, which she, however, studied to
+subdue as much as possible, during the scene that took place in the
+adjoining apartment.
+
+Fernand did not offer to convey to her any idea of the nature of the
+conversation which occupied her brother and Flora Francatelli; neither
+did she manifest the least curiosity to be enlightened on that head.
+
+The moment the young lovers had quitted the next room Wagner intimated
+the fact to Nisida; but at the same instant, just as he was about to
+bestow upon her a tender caress, a dreadful, an appalling reminiscence
+burst upon him with such overwhelming force that he fell back stupefied
+on the sofa.
+
+Nisida's countenance assumed an expression of the deepest solicitude,
+and her eloquent, sparkling eyes, implored him to intimate to her what
+ailed him.
+
+But, starting wildly from his seat, and casting on her a look of such
+bitter, bitter anguish, that the appalling emotions thus expressed
+struck terror to her soul--Fernand rushed from the room.
+
+Nisida sprung to the window; and, though the obscurity of the evening
+now announced the last flickerings of the setting sunbeams in the west,
+she could perceive her lover dashing furiously on through the spacious
+gardens that surrounded the Riverola Palace.
+
+On--on he went toward the River Arno; and in a few minutes was out of
+sight.
+
+Alas! intoxicated with love, and giving himself up to the one delightful
+idea--that he was with the beauteous Nisida--then, absorbed in the
+interest of the conversation which he had overheard between Francisco
+and Flora--Wagner had forgotten until it was nearly too late, _that the
+sun was about to set on the last day of the month_.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+THE WEHR-WOLF.
+
+
+'Twas the hour of sunset.
+
+The eastern horizon, with its gloomy and somber twilight, offered a
+strange contrast to the glorious glowing hues of vermilion, and purple,
+and gold, that blended in long streaks athwart the western sky.
+
+For even the winter sunset of Italy is accompanied with resplendent
+tints--as if an emperor, decked with a refulgent diadem, were repairing
+to his imperial couch.
+
+The declining rays of the orb of light bathed in molten gold the
+pinnacles, steeples, and lofty palaces of proud Florence, and toyed with
+the limpid waves of the Arno, on whose banks innumerable villas and
+casinos already sent forth delicious strains of music, broken only by
+the mirth of joyous revelers.
+
+And by degrees as the sun went down, the palaces of the superb city
+began to shed light from their lattices, set in rich sculptured masonry;
+and here and there, where festivity prevailed, grand illuminations
+sprung up with magical quickness, the reflection from each separate
+galaxy rendering it bright as day far, far around.
+
+Vocal and instrumental melody floated through the still air; and the
+perfume of exotics, decorating the halls of the Florentine nobles,
+poured from the widely-opened portals, and rendered the air delicious.
+
+For Florence was gay that evening--the last day of each month being the
+one which the wealthy lords and high-born ladies set apart for the
+reception of their friends.
+
+The sun sank behind the western hills; and even the hothouse flowers
+closed up their buds--as if they were eyelids weighed down by slumber,
+and not to wake until the morning should arouse them again to welcome
+the return of their lover--that glorious sun!
+
+Darkness seemed to dilate upon the sky like an image in the midst of a
+mirage, expanding into superhuman dimensions--then rapidly losing its
+shapeliness, and covering the vault above densely and confusedly.
+
+But, by degrees, countless stars began to stud the colorless canopy of
+heaven, like gems of orient splendor; for the last--last flickering ray
+of the twilight in the west had expired in the increasing obscurity.
+
+But, hark! what is that wild and fearful cry?
+
+In the midst of a wood of evergreens on the banks of the Arno, a
+man--young, handsome, and splendidly attired--has thrown himself upon
+the ground, where he writhes like a stricken serpent, in horrible
+convulsions.
+
+He is the prey of a demoniac excitement: an appalling consternation is
+on him--madness is in his brain--his mind is on fire.
+
+Lightnings appear to gleam from his eyes, as if his soul were dismayed,
+and withering within his breast.
+
+"Oh! no--no!" he cries with a piercing shriek, as if wrestling madly,
+furiously, but vainly against some unseen fiend that holds him in his
+grasp.
+
+And the wood echoes to that terrible wail; and the startled bird flies
+fluttering from its bough.
+
+But, lo! what awful change is taking place in the form of that doomed
+being? His handsome countenance elongates into one of savage and
+brute-like shape; the rich garments which he wears become a rough,
+shaggy, and wiry skin; his body loses its human contours, his arms and
+limbs take another form; and, with a frantic howl of misery, to which
+the woods give horribly faithful reverberations, and, with a rush like a
+hurling wind, the wretch starts wildly away, no longer a man, but a
+monstrous wolf!
+
+On, on he goes: the wood is cleared--the open country is gained. Tree,
+hedge, and isolated cottage appear but dim points in the landscape--a
+moment seen, the next left behind; the very hills appear to leap after
+each other.
+
+A cemetery stands in the monster's way, but he turns not aside--through
+the sacred inclosure--on, on he goes. There are situated many tombs,
+stretching up the slope of a gentle acclivity, from the dark soil of
+which the white monuments stand forth with white and ghastly gleaming,
+and on the summit of the hill is the church of St. Benedict the Blessed.
+
+From the summit of the ivy-grown tower the very rooks, in the midst of
+their cawing, are scared away by the furious rush and the wild howl with
+which the Wehr-Wolf thunders over the hallowed ground.
+
+At the same instant a train of monks appear round the angle of the
+church--for there is a funeral at that hour; and their torches flaring
+with the breeze that is now springing up, cast an awful and almost
+magical light on the dark gray walls of the edifice, the strange effect
+being enhanced by the prismatic reflection of the lurid blaze from the
+stained glass of the oriel window.
+
+The solemn spectacle seemed to madden the Wehr-Wolf. His speed
+increased--he dashed through the funeral train--appalling cries of
+terror and alarm burst from the lips of the holy fathers--and the solemn
+procession was thrown into confusion. The coffin-bearers dropped their
+burden, and the corpse rolled out upon the ground, its decomposing
+countenance seeming horrible by the glare of the torch-light.
+
+The monk who walked nearest the head of the coffin was thrown down by
+the violence with which the ferocious monster cleared its passage; and
+the venerable father--on whose brow sat the snow of eighty winters--fell
+with his head against a monument, and his brains were dashed out.
+
+On, on fled the Wehr-Wolf, over mead and hill, through valley and dale.
+The very wind seemed to make way: he clove the air--he appeared to skim
+the ground--to fly.
+
+Through the romantic glades and rural scenes of Etruria the monster
+sped--sounds, resembling shrieking howls, bursting ever and anon from
+his foaming mouth--his red eyes glaring in the dusk of the evening like
+ominous meteors--and his whole aspect so full of appalling ferocity,
+that never was seen so monstrous, so terrific a spectacle!
+
+A village is gained; he turns not aside, but dashes madly through the
+little street formed by the huts and cottages of the Tuscan
+vine-dressers.
+
+A little child is in his path--a sweet, blooming, ruddy, noble boy; with
+violet-colored eyes and flaxen hair--disporting merrily at a short
+distance from his parents, who are seated at the threshold of their
+dwelling.
+
+Suddenly a strange and ominous rush--an unknown trampling of rapid feet
+falls upon their ears; then, with a savage cry, a monster sweeps past.
+
+"My child! my child!" screams the affrighted mother; and simultaneously
+the shrill cry of an infant in the sudden agony of death carries
+desolation to the ear!
+
+'Tis done--'twas but the work of a moment; the wolf has swept by, the
+quick rustling of his feet is no longer heard in the village. But those
+sounds are succeeded by awful wails and heart-rending lamentations: for
+the child--the blooming, violet-eyed, flaxen-haired boy--the darling of
+his poor but tender parents, is weltering in his blood!
+
+On, on speeds the destroyer, urged by an infernal influence which
+maddens the more intensely because its victim strives vainly to struggle
+against it: on, on, over the beaten road--over the fallow field--over
+the cottager's garden--over the grounds of the rich one's rural villa.
+
+And now, to add to the horrors of the scene, a pack of dogs have started
+in pursuit of the wolf--dashing--hurrying--pushing--pressing upon one
+another in all the anxious ardor of the chase.
+
+The silence and shade of the open country, in the mild starlight, seem
+eloquently to proclaim the peace and happiness of a rural life; but now
+that silence is broken by the mingled howling of the wolf, and the deep
+baying of the hounds--and this shade is crossed and darkened by the
+forms of the animals as they scour so fleetly--oh! with such whirlwind
+speed along.
+
+But that Wehr-Wolf bears a charmed life; for though the hounds overtake
+him--fall upon him--and attack him with all the courage of their nature,
+yet does he hurl them from him, toss them aside, spurn them away, and at
+length free himself from their pursuit altogether!
+
+And now the moon rises with unclouded splendor, like a maiden looking
+from her lattice screened with purple curtains; and still the monster
+hurries madly on with unrelaxing speed.
+
+For hours has he pursued his way thus madly; and, on a sudden, as he
+passes the outskirts of a sleeping town, the church-bell is struck by
+the watcher's hand to proclaim midnight.
+
+Over the town, over the neighboring fields--through the far-off forest,
+clanged that iron tongue: and the Wehr-Wolf sped all the faster, as if
+he were running a race with that Time whose voice had just spoken.
+
+On, on went the Wehr-Wolf; but now his course began to deviate from the
+right line which he had hitherto pursued, and to assume a curved
+direction.
+
+From a field a poor man was turning an ox into the main road, that he
+might drive the animal to his master's residence by daylight; the wolf
+swept by, and snapped furiously at the ox as he passed: and the beast,
+affrighted by the sudden appearance, gushing sound, and abrupt though
+evanescent attack of the infuriate monster, turned on the herdsman and
+gored him to death.
+
+On went the terrific wolf, with wilder and more frequent howlings, which
+were answered in a thousand tones from the rocks and caverns overlooking
+the valley through whose bosom he was now careering with whirlwind speed
+along.
+
+It was now two o'clock in the morning, and he had already described an
+immense circuit from the point where he had begun to deviate from a
+direct course.
+
+At a turning of the road, as he emerged from the valley, the monster
+encountered a party of village girls repairing with the produce of their
+dairies, and of their poultry-yards, to some still far distant town,
+which they had hoped to reach shortly after daybreak.
+
+Fair, gay, and smiling was the foremost maiden, as the bright moon and
+the silver starlight shone upon her countenance; but that sweet face,
+clad in the richest hues of health, was suddenly convulsed with horror,
+as the terrible Wehr-Wolf thundered by with appalling howls.
+
+For a few moments the foremost village maiden stood rooted to the spot
+in speechless horror: then, uttering a wild cry, she fell backward,
+rolled down a steep bank, and was ingulfed in the rapid stream that
+chafed and fretted along the side of the path.
+
+Her companions shrieked in agony of mind--the wail was echoed by a
+despairing cry from the drowning girl--a cry that swept frantically over
+the rippling waters; and, in another moment, she sank to rise no more!
+
+The breeze had by this time increased to a sharp wind, icy and cold, as
+it usually is, even in southern climes, when the dawn is approaching;
+and the gale now whistled through the branches of the evergreen wood in
+the neighborhood of Florence--that vicinity to which the Wehr-Wolf was
+at length returning!
+
+Still was his pace of arrow-like velocity--for some terrible power
+appeared to urge him on; and though his limbs failed not, though he
+staggered not in his lightning speed, yet did the foam at his mouth, the
+thick flakes of perspiration on his body, and the steam that enveloped
+him as in a dense vapor, denote how distressed the unhappy being in
+reality was.
+
+At last--at last a faint tinge was visible above the eastern horizon;
+gradually the light increased and put to flight the stars.
+
+But now the Oriental sky was to some extent obscured with clouds; and
+the Wehr-Wolf gnashed his teeth with rage, and uttered a savage howl, as
+if impatient of the delay of dawn.
+
+His speed began to relax; the infernal influence which had governed him
+for so many hours already grew less stern, less powerful, and as the
+twilight shone forth more plainly in proportion did the Wehr-Wolf's
+velocity diminish.
+
+Suddenly a piercing chill darted through his frame, and he fell in
+strong convulsions upon the ground, in the midst of the same wood where
+his transformation had taken place on the preceding evening.
+
+The sun rose angrily, imparting a lurid, reddened hue to the dark clouds
+that hung upon the Oriental heaven, as if the mantling curtains of a
+night's pavilion strove to repel the wooing kisses of the morn; and the
+cold chill breeze made the branches swing to and fro with ominous
+flapping, like the wings of the fabulous Simoorg.
+
+But in the midst of the appalling spasmodic convulsions, with direful
+writhings on the soil, and with cries of bitter anguish, the Wehr-Wolf
+gradually threw off his monster-shape; and at the very moment when the
+first sunbeam penetrated the wood and glinted on his face he rose a
+handsome, young, and perfect man once more!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+NISIDA'S EMOTIONS--THE DISGUISE--THE PLOT.
+
+
+We must now return to Nisida, whom we left gazing from the window of the
+Riverola mansion, at the moment when Wagner rushed away from the
+vicinity of his lady-love on the approach of sunset.
+
+The singularity of his conduct--the look of ineffable horror and anguish
+which he cast upon her, ere he parted from her presence--and the
+abruptness of his departure, filled her mind with the most torturing
+misgivings, and with a thousand wild fears.
+
+Had his senses suddenly left him? was he the prey to fits of mental
+aberration which would produce so extraordinary an effect upon him? had
+he taken a sudden loathing and disgust to herself? or had he
+_discovered_ anything in respect to her which had converted his love
+into hatred?
+
+She knew not--and conjecture was vain! To a woman of her excitable
+temperament, the occurrence was particularly painful. She had never
+known the passion of love until she had seen Wagner; and the moment she
+did see him, she loved him. The sentiment on her part originated
+altogether in the natural sensuality of her disposition; there was
+nothing pure--nothing holy--nothing refined in her affection for him; it
+was his wonderful personal beauty that had made so immediate and
+profound an impression upon her heart.
+
+There was consequently something furious and raging in that passion
+which she experienced for Fernand Wagner--a passion capable of every
+extreme--the largest sacrifices, or infuriate jealousies--the most
+implicit confidence, or the maddest suspicion! It was a passion which
+would induce her to ascend the scaffold to save him; or to plunge the
+vengeful dagger into his heart did she fancy that he deceived her!
+
+To one, then, whose soul was animated by such a love, the conduct of
+Fernand was well adapted to wear even an exaggerated appearance of
+singularity; and as each different conjecture swept through her
+imagination, her emotions were excited to an extent which caused her
+countenance to vary its expressions a hundred times in a minute.
+
+The fury of the desolating torrent, the rage of the terrific volcano,
+the sky cradled in the blackest clouds, the ocean heaving tempestuously
+in its mighty bed, the chafing of a tremendous flood against an
+embankment which seems ready every moment to give way, and allow the
+collected waters to burst forth upon the broad plains and into the
+peaceful valleys--all these occurrences in the physical world were
+imagined by the emotions that now agitated within the breast of the
+Italian lady.
+
+Her mind was like the sea put in motion by the wind; and her eyes
+flashed fire, her lips quivered, her bosom heaved convulsively, her neck
+arched proudly, as if she were struggling against ideas that forced
+themselves upon her and painfully wounded her boundless patrician pride.
+
+For the thought that rose uppermost amidst all the conjectures which
+rushed to her imagination, was that Fernand had conceived an invincible
+dislike toward her.
+
+Wherefore did he fly thus--as if eager to place the greatest possible
+distance between herself and him?
+
+Then did she recall to mind every interchange of thought that had passed
+between them through the language of the fingers; and she could fix upon
+nothing which, emanating from herself, had given him offense.
+
+Had he then really lost his senses?
+
+Madly did he seem to be rushing toward the Arno, on whose dark tide the
+departing rays of the setting sun glinted with oscillating and dying
+power.
+
+She still continued to gaze from the window long after he had
+disappeared; obscurity was gathering rapidly around; but, even had it
+been noonday, she would have seen nothing. Her ideas grew bewildered:
+mortification, grief, anger, suspicion, burning desire, all mingled
+together and at length produced a species of stunning effect upon her,
+so that the past appeared to be a dream, and the future was wrapt in the
+darkest gloom and uncertainty.
+
+This strange condition of her mind did not, however, last long; the
+natural energy of her character speedily asserted its empire over the
+intellectual lethargy which had seized upon her, and, awakening from her
+stupor, she resolved to waste not another instant in useless conjecture
+as to the cause of her lover's conduct.
+
+Hastening to her own apartments, she dismissed Flora Francatelli, whom
+she found there, with an abruptness of gesture and a frowning expression
+of countenance amounting to an act of cruelty toward that resigned and
+charming girl; so that as the latter hastened from the room, tears
+started from her eyes, and she murmured to herself, "Can it be possible
+that Donna Nisida suspects the attachment her brother has formed toward
+me? Oh! if she do, the star of an evil destiny seems already to rule my
+horoscope!"
+
+Scarcely had Flora disappeared in this sorrowing manner, when Nisida
+secured the outer door of her own suit of apartments, and hurried to her
+bed-chamber. There she threw aside the garb belonging to her sex, and
+assumed that of a cavalier, which she took from a press opening with a
+secret spring. Then, having arranged her hair beneath a velvet tocque
+shaded with waving black plumes, in such a manner that the disguise was
+as complete as she could render it, she girt on a long rapier of finest
+Milan steel, and throwing the short cloak edged with costly fur,
+gracefully over her left shoulder, she quitted her chamber by a private
+door opening behind the folds of the bed curtains.
+
+A narrow and dark staircase admitted her into the gardens of the
+Riverola mansion. These she crossed with a step so light and free, that
+had it been possible to observe her in the darkness of the evening, she
+would have been taken for the most elegant and charming cavalier that
+ever honored the Florentine Republic with his presence.
+
+In about a quarter of an hour she reached the abode of Dr. Duras; but
+instead of entering it, she passed round one of its angles, and opening
+a wicket by means of a key which she had about her, gained access to the
+gardens in the rear of the mansion.
+
+She traversed these grounds with hasty steps, passing the boundary which
+separated them from the gardens of Wagner's dwelling, and then relaxing
+her pace, advanced with more caution to the windows of this very
+apartment where Agnes had been so alarmed two months previously, by
+observing the countenance at the casement.
+
+But all was now dark within. Wagner was not in his favorite room--for
+Nisida _knew_ that this was her lover's favorite apartment.
+
+Perhaps he had not yet returned?
+
+Thus thought the lady; and she walked slowly round the spacious
+dwelling, which, like the generality of the patrician mansions of
+Florence in those times--as indeed is now the case to a considerable
+extent--stood in the midst of extensive gardens.
+
+There were lights in the servants' offices; but every other room seemed
+dark. No; one window in the front, on the ground-floor, shone with the
+luster of a lamp.
+
+Nisida approached it, and beheld Agnes reclining in a pensive manner on
+a sofa in a small but elegantly-furnished apartment. Her countenance was
+immediately overclouded; and for an instant she lingered to gaze upon
+the sylph-like form that was stretched upon that ottoman. Then she
+hastily pursued her way; and, having perfected the round of the
+building, once more reached the windows of her lover's favorite room.
+
+Convinced that he had not returned, and fearful of being observed by any
+of the domestics who might happen to pass through the gardens, Nisida
+retraced her way toward the dwelling of Dr. Duras. But her heart was now
+heavy, for she knew not how to act.
+
+Her original object was to obtain an interview with Wagner that very
+night, and learn, if possible, the reason of his extraordinary conduct
+toward her: for the idea of remaining in suspense for many long, long
+hours, was painful in the extreme to a woman of her excitable nature.
+
+She was, however, compelled to resign herself to this alternative; and,
+having let herself through the wicket belonging to the physician's
+gardens, she directed her steps homeward.
+
+On her way she passed by the gate of the Convent of Carmelite Nuns--one
+of the wealthiest, most strictly disciplined, and celebrated monastic
+establishments in the Florentine Republic.
+
+It appeared that a sudden thought here struck her; for ascending to the
+steep leading to the gate, she paused beneath the lamp of the deep
+Gothic portico, took out her tablets, and hastily wrote the following
+words:
+
+"Donna Nisida of Riverola requests an interview with the Lady Abbess
+Maria to-morrow at midday, on a matter seriously regarding the spiritual
+welfare of a young female who has shown great and signal disregard for
+the rites and ordinances of the most Holy Catholic Church: and in
+respect to whom the most severe measures must be adopted. Donna Nisida
+will visit the holy mother to-morrow at midday."
+
+Having written these words, Nisida tore off the leaf and thrust it
+through a small square grating set in the massive door of the convent.
+Then ringing the bell to call attention to the gate, she hastily pursued
+her way homeward.
+
+She had gained the gardens of the Riverola mansion, and was advancing
+toward the door of the private staircase leading to her chamber, when
+she suddenly perceived two dark figures standing within a few yards of
+her. Fearful that they might be domestics belonging to the household,
+she hastily and noiselessly retreated within the deep shade of the wall
+of the mansion, and there she remained motionless.
+
+We must now detail the conversation which passed between the two
+individuals whose presence in the garden had thus alarmed the Lady
+Nisida.
+
+"But are you sure of what you say, Antonio?" demanded one of the men.
+
+"By Saint Jacopo! I cannot be mistaken," was the reply. "The closet has
+been locked up for years and years, and the old count always used to
+keep the keys in an iron chest, which was also carefully locked and
+chained round. What can the place possibly contain but a treasure?"
+
+"After all it is only conjecture on your part; and that being the case,
+it is not worth while to risk one's life----"
+
+"You are a coward, Stephano!" exclaimed Antonio, angrily. "The closet
+has got a heavy, massive door, and a prodigiously strong lock; and if
+these precautions were not adopted to protect a hoard of wealth, why
+were they taken at all, let me ask you?"
+
+"There is something in what you say," replied Stephano; "but you do
+wrong to call me a coward. If it were not that we were cousins, and
+linked by a bond of long maintained friendship, I would send my rapier
+through your doublet in a twinkling."
+
+"Nay; I do not mean to anger thee, Stephano," cried the valet. "But let
+us speak lower: chafe not, I pray thee!"
+
+"Well--well!" said the other, gloomily; "go on, in the name of your
+patron saint! Only keep a guard upon your tongue, for it wags somewhat
+too freely; and remember that a man who has been for fifteen years the
+captain of as gallant a band as ever levied contributions on the lieges
+of the republic, is not to have '_coward_' thrown in his teeth."
+
+"Let it pass, good Stephano!" urged the valet. "I tell thee that a
+closet whereof I have spoken, can contain naught save a
+treasure--perhaps in gold--perhaps in massive plate."
+
+"We can dispose of either to our advantage," observed the bandit, with a
+coarse chuckle.
+
+"Will you undertake the business?" demanded Antonio.
+
+"I will," was the resolute answer; "and as much to convince you that
+Stephano is not a coward, as for any other reason. But when is it to be
+done? and why did you make an appointment to meet me here, of all places
+in Florence?"
+
+"It can be done when you choose," replied Antonio; "and as for the other
+questions, I desired you to meet me here, because I knew that you would
+not refuse a fine chance; and, suspecting this much it was necessary to
+show you the geography of the place."
+
+"Good!" observed the robber-chief. "To-morrow night I have a little
+affair in hand for a reverend and holy father, who is sure to be chosen
+superior of his order if his rival in the candidature be removed; and in
+four-and-twenty hours the said rival must be food for the fishes of the
+Arno."
+
+"Then the night after that?" suggested Antonio.
+
+"Pre-engaged again," returned the bandit-captain coolly. "A wealthy
+countess has been compelled to pledge her diamonds to a Jew; on Sunday
+next she must appear with her husband at the palace of the Medici; and
+on Saturday night, therefore, the diamonds must be recovered from the
+Jew."
+
+"Then the husband knows not that they are so pledged?" said Antonio.
+
+"Scarcely," answered the brigand. "They were deposited with the Jew for
+a loan which the countess raised to accommodate her lover. Now do you
+understand?"
+
+"Perfectly. What say you to next Monday night?"
+
+"I am at your service," responded Stephano. "Monday will suit me
+admirably, and midnight shall be the hour. And now instruct me in the
+nature of the locality."
+
+"Come with me, and I will show you by which way you and your comrades
+must effect an entry," said Antonio.
+
+The valet and the robber-chief now moved away from the spot where they
+had stood to hold the above conversation; and the moment they had turned
+the adjacent angle of the mansion, Nisida hastened to regain her
+apartment by the private staircase--resolving, however, to see Wagner as
+early as possible in the morning.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+THE LAST MEETING OF AGNES AND THE STRANGER LADY.
+
+
+While all nature was wrapped in the listening stillness of admiration at
+the rising sun, Fernand Wagner dragged himself painfully toward his
+home.
+
+His garments were besmeared with mud and dirt; they were torn, too, in
+many places; and here and there were stains of blood, still wet, upon
+them.
+
+In fact, had he been dragged by a wild horse through a thicket of
+brambles, he could scarcely have appeared in a more wretched plight.
+
+His countenance was ghastly pale; terror still flashed from his eyes,
+and despair sat on his lofty brow.
+
+Stealing through the most concealed part of his garden, he was
+approaching his own mansion with the air of a man who returns home in
+the morning after having perpetrated some dreadful deed of turpitude
+under cover of the night.
+
+But the watchful eyes of a woman have marked his coming from the lattice
+of her window; and in a few minutes Agnes, light as a fawn, came
+bounding toward him, exclaiming, "Oh! what a night of uneasiness have I
+passed, Fernand! But at length thou art restored to me--thou whom I have
+ever loved so fondly; although," she added, mournfully, "I abandoned
+thee for so long a time!"
+
+And she embraced him tenderly.
+
+"Agnes!" cried Fernand, repulsing her with an impatience which she had
+never experienced at his hands before: "wherefore thus act the spy upon
+me? Believe me, that although we pass ourselves off as brother and
+sister, yet I do not renounce that authority which the real nature of
+those ties that bind us together----"
+
+"Fernand! Fernand! this to me!" exclaimed Agnes, bursting into tears.
+"Oh! how have I deserved such reproaches?"
+
+"My dearest girl, pardon me, forgive me!" cried Wagner, in a tone of
+bitter anguish. "My God! I ought not to upbraid thee for that
+watchfulness during my absence, and that joy at my return, which prove
+that you love me! Again I say, pardon me, dearest Agnes."
+
+"You need not ask me, Fernand," was the reply. "Only speak kindly to
+me----"
+
+"I do, I will, Agnes," interrupted Wagner. "But leave me now! Let me
+regain my own chamber alone; I have reasons, urgent reasons for so
+doing; and this afternoon, Agnes, I shall be composed--collected again.
+Do you proceed by that path; I will take this."
+
+And, hastily pressing her hand, Wagner broke abruptly away.
+
+For a few moments Agnes stood looking after him in vacant astonishment
+at his extraordinary manner, and also at his alarming appearance, but
+concerning which latter she had not dared to question him.
+
+When he had entered the mansion by a private door, Agnes turned and
+pursued her way along a circuitous path shaded on each side by dark
+evergreens, and which was the one he had directed her to take so as to
+regain the front gate of the dwelling.
+
+But scarcely had she advanced a dozen paces, when a sudden rustling
+among the trees alarmed her; and in an instant a female form--tall,
+majestic, and with a dark veil thrown over her head, stood before her.
+
+Agnes uttered a faint shriek: for, although the lady's countenance was
+concealed by the veil, she had no difficulty in recognizing the stranger
+who had already terrified her on three previous occasions, and who
+seemed to haunt her.
+
+And, as if to dispel all doubt as to the identity, the majestic lady
+suddenly tore aside her veil, and disclosed to the trembling, shrinking
+Agnes, features already too well known.
+
+But, if the lightning of those brilliant, burning, black eyes had seemed
+terrible on former occasions, they were now absolutely blasting, and
+Agnes fell upon her knees, exclaiming, "Mercy! mercy! how have I
+offended you?"
+
+For a few moments those basilisk-eyes darted forth shafts of fire and
+flame, and the red lips quivered violently, and the haughty brow
+contracted menacingly, and Agnes was stupefied, stunned, fascinated,
+terribly fascinated by that tremendous rage, the vengeance of which
+seemed ready to explode against her.
+
+But only a few moments lasted that dreadful scene; for the lady, whose
+entire appearance was that of an avenging fiend in the guise of a
+beauteous woman, suddenly drew a sharp poniard from its sheath in her
+bodice, and plunged it into the bosom of the hapless Agnes.
+
+The victim fell back; but not a shriek--not a sound escaped her lips.
+The blow was well aimed, the poniard was sharp and went deep, and death
+followed instantaneously.
+
+For nearly a minute did the murderess stand gazing on the corpse--the
+corpse of one erst so beautiful; and her countenance, gradually relaxing
+from its stern, implacable expression, assumed an air of deep
+remorse--of bitter, bitter compunction.
+
+But probably yielding to the sudden thought that she must provide for
+her own safety, the murderess drew forth the dagger from the white bosom
+in which it was buried: hastily wiped it upon a leaf; returned it to the
+sheath; and, replacing the veil over her countenance, hurried rapidly
+away from the scene of her fearful crime.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+THE SBIRRI--THE ARREST.
+
+
+Scarcely ten minutes had elapsed since the unfortunate Agnes was thus
+suddenly cut off in the bloom of youth and beauty, when a lieutenant of
+police, with his guard of sbirri, passed along the road skirting
+Wagner's garden.
+
+They were evidently in search of some malefactor, for, stopping in their
+course, they began to deliberate on the business which they had in hand.
+
+"Which way could he possibly have gone?" cried one, striking the
+butt-end of his pike heavily upon the ground.
+
+"How could we possibly have missed him?" exclaimed another.
+
+"Stephano is not so easily caught, my men," observed the lieutenant. "He
+is the most astute and cunning of the band of which he is the captain.
+And yet, I wish we had pounced upon him, since we were so nicely upon
+his track."
+
+"And a thousand ducats offered by the state for his capture," suggested
+one of the sbirri.
+
+"Yes; 'tis annoying!" ejaculated the lieutenant, "but I could have sworn
+he passed this way."
+
+"And I could bear the same evidence, signor," observed the first
+speaker. "Maybe he has taken refuge in those bushes."
+
+"Not unlikely. We are fools to grant him a moment's vantage ground. Over
+the fence, my men, and beat amongst these gardens."
+
+Thus speaking, the lieutenant set the example, by leaping the railing,
+and entering the grounds belonging to Wagner's abode.
+
+The sbirri, who were six in number, including their officer, divided
+themselves into two parties, and proceeded to search the gardens.
+
+Suddenly a loud cry of horror burst from one of the sections; and when
+the other hastened to the spot, the sbirri composing it found their
+comrades in the act of raising the corpse of Agnes.
+
+"She is quite dead," said the lieutenant, placing his hand upon her
+heart. "And yet the crime cannot have been committed many minutes, as
+the corpse is scarcely cold, and the blood still oozes forth."
+
+"What a lovely creature she must have been," exclaimed one of the
+sbirri.
+
+"Cease your profane remarks, my man," cried the lieutenant. "This must
+be examined into directly. Does any one know who dwells in that
+mansion?"
+
+"Signor Wagner, a wealthy German," was the reply given by a sbirro.
+
+"Then come with me, my man," said the lieutenant; "and let us lose no
+time in searching his house. One of you must remain by the corpse--and
+the rest may continue the search after the bandit, Stephano."
+
+Having issued these orders, the lieutenant, followed by the sbirro whom
+he had chosen to accompany him, hastened to the mansion.
+
+The gate was opened by an old porter, who stared in astonishment when he
+beheld the functionaries of justice visiting that peaceful dwelling. But
+the lieutenant ordered him to close and lock the gate; and having
+secured the key, the officer said, "We must search this house; a crime
+has been committed close at hand."
+
+"A crime!" ejaculated the porter; "then the culprit is not here--for
+there is not a soul beneath this roof who would perpetrate a misdeed."
+
+"Cease your prating, old man," said the lieutenant, sternly. "We have a
+duty to perform--see that we be not molested in executing it."
+
+"But what is the crime, signor, of which----"
+
+"Nay--that you shall know anon," interrupted the lieutenant. "In the
+name of his serene highness, the duke, I command you in the first place
+to lead me and my followers to the presence of your master."
+
+The old man hastened to obey this mandate, and he conducted the sbirri
+into the chamber where Wagner, having thrown off his garments, was
+partaking of that rest which he so much needed.
+
+At the sound of heavy feet and the clanking of martial weapons, Fernand
+started from the slumber into which he had fallen only a few minutes
+previously.
+
+"What means this insolent intrusion?" he exclaimed, his cheeks flushing
+with anger at the presence of the police.
+
+"Pardon us, signor," said the lieutenant, in a respectful tone: "but a
+dreadful crime has been committed close by--indeed within the inclosure
+of your own grounds----"
+
+"A dreadful crime!" ejaculated Wagner.
+
+"Yes, signor; a crime----"
+
+The officer was interrupted by an ejaculation of surprise which burst
+from the lips of his attendant sbirro; and, turning hastily round, he
+beheld his follower intently scrutinizing the attire which Fernand had
+ere now thrown off.
+
+"Ah! blood-stains!" cried the lieutenant, whose attention was directed
+toward those marks by the finger of his man. "Then is the guilty one
+speedily discovered! Signor!" he added, turning once more toward Wagner,
+"are those your garments?"
+
+An expression of indescribable horror convulsed the countenance of
+Fernand; for the question of the officer naturally reminded him of his
+dreadful fate--the fate of a Wehr-Wolf--although, we should observe, he
+never remembered, when restored to the form of a man, what he might have
+done during the long hours that he wore the shape of a ferocious
+monster.
+
+Still, as he knew that his garments had been soiled, torn and
+blood-stained in the course of the preceding night, it was no wonder
+that he shuddered and became convulsed with mental agony when his
+terrible doom was so forcibly called to his mind.
+
+His emotions were naturally considered to be corroborative evidence of
+guilt: and the lieutenant laying his hand upon Wagner's shoulder, said
+in a stern, solemn manner, "In the name of his highness our prince, I
+arrest you for the crime of murder!"
+
+"Murder!" repeated Fernand, dashing away the officer's arm; "you dare
+not accuse me of such a deed!"
+
+"I accuse you of murder, signor," exclaimed the lieutenant. "Within a
+hundred paces of your dwelling a young lady----"
+
+"A young lady!" cried Wagner, thinking of Agnes, whom he had left in the
+garden.
+
+"Yes, signor, a young lady has been most barbarously murdered!" added
+the officer in an impressive tone.
+
+"Agnes! Agnes!" almost screamed the unhappy man, as this dreadful
+announcement fell upon his ears. "Oh! is it possible that thou art no
+more, my poor Agnes!"
+
+He covered his face with his hands and wept bitterly.
+
+The lieutenant made a sign to his follower, who instantly quitted the
+room.
+
+"There must be some mistake in this, signor," said the old porter,
+approaching the lieutenant and speaking in a voice tremulous with
+emotion. "The master whom I serve, and whom you accuse, is incapable of
+the deed imputed to him."
+
+"Yes. God knows how truly you speak!" ejaculated Wagner, raising his
+head. "That girl--oh! sooner than have harmed one single hair of her
+head---- But how know you that it is Agnes who is murdered?" he cried
+abruptly, turning toward the lieutenant.
+
+"It was you who said it, signor," calmly replied the officer, as he
+fixed his dark eyes keenly upon Fernand.
+
+"Oh! it was a surmise--a conjecture--because I parted with Agnes a short
+time ago in the garden," exclaimed Wagner, speaking in hurried and
+broken sentences.
+
+"Behold the victim!" said the lieutenant, who had approached the window,
+from which he was looking.
+
+Wagner sprung from his couch, and glanced forth into the garden beneath.
+
+The sbirri were advancing along the gravel pathway, bearing amongst them
+the corpse of Agnes upon whose pallid countenance the morning sunbeams
+were dancing, as if in mockery even at death.
+
+"Holy Virgin! it is indeed Agnes!" cried Wagner, in a tone of the most
+profound heart-rending anguish, and he fell back senseless in the arms
+of the lieutenant.
+
+An hour afterward, Fernand Wagner was the inmate of a dungeon beneath
+the palace inhabited by the Duke of Florence.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+NISIDA AND THE CARMELITE ABBESS.
+
+
+Punctually at midday, the Lady Nisida of Riverola proceeded, alone and
+unattended, to the Convent of Carmelite Nuns, where she was immediately
+admitted into the presence of the abbess.
+
+The superior of this monastic establishment, was a tall, thin,
+stern-looking woman, with a sallow complexion, an imperious compression
+of the lips, and small, grey eyes, that seemed to flicker with malignity
+rather than to beam with the pure light of Christian love.
+
+She was noted for the austerity of her manners, the rigid discipline
+which she maintained in the convent, and the inexorable disposition
+which she showed toward those who, having committed a fault, came within
+her jurisdiction.
+
+Rumor was often busy with the affairs of the Carmelite Convent; and the
+grandams and gossips of Florence would huddle together around their
+domestic hearths, on the cold winter's evenings, and venture mysterious
+hints and whispers of strange deeds committed within the walls of that
+sacred institution; how from time to time some young and beautiful nun
+had suddenly disappeared, to the surprise and alarm of her companions;
+how piercing shrieks had been heard to issue from the interior of the
+building, by those who passed near it at night,--and how the inmates
+themselves were often aroused from their slumbers by strange noises
+resembling the rattling of chains, the working of ponderous machinery,
+and the revolution of huge wheels.
+
+Such food for scandal as those mysterious whispers supplied, was not
+likely to pass without exaggeration; and that love of the marvelous
+which inspired the aforesaid gossips, led to the embellishment of the
+rumors just glanced at--so that one declared with a solemn shake of the
+head, how spirits were seen to glide around the convent walls at
+night--and another averred that a nun, with whom she was acquainted, had
+assured her that strange and unearthly forms were often encountered by
+those inmates of the establishment who were hardy enough to venture into
+the chapel, or to traverse the long corridors or gloomy cloisters after
+dusk.
+
+These vague and uncertain reports did not, however, prevent some of the
+wealthiest families in Florence from placing their daughters in the
+Carmelite Convent. A nobleman or opulent citizen who had several
+daughters, would consider it a duty to devote one of them to the service
+of the church; and the votive girl was most probably compelled to
+perform her novitiate and take the veil in this renowned establishment.
+It was essentially the convent patronized by the aristocracy; and no
+female would be received within its walls save on the payment of a
+considerable sum of money.
+
+There was another circumstance which added to the celebrity and
+augmented the wealth of the Carmelite Convent. Did a young unmarried
+lady deviate from the path of virtue, or did a husband detect the
+infidelity of his wife, the culprit was forthwith consigned to the care
+of the abbess, and forced to take up her abode in that monastic
+institution. Or, again--did some female openly neglect her religious
+duties, or imprudently express an opinion antagonistic to the Roman
+Catholic Church, the family to which she belonged would remove her to
+the spiritual care of the abbess.
+
+The convent was therefore considered to be an institution recognized by
+the state as a means of punishing immorality, upholding the Catholic
+religion, persuading the skeptical,--confirming the wavering, and
+exercising a salutary terror over the ladies of the upper class, at that
+period renowned for their dissolute morals. The aristocracy of Florence
+patronized and protected the institution--because its existence afforded
+a ready means to get rid of a dishonored daughter, or an unfaithful
+wife; and it was even said that the abbess was invested with
+extraordinary powers by the rescript of the duke himself, powers which
+warranted her interference with the liberty of young females who were
+denounced to her by their parents, guardians, or others who might have a
+semblance of a right to control or coerce them.
+
+Luther had already begun to make a noise in Germany; and the thunders of
+his eloquence had reverberated across the Alps to the Italian states.
+The priesthood was alarmed; and the conduct of the reformer was an
+excuse for rendering the discipline of the monastic institutions more
+rigid than ever. Nor was the Abbess Maria a woman who hesitated to avail
+herself of this fact as an apology for strengthening her despotism and
+widening the circle of her influence.
+
+The reader has now heard enough to make him fully aware that the Carmelite
+Convent was an establishment enjoying influence, exercising an authority,
+and wielding a power, which--if these were misdirected--constituted an
+enormous abuse in the midst of states bearing the name of a republic.
+But the career of the Medici was then hastening toward a close; and in
+proportion as the authority of the duke became more circumscribed, the
+encroachments of the ecclesiastical orders grew more extensive.
+
+The Abbess Maria, who was far advanced in years, but was endowed with
+one of those vigorous intellects against which Time vainly directs his
+influence, received the Lady Nisida in a little parlor plainly
+furnished. The praying desk was of the most humble description; and
+above it rose a cross of wood so worm-eaten and decayed that it seemed
+as if the grasp of a strong hand would crush it into dust. But this
+emblem of the creed had been preserved in the Carmelite Convent since
+the period of the Second Crusade, and was reported to consist of a piece
+of the actual cross on which the Saviour suffered in Palestine.
+
+Against the wall hung a scourge, with five knotted thongs, whereon the
+blood-stains denoted the severity of that penance which the abbess
+frequently inflicted upon herself. On a table stood a small loaf of
+coarse bread and a pitcher of water; for although a sumptuous banquet
+was every day served up in the refectory, the abbess was never known to
+partake of the delicious viands nor to place her lips in contact with
+wine.
+
+When Nisida entered the presence of the abbess, she sank on her knees,
+and folded her arms meekly across her bosom. The holy mother gave her a
+blessing, and made a motion for her to rise. Nisida obeyed, and took a
+seat near the abbess at the table.
+
+She then drew forth her tablets, and wrote a few lines, which the
+superior read with deep attention.
+
+Nisida placed a heavy purse of gold upon the table, and the abbess
+nodded an assent to the request contained in the lines inscribed on the
+tablet.
+
+The interview was about to terminate, when the door suddenly opened, and
+an elderly nun entered the room.
+
+"Ursula," said the lady abbess, in a cold but reproachful tone, "didst
+thou not know that I was engaged? What means this abrupt intrusion?"
+
+"Pardon me, holy mother!" exclaimed the nun: "but the rumor of such a
+frightful murder has just reached us----"
+
+"A murder!" ejaculated the abbess. "Oh! unhappy Florence, when wilt thou
+say farewell to crimes which render thy name detestable among Italian
+states?"
+
+"This indeed, too, holy mother, is one of inordinate blackness,"
+continued Sister Ursula. "A young and beautiful lady----"
+
+"We know not personal beauty within these walls, daughter," interrupted
+the abbess, sternly.
+
+"True, holy mother! and yet I did but repeat the tale as the porteress
+ere now related it to me. However," resumed Ursula, "it appears that a
+young female, whom the worldly-minded outside these sacred walls
+denominate beautiful, was barbarously murdered this morning--shortly
+after the hour of sunrise----"
+
+"Within the precincts of Florence?" inquired the abbess.
+
+"Within a short distance of the convent, holy mother," answered the nun.
+"The dreadful deed was accomplished in the garden attached to the
+mansion of a certain Signor Wagner, whom the worldly-minded style a
+young man wondrously handsome."
+
+"A fair exterior often conceals a dark heart, daughter," said the
+abbess. "But who was the hapless victim?"
+
+"Rumor declares, holy mother----"
+
+The nun checked herself abruptly, and glanced at Nisida, who, during the
+above conversation, had approached the windows which commanded a view of
+the convent garden, and whose back was therefore turned toward the
+abbess and Ursula.
+
+"You may speak fearlessly, daughter," said the abbess; "that unfortunate
+lady hears you not--for she is both deaf and dumb."
+
+"Holy Virgin succor her," exclaimed Ursula, crossing herself. "I was
+about to inform your ladyship," she continued, "that rumor represents
+the murdered woman to have been the sister of this Signor Wagner of whom
+I spoke; but it is more than probable that there was no tie of
+relationship between them--and that----"
+
+"I understand you, daughter," interrupted the abbess. "Alas! how much
+wickedness is engendered in this world by the sensual, fleshly passion
+which mortals denominate love! But is the murderer detected?"
+
+"The murderer was arrested immediately after the perpetration of the
+crime," responded Ursula; "and at this moment he is a prisoner in the
+dungeon of the palace."
+
+"Who is the lost man that has perpetrated such a dreadful crime?"
+demanded the abbess, again crossing herself.
+
+"Signor Wagner himself, holy mother," was the reply.
+
+"The pious Duke Cosmo bequeathed gold to this institution," said the
+abbess, "that masses might be offered up for the souls of those who fall
+beneath the weapon of the assassin. See that the lamented prince's
+instructions be not neglected in this instance, Ursula."
+
+"It was to remind your ladyship of this duty that I ventured to break
+upon your privacy," returned the nun, who then withdrew.
+
+The abbess approached Nisida, and touched her upon the shoulder to
+intimate to her that they were again alone together.
+
+She had drawn down her veil, and was leaning her forehead against one of
+the iron bars which protected the window--apparently in a mood of deep
+thought.
+
+When the abbess touched her, she started abruptly round--then, pressing
+the superior's hand with convulsive violence, hurried from the room.
+
+The old porteress presented the alms-box as she opened the gate of the
+convent; but Nisida pushed it rudely aside, and hurried down the steps
+as if she were escaping from a lazar-house, rather than issuing from a
+monastic institution.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+WAGNER IN PRISON--A VISITOR.
+
+
+It was evening; and Wagner paced his narrow dungeon with agitated steps.
+
+Far beneath the level of the ground, and under the ducal palace, was
+that gloomy prison, having no window, save a grating in the massive door
+to admit the air.
+
+A lamp burned dimly upon the table, whereon stood also the coarse prison
+fare provided for the captive, but which was untouched.
+
+The clanking of the weapons of the sentinels, who kept guard in the
+passage from which the various dungeons opened, fell mournfully upon
+Fernand's ears, and every moment reminded him of the apparent
+impossibility to escape--even if such an idea possessed him.
+
+The lamp had burned throughout the day in his dungeon; for the light of
+heaven could not penetrate that horrible subterranean cell--and it was
+only by the payment of gold that he had induced the jailer to permit him
+the indulgence of the artificial substitute for the rays of the glorious
+sun.
+
+"Oh! wretched being that I am!" he thought within himself, as he paced
+the stone floor of his prison-house; "the destiny of the accursed is
+mine! Ah! fool--dotard that I was to exchange the honors of old age for
+the vicissitudes of a renewed existence! Had nature taken her course, I
+should probably now be sleeping in a quiet grave--and my soul might be
+in the regions of the blessed. But the tempter came, and dazzled me with
+prospects of endless happiness--and I succumbed! Oh! Faust! would that
+thou hadst never crossed the threshold of my humble cottage in the Black
+Forest! How much sorrow--how much misery should I have been spared!
+Better--better to have remained in poverty--solitude--helplessness--worn
+down by the weight of years--and crushed by the sense of utter
+loneliness--oh! better to have endured all this, than to have taken on
+myself a new tenure of that existence which is so marked with misery and
+woe!"
+
+He threw himself upon a seat, and endeavored to reflect on his position
+with calmness; but he could not!
+
+Starting up, he again paced the dungeon in an agitated manner.
+
+"Holy God!" he exclaimed aloud, "how much wretchedness has fallen upon
+me in a single day! Agnes murdered--Nisida perhaps forever estranged
+from me--myself accused of a dreadful crime, whereof I am innocent--and
+circumstances all combining so wonderfully against me! But who could
+have perpetrated the appalling deed? Can that mysterious lady, whom
+Agnes spoke of so frequently, and who, by her description, so closely
+resembled my much-loved Nisida--can she----"
+
+At that moment the bolts were suddenly drawn back from the door of the
+dungeon--the clanking chains fell heavily on the stone pavement
+outside--and the jailer appeared, holding a lamp in his hand.
+
+"Your brother, signor, is come to visit you," said the turnkey. "But
+pray let the interview be a brief one--for it is as much as my situation
+and my own liberty are worth to have admitted him without an order from
+the chief judge."
+
+"With these words the jailer made way for a cavalier to enter the
+dungeon;" and as he closed the door, he said, "I shall return shortly to
+let your brother out again."
+
+Surprise had hitherto placed a seal upon Wagner's lips; but even before
+the visitor had entered the cell, a faint suspicion--a wild hope had
+flashed to his mind that Nisida had not forgotten him, that she would
+not abandon him.
+
+But this hope was destroyed almost as soon as formed, by the sudden
+recollection of her affliction;--for how could a deaf and dumb woman
+succeed in bribing and deceiving one so cautious and wary as the jailer
+of a criminal prison?
+
+Nevertheless the moment the visitor had entered the cell--and in spite
+of the deep disguise which she wore, the eyes of the lover failed not to
+recognize the object of his adoration in that elegant cavalier who now
+stood before him.
+
+Scarcely had the jailer closed and bolted the massive door again, when
+Fernand rushed forward to clasp Nisida in his arms;--but, imperiously
+waving her hand, she motioned him to stand back.
+
+Then, with the language of the fingers, she rapidly demanded--"Will you
+swear upon the cross that the young female who has been murdered, was
+not your mistress?"
+
+"I swear," answered Fernand in the same symbolic manner; and, as the
+light of the lamp played on his handsome countenance, his features
+assumed so decided an expression of truth, frankness, and sincerity,
+that Nisida was already more than half convinced of the injustice of her
+suspicions.
+
+But still she was determined to be completely satisfied; and, drawing
+forth a small but exquisitely sculptured crucifix from her doublet, she
+presented it to her lover.
+
+He sank upon one knee, received it respectfully, and kissed it without
+hesitation.
+
+Nisida then threw herself into his arms, and embraced him with a
+fondness as warm, as wild, as impassioned as her suspicions had ere now
+been vehement and fearfully resentful.
+
+Her presence caused Fernand to forget his sorrow--to forget that he was
+in a dungeon--to forget, also, the tremendous charge that hung over his
+head. For never had his Nisida appeared to him so marvelously beautiful
+as he now beheld her, disguised in the graceful garb of a cavalier of
+that age. Though tall, majestic, and of rich proportions for a woman,
+yet in the attire of the opposite sex she seemed slight, short, and
+eminently graceful. The velvet cloak sat so jauntily on her sloping
+shoulder;--the doublet became her symmetry so well;--and the rich lace
+collar was so arranged as to disguise the prominence of the chest--that
+voluptuous fullness which could not be compressed.
+
+At length a sudden thought struck Fernand, and he inquired, in the usual
+manner, how Nisida had gained access to him?
+
+"A faithful friend contrived the interview for me," she replied, with
+her wonted rapidity of play upon the fingers. "He led the jailer to
+believe that I was a German, and totally unacquainted with the Italian
+tongue. Thus not a word was addressed to me; and gold has opened the
+door which separated me from you. The same means shall secure your
+escape."
+
+"Dearest Nisida," signaled Wagner, "I would not escape were the door of
+my dungeon left open and the sentinels removed. I am innocent--and that
+innocence must be proved!"
+
+The lady exhibited extraordinary impatience at this reply.
+
+"You do not believe me guilty?" asked Wagner.
+
+She shook her head in a determined manner, to show how profound was her
+conviction of his innocence.
+
+"Then do not urge me, beloved one, to escape and be dishonored forever,"
+was the urgent prayer he conveyed to her.
+
+"The evidence against you will be overwhelming," she gave him to
+understand: then with an air of the most heart appealing supplication,
+she added, "Escape, dearest Fernand, for my sake!"
+
+"But I should be compelled to fly from Florence--and wouldst thou
+accompany me?"
+
+She shook her head mournfully.
+
+"Then I will remain here--in this dungeon! If my innocence be proved, I
+may yet hope to call the sister of the Count of Riverola my wife: if I
+be condemned----"
+
+He paused:--for he knew that, even if he were sentenced to death, he
+could not die,--that some power, of which, however, he had only a vague
+notion, would rescue him,--that the compact, which gave him renewed
+youth and a long life on the fatal condition of his periodical
+transformation into a horrid monster, must be fulfilled; and, though he
+saw not--understood not how all this was to be, still he knew that it
+_would_ happen if he should really be condemned!
+
+Nisida was not aware of the motive which had checked her lover as he was
+conveying to her his sense of the dread alternatives before him; and she
+hastened to intimate to him the following thought:--
+
+"You would say that if you be condemned, you will know how to meet death
+as becomes a brave man. But think of _me_--of Nisida, who loves you!"
+
+"Would you continue to love a man branded as a murderer?"
+
+"I should only think of you as my own dear Fernand!"
+
+He shook his head--as much as to say, "It cannot be!"--and then once
+more embraced her fondly--for he beheld, in her anxiety for his escape,
+only a proof of her ardent affection.
+
+At this moment the jailer returned: and while he was unbolting the door,
+Nisida made one last, imploring appeal to her lover to give his assent
+to escape, if the arrangements were made for that purpose.
+
+But he conveyed to her his resolute determination to meet the charge,
+with the hope of proving his innocence: and for a few moments Nisida
+seemed convulsed with the most intense anguish of soul.
+
+The jailer made his appearance; and Wagner, to maintain the deceit which
+Nisida informed him to have been practiced on the man, said a few words
+aloud in German--as if he was really taking leave of a brother.
+
+Nisida embraced him tenderly; and covering her countenance, as much as
+possible, with her slouched hat, the waving plumes of which she made to
+fall over her face, this extraordinary being issued from the cell.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+FLORA FRANCATELLI--THE THREE NUNS--THE CHAIR.
+
+
+Nisida regained her apartment, by the private staircase, without any
+molestation. Having laid aside her male attire, she assumed a loose
+wrapper, and then, throwing herself into an armchair, gave way to her
+reflections.
+
+These were apparently of no pleasurable nature; for they were frequently
+interrupted by convulsive starts and rapid glancings around the room--as
+if she were fearful lest some terrible specter were present to scare
+her.
+
+Once or twice her eyes lingered on her mother's portrait; and then
+profound sighs escaped her bosom.
+
+Presently the beautiful Flora Francatelli entered the apartment; but
+Nisida made her a sign of dismissal.
+
+The maiden withdrew; and we must now follow her to her own chamber.
+
+On reaching her bedroom, Flora did not immediately retire to rest. She
+felt that she should not sleep, even were she to seek her pillow: for
+she had much--very much to ponder upon!
+
+There was a marked, undisguised reserve about her mistress which
+materially affected her. Although she could not control her affections,
+yet she felt as if she were acting with duplicity toward the Lady Nisida
+in having listened to the love-tale of Francisco, and, retaining that
+revelation of his affection a secret in her own breast.
+
+Yet--had he not implored, had he not enjoined her to keep that avowal to
+herself? Yes, and when she looked at the matter, as it were, face to
+face, she could not justly reproach herself:--nevertheless, that secret
+love weighed upon her conscience like a crime!
+
+She could not understand wherefore Nisida's manner had changed toward
+her. Francisco had assuredly made no communication to his sister; and
+nothing had transpired to excite a suspicion of the real truth in her
+mind. Still there _was_ a coolness on the part of that lady:--or might
+it not be that Flora's imagination deceived her?
+
+There was another, and even a more serious cause of grief weighing upon
+her mind. Dispatches had been received from the nobleman in whose suit
+her brother Alessandro had repaired to Constantinople; and the secretary
+of the council of Florence had intimated to Signora Francatelli (Flora's
+aunt) that Alessandro had abjured the faith of his forefathers and had
+embraced the Mussulman creed. It was also stated that the young man had
+entered the service of grand vizier; but whether he had become a
+renegade through love for some Turkish maiden, or with the hope of
+ameliorating his condition in a worldly point of view, whether, indeed,
+self-interest or a conscientious belief in the superiority of the Moslem
+doctrines over those of Christianity, had swayed Alessandro, no one
+could say.
+
+His aunt was almost heart-broken at the news. Father Marco, through
+whose influence he had obtained the post of secretary to the Florentine
+Envoy, was shocked and grieved; and Flora was not the less afflicted at
+an event which, as she had been taught to believe, must inevitably place
+her much-loved brother beyond the hope of spiritual salvation.
+
+Amidst the gloomy reflections excited by the Lady Nisida's coolness, and
+the disagreeable tidings which had been received concerning her brother,
+there was nevertheless one gleam of consolation for Flora Francatelli.
+
+This was the love which Francisco entertained for her, and which she so
+tenderly, so sincerely reciprocated.
+
+Yes, a maiden's first love is ever a source of solace amidst the gloom
+of affliction; because it is so intimately intertwined with hope! For
+the soul of the innocent, artless girl who fondly loves, soars aloft in
+a heaven of her own creation, dove-like on the wings of faith!
+
+It was already late when Flora began to unbraid and set at liberty her
+dark brown tresses, preparatory to retiring to rest, when a low knock at
+the chamber-door startled her in the midst of her occupation.
+
+Thinking it might be the Lady Nisida who required her attendance she
+hastened to open the door; and immediately three women, dressed in
+religious habits and having black veils thrown over their heads so as
+completely to conceal their faces, entered the room.
+
+Flora uttered a faint scream--for the sudden apparition of those
+specter-like figures, at such a late hour of the night, was well
+calculated to alarm even a person of maturer age and stronger mind than
+Signora Francatelli.
+
+"You must accompany us, young lady," said the foremost nun, advancing
+toward her. "And beware how you create any disturbance--for it will
+avail you nothing."
+
+"Whither am I to be conducted?" asked Flora, trembling from head to
+foot.
+
+"That we cannot inform you," was the reply. "Neither must you know at
+present; and therefore our first duty is to blindfold you."
+
+"Pity me--have mercy upon me!" exclaimed Flora, throwing herself on her
+knees before the nun who addressed her in so harsh, so stern a manner.
+"I am a poor, unprotected girl: have mercy upon me!"
+
+But the three nuns seized upon her; and while one held the palm of her
+hand forcibly over her mouth so as to check her utterance, the others
+hastily blindfolded her.
+
+Flora was so overcome by this alarming proceeding, that she fainted.
+
+When she came to her senses, she found herself lying on a hard and sorry
+couch in a large apartment, almost entirely denuded of furniture and
+lighted by a feebly-burning lamp suspended to the low ceiling.
+
+For a moment she thought she was laboring under the influence of a
+hideous dream; but, glancing around, she started with affright, and a
+scream burst from her lips, when she beheld the three nuns standing by
+the bed.
+
+"Why have you brought me hither?" she demanded, springing from the
+couch, and addressing the recluses with frantic wildness.
+
+"To benefit you in a spiritual sense," replied the one who had before
+acted as spokeswoman: "to purge your mind of those mundane vanities
+which have seized upon it, and to render you worthy of salvation. Pray,
+sisters--pray for this at present benighted creature!"
+
+Then, to the surprise of the young maiden, the three nuns all fell upon
+their knees around her, and began to chant a solemn hymn in most
+lugubrious notes.
+
+They had thrown aside their veils, and the flickering light of the dim
+lamp gave a ghastly and unearthly appearance to their pale and severe
+countenances. They were all three elderly persons: and their aspect was
+of that cold, forbidding nature, which precludes hope on the part of any
+one who might have to implore mercy.
+
+The young maiden was astounded--stupefied--she knew not what to
+conjecture. Where was she? who were those nuns that had treated her so
+harshly? why was she brought to that cold, cheerless apartment? what
+meant the hymn that seemed chanted expressly on her account?
+
+She could not bear up against the bewilderment and alarm produced by
+these questions which she asked herself, and none of which she could
+solve. An oppressive sensation came over her; and she was about to sink
+back upon the couch from which she had risen, when the hymn suddenly
+ceased--the nuns rose from their suppliant posture--and the foremost,
+addressing the poor girl in a reproachful tone, exclaimed, "Oh!
+wicked--worldly-minded creature, repent--repent--repent!"
+
+There was something so awful--so appalling--in this strange conduct on
+the part of the nuns, that Flora began to doubt whether she were not
+laboring under some terrible delusion. She feared lest her senses were
+leaving her: and, covering her face with her hands, so as to close her
+eyes against external objects, she endeavored to look inward, as it
+were, and scrutinize her own soul.
+
+But she was not allowed time to reflect; for the three nuns seized upon
+her, the foremost saying, "You must come with us!"
+
+"Mercy! mercy!" screamed the wretched girl, vainly struggling in the
+powerful grasp of the recluses.
+
+Her long hair, which she had unbraided before she was carried off from
+the Riverola mansion, floated over her shoulders, and enhanced the
+expression of ineffable despair which her pallid countenance now wore.
+
+Wildly she glanced around, as she was being hurried from the room; and
+frantic screams escaped her lips. But there was no one nigh to
+succor--no one to melt at the outbursts of her anguish!
+
+The three nuns dragged, rather than conducted her to an adjacent
+apartment, which was lighted by a lamp of astonishing brilliancy, and
+hung in a skylight raised above the roof.
+
+On the floor, immediately beneath this lamp, stood an armchair of
+wicker-work; and from this chair two stout cords ascended to the
+ceiling, through which they passed by means of two holes perforated for
+the purpose.
+
+When Flora was dragged by the nuns to the immediate vicinity of the
+chair, which her excited imagination instantly converted into an engine
+of torture, that part of the floor on which the chair stood seemed to
+tremble and oscillate beneath her feet, as if it were a trap-door.
+
+The most dreadful sensations now came over her: she felt as if her brain
+was reeling--as if she must go mad.
+
+A fearful scream burst from her lips, and she struggled with the energy
+of desperation, as the nuns endeavored to thrust her into the chair.
+
+"No--no!" she exclaimed, frantically; "you shall not torture me--you
+dare not murder me! What have I done to merit this treatment! Mercy!
+mercy!"
+
+But her cries and her struggles were alike useless; for she was now
+firmly bound to the chair, into which the nuns had forced her to seat
+herself.
+
+Then commenced the maddening scene which will be found in the ensuing
+chapter.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+THE DESCENT--THE CHAMBER OF PENITENCE.
+
+
+Having bound Flora Francatelli to the chair in the manner just
+described, the three nuns fell back a few paces, and the wretched girl
+felt the floor giving way under her.
+
+A dreadful scream burst from her lips, as slowly--slowly the chair sank
+down, while the working of hidden machinery in the roof, and the steady,
+monotonous revolution of wheels, sounded with ominous din upon her ears.
+
+An icy stream appeared to pour over her soul; wildly she cast around her
+eyes, and then more piercing became her shrieks, as she found herself
+gradually descending into what seemed to be a pit or well--only that it
+was square instead of round.
+
+The ropes creaked--the machinery continued its regular movement, and the
+lamp fixed in the skylight overhead became less and less brilliant.
+
+And bending over the mouth of this pit into which she was descending
+were the three nuns--standing motionless and silent like hideous
+specters, on the brink of the aperture left by the square platform or
+trap, whereon the chair was fixed.
+
+"Mercy! Mercy!" exclaimed Flora, in a voice expressive of the most acute
+anguish.
+
+And stretching forth her snowy arms (for it was round the waist and by
+the feet that she was fastened to the chair), she convulsively placed
+her open palms against the wooden walls of the pit, as if she could by
+that spasmodic movement arrest the descent of the terrible apparatus
+that was bearing her down into that hideous, unknown gulf! But the walls
+were smooth and even, and presented nothing whereon she could fix her
+grasp.
+
+Her brain reeled, and for a few minutes she sat motionless, in dumb,
+inert despair.
+
+Then again, in obedience to some mechanical impulse, she glanced upward;
+the light of the lamp was now dimly seen, like the sun through a dense
+mist--but the dark figures were still bending over the brink of the
+abyss, thirty yards above.
+
+The descent was still progressing and the noise of the machinery still
+reached her ears, with buzzing, humming, monotonous indistinctness.
+
+She shrieked not now--she screamed not any more; but it was not
+resignation that sealed her lips;--it was despair!
+
+Suddenly she became aware of the gradual disappearance of the three
+nuns; as she descended, the wall seemed to rise slowly upward and cover
+them from her view.
+
+Then, for an instant there was a slight shock given to the platform
+whereon the chair was placed--as if it rested on something beneath.
+
+But no;--the fearful descent still went on--for, when she again
+stretched forth her hand to touch the walls, they appeared to be slowly
+rising--rising!
+
+She was now involved in almost total darkness; but far--far overhead the
+dim luster of the lamp was seen; and the four walls of the gulf now
+appeared to touch the ceiling of the room above, and to inclose that
+faint but still distinct orb within the narrow space thus shut in.
+
+The noise of the machinery also reached her still--but merely with a
+humming sound that was only just audible.
+
+For an instant she doubted whether she was still descending; but, alas!
+when her arms were a third time convulsively stretched forth, her fair
+hands felt the walls slipping away from her touch--gliding upward, as it
+were, with steady emotion.
+
+Then she knew that the descent had not ceased.
+
+But whither was she going? to what awful depth was she progressing?
+
+Already she conjectured, was she at least sixty yards beneath that dim
+yellow orb which every instant appeared to shine as through a deeper,
+deepening mist.
+
+For what fate was she reserved? and where was she?
+
+Suddenly it struck her that she was an inmate of the Carmelite Convent;
+for the rumors alluded to in a preceding chapter had often met her ears;
+and her imagination naturally associated them with the occurrences of
+that dreadful night.
+
+The piercing shrieks--the noise of machinery--the disappearance from
+time to time of some member of that monastic institution, all the
+incidents, in fine, to which those rumors had ever pointed, now seemed
+to apply to her own case.
+
+These reflections flashed, with lightning rapidity, through her brain,
+and paralyzed her with horror.
+
+Then she lost all further power of thought; and though not absolutely
+fainting, she was stunned and stupefied with the tremendous weight of
+overwhelming despair.
+
+How long she remained in this condition she knew not; but she was
+suddenly aroused by the opening of a low door in the wall in front of
+her.
+
+Starting as from a dreadful dream, she stretched forth her arms, and
+became aware that the descent had stopped; and at the same moment she
+beheld a nun, bearing a lamp, standing on the threshold of the door
+which had just opened.
+
+"Sister, welcome to the chamber of penitence!" said the recluse,
+approaching the terrified Flora.
+
+Then, placing the lamp in a niche near the door, the nun proceeded to
+remove the cords which fastened the young maiden to the chair.
+
+Flora rose, but fell back again on the seat--for her limbs were stiff in
+consequence of the length of time they had been retained in one
+position. The nun disappeared by the little door for a few minutes; and,
+on her return, presented the wretched girl a cup of cold water. Flora
+swallowed the icy beverage, and felt refreshed.
+
+Then, by the light of the lamp in the niche, she hastily examined the
+countenance of the nun; but its expression was cold--repulsive--stern:
+and Flora knew that it was useless to seek to make a friend of her.
+
+A frightful sense of loneliness, as it were, struck her like an
+ice-shaft penetrating to her very soul; and clasping her hands together,
+she exclaimed: "Holy Virgin! protect me!"
+
+"No harm will befall you, daughter," said the nun, "if you manifest
+contrition for past errors and a resolution to devote your future years
+to the service of Heaven."
+
+"My past errors!" repeated Flora, with mingled indignation and
+astonishment. "I am not aware that I ever injured a living soul by a
+word or deed--nor entertained a thought for which I need to blush!
+Neither have I neglected those duties which manifest the gratitude of
+mortals for the bounties bestowed upon them by Providence."
+
+"Ah! daughter," exclaimed the nun, "you interpret not your own heart
+rightly. Have you never abandoned yourself to those carnal
+notions--those hopes--those fears--those dreams of happiness--which
+constitute the passion which the world calls love?"
+
+Flora started, and a blush mantled on her cheeks, before so pale!
+
+"You see that I have touched a chord which vibrates to your heart's
+core, daughter," continued the nun, on whom that sudden evidence of
+emotion was not lost. "You have suffered yourself to be deluded by the
+whisperings of that feeling whose tendency was to wean your soul from
+Heaven."
+
+"And is it possible that a pure and virtuous love can be construed into
+a crime?" demanded the young maiden, her indignation overpowering her
+fears.
+
+"A love that is founded on, and fostered by ambition is a sin," replied
+the nun. "Marriage is doubtless an institution ordained by Heaven; but
+it becomes a curse, and is repulsive to all pious feelings, when it
+unites those whose passion is made up of sensuality and selfishness."
+
+"You dare not impute such base considerations to me!" exclaimed Flora,
+her cheeks again flushing, but with the glow of conscious innocence
+shamefully outraged by the most injurious suspicions.
+
+"Nay, daughter," continued the nun, unmoved by the manner of the young
+maiden; "you are unable to judge rightly of your own heart. You possess
+a confidence in integrity of purpose, which is but a mental blindness on
+your part."
+
+"Of what am I accused? and wherefore am I brought hither?" asked Flora,
+beginning to feel bewildered by the sophistry that characterized the
+nun's discourse.
+
+"Those who are interested in your welfare," replied the nun evasively,
+"have consigned you to the care of persons devoted to the service of
+Heaven, that your eyes may be opened to the vanity of the path which you
+have been pursuing, but from which you are so happily rescued."
+
+"And where am I? is this the Convent of the Carmelites? why was I
+subjected to all the alarms--all the mental tortures through which I
+have just passed?" demanded the young maiden, wildly and rapidly.
+
+"Think not that we have acted toward you in a spirit of persecution,"
+said the nun. "The mysteries which have alarmed you will be explained at
+a future period, when your soul is prepared by penance,
+self-mortification, and prayer to receive the necessary revelation. In
+the meantime, ask no questions, forget the world, and resolve to embrace
+a life devoted to the service of Heaven."
+
+"To embrace a conventual existence!" almost shrieked the wretched girl.
+"Oh! no, never!"
+
+"Not many days will elapse ere your mind will undergo a salutary
+change," said the nun, composedly. "But if you will follow me--as you
+appear to be somewhat recovered--I will conduct you to your cell
+adjoining the Chamber of Penitence."
+
+Flora, perceiving that any further attempt to reason with the recluse
+would be fruitlessly made, rose and followed her into a narrow, dark
+passage, at the end of which was a door standing half open.
+
+The nun extinguished her lamp, and led the way into a large apartment
+hung with black. At the further end there was an altar, surmounted by a
+crucifix of ebony, and lighted up with four wax candles, which only
+served to render the gloom of the entire scene more apparent.
+
+At the foot of the altar knelt five women, half naked, and holding
+scourges in their hands.
+
+"These are the penitents," whispered the nun to Flora. "Pause for a
+moment and contemplate them."
+
+A minute elapsed, during which the five penitents remained motionless as
+statues, with their heads bowed upon their bosoms, and their hands
+hanging down by their sides, as if those limbs were lifeless--save in
+respect to the hands that held the scourges. But, suddenly, one of
+them--a young and beautiful woman--exclaimed, in a tone of piercing
+anguish, "It is my fault! it is my fault! it is my fault!"--and the
+others took up the wail in voices equally characteristic of heartfelt
+woe.
+
+Then they lacerated their shoulders with the hard leathern thongs of
+their scourges; and a faintness came over Flora Francatelli when she
+observed the blood appear on the back of the young and beautiful
+penitent who had given the signal for this self-mortification.
+
+The nun, perceiving the effect thus produced upon the maiden, touched
+her upon the shoulder as a signal to follow whither she was about to
+lead; and, opening one of the several doors communicating with the
+Chamber of Penitence, she said in a low whisper--"This is your cell. May
+the Virgin bless you!"
+
+Flora entered the little room allotted to her, and the nun retired,
+simply closing, but not bolting the door behind her.
+
+A taper burnt before a crucifix suspended to the wall; and near it hung
+a scourge, from which last mentioned object Flora averted her eyes with
+horror.
+
+A bed, a simple toilet-table, a praying-desk, and a single chair,
+completed the furniture of the cell, which was of very narrow
+dimensions.
+
+Seating herself on the bed, Flora burst into an agony of tears.
+
+What would her aunt think when she received the news of her
+disappearance? for she could not suppose that any friendly feeling on
+the part of her persecutors would induce them to adopt a course which
+might relieve that much-loved relative's mind concerning her. What would
+Francisco conjecture? Oh! these thoughts were maddening!
+
+Anxious to escape from them, if possible, the almost heartbroken girl
+proceeded to lay aside her garments and retire to rest.
+
+Physical and mental exhaustion cast her into a deep sleep; but the
+horrors of her condition pursued her even in her dreams; so that when
+she awoke she was not startled to find herself in that gloomy cell.
+
+Casting her eyes around, she observed two circumstances which showed her
+that some one had visited her room during the hours she slept; for a new
+taper was burning before the crucifix, and her own garments had been
+removed,--the coarse garb of a penitent now occupying their place on the
+chair.
+
+"Oh! is it possible that I am doomed to bid farewell to the world
+forever?" exclaimed Flora, in a voice of despair, as she clasped her
+hands convulsively together.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+FRANCISCO AND NISIDA--DR. DURAS AND THE LETTER.
+
+
+The greatest confusion prevailed in the Riverola Palace, when, in the
+morning, the disappearance of Flora Francatelli was discovered.
+
+Nisida hastened, at an early hour, to her brother's apartment, and
+intimated to him the fact that she was nowhere to be found.
+
+Francisco, who was already dressed, was overwhelmed with grief at this
+announcement, and, in the first excess of excitement, conveyed to her
+his intention of seeking the young maiden throughout the city.
+
+He was hastening to quit the room, when Nisida held him back, and
+intimated to him that his anxiety in this respect would create
+suspicions injurious alike to his reputation and that of Flora
+Francatelli--the more so, as she was but a menial in the household.
+
+Francisco paused and reflected for a few moments; then, having tenderly
+embraced his sister, he hastily addressed her by the symbolic language
+in which they were accustomed to converse:
+
+"Pardon me, beloved Nisida, for having kept a secret from thee--the only
+one that my heart has ever so selfishly cherished."
+
+Nisida appeared to be profoundly astonished at this communication, and
+made an impatient sign for him to proceed.
+
+"You will not be surprised at my anxiety to seek after the missing
+girl," he continued, "when I intimate to you that I love her--and that,
+next to yourself, she is dearer to me than I can express."
+
+"Your passion can scarcely be an honorable one, Francisco," was the
+reproach conveyed by Nisida, while her countenance wore a corresponding
+expression.
+
+"I would sooner die than harbor an injurious thought in respect to that
+virtuous and beautiful creature!" responded the young count, his face
+flushed with the glow of generous emotions. "My happiness is intimately
+connected with this attachment, Nisida, and I feel convinced that you
+would rather forward my views than oppose them."
+
+"Yes, dear brother," was the reply which she conveyed to him: "your
+happiness is my only consideration."
+
+But, as she gave this assurance, an ill-subdued sigh escaped her breast,
+and she compressed her lips tightly to crush the emotions that were
+agitating her. A cloud evanescently appeared on the broad and marble
+forehead; the penciled brows contracted, and the eyes flashed
+brightly--oh! far more brightly than glanced the ray of the morning sun
+through the windows, upon the glossy surface of her luxuriant hair. A
+momentary spasm seemed to convulse the full and rounded form; and the
+small, elegantly shaped foot which peered from beneath her flowing robe,
+tapped the floor twice with involuntary movement.
+
+Mistress as she usually was of even her most intense feelings, and
+wonderfully habituated by circumstances to exercise the most complete
+command over her emotions, she was now for an instant vanquished by the
+gush of painful sentiments which crowded on her soul.
+
+Francisco did not, however, observe that transitory evidence of acute
+feeling on the part of his sister--a feeling which seemed to partake of
+the nature of remorse, as if she were conscience-stricken!
+
+For she loved her brother deeply--tenderly, but after the fashion of her
+own wild and wonderful disposition--a love that was not calculated
+always to prove friendly to his interests.
+
+Francisco paced the room in an agitated manner.
+
+At length he stopped near where his sister was standing, and intimated
+to her that Flora might perhaps have repaired to the residence of her
+aunt.
+
+Nisida conveyed to him this answer: "The moment that I missed Flora ere
+now, I dispatched a domestic to her aunt's cottage; but she has not been
+there since Sunday last."
+
+"Some treachery is at work here, Nisida," was the young count's
+response. "Flora has not willingly absented herself."
+
+At this moment Francisco's page entered the apartment to announce that
+Dr. Duras was in the reception-room.
+
+The young count made a sign to his sister to accompany him; and they
+proceeded to the elegant saloon where the physician was waiting.
+
+Having saluted the count and Nisida with his usual urbanity, Dr. Duras
+addressed himself to the former, saying, "I have just learnt from your
+lordship's page that the favorite attendant on your sister has most
+unaccountably disappeared."
+
+"And both Nisida and myself are at a loss what to conjecture, or how to
+act," replied Francisco.
+
+"Florence is at this moment the scene of dreadful crimes," observed the
+physician. "Yesterday morning a young female was murdered by a near
+neighbor of mine----"
+
+"I was astounded when I heard of the arrest of Signor Wagner on such a
+charge," interrupted the count. "He was latterly a frequent guest at
+this house: although, I believe, you never happened to meet him here?"
+
+"No," answered the physician; "but I saw him at the funeral of your
+lamented father, and once or twice since in the garden attached to his
+mansion; and I certainly could not have supposed, from his appearance,
+that he was a man capable of so black a crime. I was, however, about to
+observe that Florence is at this moment infested by a class of villains
+who hesitate at no deed of turpitude. This Signor Wagner is a foreigner,
+possessed of immense wealth, the sources of which are totally unknown;
+and, moreover, it is declared that the sbirri, yesterday morning,
+actually traced the robber-captain Stephano to the vicinity of his
+mansion. All this looks black enough, and it is more than probable that
+Wagner was in league with the redoubtable Stephano and his banditti.
+Then the mysterious disappearance of Flora is, to say the least,
+alarming, for I believe she was a well conducted, virtuous, estimable
+young woman."
+
+"She was--she was indeed!" exclaimed Francisco. "At least," he added,
+perceiving that the physician was somewhat astonished at the enthusiasm
+with which he spoke--"at least, such is my firm impression; such, too,
+is the opinion of my sister."
+
+"The motive which brought me hither this morning," said Dr. Duras, "was
+to offer you a little friendly advice, which my long acquaintance with
+your family, my dear count, will prevent you from taking amiss."
+
+"Speak, doctor--speak your thoughts!" cried Francisco, pressing the
+physician's hand gratefully.
+
+"I would recommend you to be more cautious how you form an intimacy with
+strangers," continued Dr. Duras. "Rumor has a thousand tongues--and it
+is already reported in Florence that the alleged murderer was on
+familiar terms with the noble Count of Riverola and Lady Nisida."
+
+"The duke himself is liable to be deceived in respect to the real
+character of an individual," said Francisco proudly.
+
+"But his highness would not form hasty acquaintances," replied the
+physician. "After all, it is with the best possible feeling that I offer
+you my counsel--knowing your generous heart, and also how frequently
+generosity is imposed upon."
+
+"Pardon the impatience with which I answered you, my dear friend,"
+exclaimed the young count.
+
+"No pardon is necessary," said the physician; "because you did not
+offend me. One word more and I must take my leave. Crimes are
+multiplying thickly in Florence, and Stephano's band becomes each day
+more and more daring; so that it is unsafe to walk alone in the city
+after dusk. Beware how you stir unattended, my dear Francisco, at
+unseasonable hours."
+
+"My habits are not of that nature," replied the count. "I, however,
+thank you cordially for your well-meant advice. But you appear to
+connect the disappearance of Flora Francatelli," he added, very
+seriously, "with the dreadful deed supposed to be committed by Signor
+Wagner!"
+
+"I merely conjecture that this Wagner is associated with that lawless
+horde who have become the terror of the republic," answered the
+physician; "and it is natural to suppose that these wretches are guilty
+of all the enormous crimes which have lately struck the city with
+alarm."
+
+Francisco turned aside to conceal the emotions which these remarks
+excited within him; for he began to apprehend that she whom he loved so
+fondly had met with foul play at the hands of the bravoes and banditti
+whom Stephano was known to command.
+
+Dr. Duras seized that opportunity to approach Nisida, who was standing
+at the window; and as he thrust into her hand a note, which was
+immediately concealed in her dress, he was struck with surprise and
+grief at the acute anguish that was depicted on her countenance.
+
+Large tears stood on her long, dark lashes, and her face was ashy pale.
+
+The physician made a sign of anxious inquiry; but Nisida, subduing her
+emotions with an almost superhuman effort, pressed his hand violently
+and hurried from the room.
+
+Dr. Duras shook his head mournfully, but also in a manner which showed
+that he was at a loss to comprehend that painful manifestation of
+feeling on the part of one whom he well knew to be endowed with almost
+miraculous powers of self-control.
+
+His meditations were interrupted by Francisco, who, addressing him
+abruptly, said, "In respect to the missing young lady, whose absence
+will be so acutely felt by my sister, the only course which I can at
+present pursue, is to communicate her mysterious disappearance to the
+captain of police."
+
+"No time should be lost in adopting that step," responded the doctor. "I
+am about to visit a sick nobleman in the neighborhood of the captain's
+office: we will proceed so far in each other's company."
+
+The young count summoned his page to attend upon him, and then quitted
+the mansion in company with the physician.
+
+In the meantime Nisida had retired to her own apartment, where she threw
+herself into a seat, and gave vent to the dreadful emotions which had
+for the last hour been agitating within her bosom.
+
+She wept--oh! she wept long and bitterly: it was terrible and strange to
+think how that woman of iron mind now yielded to the outpourings of her
+anguish.
+
+Some time elapsed ere she even attempted to control her feelings; and
+then her struggle to subdue them was as sudden and energetic as her
+grief had a moment previously been violent and apparently inconsolable.
+
+Then she recollected the note which Dr. Duras had slipped into her hand,
+and which she had concealed in her bosom; and she hastened to peruse it.
+The contents ran as follows:
+
+    "In accordance with your request, my noble-hearted and
+    much-enduring friend, I have consulted eminent lawyers in
+    respect to the will of the late Count of Riverola. The substance
+    of their opinion is unanimously this: The estates are
+    inalienably settled on yourself, should you recover the
+    faculties of hearing and speaking at any time previous to your
+    brother's attainment of the age of thirty; and should you enter
+    into possession of the estates, and allow your brother to enjoy
+    the whole or greater part of the revenues, in direct
+    contradiction to the spirit of your father's will, the estates
+    would become liable to confiscation by his highness the duke. In
+    this case your brother and yourself would alike be ruined.
+
+    "Now, the advice that these lawyers give is this: A memorial
+    should be addressed to his highness, exhibiting that you refuse
+    to undergo any surgical treatment or operation for the
+    restoration of the faculties of hearing and speech, inasmuch as
+    you would not wish to deprive your brother of the enjoyment of
+    the estates nor of the title conferred by their possession: that
+    you therefore solicit a decree, confirming his title of
+    nobility, and dispensing with the prerogative of confiscation on
+    the part of the prince, should you recover the faculties of
+    hearing and speech, and act in opposition to the will of your
+    late father in respect to the power of alienating the estates
+    from your own possession.
+
+    "Such, my generous-minded friend, is the counsel offered by
+    eminent advocates; and, by the memory of your sainted mother, if
+    not for the sake of your own happiness, I implore you to act in
+    accordance with these suggestions. You will remember that this
+    advice pretty accurately corresponds with that which I gave you,
+    when, late on the night that the will was read, you quitted your
+    sleepless couch and came to my dwelling to consult me on a point
+    so intimately connected with your felicity in this world.
+
+                    "Your sincerely devoted friend,
+                                               "JERONYMO DURAS."
+
+While Nisida was occupied in the perusal of the first paragraph of this
+letter, dark clouds lowered upon her brow; but as she read the second
+paragraph, wherein the salutary advice of the lawyers was conveyed to
+her, those clouds rapidly dispersed, and her splendid countenance became
+lighted up with joyous, burning, intoxicating hope!
+
+It was evident that she had already made up her mind to adopt the
+counsel proffered her by the eminent advocates whom the friendly
+physician had consulted on her behalf.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+THE SUBURB OF ALLA CROCE--THE JEW--THE ROBBER CHIEF'S LOVE.
+
+
+It was past the hour of ten on Saturday night, when a tall, powerfully
+built man emerged from what might be termed the fashionable portion of
+the city of Florence, and struck into the straggling suburb of Alla
+Croce.
+
+This quarter of the town was of marvelously bad reputation, being
+infested by persons of the worst description, who, by herding, as it
+were, together in one particular district, had converted the entire
+suburb into a sort of sanctuary where crime might take refuge, and into
+which the sbirri, or police-officers, scarcely dared to penetrate.
+
+The population of Alla Croce was not, however, entirely composed of
+individuals who were at variance with the law, for poverty as well as
+crime sought an asylum in that assemblage of forbidding-looking
+dwellings, which formed so remarkable a contrast with the marble
+palaces, noble public buildings, and handsome streets of the city of
+Florence itself.
+
+And not only did the denizens of penury and crushing toil, the artisans,
+the vine-dressers, the gardeners, the water-carriers, and the porters of
+Florence occupy lodgings in the suburb of Alla Croce, but even wealthy
+persons--yes, men whose treasures were vast enough to pay the ransom of
+princes--buried themselves and their hoards in this horrible
+neighborhood.
+
+We allude to that most undeservedly-persecuted race, the Jews--a race
+endowed with many virtues and generous qualities, but whose characters
+have been blackened by a host of writers whose narrow minds and
+illiberal prejudices have induced them to preserve all the exaggerations
+and misrepresentations which tradition hands down in the Christian world
+relative to the cruelly-treated Israelite.
+
+The enlightened commercial policy of those merchant princes, the Medici,
+had, during the primal glories of their administrative sway in the
+Florentine Republic, relaxed the severity of the laws against the Jews,
+and recognizing in the persecuted Israelites those grand trading and
+financial qualities which have ever associated the idea of wealth with
+their name, permitted them to follow unmolested their specific pursuits.
+
+But at the time of which we are writing--the year 1521--the prince who
+had the reins of the Florentine Government, had yielded to the
+representations of a bigoted and intolerant clergy, and the Jews had
+once more become the subjects of persecution. The dissipated nobles
+extorted from them by menace those loans which would not have been
+granted on the security proffered; and the wealthy members of the
+"scattered race" actually began to discover that they could repose
+greater confidence in the refuse of the Florentine population than in
+the brilliant aristocracy, or even in the famous sbirri themselves. Thus
+had many rich Jews established themselves in the quarter of Alla Croce;
+and by paying a certain sum to the syndic, or magistrate of this
+suburb--a functionary elected by the inhabitants themselves, and in
+virtue of a law of their own enactment--the persecuted Israelites
+enjoyed comparative security and peace.
+
+We now return to the man we left plunging into the suburbs of which we
+have afforded a short and necessary account.
+
+This individual was dressed in simple attire, but composed of excellent
+materials. His vest was of dark velvet, slashed, but not embroidered;
+and on his breast he wore a jazeran, or mailed cuirass, which was not
+only lighter than a steel corselet, but was equally proof against
+poniard or pike. In his broad leather belt were stuck two pairs of
+pistols, and a long dagger; a heavy broadsword also hung by his side.
+His black boots came up nearly to the knee--in contravention of the
+prevailing fashion of that age, when these articles of dress seldom
+reached above the swell of the leg. A large slouched hat, without
+plumage or any ornament, was drawn down as much as possible over his
+features; and the broad _mantello_, or cloak, was gathered round the
+body in such a manner that it covered all the left side and the weapons
+fastened in the belt, but left the sword arm free for use in any sudden
+emergency.
+
+Behind the wayfarer stretched the magnificent city of Florence,
+spreading over the deep vale, on both sides of the Arno, and, as usual,
+brilliant with light, like a world of stars shining in mimic rivalry of
+those that studded the purple vault above.
+
+Before him were the mazes of the Alla Croce, the darkness of which
+suburb was only interrupted by a few straggling and feeble lights
+gleaming from houses of entertainment, or from huts whose poverty
+required not the protection of shutters to the casements.
+
+And now, as one of those faint lights suddenly fell upon the wayfarer's
+countenance, as he passed the abode in which it shone--let us avail
+ourselves of the opportunity afforded by that glimpse, to state that
+this man's features were handsome, but coarse, bearing the traces of a
+dissolute life. His age was apparently forty; it might even have been a
+few years more matured--but his coal-black hair, mustachio, and bushy
+whiskers, unstreaked by silver, showed that time sat lightly on his
+head, in spite of the evident intimacy with the wine-cup above alluded
+to.
+
+Having threaded the greater portion of the suburb, which was almost
+knee-deep in mud--for it had been raining nearly all day, and had only
+cleared up after sunset--the individual whom we have been describing
+stopped at the corner of a street, and gave a shrill whistle.
+
+The signal was immediately answered in a similar fashion, and in a few
+minutes a man emerged from the darkness of a by-street. He also was
+well-armed, but much more plainly dressed than the other; and his
+countenance was such as would not have proved a very friendly witness in
+his favor in a court of justice.
+
+"Lomellino?" said the first individual whom we have described in this
+chapter.
+
+"Captain Stephano!" responded the other.
+
+"All right, my fine lad," returned the bandit-captain. "Follow me."
+
+The two robbers then proceeded in silence until they reached a house
+larger and stronger in appearance than any other in the same street. The
+shutters which protected the casements were massive and strengthened
+with iron bars and huge nails, somewhat after the fashion of church
+doors.
+
+The walls were of solid gray stones, whereas those of the adjacent huts
+were of mud or wood. In a word, this dwelling seemed a little fortress
+in the midst of an exposed and unprotected town.
+
+Before this house the robbers stopped.
+
+"Do you remain on the other side of the street, Lomellino," said the
+bandit-chief; "and if need be, you will answer to my accustomed signal."
+
+"Good, captain," was the reply; and Lomellino crossed over the way to
+the deep shade of the houses on that side.
+
+Stephano then gave a low knock at the door of the well-defended dwelling
+above described.
+
+Several minutes elapsed; and no sounds were heard within.
+
+"The old usurer is at home, I know," muttered Stephano to himself; for
+the moment he had knocked a gleam of light, peeping through a crevice in
+an upper casement, had suddenly disappeared. He now rapped more loudly
+at the door with the handle of his heavy broadsword.
+
+"Ah! he comes!" muttered the bandit-chief, after another long pause.
+
+"Who knocks so late?" demanded a weak and tremulous voice from within.
+
+"I--Stephano Verrina!" cried the brigand pompously: "open--and fear
+not."
+
+The bolts were drawn back--a chain fell heavily on the stone floor
+inside--and the door opened, revealing the form of an old and
+venerable-looking man, with a long white beard. He held a lamp in his
+hand: and, by its fitful glare, his countenance, of the Jewish cast,
+manifested an expression denoting the terror which he vainly endeavored
+to conceal.
+
+"Enter. Signor Stephano," said the old man. "But wherefore here so
+late?"
+
+"Late, do ye call it. Signor Isaachar?" ejaculated the bandit, crossing
+the threshold. "Meseems there is yet time to do a world of business this
+night, for those who have the opportunity and the inclination."
+
+"Ah! but you and yours turn night into day," replied the Jew, with a
+chuckle intended to be of a conciliatory nature: "or rather you perform
+your avocations at a time when others sleep."
+
+"Every one to his calling, friend Isaachar," said the brigand chief.
+"Come! have you not made that door fast enough yet? you will have to
+open it soon again--for my visit will be none of the longest."
+
+The Jew having replaced the chains and fastened the huge bolts which
+protected the house-door, took up the lamp and led the way to a small
+and meanly-furnished room at the back of his dwelling.
+
+"What business may have brought you hither to-night, good Captain
+Verrina?" he inquired in a tone of ill-subdued apprehension.
+
+"Not to frighten thee out of thy wits, good Isaachar," responded
+Stephano, laughing.
+
+"Ah! ha!" exclaimed the Jew, partially reassured: "perhaps you have come
+to repay me the few crowns I had the honor to lend you--without
+security, and without interest----"
+
+"By my patron saint! thou wast never more mistaken in thy life, friend
+Isaachar!" interrupted the robber chief. "The few crowns you speak of,
+were neither more nor less than a tribute paid on consideration that my
+men should leave unscathed the dwelling of worthy Isaachar ben Solomon:
+in other words, that thy treasures should be safe at least from them."
+
+"Well--well! be it so!" cried the Jew. "Heaven knows I do not grudge the
+amount in question--although," he added slowly, "I am compelled to pay
+almost an equal sum to the syndic."
+
+"The syndic of Alla Croce and the captain of the banditti are two very
+different persons," returned Stephano. "The magistrate protects you from
+those over whom he has control: and I, on my side, guaranty you against
+the predatory visits of those over whom I exercise command. But let us
+to business."
+
+"Ay--to business!" echoed the Jew, anxious to be relieved from the state
+of suspense into which this visit had thrown him.
+
+"You are acquainted with the young, beautiful, and wealthy Countess of
+Arestino, Isaachar?" said the bandit.
+
+The Jew stared at him in increased alarm, now mingled with amazement.
+
+"But, in spite of all her wealth," continued Stephano, "she was
+compelled to pledge her diamonds to thee, to raise the money wherewith
+to discharge a gambling debt contracted by her lover, the high-born,
+handsome, but ruined Marquis of Orsini."
+
+"How knowest thou all this?" inquired the Jew.
+
+"From her ladyship's own lips," responded Stephano. "At least she told
+me she had raised the sum to accommodate a very particular friend. Now,
+as the transaction is unknown to her husband, and as I am well assured
+that the Marquis of Orsini is really on most excellent terms with her
+ladyship--moreover, as this same marquis did pay a certain heavy
+gambling debt within an hour after the diamonds were pledged to you--it
+requires but little ingenuity to put all these circumstances together,
+to arrive at the result which I have mentioned. Is it not so, Isaachar?"
+
+"I know not the motive for which the money was raised," answered the
+Jew, wondering what was coming next.
+
+"Oh! then the money was raised with you," cried Stephano, "and
+consequently you hold the diamonds."
+
+"I did not say so--I----"
+
+"A truce to this fencing with my words!" ejaculated the bandit,
+impatiently. "I have an unconquerable desire to behold these
+diamonds----"
+
+"You, good captain!" murmured Isaachar, trembling from head to foot.
+
+"Yes, I! And wherefore not? Is there anything so marvelous in a man of
+my refined tastes and exquisite notions taking a fancy to inspect the
+jewels of one of the proudest beauties of gay Florence? By my patron
+saint! you should thank me that I come in so polite a manner to request
+a favor, the granting of which I could so easily compel without all this
+tedious circumlocution."
+
+"The diamonds!" muttered the Jew, doubtless troubled at the idea of
+surrendering the security which he held for a very considerable loan.
+
+"Perdition seize the man!" thundered Stephano, now waxing angry. "Yes,
+the diamonds, I say; and fortunate will it be for you if they are
+produced without further parley."
+
+Thus speaking the bandit suffered his cloak to fall from over his belt,
+and the Jew's quick eye recoiled from the sight of those menacing
+weapons, with which his visitor was armed, as it were, to the teeth.
+
+Then without further remonstrance, but with many profound sighs,
+Isaachar proceeded to fetch a small iron box from another room; and in a
+few moments the diamond case, made of sandal wood inlaid with
+mother-of-pearl, was in the bandit captain's hands.
+
+"Let me convince myself that it is all right!" exclaimed Stephano,
+examining the lid of the case. "Yes, there are the arms of Arestino,
+with the ciphers of the Countess, G. A.--Giulia Arestino--a very pretty
+name, by my troth! Ah, how the stones sparkle!" he cried, as he opened
+the case. "And the inventory is complete, just as it was described to me
+by her ladyship. You are a worthy man, Isaachar, a good man; you will
+have restored tranquillity to the mind of the beautiful countess,"
+continued Stephano, in a bantering tone: "and she will be enabled to
+appear at court to-morrow, with her husband. Good-night, Isaachar; my
+brave men shall receive orders to the effect that the first who dares to
+molest you may reckon upon swinging to the highest tree that I can find
+for his accommodation."
+
+"You violate your compact, Signor Verrina!" exclaimed the Jew, his rage
+now mastering his fears. "Wherefore should I pay you tribute to protect
+me, when you enter my house and rob me thus vilely?"
+
+"In this case a lady is concerned, good Isaachar," responded the bandit,
+calmly; "and you know that with all true cavaliers the ladies are
+pre-eminent. Once more, a fair night's repose, my much respected
+friend."
+
+Thus saying, Stephano Verrina rose from the seat on which he had been
+lounging; and the Jew, knowing that altercation and remonstrance were
+equally useless, hastened to afford the means of egress to so unwelcome
+a visitor.
+
+Stephano lingered a moment opposite the house until he heard the door
+bolted and chained behind him; then crossing the street, he rejoined his
+follower, Lomellino.
+
+"All right, captain?" said the latter, inquiringly.
+
+"All right!" answered Stephano. "Poor Isaachar is inconsolable, no
+doubt; but the countess will be consoled at his expense. Thus it is with
+the world, Lomellino; what is one person's misery is another's
+happiness."
+
+"Dost grow sentimental, good captain?" exclaimed the man, whose ears
+were entirely unaccustomed to such language on the part of his chief.
+
+"Lomellino, my friend," answered Verrina, "when a man is smitten in a
+certain organ, commonly called the heart, he is apt to give utterance to
+that absurdity which the world denominates sentiment. Such is my case."
+
+"You are, then, in love, captain?" said Lomellino, as they retraced
+their way through the suburb of Alla Croce.
+
+"Just so," replied the bandit chief. "I will tell you how it happened.
+Yesterday morning, when those impertinent sbirri gave me a harder run
+than I have ever yet experienced, I was fain to take refuge in the
+garden of that very same Signor Wagner----"
+
+"Who was yesterday arrested for murder?" interrupted Lomellino.
+
+"The identical one," returned Stephano. "I concealed myself so well that
+I knew I might bid defiance to those bungling sbirri--although their
+scent was sharpened by the hope of the reward set on my head by the
+prince. While I thus lay hidden, I beheld a scene that would have done
+good to the heart of even such a callous fellow as yourself--I mean
+callous to female qualifications. In a word, I saw one woman stab
+another as effectually as----"
+
+"But it was Wagner who killed the woman!" ejaculated Lomellino.
+
+"No such thing," said Stephano quietly. "The murderess is of the gentle
+sex--though she can scarcely be gentle in disposition. And such a
+splendid creature, Lomellino! I beheld her countenance for a few
+minutes, as she drew aside her veil that her eyes might glare upon her
+victim; and I whispered to myself, 'That woman must be mine; she is
+worthy of me!' Then the blow descended--her victim lay motionless at her
+feet--and I never took my eyes off the countenance of the murderess.
+'She is an incarnate fiend,' I thought, 'and admirably fitted to mate
+with the bandit captain.' Such was my reflection then; and the lapse of
+a few hours has only served to strengthen the impression. You may now
+judge whether I have formed an unworthy attachment!"
+
+"She _is_ worthy of you, captain!" exclaimed Lomellino. "Know you who
+she is?"
+
+"Not a whit," replied Stephano Verrina. "I should have followed her when
+she left the garden, and complimented her on her proficiency in handling
+a poniard, but I was not so foolhardy as to stand the chance of meeting
+the sbirri. Moreover, I shall speedily adopt measures to discover who
+and what she is; and when I present myself to her, and we compare
+qualifications, I do not think there can arise any obstacle to our
+happiness--as lovers are accustomed to say."
+
+"Then it was _she_ who murdered the Lady Agnes?" said Lomellino.
+
+"Have I not told you so? Signor Wagner is as innocent of that deed as
+the babe unborn; but it is not for me to step forward in his behalf, and
+thereby criminate a lady on whom I have set my affections."
+
+"That were hardly to be expected captain," returned Lomellino.
+
+"And all that I have now told thee thou wilt keep to thyself," added
+Stephano; "for to none else of the band do I speak so freely as to
+thee."
+
+"Because no one is so devoted to his captain as I," rejoined Lomellino.
+"And now that we are about to separate," added the man, as they reached
+the verge of the suburb, which was then divided by a wide, open space
+from the city itself, and might even be termed a detached village--"now
+that we are about to separate, captain, allow me to ask whether the
+affair of Monday night still holds good?"
+
+"The little business at the Riverola Palace, you mean?" said Stephano.
+"Most assuredly! You and Piero will accompany me. There is little danger
+to be apprehended; and Antonio has given me the necessary information.
+Count Francisco sleeps at a great distance from the point where we must
+enter; and as for his sister--she is as deaf as if she had her ears
+sealed up."
+
+"But what about the pages, the lackeys----"
+
+"Antonio will give them all a sleeping draught. Everything," added the
+robber-chief, "is settled as cleverly as can be."
+
+"Antonio is your cousin, if I err not?" said Lomellino.
+
+"Something of the kind," replied Stephano; "but what is better and more
+binding--we are friends. And yet, strange to say, I never was within the
+precincts of the Riverola mansion until the night before last, and--more
+singular still--I have never, to my knowledge, seen any members of the
+family in whose service Antonio has been so long."
+
+"Why, Florence is not much honored with your presence during the
+day-time," observed Lomellino; "and at night the great lords and
+high-born ladies who happen to be abroad, are so muffled up--the former
+in their cloaks, the latter in their veils----"
+
+"True--true; I understand all you would say, Lomellino," interrupted the
+captain; "but you know how to be rather tedious at times. Here we
+separate, I repair to the Arestino Palace, and you----"
+
+"To the cavern," replied Lomellino: "where I hope to sleep better than I
+did last night," he added.
+
+"What! a renewal of those infernal shriekings and screamings, that seem
+to come from the bowels of the earth?" exclaimed the captain.
+
+"Worse than ever," answered Lomellino. "If they continue much longer, I
+must abandon my office of treasure-keeper, which compels me to sleep in
+the innermost room----"
+
+"That cannot be allowed, my worthy friend," interrupted the captain;
+"for I should not know whom to appoint in your place. If it were not
+that we should not betray our own stronghold," continued Stephano,
+emphatically, "we would force our way into the nest of our noisy
+neighbors, and levy such a tribute upon them as would put them on their
+good behavior for the future."
+
+"The scheme is really worth consideration," remarked Lomellino.
+
+"We will talk more of it another time," said the captain. "Good-night,
+Lomellino. I shall not return to the cavern until very late."
+
+The two banditti then separated--Lomellino striking off to the right,
+and Stephano Verrina pursuing his way toward the most aristocratic
+quarter of Florence.
+
+Upon entering the sphere of marble palaces, brilliantly lighted villas,
+and gay mansions, the robber chief covered his face with a black mask--a
+mode of disguise so common at that period, not only amongst ladies, but
+also with cavaliers and nobles, that it was not considered at all
+suspicious, save as a proof of amatory intrigue, with which the sbirri
+had no right of interference.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+THE COUNTESS OF ARESTINO.
+
+
+We must now introduce our readers to a splendid apartment in the
+Arestino Palace.
+
+This room was tastefully decorated and elegantly furnished. The tapestry
+was of pale blue; and the ottomans, ranged round the walls in Oriental
+style, were of rich crimson satin embroidered with gold. In the middle
+stood a table covered with ornaments and rich trinkets lately arrived
+from Paris--for France already began to exercise the influence of its
+superior civilization and refinement over the south of Europe.
+
+The ceiling of that room was a master-piece of the united arts of
+sculpture and painting. First, the hand of the sculptor had carved it
+into numerous medallions, on which the pencil of the painter had then
+delineated the most remarkable scenes in early Florentine history. Round
+the sides, or cornices, were beautifully sculptured in marble the heads
+of the principal ancestors of the Count of Arestino.
+
+It was within half an hour of midnight, and the beautiful Giulia
+Arestino was sitting restlessly upon an ottoman, now holding her breath
+to listen if a step were approaching the private door behind the
+tapestry--then glancing anxiously toward a clepsydra on the mantel.
+
+"What can detain him thus? will he deceive me?" she murmured to herself.
+"Oh! how foolish--worse than foolish--mad--to confide in the promise of
+a professed bandit! The jewels are worth a thousand times the reward I
+have pledged myself to give him! wretched being that I am!"
+
+And with her fair hand she drew back the dark masses of her hair that
+had fallen too much over her polished brow: and on this polished brow
+she pressed that fair hand, for her head ached with the intensity of
+mingled suspense and alarm.
+
+Her position was indeed a dangerous one as the reader is already aware.
+In the infatuation of her strong, unconquerable, but not less guilty
+love for the handsome spendthrift Orsini, she had pledged her diamonds
+to Isaachar ben Solomon for an enormous sum of money, every ducat of
+which had passed without an hour's delay into the possession of the
+young marquis.
+
+Those diamonds were the bridal gift of her fond and attached, but, alas!
+deceived husband, who, being many years older than herself, studied
+constantly how to afford pleasure to the wife of whom he was so proud.
+He was himself an extraordinary judge of the nature, purity and value of
+precious stones; and, being immensely rich, he had collected a perfect
+museum of curiosities in that particular department. In fact, it was his
+amateur study, or, as we should say in these times, his peculiar hobby;
+and hence the impossibility of imposing on him by the substitution of a
+hired or a false set of diamonds for those which he had presented to his
+wife.
+
+It was, therefore, absolutely necessary to get these diamonds back from
+Isaachar, by fair means or foul. The fair means were to redeem them by
+the payment of the loan advanced upon them; but the sum was so large
+that the countess dared not make such a demand upon her husband's purse,
+because the extravagances of her lover had lately compelled her to apply
+so very, very frequently to the count for a replenishment of her funds.
+The foul means were therefore resorted to--an old woman, who had been
+the nurse of the countess in her infancy, and to whom in her distress
+she applied for advice, having procured for the patrician lady the
+services of Stephano Verrina, the bandit-captain.
+
+It is not to be wondered at, then, if the Countess of Arestino were a
+prey to the most poignant anxiety, as each successive quarter of an hour
+passed without bringing either Stephano or any tidings from him. Even if
+she feigned illness, so as to escape the ceremony of the following day,
+relief would only be temporary, for the moment she should recover, or
+affect to recover, her husband would again require her to accompany him
+to the receptions of the prince.
+
+Giulia's anguish had risen to that point at which such feelings become
+intolerable, and suggest the most desperate remedies--suicide,--when a
+low knock behind the pale-blue arras suddenly imparted hope to her soul.
+
+Hastily raising the tapestry on that side whence the sound had emanated,
+she drew back the bolt of a little door communicating with a private
+staircase (usually found in all Italian mansions at that period), and
+the robber chief entered the room.
+
+"Have you succeeded?" was Giulia's rapid question.
+
+"Your ladyship's commission has been executed," replied Stephano, who,
+we should observe, had laid aside his black mask ere he appeared in the
+presence of the countess.
+
+"Ah! now I seem to live--breathe again!" cried Giulia, a tremendous
+weight suddenly removed from her mind.
+
+Stephano produced the jewel-case from beneath his cloak; and as the
+countess hastily took it--nay, almost snatched it from him, he
+endeavored to imprint a kiss upon her fair hand.
+
+Deep was the crimson glow which suffused her countenance--her neck--even
+all that was revealed of her bosom, as she drew haughtily back, and with
+a sublime patrician air of offended pride.
+
+"I thank you--thank you from the bottom of my soul, Signor Verrina," she
+said in another moment; for she felt how completely circumstances had
+placed her in the power of the bandit-chief, and how useless it was to
+offend him. "Here is your reward," and she presented him a heavy purse
+of gold.
+
+"Nay, keep the jingling metal, lady," said Stephano; "I stand in no need
+of it--at least for the present. The reward I crave is of a different
+nature, and will even cost you less than you proffer me."
+
+"What other recompense can I give you?" demanded Giulia, painfully
+alarmed.
+
+"A few lines written by thy fair hand to my dictation," answered
+Stephano.
+
+Giulia cast upon him a look of profound surprise.
+
+"Here, lady, take my tablets, for I see that your own are not at hand,"
+cried the chief. "Delay not--it grows late, and we may be interrupted."
+
+"We may indeed," murmured Giulia, darting a rapid look at the
+water-clock. "It is within a few minutes of midnight."
+
+She might have added--"And at midnight I expect a brief visit from
+Manuel d'Orsini, ere the return of my husband from a banquet at a
+friend's villa." But of course this was her secret; and anxious to rid
+herself of the company of Stephano, she took the tablets with trembling
+hands and prepared to write.
+
+"I, Giulia, Countess of Arestino," began the brigand, dictating to her,
+"confess myself to owe Stephano Verrina a deep debt of gratitude for his
+kindness in recovering my diamonds from the possession of the Jew
+Isaachar, to whom they were pledged for a sum which I could not pay."
+
+"But wherefore this document?" exclaimed the countess, looking up in a
+searching manner at the robber-chief; for she had seated herself at the
+table to write, and he was leaning over the back of her chair.
+
+"'Tis my way at times," he answered, carelessly, "when I perform some
+service for a noble lord or a great lady, to solicit an acknowledgment
+of this kind in preference to gold." Then, sinking his voice to a low
+whisper, he added with an air of deep meaning, "Who knows but that this
+document may some day save my head?"
+
+Giulia uttered a faint shriek, for she comprehended in a moment how
+cruelly she might sooner or later be compromised through that document,
+and how entirely she was placing herself in the bandit's power.
+
+But Stephano's hand clutched the tablets whereon the countess had,
+almost mechanically, written to his subtle dictation; and he said,
+coolly: "Fear not, lady--I must be reduced to a desperate strait indeed
+when my safety shall depend on the use I can make of this fair
+handwriting."
+
+Giulia felt partially relieved by this assurance: and it was with
+ill-concealed delight that she acknowledged the ceremonial bow with
+which the bandit-chief intimated his readiness to depart.
+
+But at that moment three low and distinct knocks were heard at the
+little door behind the arras.
+
+Giulia's countenance became suffused with blushes: then, instantly
+recovering her presence of mind, she said in a rapid, earnest tone, "He
+who is coming knows nothing concerning the jewels, and will be surprised
+to find a stranger with me. Perhaps he may even recognize you--perhaps
+he knows you by sight----"
+
+"What would you have me do, lady?" demanded Stephano. "Speak, and I obey
+you."
+
+"Conceal yourself--here--and I will soon release you."
+
+She raised the tapestry on the side opposite to that by which Stephano
+had entered the room; and the robber-chief hid himself in the wide
+interval between the hangings in the wall.
+
+All this had scarcely occupied a minute; and Giulia now hastened to open
+the private door, which instantly gave admittance to the young,
+handsome, and dissipated Marquis of Orsini.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+THE LOVE OF WOMAN--GIULIA AND HER LOVER.
+
+
+Silence, and calmness, and moonlight were without the walls of the
+Arestino villa; for the goddess of night shone sweetly but coldly on the
+city of Florence, and asserted her empire even over the clouds that ere
+now had seemed laden with storm. Nor beamed she there alone--that fair
+Diana; for a countless host of handmaidens--the silver-faced stars--had
+spread themselves over the deep purple sky; and there--there--they all
+shone in subdued and modest glory--those myriads of beacons floating on
+the eternal waves of that far-off and silent sea!
+
+Shine on, sweet regent of the night--and ye, too, silver-faced stars,
+whose countenances are reflected and multiplied endlessly, as they are
+rocked to and fro, on the deep blue bosom of the Arno; while on the
+banks of that widely-famed stream, Nature herself, as if wearied of her
+toils, appears to be sleeping.
+
+Would that the soul of man could thus lie down in its night of sorrow or
+of racking passion, on the margin of the waters of hope, confident that
+the slumber of contentment and peace will seal his eyelids, heavy with
+long vigils in a world where conflicting interests need constant
+watching, and that the stillness of the unfathomable depths of those
+waters will impart its influence unto him!
+
+For, oh! if calmness, silence, and moonlight prevail without the walls
+of the Arestino villa, yet within there be hearts agitated by passions
+and emotions, from which the gentle genius of slumber shrinks back
+aghast.
+
+In the brilliantly lighted apartment, to which we have already
+introduced our readers, the Countess Giulia receives her lover, the
+dissipated but handsome Marquis of Orsini; the bandit-captain is
+concealed behind the richly-worked tapestry; and at the door--not the
+little private one--of that room, an old man is listening; an old man
+whose ashy pale countenance, clinched hands, quivering white lips, and
+wildly rolling eyes indicate how terrible are the feelings which agitate
+within his breast.
+
+This old man was the Count of Arestino, one of the mightiest nobles of
+the republic. Naturally his heart was good, and his disposition kind and
+generous--but, then, he was an Italian--and he was jealous! Need we say
+more to account for the change which had now taken place in his usually
+calm, tranquil, yet dignified, demeanor? Or shall we inform our readers
+that at the banquet to which he had been invited at a friend's villa
+that evening, he had overheard two young nobles, in a conversation which
+the generous wine they had been too freely imbibing rendered
+indiscreetly loud, couple the names of Giulia Arestino, his own
+much-loved wife, and Manuel d'Orsini, in a manner which suddenly excited
+a fearful, a blasting suspicion in his mind? Stealing away unperceived
+from the scene of revelry, the count had returned unattended to the
+immediate vicinity of his mansion; and from the shade of a detached
+building he had observed the Marquis of Orsini traverse the gardens and
+enter a portico leading to the private staircase communicating with that
+wing of the palace which contained the suit of apartments occupied by
+Giulia.
+
+This was enough to strengthen the suspicion already excited in the old
+nobleman's mind; but not quite sufficient to confirm it. The countess
+had several beautiful girls attached to her person; and the marquis
+might have stooped to an intrigue with one of them. The Lord of Arestino
+was therefore resolved to act with the caution of a prudent man: but he
+was also prepared to avenge, in case of the worst, with the spirit of an
+Italian.
+
+He hurried round to the principal entrance of his palace, and gave some
+brief but energetic instructions to a faithful valet, who instantly
+departed to execute them. The count then ascended the marble staircase,
+traversed the corridors leading toward his lady's apartments, and placed
+himself against the door of that one wherein Giulia had already received
+her lover.
+
+Thus, while silence, and calmness, and moonlight reign without--yet
+within the walls of the Arestino mansion a storm has gathered, to
+explode fearfully. And all through the unlawful, but not less ardent,
+love of Giulia for the spendthrift Marquis of Orsini!
+
+Sober-minded men, philosophic reasoners, persons of business-habits,
+stern moralists--all these may ridicule the poet or the novelist who
+makes Love his everlasting theme; they may hug themselves, in the apathy
+of their own cold hearts, with the belief that all the attributes of the
+passion have been immensely exaggerated; but they are in error, deeply,
+profoundly, indisputably in error. For Love, in its various phases,
+among which are Jealousy, Suspicion, Infidelity, Rivalry, and Revenge,
+has agitated the world from time immemorial--has overthrown empires, has
+engendered exterminating wars, and has extended its despotic sway alike
+over the gorgeous city of a consummate civilization, and the miserable
+wigwam of a heathen barbarism! Who, then, can wonder--if the theme of
+Love be universal--that it should have evoked the rude and iron
+eloquence of the Scandinavian Scald as well as the soft and witching
+poesy of the bards of more genial climes, or that its praises or its
+sorrows should be sung on the banks of the Arno, the Seine, or the
+Thames, as well as amidst the pathless forests of America, or the
+burning sands of Africa, or in the far-off islands of the Southern Seas.
+
+But, alas! it is thou, O woman! who art called on to make the most cruel
+sacrifices at the altar of this imperious deity--love! If thou lovest
+honorably, 'tis well; but if thou lovest unlawfully how wretched is thy
+fate! The lover, for whose sake thou hast forgotten thy duties as a
+wife, has sacrificed nothing to thee, whilst thou hast sacrificed
+everything to him. Let the _amour_ be discovered, and who suffers? Thou!
+He loses not caste, station, name, nor honor;--thou art suddenly robbed
+of all these! The gilded saloons of fashion throw open their doors to
+the seducer; but bars of adamant defend that entrance against the
+seduced. For his sake thou risketh contumely, shame, reviling, scorn,
+and the lingering death of a breaking heart,--for _thee_ he would not
+risk one millionth part of all that! Shouldst thou be starving, say to
+him, "Go forth and steal to give me bread; dare the dishonor of the
+deed, and make the sacrifice of thy good name for me. Or go and forge,
+or swindle, or lie foully, so that thou bringest me bread; for have I
+not dared dishonor, made the sacrifice of my good name, and done as
+much, ay, far more than all that, for thee?"
+
+Shouldst thou, poor, seduced, weak one, address thy seducer thus, he
+will look upon thee as a fiend-like tempter--he will rush from thy
+sight--he will never see thee more; his love will be suddenly converted
+into hatred! Yes, man demands that woman should dishonor herself for
+_his_ sake; but he will not allow a speck to appear upon what he calls
+_his_ good name--no, not to save that poor, confiding, lost creature
+from the lowest depths and dregs of penury into which her frailty may
+have plunged her!
+
+Such is the selfishness of man! Where is his chivalry?
+
+But let us return to the Arestino Palace.
+
+The moment Manuel d'Orsini entered the apartment by means of the private
+door, he embraced Giulia with a fondness which was more than half
+affected--at least on that occasion--and she herself returned the kiss
+less warmly than usual--but this was because she was constrained and
+embarrassed by the presence of the bandit-captain, who was concealed
+behind the tapestry.
+
+"You appear cool--distant, Giulia," said Manuel, casting upon her an
+inquiring glance.
+
+"And you either love me less, or you have something on your mind,"
+returned the countess, in a low tone.
+
+"In the first instance you are wrong--in the second you are right, my
+well-beloved," answered the marquis. "But tell me----"
+
+"Speak lower, Manuel--we may be overheard. Some of my dependents are in
+the adjacent room, and----"
+
+"And you wish me to depart as soon as possible, no doubt?" said the
+marquis, impatiently.
+
+"Oh! Manuel--how can you reproach me thus?" asked Giulia, in a voice
+scarcely above a whisper; for that woman who dared be unfaithful to her
+husband revolted from the thought that a coarse-minded bandit should be
+in a position to overhear her conversation with her lover:--"how can you
+reproach me thus, Manuel?" she repeated;--"have I not given thee all the
+proofs of tenderest love which woman can bestow? Have I not risked
+everything for thee?"
+
+"I do not reproach you, Giulia," he replied, pressing his hand to his
+brow, "but I am unhappy--miserable!"
+
+And he flung himself upon the nearest ottoman.
+
+"Oh! what has occurred to distract thee thus?" exclaimed the countess,
+forgetting the presence of Stephano Verrina in the all-absorbing
+interest of her lover's evident grief.
+
+"Am I ever to find thee oppressed with care--thee, who art so young--and
+so gloriously handsome?" she added, her voice suddenly sinking to a
+whisper.
+
+Manuel gazed for a few moments, without speaking, on the countenance of
+his mistress as she leant over him: then, in a deep, hollow tone--a tone
+the despair of which was too real and natural to be in the slightest
+degree affected, he said, "Giulia, I am a wretch,--unworthy of all this
+sweet love of thine!--I have broken the solemn vow which I pledged
+thee--I have violated my oath----"
+
+"Oh, Manuel!" ejaculated the countess, still forgetting the presence of
+the bandit: "thou hast----"
+
+"Gambled once more--and lost!" cried the marquis wildly. "And the sum
+that I am bound in honor to pay on Monday--by noon, is nearly equal in
+amount to that which thy generosity lent me the other day."
+
+"Holy Virgin aid you, my unhappy Manuel!" said Giulia.
+
+"For thou canst not?" exclaimed the young noble, with a profound sigh.
+"Oh! I am well aware that I have no claim upon thee----"
+
+"Ah! wherefore that reproach?--for a reproach it is!" interrupted the
+countess. "No claim on me! Hast thou not my heart? and in giving thee
+that, Manuel, I laid at thy feet a poor offering, which, though so poor,
+yet absorbs all others of which I may dispose! Do not reproach me,
+Manuel--for I would lay down my life to save thy soul from pain, or thy
+name from dishonor!"
+
+"Now art thou my own Giulia!" cried the marquis, pressing her hand to
+his lips. "An accursed fatality seems to hang over me! This habit of
+gaming entraps me as the wine cup fascinates the bibber who would fain
+avoid it, but cannot. Listen to me for one moment, Giulia. In the public
+casino--which, as thou well knowest, is a place of resort where fortunes
+are lost and won in an hour--ay, sometimes in a minute--I have met a man
+whose attire is good, and whose purse is well filled, but whose
+countenance I like as little as I should that of the captain of the
+sbirri, or his lieutenant, if I had committed a crime. This individual
+of whom I speak--for I know not his name--was the favored votary of Dame
+Fortune who won of me that sum which thy kindness, Giulia, alone enabled
+me to pay but a few days past. And now am I a second time this man's
+debtor. An hour ago he entered the casino; he stayed but for ten
+minutes--and in that time----"
+
+"Oh! Manuel, is not this conduct of thine something bordering on
+madness?" interrupted the countess. "And if thou art thus wedded to that
+fatal habit, how canst thou find room in thy heart for a single gleam of
+affection for me?"
+
+"Now dost thou reproach me in thy turn, Giulia!" exclaimed the young
+marquis. "But believe me, my angel," he continued, exerting all his
+powers to bend her to his purpose,--"believe me when I declare--oh! most
+solemnly declare, by all that I put faith in, and by all I hope for
+hereafter--that could I be relieved from this embarrassment--extricated
+from this difficulty----"
+
+"Heavens! how can it be done?" interrupted the countess, casting her
+eyes wildly round; for the time was passing--she suddenly remembered
+that the bandit was still concealed in the room--and then, her husband
+might return earlier than was expected.
+
+"Oh! if you despair of the means, Giulia," said the marquis, "I must fly
+from Florence--I must exile myself forever from the city of my birth,
+and which is still more endeared to me because," he added, sinking his
+voice to a tender tone,--"because, my well-beloved, it contains thee!"
+
+"No, Manuel--you must not quit Florence and leave a dishonored name
+behind thee!" exclaimed this lovely woman, who was thus sublimely
+careful of the reputation of him for whom she had so long compromised
+her own. "What can be done? would that I had the means to raise this
+sum----"
+
+"It is with shame that I suggest----" said Manuel.
+
+"What? Speak--speak! The means?"
+
+"Thy jewels, dearest--thy diamonds----"
+
+"Merciful heavens! if you did but know all!" cried Giulia, almost
+frantically. "These diamonds were pledged to the Jew Isaachar ben
+Solomon, to raise the sum with which thy last debt was paid, Manuel;
+and--but forgive me if I did not tell thee all this before--not half an
+hour has elapsed since----"
+
+She stopped short; for she knew that the bandit overheard every syllable
+she uttered.
+
+Nor had she time, even if she possessed the power, to continue her most
+painful explanation; for scarcely had she thus paused abruptly, when the
+door burst open, and the Count of Arestino stood in the presence of the
+guilty pair.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+THE INJURED HUSBAND--THE GUILTY WIFE--AND THE INSOLENT LOVER.
+
+
+In fury of heart and agony of mind, rushed the old lord into that
+apartment. Oh! how had he even been able to restrain himself so long,
+while listening at the door? It was that the conversation between his
+wife and the marquis had, as the reader is aware, been carried on in so
+low a tone--especially on the side of the countess, that he had not been
+able to gather sufficient to place beyond all doubt the guilt of that
+fair creature; and even in the midst of his Italian ire, he had clung to
+the hope that she might have been imprudent--but not culpable, as yet!
+
+Oh! in this case, how gladly would that old lord have forgiven the past,
+on condition of complete reformation for the future! He would have
+removed his young wife afar from the scene of temptation--to a distant
+estate which he possessed; and there by gentle remonstrances and
+redoubled attention, he would have sought to bind her to him by the
+links of gratitude and respect, if not by those of love.
+
+But this dream--so honorable to that old man's heart--was not to be
+realized; for scarcely was it conceived, when the discourse of the
+youthful pair turned upon the diamonds--those diamonds which he had
+given her on the bridal day!
+
+Giulia spoke clearly and plainly enough _then_--in spite of the presence
+of the bandit in that chamber; for she was about to explain to her lover
+how willingly she would comply with his suggestion to raise upon the
+jewels the sum he again required--a readiness on her part which might be
+corroborated by the fact that she had already once had recourse to this
+expedient, and for _him_--but she dared not adopt the same course again,
+as her husband might detect the absence of the valuables ere she could
+obtain funds to redeem them.
+
+When she acknowledged to her lover that "these diamonds were pledged to
+the Jew Isaachar ben Solomon, to raise the sum with which his last debt
+was paid," it flashed to the old nobleman's mind that his wife had
+exhibited some little confusion when he had spoken to her a day or two
+previously concerning her jewels: and now it was clear that they had
+been used as the means to supply the extravagances of an unprincipled
+spendthrift. How could he any longer cling to the hope that Giulia was
+imprudent only, and not guilty? Must she not be guilty, to have made so
+large a sacrifice and run so great a risk for the sake of the Marquis of
+Orsini?
+
+It was under the influence of these excited feelings that the Count of
+Arestino burst into the room.
+
+Fortunately--so far as outward appearance went--there was nothing more
+to confirm the old nobleman's suspicions; the youthful pair were not
+locked in each other's arms; their hands were not even joined. Manuel
+was seated on the sofa, and Giulia was standing at a short distance from
+him.
+
+But conscious guilt elicited a faint scream from her lips; and the
+boiling blood, after rushing to her countenance, seemed to ebb away as
+rapidly again--leaving her beauteous face as pale as marble; while she
+clung to the mantel-piece for support.
+
+"I am glad that your lordship is returned," said the marquis, rising
+from his seat and advancing toward the count in a manner so insolently
+cool and apparently self-possessed, that Giulia was not only astonished
+but felt her courage suddenly revive: "I was determined--however
+uncourteous the intrusion and unseemly the hour--to await your
+lordship's coming; and as her ladyship assured me that you would not
+tarry late----"
+
+"My lord marquis," interrupted the old nobleman, who was himself so
+taken by surprise at this unembarrassed mode of address, that he began
+to fancy his ears must have deceived him and his suspicions beguiled
+him; "on what business could you possibly have needed my services at
+this late hour?"
+
+"I will explain myself," returned Orsini, who was a perfect adept in the
+art of dissimulation, and who, never losing his presence of mind,
+embraced at a glance the whole danger of Giulia's position and his own,
+and the probability that their conversation might have been overheard;
+"I was explaining to her ladyship the temporary embarrassment under
+which I lay, and from which I hoped that your friendship might probably
+release me----"
+
+"And her ladyship spoke of her diamonds--did she not?" demanded the
+count, addressing himself to the marquis, but fixing a keen and
+penetrating glance on Giulia.
+
+"Her ladyship was remonstrating with me on my extravagancies," hastily
+replied the marquis, "and was repeating to me--I must say in a manner
+too impressive to be agreeable--the words which my own sister had used
+to me a few days ago, when explaining, as her motive for refusing me the
+succor which I needed, that she actually had been compelled to pledge
+her diamonds----"
+
+"Ah! they were your sister's diamonds that were pledged to Isaachar the
+Jew?" said the count, half ironically and half in doubt; for he was
+fairly bewildered by the matchless impudence of the young marquis.
+
+"Yes, my lord--my dear sister, who, alas! is ruining herself to supply
+me with the means of maintaining my rank. And as my sister and her
+ladyship, the countess, are on the most friendly terms, as you are well
+aware, it is not surprising if she should have communicated the secret
+of the diamonds to her ladyship, and also beg her ladyship to
+remonstrate with me----"
+
+"Well, my lord," interrupted the count impatiently, "your own private
+affairs have no particular interest for me--at this moment; and as for
+any business on which you may wish to speak to me, I shall be pleased if
+you postpone it till to-morrow."
+
+"Your lordship's wishes are commands with me," said Manuel, with a
+polite salutation. And having made a low bow to Giulia, he quitted the
+room--not by the private door, be it well understood, but by that which
+had ere now admitted the Count of Arestino.
+
+The moment the door had closed behind the Marquis of Orsini, the count
+approached his wife, and said in a cold, severe manner: "Your ladyship
+receives visitors at a late hour."
+
+He glanced as he spoke toward the dial of the clepsydra, and Giulia
+followed his look in the same direction; it was half an hour after
+midnight.
+
+"The marquis explained to your lordship, or partially so, the motive of
+his importunate visit," said Giulia, endeavoring to appear calm and
+collected.
+
+"The marquis is an unworthy--reckless--unprincipled young man,"
+exclaimed the count, fixing a stern, searching gaze upon Giulia's
+countenance, as if with the iron of his words he would probe the depths
+of her soul. "He is a confirmed gamester--overwhelmed with debts--and
+has tarnished, by his profligacy, the proud name that he bears. Even the
+friendship which existed for many, many years between his deceased
+father and myself, shall no longer induce me to receive at this house a
+young man whose reputation is all but tainted, even in a city of
+dissipation and debauchery, such as, alas! the once glorious Florence
+has become! For his immorality is not confined to gaming and wanton
+extravagance," continued the count, his glance becoming more keen, as
+his words fell like drops of molten lead upon the heart of Giulia; "but
+his numerous intrigues amongst women--his perfidy to those confiding and
+deceived fair ones----"
+
+"Surely, my lord," said the countess, vainly endeavoring to subdue the
+writhings of torture which this language excited,--"surely the Marquis
+d'Orsini is wronged by the breath of scandal?"
+
+"No, Giulia, he is an unprincipled spendthrift," returned the count, who
+never once took his eyes off his wife's countenance while he was
+speaking:--"an unprincipled spendthrift," he added emphatically,--"a man
+lost to all sense of honor--a ruined gamester--a heartless seducer--a
+shame, a blot, a stigma upon the aristocracy of Florence;--and now that
+you are acquainted with his real character, you will recognize the
+prudence of the step which I shall take to-morrow--that is, to inform
+him that henceforth the Count and Countess of Arestino must decline to
+receive him again at their villa. What think you, Giulia?"
+
+"Your lordship is the master to command, and it is my duty to obey,"
+answered the countess; but her voice was hoarse and thick, the acutest
+anguish was rending her soul, and its intensity almost choked her
+utterance.
+
+"She is guilty!" thought the count within himself; and to subdue an
+abrupt explosion of his rage, until he had put the last and most certain
+test to his lady's faith, he walked twice up and down the room; then,
+feeling that he had recovered his powers of self-control, he said,
+"To-morrow, Giulia, is the reception day of his highness the duke, and I
+hope thou hast made suitable preparations to accompany me in the manner
+becoming the wife of the Count of Arestino."
+
+"Can your lordship suppose for an instant that I should appear in the
+ducal presence otherwise than is meet and fitting for her who has the
+honor to bear your name?" said Giulia, partially recovering her presence
+of mind, as the conversation appeared to have taken a turn no longer
+painful to her feelings--for, oh! cannot the reader conceive the
+anguish, the mortal anguish, she had ere now endured when her husband
+was heaping ashes on the reputation of her lover!
+
+"I do not suppose that your ladyship will neglect the preparations due
+to your rank and to that name which you esteem it an honor to bear, and
+which no living being should _dishonor_ with impunity!"
+
+Giulia quailed--writhed beneath the searching glance which now literally
+glared upon her.
+
+"Nevertheless," continued the count, "I was fearful you might have
+forgotten that to-morrow is the reception day. And while I think of it,
+permit me to examine your diamonds for a few minutes--to convince myself
+that the settings are in good order, as you know," he added, with a
+strange, unearthly kind of laugh, "that I am skilled in the jewelers'
+craft."
+
+The old man paused; but he thought within himself, "Now what subterfuge
+can she invent if my suspicions be really true, and if my ears did not
+ere now deceive me?"
+
+How profound then was his astonishment, when Giulia, with the calm and
+tranquil demeanor which innocence usually wears, but with the least,
+least curl of the upper lip, as if in haughty triumph, leisurely and
+deliberately drew the jewel-case from beneath the cushion of the ottoman
+whereon she was seated, and, handing it to him, said, "Your lordship
+perceives that I had not forgotten the reception which his highness
+holds to-morrow, since I ere now brought my diamonds hither to select
+those which it is my intention to wear."
+
+The count could have pressed her hand as he took the case in his own--he
+could have fallen at her feet and demanded pardon for the suspicions
+which he had entertained, for it now seemed certain beyond all
+possibility of doubt, that the explanation volunteered by the marquis
+was a true one--yes, he could have humbled himself in her presence--but
+his Italian pride intervened, and he proceeded to examine the diamonds
+with no other view than to gain time to reflect how he should account
+for the abrupt manner in which he had entered the room ere now, and for
+the chilling behavior he had maintained toward his wife.
+
+On her side Giulia, relieved of a fearful weight of apprehension, was
+only anxious for this scene to have a speedy termination, that she might
+release the robber-captain from his imprisonment behind the tapestry.
+
+Three or four minutes of profound silence now ensued.
+
+But suddenly the count started, and uttered an ejaculation of mingled
+rage and surprise.
+
+Giulia's blood ran cold to her very heart's core, she scarcely knew why.
+
+The suspense was not, however, long--though most painful; for, dashing
+the jewel-case with its contents upon the table, the old nobleman
+approached her with quivering lips and a countenance ghastly white,
+exclaiming, "Vile woman! thinkest thou to impose upon me thus? The
+diamonds I gave thee are gone--the stones set in their place are
+counterfeit!"
+
+Giulia gazed up toward her husband's countenance for a few moments in a
+manner expressive of blank despair; then falling on her knees before
+him, clasping her hands together, she screamed frantically, "Pardon!
+pardon!"
+
+"Ah! then it is all indeed too true!" murmured the unhappy nobleman,
+staggering as if with a blow: but, recovering his balance, he stamped
+his foot resolutely upon the floor, and drawing himself up to his full
+height, while he half averted his eyes from his kneeling wife, he
+exclaimed: "Lost--guilty--abandoned woman, how canst thou implore pardon
+at my hands? For pardon is mercy, and what mercy hast thou shown to me?
+Giulia, I am descended from an old and mighty race, and tradition
+affords no room to believe that any one who has borne the name of
+Arestino has dishonored it--until now! Oh! fool--dotard--idiot that I
+was to think that a young girl could love an aged man like me! For old
+age is a weed, which, when twined round the plant of love, becomes like
+the deadly nightshade, and robs the rose-bush of its health! Alas! alas!
+I thought that in my declining years, I should have one to cheer me, one
+who might respect me, if she could not love me--one who would manifest
+some gratitude for the proud position I have given her--and the
+boundless wealth that it would have been my joy to leave her. And now
+that hope is gone--withered--crushed--blighted, woman, by thy perfidy!
+Oh! wherefore did you accompany the old man to the altar, if only to
+deceive him? Wherefore did you consent to become his bride, if but to
+plunge him into the depth of misery? You weep! Ah! weep on; and all
+those tears, be they even so scalding as to make seams on that too fair
+face, cannot wipe away the stain which is now affixed to the haughty
+name of Arestino! Weep on, Giulia; but thy tears cannot move me now!"
+
+And the old lord's tone changed suddenly from the deep, touching pathos
+of tremulousness to a stern, fixed, cold severity, which stifled the
+germs of hope that had taken birth in the heart of his guilty wife.
+
+"Mercy! mercy!" she shrieked, endeavoring to grasp his hand.
+
+"No!" thundered the Count of Arestino; and he rang violently a silver
+bell which stood upon the table.
+
+"Holy Virgin, what will become of me? For what fate am I destined?"
+implored Giulia, frantically.
+
+The old nobleman approached her, gazed on her sternly for nearly a
+minute, then bending down said, in a hollow, sepulchral tone:
+
+"Thou art doomed to eternal seclusion in the convent of the Carmelites!"
+
+He then turned hastily round and advanced to the door, to which steps
+were already distinctly heard drawing near in the corridor.
+
+For an instant Giulia seemed paralyzed by the dreadful announcement that
+had been made to her; but suddenly a ray of hope flashed on her mind,
+and darting toward that part of the tapestry behind which the robber was
+concealed, she said, in a low and rapid tone:
+
+"Thou hast heard the fate that awaits me. I charge thee to seek Manuel
+d'Orsini, and let him know all."
+
+"Fear not, lady; you shall be saved!" answered Stephano, in a scarcely
+audible but yet profoundly emphatic whisper.
+
+She had only just time to turn away when the count's faithful valet,
+accompanied by three nuns, wearing their black veils over their faces,
+entered the room.
+
+Half an hour afterward the Carmelite Convent received another inmate.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV.
+
+THE MARQUIS OF ORSINI.
+
+
+Upon quitting the Arestino palace, the Marquis of Orsini suddenly lost
+that bold, insolent, self-sufficient air with which he had endeavored to
+deceive the venerable count, whose wife he had dishonored.
+
+For dishonor now menaced _him_!
+
+Where could he raise the sum necessary to liquidate the debt which he
+had contracted with the stranger at the Casino, or gaming-house? And as
+the person to whom he found himself thus indebted _was_ a stranger--a
+total stranger to him, he had no apology to offer for a delay in the
+payment of the money due.
+
+"Perdition!" he exclaimed aloud, as he issued rapidly from the grounds
+attached to the Arestino mansion; "is there no alternative save flight?
+Giulia cannot assist me--her jewels are gone, they are pledged to the
+Jew Isaachar--she was telling me so when the count broke in upon us.
+What course can I adopt? what plan pursue? Shall the name of Orsini be
+dishonored--that proud name which for three centuries has been
+maintained spotless? No, no--this must not be!"
+
+And in a state of most painful excitement--so painful, indeed, that it
+amounted almost to a physical agony--the marquis hastened rapidly
+through the mazes of the sleeping city, reckless whither he was going,
+but experiencing no inclination to repair to his own abode.
+
+The fact of the diamonds of his mistress having been pledged to Isaachar
+ben Solomon was uppermost in his mind: for the reader must remember that
+he was unaware of the circumstance of their restoration to Giulia--as it
+was at the moment when she was about to give him this explanation that
+the old Lord of Arestino had interrupted their discourse.
+
+The diamonds, then, constituted the pivot on which his thoughts now
+revolved. They seemed to shine like stars amidst the deep haze which
+hung upon his mind. Could he not possess himself of them? The name of
+Orsini would be dishonored if the gambling debt were not paid; and one
+bold--one desperate step might supply him with the means to save himself
+from the impending ruin--the imminent disgrace.
+
+But as the thoughts encouraged by those simple words--"the
+diamonds"--assumed a more palpable shape in his imagination, he shrank
+back dismayed from the deed which they suggested: for gamester,
+debauchee, spendthrift as he was, he had never yet perpetrated an act
+that could be termed a crime. The seduction of the Countess of Arestino
+was not a crime in his estimation--oh! no, because man may seduce, and
+yet may not be dishonored in the eyes of the world. It is his victim, or
+the partner of his guilty pleasure, only, who is dishonored. Such is the
+law written in society's conventional code. Vile, detestable, unjust
+law!
+
+To weigh and balance the reasons for or against the perpetration of a
+crime, to pause only for an instant to reflect whether the deed shall or
+shall not be done--this is to yield at once to the temptation. The
+desperate man who hovers hesitatingly between right and wrong,
+invariably adopts the latter course.
+
+And Manuel of Orsini was not an exception to the general rule.
+
+Silence, and calmness, and moonlight were still spread over the City of
+Flowers, while the marquis pursued the path leading to the suburb of
+Alla Droce. And the silver-faced stars shone on--shone on, brightly and
+sweetly, as the young nobleman knocked at the well-protected door of
+Isaachar ben Solomon.
+
+For a long time his summons remained unanswered; and he repeated it
+several times ere it received the slightest attention.
+
+At last a casement was opened slowly on the upper story; and the Jew
+demanded who sought admittance at that hour.
+
+"'Tis I, the Marquis of Orsini!" exclaimed the nobleman.
+
+"A thousand pardons, my lord; I come directly," answered the Jew, not
+daring to offend a scion of the omnipotent aristocracy of Florence, yet
+filled with some misgivings, the more painful because they were so vague
+and undefined.
+
+In a few moments Manuel was admitted into the abode of Isaachar ben
+Solomon, who carefully barred and bolted the door again, ere he even
+thought of alleviating his acute suspense by inquiring the nobleman's
+business.
+
+"Deign to enter this humble apartment, my lord," said the Jew, at
+length, as he conducted the marquis into the same room where he had a
+few hours previously received the bandit-captain.
+
+"Isaachar," exclaimed Manuel, flinging himself upon a seat, "you behold
+a desperate man before you!"
+
+"Alas! my lord, what can a poor, aged, and obscure individual like
+myself do to assist so great and powerful a noble as your lordship?"
+said the Jew in a trembling tone.
+
+"What can you do?" repeated the marquis: "much--everything, old man! But
+listen patiently, for a few moments only. A noble lady's fame, honor,
+reputation are at stake; and I am the guilty, unhappy cause of the
+danger that threatens her. To minister to my necessities she has pledged
+her jewels----"
+
+"Yes, yes, my lord--I understand," said Isaachar, trembling from head to
+foot, "'tis a plan by no means unusual nowadays in Florence."
+
+"Her husband suspects the fact, and has commanded her to produce her
+diamonds to-morrow----"
+
+"Her diamonds!" articulated the Jew in a stifling tone.
+
+"Yes, _her diamonds_," exclaimed Manuel emphatically; "and they are in
+your possession. Now do you understand me?"
+
+"I--I--my lord----"
+
+"Let us not waste time in idle words, Isaachar," cried the marquis.
+"Will you permit this scandal to be discovered, and involve the Countess
+of Arestino--myself--ay, and _yourself_, old man, in danger, and perhaps
+ruin? Perhaps, did I say? Nay, that ruin is certain to fall upon
+_her_--certain also to overwhelm _you_--for the Count of Arestino is a
+councilor of state, and," added Manuel, with slow, measured emphasis,
+"_the dungeons of the inquisition open at his commands_ to receive the
+heretic or the Jew!"
+
+Isaachar ben Solomon vainly endeavored to reply; fear choked his
+utterance; and he sank trembling and faint upon a low ottoman, where he
+sat, the picture of dumb despair.
+
+"Ruin, then, awaits the countess, ruin, and the inquisition yawn to
+ingulf you; and dishonor in having involved that noble lady in such a
+labyrinth of perils attends upon me," continued Orsini, perceiving that
+his dark threats had produced the effect which he desired.
+
+"My lord--my lord," gasped the unfortunate Israelite, who could not
+close his eyes against the truth, the terrible truth of the prospect
+submitted to his contemplation.
+
+"It is for you to decide against the ruin of one, two, three persons,
+yourself being he who will, if possible, suffer most," resumed the
+marquis, impressively--"it is, I say, for you to decide between exposure
+and the inquisition on one hand, and the surrender of those paltry
+diamonds on the other!"
+
+"The diamonds, the diamonds, they are gone!" exclaimed the Jew, his
+voice becoming almost frantic with the wild hope that suddenly struck
+him of being able to shift the danger from his own head to that of
+another. "The captain of banditti, Stephano Verrina, was here a few
+hours ago, here, in this very room, and he sat where your lordship now
+sits!"
+
+"Well, well?" cried the marquis, impatiently; for his heart began to
+grow sick with the fear of disappointment in respect to his plan of
+obtaining the diamonds of his mistress.
+
+"And Stephano Verrina took them from me--basely, vilely, wrenched them
+as it were from my grasp!" continued the Jew.
+
+"'Tis false! a miserable subterfuge on your part!" ejaculated the
+marquis, starting from his seat and striding in a menacing manner toward
+Isaachar ben Solomon.
+
+"'Tis true!--I will give your lordship the proof!" cried the Jew: and
+Manuel fell back a few paces. "Stephano came and told me all. He said
+that the countess had pledged her jewels for the sake of her lover--of
+you, my lord--you, the Marquis of Orsini. 'Twas to pay a gambling debt
+which your lordship had contracted; and that debt was paid within an
+hour or two from the moment when the sum was advanced on the diamonds.
+Moreover," continued Isaachar, still speaking in a rapid, excited
+tone--"moreover, Stephano was hired by the countess to regain them from
+me!"
+
+"Liar!" thundered the marquis, again rushing toward the defenseless old
+man.
+
+"Patience, my lord--patience for an instant--and you will see that I am
+no utterer of base falsehoods. The robber-captain examined the diamonds
+carefully--yes, most carefully--and, while occupied in the scrutiny, he
+let drop expressions which convinced me that he was hired by the
+countess. 'The inventory is complete,' he said, 'just as it was
+described to me by her ladyship. You are a worthy man, Isaachar,' he
+added; 'you will have restored tranquillity to the mind of this
+beautiful countess; and she will be enabled to appear at court to-morrow
+with her husband.' Now does your lordship believe me?"
+
+The marquis was staggered; for several minutes he made no answer. Was it
+possible that the Countess of Arestino could have employed the dreaded
+chieftain of the Florentine banditti to wrest her diamonds from the
+possession of Isaachar? or had the Jew invented the tale for an obvious
+purpose? The latter alternative scarcely seemed feasible. How could
+Isaachar have learned that the sum raised was for the payment of a
+gambling debt? Giulia would not have told him so. Again, how had he
+learned that this debt had been paid within an hour or two after the
+money was procured? and how had he ascertained that the countess had
+actually required her diamonds to accompany her husband the count?
+
+"Perdition!" ejaculated Orsini, bewildered by conflicting ideas,
+suspicions, and alarms: and he paced the room with agitated steps.
+
+Nearly a quarter of a hour elapsed--the silence being occasionally
+broken by some question which the marquis put to the Jew, and to which
+the latter had his reply ready. And each question thus put, and every
+answer thus given, only served to corroborate Isaachar's tale, and
+banish hope still further from the breast of the ruined nobleman.
+
+At length the latter stopped short--hesitated for a few moments, as if
+wrestling with some idea or scheme that had taken possession of his
+mind;--then turning abruptly toward the Jew, he said in a deep, hollow
+tone--"Isaachar, I need gold!"
+
+"Gold--gold, my lord!" ejaculated the Jew, all his fears returning;
+"surely--surely, my lord, her ladyship will supply you with----"
+
+"Fool--dolt!" cried the marquis, terribly excited; "do you not see that
+she herself is menaced with ruin--that the villain Stephano must have
+kept the diamonds for himself? that is, granting your tale to be
+true----"
+
+At this moment there was an authoritative knock at the house-door.
+
+"This is Stephano Verrina himself!" exclaimed the Jew. "I know his
+manner of knocking with the rude handle of his sword. What can he want?
+What will become of me?"
+
+"Stephano Verrina, say you?" cried the marquis, hastily. "Then admit him
+by all means; and the possession of the diamonds of the countess shall
+be disputed between him and me at the sword's point."
+
+Manuel d'Orsini was naturally brave, and the desperate position in which
+he was placed, rendered his tone and bearing so resolute--so determined,
+that Isaachar feared lest blood should be shed in his dwelling.
+
+"My lord--my lord," he said in an imploring tone, "depart, or conceal
+yourself----"
+
+"Silence, signor!" ejaculated the marquis; "and hasten to admit the
+captain of banditti. I have heard much of Stephano Verrina, and would
+fain behold this formidable chieftain."
+
+The Jew proceeded, with trembling limbs and ghastly countenance, to obey
+the orders of the marquis; and in a few moments he returned to the room,
+accompanied by Stephano Verrina.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI.
+
+A COMBAT--THE DESPISED AND PERSECUTED ISRAELITE.
+
+
+Isaachar had taken away the lamp with him to give admission to the
+bandit, and the marquis had remained for a few instants in the dark.
+
+When the Jew reappeared, bearing the light, Orsini's first and natural
+impulse was to cast a rapid, searching glance at the brigand captain. At
+the same moment this individual burst into a loud, coarse, joyous laugh;
+and the marquis, to his profound surprise, recognized in Stephano
+Verrina the person with whom he had twice played so unsuccessfully at
+the gambling house.
+
+"Good, my lord!" exclaimed Verrina, flinging himself upon the ottoman
+which the Jew had ere now occupied; "there is not in all Florence a man
+whom I would rather have encountered than yourself."
+
+"You are somewhat pressing for the trifle--the miserable trifle in which
+I am indebted to you, signor," said the marquis haughtily; "seeing that
+scarce two hours have elapsed since I lost the amount at the casino."
+
+"Pshaw! who alluded to the affair, save yourself?" cried Stephano. "It
+was for another motive----"
+
+"Yes; and I also wished to see Signor Stephano Verrina for another
+motive," exclaimed Manuel emphatically.
+
+"Ah! then you know me, my lord?" said the bandit. "And yet methought I
+was a stranger to you, although you were none to me at the casino."
+
+"You were a stranger until now," continued Orsini; "but Isaachar knew by
+the knock which you dealt so lustily on his door, who was his visitor."
+
+"And your lordship was desirous to see me?"
+
+"Very much so. I believe you expressed a similar wish?"
+
+"Precisely, my lord," returned Stephano. "But as you hold the higher
+rank in the world, precedence in the way of explanation belongs to your
+lordship."
+
+"It is rather an explanation which I seek, than one which I have to
+give," rejoined Manuel, in a cold but resolute manner. "In a word, my
+business with thee is touching the diamonds of the Duchess of Arestino."
+
+"And my business with your lordship is touching the countess herself,"
+observed Verrina, also in a cool and deliberate manner.
+
+"Ah!" cried the marquis, with a sudden start.
+
+"Yes, my lord. But this is no place for explanations on that head,"
+added Stephano, glancing toward the Jew.
+
+"I understand you, signor; we must confer alone," said the marquis. "We
+will go out together presently; but in the meantime, one word concerning
+the diamonds which the Countess of Arestino----"
+
+"Employed me to procure for her," exclaimed Stephano, finishing the
+nobleman's sentence for him. "I presume that old Isaachar here has
+informed you of the particulars of my previous visit to him this
+night--or rather last night, for it is now the Sabbath morning."
+
+"I am well informed of those particulars, Sir Captain," returned Manuel;
+"but I would fain know what has become of the jewels which you obtained
+from Isaachar."
+
+"I might with reason question your lordship's right to catechise me----"
+
+"Ah! villain--would you dare?" exclaimed the marquis, his countenance
+becoming flushed with rage: for he imagined that the robber chief was
+trifling with him. "Far as you are beneath me--wide as is the gulf that
+separates the Marquis of Orsini from the proscribed bravo--yet will I
+condescend to wreak upon thee, base-born as thou art, that vengeance
+which the law has not yet been able to inflict."
+
+And Manuel unsheathed his weapon with such rapidity that the polished
+blade of Milan steel flashed like lightning in the glare of the lamp.
+
+"Since this is your object, I will bear with your humor," muttered
+Stephano, starting from his seat and drawing his heavy sword.
+
+"My lord--good Signor Verrina--in mercy--not here--I implore----"
+ejaculated the Jew, speaking in a piteous tone, and wringing his hands
+in alarm at this hostile demonstration.
+
+"Stand back!" thundered the bandit chief; and the Jew retreated to the
+most remote corner of the room, where he fell upon his knees and began
+to offer up prayers that no blood would be spilt--for he was a humane
+and kind-hearted man.
+
+The marquis and the captain of banditti crossed their weapons; and the
+combat began. The former was lighter, younger, and therefore, more
+active than his opponent; but the latter was far more experienced in the
+use of his sword; and, moreover, the space was too narrow to enable the
+marquis to gain any advantage from his superior agility. The fight
+lasted about ten minutes, when the bandit parried a desperate thrust
+that was made at him by his opponent, and at the next moment wounded the
+marquis in the sword arm. The weapon fell from Manuel's hand, and he
+stood at the mercy of his conqueror.
+
+"You are wounded, my lord--and the blood is flowing!" cried Stephano.
+"Hasten, friend Isaachar--and fetch water, bandages----"
+
+"It is nothing--a mere scratch," exclaimed the marquis, tearing away
+with his left hand the right sleeve of his doublet, and displaying a
+tolerably severe gash, which ran down the forearm lengthwise, and from
+which the blood trickled on the floor. "Be kind enough to bind it with
+my scarf, Signor Verrina, and let us continue in a more peaceful manner
+the discourse which has been somewhat rudely interrupted."
+
+Isaachar, however, supplied water in an ewer, and linen bandages; and
+the old man, forgetting the object of Manuel's predatory visit to his
+abode, hastened himself to wash and bind up the wounded arm.
+
+"Thou art a good Jew--and hast something of the feeling of the Christian
+in thee," said the marquis, when the operation was completed.
+
+"Didst thou ever suppose that different creeds made different hearts, my
+lord?" asked the old man, in a half melancholy, half reproachful tone.
+
+"Isaachar, I shall not forget this kindness on your part," said the
+marquis, blushing with shame at himself, when he reflected on the
+purpose for which he had sought the Jew's dwelling. "Heaven knows it is
+not in my power to reward you with gold; but whenever I may henceforth
+hear your race traduced, reckon upon me as its champion."
+
+The old man cast a look of gratitude upon the marquis; and, after some
+little hesitation, he said in a tremulous tone, "Your lordship hinted
+ere now--at least methought I understood as much--that you required
+gold. I take Father Abraham above to witness that I am not so rich as ye
+Christians deem me to be; but--since your lordship can say a kind word
+of the Jew--I--I will lend you such sum as you may need--without
+interest--without bond----"
+
+Orsini, in whose breast all generous feeling had not been entirely
+crushed by the vices which had proved his ruin, extended his left
+hand--for his right now hung in a sling--to the kind-hearted Jew,
+exclaiming, "There is the signor to whom I am indebted, worthy Isaachar;
+it is for him to say whether he will press me immediately for the sum
+that I have fairly lost to him with the dice."
+
+"Not I!" ejaculated Stephano, in his blunt, coarse manner. "And
+therefore your lordship need not lay yourself under any obligation to
+the Jew, who, after all, is a worthy signor in his way."
+
+"Yes," exclaimed the marquis, "I shall ever lie under an obligation to
+him; nor shall I be ashamed to proclaim the fact in the presence of all
+Florence."
+
+"And now, my lord," resumed Stephano, "I will give you that explanation
+relative to the diamonds which you might have had without bloodshed; but
+patience and aristocracy are as much at variance as a thief and the
+headsman. Read this paper, my lord; it is not the worst testimonial
+which I could produce in proof of good character."
+
+And he handed to the marquis the document which he had compelled the
+Countess of Arestino to sign.
+
+Manuel read it with astonishment.
+
+"Then she _has_ the diamonds in her possession!" he exclaimed; "and you
+must have seen her since I was there!"
+
+"My lord," replied Stephano, as he received back the paper, "I was at
+the Arestino Palace ere now, at the same time, and in the same room, as
+yourself. But this is a mystery I will explain presently. As for the
+diamonds--Isaachar here can tell your lordship what he has done with the
+_real_ stones, for those that I received from him which I handed to her
+ladyship were _false_."
+
+Orsini glanced toward the Jew, who was now pale and trembling.
+
+"It was to make inquiries on this point," continued Stephano, "that I
+came here on the present occasion. And to speak truly, it was also with
+the intention of making the old Israelite disgorge his plunder."
+
+"Plunder!" repeated the Jew, in a tone almost of indignation, in spite
+of the terror with which the bandit-captain inspired him. "Did I not
+lend my good golden ducats upon those diamonds? and must I be blamed, if
+knowing--ah! knowing too well, the base artifices of which many of even
+the best-born Florentine nobles and great ladies are capable, must I be
+blamed, I say, if aware of all this, I adopted a device which the
+wickedness of others, and not our own, has rendered common amongst those
+of our race who traffic in loans upon jewels and precious stones."
+
+"Isaachar speaks naught save the pure truth," remarked Orsini, blushing
+at the justice which dictated these reproaches against the aristocracy
+whereof he was a member. "Signor Verrina," he continued, "you are a
+brave man--and I believe you to be a generous one. Confirm this opinion
+on my part, by refraining from further molestation toward the Jew, and
+thou wilt doubly render me thy debtor."
+
+"Be that as you will, my lord," grumbled the bandit-chief. "And now let
+us depart--for I have much to communicate to your lordship."
+
+"I am ready to accompany you," returned the marquis, putting on his
+plumed hat, and settling his cloak with his left hand.
+
+"One word, my lord," said Isaachar, in his habitual nervous and
+trembling tone. "Should the Countess of Arestino _really_ need her
+diamonds--_really_ need them, my lord--I--should not--object--that is,
+my lord," he added in a firmer voice, as if ashamed at the hesitation
+with which he was expressing his readiness to do a good action, "I will
+at once give them up to her, trusting to her ladyship's honor to pay me
+my moneys at her most befitting convenience."
+
+"Her ladyship does not require them now!" exclaimed the bandit-chief,
+emphatically.
+
+The marquis looked at Stephano inquiringly, for there was something
+ominously mysterious in his words; but the brigand stalked in a dogged
+manner toward the door, as if anxious to hurry the departure so long
+protracted, and Manuel, having renewed the expressions of his gratitude
+toward Isaachar ben Solomon, hastily followed Verrina from the house.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII.
+
+STEPHANO AND THE MARQUIS--THE STRONGHOLD OF THE BANDITTI.
+
+
+The moment Stephano and the marquis were alone together in the open
+street the former related all the incidents which had occurred at the
+Arestino Palace after the departure of Manuel himself; and the young
+nobleman now learned, with feelings of remorse and sorrow, that the
+unfortunate countess had been hurried away to the convent of the
+Carmelites--that species of inquisition the gates of which so seldom
+opened more than once for each new female victim.
+
+"But you promised to save her, signor!" he exclaimed, with enthusiastic
+warmth.
+
+"I gave this pledge in the manner described to your lordship," returned
+Verrina, "and I shall not swerve from it."
+
+"Think you that her liberation can be effected?" demanded Manuel.
+"Remember that the convent is protected by the highest personages in the
+state--that violence never will succeed in accomplishing the object--for
+should an armed man dare to pass that sacred threshold, every sbirro in
+Florence would fly to the spot----"
+
+"It is, then, your lordship who is afraid of attempting the rescue of
+the countess!" interrupted Stephano, in a contemptuous tone.
+
+"That observation is hardly fair, Signor Verrina," said the young
+nobleman; "considering that my right arm is disabled, and that the wound
+was received in combat with yourself."
+
+"I crave your lordship's pardon," exclaimed the bandit-captain. "My
+remark was most uncourteous--particularly to one who has ere now given
+no equivocal proof of his valor. But I pretend not to courtly manners;
+and such as I am you will find me faithfully devoted to your service and
+that of the Lady Giulia. The attempt to rescue her will be somewhat
+hazardous; it is, however, tolerably sure of success. But it can only be
+undertaken on certain conditions; and these regard your lordship's self.
+Indeed, had I not so opportunely met you at the Jew's house, I should
+have sent one of my fellows to you to-morrow."
+
+"In what way do the conditions that you speak of, regard myself?"
+inquired the marquis.
+
+"To this extent," returned the robber-chief; "that you accompany me to
+my stronghold, wherever it may be; that you join us in any project or
+plan that may be undertaken with a view to liberate the Countess of
+Arestino; and that you remain with us until such project or plan be
+attempted; then, whether it succeed or fail, you shall be at liberty to
+take your departure."
+
+"Agreed!" exclaimed Manuel; "and now permit me to ask you one
+question:--On what ground do you manifest this interest in behalf of the
+countess and myself? You are well aware that from me you have little to
+hope in the shape of reward; and that the countess will be in no better
+condition than myself to recompense you, even if you succeed in
+effecting her rescue."
+
+"I am well aware of this, my lord," answered Stephano; "and I will give
+you an explanation of my motives as frankly as you solicit it. In the
+first place it suits my projects to make friends as much as possible
+with nobles and great ladies; as no one can say how or when such
+interest may be available to me or to those connected with me. Secondly,
+I am not sorry to have an excuse for paying a visit to the Carmelite
+Convent; and in case of failure, it will be as well to have a Florentine
+noble amongst us. Because the statutes of our glorious Republic are
+somewhat unequal in their application; thus, for instance, if a plebeian
+commit sacrilege, he is punished with death; but a patrician is merely
+reprimanded by the judge and mulcted in a sum which is devoted to
+religious purposes. In this latter case, too, the companions of the
+patrician are punished only as he himself is. Now, therefore, your
+lordship's presence amongst us will be a guarantee for our safety.
+Lastly, for I have another and less selfish motive, I admire the spirit
+with which your lordship spends money, drinks a flagon of good wine, and
+loses your thousands at dice; for saving your lordship's presence, there
+is much in all those facts which finds sympathy with my own
+inclinations. Thus, everything considered, Stephano Verrina and fifty as
+gallant fellows as ever bore the name of banditti, are completely at
+your lordship's service, and that of the dear lady who has the good
+taste to prefer a dashing roistering blade like yourself, to a gentleman
+no doubt very worthy of esteem, but certainly old enough to be her
+father."
+
+The marquis made no reply to this tirade; but he reflected profoundly
+upon all that the robber-chieftain said as they walked leisurely along
+through the suburb of Alla Croce, and toward the city.
+
+He reflected because he now saw all the dangers that were associated
+with the step he was taking, the chance of being arrested with the whole
+band of lawless freebooters, and the dishonor that would attach itself
+to his name, were such an event to occur. But on the other hand, Giulia
+was immured in consequence of her love for him; and his naturally
+chivalrous disposition triumphed over selfish considerations. Could her
+liberation be effected, he would fly with her into another state; and
+the revenues arising from her own little patrimony which had been
+settled on herself at her marriage would enable them to live
+comfortably, if not affluently. And who could tell but that her husband
+might die intestate? and then all his wealth would become hers by law.
+
+Thus did he reason with himself.
+
+"Well, my lord--you do not reply?" exclaimed the robber-captain,
+impatient of the long silence which had followed his explanations. "Are
+you content to abide by the conditions I ere now proposed?"
+
+"Perfectly content," answered the marquis.
+
+He knew that it was useless to reason with the brigand against the
+spoliation of the convent, which he had more than hinted at; for it was
+not likely that the robbers would incur so great a risk as that involved
+in the sacrilegious invasion of the sacred establishment, unless it were
+with the hope of reaping an adequate reward.
+
+The bandit-chief and the young nobleman had now reached the boundary of
+the city; but instead of entering the streets, they turned abruptly to
+the right, Stephano acting as guide, and plunged into a thick grove of
+evergreens.
+
+"Here, my lord," said Stephano, stopping short, "you must consent to be
+blindfolded."
+
+"And wherefore?" demanded Manuel, indignantly. "Think you that I shall
+betray the secrets of your dwelling, wherever and whatever it may be?"
+
+"I entertain no such base suspicion," returned Verrina. "But we banditti
+are governed by a code of laws which none of us--not even I, the
+chief--dare violate. To the observance of this code we are bound by an
+oath of so deadly--so dreadful a nature, that bold and reckless as we
+are, we could not forget _that_. And I should alike break our laws and
+depart from my oath, were I to conduct an uninitiated stranger to our
+stronghold otherwise than blindfolded."
+
+"I offer no further opposition, Signor Verrina," said the marquis. "Fix
+on the bandage."
+
+Stephano tied his scarf over the nobleman's eyes, and then conducted him
+slowly through the mazes of the grove.
+
+In this manner they proceeded for nearly a quarter of an hour, when they
+stopped, and Stephano, quitting Manuel's hand, said in a low tone,
+"Stand still just where you are for a moment, while I give the signal,
+and do not move a single step--for it is a dangerous neighborhood."
+
+About half a minute elapsed, during which it struck Manuel that he heard
+a bell ring far--far under ground. The sound was very faint: but still
+he felt convinced that he did hear it, and that it appeared to come from
+the bowels of the earth.
+
+But he had not much time for reflection; for Stephano once more took his
+hand, saying, "You are now about to descend a flight of steps."
+
+They proceeded downward together for some distance, when the steps
+ceased, and they pursued their way on a flat surface of pavement; but
+the echoes of their footsteps convinced the marquis that he was treading
+a subterranean cavern or passage.
+
+Presently a huge door, sounding as if it were made of iron, was closed
+behind them, and Stephano exchanged a few words in a whisper with some
+one who spoke to him at that point. Then they descended a few more
+steps, and at the bottom another door was banged heavily, when they had
+passed its threshold,--the echoes resounding like pistol-shots
+throughout the place.
+
+For a few minutes more did they proceed on another level-paved floor:
+and then the gurgling rush of a rapid stream met the ears of the
+marquis.
+
+"Be careful in following me," said Stephano; "for you are about to cross
+a narrow bridge, my lord--and one false step is destruction."
+
+Slowly they passed over the bridge, which seemed to be a single plank of
+about thirty feet in length and excessively narrow, he had no doubt,
+both from the caution which he had received and the elasticity of that
+dangerous pathway.
+
+On the opposite side, the level-paved surface was continued; and at the
+expiration of another minute, heavy folding-doors closed behind them.
+
+"Take off the bandage, my lord," said Stephano, as he untied the knot
+which fastened the scarf at the back of the young nobleman's head.
+
+The Marquis of Orsini gladly availed himself of this permission; and
+when the bandage fell from his eyes, he found himself in a spacious
+cavern, paved with marble, hung with rich tapestry, and lighted by four
+chandeliers of massive silver.
+
+Six pillars of crystal supported the roof, and rendered the luster of
+the chandeliers almost insupportably brilliant by means of reflection.
+
+In the midst of this subterranean apartment stood a large table, covered
+with flagons, empty wine flasks, and drinking-cups; but the revelers had
+retired to rest--and the marquis and Stephano were alone in that
+banqueting-hall.
+
+"Follow me, my lord," said the bandit-captain; "and I will conduct you
+to a place where you will find as dainty a couch as even a nobleman so
+accustomed to luxury as your lordship need not despise."
+
+Thus speaking Stephano opened an iron door at the end of the hall, and
+led the way along a narrow and low corridor, lighted by lamps placed in
+niches at short intervals. At the end of this corridor he knocked at
+another door, which was opened in a few moments by a man who had
+evidently been aroused from his slumber.
+
+"I bring a guest, Lomellino," said Verrina. "See that his lordship be
+well cared for."
+
+Stephano then retraced his way along the corridor, and Lomellino closed
+and bolted the iron door.
+
+But no pen can describe the astonishment of the marquis when he found
+himself in a spacious room, heaped all around with immense riches.
+Massive plate, splendid chandeliers, gorgeous suits of armor and martial
+weapons incrusted with gold or set with precious stones, chalices and
+dishes of silver, bags of money piled in heaps, an immense quantity of
+jewelry spread upon shelves, and an infinite assortment of the richest
+wearing apparel--all these, suddenly bursting upon the young nobleman's
+view by the light of a lamp suspended to the roof, produced an effect at
+once brilliant and astounding.
+
+When Lomellino addressed him with a request to follow whither he should
+lead, it seemed as if some rude voice were suddenly awaking him from a
+delicious dream--save that the cause of his pleasure and wonder was
+still present. Then, ashamed at having allowed himself to be so
+attracted by the spectacle of boundless wealth around him, he followed
+Lomellino to an alcove at the further end of the caverned room, and the
+entrance of which was covered by a purple velvet curtain, richly fringed
+with gold.
+
+Within were two beds, having a screen between them. These couches were
+of the most comfortable description, and such as in those times were not
+usually seen elsewhere than in the dwellings of the wealthy. Near each
+bed stood a toilet-table and wash-stand, with ewers of massive silver
+and towels of fine linen; and to the walls hung two large
+mirrors--articles of exclusive luxury at that period. The floor was
+richly carpeted, and a perfumed lamp burned in front of the dial of a
+water-clock.
+
+Lomellino respectfully informed the marquis that one division of the
+alcove was at his service; and Manuel was too much wearied by the
+adventures of the evening not to avail himself of the information.
+
+The brigand seeing that he was wounded, but without asking any questions
+as to the cause, proffered his aid to divest the marquis of his upper
+clothing; and at length the young nobleman was comfortably stretched in
+one of the voluptuous beds.
+
+Sleep had just closed his eyelids, and he had even already entered upon
+a vision of fairy enchantment,--doubtless conjured up to his imagination
+by the gorgeous spectacle of the treasure-room,--when he was startled by
+screams which appeared to issue from the very wall of the alcove, at the
+head of his bed.
+
+He listened--and those screams became more and more piercing in their
+nature, although their tone was subdued, as if by the existence of a
+thick intervening partition.
+
+"Holy Virgin! what sounds are those?" he exclaimed, more in pity than in
+fear--for they were unmistakably female shrieks which he heard.
+
+"Perdition seize on those Carmelite nuns!" cried Lomellino; "they seem
+to have got another victim!"
+
+"_Another victim!_" murmured the marquis falling back in his bed, a prey
+to the most torturing feelings; and then his lips framed the sweet and
+tender name of "GIULIA!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII.
+
+A FEARFUL ACCUSATION.
+
+
+Fair and beauteous art thou, O City of Flowers! with thy domes and
+spires, and turrets overlooking the Arno's silver stream, and crowding
+together in that river's classic pale; surrounded, too, by oak-covered
+hills, and cypress groves, and gardens of olives and evergreens, and
+presenting to the view of the spectator who stands on the lofty summit
+of Monte Senario, so vast an assemblage of palaces as to justify the
+saying of Ariosto, that it seemed as if the very soil produced them!
+
+Or seen from the olive-crowned hill of Fesole, consecrated by the genius
+of Milton, how glorious is thy rich combination of beauty, thou Athens
+of Etruria!
+
+The sun dawned upon the eventful night, the incidents of which have
+occupied so many chapters. The golden flood poured upon the Florentine
+scene, so fair even in winter, bathing in yellow luster the mighty dome
+of the cathedral of St. Mary, the ducal palace on its left, and the
+cupola of the Medicean chapel on its right, and bringing out into strong
+relief against the deep foliage of the evergreens the marble fronts of
+palaces, villas, and convents, seated amidst the hills, or scattered
+through the vale--the whole affording a rich and varied view, as if
+eternal summer reigned in that delightful region and beneath the purple
+canopy of that warm Italian sky!
+
+Alas! that the selfish interests, dark passions, conflicting feeling,
+clashing aims, and black, black crimes of men should mar the serenity
+and peace which ought to maintain an existence congenial to this scene!
+
+Scarcely had the orient beams penetrated through the barred casements of
+the Jew Isaachar's house in the suburb of Alla Croce, when the old man
+was awakened from a repose to which he had only been able to withdraw a
+couple of hours previously, by a loud and impatient knocking at his
+gate.
+
+Starting from his couch, he glanced from the window, and, to his dismay,
+beheld the lieutenant of police, accompanied by half a dozen of his
+terrible sbirri, and by an individual in the plain, sober garb of a
+citizen.
+
+A cold tremor came over the unhappy Israelite, for he knew that this
+official visit could bode him no good: and the dread of having
+encountered the resentment of the Count of Arestino, immediately
+conjured up appalling scenes of dungeons, chains, judgment-halls and
+tortures, to his affrighted imagination.
+
+The dark hints which Manuel d'Orsini had dropped relative to the
+possibility of the count's discovering the affair of the diamonds, and
+the certain vengeance that would ensue, flashed to the mind of Isaachar
+ben Solomon; and he stood, as it were, paralyzed at the window, gazing
+with the vacancy of despair upon the armed men, on whose steel morions
+and pikes the morning sunbeams now fell in radiant glory.
+
+The knocking was repeated more loudly and with greater impatience than
+before; and Isaachar, suddenly restored to himself, and remembering that
+it was dangerous as well as useless to delay the admittance of those who
+would not hesitate to force a speedy entry, huddled on his garments, and
+descended to the door.
+
+The moment it was opened, the sbirri and the citizen entered; and the
+lieutenant, turning shortly round upon the Jew, said, "His Excellency
+the Count of Arestino demands, through my agency, the restoration of
+certain diamonds which his lordship has good reason to believe are in
+your possession. But think not that his lordship is desirous of
+plundering you of these jewels which you hold as security for certain
+moneys advanced, for here is the gold to repay thee."
+
+Thus speaking, the lieutenant produced from beneath his cloak a heavy
+bag of gold; and Isaachar, now considerably relieved of his
+apprehensions, led the way into the apartment where he had received the
+Marquis of Orsini and Stephano de Verrina during the past night.
+
+"Hast thou heard my message, Israelite?" demanded the lieutenant.
+
+"Yes, yes; and his lordship is a worthy man--an estimable man. No
+oppressor of the poor defenseless Jew is he! Would that Florence
+abounded in such nobles as the Count of Arestino!"
+
+"Cease thy prating, Jew, and let us dispatch this business," cried the
+officer. "You see," he added, glancing toward his men, "that with these
+at my disposal, the ransacking of your dwelling would be a light and
+easy matter."
+
+"I will not render it necessary," returned the Jew. "Tarry ye here a few
+moments and the diamonds shall be delivered up."
+
+Isaachar proceeded into another apartment, the lieutenant following him
+as far as the passage to see that he did not escape. When the old man
+returned, he had a small rosewood case in his hand: and from this box he
+produced the stones which had been extracted from the settings the very
+day the jewels were first mortgaged to him.
+
+"Now, signor," said the lieutenant, turning to the citizen in the plain
+sober garb, "as you are the diamond merchant of whom his lordship the
+count originally purchased the precious stones which have been traced to
+the possession of Isaachar, it is for you to declare whether those be
+the true diamonds or not."
+
+The citizen examined the stones, and having pronounced them to be the
+genuine ones, took his departure, his services being no longer required.
+
+The lieutenant secured the rosewood case with its valuable contents
+about his person, and then proceeded to settle with interest the amount
+claimed by the Jew, as the sum which he had advanced on the jewels.
+
+While this transaction was in progress, the notice of one of the sbirri
+was attracted by the marks of blood which appeared on the floor, and
+which, as the reader will recollect, had been caused by the wound that
+the Marquis of Orsini had received from the robber Stephano.
+
+"It is decidedly blood," whispered the sbirro to one of his companions.
+
+"Not a doubt of it," observed another. "We must mention it to the
+lieutenant when he has done counting out that gold."
+
+"Do you know what I have heard about the Jews?" asked the first speaker,
+drawing his comrades still further aside.
+
+"What?" was the general question.
+
+"That they kill Christian children to mix the blood in the dough with
+which they make the bread used at their religious ceremonies," answered
+the sbirro.
+
+"Depend upon it. Isaachar has murdered a Christian child for that
+purpose!" said one of his companions.
+
+This atrocious idea gained immediate belief among the ignorant sbirri;
+and as the Jew now quitted the room for a few moments to secure the gold
+which he had just received, in his coffer in the adjacent apartment, the
+police officers had leisure to point out to their superior the traces of
+blood which they had noticed, and the suspicion which these marks had
+engendered.
+
+The lieutenant was not further removed beyond the influence of popular
+prejudice and ridiculous superstition than even his men: and though by
+no means of a cruel disposition, yet he thought it no sin nor injustice
+to persecute the Hebrew race, even when innocent and unoffending. But,
+now that suspicion, or what he chose to consider suspicion, pointed at
+Isaachar ben Solomon as a dreadful criminal, the lieutenant did not
+hesitate many moments how to act.
+
+Thus, when the Jew returned to the room with the fond hope of seeing his
+visitors take their speedy departure, he was met by the terrible words,
+uttered by the officer of the sbirri. "In the name of the most high
+inquisition, Isaachar, do I make you my prisoner!"
+
+The unhappy Jew fell upon his knees, stunned, terrified by the appalling
+announcement; and although he assumed this attitude of supplication, he
+had not the power to utter a syllable of intercession or of prayer.
+Horror had for the moment stricken him dumb: and a thousand images of
+terror, conjured up by the fearful words, "the inquisition," suddenly
+sprung up to scare, bewilder and overwhelm him.
+
+"Bind him, gag him!" ejaculated the lieutenant: and this order was
+immediately obeyed: for whenever a prisoner was about to be conveyed to
+the dungeons of the inquisition, he was invariably gagged, in order that
+no questions on his part might evoke answers at all calculated to afford
+him a clew to the cause of his arrest.
+
+This precaution was originally adopted in reference to those only who
+were ignorant of the charges laid against them: but it had subsequently
+become common in all cases of arrest effected in the name or on the part
+of the holy brotherhood.
+
+The Palazzo del Podesta, or ducal palace, was one of the most celebrated
+edifices in Florence. In strong contrast with the various beautiful
+specimens of composite Tuscan, combined with a well-assimilated portion
+of the Grecian character, which abounded in Florence, the ducal palace
+was remarkable for the stern and gloomy character of its architecture.
+Its massive and heavy tower, crowned with embattled and overhanging
+parapets, seemed to frown in sullen and haughty defiance at the lapse of
+Time. The first range of windows were twelve feet from the ground, and
+were grated with enormous bars of iron, producing a somber and ominous
+effect. Within were the apartments of the duke's numerous dependents;
+and the lower portion of the palace had been rendered thus strong to
+enable the edifice to withstand a siege in those troublous times, when
+the contentions of the Guelphs and Ghibelines desolated Florence. On the
+second floor there was in front a plain and simple architrave, and on
+that story the windows were high and arched; for those casements
+belonged to the ducal apartments. The upper stories were in the same
+style; but the general aspect was stern and mournful to a degree.
+
+The palace was built, as indeed nearly all the Florentine mansions then
+were, and still are, in the form of a square; and around this court,
+which was of an antique and gloomy cast, were numerous monumental
+stones, whereon were inscribed the names of the nobles and citizens who
+had held high offices in the state previous to the establishment of the
+sway of the Medici.
+
+It was beneath the Palazzo del Podesta that the dungeons of the criminal
+prison and also those of the inquisition were situated.
+
+In a cell belonging to the former department, Fernand Wagner was already
+a captive; and Isaachar ben Solomon now became the inmate of a narrow,
+cold, and damp stone chamber, in that division of the subterrane which
+was within the jurisdiction of the holy office.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX.
+
+THE VISIT OF THE BANDITTI TO THE RIVEROLA PALACE.
+
+
+It was Monday night, and within an hour of the time appointed by
+Stephano for the meditated invasion of the Riverola Palace.
+
+Francisco had already retired to rest, for he was wearied with vain and
+ineffectual wandering about the city and its environs in search of some
+trace that might lead him to discover his lost Flora.
+
+Indeed, the few days which had now elapsed since her mysterious
+disappearance had been passed by the young count in making every
+possible inquiry and adopting every means which imagination could
+suggest to obtain a clew to her fate. But all in vain. And never for a
+moment did he suspect that she might be an inmate of the Carmelite
+Convent, for, although he was aware of the terrible power wielded by
+that institution, yet feeling convinced that Flora herself was incapable
+of any indiscretion, it never struck him that the wicked machinations of
+another might place her in the custody of the dreaded Carmelite abbess.
+
+We said that Francisco had retired to rest somewhat early on the
+above-mentioned night, and the domestics, yielding to the influence of a
+soporific which Antonio, the faithless valet, had infused into the wine
+which it was his province to deal out to them under the superintendence
+of the head butler, had also withdrawn to their respective chambers.
+
+Nisida had dismissed her maids shortly before eleven, but she did not
+seek her couch. There was an expression of wild determination, of firm
+resolve, in her dark black eyes and her compressed lips which denoted
+the courage of her dauntless but impetuous mind. For of that mind the
+large piercing eyes seemed an exact transcript.
+
+Terrible was she in the decision of her masculine--oh! even more than
+masculine--character, for beneath that glorious beauty with which she
+was arrayed beat a heart that scarcely knew compunction, or that, at all
+events, would hesitate at nothing calculated to advance her interests or
+her projects.
+
+Though devoured with ardent passions, and of a temperament naturally
+voluptuous and sensual even to an extreme, she had hitherto remained
+chaste, as much for want of opportunity to assuage the cravings of her
+mad desires, as through a sentiment of pride--but since she had loved
+Wagner--the first and only man whom she had ever loved--her warm
+imagination had excited those desires to such a degree, that she felt
+capable of making any sacrifice, save one--to secure him to herself.
+
+And that one sacrifice which she could not make was not her honor: no,
+of that she now thought but little in the whirlwind of her impetuous,
+ardent, heated imagination. But, madly as she loved Fernand Wagner--that
+is, loved him after the fashion of her own strange and sensual
+heart--she loved her brother still more; and this attachment was at
+least a pure, a holy sentiment, and a gloriously redeeming trait in the
+character of this wondrous woman, of a mind so darkly terrible.
+
+And for her brother's sake it was that there was one sacrifice--a
+sacrifice of a tremendous, but painfully persevered-in project--which
+she would not make even to her love for Fernand Wagner! No, rather would
+she renounce him forever--rather would she perish, consumed by the
+raging fires of her own ungratified passions, than sacrifice one tittle
+of what she deemed to be her brother's welfare to any selfish feeling of
+her own!
+
+Wherefore do we dwell on this subject now?
+
+Because such was the resolution which Nisida vowed within her own heart,
+as she stood alone in her chamber, and fixed her eyes upon a document,
+bearing the ducal seal that lay upon the table.
+
+That document contained the decision of his highness in respect to the
+memorial which she had privately forwarded to him in accordance with the
+advice given her a few days previously by Dr. Duras. The duke lost no
+time in vouchsafing a reply; and this reply was unfavorable to the hopes
+of Nisida. His highness refused to interfere with the provisions of the
+late count's will; and this decision was represented to be final.
+
+Therefore it was that Nisida solemnly vowed within herself to persevere
+in a course so long ago adopted, and ever faithfully, steadily, sternly
+adhered to since the day of its commencement; and, as if to confirm
+herself in the strength of this resolution, she turned her eyes with
+adoring, worshiping look toward the portrait of her maternal parent,
+those eloquent, speaking orbs seeming almost to proclaim the words which
+her lips could not utter, "Yes, mother--sainted mother! thou shalt be
+obeyed!"
+
+Then she hastily secured the ducal missive in an iron box where she was
+in the habit of keeping her own private papers, and which opened with a
+secret spring.
+
+But did she, then, mean to renounce her love for Wagner? Did she
+contemplate the terrible alternative of abandoning him in his
+misfortune, in his dungeon?
+
+No--far from that! She would save him if she could; she would secure him
+to herself, if such were possible; but she would not sacrifice to these
+objects the one grand scheme of her life, that scheme which had formed
+her character as we now find it, and which made her stand alone, as it
+were, among the millions of her own sex!
+
+And it was to put into execution the plan which she had devised to
+effect Wagner's freedom, that she was now arming herself with all the
+resolution, all the magnanimity, all the firmness with which her
+masculine soul was capable.
+
+The dial on the mantel in the chamber marked the hour of eleven; and
+Nisida commenced her preparations.
+
+Having divested herself of her upper garment, she put on a thin, but
+strong, and admirably formed corselet, made so as to fit the precise
+contour of her ample bust, and completely to cover her bosom. Then she
+assumed a black velvet robe, which reached up to her throat, and
+entirely concealed the armor beneath. Her long flexible dagger was next
+thrust carefully into a sheath formed by the wide border of her
+stomacher; and her preparations for defense in case of peril were
+completed.
+
+She now took from a cupboard six small bags, which were nevertheless
+heavy, for they were filled with gold; and these she placed on a table.
+Then seating herself at that table, she wrote a few lines on several
+slips of paper, and these she thrust into her bosom.
+
+Having accomplished her arrangements thus far, the Lady Nisida took a
+lamp in her hand, and quitted her apartments.
+
+Ascending a staircase leading to the upper story, she paused at one of
+several doors in a long corridor, and slowly and noiselessly drew the
+bolt, by which that door might be fastened outside.
+
+This was Antonio's room; and thus, by Nisida's precaution, was he made a
+prisoner.
+
+She then retraced her way to the floor below, and proceeded to the
+apartment in which her father breathed his last, and where the
+mysterious closet was situated.
+
+No one until now had entered that room since the day of the late count's
+funeral; and its appearance was gloomy and mournful in the extreme; not
+only on account of the dark, heavy hangings of the bed, and the drawn
+curtains of the windows, but also from the effect of the ideas
+associated with that chamber.
+
+And as Nisida glanced toward the closet-door, even she trembled, and her
+countenance became ashy pale; for not only did she shudder at the
+thought of the horrors which that closet contained, but through her
+brain also flashed the dreadful history revealed to her by the
+manuscript--of which, however, only a few lines have as yet been
+communicated to the reader. But she knew all--she had read the whole;
+and well--oh! well might she shudder and turn pale.
+
+For terrible indeed must have been the revelations of a manuscript
+whereof the few lines above alluded to gave promise of such appalling
+interest,--those lines which ran thus: "Merciless scalpel hacked and
+hewed away at the still almost palpitating flesh of the murdered man, in
+whose breast the dagger remained deeply buried,--a ferocious joy--a
+savage, hyena-like triumph now----"
+
+But we are to some extent digressing from the thread of our narrative.
+
+Nisida placed the lamp in the chimney, in such a way that its light was
+concealed so as to leave all the immediate vicinity of the door in a
+state of complete darkness; and she seated herself in a chair close by,
+to await the expected events of midnight.
+
+Slowly, slowly passed the intervening twenty minutes; and the lady had
+ample leisure to reflect upon all the incidents of her life--ay, and to
+shudder too at one which had dyed her hand with blood--the blood of
+Agnes!
+
+Yet, though she shuddered thus, she did not look upon it with that
+unbounded, tremendous horror that would be experienced by a lady
+similarly placed in these times; for jealousy was a feeling that, by the
+tacit convention of a vitiated society, was an excuse for even murder;
+and, moreover, she possessed the true Italian heart, which deemed the
+death of a rival in love a justifiable act of vengeance.
+
+But she felt some compunction, because she had learnt, when it was too
+late, that Agnes was not the mistress of Fernand Wagner; and she was
+convinced that in affirming this much he had uttered the strictest
+truth.
+
+Thus was she rather grieved at the fatal mistake than appalled by the
+deed itself; and she shuddered because she knew that her fearful
+impetuosity of disposition had led to the unnecessary deed which had
+entailed so dark a suspicion and so much peril upon her lover.
+
+She was in the midst of these and other reflections connected with the
+various salient features of her life, when the door of the room was
+slowly and cautiously opened, and a man entered, bearing a lantern in
+his hand.
+
+Two others followed close behind him.
+
+"Shut the door, Lomellino," said the foremost.
+
+"But are you sure that this is the room?" asked the man thus addressed.
+
+"Certain," was the reply. "Antonio described its situation so
+clearly----"
+
+"Then why did he not join us?"
+
+"How do I know? But that need not prevent us----"
+
+Nisida at this moment raised the lamp from the fire-place, and the light
+flashing at that end of the room, produced a sudden start and
+ejaculation on the part of the banditti.
+
+"Perdition!" cried Stephano, "what can this mean?"
+
+Nisida advanced toward the robbers in a manner so calm, so dignified, so
+imperious, and so totally undaunted by their presence, that they were
+for a moment paralyzed and rooted to the spot as if they were confronted
+by a specter.
+
+But at the next instant Stephano uttered an exclamation of mingled
+surprise and joy, adding, "By my patron saint! Lomellino, this is the
+very lady of whom I spoke to you the other evening!"
+
+"What, the one who did the business so well in----"
+
+"Yes, yes," cried Stephano hastily; "you know what I mean--in Wagner's
+garden! But----"
+
+Nisida had in the meantime drawn from her bosom one of the slips of
+paper before alluded to; and, handing it to the bandit-chief, she made a
+hasty and imperious motion for him to read it.
+
+He obeyed her with the mechanical submission produced by astonishment
+and curiosity, mingled with admiration for that bold and daring woman,
+whom he already loved and resolved to win: but his surprise was
+increased a hundred-fold, when he perused these lines:--"I am the Lady
+Nisida of Riverola. Your design is known to me; it matters not how.
+Rumor has doubtless told you that I am deaf and dumb; hence this mode of
+communicating with you. You have been deluded by an idle knave--for
+there is no treasure in the closet yonder. Even if there had been, I
+should have removed it the moment your intended predatory visit was made
+known to me. But you can serve me; and I will reward you well for your
+present disappointment."
+
+"What does the paper say?" demanded Lomellino and Piero, the captain's
+two companions, almost in the same breath.
+
+"It says just this much," returned Stephano--and he read the writing
+aloud.
+
+"The Lady Nisida!" ejaculated Lomellino. "Then it is she who used her
+dagger so well in Wagner's garden."
+
+"Peace, silly fool!" cried Stephano. "You have now let out the secret to
+Piero. True, 'tis no matter, as he is as stanch to me as you are; and
+therefore he may as well know that this lady here was the murderess of
+the young female in Wagner's garden: for I saw her do the deed when I
+was concealed among the evergreens there. She is as much in our power as
+we are in hers, and we will let her know it if she means any treachery."
+
+"But how could she have discovered that we meant to come here to-night,
+and what our object was?" asked Piero.
+
+"Antonio must have peached, that's clear!" returned Stephano; "and
+therefore he did not join us, as agreed, in the hall down-stairs. But no
+matter. It seems there's gold to be earned in this lady's service: and
+even if there wasn't I have such an affection for her I would cut the
+throat of the duke or the cardinal archbishop himself merely to give her
+pleasure."
+
+Then turning toward Nisida, whose courage seemed partially to have
+abandoned her, for her countenance was ghastly pale, and her hand
+trembled so that it could scarcely hold the lamp, Stephano made a low
+bow, as much as to imply that he was entirely at her service.
+
+Nisida made a powerful effort to subdue the emotions that were agitating
+her: and, advancing toward the door, she made a sign for the banditti to
+follow her.
+
+She led them to her own suit of apartments, and to the innermost
+room--her own bed-chamber--having carefully secured the several doors
+through which they passed.
+
+The banditti stood round the table, their eyes wandering from the six
+tempting-looking money-bags to the countenance of Nisida, and then back
+to the little sacks; but Stephano studied more the countenance than the
+other objects of attraction; for Nisida's face once more expressed firm
+resolution and her haughty, imperious, determined aspect, combined with
+her extraordinary beauty, fired the robber-chieftain's heart.
+
+Taking from her bosom another slip of paper, she passed it to Stephano,
+who read its contents aloud for the benefit of his companions--"The
+trial of Fernand Wagner will take place this day week. If he be
+acquitted, your services will not be required. If he be condemned, are
+ye valiant and daring enough (sufficiently numerous ye are, being upward
+of fifty in all) to rescue him on his way back from the judgment-hall to
+the prison of the ducal palace? The six bags of gold now upon the table
+are yours, as an earnest of reward, if ye assent. Double that amount
+shall be yours if ye succeed."
+
+"It is a generous proposition," observed Lomellino.
+
+"But a dangerous one," said Piero.
+
+"Nevertheless, it shall be accepted, if only for her fair self's sake,"
+exclaimed Stephano, completely dazzled by Nisida's surpassing majesty of
+loveliness; then, with a low bow, he intimated his readiness to
+undertake the enterprise.
+
+Nisida handed him a third paper, on which the following lines were
+written:--"Take the gold with you, as a proof of the confidence I place
+in you. See that you deceive me not; for I have the power to avenge as
+well as to reward. On Sunday evening next let one of you meet me, at ten
+o'clock, near the principal entrance of the Cathedral of St. Mary, and I
+will deliver the written instructions of the mode of proceeding which
+circumstances may render necessary."
+
+"I shall keep the appointment myself," said Stephano to his companions;
+and another obsequious but somewhat coarse bow denoted full compliance
+with all that Nisida had required through the medium of the slips of
+paper.
+
+She made a sign for the banditti to take the bags of gold from the
+table, an intimation which Piero and Lomellino did not hesitate to obey.
+
+The private staircase leading into the garden then afforded them the
+means of an unobserved departure; and Nisida felt rejoiced at the
+success of her midnight interview with the chiefs of the Florentine
+banditti.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX.
+
+FLORA'S CAPTIVITY--A COMPANION--THE LIVING TOMB.
+
+
+Six days had now elapsed since Flora Francatelli became an inmate of the
+Carmelite Convent.
+
+During this period she was frequently visited in her cell by Sister
+Alba, the nun who had received her at the bottom of the pit or well into
+which she descended by means of the chair; and that recluse gradually
+prepared her to fix her mind upon the necessity of embracing a
+conventual life.
+
+It was not, however, without feelings of the most intense--the most
+acute--the most bitter anguish, that the unhappy maiden received the
+announcement that she was to pass the remainder of her existence in that
+monastic institution.
+
+All the eloquence--all the sophistry--all the persuasion of Sister Alba,
+who presided over the department of the penitents, failed to make her
+believe that such a step was necessary for her eternal salvation.
+
+"No," exclaimed Flora, "the good God has not formed this earth so fair
+that mortals should close their eyes upon its beauties. The flowers, the
+green trees, the smiling pastures, the cypress groves were not intended
+to be gazed upon from the barred windows of a prison-house."
+
+Then the nun would reason with her on the necessity of self-denial and
+self-mortification; and Flora would listen attentively; but if she gave
+no reply, it was not because she was convinced.
+
+When she was alone in her cell she sat upon her humble pallet, pondering
+upon her mournful condition, and sometimes giving way to all the anguish
+of her heart, or else remaining silent and still in the immovability of
+dumb despair.
+
+Her suspicions often fell upon the Lady Nisida as the cause of her
+terrible immurement in that living tomb--especially when she remembered
+the coldness with which her mistress had treated her a day or two
+previous to her forced abduction from the Riverola Palace. Those
+suspicions seemed confirmed, too, by the nature of the discourse which
+Sister Alba had first addressed to her, when she upbraided her with
+having given way to "those carnal notions--those hopes--those
+fears--those dreams of happiness, which constitute the passion that the
+world calls love."
+
+The reader will remember that Flora had suspected the coolness of Nisida
+to have risen from a knowledge of Francisco's love for the young maiden;
+and every word which Sister Alba had uttered in allusion to the passion
+of love seemed to point to that same fact.
+
+Thus was Flora convinced that it was this unfortunate attachment, in
+which for a moment she had felt herself so supremely blest, that was the
+source of her misfortunes. But then, how had Nisida discovered the
+secret? This was an enigma defying conjecture; for Francisco was too
+honorable to reveal his love to his sister, after having so earnestly
+enjoined Flora herself not to betray that secret.
+
+At times a gleam of hope would dawn in upon her soul, even through the
+massive walls of that living tomb to which she appeared to have been
+consigned. Would Francisco forget her? Oh! no, she felt certain that he
+would leave no measure untried to discover her fate, no means unessayed
+to effect her deliverance.
+
+But, alas! then would come the maddening thought that he might be
+deceived with regard to her real position; that the same enemy or
+enemies who had persecuted her might invent some specious tale to
+account for her absence, and deter him from persevering in his inquiries
+concerning her.
+
+Thus was the unhappy maiden a prey to a thousand conflicting sentiments;
+unable to settle her mind upon any conviction save the appalling one
+which made her feel the stern truth of her captivity.
+
+Oh! to be condemned so young to perpetual prisonage, was indeed hard,
+too hard--enough to make reason totter on its throne and paralyze the
+powers of even the strongest intellect.
+
+Sister Alba had sketched out to her the course of existence on which she
+must prepare to enter. Ten days of prayer and sorry food in her own cell
+were first enjoined as a preliminary, to be followed by admission into
+the number of penitents who lacerated their naked forms with scourges at
+the foot of the altar. Then the period of her penitence in this manner
+would be determined by the manifestations of contrition which she might
+evince, and which would be proved by the frequency of her
+self-flagellations, the severity with which the scourge was applied, and
+the anxiety which she might express to become a member of the holy
+sisterhood. When the term of penitence should arrive, the maiden would
+be removed to the department of the convent inhabited by the professed
+nuns; and then her flowing hair would be cut short, and she would enter
+on her novitiate previously to taking the veil, that last, last step in
+the conventual regime, which would forever raise up an insuperable
+barrier between herself and the great, the beautiful, the glorious world
+without!
+
+Such was the picture spread for the contemplation of this charming, but
+hapless maiden.
+
+Need we wonder if her glances recoiled from her prospects, as if from
+some loathsome specter, or from a hideous serpent preparing to dart from
+its coils and twine its slimy folds around her?
+
+Nor was the place in which she was a prisoner calculated to dissipate
+her gloomy reflections.
+
+It seemed a vast cavern hollowed out of the bowels of the earth,
+rendered solid by masonry and divided into various compartments. No
+windows were there to admit the pure light of day; an artificial luster,
+provided by lamps and tapers, prevailed eternally in that earthly
+purgatory.
+
+Sometimes the stillness of death, the solemn silence of the tomb reigned
+throughout that place: then the awful tranquillity would be suddenly
+broken by the dreadful shrieks, the prayers, the lamentations, and the
+scourges of the penitents.
+
+The spectacle of these unfortunate creatures, with their naked forms
+writhing and bleeding beneath the self-inflicted stripes, which they
+doubtless rendered as severe as possible in order to escape the sooner
+from that terrible preparation for their novitiate--this spectacle, we
+say, was so appalling to the contemplation of Flora, that she seldom
+quitted her own cell to set foot in the chamber of penitence. But there
+were times when her thoughts became so torturing, and the solitude of
+her stone chamber so terrible, that she was compelled to open the door
+and escape from those painful ideas and that hideous loneliness, even
+though the scene merely shifted to a reality from which her gentle
+spirit recoiled in horror and dismay.
+
+But circumstances soon gave her a companion in her cell. For, on the
+second night of her abode in that place, the noise of the well-known
+machinery was heard; the revolution of wheels and the play of the
+dreadful mechanism raised ominous echoes throughout the subterrane.
+Another victim came: all the cells were tenanted: and the new-comer was
+therefore lodged with Flora, whose own grief was partially forgotten, or
+at all events mitigated, in the truly Christian task of consoling a
+fellow-sufferer.
+
+Thus it was that the Countess of Arestino and Flora Francatelli became
+companions in the Carmelite convent.
+
+At first the wretched Giulia gave way to her despair, and refused all
+comfort. But so gentle, so willing, so softly fascinating were the ways
+of the beautiful Flora, and so much sincerity did the charming girl
+manifest in her attempts to revive that frail but drooping flower which
+had been thrown as it were at her feet; at the feet of her, a pure
+though also drooping rosebud of innocence and beauty: so earnest did the
+maiden seem in her disinterested attentions, that Giulia yielded to the
+benign influence, and became comparatively composed.
+
+But mutual confidence, that outpouring of the soul's heavy secrets,
+which so much alleviates the distress of the female mind, did not spring
+up between the countess and Flora; because the former shrank from
+revealing the narrative of her frailty, and the latter chose not to
+impart her love for the young Count of Riverola. Nevertheless, the
+countess gave her companion to understand that she had friends without,
+who were acquainted with the fact of her removal to the Carmelite
+convent, and on whose fidelity as well as a resolute valor she could
+reckon; for the promise made to her by the robber-captain, and the idea
+that the Marquis of Orsini would not leave her to the dreadful fate of
+eternal seclusion in that place, flashed to her mind when the first
+access of despair had passed.
+
+Flora was delighted to hear that such a hope animated the Countess of
+Arestino: and throwing herself at her feet, she said, "Oh! lady,
+should'st thou have the power to save me----"
+
+"Thinkest thou that I would leave thee here, in this horrible dungeon?"
+interrupted the countess, raising Flora from her suppliant position on
+the cold pavement of the cell, and embracing her. "No, if those on whom
+I rely fulfill the hope that we have entertained we shall go forth
+together. And, oh!" added the countess, "were all Florence to rise up
+against this accursed institution, pillage it, and sack it, and raze it
+to the ground, so that not one stone shall remain upon another, heaven
+could not frown upon the deed! For surely demons in mortal shape must
+have invented that terrible engine by means of which I was consigned to
+this subterrane!"
+
+The recollection of the anguish she had suffered during the descent, a
+mental agony that Flora herself could fully appreciate, she having
+passed through the same infernal ordeal, produced a cold shudder which
+oscillated throughout Giulia's entire form.
+
+But we shall not dwell upon this portion of our tale; for the reader is
+about to pass to scenes of so thrilling a nature, that all he has yet
+read in the preceding chapters are as nothing to the events which will
+occupy those that are to follow.
+
+We said then, at the opening of this chapter, that six days had elapsed
+since Flora became an inmate of the convent, and four since
+circumstances had given her a companion in the person of Giulia of
+Arestino.
+
+It was on the sixth night, and the two inmates of the gloomy cell were
+preparing to retire to their humble pallet, after offering their prayers
+to the Virgin, for adversity had already taught the countess to pray,
+and to pray devoutly, too, when they were startled and alarmed by the
+sudden clang of a large bell fixed in some part of the subterrane.
+
+The echoes which it raised, and the monotonous vibration of the air
+which it produced, struck terror to their souls.
+
+A minute elapsed, and again the bell struck.
+
+Flora and the countess exchanged glances of terror and mysterious doubt,
+so ominous was that sound.
+
+Again a minute passed, and a third time clanged that heavy iron tongue.
+
+Then commenced a funeral hymn, chanted by several female voices, and
+emanating as yet from a distance, sounding, too, as if the mournful
+melody was made within the very bowels of the earth.
+
+But by degrees the strain became louder, as those who sang approached
+nearer; and in a short time the sound of many light steps on the stone
+pavement of the chamber of penitence were heard by Giulia and her
+companion in their cell.
+
+Again did they exchange terrified glances, as if demanding of each other
+what this strange interruption of night's silence could mean. But at
+that instant the hymn ceased--and again the loud bell clanged, as if in
+some far-off gallery hollowed out of the earth.
+
+Oh! in that convent where all was mysterious, and where a terrific
+despotism obeyed the dictates of its own wild will, such sounds as that
+funeral chant, and that deafening bell, were but too fairly calculated
+to inspire the souls of the innocent Flora and the guilty Giulia with
+the wildest apprehension!
+
+Suddenly the door opened, and Sister Alba, who presided over the chamber
+of penitence, appeared on the threshold.
+
+"Come forth, daughters!" she exclaimed; "and behold the punishment due
+to female frailty."
+
+The Countess of Arestino and Flora Francatelli mechanically obeyed this
+command; and a strange--a heart-rending sight met their eyes.
+
+The chamber of penitence was filled with nuns in their convent-garbs;
+and the penitents in a state of semi-nudity. On one side of the
+apartment, a huge door with massive bolts and chains stood open,
+allowing a glimpse, by the glare of the lamps, tapers, and torches, of
+the interior of a small cell that looked like a sepulcher. Near the
+entrance to that tomb, for such, indeed, it was--stood the lady abbess:
+and on the pavement near her knelt a young and beautiful girl, with
+hands clasped and countenance raised in an agony of soul which no human
+pen can describe. The garments of this hapless being had been torn away
+from her neck and shoulders, doubtless by the force used to drag her
+thither: and her suppliant attitude, the despair that was depicted by
+her appearance, her extreme loveliness, and the wild glaring of her deep
+blue eyes, gave her the appearance of something unearthly in the glare
+of that vacillating light.
+
+"No, daughter," said the abbess, in a cold, stern voice; "there is no
+mercy for you on earth."
+
+Then echoed through the chamber of penitence a scream, a shriek so wild,
+so long, so full of agony, that it penetrated to the hearts of Flora,
+the countess, and some of the penitents, although the abbess and her
+nuns seemed unmoved by that appalling evidence of female anguish. At the
+same instant the bell struck again; and the funeral hymn was recommenced
+by the junior recluses.
+
+Sister Alba now approached Flora and the countess, and said in a low
+whisper, "The vengeance of the conventual discipline is terrible on
+those who sin! That miserable girl completed her novitiate five months
+ago; and the night before she was to take the veil she escaped. This
+awful crime she committed for the sake of some man she had known ere she
+first entered the convent, and for whom she thus endangered her immortal
+soul. But her justly incensed relations yesterday discovered her
+retreat; and she was restored to this house of penitence and peace.
+Alas! the effects of her frailty were but too apparent; and that
+benighted girl would become a mother--_had she long enough to live_!"
+
+These last words were uttered with terrible significancy; and the nun
+turned aside, leaving Flora and the countess each a prey to the most
+unspeakable horror.
+
+In the meantime the helpless victim of ecclesiastical vengeance--the
+poor erring creature, who had dared and sacrificed everything for the
+love of her seducer--had risen from her suppliant posture, and flown
+wildly--madly round to the elder nuns in succession, imploring mercy,
+and rending the very roof of the subterrane with piercing screams. But
+those to whom she appealed turned a deaf ear; for a convent is a tomb in
+which all human sympathies are immured--a vortex wherein all the best
+feelings that concrete in the mortal heart are cruelly engulfed!
+
+And while this wretched girl--for she was scarcely yet a woman, although
+were life spared her, on the way to maternity--was thus fruitlessly
+imploring the mercy of hearts that were stern and remorseless, the hymn
+continued, and the bell tolled at short intervals.
+
+Suddenly at a particular verse in the funeral chant, the three nuns who
+usually did the bidding of the lady abbess, glided noiselessly--but
+surely, like black serpents--toward the victim--seized her in their
+powerful grasp--and bore her to the cell in which she was to be immured.
+
+The choir of nuns raised their voices, and the bell now clanged quickly
+with its almost deafening note--and those human and metallic sounds
+combined to deaden the screams that burst from the miserable girl, on
+whom the huge door at length closed with fearful din.
+
+The massive bolts were drawn--the key turned harshly in the lock and
+still the shrieks came from within the sepulcher where a human being was
+_entombed alive_!
+
+So sickening a sensation came over Flora and the countess, when the last
+act of the awful tragedy was thus concluded, that they reeled back to
+their cell with brains so confused, and such horrible visions floating
+before their eyes, that their very senses appeared to be abandoning
+them.
+
+When they were enabled to collect their scattered ideas, and the
+incidents of the last half-hour assumed a definite shape in their
+memories, the sound of hymn and bell had ceased--the chamber of
+penitence was deserted--the silence of death reigned throughout the
+subterrane--nor did even the faintest shriek or scream emanate from the
+cell in which the victim was entombed.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI.
+
+THE BANDITTI.
+
+
+The night of which we are speaking was destined to be one pregnant with
+alarms for the Countess of Arestino and Signora Francatelli.
+
+Scarcely had they recovered from the effects of the appalling tragedy
+which had just been enacted, when their attention was drawn to a strange
+noise on one side of the cell.
+
+They listened, and the noise continued--resembling an attempt to remove
+the massive masonry at that part of the stone chamber.
+
+"Merciful heavens!" said Flora, in a subdued whisper; "what new terror
+can now be in store for us!"
+
+But scarcely were these words uttered, when a considerable portion of
+the masonry fell in with a loud crash; and had not the countess and
+Flora already withdrawn to the vicinity of the door, when the mysterious
+sound first began, they would either have been killed or seriously hurt
+by the falling of the huge stones.
+
+A faint scream burst from Flora's lips, and she would have rushed from
+the cell, had not an ejaculation of joy escaped the countess.
+
+For at the aperture formed by the falling in of the masonry, and by the
+glare of the light that shone on the other side, as well as by the dim
+taper that burnt before the crucifix in the cell, Giulia had in an
+instant recognized the countenance of the Marquis of Orsini.
+
+"Manuel!--dearest Manuel!" she exclaimed, rushing toward the aperture:
+"art thou come to save me?"
+
+"Yes, Giulia," replied the marquis. "But by what good fortune art thou
+the very first whom it is my destiny to encounter? and who is thy
+companion?"
+
+"A good--a generous-hearted girl, whom you must save also from this
+dreadful place," answered the countess. "And as for this accidental, but
+most fortunate encounter, I can tell you no more than that this is our
+cell. It is rather for me to ask----"
+
+"We have no time to waste in idle talk, my lord," said Stephano, who now
+appeared at the aperture. "Pardon my roughness, noble lady--but every
+moment is precious. Is there any danger of an alarm being given?"
+
+"None that I am aware of," returned the countess. "The place where we
+now are must be a hundred yards below the surface of the earth----"
+
+"No, my lady--that is impossible," interrupted Stephano; "a hundred feet
+at the most--and even that is above the mark. But stand back, my lady,
+while we remove some more of this solid masonry."
+
+Giulia obeyed the robber-chief, and turned to embrace Flora with the
+liveliest manifestations of joy, which the young maiden sincerely
+shared--for escape now appeared to be at hand.
+
+The aperture was rapidly enlarged by those who worked on the other side,
+and in a few minutes it was spacious enough to admit the passage of a
+human form. Then Giulia and Flora quitted their dismal cell, and entered
+the innermost chamber of the robbers' hold, but from which the treasures
+described in a previous chapter had all been removed away.
+
+Giulia embraced the marquis with grateful affection; but Stephano
+exclaimed, "Come, my lord! Remember your oath, and join us in this
+expedition to the end!"
+
+At that moment the awful tragedy of the night flashed back to Flora's
+memory, from which nothing could have dispelled it even for an instant,
+save the thrilling excitement attendant on the escape from the convent;
+and in a few hurried words, she told the dreadful tale.
+
+But what was the astonishment of all present, when Piero, one of the
+banditti, exclaimed in a tone of mingled rage and grief, "'Tis Carlotta!
+the victim can be none other--the dates you have mentioned, signora,
+convince me! Yes--five months ago she fled from that accursed
+convent--and yesterday she disappeared. Ah! my poor Carlotta!"
+
+And the rude but handsome brigand wept.
+
+Flora, forgetting the danger of re-entering the walls of the terrible
+institution, exclaimed, "Follow me--it may not be too late--I will show
+you the cell----"
+
+And she once more passed through the aperture, closely followed by
+Stephano, Piero, Lomellino, and a dozen other banditti. The Marquis of
+Orsini stayed behind a few moments, to breathe a reassuring word to
+Giulia, whom he left in the treasure chamber (as that apartment of the
+robbers' hold was called), and then hastened after those who had
+penetrated into the subterrane of the convent.
+
+The party entered the chamber of penitence, where the long wax candles
+were still burning before the altar; and Flora having hastily given
+Stephano as much information as she could relative to the geography of
+the place, that chieftain placed sentinels around. Flora had already
+pointed out the door of the dungeon to which Carlotta had been
+consigned; and Piero hastened to call upon his mistress to answer him.
+
+It was a touching spectacle to behold that lawless and bold, bad man
+melting into tenderness beneath the influence of love!
+
+But no reply came from within that dungeon; and though the bolts were
+easily drawn back, yet the lock was strong, and the key was not there!
+
+By this time the penitents, who slept in the various cells adjoining the
+chamber, had become alarmed by the heavy tread and the voices of men,
+and had opened their doors. But they were desired to keep back by the
+sentinels, whom Stephano had posted around to maintain order and prevent
+a premature alarm, but who, nevertheless, gave assurances of speedy
+escape to those who might choose to profit by the opportunity.
+
+Suddenly a door, which Flora had never noticed before in the chamber of
+penitence, opened, and two recluses appeared on the threshold.
+
+"The abbess!" ejaculated Flora, yielding to a sudden impulse of alarm.
+
+But almost at the same instant Stephano sprung forward, caught the
+abbess by the arm, and dragged her into the chamber; then rushing up a
+flight of narrow stone steps, with which that door communicated, and
+which the other recluse had already turned to ascend, he brought her
+forcibly back also. This latter nun was Sister Alba, the presiding
+authority of the chamber of penitence.
+
+Her astonishment, as well as that of the lady abbess, at the spectacle
+of a number of armed men in the most private part of the entire
+establishment, may well be conceived; nor was this disagreeable surprise
+unmixed with intense alarm. But they had little time for reflection.
+
+"The key of that door!" cried Stephano in a fierce and menacing tone, as
+he pointed toward Carlotta's dungeon.
+
+The abbess mechanically drew forth the key from beneath her
+convent-habit, and Piero, rushing forward, clutched it eagerly. In a few
+moments it turned in the lock--the next moment the door stood open.
+
+But what a spectacle met the view of Piero, Flora, and those who were
+near enough to glance within! Stretched upon the stone floor of the
+narrow cell lay the victim--motionless and still! Drops of gore hung to
+her lips; in the agony of her grief she had burst a blood-vessel--and
+death must have been almost instantaneous.
+
+Flora staggered back--sick at the dreadful sight; and she would have
+fallen to the ground had not the Marquis of Orsini suddenly sprung
+forward to sustain her.
+
+"This is no place for you, young lady," he said. "Permit me to conduct
+you back to the companionship of the Countess of Arestino."
+
+Flora leant upon his arm, and he half carried, rather than led her away
+from the chamber of penitence into the robbers' hold. But as they passed
+through the aperture formed by the removal of the masonry, a terrible
+menace met their ears.
+
+"Vengeance!" cried Piero, furiously; "vengeance on the murderess of
+Carlotta!"
+
+"Yes--vengeance shalt thou have, comrade," returned the deep, sonorous
+voice of Stephano.
+
+But scarcely were those words uttered, when the loud clanging of the
+bell struck up; and the abbess exclaimed joyfully, "We are saved! we are
+saved!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXII.
+
+THE MYSTERY OF THE CHAIR--THE CATASTROPHE.
+
+
+The reader will recollect that when Flora Francatelli was released from
+the chair at the bottom of the pit or well, Sister Alba had led her
+along a narrow, dark passage communicating with the chamber of
+penitence.
+
+In a small dome-like cavity, hollowed out of the roof of this passage,
+hung a large bell; and in a cell opening from the side of the passage
+immediately beneath the dome, dwelt an old nun, who, for some dreadful
+misdeed committed in her youth, had voluntarily consigned herself to the
+convent of the Carmelites, and, having passed through the ordeal of the
+chamber of penitence, had accepted the office of sextoness in that
+department of the establishment.
+
+It was her duty to keep the chamber of penitence clean, maintain tapers
+constantly burning before the altar, supply also the cells of the
+penitents themselves with lights, and toll the bell whenever occasion
+required. She it was who had visited Flora's cell the first night of her
+arrival at the convent, to renew the taper that burnt before her
+crucifix, and to exchange the maiden's attire for the conventual garb.
+
+This old nun it was, then, who suddenly tolled the bell, at the moment
+when Piero and Stephano were menacing the abbess and Sister Alba with
+their vengeance, and when the Marquis of Orsini was bearing away Flora
+to the robbers' hold, that she might have the companionship of Giulia.
+
+The way in which the old nun rang the bell was such that the inmates of
+the convent would perceive it to be an alarm; and moreover, so sudden
+was its startling clang, that Stephano and Piero abandoned their hold
+upon the abbess and Sister Alba, and retreated a few paces, uncertain
+how to act; hence the exclamation of the superior of the convent, "We
+are saved! we are saved!"
+
+But little did that stern, imperious woman know of the desperate
+characters of those with whom she had now to deal. Ashamed of their
+momentary hesitation, Stephano and Piero rushed on the abbess and Sister
+Alba, and dragged them, in spite of their deafening screams, into that
+fatal cell, where they threw them headlong over the lifeless corpse of
+their victim.
+
+Scarcely, however, had they closed the door on the wretched woman, when
+the Marquis of Orsini returned; and, too well divining what had passed,
+he exclaimed, "In the name of Heaven, captain!--by all that is holy,
+Piero! I implore you not to consummate this dreadful crime!"
+
+"My lord," said Stephano, "ere we entered on this expedition to-night,
+you bound yourself by an oath to obey me as the leader. I command you
+then not to interfere with our proceedings; but, on the contrary, go and
+ascertain whence comes the clanging of that infernal bell."
+
+The marquis turned aside, sick at heart at the deed of vengeance which
+was in progress, but unable to remonstrate further, in consequence of
+the oath which he had taken. It was, however, a relief for him to move
+away from the vicinity of the living tomb, whence emanated the shrieks
+of the abbess and the nun; and guided by the sound of the bell, he
+rushed, with whirling brain and desperate resolution, into the passage
+leading from the chamber of penitence.
+
+In a few moments the clanging of the bell ceased, for the marquis had
+discovered the old sextoness in her cell, and compelled her to desist.
+
+All the events yet recorded in the preceding and the present chapter had
+occurred with a rapidity which the reader can scarcely comprehend,
+because their complicated nature and variety have forced us to enter
+into minute details requiring a considerable time to peruse. Those
+events which we are now about to describe also succeeded each other with
+marvelous speed, and occupied an incredibly short space of time,
+although our narrative must necessarily appear prolix in comparison.
+
+Extraordinary was the excitement that now prevailed in all the
+subterranean department of the convent. The victims of a stern but just
+vengeance were sending forth appalling screams from the fatal dungeon;
+and some of the penitents in their cells, which were still guarded by
+the sentinels, were also giving vent to their affright by means of
+piercing shrieks, though others remained tranquil in hope of the
+promised release.
+
+Stephano had entirely recovered his presence of mind, and now issued his
+orders with wondrous rapidity.
+
+Pointing to the door by which the abbess and Sister Alba had entered the
+chamber of penitence, he said, "Lomellino, that is the way to the upper
+part of the convent--there can be no doubt of it! Take Piero and half a
+dozen of the men, and hasten up that staircase. Secure the front gate of
+the building, and possess yourself of the plate and treasure. But no
+violence, remember--no violence to the nuns."
+
+Lomellino, Piero, and six of the banditti hastened to obey these
+commands, while Stephano remained below to act as circumstances might
+require. He went the round of the five cells belonging to the penitents,
+and enjoined those who were yielding to their terrors to hold their
+peace, as they had nothing to fear, but much to gain--at least, he
+observed, if they valued their freedom; and to those who were tranquil
+he repeated the assurances of speedy liberation already given by his
+men.
+
+For thirty years the old woman had not seen a being of the male sex; and
+she was terrified by the appearance of an armed man in that place which
+she had so long deemed sacred against the possibility of such an
+intrusion.
+
+"Fear nothing," said the marquis, "no one will harm you. But what will
+be the effect of that alarm which you have rung?"
+
+"Merely to warn those above that something unusual is taking place
+below," answered the old woman.
+
+"And by what means can access be obtained to this subterrane?" demanded
+the marquis.
+
+"There is a staircase leading from the chamber of penitence up into the
+hall of the convent----"
+
+"Of the existence of that staircase I am aware," interrupted the
+marquis, who had seen the abbess and Sister Alba enter the chamber of
+penitence a few minutes previously, as stated in the preceding chapter;
+"but are there no means of ingress or egress?"
+
+"Yes; follow me," said the sextoness.
+
+Taking up a lamp from the table in her cell, she led the way to the
+further end of the passage, threw open a door, and thrusting forth the
+light beyond the opening, exclaimed in a tone denoting a reminiscence
+the bitterness of which long years had scarcely mitigated--"That is the
+road whereby I came hither; and many, many others have traveled the same
+downward path!"
+
+The marquis seized the lamp, and beheld, a few paces from from him, a
+wicker chair, to which two ropes, hanging perpendicularly down, were
+fastened. He raised his eyes, following the direction of the ropes, but
+as there was now no other light in the pit than the feeble, flickering
+one shed by the lamp which he held, his glances could not penetrate the
+dense obscurity that prevailed above.
+
+"What means this chair, with its two ropes? and for what purpose is this
+narrow, square compartment, the mouth of which is shrouded in darkness?"
+inquired Manuel.
+
+"This is the method of descent to this region, for all those who come to
+this convent either as willing penitents, or who are sent hither against
+their inclination," returned the sextoness. "And though I came a willing
+penitent, yet never, never while the breath shall animate this poor,
+weak form, and reason shall remain, can I forget the mental agony, the
+intense anguish, of that fearful descent. Ah! it is a cruel engine of
+torture, although it tears not the flesh, nor racks the limbs, nor
+dislocates the joints. And even though thirty long years have passed
+since I made that dread journey," she continued, glancing
+upwards--"thirty years since I last saw the light of day--and though I
+have since learned and seen how much of the horror of that descent is
+produced by the delusion of mechanical ingenuity--yet still I shudder,
+and my blood runs cold within me."
+
+"To me, old woman," said the marquis, "your words are an enigma. But you
+have excited my curiosity: speak quickly, and explain yourself, for I
+may not linger here."
+
+"Behold this basket," returned the nun, without further preface--"these
+ropes connect it with complicated machinery in some chamber adjoining
+the well itself. In that basket those who are doomed to pass the ordeal
+of penitence are lowered from an apartment above. This apartment is
+really but a short distance overhead: but the art of the mechanist has
+so contrived the four wooden walls of the well, that when the descent of
+the basket ceases, those walls rise slowly upward, and thus descent
+appears to be continued. Then, when the affrighted female stretches
+forth her hands wildly, she encounters the ascending walls, and she
+believes that she is still going down--down--down! Oh! signor, it is
+most horrible, but a fitting prelude to the terrors of that place!"
+
+And she pointed back toward the chamber of penitence. The marquis was
+about to make some observation in reply to the strange disclosures of
+the old sextoness, when suddenly the din of a tumult, occurring, as it
+seemed, in that department of the convent far overhead, reached his
+ears, commencing with the rushing of many feet--the ejaculations of
+hostile bands--and then continuing with the clash of arms, and the
+shrieks of affrighted women--until, in a few moments, those ominous
+sounds were broken in upon and dominated by the wild, terrific cry of
+"Fire! fire!"
+
+"Oh! wherefore have I tarried here so long?" exclaimed the marquis; and
+he was about to return to the chamber of penitence, when a sudden blaze
+of light appeared at the mouth of the pit, thirty yards above. Looking
+hastily up, he beheld the flames rolling over the entrance of that well
+at the bottom of which he stood; and, in another minute, the forked fire
+burst from the sides, forcing for itself a way through the wooden walls;
+and the old dry timber and planks yielded to the devouring element as if
+they had been steeped in oil.
+
+But while the marquis was still standing at the bottom looking up the
+pit, the clash of weapons, the tread of many steps, and the
+vociferations of combatants appeared to grow nearer; then in another
+moment he became aware that the hostile sounds came down the well, and
+proceeded from the room far above, where the fire as well as the war was
+raging.
+
+Manuel had again turned around to hurry back to the chamber of
+penitence, when a loud cry of despair came vibrating down, and in
+another instant the heavy form of a man was precipitated into the well.
+The wicker chair fortunately broke his fall, and he rose with a dreadful
+imprecation.
+
+"Piero!" cried the marquis.
+
+"Ah! my lord, is it you?" said the bandit faintly, as he staggered back
+and fell heavily on the floor. "This is a bad business--the sbirri were
+alarmed, and broke in--Lomellino has got away, but the rest who were
+with me are slain----"
+
+"And you are wounded, Piero," ejaculated the marquis, rushing forward to
+assist the bandit, from whose breast he now perceived the blood to be
+flowing.
+
+"Never mind me, my lord!" said Piero faintly. "Haste and tell Verrina
+that--our men fought well--it was not their fault--nor mine--the nuns
+must have given--the--alarm----"
+
+His voice had grown fainter as he spoke: and, while the marquis was
+endeavoring to raise him, he fell back again, and expired with the name
+of Carlotta upon his tongue.
+
+The combat had ceased above, but the flames had increased in the well to
+such an extent that the marquis was compelled to beat a rapid retreat
+toward the chamber of penitence, whither the old sextoness had already
+fled. At the entrance of that apartment he met Stephano, who, alarmed by
+the clashing of arms and the cries of "fire" that had reached his ears,
+and which seemed to come from the direction of the passage, was hurrying
+thither to learn the cause. In a few words the marquis informed him of
+all that had occurred.
+
+"Back to the cavern, my friends!" cried Stephano, in a loud tone. "If
+the sbirri discover us there, we will resist them to the death."
+
+And followed by the marquis and two or three of his men, the captain
+passed through the aperture made from the cell recently occupied by
+Flora and the countess, into the treasure-chamber.
+
+But scarcely had those few individuals effected their retreat in this
+manner, when a tremendous crash was heard, cries and shrieks of horror
+and dismay burst from those who had not as yet passed through the
+opening, and then the roof of the chamber of penitence and all the
+adjacent cells gave way with a din as of a thousand cannon, burying
+beneath their weight the sextoness, the five penitents, the inmates of
+Carlotta's cell, and seven of the banditti.
+
+Those who were in the treasure-chamber felt the ground shake beneath
+their feet; the sides--although hollowed from the solid rock--appeared
+to vibrate and groan, and the aperture leading into the subterrane of
+the convent was closed up by the massive masonry that had fallen in.
+
+Flora and Giulia threw themselves into each other's arms, weeping
+bitterly; for they saw how dearly their freedom had been purchased, and
+they trembled for the result.
+
+But the Marquis of Orsini, although greatly shocked at the terrible
+sacrifice of human life which had occurred, exerted himself to console
+and reassure the two terrified ladies.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIII.
+
+LOMELLINO'S ESCAPE--STEPHANO'S INTENTIONS.
+
+
+Stephano Verrina was not the man to allow his energies to be paralyzed
+by the reverse he had just sustained. He immediately commanded a general
+muster of his men to be held in the banqueting-hall, that he might
+accurately ascertain the loss his corps had sustained.
+
+Giulia and Flora were left in the treasure-chamber to snatch a few
+hours' repose, if they could, as it was now past two o'clock in the
+morning, and the marquis accompanied Stephano to the banqueting-hall.
+Scarcely were the men mustered, when the usual signals announcing the
+approach of a member of the band were heard, and in a few moments
+Lomellino appeared amongst the troop.
+
+All crowded round him to hear the account which he had to give of his
+expedition and its failure.
+
+His tale was soon told. It seemed that on reaching what might be
+properly termed the main building of the convent, he found the greatest
+alarm and confusion prevailing amongst the nuns, the shrieks of the
+abbess, Sister Alba, and the penitents, and the alarm of the bell,
+having reached the ears of the recluses. Their consternation was
+increased almost to madness when they suddenly perceived several armed
+men emerging from the private staircase leading to the subterranean
+department, and Lomellino found it impossible to tranquilize them either
+by threats or fair speaking. A guard of sbirri must have been passing at
+the time, for loud knocks resounded at the gate, which the old portress
+immediately opened before Lomellino or any of his men could interfere to
+prevent her. A number of police officers rushed in, and then commenced a
+terrific combat between the banditti and the sbirri, the former of whom
+were forced into an apartment, the door of which was originally locked,
+but was burst open in the deadly struggle. There the strife was
+continued, when suddenly the cry of "Fire" arose, and the flames, which
+had caught a bed in the apartment, spread rapidly to the cumbrous and
+time-worn woodwork that supported the ceiling. How the fire originated,
+Lomellino knew not, but as some of the nuns carried lamps in their
+hands, and rushed wildly about in all directions in their terror, it was
+not very difficult to hazard a conjecture as to the cause of the
+conflagration. From that apartment, where the fire began, the flames
+drove the combatants into an inner room, and there Lomellino saw his
+comrade Piero hurled down some steep place, he himself being too sorely
+pressed by his assailants to be able to repair to his assistance.
+
+At length, seeing that all his companions were slain, Lomellino had
+fought his way desperately through the police-officers, and had
+succeeded in escaping from the convent, though closely pursued by three
+of the sbirri. They were rapidly gaining upon him, when an awful crash
+suddenly met their ears, as they were hurrying along the street leading
+to the wood; and, looking back, Lomellino beheld a tremendous pillar of
+flame shoot up from the place where the convent had stood, to the very
+sky, rendering for the space of a minute everything as light as day
+around. The building had fallen in, and Heaven only knows how many of
+the nuns and sbirri had escaped, or how many had perished beneath the
+ruins! Those officers who were in pursuit of Lomellino were so astounded
+by the sudden din and the column of flame, that they remained rooted to
+the spot where they had turned to gaze on the evidence of the
+catastrophe: and Lomellino had succeeded in effecting a safe and
+unobserved return to the stronghold.
+
+This account was particularly welcome to the robbers, inasmuch as it
+convinced them that the sbirri had no clew to the secret entrance of
+their stronghold, and that none of their band had been captured in the
+conflict: for they would rather hear of the death of their comrades than
+that they had been taken prisoners; because, were the latter the case,
+the tortures of the rack or the exhortations of the priest might elicit
+confessions hostile to the interests of the corps.
+
+Stephano Verrina now proceeded to count his men, who had mustered fifty
+strong previously to the expedition of that fatal night, which, it was
+ascertained, had reduced the number to thirty-six--seven, including
+Piero, having been slain by the sbirri, and as many having perished by
+the falling in of the chamber of penitence.
+
+The captain then addressed the troop in the following manner:
+
+"Worthy comrades,--our number is sadly reduced; but regrets will not
+bring back those gallant fellows who are gone. It, therefore, behooves
+us to attend to our own interests; and, for that purpose, I demand your
+attention for a few minutes. In pursuance of the resolution to which we
+came the night before last at the general council that was held, the
+treasures and possessions amassed during many years of adventure and
+peril have been fairly divided, and each man's portion has been settled
+by lot. The fourteen shares that revert to us by the death of our
+comrades shall be equally subdivided to-morrow; and the superintendence
+of that duty, my friends, will be the last act in my chieftainship. Yes,
+brave comrades,--I shall then leave you, in accordance with the
+announcement I made the night before last. It will grieve me to part
+with you; but you will choose another captain----"
+
+"Lomellino! Lomellino!" exclaimed the banditti with one accord; "he
+shall succeed our gallant Verrina!"
+
+"And you could not make a better choice," continued Stephano.
+"Lomellino----"
+
+"Pardon me, captain," interrupted the individual thus alluded to: "but
+is not that little expedition to take place on Monday, in case the lady
+requires it? We have received her gold as an earnest----"
+
+"And double that amount was promised if the affair should turn out
+successful," added Stephano. "But I have reasons of my own, which you
+may perhaps understand, Lomellino, for desiring that all idea of that
+business should be abandoned. And in order that the band may not be
+losers by this change of intentions, I will give you from my own share
+of our long accumulated treasures----"
+
+"No! no!" cried the banditti, enthusiastically; "we will not receive our
+gallant Stephano's gold! Let him act according to his own wishes!"
+
+"I thank you, my friends, for this generosity on your part," said
+Stephano.
+
+Their meeting then broke up; and the robbers sat down to the banqueting
+table, to luxuriate in the rich wines with which the stronghold was well
+stored.
+
+The Marquis of Orsini was compelled, through fear of giving offense, to
+share in the festival.
+
+"This resolution to abandon the command of your gallant band is somewhat
+sudden, meseems, Signor Stephano," he said: for not having been present
+at the council held two nights previously, he was unaware of the
+captain's intention until it was alluded to in that individual's speech
+on the present occasion.
+
+"Yes, my lord," was the reply; "the resolution _is_ sudden, But," he
+added, sinking his voice to a whisper, "a certain little blind god is at
+the bottom of it."
+
+"Ah! signor, you are in love!" said the marquis, laughing.
+
+"And therefore, I mean to turn honest man," observed Verrina, also
+laughing. "In truth, I am not sorry to have found a good excuse to quit
+a mode of life which the headsman yearns to cut short. Not that I reck
+for peril; but, methinks, twenty years of danger and adventure ought to
+be succeeded by a season of tranquillity."
+
+"Love has a marvelous influence over you, Signor Verrina," said the
+marquis; "for love alone could have inspired such sentiments in _your_
+breast."
+
+"I am fain to confess that your lordship is not far wrong," returned the
+bandit. "I have discovered a woman who is worthy of me--although she may
+not consider me to be altogether deserving of her. But of that no
+matter; for I am not accustomed to consult the inclinations of others,
+when mine own are concerned. And now a word in respect to yourself, my
+lord. When do you propose to quit this place? for according to my
+promise, you are now the master of your own actions."
+
+"The mysterious assault made upon the convent--the destruction of the
+entire establishment--and the lives that have been lost, will doubtless
+create a terrible sensation in Florence," replied the nobleman; "and
+should it transpire that I was in any way implicated----"
+
+"That is impossible, my lord," interrupted Stephano. "These men whom you
+behold around you could alone betray that secret; and you must have seen
+enough of them----"
+
+"To know that they are stanch and true," added the marquis. "Yes, on
+reflection, I perceive that I have nothing to fear; and therefore, with
+your leave, the countess, her young companion, and myself will take our
+departure to-morrow."
+
+"In the evening, when it is dusk," said Stephano. "But your lordship
+will not remain in Florence?"
+
+"The news which you brought me, a few days ago, of the arrest of that
+poor Israelite on a ridiculous but most monstrous charge, has affected
+me strangely," observed Manuel; "and as it is in my power to explain
+away that charge, I must tarry in Florence the necessary time to
+accomplish this object. The Count of Arestino will imagine that his wife
+has perished in the ruins of the convent; and hence her temporary
+concealment in the city will be easily effected."
+
+"Well, my lord," said Stephano, "it is not for me to dictate nor to
+advise. But as I always entertain an esteem for a man with whom I have
+measured weapons--and as I have somehow formed a liking for your
+lordship--pardon my boldness--I should recommend you not to remain in
+Florence on account of the Jew. The Lady Giulia might be discovered by
+her husband, and you would lose her again. To tell your lordship the
+truth," he added, in a low and confidential tone, "a friend of mine, who
+commands a trading vessel, sails in a few days from Leghorn for the
+Levant; and I intend to be a passenger on board, in company with the
+sweet lady whom I have honored with my affections. What says your
+lordship? will it suit you to embark in that vessel?"
+
+"A thousand thanks, Signor Verrina," replied the marquis; "but I must
+remain at Florence to prove the innocence of that poor, persecuted Jew."
+
+Stephano offered no further remonstrance; and the conversation which
+ensued possessed not the least interest for our readers.
+
+On the following evening the Marquis, Giulia, and Flora quitted the
+robbers' stronghold--all three were carefully blindfolded, and safely
+conducted amidst the dangers of the egress by Stephano, Lomellino, and
+another bandit. When in the grove with which the entrance of the
+stronghold communicated, the bandages were removed from their eyes, and
+the two ladies, as well as the marquis, were once more enabled to
+rejoice in their freedom.
+
+According to a previous arrangement between them, and in consequence of
+the intention of the marquis to remain a few days in Florence, Giulia
+accompanied Flora to the dwelling of the young maiden's aunt, who was
+rejoiced to behold the reappearance of her niece, and who willingly
+afforded an asylum to the countess.
+
+The marquis, having conducted the two ladies to the hospitable cottage
+of this good woman, returned to his own dwelling, his protracted absence
+from which had caused serious apprehensions amongst the few domestics
+whom his means permitted him to maintain. Ere we conclude this chapter,
+we shall observe in a few words that the greatest excitement prevailed
+in Florence relative to the attack on the convent and its destruction.
+Many of the nuns had escaped from the building at the commencement of
+the fire; and these took up their abode in another institution of the
+same order. But the thrilling events which occurred in the chamber of
+penitence did not transpire; nor was it ascertained who were the
+sacrilegious invaders of the establishment, nor by what means they had
+obtained an entry.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIV.
+
+THE ABDUCTION.
+
+
+It was originally Stephano Verrina's intention to observe good faith
+with Nisida in respect to the service on which she had intimated her
+desire to employ him and his band. But so dazzled was he by her almost
+supernatural majesty of beauty on that night when he and his companions
+encountered her in the Riverola palace, that he would have promised, or
+indeed undertaken, anything calculated to please or benefit her.
+
+When, however, he came to reflect calmly upon the service in which
+Nisida had enlisted him, he began to suspect that some motive more
+powerful than the mere desire to effect the liberation of an innocent
+man influenced that lady. Had she not put to death a beautiful creature
+who had resided in the same dwelling with Fernand Wagner? and did not
+that deed bear upon its aspect the stamp of an Italian woman's
+vengeance? Thus thought Stephano, and he soon arrived at the very
+natural conclusion that Nisida loved Fernand Wagner. Wagner was
+therefore his rival; and Verrina did not consider it at all in
+accordance with his own particular views in respect to Nisida, to aid in
+effecting that rival's liberation, should he be condemned by the
+tribunal.
+
+Again Stephano reflected that as Wagner's acquittal was within the range
+of probability, it would be expedient to possess himself of Nisida
+_before_ the trial took place;--and what opportunity could be more
+favorable than the one which that lady herself afforded by the
+appointment she had given him for the Sunday evening at the gate of
+Saint Mary's Cathedral?
+
+All these considerations had determined the bandit to adopt speedy and
+strenuous measures to possess himself of Nisida, of whom he was so madly
+enamored that the hope of gratifying his passion predominated even over
+the pride and delight he had hitherto experienced in commanding the
+Florentine robbers.
+
+The appointed evening came; and Stephano, disguised in his black mask,
+repaired a few minutes before ten to the immediate vicinity of the old
+cathedral. At the corner of an adjacent street, two men, mounted on
+powerful horses, and holding a third steed by the bridle, were in
+readiness; and, crouched in the black darkness formed by the shade of a
+huge buttress of the cathedral, two members of the troop which Lomellino
+now commanded lay concealed--for the new captain of banditti had lent
+some of his stanchest followers to further the designs of the
+ex-chieftain.
+
+A heavy rain had fallen in the early part of the day; but it ceased ere
+the sun went down; and the stars shone forth like beauty's eyes when the
+tears of grief have been wiped away by the lips of the lover.
+
+Stephano paced the arena in front of the sacred edifice; and at length a
+gentle tread and a rustling of velvet met his ears. Then, in a few
+moments, as if emerging from the darkness, the majestic form of Nisida
+appeared; and when Stephano approached her, she drew aside her veil for
+an instant--only for a single instant, that he might convince himself of
+her identity with the lady for whom he was waiting.
+
+But as the light of the silver stars beamed for a moment on the
+countenance of Nisida, that mild and placid luster was out-vied by the
+dazzling brilliancy of her large black eyes: and mental excitement had
+imparted a rich carnation hue to her cheek, rendering her so
+surpassingly beautiful that Stephano could almost have fallen on his
+knees to worship and adore her. But, oh! what lovely skins do some
+snakes wear!--and into what charming shapes does satan often get!
+
+Nisida had replaced her veil while yet Verrina's eyes were fixed on her
+bewitching countenance; then, placing her finger lightly upon his
+arm--oh! how that gentle touch thrilled through him!--she made a sign
+for him to follow her toward a niche in the deep gateway of the
+cathedral: for in that niche was an image of the Madonna, and before it
+burnt a lamp night and day. To gain that spot it was necessary to pass
+the buttress in whose shade the two banditti lay concealed.
+
+Stephano trembled as he followed that lady whom he knew to be as
+intrepid, bold, and desperate as she was beautiful:--he trembled,
+perhaps for the first time in his life, because never until now had he
+felt himself overawed by the majesty of loveliness and the resolute mind
+of a woman. But he had gone too far to retreat--even if that temporary
+and almost unaccountable timidity had prompted him to abandon his
+present design;--yes, he had gone too far--for at that moment when
+Nisida was passing the huge buttress, the two brigands sprung forth: and
+though her hand instantly grasped her dagger, yet so suddenly and
+effectually was she overpowered that she had not even time to draw it
+from its sheath.
+
+Fortunately for the scheme of Stephano, the great square in front of the
+cathedral was at that moment completely deserted by the usual evening
+loungers; and thus did he and his companions experience not the
+slightest interruption as they bore Nisida firmly and rapidly along to
+the corner of the street where the horses were in attendance.
+
+The lady's hands were already bound, and her dagger had been taken from
+her; and thus the resistance she was enabled to make was very slight,
+when Stephano, having sprung upon one of the horses, received the
+charming burden from the banditti, and embraced that fine voluptuous
+form in his powerful arms.
+
+The two men who had waited with Stephano's horse were already mounted on
+their own, as before stated, and the little party was now in readiness
+to start.
+
+"No further commands, signor?" said one of the banditti who had first
+seized upon Nisida.
+
+"None, my brave fellow. Tell Lomellino that I sent him my best wishes
+for his prosperity. And now for a rapid journey to Leghorn!"
+
+"Good-night, signor."
+
+"Good-night. Farewell--farewell, my friends!" cried Verrina; and
+clapping spurs to his steed, he struck into a quick gallop, his two
+mounted companions keeping pace with him, and riding one on either side,
+so as to prevent any possibility of escape on the part of Donna Nisida
+of Riverola.
+
+In a few minutes the little party gained the bank of the Arno, along
+which they pursued their rapid way, lighted by the lovely moon, which
+now broke forth from the purple sky, and seemed, with its chaste beams
+playing on the surface of the water, to put a soul into the very river
+as it ran!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXV.
+
+WAGNER AND THE TEMPTER--PHANTASMAGORIA.
+
+
+While Stephano was bearing away the Lady Nisida in the manner described
+in the preceding chapter, Fernand Wagner was pacing his solitary cell,
+conjecturing what would be the result of the morrow's trial.
+
+Nisida had visited him a second time on the preceding
+evening--disguised, as on the former occasion, in male attire; and she
+had implored him, in the language of the deaf and dumb, but far more
+eloquently with her speaking eyes and the expression of her beauteous
+countenance, to allow measures to be that night adopted to effect his
+immediate escape. But he had resolutely persisted in his original
+determination to undergo his trial: for by pursuing this course, he
+stood the chance of an acquittal; and he knew on the other hand that if
+he were sentenced to die, the decree of the human tribunal could not be
+carried into execution. How his escape from that fate (should death be
+indeed ordained) was beyond his power of comprehension; but that he
+possessed a superhuman protector he knew full well.
+
+Without revealing to Nisida his motives for meeting the criminal judges,
+he refused to yield to her silently but eloquently pleaded prayer that
+he would escape should gold induce the jailers to throw open the door of
+his cell: but he conveyed to her the assurance that the deep interest
+she manifested in his behalf only bound him the more sincerely and
+devotedly to her.
+
+During eight or nine days of his imprisonment, he had reflected deeply
+upon the murder of Agnes. He naturally associated that black deed with
+the mystery of the strange lady who had so alarmed Agnes on several
+occasions; and he had of course been struck by the likeness of his much
+loved Nisida to her whom his dead granddaughter had so minutely
+described to him. But, if ever suspicion pointed toward Nisida as the
+murderess of Agnes, he closed his eyes upon the bare idea--he hurled it
+from him; and he rather fell back upon the unsatisfactory belief that
+the entire case was wrapped in a profound mystery than entertain a
+thought so injurious to her whom he loved so tenderly.
+
+We said that Nisida had visited him on Saturday night. She had
+determined to essay her powers of mute persuasion once more ere she
+finally arranged with the bandit for his rescue. But that arrangement
+was not to take place; for on the Sabbath evening she was carried away,
+in the manner already described. And it was now, also, on that Sabbath
+evening that Wagner was pacing his dungeon--pondering on the probable
+result of his trial, and yet never ceasing to think of Nisida. His
+memory re-traveled all the windings, and wanderings, and ways which his
+feet had trodden during a long, long life, and paused to dwell upon that
+far back hour when he loved the maiden who became the wife of his first
+period of youth--for he was now in a second period of youth; and he felt
+that he did not love her so devotedly--so tenderly--so passionately as
+he loved Nisida now. Suddenly, as he paced his dungeon and pondered on
+the past as well as on the present, the lamp flickered; and, before he
+could replenish it with oil, the wick died in its socket. He had the
+means of procuring another light; but he cared not to avail himself
+thereof, and he was about to lay aside his vesture, preparatory to
+seeking his humble pallet, when he was struck by the appearance of a dim
+and misty luster which seemed to emanate from the wall facing the door.
+He was not alarmed; he had seen and passed through too much in this
+world to be readily terrified:--but he stood gazing, with intense
+curiosity and profound astonishment, upon that phenomenon for which his
+imagination suggested no natural cause.
+
+Gradually the luster became more powerful; but in the midst of it there
+appeared a dark cloud, which by degrees assumed the appearance of a
+human form; and in a few minutes Wagner beheld a tall, strange-looking
+figure standing before him.
+
+But assuredly that was no mortal being; for, apart from the mysterious
+mode in which he had introduced himself into the dungeon, there was on
+his countenance so withering--bitter--scornful--sardonic a smile, that
+never did human face wear so sinister an expression. And yet this being
+wore a human shape, and was attired in the habiliments of that age;--the
+long doublet, the tight hose, the trunk breeches, the short cloak, and
+the laced collar: but his slouched hat, instead of having a large and
+gracefully waving plume, was decorated with but a single feather.
+
+Fernand stood with fascinated gaze fixed upon the being whose eyes
+seemed to glare with subdued lightnings, like those of the basilisk.
+There was something awful in that form--something wildly and menacingly
+sinister in the sardonic smile that curled his lips as if with ineffable
+contempt, and with the consciousness of his own power!
+
+"Wagner!" he said, at length breaking silence, and speaking in a deep
+sonorous voice, which reverberated even in that narrow dungeon like the
+solemn tone of the organ echoing amidst cloistral roofs: "Wagner,
+knowest thou who the being is that now addresseth thee?"
+
+"I can conjecture," answered Fernand, boldly. "Thou art the Power of
+Darkness."
+
+"So men call me," returned the demon, with a scornful laugh, "Yes--I am
+he whose delight it is to spread desolation over a fertile and beautiful
+earth--he, whose eternal enmity against man is the fruitful source of so
+much evil! But of all the disciples who have ever yet aided me in my
+hostile designs on the human race, none was so serviceable as
+Faust--that Count of Aurana, whose portrait thou hast so well
+delineated, and which now graces the wall of thy late dwelling."
+
+"Would that I had never known him!" ejaculated Wagner fervently.
+
+"On the contrary," resumed the demon; "thou should'st be thankful that
+in the wild wanderings of his latter years he stopped at thy humble
+cottage in the Black Forest of Germany. Important to thee were the
+results of that visit--and still more important may they become!"
+
+"Explain thyself, fiend!" said Wagner, nothing dismayed.
+
+"Thou wast tottering with age--hovering on the brink of the
+tomb--suspended to a thread which the finger of a child might have
+snapped," continued the demon; "and in one short hour thou wast restored
+to youth, vigor, and beauty."
+
+"And by how dreadful a penalty was that renovated existence purchased!"
+exclaimed Wagner.
+
+"Hast thou not been taught by experience that no human happiness can be
+complete?--that worldly felicity must ever contain within itself some
+element of misery and distress?" demanded the fiend. "Reflect--and be
+just! Thou art once more young--and thy tenure of life will last until
+that age at which thou would'st have perished, had no superhuman power
+intervened to grant thee a new lease of existence! Nor is a long life
+the only boon conferred upon thee hitherto. Boundless wealth is ever at
+thy command; the floor of this dungeon would be strewed with gold, and
+jewels, and precious stones, at thy bidding--as thou well knowest!
+Moreover, thou wast ignorant--illiterate--uninformed: now all the
+sources of knowledge--all the springs of learning--all the fountains of
+science and art, are at thy disposal, and with whose waters thou canst
+slake the thirst of thine intellect. Endowed with a youthfulness and a
+vigor of form that will yield not to the weight of years--that will defy
+the pressure of time--and that no malady can impair,--possessed of
+wealth having no limit,--and enriched with a mind so stored with
+knowledge that the greatest sage is as a child in comparison with
+thee,--how darest thou complain or repent of the compact which has given
+to thee all these, though associated with the destiny of a Wehr-Wolf?"
+
+"It is of this fatal--this terrible destiny that I complain and that I
+repent," answered Wagner. "Still do I admit that the advantages which I
+have obtained by embracing that destiny are great."
+
+"And may be far greater!" added the demon, impressively. "Handsome,
+intelligent, and rich--all that thou dost require is power!"
+
+"Yes," exclaimed Wagner, eagerly--and now manifesting, for the first
+time since the appearance of the fiend in his cell, any particular
+emotion: "I have need of _power!_--power to avert those evils into which
+my sad destiny may plunge me,--power to dominate instead of being
+subject to the opinions of mankind,--power to prove my complete
+innocence of the dreadful crime now imputed to me,--power to maintain an
+untarnished reputation, to which I cling most lovingly,--power, too," he
+added in a slower and also a more subdued tone--"power to restore the
+lost faculties of hearing and speech to her whom I love."
+
+Strange was the smile that curled the demon's lips as Wagner breathed
+these last words.
+
+"You require power--power almost without limit," said the fiend, after a
+few moments' pause; "and that aim is within thy reach. Handsome,
+intelligent, and rich," he continued, dwelling on each word with marked
+emphasis, "how happy may'st thou be when possessed of the power to
+render available, in all their glorious extent, the gifts--the qualities
+wherewith thou art already endowed! When in the service of Faust--during
+those eighteen months which expired at the hour of sunset on the
+thirtieth of July, 1517----"
+
+"Alas!" cried Wagner, his countenance expressing emotions of
+indescribable horror; "remind me not of that man's fate! Oh!
+never--never can I forget the mental agony--the profound and soul-felt
+anguish which he experienced, and which he strove not to conceal, when
+at the gate of Vienna on that evening he bade me farewell--forever."
+
+"But thou wast happy--supremely happy in his service," said the demon;
+"and thou didst enjoy a fair opportunity of appreciating the value of
+the power which he possessed. By his superhuman aid wast thou
+transported from clime to clime--as rapidly as thought is transfused by
+the interchange of lovers' glances; and in that varied, bustling, busied
+life wast thou supremely happy. The people of Europe spoke of that
+western world, the discovery of which recently rewarded the daring
+venture of great navigators; and you were desirous to behold that new
+continent. Your master repeated the wish; and by my invisible agency, ye
+stood in a few moments in the presence of the red men of North America.
+Again--you accompanied your master to the eternal ice of the northern
+pole, and from the doorway of the Esquimaux hut he beheld the wondrous
+play of the boreal lights. On a third occasion, and in obedience to your
+wish, you stood with your master in the Island of Ceylon, where the
+first scene that presented itself to your view was an occurrence which,
+though terrible, is not uncommon in that reptile-infested clime.
+Afterward, my power--although its active agency was but partially known
+to you--transported you and the count your master--_now my victim_--to
+the fantastic and interesting scenes of China--then to the court of the
+wife-slaying tyrant of England, and subsequently to the most sacred
+privacy of the imperial palace at Constantinople. How varied have been
+thy travels!--how rapid thy movements. And that the scenes which thine
+eyes did thus contemplate made a profound impression upon thy mind is
+proved by the pictures now hanging to the walls of thy late dwelling."
+
+"But wherefore this recapitulation of everything I know so well
+already?" asked Wagner.
+
+"To remind thee of the advantages of that power which Faust, thy master,
+possessed, and which ceased to be available to thee when the term of his
+compact with myself arrived. Yes," continued the demon emphatically,
+"the powers which he possessed may be possessed by thee--and thou
+may'st, with a single word, at once and forever shake off the trammels
+of thy present doom--the doom of a Wehr-Wolf!"
+
+"Oh! to shake off those trammels, were indeed a boon to be desired!"
+exclaimed Wagner.
+
+"And to possess the power to gratify thy slightest whim," resumed the
+demon, "to possess the power to transport thyself at will to any clime,
+however distant--to be able to defy the machinations of men and the
+combination of adverse circumstances, such as have plunged thee into
+this dungeon--to be able, likewise, to say to thy beloved Nisida,
+'Receive back the faculties which thou hast lost----'"
+
+And again was the smile sinister and strange that played upon the lips
+of the demon. But Wagner noticed it not. His imagination was excited by
+the subtle discourse to which he had lent so ready an ear.
+
+"And hast _thou_ the power," he cried impatiently, "to render me thus
+powerful?"
+
+"I have," answered the demon.
+
+"But the terms--the conditions--the compact!" exclaimed Wagner, in
+feverish haste, though with foreboding apprehension.
+
+"THINE IMMORTAL SOUL!" responded the fiend, in a low but sonorous and
+horrifying whisper.
+
+"No--no!" shrieked Wagner, covering his face with his hands. "Avaunt,
+Satan, I defy thee! Ten thousand, thousand times preferable is the doom
+of the Wehr-Wolf, appalling even though that be!" With folded arms and
+scornful countenance, did the demon stand gazing upon Wagner, by the
+light of the supernatural luster which filled the cell.
+
+"Dost thou doubt my power?" he demanded, in a slow and imperious tone.
+"If so, put it to the test, unbelieving mortal that thou art! But
+remember--should'st thou require evidence of that power which I propose
+to make available to thee, it must not be to give thee liberty, nor
+aught that may enhance thy interest."
+
+"And any other evidence thou wilt give me?" asked Wagner, a sudden idea
+striking him.
+
+"Yes," answered the demon, who doubtless divined his thoughts, for again
+did a scornful smile play upon his lips. "I will convince thee, by any
+manifestation thou may'st demand, subject to the condition ere now
+named, I will convince thee that I am he whose power was placed at the
+disposal of thy late master, Faust, and by means of which thou wast
+transported, along with him, to every climate on the earth."
+
+"I will name my wish," said Wagner.
+
+"Speak!" cried the fiend.
+
+"Show me the Lady Nisida as she now is," exclaimed Fernand, his heart
+beating with the hope of beholding her whom he loved so devotedly; for,
+with all the jealousy of a lover, was he anxious to convince himself
+that she was thinking of him.
+
+"Ah! 'tis the same as with Faust and his Theresa," murmured the demon to
+himself; then aloud he said, "Rather ask me to show you the Lady Nisida
+as she will appear four days hence."
+
+"Be it so!" cried Wagner, moved by the mysterious warning those words
+appeared to convey.
+
+The demon extended his arm, and chanted in deep, sonorous tones, the
+following incantation:
+
+    "Ye powers of darkness who obey
+    Eternally my potent sway,
+    List to thy sovereign master's call!
+    Transparent make this dungeon wall;
+    And now annihilated be
+    The space 'twixt Florence and the sea!
+    Let the bright luster of the morn
+    In golden glory steep Leghorn;
+    Show where the dancing wavelets sport
+    Round the gay vessels in the port,
+    Those ships whose gilded lanterns gleam
+    In the warm sun's refulgent beam;
+    And whose broad pennants kiss the gale,
+    Woo'd also by the spreading sail!--
+    Now let this mortal's vision mark
+    Amidst that scene the corsair's bark,
+    Clearing the port with swan-like pride;
+    Transparent make the black hull's side,
+    And show the curtain'd cabin, where
+    Of earth's fair daughters the most fair--
+    Sits like an image of despair,
+      Mortal, behold! thy Nisida is there!"
+
+The strange phantasmagorian spectacle rapidly developed itself in
+obedience to the commands of the demon.
+
+First, it appeared to Wagner that the supernatural luster which pervaded
+the dungeon, gathered like a curtain on one side and occupied the place
+of the wall. This wondrous light became transparent, like a thin golden
+mist; and then the distant city of Leghorn appeared--producing an effect
+similar to that of the dissolving views now familiar to every one. The
+morning sun shone brightly on the fair scene; and a forest of masts
+stood out in bold relief against the western sky. The gilded lanterns on
+the poops of the vessels--the flags and streamers of various hues--the
+white sails of those ships that were preparing for sea--and the richly
+painted pinnaces that were shooting along in the channel between the
+larger craft rendered the scene surpassingly gay and beautiful.
+
+But amidst the shipping, Wagner's eyes were suddenly attracted by a
+large galley, with three masts--looking most rakish with its snow-white
+sail, its tapering spars, its large red streamer, and its low, long, and
+gracefully sweeping hull, which was painted jet black. On its deck were
+six pieces of brass ordnance; and stands of fire-arms were ranged round
+the lower parts of the masts.
+
+Altogether, the appearance of that vessel was as suspicious and menacing
+as it was gallant and graceful; and from the incantation of the demon,
+Wagner gleaned its real nature.
+
+And now--as that corsair-ship moved slowly out of the port of
+Leghorn--its black side suddenly seemed to open, or at least to become
+transparent; and the interior of a handsomely fitted up cabin was
+revealed.
+
+Fernand's heart had already sunk within him through foreboding
+apprehension; but now an ejaculation of mingled rage and grief burst
+from his lips, when, on a sofa in that cabin, he beheld his loved--his
+dearly loved Nisida, seated "like an image of despair," motionless and
+still, as if all the energies of her haughty soul, all the powers of her
+strong mind had been suddenly paralyzed by the weight of misfortune!
+
+Wagner stood gazing--unable to utter another word beyond that one
+ejaculation of mingled rage and grief--gazing--gazing, himself a kindred
+image of despair, upon this mysterious and unaccountable scene.
+
+But gradually the interior of the cabin grew more and more indistinct,
+until it was again completely shut in by the black side of the
+harbor--her dark hull disappearing by degrees, and melting away in the
+distance. Wagner dashed his open palm against his forehead, exclaiming,
+"Oh! Nisida--Nisida! who hath torn thee from me!"
+
+And he threw himself upon a seat, where he remained absorbed in a
+painful reverie, with his face buried in his hands--totally unmindful of
+the presence of the demon.
+
+Two or three minutes passed--during which Fernand was deliberating
+within himself whether he were the sport of a wild and fanciful vision,
+or whether he had actually received a warning of the fate which hung
+over Nisida.
+
+"Art thou satisfied with the proof of my power?" demanded a deep voice,
+sounding ominously upon his ear.
+
+He raised his hand with a spasmodic start; before him stood the demon
+with folded arms and scornful expression of countenance--and though the
+phantasmagorian scene had disappeared, the supernatural luster still
+pervaded the dungeon.
+
+"Fiend!" cried Wagner, impatiently; "thou hast mocked--thou hast
+deceived me!"
+
+"Thus do mortals ever speak, even when I give them a glimpse of their
+own eventual fate, through the medium of painful dreams and hideous
+nightmares," said the demon, sternly.
+
+"But who has dared--or rather, who _will_ dare--for that vision is a
+prospective warning of a deed to happen four days hence--who, then, I
+ask, will dare to carry off the Lady Nisida--my own loved and loving
+Nisida?" demanded Wagner, with increased impatience.
+
+"Stephano Verrina, the formidable captain of the Florentine banditti,
+has this night carried away thy lady-love, Wagner," replied the demon.
+"Thou hast yet time to save her; though the steed that bears her to
+Leghorn be fleet and strong, I can provide thee with a fleeter and a
+stronger. Nay, more--become mine, consent to serve me as Faust served
+me, and within an hour, within a minute if thou wilt, Nisida shall be
+restored to thee, she shall be released from the hands of her captors,
+thou shalt be free, and thy head shall be pillowed on her bosom, in
+whatever part of the earth it may suit thee thus to be united to her.
+Reflect, Wagner--I offer thee a great boon--nay, many great boons: the
+annihilation of those trammels which bind thee to the destiny of a
+wehr-wolf, power unlimited for the rest of thy days, and the immediate
+possession of that Nisida whom thou lovest so fondly, and who is so
+beautiful, so exceedingly beautiful."
+
+Desperate was the struggle that took place in the breast of Wagner. On
+one side was all he coveted on earth; on the other was the loss of the
+immortal soul. Here the possession of Nisida--there her forced abduction
+by a brigand; here his earthly happiness might be secured at the expense
+of his eternal welfare--there his eternal welfare must be renounced if
+he decided in favor of his earthly happiness. What was he to do? Nisida
+was weighing in the balance against his immortal soul: to have Nisida he
+must renounce his God!
+
+Oh! it was maddening--maddening, this bewilderment!
+
+"An hour--an hour to reflect!" he cried, almost frantically.
+
+"Not a quarter of an hour," returned the demon, "Nisida will be lost to
+you--haste--decide!"
+
+"Leave me--leave me for five minutes only!"
+
+"No--no, not for a minute. Decide--decide!"
+
+Wagner threw up his arms in the writhings of his ineffable anguish:--his
+right hand came in contact with a crucifix that hung against the wall;
+and he mechanically clutched it--not with any motive prepense--but
+wildly, unwittingly.
+
+Terrific was the expression of rage which suddenly distorted the
+countenance of the demon: the lightnings of ineffable fury seemed to
+flash from his eyes and play upon his contracting brow;--and yet a
+strong spasmodic shuddering at the same time convulsed his awful form;
+for as Wagner clung to the crucifix to prevent himself from falling at
+the feet of the malignant fiend, the symbol of Christianity was dragged
+by his weight from the wall--and, as Wagner reeled sideways, the cross
+which he retained with instinctive tenacity in his grasp, waved across
+the demon's face.
+
+Then, with a terrific howl of mingled rage and fear, the fiend fell back
+and disappeared through the earth--as if a second time hurled down in
+headlong flight before the thunderbolts of heaven. Wagner fell upon his
+knees and prayed fervently.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVI.
+
+THE TRIAL OF FERNAND WAGNER.
+
+
+On the ensuing morning Wagner stood before the judge of the Criminal
+Tribunal of the Republic.
+
+The judgment hall was a large and lofty room in the Palazzo del Podesta,
+or ducal palace. The judges sat in antique and richly carved chairs,
+placed on a platform, beneath a canopy of purple velvet fringed with
+gold.
+
+On the left, at a handsome desk covered with papers, was seated the
+procurator fiscal or attorney-general of the republic, distinguished in
+attire from the judges only by the fact of the ermine upon his scarlet
+robe being narrower than theirs. Opposite to this functionary was a
+bench whereon the witnesses were placed. The prisoner stood between two
+sbirri in a small pew, in the center of the court. Defendants in civil
+cases were alone permitted in that age and country to retain counsel in
+their behalf; persons accused of crimes were debarred this privilege.
+Wagner was therefore undefended.
+
+The proceedings of the tribunal were usually conducted privately; but
+about a dozen gentlemen and twice as many ladies had obtained orders of
+admission on this occasion, the case having produced considerable
+sensation in Florence, on account of the reputed wealth of the accused.
+Perhaps, also, the rumor that he was a young man endowed with
+extraordinary personal attractions, had exercised its influence upon the
+susceptible hearts of the Florentine ladies. Certain it is, that when he
+was conducted into the judgment hall, his strikingly handsome
+exterior--his air of modest confidence--his graceful gait, and his
+youthful appearance, so far threw into the back-ground the crime imputed
+to him, that the ladies present felt their sympathies deeply enlisted in
+his behalf.
+
+The usher of the tribunal having commanded silence in a loud voice, the
+chief judge began the usual interrogatory of the prisoner.
+
+To the questions addressed to him, the accused replied that his name was
+Fernand Wagner; that he was a native of Germany; that he had no
+profession, avocation nor calling; that he was possessed of a large
+fortune; and that having traveled over many parts of the world, he
+settled in Florence, where he had hoped to enjoy a tranquil and peaceful
+existence.
+
+"The murdered female was reputed to be your sister," said the chief
+judge. "Was such the fact?"
+
+"She was a near relative," answered Wagner.
+
+"But was she your sister?" demanded the procurator fiscal.
+
+"She was not."
+
+"Then in what degree of relationship did she stand toward you?" asked
+the chief judge.
+
+"I must decline to reply to that question."
+
+"The tribunal infers, therefore, that the murdered female was not
+related to you at all," observed the judge. "Was she not your mistress?"
+
+"No, my lord!" cried Wagner, emphatically. "As truly as Heaven now hears
+my assertion, it was not so!"
+
+"Was she your wife?" demanded the chief judge.
+
+A negative answer was given.
+
+The chief judge and the procurator fiscal then by turns questioned and
+cross-questioned the prisoner in the most subtle manner, to induce him
+state the degree of relationship subsisting between himself and Agnes;
+but he either refused to respond to their queries, or else answered
+direct ones by means of a positive denial.
+
+The lieutenant of the sbirri was at length called upon to give an
+account of the discovery of the dead body and the suspicious
+circumstances which had led to the arrest of Wagner. Two of these
+circumstances appeared to be very strong against him. The first was the
+soiled and blood-stained appearance of the garments which were found in
+his chamber; the other was the exclamation--"But how know you that it is
+Agnes who is murdered?"--uttered before any one had informed who had
+been murdered.
+
+Wagner was called upon for an explanation. He stated that he had been
+out the whole night; that the blood upon his garments had flowed from
+his own body, which had been scratched and torn in the mazes of the
+woods; that on his return home he met Agnes in the garden; that he had
+left her there; and that he was told a young lady had been assassinated
+in the vicinity of his dwelling, he immediately conceived that the
+victim must be Agnes.
+
+When questioned concerning the motives of his absence from home during
+the entire night he maintained a profound silence; but he was evidently
+much agitated and excited by the queries thus put to him. He said
+nothing about the stranger-lady who had so frequently terrified Agnes;
+because, in relating the proceedings of that mysterious female in
+respect to his deceased grand-daughter--especially the incident of the
+abstraction of the antique jewels which the late Count of Riverola had
+given to her--he would have been compelled to enter into details
+concerning the _amour_ between those who were no more. And this subject
+he was solicitous to avoid, not only through respect for the memory of
+the murdered Agnes, but also to spare the feelings of Count Francisco
+and Donna Nisida.
+
+The judges and the procurator fiscal, finding that they could elicit
+nothing from Wagner relative to the cause of his absence from home
+during the night preceding the murder, passed on to another subject.
+
+"In an apartment belonging to your residence," said the chief judge,
+"there are several pictures and portraits."
+
+Wagner turned pale and trembled. The judge made a signal to an officer
+of the court, and that functionary quitted the judgment hall. In a few
+minutes he returned, followed by three subordinates bearing the two
+portraits mentioned in the sixth chapter of this tale, and also the
+frame covered over with the large piece of black cloth. On perceiving
+this last object, Wagner became paler still, and trembled violently.
+
+"There are six other pictures in the room whence these have been taken,"
+said the judge; "but these six are not of a character to interest the
+tribunal. We however require explanations concerning the two portraits
+and the frame with the black cloth cover now before us."
+
+The greatest excitement at present prevailed amongst the audience.
+
+"On one of the portraits," continued the chief judge, "there is an
+inscription to this effect,--_F., Count of A., terminated his career on
+the 1st. of August, 1517._--What does this inscription mean?"
+
+"It means that Faust, Count of Aurana, was a nobleman with whom I
+traveled during a period of eighteen months," replied Wagner; "and he
+died on the day mentioned in that inscription."
+
+"The world has heard strange reports relative to Faust," said the chief
+judge, in a cold voice and with unchanged manner, although the mention
+of that name had produced a thrill of horror on the part of his brother
+judges and the audience. "Art thou aware that rumor ascribes to him a
+compact with the Evil One?"
+
+Wagner gazed around him in horrified amazement, for the incident of the
+preceding night returned with such force to his mind that he could
+scarcely subdue an agonizing ebullition of emotion.
+
+The chief judge next recited the inscription on the other
+portrait:--"_F. W. January 7th, 1516. His last day thus._" But Wagner
+maintained a profound silence, and neither threats nor entreaties could
+induce him to give the least explanation concerning that inscription.
+
+"Let us then proceed to examine this frame with the black cloth cover,"
+said the chief judge.
+
+"My lord," whispered one of his brother judges, "in the name of the
+Blessed Virgin! have naught more to do with this man. Let him go forth
+to execution: he is a monster of atrocity, evidently a murderer,
+doubtless leagued with the Evil One, as Faust, of whose acquaintance he
+boasts, was before him----"
+
+"For my part, I credit not such idle tales," interrupted the chief
+judge, "and it is my determination to sift this matter to the very
+foundation. I am rather inclined to believe that the prisoner is allied
+with the banditti who infest the republic, than with any preterhuman
+powers. His absence from home during the entire night, according to his
+own admission, his immense wealth, without any ostensible resources, all
+justify my suspicion. Let the case proceed," added the chief judge
+aloud; for he had made the previous observations in a low tone. "Usher,
+remove the black cloth from the picture!"
+
+"No! no!" exclaimed Wagner, wildly: and he was about to rush from the
+dock, but the sbirri held him back. The usher's hand was already on the
+black cloth.
+
+"I beseech your lordship to pause!" whispered the assistant judge who
+had before spoken.
+
+"Proceed!" exclaimed the presiding functionary in a loud authoritative
+tone; for he was a bold and fearless man.
+
+And scarcely were these word uttered, when the black cloth was stripped
+from the frame; and the usher who had removed the covering recoiled with
+a cry of horror, as his eyes obtained a glimpse of the picture which was
+now revealed to view.
+
+"What means this folly?" ejaculated the chief judge. "Bring the picture
+hither."
+
+The usher, awed by the manner of this great functionary, raised the
+picture in such a way that the judges and the procurator fiscal might
+obtain a full view of it.
+
+"A Wehr-Wolf!" ejaculated the assistant judge, who had previously
+remonstrated with his superior; and his countenance became pale as
+death.
+
+The dreadful words were echoed by other tongues in the court; and a
+panic fear seized on all save the chief judge and Wagner himself. The
+former smiled contemptuously, the latter had summoned all his courage to
+aid him to pass through this terrible ordeal without confirming by his
+conduct the dreadful suspicion which had been excited in respect to him.
+
+For, oh! the subject of that picture was indeed awful to contemplate! It
+had no inscription, but it represented, with the most painful and
+horrifying fidelity, the writhings and agonizing throes of the human
+being during the progress of transformation into the lupine monster. The
+countenance of the unhappy man had already elongated into one of savage
+and brute-like shape; and so admirably had art counterfeited nature,
+that the rich garments seemed changed into a rough, shaggy, and wiry
+skin! The effect produced by that picture was indeed of thrilling and
+appalling interest!
+
+"A Wehr-Wolf!" had exclaimed one of the assistant judges: and while the
+voices of several of the male spectators in the body of the court echoed
+the words mechanically, the ladies gave vent to screams, as they rushed
+toward the doors of the tribunal. In a few moments that part of the
+court was entirely cleared.
+
+"Prisoner!" exclaimed the chief judge, "have you ought more to advance
+in your defense, relative to the charge of murder?"
+
+"My lord, I am innocent!" said Wagner, firmly but respectfully.
+
+"The tribunal pronounces you guilty!" continued the chief judge: then,
+with a scornful smile toward his assistants and the procurator
+fiscal--who all three, as well as the sbirri and the officers of the
+court were pale and trembling with vague fear--the presiding functionary
+continued thus:--"The tribunal condemns you, Fernand Wagner, to death by
+the hand of the common headsman; and it is now my duty to name the day
+and fix the hour for your execution. Therefore I do ordain that the
+sentence just pronounced be carried into effect precisely at the hour of
+sunset on the last day of the present month!"
+
+"My lord! my lord!" exclaimed the procurator fiscal; "the belief is that
+on the last day of each month, and at the hour of sunset----"
+
+"I am aware of the common superstition," interrupted the chief judge,
+coldly and sternly; "and it is to convince the world of the folly of
+putting faith in such legends that I have fixed that day and that hour
+in the present instance. Away with the prisoner to his dungeon."
+
+And the chief judge waved his hand imperiously, to check any further
+attempts at remonstrance; but his assistant functionaries, the
+procurator fiscal and the officers of the court, surveyed him with
+mingled surprise and awe, uncertain whether they ought to applaud his
+courage or tremble at his rashness. Wagner had maintained a calm and
+dignified demeanor during the latter portion of the proceedings; and,
+although the sbirri who had charge of him ventured not to lay a finger
+upon him, he accompanied them back to the prison of the Palazzo del
+Podesta.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVII.
+
+THE SHIPWRECK.
+
+
+Ten days had elapsed since the incidents related in the preceding
+chapter. The scene changes to an island in the Mediterranean Sea. There,
+seated on the strand, with garments dripping wet, and with all the
+silken richness of her raven hair floating wildly and disheveled over
+her shoulders, the Lady Nisida gazed vacantly on the ocean, now tinged
+with living gold by the morning sun. At a short distance, a portion of a
+shipwrecked vessel lay upon the shore, and seemed to tell her tale. But
+where were the desperate, daring crew who had manned the gallant bark?
+where were those fearless freebooters who six days previously had sailed
+from Leghorn on their piratical voyage? where were those who hoisted the
+flag of peace and assumed the demeanor of honest trader when in port,
+but who on the broad bosom of the ocean carried the terrors of their
+black banner far and wide? where, too, was Stephano Verrina, who had so
+boldly carried off the Lady Nisida?
+
+The gallant bark had struck upon a shoal, during the tempest and the
+obscurity of the night, and the pilot knew not where they were. His
+reckoning was lost--his calculations had all been set at naught by the
+confusion produced by the fearful storm which had assailed the ship and
+driven her from her course. The moment the corsair galley struck, that
+confusion increased to such an extent that the captain lost all control
+over his men; the pilot's voice was unheeded likewise.
+
+The crew got out the long-boat and leaped into it, forcing the captain
+and the pilot to enter it with them. Stephano Verrina, who was on deck
+when the vessel struck, rushed down into the cabin appropriated to
+Nisida, and by signs endeavored to convey to her a sense of the danger
+which menaced them. Conquering her ineffable aversion for the bandit,
+Nisida followed him hastily to the deck. At the same instant that her
+eyes plunged, as it were, into the dense obscurity which prevailed
+around, the lightning streamed in long and vivid flashes over the
+turbulent waters, and with the roar of the billows suddenly mingled
+deafening shrieks and cries--shrieks and cries of wild despair, as the
+long-boat, which had been pushed away from the corsair-bark, went down
+at a little distance. And as the lightning played upon the raging sea,
+Nisida and Verrina caught hurried but frightful glimpses of many human
+faces, whereon was expressed the indescribable agony of the drowning.
+
+"Perdition!" cried Verrina; "all are gone save Nisida and myself! And
+shall we too perish ere she has become mine? shall death separate us ere
+I have reveled in her charms? Fool that I was to delay my triumph
+hitherto! Fool that I was to be overawed by her impetuous signs, or
+melted by her silent though strong appeals!"
+
+He paced the deck in an excited manner as he uttered these words aloud.
+
+"No!" he exclaimed wildly, as the tempest seemed to increase, and the
+ship was thrown further on shoal: "she shall not escape me thus, after
+all I have done and dared in order to possess her! Our funeral may take
+place to-night--but our bridal shall be first. Ha! ha!"--and he laughed
+with a kind of despairing mockery, while the fragments of the vessel's
+sails flapped against the spars with a din as if some mighty demon were
+struggling with the blast. The sense of appalling danger seemed to
+madden Stephano only because it threatened to separate him from Nisida;
+and, fearfully excited, he rushed toward her, crying wildly, "You shall
+be mine!"
+
+But how terrible was the yell which burst from his lips, when by the
+glare of a brilliant flash of lightning, he beheld Nisida cast herself
+over the side of the vessel!
+
+For a single instant he fell back appalled, horror-struck; but at the
+next, he plunged with insensate fury after her. And the rage of the
+storm redoubled.
+
+When the misty shades of morning cleared away, and the storm had passed,
+Nisida was seated alone upon the strand, having miraculously escaped
+that eternal night of death which leads to no dawn. But where was
+Stephano Verrina? She knew not; although she naturally conjectured, and
+even hoped, that he was numbered with the dead.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVIII.
+
+THE ISLAND IN THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA.
+
+
+Fair and beauteous was the Mediterranean isle whereon the Lady Nisida
+had been thrown.
+
+When the morning mists had dispersed, and the sunbeams tinged the ridges
+of the hills and the summits of the tallest trees, Nisida awoke as it
+were from the profound lethargic reverie in which she had been plunged
+for upward of an hour, since the moment when the billows had borne her
+safely to the shore.
+
+The temperature of that island was warm and genial, for there eternal
+summer reigned, and thus, though her garments were still dripping wet,
+Nisida experienced no cold. She rose from the bank of sand whereon she
+had been seated, and cast anxious, rapid, and searching glances around
+her. Not a human being met her eyes; but in the woods that stretched,
+with emerald pride, almost down to the golden sands, the birds and
+insects--nature's free commoners--sent forth the sounds of life and
+welcomed the advent of the morn with that music of the groves.
+
+The scenery which now presented itself to the contemplation of Nisida
+was indescribably beautiful. Richly wooded hills rose towering above
+each other with amphitheatrical effect; and behind the verdant panorama
+were the blue outlines of pinnacles of naked rocks. But not a trace of
+the presence of human beings was to be seen--not a hamlet, nor a
+cottage, nor the slightest sign of agriculture! At a short distance lay
+a portion of the wreck of the corsair-ship. The fury of the tempest of
+the preceding night had thrown it so high upon the shoal whereon it had
+struck, and the sea was now comparatively so calm, that Nisida was
+enabled to approach close up to it. With little difficulty she succeeded
+in reaching the deck,--that deck whose elastic surface lately vibrated
+to the tread of many daring, desperate young men--but now desolate and
+broken in many parts.
+
+The cabin which had been allotted to her, or rather to which she had
+been confined, was in the portion of the wreck that still remained; and
+there she found a change of raiment, which Stephano had provided ere the
+vessel left Leghorn. Carefully packing up these garments in as small and
+portable a compass as possible, she fastened the burden upon her
+shoulders by the means of a cord, and, quitting the vessel, conveyed it
+safe and dry to the shore.
+
+Then she returned again to the wreck in search of provisions,
+considerable quantities of which she fortunately found to be uninjured
+by the water; and these she was enabled to transport to the strand by
+means of several journeys backward and forward between the shore and the
+wreck. The occupation was not only necessary in order to provide the
+wherewith to sustain life, but it also abstracted her thoughts from a
+too painful contemplation of her position. It was long past the hour of
+noon when she had completed her task; and the shore in the immediate
+vicinity of the wreck was piled with a miscellaneous assortment of
+objects--bags of provisions, weapons of defense, articles of the toilet,
+clothing, pieces of canvas, cordage, and carpenter's tools. Then,
+wearied with her arduous toils, she laid aside her dripping garments,
+bathed her beauteous form in the sea, and attired herself in dry
+apparel.
+
+Having partaken of some refreshment, she armed herself with weapons of
+defense, and quitting the shore, entered upon that vast amphitheater of
+verdure to which we have already slightly alluded. The woods were thick
+and tangled; but though, when seen from the shore, they appeared to form
+one dense, uninterrupted forest, yet they in reality only dotted the
+surface of the islands with numerous detached patches of grove and
+copse; and in the intervals were verdant plains or delicious valleys,
+exhibiting not the slightest sign of agriculture, but interspersed with
+shrubs and trees laden with fruits rich and tempting.
+
+Nature had indeed profusely showered her bounties over that charming
+isle; for the trees glowed with their blushing or golden produce, as if
+gems were the fruitage of every bough.
+
+Through one of the delicious valleys which Nisida explored, a streamlet,
+smooth as a looking-glass, wound its way. To its sunny bank did the lady
+repair; and the pebbly bed of the river was seen as plainly through the
+limpid waters as an eyeball through a tear.
+
+Though alone was Nisida in that vale, and though many bitter
+reflections, deep regrets, and vague apprehensions crowded upon her
+soul; yet the liveliness of the scene appeared to diminish the
+intenseness of the feelings of utter solitude, and its soft influence
+partially lulled the waves of her emotions. For never had mortal eyes
+beheld finer fruit upon the trees, nor lovelier flowers upon the soil;
+all life was rejoicing, from the grasshopper at her feet to the
+feathered songsters in the myrtle, citron, and olive groves; and the
+swan glided past to the music of the stream. Above, the heavens were
+more clear than her own Italian clime, more blue than any color that
+tinges the flowers of the earth.
+
+She roved along the smiling bank which fringed the stream until the
+setting sun dyed with the richest purple the rocky pinnacles in the
+distance, and made the streamlet glow like a golden flood. And
+Nisida--alone, in the radiance and glory of her own charms--alone amidst
+all the radiance and glory of the charms of nature--the beauteous Nisida
+appeared to be the queen of that Mediterranean isle. But whether it were
+really an island or a portion of the three continents which hem in that
+tideless ocean, the lady as yet knew not.
+
+Warned by the splendors of the setting sun to retrace her way, she
+turned and sped back to the strand, where the stores she had saved from
+the wreck were heaped up. When first she had set out upon her exploring
+ramble, she had expected every moment to behold human forms--her
+fellow-creatures--emerge from the woods; but the more she saw of that
+charming spot whereon her destinies had thrown her, the fainter grew the
+hope or the fear--we scarcely know which to term the expectation. For no
+sign of the presence of man was there; Nature appeared to be the
+undisputed empress of that land; and Nisida returned to the shore with
+the conviction that she was the sole human inhabitant of this delicious
+region.
+
+And now, once more seated upon the strand, while the last beams of the
+sun played upon the wide blue waters of the Mediterranean, Nisida
+partook of her frugal repast, consisting of the bread supplied by the
+wreck and a few fruits which she gathered in the valley. The effects of
+the tempest had totally disappeared in respect to the sea, which now lay
+stretched in glassy stillness. It seemed as if a holy calm, soft as an
+infant's sleep, lay upon the bosom of the Mediterranean, now no longer
+terrible with storm, but a mighty emblem of mild majesty and rest!
+
+Nisida thought of the fury which had lately convulsed that sea, now so
+placid, and sighed at the conviction which was forced upon her--that no
+such calm was for the mortal breast when storms had once been there! For
+she pondered on her native land, now, perhaps, far--oh! how far away;
+and the images of those whom she loved appeared to rise before
+her--Francisco in despair at his sister's unaccountable
+disappearance--and Fernand perchance already doomed to die! And tears
+flowed down her cheeks, and trickled upon her snowy bosom, gleaming like
+dew amongst lilies. Of what avail was the energy of her character in
+that land along whose coast stretched the impassable barrier of the sea?
+Oh! it was enough to make even the haughty Nisida weep, and to produce a
+terrible impression on a mind hitherto acting only in obedience to its
+own indomitable will.
+
+Though the sun had set some time, and no moon had yet appeared in the
+purple sky, yet was it far from dark. An azure mantle of twilight seemed
+to wrap the earth--the sea--the heavens; and so soft, so overpowering
+was the influence of the scene and of the night, that slumber gradually
+stole upon the lady's eyes. There now, upon the warm sand, slept Nisida;
+and when the chaste advent of the moon bathed all in silver, as the sun
+had for twelve hours steeped all in gold, the beams of the goddess of
+the night played on her charming countenance without awakening her. The
+raven masses of her hair lay upon her flushed cheeks like midnight on a
+bed of roses, her long black lashes reposed on those cheeks, so
+surpassingly lovely with their rich carnation hues. For she dreamt of
+Fernand; and her vision was a happy one. Imagination played wild tricks
+with the shipwrecked, lonely lady, as if to recompense her for the
+waking realities of her sad position. She thought that she was reposing
+in the delicious valley which she had explored in the afternoon--she
+thought that Fernand was her companion--that she lay in his arms--that
+his lips pressed hers--that she was all to him as he was all to her, and
+that love's cup of enjoyment was full to the very brim.
+
+But, oh! when she slowly awoke, and under the influence of the
+delightful vision, raised her eyes in the dewy light of voluptuous
+languor to the blue sky above her, the sunbeams that were heralding in
+another day cruelly dispelled the enchanting illusions of a warm and
+excited fancy, and Nisida found herself alone on the sea-shore of the
+island.
+
+Thus the glory of that sunrise had no charms for her; although never had
+the orb of day come forth with greater pomp, nor to shine on a lovelier
+scene. No words can convey an idea of the rapid development of every
+feature in the landscape, the deeper and deepening tint of the glowing
+sky, the roseate hue of the mountain-peaks as they stood out against the
+cloudless orient, and the rich emerald shades of the woods sparkling
+with fruit. The fragrant rose and the chaste lily, the blushing peony
+and the gaudy tulip, and all the choicest flowers of that delicious
+clime, expanded into renewed loveliness to greet the sun: and the citron
+and the orange, the melon and the grape, the pomegranate and the date
+drank in the yellow light to nourish their golden hues.
+
+Nisida's eyes glanced rapidly over the vast expanse of waters, and swept
+the horizon: but there was not a sail, nor even a cloud which
+imagination might transform into the white wing of a distant ship. And
+now upon the golden sand the lovely Nisida put off her garments one by
+one: and set at liberty the dark masses of her shining hair, which
+floated like an ample veil of raven blackness over the dazzling
+whiteness of her skin. Imagination might have invested her forehead with
+a halo, so magnificent was the lustrous effect of the sun upon the
+silken glossiness of that luxuriant hair.
+
+The Mediterranean was the lady's bath: and, in spite of the oppressive
+nature of the waking thoughts which had succeeded her delicious dream,
+in spite of that conviction of loneliness which lay like a weight of
+lead upon her soul, she disported in the waters like a mermaid.
+
+Now she plunged beneath the surface, which glowed in the sun like a vast
+lake of quicksilver: now she stood in a shallow spot, where the water
+rippled no higher than her middle, and combed out her dripping tresses;
+then she waded further in, and seemed to rejoice in allowing the little
+wavelets to kiss her snowy bosom. No fear had she, indeed, no thought of
+the monsters of the deep: could the fair surface of the shining water
+conceal aught dangerous or aught terrible? Oh! yes, even as beneath that
+snowy breast beat a heart stained with crime, often agitated by ardent
+and impetuous passions, and devoured by raging desire.
+
+For nearly an hour did Nisida disport in Nature's mighty bath until the
+heat of the sun became so intense that she was compelled to return to
+the shore and resume her apparel. Then she took some bread in her hand,
+and hastened to the groves to pluck the cooling and delicious fruits
+whereof there was so marvelous an abundance. She seated herself on a bed
+of wild flowers on the shady side of a citron and orange grove,
+surrounded by a perfumed air. Before her stretched the valley, like a
+vast carpet of bright green velvet fantastically embroidered with
+flowers of a thousand varied hues. And in the midst meandered the
+crystal stream, with stately swans and an infinite number of other
+aquatic birds floating on its bosom. And the birds of the groves, too,
+how beautiful were they, and how joyous did they seem! What variegated
+plumage did they display, as they flew past the Lady Nisida, unscared by
+her presence! Some of them alighted from the overhanging boughs, and as
+they descended swept her very hair with their wings; then, almost to
+convince her that she was not an unwelcome intruder in that charming
+land, they hopped round her, picking up the crumbs of bread which she
+scattered about to attract them.
+
+For the loneliness of her condition had already attuned the mind of this
+strange being to a susceptibility of deriving amusement from incidents
+which a short time previously she would have looked upon as the most
+insane triflings;--thus was the weariness of her thoughts relieved by
+disporting in the water, as we ere now saw her, or by contemplating the
+playfulness of the birds. Presently she wandered into the vale, and
+gathered a magnificent nosegay of flowers: then the whim struck her that
+she would weave for herself a chaplet of roses; and as her work
+progressed, she improved upon it, and fashioned a beauteous diadem of
+flowers to protect her head from the scorching noonday sun.
+
+But think not, O reader! that while thus diverting herself with
+trivialities of which you would scarcely have deemed the
+haughty--imperious--active disposition of Nisida of Riverola to be
+capable--think not that her mind was altogether abstracted from
+unpleasant thoughts. No--far, very far from that! She was merely
+relieved from a portion of that weight which oppressed her; but her
+entire burden could not be removed from her soul. There were moments
+when her grief amounted almost to despair. Was she doomed to pass the
+remainder of her existence in that land? was it really an island and
+unknown to navigators? She feared so: for did it join a continent, its
+loveliness and fruitfulness would not have permitted it to remain long
+unoccupied by those who must of necessity discover it.
+
+And oh! what would her brother think of her absence? what would Fernand
+conjecture? And what perils might not at that moment envelop her lover,
+while she was not near to succor him by means of her artifice, her
+machinations, or her gold. Ten thousand-thousand maledictions upon
+Stephano, who was the cause of all her present misery! Ten
+thousand-thousand maledictions on her own folly for not having exerted
+all her energies and all her faculties to escape from his power, ere she
+was conveyed on board the corsair ship, and it was too late!
+
+But useless now were regrets and repinings; for the past could not be
+recalled, and the future might have much happiness in store for Nisida.
+For oh! sweetest comes the hope which is lured back because its presence
+is indispensable; and, oppressed as Nisida was with the weight of her
+misfortunes, her soul was too energetic, too sanguine, too impetuous to
+yield to despair.
+
+Day after day passed, and still not a ship appeared. Nisida did not
+penetrate much further into the island than the valley which we have
+described, and whither she was accustomed to repair to gather the
+flowers that she wove into diadems. She lingered for the most part near
+the shore on which she had been thrown, fearing lest, if away, a ship
+might pass in her absence.
+
+Each day she bathed her beauteous form in the Mediterranean; each day
+she devoted some little time to the adornment of her person with wreaths
+of flowers. She wove crowns for her head--necklaces, bracelets, and
+scarfs,--combining the flowers so as to form the most wild and fanciful
+devices, and occasionally surveying herself in the natural mirror
+afforded her by the limpid stream. Purposely wearing an apparel as
+scanty as possible, on account of the oppressive heat which prevailed
+during each day of twelve long hours, and which was not materially
+moderated at night, she supplied to some extent the place of the
+superfluous garments thus thrown aside, by means of tissues of cool,
+refreshing, fragrant flowers.
+
+Thus, by the time she had been ten or twelve days upon the island, her
+appearance seemed most admirably to correspond with her new and lonely
+mode of life, and the spot where her destinies had cast her. Habited in
+a single linen garment, confined round the slender waist with a cestus
+of flowers, and with light slippers upon her feet, but with a diadem of
+roses on her head, and with wreaths round her bare arms, and her equally
+bare ankles, she appeared to be the goddess of that island--the genius
+of that charming clime of fruits, and verdure, and crystal streams, and
+flowers. The majesty of her beauty was softened, and thus enhanced, by
+the wonderful simplicity of her attire; the dazzling brilliancy of her
+charms was subdued by the chaste, the innocent, the primitive aspect
+with which those fantastically woven flowers invested her. Even the
+extraordinary luster of her fine dark eyes was moderated by the gaudy
+yet elegant assemblage of hues formed by those flowers which she wore.
+Was it not strange that she whose soul we have hitherto seen bent on
+deeds or schemes of stern and important nature--who never acted without
+a motive, and whose mind was far too deeply occupied with worldly cares
+and pursuits to bestow a thought on trifles--who, indeed, would have
+despised herself had she wasted a moment in toying with a flower, or
+watching the playful motions of a bird,--was it not strange that Nisida
+should have become so changed as we now find her in that island of which
+she was the queen?
+
+Conceive that same Nisida who planned dark plots against Flora
+Francatelli, now tripping along the banks of the sunlit stream, bedecked
+with flowers and playing with the swans. Imagine that same being, who
+dealt death to Agnes, now seated beneath the shade of myrtles and
+embowering vines, distributing bread or pomegranate seeds to the birds
+that hopped cheerfully around her. Picture to yourself that woman of
+majestic beauty, whom you have seen clad in black velvet and wearing a
+dark thick veil, now weaving for herself garments of flowers, and
+wandering in the lightest possible attire by the seashore, or by the
+rippling stream, or amidst the mazes of the fruit-laden groves.
+
+And sometimes, as she sat upon the yellow sand, gazing on the wavelets
+of the Mediterranean, that were racing one after another, like living
+things from some far off region, to that lovely but lonely isle, it
+would seem as if all the low and sweet voices of the sea--never loud and
+sullen now, since the night of storm which cast her on that strand--were
+heard by her, and made delicious music to her ears! In that island must
+we leave her now for a short space,--leave her to her birds, her
+flowers, and her mermaid-sports in the sea,--leave her also to her
+intervals of dark and dismal thoughts, and to her long, but ineffectual
+watchings for the appearance of a sail in the horizon.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIX.
+
+THE WEHR-WOLF.
+
+
+It was the last day of the month; and the hour of sunset was fast
+approaching. Great was the sensation that prevailed throughout the city
+of Florence. Rumor had industriously spread, and with equal assiduity
+exaggerated, the particulars of Fernand Wagner's trial, and the belief
+that a man on whom the horrible destiny of a Wehr-Wolf had been
+entailed, was about to suffer the extreme penalty of the law, was
+generally prevalent.
+
+The great square of the ducal palace, where the scaffold was erected, was
+crowded with the Florentine populace; and the windows were literally alive
+with human faces. Various were the emotions and feelings which influenced
+that mass of spectators. The credulous and superstitious--forming more
+than nine-tenths of the whole multitude--shook their heads, and
+commented amongst themselves, in subdued whispers, on the profane
+rashness of the chief judge, who dared to doubt the existence of such a
+being as a Wehr-Wolf. The few who shared the skepticism of the judge
+applauded that high functionary for his courage in venturing so bold a
+stroke in order to destroy what he and they deemed an idle superstition.
+
+But the great mass were dominated by a profound and indeed most painful
+sensation of awe; curiosity induced them to remain, though their
+misgivings prompted them to fly from the spot which had been fixed upon
+for the execution. The flowers of Florentine loveliness--and never in
+any age did the republic boast of so much female beauty--were present:
+but bright eyes flashed forth uneasy glances, and snowy bosoms beat with
+alarms, and fair hands trembled in the lover's pressure. In the midst of
+the square was raised a high platform covered with black cloth, and
+presenting an appearance so ominous and sinister that it was but little
+calculated to revive the spirits of the timid. On this scaffold was a
+huge block: and near the block stood the headsman, carelessly leaning on
+his ax, the steel of which was polished and bright as silver. A few
+minutes before the hour of sunset, the chief judge, the procurator
+fiscal, the two assistant-judges, and the lieutenant of sbirri, attended
+by a turnkey and several subordinate police officers, were repairing in
+procession along the corridor leading to the doomed prisoner's cell.
+
+The chief judge alone was dignified in manner; and he alone wore a
+demeanor denoting resolution and at the same time self-possession. Those
+who accompanied him were, without a single exception, a prey to the most
+lively fear; and it was evident that had they dared to absent themselves
+they would not have been present on this occasion. At length the door of
+the prisoner's cell was reached; and there the procession paused.
+
+"The moment is now at hand," said the chief judge, "when a monstrous and
+ridiculous superstition, imported into our country from that cradle and
+nurse of preposterous legends--Germany--shall be annihilated forever.
+This knave who is about to suffer has doubtless propagated the report of
+his lupine destiny, in order to inspire terror and thus prosecute his
+career of crime and infamy with the greater security from chances of
+molestation. For this end he painted the picture which appalled so many
+of you in the judgment hall, but which, believe, my friends, he did not
+always believe destined to retain its sable covering. Well did he know
+that the curiosity of a servant or of a friend would obtain a peep
+beneath the mystic veil; and he calculated that the terror with which he
+sought to invest himself would be enhanced by the rumors and
+representations spread by those who had thus penetrated into its feigned
+secrets. But let us not waste that time which now verges toward a
+crisis, whereby doubt shall be dispelled and a ridiculous superstition
+destroyed forever."
+
+At this moment a loud, a piercing, and an agonizing cry burst from the
+interior of the cell.
+
+"The knave has overheard me, and would fain strike terror to your
+hearts!" exclaimed the chief judge; then in a still louder tone, he
+commanded the turnkey to open the door of the dungeon. But when the man
+approached, so strange, so awful, so appalling were the sounds which
+came from the interior of the cell, that he threw down the key in dismay
+and rushed from the dreadful vicinity.
+
+"My lord, I implore you to pause!" said the procurator fiscal, trembling
+from head to foot.
+
+"Would you have me render myself ridiculous in the eyes of all
+Florence?" demanded the chief judge sternly.
+
+Yet, so strange were now the noises which came from the interior of the
+dungeon--so piercing the cries of agony--so violent the rustling and
+tossing on the stone floor, that for the first time this bold
+functionary entertained a partial misgiving, as if he had indeed gone
+too far. But to retreat was impossible; and, with desperate resolution,
+the chief judge picked up the key and thrust it into the lock.
+
+His assistants, the procurator fiscal, and the sbirri drew back with
+instinctive horror, as the bolts groaned in the iron work which held
+them; the chain fell with a clanking sound; and as the door was opened,
+the horrible monster burst forth from the dungeon with a terrific howl.
+Yells and cries of despair reverberated through the long corridor: and
+those sounds were for an instant broken by that of the falling of a
+heavy body.
+
+'Twas the chief judge, hurled down and dashed violently against the
+rough uneven masonry, by the mad careering of the Wehr-Wolf as the
+monster burst from his cell. On, on he sped, with the velocity of
+lightning, along the corridor, giving vent to howls of the most
+horrifying description.
+
+Fainting with terror, the assistant judges, the procurator fiscal, and
+the sbirri were for a few moments so overcome by the appalling scene
+they had just witnessed, that they thought not of raising the chief
+judge, who lay motionless on the pavement. But at length some of the
+police-officers so far recovered themselves as to be able to devote
+attention to that high functionary--it was, however, too late--his skull
+was fractured by the violence with which he had been dashed against the
+rough wall, and his brains were scattered on the pavement. Those who now
+bent over his disfigured corpse exchanged looks of unutterable horror.
+
+In the meantime the Wehr-Wolf had cleared the corridor, rapid as an
+arrow shot from the bow; he sprung, bounding up a flight of steep stone
+stairs as if the elastic air bore him on, and rushing through an open
+door, burst suddenly upon the crowd that was so anxiously waiting to
+behold the procession issue thence.
+
+Terrific was the yell that the multitude sent forth--a yell formed of a
+thousand combining voices, so long, so loud, so wildly agonizing, that
+never had the welkin rung with so appalling an ebullition of human
+misery before! Madly rushed the wolf amidst the people, dashing them
+aside, overturning them, hurling them down, bursting through the mass
+too dense to clear a passage of its own accord, and making the scene of
+horror more horrible still by mingling his hideous howlings with the
+cries--the shrieks--the screams that escaped from a thousand tongues.
+
+No pen can describe the awful scene of confusion and death which now
+took place. Swayed by no panic fear, but influenced by terrors of
+dreadful reality, the people exerted all their force to escape from that
+spot; and thus the struggling, crushing, pushing, crowding, fighting,
+and all the oscillations of a multitude set in motion by the direst
+alarms, were succeeded by the most fatal results. Women were thrown down
+and trampled to death, strong men were scarcely able to maintain their
+footing, many females were literally suffocated in the pressure of the
+crowd, and mothers with young children in their arms excited no
+sympathy.
+
+Never was the selfishness of human nature more strikingly displayed than
+on this occasion: no one bestowed a thought upon his neighbor: the
+chivalrous Florentine citizens dashed aside the weak and helpless female
+who barred his way with as little remorse as if she were not a being of
+flesh and blood; and even husbands forgot their wives, lovers abandoned
+their mistresses, and parents waited not an instant to succor their
+daughters.
+
+Oh! it was a terrible thing to contemplate, that dense mass, oscillating
+furiously like the waves of the sea, sending up to heaven such appalling
+sounds of misery, rushing furiously toward the avenues of egress,
+falling back baffled and crushed, in the struggle where only the very
+strongest prevailed, laboring to escape from death, and fighting for
+life, fluctuating and rushing, and wailing in maddening excitement like
+a raging ocean. Oh! all this wrought a direful sublimity, with those
+cries of agony and that riot of desperation. And all this while the wolf
+pursued its furious career, amid the mortal violence of a people thrown
+into horrible disorder, pursued its way with savage howls, glaring eyes,
+and foaming mouth, the only living being there that was infuriate and
+not alarmed, battling for escape, and yet unhurt.
+
+As a whirlpool suddenly assails the gallant ship, makes her agitate and
+rock fearfully for a few moments and then swallows her up altogether, so
+was the scaffold in the midst of the square shaken to its very basis for
+a little space, and then hurled down, disappearing altogether amidst the
+living vortex.
+
+In the balconies and at the windows overlooking the square, the awful
+excitement spread like wild-fire, and a real panic prevailed among those
+who were at least beyond the reach of danger. But horror paralyzed the
+power of sober reflection, and the hideous spectacle of volumes of human
+beings battling, and roaring, and rushing, and yelling in terrific
+frenzy, produced a kindred effect, and spread the wild delirium among
+the spectators at those balconies and those windows. At length, in the
+square below, the crowds began to pour forth from the gates, for the
+Wehr-Wolf had by this time cleared himself a passage and escaped from
+the midst of that living ocean so fearfully agitated by the storms of
+fear. But even when the means of egress were thus obtained, the most
+frightful disorder prevailed, the people rolling in heaps upon heaps,
+while infuriate and agile men ran on the tops of the compact masses, and
+leapt in their delirium, as with barbarous intent.
+
+On--on sped the Wehr-Wolf, dashing like a whirlwind through the streets
+leading to the open country, the white flakes of foam flying from his
+mouth like spray from the prow of a vessel, and every fiber of his frame
+vibrating as if in agony. And oh! what dismay--what terror did that
+monster spread in the thoroughfares through which he passed; how wildly,
+how madly flew the men and women from his path; how piteously screamed
+the children at the house-doors in the poor neighborhoods! But, as if
+sated with the destruction already wrought in the great square of the
+palace, the wolf dealt death no more in the precincts of the city; as if
+lashed on by invisible demons, his aim, or his instinct, was to escape.
+
+The streets are threaded, the suburbs of the city are passed, the open
+country is gained; and now along the bank of the Arno rushes the
+monster, by the margin of that pure stream to whose enchanting vale the
+soft twilight lends a more delicious charm.
+
+On the verge of a grove, with its full budding branches all impatient
+for the spring, a lover and his mistress were murmuring fond language to
+each other. In the soft twilight blushed the maiden, less in bashfulness
+than in her own soul's emotion, her countenance displaying all the magic
+beauty not only of feature but of feeling; and she raised her large blue
+eyes in the dewy light of a sweet enthusiasm to the skies, as the
+handsome youth by her side pressed her fair hand and said, "We must now
+part until to-morrow, darling of my soul! How calmly has this day, with
+all its life and brightness, passed away into the vast tomb of eternity.
+It is gone without a single hour's unhappiness for us--gone without
+leaving a regret on our minds--gone, too, without clouds in the heavens
+or mists upon the earth, most beautiful even at the moment of its
+parting! Tomorrow, beloved one, will unite us again in your parents'
+cot, and renewed happiness----"
+
+The youth stopped, and the maiden clung to him in speechless terror: for
+an ominous sound, as of a rushing animal and then a terrific howl, burst
+upon their ears! No time had they for flight, not a moment even to
+collect their scattered thoughts. The infuriate wolf came bounding over
+the greensward, the youth uttered a wild and fearful cry, a scream of
+agony burst from the lips of the maiden as she was dashed from her
+lover's arms, and in another moment the monster had swept by.
+
+But what misery, what desolation had his passage wrought! Though unhurt
+by his glistening fangs--though unwounded by his sharp claws, yet the
+maiden--an instant before so enchanting in her beauty, so happy in her
+love--lay stretched on the cold turf, the cords of life snapped suddenly
+by that transition from perfect bliss to the most appalling terror!
+
+And still the wolf rushed madly, wildly on.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+It was an hour past sunrise; and from a grove in the immediate
+neighborhood of Leghorn a man came forth. His countenance, though
+wondrously handsome, was deadly pale; traces of mental horror and
+anguish remained on those classically chiseled features, and in those
+fine eloquent eyes. His garments were soiled, blood-stained, and torn.
+
+This man was Fernand Wagner. He entered the city of Leghorn, and
+purchased a change of attire, for which he paid from a purse well filled
+with gold. He then repaired to a hostel, or public tavern, where he
+performed the duties of the toilet, and obtained the refreshment of
+which he appeared to stand so much in need. By this time his countenance
+was again composed; and the change which new attire and copious ablution
+had made in his appearance, was so great that no one who had seen him
+issue from the grove and beheld him now, could have believed in the
+identity of the person. Quitting the hostel, he repaired to the port,
+where he instituted inquiries relative to a particular vessel which he
+described, and which had sailed from Leghorn upward of a fortnight
+previously.
+
+He soon obtained the information which he sought; and an old sailor, to
+whom he had addressed himself, not only hinted that the vessel in
+question was suspected, when in the harbor, to be of piratical
+character, but also declared that he himself had seen a lady conveyed on
+board during the night preceding the departure of the ship. Further
+inquiries convinced Wagner that the lady spoken of had been carried by
+force, and against her will, to the corsair vessel; and he was now
+certain that the demon had not deceived him, and that he had indeed
+obtained a trace of his lost Nisida!
+
+His mind was immediately resolved how to act; and his measures were as
+speedily taken.
+
+Guided by the advice of the old sailor from whom he had gleaned the
+information he sought, he was enabled to purchase a fine vessel and
+equip her for sea within the space of a few days. He lavished his gold
+with no niggard hand, and gold is a wondrous talisman to remove
+obstacles and facilitate designs. In a word, on the sixth morning after
+his arrival at Leghorn, Fernand Wagner embarked on board his ship, which
+was manned with a gallant crew, and carried ten pieces of ordnance. A
+favoring breeze prevailed at the time, and the gallant bark set sail for
+the Levant.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XL.
+
+WAGNER IN SEARCH OF NISIDA.
+
+
+The reader may perhaps be surprised that Fernand Wagner should have been
+venturous enough to trust himself to the possibilities of a protracted
+voyage, since every month his form must undergo a frightful change--a
+destiny which he naturally endeavored to shroud in the profoundest
+secrecy.
+
+But it must be recollected that the Mediterranean is dotted with
+numerous islands; and he knew that, however changeable or adverse the
+winds might be, it would always prove an easy matter to make such
+arrangements as to enable him to gain some port a few days previously to
+the close of the month. Moreover, so strong, so intense was his love for
+Nisida, that, even without the prospect afforded by this calculation, he
+would have dared all perils, incurred all risks, exposed himself to all
+hostile chances, rather than have remained inactive while he believed
+her to be in the power of a desperate, ruthless bandit. For, oh! ever
+present to his mind was the image of the lost fair one; by day, when the
+sun lighted up with smiles the dancing waves over which his vessel
+bounded merrily, merrily; and by night, when the moon shone like a
+silver lamp amidst the curtains of heaven's pavilion.
+
+His was not the love which knows only passionate impulse: it was a
+constant, unvarying tender sentiment--far, far more pure, and therefore
+more permanent, than the ardent and burning love which Nisida felt for
+him. His was not the love which possession would satiate and enjoyment
+cool down: it was a feeling that had gained a soft yet irresistible
+empire over his heart.
+
+And that love of his was nurtured and sustained by the most generous
+thoughts. He pictured to himself the happiness he should experience in
+becoming the constant companion of one whose loss of hearing and of
+speech cut her off as it were from that communion with the world which
+is so grateful to her sex: he imagined to himself, with all the fond
+idolatry of sincere affection, how melodiously soft, how tremulously
+clear would be her voice, were it restored to her, and were it first
+used to articulate the delicious language of love. And then he thought
+how enchanting, how fascinating, how fraught with witching charms, would
+be the conversation of a being endowed with so glorious an intellect,
+were she able to enjoy the faculty of speech. Thus did her very
+imperfections constitute a ravishing theme for his meditation; and the
+more he indulged in dreams like these, the more resolute did he become
+never to rest until he had discovered and rescued her.
+
+Seven days had elapsed since the ship sailed from Leghorn; and Sicily
+had already been passed by, when the heavens grew overclouded, and
+everything portended a storm. The captain, whom Wagner had placed in
+charge of his vessel, adopted all the precautions necessary to encounter
+the approaching tempest; and soon after the sun went down on the seventh
+night a hurricane suddenly swept the surface of the Mediterranean. The
+ship bent to the fury of the gust--her very yards were deep in the
+water. But when the rage of that dreadful squall subsided, the gallant
+bark righted again, and bounded triumphantly over the foaming waves.
+
+A night profoundly dark set in; but the white crests of the billows were
+visible through that dense obscurity: while the tempest rapidly
+increased in violence, and all the dread voices of the storm, the
+thunder in the heavens, the roaring of the sea, and the gushing sounds
+of the gale, proclaimed the fierceness of the elemental war. The wind
+blew not with that steadiness which the skill of the sailor and the
+capacity of the noble ship were competent to meet, but in long and
+frequent gusts of intermittent fury. Now rose the gallant bark on the
+waves, as if towering toward the starless sky, in the utter blackness of
+which the masts were lost; then it sank down into the abyss, the foam of
+the boiling billows glistening far above, on all sides, amidst the
+obscurity. What strange and appalling noises are heard on board a ship
+laboring in a storm--the cracking of timber, the creaking of elastic
+planks, the rattling of the cordage, the flapping of fragments of sails,
+the failing of spars, the rolling of casks got loose, and at times a
+tremendous crash throughout the vessel, as if the whole framework were
+giving way and the very sides collapsing!
+
+And amidst those various noises and the dread sounds of the storm, the
+voices of the sailors were heard--not in prayer nor subdued by
+terror--but echoing the orders issued by the captain, who did not
+despair of guiding--nay, fighting, as it were, the ship through the
+tumultuous billows and against the terrific blast.
+
+Again a tremendous hurricane swept over the deep: it passed, but not a
+spar remained to the dismantled bark. The tapering masts, the long
+graceful yards were gone, the cordage having snapped at every point
+where its support was needed--snapped by the fury of the tempest, as if
+wantonly cut by a sharp knife. The boats--the crew's last alternative of
+hope--had likewise disappeared. The ship was now completely at the mercy
+of the wild raging of the winds and the fury of the troubled waters; it
+no longer obeyed its helm, and there were twenty men separated, all save
+_one_, from death only by a few planks and a few nails! The sea now
+broke so frequently over the vessel that the pumps could scarcely keep
+her afloat; and at length, while it was yet dark, though verging toward
+the dawn, the sailors abandoned their task of working at those pumps.
+Vainly did the captain endeavor to exercise his authority--vainly did
+Wagner hold out menaces and promises by turns; death seemed imminent,
+and yet those men, who felt that they were hovering on the verge of
+destruction, flew madly to the wine-stores.
+
+Then commenced a scene of the wildest disorder amidst those desperate
+men; and even the captain himself, perceiving that they could laugh, and
+shout, and sing, in the delirium of intoxication, rushed from the side
+of Wagner and joined the rest. It was dreadful to hear the obscene jest,
+the ribald song, and the reckless execration, sent forth from the cabin,
+as if in answer to the awful voices in which Nature was then speaking to
+the world. But scarcely had a faint gleam appeared in the orient
+sky--not quite a gleam, but a mitigation of the intenseness of the
+night--when a tremendous wave--a colossus amongst giants--broke over the
+ill-fated ship, while a terrible crash of timber was for a moment heard
+in unison with the appalling din of the whelming billows. Wagner was the
+only soul on deck at that instant: but the fury of the waters tore him
+away from the bulwark to which he had been clinging, and he became
+insensible.
+
+When he awoke from the stupor into which he had been plunged, it was
+still dusk, and the roar of the ocean sounded in his ears with deafening
+din.
+
+But he was on land, though where he knew not. Rising from the sand on
+which he had been cast, he beheld the billows breaking on the shore at
+the distance of only a few paces; and he retreated further from their
+reach. Then he sat down, with his face toward the east, anxiously
+awaiting the appearance of the morn that he might ascertain the nature
+and the aspect of the land on which he had been cast. By degrees the
+glimmering which had already subdued the blackness of night into the
+less profound obscurity of duskiness, grew stronger; and a yellow
+luster, as of a far-distant conflagration, seemed to struggle against a
+thick fog. Then a faint roseate streak tinged the eastern horizon,
+growing gradually deeper in hue, and spreading higher and wider--the
+harbinger of sunrise; while, simultaneously, the features of the land on
+which Wagner was thrown began to develop themselves like specters
+stealing out of complete security; till at length the orient luster was
+caught successively by a thousand lofty pinnacles of rock; and finally
+the majestic orb itself appeared, lighting up a series of verdant
+plains, delicious groves, glittering lakes, pellucid streams, as well as
+the still turbulent ocean and the far-off mountains which had first
+peeped from amidst the darkness.
+
+Fair and delightful was the scene that thus developed itself to the eyes
+of Wagner; but as his glance swept the country which rose
+amphitheatrically from the shore not a vestige of the presence of man
+could be beheld. No smoke curled from amidst the groves, no church spire
+peeped from amongst the trees; nor had the wilderness of nature been
+disturbed by artificial culture.
+
+He turned toward the ocean; there was not a trace of his vessel to be
+seen. But further along the sand lay a dark object, which he approached,
+with a shudder, for he divined what it was.
+
+Nor was he mistaken; it was the swollen and livid corpse of one of the
+sailors of his lost ship.
+
+Wagner's first impulse was to turn away in disgust, but a better feeling
+almost immediately animated him: and, hastening to the nearest grove, he
+broke off a large bough, with which he hollowed a grave in the sand. He
+deposited the corpse in the hole, throwing back the sand which he had
+displaced, and thus completed his Christian task.
+
+During his visit to the grove, he had observed with delight that the
+trees were laden with fruit; and he now returned thither to refresh
+himself by means of the banquet thus bountifully supplied by nature.
+Having terminated his repast, he walked further inland. The verdant
+slope stretched up before him, variegated with flowers, and glittering
+with morning dew. As he advanced, the development of all the features of
+that land--lakes and woods; hills undulating like the sea in sunset,
+after hours of tempest: rivulets and crystal streams, each with its own
+peculiar murmurs, but all of melody; groves teeming with the most
+luxurious fruit of the tropics, and valleys carpeted with the brightest
+green, varied with nature's own embroidery of flowers--the development
+of this scene was inexpressibly beautiful, far surpassing the finest
+efforts of creative fancy.
+
+Wagner seated himself on a sunny bank, and fell into a profound
+meditation. At length, glancing rapidly around, he exclaimed aloud, as
+if in continuation of the chain of thoughts which had already occupied
+his mind, "Oh, if Nisida were here--here, in this delicious clime, to be
+my companion! What happiness--what joy! Never should I regret the world
+from which this isle--for an isle it must be--is separated! Never should
+I long to return to that communion with men from which we should be cut
+off! Here would the eyes of my Nisida cast forth rays of joy and
+gladness upon everything around; here would the sweetest transitions of
+sentiment and feeling take place! Nisida would be the island queen; she
+should deck herself with these flowers, which her fair hands might weave
+into wildly fantastic arabesques! Oh! all would be happiness--a
+happiness so serene, that never would the love of mortals he more truly
+blessed! But, alas!" he added, as a dreadful thought broke rudely upon
+this delightful vision, "I should be compelled to reveal to her my
+secret--the appalling secret of my destiny: that when the period for
+transformation came round, she might place herself in safety----"
+
+Wagner stopped abruptly, and rose hastily from his seat on the sunny
+bank. The remembrance of this dreadful fate had spoiled one of the most
+delicious waking dreams in which he had ever indulged; and, dashing his
+hands against his forehead, he rushed wildly toward the chain of
+mountains which intersected the island.
+
+But suddenly he stopped short, for on the ground before him lay the
+doublet of a man--a doublet of the fashion then prevalent in Italy. He
+lifted it up, examined it, but found nothing in the pockets; then,
+throwing it on the ground, he stood contemplating it for some minutes.
+
+Could it be possible that he was in some part of Italy? that the ship
+had been carried back to the European Continent during the tempest of
+the night? No; it was impossible that so lovely a tract of land would
+remain uninhabited, if known to men. The longer he reflected the more he
+became convinced that he was on some island hitherto unknown to
+navigators, and on which some other shipwrecked individual had probably
+been cast. Why the doublet should have been discarded he could well
+understand, as it was thick and heavy, and the heat of the sun was
+already intense, although it was not yet near the meridian.
+
+Raising his eyes from the doublet which had occasioned these
+reflections, he happened to glance toward a knot of fruit trees at a
+little distance; and his attention was drawn to a large bough which hung
+down as if almost broken away from the main stem. He approached the
+little grove; and several circumstances now confirmed his suspicion that
+he was not the only tenant of the island at that moment. The bough had
+been forcibly torn down, and very recently, too; several of the fruits
+had been plucked off, the little sprigs to which they had originally
+hung still remaining and bearing evidence to the fact. But if additional
+proof were wanting of human presence there, it was afforded by the
+half-eaten fruits that were strewed about.
+
+Wagner now searched for the traces of footsteps; but such marks were not
+likely to remain in the thick rich grass, which if trampled down, would
+rise fresh and elastic again with the invigorating dew of a single
+night. The grove, where Wagner observed the broken bough and the
+scattered fruits, was further from the shore than the spot where he had
+found the doublet; and he reasoned that the man, whoever he might be,
+had thrown away his garment, when overpowered by the intensity of the
+heat, and had then sought the shade and refreshment afforded by the
+grove. He therefore concluded that he had gone inland, most probably
+toward the mountains, whose rocky pinnacles, of every form, now shone
+with every hue in the glorious sunlight.
+
+Overjoyed at the idea of finding a human being in a spot which he had at
+first deemed totally uninhabited, and filled with the hope that the
+stranger might be able to give him some information relative to the
+geographical position of the isle, and even perhaps aid him in forming a
+raft by which they might together escape from the oasis of the
+Mediterranean, Wagner proceeded toward the mountains. By degrees the
+wondrous beauty of the scene became wilder, more imposing, but less
+bewitching, and when he reached the acclivities of the hill, the groves
+of fruits and copses of myrtles and citrons, of vines and almond shrubs,
+were succeeded by woods of mighty trees.
+
+Further on still the forests ceased and Fernand entered on a wild region
+of almost universal desolation, yet forming one of the sublimest
+spectacles that nature can afford. The sounds of torrents, as yet
+concealed from his view, and resembling the murmur of ocean's waves,
+inspired feelings of awe; and it was now for the first time since he
+entered on the region of desolation, having left the clime of loveliness
+nearly a mile behind, that his attention was drawn to the nature of the
+soil, which was hard and bituminous in appearance.
+
+The truth almost immediately struck him: there was a volcano amongst
+those mountains up which he was ascending; and it was the lava which had
+produced that desolation, and which, cold and hardened, formed the soil
+whereon he walked. It was now past midday; and he seated himself once
+more to repose his limbs, wearied with the fatigues of the ascent and
+overcome by the heat that was there intolerable. At the distance of
+about two hundred yards on his right was a solitary tree, standing like
+a sign to mark the tomb of nature's vegetation. Upon this tree his eyes
+were fixed listlessly, and he was marveling within himself how that
+single scion of the forest could have been spared, when the burning
+lava, whenever the eruption might have taken place, had hurled down and
+reduced to cinders its verdant brethren.
+
+Suddenly his attention was more earnestly riveted upon the dense and
+wide-spreading foliage of that tree; for the boughs were shaken in an
+extraordinary manner, and something appeared to be moving about amongst
+the canopy of leaves. In another minute a long, unmistakable, appalling
+object darted forth--a monstrous snake--suspending itself by the tail to
+one of the lower boughs, and disporting playfully with its hideous head
+toward the ground. Then, with a sudden coil, it drew itself back into
+the tree, the entire foliage of which was shaken with the horrible
+gambolings of the reptile.
+
+Wagner remembered the frightful spectacle which he had beholden in
+Ceylon, and an awful shudder crept through his frame; for, although he
+knew that he bore a charmed life, yet he shrank with a loathing from the
+idea of having to battle with such a horrible serpent. Starting from the
+ground, he rushed--flew, rather than ran, higher up the acclivity, and
+speedily entered on a wild scene of rugged and barren rocks: but he
+cared not whither the windings of the natural path which he now pursued
+might lead him, since he had escaped from the view of the hideous
+boa-constrictor gamboling in the solitary tree.
+
+Wearied with his wanderings, and sinking beneath the oppressive heat of
+the sun, Wagner was rejoiced to find a cavern in the side of a rock,
+where he might shelter and repose himself. He entered, and lay down upon
+the hard soil; the sounds of the torrents, which rolled still unseen
+amidst the chasms toward which he had approached full near, produced a
+lulling influence upon him, and in a few minutes his eyes were sealed in
+slumber. When he awoke he found himself in total darkness. He started
+up, collected his scattered ideas, and advanced to the mouth of the
+cavern.
+
+The sun had set: but outside the cave an azure twilight prevailed, and
+the adjacent peaks of the mountains stood darkly out from the partially
+though faintly illuminated sky.
+
+While Wagner was gazing long and intently upon the sublime grandeur of
+the scene, a strange phenomenon took place. First a small cloud appeared
+on the summit of an adjacent hill; then gradually this cloud became more
+dense and assumed a human shape. Oh! with what interest--what deep,
+enthusiastic interest, did Fernand contemplate the spectacle; for his
+well-stored mind at once suggested to him that he was now the witness of
+that wondrous optical delusion, called the mirage.
+
+Some human being in the plain on the other side of that range of
+mountains was the subject of that sublime scene; might it not be the
+individual of whom he was in search, the owner of the doublet? But, ah!
+wherefore does Wagner start with surprise?
+
+The shadow of that human being, as it gradually assumed greater density
+and a more defined shape--in a word, as it was now properly developed by
+the reflection of twilight--wore the form of a female! Were there, then,
+many inhabitants on the opposite side of the mountains? or was there
+only one female, she whose reflected image he now beheld? He knew not;
+but at all events the pleasure of human companionship seemed within his
+reach; the presence of the doublet had convinced him that there was
+another man upon the island, and now the mirage showed him the semblance
+of a woman!
+
+Vast--colossal--like a dense, dark, shapely cloud, stood that reflected
+being in the sky; for several minutes it remained thus, and though
+Wagner could trace no particular outline of features, yet it seemed to
+him as if the female were standing in a pensive attitude. But as the
+twilight gradually subsided, or rather yielded to the increasing
+obscurity, the image was absorbed likewise in the growing gloom; until
+the dusky veil of night made the entire vault above of one deep,
+uniform, purple hue. Then Wagner once more returned to the cavern, with
+the resolution of crossing the range of hills on the ensuing morn.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLI.
+
+THE ISLAND QUEEN.
+
+
+Oh! how beautiful--how enchantingly beautiful seemed Nisida, as her
+delicate feet bore her glancingly along the sunny banks of the crystal
+stream, to the soft music of its waters. How the slight drapery which
+she wore set off the rich undulations of that magnificent form! How the
+wreaths and garlands of fantastically woven flowers became the romantic
+loveliness of her person--that glowing Hebe of the South!
+
+Holding in her fair hand a light, slim wand, and moving through the
+delicious vale with all the soft abandonment of gait and limb which
+feared no intrusion on her solitude, she appeared that Mediterranean
+island's queen. What, though the evening breeze, disporting with her
+raiment, lifted it from her glowing bosom?--she cared not; no need for
+sense of shame was there! What though she laid aside her vesture to
+disport in the sea at morn?--no furtive glances did she cast round; no
+haste did she make to resume her garments; for whose eye, save that of
+God, beheld her?
+
+But was she happy? Alas! there were moments when despair seized upon her
+soul; and, throwing herself on the yellow sand, or on some verdant bank,
+she would weep--oh! she would weep such bitter, bitter tears, that those
+who have been forced to contemplate her character with aversion, must
+now be compelled to pity her.
+
+Yes; for there were times when all the loveliness of that island seemed
+but a hideous place of exile, an abhorrent monotony which surrounded
+her--grasped her--clung to her--hemmed her in, as if it were an evil
+spirit, having life and the power to torture her. She thought of those
+whom she loved, she pondered upon all the grand schemes of her
+existence, and she felt herself cut off from a world to which there were
+so many ties to bind her, and in which she had so much to do. Then she
+would give way to all the anguish of her soul--an anguish that amounted
+to the deepest, blackest despair, when her glances wildly swept the
+cloudless horizon, and beheld not a sail--no! nor a speck on the ocean
+to engender hope. But when this tempest of grief and passion was past,
+she would be angry with herself for having yielded to it; and, in order
+to distract her thoughts from subjects of gloom, she would bound toward
+the groves, light as a fawn, the dazzling whiteness of her naked and
+polished ankles gleaming in contrast with the verdure of the vale.
+
+One morning after Nisida had been many, many days on the island, she was
+seated on the sand, having just completed her simple toilet on emerging
+from the mighty bath that lay stretched in glassy stillness far as the
+eye could reach, when she suddenly sprung upon her feet, and threw
+affrighted looks around her. Had she possessed the faculty of hearing,
+it would be thought that she was thus startled by the sound of a human
+voice which had at that instant broken upon the solemn stillness of the
+isle--a human voice emanating from a short distance behind her. As yet
+she saw no one; but in a few moments a man emerged from the nearest
+grove, and came slowly toward her.
+
+He was dressed in a light jerkin, trunk-breeches, tight hose, and
+boot--in all as an Italian gentleman of that day, save in respect to hat
+and doublet, of which he had none. Neither wore he a sword by his side,
+nor carried any weapons of defense; and it was evident he approached the
+island queen with mingled curiosity and awe.
+
+Perhaps he deemed her to be some goddess, endowed with the power and the
+will to punish his intrusion on her realm; or peradventure his
+superstitious imagination dwelt on the tales which sailors told in those
+times--how mermaids who fed on human flesh dwelt on the coasts of
+uninhabited islands, and assuming the most charming female forms, lured
+into their embrace the victims whom shipwreck cast upon their strand,
+and instead of lavishing on them the raptures of love, made them the
+prey of their ravenous maws.
+
+Whatever were his thoughts, the man drew near with evident distrust.
+But, now--why does Nisida's countenance become suddenly crimson with
+rage? why rushes she toward the stores which still remained piled up on
+the strand? and wherefore, with the rapidity of the most feverish
+impatience, does she hurl the weapons of defense into the sea, all save
+one naked sword, with which she arms herself? Because her eagle glance,
+quicker than that of the man who is approaching her, has recognized
+_him_, ere he has even been struck with a suspicion relative to who
+_she_ is--and that man is Stephano Verrina!
+
+Now, Nisida! summon all thine energies to aid thee; for a strong, a
+powerful, a remorseless man, devoured with lust for thee, is near. And
+thou art so ravishingly beautiful in thy aerial drapery, and thy wreaths
+of flowers, that an anchorite could not view thee with indifference! Ah!
+Stephano starts--stops short--advances: the suspicion has struck him!
+The aquiline countenance, those brilliant large, dark eyes, that
+matchless raven hair, that splendid symmetrical maturity of form, and
+withal, that close compression of the vermilion lips, O Nisida! have
+been scanned in rapid detail by the brigand!
+
+"Nisida!" he exclaimed; "Yes, it is she!"
+
+And he bounded toward her with outstretched arms.
+
+But the sharp sword was presented to his chest; and the lady stood with
+an air of such resolute determination, that he stopped short gazing upon
+her with mingled wonderment and admiration. Heavens! he had never beheld
+so glorious a specimen of female loveliness as that whereon his eyes
+were fastened,--fastened beyond the possibility of withdrawal. How
+glossy black was that hair with its diadem of white roses! How miserably
+poor appeared the hues of the carnations and the pinks that formed her
+necklace, when in contrast with her flushing cheeks! How dingy were the
+lilies at her waist, compared with her heaving breast!
+
+The reason of the brigand reeled, his brain swam round, and for a moment
+it seemed to him that she was not a being of this world; not the Nisida
+he had known and carried off from Italy, but a goddess, another and yet
+the same in all the glory of those matchless charms which had heretofore
+ravished--no, maddened him!
+
+And now the spirit of this bold and reckless man was subdued--subdued,
+he knew not how nor wherefore; but still subdued by the presence of her
+whom he had deemed lost in the waves, but who seemed to stand before
+him, with flowers upon her brow and a sharp weapon in her hand--radiant,
+too, with loveliness of person, and terrible with the fires of hatred
+and indignation!
+
+Yes! he was subdued--overawed--rendered timid as a young child in her
+presence; and sinking upon his knees, he exclaimed--forgetful that he
+was addressing Nisida the deaf and dumb--"Oh! fear not--I will not harm
+thee! But, my God! take compassion on me--spurn me not--look not with
+such terrible anger upon one who adores, who worships you! How is it
+that I tremble and quail before you--I, once so reckless, so rude. But,
+oh! to kiss that fair hand--to be your slave--to watch over you--to
+protect you--and all this but for thy smiles in return--I should be
+happy--supremely happy! Remember--we are alone on this island--and I am
+the stronger; I might compel you by force to yield to me--to become
+mine; but I will not harm you--no, not a hair of your head, if you will
+only smile upon me! And you will require one to defend and protect
+you--yes, even here in this island, apparently so secure and safe;--for
+there are terrible things in this clime--dreadful beings, far more
+formidable than whole hordes of savage men--monsters so appalling that
+not all thy courage, nor all thy energy would avail thee a single moment
+against them. Yes, lady, believe me when I tell thee this! For
+many--many days have I dwelt, a lonely being, on the other side of this
+isle, beyond that chain of mountains--remaining on that shore to which
+the wild waves carried me on the night of shipwreck. But I hurried away
+at last--I dared all the dangers of mighty precipices, yawning chasms,
+and roaring torrents--the perils of yon mountains--rather than linger on
+the other side. For the anaconda, lady, is the tenant of this
+island--the monstrous snake--the terrible boa, whose dreadful coils, if
+wound round that fair form of yours, would crush it into a hideous,
+loathsome mass?"
+
+Stephano had spoken so rapidly, and with such fevered excitement that he
+had no time to reflect whether he were not wasting his words upon a
+being who could not hear them; until exhausted and breathless with the
+volubility of his utterance he remembered that he was addressing himself
+to Nisida the deaf and dumb. But happily his appealing and his suppliant
+posture had softened the lady: for toward the end of his long speech a
+change came over her countenance, and she dropped the point of her sword
+toward the ground.
+
+Stephano rose, and stood gazing on her for a few moments with eyes that
+seemed to devour her. His mind had suddenly recovered much of its wonted
+boldness and audacity. So long as Nisida seemed terrible as well as
+beautiful, he was subdued;--now that her eyes had ceased to dart forth
+lightnings, and the expression of her countenance had changed from
+indignation and resolute menace to pensiveness and a comparatively
+mournful softness, the bandit as rapidly regained the usual tone of his
+remorseless mind.
+
+Yes; he stood gazing on her for a few moments, with eyes that seemed to
+devour her:--then, in obedience to the impulse of maddening desire, he
+rushed upon her, and in an instant wrenched the sword from her grasp.
+But rapid as lightning, Nisida bounded away from him, ere he could wind
+his arms around her; and fleet as the startled deer, she hastened toward
+the groves.
+
+Stephano, still retaining the sword in his hand, pursued her with a
+celerity which was sustained by his desire to possess her and by his
+rage that she had escaped him. But the race was unequal as that of a
+lion in chase of a roe; for Nisida seemed borne along as it were upon
+the very air. Leaving the groves on her left she dashed into the vale.
+Along the sunny bank of the limpid stream she sped;--on, on toward a
+forest that bounded the valley at the further end, and rose
+amphitheatrically up toward the regions of the mountains!
+
+Stephano Verrina still pursued her, though losing ground rapidly; but
+still he maintained the chase. And now the verge of the forest is nearly
+gained; and in its mazes Nisida hopes to be enabled to conceal herself
+from the ruffian whom, by a glance hastily cast behind from time to
+time, she ascertains to be upon her track. But, oh! whither art thou
+flying thus wildly, beauteous Nisida?--into what appalling perils art
+thou rushing, as it were, blindly? For there, in the tallest tree on the
+verge of the forest to which thou now art near,--there, amidst the
+bending boughs and the quivering foliage--one of the hideous serpents
+which infest the higher region of the isle is disporting--the terrible
+anaconda--the monstrous boa, whose dreadful coils, if wound round that
+fair form of thine, would crush it into a loathsome mass!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLII.
+
+THE TEMPTATION--THE ANACONDA.
+
+
+In the meantime Fernand Wagner was engaged in the attempt to cross the
+chain of mountains which intersected the island whereon the shipwreck
+had thrown him. He had clambered over rugged rocks and leapt across many
+yawning chasms in that region of desolation,--a region which formed so
+remarkable a contrast with the delicious scenery which he had left
+behind him. And now he reached the base of a conical hill, the summit of
+which seemed to have been split into two parts: and the sinuous tracks
+of the lava-streams, now cold, and hard, and black, adown its sides,
+convinced him that this was the volcano, from whose rent crater had
+poured the bituminous fluid so fatal to the vegetation of that region.
+
+Following a circuitous and naturally formed pathway round the base, he
+reached the opposite side; and now from a height of three hundred feet
+above the level of the sea, his eyes commanded a view of a scene as fair
+as that behind the range of mountains. He was now for the first time
+convinced of what he had all along suspected--namely, that it was indeed
+an island on which the storm had cast him. But though from the eminence
+where he stood his view embraced the immense range of the ocean, no
+speck in the horizon--no sail upon the bosom of the expanse imparted
+hope to his soul.
+
+Hunger now oppressed him; for he had eaten nothing since the noon of the
+preceding day, when he had plucked a few fruits in the groves on the
+other side of the island. He accordingly commenced a descent toward the
+new region which lay stretched before him, fair as--even fairer
+than--the one which had first greeted his eyes.
+
+But he had not proceeded many yards amidst the defiles of the rugged
+rocks which nature had piled around the base of the volcano, when he
+found his way suddenly barred by a vast chasm, on the verge of which the
+winding path stopped.
+
+The abyss was far too wide to be crossed save by the wing of the bird:
+and in its unfathomable depths boiled and roared a torrent, the din of
+whose eddies was deafening to the ear.
+
+Wagner retraced his way to the very base of the volcano, and entered
+another defile: but this also terminated on the edge of the same
+precipice.
+
+Again and again did he essay the various windings of that scene of rock
+and crag: but with no better success than at first; and after passing a
+considerable time in these fruitless attempts to find a means of descent
+into the plains below, he began to fear that he should be compelled to
+retrace his way into the region of verdure which he had quitted the day
+before, and which lay behind the range of mountains. But the thought of
+the hideous snake which he had seen in the tree caused a cold shudder to
+pass over him--then, in the next moment, he remembered that if the
+region on one side of the mountain were invested with reptiles of that
+terrible species, it was not probable that the forests which he beheld
+as it were at his feet, were free from the same source of apprehension.
+Still he had hoped to find human companionship on this side of the
+mountains which he had so far succeeded in reaching--the companionship
+of the man who had cast away the doublet, and of the woman whom he had
+seen in the mirage.
+
+And was it not strange that he had not as yet overtaken, or at least
+obtained a trace of, the man who thus occupied a portion of his
+thoughts? If that man were still amongst the mountains, they would
+probably meet; if he had succeeded in descending into the plains below,
+the same pathway that conducted him thither would also be open to
+Wagner. Animated with these reflections, and in spite of the hunger
+which now sorely oppressed him, Wagner prosecuted with fresh courage his
+search for a means of descent into the lovely regions that lay stretched
+before him, when he was suddenly startled by the sound of a human voice
+near him.
+
+"My son, what dost thou amidst this scene of desolation?" were the words
+which, uttered in a mild benignant tone, met his ears.
+
+He turned and beheld an old man of venerable appearance, and whose
+beard, white as snow, stretched down to the rude leathern belt which
+confined the palmer's gown that he wore.
+
+"Holy anchorite!" exclaimed Wagner--"for such must I deem thee to
+be,--the sound of thy voice is most welcome in this solitude, amidst the
+mazes of which I vainly seek to find an avenue of egress."
+
+"Thus it is oft with the troubles and perplexities of the world, my
+son," answered the hermit, "that world which I have quitted forever."
+
+"And dost thou dwell in this desolate region?" asked Fernand.
+
+"My cave is hard by," returned the old man. "For forty years have I
+lived in the heart of these mountains, descending only into the plains
+at long intervals, to gather the fruits that constitute my food:--and
+then," he added, in a tone which, despite the sanctity of his
+appearance, struck cold and ominous to the very heart of Wagner,--"and
+then, too, at the risk of becoming the prey of the terrible anaconda!"
+
+"Thou sayest, holy hermit," exclaimed Fernand, endeavoring to conquer a
+feeling of unaccountable aversion which he had suddenly entertained
+toward the old man, "thou sayest that thy cave is hard by. In the name
+of mercy! I beseech thee to spare me a few fruits, and a cup of water,
+for I am sinking with fatigue, hunger, and thirst."
+
+"Follow me, young man," said the hermit; and he led the way to a cave
+opening from a narrow fissure in the rock.
+
+The anchorite's abode was, as Wagner had expected to find it, rude and
+cheerless. A quantity of dry leaves were heaped in one corner--evidently
+forming the old man's couch; and in several small hollows made in the
+walls of rock, were heaps of fruit--fresh and inviting, as if they had
+only just been gathered. On the ground stood a large earthen pitcher of
+water. Upon this last object did the thirsty Wagner lay his left hand;
+but ere he raised it, he glanced hastily round the cave in search of a
+crucifix, in the presence of which he might sign the form of the cross
+with his right hand. But to his astonishment the emblem of Christianity
+was not there; and it now struck him for the first time that the
+anchorite wore no beads around his waist.
+
+"Young man, I can divine your thoughts," said the hermit, hastily; "but
+drink, eat, and ask a blessing presently. Thou art famished, pause not
+to question my motives. I will explain them fully to thee when thy body
+is refreshed with that pure water and those delicious fruits."
+
+"Water shall not pass my lips, nor fruits assuage the cravings of
+hunger, until I know more of thee, old man!" exclaimed Wagner, a
+terrible suspicion flashing to his mind; and without another instant's
+hesitation or delay, he made the sign of the cross.
+
+A yell of rage and fury burst from the lips of the false anchorite,
+while his countenance became fearfully distorted--his eyes glared
+fiercely--his whole aspect changed--and in a few moments he stood
+confessed in shape, attire and features, the demon who had appeared to
+Fernand in the prison of Florence!
+
+"Fiend! what wouldst thou with me?" exclaimed Wagner, startled and yet
+unsubdued by this appearance of the evil spirit amidst that region of
+desolation.
+
+"Mortal," said the demon, in his deepest and most serious tones, "I am
+here to place happiness--happiness ineffable--within thy reach. Nay, be
+not impatient: but listen to me for a few moments. 'Twas my power that
+conducted thy ship, amidst the fury of the storm which _He_ whose name I
+dare not mention raised, to the shores of this island. 'Twas my
+influence which yesterday, as thou wast seated on the sunny banks,
+filled thine imagination with those delicious thoughts of Nisida. And it
+was I also who, by the wonders of the mirage, showed thee the form of
+the only female inhabitant of this isle. And that one female,
+Wagner--that woman who is now as it were within thy reach--that lovely
+being whose presence on this island would teach thee to have no regret
+for the world from which you are separated, and whose eyes would cast
+forth rays of joy and gladness upon everything around--that charming
+lady, who has already decked herself with those flowers which her fair
+hands have woven into wildly fantastic arabesques, that being is thy
+Nisida, the Island Queen."
+
+"Fiend! you mock--you deceive me," cried Fernand, wildly hovering
+between joyous hope and acute fear.
+
+"Did I deceive thee, Wagner, when I showed thee thy Nisida in the power
+of the corsairs?" said the demon, with a smile of bitter, sardonic
+triumph. "I tell thee, then, that Nisida is on this island--there, in
+the very region into which thou wouldst descend, but to which thou wilt
+find no avenue save by my aid."
+
+"Nisida is here--on this island," exclaimed Fernand in an ecstasy of
+joy.
+
+"Yes--and Stephano, the bandit, likewise," added the demon. "It was his
+doublet which you found--it was he who slaked his thirst with the juice
+of the fruits which I, then invisible, beheld thee contemplate with
+attention."
+
+"Stephano here also!" cried Wagner. "Oh! Nisida--to thy rescue!"
+
+And he bounded forth from the cave, and was rushing madly down one of
+the tortuous defiles leading toward the chasm, when the voice of the
+demon suddenly caused him to stop short.
+
+"Fool!--insensate mortal!" said the fiend, with a derisive laugh. "How
+canst thou escape from these mountains? But tarry a moment--and behold
+thy Nisida--behold also her persecutor, who lusts after her."
+
+Thus speaking; he handed Wagner a magic telescope, which immediately
+brought the most remote objects to a distance of only a few yards.
+
+Then what a delicious scene met Fernand's eyes! He beheld Nisida bathing
+in the sea--sporting like a mermaid with the wavelets--plunging into the
+refreshing depths--then wringing out the water from her long raven hair,
+now swimming and diving, then wading on her feet,--unconscious that a
+human eye beheld her.
+
+At length she came forth from the sea, beauteous as a Venus rising from
+the ocean; and her toilet commenced upon the sand. But scarcely had she
+decked herself with the flowers which she had gathered early in the
+morning for the purpose, when she started and rose up; and then Wagner
+beheld a man approaching her from the nearest grove.
+
+"That is Stephano Verrina!" murmured the demon in his ears.
+
+Fernand uttered a cry of dismay, and threw down the telescope.
+
+"You may save her--save her yet," said the demon, speaking in a tone of
+unusual haste. "In a few minutes she will be in his power--he is strong
+and desperate; be mine, and consent to serve me--and in a moment Nisida
+shall be clasped in thy arms--the arms of thee, her deliverer."
+
+"No--no! I will save her without thine aid, dread fiend!" exclaimed
+Wagner, a prey to the most terrible excitement.
+
+Then making the sign of the cross, he rushed forward to leap the yawning
+chasm; his feet touched the opposite side, but he lost his balance,
+reeled, and fell back into the tremendous abyss, while the demon, again
+baffled, and shrinking in horror from the emblem of Christianity,
+disappeared with cries of rage and vexation.
+
+Down--down fell Wagner,--turning over and over in the hideous vacancy,
+and clutching vainly at the stunted shrubs and dead roots which
+projected from the rugged sides of the chasm.
+
+In another moment he was swallowed up by the boiling torrent; but his
+senses did not leave him, and he felt himself hurried along with the
+furious speed of the mad waters. Thus nearly a minute passed; and then
+his headlong course was suddenly arrested by the boughs of a tree,
+which, having given way at the root, bent over into the torrent. He
+clung to the boughs as if they were arms stretched out to rescue him; he
+raised himself from amidst the turbid waters--and in a few moments
+reached a bank which shelved upward to the edge of a dense forest.
+
+Precisely on the opposite or inner side there was an opening in the
+rocks, and Wagner's eye could trace upward a steep but still practicable
+path, doubtless formed by some torrent of the spring, which was now
+dried up amidst the mountains above,--that path reaching to the very
+basis of the volcano.
+
+Thus, had circumstances permitted him to exercise his patience and
+institute a longer search among the defiles formed by the crags and
+rocks around the conical volcano, he would have discovered a means of
+safe egress from that region without daring the desperate leap of the
+chasm, desperate even for him, although he bore a charmed life, because
+his limbs might have been broken against the rugged sides of the
+precipice.
+
+Between the opening to the steep path just spoken of, and the shelving
+bank on which Wagner now stood, there was so narrow a space, that the
+bent tree stretched completely across the torrent; thus any one,
+descending from the mountains by the natural pathway, might cross by
+means of the tree to the side which Fernand had gained.
+
+"This, then, must have been the route by which the villain Stephano
+emerged from the mountains," he said to himself, "and the fiend deceived
+me when he declared that I could not reach the plains below without his
+aid."
+
+Such were his reflections as he hurried up the shelving bank: and when
+he reached the summit his glance embraced a scene already described to
+the reader.
+
+For, flying wildly on toward the forest, was his beauteous Nisida,
+scattering flowers in her whirlwind progress, those flowers that had ere
+now decked her hair, her neck and her waist.
+
+At some distance behind her was the bandit Stephano; with sword in hand
+he still maintained the chase, though breathless and ready to sink from
+exhaustion. Not an instant did Wagner tarry upon the top of the bank
+which he had reached; but darting toward Nisida, who was now scarce
+fifty yards from him, he gave vent to an ejaculation of joy.
+
+She saw him--she beheld him: and her speed was checked in an instant
+with the overpowering emotion of wonder and delight.
+
+Then, as he hurried along the verge of the forest to encounter her--to
+fold her in his fond embrace--to protect her,--she once more sprung
+forward, with outstretched arms, to fly into his arms, which were open
+to receive her. But at that instant there was a horrible rustling amidst
+the foliage of the huge tree beneath which she was hastening on;--a
+monstrous snake darted down with a gushing sound, and in another moment
+the beauteous form of Nisida was encircled by its hideous coils.
+
+Then fled that wondrous self-command which for long years she had
+exercised with such amazing success:--then vanished from her mind all
+the strong motives which had induced her to undertake so terrible a
+martyrdom as that of simulating the loss of two faculties most dear and
+most valuable to all human beings;--and with a cry of ineffable anguish,
+she exclaimed, "_Fernand, save me! save me!_"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLIII.
+
+NISIDA AND WAGNER.
+
+
+Oh! with what astonishment and joy would Wagner have welcomed the sound
+of that voice, so long hushed, and now so musical even in its rending
+agony,--had not such an appalling incident broken the spell that for
+years had sealed the lips of his beloved! But he had no time for
+thought--there was not a moment for reflection. Nisida lay senseless on
+the ground, with the monster coiled around her--its long body hanging
+down from the bough to which it was suspended by the tail.
+Simultaneously with the cry of anguish that had come from the lips of
+Nisida, exclamations of horror burst alike from Wagner and Stephano.
+
+The latter stood transfixed as it were for a few moments, his eyes
+glaring wildly on the dreadful spectacle before him; then, yielding to
+the invincible terror that had seized upon him, he hurled away the
+sword--knowing not what he did in the excitement of his mind, and fled!
+But the gleaming of the naked weapon in the sunbeams met Wagner's eyes
+as it fell, and darting toward it, he grasped it with a firm
+hand--resolving also to use it with a stout heart. Then he advanced
+toward the snake, which was comparatively quiescent--that portion of its
+long body which hung between the tree and the first coil that it made
+round the beauteous form of Nisida alone moving; and this motion was a
+waving kind of oscillation, like that of a bell-rope which a person
+holds by the end and swings gently.
+
+But from the midst of the coils the hideous head of the monster stood
+out--its eyes gleaming malignantly upon Wagner as he approached.
+Suddenly the reptile, doubtless alarmed by the flashing of the bright
+sword, disengaged itself like lightning from the awful embrace in which
+it had retained the Lady Nisida, and sprung furiously toward Fernand.
+But the blow that he aimed at its head was unerring and heavy; its skull
+was cloven in two--and it fell on the long grass, where it writhed in
+horrible convulsions for some moments, although its life was gone.
+
+Words cannot be found to describe the delirium of joy which Wagner felt,
+when having thus slain the terrible anaconda, he placed his hand on
+Nisida's heart and felt that it beat--though languidly. He lifted her
+from the ground--he carried her in his arms to the bank of the limpid
+stream--and he sprinkled water upon her pale cheeks.
+
+Slowly did she recover; and when her large black eyes at length opened,
+she uttered a fearful shriek, and closed them again--for with returning
+life the reminiscence of the awful embrace of the serpent came back
+also. But Wagner murmured words of sweet assurance and consolation--of
+love and joy, in her ears; and she felt that it was no dream, but that
+she was really saved! Then, winding her arms round Fernand's neck, she
+embraced him in speechless and still almost senseless trance, for the
+idea of such happy deliverance was overpowering--amounting to an agony
+which a mortal creature could scarcely endure.
+
+"Oh! Nisida," at length exclaimed Wagner, "was it a delusion produced by
+the horrors of that scene?--or did thy voice really greet mine ears ere
+now!"
+
+There was a minute's profound silence--during which, as they sat upon
+the bank of the stream, locked in a fond embrace, their eyes were fixed
+with fascinating gaze upon each other, as if they could not contemplate
+each other too long--he in tenderness, and she in passion.
+
+"Yes, Fernand," said Nisida, breaking that deep silence at last, and
+speaking in a voice so mellifluously clear, so soft, so penetrating in
+its tone, that it realized all the fond ideas which her lover had
+conceived of what its nature would be if it were ever restored, "yes,
+Fernand, dearest Fernand," she repeated, "you did indeed hear my voice,
+and to _you_ never again shall I be mute."
+
+Wagner could not allow her time to say more: he was almost wild with
+rapture! His Nisida was restored to him, and no longer Nisida the deaf
+and dumb, but Nisida who could hear the fond language which he addressed
+to her, and who could respond in the sweetest, most melting and
+delicious tones that ever came from woman's lips.
+
+For a long time their hearts were too full, alike for total silence or
+connected conversation, and while the world from which they were cut off
+was entirely forgotten, they gathered so much happiness from the few
+words in which they indulged, and from all that they read in each
+other's eyes, that the emotions which they experienced might have
+furnished sensations for a lifetime.
+
+At length--she scarcely knew how the subject began, although it might
+naturally have arisen of its own spontaneous suggestion--Nisida found
+herself speaking of the long period of deception which she had
+maintained in relation to her powers of speech and hearing.
+
+"Thou lovest me well, dearest Fernand," she said in her musical Italian
+tones; "and thou would'st not create a pang in my heart? Then never seek
+to learn wherefore, when at the still tender age of fifteen, I resolved
+upon consummating so dreadful a sacrifice as to affect dumbness. The
+circumstances were, indeed, solemnly grave and strangely important,
+which demanded so awful a martyrdom. But well did I weigh all the misery
+and all the peril that such a self-devotion was sure to entail upon me.
+I knew that I must exercise the most stern--the most remorseless--the
+most inflexible despotism over my emotions--that I must crush as it were
+the very feelings of my soul--that I must also observe a caution so
+unwearied and so constantly wakeful, that it would amount to a
+sensitiveness the most painful--and that I must prepare myself to hear
+the merry jest without daring to smile, or the exciting narrative of the
+world's stirring events without suffering my countenance to vary a hue!
+Oh! I calculated--I weighed all this, and yet I was not appalled by the
+immensity of the task. I knew the powers of my own mind, and I did not
+deceive myself as to their extent. But, ah! how fearful was it at first
+to hear the sounds of human voices, and dare not respond to them; how
+maddening at times was it to listen to conversation in which I longed to
+join, and yet be compelled to sit like a passionless statue! But mine
+was a will of iron strength--a resolution of indomitable power! Even
+when alone when I knew that I should not be overheard--I never essayed
+the powers of my voice, I never murmured a single syllable to myself so
+fearful was I lest the slightest use of the glorious gift of speech
+might render me weak in my purpose. And strange as it may seem to you,
+dearest Fernand, not even on this island did I yield to the temptation
+of suddenly breaking that long, that awful silence which I had imposed
+upon myself. And, until this day, one human being only, save myself, was
+acquainted with that mighty secret of ten long years, and that man was
+the generous-hearted, the noble-minded Dr. Duras. He it was who aided me
+in my project of simulating the forlorn condition of the deaf and dumb:
+he it was who bribed the turnkeys to admit me unquestioned to your cell
+in the prison of the ducal palace. And for years, perhaps, should I have
+retained my wondrous secret even from _you_, dearest Fernand; for
+through dangers of many kinds--in circumstances of the most trying
+nature, have I continued firm in my purpose; abjuring the faculty of
+speech even when it would have saved me from much cruel embarrassment or
+from actual peril. Thus, when the villain Stephano Verrina bore me away
+by force from my native city, I maintained the seal upon my lips,
+trusting to circumstances to enable me to escape from his power without
+being compelled to betray a secret of such infinite value and importance
+to myself. But when I found that I was so narrowly watched at Leghorn
+that flight was impossible, I seriously debated, in my own mind, the
+necessity of raising an alarm in the house where I was kept a prisoner
+for two whole days; and then I reflected that I was in the power of a
+desperate bandit and his two devoted adherents, who were capable of any
+atrocity to forward their designs or prevent exposure. Lastly, when I
+was conveyed at dead of night on board the corsair-ship, the streets
+were deserted, and the pirates with whom Stephano was leagued, thronged
+the port. I therefore resigned myself to my fate, trusting still to
+circumstances, and retaining my secret. But that incident of to-day--oh!
+it was enough to crush energies ten thousand times more powerful than
+mine: it was of so horrifying a nature as to be sufficient to loose the
+bands which confine the tongue of one really dumb."
+
+And a strong shudder convulsed the entire form of Nisida, as she thus,
+by her own words, recalled so forcibly to mind that terrible event which
+had broken a spell of ten years' duration.
+
+Fernand pressed her to his bosom, exclaiming, "Oh, beloved Nisida, how
+beautiful dost thou appear to me!--how soft and charming is that dear
+voice of thine! Let us not think of the past, at least not now; for I
+also have explanations to give thee," he added, slowly and mournfully;
+then, in a different and again joyous tone, he said: "Let us be happy in
+the conviction that we are restored to each other; let this be a
+holiday--nay, more," he added, sinking his voice almost to a whisper;
+"let it be the day on which we join our hands together in the sight of
+Heaven. No priest will bless our union, Nisida; but we will plight our
+vows--and God will accord us his blessing."
+
+The lady hid her blushing, glowing countenance on his breast, and
+murmured in a voice melodious as the music of the stream by which they
+sat, "Fernand, I am thine--thine forever."
+
+"And I am thine, my beauteous Nisida; thine forever, as thou art mine!"
+exclaimed Wagner, lifting her head and gazing on her lovely, blushing
+face as on a vision of heaven.
+
+"No; she is mine!" thundered the voice of the forgotten Stephano, and in
+a moment the bandit flung himself upon Wagner, whom he attempted to hurl
+into the crystal but deep river.
+
+Fernand, however, caught the arm of the brigand and dragged him along
+with him into the water, while a terrific scream burst from the lips of
+Nisida. Then furious was the struggle that commenced in the depths of
+the stream. But Stephano lay beneath Wagner, who held him down on the
+pebbly bottom. In another moment Nisida herself plunged into the river
+with the wild hope of aiding her lover to conquer his foe, or to rescue
+him from the grasp which the bandit maintained upon him with the
+tenacity that was strengthened rather than impaired by the agony of
+suffocation.
+
+But she rose again to the surface in an instant by the indomitable
+influence of that instinct for self-preservation which no human being,
+when immersed in the deep water, can resist if the art of swimming has
+been attained. Again she dived to succor her lover, but her aid, even if
+she could have afforded any, was no longer necessary, for Fernand rose
+from the crystal depths and bore his Nisida to the bank, while the
+corpse of the drowned bandit was carried away by the current.
+
+Wagner and Nisida were now the sole human inhabitants of that isle--the
+king and queen of the loveliest clime on which the sun shone. Toward the
+sea-shore they repaired, hand in hand, and having partaken of the fruits
+which they gathered in their way, they set to work to form a hut with
+the planks, cordage, and canvas of the wreck. It will be remembered that
+Nisida had saved the carpenter's tools, and thus the task became a
+comparatively easy one.
+
+By the time the sun went down a tenement was formed, rude, it is true,
+but still perfect enough to harbor them in a clime where the nights were
+warm and where the dews prevailed only in the verdant parts of the isle.
+Then with what joyous feelings did Nisida deck the walls of the hut with
+a tapestry of flowers and prepare the bridal couch with materials which
+she had saved from the wreck.
+
+Softly and sweetly shone the moon that night; and, as its silver rays
+penetrated through the crevices of the little cottage so hastily and so
+rudely formed, they played kissingly upon the countenances of the happy
+pair who had wedded each other in the sight of Heaven.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLIV.
+
+ALESSANDRO FRANCATELLI.
+
+
+In order that the reader should fully understand the stirring incidents
+which yet remain to be told, it is necessary for us to explain certain
+particulars connected with Alessandro Francatelli, the brother of the
+beautiful Flora. It will be recollected that this young man accompanied
+the Florentine envoy to Constantinople, in the honorable capacity of
+secretary, some few years previous to the commencement of our tale.
+
+Alessandro was strikingly handsome, tall, well-formed, and of great
+physical strength. His manners were pleasing, his conversation agreeable
+to a degree. Indeed, he had profited so well by the lessons of the
+excellent-hearted Father Marco, that his mind was well stored with
+intellectual wealth. He was, moreover, a finished musician, and played
+the violin, at that period a rare accomplishment, to perfection. In
+addition to all these qualifications, he was a skillful versifier, and
+composed the most beautiful extemporaneous poetry, apparently without an
+effort. But his disposition was by no means light or devoted to pursuits
+which worldly-minded persons would consider frivolous. For he himself
+was worldly-minded, keen, shrewd, far-seeing, and ambitious. He deplored
+the ruin which had overtaken his family, and longed ardently to rebuild
+its fortunes, adding thereto the laurels of glory and the honors of
+rank.
+
+The situation which he enjoyed in the establishment of the Florentine
+envoy appeared to him the stepping-stone to the attainment of these
+objects, but the embassy had not been long settled at Constantinople,
+when Alessandro found that his master was one who, being ignorant
+himself, was jealous of the talents displayed by others. Great interest
+had alone procured the envoy the post which he held as negotiator
+plenipotentiary with the Ottoman Porte, on behalf of the Republic of
+Florence; and the Turkish reis-effendi, or minister of foreign affairs,
+soon perceived that the Christian embassador was quite incompetent to
+enter into the intricacies of treaties and the complex machinery of
+diplomacy. But suddenly the official notes which the envoy addressed to
+the reis-effendi began to exhibit a sagacity and an evidence of
+far-sighted policy which contrasted strongly with the imbecility which
+had previously characterized those communications. It was at that period
+a part of the policy of the Ottoman Port to maintain spies in the
+household of all the foreign embassadors residing in Constantinople; and
+through this agency the reis-effendi discovered that the Florentine
+envoy had condescended to avail himself of the brilliant talents of his
+secretary, Alessandro Francatelli, to infuse spirit into his official
+notes.
+
+The reis-effendi was himself a shrewd and sagacious man; and he
+recognized in the abilities evinced by the youthful secretary, those
+elements which, if properly developed, would form a great politician.
+The Turkish Minister accordingly resolved to leave no stone unturned, in
+order to entice so promising an individual into the service of the
+sultan. To accomplish this object indirect means were at first
+attempted; and the secret agents of the minister sounded Alessandro upon
+the subject. He listened to them at first in silence, but not
+unwillingly. They grew bolder, and their speech became more open. He
+encouraged them to lay bare their aims; and they hinted to him how
+glorious a career might be opened to him were he to enter the service of
+the high and mighty sultan, Solyman the Magnificent, who then sat upon
+the proud throne of the Ottoman Empire.
+
+The more attentively Alessandro listened, the less reserved became those
+who were instructed to undermine his fidelity toward his master, the
+Florentine Envoy. They represented to him how Christians, who had
+abjured their creed and embraced the Moslem faith, had risen to the
+highest offices, even to the post of grand vizier, or prime minister of
+the empire. Alessandro was completely master of his emotions; he had not
+studied for some years in the school of diplomacy without learning how
+to render the expression of his countenance such as at any moment to
+belie the real state of his feelings. He did not, therefore, suffer the
+spies and agents of the reis-effendi to perceive how deep an impression
+their words had made upon him; but he said and looked enough to convince
+them that the topics of their discourse would receive the most serious
+consideration at his hands. His mind was already made up to accept the
+overtures thus made to him; but he affected to hesitate, for he saw that
+his services were ardently longed for, and he resolved to drive as
+advantageous a bargain as possible.
+
+He was one afternoon lounging through the principal bezestein or bazaar,
+when he was struck by the elegant form, imposing air, and rich apparel
+of a lady who rode slowly along upon a mule, attended by four female
+slaves on foot. The outlines of her figure shaped the most admirable
+symmetry he had ever beheld; and though her countenance was concealed by
+a thick veil, in accordance with the custom of the East, yet he seemed
+to have been impressed with an instinctive conviction that the face
+beneath that invidious covering was eminently beautiful. Moreover, the
+eyes whose glances flashed through the two holes which were formed in
+the veil so as to permit the enjoyment of the faculty of sight, were
+gloriously brilliant, yet black as jet. Once, too, when the lady raised
+her delicate white hand, sparkling with jewels, to arrange the folds of
+that hated veil, Alessandro caught a rapid, evanescent glimpse of a neck
+as white as snow.
+
+The little procession stopped at the door of a merchant's shop in the
+bazaar; the slaves assisted the lady to dismount, and she entered the
+warehouse, followed by her dependents, the mule being left in charge of
+one of the numerous porters who thronged in the bezestein.
+
+Alessandro lingered near the door, and he beheld the merchant displaying
+various pieces of rich brocade before the eyes of the lady, who,
+however, scrupulously retained the dense veil over her countenance.
+Having made her purchases, which were taken charge of by one of the
+slaves, the lady came forth again; and Alessandro, forgetting that his
+lingering near now amounted to almost an act of rudeness, was chained to
+the spot, lost in admiration of her elegant gesture, her graceful yet
+dignified carriage, and the exquisite contour of her perfect shape. Her
+feet and ankles, appearing beneath the full trousers, that were gathered
+in just at the commencement of the swell of the leg, were small and
+beautifully shaped; and so light was her tread, that she scarcely seemed
+to touch the ground on which she walked.
+
+As the lady issued from the door of the merchant's shop, she cast a
+rapid but inquiring look toward Alessandro, though whether in anger or
+curiosity he was unable to determine, for the eyes only could he see,
+and it was impossible for him to read the meaning of the glances they
+sent forth, when unassisted by a view of the general expression worn by
+her countenance at the same time.
+
+Accident, however, favored him far more than he could have possibly
+anticipated. At the very moment when the lady's head was turned toward
+him, she tripped over the cordage of a bale of goods that had shortly
+before been opened beneath the painted awning over the front of the
+shop, and she would have fallen had not Alessandro sprung forward and
+caught her in his arms.
+
+She uttered a faint scream, for her veil had shifted aside from its
+proper position; and her countenance was thus revealed to a man, and
+that man evidently by his dress a Christian!
+
+Instantly recovering her self-possession, she readjusted her veil, gave
+a gentle but graceful inclination of the head toward Alessandro, mounted
+her mule by the assistance of the slaves, and rode away at a somewhat
+hasty pace. Alessandro stood gazing after her until she turned the angle
+of the nearest street, and it struck him that her glance was for an
+instant cast rapidly back toward him, ere she disappeared from his view.
+
+And no wonder that he stood thus rooted to the spot, following her with
+his eyes; for the countenance which accident had revealed to him was
+already impressed upon his heart. It was one of those lovely Georgian
+faces, oval in shape, and with a complexion formed of milk and roses,
+which have at all times been prized in the East, as the very perfection
+of female beauty; a face which, without intellectual expression,
+possesses an ineffable witchery, and all the charms calculated to
+fascinate the beholder. The eyes were black as jet, the hair of a dark
+auburn, and luxuriantly rich in its massive beauty; the lips were of
+bright vermilion, and between them were two rows of pearl, small and
+even. The forehead was high and broad, and white as marble, with the
+delicate blue veins visible through the transparent complexion.
+
+Alessandro was ravished as he reflected on the wondrous beauty thus for
+a moment revealed to him, but his raptures speedily changed to positive
+grief when he thought how improbable it was that this fair creature
+would ever cross his path again. He entered the warehouse, made a small
+purchase, and inquired casually of the Turkish merchant if he knew who
+the lady was. The reply was in the negative, but the merchant informed
+Alessandro that he had no doubt the lady was of some rank, from the
+profound respect with which her slaves treated her, and from the
+readiness with which she paid the prices demanded of her for the goods
+she had purchased, Turkish ladies generally being notorious for their
+disposition to drive a hard bargain with traders.
+
+Alessandro returned to the suburb of Pera, in which the mansion of the
+Florentine Embassy was situated--his mind full of the beautiful creature
+whose countenance he had seen for a moment, and whose soft form he had
+also for a moment--a single moment--held in his arms. He could not apply
+himself to the duties of his office, but feigned indisposition and
+retired to the privacy of his own apartment. And never did that chamber
+seem so lonely, so cold, so cheerless. His entire disposition appeared
+to have become suddenly changed; he felt that the world now contained
+something the possession of which was positively necessary to his
+happiness. One sole idea absorbed all his thoughts: the most lovely
+countenance which, in his estimation, he had ever seen was so indelibly
+reflected in the mirror of his mind, that his imagination could
+contemplate naught besides. He knew not that whenever he went abroad, he
+was watched by one of the spies of the reis-effendi; and he was
+therefore surprised when, on the following day, that secret agent of the
+minister whispered in his ear, "Christian, thou lovest--and it depends
+on thyself whether thou wilt be loved in return!"
+
+Alessandro was stupefied at these words. His secret was known, or at
+least suspected. He questioned the individual who had thus addressed
+him, and he found that the incident of the preceding day was indeed more
+than suspected--it _was_ known. He besought to know who the lady was;
+but the spy would not, or could not satisfy him. He, however, promised
+that he would endeavor to ascertain a point in which Alessandro appeared
+to be so deeply interested. The intriguing spirit of Turkish dependents
+is notorious: the reader will not therefore be surprised when we state
+that in a few days the spy made his appearance in Alessandro's presence
+with a countenance denoting joyous tidings. The young Italian was
+impatient to learn the results of the agent's inquiries.
+
+"I know not who the lady is," was the reply; "but this much I have to
+impart to you, signor--that she did not behold you the other day with
+indifference; that she is grateful for the attention you paid in
+offering your aid to save her from perhaps a serious accident--and that
+she will grant you a few moments' interview this evening, provided you
+assent to certain conditions to be imposed upon you, respecting the
+preliminary arrangements for your meeting."
+
+"Name them! name them!" exclaimed Alessandro, wild with joy, and almost
+doubting whether he were not in the midst of a delicious dream.
+
+"That you consent to be blindfolded while being conducted into her
+presence--that you maintain the most profound silence while with those
+who will guide you to her abode--and that you return from the interview
+under the same circumstances."
+
+"I should be unworthy the interest which she deigns to manifest in my
+behalf, were I to refuse compliance with those terms," answered
+Alessandro.
+
+"An hour after sunset," said the spy, "you will meet me at the gate of
+the Mosque of Selimya;" and with those words he hurried away, leaving
+the young Florentine in a state of excited hope, amounting to a delirium
+of joy.
+
+Alessandro was well aware that adventures, such as the one in which he
+found himself suddenly involved, were by no means uncommon in the East;
+and that ladies of the most unimpeachable virtue, as well as of the
+highest rank, frequently accorded interviews of this private nature to
+those men who were fortunate enough to merit their attention--such
+visits being the first step toward matrimonial connections. But then he
+remembered that he was a Christian, and the fair object of his devotion
+was probably of the Moslem faith. What, then, would be the result? Was
+some wealthy lady of high rank about to abandon her creed for his sake?
+or would the sacrifice of his faith be required as the only condition on
+which his complete happiness might be achieved? He knew not--cared but
+little; it was sufficient for him that he was to meet the charming being
+whose image had never once quitted his mind, from the first moment he
+had seen her in the bezestein!
+
+Even before the appointed hour was Alessandro pacing the square in front
+of the splendid temple which the Sultan Selim--the conqueror of
+Egypt--had erected, and which bore his imperial name. At length the
+agent, for whom he waited, made his appearance. This man, though
+actually a Turkish dependent in the service of the Florentine Envoy,
+was, as before stated, neither more nor less than one of the numerous
+spies placed by the reis-effendi round the person of that embassador.
+Alessandro was aware of this, in consequence of the offers and
+representations that had been made to him through the means of this
+agent, and though the youth suspected that the man knew more concerning
+the beauteous idol of his heart than he had chosen to admit, yet he had
+seen enough to convince him of the inutility of questioning him on that
+head.
+
+It was, therefore, in silence that Alessandro followed his guide through
+several by-streets down to the margin of the waters of the Golden Horn.
+There a boat, in which two rowers and a female slave were seated, was
+waiting.
+
+"Here, must you be blindfolded," said the spy.
+
+For a few moments Alessandro hesitated, in regret that he had gone so
+far with this adventure. He had heard fearful tales of dark deeds
+committed on the waters of the Bosporus and the Golden Horn; and he
+himself, when roving during his leisure hours along the verdant banks of
+those waters, had seen the livid corpse float with the tale-telling
+bow-string fastened round the neck.
+
+The spy seemed to divine his thoughts.
+
+"You hesitate, signor," he said; "then let us retrace our way. But
+remember," he added in a low tone, "that were treachery intended, it
+would be as easy to perform the deed where you now stand, as on the
+bosom of that star-lit gulf."
+
+Alessandro hesitated no longer, but suffered himself to be completely
+hooded in a cap which the spy drew over his countenance. He was then
+conducted into the boat and guided to a seat next to the female slave.
+The spy leapt upon the strand, the boatmen plied their oars, and the
+skiff shot away from the bank, no one uttering a word.
+
+
+
+
+[END OF PART I.]
+
+
+
+
+_PART II._
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLV.
+
+THE LADY OF CONSTANTINOPLE.
+
+
+For upward of half an hour did the boat skim the surface of the Golden
+Horn, the dip of the oars in the water and the rippling around the sharp
+prow alone breaking the solemn silence of the night. At length the skiff
+stopped, and the female slave took Alessandro's hand, whispering in a
+low tone, "I will serve as thy guide, Christian; but speak not till thou
+hast permission."
+
+She then led him from the boat, up a flight of steps, and through a
+garden--for he occasionally came in contact with the outstretching
+branches of shrubs, and there was moreover a delicious odor of flowers,
+as he proceeded in the total darkness of his blindfolding. At the
+expiration of ten minutes the guide stopped; and Alessandro heard a key
+turn in a lock.
+
+"Enter there," said the slave, pushing him gently forward, and speaking
+in a low tone. "Take off the cap--attire yourself in the raiment you
+will find ready provided, and then pass fearlessly through the door at
+the further end of the room. You will meet me again in the hall which
+you will thus reach."
+
+And, without waiting for a reply, the slave closed and locked the door
+through which Alessandro had just passed. Hastily did he remove the cap,
+which had indeed almost suffocated him; and he now found himself in a
+small apartment, elegantly furnished in the most luxurious Oriental
+fashion, and brilliantly lighted. A table spread with confectionery,
+cakes, fruits, and even wines--though the fermented juice of the grape
+be expressly forbidden by the laws of the Prophet Mohammed--occupied the
+center of the room. Around the walls were continuous sofas, or ottomans,
+so conducive to the enjoyment of a voluptuous indolence; the floor was
+spread with a carpet so thick that the feet sunk into the silky texture,
+as into newly fallen snow; and whichever way he turned Alessandro beheld
+his form reflected in vast mirrors set in magnificent frames. There were
+no windows on any side of this apartment; but there was a cupola fitted
+with stained glass on the roof, and Alessandro judged that he was in one
+of those voluptuous kiosks usually found in the gardens of wealthy
+Turks.
+
+Precisely as the slave had informed him, he found an elegant suit of
+Moslem garments set out on the sofa for his use; and he hastened to
+exchange his Italian costume for the Oriental raiment. As he thus
+attired himself, it was necessary to contemplate himself in the mirror
+facing him, so as properly to adjust clothes to which he was totally
+unaccustomed; and it struck him that the garb of the infidel became him
+better than that of the Christian. He did not, however, waste time in
+the details of this strange toilet; but as soon as it was completed he
+opened the door at the further end of the room, in pursuance of the
+instructions he had received. Alessandro found himself in a large marble
+hall, from which several flights of stairs led to the apartments above.
+The place was refulgent with the light of numerous chandeliers, the
+glare of which was enhanced by the vast mirrors attached to the walls,
+and the crystal pillars that supported the roof.
+
+Not a human being met Alessandro's eyes; and he began to fear either
+that he had mistaken the directions he had received, or that some
+treachery was intended, when a door opened, and the female slave,
+wrapped in a veil, made her appearance. Placing her forefinger upon that
+part of the veil which covered her lips, to enjoin silence, she led the
+way up the nearest staircase, Alessandro following with a heart beating
+audibly. They reached a door at which a negro male slave was stationed.
+
+"The hakim" (physician), said Alessandro's guide, laconically addressing
+herself to the negro, who bowed in silence and threw open the door. The
+female slave conducted the pretended physician into a small but
+splendidly furnished ante-room, in which there were several other
+dependents of her own sex. A door at the further end was opened, and
+Alessandro passed through into another, larger, and still more
+magnificently furnished room; the door closed behind him, and he found
+himself alone with the idol of his adoration.
+
+Half seated, half lying upon cushions of scarlet brocade, the glossy
+bright hue of which was mellowed by the muslin spread over it, appeared
+the beauteous creature whose image was so faithfully delineated in his
+memory. She was attired in the graceful and becoming dualma, a purple
+vest which set close to her form, and with a species of elasticity
+shaped itself so as to develop every contour.
+
+But in accordance with the custom of the clime and age, the dualma was
+open at the bosom, sloping from each lovely white shoulder to the waist,
+where the two folds joining, formed an angle, at which the purple vest
+was fastened by a diamond worth a monarch's ransom. The sleeves were
+wide, but short, scarcely reaching to the elbow, and leaving all the
+lower part of the snowy arms completely bare. Her ample trousers were of
+purple silk, covered with the finest muslin, and drawn in tight a little
+above the ankles, which were naked. On her feet she wore crimson
+slippers cut very low, and each ornamented with a diamond. Round her
+person below the waist she wore a magnificent shawl, rolled up, as it
+were, negligently, so as to form a girdle or zone, and fastened in front
+with two large tassels of pearls. Diamond bracelets adorned her fair
+arms; and her head-dress consisted of a turban or shawl of light but
+rich material, fastened with golden bodkins, the head of each being a
+pearl of the best water. Beneath this turban, her rich auburn hair,
+glowing like gold in the light of the perfumed lamps, and amidst the
+blaze of diamonds which adorned her, was parted in massive bands,
+sweeping gracefully over her temples and gathered behind the ears, then
+falling in all the luxuriance of its rich clustering folds over the
+cushion whereon she reclined. Her finger-nails were slightly tinged with
+henna, the rosy hue the more effectually setting off the lily whiteness
+of her delicate hand and full round arm. But no need had she to dye the
+lashes of her eyes with the famous kohol, so much used by Oriental
+ladies, for those lashes were by nature formed of the deepest jet--a
+somewhat unusual but beauteous contrast with the color of her hair. The
+cheeks of the lovely creature were slightly flushed, or it might have
+been a reflection of the scarlet brocade of the cushion on which, as we
+have said, she was half-seated, half-lying, when Alessandro appeared in
+her presence.
+
+For a few moments the young Italian was so dazzled by her beauty, so
+bewildered by the appearance of that lady, whose richness of attire
+seemed to denote the rank of sultana, that he remained rooted to the
+spot, uncertain whether to advance, to retire, or to fall upon his knees
+before her. But in an encouraging tone, and in a voice musical as a
+silver bell, the lady said: "Approach, Christian!" and she pointed to a
+low ottoman within a few paces of the sofa which she herself occupied.
+Alessandro now recovered his presence of mind; and no longer embarrassed
+and awkward, but with graceful ease and yet profound respect, he took
+the seat indicated.
+
+"Beauteous lady," he said, "how can I ever demonstrate the
+gratitude--the illimitable, boundless gratitude which fills my heart,
+for the joy, the truly elysian delight afforded me by this meeting?"
+
+"You speak our language well, Christian," observed the lady, smiling
+faintly at the compliment conveyed by the words of Alessandro, but
+evading a direct reply.
+
+"I have for some years past been in the service of the Florentine envoy,
+lady," was the answer; "and the position which I occupy at the palace of
+the embassy has led me to study the beauteous language of this clime,
+and to master its difficulties. But never, never did that language sound
+so soft and musical upon my ears as now, flowing from those sweet lips
+of thine."
+
+"The Moslem maiden dares not listen to the flattery of the infidel,"
+said the beauteous stranger in a serious but not severe tone. "Listen to
+me, Christian, with attention, for our meeting must not be prolonged
+many minutes. To say that I beheld thee with indifference when we first
+encountered each other in the bazaar, were to utter a falsehood which I
+scorn; to admit that I can love thee, and love thee well," she added,
+her voice slightly trembling, "is an avowal which I do not blush to
+make. But never can the Moslem maiden bestow her hand on the infidel. If
+thou lovest me--if thou wouldst prove thyself worthy of that affection
+which my heart is inclined to bestow upon thee, thou wilt renounce the
+creed of thy forefathers, and embrace the Mussulman faith. Nor is this
+all that I require of thee, or that thou must achieve to win me. Become
+a true believer--acknowledge that Allah is God and Mohammed is his
+prophet--and a bright and glorious destiny will await thee. For although
+thou wilt depart hence without learning my name, or who I may be, or the
+place to which you have been brought to meet me,--though we shall behold
+each other no more until thou hast rendered thyself worthy of my hand,
+yet shall I ever be mindful of thee, my loved one! An unseen, an unknown
+influence shall attend thee: thy slightest wishes will be anticipated
+and fulfilled in a manner for which thou wilt vainly seek to
+account,--and, as thou provest thy talents or thy valor, so will
+promotion open its doors to thee with such rapidity that thou wilt
+strain every nerve to reach the highest offices in the state--for then
+only may'st thou hope to receive my hand, and behold the elucidation of
+the mystery which up to that date will envelop thy destinies."
+
+While the lady was thus speaking, a fearful struggle took place in the
+breast of Alessandro--for the renunciation of his creed, a creed in
+which he must ever in his heart continue to believe, though ostensibly
+he might abjure it--was an appalling step to contemplate. Then to his
+mind also came the images of those whom he loved, and who were far away
+in Italy:--his aunt, who had been so kind to him, his sister whom he
+knew to be so proud of him, and Father Marco, who manifested such deep
+interest in his behalf. But on his ears continued to flow the honeyed
+words and the musical tones of the charming temptress; and, as she
+gradually developed to his imagination the destinies upon which he might
+enter, offering herself as the eventual prize to be gained by a career
+certain to be pushed on successfully through the medium of a powerful,
+though mysterious influence--Florence, relatives, and friends, became as
+secondary considerations in his mind; and by the time the lady brought
+her long address to a conclusion--that address which had grown more
+impassioned and tender as she proceeded--Alessandro threw himself at her
+feet, exclaiming, "Lovely houri that thou art--beauteous as the maidens
+that dwell in the paradise of thy prophet--I am thine. I am thine!"
+
+The lady extended her right hand, which he took and pressed in rapture
+to his lips. But the next moment she rose lightly to her feet, and
+assuming a demeanor befitting a royal sultana, said in a sweet, though
+impressive tone:
+
+"We must now part--thou to enter on thy career of fame, I to set in
+motion every spring within my reach to advance thee to the pinnacle of
+glory and power. Henceforth thy name is Ibrahim! Go, then, my Ibrahim,
+and throw thyself at the feet of the reis-effendi, and that great
+minister will forthwith present thee to Piri Pasha, the grand vizier.
+Toil diligently--labor arduously--and the rest concerns me. Go, then, my
+Ibrahim, I say, and enter on the path which will lead thee to the summit
+of fame and power!"
+
+She extended her arms toward him--he snatched her to his breast, and
+covered her cheeks with kisses. In that paradise of charms he could have
+reveled forever; but the tender caresses lasted not beyond a few
+moments, for the lady tore herself away from his embrace and hurried
+into an adjacent apartment. Alessandro--or rather, the renegade,
+Ibrahim--passed into the anteroom where his guide, the female slave,
+awaited his return. She conducted him back to the hall, and advanced
+toward the door of the voluptuous kiosk, where he had changed his
+raiment.
+
+"Goest thou forth a Christian still, or a true believer?" she asked
+turning suddenly round.
+
+"As a Mussulman," answered the renegade, while his heart sank within
+him, and remorse already commenced its torture.
+
+"Then thou hast no further need of the Christian garb," said the slave.
+"Await me here."
+
+She entered the kiosk, and returned in a few moments with the cap,
+which, in obedience to her directions, he once more drew on his head and
+over his countenance. The slave then led him into the garden, which they
+treaded in profound silence. At length they reached the steps leading
+down to the water, and the slave accompanied him into the boat, which
+immediately shot away from the bank. Alessandro had now ample time for
+calm reflection. The excitement of the hurried incidents of the evening
+was nearly over, and, though his breast was still occupied with the
+image of his beautiful unknown, and with the brilliant prospects which
+she had opened to view, he nevertheless shrank from the foul deed of
+apostasy which he had vowed to perpetrate. But we have already said that
+he was essentially worldly-minded, and, as he felt convinced that the
+petty jealousy of the Florentine Envoy would prevent him from rising
+higher in the diplomatic hierarchy than the post of secretary, he by
+degrees managed to console himself for his renegadism on the score that
+it was necessary--the indispensable stepping-stone to the gratification
+of his ambition.
+
+Thus by the time the boat touched the landing-place where he had first
+entered it, he had succeeded to some extent in subduing the pangs of
+remorse. The female slave now bade him remove the cap from his face and
+resume his turban. A few moments sufficed to make this change; and he
+was about to step on shore, when the woman caught him by the sleeve of
+his caftan, and, thrusting a small case of sandal-wood into his hand,
+said: "She whom you saw ere now, commanded me to give thee this."
+
+The slave pushed him toward the bank: he obeyed the impulse and landed,
+she remaining in the boat, which instantly darted away again, most
+probably to convey her back to the abode of her charming mistress. On
+the top of the bank the renegade was accosted by the spy whom he had
+left there when he embarked in the skiff.
+
+"Allah and the Prophet be praised!" exclaimed the man, surveying
+Alessandro attentively by the light of the lovely moon. "Thou art now
+numbered amongst the faithful!"
+
+The apostate bit his lips to keep down a sigh of remorse which rose to
+them; and his guide, without uttering another word, led the way to the
+palace of the reis-effendi. There Alessandro or Ibrahim, as we must
+henceforth call him--was lodged in a splendid apartment, and had two
+slaves appointed to wait upon him. He, however, hastily dismissed them,
+and when alone, opened the case that had been placed into his hands by
+the female slave. It contained a varied assortment of jewelry and
+precious stones, constituting a treasure of immense value.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLVI.
+
+THE APOSTATE IBRAHIM.
+
+
+Constantinople, like haughty Rome, is built on seven hills--the houses
+being so disposed that they do not intercept the view commanded by each
+on the amphitheatrical acclivities. But the streets are narrow, crooked,
+and uneven; and the grand effects of the numerous stately mosques and
+noble edifices are subdued, and in many cases altogether lost, either by
+the very insignificant width of the thoroughfares in which they stand,
+or by the contiguity of mean and miserable wooden tenements.
+
+The mosque of St. Sophia, once a Christian church, with its magnificent
+portico, supported by marble columns, its nine vast folding doors,
+adorned with bas-reliefs, and its stupendous dome, a hundred and twenty
+feet in diameter; the mosque of the Sultan Solyman, forming an exact
+square with four noble towers at the angles, and with its huge cupola,
+in the midst; the mosque of the Sultan Ahmed, with its numerous domes,
+its tall minarets, and its colonnades supported by marble pillars; and
+the mosque of the Sultana Valida, or queen mother of Mohammed the
+Fourth, exceeding all other Mussulman churches in the delicacy of its
+architecture and the beauty of its columns of marble and jasper,
+supplied by the ruins of Troy--these are the most remarkable temples in
+the capital of the Ottoman empire.
+
+The Grand Bezestein, or exchange, is likewise a magnificent
+structure--consisting of a spacious hall of circular form, built of
+free-stone, and surrounded by shops displaying the richest commodities
+of Oriental commerce. In the Ladies' Bazaar there is a marble column of
+extraordinary height, and on the sides of which, from the foot to the
+crown, are represented in admirable bas-reliefs the most remarkable
+events which characterized the reign of the Emperor Arcadius, ere the
+capital of Roman dominions of the East fell into the hands of the
+descendants of Osman.
+
+But of all the striking edifices at Constantinople, that of the Sultan's
+Palace, or seraglio, is the most spacious and the most magnificent.
+Christian writers and readers are too apt to confound the seraglio with
+the harem, and to suppose that the former means the apartments belonging
+to the sultan's ladies; whereas the word seraglio, or rather _sernil_,
+represents the entire palace of which the harem, or females' dwelling,
+is but a comparatively small portion.
+
+The seraglio is a vast inclosure, occupying nearly the entire site of
+the ancient city of Byzantium, and embracing a circumference of five
+miles. It contains nine enormous courts of quadrangular form, and an
+immense number of buildings--constituting a complete town of itself. But
+within this inclosure dwell upward of ten thousand persons--the entire
+court of the sultan. There reside the great officers of state, the body
+guards, the numerous corps of bostandjis, or gardeners, and baltojis, or
+fire-wood purveyors--the corps of white and black eunuchs, the pages,
+the mutes, the dwarfs--the ladies of the harem, and all their numerous
+attendants.
+
+There are nine gates to the palace of the sultan. The principal one
+opens on the square of St. Sophia, and is very magnificent in its
+architecture. It is this gate which is called the Sublime Porte--a name
+figuratively given to the court of the sultan, in all histories,
+records, and diplomatic transactions. It was within the inclosure of the
+seraglio that Alessandro Francatelli, whom we shall henceforth call by
+his apostate name of Ibrahim--was lodged in the dwelling of the
+reis-effendi or minister of foreign affairs. But in the course of a few
+days the renegade was introduced into the presence of Piri Pasha, the
+grand vizier--that high functionary who exercised a power almost as
+extensive and as despotic as that wielded by the sultan himself.
+
+Ibrahim, the apostate, was received by his highness Piri Pasha at a
+private audience--and the young man exerted all his powers, and called
+to his aid all the accomplishments which he possessed, to render himself
+agreeable to that great minister. He discoursed in an intelligent manner
+upon the policy of Italy and Austria, and gave the grand vizier
+considerable information relative to the customs, resources, and
+condition of these countries. Then, when the vizier touched upon lighter
+matters, Ibrahim showed how well he was already acquainted with the
+works of the most eminent Turkish poets and historians; and the art of
+music being mentioned, he gave the minister a specimen of his
+proficiency on the violin. Piri Pasha was charmed with the young
+renegade, whom he immediately took into his service as one of his
+private secretaries.
+
+Not many weeks elapsed before the fame of Ibrahim's accomplishments and
+rare talents reached the ears of the sultan, Solyman the Magnificent;
+and the young renegade was honored with an audience by the ruler of the
+East. On this occasion he exerted himself to please even more
+triumphantly than when he was introduced to the grand vizier; and the
+sultan commanded that henceforth Ibrahim should remain attached to his
+person in the capacity of keeper of the imperial archives.
+
+We should observe that the dispatches which the Florentine Envoy wrote
+to the government of the republic, contained but a brief and vague
+allusion to the apostasy of Alessandro Francatelli; merely mentioning
+that the youth had become a Mussulman, and entered the service of the
+grand vizier, but not stating either the name which he had adopted or
+the brilliant prospects which had so suddenly and marvelously opened
+before him. The Florentine Embassador treated the matter thus lightly,
+because he was afraid of incurring the blame of his government for not
+having kept a more stringent watch over his subordinate, were he to
+attach any importance to the fact of Alessandro's apostasy. But he hoped
+that by merely glancing at the event as one scarcely worth special
+notice, the Council of Florence would be led to treat it with equal
+levity. Nor was the embassador deceived in his calculation; and thus the
+accounts which reached Florence relative to Alessandro's renegadism--and
+which were not indeed communicated to the council until some months
+after the occurrence of the apostasy itself--were vague and indefinite
+to a degree.
+
+And had Ibrahim no remorse? Did he never think of his lovely sister
+Flora, and of his affectionate aunt who, in his boyhood, had made such
+great and generous sacrifices to rear them honorably? Oh! yes;--but a
+more powerful idea dominated the remembrance of kindred, and the
+attachment to home--and that idea was ambition! Moreover, the hope of
+speedily achieving that greatness which was to render him eligible and
+worthy to possess the charming being whose powerful influence seemed to
+surround him with a constant halo of protection, and to soothe down all
+the asperities which are usually found in the career of those who rise
+suddenly and rise highly--this ardent, longing hope not only encouraged
+him to put forth all his energies to make himself master of a glorious
+position, but also subdued to no small extent the feelings of
+compunction which would otherwise have been too bitter, too agonizing to
+endure.
+
+His mind was, moreover, constantly occupied. When not in attendance upon
+the sultan, he devoted all his time to render himself intimately
+acquainted with the laws, polity, diplomatic history, resources,
+condition, and finances of the Ottoman Empire; he also studied the
+Turkish literature, and practiced composition, both in prose and verse,
+in the language of that country which was now his own! But think not,
+reader, that in his heart he was a Mussulman, or that he had
+extinguished the light of Christianity within his soul. No--oh! no; the
+more he read on the subject of the Mohammedan system of theology, the
+more he became convinced not only of its utter falsity, but also of its
+incompatibility with the progress of civilization. Nevertheless, he
+dared not pray to the True God whom he had renounced with his lips; but
+there was a secret adoration, an interior worship of the Saviour, which
+he could not and sought not to subdue.
+
+Solyman the Magnificent, was an enlightened prince, and a generous
+patron of the arts and sciences. He did not persecute the Christians,
+because he knew, in his own heart, that they were further advanced in
+all human ideas and institutions than the Ottomans. He was, therefore,
+delighted whenever a talented Christian embraced the Moslem faith and
+entered his service; and his keen perception speedily led him to discern
+and appreciate all the merits and acquirements of his favorite Ibrahim.
+
+Such was the state of things at Constantinople, when those rapidly
+successive incidents, which we have already related, took place in
+Florence. At this time immense preparations were being made by the
+sultan for an expedition against the Island of Rhodes, then in the
+possession of the Knights of St. John, commanded by their grand master,
+Villiers of Isle Adam.
+
+This chieftain, aware of the danger which menaced him, dispatched envoys
+to the courts of Rome, Genoa, Venice, and Florence, imploring those
+powers to send him assistance against the expected invasion of the
+Turks. Each of these states hastened to comply with this request; and
+numerous bodies of auxiliaries sailed from various ports in Italy to
+fight beneath the glorious banner of Villiers of Isle Adam, one of the
+stanchest veteran champions of Christendom.
+
+Thus, at the very time when Nisida and Wagner were united in the bonds
+of love on the island of which they were the possessors--while, too,
+Isaachar the Jew languished in the prisons of the Inquisition of
+Florence, at which city the chivalrous-hearted Manuel d'Orsini tarried
+to hasten on the trial and give his testimony in favor of the
+Israelite--and moreover while Flora, and the Countess Giulia dwelt in
+the strictest retirement with the young maiden's aunt--at this period,
+we say, a fleet of three hundred sail quitted Constantinople under the
+command of the kapitan-pasha, or lord high admiral, and proceeded toward
+the Island of Rhodes. At the same time, Solyman the Magnificent crossed
+into Asia Minor, and placing himself at the head of an army of a hundred
+thousand men, commenced his march toward the coast facing the island,
+and where he intended to embark on his warlike expedition. His favorite
+Ibrahim accompanied him, as did also the Grand Vizier Piri Pasha, and
+the principal dignitaries of the empire.
+
+It was in the spring of 1521 that the Ottoman fleet received the army on
+board at the Cape in the Gulf of Macri, which is only separated by a
+very narrow strait from the Island of Rhodes; and in the evening of the
+same day on which the troops had thus embarked, the mighty armament
+appeared off the capital city of the Knights of St. John.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLVII.
+
+THE SIEGE OF RHODES.
+
+
+On the following morning, salvoes of artillery throughout the fleet
+announced to the inhabitants and garrison of Rhodes, that the sultan was
+about to effect a landing with his troops.
+
+The debarkment was not resisted; for it was protected by the cannonade
+which the ships directed against the walls of the city, and the
+Christians had no vessel capable of demonstrating any hostility against
+the mighty fleet commanded by the kapitan-pasha.
+
+Villiers of Isle Adam, the generalissimo of the Christian forces, had
+reduced to ashes all circumjacent villages, and received their
+inhabitants into the city itself. But the Ottomans cared not for the
+waste and desolation thus created around the walls of the city; but
+while their artillery, alike on land and by sea, maintained an incessant
+fire on the town, they threw up works of defense and established depots
+of provisions and ammunition. The sultan went in person accompanied by
+Ibrahim, and attended by a numerous escort, to reconnoiter the
+fortifications, and inspect the position of his troops.
+
+On the other side, Villiers of Isle Adam distributed his forces in such
+a manner that the warriors of each nation defended particular gates.
+Thus the corps of Spaniards, French, Germans, English, Portuguese,
+Italian, Auvergnese and Provincials, respectively defended eight of the
+gates of Rhodes; while the lord general himself, with his body-guard,
+took his post at the ninth. For the knights of Rhodes comprised natives
+of nearly all Christian countries, and the mode in which Villiers thus
+allotted a gate to the defense of the warriors of each nation, gave an
+impulse to that emulative spirit which ever induces the soldiers of one
+clime to vie with those of another.
+
+The Ottoman troops were disposed in the following manner: Ayaz Pasha,
+Beglerbeg (or governor) of Roumilia, found himself placed in front of
+the walls and gates defended by the French and Germans; Ahmed Pasha was
+opposed to the Spaniards and Auvergnese; Mustapha Pasha had to contend
+with the English: Kasim, Beglerbeg of Anatolia, was to direct the attack
+against the bastion and gates occupied by the natives of Provence; the
+Grand Vizier, Piri Pasha, was opposed to the Portuguese, and the sultan
+himself undertook the assault against the defenses occupied by the
+Italians.
+
+For several days there was much skirmishing, but no advantage was gained
+by the Ottomans. Mines and countermines were employed on both sides, and
+those executed by the Christians effected terrible havoc amongst the
+Turks. At length in pursuance of the advice of the renegade Ibrahim, the
+sultan ordered a general assault to be made upon the city, and heralds
+went through the entire encampment, proclaiming the imperial command.
+Tidings of this resolution were conveyed into the city by means of the
+Christians' spies; and while the Ottomans were preparing for the attack,
+Villiers of Isle Adam was actively employed in adopting all possible
+means for the defense.
+
+At daybreak, the general assault commenced, and the aga (or colonel) of
+the janizaries succeeded in planting his banner on the gate intrusted to
+the care of the Spaniards and Auvergnese. But this success was merely
+temporary in that quarter; for the Ottomans were beaten back with such
+immense slaughter, that fifteen thousand of their choicest troops were
+cut to pieces in the breach and the ditch. But still the assault was
+prosecuted in every quarter and every point, and the Christian warriors
+acquitted themselves nobly in the defense of the city. The women of
+Rhodes manifested a courage and zeal which history has loved to record
+as most honorable to their sex. Some of them carried about bread and
+wine to recruit the fainting and refresh the wearied, others were ready
+with bandages and lint to stanch the blood which flowed from the
+wounded, some conveyed earth in wheelbarrows, to stop up the breaches
+made in the walls, and others bore along immense stones to hurl down
+upon the assailants.
+
+Oh! it was a glorious, but a sad and mournful sight--that death-struggle
+of the valiant Christians against the barbarism of the East. And many
+touching proofs of woman's courage and daring characterized that
+memorable siege. Especially does this fact merit our attention:--The
+wife of a Christian captain, seeing her husband slain, and the enemy
+gaining ground rapidly, embraced her two children tenderly, made the
+sign of the cross upon their brows, and then, having stabbed them to the
+heart, threw them into the midst of a burning building near, exclaiming,
+"The infidels will not now be able, my poor darlings, to wreak their
+vengeance on you, alive or dead!" In another moment she seized her dead
+husband's sword, and plunging into the thickest of the fight, met a
+death worthy of a heroine.
+
+The rain now began to fall in torrents, washing away the floods of gore
+which, since daybreak, had dyed the bastions and the wall; and the
+assault continued as arduously as the defense was maintained with
+desperation. Solyman commanded in person the division which was opposed
+to the gate and the fort intrusted by the lord general of the Christians
+to the care of the Italian auxiliaries. But, though it was now past
+noon, and the sultan had prosecuted his attack on that point with
+unabated vigor since the dawn, no impression had yet been made. The
+Italians fought with a heroism which bade defiance to the numerical
+superiority of their assailants; for they were led on by a young
+chieftain who, beneath an effeminate exterior, possessed the soul of a
+lion. Clad in a complete suit of polished armor, and with crimson plumes
+waving from his steel helmet, to which no visor was attached, that
+youthful leader threw himself into the thickest of the medley, sought
+the very points where danger appeared most terrible--and, alike by his
+example and his words, encouraged those whom he commanded to dispute
+every inch of ground with the Moslem assailants.
+
+The sultan was enraged when he beheld the success with which that
+Italian chieftain rallied his men again after every rebuff; and, calling
+to Ibrahim to keep near him, Solyman the Magnificent advanced toward the
+breach which his cannon had already effected in the walls defended so
+gallantly by the Italian auxiliaries. And now, in a few minutes, behold
+the sultan himself, nerved with wonderful energy, rushing on--scimiter
+in hand--and calling on the young Italian warrior to measure weapons
+with him. The Christian chieftain understood not the words which the
+sultan uttered, but full well did he comprehend the anxiety of that
+great monarch to do battle with him; and the curved scimiter and the
+straight, cross-handled sword clashed together in a moment. The young
+warrior knew that his opponent was the sultan, whose imperial rank was
+denoted by the turban which he wore; and the hope of inflicting
+chastisement on the author of all the bloodshed which had taken place on
+the walls of Rhodes inspired the youth with a courage perfectly
+irresistible.
+
+Not many minutes had this combat lasted, before Solyman was thrown down
+in the breach, and the cross-handled sword of his conqueror was about to
+drink his heart's blood, when the renegade Ibrahim dashed forward from
+amidst the confused masses of those who were fighting around, and by a
+desperate effort hurled the young Italian warrior backward.
+
+"I owe thee my life, Ibrahim," said the sultan, springing upon his feet.
+"But hurt not him who has combated so gallantly: we must respect the
+brave!"
+
+The Italian chieftain had been completely stunned by his fall; he was,
+therefore, easily made prisoner and carried off to Ibrahim's tent.
+
+Almost at the same moment a messenger from Ahmed Pasha presented to the
+sultan a letter, in which was stated that the grand master, Villiers of
+Isle Adam, anxious to put a stop to the fearful slaughter that was
+progressing, had offered to capitulate on honorable terms. This
+proposition was immediately agreed to by the sultan, and a suspension of
+hostilities was proclaimed around the walls. The Ottomans retired to
+their camp, having lost upward of thirty thousand men during the deadly
+strife of a few hours; and the Christians had now leisure to ascertain
+the extent of their own disasters, which were proportionately appalling.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLVIII.
+
+THE PRISONER.
+
+
+In the meantime Ibrahim had ordered his prisoner, the young Italian
+chieftain, to be conveyed to his tent; and when the renegade's slaves
+had disencumbered the Christian of his armor, he began to revive. As
+Ibrahim bent over him, administering restoratives, a suspicion, which
+had already struck him the moment he first beheld his face, grew
+stronger and stronger; and the apostate at length became convinced that
+he had seen that countenance on some former occasion.
+
+Ordering his slaves to withdraw, Ibrahim remained alone with his
+prisoner, who was now able to sit up on the sofa and gaze around him.
+
+"I understand it all!" he exclaimed, the blood rushing back to his pale
+cheek; "I am in the power of the barbarians!"
+
+"Nay, call us not harsh names, brave chieftain," said Ibrahim, "seeing
+that we do not treat you unworthily."
+
+"I was wrong!" cried the prisoner; then, fixing his fine blue eyes upon
+the renegade, he added, "Were you not habited as a Moslem, I should
+conceive, by the purity with which you speak my native language, that
+you were a Christian, and an Italian."
+
+"I can speak many languages with equal fluency," said Ibrahim,
+evasively, as a pang shot through his heart. "But tell me thy name,
+Christian--for thou art a brave man, although so young."
+
+"In my own country," answered the youth, proudly, "I am called the Count
+of Riverola."
+
+We have before stated that Ibrahim was the complete master of his
+emotions: but it required all his powers of self-possession to subdue
+them now, when the name of that family into which he was well aware his
+sister had entered fell upon his ears. His suspicion was well founded;
+he had indeed seen Francisco before this day--had seen him when he was a
+mere boy, in Florence, for Alessandro was three or four years older than
+the young count. But he had never, in his native land, exchanged a word
+with Francisco; he had merely, occasionally, seen him in public; and it
+was quite evident that even if Francisco had ever noticed him at that
+time, he did not recollect him now. Neither did Ibrahim wish the young
+count to ascertain who he was; for the only thing which the renegade
+ever feared was the encounter of any one who had known him as a
+Christian, and who might justly reproach him for that apostasy which had
+led him to profess Mohammedanism.
+
+"Lord Count of Riverola," said Ibrahim, after a short pause, "you shall
+be treated in a manner becoming your rank and your bravery. Such,
+indeed, was the command of my imperial master, the most glorious sultan;
+but even had no such order been issued, my admiration of your gallant
+deportment in this day's strife would lead to the same result."
+
+"My best thanks are due for these assurances," returned Francisco. "But
+tell me how fares the war without?"
+
+"The grand master has proffered a capitulation, which has been
+accepted," answered Ibrahim.
+
+"A capitulation!" exclaimed Francisco. "Oh! it were better to die in
+defense of the cross, than live to behold the crescent triumphant on the
+walls of Rhodes!"
+
+"The motive of the grand master was a humane one," observed Ibrahim; "he
+has agreed to capitulate, to put an end to the terrific slaughter that
+is going on."
+
+"Doubtless the lord general acts in accordance with the dictates of a
+matured wisdom!" exclaimed the Count of Riverola.
+
+"Your lordship was the leader of the Italian auxiliaries?" said Ibrahim,
+interrogatively.
+
+"Such was the honorable office intrusted to me," was the reply. "When
+messengers from Villiers of Isle-Adam arrived in Florence, beseeching
+succor against this invasion, which has, alas! proved too successful, I
+panted for occupation to distract my mind from ever pondering on the
+heavy misfortunes which had overtaken me."
+
+"Misfortunes!" exclaimed Ibrahim.
+
+"Yes--misfortunes of such a nature that the mere thought of them is
+madness!" cried Francisco, in an excited tone. "First, a beauteous and
+amiable girl--one who, though of humble origin, was endowed with virtues
+and qualifications that might have fitted her to adorn a palace, and
+whom I fondly, devotedly loved--was-snatched from me. She disappeared I
+know not how! All trace of her was suddenly lost, as if the earth had
+swallowed her up and closed over her again! This blow was in itself
+terrible. But it came not alone. A few days elapsed, and my sister--my
+dearly beloved sister--also disappeared, and in the same mysterious
+manner. Not a trace of her remained--and what makes this second
+affliction the more crushing--the more overwhelming, is that she is deaf
+and dumb! Oh! Heaven grant me the power to resist, to bear up against
+these crowning miseries! Vain were all my inquiries--useless was all the
+search I instituted to discover whither had gone the being whom I would
+have made my wife, and the sister who was ever so devoted to me! At
+length, driven to desperation, when weeks had passed and they returned
+not--goaded on to madness by bitter, bitter memories--I resolved to
+devote myself to the service of the cross. With my gold I raised and
+equipped a gallant band; and a favoring breeze wafted us from Leghorn to
+this island. The grand master received me with open arms; and, forming
+an estimation of my capacities far above my deserts, placed me in
+command of all the Italian auxiliaries. You know the rest; I fought with
+all my energy, and your sultan was within the grasp of death, when you
+rushed forward and saved him. The result is that I am your prisoner."
+
+"So young--and yet so early acquainted with such deep affliction!"
+exclaimed Ibrahim. "But can you form no idea, Christian, of the cause of
+that double disappearance? Had your sister no attendants who could throw
+the least light upon the subject?" he asked, with the hope of eliciting
+some tidings relative to his own sister, the beauteous Flora.
+
+"I dare not reflect thereon!" cried Francisco, the tears starting into
+his eyes. "For, alas! Florence has long been infested by a desperate
+band of lawless wretches--and my God! I apprehend the worst--the very
+worst."
+
+Thus speaking, he rose and paced the spacious tent with agitated steps;
+for this conversation had awakened in his mind all the bitter thoughts
+and dreadful alarms which he had essayed to subdue amidst the excitement
+and peril of war. A slave now entered to inform Ibrahim that the sultan
+commanded his immediate presence in the imperial pavilion.
+
+"Christian," said Ibrahim, as he rose to obey this mandate, "wilt thou
+pledge me thy word, as a noble and a knight, not to attempt to escape
+from this tent?"
+
+"I pledge my word," answered Francisco, "seeing that thou thyself art so
+generous to me."
+
+Ibrahim then went forth; but he paused for a few moments outside the
+tent to command his slaves to serve up choice refreshments to the
+prisoner. He then hastened to the pavilion of the sultan, whom he found
+seated upon a throne, surrounded by the beglerbegs, the councilors of
+state, the viziers, the lieutenant-generals of the army, and all the
+high dignitaries who had accompanied him on his expedition. Ibrahim
+advanced and prostrated himself at the foot of his throne; and at the
+same moment two of the high functionaries present threw a caftan of
+honor over his shoulders--a ceremony which signified that the sultan had
+conferred upon him the title of beglerbeg, or "prince of princes."
+
+"Rise, Ibrahim Pasha!" exclaimed Solyman, "and take thy place in our
+councils, for Allah and his prophet have this day made thee their
+instrument to save the life of thy sovereign."
+
+The newly-created pasha touched the imperial slipper with his lips, and
+then rising from his prostrate position, received the congratulations of
+the high functionaries assembled.
+
+Thus it was that in a few months, protected by that secret influence
+which was hurrying him so rapidly along in his ambitious career, the
+Italian apostate attained to a high rank in the Ottoman Empire; but he
+was yet to reach the highest, next to that of the sovereign, ere he
+could hope to receive the fair hand of his mysterious patroness as the
+crowning joy of his prosperity, for her image, her charming image, ever
+dwelt in his mind, and an ardent fancy often depicted her as she
+appeared, in all the splendor of her beauty, reclining on the sofa at
+the dwelling to which he had been conducted with so much precaution, as
+detailed in a preceding chapter. On the following day peace was formally
+concluded between the Ottomans and the knights of Rhodes, the latter
+consenting to surrender the island to the formidable invaders. An
+exchange of prisoners was the result, and Francisco, Count of Riverola,
+again found himself free within twenty-four hours after his capture.
+
+"Your lordship is now about to sail for your own clime," said Ibrahim,
+when the moment of separation came. "Is there aught within my power that
+I can do to testify my friendship for one so brave and chivalrous as
+thou art?"
+
+"Nothing, great pasha!" exclaimed Francisco, who felt his sympathy
+irresistibly attracted toward Ibrahim, he knew not why, "but, on the
+other hand, receive my heartfelt thanks for the kindness which I have
+experienced during the few hours I have been thy guest."
+
+"The history of thy afflictions has so much moved me," said Ibrahim
+Pasha, after a brief pause, "that the interest I experience in your
+behalf will not cease when you shall be no longer here. If then you
+would bear in mind the request I am about to make, gallant
+Christian----"
+
+"Name it!" cried Francisco; "'tis already granted!"
+
+"Write me from Florence," added Ibrahim, "and acquaint me with the
+success of thy researches after thy lost sister and the maiden whom thou
+lovest. The ships of Leghorn trade to Constantinople, whither I shall
+speedily return, and it will not be a difficult matter to forward a
+letter to me occasionally."
+
+"I should be unworthy of the kind interest you take in my behalf, great
+pasha, were I to neglect this request," answered Francisco. "Oh! may the
+good angels grant that I may yet recover my beloved sister Nisida, and
+that sweetest of maidens--Flora Francatelli!"
+
+Francisco was too overpowered by his own emotions to observe the sudden
+start which Ibrahim gave, and the pallor which instantaneously
+overspread his cheeks as the name of his sister thus burst upon his
+ears--that sister who, beyond doubt, had disappeared most strangely.
+
+But, with an almost superhuman effort, he subdued any further expression
+of the agony of his feelings, and, taking Francisco's hand, said, in a
+low, deep tone: "Count of Riverola, I rely upon your solemn promise to
+write me, and write soon and often. I shall experience a lively pleasure
+in receiving and responding to your letters."
+
+"Fear not that I shall forget my promise, your highness," responded
+Francisco.
+
+He then took leave of Ibrahim Pasha, and returned to the city of Rhodes,
+whence he embarked on the same day for Italy, accompanied by the few
+Florentine auxiliaries who had survived the dreadful slaughter on the
+ramparts. The hustle and excitement attending the departure from Rhodes
+somewhat absorbed the grief which Ibrahim felt on account of the
+mysterious disappearance of his sister Flora.
+
+Solyman left a sufficient force, under an able commander, to garrison
+the island, which was speedily evacuated by Villiers of Isle Adam and
+his knights; and by the middle of May the sultan, attended by Ibrahim
+and the other dignitaries of the empire, once more entered the gates of
+Constantinople.
+
+Not many days had elapsed when, at a divan or state council, at which
+Solyman the Magnificent himself presided, Ibrahim Pasha was desired to
+give his opinion upon a particular question then under discussion. The
+renegade expressed his sentiments in a manner at variance with the
+policy recommended by the grand vizier; and this high functionary
+replied, in terms of bitterness and even grossness, at the same time
+reproaching Ibrahim with ingratitude. The apostate delivered a rejoinder
+which completely electrified the divan. He repudiated the charge of
+ingratitude on the ground of being influenced only by his duty toward
+the sultan; and he entered upon a complete review of the policy of the
+Grand Vizier Piri Pasha. He proved that the commerce of the country had
+greatly fallen off--that the revenues had diminished--that arrears were
+due to the army and navy--that several minor powers had not paid their
+usual tribute for some years past--and, in a word, drew such a frightful
+picture of the maladministration and misrule, that the grand vizier was
+overwhelmed with confusion, and the sultan and other listeners were
+struck with the lamentable truth of all which had fallen from the lips
+of Ibrahim Pasha. Nor less were they astonished at the wonderful
+intimacy which he displayed with even the minutest details of the
+machinery of the government; in a word, his triumph was complete.
+
+Solyman the Magnificent broke up the divan in haste, ordering the
+members of the council to return each immediately to his own abode. In
+the evening a functionary of the imperial household was sent to the
+palace of the grand vizier to demand the seals of office; and thus fell
+Piri Pasha.
+
+It was midnight when the sultan sent to order Ibrahim Pasha to wait upon
+him without delay. The conference that ensued was long and interesting,
+and it was already near daybreak when messengers were dispatched to the
+various members of the divan to summon them to the seraglio. Then, in
+the presence of all the rank and talent in the capital, the sultan
+demanded of Ibrahim whether he felt sufficient confidence in himself to
+undertake the weight and responsibility of office. All eyes were fixed
+earnestly upon that mere youth of scarcely twenty-three, who was thus
+solemnly adjured.
+
+In a firm voice he replied that with the favor of the sultan and the
+blessing of the Most High, he did not despair of being enabled to
+restore the Ottoman Empire to its late prosperity and glory. The
+astronomer of the court declared that the hour was favorable to invest
+the new grand vizier with the insignia of office; and at the moment when
+the call to prayer, "God is great!" sounded from every minaret in
+Constantinople, Ibrahim Pasha received the imperial seals from the hand
+of the sultan.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLIX.
+
+THE NEW GRAND VIZIER.
+
+
+The call to prayer, "_God is great_," sounded from every minaret in
+Constantinople, when Solyman the Magnificent raised the renegade Ibrahim
+to a rank second only to his own imperial station. The newly appointed
+prime minister received the congratulations of the assembled dignitaries
+of the empire; and when this ceremony was accomplished, he repaired to
+the palace of the viziership, which Piri Pasha had vacated during the
+night.
+
+A numerous escort of slaves, and a guard of honor, composed of an entire
+company of Janizaries, attended Ibrahim to his new abode, the streets
+through which he passed being lined with spectators anxious to obtain a
+glimpse of the new minister.
+
+But calm, almost passionless, was the expression of Ibrahim's
+countenance: though he had attained to his present high station
+speedily, yet he had not reached it unexpectedly; and, even in the
+moment of this, his proud triumph, there was gall mingled with the cup
+of honey which he quaffed. For, oh! the light of Christianity was not
+extinguished within his breast; and though it no longer gleamed there to
+inspire and to cheer, it nevertheless had strength enough to burn with
+reproachful flame.
+
+The multitudes cheered and prostrated themselves as he passed; but his
+salutation was cold and indifferent, and he felt at that moment that he
+would rather have been wandering through the Vale of Arno, hand-in-hand
+with his sister, than be welcomed in the streets of Constantinople as
+the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire!
+
+O crime! thou may'st deck thy brow with flowers, and adorn thy garments
+with the richest gems--thou may'st elicit the shouts of admiring
+myriads, and proceed attended by guards ready to hew down those who
+would treat thee with disrespect--thou may'st quit the palace of a
+mighty sovereign to repair to a palace of thine own--and in thy hands
+thou may'st hold the destinies of millions of human beings; but thou
+canst not subdue the still small voice that whispers reproachfully in
+thine ear, nor pluck from thy bosom the undying worm.
+
+Though Ibrahim Pasha felt acutely, yet his countenance, as we have
+before said, expressed nothing--he was still sufficiently master of his
+emotions to retain them pent up in his own breast; and if he could not
+appear perfectly happy, he would not allow the world to perceive that
+his soul harbored secret care. He entered the palace now destined to
+become his abode, and found himself the lord and master of an
+establishment such as no Christian monarch in Europe possessed. But as
+he passed through marble halls and perfumed corridors lined with
+prostrate slaves--as he contemplated the splendor and magnificence, the
+wealth and the luxury, by which he was now surrounded--and as he even
+dwelt upon the hope--nay, the more than hope, the conviction, that he
+should full soon be blest with the hand of a being whose ravishing
+beauty was ever present to his mental vision--that still small voice
+which he could not hush, appeared to ask what avail it was for a man, if
+he gain the whole world but lose his own soul?
+
+But Ibrahim Pasha was not the man to give way to the influence of even
+reflections so harrowing as these; and he immediately applied himself to
+the business of the state, to divert his mind from unpleasurable
+meditations. Holding a levee that same day, he received and confirmed in
+their offices all the subordinate ministers; he then dispatched letters
+to the various governors of provinces to announce to them his elevation
+to the grand viziership; and he conferred the Pashalic of Egypt upon the
+fallen minister, Piri Pasha. In the afternoon he granted audiences to
+the embassadors of the Christian powers; but the Florentine envoy, it
+should be observed, had quitted Constantinople some weeks
+previously--indeed, at the time when the sultan undertook his expedition
+against Rhodes; for the representative of the republic had entirely
+failed in the mission which had been intrusted to him by his government.
+
+In the evening, when it was quite dusk, Ibrahim retired to his
+apartment; and hastily disguising himself in a mean attire, he issued
+forth by a private gate at the back part of the palace. Intent upon
+putting into execution a scheme which he had hastily planned that very
+afternoon, he repaired to the quarter inhabited by the Christians. There
+he entered a house of humble appearance where dwelt a young Greek, with
+whom he had been on friendly terms at that period when his present
+greatness was totally unforeseen--indeed, while he was simply the
+private secretary of the Florentine envoy. He knew that Demetrius was
+poor, intelligent and trustworthy; and it was precisely an agent of this
+nature that Ibrahim required for the project which he had in view.
+
+Demetrius--such was the young Greek's name--was seated in a small and
+meanly furnished apartment, in a desponding manner, and scarcely
+appearing to notice the efforts which his sister, a beautiful maiden of
+nineteen, was exerting to console him, when the door opened, and a man
+dressed as a water-carrier entered the room.
+
+The young Greek started up angrily, for he thought the visitor was one
+of the numerous petty creditors to whom he was indebted, and whose
+demands he was unable to liquidate; but the second glance which he cast,
+by the light of the lamp that burnt feebly on the table, toward the
+countenance of the meanly dressed individual, convinced him of his
+mistake.
+
+"His highness the grand vizier!" ejaculated Demetrius, falling on his
+knees; "Calanthe!" he added, speaking rapidly to his sister, "bow down
+to the representative of the sultan!"
+
+But Ibrahim hastened to put an end to this ceremony, and assured the
+brother and sister that he came thither as a friend.
+
+"A friend!" repeated Demetrius, as if doubting whether his ears heard
+aright; "is it possible that Heaven has indeed sent me a friend in one
+who has the power to raise me and this poor suffering maiden from the
+depths of our bitter, bitter poverty?"
+
+"Dost thou suppose that my rapid elevation has rendered me unmindful of
+former friendships?" demanded Ibrahim; although, had he not his own
+purposes to serve, he would never have thought of seeking the abode, nor
+inquiring after the welfare of the humble acquaintance of his obscure
+days.
+
+The young Greek knew not, however, the thorough selfishness of the
+renegade's character; and he poured forth his gratitude for the vizier's
+kindness and condescension with the most sincere and heart-felt fervor:
+while the beauteous Calanthe's large dark eyes swam in tears of hope and
+joy, as she surveyed with mingled wonder and admiration the countenance
+of that high functionary whose rapid rise to power had electrified the
+Ottoman capital, and whom she now saw for the first time.
+
+"Demetrius," said Ibrahim, "I know your worth--I have appreciated your
+talents; and I feel deeply for the orphan condition of your sister and
+yourself. It is in my power to afford you an employment whereby you may
+render me good service, and which shall be liberally rewarded. You are
+already acquainted with much of my former history; and you have often
+heard me speak, in terms of love and affection, of my sister Flora.
+During my recent sojourn in the island of Rhodes, a Florentine nobleman,
+the Count of Riverola, became my prisoner. From him I learned that he
+was attached to my sister, and his language led me to believe that he
+was loved in return. But alas! some few months ago Flora suddenly
+disappeared; and the Count of Riverola instituted a vain search to
+discover her. Too pure-minded was she to fly of her own accord from her
+native city; too chaste and too deeply imbued with virtuous principles
+was she to admit the suspicion that she had fled with a vile seducer.
+No; force or treachery--if not _murder_," added Ibrahim, in a tone
+indicative of profound emotion, "must have caused her sudden
+disappearance. The Count of Riverola has doubtless ere now arrived in
+Italy; and his researches will most assuredly be renewed. He promised to
+communicate to me the result, but as he knew not to whom that pledge was
+given--as he recognized not in me the brother of the Flora whom he
+loves--I am fearful lest he forget or neglect the promise. It is,
+therefore, my intention to send a secret agent to Florence--an agent who
+will convey rich gifts to my aunt, but without revealing the name of him
+who sends them--an agent, in a word, who may minister to the wants and
+interests of my family, and report to me whether my beloved sister be
+yet found, and if so, the causes of her disappearance. It seems to me
+that you, Demetrius, are well fitted for this mission. Your knowledge of
+the Italian language, your discreetness, your sound judgment, all render
+you competent to enact the part of a good genius watching over the
+interests of those who must not be allowed to learn whence flow the
+bounties which suddenly pour upon them!"
+
+"Gracious lord," said the young Greek, his countenance radiant with joy.
+"I will never lose any opportunity of manifesting my devotion to the
+cause in which your highness condescends to employ me."
+
+"You will proceed alone to Italy," continued Ibrahim; "and on your
+arrival in Florence, you will adopt a modest and reserved mode of life,
+so that no unpleasant queries may arise as to your object in visiting
+the republic."
+
+Demetrius turned a rapidly inquiring glance upon Calanthe, who hastened
+to observe that she did not fear being left unprotected in the city of
+Constantinople. Ibrahim placed a heavy purse and a case containing many
+costly jewels in the hands of Demetrius, saying: "These are as an
+earnest of my favor and friendship;"--then, producing a second case,
+tied round with a silken cord, he added, "And this is for my aunt, the
+Signora Francatelli."
+
+Demetrius promised to attend to all the instructions which he had
+received; and Ibrahim Pasha took his leave of the brother and the
+charming sister, the latter of whom conveyed to him the full extent of
+her gratitude for his kindness and condescension toward them in a few
+words uttered in a subdued tone, but with all the eloquence of her fine
+dark eyes.
+
+"Did I not love my unknown protectress," murmured Ibrahim to himself, as
+he sped rapidly back to his palace, "I feel that Calanthe's eyes would
+make an impression upon my heart."
+
+Scarcely had he resumed his magnificent garb, on his return home, when a
+slave announced to him that his imperial majesty, the sultan, required
+his immediate attendance at the seraglio, whither he was to repair in
+the most private manner possible. A sudden misgiving darted through
+Ibrahim's imagination. Could Solyman have repented of the step which he
+had taken in thus suddenly elevating him to the pinnacle of power? Was
+his viziership to last but a few short hours? had the secret influence,
+which had hitherto protected him, ceased?
+
+Considering the times and the country in which he lived, these fears
+were justifiable; and it was with a rapidly beating heart that the new
+minister hastened, attended only by a single slave, to the dwelling of
+his imperial master. But when he was ushered into the presence of the
+sultan--his own slave remaining in the ante-room--his apprehensions were
+dissipated by the smiling countenance with which the monarch greeted
+him. Having signaled his attendants to retire, Solyman the Magnificent
+addressed the grand vizier in the following manner:
+
+"Thy great talents, thy zeal in our service, and the salvation which I
+owed to thee in the breach at Rhodes, have been instrumental, oh,
+Ibrahim! in raising thee to thy present high state. But the bounties of
+the sultan are without end, as the mercy of Allah is illimitable! Thou
+hast doubtless heard that among my numerous sisters, there is one of
+such unrivaled beauty--such peerless loveliness, that the world hath not
+seen her equal. Happy may the man deem himself on whom the fair Aischa
+shall be bestowed; and thou art that happy man, Ibrahim--and Aischa is
+thine."
+
+The grand vizier threw himself at the feet of his imperial master, and
+murmured expressions of gratitude--but his heart sank within him--for he
+knew that in marrying the sultan's sister he should not be allowed the
+enjoyment of the Mussulman privilege of polygamy, and thus his hopes of
+possessing the beautiful unknown to whom he owed so much appeared to
+hover on the verge of annihilation. But might not that unknown lady and
+the beauteous Aischa be one and the same person? The unknown was
+evidently the mistress of an influence almost illimitable; and was it
+not natural to conceive that she, then, must be the sister of the
+sultan? Again, the sultan had many sisters; and the one who had exerted
+her interest for Ibrahim, might not be the Princess Aischa, who was now
+promised to him! All these conjectures and conflicting speculations
+passed through the mind of Ibrahim in far less time than we have taken
+to describe their nature; and he was cruelly the prey to mingled hope
+and alarm, when the sultan exclaimed, "Rise, my Vizier Azem, and follow
+me."
+
+The apostate obeyed with beating heart, and Solyman the Magnificent
+conducted him along several passages and corridors to a splendidly
+furnished room, which Ibrahim immediately recognized as the very one in
+which he had been admitted, many months previously, to an interview with
+the beauteous unknown. Yes--that was the apartment in which he had
+listened to the eloquence of her soft, persuasive voice--it was there
+that, intoxicated with passion, he had abjured the faith of a Christian
+and embraced the creed of the false Prophet Mohammed. And, reclining on
+the very sofa where he had first seen her--but attended by a troop of
+charming female slaves--was the fair unknown--his secret
+protectress--more lovely, more bewitching, than she appeared when last
+they met.
+
+An arch smile played upon her lips, as she rose from the magnificent
+cushions--a smile which seemed to say, "I have kept my word, I have
+raised thee to the highest dignity, save one in the Ottoman Empire--and
+I will now crown thine happiness by giving thee my hand."
+
+And, oh, so beauteous, so ravishingly lovely did she appear, as that
+smile revealed teeth whiter than the Oriental pearls, which she wore,
+and as a slight flush on her damask cheek and the bright flashing of her
+eyes betrayed the joy and triumph which filled her heart--so elegant and
+graceful was her faultless form, which the gorgeous Ottoman garb so
+admirably became, that Ibrahim forgot all his recent compunction--lost
+sight of home and friends--remembered not the awful apostasy of which he
+had been guilty--but fell upon his knees in adoration of that charming
+creature, while the sultan with a smile which showed that he was no
+stranger to the mysteries of the past, exclaimed in a benignant tone,
+"Vizier Azem! receive the hand of my well-beloved sister Aischa!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER L.
+
+THE COUNT OF ARESTINO--THE PLOT THICKENS.
+
+
+Return we now to the fair city of flowers--to thee, delightful
+Florence--vine crowned queen of Tuscany! The summer has come, and the
+gardens are brilliant with dyes and hues of infinite variety; the hills
+and the valleys are clothed in their brightest emerald garment--and the
+Arno winds its peaceful way between banks blushing with choicest fruits
+of the earth.
+
+But, though gay that July scene--though glorious in its splendor that
+unclouded summer sun, though gorgeous the balconies filled with flowers,
+and brilliant the parterres of Tuscan roses, yet gloomy was the
+countenance and dark were the thoughts of the Count of Arestino, as he
+paced with agitated steps one of the splendid apartments of his palace.
+The old man was actually endowed with a good, a generous, a kind and
+forgiving disposition; but the infidelity of his wife, the being on whom
+he had so doted, and who was once his joy and his pride--that infidelity
+had warped his best feelings, soured his temper, and aroused the dark
+spirit of vengeance.
+
+"She lives! she lives!" he murmured to himself, pausing for a moment to
+press his feverish hand to his heated brow; "she lives! and doubtless
+under the protection of her paramour! But I shall know more presently.
+Antonio is faithful--he will not deceive me!"
+
+And the count resumed his agitated walk up and down the room. A few
+minutes elapsed, when the door opened slowly, and Antonio, whom the
+reader may remember to have been a valet in the service of the Riverola
+family, made his appearance.
+
+The count hastened toward him, exclaiming: "What news, Antonio?
+Speak--hast thou learnt aught more of--of _her_?"
+
+"My lord," answered the valet, closing the door behind him, "I have
+ascertained everything. The individual who spoke darkly and mysteriously
+to me last evening, has within this hour made me acquainted with many
+strange things."
+
+"But the countess?--I mean the guilty, fallen creature who once bore my
+name?" ejaculated the old nobleman, his voice trembling with impatience.
+
+"There is no doubt, my lord, that her ladyship lives, and that she is
+still in Florence," answered Antonio.
+
+"The shameless woman," cried the Count of Arestino, his usually pale
+face becoming perfectly death-like through the violence of his inward
+emotions. "But how know you all this?" demanded his lordship, suddenly
+turning toward the dependent; "who is your informant--and can he be
+relied on? Remember I took thee into my service at thine own
+solicitation--I have no guarantee for thy fidelity, and I am influential
+to punish as well as rich to reward!"
+
+"Your lordship has bound me to you by ties of gratitude," responded
+Antonio, "for when discarded suddenly by the young Count of Riverola, I
+found an asylum and employment in your lordship's palace. It is your
+lordship's bounty which has enabled me to give bread to my aged mother;
+and I should be a villain were I to deceive you."
+
+"I believe you, Antonio," said the count: "and now tell me how you are
+assured that the countess escaped from the conflagration and ruin of the
+institution to which my just vengeance had consigned her--how, too, you
+have learnt that she is still in Florence."
+
+"I have ascertained, my lord, beyond all possibility of doubt," answered
+the valet, "that the assailants of the convent were a terrible horde of
+banditti, at that time headed by Stephano Verrina, who has since
+disappeared no one knows whither; that the Marquis of Orsini was one of
+the leaders in the awful deed of sacrilege, and that her ladyship the
+countess, and a young maiden named Flora Francatelli, were rescued by
+the robbers from their cells in the establishment. These ladies and the
+marquis quitted the stronghold of the banditti together, blindfolded and
+guided forth by that same Stephano Verrina whom I mentioned just now,
+Lomellino (the present captain of the horde), and another bandit."
+
+"And who is your informant? how learned you all this?" demanded the
+count, trembling with the excitement of painful reminiscences
+reawakened, and with the hope of speedy vengeance on the guilty pair,
+his wife and the marquis.
+
+"My lord," said Antonio, "pardon me if I remain silent; but I dare not
+compromise the man----"
+
+"Antonio," exclaimed the count, wrathfully, "you are deceiving me! Tell
+me who was your informant--I command you--hesitate not----"
+
+"My lord! my lord!" cried the valet, "is it not enough that I prove my
+assertions--that I----"
+
+"No!" cried the nobleman; "I have seen so much duplicity where all
+appeared to be innocence--so much deceit where all wore the aspect of
+integrity, that I can trust man no more. How know I for certain that all
+this may not be some idle tale which you yourself have forged, to induce
+me to put confidence in you, to intrust you with gold to bribe your
+pretended informant, but which will really remain in your own pocket?
+Speak, Antonio--tell me all, or I shall listen to you no more, and your
+servitude in this mansion then ceases."
+
+"I will speak frankly, my lord," replied the valet; "but in the course
+you may adopt----"
+
+"Fear not for yourself, nor for your informant, Antonio," interrupted
+the count, impatiently. "Be ye both leagued with the banditti
+yourselves, or be ye allied to the fiends of hell," he added, with
+fiercer emphasis, "I care not so long as I can render ye the instruments
+of my vengeance!"
+
+"Good, my lord!" exclaimed Antonio, delighted with this assurance; "and
+now I can speak fearlessly and frankly. My informant is that _other_
+bandit who accompanied Stephano Verrina and Lomellino when the countess,
+Flora, and the marquis were conducted blindfold from the robbers'
+stronghold. But while they were yet all inmates of that stronghold, this
+same bandit, whose name is Venturo, overheard the marquis inform
+Stephano Verrina that he intended to remain in Florence to obtain the
+liberation of a Jew who was imprisoned in the dungeons of the
+inquisition: and this Jew, Venturo also learnt by subsequent inquiry
+from Verrina, is a certain Isaachar ben Solomon."
+
+"Isaachar ben Solomon!" ejaculated the count, the whole incident of the
+diamonds returning with all its painful details to his mind. "Oh! no
+wonder," he added, bitterly, "that the marquis has so much kindness for
+him! But, proceed--proceed, Antonio."
+
+"I was about to inform your lordship," continued the valet, "that
+Venturo, of whom I have spoken, happened the next day to overhear the
+marquis inform the countess that he should be compelled to stay for that
+purpose in Florence; whereupon Flora Francatelli offered her ladyship a
+home at her aunt's residence, whither she herself should return on her
+liberation from the stronghold. Then it was that the maiden mentioned to
+the countess the name of her family, and when Venturo represented all
+these facts to me just now, I at once knew who this same Flora
+Francatelli is and where she dwells."
+
+"You know where she dwells!" cried the count, joyfully. "Then, Giulia,
+the false, the faithless, the perjured Giulia is in my power! Unless,
+indeed," he added, more slowly--"unless she may have removed to another
+place of abode----"
+
+"That, my lord, shall be speedily ascertained," said Antonio. "I will
+instruct my mother to call, on some pretext, at the cottage inhabited by
+Dame Francatelli: and she will soon learn whether there be another
+female resident there besides the aunt and the niece Flora."
+
+"Do so, Antonio," exclaimed the count. "Let no unnecessary delay take
+place. Here is gold--much gold, for thee to divide between thyself and
+the bandit informant. See that thou art faithful to my interests, and
+that sum shall prove but a small earnest of what thy reward will be."
+
+The valet secured about his person the well-filled purse that was handed
+to him, and retired.
+
+The Count of Arestino remained alone to brood over his plans of
+vengeance. It was horrible--horrible to behold that aged and venerable
+man, trembling as he was on the verge of eternity, now meditating
+schemes of dark and dire revenge. But his wrongs were great--wrongs
+which, though common enough in that voluptuous Italian clime, and
+especially in that age and city of licentiousness and debauchery, were
+not the less sure to be followed by a fearful retribution, where
+retribution was within the reach of him who was outraged.
+
+"Ha! ha!" he chuckled fearfully to himself, as he now paced the room
+with a lighter step--as if joy filled his heart; "all those who have
+injured me are within the reach of my vengeance. The Jew in the
+inquisition; the marquis open to a charge of diabolical sacrilege--and
+Giulia assuredly in Florence! I dealt too leniently with that Jew--I
+sent to pay for the redemption of jewels which were my own property! All
+my life have I been a just--a humane--a merciful man; I will be so no
+more. The world's doings are adverse to generosity and fair-dealing. In
+my old age have I learnt this! Oh! the perfidy of women toward a
+doting--a confiding--a fond heart, works strange alterations in the
+heart of the deceived one! I, who but a year--nay, six months ago--would
+not harm the meanest reptile that crawls, now thirst for
+vengeance--vengeance," repeated the old man, in a shrieking, hysterical
+tone, "upon those who have wronged me! I will exterminate them at one
+fell swoop--exterminate them all--all!" And his voice rang screechingly
+and wildly through the lofty room of that splendid mansion.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER LI.
+
+THE MEETING.
+
+
+On the bank of the Arno, in a somewhat retired situation, stood a neat
+cottage in the midst of a little garden, surrounded by no formal pile of
+bricks to constitute a wall, but protected only by its own sweet hedge
+or fragrant shrubs and blooming plants. Over the portico of the humble
+but comfortable tenement twined the honeysuckle and the clematis; and
+the sides of the building were almost completely veiled by the vines
+amidst the verdant foliage of which appeared large hunches of purple
+grapes.
+
+At an open casement on the ground floor, an elderly female, very plainly
+but very neatly attired, and wearing a placid smile and a good-natured
+expression upon a countenance which had once been handsome, sat watching
+the glorious spectacle of the setting sun. The orb of day went down in a
+flood of purple and gold, behind the western hills; and now the dame
+began suddenly to cast uneasy glances toward the path that led along the
+bank of the river.
+
+But the maiden for whose return the good aunt felt anxious, was not far
+distant; indeed Flora Francatelli, wearing a thick veil over her head,
+was already proceeding homeward after a short ramble by the margin of
+the stream, when the reverie in which she was plunged was interrupted by
+the sounds of hasty footsteps behind. Ever fearful of treachery since
+the terrible incident of her imprisonment in the Carmelite Convent, she
+redoubled her speed, blaming herself for having been beguiled by the
+beauty of the evening to prolong her walk farther than she intended on
+setting out--when the increasing haste of the footsteps behind her
+excited the keenest alarms within her bosom--for she now felt convinced
+that she was pursued.
+
+The cottage was already in sight, and a hundred paces only separated her
+from its door, when a well-known voice--a voice which caused every fiber
+in her heart to thrill with surprise and joy--exclaimed: "Flora! beloved
+one; fly not! Oh! I could not be deceived in the symmetry of thy
+form--the graciousness of thy gait--I knew it was thou."
+
+And in another moment the maiden was clasped in the arms of Francisco,
+Count of Riverola. Impossible were it to describe the ecstatic bliss of
+this meeting--a meeting so unexpected on either side: for a minute
+before, Flora had deemed the young nobleman to be far away, fighting in
+the cause of the cross, while Francisco was proceeding to make inquiries
+at the cottage concerning his beloved, but with a heart that scarcely
+dared nourish a hope of her reappearance.
+
+"Oh! my well-beloved Flora!" exclaimed Francisco; "and are we indeed
+thus blest, or is it a delusive dream? But tell me, sweet maiden, tell
+me whether thou hast ceased to think of one, from whose memory thine
+image has never been absent since the date of thy sudden and mysterious
+disappearance."
+
+Flora could not reply in words--her heart was too full for the utterance
+of her feelings; but as she raised the veil from her charming
+countenance, the tears of joy which stood upon her long lashes, and the
+heavenly smile which played upon her lips, and the deep blushes which
+overspread her cheeks spoke far more eloquently of unaltered affection
+than all the vows and pledges which might have flowed from the tongue.
+
+"Thou lovest me--lovest me--lovest me still!" exclaimed the enraptured
+count, again clasping her in his arms, and now imprinting innumerable
+kisses on her lips, her cheeks, and her fair brow. Hasty explanations
+speedily ensued, and Francisco now learnt for the first time the cause
+of Flora's disappearance--her incarceration in the convent--and the
+particulars of her release.
+
+"But who could have been the author of that outrage?" exclaimed the
+count, his cheeks flushing with indignation, and his hand instinctively
+grasping his sword; "whom could you, sweet maiden, have offended? what
+fiend thus vented his malignity on thee?"
+
+"Hold, my lord!" cried Flora, in a beseeching tone; "perhaps you----"
+
+And she checked herself abruptly.
+
+"Call me not '_my lord_,' dearest maiden," said the count; "to thee I am
+Francisco, as thou to me art Flora--my own beloved Flora! But wherefore
+didst thou stop short thus? wherefore not conclude the sentence that was
+half uttered? Oh, Flora--a terrible suspicion strikes me! Speak--relieve
+me from the cruel suspicion under which I now labor; was it my
+sister--my much lamented sister, who did thee that foul wrong?"
+
+"I know not," replied Flora, weeping; "but--alas! pardon me, dear
+Francisco--if I suspect aught so bad of any one connected with thee--and
+yet Heaven knows how freely, how sincerely I forgive my enemy----" Her
+voice was lost in sobs; and her head drooped on her lover's breast.
+
+"Weep not, dearest one!" exclaimed Francisco. "Let not our meeting be
+rendered mournful with tears. Thou knowest, perhaps, that Nisida
+disappeared as suddenly and as mysteriously as thou didst; but could she
+also have become the victim of the Carmelites? And did she, alas! perish
+in the ruins of the convent?"
+
+"I am well assured that the Lady Nisida was not doomed to that fate,"
+answered Flora; "for had she been consigned to the convent, as a
+punishment for some real offense, or on some groundless charge, she must
+have passed the ordeal of the chamber of penitence, where I should have
+seen her. Yes, Francisco--I have heard of her mysterious disappearance,
+and I have shed many, many tears when I have thought of her, poor lady!
+although," added the maiden in a low and plaintive tone, "I fear,
+Francisco, that it was indeed she who doomed me to that monastic
+dungeon. Doubtless, her keen perception--far more keen than in those who
+are blessed with the faculties which were lost to her--enabled her to
+penetrate the secret of that affection with which you had honored me,
+and in which I felt so much happiness."
+
+"I confessed my love to Nisida," interrupted Francisco; "but it was not
+until your disappearance I was driven to despair, Flora. I was mad with
+grief, and I could not, neither did I, attempt to conceal my emotion. I
+told Nisida all: and well--oh! well--do I recollect the reply which she
+gave me, giving fond assurance that my happiness would alone be
+consulted."
+
+"Alas! Was there no double meaning in that assurance?" asked Flora,
+gently. "The Lady Nisida knew well how inconsistent with your high
+rank--your proud fortunes--your great name, was that love which you bore
+for a humble and obscure girl----"
+
+"A love which I shall not be ashamed to own in the sight of all
+Florence," exclaimed Francisco in an impassioned tone. "But if Nisida
+were the cause of that cruel outrage on thee, my Flora, we will forgive
+her--for she could have acted only through conscientious, though most
+mistaken, motives. Mistaken, indeed! for never could I have known
+happiness again hadst thou not been restored to me. It was to wean my
+mind from pondering on afflictions that goaded me to despair that I
+embarked in the cause of Christendom against the encroachments of Moslem
+power. Thinking that thou wast forever lost to me--that my sister also
+had become the victim of some murderous hand,--harassed by doubts the
+most cruel--an uncertainty the most agonizing,--I sought death on the
+walls of Rhodes; but the destroying angel's arrow rebounded from my
+corselet--his sword was broken against my shield!
+
+"During my voyage back to Italy--after beholding the crescent planted on
+the walls where the Christian standard had floated for so many, many
+years--a storm overtook the ship; and yet the destroying angel gave me
+not the death I courted. This evening I once more set foot in Florence.
+From my own mansion Nisida is still absent: and no tidings have been
+received of her. Alas! is she then lost to me forever? Without tarrying
+even to change my travel-soiled clothes, I set out to make inquiries
+concerning another whom I love--and that other is thyself! Here, thanks
+to a merciful Heaven, my heart has not been doomed to experience a
+second and equally cruel disappointment; for I have found thee at last,
+my Flora--and henceforth my arm shall protect thee from peril."
+
+"How have I deserved so much kindness at thine hands?" murmured the
+maiden, again drooping her blushing head. "And oh! what will you think,
+Francisco--what will you say, when you learn that I was there--there in
+that cottage--with my aunt--when you called the last time to inquire if
+any tidings had been received of me----"
+
+"You were there!" exclaimed Francisco, starting back in surprise not
+unmingled with anger; "you were there, Flora--and you knew that I was in
+despair concerning thee--that I would have given worlds to have heard of
+thy safety,--I, who thought that some fiend in human shape had sent thee
+to an early grave?"
+
+"Forgive me, Francisco: forgive me!" cried Flora, bursting into tears;
+"but it was not my fault! On the night following the one in which the
+banditti stormed the convent, as I ere now detailed to your ears, I
+returned home to my aunt. When the excitement of our meeting was past,
+and when we were alone together, I threw myself at her feet, confessed
+all that had passed between thee and me, and implored her advice.
+
+"'Flora,' she said, while her tears fell upon me as I knelt, 'no
+happiness will come to thee, my child, from this attachment which has
+already plunged thee into so much misery. It is beyond all doubt certain
+that the relations of the count were the authors of thy imprisonment;
+and their persecutions would only be renewed, were they to learn that
+the count was made aware of your reappearance in Florence. For thy sake,
+then, my child, I shall suffer the impression of thy continued absence
+and loss to remain on the minds of those who may inquire concerning
+thee; and should his lordship call here again, most especially to him
+shall I appear stricken with grief on account of thee. His passion, my
+child, is one of boyhood--evanescent, though ardent while it endures. He
+will soon forget thee; and when he shall have learnt to love another
+there will no longer be any necessity for thee to live an existence of
+concealment.'
+
+"Thus spoke my aunt, dear Francisco, and I dared not gainsay her. When
+you came the last time. I heard your voice; I listened from my chamber
+door to all you said to my aunt, and I longed to fly into your arms. You
+went away and my heart was nearly broken. Some days afterward we learnt
+the strange disappearance of the Lady Nisida and then knew that you must
+have received a severe blow, for I was well aware how much you loved
+her. Two or three weeks elapsed, and then we heard that you were about
+to depart to the wars. Oh! how bitter were the tears that I shed, how
+fervent were the prayers that I offered up for your safety."
+
+"And those prayers have been heard on high, beloved one, exclaimed
+Francisco, who had listened with melting heart and returning tenderness
+to the narrative which the maiden told so simply but so sincerely, and
+in the most plaintive tones of her musical voice.
+
+"Can you forgive me now?" asked the blushing maiden, her swimming eyes
+bending on her lover glances eloquently expressive of hope.
+
+"I have nothing to forgive, sweet girl," replied Francisco. "Your aunt
+behaved with a prudence which in justice I cannot condemn; and you acted
+with an obedience and submission to your venerable relative which I
+could not be arbitrary enough to blame. We have both endured much for
+each other, my Flora; but the days of our trials are passed; and your
+good aunt will be convinced that in giving your young heart to me, you
+have not confided in one who is undeserving of so much love. Let us
+hasten into her presence. But one question have I yet to ask you," he
+added, suddenly recollecting an idea which had ere now made some
+impression on his mind. "You informed me how you were liberated from the
+convent, and you mentioned the name of the Countess of Arestino, whom
+circumstances had made your companion in that establishment, and to whom
+your aunt gave an asylum. Know you not, dearest Flora, that fame reports
+not well of that same Giulia of Arestino--and that a woman of tarnished
+reputation is no fitting associate for an innocent and artless maiden
+such as thou?"
+
+"During the period that the Lady of Arestino and myself were companions
+in captivity," responded Flora, with a frankness as amiable as it was
+convincing, "she never in the most distant manner alluded to her love
+for the Marquis of Orsini. When the marquis appeared in the convent, in
+company with the robbers, I was far too much bewildered with the passing
+events, to devote a thought to what might be the nature of their
+connection; and even when I had more leisure for reflection, during the
+entire day which I passed in the stronghold of the banditti, I saw
+naught in it save what I conceived to be the bond of close relationship.
+I offered her ladyship an asylum at the abode of my aunt, as I should
+have given a home, under such circumstances, to the veriest wretch
+crawling on the face of the earth. But in that cottage the countess and
+myself have not continued in close companionship; for my aunt
+accidentally learnt that fame reported not well of the Lady of Arestino,
+and in a gentle manner she begged her to seek another home at her
+earliest leisure. The countess implored my venerable relative to permit
+her to retrain at the cottage, as her life would be in danger were she
+not afforded a sure and safe asylum. Moved by her earnest entreaties, my
+aunt assented; and the countess has almost constantly remained in her
+own chamber. Sometimes--but very rarely--she goes forth after dusk, and
+in a deep disguise; the marquis has not, however, visited the cottage
+since my aunt made this discovery relative to the reputation of the Lady
+of Arestino."
+
+"Thanks, charming Flora, for that explanation!" cried the young count.
+"Let us now hasten to thine aunt; and in her presence will I renew to
+thee all the vows of unalterable and honorable affection which my heart
+suggests, as a means of proving that I am worthy of thy love."
+
+And, hand-in-hand, that fine young noble and that beauteous, blushing
+maiden proceeded to the cottage.
+
+Two persons, concealed in an adjacent grove, had overheard every
+syllable of the above conversation. These were the valet Antonio, and
+his mother, Dame Margaretha, at whose dwelling, it will be recollected,
+the unfortunate Agnes had so long resided, under the protection of the
+late Count of Riverola.
+
+"This is fortunate, mother!" said Antonio, when Francisco and Flora had
+retired from the vicinity of the grove. "You are spared the trouble of a
+visit to the old Signora Francatelli; and I have learned sufficient to
+enable me to work out all my plans alike of aggrandizement and revenge.
+Let us retrace our way into the city; thou wilt return to thy home--and
+I shall hence straight to the Lord Count of Arestino."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER LII.
+
+THE GREEK PAGE--SONG OF THE GREEK PAGE--A REVELATION.
+
+
+Three months had now elapsed since Ibrahim-Pasha had risen to the
+exalted rank of grand vizier, and had married the sister of Solyman the
+Magnificent. The sultan daily became more attached to him; and he, on
+his part, acquired influence over his imperial master. Vested with a
+power so nearly absolute that Solyman signed without ever perusing the
+hatti-sheriffs, or decrees, drawn up by Ibrahim,--and enjoying the
+confidence of the divan, all the members of which were devoted to his
+interests,--the renegade administered according to his own discretion,
+the affairs of that mighty empire. Avaricious, and ever intent upon the
+aggrandizement of his own fortunes, he accumulated vast treasures; but
+he also maintained a household and lived in a style unequaled by any of
+his predecessors in office. Having married a sister of the sultan, he
+was not permitted a plurality of wives;--but he purchased the most
+beauteous slaves for his harem, and plunged headlong into a vortex of
+dissipation and pleasure.
+
+For some weeks he had manifested the most ardent and impassioned
+attachment toward Aischa, who, during that period, was happy in the
+belief that she alone possessed his heart. But the customs of the East,
+as well as the duties of his office, kept them so much apart, that he
+had no leisure to discover the graces of her mind, nor to appreciate all
+the powers of her naturally fine, and indeed well-cultivated intellect;
+so that the beauty of her person constituted the only basis on which his
+affection was maintained. The fervor of such a love soon cooled with
+satiety: and those female slaves whom he had at first procured as
+indispensable appendages to his rank and station, were not long in
+becoming the sources of new pleasure and voluptuous enjoyment. Aischa
+beheld his increasing indifference, and strove to bind him to her by
+representing all she had done for him. He listened coldly at first; but
+when, on several occasions, the same remonstrances were repeated, he
+answered angrily.
+
+"Had it not been for my influence," she said to him one day, when the
+dispute had become more serious than preceding quarrels of the kind,
+"you might still have been an humble secretary to a Christian noble."
+
+"Not so," replied the grand vizier; "for at the very time when I first
+beheld thee in the Bezestein, certain offers had been secretly conveyed
+to me from the reis-effendi."
+
+"In whose service you would have lingered as a mere subordinate for
+long, long years," returned Aischa. "It was I who urged you on. Have I
+not often assured you that your image dwelt in my memory after the
+accident which first led to our meeting--that one of my faithful women
+noticed my thoughtful mood--and that when I confessed to her the truth,
+she stated to me that, by a singular coincidence, her own brother was
+employed by the reis-effendi as an agent to tempt you with the offers to
+which you have alluded? Then, inquiries which my slave instituted,
+brought to my ears the flattering tidings that you also thought of me,
+and I resolved to grant you an interview. From that moment my influence
+hurried you on to power--and when you became the favorite of the mighty
+Solyman, I confessed to him that I had seen and that I loved you. His
+fraternal attachment to me is great--greater than to any other of his
+sisters, seeing that himself and I were born of the same mother, though
+at a long interval. Thus was it that my persuasion made him think higher
+and oftener of you than he would else have done--and now that you have
+attained the summit of glory and power, she who has helped to raise you
+is neglected and loved no longer."
+
+"Cease these reproaches, Aischa," exclaimed Ibrahim, who had listened
+impatiently to her long address, "or I will give thee less of my company
+than heretofore. See that the next time I visit thee my reception may be
+with smiles instead of tears--with sweet words instead of reproaches."
+And in this cruel manner the heartless renegade quitted his beauteous
+wife, leaving her plunged in the most profound affliction.
+
+But as Ibrahim traversed the corridors leading to his own apartments,
+his heart smote him for the harshness and unfeeling nature of his
+conduct; and as one disagreeable idea, by disposing the spirits to
+melancholy, usually arouses others that were previously slumbering in
+the cells of the brain, all the turpitude of his apostasy was recalled
+with new force to his mind.
+
+Repairing to a small but magnificently furnished saloon in a retired
+part of the palace, he dismissed the slaves who were waiting at the
+door, ordering them, however, to send into his presence a young Greek
+page who had recently entered his service. In a few minutes the youth
+made his appearance, and stood in a respectful attitude near the door.
+
+"Come and sit at my feet, Constantine," said the grand vizier, "and thou
+shalt sing to me one of those airs of thy native Greece with which thou
+hast occasionally delighted mine ears. I know not how it is, boy--but
+thy presence pleases me, and thy voice soothes my soul, when oppressed
+with the cares of my high office."
+
+Joy flashed from the bright black eyes of the young Greek page as he
+glided noiselessly over the thick carpet, but that emotion of pleasure
+was instantly changed to one of deep deference.
+
+"Proceed," said his master, "and sing me that plaintive song which is
+supposed to depict the woes of one of the unhappy sons of Greece."
+
+"But may not its sentiments offend your highness?" asked the page.
+
+"It is but a song," responded Ibrahim. "I give thee full permission to
+sing those verses, and I should be sorry were you to subdue aught of the
+impassioned feelings which they are well calculated to excite within
+thee."
+
+The page turned his handsome countenance up toward the grand vizier, and
+commenced in melodious, liquid tones, the following song--
+
+
+    SONG OF THE GREEK PAGE.
+
+    "Oh, are there not beings condemned from their birth,
+    To drag, without solace or hope o'er the earth,
+      The burden of grief and of sorrow?
+    Doomed wretches who know, while they tremblingly say,
+    'The star of my fate appears brighter to-day,'
+    That it is but a brief and a mocking ray,
+      To make darkness darker to-morrow.
+
+    "And 'tis not to the vile and base alone
+    That unchanging grief and sorrow are known,
+      But as oft to the pure and guileless;
+    And he, from whose fervid and generous lip,
+    Gush words of the kindest fellowship,
+    Of the same pure fountain may not sip
+      In return, but it is sad and smileless!
+
+    "Yes; such doomed mortals, alas! there be
+    And mine is that self-same destiny;
+      The fate of the lorn and lonely;
+    For e'en in my childhood's early day,
+    The comrades I sought would turn away;
+    And of all the band, from the sportive play
+      Was I thrust and excluded only.
+
+    "When fifteen summers had passed o'er my head,
+    I stood on the battle-field strewn with the dead.
+      For the day of the Moslem's glory
+    Had made me an orphan child, and there
+    My sire was stretched; and his bosom bare
+    Showed a gaping wound; and the flowing hair
+      Of his head was damp and gory.
+
+    "My sire was the chief of the patriot band,
+    That had fought and died for their native land,
+      When her rightful prince betrayed her;
+    On his kith and kin did the vengeance fall
+    Of the Mussulman foes--and each and all
+    Were swept from the old ancestral hall,
+      Save myself, by the fierce invader!
+
+    "And I was spared from that blood-stained grave
+    To be dragged away as the Moslem's slave,
+      And bend to the foe victorious,--
+    But, O Greece! to thee does my memory turn
+    Its longing eyes--and my heart-strings yearn
+    To behold thee rise in thy might and spurn,
+      As of yore, thy yoke inglorious!
+
+    "But oh! whither has Spartan courage fled?
+    And why, proud Athens! above thine head
+      Is the Mussulman crescent gleaming?
+    Have thine ancient memories no avail?
+    And art thou not fired at the legend tale
+    Which reminds thee how the whole world grew pale,
+      And recoiled from thy banners streaming?"
+
+"Enough, boy," exclaimed Ibrahim: then in a low tone, he murmured to
+himself, "The Christians have indeed much cause to anathematize the
+encroachments and tyranny of the Moslems."
+
+There was a short pause, during which the grand vizier was absorbed in
+profound meditation, while the Greek page never once withdrew his eyes
+from the countenance of that high functionary.
+
+"Boy," at length said Ibrahim, "you appear attached to me. I have
+observed many proofs of your devotion during the few months that you
+have been in my service. Speak--is there aught that I can do to make you
+happy? Have you relations or friends who need protection? If they be
+poor, I will relieve their necessities."
+
+"My lips cannot express the gratitude which my heart feels toward your
+highness," returned the page, "but I have no friends in behalf of whom I
+might supplicate the bounty of your highness."
+
+"Are you yourself happy, Constantine?" asked Ibrahim.
+
+"Happy in being permitted to attend upon your highness," was the reply,
+delivered in a soft and tremulous tone.
+
+"But is it in my power to render you happier?" demanded the grand
+vizier.
+
+Constantine hung down his head--reflected for a few moments, and then
+murmured "Yes."
+
+"Then, by Heaven!" exclaimed Ibrahim Pasha, "thou hast only to name thy
+request, and it will be granted. I know not wherefore, but I am attached
+to thee much. I feel interested in thy welfare, and I would be rejoiced
+to minister to thy happiness."
+
+"I am already happier than I was--happier, because my lips have drunk in
+such words flowing from the lips of one who is exalted as highly as I am
+insignificant and humble." said the page, in a voice tremulous with
+emotion, but sweetly musical. "Yes, I am happier," he continued--"and
+yet my soul is filled with the image of a dear, a well-beloved sister,
+who pines in loneliness and solitude, ever dwelling on a hapless love
+which she has formed for one who knows not that he is so loved, and who
+perhaps may never--never know it."
+
+"Ah, thou hast a sister, Constantine?" exclaimed the grand vizier. "And
+is she as lovely as a sister of a youth so handsome as thou art ought to
+be?"
+
+"She has been assured by those who have sought her hand, that she is
+indeed beautiful," answered Constantine. "But of what avail are her
+charms, since he whom she loves may never whisper in her ear the
+delicious words, 'I love thee in return.'"
+
+"Does the object of her affections possess so obdurate a heart?"
+inquired the grand vizier, strangely interested in the discourse of his
+youthful page.
+
+"It is not that he scorns my sister's love," replied Constantine; "but
+it is that he knows not of its existence. It is true that he has seen
+her once--yet 'twere probable that he remembers not there is such a
+being in the world. Thus came it to pass, my lord--an officer, holding a
+high rank in the service of his imperial majesty, the great Solyman, had
+occasion to visit a humble dwelling wherein my sister resided. She--poor
+silly maiden! was so struck by his almost god-like beauty--so dazzled by
+his fascinating address--so enchanted by the sound of his voice, that
+she surrendered up her heart suddenly and secretly--surrendered it
+beyond all power of reclamation. Since then she has never ceased to
+ponder upon this fatal passion--this unhappy love; she has nursed his
+image in her mind, until her reason has rocked with the wild thoughts,
+the ardent hopes, the emotions of despair--all the conflicting
+sentiments of feeling, in a word, which so ardent and so strange a love
+must naturally engender. Enthusiastic, yet tender; fervent, yet melting
+in her soul; and while she does not attempt to close her eyes to the
+conviction that she is cherishing a passion which is preying upon her
+very vitals, she nevertheless clings to it as a martyr to the stake! Oh!
+my lord, canst thou marvel if I feel deeply for my unhappy sister?"
+
+"But wherefore doth she remain thus unhappy?" demanded Ibrahim-Pasha.
+"Surely there are means of conveying to the object of her attachment an
+intimation how deeply he is beloved? and he must be something more than
+human," he added, in an impassioned tone, "if he can remain obdurate to
+the tears and sighs of a beauteous creature, such as thy sister
+doubtless is."
+
+"And were he to spurn her from him--oh! your highness, it would kill
+her!" said the page, fixing his large, eloquent eyes upon the
+countenance of the grand vizier. "Consider his exalted rank and her
+humble position----"
+
+"Doth she aspire to become his wife?" asked Ibrahim.
+
+"She would be contented to serve him as his veriest slave," responded
+Constantine, now strangely excited, "were he but to look kindly upon
+her: she would deem herself blest in receiving a smile from his lips, so
+long as it was bestowed as a reward for all the tender love she bears
+him."
+
+"Who is this man that is so fortunate as to have excited so profound an
+interest in the heart of one so beautiful?" demanded the grand vizier.
+"Name him to me--I will order him to appear before me--and, for thy
+sake, I will become an eloquent pleader on behalf of thy sister."
+
+Words cannot express the joy which flashed from the eyes of the page,
+and animated his handsome though softly feminine countenance, as,
+casting himself on his knees at the feet of Ibrahim Pasha, he murmured,
+"Great lord, that man whom my sister loves, and for whom she would lay
+down her life, is thyself!"
+
+Ibrahim was for some minutes too much overcome by astonishment to offer
+an observation--to utter a word; while the page remained kneeling at his
+feet. Then suddenly it flashed to the mind of the grand vizier that the
+only humble abode which he had entered since he had become an officer
+holding a high rank in the service of Solyman, was that of his Greek
+emissary, Demetrius; and it now occurred to him, that there was a
+striking likeness between the young page and the beautiful Calanthe:
+whom he had seen on that occasion.
+
+"Constantine," he said, at length, "art thou, then, the brother of that
+Demetrius whom I dispatched some three months ago to Florence?"
+
+"I am, my lord--and 'tis our sister Calanthe of whom I have spoken," was
+the reply. "Oh! pardon my arrogance--my presumption, great vizier!" he
+continued, suddenly rising from his kneeling position, and now standing
+with his arms meekly folded across his breast--"pardon the arrogance,
+the insolence of my conduct," he exclaimed; "but it was for the sake of
+my sister that I sought service in the household of your highness. I
+thought that if I could succeed in gaining your notice--if in any way I
+could obtain such favor in your eyes as to be admitted to speak with one
+so highly raised above me as thou art, I fancied that some opportunity
+would enable me to make those representations which have issued from my
+lips this day. How patiently I have waited that occasion, Heaven knows!
+how ardent have been my hopes of success, when from time to time your
+highness singled me out from amongst the numerous free pages of your
+princely household to attend upon your privacy--how ardent, I say, these
+hopes have been, your highness may possibly divine. And now, my lord,
+that I _have_ succeeded in gaining your attention and pouring this
+secret into your ears, I will away to Calanthe and impart all the
+happiness that is in store for her. Though the flowers may hold up their
+heads high in the light of the glorious sun, yet she shall hold hers
+higher in the favor of your smile. Generous master," he added, suddenly
+sinking his voice to a lower tone and reassuming the deferential air
+which he had partially lost in the excitement of speaking, "permit me
+now to depart."
+
+"This evening, Constantine," said the grand vizier, fixing his dark eyes
+significantly upon the page, "let your sister enter the harem by the
+private door in the garden. Here is a key; I will give the necessary
+instructions to the female slaves to welcome her."
+
+Constantine received the key, made a low obeisance, and withdrew,
+leaving the grand vizier to feast his voluptuous imagination with
+delicious thoughts of the beauteous Calanthe.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER LIII.
+
+THE SULTANA VALIDA--THE THREE BLACK SLAVES.
+
+
+In the meantime the Princess Aischa, the now neglected wife of the grand
+vizier, had repaired to the imperial seraglio to obtain an interview
+with her brother, Solyman the Magnificent. The sultan, as the reader has
+already learnt, was deeply attached to Aischa. Their mother, the
+sultana, or empress mother, who was still alive, occupied apartments in
+the seraglio. Her children entertained the greatest respect for her: and
+her influence over the sultan, who possessed an excellent heart, though
+his sway was not altogether unstained by cruelties, was known to be
+great.
+
+It was therefore to her mother and her brother that the beautiful Aischa
+proceeded; and when she was alone with them in the Valida's apartment,
+and removed her veil, they immediately noticed that she had been
+weeping. Upon being questioned relative to the cause of her sorrow, she
+burst into an agony of tears, and was for some time unable to reply. At
+length, half regretting that she had taken the present step, Aischa
+slowly revealed her various causes of complaint against the grand
+vizier.
+
+"By Allah!" exclaimed the sultan, "the ungrateful Ibrahim shall not thus
+spurn and neglect the costly gift which I, his master, condescended to
+bestow upon him! What! when the Shah of Persia, the Khan of the Tartars,
+and the Prince of Karamania all sought thine hand, and dispatched
+embassadors laden with rich gifts to our court to demand thee in
+marriage, did I not send them back with cold words of denial to their
+sovereigns? And was it to bestow thee, my sister, on this ungrateful
+boy, who was so late naught save a dog of a Christian, ready to eat the
+dirt under our imperial feet,--was it to bestow thee on such an one as
+he, that I refused the offers of the Persian Shah! By the tomb of the
+prophet! this indignity shall cease!"
+
+"Restrain your wrath, my son," said the Sultana Valida. "Ibrahim must
+not be openly disgraced: the effects of his punishment would redound on
+our beloved Aischa. No--rather intrust this affair to me; and fear not
+that I shall fail in compelling this haughty pasha to return to the arms
+of his wife--ay, and implore her pardon for his late neglect."
+
+"Oh! dearest mother, if thou canst accomplish this," exclaimed Aischa,
+her countenance becoming animated with joy and her heart palpitating
+with hope, "thou wouldst render me happy indeed."
+
+"Trust to me, daughter," replied the Sultana Valida. "In the meantime
+seek not to learn my intentions; but, on thy return home, send me by
+some trusty slave thy pass-key to the harem. And thou, my son, wilt lend
+me thine imperial signet-ring for twelve hours!"
+
+"Remember," said the sultan, as he drew the jewel from his finger, "that
+he who wears that ring possesses a talisman of immense power--a sign
+which none to whom it is shown dares disobey; remember this, my mother,
+and use it with caution."
+
+"Fear not, my dearly beloved son," answered the Sultana Valida,
+concealing the ring in her bosom. "And now, Aischa, do you return to the
+palace of your haughty husband, who ere twelve hours be passed, shall
+sue for pardon at thy feet."
+
+The sultan and Aischa both knew that their mother was a woman of
+powerful intellect and determined character; and they sought not to
+penetrate into the secret of her intentions.
+
+Solyman withdrew to preside at a meeting of the divan; and Aischa
+returned to the palace of the grand vizier, attended by the slaves who
+had waited for her in an anteroom leading to her mother's apartments.
+
+It was now late in the afternoon, and the time for evening prayer had
+arrived ere the Sultana Valida received the pass-key to Ibrahim Pasha's
+harem. But the moment it was conveyed to her, she summoned to her
+presence three black slaves, belonging to the corps of the bostanjis, or
+gardeners, who also served as executioners, when a person of rank was to
+be subjected to the process of bowstring, or when any dark deed was to
+be accomplished in silence and with caution. Terrible appendages to the
+household of Ottoman sultans were the black slaves belonging to that
+corps--like snakes, they insinuated themselves, noiselessly and
+ominously into the presence of their victims, and it were as vain to
+preach peace to the warring elements which God alone can control, as to
+implore mercy at the hands of those remorseless Ethiopians!
+
+To the three black slaves did the Sultana Valida issue her commands; and
+to the eldest she intrusted Solyman's signet-ring and the pass-key which
+Aischa had sent her. The slaves bowed three times to the empress
+mother--laid their hands on their heads to imply that they would deserve
+decapitation if they neglected the orders they had received--and then
+withdrew. There was something terribly sinister in their appearance, as
+they retired noiselessly but rapidly through the long, silent and
+darkened corridors of the imperial harem.
+
+It was night--and the moon shone softly and sweetly upon the mighty city
+of Constantinople, tipping each of its thousand spires and pinnacles as
+with a star.
+
+Ibrahim Pasha, having disposed of the business of the day, and now with
+his imagination full of the beautiful Calanthe, hastened to the
+anteroom, or principal apartment of the harem.
+
+The harem, occupying one complete wing of the vizier's palace, consisted
+of three stories. On the ground floor were the apartments of the
+Princess Aischa and her numerous female dependents. These opened from a
+spacious marble hall; and at the folding-doors leading into them, were
+stationed two black dwarfs, who were deaf and dumb. Their presence was
+not in any way derogatory to the character of Aischa, but actually
+denoted the superior rank of the lady who occupied those apartments in
+respect to the numerous females who tenanted the rooms above. As she was
+the sister of the sultan, Ibrahim dared not appear in her presence
+without obtaining her previous assent through the medium of one of the
+mutes, who were remarkably keen in understanding and conveying
+intelligence by means of signs. A grand marble staircase led from the
+hall to the two floors containing the apartments of the ladies of the
+harem; and thus, though Aischa dwelt in the same wing as those females,
+her own abode was as distinct from theirs as if she were the tenant of a
+separate house altogether.
+
+On the first floor there was a large and magnificently furnished room in
+which the ladies of the harem were accustomed to assemble when they
+chose to quit the solitude of their own chambers for the enjoyment of
+each other's society. The ceiling of the anteroom; as this immense
+apartment was called, was gilt entirely over; it was supported by twenty
+slender columns of crystal; and the splendid chandeliers which were
+suspended to it, diffused a soft and mellow light, producing the most
+striking effects on that mass of gilding, those reflecting columns, and
+the wainscoted walls inlaid with mother-of-pearl, and with ivory of
+different colors. A Persian carpet three inches thick was spread upon
+the floor. Along two opposite sides ran continuous sofas, supported by
+low, white marble pillars, and covered with purple figured velvet
+fringed with gold. In the middle of this gorgeous apartment was a large
+table, shaped like a crescent, and spread with all kinds of preserved
+fruits, confectionery, cakes, and delicious beverages of a non-alcoholic
+nature.
+
+The room was crowded with beauteous women when the presence of Ibrahim
+was announced by a slave. There were the fair-complexioned daughters of
+Georgia--the cold, reserved, but lovely Circassians--the warm and
+impassioned Persians--the voluptuous Wallachians--the timid Tartars--the
+dusky Indians--the talkative Turkish ladies--beauties, too, of Italy,
+Spain, and Portugal--indeed, specimens of female perfection from many,
+many nations. Their various styles of beauty, and their characteristic
+national dresses, formed a scene truly delightful to gaze upon: but the
+grand vizier noticed none of the countenances so anxiously turned toward
+him to mark on which his eyes would settle in preference; and the ladies
+noiselessly withdrew, leaving their master alone with the slave in the
+anteroom.
+
+Ibrahim threw himself on a sofa, and gave some hasty instructions to the
+slave, who immediately retired. In about a quarter of an hour he came
+back, conducting into the anteroom a lady veiled from head to foot. The
+slave then withdrew altogether; and Ibrahim approached the lady, saying,
+"Calanthe--beauteous Calanthe! welcome to my palace."
+
+She removed her veil; and Ibrahim fixed his eager eyes upon the
+countenance thus disclosed to him; but he was immediately struck by the
+marvelous resemblance existing between his page Constantine, and the
+charming Calanthe. It will be remembered that when he called, in a mean
+disguise, at the abode of Demetrius, he saw Calanthe for the first time,
+and only for a short period; and though he was even then struck by her
+beauty, yet the impression it made was but momentary: and he had so far
+forgotten Calanthe as never to behold in Constantine the least
+resemblance to any one whom he had seen before.
+
+But now that Calanthe's countenance burst upon him in all the glory of
+its superb Greek beauty, that resemblance struck him with all the force
+of a new idea; and he was about to express his astonishment that so
+wondrous a likeness should subsist between brother and sister, when the
+maiden sunk at his feet, exclaiming, "Pardon me, great vizier; but
+Constantine and Calanthe are one and the same thing."
+
+"Methought the brother pleaded with marvelous eloquence on behalf of his
+sister," said Ibrahim, with a smile; and raising Calanthe from her
+suppliant posture, he led her to a seat, gazing on her the while with
+eyes expressive of intense passion.
+
+"Your highness," observed the maiden, after a short pause, "has heard
+from my own lips how profound is the attachment which I have dared to
+conceive for you--how great is the admiration which I entertain for the
+brilliant powers of your intellect. To be with thee, great Ibrahim, will
+I abandon my country, friends--ay, and even creed, shouldst thou demand
+that concession; for in thee--and in thee only--are all my hopes of
+happiness now centered!"
+
+"And those hopes shall not be disappointed, dearest Calanthe!" exclaimed
+Ibrahim, clasping her in his arms. "But a few minutes before you entered
+this room a hundred women--the choicest flowers of all climes--were
+gathered here; and yet I value one smile on thy lips more than all the
+tender endearments that those purchased houris could bestow. For thy
+love was unbought--it was a love that prompted thee to attach thyself to
+me in a menial capacity----"
+
+The impassioned language of the grand vizier was suddenly interrupted by
+the opening of the door, and three black slaves glided into the
+anteroom--half crouching as they stole along--and fixing on the
+beauteous Calanthe eyes, the dark pupils of which seemed to glare
+horribly from the whites in which they were set.
+
+"Dogs! what signifies this intrusion?" exclaimed Ibrahim Pasha, starting
+from the sofa, and grasping the handle of his scimiter.
+
+The chief the three slaves uttered not a word of reply, but exhibited
+the imperial signet, and at the same time unrolled from the coil which
+he had hitherto held in his hand a long green silken bowstring. At that
+ominous spectacle Ibrahim fell back, his countenance becoming ashy pale,
+and his frame trembling with an icy shudder from head to foot.
+
+"Choose between this and her," whispered the slave, in a deep tone, as
+he first glanced at the bowstring and then looked toward Calanthe, who
+knew that some terrible danger was impending, but was unable to divine
+where or when it was to fall.
+
+"Merciful Allah!" exclaimed the grand vizier; and throwing himself upon
+the floor, he buried his face in his hands.
+
+In another moment Calanthe was seized and gagged, before even a word or
+a scream could escape her lips; but Ibrahim heard the rustling of her
+dress as she unavailingly struggled with the monsters in whose power she
+was. The selfish ingrate! he drew not his scimiter to defend her--he no
+longer remembered all the tender love she bore him--but, appalled by the
+menace of the bowstring, backed by the warrant of the sultan's signet
+ring, he lay groveling on the rich Persian carpet, giving vent to his
+alarms by low and piteous groans.
+
+Then he heard the door once more close as softly as possible: he looked
+up--glared with wild anxiety around--and breathed more freely on finding
+himself alone! For the Ethiopians had departed with their victim! Slowly
+rising from his supine posture, Ibrahim approached the table, filled a
+crystal cup with sherbet to the brim, and drank the cooling beverage,
+which seemed to go hissing down his parched throat--so dreadful was the
+thirst which the horror of the scene just enacted had produced.
+
+Then the sickening as well as maddening conviction struck to his very
+soul, that though the envied and almost worshiped vizier of a mighty
+empire--having authority of life and death over millions of human
+beings, and able to dispose of the governments and patronage of huge
+provinces and mighty cities--he was but a miserable, helpless slave in
+the eyes of another greater still--an ephemeron whom the breath of
+Solyman the Magnificent could destroy! And overcome by this conviction,
+he threw himself on the sofa, bursting into an agony of tears--tears of
+mingled rage and woe. Yes; the proud, the selfish, the haughty renegade
+wept as bitterly as ever even a poor, weak woman was known to weep!
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+How calm and beautiful lay the waters of the Golden Horn beneath the
+light of that lovely moon which shone so chastely and so serenely above,
+as if pouring its argent luster upon a world where no evil passions were
+known--no hearts were stained with crime--no iniquity of human imagining
+was in the course of perpetration. But, ah! what sound is that which
+breaks on the silence of the night! Is it the splash of oars? No--for
+the two black slaves who guide yon boat which has shot out from the
+shore into the center of the gulf, are resting on the slight sculls--the
+boat itself, too, is now stationary--and not a ripple is stirred up by
+its grotesquely-shaped prow. What, then, was that sound?
+
+'Twas the voice of agony bursting from woman's throat; and the boat is
+about to become the scene of a deed of horror, though one of
+frequent--alas! too frequent--occurrence in that clime, and especially
+on that gulf.
+
+The gag has slipped from Calanthe's mouth; and a long loud scream of
+agonizing despair sweeps over the surface of the water--rending the calm
+and moonlit air--but dying away ere it can raise an echo on either
+shore. Strong are the arms and relentless is the black monster who has
+now seized the unhappy Greek maiden in his ferocious grasp--while the
+luster of the pale orb of night streams on that countenance lately
+radiant with impassioned hope, but now convulsed with indescribable
+horror.
+
+Again the scream bursts from the victim's lips; but its thrilling,
+cutting agony is interrupted by a sudden plunge--a splash--a gurgling
+and a rippling of the waters--and the corpse of the murdered Calanthe is
+borne toward the deeper and darker bosom of the Bosporus.
+
+The sun was already dispersing the orient mists, when the chief of the
+three black slaves once more stood in the presence of the grand vizier,
+who had passed the night in the anteroom, alone, and a prey to the most
+lively mental tortures. So noiselessly and reptile-like did the hideous
+Ethiopian steal into the apartment, that he was within a yard of the
+grand vizier ere the latter was aware that the door had even opened.
+Ibrahim started as if from a snake about to spring upon him--for the
+ominous bowstring swung negligently from the slave's hand, and the
+imperial signet still glistened on his finger.
+
+"Mighty pasha!" spoke the Ethiopian in a low and cold tone; "thus saith
+the Sultana Valida: 'Cease to treat thy wife with neglect. Hasten to
+her--throw thyself at her feet--implore her pardon for the past--and
+give her hope of affection for the future. Shouldst thou neglect this
+warning, then every night will the rival whom thou preferrest to her be
+torn from thine arms, and be devoted as food for the fishes. She whom
+thou didst so prefer this night that is passed sleeps in the dark green
+bed of the Bosporus. Take warning, pasha; for the bowstring may be used
+at last. Moreover, see that thou revealest not to the Princess Aischa
+the incident of the night, nor the nature of the threats which send thee
+back repentant to her arms.'"
+
+And, with these words, the slave glided hastily from the room, leaving
+the grand vizier a prey to feelings of ineffable horror. His punishment
+on earth had begun--and he knew it. What had his ambition gained? Though
+rich, invested with high rank, and surrounded by every luxury, he was
+more wretched than the meanest slave who was accustomed to kiss the dust
+at his feet.
+
+But, subduing the fearful agitation which oppressed him--composing his
+feelings and his countenance as well as he was able, the proud and
+haughty Ibrahim hastened to implore admittance to his wife's chamber,
+and when the boon was accorded, and he found himself in her presence, he
+besought her pardon in a voice and with a manner expressive of the most
+humiliating penitence. Thus, at the moment when thousands--perhaps
+millions, were envying the bright fortunes and glorious destiny of
+Ibrahim the Happy, as he was denominated--the dark and terrible
+despotism of the Sultana Valida made him tremble for his life, and
+compelled him to sue at Aischa's feet for pardon. And if, at the same
+instant of his crushed spirit and wounded pride, there were a balm found
+to soothe the racking fibers of his heart, the anodyne consisted in the
+tender love which Aischa manifested toward him, and the touching
+sincerity with which she assured him of her complete forgiveness.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Return we again to that Mediterranean island on which Fernand Wagner and
+the beauteous Nisida espoused each other by solemn vows plighted in the
+face of Heaven, and where they have now resided for six long months. At
+first how happy--how supremely happy was Nisida, having tutored herself
+so far to forget the jarring interests of that world which lay beyond
+the sea, as to abandon her soul without reservation to the delights of
+the new existence on which she had entered. Enabled once more to use
+that charming voice which God had given her, but which had remained
+hushed for so many years,--able also to listen to the words that fell
+from the lips of her lover, without being forced to subdue and crush the
+emotions which they excited,--and secure in the possession of him to
+whom she was so madly devoted, and who manifested such endearing
+tenderness toward herself, Nisida indeed felt as if she were another
+being, or endowed with the lease of a new life.
+
+At first, too, how much had Wagner and Nisida to say to each other,--how
+many fond assurances to give--how many protestations of unalterable
+affection to make! For hours would they sit together upon the seashore,
+or on the bank of the limpid stream in the valley, and converse almost
+unceasingly, wearying not of each other's discourse, and sustaining the
+interests and the enjoyment of that interchange of thoughts by flying
+from topic to topic just as their unshackled imagination suggested. But
+Fernand never questioned Nisida concerning the motive which had induced
+her to feign dumbness and deafness for so many years; she had given him
+to understand that family reasons of the deepest importance, and
+involving dreadful mysteries from the contemplation of which she
+recoiled with horror, had prompted so tremendous a self-martyrdom:--and
+he loved her too well to outrage her feelings by urging her to touch
+more than she might choose on that topic.
+
+Careful not to approach the vicinity of large trees, for fear of these
+dreadful tenants of the isle who might be said to divide its sovereignty
+with them, the lovers--may we not venture to call them husband and
+wife?--would ramble hand-in-hand, along the stream's enchanting banks,
+in the calm hours of moonlight, which lent softer charms to the scene
+than when the gorgeous sun was bathed all in gold. Or else they would
+wander on the sands to the musical murmur of the rippling sea,--their
+arms clasping each other's neck--their eyes exchanging glances of
+fondness--hers of ardent passion, his of more melting tenderness. But
+there was too much sensuality in the disposition of Nisida to render her
+love for Wagner sufficient and powerful enough to insure permanent
+contentment with her present lot.
+
+The first time that the fatal eve drew near when he must exchange the
+shape of man for that of a horrid wolf, he had said to her, "Beloved
+Nisida, I remember that there are finer and different fruits on the
+other side of the island, beyond the range of mountains; and I should
+rejoice to obtain for thee a variety. Console thyself for a few hours
+during mine absence; and on my return we shall experience renewed and
+increased happiness, as if we were meeting again after a long
+separation." Vainly did Nisida assure him that she reckoned not for a
+more extensive variety of fruits than those which the nearest grove
+yielded, and that she would rather have his society than all the
+luxuries which his absence and return might bring; he overruled her
+remonstrances--and she at length permitted him to depart. Then he
+crossed the mountains by means of the path which he had described when
+he escaped from the torrent at the point where the tree stretched across
+the stream, as described in the preceding chapter; and on the other side
+of the range of hills he fulfilled the dreadful destiny of the
+Wehr-Wolf! On his return to Nisida--after an absence of nearly
+twenty-four hours, for the time occupied in crossing and recrossing the
+mountains was considerable--he found her gloomy and pensive. His long
+absence had vexed her: she in the secrecy of her own heart had felt a
+craving for a change of scene--and she naturally suspected that it was
+to gratify a similar want that Fernand had undertaken the transmontane
+journey. She received his fruits coldly; and it was some time ere he
+could succeed in winning her back to perfect good humor.
+
+The next interval of a month glided away, the little incident which had
+for a moment ruffled the harmony of their lives was forgotten--at least
+by Nisida;--and so devoted was Fernand in his attention, so tenderly
+sincere in his attachment toward her--and so joyful, too, was she in the
+possession of one whose masculine beauty was almost superhumanly great,
+that those incipient cravings for change of scene--those nascent
+longings for a return to the great and busy world, returned but seldom
+and were even then easily subdued in her breast.
+
+When the second fatal date after their union on the island approached,
+Wagner was compelled to urge some new but necessarily trivial excuse for
+again crossing the mountains; and Nisida's remonstrances were more
+authoritative and earnest than on the previous occasion. Nevertheless he
+succeeded in obtaining her consent: but during his absence of four or
+five-and-twenty hours, the lady had ample leisure to ponder on home--the
+busy world across the sea--and her well-beloved brother Francisco.
+Fernand when he came back, found her gloomy and reserved; then, as he
+essayed to wean her from her dark thoughts, she responded petulantly and
+even reproachingly.
+
+The ensuing month glided away as happily as the two former ones; and
+though Fernand's attentions and manifestations of fondness increased, if
+possible, still Nisida would frequently sigh and look wistfully at the
+sea as if she would have joyed to behold a sail in the horizon. The
+third time the fatal close of the month drew nigh, Wagner knew not how
+to act; but some petulance on the part of Nisida furnished him with an
+excuse which his generous heart only had recourse to with the deepest,
+the keenest anguish. Throwing back the harsh word at her whom he loved
+so devotedly, he exclaimed, "Nisida, I leave thee for a few hours until
+thy good humor shall have returned;" and without waiting for a reply he
+darted toward the mountains. For some time the lady remained seated
+gloomily upon the sand; but as hour after hour passed away, and the sun
+went down, and the moon gathered power to light the enchanting scene of
+landscape and of sea, she grew uneasy and restless. Throughout that
+night she wandered up and down on the sands, now weeping at the thought
+that she herself had been unkind--then angry at the conviction that
+Fernand was treating her more harshly than she deserved.
+
+It was not till the sun was high in the heavens that Wagner reappeared;
+and though Nisida was in reality delighted to find all her wild alarms,
+in which the monstrous snakes of the isle entered largely, thus
+completely dissipated, yet she concealed the joy which she experienced
+in beholding his safe return, and received him with gloomy hauteur. Oh!
+how her conduct went to Wagner's heart!--for he knew that, so long as
+the direful necessity which had compelled his absence remained
+unexplained, Nisida was justified in attributing that absence to unkind
+feelings and motives on his part. A thousand times that day was he on
+the point of throwing himself at her feet and revealing all the details
+of that frightful destiny; but he dared not--oh! no, he dared not--and a
+profound melancholy seized upon his soul. Nisida now relented, chiefly
+because she herself felt miserable by the contemplation of his
+unhappiness; and harmony was restored between them.
+
+But during the fourth month of their union, the lady began to speak more
+frequently and frankly of the weariness and monotony of their present
+existence; and when Fernand essayed to console her, she responded by
+deep-drawn sighs. His love was based on those enduring elements which
+would have rendered him content to dwell forever with Nisida on that
+island, which had no sameness for him so long as she was there to be his
+companion; but _her_ love subsisted rather sensually than mentally; and
+now that her fierce and long-pent up desires had experienced
+gratification, she longed to return to the land of her birth, to embrace
+her brother Francisco; yes, even though she should be again compelled to
+simulate the deaf and dumb. The close of the fourth month was at hand,
+and Wagner was at a loss how to act. New excuses for a fresh absence
+were impossible; and it was with a heart full of anguish that he was
+compelled to seize an opportunity in the afternoon of the last day of
+the month, to steal away from Nisida and hasten across the mountains.
+Oh! what would she think of his absence now?--an absence for which he
+had not prepared her, and which was not on this occasion justified by
+any petulance or willfulness on her part? The idea was maddening, but
+there was no alternative.
+
+It was noon on the ensuing day when Fernand Wagner, pale and care-worn,
+again sought that spot on the strand where the rudely constructed
+cottage stood; but Nisida was not within the hut. He roved along the
+shore to a considerable distance, and still beheld her not. Terrible
+alarms now oppressed him. Could she have done some desperate deed to rid
+herself of an existence whereof she was weary? or had some fatal
+accident befallen her. From the shore he hastened to the valley; and
+there, seated by the side of the crystal stream, he beheld the object of
+his search. He ran--he flew toward her; but she seemed not to observe
+him; and when he caught a glimpse of her countenance, he shrank back in
+dismay--it was so pale, and yet so expressive of deep, concentrated
+rage!
+
+But we cannot linger on this portion of our tale. Suffice it to say that
+Wagner exerted all his eloquence, all his powers of persuasion to induce
+Nisida to turn a kind glance upon him; and it was only when, goaded to
+desperation by her stern silence and her implacable mien, he exclaimed,
+"Since I am no longer worthy of even a look or a syllable, I will quit
+thee forever!" It was only when these words conveyed to Nisida a
+frightful menace of loneliness, that she relented and gradually suffered
+herself to be appeased. But vainly did she question him relative to the
+cause of his absence on this occasion; he offered a variety of excuses,
+and she believed none of them.
+
+The month that followed was characterized by many quarrels and disputes;
+for Nisida's soul acquired all the restlessness which had marked it ere
+she was thrown on the island, but which solitude at first and then the
+possession of Wagner, had for a time so greatly subdued. Nevertheless,
+there were still occasions when she would cling to Wagner with all the
+confiding fondness of one who remembered how he had saved her life from
+the hideous anaconda, and who looked up to him as her only joy and
+solace in that clime, the beauty of which became painful with its
+monotony--yes, she would cling to him as they roved along the sands
+together--she would gaze up into his countenance, and as she read
+assurances of the deepest affection in his fine dark eyes, she would
+exclaim rapturously, "Oh! how handsome--how god-like art thou, my
+Fernand! Pardon me--pardon me, that I should ever have nursed resentment
+against thee!"
+
+It was when she was in such a mood as this that he murmured in her ears,
+"Nisida dearest, thou hast thy secret which I have never sought to
+penetrate. I also have my secret, beloved one, as I hinted to thee on
+that day which united us in this island; and into that mystery of mine
+thou mayest not look. But at certain intervals I must absent myself from
+thee for a few hours, as I hitherto have done; and on my return, O
+dearest Nisida! let me not behold that glorious countenance of thine
+clouded with anger and with gloom!"
+
+Then ere she could utter a word of reply, he sealed her lips with
+kisses--he pressed her fervently to his heart, and at that moment she
+thought he seemed so divinely handsome, and she felt so proud of
+possessing the love of a man invested with such superhuman beauty and
+such a splendid intellect, that she attempted not a remonstrance nor a
+complaint against what was but the preface to a fifth absence of
+four-and-twenty hours. And when Fernand Wagner reappeared again, his
+Nisida hastened to meet him as he descended from the mountains--those
+mountains which were crossed over by a surefooted and agile man with so
+much difficulty, and which he knew it would be impossible for him to
+traverse during that mad career in which he was monthly doomed to whirl
+along in his lupine shape--yes, she hurried to meet him--receiving him
+with open arms--smiled tenderly upon him--and led him to the sea-shore,
+where she had spread the noonday meal in the most inviting manner.
+
+The unwearied and unchanging nature of his love had touched her heart;
+and, during the long hours of his fifth absence, she had reasoned on the
+folly of marring the sweet harmony which should prevail between the only
+two human tenants of that island. The afternoon passed more happily than
+many and many a previous day had done; Nisida thought that Fernand had
+never seemed so handsome, though somewhat pale, and he fancied that his
+companion had never appeared so magnificently beautiful as now, while
+she lay half reclining in his arms, the rays of the setting sun faintly
+illuminating her aquiline countenance, and giving a glossy richness to
+the luxuriant black hair which floated negligently over her naked
+shoulders.
+
+When the last beams of the orb of day died flickeringly in the far
+horizon, the tender pair retired to their hut rejoicing in the serene
+and happy way in which the last few hours had glided over their
+heads--when a dark figure passed along the sand and stopped at a short
+distance from the door of the rudely constructed tenement.
+
+And assuredly this was no mortal being--nor wore it now a mortal
+shape--but Satan--in all the horrors of his ugliness, though still
+invested with that sublimity of mien which marked the mighty fallen
+angel--Satan, clothed in terrors ineffable, it was.
+
+For a few moments he stood contemplating the hut wherein the sleepers
+lay; dread lightnings flushed from his eyes, and the forked electric
+fluid seemed to play round his haughty brow, while his fearful
+countenance, the features of which no human pen may venture to describe,
+expressed malignant hate, anticipated triumph, and tremendous scorn.
+
+Then, extending his right hand toward the hut, and speaking in that deep
+sonorous tone, which when heard by mortal ears, seemed to jar against
+the very soul, he chanted the following incantation:--
+
+    "Woman of wild and fierce desires!
+    Why languish thus the wonted fires
+    That arm'd thine heart and nerved thine hand
+    To do whate'er thy firmness planned?
+    Has maudlin love subdued thy soul,
+    Once so impatient of control?
+    Has amorous play enslaved the mind
+    Where erst no common chains confined?
+    Has tender dalliance power to kill
+    The wild, indomitable will?
+    No more must love thus paralyze
+    And crush thine iron energies;
+    No more must maudlin passion stay
+    Thy despot soul's remorseless sway;
+    Henceforth thy lips shall cease to smile
+    Upon the beauties of this Isle;
+    Henceforth thy mental glance shall roam,
+    O'er the Mediterranean foam,
+    Toward thy far-off Tuscan home!
+    Alarms for young Francisco's weal,
+    And doubts into thy breast steal;
+    While retrospection carries back
+    Thy memory o'er time's beaten track
+    And stops at that dread hour when thou
+    With burning eyes and flashing brow,
+    Call'd Heaven to hear the solemn vow
+    Dictated with the latest breath
+    Of the fond mother on the untimely bed of death."
+
+Thus spoke the demon; and having chanted the incantation, full of menace
+and of deep design, he turned to depart.
+
+Sleep was still upon the eyes of Fernand and Nisida as they lay in each
+other's arms--the island and the sea, too, were sleeping in the soft
+light of the silver moon, and the countless stars which gemmed the vault
+of heaven,--when the dark figure passed along the sand, away from the
+rudely-constructed tenement.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER LIV.
+
+
+When the sun rose again from the orient wave, Fernand repaired to the
+grove, as was his wont, to gather fruits for the morning repast, while
+Nisida bathed her fair form in the waters of the Mediterranean.
+
+But there was a gloom upon that lady's brow, and there was a somber
+flashing in her large dark eyes which denoted an incipient conflict of
+emotions stirring within her breast.
+
+She had retired to rest, as we have seen on the previous evening, with a
+heart glowing toward her beloved and handsome Fernand--she had fallen
+asleep with the tender sounds of his musical yet manly voice in her
+ears, and the image of his beautiful countenance in her mind--but in the
+night--she knew not at what hour--strange dreams began to oppress her,
+ominous visions filled her with anxiety.
+
+It seemed as if some being, having right to reproach and power to taunt,
+whispered to her as she slept, stern remonstrances against the idle,
+voluptuous, and dreaming life she was leading, mocking her for passing
+her time in the maudlin delights of love, calling upon her to arouse her
+latent energies and shake off that luxurious lethargy, teaching her to
+look upon the island, beauteous though it were, as one vast prison in
+which she was confined, from whence there were, nevertheless, means of
+escape, raising up before her mental vision all the most alluring and
+bustling scenes of her own fair, native city of Florence, then bitterly
+reproaching her for having allowed her soul to be more wrapped up in the
+society of Fernand Wagner, than solicitous, as it was wont to be, for
+the welfare of her brother Francisco, creating, too, wild doubts in her
+imagination as to whether circumstances might not, after all, have
+united her brother and Flora Francatelli in the bonds of a union which
+for many reasons she abhorred, and lastly thundering in her ears the
+terrific accusation that she was perjured to a solemn and an awful vow
+pledged by her lips, on a dread occasion, and to the dictating voice of
+her dying mother.
+
+When she awoke in the morning her brain appeared to be in confusion, but
+as her thoughts gradually settled themselves in the various cells of the
+seat of memory, the entire details of her long dream assumed the
+semblance of a connected chain, even as we have just described them.
+
+For these thoughts had arisen in the nature and order commanded by the
+demon.
+
+Fernand Wagner saw that the mind of his lovely companion, his charming
+bride, was ruffled; and, as he embraced her tenderly, he inquired the
+cause. His caresses for the moment soothed her, and induced her to
+struggle against the ideas which oppressed: _for there are thoughts that
+Satan excites within us_, which we can wrestle with--ay, and conquer if
+we will.
+
+Finding that Nisida became more composed, and that she treated her
+mournfulness and his agitation merely as the results of a disagreeable
+dream, Fernand rose, hastened to perform his own ablutions, and then
+repaired to the adjacent grove, as above stated. But Nisida remained not
+long in the Mediterranean's mighty bath; the moment Wagner had departed
+from her presence, thoughts which had recently passed in sad procession
+through her brain came back with renewed vigor; forcing themselves, as
+it were, upon her contemplation, because she offered but a feeble
+resistance to their returning invasion. And as she stood on the shore,
+having donned her scant clothing, and now combing out her long,
+luxuriant hair, to the silk richness of which the salt water had lent a
+more glorious gloss--she became a prey to an increasing restlessness--an
+augmenting anxiety, a longing to quit the island, and an earnest desire
+to behold her brother Francisco once again, sentiments and cravings
+which gave to her countenance an expression of somber lowering and
+concentrated passion, such as it was wont to exhibit in those days when
+her simulated deafness and dumbness forced her to subdue all the
+workings of her excited soul, and compress her vermilion lips to check
+the ebullition of that language which on those occasions struggled to
+pour itself forth.
+
+"O Italy! Italy!" she exclaimed in an impassioned tone; "shall I ever
+behold thee again? O! my beloved native land, thou too, fair city, whose
+name is fraught with so many varied reminiscences for me, am I doomed
+never to visit ye more?"
+
+"Nisida--dearest Nisida!" said Wagner, who had returned to her
+unperceived, and unheard--for his feet passed noiselessly over the sand;
+"wherefore those passionate exclamations? why this anxious longing to
+revisit the busy, bustling world? Are not the calm and serene delights
+of this island sufficient for our happiness? or art thou wearied of me
+who love thee so tenderly?"
+
+"I am not wearied of thee, my Fernand!" replied Nisida, "nor do I fail
+to appreciate all thy tender affection toward me. But--I can conceal it
+from myself and from thee no longer--I am overcome with the monotony of
+this isle. Unvaried sunshine during the day, unchanging calmness by
+night, pall upon the soul. I crave variety, even the variety that would
+be afforded by a magnificent storm, or the eruption of yon sleeping
+volcano. My thoughts wander in spite of myself toward Italy; I think,
+too, of my brother--the young and inexperienced Francisco! Moreover,
+there is in our mansion at Florence, a terrible mystery which prying
+eyes may seek to penetrate,--a closet containing a fearful secret,
+which, if published to the world, would heap loathing execrations and
+disgrace on the haughty name of Riverola! And now Francisco is the sole
+guardian of that mystery, which he himself knows not, or at least knew
+not, when last we were together. But it requires a strong and energetic
+mind, like my own, to watch over that awful secret. And now, Fernand,
+dear Fernand, thou canst not blame me, thou wilt not reproach me, if I
+experience an irresistible longing to return to my native land?"
+
+"And know you not, Nisida," said Wagner, in a tone of mingled
+mournfulness and reproach, "that, even if there were any means for thee
+to return to Florence, I could not accompany thee? Dost thou not
+remember that I informed thee, that being doomed to death, I escaped
+from the power of the authorities--it matters not how; and that were I
+to set foot in Florence, it would be to return to my dungeon?"
+
+"Alas! all this I remember well--too well!" exclaimed Nisida. "And think
+not, my Fernand, that I feel no pang, when I lay bare to thee the state
+of my soul. But if it were possible for us to go to Italy, thou couldst
+dwell secretly and retiredly in some suburb of Florence, and we should
+be together often--very often!"
+
+"No--Nisida," answered Wagner; "that were impossible! Never more may I
+venture into that city--and if thou couldst even find the means to
+revisit thy native clime, thither must thou go, and there must thou
+dwell _alone_!"
+
+For Wagner knew full well that were the lady to return to Florence, she
+would hear of the frightful incidents which marked his trial and also
+the day of his escape; and, though he had at first inclined to impart to
+her the terrible secret of his fate--yet subsequent and more calm
+deliberation in his own mind had convinced him of the imprudence of
+giving her love a shock by such a tremendous--such an appalling
+revelation.
+
+"Fernand," said Nisida, breaking silence after a long pause, during
+which she was wrapped in profound meditation, "thy words go to my heart
+like fiery arrows! O my handsome--my beautiful--my beloved Fernand, why
+does destiny thus persecute us? It is impossible for thee to return to
+Florence:--it is equally impossible for me to renounce the first
+opportunity which Heaven may afford for me to repair thither! My God!
+wherefore do our fates tend in such opposite directions? to separate
+from thee were maddening: to abandon my brother Francisco--to desert the
+grave and solemn interests which demand my presence at home, were to
+render myself perjured to a vow which I breathed and which Heaven
+witnessed, when I knelt long years ago at the death-bed of my mother!"
+
+"After all thou hast said, my beloved Nisida," exclaimed Fernand, in a
+voice expressive of the deepest melancholy, "I should be wrong--I should
+be even criminal to listen only to the whispering of my own selfishness
+and retain thee here, did opportunity serve for thy departure. But on
+this island shall I remain--perhaps forever! And if the time should come
+when you grew wearied of that bustling world across the sea, and thy
+memory traveled to this lonely isle where thy Fernand was left behind
+thee,--haply thou wouldst embark to return hither and pass the remainder
+of thy days with one who can never cease to love thee!"
+
+Tears came into the eyes of Nisida--of her who so seldom, so very seldom
+wept;--and throwing herself into Wagner's arms, she exclaimed, "God
+grant that I may revisit my native land; and believe me, oh! believe me,
+when I declare that I would come back to thee the moment the interests
+of my brother no longer demanded my presence!"
+
+They embraced fondly, and then sat down upon the sand to partake of
+their morning repast.
+
+But the thoughts of both were naturally intent upon the recent topic of
+their discourse; and their conversation, though each endeavored to force
+it into other channels, reverted to the subject which was now uppermost
+in their minds.
+
+"What must my poor brother Francisco conjecture to be the cause of my
+prolonged, and to him mysterious absence?" said Nisida, as her eyes were
+cast wistfully over the wide expanse of waters. "Methinks that I have
+already hinted to thee how the foolish passion which he had conceived
+for a maiden of low degree and obscure birth, compelled me, in
+accordance with his nearest and best interest, to consign the object of
+his boyish love to the convent of the Carmelites? Yes, and it was with
+surprise and dismay incredible that I heard, ere I was torn away from
+Florence by the villain Stephano, how that convent was sacked and
+destroyed by unknown marauders----"
+
+"Full intelligence of which terrible sacrilege you communicated to me by
+signs the second and last time you visited me in my dungeon," observed
+Wagner.
+
+"And I heard also, with increased fear," continued Nisida, "that some of
+the inmates of that convent had escaped; and, being unable, in
+consequence of my simulated deafness and dumbness, to set on foot the
+necessary inquiries, I could not learn whether Flora Francatelli was
+amongst those who had so escaped the almost general ruin. O! if she
+should have survived that fatal night--and if she should have again
+encountered my brother! Alas! thou perceivest, my Fernand, how necessary
+it is for me to quit the island on the first occasion which may serve
+for that purpose!"
+
+"And wouldst thou, Nisida," asked Wagner reproachfully, "place thyself
+as a barrier between the Count of Riverola and her whom he loves?"
+
+"Yes!" ejaculated Nisida, her countenance suddenly assuming a stern and
+imperious expression: "for the most important interests are involved in
+the marriage which he may contract. But enough of this, Fernand," she
+added, relapsing into a more tender mood. "And now tell me--canst thou
+blame me for the longing desire which has seized upon me--the ardent
+craving to return to Florence?"
+
+"Nay--I do not blame thee, dearest Nisida!" he exclaimed; "but I pity
+thee--I feel for thee! Because," he continued, "if I understand rightly,
+thou wilt be compelled to feign deafness and dumbness once more, in
+order to work out thy mysterious aims;--thou wilt be compelled to submit
+to that awful martyrdom--that terrible duplicity which thou wilt find so
+painful and difficult to resume, after the full enjoyment of the blessed
+faculties of speech and hearing."
+
+"Alas! such will be my duty!" murmured Nisida; "and oh! that destiny is
+a sad one! But," she exclaimed, after a moment's pause, and as a
+reminiscence appeared suddenly to strike her, "dost thou not think that
+even such a destiny as that becomes tolerable, when it is fulfilled as
+the only means of carrying out the conditions of a vow breathed to a
+well-beloved and dying mother? But wearisome--oh! crushingly tedious was
+that mode of existence;--and the first bright day of real happiness
+which I enjoyed, was that when I first knew that thou didst love me! And
+again, Fernand--oh! again was I supremely happy when, one evening--thou
+may'st remember well,--it was the eve that my brother and the minion
+Flora exchanged tender words together in the room adjoining that where
+we were seated--on that evening, Fernand, I besought by signs that thou
+wouldst breathe the words--_I love thee!_ and thou didst so--and I drank
+in those words as a person dying with thirst would imbibe pure spring
+water placed to his lips!"
+
+Fernand pressed Nisida to his heart--for he saw, in spite of her anxiety
+to return to Italy, that she really loved him.
+
+But though sensual and impassioned feelings led the beauteous Nisida
+thus frequently to melt into softness and tenderness when she
+contemplated the wondrously handsome countenance of Fernand, yet from
+this day forth her longing to return to Italy became more earnest--more
+irresistible; and she would compel him to sit by her side for hours
+together on the shore, while she eagerly watched for the appearance of a
+sail in the horizon. And Fernand, who divined her object, himself now
+longed for the advent of a ship;--so sincere was his love for Nisida
+that he was ready to make any sacrifice in order to promote her
+happiness. Thus passed away the sixth month; and on the afternoon of the
+last day thereof, when Wagner was about to observe to her that the time
+had now arrived for him to pass the mountains once again, she said of
+her own accord, "Fernand, my beloved, when next you visit the other side
+of the island, you would do well to raise some sign, or leave some
+permanent mark to show that there are inhabitants on this island. For a
+ship might touch at that point--the sailors might seek the shore for
+water, and they would then search to discover where those who raised the
+signal-post are dwelling."
+
+"Your wish shall be fulfilled, dearest," answered Wagner; "and without
+delay will I seek the other side of the island."
+
+They then embraced tenderly, and Fernand departed, once more to fulfill
+his frightful doom! Nisida watched his receding form until it was lost
+in the groves intervening between the plains and the acclivities of the
+range of mountains; and then she seated herself again on the sand,
+wondering of what nature her husband's secret could be, and why it
+compelled him to absent himself occasionally from her. Though _he_ kept
+an accurate calculation of the lapse of time, and counted the passing
+days with unvarying precision, yet she retained no such faithful
+calendar in her memory, and had not observed that his absence always
+occurred on the last day of the month.
+
+The hour of sunset was now rapidly approaching, and as Nisida was
+wrapped in thought, but with her eyes fixed wistfully upon the mighty
+bosom of the deep, a slight sound as of the rustling of garments fell
+upon her ears. She started up and glanced suddenly around. But how
+ineffable was her astonishment--how great was her sudden joy, when she
+beheld the figure of a man approaching her; for it instantly struck her
+that the same ship which had conveyed him thither might bear her away
+from a scene which had latterly become insupportably monotonous.
+
+The individual whose presence thus excited her astonishment and her
+delight, was tall, thin, and attired rather in the German than in the
+Italian fashion: but, as he drew nearer, Nisida experienced indefinable
+emotions of alarm, and vague fears rushed to her soul--for the
+expression of that being's countenance was such as to inspire no
+pleasurable emotions. It was not that he was ugly;--no--his features
+were well formed, and his eyes were of dazzling brilliancy. But their
+glances were penetrating and reptile-like,--glances beneath which those
+of ordinary mortals would have quailed; and his countenance was stamped
+with a mingled sardonism and melancholy which rendered it painful to
+contemplate.
+
+Nisida attributed her feeling of uneasiness and embarrassment to the
+shame which she experienced at finding herself half-naked in the
+presence of a stranger, for so oppressive bad become the heat of the
+summer, that her clothing was most scanty, and she had long ceased to
+decorate her person with garlands and wreaths of fantastically woven
+flowers.
+
+"Fear not, lady," said the demon, for he indeed it was; "I am come to
+counsel and solace, not to alarm thee."
+
+"How knowest thou that I require counsel? and who art thou that talkest
+to me of solace?" asked Nisida, her sentiment of shame yielding to one
+of boundless surprise at hearing herself thus addressed by a being who
+appeared to read the very inmost secrets of her soul.
+
+"I am one who can penetrate into all the mysteries of the human heart,"
+returned the fiend, in his sonorous, deep-toned voice; "and I can gather
+thy history from the expression of thy countenance, the attitude in
+which I first beheld thee, while thou wast still seated upon the strand,
+and the mingled emotions of surprise and joy with which thou didst mark
+my presence. Is it, then, difficult to imagine that thou requirest
+counsel to teach thee how to proceed so as to obtain thine emancipation
+from this isle? or would it be extraordinary if, moved by thy sorrow, I
+offered to befriend thee? And is it not ever the way with mortals--poor,
+weak, miserable beings that they are--to grow speedily dissatisfied with
+their lot? In the spirit of religion ye say that Heaven controls your
+destinies according to its own wise purposes; and when all goes well
+with ye, and you have your desires, ye pray and are thankful, because,
+forsooth," added the demon, with a smile of bitter scorn, "it is so easy
+to pray when ye are contented and happy, and so easy to be thankful when
+ye are pampered with all ye require. Here art thou, lady, on an island
+teeming with all the choicest fruits of the earth, and enjoying an
+eternal summer, where all is pleasant to the view, and to whose silent
+shores the cares of the great world cannot come; and yet thou wouldst
+quit this calm retreat, and rush back into the vortex of evil passions,
+warring interests, conflicting pursuits! But I will not weary thee with
+my reflections; although it is my nature first to upbraid and taunt
+those whom I intend to serve!"
+
+"And who art thou, strange being, that reasoneth morally with the smile
+of scorn upon thy lips?" demanded Nisida, the vague alarms which had
+previously influenced her reviving with additional power; "who art thou,
+I say, that comest to reproach, and yet profferest thine aid?"
+
+"No matter who I am," replied the fiend. "Some day thou may'st know me
+better, if thou----"
+
+"But how camest thou hither? Where is the ship that brought thee--the
+boat that landed thee?" demanded Nisida in a tone of feverish
+impatience.
+
+"No ship brought me hither--no boat set me on the shore," answered the
+demon, fixing his eyes--those piercing eyes upon Nisida's countenance,
+as if to read the impression which this strange revelation made upon her
+secret soul.
+
+"Then who art thou?" exclaimed the lady, a cold shudder passing over her
+entire frame, although she retreated not nor withdrew the glances which
+she, through her wondrous strength of mind, was enabled to retain fixed
+upon the demon's countenance.
+
+"Seek not to learn as yet who I am," said the fiend. "Let it suffice for
+thee to know that I am something more than a mere mortal--a being gifted
+with powers which, in the hands of such a one as thou, would throw the
+entire world into convulsions; for there is much in thee after my own
+heart, beauteous Nisida of Riverola."
+
+"Ah! thou art even acquainted with my name," cried Nisida, again
+shuddering violently in spite of her powerful efforts to appear calm and
+fearless.
+
+"I am acquainted with thy name, and with all that concerns thee and
+thine, Nisida," replied the fiend; "ay," he added, with a malignant
+chuckle, "even to the mystery of the closet in thy late father's
+chamber, and the contents of the terrible manuscript which taught thee
+such dreadful secrets! I know, too, all that thou hast done to serve
+thine aims--thy simulated deafness and dumbness--the assassination of
+Agnes--the imprisonment of Flora in the convent----"
+
+"Then art thou indeed some superhuman power," interrupted Nisida, in a
+tone of inexpressible alarm; "and I dare hold no further converse with
+thee."
+
+"One moment--and thou wilt think differently!" exclaimed the demon. "But
+I will give thee an evidence of my power. Here, take this
+instrument--'tis called a telescope--and use it for a single minute.
+Glance across the waters, and thou shalt behold a scene which will
+interest thee somewhat, I trow."
+
+The fiend handed her a telescope and directed her to apply it to her
+eyes. She obeyed him, though reluctantly; but intense curiosity overcame
+her scruples, and, moreover, her extraordinary strength of mind aided
+her in supporting the presence of one whom she knew to be invested with
+superhuman powers--but of what nature she feared to guess. Nisida turned
+toward the sea, and used the magic telescope as directed, while the
+demon stood behind her, his countenance expressing a diabolical triumph,
+mingled with blighting scorn.
+
+But ah! what does Nisida behold? The moment she applies the telescope to
+her eye, she is transported as it were to her own native city. She is in
+Florence--yes, in the fair capital of Tuscany. Every familiar scene is
+presented to her again; and she once more views the busy crowds and the
+bustling haunts of men. She sweeps them all with a hurried glance; and
+then her look settled upon a young couple walking together in a secluded
+place on the banks of the Arno. But oh! how terribly flashed her
+eyes--how changed with wrath and concentrated rage suddenly becomes her
+countenance! For in that fond pair, wandering so lovingly together on
+the Arno's margin she recognized her brother Francisco and the maiden
+Flora Francatelli!
+
+"Thou hast seen enough!" cried the demon, snatching the telescope from
+her hands. "And now, more than ever," he added with a malignant smile of
+triumph, "dost thou long to revisit thy native land. It was to confirm
+that longing that I showed thee the scene thou hast just witnessed."
+
+"And canst thou give me the means to return thither?" demanded Nisida,
+almost maddened by the spectacle that had met her eyes.
+
+"Listen!" exclaimed the fiend, "and hear me patiently. I charge thee not
+to breathe to thy Fernand one word descriptive of this interview which
+thou hast had with me. Thou couldst simulate dumbness for ten long years
+or more, with a success which rendered thee great and glorious in my
+eyes--for I love the hypocrite and the deceiver," he added with one of
+his diabolical smiles; "although I myself deceive them! Be dumb, then,
+in all that relates to my visit to thee here. But thou mayst so beset
+thy Fernand with earnest entreaties to give thee the means of departure
+from this island--for he can do so, if he have the will--that he shall
+be unable to resist thy prayer--thy fears--thy anguish, real or feigned,
+whichever that anguish may be. And should he not yield to thy
+intercessions, then assail him on another point. Tell him that thou wilt
+never rest until thou shalt have discovered the cause of those
+periodical visits which he makes to the other side of the
+mountains--threaten to accompany him the next time he goes thither. But
+I need not teach you how to be energetic nor eloquent. For thou art a
+woman of iron mind and of persuasive tongue; and thy perseverance, as is
+thy will, is indomitable. Follow my counsel, then--and, though the
+future to a great extent be concealed from my view, yet I dare prophesy
+success for thee! And now farewell, Nisida--farewell!"
+
+And the demon retreated rapidly toward the forests, as if to seek the
+abode of those terrible serpents whose cunning was akin to his own.
+
+Nisida was too much astonished by the nature of the counsel which his
+deep sonorous voice had wafted to her ear, to be able to utter a word
+until his receding form was no longer visible, and then she exclaimed
+wildly; "I have assuredly seen Satan face to face!"
+
+And her blood ran cold in her veins. But a few moments were sufficient
+to enable that woman of wondrous energy to recover her presence of mind
+and collect her scattered thoughts; and she sat down on the sand to
+ponder upon the strange incidents which had so terribly varied the
+monotony of her existence. She thought, too, of the scene which she had
+beholden on the banks of the Arno--her worst fears were confirmed; Flora
+had escaped from the ruin of the Carmelite convent--was alive, was at
+liberty--and was with Francisco! Oh! how she now longed for the return
+of Fernand Wagner; but many hours must elapse--a night must pass--and
+the orb of day which had by this time gone down, must gain the meridian
+once more ere he would come back. And in the meantime, although she
+suspected it not, he must fulfill the awful doom of a Wehr-Wolf, as the
+reader will find by the perusal of the next chapter.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER LV.
+
+
+It was within a few minutes of sunset, as Fernand Wagner, having crossed
+the mountains, hastened down that bituminous declivity constituting the
+scene of desolation which separated the range of volcano hills from the
+delightful plains and verdant groves stretching to the sea-shore.
+
+A shudder passed over his frame as he beheld the solitary tree in which
+he had seen the monstrous snake playing and gamboling, on the morning
+when he was thrown upon this Mediterranean isle.
+
+"Oh!" he exclaimed aloud, as he sped onward, "what happiness and also
+what misery have I known in this clime. But, doomed and fated being that
+I am, such is my destiny; and so must I be, here or elsewhere, in
+whichever land I may visit, in whatever part of the earth I may abide.
+Oh! merciful Heaven, can no prayer, no self-mortification, remove the
+ban--the curse--from my devoted head?
+
+"Oh! just Heaven," he exclaimed, stretching forth his arms toward the
+sky, and with ineffable anguish depicted on his upturned countenance;
+"spare me! Have I not been punished enough! Oh! take away from me this
+appalling doom--let me become old, wrinkled, forlorn, and poor once
+more,--let me return to my humble cot in the Black Forest, or let me
+die. Almighty power! if thou wilt--but spare me--spare me now!
+Wretch--wretch that I was to be dazzled by the specious promises, O
+Faust! But I am justly punished--thy vengeance, O Heaven, is well
+deserved--sinner, sinner that I am!"
+
+Those were the last human sounds he uttered for several hours; for,
+scarcely had they escaped his lips, when the horrible change began, and
+in a few moments a wild yell rent the air, and a monstrous wolf sprung
+from the spot where Wagner had fallen down in such agonizing writhings.
+
+Away--away went the ferocious animal heading toward the sea--careering,
+thundering on, as if intent on plunging into the silent depths, and
+there ending its course in a watery grave.
+
+But no: death yawns not for the Wehr-Wolf! Scarcely have its feet
+touched the verge of the water, when the monster wheels round and
+continues its whirlwind way without for an instant relaxing one tittle
+of its speed. Away--away, through the fruit-bearing groves, clearing for
+itself a path of ruin and havoc,--scattering the gems of the trees, and
+breaking down the richly-laden vines; away--away flies the monster,
+hideous howls bursting from its foaming mouth. The birds scream and
+whistle wildly, as startled from their usual tranquil retreats, they
+spread their gay and gaudy plumage, and go with gushing sound through
+the evening air. He reaches the bank of a stream, and bounds along its
+pleasant margin, trampling to death noble swans which vainly seek to
+evade the fury of the rushing monster.
+
+Away--away toward the forest hurries the Wehr-Wolf--impelled, lashed on
+by an invincible scourge, and filling the woods with its appalling
+yells--while its mouth scatters foam like thick flakes of snow. Hark,
+there is an ominous rustling in one of the trees of the forest; and the
+monster seems to instinctively know the danger which menaces it. But
+still its course is not changed;--it seems not to exercise its own will
+in shaping its course. Down the tremendous snake flings itself from the
+tree--and in an instant its hideous coils are wound round the foaming,
+steaming, palpitating body of the wolf. The air is rent with the yell of
+agony that bursts from the throat of the horrified monster as it tumbles
+over and over, as if it had run to the length of a tether--for the snake
+clings with its tail to the bough from which it has darted down. But the
+yielding of the wolf is only momentary; up--up it springs again--and
+away,--away it careers, more madly, more desperately, more ferociously,
+if possible, than before.
+
+And the snake? Oh! poor, weak and powerless was even that dread reptile
+of forty feet in length, when combated with a monster lashed on and also
+protected by invisible fiends. For, as the wolf sped on again, the boa
+was dragged as if by a thousand horses from its coiling hold upon the
+bough--and shaken, lacerated, and affrighted, the hideous reptile
+unwound itself from the ferocious animal, and fell powerless on the
+grass, where the vermin of the forest attacked it with their greedy maws
+ere its pestilential breath had ceased.
+
+Away--away toward the mountains rushes the Wehr-Wolf,--those mountains
+which constitute the barrier of safety to protect Nisida from the fangs
+of the animal that would mangle her fair form were she to cross its
+path. But, ah! he rushes up the acclivity--he clears rugged rock and
+jutting crag with wondrous bounds;--just Heaven! will he pass those
+heights--will he cross the range of volcanic hills?
+
+Oh! Nisida, who art on the other side of that range, little dreamest
+thou of the peril that menaces thee. Joy! joy!--the danger has passed;
+the wolf turns aside from a loftier impediment of crag than had yet
+appeared in its course: and down--down again toward the groves and
+valleys--over the bituminous waste made by the volcano--on, on goes the
+monster. Away, away, through the verdant scenes once more, fresh
+havoc--fresh desolation--fresh ruin marking his maddening course,--away,
+away the Wehr-Wolf speeds.
+
+The moon rises to give a stronger and purer light to the dreadful
+spectacle, a light stronger and purer than that of night itself, which
+is never completely dark in the tropics. Away, away, and still on,
+on--outstripping time--running a race with the fleeting moments, till
+hours and hours of unrelaxing speed are numbered--thus goes the wolf.
+And now he snuffs the morning air: the fresh breeze from the east raises
+the foam of the Mediterranean waves, and allays the heat on the body of
+the careening, bounding, and almost flying monster.
+
+His howling grows less ferocious--his yells become less terrible; and
+now his pace is a trifle more measured,--that relaxation of a whirlwind
+speed gradually increasing.
+
+'Tis done; the course is o'er--the race is run;--and the Wehr-Wolf falls
+in writhing agonies upon the fresh grass, whence in a few moments rises
+Fernand Wagner--a man once more! But as he throws a glance of horror
+around on the scene of his night's dread employment, he starts back with
+mingled aversion and alarm; for there--with folded arms, eyes terrible
+to look upon, and a countenance expressing infernal triumph and bitter
+scorn, stood the demon.
+
+"Fiend, what would'st thou with me?" demanded Wagner. "Are not the
+sufferings which I have just endured, enough to satisfy thy hatred of
+all human beings? are not the horrors of the past night sufficient to
+glut even thine insatiate heart?"
+
+"Mortal," said the demon, speaking in his profound and awe-inspiring
+tones, "didst thou take all thy miseries which at this moment afflict
+thy race, combine all the bitter woes, and crushing sorrows that madden
+the brains of men, mix up all the tears and collect all the sobs and
+sighs that tell of human agony, then multiply the aggregate by ten
+million, million times its sum, and go on multiplying by millions and
+millions, till thou wast tired of counting, thou would'st not form even
+an idea of that huge amount of human misery which could alone appease
+me. For on man do I visit the hate wherewith my own fall has animated
+me; powerless on high, where once I was so powerful, I make my kingdom
+of earth and hell--and in both my influence is great and is terrible!"
+
+"Yes--yes; too great--too terrible!" exclaimed Wagner. "But why dost
+thou persecute me with thy presence? I did not call thee--I did not
+invoke thine aid."
+
+"No, but thou requirest it!" said the demon, with a satirical smile.
+"Thinkest thou to be enabled to dream away thine existence in this
+island, with the warm, impassioned Nisida? No, mortal--no! Already doth
+she pine for her own native Italian clime; and she will end by loathing
+thee and this land, if she continue to dwell here, and with only thee as
+her companion. But it is in thy power to make Nisida forget
+Italy--Francisco--Flora--and all the grave interests and dreadful
+mysteries which seem to demand her presence in the busy world;--it is in
+thy power to render her happy and contented in this island--to attach
+her to thee for the remainder of thine existence--to provide her with
+the means of preserving her youth and her beauty unimpaired, even as
+thine own--to crush forever all those pinings and longings which now
+carry her glances wistfully across the sea,--in a word, to bend her mind
+to all thy wishes--her soul to all thy purposes! Yes;--it is in thy
+power to do all this--and the same decision which shall place that
+amount of ineffable happiness within thy reach, will also redeem thee
+from the horrible destiny of a Wehr-Wolf--leaving thee thy youth and thy
+beauty, and investing thee with a power equal to that enjoyed by thy
+late master, Faust."
+
+"And doubtless on the same conditions?" said Wagner, half-ironically,
+and half in horror at the mere thought of surrendering his soul to
+Satan.
+
+"Art thou blind to the means of promoting thy earthly happiness?"
+demanded the demon, fixing on Fernand a glance intended to appal and
+intimidate, but at which he on whom it was bent quailed not. "Hast thou
+not received sufficient experience of the terrific sufferings which
+twelve times a year thou art doomed to endure? Knowest thou not on each
+occasion thou destroyest human life, where mortal beings are in thy
+path--or that thou ravagest the fair scenes which He whose name I dare
+not mention has created? and art thou ignorant of the tremendous horror
+and loathsome obloquy which attach themselves to the name of a
+Wehr-Wolf? See--thou art already wearied of traveling through the
+various climes of the earth; thou no longer delightest in cultivating
+thine intellect, so marvelously adapted to receive knowledge of all
+kinds; and thy power to create whole mines of wealth is exercised no
+more. But thou would'st fix thine abode in this island forever, were
+Nisida to remain thy companion! Well--and if thou losest her? for
+assuredly a vessel will some day touch on these shores--what would'st
+thou do then? All lonely, desolate, forlorn, thou would'st curse the day
+that gave thee regenerated life--thou would'st seek death--and to thee
+death may not come yet for many, many years! Fernand, thou art worse
+than mad not to embrace my offers. Consent to become mine--mine
+eternally, when thy mortal breath shall leave thy body, and in the
+meantime I promise thee power illimitable--happiness such as no human
+being ever yet enjoyed----"
+
+"No--no!" exclaimed Wagner. "Rather the destiny of a Wehr-Wolf--rather
+the solitude of this island for the remainder of my days--than resign
+all chance of salvation! And that mine immortal soul is yet safe, the
+very temptations thou offerest with such eloquent persuasion fully
+proves! Oh! Heaven, of its infinite mercy, will receive the dreadful
+sufferings 'tis mine to endure each month, as an atonement for that hour
+of weakness, madness, folly, when dazzled by the words of Faust, and
+overwhelmed by a weight of miseries, I accepted a regenerated existence.
+Yes, Heaven will forgive me yet: and therefore avaunt, fiend! avaunt!"
+And as he uttered these words he made the sign of the cross, and the
+demon fled away howling. Wagner turned aside in dismay, and sank upon
+the ground as if blasted by the lightning. A deep sleep fell on
+Fernand's eyes, and in his dreams he thought he heard a solemn but
+rejoicing strain of music filling the air. That divine melody seemed to
+speak a language eloquent and intelligible, and to give him hope and
+promise of a deliverance from the dreadful destiny which his weakness
+and folly had entailed upon him. The music grew fainter and fainter, and
+at the moment when it died away altogether a heavenly and radiant being
+rose in the midst of a cloud, an angel, clad in white and shining
+garments, and with snowy wings closed, and drooping from its shoulders.
+Looking benignly upon the sleeping Wagner the angel said in a soft and
+liquid tone, "Thrice hast thou resisted the temptations of the enemy of
+mankind: once in thy dungeon at Florence, a second time amidst the
+defiles of yon mountains, and now on this spot. He will appear to thee
+no more, unless thou thyself summon him. Much hast thou already done in
+atonement for the crime that endangered thy soul when, withdrawing thy
+faith from Heaven, thou didst accept new life on the conditions proposed
+to thee by the agent of Satan; but much more must thou yet do, ere that
+atonement will be complete!" The form ceased to speak, and gradually
+became fainter and fainter, until it disappeared with its glorious halo
+altogether.
+
+Then Fernand awoke, and his dream was vividly impressed upon his memory.
+
+Assuming a kneeling posture, he clasped his hands fervently together,
+and said aloud, "Merciful Heaven! be the vision one divinely sent, or be
+it but the sport of an imagination fevered by a long night of suffering,
+I receive it as an emblem and as a sign of hope and promise!"
+
+He arose. The sun was now high in the heaven, and he hastened to the
+shore to perform his ablutions. Refreshed in body with the bath which he
+took in the Mediterranean, and in mind with the influence of the vision,
+he retraced his way toward the mountains. The range was passed in
+safety, and he once more set foot on that section of the island where
+Nisida was so anxiously awaiting his presence.
+
+The hour at which Fernand Wagner was accustomed to return after his
+periodical excursions beyond the mountains, had long passed; for it will
+be remembered that he had fallen asleep and slumbered some time, after
+his restoration to human shape and his encounter with the demon. Nisida
+was already a prey to the wildest alarms, which were not altogether
+untainted with selfishness; for the enemy of mankind had led her to
+believe that Wagner had within his reach certain means of enabling her
+to quit the island, and she trembled lest death might have intervened to
+snatch him away, and thus annihilate the hopes which had been so
+insidiously infused into her soul. She was also distressed at his
+prolonged absence on grounds more creditable to her heart, for she
+shuddered at the idea that her handsome Fernand might at that very
+moment be writhing in the coils of a horrible snake. Then, arousing
+herself, Nisida resolved to attempt the passage of the mountains, and
+seek for her lover and rescue him if possible, and if not, to die with
+him. But as she drew near the craggy mountains she suddenly beheld the
+object of her anxiety approaching her, and in a few minutes they were
+locked in each other's arms.
+
+"My Fernand," said Nisida at length, "I feared that some danger had
+befallen you, and I was hastening to join you on the other side of these
+heights, either to aid you in escaping from the peril, or to share its
+consequences with you."
+
+"Beloved Nisida!" exclaimed Wagner, "how welcome to me is this proof of
+thy regard, this earnest of thy love."
+
+"I can never cease to love you, dear Fernand," answered Nisida, turning
+her fine large eyes upon his handsome face. "Oh, that I should seek to
+quit thee! The thought smites me to the inmost recesses of my heart. And
+yet it is to some extent thy fault, for wherefore wilt thou not
+accompany me?"
+
+"In the first place, beloved one," replied Wagner, "thou talkest as if a
+ship were already in sight, or a boat lay ready to launch from this
+shore; secondly, I have before assured thee that I dared not return to
+Florence, and that as I cannot therefore be thy companion thither, it
+would be better for me to remain on the island, to which, perhaps," he
+added in a mournful tone, "you might, after all, never come back!"
+
+"Oh! Fernand, think not so ill of your Nisida!" she cried, throwing one
+of her snowy full arms round his neck, and looking earnestly, but yet
+tenderly on his countenance. "Never, never shall I know happiness again
+until I have revisited Florence. Each day that passes without giving me
+a hope to see this aim fulfilled, increases my misery, adds to my
+uneasiness, augments my anxiety--so that in a short time my suspense
+will become intolerable. It is nearly so already, Fernand--but pity me;
+yes--and help me, if you can!"
+
+"Dearest Nisida, willingly would I sacrifice my own inclinations to
+forward thine," exclaimed Wagner in a tone of deep sincerity; "but how
+is it possible that I can aid thee? I have not wings to affix to thy
+fair shoulder, I have not a voice powerful enough to raise echoes on a
+shore whence assistance might be sent. Nay, look not so sternly on me,
+beloved Nisida, I did not intend to vex thee with idle jestings; but
+thou knowest that I cannot aid thee."
+
+"Fernand, you love me not!" exclaimed Nisida, suddenly withdrawing her
+arm from its fond position about his neck, and retreating a few paces.
+"No; you do not love me as you were wont, or as I love you! You
+doubtless have some means of gratifying my ardent longings. A secret
+voice whispers within me that if you chose to exert all your powers, you
+might render me happy--at least so happy as I could be when separated
+from you! I have assured you that naught save the most important
+interests would render me thus anxious to return to my native city; and
+if you find me thus importunate, you should pity me, not refuse to aid
+me."
+
+"Holy Virgin! this is maddening!" cried Wagner. "Nisida--be reasonable;
+how can I assist thee? how can I enable thee to cross that sea which
+appears to us boundless? And thou accusest me of not loving thee,
+Nisida! Oh! this is too cruel!"
+
+"No, it is thou who art cruel!" exclaimed Nisida, in an impassioned
+tone. "I know that you are not a being of an ordinary stamp, that your
+intellect is as wonderful as your person is godlike,--and that you
+possess a mine of knowledge in the extent of which no mortal can equal
+thee. Is it strange--is it marvelous, then, that I should implore thee
+to exert thy powers--the vast powers of thy glorious intelligence, to
+forward my design? Nay, seek not to interrupt me, Fernand, denial is
+vain! A secret voice continues to whisper within me that thou art able
+to do all I ask; I know not the means to be used--I seek not to know
+them; but that thou hast such means within thy reach, is a conviction
+firmly impressed upon my mind. Here, then, Fernand, at thy feet, on my
+knees, do I implore thee, beseech thee, not to refuse the boon which I,
+thy loving wife, crave at the hands of thee, my husband, as if I were a
+humble suppliant suing at the footstool of a throned king!"
+
+"Nisida, Nisida!" cried Fernand, painfully excited by this sudden
+movement on her part, and endeavoring to rise: "what means so strange a
+proceeding? Rise, dearest, rise; it is not to me that you must thus
+humble yourself!"
+
+"No; I will not quit this suppliant attitude until you shall have
+granted my request--my prayer," said Nisida. "Refuse me not, my Fernand.
+Oh! I implore you not to refuse me! Whatever means be within your reach,
+exert them on my behalf. A brother's interest, the remembrance of a
+solemn vow breathed only to my lamented and much-wronged mother--and the
+safeguard of a mystery, the discovery of which by curious and prying
+eyes would heap infamy and disgrace upon the family that bears the name
+of Riverola--all these reasons render me thus anxious to return to
+Italy. And if you keep me here, Fernand, I shall pine away--I shall
+perish before your eyes, and you will repent of your harshness when it
+is too late. Or else," she added, speaking with wild rapidity, "I shall
+be reduced to despair, and in a moment of excitement shall seek death in
+those silent waters, or climb yon craggy mountains to fling myself
+headlong from their summit."
+
+"Nisida, your menaces are maddening as your supplications to me are vain
+and useless!" said Wagner, himself now laboring under a fearful
+excitement. "Rise, I implore you, rise, and let us endeavor to converse
+more calmly--more rationally."
+
+"Yes--I will rise," said Nisida, now affecting a sullen haughtiness, and
+preparing to wield another of the weapons which the demon had placed in
+her hand: "I rise, Fernand, because I feel that I was wrong thus to
+abase myself--I, who bear the proud name of Riverola;"--and she tossed
+her head indignantly. "Well--it seems that you are resolved to keep me
+chained to your side on this island. Be it so: but henceforth let there
+be no mistrust--no mystery--no secrets between us. If Italy must be
+forgotten forever, then this isle shall become our world, and our
+thoughts shall travel not beyond its confines. All shall be mutual
+confidence--a reciprocal outpouring of our minutest thoughts. On that
+condition only will existence _here_ be tolerable to us both. And now as
+a proof that thou wilt assent to this proposal--than which nothing can
+be more rational--let our new life of mutual confidence date from this
+moment. Tell me then, my Fernand," she proceeded, assuming a winning
+manner, and throwing as much pathos as possible into her sweetly musical
+voice--that voice which gave new and indescribable, charms to the soft
+Italian language--"tell me then, my Fernand, wherefore thou quittest me
+at certain intervals--why thou invariably seekest on those occasions the
+opposite side of the island--and whether thou wilt in future suffer me
+to be the companion of those journeys?"
+
+"Thou be my companion--thou, Nisida!" exclaimed Wagner, his whole frame
+convulsed with mental agony. "Merciful Heaven! what fiend has prompted
+thee thus to speak! Nisida," he said, suddenly exercising a strong
+mastery over his emotions, as he seized her hand and pressed it with
+spasmodic violence--"Nisida, as thou valuest our happiness seek not to
+penetrate into my secret--proffer not that mad request again!"
+
+And dropping her hand he paced the shore with the agitation of reviving
+excitement.
+
+"Fernand," said Nisida, approaching him, and once more speaking in a
+resolute and even severe tone--"listen to me. When we met upon the
+island, an accident of a terrible nature led me to forget my vow of
+self-imposed dumbness; and when the excitement occasioned by that
+accident had somewhat passed you were in doubt whether you had really
+heard my voice or had been deluded by fevered imagination. It would have
+been easy for me to simulate dumbness again; and you would have believed
+that the bewilderment of the dread scene had misled you. But I chose not
+to maintain a secret from thee--and I confess that my long supposed loss
+of two glorious faculties was a mere deed of duplicity on my part. At
+that time you said that you also had explanations to give; and yet
+months and months have passed by, and confidence has not begotten
+confidence. Let this mistrust on your part cease. Reveal to me the cause
+of these frequent excursions across the mountains; or else the next time
+that you set out on one of these mysterious journeys, I shall assuredly
+become your companion."
+
+"Now, Nisida," exclaimed Wagner, his heart rent with indescribable
+tortures--"it is you who are cruel--you are unjust!"
+
+"No, Fernand--it is you!" cried Nisida, in a thrilling, penetrating
+tone, as if of anguish.
+
+"Merciful Heaven! what misery is in store for us both!" said Wagner,
+pressing his hand to his burning brow. "Oh! that some ship would appear
+to bear thee away--or that my destiny were other than it is!"
+
+And he flung himself upon the sand in a fit of blank despair. Nisida now
+trembled at the violence of those emotions which she had raised in the
+breast of him whom she loved; and for a minute she reproached herself
+for having so implicitly obeyed the counsel of the evil spirit.
+
+Her own feelings were worked up to that pitch of excitement with which
+women--even in the strongest-minded, must have its vent in tears; and
+she burst into an agony of weeping.
+
+The sound of those sobs was more than the generous-hearted and
+affectionate Fernand could bear; and starting from the sand whereon he
+had flung himself, he exclaimed, "Nisida, my beloved Nisida, dry those
+tears, subdue this frenzied grief! Let us say no more upon these
+exciting topics this evening; but I will meditate, I will reflect upon
+the morrow, and then I will communicate to thee the result of my
+deliberations."
+
+"Oh! there is then hope for me yet!" cried Nisida, joyfully; "and thou
+hast the means to grant my wishes, but thou fearest to use them. We will
+say no more this evening on subjects calculated to give so little
+pleasure; but to-morrow, my Fernand, to-morrow."
+
+And Nisida stopped her own utterance by pressing her lips to those of
+Wagner, winding her beauteous arms most lovingly round his neck at the
+same time, and pressing him to her bosom.
+
+But that night and the ensuing morn were destined to wring the
+heart-cords of the unhappy Fernand: for the influence of the demon,
+though unknown and unrecognized, was dominant with Nisida.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER LVI.
+
+
+It was night--and Fernand was pacing the sand with even greater
+agitation than he had manifested during the cruel scene of the evening.
+He was alone on the seashore; and Nisida slept in the hut. Terrible
+thoughts warred in the breast of Wagner. Nisida's language had
+astonished and alarmed him: he was convinced that Satan himself had
+inspired her with those ideas, the utterance of which had nearly goaded
+him to madness. She had insisted on the belief that he was acquainted
+with the means of enabling her to return to Italy; and yet Nisida was
+not a mere girl--a silly, whimsical being, who would assert the wildest
+physical impossibilities just as caprice might prompt her. No--she
+really entertained that belief--but without having any ostensible
+grounds to establish it.
+
+"Such an impression could only have been made upon her mind by the fiend
+who seeks to entangle me in his meshes!" murmured Wagner to himself, as
+he paced the strand. "The demon has failed to tempt me as yet--thrice
+has he failed;--and now he musters all his force to assail me,--to
+assail me, too, in the most vulnerable points! But, O Heaven, give me
+strength to resist the dread influence thus brought to bear upon me!
+What course can I adopt? what plan pursue? If to-morrow must witness a
+renewal of that scene which occurred this evening, I shall succumb--I
+shall yield; in a moment of despair I shall exclaim, 'Yes, Nisida--I
+will sacrifice everything to acquire the power to transport thee back to
+Italy;'--and I shall hurry to yon mountains, and seeking their wildest
+defile, shall evoke the enemy of mankind, and say, 'Come, Satan, I give
+thee my soul in exchange for the illimitable power thou offerest.' And
+thus will be the terrible result--the fearful catastrophe."
+
+Big drops of agony stood upon Fernand's brow as he uttered these words.
+He saw that he was hovering on the verge of a fearful abyss--and he
+trembled lest he should fall, so intense was his love for Nisida. At one
+moment he thought of the soothing vision, full of hope and promise,
+which had occupied his slumber in the morning; at another he pondered on
+the tears, the prayers, and the threats of Nisida. The conflicting
+thoughts were, indeed, sufficient to urge him on to a state of utter
+despair:--his eternal salvation and the happiness of her whom he loved
+so tenderly were placed in such antagonistic position that they raised a
+fierce--a painful--an agonizing warfare in his breast. Now he would fall
+upon his knees and pray--and pray fervently for strength to continue in
+the right path: then he would again give way to all the maddening
+influences of his bitter reflections; and, while in this mood, had Satan
+suddenly stood before him, he would have succumbed--yes, he would have
+succumbed. But the fiend had no longer any power to offer direct
+temptation to the wretched Wagner. Oh! if he could die that moment, how
+gladly would he release himself from an existence fraught with so much
+misery; but death was not yet within the reach of him who bore the doom
+of a Wehr-Wolf! The morning dawned, and Fernand Wagner was still pacing
+the sand--dreading to meet Nisida again, and not daring to seek to avoid
+her. Were he to fly to the mountains or to the forests, she would search
+after him; and thus he would only be leading her into perils amidst
+yawning precipices, or where she might become the prey of the terrible
+anaconda. To remain were anguish--to fly were madness!
+
+"Oh, wretch, miserable wretch that I am!" exclaimed Wagner, as he beheld
+the twilight--so short in the tropics--growing more powerful, and knew
+that Nisida would soon come forth from the hut. In a few minutes the orb
+of day appeared above the Orient wave--and almost at the same time the
+lady made her appearance on the shore.
+
+"Fernand, thou hast not sought repose throughout the night just past!"
+she said, advancing toward him, and endeavoring to read upon his
+countenance the thoughts which filled his brain.
+
+"Nisida," he replied, in a rapid and excited tone, "I have gone through
+so much during the last few hours that 'tis a marvel reason has
+maintained its seat. If thou lovest me, let us forget all those topics
+which have so strongly excited us both: and let us unite our prayers
+that Heaven will send thee means to quit this isle and return to thy
+native land."
+
+"Fernand," said Nisida, in a tone of deep disappointment and reproach,
+"I was not prepared for this. Your words imply that you possess the
+power to aid my departure hence, but that you have resolved not to use
+it. Is that your decision?"
+
+"I scorn to deceive thee, Nisida, by a direct falsehood in so serious a
+matter as this," exclaimed Wagner. "Knowest thou, my beloved, at what
+price must be purchased the power which alone can enable _me_ to effect
+thy return to Italy? canst thou divine the immeasurable sacrifice which
+I must make to gratify thy wishes?"
+
+"Fernand," answered Nisida, in a reproachful and yet resolute tone,
+"there is no price that I would not pay to obtain the means of pleasing
+thee!--there is no sacrifice that I should shrink from were your
+happiness at stake!"
+
+"Nisida," ejaculated Wagner, in a tone of fearful excitement, "you drive
+me to despair! Have mercy upon me, Nisida, have mercy upon me! My God!
+if you taunt me--if you reproach me--thus I will do all that you
+command; but force me not to believe, Nisida--my well beloved
+Nisida--that, in espousing thee in the sight of Heaven, I took to my
+bosom a fiend instead of a woman, a relentless demon in the most
+charming female shape that evil spirit ever wore. Oh! if you knew all,
+you would pity me as it is. So wretched on earth you would not compel me
+to renounce every hope of salvation; for, know, Nisida," he added, his
+countenance wearing an expression of indescribable horror, "know that in
+demanding of me this last sacrifice, you ordain that I should sell my
+immortal soul to Satan!"
+
+For a moment Nisida appeared shocked and appalled at the words which met
+her ears; but she rather recoiled from the manner of fearful excitement
+in which they were uttered, than from the intelligence which they
+conveyed.
+
+"He who truly loves," she said coldly, as she recovered her equanimity,
+"would make _even that_ sacrifice! and now listen--Fernand," she
+continued, her eyes flashing fire, and her naked bosom heaving
+convulsively as she spoke, while her splendid form was drawn up to its
+full height, and her whole aspect sublimely terrible and wondrously
+beautiful, even in that fit of agitated passion--"listen, Fernand!" she
+cried, in her musical, flute-like voice, which, however, assumed the
+imperious accent and tone of command: "thou art a coward, and unworthy
+such an earnest--such a profound, such a devoted love as mine, if thou
+refusest to consummate a sacrifice which will make us both powerful and
+great as long as we live! Consider, my Fernand--the spirit with whom
+thou wouldst league thyself can endow us with an existence running over
+centuries to come, can invest us with eternal youth, can place countless
+treasures at our disposal, can elevate us to the proudest thrones of
+Christendom! Oh! wilt thou spurn advantages like those? wilt thou refuse
+to avail thyself of gifts that must render us so supremely happy? No,
+no: and we can return together to my native city, we can enter Florence
+in triumph, thou no longer fearing the terror of the law, I no longer
+compelled to simulate the doom of the deaf and dumb! Our enemies shall
+lick the dust at our feet, and we shall triumph wherever success may be
+desirable. Oh! I understand that beseeching, appealing look, Fernand:
+thou thinkest that I shall love thee less if this immense sacrifice be
+consummated, that I shall look upon thee with loathing. No, not so: and
+to convince thee that mine is a soul endowed with an iron will, that
+mine is an energy which can grapple even with remorse, I will reveal to
+thee a secret which thou hast perhaps never even suspected. Fernand!"
+she exclaimed, now becoming absolutely terrible with the excitement that
+animated her; "Fernand!" she repeated, "'twas I who murdered the girl
+Agnes, in the garden of thy mansion at Florence!"
+
+"Thou, thou, Nisida?" almost shrieked Wagner wildly; "oh, no, no! Recall
+that dreadful avowal! And yet--oh! yes--I see it all--my former
+suspicions are confirmed. Wretched woman. What harm did the unfortunate
+Agnes do to thee?"
+
+"I saw in her a rival, Fernand--or fancied that she was so," answered
+Nisida; "I overheard your conversation with her that morning in the
+garden--I saw her embrace thee tenderly--mine ears drank in her words;
+oh, I remember them even now! She said, 'Oh, what a night of uneasiness
+have I passed! But at length thou art restored to me; thou whom I have
+ever loved so fondly; although I abandoned thee for so long a time!'
+Were not those her very words? And thou didst speak to her in a tone
+equally tender. Ah! I have ever suspected that she was thy mistress;
+although thou didst swear upon the cross, in thy dungeon, that she was
+not. But so great was my love for thee, that I smothered the dread
+suspicion----"
+
+"Suspicion," repeated Wagner, in the penetrating tone of heart-rending
+anguish,--an anguish so intense that his brain whirled, and he knew not
+what he said or did. "Oh, wretched woman, and thou didst slay Agnes on a
+mere suspicion?"
+
+"I hated her--even before I entertained that suspicion," exclaimed
+Nisida, impatiently; "for she was the mistress of my father! Thinkest
+thou that my quick ears had not gleaned the mysterious whisperings which
+frequently passed between my sire and his valet Antonio, relative to the
+lady who dwelt in seclusion at the abode of that menial's mother? or
+thinkest thou that when I once obtained a clew to my father's degrading
+passion, I scrupled to watch him, to follow him, to learn all his
+proceedings? No; for it was the more easily to enact the spy upon my own
+father that originally simulated the doom of the deaf and dumb. A purse
+of gold induced Dame Margaretha, Antonio's mother, to give me admission
+into her house; though she also believed that I was really deprived of
+the faculties of hearing and of speech. But often and often was I
+concealed in the chamber adjacent to that where my father passed hours
+with his mistress; and it was not without advantage that I so acted. For
+I discovered that amongst the presents which he had given her, were the
+jewels which had belonged to my sainted mother--that mother whose wrongs
+were so manifold, and whose sufferings were so great. Yes: and I
+possessed myself of those jewels, leaving the girl the other gifts which
+she had received from my sire.
+
+"And now, since I am involved in relations of such import, I shall do
+well to inform thee, Fernand, that I had seen and loved thee before thou
+didst come as a visitor to our mansion in Florence. For it was my habit
+to proceed occasionally to the dwelling of the good Dr. Duras, the
+depositary of my grand secret of the feigned loss of faculties; and
+while wandering alone in his garden I once beheld thee! And the moment I
+beheld I loved thee. Often--often after that would I visit the kind
+physician's grounds, whereof I possessed a pass-key; and my admiration
+of thee led me to pass the slight boundary which separated his garden
+from thine. Then I would approach the windows of thy dwelling and
+contemplate thee as thou wast seated in thy favorite apartment. On the
+night of my father's funeral, although so very late when all the
+subsequent business connected with the reading of the will was
+concluded, my mind was so perturbed and restless that I could not sleep;
+and quitting the Riverola mansion by a private door, I sought the fresh
+air with the hope that it would calm me. Some vague and indescribable
+sentiment of curiosity, or else something that I heard on the return of
+the mourners, relative to the strange scene enacted in the church, I
+know not which, led me to the vicinity of your abode; and there, in your
+favorite room, I beheld you seated, listening attentively to some sweet
+words, doubtless, which Agnes was breathing into your ear. But she
+caught a glimpse of my countenance by the light of the lamps----"
+
+"Enough! enough!" exclaimed Wagner; "thou hast indeed cleared up
+innumerable mysteries! But, oh! Nisida--would that thou hadst remained
+silent--that thou hadst not drawn aside the veil which my elevated
+opinion of thee had thrown over the suspicions that, I admit, from time
+to time----"
+
+"And if I have told thee all this, Fernand," interrupted Nisida,
+impatiently, "it is that thou may'st be convinced not only of the
+natural energy of my mind, but also of the deep love which I bear thee.
+And now, now that thou seest me in my true character, a murderess if
+thou wilt," she added with an emphasis of bitter scorn, "now canst thou
+refuse that sacrifice----"
+
+"Nisida! Nisida! enough crime has been perpetrated by both us, Heaven
+knows!" ejaculated Wagner, still writhing with the anguish produced by
+the avowal which had so lately met his ears. "Oh! accursed be the day,
+blotted from the annals of Time be the hour, Nisida, when thy hand
+struck the fatal dagger into the heart of Agnes."
+
+"What! this to my face?" said Nisida, her countenance becoming crimson
+with indignation, and not her face only, but her swan-like neck, her
+shoulders, and her bosom. "Then she _was_ thy mistress, Fernand! And
+thou didst love her, while I fancied, false one that thou art, thine
+affections to be wholly and solely mine."
+
+"Nisida," exclaimed Fernand, cruelly bewildered, "you drive me to
+despair. I know not whether to loathe thee for this avowal which thou
+hast made, or to snatch thee to my arms, abandon all hope of salvation,
+and sacrifice myself entirely for one so transcendently beautiful as
+thou art. But thy suspicions relative to Agnes are ridiculous,
+monstrous, absurd. For, as surely as thou art there, Nisida--as the
+heaven is above us and the earth beneath us--as surely as that I love
+thee so well as to be unable to reproach thee more for the deed which
+thou hast confessed--so surely, Nisida, was Agnes my own granddaughter,
+and I--I, Fernand Wagner--young, strong, and healthy as thou beholdest
+me, am fourscore and fifteen years of age."
+
+Nisida started in affright, and then fixed a scrutinizing glance upon
+Fernand's countenance; for she feared that his reason was abandoning
+him--that he was raving.
+
+"Ah! Nisida, I see that you do not credit my words," he exclaimed; "and
+yet I have told thee the solemn, sacred truth. But mine is a sad history
+and a dreadful fate; and if I thought that thou would'st soothe my
+wounded spirit, console, and not revile me, pity, and not loathe me, I
+would tell thee all."
+
+"Speak, Fernand, speak!" she cried; "and do me not so much wrong as to
+suppose that I could forget my love for thee--that love which made me
+the murderer of Agnes. Besides," she added, enthusiastically, "I see
+that we are destined for each other; that the dark mysteries attached to
+both our lives engender the closest sympathies; that we shall flourish
+in power, and glory, and love, and happiness together."
+
+Wagner threw his arms around Nisida's neck, and clasped her to his
+breast. He saw not in her the woman who had dealt death to his
+granddaughter; he beheld in her only a being of ravishing beauty and
+wondrous mind, so intoxicated was he with his passion, and so great was
+the magic influence which she wielded o'er his yielding spirit. Then, as
+her head reclined upon his breast, he whispered to her, in a few
+hurried, but awfully significant words, the nature of his doom, the
+dread conditions on which he had obtained resuscitated youth, an almost
+superhuman beauty, a glorious intellect, and power of converting the
+very clods of the earth into gold and precious stones at will.
+
+"And now, dearest," he added, in a plaintive and appealing tone, "and
+now thou may'st divine wherefore on the last day of every month I have
+crossed these mountains; thou may'st divine, too, how my escape from the
+prison of Florence was accomplished; and, though no mortal power can
+abridge my days--though the sword of the executioner would fall harmless
+on my neck, and the deadly poison curdle not in my veins--still, man can
+bind me in chains, and my disgrace is known to all Florence."
+
+"But thou shalt return thither, Fernand," exclaimed Nisida, raising her
+countenance and gazing upon him, not with horror and amazement, but in
+pride and triumph; "thou shalt return thither, Fernand, armed with a
+power that may crush all thine enemies, and blast with destructive
+lightning the wretches who would look slightingly on thee. Already thou
+art dearer, far dearer to me than ever thou wast before; for I love the
+marvelous--I glory in the supernatural--and thou art a being whom such
+women as myself can worship and adore. And thou repinest at thy destiny?
+thou shudderest at the idea of that monthly transformation which makes
+thy fate so grand, because it is so terrible? Oh, thou art wrong, thou
+art wrong, my Fernand. Consider all thou hast gained, how many, many
+years of glorious youth and magnificent beauty await thee! Think of the
+power with which thy boundless command of wealth may invest thee. Oh,
+thou art happy, enviable, blest. But I--I," she added, the impassioned
+excitement of her tone suddenly sinking into subdued plaintiveness as
+her charming head once more fell upon his breast--"I am doomed to fade
+and wither like the other human flowers of the earth. Oh, that thought
+is now maddening. While thou remainest as thou art now, vested with that
+fine, manly beauty which won my heart when first I saw thee, and before
+I knew thee: I shall grow old, wrinkled, and thou wilt loathe me. I
+shall be like a corpse by the side of one endowed with vigorous life.
+Oh, Fernand; this may not be; and thou canst purchase the power to
+bestow unperishing youth, unchanging beauty upon me; the power,
+moreover, to transport us hence, and render us happy in inseparable
+companionship for long, long years to come."
+
+"Merciful heavens! Nisida," exclaimed Fernand, profoundly touched by the
+urgent, earnest appeal of the lovely siren whose persuasive eloquence
+besought him to seal his own eternal damnation--"would'st thou have me
+yield up my soul to the enemy of mankind?"
+
+"Do you hesitate? Can you even pause to reflect?" cried Nisida, with
+whose tongue the demon himself was as it were speaking. "Oh, Fernand,
+you love me not, you have never, never loved me." And she burst into a
+flood of tears. Wagner was painfully moved by this spectacle, which
+constituted so powerful an argument to support the persuasive eloquence
+of her late appeal. His resolution gave way rapidly--the more agonizing
+became her sobs the weaker grew his self-command; and his lips were
+about to murmur the fatal assent to her prayer--about to announce his
+readiness to summon the enemy of mankind and conclude the awful
+compact--when suddenly there passed before his eyes the image of the
+guardian angel whom he had seen in his vision, dim and transparent as
+the thinnest vapor, yet still perceptible and with an expression of
+countenance profoundly mournful. The apparition vanished in a moment;
+but its evanescent presence was fraught with salvation. Tearing himself
+wildly and abruptly from Nisida's embrace, Wagner exclaimed in a tone
+indicative of the horror produced by the revulsion of feeling in his
+mind, "No--never--never!" and, fleet as the startled deer he ran--he
+flew toward the mountains. Frightened and amazed by his sudden cry and
+simultaneous flight, Nisida cast her eyes rapidly around to ascertain
+the cause of his alarm, thinking that some dreadful spectacle had
+stricken terror to his soul. But ah--what sees she? Why do her glances
+settle fixedly in one direction? What beholds she in the horizon? For a
+few moments she is motionless, speechless, she cannot believe her eyes.
+Then her countenance, which has already experienced the transition from
+an expression of grief and alarm to one of suspense and mingled hope and
+fear, becomes animated with the wildest joy; and forgetting the late
+exciting scene as completely as if it had never taken place, but with
+all her thoughts and feelings absorbed in the new--the one idea which
+now engrosses her--she turns her eyes rapidly round toward the
+mountains, exclaiming, "Fernand, dearest Fernand! a sail--a sail."
+
+But Wagner hears her not: she stamps her foot with impatient rage upon
+the sand; and in another moment the groves conceal her lover from view.
+
+Yes; Wagner looked not round; heard not the voice of Nisida invoking him
+to return, but continued his rapid flight toward the mountains, as if
+hurrying in anguish and in horror from the meshes which had been spread
+to ensnare his mortal soul. And now Nisida became all selfishness; there
+was at length a hope, a sudden hope that she should be speedily enabled
+to quit the hated monotonous island, and her fine, large dark eyes were
+fixed intently upon the white sails which gradually grew more and more
+palpable in the azure horizon. She was not deceived; there was no doubt,
+no uncertainty, as to the nature of the object which now engrossed all
+her thoughts, and filled her heart with the wildest joy. It was indeed a
+ship, and its course was toward the island; for, as she gazed with fixed
+and longing eyes, it by degrees assumed a more defined shape; and that
+which had at first appeared to be but one small white piece of canvas,
+gradually developed the outlines of many sails, and showed the tapering
+spars, until at last the black hull appeared, completing the form of a
+large and noble vessel. Joy! joy--she should yet be saved from the
+island. And, ah--do the chances of that hoped-for safety multiply? Is it
+indeed another ship which has caught her eye in the far-off horizon?
+Yes; and not one only, but another, and another, and another, until she
+can count seven vessels, all emerging from the mighty distance, and
+spreading their snow-white canvas to the breeze which wafts them toward
+the isle.
+
+Crowds of conflicting thoughts now rush to the mind of Nisida; and she
+seats herself upon the strand to deliberate as calmly as she may upon
+the course which she should adopt. Alas, Fernand: thou wast not then
+uppermost in the imagination of thy Nisida, although she had not
+entirely forgotten thee. But the principal topic of her meditations, the
+grand question which demanded the most serious weighing and balancing in
+her mind, was whether she should again simulate the deafness and
+dumbness which she had now for many months been accustomed to affect.
+Grave and important interests and a deeply-rooted attachment to her
+brother on the one side urged the necessity of so doing; but on the
+other, a fearful disinclination to resume that awful duplicity--that
+dreadful self-sacrifice, an apprehension lest the enjoyment of the
+faculties of hearing and speech for so long a period should have
+unfitted her for the successful revival and efficient maintenance of the
+deceit; these were the arguments on the negative side. But Nisida's was
+not a mind to shrink from any peril or revolt from any sacrifice which
+her interests or her aims might urge her to encounter; and it was with
+fire-flashing eyes and a neck proudly arching, that she raised her head
+in a determined manner, exclaiming aloud, "Yes, it must be so. But the
+period of this renewed self-martyrdom will not last long. So soon as
+thine interests shall have been duly cared for, Francisco, I will quit
+Florence forever, I will return to this island, and here will I pass the
+remainder of my days with thee, my beloved Fernand! And that I _do_ love
+thee still, Fernand, although thou hast fled from my presence as if I
+were suddenly transformed into a loathsome monster, that I must ever
+continue to love thee, Fernand, and that I shall anxiously long to
+return to thine arms, are truths as firmly based as the foundations of
+the island. Thine, then, shall be the last name, thy name shall be the
+last word that I will suffer my lips to pronounce ere I once more place
+the seal upon them. Yes, I love thee, Fernand; oh! would to God that
+thou could'st hear me proclaim how much I love thee, my beauteous, my
+strangely-fated Fernand!"
+
+It was almost in a despairing tone that Nisida gave utterance to these
+last words; for as the chance of escape from the island grew every
+moment less equivocal, by the nearer approach of the fleet, which was,
+however, still far from the shore, the intensity of her sensual passion
+for Wagner, that passion which she believed to be the purest and most
+firmly rooted love, revived; and her heart smote her for her readiness
+to abandon him to the solitude of that island. But as she was now
+acquainted with all the mysteries of his fate, as she knew that he could
+not die for many, many years to come, nor lose that glorious beauty
+which had proved alike her pleasure and her pride, her remorse and her
+alarms were to a considerable degree mitigated: for she thought within
+herself, _although she now spoke aloud no more_; "Death will not snatch
+him from me, disease will not impair his godlike features and elegant
+form, and he loves me too well not to receive me with open arms when I
+shall be enabled to return to him." These were her thoughts: and
+starting upon her feet, she compressed her lips tightly, as if to remind
+herself that she had once more placed a seal there, a seal not to be
+broken for some time. An hour had now passed since Fernand Wagner and
+Nisida separated on the seashore; and he did not come back. Meantime the
+fleet of ships had drawn nearer, and though she more than once
+entertained the idea of hastening after Wagner to implore him to
+accompany her whithersoever those vessels were bound, or at least to
+part with the embrace of tenderness, yet her fear lest the ships might
+sail past without touching at the island, predominated over her softer
+feelings. And now, having settled in her mind the course she was to
+adopt, she hastened to the stores which she had saved from the wreck of
+the corsair vessel, and which had been piled up on the strand the day
+after she was first thrown on that Mediterranean isle.
+
+It will be remembered that amongst the articles thus saved were changes
+of apparel, which Stephano Verrina had procured for her use at Leghorn
+ere the corsair-bark set sail on that voyage from which it never
+returned, and during Nisida's long sojourn on the island, she had
+frequently examined those garments, and had been careful to secure them
+from the effects of rain or damp, in the hope that the day would sooner
+or later come when she might assume them for the purpose of bidding
+adieu to that lovely but monotonous island. And now that day has come;
+and the moment so anxiously longed for appeared to be rapidly
+approaching. Nisida accordingly commenced her toilet, as if she had only
+just risen from her couch and was preparing to dress to go abroad
+amongst the busy haunts of human beings.
+
+Her dark luxuriant hair, which so long had floated negligently upon her
+ivory shoulders, was now gathered up in broad massive bands at the
+sides, and artistically plaited and confined at the back of her
+well-shaped head. The tight bodice was next laced over the swelling
+bosom: hose and light boots imprisoned the limbs which had so often
+borne her glancing along in their nudity to the soft music of the stream
+in the vale or of the wavelets of the sea; broidery set off the fine
+form of Nisida in all the advantage of its glowing, full and voluptuous
+proportions. Then the large black veil was fastened to the plaits of her
+hair, whence its ample folds swept over that admirable symmetry of
+person, endowing her once more with the queen-like air which became so
+well her splendid, yet haughty style of beauty! Yes: no longer subdued
+by simplicity of attire--no longer tender and soft, was the loveliness
+of Nisida; but grand, imperious, and dazzling did she now seem again, as
+erst she seemed ere her foot trod that island-shore.
+
+Appareled in handsome garments, and with the rich carnation glow of
+health and animation on her cheeks, and with her eyes flashing the fires
+of hope, but with the vermilion lips compressed, Nisida now stood on the
+strand where so oft she had wandered like a naiad, feeling no shame at
+her semi-nudity.
+
+During the time occupied by her toilet, the fleet of seven ships had
+approached much nearer to the island, and now they were not more than
+three miles distant. The hulls, which at first had seemed quite black,
+shone, as they drew closer, with the gay colors in which they were
+painted, the gorgeous sunlight playing vividly on the gilding of the
+prows, the streaks of red and white along the sides, and the splendid
+decorations of the poop lanterns. Noble and mighty ships they
+were--ships of size such as Nisida had never seen before, and in
+comparison with which all the merchant-vessels she had beheld at Leghorn
+were but mere boats. There was no need to raise a signal to invite them
+to approach--for that fleet was evidently steering toward the island.
+Whence did this fleet come? whither was it bound? to what nation did it
+belong? and would those on board treat her with attention and respect?
+
+Such were the thoughts which flashed across her brain--and her heart
+beat with anxiety for the arrival of the moment which should solve those
+questions. Absorbed as she was in the contemplation of the noble
+ships--those mighty but graceful swans of the ocean--she did not forget
+to cast, from time to time, a rapid glance around, to see if Fernand
+were retracing his way toward her. Alas! no--he came not--and she must
+quit the isle without embracing him--without assuring him of her
+constant love--without renewing her oft-repeated promise to return. Ah!
+a thought struck her: she would leave a note for him in the hut! No
+sooner was the project determined on than she set about its execution;
+for there were writing materials amidst the stores saved from the
+corsair-wreck. A brief but tender letter was hastily penned, and then
+secured in a place where she knew he must find it should he revisit the
+rude tenement in which they had so often slept in each other's arms. And
+that he would revisit it she both fondly hoped and firmly
+believed--revisit it so soon as the excitement and the terror, under the
+influence of which he had parted from her, should have subsided. Her
+mind was now much easier, and her beauty was wonderfully enhanced by the
+glow of animation which suffused itself over her countenance, giving
+additional light to her ever brilliant eyes, and rendering her noble
+aquiline face resplendent to gaze upon.
+
+The ships came to anchor at a distance of about two miles from the
+shore: and though the banners of each were fluttering in the breeze, yet
+Nisida was not well skilled enough in discriminating the flags of
+different nations to be able immediately to satisfy herself to which
+country that fleet belonged. But as she stood with her eyes fixed on the
+foremost vessel, which was also the largest, she observed that there was
+a gilt crescent in the middle of the blood-red standard that floated
+over her central poop-lantern; and a chill struck to her heart--for the
+thought of African pirates flashed to her mind! This alarm was, however,
+as evanescent as it was poignant; for another moment's reflection
+convinced her that none of the princes of Africa could send so proud a
+fleet to sea. Following up the chain of reasoning thus suggested, and
+calling to her aid all the accounts she had read of naval fights between
+the Christians and the Moslems, she at length remembered that the
+blood-red banner, with the gilt crescent in the middle, denoted the
+presence of the Kapitan-Pasha, or Lord High Admiral of the Ottoman
+Empire. Confidently believing that peace existed between Italy and
+Turkey, she had now no longer any fears as to the treatment she was
+likely to experience at the hands of the Mohammedans; and it was with
+unfeigned joy that she beheld a boat, which had put off from the
+admiral's ship, at length approaching the shore.
+
+As the magnificently painted and gorgeously gilt barge, which
+twenty-four white-turbaned rowers urged along with almost horse-race
+speed, neared the strand, Nisida observed, beneath a velvet canopy in
+the stern, a personage, who by his splendid apparel, his commanding
+demeanor, and the respect paid to him by the slaves accompanying him,
+was evidently of exalted rank. She accordingly conceived that this must
+be the kapitan-pasha himself. But she was mistaken. Her delight at the
+approach of the barge, which she fondly hoped would prove the means of
+her deliverance from the island, was only equaled by the surprise of
+those on board at beholding a beautiful and elegantly dressed lady,
+unattended and alone, on the seashore, as if awaiting their arrival.
+And, during the few minutes which now elapsed ere the barge touched the
+strand, it was evident that the high functionary seated beneath the
+canopy surveyed Nisida with increasing wonder and admiration; while she,
+on her side, could not help noticing that he was remarkably handsome,
+very young, and possessing a countenance rather of an Italian than a
+Turkish cast of features.
+
+Meantime a profound silence, broken only by the slight and uniform
+sounds produced by the oars, prevailed: and when the boat touched the
+strand, a long and wide plank, covered with velvet, was so placed as to
+enable the high functionary before alluded to to land conveniently.
+Attended by two slaves, who followed at a respectful distance, the
+Mussulman chief advanced toward Nisida, whom he saluted in a manner
+which strengthened her suspicion that he was not of Turkish origin,
+although habited in the richest Oriental costume she had ever seen, and
+evidently holding some very superior office among the Ottomans. She
+returned his salutation with a graceful bow and a sweet smile: and he
+immediately addressed her in the Italian tongue--her own dear and
+delightful language, saying, "Lady, art thou the queen of this land? or
+art thou, as appearances would almost lead one to conjecture, a solitary
+inhabitant here?"
+
+For he saw that she was alone--beheld no traces of culture; and there
+was but one miserable dwelling, and that such as she might have built up
+with her own hands. Nisida shook her head mournfully, making signs that
+she was deaf and dumb. The Mussulman chief uttered an ejaculation of
+mingled surprise and grief, and surveyed the lady with additional
+interest and admiration. But in a few moments his countenance assumed a
+sudden expression of astonishment, as if a light had broken in upon him,
+suggesting something more than a mere suspicion--nay, indeed, a positive
+conviction; and having examined her features with the most earnest
+attention, he abruptly took his tablets from the folds of his garment,
+and wrote something on them. He then handed them to Nisida; and it was
+now her turn to experience the wildest surprise--for on the page opened
+to her view were these words, traced in a beautiful style of
+calligraphy, and in the Italian language: "Is it possible that your
+ladyship can be the Donna Nisida of Riverola?"
+
+Nisida's eyes wandered in astonishment from the tablets to the
+countenance of him who had penciled that question; but his features were
+certainly not familiar to her--and yet she thought that there was
+something in the general expression of that handsome face not altogether
+unknown to her. As soon as she had partially recovered from the surprise
+and bewilderment produced by finding that she at least was known to the
+Ottoman functionary, she wrote beneath his question the following reply:
+"I am indeed Nisida of Riverola, who for seven long months have been the
+only inhabitant of this island, whereon I was shipwrecked, and I am now
+anxious to return to Italy--or at all events to the first Christian port
+at which your fleet may touch. Have mercy upon me, then; and take me
+hence! But who are you, signor, that I should prove no stranger to you?"
+
+The Ottoman chief read these words, and hastened to reply in the
+following manner: "I have the honor to be the grand vizier of his
+imperial highness the glorious Sultan Solyman, and my name is Ibrahim. A
+few months ago I encountered your brother Francisco, Count of Riverola,
+who was then in command of a body of Tuscan auxiliaries, raised to
+assist in defending Rhodes against the invading arms of the mighty
+Solyman. Your brother became my prisoner, but I treated him worthily. He
+informed me with bitter tears of the strange and mysterious
+disappearance of his well-beloved sister, who had the misfortune to be
+deprived of the faculties of hearing and speech. Your brother was soon
+set free, after the fall of Rhodes, and he returned to his native city.
+But from all he told me of thee, lady, it was natural that I should ere
+now conjecture who thou must be."
+
+Ibrahim did not choose to add that he had remembered to have seen Nisida
+occasionally in their native city of Florence, and that he was indeed
+the brother of her late dependent, Flora Francatelli. But the
+explanation which he did give was quite sufficient to renew her deepest
+surprise, as she now learnt for the first time that during her absence
+her brother had been engaged in the perils of warfare. The grand vizier
+gently withdrew from Nisida's hand the tablets on which her eyes were
+positively riveted; but it was only to trace a few lines to afford her
+additional explanations. When he returned the tablets to her again she
+read as follows: "By a strange coincidence the glorious fleet which has
+wafted me hither to deliver you from this lonely isle, and which is
+under the command of the kapitan-pasha in person, is bound for the
+western coast of Italy. Its mission is at present known only to myself
+and a faithful Greek dependent; but your ladyship shall receive worthy
+attention and be duly conveyed to Leghorn. The squadron has been driven
+from its course by a tempest which assailed us off the island of Candia;
+our pilot lost his reckonings, and when land was descried this morning,
+it was believed to be the coast of Sicily. Hast thou, lady, any means of
+enlightening us as to the geographical position of this island?"
+
+Nisida answered in the ensuing manner: "I have not the least notion of
+the geographical position of the island. An eternal summer appears to
+prevail in this clime, which would be a terrestrial paradise were not
+the forests infested by hideous serpents of an enormous size."
+
+Ibrahim Pasha, having read this reply, summoned from the barge the
+officer in command: and to him he communicated the intelligence which he
+had just received from Nisida. That officer's countenance immediately
+underwent a dreadful change; and, falling on his knees at Ibrahim's
+feet, he made some strong appeal, the nature of which Nisida could only
+divine by its emphatic delivery and the terrified manner of the
+individual. Ibrahim smiled contemptuously, and motioned the officer with
+an imperious gesture to rise and return to the barge. Then, again,
+having recourse to the tablets, he conveyed the following information to
+Nisida: "Lady, it appears that this is the Isle of Snakes, situated in
+the Gulf of Sictra, on the African coast. Horrible superstitions are
+attached to this clime: and I dare not remain longer on its shore, lest
+I should seriously offend the prejudices of those ignorant sailors.
+Come, then, lady, you shall receive treatment due to your rank, your
+beauty, and your misfortunes."
+
+In the meantime the officer had returned to the barge, where whispers
+speedily circulated in respect to the land on which that boat had
+touched; and the reader may imagine the extent of the loathing which the
+mere name of the isle was calculated to inspire in the breasts of the
+superstitious Mussulmans, when we observe that the existence of that
+island was well known to the Turks and also to the Africans, but was
+left uninhabited, and was never visited knowingly by any of their ships.
+Nisida saw that the grand vizier was in haste to depart, not through any
+ridiculous fears on his part, because he was too enlightened to believe
+in the fearful tales of mermaids, genii, ghouls, vampires, and other
+evil spirits by which the island was said to be haunted, but because his
+renegadism had been of so recent a date that he dared not, powerful and
+altered as he was, afford the least ground for suspecting that the light
+of Christianity triumphed in his soul over the dark barbarism of his
+assumed creed. Seeing, then, that Ibrahim Pasha was anxious to yield to
+the superstitious feelings of the sailors, Nisida intimated, with a
+graceful bend of the head, her readiness to accompany him. But, as she
+advanced toward the boat, she cast a rapid and searching glance behind
+her. Alas! Wagner appeared not.
+
+A feeling of uneasiness, amounting almost to a pang of remorse, took
+possession of her, as she placed her foot upon the velvet-covered plank;
+and for an instant she hesitated to proceed.
+
+Could she abandon Fernand to the solitude of that isle? Could she
+renounce the joys which his love had taught her to experience? And might
+she not be enabled to persuade him to make that sacrifice which would
+invest him with a power that she herself would direct and wield
+according to her own pleasure and suitably to her own interests? But,
+oh! that hesitation lasted not more than a moment; for her feet were on
+the plank leading to the barge, and at a short distance floated the ship
+that would bear her away from the isle.
+
+One longing, lingering look upon the shore of that island where she had
+enjoyed so much happiness, even if she had experienced so much anxiety;
+one longing, lingering look, and she hesitated no more. Ibrahim escorted
+her to a seat beneath the velvet canopy; the officer in command gave the
+signal, the barge was shoved off, the rowers plied their oars, and the
+island was already far behind, ere Nisida had the courage to glance
+toward it again!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER LVII.
+
+
+Let us now return to Fernand Wagner, whom we left flying from his
+Nisida, flying in horror and alarm from her whom he nevertheless loved
+so tenderly and devotedly. He fled as if from the brink of the yawning
+pit of hell, into which the malignant fiend who coveted his soul was
+about to plunge him. Nor once did he look back. Absorbed as his feelings
+were in the full conviction of the tremendous peril from which he had
+just escaped, he still found room for the reflection that were he to
+turn and catch but one glimpse of the beauteous, oh! too beauteous
+creature from whom he had torn himself away, he should be lost. His mind
+was bent upon the salvation of his immortal soul; and he knew that the
+enemy of mankind was assailing him with a power and with an energy which
+nothing save the assistance of Heaven could enable him to resist. He
+knew also that Heaven helps only those who are willing and anxious to
+help themselves; and of this doctrine he had received a striking and
+triumphant proof in the sudden and evanescent appearance of his guardian
+angel at the instant when, overpowered by the strong, the earnest, and
+the pathetic pleading of the siren Nisida, he was about to proclaim his
+readiness to effect the crowning sacrifice. And it was to avoid the
+chance of that direful yielding--to fly from a temptation which became
+irresistible when embellished with all the eloquence of a woman on whom
+he doted, that Wagner sped with lightning rapidity toward the mountains.
+
+But the beauteous form of Nisida met not now his eyes; and deeply,
+profoundly, ardently as he still loved her, and felt that he must ever
+love her, yet, to speak soothly, he deplored not that she was no longer
+there. The vision of the previous night had so firmly established hope
+in his soul, that he had prepared and tutored himself, during his
+journey across the mountains, to sacrifice all his happiness on earth to
+insure the eternal felicity of heaven.
+
+No. Nisida was not there. But as he drew closer to the shore, he beheld,
+to his ineffable joy, the dark spot gradually assume that defined shape
+which left no room to doubt the truth of his vision, even were he
+inclined to be skeptical. For there, indeed, touching the strand, but
+still so far in the water that a slight exertion would send it
+completely afloat, was a large boat, curiously shaped, and painted in a
+variety of fantastic colors. It had a mast standing, but the sail was
+lowered and, on a closer inspection, the boat proved to be altogether
+unimpaired.
+
+"Heaven delights to effect its wise intentions by natural means,"
+thought Wagner within himself. "But surely it could not have been
+through the agency of Nisida that this boat was left upon the shore?
+No," he added aloud, after a still closer inspection; "the rope fastened
+to the prow has been snapped asunder! Doubtless the boat became detached
+from one of the ships which appeared off the island yesterday, and
+which," he said in a low murmuring voice, and with an ill-subdued sigh,
+"have afforded Nisida the means of departure hence."
+
+He sat down, exhausted; and as he found leisure for recollection--as his
+thoughts composed themselves and settled down into something like
+collected calmness--he felt a sensation of indescribable joy at having
+triumphed over the appalling temptations which had beset him. And in his
+soul a voice seemed to be singing an anthem of delight and gratitude;
+and he soon experienced a serenity of mind such as he had not known for
+many hours past! When man, having yielded to temptation, succeeds in
+escaping the perils of the consequences, he beholds a strong motive for
+self-gratulation;--but how ineffably more sweet is it to be able to
+reflect that the temptation itself has been avoided in the first
+instance, and that the dangers of the results have never even been
+risked.
+
+Thus thought Wagner:--but not for a moment did he attribute to any
+strength of mind on his own part, the escape which had just been
+effected from the snares set by the evil one. No; he acknowledged within
+himself, and with all due humility, that the hand of the Almighty had
+sustained him in his most trying moments of peril; and ere he thought of
+resuming his journey to that side of the island on which Nisida was not,
+he knelt in fervent prayer. Rising from his knees, his eyes accidentally
+swept the sea:--and he was riveted to the spot from which he was about
+to turn away--for the white sails of the Ottoman fleet met his
+astonished view. He remained gazing on those objects for some time,
+until he was convinced they were nearing the island. For a few moments a
+deep regret took possession of him:--he should lose his Nisida
+irrevocably! But his next impulse was to wrestle with this feeling--to
+combat this weakness. How could he have hoped ever to rejoin her without
+rendering himself again liable to the witchery of her siren tongue--the
+eloquence of her silver-toned voice--the persuasiveness of her graceful
+manners? No; it were better that she should depart; it were preferable
+that he should lose her and preserve his immortal soul. Thus reasoned
+he;--and that reasoning was effectual. He waited only long enough to
+assure himself that the fleet was positively approaching the island:--he
+then knew that she would depart;--and, without permitting himself to
+yield again to the weakness which had for a few moments threatened to
+send him back within the sphere of Nisida's fatal influence, he tore
+himself away from that point amongst the heights which commanded the
+view of the side of the island where she was. Hastening around the base
+of the volcano, he reached the defiles leading to that part of the isle
+where he had periodically fulfilled his dreadful destiny as a Wehr-Wolf.
+Carefully avoiding the outskirts of the forest and the knots of large
+trees, he proceeded toward the shore; and his heart was rent with
+feelings of deep anguish as he everywhere beheld the traces of
+destruction left behind him by his recent run in the horrible form of a
+savage monster. Then, too, when melancholy thoughts had once again
+entered his soul, the image of Nisida appeared to flit before him in the
+most tempting manner; and the more he endeavored to banish from his
+memory the recollection of her charms, the more vividly delineated did
+they become.
+
+At length jealousy took possession of him;--and suddenly stopping short
+in his progress toward the shore, he exclaimed aloud, "What if she
+should be wooed and won by another? If she return to her native land, as
+assuredly she now will, she may meet some handsome and elegant cavalier
+who will succeed in winning her passions:--and I--I, who love her so
+well--shall be forgotten! Oh! this is madness! To think that another may
+possess her, clasp her in his arms, press his lips to hers, feel her
+fragrant breath fan his cheek, play with the rich tresses of her
+beauteous hair, oh! no, no, the bare thought is enough to goad me to
+despair! She must not depart thus, we have separated, if not in anger at
+least abruptly, too abruptly, considering how we have loved, and that we
+have wedded each other in the sight of Heaven! Heaven!" repeated Wagner,
+his tone changing from despair to a deep solemnity; "heaven! Oh! I
+rejoice that I gave utterance to the word;--for it reminds me that to
+regain my Nisida I must lose heaven!"
+
+And, as if to fly from his own reflections, he rushed on toward the sea;
+and there he stopped to gaze, as oft before he had gazed, on the mighty
+expanse, seeming, in the liquid sunlight, as it stretched away from the
+yellow sand, a resplendent lake of molten silver bounded by a golden
+shore.
+
+"How like to the human countenance art thou, oh mighty sea!" thought
+Wagner, as he stood with folded arms on the brink of the eternal waters.
+"Now thou hast smiles as soft and dimples as beautiful as ever appeared
+in the face of innocence and youth, while the joyous sunlight is on
+thee. But if the dark clouds gather in the heaven above thee, thou
+straightway assumed a mournful and a gloomy aspect, and thou growest
+threatening and somber. And in how many varied voices dost thou speak.
+Oh, treacherous and changeful sea! Now thou whisperest softly as if thy
+ripples conveyed faint murmurs of love;--but, if the gale arise, thou
+canst burst forth into notes of laughter as thy waters leap to the shore
+with bounding mirth;--and, if the wind grow higher, thou canst speak
+louder and more menacingly; till, when the storm comes on, thou lashest
+thyself into a fury,--thou boilest with rage, and thy wrathful voice
+vies with the rush of the tempest and the roar of the thunder! Deceitful
+sea--imaging the beauties, thoughts, and passions of the earth! Within
+thy mighty depths, too, thou hast gems to deck the crowns of kings and
+the brows of loveliness; and yet thou cravest for more--more--and
+engulfest rich argosies with all their treasures--thou insatiate sea!
+And in thy dark caverns are the skeletons of the myriads of human beings
+whom thou hast swallowed up in thy fury; and whose bones are trophies
+which thou retainest in thy fathomless depths, as the heart of man
+enshrineth the relics of those hopes which have wasted away and
+perished!"
+
+Thus thought Wagner, as he stood gazing upon the sea, then so calm and
+beautiful, but which he knew to be so treacherous. When wearied of the
+reflections which that scene inspired, and not daring to allow his mind
+to dwell upon the image of Nisida, he repaired to the nearest grove and
+refreshed himself with the cooling fruits which he plucked. Then he
+extended his rambles amongst the verdant plains, and strove strenuously
+to divert his thoughts as much as possible from the one grand and
+mournful idea--the departure of Nisida from the island! But vainly did
+he endeavor to fix his attention upon the enchanting characteristics of
+that clime;--the flowers appeared to him less brilliant in hue than they
+were wont to be--the fruits were less inviting--the verdure was of a
+less lively green--and the plumage of the birds seemed to have lost the
+bright gloss that rendered its colors so gorgeous in the sunlight. For,
+oh! the powers of his vision were almost completely absorbed in his
+mind; and that mind was a mirror wherein was now reflected with a
+painful vividness all the incidents of the last few hours.
+
+But still he was sustained in his determination not to retrace his way
+to the spot where he had left Nisida; and when several hours had passed,
+and the sun was drawing near the western horizon, he exclaimed, in a
+moment of holy triumph, "She has doubtless by this time quitted the
+island, and I have been enabled to resist those anxious longings which
+prompted me to return and clasp her in my arms! O God! I thank thee that
+thou hast given me this strength!"
+
+Wagner now felt so overcome with weariness after his wanderings and
+roamings of so many hours, especially as the two preceding nights had
+been sleepless for him--that he sat down upon a piece of low rock near
+the shore. A quiet, dreamy repose insensibly stole over him: in a few
+minutes his slumber was profound. And now he beheld a strange vision.
+Gradually the darkness which appeared to surround him grew less intense;
+and a gauzy vapor that rose in the midst, at first of the palest bluish
+tint possible, by degrees obtained more consistency, when its nature
+began to undergo a sudden change, assuming the semblance of a luminous
+mist. Wagner's heart seemed to flutter and leap in his breast, as if
+with a presentiment of coming joy; for the luminous mist became a
+glorious halo, surrounding the beauteous and holy form of a protecting
+angel, clad in white and shining garments, and with snowy wings drooping
+slowly from her shoulders! And ineffably--supernally benign and
+reassuring was the look which the angel bent upon the sleeping Wagner,
+as she said in the softest, most melodious tones, "The choir of the
+heavenly host has hymned thanks for thy salvation! After thou hadst
+resisted the temptations of the enemy of mankind when he spoke to thee
+with his own lips, an angel came to thee in a dream to give thee
+assurance that thou hadst already done much in atonement for the crime
+that endangered thy soul; but he warned thee then that much more
+remained to be done ere that atonement would be complete. And the rest
+is now accomplished; for thou hast resisted the temptations of the evil
+one when urged by the tongue and in the melodious voice of lovely woman!
+This was thy crowning triumph: and the day when thou shalt reap thy
+reward is near at hand; for the bonds which connect thee with the
+destiny of a Wehr-Wolf shall be broken, and thy name shall be inscribed
+in Heaven's own Book of Life! And I will give thee a sign, that what
+thou seest and hearest now in thy slumber is no idle and delusive vision
+conjured up by a fevered brain. The sign shall be this: On awaking from
+thy sleep, retrace thy way to the spot where this morning thou didst
+separate from her whom thou lovest; and there shalt thou find a boat
+upon the sand. The boat will waft thee to Sicily; and there, in the town
+of Syracuse, thou must inquire for a man whose years have numbered one
+hundred and sixty-two; for that man it is who will teach thee how the
+spell which has made thee a Wehr-Wolf may be broken."
+
+Scarcely had the angel finished speaking, when a dark form rose suddenly
+near that heavenly being; and Wagner had no difficulty in recognizing
+the demon. But the enemy of mankind appeared not armed with terrors of
+countenance, nor with the withering scorn of infernal triumph; for a
+moment his features denoted ineffable rage--and then that expression
+yielded to one of the profoundest melancholy, as if he were saying
+within himself, "There is salvation for repentant man, but none for me!"
+A cloud now seemed to sweep before Wagner's eyes; denser and more dense
+it grew--first absorbing in its increasing obscurity the form of the
+demon, and then enveloping the radiant being who still continued to
+smile sweetly and benignly upon the sleeping mortal until the glorious
+countenance and the shining garments were no longer visible, but all was
+black darkness around. And Fernand Wagner continued to sleep profoundly.
+
+Many hours elapsed ere he woke; and his slumber was serene and soothing.
+At length when he opened his eyes and slowly raised his head from the
+hard pillow which a mass of rock had formed, he beheld the rich red
+streaks in the eastern horizon, heralding the advent of the sun; and as
+the various features of the island gradually developed themselves to his
+view, as if breaking slowly from a mist, he collected and rearranged in
+his mind all the details of the strange vision which he had seen. For a
+few minutes he was oppressed with a fear that his vision would indeed
+prove the delusive sport of his fevered brain; for there seemed to be in
+its component parts a wild admixture of the sublime and the fantastic.
+The solemn language of the angel appeared strangely diversified by the
+intimation that he would find a boat upon the shore, that this boat
+would convey him to a place where he was to inquire for a man whose age
+was one hundred and sixty-two years, and that this man was the being
+destined to save him from the doom of a Wehr-Wolf.
+
+Then, again, he thought that heaven worked out its designs by means
+often inscrutable to human comprehension: and he blamed himself for
+having doubted the truth of the vision. Feelings of joy therefore
+accompanied the reassurance of his soul; and, having poured forth his
+thanksgivings for the merciful intervention of Providence in his behalf,
+he tarried not even to break his fast with the fruits clustering at a
+short distance from him, but hastened to retrace his way across the
+mountains, no longer doubting to find the sign fulfilled and the boat
+upon the shore. And now these thoughts rose within him. Should he again
+behold Nisida? Was the fleet, which he had seen on the previous day,
+still off the island? Or had it departed, bearing Nisida away to another
+clime?
+
+He expected not to behold either the fleet or his loved one; for he felt
+convinced that the angel would not send him back within the influence of
+her temptations. Nor was he mistaken, for having traversed the volcanic
+range of heights, he beheld naught to break the uniform and monotonous
+aspect of the sunlit sea. But, on drawing nearer to the shore, he saw a
+dark spot almost immediately in front of the little hut which Nisida and
+himself had constructed, and wherein they had passed so many, many happy
+hours.
+
+He now advanced with a beating heart to the hut. The door was closed.
+Was it possible that Nisida might be within? Oh, how weak in purpose is
+the strongest minded of mortals. For an instant a pleasing hope filled
+Wagner's breast; and then, again summoning all his resolutions to his
+aid, he opened the door, resolved, should she indeed be there, to remain
+proof against all the appeals she might make to induce him to sacrifice
+to their mundane prosperity his immortal soul. But the hut was empty. He
+lingered in it for a few moments; and the reminiscences of happy hours
+passed therein swept across his brain. Suddenly the note which Nisida
+had left for him met his eyes; and it would be representing him as
+something far more or else far less than human, were we to declare he
+did not experience a feeling of intense pleasure at beholding the
+memorial of her love. The tears flowed down his cheeks as he read the
+following lines:
+
+    "The hour approaches, dearest Fernand, when, in all probability,
+    I shall quit the island. But think not that this hope is
+    unaccompanied by severe pangs. Oh, thou knowest that I love
+    thee, and I will return to thee, my own adored Fernand, so soon
+    as my presence shall be no longer needed at Florence. Yes, I
+    will come back to thee, and we will not part until death shall
+    deprive thee of _me_--for I must perish first, and while thou
+    still remainest in all the glory of regenerated youth. Alas,
+    thou hast fled from me this morning in anger--perhaps in
+    disgust. But thou wilt forgive me, Fernand, if, yielding to some
+    strange influence which I could not control, I urged an appeal
+    so well calculated to strike terror into thy soul. Oh, that I
+    could embrace thee ere I leave this isle; but alas! thou comest
+    not back--thou hast fled to the mountains. It is, however, in
+    the ardent hope of thy return to this spot, that I leave these
+    few lines to assure thee of my undying affection, to pledge to
+    thee my intention to hasten back to thine arms as soon as
+    possible, and to implore thee not to nourish anger against thy
+    devoted                                                NISIDA."
+
+Wagner placed the letter to his lips, exclaiming, "Oh, wherefore did an
+evil influence ever prove its power on thee, thou loving, loved, and
+beauteous being. Why was thy hand raised against the hapless Agnes?
+wherefore did fate make thee a murderess--and why, oh, why didst thou
+assail me with prayers, tears, reproaches, menaces, to induce me to
+consign my soul to Satan? Nisida, may Heaven manifest its merciful
+goodness unto thee, even as that same benign care has been extended to
+me."
+
+Fernand then placed the letter in his bosom, next to his heart, and
+dashing away the tears from his long lashes, began to turn his attention
+toward the preparation for his own departure from the island. As he
+approached the pile of stores, he beheld the light drapery which Nisida
+had lately worn, but which she had laid aside previous to leaving the
+island; and he also observed that the rich dress, which he had often
+seen her examine with care, was no longer there.
+
+"How beautiful she must have appeared in the garb!" he murmured to
+himself. "But, alas! she returns to the great world to resume her former
+character of the deaf and dumb."
+
+Nisida and himself had often employed themselves in gathering quantities
+of those fruits which form an excellent aliment when dried in the sun;
+and there was a large supply of these comestibles now at his disposal.
+He accordingly transferred them to the boat; then he procured a quantity
+of fresh fruits; and lastly he filled with pure water a cask which had
+been saved by Nisida from the corsair-wreck. His preparations were
+speedily completed; and he was about to depart, when it struck him that
+he might never behold Nisida again, and that she might perform her
+promise of returning to the island sooner or later. He accordingly
+availed himself of the writing materials left amongst the stores, to pen
+a brief but affectionate note, couched in the following terms:
+
+    "DEAREST NISIDA,--I have found, read, and wept over thy letter.
+    Thou hast my sincerest forgiveness, because I love thee more
+    than man ever before loved woman. Heaven has sent me the means
+    of escape from this island--and the doom at which my regenerated
+    existence was purchased, will shortly lose its spell. But
+    perhaps my life may be surrendered up at the same time; at all
+    events, everything is dark and mysterious in respect to means by
+    which that spell is to be broken. Should we never meet again,
+    but shouldst thou return hither and find this note, receive it
+    as a proof of the unchanging affection of thy
+
+                                                      "FERNAND."
+
+The letter was placed in the hut, in precisely the same spot where the
+one written by Nisida had been left; and Wagner then hastened to the
+boat, which he had no difficulty in pushing away from the shore. Without
+being able to form any idea of the direction in which the island of
+Sicily lay, but trusting entirely to the aid of Heaven to guide him to
+the coast whither his destiny now required him to proceed, he hoisted
+the sail and abandoned the boat to the gentle breeze which swept the
+surface of the Mediterranean.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The state-cabins--they might more properly be called spacious
+apartments--occupied by the Grand Vizier Ibrahim Pasha, on board the
+ship of the lord high admiral, were fitted up in a most sumptuous and
+luxurious manner. They consisted of two large saloons in a suit, and
+from each of which opened, on either side, a number of small cabins,
+tenanted by the officers immediately attached to the grand vizier's
+person, and the page and slaves in attendance on him.
+
+The first of the two large saloons was lighted by a handsome conical
+skylight on the deck: the innermost had the advantage of the stern
+windows. The drapery--the curtains, the carpets, the sofas, and the
+hangings were all of the richest materials; the sides and ceilings of
+the cabin were beautifully painted and elaborately gilded, and the
+wood-work of the windows was incrusted with thin slabs of
+variously-colored marbles, on which were engraved the ciphers of the
+different lord high admirals who had hoisted their flags at any time on
+board that ship. For the state-apartments which we are describing
+properly belonged to the kapitan-pasha himself; but they had been
+surrendered to the grand vizier, as a mark of respect to the superior
+rank of this minister, during his stay on board.
+
+The little cabins communicating with the large saloons were in reality
+intended to accomodate the ladies of the kapitan-pasha's harem; but
+Ibrahim did not turn them to a similar use, because it was contrary to
+Ottoman usage for the Princess Aischa, being the sultan's sister, to
+accompany her husband on any expedition; and he had received so menacing
+a warning in the fate of Calanthe not to provoke the jealousy of Aischa
+or the vengeance of her mother, the Sultana Valida, that he had brought
+none of the ladies of his own harem with him. Indeed, since the violent
+death of Calanthe the harem had been maintained at Constantinople rather
+as an appendage of high rank than as a source of sensual enjoyment.
+
+Nisida of Riverola was treated with the utmost deference and attention
+by the Grand Vizier, Ibrahim Pasha; and on reaching the lord high
+admiral's ship, she was instantly conducted to the innermost saloon,
+which she was given to understand by signs would be exclusively
+appropriated to her own use. The slaves occupying the small cabins
+opening therefrom were removed to another part of the ship; and the key
+of the door connecting the two saloons was handed by the polite Ibrahim
+to the lady as a guaranty, or at least an apparent one, of the respect
+with which she should be treated and the security she might hope to
+enjoy.
+
+The fleet weighed anchor and set sail again almost immediately after the
+return of the grand vizier to the admiral's ship; and as she was wafted
+away from the Island of Snakes, Nisida sat at the window of her splendid
+saloon gazing at the receding shores, and so strangely balancing between
+her anxiety to revisit Florence and her regrets at abandoning Fernand
+Wagner, that while smiles were on her lips, tears were in her eyes, and
+if her bosom palpitated with joy at one moment it would heave with
+profound sighs at the next.
+
+In the afternoon four male slaves entered Nisida's cabin, and spread
+upon the table a magnificent repast, accompanied with the most delicious
+wines of Cyprus and Greece--and while the lady partook slightly of the
+banquet, two other slaves appeared and danced in a pleasing style for
+several minutes. They retired, but shortly returned, carrying in their
+hands massive silver censers, in which burnt aloes, cinnamon and other
+odoriferous woods diffused a delicious perfume around. The four slaves
+who attended at table removed the dishes on splendid silver salvers, and
+then served sherbet and a variety of delicious fruits; and when the
+repast was terminated, they all withdrew, leaving Nisida once more
+alone. The Island of Snakes had been lost sight of for some hours, and
+the fresh breeze of evening was playing upon the cheeks of the Lady
+Nisida as she sat at the open casement of her splendid saloon, watching
+the ships that followed in the wake of that in which she was, when the
+sounds of voices in the adjacent cabin attracted her attention; and as
+the partition was but slight, and the persons discoursing spoke Italian,
+she could not help overhearing the conversation which there look place,
+even if she had possessed any punctilious feelings to have prevented her
+from becoming a willing listener.
+
+"The Lady Nisida is a magnificent woman, Demetrius," observed a voice
+which our heroine immediately recognized to be that of the grand vizier.
+"Such a splendid aquiline countenance I never before beheld! Such eyes,
+too, such a delicious mouth, and such brilliant teeth! What a pity 'tis
+that she has not the use of her tongue! The voice of such a glorious
+creature, speaking mine own dear Italian language, would be music
+itself. And how admirably is she formed--upon somewhat too large a
+scale, perhaps, to precisely suit my taste, and yet the contours of her
+shape are so well rounded--so perfectly proportioned in the most
+harmonious symmetry, that were she less of the Hebe she would be less
+charming."
+
+"Is your highness already enamored of Donna Nisida?" asked the person to
+whom the grand vizier had addressed the preceding observations.
+
+"I must confess that I am, Demetrius," replied Ibrahim; "I would give a
+year of my life to become her favored lover for one day. But considering
+that I hope to see my sister Flora become the wife of Donna Nisida's
+brother Francisco, I must restrain this passion of mine within due
+bounds. But wherefore do you sigh thus heavily, Demetrius?"
+
+"Alas! my lord, the mention you make of your sister reminded me that I
+once possessed a sister also," returned the Greek in a plaintive tone.
+"But when I returned to Constantinople, I sought vainly for her, and
+Heaven knows what has become of her, and whether I shall ever see her
+more. Poor Calanthe! some treachery has doubtless been practiced toward
+thee!"
+
+"Don't give way to despair, Demetrius," said the grand vizier. "Who
+knows but Calanthe may have espoused some youth on whom her affections
+were set----"
+
+"Ah! my lord!" interrupted the Greek, "it is considerate--it is kind on
+the part of your highness to suggest such a consolatory belief; but
+Calanthe would not keep an honorable bridal secret. Yet better were it
+that she should be dead--that she should have been basely murdered by
+some ruthless robber, than that she should live dishonored. However, I
+will not intrude my griefs upon your highness, although the friendship
+and the condescension which your highness manifests toward me, emboldens
+me to mention these sorrows in your presence."
+
+"Would that I could really console thee, Demetrius," answered Ibrahim,
+with well-affected sincerity; "for thou hast shown thyself a sincere
+friend to my poor sister Flora. And now that we are alone together,
+Demetrius, for almost the first time since this hastily undertaken
+voyage began, let us recapitulate in detail all the occurrences which
+have led me to enter upon the present expedition the real nature of
+which you alone know, save my imperial master. And, moreover, let us
+continue to discourse in Italian; for thou canst speak that language
+more fluently than I can express myself in thy native Greek; besides, it
+rejoices my heart," he added with a sigh, "to converse in a tongue so
+dear as that of the land which gave me birth. And, if Donna Nisida only
+knew that in the representative of the mighty Solyman she had beholden
+the brother of her late menial, Flora, how surprised would she be!"
+
+"And it were not prudent that she should learn that fact, my lord!"
+observed Demetrius, "for more reasons than one; since from sundry hints
+which the Signora Francatelli, your lordship's worthy aunt, dropped to
+me, it is easy to believe that the Donna Nisida was averse to the
+attachment which her brother Francisco had formed, and that her ladyship
+indeed was the means of consigning your highness' sister to the convent
+of the Carmelites."
+
+"Albeit I shall not treat Count Francisco's sister the less worthily,
+now that she is in my power," said Ibrahim Pasha; "indeed, her matchless
+beauty would command my forbearance, were I inclined to be vindictive.
+Moreover, deaf and dumb as she is, she could not obtain the least
+insight into my plans; and therefore she is unable to thwart them."
+
+The reader may suppose that not one single word of all this conversation
+was lost upon Nisida, who had indeed learnt, with the most unbounded
+wonderment, that the high and mighty grand vizier of the Ottoman
+Empire--a man enjoying an almost sovereign rank, and who bore a title
+which placed him on a level with the greatest princes of Christendom,
+was the brother of the detested Flora Francatelli! During a short pause
+which ensued in the dialogue between Ibrahim Pasha and his Greek
+confidant, Nisida stole gently up to the door in the partitions between
+the two saloons, so fearful was she of losing a single word of a
+discourse that so deeply interested and nearly concerned her.
+
+"But, as I was saying ere now, Demetrius," resumed the grand vizier,
+who, young as he was, had acquired all the methodical habits of a wise
+statesman, "let us examine in detail the whole posture of affairs in
+Florence, so that I may maturely consider the precise bearings of the
+case, and finally determine how to act. For, although I have at my
+disposal a fleet which might cope with even that of enterprising England
+or imperious France, though twenty thousand well-disciplined soldiers on
+board these ships are ready to draw the sword at my nod, and though, as
+the seraskier and sipehsalar of the armies of the sultan, I am
+responsible for my actions to his majesty alone, yet it is not a small
+thing, Demetrius, to march an invading force into the heart of Italy,
+and thereby risk a war with all Christendom. Therefore, let us pause to
+reflect upon every detail of all those incidents which occurred two
+months ago at Florence."
+
+"Good, my lord," said Demetrius. "I will therefore begin with my arrival
+in that fair city, to which I repaired with all possible dispatch, as
+soon as I had received the instructions of your highness. It would
+appear that the Lord Count of Riverola reached Florence the same day as
+myself, he having been detained at the outset of his voyage home from
+Rhodes by contrary winds and a severe storm. It was somewhat late in the
+evening when I called at the cottage of the Signora Francatelli, your
+highness' worthy aunt; for I previously passed a few hours in
+instituting by indirect means as many inquiries concerning her
+circumstances and welfare as could be prudently made. To my grief,
+however, I could not ascertain any tidings concerning your highness'
+sister; and I therefore came to the mournful conclusion that her
+disappearance still remained unaccounted for. Pondering upon the sad
+tidings which, in this respect, I should have to forward to your
+highness, and having already devised a fitting tale whereby to introduce
+myself to your lordship's aunt, I went to the cottage, which, as I heard
+in the course of a subsequent conversation, Don Francisco of Riverola
+had just quitted. Your highness' aunt received me with as much
+cordiality as she could well show toward a stranger. Then, in accordance
+with my pre-arranged method of procedure, I stated I was sent by a son
+of a debtor to the estate of the late Signor Francatelli, to repay to
+any of his surviving relations a large sum of money which had been so
+long--so very long owing, and the loss of which at the time had mainly
+contributed to plunge Signor Francatelli into embarrassment. I added
+that the son of the debtor having grown rich, had deemed it an act of
+duty and honor to liquidate this liability on the part of his deceased
+father. My tale was believed; the case of jewels, which I had previously
+caused to be estimated by a goldsmith in Florence, was received as the
+means of settling the fictitious debt; and I was forthwith a welcome
+friend at the worthy lady's table."
+
+"The stratagem was a good one, Demetrius," observed the grand vizier.
+"But proceed, and fear not that thou wilt weary me with lengthened
+details."
+
+"I stayed to partake of the evening repast," continued the Greek; "and
+the Signora Francatelli grew confiding and communicative, as was nothing
+more than natural, inasmuch as I necessarily appeared in the light of
+the agent of a worthy and honorable man who had not forgotten the
+obligation to a family that had suffered by his father's conduct. I
+assured the signora that the person by whom I was employed to liquidate
+that debt, would be rejoiced to hear of the success of the Francatellis,
+and I ventured to make inquiries concerning the orphan children of the
+late merchant."
+
+"Proceed, Demetrius," said the grand vizier, "spare not a single
+detail."
+
+"Your highness shall be obeyed," returned the Greek, though now speaking
+with considerable diffidence. "The worthy lady shook her head
+mournfully, observing that Alessandro, the son of the late merchant, was
+in Turkey, she believed; and then she rose hastily, and opening a door
+leading to a staircase, called her niece to descend, as 'there was only
+a friend present.' I was overjoyed to learn thus unexpectedly, that the
+Signora Flora had reappeared; and when she entered the room, could
+scarcely conceal my delight beneath that aspect of mere cold courtesy
+which it became a stranger to wear. The young lady appeared perfectly
+happy, and no wonder! For when she had retired, after staying a few
+minutes in the room, her good aunt, in the fullness of her confidence in
+me, not only related all the particulars of the Signora Flora's
+immurement in the Carmelite Convent, but also explained to me her
+motives for so long concealing the young lady's return home, as I have
+heretofore narrated to your highness. The worthy aunt then informed me
+that the Count of Riverola had only returned that day from the
+wars--that he had made honorable proposals to her on behalf of the
+Signora Flora--and that it was intended to sustain the mystery which
+veiled the young lady's existence and safety in the cottage, until the
+marriage should have been privately effected, when it would be too late
+for the count's friends to interfere or renew their persecutions against
+your lordship's sister. Your highness' aunt dropped hints intimating her
+suspicion that the Lady Nisida was the principal, if not indeed the sole
+means of those persecutions which had consigned the innocent young
+maiden to the Carmelite Convent. And the more I reflect on this point,
+in view of all I know of the affairs, and of Donna Nisida's strange and
+resolute character, the more I am convinced that she really perpetrated
+that diabolical outrage."
+
+"Were it not for young Francisco's sake, and that I should bring
+dishonor into a family with which my sister will, I hope, be soon
+connected with marriage ties," exclaimed Ibrahim, "I would avenge myself
+and my sister's wrongs by forcing the cruel Nisida to yield herself to
+my arms. But no, it must not be."
+
+And Nisida, who overheard every syllable, curled her lips, while her
+eyes flashed fire at the dark menace which the renegade had dared to
+utter, qualified though it were by the avowal of the motive which would
+prevent him from putting it into execution.
+
+"No, it must not be," repeated Ibrahim. "And yet, she is so wondrously
+beautiful that I would risk a great deal to win her love. But proceed,
+Demetrius--we now come to that portion of the narrative which so nearly
+concerns my present proceedings."
+
+"Yes, my lord, and God give your highness success!" exclaimed the young
+Greek. "Having taken leave of your excellent aunt, who invited me to
+visit her again, as I had casually observed that business would detain
+me in Florence for some time, and having promised the strictest secrecy
+relative to all she had told me, I repaired to the inn at which I had
+put up, intending to devote the next day to writing the details of all
+those particulars which I have just related, and which I purposed to
+send by some special messenger to your highness. But it then struck me
+that I should only attract undue attention to myself by conducting at a
+public tavern a correspondence having so important an aspect, and I
+accordingly rose very early in the morning to sally forth to seek after
+a secluded but respectable lodging, I eventually obtained suitable
+apartments in the house of a widow named Dame Margaretha, and there I
+immediately took up my abode. Having written my letters to your
+highness, I was anxious to get them expedited to Constantinople, for I
+was well aware that your highness would be rejoiced to hear that your
+beloved sister was indeed in the land of the living, that she was in
+good health, and that a brilliant marriage was in store for her. I
+accordingly spoke to Dame Margaretha relative to the means of obtaining
+a trusty messenger who would undertake a journey to Constantinople. The
+old woman assured me that her son Antonio, who was a valet in the
+service of the Count of Arestino, would be able to procure me such a
+messenger as I desired, and in the course of the day that individual was
+fetched by his mother to speak to me on the subject. Having repeated my
+wishes to him, he asked me several questions which seemed to indicate a
+prying disposition, and a curiosity as impertinent as it was
+inconvenient. In fact, I did not like his manner at all; but conceiving
+that his conduct might arise from sheer ignorance, and from no sinister
+motive, I still felt inclined to avail myself of his assistance to
+procure a messenger. Finding that he could not sift me, he at length
+said that he had no doubt a friend of his, whom he named Venturo, would
+undertake my commission, and he promised to return with that individual
+in the evening. He then left me, and true to his promise, he came back
+shortly after dusk, accompanied by this same Venturo. The bargain was
+soon struck between us, and he promised to set off that very night for
+Rimini, whence vessels were constantly sailing for Constantinople. I
+gave him a handsome sum in advance, and also a sealed packet, addressed
+to your highness' private secretary, but containing an inclosure, also
+well sealed, directed to your highness, for I did not choose to excite
+the curiosity of these Italians by allowing them to discover that I was
+corresponding with the grand vizier of the Ottoman Empire, Venturo
+accordingly left me, promising to acquit himself faithfully of his
+mission."
+
+"Your plans were all wisely taken," said the grand vizier, "and no human
+foresight could have anticipated other than successful results. Proceed,
+for although you have hastily sketched all these particulars to me
+before, yet I am anxious to consider them in more attentive detail."
+
+"Having thus disposed of that important business," resumed the young
+Greek, "I went out to saunter through the streets of Florence, and while
+away an hour or two in viewing the splendid appearance of that charming
+city, when lighted up with the innumerable lamps of its palaces and
+casinos. At length I entered a dark and obscure street, which I knew
+must lead toward the river. I had not proceeded far down the street when
+I heard the sound of many steps rapidly approaching, as if of a patrol.
+I stepped aside under a deep archway, but as chance would have it, they
+stopped short within a few paces of the spot where I was shrouded in the
+utter obscurity of the arch. I should have immediately passed on my way,
+but was induced to stop by hearing a voice which I recognized to be that
+of Venturo, whom I believed to be already some miles away from Florence.
+I was perfectly astounded at this discovery, and if I had entertained
+any doubts as to the identity of that voice, they were speedily cleared
+up by the conversation between the men. 'We had better separate here,'
+said Venturo, 'and break into at least two parties, as at the bottom of
+this street we shall come within the blaze of the lights of the casinos
+on the Arno's bank.' 'Well spoken,' returned a voice which, to my
+increasing wonder, I recognized to be that of Antonio, my landlady's
+son; 'you and I, Venturo, will keep together, and our friends can go on
+first. We will follow them in a few minutes, and then unite again at the
+angle of the grove nearest to Dame Francatelli's cottage. What say you,
+Lomellino?' 'Just as you think fit, Antonio,' returned a third person,
+whom I naturally concluded to be the individual addressed as Lomellino.
+'You, or rather your master, the Count of Arestino, pays for this
+business, and so I am bound to obey you.' 'Listen, then,' resumed
+Antonio, 'the young Count of Riverola, whom I have traced to the cottage
+this evening, will no doubt be coming away about the time we shall all
+meet down there; and therefore we shall have nothing to do but to carry
+him off to the cave.' 'Why is the Count of Arestino so hostile to young
+Riverola?' demanded the man who had answered to the name of Lomellino.
+'He cares nothing about young Riverola, either one way or the other,'
+replied Antonio, 'but I have persuaded his lordship that if Francisco be
+left at large, he will only use his influence to mitigate the vengeance
+of the law against the Countess Giulia, who is the friend of Flora
+Francatelli: and so the Count of Arestino has consented to follow my
+advice and have Francisco locked up until the inquisition has dealt with
+the countess, her lover, the Marquis of Orsini, and the Francatellis,
+aunt and niece.' 'Then you have a spite against this man,' said
+Lomellino. 'Truly have I,' responded Antonio. 'You remember that night
+when you, with Stephano Verrina and Piero, got into the Riverola Palace
+some months ago? Well, I don't know who discovered the plot, but I was
+locked in my room, and next morning young Francisco dismissed me in a
+way that made me his mortal enemy: and I must have vengeance. For this
+purpose I have urged on the count to cause Flora Francatelli, whom
+Francisco loves and wishes to marry, to be included in the proceedings
+taken by the inquisition at his lordship's instigation against the
+Countess Giulia and the Marquis d'Orsini; and the old aunt must
+necessarily be thrown in, into the bargain, for harboring sacrilegious
+persons.' 'And so young Francisco is to lose his mistress, Flora, and be
+kept a prisoner in the cavern till he has been condemned along with the
+others?' said Lomellino. 'Neither more nor less than what you imagine,
+and I only wish I had the Lady Nisida also in my power, for I have no
+doubt she instigated her brother to turn me off suddenly like a common
+thief, because from all you have since told me, Lomellino, I dare swear
+it was she who got an inkling of our intentions to plunder the Riverola
+Palace; though how she could have done so, being deaf and dumb, passes
+my understanding.' 'Well, well,' growled Lomellino, 'it is no use to
+waste time talking of the past: let us only think of the present. Come,
+my men, we will go on first, as already agreed.' Three or four armed
+ruffians then put themselves in motion, passing close by the place where
+I was concealed, but fortunately without discovering my presence."
+
+"Oh! those miscreants would have assuredly murdered you, my faithful
+Demetrius," said the grand vizier.
+
+"Of that, my lord, there is little doubt," returned the young Greek;
+"and I must confess that I shuddered more than once while listening to
+the discourse of the cold-blooded monsters. But Venturo and Antonio
+still remained behind for a few minutes, and the discourse which took
+place between them, gave me a still further insight into the characters
+of the gang. 'Well, Venturo,' said Antonio, after a short pause, 'have
+you examined the packet which was intrusted to you?' 'I have, and the
+contents are written in Greek or Arabic, or some such outlandish tongue,
+for I could not read a word of them,' answered Venturo; 'and so I
+thought the best plan was to destroy them.' 'You acted wisely,' observed
+Antonio; 'by the saints! it was a good thought of mine to introduce you
+to my mother's lodger as a trustworthy messenger! If he only knew that
+we had shared his gold, and were laughing at him for his credulity, he
+would not be over well pleased. His purse appears to be pretty well
+lined, and when we have got all our present business off our hands we
+will devote our attention to the lodger. The Arno is deep and a
+foreigner the less in the city will not be noticed.' 'Not at all,'
+answered Venturo; 'but let us now hasten to join our companions. At what
+time are the officers of the inquisition to visit the cottage?' 'They
+are no doubt already in the neighborhood,' replied Antonio, 'and will
+pounce upon their victims as soon as young Francisco leaves the place.
+Another set of officers are after the Marquis of Orsini.' The two
+miscreants then departed, continuing their conversation in a low tone as
+they went along the street, but I overheard no more."
+
+"The wretches!" exclaimed the grand vizier, in an excited voice. "But
+vengeance will light upon them yet!"
+
+"Heaven grant that they may not go unpunished!" said Demetrius. "Your
+highness may imagine the consternation with which I had listened to the
+development of the damnable plots then in progress; but I nevertheless
+experienced a material solace in the fact that accident had thus
+revealed to me the whole extent of the danger which menaced those whom
+your highness held dear. Without pausing to deliberate, I resolved, at
+all risks, to proceed at once to the cottage, and, if not too late, warn
+your aunt and lovely sister of the terrible danger which menaced them.
+Nay, more--I determined to remove them immediately from Florence--that
+very night--without an unnecessary moment's delay. Darting along the
+streets, as if my speed involved matters of life and death, I succeeded
+in passing the two villains, Venturo and Antonio, before they had
+entered the sphere of the brilliant illuminations of the casinos in the
+vale of Arno; and I beard one say to the other, 'There's some cowardly
+knave who has just done a deed of which he is no doubt afraid.'
+Convinced by this remark that they suspected not who the person that
+passed them so rapidly was, I hurried on with increasing speed, and
+likewise with augmented hope to be enabled to save not only your
+lordship's aunt and sister from the officers of the inquisition, but
+also the young Count of Riverola from the power of his miscreant
+enemies. Alas! my anticipations were not to be fulfilled! I lost my way
+amongst a maze of gardens connected with the villas bordering on the
+Arno; and much valuable time at such a crisis was wasted in the circuits
+which I had to make to extricate myself from the labyrinth and reach the
+bank of the river. At length I drew within sight of the cottage; but my
+heart beat with terrible alarms as I beheld lights moving rapidly about
+the house. 'It is too late,' I thought: and yet I rushed on toward the
+place. But suddenly the door opened, and by a glare of light within, I
+saw three females closely muffled in veils, led forth by several armed
+men. It instantly struck me that the third must be the Countess Giulia
+of Arestino to whom I heard the miscreants allude. I stopped short--for
+I knew that any violent demonstration or interference on my part would
+be useless, and that measures of another kind must be adopted on behalf
+of the victims. As the procession now advanced from a cottage, I
+concealed myself in the adjacent grove, wondering whether Count
+Francisco had been already arrested or whether he had managed to elude
+his enemies. The procession, consisting of the officers of the
+inquisition with their three female prisoners, who were dragged rather
+than led along, passed by the spot where I lay concealed; and the deep
+sobs which came from the unfortunate ladies, gagged though they
+evidently were, filled my heart with horror and anguish. As soon as they
+had disappeared I struck further into the grove, knowing by its
+situation that the outlet on the other side would conduct me to the
+nearest road to that quarter of the city in which I lodged. But scarcely
+had I reached the outskirts of the little wood in the direction which I
+have named, when I saw a party of men moving on in front of me, through
+the obscurity of the night. It struck me that this party might consist
+of Antonio, Venturo, and other worthies, and I determined to ascertain
+whether Count Francisco had fallen into their hands. I accordingly
+followed them as cautiously as possible, taking care to skirt the grove
+in such a manner that I was concealed by its deep shade, whereas those
+whom I was watching proceeded further away from the trees. Thus the
+party in advance and myself continued our respective paths for nearly a
+quarter of an hour, during which I ascertained beyond all doubt that the
+men whom I was following were really the villains of the Antonio gang,
+and that they had a prisoner with them who could be no other than the
+Count of Riverola.
+
+"At length the grove terminated, and I was about to abandon further
+pursuit as dangerous, when it struck me that I should be acting in a
+cowardly and unworthy manner not to endeavor to ascertain the locality
+of the cave of which I had heard the miscreants speak, and to which they
+were most probably conveying him who was so dear to the beautiful
+Signora Flora. Accordingly I managed to track the party across several
+fields to a grove of evergreens. But as they advanced without caring how
+they broke through the crackling thickets, the noise of their movements
+absorbed the far fainter sounds which accompanied my progress. So
+successful was my undertaking that I was soon within twenty paces of
+them. But it was profoundly dark, and I was unable to observe their
+movements. I computed the distance they were from me, and calculated so
+as to form an idea of the exact spot where they were standing; for, by
+an observation which one of the villains let drop, I learnt that they
+had reached the entrance of their cavern. It also struck me that I heard
+a bell ring as if in the depths of the earth, and I concluded that this
+was a signal to obtain admittance. While I was weighing these matters in
+my mind, Lomellino suddenly exclaimed, 'Let the prisoner be taken down
+first; and have a care, Venturo, that the bandage is well fastened.'
+'All right, captain,' was the reply; and thus I ascertained that
+Lomellino was the chief of some band most probably, I thought, of
+robbers; for I remembered the allusions which had been made that evening
+by Antonio to a certain predatory visit some months previously to the
+Riverola mansion. 'God help Francisco,' I said within myself, as I
+reflected upon the desperate character of the men who had him in their
+power; and then I was consoled by the remembrance that he was merely to
+be detained as a prisoner for a period, and not harmed."
+
+"Unfortunately such demons as those Florentine banditti are capable of
+every atrocity," observed the grand vizier.
+
+"True, my lord," observed Demetrius; "but let us hope that all those in
+whom your highness is interested, will yet be saved. I shall, however,
+continue my narrative. Three or four minutes had elapsed since the
+robbers had come to a full stop, when I knew by the observations made
+amongst them, that they were descending into some subterranean place. I
+accordingly waited with the utmost anxiety until I was convinced that
+they had all disappeared with their prisoner; and then I crept
+cautiously along to the place at which I had already reckoned them to
+have paused. I stooped down, and carefully felt upon the ground, until I
+was enabled to ascertain the precise point at which the marks of their
+footsteps had ceased. At this moment the moon shone forth with such
+extreme brilliancy, that its beams penetrated the thick foliage; and I
+now observed with horror that I had advanced to the very verge of a
+steep precipice, on the brink of which the grove suddenly ceased. Had
+not the moon thus providentially appeared at that instant, I should have
+continued to grope about in the utter darkness, and have assuredly
+fallen into the abyss. I breathed a fervent prayer for this signal
+deliverance. But not a trace of any secret entrance to a cavern could I
+find--no steps, no trap-door! Well aware that it would be dangerous for
+me to be caught in that spot, should any of the banditti emerge suddenly
+from their cave, I was reluctantly compelled to depart. But before I
+quitted the place, I studied it so well that I should have no difficulty
+in recognizing it again. In fact, just at the precise spot where the
+footsteps of the banditti ceased, an enormous chestnut tree, which for
+more than a century must have continued to draw from the earth its
+nourishment, slopes completely over the precipice, while on the right of
+this tree, as you face the abyss, is a knot of olives, and on the left
+an umbrageous lime. These features of the spot I committed to memory,
+with the idea that such a clew to the robbers' retreat might not
+eventually prove useless.
+
+"I will extirpate that nest of vipers--that horde of remorseless
+banditti!" exclaimed Ibrahim Pasha, in a tone indicative of strong
+excitement.
+
+"Your highness has the power," responded Demetrius; "but the Florentine
+authorities must be completely impotent in respect to such a formidable
+horde of lawless men. The remainder of my narrative is soon told, my
+lord," returned the young Greek. "I returned to my lodgings in safety,
+but determined not to remain there a single hour longer than necessary.
+For apart from the resolve which I had formed already, in consequence of
+the various and unforeseen incidents which had occurred, to return to
+Constantinople, the murderous designs of Antonio and Venturo in respect
+to myself, would have hastened my removal at all events to another
+lodging. That night sleep never visited my eyes--so amazed and grieved
+was I at the calamities which had befallen those who were so dear to
+your highness. Very early in the morning I arose from a feverish bed and
+sallied forth to learn tidings of the Marquis of Orsini. 'For,' thought
+I, 'if this nobleman has escaped arrest by the officers of the
+inquisition, he might be enabled to effect somewhat in aiding the female
+victims.' But I heard at his dwelling that he had been arrested the
+previous evening on a charge of sacrilege, perpetrated with others, in
+respect to the Carmelite Convent. Frustrated in this quarter, I repaired
+to the principal clerk of the criminal tribunal, and inquired the name
+and address of a lawyer of eminence and repute. The clerk complied with
+my demand, and recommended me to Angelo Duras, the brother of a
+celebrated Florentine physician."
+
+"Both of whom are known to me by name," observed the grand vizier; "and
+Angelo Duras is a man of unblemished integrity. It delights me much to
+know you employed him."
+
+"I found him, too," continued Demetrius, "a kind-hearted and benevolent
+man. He received me with affability; and I narrated to him as much as
+necessary of the particulars which I have detailed to your highness.
+Without stating by whom I was employed, I merely represented to him that
+I was deeply interested in the Francatelli family, and that it was of
+the utmost importance to obtain a delay for two or three months in the
+criminal proceedings instituted against those innocent females, as, in
+the meantime, I should undertake a journey to a place at some
+considerable distance, but the result of which would prove materially
+beneficial to the cause of the accused. He observed that the interest of
+the Count of Arestino, who would doubtless endeavor to hasten the
+proceedings in order to wreak speedy vengeance upon his wife and the
+Marquis of Orsini, was very powerful to contend against; but that gold
+could accomplish much. I assured him that there would be no lack of
+funds to sustain even the most expensive process; and I threw down a
+heavy purse as an earnest of my ability to bear the cost of the suit. He
+committed to paper all the particulars that I had thought it prudent to
+reveal to him, and after some consideration, said, 'I now see my way
+clearly. I will undertake that the final hearing of this case, at least
+so far as it regards the Francatellis, shall be postponed for three
+months. You may rely upon the fulfillment of this promise, let the Count
+of Arestino do his worst.' Thus assured, I quitted the worthy pleader,
+and proceeded to visit Father Marco, who, as I had happened to learn
+when in conversation with your highness' aunt, was the family confessor.
+I found that excellent man overwhelmed with grief at the calamities
+which had occurred; and to him I confided, under a solemn promise of
+inviolable secrecy, who the present grand vizier of the Ottoman Empire
+really was, and how I had been employed by you to visit Florence for the
+purpose of watching over the safety of your relatives. I however
+explained to Father Marco that his vow of secrecy was to cease to be
+binding at any moment when the lives of the Francatellis should be
+menaced by circumstances that might possibly arise in spite of all the
+precautions that I had adopted to postpone the final hearing of their
+case; and that should imminent peril menace those lives, he was
+immediately to reveal to the Duke of Florence the fact of the
+relationship of the Francatellis with one who has power to punish any
+injury that might be done to them. Though well knowing, my lord, the
+obstinancy of the Christian states in venturing to beard Ottoman might,
+I considered this precaution to be at all events a prudent one; and
+Father Marco promised to obey my injunctions in all respects."
+
+"I was not mistaken in thee, Demetrius," said the grand vizier, "when I
+chose thee for that mission on account of thy discreetness and
+foresight."
+
+"Your highness' praises are my best reward," answered the Greek. "I have
+now done all that I could possibly effect or devise under the
+circumstances which prompted me to think or act; and it grieved me that
+I was unable to afford the slightest assistance to the young Count of
+Riverola. But I dare not wait longer in Italy; and I was convinced that
+the authorities in Florence were too inefficient to root out the horde
+of banditti, even had I explained to them the clew which I myself
+obtained to the stronghold of those miscreants. I accordingly quitted
+Florence in the afternoon of the day following the numerous arrests
+which I have mentioned; and had I not been detained so long at Rimini,
+by adverse winds, your highness would not have been kept for so many
+weeks without the mournful tidings which it was at length my painful
+duty to communicate in person to your lordship."
+
+"That delay, my faithful Demetrius," said the grand vizier, "was no
+fault of thine. Fortunately the squadron was already equipped for sea;
+and, instead of repairing to the African frontier to chastise the daring
+pirates, it is on its way to the Tuscan coast, where, if need be, it
+will land twenty thousand soldiers to liberate my relations and the
+young Count of Riverola. A pretext for making war upon the Italian
+states has been afforded by their recent conduct in sending auxiliaries
+to the succor of Rhodes; and of that excuse I shall not hesitate to
+avail myself to commence hostilities against the proud Florentines
+should a secret and peaceful negotiation fail. But now that thou hast
+recapitulated to me all those particulars which thou didst merely sketch
+forth at first, it seems to me fitting that I anchor the fleet at the
+mouth of the Arno, and that I send thee, Demetrius, as an envoy in a
+public capacity, but in reality to stipulate privately for the release
+of those in whom I am interested."
+
+Thus terminated the conference between Ibrahim Pasha and his Greek
+dependent--a conference which had revealed manifold and astounding
+occurrences to the ears of the Lady Nisida of Riverola. Astounding
+indeed! Francisco in the hands of the formidable banditti--Flora in the
+prison of the inquisition--and the Ottoman grand vizier bent upon
+effecting the marriage which Nisida abhorred--these tidings were
+sufficient to arouse all the wondrous energies of that mind which was so
+prompt in combining intrigues and plots, so resolute in carrying them
+out, and so indomitable when it had formed a will of its own.
+
+Ominous were the fires which flashed in her large dark eyes, and
+powerful were the workings of those emotions which caused her heaving
+bosom to swell as if about to burst the bodice which confined it, when,
+retreating from the partition floor between the two saloons, and
+resuming her seat at the cabin-windows to permit the evening breeze to
+fan her fevered cheek, Nisida thought within herself, "It was indeed
+time that I should quit that accursed island, and return to Italy!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER LVIII.
+
+
+The roseate streaks which the departing glories of a Mediterranean
+sunset left lingering for a few minutes in the western horizon, were
+yielding to the deeper gloom of evening, a few days after the scene
+related in the preceding chapter, as Nisida rose from her seat at the
+open windows of her splendid saloon on board the Ottoman Admiral's ship,
+and began to lay aside her apparel, preparatory to retiring to rest. She
+was already wearied of the monotonous life of ship-board; and the
+strange revelations which the discourse between Ibrahim Pasha and
+Demetrius had developed to her ears, rendered her doubly anxious to set
+foot upon her native soil.
+
+The grand vizier had paid his respects to her every day since she first
+embarked on board the Turkish ship; and they exchanged a few
+observations, rather of courtesy than in any deeper interest, by means
+of the tablets. Ibrahim's manner toward her was respectful; but when he
+imagined himself to be unperceived by her, his eyes were suddenly
+lighted up with the fires of ardent passion; and he devoured her with
+his burning glances. She failed not to notice the effect which her
+glorious beauty produced upon him, and she studiously avoided the
+imprudence of giving him the least encouragement; not from any innate
+feeling of virtue, but because she detested him as a man who was bent on
+accomplishing a marriage between her brother and Flora Francatelli. This
+hatred she concealed, and even the eagle-sighted Ibrahim perceived not
+that he was in any way displeasing to the lovely Nisida. With the
+exception of the grand vizier, and the slaves who waited upon her, the
+lady saw no one on board the ship; for she never quitted the saloon
+allotted to her, but passed her time chiefly in surveying the broad sea
+and the other vessels of the fleet from the windows, or in meditating
+upon the course which she should pursue on her arrival in Florence.
+
+But let us return to the thread of our narrative. The last tints of the
+sunset were, we said, fading away, when the Lady Nisida commenced her
+preparations for retiring to rest. She closed the casements, satisfied
+herself that the partition door between the two saloons was well
+secured, and then threw herself upon the voluptuous couch spread in one
+of the smaller cabins opening from her own magnificent apartment. She
+thought of Fernand, her handsome Fernand, whom she had abandoned on the
+Isle of Snakes, and profound sighs escaped her. Then she thought of
+Francisco; and the idea of serving that much-beloved brother's interests
+afforded her a consolation for having thus quitted the clime where she
+had passed so many happy days with Wagner.
+
+At length sleep fell upon her, and closed over the large, dark,
+brilliant eyes the white lids, beneath the transparent skin of which the
+blue veins were so delicately traced; and the long, jetty lashes reposed
+on the cheeks which the heat of the atmosphere tinged with a rich
+carnation glow. And when the moon arose that night, its silver rays
+streamed through the window set in the porthole of that small cabin,
+upon the beauteous face of the sleeper.
+
+But hark! there is the light sound of a footfall in the saloon from
+which that cabin opens.
+
+The treacherous Ibrahim possesses a key to the partition door; and
+having successfully wrestled with his raging desires until this moment,
+he is at length no longer able to resist the temptation of invading the
+sanctity of Nisida's sleeping-place. Already has he set his foot upon
+the very threshold of the little side-cabin, having traversed the
+spacious saloon, when a hand is laid upon his shoulder, and a voice
+behind him says in a low tone, "Your highness has forgotten the fate of
+the murdered Calanthe."
+
+Ibrahim started, shook the hand from off him, and exclaimed, "Dog of a
+negro! what and who has made thee a spy upon my actions?"
+
+At the same instant that Ibrahim felt the hand on his shoulder, and
+heard the well-known voice uttering the dreadful warning in his ears,
+Nisida awoke. Her first impulse was to start up; but, checking herself
+with wondrous presence of mind, as the part of the deaf and dumb person
+which she had imposed upon herself to play flashed with lightning
+velocity across her brain--comprehending, too, in an instant, that the
+grand vizier had violated her privacy, but that some unknown succor was
+at hand, she remained perfectly motionless, as if still wrapped up in an
+undisturbed slumber. The grand vizier, and the individual whom he had in
+his rage addressed as a "dog of a negro," retreated into the saloon,
+Nisida holding her very breath so as not to lose a word that might pass
+between them should their dialogue be resumed.
+
+"Your highness asks me what and who has made me a spy upon your
+actions," said the negro in a low, monotonous voice, and speaking with
+mingled firmness and respect. "Those questions are easily answered. The
+same authority which ordered me to wrest from thine arms some months
+past the lady who might be unfortunate enough to please your highness'
+fancy, exercises an unceasing supervision over you, even on this ship,
+and in the middle of the mighty sea. To that authority all your deeds
+and acts are matters of indifference save those which would render your
+highness faithless to an adoring wife. Remember, my lord, the fate of
+Calanthe, the sister of your dependent Demetrius, she who was torn from
+your arms, and whose beauteous form became food for the fishes of the
+Bosporus."
+
+"How knew you who she was?" demanded the grand vizier, in a low, hoarse
+voice, the power of his utterance having been temporarily suspended by
+the rage that filled his soul at finding his iniquitous design in
+respect to Nisida thus suddenly baffled by the chief of the three black
+slaves, whose attendance in this expedition had been forced upon him by
+the Sultana Valida; "how knew you who she was?" he again asked.
+
+"Rather demand, my lord, what can escape the prying eyes of those by
+whom your highness has been surrounded ever since the seals of office
+were in your grasp," returned the slave.
+
+"But you would not betray that secret to Demetrius, who is now devoted
+to me, who is necessary to me, and who would loathe me were he to learn
+the dreadful fate of his sister!" said the grand vizier, with rapid and
+excited utterance.
+
+"I have no eyes and no ears, great pasha," said the negro, "save in
+respect to those matters which would render you faithless to the sister
+of the sultan."
+
+"Would to Heaven that you had neither eyes nor ears at all--that you did
+not exist, indeed!" exclaimed Ibrahim, unable to repress his wrath;
+then, in a different and milder tone, he immediately added, "Slave, I
+can make thee free--I can give thee wealth--and thou mayest dwell in
+happy Italy, whither we are going, for the remainder of thy days.
+Reflect, consider! I love that deaf and dumb Christian woman who
+sleepeth there--I already love her to distraction! Thwart me not, good
+slave, and thou mayest command my eternal gratitude."
+
+"My lord, two other slaves overhear every word that now passes between
+us," responded the Ethiopian, his voice remaining calm and monotonous;
+"and even were we alone in all respects, I would not betray the trust
+reposed in me. But not on your highness would the effects of your
+infidelity to the Princess Aischa fall. No, my lord--I have no authority
+to harm you. Had your highness succeeded in your purpose ere now, the
+bow-string would have forever stifled the breath in the body of that
+deaf and dumb Christian lady; and her corpse would have been thrown
+forth from these windows into the sea. Such are my instructions, my
+lord; and thus every object of your sated passion must become your
+victim also."
+
+"Better--better were it," exclaimed Ibrahim, in a tone denoting the
+profoundest mental anguish, "to be the veriest mendicant who implores
+alms at the gate of the mosque of St. Sophia, than the grand vizier of
+the Ottoman Empire."
+
+With these words he rushed into the adjoining saloon, the negro
+following and fastening the door behind him. Nisida now began to breathe
+freely once more. From what perils had she escaped! The violation of her
+couch by the unprincipled Ibrahim would have been followed by her
+immediate assassination at the hands of the Ethiopian whom the
+sultana-mother had placed as a spy on the actions of her son-in-law. On
+the other hand, she felt rejoiced that the incident of this night had
+occurred; for it had been the means of revealing to her a secret of
+immense importance in connection with the grand vizier. She remembered
+the terms of grief and affection in which Demetrius had spoken of the
+disappearance of Calanthe; and she had heard enough on that occasion to
+convince her that the Greek would become the implacable enemy of any man
+who had wronged that much-loved sister. How bitter, then, would be the
+hatred of Demetrius--how dreadful would be the vengeance which he must
+crave against him whose lustful passion had led to the murder of
+Calanthe. Yes, Ibrahim, thy secret is now in possession of Nisida of
+Riverola; in the possession of that woman of iron mind and potent
+energy, and whom thou fondly believest to be deaf and dumb!
+
+Nisida slept no more that night, the occurrences of which furnished her
+with so much food for profound meditation: and with the earliest gleam
+of dawn that tinged the eastern heaven, she rose from her couch.
+Entering the saloon, she opened the windows to admit the gentle breeze
+of morning; and ere she commenced her toilet, she lingered to gaze upon
+the stately ships that were plowing the blue sea in the wake of the
+admiral's vessel wherein she was. Suddenly her eyes fell upon what
+appeared to be a small speck at a little distance; but as this object
+was moving rapidly along on the surface of the Mediterranean, it soon
+approached sufficiently near to enable her to discern that it was a boat
+impelled by a single sail. Urged by an undefinable and yet a strong
+sentiment of curiosity, Nisida remained at the saloon window, watching
+the progress of the little bark, which bounded over the waves with
+extraordinary speed, bending gracefully to the breeze that thus wafted
+it onward. Nearer and nearer toward the vessel it came, though not
+pursuing the same direction; and in five minutes it passed within a few
+yards of the stern of the kapitan-pasha's ship.
+
+But, oh! wondrous and unaccountable fact. There, stretched upon his back
+in that bounding boat, and evidently buried in deep slumber, with the
+rays of the rising sun gleaming upon his fine and now slightly flushed
+countenance, lay he whose image was so indelibly impressed upon the
+heart of Nisida--her handsome and strangely-fated Fernand Wagner! The
+moment the conviction that the sleeper was indeed he struck to the mind
+of Nisida, she would have called him by name--she would have endeavored
+to awake him, if only to exchange a single word of fondness, for her
+assumed dumbness was for the moment forgotten; but she was rendered
+motionless and remained speechless--stupefied, paralyzed, as it were,
+with mingled wonder and joy; wonder that he should have found the means
+of escape from the island, and joy that she was thus permitted to behold
+him at least once again. But the pleasure which this incident excited in
+her mind was transitory indeed; for the boat swept by, as if urged on by
+a stronger impulse than that of the gentle breeze of morning--and in
+another minute Nisida beheld it no more.
+
+The sun was setting behind the western hills of Sicily as Fernand Wagner
+entered the squalid suburb which at that period stretched from the town
+of Syracuse to the sea. His step was elastic, and he held his head
+high--for his heart was full of joyous and burning hope. Hitherto the
+promises of the angel who had last appeared to him were completely
+fulfilled. The boat was wafted by a favorable breeze direct from the
+Island of Snakes to the shores of Sicily; and he had landed in the
+immediate vicinity of Syracuse--the town in which a further revelation
+was to be made in respect to the breaking of the spell which had fixed
+upon him the frightful doom of the Wehr-Wolf! But little suspected
+Fernand Wagner that one morning, while he slept, his boat had borne him
+through the proud fleet of the Ottomans--little wist he that his beloved
+Nisida had caught sight of him as he was wafted rapidly past the stern
+of the kapitan-pasha's ship! For on that occasion he had slept during
+hours; and when he had awakened, not a bark nor sail save his own was
+visible on the mighty expanse of water.
+
+And now it was with elastic step and joyous heart that the hero of our
+tale entered the town of Syracuse. But suddenly he remembered the
+singular nature of the inquiry that he was there to make--an inquiry
+concerning a man whose years had numbered one hundred and sixty-two!
+
+"Nevertheless," thought Wagner, "that good angel who gave me a sign
+whereby I should become convinced of the reality of her appearance, and
+whose promises have all been fulfilled up to this point, could not
+possibly mislead me. No; I will obey the command which I received, even
+though I should visit every human dwelling in the town of Syracuse! For
+Heaven works out its wise purposes in wondrous manners; and it is not
+for me to shrink from yielding obedience to its orders, nor to pause to
+question their propriety. And oh! if I can but shake off that demon
+influence which weighs upon my soul--if I can but escape from the
+shackles which still enchain me to a horrible doom, how sincere will be
+my thanks to Heaven, how unbounded my rejoicings!"
+
+As Wagner had reached this point in his meditations, he stopped at the
+door of a barber shop of mean appearance--the pole, with the basin
+hanging to it, denoting that the occupant of the place combined, as was
+usual in those times, the functions of shaver and blood-letter or
+surgeon. Hastily surveying the exterior of the shop, and fancying that
+it was precisely the one at which his inquiries should commence--barbers
+in that age being as famous for their gossiping propensities as in
+this--Fernand entered, and was immediately accosted by a short,
+sharp-visaged, dark-complexioned old man, who pointed to a seat, saying
+in a courteous, or rather obsequious tone, "What is your will, signor?"
+
+Fernand desired the barber-surgeon to shave his superfluous beard and
+trim his hair; and while that individual was preparing his lather and
+sharpening his razor in the most approved style of the craft, Wagner
+asked in a seemingly careless tone, "What news have you, good master, in
+Syracuse?"
+
+"Naught of importance, signor," was the reply; "mere everyday matters.
+Syracuse is indeed wretchedly dull. There were only two murders and
+three attempts at assassination reported to the lieutenant of police
+this morning, and that is nothing for a town usually so active and
+bustling as ours. For my part, I don't know what has come over the
+people? I stepped as far as the dead-house just now to view the body of
+a young lady, unclaimed as yet, who had her head nearly severed from her
+trunk last night; and then I proceeded to the great square to see
+whether any executions are to take place to-morrow; but really there is
+nothing of any consequence to induce one to stir abroad in Syracuse just
+at this moment."
+
+"Murders and attempts at assassination are matters of very common
+occurrence amongst you, then?" said Wagner, inquiringly.
+
+"We get a perfect surfeit of them, signor," returned the barber, now
+applying the soap to his customer's face. "They fail to create any
+sensation now, I can assure you. Beside, one gets tired of executions."
+
+"Naturally enough," said Fernand. "But I have heard that there are some
+very extraordinary personages in Syracuse; indeed, there is one who has
+lived to a remarkable age----"
+
+"The oldest person I know of, is the Abbot of St. Mary's," interrupted
+the barber, "and he----"
+
+"And he----" repeated Wagner, with feverish impatience.
+
+"Is ninety-seven and three months, signor; a great age, truly,"
+responded the barber-surgeon.
+
+Fernand's hopes were immediately cooled down; but thinking that he ought
+to put his inquiry in a direct manner, he said: "Then it is not true
+that you have in Syracuse an individual who has reached the wondrous age
+of a century three-score and two?"
+
+"Holy Virgin have mercy upon you, signor!" ejaculated the barber, "if
+you really put faith in the absurd stories that people tell about the
+Rosicrucians!"
+
+"Ah! then the people of Syracuse do talk on such matters?" said Wagner,
+conceiving that he had obtained a clew to the aim and object of his
+inquiry.
+
+"Have you never heard, signor, of the Order of the Rosy Cross?" demanded
+the barber, who was naturally of a garrulous disposition, and who now
+appeared to have entered on a favorite subject.
+
+"I have heard, in my travels, vague mention made of such an order,"
+answered Fernand; "but I never experienced any curiosity to seek to
+learn more--and, indeed, I may say, that I know nothing of the
+Rosicrucians save their mere name."
+
+"Well, signor," continued the barber, "for common pass-talk, it is as
+good a subject as any other; but no one shall ever persuade me either
+that there is really such an order as the Brothers of the Rosy Cross, or
+that it is possible for human beings to attain the powers attributed to
+that fraternity."
+
+"You interest me much by your remarks, good leech," exclaimed Fernand;
+"I pray you to give me further explanation."
+
+"With infinite pleasure, signor, since you appear to desire it,"
+returned the barber, still pursuing his tonsorial duties. "You must know
+that there are many wild legends and stories abroad concerning these
+invisible beings denominated Rosicrucians. But the one which gains most
+general credence is that the brotherhood was founded by a certain
+Christianus Rosencrux, a German philosopher, who fancied that the arts
+and sciences might be developed in such a manner as to confer the
+greatest possible blessings on the human race."
+
+"Then the aims of Rosencrux are entirely good and philanthropic?" said
+Wagner, interrogatively.
+
+"As a matter of course, signor," said the barber; "and therefore, if
+such a man ever did live, he must have been an insane visionary--for who
+would believe that knowledge could possibly make us richer, happier, or
+better? All the philosophy in the universe could never convert this shop
+into a palace."
+
+"But you are wandering from your subject, my good friend," gently
+remonstrated Fernand.
+
+"I crave your pardon, signor. Let me see. Oh, I recollect; we were
+talking of Christianus Rosencrux. Well, signor, the fabled philosopher
+was a monk, and a very wise as well as a very good man. I am only
+telling you the most generally received legend, mind, and would not have
+you think that I believe it myself. So this Rosencrux, finding that his
+cloistral existence was inconvenient for the prosecution of his studies,
+traveled into the East, and spent many years in acquiring the knowledge
+handed down to the wise men of those climes by the ancient Magi and
+Chaldeans. He visited Egypt, and learnt many wonderful secrets by
+studying the hieroglyphics on the Egyptian pyramids. I forget how long
+he remained in the East; but it is said that he visited every place of
+interest in the Holy Land, and received heavenly inspirations on the
+spot where our Saviour was crucified. On his return to Europe, he saw
+full well that if he revealed all his knowledge at once, he would be put
+to death by the inquisition as a wizard, and the world would lose the
+benefit of all the learning he had acquired. So says the legend; and it
+goes on to recite that Christianus Rosencrux then founded the order of
+the Rosy Cross, which was nothing more or less than a brotherhood of
+wise men whom he initiated in all his secrets, with the intention that
+they should reveal from time to time small portions thereof, and thus
+give to the world by very slow degrees that immense amount of knowledge
+which he supposed would have stupefied and astounded everybody if made
+public all at once."
+
+"Strange--most strange," thought Wagner within himself, "that I should
+never have gleaned all these details before, eager as my inquiries and
+researches in the pursuit of knowledge have been. But Heaven has willed
+everything for the best; and it is doubtless intended that my salvation
+shall proceed from the very quarter which was least known to me, and
+concerning which I have manifested the most contemptuous indifference,
+in the sphere of knowledge!"
+
+"You appear to be much interested, signor," said the barber, "in this
+same tale of Christianus Rosencrux. But there is too much intelligence
+depicted on your countenance to allow me to suppose that you will place
+any reliance on the absurd story. How is it possible, signor, that an
+order could have existed for so many years without any one member ever
+having betrayed the secrets which bind them all together? Moreover,
+their place of abode and study is totally unknown to the world; and if
+they inhabited the deepest caverns under the earth accident must, sooner
+or later, have led to its discovery. Believe me, signor, 'tis naught
+save a ridiculous legend; though a poor, ignorant man myself, I hope I
+have too much good sense and too much respect for my father-confessor,
+to suppose for a minute that there is on earth any set of men more
+learned than the holy ministers of the church."
+
+"How long ago is Christianus Rosencrux reported to have lived?" demanded
+Wagner, suddenly interrupting the garrulous and narrow-minded Sicilian.
+
+"There we are again!" he ejaculated. "The credulous declare that
+Rosencrux discovered in the East the means of prolonging existence, and
+though he was born as far back as the year 1359, he is still alive."
+
+Had not the barber turned aside at that precise instant to fill an ewer
+and place a towel for his customer's use, he would have been surprised
+by the sudden start and the expression of ineffable joy which denoted
+Fernand's emotions, as by a rapid calculation mentally made, our hero
+perceived that if Rosencrux were born in 1359, and alive at that
+moment--namely, in 1521--his age would be exactly one hundred and
+sixty-two!
+
+"It is Christianus Rosencrux, then," he said to himself, "whom I have
+inquired for--whom I am to see--and who will dissolve the spell that has
+been placed upon me. But where shall I seek him? whither shall I go to
+find his secret abode?"
+
+The duties of the barber were completed; and Wagner threw down a piece
+of gold, saying, "Keep that coin, friend, for your discourse has greatly
+interested me, and has indeed well deserved it."
+
+The poor old man had never possessed in all his life so much money at
+one time; and so vast was his joy that he could only mutter a few broken
+sentences to express his gratitude.
+
+"I require not thanks, my good friend," said Wagner. "But one word ere I
+depart. Knowest thou the spot which rumor indicates as the abode of that
+sect of whom we have been speaking?"
+
+"Nay, excellent signor," replied the barber; "there your question
+masters me; for in this case rumor goes not to such a length as to
+afford hints for an investigation which would prove its utter fallacy.
+All that I have heard, signor, concerning the Rosicrucians, you have
+learnt from my lips; and I know no more."
+
+Wagner, finding that further inquiry in that quarter was useless, took
+leave of the old man, and traversing the suburb, entered the town of
+Syracuse.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER LIX.
+
+
+Fernand was now at a loss how to act. He felt convinced that it was
+useless to institute any further inquiries relative to the whereabouts
+of the secret Order of the Rosy Cross; because, had popular rumor ever
+hinted at any clew in that respect, the garrulous and inquisitive barber
+would have been sure to hear of it. He was not, however, disheartened.
+No--very far from that; for he was confident that the same supernal
+power that had hitherto directed him, and which was rapidly clearing
+away all obstacles in his path toward perfect emancipation from the
+influence of the evil one, would carry him to a successful and
+triumphant issue. Throwing himself, therefore, entirely on the wisdom
+and mercy of Heaven, he roamed about the town of Syracuse, without any
+settled object in view, until he was much wearied and it was very late.
+He then entered a miserable hostel, or inn--the best, however, that he
+could discover; and there, having partaken of some refreshment, he
+retired to the chamber allotted to him. Sleep soon visited his eyes; but
+he had not long enjoyed the sweets of slumber, when that balmy repose
+was interrupted either by a touch or sound, he knew not which. Starting
+up in his couch, he perceived a tall figure, muffled in a huge dark
+mantle, and wearing a slouched broad-brimmed hat, standing by the side
+of the bed.
+
+"Rise, Fernand Wagner," said a mild but masculine voice, "and follow me.
+He whom thou seekest has sent me to lead thee to him."
+
+Wagner did not hesitate to obey this mandate, which he felt certain was
+connected with the important business that had borne him to Syracuse.
+His apparel was speedily assumed; and he said, "I am ready to follow
+thee, stranger, whoever thou art, and whithersoever thou mayst lead; for
+my faith is in Heaven."
+
+"Those who have faith shall prosper," observed the stranger, in a solemn
+tone.
+
+He then led the way noiselessly down the steep staircase of the inn, and
+issued forth by the front gate, closely followed by Wagner. In deep
+silence did they proceed through the dark, narrow, and tortuous streets,
+leaving at length the town behind them, and then entering upon a barren
+and uneven waste. By degrees an object, at first dimly seen in the
+distance, and by the uncertain moonlight, which was constantly
+struggling with the dark clouds of a somewhat tempestuous night, assumed
+a more defined appearance, until a mass of gigantic ruins at length
+stood out from the somber obscurity. In a few moments the moon shone
+forth purely and brightly; and its beams, falling on decayed buttresses,
+broken Gothic arches, deep entrance-ways, remnants of pinnacles and
+spires, massive walls of ruined towers, gave a wildly romantic and yet
+not unpicturesque aspect to the remains of what was evidently once a
+vast monastic institution. The muffled stranger led the way amongst the
+ruins, and at last stopped at a gate opening into a small square
+inclosure formed by strong iron railings, seven feet high and shaped at
+the points like javelins. Passing through the gateway, the guide
+conducted Wagner into a cemetery, which was filled with the marble tombs
+of the mitered abbots who had once held sway over the monastery and the
+broad lands attached to it.
+
+"You behold around you," said the muffled stranger, waving his arm
+toward the ruins, "all that remains of a sanctuary once the most
+celebrated in Sicily for the piety and wisdom of its inmates. But a
+horrible crime, a murder perpetrated under circumstances unusually
+diabolical, the criminal being no less a person than the last lord abbot
+himself, and the victim a beauteous girl whom he had seduced, rendered
+this institution accursed in the eyes of God and man. The monks
+abandoned it: and the waste over which you have passed is now the
+unclaimed but once fertile estate belonging to the abbey. The
+superstition of the Sicilians has not failed to invent terrific tales in
+connection with these ruins: and the belief that each night at twelve
+o'clock the soul of the guilty abbot is driven by the scourge of the
+demon through the scene alike of his episcopal power and his black
+turpitude, effectually prevents impertinent or inconvenient intrusion."
+
+The observation with which the muffled stranger concluded his brief
+narrative, convinced Wagner that it was amongst those ruins the brethren
+of the Rosy Cross had fixed their secret abode. But he had no time for
+reflection, inasmuch as his guide hurried him on amidst the tombs, on
+which the light of the silver moon now streamed with a power and an
+effect that no dark cloud for the time impaired. Stopping at the base of
+one of the most splendid monuments in the cemetery, the muffled stranger
+touched some secret spring, and a large marble block immediately opened
+like a door, the aperture revealing a narrow flight of stone steps.
+Wagner was directed to descend first, a command which he obeyed without
+hesitation, his guide closing the marble entrance ere he followed. For
+several minutes the two descended in total darkness. At length, a faint,
+glimmering light met Wagner's view; and as he proceeded it grew stronger
+and stronger, until it became of such dazzling brilliancy that his eyes
+ached with the supernatural splendor. That glorious luster was diffused
+from a silver lamp, hanging to the arched roof of a long passage, or
+corridor of masonry, to which the stone steps led.
+
+"Fernand Wagner," said the guide, in his mild and somewhat monotonous
+voice, "thou now beholdest the eternal lamp of the Rosicrucians. For a
+hundred and twenty years has that lamp burnt with as powerful a luster
+as that which it now sheds forth; and never once--no, not once during
+that period, has it been replenished. No human hand has touched it since
+the day when it was first suspended there by the great founder of our
+sect."
+
+All doubt was now dispelled from the mind of Wagner--if a doubt he had
+even for a moment entertained since the muffled stranger had summoned
+him from the inn:--he was indeed in the secret abode of the holy sect of
+the Rosy Cross! His guide, too, was a member of that brotherhood--and
+there, almost too dazzling to gaze upon, burnt the eternal lamp which
+was the symbol of the knowledge cherished by the order! Wagner turned to
+gaze in wonder and admiration upon his guide: and beneath the broad brim
+of the slouched hat, he beheld a countenance venerable with years,
+imposing with intelligence, and benevolent with every human charity.
+"Wise and philanthropic Rosicrucian!" exclaimed Wagner, "I offer thee my
+deepest gratitude for having permitted me to enter this sanctuary. But
+how camest thou to learn that I sought admittance hither? and unveil to
+me the great mysteries of this place."
+
+"We are the servants of holy angels, who reveal to us in visions the
+will of the Most High," answered the Rosicrucian; "and they who
+commanded me to bring thee hither, will induce thine heart to retain our
+secret inviolable."
+
+"Not for worlds," cried Wagner, with an enthusiasm which denoted
+sincerity, "would I betray ye!"
+
+"'Tis well," said the Rosicrucian, with philosophic calmness--as if he
+put more faith in the protecting influence of Heaven than in the
+promises of man. "I shall not accompany thee further. Follow that
+passage: at the extremity there are two corridors branching off in
+different directions; but thou wilt pursue the one leading to the right.
+Proceed fearlessly, and stop not till thou shalt stand in the presence
+of the founder of the sect."
+
+Fernand hastened to obey these directions, and having threaded the two
+passages, he entered a large and rudely-hollowed cavern, where the
+feelings of mingled awe and suspense with which he had approached it
+were immediately changed into deep veneration and wonder as he found
+himself in the presence of one who, by his appearance, he knew could he
+none other than Christianus Rosencrux! Never had Fernand beheld a being
+of such venerable aspect; and, though old--evidently very old, as indeed
+Wagner knew him to be--yet the founder of the celebrated Rosicrucians
+manifested every appearance of possessing a vigorous constitution, as he
+was assuredly endowed with a magnificent intellect. His beard was long
+and white as snow; a century and three score years had not dimmed the
+luster of his eyes; and his form, though somewhat bent, was masculine
+and well-knit. He was seated at a table covered with an infinite variety
+of scientific apparatus; and articles of the same nature were strewed
+upon the ground. To the roof hung an iron lamp, which indeed burnt
+faintly after the brilliant luster of the eternal flame that Wagner had
+seen in the passage; but its flickering gleam shone lurid and ominous on
+a blood-red cross suspended to the wall. Fernand drew near the table,
+and bowed reverentially to the Rosicrucian chief, who acknowledged his
+salutation with a benignant smile.
+
+"Wagner," he said, in a firm but mild tone, "I have been forewarned of
+thy coming, and am prepared to receive thee. Thy constant and unvarying
+faith in Heaven has opened to thee the gates of salvation; and it is
+mine to direct thee how to act, that the dreadful doom which thou hast
+drawn upon thyself may be annihilated soon and forever."
+
+The venerable man paused, and Fernand again bowed lowly and with
+profound respect.
+
+"So soon as the morning's sun shall have revisited this hemisphere,"
+continued Rosencrux, "thou must depart for Italy. Start not,
+Fernand--but prepare to obey that power which will sustain thee. On
+arriving in Italy, proceed direct to Florence; and fear not to enter
+that city even in the broad daylight. Thou wilt not be harmed! There
+await the current of those circumstances that must lead to the grand
+event which is ordained to break the spell that has cast upon thee the
+doom of a Wehr-Wolf. For as thou didst voluntarily unite thyself in the
+face of heaven with Donna Nisida of Riverola, so it is decreed, for the
+wisest purposes, that a circumstance intimately connected with her
+destiny must become a charm and a talisman to change thine own. On thine
+arrival in Florence, therefore, seek not to avoid Lady Nisida; but
+rather hasten at once to her presence--and again I say, a supernal power
+will protect thee from any baneful influence which she might still
+exercise over thee. For, the spell that the evil one hath cast upon
+thee, Fernand Wagner, shall be broken only on that day and in that hour
+when thine eyes shall behold the skeletons of two innocent victims
+suspended to the same beam!"
+
+Having uttered these words in a louder and hurried, but not the less
+impressive tone, than he had at first used, Christianus Rosencrux
+motioned impatiently for Wagner to depart. And Fernand, amazed and
+horrified at the dreadful words which had met his ears, retreated from
+the cavern and sped rapidly back to the spot where he had quitted his
+guide, whom he found waiting his return beneath the undying lamp. The
+Rosicrucian conducted Wagner in silence from that deep and subterranean
+abode beneath the tomb; thence through the cemetery amidst the ruins of
+the monastery--and across the wild waste, back to Syracuse; nor did the
+muffled brother of the Rosy Cross take leave of Fernand until they had
+reached the door of the hostel. There they parted, the Rosicrucian
+invoking a blessing upon the head of Wagner, who regained his chamber
+without disturbing the other inmates of the house: but with the
+conflicting emotions of ardent hopes and appalling fears, and holy
+aspirations, filling his breast. By degrees, however, as he was enabled
+to reason to himself with increasing calmness, the fears and the doubts
+became fainter and fainter, while the hopes and the aspirations grew
+stronger and stronger: and at length, throwing himself upon his knees,
+he exclaimed fervently, "O Lord, deal with me as thou wilt--thy will be
+done!"
+
+It was late in the afternoon of a sultry day, toward the close of
+September, or, to be more particular, on the 25th of that month, that a
+numerous and brilliant cavalcade, on emerging from a grove which bounded
+one of the sinuosities of the Arno, came within sight of the towers and
+pinnacles of Florence.
+
+On the white felt turbans of a hundred and fifty Ottoman soldiers
+glistened the crescent, the symbol of Islamism; and their steel-sheathed
+scimiters and the trappings of their horses sent forth a martial din as
+they were agitated by the rapidity of the march.
+
+Forty-eight slaves, also mounted on steeds procured at Leghorn, followed
+the soldiers with a short interval between the two corps, and in the
+space thus left, rode the Greek Demetrius and Lady Nisida of Riverola.
+The latter wore the garb of her sex, and sat upon her horse with the
+grace of an amazonian queen.
+
+The moment the cavalcade came in sight of the fair City of Flowers, a
+flush of joy and triumph suddenly diffused itself over Nisida's
+countenance; and her lips were simultaneously compressed to prevent the
+utterance of that exclamation of gladness which her heart sent up to her
+tongue.
+
+Demetrius now commanded a temporary halt; addressing himself to a
+Turkish youth, who had been attached to his person in the capacity of
+secretary, he said, "Yakoub, hie thou in advance, with an escort of two
+soldiers and two slaves, and push on to Florence. There seek an
+immediate interview with the president of the council of state, and
+acquaint that high functionary with the tidings of my approach. Thou
+wilt inform him that I am about to enter Florence in the peaceful
+capacity of envoy from the puissant and most glorious Ibrahim Pasha, the
+vizier of the sultan, to treat on divers matters interesting to the
+honor of the Ottoman Porte and the welfare of all Italy. In the
+meantime, I shall so check our speed that we may not reach the city
+until after sunset, which arrangement will afford you two full hours to
+accomplish the mission which I now trust to thee."
+
+Yakoub bowed, and hastened to obey the commands which he had
+received--speeding toward Florence, attended by two soldiers and two
+slaves. Demetrius then ordered his party to dismount and rest for a
+short space upon the banks of the Arno. Some of his slaves immediately
+pitched a tent, into which he conducted Nisida; and refreshments were
+served to them.
+
+When the repast was concluded, and they were left alone together for a
+few minutes, Nisida's manner suddenly changed from calm patrician
+reserve to a strange agitation--her lips quivered, her eyes flashed
+fire;--and then, as if desperately resolved to put into execution the
+idea which she had formed, she seized Demetrius by the hand, bent her
+head toward him, and murmured in the faintest whisper possible, "Start
+not to hear the sound of my voice! I am neither deaf nor dumb. But this
+is not the place for explanations. I have much to tell, you much to
+hear--for I can speak to thee of Calanthe, and prove that he whom thou
+servest so zealously is a wretch meriting only thy vengeance."
+
+"My God! my God!--what marvels are now taking place!" murmured the
+Greek, surveying Nisida in profound astonishment not unmingled with
+alarm.
+
+"Silence--silence, I implore you!" continued she, in the rapid, low, and
+yet distinctly audible whisper, "for _your_ sake--for _mine_, betray me
+not! Deaf and dumb must I appear--deaf and dumb must I yet be deemed for
+a short space. But to-night, at twelve o'clock, you will meet me,
+Demetrius, in the garden of the Riverola mansion;--and then I will
+conduct you to an apartment where we may confer without fear of being
+overheard--without danger of interruption."
+
+"I will not fail thee, lady," said the Greek, scarcely able to recover
+from the amazement into which Nisida's sudden revelation of her power of
+speech and hearing had thrown him: then, as an oppressive feeling seized
+upon his soul, he demanded, "But Calanthe, lady, in the name of heaven!
+one word more and let that word give me hope that I may see my sister
+again!"
+
+"Demetrius," answered Nisida, her countenance becoming ominous and
+somber, "you will never behold her more. The lust of Ibrahim Pasha--nay,
+start not so violently--brought destruction and death upon Calanthe!"
+
+The features of the young Greek were at first distorted with anguish,
+and tears started from his eyes: but in the next moment their expression
+changed to one denoting the fiercest rage.
+
+Nisida understood all that was passing in his soul; and she bent upon
+him a significant glance, which said more eloquently than language could
+have done--"Yes, vengeance thou shalt have!"
+
+She then rose from the velvet cushions which had been spread upon the
+ground within the tent, and waving her hand in token of temporary
+farewell to Demetrius, hastened forth, mounted her horse, and departed,
+alone and unattended, toward Florence.
+
+Great was the surprise that evening of the numerous servants and
+dependents at the Riverola mansion, when Donna Nisida suddenly
+reappeared after an absence of very nearly seven months--and that
+absence so unaccountable to them! Although her haughty and imperious
+manner had never been particularly calculated to render her beloved by
+the menials of the household, yet her supposed affliction of deafness
+and dumbness had naturally made her an object of interest; and,
+moreover, as close upon three months had elapsed since Count Francisco
+himself had disappeared in a strange and alarming way two days only
+after his return from the wars, the domestics were pleased to behold at
+least one member of the lost family come back amongst them. Thus it was
+with sincere demonstrations of delight that the dependents and menials
+welcomed Donna Nisida at Riverola; and she was not ungracious enough to
+receive their civilities with coldness. But she speedily escaped from
+the ceremonies of this reception: and, intimating by signs to the female
+minions who were about to escort her to her apartments that she was
+anxious to be alone, she hurried thither, her heart leaping with joy at
+the thought of being once more beneath the roof of the palace of her
+forefathers. And, Fernand--wast thou forgotten? Oh! no--no; in spite of
+all her revived schemings and new plots, Nisida, thy well-beloved
+Nisida, had room in her heart for thine image! On reaching her own suit
+of apartments, the key of which had been handed to her by one of the
+female dependents, Nisida found everything in the same state as when she
+last was there; and it appeared to her a dream, yes, a very wondrous
+dream, that she had been absent for nearly seven months, and during that
+period had seen and experienced such strange vicissitudes. The reader
+need scarcely be informed that Nisida's first impulse, on entering her
+own suit of apartments in the Riverola mansion, was to hasten and gaze
+once more upon the portrait of her mother, and intent, earnest,
+enthusiastic was the upraised look now fixed upon that portrait, even as
+when we first saw Nisida contemplating the sweet and benignant
+countenance in the second chapter of our narrative. Yes:--and again was
+her gaze indicative of a devotion, an adoration, a worship.
+
+"Oh! my sainted mother," thought Nisida within her breast, "I have not
+proved ultimately faithless to the solemn vows I pledged to thee upon
+thy death-bed! No; if for a time I yielded to the voluptuous idleness of
+love and passion in that now far off Mediterranean isle, yet, at last
+did I arouse myself to energy for young Francisco's sake, and I came
+back as soon as Heaven sent me the means of return to the place where my
+presence may best serve _his_ interests, and carry out _thy_ wishes!
+For, oh! when thou wast alive, my worshiped, my adored mother, how good,
+how kind, how affectionate wast thou toward me. And that tenderness of a
+mother for her offspring, ah! how well can I comprehend it now; for I
+also shall soon become a mother. Yes, Fernand! within the last week I
+have received the conviction that a being bearing thine image will see
+the light in due time; and the honor of the proud name of Riverola
+requires that our child must not be born of an unwedded mother! But wilt
+thou seek me out, Fernand? Oh! where art thou now? whither was the bark,
+in which I beheld thee last, wafting thee away?"
+
+And, all the while that these thoughts were agitating within her mind,
+Donna Nisida kept her eyes intently fixed on the portrait; but on
+reflecting a second time that should she fail to meet with Wagner soon
+again, or should he prove faithless to her, or if, indeed, he should
+nurse resentment and loathing for her on account of her unworthy conduct
+toward him on the island, and that her child should be born of an
+unwedded mother,--when, we say, she thought of this dread probability a
+second time, she burst into tears, and turned away from the
+contemplation of her mother's countenance. And Nisida so seldom wept,
+that when tears did escape the usually sealed up springs of her
+emotions, they came in torrents, and were most bitter and painful to
+shed. But she at length triumphed over her feelings, or rather, their
+outpourings relieved her; and now the remembrance of another duty which
+she had resolved upon performing the moment she should reach home again
+was uppermost in her mind. She contemplated a visit to the mysterious
+closet--the dark cabinet of horrible secrets, in order to ascertain
+whether curiosity had triumphed over Francisco's prudence, or if any one
+indeed had violated the loneliness of that chamber in which the late
+Count of Riverola, had breathed his last. She accordingly took a lamp in
+her hand, for it was now far advanced in the evening, and proceeded to
+the apartment where a father's dying injunctions had been given to her
+brother, and which that father and that brother had so little suspected
+to have been heard and greedily drunk in by her ears. The door of the
+room was locked; Nisida accordingly proceeded forthwith to her brother's
+chamber; and there, in a secret place where she knew he had been
+accustomed to keep papers or valuables, she found the key of the chamber
+containing the mysterious closet, but not the key of the closet itself.
+Of this latter circumstance she was glad; inasmuch as she conceived that
+he had adopted her counsel to carry it invariably secured about his
+person, so that no prying domestics might use it in his absence.
+Returning, therefore, with the one key which she had found, she entered
+the apartment where her father had breathed his last.
+
+Unchanged was its appearance, in mournfulness and gloom unchanged, in
+arrangements and features precisely the same as when she last was there,
+on the night when she intercepted the banditti in their predatory visit.
+She drew aside the hangings of the bed, a cloud of dust flew out--and
+for a few moments she stood gazing on the couch where the dark spirit of
+her sire had fled from its mortal tenement! And as she still lingered
+near the bed, the remembrance of the death-scene came so vividly back to
+her mind, that for an instant she fancied she beheld the cold, stern,
+relentless countenance of the late Count of Riverola upon the pillow;
+and she turned away more in loathing and abhorrence than alarm, for
+through her brain flashed in dread association with his memory, the
+awful words--"And as the merciless scalpel hacked and hewed away at the
+still almost palpitating flesh of the murdered man, in whose breast the
+dagger remained deeply buried--a ferocious joy--a savage, hyena-like
+triumph filled my soul; and I experienced no remorse for the deed I had
+done!"
+
+Yes, she turned aside, and was advancing rapidly toward the mysterious
+closet, when--holy God!--was it reality or imagination? Was it a human
+being or a specter from another world? For a tall, dark form, muffled
+apparently in a long cowl--or it might be a cloak, but Nisida was too
+bewildered to discriminate aright--glided from the middle of the room
+where her eyes first beheld it, and was lost to view almost as soon as
+seen. Strong minded as Nisida was, indomitable as was her courage, and
+far away as she was from being superstitious, yet now she staggered,
+reeled, and would have fallen had she not come in contact with the
+mysterious closet, against which she leaned for support. She gasped for
+breath, and her eyes were fixed wildly upon the door by which the
+figures had disappeared. Nevertheless, she had so far retained her
+presence of mind as to grasp the lamp firmly in her hand, for at that
+moment, after such a fright, in the room where her father had died, and
+in the close vicinity of the fearful cabinet, even Nisida would have
+fainted with terror to be left in darkness.
+
+"'Twas imagination--naught save imagination," she thought within
+herself, as she exerted all her power to surmount the alarms that had
+seized upon her. "But no! I remember to have closed the door carefully
+behind me, and now it is open!"
+
+As that reminiscence and conviction flashed to her mind, she nerved
+herself to advance into the passage; but all was silent, and not a soul
+was there save herself. Scarcely knowing what to think, yet ashamed to
+give way to superstitious fears, Nisida retraced her steps, and
+proceeded to examine the door of the closet. She was satisfied that it
+had never been opened since the night of her father's death; for the
+seals which she had induced Francisco to place upon the lock next day
+were still there. But all the while she was thus scrutinizing the door,
+the lock, and the seals, she could not help occasionally casting a
+furtive glance around, to convince herself that the tall, dark, muffled
+form was not standing behind her: and, as she retraced her way to her
+own apartments, she stopped now and then through dread that _other_
+footsteps beside her own echoed in the long and lonely corridors of the
+old mansion. She, however, regained her chamber in safety, and fell into
+a deep reverie respecting the tall figure she had seen. Were it not for
+the fact, of which she was confident, of her having closed the door on
+entering the room where her father had died, she would have concluded
+that her imagination had deluded her; but she now feared lest she might
+be watched by spies for some unknown and hostile purpose. It was
+perplexing, to say the least of it; and Nisida determined to adopt all
+possible precautions against her secret enemies, whoever they might be.
+
+She accordingly arose from her seat--put off her upper garment--donned
+her thin but strong corselet--and then assumed the black velvet robe
+which reached up to her throat, concealing the armor beneath. Her
+flexible dagger--that fatal weapon which had dealt death to the
+unfortunate Agnes--was next thrust into the sheath formed by the wide
+border of her stomacher; and Nisida smiled with haughty triumph as if in
+defiance to her foes. She then repaired to one of the splendid saloons
+of the mansion; and ere she sat down to the repast that was served up,
+she dispatched a note acquainting Dr. Duras with her return, and
+requesting his immediate presence. In about half an hour the physician
+arrived, and his joy at beholding Nisida again was only equaled by his
+impatience to learn the cause of her long absence and all that had
+befallen her during the interval.
+
+She made a sign for the old man to follow her to the retirement of her
+own apartments; and then, having closed the door, she said to him in a
+low tone, "Doctor, we will converse by means of signs no more; for,
+though still forced to simulate the deaf and dumb in the presence of the
+world, yet now--with you, who have all along known my terrible
+secret--our discourse must be too important to be carried on by mere
+signs."
+
+"Nisida," returned Duras, also in a low and cautious tone, "thou knowest
+that I love thee as if thou wast my own daughter; and thy voice sounds
+like music upon my ears. But when will the dreadful necessity which
+renders thee dumb before the world--when will it cease, Nisida?"
+
+"Soon--soon, doctor--if thou wilt aid me," answered the lady.
+
+A long and earnest conversation then ensued; but it is not necessary to
+give the details to the reader, inasmuch as their nature will soon
+transpire. Suffice it to say that Nisida urged a particular request,
+which she backed by such explanation and we must also say
+misrepresentations as she thought suitable to her purpose; and that Dr.
+Duras eventually, though not without compunction and hesitation, at
+length acceded to her prayer. She then gave him a brief account of her
+abduction from Florence by the villain Stephano--her long residence on
+the island of snakes--and her deliverance from thence by the Ottoman
+fleet, which was now off the port of Leghorn. But she said nothing of
+Fernand Wagner: nor did she inform the physician that she was acquainted
+with the cause of Francisco's disappearance and the place where he was
+detained. At length Dr. Duras took his leave; but ere he left the room
+Nisida caught him by the hand, saying, in a low, yet impressive
+tone--"Remember your solemn promise, my dear friend, and induce your
+brother to leave Flora Francatelli to her fate."
+
+"I will--I will," answered the physician. "And after all you have told
+me, and if she be really the bad, profligate, and evil-disposed girl you
+represent her, it will be well that the inquisition should hold her
+tight in its grasp."
+
+With these words Dr. Duras departed, leaving Nisida to gloat over the
+success which her plans had thus far experienced.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER LX.
+
+
+It was verging toward midnight, and the moon was concealed behind dark
+clouds, when a tall figure, muffled in a cloak, climbed over the railing
+which inclosed one portion of the spacious garden attached to the
+Riverola Palace. That person was Fernand Wagner. He had arrived in
+Florence two days before that on which Nisida returned to the ancestral
+dwelling:--he had entered the city boldly and openly in the joyous
+sun-light--and yet no one molested him. He even encountered some of the
+very sbirri who had arrested him in the preceding month of February;
+they saluted him respectfully--thus showed that they recognized him--but
+offered not to harm him. His trial, his condemnation, and his escape
+appeared all to have been forgotten. He repaired to his mansion; his
+servants, who had remained in possession of the dwelling, received him
+with demonstrations of joy and welcome as if he had just returned under
+ordinary circumstances from a long journey. Truly, then, he was blessed
+by the protection of Heaven. And--more wondrous still--on entering his
+favorite room he beheld all his pictures in their proper places, as if
+none of them had ever been removed--as if the confiscation of several by
+the criminal tribunal had never taken place. Over the one which had
+proclaimed the secret of his doom to the judges and the audience on the
+occasion of his trial, still hung the black cloth; and an undefinable
+curiosity--no, not a sentiment of curiosity, but one of hope--impelled
+him to remove the covering. And how exquisite was his joy, how great his
+amazement, how sincere his thanksgivings, when he beheld but a blank
+piece of canvas. The horrible picture of the Wehr-Wolf, a picture which
+he had painted when in a strangely morbid state of mind--had
+disappeared. Here was another sign of Heaven's goodness--a further proof
+of celestial mercy.
+
+On instituting inquiries, Fernand had learnt that Donna Nisida had not
+yet come back to Florence: but he employed trusty persons to watch and
+give him notice of her arrival the instant it should occur. Thus Nisida
+had not been half an hour at the Riverola mansion when Fernand was made
+acquainted with her return. From the conversation which had taken place
+between them at various times on the island, and as the reader is well
+aware, Wagner felt convinced that Nisida would again simulate deafness
+and dumbness; and he was therefore desirous to avoid giving her any
+surprise by appearing abruptly before her--a proceeding which might
+evoke a sudden ejaculation, and thus betray her secret. Moreover, he
+knew not whether circumstances would render his visits, made in a public
+manner, agreeable to her: and, perhaps--pardon him, gentle
+reader--perhaps he was also curious to learn whether she still thought
+of him, or whether the excitement of her return had absorbed all tender
+feelings of that nature.
+
+Influenced by these various motives, Wagner muffled himself in a long
+Tuscan cloak and repaired to the vicinity of the Riverola mansion. He
+passed through the gardens without encountering any one, and, perceiving
+a side door open, he entered the building. Ascending the stairs, he
+thought that he should be acting in accordance with the advice given him
+by Rosencrux, and also consistent with prudence, were he at once to seek
+an interview with Nisida privately. He therefore repaired in the
+direction of the principal saloons of the palace; but losing his way
+amidst the maze of corridors, he was about to retire, when he beheld the
+object of his search, the beautiful Nisida, enter a room with a lamp in
+hand. He now felt convinced that he should meet her alone, and he
+hurried after her. In pursuance of his cautious plan, he opened the door
+gently, and was already in the middle of the apartment, when he
+perceived Nisida standing by the side of a bed, and with her head fixed
+in that immovable manner which indicates intent gazing upon some object.
+Instantly supposing that some invalid reposed in that couch, and now
+seized with a dreadful alarm lest Nisida, on beholding him, should utter
+a sudden ejaculation which would betray the secret of her feigned
+dumbness, Fernand considerately retreated with all possible speed: nor
+was he aware that Nisida had observed him, much less that his appearance
+there had excited such fears in her breast, those fears being greatly
+enhanced by his negligence in leaving the door open behind him.
+
+Oh! had Nisida known it was thou, Fernand Wagner, how joyous, how happy
+she would have been; for the conviction that she bore the pledge of your
+mutual passion had made her heart yearn that eve to meet with thee
+again. And was it a like attraction on thy part, or the mysterious
+influence that now guided all thy movements, which induced thee at
+midnight to enter the Riverola gardens again, that thou mightest be, as
+it were, upon the same spot where she dwelt, and scent the fragrance of
+the same flowers that perfumed the atmosphere which she breathed? Oh!
+doubtless it was that mysterious influence; for thou hast now that power
+within thee which made thee strong to resist all the blandishments of
+the siren, and to prefer the welfare of thine own soul to aught in this
+world beside!
+
+We said, then, at the commencement of this chapter that Fernand entered
+the Riverola gardens shortly after midnight. But scarcely had he crossed
+the iron railings, turned into the nearest path formed by shrubs and
+evergreens, when he was startled by hearing another person enter the
+grounds in the same unceremonious manner. Fernand accordingly stood aside
+in the deep shade of the trees; and in a few moments a figure, muffled
+like himself in a cloak, passed him rapidly by. Wagner was debating in
+himself what course he should pursue--for he feared that some treachery
+was intended toward Nisida--when to his boundless surprise, he heard the
+mysterious visitant say in a low tone. "Is it you, lady?"--to which
+question the unmistakable and never-to-be-forgotten voice of his Nisida
+answered, "'Tis I, Demetrius. Follow me noiselessly, and breathe not
+another word for the present!"
+
+Fernand was shocked and grieved at what he had just heard, and which
+savored so strongly of an intrigue. Had not his ears deceived him? was
+this the Nisida from whom he had parted but little more than three weeks
+back, and who had left him that tender note which he had found in the
+hut on the island? But he had no time for reflection; the pair were
+moving rapidly toward the mansion--and Wagner unhesitatingly followed,
+his footsteps being soundless on the damp soil of the borders of
+flowers, and his form being concealed by the shade of the tall
+evergreens which he skirted.
+
+He watched Nisida and her companion until they disappeared by a small
+private door at the back of the mansion; and this door was by them
+incautiously left unlocked, though shut close. It opened rapidly to
+Wagner's hand, and he found himself at the foot of a dark staircase, the
+sound of ascending steps on which met his ears. Up that narrow flight he
+sped, noiselessly but hastily; and in a few moments he was stopped by
+another door which had just closed behind those whom he was following.
+Here he was compelled to pause, in the hope that the partition might not
+be so thick as completely to intercept the sounds of the voices in the
+chamber; but after listening with breathless attention for a few
+minutes, he could not catch even the murmuring of a whisper. It now
+struck him that Nisida and her companion might have passed on into a
+room more remote than the one to which that door had admitted them; and
+he resolved to follow on. Accordingly, he opened the door with such
+successful precaution that not a sound--not even the creaking of the
+hinge was the result; and he immediately perceived that there was a
+thick curtain within; for it will be recollected that this door was
+behind the drapery of Nisida's bed. At the same time, a light, somewhat
+subdued by the thick curtain, appeared; and the sound of voices met
+Fernand's ears.
+
+"Signor," said the melodious voice of Nisida, in its sweetest, softest
+tones, "it is due to myself to tender fitting excuse for introducing you
+thus into my private chamber; but the necessity of discoursing together
+without fear of interruption, and in some place that is secure from the
+impertinence of eavesdroppers, must serve as an apology."
+
+"Lady," replied Demetrius, "it needed no explanation of your motive in
+bringing me hither to command on my part that respect which is due to
+you."
+
+A weight was removed from Wagner's mind: it was assuredly no tender
+sentiment that had brought Nisida and the Greek together this night; and
+the curiosity of Fernand was therefore excited all the more strongly.
+
+"We will not waste time in unnecessary parlance," resumed Nisida, after
+a short pause; "nor must you seek to learn the causes--the powerful
+causes, which have urged me to impose upon myself the awful sacrifice
+involved in the simulation of loss of speech and hearing. Suffice it for
+you to know that, when on board the kapitan-pasha's ship, I overheard
+every syllable of the conversation which one day took place between the
+apostate Ibrahim and yourself,--a conversation wherein you gave a
+detailed account of all your proceedings at Florence, and in the course
+of which you spoke feelingly of your sister Calanthe."
+
+"Alas! poor Calanthe!" exclaimed Demetrius, in a mournful tone; "and is
+she really no more?"
+
+"Listen to me while I relate the manner in which I became aware of her
+fate," said Nisida.
+
+She then explained the treacherous visit of the grand vizier to the
+cabin wherein she had slept on board the Ottoman admiral's ship--the way
+in which the Ethiopian slave had interfered to save her--and the
+conversation that had taken place between Ibrahim and the negro,
+revealing the dread fate of Calanthe.
+
+"Is it possible that I have served so faithfully a man possessed of such
+a demon-heart?" cried Demetrius. "But I will have vengeance, lady; yes,
+the murdered Calanthe shall be avenged!"
+
+"And I too must have vengeance upon the proud and insolent vizier who
+sought to violate all the laws of hospitality in respect to me,"
+observed Nisida, "and who seeks to marry his sister, the low-born Flora,
+the sister of the base renegade, to the illustrious scion of the noble
+house of Riverola! Vengeance, too, must I have upon the wretch Antonio,
+the panderer to my father's illicit and degrading _amours_--the
+miscreant who sought to plunder this mansion, and who even dared to
+utter threats against me in that conversation with his accomplice
+Venturo, which you, signor, overheard in the streets of Florence. This
+game wretch it is, too, who consigned my brother to the custody of
+banditti; and though, for certain reasons, I deplore not that captivity
+which Francisco has endured, inasmuch as it has effectually prevented
+him from interesting himself on behalf of Flora Francatelli, yet as
+Antonio was animated by vengeance only in so using my brother, he shall
+pay the penalty due on account of all his crimes!"
+
+"And in the task of punishing Antonio, lady," said Demetrius, "shall I
+be right glad to aid--for did not the villain deceive me infamously in
+respect to the dispatches which I sought to forward to Constantinople
+when last I was at Florence? and, not contented with that vile
+treachery, even plotted with his accomplice Venturo against my life."
+
+"Vengeance, then, upon our enemies, Demetrius!" exclaimed Nisida. "And
+this is how our aims shall be accomplished," she continued, in a lower
+and less excited tone: "The ambitious views of Ibrahim Pasha must
+experience a signal defeat; and as he is too powerful to be personally
+injured by us, we must torture his soul by crushing his relations--we
+must punish him through the medium of his sister and his aunt. This
+evening I had a long discourse with Dr. Duras, who is devoted to my
+interests, and over whom I wield a wondrous power of persuasion. He has
+undertaken to induce his brother, Angelo Duras, to abandon the cause of
+the Francatellis; and the inquisition will, therefore, deal with them as
+it lists. Father Marco I can also manage as I will; he understands the
+language in which the deaf and dumb converse, for he has so long been
+confessor to our family. To-morrow I will undertake to send him to Rome
+on some charitable mission connected with the church. Thus the only
+persons whom you secured when last you were in Florence, in the
+interests of the Francatellis, will cease to watch over them; and, as
+they are accused of being accomplices in the sacrilege perpetrated in
+the Carmelite Convent, naught will save them from the flames of the
+_auto-da-fe_."
+
+"Oh! spirit of the murdered Calanthe," exclaimed Demetrius, with savage
+joy, "thou wilt be avenged yet! And thou, false vizier, shalt writhe in
+the flames at the stake!"
+
+"Now, as for Antonio, and the rest of the banditti who stormed the
+convent and gave freedom to the hated Flora--who have likewise captured
+my brother--and who have so long been a terror to Florence," continued
+Nisida; "we must annihilate them all at one blow; not a soul of the gang
+must be spared!"
+
+Nisida knew full well that at least some of the banditti were acquainted
+with the fact that she was the murderess of Agnes, and that they could
+also tell an awkward tale of how she sought to bribe them to rescue
+Fernand Wagner in case of an adverse judgment on the part of the
+criminal tribunal. The total annihilation of the horde was consequently
+the large aim at which she aspired, and her energetic mind shrunk not
+from any difficulties that might appear in the way toward the execution
+of that object.
+
+"The design is grand, but not without its obstacles," observed
+Demetrius. "Your ladyship will moreover adopt measures to rescue the
+Lord Count of Riverola first."
+
+"By means of gold everything can be accomplished amongst villains,"
+returned Nisida, "and the necessary preliminaries to the carrying out of
+our object rest with you, signor. To-morrow morning must you seek
+Antonio. He knows not that you suspect his villainy and, as you will say
+nothing relative to the failure in the arrival of your dispatches at
+Constantinople, he will rest secure in the belief that you have not yet
+discovered that deed of treachery. You must represent yourself as the
+mortal enemy of the Count of Riverola, and so speak as to lead Antonio
+to confess to you where he is and offer to become the instrument of your
+vengeance. Then bribe Antonio heavily to deliver up Francisco into your
+power to-morrow night at a particular hour, and at a place not far from
+the spot where you know the secret entrance of the banditti's stronghold
+to be."
+
+"All this, lady," said Demetrius, "can be easily arranged. Antonio would
+barter his soul for gold; much more readily, then, will he sell the
+Count of Riverola to one who bids high for the possession of the noble
+prisoner."
+
+"But this is not all," resumed Nisida, "'tis merely the preface to my
+plan. So soon as the shades of to-morrow's evening shall have involved
+the earth in obscurity, a strong party of your soldiers, properly
+disguised, but well armed, must repair in small sections, or even
+singly, to that grove where you have already obtained a clew to the
+entrance of the robbers' stronghold. Let them conceal themselves amongst
+the trees in the immediate vicinity of the enormous chestnut that
+overhangs the precipice. When the robbers emerge from their
+lurking-place with Francisco, your soldiers will immediately seize upon
+them. Should you then discover the secret of the entrance to the
+stronghold, the object will be gained,--your men will penetrate into the
+subterranean den,--and the massacre of the horde will prove an easy
+matter. But should it occur that those banditti who may be employed in
+leading forth my brother, do shut up the entrance of their den so
+speedily that your dependents discover not its secrets, then must we
+trust to bribery or threats to wrest that secret from the miscreants. At
+all events Antonio will be present to accompany Francisco to the place
+which you will appoint to meet them; and as the villain will fall into
+your power, it will perhaps prove less difficult to induce him to betray
+his comrades, than it might be to persuade any of the banditti
+themselves."
+
+"Lady, your plan has every element of success," observed Demetrius; "and
+all shall be done as you suggest. Indeed, I will myself conduct the
+expedition. But should you thus at once effect the release of Don
+Francisco, will he not oppose your designs relative to the condemnation
+of Flora Francatelli by the inquisition?"
+
+"Dr. Duras is well acquainted with the precise process," answered
+Nisida; "and from him I learnt that the third examination of the
+prisoners will take place to-morrow, when judgment will be pronounced
+should no advocate appear to urge a feasible cause of delay."
+
+"The arrests took place on the 3d of July," said Demetrius; "and Angelo
+Duras undertook to obtain a postponement for three months. To-morrow,
+lady, is but the 26th of September."
+
+"True," responded Nisida; "but were a delay granted, it would be for
+eight days--and thus you perceive how nicely Angelo Duras had weighed
+all the intricacies of the case, and how accurately he had calculated
+the length of the term to be gained by the exercise of the subtleties of
+the inquisitorial law. Therefore, as no advocate will appear to demand
+delay, Flora is certain to be condemned to-morrow night, and the release
+of Francisco may take place simultaneously--for when once the grand
+inquisitor shall have pronounced the extreme sentence, no human power
+can reverse it. And now," added Nisida, "but one word more. The grand
+vizier commanded you to dispatch a courier daily to Leghorn with full
+particulars of all your proceedings; see that those accounts be of a
+nature to lull the treacherous Ibrahim into security--for, were he to
+learn that his aunt and sister are in dread peril, he would be capable
+of marching at the head of all his troops to sack the city of Florence."
+
+"Fear not on that subject, lady," answered Demetrius. "I will so amuse
+the demon-hearted grand vizier by my dispatches, that he shall become
+excited with joyous hopes--so that the blow--the dread blow which we are
+preparing for him--may be the more terribly severe."
+
+The Greek then rose to take his leave of Donna Nisida; and Wagner,
+having closed the secret door as noiselessly as he had opened it,
+hurried away from the Riverola mansion bewildered and grieved at all he
+had heard--for he could no longer conceal from himself that a very fiend
+was incarnate in the shape of her whom he had loved so madly.
+
+Having tossed on a feverish couch for upward of an hour,--unable to
+banish from his mind the cold blooded plot which Nisida and Demetrius
+had resolved upon in order to consign Flora Francatelli and her equally
+innocent aunt to the stake,--Wagner at last slept through sheer
+exhaustion. Then Christianus Rosencrux appeared to him in a dream and
+said:--"Heaven hath chosen thee as the instrument to defeat the
+iniquitous purposes of Riverola in respect of two guiltless and
+deserving women. Angelo Duras is an upright man; but he is deluded and
+misled by the representations made to him by Nisida, through his
+brother, the physician, relative to the true character of Flora. In the
+evening at nine o'clock, hie to Angelo Duras--command him in the name of
+justice and humanity, to do his duty toward his clients--and he will
+obey thee. Then, having performed this much, speed thou without delay to
+Leghorn, and seek the grand vizier, Ibrahim Pasha. To him shalt thou
+merely state that Demetrius is a traitor, and that tremendous perils
+hang over the heads of the vizier's much-loved relatives. Manifest no
+hatred to the vizier on account of his late treacherous intention with
+regard to the honor of Nisida: for vengeance belongeth not to mortals.
+And in these measures only, of all the deeply ramified plots and designs
+which thou didst hear discussed between Nisida and Demetrius, shall thou
+interfere. Leave the rest to Heaven."
+
+The founder of the Rosicrucians disappeared: and when Fernand awoke late
+in the day--for his slumber had been long and deep--he remembered the
+vision which he had seen, and resolved to obey the order he had
+received.
+
+Beneath the massive and heavy tower of the Palazzo del Podesta, or Ducal
+Palace of Florence, was the tribunal of the holy inquisition. Small,
+low, and terribly somber in appearance was this court--with walls of the
+most solid masonry, an arched roof, and a pavement formed of vast blocks
+of dark-veined marble. Thither the light of heaven never penetrated; for
+it was situate far below the level of the earth, and at the very
+foundation of that tower which rose, frowning and sullen, high above.
+Iron lamps diffused a lurid luster around, rendering ghastly the
+countenance alike of the oppressors and the oppressed; and when it was
+deemed necessary to invest the proceedings with a more awe-inspiring
+solemnity than usual, torches, borne by the familiars or officers of the
+inquisition, were substituted for these iron lamps. Over the
+judgment-seat was suspended a large crucifix. On one side of the court
+were three doors,--one communicating with the corridor and flight of
+stone steps leading to and from the tribunal; the second affording
+admission into the torture-chamber and the third opening to the prisons
+of the inquisition.
+
+It was about seven o'clock in the evening, on the 26th of September,
+that Flora Francatelli and her aunt were placed before the grand
+inquisitor, to be examined for the second time. When the familiars,
+habited in their long, black, ecclesiastical dresses with the strange
+cowls or hoods shading their stern and remorseless countenances, led in
+the two females from the separate cells in which they had been confined,
+the first and natural impulse of the unhappy creatures was to rush into
+each other's arms;--but they were immediately torn rudely asunder, and
+so stationed in the presence of the grand inquisitor as to have a
+considerable interval between them.
+
+But the glances which the aunt and niece exchanged, gave encouragement
+and hope to each other, and the sentiments which prompted those glances
+were really cherished by the persecuted females; inasmuch as Father
+Marco, who had been permitted to visit them occasionally, dropped sundry
+hints of coming aid, and powerful, though invisible, protection--thereby
+cheering their hearts to some little extent, and mitigating the
+intensity of their apprehensions. Flora was very pale--but never,
+perhaps, had she appeared more beautiful--for her large blue eyes
+expressed the most melting softness, and her dark brown hair hung
+disheveled over her shoulders, while her bosom heaved with the agitation
+of suspense.
+
+"Woman," said the grand inquisitor, glancing first to the aunt and then
+to the niece, his eyes, however, lingering upon the latter, "know ye of
+what ye are accused? Let the younger speak first."
+
+"My lord," answered Flora, in a firmer tone than might have been
+expected from the feelings indicated by her outward appearance, "when on
+a former occasion I stood in the presence of your eminence, I expressed
+my belief that secret enemies were conspiring, for their own bad
+purposes, to ruin my beloved relative and myself; and yet I call Heaven
+to witness my solemn declaration that knowingly and willfully we have
+wronged no one by word or deed."
+
+"Young woman," exclaimed the grand inquisitor, "thou hast answered my
+questions evasively. Wast thou not an inmate of that most holy
+sanctuary, the convent of Carmelite nuns? wast thou not there the
+companion of Giulia of Arestino? did not a sacrilegious horde of
+miscreants break into the convent, headed or at least accompanied by a
+certain Manuel d'Orsini who was the lover of the countess? was not this
+invasion of the sacred place undertaken to rescue that guilty woman? and
+did she not find an asylum at the abode of your aunt, doubtless with
+your connivance, until the day of her arrest?"
+
+"None of those circumstances, my lord," replied Flora, "do I attempt to
+deny: but it is so easy to give them a variety of colorings, some of
+which, alas! may seem most unfavorable to my venerable relative and to
+myself. Oh, my lord, do with me what thou wilt," exclaimed Flora,
+clasping her hands together in a single paroxysm of anguish; "but
+release that aged woman, suffer not my beloved aunt--my more than mother
+to be thus persecuted! have mercy, my lord, upon _her_--oh! have mercy,
+great judge, upon her."
+
+"Flora--dearest Flora," cried Dame Francatelli, the tears trickling fast
+down her countenance, "I do not wish to leave you--I do not seek to be
+set free--I will stay in this dreadful place so long as you remain a
+prisoner also; for though we are separated----"
+
+"Woman," exclaimed the grand inquisitor, not altogether unmoved by this
+touching scene, "the tribunal cannot take heed of supplications and
+prayers of an impassioned nature. It has to do with facts, not
+feelings."
+
+At this moment there was a slight sensation amongst the familiars
+stationed near the door of the judgment-hall; and an individual who had
+just entered the court, and who wore the black robe and the cap or toque
+of a counselor, advanced toward the grand inquisitor.
+
+"My lord," said the advocate, with a reverential bow, "the day after the
+arrest of these females, I submitted to the council of state a memorial,
+setting forth certain facts which induced the president of the council
+to issue his warrant to order the postponement of the second examination
+of the two prisoners now before your eminence, until this day."
+
+"And the case has been postponed accordingly," answered the grand
+inquisitor. "It will now proceed, unless reasonable cause be shown for
+further delay. The prisoners are obstinate. Instead of confessing their
+heinous crimes, and throwing themselves on the mercy of Heaven--for past
+the hope of human mercy they are--they assuredly break forth into
+impassioned language, savoring of complaint. Indeed, the younger
+attributes to the machinations of unknown enemies the position in which
+she is placed. Yet have we positive proof that she was leagued with
+those who perpetrated the sacrilege which ended in the destruction of
+the Carmelite Convent; and the elder prisoner gave refuge not only to
+the young girl, her niece, but also to a woman more guilty still--thus
+rendering herself infamous as one who encouraged and concealed the
+enemies of the church, instead of giving them up to the most holy
+inquisition. Wherefore," continued the grand inquisitor, "it remaineth
+only for me to order the prisoners to be put to the torture, that they
+may confess their crimes and receive the condemnation which they merit."
+
+At the terrible word "_torture_," Dame Francatelli uttered a cry of
+agony--but it was even more on account of her beloved niece than
+herself; while Flora, endowed with greater firmness than her aunt, would
+have flown to console and embrace her, had not the familiars cruelly
+compelled the young maiden to retain her place.
+
+"My lord," said Angelo Duras--for he was the advocate who appeared on
+behalf of the prisoners--"I formally and earnestly demand a delay of
+eight days ere this final examination be proceeded with."
+
+"It is impossible," returned the grand inquisitor, while his words went
+like ice-shafts to the hearts of the unhappy women. "In addition to the
+charges against them which I have already glanced at, it appeareth that
+one Alessandro Francatelli, who is nearly related to them both, hath
+abjured the Christian faith and become a Mussulman. This fact was
+reported many months ago to the council of state: and in the cottage
+lately habited by the prisoners was found a costly set of jewels,
+ornamented with sundry Moslem devices and symbols, all of which are
+hateful to the true Catholic. It is therefore natural to suppose that
+they themselves have secretly abjured their country's religion, and have
+already received the reward of their apostasy."
+
+"No--never, never!" exclaimed the aunt, clasping her hands together, and
+showing more anguish by this cruel suspicion than by any other portion
+of the treatment which she had received at the hands of the inquisition.
+
+On her side, Flora appeared to be astounded at the accusation made
+against her aunt and herself by the grand inquisitor.
+
+"My lord," said Angelo Duras, "the very statement which has just been
+put forth by your eminence furnishes a new ground whereon I base my
+requisition for a delay of eight days, in order to prepare a fitting
+defense on behalf of the prisoners. The council of state is now sitting
+in deliberation on certain demands made by the newly arrived Ottoman
+envoy, and should your eminence refuse my requisition for a delay, it
+will be my duty forthwith to apply to that august body."
+
+The grand inquisitor endeavored to reason with the advocate on the
+inconvenience of obstructing the business of the tribunal--but Angelo
+Duras, knowing that he had the law on his side, was firm; and the judge
+was finally compelled to accord the delay. Flora and her aunt were
+accordingly conveyed back each to her separate cell; while Angelo Duras
+retired, murmuring to himself, "I shall doubtless offend my brother by
+my conduct in this respect, after my solemn promise to him to abandon
+the cause of the Francatellis; but I prefer having obeyed that young man
+of godlike aspect and persuasive manner who visited me ere now to abjure
+me not to neglect my duty."
+
+The next case that occupied the attention of the grand inquisitor on the
+present occasion was that of the Jew Isaachar ben Solomon. The old man
+was indeed a miserable spectacle. His garments hung loosely about his
+wasted and attenuated form--his countenance was wan and ghastly--but the
+fire of his eyes was not altogether quenched. He was heavily
+chained--and, as he walked between the two familiars who led him into
+the tribunal, he could scarcely drag himself along. For the persecuted
+old man had been confined for nearly seven months in the prison of the
+inquisition; and during that period he had suffered acutely with the
+damps of his dungeon--the wretched food doled out to him--and the
+anguish occasioned by conscious innocence unjustly accused of a dreadful
+crime.
+
+"Jew," said the grand inquisitor, "when last thou wast examined by me,
+thou didst obstinately refuse to confess thy grievous sins. This is the
+day for the final investigation of thy case: and thou may'st produce
+witnesses in thy favor, if thou canst."
+
+"My lord," replied Isaachar ben Solomon, in a weak and tremulous voice,
+"unless Heaven should work a miracle in my favor, I have no hope in this
+life. I do not fear death, my lord; for, persecuted, reviled, despised,
+accused as I am, I can yet lay my hand on my heart and say I have never
+injured a fellow-creature. But, my lord," he continued, his voice
+growing stronger with excitement, "it is sufficient that I am a Jew to
+insure my condemnation; and yet strange indeed is that Christian faith,
+or rather should I say, most inconsistent is the conduct of those who
+profess it, in so far as this ruthless persecution of my race is
+concerned. For where, my lord, is your charity, where is your tolerance,
+where is your mercy? If I be indeed involved in mental darkness, 'tis
+for you to enlighten me with argument, not coerce me with chains. Never
+have I insulted a Christian on account of his creed: wherefore should I
+be insulted in mine? Granting that the Jew is in error, he surely
+deserves pity, not persecution. For how came I by the creed which I
+profess? Even as your lordship obtained yours, which is that of
+Christian. Our parents reared us each in the belief which they
+respectively professed; and there is no more merit due to your eminence
+for being a Christian, than there is blame to be attached to me for
+being a Jew. Had all the religions of the earth been submitted to our
+consideration when we were children, and had it been said to each of us,
+'Select a faith for yourself,' then there might be some merit in
+choosing the one most popular and the most assuredly conducive to
+personal safety. But such was not the case, my lord; and I am a Jew for
+the same reason that you are a Christian--and I cling to the creed of my
+forefathers even as you adhere tenaciously to that faith which your
+ancestors have handed down to you. Reproach me not, then, because I am a
+Jew. And now I will pass to another subject, my lord," continued
+Isaachar, becoming more and more animated as he proceeded.
+
+"I am accused of a fearful crime, of murder. The evidence rests upon the
+fact that stains of blood were observed upon the floor of a room in my
+house. The answer is simple. Two men--one of noble birth, the other a
+robber, fought in the room; and the blood of one of them flowed from a
+slight wound. This is the truth--and yet I know that I am not believed.
+Merciful heavens! of what would you accuse me? Of murder!--and it was
+hinted, when last I stood before your eminence, that the Jews have been
+known to slay Christian children as an offering to Heaven. My lord, the
+Jews worship the same God as the Christians--for the Christians adopt
+that book in which the Jews put faith. Then I appeal to your eminence
+whether the God whom the Christians worship would delight in such
+sacrifices?--and as you must answer 'Nay,' the reply acquits the Jews
+also of the hideous calumny sought to be affixed upon us. The Jews, my
+lord, are a merciful and humane race. The records of your tribunals will
+prove that the Jews are not addicted to the shedding of blood. They are
+too patient--enduring--and resigned, to be given to vengeance. Behold
+how they cling to each other--how they assist each other in
+distress;--and charity is not narrowed to small circles, my lord, it is
+a sentiment which must become expansive, because it nourisheth itself
+and is cherished by those good feelings which are its only reward. Think
+you, my lord, that if I saw a fellow-creature starving in the street, I
+should wait to ask him whether he were a Christian, a Jew, or a
+Mussulman? Oh! no--no; the world's bread was given for men of all
+nations and all creeds!"
+
+Isaachar would have continued his address to the grand inquisitor; but
+sheer exhaustion compelled him to desist--and he would have sunk upon
+the cold marble, had not the familiars supported him.
+
+"By his own words is he convicted of disbelief in the most holy Catholic
+faith," said the grand inquisitor. "But I find, by a memorial which was
+addressed to me many mouths ago--indeed, very shortly after the arrest
+of this miserable unbeliever--and signed by Manuel Marquis of Orsini,
+that the said marquis hath important evidence to give on behalf of the
+Jew. Now, though Manuel d'Orsini be himself a prisoner of the holy
+office, yet as he hath not yet been judged, he is a competent witness."
+
+Orders were then given to introduce the marquis; and Isaachar ben
+Solomon murmured to himself, "Is it possible that the young man can have
+felt sympathy for me? Ah, then I was not mistaken in him; in spite of
+his dissipation and his wildness he possesses a generous heart."
+
+In a few minutes the Marquis of Orsini was led into the judgment-hall.
+He was chained;--but he carried his head erect--and, though his
+countenance was pale and careworn, his spirit was not crushed. He bowed
+respectfully, but not cringingly, to the grand inquisitor, and bestowed
+a friendly nod of recognition upon the Jew.
+
+"This memorial, dated in the month of March last, was signed by you?"
+said the grand inquisitor interrogatively, as he displayed a paper to
+the marquis.
+
+"That memorial was signed by me," answered Orsini, in a firm tone, "and
+I rejoice that your eminence has at length granted me an opportunity of
+explaining the matter hinted at therein. Your eminence sits there, it is
+presumed, to administer justice; then let justice be done toward this
+innocent man--albeit that he is a Jew--for solemnly do I declare that
+the blood which stained the floor in Isaachar's house flowed from my
+right arm. And it may not be amiss to observe," continued the marquis,
+"that the worthy Jew there did not only bind the wound for me with as
+much care as if I myself had been an Israelite, or he a Christian--but
+he moreover offered me the aid of his purse; and therefore am I under
+obligations to him which I can never wholly discharge. In good sooth, my
+lord," added Manuel, in whom neither a lengthened imprisonment nor the
+awful solemnity of the present scene could entirely subdue the flippancy
+which was habitual to his speech,--"in good sooth, my lord, he is a
+splendid specimen of a Jew--and I pray your eminence to discharge him
+forthwith."
+
+"This levity ill becometh you, Manuel d'Orsini," said the grand
+inquisitor; "for you yourself are in terrible danger."
+
+Then, upon a signal given, the familiars conveyed the marquis back to
+his dungeon: but ere he left the judgment-hall, he had the satisfaction
+of beholding the Jew's eyes fixed upon him with an expression of
+boundless gratitude and deep sympathy. Tears, too, were trickling down
+the cheeks of the Israelite: for the old man thought within himself,
+"What matters it if the rack dislocate my limbs? But it is shocking--oh!
+it is shocking to reflect that thy fellow-creatures, noble youth, shall
+dare to deface and injure that godlike form of thine!"
+
+"Jew," suddenly exclaimed the grand inquisitor, "I put no faith in the
+testimony of the witness who has just appeared in thy favor. Confess thy
+sins--avow openly that thou hast murdered Christian children to obtain
+their blood for use in thy sacrifices--and seek forgiveness from Heaven
+by embracing the faith of Jesus!"
+
+The unhappy Israelite was so appalled by the open, positive, and
+undisguised manner in which an atrocious charge was revived against him,
+that he lost all power of utterance, and stood stupefied and aghast.
+
+"Away with him to the torture-chamber!" cried the grand inquisitor, in a
+stern and remorseless tone.
+
+"Monster!" exclaimed the Jew, suddenly recovering his speech, as that
+dreadful mandate warned him that he would now require all his
+energy--all his presence of mind:--"monster!" he repeated, in a voice
+indicative of loathing and contempt;--"and thou art a Christian!"
+
+The familiars hurried Isaachar away to the torture-chamber, which, as we
+before stated, opened upon the tribunal. And terrible, indeed, was the
+appearance of that earthly hell--that terrestrial hades, invented by
+fiends in human shape--that den of horrors constituting, indeed, a
+fitting foretaste of trans-stygian torment! The grand inquisitor
+followed the victim and the familiars into this awful place: and, on a
+signal being given by that high functionary, Isaachar was stripped of
+all his upper clothing, and stretched on the accursed rack. Then
+commenced the torture--the agonizing torture by means of that infernal
+instrument, a torture which dislocated the limbs, appeared to tear the
+members asunder, and produced sensations as if all the nerves of the
+body were suddenly being drawn out through the brain.
+
+"Dost thou confess? and wilt thou embrace the Christian faith?" demanded
+the grand inquisitor from time to time.
+
+"I have nothing to confess--I will not renounce the creed of my
+forefathers!" answered Isaachar in a tone of bitter agony, as he writhed
+upon the rack, while every fresh shock and jerk of the infernal engine
+seemed as if it would tear the very life out of him. But the old man
+remained firm in the declaration of his innocence of the dreadful crime
+imputed to him: stanch also to his creed did he remain; and having
+endured the full extent of that special mode of torture, he was borne
+back to his dungeon, cruelly injured, with dislocated limbs, blood
+streaming from his mouth and nostrils, and these terrible words of the
+grand inquisitor ringing in his ears--"Obstinate and impenitent one,
+Satan claims thee as his own; therefore art thou condemned to death by
+fire at the approaching _auto de-fe_!"
+
+Half an hour afterward another human being lay stretched upon that
+accursed rack, and agonizing--oh! most agonizing were the female shrieks
+and rending screams which emanated from the lips of the tortured victim,
+but which reached not beyond the solid masonry of those walls and the
+massive iron-plated door. The white and polished arms were stretched out
+in a position fearfully painful beyond the victim's head, and the wrists
+were fastened to a steel bar by means of a thin cord, which cut through
+flesh, muscle and nerve to the very bone! The ankles were attached in a
+similar manner to a bar at the lower end of the rack, and thus from the
+female's hands and feet thick clots of gore fell on the stone pavement.
+But even the blood flowed not so fast from her lacerated limbs as
+streamed the big drops of agony from her distorted countenance--that
+countenance erst so beautiful, and so well beloved by thee, Manuel
+d'Orsini! For, oh! upon that rack lay stretched the fair and half-naked
+form of Giulia of Arestino, its symmetry convulsing in matchless
+tortures, the bosom palpitating awfully with the pangs of that earthly
+hell, and the exquisitely-modeled limbs enduring all the hideous pains
+of dislocation, as if the fibers that held them in their sockets were
+drawn out to a tension at which they must inevitably snap in halves!
+
+But who gazes on that awful spectacle? whose ears drink in those
+agonizing screams, as if they made a delicious melody? With folded arms,
+compressed lips, and remorseless, though ashy pale countenance, the old
+Lord of Arestino stands near the rack; and if his eyes can for a moment
+quit that feast which they devour so greedily, it is but to glance with
+demoniac triumph toward Manuel d'Orsini, whom an atrocious refinement of
+cruelty, suggested by the vengeful count himself, has made a spectator
+of that appalling scene! And terrible are the emotions which rend the
+heart of the young marquis! But he is powerless--he cannot stretch forth
+a hand to save his mistress from the hellish torments which she is
+enduring, nor can he even whisper a syllable to inspire her with courage
+to support them. For he is bound tightly--the familiars, too, have him
+in their iron grasp, and he is gagged! Nevertheless he can see, and he
+can hear; he can behold the rending tortures of the rack--and he is
+compelled to listen to the piercing screams which the victim sends
+forth. If he close his eyes upon the horrible spectacle, imagination
+instantly makes it more horrible even still; and, moreover, in the true
+spirit of a chivalrous heart, he seeks by the tenderness of his glances
+to impart at least a gleam of solace to the soul of her who has
+undergone so much, and is suffering now so much more, through her fatal
+love of him! The grand inquisitor, who is an intimate friend of the
+Count of Arestino, ministers well and faithfully to the infernal
+vengeance of that old Italian noble: for the remorseless judge urges on
+the torturers to apply the powers of the rack to the fullest extent; and
+while the creaking sound of wheels mingles with the cracking noise of
+dislocating limbs, the Count of Arestino exclaims, "I was once humane
+and benevolent, Giulia, but thy conduct has made me a fiend!"
+
+"A fiend!" shrieked the tormented woman: "Oh! yes--yes--thou art a
+fiend--a very fiend--I have wronged thee--but this vengeance is
+horrible--mercy--mercy!--oh! for one drop of water--mercy--mercy!"
+
+The rack gave the last shock of which its utmost power was capable--a
+scream more dreadful, more agonizing, more piercing than any of its
+predecessors, rent this time the very walls of the torture-chamber: and
+with this last outburst of mortal agony, the spirit of the guilty Giulia
+fled forever! Yet was not the vengeance of the Count of Arestino
+satisfied; and the grand inquisitor was prepared to gratify the hellish
+sentiment to the fullest extent. The still warm and palpitating corpse
+of the countess was hastily removed from the rack: and the familiars
+stripped--nay, tore off the clothing of Manuel d'Orsini. The countenance
+of the young nobleman was now terribly somber, as if the darkest
+thoughts were occupying his inmost soul, and his eyes were bent fixedly
+on the dreadful engine, to the tortures of which it appeared to be his
+turn to submit.
+
+The familiars, in order to divest him of his garments, and also to
+stretch him in such a way on the rack that his arms might be fastened
+over his head to the upper end of that instrument, had removed the
+chains and cords which had hitherto bound him. And now the fatal moment
+seemed to be at hand, and the familiars already grasped him rudely to
+hurl him on the rack, when, as if suddenly inspired by a superhuman
+strength, the young nobleman dashed the men from him; then, with
+lightning speed, he seized a massive iron bar that was used to move the
+windlass of the rack, and in another instant, before a saving arm could
+intervene, the deadly instrument struck down the Count of Arestino at
+the feet of the grand inquisitor, who started back with a cry of horror!
+The next moment the marquis was again powerless and secure in the grasp
+of the familiars--but he had accomplished his purpose, he had avenged
+his mistress and himself--and the old Lord of Arestino lay, with
+shattered skull, a corpse upon the cold pavement of the torture-chamber!
+
+"Back--back with the murderer to his dungeon!" exclaimed the grand
+inquisitor, in a tone of fearful excitement and rage. "We must not
+afford him a chance of dying upon that engine of torture. No--no: the
+lingering flames of the _auto-da-fe_ are reserved for the Marquis
+d'Orsini!"
+
+And in pursuance of the sentence thus pronounced, Manuel was hurried
+away to his dark and solitary cell, there to remain a prey to all the
+dreadful thoughts which the occurrences of that fatal evening were so
+well calculated to marshal in horrible array to his imagination.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER LXI.
+
+
+While these awful scenes were being enacted in the subterranes of the
+holy inquisition, Demetrius was actively engaged in directing those
+plans and effecting those arrangements which the scheming disposition of
+Nisida of Riverola had suggested. We should observe that in the morning
+he had sought and found Antonio, with whom he had so expertly managed
+that the villain had fallen completely into the snare spread to entrap
+him, and had not only confessed that he held at his disposal the liberty
+of the Count of Riverola, but had also agreed to deliver him up to the
+Greek. In a word, every thing in this respect took place precisely as
+Nisida had foreseen. Accordingly, so soon as it was dark in the evening,
+sixty of the Ottoman soldiers quitted by two and threes the mansion
+which the Florentine Government had appropriated as a dwelling for the
+envoy and his suit. The men whom Demetrius thus intrusted with the
+execution of his scheme, and whose energy and fidelity he had previously
+secured by means of liberal reward and promise of more, were disguised
+in different ways, but were all well armed. To be brief, so well were
+the various dispositions taken, and so effectually were they executed,
+that those sixty soldiers had concealed themselves in the grove
+indicated by their master, without having excited in the minds of the
+Florentine people the least suspicion that anything unusual was about to
+take place. It was close upon eleven o'clock at night, when Demetrius,
+after having obtained a hasty interview with Nisida, whom he acquainted
+with the progress of the plot, repaired to the grove wherein his men
+were already distributed, and took his station in the midst of the knot
+of olives on the right of the huge chestnut tree which overhung the
+chasm.
+
+Nearly a quarter of an hour elapsed, and naught was heard save the
+waving of the branches and the rustling of the foliage, as the breeze of
+night agitated the grove; but at the expiration of that brief period,
+the sound of voices was suddenly heard close by the chestnut tree--not
+preceded by any footsteps nor other indication of the presence of
+men--and thus appearing as if they had all at once and in an instant
+emerged from the earth.
+
+Not a moment had elapsed--no, not a moment--ere those individuals whose
+voices were thus abruptly heard, were captured and secured by a dozen
+Ottoman soldiers, who sprung upon them from the dense thickets around or
+dropped amongst them from the branches overhead--and so admirably was
+the swoop made, that five persons were seized, bound and held powerless
+and incapable of resistance ere the echo of the cry of alarm which they
+raised had died away in the maze of the grove. And simultaneously with
+the performance of this skillful maneuver, a shrill whistle was wafted
+from the lips of Demetrius through the wood, and as if by magic, a dozen
+torches were seen to light up and numbers of men, with naked scimiters
+gleaming in the rays of those firebrands, rushed toward the spot where
+the capture had been made. The effect of that sudden illumination--those
+flashing weapons--and that convergence of many warriors all toward the
+same point, was striking in the extreme, and as the glare of the torches
+shone on the countenances of the four men in the midst of whom was
+Francisco (the whole five, however, being held bound and powerless by
+the Ottoman soldiers), it was evident that the entire proceeding had
+inspired the guilty wretches with the most painful alarm. Demetrius
+instantly knew that the handsome and noble-looking young man in the
+midst of the group of captives and captors, must be Don Francisco of
+Riverola, and he also saw at a glance that one of the ruffians with him
+was Antonio. But he merely had leisure at the moment to address a word
+of reassurance and friendship to Nisida's brother--for, lo! the secret
+of the entrance to the robbers' stronghold was revealed--discovered!
+Yes--there, at the foot of the tree, and now rendered completely visible
+by the glare of the torch-light, was a small square aperture, from which
+the trap door had been raised to afford egress to the captured party.
+
+"Secure that entrance!" cried Demetrius, hastily; "and hasten down those
+steps, some dozen of you, so as to guard it well!"--then, the instant
+this command was obeyed he turned toward Francisco, saying, "Lord of
+Riverola--am I right in thus addressing you?"
+
+"Such is my name," answered Francisco; "and if you, brave chief, will
+but release me and lend me a sword, I will prove to thee that I have no
+particular affection for these miscreants."
+
+Demetrius gave the necessary order--and in another moment the young
+Count of Riverola was not only free, but with a weapon in his hand. The
+Greek then made a rapid, but significant--fatally significant sign to
+his men; and--quick as thought,--the three robbers and their confederate
+Antonio were strangled by the bowstrings which the Ottomans whipped
+around their necks. A few stifled cries--and all was over! Thus perished
+the wretch Antonio--one of those treacherous, malignant, and avaricious
+Italians who bring dishonor on their noble nation,--a man who had sought
+to turn the vindictive feelings of the Count of Arestino to his own
+purposes, alike to fill his purse and to wreak his hateful spite on the
+Riverola family! Scarcely was the tragedy enacted, when Demetrius
+ordered the four bodies to be conveyed down the steps disclosed by the
+trap-door; "for," said he, "we will endeavor so to direct our
+proceedings that not a trace of them shall be left upon ground; as the
+Florentines would not be well-pleased if they learnt that foreign
+soldiers have undertaken the duties which they themselves should
+perform." Several of the Ottomans accordingly bore the dead bodies down
+the steps; and Demetrius, accompanied by Francisco, followed at the head
+of the greater portion of the troops, a sufficient number, however,
+remaining behind to constitute a guard at the entrance of the
+stronghold.
+
+While they were yet descending the stone stairs, Demetrius seized the
+opportunity of that temporary lull in the excitement of the night's
+adventures, to give Francisco hasty but welcome tidings of his sister;
+and the reader may suppose that the generous-hearted young count was
+overjoyed to learn that Nisida was not only alive, but also once more an
+inmate of the ancestral home. Demetrius said nothing relative to Flora;
+and Francisco, not dreaming for a moment that his deliverer even knew
+there was such a being in existence, asked no questions on that subject.
+His anxiety was not, however, any less to fly to the cottage; for it
+must be remembered that he was arrested first, on the 3d of July, and
+had yet to learn all the afflictions which had fallen upon Flora and her
+aunt--afflictions of the existence whereof he had been kept in utter
+ignorance by the banditti during his long captivity of nearly three
+months in their stronghold. But while we are thus somewhat digressing,
+the invaders are penetrating further into the stronghold. Headed by
+Demetrius and Francisco, and all carrying their drawn scimiters in their
+hands, the corps proceeded along a vast vaulted subterrane, paved with
+flag-stones, until a huge iron door, studded with nails, barred the way.
+
+"Stay!" whispered Francisco, suddenly recollecting himself, "I think I
+can devise a means to induce the rogues to open this portal, or I am
+much mistaken."
+
+He accordingly seized a torch and hurried back to the foot of
+the stone-steps; in the immediate vicinity of which he searched narrowly
+for some object. At last he discovered the object of his
+investigation--namely a large bell hanging in a niche, and from which a
+strong wire ran up through the ground to the surface. This bell
+Francisco set ringing, and then hurried back to rejoin his deliverers.
+Scarcely was he again by the side of Demetrius, when he saw that his
+stratagem had fully succeeded; for the iron door swung heavily round on
+its hinges--and in another moment the cries of terror which the two
+robber-sentinels raised on the inner side, were hushed forever by the
+Turkish scimiters. Down another flight of steps the invaders then
+precipitated themselves, another door, at the bottom, having been opened
+in compliance with the same signal which had led to the unfolding of the
+first--and now the alarm was given by the sentinels guarding the second
+post--those sentinels flying madly on, having beholden the immolation of
+their comrades. But Demetrius and Francisco speedily overtook them just
+as they emerged from another long vaulted and paved cavern-passage, and
+were about to cross a plank which connected the two sides of a deep
+chasm in whose depths a rapid stream rushed gurgling on.
+
+Into the turbid waters the two fugitive sentinels were cast: over the
+bridge poured the invaders, and into another caverned corridor, hollowed
+out of the solid rock, did they enter, the torch-bearers following
+immediately behind the Greek and the young count. It was evident that
+neither the cries of the surprised sentinels nor the tread of the
+invaders had alarmed the main corps of the banditti; for, on reaching a
+barrier formed by massive folding doors, and knocking thereat, the
+portals instantly began to move on their hinges--and in rushed the
+Ottoman soldiers, headed by their two gallant Christian leaders. The
+robbers were in the midst of a deep carouse in their magnificent
+cavern-hall, when their festivity was thus rudely interrupted.
+
+"We are betrayed!" thundered Lomellino, the captain of the horde; "to
+arms! to arms!"
+
+But the invaders allowed them no time to concentrate themselves in a
+serried phalanx, and tremendous carnage ensued. Surprised and taken
+unaware as they were, the banditti fought as if a spell were upon them,
+paralyzing their energies and warning them that their last hour was
+come. The terrible scimiters of the Turks hewed them down in all
+directions; some, who sought to fly, were literally cut to pieces.
+Lomellino fell beneath the sword of the gallant Count of Riverola; and
+within twenty minutes after the invaders first set foot in the
+banqueting hall, not a soul of the formidable horde was left alive!
+
+Demetrius abandoned the plunder of the den to his troops; and when the
+portable part of the rich booty had been divided amongst them, they
+returned to their own grove, into which the entrance of the stronghold
+opened. When the subterrane was thus cleared of the living, and the dead
+alone remained in that place which had so long been their home, and was
+now their tomb, Demetrius ordered his forces to disperse and return to
+their quarters in Florence in the same prudent manner which had
+characterized their egress thence a few hours before. Francisco and
+Demetrius, being left alone together in the grove, proceeded by
+torchlight to close the trap-door, which they found to consist of a
+thick plate of iron covered with earth, so prepared, by glutinous
+substances no doubt, that it was hard as rock; and thus, when the trap
+was shut down, not even a close inspection would lead to a suspicion of
+its existence, so admirably did it fit into its setting and correspond
+with the soil all around.
+
+It required, moreover, but a slight exercise of their imaginative powers
+to enable Demetrius and Francisco to conjecture that every time any of
+the banditti had come forth from their stronghold they were accustomed
+to strew a little fresh earth over the entire spot, and thus afford an
+additional precaution against the chance of detection on the part of any
+one who might chance to stray in that direction. We may also add that
+the trap-door was provided with a massive bolt which fastened it inside
+when closed, and that the handle of the bell-wire, which gave the signal
+to open the trap, was concealed in a small hollow in the old
+chestnut-tree. Having thus satisfied his curiosity by means of these
+discoveries, Demetrius accompanied Francisco to the city; and during
+their walk thither, he informed the young count that he was an envoy
+from the Ottoman Grand Vizier to the Florentine Government--that he had
+become acquainted with Nisida on board the ship which delivered her from
+her lonely residence on an island in the Mediterranean--and that as she
+had by some means or other learnt where Francisco was imprisoned, he had
+undertaken to deliver him. The young count renewed his warmest thanks to
+the chivalrous Greek for the kind interest he had manifested in his
+behalf; and they separated at the gate of the Riverola mansion, into
+which Francisco hurried to embrace his sister; while Demetrius repaired
+to his own abode.
+
+The meeting between Nisida and her brother Francisco was affecting in
+the extreme; and for a brief space the softer feelings in the lady's
+nature triumphed over those strong, turbulent, and concentrated passions
+which usually held such indomitable sway over her. For her attachment to
+him was profound and sincere; and the immense sacrifice she had made in
+what she conceived to be his welfare and interests had tended to
+strengthen this almost boundless love.
+
+On his side, the young count was rejoiced to behold his sister, whose
+strange disappearance and long absence had filled his mind with the
+worst apprehensions. Yes, he was rejoiced to see her once more beneath
+the ancestral roof; and, with a fond brother's pride, he surveyed her
+splendid countenance, which triumph and happiness now invested with an
+animation that rendered her surpassingly beautiful!
+
+A few brief and rapidly-given explanations were exchanged between them,
+by means of the language of the fingers,--Francisco satisfying Nisida's
+anxiety in respect to the success of her project, by which the total
+extermination of the banditti had been effected,--and she conveying to
+him as much of the outline of her adventures during the last seven
+months as she thought it prudent to impart. They then separated, it
+being now very late; and, moreover, Nisida had still some work in hand
+for that night. The moment Francisco was alone, he exclaimed aloud, "Oh!
+is it possible that this dear sister who loves me so much, is really the
+bitter enemy of Flora? But to-morrow--to-morrow I must have a long
+explanation with Nisida; and Heaven grant that she may not stand in the
+way of my happiness! Oh, Flora--dearest Flora, if you knew how deeply I
+have suffered on your account during my captivity in that accursed
+cavern! And what must you have thought of my disappearance--my absence!
+Alas! did the same vengeance which pursued me wreak its spite also on
+thee, fair girl?--did the miscreant, Antonio, who boastingly proclaimed
+himself to my face the author of my captivity, and who sullenly refused
+to give me any tidings of those whom I cared for, and of what was
+passing in the world without,--did he dare to molest thee? But suspense
+is intolerable, I cannot endure it even for a few short hours! No--I
+will speed me at once to the dwelling of my Flora, and thus assuage her
+grief and put an end to my own fears at the same time!"
+
+Having thus resolved, Francisco repaired to his own apartment, enveloped
+himself in a cloak, secured weapons of defense about his person, and
+then quitted the mansion, unperceived by a living soul. Almost at the
+same time, but by another mode of egress--namely, the private staircase
+leading from her own apartments into the garden, and which has been so
+often mentioned in the course of this narrative--Donna Nisida stole
+likewise from the Riverola palace. She was habited in male attire; and
+beneath her doublet she wore the light but strong cuirass which she
+usually donned ere setting out on any nocturnal enterprise, and which
+she was now particularly cautious not to omit from the details of her
+toilet, inasmuch as the mysterious appearance of the muffled figure,
+which had alarmed her on the previous evening, induced her to adopt
+every precaution against secret and unknown enemies. Whither was the
+Lady Nisida now hurrying, through the dark streets of Florence?--what
+new object had she in contemplation?
+
+Her way was bent toward an obscure neighborhood in the immediate
+vicinity of the cathedral; and in a short time she reached the house in
+which Dame Margaretha, Antonio's mother, dwelt. She knocked gently at
+the door, which was shortly opened by the old woman, who imagined it was
+her son that sought admittance; for, though in the service of the Count
+of Arestino, Antonio was often kept abroad late by the various
+machinations in which he had been engaged, and it was by no means
+unusual for him to seek his mother's dwelling at all hours.
+
+Margaretha, who appeared in a loose wrapper hastily thrown on, held a
+lamp in her hand; and when its rays streamed not on the countenance of
+her son, but showed the form of a cavalier handsomely appareled, she
+started back in mingled astonishment and fear. A second glance, however,
+enabled her to recognize the Lady Nisida; and an exclamation of wonder
+escaped her lips. Nisida entered the house, closed the door behind her,
+and motioned Dame Margaretha to lead the way into the nearest apartment.
+The old woman obeyed tremblingly; for she feared that the lady's visit
+boded no good; and this apprehension on her part was not only enhanced
+by her own knowledge of all Antonio's treachery toward Count Francisco,
+but also by the imperious manner, determined looks, and strange disguise
+of her visitress. But Margaretha's terror speedily gave way to
+indescribable astonishment when Nisida suddenly addressed her in a
+language which not for many, many years, had the old woman heard flow
+from that delicious mouth!
+
+"Margaretha," said Nisida, "you must prepare to accompany me forthwith!
+Be not surprised to hear me thus capable of rendering myself
+intelligible by means of an organ on which a seal was so long placed. A
+marvelous cure has been accomplished in respect to me, during my absence
+from Florence. But you must prepare to accompany me, I say; your son
+Antonio----"
+
+"My son!" ejaculated the woman, now again trembling from head to foot,
+and surveying Nisida's countenance in a manner denoting the acutest
+suspense.
+
+"Your son is wounded--mortally wounded in a street skirmish----"
+
+"Wounded!" shrieked Margaretha. "Oh, dear lady--tell me all--tell me the
+worst! What has happened to my unfortunate son? He is dead--he is dead!
+Your manner convinces me that hope is past!"
+
+And she wrung her hands bitterly, while tears streamed down her wrinkled
+cheeks.
+
+"No, he is not dead, Margaretha!" exclaimed Nisida; "but he is
+dying--and he implored me, by everything I deemed sacred, to hasten
+thither and fetch you to him, that he may receive your blessing and
+close his eyes in peace."
+
+"In peace!" repeated the old woman bitterly: then, to herself she said,
+"Donna Nisida suspects not his perfidy--knows not all his wickedness."
+
+"Delay not," urged the lady, perceiving what was passing in her mind.
+"You are well aware that my brother, who, alas! has disappeared most
+mysteriously, dismissed Antonio abruptly from his service many months
+ago; but, whatever were the cause, it is forgotten, at least by me. So
+tarry not, but prepare to accompany me."
+
+Margaretha hastened to her bedroom, and reappeared in a few minutes,
+completely dressed and ready to issue forth.
+
+"Keep close by me," said Nisida, as she opened the house-door; "and
+breathe not a word as we pass through the streets. I have reasons of my
+own for assuming a disguise, and I wish not to be recognized."
+
+Margaretha was too much absorbed in the contemplation of the afflicting
+intelligence which she had received, to observe anything at all
+suspicious in these injunctions; and thus it was that the two females
+proceeded in silence through the streets leading toward the Riverola
+mansion.
+
+By means of a pass-key Nisida opened the wicket-gate of the spacious
+gardens, and she traversed the grounds, Margaretha walking by her side.
+In a few minutes they reached a low door, affording admission into the
+basement-story of the palace, and of which Nisida always possessed the
+key.
+
+"Go first," said the lady, in a scarcely audible whisper; "I must close
+the door behind us."
+
+"But wherefore this way?" demanded Margaretha, a sudden apprehension
+starting up in her mind. "This door leads down to the cellars."
+
+"The officers of justice are in search of Antonio--and I am concealing
+him for your sake," was the whispered and rapid assurance given by
+Nisida. "Would you have him die in peace in your arms, or perish on the
+scaffold?"
+
+Margaretha shuddered convulsively, and hurried down the dark flight of
+stone steps upon which the door opened. Terrible emotions raged in her
+bosom--indescribable alarms, grief, suspicion, and also a longing
+eagerness to put faith in the apparent friendship of Nisida.
+
+"Give me your hand," said the lady; and the hand that was thrust into
+hers was cold and trembling.
+
+Then Nisida hurried Margaretha along a narrow subterranean passage, in
+which the blackest night reigned; and, though the old woman was a prey
+to apprehensions that increased each moment to a fearful degree, she
+dared not utter a word either to question--to implore--or to
+remonstrate. At length they stopped; and Nisida, dropping Margaretha's
+hand, drew back heavy bolts which raised ominous echoes in the vaulted
+passage. In another moment a door began to move stubbornly on its
+hinges; and almost at the same time a faint light gleamed
+forth--increasing in power as the door opened wider, but still attaining
+no greater strength than that which a common iron lamp could afford.
+Margaretha's anxious glances were plunged into the cellar or vault to
+which the door opened, and whence the light came: but she saw no one
+within. It, however, appeared as if some horrible reminiscence,
+connected with the place, came back to her startled mind; for, falling
+on her knees, and clinging wildly to her companion, she cried in a
+piercing tone, "Oh! lady, wherefore have you brought me hither?--where
+is my son?--what does all this horrible mystery mean? But, chiefly now
+of all--why, why are we here--at this hour?"
+
+"In a few moments you shall know more!" exclaimed Nisida; and as she
+spoke, with an almost superhuman strength she dragged, or rather, flung
+the prostrate woman into the vault, rushing in herself immediately
+afterward, and closing the door behind her.
+
+"Holy God!" shrieked Margaretha, gazing wildly round the damp and naked
+walls of solid masonry, and then up at the lamp suspended to the arched
+ceiling, "is this the place? But no! you are ignorant of all that; it
+was not for that you brought me hither! Speak, lady, speak! Where is
+Antonio? What have I done to merit your displeasure? Oh, mercy! mercy!
+Bend not those terrible glances upon me! Your eyes flash fire! You are
+not Nisida--you are an evil spirit! Oh, mercy! mercy!"
+
+And thus did the miserable woman rave, as, kneeling on the cold, damp
+ground she extended her tightly-clasped hands in an imploring manner
+toward Nisida, who, drawn up to her full height, was contemplating the
+groveling wretch with eyes that seemed to shoot forth shafts of
+devouring flame! Terrible, indeed, was the appearance of Nisida! Like to
+an avenging deity was she--no longer woman in the glory of her charms
+and the elegance of her disguise, but a fury--a very fiend, an
+implacable demoness, armed with the blasting lightnings of infernal
+malignity and hellish rancor!
+
+"Holy Virgin, protect me!" shrieked Margaretha, every nerve thrilling
+with the agony of ineffable alarm.
+
+"Yes, call upon Heaven to aid you, vile woman!" said Nisida, in a thick,
+hoarse, and strangely altered voice, "for you are beyond the reach of
+human aid! Know ye whose remains--or rather the mangled portions of
+whose remains--lie in this unconsecrated ground? Ah! well may you start
+in horror and surprise, for I know all--all!"
+
+A terrific scream burst from the lips of Margaretha; and she threw her
+wild looks around as if she were going mad.
+
+"Detestable woman!" exclaimed Nisida, fixing her burning eyes more
+intently still on Margaretha's countenance: "you are now about to pay
+the penalty of your complicity in the most odious crimes that ever made
+nights terrible in Florence! The period of vengeance has at length
+arrived! But I must torture ere I slay ye! Yes, I must give thee a
+foretaste of that hell to which your soul is so soon to plunge down!
+Know, then, that Antonio--your son Antonio--is no more. Not three hours
+have elapsed since he was slain--assassinated--murdered, if you will so
+call it--and by my commands."
+
+"Oh! lady, have pity upon me--pity upon me, a bereaved mother!" implored
+the old woman, in a voice of anguish so penetrating, that vile as she
+was, it would have moved any human being save Nisida. "Do not kill
+me--and I will end my miserable days in a convent! Give me time to
+repent of all my sins--for they are numerous and great! Oh! spare me,
+dear lady--have mercy upon me--have mercy upon me!"
+
+"What mercy had you on them whose mangled remains are buried in the
+ground beneath your feet?" demanded Nisida, in a voice almost suffocated
+with rage. "Prepare for death--your last moment is at hand!" and a
+bright dagger flashed in the lamp-light.
+
+"Mercy--mercy!" exclaimed Margaretha, springing forward, and grasping
+Nisida's knees.
+
+"I know not what mercy is!" cried the terrible Italian woman, raising
+the long, bright, glittering dagger over her head.
+
+"Holy God! protect me! Lady--dear lady, have pity upon me!" shrieked the
+agonized wretch, her countenance hideously distorted, and appallingly
+ghastly, as it was raised in such bitterly earnest appeal toward that of
+the avengeress. "Again I say mercy--mercy!"
+
+"Die, fiend!" exclaimed Nisida; and the dagger, descending with
+lightning speed, sunk deep into the bosom of the prostrate victim. A
+dreadful cry burst from the lips of the wretched woman; and she fell
+back--a corpse!
+
+"Oh! my dear--my well-beloved and never-to-be-forgotten mother!" said
+Nisida, falling upon her knees by the side of the body, and gazing
+intently upward--as if her eyes could pierce the entire building
+overhead, and catch a glimpse of the spirit of the parent whom she thus
+apostrophized--"pardon me--pardon me for this deed! Thou didst enjoin me
+to abstain from vengeance--but when I thought of all thy wrongs, the
+contemplation drove me mad--and an irresistible power--a force which I
+could not resist--has hurried me on to achieve the punishment of this
+wretch who was so malignant an enemy of thine; dearest mother, pardon
+me--look not down angrily on thy daughter!"
+
+Then Nisida gave way to all the softer emotion which attended the
+reaction that her mind was now rapidly undergoing, after being so highly
+strung, as for the last few hours it was--and her tears fell in
+torrents. For some minutes she remained in her kneeling position, and
+weeping, till she grew afraid--yes, afraid of being in that lonely
+place, with the corpse stretched on the ground--a place, too, which for
+other reasons awoke such terrible recollections in her mind.
+
+Starting to her feet--and neither waiting to extinguish the lamp, which
+she herself had lighted at an early period of the night, nor to withdraw
+her dagger from the bosom of the murdered Margaretha--Nisida fled from
+the vault, and regained her own apartment in safety, and unperceived.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+When morning dawned, Nisida rose from a couch in which she had obtained
+two hours of troubled slumber, and, having hastily dressed herself,
+proceeded to the chamber of her brother Francisco.
+
+But he was not there--nor had his bed been slept in during the past
+night.
+
+"He is searching after his Flora," thought Nisida. "Alas, poor
+youth--how it grieves me thus to be compelled to thwart thee in thy
+love! But my oath--and thine interests, Francisco, demand this conduct
+on my part. And better--better it is that thou shouldst hear from
+strangers the terrible tidings that thy Flora is a prisoner in the
+dungeon of the inquisition, where she can issue forth only to proceed to
+the stake! Yes--and better, too, is it that she should die, than that
+this marriage shall be accomplished!"
+
+Nisida quitted the room, and repaired to the apartment where the morning
+repast was served up.
+
+A note, addressed to herself, lay upon the table. She instantly
+recognized the handwriting of Dr. Duras, tore open the billet, and read
+the contents as follows:
+
+    "My brother Angelo came to me very late last night and informed
+    me that a sense of imperious duty compelled him to change his
+    mind relative to the two women Francatelli. He accordingly
+    appeared on their behalf, and obtained a delay of eight days.
+    But nothing can save them from condemnation at the end of this
+    period, unless indeed immense interests be made on their account
+    with the duke. My brother alone deserves your blame, dear
+    friend; let not your anger fall on your affectionate and devoted
+    servant.
+
+                                               "JERONYMO DURAS."
+
+Nisida bit her lips with vexation. She now regretted she had effected
+the liberation of Francisco before she was convinced that Flora was past
+the reach of human mercy;--but, in the next moment she resumed her
+haughty composure, as she said within herself, "My brother may essay all
+_his_ influence: but mine shall prevail!"
+
+Scarcely had she established this determination in her mind, when the
+door was burst open, and Francisco--pale, ghastly, and with eyes
+wandering wildly--staggered into the apartment.
+
+Nisida, who really felt deeply on his account, sprung forward--received
+him in her arms--and supported him to a seat.
+
+"Oh! Nisida, Nisida!" he exclaimed aloud, in a tone expressive of deep
+anguish; "what will become of your unfortunate brother? But it is not
+you who have done this! No--for you were not in Florence at the time
+which beheld the cruel separation of Flora and myself!"
+
+And, throwing himself on his sister's neck, he burst into tears. He had
+apostrophized her in the manner just related, not because he fancied
+that she could hear or understand him; but because he forgot, in the
+maddening paroxysms of his grief, that Nisida was (as he believed) deaf
+and dumb! She wound her arms round him--she pressed him to her
+bosom--she covered his pale forehead with kisses; while her heart bled
+at the sight of his alarming sorrow.
+
+Suddenly he started up--flung his arms wildly about--and exclaimed, in a
+frantic voice, "Bring me my steel panoply! give me my burgonet--my
+cuirass--and my trusty sword;--and let me arouse all Florence to a sense
+of its infamy in permitting that terrible inquisition to exist! Bring me
+my armor, I say--the same sword I wielded on the walls of Rhodes--and I
+will soon gather a trusty band to aid me!"
+
+But, overcome with excitement, he fell forward--dashing his head
+violently upon the floor, before Nisida could save him. She pealed the
+silver bell that was placed upon the breakfast-table, and assistance
+soon came. Francisco was immediately conveyed to his chamber--Dr. Duras
+was sent for--and on his arrival, he pronounced the young nobleman to be
+laboring under a violent fever. The proper medical precautions were
+adopted; and the physician was in a few hours able to declare that
+Francisco was in no imminent danger, but that several days would elapse
+ere he could possibly become convalescent. Nisida remained by his
+bedside, and was most assiduous--most tender--most anxious in her
+attentions toward him; and when he raved, in his delirium, of Flora and
+the inquisition, it went to her very heart to think that she was
+compelled by a stern necessity to abstain from exerting her influence to
+procure the release of one whose presence would prove of far greater
+benefit to the sufferer than all the anodynes and drugs which the skill
+of Dr. Duras might administer!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER LXII.
+
+THE SICK-ROOM--FLORENCE IN DISMAY.
+
+
+It was about an hour past daybreak on the 1st of October,--five days
+after the incidents related in the three preceding chapters. Nisida,
+worn out with long watchings and vigils in her brother's chamber, had
+retired to her own apartment; but not before she had seen Francisco fall
+into a sleep which, under the influence of a narcotic ordered by the
+physician, promised to be long and soothing. The lady had not quitted
+the chamber of the invalid ten minutes, when the door was slightly
+opened; and some one's looks were plunged rapidly and searchingly into
+the room:--then the visitor, doubtless satisfied by the result of his
+survey, stole cautiously in.
+
+He advanced straight up to the table which stood near the bed, drew a
+small vial from the bosom of his doublet--and poured its crystal
+contents into the beverage prepared to quench the thirst of the invalid.
+Then, as he again secured the vial about his person, he murmured, "The
+medicament of Christian Rosencrux will doubtless work greater wonders
+than those of Dr. Duras, skilled though the latter be!"
+
+Having thus mused to himself, the visitor shook Francisco gently; and
+the young count awoke, exclaiming petulantly that he was athirst. A
+goblet of the beverage containing the Rosicrucian fluid, was immediately
+conveyed to his lips, and he drank the refreshing draught with
+eagerness.
+
+The effect was marvelous, indeed;--a sudden tinge of healthy red
+appeared upon the cheeks a moment before so ashy pale--and fire once
+more animated the blue eyes--and Francisco recovered complete
+consciousness and self-possession for the first time since the dread
+morning when he was attacked with a dangerous illness.
+
+He closed his eyes for a few minutes; and when he opened them again, he
+was surprised to perceive by his bedside a young, well-attired, and very
+handsome man, whose countenance appeared to be familiar to him.
+
+"Count of Riverola," said the visitor, bending over him, and speaking in
+a low but kind tone, "despair not! Succor is at hand--and ere
+forty-eight hours shall have passed away, your well-beloved Flora will
+be free!"
+
+Joy lighted up the countenance of the young nobleman, as these
+delightful words met his ears; and, seizing his consoler's hand, he
+exclaimed:
+
+"A thousand thanks for this assurance! But, have we not met before?--or
+was it in those wild dreams which have haunted my imagination that I
+have seen thee?"
+
+"Yes--we have met before, count," was the reply. "Dost thou not remember
+Fernand Wagner?"
+
+Francisco passed his hand across his brow, as if to settle his scattered
+thoughts: then, at the expiration of a few moments, he said: "Oh! yes--I
+recollect you--I know that I had conceived a great friendship for you,
+when some strange incident--I cannot remember what, and it is of no
+matter--parted us!"
+
+"Do not excite yourself too much by racking your memory to decipher the
+details of the past," returned Wagner. "I dare not stay another minute
+with you now: therefore listen attentively to what more I have to say.
+Yield yourself not up to despondency--on the contrary, cherish every
+hope that is dear to you. Within a few days Flora shall be yours!
+Yes--solemnly do I assure you that all shall take place as I affirm. But
+YOUR agency is not needed to insure her liberation: Heaven will make use
+of OTHER means. Compose your mind, then,--and suffer not yourself to be
+tortured by vain fears as to the future. Above all, keep my visit to
+thee a profound secret--intimate not to thy sister Nisida that thou hast
+seen me. Follow my counsel in all these respects--and happiness is in
+store for thee!"
+
+Fernand pressed the young count's hand warmly as he terminated these
+rapidly delivered injunctions, and then retreated from the chamber ere
+the invalid had time to utter a syllable indicative of his gratitude.
+
+But how different was Francisco now--how different did Nisida find him,
+on her return to his room, from what he was when she had left him two
+hours before! Nor less was Dr. Duras astonished, at his next visit, to
+perceive that his patient had made in those two hours as rapid strides
+toward convalescence as he could barely have hoped to see accomplished
+in a week.
+
+In obedience to a hint rapidly conveyed by a signal from Nisida to the
+physician, the latter touched gently upon the subject of Flora
+Francatelli; but Francisco, resolute in his endeavors to follow the
+advice of Fernand Wagner, and to avoid all topics calculated to excite,
+responded briefly, and immediately spoke on another matter.
+
+But he did not think the less deeply on that interesting subject. No; he
+cherished the image of his Flora, and the hope of being yet united to
+her, with an enthusiasm which a love so ardent as his passion alone
+could feel.
+
+And Nisida congratulated herself on the conviction which she now very
+naturally entertained, that he had resigned himself to the loss of the
+young maiden, and was exerting his utmost to banish her altogether from
+his memory!
+
+Throughout the day Francisco continued to improve rapidly, and on the
+following morning he was enabled to leave his couch. Indeed, his
+recovery was so marvelously quick that Dr. Duras considered it to be a
+perfect phenomenon in the history of medicine; and Nisida looked upon
+the physician, whom she conceived to be the author of this remarkable
+change, with unfeigned admiration.
+
+It was verging toward the hour of sunset, the 2d of October, when a
+rumor of a most alarming nature circulated with the celerity of
+wild-fire through the city of Florence. At first the report was received
+with contemptuous incredulity; but by degrees--as circumstances tended
+to confirm it--as affrighted peasants came flying into the town from
+their country homes, bearing the dread tidings, the degenerate and
+voluptuous Florentines gave way to all the terrors which, in such cases,
+were too well adapted to fill the hearts of an emasculated people with
+dismay.
+
+For, while the dwellers of the City of Flowers were thinking only of the
+gay festival which invariably commenced their winter season, while the
+nobles and wealthy burghers were whiling their time pleasantly in the
+regilding and decoration of their palaces or mansions, while the duke
+was projecting splendid banquets, and the members of the council of
+state were dreaming of recreation and enjoyment, rather than of the
+duties of office, while, too, preparations were being made for the
+approaching _auto-da-fe_--that terrible spectacle which the inquisition
+annually offered to the morbid tastes of a priest-ridden people--while,
+in a word, Florence seemed wrapped up in security and peace--at such a
+moment the astounding intelligence arrived, that a mighty army was
+within a few hours' march of the sovereign city of Tuscany!
+
+Yes; this was the news that suddenly spread confusion and dismay
+throughout Florence, the news which told how the Ottoman fleet, for some
+days past moored off the port of Leghorn, had vomited forth legions, and
+how the formidable force was approaching at a rapid rate, under the
+command of the grand vizier in person, the seraskier and sipehsalar of
+the armies of the sultan!
+
+The moment these things were bruited abroad in the city, Demetrius, the
+Greek, fled secretly; for he too well understood that his treacherous
+intentions had, in some unaccountable manner, transpired, and reached
+the ears of Ibrahim Pasha. Nisida was perfectly astounded; and, for the
+first time in her life, she felt her energies paralyzed--all her powers
+of combination suddenly laid prostrate. As for Francisco, he could not
+help thinking that the invasion of Italy by the Turks was connected with
+the succor so mysteriously, but confidently promised by Wagner; although
+he was not only ignorant of the relationship subsisting between the
+grand vizier and his beloved Flora, but was even unaware of the fact
+that this high functionary was the same Ibrahim whose prisoner he had
+been for a few hours on a former occasion in the Island of Rhodes.
+
+The council of state assembled to deliberate upon the proper course
+which should be adopted at so critical a moment; but when the resources
+of Florence and the means of resisting the invaders were scrutinized,
+when it was discovered that there were not three thousand soldiers to
+defend the place, nor arms sufficient to equip more than fifteen hundred
+volunteers in addition to the regular force, all idea of attempting to
+make a stand against an army which was in reality twenty thousand
+strong, but which the exaggerations of fear had trebled in amount, was
+ultimately abandoned.
+
+The sun went down, and was succeeded by no illuminations that night.
+Florence was in mourning. A spell had fallen upon the City of Flowers;
+her streets were deserted; and within the houses, those who possessed
+wealth were busily engaged in concealing their gold and jewels in
+cellars, holes dug in the ground, or at the bottom of wells. The general
+consternation was terrific indeed; and the solemn stillness which
+prevailed throughout the town so lately full of animation and happiness
+was even more dreadful than that which had accompanied the plague two
+centuries before.
+
+It was near midnight when messengers from the grand vizier, who was now
+within three miles' march of the city, arrived at the western gate, and
+demanded admission, that they might obtain an immediate audience of the
+duke. The request was directly complied with, and the envoys were
+conducted to the palazzo, where the prince immediately assembled the
+council of state to receive them, himself presiding.
+
+The audience was in other respects strictly private; but the nature of
+the interview was soon proved to have been most unexpectedly pacific;
+for two hours after the reception of the envoys, criers proceeded
+throughout the city, proclaiming the joyful news that the grand vizier
+had of his own accord proposed such terms as the council of state had
+not hesitated to accept.
+
+Thus, at two o'clock in the morning, were the Florentines at first
+alarmed by hearing the monotonous voices of the criers breaking upon the
+solemn stillness; but their fear changed into gladness ineffable, ere
+those functionaries had uttered a dozen words of the proclamation which
+they were intrusted to make.
+
+What the terms were did not immediately transpire; but two circumstances
+which occurred ere it was daybreak, and which, though conducted with
+considerable secrecy, nevertheless soon became generally known--these
+circumstances, we say, afforded ample scope for comment and gossip.
+
+The first was the occupation of the Riverola Palace by the Ottoman
+soldiers who had accompanied Demetrius as an escort, and whom he had
+left in Florence; and the second was the fact that two females, closely
+muffled up, were removed from the prison of the inquisition, and
+delivered over to the charge of the grand vizier's messengers, who
+conveyed them out of the city.
+
+But the curiosity excited by these incidents was absorbed in the general
+anxiety that was evinced by the Florentine people to feast their eyes
+with the grand, interesting, and imposing spectacle which the dawn of
+day revealed to their view.
+
+For, far as the eye could reach, on the western side of Florence, and
+commencing at the distance of about a quarter of a mile from the city, a
+mass of innumerable tents and pavilions showed where the Ottoman army
+was encamped! Myriads of banners, of all colors, floated from the tall
+javelins to which they were affixed before the entrance of the chief
+officers' tents, and in front of the entire encampment waved, at the
+summit of a spear planted in the ground, the three crescents, which
+invariably accompany the march of a Turkish army. The sunbeams glittered
+on thousands of bright crescents; and the brazen pommels of the mounted
+sentinels' saddles shone like burnished gold. It was, indeed, a grand
+and imposing spectacle:--and the din of innumerable voices mingling with
+the sounds of martial music, reached the ears of those Florentines who,
+more daring than the rest, advanced nearly up to the outposts of the
+encampment.
+
+But in the meantime, a scene of profound and touching interest had taken
+place in the gorgeous pavilion of the grand vizier.
+
+While it was yet dark--and ere that martial panorama of tents and
+pavilions developed itself to the admiring and astonished eyes of the
+Florentines--two females, closely muffled in handsome cashmere shawls,
+which had been presented to them for the purpose, were treading the
+Ottoman encampment, under the guidance of the messengers to whom they
+had been consigned.
+
+It is hardly necessary to inform the reader that these females were the
+elder Signora Francatelli and her beautiful niece Flora.
+
+Their sudden and most unexpected deliverance from the terrible dungeons
+of the inquisition, and the profound respect with which they were
+treated by those into whose charge the familiars of the holy office had
+surrendered them, inspired them with the most lively joy; and their
+congratulations were expressed by frequent pressures of each other's
+hands as they proceeded in company with their guides. But they knew not
+by whom, or how, nor wherefore they had been released--and yet a vague
+suspicion, founded solely on the fact that their conductors wore the
+Ottoman garb, that Alessandro must be in some way connected with the
+matter, had entered their minds. It was, at all events, clear that no
+harm was intended them, for they were not treated as prisoners, and thus
+they hastened on in confidence and hope.
+
+It was not until they had left the city some distance behind, that the
+bright moon showed them a confused mass of white objects in front; and
+they were both marveling what the strange and unknown spectacle could
+be, when their party was suddenly challenged by the sentries of an
+outpost. The leader of the little escort gave the watchword; and now, as
+the two females drew nearer to the encampment, the mass of white objects
+became more shapely, until, in a few minutes, the pointed tops of the
+tents and pavilions stood out in strong relief against the now purple
+sky.
+
+What could this unusual spectacle mean? They were still in the dungeons
+of the inquisition when the alarm, caused by an approaching army, had
+circulated through Florence; and the rumor had not reached their ears.
+For the first time since the moment of their release they now hung back,
+and manifested signs of fear.
+
+"Be not terrified, ladies," said the chief of the escort, speaking in
+excellent Italian; "ye have no cause for apprehension! Before you spread
+the innumerable tents of the Ottoman army; and it is to the presence of
+this mighty host that ye are indebted for your freedom."
+
+"But whither are you taking us?" inquired Flora, scarcely reassured.
+
+"To the pavilion of his Highness, Ibrahim-Pasha, the grand vizier of the
+glorious Sultan Solyman," answered the Turk; "and at the hands of that
+powerful minister ye will receive naught but honorable and kind
+treatment."
+
+"Know you, signor," inquired Flora, "if there be in the Ottoman camp a
+young man who, when a Christian," she added, with a profound sigh, "bore
+the name of Alessandro Francatelli?"
+
+"There is such a young man," responded the Turkish messenger; "and you
+will see him presently."
+
+"Oh! is it then to him that we owe our deliverance?" demanded the
+beauteous maiden, her heart fluttering with varied emotions at the idea
+of meeting her brother. "Is he attached to the person of that mighty man
+whom you denominate the grand vizier? and shall we see him in the
+pavilion of his highness?"
+
+"You will see him in the pavilion of his highness," answered the Turk.
+
+"And the grand vizier himself--is he a good, kind man?" asked Flora. "Is
+my brother--I mean Alessandro--a favorite with him?"
+
+"I believe that the mighty Ibrahim loves no man more than Alessandro
+Francatelli, lady," said the Turk, highly amused by these questions
+which were put to him, although his manner was respectful and calm.
+
+"Then there is a chance that Alessandro will rise in the service of the
+sultan?" continued Flora, naturally anxious to glean all the information
+she could respecting her brother.
+
+"There is not a more enviable personage in the imperial service than he
+whom you style Alessandro Francatelli."
+
+"Heaven be thanked that he is so prosperous, poor boy!" exclaimed the
+aunt, who had been an attentive listener to the preceding discourse.
+"But your grand vizier, signor, must be very powerful to have a great
+army at his disposal."
+
+"The grand vizier, lady," returned the Ottoman envoy, "is second only to
+the sultan, and in him we see a reflection of the imperial majesty. At a
+sign from the great and potent Ibrahim every scimiter throughout this
+host of twenty thousand men would leap from its sheath in readiness to
+strike where and at whom he might choose to order. Nay, more, lady--he
+has the power to gather together mighty armies, so numerous that they
+would inundate Christendom as with a desolating sea. Allah be thanked!
+there is no limit to the power of the mighty Ibrahim so long as he
+holdeth the seals of his great office."
+
+The two females made no further observation aloud; but they thought
+profoundly on all that they had just heard. For in a short time they
+were to stand in the presence of this puissant chief whom the Ottomans
+seemed to worship as a god, and who wielded a power which placed him on
+a level with the proudest potentates in the Christian world.
+
+In the meantime the little party had entered the precincts of the
+Ottoman encampment, a complete city of tents and pavilions, ranged in
+the most admirable order, and with all the regularity of streets.
+
+A solemn silence prevailed throughout the camp, interrupted only by the
+measured pace and the occasional challenge of sentinels.
+
+At length Flora and her aunt perceived, in the clear moonlight, a
+pavilion loftier, larger, and more magnificent than any they had yet
+seen. The pinnacle glittered as if it were tipped with a bright star;
+the roof was of dazzling whiteness; and the sides were of dark velvet,
+richly embroidered with gold. It stood in the midst of a wide space, the
+circumjacent tents forming a complete circle about it. Within this
+inclosure of tents the sentries were posted at very short intervals; and
+instead of walking up and down, they stood motionless as statues, their
+mighty scimiters gleaming in the moonlight.
+
+In profound silence did the little party proceed toward the entrance of
+the vast pavilion, which the females had no difficulty in discerning to
+be the habitation of the potent and dreaded chief into whose presence
+they were now repairing.
+
+In front of this splendid tent floated two large banners, each from the
+summit of a tall javelin, the head of which was of burnished gold. One
+of these enormous flags was green; the other was blood-red. The first
+was the sacred standard of the Prophet Mohammed, and accompanied the
+grand vizier in his capacity of representative and vice-regent of the
+sultan; and the latter was the banner which was always planted in front
+of the pavilion inhabited by the seraskier, or commander-in-chief of the
+Ottoman army.
+
+At the entrance of the vast tent stood four mounted sentinels, horses
+and men alike so motionless that they seemed to be as many equestrian
+statues.
+
+"In a few moments," whispered the leader of the little escort to the two
+females, "you will be in the presence of the grand vizier, who will
+receive you alone."
+
+"And Alessandro Francatelli?" inquired Flora, in a tone of
+disappointment, "will he not be there also?"
+
+"Fear not, you shall behold him shortly," answered the Turk; and passing
+behind the mounted sentinels, he drew aside the velvet curtain, at the
+same time bidding Flora and her aunt enter the pavilion.
+
+A blaze of light bursting forth from the interior of the magnificent
+tent dazzled and bewildered them, as the Ottoman gently gushed them
+onward--for they hung back in vague and groundless alarm.
+
+The curtain was instantly closed behind them; and they now found
+themselves inside the gorgeous abode of the grand vizier. The pavilion
+was decorated in the most sumptuous manner. Crystal chandeliers were
+suspended to the spars which supported the canvas ceiling; and the
+pillars which supported those spars were gilt and inlaid with
+mother-of-pearl. Rich sofas placed around the sides--vases, some
+containing flowers and others delicious perfumes--tables laden with
+refreshments of the most exquisite kind,--in a word, all the evidences
+of enormous wealth and all the accessories of luxurious splendor were
+displayed in this sumptuous abode.
+
+At the further end of the pavilion was seated an individual, whom, by
+the intimation they had already received, and by the magnificence of his
+attire, Flora and her aunt immediately knew to be the grand vizier. He
+soon granted them the opportunity they so anxiously awaited, and it was
+not a great while ere they found themselves completely reassured, and
+conversing with a freedom which they had hardly hoped would characterize
+their interview.
+
+But who can describe the wonder and amazement which overwhelmed Flora
+and her aunt, when, in the person of the grand vizier, was revealed to
+them the long absent brother and nephew, Alessandro Francatelli!
+
+It is needless to give in detail the events which were narrated in their
+conversation. After a long and interesting recapitulation of the
+thrilling events which had attended them thus far, they turned to that
+more immediate matter which lay nearest their hearts.
+
+When the Count of Riverola at length joined the party, the young
+nobleman, taking Flora's hand, exclaimed:
+
+"I am anxious to secure this jewel as soon as possible. Our union may be
+celebrated privately and without useless pomp and ceremony; a few hours
+hence may see us allied to part no more. I have a friend in
+Florence--Fernand Wagner----"
+
+"And if he be your friend, count, you cannot possess one more likely to
+be sincere!" exclaimed the vizier.
+
+"He has, indeed, proved a warm friend to me," continued Francisco. "Two
+days ago I was stretched upon a bed of sickness--delirious, my mind
+wandering, and my reason gone----"
+
+"Merciful heavens!" cried Flora, shuddering from head to foot, and
+contemplating her intended husband with the deepest solicitude.
+
+"Yes, I was in a desperate state," said the count. "But Wagner came--he
+breathed words of hope in my ears, and I recovered rapidly; so rapidly
+and so completely that I feel not as if I had ever known indisposition
+save by name. I was, however, about to observe that there is an oratory
+in Signor Wagner's mansion; and there may the ceremony be performed.
+Fernand is, moreover, well acquainted with the language by which the
+deaf and dumb communicate their ideas; and through friendship for me he
+will break the tidings of my marriage to my sister."
+
+"Be it as you propose," said the grand vizier; then, after a moment's
+pause, he added, speaking in a low and mysterious whisper: "and if you
+will not shrink from the contact of the renegade at the altar of God--a
+renegade in name only, and not in heart--a renegade to suit his worldly
+purposes, and not from conviction--then shall I be present at the
+ceremony. Yes," he continued, perceiving that his aunt, his sister, and
+the young count surveyed him with mingled pleasure and amazement--"yes,
+in a deep disguise I will quit the encampment and enter Florence, for it
+would grieve me deeply to be excluded from the solemn scene."
+
+"Dearest Alessandro--for thus you will permit me still to call you,"
+exclaimed his aunt, "your words have made my happiness complete. Oh! you
+are still a Christian in heart, thank God!"
+
+"Not for worlds would I that you should be absent from the ceremony
+which makes your sister the Countess of Riverola!" exclaimed Francisco.
+
+The arrangements so happily come to and so amicably digested, were now
+to be carried into effect. The expectant bridegroom accordingly took a
+temporary leave of the vizier, Flora and the aunt, and returned to the
+city to seek his friend Fernand Wagner, it being understood that those
+whom he had just left should meet him at that signor's mansion by
+mid-day.
+
+The morning was now breaking: and every roof top in Florence was crowded
+with persons anxious to obtain a view of the encampment, as we have
+stated at the close of the preceding chapter.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER LXIII.
+
+THE MANUSCRIPT.
+
+
+In accordance with the plans detailed in the preceding chapter,
+Francisco and Flora, accompanied by the good dame Francatelli, and
+preceded by a suitable guard, now departed from the gorgeous pavilion of
+the grand vizier, on their way to the mansion of Wagner.
+
+On arriving at the walls of the city, the Ottoman guard left them, and
+retraced their steps to the Turkish encampment, while our little party
+proceeded on its way through the now crowded streets, and soon arrived
+at the residence of Wagner.
+
+With many congratulations did Fernand receive them; and being informed
+of the purport of their visit, hastened to acquaint his chaplain of the
+duties that were required of him; and before the sun was an hour higher
+in the heavens, Francisco, Count of Riverola, and Flora Francatelli were
+joined together in the indissoluble bonds of wedlock.
+
+It was now, for the first time since his recovery, that the recollection
+of the solemn oath Francisco had made to his dying father came across
+his mind--that on that day and that hour in which he was married, he and
+his bride should visit the secret chamber: and he hurriedly told Wagner
+that it was of the utmost importance that he should be at the Riverola
+palace within the hour; and at the same time he requested his kind
+friend to accompany him.
+
+On arriving at the Riverola palace, the party were instantly admitted,
+notwithstanding that the Turkish soldiers placed there by the grand
+vizier still guarded the gates: and Francisco proceeded alone to his
+sister's apartment, where he found her sitting, busied in conjecturing
+the cause of her recent detention--for Ibrahim, on the completion of the
+marriage ceremony, of which he had been an unseen observer, had given
+orders to free her from all restraint on her person.
+
+On perceiving Francisco, Nisida tenderly embraced him; and by signs he
+informed her that a person wished to be admitted to her presence. Having
+signified her acquiescence, Francisco retired, and in a few moments
+returned, leading by the hand his blushing bride, while Wagner followed,
+a few paces in the rear.
+
+No sooner had Nisida's eyes fallen on the form of Flora, than she
+started from her seat, her eyes flashing with concentrated hate, and her
+haughty lip curled in withering contempt, for well she guessed the
+purport of her visit: but the next moment her eyes fell on the advancing
+form of her adored Wagner--and those eyes, lit up as with the fires of
+hell, lost their demoniac glare in the beams of love which gleamed in
+their dark depths; and her lip of scorn was changed into an enchanting
+smile of the sweetest welcome--a transition from hate to love, a change
+of feelings as well as features of which woman, loving woman, alone is
+capable--and the next moment, regardless of the presence of Francisco
+and Flora, she rushed into the arms of her long-lost, her adored Wagner.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Nisida was now acquainted with the marriage of her brother, the secret
+chamber had been visited, the manuscript brought forth to be read; but
+one of the party that but a few moments before occupied that room was no
+more--_Fernand Wagner was dead_! True to the letter were the words of
+the founder of the order of the Rosy Cross, that "the spell which the
+Evil One hath cast upon thee, Fernand Wagner, shall be broken only on
+that day and that hour when thine eyes shall behold the bleached
+skeletons of two innocent victims suspended to the same beam."
+
+Flora and Francisco had visited the secret chamber alone, but the scream
+of horror which came from the bride on seeing the spectacle which there
+presented itself to her, brought Wagner and Nisida to their side.
+Instantly on seeing the skeletons, the prophecy of Rosencrux rushed on
+the mind of Wagner; a complete revolution came over his whole frame,
+beautiful visions floated before his eyes, as of angels waiting to
+receive him and herald him to eternal glory; then stretching forth his
+arms, as if to embrace something immaterial, he fell heavily to the
+earth, and in a few moments he had breathed his last in the arms of
+Nisida.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+We will now proceed to the reading of the manuscript, and pass over a
+detail of the indescribable agony that rent the heart of Nisida on
+seeing her beloved Wagner a corpse, and the revulsion of her feelings on
+beholding the loathsome change that came over the face and form of the
+once god-like Fernand, a repetition of which would grate too harshly on
+the feelings of the reader.
+
+
+THE MANUSCRIPT.
+
+"In order that you, Francisco--and she who as your bride, shall
+accompany you on your visit to the secret cabinet wherein you are
+destined to find this manuscript--in order, I say, that you may both
+fully comprehend the meaning of the strange and frightful spectacle
+there prepared to meet your eyes, it is necessary that I should enter
+into a full and perfect detail of certain circumstances, the study of
+which will, I hope, prove beneficial to the lady whom you may honor with
+the proud name of Riverola.
+
+"In the year 1494 I visited Naples on certain pecuniary business, an
+intimation of which I found amongst the private papers of my father, who
+had died about ten months previously. I was then just one-and-twenty,
+and had not as yet experienced the influence of the tender passion. I
+had found the ladies of Florence so inveterately given to intrigue, and
+had seen so many instances in which the best and most affectionate of
+husbands were grossly deceived by their wives, that I had not only
+conceived an abhorrence at the idea of linking my fortunes with one of
+my own countrywomen, but even made a solemn vow that if ever I married,
+my choice should not fall upon a Tuscan. It was with such impressions as
+these that I quitted Florence on the business to which I have alluded:
+and I cared not if I never returned thither--so shallow, heartless, and
+superficial did its gay society appear to me.
+
+"On my arrival at Naples I assumed the name of Cornari, and,
+representing myself as a young man of humble birth and moderate fortune,
+mixed in the best society that would receive a stranger of such poor
+pretensions. I had already learned at Florence that the fair sex are
+invariably dazzled by titles and riches; and I had a curiosity to try
+whether I should be at all sought after when apparently unpossessed of
+such qualifications. Not that I had any serious thoughts of matrimony;
+for I was far from being so romantic as to suppose that any beautiful
+lady of high birth would fall in love with me so long as I passed for
+plain Signor Cornari. No; it was merely a whim of mine--would that I had
+never undertaken to gratify it.
+
+"I was altogether unattended by any retinue, having quitted Florence
+with only a single valet, who died of sudden illness on the road. Thus
+did I enter Naples alone, with my package of necessaries fastened to the
+saddle of the steed that bore me. I put up at a small, but respectable
+hostel; and the first few days of my residence at the Neapolitan capital
+were passed in making inquiries concerning the individual whose large
+debt to my deceased father had been the principal cause of my journey
+thither.
+
+"I found him, at length, but perceiving that he was totally unable to
+liquidate the claim upon him, I did not discover my real name, and took
+my leave, resolving to think no more of the matter.
+
+"Returning to the inn, I happened to pass through one of the most
+squalid and miserable parts of the city, when my attention was suddenly
+fixed upon the most charming female figure I had ever seen in my life.
+The object of my interest was respectably but plainly clad; indeed, she
+appeared to belong to the class of petty tradespeople. Her form was most
+perfect in its symmetry; her gait was peculiarly graceful, and her
+manners were evidently modest and reserved: for she looked neither to
+the right nor to the left, but pursued her way with all the
+unobtrusiveness of strict propriety. I longed to behold her face; and,
+quickening my steps, presently passed her. I then had an opportunity of
+beholding the most beautiful countenance that ever adorned a woman.
+Heaven seemed to smile through the mirror of her mild black eyes; and
+there was such an indescribable sweetness in the general expression of
+her face, that it might have served a limner to copy for the countenance
+of an angel! She saw that I gazed intently upon her, and instantly
+turned aside into another street; for I should observe that females of
+the lower orders in Naples are not permitted to wear veils.
+
+"I stood looking after her until she was lost to my view; and then I
+went slowly back to the inn, my mind full of the image of the beautiful
+unknown.
+
+"Day after day did I rove through that same quarter of the city in the
+hope of meeting her again; and every evening did I return to my lonely
+chamber, chagrined and disappointed. My spirits sank, my appetite fled,
+and I grew restless and melancholy. At length I one morning beheld her
+in the flower-market, and I stood gazing on her with such enthusiastic,
+and yet such respectful admiration, that though she turned away, still
+methought it was not with a feeling of resentment.
+
+"I was transfixed to the spot for some minutes, and it was not until she
+had disappeared amidst the crowd gathered in that quarter, that I could
+so collect my scattered thoughts as to curse my folly for having omitted
+such an opportunity of accosting her. I however inquired of an old woman
+of whom she had purchased some flowers, who she was; but all the
+information I could glean was, that she had recently been in the habit
+of buying a few flowers every Wednesday of that same old woman. I went
+away more contented than I had felt for many days, because I now felt
+certain that I knew where to meet the lovely creature again.
+Nevertheless, during the six succeeding days I rambled about the flower
+market and the squalid quarter of the city where I had first seen her,
+but my search was unsuccessful; and the greater the disappointment I
+experienced, the more powerful grew my love. Yes, it was indeed love
+which I now felt, for the first time, and for a being to whom I had
+never spoken--whom I had only seen twice, and on these occasions only
+for a few minutes, and whom I knew, by her garb, to belong to the poorer
+class. But on the following Wednesday I saw her for the third time; and
+when she beheld me standing near the old woman's flower stall, she
+appeared vexed and surprised, and was about to turn away. I however
+approached her, besought her to accept of the choicest nosegay which I
+had been able to find, and continued to speak to her in so ardent, yet
+respectful a manner, that she no longer viewed me with resentment, but
+with something approaching to interest. And if I had been charmed by her
+beauty when as yet I had seen her at a comparative distance, how
+enraptured was I now by a nearer contemplation of that heavenly
+countenance.
+
+"I assured her that her image had never been absent from my heart since
+first I saw her, that I should never know peace or happiness again until
+she would give me some hope, and that I would sooner die than have her
+construe my words into an insult. She was touched by the earnestness and
+evident sincerity of my manner; and, encouraged by her silence, I
+proceeded hastily to inform her that my name was Cornari, that I was a
+young man of humble birth, but that I possessed a modest competency, and
+was my own master. I then pressed her to accept my nosegay; but,
+suddenly bursting into tears, she exclaimed--
+
+"'O, signor, you know not whom you have thus honored with your notice,'
+and hurried away, leaving me absolutely stupefied with astonishment and
+grief. It immediately struck me that she was a lost and degraded
+creature, who dared not respond to a virtuous love. But a few moments'
+reflection told me that such innocence, such artlessness, such candor
+never could be assumed--never feigned; no, they were most natural! And
+this conviction, added to the intense curiosity which now inspired me to
+fathom the mystery of her singular remark, rendered me more anxious than
+ever to meet with her again. Several weeks passed without seeing the
+gratification of my wish; and I was becoming seriously ill with
+disappointment and defeated hope, when accident led me to encounter her
+once more. She would have avoided me, but I absolutely compelled her to
+stop. Seizing her hand, I said,--
+
+"'Look at me--behold to what I am reduced--mark these pale and sunken
+cheeks, and have pity on me!'
+
+"'And I, too,' she murmured, 'have been very miserable since we last
+met.'
+
+"'Then you have thought of me?' I exclaimed, retaining her hand still in
+mine, and reading love in the depths of her large dark eyes.
+
+"'I have,' she answered bitterly, withdrawing her hand at the same time;
+then in a tone of deep anguish she added, 'I implore you to let me
+proceed on my way; and if you value your own happiness you will never
+seek to see me more.'
+
+"'But my happiness depends on seeing you often,' I exclaimed; 'and if
+the offer of an honest heart be acceptable, I have that to give.'
+
+"She shuddered dreadfully from head to foot.
+
+"'Surely you are not married already?' I said, rendered desperate by her
+strange and incomprehensible manner.
+
+"'I married!' she absolutely shrieked forth. Then perceiving that I was
+perfectly amazed and horrified by the wild vehemence of her
+ejaculations, she said in a subdued, melancholy tone, 'I adjure you to
+think of me no more.'
+
+"'Listen, beauteous stranger,' I exclaimed; 'I love and adore you. My
+happiness is at stake. Repeat that cruel adjuration, and you inflict a
+death-blow. If I be loathsome to your sight, tell me so; but leave me
+not a prey to the most horrible suspense. If you have a father, I will
+accompany you to him and make honorable proposals.'
+
+"'My father!' she murmured, while her countenance was suddenly swept by
+a passing expression of anguish so intense that I began to tremble for
+her reason.
+
+"I implored her to speak candidly and openly, and not in brief sentences
+of such ominous mystery. She scarcely appeared to listen to my words,
+but seemed totally absorbed in the mental contemplation of a deeply
+seated woe. At length she suddenly turned her large dark eyes upon me,
+and said in a low, plaintive, profoundly touching tone:
+
+"'Signor Cornari, again I adjure you to think of me no more. But for my
+own sake I would not have you believe that unmaidenly conduct on my part
+is the cause of the solemn prayer I thus make to you. No, no; I have
+naught wherewith I can reproach myself; but there are reasons of
+terrible import that compel me to address you in this manner.
+Nevertheless,' she added, more slowly and hesitatingly, 'if you really
+should continue to entertain so deep an interest in me as to render you
+desirous to hear the last explanation from my lips, then may you rely
+upon meeting me on this spot, and at the same hour, fifteen days hence.'
+
+"She then hurried away. How that fortnight passed I can scarcely tell.
+To me it appeared an age. I was deeply, madly enamored of that strange,
+beautiful, and apparently conscientious being; and the mystery which
+involved her threw around her a halo of interest that fanned the flame
+of my passion. I was prepared to make any sacrifice rather than abandon
+all hope of calling her my own. The proud title of Riverola was as
+nothing in my estimation when weighed in the balance against her
+charms--her bewitching manner--her soft, retiring modesty. I moreover
+flattered myself that I was not indifferent to her; and I loved her all
+the more sincerely because I reflected that if she gave her heart to me,
+it would be to the poor and humble Cornari, and not to the rich and
+mighty Lord of Riverola.
+
+"At length the day--the memorable day--came; and she failed not to keep
+her appointment. She was pale--very pale--but exquisitely beautiful; and
+she smiled in spite of herself when she beheld me. She endeavored to
+conceal her emotions, but she could not altogether subdue the evidence
+of that gratification which my presence caused her.
+
+"'You have disregarded my most earnest prayer,' she said, in a low and
+agitated tone.
+
+"'My happiness depends upon you,' I answered; 'in the name of Heaven
+keep me not in suspense; but tell me, can you and will you be mine?'
+
+"'I could be thine, but I dare not,' she replied, in a voice scarcely
+audible.
+
+"'Reveal to me the meaning of this strange contradiction, I implore
+you!' said I, again a prey to the most torturing suspense. 'Do you love
+another?'
+
+"'Did I love another,' she exclaimed, withdrawing the hand which I had
+taken, 'I should not be here this day.'
+
+"'Pardon me,' I cried; 'I would not offend you for worlds! If you do not
+love another, can you love me?'
+
+"Again she allowed me to take her hand; and this concession, together
+with the rapid but eloquent glance she threw upon me, was the answer to
+my question.
+
+"'Then, if you can love me,' I urged, 'why cannot you be mine?'
+
+"'Because,' she replied, in that tone of bitterness which did me harm to
+hear it, 'you are born of parents whose name and whose calling you dare
+mention; whereas you would loathe me as much as you now declare that you
+love me, were you to learn who my father is! For mother, alas! I have
+none; she has been dead many years!' And tears streamed down her cheeks.
+I also wept, so deeply did I sympathize with her.
+
+"'Beloved girl,' I exclaimed, 'you wrong me! What is it to me if your
+father be the veriest wretch, the greatest criminal that crawls upon the
+face of the earth, so long as you are pure and innocent?'"
+
+"'No, no,' she cried hastily, 'you misunderstand me. There breathes not
+a more upright man than my father.'
+
+"'Then wherefore should I be ashamed to own my marriage with his
+daughter?' I asked in an impassioned manner.
+
+"'Because,' she said, in a tone of such intense anguish that it rent my
+heart as she began to speak; 'because,' she repeated slowly and
+emphatically, 'he is viewed with abhorrence by that world which is so
+unjust; for that which constitutes the stigma is hereditary office in
+his family--an office that he dares not vacate under pain of death; and
+now you can too well comprehend that my sire is the PUBLIC EXECUTIONER
+OF NAPLES!'
+
+"This announcement came upon me like a thunderbolt. I turned sick at
+heart--my eyes grew dim--my brain whirled--I staggered and should have
+fallen had I not come in contact with a wall. It appeared to me
+afterward that sobs of ineffable agony fell upon my ears, while I was
+yet in a state of semi-stupefaction--and methought likewise that a
+delicate, soft hand pressed mine convulsively for a moment. Certain it
+was, that when I recovered my presence of mind, when I was enabled to
+collect my scattered thoughts, the executioner's daughter was no longer
+near me. I was in despair at the revelation which had been
+made--overwhelmed with grief, too, at having suffered her thus to
+depart--for I feared that I should never see her more. Before me was my
+hopeless love, behind me, like an evil dream, was the astounding
+announcement which still rang in my ears, though breathed in such soft
+and plaintive tones! Three or four minutes were wasted in the struggles
+of conflicting thoughts, ere I was sufficiently master of myself to
+remember that I might still overtake the maiden who had fled from me. It
+struck me that her father's dwelling must be near the criminal prison;
+and this was in the squalid quarter of the town where I had first
+encountered her. Thither I sped--into the dark streets, so perilous
+after dusk, I plunged; and at length I overtook the object of my
+affection, just as she was skirting the very wall of the prison. I
+seized her by the hand and implored her to forgive me for the manner in
+which I had received the last explanation to which I had urged her.
+
+"'It was natural that you should shrink in loathing from the bare idea,'
+she said, in a tone which rent my heart. 'And now leave me, signor; for
+further conversation between us is useless.'
+
+"'No,' I exclaimed; 'I will not leave you until I shall have exacted
+from you a promise that you will be mine, and only mine! For I could not
+live without you; and most unjust should I be, most unworthy of the name
+of a man, if I were to allow a contemptible prejudice to stand in the
+way of my happiness.'
+
+"She returned no answer, but the rapidity of her breathing and the ill
+subdued sobs which interrupted her respiration at short intervals,
+convinced me that a fierce struggle was taking place within her bosom.
+For it was now quite dark and I could not see her face; the hand,
+however, which I held clasped in my own, trembled violently.
+
+"'Beautiful maiden,' I said after a long pause, 'wherefore do you not
+reply to me? Were I the proudest peer in Christendom, I would sacrifice
+every consideration of rank and family for your sake. What more can man
+say? What more can he do?'
+
+"'Signor Cornari,' she answered at length, 'prudence tells me to fly
+from you; but my heart prompts me to remain. Alas! I feel that the
+latter feeling is dominant within me!'
+
+"'And you will be mine?' I demanded eagerly.
+
+"'Thine forever!' she murmured, her head sinking upon my breast.
+
+"But I shall not dwell unnecessarily on this portion of my narrative.
+Suffice it to say we parted, having arranged another meeting for the
+next evening. It was on this occasion that I said to her:
+
+"'Vitangela, I have thought profoundly on all that passed between us
+yesterday; and I am more than ever determined to make you my wife. Let
+us away to your father, and demand his consent to our union.'
+
+"'Stay,' she said, in an emphatic tone, 'and hear me patiently ere you
+either renew the promise to wed me, or reiterate your desire to seek my
+father. You must know,' she continued, while I listened with painful
+suspense, 'that my father will not oppose a step in which his daughter's
+happiness is involved. But the very moment that sees our hands joined,
+will behold the registry of the marriage in the book kept by the
+lieutenant of police; and thereby will be constituted a record of the
+name of one who, if need be, must assume the functions of that office
+which my sire now fills.'
+
+"'What mean you, Vitangela?' I demanded, horrified by the dim yet
+ominous significance of these horrible words.
+
+"'I mean,' she continued, 'that the terrible post of public executioner
+must remain in our family while it exists; and those who form marriages
+with us, are considered to enter into our family. When my father dies,
+my brother will succeed him, but should my brother die without leaving
+issue, or having a son to take his place, you, signor, if you become my
+husband, will be forced to assume the terrible office.'
+
+"'But I am not a Neapolitan,' I exclaimed; 'and I should hope that when
+we are united, you will not insist upon dwelling in Naples.'
+
+"'I would give worlds to leave this odious city,' she said,
+emphatically.
+
+"'Nothing detains me here another day, nor another hour,' I cried; 'let
+the priest unite our hands, and we forthwith set off for Florence. But
+why should not our marriage take place privately, unknown even to your
+father? and in that case no entry could be made in the books of the
+lieutenant of police.'
+
+"'You have expressed that desire which I myself feared to utter, lest
+you should think it unmaidenly,' she murmured. 'For your sake I will
+quit home and kindred without further hesitation.'
+
+"I was rejoiced at this proof of affection and confidence on her part;
+and it was arranged between us that we should be married on the ensuing
+evening, and in the most private way possible.
+
+"Before we parted, however, I drew from her a solemn pledge that, when
+once she had become my wife, she would never even allude to her
+family--that she would not communicate to them the name of her husband
+nor the place of our abode, under any circumstance--in a word, that she
+would consider her father and brother as dead to her,--and she to them.
+
+"With streaming eyes and sobbing heart she gave the sacred promise I
+required, ratifying it with an oath which I made her repeat to my
+dictation.
+
+"On the ensuing evening Vitangela met me according to appointment, and
+it was then I revealed to her my real name and rank.
+
+"'Dearest girl,' I said, 'you gave me your heart, believing me to be a
+poor and humble individual; and you have consented to become my wife and
+abandon home and kindred for my sake. Profoundly then do I rejoice that
+it is in my power to elevate you to a position of which your beauty,
+your amiability and your virtue render you so eminently worthy; and in
+my own native Florence, no lady will be more courted, nor treated with
+greater distinction than the Countess of Riverola.'
+
+"She uttered an exclamation of sorrow and would have fallen to the
+ground if I had not supported her.
+
+"'Oh!' she murmured, 'I would have been happier were you indeed the
+humble Signor Cornari!'
+
+"'No; think not thus,' I urged, 'wealth and rank are two powerful aids
+to happiness in this life. But at all events; my beloved Vitangela, you
+now recognize more than ever the paramount necessity which induces you
+to maintain inviolate your solemn vow of yesterday.'
+
+"'I require no such inducement to compel me to keep that pledge,' she
+answered. 'Think you that I would bring disgrace on the name, whether
+humble or lofty, with which you have proposed to honor me? Oh!
+no--never, never!"
+
+"I embraced her fondly; and we proceeded to the dwelling of a priest, by
+whom our hands were united in the oratory attached to his abode. At
+daybreak we quitted Naples, and in due time we reached Florence, where
+my bride was received with enthusiastic welcome by all the friends of
+the Riverola family. My happiness appeared to have been established on a
+solid foundation by this alliance; and the birth of Nisida in 1495--just
+one year after the marriage--was a bond which seemed to unite our hearts
+the more closely if possible. Indeed, I can safely assert that not a
+harsh word ever passed between us, nor did aught occur to mar our
+complete felicity for years after our union. In 1500, however, a
+circumstance took place which proved to be the first link in the chain
+of incidents destined to wield a dire influence over my happiness. It
+was in the month of April of that year--oh! how indelibly is the
+detested date fixed on my memory--the Duke Piero de Medici gave a grand
+entertainment to all the aristocracy of Florence. The banquet was of the
+most excellent description; and the gardens of the palace were
+brilliantly illuminated. The days of Lorenzo the Magnificent seemed to
+have been revived for a short period by his degenerate descendant. All
+the beauty and rank of the republic were assembled at this festival; but
+no lady was more admired for the chaste elegance of her attire, the
+modest dignity of her deportment, and the loveliness of her person, than
+Vitangela, Countess of Riverola. After the banquet the company proceeded
+to the gardens, where bands of music were stationed, and while some
+indulged in the exhilarating dance, others sauntered through the
+brilliantly lighted avenues. I need not inform you that no husband,
+unless he were anxious to draw down upon himself the ridicule which
+attaches itself to extreme uxoriousness, would remain linked to his
+wife's side all the evening at such an entertainment as the one of which
+I am speaking. I was therefore separated from the countess, whom I left
+in an arbor with some other ladies, and I joined the group which had
+assembled around the prince. I know not exactly how it was I happened to
+quit my companions, after a lively conversation which had probably
+lasted about an hour; certain, however, it is that before midnight I was
+proceeding alone down a long avenue in which utter darkness reigned, but
+outside of which the illuminations shone brilliantly.
+
+"Suddenly I heard voices near me; and one of them appeared to be that of
+the Countess of Riverola--but they were speaking in so subdued a tone
+that I was by no means confident in my suspicion. The voices approached;
+and a sentiment of curiosity, unaccountable at the time, as I believed
+Vitangela to be purity itself, impelled me to listen more attentively.
+To conceal myself was not necessary; I had to remain perfectly still for
+my presence to be unknown, utter darkness prevailing in the avenue. The
+persons who were conversing advanced.
+
+"'You know,' said the soft and whispering voice which I believed to be
+that of my wife, 'you know how sincerely, how tenderly I love you, and
+what a frightful risk I run in according you thus a few moments' private
+discourse!'
+
+"The voice of a man made some reply, the words of which did not reach my
+ears; then the pair stopped and I heard the billing sound of kisses. O! how
+my blood boiled in my veins! I grasped the handle of my sword--but I was
+nailed to the spot--my state of mind was such that though I longed--I
+thirsted for vengeance--yet was I powerless--motionless--paralyzed. To
+the sound of kisses succeeded those of sobbing and of grief on the part
+of the lady whose voice had produced such a terrible effect upon me.
+
+"'Holy Virgin!' I thought, 'she deplores the fate that chains her to her
+husband! she weeps because she has not courage to fly with her lover!'
+and now I experienced just the same sensations as those which stunned
+and stupefied me on that evening at Naples when I first heard that
+Vitangela was the child of the public executioner. Several minutes must
+have passed while I was in this condition of comparative insensibility;
+or rather while I was a prey to the stunning conviction that I was
+deceived by her whom I had loved so well and deemed so pure. When I
+awoke from that dread stupor all was still in the dark avenue; not a
+footstep, not a whispering voice was heard. I hurried along amidst the
+trees, my soul racked with the cruelest suspicions. And yet I was not
+confident that it was positively my wife's voice that I had heard; and
+the more I pondered on the circumstance, the more anxious was I to
+arrive at the conviction that I had indeed been deceived by some voice
+closely resembling hers. I accordingly hurried back to the arbor where I
+had last seen her in the company of several Florentine ladies. Joy
+animated my soul when I beheld Vitangela seated in that arbor, and in
+the very spot, too, where I had beheld her upward of an hour previously.
+But she was now alone.
+
+"'Where are your friends?' I asked, in a kind tone, as I approached and
+gently took her hand.
+
+"'Indeed I know not,' she replied, casting a hurried glance around, and
+now appearing surprised to find that there was not another lady near
+her. She seemed confused; and I also observed that she had been weeping
+very recently. The joy which had for a moment animated me, was now
+succeeded by a sudden chill that went to my heart death-like--icy. But,
+subduing my emotion, I said:
+
+"'Your ladyship has not surely remained here ever since I last saw you,
+more than an hour ago?'
+
+"'Yes,' she responded, without daring to raise her eyes to meet mine. I
+knew that she lied, most foully lied: her confusion, her whole manner
+betrayed her. But I exercised a powerful mastery over my mind; the
+suspicion which I had all along entertained was strengthened greatly,
+but not altogether confirmed; and I resolved to wait for confirmation
+ere I allowed my vengeance to burst forth. Moreover, it was necessary to
+discover who the gallant might be--the favored one who had superseded me
+in the affections of Vitangela! I, however, promised myself that when
+once my information was complete, my revenge should be terrible; and
+this resolution served as a solace for the moment, and as an inducement
+for me to conceal alike the suspicions I had imbibed and the dreadful
+pain they had caused me.
+
+"Presenting my hand, therefore, to Vitangela, I escorted her to that
+part of the ground where the company were now assembled, and where I
+hoped that some accident might make known to me the person of the
+gallant with whom, as I supposed, she had walked in the avenue.
+Anxiously, but unsuspected, did I watch the manner of the countess every
+time she returned the salutation of the various nobles and cavaliers
+whom we encountered in our walk; but not a blush, not a sign of
+confusion on her part, not one rapidly dealt, but significant glance,
+afforded me the clew I so ardently sought. And yet it struck me that she
+often cast furtive and uneasy, or rather searching looks hither and
+thither, as if to seek and single out some one individual in the
+multitudes moving about the illuminated gardens. She was certainly
+pre-occupied, and even mournful, but I affected not to observe that a
+cloud hung over her spirits, and in order to throw her completely off
+her guard, I talked and laughed quite as gayly as was my wont. To be
+brief, the festivities terminated a little before sunrise, and I
+conducted the countess back to our mansion. From that night forth I
+maintained the strictest watch upon her conduct and proceedings. I
+appointed Margaretha, the mother of my page Antonio, to act the spy upon
+her; but weeks and months passed, and nothing occurred to confirm the
+terrible suspicion that haunted me night and day. I strove to banish
+that suspicion from my mind--Heaven knows how hard I tried to crush it.
+But it was immortal--and it beset me as if it were the ghost of some
+victim I had ruthlessly murdered. Vitangela saw that my manner had
+somewhat changed toward her, and she frequently questioned me on the
+subject. I, however, gave her evasive answers, for I should have been
+ashamed to acknowledge my suspicion if it were false, and it was only by
+keeping her off her guard I should receive confirmation if it were true.
+Thus nearly nine months passed away from the date of the ducal banquet,
+and then you, Francisco, were born. The presence of an heir to my name
+and wealth was a subject of much congratulation on the part of my
+friends; but to me it was a source of torturing doubts and racking
+fears. You never bore the least--no, not the least resemblance, either
+physical or mental, to me; whereas the very reverse was the case with
+Nisida, even in her infancy. From the moment of your birth--from the
+first instant that I beheld you in the nurse's arms--the most agonizing
+feelings took possession of my soul. Were you indeed my son?--or were
+you the pledge of adulterous love? Merciful heavens! in remembering all
+I suffered when the terrible thoughts oppressed me, I wonder that you,
+Francisco, should now be alive--that I did not strangle you as you lay
+in your cradle. And, oh God! how dearly I could have loved you,
+Francisco, had I felt the same confidence in your paternity as in that
+of your sister Nisida! But no--all was at least doubt and uncertainty in
+that respect--and, as your cast of features and physical characteristics
+developed themselves, that hideous doubt and that racking uncertainty
+increased until there were times when I was nearly goaded to do some
+desperate deed. Those mild blue eyes--that rich brown hair--that
+feminine softness of expression which marked your face belonged not to
+the family of Riverola!
+
+"Time wore on, and my unhappiness increased. I suspected my wife, yet
+dared not proclaim the suspicion. I sought to give her back my love, but
+was utterly unable to subdue the dark thoughts and crush the maddening
+uncertainties that agitated my soul. At last I was sinking into a state
+of morbid melancholy, when an incident occurred which revived all the
+energies of my mind. It was in 1505--Nisida being then ten years old,
+and you, Francisco, four--when Margaretha informed me one evening that
+the countess had received a letter which had thrown her into a state of
+considerable agitation, and which she had immediately burned. By
+questioning the porter at the gate of the mansion, I learnt that the
+person who delivered the letter was a tall, handsome man of about
+thirty-two, with brown hair, blue eyes, and a somewhat feminine
+expression of countenance. Holy Virgin! this must be the gallant--the
+paramour of my wife--the father of the boy on whom the law compelled me
+to bestow my own name. Such were the ideas that immediately struck me;
+and I now prepared for vengeance. Margaretha watched my wife narrowly,
+and on the evening following the one on which the letter had been
+delivered, Vitangela was seen to secure a heavy bag of gold about her
+person, and quit the mansion by the secret staircase of her
+apartment--that apartment which is now the sleeping-place of your sister
+Nisida.
+
+"Margaretha followed the countess to an obscure street, at the corner of
+which the guilty woman encountered a tall person, enveloped in a cloak,
+and who was evidently waiting for her. To him she gave the bag of gold,
+and they embraced each other tenderly. Then they separated--the countess
+returning home, unconscious that a spy watched her movements. Margaretha
+reported all that had occurred to me; and I bade her redouble her
+attention in watching her mistress. Now that the lover is once more in
+this city, I thought, and well provided with my gold to pursue his
+extravagance, there will soon be another meeting--and then for vengeance
+such as an Italian must have. But weeks and months again passed without
+affording the opportunity which I craved; yet I knew that the day must
+come--and I could tutor myself to await its arrival, if not with
+patience, at least with so much outward composure as to lull the
+countess into belief of perfect security.
+
+"Yes, weeks and months passed away, ay, and years, too, and still I
+nursed my hopes and projects of vengeance, the craving for which
+increased with the lapse of time.
+
+"And now I come to the grand, the terrible, the main incident in this
+narrative. It was late one night, in the month of January, 1510, Nisida
+being then fifteen and thou, Francisco, nine, that Margaretha came to me
+in my own apartment and informed me that she had seen the tall gallant
+traverse the garden hastily and obtain admission into the countess'
+chamber by means of the secret staircase. The hour for vengeance had at
+length come. Margaretha was instantly dispatched to advise two bravoes
+whose services I had long secured for the occasion, that the moment had
+arrived when they were to do the work for which they had been so well
+paid in advance, and by the faithful performance of which they would
+still further enrich themselves. Within half an hour all the
+arrangements were completed. Margaretha had retired to her own chamber
+and the bravoes were concealed with me in the garden. Nor had we long to
+wait. The private door opened shortly, and two persons appeared on the
+threshold. The night was clear and beautiful, and from my hiding-place I
+could discern the fondness of the embrace that marked their parting. And
+they parted, too, never to meet again in this life!
+
+"Vitangela closed the door--and her lover was passing rapidly along
+amidst the trees in the garden, when a dagger suddenly drank his heart's
+blood. That dagger was mine, and wielded by my hand! He fell without a
+groan--dead, stone-dead at my feet. Half of my vengeance was now
+accomplished; the other half was yet to be consummated. Without a
+moment's unnecessary delay the corpse was conveyed to a cellar beneath
+the northern wing of the mansion: and the two bravoes then hastened, to
+Vitangela's chamber, into which they obtained admission by forcing the
+door of the private staircase. In pursuance of the orders which they had
+received from me, they bound and gagged her, and conveyed her through
+the garden to the very cellar where, by the light of a gloomy lamp, she
+beheld her husband standing close by a corpse!
+
+"'Bring her near!' I exclaimed, unmoved by the looks of indescribable
+horror which she threw around.
+
+"When her eyes caught sight of the countenance of that lifeless being,
+they remained fixed with frenzied wildness in their sockets, and even if
+there had been no gag between her teeth, I do not believe that she could
+have uttered a syllable. And now commenced the second act in this
+appalling tragedy! While one of the bravoes held the countess in his
+iron grasp, in such a manner that she could not avert her head, the
+other, who had once been a surgeon, tore away the garments from the
+corpse, and commenced the task which I had before assigned to him. And
+as the merciless scalpel hacked and hewed away at the still almost
+palpitating flesh of the murdered man, in whose breast the dagger
+remained deeply buried,--a ferocious joy--a savage, hyena-like triumph
+filled my soul; and I experienced no remorse for the deed I had done!
+Far--very far from that--for as the work progressed, I exclaimed--
+
+"'Behold, Vitangela, how the scalpel hews that form so loved by thee!
+Now hack away at the countenance--deface that beauty--pick out those
+mild blue eyes!'--and I laughed madly!
+
+"The countess fainted, and I ordered her to be carried back to her
+apartment, where Margaretha awaited her. Indeed I had naturally foreseen
+that insensibility would result from the appalling spectacle which I
+compelled my wife to witness: and Margaretha was prepared to breathe
+dreadful menaces in her ears the moment she should recover--menaces of
+death to herself and both her children if she should reveal, even to her
+father confessor, one tittle of the scene which that night had been
+enacted! The surgeon-bravo did his work bravely; and the man who had
+dishonored me was reduced to naught save a skeleton! The flesh and the
+garments were buried deep in the cellar; the skeleton was conveyed to my
+own chamber, and suspended to a beam in the closet where you, Francisco,
+and your bride, are destined to behold it--ALONG WITH ANOTHER!
+
+"My vengeance was thus far gratified--the bravos were dismissed, and I
+locked myself up in my chamber for several days, to brood upon all I had
+done, and occasionally to feast my eyes with the grim remains of him who
+had dared to love my wife. During those days of seclusion I would see no
+one save the servant who brought me my meals. From him I learnt that the
+countess was dangerously ill--that she was indeed dying, and that she
+besought me to visit her if only for a moment. But I refused--implacably
+refused. I was convinced that she craved my forgiveness; and that I
+could not give.
+
+"Dr. Duras, who attended upon her, came to the door of my chamber and
+implored me to grant him an interview:--then Nisida sought a similar
+boon; but I was deaf to each and all.
+
+"Yes--for there was still a being on whom I yet longed to wreak my
+vengeance;--and that being was yourself, Francisco? I looked upon you as
+the living evidence of my dishonor--the memorial of your mother's
+boundless guilt. But I recoiled in horror from the idea of staining my
+hands with the blood of a little child--yet I feared if I came near
+you--if I saw your clinging affectionately to Vitangela--if I heard you
+innocently and unconsciously mock me by calling me 'father!'--I felt I
+should be unable to restrain the fury of my wrath!
+
+"I know not how long I should have remained in the seclusion of my own
+chamber--perhaps weeks and months, but one morning shortly after
+daybreak, I was informed by the only servant whom I would admit near me,
+that the countess had breathed her last during the night, and that
+Nisida was so deeply affected by her mother's death, that she, poor
+girl, was dangerously ill. Then I became frantic on account of my
+daughter; and I quitted my apartment, not only to see that proper aid
+was administered to her, but to complete the scheme of vengeance which I
+had originally formed. Thus, in the first place, Dr. Duras was enjoined
+to take up his abode altogether in the Riverola Palace, so long as
+Nisida should require his services; and, on the other hand, a splendid
+funeral was ordered for the Countess Riverola. But Vitangela's remains
+went not in the velvet-covered coffin to the family vault;--no--her
+flesh was buried in the same soil where rotted the flesh of her
+paramour--and her skeleton was suspended from the same beam to which his
+bones had been already hung. For I thought within myself: 'This is the
+first time that the wife of a Count of Riverola has ever brought
+dishonor and disgrace upon her husband; and I will take care that it
+shall be the last. To Nisida will I leave all my estates--all my wealth,
+save a miserable pittance as an inheritance for the bastard Francisco.
+She shall inherit the title, and the man on whom she may confer her hand
+shall be the next Count of Riverola. The wedding-day will be marked by a
+revelation of the mystery of this cabinet; and the awful spectacle will
+teach him, whoever he may be, to watch his wife narrowly--and will teach
+_her_ what it is to prove unfaithful to a fond husband! To both, the
+lesson will be as useful as the manner of conveying it will be
+frightful, and they will hand down the tradition to future scions of the
+Riverola family. Francisco, too, shall learn the secrets of the cabinet;
+he shall be taught why he is disinherited--why I have hated him: and
+thus even from the other world shall the spirits of the vile paramour
+and the adulterous wife behold the consequences of their crime
+perpetuated in this.'
+
+"Such were my thoughts--such were my intentions. But an appalling
+calamity forced me to change my views. Nisida, after a long and painful
+illness, became deaf and dumb; and Dr. Duras gave me no hope of the
+restoration of her lost faculties.
+
+"Terrible visitation! Then was it that I reasoned with myself--that I
+deliberated long and earnestly upon the course which I should pursue. It
+was improbable that, afflicted as Nisida was, she would ever marry; and
+I felt grieved, deeply grieved, to think that you, Francisco, being
+disinherited, and Nisida remaining single, the proud title of Riverola
+would become extinct; I therefore resolved on the less painful
+alternative of disinheriting you altogether; and I accordingly made a
+will by which I left you the estates, with the contingent title Count of
+Riverola, under certain conditions which might yet alienate both
+property and rank from you, and endow therewith your sister Nisida. For
+should she recover the faculties of speech and hearing by the time she
+shall have attained the age of thirty-six, she will yet be marriageable
+and may have issue; but should that era in her life pass, and she still
+be deaf and dumb, all hope of her recovery will be dead!
+
+"Thus if she still be so deeply afflicted at that age, you, Francisco,
+will inherit the vast estates and the lordly title which, through the
+circumstances of your birth, it grieves me to believe will ever devolve
+upon you.
+
+"Such were my motives for making that will which you are destined to
+hear read, doubtless before the time comes for you to peruse this
+manuscript. And having made that will, and experiencing the sad
+certainty that my unfortunate daughter will never become qualified to
+inherit my title and fortune, but that the name of Riverola must be
+perpetuated through your marriage, I have determined that to you and to
+your bride alone shall the dread secrets of the cabinet be revealed."
+
+Thus terminated the manuscript.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Powerful in meaning and strong in expression as the English language may
+be rendered by one who has the least experience in the proper
+combination of words, yet it becomes totally inadequate to the task of
+conveying an idea of those feelings--those harrowing emotions--those
+horrifying sentiments, which were excited in the breasts of Francisco di
+Riverola and the beautiful Flora by the revolution of the manuscript. At
+first the document begat a deep and mournful interest, as it related the
+interviews of the late count with Vitangela in the streets of Naples;
+then amazement was engendered by the announcement of that lovely and
+unhappy being's ignominious parentage--but a calmness was diffused
+through the minds of Flora and Francisco, as if they had found a resting
+place amidst the exciting incidents of the narrative when they reached
+that part which mentioned the marriage.
+
+Their feelings were, however, destined to be speedily and most painfully
+wrung once more; and Francisco could scarcely restrain his
+indignation--yes, his indignation even against the memory of his
+deceased father--when he perused those injurious suspicions which were
+recorded in reference to the honor of his mother. Though unable to
+explain the mystery in which all that part of the narrative was
+involved, yet he felt firmly convinced that his mother was innocent; and
+he frequently interrupted himself in the perusal of the manuscript to
+give utterance to passionate ejaculations expressive of that opinion.
+But it was when the hideous tragedy rapidly developed itself, and the
+history of the presence of two skeletons in the closet was detailed, it
+was then that language became powerless to describe the mingled wrath
+and disgust which Francisco felt, or to delineate the emotions of
+boundless horror and wild amazement that were excited in the bosom of
+Flora. In spasmodic shuddering did the young countess cling to her
+husband when she had learned how fearfully accurate was the manner in
+which the few lines of the manuscript which she had read many months
+previously in Nisida's boudoir, fitted in the text, and how appalling
+was the tale which the entire made. She was cruelly shocked, and her
+heart bled for that fine young man whom she was so proud to call her
+husband, but whom his late father had loathed to recognize as a son. And
+Nisida--what were her feelings as she lay stretched upon a couch,
+listening to the contents of the manuscript which she had read before?
+At first one hope--one idea was dominant in her soul, the hope that
+Flora would be crushed even to death by revelations which were indeed
+almost sufficient to overwhelm a gentle disposition and freeze the vital
+current in the tender and compassionate heart.
+
+But as Francisco read on, and when he came to those passages which
+described the sufferings and the cruel fate of her mother, then Nisida
+became a prey to the most torturing feelings--dreadful emotions were
+expressed by her convulsed countenance and wildly-glaring eyes--and she
+muttered deep and bitter anathemas against the memory of her own father.
+For well does the reader know that she had loved her mother to
+distraction; and thus the horrifying detail of the injuries heaped upon
+the head and on the name of that revered parent aroused all her fiercest
+passions of rage and hate as completely as if that history had been new
+to her, and as if she were now becoming acquainted with it for the first
+time. Indeed, so powerful, so terrible, was the effect produced by the
+revival of all those dread reminiscences and heart-rending emotions on
+the part of Nisida that, forgetting her malignant spite and her infernal
+hope with regard to Flora, she threw her whole soul into the subject of
+the manuscript: and the torrent of feelings to which she thus gave way
+was crushing and overwhelming to a woman of such fierce passions, and
+who had received so awful a shock as that which had stretched her on the
+couch where she now lay. For the fate of him whom she had loved with
+such ardor, and the revulsion that her affection experienced on account
+of the ghastly spectacle which Wagner presented to her view in his dying
+moments--the disgust and loathing which had been inspired in her mind by
+the thought that she had ever fondled that being in her arms and
+absolutely doted on the superhuman beauty that had changed to such
+revolting ugliness, it was all this that had struck her down--paralyzed
+her--inflicted a mortal, though not an instantaneous blow upon that
+woman so lately full of energy, so strong in moral courage, and so full
+of vigorous health. Thus impressed with the conviction that her end was
+approaching, the moment the perusal of the manuscript was concluded the
+Lady Nisida said, in a faint and dying tone of voice:
+
+"Francisco, draw near--as near as possible--and listen to what I have
+now to communicate, for it is in my power to clear up all doubt, all
+mystery relative to the honor of our sainted mother, and convince thee
+that no stigma, no disgrace attaches itself to thy birth!"
+
+"Alas! my beloved sister," exclaimed the young count, "you speak in a
+faint voice, you are very ill! In the name of the Holy Virgin! I conjure
+you to allow me to send for Dr. Duras!"
+
+"No, Francisco," said Nisida, her voice recovering somewhat of its power
+as she continued to address him: "I implore you to let me have my own
+way, to follow my own inclinations! Do not thwart me, Francisco; already
+I feel as if molten lead were pouring through my brain, and a tremendous
+weight lies upon my heart! Forbear, then, from irritating me, my
+well-beloved Francisco----"
+
+"Oh! Nisida," cried the young count, throwing his arms around his
+sister's neck and embracing her fondly; "if you love me now, if you ever
+loved me, grant me one boon! By the memory of our sainted mother I
+implore you, by your affection for her I adjure you, Nisida----"
+
+"Speak, speak, Francisco," interrupted his sister, hastily: "I can
+almost divine the nature of the boon you crave--and--my God!" she added,
+tears starting from her eyes, as a painful thought flashed across her
+brain,--"perhaps I have been too harsh--too severe! At all events, it is
+not now--on my death-bed--that I can nurse resentment----"
+
+"Your death-bed!" echoed Francisco, in a tone or acute anguish, while
+the sobs which convulsed the bosom of the young countess were heard
+alike by him and his sister.
+
+"Yes, dearest brother, I am dying," said Nisida, in a voice of profound
+and mournful conviction; "and therefore let me not delay those duties
+and those explanations which can alone unburden my heart of the weight
+that lies upon it! And first, Francisco, be thy boon granted--for I know
+that thou wouldst speak to me of her who is now thy bride. Come to my
+arms, then. Flora, embrace me as a sister, and forgive me if thou canst,
+for I have been a fierce and unrelenting enemy to thee!"
+
+"Oh, let the past be forgotten, my friend, my sister!" exclaimed the
+weeping Flora, as she threw herself into Nisida's outstretched arms.
+
+And the young wife and the young woman embraced each other tenderly--for
+deep regrets and pungent remorse at last attuned the mind of Nisida to
+sweet and holy sympathy.
+
+"And now," said Nisida, "sit down by my side, and listen to the
+explanations which I have promised. Give me your hand. Flora, dear
+Flora, let me retain it in mine; for at the last hour, and when I am
+about to leave this fair and beauteous earth, I feel an ardent longing
+to love those who walk upon its face, and to be loved by them in return.
+But, alas, alas!" she added, somewhat bitterly, "reflections and
+yearnings of this nature come too late! O Flora! the picture of life is
+spread before you--while from me it is rapidly receding, and dissolving
+into the past. Like our own fair city of palaces and flowers, when seen
+from a distance beneath the glorious lights of the morning, may that
+glorious picture continue to appear to thee; and may'st thou never draw
+near enough to recognize the false splendors in which gorgeous hues may
+deck the things of this world; may'st thou never be brought so close to
+the sad realities of existence as to be forced to contemplate the
+breaking hearts that dwell in palaces, or to view in disgust the slime
+upon flowers."
+
+"Nisida," said Francisco, bending over his sister, and speaking in a
+voice indicative of deep emotion, "the kind words you utter to my
+beloved Flora shall ever--ever remain engraven upon my heart."
+
+"And on mine also," murmured the young countess, pressing Nisida's hand
+with grateful ardor, while her eyes, radiant with very softness, threw a
+glance of passionate tenderness upon her generous-hearted and handsome
+husband.
+
+"Listen to me," resumed Nisida, after a short pause, during which she
+gave way to all the luxury of those sweet and holy reflections which the
+present scene engendered: and these were the happiest moments of the
+lady's stormy life. "Listen to me," she repeated; "and let me enter upon
+and make an end of my explanations as speedily as possible. And first,
+Francisco, relative to our sainted--our innocent--our deeply-wronged and
+much-injured mother. You have already learned that she was the daughter
+of the public executioner of Naples; and you have heard that ere she
+became our father's wife she swore a solemn oath--she pledged herself in
+the most solemn manner that she would never even allude to her
+family--that she would not communicate to them the name of her husband
+nor the place of his abode, under any circumstances--in a word, that she
+would consider her father and brother as dead to her! And yet she had a
+tender heart; and after she became the Countess of Riverola she very
+often thought of the parent who had reared her tenderly and loved her
+affectionately; she thought also of her brother Eugenio, who had ever
+been so devoted to his sister. But she kept her promise faithfully for
+five years; until that fatal day of April, 1500, which our father has so
+emphatically mentioned in his narrative. It was in the garden belonging
+to the ducal palace that she suddenly encountered her brother
+Eugenio----"
+
+"Her brother!" ejaculated Francisco, joyfully. "Oh! I knew, I felt
+certain that she was innocent."
+
+"Yes, she was indeed innocent," repeated Nisida, "But let me pursue my
+explanations as succinctly as possible. It appeared that the old
+man--the executioner of Naples--was no more; and Eugenio, possessing
+himself of the hoardings of his deceased father, had fled from his
+native city to avoid the dread necessity of assuming the abhorrent
+office. Accident led the young adventurer to Florence in search of a
+more agreeable employment as a means whereby to earn his livelihood, and
+having formed the acquaintance of one of the duke's valets, he obtained
+admittance to the gardens on that memorable evening when the grand
+entertainment was given. In spite of the strict injunctions he had
+received not to approach the places occupied by the distinguished
+guests, he drew near the arbor in which our mother had been conversing
+with other ladies, but where she was at that moment alone. The
+recognition was immediate, and they flew into each other's arms. It
+would have been useless, as well as unnatural, for our mother to have
+refused to reveal her rank and name; her brilliant attire was sufficient
+to convince her brother that the former was high, and inquiry would
+speedily have made him acquainted with the latter. She accordingly drew
+him apart into a secluded walk and told him all; but she implored him to
+quit Florence without delay, and she gave him her purse and one of her
+rich bracelets, thereby placing ample resources at his disposal. Five
+years passed away, and during that period she heard no more of her
+brother Eugenio. But at the expiration of that interval she received a
+note stating that he was again in Florence--that necessity had alone
+brought him hither, and that he would be at a particular place at a
+certain hour to meet either herself or some confidential person whom she
+might instruct to see him. Our mother filled a bag with gold, and put
+into it some of her choicest jewels, and thus provided, she repaired in
+person to the place of appointment. It grieved her generous heart thus
+to be compelled to meet her brother secretly, as if he were a common
+robber or a midnight bravo; but for her husband's peace, and in
+obedience to the spirit of the oath which imperious circumstances had
+alone led her in some degree to violate, she was forced to adopt that
+sad and humiliating alternative."
+
+"Alas! poor mother!" sobbed Francisco, deeply affected by this
+narrative.
+
+"Again did five years elapse without bringing tidings to our mother of
+Eugenio," continued Nisida, "and then he once more set foot in Florence.
+The world bad not used him well--Fortune had frowned upon him--and,
+though a young man of fine spirit and noble disposition, he failed in
+all his endeavors to carve out a successful career for himself. Our
+mother determined to accord him an interview in her own apartment. She
+longed to converse with him at her ease--to hear his tale from his own
+lips--to sympathize with and console him. Oh! who could blame her if in
+so doing she departed from the strict and literal meaning of that vow
+which had bound her to consider her relations as dead to her? But the
+fault--if fault it were--was so venial, that to justify it is to invest
+it with an importance which it would not have possessed save for the
+frightful results to which it led. You have already heard how foully he
+was waylaid, how ruthlessly he was murdered! Holy Virgin! my brain
+whirls when I reflect upon that hideous cruelty which made our mother
+the spectator of his dissection; for, even had he been a lover--even
+were she guilty--even if the suspicions of our father had all been
+well-founded----"
+
+"Dwell not upon this frightful topic, my beloved Nisida!" exclaimed
+Francisco, perceiving that she was again becoming greatly excited, for
+her eyes dilated and glared wildly, her bosom heaved in awful
+convulsions, and she tossed her arms frantically about.
+
+"No, I will not--I dare not pause to ponder thereon," she said, falling
+back upon the pillow, and pressing her hands to that proud and haughty
+brow behind which the active, racking brain appeared to be on fire.
+
+"Tranquilize yourself, dearest sister," murmured Flora, bending over the
+couch and pressing her lips on Nisida's burning cheek.
+
+"I will, I will, Flora, whom I now love as much as I once hated!"
+exclaimed the dying lady. "But let me make an end of my explanations.
+You already know that our dear mother was gagged when she was compelled
+to witness the horrible deeds enacted in the subterranean charnel-house
+by the dim light of a sickly lamp; but even if she had not been, no word
+would have issued from her lips, as the manuscript justly observes.
+During her illness, however, she sought an interview with her husband
+for the purpose of proving to him her complete innocence, by revealing
+the fact that his victim was her own brother! But he refused all the
+entreaties proffered with that object, and our unfortunate mother was
+forced to contemplate the approach of death with the sad conviction that
+she should pass away without the satisfaction of establishing her
+guiltlessness in the eyes of our father. Then was it that she revealed
+everything to me--to me alone--to me, a young girl of only fifteen when
+those astounding facts were breathed into my ears. I listened with
+horror, and I began to hate my father, for I adored my mother. She
+implored me not to give way to any intemperate language or burst of
+passion which might induce the inmates of the mansion to suspect that I
+was the depositary of some terrible secret.
+
+"'For,' said our mother, when on her death-bed, 'if I have ventured to
+shock your young mind by so appalling a revelation, it is only that you
+may understand wherefore I am about to bind you by a solemn vow to love,
+protect, and watch over Francisco, as if he were your own child, rather
+than your brother. His father, alas! hates him. This I have observed
+ever since the birth of that dear boy, but it is only by means of the
+dread occurrence of the other night that I have been able to divine the
+origin of that dislike and unnatural loathing. Your father, Nisida,'
+continued my mother, 'believes that I have been unfaithful, and suspects
+that Francisco is the offspring of a guilty _amour_. With this terrible
+impression upon his mind, he may persecute my poor boy; he may
+disinherit him; he may even seek to rid him of life. Kneel, then, by my
+bedside, Nisida, and swear by all you deem sacred--by the love you bear
+for me--and by your hopes of salvation, that you will watch unweariedly
+and unceasingly over the welfare and the interests of Francisco--that
+you will make any sacrifice, incur any danger, or undergo any privation,
+to save him from the effects of his father's hate--that you will exert
+all possible means to cause the title and fortune of his father to
+descend to him, and that you will in no case consent to supplant him in
+those respects--and lastly, that you will keep secret the dread history
+of my brother's fate and your knowledge of your father's crime.' To all
+these conditions of the vow I solemnly and sacredly pledged myself,
+calling Heaven to witness the oath. But I said to our mother, 'My father
+will not forever remain locked up in his own apartment; he will come
+forth sooner or later, and I must have an opportunity of speaking to
+him. May I not justify you, my dear mother, in his eyes? May I not
+assure him that Eugenio was your brother? He will then cease to hate
+Francisco, and may even love him as he loves me; and you may then have
+no fears on his account."
+
+"'Alas! the plan which you suggest may not be put into execution,'
+replied our dying mother; 'for were your father to be aware that I had
+revealed the occurrences of that dread night to you, Nisida, he would
+feel that he must be ever looked upon as a murderer by his own child!
+Moreover, such appears to be the sad and benighted state of his mind,
+that he might peradventure deem the tale relative to Eugenio a mere
+excuse and vile subterfuge. No; I must perish disgraced in his eyes,
+unless he should accord ere I die, the interview which yourself and the
+good Dr. Duras have so vainly implored him to grant me.'
+
+"Our dear mother then proceeded to give me other instructions,
+Francisco, relative to yourself; but these," added Nisida, glancing
+toward Flora, "would _now_ be painful to unfold. And yet," she
+continued, hastily, as a second thought struck her, "it is impossible,
+my sweet Flora, that you can be weak-minded--for you have this day seen
+and heard enough to test your mental powers to the extreme possibility
+of their endurance. Moreover, I feel that my conduct toward you requires
+a complete justification; and that justification will be found in the
+last instructions which I received from the lips of my mother."
+
+"Dearest Nisida," said the young countess, "no justification is
+needed--no apology is required in reference to that subject; for your
+kind words, your altered manner toward me now, your recognition of me as
+a sister, made so by union with your brother--oh! this would efface from
+my mind wrongs ten thousand times more terrible than any injury which I
+have sustained at your hands. But," continued Flora, in a slow and
+gentle tone, "if you wish to explain the nature of these instructions
+which you received from the lips of your dying parent, let not my
+presence embarrass you."
+
+"Yes, I do wish to render my explanation as complete as possible,
+dearest Flora," replied Nisida; "for if I have acted severely toward
+you, it was not to gratify any natural love of cruelty, nor any mean
+jealousy or spite; on the contrary, the motives were engendered by that
+imperious necessity which has swayed my conduct, modeled my disposition,
+and regulated my mind ever since that fatal day when I knelt beside my
+mother's death-bed, and swore to obey her last words. For thus did she
+speak, Flora--'Nisida, there is one more subject relative to which I
+must advise you, and in respect to which you must swear to obey me. My
+own life furnished a sad and terrible lesson of the impropriety of
+contracting an unequal marriage. All my woes--all my sorrows--all the
+dreadful events which have occurred--may be traced to the one great fact
+that the Count of Riverola espoused a person of whose family he was
+ashamed. Nisida,' she continued, her voice becoming fainter and fainter,
+'watch you narrowly and closely over the welfare of Francisco in this
+respect. Let him not marry beneath him; let him not unite himself to one
+whose family contains a single member deserving obloquy or reproach.
+Above all, see that he marries not till he shall have reached an age
+when he will be capable of examining his own heart through the medium of
+experience and matured judgment. If you see him form a boyish attachment
+of which you have good and sufficient reason to disapprove, exert
+yourself to wean him from it: hesitate not to thwart him; be not moved
+by the sorrows he may manifest at the moment; you will be acting for his
+welfare; and the time will speedily come when he will rejoice that you
+have rescued him from the danger of contracting a hasty, rash, and
+ill-assorted marriage.' These were the last instructions of our mother,
+Francisco; and I swore to obey them. Hence my sorrow, my fears, my anger
+when I became aware of the attachment subsisting between yourself, dear
+brother, and you, my sweet Flora: and that sorrow was enhanced--those
+fears were augmented--that danger was increased, Flora, when I learnt
+that your brother Alessandro had renounced the creed of the true God,
+and that your family thereby contained a member deserving of obloquy and
+reproach. But that sorrow, those fears, and that anger have now departed
+from my soul. I recognize the finger of Heaven--the will of the Almighty
+in the accomplishment of your union, despite of all my projects, all my
+intrigues to prevent it. I am satisfied, moreover, that there is in this
+alliance a fitness and a propriety which will insure your happiness: and
+may the spirit of my sainted mother look down from the empyrean palace
+where she dwells, and bless you both, even as I now implore the divine
+mercy to shed its beauties and diffuse its protecting influence around
+you."
+
+Nisida had raised herself up to a sitting posture as she uttered this
+invocation so sublimely interesting and solemnly sincere; and the
+youthful pair, simultaneously yielding to the same impulse, sank upon
+their knees to receive the blessing of one who had never bestowed a
+blessing on mortal being until then! She extended her hands above those
+two beautiful, bending heads: and her voice, as she adjured Heaven to
+protect them, was plaintively earnest and tremulously clear, and its
+musical sound seemed to touch the finest chord of sympathy, devotion,
+and love that vibrated in the hearts of that youthful noble and his
+virgin bride. When this solemn ceremony was accomplished, an immense
+weight appeared to have been removed from the soul of the Lady Nisida of
+Riverola; and her countenance wore a calm and sweet expression, which
+formed a happy contrast with the sovereign hauteur and grand contempt
+that were wont to mark it.
+
+"I have now but little more to say in explanation of my past conduct,"
+she resumed, after a long pause. "You can readily divine wherefore I
+affected the loss of those most glorious faculties which God has given
+me. I became enthusiastic in my resolves to carry out the injunctions of
+my dear and much-loved mother; and while I lay upon a bed of sickness--a
+severe illness produced by anguish and horror at all I had heard from
+her lips, and by her death, so premature and sad--I pondered a thousand
+schemes, the object of which was to accomplish the great aims I had in
+view. I foresaw that I--a weak woman--then, indeed, a mere girl of
+fifteen--should have to constitute myself the protectress of a brother
+who was hated by his own father; and I feared lest that hatred should
+drive him to the adoption of some dreadful plot to rid himself of your
+presence, Francisco--perhaps even to deprive you of your life. I knew
+that I must watch all his movements and listen to all his conversations
+with those unprincipled wretches who are ever ready to do the bidding of
+the powerful and the wealthy. But how was all this to be
+accomplished?--how was I to become a watcher and a listener--a spy ever
+active, and an eavesdropper ever awake--without exciting suspicions
+which would lead to the frustration of my designs, and perhaps involve
+both myself and my brother in ruin? Then was it that an idea struck me
+like a flash of lightning; and like a flash of lightning was it terrible
+and appalling, when breaking on the dark chaos of my thoughts. At first
+I shrank from it--recoiled from it in horror and dismay;--but the more I
+considered it--the longer I looked that idea in the face--the more I
+contemplated it, the less formidable did it seem. I have already said
+that I was enthusiastic and devoted in my resolves to carry out the
+dying injunctions of my mother:--and thus by degrees I learnt to reflect
+upon the awful sacrifice which had suggested itself to my imagination as
+a species of holy and necessary self-martyrdom. I foresaw that if I
+affected the loss of hearing and speech, I should obtain all the
+advantages I sought and all the means I required to enable me to act as
+the protectress of my brother against the hatred of my father. I
+believed also that I should not only be considered as unfit to be made
+the heiress of the title and fortune of the Riverola family, but that
+our father, Francisco, would see the absolute necessity of treating you
+in all respects as his lawful and legitimate son, in spite of any
+suspicions which he might entertain relative to your birth. There were
+many other motives which influenced me, and which arose out of the
+injunctions of our mother,--motives which you can well understand, and
+which I need not detail. Thus it was that, subduing the grief which the
+idea of making so tremendous a sacrifice excited, on the one hand--and
+arming myself with the exultation of a martyr, on the other,--thus it
+was that I resolved to simulate the character of the deaf and dumb. It
+was, however, necessary to obtain the collusion of Dr. Duras; and this
+aim I carried after many hours of argument and persuasion. He was then
+ignorant--and still is ignorant--of the real motives which had prompted
+me to this self-martyrdom;--but I led him to believe that the gravest
+and most important family interests required that moral immolation of my
+own happiness;--and I vowed that unless he would consent to aid me, it
+was my firm resolve to shut myself up in a convent and take the veil.
+This threat, which I had not the least design of carrying into effect,
+induced him to yield a reluctant acquiescence with my project: for he
+loved me as if I had been his child. He was moreover consoled somewhat
+by the assurance which I gave him, and in which I myself felt implicit
+confidence at the time, that the necessity for the simulation of
+deafness and dumbness on my part would cease the moment my father should
+be no more. In a word, the kind Dr. Duras promised to act entirely in
+accordance with my wishes; and I accordingly became Nisida the deaf and
+dumb!"
+
+"Merciful heavens! that immeasurable sacrifice was made for me!" cried
+Francisco, throwing himself into the arms of his sister and imprinting a
+thousand kisses on her cheeks.
+
+"Yes--for your sake and in order to carry out the dying commands of our
+mother, the sainted Vitangela?" responded Nisida. "I shall not weary you
+with a description of the feelings and emotions with which I commenced
+that long career of duplicity; by the very success that attended the
+part which I had undertaken to perform you may estimate the magnitude
+and the extent of the exertions which it cost me thus to maintain myself
+a living--a constant--and yet undetected lie! Ten years passed away--ten
+years, marked by many incidents which made me rejoice, for your sake,
+Francisco, that I had accepted the self-martyrdom which circumstances
+had suggested to me. At length our father lay upon his death bed: and
+then--oh! then I rejoiced--yes, rejoiced, though he was dying; for I
+thought that the end of my career of duplicity was at hand. Judge, then,
+of my astonishment--my grief--my despair, when I heard the last
+injunctions which our father addressed to you, Francisco, on that bed of
+death. What could the mystery of the closet mean? Of that I _then_ knew
+nothing. Wherefore was I to remain in complete ignorance of the
+instructions thus given to you? And what was signified by the words
+relative to the disposal of our father's property? For you may remember
+that he spoke thus, addressing himself of course to you:--'You will find
+that I have left the whole of my property to you. At the same time my
+will specifies certain conditions relative to your sister Nisida, for
+whom I have made due provision only in the case--which is, alas! almost
+in defiance of every hope!--of her recovery from that dreadful
+affliction which renders her so completely dependent upon your
+kindness.' These ominous and mysterious words seemed to proclaim defeat
+and overthrow to all the hopes that I had formed relative to the
+certainty of your being left the sole and unconditional heir alike to
+title and estate. I therefore resolved to maintain the character of the
+deaf and dumb until I should have fathomed the secrets of the closet,
+and have become acquainted with the conditions of the will. Oh! well do
+I remember the glance which the generous-hearted Duras cast toward me,
+when, returning to the chamber, he inquired by means of that significant
+look whether the last words of our dying father were prognostic of hope
+for me--whether, indeed, the necessity of sustaining the dreadful
+duplicity would cease when he should be no more. And I remember, also,
+that the look and the sign, by which I conveyed a negative answer were
+expressive of the deep melancholy that filled his soul."
+
+"Alas! my dear self-sacrificed sister," murmured Francisco, tears
+trickling down his cheeks.
+
+"Yes--my disappointment was cruel indeed," continued Nisida. "But the
+excitement of the scenes and incidents which followed rapidly the death
+of our father, restored my mind to its wonted tone of fortitude, vigor,
+and proud determination. That very night, Francisco, I took the key of
+the cabinet from your garments, while you slept--I sped to the chamber
+of death--I visited the depository of horrible mysteries--and for the
+first time I became aware that two skeletons were contained in that
+closet! And whose fleshless relics those skeletons were, the dreadful
+manuscript speedily revealed to me. Then was it also for the first time
+that I learnt how Margaretha was the detestable spy whose agency had led
+to such a frightful catastrophe in respect to Eugenio and Vitangela;
+then I became aware that our mother's corpse slept not in the vault to
+which a coffin had been consigned:--in a word, the full measure of our
+sire's atrocity--O God! that I should be compelled thus to speak--was
+revealed to me! But on Margaretha have I been avenged," added Nisida, in
+a low tone, and with a convulsive shudder produced by the recollection
+of that terrible night when she immolated the miserable woman above the
+grave where lay a portion of the remains of her mother and of Eugenio.
+
+"You have been avenged on Margaretha, sister," ejaculated Francisco,
+surveying Nisida with apprehension.
+
+"Yes," she replied, her large black eyes flashing with a scintillation
+of the former fires: "that woman--I have slain her! But start not,
+Flora--look not reproachfully upon me, Francisco: 'twas a deed fully
+justified, a vengeance righteously exercised, a penalty well deserved!
+And now let me hasten to bring my long and tedious explanations to a
+conclusion--for they have occupied a longer space than I had at first
+anticipated, and I am weak and faint. Little, however, remains to be
+told. The nature of our father's will compelled me to persist in my
+self-martyrdom: for I had sworn to my dying mother not to accept any
+conditions or advantages which should have the effect of disinheriting
+you, Francisco."
+
+"Oh! what a debt of gratitude do I owe thee, my beloved sister!"
+exclaimed the young count, deeply affected by the generous sacrifices
+made by Nisida on his behalf.
+
+"And think you I have experienced no reward?" asked the lady in a sweet
+tone, and with a placid smile: "do you imagine that the consciousness of
+having devoted myself to the fulfillment of my adored mother's wishes
+has been no recompense? Yes--I have had my consolations and my hours of
+happiness, as well as my sufferings and periods of profound affliction.
+But I feel a soft and heavenly repose stealing over me--'tis a sweet
+sleep, and yet it is not the slumber of death! No, no; 'tis a delicious
+trance into which I am falling--'tis as if a celestial vision----"
+
+She said no more. Her eyes closed, she fell back and slept soundly.
+
+"Merciful Heavens! my sister is no more!" exclaimed Francisco, in terror
+and despair.
+
+"Fear not, my beloved husband," said Flora; "Nisida sleeps, and 'tis a
+healthy slumber. The pulsations of her heart are regular; her breath
+comes freely. Joy, joy, Francisco, she will recover!"
+
+"The Holy Virgin grant that your hope may be fulfilled!" returned the
+young count. "But let us not disturb her. We will sit down by the
+bedside, Flora, and watch till she shall awake."
+
+But scarcely had he uttered these words when the door of the chamber
+opened, and an old man of venerable appearance, and with a long beard as
+white as snow, advanced toward the newly married pair.
+
+Francisco and Flora beheld him with feelings of reverence and awe, for
+something appeared to tell them that he was a mortal of no common order.
+
+"My dear children," he said, addressing them in a paternal manner, and
+his voice firm, but mild, "ye need not watch here for the present.
+Retire, and seek not this chamber again until the morning of to-morrow.
+Fear nothing, excellent young man, for thou hast borne arms in the cause
+of the cross. Fear nothing, amiable young lady, for thou art attended by
+guardian angels."
+
+And as the venerable man thus addressed them severally, he extended his
+hands to bless them; and they received that blessing with holy meekness,
+and yet with a joyous feeling which appeared to be of glorious augury
+for their future happiness. Then, obedient to the command of the
+stranger, they slowly quitted the apartment--urged to yield to his will
+by a secret influence which they could not resist, but which
+nevertheless animated them with a pious confidence in the integrity of
+his purpose. The door closed behind them, and Christian Rosencrux
+remained in the room with the dead Wagner and the dying Nisida.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER LXIV.
+
+
+While the incidents related in the last few chapters were taking place
+at the Riverola Palace, the council of state had assembled to receive
+the grand vizier, the mighty Ibrahim, who had signified his intention of
+meeting that august body at three o'clock in the afternoon. Accordingly,
+as soon as he had witnessed the marriage ceremony which united his
+sister to the Count of Riverola, he returned from Wagner's mansion to
+his own pavilion in the midst of the Ottoman encampment. There he
+arrayed him in a manner becoming his exalted rank, and mounting his
+splendid caparisoned steed, he repaired with a brilliant escort to the
+ducal palace. The streets of the city of Florence were thronged with
+multitudes eager to gain a sight of the representative of the sultan--a
+view of the man whose will and pleasure swayed the greatest empire in
+existence at that period of the world's age!
+
+And as Ibrahim passed through those avenues so well known to
+him--threaded those thoroughfares, each feature of which was so
+indelibly impressed upon his memory--and beheld many, many familiar
+spots, all of which awakened in his mind reminiscences of a happy
+childhood, and of years gone by; when, too, he reflected that he had
+quitted Florence poor, obscure, and unmarked amidst the millions of his
+fellow-men; and that now, as he entered the beauteous city, multitudes
+came forth to gaze upon him, as on one invested with a high rank and
+enjoying a power mighty to do much; when he thought of all this, his
+bosom swelled with mingled emotions of pride and tenderness, regret and
+joy; and while tears trembled upon his long black lashes, a smile of
+haughty triumph played on his lips. On, on the procession goes, through
+the crowded streets and across the spacious squares, watched by the eyes
+of transcendent beauty and proud aristocracy from the balconies of
+palaces and the casements of lordly mansions; on, on, amidst a wondering
+and admiring populace, and grateful, too, that so great a chief as
+Ibrahim should have spared their city from sack and ruin.
+
+At length the grand vizier, attended by the great beglerbegs and pashas
+of his army, entered the square of the ducal palace; and as his prancing
+steed bore him proudly beneath the massive arch, the roar of artillery
+announced to the City of Flowers that the Ottoman Minister was now
+within the precincts of the dwelling of the Florentine sovereign. The
+duke and the members of the council of state were all assembled in the
+court of the Palazzo to receive the illustrious visitor, who, having
+dismounted from his horse, accompanied the prince and those high
+dignitaries to the council-chamber. When the personages thus assembled
+had taken their seats around the spacious table, covered with a rich red
+velvet cloth, the grand vizier proceeded to address the duke and the
+councilors.
+
+"High and mighty prince, and noble and puissant lords," he said, in the
+tone of one conscious of his power, "I am well satisfied with the manner
+in which my demands have been fulfilled up to this moment. Two ladies,
+in whom I feel a deep and sincere interest, and who were most unjustly
+imprisoned to suit the vindictive purposes of the Count of Arestino,
+have been delivered up to me: and ye have likewise agreed to make full
+and adequate atonement for the part which Florence enacted in the late
+contest between the Christians and Mussulmans in the Island of Rhodes. I
+have therefore determined to reduce my demands upon the republic, for
+indemnity and compensation, to as low a figure as my own dignity and a
+sense of that duty which I owe to my sovereign (whom God preserve many
+days!) will permit. The sum that I now require from your treasury,
+mighty prince and puissant lords, is a hundred thousand pistoles; and in
+addition thereto, I claim peculiar privileges for Ottoman vessels
+trading to Leghorn, guaranty of peace on the part of the republic for
+three years, and the release of such prisoners now in the dungeons of
+the inquisition, whom it may seem good to me thus to mark out as
+deserving of your mercy."
+
+"A hundred thousand pistoles, my lord, would completely exhaust the
+treasury of the republic," said the duke, with dismay pictured upon his
+countenance.
+
+"Think you," cried the grand vizier, angrily, "that I shall dare to face
+my imperial master, on my return to Constantinople, unless I be able to
+lay at his feet a sum adequate to meet the expenses incurred by this
+expedition of a great fleet and a powerful army?"
+
+"Your highness will at least accord us a few days wherein to obtain the
+amount required," said the duke, "for it will be necessary to levy a tax
+upon the republic!"
+
+"I grant you until sunset, my lord--until sunset this evening." added
+the grand vizier, speaking with stern emphasis. "And if you will permit
+me to tender my advice, you will at once command the grand inquisitor
+and the Count of Arestino to furnish the sum required: for the former, I
+am inclined to suspect, is a most unjust judge, and the latter, I am
+well convinced, is a most cruel and revengeful noble."
+
+"The Count of Arestino is no more, your highness," answered the duke.
+"The Marquis of Orsini murdered him before the very eyes of the grand
+inquisitor, and will therefore head the procession of victims at the
+approaching _auto-da-fe_."
+
+"By the footstool of Allah! that shall not be!" exclaimed Ibrahim. "The
+machinations of the Count of Arestino threw into the inquisition
+dungeons those two ladies whom ye delivered up to me last night; and it
+was my intention, when I spoke of releasing certain prisoners ere now,
+to stipulate for the freedom of all those whom the vengeance of that
+count has immured in your accursed prison-house. See then, my lords,
+that all those of whom I speak be forthwith brought hither into our
+presence!"
+
+It may be proper to inform the reader that Flora had solicited her
+brother to save the Marquis of Orsini and the Countess Giulia, to whom
+the young wife of Francisco had been indebted for her escape from the
+Carmelite Convent; for, as the secrets of the torture chamber were never
+suffered to transpire, she was of course ignorant of the death of the
+guilty Giulia, and of the assassination of the Count of Arestino by the
+Marquis of Orsini.
+
+At the command of Ibrahim Pasha, who spoke in a firm and resolute
+manner, the duke summoned a sentinel from the corridor adjoining the
+council chamber, and issued the necessary orders to fulfill the desire
+of the grand vizier. Nearly a quarter of an hour elapsed during which
+one of the councilors drew up the guaranty of peace and of the
+commercial privileges demanded by Ibrahim. At length the door opened,
+and several familiars made their appearance, leading in Manuel d'Orsini
+and Isaachar ben Solomon, both heavily chained. The former walked with
+head erect, and proud bearing; the latter could scarcely drag his
+wasted, racked, and tottering limbs along, and was compelled to hang
+upon the arms of the familiars for support. Nevertheless, there was
+something so meek--so patient and so resigned in the expression of the
+old and persecuted Israelite's countenance, that Ibrahim Pasha's soul
+was touched with a sentiment of pity in his behalf.
+
+"But these are not all the prisoners," exclaimed the grand vizier,
+turning angrily toward the duke; "where is the Countess Giulia of
+Arestino?"
+
+"My lord, she is no more," answered the prince.
+
+"And Heaven be thanked that she is indeed no more!" cried Manuel
+d'Orsini, in a tone of mingled rage and bitterness. "Fortunate is it for
+her that death has snatched her away from the grasp of miscreants in
+human shape and who call themselves Christians. My lord," he continued,
+turning toward Ibrahim, "I know not who you are; but I perceive by your
+garb that you are a Moslem, and I presume that your rank is high by the
+title addressed to you by the duke----"
+
+"Presume not thus to intrude your observations on his highness the grand
+vizier!" exclaimed one of the councilors in a severe tone.
+
+"On the contrary," said Ibrahim Pasha, "let him speak, and without
+reserve. My Lord of Orsini, fear not--I will protect you."
+
+"The remark I was about to make, illustrious vizier," cried Manuel, "is
+brief, though it may prove not palatable to the patrons of the
+inquisition and the supporters of that awful engine of despotism and
+cruelty," he added, glancing fiercely at the duke and the assembled
+councilors. "I was anxious to observe that the Christian Church has
+founded and maintained that abhorrent institution; and that there is
+more true mercy--more genuine sympathy--and more of the holy spirit of
+forgiveness in the breast of this reviled, despised and persecuted Jew,
+than in the bosoms of all the miserable hypocrites who have dared to
+sanction the infernal tortures which have been inflicted upon him. For
+myself, I would not accept mercy at their hands; and I would rather go
+in the companionship of this Jew to the funeral pile, than remain alive
+to dwell amongst a race of incarnate fiends, calling themselves
+Christians!"
+
+"This insolence is not to be borne," exclaimed the duke, starting from
+his seat, his countenance glowing with indignation.
+
+"Your highness and all the councilors now assembled well merit the
+reproaches of the Marquis of Orsini," said the grand vizier, sternly.
+"But it is for _me_ to command here, and for _you_ to obey, proud
+prince! Let the chains be removed from those prisoners forthwith."
+
+The duke sank back in his chair, and, subduing his rage as well as he
+was able, he made a sign to the familiars to set the Jew and the marquis
+at liberty.
+
+"Grand vizier," exclaimed Manuel, "the life and the liberty which, at
+your all-powerful nod are restored to me will prove irksome and
+valueless if I be compelled to remain in a Christian land. Confer not
+favors by halves, my lord--render me completely grateful to you! Take me
+into your service--even as a slave, if your highness will; but let me
+accompany to a Mussulman country a Mussulman who can teach the
+Christians such a fine lesson of mercy and forgiveness."
+
+"You shall go with me to Constantinople, Manuel--but not as a slave,"
+returned Ibrahim, profoundly touched by the sincere tone and earnest
+manner of the young noble; "no--you shall accompany me as a friend."
+
+"A thousand thanks, grand vizier, for this kindness--this generosity!"
+said the marquis, deeply affected; then as a sudden idea struck him, he
+turned toward the Jew exclaiming, "But we must not leave this old man
+behind us. 'Twere the same as if we were to abandon a helpless child in
+the midst of a forest inhabited by ferocious wolves."
+
+"Yes--yes--let me accompany you, excellent young man!" murmured
+Isaachar, clinging to the arm of the marquis, for their chains were now
+knocked off. "You were the first Christian who ever spoke kindly to me;
+and I have no kith--no kindred on the face of the earth. I am a
+lone--desolate old man; but I have wealth--much wealth, Manuel
+d'Orsini--and all that I have shall be thine."
+
+"The Jew shall accompany us, my lord," said Ibrahim, addressing himself
+to the marquis; then, turning toward the duke, he exclaimed in a severe
+tone, "But a few hours remain till sunset, and the ransom of a hundred
+thousand pistoles must be paid to me; or I will deliver up this proud
+palace and the homes of the councilors now assembled to the pillage of
+my troops."
+
+"Nay--nay, my lord!" cried the Jew, horror-struck at the threat; "bring
+not the terrors of sack, and storm, and carnage into this fair city! A
+hundred thousand pistoles, your highness says,--a hundred thousand
+pistoles," he added, in a slower and more musing tone; "'tis a large
+sum--a very large sum! And yet--to save so many men and their innocent
+families from ruin--from desolation---- Yes, my lord," he exclaimed,
+hastily interrupting himself--"I--I will pay you the ransom-money."
+
+"No--by Allah!" ejaculated Ibrahim; "not a single pistole shall be thus
+extorted from thee! Sooner shall the Florentine Treasury grant thee an
+indemnification for the horrible tortures which thou hast endured, than
+thy wealth be poured forth to furnish this ransom-money. Come, my Lord
+of Orsini--come, worthy Jew," continued the grand vizier, rising from
+his seat, "we will depart to the Ottoman encampment."
+
+"Patience, your highness, for a few hours," urged the duke, "and the
+hundred thousand pistoles shall be counted out before thee."
+
+"This poor man," answered the grand vizier, indicating the Jew with a
+rapid glance, "has been so racked and tortured in your accursed
+prison-house, that he cannot be too speedily placed under the care of my
+own chirurgeon. For this reason I depart at once; see that the ransom be
+dispatched to my pavilion ere the sun shall have set behind the western
+hills."
+
+With these words the grand vizier bowed haughtily to the duke, and
+quitted the council chamber. Manuel d'Orsini followed, supporting
+Isaachar ben Solomon; and, on reaching the court, one of Ibrahim's
+slaves took the Jew up behind him on his steed. The marquis was provided
+with a horse; and the cavalcade moved rapidly away from the precincts of
+the ducal palace. Profiting by the hint which Ibrahim Pasha had offered
+them, the duke and the councilors instantly levied a heavy fine upon the
+grand inquisitor; and the remainder of the money required to make up the
+amount demanded, was furnished from the public treasury. Thus by the
+hour of sunset the ransom was paid.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+At an early hour on the ensuing morning, Francisco di Riverola and his
+beautiful, blushing bride quitted the chamber where they had passed the
+night in each other's arms, and repaired to the apartment where so many
+terrible mysteries had been revealed to them, and so many dreadful
+incidents had occurred on the preceding day. Hand in hand they had
+traversed the passages and the corridors leading to that room in which
+they had left Christian Rosencrux with the dead Wagner and the dying
+Nisida; hand in hand and silently they went--that fine young noble and
+charming bride!
+
+On reaching the door of the chamber, Francisco knocked gently; and the
+glance of intelligence which passed between himself and Flora showed
+that each was a prey to the same breathless suspense; the same mingled
+feelings of bright hopes and vague fears. In a few moments the door was
+slowly opened; and the venerable old man appeared, his countenance
+wearing a solemn and mournful aspect. Then Francisco and the young
+countess knew that all was over; and tears started into their eyes.
+
+Christian Rosencrux beckoned them to advance toward the bed, around
+which the curtains were drawn closer; and as they entered the room, the
+rapid and simultaneous glances which they cast toward the spot where
+Fernand Wagner fell down and surrendered up his breath, showed them that
+the corpse had been removed. Approaching the bed with slow and measured
+steps, Rosencrux drew aside the drapery; and for a moment Francisco and
+Flora shrank back from the spectacle which met their view; but at the
+next instant they advanced to the couch, and contemplated with mournful
+attention the scene presented to them. For there--upon that couch--side
+by side, lay Fernand Wagner and Nisida of Riverola--stiff, motionless,
+cold.
+
+"Grieve not for her loss, children," said Christian Rosencrux; "she has
+gone to a happier realm--for the sincere repentance which she manifested
+in her last hours has atoned for all the evil she wrought in her
+lifetime. From the moment, young lady, when she banished from her soul
+the rancor long harbored there against thee--from the instant that she
+received thee in her arms, and called thee sister--the blessing of
+Heaven was vouchsafed unto her. She was penitent, very penitent, while I
+administered to her the consolations of religion, and a complete change
+came over her mind. Grieve not, then, for her; happy on earth she never
+could have been again--but happy in heaven she doubtless now is!"
+
+Francisco and the young countess knelt by the side of the couch, and
+prayed for a long time in silence, with their faces buried in their
+hands. When they again raised their heads, and glanced around, the
+venerable old man no longer met their eyes. Christian Rosencrux had
+departed, leaving Francisco and Flora in complete ignorance of his name;
+but they experienced a secret conviction that he was something more than
+an ordinary mortal; and the remembrance of the blessing which he had
+bestowed upon them the preceding day, shed a soothing and holy influence
+over their minds.
+
+Little now remains to be said; a few brief observations and a rapid
+glance at the eventual fortunes and fates of the leading characters in
+the tale, will acquit us of our task. Nisida and Wagner were entombed in
+the same vault; and their names were inscribed upon the same mural
+tablet. The funeral was conducted with the utmost privacy--and the
+mourners were few, but their grief was sincere. And among them was Dr.
+Duras, who had loved Nisida as if she had been his own child. On the
+night following the one on which these obsequies took place, another
+funeral procession departed from the Riverola Palace to the adjacent
+church; and two coffins were on this occasion, as on the former,
+consigned to the family tomb. But the ceremony was conducted with even
+more privacy than the first; and one mourner alone was present. This was
+Francisco himself; and thus did he perform the sad duty of interring in
+sacred ground the remains of his ill-fated mother Vitangela and her
+brother Eugenio. The manuscript of the late Count of Riverola was burnt;
+the closet which so long contained such fearful mysteries was walled up;
+the chamber where so many dreadful incidents had occurred was never used
+during the lifetime of Francisco and Flora. The grand vizier remained
+with his army a few days beneath the walls of Florence: and during that
+time Isaachar ben Solomon so far recovered his health and strength,
+under the skillful care of an Egyptian physician, as to be able to visit
+his dwelling in the suburb of Alla Croce, and secure the immense wealth
+which he had amassed during a long life of activity and financial
+prosperity.
+
+When the day of the grand vizier's departure arrived, he took a tender
+farewell of his sister Flora and his aunt, both of whom he loaded with
+the most costly presents; and in return, he received from Francisco a
+gift of several horses of rare breed and immense value. Nor did this
+species of interchange of proofs of attachment end here, for every year,
+until Ibrahim's death, did that great minister and the Count of Riverola
+forward to each other letters and rich presents--thus maintaining to the
+end that friendship which had commenced in the Island of Rhodes, and
+which was cemented by the marriage of Francisco and Flora. Isaachar ben
+Solomon and Manuel d'Orsini accompanied the grand vizier to
+Constantinople, and were treated by him with every mark of distinction.
+But the Jew never completely recovered from the tortures which he had
+endured in the prison of the inquisition; and in less than two years
+from the date of his release, he died in the arms of the marquis, to
+whom he left the whole of his immense fortune. Manuel d'Orsini abjured
+Christianity, and entered the Ottoman service, in which his success was
+brilliant and his rise rapid, thanks to the favor of the grand vizier.
+The reader of Ottoman history will find the name of Mustapha Pasha
+frequently mentioned with honor in the reign of Solyman the
+Magnificent--and Mustapha Pasha, beglerbeg of the mighty province of
+Anatolia, was once Manuel d'Orsini.
+
+For nearly sixteen years did Ibrahim Pasha govern the Ottoman realms in
+the name of the sultan: for nearly sixteen years did he hold the
+imperial seals which had been intrusted to him at a period when the
+colossal power of the empire seemed tottering to its fall. During that
+interval he raised the Ottoman name to the highest pinnacle of
+glory--extended the dominions of his master--and shook the proudest
+thrones in Christendom to their foundation. Ferdinand, King of Hungary,
+called him "brother," and the Emperor Charles the Fifth of Germany
+styled him "cousin" in the epistolary communications which passed
+between them. But a Greek who had long, long cherished a deadly hatred
+against the puissant grand vizier, at last contrived to enter the
+service of the sultan in the guise of a slave; and this man, succeeding
+in gaining that monarch's ear, whispered mysterious warnings against the
+ambition of Ibrahim. Solyman became alarmed; and, opening his eyes to
+the real position of affairs, perceived that the vizier was indeed far
+more powerful than himself. This was enough to insure the immediate
+destruction of a Turkish minister.
+
+Accordingly, one evening, Ibrahim was invited to dine with the sultan,
+and to sleep at the imperial palace. Never had Solyman appeared more
+attached to his favorite than on this occasion and Ibrahim retired to a
+chamber prepared for him, with a heart elated by the caresses bestowed
+upon him by his imperial master. But in the dead of night he was
+awakened by the entrance of several persons into the room; and starting
+up with terror, the grand vizier beheld _four black slaves_, headed by a
+Greek, creep snake-like toward his couch. And that Greek's countenance,
+sinister and menacing, was immediately recognized by the affrighted
+Ibrahim--though more than fifteen years had elapsed since he had set
+eyes upon those features. Short and ineffectual was the struggle against
+the messengers of death; the accursed bowstring encircled the neck of
+the unhappy Ibrahim, and at the moment when the vindictive Greek drew
+tight the fatal noose, the last words which hissed in the ears of the
+grand vizier, were--"The wrongs of Calanthe are avenged!"
+
+Thus perished the most powerful minister that ever held the imperial
+seals of Ottoman domination;--and the long-pent-up but never subdued
+vindictive feelings of Demetrius were assuaged at length! Dame
+Francatelli had long been numbered with those who were gone to their
+eternal homes when the news of the death of Ibrahim Pasha reached
+Florence. But the Count and Countess of Riverola shed many, many tears
+at the sad and untimely fate of the grand vizier.
+
+Time, however, smooths down all grief; and happiness again returned to
+the Riverola Palace. For when Francisco and Flora looked around them and
+beheld the smiling progeny which had blessed their union,--when they
+experienced the sweet solace of each other's sympathy, the outpourings
+of two hearts which beat as one, ever in unison, and filled with a
+mutual love which time impaired not,--then they remembered that it was
+useless and wrong to repine against the decrees of Providence; and, in
+this trusting faith in Heaven and in the enjoyment of each other's
+unwearying affection, they lived to a good old age--dying at length in
+the arms of their children.
+
+
+
+
+[THE END.]
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Wagner, the Wehr-Wolf, by George W. M. Reynolds
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author	Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org>	2025-10-15 02:34:12 -0700
committer	Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org>	2025-10-15 02:34:12 -0700
commit	c667688206c0a4b45ee39aeff415d2848edef329 (patch)
tree	c8a2c933b6512935838a673f6692f9870a0b7ca0