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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..64d3efd --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #55457 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/55457) diff --git a/old/55457-8.txt b/old/55457-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 9d36c01..0000000 --- a/old/55457-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6274 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Creature of the Night, by Fergus Hume - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: A Creature of the Night - An Italian Enigma - -Author: Fergus Hume - -Release Date: August 30, 2017 [EBook #55457] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A CREATURE OF THE NIGHT *** - - - - -Produced by Charles Bowen from page scans provided by the -Internet Archive (The Library of Congress). - - - - - - - - - - - -Transcriber's Notes: - 1. Page scan source: The Internet Archive - https://archive.org/details/creatureofnighti00hume_0 - (The Library of Congress.) - 2. Chapter XVII. (Nemesis) is misnumbered as XV. in this - edition. - - - - - - -A CREATURE OF THE NIGHT - - - - - -A CREATURE OF THE NIGHT -_AN ITALIAN ENIGMA_ - -BY -FERGUS HUME -AUTHOR OF -"THE MYSTERY OF A HANSOM CAB," "MADAME MIDAS," -"MISS MEPHISTOPHELES," "MONSIEUR JUDAS" - - - - - Yea, out of the womb of the night - For evil a rod, - With vampire wings plumed for a flight - It cometh abroad, - The mission to curse and to blight - Permitted by God. - - - - -NEW YORK -JOHN W. LOVELL COMPANY -150 WORTH ST., COR. MISSION PLACE - - - - - - -Copyright, 1891, -BY -UNITED STATES BOOK COMPANY --------- - -_All rights reserved_. - - - - - - -TO -GRAHAM PRICE, -IN REMEMBRANCE OF ITALIAN IDLINGS, -SPRING, 1891. - - - - - - - -CONTENTS - - -CHAPTER. - -I. The Ghoul. -II. A Boccaccian Adventure. -III. The Feast of Ghosts. -IV. The Angello Household. -V. Lost. -VI. A Haunted Palace. -VII. At the Teatro Ezzelino. -VIII. The Phantom of Lucrezia Borgia. -IX. Fiore della Casa. -X. A Voice in the Darkness. -XI. The Marchese Beltrami. -XII. Death in Life. -XIII. "Down among the Dead Men." -XIV. The New Lazarus. -XV. Found. -XVI. An Interrupted Honeymoon. -XVII. Nemesis. -XVIII. A Last Word. - - - - - - -CREATURE OF THE NIGHT. - - - - -CHAPTER I. -THE GHOUL. - - -I think it is Lord Beaconsfield who, in one of his brilliant stories, -makes the clever observation that "adventures are to the adventurous," -and certainly he who seeks for adventures even in this prosaic -nineteenth century will surely succeed in his quest. Fate leads him, -chance guides him, luck assists him, and although the adventure -supplied by this trinity of circumstances may be neither so dangerous -nor so picturesque as in the time of Borgia or Lazun, still it will -probably be interesting, which after all is something to be grateful -for in this eminently commonplace age of facts and figures. Still, -even he who seeks not to prove the truth of Disraeli's aphorism, may, -after the principle of Mahomet's mountain, have the adventure come to -him, without the trouble of looking for it, and this was my case at -Verona in the summer of 18--. - -The Cranstons were always a poor family, that is, as regards money, -although they certainly could not complain of a lack of ancestors; and -when it came to my turn to represent the race, I found that my lately -deceased father had left me comparatively nothing. Not having any -fixed income, I therefore could not live without doing something to -earn my bread; and not having any business capacity, I foresaw failure -would be my lot in mercantile enterprise. I was not good-looking -enough to inveigle a wealthy heiress into matrimony; and as, after a -survey of my possessions, I found I had nothing but a few hundred -pounds and an excellent baritone voice, I made up my mind to use the -former in cultivating the latter with a view to an operatic career. - -Italy, living on the traditions of the days of Rossini, of Donizetti -and of Bellini, has still the reputation of possessing excellent -singing-masters, so to Italy I went with a hopeful heart and a light -purse, and established myself at Milan, where I took lessons, in -singing, from Maestro Angello. Milan is a detestable city, hot and -arid in summer, cold and humid in winter; and as a year after I -arrived in the land of song the end of spring was unusually -disagreeable, Maestro Angello went to Verona for a change of air, and -thither I followed him with no small pleasure at escaping from that -dreary commercial capital of the north which has all the disagreeables -of Italian life without any of the compensating advantages of romance -and beauty. - -But Verona! ah, it was truly delightful, that sleepy town lying so -peacefully on the banks of the rapid Adige, dreaming amid the riotous -present of the splendid past, when Can Grande held his brilliant -court, and received as an honoured guest the great poet Dante, exiled -by ungrateful Florence. The city of the gay rhymer Catullus, merry -lover of Lesbia, who wept more tears over her sparrow than she did -over her poet. The city of Romeo and Juliet, star-crossed lovers as -they were, who were recompensed for their short, unhappy lives by -gaining immortality from the pen of Shakespeare as types of eternal -love and eternal constancy, for the encouragement of all succeeding -youths and maidens of later generations. Yes, indeed, with all these -memories, historical and poetical, Verona was a pleasant place in -which to idle away a summer, so I thanked the kind gods for my good -fortune and enjoyed myself. - -Not that I was idle. By no means! Maestro Angello kept me hard at work -at exercises and scales, so I studied industriously most of the day -and wandered about most of the night in the soft, cool moonlight, when -Verona looked much more romantic than in the garish blaze of the -Italian sun. - -It was on one of these nights that an adventure happened to me, an -adventure in which I was involved by the merest chance, although I -confess that the vice of curiosity had a good deal to do with my -entanglement therein. - -After dining at the hotel I went out for my customary stroll, and -having lighted a pipe as a preventive against the evil odours which -seem inseparable from all Italian towns, I wandered on through the -deserted streets in a listless, aimless fashion, contrasting in my own -mind the magnificent Verona of the past with the dismal Verona of the -present. Taken up with these fantastic dreamings, I did not notice -particularly where I was going, or how quickly the time was passing, -until I found myself on the Ponte Aleardi--that iron bridge which -spans the Adige--and heard the church bells chiming the hour of -eleven. - -The moon was shining in the darkly blue sky amid the brilliant stars, -and the leaden waters of the river shone like a band of steel in -the pale, silvery light. On either side of the stream lowered dark -masses of houses, from the windows of which gleamed here and there -orange-coloured lights, while against the clear sky arose the tall -steeples of the churches and the serrated outlines of full-foliaged -trees. It was wonderfully beautiful, and the soft wind blowing through -the night, rippled the swift waters to lines of ever-vanishing white; -so leaning over the balustrade of the bridge, I dreamed and smoked, -and smoked and dreamed, until the chiming of the half-hour warned me -to return to my hotel. - -The night, however, was so beautiful and cool, that I could not but -think of my hot sleeping-chamber with repugnance, and feeling -disinclined for rest, I made up my mind to stroll onward for some -time. I might have visited that fraudulent tomb of Juliet in the -moonlight, but as I had already seen it by day, and could not feel -enthusiastic about such a palpable deception, I refused to be further -victimised, and crossed over the bridge to the left shore of the -river. - -It was somewhat solitary, there, but I was not afraid of robbers, as I -had but little money and no jewellery on me, and moreover I felt that, -should occasion arise, I could use my fists sufficiently well to -protect myself. Being thus at ease regarding my personal safety, I -lighted a cigar which luckily happened to be in my pocket, and -wandered on until I came within sight, of the cemetery. - -Now I firmly believe that every one has in him a vein of superstition -which is developed in accordance with his surroundings. Place a man at -midday in a bustling city, and he scoffs at the idea of the -supernatural; but let him find himself at midnight alone on a solitary -moor, with the shadows of moonlight on every side, and all his -inherent superstition will start to life, peopling the surrounding -solitude with unseen phantoms, more terrible than those of the Arabian -Nights. Whether it was the time of night, or the proximity of the -burial-ground, I do not know, but I felt my breast fill with vague -fears, and hastened to leave the uncanny spot as quickly as possible. - -Fate, however, was against me, for in my blind speed, instead of -crossing the bridge, I turned to the left, and unexpectedly found -myself in the vicinity of another burial-ground. It was apparently -much older than the one I had first seen, and there was a ruined wall -around it, overtopped by tall, melancholy cypresses, looming black and -funereal against the midnight sky. By this time I had recovered my -nerve, and feeling somewhat ashamed of my former ignominious flight, I -determined to punish myself by entering this antique abode of the -dead, and examining it thoroughly. - -With this idea I climbed over a portion of the broken wall, and in the -shadow of the cypress-trees--shadow dense as the darkness of Egypt--I -viewed the mournful scene before me, with mingled feelings of -curiosity and dread. - -It was evidently very old, for even under the softening light of the -moon, the near tombs looked discoloured and time-worn. I saw the soft -swell of the green turf, betokening graves, upon which grew the grass -long and rank; the milky gleam of slender white columns, broken at the -top to typify the short lives of those who slept below; and while -yonder, in frowning grey stone, stood a solemn pyramid, built in -imitation of those Egyptian monsters by the Nile, here, near at hand, -a miniature temple of white marble, delicate and fragile in -construction, hinted at the graceful architecture of Greece. Among -these myriad tombs arose the slender, lance-shaped cypress-trees, and -their dark forms alternating with gleaming crosses of white marble, -sombre pyramids, classic temples, and innumerable lines of tall -columns, gave to this singular scene the aspect of a visionary city of -the dead, which had become visible to mortal eyes by the enchantments -of the moon. - -Fascinated by the weirdness of this solitude, I let my cigar fall to -the ground, and, hidden in the gloom of the cypress-trees, stared long -and earnestly at this last abode of the old Veronese, when suddenly my -hair bristled at the roots, a cold sweat broke out on my forehead, and -a nervous shudder made my frame tremble as if with ague. - -The cause of this sudden fear was that, while wrapt in contemplation -of this desolate necropolis, I heard a laugh, a low, wicked laugh, -which seemed to come from the bowels of the earth. It was now nearly -midnight, that hour when the dead are said to come forth and wander -among the living, whose nightly sleep so strangely mocks the semblance -of that still repose which chains these spectres to their tombs during -the day. This idea pierced my brain like a knife, and for the moment, -under the influence of the hour, the ghastly scene, the evil laugh, I -believed that I was about to witness this terrible resurrection. I -tried to turn and fly, but my limbs were paralyzed, and like a statue -of stone I stood there rooted to the earth, feeling as if I were under -the influence of some horrible nightmare. - -Again I heard that wicked laugh, and this time it seemed to come from -a tomb near me, a square block of gray stone, in the centre of which -was an iron door, evidently the entrance to some vault. Beside this -portal stood a life-sized figure in white marble of the Angel of -Death, guarding the entrance with a flaming sword, the undulating -blade of which seemed, to my startled eye, to waver against the -blackness of the door. All round this strange tomb the grass grew long -and thick, but, half veiled by the tangled herbage, star-shaped -flowers glimmered in the moonlight. - -In another moment I would have fled, when for the third time I heard -the evil laugh, the iron door of the tomb slowly opened, and a dark -figure appeared on the threshold. The sight was so terrifying that I -tried to mutter a prayer, feeling at the time as firm a belief in the -visitation of the dead as any old woman; but my throat was so dry that -I could do nothing but remain silent in my hiding-place and stare at -this ghoul, vampire, wraith, or whatever it was, leaving its tomb. - -To add to the horror of the situation, the moon had obscured herself -behind a thick cloud, and there was now a deep darkness over all the -graveyard, a darkness in which I could see nothing, and only hear the -faint sigh of the wind, the rustle of the dry grasses, and the loud -beating of my heart. - -Suddenly I felt that this creature of the night was passing near me, -and in abject terror I shrank back against the rough trunk of the tree -under which I was standing. I heard nothing in the still night, I saw -nothing in the thick darkness; but I felt it pass, by that sixth sense -which is possessed by those who have highly strung nerves. In another -moment the moon emerged from behind the clouds in all her splendour, -and the burst of light gave me courage, for without considering the -danger, either material or immaterial, I rushed quickly towards the -broken wall, in which direction I judged this unseen ghoul had gone. - -The white moonlight flooded the whole space between the burial-ground -and the river, so that I saw clearly this figure walking quickly away -in the direction of the Ponte Aleardi. It was draped in a long black -cloak with a monkish hood, and with its trailing, noiseless garments -it seemed to glide along in the moonlight like a shadow. - -I had been so quick in my pursuit that it was only a little distance -away, and as I peered cautiously over the broken wall it paused for a -moment, and, throwing back its hood, looked towards the place where I -was hiding. The space between us was so small and the moonlight so -lustrous that I could see the face and head plainly rising from amid -the dark drapery. - -The face was that of a woman, a beautiful woman with full crimson -lips, large dark eyes, and great masses of reddish-coloured hair, for -even in the cold moonlight I could see the warm, bronze glint of her -tresses. One hand, slender and white, clasped the dark robe to her -breast, and she looked towards the darkness of the broken wall as if -she knew that some one had seen her terrible resurrection. On her -delicate features there was a cold, stern look, like that of the -ancient Medusa, and truly I felt as if I were turning into stone -before the cruel glare of those eyes which seemed to pierce the gloom -in which I lay hid. It will be said that I describe somewhat minutely -the appearance of this ghoul, seeing that I only beheld her for a -moment in the pale, uncertain gleam of the moon; but so close was she -to the wall, and so highly strung were my nerves by the weirdness of -the situation, that the sudden apparition of this creature of the -night photographed itself indelibly on my brain. - -At last she seemed satisfied with her gazing at the burial-ground from -whence she had emerged, and, again drawing her hood over her face, -glided rapidly away towards the Ponte Aleardi. Moved by curiosity and -supernatural fear, I determined to follow this spectre and find out -where she was going, so without a moment's hesitation I jumped down, -and, keeping in the shadow of the wall, stole after her noiselessly -and swiftly. - -Who was she? Some unhappy ghost of antique Verona, who had committed -one of those terrible crimes invented by Lucrezia Borgia, and who was -condemned by God to nightly revisit the scene of her former splendour -as a punishment for her evil life? Some ghoul who left the feast of -the dead in order to prey upon the living? Some vampire, lusting for -blood, hastening towards the sleeping city to select her victim and -drain him of his life-blood? All the wild, weird tales which I had -heard recurred to my memory; all the terrible legends of Brittany, of -the East, of Spain, and of the savage North. The memories of witches -rifling the dead for their unholy needs, of wizards holding orgies in -lonely churchyards, of magicians evoking the silent tenants of the -grave by powerful spells, and of demons entering the bodies of the -newly dead in order to roam the midnight world--all these gruesome -ideas surged in my brain like the delirium of fever. - -My fear had passed away. I felt intensely curious to know the errand -upon which this woman was bent, and, with all my faculties sharpened -by danger, I sped swiftly after this flying spectre, which, looking -neither to right nor left, glided rapidly onward towards the sleeping -city of Verona. - - - - -CHAPTER II. -A BOCCACCIAN ADVENTURE. - - -Italian towns are very perplexing to strangers. Keep to the principal -thoroughfares built in modern days, and you may have a reasonable hope -of finding your way about; but once get enmeshed in the crooked, -narrow, winding streets of the period of the middle ages and you are -lost. The Italians, like Nature, delight in curves, and these narrow -alleys, with cobble-stone pavements and no side-walks, dignified by -the name of streets, twist in and out, and here and there, between -forbidding houses, seven or eight stories in height, under heavy -archways, which threaten to fall and crush the unwary stranger, and -down steep flights of worn steps, until you become quite bewildered by -the labyrinthian windings. Then these houses are built high in order -to exclude the burning sun from the alleys, and a cold, humid feeling -pervades the entire network of streets; so that what with the gloom, -the twistings, and the treacherous pitfalls in dark corners, one feels -like Orpheus going down to Hades in search of lost Eurydice. - -Having been warned of the difficulty of exploring these unknown -depths, I had mostly confined my wanderings to the broad, modern -streets and the populous piazzas; therefore as long as my spectre -guide kept to the Via Pallone, which begins at the Ponte Aleardi and -ends at the Piazza Vittoria Emanuele, I felt quite safe. When, -however, after leaving the Piazza she plunged into the narrow streets -of the medieval period, I hesitated at first to follow her. I did not -know my way, I was a stranger, and unarmed; moreover, I knew not into -what unknown dangers I might be led by this mysterious woman who had -emerged from the graveyard. - -Curiosity, however, prevailed over fear, and as at any moment I might -lose sight of her, and thereby never discover if she were of this or -the other world, I followed her boldly into the intense gloom into -which she had vanished. My eyes could hardly pierce the darkness, and -I feared I would not be able to keep her in sight, when luckily a -portion of her cloak became disarranged, and I saw the vivid glimmer -of a white dress, on which I kept my eyes fastened as a guiding star. - -Here and there in the houses lights were burning dimly, but the hour -being late, no people were in the streets; and as I followed this -noiseless phantom along the solitary alleys, with the dark houses on -either hand, and the white gleam of the moonlit sky above, I felt as -if I were moving in a dream. - -Onward she glided, turning down here, climbing up there, until my feet -were weary with walking; and besides, not knowing the way, I stumbled -frequently, which gave me many a bruise. The darkness, however, seemed -no obstacle to the ghoul, who walked onward as rapidly as if she were -still in the moonlight; on the contrary, it was only by the greatest -care that I could grope my way sufficiently quickly to keep her in -sight, and prevent her from discovering me by my frequent stumbles. - -I was about to give up the chase in despair, when suddenly she led me -out on to a small square, and hastening across it, disappeared into a -palace at the further end. I remained in the alley until she vanished, -as I feared if I followed her too closely she might perceive me in the -moonlight. The place, which occupied the whole of one side of the -square, was a richly decorated building, with a great arched portal in -the centre; but I had no time to examine it closely, for, fearful of -losing my ghoul, I ran quickly across the square, came to the portal, -and was stopped by an iron gate. - -It was one of those heavy iron gates common to Italian palaces, which -stretching across from wall to wall, afford a view of the inner court, -and are only open on festive occasions, or to admit vehicles. I knew -that entrance was ordinarily afforded by a side door, and without -doubt this was the way she had gone, unless indeed, being -supernatural, she found bolts and bars no hindrance. Determined to -pursue this strange adventure to the end, I sought the side door, but, -on finding it, discovered to my vexation that it was locked. I could -not enter that way, and the bars of the iron gate were so close -together, that a man of my size could not possibly squeeze through -them, so to all appearances the adventure, as far as I was concerned, -was finished. - -Making one last effort, however, I felt all the iron bars singly, to -see if any one was loose, in which case I could remove it and thus -slip through; when to my astonishment, on the left side of the gate -furthest from the door, I found that one of the bars had been wrenched -away. Without waiting to consider this, which was curious to say the -least of it, I concluded that the woman, if indeed she were flesh and -blood, had entered by this breach in the gate, so at once took -advantage of my discovery and soon found myself in the courtyard. The -palace appeared to be quite deserted, as the windows were all broken, -and the ironwork of the balconies which ran round the four sides of -the courtyard, at different heights, was twisted out of all shape; -besides which, the mosaic pavement upon which I stood was smashed in -several places, and grass grew between the interstices. I could see -all this plainly in the moonlight, and, moreover, as a great door at -the end of the courtyard opposite the iron gate was slightly ajar, -while all the other smaller doors were closed, I came to the -conclusion that the ghoul had gone in there. My conjecture proved -correct, for as, hiding in the shadow, I peered into the gloom of the -building, I saw the sudden flare of a torch which the woman had just -fired, and with this in her hand she began to climb up a flight of -steps--at least, so I judged from seeing the torch rise higher and -higher in the darkness until it vanished altogether. - -The lightning of the torch made me believe that I had to do with flesh -and blood, as certainly no phantom would use natural ways and means in -preference to supernatural; so directly the light disappeared, I stole -cautiously across what appeared to be a large hall, grasping my -walking-stick tightly in case of any surprise. I could not disguise -from myself that my curiosity had led me into a very perilous -adventure, but, as since the affair of the torch I had quite recovered -my nerve, I went resolutely forward, and, feeling my way carefully in -the dark, climbed up the staircase. - -At the first turning of the ascent all was still in darkness, but on -taking the second turning I saw the torch gleaming like a fierce -yellow star in the gloom of a long corridor. Luckily I had very light, -thin shoes on, and trod cautiously, otherwise the echo of my footsteps -would most surely have betrayed me to the mysterious torch-bearer. The -palace was certainly not inhabited, as I heard nothing to support such -a belief; but as I hastened along the wide corridor, through the -windows on the left side streamed the pale moonlight, and I saw that -the glass in these windows was painted to represent coats-of-arms, so -without doubt this deserted mansion had once been the residence of -some great Veronese noble. - -But what was the ghoul doing here? Why had she come from her vault in -the churchyard to this neglected habitation? Again the fear seized me -that this creature was a phantom of some splendid lady of the middle -ages, come to revisit the scenes or her antique magnificence. The cold -air as I passed along seemed full of the strange perfume of -sandalwood, and this sensuous odour in conjunction with the flitting -torch, the coloured shadows cast on the floor by the moonlight -streaming in through the painted windows, and the state of nervous -excitement in which I was, all made me feel like the hero of one of -those amorous adventures which are described in the glowing pages of -Boccaccio. - -Once more the torch disappeared round a corner to the left, but in a -moment I had it again in sight; another flight of shallow steps, -another short corridor, and at the end an arched door, through which -the phantom disappeared. At the door I paused to consider what I -should do next, as, if I rashly entered the room, I might pay for my -temerity with my life; so I stood irresolutely at the half-open door, -ready to fly at the least sign of danger. - -As I stood at the door in the intense gloom, for there were no windows -in this corridor, I saw a faint glimmer of light in the room within, -and this light remaining stationary for some considerable time, I -judged that the lady of the sepulchre had left the torch there and -retired into some inner chamber. Resolving, therefore, to risk the -attempt, I peered into the apartment, and saw the torch stuck in a -socket made in a small table in the centre of this small hall, which -was hung with ancient tapestry. At the end opposite the portal through -which I was looking, was an opening draped with heavy red curtains -embroidered with gold, for every now and then as they stirred I saw -the dull glitter of the tarnished metal. - -Determined not to be discovered, I thought it a capital plan to hide -between the tapestry and the wall, so as to secure good concealment, -and then steal along the walls until I arrived at the curtained -opening, through which I hoped to be able to see into the room beyond. -Just as I made up my mind to put this plan into practice, the torch, -which had been burning very low, flickered and went out, so that the -hall was in complete darkness. In the gloom, however, rays of bright -light shone through the embroidered curtains. I heard the murmur of -voices, and then the sharp, clear notes of a mandolin. The ghoul -evidently had some one with her, perhaps the unfortunate individual -whom she proposed to devour; so as no time was to be lost, I slipped -into the apartment, enconced myself between the tapestry and the wall -on the left of the door, and prepared to creep along, if possible, to -the curtained archway. While I paused a moment to regain breath and -courage, for certainly the situation was not without an element of -danger, the metallic notes of the mandolin ceased and a man's voice -began singing some Italian song, but one with which, in spite of my -knowledge of music, I was not acquainted. It was a slow and sensuous -melody of passionate sweetness with an undercurrent of sadness, and -the singer had a remarkably fine tenor voice, sounding full and rich -even through the heavy curtains, which prevented me hearing the words -clearly. Evidently this was an amorous rendezvous, but why was it -taking place in this deserted palace, and why had the lady come from a -vault in a graveyard to keep it? - -All at once the singer stopped abruptly in the middle of a phrase, I -heard the mandolin suddenly smashing on the marble floor, and then -sounded the low, wicked laugh I had first heard at the burial-ground. -Filled with anxiety to learn the meaning of all these strange events, -I glided rapidly along the wall, and speedily arrived at the curtained -opening. Being afraid to pull it to one side lest I should be -discovered, I took out my penknife and made a slit in the heavy -embroidery; then, looking through the opening thus obtained, I beheld -a most extraordinary spectacle. - -A circular chamber, not very large, but very lofty, surrounded by -eight half-pillars of veined white marble built into the wall, and -supporting a domed ceiling richly painted with garlands of flowers, -from amid which peered the smiling faces of beautiful women. Between -these noble pillars hung voluminous draperies of darkly red velvet, -all magnificently embroidered with fantastic designs in tarnished gold -thread, but, curiously enough, the apartment had no windows, neither -in the ceiling nor at the sides, so whatever took place within could -not be seen save through the curtained archway. - -In the centre of the white marble floor stood a low, heavy table, -richly gilt, and covered with the remains of a splendid feast. The -gorgeousness of the vessels thereon was truly marvellous, consisting, -as they did, of elaborately chased silver epergnes filled with -brilliantly-coloured fruits; many-branched candelabra of gold, bearing -slender wax tapers to illuminate the apartment; gracefully carved -jugs, of wonderful designs which must have emanated from the brains of -Cellini himself; and strangely shaped antique goblets which put me in -mind of the sacramental cups used in Italian churches at the -celebration of the mass. The voluptuous scent of sandalwood pervaded -the heavy atmosphere of the chamber; gold and silver and crystal shone -in the mellow light of the myriad tapers, and the whole appearance of -this sensuous banquet was like those of former ages presided over by -Can Grande or splendour-loving Cæsar Borgia. I thought I was in -dreamland, the more so when I saw the bizarre costumes worn by the two -occupants of the room. - -One was the lady I had followed from the graveyard, who, having thrown -off her heavy cloak, now appeared in a white silk dress of antique -cut, richly embroidered with gold. Round her slender neck she wore an -old-fashioned necklace of superb rubies, set in silver, which flashed -forth crimson flame with every heave of her snowy bosom, while strings -of soft-shining pearls were twisted in her magnificent red hair; an -Eastern girdle of gold fretwork encircled her waist, and broad gold -bracelets radiant with gems clasped her milk-white arms. The profusion -of jewels she wore scintillated, with her every motion, throwing out -sparks of many-coloured fire, and she looked like one of those proud -dames of Venice who smile so haughtily in the pictures of Titian. But -her face! Oh, heavens! what a beautiful, cruel, relentless face!--the -tigerish look in the splendid eyes, the wicked laugh of the full red -lips! Was she truly a woman, or some fiend sent upon earth to lure men -to hell by the fascination of her evil beauty? - -If the woman was curiously dressed for modern days, her companion, a -handsome young man of seven-and-twenty was still more so, as he wore a -doublet of pale-blue velvet slashed with white satin and diapered with -gold embroidery; a small ruff round his neck; high riding-boots of -black leather, reaching to the thigh, with gilt spurs; and a short -mantle of azure silk, which drooped gracefully from his shoulders. He -had no rapier, but at his girdle hung a small poniard, the handle of -which was thickly encrusted with gems, and on the velvet-covered chair -beside him lay a large cloak and a small mask of black velvet. I -rubbed my eyes and pinched myself to see if I were really awake, for -the whole fantastic scene looked like one of those which had doubtless -taken place at Verona in the opulent days of her splendour. - -"I am mad, asleep, or intoxicated," I thought, as I looked at this -Boccaccian feast, at these Boccaccian lovers. "What does it mean? This -must be the phantom of Lucrezia Borgia, who has risen from the tomb to -meet one of her dead lovers and renew for a time the joys of the past. -Oh! I am mad or asleep. I will wake up and find this is all a -dream--some fantasy of the brain created by the delirium of fever!" - -Between the lovers lay the broken mandolin, and the woman, pointing to -this, talked volubly while the young man stood listening with a -scornful smile on his lips. Not being a very good Italian scholar, I -could not follow all this rapid talk without great difficulty, but -from what I could gather it seemed to me that the phantom of Lucrezia -Borgia was accusing her lover of infidelity. At length, when she -seemed exhausted, he caught up his mantle and mask as if about to go, -but she fell prostrate before him, and seemed to implore him to stay. -He shook his head, and then springing to her feet in anger, she -snatched the poniard from his belt and tried to strike him. The young -man warded off the thrust with his left arm, round which was wrapped -his heavy black cloak, whereupon she let the dagger fall and began to -beseech him again. I could not understand the meaning of this terrible -dumb-show any more than I could the curious dresses, the antique -chamber or the deserted palace. It was the phantasmagoria of a dream -seen by the soft light of the tapers, and my brain being quite upset -by the strange events of the night, I entirely forgot the nineteenth -century, and seemed to live, to breathe, to tremble, on the threshold -of one of those fatal chambers wherein the Medici, the Scaligers and -the Borgias feasted, loved, betrayed, and slew their friends, their -lovers, and their enemies. - -The woman, evidently seeing it was useless, stopped beseeching the -young man, upon which he picked up his dagger, and throwing the fold -of his cloak over his right shoulder, advanced towards the door -without saying good-bye to the lady. I withdrew quickly, fearful of -discovery, when, just as his hand was on the curtains, her voice -sounded once more slow and deliberate, so that I was able to -understand what she said:-- - -"So you leave me for ever?" - -"Yes!" he replied with the same deliberation, "for ever." - -"Then before you go, let me drink to your future happiness." - -"With pleasure, madame." - -He appeared to hesitate at first, but after saying these words I heard -him move away from the curtain, upon which I looked again and saw him -standing by the chair, while the woman, with her face turned away, was -filling a goblet with wine. Her back was towards him, so that he could -not see what she was doing, but I could perceive her least action. She -filled two goblets with wine, then taking something from her breast, -dropped it into one of them, and, turning round with a smile, -presented the cup to him. It flashed across me that she was trying to -poison her lover, and I would have called out to warn him, but the -extreme peril of my position, the terrible appearance of this woman, -and the uselessness of interference kept me silent during this supreme -moment. - -The young man took the cup she gave him, and drained it with a bow, -while she simply touched her lips with the other goblet, and smiled -again. - -"To your future happiness," she said in a significant voice, and set -the goblet down on the table. - -They talked together after this reconciliation for some time and -seemed better friends than before, but I saw that the woman kept -furtively glancing at his face with a wicked smile on her lips. At -length he handed her the mask, which evidently did not belong to him, -and, after kissing her hand, was about to turn in the direction of the -archway, when suddenly he grew pale, put his hand to his head quickly, -and grasped the chair near which he stood to keep himself from -falling. - -"Why, what is this?" he cried in a hoarse, strained voice. "Gran Dio! -what does it mean?" - -She bent forward with a wicked laugh, and the rubies flashed forth -venomous red flame in the soft light. - -"It means that you have betrayed me and I have revenged myself!" - -He looked at her with a dazed expression, made a step forward as if to -kill this terrible woman, who, dangling the mask in her hand, stood -mocking at his agony with a cruel smile, then suddenly flung up his -hands with a wild cry of despair and fell at her feet--dead. - -"Fool!" she said, without displaying the least sign of emotion. -"Fool!" - -I wished to rush forward and denounce the demon in woman's shape who -had so vilely perpetrated this cold-blooded murder, but, overcome with -horror, I reeled away from the curtain and fell--fell into the arms of -some one who held me with a powerful grip. I gasped with alarm and was -about to call out, when I felt a handkerchief dashed suddenly over my -face wet with some liquid. In spite of my struggles it was held firmly -there, and I gradually felt my senses leave me until I knew no more. - - -* * * * * * - - -When I came to myself it was early morning, and I was seated on a -stone bench in the Piazza Vittoria Emanuele, surrounded by a group of -curious onlookers. - -"Where am I?" I asked in English. - -No one answered, and I repeated the question in Italian, upon which a -fat woman spoke up,-- - -"Signor, you are in the Piazza Vittoria!" she said in a husky voice; -"we found you here when we came first." - -"But the palace, the woman, the poison!" I said stupidly, for my head -was aching terribly. - -The peasants looked at one another with a meaning smile and shook -their heads. I saw that they thought I had been drinking, so, giving a -piece of money to the fat woman who had spoken, I took my way at once -to my hotel, which I reached in a state of bewilderment better -imagined than described. - - - - -CHAPTER III. -THE FEAST OF GHOSTS. - - -Was it a dream? Common-sense said "Yes." My bruises said "No!" But -certainly the whole affair was most remarkable, and quite out of the -ordinary kind of events which take place in this prosaic nineteenth -century. We have done with those romantic episodes in which the heroes -and heroines of Boccaccio, Le Sage and M. Dumas père take part, and in -the searching light of the Press lantern, which is nowadays turned on -all things and on all men, it is impossible to encounter those strange -events of the middle ages. Judging from my experiences of the previous -night I had been entangled in a terrible intrigue, which might have -taken place under Henri Trois or Lorenzo di Medici, yet, as the past -can never become the present, the whole affair was a manifest -anachronism. I was inclined to think that I had been the sport of some -Italian Puck, but as there are no fairies nowadays, such an idea was -absurd, so the only feasible explanation of the bizarre occurrence was -that I had been dreaming. - -I had certainly gone to the old burial-ground and had seen the phantom -of Lucrezia Borgia emerge from an old Veronese tomb, and as certainly -I had followed her to the Piazza Vittoria Emanuele, but here, without -doubt, reality ended and fiction began. Evidently I had sat down upon -the stone bench where I was discovered by the peasants, and had there -fallen asleep to undergo this extravagant adventure in a vision of the -night. In sleep I had dreamed a dream after the fashion of the -Athenian lovers in Shakespeare's comedy, and the antique chamber, the -quaint costumes, and the phantom characters had been idle visions of -the brain, which had played their several parts in this mediæval -phantasmagoria. - -To put entirely to one side the impossibility of living people -dressing themselves in rococo costumes in order to play a fantastic -comedy-tragedy in a deserted place, if I had really seen all I -imagined, how did I find myself in the Piazza Vittoria Emanuele at -daybreak? The visionary pursuit of the lady of the sepulchre had been -a long one, and I certainly could not have walked back such a distance -to the Piazza without knowing something about it. But memory ceased at -my fainting at the door of the fatal chamber, and revived on my -finding myself on the stone bench in the Piazza; therefore, granting -that the whole adventure had actually occurred, how had I been taken -from the deserted palace to the Piazza? - -Idling over my midday meal at the Hotel d'Este, I thought of the -extraordinary series of events in which I had taken part, and kept -puzzling my brain as to whether they had really occurred or whether I -had been the victim of a grotesque nightmare. I had received a letter -from the Maestro Angello, saying he could not give me my usual lesson, -therefore I determined to devote the whole day, which was thus at my -disposal, to finding out the truth or falsehood of this mysterious -adventure. - -My bruises were very painful, but I doctored myself as I best could, -so that without much difficulty I was able to walk. Doubtless I had -received these bruises whilst pursuing the unknown from the graveyard -to the Piazza Vittoria Emanuele, and thus far I was certain of the -actuality of my adventure. With this idea in my head, I made up my -mind to go to the old graveyard and discover, if possible, who was -buried in the tomb from which the ghoul had emerged. By finding out -the name I might possibly ascertain that of the lady, as there must -certainly have been some connection between her and the person buried -in the mysterious vault. No sooner had I thus sketched out my plan of -action than I put it at once into execution, and as I found some -difficulty in walking, I sent for Peppino's fiacre in order to drive -to the cemetery. - -Peppino was a merry little Florentine, whose services I employed for -two reasons, one being that he spoke excellent Italian, so that I -understood him easier than I did the general run of these Northern -Italians, who usually gabble a vile patois which no Englishman can -understand without constant practice, and my acquaintance with the -modern Latin tongue was not sufficient to warrant my indulging in -liberties with it; the other reason was that Peppino, having lived a -long time in Verona, knew the town thoroughly, and would be able to -tell me better than any one if such a deserted palace as I had dreamed -of really existed; besides which, he was also a very amusing -companion. - -The fiacre duly arrived, and on going outside I found Peppino grinning -like a small black monkey as he held the door open for me to enter. - -"Dio!" said Peppino in a commiserating tone, seeing how I leaned on my -stick, "is the Signor not well?" - -"Oh, yes! quite well, Peppino, only I fell yesterday and hurt myself, -so you see I have to get you to drive me to-day." - -"Bene!" replied Peppino philosophically, mounting the box, "the ill of -one is the good of another. To where, Signore?" - -"To the cemetery near the Porto Vittoria." - -"The new or the old one, Signore?" - -"The old cemetery!" - -Peppino cast a queer look at me over his shoulder, and, muttering -something about the "mad English," drove away towards the Via Pallone. -As he was on the box-seat, and the fiacre made a good deal of noise -going over the rugged stone pavement, in addition to the incessant -jingling of the bells, I could not question him as I desired to do, -so, making up my mind to wait until I arrived at the graveyard, I -leaned back in the carriage and gave myself up to my own thoughts. - -Then a curious thing occurred which made me certain that the events of -the previous night had actually taken place, for without the least -effort of memory on my part the strange melody sung by the young man -in the palace came into my head. I could not possibly have dreamed -that, and I could not possibly have composed the air, so I concluded -that I had really heard the song, and, having an excellent musical -ear, it had impressed itself on my memory. Of course I did not -recollect the words, but only the tune, and thinking it might prove -useful as a link in the chain of circumstances, I hummed it over twice -or thrice so as to keep it in my mind. - -I therefore concluded from this piece of evidence that I had actually -been to the deserted palace and witnessed that strange feast, but if -so, how had I found myself at dawn in the Piazza Vittoria Emanuele? It -was no use puzzling my brains any more over this mysterious affair, so -the wisest plan would be to wait until I found out the name on the -tomb, and then perhaps Peppino would be able to tell me about the -palace, in which case, with these two facts to go on, I might hope to -discover the meaning of these extraordinary events. - -Meanwhile the fiacre had left the Via Pallone, crossed over the -Ponte Aleardi, and was now being driven rapidly along the left bank of -the Adige, past the Campo Marzo. We speedily arrived at the old -burial-ground, and Peppino, stopping his horse near the gate, assisted -me to alight from the carriage. - -"Peppino," I said, when this was done, "tie your horse up somewhere -and come with me into the cemetery." - -"Diamine!" replied Peppino, crossing himself with superstitious -reverence. "I like not these fields of the dead." - -"It's broad daylight, you coward; besides, I wish you to tell me about -the tombs." - -"But why does not the Signor go to the beautiful new cemetery?" said -Peppino, leading his horse to the wall and fastening him to a heavy -stone; "the statues there are beautiful. This is old, very old; no one -is buried here now." - -"When was the last person buried, Peppino?" - -"Dio! I don't know--eh, oh, yes, Signore, last year an illustrious was -buried in his own vault; but he was mad. Ecco!" - -"Why did he have a vault built in such an old cemetery?" - -"Oh, the vault was old--as old as the Trezza. All the signori of his -family had been buried there for many days." - -"Since the Republic?" - -"Dio! yes, and before." - -"What is the name of this family?" - -"I don't know, Signore, I forget!" - -"Well, come along, Peppino. As you know so much about one tomb, you -will probably know something about another." - -"Command me, Illustrious." - -I did not enter the burial-ground by the gate, as I wanted to go the -same way as on the previous night, in order to be certain of finding -the tomb I was in search of, so, with some little difficulty, and the -help of Peppino, I managed to climb over the broken wall, and soon -found myself in my old hiding-place. Peppino looked at me with -considerable curiosity, as he could not conceive my object in coming -to this dreary locality; but ultimately, shrugging his shoulders, he -put it down to a freak on the part of a mad Englishman, and waited for -me to speak. - -The tomb looked scarcely less forbidding and gloomy in the daytime -than it did at night, with its massive-looking architecture, and the -stern-faced angel guarding the iron door. Advancing through the long -grass which grew all round it, I looked every where for a name, but -could find none, then tried to open the iron door, to the great dismay -of Peppino. - -"Signore," he said in a faltering voice, "do not let out the ghosts." - -"There are no ghosts here, Peppino. They have all departed," I -replied, finding the door locked. - -"Dio! I'm not so sure of that, Illustrious. Many dead are in there." - -"Oh, they've been dead so long that their ghosts must have grown weary -of this gloomy sepulchre." - -"Yes, Signore, but the ghost of the mad Count buried last year!" - -"Oh!" I cried with lively curiosity, "is this the vault where he was -buried?" - -"Yes, Illustrious!" - -"And the name, Peppino? What was his name?" - -The little Italian looked perplexed, as he could not understand the -interest I took in this sepulchre; still, seeing I was in earnest, he -tried to think of the name, but evidently could not recall it. - -"Cospetto! Signore, I have the memory of Beppo, who forgot the mother -who bore him; but the name will be here, Illustrious, for certain." - -"See if you can find it, Peppino," I replied, sitting down on a stone -near the iron door. "I am anxious to know to whom this tomb belongs." - -Peppino, being more conversant with Italian tombs than myself, went to -look for the name, and in a wonderfully short space of time came back -with a satisfied smile on his face. - -"Signore, the tomb is that of the Morone." - -"The Morone?" - -"Yes, Signore, they were a great family of Verona, as great as the -cursed Medici of my beautiful Florence." - -"And this Count, who died last year, was their descendant?" - -"Dio! Illustrious, he was the last of them. No father, no brother, no -child. He was the last. Basta, basta!" - -"Had he a wife?" I asked, thinking of the woman who had emerged from -this tomb. - -"Yes, Signore, a beautiful wife, but when he died she left Verona for -Rome I heard. She is not now here." - -Well, I had found out the name of the family buried in the tomb, and -that the wife was the sole representative of the race, so I naturally -thought she was the only person who would have been able to enter the -tomb; although why she did so, unless it was to pray beside the corpse -of her late husband, I could not understand. Besides, Peppino, who was -one of the greatest gossips in the town, said she had left Verona, so -perhaps the midnight visitor was not the Contessa Morone at all. - -"Were the Count and Countess an attached couple, Peppino?" - -The Italian shrugged his shoulders. - -"Dio! I know not indeed," he replied carelessly; "the Signor Conte was -certainly mad. I saw him at times, and he had the evil eye. Diamine! -often have I made horns for that eye, Illustrious." - -"And the Countess, Peppino? Have you ever seen the Countess?" - -"No, Signore! The Conte let her not out. Ah! he was jealous, that -madman. He was old and the Signora was young. Per Bacco! the husband -was afraid of the handsome officers. Ecco!" - -A mad and jealous husband, old, too, into the bargain. With such a -trinity of imperfections a young and beautiful woman could hardly be -much in love with him, and, a year after his death, would certainly -not have taken the trouble to pray at his tomb. No! the unknown lady -could not possibly have been the Contessa. Who, then was this -mysterious visitant? I had now quite got over my fancy that she was a -spectre, and felt profoundly curious to find out who she was, and why -she had come to this ancient burial-place at midnight. - -"Is there a Palazzo Morone, Peppino?" - -Peppino changed colour. - -"What do you know of the Palazzo Morone, Signore?" - -"Oh, there is one then!" - -"Yes, Illustrious! It is haunted!" - -"Haunted! Nonsense!" - -"Dio! Signore, I speak the truth. No one has lived there for the last -two hundred years. It is shut up for the rats and the owls and the -spectres of the tomb." - -"What tomb--this one?" - -"Ah, Signore, do not jest, I pray you, or the illustrious Signori -Morone will hear us." - -Peppino looked so serious that I forebore to smile at this absurdity, -lest I should offend his pride and thus lose the story. - -"Well, Peppino, tell me all about this haunted palace." - -"Not here, Signore, I am afraid!" - -"Then help me back to the carriage." - -He obeyed with great alacrity, and, when I was once more in the -fiacre, prepared to loosen his horse. - -"No, no! Peppino," I said, smiling; "the ghosts can't hear us here, so -tell me the story of the Morone." - -Peppino cast a doubtful glance in the direction of the burial-ground, -and then, seating himself on the step of the carriage, began his -story. His Italian, as I have said before, was very good, so, making -him speak slowly, I was easily able to understand the strange legend -he related. - -"Signore," he began, with a solemn look on his usually merry face, -"the Morone were very famous in Verona four hundred years ago. Dio! -they fought with the Scaligers, and afterwards with the Visconti. They -were Podestas of the city before the Della Scala, and several of them -were great Cardinals. One would have been his Holiness himself, but -the Borgia asked him to supper and he died of their poison. About two -hundred years ago Mastino Morone wedded the Donna Renata della Moneta, -who was said to have been descended on the wrong side from Donna -Lucrezia herself." - -"You mean that this Renata was an illegitimate descendant of Lucrezia -Borgia?" - -"Yes, Signore. Ah! she was a devil of a woman, that Madonna Lucrezia. -Ebbene! Signore. This Donna Renata wedded with Count Mastino Morone, -and a pleasant life she led him, for she loved all other men but him. -Cospetto! he would have strangled her, but he was afraid of her many -lovers. There was a room in the Palazzo Morone, without any windows, -where Donna Renata supped with those she favoured." - -"And the room is there still?" I said, thinking of that mysterious -chamber. - -"Of a surety, Signore! It is haunted by the ghost of the Marchese -Tisio!" - -"Who was he?" - -"Signore, he was the last lover of Donna Renata, whom she killed with -the Borgia poison because he was faithless. Eh! it is true, -Illustrious. She found out by her spies that the Marchese loved -another, so she asked him to a last feast in her room, and when he was -going she gave him a cup of wine. Dio! he drank it, the poor young -man, and died. Ecco!" - -"And why was he her last lover? Did she repent?" - -"No, Signore! The Count Mastino was watching at the door, and when she -had killed the Marchese he went in to see her." - -"And killed her, I suppose?" - -"Per Bacco! Signore, no one knows. She never came out of that room -again. The friends of the poor Tisio found his body, but they never -found Donna Renata." - -"Then what became of her?" - -"Cospetto! No one ever found out. Mastino married again and said -nothing, but after that last feast his first wife was never seen -again. Diamine! it is strange." - -"It's a curious story, Peppino, but it does not explain how the palace -is haunted." - -"Listen, Illustrious! I will tell," said Peppino in a subdued whisper. -"The spirits of the Donna Renata, of the Conte Mastino, and of the -Marchese Tisio, haunt the palace, and in the Month of May, when the -crime was committed, the lovers hold a feast in that secret room while -the husband watches at the door. Then the Donna Renata poisons the -Marchese, the husband enters, and cries of pain and terror are heard. -Then the lights go out and all is still." - -It was certainly very curious, for Peppino was describing the very -same I had beheld--the terrible Renata, the unhappy lover, and the -poisoned cup, but the Count---- - -"Tell me, Peppino, has any one ever beheld this feast of ghosts?" - -"Dio! Signore, the people who lived in the palace were so afraid of -the ghosts, that they left altogether, and no one has lived there for -two hundred years." - -"Yes, yes! but this spectral banquet seems all imagination--no one has -seen it?" - -"Yes, Signore. A holy Frate, who did not fear the devil, went one -night in May and saw the feast through the door, but just as the -poisoned cup was given, the ghost of the Conte dragged him away and -tried to kill him." - -"Oh! and did the ghost succeed?" - -"No, Illustrious! The Frate made the sign of the cross and called on -the Madonna, on which the ghosts all vanished with loud cries, and the -Frate fainted. Next morning he found himself----" - -"In the Piazza Vittorio Emanuele?" - -"No, Signore; lying on the floor of the palace." - -I was somewhat disappointed at this different ending to the narrative -of Peppino, but it was very extraordinary that my adventure and that -of the Frate should be so similar. It was broad day, I had overcome my -superstitious fancies, yet the whole affair was so strange that I -could not help feeling a qualm of fear, which I tried to laugh off, a -proceeding which mightily offended Peppino. - -"Signore, it is the truth I tell." - -"Suppose I prove it, Peppino. This is the month of May, and no doubt -the feast takes place every night. You will show me the palace, and I -will watch at the door of the secret room." - -"Dio! do not think of it, Illustrious," cried Peppino in alarm; "the -Frate himself, a holy priest, was nearly killed, and you, Signore, you -are a heretic." - -"And, therefore, liable to be carried off by his Satanic Majesty. You -are complimentary, Peppino. Nevertheless, to-morrow you must show me -the palace." - -"The Illustrious must excuse me." - -"And watch with me for this feast of ghosts." - -"Dio? the Signore jests!" - -"No, indeed, Peppino! I am in sober earnest. We will go to the Palazzo -Morone to-morrow; and now drive back to my hotel, as I feel very -tired. Your story has been very entertaining, nevertheless." - -"Ah! the Signor does not believe me?" said Peppino, getting on the box -again. - -"Yes, I do, Peppino; but I believe your ghostly party can be explained -away." - - - - -CHAPTER IV. -THE ANGELLO HOUSEHOLD. - - -The bruises I had received during my nocturnal adventure turned out to -be worse than I expected, especially one on the left knee-cap, which -quite incapacitated me from walking; therefore I was forced to remain -in the house all day. This was somewhat annoying, as I was anxious to -find out the Palazzo Morone, and see the chamber of Donna Renata -during daylight. I thought also that as the palace bore such an evil -reputation, my lady of the sepulchre would think herself safe in -leaving the dead body of the young man lying in the room, and if I -discovered the corpse I intended to give notice to the authorities of -the crime I had seen committed. - -Unluckily, however, I had to remain in bed most of the day, and when -Peppino came in to say that his fiacre was at the door I was obliged -to send him away, much to his gratification, as he was by no means -anxious to guide me to the haunted palace. The curious resemblance -between my own experience and the legend related by Peppino had rather -startled me; but, being certain that I had to deal with the natural, -and not the supernatural, I was firmly resolved to unravel this -mystery before leaving Verona. To do this every moment was of value, -and I bitterly regretted that my stiff knee kept me confined to the -house. Everything, however, is for the best, and before I saw the -Palazzo Morone, fresh light was thrown upon the events of the night in -a most unexpected manner. - -After my one day of enforced idleness I was fully determined to seek -the conclusion of my adventure the next, when on the following morning -I received a note from Maestro Angello, asking me to be sure and come -to my lesson. As the Maestro was always annoyed at the non-appearance -of a pupil, I judged it wise to go, and arranged with Peppino to -search for the Palazzo Morone in the afternoon. The lesson would only -last an hour, and I would thus have plenty of time to carry out my -intention, as Peppino, knowing the palazzo, would be able to take me -there direct. - -I felt much better this second day after my adventure, as the pain had -quite left my knee, so having thus arranged my plans for the -afternoon, I started in a very contented frame of mind for the Casa -Angello. - -It was a dreary day, for there are dreary days even in Italy, and at -intervals there fell heavy showers, which made me feel somewhat -depressed. Pedestrians were hurrying along with large umbrellas of the -Gamp species, red being the prevailing colour; and what with the -sloppy streets, the gloomy houses, and the absence of the chattering -Italian populace, the whole place looked infinitely melancholy, so in -order to keep up my spirits I hummed the weird air I had heard in the -Palazzo Morone. - -Maestro Angello lived in a narrow street more like a drain than -anything else, and I entered into a damp courtyard through a dismal -little tunnel barred by an iron gate. The portinaia, who lived in a -glass-fronted room as if she were a unique specimen of the human race -preserved in a case, nodded her head to intimate that the Maestro was -at home, so I climbed up the evil-smelling stone stairs which went up -the side of the courtyard, and soon arrived at Angello's door. Ringing -a little bell which tinkled in a most irritating manner, I was -admitted into the dingy ante-chamber by Petronella, a short, fat, -good-natured woman who managed the whole household, and made a great -deal of noise over doing so. She was dressed in an untidy print gown, -with a bright red shawl over her shoulders, and wore wooden clogs -which clattered noisily on the terra-cotta floor. Her plenteous hair -was roughly twisted into a knot and stuck through with large brass -pins, which gave her a spiky appearance about the head. This curious -apparition saluted me with a jolly smile in a gruff voice, with the -usual familiarity of Italian servants,-- - -"Sta bene! Signore. Ah, the Maestro! povero Maestro!" - -"What's the matter with him, Petronella?" - -"Eh! Signore, he cannot live much longer." - -As Angello was considerably over eighty years of age I thought this -highly probable, but was about to condole with Petronella over his -illness, when she saved me the trouble of a reply by bursting out into -a long speech delivered with much dramatic effect:-- - -"It is nothing but trouble, Signore. Such a fine young man, and the -piccola loved him so! It will surely place the Maestro among the -saints. Four masses for his soul, Signore; and those priests are such -thieves. I said 'No lesson,' but the Maestro is a mule for having his -own way. Let him teach, say I; it will divert his mind! There, -Signore, go in with you! But I always thought it would come; four -times I heard the cock crowing, a bad sign, as Saint Peter knew. -There, there! the Madonna aid us!" - -Not understanding in the least what Petronella was talking about, I -allowed myself to be pushed mechanically into the inner room in a -state of bewilderment. The Maestro, seated in his usual chair, was -waiting for me, and his granddaughter, Bianca, who assisted him in his -lessons, was looking out of the window at the falling rain. An -atmosphere of sadness seemed to pervade the dull, grey room, and as -Bianca advanced to meet me I saw that her eyes were red with crying, -while old Angello stared at her in a listless, indifferent manner, -being so old as to be past all sympathetic feelings. - -He was a mere mummy, this old man who had been celebrated as a teacher -of singing in the days of Pasta and Malibran; a faint shadow of his -former self, only kept alive by the mechanical exercise of his art. -Yet, in spite of his great age, his ear was wonderfully keen and true; -the sense of hearing, from continuous cultivation, being the only one -which had survived the wreck of his faculties, and with the assistance -of Bianca, he was still enabled to teach his wonderful system in an -intelligible manner. Many of his pupils had been European, celebrities -on the operatic stage during the past fifty years, and his rooms in -Milan were crowded with souvenirs of famous artists of undying fame. -His children, and, with the exception of Bianca, his grandchildren, -were all dead; his friends and acquaintances and the generation that -knew him had all passed away; but this Nestor of lyrical art still -survived, alone and sad, amid the ruins of his past. White-haired, -wrinkled, blear-eyed, silent, he sat daily in his great armchair, -taking but little notice of the life around him, save to ask childish -questions or talk about some dead-and-gone singer whose fame had once -filled the world; but place a baton in his hand, strike the piano, -lift the voice, and this apparent corpse awoke to life. He beat time, -he corrected the least false note, he explained the necessary -instructions in a faltering voice, and, during the lesson, bore at -least some semblance of life; but when all was finished, the baton -fell from his withered hand as he relapsed into his former apathy. One -would have thought that he would have been glad to rest in his old -age, but such was his love for his art that he insisted upon teaching -still, and it was this alone which kept him alive. His granddaughter, -Bianca, trained in the family traditions, was enabled to interpret his -words, and, as his system of singing was unique, in spite of his -apparent uselessness, he had many pupils. - -Bianca herself was a charming Italian girl of twenty, more like a -graceful white lily in appearance than anything else, so fragile, so -delicate, so pallid did she seem. Her mournful eyes, dark and soft as -those of a gazelle, seemed too large for her pale, oval face; and her -figure, small and slender, always put me in mind of that of a fairy. -Indeed, in sport, I sometimes called her the Fairy of Midnight, after -some poet-fancy that haunted my brain, for all her strength seemed to -have gone into those glorious masses of raven-black hair, coiled so -smoothly round her small head. This portraiture seems to give the idea -that Bianca was a melancholy young person, yet such was not the case, -for I have seen her as gay as a bird on bright days, or when she -received a letter from her lover. - -Yes! she had a lover to whom she was engaged to be married, but, -curiously enough, I knew nothing about this lover, not being intimate -enough with Bianca to be the confidant of her tender little secret. -This unknown lover was always away in other parts of Italy, and when -he did visit Bianca it was during my absence, so I used to joke with -the Signorina about this visionary being. But she, with one delicate -finger on her lip and an arch smile of glee, would tell me that -he--she never mentioned his name--that he had an actual existence, and -some day I would see him in person at Verona. Well, here was Verona, -here was Bianca, but the lover had not appeared, so I would have -jestingly asked this Fairy of Midnight the reasons of his absence, had -not the real grief expressed on her face deterred me. - -"Signorina, are you in trouble?" - -"Yes, yes! Signore, great trouble; but you cannot help me. No one can -help me." - -"But perhaps I----" - -"No, Signore, it is useless. Come, you must have the lesson at once. -The Maestro is dull to-day, he needs amusement; so come, the lesson." - -"It is very cruel of you to make a joke of my lesson, Signorina." - -Bianca made no reply to my jesting remark, but heaving a little sigh, -placed the ivory baton in the hand of the Maestro and sat down at the -piano. The mummy, finding his services required, woke up and had a -little conversation with me before beginning the lesson. - -"Eh! Signor Inglése," he croaked--this being his name for me--"London -is dark!" - -He had a fearful prejudice against London, which he had once visited -at a foggy season, and always made the above remark to his English -pupils, which no one ever thought of contradicting. - -"Yes, yes!" he said, nodding his old head like a Chinese mandarin; -"London is always dark." - -"Yes, Maestro." - -"You've not been working?" - -"Indeed I have, Maestro." - -"Come then, Signor Inglése, we will see," and the lesson commenced. - -Oh, those lessons! what agonies I suffered during them, trying to -attain the impossible! To how many fits of despair have I given -way in failing time after time to manage my breathing! It was all -breathing--a deep drawing in, a slow letting out--the exercise of -internal muscles of which I had never heard even the name--the -weariness of incessantly practising notes in a still, small voice -hardly audible,--it was enough to discourage the most persevering. -Some of the female pupils, I believe, cried with vexation when not -able to do what was required by the severe Maestro, who denied the -existence of the word "impossible" in connection with singing; but I, -not being a woman, was reduced to swearing, which certainly relieved -my feelings after a battle with a particularly aggravating exercise. - -Even now, when I am successful in my art, I often turn cold as I think -of those apparently insurmountable obstacles which I had to overcome; -but with these painful memories there is mixed at the same time a -kindly thought of that noble old Maestro, so patient, so courteous, so -painstaking, whose devotion to his art was so great, who was so severe -on the least fault and so encouraging of the least success in -conquering a difficulty. - -Well, the lesson went on slowly with frequent interruptions from the -Maestro, who was satisfied with nothing less than perfection, and I -breathed according to directions, sang "ah!" "eh," "ee's" in a tiny, -tiny voice, until at the end of the hour I was glad to sit down and -rest before departing. I felt tired out, I felt hungry, and, as the -weather was bad, I felt cross, but at the same time I felt curious to -know what was the matter with Bianca. - -The Maestro, having remarked encouragingly that I had the voice of a -goose and would never sing in La Scala, relapsed into silence, -evidently thinking of his colezione which was being prepared in the -kitchen with some trouble, judging from the raised, tones of -Petronella's voice; and as Bianca still sat at the piano, striking -random chords, there was nothing for me to do but to take my -departure. She was not prepared to tell me her trouble, and indeed she -had no reason to do so, but feeling anxious to aid the poor child if I -could, I ventured to speak to her on the subject. - - - - -CHAPTER V. -LOST. - - -While I was wondering which was the best way to approach this somewhat -delicate matter, the door was flung open to its fullest extent and -Petronella stalked majestically into the room. There was a wrathful -look on her strongly marked features, and Bianca trembled in -expectation of a storm. Both she and the Maestro were terribly afraid -of Petronella, who ruled the household and looked after them as she -would a couple of children, so now that she frowned they acted like -children; and were cowed by her eagle eye. Petronella surveyed the -three of us grimly, and, being satisfied that her entrance had -produced an effect, spoke with a dramatic gesture that Rachel herself -might have envied,-- - -"I am enraged to-day. Let no one speak to me." Neither the Maestro nor -Bianca seemed inclined to accept this tread-on-the-tail-of-my-coat -challenge, so Petronella looked from one to the other to see on whom -she should pour out the vials of her wrath. Ultimately she chose -Bianca. - -"Ah, it is you, Signorina! it is you who enrage me. And for why? you -ask. Holy Saints! you ask why. Because you sit there like a statue in -the Duoma. Will that bring him back? say I. No, Signora, let the bad -young man go. Ecco!" - -"Guiseppe is not a bad young man," cried Bianca, rising angrily to her -feet. - -"Are you older than I am, piccola? No! Have you been married like I -was? No! Then let me speak, child that you are. All men are bad--ask -the Signor there! All men are bad!" - -Petronella made a comprehensive sweep of her arms so as to indicate -the whole masculine portion of the human race, and I, seeing an -opportunity of finding out what was the matter, did not attempt -to defend masculine depravity in any way, but artfully asked a -question,-- - -"I can hardly say. I don't know what you are talking about!" - -"Eh! has the Signore no ears? I speak of Guiseppe Pallanza!" - -"What, the tenor at the Teatro Ezzelino?" - -"Yes, Signore, he is the engaged one of the Signorina here, and----" - -"Enough, enough, Petronella!" cried Bianca, her face flushing. "Do not -trouble the Signor with these chatterings." - -"Oh, it's no trouble," I replied quickly. "Perhaps I can help you, -Signorina, if you require help!" - -"Eh, eh!" assented Petronella approvingly, "the English have long -heads, piccola. Tell him all and he will find out what others cannot -find out. And you, Maestro, the colezione is ready." - -She tenderly led the old man into the next room, and I was thus left -alone with Bianca, who had retreated to the window, where she stood -twisting her handkerchief with nervous confusion. - -"Do not tell me, Signorina, if you would rather not," I said gently. - -"Ah, Signore, if I thought you would be my friend!" - -"Certainly I will be your friend." - -"The Maestro is so old. Petronella is so foolish. We know none in -Verona, and I can do nothing for my poor Guiseppe!" - -"Your lover, Signorina?" - -"Yes. I promised you should see him at Verona, but--now--ah now!--but -perhaps you have heard him singing at the Ezzelino?" - -"No; I have not been to the opera since my arrival here. What is the -matter with him? Is he ill?" - -"I know not! I know not! He is lost!" - -"Lost?" - -"Yes, Signore. My Guiseppe has disappeared and no one knows where he -is!" - -Could there be any connection between the disappearance of Guiseppe -and the death of that young man I had seen in the fatal chamber? The -thought flashed across me as she spoke, but I dismissed it as idle. - -"And you want some one to look for Signor Pallanza?" - -"Yes, yes!" - -"Well, I will undertake the task." - -"You, Signore!" she cried joyfully; "will you search for him?" - -"Certainly, Signorina; I promised to be your friend. Now sit down, and -tell me all about your lover and his disappearance. I may be able to -do more for you than you think." - -The fact is, that by some subtle instinct I connected the -disappearance of this young man with the curious events of two nights -before, and, leading Bianca to a seat, I prepared to listen -attentively to her recital. - -"Signore," she began in her flute-like voice, "I have been engaged to -marry Guiseppe Pallanza for some months. He was a pupil of the -Maestro, and we loved each other when we first met; but ah! Signore, -he was poor then, and we could not marry, but now he is rich and -famous." - -"Yes, I have heard of the tenor Pallanza, but have never seen him on -the stage." - -"He has the voice of a god, Signore, and at La Scala, two seasons -ago--oh, Signore, it was the talk of the whole city. The papers called -him the New Mario, and he is so handsome--like an angel. After La -Scala he went to Florence, to Naples, and then to Rome, where he sang -in 'Faust' and 'Polyeuct' at the Apollo, then he came on here a week -ago for the season at the Ezzelino; but now he is lost. Dio! how -unhappy I am." - -She covered her face with her hands, and wept quietly for a few -minutes, and, impatient as I was to hear the particulars of the -affair, I did not dare to disturb her grief. After a time she dried -her tears, and went on again,-- - -"He came to Verona on Saturday, Signore, and we were so happy together -talking about our marriage; and on Monday he sang in 'Faust' at the -Ezzelino. I went to the theatre with Petronella, and that was the last -time I saw him." - -"Oh, then he disappeared on Monday night!" I asked quickly, feeling my -heart begin to beat rapidly with excitement, for it was on Monday -night that my extraordinary adventure had taken place. - -"Yes, Signore. He was to come hereafter the opera, to tell the Maestro -how he had sung--you know how anxious the Maestro is over his pupils, -but he never came, nor the next day either; so this morning I went to -ask at the Ezzelino, and they told me he had disappeared." - -"It's curious I never heard of it. The disappearance of a popular -tenor is not a common thing!" - -"Signore, he sang on Monday and was to sing again to-night, so nothing -was thought about him not coming to the theatre yesterday; but this -morning they sent to his lodgings, to find that he had not been there -since he left the Ezzelino after the opera on Monday." - -"The papers will be full of it to-night!" - -"Ah! that will not bring him back," said poor little Bianca in a -melancholy tone, shaking her small head, which drooped like a faded -flower. - -I was now certain that my adventure on Monday night had something to -do with the disappearance of Guiseppe Pallanza, and doubtless the -young man I had seen in the deserted palace was the missing tenor; but -the antique dress, the amorous rendezvous--these needed some -explanation. - -"Was he in love with any one, Signorina?" - -It was a cruel but necessary question which angered Bianca, who threw -back her little head with great haughtiness. - -"Signore, he loved me and no one else." - -"Had he any reason for disappearing?" - -"Signore!" - -"Forgive me if I appear rude," I said in a deprecating tone; "but -indeed, Signorina, to find out all I must know all." - -"Well, Signore, I am telling you all," she replied petulantly. "It was -most strange his going away from the theatre." - -"How so?" - -"He left the Ezzelino in his stage-dress!" - -"Ah!" - -I jumped to my feet in a state of uncontrollable excitement, for I saw -at once that I was on the right track. The antique dress was explained -now! it was the dress he wore in the last act of "Faust." - -"But surely, Signorina, that was very extraordinary," I said, pausing -in my walk; "no one would walk the streets of Verona in a dress like -that." - -"I can explain that, Signore. When Guiseppe came from Rome, a friend -came with him who was very ill--a baritone singer, who was in the same -company at the Apollo. I was told at the Ezzelino that just before the -last act of the opera, Guiseppe received a note saying that his friend -was dying, so as soon as the curtain fell, he threw on a cloak which -hid his dress, and went away as quickly as possible, so as to see his -friend before he died." - -"Oh! and is the friend dead yet?" - -"I do not know, Signore." - -The story of the dying friend might be true, yet to me it seemed -highly improbable, and I guessed that the people at the theatre had -told this fiction to pacify the fears of Signorina Angello, to whom -they knew that Pallanza was engaged. The real truth of the matter was -doubtless that the letter came from the woman I had followed, asking -him to meet her at the deserted Palazzo Morone, and he had gone there -innocently enough to be poisoned as I had seen. This explained a great -deal, but it did not explain why the meeting should have taken place -at such an extraordinary spot, and why the woman should have come from -a burial-ground to keep the appointment. Taking all the circumstances -into consideration, I was certain that it was Pallanza I had seen -murdered on Monday night, but in order to be quite sure of his -identity, I asked Bianca if she had any photograph of her betrothed. - -"Of a surety, Signore," she replied, and going to an album on the -table, brought me a cabinet portrait. "This is Guiseppe as Faust, the -dress in which he left the theatre." - -It was as I surmised. The portrait was coloured, and I saw an exact -representation of the young man I had beheld at the Palazzo Morone. -The typical Italian face with the black curly hair, dark eyes, small -moustache and sallow skin; the slender figure arrayed in a doublet of -blue velvet, slashed with white satin; the azure silk cloak, the -poniard and the high riding-boots--nothing was wanting; the successful -tenor of the portrait was the man who had taken poison from the hand -of the lady of the sepulchre. Still it was no use telling Bianca of my -suspicions until I had discovered the whole secret; and besides, as -Guiseppe was dead, I naturally shrank from being the bearer of such -bad news. I suppose my face betrayed my thoughts, for I saw the -Signorina watching me anxiously; so to lull any fancies she might -have, I made the first remark that came into my head,-- - -"I never saw Faust in riding-boots before!" - -"Ah, Signore!" replied the girl with a fond look, "Guiseppe was an -artist as well as a singer, and designed his own dresses. He said that -as Faust in the last act was going to fly with Marguerite, and -Mephistopheles speaks of the horses waiting, it is natural that he -should wear a riding-dress." - -This explanation was quite satisfactory, and having thus learned the -identity of the young man whom I had seen murdered, I prepared to go, -when another idea entered my head, and, going over to the piano, I -began to play by ear the strange air I had heard at the Palazzo -Morone. Bianca gave a cry of surprise as she heard the melody, and -came over to the piano with a puzzled look on her face. - -"Ah, you know it, Signorina?" I said, turning round quickly. - -"Yes! in fact I gave it to Guiseppe. It is an old air by Palestrina, -which I found among the music of the Maestro, to which Guiseppe set -words. He is very fond of it and sings it a great deal. Ah, Signore, -you must have heard him sing it, for no one else has a copy." - -I turned off the matter with a careless remark, not caring to tell -Bianca where I had heard it; and now being quite certain that I would -be able to unravel the whole mystery, I wanted to get away as quickly -as possible in order to arrange my plans. - -"Addio, Signorina," I said, giving her my hand. "When I see you again -I may be able to give you news." - -"Good news?" - -"Yes, I hope so, Signorina," I replied hurriedly as Petronella -appeared at the door. "Do not anticipate evil, I beg of you. I have no -doubt Guiseppe is quite well." - -"Oh, I hope so! I trust so! Addio! Signor Hugo, you will come back -soon?" - -"To-morrow, Signorina." - -"Ah! I see you have brought back the smiles," said Petronella's gruff -voice as she ushered me out. "What do you think of this evil one going -away, Signore? I was going to have four masses if he is dead, but -those priests are such thieves. Ecco!" - -"Why should you think he is dead, Petronella?" - -"Eh, Signore, he loves the piccola so much that nothing but death -would keep him away." - -"Except----" - -"I know what you would say, Signore, except a woman. Well, maybe men -are all bad. I've been married, Signore--I know, I know." - -"Well, I don't think I'm particularly bad, Petronella." - -"Eh! then you're not a true man, Signore," retorted Petronella, -closing the argument and the door at the same time. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. -A HAUNTED PALACE. - - -I need hardly say that I was very much excited over the strange -discovery I had made, as there now appeared to be a reasonable chance -of clearing up the mystery of the Palazzo Morone. I had discovered the -name of the unhappy young man, which gave me a most important clue to -the reading of the enigma; but I had yet to find out the name of the -lady who had behaved in such an extraordinary manner and committed so -daring a crime. After hearing Peppino's story I fancied that she might -perchance be the Contessa Morone, but had later on dismissed this idea -as idle, seeing that she had been absent from Verona for many months; -but now that Bianca had told me that Pallanza had come straight from -Rome, I began to suspect that I had been right in my surmise. -According to Peppino the Contessa had taken up her residence at the -Italian capital, so what was more likely than that she had fallen in -love with Guiseppe while he was singing at the Teatro Apollo, and, -following him to Verona, had killed him by means of poison, in revenge -for his determination to leave her? - -So far everything was feasible enough, but two points of the affair -perplexed me very much, one being the choosing of the deserted palace -as a place of meeting, the other the visit to the burial ground by the -woman. We do not live in the times of the Borgias, when noble ladies -can thus rid themselves of their lovers with impunity, else I might -have believed that this phantom of Donna Lucrezia had gone to the old -Veronese cemetery to select a grave for the unfortunate young man she -intended to murder. To think thus, however, was foolish, and although -I guessed that she had used the old palace of her family as a safe -place for a lovers' meeting, seeing its gruesome reputation secured -it from public curiosity, yet I was quite unable to explain the -cemetery mystery. One thing, however, appeared to me to be certain, -that Guiseppe Pallanza had been carrying on an intrigue with the -Contessa--presuming the ghoul to be her--and that he had gone to the -Palazzo Morone on the night in question at her request. As to the sick -friend---- - -Now I greatly mistrusted that sick-friend story. So many fast young -Englishmen whom I knew had adopted the same lie to cover their little -peccadilloes that I was quite sure Pallanza had employed the same -fiction to prevent the scandal of his intrigue with this unknown woman -from reaching the ears of his _fiancée_. Bianca was a very proud girl, -and I felt certain, from what little I had seen of her character, that -if she discovered Guiseppe was playing her false, she would at -once break off the engagement at any cost. Like all Italian women, -when she loved she loved with her whole soul, and expected the same -single-hearted return to her passion; so that the discovery of her -lover's infidelity could only be punished sufficiently, according to -her ideas, by an everlasting parting between them. Pallanza knew this, -and therefore tried to hide his guilt by the plausible story of his -dying friend, which appeared to me to be such a remarkably weak -fabrication that, before going to the Palazzo Morone, I determined to -find out if this mythical invalid existed. - -Curiously enough, although I was studying for the musical profession -and was devoted to operatic performances, I had not been to the Teatro -Ezzelino since my arrival at Verona, preferring to wander about the -streets of the romantic old city in the moonlight to sitting night -after night in a stifling atmosphere of heat, glare, and noise. I made -up my mind, however, to go on this special night, in the hope that I -might hear some talk about Pallanza's disappearance, and be guided -thereby in any future movements; but meantime I went to the theatre in -the afternoon, and, introducing myself to the impresario as a friend -of Guiseppe's, asked him if he had heard any news of the missing -tenor. - -The impresario, a dingy old man of doubtful cleanliness, was in -despair, and raged against the absent Pallanza like a Garrick of the -gutter. He had heard nothing of this birbánte--this ladrone who had -thus disappeared, and left an honest impresario in the lurch. "Faust" -was the success of the season; without Pallanza there could be no -"Faust," and the season would be a failure. What was he to do? -Cospetto! it was the luck of the devil. Why had this scellerato run -away? A sick friend? Bah! there was no sick friend. It was a woman who -had enticed away this pazzo. A dying friend from Rome was not a very -likely story, but a lie--a large and magnificent lie. Here was the -basso of his company, who had been singing with Pallanza at the -Apollo; ask him, truth is on his lips, Behold this good man! - -Signor Basso-profundo advanced, and though truth might have been on -his lips it certainly was not apparent on his face, for a more -deceitful countenance I never beheld. However, I have no doubt he -spoke truth on this occasion, as there was no money to be made by -telling a lie, and he confirmed the words of the wrathful impresario. -The sick friend was a myth, but in Rome Pallanza had been friendly -with a lady. Per Bacco! a great lady, but the name was unknown to him. -It appeared that Signor Basso-profundo dressed in the same room as -Pallanza, and it was just before the last act of "Faust" that Guiseppe -received the note. He told the basso-profundo that it was from a dying -friend, and had departed quickly when the opera was ended, in his -stage-dress, with a cloak wrapped round him. The basso-profundo was -sure the note was from a lady. The impresario was also sure, and -devoted the lady in question to the infernal gods with a richness of -expression I have never heard equalled in any language. - -Having thus found out what I suspected from the first, that the dying -friend was a mere invention to cloak an intrigue, I left the -impresario to tear his hair and call Guiseppe names in company with -Signor Basso-profundo, and went back to my hotel, where I found -Peppino waiting with his fiacre to drive me to the Palazzo Morone. - -He was still unwilling to take me to this place of evil reputation, -and made one last effort to shake my determination by gruesome stories -of people who had gone into the palazzo and never came out again; but -I laughed at all these hobgoblin romances, and getting into the -fiacre, told him to drive off at once, which he did, after crossing -himself twice, so as to secure his own safety should the ghosts of -Palazzo Morone take a fancy to carry me off as a heretic. - -We speedily left the broad, modern streets, and rattled down gloomy, -mediæval passages, the humid atmosphere of which chilled me to the -bone, in spite of the heat of the day. The fiacre--with its jingling -bells--bumped on the uneven stones, turned abruptly round unexpected -corners, corkscrewed itself between narrow walls, crept under low -archways, and after innumerable dodgings, twistings, hairbreadth -escapes from upsettings, and perilous balancings on the edges of -drains, at length emerged into that queer little piazza at the end of -which I saw the great façade of the richly-decorated palace I had -beheld in the moonlight of two nights before. - -I had been an ardent student of Baedeker since my arrival in Italy, -and from the fortified appearance of the palazzo, judged that it had -been built by Michelo Sammicheli, who, according to the guide-book, -was the greatest military architect of the middle ages. The building -was four stories high, with long lines of narrow windows closely -barred by curiously ornamented iron cages--which bulged outward,---as -a protection against thieves or enemies, and the whole front was -adorned with almost obliterated paintings after the style of the -Genoese palaces. In addition to the brush, the chisel had done its -work, and wreaths of flowers, grinning masks, nude figures of boys and -girls, elaborate crests and armorial devices with fishes, birds, -tritons, shells, and fruit were sculptured round the windows, along -the fortified castellated top, and over the great portal. All the -square in front of this splendid specimen of Renaissance art was -overgrown with grass. The houses on every side were also deserted, and -what with the broken windows, the empty piazza, and the closed doors, -everything had a melancholy, desolate appearance, as if a curse rested -upon the whole neighbourhood. - -Peppino evidently was of this opinion, for although it was broad -daylight, and the hot sunlight poured down on the grass-grown square, -yet he kept muttering prayers in a low voice; and if by chance he -looked towards the Palazza, he always crossed himself with great -devoutness. I was not, however, going to be baulked of my intention by -any superstitious feeling on the part of an Italian cab-driver, so I -ordered Peppino to tie up his horse and come with me into the palace. -This modest request, however, so horrified Peppino that he absolutely -squeaked with horror, like a rabbit caught in a snare. - -"I, Signore!" he whimpered, touching the relic on his breast. "Dio! -not to be King of Italy would I go into that house! If you are wise, -Signore, look and come away lest evil befall you. Cospetto! Signore, -remember the Frate. Think of Madonna Matilda!" - -"What about Madonna Matilda, Peppino?" - -"Eh, Illustrious, do you not know? She was a friend of his Holiness at -Canossa, and, though a woman, wanted to celebrate mass, but Il Cristo -burnt her to ashes with fire from above!--and she died. Ecco! -Cospetto! Signore, it is foolish to meddle with holy things." - -"Well, you can't call this palace holy, Peppino?" - -"No, Illustrious. It is accursed!" replied the Italian, crossing -himself, "but there is fire below as well as above, and you are a -heretic." - -"Which means that I had better beware of the devil! eh, Peppino. Well, -well; I'm not afraid, so I will enter the palace, and if you see me -carried off by the ghosts, you can tell the carabinieri." - -"Dio! Illustrious, do not jest; but if you will go you must go. I will -wait here and pray for your soul." - -Peppino was as obstinate as a mule in his fear of ghosts, so leaving -him to smoke his long Italian cigar and watch the brown lizards -scuttling over the hot stones in the sunshine, I advanced towards the -palace with the determination to find out the secret chamber. As I -knew it would be dark therein, owing to its want of windows, I had -taken the precaution to provide myself with a candle and a box of -matches. Feeling that these were safe in my pocket, I went to the iron -gate and entered the courtyard in the same way as I had done on that -night. This time, however, I examined the ironwork, and found to my -surprise that the missing bar had been half filed through and then -wrenched away. The marks left were quite fresh, and it had been done -so recently that the bar had not had time to grow rusty. This -discovery astonished me not a little, as I did not see the reason of -such an entrance being made. If it were the Contessa who used the -palace, she would have the key of the side door, and could thus admit -herself and her lover at her pleasure, while this breach could only -have been made by some one who could not enter in any other way. - -I thought of the person into whose arms I had fallen, the person who -had placed a handkerchief wet with some liquid over my face, and -although, according to Peppino's story, this watcher at the door was -the phantom of Count Mastino Morone, yet dismissing such an -explanation as due to superstition, I began to think that another -person had followed the lady of the sepulchre besides myself. Yes, -there could be no doubt about it, some third person had tracked her to -the palazzo, and, unable to enter in the ordinary way, had filed -through and broken the iron bar in the gate. Gaining access to the -interior of the palazzo in this way, the unknown had penetrated to the -secret chamber, and doubtless had witnessed the same strange scene as -I had done. My presence had been discovered, and to preserve for some -unknown reason, the secret of this terrible chamber, I had been -seized, rendered insensible by chloroform, and taken to the Piazza -Vittorio Emanuele, so that I would be unable to re-discover the -Palazzo Morone. - -All these thoughts flashed through my brain with the rapidity of -lightning, and I wondered whom this unknown could be--a friend of -Pallanza? an accomplice of the Contessa! I did not know what to think, -so leaving all such conjectures to a more seasonable time, I crossed -over the dreary courtyard and entered the great hall. - -It was a magnificent entrance, and when thronged with courtiers, -men-at-arms, pages, and ladies, must have presented a noble -appearance. Of enormous size, the high walls and lofty roof were -painted with glowing frescoes representing the ancient glories of the -Republic, and the floor was brilliant with gorgeous mosaics of -coats-of-arms and fantastic figures. The painted windows on either -side of the huge portal blazed with variegated tints, and the bright -sun streaming in through the glass--as many-coloured as Joseph's -coat--dyed the floor with vivid lights and gaudy hues. Ancient -tapestries hung here and there between the two lines of black marble -columns running down the sides of the hall, and the wind, stealing in -through the open door, shook the grey dust from these mouldering -splendours of the loom. At the end of this immense vestibule arose a -broad staircase of white marble with balustrades of elaborate bronze -fretwork, and from the first landing two other flights sloped off to -right and left of the main branch. All the air was filled with -floating shadows, the soft wind moved the hangings without sound, and -I was alone in the deserted hall, over which brooded an intense -silence, which made me shiver in the chill atmosphere pervading this -abode of desolation. - -However, the afternoon was passing quickly, and as I had plenty to do -before nightfall, I rapidly ascended the shallow stairs. Turning to -the right, which was the way the unknown lady had taken the other -night, I soon found myself in the long corridor with the windows -looking out on to the courtyard. Many of these were broken, but others -were quite whole, their colours as bright and glowing as when they had -first been placed there. - -At the end of the corridor I turned to the left, and found the short -flight of shallow steps, which, however, led up into darkness, so that -before ascending them I had to light my candle. Luckily there were no -draughts, for the air was absolutely still, and the flame of my candle -burned clear and steadily. Up these steps I went, entered the short -corridor, and paused before the heavy door which gave admission into -the ante-chamber of the fatal room. Realizing what had taken place -inside on that fatal night, I dreaded to enter, lest I should find the -corpse of the unfortunate Pallanza on the floor; but overcoming my -emotions, with a strong effort I thrust open the door and entered. - -The tapestried chamber presented exactly the same appearance, with the -small table in the centre, the burnt-out torch lying on the floor, and -at the end the rich folds of the gold-worked curtains veiling the -entrance to the inner apartment. I stood on the threshold, half -expecting to hear the shrill notes of the mandolin, and the passionate -song ring through the silence, but all was still and mute, as if it -were indeed the tomb of the dead I expected to find. - -At last, with a thrill of dread, I parted the heavy curtains and found -myself in the circular chamber. The faint light of the candle just -hollowed out a gulf in the Cimmerian darkness, and I saw the dim -glitter of the gold and silver on the table, the ghastly glimmer of -the white cloth, and the sparks of weak fire flashing from the -tarnished gold embroidery of the curtains. All was as I had seen -it--the eight white pillars, the dull-red hangings with their -Arabesque patterns of golden thread, the gilt table, the massive metal -goblets and silver candelabra, even the half-eaten fruit, with -everything on the table in disorder; but, somewhat to my relief, I -found nothing else. The dead body, which I had seen lying at the feet -of that terrible woman, had vanished, and although I searched over -every inch of the chamber, I could find no trace of the fearful crime -which had been committed. The demon who had enticed the unhappy young -man to his ruin had completed her evil work by secreting his body, and -I began to think that all trace of Guiseppe Pallanza had disappeared -from the earth for evermore. - -Who was this woman who, in this room, had so wickedly slain her lover? -Who was the man--I felt sure it was a man--who had seized me at the -door, and borne me insensible from the palace? I could answer neither -of these questions, and had it not been for the story of Bianca, for -the disappearance of Pallanza, I would have fancied the whole some -hideous dream, some nightmare of medieval devilry, which had filled my -brain with the phantasmagoria of delirium. Everything, however, was -too real, too terrible, to admit of such an explanation; so as I could -discover nothing more from examining the chamber I prepared to leave. -The atmosphere yet had a faint aroma of the sandalwood perfume which -emanated from the unknown woman; at my feet still lay the broken -mandolin; and the rich wine-cups still glittered in the dim light. I -no longer wondered at such wealth being left here undefended, for -superstition, more of a safeguard than bolts and bars, protected this -cave of Aladdin from thievish Italian fingers; and even if a thief had -known of these riches, I doubt whether he would have had the courage -to dare the unseen horrors of the palazzo. - -For myself, standing there in the perfumed atmosphere, with the light -just showing the intense gloom, the dim glitter of gold and silver, -the absolute stillness and the horrible memories of the chamber--I -felt as though I were in the presence of the dead. At the table sat -the phantoms of Donna Renata and her lover, smiling at one another -with hatred in their ghostly hearts; at the door watched the evil face -of the outraged husband awaiting the consummation of the tragedy; and -in imagination I could see the wicked smile of the woman, the scowl of -the husband, the loathing look on the face of the lover. My breath, -coming quick and fast, made the flame of the candle flicker and flare -until, overcome by the horror of the room, and by the workings of my -imagination, I turned and fled--fled from the evil gloom, from that -blood-stained splendour, out into the blessed sunshine and pure air of -heaven. - -"Dio!" cried Peppino, as I walked quickly out into the square, "how -pale you are, Illustrious! Eh, Signore, have the ghosts----" - -"I have seen no ghosts, Peppino, but I have felt their presence." - -"Cospetto! did I not warn the Signore against the accursed place? -Come, Illustrious, jump in and we will leave this abode of devils." - -"Very well, Peppino," I replied, entering the fiacre, "but drive -slowly, as I want to know the way to this palazzo." - -"Dio! the Signore will not come again?" - -"Yes! I am coming some night this month." - -"Saints! the Signore is mad and lost!" muttered Peppino with a pale -face. Then, hastily gathering up the reins, he drove rapidly away from -the lonely square, leaving this gruesome palace to the night and to -the feast of ghosts. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. -AT THE TEATRO EZZELINO. - - -From my mother I had inherited one of those highly strung -organizations which are largely affected by their surroundings, and -which, like an Æolian harp, to the sighing wind vibrate with every -breath of passion that passes over them--organizations which take -their colour, their bias, their desires from the last event which -occurs, and which are entirely in sympathy with the predominating -feeling of the moment. In childhood this dangerous spirit of moods and -fancies had been fostered by an old Scottish nurse, who used to thrill -me with wild stories of Highland superstitions, and with weird ballads -of elfish fantasy; but since I had mixed in the world I had learned to -control and sway my imaginative faculty, and had thus acquired a -command over myself. But, as I said before, superstition is in every -one, and waxes or wanes according to their surroundings; so the -terrors of childish tales, which had been half-forgotten in the bustle -of worldly life, now came upon my soul with full force in this haunted -city of Verona. The burial-ground, the ghostly room, the accursed -palace, the phantoms of evil-seeming, all these peopled the chambers -of my brain, with their unreal horrors, until I became so nervous and -unstrung, that every sudden noise, every unexpected sound, and every -shadowy comer, made me thrill with supernatural fear as if I were -again a child listening to tales of devildom. - -I knew this mood was a bad one, and would have sought cheerful society -to drive away the evil spirit had I known where to seek it. But there -were no English at my hotel, and, in the present state of affairs, the -Casa Angello was not particularly cheerful, so as I did not care about -spending a lonely evening, I methought myself of my intention to go to -the Teatro Ezzelino. On glancing at the paper I saw that the opera for -the night was "Lucrezia Borgia;" and this name gave me a renewed -sensation of horror. The lady of the sepulchre had taken in my -imagination the semblance of Ferrara's Duchess, and the memory of the -terrible daughter of Pope Alexander seemed never to leave me. She had -come from the graveyard, she had supped in the fatal chamber, she had -murdered her lover; and now, when she had vanished into thin air, I -was to see her represented on the stage in all her magnificent -wickedness. I had a good mind not to go, but seeing that there was a -ballet after the opera, I thought I would brave this phantom of the -brain, and find in the lightness of the dancing an antidote to the -gloomy terrors of the lyrical drama. - -The cooking at my hotel was somewhat better than the usual run of -Italian culinary ideas, so I made an excellent dinner, drank some Asti -Spumati, an agreeable wine of an exhilarating nature, and felt much -better when I started for the Ezzelino. - -It was one of those perfect Italian evenings such as one sees depicted -by the glowing brush of Turner, and there yet lingered in the quiet -evening sky a faint purple reflection of the sunset glories. No moon -as yet, but here and there a burning star throbbing in the deep heart -of the sky, and under the peaceful heavens the weather-worn red roofs -and grey walls of antique Verona mellowed to warm loveliness in the -twilight shadows. Beautiful as it was, however, with the memory of -that eerie night still on me, I had no desire to renew my moonlight -wanderings, so, without pausing to admire the enchanting scene, I -hastened on to the theatre to be in time for the first notes of -Donnizetti's opera. - -The Teatro Ezzelino is a very charming opera-house, built in a light, -airy fashion, with plenty of ventilation, a thing to be grateful for -on hot summer nights. All the decorations are white and gold, so that -it has a delightfully cool appearance; nevertheless, what with the -warmth of the season without, and the glaring heat of the gas within, -I felt unpleasantly hot. The gallery and stalls were crowded, but as -it was only eight o'clock, most of the boxes were empty, and I knew -would not be filled until late in the evening by those who, tired of -the well-known music of "Lucrezia," wanted to see the new ballet. - -Having glanced round the theatre, I bought a book of the words, hired -an opera-glass from an obsequious attendant, and settled myself -comfortably for the evening. The orchestra--a very excellent one, -directed by Maestro Feraldi, of Milan--played the prelude in a -sufficiently good style, and the pictured curtain arose on the -well-known Venetian scene which I had so often beheld. The chorus, in -their heterogeneous costumes of no known age, wandered about in their -usual aimless fashion, shouted their approval of smiling Venice in the -ordinary indifferent style; and a very good contralto who sang Orsini, -having delivered her first aria with great dramatic fervour, they all -vanished from the stage, leaving the sleeping Genaro to be -contemplated by Lucrezia Borgia. - -I was disappointed with the Duchess when she arrived, and I must say -that my majestic evil lady of the sepulchre looked far more like the -regal sister of Cæsar Borgia than this diminutive singer with the big -voice, who raged round the stage like a spitfire, and gave one no idea -of the terrible Medusa of Ferrara, whose smile was death to all, -lovers and friends alike. The tenor was a long individual, and -Lucrezia being so small, their duets, in point of physical appearance, -were sufficiently ridiculous; but as they sang well together, their -rendering of the characters, artistically speaking, was enjoyable. The -chorus entered and discovered Lucrezia with Genaro; the prima-donna -defied them all with the look and ways of a cross child; there was the -usual dramatic chorus, and the curtain fell on the prologue with but -slight applause. I did not go out, as I felt very comfortable, so -amused myself with looking round the house, when, during the first act -of the opera, two officers entered the theatre and took their seats in -front of mine; They were two gay young men, who talked a great deal -about one thing and another in such raised voices that I could hear -all they said, some of which was not particularly edifying. - -During the first act which succeeds the prologue they were -comparatively quiet, but when Lucrezia entered in the second to sing -the celebrated duet with Alfonso, they were loud in their expressions -of disapproval concerning her appearance. The music of this part of -the opera is particularly loud and noisy, but even through the crash -of the orchestra I could hear their expressions of disapproval. - -"The voice is not bad, but the appearance--the acting--oime!" - -"Eh, Teodoro, what would you? Donna Lucrezia is not on the stage." - -"Not on the stage!" said Teodoro in an astonished tone. "Ebbene! where -is she?" - -"Look at the box yonder!" - -"Per Bacco! the Contessa Morone." - -I started as I heard this name, and, looking in the same direction as -the young men, saw a woman seated far back in the shadow of a box, the -fourth or fifth from the stage. She was talking to three gentlemen, -and her face was turned away so that I could not see her features; -but, judging from the glimpse I caught of her head and bust, she -seemed to be a very majestic woman. - -The Contessa Morone! She was then in Verona after all. This discovery -removed all my doubts concerning the identity of the ghoul. She was -the woman who had left the vault in the burial-ground. She was the -woman who had slain Guiseppe Pallanza in the secret chamber of the -deserted palace, and she was the woman seated in the shadow of the -box, talking idly as though she had no terrible crime to burden her -conscience. If I could only see her face I would then recognise her; -but, as if she had some presentiment of danger, she persistently -looked everywhere but in my direction. As I gazed she moved slightly, -the bright light of a lamp shone on her neck, and I saw a sudden -tongue of red flame flash through the semi-twilight of the box, which -at once reminded me of the necklace of rubies worn by that terrible -vampire of the graveyard. - -Eager to know all about this woman, whom I felt sure was the murderess -of Pallanza, I listened breathlessly to the two officers who were -still talking about her. - -"It is a year since Morone died," said Teodoro, lowering his -opera-glass, "and she has lived since at Rome, where I met her. Why -has she returned here?" - -"Eh, who knows! Perhaps to reside again at the Palazzo Morone." - -"That tomb. Diamine! She must become a ghost to live there." - -"Ebbene, Teodoro! the ghost of Lucrezia Borgia! Why does she not marry -again?" - -"Who knows! I wouldn't like to be her husband in spite of her money. -Corpo di Bacco! a woman who sees in the dark like a cat." - -"The evil eye!" - -"Yes! and everything else that's wicked. I do not like that Signora at -all." - -"Che peccato! you might marry her." - -"Or her money! Ecco!" - -They both laughed, and, the act being ended, left their seats. I also -went out into the corridor for a smoke and a breath of fresh air, -feeling deeply sorry that this interesting conversation had been -interrupted. From what one of the officers had said she was evidently -a nyctalopyst, and could see in the dark, which accounted at once for -the unerring way in which she had threaded the dark streets, and was -also the reason that she now remained secluded in the shadow of her -box, preferring the darkness to the light. Puzzling over these things, -and wondering how I could get a glimpse of her face, I lighted a -cigarette and strolled about in the vestibule of the theatre with the -rest of the crowd. - -There were a goodly number of civilians of all sizes, ages, and -complexions, while the military element was represented by a fair -sprinkling of officers in the picturesque uniforms of the Italian -army. The air was thick with tobacco-smoke there was a clatter of -vivacious voices, and the great doors of the theatre were thrown wide -open to admit the fresh night air into the overpoweringly hot -atmosphere. Being wrapt up in my ideas about the Contessa Morone and -her extraordinary behaviour, I leaned against a pillar and took no -notice of any one, when suddenly a tall officer stopped in front of me -and held out his hand. - -"What! Is it you, Signor Hugo? Come sta!" - -"Beltrami! You here! I am surprised!" - -"Ma foi," replied Beltrami, who constantly introduced French words -into his conversation; "you are not so surprised as I am. I thought -you were in your foggy island, and behold you appear at Verona. How -did you come here? What are you doing? Eh! Hugo, tell me all." - -I do not think I have mentioned Beltrami before, which is curious, -considering I have been talking so much about Italy and the Italians; -but the fact is, my friend the Marchese only now enters into this -curious story I am relating, so thus being introduced in due season I -will tell all I know about him. - -During my narrative I fancy I have mentioned that I spoke and -understood Italian tolerably for an Englishman. Well, I did not learn -my Italian in Italy--no, indeed! Foggy London saw my maiden efforts to -acquire that soft bastard Latin which Byron talks of, and the Marchese -Luigi Beltrami gave me my first lessons in his melodious language. He -had come to England some years before with a card of introduction to -my father from a friend in Florence, and on being introduced to our -household we had taken a great fancy to one another. Even in those -days, perhaps as a premonitory symptom of my operatic leanings, I was -mad on all things Italian, and discoursed about art, raved of Cimabue -and Titian, and quoted Dante, Ariosto, and Alfieri until every one of -my friends were, I am sure, heartily wearied of my enthusiasm. -Beltrami appeared, and feeling flattered by my great admiration for -his country, advised me to learn Italian. I did so, and with his help -soon became no mean proficient in the tongue which the Marchese, being -a Florentine, spoke very purely. In return I taught him English; but -either I was a bad master, or Beltrami was an idle scholar, for all -the English he ever learned consisted of two sentences: "You are a -beautiful miss," and "I love you," but with these two he got along -comparatively well, particularly with woman. - -English ladies at first were indignant at this outspoken admiration, -but Beltrami was so good-looking, and apparently so sincere in his use -of these two English sentences, that they usually ended by pardoning -him; nevertheless the Marchese found that if he wanted to get on in -society he would have to moderate his transports. Ultimately, if I -remember rightly, he took refuge in French, and said a great many -pretty things in that very pretty tongue. - -My friend Beltrami and myself were the antithesis of one another in -character, as he had a great deal of the subtle craft of the old -Italian despot about him; yet somehow we got on capitally together, -perhaps by the law of contrast, and when he returned to Italy I was -sorry to see the last of him. I promised to some day visit him at his -palazzo in Florence, and fully intended to do so before leaving Italy; -but here was Verona, and here, by the intervention of chance, was the -Marchese, as suave, as subtle-faced, and as handsome as ever. He -appeared to be delighted to see me, and as I was a stranger in a -strange land, I was glad to find at least one familiar face. - -In response to his request I told him about the death of my father, of -my determination to study singing, and the circumstances which had led -me to Verona, to all of which Beltrami listened attentively, and at -the conclusion of my story shook hands with me again. - -"Ebbene! my friend Hugo, I am glad to see you in our Italy. As you -see, I serve the King and am stationed in his dismal palace, so while -you are here I will make things pleasant. Ecco!" - -"No, no! my dear Marchese, I know what you mean by making things -pleasant. I have come here to work, not to play." - -"Dame, mon ami! too much work is bad." - -"Eh, Marchese, and too much play is worse; but tell me how have you -been since I saw you last?" - -"Oh, just the same; I am as poor as ever, but soon I will be rich!" - -"Bravo, Beltrami! Is your uncle, the Cardinal, dead?" - -"My uncle, the Cardinal, is immortal," replied the Marchese cynically. -"No, he still lives in the hope to succeed to the Fisherman's Chair. I -am going to be married!" - -"I congratulate you." - -"Eh, Hugo, I think you will when you see the future Marchesa! She is -in the theatre to-night. I am engaged to marry her, and as she takes -my friends for her own, come with me and I will introduce you." - -I drew back, as I wanted to watch the Contessa Morone, and if I went -to Beltrami's box I would perhaps lose sight of her. - -"You must excuse me, Signor Luigi, because--because you see I am not -in evening dress." - -It was the best excuse I could think of, but, being a very weak one, -Beltrami laughed, and, slipping his arm into mine, dragged me along -the corridor. - -"Sapristi! you talk like a child. You are my friend. Signora Morone -will be delighted to see you. She adores the English." - -"Madame Morone!" I exclaimed, thunderstruck. - -"Yes, the Contessa! Do you know her by sight? Mon Dieu! is she not -beautiful? You shall speak the English to her. She loves your foggy -islanders." - -I was so bewildered by the chance thrown in my way of finding out if -the Contessa Morone had anything to do with the burial-ground episode, -that I only replied to Beltrami's chatter by an uneasy laugh, and -suffered myself to be led unresistingly along. - -The Marchese did not take me into the box itself, but into one of -those small ante-rooms, on the opposite side of the corridor, which -are used by Italian ladies as reception saloons for their friends when -at the theatre. I heard the loud chatter of many voices as Beltrami -opened the door, and there, standing under the glare of the gas-lamp, -with the wicked smile on her lips, the pearls in her hair, the ruby -necklace round her throat, I saw the woman who had come from the -vault, the woman who had poisoned Pallanza in the secret room, the -phantom of Lucrezia Borgia. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. -THE PHANTOM OF LUCREZIA BORGIA. - - -I was duly introduced by the Marchese, and Signora Morone received me -in the most amiable manner. She was certainly a very charming woman, -and had I not known her true character, I would doubtless have been -fascinated by her gracious affability; but, in spite of her courtesy, -I could hardly speak to her without a feeling of repulsion. This -beautiful woman, so suave, so smiling, so seductive, inspired me with -that sensation of absolute dread which one experiences at the sight of -a sleek, velvet-footed pantheress--a comely beast to admire, but a -terrible one to caress. I replied to her polite inquiries in a -somewhat mechanical fashion, which she doubtless put down to my -imperfect knowledge of Italian, for in spite of all my efforts to feel -at ease in her society, yet I was unable to do more than behave with -strained courtesy towards this woman whose mask I had torn off, whose -secret I had penetrated, and the wickedness of whose heart I knew. - -There were several other gentlemen in the room, who talked gaily with -the Contessa, and amused themselves by eating the bonbons and -crystallised fruits provided for refreshments. The last act of the -opera had not yet commenced, so Signora Morone sank gracefully into a -velvet-cushioned chair, and permitted her courtiers to retail all the -news of the day for her amusement. I am afraid this description sounds -somewhat hyperbolical, but indeed it is the only way in which I can -describe this woman, whose every movement was full of sinuous grace -and feline treachery. Cat, tigress, pantheress as she was, her claws -were now sheathed in her velvet paws, but the claws were there all the -same, and would doubtless scratch at the least provocation. - -Some people do not believe in transmigration, but I am a true disciple -of Pythagoras in that bizarre doctrine, and I firmly believe that in a -former existence the soul of Giulietta Morone had animated the body of -some tawny tigress who had stolen through the jungle beneath the -burning skies of Hindostan, slaying and devouring her victims in -conformity with the instincts of her savage nature. Now she was a -woman--a fair, majestic woman--but the instinct of the beast was -there, the desire for slaughter and the lust for blood. What made me -indulge still more in this fancy was the colours of the dress she wore -black and yellow--all twisted in and out with a curious resemblance to -the sleek fur of the beast to which I had likened her. The soft -glimmer of the pearl strings twined in her magnificent red hair seemed -out of place as ornaments for this woman; but the rubies suited her -nature well, the red, angry rubies that shot flashes of purple fire -from her neck at every heave of her white bosom. Leaning back in her -deep chair with a cruel smile on her full crimson lips, the glimmer of -pearls, the fire-glint of the fierce-tinted gems, and the bizarre -mixture of amber and black in her dress, she slowly waved her -sandalwood fan to and fro, diffusing a strange, sleepy perfume through -the room, and looking what I verily believed her to be, the type of -incarnate evil in repose. - -While I was thinking in this fanciful fashion, the Contessa was -talking to her friends in a slow, rich voice, and Beltrami--well, -Beltrami was watching me closely. Do you know that strange sensation -of being watched? that uneasy consciousness that some unseen eye is -observing the least movement? Yes, of course you do! Every one has -felt it, in a more or less degree, according to their nervous -susceptibility. At the present time, with all my senses on the alert -for unexpected events, it was therefore little to be wondered at that -I felt the magnetism of Beltrami's gaze, and, on looking up, saw his -keen black eyes fixed upon me with an enigmatical expression. For the -moment I was startled, but immediately that feeling passed away for I -well knew the strange nature of the Marchese, which was a peculiar -mixture of good and evil, of kindness and cruelty, of hate and love, -which must have proceeded from some aberration of his subtle -intellect. - -Beltrami's face always put me in mind of that sinister countenance of -Sigismondo Malatesta, which sneers so malevolently at the curious -onlooker from the walls of the Duomo at Rimini. He had the same -treacherous droop of the eyelids, the same thin nose with wide, -sensitive nostrils, and the same malignant smile on his thin lips. Yet -he was handsome enough, this young Italian; but his face, in spite of -my friendship, repelled me--in a less degree, it is true, but still it -repelled me in the like manner as did that of the Contessa Morone. So -he was going to marry her. Well, they were certainly well-matched in -every respect, and if the man had not the active wickedness of the -woman, still the capability of evil was there, and would awaken to -life when necessary to be exercised. Both Beltrami and his future wife -were anachronisms in this nineteenth century, and should have lived, -smiled, and died in the time of the Renaissance, when they would have -been fitted companions of those Italian despots of whom Machiavelli -gives the typical examples in his book "The Prince." - -The Marchese saw my inquiring look, and with an enigmatic smile walked -across to where I was standing in the warm, yellow light. - -"Ebbene! Signor Hugo," he whispered, with a swift glance at the -Contessa, "tell me what you think of my choice." - -"It does you credit, Marchese. You will have a beautiful wife." - -"And a loving one, I hope. Tell me, mon ami, do you not envy me?" - -I hesitated a moment before replying, and then blurted out the -truth,-- - -"Honestly speaking, Signor Luigi, I do not!" - -"Dame! and why?" - -"Well, I can hardly tell you my reasons, but I have them, -nevertheless." - -Beltrami looked hard at me with an inquisitive look in his dark eyes, -and a satirical smile on his thin lips. - -"You are not complimentary, my friend," he said, turning away with a -supercilious laugh. - -I laid my hand on his shoulder and explained,-- - -"Pardon me, Beltrami, you do not understand----" - -"Eh! do not apologise! I understand better than you think." - -He was evidently not at all offended, and I felt puzzled by his -manner. It was true he had candidly acknowledged that he was making -this marriage for money, but surely he must also love this woman, -whose ripe beauty was so attractive to the passionate nature of the -Italians. Yet, judging from his mode of speech, he evidently had some -mistrust--a mistrust for which I could not account. He could know -nothing of the affair at the Palazzo Morone, so there certainly could -be no reason for suspicion on his part. She was a beautiful woman, a -rich woman, an attractive woman, so with this trinity of perfections -she decidedly merited a warmer love than Beltrami appeared inclined to -give her. Could it be that her evil beauty repelled him, as it did me? -No! that was impossible, seeing that, according to my idea, their -natures were wonderfully alike. Altogether the whole demeanour of the -Marchesa perplexed me by its strangeness, and I watched him narrowly -as he approached the Contessa, to see if she perceived the lack of -warmth on the part of her lover. - -To my surprise, as he bent over her chair to speak, she shrank away -with a gesture of disdain, and the rubies shot forth a red flame, as -if to warn the lover that there was danger in pressing upon this woman -his unwelcome attentions. Unwelcome, I am sure they were, for as he -adjusted her cloak and aided her to rise, in order to return to the -box, I saw that she accepted all his politeness with forced civility -and cold smiles. So then she did not love him--he had almost openly -acknowledged to me that he did not love her, and yet these two people, -who had no feeling of love in their hearts, were about to marry. It -was most extraordinary, and I marvelled greatly at the juxtaposition -of these two human beings, who evidently hated one another heartily. - -At this moment the Contessa spoke of the man she had murdered, and I -was horrified in the cold, callous tones in which she veiled her -iniquity. - -"Do you know, gentlemen, if anything has been heard of this lost -tenor?" - -Beltrami shot a keen glance at her, then a second at me, and I felt -more bewildered than ever by this strange action. - -"Nothing has been heard of him, Contessa," he said quickly, before the -others could speak; "he has vanished altogether, but no doubt he will -appear again." - -"Ah, you think so?" observed the Contessa, with a cruel smile. - -"I am sure of it!" - -She winced, and looked at him in a startled manner, upon which, -impelled by some mysterious impulse, I know not what, I joined in the -conversation,-- - -"On the contrary, madame, I do not think Signor Pallanza will ever be -seen again." - -All present turned round in surprise, and the Contessa darted a look -at me which seemed to pierce my soul. Only Beltrami was unmoved, and -he, with a smile on his face, laid his hand upon my shoulder. - -"Eh, Signor Hugo, and why do you think so?" - -"A mere fancy, Marchese, nothing more." - -"Ma foi! and a fancy that may turn out true!" - -I was annoyed at having yielded to the impulse and spoken out, as, -unless I told all about my adventure, I could not substantiate my -statement, and I was certainly not going to reveal anything I knew, -particularly in the presence of the woman so deeply implicated in the -affair. Beltrami's mocking manner irritated me fearfully, the more so -as it was so very unaccountable, and I was about to make some sharp -reply, when the opening chorus of the last act sounded, and all the -gentlemen, after making their adieux to the Contessa, left the room. - -The Marchese offered his arm to Madame Morone, but she dismissed him -with a haughty gesture. - -"One moment, Marchese--I wish to speak with this Signor for a few -minutes." - -Beltrami darted one of his enigmatic looks at us both, and with a low -bow to conceal the smile on his lips, left the room. As soon as he had -disappeared, Madame Morone turned round on me with a quick gesture of -surprise. - -"Signor Hugo, why did you say the tenor Pallanza would never be seen -again?" - -"I have no reason, Signora," I replied, being determined to baffle her -curiosity; "I merely spoke on the impulse of the moment." - -"Do you know Signor Pallanza?" - -"No, madame, I have not the pleasure of his acquaintance." - -"Ah!" - -She heaved a sigh of relief, and looked at me long and earnestly, as -if to see whether I was speaking the truth. Apparently she was -satisfied with her scrutiny, for she laughed softly, and placed her -hand within my arm. - -"Confess now, Signor Hugo, you think me most mysterious, but I will -tell you why I speak thus. I heard Pallanza at Rome, when he sang at -the Apollo, and I hoped to see him again here, therefore I am annoyed -at his disappearance and anxious for him to be found. A selfish wish, -Signor Hugo, for it is only my desire to hear him sing again. Ecco!" - -"I do not think your wish at all selfish, madame, for I hear he is a -charming singer." - -"Oh, yes! the New Mario they call him in Milan. Will you not hear the -rest of the opera in my box?" - -"If you will excuse me, madame, I will say no, as I have an -engagement." - -This was a lie, but I was so fearful of betraying myself to this -terrible woman, who had evidently a half-suspicion that I knew -something of Pallanza, that I was anxious to get away as soon as -possible. She, saying good-night, in a cold, polite manner, re-entered -the box, and I was moving away when Beltrami suddenly appeared. - -"Eh, Hugo, how cruel! the Contessa tells me you must go?" - -"Yes. I will see you again, Marchese!" - -"To-morrow then; if not, the next day. Here is my card, and I am -always at home in the afternoon. Do not fail to come, mon ami--I wish -to speak to you about--about----" - -He paused, and I asked curiously,-- - -"About what?" - -"Eh, dame! I forget. I will tell you at our next meeting' A rivederci! -Signor Hugo. Don't forget your old friend, or he will quarrel with -you." - -He nodded, smiled, and vanished, then I took my departure from the -theatre, and wandered up and down the street in the moonlight. I felt -that to sit out the ballet would be more than I could bear, as I was -so excited over the meeting with the Contessa Morone, therefore I -strolled up and down the street, smoking and thinking. As time passed -on I grew calmer, and thought I would return to the Ezzelino, not to -see the ballet, but to catch a glimpse of the Contessa once more. - -As I reached the portico of the theatre she was just coming down the -steps to her carriage, leaning on the arm of Beltrami, and I, hidden -in the crowd, could see her looking hither and thither as if searching -for some one. She could not see me, and in order to satisfy myself in -every way as to her identity with the creature of the night I had seen -leave the graveyard, with a sudden inspiration I hummed a few bars of -the strange song I had heard in the fatal chamber. - -Being close to me she could hear quite plainly, and gave a kind of -gasping cry as she fell back into the arms of Beltrami, just as he was -helping her into the carriage. - -"What is the matter, cara?" he asked quickly. - -She clutched his arm with so powerful a grasp that it made him wince, -and I heard her mutter with white lips,-- - -"Pallanza! Pallanza!" - -This was all I wanted to hear, and, fearful of discovery, I threaded -my way quickly among the crowd, and hastened home to my hotel. - -I had recognised Guiseppe, I had found the woman who had slain him, -but I had yet to discover where she had hidden the body of her -victim--and then!--well, my future movements would be guided by -circumstances. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. -FIORE DELLA CASA. - - -I did not get much sleep that night after the excitements of the day, -but towards the morning fell into an uneasy slumber, during which I -had fragmentary dreams in which Pallanza, the Contessa, and the -antique chamber were all mixed up together. One moment I was at the -iron door of the tomb, and the guardian angel took the semblance of -Signora Morone; the next I was kneeling beside the corpse of Pallanza, -illuminated by the faint light of the candles; and I ever saw the -pallid shade of Donna Renata pointing towards the watchful face of her -husband, filled with ghastly meanings in the dim shadows. No wonder, -after these terrific visions which blended the real and the ideal, I -awoke in the grey morning light unrefreshed and haggard; so when the -waiter brought me my roll and coffee I left them untouched, and, lying -quietly in bed, wondered what step it was necessary to take next in -solving this riddle. - -Riddle do I say? No! it was a riddle no longer, save as to the visit -of the Contessa to the vault of her family, for otherwise everything -was clear enough. She had met Pallanza at Rome, and had fallen in love -with his handsome face. The young man, flattered by the attentions of -a great lady, had yielded readily enough to the charm of the -situation, but, growing tired of the intrigue, had come to Verona, -where Bianca awaited him, with the intention of breaking it off. With -a woman of Giulietta Morone's fiery nature the sequel can easily be -guessed--she had followed him hither, and having in some way forced -him to come to the deserted palace, had there poisoned him out of -revenge for his contemplated infidelity. - -Of course, this was all theoretical, but from one thing and another I -guessed that this could be the only feasible way of accounting for the -whole affair. Two points, however, remained to be cleared up before -the reading of the riddle could be successfully accomplished: the -first being the reason of the burial-ground episode, the second the -strange disappearance of the dead man's body. - -In thinking over the legend related by Peppino, one thing struck me as -peculiar--that Donna Renata had never been seen again after her -husband entered the chamber, and I guessed from this that there was -some secret oubliette or alcove in the room, with a concealed entrance -in which Mastino Morone had entombed his guilty wife as a punishment -for her crimes. Doubtless, from tradition or from old family papers, -Madame Morone knew of this secret hiding-place, and having killed -Pallanza, had put his body therein so as to destroy all evidences of -her criminality. No one had seen Pallanza enter this deserted palace, -so once his body was hidden in the secret alcove it would remain there -for ever undiscovered, and no human being, save the Contessa herself, -could ever tell what had become of him. She, for her own sake, would -remain silent, and thus Guiseppe Pallanza's fate would remain a -mystery for evermore. - -Fortunately, however, God, who had thus permitted this evil woman to -conceive and carry out her crime, had also permitted me to behold the -murder, so that, secure as she no doubt felt of her safety, yet one -word from me and the whole affair would be revealed. I never thought, -however, of going to the Veronese police and telling them what I had -seen, as in their suspicions of foreigners they would doubtless regard -me as an accessory, and thus I would get myself into trouble, which I -had no desire to do. I therefore determined to once more go to the -fatal chamber and make a final effort to discover what had become of -the body of the unfortunate Pallanza. - -So far so good, but now the question arose, how much of this story was -I to reveal to Bianca? I could not tell her the whole, for if the body -of her lover were discovered, the poor child would suffer quite enough -without the additional information of Guiseppe's infidelity; so, -making a virtue of necessity, I determined upon telling her a pious -lie. To do this it was necessary to leave out the Contessa Morone -altogether, as the least mention of a woman's name would arose -Bianca's suspicions, and for the Contessa I substituted a robber, who -had decoyed Guiseppe to the deserted palace by means of a false -letter, and there ended his life. Of course it was somewhat difficult -to be consistent in the narrative; but I was so anxious to hide the -cruel truth of Pallanza's worthlessness from Bianca that I went over -the story I had invented, again and again, until I thought I had the -whole pious fraud quite perfect. - -Having thus arranged my plans, I arose, finished my roll and coffee, -then, having dressed myself rapidly, set off at once for the Casa -Angello, as it was nearly time for my lesson. All my bruises were now -quite well, yet I felt very depressed and downcast, as the state of -nervous excitement which I had been in for the last few days had told -terribly on my system. However, having once put my hand to the plough -I could not, with satisfaction to myself, turn back; and although I -heartily dreaded the coming interview with Bianca, yet it was -unavoidable, as the poor child was so anxious over her lost lover that -it was necessary to tell my fictitious story without delay in order to -set her mind at rest. - -On my arrival at the Casa Angello I found no one there but Bianca, who -was anxiously awaiting me. It appeared that the Maestro had taken it -into his head that he would like a walk in the sunshine, and had gone -out under the care of Petronella; but, as Bianca knew I was coming to -take my usual lesson, and was anxious to hear if I had any news of her -lover, she remained indoors to speak to me. - -The "Fiorè della Casa," as old Petronella tenderly called her in the -poetic language of the Italians, looked even paler than usual, and the -dark shadows under her dark eyes made them appear wonderfully large -and star-like. She had a bunch of delicate lilies-of-the-valley in the -bosom of her white dress, and she looked as pale and blanched as the -frail flowers themselves. Lying back on the green-covered sofa on -which she was seated, she reminded me of a late snowflake resting on -the emerald grass of early spring, which at any moment might vanish -under the pale rays of the sun. - -We were talking together in the room in which I generally had my -lessons, and my eyes wandered from one thing to another with vague -hesitation as I looked everywhere but on the face of this delicate -girl to whom I had to tell such a cruel story--for, soften it as I -might, the story was cruel and could not fail to affect her terribly. -Every object in the apartment photographed itself on my memory with -terrible distinctness, and, even after the lapse of years, by simply -closing my eyes I can recall the whole scene with the utmost -truthfulness. The dull red of the terra-cotta floor, the heavy -time-worn furniture, covered with faded green rep, the small ebony -piano with its glistening white keys alternating with the black, the -mirror-fronted press in which Petronella kept everything from food to -clothes, the many photographs of operatic celebrities, and the gaudily -painted picture of St. Paul, the Maestro's patron saint, encircled by -a faded wreath of withered laurel-leaves and dead flowers, flung to -some favourite pupil in her hour of triumph. Even the view from the -window I can recall, with the slender campanile tower, from whence -every quarter rang the brazen bells, and then the faltering voice of -Bianca, "Fiorè della Casa," stealing like a melancholy wind through -the silence of the room. - -"Signor!" she said, twisting her thin white hands nervously together, -"you have something to tell me of Guiseppe. I can see it in your -face--is it good or evil?" - -"What does my face tell you, Signorina?" - -"Evil, evil! your eyes are sad, your mouth does not smile! Oh, tell me -quickly what you know! Is he found? is he ill? is he--dead?" - -She brought out the last word in a shrill scream, with dilated eyes -that almost terrified me by the fear expressed in them, and, dreading -the effect of a sudden shock on this fragile child, I hastily replied -in the negative. - -"No, Signorina, no! Do not look so fearful, I pray you. He is not -dead. Child, I am sure he is not dead!" - -"Then you have not found him yet?" - -"No; I have not found him, but I think I know where he is to be -found." - -"What do you mean, Signor Hugo, tell me all--tell me all. See, I am -strong, I can bear it--I wish to know everything." - -"Signorina, the note which Guiseppe Pallanza received at the Ezzelino -was not from a friend but from an enemy." - -"An enemy!" - -"Yes! from one who wished him ill. Thinking it was from his dying -friend, he obeyed the letter and was lured to the deserted Palazzo -Morone." - -"I do not know that palazzo, Signor. I am a stranger in Verona." - -"I know where it is, Signorina, for on that night I was wandering -about near it, when I saw Pallanza go into it alone. Knowing the -evil reputation of the place, I followed him, although he was a -stranger to me. He went to a room in the palace where his enemy met -him, and--and----" - -"Yes! yes, Signor--for the love of the Saints, go on." - -"I can tell you no more, Signorina, except that I do not believe -Guiseppe left that room again. I believe he is there still, perhaps -held captive by the robber who lured him thither in the hope of -obtaining a ransom." - -Bianca looked at me searchingly. She was a simple little thing as a -rule, but this ridiculous story I had manufactured of brigands in the -heart of Verona was too much even for her confiding nature, and she -made a gesture of disbelief. - -"It is not true! it is not true!" she cried vehemently. "Why do you -deceive me, Signor?" - -"I am not deceiving you." - -"An enemy! a false letter! a deserted palace! held captive! Oh, I -cannot believe it. If it is true, why did you not rescue him?" - -"Because some one I do not know seized me from behind as I watched, -and, rendering me insensible with chloroform, bore me away from the -palace. I had great difficulty in finding it again, I assure you." - -"Signor, your story is that of a dream. I cannot believe you." - -"It is true, nevertheless." - -Bianca said nothing, but tapped her little foot on the ground with a -thoughtful frown on her small face. I was glad that my task was over, -for absurd as was the story I had told her, it was more merciful than -the truth. Now that I had to some extent quieted her fears by telling -her that Guiseppe was alive--a thing, alas! that I could not be -certain of myself--I hoped to get away at once to the Palazzo Morone -and make one last effort to find his body. If I failed there would be -nothing left for me to do but to inform the police, and in the -interests of Bianca I was unwilling to do this until I had exhausted -every means of solving the mystery myself. - -Suddenly Bianca's face cleared, and she looked at me with steady -determination. - -"Signor, you know this palazzo?" - -"Yes, Signorina." - -"And this room where you think Guiseppe is held captive?" - -"I do, Signorina." - -"Then take me to it at once." - -She started to her feet with a deep flush on her face, and threw out -her hands towards me with an appealing gesture. As for me, I sat -still, transfixed with astonishment at the spirit displayed by this -gentle girl, who was thus willing to dare the dangers, of the unknown -in order to save her lover. - -"Take me to it at once!" she repeated quickly. - -"Signorina, I--I cannot. You are mad to think of such a thing." - -"Is your story true or false, Signor Hugo?" - -"True! yes, it is true!" - -"Then I will judge of its truth myself--with my own eyes. Wait, I will -put on my hat, and you will take me to this palazzo at once." - -"Signorina----" - -"Not another word, I have made up my mind. You promised to be my -friend, Signor Hugo. I hold you to that promise. Ecco!" - -She was gone before I could utter further remonstrance, and during her -absence I reflected rapidly. It was true that Guiseppe was dead, that -I believed his body was concealed somewhere in that room, so perhaps -after all it was best that Bianca should come, as her quick woman's -wit might succeed where I had failed. She knew nothing about the -implication of the Contessa Morone in the affair, the palazzo would be -quite deserted during the daytime, so I would be able to take her -there, let her examine the room, and if by chance the truth was -revealed that Guiseppe was dead, it would be a more merciful way than -by the lips of a stranger. Yes, I would take her there at once. If we -failed in our mission she would be no wiser than before, but if we -succeeded--ah! how I pitied the poor child if we succeeded in finding -out the terrible secret of the Contessa. At this moment she returned -trembling with ill-suppressed excitement. - -"Well, Signor Hugo, are you ready--are you willing to help me?" - -"With all my heart, Signorina." - -"Ebbene! come, then." - -She ran lightly out of the room, and I followed with a heavy heart, -for I had a presentiment of evil. I feared that fatal chamber, which -held so many impure memories--I feared the discovery of the dead--I -feared for this child who went forward in ignorance to face such -horrors. - - - - -CHAPTER X. -A VOICE IN THE DARKNESS. - - -On returning from my last visit to the palace I had carefully noted -the way thereto, so I was able to escort Signorina Angello without -calling in the services of Peppino. I was unwilling to drive there, as -the presence of a fiacre even in that deserted piazza might be -noticed, and I did not want any comment made by the scandal-loving -Italian populace on our visit to this out-of-the-way locality. So in -company with Bianca, who had put on a veil, and who said nothing to me -from the time we left Casa Angello, being apparently occupied with her -own reflections, I walked down the gloomy, narrow streets towards that -terrible Palazzo Morone, the very idea of which inspired me with -horror and dismay. - -It was one of those burning days common to that time of the year in -Italy, and much as I despised and cursed those drain-like alleys in -wet weather, yet I now saw there was method in the madness of their -style of building, for their cool shadow and humid atmosphere was -wonderfully pleasant after the glare, the dust, and heat of the great -piazza. We walked on the broad carriage-way, which was less painful to -the feet than the cobble-stone paving between, and every now and then -saw some typical picture of Italian life. A dark-faced woman with a -red handkerchief twisted carelessly round her head, leaning from a -high balcony, on the iron railings of which was displayed the family -washing; a purple cloud of wisteria blooming in some pergola near the -red roof-tops; sleek grey donkeys laden with panniers, stepping -complacently along the narrow way; slender Italian men presiding over -fruit-stalls, piled high with their picturesque contents; and over -all, the vivacious clatter and din of voices, struck through at times -with the sharp, metallic notes of the mandolin. It was very charming, -and, I would have enjoyed it thoroughly, artistically speaking, had it -not been for the local odours. Oh, the smells of those picturesque -streets! they were too terrible for description; and how the Italians -are not swept off the face of the earth by a plague of typhoid is more -than I can understand. I smoked cigarettes most of the time, as a -preventive against infection; but on beholding ideal paintings of -Italian scenes, I always shudder at the memory of the malodorous -reality, and on arriving in well-drained London again, my first prayer -was one of thanks for having escaped from ill-smelling Italy. - -My thoughts during this portentous walk were, I am afraid, rather -frivolous; but so fearful had been the strain on my nerves for the -past few days, that it was a great relief to think idly of anything -and any one. Not so Bianca; even through her veil I could see the -glisten of tears, and catch the sound of her quick indrawn breath as -she strove to fight down the emotion that threatened to overwhelm her. -I saw that the poor child was nearly hysterical with her efforts to -control herself, and stopped short in dismay. - -"Signorina, you are not well. Do not go to this palazzo." - -"Yes, yes! I must, Signor Hugo. I cannot pass another night in this -state of suspense. I must know all, and at once. Is the Palazzo Morone -far off?" - -"We are just at it, Signorina." - -And so we were; for at that moment we entered the silent, grass-grown -square, at the end of which stood the palazzo, looking gruesome even -in the sunshine, with its broken windows, damp, disfigured walls, and -general air of weird solitude. Some swallows were shooting through the -still air and twittering round the rich sculptures of the façade, but -their merry chirpings only added to the eerie feeling inspired by the -great mansion--a feeling which I noticed thrilled Bianca with fear as -she paused shuddering, under the grinning masks and unlovely faces -peering downward from the arched entrance. - -"Oh, how could he come to this terrible place at night!" she cried, -crossing herself, with a look of fear in her eyes. "Desolate as it is -in the sun, what must it be when the moon shines! It is an abode of -the dead--a tomb--a tomb! Dio! his tomb." - -"Signorina, do not affright yourself thus! Things may not be so bad as -you think." - -"It is like the Inferno of Dante! and turns my blood cold with fear; -but I will not go back! I must find Guiseppe, even if it cost me my -life. Come, Signor, presto! there is no time to lose." - -She crossed herself once more, then flitted through the opening in the -iron gate like a noiseless-winged bird, upon which I hastily followed -her, and we stood for a moment in the lonely courtyard, gazing at the -great portals of the door leading to the hall, which stood half-open. - -"Signorina, I will lead you to the room. You are not afraid? You do -not tremble?" - -"Ah! I am afraid, and I do tremble, Signor, for I am only a girl; but -lead on, love will make me strong, and you will protect me. Give me -your hand, Signor; I am not afraid when I hold your hand." - -With a fleeting smile on her pale lips, she placed her hand in mine, -and as I grasped its cold whiteness, I guessed how terrified this -delicate, superstitious girl was of this unholy place. But for the -resolute look on her pallid face, I would have insisted upon her -turning back; but it was useless to urge retreat now, so with the name -"Guiseppe! Guiseppe!" on her lips, as if to inspire her with courage, -she almost dragged me through the half-closed door into the hall of -shadows. - -"Ah! Mother Mary, it is like a church!" - -It was like a church--like some old deserted church, filled with -the chill atmosphere of the grave; and the slow movement of the -wind-shaken tapestries, the glimmer of the ghostly white stairs in the -dim distance, and the solemnity of the huge pillars of black marble, -made me think of those God-cursed cities of the "Thousand and One -Nights," whose silence is only broken by the voice of the one survivor -chanting the melancholy verses of the Koran. Bianca, overpowered by -this mute spectacle of a dead past, clung convulsively to my arm with -faltering prayers on her lips, and I became afraid lest, by a feeling -of sympathy, her terror should unnerve me also, so with a cheerful -laugh, which echoed dismally through the vast vestibule, I led her -onward towards the grand staircase. - -"Come, Signorina, do not be afraid. You are quite safe with me." - -"Yes, yes! Guiseppe! Guiseppe!" - -We slowly ascended the staircase, gained the corridor, and at length -arrived at the second flight of shallow steps leading to the secret -room. Here Bianca, seeing the darkness, nearly fainted with nervous -fear, for, deeply imbued with grim Italian superstitions, she beheld -unseen terrors in every shadowy corner. I again wanted her to return, -but with wilful obstinacy she refused, so, as I luckily had a -pocket-flask of brandy with me, I made her take a little to revive -her. The fiery spirit put new life into her sinking limbs, and, after -lighting my candle as usual, I led her up the steps, through the short -corridor, through the tapestried ante-chamber, until at last we stood -in the fatal room. - -"Here, Signor Hugo!" - -"Yes!" - -She flung back her veil with a feverish gesture, and peered into the -darkness, which was hardly broken by the feeble light of the small -candle I carried. Suddenly a thought struck me which I at once put -into execution, and lighted all the tapers yet remaining in the -candelabra on the table. To the darkness succeeded a blaze of mellow -light, and Bianca, with a look of surprise on her face, gazed round -the singular room with the white pillars, the ominous blood-red -hangings, and the banquet of the dead set forth with such splendid -display on the gilt table. - -"What a strange room!" she said timidly. "Signor Hugo! what does it -mean?" - -"I have told you all I know, Signorina. Your lover was lured to this -room. I saw him pass through that door, and then I was drugged as I -have said." - -"You did not then see who received him here?" - -"No! I did not." - -The first part of the lie was difficult to utter on account of a -choking feeling in my throat, but the last sentence came out with -tolerable grace. - -"And you do not think Guiseppe left this room again?" - -"I'm afraid not, Signorina!" - -"Then, where can he be?" she asked with an anxious look around. - -"I think he is concealed in some secret cell, the entrance to which is -from this apartment." - -"Oh, Signor Hugo, let us look for it at once." - -"Certainly!" - -"A meal on the table--all this gold and silver. It is a robbers' cave, -Signor." - -"Y--es--I suppose so!" - -"Come, let us be quick then, or the robbers may arrive." - -She looked nervously towards the door, but I, taking a candle off the -table, reassured her with a gay laugh,-- - -"Do not be afraid, Signorina. No one comes here during the day." - -"Hush! what is that?" - -Infected by her terror my heart gave a jump, and I listened intently, -but could hear no sound. - -"It is nothing, Signorina. Your nerves are unstrung!" - -"No! No! I can hear it. Some one is coming. Listen!" - -In order to humour her fancy I remained silent with all my senses on -the alert, and with a feeling of dread I heard the sound. The light -fall of footsteps, the rustle of a silken dress--a dress!--the full -horror of the situation rushed on me at once. - -"It must be the Contessa Morone!" - -In a moment I had blown out all the candles, and, dragging Bianca with -me, retreated in the darkness to the far end of the room. The girl -gave a little cry as the lights disappeared, but I pressed her hand -significantly. - -"Hush, Signorina. Not a word!" - -At the time I heard the steps they were at the door of the -ante-chamber, where the new-comer was evidently pausing a moment, and -as the curtains of the inner room had been half drawn aside on our -entrance, it was for this reason we had heard them so clearly. The -steps recommenced. I heard their soft, light fall on the marble floor, -the rustle of the silken gown, like the sound of dry leaves in an -autumnal wind, and then I felt that this woman was standing in the -arched doorway, looking straight at myself and the shrinking girl -through the darkness. - -"Why are you here, Signor Hugo, and who is that woman?" - -It was the voice of the Contessa, and I gave a cry of horror as I -suddenly remembered how ineffectual the darkness was to conceal us -from the eyes of this nyctalopist. Bianca, however, knew nothing of -this woman, or of her gift of seeing in the dark; so, overcome with -fear at the demoniac power she believed the unknown possessed, she -gave a shriek of terror and sank fainting at my feet. - -"What does this mean?" - -Again the voice of the Contessa sounded cruel and menacing in its -tones; so feeling myself at a disadvantage in the dark, through not -possessing the terrible attribute of this woman, I staggered forward -and lighted the candles. At once out of the gloom sprang that evil -face with a frown on the white brow, a deadly glitter in the cruel -eyes, and an ominous tightening of the thin lips. - -I don't think I can call myself a coward, but at that moment my blood -ran cold at the horror of that Medusa-like countenance, and I stood -before this phantom of Lucrezia Borgia as if turned into stone, unable -to move or speak. - -The Contessa moved forward to the table and looked at me steadily, -with a wicked smile frozen on her red lips. - -"You do not reply, Signor Hugo; but I begin to understand. You have -been here before?" - -"Yes!" - -I hardly recognised my own voice, so hoarse and broken did it sound, -stealing in a whisper from between my dry lips. She still looked at me -steadily, and I felt fascinated with dread by the snake-like glare of -those cruel eyes. - -"When were you here, Signor?" - -"On Monday night!" - -"And you saw--nothing," she said in a meaning tone. - -"Yes!" I replied, lifting my head boldly, "I saw you receive Guiseppe -Pallanza, and I saw you give him the poisoned cup!" - -She gave a cry of rage like a trapped animal, and made a step forward, -but restraining herself with a powerful effort, sank into a chair and -leaned her elbow on the table. Dressed in heavy black garments of -velvet and silk, she looked more like the Borgia than ever, and the -ruby necklace she constantly wore flashed forth rays of red fire in -the glimmer of the tremulous light. - -"I understand now why you said Guiseppe Pallanza would not come back," -she said with a scornful smile. "I thought last night you knew more -than you told. Eh! Signor, and it was you who sang at the door of the -Ezzelino." - -"Yes, it was I." - -"Meddlesome Englishman that you are, do you not fear that I will treat -you as I treated that false one?" - -"No! I mistrust your wine!" - -"True, Signor Machiavella! forewarned is forearmed. So you came here -to look for Pallanza?" - -"I came to look for his body, Madame Morone, but I do not know where -it is." - -"No; nor will you find it. And who is this woman?" - -"Guiseppe's betrothed." - -The Contessa gave a cry of rage, and, rising from her seat, rushed -towards the unconscious girl where she lay in the darkness. Owing to -her singular gift she needed no light to see by, but examined the face -of her rival minutely in the gloom. I had stepped forward, fearing -lest, carried away by jealous anger, she should do the poor child an -injury; but such was not her intention, for after a minute's -examination, she arose from her stooping position with a burst of -wicked laughter. - -"So it was for this white-faced thing that he was going to leave -me--me, Giulietta Morone! Eh, I feel much flattered at having such a -rival. Why is she here, Signor Hugo?" - -"To find Pallanza," I replied shortly. - -"She will never find him; he is lost to her for ever. But," she added, -with a wicked smile, "I am not afraid of your betraying me, Signor -Hugo. I am not afraid of this poor fool, who thought to take Guiseppe -from me, so I will revenge myself." - -"Revenge yourself?" - -"Yes; I have said it. You came here like a thief in the night, and saw -what you were not meant to see. She comes in the daylight to seek her -lover. Well, she shall see him. Wait till she revives, and I will -blast her eyes with the sight of what he is now." - -"You are a demon!" - -"I am a wronged woman, whom a man sought to deceive. Ecco! Behold, -then, Englishman that you are, how we Italian women revenge -ourselves!" - -She stepped past the unconscious body Of the girl, and, going to one -of the pillars on the right side of the room, apparently touched a -spring, for the whole pillar--which, as I have described before, was -half built into the wall--revolved slowly with a grating sound and -displayed a cavity. I bent forward with a shudder of horror, and -saw--nothing! - -The cavity was empty! - -Signora Morone gazed at it with a look of horror on the wild beauty of -her face; then, with a cry of rage, of fear, and of dread, rushed out -of the room. - -I heard her shriek, "Lost! lost! lost!" three times, then the sound of -her retreating footsteps died away in the distance, and I was left -alone in the ghastly gloom with the unconscious girl at my feet, and -an agony in my heart such as I never hope to feel again in this life. - -How I got out of that accursed room I hardly know; but I faintly -remember lifting Bianca in my arms, and, guided by instinct, stagger -through the dark corridors, down the silent stairs, and out into the -courtyard. The fresh air seemed to revive me, and, collecting my -scattered senses together with a gigantic effort, I looked round for -some means by which to bring Bianca out of her faint, the length of -which alarmed me terribly. - -In the corner of the courtyard there was a sculptured trough, which -the late rains had brimmed over, so, hastening towards this, I filled -my cap with water, and, returning to Bianca, threw it in her face. - -She revived slowly with a shuddering sigh, and looked round vacantly; -then, with a sudden recollection of what she had come through, she -flung herself into my arms with an imploring cry,-- - -"Oh, that voice! that voice! Take me away from that cruel voice!" - - - - -CHAPTER XI. -THE MARCHESE BELTRAMI. - - -I managed to take Bianca home without much difficulty, for it was my -good fortune to meet a disengaged fiacre in one of the narrow streets -leading to the piazza Vittorio Emanuele, and placing the poor girl -therein, we drove straight to the Casa Angello. The Signorina was in a -very excited state, as that menacing voice, issuing out of the -darkness, had quite unnerved her; so, placing her in charge of -Petronella, who made her lie down, I went for a doctor. Being a -stranger in Verona it was difficult to find one, but at last I did so, -and took him at once to see Bianca, for whom he prescribed a soothing -draught, and assured me that she would be all right after a few hours' -sleep. This trouble therefore being off my mind, I went back to my -hotel, in order to consider what was best to be done in the present -emergency. - -I now saw that my surmise was right, and that the Contessa had hidden -the body of the unfortunate Pallanza in the concealed tomb contrived -by Count Mastino Morone for his guilty wife. It was a horribly -ingenious idea that revolving pillar, and no one would have guessed -its ghastly secret without being shown. Doubtless the wicked Donna -Renata, shut up in this circular prison, had there starved slowly to -death in an upright position, for, of course, the cavity was too -narrow and too shallow to admit of any human being lying down. The -skilful devilry of the device made me feel quite ill, especially when -I thought how the worthy descendant of Borgia's accursed daughter had -utilised this secret cell for her own infamous purpose. In this -frightful oubliette the body of Guiseppe Pallanza would have remained -for ever concealed; but then, according to the evidence of my own -eyes, the body was not there. - -That the Contessa had placed the corpse in the pillar I had not the -slightest doubt, as in showing the hiding-place she evidently expected -to overwhelm me by the hideous evidence of her barbarous criminality. -That the cavity was empty was as much a surprise to her as to me, and -the shriek of terror she had given when flying from the chamber showed -me that she was overpowered with fear at the thought that her gruesome -secret was shared by another person, for, putting me out of the -question altogether, there appeared to be a third party implicated in -this singular affair. - -For my own part I believed it to be the man who had watched with me at -the curtained archway, and who, after drugging me, bore me insensible -from that terrible place. After doing so, and thus, according to his -idea, putting it out of my power to re-discover the palace, he had -returned to his post and seen the Contessa conceal the body of her -victim in the cavity of the pillar. On her departure, for some reason -best known to himself, he had removed the corpse, and hidden it -somewhere else. This was, no doubt, the true story of the affair, but -who was the man who had watched at the door, and who had taken away -the body of Pallanza? It was impossible to guess the reasons for his -behaving in this mysterious way, and the Contessa was evidently as -ignorant as myself of his actions, judging from her terrified flight -on discovering the truth. Whomsoever this unknown person was, he, to -all appearances, held the key to the whole riddle, and, could I find -him, I would doubtless learn the reason of Madame Morone's visit to -the burial-ground, and the final fate of the unhappy tenor whom she -had lured to his destruction. - -But how to find him! that was the question, and one to which I could -find no satisfactory answer; so in the dilemma in which I thus found -myself involved, I decided to tell Luigi Beltrami, as the only friend -I had in Verona, the whole devilish story. In addition to the desire I -felt of asking his advice and opinion, I thought it but right that he -should know the real character of the woman he was about to marry, and -not discover too late that he was tied for life to a ghoul, a vampire, -a murderess. - -With this determination I looked for the card the Marchese had given -me, and finding it in one of my pockets, discovered that my Italian -friend lived in the Via Cartoni. As he had mentioned that he was -always at home in the afternoon, doubtless to take a siesta during the -heat of the day, on finishing my midday meal I went out to pay him a -visit. - -In spite of his assertion that he was poor, Beltrami had a sufficient -income to warrant him living in a moderately expensive manner, and on -my arrival at his rooms in the Via Cartoni, I was shown into a very -well-furnished apartment. As the Marchese was stationed with his -regiment at Verona for some considerable time, he had evidently -brought a portion of his furniture from his Florentine palazzo, for -the room was too handsome to be that of the ordinary class of -furnished apartments. As usual, the ceiling was charmingly painted; -the floor was of marble, covered here and therewith square Turkish -carpets; and in addition to a piano there were plenty of pictures and -photographs, showing the artistic taste of the owner of the place. - -Beltrami himself, dressed as usual in his uniform, was seated at a -desk placed in the window, writing letters, but he desisted when I was -announced, and arose to greet me with marked cordiality. - -"Ma foi, Hugo, this is kind of you to call so soon," he said when I -was comfortably established in a chair. "I was just writing you a -letter asking you to dine with me and go to the Ezzelino to-night, but -as you are here the note is useless." - -"The fact is, my dear Marchese, I have called on a selfish errand." - -"Indeed!" - -"Yes; still it is one that concerns yourself also." - -"How so, mon ami? Come, tell me this mystery about which I know -nothing and you know everything; but first here are some excellent -cigarettes--Russian, my friend, not Italian. Dame! the tobacco of this -country, it is horrible. Will you have some wine?" - -"No, thank you, Beltrami, but I will be glad to smoke." - -"Bene! help yourself." - -He pushed the box towards me, and, after I had taken a cigarette, -followed my example, then, throwing himself into a chair near me, he -nodded his head to show that he was ready to hear what I had to say. - -"Marchese!" I said, after some slight hesitation, "I think we are old -enough friends to admit of my speaking to you freely." - -"Eh! certainly!" - -"I trust you will not be offended." - -Beltrami blew a wreath of smoke, and laying back his handsome head on -the cushions of the chair, laughed heartily. - -"No, my doubting Englishman, I promise you I will not be offended at -anything you say." - -"But, Luigi, it is about the Contessa Morone!" - -"Eh! about the Contessa?--I thought as much!" - -"How so?" I asked in some surprise. - -The face of the Marchese assumed that cruel, cunning look I so much -disliked to see, and he eyed me in a nonchalant manner. - -"Dame! Signor Hugo, I will tell you when I hear your story of the -Contessa." - -Thus committed to narrative, I told Beltrami the whole story of my -adventure from the time I had seen the Contessa at the graveyard to -the hour when she had fled in dismay from the Palazzo Morone. He -listened attentively, and when I had finished remained silent for a -few minutes with a thoughtful look on his dark face. - -"Why do you tell me all this, mon ami?" he asked, at length, twisting -his moustache in a reflective manner. - -"For two reasons. First, you may be able to aid me in my search for -Pallanza; and second, you must have been ignorant of the character of -the woman you are going to marry." - -"As to the first reason, Hugo, you are right. As to the second, you -are wrong." - -"What, you know----" - -"I know most of the story you have told me, and as to the Signora -Morone, mon Dieu! I know her better than she does herself." - -"Then why marry her?" - -Beltrami shrugged his shoulders and selected another cigarette. - -"Eh! she is rich and I am poor. It is time I ranged myself, as the -French say, and I cannot afford to marry a poor wife; besides----" - -"Besides what?" - -"I rather like the task of taming this demon of a woman. Madame Morone -is Satan's mistress in the matter of temper, I know, but I come of a -race who either broke the will of their wives or----" - -"Or?" I asked interrogatively. - -"Or killed them!" - -"That's rather risky nowadays, Marchese. We do not live in the time of -the Renaissance remember. But let us leave off this discussion of -Madame Morone. I have told you my story, and you say you knew most of -it before!" - -"And I say truly. Now listen, you cold-blooded islander, and see if I -cannot disturb your phlegmatic disposition." - -He paused a moment to give greater weight to his remarks, the -conclusion of which I impatiently awaited. - -"I was the man who drugged you and had you carried to the Piazza -Vittorio." - -"You!" - -"I was the man who carried away the body of Guiseppe Pallanza." - -"You!" - -"I am the man who, knowing what I do, calmly and with open eyes, have -made up my mind to marry Madame Morone." - -"You!" - -I was so overwhelmed with the disclosures made by Beltrami that I -could only sit thunderstruck in my chair, looking like an idiot and -repeating "You! you! you!" parrot-fashion. Beltrami enjoyed my -confusion for some time, and then went on speaking with a mocking -smile:-- - -"Eh! I astonish you, Hugo. Well, I admit I treated you rather badly, -my friend; but then at the time I did not know whom you were. Dame! I -cannot see in the dark like Madame Gatta." - -The Marchese then was the man who held the key to this enigma, and, -far from being offended at his rough treatment of me on that fatal -night, I was only too delighted at discovering the unknown person who, -in this strange repetition of the old legend, had played the part of -Count Mastino Morone. - -"I have rather startled you, I fancy, Hugo?" said Beltrami with an -ironical laugh. - -"I would be a fool to deny it; but now that your dramatic surprise has -come off so excellently, perhaps you will tell me what it all means." - -"Without doubt; confidence for confidence! Besides, I want your help -to carry this comedy to its legitimate conclusion." - -"Comedy, you call it? To my mind it is more like a tragedy." - -"There you are wrong, mon ami. In a tragedy there must be a death." - -"Well! You forget Pallanza?" - -"Not at all, Hugo; that is the whole point. Pallanza is not dead." - -I stared at the Marchese in astonishment. - -"Pallanza not dead! Impossible! I saw him die on that night." - -"Dame! You saw him fall insensible at the feet of the Contessa Morone, -but insensibility is not death." - -"Then he is alive?" - -"Naturally! One must either be alive or dead. And as this devil of a -tenor is not the latter, he must therefore be the former." - -"Then where is he?" - -"Eh! that is part of the story." - -This epigrammatic fencing on the part of Beltrami annoyed me greatly, -as it piqued my curiosity without satisfying it, and I threw my -half-smoked cigarette away with an outburst of bad temper. - -"My dear Luigi, you have promised to tell me the story of this -mystery, and instead of doing so you fire off epigrammatic squibs like -Pasquin during the Carnival. The story, the story! I beg of you." - -"Eh! certainly! Then take another cigarette, and I will tell you this -'Thousand and Second Night' romance." - - - - -CHAPTER XII. -DEATH IN LIFE. - - -"It is such a long story, Hugo," said Beltrami, a trifle maliciously, -"that we must really have some wine." - -"I do not want wine; I want 'The Thousand and Second Night.'" - -"Bene! you shall have both." - -The Marchese arose and summoned his servant, who brought up a bottle -of Barbera, that rough-tasting wine which is so pleasant and cool in -hot weather. For the sake of companionship I took some with Beltrami, -and haying thus attended to the duties of hospitality, he signed to -his servant to withdraw, and without further preamble began his tale. - -"Eh, Hugo, mon ami," he said, settling himself comfortably in his -chair, "this would be a charming story for M. Bourget, that modern -Balzac, who analyses the hearts of the ladies of this generation in so -masterly a fashion. Dame! I would like to give him Madame Morone's to -dissect--he'd find some strange things there. Yet--would you believe -it?--this woman, worthy to be a sister of Lucrezia Borgia, came out of -a convent to marry my poor friend Morone." - -"You knew him then?" - -"Ma foi! I should think so, for many years. People said he was mad, -but the only mad action he committed, to my mind, was in marrying -Giulietta Rossana." - -"Yet you propose to do the same thing?" - -"True, but I possess a means of taming this tigress of which the -unfortunate Giorgio Morone knew nothing. He was a great chemist, this -poor Count, and particularly fond of toxicology, a dangerous science -with such a wife, as he found out to his cost. Cospetto! I would not -care myself about forging weapons for another to use against me, but -that is exactly what Morone did." - -"She poisoned him?" - -"Eh! nobody says so, yet everybody thinks so. For my part, I believe -the Contessa capable of anything. At all events, Morone died very -suddenly, and was duly buried in that old ancestral vault to which his -devoted wife, a year after his death, paid a visit. Well, before he -died, Morone grew suspicious of the Contessa, and as he had just -invented or rediscovered a poison which left no trace of having been -used, and also an antidote to the same, he determined not to give the -Signora an opportunity of exercising it on him, so this toxicological -secret was buried with him." - -"Ah! I see now why she went to the graveyard. It was to get this -poison." - -"Exactly! Whether it was put in the coffin of the dead man, or merely -hidden in the vault, I don't know, but we will go and see." - -"To what end? She has the poison!" - -"Certainly! I believe that, after seeing it exercised upon Pallanza; -but she has not got the antidote." - -"How do you know that, Beltrami." - -"Because the Contessa knows nothing of the existence of the antidote. -Morone talked enough about the poison itself, but he only mentioned -the antidote to one man, and that was myself. You see, Hugo, he -thought madame might try a little of his own poison on himself, in -which case I would be able to give him the antidote." - -"Couldn't he have taken it himself?" - -"No! this poison does not kill unless given in a large quantity; five -drops make you feel chill and listless; ten drops take away your -senses and converts you into what I may paradoxically call a -breathing corpse; but fifteen drops kill. So, if madame had given her -husband fifteen drops he would have lapsed into a stupor and died, -unless the antidote was given, so that is why he bestowed it on me." - -"Well, but she killed him after all?" - -"Yes, but with another poison not of home manufacture. Eh! what would -you, Hugo, the Contessa was not going to be thwarted by a husband who -kept his laboratory locked. However, he tricked her over this -particular poison, for he either gave instructions that it was to be -put into his coffin without the knowledge of his dear wife, or he hid -it himself in the vault, as he hinted to me one day he intended to -do." - -"There's no doubt then that the Contessa went to the vault for the -poison; but what about the antidote? Is it in your possession?" - -"Unfortunately, no, mon ami. I was ordered away from Verona, and -gave back the antidote to the Count; but on my return here, I heard -casually that he had left a letter for me, to be delivered after his -death. I went to Rome, where the Contessa was one of the ornaments of -the Court, and asked for the letter. Of course she denied ever having -heard of it." - -"And what do you think was in this letter?" - -"Eh! ma foi, I believe it told me where the poison was hidden in the -vault, and that our dear Contessa found the letter, went to the vault -on the night you saw her and obtained the poison." - -"Also the antidote?" - -"Dame! I'm not so sure of that. I knew about the antidote so well that -I don't think Morone would have mentioned it in the letter, in case it -should meet the eye of his wife. No! No! mon ami! she has the poison, -of course; but the antidote, I believe it is still in the vault, where -we will look for it." - -"For what reason?" - -"Diamine! to revive this devil of a tenor who has had the misfortune -to take ten drops of the Signora Morone's mixture." - -"But where is Pallanza?" - -"All in good time, Hugo, all in good time. I must tell you the rest of -the story first." - -"I am all impatience, Beltrami." - -The Marchese, I saw, was enjoying this conversation, as the -subject-matter was of an involved and difficult character which -appealed to the subtleties of his Italian nature; and the chance of -playing a part in this intrigue, worthy of the Court of Lorenzo di -Medici, delighted him beyond measure. He was, as I have said before, -an anachronism, and this everyday, commonplace life of the nineteenth -century offered no field for the exercise of his cunning brain and -delicate diplomacy, which revelled in those bizarre complications, -full of sophistry and double meanings, which distinguished the -intricate statecraft of the Italian republics. - -"You wonder," continued the Marchese reflectively; "you wonder, no -doubt, after hearing my opinions about the Contessa Morone, that I -should care to marry her; but, as I told you before, there are -reasons. I am poor, she is rich, and I marry her for her money. This -is brutal is it not? but then you see I look at the matter from a -Latin point of view, you from an English. As Euclid---whom, by the -way, I always hated--says, 'Two parallel straight lines cannot meet,' -it is no use our arguing over this point, as neither of us would -convince the other. It is a question of race, Hugo, nothing more. -Ebbene! my other reason is that I wish to tame this woman with the -heart of a tigress. I am wearied of the dulness of this present life, -and the task of fencing with Signora Morone will be a perpetual -excitement, particularly as I know it will not be unattended with -danger. This is also a question of race, and the theory of straight -lines applies, so again we will not argue; but you can see one thing -plainly, that I want to marry the Contessa?" - -"Yes, I can see that, and I wonder at your daring." - -"Straight lines, for the third time, Signor Hugo. Ebbene! Although I -wanted to marry the Contessa, she hating and detesting me with her -whole soul, as a friend of her late husband, would not listen to me at -all, so as she would not go to the altar willingly, I determined to -force her there. I made it my business to find out all about her life, -and a devil of a life it is, I can tell you. Pallanza is not the first -lover this daughter of Venus has smiled on." - -"Oh!" I broke out in disgust, "how can you think of marrying this -infamous woman--a murderess, a poisoner, a fiend in human form?" - -"Dio! I have given you my reasons, and you, straitlaced Englishman -that you are, cannot understand them. However, we will talk of this -again; meantime to continue. The Contessa was so madly in love with -Pallanza, who I grant you is a handsome fellow with a charming voice, -that I foresaw when he attempted to leave her there would be trouble. -I discovered that he was engaged to some Signorina of Milan, that she -was at Verona, and that Pallanza was going to sing at Verona; so when -he did arrive I was in nowise astonished at the appearance of Madame -Morone at the Ezzelino. Things were coming to a climax, so I watched -for the bursting of the storm. The rendezvous of these lovers would -be, I knew, at the deserted Palazzo Morone. How did I know? Mon cher -ami, you are simplicity itself. Have I not told you that I knew the -Contessa when she lived at Verona with her husband, and--and--well it -is not the first time she has used that palazzo and played at -Boccaccian stories in that room. You know she fancies herself like -Lucrezia Borgia, and tries to imitate those picturesque feasts to -which Ferrara's Duchess was so addicted--yes, even to the use of -poison. Dame! I thought I was at the opera when I saw that supper the -other night." - -"How did you get into the palazzo?" - -"Ah, that is an adventure worthy of Gil Bias. I filed through a bar in -the gate and wrenched it out." - -"I thought so, for I entered the same way!" - -"I guessed as much, my friend. Ebbene! I watched the palace from the -time Madame Morone arrived in Verona, and my patience was rewarded on -Monday night by seeing our picturesque tenor use his key and enter by -the side door. I was not alone, for I greatly mistrusted Madame Morone -should she discover me in that lonely palazzo; so, as I had two men -absolutely devoted to me, I took them with me." - -"They were very brave to go near that ghastly palace, considering the -reputation it has." - -"Ma foi, they are Florentines, and know nothing about Verona. Their -ancestors have been in the service of mine for many years, and in -their eyes a Beltrami can do no wrong. Now is that not wonderful in -this present age of ducats and steam-engines?" - -"So wonderful, Marchese, that I can hardly believe it!" - -"Cospetto! it is true I tell you. These men are absolutely devoted to -me, and think me a much greater man than Umberto of Savoy. Ebbene! I -posted my two men in a dark corner of the palazzo with instructions -not to move until I told them; then I went after our tenor, and found -him strumming on the mandolin while he awaited the arrival of the -Contessa." - -"Ah! she had gone to the burial-ground." - -"Yes! I did not know that until you told me. However, I hid myself -behind the tapestry in the outer room and waited. The Contessa -arrived, and, to my surprise, you also appeared. I caught a glimpse of -you at the door before that torch went out, but, of course, I did not -recognise you, and was puzzled to account for your presence there. -Luckily, I had a bottle of chloroform in my pocket, which I took with -me to the palace in case of accidents----" - -"But what good would chloroform do?" - -"Dame! have you ever seen Madame Morone in a rage?" - -"No!" - -"Then it is not a pretty sight, I can tell you. That woman is a devil, -and, for all I know, might have had some one in the palace to do her -bidding. If I had been found there, and taken at a disadvantage, I -might have occupied that delightful pillar and never been seen again. -Ah! you smile, mon ami, but remember this is Italy, not England, and -with a woman like the Contessa, who recalls the Borgia times so -admirably, it is always well to be prepared If she had discovered me, -my chloroform might have come in useful." - -"It certainly did in my case!" - -"Ma foi, I've told you before I did not know it was you. I only beheld -a stranger, and thinking that the stranger might interfere with my -plans, I stole across the ante-chamber, and when you fell back--well, I -used my chloroform. Then I left you lying hidden behind the tapestry, -and went on watching Madame Morone at her Borgian supper. She was -dragging Pallanza's body to the pillar, and, having safely shut him up -there, departed with a satisfied smile on her face; so I was left -alone with two apparently dead men--Pallanza in the pillar, and you -behind the tapestry." - -"A sufficiently dramatic situation I think, Marchese." - -"Eh! no doubt. There is more drama in life---especially in Italian -life--than people think, and there are even stranger events than this -comedy of the Palazzo Morone take place in our midst." - -"From what I have seen of your people, Luigi, I quite believe it. -Well, about this dramatic situation--what did you do next?" - -"Cospetto! I played my part on the stage with great judgment, I can -tell you. When I was sure that Madame Morone had left the palazzo I -re-lighted the candles, and went to see what appearance my man behind -the tapestry presented. To my surprise I recognised Signor Hugo -Cranston, and you may fancy I was considerably astonished, as I could -not understand how you had become mixed up in this Boccaccian -adventure. Friendship said, 'Revive him and apologize.' Caution -remarked, 'Remove him from the palazzo, and let him think the events -of the night a dream.'" - -"Oh! and you adopted the advice of caution?" - -"Diavolo! what else could I do? You might have interfered with my -plans; and, besides, I always intended to give you an explanation when -the Contessa became the Marchesa Beltrami. Circumstances, however, -have brought about the explanation sooner than I intended." - -"So I see," I replied drily. "However, you removed me from the -palace." - -"Yes! I called up my two men, and, telling them you -were--well--overcome by Bacchus, ordered them to take you to the -Piazza Vittorio Emanuele and leave you there. Ecco!" - -"Oh, Beltrami." - -"Eh, you reproach me. Well, I no doubt deserve your reproaches, but it -was the best excuse I could think of, as it doesn't do to trust -servants too much. Ebbene! they took you away and left you in the -Piazza, where you awoke in the morning?" - -"I did, with a confounded headache." - -"Ma foi! that was the chloroform, no doubt. Having thus arranged your -little matter I went to the pillar and released Guiseppe Pallanza." - -"He was not dead, then?" - -"No! She gave him ten drops, I tell you. So that, although he was not -actually dead, he had all the appearance of a corpse. I could not -revive him as I had not the antidote; so, when my two men returned, I -had him brought here." - -"Here! In this house?" - -"Precisely! he is in the next room. We will go and look at him -presently. But to continue: the next day I called upon the Contessa, -and told her I had seen all, suppressing, however, the fact that I had -carried off this unfortunate lover." - -"Which accounted for her surprise to-day on seeing the pillar empty?" - -"Of course; she never dreamed that I would meddle with her work. Well, -I gave her a choice of either explaining her little adventure to the -authorities, and thus run a chance of being imprisoned for life, or of -becoming my wife. Of these two evils she chose the least; so now I am -engaged to marry her, and she will become the Marchesa Beltrami next -month. Interesting, is it not, Hugo?" - -It was no use arguing with this man, who, as he said himself, looked -at the affair in a totally different light from what I did, and I did -not know whether to loathe his brutal candour, to despise his -mercenary designs, or to admire his undoubted courage in marrying this -woman. However, I reflected that his subtle intriguing would -undoubtedly be sufficiently punished by his marriage with this tigress -of a Contessa, and as my only desire was to restore Pallanza to the -arms of Bianca, I neither condemned nor praised Beltrami's singular -conduct, which seemed admirable in his own eyes, but simply -complimented him on his adroitness in following the precepts of -Niccolo Machiavelli. He listened to my cold remarks with a -disbelieving smile on his face, and laughed mockingly when I ceased -speaking. - -"Eh! Hugo, you do not approve of my ideas? Well, I do not wonder at -that Fire and water are not more different than an Italian and an -Englishman. Your cool blood comes from generations of church-going, -straight-laced ancestors, whose beliefs ruled their lives in a simple -manner; but my fiery blood burned in the veins of those condottieri of -the Renaissance who were at war with King and Pope and Republic, who -constantly stood on the verge of unseen precipices, and who needed all -their craft, their courage, and their iron nerve to preserve their -lives and fortunes. Dame! let us talk no more of such contrasts, but -come with me, and I will show you this missing lover of Madame -Morone." - -I acquiesced eagerly in this proposal, and followed Beltrami, who led -me into his bedroom, and, having unlocked a door in the opposite wall, -ushered me into a small, bare apartment, containing a bed on which lay -the still form of Guiseppe Pallanza. There he was dressed the same as -on that fatal night, with his eyes closed, a frozen look on his white -face, and his hands crossed on his breast. Lying thus in his antique -garb he put me in mind of one of those coloured statues which adorn -the tombs of great men; where the face, the hair, and the vestments -are all tinted so as to produce the semblance of life. But was life -here, in the body of this young man, who lay so passively before me -with closed eyes as though he were indeed buried in some sepulchre of -the dead? - -"Oh! he is alive," said Beltrami, guessing my thought as I shrank back -from the bed; "it is a case of suspended animation." - -"But lasting three---four days?" - -"Dame, yes! It would last much longer, I have no doubt. Ten drops -produce this life-in-death state which you see, fifteen drops the same -thing; but the one ends in death after a certain time, the other does -not." - -"But why did you not go to the vault and find this antidote at once?" - -"Well, to tell you the truth, Hugo, I thought it would be a useless -errand, as I do not know where to look for it. I fancied that Madame -Morone might have found another bottle of this damnable poison, but it -never struck me until I heard your story that she had read the letter -addressed by Morone to me, and gone to the vault for the poison." - -"And what are we to do now?" - -"Go to the vault, to be sure, and look for this antidote." - -"But, the vault is locked!" - -"True, I forgot that," said Beltrami, with a thoughtful frown, -"however, I think I can procure the key." - -"From Madame Morone?" - -"Dame! No! that would put her on her guard at once. I want her to -think Pallanza is still in this cataleptic state, otherwise she won't -marry me, as my power over her will be gone. I'll get the key somehow; -if not, one of my men knows something about picking locks, so we will -take him with us." - -"A reputable servant, truly!" - -"Eh! What would you!" said Beltrami carelessly, as he led the way out -of the room and locked the door. "Even lock-picking is useful on -occasions--witness the present one. Well, are you ready to go to the -vault with me to-night?" - -"At night, Beltrami?" - -"Most certainly. If we went in the daytime all Verona would be in -commotion. No! we must go at midnight when no one is about. Have you -the courage?" - -"I think so! but I hope Madame Morone will not be there!" - -"There's no fear of that, as she has no reason to pay a second -visit to the remains of her husband. She has got the poison, and knows -nothing about the antidote, so make yourself easy on that score. -Ecco!" - -"What are you going to do now, Marchesa!" - -"See if I can obtain that key. If I fail to obtain it, I will bring -Matteo with me. As for you, my friend, go and take something to eat, -and meet me on the Ponte Aleardi at midnight." - -"I will be there, Beltrami. Good-bye for the present." - -"À revederci, Hugo; I am obliged for your confidence, as it has solved -the difficulty of knowing what to do with Signor Cupid." - -We both went different ways; Beltrami to search for his key, and -myself to hasten home to my hotel, and prepare myself for the fatigues -of this midnight excursion, which, however much it appealed to the -Marchese's sense of the romantic, was certainly not relished by me. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. -"DOWN AMONG THE DEAD MEN." - - -Do you know that gruesome old ballad, with its sombre refrain of -"Down! Down! Down among the dead men?" A friend of mine with a deep -bass voice, used to sing it in order to display his lower notes, upon -which--and not without reason--he flattered himself greatly; but in -after years, I never heard it sung without a shudder, so vividly did -it recall to my mind the grotesque horror of that midnight visit to -the Tomb of the Morone, in that old burial-ground of Verona. Of late I -had been so much mixed up with ghosts, vaults, ghouls and crimes, that -I was by no means anxious to continue the category, and would have -infinitely preferred to have let Beltrami, who liked such -uncomfortable things, go alone; but being an Englishman, I had to -uphold the honour of my country, so never thought for a moment of -showing the white feather. Besides, the only chance of saving Pallanza -was by obtaining possession of the antidote, and in spite of my -repugnance to the errand, I fully made up my mind to be on the Ponte -Aleardi at the appointed time. - -Meanwhile I fortified myself against possible horrors by having an -excellent dinner, supplemented by a small bottle of champagne. I could -not afford that luxurious wine, and it was sinfully extravagant of me -to waste my small stock of money upon such a thing, but in the face of -this midnight adventure I really felt that a little stimulant would -comfort me under the circumstances. The result was admirable, for all -my nervous apprehensions disappeared, and I sat in the smoking-room -puffing at my after-dinner pipe in a very contented frame of mind, -considering what awaited me at twelve o'clock p.m. Was I a coward? I -don't think so. Many men who have no physical fear, and would ride -gaily enough into battle, shrink with superstitious awe from the eerie -neighbourhood of the dead, and I, owing to the causes I have stated -before, am of this class. Come, then, ye dauntless scoffers, who would -dare anything--in the broad daylight, and let me see if you would -contemplate a midnight visit to an antique vault with equanimity! I -think not, for however brave a man may be, it is the law of Nature -that he should thrill with fear at the approach of the supernatural. - -I sat smoking and thinking in the twilight, which was a bad -preparation for the event, as twilight thoughts are invariably -mournful, and my own dear dead ones seemed to throng in the dusky -shadow of the room, reproaching me in voiceless grief for the -intention I had of profaning the sanctity of the Tomb. To rid myself -of these melancholy reflections, and banish from my brain the mute -crowd of ghosts, I went out for a walk, intending to call at the Casa -Angello, in order to ask after the Signorina Bianca. - -Petronella told me that the poor child was much better, but exhausted -by the shock she had sustained at the Palazzo Morone, and had fallen -into a deep sleep which would do her more good than all the drugs of -the doctor. The worthy domestic was very wrathful at me, and wanted to -know what I had told her "piccola," but I put her off with some -excuse, as I had no desire that she should know the events of that -day. On taking my departure I gave Petronella a note for the -Signorina, which contained only three words, "Wait and hope," with -instructions that it was to be delivered to her when she woke up. -Petronella, somewhat mollified by my assurance that all would be -right, promised to fulfil this commission, and I returned to my hotel -very contented with the present aspect of affairs. - -On regaining my bedroom I lay down about eight o'clock, in order to -get a little sleep, but the remedy was worse than the disease, for -when my eyes were closed the phantoms of waking hours reappeared still -more vividly to my inner senses. However, I fought against the dread -which threatened to overwhelm me, and fell into a comparatively -dreamless slumber, from which I awoke shortly after eleven. Rising -from the bed upon which I had thrown myself half dressed, I hurriedly -completed my toilette, and bathed my burning face in cold water. On my -arrival in Milan, I had bought one of those picturesque Italian cloaks -which one only sees in England on the operatic stage, and throwing -this around me; I put on a soft black wide-awake, so that what with -the mantle draped around me, and my naturally dark face, I looked very -much like a native of Italy. Lighting a cigarette, I took my heavy -stick, and thus prepared, went out to keep my appointment with Luigi -Beltrami on the Ponte Aleardi. - -To the hot day had succeeded the hot night, but a strong dry wind -was blowing which drove the filmy clouds across the face of the -haggard-looking moon. A few stars peeped out here and there through -the frail woof, and the chill moonlight waxed and waned with the -appearing and disappearing of the pale planet, almost lost amid the -wild confluence of drifting clouds. A misty circle round the moon was -prophetic of rain, and under this wild, wind-vexed sky lay the -sleeping city, dark and sombre, with the rough blasts sweeping -drearily down the lonely streets. - -In spite of the heat, so eerie was the aspect of the night that I drew -my cloak around me with a shiver of nervous fear, and leaving the -Piazza Vittorio Emanuele, hastened along the Via Pallone, in the -direction of the Ponte Aleardi. I arrived there just as the clock of -St. Fermo sounded the three-quarters, and as Beltrami was not yet at -the meeting place, I leaned on the balustrade of the bridge and -watched the grey waters swirling under the fitful light of the moon. I -could not help thinking of the strange events which had taken place -since I had last occupied the same position--the antique chamber with -its associations of love and crime--the Teatro Ezzelino, where I had -beheld the phantom of Lucrezia Borgia--the grief and pain of poor -little Bianca, and the extraordinary-conversation I had held with -Beltrami a few hours before. It was all most unreal and feverish, this -mediaeval intrigue into which I had been drawn; and I question if any -student of singing had ever before been involved in such a bizarre -adventure--an adventure which I hoped and prayed and trusted would end -to-night. - -Buried in these sombre reflections I did not hear the sound of -approaching footsteps, and it was only when I felt a hand on my -shoulder that I turned round, with a sudden start, to see the Marchesa -standing beside me wrapped in his military cloak, and accompanied by a -man who waited a little way off in respectful silence. - -"Bravo, Signor Hugo!" cried the Marchesa in a cheerful tone, "you have -been waiting long?" - -"About a quarter of an hour. So you have not obtained the key, -Beltrami?" - -"Unfortunately I have not! However, here is Matteo, and I daresay we -shall manage to get the door open in some way. Come, Caro," continued -Beltrami, taking my arm, "we have no time to lose. Ecco!" - -I do not believe Beltrami had any nerves, for the whole way to the -burial-ground he chatted cheerfully about the antidote, the Contessa -and the tenor, not appearing to be at all impressed with the solemnity -of the affair. What Matteo felt I do not know, as he never opened his -mouth, but glided after us like a shadow, until we arrived at the -broken wall. - -The Marchesa climbed over first, his long sabre clashing heavily -against the stones as he jumped down on the other side. I followed -without delay, and Matteo, having joined us, we went on through -the dense shade of the cypress trees, until we arrived at the -forbidding-looking tomb, the sight of which put me in mind of my -uncanny adventure. - -Beltrami, undeterred by the flaming sword of the guardian angel, tried -the iron door, on the chance that it might be unlocked; but finding it -fast closed, signed to Matteo to get to work at once. Without a word -the man obeyed, and as the moon was now shining down in her full -splendour, he could see perfectly well, without the aid of artificial -light, for, although he carried a torch, Beltrami did not wish it -lighted, in case the glare should attract attention. - -While Matteo was working away at the lock I took my seat on the fallen -stone near the door, and Beltrami, throwing off his cloak, flung -himself down on the grass beside me. - -"Dio, how hot I am!" he exclaimed, wiping his brow. - -"And how very imprudent, Luigi. Remember, you are in uniform." - -"Ma foi, I'm never in anything else," retorted the Marchese gaily; -"don't trouble yourself, Hugo, no one will dare to come near the -cemetery, at this hour, so, uniform or no uniform, I'm safe from -observation. Will you have a cigar?" - -"No, thank you. But you surely do not intend to smoke now?" - -"Why not?" said Beltrami, lighting his cigar; "it cannot harm the -Signori Morone, and I've no wish to go down into that evil-smelling -vault without taking some precaution against fever. Ecco!" - -"Oh, well, do as you will," I replied, indifferently, beginning myself -to grow callous; "but I want to ask you something, Luigi." - -"Ebbene!" - -"Was Count Giorgio Morone really mad?" - -"Eh! I'm not sure. Every one said he was, but I did not think so. -Dame! they call every man mad who has brains above his fellows, and -Morone was a clever man. Though, to be sure, it was curious his hiding -this poison in the vault, instead of destroying it altogether." - -"That would certainly have been the wisest plan." - -"Very likely, but you see, my wise Englishman, Morone had a tenderness -for this child of his brain, and he could not bear to destroy his -work. Oh! inventors are wonderful egotists, I assure you." - -At this moment Matteo, who had been working in silence for some -considerable time, approached his master. - -"Eccellenza, it is open!" - -"Bene!" cried Beltrami, springing to his feet, and wrapping his cloak -around him again, "give me the torch. Come, Signor Hugo, let us go -down, and you, Matteo, stay at the door, and see that we are not -interrupted." - -"Si, Eccellenza!" - -Beltrami stepped cautiously into the tomb, and I followed him, then -half closing the iron door so that the light might not attract -attention, he fired the torch, the flame of which shot upward with a -red flare and resinous odour of smoke, showing us that we stood on the -top of a flight of steep steps which led downward into the darkness. A -chill, humid atmosphere pervaded this abode of the dead, and seemed to -penetrate into my very bones, notwithstanding the heavy cloak I wore. - -For a moment we paused on the height, looking downward into the thick -gloom; then Beltrami descended the steps slowly, tossing the flaring -torch up and down, to and fro, in order to illuminate the darkness, -and as I followed him the smoke, with its pungent odour, streamed -backward towards my face. A bat, startled by the glare, flew round our -heads with a rapid sweep of its noiseless wings, then vanished through -the half-open door into the night beyond, like some escaping spectre -of the tomb. - -At last we reached the floor of the vault, which was paved with broad -black marble slabs, so highly polished that the crimson blaze of the -torch was reflected therein. All around in niches were innumerable -coffins, some covered with tattered velvet palls, while others stood -out grim and bare in their leaden hideousness, the coverings having -long since mouldered away. In the gloom, there every no w and then -could be perceived the glimmer of some white figure sculptured on the -massive wall, the glitter of tarnished silver ornaments, and the -outlines of painted devices, while the smoky torch with its angry -flame cast strange gleams upon these mouldy splendours of the dead. - -In the centre, on a square stone hidden by a rich pall of black -velvet, embroidered with armorial devices in silver braid, rested the -gorgeous coffin of the last Morone, which I presume was to remain -there until the death of the Contessa, when it would be removed to its -already-prepared niche to make way for the sole survivor of the proud -race. - -The Marchesa at once advanced to the coffin, and waving the torch -above it, examined the decorations closely. True to his determination -he was smoking, and it gave me an unpleasant shock to see this cloaked -figure behaving so disrespectfully in the solemn presence of the dead. - -"Bene!" he said at length in a satisfied tone, "there is one thing -certain. It is not _in_ the coffin!" - -"How do you know that, Beltrami?" - -"Because the lid is screwed down, and the Contessa, who as you say was -alone, could not have taken that off. Besides, even if she did, Madame -Morone knows the value of time too well to waste it in replacing the -lid. No, it is not in the coffin, but it's somewhere about the -coffin." - -"What makes you think so, Luigi?" - -"All this elaborate silver work! There's too much of it to be there -without some reason. Caro, Hugo, just hold the torch and I will make -an examination." - -I took the torch in silence and watched his actions with great -curiosity. The coffin, as he said, was most elaborately adorned with -silver work representing the arms of the Morone family, interspersed -with wreaths of flowers and tangled seaweed. On the lid was a broad -silver plate similarly adorned, setting forth the name, titles, and -date of death of the deceased, and round the oblong sides of this -shell ran another broad wreath of flowers, shells, crests, and -seaweeds, designed in the same style as the decorations on the lid. -Beltrami, who was a clever prestidigitateur and could perform the most -marvellous tricks with cards, had a wonderfully delicate sense of -touch, and trusting to this more than to his eyes he ran his slender -fingers rapidly over the raised silver ornaments on the lid of the -coffin. - -I saw at once that he suspected this useless silver ornamentation -concealed some secret hiding-place in which the bottles of the poison -and its antidote were hidden, and I could not help admiring the -wonderful cleverness of the man in thinking of such an extraordinary -idea, particularly as I saw at once that if the poison were anywhere -it would be in some such ingenious hiding-place. - -After running his hands twice or thrice over the lid, he shook his -head with an angry ejaculation, and desisted from his apparently -useless task. - -"Dame! it's not on the top, that's certain," he said, stamping his -foot with vexation. "My fingers never, deceive me, and I'm sure I -haven't missed anything. From what I've told you I don't think it can -be within the coffin. Ecco! let us try the sides." - -He carefully wiped the tips of his fingers with his handkerchief, and -beginning at the side nearest the head ran his fingers delicately -along the cold silver work. Nothing was discoverable at the side, but -when he came to the end of the coffin at the feet of the corpse he -gave a cry of triumph which brought me at once to his side. - -"Bravo, Hugo! what did I tell you! The poison-bottle was in the silver -work. Behold, infidel, how truly I speak. Ecco!" - -The decoration at this narrow end was a heart-shape shield, bearing -the arms of the Morone family and wreathed with flowers, but this -shield, which curved outward had a spring at the top. In touching -this, the whole shield fell downward, working on a single hinge, and -there was a cavity in which a small bottle might easily be concealed. - -"I see the hiding-place, Beltrami; but where is the poison!" - -"Eh! have you forgotten the visit of the Contessa, mon ami?" - -"No, no! of course not! She, no doubt, took the poison away, and, I -daresay, the antidote with it." - -"Mon cher, I will never make anything of you," cried the Marchese in -despair; "what did I tell you about that letter?" - -"You said that no doubt as the Count was afraid of it being found by -his wife he would only mention where the poison was concealed, and -keep silent about the antidote." - -"Ebbene! The Contessa knew nothing of the existence of the antidote, -so when she found the poison she thought she had found all. Is that -not so, you stupid Englishman?" - -"Yes, I suppose so." - -"Good! Well I, knowing of the existence of the antidote not mentioned -in the letter, and only finding the poison at the feet, would -naturally look for the antidote--where?" - -"I daresay at the head," I suggested, after a pause; upon which -Beltrami laughed, and walked to the other end of the coffin. - -"Of course; it would be the most natural thing to do. Behold, mon -ami!" - -He touched the top of a similar shield at the head of the coffin; it -fell stiffly outward, and lo! in the hollow of the curve, lay a small -bottle, which Beltrami took in his hand, and then restored the shield -to its former position. - -"Luigi, you are a most wonderful man!" I cried, with a burst of -genuine admiration at the clever way in which he had guessed this -riddle. - -"I only use my brains," he replied, with a gratified laugh. "The -poison being at the feet, it was not difficult to guess the antidote -was at the head; particularly as the decorations on both ends of the -coffin are the same precisely. Dame! if the Contessa had only known -the antidote was in existence she would have argued in the same way as -I have done, and carried it off as she had done the poison." - -"Well, we can now restore that unfortunate Pallanza to life." - -"Yes, I suppose so," said the Marchese, slipping the bottle containing -the antidote into his pocket; "though he certainly does not deserve to -have another chance of existence. But as it is inconvenient keeping -him in my house, I suppose I must send him away on his legs. Ecco! But -come along, Hugo. We have what we desire, and I care not for this -abode of death." - -We went up the stairs and out of the iron door, where we found Matteo -still keeping guard. It was quite a relief to get out of the fetid -atmosphere of the tomb into the cool, fresh air again, and I felt like -a released prisoner who was free for the first time after many years. -The Marchese, however, man of iron as he was, did not seem to be -affected in any way, but wrapping his cloak round him, prepared to go. - -"Can you close that door again, Matteo?" - -"Eccellenza! it is done!" - -"Bene! Let us go!" - -In fact the moment we emerged, Matteo, knowing our task was concluded, -had reclosed the door by some trick known to himself; so we all three -climbed over the broken wall, and took our way to the Ponte Aleardi. - -"And when are you going to give Pallanza the antidote?" I asked, as we -walked along arm-in-arm. - -"Eh! Signor Hugo, to-morrow!" - -"Why not to-night?" - -"Ma foi! I am tired. A few hours will not make much difference; -besides, I want a doctor to be present. The antidote will revive the -poor devil, but he will be so weak after going without food all these -days that the doctor will have to take charge of him." - -"Well, then, I will see you to-morrow, Marchese. At what hour?" - -"Two and a half in the afternoon. I attend to my military duties in -the morning. Buona sera, Hugo!" - -"Good-night, Beltrami." - -We parted with a hearty shake of the hand, and I suppose after all I -had gone through, nature was thoroughly tired out; for I went straight -to bed and slept soundly without dreams, visions, or phantoms of any -kind coming to disturb my rest. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. -THE NEW LAZARUS. - - -For the first time during the week I had a good night's rest, for ever -since my adventure the events in connection therewith had succeeded -one another so rapidly that my brain was kept in too active a state to -admit of slumber, but now that everything seemed to be at an end, that -the antidote had been found, and that Pallanza would be restored to -Bianca Angello, my mind was relieved of the strain upon it, and I -slept soundly till morning. In fact, I did not waken till nearly -eleven o'clock, and having taken my bath I dressed myself slowly, made -a good meal at midday, and altogether felt better than I had done for -the last week. - -As my appointment with Beltrami was for half-past two I did not go to -Casa Angello for my usual singing lesson, not wishing to see the -Signorina until I could tell her the good news that her lover was -alive and well. It was true Beltrami had asserted that the antidote -would awaken the young man from his death-like slumber, but -remembering that he had now been in this state of catalepsy for nearly -a week, I felt doubtful as to the success of the experiment. However, -a few hours would now decide the fate of Pallanza for life or death, -and in the event of the antidote acting according to the expectations -of the Marchese, I promised myself I should be the first to carry the -joyful news of this wonderful resurrection to the Signorina Bianca. - -When two o'clock struck I could no longer restrain my impatience, but -set off without further delay to see Beltrami at his apartments. He -had just returned from the barracks, and was taking some biscuits and -wine when I was announced, but jumped up when he saw me and came -forward with outstretched hand,-- - -"Eh! mon ami, I am delighted to see you! Sit down, while I finish this -small meal. Will you have a glass of wine?" - -"No, thank you, Marchese!" - -"Then take a cigarette, there are some on that table." - -The Marchese returned to his wine and biscuits, while I lighted a -cigarette, and lay down On the sofa. - -"Excuse me lying down, Luigi, but our last night's experience has -knocked me up terribly." - -"You would never do for a soldier, Signor Hugo! I've been drilling -some stupid recruits all the morning, and I feel perfectly fresh. -Ecco! I'm glad to see you, however, as I have some news to tell you." - -"About Pallanza?" - -"Eh? No! About Madame Morone." - -"Ah! she has found out we were at the vault?" - -"Dame! not a bit of it. She left Verona by the five o'clock train last -night." - -"Left Verona!" I cried, rising hastily from my recumbent position. -"Why has she gone away?" - -"Eh! who knows?" replied Beltrami, shrugging his shoulders. "She -didn't even leave a message for me, her promised husband. I think, -myself, the empty pillar of yesterday startled her. She evidently -thought everything was discovered, therefore has gone to Rome so that -she Can appeal to the King in case of trouble." - -"And what are you going to do, Marchese?" - -"The best thing I can do under the circumstances. I have applied for, -and obtained, leave of absence, so I will give this infernal tenor the -antidote to-day, and start for Rome by the night train." - -"But when you arrive at Rome?" - -"I will see Madame Morone, and tell her that I removed the body of -Pallanza from the pillar." - -"The body, Beltrami! You forget Pallanza is alive!" - -"Of course he is, but I'm not going to tell her that. Cospetto! if she -discovered that this devil of a tenor was still in existence my power -over her would be gone, and she would not marry me. Ecco!" - -"But as Pallanza will sing again, she is bound to find it out sooner -or later." - -"Eh! no doubt, Signor Hugo; but by the time she finds out I hope to be -married. In that case it does not matter. Besides, I am going to make -Pallanza promise not to sing anywhere for a month." - -"Suppose he refuses?" - -"He won't refuse. Dame! he owes me something for bringing him into -existence again." - -"And what about the doctor?" - -"He will soon be here," said Beltrami, glancing at his watch; "I -expect him every minute." - -"Will he keep this affair quiet?" - -"Per Bacco! I should think so, mon ami. I ascertained that before I -told him anything. Not that I told him much, ma foi, no! I invented a -delightful story about Pallanza, which he swallowed as easily as I do -this wine." - -"And the story?" - -"I have not the time to tell it to you, but it is a beautiful story, -worthy of Boccaccio. Oh, he will keep his mouth shut, I promise you, -Hugo. He is a great friend of mine, and I never associate with those -who talk of other people's business." - -"Have you the antidote, Marchese?" - -"Here it is," said Beltrami, rising and taking the small bottle from -his desk near the window; "and, ma foi! here is the doctor coming up -the street." - -"How fond you are of French," I remarked, laughingly. "Parisian -ejaculations are never out of your mouth." - -"One must ejaculate in some language, Hugo, and I've been so often in -Paris that I've got into the trick in some way." - -"What about London?" - -"Your city of fogs! Eh! You know I cannot master your tongue, Signor -Hugo. 'You are a beautiful mees; I loove you'--Dio! what a difficulty -I had in learning those two sentences." - -"Which are perfectly useless." - -"I have not found them so. But here is Signor Avenza, the doctor I -spoke of. Good-day, for the second time, my friend. Permit me to -introduce Signor Hugo Cranston, an Englishman." - -The doctor, a fat little man with a round smiling face and two -twinkling black eyes, executed an elaborate bow, for which purpose he -brought his feet smartly together in military fashion, and, having -thus saluted me, rashly entered into a contest with the English -language, which vanquished him at once. - -"I spik Inglis," he said, mincingly. Then, with a gigantic effort, "Gif -me your tongue! Ah! he is bad. Dis writing is your cure. Goot-day! I -vil taake a leetle valk wis you agin." - -Signor Avenza had evidently learned these choice English phrases for -the purposes of his profession. - -While this lesson in philology was going on the Marchese had opened -the door leading into the room where Pallanza was concealed, and -called to us to enter. Both the doctor and myself, obeying the -summons, went through the bedroom, and soon found ourselves by the -couch, whereon lay the still form of the young man, with that terrible -death-in-life look on his white face. - -"See, Avenza, this is what I spoke about," said Beltrami, holding up a -small phial filled with a red liquid. "It is the antidote to the -poison which this Pallanza was foolish enough to take." - -"And all through a love disappointment," replied Avenza, lifting his -eyes. "Ah! the poor young man!" - -I now began to see the kind of story Beltrami had told Avenza to -account for the condition of Pallanza, and I must say it did credit to -his powers of invention. - -"The amount of the poison he took was ten drops." went on Beltrami, -uncorking the bottle, "so it will require ten drops of this antidote -to revive him, but when the life is once more in him I suppose he will -be weak." - -"Most certainly," answered Avenza, nodding his head, "since you say -he has been like this for nearly a week. But proceed, Marchese, I am -anxious to see the result of this antidote." - -Beltrami bent over the face of the unconscious man, and forced the -teeth slightly apart with a spoon he held in his left hand. Having -done this, he poised the bottle over the pale lips, and began to pour -the red liquid drop by drop into the mouth. - -Both Avenza and myself bent forward eagerly to watch the operation, -and held our breaths with anxiety as the Marchese counted, slowly,-- - -"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten!" - -The body made no movement, and Beltrami drew back, looking somewhat -anxious. - -"Dio! I am afraid ten drops are not enough!" - -"Wait," said Avenza, taking his watch out of his pocket, and placing -his fingers on the pulse of the seemingly-dead man. "You cannot expect -this antidote to act at once." - -The minutes passed slowly, and we all three remained with our eyes -eagerly watching for some sign of life on that still face, while -Avenza occasionally glanced at his chronometer. - -"His pulse beats," he said at length in a low voice, "faintly, it is -true, but still it beats." - -I heaved a sigh of relief, but Beltrami remained silently looking at -the face of Pallanza with an anxious frown. - -"She cannot have given him fifteen," he muttered under his breath, "if -So, he would have been dead by this time; but his pulse beats, so -he is alive." - -He looked irresolutely at the phial in his hand, and then turned to -Avenza, who Was still counting the feeble pulsation of the blood. - -"Doctor, I will give him three more drops!" - -"Eh! and why not?" replied Avenza, raising his eye-brows; "as that is -an antidote a few drops more or less cannot kill him after the dose of -poison he has taken." - -The Marchese made no further remark, but, bending forward again, he -held the phial over the half-open mouth for the second time. - -"One, two, three!" - -This time the effect was magical; for after an interval of about two -or three minutes, we saw a shudder run through the rigid body, the -left arm jerked upward in a spasmodic manner, the face flushed crimson -with the rush of blood once more flowing freely through the arteries, -and at last the heavy eyelids lifted slowly. Pallanza gazed at us with -a dazed, unseeing expression, then some tremendous force seemed to -take possession of the body, for a spasm of pain passed over his face, -a choking cry issued from his lips, and in a moment he was shrieking, -writhing, twisting, rolling and plunging about the bed like a -demoniac. All the nerves and muscles which had been dead and inert for -so many days were now waking again to life, and the agony which racked -his frame from head to foot must have been truly terrible. Both -Beltrami and myself made a step forward to hold down this agonized -body, but Avenza stopped us. - -"The antidote is doing its work," he said rapidly; "the dead body is -renewing its life throughout every particle. Wait! wait! the paroxysm -will soon pass away." - -The doctor was right, for in a short time the writhing stopped, the -cries grew fainter, and at last, with a heavy sigh, the young man sank -back on the pillows in a state of exhaustion, on seeing which, both -Beltrami and the doctor ran out of the room to get some brandy, -leaving me alone with this new Lazarus. During their absence he opened -his eyes, to which the light of sanity had now returned, and spoke in -a feeble voice,-- - -"Where am I?" - -"With friends." - -"And the Contessa?" - -"She is not here! You are quite safe! Hush! do not speak, I beg of -you." - -Pallanza gave me a look of gratitude, then, closing his eyes, relapsed -into silence. Avenza returned with a glass of weak brandy and water, -which he gave to the young man in spoonfuls, 'while I went back into -the sitting-room to see Beltrami, whom I found standing by the window -with a frown on his face. - -"Ebbene?" he asked, turning round. - -"He is much better, and I think will soon be all right." - -"That's a blessing. But what a nuisance! I want to go to Rome to-night -by the five o'clock train, but Avenza tells me that Pallanza will have -to sleep for a few hours, so I won't have an opportunity of speaking -to him." - -"Go with a light heart, my dear Beltrami; I will arrange everything." - -"You will?" - -"Yes; Pallanza can sleep in that room for an hour or two, then I will -get a fiacre and take him to his lodgings. No one shall come near him -but myself, and when he is quite sensible I will make him promise all -you want." - -"Bene! you are a good friend, my dear Hugo," said the Marchese, in a -tone of relief; "but do you think he will do what you ask?" - -"Most certainly! I can force him to obey me." - -"How so?" - -"By threatening to tell Signorina Angello about his affair with Madame -Morone. She knows nothing as yet, and Pallanza is afraid of her -knowing. Witness the lie he told about that note at the Ezzelino, -asking him to come to the Palazzo!" - -Beltrami, with his cynical estimate of the Contessa's character, was -not at all disturbed by this somewhat blunt speech, but laughed -cheerfully. - -"Eh! Hugo. I think I will make you. Italian after all. Your plan is a -good one, mon ami, so make Pallanza promise not to sing anywhere for a -month, to leave Verona and keep quiet. By that time I will be married -to the Contessa, and all will be well." - -"I will arrange everything as you desire, Luigi." - -"Excellent! Then that trouble is off my mind." - -At this moment the doctor entered, rubbing his fat hands together with -an expression of glee. - -"Eh, he sleeps, this young man," he said in a satisfied tone, "he -will sleep for one, two, three hours, then, if you like, Marchese, you -can send him to his own house." - -"Signor Hugo will attend to all that, Avenza." - -"Bene! Well, Marchese, à revederci! And you, Signor." - -"Wait a moment, Signor Avenza; I am coming too." - -"Where are you going! Hugo?" asked Beltrami, looking at me in some -surprise, and nodding his head in the direction of Pallanza. I crossed -over to him, and while Avenza was getting his hat, whispered in his -ear,-- - -"I am going to the Ezzelino to find out Pallanza's address, so as to -know where to take him." - -"Ah! a good idea! I will wait here till you return." - -I accompanied Signor Avenza to the Piazza Vittorio Emanuele, where we -parted. I then went to the Teatro Ezzelino and found out Pallanza's -address from the stage-door keeper. While I was returning to -Beltrami's rooms I saw Peppino, and arranged with him to be at the Via -Cartoni at seven o'clock that evening to take a sick gentleman away. -At first Peppino objected, being, like all Italians, terribly afraid -of disease, but I soon quieted his objections, and he promised to call -as directed. - -On returning to Beltrami I found him packing up, and at five o'clock -he took his departure for Rome, promising to write me immediately he -arrived, and in return I assured him I would let him know everything -as soon as I arranged matters with Pallanza. - -That young man slept until nearly seven, when he woke up and began to -ask me questions as to where he was. I insisted upon his keeping -quiet, telling him I was a doctor, and when Peppino arrived with his -fiacre I wrapped him up in his cloak so as to hide his stage costume, -and helped him downstairs to the carriage. We soon arrived at his -lodgings, where, dismissing Peppino, I made Pallanza go to bed at -once, and gave him a light supper, together with some weak brandy and -water. After this he fell asleep, and I sat watching by his bed all -night, wondering why I was such a fool as to do all this for a cynical -man of the world like Beltrami, who would probably laugh at my good -nature when all was over. Yet there was something about Luigi Beltrami -which I liked; and in spite of his affected cynicism and his -extraordinarily loose notions of right and wrong, I believe that he -had a sincere regard for me, which regard I considered not the least -curious part of his whimsical nature, seeing that my character was the -antithesis of his own in every way. Perhaps it was by the law of -contrast, or illustrated inversely the saying that "like draws to -like;" but whatever was the reason, though we had nothing in common -either in nationality or character, yet we were friends, and I leave -this problem to be worked out by those who deny that such an enigma -can exist. - - - - -CHAPTER XV. -FOUND. - - -Guiseppe Pallanza slept soundly all night, while I took snatches of -sleep in the armchair by his bedside. At nine o'clock in the morning -he awoke, feeling much stronger, and after I had given him something -to eat I prepared to go out. - -"Where are you going, Signor?" asked Pallanza in an anxious tone. - -"I am going to send a doctor to see you, and then I am going to the -Casa Angello." - -"And for what reason?" - -"To bring Signorina Bianca here!" - -"Do you know the Signorina Bianca?" - -"Very well, Signor Pallanza. I am the Englishman of whom you have no -doubt heard her speak." - -"Signor Hugo! yes, I know," muttered Guiseppe; and then, after a -pause, "I wish to speak to you, I wish to tell you something." - -"You shall tell me all shortly, but meanwhile lie down quietly, and -when the doctor comes say nothing about the Palazzo Morone." - -"Ah!" cried Pallanza, starting up in his bed, "do you know that -horrible place?" - -"I know all! But there, you are still weak," I answered, forcing him -to lie down. "When I return I will speak to you about some important -matters." - -"Important!--to me?" - -"Yes, and to the Contessa Morone." - -"Ah! that terrible woman." - -"Meanwhile, Signor Pallanza, say nothing about your visit to the -palace or about Madame Morone." - -"Not a word! And you will bring Bianca to see me?" - -"Yes! I promise you." - -With this hope, Pallanza was perfectly contented, and after -instructing his landlady, who was in a state of great bewilderment at -this sudden reappearance, to look after him, I went out to find -Avenza. Fortunately he was well known in Verona, and I had no -difficulty in discovering his house. He saw me at once, listened to my -account of the way Pallanza had passed the night, and promised to see -him without delay. Having thus carried out satisfactorily the first -part of my mission, I departed to perform the second, which involved a -somewhat embarrassing interview with Signorina Angello. - -On arriving at the house of the Maestro, I was received by Petronella, -who threw up her hands with an appeal to the saints when she saw my -haggard appearance and burst out into a volley of questions. - -"Eh! Signor Inglese. Is it not well with you? San Pietro! how the wine -does change a face. Here has the Maestro been asking for you every -day! 'Well! Well!' said I, 'he has gone away like the lover of the -piccola!' And it is true! I see how you return. Eh! Madonna, all men -are bad. I have been married--I know." - -"You are wrong on this occasion, Petronella. I have not been at the -wine, as you seem to think!" - -"But your face, Signor Inglese--like that of a sick person! Gran dio!" - -"Comes from sitting up all night by the bedside of Guiseppe Pallanza." - -Petronella clapped her hands together with an ejaculation of delight - -"He is found, then, the poor young man! Ah! it is well I did not waste -a centesimo in masses; and those priests are such thieves. Eh! this -news will be like wine to the piccola. Go in! go in, Signor Inglese! -the Signorina is there, but the Maestro! he is in bed, which is the -best place for him, say I." - -After this breathless harangue Petronella ushered me into the -sitting-room, where I found Bianca sitting by the window, contemplating -a portrait of her lost lover. She arose when she saw me and came -forward with an anxious look on her paleface, while the faithful but -noisy domestic left the apartment. - -"Well, Signorina, do you feel better?" - -"Yes, yes, Signore, much better; but you have news!--news of -Guiseppe." - -"The best of news, my poor child. Guiseppe is found, and is now at his -lodgings." - -The blood rushed into her hitherto pale cheeks, her melancholy dark -eyes sparkled with joy, and from a pallid, worn-looking girl she -changed into a bright, joyful woman. It was a most wonderful -transformation, as if a wan lily had suddenly blossomed under the wand -of some fairy into a rich red rose. - -"Signor Hugo! Signor Hugo! Ah, the good news! Oh, how happy I am! He -is alive, then? he is well! Oh, say he is well, Signor Hugo!" - -"Signorina, he is still weak after his adventure, and at present he is -in bed." - -"Oh, let me go to him! let me go at once! He may die, my poor -Guiseppe!" - -"No he will not die; but put on your hat and I will take you to him, -for you alone, Signorina, can nurse him back to health and strength." - -Bianca ran to put on her hat and tell the Maestro the good news, which -evidently delighted the old man greatly, judging from the -extraordinary chuckling sounds which shortly proceeded from his -bedroom. Petronella at the doorway celebrated a noisy triumph on her -own account, and at last amid the chucklings of the patriarch and the -loud delight of his handmaiden, Bianca took her departure under my -wing to visit the newly-found prodigal. - -She absolutely danced along the pavement, so exuberant was her delight -at the good news, and I thought how easily I could damp this joy by -telling her the true story of Guiseppe's disappearance. It was a cruel -thought, and I regretted it the moment after it flashed across my -mind; for it would have been the wanton act of a boy crushing a -butterfly to have destroyed the happy ignorance of this merry child, -who, tripping gaily along by my side, put me in mind of the smiling -Hebe of the Greeks, that charming incarnation of joyous maidenhood. - -"Signore!" said Bianca, moderating her transports, "you have not told -me the reason of Guiseppe's absence." - -"I am afraid there is very little to tell, Signorina! He was lured to -the Palazzo by an enemy, who kept him there until last night, when, -luckily, I discovered where he was concealed and released him." - -"Ah, Signor Hugo, how can I thank you for your kindness! Then my poor -Guiseppe was hidden in that terrible room?" - -"He was concealed near it, at all events," I replied evasively. - -"And the voice in the darkness, Signor? Oh, that cruel, cruel voice! -It. has haunted my dreams ever since!" - -"It was nothing, Signorina; it was--it was a friend of mine, who came -to assist me to look for Guiseppe!" - -"Was it a signor or a Signora?" asked Bianca, who, evidently in her -nervous agitation, had not distinguished the feminine tones of the -unknown. - -"It was a signor! a young signor whom I know!" - -"But he saw us in the darkness. Dio! how terrible." - -"No; he did not see us. He guessed we were there, as I told him we -were going to look for Guiseppe, and he came to assist me." - -Bianca was satisfied with this--I flatter myself--skilful explanation, -and stopped asking questions, much to my relief. The number of lies I -was forced to tell in connection with this affair was truly -surprising, but as it was absolutely necessary to keep this poor child -in ignorance of the true state of the case, I ventured to hope that -the Recording Angel would treat them in the same way as he did the -oath of my Uncle Toby, in Sterne's delightful story. Italian intrigue, -from the experience I had of it, was certainly very little to my -taste, as I was by no means a convert to the Jesuitical maxim that the -end justifies the means, therefore it was with a thankful heart that I -saw the whole intricate affair was nearly finished. - -By this time we had arrived at Pallanza's lodgings, and I placed -Bianca in an outer room with strict injunctions that she was not to -leave it until I called her. - -"Guiseppe is still weak, Signorina, and I must prepare him for your -coming." - -The fact is I wanted to carry out my promise to Beltrami, in asking -Pallanza to live in retirement for a few months, and, until this was -arranged, I was unwilling that he should see Bianca. The poor child -fully believing what I said, promised to obey me faithfully in all -things; so leaving her in the outer room I went in to see Pallanza, -whom I found eagerly expecting my arrival. - -To my surprise, the young man was up and dressed, as Dr. Avenza, -finding him So much better, had insisted on him leaving his bed, to -remain in which, he declared, was weakening; so I found Pallanza -walking slowly to and fro to exercise his muscles, but on seeing me he -came forward With an anxious look,-- - -"Is she here, Signor Hugo? Has Bianca come?" - -"She is in the next room, Signor! No, do not go to her. I wish to -speak to you." - -"I am at your service, Signor Hugo. You have done so much for me that -I can never repay you." - -"Yes, you can by telling me how you went to the Palazzo Morone on that -night." - -"I will tell all, Signore! You have a right to know. But, Bianca?" - -"She knows nothing." - -A look of relief came over the anxious face of the young man, and we -both sat down to continue the conversation. - -"I met Madame Morone at Rome, Signore," said Pallanza with some faint -hesitation, "and we were together a great deal. I did not love her -exactly, but she being a great lady flattered my pride. Of course, I -should have remembered Bianca, but she was not beside me, and as to -the Contessa! ah, Signore Hugo, who can escape when a woman wills? -Madame Morone made me afraid at last. She is a tigress, that woman, -and threatened to kill me if I left her for another. I saw how -dangerous was her love, and telling her I was going to marry the -Signorina Angello, left Rome for Verona. She followed me here and took -me to the Palazzo Morone on Sunday, where she exhausted every means of -making me give up Bianca. I should not tell you all this about a -woman, Signor, but by her attempt to kill me she has released me from -the laws of honour. Cospetto! she is a mistress of the devil. Her rage -is terrible, and on Sunday she implored, she wept, she raged, she -threatened, but I was true to Bianca, and at last escaped from the -palazzo intending never to see her again. On Monday night, however, I -received a letter----" - -"From a dying friend?" I interrupted meaningly. - -"Eh! I said so in order to keep the affair from Bianca, as I knew if -she heard about it I should be lost. No! Signor Hugo. The letter was -from the Contessa, saying that if I did not come by eleven o'clock to -the room in the palazzo, in order to bid her farewell, she would go at -once to the Signorina Angello and tell all. Per Bacco! Signor, you may -guess my fear at this message; and I determined to go to the palazzo -at any cost. The opera was long that night, and before the curtain -descended it was past eleven. I was so afraid of the Contessa -fulfilling her threat that I did not wait to change my costume, but -throwing on my cloak over my dress of Faust, went at once to the -palazzo. She was not in the room, and I had a horrible fear that I was -too late, but I waited for some time, and she came. We had another -scene of tears, reproaches and rage, then----" - -"I can tell you the rest, Signor Pallanza. She gave you the poison in -a cup of wine, and when you fell at her feet she shut you up in a -hiding-place, from whence you were rescued." - -"By you, Signor, by you?" - -"No; by the Marchese Beltrami, who took you to his house, and after -many days revived you with an antidote to the poison which he obtained -with great difficulty." - -"But the Marchese! You, Signor, how did you see all this?" - -"Ah! that is a long story. I will tell it to you another time, but at -present you must promise me something." - -"Anything, Signor Hugo! For you have saved my life from that terrible -woman." - -"She is indeed a terrible woman! and it is to escape her vengeance -that I advise you not to sing for at least two months." - -"But my engagement at the Ezzelino?" - -"Pay forfeit-money. Say you are ill and cannot sing. Then return to -Milan with the Signorina and marry her at once." - -"But the Contessa?" - -"Has gone to Rome for the present; but as soon as she finds out you -are alive she will come after you; so, if you are wise, Signor -Pallanza, you will obtain some engagement out of Italy." - -"Basta, Signor! your advice is good, and I will do what you ask. For -two months I will not sing. I will pay the forfeit-money to the -Ezzelino and return to Milan with Bianca. It is best so. Per Bacco! -what a demon I have escaped!" - -I felt greatly relieved that everything had thus been settled, so -arose from my chair to take Pallanza to the Signorina, after which I -intended to go straight to my hotel and write a letter to Beltrami, -telling him of all that had taken place. - -"Come, Signor Pallanza, lean on me, and I will take you to Bianca." - -"Ah! cara Bianca," he cried joyfully, as I led him to the door; -"Bianca, Bianca, gioja della mia vita!" - -"Guiseppe!" - -She saw him standing with outstretched arms on the threshold of the -room, and with a cry of joy flew towards him like a bird to its nest, -and flung herself on his breast. - -As for me, I went out of the room and left them together. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. -AN INTERRUPTED HONEYMOON. - - -Well, at last I was back in Milan, much to my satisfaction, as after -the strange adventures I had met with in Verona that city became -positively hateful to me. Two months had elapsed since the affair of -the Palazzo Morone had come to an end, and during that time two -marriages in connection therewith had been celebrated--that of -Beltrami with the Contessa Morone, at Rome; and that of Guiseppe -Pallanza with Signorina Bianca, at Milan. True to his promise, -Guiseppe had forfeited his engagement at the Ezzelino, much to the -wrath of the impresario, and had rested quietly since at Milan, -passing most of his time with Bianca, who was now in a state of high -glee preparing for her marriage. - -It took place at the church of St. Stefano, in Milan, and out of -consideration for the great age of the Maestro it was a very quiet -affair, I being the only one present beyond the Angello household, but -that was at the urgent request of both Bianca and her husband, who -never forgot the services I had rendered them at Verona. - -Thanks to my dexterity, Bianca never discovered the truth, and fully -believed that Guiseppe had been kept a prisoner at the Palazzo Morone -by some enemy who had lured him thither, by means of the letter -purporting to come from a dying friend. At first, considering the weak -way in which Guiseppe had acted, I did not consider that he deserved -his good fortune in marrying such a charming girl as the Signorina, -but during the time that preceded the marriage he was so devoted to -her in every way, and apparently so remorseful for his amorous folly, -that I quite forgave him his momentary infidelity. It was a very -pretty wedding, the bride and bridegroom making a handsome couple, and -when the ceremony was ended Signor and Signora Pallanza went to spend -the honeymoon of a few days at Monza, and I was left alone in Milan. - -Guiseppe had obtained an engagement at the Madrid Opera House, and on -their return from Monza the young couple were to start almost -immediately for Spain, leaving the Maestro under the tender care of -Petronella. The old man's health had been failing sadly of late, and I -doubted very much whether Bianca would find him alive on her return to -Italy, seeing how frail he was in every respect. - -Now that he was deprived of his right hand by the marriage of his -granddaughter, the Maestro decided to give up teaching, at which -decision I was profoundly sorry, as only having been with him a year I -had still many things to learn in the art of vocalisation. There was, -unfortunately, no one else with whom I could study the same system, -for Paolo Angello taught the old, pure Italian method, of which he -was the last exponent; and I infinitely preferred the round sonorous -notes which his training produced to the shouting, colourless style of -present-day singing, which curses the voice with a perpetual tremolo. -The elaborate fioriture school of Pasta, Grisi, Ronconi, and Malibran -has almost entirely passed away, and in its place what have we in -Italy?--nothing but the present abominable fortissimo singing, without -grace, sweetness, steadiness, or colour. The old Italian operas were -composed not so much as stage performances as to show off the beauty, -execution and brilliancy of the voice, while this new school of -music-drama; designed principally for dramatic effect, is interpreted -by singers who rely but little on the perfection of the vocal organ, -and pride themselves not so much on the individual colouring of a -single number as on the general broad effect of the whole. Fortunately, -however, by incessant work during my one year under Angello, I had -acquired a pretty good idea of his system of vocalisation, and hoped, -by cautious industry in following out his hard and fast rules, to -perfect my singing in accordance with his severely pure method. - -Of the Marchese Beltrami and his wife I heard but little, save through -the medium of the papers, as except one letter announcing his marriage -with the Contessa, and thanking me for my attention to his interests, -this ungrateful Luigi had not written to me. I consoled myself with -philosophical reflections on the hollowness of friendship, when one -day, towards the end of July, I was astonished to receive a visit from -the Marchese. - -Pallanza and his wife had returned to Milan, and were making -preparations for their departure, which was now near at hand. I had -just come back from a visit to the Maestro with whom they were -staying, and was writing letters in my bedroom, when Beltrami's card -was brought to me, upon which I ordered him to be shown into the room -in which I was scribbling, so as to secure perfect privacy during our -conversation. - -In those days of poverty I lived like a cat on the tiles, up four -flights of stairs just under the roof, and my one room served me for -everything,--that is, as dining-room, reception-salon, and sleeping -chamber. I took my meals at a sufficiently good restaurant near at -hand, but otherwise the whole of my indoor life was bounded by the -four walls of that small apartment, which contained an ingenious bed -made to look like a sofa during the day, a wardrobe, a wash-stand, and -a diminutive piano of German manufacture hired by myself. Yet, as -Beranger sings, "One is happy in a garret at twenty years of age," and -I think the days spent in that dingy Milanese eyry were among the -most delightful of my life. I was young, enthusiastic, not badly off -for a poor man, and devoted to my art, so I used to strum chords on -that small piano while I practised my voice, act operatic scenes in -front of the looking glass, and dream impossible dreams of applausive -multitudes, of recklessly-generous impresarios, and of a career like -that of the kings of song. - -Then I had a view--a delightful view--of the red-roofed houses of -Milan, seen from the window, with here and there a tall factory -chimney, the slender tower of a church from whence sounded the -jangling bells which used to irritate me, at least, every quarter of -an hour, and just a glimpse of the white miracle of the great Duomo, -rising like a fairy creation of milky lacework against the deeply blue -sky. Even a vision of green trees I obtained by craning my head round -the corner of the window, and when it was fine weather I looked at my -roof-top view while enjoying a pipe, but when it rained--oh! heavens, -Milan was as dreary as London in a fog, and the blue skies of Italy -became a fable of inventive minds. The intense heat changed to humid -cold, and then I used to shut out this deceptive city of the Visconti -by closing my window, and, retreating to the piano, practise exercises -with a voice rendered, I am afraid, rather gruff by the chill -terra-cotta floor and the damp atmosphere. - -It was in this poor but honest abode, as the novelists say, that I -received Beltrami, who entered gaily in civilian dress with -outstretched hands, looking exactly the same as when I had last seen -him at Verona. Marriage evidently had not changed him, as he had the -same subtle smile on his dark face, talked in the same vein of -cynicism, and interlarded his conversation with his usual number of -French ejaculations. - -"Eh! Hugo, mon ami," shaking both my hands heartily, "you are -astonished to see me!" - -"Considering you have never written me a line since your marriage, -Beltrami, I certainly am." - -I suppose I spoke with a certain bitterness, for the Marchese shrugged -his shoulders, with a slight flush reddening his cheeks, and sat down -on the bed--I mean, seeing it was daytime--the sofa. - -"Ma foi! I am a newly-married man, Hugo!" he said, in an apologetic -tone, "I have forgotten everything in the delightful society of that -dear Contessa. But you are right to reproach me; I ought to have -written, only I am so terribly negligent." - -"And fickle; don't forget that trait of your character, Luigi. -However, I'm glad to see you, fickle friend as you are." - -"Dame! you don't spare me. I have called on you for a purpose!" - -"That goes without saying. When one requires a friend one always knows -where to find him. Well, Marchese, and in what way can I assist you?" - -"I will tell you! but I see you do not ask after my wife?" - -"I trust Madame Beltrami is well!" I said stiffly, not feeling any -particularly warm feeling towards that lady. - -"Yes! her health is good." - -"And you are happy, Beltrami?" - -"Tolerably! But tell me, how is Pallanza and his wife?" - -"Oh, they live in Elysium, Marchese. At present they are in Milan, but -leave next week for Madrid, where Pallanza is going to sing." - -"He'll have to go by himself, then!" - -"What do you mean?" - -"That Madame, my very good wife, is hunting through Milan for his -Elysium, with that famous bottle of poison in her pocket." - -"Great heavens! Is she going to try and poison Pallanza again?" - -"No! you remember the Latin maxim, 'Non bis in idem.' She is going to -try the effect of the poison on his wife." - -"And yet you can sit there calmly without making an attempt to save -this innocent creature! Beltrami, it is infamous!" - -I was walking up and down the room in a state of great excitement, for -it seemed horrible and incomprehensible to see the Marchese sitting -there so calm and composed, when he knew that a reckless, dangerous -woman like his wife was in Milan bent on murder. - -"Eh! Hugo, keep cool," said Beltrami, quietly. "It is just this affair -I have come to see you about. Sit down, mon ami, and I'll tell you all -about it." - -"But every moment is of value!" - -"No doubt, but as it will take madame some time to find out where -Signor Pallanza is staying, I think we can safely talk for five -minutes." - -"Go on, then! I am all impatience!" - -"So I see! Ebbene! When I went to Rome I told the Contessa that I had -taken away Pallanza's body; but of course I did not say he was alive, -and swore that if she did not marry me I would tell everything to the -authorities. The sequel you know--she married me." - -"A horrible contract," I muttered savagely, looking at the whole -affair from an English point of view. - -"I-think we argued that matter before," said Beltrami, coolly, "and, -if I remember rightly, you did not agree with my reasons. However, it -is too late now to blame me, seeing I have been married for nearly -five weeks. We spent our honeymoon at Como--in fact, mon ami, we are -spending it there still, only a perusal of yesterday's Lombardia sent -my excellent wife off to this city in search of Signora Pallanza." - -"I do not understand." - -"No? Then I will enlighten you. Madame, my wife, thought this devil of -a tenor dead, and, as he has been keeping quiet all this time, she -never for a moment suspected the truth. I saw an announcement of his -marriage in the newspapers, but you may be sure I did not let the -Marchesa see it. Everything was going beautifully, and we were a model -couple--outwardly--when, as ill-luck would have it, this paragraph -appeared in the paper." - -Beltrami handed me a copy of La Lombardia, and pointed to a paragraph, -which I read. It stated that Guiseppe Pallanza, the famous tenor, was -going to sing at the Grand Opera House, Madrid, and would be -accompanied to Spain by his wife, the granddaughter of Maestro -Angello, the celebrated teacher of singing. - -"You can guess what a rage she was in," said Beltrami, when I had -finished reading this fatal information. "Diavolo! she has a temper; -but, as I told you, I am quite a match for Madame, and held my own -during this furious quarrel. She demanded an explanation, and I gave -her one." - -"What? you told her----" - -"Everything, mon ami. Your story, my story, Pallanza's story--all -about the antidote, the vault, the supper. Eh! Hugo, she now knows as -much as you or I. Mon Dieu, you should have seen her when I had -finished!" - -"Why? what did she do?" - -"She smiled, that was all; but it was the smile that alarmed me." - -"For your own safety?" - -"Ma foi, no! I told her she need not try the poison on me, as I had -the antidote. In reply, she gave one of those wicked laughs that -freeze your blood, and said that Signora Pallanza had not an antidote, -and it would be the worse for her." - -"Then she intends to poison the poor girl?" - -"I fancied so yesterday, and I was sure of it this morning, when I -heard from my servants that the Marchesa Beltrami had gone to Milan. I -knew what she was after, so followed by the next train, and came -straight to you." - -"And what do you want me to do, Beltrami?" - -"Come with me at once to the Casa Angello, to warn Signora Pallanza! I -suppose she is still staying with the Maestro Angello?" - -"Yes, until she goes to Spain with her husband. Let us go at once, -Luigi. But, oh! Beltrami, if we are too late!" - -"Do not be alarmed! I have the antidote in my pocket." - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. -NEMESIS. - - -The Maestro had a very comfortable suite of apartments in Milan -overlooking the Via Carlo Alberto, near the Piazza del Duomo, which -were chosen by him on account of their situation, as he could sit at -the window of his bedroom and amuse himself by gazing at the crowded -street. This watching of the populace was his great delight, and when -not giving a lesson he was generally stationed at his window, or else -employed in reading _Il Seccolo_, which he did in a curious fashion, -by holding it close to his best-seeing eye. - -Of course, like all the entrances to these Milanese flats, the stairs -were singularly damp, dark, and malodorous, and after running the -gauntlet of a fat _portanaia_, who was devouring a large dish of -polenta in her glass house, we climbed up the humid steps, and -speedily arrived at the second storey, where dwelt the Maestro when in -Milan. To make up for the filth under our feet the ceilings over our -heads were gorgeously painted with mythological figures; and even at -that moment I could not help recalling George Sands' remark anent the -contrast between these two. However, we had no time to admire the -clumsy Jupiter throwing fire-brand thunderbolts, for at this moment -Petronella, who had seen us through the dingy glass of her own little -sanctum, opened the door, and was about to burst into a torrent of -greetings, when I stopped her to ask if the Signora Pallanza was at -home. - -"Yes! yes! the Signora is in, but she is engaged--engaged in talking -with a lady--Dio! a great lady! - -"Great heavens! we may be too late!" I muttered to Beltrami, who -nodded his head silently. "Petronella, speak low. This gentleman and -myself came on an important errand to the Signora. What is the lady's -name?" - -"Signor, she said she was the Marchesa Beltrami," replied Petronella, -her jolly face growing rather grave at all this mystery. - -"Is Signor Pallanza in?" - -"No, Signor Hugo; he has gone to see an impresario." - -"She is alone with Madame, let us go in at once," whispered Beltrami, -exhibiting the first signs of alarm I had ever beheld in him. - -"One moment! What about the Maestro, Petronella?" - -"In his bedroom, Signor Hugo, at the window. Holy Saints! what is -wrong?" - -"Nothing! nothing! I will explain all shortly; but meanwhile, -Petronella, show us a place where we can see into the room where the -Signora is talking to the Marchesa, without being seen." - -Beltrami nodded his head approvingly, for he saw my plan was to -overhear the conversation, and only interrupt it should there be any -danger to the Signora. Petronella was bursting with curiosity, but -seeing, from the expression of our faces, that something important was -going on, she screwed up her mouth with a shrewd look, to assure us we -could depend upon her, and, closing the outside door cautiously, led -us into the room adjacent to that in which the conversation was taking -place. Pointing to an archway, veiled by curtains, to intimate that -there was nothing else but the drapery to impede our hearing, she -retired on tiptoe, with a puzzled, serious look on her usually merry -face. - -It seemed my fate to overhear mysterious conversations through veiled -archways, but this one was not used as an entrance between the two -rooms, for, as I peered through the curtains, 1 saw in front of them a -small square table, upon which was placed a lacquered tray with -glasses, and an oval straw-covered bottle of Chianti wine. I drew back -for a moment, to see if Beltrami had noticed this obstacle to our -sudden entrance into the room; but, instead of appearing dismayed, he -had a grim, satisfied smile on his lips, as if he rather approved than -otherwise of this table blocking up the doorway. Puzzled at this, I -withdrew my eyes from his face, and looked again into the room beyond, -where the Marchesa Beltrami was seated, talking to Bianca in what -appeared to be a very friendly fashion. - -It must be remembered that Bianca knew nothing about the Contessa -Morone's intrigue with her husband, as both Guiseppe and myself had -carefully kept all knowledge of the affair from her; and moreover, -owing to her nervous agitation, she had not recognized the voice of -the Marchesa when she spoke to us in the darkness of that fatal -chamber at Verona. Consequently she was completely in ignorance of the -real character of her visitor, and only beheld in her a lady who had -called to see Signor Pallanza about some important business; this, as -I afterwards learned, being the excuse she gave for her presence in -the Casa Angello. It was truly terrible to see these two women seated -together in friendly discourse, the one so innocent of the danger she -was in, the other so ruthless in her determination to revenge herself -on her rival. The pure white dove was in the clutches of this -relentless hawk, who, while watching her victim so closely, was -meditating as to the best means of carrying out her plans. - -"Oh, it is horrible!" I murmured, turning pale with emotion. - -"Hush!" whispered Beltrami with a sinister look; "she will fall into -her own pit." - -What did he mean by these strange words? I could not understand; but I -had no time nor desire to ask for an explanation, as the terrible -drama being played out in the next room riveted my attention; so, with -a violent effort of self-repression, I resumed my post of observation, -and listened to the conversation between the two actresses in the -tragedy. It was idle and frivolous, the conversation of two strangers -who had nothing to talk about but the merest commonplace; but this -frivolity had for us a ghastly meaning; this commonplace concealed a -frightful intention. - -"And so, Signora Pallanza, you have never heard your husband mention -my name!" - -"No, Madame!" - -"It is strange," said the Marchesa, smiling; "for in Rome I did what I -could to help him in his profession. Eh! yes. I heard him singing -Faust at the Apollo, and told all my friends to go and hear the New -Mario." - -"That is what they call him here, Signora," replied Bianca proudly; -"but, indeed, it was kind of you to aid him. I wonder Guiseppe never -spoke to me about you, for he never forgets a kindness." - -"Ah! I'm afraid some men have not much gratitude," said Madame -Beltrami with a laugh. "Never mind, when Signor Pallanza comes in you -will see he has not forgotten me." - -"He could hardly do that, Madame," answered Bianca, looking with -honest admiration at the splendid beauty of the woman before her. "Had -I seen you before I would always have remembered you! But--it is so -strange!" - -"What is strange, Signora?" - -"I do not recognize your face, and yet I seem to have heard your voice -before." - -"Possibly!" said the Marchesa indifferently. "I go about a good deal." - -"Were you ever in Verona?" - -Madame Beltrami was startled for the moment at this apparently -innocent question, but recovered her self-possession in a moment, and -laughed gaily in a rather forced fashion,-- - -"Yes, Signora! I lived there a long time with my first husband, Count -Giorgio Morone." - -"Morone!" cried Bianca, starting to her feet with a cry of alarm. "Oh! -Madame, do you know that palace?" - -The Marchesa saw that she had made a mistake by mentioning that fatal -name, but with iron nerve opened a fan she had hanging to her girdle -and fanned herself slowly. - -"Of course I do," she answered quietly; "it belongs to the family of -my late husband, and is said to be haunted." - -Bianca shivered. - -"So it is! so it is!" she muttered in a fearful tone. "I have been in -that room. Signor Hugo took me there." - -"Signor Hugo!" repeated the Marchesa reflectively. "I think I have -heard my husband speak of that gentleman. He is English, is he not?" - -"Yes, Madame. A great friend of my husband's. A terrible thing -happened to Guiseppe at Verona! Oh! a terrible thing. And that room, -that fearful room! Dio! I shall never forget it." - -"You are trembling, Signora! You are ill," cried Madame Beltrami, -rising to her feet and crossing quickly to the table before the -curtain behind which we were concealed. "Let me give you some wine." - -"No, no! thank you. I am quite well!" said Bianca, going to the window -and opening it. "It is only the heat. The fresh air will do me good." - -"A glass of wine will be better," replied the Marchesa, pouring out a -glass of Chianti. - -I felt myself seized with a kind of vertigo at seeing this demon take -from her breast a small bottle and empty the whole contents of it into -the glass. I would have cried out only the voice of Bianca arrested -me,-- - -"I am perfectly well, Madame; but will you not take some wine -yourself, since the day is so warm?" - -"Certainly, if you will drink with me!" said Madame Beltrami, turning -round with a calm smile; "but indeed the wine will do you good, you -seem to faint." - -She poured out another glass of the Chianti for herself, and was about -to take the fatal drink to Bianca, when the latter called quickly from -the window,-- - -"Madame! quick! come here! Guiseppe is coming down the street!" - -Out of courtesy the Marchesa was forced to obey the call of her -hostess, and went quickly to the window, leaving the two wine-glasses -close together on the table, the one on the left containing the poison -destined for Bianca, the other on the right innocent of any drug, -which she intended to drink herself. - -At this moment, while the two women were looking out of the window, I -heard the voice of Beltrami, hoarse and broken, sound in my ear,-- - -"Go to the door and tell the servant to detain Pallanza!" - -I looked at him in astonishment, for there was a frightful look of -agitation in his pale face, and great drops of sweat were standing on -his brow; but he made an imperative gesture, and I obeyed him without -a word. - -Petronella was in the kitchen, and I hurriedly told her to keep -Pallanza at the door on some pretext or another, and stole quickly -back to the room, where I found Beltrami leaning against the wall with -a haggard look on his face. - -"What is the matter?" I whispered quickly. "Are you ill?" - -"No, no! Look!--look!--see! See what she is doing!" - -I had only been gone a little over two minutes between the time I had -last looked in the room and the moment I resumed my post of -observation, but during that period the Marchesa, evidently afraid of -the entrance of Pallanza, had given Bianca the fatal wine, and the -girl was drinking it at the window. Madame Beltrami herself, with -rather a pale face, but a devilish look in her eyes, had just set down -her glass upon the table, empty. A moment after Bianca, having drained -the fatal draught to the dregs, came across to the table and placed -her glass beside that of the Marchesa's with a merry laugh. - -"I am glad you persuaded me to have the wine, Signora. It is so -refreshing." - -"Yes, I think you will find it so," replied the Marchesa, with a -strange smile. - -The whole of this terrible scene had passed so rapidly that I had no -time to interfere. My tongue clove to the roof of my mouth, as I saw -Bianca drink the Borgian wine; yet with a mighty effort I was about to -cry out, when Beltrami seized my arm in his powerful grasp, and dared -me, with lurid eyes, to utter a sound. - -The Marchesa, having completed her devilish work, was about to go, for -I heard her say something to Bianca about seeing Pallanza on the -stairs, when suddenly we heard Guiseppe's gay voice talking to -Petronella, who strove to detain him; but with a merry laugh he -brushed past her, and a moment afterwards was in the room. Standing -there in the grasp of Beltrami, hidden by the curtains, there seemed -to be a silence lasting an eternity; then we heard Guiseppe give a -terrible cry of rage and fear, and despair,-- - -"Giulietta! you here! Demon! what are you doing?" - -Slow and soft, like the hiss of a snake, came the answer,-- - -"Doing to her what I did to you." - -"Poison! Bianca!" - -The poor girl gave a terrible shriek of agony, and flung herself into -the arms of her husband, while again there sounded the wicked laugh of -the Marchesa. - -"Ah! you cannot save her now, traitor! perjurer that you are! she will -die!" - -There was a sudden smash of glass, as Beltrami hurled himself through -the archway and stood before his terrible wife. - -"You lie, wretch! Here is the antidote!" - -Bianca was lying unconscious in Guiseppe's arms, and he, with a cry of -joy, stretched out his hand for the phial which Beltrami, standing -midway between his wife and the tenor, was holding. Suddenly, with a -shriek of rage, the Marchesa sprang forward, and tearing the phial -from his hand, hurled it through the open window into the street. - -"No, no! She shall die! She shall die!" - -I shall never forget that supreme moment of anguish. Bianca lying pale -as a lily in the arms of her agonized husband; myself standing amid -the ruins of the table in the archway; the Marchesa erect, defiant, -and snarling like an enraged tigress; and only Beltrami calm--Beltrami -standing cold and inflexible, with folded arms and a sinister smile on -his thin lips. The whole of this frightful drama had only lasted a few -minutes, but the denouement, more terrible than anything that had gone -before, had now arrived. - -"She shall die!" repeated the Marchesa with devilish persistency. - -Beltrami gave a wild laugh that sounded like the mocking merriment of -a fiend,-- - -"Fool! you have thrown away your life!" - -Guiseppe looked up with sudden hope, and the Marchesa with a cry of -abject terror reeled back with staring eyes and outstretched arms as -the truth flashed across her mind. - -"Life! life! oh! devil that you are, you--you--have changed--" - -The fierce beauty of her face was suddenly distorted by a spasm of -agony. She put her hands to her throat and tore open her dress, tore -off the ruby necklace, the gems of which flashed down to the floor -like a rain of blood, then with a yell of fear which had nothing human -in its despair, she fell at our feet--dead. - -Yes, she had fallen into her own pit; she had flung away her only -chance of life in her desire to doom her rival and there amid the -brilliant sunshine, amid the blood-red jewels scattered around her, -with all her crimes, devilries, and wickedness on her head, lay the -dead body of that Creature of the Night I had seen issue like a -vampire from the old sepulchre to fulfil her evil destiny; and over -her with folded arms, sinister and cruel, towered the man who, as the -instrument of God, had sent her back to the hell from whence she had -emerged. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. -A LAST WORD. - - -It was at the Paris Opera House that I last saw Beltrami, three years -after the death of that terrible woman. Things had gone exceedingly -well with me since my student life in Milan, and I can say without -vanity that Signor Hugo Urbino holds a very good position among -operatic artists of to-day. After leaving Angello I devoted another -year to hard study, and was finally pronounced fit to appear before an -Italian audience by my last Maestro. This, however, was only half the -battle, for now, having gained complete control of my vocal powers, I -had to take lessons in scena from Maestro Biagio, or, in other words, -I had to study the art of acting. I elected to make my débût in the -fine part of Renato in Verdi's opera, "Un Ballo in Maschera," and -having learned the music thoroughly, Biagio taught me how to render -the character, dramatically speaking. This took some time, as every -movement, every action, every gesture had to be studied; but with -perseverance I overcame all difficulties, and at length found myself -capable of rendering the character of Renato in a sufficiently good -style. In passing I may say that, as far as I have found, it is -ridiculous to think that acting comes instinctively. No doubt a -histrionic genius is able to give a gesture or strike an attitude -during the emotion engendered by the performance of a part, but he -must always hold himself well under control, and, broadly speaking, -act the character, as he studied it, in cold blood. Otherwise, carried -away by his powers, he would do things likely to upset the entire -mechanism of the scene. I have sung the part of Renato many times -since my first appearance, and the critics are pleased to consider it -a striking performance, but whatever touches on the spur of the moment -I have introduced, the broad rendering of the character always remains -precisely the same as taught to me by Maestro Biagio. - -Being thus in a position to sing and act the part, my greatest -difficulties commenced, and I can safely say that I never met a more -unscrupulous set of scoundrels than these sixth-rate impresarios who -go about Milan, like degraded Satans, seeking whom they may devour. -English students, being popularly supposed to be made of money, are -their favourite victims, and they demand from these the sum of four or -five hundred francs as the price of a scrittura, _i.e_., an appearance -on the stage. In a playful, ironical fashion they call this sum a -present, I suppose after the fashion of Henry VIII.--I think it was -that king--who dubbed his taxes "Benevolences;" and if you do not make -the impresario "a present," you certainly will not get an appearance -in Italy. With this money they take a theatre in a small town and put -on the opera in which you desire to sing, but even then it is doubtful -whether the débût so dearly purchased will come off at all. - -The first impresario with whom I had to deal was a dingy individual, -who, according to his own account, had brought out all the greatest -singers of Europe for the last twenty years, and, having made him "a -present" of two hundred francs--he was a modest man and asked no -more--it was arranged that I should make my débût at Como but on -arriving there for rehearsals I found that both the present and the -impresario had vanished, like Macbeth's witches, into thin air. -Considerably disheartened by this sample of Italian honesty, I yet had -sufficient faith to trust another gentleman in the same fashion, but -he must have been a brother of the first impresario, for he too -vanished. I now began to perceive that there were still brigands -in Italy, but that having become civilised, they were either -hotel-keepers or impresarios, and as my two unfortunate attempts to -get a scrittura had ended in disaster, I was not very anxious to make -any one a third "present." - -However, it was no use turning back when within the sight of the goal, -so I consulted Maestro Biagio, who kindly interested himself on my -behalf, and introduced me to an honest impresario, who required the -necessary present, but nevertheless fulfilled his promise of -introducing me to the Italian public. I made my débût at Brescia with -great success, and at the conclusion of the season, for which, of -course, I did not receive a penny, I had plenty of offers from all -parts of the Continent. To make a long story short, I sang everywhere -I possibly could, and, having secured an excellent reputation, by an -unexpected stroke of good fortune I was engaged to sing at the Paris -Opera House two years after my débût. I think Dame Fortune was anxious -to make reparation to Hugo Urbino for the misfortunes of Hugh -Cranston, for, to my great delight, I was favourably received by the -critical Parisians, and before the season ended was overwhelmed with -offers of lucrative engagements. - -What with my good fortune and the constant excitement of the life of -an artiste, I had almost forgotten the episode of Verona when I was -reminded of it by the unexpected appearance of Luigi Beltrami, who -came to my dressing-room one night at the conclusion of "Il Barbiere," -in which I had been singing the part of Figaro. - -He was changed, this cynical Marchese, since I had last seen him, and -changed for the better, as he had lost his former sinister air and -looked much happier and brighter than formerly. Since our parting in -Milan he had written me frequently, but of late his letters ceased, so -I was somewhat puzzled how to account for this new air of -cheerfulness. However, we shook hands heartily, being glad to see one -another, and Beltrami, lighting one of his eternal cigarettes, sat -down to wait until I was ready to leave the theatre. - -"Eh! Hugo," he said, gaily blowing a cloud of smoke, "so things have -gone well with you, mon ami?" - -"Exceedingly well, Beltrami, or you would not see me in this room." - -"Bene! I congratulate you." - -"Many thanks, Marchese; but you look as if life were agreeing with -you." - -Beltrami laughed, not with his former sardonic merriment, but with a -hearty sense of enjoyment. - -"Ma foi, yes! I am married again!" - -"Oh! I hope I can congratulate you this time," I said with great -significance. - -"The present Marchesa is an angel, mon ami. Dame! I had enough of -demons with the Contessa Morone." - -"Well, she was punished for her sins." - -"Eh! what would you? There is a God, mon ami, and He was wearied of -the crimes of that Lucrezia Borgia. But what about the poor girl she -tried to poison?" - -"Signora Pallanza! Oh, I hear she is in America with her husband. He -has made a wonderful success in New York, and Bianca tells me they -have two children, a boy and a girl." - -"A new Mario and Patti, I suppose. Diavolo! what a pity the old -Maestro is not alive to train the voices of his great-grandchildren!" - -"Yes, he is dead, poor old man! I heard all about it in Vienna, and -Petronella has gone to America to look after her beloved piccola. -Well, Angello had a long life, but he was not immortal." - -"Dame! perhaps his system is immortal. It ought to be if your singing -is an example." - -"Ah, flatterer!" - -"No; upon my word your Figaro was delightful. It is such a relief to -hear a voice without that awful tremolo. But come, are you ready? I -want you to sup with me." - -"I will be delighted, Beltrami. Is the Marchesa in Paris?" - -"Eh! no, not this time. I am here _en garçon_ for a few days. Madame -is in Florence, where you must come and visit us. We are wonderfully -happy. Dame! who wouldn't be with health, wealth, and an angel of a -wife? Ecco!" - -"You inherited the wealth of Madame Morone?" - -"Ma foi! yes. It was the only good turn she ever did me." - -"Oh!" I cried, with a revulsion of feeling, "you are becoming cynical -again." - -"I always become cynical when I think of that demon." - -"Beltrami," I said after a pause, as we left the Opera House, "there -is a question I have often wished to ask you." - -I felt the Marchese's arm tremble a little in mine, but he laughed in -a nonchalant manner. - -"Eh! ask what you will, mon ami." - -"Did you put your hand through the curtains and change the position of -those glasses?" - -Beltrami stopped and looked at me steadily with a grave look in his -bright eyes. - -"Hugo, mon ami," he said slowly, "I neither deny nor affirm, what you -say. Giulietta Morone was a demon who came into the world to work -evil, and God, wearied of her crimes, sent her back to the hell from -whence she came. I am not much given to religion, Hugo, as you know, -but I believe in a God; and whosoever He chose as an instrument to -destroy that which He permitted to exist, rest assured that such a one -will be held guiltless for executing the just decree of Heaven!" - -He ceased speaking, and we walked on in silence through the crowded -streets under the dark-blue summer sky. I understood perfectly what he -meant, and whether it was right or wrong it is not for me to say, -still I firmly believe that this man obeyed his impulse at that -terrible time, not from any selfish motive, but because he saw clearly -that in removing this frightful creature from the world he was doing a -service to the humanity upon which she preyed. - -All the same, I do not intend to visit the Marchese Beltrami at his -Florentine palazzo. - - - -FINIS. - - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of A Creature of the Night, by Fergus Hume - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A CREATURE OF THE NIGHT *** - -***** This file should be named 55457-8.txt or 55457-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/5/4/5/55457/ - -Produced by Charles Bowen from page scans provided by the -Internet Archive (The Library of Congress). - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search -facility: www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. - diff --git a/old/55457-8.zip b/old/55457-8.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 0d858e5..0000000 --- a/old/55457-8.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/55457-h.zip b/old/55457-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index b3ab3f3..0000000 --- a/old/55457-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/55457-h/55457-h.htm b/old/55457-h/55457-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index 362242e..0000000 --- a/old/55457-h/55457-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6458 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> -<html> -<head> -<title>A Creature of the Night.</title> -<meta name="Subtitle" content="An Italian Enigma"> -<meta name="Author" content="Fergus Hume"> - -<meta name="Publisher" content="John W. Lovell Company."> -<meta name="Date" content="1891"> -<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"> -<style type="text/css"> -body {margin-left:10%; - margin-right:10%; background-color:#FFFFFF; - text-align: justify} - - -p.normal {text-indent:.25in; text-align: justify;} - -p.right {text-align:right; margin-right:20%;} -p.center {text-align: center;} -p.continue {text-indent: 0in; margin-top:9pt;} - -h1,h2,h3,h4,h5 {text-align: center;} - - -.t0 {margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:0em; margin-right:0em;} -.t1 {margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:1em; margin-right:0em;} -.t2 {margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:2em; margin-right:0em;} -.t3 {margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:3em; margin-right:0em;} -.t4 {margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:4em; margin-right:0em;} -.t5 {margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:5em; margin-right:0em;} - - -span.sc {font-variant: small-caps; font-size:110%;} -span.sc2 {font-variant: small-caps; font-size:90%;} - -hr.W10 {width:10%; color:black; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt} - -hr.W20 {width:20%; color:black; margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:12pt} - -hr.W50 {width:50%; color:black;} -hr.W90 {width:90%; color:black;} - -p.hang1 {margin-left:3em; text-indent:-3em;} -p.hang2 {margin-left:3em; text-indent:0em;} - -</style> - -</head> -<body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Creature of the Night, by Fergus Hume - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: A Creature of the Night - An Italian Enigma - -Author: Fergus Hume - -Release Date: August 30, 2017 [EBook #55457] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A CREATURE OF THE NIGHT *** - - - - -Produced by Charles Bowen from page scans provided by the -Internet Archive (The Library of Congress). - - - - - - -</pre> - - - -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<p class="hang1">Transcriber's Notes:<br> -1. Page scan source: The Internet Archive<br> -https://archive.org/details/creatureofnighti00hume_0<br> -(The Library of Congress.)<br> -2. Chapter XVII. (Nemesis) is misnumbered as XV. in this edition. -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h3>A CREATURE OF THE NIGHT</h3> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h3>A CREATURE OF THE NIGHT</h3> -<h4><i>AN ITALIAN ENIGMA</i></h4> -<br> -<h5>BY</h5> -<h4>FERGUS HUME</h4> -<h5>AUTHOR OF<br> -"THE MYSTERY OF A HANSOM CAB," "MADAME MIDAS,"<br> -"MISS MEPHISTOPHELES," "MONSIEUR JUDAS"</h5> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<div style="margin-left:10%; font-size:smaller"> -<p class="t1">Yea, out of the womb of the night</p> -<p class="t3">For evil a rod,</p> -<p class="t1">With vampire wings plumed for a flight</p> -<p class="t3">It cometh abroad,</p> -<p class="t1">The mission to curse and to blight</p> -<p class="t3">Permitted by God.</p> -</div> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><span style="font-size:smaller">NEW YORK</span><br> -JOHN W. LOVELL COMPANY<br> -<span style="font-size:smaller">150 WORTH ST., COR. MISSION PLACE</span></h4> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><span style="font-size:smaller">Copyright, 1891,<br> -BY</span><br> -UNITED STATES BOOK COMPANY</h4> -<hr class="W20"> -<p class="center"><i>All rights reserved</i>.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h5>TO</h5> -<h4>GRAHAM PRICE,</h4> -<h5>IN REMEMBRANCE OF ITALIAN IDLINGS,</h5> -<h5>SPRING, 1891.</h5> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<table cellpadding="10" style="width:90%; margin-left:5%; font-weight:bold"> -<colgroup><col style="width:20%; vertical-align:top; text-align:right"><col style="width:80%; vertical-align:top; text-align:left"></colgroup> -<tr> -<td colspan="2"><h3>CONTENTS</h3></td> -</tr><tr> -<td>CHAPTER.</td> -<td> </td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_01" href="#div1_01">I.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">The Ghoul</span>.</td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_02" href="#div1_02">II.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">A Boccaccian Adventure</span>.</td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_03" href="#div1_03">III.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">The Feast of Ghosts</span>.</td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_04" href="#div1_04">IV.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">The Angello Household</span>.</td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_05" href="#div1_05">V.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">Lost</span>.</td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_06" href="#div1_06">VI.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">A Haunted Palace</span>.</td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_07" href="#div1_07">VII.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">At the Teatro Ezzelino</span>.</td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_08" href="#div1_08">VIII.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">The Phantom of Lucrezia Borgia</span>.</td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_09" href="#div1_09">IX.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">Fiore della Casa</span>.</td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_10" href="#div1_10">X.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">A Voice in the Darkness</span>.</td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_11" href="#div1_11">XI.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">The Marchese Beltrami</span>.</td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_12" href="#div1_12">XII.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">Death in Life</span>.</td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_13" href="#div1_13">XIII.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">"Down among the Dead Men."</span></td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_14" href="#div1_14">XIV.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">The New Lazarus</span>.</td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_15" href="#div1_15">XV.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">Found</span>.</td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_16" href="#div1_16">XVI.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">An Interrupted Honeymoon</span>.</td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_17" href="#div1_17">XVII.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">Nemesis</span>.</td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_18" href="#div1_18">XVIII.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">A Last Word</span>.</td> -</tr></table> - -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h3>CREATURE OF THE NIGHT.</h3> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_01" href="#div1Ref_01">CHAPTER I.</a></h4> -<h5>THE GHOUL</h5> -<br> - -<p>I think it is Lord Beaconsfield who, in one of his brilliant stories, -makes the clever observation that "adventures are to the adventurous," -and certainly he who seeks for adventures even in this prosaic -nineteenth century will surely succeed in his quest. Fate leads him, -chance guides him, luck assists him, and although the adventure -supplied by this trinity of circumstances may be neither so dangerous -nor so picturesque as in the time of Borgia or Lazun, still it will -probably be interesting, which after all is something to be grateful -for in this eminently commonplace age of facts and figures. Still, -even he who seeks not to prove the truth of Disraeli's aphorism, may, -after the principle of Mahomet's mountain, have the adventure come to -him, without the trouble of looking for it, and this was my case at -Verona in the summer of 18--.</p> - -<p>The Cranstons were always a poor family, that is, as regards money, -although they certainly could not complain of a lack of ancestors; and -when it came to my turn to represent the race, I found that my lately -deceased father had left me comparatively nothing. Not having any -fixed income, I therefore could not live without doing something to -earn my bread; and not having any business capacity, I foresaw failure -would be my lot in mercantile enterprise. I was not good-looking -enough to inveigle a wealthy heiress into matrimony; and as, after a -survey of my possessions, I found I had nothing but a few hundred -pounds and an excellent baritone voice, I made up my mind to use the -former in cultivating the latter with a view to an operatic career.</p> - -<p>Italy, living on the traditions of the days of Rossini, of Donizetti -and of Bellini, has still the reputation of possessing excellent -singing-masters, so to Italy I went with a hopeful heart and a light -purse, and established myself at Milan, where I took lessons, in -singing, from Maestro Angello. Milan is a detestable city, hot and -arid in summer, cold and humid in winter; and as a year after I -arrived in the land of song the end of spring was unusually -disagreeable, Maestro Angello went to Verona for a change of air, and -thither I followed him with no small pleasure at escaping from that -dreary commercial capital of the north which has all the disagreeables -of Italian life without any of the compensating advantages of romance -and beauty.</p> - -<p>But Verona! ah, it was truly delightful, that sleepy town lying so -peacefully on the banks of the rapid Adige, dreaming amid the riotous -present of the splendid past, when Can Grande held his brilliant -court, and received as an honoured guest the great poet Dante, exiled -by ungrateful Florence. The city of the gay rhymer Catullus, merry -lover of Lesbia, who wept more tears over her sparrow than she did -over her poet. The city of Romeo and Juliet, star-crossed lovers as -they were, who were recompensed for their short, unhappy lives by -gaining immortality from the pen of Shakespeare as types of eternal -love and eternal constancy, for the encouragement of all succeeding -youths and maidens of later generations. Yes, indeed, with all these -memories, historical and poetical, Verona was a pleasant place in -which to idle away a summer, so I thanked the kind gods for my good -fortune and enjoyed myself.</p> - -<p>Not that I was idle. By no means! Maestro Angello kept me hard at work -at exercises and scales, so I studied industriously most of the day -and wandered about most of the night in the soft, cool moonlight, when -Verona looked much more romantic than in the garish blaze of the -Italian sun.</p> - -<p>It was on one of these nights that an adventure happened to me, an -adventure in which I was involved by the merest chance, although I -confess that the vice of curiosity had a good deal to do with my -entanglement therein.</p> - -<p>After dining at the hotel I went out for my customary stroll, and -having lighted a pipe as a preventive against the evil odours which -seem inseparable from all Italian towns, I wandered on through the -deserted streets in a listless, aimless fashion, contrasting in my own -mind the magnificent Verona of the past with the dismal Verona of the -present. Taken up with these fantastic dreamings, I did not notice -particularly where I was going, or how quickly the time was passing, -until I found myself on the Ponte Aleardi--that iron bridge which -spans the Adige--and heard the church bells chiming the hour of -eleven.</p> - -<p>The moon was shining in the darkly blue sky amid the brilliant stars, -and the leaden waters of the river shone like a band of steel in -the pale, silvery light. On either side of the stream lowered dark -masses of houses, from the windows of which gleamed here and there -orange-coloured lights, while against the clear sky arose the tall -steeples of the churches and the serrated outlines of full-foliaged -trees. It was wonderfully beautiful, and the soft wind blowing through -the night, rippled the swift waters to lines of ever-vanishing white; -so leaning over the balustrade of the bridge, I dreamed and smoked, -and smoked and dreamed, until the chiming of the half-hour warned me -to return to my hotel.</p> - -<p>The night, however, was so beautiful and cool, that I could not but -think of my hot sleeping-chamber with repugnance, and feeling -disinclined for rest, I made up my mind to stroll onward for some -time. I might have visited that fraudulent tomb of Juliet in the -moonlight, but as I had already seen it by day, and could not feel -enthusiastic about such a palpable deception, I refused to be further -victimised, and crossed over the bridge to the left shore of the -river.</p> - -<p>It was somewhat solitary, there, but I was not afraid of robbers, as I -had but little money and no jewellery on me, and moreover I felt that, -should occasion arise, I could use my fists sufficiently well to -protect myself. Being thus at ease regarding my personal safety, I -lighted a cigar which luckily happened to be in my pocket, and -wandered on until I came within sight, of the cemetery.</p> - -<p>Now I firmly believe that every one has in him a vein of superstition -which is developed in accordance with his surroundings. Place a man at -midday in a bustling city, and he scoffs at the idea of the -supernatural; but let him find himself at midnight alone on a solitary -moor, with the shadows of moonlight on every side, and all his -inherent superstition will start to life, peopling the surrounding -solitude with unseen phantoms, more terrible than those of the Arabian -Nights. Whether it was the time of night, or the proximity of the -burial-ground, I do not know, but I felt my breast fill with vague -fears, and hastened to leave the uncanny spot as quickly as possible.</p> - -<p>Fate, however, was against me, for in my blind speed, instead of -crossing the bridge, I turned to the left, and unexpectedly found -myself in the vicinity of another burial-ground. It was apparently -much older than the one I had first seen, and there was a ruined wall -around it, overtopped by tall, melancholy cypresses, looming black and -funereal against the midnight sky. By this time I had recovered my -nerve, and feeling somewhat ashamed of my former ignominious flight, I -determined to punish myself by entering this antique abode of the -dead, and examining it thoroughly.</p> - -<p>With this idea I climbed over a portion of the broken wall, and in the -shadow of the cypress-trees--shadow dense as the darkness of Egypt--I -viewed the mournful scene before me, with mingled feelings of -curiosity and dread.</p> - -<p>It was evidently very old, for even under the softening light of the -moon, the near tombs looked discoloured and time-worn. I saw the soft -swell of the green turf, betokening graves, upon which grew the grass -long and rank; the milky gleam of slender white columns, broken at the -top to typify the short lives of those who slept below; and while -yonder, in frowning grey stone, stood a solemn pyramid, built in -imitation of those Egyptian monsters by the Nile, here, near at hand, -a miniature temple of white marble, delicate and fragile in -construction, hinted at the graceful architecture of Greece. Among -these myriad tombs arose the slender, lance-shaped cypress-trees, and -their dark forms alternating with gleaming crosses of white marble, -sombre pyramids, classic temples, and innumerable lines of tall -columns, gave to this singular scene the aspect of a visionary city of -the dead, which had become visible to mortal eyes by the enchantments -of the moon.</p> - -<p>Fascinated by the weirdness of this solitude, I let my cigar fall to -the ground, and, hidden in the gloom of the cypress-trees, stared long -and earnestly at this last abode of the old Veronese, when suddenly my -hair bristled at the roots, a cold sweat broke out on my forehead, and -a nervous shudder made my frame tremble as if with ague.</p> - -<p>The cause of this sudden fear was that, while wrapt in contemplation -of this desolate necropolis, I heard a laugh, a low, wicked laugh, -which seemed to come from the bowels of the earth. It was now nearly -midnight, that hour when the dead are said to come forth and wander -among the living, whose nightly sleep so strangely mocks the semblance -of that still repose which chains these spectres to their tombs during -the day. This idea pierced my brain like a knife, and for the moment, -under the influence of the hour, the ghastly scene, the evil laugh, I -believed that I was about to witness this terrible resurrection. I -tried to turn and fly, but my limbs were paralyzed, and like a statue -of stone I stood there rooted to the earth, feeling as if I were under -the influence of some horrible nightmare.</p> - -<p>Again I heard that wicked laugh, and this time it seemed to come from -a tomb near me, a square block of gray stone, in the centre of which -was an iron door, evidently the entrance to some vault. Beside this -portal stood a life-sized figure in white marble of the Angel of -Death, guarding the entrance with a flaming sword, the undulating -blade of which seemed, to my startled eye, to waver against the -blackness of the door. All round this strange tomb the grass grew long -and thick, but, half veiled by the tangled herbage, star-shaped -flowers glimmered in the moonlight.</p> - -<p>In another moment I would have fled, when for the third time I heard -the evil laugh, the iron door of the tomb slowly opened, and a dark -figure appeared on the threshold. The sight was so terrifying that I -tried to mutter a prayer, feeling at the time as firm a belief in the -visitation of the dead as any old woman; but my throat was so dry that -I could do nothing but remain silent in my hiding-place and stare at -this ghoul, vampire, wraith, or whatever it was, leaving its tomb.</p> - -<p>To add to the horror of the situation, the moon had obscured herself -behind a thick cloud, and there was now a deep darkness over all the -graveyard, a darkness in which I could see nothing, and only hear the -faint sigh of the wind, the rustle of the dry grasses, and the loud -beating of my heart.</p> - -<p>Suddenly I felt that this creature of the night was passing near me, -and in abject terror I shrank back against the rough trunk of the tree -under which I was standing. I heard nothing in the still night, I saw -nothing in the thick darkness; but I felt it pass, by that sixth sense -which is possessed by those who have highly strung nerves. In another -moment the moon emerged from behind the clouds in all her splendour, -and the burst of light gave me courage, for without considering the -danger, either material or immaterial, I rushed quickly towards the -broken wall, in which direction I judged this unseen ghoul had gone.</p> - -<p>The white moonlight flooded the whole space between the burial-ground -and the river, so that I saw clearly this figure walking quickly away -in the direction of the Ponte Aleardi. It was draped in a long black -cloak with a monkish hood, and with its trailing, noiseless garments -it seemed to glide along in the moonlight like a shadow.</p> - -<p>I had been so quick in my pursuit that it was only a little distance -away, and as I peered cautiously over the broken wall it paused for a -moment, and, throwing back its hood, looked towards the place where I -was hiding. The space between us was so small and the moonlight so -lustrous that I could see the face and head plainly rising from amid -the dark drapery.</p> - -<p>The face was that of a woman, a beautiful woman with full crimson -lips, large dark eyes, and great masses of reddish-coloured hair, for -even in the cold moonlight I could see the warm, bronze glint of her -tresses. One hand, slender and white, clasped the dark robe to her -breast, and she looked towards the darkness of the broken wall as if -she knew that some one had seen her terrible resurrection. On her -delicate features there was a cold, stern look, like that of the -ancient Medusa, and truly I felt as if I were turning into stone -before the cruel glare of those eyes which seemed to pierce the gloom -in which I lay hid. It will be said that I describe somewhat minutely -the appearance of this ghoul, seeing that I only beheld her for a -moment in the pale, uncertain gleam of the moon; but so close was she -to the wall, and so highly strung were my nerves by the weirdness of -the situation, that the sudden apparition of this creature of the -night photographed itself indelibly on my brain.</p> - -<p>At last she seemed satisfied with her gazing at the burial-ground from -whence she had emerged, and, again drawing her hood over her face, -glided rapidly away towards the Ponte Aleardi. Moved by curiosity and -supernatural fear, I determined to follow this spectre and find out -where she was going, so without a moment's hesitation I jumped down, -and, keeping in the shadow of the wall, stole after her noiselessly -and swiftly.</p> - -<p>Who was she? Some unhappy ghost of antique Verona, who had committed -one of those terrible crimes invented by Lucrezia Borgia, and who was -condemned by God to nightly revisit the scene of her former splendour -as a punishment for her evil life? Some ghoul who left the feast of -the dead in order to prey upon the living? Some vampire, lusting for -blood, hastening towards the sleeping city to select her victim and -drain him of his life-blood? All the wild, weird tales which I had -heard recurred to my memory; all the terrible legends of Brittany, of -the East, of Spain, and of the savage North. The memories of witches -rifling the dead for their unholy needs, of wizards holding orgies in -lonely churchyards, of magicians evoking the silent tenants of the -grave by powerful spells, and of demons entering the bodies of the -newly dead in order to roam the midnight world--all these gruesome -ideas surged in my brain like the delirium of fever.</p> - -<p>My fear had passed away. I felt intensely curious to know the errand -upon which this woman was bent, and, with all my faculties sharpened -by danger, I sped swiftly after this flying spectre, which, looking -neither to right nor left, glided rapidly onward towards the sleeping -city of Verona.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_02" href="#div1Ref_02">CHAPTER II.</a></h4> -<h5>A BOCCACCIAN ADVENTURE</h5> -<br> - -<p>Italian towns are very perplexing to strangers. Keep to the principal -thoroughfares built in modern days, and you may have a reasonable hope -of finding your way about; but once get enmeshed in the crooked, -narrow, winding streets of the period of the middle ages and you are -lost. The Italians, like Nature, delight in curves, and these narrow -alleys, with cobble-stone pavements and no side-walks, dignified by -the name of streets, twist in and out, and here and there, between -forbidding houses, seven or eight stories in height, under heavy -archways, which threaten to fall and crush the unwary stranger, and -down steep flights of worn steps, until you become quite bewildered by -the labyrinthian windings. Then these houses are built high in order -to exclude the burning sun from the alleys, and a cold, humid feeling -pervades the entire network of streets; so that what with the gloom, -the twistings, and the treacherous pitfalls in dark corners, one feels -like Orpheus going down to Hades in search of lost Eurydice.</p> - -<p>Having been warned of the difficulty of exploring these unknown -depths, I had mostly confined my wanderings to the broad, modern -streets and the populous piazzas; therefore as long as my spectre -guide kept to the Via Pallone, which begins at the Ponte Aleardi and -ends at the Piazza Vittoria Emanuele, I felt quite safe. When, -however, after leaving the Piazza she plunged into the narrow streets -of the medieval period, I hesitated at first to follow her. I did not -know my way, I was a stranger, and unarmed; moreover, I knew not into -what unknown dangers I might be led by this mysterious woman who had -emerged from the graveyard.</p> - -<p>Curiosity, however, prevailed over fear, and as at any moment I might -lose sight of her, and thereby never discover if she were of this or -the other world, I followed her boldly into the intense gloom into -which she had vanished. My eyes could hardly pierce the darkness, and -I feared I would not be able to keep her in sight, when luckily a -portion of her cloak became disarranged, and I saw the vivid glimmer -of a white dress, on which I kept my eyes fastened as a guiding star.</p> - -<p>Here and there in the houses lights were burning dimly, but the hour -being late, no people were in the streets; and as I followed this -noiseless phantom along the solitary alleys, with the dark houses on -either hand, and the white gleam of the moonlit sky above, I felt as -if I were moving in a dream.</p> - -<p>Onward she glided, turning down here, climbing up there, until my feet -were weary with walking; and besides, not knowing the way, I stumbled -frequently, which gave me many a bruise. The darkness, however, seemed -no obstacle to the ghoul, who walked onward as rapidly as if she were -still in the moonlight; on the contrary, it was only by the greatest -care that I could grope my way sufficiently quickly to keep her in -sight, and prevent her from discovering me by my frequent stumbles.</p> - -<p>I was about to give up the chase in despair, when suddenly she led me -out on to a small square, and hastening across it, disappeared into a -palace at the further end. I remained in the alley until she vanished, -as I feared if I followed her too closely she might perceive me in the -moonlight. The place, which occupied the whole of one side of the -square, was a richly decorated building, with a great arched portal in -the centre; but I had no time to examine it closely, for, fearful of -losing my ghoul, I ran quickly across the square, came to the portal, -and was stopped by an iron gate.</p> - -<p>It was one of those heavy iron gates common to Italian palaces, which -stretching across from wall to wall, afford a view of the inner court, -and are only open on festive occasions, or to admit vehicles. I knew -that entrance was ordinarily afforded by a side door, and without -doubt this was the way she had gone, unless indeed, being -supernatural, she found bolts and bars no hindrance. Determined to -pursue this strange adventure to the end, I sought the side door, but, -on finding it, discovered to my vexation that it was locked. I could -not enter that way, and the bars of the iron gate were so close -together, that a man of my size could not possibly squeeze through -them, so to all appearances the adventure, as far as I was concerned, -was finished.</p> - -<p>Making one last effort, however, I felt all the iron bars singly, to -see if any one was loose, in which case I could remove it and thus -slip through; when to my astonishment, on the left side of the gate -furthest from the door, I found that one of the bars had been wrenched -away. Without waiting to consider this, which was curious to say the -least of it, I concluded that the woman, if indeed she were flesh and -blood, had entered by this breach in the gate, so at once took -advantage of my discovery and soon found myself in the courtyard. The -palace appeared to be quite deserted, as the windows were all broken, -and the ironwork of the balconies which ran round the four sides of -the courtyard, at different heights, was twisted out of all shape; -besides which, the mosaic pavement upon which I stood was smashed in -several places, and grass grew between the interstices. I could see -all this plainly in the moonlight, and, moreover, as a great door at -the end of the courtyard opposite the iron gate was slightly ajar, -while all the other smaller doors were closed, I came to the -conclusion that the ghoul had gone in there. My conjecture proved -correct, for as, hiding in the shadow, I peered into the gloom of the -building, I saw the sudden flare of a torch which the woman had just -fired, and with this in her hand she began to climb up a flight of -steps--at least, so I judged from seeing the torch rise higher and -higher in the darkness until it vanished altogether.</p> - -<p>The lightning of the torch made me believe that I had to do with flesh -and blood, as certainly no phantom would use natural ways and means in -preference to supernatural; so directly the light disappeared, I stole -cautiously across what appeared to be a large hall, grasping my -walking-stick tightly in case of any surprise. I could not disguise -from myself that my curiosity had led me into a very perilous -adventure, but, as since the affair of the torch I had quite recovered -my nerve, I went resolutely forward, and, feeling my way carefully in -the dark, climbed up the staircase.</p> - -<p>At the first turning of the ascent all was still in darkness, but on -taking the second turning I saw the torch gleaming like a fierce -yellow star in the gloom of a long corridor. Luckily I had very light, -thin shoes on, and trod cautiously, otherwise the echo of my footsteps -would most surely have betrayed me to the mysterious torch-bearer. The -palace was certainly not inhabited, as I heard nothing to support such -a belief; but as I hastened along the wide corridor, through the -windows on the left side streamed the pale moonlight, and I saw that -the glass in these windows was painted to represent coats-of-arms, so -without doubt this deserted mansion had once been the residence of -some great Veronese noble.</p> - -<p>But what was the ghoul doing here? Why had she come from her vault in -the churchyard to this neglected habitation? Again the fear seized me -that this creature was a phantom of some splendid lady of the middle -ages, come to revisit the scenes or her antique magnificence. The cold -air as I passed along seemed full of the strange perfume of -sandalwood, and this sensuous odour in conjunction with the flitting -torch, the coloured shadows cast on the floor by the moonlight -streaming in through the painted windows, and the state of nervous -excitement in which I was, all made me feel like the hero of one of -those amorous adventures which are described in the glowing pages of -Boccaccio.</p> - -<p>Once more the torch disappeared round a corner to the left, but in a -moment I had it again in sight; another flight of shallow steps, -another short corridor, and at the end an arched door, through which -the phantom disappeared. At the door I paused to consider what I -should do next, as, if I rashly entered the room, I might pay for my -temerity with my life; so I stood irresolutely at the half-open door, -ready to fly at the least sign of danger.</p> - -<p>As I stood at the door in the intense gloom, for there were no windows -in this corridor, I saw a faint glimmer of light in the room within, -and this light remaining stationary for some considerable time, I -judged that the lady of the sepulchre had left the torch there and -retired into some inner chamber. Resolving, therefore, to risk the -attempt, I peered into the apartment, and saw the torch stuck in a -socket made in a small table in the centre of this small hall, which -was hung with ancient tapestry. At the end opposite the portal through -which I was looking, was an opening draped with heavy red curtains -embroidered with gold, for every now and then as they stirred I saw -the dull glitter of the tarnished metal.</p> - -<p>Determined not to be discovered, I thought it a capital plan to hide -between the tapestry and the wall, so as to secure good concealment, -and then steal along the walls until I arrived at the curtained -opening, through which I hoped to be able to see into the room beyond. -Just as I made up my mind to put this plan into practice, the torch, -which had been burning very low, flickered and went out, so that the -hall was in complete darkness. In the gloom, however, rays of bright -light shone through the embroidered curtains. I heard the murmur of -voices, and then the sharp, clear notes of a mandolin. The ghoul -evidently had some one with her, perhaps the unfortunate individual -whom she proposed to devour; so as no time was to be lost, I slipped -into the apartment, enconced myself between the tapestry and the wall -on the left of the door, and prepared to creep along, if possible, to -the curtained archway. While I paused a moment to regain breath and -courage, for certainly the situation was not without an element of -danger, the metallic notes of the mandolin ceased and a man's voice -began singing some Italian song, but one with which, in spite of my -knowledge of music, I was not acquainted. It was a slow and sensuous -melody of passionate sweetness with an undercurrent of sadness, and -the singer had a remarkably fine tenor voice, sounding full and rich -even through the heavy curtains, which prevented me hearing the words -clearly. Evidently this was an amorous rendezvous, but why was it -taking place in this deserted palace, and why had the lady come from a -vault in a graveyard to keep it?</p> - -<p>All at once the singer stopped abruptly in the middle of a phrase, I -heard the mandolin suddenly smashing on the marble floor, and then -sounded the low, wicked laugh I had first heard at the burial-ground. -Filled with anxiety to learn the meaning of all these strange events, -I glided rapidly along the wall, and speedily arrived at the curtained -opening. Being afraid to pull it to one side lest I should be -discovered, I took out my penknife and made a slit in the heavy -embroidery; then, looking through the opening thus obtained, I beheld -a most extraordinary spectacle.</p> - -<p>A circular chamber, not very large, but very lofty, surrounded by -eight half-pillars of veined white marble built into the wall, and -supporting a domed ceiling richly painted with garlands of flowers, -from amid which peered the smiling faces of beautiful women. Between -these noble pillars hung voluminous draperies of darkly red velvet, -all magnificently embroidered with fantastic designs in tarnished gold -thread, but, curiously enough, the apartment had no windows, neither -in the ceiling nor at the sides, so whatever took place within could -not be seen save through the curtained archway.</p> - -<p>In the centre of the white marble floor stood a low, heavy table, -richly gilt, and covered with the remains of a splendid feast. The -gorgeousness of the vessels thereon was truly marvellous, consisting, -as they did, of elaborately chased silver epergnes filled with -brilliantly-coloured fruits; many-branched candelabra of gold, bearing -slender wax tapers to illuminate the apartment; gracefully carved -jugs, of wonderful designs which must have emanated from the brains of -Cellini himself; and strangely shaped antique goblets which put me in -mind of the sacramental cups used in Italian churches at the -celebration of the mass. The voluptuous scent of sandalwood pervaded -the heavy atmosphere of the chamber; gold and silver and crystal shone -in the mellow light of the myriad tapers, and the whole appearance of -this sensuous banquet was like those of former ages presided over by -Can Grande or splendour-loving Cæsar Borgia. I thought I was in -dreamland, the more so when I saw the bizarre costumes worn by the two -occupants of the room.</p> - -<p>One was the lady I had followed from the graveyard, who, having thrown -off her heavy cloak, now appeared in a white silk dress of antique -cut, richly embroidered with gold. Round her slender neck she wore an -old-fashioned necklace of superb rubies, set in silver, which flashed -forth crimson flame with every heave of her snowy bosom, while strings -of soft-shining pearls were twisted in her magnificent red hair; an -Eastern girdle of gold fretwork encircled her waist, and broad gold -bracelets radiant with gems clasped her milk-white arms. The profusion -of jewels she wore scintillated, with her every motion, throwing out -sparks of many-coloured fire, and she looked like one of those proud -dames of Venice who smile so haughtily in the pictures of Titian. But -her face! Oh, heavens! what a beautiful, cruel, relentless face!--the -tigerish look in the splendid eyes, the wicked laugh of the full red -lips! Was she truly a woman, or some fiend sent upon earth to lure men -to hell by the fascination of her evil beauty?</p> - -<p>If the woman was curiously dressed for modern days, her companion, a -handsome young man of seven-and-twenty was still more so, as he wore a -doublet of pale-blue velvet slashed with white satin and diapered with -gold embroidery; a small ruff round his neck; high riding-boots of -black leather, reaching to the thigh, with gilt spurs; and a short -mantle of azure silk, which drooped gracefully from his shoulders. He -had no rapier, but at his girdle hung a small poniard, the handle of -which was thickly encrusted with gems, and on the velvet-covered chair -beside him lay a large cloak and a small mask of black velvet. I -rubbed my eyes and pinched myself to see if I were really awake, for -the whole fantastic scene looked like one of those which had doubtless -taken place at Verona in the opulent days of her splendour.</p> - -<p>"I am mad, asleep, or intoxicated," I thought, as I looked at this -Boccaccian feast, at these Boccaccian lovers. "What does it mean? This -must be the phantom of Lucrezia Borgia, who has risen from the tomb to -meet one of her dead lovers and renew for a time the joys of the past. -Oh! I am mad or asleep. I will wake up and find this is all a -dream--some fantasy of the brain created by the delirium of fever!"</p> - -<p>Between the lovers lay the broken mandolin, and the woman, pointing to -this, talked volubly while the young man stood listening with a -scornful smile on his lips. Not being a very good Italian scholar, I -could not follow all this rapid talk without great difficulty, but -from what I could gather it seemed to me that the phantom of Lucrezia -Borgia was accusing her lover of infidelity. At length, when she -seemed exhausted, he caught up his mantle and mask as if about to go, -but she fell prostrate before him, and seemed to implore him to stay. -He shook his head, and then springing to her feet in anger, she -snatched the poniard from his belt and tried to strike him. The young -man warded off the thrust with his left arm, round which was wrapped -his heavy black cloak, whereupon she let the dagger fall and began to -beseech him again. I could not understand the meaning of this terrible -dumb-show any more than I could the curious dresses, the antique -chamber or the deserted palace. It was the phantasmagoria of a dream -seen by the soft light of the tapers, and my brain being quite upset -by the strange events of the night, I entirely forgot the nineteenth -century, and seemed to live, to breathe, to tremble, on the threshold -of one of those fatal chambers wherein the Medici, the Scaligers and -the Borgias feasted, loved, betrayed, and slew their friends, their -lovers, and their enemies.</p> - -<p>The woman, evidently seeing it was useless, stopped beseeching the -young man, upon which he picked up his dagger, and throwing the fold -of his cloak over his right shoulder, advanced towards the door -without saying good-bye to the lady. I withdrew quickly, fearful of -discovery, when, just as his hand was on the curtains, her voice -sounded once more slow and deliberate, so that I was able to -understand what she said:--</p> - -<p>"So you leave me for ever?"</p> - -<p>"Yes!" he replied with the same deliberation, "for ever."</p> - -<p>"Then before you go, let me drink to your future happiness."</p> - -<p>"With pleasure, madame."</p> - -<p>He appeared to hesitate at first, but after saying these words I heard -him move away from the curtain, upon which I looked again and saw him -standing by the chair, while the woman, with her face turned away, was -filling a goblet with wine. Her back was towards him, so that he could -not see what she was doing, but I could perceive her least action. She -filled two goblets with wine, then taking something from her breast, -dropped it into one of them, and, turning round with a smile, -presented the cup to him. It flashed across me that she was trying to -poison her lover, and I would have called out to warn him, but the -extreme peril of my position, the terrible appearance of this woman, -and the uselessness of interference kept me silent during this supreme -moment.</p> - -<p>The young man took the cup she gave him, and drained it with a bow, -while she simply touched her lips with the other goblet, and smiled -again.</p> - -<p>"To your future happiness," she said in a significant voice, and set -the goblet down on the table.</p> - -<p>They talked together after this reconciliation for some time and -seemed better friends than before, but I saw that the woman kept -furtively glancing at his face with a wicked smile on her lips. At -length he handed her the mask, which evidently did not belong to him, -and, after kissing her hand, was about to turn in the direction of the -archway, when suddenly he grew pale, put his hand to his head quickly, -and grasped the chair near which he stood to keep himself from -falling.</p> - -<p>"Why, what is this?" he cried in a hoarse, strained voice. "Gran Dio! -what does it mean?"</p> - -<p>She bent forward with a wicked laugh, and the rubies flashed forth -venomous red flame in the soft light.</p> - -<p>"It means that you have betrayed me and I have revenged myself!"</p> - -<p>He looked at her with a dazed expression, made a step forward as if to -kill this terrible woman, who, dangling the mask in her hand, stood -mocking at his agony with a cruel smile, then suddenly flung up his -hands with a wild cry of despair and fell at her feet--dead.</p> - -<p>"Fool!" she said, without displaying the least sign of emotion. -"Fool!"</p> - -<p>I wished to rush forward and denounce the demon in woman's shape who -had so vilely perpetrated this cold-blooded murder, but, overcome with -horror, I reeled away from the curtain and fell--fell into the arms of -some one who held me with a powerful grip. I gasped with alarm and was -about to call out, when I felt a handkerchief dashed suddenly over my -face wet with some liquid. In spite of my struggles it was held firmly -there, and I gradually felt my senses leave me until I knew no more.</p> -<br> - -<p class="center" style="letter-spacing:1em">* * * * * *</p> - -<br> -<p>When I came to myself it was early morning, and I was seated on a -stone bench in the Piazza Vittoria Emanuele, surrounded by a group of -curious onlookers.</p> - -<p>"Where am I?" I asked in English.</p> - -<p>No one answered, and I repeated the question in Italian, upon which a -fat woman spoke up,--</p> - -<p>"Signor, you are in the Piazza Vittoria!" she said in a husky voice; -"we found you here when we came first."</p> - -<p>"But the palace, the woman, the poison!" I said stupidly, for my head -was aching terribly.</p> - -<p>The peasants looked at one another with a meaning smile and shook -their heads. I saw that they thought I had been drinking, so, giving a -piece of money to the fat woman who had spoken, I took my way at once -to my hotel, which I reached in a state of bewilderment better -imagined than described.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_03" href="#div1Ref_03">CHAPTER III.</a></h4> -<h5>THE FEAST OF GHOSTS</h5> -<br> - -<p>Was it a dream? Common-sense said "Yes." My bruises said "No!" But -certainly the whole affair was most remarkable, and quite out of the -ordinary kind of events which take place in this prosaic nineteenth -century. We have done with those romantic episodes in which the heroes -and heroines of Boccaccio, Le Sage and M. Dumas père take part, and in -the searching light of the Press lantern, which is nowadays turned on -all things and on all men, it is impossible to encounter those strange -events of the middle ages. Judging from my experiences of the previous -night I had been entangled in a terrible intrigue, which might have -taken place under Henri Trois or Lorenzo di Medici, yet, as the past -can never become the present, the whole affair was a manifest -anachronism. I was inclined to think that I had been the sport of some -Italian Puck, but as there are no fairies nowadays, such an idea was -absurd, so the only feasible explanation of the bizarre occurrence was -that I had been dreaming.</p> - -<p>I had certainly gone to the old burial-ground and had seen the phantom -of Lucrezia Borgia emerge from an old Veronese tomb, and as certainly -I had followed her to the Piazza Vittoria Emanuele, but here, without -doubt, reality ended and fiction began. Evidently I had sat down upon -the stone bench where I was discovered by the peasants, and had there -fallen asleep to undergo this extravagant adventure in a vision of the -night. In sleep I had dreamed a dream after the fashion of the -Athenian lovers in Shakespeare's comedy, and the antique chamber, the -quaint costumes, and the phantom characters had been idle visions of -the brain, which had played their several parts in this mediæval -phantasmagoria.</p> - -<p>To put entirely to one side the impossibility of living people -dressing themselves in rococo costumes in order to play a fantastic -comedy-tragedy in a deserted place, if I had really seen all I -imagined, how did I find myself in the Piazza Vittoria Emanuele at -daybreak? The visionary pursuit of the lady of the sepulchre had been -a long one, and I certainly could not have walked back such a distance -to the Piazza without knowing something about it. But memory ceased at -my fainting at the door of the fatal chamber, and revived on my -finding myself on the stone bench in the Piazza; therefore, granting -that the whole adventure had actually occurred, how had I been taken -from the deserted palace to the Piazza?</p> - -<p>Idling over my midday meal at the Hotel d'Este, I thought of the -extraordinary series of events in which I had taken part, and kept -puzzling my brain as to whether they had really occurred or whether I -had been the victim of a grotesque nightmare. I had received a letter -from the Maestro Angello, saying he could not give me my usual lesson, -therefore I determined to devote the whole day, which was thus at my -disposal, to finding out the truth or falsehood of this mysterious -adventure.</p> - -<p>My bruises were very painful, but I doctored myself as I best could, -so that without much difficulty I was able to walk. Doubtless I had -received these bruises whilst pursuing the unknown from the graveyard -to the Piazza Vittoria Emanuele, and thus far I was certain of the -actuality of my adventure. With this idea in my head, I made up my -mind to go to the old graveyard and discover, if possible, who was -buried in the tomb from which the ghoul had emerged. By finding out -the name I might possibly ascertain that of the lady, as there must -certainly have been some connection between her and the person buried -in the mysterious vault. No sooner had I thus sketched out my plan of -action than I put it at once into execution, and as I found some -difficulty in walking, I sent for Peppino's fiacre in order to drive -to the cemetery.</p> - -<p>Peppino was a merry little Florentine, whose services I employed for -two reasons, one being that he spoke excellent Italian, so that I -understood him easier than I did the general run of these Northern -Italians, who usually gabble a vile patois which no Englishman can -understand without constant practice, and my acquaintance with the -modern Latin tongue was not sufficient to warrant my indulging in -liberties with it; the other reason was that Peppino, having lived a -long time in Verona, knew the town thoroughly, and would be able to -tell me better than any one if such a deserted palace as I had dreamed -of really existed; besides which, he was also a very amusing -companion.</p> - -<p>The fiacre duly arrived, and on going outside I found Peppino grinning -like a small black monkey as he held the door open for me to enter.</p> - -<p>"Dio!" said Peppino in a commiserating tone, seeing how I leaned on my -stick, "is the Signor not well?"</p> - -<p>"Oh, yes! quite well, Peppino, only I fell yesterday and hurt myself, -so you see I have to get you to drive me to-day."</p> - -<p>"Bene!" replied Peppino philosophically, mounting the box, "the ill of -one is the good of another. To where, Signore?"</p> - -<p>"To the cemetery near the Porto Vittoria."</p> - -<p>"The new or the old one, Signore?"</p> - -<p>"The old cemetery!"</p> - -<p>Peppino cast a queer look at me over his shoulder, and, muttering -something about the "mad English," drove away towards the Via Pallone. -As he was on the box-seat, and the fiacre made a good deal of noise -going over the rugged stone pavement, in addition to the incessant -jingling of the bells, I could not question him as I desired to do, -so, making up my mind to wait until I arrived at the graveyard, I -leaned back in the carriage and gave myself up to my own thoughts.</p> - -<p>Then a curious thing occurred which made me certain that the events of -the previous night had actually taken place, for without the least -effort of memory on my part the strange melody sung by the young man -in the palace came into my head. I could not possibly have dreamed -that, and I could not possibly have composed the air, so I concluded -that I had really heard the song, and, having an excellent musical -ear, it had impressed itself on my memory. Of course I did not -recollect the words, but only the tune, and thinking it might prove -useful as a link in the chain of circumstances, I hummed it over twice -or thrice so as to keep it in my mind.</p> - -<p>I therefore concluded from this piece of evidence that I had actually -been to the deserted palace and witnessed that strange feast, but if -so, how had I found myself at dawn in the Piazza Vittoria Emanuele? It -was no use puzzling my brains any more over this mysterious affair, so -the wisest plan would be to wait until I found out the name on the -tomb, and then perhaps Peppino would be able to tell me about the -palace, in which case, with these two facts to go on, I might hope to -discover the meaning of these extraordinary events.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile the fiacre had left the Via Pallone, crossed over the -Ponte Aleardi, and was now being driven rapidly along the left bank of -the Adige, past the Campo Marzo. We speedily arrived at the old -burial-ground, and Peppino, stopping his horse near the gate, assisted -me to alight from the carriage.</p> - -<p>"Peppino," I said, when this was done, "tie your horse up somewhere -and come with me into the cemetery."</p> - -<p>"Diamine!" replied Peppino, crossing himself with superstitious -reverence. "I like not these fields of the dead."</p> - -<p>"It's broad daylight, you coward; besides, I wish you to tell me about -the tombs."</p> - -<p>"But why does not the Signor go to the beautiful new cemetery?" said -Peppino, leading his horse to the wall and fastening him to a heavy -stone; "the statues there are beautiful. This is old, very old; no one -is buried here now."</p> - -<p>"When was the last person buried, Peppino?"</p> - -<p>"Dio! I don't know--eh, oh, yes, Signore, last year an illustrious was -buried in his own vault; but he was mad. Ecco!"</p> - -<p>"Why did he have a vault built in such an old cemetery?"</p> - -<p>"Oh, the vault was old--as old as the Trezza. All the signori of his -family had been buried there for many days."</p> - -<p>"Since the Republic?"</p> - -<p>"Dio! yes, and before."</p> - -<p>"What is the name of this family?"</p> - -<p>"I don't know, Signore, I forget!"</p> - -<p>"Well, come along, Peppino. As you know so much about one tomb, you -will probably know something about another."</p> - -<p>"Command me, Illustrious."</p> - -<p>I did not enter the burial-ground by the gate, as I wanted to go the -same way as on the previous night, in order to be certain of finding -the tomb I was in search of, so, with some little difficulty, and the -help of Peppino, I managed to climb over the broken wall, and soon -found myself in my old hiding-place. Peppino looked at me with -considerable curiosity, as he could not conceive my object in coming -to this dreary locality; but ultimately, shrugging his shoulders, he -put it down to a freak on the part of a mad Englishman, and waited for -me to speak.</p> - -<p>The tomb looked scarcely less forbidding and gloomy in the daytime -than it did at night, with its massive-looking architecture, and the -stern-faced angel guarding the iron door. Advancing through the long -grass which grew all round it, I looked every where for a name, but -could find none, then tried to open the iron door, to the great dismay -of Peppino.</p> - -<p>"Signore," he said in a faltering voice, "do not let out the ghosts."</p> - -<p>"There are no ghosts here, Peppino. They have all departed," I -replied, finding the door locked.</p> - -<p>"Dio! I'm not so sure of that, Illustrious. Many dead are in there."</p> - -<p>"Oh, they've been dead so long that their ghosts must have grown weary -of this gloomy sepulchre."</p> - -<p>"Yes, Signore, but the ghost of the mad Count buried last year!"</p> - -<p>"Oh!" I cried with lively curiosity, "is this the vault where he was -buried?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, Illustrious!"</p> - -<p>"And the name, Peppino? What was his name?"</p> - -<p>The little Italian looked perplexed, as he could not understand the -interest I took in this sepulchre; still, seeing I was in earnest, he -tried to think of the name, but evidently could not recall it.</p> - -<p>"Cospetto! Signore, I have the memory of Beppo, who forgot the mother -who bore him; but the name will be here, Illustrious, for certain."</p> - -<p>"See if you can find it, Peppino," I replied, sitting down on a stone -near the iron door. "I am anxious to know to whom this tomb belongs."</p> - -<p>Peppino, being more conversant with Italian tombs than myself, went to -look for the name, and in a wonderfully short space of time came back -with a satisfied smile on his face.</p> - -<p>"Signore, the tomb is that of the Morone."</p> - -<p>"The Morone?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, Signore, they were a great family of Verona, as great as the -cursed Medici of my beautiful Florence."</p> - -<p>"And this Count, who died last year, was their descendant?"</p> - -<p>"Dio! Illustrious, he was the last of them. No father, no brother, no -child. He was the last. Basta, basta!"</p> - -<p>"Had he a wife?" I asked, thinking of the woman who had emerged from -this tomb.</p> - -<p>"Yes, Signore, a beautiful wife, but when he died she left Verona for -Rome I heard. She is not now here."</p> - -<p>Well, I had found out the name of the family buried in the tomb, and -that the wife was the sole representative of the race, so I naturally -thought she was the only person who would have been able to enter the -tomb; although why she did so, unless it was to pray beside the corpse -of her late husband, I could not understand. Besides, Peppino, who was -one of the greatest gossips in the town, said she had left Verona, so -perhaps the midnight visitor was not the Contessa Morone at all.</p> - -<p>"Were the Count and Countess an attached couple, Peppino?"</p> - -<p>The Italian shrugged his shoulders.</p> - -<p>"Dio! I know not indeed," he replied carelessly; "the Signor Conte was -certainly mad. I saw him at times, and he had the evil eye. Diamine! -often have I made horns for that eye, Illustrious."</p> - -<p>"And the Countess, Peppino? Have you ever seen the Countess?"</p> - -<p>"No, Signore! The Conte let her not out. Ah! he was jealous, that -madman. He was old and the Signora was young. Per Bacco! the husband -was afraid of the handsome officers. Ecco!"</p> - -<p>A mad and jealous husband, old, too, into the bargain. With such a -trinity of imperfections a young and beautiful woman could hardly be -much in love with him, and, a year after his death, would certainly -not have taken the trouble to pray at his tomb. No! the unknown lady -could not possibly have been the Contessa. Who, then was this -mysterious visitant? I had now quite got over my fancy that she was a -spectre, and felt profoundly curious to find out who she was, and why -she had come to this ancient burial-place at midnight.</p> - -<p>"Is there a Palazzo Morone, Peppino?"</p> - -<p>Peppino changed colour.</p> - -<p>"What do you know of the Palazzo Morone, Signore?"</p> - -<p>"Oh, there is one then!"</p> - -<p>"Yes, Illustrious! It is haunted!"</p> - -<p>"Haunted! Nonsense!"</p> - -<p>"Dio! Signore, I speak the truth. No one has lived there for the last -two hundred years. It is shut up for the rats and the owls and the -spectres of the tomb."</p> - -<p>"What tomb--this one?"</p> - -<p>"Ah, Signore, do not jest, I pray you, or the illustrious Signori -Morone will hear us."</p> - -<p>Peppino looked so serious that I forebore to smile at this absurdity, -lest I should offend his pride and thus lose the story.</p> - -<p>"Well, Peppino, tell me all about this haunted palace."</p> - -<p>"Not here, Signore, I am afraid!"</p> - -<p>"Then help me back to the carriage."</p> - -<p>He obeyed with great alacrity, and, when I was once more in the -fiacre, prepared to loosen his horse.</p> - -<p>"No, no! Peppino," I said, smiling; "the ghosts can't hear us here, so -tell me the story of the Morone."</p> - -<p>Peppino cast a doubtful glance in the direction of the burial-ground, -and then, seating himself on the step of the carriage, began his -story. His Italian, as I have said before, was very good, so, making -him speak slowly, I was easily able to understand the strange legend -he related.</p> - -<p>"Signore," he began, with a solemn look on his usually merry face, -"the Morone were very famous in Verona four hundred years ago. Dio! -they fought with the Scaligers, and afterwards with the Visconti. They -were Podestas of the city before the Della Scala, and several of them -were great Cardinals. One would have been his Holiness himself, but -the Borgia asked him to supper and he died of their poison. About two -hundred years ago Mastino Morone wedded the Donna Renata della Moneta, -who was said to have been descended on the wrong side from Donna -Lucrezia herself."</p> - -<p>"You mean that this Renata was an illegitimate descendant of Lucrezia -Borgia?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, Signore. Ah! she was a devil of a woman, that Madonna Lucrezia. -Ebbene! Signore. This Donna Renata wedded with Count Mastino Morone, -and a pleasant life she led him, for she loved all other men but him. -Cospetto! he would have strangled her, but he was afraid of her many -lovers. There was a room in the Palazzo Morone, without any windows, -where Donna Renata supped with those she favoured."</p> - -<p>"And the room is there still?" I said, thinking of that mysterious -chamber.</p> - -<p>"Of a surety, Signore! It is haunted by the ghost of the Marchese -Tisio!"</p> - -<p>"Who was he?"</p> - -<p>"Signore, he was the last lover of Donna Renata, whom she killed with -the Borgia poison because he was faithless. Eh! it is true, -Illustrious. She found out by her spies that the Marchese loved -another, so she asked him to a last feast in her room, and when he was -going she gave him a cup of wine. Dio! he drank it, the poor young -man, and died. Ecco!"</p> - -<p>"And why was he her last lover? Did she repent?"</p> - -<p>"No, Signore! The Count Mastino was watching at the door, and when she -had killed the Marchese he went in to see her."</p> - -<p>"And killed her, I suppose?"</p> - -<p>"Per Bacco! Signore, no one knows. She never came out of that room -again. The friends of the poor Tisio found his body, but they never -found Donna Renata."</p> - -<p>"Then what became of her?"</p> - -<p>"Cospetto! No one ever found out. Mastino married again and said -nothing, but after that last feast his first wife was never seen -again. Diamine! it is strange."</p> - -<p>"It's a curious story, Peppino, but it does not explain how the palace -is haunted."</p> - -<p>"Listen, Illustrious! I will tell," said Peppino in a subdued whisper. -"The spirits of the Donna Renata, of the Conte Mastino, and of the -Marchese Tisio, haunt the palace, and in the Month of May, when the -crime was committed, the lovers hold a feast in that secret room while -the husband watches at the door. Then the Donna Renata poisons the -Marchese, the husband enters, and cries of pain and terror are heard. -Then the lights go out and all is still."</p> - -<p>It was certainly very curious, for Peppino was describing the very -same I had beheld--the terrible Renata, the unhappy lover, and the -poisoned cup, but the Count----</p> - -<p>"Tell me, Peppino, has any one ever beheld this feast of ghosts?"</p> - -<p>"Dio! Signore, the people who lived in the palace were so afraid of -the ghosts, that they left altogether, and no one has lived there for -two hundred years."</p> - -<p>"Yes, yes! but this spectral banquet seems all imagination--no one has -seen it?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, Signore. A holy Frate, who did not fear the devil, went one -night in May and saw the feast through the door, but just as the -poisoned cup was given, the ghost of the Conte dragged him away and -tried to kill him."</p> - -<p>"Oh! and did the ghost succeed?"</p> - -<p>"No, Illustrious! The Frate made the sign of the cross and called on -the Madonna, on which the ghosts all vanished with loud cries, and the -Frate fainted. Next morning he found himself----"</p> - -<p>"In the Piazza Vittorio Emanuele?"</p> - -<p>"No, Signore; lying on the floor of the palace."</p> - -<p>I was somewhat disappointed at this different ending to the narrative -of Peppino, but it was very extraordinary that my adventure and that -of the Frate should be so similar. It was broad day, I had overcome my -superstitious fancies, yet the whole affair was so strange that I -could not help feeling a qualm of fear, which I tried to laugh off, a -proceeding which mightily offended Peppino.</p> - -<p>"Signore, it is the truth I tell."</p> - -<p>"Suppose I prove it, Peppino. This is the month of May, and no doubt -the feast takes place every night. You will show me the palace, and I -will watch at the door of the secret room."</p> - -<p>"Dio! do not think of it, Illustrious," cried Peppino in alarm; "the -Frate himself, a holy priest, was nearly killed, and you, Signore, you -are a heretic."</p> - -<p>"And, therefore, liable to be carried off by his Satanic Majesty. You -are complimentary, Peppino. Nevertheless, to-morrow you must show me -the palace."</p> - -<p>"The Illustrious must excuse me."</p> - -<p>"And watch with me for this feast of ghosts."</p> - -<p>"Dio? the Signore jests!"</p> - -<p>"No, indeed, Peppino! I am in sober earnest. We will go to the Palazzo -Morone to-morrow; and now drive back to my hotel, as I feel very -tired. Your story has been very entertaining, nevertheless."</p> - -<p>"Ah! the Signor does not believe me?" said Peppino, getting on the box -again.</p> - -<p>"Yes, I do, Peppino; but I believe your ghostly party can be explained -away."</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_04" href="#div1Ref_04">CHAPTER IV.</a></h4> -<h5>THE ANGELLO HOUSEHOLD</h5> -<br> - -<p>The bruises I had received during my nocturnal adventure turned out to -be worse than I expected, especially one on the left knee-cap, which -quite incapacitated me from walking; therefore I was forced to remain -in the house all day. This was somewhat annoying, as I was anxious to -find out the Palazzo Morone, and see the chamber of Donna Renata -during daylight. I thought also that as the palace bore such an evil -reputation, my lady of the sepulchre would think herself safe in -leaving the dead body of the young man lying in the room, and if I -discovered the corpse I intended to give notice to the authorities of -the crime I had seen committed.</p> - -<p>Unluckily, however, I had to remain in bed most of the day, and when -Peppino came in to say that his fiacre was at the door I was obliged -to send him away, much to his gratification, as he was by no means -anxious to guide me to the haunted palace. The curious resemblance -between my own experience and the legend related by Peppino had rather -startled me; but, being certain that I had to deal with the natural, -and not the supernatural, I was firmly resolved to unravel this -mystery before leaving Verona. To do this every moment was of value, -and I bitterly regretted that my stiff knee kept me confined to the -house. Everything, however, is for the best, and before I saw the -Palazzo Morone, fresh light was thrown upon the events of the night in -a most unexpected manner.</p> - -<p>After my one day of enforced idleness I was fully determined to seek -the conclusion of my adventure the next, when on the following morning -I received a note from Maestro Angello, asking me to be sure and come -to my lesson. As the Maestro was always annoyed at the non-appearance -of a pupil, I judged it wise to go, and arranged with Peppino to -search for the Palazzo Morone in the afternoon. The lesson would only -last an hour, and I would thus have plenty of time to carry out my -intention, as Peppino, knowing the palazzo, would be able to take me -there direct.</p> - -<p>I felt much better this second day after my adventure, as the pain had -quite left my knee, so having thus arranged my plans for the -afternoon, I started in a very contented frame of mind for the Casa -Angello.</p> - -<p>It was a dreary day, for there are dreary days even in Italy, and at -intervals there fell heavy showers, which made me feel somewhat -depressed. Pedestrians were hurrying along with large umbrellas of the -Gamp species, red being the prevailing colour; and what with the -sloppy streets, the gloomy houses, and the absence of the chattering -Italian populace, the whole place looked infinitely melancholy, so in -order to keep up my spirits I hummed the weird air I had heard in the -Palazzo Morone.</p> - -<p>Maestro Angello lived in a narrow street more like a drain than -anything else, and I entered into a damp courtyard through a dismal -little tunnel barred by an iron gate. The portinaia, who lived in a -glass-fronted room as if she were a unique specimen of the human race -preserved in a case, nodded her head to intimate that the Maestro was -at home, so I climbed up the evil-smelling stone stairs which went up -the side of the courtyard, and soon arrived at Angello's door. Ringing -a little bell which tinkled in a most irritating manner, I was -admitted into the dingy ante-chamber by Petronella, a short, fat, -good-natured woman who managed the whole household, and made a great -deal of noise over doing so. She was dressed in an untidy print gown, -with a bright red shawl over her shoulders, and wore wooden clogs -which clattered noisily on the terra-cotta floor. Her plenteous hair -was roughly twisted into a knot and stuck through with large brass -pins, which gave her a spiky appearance about the head. This curious -apparition saluted me with a jolly smile in a gruff voice, with the -usual familiarity of Italian servants,--</p> - -<p>"Sta bene! Signore. Ah, the Maestro! povero Maestro!"</p> - -<p>"What's the matter with him, Petronella?"</p> - -<p>"Eh! Signore, he cannot live much longer."</p> - -<p>As Angello was considerably over eighty years of age I thought this -highly probable, but was about to condole with Petronella over his -illness, when she saved me the trouble of a reply by bursting out into -a long speech delivered with much dramatic effect:--</p> - -<p>"It is nothing but trouble, Signore. Such a fine young man, and the -piccola loved him so! It will surely place the Maestro among the -saints. Four masses for his soul, Signore; and those priests are such -thieves. I said 'No lesson,' but the Maestro is a mule for having his -own way. Let him teach, say I; it will divert his mind! There, -Signore, go in with you! But I always thought it would come; four -times I heard the cock crowing, a bad sign, as Saint Peter knew. -There, there! the Madonna aid us!"</p> - -<p>Not understanding in the least what Petronella was talking about, I -allowed myself to be pushed mechanically into the inner room in a -state of bewilderment. The Maestro, seated in his usual chair, was -waiting for me, and his granddaughter, Bianca, who assisted him in his -lessons, was looking out of the window at the falling rain. An -atmosphere of sadness seemed to pervade the dull, grey room, and as -Bianca advanced to meet me I saw that her eyes were red with crying, -while old Angello stared at her in a listless, indifferent manner, -being so old as to be past all sympathetic feelings.</p> - -<p>He was a mere mummy, this old man who had been celebrated as a teacher -of singing in the days of Pasta and Malibran; a faint shadow of his -former self, only kept alive by the mechanical exercise of his art. -Yet, in spite of his great age, his ear was wonderfully keen and true; -the sense of hearing, from continuous cultivation, being the only one -which had survived the wreck of his faculties, and with the assistance -of Bianca, he was still enabled to teach his wonderful system in an -intelligible manner. Many of his pupils had been European, celebrities -on the operatic stage during the past fifty years, and his rooms in -Milan were crowded with souvenirs of famous artists of undying fame. -His children, and, with the exception of Bianca, his grandchildren, -were all dead; his friends and acquaintances and the generation that -knew him had all passed away; but this Nestor of lyrical art still -survived, alone and sad, amid the ruins of his past. White-haired, -wrinkled, blear-eyed, silent, he sat daily in his great armchair, -taking but little notice of the life around him, save to ask childish -questions or talk about some dead-and-gone singer whose fame had once -filled the world; but place a baton in his hand, strike the piano, -lift the voice, and this apparent corpse awoke to life. He beat time, -he corrected the least false note, he explained the necessary -instructions in a faltering voice, and, during the lesson, bore at -least some semblance of life; but when all was finished, the baton -fell from his withered hand as he relapsed into his former apathy. One -would have thought that he would have been glad to rest in his old -age, but such was his love for his art that he insisted upon teaching -still, and it was this alone which kept him alive. His granddaughter, -Bianca, trained in the family traditions, was enabled to interpret his -words, and, as his system of singing was unique, in spite of his -apparent uselessness, he had many pupils.</p> - -<p>Bianca herself was a charming Italian girl of twenty, more like a -graceful white lily in appearance than anything else, so fragile, so -delicate, so pallid did she seem. Her mournful eyes, dark and soft as -those of a gazelle, seemed too large for her pale, oval face; and her -figure, small and slender, always put me in mind of that of a fairy. -Indeed, in sport, I sometimes called her the Fairy of Midnight, after -some poet-fancy that haunted my brain, for all her strength seemed to -have gone into those glorious masses of raven-black hair, coiled so -smoothly round her small head. This portraiture seems to give the idea -that Bianca was a melancholy young person, yet such was not the case, -for I have seen her as gay as a bird on bright days, or when she -received a letter from her lover.</p> - -<p>Yes! she had a lover to whom she was engaged to be married, but, -curiously enough, I knew nothing about this lover, not being intimate -enough with Bianca to be the confidant of her tender little secret. -This unknown lover was always away in other parts of Italy, and when -he did visit Bianca it was during my absence, so I used to joke with -the Signorina about this visionary being. But she, with one delicate -finger on her lip and an arch smile of glee, would tell me that -he--she never mentioned his name--that he had an actual existence, and -some day I would see him in person at Verona. Well, here was Verona, -here was Bianca, but the lover had not appeared, so I would have -jestingly asked this Fairy of Midnight the reasons of his absence, had -not the real grief expressed on her face deterred me.</p> - -<p>"Signorina, are you in trouble?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, yes! Signore, great trouble; but you cannot help me. No one can -help me."</p> - -<p>"But perhaps I----"</p> - -<p>"No, Signore, it is useless. Come, you must have the lesson at once. -The Maestro is dull to-day, he needs amusement; so come, the lesson."</p> - -<p>"It is very cruel of you to make a joke of my lesson, Signorina."</p> - -<p>Bianca made no reply to my jesting remark, but heaving a little sigh, -placed the ivory baton in the hand of the Maestro and sat down at the -piano. The mummy, finding his services required, woke up and had a -little conversation with me before beginning the lesson.</p> - -<p>"Eh! Signor Inglése," he croaked--this being his name for me--"London -is dark!"</p> - -<p>He had a fearful prejudice against London, which he had once visited -at a foggy season, and always made the above remark to his English -pupils, which no one ever thought of contradicting.</p> - -<p>"Yes, yes!" he said, nodding his old head like a Chinese mandarin; -"London is always dark."</p> - -<p>"Yes, Maestro."</p> - -<p>"You've not been working?"</p> - -<p>"Indeed I have, Maestro."</p> - -<p>"Come then, Signor Inglése, we will see," and the lesson commenced.</p> - -<p>Oh, those lessons! what agonies I suffered during them, trying to -attain the impossible! To how many fits of despair have I given -way in failing time after time to manage my breathing! It was all -breathing--a deep drawing in, a slow letting out--the exercise of -internal muscles of which I had never heard even the name--the -weariness of incessantly practising notes in a still, small voice -hardly audible,--it was enough to discourage the most persevering. -Some of the female pupils, I believe, cried with vexation when not -able to do what was required by the severe Maestro, who denied the -existence of the word "impossible" in connection with singing; but I, -not being a woman, was reduced to swearing, which certainly relieved -my feelings after a battle with a particularly aggravating exercise.</p> - -<p>Even now, when I am successful in my art, I often turn cold as I think -of those apparently insurmountable obstacles which I had to overcome; -but with these painful memories there is mixed at the same time a -kindly thought of that noble old Maestro, so patient, so courteous, so -painstaking, whose devotion to his art was so great, who was so severe -on the least fault and so encouraging of the least success in -conquering a difficulty.</p> - -<p>Well, the lesson went on slowly with frequent interruptions from the -Maestro, who was satisfied with nothing less than perfection, and I -breathed according to directions, sang "ah!" "eh," "ee's" in a tiny, -tiny voice, until at the end of the hour I was glad to sit down and -rest before departing. I felt tired out, I felt hungry, and, as the -weather was bad, I felt cross, but at the same time I felt curious to -know what was the matter with Bianca.</p> - -<p>The Maestro, having remarked encouragingly that I had the voice of a -goose and would never sing in La Scala, relapsed into silence, -evidently thinking of his colezione which was being prepared in the -kitchen with some trouble, judging from the raised, tones of -Petronella's voice; and as Bianca still sat at the piano, striking -random chords, there was nothing for me to do but to take my -departure. She was not prepared to tell me her trouble, and indeed she -had no reason to do so, but feeling anxious to aid the poor child if I -could, I ventured to speak to her on the subject.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_05" href="#div1Ref_05">CHAPTER V.</a></h4> -<h5>LOST</h5> -<br> - -<p>While I was wondering which was the best way to approach this somewhat -delicate matter, the door was flung open to its fullest extent and -Petronella stalked majestically into the room. There was a wrathful -look on her strongly marked features, and Bianca trembled in -expectation of a storm. Both she and the Maestro were terribly afraid -of Petronella, who ruled the household and looked after them as she -would a couple of children, so now that she frowned they acted like -children; and were cowed by her eagle eye. Petronella surveyed the -three of us grimly, and, being satisfied that her entrance had -produced an effect, spoke with a dramatic gesture that Rachel herself -might have envied,--</p> - -<p>"I am enraged to-day. Let no one speak to me." Neither the Maestro nor -Bianca seemed inclined to accept this tread-on-the-tail-of-my-coat -challenge, so Petronella looked from one to the other to see on whom -she should pour out the vials of her wrath. Ultimately she chose -Bianca.</p> - -<p>"Ah, it is you, Signorina! it is you who enrage me. And for why? you -ask. Holy Saints! you ask why. Because you sit there like a statue in -the Duoma. Will that bring him back? say I. No, Signora, let the bad -young man go. Ecco!"</p> - -<p>"Guiseppe is not a bad young man," cried Bianca, rising angrily to her -feet.</p> - -<p>"Are you older than I am, piccola? No! Have you been married like I -was? No! Then let me speak, child that you are. All men are bad--ask -the Signor there! All men are bad!"</p> - -<p>Petronella made a comprehensive sweep of her arms so as to indicate -the whole masculine portion of the human race, and I, seeing an -opportunity of finding out what was the matter, did not attempt -to defend masculine depravity in any way, but artfully asked a -question,--</p> - -<p>"I can hardly say. I don't know what you are talking about!"</p> - -<p>"Eh! has the Signore no ears? I speak of Guiseppe Pallanza!"</p> - -<p>"What, the tenor at the Teatro Ezzelino?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, Signore, he is the engaged one of the Signorina here, and----"</p> - -<p>"Enough, enough, Petronella!" cried Bianca, her face flushing. "Do not -trouble the Signor with these chatterings."</p> - -<p>"Oh, it's no trouble," I replied quickly. "Perhaps I can help you, -Signorina, if you require help!"</p> - -<p>"Eh, eh!" assented Petronella approvingly, "the English have long -heads, piccola. Tell him all and he will find out what others cannot -find out. And you, Maestro, the colezione is ready."</p> - -<p>She tenderly led the old man into the next room, and I was thus left -alone with Bianca, who had retreated to the window, where she stood -twisting her handkerchief with nervous confusion.</p> - -<p>"Do not tell me, Signorina, if you would rather not," I said gently.</p> - -<p>"Ah, Signore, if I thought you would be my friend!"</p> - -<p>"Certainly I will be your friend."</p> - -<p>"The Maestro is so old. Petronella is so foolish. We know none in -Verona, and I can do nothing for my poor Guiseppe!"</p> - -<p>"Your lover, Signorina?"</p> - -<p>"Yes. I promised you should see him at Verona, but--now--ah now!--but -perhaps you have heard him singing at the Ezzelino?"</p> - -<p>"No; I have not been to the opera since my arrival here. What is the -matter with him? Is he ill?"</p> - -<p>"I know not! I know not! He is lost!"</p> - -<p>"Lost?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, Signore. My Guiseppe has disappeared and no one knows where he -is!"</p> - -<p>Could there be any connection between the disappearance of Guiseppe -and the death of that young man I had seen in the fatal chamber? The -thought flashed across me as she spoke, but I dismissed it as idle.</p> - -<p>"And you want some one to look for Signor Pallanza?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, yes!"</p> - -<p>"Well, I will undertake the task."</p> - -<p>"You, Signore!" she cried joyfully; "will you search for him?"</p> - -<p>"Certainly, Signorina; I promised to be your friend. Now sit down, and -tell me all about your lover and his disappearance. I may be able to -do more for you than you think."</p> - -<p>The fact is, that by some subtle instinct I connected the -disappearance of this young man with the curious events of two nights -before, and, leading Bianca to a seat, I prepared to listen -attentively to her recital.</p> - -<p>"Signore," she began in her flute-like voice, "I have been engaged to -marry Guiseppe Pallanza for some months. He was a pupil of the -Maestro, and we loved each other when we first met; but ah! Signore, -he was poor then, and we could not marry, but now he is rich and -famous."</p> - -<p>"Yes, I have heard of the tenor Pallanza, but have never seen him on -the stage."</p> - -<p>"He has the voice of a god, Signore, and at La Scala, two seasons -ago--oh, Signore, it was the talk of the whole city. The papers called -him the New Mario, and he is so handsome--like an angel. After La -Scala he went to Florence, to Naples, and then to Rome, where he sang -in 'Faust' and 'Polyeuct' at the Apollo, then he came on here a week -ago for the season at the Ezzelino; but now he is lost. Dio! how -unhappy I am."</p> - -<p>She covered her face with her hands, and wept quietly for a few -minutes, and, impatient as I was to hear the particulars of the -affair, I did not dare to disturb her grief. After a time she dried -her tears, and went on again,--</p> - -<p>"He came to Verona on Saturday, Signore, and we were so happy together -talking about our marriage; and on Monday he sang in 'Faust' at the -Ezzelino. I went to the theatre with Petronella, and that was the last -time I saw him."</p> - -<p>"Oh, then he disappeared on Monday night!" I asked quickly, feeling my -heart begin to beat rapidly with excitement, for it was on Monday -night that my extraordinary adventure had taken place.</p> - -<p>"Yes, Signore. He was to come hereafter the opera, to tell the Maestro -how he had sung--you know how anxious the Maestro is over his pupils, -but he never came, nor the next day either; so this morning I went to -ask at the Ezzelino, and they told me he had disappeared."</p> - -<p>"It's curious I never heard of it. The disappearance of a popular -tenor is not a common thing!"</p> - -<p>"Signore, he sang on Monday and was to sing again to-night, so nothing -was thought about him not coming to the theatre yesterday; but this -morning they sent to his lodgings, to find that he had not been there -since he left the Ezzelino after the opera on Monday."</p> - -<p>"The papers will be full of it to-night!"</p> - -<p>"Ah! that will not bring him back," said poor little Bianca in a -melancholy tone, shaking her small head, which drooped like a faded -flower.</p> - -<p>I was now certain that my adventure on Monday night had something to -do with the disappearance of Guiseppe Pallanza, and doubtless the -young man I had seen in the deserted palace was the missing tenor; but -the antique dress, the amorous rendezvous--these needed some -explanation.</p> - -<p>"Was he in love with any one, Signorina?"</p> - -<p>It was a cruel but necessary question which angered Bianca, who threw -back her little head with great haughtiness.</p> - -<p>"Signore, he loved me and no one else."</p> - -<p>"Had he any reason for disappearing?"</p> - -<p>"Signore!"</p> - -<p>"Forgive me if I appear rude," I said in a deprecating tone; "but -indeed, Signorina, to find out all I must know all."</p> - -<p>"Well, Signore, I am telling you all," she replied petulantly. "It was -most strange his going away from the theatre."</p> - -<p>"How so?"</p> - -<p>"He left the Ezzelino in his stage-dress!"</p> - -<p>"Ah!"</p> - -<p>I jumped to my feet in a state of uncontrollable excitement, for I saw -at once that I was on the right track. The antique dress was explained -now! it was the dress he wore in the last act of "Faust."</p> - -<p>"But surely, Signorina, that was very extraordinary," I said, pausing -in my walk; "no one would walk the streets of Verona in a dress like -that."</p> - -<p>"I can explain that, Signore. When Guiseppe came from Rome, a friend -came with him who was very ill--a baritone singer, who was in the same -company at the Apollo. I was told at the Ezzelino that just before the -last act of the opera, Guiseppe received a note saying that his friend -was dying, so as soon as the curtain fell, he threw on a cloak which -hid his dress, and went away as quickly as possible, so as to see his -friend before he died."</p> - -<p>"Oh! and is the friend dead yet?"</p> - -<p>"I do not know, Signore."</p> - -<p>The story of the dying friend might be true, yet to me it seemed -highly improbable, and I guessed that the people at the theatre had -told this fiction to pacify the fears of Signorina Angello, to whom -they knew that Pallanza was engaged. The real truth of the matter was -doubtless that the letter came from the woman I had followed, asking -him to meet her at the deserted Palazzo Morone, and he had gone there -innocently enough to be poisoned as I had seen. This explained a great -deal, but it did not explain why the meeting should have taken place -at such an extraordinary spot, and why the woman should have come from -a burial-ground to keep the appointment. Taking all the circumstances -into consideration, I was certain that it was Pallanza I had seen -murdered on Monday night, but in order to be quite sure of his -identity, I asked Bianca if she had any photograph of her betrothed.</p> - -<p>"Of a surety, Signore," she replied, and going to an album on the -table, brought me a cabinet portrait. "This is Guiseppe as Faust, the -dress in which he left the theatre."</p> - -<p>It was as I surmised. The portrait was coloured, and I saw an exact -representation of the young man I had beheld at the Palazzo Morone. -The typical Italian face with the black curly hair, dark eyes, small -moustache and sallow skin; the slender figure arrayed in a doublet of -blue velvet, slashed with white satin; the azure silk cloak, the -poniard and the high riding-boots--nothing was wanting; the successful -tenor of the portrait was the man who had taken poison from the hand -of the lady of the sepulchre. Still it was no use telling Bianca of my -suspicions until I had discovered the whole secret; and besides, as -Guiseppe was dead, I naturally shrank from being the bearer of such -bad news. I suppose my face betrayed my thoughts, for I saw the -Signorina watching me anxiously; so to lull any fancies she might -have, I made the first remark that came into my head,--</p> - -<p>"I never saw Faust in riding-boots before!"</p> - -<p>"Ah, Signore!" replied the girl with a fond look, "Guiseppe was an -artist as well as a singer, and designed his own dresses. He said that -as Faust in the last act was going to fly with Marguerite, and -Mephistopheles speaks of the horses waiting, it is natural that he -should wear a riding-dress."</p> - -<p>This explanation was quite satisfactory, and having thus learned the -identity of the young man whom I had seen murdered, I prepared to go, -when another idea entered my head, and, going over to the piano, I -began to play by ear the strange air I had heard at the Palazzo -Morone. Bianca gave a cry of surprise as she heard the melody, and -came over to the piano with a puzzled look on her face.</p> - -<p>"Ah, you know it, Signorina?" I said, turning round quickly.</p> - -<p>"Yes! in fact I gave it to Guiseppe. It is an old air by Palestrina, -which I found among the music of the Maestro, to which Guiseppe set -words. He is very fond of it and sings it a great deal. Ah, Signore, -you must have heard him sing it, for no one else has a copy."</p> - -<p>I turned off the matter with a careless remark, not caring to tell -Bianca where I had heard it; and now being quite certain that I would -be able to unravel the whole mystery, I wanted to get away as quickly -as possible in order to arrange my plans.</p> - -<p>"Addio, Signorina," I said, giving her my hand. "When I see you again -I may be able to give you news."</p> - -<p>"Good news?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, I hope so, Signorina," I replied hurriedly as Petronella -appeared at the door. "Do not anticipate evil, I beg of you. I have no -doubt Guiseppe is quite well."</p> - -<p>"Oh, I hope so! I trust so! Addio! Signor Hugo, you will come back -soon?"</p> - -<p>"To-morrow, Signorina."</p> - -<p>"Ah! I see you have brought back the smiles," said Petronella's gruff -voice as she ushered me out. "What do you think of this evil one going -away, Signore? I was going to have four masses if he is dead, but -those priests are such thieves. Ecco!"</p> - -<p>"Why should you think he is dead, Petronella?"</p> - -<p>"Eh, Signore, he loves the piccola so much that nothing but death -would keep him away."</p> - -<p>"Except----"</p> - -<p>"I know what you would say, Signore, except a woman. Well, maybe men -are all bad. I've been married, Signore--I know, I know."</p> - -<p>"Well, I don't think I'm particularly bad, Petronella."</p> - -<p>"Eh! then you're not a true man, Signore," retorted Petronella, -closing the argument and the door at the same time.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_06" href="#div1Ref_06">CHAPTER VI.</a></h4> -<h5>A HAUNTED PALACE</h5> -<br> - -<p>I need hardly say that I was very much excited over the strange -discovery I had made, as there now appeared to be a reasonable chance -of clearing up the mystery of the Palazzo Morone. I had discovered the -name of the unhappy young man, which gave me a most important clue to -the reading of the enigma; but I had yet to find out the name of the -lady who had behaved in such an extraordinary manner and committed so -daring a crime. After hearing Peppino's story I fancied that she might -perchance be the Contessa Morone, but had later on dismissed this idea -as idle, seeing that she had been absent from Verona for many months; -but now that Bianca had told me that Pallanza had come straight from -Rome, I began to suspect that I had been right in my surmise. -According to Peppino the Contessa had taken up her residence at the -Italian capital, so what was more likely than that she had fallen in -love with Guiseppe while he was singing at the Teatro Apollo, and, -following him to Verona, had killed him by means of poison, in revenge -for his determination to leave her?</p> - -<p>So far everything was feasible enough, but two points of the affair -perplexed me very much, one being the choosing of the deserted palace -as a place of meeting, the other the visit to the burial ground by the -woman. We do not live in the times of the Borgias, when noble ladies -can thus rid themselves of their lovers with impunity, else I might -have believed that this phantom of Donna Lucrezia had gone to the old -Veronese cemetery to select a grave for the unfortunate young man she -intended to murder. To think thus, however, was foolish, and although -I guessed that she had used the old palace of her family as a safe -place for a lovers' meeting, seeing its gruesome reputation secured -it from public curiosity, yet I was quite unable to explain the -cemetery mystery. One thing, however, appeared to me to be certain, -that Guiseppe Pallanza had been carrying on an intrigue with the -Contessa--presuming the ghoul to be her--and that he had gone to the -Palazzo Morone on the night in question at her request. As to the sick -friend----</p> - -<p>Now I greatly mistrusted that sick-friend story. So many fast young -Englishmen whom I knew had adopted the same lie to cover their little -peccadilloes that I was quite sure Pallanza had employed the same -fiction to prevent the scandal of his intrigue with this unknown woman -from reaching the ears of his <i>fiancée</i>. Bianca was a very proud girl, -and I felt certain, from what little I had seen of her character, that -if she discovered Guiseppe was playing her false, she would at -once break off the engagement at any cost. Like all Italian women, -when she loved she loved with her whole soul, and expected the same -single-hearted return to her passion; so that the discovery of her -lover's infidelity could only be punished sufficiently, according to -her ideas, by an everlasting parting between them. Pallanza knew this, -and therefore tried to hide his guilt by the plausible story of his -dying friend, which appeared to me to be such a remarkably weak -fabrication that, before going to the Palazzo Morone, I determined to -find out if this mythical invalid existed.</p> - -<p>Curiously enough, although I was studying for the musical profession -and was devoted to operatic performances, I had not been to the Teatro -Ezzelino since my arrival at Verona, preferring to wander about the -streets of the romantic old city in the moonlight to sitting night -after night in a stifling atmosphere of heat, glare, and noise. I made -up my mind, however, to go on this special night, in the hope that I -might hear some talk about Pallanza's disappearance, and be guided -thereby in any future movements; but meantime I went to the theatre in -the afternoon, and, introducing myself to the impresario as a friend -of Guiseppe's, asked him if he had heard any news of the missing -tenor.</p> - -<p>The impresario, a dingy old man of doubtful cleanliness, was in -despair, and raged against the absent Pallanza like a Garrick of the -gutter. He had heard nothing of this birbánte--this ladrone who had -thus disappeared, and left an honest impresario in the lurch. "Faust" -was the success of the season; without Pallanza there could be no -"Faust," and the season would be a failure. What was he to do? -Cospetto! it was the luck of the devil. Why had this scellerato run -away? A sick friend? Bah! there was no sick friend. It was a woman who -had enticed away this pazzo. A dying friend from Rome was not a very -likely story, but a lie--a large and magnificent lie. Here was the -basso of his company, who had been singing with Pallanza at the -Apollo; ask him, truth is on his lips, Behold this good man!</p> - -<p>Signor Basso-profundo advanced, and though truth might have been on -his lips it certainly was not apparent on his face, for a more -deceitful countenance I never beheld. However, I have no doubt he -spoke truth on this occasion, as there was no money to be made by -telling a lie, and he confirmed the words of the wrathful impresario. -The sick friend was a myth, but in Rome Pallanza had been friendly -with a lady. Per Bacco! a great lady, but the name was unknown to him. -It appeared that Signor Basso-profundo dressed in the same room as -Pallanza, and it was just before the last act of "Faust" that Guiseppe -received the note. He told the basso-profundo that it was from a dying -friend, and had departed quickly when the opera was ended, in his -stage-dress, with a cloak wrapped round him. The basso-profundo was -sure the note was from a lady. The impresario was also sure, and -devoted the lady in question to the infernal gods with a richness of -expression I have never heard equalled in any language.</p> - -<p>Having thus found out what I suspected from the first, that the dying -friend was a mere invention to cloak an intrigue, I left the -impresario to tear his hair and call Guiseppe names in company with -Signor Basso-profundo, and went back to my hotel, where I found -Peppino waiting with his fiacre to drive me to the Palazzo Morone.</p> - -<p>He was still unwilling to take me to this place of evil reputation, -and made one last effort to shake my determination by gruesome stories -of people who had gone into the palazzo and never came out again; but -I laughed at all these hobgoblin romances, and getting into the -fiacre, told him to drive off at once, which he did, after crossing -himself twice, so as to secure his own safety should the ghosts of -Palazzo Morone take a fancy to carry me off as a heretic.</p> - -<p>We speedily left the broad, modern streets, and rattled down gloomy, -mediæval passages, the humid atmosphere of which chilled me to the -bone, in spite of the heat of the day. The fiacre--with its jingling -bells--bumped on the uneven stones, turned abruptly round unexpected -corners, corkscrewed itself between narrow walls, crept under low -archways, and after innumerable dodgings, twistings, hairbreadth -escapes from upsettings, and perilous balancings on the edges of -drains, at length emerged into that queer little piazza at the end of -which I saw the great façade of the richly-decorated palace I had -beheld in the moonlight of two nights before.</p> - -<p>I had been an ardent student of Baedeker since my arrival in Italy, -and from the fortified appearance of the palazzo, judged that it had -been built by Michelo Sammicheli, who, according to the guide-book, -was the greatest military architect of the middle ages. The building -was four stories high, with long lines of narrow windows closely -barred by curiously ornamented iron cages--which bulged outward,---as -a protection against thieves or enemies, and the whole front was -adorned with almost obliterated paintings after the style of the -Genoese palaces. In addition to the brush, the chisel had done its -work, and wreaths of flowers, grinning masks, nude figures of boys and -girls, elaborate crests and armorial devices with fishes, birds, -tritons, shells, and fruit were sculptured round the windows, along -the fortified castellated top, and over the great portal. All the -square in front of this splendid specimen of Renaissance art was -overgrown with grass. The houses on every side were also deserted, and -what with the broken windows, the empty piazza, and the closed doors, -everything had a melancholy, desolate appearance, as if a curse rested -upon the whole neighbourhood.</p> - -<p>Peppino evidently was of this opinion, for although it was broad -daylight, and the hot sunlight poured down on the grass-grown square, -yet he kept muttering prayers in a low voice; and if by chance he -looked towards the Palazza, he always crossed himself with great -devoutness. I was not, however, going to be baulked of my intention by -any superstitious feeling on the part of an Italian cab-driver, so I -ordered Peppino to tie up his horse and come with me into the palace. -This modest request, however, so horrified Peppino that he absolutely -squeaked with horror, like a rabbit caught in a snare.</p> - -<p>"I, Signore!" he whimpered, touching the relic on his breast. "Dio! -not to be King of Italy would I go into that house! If you are wise, -Signore, look and come away lest evil befall you. Cospetto! Signore, -remember the Frate. Think of Madonna Matilda!"</p> - -<p>"What about Madonna Matilda, Peppino?"</p> - -<p>"Eh, Illustrious, do you not know? She was a friend of his Holiness at -Canossa, and, though a woman, wanted to celebrate mass, but Il Cristo -burnt her to ashes with fire from above!--and she died. Ecco! -Cospetto! Signore, it is foolish to meddle with holy things."</p> - -<p>"Well, you can't call this palace holy, Peppino?"</p> - -<p>"No, Illustrious. It is accursed!" replied the Italian, crossing -himself, "but there is fire below as well as above, and you are a -heretic."</p> - -<p>"Which means that I had better beware of the devil! eh, Peppino. Well, -well; I'm not afraid, so I will enter the palace, and if you see me -carried off by the ghosts, you can tell the carabinieri."</p> - -<p>"Dio! Illustrious, do not jest; but if you will go you must go. I will -wait here and pray for your soul."</p> - -<p>Peppino was as obstinate as a mule in his fear of ghosts, so leaving -him to smoke his long Italian cigar and watch the brown lizards -scuttling over the hot stones in the sunshine, I advanced towards the -palace with the determination to find out the secret chamber. As I -knew it would be dark therein, owing to its want of windows, I had -taken the precaution to provide myself with a candle and a box of -matches. Feeling that these were safe in my pocket, I went to the iron -gate and entered the courtyard in the same way as I had done on that -night. This time, however, I examined the ironwork, and found to my -surprise that the missing bar had been half filed through and then -wrenched away. The marks left were quite fresh, and it had been done -so recently that the bar had not had time to grow rusty. This -discovery astonished me not a little, as I did not see the reason of -such an entrance being made. If it were the Contessa who used the -palace, she would have the key of the side door, and could thus admit -herself and her lover at her pleasure, while this breach could only -have been made by some one who could not enter in any other way.</p> - -<p>I thought of the person into whose arms I had fallen, the person who -had placed a handkerchief wet with some liquid over my face, and -although, according to Peppino's story, this watcher at the door was -the phantom of Count Mastino Morone, yet dismissing such an -explanation as due to superstition, I began to think that another -person had followed the lady of the sepulchre besides myself. Yes, -there could be no doubt about it, some third person had tracked her to -the palazzo, and, unable to enter in the ordinary way, had filed -through and broken the iron bar in the gate. Gaining access to the -interior of the palazzo in this way, the unknown had penetrated to the -secret chamber, and doubtless had witnessed the same strange scene as -I had done. My presence had been discovered, and to preserve for some -unknown reason, the secret of this terrible chamber, I had been -seized, rendered insensible by chloroform, and taken to the Piazza -Vittorio Emanuele, so that I would be unable to re-discover the -Palazzo Morone.</p> - -<p>All these thoughts flashed through my brain with the rapidity of -lightning, and I wondered whom this unknown could be--a friend of -Pallanza? an accomplice of the Contessa! I did not know what to think, -so leaving all such conjectures to a more seasonable time, I crossed -over the dreary courtyard and entered the great hall.</p> - -<p>It was a magnificent entrance, and when thronged with courtiers, -men-at-arms, pages, and ladies, must have presented a noble -appearance. Of enormous size, the high walls and lofty roof were -painted with glowing frescoes representing the ancient glories of the -Republic, and the floor was brilliant with gorgeous mosaics of -coats-of-arms and fantastic figures. The painted windows on either -side of the huge portal blazed with variegated tints, and the bright -sun streaming in through the glass--as many-coloured as Joseph's -coat--dyed the floor with vivid lights and gaudy hues. Ancient -tapestries hung here and there between the two lines of black marble -columns running down the sides of the hall, and the wind, stealing in -through the open door, shook the grey dust from these mouldering -splendours of the loom. At the end of this immense vestibule arose a -broad staircase of white marble with balustrades of elaborate bronze -fretwork, and from the first landing two other flights sloped off to -right and left of the main branch. All the air was filled with -floating shadows, the soft wind moved the hangings without sound, and -I was alone in the deserted hall, over which brooded an intense -silence, which made me shiver in the chill atmosphere pervading this -abode of desolation.</p> - -<p>However, the afternoon was passing quickly, and as I had plenty to do -before nightfall, I rapidly ascended the shallow stairs. Turning to -the right, which was the way the unknown lady had taken the other -night, I soon found myself in the long corridor with the windows -looking out on to the courtyard. Many of these were broken, but others -were quite whole, their colours as bright and glowing as when they had -first been placed there.</p> - -<p>At the end of the corridor I turned to the left, and found the short -flight of shallow steps, which, however, led up into darkness, so that -before ascending them I had to light my candle. Luckily there were no -draughts, for the air was absolutely still, and the flame of my candle -burned clear and steadily. Up these steps I went, entered the short -corridor, and paused before the heavy door which gave admission into -the ante-chamber of the fatal room. Realizing what had taken place -inside on that fatal night, I dreaded to enter, lest I should find the -corpse of the unfortunate Pallanza on the floor; but overcoming my -emotions, with a strong effort I thrust open the door and entered.</p> - -<p>The tapestried chamber presented exactly the same appearance, with the -small table in the centre, the burnt-out torch lying on the floor, and -at the end the rich folds of the gold-worked curtains veiling the -entrance to the inner apartment. I stood on the threshold, half -expecting to hear the shrill notes of the mandolin, and the passionate -song ring through the silence, but all was still and mute, as if it -were indeed the tomb of the dead I expected to find.</p> - -<p>At last, with a thrill of dread, I parted the heavy curtains and found -myself in the circular chamber. The faint light of the candle just -hollowed out a gulf in the Cimmerian darkness, and I saw the dim -glitter of the gold and silver on the table, the ghastly glimmer of -the white cloth, and the sparks of weak fire flashing from the -tarnished gold embroidery of the curtains. All was as I had seen -it--the eight white pillars, the dull-red hangings with their -Arabesque patterns of golden thread, the gilt table, the massive metal -goblets and silver candelabra, even the half-eaten fruit, with -everything on the table in disorder; but, somewhat to my relief, I -found nothing else. The dead body, which I had seen lying at the feet -of that terrible woman, had vanished, and although I searched over -every inch of the chamber, I could find no trace of the fearful crime -which had been committed. The demon who had enticed the unhappy young -man to his ruin had completed her evil work by secreting his body, and -I began to think that all trace of Guiseppe Pallanza had disappeared -from the earth for evermore.</p> - -<p>Who was this woman who, in this room, had so wickedly slain her lover? -Who was the man--I felt sure it was a man--who had seized me at the -door, and borne me insensible from the palace? I could answer neither -of these questions, and had it not been for the story of Bianca, for -the disappearance of Pallanza, I would have fancied the whole some -hideous dream, some nightmare of medieval devilry, which had filled my -brain with the phantasmagoria of delirium. Everything, however, was -too real, too terrible, to admit of such an explanation; so as I could -discover nothing more from examining the chamber I prepared to leave. -The atmosphere yet had a faint aroma of the sandalwood perfume which -emanated from the unknown woman; at my feet still lay the broken -mandolin; and the rich wine-cups still glittered in the dim light. I -no longer wondered at such wealth being left here undefended, for -superstition, more of a safeguard than bolts and bars, protected this -cave of Aladdin from thievish Italian fingers; and even if a thief had -known of these riches, I doubt whether he would have had the courage -to dare the unseen horrors of the palazzo.</p> - -<p>For myself, standing there in the perfumed atmosphere, with the light -just showing the intense gloom, the dim glitter of gold and silver, -the absolute stillness and the horrible memories of the chamber--I -felt as though I were in the presence of the dead. At the table sat -the phantoms of Donna Renata and her lover, smiling at one another -with hatred in their ghostly hearts; at the door watched the evil face -of the outraged husband awaiting the consummation of the tragedy; and -in imagination I could see the wicked smile of the woman, the scowl of -the husband, the loathing look on the face of the lover. My breath, -coming quick and fast, made the flame of the candle flicker and flare -until, overcome by the horror of the room, and by the workings of my -imagination, I turned and fled--fled from the evil gloom, from that -blood-stained splendour, out into the blessed sunshine and pure air of -heaven.</p> - -<p>"Dio!" cried Peppino, as I walked quickly out into the square, "how -pale you are, Illustrious! Eh, Signore, have the ghosts----"</p> - -<p>"I have seen no ghosts, Peppino, but I have felt their presence."</p> - -<p>"Cospetto! did I not warn the Signore against the accursed place? -Come, Illustrious, jump in and we will leave this abode of devils."</p> - -<p>"Very well, Peppino," I replied, entering the fiacre, "but drive -slowly, as I want to know the way to this palazzo."</p> - -<p>"Dio! the Signore will not come again?"</p> - -<p>"Yes! I am coming some night this month."</p> - -<p>"Saints! the Signore is mad and lost!" muttered Peppino with a pale -face. Then, hastily gathering up the reins, he drove rapidly away from -the lonely square, leaving this gruesome palace to the night and to -the feast of ghosts.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_07" href="#div1Ref_07">CHAPTER VII.</a></h4> -<h5>AT THE TEATRO EZZELINO</h5> -<br> - -<p>From my mother I had inherited one of those highly strung -organizations which are largely affected by their surroundings, and -which, like an Æolian harp, to the sighing wind vibrate with every -breath of passion that passes over them--organizations which take -their colour, their bias, their desires from the last event which -occurs, and which are entirely in sympathy with the predominating -feeling of the moment. In childhood this dangerous spirit of moods and -fancies had been fostered by an old Scottish nurse, who used to thrill -me with wild stories of Highland superstitions, and with weird ballads -of elfish fantasy; but since I had mixed in the world I had learned to -control and sway my imaginative faculty, and had thus acquired a -command over myself. But, as I said before, superstition is in every -one, and waxes or wanes according to their surroundings; so the -terrors of childish tales, which had been half-forgotten in the bustle -of worldly life, now came upon my soul with full force in this haunted -city of Verona. The burial-ground, the ghostly room, the accursed -palace, the phantoms of evil-seeming, all these peopled the chambers -of my brain, with their unreal horrors, until I became so nervous and -unstrung, that every sudden noise, every unexpected sound, and every -shadowy comer, made me thrill with supernatural fear as if I were -again a child listening to tales of devildom.</p> - -<p>I knew this mood was a bad one, and would have sought cheerful society -to drive away the evil spirit had I known where to seek it. But there -were no English at my hotel, and, in the present state of affairs, the -Casa Angello was not particularly cheerful, so as I did not care about -spending a lonely evening, I methought myself of my intention to go to -the Teatro Ezzelino. On glancing at the paper I saw that the opera for -the night was "Lucrezia Borgia;" and this name gave me a renewed -sensation of horror. The lady of the sepulchre had taken in my -imagination the semblance of Ferrara's Duchess, and the memory of the -terrible daughter of Pope Alexander seemed never to leave me. She had -come from the graveyard, she had supped in the fatal chamber, she had -murdered her lover; and now, when she had vanished into thin air, I -was to see her represented on the stage in all her magnificent -wickedness. I had a good mind not to go, but seeing that there was a -ballet after the opera, I thought I would brave this phantom of the -brain, and find in the lightness of the dancing an antidote to the -gloomy terrors of the lyrical drama.</p> - -<p>The cooking at my hotel was somewhat better than the usual run of -Italian culinary ideas, so I made an excellent dinner, drank some Asti -Spumati, an agreeable wine of an exhilarating nature, and felt much -better when I started for the Ezzelino.</p> - -<p>It was one of those perfect Italian evenings such as one sees depicted -by the glowing brush of Turner, and there yet lingered in the quiet -evening sky a faint purple reflection of the sunset glories. No moon -as yet, but here and there a burning star throbbing in the deep heart -of the sky, and under the peaceful heavens the weather-worn red roofs -and grey walls of antique Verona mellowed to warm loveliness in the -twilight shadows. Beautiful as it was, however, with the memory of -that eerie night still on me, I had no desire to renew my moonlight -wanderings, so, without pausing to admire the enchanting scene, I -hastened on to the theatre to be in time for the first notes of -Donnizetti's opera.</p> - -<p>The Teatro Ezzelino is a very charming opera-house, built in a light, -airy fashion, with plenty of ventilation, a thing to be grateful for -on hot summer nights. All the decorations are white and gold, so that -it has a delightfully cool appearance; nevertheless, what with the -warmth of the season without, and the glaring heat of the gas within, -I felt unpleasantly hot. The gallery and stalls were crowded, but as -it was only eight o'clock, most of the boxes were empty, and I knew -would not be filled until late in the evening by those who, tired of -the well-known music of "Lucrezia," wanted to see the new ballet.</p> - -<p>Having glanced round the theatre, I bought a book of the words, hired -an opera-glass from an obsequious attendant, and settled myself -comfortably for the evening. The orchestra--a very excellent one, -directed by Maestro Feraldi, of Milan--played the prelude in a -sufficiently good style, and the pictured curtain arose on the -well-known Venetian scene which I had so often beheld. The chorus, in -their heterogeneous costumes of no known age, wandered about in their -usual aimless fashion, shouted their approval of smiling Venice in the -ordinary indifferent style; and a very good contralto who sang Orsini, -having delivered her first aria with great dramatic fervour, they all -vanished from the stage, leaving the sleeping Genaro to be -contemplated by Lucrezia Borgia.</p> - -<p>I was disappointed with the Duchess when she arrived, and I must say -that my majestic evil lady of the sepulchre looked far more like the -regal sister of Cæsar Borgia than this diminutive singer with the big -voice, who raged round the stage like a spitfire, and gave one no idea -of the terrible Medusa of Ferrara, whose smile was death to all, -lovers and friends alike. The tenor was a long individual, and -Lucrezia being so small, their duets, in point of physical appearance, -were sufficiently ridiculous; but as they sang well together, their -rendering of the characters, artistically speaking, was enjoyable. The -chorus entered and discovered Lucrezia with Genaro; the prima-donna -defied them all with the look and ways of a cross child; there was the -usual dramatic chorus, and the curtain fell on the prologue with but -slight applause. I did not go out, as I felt very comfortable, so -amused myself with looking round the house, when, during the first act -of the opera, two officers entered the theatre and took their seats in -front of mine; They were two gay young men, who talked a great deal -about one thing and another in such raised voices that I could hear -all they said, some of which was not particularly edifying.</p> - -<p>During the first act which succeeds the prologue they were -comparatively quiet, but when Lucrezia entered in the second to sing -the celebrated duet with Alfonso, they were loud in their expressions -of disapproval concerning her appearance. The music of this part of -the opera is particularly loud and noisy, but even through the crash -of the orchestra I could hear their expressions of disapproval.</p> - -<p>"The voice is not bad, but the appearance--the acting--oime!"</p> - -<p>"Eh, Teodoro, what would you? Donna Lucrezia is not on the stage."</p> - -<p>"Not on the stage!" said Teodoro in an astonished tone. "Ebbene! where -is she?"</p> - -<p>"Look at the box yonder!"</p> - -<p>"Per Bacco! the Contessa Morone."</p> - -<p>I started as I heard this name, and, looking in the same direction as -the young men, saw a woman seated far back in the shadow of a box, the -fourth or fifth from the stage. She was talking to three gentlemen, -and her face was turned away so that I could not see her features; -but, judging from the glimpse I caught of her head and bust, she -seemed to be a very majestic woman.</p> - -<p>The Contessa Morone! She was then in Verona after all. This discovery -removed all my doubts concerning the identity of the ghoul. She was -the woman who had left the vault in the burial-ground. She was the -woman who had slain Guiseppe Pallanza in the secret chamber of the -deserted palace, and she was the woman seated in the shadow of the -box, talking idly as though she had no terrible crime to burden her -conscience. If I could only see her face I would then recognise her; -but, as if she had some presentiment of danger, she persistently -looked everywhere but in my direction. As I gazed she moved slightly, -the bright light of a lamp shone on her neck, and I saw a sudden -tongue of red flame flash through the semi-twilight of the box, which -at once reminded me of the necklace of rubies worn by that terrible -vampire of the graveyard.</p> - -<p>Eager to know all about this woman, whom I felt sure was the murderess -of Pallanza, I listened breathlessly to the two officers who were -still talking about her.</p> - -<p>"It is a year since Morone died," said Teodoro, lowering his -opera-glass, "and she has lived since at Rome, where I met her. Why -has she returned here?"</p> - -<p>"Eh, who knows! Perhaps to reside again at the Palazzo Morone."</p> - -<p>"That tomb. Diamine! She must become a ghost to live there."</p> - -<p>"Ebbene, Teodoro! the ghost of Lucrezia Borgia! Why does she not marry -again?"</p> - -<p>"Who knows! I wouldn't like to be her husband in spite of her money. -Corpo di Bacco! a woman who sees in the dark like a cat."</p> - -<p>"The evil eye!"</p> - -<p>"Yes! and everything else that's wicked. I do not like that Signora at -all."</p> - -<p>"Che peccato! you might marry her."</p> - -<p>"Or her money! Ecco!"</p> - -<p>They both laughed, and, the act being ended, left their seats. I also -went out into the corridor for a smoke and a breath of fresh air, -feeling deeply sorry that this interesting conversation had been -interrupted. From what one of the officers had said she was evidently -a nyctalopyst, and could see in the dark, which accounted at once for -the unerring way in which she had threaded the dark streets, and was -also the reason that she now remained secluded in the shadow of her -box, preferring the darkness to the light. Puzzling over these things, -and wondering how I could get a glimpse of her face, I lighted a -cigarette and strolled about in the vestibule of the theatre with the -rest of the crowd.</p> - -<p>There were a goodly number of civilians of all sizes, ages, and -complexions, while the military element was represented by a fair -sprinkling of officers in the picturesque uniforms of the Italian -army. The air was thick with tobacco-smoke there was a clatter of -vivacious voices, and the great doors of the theatre were thrown wide -open to admit the fresh night air into the overpoweringly hot -atmosphere. Being wrapt up in my ideas about the Contessa Morone and -her extraordinary behaviour, I leaned against a pillar and took no -notice of any one, when suddenly a tall officer stopped in front of me -and held out his hand.</p> - -<p>"What! Is it you, Signor Hugo? Come sta!"</p> - -<p>"Beltrami! You here! I am surprised!"</p> - -<p>"Ma foi," replied Beltrami, who constantly introduced French words -into his conversation; "you are not so surprised as I am. I thought -you were in your foggy island, and behold you appear at Verona. How -did you come here? What are you doing? Eh! Hugo, tell me all."</p> - -<p>I do not think I have mentioned Beltrami before, which is curious, -considering I have been talking so much about Italy and the Italians; -but the fact is, my friend the Marchese only now enters into this -curious story I am relating, so thus being introduced in due season I -will tell all I know about him.</p> - -<p>During my narrative I fancy I have mentioned that I spoke and -understood Italian tolerably for an Englishman. Well, I did not learn -my Italian in Italy--no, indeed! Foggy London saw my maiden efforts to -acquire that soft bastard Latin which Byron talks of, and the Marchese -Luigi Beltrami gave me my first lessons in his melodious language. He -had come to England some years before with a card of introduction to -my father from a friend in Florence, and on being introduced to our -household we had taken a great fancy to one another. Even in those -days, perhaps as a premonitory symptom of my operatic leanings, I was -mad on all things Italian, and discoursed about art, raved of Cimabue -and Titian, and quoted Dante, Ariosto, and Alfieri until every one of -my friends were, I am sure, heartily wearied of my enthusiasm. -Beltrami appeared, and feeling flattered by my great admiration for -his country, advised me to learn Italian. I did so, and with his help -soon became no mean proficient in the tongue which the Marchese, being -a Florentine, spoke very purely. In return I taught him English; but -either I was a bad master, or Beltrami was an idle scholar, for all -the English he ever learned consisted of two sentences: "You are a -beautiful miss," and "I love you," but with these two he got along -comparatively well, particularly with woman.</p> - -<p>English ladies at first were indignant at this outspoken admiration, -but Beltrami was so good-looking, and apparently so sincere in his use -of these two English sentences, that they usually ended by pardoning -him; nevertheless the Marchese found that if he wanted to get on in -society he would have to moderate his transports. Ultimately, if I -remember rightly, he took refuge in French, and said a great many -pretty things in that very pretty tongue.</p> - -<p>My friend Beltrami and myself were the antithesis of one another in -character, as he had a great deal of the subtle craft of the old -Italian despot about him; yet somehow we got on capitally together, -perhaps by the law of contrast, and when he returned to Italy I was -sorry to see the last of him. I promised to some day visit him at his -palazzo in Florence, and fully intended to do so before leaving Italy; -but here was Verona, and here, by the intervention of chance, was the -Marchese, as suave, as subtle-faced, and as handsome as ever. He -appeared to be delighted to see me, and as I was a stranger in a -strange land, I was glad to find at least one familiar face.</p> - -<p>In response to his request I told him about the death of my father, of -my determination to study singing, and the circumstances which had led -me to Verona, to all of which Beltrami listened attentively, and at -the conclusion of my story shook hands with me again.</p> - -<p>"Ebbene! my friend Hugo, I am glad to see you in our Italy. As you -see, I serve the King and am stationed in his dismal palace, so while -you are here I will make things pleasant. Ecco!"</p> - -<p>"No, no! my dear Marchese, I know what you mean by making things -pleasant. I have come here to work, not to play."</p> - -<p>"Dame, mon ami! too much work is bad."</p> - -<p>"Eh, Marchese, and too much play is worse; but tell me how have you -been since I saw you last?"</p> - -<p>"Oh, just the same; I am as poor as ever, but soon I will be rich!"</p> - -<p>"Bravo, Beltrami! Is your uncle, the Cardinal, dead?"</p> - -<p>"My uncle, the Cardinal, is immortal," replied the Marchese cynically. -"No, he still lives in the hope to succeed to the Fisherman's Chair. I -am going to be married!"</p> - -<p>"I congratulate you."</p> - -<p>"Eh, Hugo, I think you will when you see the future Marchesa! She is -in the theatre to-night. I am engaged to marry her, and as she takes -my friends for her own, come with me and I will introduce you."</p> - -<p>I drew back, as I wanted to watch the Contessa Morone, and if I went -to Beltrami's box I would perhaps lose sight of her.</p> - -<p>"You must excuse me, Signor Luigi, because--because you see I am not -in evening dress."</p> - -<p>It was the best excuse I could think of, but, being a very weak one, -Beltrami laughed, and, slipping his arm into mine, dragged me along -the corridor.</p> - -<p>"Sapristi! you talk like a child. You are my friend. Signora Morone -will be delighted to see you. She adores the English."</p> - -<p>"Madame Morone!" I exclaimed, thunderstruck.</p> - -<p>"Yes, the Contessa! Do you know her by sight? Mon Dieu! is she not -beautiful? You shall speak the English to her. She loves your foggy -islanders."</p> - -<p>I was so bewildered by the chance thrown in my way of finding out if -the Contessa Morone had anything to do with the burial-ground episode, -that I only replied to Beltrami's chatter by an uneasy laugh, and -suffered myself to be led unresistingly along.</p> - -<p>The Marchese did not take me into the box itself, but into one of -those small ante-rooms, on the opposite side of the corridor, which -are used by Italian ladies as reception saloons for their friends when -at the theatre. I heard the loud chatter of many voices as Beltrami -opened the door, and there, standing under the glare of the gas-lamp, -with the wicked smile on her lips, the pearls in her hair, the ruby -necklace round her throat, I saw the woman who had come from the -vault, the woman who had poisoned Pallanza in the secret room, the -phantom of Lucrezia Borgia.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_08" href="#div1Ref_08">CHAPTER VIII.</a></h4> -<h5>THE PHANTOM OF LUCREZIA BORGIA</h5> -<br> - -<p>I was duly introduced by the Marchese, and Signora Morone received me -in the most amiable manner. She was certainly a very charming woman, -and had I not known her true character, I would doubtless have been -fascinated by her gracious affability; but, in spite of her courtesy, -I could hardly speak to her without a feeling of repulsion. This -beautiful woman, so suave, so smiling, so seductive, inspired me with -that sensation of absolute dread which one experiences at the sight of -a sleek, velvet-footed pantheress--a comely beast to admire, but a -terrible one to caress. I replied to her polite inquiries in a -somewhat mechanical fashion, which she doubtless put down to my -imperfect knowledge of Italian, for in spite of all my efforts to feel -at ease in her society, yet I was unable to do more than behave with -strained courtesy towards this woman whose mask I had torn off, whose -secret I had penetrated, and the wickedness of whose heart I knew.</p> - -<p>There were several other gentlemen in the room, who talked gaily with -the Contessa, and amused themselves by eating the bonbons and -crystallised fruits provided for refreshments. The last act of the -opera had not yet commenced, so Signora Morone sank gracefully into a -velvet-cushioned chair, and permitted her courtiers to retail all the -news of the day for her amusement. I am afraid this description sounds -somewhat hyperbolical, but indeed it is the only way in which I can -describe this woman, whose every movement was full of sinuous grace -and feline treachery. Cat, tigeress, pantheress as she was, her claws -were now sheathed in her velvet paws, but the claws were there all the -same, and would doubtless scratch at the least provocation.</p> - -<p>Some people do not believe in transmigration, but I am a true disciple -of Pythagoras in that bizarre doctrine, and I firmly believe that in a -former existence the soul of Giulietta Morone had animated the body of -some tawny tigeress who had stolen through the jungle beneath the -burning skies of Hindostan, slaying and devouring her victims in -conformity with the instincts of her savage nature. Now she was a -woman--a fair, majestic woman--but the instinct of the beast was -there, the desire for slaughter and the lust for blood. What made me -indulge still more in this fancy was the colours of the dress she wore -black and yellow--all twisted in and out with a curious resemblance to -the sleek fur of the beast to which I had likened her. The soft -glimmer of the pearl strings twined in her magnificent red hair seemed -out of place as ornaments for this woman; but the rubies suited her -nature well, the red, angry rubies that shot flashes of purple fire -from her neck at every heave of her white bosom. Leaning back in her -deep chair with a cruel smile on her full crimson lips, the glimmer of -pearls, the fire-glint of the fierce-tinted gems, and the bizarre -mixture of amber and black in her dress, she slowly waved her -sandalwood fan to and fro, diffusing a strange, sleepy perfume through -the room, and looking what I verily believed her to be, the type of -incarnate evil in repose.</p> - -<p>While I was thinking in this fanciful fashion, the Contessa was -talking to her friends in a slow, rich voice, and Beltrami--well, -Beltrami was watching me closely. Do you know that strange sensation -of being watched? that uneasy consciousness that some unseen eye is -observing the least movement? Yes, of course you do! Every one has -felt it, in a more or less degree, according to their nervous -susceptibility. At the present time, with all my senses on the alert -for unexpected events, it was therefore little to be wondered at that -I felt the magnetism of Beltrami's gaze, and, on looking up, saw his -keen black eyes fixed upon me with an enigmatical expression. For the -moment I was startled, but immediately that feeling passed away for I -well knew the strange nature of the Marchese, which was a peculiar -mixture of good and evil, of kindness and cruelty, of hate and love, -which must have proceeded from some aberration of his subtle -intellect.</p> - -<p>Beltrami's face always put me in mind of that sinister countenance of -Sigismondo Malatesta, which sneers so malevolently at the curious -onlooker from the walls of the Duomo at Rimini. He had the same -treacherous droop of the eyelids, the same thin nose with wide, -sensitive nostrils, and the same malignant smile on his thin lips. Yet -he was handsome enough, this young Italian; but his face, in spite of -my friendship, repelled me--in a less degree, it is true, but still it -repelled me in the like manner as did that of the Contessa Morone. So -he was going to marry her. Well, they were certainly well-matched in -every respect, and if the man had not the active wickedness of the -woman, still the capability of evil was there, and would awaken to -life when necessary to be exercised. Both Beltrami and his future wife -were anachronisms in this nineteenth century, and should have lived, -smiled, and died in the time of the Renaissance, when they would have -been fitted companions of those Italian despots of whom Machiavelli -gives the typical examples in his book "The Prince."</p> - -<p>The Marchese saw my inquiring look, and with an enigmatic smile walked -across to where I was standing in the warm, yellow light.</p> - -<p>"Ebbene! Signor Hugo," he whispered, with a swift glance at the -Contessa, "tell me what you think of my choice."</p> - -<p>"It does you credit, Marchese. You will have a beautiful wife."</p> - -<p>"And a loving one, I hope. Tell me, mon ami, do you not envy me?"</p> - -<p>I hesitated a moment before replying, and then blurted out the -truth,--</p> - -<p>"Honestly speaking, Signor Luigi, I do not!"</p> - -<p>"Dame! and why?"</p> - -<p>"Well, I can hardly tell you my reasons, but I have them, -nevertheless."</p> - -<p>Beltrami looked hard at me with an inquisitive look in his dark eyes, -and a satirical smile on his thin lips.</p> - -<p>"You are not complimentary, my friend," he said, turning away with a -supercilious laugh.</p> - -<p>I laid my hand on his shoulder and explained,--</p> - -<p>"Pardon me, Beltrami, you do not understand----"</p> - -<p>"Eh! do not apologise! I understand better than you think."</p> - -<p>He was evidently not at all offended, and I felt puzzled by his -manner. It was true he had candidly acknowledged that he was making -this marriage for money, but surely he must also love this woman, -whose ripe beauty was so attractive to the passionate nature of the -Italians. Yet, judging from his mode of speech, he evidently had some -mistrust--a mistrust for which I could not account. He could know -nothing of the affair at the Palazzo Morone, so there certainly could -be no reason for suspicion on his part. She was a beautiful woman, a -rich woman, an attractive woman, so with this trinity of perfections -she decidedly merited a warmer love than Beltrami appeared inclined to -give her. Could it be that her evil beauty repelled him, as it did me? -No! that was impossible, seeing that, according to my idea, their -natures were wonderfully alike. Altogether the whole demeanour of the -Marchesa perplexed me by its strangeness, and I watched him narrowly -as he approached the Contessa, to see if she perceived the lack of -warmth on the part of her lover.</p> - -<p>To my surprise, as he bent over her chair to speak, she shrank away -with a gesture of disdain, and the rubies shot forth a red flame, as -if to warn the lover that there was danger in pressing upon this woman -his unwelcome attentions. Unwelcome, I am sure they were, for as he -adjusted her cloak and aided her to rise, in order to return to the -box, I saw that she accepted all his politeness with forced civility -and cold smiles. So then she did not love him--he had almost openly -acknowledged to me that he did not love her, and yet these two people, -who had no feeling of love in their hearts, were about to marry. It -was most extraordinary, and I marvelled greatly at the juxtaposition -of these two human beings, who evidently hated one another heartily.</p> - -<p>At this moment the Contessa spoke of the man she had murdered, and I -was horrified in the cold, callous tones in which she veiled her -iniquity.</p> - -<p>"Do you know, gentlemen, if anything has been heard of this lost -tenor?"</p> - -<p>Beltrami shot a keen glance at her, then a second at me, and I felt -more bewildered than ever by this strange action.</p> - -<p>"Nothing has been heard of him, Contessa," he said quickly, before the -others could speak; "he has vanished altogether, but no doubt he will -appear again."</p> - -<p>"Ah, you think so?" observed the Contessa, with a cruel smile.</p> - -<p>"I am sure of it!"</p> - -<p>She winced, and looked at him in a startled manner, upon which, -impelled by some mysterious impulse, I know not what, I joined in the -conversation,--</p> - -<p>"On the contrary, madame, I do not think Signor Pallanza will ever be -seen again."</p> - -<p>All present turned round in surprise, and the Contessa darted a look -at me which seemed to pierce my soul. Only Beltrami was unmoved, and -he, with a smile on his face, laid his hand upon my shoulder.</p> - -<p>"Eh, Signor Hugo, and why do you think so?"</p> - -<p>"A mere fancy, Marchese, nothing more."</p> - -<p>"Ma foi! and a fancy that may turn out true!"</p> - -<p>I was annoyed at having yielded to the impulse and spoken out, as, -unless I told all about my adventure, I could not substantiate my -statement, and I was certainly not going to reveal anything I knew, -particularly in the presence of the woman so deeply implicated in the -affair. Beltrami's mocking manner irritated me fearfully, the more so -as it was so very unaccountable, and I was about to make some sharp -reply, when the opening chorus of the last act sounded, and all the -gentlemen, after making their adieux to the Contessa, left the room.</p> - -<p>The Marchese offered his arm to Madame Morone, but she dismissed him -with a haughty gesture.</p> - -<p>"One moment, Marchese--I wish to speak with this Signor for a few -minutes."</p> - -<p>Beltrami darted one of his enigmatic looks at us both, and with a low -bow to conceal the smile on his lips, left the room. As soon as he had -disappeared, Madame Morone turned round on me with a quick gesture of -surprise.</p> - -<p>"Signor Hugo, why did you say the tenor Pallanza would never be seen -again?"</p> - -<p>"I have no reason, Signora," I replied, being determined to baffle her -curiosity; "I merely spoke on the impulse of the moment."</p> - -<p>"Do you know Signor Pallanza?"</p> - -<p>"No, madame, I have not the pleasure of his acquaintance."</p> - -<p>"Ah!"</p> - -<p>She heaved a sigh of relief, and looked at me long and earnestly, as -if to see whether I was speaking the truth. Apparently she was -satisfied with her scrutiny, for she laughed softly, and placed her -hand within my arm.</p> - -<p>"Confess now, Signor Hugo, you think me most mysterious, but I will -tell you why I speak thus. I heard Pallanza at Rome, when he sang at -the Apollo, and I hoped to see him again here, therefore I am annoyed -at his disappearance and anxious for him to be found. A selfish wish, -Signor Hugo, for it is only my desire to hear him sing again. Ecco!"</p> - -<p>"I do not think your wish at all selfish, madame, for I hear he is a -charming singer."</p> - -<p>"Oh, yes! the New Mario they call him in Milan. Will you not hear the -rest of the opera in my box?"</p> - -<p>"If you will excuse me, madame, I will say no, as I have an -engagement."</p> - -<p>This was a lie, but I was so fearful of betraying myself to this -terrible woman, who had evidently a half-suspicion that I knew -something of Pallanza, that I was anxious to get away as soon as -possible. She, saying good-night, in a cold, polite manner, re-entered -the box, and I was moving away when Beltrami suddenly appeared.</p> - -<p>"Eh, Hugo, how cruel! the Contessa tells me you must go?"</p> - -<p>"Yes. I will see you again, Marchese!"</p> - -<p>"To-morrow then; if not, the next day. Here is my card, and I am -always at home in the afternoon. Do not fail to come, mon ami--I wish -to speak to you about--about----"</p> - -<p>He paused, and I asked curiously,--</p> - -<p>"About what?"</p> - -<p>"Eh, dame! I forget. I will tell you at our next meeting' A rivederci! -Signor Hugo. Don't forget your old friend, or he will quarrel with -you."</p> - -<p>He nodded, smiled, and vanished, then I took my departure from the -theatre, and wandered up and down the street in the moonlight. I felt -that to sit out the ballet would be more than I could bear, as I was -so excited over the meeting with the Contessa Morone, therefore I -strolled up and down the street, smoking and thinking. As time passed -on I grew calmer, and thought I would return to the Ezzelino, not to -see the ballet, but to catch a glimpse of the Contessa once more.</p> - -<p>As I reached the portico of the theatre she was just coming down the -steps to her carriage, leaning on the arm of Beltrami, and I, hidden -in the crowd, could see her looking hither and thither as if searching -for some one. She could not see me, and in order to satisfy myself in -every way as to her identity with the creature of the night I had seen -leave the graveyard, with a sudden inspiration I hummed a few bars of -the strange song I had heard in the fatal chamber.</p> - -<p>Being close to me she could hear quite plainly, and gave a kind of -gasping cry as she fell back into the arms of Beltrami, just as he was -helping her into the carriage.</p> - -<p>"What is the matter, cara?" he asked quickly.</p> - -<p>She clutched his arm with so powerful a grasp that it made him wince, -and I heard her mutter with white lips,--</p> - -<p>"Pallanza! Pallanza!"</p> - -<p>This was all I wanted to hear, and, fearful of discovery, I threaded -my way quickly among the crowd, and hastened home to my hotel.</p> - -<p>I had recognised Guiseppe, I had found the woman who had slain him, -but I had yet to discover where she had hidden the body of her -victim--and then!--well, my future movements would be guided by -circumstances.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_09" href="#div1Ref_09">CHAPTER IX.</a></h4> -<h5>FIORE DELLA CASA</h5> -<br> - -<p>I did not get much sleep that night after the excitements of the day, -but towards the morning fell into an uneasy slumber, during which I -had fragmentary dreams in which Pallanza, the Contessa, and the -antique chamber were all mixed up together. One moment I was at the -iron door of the tomb, and the guardian angel took the semblance of -Signora Morone; the next I was kneeling beside the corpse of Pallanza, -illuminated by the faint light of the candles; and I ever saw the -pallid shade of Donna Renata pointing towards the watchful face of her -husband, filled with ghastly meanings in the dim shadows. No wonder, -after these terrific visions which blended the real and the ideal, I -awoke in the grey morning light unrefreshed and haggard; so when the -waiter brought me my roll and coffee I left them untouched, and, lying -quietly in bed, wondered what step it was necessary to take next in -solving this riddle.</p> - -<p>Riddle do I say? No! it was a riddle no longer, save as to the visit -of the Contessa to the vault of her family, for otherwise everything -was clear enough. She had met Pallanza at Rome, and had fallen in love -with his handsome face. The young man, flattered by the attentions of -a great lady, had yielded readily enough to the charm of the -situation, but, growing tired of the intrigue, had come to Verona, -where Bianca awaited him, with the intention of breaking it off. With -a woman of Giulietta Morone's fiery nature the sequel can easily be -guessed--she had followed him hither, and having in some way forced -him to come to the deserted palace, had there poisoned him out of -revenge for his contemplated infidelity.</p> - -<p>Of course, this was all theoretical, but from one thing and another I -guessed that this could be the only feasible way of accounting for the -whole affair. Two points, however, remained to be cleared up before -the reading of the riddle could be successfully accomplished: the -first being the reason of the burial-ground episode, the second the -strange disappearance of the dead man's body.</p> - -<p>In thinking over the legend related by Peppino, one thing struck me as -peculiar--that Donna Renata had never been seen again after her -husband entered the chamber, and I guessed from this that there was -some secret oubliette or alcove in the room, with a concealed entrance -in which Mastino Morone had entombed his guilty wife as a punishment -for her crimes. Doubtless, from tradition or from old family papers, -Madame Morone knew of this secret hiding-place, and having killed -Pallanza, had put his body therein so as to destroy all evidences of -her criminality. No one had seen Pallanza enter this deserted palace, -so once his body was hidden in the secret alcove it would remain there -for ever undiscovered, and no human being, save the Contessa herself, -could ever tell what had become of him. She, for her own sake, would -remain silent, and thus Guiseppe Pallanza's fate would remain a -mystery for evermore.</p> - -<p>Fortunately, however, God, who had thus permitted this evil woman to -conceive and carry out her crime, had also permitted me to behold the -murder, so that, secure as she no doubt felt of her safety, yet one -word from me and the whole affair would be revealed. I never thought, -however, of going to the Veronese police and telling them what I had -seen, as in their suspicions of foreigners they would doubtless regard -me as an accessory, and thus I would get myself into trouble, which I -had no desire to do. I therefore determined to once more go to the -fatal chamber and make a final effort to discover what had become of -the body of the unfortunate Pallanza.</p> - -<p>So far so good, but now the question arose, how much of this story was -I to reveal to Bianca? I could not tell her the whole, for if the body -of her lover were discovered, the poor child would suffer quite enough -without the additional information of Guiseppe's infidelity; so, -making a virtue of necessity, I determined upon telling her a pious -lie. To do this it was necessary to leave out the Contessa Morone -altogether, as the least mention of a woman's name would arose -Bianca's suspicions, and for the Contessa I substituted a robber, who -had decoyed Guiseppe to the deserted palace by means of a false -letter, and there ended his life. Of course it was somewhat difficult -to be consistent in the narrative; but I was so anxious to hide the -cruel truth of Pallanza's worthlessness from Bianca that I went over -the story I had invented, again and again, until I thought I had the -whole pious fraud quite perfect.</p> - -<p>Having thus arranged my plans, I arose, finished my roll and coffee, -then, having dressed myself rapidly, set off at once for the Casa -Angello, as it was nearly time for my lesson. All my bruises were now -quite well, yet I felt very depressed and downcast, as the state of -nervous excitement which I had been in for the last few days had told -terribly on my system. However, having once put my hand to the plough -I could not, with satisfaction to myself, turn back; and although I -heartily dreaded the coming interview with Bianca, yet it was -unavoidable, as the poor child was so anxious over her lost lover that -it was necessary to tell my fictitious story without delay in order to -set her mind at rest.</p> - -<p>On my arrival at the Casa Angello I found no one there but Bianca, who -was anxiously awaiting me. It appeared that the Maestro had taken it -into his head that he would like a walk in the sunshine, and had gone -out under the care of Petronella; but, as Bianca knew I was coming to -take my usual lesson, and was anxious to hear if I had any news of her -lover, she remained indoors to speak to me.</p> - -<p>The "Fiorè della Casa," as old Petronella tenderly called her in the -poetic language of the Italians, looked even paler than usual, and the -dark shadows under her dark eyes made them appear wonderfully large -and star-like. She had a bunch of delicate lilies-of-the-valley in the -bosom of her white dress, and she looked as pale and blanched as the -frail flowers themselves. Lying back on the green-covered sofa on -which she was seated, she reminded me of a late snowflake resting on -the emerald grass of early spring, which at any moment might vanish -under the pale rays of the sun.</p> - -<p>We were talking together in the room in which I generally had my -lessons, and my eyes wandered from one thing to another with vague -hesitation as I looked everywhere but on the face of this delicate -girl to whom I had to tell such a cruel story--for, soften it as I -might, the story was cruel and could not fail to affect her terribly. -Every object in the apartment photographed itself on my memory with -terrible distinctness, and, even after the lapse of years, by simply -closing my eyes I can recall the whole scene with the utmost -truthfulness. The dull red of the terra-cotta floor, the heavy -time-worn furniture, covered with faded green rep, the small ebony -piano with its glistening white keys alternating with the black, the -mirror-fronted press in which Petronella kept everything from food to -clothes, the many photographs of operatic celebrities, and the gaudily -painted picture of St. Paul, the Maestro's patron saint, encircled by -a faded wreath of withered laurel-leaves and dead flowers, flung to -some favourite pupil in her hour of triumph. Even the view from the -window I can recall, with the slender campanile tower, from whence -every quarter rang the brazen bells, and then the faltering voice of -Bianca, "Fiorè della Casa," stealing like a melancholy wind through -the silence of the room.</p> - -<p>"Signor!" she said, twisting her thin white hands nervously together, -"you have something to tell me of Guiseppe. I can see it in your -face--is it good or evil?"</p> - -<p>"What does my face tell you, Signorina?"</p> - -<p>"Evil, evil! your eyes are sad, your mouth does not smile! Oh, tell me -quickly what you know! Is he found? is he ill? is he--dead?"</p> - -<p>She brought out the last word in a shrill scream, with dilated eyes -that almost terrified me by the fear expressed in them, and, dreading -the effect of a sudden shock on this fragile child, I hastily replied -in the negative.</p> - -<p>"No, Signorina, no! Do not look so fearful, I pray you. He is not -dead. Child, I am sure he is not dead!"</p> - -<p>"Then you have not found him yet?"</p> - -<p>"No; I have not found him, but I think I know where he is to be -found."</p> - -<p>"What do you mean, Signor Hugo, tell me all--tell me all. See, I am -strong, I can bear it--I wish to know everything."</p> - -<p>"Signorina, the note which Guiseppe Pallanza received at the Ezzelino -was not from a friend but from an enemy."</p> - -<p>"An enemy!"</p> - -<p>"Yes! from one who wished him ill. Thinking it was from his dying -friend, he obeyed the letter and was lured to the deserted Palazzo -Morone."</p> - -<p>"I do not know that palazzo, Signor. I am a stranger in Verona."</p> - -<p>"I know where it is, Signorina, for on that night I was wandering -about near it, when I saw Pallanza go into it alone. Knowing the -evil reputation of the place, I followed him, although he was a -stranger to me. He went to a room in the palace where his enemy met -him, and--and----"</p> - -<p>"Yes! yes, Signor--for the love of the Saints, go on."</p> - -<p>"I can tell you no more, Signorina, except that I do not believe -Guiseppe left that room again. I believe he is there still, perhaps -held captive by the robber who lured him thither in the hope of -obtaining a ransom."</p> - -<p>Bianca looked at me searchingly. She was a simple little thing as a -rule, but this ridiculous story I had manufactured of brigands in the -heart of Verona was too much even for her confiding nature, and she -made a gesture of disbelief.</p> - -<p>"It is not true! it is not true!" she cried vehemently. "Why do you -deceive me, Signor?"</p> - -<p>"I am not deceiving you."</p> - -<p>"An enemy! a false letter! a deserted palace! held captive! Oh, I -cannot believe it. If it is true, why did you not rescue him?"</p> - -<p>"Because some one I do not know seized me from behind as I watched, -and, rendering me insensible with chloroform, bore me away from the -palace. I had great difficulty in finding it again, I assure you."</p> - -<p>"Signor, your story is that of a dream. I cannot believe you."</p> - -<p>"It is true, nevertheless."</p> - -<p>Bianca said nothing, but tapped her little foot on the ground with a -thoughtful frown on her small face. I was glad that my task was over, -for absurd as was the story I had told her, it was more merciful than -the truth. Now that I had to some extent quieted her fears by telling -her that Guiseppe was alive--a thing, alas! that I could not be -certain of myself--I hoped to get away at once to the Palazzo Morone -and make one last effort to find his body. If I failed there would be -nothing left for me to do but to inform the police, and in the -interests of Bianca I was unwilling to do this until I had exhausted -every means of solving the mystery myself.</p> - -<p>Suddenly Bianca's face cleared, and she looked at me with steady -determination.</p> - -<p>"Signor, you know this palazzo?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, Signorina."</p> - -<p>"And this room where you think Guiseppe is held captive?"</p> - -<p>"I do, Signorina."</p> - -<p>"Then take me to it at once."</p> - -<p>She started to her feet with a deep flush on her face, and threw out -her hands towards me with an appealing gesture. As for me, I sat -still, transfixed with astonishment at the spirit displayed by this -gentle girl, who was thus willing to dare the dangers, of the unknown -in order to save her lover.</p> - -<p>"Take me to it at once!" she repeated quickly.</p> - -<p>"Signorina, I--I cannot. You are mad to think of such a thing."</p> - -<p>"Is your story true or false, Signor Hugo?"</p> - -<p>"True! yes, it is true!"</p> - -<p>"Then I will judge of its truth myself--with my own eyes. Wait, I will -put on my hat, and you will take me to this palazzo at once."</p> - -<p>"Signorina----"</p> - -<p>"Not another word, I have made up my mind. You promised to be my -friend, Signor Hugo. I hold you to that promise. Ecco!"</p> - -<p>She was gone before I could utter further remonstrance, and during her -absence I reflected rapidly. It was true that Guiseppe was dead, that -I believed his body was concealed somewhere in that room, so perhaps -after all it was best that Bianca should come, as her quick woman's -wit might succeed where I had failed. She knew nothing about the -implication of the Contessa Morone in the affair, the palazzo would be -quite deserted during the daytime, so I would be able to take her -there, let her examine the room, and if by chance the truth was -revealed that Guiseppe was dead, it would be a more merciful way than -by the lips of a stranger. Yes, I would take her there at once. If we -failed in our mission she would be no wiser than before, but if we -succeeded--ah! how I pitied the poor child if we succeeded in finding -out the terrible secret of the Contessa. At this moment she returned -trembling with ill-suppressed excitement.</p> - -<p>"Well, Signor Hugo, are you ready--are you willing to help me?"</p> - -<p>"With all my heart, Signorina."</p> - -<p>"Ebbene! come, then."</p> - -<p>She ran lightly out of the room, and I followed with a heavy heart, -for I had a presentiment of evil. I feared that fatal chamber, which -held so many impure memories--I feared the discovery of the dead--I -feared for this child who went forward in ignorance to face such -horrors.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_10" href="#div1Ref_10">CHAPTER X.</a></h4> -<h5>A VOICE IN THE DARKNESS</h5> -<br> - -<p>On returning from my last visit to the palace I had carefully noted -the way thereto, so I was able to escort Signorina Angello without -calling in the services of Peppino. I was unwilling to drive there, as -the presence of a fiacre even in that deserted piazza might be -noticed, and I did not want any comment made by the scandal-loving -Italian populace on our visit to this out-of-the-way locality. So in -company with Bianca, who had put on a veil, and who said nothing to me -from the time we left Casa Angello, being apparently occupied with her -own reflections, I walked down the gloomy, narrow streets towards that -terrible Palazzo Morone, the very idea of which inspired me with -horror and dismay.</p> - -<p>It was one of those burning days common to that time of the year in -Italy, and much as I despised and cursed those drain-like alleys in -wet weather, yet I now saw there was method in the madness of their -style of building, for their cool shadow and humid atmosphere was -wonderfully pleasant after the glare, the dust, and heat of the great -piazza. We walked on the broad carriage-way, which was less painful to -the feet than the cobble-stone paving between, and every now and then -saw some typical picture of Italian life. A dark-faced woman with a -red handkerchief twisted carelessly round her head, leaning from a -high balcony, on the iron railings of which was displayed the family -washing; a purple cloud of wisteria blooming in some pergola near the -red roof-tops; sleek grey donkeys laden with panniers, stepping -complacently along the narrow way; slender Italian men presiding over -fruit-stalls, piled high with their picturesque contents; and over -all, the vivacious clatter and din of voices, struck through at times -with the sharp, metallic notes of the mandolin. It was very charming, -and, I would have enjoyed it thoroughly, artistically speaking, had it -not been for the local odours. Oh, the smells of those picturesque -streets! they were too terrible for description; and how the Italians -are not swept off the face of the earth by a plague of typhoid is more -than I can understand. I smoked cigarettes most of the time, as a -preventive against infection; but on beholding ideal paintings of -Italian scenes, I always shudder at the memory of the malodorous -reality, and on arriving in well-drained London again, my first prayer -was one of thanks for having escaped from ill-smelling Italy.</p> - -<p>My thoughts during this portentous walk were, I am afraid, rather -frivolous; but so fearful had been the strain on my nerves for the -past few days, that it was a great relief to think idly of anything -and any one. Not so Bianca; even through her veil I could see the -glisten of tears, and catch the sound of her quick indrawn breath as -she strove to fight down the emotion that threatened to overwhelm her. -I saw that the poor child was nearly hysterical with her efforts to -control herself, and stopped short in dismay.</p> - -<p>"Signorina, you are not well. Do not go to this palazzo."</p> - -<p>"Yes, yes! I must, Signor Hugo. I cannot pass another night in this -state of suspense. I must know all, and at once. Is the Palazzo Morone -far off?"</p> - -<p>"We are just at it, Signorina."</p> - -<p>And so we were; for at that moment we entered the silent, grass-grown -square, at the end of which stood the palazzo, looking gruesome even -in the sunshine, with its broken windows, damp, disfigured walls, and -general air of weird solitude. Some swallows were shooting through the -still air and twittering round the rich sculptures of the façade, but -their merry chirpings only added to the eerie feeling inspired by the -great mansion--a feeling which I noticed thrilled Bianca with fear as -she paused shuddering, under the grinning masks and unlovely faces -peering downward from the arched entrance.</p> - -<p>"Oh, how could he come to this terrible place at night!" she cried, -crossing herself, with a look of fear in her eyes. "Desolate as it is -in the sun, what must it be when the moon shines! It is an abode of -the dead--a tomb--a tomb! Dio! his tomb."</p> - -<p>"Signorina, do not affright yourself thus! Things may not be so bad as -you think."</p> - -<p>"It is like the Inferno of Dante! and turns my blood cold with fear; -but I will not go back! I must find Guiseppe, even if it cost me my -life. Come, Signor, presto! there is no time to lose."</p> - -<p>She crossed herself once more, then flitted through the opening in the -iron gate like a noiseless-winged bird, upon which I hastily followed -her, and we stood for a moment in the lonely courtyard, gazing at the -great portals of the door leading to the hall, which stood half-open.</p> - -<p>"Signorina, I will lead you to the room. You are not afraid? You do -not tremble?"</p> - -<p>"Ah! I am afraid, and I do tremble, Signor, for I am only a girl; but -lead on, love will make me strong, and you will protect me. Give me -your hand, Signor; I am not afraid when I hold your hand."</p> - -<p>With a fleeting smile on her pale lips, she placed her hand in mine, -and as I grasped its cold whiteness, I guessed how terrified this -delicate, superstitious girl was of this unholy place. But for the -resolute look on her pallid face, I would have insisted upon her -turning back; but it was useless to urge retreat now, so with the name -"Guiseppe! Guiseppe!" on her lips, as if to inspire her with courage, -she almost dragged me through the half-closed door into the hall of -shadows.</p> - -<p>"Ah! Mother Mary, it is like a church!"</p> - -<p>It was like a church--like some old deserted church, filled with -the chill atmosphere of the grave; and the slow movement of the -wind-shaken tapestries, the glimmer of the ghostly white stairs in the -dim distance, and the solemnity of the huge pillars of black marble, -made me think of those God-cursed cities of the "Thousand and One -Nights," whose silence is only broken by the voice of the one survivor -chanting the melancholy verses of the Koran. Bianca, overpowered by -this mute spectacle of a dead past, clung convulsively to my arm with -faltering prayers on her lips, and I became afraid lest, by a feeling -of sympathy, her terror should unnerve me also, so with a cheerful -laugh, which echoed dismally through the vast vestibule, I led her -onward towards the grand staircase.</p> - -<p>"Come, Signorina, do not be afraid. You are quite safe with me."</p> - -<p>"Yes, yes! Guiseppe! Guiseppe!"</p> - -<p>We slowly ascended the staircase, gained the corridor, and at length -arrived at the second flight of shallow steps leading to the secret -room. Here Bianca, seeing the darkness, nearly fainted with nervous -fear, for, deeply imbued with grim Italian superstitions, she beheld -unseen terrors in every shadowy corner. I again wanted her to return, -but with wilful obstinacy she refused, so, as I luckily had a -pocket-flask of brandy with me, I made her take a little to revive -her. The fiery spirit put new life into her sinking limbs, and, after -lighting my candle as usual, I led her up the steps, through the short -corridor, through the tapestried ante-chamber, until at last we stood -in the fatal room.</p> - -<p>"Here, Signor Hugo!"</p> - -<p>"Yes!"</p> - -<p>She flung back her veil with a feverish gesture, and peered into the -darkness, which was hardly broken by the feeble light of the small -candle I carried. Suddenly a thought struck me which I at once put -into execution, and lighted all the tapers yet remaining in the -candelabra on the table. To the darkness succeeded a blaze of mellow -light, and Bianca, with a look of surprise on her face, gazed round -the singular room with the white pillars, the ominous blood-red -hangings, and the banquet of the dead set forth with such splendid -display on the gilt table.</p> - -<p>"What a strange room!" she said timidly. "Signor Hugo! what does it -mean?"</p> - -<p>"I have told you all I know, Signorina. Your lover was lured to this -room. I saw him pass through that door, and then I was drugged as I -have said."</p> - -<p>"You did not then see who received him here?"</p> - -<p>"No! I did not."</p> - -<p>The first part of the lie was difficult to utter on account of a -choking feeling in my throat, but the last sentence came out with -tolerable grace.</p> - -<p>"And you do not think Guiseppe left this room again?"</p> - -<p>"I'm afraid not, Signorina!"</p> - -<p>"Then, where can he be?" she asked with an anxious look around.</p> - -<p>"I think he is concealed in some secret cell, the entrance to which is -from this apartment."</p> - -<p>"Oh, Signor Hugo, let us look for it at once."</p> - -<p>"Certainly!"</p> - -<p>"A meal on the table--all this gold and silver. It is a robbers' cave, -Signor."</p> - -<p>"Y--es--I suppose so!"</p> - -<p>"Come, let us be quick then, or the robbers may arrive."</p> - -<p>She looked nervously towards the door, but I, taking a candle off the -table, reassured her with a gay laugh,--</p> - -<p>"Do not be afraid, Signorina. No one comes here during the day."</p> - -<p>"Hush! what is that?"</p> - -<p>Infected by her terror my heart gave a jump, and I listened intently, -but could hear no sound.</p> - -<p>"It is nothing, Signorina. Your nerves are unstrung!"</p> - -<p>"No! No! I can hear it. Some one is coming. Listen!"</p> - -<p>In order to humour her fancy I remained silent with all my senses on -the alert, and with a feeling of dread I heard the sound. The light -fall of footsteps, the rustle of a silken dress--a dress!--the full -horror of the situation rushed on me at once.</p> - -<p>"It must be the Contessa Morone!"</p> - -<p>In a moment I had blown out all the candles, and, dragging Bianca with -me, retreated in the darkness to the far end of the room. The girl -gave a little cry as the lights disappeared, but I pressed her hand -significantly.</p> - -<p>"Hush, Signorina. Not a word!"</p> - -<p>At the time I heard the steps they were at the door of the -ante-chamber, where the new-comer was evidently pausing a moment, and -as the curtains of the inner room had been half drawn aside on our -entrance, it was for this reason we had heard them so clearly. The -steps recommenced. I heard their soft, light fall on the marble floor, -the rustle of the silken gown, like the sound of dry leaves in an -autumnal wind, and then I felt that this woman was standing in the -arched doorway, looking straight at myself and the shrinking girl -through the darkness.</p> - -<p>"Why are you here, Signor Hugo, and who is that woman?"</p> - -<p>It was the voice of the Contessa, and I gave a cry of horror as I -suddenly remembered how ineffectual the darkness was to conceal us -from the eyes of this nyctalopist. Bianca, however, knew nothing of -this woman, or of her gift of seeing in the dark; so, overcome with -fear at the demoniac power she believed the unknown possessed, she -gave a shriek of terror and sank fainting at my feet.</p> - -<p>"What does this mean?"</p> - -<p>Again the voice of the Contessa sounded cruel and menacing in its -tones; so feeling myself at a disadvantage in the dark, through not -possessing the terrible attribute of this woman, I staggered forward -and lighted the candles. At once out of the gloom sprang that evil -face with a frown on the white brow, a deadly glitter in the cruel -eyes, and an ominous tightening of the thin lips.</p> - -<p>I don't think I can call myself a coward, but at that moment my blood -ran cold at the horror of that Medusa-like countenance, and I stood -before this phantom of Lucrezia Borgia as if turned into stone, unable -to move or speak.</p> - -<p>The Contessa moved forward to the table and looked at me steadily, -with a wicked smile frozen on her red lips.</p> - -<p>"You do not reply, Signor Hugo; but I begin to understand. You have -been here before?"</p> - -<p>"Yes!"</p> - -<p>I hardly recognised my own voice, so hoarse and broken did it sound, -stealing in a whisper from between my dry lips. She still looked at me -steadily, and I felt fascinated with dread by the snake-like glare of -those cruel eyes.</p> - -<p>"When were you here, Signor?"</p> - -<p>"On Monday night!"</p> - -<p>"And you saw--nothing," she said in a meaning tone.</p> - -<p>"Yes!" I replied, lifting my head boldly, "I saw you receive Guiseppe -Pallanza, and I saw you give him the poisoned cup!"</p> - -<p>She gave a cry of rage like a trapped animal, and made a step forward, -but restraining herself with a powerful effort, sank into a chair and -leaned her elbow on the table. Dressed in heavy black garments of -velvet and silk, she looked more like the Borgia than ever, and the -ruby necklace she constantly wore flashed forth rays of red fire in -the glimmer of the tremulous light.</p> - -<p>"I understand now why you said Guiseppe Pallanza would not come back," -she said with a scornful smile. "I thought last night you knew more -than you told. Eh! Signor, and it was you who sang at the door of the -Ezzelino."</p> - -<p>"Yes, it was I."</p> - -<p>"Meddlesome Englishman that you are, do you not fear that I will treat -you as I treated that false one?"</p> - -<p>"No! I mistrust your wine!"</p> - -<p>"True, Signor Machiavella! forewarned is forearmed. So you came here -to look for Pallanza?"</p> - -<p>"I came to look for his body, Madame Morone, but I do not know where -it is."</p> - -<p>"No; nor will you find it. And who is this woman?"</p> - -<p>"Guiseppe's betrothed."</p> - -<p>The Contessa gave a cry of rage, and, rising from her seat, rushed -towards the unconscious girl where she lay in the darkness. Owing to -her singular gift she needed no light to see by, but examined the face -of her rival minutely in the gloom. I had stepped forward, fearing -lest, carried away by jealous anger, she should do the poor child an -injury; but such was not her intention, for after a minute's -examination, she arose from her stooping position with a burst of -wicked laughter.</p> - -<p>"So it was for this white-faced thing that he was going to leave -me--me, Giulietta Morone! Eh, I feel much flattered at having such a -rival. Why is she here, Signor Hugo?"</p> - -<p>"To find Pallanza," I replied shortly.</p> - -<p>"She will never find him; he is lost to her for ever. But," she added, -with a wicked smile, "I am not afraid of your betraying me, Signor -Hugo. I am not afraid of this poor fool, who thought to take Guiseppe -from me, so I will revenge myself."</p> - -<p>"Revenge yourself?"</p> - -<p>"Yes; I have said it. You came here like a thief in the night, and saw -what you were not meant to see. She comes in the daylight to seek her -lover. Well, she shall see him. Wait till she revives, and I will -blast her eyes with the sight of what he is now."</p> - -<p>"You are a demon!"</p> - -<p>"I am a wronged woman, whom a man sought to deceive. Ecco! Behold, -then, Englishman that you are, how we Italian women revenge -ourselves!"</p> - -<p>She stepped past the unconscious body Of the girl, and, going to one -of the pillars on the right side of the room, apparently touched a -spring, for the whole pillar--which, as I have described before, was -half built into the wall--revolved slowly with a grating sound and -displayed a cavity. I bent forward with a shudder of horror, and -saw--nothing!</p> - -<p>The cavity was empty!</p> - -<p>Signora Morone gazed at it with a look of horror on the wild beauty of -her face; then, with a cry of rage, of fear, and of dread, rushed out -of the room.</p> - -<p>I heard her shriek, "Lost! lost! lost!" three times, then the sound of -her retreating footsteps died away in the distance, and I was left -alone in the ghastly gloom with the unconscious girl at my feet, and -an agony in my heart such as I never hope to feel again in this life.</p> - -<p>How I got out of that accursed room I hardly know; but I faintly -remember lifting Bianca in my arms, and, guided by instinct, stagger -through the dark corridors, down the silent stairs, and out into the -courtyard. The fresh air seemed to revive me, and, collecting my -scattered senses together with a gigantic effort, I looked round for -some means by which to bring Bianca out of her faint, the length of -which alarmed me terribly.</p> - -<p>In the corner of the courtyard there was a sculptured trough, which -the late rains had brimmed over, so, hastening towards this, I filled -my cap with water, and, returning to Bianca, threw it in her face.</p> - -<p>She revived slowly with a shuddering sigh, and looked round vacantly; -then, with a sudden recollection of what she had come through, she -flung herself into my arms with an imploring cry,--</p> - -<p>"Oh, that voice! that voice! Take me away from that cruel voice!" -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_11" href="#div1Ref_11">CHAPTER XI.</a></h4> -<h5>THE MARCHESE BELTRAMI</h5> -<br> - -<p>I managed to take Bianca home without much difficulty, for it was my -good fortune to meet a disengaged fiacre in one of the narrow streets -leading to the piazza Vittorio Emanuele, and placing the poor girl -therein, we drove straight to the Casa Angello. The Signorina was in a -very excited state, as that menacing voice, issuing out of the -darkness, had quite unnerved her; so, placing her in charge of -Petronella, who made her lie down, I went for a doctor. Being a -stranger in Verona it was difficult to find one, but at last I did so, -and took him at once to see Bianca, for whom he prescribed a soothing -draught, and assured me that she would be all right after a few hours' -sleep. This trouble therefore being off my mind, I went back to my -hotel, in order to consider what was best to be done in the present -emergency.</p> - -<p>I now saw that my surmise was right, and that the Contessa had hidden -the body of the unfortunate Pallanza in the concealed tomb contrived -by Count Mastino Morone for his guilty wife. It was a horribly -ingenious idea that revolving pillar, and no one would have guessed -its ghastly secret without being shown. Doubtless the wicked Donna -Renata, shut up in this circular prison, had there starved slowly to -death in an upright position, for, of course, the cavity was too -narrow and too shallow to admit of any human being lying down. The -skilful devilry of the device made me feel quite ill, especially when -I thought how the worthy descendant of Borgia's accursed daughter had -utilised this secret cell for her own infamous purpose. In this -frightful oubliette the body of Guiseppe Pallanza would have remained -for ever concealed; but then, according to the evidence of my own -eyes, the body was not there.</p> - -<p>That the Contessa had placed the corpse in the pillar I had not the -slightest doubt, as in showing the hiding-place she evidently expected -to overwhelm me by the hideous evidence of her barbarous criminality. -That the cavity was empty was as much a surprise to her as to me, and -the shriek of terror she had given when flying from the chamber showed -me that she was overpowered with fear at the thought that her gruesome -secret was shared by another person, for, putting me out of the -question altogether, there appeared to be a third party implicated in -this singular affair.</p> - -<p>For my own part I believed it to be the man who had watched with me at -the curtained archway, and who, after drugging me, bore me insensible -from that terrible place. After doing so, and thus, according to his -idea, putting it out of my power to re-discover the palace, he had -returned to his post and seen the Contessa conceal the body of her -victim in the cavity of the pillar. On her departure, for some reason -best known to himself, he had removed the corpse, and hidden it -somewhere else. This was, no doubt, the true story of the affair, but -who was the man who had watched at the door, and who had taken away -the body of Pallanza? It was impossible to guess the reasons for his -behaving in this mysterious way, and the Contessa was evidently as -ignorant as myself of his actions, judging from her terrified flight -on discovering the truth. Whomsoever this unknown person was, he, to -all appearances, held the key to the whole riddle, and, could I find -him, I would doubtless learn the reason of Madame Morone's visit to -the burial-ground, and the final fate of the unhappy tenor whom she -had lured to his destruction.</p> - -<p>But how to find him! that was the question, and one to which I could -find no satisfactory answer; so in the dilemma in which I thus found -myself involved, I decided to tell Luigi Beltrami, as the only friend -I had in Verona, the whole devilish story. In addition to the desire I -felt of asking his advice and opinion, I thought it but right that he -should know the real character of the woman he was about to marry, and -not discover too late that he was tied for life to a ghoul, a vampire, -a murderess.</p> - -<p>With this determination I looked for the card the Marchese had given -me, and finding it in one of my pockets, discovered that my Italian -friend lived in the Via Cartoni. As he had mentioned that he was -always at home in the afternoon, doubtless to take a siesta during the -heat of the day, on finishing my midday meal I went out to pay him a -visit.</p> - -<p>In spite of his assertion that he was poor, Beltrami had a sufficient -income to warrant him living in a moderately expensive manner, and on -my arrival at his rooms in the Via Cartoni, I was shown into a very -well-furnished apartment. As the Marchese was stationed with his -regiment at Verona for some considerable time, he had evidently -brought a portion of his furniture from his Florentine palazzo, for -the room was too handsome to be that of the ordinary class of -furnished apartments. As usual, the ceiling was charmingly painted; -the floor was of marble, covered here and therewith square Turkish -carpets; and in addition to a piano there were plenty of pictures and -photographs, showing the artistic taste of the owner of the place.</p> - -<p>Beltrami himself, dressed as usual in his uniform, was seated at a -desk placed in the window, writing letters, but he desisted when I was -announced, and arose to greet me with marked cordiality.</p> - -<p>"Ma foi, Hugo, this is kind of you to call so soon," he said when I -was comfortably established in a chair. "I was just writing you a -letter asking you to dine with me and go to the Ezzelino to-night, but -as you are here the note is useless."</p> - -<p>"The fact is, my dear Marchese, I have called on a selfish errand."</p> - -<p>"Indeed!"</p> - -<p>"Yes; still it is one that concerns yourself also."</p> - -<p>"How so, mon ami? Come, tell me this mystery about which I know -nothing and you know everything; but first here are some excellent -cigarettes--Russian, my friend, not Italian. Dame! the tobacco of this -country, it is horrible. Will you have some wine?"</p> - -<p>"No, thank you, Beltrami, but I will be glad to smoke."</p> - -<p>"Bene! help yourself."</p> - -<p>He pushed the box towards me, and, after I had taken a cigarette, -followed my example, then, throwing himself into a chair near me, he -nodded his head to show that he was ready to hear what I had to say.</p> - -<p>"Marchese!" I said, after some slight hesitation, "I think we are old -enough friends to admit of my speaking to you freely."</p> - -<p>"Eh! certainly!"</p> - -<p>"I trust you will not be offended."</p> - -<p>Beltrami blew a wreath of smoke, and laying back his handsome head on -the cushions of the chair, laughed heartily.</p> - -<p>"No, my doubting Englishman, I promise you I will not be offended at -anything you say."</p> - -<p>"But, Luigi, it is about the Contessa Morone!"</p> - -<p>"Eh! about the Contessa?--I thought as much!"</p> - -<p>"How so?" I asked in some surprise.</p> - -<p>The face of the Marchese assumed that cruel, cunning look I so much -disliked to see, and he eyed me in a nonchalant manner.</p> - -<p>"Dame! Signor Hugo, I will tell you when I hear your story of the -Contessa."</p> - -<p>Thus committed to narrative, I told Beltrami the whole story of my -adventure from the time I had seen the Contessa at the graveyard to -the hour when she had fled in dismay from the Palazzo Morone. He -listened attentively, and when I had finished remained silent for a -few minutes with a thoughtful look on his dark face.</p> - -<p>"Why do you tell me all this, mon ami?" he asked, at length, twisting -his moustache in a reflective manner.</p> - -<p>"For two reasons. First, you may be able to aid me in my search for -Pallanza; and second, you must have been ignorant of the character of -the woman you are going to marry."</p> - -<p>"As to the first reason, Hugo, you are right. As to the second, you -are wrong."</p> - -<p>"What, you know----"</p> - -<p>"I know most of the story you have told me, and as to the Signora -Morone, mon Dieu! I know her better than she does herself."</p> - -<p>"Then why marry her?"</p> - -<p>Beltrami shrugged his shoulders and selected another cigarette.</p> - -<p>"Eh! she is rich and I am poor. It is time I ranged myself, as the -French say, and I cannot afford to marry a poor wife; besides----"</p> - -<p>"Besides what?"</p> - -<p>"I rather like the task of taming this demon of a woman. Madame Morone -is Satan's mistress in the matter of temper, I know, but I come of a -race who either broke the will of their wives or----"</p> - -<p>"Or?" I asked interrogatively.</p> - -<p>"Or killed them!"</p> - -<p>"That's rather risky nowadays, Marchese. We do not live in the time of -the Renaissance remember. But let us leave off this discussion of -Madame Morone. I have told you my story, and you say you knew most of -it before!"</p> - -<p>"And I say truly. Now listen, you cold-blooded islander, and see if I -cannot disturb your phlegmatic disposition."</p> - -<p>He paused a moment to give greater weight to his remarks, the -conclusion of which I impatiently awaited.</p> - -<p>"I was the man who drugged you and had you carried to the Piazza -Vittorio."</p> - -<p>"You!"</p> - -<p>"I was the man who carried away the body of Guiseppe Pallanza."</p> - -<p>"You!"</p> - -<p>"I am the man who, knowing what I do, calmly and with open eyes, have -made up my mind to marry Madame Morone."</p> - -<p>"You!"</p> - -<p>I was so overwhelmed with the disclosures made by Beltrami that I -could only sit thunderstruck in my chair, looking like an idiot and -repeating "You! you! you!" parrot-fashion. Beltrami enjoyed my -confusion for some time, and then went on speaking with a mocking -smile:--</p> - -<p>"Eh! I astonish you, Hugo. Well, I admit I treated you rather badly, -my friend; but then at the time I did not know whom you were. Dame! I -cannot see in the dark like Madame Gatta."</p> - -<p>The Marchese then was the man who held the key to this enigma, and, -far from being offended at his rough treatment of me on that fatal -night, I was only too delighted at discovering the unknown person who, -in this strange repetition of the old legend, had played the part of -Count Mastino Morone.</p> - -<p>"I have rather startled you, I fancy, Hugo?" said Beltrami with an -ironical laugh.</p> - -<p>"I would be a fool to deny it; but now that your dramatic surprise has -come off so excellently, perhaps you will tell me what it all means."</p> - -<p>"Without doubt; confidence for confidence! Besides, I want your help -to carry this comedy to its legitimate conclusion."</p> - -<p>"Comedy, you call it? To my mind it is more like a tragedy."</p> - -<p>"There you are wrong, mon ami. In a tragedy there must be a death."</p> - -<p>"Well! You forget Pallanza?"</p> - -<p>"Not at all, Hugo; that is the whole point. Pallanza is not dead."</p> - -<p>I stared at the Marchese in astonishment.</p> - -<p>"Pallanza not dead! Impossible! I saw him die on that night."</p> - -<p>"Dame! You saw him fall insensible at the feet of the Contessa Morone, -but insensibility is not death."</p> - -<p>"Then he is alive?"</p> - -<p>"Naturally! One must either be alive or dead. And as this devil of a -tenor is not the latter, he must therefore be the former."</p> - -<p>"Then where is he?"</p> - -<p>"Eh! that is part of the story."</p> - -<p>This epigrammatic fencing on the part of Beltrami annoyed me greatly, -as it piqued my curiosity without satisfying it, and I threw my -half-smoked cigarette away with an outburst of bad temper.</p> - -<p>"My dear Luigi, you have promised to tell me the story of this -mystery, and instead of doing so you fire off epigrammatic squibs like -Pasquin during the Carnival. The story, the story! I beg of you."</p> - -<p>"Eh! certainly! Then take another cigarette, and I will tell you this -'Thousand and Second Night' romance."</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_12" href="#div1Ref_12">CHAPTER XII.</a></h4> -<h5>DEATH IN LIFE</h5> -<br> - -<p>"It is such a long story, Hugo," said Beltrami, a trifle maliciously, -"that we must really have some wine."</p> - -<p>"I do not want wine; I want 'The Thousand and Second Night.'"</p> - -<p>"Bene! you shall have both."</p> - -<p>The Marchese arose and summoned his servant, who brought up a bottle -of Barbera, that rough-tasting wine which is so pleasant and cool in -hot weather. For the sake of companionship I took some with Beltrami, -and haying thus attended to the duties of hospitality, he signed to -his servant to withdraw, and without further preamble began his tale.</p> - -<p>"Eh, Hugo, mon ami," he said, settling himself comfortably in his -chair, "this would be a charming story for M. Bourget, that modern -Balzac, who analyses the hearts of the ladies of this generation in so -masterly a fashion. Dame! I would like to give him Madame Morone's to -dissect--he'd find some strange things there. Yet--would you believe -it?--this woman, worthy to be a sister of Lucrezia Borgia, came out of -a convent to marry my poor friend Morone."</p> - -<p>"You knew him then?"</p> - -<p>"Ma foi! I should think so, for many years. People said he was mad, -but the only mad action he committed, to my mind, was in marrying -Giulietta Rossana."</p> - -<p>"Yet you propose to do the same thing?"</p> - -<p>"True, but I possess a means of taming this tigress of which the -unfortunate Giorgio Morone knew nothing. He was a great chemist, this -poor Count, and particularly fond of toxicology, a dangerous science -with such a wife, as he found out to his cost. Cospetto! I would not -care myself about forging weapons for another to use against me, but -that is exactly what Morone did."</p> - -<p>"She poisoned him?"</p> - -<p>"Eh! nobody says so, yet everybody thinks so. For my part, I believe -the Contessa capable of anything. At all events, Morone died very -suddenly, and was duly buried in that old ancestral vault to which his -devoted wife, a year after his death, paid a visit. Well, before he -died, Morone grew suspicious of the Contessa, and as he had just -invented or rediscovered a poison which left no trace of having been -used, and also an antidote to the same, he determined not to give the -Signora an opportunity of exercising it on him, so this toxicological -secret was buried with him."</p> - -<p>"Ah! I see now why she went to the graveyard. It was to get this -poison."</p> - -<p>"Exactly! Whether it was put in the coffin of the dead man, or merely -hidden in the vault, I don't know, but we will go and see."</p> - -<p>"To what end? She has the poison!"</p> - -<p>"Certainly! I believe that, after seeing it exercised upon Pallanza; -but she has not got the antidote."</p> - -<p>"How do you know that, Beltrami."</p> - -<p>"Because the Contessa knows nothing of the existence of the antidote. -Morone talked enough about the poison itself, but he only mentioned -the antidote to one man, and that was myself. You see, Hugo, he -thought madame might try a little of his own poison on himself, in -which case I would be able to give him the antidote."</p> - -<p>"Couldn't he have taken it himself?"</p> - -<p>"No! this poison does not kill unless given in a large quantity; five -drops make you feel chill and listless; ten drops take away your -senses and converts you into what I may paradoxically call a -breathing corpse; but fifteen drops kill. So, if madame had given her -husband fifteen drops he would have lapsed into a stupor and died, -unless the antidote was given, so that is why he bestowed it on me."</p> - -<p>"Well, but she killed him after all?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, but with another poison not of home manufacture. Eh! what would -you, Hugo, the Contessa was not going to be thwarted by a husband who -kept his laboratory locked. However, he tricked her over this -particular poison, for he either gave instructions that it was to be -put into his coffin without the knowledge of his dear wife, or he hid -it himself in the vault, as he hinted to me one day he intended to -do."</p> - -<p>"There's no doubt then that the Contessa went to the vault for the -poison; but what about the antidote? Is it in your possession?"</p> - -<p>"Unfortunately, no, mon ami. I was ordered away from Verona, and -gave back the antidote to the Count; but on my return here, I heard -casually that he had left a letter for me, to be delivered after his -death. I went to Rome, where the Contessa was one of the ornaments of -the Court, and asked for the letter. Of course she denied ever having -heard of it."</p> - -<p>"And what do you think was in this letter?"</p> - -<p>"Eh! ma foi, I believe it told me where the poison was hidden in the -vault, and that our dear Contessa found the letter, went to the vault -on the night you saw her and obtained the poison."</p> - -<p>"Also the antidote?"</p> - -<p>"Dame! I'm not so sure of that. I knew about the antidote so well that -I don't think Morone would have mentioned it in the letter, in case it -should meet the eye of his wife. No! No! mon ami! she has the poison, -of course; but the antidote, I believe it is still in the vault, where -we will look for it."</p> - -<p>"For what reason?"</p> - -<p>"Diamine! to revive this devil of a tenor who has had the misfortune -to take ten drops of the Signora Morone's mixture."</p> - -<p>"But where is Pallanza?"</p> - -<p>"All in good time, Hugo, all in good time. I must tell you the rest of -the story first."</p> - -<p>"I am all impatience, Beltrami."</p> - -<p>The Marchese, I saw, was enjoying this conversation, as the -subject-matter was of an involved and difficult character which -appealed to the subtleties of his Italian nature; and the chance of -playing a part in this intrigue, worthy of the Court of Lorenzo di -Medici, delighted him beyond measure. He was, as I have said before, -an anachronism, and this everyday, commonplace life of the nineteenth -century offered no field for the exercise of his cunning brain and -delicate diplomacy, which revelled in those bizarre complications, -full of sophistry and double meanings, which distinguished the -intricate statecraft of the Italian republics.</p> - -<p>"You wonder," continued the Marchese reflectively; "you wonder, no -doubt, after hearing my opinions about the Contessa Morone, that I -should care to marry her; but, as I told you before, there are -reasons. I am poor, she is rich, and I marry her for her money. This -is brutal is it not? but then you see I look at the matter from a -Latin point of view, you from an English. As Euclid---whom, by the -way, I always hated--says, 'Two parallel straight lines cannot meet,' -it is no use our arguing over this point, as neither of us would -convince the other. It is a question of race, Hugo, nothing more. -Ebbene! my other reason is that I wish to tame this woman with the -heart of a tigress. I am wearied of the dulness of this present life, -and the task of fencing with Signora Morone will be a perpetual -excitement, particularly as I know it will not be unattended with -danger. This is also a question of race, and the theory of straight -lines applies, so again we will not argue; but you can see one thing -plainly, that I want to marry the Contessa?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, I can see that, and I wonder at your daring."</p> - -<p>"Straight lines, for the third time, Signor Hugo. Ebbene! Although I -wanted to marry the Contessa, she hating and detesting me with her -whole soul, as a friend of her late husband, would not listen to me at -all, so as she would not go to the altar willingly, I determined to -force her there. I made it my business to find out all about her life, -and a devil of a life it is, I can tell you. Pallanza is not the first -lover this daughter of Venus has smiled on."</p> - -<p>"Oh!" I broke out in disgust, "how can you think of marrying this -infamous woman--a murderess, a poisoner, a fiend in human form?"</p> - -<p>"Dio! I have given you my reasons, and you, straitlaced Englishman -that you are, cannot understand them. However, we will talk of this -again; meantime to continue. The Contessa was so madly in love with -Pallanza, who I grant you is a handsome fellow with a charming voice, -that I foresaw when he attempted to leave her there would be trouble. -I discovered that he was engaged to some Signorina of Milan, that she -was at Verona, and that Pallanza was going to sing at Verona; so when -he did arrive I was in nowise astonished at the appearance of Madame -Morone at the Ezzelino. Things were coming to a climax, so I watched -for the bursting of the storm. The rendezvous of these lovers would -be, I knew, at the deserted Palazzo Morone. How did I know? Mon cher -ami, you are simplicity itself. Have I not told you that I knew the -Contessa when she lived at Verona with her husband, and--and--well it -is not the first time she has used that palazzo and played at -Boccaccian stories in that room. You know she fancies herself like -Lucrezia Borgia, and tries to imitate those picturesque feasts to -which Ferrara's Duchess was so addicted--yes, even to the use of -poison. Dame! I thought I was at the opera when I saw that supper the -other night."</p> - -<p>"How did you get into the palazzo?"</p> - -<p>"Ah, that is an adventure worthy of Gil Bias. I filed through a bar in -the gate and wrenched it out."</p> - -<p>"I thought so, for I entered the same way!"</p> - -<p>"I guessed as much, my friend. Ebbene! I watched the palace from the -time Madame Morone arrived in Verona, and my patience was rewarded on -Monday night by seeing our picturesque tenor use his key and enter by -the side door. I was not alone, for I greatly mistrusted Madame Morone -should she discover me in that lonely palazzo; so, as I had two men -absolutely devoted to me, I took them with me."</p> - -<p>"They were very brave to go near that ghastly palace, considering the -reputation it has."</p> - -<p>"Ma foi, they are Florentines, and know nothing about Verona. Their -ancestors have been in the service of mine for many years, and in -their eyes a Beltrami can do no wrong. Now is that not wonderful in -this present age of ducats and steam-engines?"</p> - -<p>"So wonderful, Marchese, that I can hardly believe it!"</p> - -<p>"Cospetto! it is true I tell you. These men are absolutely devoted to -me, and think me a much greater man than Umberto of Savoy. Ebbene! I -posted my two men in a dark corner of the palazzo with instructions -not to move until I told them; then I went after our tenor, and found -him strumming on the mandolin while he awaited the arrival of the -Contessa."</p> - -<p>"Ah! she had gone to the burial-ground."</p> - -<p>"Yes! I did not know that until you told me. However, I hid myself -behind the tapestry in the outer room and waited. The Contessa -arrived, and, to my surprise, you also appeared. I caught a glimpse of -you at the door before that torch went out, but, of course, I did not -recognise you, and was puzzled to account for your presence there. -Luckily, I had a bottle of chloroform in my pocket, which I took with -me to the palace in case of accidents----"</p> - -<p>"But what good would chloroform do?"</p> - -<p>"Dame! have you ever seen Madame Morone in a rage?"</p> - -<p>"No!"</p> - -<p>"Then it is not a pretty sight, I can tell you. That woman is a devil, -and, for all I know, might have had some one in the palace to do her -bidding. If I had been found there, and taken at a disadvantage, I -might have occupied that delightful pillar and never been seen again. -Ah! you smile, mon ami, but remember this is Italy, not England, and -with a woman like the Contessa, who recalls the Borgia times so -admirably, it is always well to be prepared If she had discovered me, -my chloroform might have come in useful."</p> - -<p>"It certainly did in my case!"</p> - -<p>"Ma foi, I've told you before I did not know it was you. I only beheld -a stranger, and thinking that the stranger might interfere with my -plans, I stole across the ante-chamber, and when you fell back--well, I -used my chloroform. Then I left you lying hidden behind the tapestry, -and went on watching Madame Morone at her Borgian supper. She was -dragging Pallanza's body to the pillar, and, having safely shut him up -there, departed with a satisfied smile on her face; so I was left -alone with two apparently dead men--Pallanza in the pillar, and you -behind the tapestry."</p> - -<p>"A sufficiently dramatic situation I think, Marchese."</p> - -<p>"Eh! no doubt. There is more drama in life---especially in Italian -life--than people think, and there are even stranger events than this -comedy of the Palazzo Morone take place in our midst."</p> - -<p>"From what I have seen of your people, Luigi, I quite believe it. -Well, about this dramatic situation--what did you do next?"</p> - -<p>"Cospetto! I played my part on the stage with great judgment, I can -tell you. When I was sure that Madame Morone had left the palazzo I -re-lighted the candles, and went to see what appearance my man behind -the tapestry presented. To my surprise I recognised Signor Hugo -Cranston, and you may fancy I was considerably astonished, as I could -not understand how you had become mixed up in this Boccaccian -adventure. Friendship said, 'Revive him and apologize.' Caution -remarked, 'Remove him from the palazzo, and let him think the events -of the night a dream.'"</p> - -<p>"Oh! and you adopted the advice of caution?"</p> - -<p>"Diavolo! what else could I do? You might have interfered with my -plans; and, besides, I always intended to give you an explanation when -the Contessa became the Marchesa Beltrami. Circumstances, however, -have brought about the explanation sooner than I intended."</p> - -<p>"So I see," I replied drily. "However, you removed me from the -palace."</p> - -<p>"Yes! I called up my two men, and, telling them you -were--well--overcome by Bacchus, ordered them to take you to the -Piazza Vittorio Emanuele and leave you there. Ecco!"</p> - -<p>"Oh, Beltrami."</p> - -<p>"Eh, you reproach me. Well, I no doubt deserve your reproaches, but it -was the best excuse I could think of, as it doesn't do to trust -servants too much. Ebbene! they took you away and left you in the -Piazza, where you awoke in the morning?"</p> - -<p>"I did, with a confounded headache."</p> - -<p>"Ma foi! that was the chloroform, no doubt. Having thus arranged your -little matter I went to the pillar and released Guiseppe Pallanza."</p> - -<p>"He was not dead, then?"</p> - -<p>"No! She gave him ten drops, I tell you. So that, although he was not -actually dead, he had all the appearance of a corpse. I could not -revive him as I had not the antidote; so, when my two men returned, I -had him brought here."</p> - -<p>"Here! In this house?"</p> - -<p>"Precisely! he is in the next room. We will go and look at him -presently. But to continue: the next day I called upon the Contessa, -and told her I had seen all, suppressing, however, the fact that I had -carried off this unfortunate lover."</p> - -<p>"Which accounted for her surprise to-day on seeing the pillar empty?"</p> - -<p>"Of course; she never dreamed that I would meddle with her work. Well, -I gave her a choice of either explaining her little adventure to the -authorities, and thus run a chance of being imprisoned for life, or of -becoming my wife. Of these two evils she chose the least; so now I am -engaged to marry her, and she will become the Marchesa Beltrami next -month. Interesting, is it not, Hugo?"</p> - -<p>It was no use arguing with this man, who, as he said himself, looked -at the affair in a totally different light from what I did, and I did -not know whether to loathe his brutal candour, to despise his -mercenary designs, or to admire his undoubted courage in marrying this -woman. However, I reflected that his subtle intriguing would -undoubtedly be sufficiently punished by his marriage with this tigress -of a Contessa, and as my only desire was to restore Pallanza to the -arms of Bianca, I neither condemned nor praised Beltrami's singular -conduct, which seemed admirable in his own eyes, but simply -complimented him on his adroitness in following the precepts of -Niccolo Machiavelli. He listened to my cold remarks with a -disbelieving smile on his face, and laughed mockingly when I ceased -speaking.</p> - -<p>"Eh! Hugo, you do not approve of my ideas? Well, I do not wonder at -that Fire and water are not more different than an Italian and an -Englishman. Your cool blood comes from generations of church-going, -straight-laced ancestors, whose beliefs ruled their lives in a simple -manner; but my fiery blood burned in the veins of those condottieri of -the Renaissance who were at war with King and Pope and Republic, who -constantly stood on the verge of unseen precipices, and who needed all -their craft, their courage, and their iron nerve to preserve their -lives and fortunes. Dame! let us talk no more of such contrasts, but -come with me, and I will show you this missing lover of Madame -Morone."</p> - -<p>I acquiesced eagerly in this proposal, and followed Beltrami, who led -me into his bedroom, and, having unlocked a door in the opposite wall, -ushered me into a small, bare apartment, containing a bed on which lay -the still form of Guiseppe Pallanza. There he was dressed the same as -on that fatal night, with his eyes closed, a frozen look on his white -face, and his hands crossed on his breast. Lying thus in his antique -garb he put me in mind of one of those coloured statues which adorn -the tombs of great men; where the face, the hair, and the vestments -are all tinted so as to produce the semblance of life. But was life -here, in the body of this young man, who lay so passively before me -with closed eyes as though he were indeed buried in some sepulchre of -the dead?</p> - -<p>"Oh! he is alive," said Beltrami, guessing my thought as I shrank back -from the bed; "it is a case of suspended animation."</p> - -<p>"But lasting three---four days?"</p> - -<p>"Dame, yes! It would last much longer, I have no doubt. Ten drops -produce this life-in-death state which you see, fifteen drops the same -thing; but the one ends in death after a certain time, the other does -not."</p> - -<p>"But why did you not go to the vault and find this antidote at once?"</p> - -<p>"Well, to tell you the truth, Hugo, I thought it would be a useless -errand, as I do not know where to look for it. I fancied that Madame -Morone might have found another bottle of this damnable poison, but it -never struck me until I heard your story that she had read the letter -addressed by Morone to me, and gone to the vault for the poison."</p> - -<p>"And what are we to do now?"</p> - -<p>"Go to the vault, to be sure, and look for this antidote."</p> - -<p>"But, the vault is locked!"</p> - -<p>"True, I forgot that," said Beltrami, with a thoughtful frown, -"however, I think I can procure the key."</p> - -<p>"From Madame Morone?"</p> - -<p>"Dame! No! that would put her on her guard at once. I want her to -think Pallanza is still in this cataleptic state, otherwise she won't -marry me, as my power over her will be gone. I'll get the key somehow; -if not, one of my men knows something about picking locks, so we will -take him with us."</p> - -<p>"A reputable servant, truly!"</p> - -<p>"Eh! What would you!" said Beltrami carelessly, as he led the way out -of the room and locked the door. "Even lock-picking is useful on -occasions--witness the present one. Well, are you ready to go to the -vault with me to-night?"</p> - -<p>"At night, Beltrami?"</p> - -<p>"Most certainly. If we went in the daytime all Verona would be in -commotion. No! we must go at midnight when no one is about. Have you -the courage?"</p> - -<p>"I think so! but I hope Madame Morone will not be there!"</p> - -<p>"There's no fear of that, as she has no reason to pay a second -visit to the remains of her husband. She has got the poison, and knows -nothing about the antidote, so make yourself easy on that score. -Ecco!"</p> - -<p>"What are you going to do now, Marchesa!"</p> - -<p>"See if I can obtain that key. If I fail to obtain it, I will bring -Matteo with me. As for you, my friend, go and take something to eat, -and meet me on the Ponte Aleardi at midnight."</p> - -<p>"I will be there, Beltrami. Good-bye for the present."</p> - -<p>"À revederci, Hugo; I am obliged for your confidence, as it has solved -the difficulty of knowing what to do with Signor Cupid."</p> - -<p>We both went different ways; Beltrami to search for his key, and -myself to hasten home to my hotel, and prepare myself for the fatigues -of this midnight excursion, which, however much it appealed to the -Marchese's sense of the romantic, was certainly not relished by me.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_13" href="#div1Ref_13">CHAPTER XIII.</a></h4> -<h5>"DOWN AMONG THE DEAD MEN."</h5> -<br> - -<p>Do you know that gruesome old ballad, with its sombre refrain of -"Down! Down! Down among the dead men?" A friend of mine with a deep -bass voice, used to sing it in order to display his lower notes, upon -which--and not without reason--he flattered himself greatly; but in -after years, I never heard it sung without a shudder, so vividly did -it recall to my mind the grotesque horror of that midnight visit to -the Tomb of the Morone, in that old burial-ground of Verona. Of late I -had been so much mixed up with ghosts, vaults, ghouls and crimes, that -I was by no means anxious to continue the category, and would have -infinitely preferred to have let Beltrami, who liked such -uncomfortable things, go alone; but being an Englishman, I had to -uphold the honour of my country, so never thought for a moment of -showing the white feather. Besides, the only chance of saving Pallanza -was by obtaining possession of the antidote, and in spite of my -repugnance to the errand, I fully made up my mind to be on the Ponte -Aleardi at the appointed time.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile I fortified myself against possible horrors by having an -excellent dinner, supplemented by a small bottle of champagne. I could -not afford that luxurious wine, and it was sinfully extravagant of me -to waste my small stock of money upon such a thing, but in the face of -this midnight adventure I really felt that a little stimulant would -comfort me under the circumstances. The result was admirable, for all -my nervous apprehensions disappeared, and I sat in the smoking-room -puffing at my after-dinner pipe in a very contented frame of mind, -considering what awaited me at twelve o'clock p.m. Was I a coward? I -don't think so. Many men who have no physical fear, and would ride -gaily enough into battle, shrink with superstitious awe from the eerie -neighbourhood of the dead, and I, owing to the causes I have stated -before, am of this class. Come, then, ye dauntless scoffers, who would -dare anything--in the broad daylight, and let me see if you would -contemplate a midnight visit to an antique vault with equanimity! I -think not, for however brave a man may be, it is the law of Nature -that he should thrill with fear at the approach of the supernatural.</p> - -<p>I sat smoking and thinking in the twilight, which was a bad -preparation for the event, as twilight thoughts are invariably -mournful, and my own dear dead ones seemed to throng in the dusky -shadow of the room, reproaching me in voiceless grief for the -intention I had of profaning the sanctity of the Tomb. To rid myself -of these melancholy reflections, and banish from my brain the mute -crowd of ghosts, I went out for a walk, intending to call at the Casa -Angello, in order to ask after the Signorina Bianca.</p> - -<p>Petronella told me that the poor child was much better, but exhausted -by the shock she had sustained at the Palazzo Morone, and had fallen -into a deep sleep which would do her more good than all the drugs of -the doctor. The worthy domestic was very wrathful at me, and wanted to -know what I had told her "piccola," but I put her off with some -excuse, as I had no desire that she should know the events of that -day. On taking my departure I gave Petronella a note for the -Signorina, which contained only three words, "Wait and hope," with -instructions that it was to be delivered to her when she woke up. -Petronella, somewhat mollified by my assurance that all would be -right, promised to fulfil this commission, and I returned to my hotel -very contented with the present aspect of affairs.</p> - -<p>On regaining my bedroom I lay down about eight o'clock, in order to -get a little sleep, but the remedy was worse than the disease, for -when my eyes were closed the phantoms of waking hours reappeared still -more vividly to my inner senses. However, I fought against the dread -which threatened to overwhelm me, and fell into a comparatively -dreamless slumber, from which I awoke shortly after eleven. Rising -from the bed upon which I had thrown myself half dressed, I hurriedly -completed my toilette, and bathed my burning face in cold water. On my -arrival in Milan, I had bought one of those picturesque Italian cloaks -which one only sees in England on the operatic stage, and throwing -this around me; I put on a soft black wide-awake, so that what with -the mantle draped around me, and my naturally dark face, I looked very -much like a native of Italy. Lighting a cigarette, I took my heavy -stick, and thus prepared, went out to keep my appointment with Luigi -Beltrami on the Ponte Aleardi.</p> - -<p>To the hot day had succeeded the hot night, but a strong dry wind -was blowing which drove the filmy clouds across the face of the -haggard-looking moon. A few stars peeped out here and there through -the frail woof, and the chill moonlight waxed and waned with the -appearing and disappearing of the pale planet, almost lost amid the -wild confluence of drifting clouds. A misty circle round the moon was -prophetic of rain, and under this wild, wind-vexed sky lay the -sleeping city, dark and sombre, with the rough blasts sweeping -drearily down the lonely streets.</p> - -<p>In spite of the heat, so eerie was the aspect of the night that I drew -my cloak around me with a shiver of nervous fear, and leaving the -Piazza Vittorio Emanuele, hastened along the Via Pallone, in the -direction of the Ponte Aleardi. I arrived there just as the clock of -St. Fermo sounded the three-quarters, and as Beltrami was not yet at -the meeting place, I leaned on the balustrade of the bridge and -watched the grey waters swirling under the fitful light of the moon. I -could not help thinking of the strange events which had taken place -since I had last occupied the same position--the antique chamber with -its associations of love and crime--the Teatro Ezzelino, where I had -beheld the phantom of Lucrezia Borgia--the grief and pain of poor -little Bianca, and the extraordinary-conversation I had held with -Beltrami a few hours before. It was all most unreal and feverish, this -mediaeval intrigue into which I had been drawn; and I question if any -student of singing had ever before been involved in such a bizarre -adventure--an adventure which I hoped and prayed and trusted would end -to-night.</p> - -<p>Buried in these sombre reflections I did not hear the sound of -approaching footsteps, and it was only when I felt a hand on my -shoulder that I turned round, with a sudden start, to see the Marchesa -standing beside me wrapped in his military cloak, and accompanied by a -man who waited a little way off in respectful silence.</p> - -<p>"Bravo, Signor Hugo!" cried the Marchesa in a cheerful tone, "you have -been waiting long?"</p> - -<p>"About a quarter of an hour. So you have not obtained the key, -Beltrami?"</p> - -<p>"Unfortunately I have not! However, here is Matteo, and I daresay we -shall manage to get the door open in some way. Come, Caro," continued -Beltrami, taking my arm, "we have no time to lose. Ecco!"</p> - -<p>I do not believe Beltrami had any nerves, for the whole way to the -burial-ground he chatted cheerfully about the antidote, the Contessa -and the tenor, not appearing to be at all impressed with the solemnity -of the affair. What Matteo felt I do not know, as he never opened his -mouth, but glided after us like a shadow, until we arrived at the -broken wall.</p> - -<p>The Marchesa climbed over first, his long sabre clashing heavily -against the stones as he jumped down on the other side. I followed -without delay, and Matteo, having joined us, we went on through -the dense shade of the cypress trees, until we arrived at the -forbidding-looking tomb, the sight of which put me in mind of my -uncanny adventure.</p> - -<p>Beltrami, undeterred by the flaming sword of the guardian angel, tried -the iron door, on the chance that it might be unlocked; but finding it -fast closed, signed to Matteo to get to work at once. Without a word -the man obeyed, and as the moon was now shining down in her full -splendour, he could see perfectly well, without the aid of artificial -light, for, although he carried a torch, Beltrami did not wish it -lighted, in case the glare should attract attention.</p> - -<p>While Matteo was working away at the lock I took my seat on the fallen -stone near the door, and Beltrami, throwing off his cloak, flung -himself down on the grass beside me.</p> - -<p>"Dio, how hot I am!" he exclaimed, wiping his brow.</p> - -<p>"And how very imprudent, Luigi. Remember, you are in uniform."</p> - -<p>"Ma foi, I'm never in anything else," retorted the Marchese gaily; -"don't trouble yourself, Hugo, no one will dare to come near the -cemetery, at this hour, so, uniform or no uniform, I'm safe from -observation. Will you have a cigar?"</p> - -<p>"No, thank you. But you surely do not intend to smoke now?"</p> - -<p>"Why not?" said Beltrami, lighting his cigar; "it cannot harm the -Signori Morone, and I've no wish to go down into that evil-smelling -vault without taking some precaution against fever. Ecco!"</p> - -<p>"Oh, well, do as you will," I replied, indifferently, beginning myself -to grow callous; "but I want to ask you something, Luigi."</p> - -<p>"Ebbene!"</p> - -<p>"Was Count Giorgio Morone really mad?"</p> - -<p>"Eh! I'm not sure. Every one said he was, but I did not think so. -Dame! they call every man mad who has brains above his fellows, and -Morone was a clever man. Though, to be sure, it was curious his hiding -this poison in the vault, instead of destroying it altogether."</p> - -<p>"That would certainly have been the wisest plan."</p> - -<p>"Very likely, but you see, my wise Englishman, Morone had a tenderness -for this child of his brain, and he could not bear to destroy his -work. Oh! inventors are wonderful egotists, I assure you."</p> - -<p>At this moment Matteo, who had been working in silence for some -considerable time, approached his master.</p> - -<p>"Eccellenza, it is open!"</p> - -<p>"Bene!" cried Beltrami, springing to his feet, and wrapping his cloak -around him again, "give me the torch. Come, Signor Hugo, let us go -down, and you, Matteo, stay at the door, and see that we are not -interrupted."</p> - -<p>"Si, Eccellenza!"</p> - -<p>Beltrami stepped cautiously into the tomb, and I followed him, then -half closing the iron door so that the light might not attract -attention, he fired the torch, the flame of which shot upward with a -red flare and resinous odour of smoke, showing us that we stood on the -top of a flight of steep steps which led downward into the darkness. A -chill, humid atmosphere pervaded this abode of the dead, and seemed to -penetrate into my very bones, notwithstanding the heavy cloak I wore.</p> - -<p>For a moment we paused on the height, looking downward into the thick -gloom; then Beltrami descended the steps slowly, tossing the flaring -torch up and down, to and fro, in order to illuminate the darkness, -and as I followed him the smoke, with its pungent odour, streamed -backward towards my face. A bat, startled by the glare, flew round our -heads with a rapid sweep of its noiseless wings, then vanished through -the half-open door into the night beyond, like some escaping spectre -of the tomb.</p> - -<p>At last we reached the floor of the vault, which was paved with broad -black marble slabs, so highly polished that the crimson blaze of the -torch was reflected therein. All around in niches were innumerable -coffins, some covered with tattered velvet palls, while others stood -out grim and bare in their leaden hideousness, the coverings having -long since mouldered away. In the gloom, there every no w and then -could be perceived the glimmer of some white figure sculptured on the -massive wall, the glitter of tarnished silver ornaments, and the -outlines of painted devices, while the smoky torch with its angry -flame cast strange gleams upon these mouldy splendours of the dead.</p> - -<p>In the centre, on a square stone hidden by a rich pall of black -velvet, embroidered with armorial devices in silver braid, rested the -gorgeous coffin of the last Morone, which I presume was to remain -there until the death of the Contessa, when it would be removed to its -already-prepared niche to make way for the sole survivor of the proud -race.</p> - -<p>The Marchesa at once advanced to the coffin, and waving the torch -above it, examined the decorations closely. True to his determination -he was smoking, and it gave me an unpleasant shock to see this cloaked -figure behaving so disrespectfully in the solemn presence of the dead.</p> - -<p>"Bene!" he said at length in a satisfied tone, "there is one thing -certain. It is not <i>in</i> the coffin!"</p> - -<p>"How do you know that, Beltrami?"</p> - -<p>"Because the lid is screwed down, and the Contessa, who as you say was -alone, could not have taken that off. Besides, even if she did, Madame -Morone knows the value of time too well to waste it in replacing the -lid. No, it is not in the coffin, but it's somewhere about the -coffin."</p> - -<p>"What makes you think so, Luigi?"</p> - -<p>"All this elaborate silver work! There's too much of it to be there -without some reason. Caro, Hugo, just hold the torch and I will make -an examination."</p> - -<p>I took the torch in silence and watched his actions with great -curiosity. The coffin, as he said, was most elaborately adorned with -silver work representing the arms of the Morone family, interspersed -with wreaths of flowers and tangled seaweed. On the lid was a broad -silver plate similarly adorned, setting forth the name, titles, and -date of death of the deceased, and round the oblong sides of this -shell ran another broad wreath of flowers, shells, crests, and -seaweeds, designed in the same style as the decorations on the lid. -Beltrami, who was a clever prestidigitateur and could perform the most -marvellous tricks with cards, had a wonderfully delicate sense of -touch, and trusting to this more than to his eyes he ran his slender -fingers rapidly over the raised silver ornaments on the lid of the -coffin.</p> - -<p>I saw at once that he suspected this useless silver ornamentation -concealed some secret hiding-place in which the bottles of the poison -and its antidote were hidden, and I could not help admiring the -wonderful cleverness of the man in thinking of such an extraordinary -idea, particularly as I saw at once that if the poison were anywhere -it would be in some such ingenious hiding-place.</p> - -<p>After running his hands twice or thrice over the lid, he shook his -head with an angry ejaculation, and desisted from his apparently -useless task.</p> - -<p>"Dame! it's not on the top, that's certain," he said, stamping his -foot with vexation. "My fingers never, deceive me, and I'm sure I -haven't missed anything. From what I've told you I don't think it can -be within the coffin. Ecco! let us try the sides."</p> - -<p>He carefully wiped the tips of his fingers with his handkerchief, and -beginning at the side nearest the head ran his fingers delicately -along the cold silver work. Nothing was discoverable at the side, but -when he came to the end of the coffin at the feet of the corpse he -gave a cry of triumph which brought me at once to his side.</p> - -<p>"Bravo, Hugo! what did I tell you! The poison-bottle was in the silver -work. Behold, infidel, how truly I speak. Ecco!"</p> - -<p>The decoration at this narrow end was a heart-shape shield, bearing -the arms of the Morone family and wreathed with flowers, but this -shield, which curved outward had a spring at the top. In touching -this, the whole shield fell downward, working on a single hinge, and -there was a cavity in which a small bottle might easily be concealed.</p> - -<p>"I see the hiding-place, Beltrami; but where is the poison!"</p> - -<p>"Eh! have you forgotten the visit of the Contessa, mon ami?"</p> - -<p>"No, no! of course not! She, no doubt, took the poison away, and, I -daresay, the antidote with it."</p> - -<p>"Mon cher, I will never make anything of you," cried the Marchese in -despair; "what did I tell you about that letter?"</p> - -<p>"You said that no doubt as the Count was afraid of it being found by -his wife he would only mention where the poison was concealed, and -keep silent about the antidote."</p> - -<p>"Ebbene! The Contessa knew nothing of the existence of the antidote, -so when she found the poison she thought she had found all. Is that -not so, you stupid Englishman?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, I suppose so."</p> - -<p>"Good! Well I, knowing of the existence of the antidote not mentioned -in the letter, and only finding the poison at the feet, would -naturally look for the antidote--where?"</p> - -<p>"I daresay at the head," I suggested, after a pause; upon which -Beltrami laughed, and walked to the other end of the coffin.</p> - -<p>"Of course; it would be the most natural thing to do. Behold, mon -ami!"</p> - -<p>He touched the top of a similar shield at the head of the coffin; it -fell stiffly outward, and lo! in the hollow of the curve, lay a small -bottle, which Beltrami took in his hand, and then restored the shield -to its former position.</p> - -<p>"Luigi, you are a most wonderful man!" I cried, with a burst of -genuine admiration at the clever way in which he had guessed this -riddle.</p> - -<p>"I only use my brains," he replied, with a gratified laugh. "The -poison being at the feet, it was not difficult to guess the antidote -was at the head; particularly as the decorations on both ends of the -coffin are the same precisely. Dame! if the Contessa had only known -the antidote was in existence she would have argued in the same way as -I have done, and carried it off as she had done the poison."</p> - -<p>"Well, we can now restore that unfortunate Pallanza to life."</p> - -<p>"Yes, I suppose so," said the Marchese, slipping the bottle containing -the antidote into his pocket; "though he certainly does not deserve to -have another chance of existence. But as it is inconvenient keeping -him in my house, I suppose I must send him away on his legs. Ecco! But -come along, Hugo. We have what we desire, and I care not for this -abode of death."</p> - -<p>We went up the stairs and out of the iron door, where we found Matteo -still keeping guard. It was quite a relief to get out of the fetid -atmosphere of the tomb into the cool, fresh air again, and I felt like -a released prisoner who was free for the first time after many years. -The Marchese, however, man of iron as he was, did not seem to be -affected in any way, but wrapping his cloak round him, prepared to go.</p> - -<p>"Can you close that door again, Matteo?"</p> - -<p>"Eccellenza! it is done!"</p> - -<p>"Bene! Let us go!"</p> - -<p>In fact the moment we emerged, Matteo, knowing our task was concluded, -had reclosed the door by some trick known to himself; so we all three -climbed over the broken wall, and took our way to the Ponte Aleardi.</p> - -<p>"And when are you going to give Pallanza the antidote?" I asked, as we -walked along arm-in-arm.</p> - -<p>"Eh! Signor Hugo, to-morrow!"</p> - -<p>"Why not to-night?"</p> - -<p>"Ma foi! I am tired. A few hours will not make much difference; -besides, I want a doctor to be present. The antidote will revive the -poor devil, but he will be so weak after going without food all these -days that the doctor will have to take charge of him."</p> - -<p>"Well, then, I will see you to-morrow, Marchese. At what hour?"</p> - -<p>"Two and a half in the afternoon. I attend to my military duties in -the morning. Buona sera, Hugo!"</p> - -<p>"Good-night, Beltrami."</p> - -<p>We parted with a hearty shake of the hand, and I suppose after all I -had gone through, nature was thoroughly tired out; for I went straight -to bed and slept soundly without dreams, visions, or phantoms of any -kind coming to disturb my rest.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_14" href="#div1Ref_14">CHAPTER XIV.</a></h4> -<h5>THE NEW LAZARUS</h5> -<br> - -<p>For the first time during the week I had a good night's rest, for ever -since my adventure the events in connection therewith had succeeded -one another so rapidly that my brain was kept in too active a state to -admit of slumber, but now that everything seemed to be at an end, that -the antidote had been found, and that Pallanza would be restored to -Bianca Angello, my mind was relieved of the strain upon it, and I -slept soundly till morning. In fact, I did not waken till nearly -eleven o'clock, and having taken my bath I dressed myself slowly, made -a good meal at midday, and altogether felt better than I had done for -the last week.</p> - -<p>As my appointment with Beltrami was for half-past two I did not go to -Casa Angello for my usual singing lesson, not wishing to see the -Signorina until I could tell her the good news that her lover was -alive and well. It was true Beltrami had asserted that the antidote -would awaken the young man from his death-like slumber, but -remembering that he had now been in this state of catalepsy for nearly -a week, I felt doubtful as to the success of the experiment. However, -a few hours would now decide the fate of Pallanza for life or death, -and in the event of the antidote acting according to the expectations -of the Marchese, I promised myself I should be the first to carry the -joyful news of this wonderful resurrection to the Signorina Bianca.</p> - -<p>When two o'clock struck I could no longer restrain my impatience, but -set off without further delay to see Beltrami at his apartments. He -had just returned from the barracks, and was taking some biscuits and -wine when I was announced, but jumped up when he saw me and came -forward with outstretched hand,--</p> - -<p>"Eh! mon ami, I am delighted to see you! Sit down, while I finish this -small meal. Will you have a glass of wine?"</p> - -<p>"No, thank you, Marchese!"</p> - -<p>"Then take a cigarette, there are some on that table."</p> - -<p>The Marchese returned to his wine and biscuits, while I lighted a -cigarette, and lay down On the sofa.</p> - -<p>"Excuse me lying down, Luigi, but our last night's experience has -knocked me up terribly."</p> - -<p>"You would never do for a soldier, Signor Hugo! I've been drilling -some stupid recruits all the morning, and I feel perfectly fresh. -Ecco! I'm glad to see you, however, as I have some news to tell you."</p> - -<p>"About Pallanza?"</p> - -<p>"Eh? No! About Madame Morone."</p> - -<p>"Ah! she has found out we were at the vault?"</p> - -<p>"Dame! not a bit of it. She left Verona by the five o'clock train last -night."</p> - -<p>"Left Verona!" I cried, rising hastily from my recumbent position. -"Why has she gone away?"</p> - -<p>"Eh! who knows?" replied Beltrami, shrugging his shoulders. "She -didn't even leave a message for me, her promised husband. I think, -myself, the empty pillar of yesterday startled her. She evidently -thought everything was discovered, therefore has gone to Rome so that -she Can appeal to the King in case of trouble."</p> - -<p>"And what are you going to do, Marchese?"</p> - -<p>"The best thing I can do under the circumstances. I have applied for, -and obtained, leave of absence, so I will give this infernal tenor the -antidote to-day, and start for Rome by the night train."</p> - -<p>"But when you arrive at Rome?"</p> - -<p>"I will see Madame Morone, and tell her that I removed the body of -Pallanza from the pillar."</p> - -<p>"The body, Beltrami! You forget Pallanza is alive!"</p> - -<p>"Of course he is, but I'm not going to tell her that. Cospetto! if she -discovered that this devil of a tenor was still in existence my power -over her would be gone, and she would not marry me. Ecco!"</p> - -<p>"But as Pallanza will sing again, she is bound to find it out sooner -or later."</p> - -<p>"Eh! no doubt, Signor Hugo; but by the time she finds out I hope to be -married. In that case it does not matter. Besides, I am going to make -Pallanza promise not to sing anywhere for a month."</p> - -<p>"Suppose he refuses?"</p> - -<p>"He won't refuse. Dame! he owes me something for bringing him into -existence again."</p> - -<p>"And what about the doctor?"</p> - -<p>"He will soon be here," said Beltrami, glancing at his watch; "I -expect him every minute."</p> - -<p>"Will he keep this affair quiet?"</p> - -<p>"Per Bacco! I should think so, mon ami. I ascertained that before I -told him anything. Not that I told him much, ma foi, no! I invented a -delightful story about Pallanza, which he swallowed as easily as I do -this wine."</p> - -<p>"And the story?"</p> - -<p>"I have not the time to tell it to you, but it is a beautiful story, -worthy of Boccaccio. Oh, he will keep his mouth shut, I promise you, -Hugo. He is a great friend of mine, and I never associate with those -who talk of other people's business."</p> - -<p>"Have you the antidote, Marchese?"</p> - -<p>"Here it is," said Beltrami, rising and taking the small bottle from -his desk near the window; "and, ma foi! here is the doctor coming up -the street."</p> - -<p>"How fond you are of French," I remarked, laughingly. "Parisian -ejaculations are never out of your mouth."</p> - -<p>"One must ejaculate in some language, Hugo, and I've been so often in -Paris that I've got into the trick in some way."</p> - -<p>"What about London?"</p> - -<p>"Your city of fogs! Eh! You know I cannot master your tongue, Signor -Hugo. 'You are a beautiful mees; I loove you'--Dio! what a difficulty -I had in learning those two sentences."</p> - -<p>"Which are perfectly useless."</p> - -<p>"I have not found them so. But here is Signor Avenza, the doctor I -spoke of. Good-day, for the second time, my friend. Permit me to -introduce Signor Hugo Cranston, an Englishman."</p> - -<p>The doctor, a fat little man with a round smiling face and two -twinkling black eyes, executed an elaborate bow, for which purpose he -brought his feet smartly together in military fashion, and, having -thus saluted me, rashly entered into a contest with the English -language, which vanquished him at once.</p> - -<p>"I spik Inglis," he said, mincingly. Then, with a gigantic effort, "Gif -me your tongue! Ah! he is bad. Dis writing is your cure. Goot-day! I -vil taake a leetle valk wis you agin."</p> - -<p>Signor Avenza had evidently learned these choice English phrases for -the purposes of his profession.</p> - -<p>While this lesson in philology was going on the Marchese had opened -the door leading into the room where Pallanza was concealed, and -called to us to enter. Both the doctor and myself, obeying the -summons, went through the bedroom, and soon found ourselves by the -couch, whereon lay the still form of the young man, with that terrible -death-in-life look on his white face.</p> - -<p>"See, Avenza, this is what I spoke about," said Beltrami, holding up a -small phial filled with a red liquid. "It is the antidote to the -poison which this Pallanza was foolish enough to take."</p> - -<p>"And all through a love disappointment," replied Avenza, lifting his -eyes. "Ah! the poor young man!"</p> - -<p>I now began to see the kind of story Beltrami had told Avenza to -account for the condition of Pallanza, and I must say it did credit to -his powers of invention.</p> - -<p>"The amount of the poison he took was ten drops." went on Beltrami, -uncorking the bottle, "so it will require ten drops of this antidote -to revive him, but when the life is once more in him I suppose he will -be weak."</p> - -<p>"Most certainly," answered Avenza, nodding his head, "since you say -he has been like this for nearly a week. But proceed, Marchese, I am -anxious to see the result of this antidote."</p> - -<p>Beltrami bent over the face of the unconscious man, and forced the -teeth slightly apart with a spoon he held in his left hand. Having -done this, he poised the bottle over the pale lips, and began to pour -the red liquid drop by drop into the mouth.</p> - -<p>Both Avenza and myself bent forward eagerly to watch the operation, -and held our breaths with anxiety as the Marchese counted, slowly,--</p> - -<p>"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten!"</p> - -<p>The body made no movement, and Beltrami drew back, looking somewhat -anxious.</p> - -<p>"Dio! I am afraid ten drops are not enough!"</p> - -<p>"Wait," said Avenza, taking his watch out of his pocket, and placing -his fingers on the pulse of the seemingly-dead man. "You cannot expect -this antidote to act at once."</p> - -<p>The minutes passed slowly, and we all three remained with our eyes -eagerly watching for some sign of life on that still face, while -Avenza occasionally glanced at his chronometer.</p> - -<p>"His pulse beats," he said at length in a low voice, "faintly, it is -true, but still it beats."</p> - -<p>I heaved a sigh of relief, but Beltrami remained silently looking at -the face of Pallanza with an anxious frown.</p> - -<p>"She cannot have given him fifteen," he muttered under his breath, "if -So, he would have been dead by this time; but his pulse beats, so -he is alive."</p> - -<p>He looked irresolutely at the phial in his hand, and then turned to -Avenza, who Was still counting the feeble pulsation of the blood.</p> - -<p>"Doctor, I will give him three more drops!"</p> - -<p>"Eh! and why not?" replied Avenza, raising his eye-brows; "as that is -an antidote a few drops more or less cannot kill him after the dose of -poison he has taken."</p> - -<p>The Marchese made no further remark, but, bending forward again, he -held the phial over the half-open mouth for the second time.</p> - -<p>"One, two, three!"</p> - -<p>This time the effect was magical; for after an interval of about two -or three minutes, we saw a shudder run through the rigid body, the -left arm jerked upward in a spasmodic manner, the face flushed crimson -with the rush of blood once more flowing freely through the arteries, -and at last the heavy eyelids lifted slowly. Pallanza gazed at us with -a dazed, unseeing expression, then some tremendous force seemed to -take possession of the body, for a spasm of pain passed over his face, -a choking cry issued from his lips, and in a moment he was shrieking, -writhing, twisting, rolling and plunging about the bed like a -demoniac. All the nerves and muscles which had been dead and inert for -so many days were now waking again to life, and the agony which racked -his frame from head to foot must have been truly terrible. Both -Beltrami and myself made a step forward to hold down this agonized -body, but Avenza stopped us.</p> - -<p>"The antidote is doing its work," he said rapidly; "the dead body is -renewing its life throughout every particle. Wait! wait! the paroxysm -will soon pass away."</p> - -<p>The doctor was right, for in a short time the writhing stopped, the -cries grew fainter, and at last, with a heavy sigh, the young man sank -back on the pillows in a state of exhaustion, on seeing which, both -Beltrami and the doctor ran out of the room to get some brandy, -leaving me alone with this new Lazarus. During their absence he opened -his eyes, to which the light of sanity had now returned, and spoke in -a feeble voice,--</p> - -<p>"Where am I?"</p> - -<p>"With friends."</p> - -<p>"And the Contessa?"</p> - -<p>"She is not here! You are quite safe! Hush! do not speak, I beg of -you."</p> - -<p>Pallanza gave me a look of gratitude, then, closing his eyes, relapsed -into silence. Avenza returned with a glass of weak brandy and water, -which he gave to the young man in spoonfuls, 'while I went back into -the sitting-room to see Beltrami, whom I found standing by the window -with a frown on his face.</p> - -<p>"Ebbene?" he asked, turning round.</p> - -<p>"He is much better, and I think will soon be all right."</p> - -<p>"That's a blessing. But what a nuisance! I want to go to Rome to-night -by the five o'clock train, but Avenza tells me that Pallanza will have -to sleep for a few hours, so I won't have an opportunity of speaking -to him."</p> - -<p>"Go with a light heart, my dear Beltrami; I will arrange everything."</p> - -<p>"You will?"</p> - -<p>"Yes; Pallanza can sleep in that room for an hour or two, then I will -get a fiacre and take him to his lodgings. No one shall come near him -but myself, and when he is quite sensible I will make him promise all -you want."</p> - -<p>"Bene! you are a good friend, my dear Hugo," said the Marchese, in a -tone of relief; "but do you think he will do what you ask?"</p> - -<p>"Most certainly! I can force him to obey me."</p> - -<p>"How so?"</p> - -<p>"By threatening to tell Signorina Angello about his affair with Madame -Morone. She knows nothing as yet, and Pallanza is afraid of her -knowing. Witness the lie he told about that note at the Ezzelino, -asking him to come to the Palazzo!"</p> - -<p>Beltrami, with his cynical estimate of the Contessa's character, was -not at all disturbed by this somewhat blunt speech, but laughed -cheerfully.</p> - -<p>"Eh! Hugo. I think I will make you. Italian after all. Your plan is a -good one, mon ami, so make Pallanza promise not to sing anywhere for a -month, to leave Verona and keep quiet. By that time I will be married -to the Contessa, and all will be well."</p> - -<p>"I will arrange everything as you desire, Luigi."</p> - -<p>"Excellent! Then that trouble is off my mind."</p> - -<p>At this moment the doctor entered, rubbing his fat hands together with -an expression of glee.</p> - -<p>"Eh, he sleeps, this young man," he said in a satisfied tone, "he -will sleep for one, two, three hours, then, if you like, Marchese, you -can send him to his own house."</p> - -<p>"Signor Hugo will attend to all that, Avenza."</p> - -<p>"Bene! Well, Marchese, à revederci! And you, Signor."</p> - -<p>"Wait a moment, Signor Avenza; I am coming too."</p> - -<p>"Where are you going! Hugo?" asked Beltrami, looking at me in some -surprise, and nodding his head in the direction of Pallanza. I crossed -over to him, and while Avenza was getting his hat, whispered in his -ear,--</p> - -<p>"I am going to the Ezzelino to find out Pallanza's address, so as to -know where to take him."</p> - -<p>"Ah! a good idea! I will wait here till you return."</p> - -<p>I accompanied Signor Avenza to the Piazza Vittorio Emanuele, where we -parted. I then went to the Teatro Ezzelino and found out Pallanza's -address from the stage-door keeper. While I was returning to -Beltrami's rooms I saw Peppino, and arranged with him to be at the Via -Cartoni at seven o'clock that evening to take a sick gentleman away. -At first Peppino objected, being, like all Italians, terribly afraid -of disease, but I soon quieted his objections, and he promised to call -as directed.</p> - -<p>On returning to Beltrami I found him packing up, and at five o'clock -he took his departure for Rome, promising to write me immediately he -arrived, and in return I assured him I would let him know everything -as soon as I arranged matters with Pallanza.</p> - -<p>That young man slept until nearly seven, when he woke up and began to -ask me questions as to where he was. I insisted upon his keeping -quiet, telling him I was a doctor, and when Peppino arrived with his -fiacre I wrapped him up in his cloak so as to hide his stage costume, -and helped him downstairs to the carriage. We soon arrived at his -lodgings, where, dismissing Peppino, I made Pallanza go to bed at -once, and gave him a light supper, together with some weak brandy and -water. After this he fell asleep, and I sat watching by his bed all -night, wondering why I was such a fool as to do all this for a cynical -man of the world like Beltrami, who would probably laugh at my good -nature when all was over. Yet there was something about Luigi Beltrami -which I liked; and in spite of his affected cynicism and his -extraordinarily loose notions of right and wrong, I believe that he -had a sincere regard for me, which regard I considered not the least -curious part of his whimsical nature, seeing that my character was the -antithesis of his own in every way. Perhaps it was by the law of -contrast, or illustrated inversely the saying that "like draws to -like;" but whatever was the reason, though we had nothing in common -either in nationality or character, yet we were friends, and I leave -this problem to be worked out by those who deny that such an enigma -can exist.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_15" href="#div1Ref_15">CHAPTER XV.</a></h4> -<h5>FOUND</h5> -<br> - -<p>Guiseppe Pallanza slept soundly all night, while I took snatches of -sleep in the armchair by his bedside. At nine o'clock in the morning -he awoke, feeling much stronger, and after I had given him something -to eat I prepared to go out.</p> - -<p>"Where are you going, Signor?" asked Pallanza in an anxious tone.</p> - -<p>"I am going to send a doctor to see you, and then I am going to the -Casa Angello."</p> - -<p>"And for what reason?"</p> - -<p>"To bring Signorina Bianca here!"</p> - -<p>"Do you know the Signorina Bianca?"</p> - -<p>"Very well, Signor Pallanza. I am the Englishman of whom you have no -doubt heard her speak."</p> - -<p>"Signor Hugo! yes, I know," muttered Guiseppe; and then, after a -pause, "I wish to speak to you, I wish to tell you something."</p> - -<p>"You shall tell me all shortly, but meanwhile lie down quietly, and -when the doctor comes say nothing about the Palazzo Morone."</p> - -<p>"Ah!" cried Pallanza, starting up in his bed, "do you know that -horrible place?"</p> - -<p>"I know all! But there, you are still weak," I answered, forcing him -to lie down. "When I return I will speak to you about some important -matters."</p> - -<p>"Important!--to me?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, and to the Contessa Morone."</p> - -<p>"Ah! that terrible woman."</p> - -<p>"Meanwhile, Signor Pallanza, say nothing about your visit to the -palace or about Madame Morone."</p> - -<p>"Not a word! And you will bring Bianca to see me?"</p> - -<p>"Yes! I promise you."</p> - -<p>With this hope, Pallanza was perfectly contented, and after -instructing his landlady, who was in a state of great bewilderment at -this sudden reappearance, to look after him, I went out to find -Avenza. Fortunately he was well known in Verona, and I had no -difficulty in discovering his house. He saw me at once, listened to my -account of the way Pallanza had passed the night, and promised to see -him without delay. Having thus carried out satisfactorily the first -part of my mission, I departed to perform the second, which involved a -somewhat embarrassing interview with Signorina Angello.</p> - -<p>On arriving at the house of the Maestro, I was received by Petronella, -who threw up her hands with an appeal to the saints when she saw my -haggard appearance and burst out into a volley of questions.</p> - -<p>"Eh! Signor Inglese. Is it not well with you? San Pietro! how the wine -does change a face. Here has the Maestro been asking for you every -day! 'Well! Well!' said I, 'he has gone away like the lover of the -piccola!' And it is true! I see how you return. Eh! Madonna, all men -are bad. I have been married--I know."</p> - -<p>"You are wrong on this occasion, Petronella. I have not been at the -wine, as you seem to think!"</p> - -<p>"But your face, Signor Inglese--like that of a sick person! Gran dio!"</p> - -<p>"Comes from sitting up all night by the bedside of Guiseppe Pallanza."</p> - -<p>Petronella clapped her hands together with an ejaculation of delight</p> - -<p>"He is found, then, the poor young man! Ah! it is well I did not waste -a centesimo in masses; and those priests are such thieves. Eh! this -news will be like wine to the piccola. Go in! go in, Signor Inglese! -the Signorina is there, but the Maestro! he is in bed, which is the -best place for him, say I."</p> - -<p>After this breathless harangue Petronella ushered me into the -sitting-room, where I found Bianca sitting by the window, contemplating -a portrait of her lost lover. She arose when she saw me and came -forward with an anxious look on her paleface, while the faithful but -noisy domestic left the apartment.</p> - -<p>"Well, Signorina, do you feel better?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, yes, Signore, much better; but you have news!--news of -Guiseppe."</p> - -<p>"The best of news, my poor child. Guiseppe is found, and is now at his -lodgings."</p> - -<p>The blood rushed into her hitherto pale cheeks, her melancholy dark -eyes sparkled with joy, and from a pallid, worn-looking girl she -changed into a bright, joyful woman. It was a most wonderful -transformation, as if a wan lily had suddenly blossomed under the wand -of some fairy into a rich red rose.</p> - -<p>"Signor Hugo! Signor Hugo! Ah, the good news! Oh, how happy I am! He -is alive, then? he is well! Oh, say he is well, Signor Hugo!"</p> - -<p>"Signorina, he is still weak after his adventure, and at present he is -in bed."</p> - -<p>"Oh, let me go to him! let me go at once! He may die, my poor -Guiseppe!"</p> - -<p>"No he will not die; but put on your hat and I will take you to him, -for you alone, Signorina, can nurse him back to health and strength."</p> - -<p>Bianca ran to put on her hat and tell the Maestro the good news, which -evidently delighted the old man greatly, judging from the -extraordinary chuckling sounds which shortly proceeded from his -bedroom. Petronella at the doorway celebrated a noisy triumph on her -own account, and at last amid the chucklings of the patriarch and the -loud delight of his handmaiden, Bianca took her departure under my -wing to visit the newly-found prodigal.</p> - -<p>She absolutely danced along the pavement, so exuberant was her delight -at the good news, and I thought how easily I could damp this joy by -telling her the true story of Guiseppe's disappearance. It was a cruel -thought, and I regretted it the moment after it flashed across my -mind; for it would have been the wanton act of a boy crushing a -butterfly to have destroyed the happy ignorance of this merry child, -who, tripping gaily along by my side, put me in mind of the smiling -Hebe of the Greeks, that charming incarnation of joyous maidenhood.</p> - -<p>"Signore!" said Bianca, moderating her transports, "you have not told -me the reason of Guiseppe's absence."</p> - -<p>"I am afraid there is very little to tell, Signorina! He was lured to -the Palazzo by an enemy, who kept him there until last night, when, -luckily, I discovered where he was concealed and released him."</p> - -<p>"Ah, Signor Hugo, how can I thank you for your kindness! Then my poor -Guiseppe was hidden in that terrible room?"</p> - -<p>"He was concealed near it, at all events," I replied evasively.</p> - -<p>"And the voice in the darkness, Signor? Oh, that cruel, cruel voice! -It. has haunted my dreams ever since!"</p> - -<p>"It was nothing, Signorina; it was--it was a friend of mine, who came -to assist me to look for Guiseppe!"</p> - -<p>"Was it a signor or a Signora?" asked Bianca, who, evidently in her -nervous agitation, had not distinguished the feminine tones of the -unknown.</p> - -<p>"It was a signor! a young signor whom I know!"</p> - -<p>"But he saw us in the darkness. Dio! how terrible."</p> - -<p>"No; he did not see us. He guessed we were there, as I told him we -were going to look for Guiseppe, and he came to assist me."</p> - -<p>Bianca was satisfied with this--I flatter myself--skilful explanation, -and stopped asking questions, much to my relief. The number of lies I -was forced to tell in connection with this affair was truly -surprising, but as it was absolutely necessary to keep this poor child -in ignorance of the true state of the case, I ventured to hope that -the Recording Angel would treat them in the same way as he did the -oath of my Uncle Toby, in Sterne's delightful story. Italian intrigue, -from the experience I had of it, was certainly very little to my -taste, as I was by no means a convert to the Jesuitical maxim that the -end justifies the means, therefore it was with a thankful heart that I -saw the whole intricate affair was nearly finished.</p> - -<p>By this time we had arrived at Pallanza's lodgings, and I placed -Bianca in an outer room with strict injunctions that she was not to -leave it until I called her.</p> - -<p>"Guiseppe is still weak, Signorina, and I must prepare him for your -coming."</p> - -<p>The fact is I wanted to carry out my promise to Beltrami, in asking -Pallanza to live in retirement for a few months, and, until this was -arranged, I was unwilling that he should see Bianca. The poor child -fully believing what I said, promised to obey me faithfully in all -things; so leaving her in the outer room I went in to see Pallanza, -whom I found eagerly expecting my arrival.</p> - -<p>To my surprise, the young man was up and dressed, as Dr. Avenza, -finding him So much better, had insisted on him leaving his bed, to -remain in which, he declared, was weakening; so I found Pallanza -walking slowly to and fro to exercise his muscles, but on seeing me he -came forward With an anxious look,--</p> - -<p>"Is she here, Signor Hugo? Has Bianca come?"</p> - -<p>"She is in the next room, Signor! No, do not go to her. I wish to -speak to you."</p> - -<p>"I am at your service, Signor Hugo. You have done so much for me that -I can never repay you."</p> - -<p>"Yes, you can by telling me how you went to the Palazzo Morone on that -night."</p> - -<p>"I will tell all, Signore! You have a right to know. But, Bianca?"</p> - -<p>"She knows nothing."</p> - -<p>A look of relief came over the anxious face of the young man, and we -both sat down to continue the conversation.</p> - -<p>"I met Madame Morone at Rome, Signore," said Pallanza with some faint -hesitation, "and we were together a great deal. I did not love her -exactly, but she being a great lady flattered my pride. Of course, I -should have remembered Bianca, but she was not beside me, and as to -the Contessa! ah, Signore Hugo, who can escape when a woman wills? -Madame Morone made me afraid at last. She is a tigress, that woman, -and threatened to kill me if I left her for another. I saw how -dangerous was her love, and telling her I was going to marry the -Signorina Angello, left Rome for Verona. She followed me here and took -me to the Palazzo Morone on Sunday, where she exhausted every means of -making me give up Bianca. I should not tell you all this about a -woman, Signor, but by her attempt to kill me she has released me from -the laws of honour. Cospetto! she is a mistress of the devil. Her rage -is terrible, and on Sunday she implored, she wept, she raged, she -threatened, but I was true to Bianca, and at last escaped from the -palazzo intending never to see her again. On Monday night, however, I -received a letter----"</p> - -<p>"From a dying friend?" I interrupted meaningly.</p> - -<p>"Eh! I said so in order to keep the affair from Bianca, as I knew if -she heard about it I should be lost. No! Signor Hugo. The letter was -from the Contessa, saying that if I did not come by eleven o'clock to -the room in the palazzo, in order to bid her farewell, she would go at -once to the Signorina Angello and tell all. Per Bacco! Signor, you may -guess my fear at this message; and I determined to go to the palazzo -at any cost. The opera was long that night, and before the curtain -descended it was past eleven. I was so afraid of the Contessa -fulfilling her threat that I did not wait to change my costume, but -throwing on my cloak over my dress of Faust, went at once to the -palazzo. She was not in the room, and I had a horrible fear that I was -too late, but I waited for some time, and she came. We had another -scene of tears, reproaches and rage, then----"</p> - -<p>"I can tell you the rest, Signor Pallanza. She gave you the poison in -a cup of wine, and when you fell at her feet she shut you up in a -hiding-place, from whence you were rescued."</p> - -<p>"By you, Signor, by you?"</p> - -<p>"No; by the Marchese Beltrami, who took you to his house, and after -many days revived you with an antidote to the poison which he obtained -with great difficulty."</p> - -<p>"But the Marchese! You, Signor, how did you see all this?"</p> - -<p>"Ah! that is a long story. I will tell it to you another time, but at -present you must promise me something."</p> - -<p>"Anything, Signor Hugo! For you have saved my life from that terrible -woman."</p> - -<p>"She is indeed a terrible woman! and it is to escape her vengeance -that I advise you not to sing for at least two months."</p> - -<p>"But my engagement at the Ezzelino?"</p> - -<p>"Pay forfeit-money. Say you are ill and cannot sing. Then return to -Milan with the Signorina and marry her at once."</p> - -<p>"But the Contessa?"</p> - -<p>"Has gone to Rome for the present; but as soon as she finds out you -are alive she will come after you; so, if you are wise, Signor -Pallanza, you will obtain some engagement out of Italy."</p> - -<p>"Basta, Signor! your advice is good, and I will do what you ask. For -two months I will not sing. I will pay the forfeit-money to the -Ezzelino and return to Milan with Bianca. It is best so. Per Bacco! -what a demon I have escaped!"</p> - -<p>I felt greatly relieved that everything had thus been settled, so -arose from my chair to take Pallanza to the Signorina, after which I -intended to go straight to my hotel and write a letter to Beltrami, -telling him of all that had taken place.</p> - -<p>"Come, Signor Pallanza, lean on me, and I will take you to Bianca."</p> - -<p>"Ah! cara Bianca," he cried joyfully, as I led him to the door; -"Bianca, Bianca, gioja della mia vita!"</p> - -<p>"Guiseppe!"</p> - -<p>She saw him standing with outstretched arms on the threshold of the -room, and with a cry of joy flew towards him like a bird to its nest, -and flung herself on his breast.</p> - -<p>As for me, I went out of the room and left them together.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_16" href="#div1Ref_16">CHAPTER XVI.</a></h4> -<h5>AN INTERRUPTED HONEYMOON</h5> -<br> - -<p>Well, at last I was back in Milan, much to my satisfaction, as after -the strange adventures I had met with in Verona that city became -positively hateful to me. Two months had elapsed since the affair of -the Palazzo Morone had come to an end, and during that time two -marriages in connection therewith had been celebrated--that of -Beltrami with the Contessa Morone, at Rome; and that of Guiseppe -Pallanza with Signorina Bianca, at Milan. True to his promise, -Guiseppe had forfeited his engagement at the Ezzelino, much to the -wrath of the impresario, and had rested quietly since at Milan, -passing most of his time with Bianca, who was now in a state of high -glee preparing for her marriage.</p> - -<p>It took place at the church of St. Stefano, in Milan, and out of -consideration for the great age of the Maestro it was a very quiet -affair, I being the only one present beyond the Angello household, but -that was at the urgent request of both Bianca and her husband, who -never forgot the services I had rendered them at Verona.</p> - -<p>Thanks to my dexterity, Bianca never discovered the truth, and fully -believed that Guiseppe had been kept a prisoner at the Palazzo Morone -by some enemy who had lured him thither, by means of the letter -purporting to come from a dying friend. At first, considering the weak -way in which Guiseppe had acted, I did not consider that he deserved -his good fortune in marrying such a charming girl as the Signorina, -but during the time that preceded the marriage he was so devoted to -her in every way, and apparently so remorseful for his amorous folly, -that I quite forgave him his momentary infidelity. It was a very -pretty wedding, the bride and bridegroom making a handsome couple, and -when the ceremony was ended Signor and Signora Pallanza went to spend -the honeymoon of a few days at Monza, and I was left alone in Milan.</p> - -<p>Guiseppe had obtained an engagement at the Madrid Opera House, and on -their return from Monza the young couple were to start almost -immediately for Spain, leaving the Maestro under the tender care of -Petronella. The old man's health had been failing sadly of late, and I -doubted very much whether Bianca would find him alive on her return to -Italy, seeing how frail he was in every respect.</p> - -<p>Now that he was deprived of his right hand by the marriage of his -granddaughter, the Maestro decided to give up teaching, at which -decision I was profoundly sorry, as only having been with him a year I -had still many things to learn in the art of vocalisation. There was, -unfortunately, no one else with whom I could study the same system, -for Paolo Angello taught the old, pure Italian method, of which he -was the last exponent; and I infinitely preferred the round sonorous -notes which his training produced to the shouting, colourless style of -present-day singing, which curses the voice with a perpetual tremolo. -The elaborate fioriture school of Pasta, Grisi, Ronconi, and Malibran -has almost entirely passed away, and in its place what have we in -Italy?--nothing but the present abominable fortissimo singing, without -grace, sweetness, steadiness, or colour. The old Italian operas were -composed not so much as stage performances as to show off the beauty, -execution and brilliancy of the voice, while this new school of -music-drama; designed principally for dramatic effect, is interpreted -by singers who rely but little on the perfection of the vocal organ, -and pride themselves not so much on the individual colouring of a -single number as on the general broad effect of the whole. Fortunately, -however, by incessant work during my one year under Angello, I had -acquired a pretty good idea of his system of vocalisation, and hoped, -by cautious industry in following out his hard and fast rules, to -perfect my singing in accordance with his severely pure method.</p> - -<p>Of the Marchese Beltrami and his wife I heard but little, save through -the medium of the papers, as except one letter announcing his marriage -with the Contessa, and thanking me for my attention to his interests, -this ungrateful Luigi had not written to me. I consoled myself with -philosophical reflections on the hollowness of friendship, when one -day, towards the end of July, I was astonished to receive a visit from -the Marchese.</p> - -<p>Pallanza and his wife had returned to Milan, and were making -preparations for their departure, which was now near at hand. I had -just come back from a visit to the Maestro with whom they were -staying, and was writing letters in my bedroom, when Beltrami's card -was brought to me, upon which I ordered him to be shown into the room -in which I was scribbling, so as to secure perfect privacy during our -conversation.</p> - -<p>In those days of poverty I lived like a cat on the tiles, up four -flights of stairs just under the roof, and my one room served me for -everything,--that is, as dining-room, reception-salon, and sleeping -chamber. I took my meals at a sufficiently good restaurant near at -hand, but otherwise the whole of my indoor life was bounded by the -four walls of that small apartment, which contained an ingenious bed -made to look like a sofa during the day, a wardrobe, a wash-stand, and -a diminutive piano of German manufacture hired by myself. Yet, as -Beranger sings, "One is happy in a garret at twenty years of age," and -I think the days spent in that dingy Milanese eyry were among the -most delightful of my life. I was young, enthusiastic, not badly off -for a poor man, and devoted to my art, so I used to strum chords on -that small piano while I practised my voice, act operatic scenes in -front of the looking glass, and dream impossible dreams of applausive -multitudes, of recklessly-generous impresarios, and of a career like -that of the kings of song.</p> - -<p>Then I had a view--a delightful view--of the red-roofed houses of -Milan, seen from the window, with here and there a tall factory -chimney, the slender tower of a church from whence sounded the -jangling bells which used to irritate me, at least, every quarter of -an hour, and just a glimpse of the white miracle of the great Duomo, -rising like a fairy creation of milky lacework against the deeply blue -sky. Even a vision of green trees I obtained by craning my head round -the corner of the window, and when it was fine weather I looked at my -roof-top view while enjoying a pipe, but when it rained--oh! heavens, -Milan was as dreary as London in a fog, and the blue skies of Italy -became a fable of inventive minds. The intense heat changed to humid -cold, and then I used to shut out this deceptive city of the Visconti -by closing my window, and, retreating to the piano, practise exercises -with a voice rendered, I am afraid, rather gruff by the chill -terra-cotta floor and the damp atmosphere.</p> - -<p>It was in this poor but honest abode, as the novelists say, that I -received Beltrami, who entered gaily in civilian dress with -outstretched hands, looking exactly the same as when I had last seen -him at Verona. Marriage evidently had not changed him, as he had the -same subtle smile on his dark face, talked in the same vein of -cynicism, and interlarded his conversation with his usual number of -French ejaculations.</p> - -<p>"Eh! Hugo, mon ami," shaking both my hands heartily, "you are -astonished to see me!"</p> - -<p>"Considering you have never written me a line since your marriage, -Beltrami, I certainly am."</p> - -<p>I suppose I spoke with a certain bitterness, for the Marchese shrugged -his shoulders, with a slight flush reddening his cheeks, and sat down -on the bed--I mean, seeing it was daytime--the sofa.</p> - -<p>"Ma foi! I am a newly-married man, Hugo!" he said, in an apologetic -tone, "I have forgotten everything in the delightful society of that -dear Contessa. But you are right to reproach me; I ought to have -written, only I am so terribly negligent."</p> - -<p>"And fickle; don't forget that trait of your character, Luigi. -However, I'm glad to see you, fickle friend as you are."</p> - -<p>"Dame! you don't spare me. I have called on you for a purpose!"</p> - -<p>"That goes without saying. When one requires a friend one always knows -where to find him. Well, Marchese, and in what way can I assist you?"</p> - -<p>"I will tell you! but I see you do not ask after my wife?"</p> - -<p>"I trust Madame Beltrami is well!" I said stiffly, not feeling any -particularly warm feeling towards that lady.</p> - -<p>"Yes! her health is good."</p> - -<p>"And you are happy, Beltrami?"</p> - -<p>"Tolerably! But tell me, how is Pallanza and his wife?"</p> - -<p>"Oh, they live in Elysium, Marchese. At present they are in Milan, but -leave next week for Madrid, where Pallanza is going to sing."</p> - -<p>"He'll have to go by himself, then!"</p> - -<p>"What do you mean?"</p> - -<p>"That Madame, my very good wife, is hunting through Milan for his -Elysium, with that famous bottle of poison in her pocket."</p> - -<p>"Great heavens! Is she going to try and poison Pallanza again?"</p> - -<p>"No! you remember the Latin maxim, 'Non bis in idem.' She is going to -try the effect of the poison on his wife."</p> - -<p>"And yet you can sit there calmly without making an attempt to save -this innocent creature! Beltrami, it is infamous!"</p> - -<p>I was walking up and down the room in a state of great excitement, for -it seemed horrible and incomprehensible to see the Marchese sitting -there so calm and composed, when he knew that a reckless, dangerous -woman like his wife was in Milan bent on murder.</p> - -<p>"Eh! Hugo, keep cool," said Beltrami, quietly. "It is just this affair -I have come to see you about. Sit down, mon ami, and I'll tell you all -about it."</p> - -<p>"But every moment is of value!"</p> - -<p>"No doubt, but as it will take madame some time to find out where -Signor Pallanza is staying, I think we can safely talk for five -minutes."</p> - -<p>"Go on, then! I am all impatience!"</p> - -<p>"So I see! Ebbene! When I went to Rome I told the Contessa that I had -taken away Pallanza's body; but of course I did not say he was alive, -and swore that if she did not marry me I would tell everything to the -authorities. The sequel you know--she married me."</p> - -<p>"A horrible contract," I muttered savagely, looking at the whole -affair from an English point of view.</p> - -<p>"I-think we argued that matter before," said Beltrami, coolly, "and, -if I remember rightly, you did not agree with my reasons. However, it -is too late now to blame me, seeing I have been married for nearly -five weeks. We spent our honeymoon at Como--in fact, mon ami, we are -spending it there still, only a perusal of yesterday's Lombardia sent -my excellent wife off to this city in search of Signora Pallanza."</p> - -<p>"I do not understand."</p> - -<p>"No? Then I will enlighten you. Madame, my wife, thought this devil of -a tenor dead, and, as he has been keeping quiet all this time, she -never for a moment suspected the truth. I saw an announcement of his -marriage in the newspapers, but you may be sure I did not let the -Marchesa see it. Everything was going beautifully, and we were a model -couple--outwardly--when, as ill-luck would have it, this paragraph -appeared in the paper."</p> - -<p>Beltrami handed me a copy of La Lombardia, and pointed to a paragraph, -which I read. It stated that Guiseppe Pallanza, the famous tenor, was -going to sing at the Grand Opera House, Madrid, and would be -accompanied to Spain by his wife, the granddaughter of Maestro -Angello, the celebrated teacher of singing.</p> - -<p>"You can guess what a rage she was in," said Beltrami, when I had -finished reading this fatal information. "Diavolo! she has a temper; -but, as I told you, I am quite a match for Madame, and held my own -during this furious quarrel. She demanded an explanation, and I gave -her one."</p> - -<p>"What? you told her----"</p> - -<p>"Everything, mon ami. Your story, my story, Pallanza's story--all -about the antidote, the vault, the supper. Eh! Hugo, she now knows as -much as you or I. Mon Dieu, you should have seen her when I had -finished!"</p> - -<p>"Why? what did she do?"</p> - -<p>"She smiled, that was all; but it was the smile that alarmed me."</p> - -<p>"For your own safety?"</p> - -<p>"Ma foi, no! I told her she need not try the poison on me, as I had -the antidote. In reply, she gave one of those wicked laughs that -freeze your blood, and said that Signora Pallanza had not an antidote, -and it would be the worse for her."</p> - -<p>"Then she intends to poison the poor girl?"</p> - -<p>"I fancied so yesterday, and I was sure of it this morning, when I -heard from my servants that the Marchesa Beltrami had gone to Milan. I -knew what she was after, so followed by the next train, and came -straight to you."</p> - -<p>"And what do you want me to do, Beltrami?"</p> - -<p>"Come with me at once to the Casa Angello, to warn Signora Pallanza! I -suppose she is still staying with the Maestro Angello?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, until she goes to Spain with her husband. Let us go at once, -Luigi. But, oh! Beltrami, if we are too late!"</p> - -<p>"Do not be alarmed! I have the antidote in my pocket."</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_17" href="#div1Ref_17">CHAPTER XVII.</a></h4> -<h5>NEMESIS.</h5> -<br> - -<p>The Maestro had a very comfortable suite of apartments -in Milan overlooking the Via Carlo Alberto, near -the Piazza del Duomo, which were chosen by him on -account of their situation, as he could sit at the window -of his bedroom and amuse himself by gazing at the -crowded street. This watching of the populace was his -great delight, and when not giving a lesson he was -generally stationed at his window, or else employed in -reading <i>Il Seccolo</i>, which he did in a curious fashion, -by holding it close to his best-seeing eye.</p> - -<p>Of course, like all the entrances to these Milanese -flats, the stairs were singularly damp, dark, and malodorous, -and after running the gauntlet of a fat <i>portanaia</i>, -who was devouring a large dish of polenta in her glass -house, we climbed up the humid steps, and speedily -arrived at the second storey, where dwelt the Maestro -when in Milan. To make up for the filth under our -feet the ceilings over our heads were gorgeously painted -with mythological figures; and even at that moment I -could not help recalling George Sands' remark anent -the contrast between these two. However, we had no -time to admire the clumsy Jupiter throwing fire-brand -thunderbolts, for at this moment Petronella, who had -seen us through the dingy glass of her own little -sanctum, opened the door, and was about to burst into -a torrent of greetings, when I stopped her to ask if the -Signora Pallanza was at home.</p> - -<p>"Yes! yes! the Signora is in, but she is engaged-- -engaged in talking with a lady--Dio! a great lady!</p> - -<p>"Great heavens! we may be too late!" I muttered -to Beltrami, who nodded his head silently. "Petronella, -speak low. This gentleman and myself came on an -important errand to the Signora. What is the lady's -name?"</p> - -<p>"Signor, she said she was the Marchesa Beltrami," -replied Petronella, her jolly face growing rather grave -at all this mystery.</p> - -<p>"Is Signor Pallanza in?"</p> - -<p>"No, Signor Hugo; he has gone to see an impresario."</p> - -<p>"She is alone with Madame, let us go in at once," -whispered Beltrami, exhibiting the first signs of alarm -I had ever beheld in him.</p> - -<p>"One moment! What about the Maestro, Petronella?"</p> - -<p>"In his bedroom, Signor Hugo, at the window. -Holy Saints! what is wrong?"</p> - -<p>"Nothing! nothing! I will explain all shortly; but -meanwhile, Petronella, show us a place where we can -see into the room where the Signora is talking to the -Marchesa, without being seen."</p> - -<p>Beltrami nodded his head approvingly, for he saw -my plan was to overhear the conversation, and only interrupt -it should there be any danger to the Signora. -Petronella was bursting with curiosity, but seeing, from -the expression of our faces, that something important -was going on, she screwed up her mouth with a shrewd -look, to assure us we could depend upon her, and, closing -the outside door cautiously, led us into the room adjacent -to that in which the conversation was taking place. -Pointing to an archway, veiled by curtains, to intimate -that there was nothing else but the drapery to impede -our hearing, she retired on tiptoe, with a puzzled, serious -look on her usually merry face.</p> - -<p>It seemed my fate to overhear mysterious conversations -through veiled archways, but this one was not -used as an entrance between the two rooms, for, as I -peered through the curtains, 1 saw in front of them a -small square table, upon which was placed a lacquered -tray with glasses, and an oval straw-covered bottle of -Chianti wine. I drew back for a moment, to see if Beltrami -had noticed this obstacle to our sudden entrance -into the room; but, instead of appearing dismayed, -he had a grim, satisfied smile on his lips, as if he rather -approved than otherwise of this table blocking up the -doorway. Puzzled at this, I withdrew my eyes from his -face, and looked again into the room beyond, where the -Marchesa Beltrami was seated, talking to Bianca in -what appeared to be a very friendly fashion.</p> - -<p>It must be remembered that Bianca knew nothing -about the Contessa Morone's intrigue with her husband, -as both Guiseppe and myself had carefully kept all -knowledge of the affair from her; and moreover, owing -to her nervous agitation, she had not recognized the -voice of the Marchesa when she spoke to us in the -darkness of that fatal chamber at Verona. Consequently -she was completely in ignorance of the real -character of her visitor, and only beheld in her a lady -who had called to see Signor Pallanza about some important -business; this, as I afterwards learned, being -the excuse she gave for her presence in the Casa Angello. -It was truly terrible to see these two women -seated together in friendly discourse, the one so innocent -of the danger she was in, the other so ruthless in -her determination to revenge herself on her rival. The -pure white dove was in the clutches of this relentless -hawk, who, while watching her victim so closely, was -meditating as to the best means of carrying out her -plans.</p> - -<p>"Oh, it is horrible!" I murmured, turning pale with -emotion.</p> - -<p>"Hush!" whispered Beltrami with a sinister look; -"she will fall into her own pit."</p> - -<p>What did he mean by these strange words? I could -not understand; but I had no time nor desire to ask for -an explanation, as the terrible drama being played out -in the next room riveted my attention; so, with a -violent effort of self-repression, I resumed my post of -observation, and listened to the conversation between -the two actresses in the tragedy. It was idle and -frivolous, the conversation of two strangers who had -nothing to talk about but the merest commonplace; -but this frivolity had for us a ghastly meaning; this -commonplace concealed a frightful intention.</p> - -<p>"And so, Signora Pallanza, you have never heard your -husband mention my name!"</p> - -<p>"No, Madame!"</p> - -<p>"It is strange," said the Marchesa, smiling; "for in -Rome I did what I could to help him in his profession. -Eh! yes. I heard him singing Faust at the Apollo, -and told all my friends to go and hear the New Mario."</p> - -<p>"That is what they call him here, Signora," replied -Bianca proudly; "but, indeed, it was kind of you to aid -him. I wonder Guiseppe never spoke to me about you, -for he never forgets a kindness."</p> - -<p>"Ah! I'm afraid some men have not much gratitude," -said Madame Beltrami with a laugh. "Never -mind, when Signor Pallanza comes in you will see he -has not forgotten me."</p> - -<p>"He could hardly do that, Madame," answered -Bianca, looking with honest admiration at the splendid -beauty of the woman before her. "Had I seen you -before I would always have remembered you! But--it -is so strange!"</p> - -<p>"What is strange, Signora?"</p> - -<p>"I do not recognize your face, and yet I seem to have -heard your voice before."</p> - -<p>"Possibly!" said the Marchesa indifferently. "I go -about a good deal."</p> - -<p>"Were you ever in Verona?"</p> - -<p>Madame Beltrami was startled for the moment at this -apparently innocent question, but recovered her self-possession -in a moment, and laughed gaily in a rather forced -fashion,--</p> - -<p>"Yes, Signora! I lived there a long time with my -first husband, Count Giorgio Morone."</p> - -<p>"Morone!" cried Bianca, starting to her feet with a -cry of alarm. "Oh! Madame, do you know that -palace?"</p> - -<p>The Marchesa saw that she had made a mistake by -mentioning that fatal name, but with iron nerve opened -a fan she had hanging to her girdle and fanned herself -slowly.</p> - -<p>"Of course I do," she answered quietly; "it belongs -to the family of my late husband, and is said to be -haunted."</p> - -<p>Bianca shivered.</p> - -<p>"So it is! so it is!" she muttered in a fearful tone. -"I have been in that room. Signor Hugo took me -there."</p> - -<p>"Signor Hugo!" repeated the Marchesa reflectively.</p> - -<p>"I think I have heard my husband speak of that gentleman. -He is English, is he not?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, Madame. A great friend of my husband's. A -terrible thing happened to Guiseppe at Verona! Oh! -a terrible thing. And that room, that fearful room! -Dio! I shall never forget it."</p> - -<p>"You are trembling, Signora! You are ill," cried -Madame Beltrami, rising to her feet and crossing -quickly to the table before the curtain behind which we -were concealed. "Let me give you some wine."</p> - -<p>"No, no! thank you. I am quite well!" said -Bianca, going to the window and opening it. "It is -only the heat. The fresh air will do me good."</p> - -<p>"A glass of wine will be better," replied the Marchesa, -pouring out a glass of Chianti.</p> - -<p>I felt myself seized with a kind of vertigo at seeing -this demon take from her breast a small bottle and -empty the whole contents of it into the glass. I would -have cried out only the voice of Bianca arrested -me,--</p> - -<p>"I am perfectly well, Madame; but will you not -take some wine yourself, since the day is so warm?"</p> - -<p>"Certainly, if you will drink with me!" said -Madame Beltrami, turning round with a calm smile; -"but indeed the wine will do you good, you seem to -faint."</p> - -<p>She poured out another glass of the Chianti for herself, -and was about to take the fatal drink to Bianca, when -the latter called quickly from the window,--</p> - -<p>"Madame! quick! come here! Guiseppe is coming -down the street!"</p> - -<p>Out of courtesy the Marchesa was forced to obey the -call of her hostess, and went quickly to the window, -leaving the two wine-glasses close together on the table, -the one on the left containing the poison destined for -Bianca, the other on the right innocent of any drug, -which she intended to drink herself.</p> - -<p>At this moment, while the two women were looking -out of the window, I heard the voice of Beltrami, -hoarse and broken, sound in my ear,--</p> - -<p>"Go to the door and tell the servant to detain Pallanza!"</p> - -<p>I looked at him in astonishment, for there was a -frightful look of agitation in his pale face, and great -drops of sweat were standing on his brow; but he made -an imperative gesture, and I obeyed him without a -word.</p> - -<p>Petronella was in the kitchen, and I hurriedly told -her to keep Pallanza at the door on some pretext or -another, and stole quickly back to the room, where I -found Beltrami leaning against the wall with a haggard -look on his face.</p> - -<p>"What is the matter?" I whispered quickly. "Are -you ill?"</p> - -<p>"No, no! Look!--look!--see! See what she is -doing!"</p> - -<p>I had only been gone a little over two minutes between -the time I had last looked in the room and the -moment I resumed my post of observation, but during -that period the Marchesa, evidently afraid of the entrance -of Pallanza, had given Bianca the fatal wine, and -the girl was drinking it at the window. Madame Beltrami -herself, with rather a pale face, but a devilish look -in her eyes, had just set down her glass upon the table, -empty. A moment after Bianca, having drained the -fatal draught to the dregs, came across to the table and -placed her glass beside that of the Marchesa's with a -merry laugh.</p> - -<p>"I am glad you persuaded me to have the wine, -Signora. It is so refreshing."</p> - -<p>"Yes, I think you will find it so," replied the Marchesa, -with a strange smile.</p> - -<p>The whole of this terrible scene had passed so rapidly -that I had no time to interfere. My tongue clove to -the roof of my mouth, as I saw Bianca drink the -Borgian wine; yet with a mighty effort I was about to -cry out, when Beltrami seized my arm in his powerful -grasp, and dared me, with lurid eyes, to utter a sound.</p> - -<p>The Marchesa, having completed her devilish work, -was about to go, for I heard her say something to Bianca -about seeing Pallanza on the stairs, when suddenly we -heard Guiseppe's gay voice talking to Petronella, who -strove to detain him; but with a merry laugh he brushed -past her, and a moment afterwards was in the room. -Standing there in the grasp of Beltrami, hidden by the -curtains, there seemed to be a silence lasting an eternity; -then we heard Guiseppe give a terrible cry of rage and -fear, and despair,--</p> - -<p>"Giulietta! you here! Demon! what are you -doing?"</p> - -<p>Slow and soft, like the hiss of a snake, came the -answer,--</p> - -<p>"Doing to her what I did to you."</p> - -<p>"Poison! Bianca!"</p> - -<p>The poor girl gave a terrible shriek of agony, and -flung herself into the arms of her husband, while again -there sounded the wicked laugh of the Marchesa.</p> - -<p>"Ah! you cannot save her now, traitor! perjurer that -you are! she will die!"</p> - -<p>There was a sudden smash of glass, as Beltrami -hurled himself through the archway and stood before -his terrible wife.</p> - -<p>"You lie, wretch! Here is the antidote!"</p> - -<p>Bianca was lying unconscious in Guiseppe's arms, -and he, with a cry of joy, stretched out his hand for the -phial which Beltrami, standing midway between his -wife and the tenor, was holding. Suddenly, with a -shriek of rage, the Marchesa sprang forward, and tearing -the phial from his hand, hurled it through the open -window into the street.</p> - -<p>"No, no! She shall die! She shall die!"</p> - -<p>I shall never forget that supreme moment of anguish. -Bianca lying pale as a lily in the arms of her agonized -husband; myself standing amid the ruins of the table -in the archway; the Marchesa erect, defiant, and snarling -like an enraged tigress; and only Beltrami calm--</p> - -<p>Beltrami standing cold and inflexible, with folded arms -and a sinister smile on his thin lips. The whole of this -frightful drama had only lasted a few minutes, but the -denouement, more terrible than anything that had gone -before, had now arrived.</p> - -<p>"She shall die!" repeated the Marchesa with devilish -persistency.</p> - -<p>Beltrami gave a wild laugh that sounded like the -mocking merriment of a fiend,--</p> - -<p>"Fool! you have thrown away your life!"</p> - -<p>Guiseppe looked up with sudden hope, and the -Marchesa with a cry of abject terror reeled back with -staring eyes and outstretched arms as the truth flashed -across her mind.</p> - -<p>"Life! life! oh! devil that you are, you--you--have -changed--"</p> - -<p>The fierce beauty of her face was suddenly distorted -by a spasm of agony. She put her hands to her throat -and tore open her dress, tore off the ruby necklace, the -gems of which flashed down to the floor like a rain of -blood, then with a yell of fear which had nothing -human in its despair, she fell at our feet--dead.</p> - -<p>Yes, she had fallen into her own pit; she had flung -away her only chance of life in her desire to doom her -rival and there amid the brilliant sunshine, amid the -blood-red jewels scattered around her, with all her -crimes, devilries, and wickedness on her head, lay the -dead body of that Creature of the Night I had seen -issue like a vampire from the old sepulchre to fulfil her -evil destiny; and over her with folded arms, sinister and -cruel, towered the man who, as the instrument of God, -had sent her back to the hell from whence she had -emerged.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_18" href="#div1Ref_18">CHAPTER XVIII.</a></h4> -<h5>A LAST WORD</h5> -<br> - -<p>It was at the Paris Opera House that I last saw Beltrami, three years -after the death of that terrible woman. Things had gone exceedingly -well with me since my student life in Milan, and I can say without -vanity that Signor Hugo Urbino holds a very good position among -operatic artists of to-day. After leaving Angello I devoted another -year to hard study, and was finally pronounced fit to appear before an -Italian audience by my last Maestro. This, however, was only half the -battle, for now, having gained complete control of my vocal powers, I -had to take lessons in scena from Maestro Biagio, or, in other words, -I had to study the art of acting. I elected to make my débût in the -fine part of Renato in Verdi's opera, "Un Ballo in Maschera," and -having learned the music thoroughly, Biagio taught me how to render -the character, dramatically speaking. This took some time, as every -movement, every action, every gesture had to be studied; but with -perseverance I overcame all difficulties, and at length found myself -capable of rendering the character of Renato in a sufficiently good -style. In passing I may say that, as far as I have found, it is -ridiculous to think that acting comes instinctively. No doubt a -histrionic genius is able to give a gesture or strike an attitude -during the emotion engendered by the performance of a part, but he -must always hold himself well under control, and, broadly speaking, -act the character, as he studied it, in cold blood. Otherwise, carried -away by his powers, he would do things likely to upset the entire -mechanism of the scene. I have sung the part of Renato many times -since my first appearance, and the critics are pleased to consider it -a striking performance, but whatever touches on the spur of the moment -I have introduced, the broad rendering of the character always remains -precisely the same as taught to me by Maestro Biagio.</p> - -<p>Being thus in a position to sing and act the part, my greatest -difficulties commenced, and I can safely say that I never met a more -unscrupulous set of scoundrels than these sixth-rate impresarios who -go about Milan, like degraded Satans, seeking whom they may devour. -English students, being popularly supposed to be made of money, are -their favourite victims, and they demand from these the sum of four or -five hundred francs as the price of a scrittura, <i>i.e</i>., an appearance -on the stage. In a playful, ironical fashion they call this sum a -present, I suppose after the fashion of Henry VIII.--I think it was -that king--who dubbed his taxes "Benevolences;" and if you do not make -the impresario "a present," you certainly will not get an appearance -in Italy. With this money they take a theatre in a small town and put -on the opera in which you desire to sing, but even then it is doubtful -whether the débût so dearly purchased will come off at all.</p> - -<p>The first impresario with whom I had to deal was a dingy individual, -who, according to his own account, had brought out all the greatest -singers of Europe for the last twenty years, and, having made him "a -present" of two hundred francs--he was a modest man and asked no -more--it was arranged that I should make my débût at Como but on -arriving there for rehearsals I found that both the present and the -impresario had vanished, like Macbeth's witches, into thin air. -Considerably disheartened by this sample of Italian honesty, I yet had -sufficient faith to trust another gentleman in the same fashion, but -he must have been a brother of the first impresario, for he too -vanished. I now began to perceive that there were still brigands -in Italy, but that having become civilised, they were either -hotel-keepers or impresarios, and as my two unfortunate attempts to -get a scrittura had ended in disaster, I was not very anxious to make -any one a third "present."</p> - -<p>However, it was no use turning back when within the sight of the goal, -so I consulted Maestro Biagio, who kindly interested himself on my -behalf, and introduced me to an honest impresario, who required the -necessary present, but nevertheless fulfilled his promise of -introducing me to the Italian public. I made my débût at Brescia with -great success, and at the conclusion of the season, for which, of -course, I did not receive a penny, I had plenty of offers from all -parts of the Continent. To make a long story short, I sang everywhere -I possibly could, and, having secured an excellent reputation, by an -unexpected stroke of good fortune I was engaged to sing at the Paris -Opera House two years after my débût. I think Dame Fortune was anxious -to make reparation to Hugo Urbino for the misfortunes of Hugh -Cranston, for, to my great delight, I was favourably received by the -critical Parisians, and before the season ended was overwhelmed with -offers of lucrative engagements.</p> - -<p>What with my good fortune and the constant excitement of the life of -an artiste, I had almost forgotten the episode of Verona when I was -reminded of it by the unexpected appearance of Luigi Beltrami, who -came to my dressing-room one night at the conclusion of "Il Barbiere," -in which I had been singing the part of Figaro.</p> - -<p>He was changed, this cynical Marchese, since I had last seen him, and -changed for the better, as he had lost his former sinister air and -looked much happier and brighter than formerly. Since our parting in -Milan he had written me frequently, but of late his letters ceased, so -I was somewhat puzzled how to account for this new air of -cheerfulness. However, we shook hands heartily, being glad to see one -another, and Beltrami, lighting one of his eternal cigarettes, sat -down to wait until I was ready to leave the theatre.</p> - -<p>"Eh! Hugo," he said, gaily blowing a cloud of smoke, "so things have -gone well with you, mon ami?"</p> - -<p>"Exceedingly well, Beltrami, or you would not see me in this room."</p> - -<p>"Bene! I congratulate you."</p> - -<p>"Many thanks, Marchese; but you look as if life were agreeing with -you."</p> - -<p>Beltrami laughed, not with his former sardonic merriment, but with a -hearty sense of enjoyment.</p> - -<p>"Ma foi, yes! I am married again!"</p> - -<p>"Oh! I hope I can congratulate you this time," I said with great -significance.</p> - -<p>"The present Marchesa is an angel, mon ami. Dame! I had enough of -demons with the Contessa Morone."</p> - -<p>"Well, she was punished for her sins."</p> - -<p>"Eh! what would you? There is a God, mon ami, and He was wearied of -the crimes of that Lucrezia Borgia. But what about the poor girl she -tried to poison?"</p> - -<p>"Signora Pallanza! Oh, I hear she is in America with her husband. He -has made a wonderful success in New York, and Bianca tells me they -have two children, a boy and a girl."</p> - -<p>"A new Mario and Patti, I suppose. Diavolo! what a pity the old -Maestro is not alive to train the voices of his great-grandchildren!"</p> - -<p>"Yes, he is dead, poor old man! I heard all about it in Vienna, and -Petronella has gone to America to look after her beloved piccola. -Well, Angello had a long life, but he was not immortal."</p> - -<p>"Dame! perhaps his system is immortal. It ought to be if your singing -is an example."</p> - -<p>"Ah, flatterer!"</p> - -<p>"No; upon my word your Figaro was delightful. It is such a relief to -hear a voice without that awful tremolo. But come, are you ready? I -want you to sup with me."</p> - -<p>"I will be delighted, Beltrami. Is the Marchesa in Paris?"</p> - -<p>"Eh! no, not this time. I am here <i>en garçon</i> for a few days. Madame -is in Florence, where you must come and visit us. We are wonderfully -happy. Dame! who wouldn't be with health, wealth, and an angel of a -wife? Ecco!"</p> - -<p>"You inherited the wealth of Madame Morone?"</p> - -<p>"Ma foi! yes. It was the only good turn she ever did me."</p> - -<p>"Oh!" I cried, with a revulsion of feeling, "you are becoming cynical -again."</p> - -<p>"I always become cynical when I think of that demon."</p> - -<p>"Beltrami," I said after a pause, as we left the Opera House, "there -is a question I have often wished to ask you."</p> - -<p>I felt the Marchese's arm tremble a little in mine, but he laughed in -a nonchalant manner.</p> - -<p>"Eh! ask what you will, mon ami."</p> - -<p>"Did you put your hand through the curtains and change the position of -those glasses?"</p> - -<p>Beltrami stopped and looked at me steadily with a grave look in his -bright eyes.</p> - -<p>"Hugo, mon ami," he said slowly, "I neither deny nor affirm, what you -say. Giulietta Morone was a demon who came into the world to work -evil, and God, wearied of her crimes, sent her back to the hell from -whence she came. I am not much given to religion, Hugo, as you know, -but I believe in a God; and whosoever He chose as an instrument to -destroy that which He permitted to exist, rest assured that such a one -will be held guiltless for executing the just decree of Heaven!"</p> - -<p>He ceased speaking, and we walked on in silence through the crowded -streets under the dark-blue summer sky. I understood perfectly what he -meant, and whether it was right or wrong it is not for me to say, -still I firmly believe that this man obeyed his impulse at that -terrible time, not from any selfish motive, but because he saw clearly -that in removing this frightful creature from the world he was doing a -service to the humanity upon which she preyed.</p> - -<p>All the same, I do not intend to visit the Marchese Beltrami at his -Florentine palazzo.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4>FINIS.</h4> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of A Creature of the Night, by Fergus Hume - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A CREATURE OF THE NIGHT *** - -***** This file should be named 55457-h.htm or 55457-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/5/4/5/55457/ - -Produced by Charles Bowen from page scans provided by the -Internet Archive (The Library of Congress). - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search -facility: www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. - - - -</pre> - -</body> -</html> - - - - - diff --git a/old/old-2025-01-28/55457-0.txt b/old/old-2025-01-28/55457-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 1d2069a..0000000 --- a/old/old-2025-01-28/55457-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5877 +0,0 @@ -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 55457 *** - -Transcriber's Notes: - 1. Page scan source: The Internet Archive - https://archive.org/details/creatureofnighti00hume_0 - (The Library of Congress.) - 2. Chapter XVII. (Nemesis) is misnumbered as XV. in this - edition. - - - - - - -A CREATURE OF THE NIGHT - - - - - -A CREATURE OF THE NIGHT -_AN ITALIAN ENIGMA_ - -BY -FERGUS HUME -AUTHOR OF -"THE MYSTERY OF A HANSOM CAB," "MADAME MIDAS," -"MISS MEPHISTOPHELES," "MONSIEUR JUDAS" - - - - - Yea, out of the womb of the night - For evil a rod, - With vampire wings plumed for a flight - It cometh abroad, - The mission to curse and to blight - Permitted by God. - - - - -NEW YORK -JOHN W. LOVELL COMPANY -150 WORTH ST., COR. MISSION PLACE - - - - - - -Copyright, 1891, -BY -UNITED STATES BOOK COMPANY --------- - -_All rights reserved_. - - - - - - -TO -GRAHAM PRICE, -IN REMEMBRANCE OF ITALIAN IDLINGS, -SPRING, 1891. - - - - - - - -CONTENTS - - -CHAPTER. - -I. The Ghoul. -II. A Boccaccian Adventure. -III. The Feast of Ghosts. -IV. The Angello Household. -V. Lost. -VI. A Haunted Palace. -VII. At the Teatro Ezzelino. -VIII. The Phantom of Lucrezia Borgia. -IX. Fiore della Casa. -X. A Voice in the Darkness. -XI. The Marchese Beltrami. -XII. Death in Life. -XIII. "Down among the Dead Men." -XIV. The New Lazarus. -XV. Found. -XVI. An Interrupted Honeymoon. -XVII. Nemesis. -XVIII. A Last Word. - - - - - - -CREATURE OF THE NIGHT. - - - - -CHAPTER I. -THE GHOUL. - - -I think it is Lord Beaconsfield who, in one of his brilliant stories, -makes the clever observation that "adventures are to the adventurous," -and certainly he who seeks for adventures even in this prosaic -nineteenth century will surely succeed in his quest. Fate leads him, -chance guides him, luck assists him, and although the adventure -supplied by this trinity of circumstances may be neither so dangerous -nor so picturesque as in the time of Borgia or Lazun, still it will -probably be interesting, which after all is something to be grateful -for in this eminently commonplace age of facts and figures. Still, -even he who seeks not to prove the truth of Disraeli's aphorism, may, -after the principle of Mahomet's mountain, have the adventure come to -him, without the trouble of looking for it, and this was my case at -Verona in the summer of 18--. - -The Cranstons were always a poor family, that is, as regards money, -although they certainly could not complain of a lack of ancestors; and -when it came to my turn to represent the race, I found that my lately -deceased father had left me comparatively nothing. Not having any -fixed income, I therefore could not live without doing something to -earn my bread; and not having any business capacity, I foresaw failure -would be my lot in mercantile enterprise. I was not good-looking -enough to inveigle a wealthy heiress into matrimony; and as, after a -survey of my possessions, I found I had nothing but a few hundred -pounds and an excellent baritone voice, I made up my mind to use the -former in cultivating the latter with a view to an operatic career. - -Italy, living on the traditions of the days of Rossini, of Donizetti -and of Bellini, has still the reputation of possessing excellent -singing-masters, so to Italy I went with a hopeful heart and a light -purse, and established myself at Milan, where I took lessons, in -singing, from Maestro Angello. Milan is a detestable city, hot and -arid in summer, cold and humid in winter; and as a year after I -arrived in the land of song the end of spring was unusually -disagreeable, Maestro Angello went to Verona for a change of air, and -thither I followed him with no small pleasure at escaping from that -dreary commercial capital of the north which has all the disagreeables -of Italian life without any of the compensating advantages of romance -and beauty. - -But Verona! ah, it was truly delightful, that sleepy town lying so -peacefully on the banks of the rapid Adige, dreaming amid the riotous -present of the splendid past, when Can Grande held his brilliant -court, and received as an honoured guest the great poet Dante, exiled -by ungrateful Florence. The city of the gay rhymer Catullus, merry -lover of Lesbia, who wept more tears over her sparrow than she did -over her poet. The city of Romeo and Juliet, star-crossed lovers as -they were, who were recompensed for their short, unhappy lives by -gaining immortality from the pen of Shakespeare as types of eternal -love and eternal constancy, for the encouragement of all succeeding -youths and maidens of later generations. Yes, indeed, with all these -memories, historical and poetical, Verona was a pleasant place in -which to idle away a summer, so I thanked the kind gods for my good -fortune and enjoyed myself. - -Not that I was idle. By no means! Maestro Angello kept me hard at work -at exercises and scales, so I studied industriously most of the day -and wandered about most of the night in the soft, cool moonlight, when -Verona looked much more romantic than in the garish blaze of the -Italian sun. - -It was on one of these nights that an adventure happened to me, an -adventure in which I was involved by the merest chance, although I -confess that the vice of curiosity had a good deal to do with my -entanglement therein. - -After dining at the hotel I went out for my customary stroll, and -having lighted a pipe as a preventive against the evil odours which -seem inseparable from all Italian towns, I wandered on through the -deserted streets in a listless, aimless fashion, contrasting in my own -mind the magnificent Verona of the past with the dismal Verona of the -present. Taken up with these fantastic dreamings, I did not notice -particularly where I was going, or how quickly the time was passing, -until I found myself on the Ponte Aleardi--that iron bridge which -spans the Adige--and heard the church bells chiming the hour of -eleven. - -The moon was shining in the darkly blue sky amid the brilliant stars, -and the leaden waters of the river shone like a band of steel in -the pale, silvery light. On either side of the stream lowered dark -masses of houses, from the windows of which gleamed here and there -orange-coloured lights, while against the clear sky arose the tall -steeples of the churches and the serrated outlines of full-foliaged -trees. It was wonderfully beautiful, and the soft wind blowing through -the night, rippled the swift waters to lines of ever-vanishing white; -so leaning over the balustrade of the bridge, I dreamed and smoked, -and smoked and dreamed, until the chiming of the half-hour warned me -to return to my hotel. - -The night, however, was so beautiful and cool, that I could not but -think of my hot sleeping-chamber with repugnance, and feeling -disinclined for rest, I made up my mind to stroll onward for some -time. I might have visited that fraudulent tomb of Juliet in the -moonlight, but as I had already seen it by day, and could not feel -enthusiastic about such a palpable deception, I refused to be further -victimised, and crossed over the bridge to the left shore of the -river. - -It was somewhat solitary, there, but I was not afraid of robbers, as I -had but little money and no jewellery on me, and moreover I felt that, -should occasion arise, I could use my fists sufficiently well to -protect myself. Being thus at ease regarding my personal safety, I -lighted a cigar which luckily happened to be in my pocket, and -wandered on until I came within sight, of the cemetery. - -Now I firmly believe that every one has in him a vein of superstition -which is developed in accordance with his surroundings. Place a man at -midday in a bustling city, and he scoffs at the idea of the -supernatural; but let him find himself at midnight alone on a solitary -moor, with the shadows of moonlight on every side, and all his -inherent superstition will start to life, peopling the surrounding -solitude with unseen phantoms, more terrible than those of the Arabian -Nights. Whether it was the time of night, or the proximity of the -burial-ground, I do not know, but I felt my breast fill with vague -fears, and hastened to leave the uncanny spot as quickly as possible. - -Fate, however, was against me, for in my blind speed, instead of -crossing the bridge, I turned to the left, and unexpectedly found -myself in the vicinity of another burial-ground. It was apparently -much older than the one I had first seen, and there was a ruined wall -around it, overtopped by tall, melancholy cypresses, looming black and -funereal against the midnight sky. By this time I had recovered my -nerve, and feeling somewhat ashamed of my former ignominious flight, I -determined to punish myself by entering this antique abode of the -dead, and examining it thoroughly. - -With this idea I climbed over a portion of the broken wall, and in the -shadow of the cypress-trees--shadow dense as the darkness of Egypt--I -viewed the mournful scene before me, with mingled feelings of -curiosity and dread. - -It was evidently very old, for even under the softening light of the -moon, the near tombs looked discoloured and time-worn. I saw the soft -swell of the green turf, betokening graves, upon which grew the grass -long and rank; the milky gleam of slender white columns, broken at the -top to typify the short lives of those who slept below; and while -yonder, in frowning grey stone, stood a solemn pyramid, built in -imitation of those Egyptian monsters by the Nile, here, near at hand, -a miniature temple of white marble, delicate and fragile in -construction, hinted at the graceful architecture of Greece. Among -these myriad tombs arose the slender, lance-shaped cypress-trees, and -their dark forms alternating with gleaming crosses of white marble, -sombre pyramids, classic temples, and innumerable lines of tall -columns, gave to this singular scene the aspect of a visionary city of -the dead, which had become visible to mortal eyes by the enchantments -of the moon. - -Fascinated by the weirdness of this solitude, I let my cigar fall to -the ground, and, hidden in the gloom of the cypress-trees, stared long -and earnestly at this last abode of the old Veronese, when suddenly my -hair bristled at the roots, a cold sweat broke out on my forehead, and -a nervous shudder made my frame tremble as if with ague. - -The cause of this sudden fear was that, while wrapt in contemplation -of this desolate necropolis, I heard a laugh, a low, wicked laugh, -which seemed to come from the bowels of the earth. It was now nearly -midnight, that hour when the dead are said to come forth and wander -among the living, whose nightly sleep so strangely mocks the semblance -of that still repose which chains these spectres to their tombs during -the day. This idea pierced my brain like a knife, and for the moment, -under the influence of the hour, the ghastly scene, the evil laugh, I -believed that I was about to witness this terrible resurrection. I -tried to turn and fly, but my limbs were paralyzed, and like a statue -of stone I stood there rooted to the earth, feeling as if I were under -the influence of some horrible nightmare. - -Again I heard that wicked laugh, and this time it seemed to come from -a tomb near me, a square block of gray stone, in the centre of which -was an iron door, evidently the entrance to some vault. Beside this -portal stood a life-sized figure in white marble of the Angel of -Death, guarding the entrance with a flaming sword, the undulating -blade of which seemed, to my startled eye, to waver against the -blackness of the door. All round this strange tomb the grass grew long -and thick, but, half veiled by the tangled herbage, star-shaped -flowers glimmered in the moonlight. - -In another moment I would have fled, when for the third time I heard -the evil laugh, the iron door of the tomb slowly opened, and a dark -figure appeared on the threshold. The sight was so terrifying that I -tried to mutter a prayer, feeling at the time as firm a belief in the -visitation of the dead as any old woman; but my throat was so dry that -I could do nothing but remain silent in my hiding-place and stare at -this ghoul, vampire, wraith, or whatever it was, leaving its tomb. - -To add to the horror of the situation, the moon had obscured herself -behind a thick cloud, and there was now a deep darkness over all the -graveyard, a darkness in which I could see nothing, and only hear the -faint sigh of the wind, the rustle of the dry grasses, and the loud -beating of my heart. - -Suddenly I felt that this creature of the night was passing near me, -and in abject terror I shrank back against the rough trunk of the tree -under which I was standing. I heard nothing in the still night, I saw -nothing in the thick darkness; but I felt it pass, by that sixth sense -which is possessed by those who have highly strung nerves. In another -moment the moon emerged from behind the clouds in all her splendour, -and the burst of light gave me courage, for without considering the -danger, either material or immaterial, I rushed quickly towards the -broken wall, in which direction I judged this unseen ghoul had gone. - -The white moonlight flooded the whole space between the burial-ground -and the river, so that I saw clearly this figure walking quickly away -in the direction of the Ponte Aleardi. It was draped in a long black -cloak with a monkish hood, and with its trailing, noiseless garments -it seemed to glide along in the moonlight like a shadow. - -I had been so quick in my pursuit that it was only a little distance -away, and as I peered cautiously over the broken wall it paused for a -moment, and, throwing back its hood, looked towards the place where I -was hiding. The space between us was so small and the moonlight so -lustrous that I could see the face and head plainly rising from amid -the dark drapery. - -The face was that of a woman, a beautiful woman with full crimson -lips, large dark eyes, and great masses of reddish-coloured hair, for -even in the cold moonlight I could see the warm, bronze glint of her -tresses. One hand, slender and white, clasped the dark robe to her -breast, and she looked towards the darkness of the broken wall as if -she knew that some one had seen her terrible resurrection. On her -delicate features there was a cold, stern look, like that of the -ancient Medusa, and truly I felt as if I were turning into stone -before the cruel glare of those eyes which seemed to pierce the gloom -in which I lay hid. It will be said that I describe somewhat minutely -the appearance of this ghoul, seeing that I only beheld her for a -moment in the pale, uncertain gleam of the moon; but so close was she -to the wall, and so highly strung were my nerves by the weirdness of -the situation, that the sudden apparition of this creature of the -night photographed itself indelibly on my brain. - -At last she seemed satisfied with her gazing at the burial-ground from -whence she had emerged, and, again drawing her hood over her face, -glided rapidly away towards the Ponte Aleardi. Moved by curiosity and -supernatural fear, I determined to follow this spectre and find out -where she was going, so without a moment's hesitation I jumped down, -and, keeping in the shadow of the wall, stole after her noiselessly -and swiftly. - -Who was she? Some unhappy ghost of antique Verona, who had committed -one of those terrible crimes invented by Lucrezia Borgia, and who was -condemned by God to nightly revisit the scene of her former splendour -as a punishment for her evil life? Some ghoul who left the feast of -the dead in order to prey upon the living? Some vampire, lusting for -blood, hastening towards the sleeping city to select her victim and -drain him of his life-blood? All the wild, weird tales which I had -heard recurred to my memory; all the terrible legends of Brittany, of -the East, of Spain, and of the savage North. The memories of witches -rifling the dead for their unholy needs, of wizards holding orgies in -lonely churchyards, of magicians evoking the silent tenants of the -grave by powerful spells, and of demons entering the bodies of the -newly dead in order to roam the midnight world--all these gruesome -ideas surged in my brain like the delirium of fever. - -My fear had passed away. I felt intensely curious to know the errand -upon which this woman was bent, and, with all my faculties sharpened -by danger, I sped swiftly after this flying spectre, which, looking -neither to right nor left, glided rapidly onward towards the sleeping -city of Verona. - - - - -CHAPTER II. -A BOCCACCIAN ADVENTURE. - - -Italian towns are very perplexing to strangers. Keep to the principal -thoroughfares built in modern days, and you may have a reasonable hope -of finding your way about; but once get enmeshed in the crooked, -narrow, winding streets of the period of the middle ages and you are -lost. The Italians, like Nature, delight in curves, and these narrow -alleys, with cobble-stone pavements and no side-walks, dignified by -the name of streets, twist in and out, and here and there, between -forbidding houses, seven or eight stories in height, under heavy -archways, which threaten to fall and crush the unwary stranger, and -down steep flights of worn steps, until you become quite bewildered by -the labyrinthian windings. Then these houses are built high in order -to exclude the burning sun from the alleys, and a cold, humid feeling -pervades the entire network of streets; so that what with the gloom, -the twistings, and the treacherous pitfalls in dark corners, one feels -like Orpheus going down to Hades in search of lost Eurydice. - -Having been warned of the difficulty of exploring these unknown -depths, I had mostly confined my wanderings to the broad, modern -streets and the populous piazzas; therefore as long as my spectre -guide kept to the Via Pallone, which begins at the Ponte Aleardi and -ends at the Piazza Vittoria Emanuele, I felt quite safe. When, -however, after leaving the Piazza she plunged into the narrow streets -of the medieval period, I hesitated at first to follow her. I did not -know my way, I was a stranger, and unarmed; moreover, I knew not into -what unknown dangers I might be led by this mysterious woman who had -emerged from the graveyard. - -Curiosity, however, prevailed over fear, and as at any moment I might -lose sight of her, and thereby never discover if she were of this or -the other world, I followed her boldly into the intense gloom into -which she had vanished. My eyes could hardly pierce the darkness, and -I feared I would not be able to keep her in sight, when luckily a -portion of her cloak became disarranged, and I saw the vivid glimmer -of a white dress, on which I kept my eyes fastened as a guiding star. - -Here and there in the houses lights were burning dimly, but the hour -being late, no people were in the streets; and as I followed this -noiseless phantom along the solitary alleys, with the dark houses on -either hand, and the white gleam of the moonlit sky above, I felt as -if I were moving in a dream. - -Onward she glided, turning down here, climbing up there, until my feet -were weary with walking; and besides, not knowing the way, I stumbled -frequently, which gave me many a bruise. The darkness, however, seemed -no obstacle to the ghoul, who walked onward as rapidly as if she were -still in the moonlight; on the contrary, it was only by the greatest -care that I could grope my way sufficiently quickly to keep her in -sight, and prevent her from discovering me by my frequent stumbles. - -I was about to give up the chase in despair, when suddenly she led me -out on to a small square, and hastening across it, disappeared into a -palace at the further end. I remained in the alley until she vanished, -as I feared if I followed her too closely she might perceive me in the -moonlight. The place, which occupied the whole of one side of the -square, was a richly decorated building, with a great arched portal in -the centre; but I had no time to examine it closely, for, fearful of -losing my ghoul, I ran quickly across the square, came to the portal, -and was stopped by an iron gate. - -It was one of those heavy iron gates common to Italian palaces, which -stretching across from wall to wall, afford a view of the inner court, -and are only open on festive occasions, or to admit vehicles. I knew -that entrance was ordinarily afforded by a side door, and without -doubt this was the way she had gone, unless indeed, being -supernatural, she found bolts and bars no hindrance. Determined to -pursue this strange adventure to the end, I sought the side door, but, -on finding it, discovered to my vexation that it was locked. I could -not enter that way, and the bars of the iron gate were so close -together, that a man of my size could not possibly squeeze through -them, so to all appearances the adventure, as far as I was concerned, -was finished. - -Making one last effort, however, I felt all the iron bars singly, to -see if any one was loose, in which case I could remove it and thus -slip through; when to my astonishment, on the left side of the gate -furthest from the door, I found that one of the bars had been wrenched -away. Without waiting to consider this, which was curious to say the -least of it, I concluded that the woman, if indeed she were flesh and -blood, had entered by this breach in the gate, so at once took -advantage of my discovery and soon found myself in the courtyard. The -palace appeared to be quite deserted, as the windows were all broken, -and the ironwork of the balconies which ran round the four sides of -the courtyard, at different heights, was twisted out of all shape; -besides which, the mosaic pavement upon which I stood was smashed in -several places, and grass grew between the interstices. I could see -all this plainly in the moonlight, and, moreover, as a great door at -the end of the courtyard opposite the iron gate was slightly ajar, -while all the other smaller doors were closed, I came to the -conclusion that the ghoul had gone in there. My conjecture proved -correct, for as, hiding in the shadow, I peered into the gloom of the -building, I saw the sudden flare of a torch which the woman had just -fired, and with this in her hand she began to climb up a flight of -steps--at least, so I judged from seeing the torch rise higher and -higher in the darkness until it vanished altogether. - -The lightning of the torch made me believe that I had to do with flesh -and blood, as certainly no phantom would use natural ways and means in -preference to supernatural; so directly the light disappeared, I stole -cautiously across what appeared to be a large hall, grasping my -walking-stick tightly in case of any surprise. I could not disguise -from myself that my curiosity had led me into a very perilous -adventure, but, as since the affair of the torch I had quite recovered -my nerve, I went resolutely forward, and, feeling my way carefully in -the dark, climbed up the staircase. - -At the first turning of the ascent all was still in darkness, but on -taking the second turning I saw the torch gleaming like a fierce -yellow star in the gloom of a long corridor. Luckily I had very light, -thin shoes on, and trod cautiously, otherwise the echo of my footsteps -would most surely have betrayed me to the mysterious torch-bearer. The -palace was certainly not inhabited, as I heard nothing to support such -a belief; but as I hastened along the wide corridor, through the -windows on the left side streamed the pale moonlight, and I saw that -the glass in these windows was painted to represent coats-of-arms, so -without doubt this deserted mansion had once been the residence of -some great Veronese noble. - -But what was the ghoul doing here? Why had she come from her vault in -the churchyard to this neglected habitation? Again the fear seized me -that this creature was a phantom of some splendid lady of the middle -ages, come to revisit the scenes or her antique magnificence. The cold -air as I passed along seemed full of the strange perfume of -sandalwood, and this sensuous odour in conjunction with the flitting -torch, the coloured shadows cast on the floor by the moonlight -streaming in through the painted windows, and the state of nervous -excitement in which I was, all made me feel like the hero of one of -those amorous adventures which are described in the glowing pages of -Boccaccio. - -Once more the torch disappeared round a corner to the left, but in a -moment I had it again in sight; another flight of shallow steps, -another short corridor, and at the end an arched door, through which -the phantom disappeared. At the door I paused to consider what I -should do next, as, if I rashly entered the room, I might pay for my -temerity with my life; so I stood irresolutely at the half-open door, -ready to fly at the least sign of danger. - -As I stood at the door in the intense gloom, for there were no windows -in this corridor, I saw a faint glimmer of light in the room within, -and this light remaining stationary for some considerable time, I -judged that the lady of the sepulchre had left the torch there and -retired into some inner chamber. Resolving, therefore, to risk the -attempt, I peered into the apartment, and saw the torch stuck in a -socket made in a small table in the centre of this small hall, which -was hung with ancient tapestry. At the end opposite the portal through -which I was looking, was an opening draped with heavy red curtains -embroidered with gold, for every now and then as they stirred I saw -the dull glitter of the tarnished metal. - -Determined not to be discovered, I thought it a capital plan to hide -between the tapestry and the wall, so as to secure good concealment, -and then steal along the walls until I arrived at the curtained -opening, through which I hoped to be able to see into the room beyond. -Just as I made up my mind to put this plan into practice, the torch, -which had been burning very low, flickered and went out, so that the -hall was in complete darkness. In the gloom, however, rays of bright -light shone through the embroidered curtains. I heard the murmur of -voices, and then the sharp, clear notes of a mandolin. The ghoul -evidently had some one with her, perhaps the unfortunate individual -whom she proposed to devour; so as no time was to be lost, I slipped -into the apartment, enconced myself between the tapestry and the wall -on the left of the door, and prepared to creep along, if possible, to -the curtained archway. While I paused a moment to regain breath and -courage, for certainly the situation was not without an element of -danger, the metallic notes of the mandolin ceased and a man's voice -began singing some Italian song, but one with which, in spite of my -knowledge of music, I was not acquainted. It was a slow and sensuous -melody of passionate sweetness with an undercurrent of sadness, and -the singer had a remarkably fine tenor voice, sounding full and rich -even through the heavy curtains, which prevented me hearing the words -clearly. Evidently this was an amorous rendezvous, but why was it -taking place in this deserted palace, and why had the lady come from a -vault in a graveyard to keep it? - -All at once the singer stopped abruptly in the middle of a phrase, I -heard the mandolin suddenly smashing on the marble floor, and then -sounded the low, wicked laugh I had first heard at the burial-ground. -Filled with anxiety to learn the meaning of all these strange events, -I glided rapidly along the wall, and speedily arrived at the curtained -opening. Being afraid to pull it to one side lest I should be -discovered, I took out my penknife and made a slit in the heavy -embroidery; then, looking through the opening thus obtained, I beheld -a most extraordinary spectacle. - -A circular chamber, not very large, but very lofty, surrounded by -eight half-pillars of veined white marble built into the wall, and -supporting a domed ceiling richly painted with garlands of flowers, -from amid which peered the smiling faces of beautiful women. Between -these noble pillars hung voluminous draperies of darkly red velvet, -all magnificently embroidered with fantastic designs in tarnished gold -thread, but, curiously enough, the apartment had no windows, neither -in the ceiling nor at the sides, so whatever took place within could -not be seen save through the curtained archway. - -In the centre of the white marble floor stood a low, heavy table, -richly gilt, and covered with the remains of a splendid feast. The -gorgeousness of the vessels thereon was truly marvellous, consisting, -as they did, of elaborately chased silver epergnes filled with -brilliantly-coloured fruits; many-branched candelabra of gold, bearing -slender wax tapers to illuminate the apartment; gracefully carved -jugs, of wonderful designs which must have emanated from the brains of -Cellini himself; and strangely shaped antique goblets which put me in -mind of the sacramental cups used in Italian churches at the -celebration of the mass. The voluptuous scent of sandalwood pervaded -the heavy atmosphere of the chamber; gold and silver and crystal shone -in the mellow light of the myriad tapers, and the whole appearance of -this sensuous banquet was like those of former ages presided over by -Can Grande or splendour-loving Cæsar Borgia. I thought I was in -dreamland, the more so when I saw the bizarre costumes worn by the two -occupants of the room. - -One was the lady I had followed from the graveyard, who, having thrown -off her heavy cloak, now appeared in a white silk dress of antique -cut, richly embroidered with gold. Round her slender neck she wore an -old-fashioned necklace of superb rubies, set in silver, which flashed -forth crimson flame with every heave of her snowy bosom, while strings -of soft-shining pearls were twisted in her magnificent red hair; an -Eastern girdle of gold fretwork encircled her waist, and broad gold -bracelets radiant with gems clasped her milk-white arms. The profusion -of jewels she wore scintillated, with her every motion, throwing out -sparks of many-coloured fire, and she looked like one of those proud -dames of Venice who smile so haughtily in the pictures of Titian. But -her face! Oh, heavens! what a beautiful, cruel, relentless face!--the -tigerish look in the splendid eyes, the wicked laugh of the full red -lips! Was she truly a woman, or some fiend sent upon earth to lure men -to hell by the fascination of her evil beauty? - -If the woman was curiously dressed for modern days, her companion, a -handsome young man of seven-and-twenty was still more so, as he wore a -doublet of pale-blue velvet slashed with white satin and diapered with -gold embroidery; a small ruff round his neck; high riding-boots of -black leather, reaching to the thigh, with gilt spurs; and a short -mantle of azure silk, which drooped gracefully from his shoulders. He -had no rapier, but at his girdle hung a small poniard, the handle of -which was thickly encrusted with gems, and on the velvet-covered chair -beside him lay a large cloak and a small mask of black velvet. I -rubbed my eyes and pinched myself to see if I were really awake, for -the whole fantastic scene looked like one of those which had doubtless -taken place at Verona in the opulent days of her splendour. - -"I am mad, asleep, or intoxicated," I thought, as I looked at this -Boccaccian feast, at these Boccaccian lovers. "What does it mean? This -must be the phantom of Lucrezia Borgia, who has risen from the tomb to -meet one of her dead lovers and renew for a time the joys of the past. -Oh! I am mad or asleep. I will wake up and find this is all a -dream--some fantasy of the brain created by the delirium of fever!" - -Between the lovers lay the broken mandolin, and the woman, pointing to -this, talked volubly while the young man stood listening with a -scornful smile on his lips. Not being a very good Italian scholar, I -could not follow all this rapid talk without great difficulty, but -from what I could gather it seemed to me that the phantom of Lucrezia -Borgia was accusing her lover of infidelity. At length, when she -seemed exhausted, he caught up his mantle and mask as if about to go, -but she fell prostrate before him, and seemed to implore him to stay. -He shook his head, and then springing to her feet in anger, she -snatched the poniard from his belt and tried to strike him. The young -man warded off the thrust with his left arm, round which was wrapped -his heavy black cloak, whereupon she let the dagger fall and began to -beseech him again. I could not understand the meaning of this terrible -dumb-show any more than I could the curious dresses, the antique -chamber or the deserted palace. It was the phantasmagoria of a dream -seen by the soft light of the tapers, and my brain being quite upset -by the strange events of the night, I entirely forgot the nineteenth -century, and seemed to live, to breathe, to tremble, on the threshold -of one of those fatal chambers wherein the Medici, the Scaligers and -the Borgias feasted, loved, betrayed, and slew their friends, their -lovers, and their enemies. - -The woman, evidently seeing it was useless, stopped beseeching the -young man, upon which he picked up his dagger, and throwing the fold -of his cloak over his right shoulder, advanced towards the door -without saying good-bye to the lady. I withdrew quickly, fearful of -discovery, when, just as his hand was on the curtains, her voice -sounded once more slow and deliberate, so that I was able to -understand what she said:-- - -"So you leave me for ever?" - -"Yes!" he replied with the same deliberation, "for ever." - -"Then before you go, let me drink to your future happiness." - -"With pleasure, madame." - -He appeared to hesitate at first, but after saying these words I heard -him move away from the curtain, upon which I looked again and saw him -standing by the chair, while the woman, with her face turned away, was -filling a goblet with wine. Her back was towards him, so that he could -not see what she was doing, but I could perceive her least action. She -filled two goblets with wine, then taking something from her breast, -dropped it into one of them, and, turning round with a smile, -presented the cup to him. It flashed across me that she was trying to -poison her lover, and I would have called out to warn him, but the -extreme peril of my position, the terrible appearance of this woman, -and the uselessness of interference kept me silent during this supreme -moment. - -The young man took the cup she gave him, and drained it with a bow, -while she simply touched her lips with the other goblet, and smiled -again. - -"To your future happiness," she said in a significant voice, and set -the goblet down on the table. - -They talked together after this reconciliation for some time and -seemed better friends than before, but I saw that the woman kept -furtively glancing at his face with a wicked smile on her lips. At -length he handed her the mask, which evidently did not belong to him, -and, after kissing her hand, was about to turn in the direction of the -archway, when suddenly he grew pale, put his hand to his head quickly, -and grasped the chair near which he stood to keep himself from -falling. - -"Why, what is this?" he cried in a hoarse, strained voice. "Gran Dio! -what does it mean?" - -She bent forward with a wicked laugh, and the rubies flashed forth -venomous red flame in the soft light. - -"It means that you have betrayed me and I have revenged myself!" - -He looked at her with a dazed expression, made a step forward as if to -kill this terrible woman, who, dangling the mask in her hand, stood -mocking at his agony with a cruel smile, then suddenly flung up his -hands with a wild cry of despair and fell at her feet--dead. - -"Fool!" she said, without displaying the least sign of emotion. -"Fool!" - -I wished to rush forward and denounce the demon in woman's shape who -had so vilely perpetrated this cold-blooded murder, but, overcome with -horror, I reeled away from the curtain and fell--fell into the arms of -some one who held me with a powerful grip. I gasped with alarm and was -about to call out, when I felt a handkerchief dashed suddenly over my -face wet with some liquid. In spite of my struggles it was held firmly -there, and I gradually felt my senses leave me until I knew no more. - - -* * * * * * - - -When I came to myself it was early morning, and I was seated on a -stone bench in the Piazza Vittoria Emanuele, surrounded by a group of -curious onlookers. - -"Where am I?" I asked in English. - -No one answered, and I repeated the question in Italian, upon which a -fat woman spoke up,-- - -"Signor, you are in the Piazza Vittoria!" she said in a husky voice; -"we found you here when we came first." - -"But the palace, the woman, the poison!" I said stupidly, for my head -was aching terribly. - -The peasants looked at one another with a meaning smile and shook -their heads. I saw that they thought I had been drinking, so, giving a -piece of money to the fat woman who had spoken, I took my way at once -to my hotel, which I reached in a state of bewilderment better -imagined than described. - - - - -CHAPTER III. -THE FEAST OF GHOSTS. - - -Was it a dream? Common-sense said "Yes." My bruises said "No!" But -certainly the whole affair was most remarkable, and quite out of the -ordinary kind of events which take place in this prosaic nineteenth -century. We have done with those romantic episodes in which the heroes -and heroines of Boccaccio, Le Sage and M. Dumas père take part, and in -the searching light of the Press lantern, which is nowadays turned on -all things and on all men, it is impossible to encounter those strange -events of the middle ages. Judging from my experiences of the previous -night I had been entangled in a terrible intrigue, which might have -taken place under Henri Trois or Lorenzo di Medici, yet, as the past -can never become the present, the whole affair was a manifest -anachronism. I was inclined to think that I had been the sport of some -Italian Puck, but as there are no fairies nowadays, such an idea was -absurd, so the only feasible explanation of the bizarre occurrence was -that I had been dreaming. - -I had certainly gone to the old burial-ground and had seen the phantom -of Lucrezia Borgia emerge from an old Veronese tomb, and as certainly -I had followed her to the Piazza Vittoria Emanuele, but here, without -doubt, reality ended and fiction began. Evidently I had sat down upon -the stone bench where I was discovered by the peasants, and had there -fallen asleep to undergo this extravagant adventure in a vision of the -night. In sleep I had dreamed a dream after the fashion of the -Athenian lovers in Shakespeare's comedy, and the antique chamber, the -quaint costumes, and the phantom characters had been idle visions of -the brain, which had played their several parts in this mediæval -phantasmagoria. - -To put entirely to one side the impossibility of living people -dressing themselves in rococo costumes in order to play a fantastic -comedy-tragedy in a deserted place, if I had really seen all I -imagined, how did I find myself in the Piazza Vittoria Emanuele at -daybreak? The visionary pursuit of the lady of the sepulchre had been -a long one, and I certainly could not have walked back such a distance -to the Piazza without knowing something about it. But memory ceased at -my fainting at the door of the fatal chamber, and revived on my -finding myself on the stone bench in the Piazza; therefore, granting -that the whole adventure had actually occurred, how had I been taken -from the deserted palace to the Piazza? - -Idling over my midday meal at the Hotel d'Este, I thought of the -extraordinary series of events in which I had taken part, and kept -puzzling my brain as to whether they had really occurred or whether I -had been the victim of a grotesque nightmare. I had received a letter -from the Maestro Angello, saying he could not give me my usual lesson, -therefore I determined to devote the whole day, which was thus at my -disposal, to finding out the truth or falsehood of this mysterious -adventure. - -My bruises were very painful, but I doctored myself as I best could, -so that without much difficulty I was able to walk. Doubtless I had -received these bruises whilst pursuing the unknown from the graveyard -to the Piazza Vittoria Emanuele, and thus far I was certain of the -actuality of my adventure. With this idea in my head, I made up my -mind to go to the old graveyard and discover, if possible, who was -buried in the tomb from which the ghoul had emerged. By finding out -the name I might possibly ascertain that of the lady, as there must -certainly have been some connection between her and the person buried -in the mysterious vault. No sooner had I thus sketched out my plan of -action than I put it at once into execution, and as I found some -difficulty in walking, I sent for Peppino's fiacre in order to drive -to the cemetery. - -Peppino was a merry little Florentine, whose services I employed for -two reasons, one being that he spoke excellent Italian, so that I -understood him easier than I did the general run of these Northern -Italians, who usually gabble a vile patois which no Englishman can -understand without constant practice, and my acquaintance with the -modern Latin tongue was not sufficient to warrant my indulging in -liberties with it; the other reason was that Peppino, having lived a -long time in Verona, knew the town thoroughly, and would be able to -tell me better than any one if such a deserted palace as I had dreamed -of really existed; besides which, he was also a very amusing -companion. - -The fiacre duly arrived, and on going outside I found Peppino grinning -like a small black monkey as he held the door open for me to enter. - -"Dio!" said Peppino in a commiserating tone, seeing how I leaned on my -stick, "is the Signor not well?" - -"Oh, yes! quite well, Peppino, only I fell yesterday and hurt myself, -so you see I have to get you to drive me to-day." - -"Bene!" replied Peppino philosophically, mounting the box, "the ill of -one is the good of another. To where, Signore?" - -"To the cemetery near the Porto Vittoria." - -"The new or the old one, Signore?" - -"The old cemetery!" - -Peppino cast a queer look at me over his shoulder, and, muttering -something about the "mad English," drove away towards the Via Pallone. -As he was on the box-seat, and the fiacre made a good deal of noise -going over the rugged stone pavement, in addition to the incessant -jingling of the bells, I could not question him as I desired to do, -so, making up my mind to wait until I arrived at the graveyard, I -leaned back in the carriage and gave myself up to my own thoughts. - -Then a curious thing occurred which made me certain that the events of -the previous night had actually taken place, for without the least -effort of memory on my part the strange melody sung by the young man -in the palace came into my head. I could not possibly have dreamed -that, and I could not possibly have composed the air, so I concluded -that I had really heard the song, and, having an excellent musical -ear, it had impressed itself on my memory. Of course I did not -recollect the words, but only the tune, and thinking it might prove -useful as a link in the chain of circumstances, I hummed it over twice -or thrice so as to keep it in my mind. - -I therefore concluded from this piece of evidence that I had actually -been to the deserted palace and witnessed that strange feast, but if -so, how had I found myself at dawn in the Piazza Vittoria Emanuele? It -was no use puzzling my brains any more over this mysterious affair, so -the wisest plan would be to wait until I found out the name on the -tomb, and then perhaps Peppino would be able to tell me about the -palace, in which case, with these two facts to go on, I might hope to -discover the meaning of these extraordinary events. - -Meanwhile the fiacre had left the Via Pallone, crossed over the -Ponte Aleardi, and was now being driven rapidly along the left bank of -the Adige, past the Campo Marzo. We speedily arrived at the old -burial-ground, and Peppino, stopping his horse near the gate, assisted -me to alight from the carriage. - -"Peppino," I said, when this was done, "tie your horse up somewhere -and come with me into the cemetery." - -"Diamine!" replied Peppino, crossing himself with superstitious -reverence. "I like not these fields of the dead." - -"It's broad daylight, you coward; besides, I wish you to tell me about -the tombs." - -"But why does not the Signor go to the beautiful new cemetery?" said -Peppino, leading his horse to the wall and fastening him to a heavy -stone; "the statues there are beautiful. This is old, very old; no one -is buried here now." - -"When was the last person buried, Peppino?" - -"Dio! I don't know--eh, oh, yes, Signore, last year an illustrious was -buried in his own vault; but he was mad. Ecco!" - -"Why did he have a vault built in such an old cemetery?" - -"Oh, the vault was old--as old as the Trezza. All the signori of his -family had been buried there for many days." - -"Since the Republic?" - -"Dio! yes, and before." - -"What is the name of this family?" - -"I don't know, Signore, I forget!" - -"Well, come along, Peppino. As you know so much about one tomb, you -will probably know something about another." - -"Command me, Illustrious." - -I did not enter the burial-ground by the gate, as I wanted to go the -same way as on the previous night, in order to be certain of finding -the tomb I was in search of, so, with some little difficulty, and the -help of Peppino, I managed to climb over the broken wall, and soon -found myself in my old hiding-place. Peppino looked at me with -considerable curiosity, as he could not conceive my object in coming -to this dreary locality; but ultimately, shrugging his shoulders, he -put it down to a freak on the part of a mad Englishman, and waited for -me to speak. - -The tomb looked scarcely less forbidding and gloomy in the daytime -than it did at night, with its massive-looking architecture, and the -stern-faced angel guarding the iron door. Advancing through the long -grass which grew all round it, I looked every where for a name, but -could find none, then tried to open the iron door, to the great dismay -of Peppino. - -"Signore," he said in a faltering voice, "do not let out the ghosts." - -"There are no ghosts here, Peppino. They have all departed," I -replied, finding the door locked. - -"Dio! I'm not so sure of that, Illustrious. Many dead are in there." - -"Oh, they've been dead so long that their ghosts must have grown weary -of this gloomy sepulchre." - -"Yes, Signore, but the ghost of the mad Count buried last year!" - -"Oh!" I cried with lively curiosity, "is this the vault where he was -buried?" - -"Yes, Illustrious!" - -"And the name, Peppino? What was his name?" - -The little Italian looked perplexed, as he could not understand the -interest I took in this sepulchre; still, seeing I was in earnest, he -tried to think of the name, but evidently could not recall it. - -"Cospetto! Signore, I have the memory of Beppo, who forgot the mother -who bore him; but the name will be here, Illustrious, for certain." - -"See if you can find it, Peppino," I replied, sitting down on a stone -near the iron door. "I am anxious to know to whom this tomb belongs." - -Peppino, being more conversant with Italian tombs than myself, went to -look for the name, and in a wonderfully short space of time came back -with a satisfied smile on his face. - -"Signore, the tomb is that of the Morone." - -"The Morone?" - -"Yes, Signore, they were a great family of Verona, as great as the -cursed Medici of my beautiful Florence." - -"And this Count, who died last year, was their descendant?" - -"Dio! Illustrious, he was the last of them. No father, no brother, no -child. He was the last. Basta, basta!" - -"Had he a wife?" I asked, thinking of the woman who had emerged from -this tomb. - -"Yes, Signore, a beautiful wife, but when he died she left Verona for -Rome I heard. She is not now here." - -Well, I had found out the name of the family buried in the tomb, and -that the wife was the sole representative of the race, so I naturally -thought she was the only person who would have been able to enter the -tomb; although why she did so, unless it was to pray beside the corpse -of her late husband, I could not understand. Besides, Peppino, who was -one of the greatest gossips in the town, said she had left Verona, so -perhaps the midnight visitor was not the Contessa Morone at all. - -"Were the Count and Countess an attached couple, Peppino?" - -The Italian shrugged his shoulders. - -"Dio! I know not indeed," he replied carelessly; "the Signor Conte was -certainly mad. I saw him at times, and he had the evil eye. Diamine! -often have I made horns for that eye, Illustrious." - -"And the Countess, Peppino? Have you ever seen the Countess?" - -"No, Signore! The Conte let her not out. Ah! he was jealous, that -madman. He was old and the Signora was young. Per Bacco! the husband -was afraid of the handsome officers. Ecco!" - -A mad and jealous husband, old, too, into the bargain. With such a -trinity of imperfections a young and beautiful woman could hardly be -much in love with him, and, a year after his death, would certainly -not have taken the trouble to pray at his tomb. No! the unknown lady -could not possibly have been the Contessa. Who, then was this -mysterious visitant? I had now quite got over my fancy that she was a -spectre, and felt profoundly curious to find out who she was, and why -she had come to this ancient burial-place at midnight. - -"Is there a Palazzo Morone, Peppino?" - -Peppino changed colour. - -"What do you know of the Palazzo Morone, Signore?" - -"Oh, there is one then!" - -"Yes, Illustrious! It is haunted!" - -"Haunted! Nonsense!" - -"Dio! Signore, I speak the truth. No one has lived there for the last -two hundred years. It is shut up for the rats and the owls and the -spectres of the tomb." - -"What tomb--this one?" - -"Ah, Signore, do not jest, I pray you, or the illustrious Signori -Morone will hear us." - -Peppino looked so serious that I forebore to smile at this absurdity, -lest I should offend his pride and thus lose the story. - -"Well, Peppino, tell me all about this haunted palace." - -"Not here, Signore, I am afraid!" - -"Then help me back to the carriage." - -He obeyed with great alacrity, and, when I was once more in the -fiacre, prepared to loosen his horse. - -"No, no! Peppino," I said, smiling; "the ghosts can't hear us here, so -tell me the story of the Morone." - -Peppino cast a doubtful glance in the direction of the burial-ground, -and then, seating himself on the step of the carriage, began his -story. His Italian, as I have said before, was very good, so, making -him speak slowly, I was easily able to understand the strange legend -he related. - -"Signore," he began, with a solemn look on his usually merry face, -"the Morone were very famous in Verona four hundred years ago. Dio! -they fought with the Scaligers, and afterwards with the Visconti. They -were Podestas of the city before the Della Scala, and several of them -were great Cardinals. One would have been his Holiness himself, but -the Borgia asked him to supper and he died of their poison. About two -hundred years ago Mastino Morone wedded the Donna Renata della Moneta, -who was said to have been descended on the wrong side from Donna -Lucrezia herself." - -"You mean that this Renata was an illegitimate descendant of Lucrezia -Borgia?" - -"Yes, Signore. Ah! she was a devil of a woman, that Madonna Lucrezia. -Ebbene! Signore. This Donna Renata wedded with Count Mastino Morone, -and a pleasant life she led him, for she loved all other men but him. -Cospetto! he would have strangled her, but he was afraid of her many -lovers. There was a room in the Palazzo Morone, without any windows, -where Donna Renata supped with those she favoured." - -"And the room is there still?" I said, thinking of that mysterious -chamber. - -"Of a surety, Signore! It is haunted by the ghost of the Marchese -Tisio!" - -"Who was he?" - -"Signore, he was the last lover of Donna Renata, whom she killed with -the Borgia poison because he was faithless. Eh! it is true, -Illustrious. She found out by her spies that the Marchese loved -another, so she asked him to a last feast in her room, and when he was -going she gave him a cup of wine. Dio! he drank it, the poor young -man, and died. Ecco!" - -"And why was he her last lover? Did she repent?" - -"No, Signore! The Count Mastino was watching at the door, and when she -had killed the Marchese he went in to see her." - -"And killed her, I suppose?" - -"Per Bacco! Signore, no one knows. She never came out of that room -again. The friends of the poor Tisio found his body, but they never -found Donna Renata." - -"Then what became of her?" - -"Cospetto! No one ever found out. Mastino married again and said -nothing, but after that last feast his first wife was never seen -again. Diamine! it is strange." - -"It's a curious story, Peppino, but it does not explain how the palace -is haunted." - -"Listen, Illustrious! I will tell," said Peppino in a subdued whisper. -"The spirits of the Donna Renata, of the Conte Mastino, and of the -Marchese Tisio, haunt the palace, and in the Month of May, when the -crime was committed, the lovers hold a feast in that secret room while -the husband watches at the door. Then the Donna Renata poisons the -Marchese, the husband enters, and cries of pain and terror are heard. -Then the lights go out and all is still." - -It was certainly very curious, for Peppino was describing the very -same I had beheld--the terrible Renata, the unhappy lover, and the -poisoned cup, but the Count---- - -"Tell me, Peppino, has any one ever beheld this feast of ghosts?" - -"Dio! Signore, the people who lived in the palace were so afraid of -the ghosts, that they left altogether, and no one has lived there for -two hundred years." - -"Yes, yes! but this spectral banquet seems all imagination--no one has -seen it?" - -"Yes, Signore. A holy Frate, who did not fear the devil, went one -night in May and saw the feast through the door, but just as the -poisoned cup was given, the ghost of the Conte dragged him away and -tried to kill him." - -"Oh! and did the ghost succeed?" - -"No, Illustrious! The Frate made the sign of the cross and called on -the Madonna, on which the ghosts all vanished with loud cries, and the -Frate fainted. Next morning he found himself----" - -"In the Piazza Vittorio Emanuele?" - -"No, Signore; lying on the floor of the palace." - -I was somewhat disappointed at this different ending to the narrative -of Peppino, but it was very extraordinary that my adventure and that -of the Frate should be so similar. It was broad day, I had overcome my -superstitious fancies, yet the whole affair was so strange that I -could not help feeling a qualm of fear, which I tried to laugh off, a -proceeding which mightily offended Peppino. - -"Signore, it is the truth I tell." - -"Suppose I prove it, Peppino. This is the month of May, and no doubt -the feast takes place every night. You will show me the palace, and I -will watch at the door of the secret room." - -"Dio! do not think of it, Illustrious," cried Peppino in alarm; "the -Frate himself, a holy priest, was nearly killed, and you, Signore, you -are a heretic." - -"And, therefore, liable to be carried off by his Satanic Majesty. You -are complimentary, Peppino. Nevertheless, to-morrow you must show me -the palace." - -"The Illustrious must excuse me." - -"And watch with me for this feast of ghosts." - -"Dio? the Signore jests!" - -"No, indeed, Peppino! I am in sober earnest. We will go to the Palazzo -Morone to-morrow; and now drive back to my hotel, as I feel very -tired. Your story has been very entertaining, nevertheless." - -"Ah! the Signor does not believe me?" said Peppino, getting on the box -again. - -"Yes, I do, Peppino; but I believe your ghostly party can be explained -away." - - - - -CHAPTER IV. -THE ANGELLO HOUSEHOLD. - - -The bruises I had received during my nocturnal adventure turned out to -be worse than I expected, especially one on the left knee-cap, which -quite incapacitated me from walking; therefore I was forced to remain -in the house all day. This was somewhat annoying, as I was anxious to -find out the Palazzo Morone, and see the chamber of Donna Renata -during daylight. I thought also that as the palace bore such an evil -reputation, my lady of the sepulchre would think herself safe in -leaving the dead body of the young man lying in the room, and if I -discovered the corpse I intended to give notice to the authorities of -the crime I had seen committed. - -Unluckily, however, I had to remain in bed most of the day, and when -Peppino came in to say that his fiacre was at the door I was obliged -to send him away, much to his gratification, as he was by no means -anxious to guide me to the haunted palace. The curious resemblance -between my own experience and the legend related by Peppino had rather -startled me; but, being certain that I had to deal with the natural, -and not the supernatural, I was firmly resolved to unravel this -mystery before leaving Verona. To do this every moment was of value, -and I bitterly regretted that my stiff knee kept me confined to the -house. Everything, however, is for the best, and before I saw the -Palazzo Morone, fresh light was thrown upon the events of the night in -a most unexpected manner. - -After my one day of enforced idleness I was fully determined to seek -the conclusion of my adventure the next, when on the following morning -I received a note from Maestro Angello, asking me to be sure and come -to my lesson. As the Maestro was always annoyed at the non-appearance -of a pupil, I judged it wise to go, and arranged with Peppino to -search for the Palazzo Morone in the afternoon. The lesson would only -last an hour, and I would thus have plenty of time to carry out my -intention, as Peppino, knowing the palazzo, would be able to take me -there direct. - -I felt much better this second day after my adventure, as the pain had -quite left my knee, so having thus arranged my plans for the -afternoon, I started in a very contented frame of mind for the Casa -Angello. - -It was a dreary day, for there are dreary days even in Italy, and at -intervals there fell heavy showers, which made me feel somewhat -depressed. Pedestrians were hurrying along with large umbrellas of the -Gamp species, red being the prevailing colour; and what with the -sloppy streets, the gloomy houses, and the absence of the chattering -Italian populace, the whole place looked infinitely melancholy, so in -order to keep up my spirits I hummed the weird air I had heard in the -Palazzo Morone. - -Maestro Angello lived in a narrow street more like a drain than -anything else, and I entered into a damp courtyard through a dismal -little tunnel barred by an iron gate. The portinaia, who lived in a -glass-fronted room as if she were a unique specimen of the human race -preserved in a case, nodded her head to intimate that the Maestro was -at home, so I climbed up the evil-smelling stone stairs which went up -the side of the courtyard, and soon arrived at Angello's door. Ringing -a little bell which tinkled in a most irritating manner, I was -admitted into the dingy ante-chamber by Petronella, a short, fat, -good-natured woman who managed the whole household, and made a great -deal of noise over doing so. She was dressed in an untidy print gown, -with a bright red shawl over her shoulders, and wore wooden clogs -which clattered noisily on the terra-cotta floor. Her plenteous hair -was roughly twisted into a knot and stuck through with large brass -pins, which gave her a spiky appearance about the head. This curious -apparition saluted me with a jolly smile in a gruff voice, with the -usual familiarity of Italian servants,-- - -"Sta bene! Signore. Ah, the Maestro! povero Maestro!" - -"What's the matter with him, Petronella?" - -"Eh! Signore, he cannot live much longer." - -As Angello was considerably over eighty years of age I thought this -highly probable, but was about to condole with Petronella over his -illness, when she saved me the trouble of a reply by bursting out into -a long speech delivered with much dramatic effect:-- - -"It is nothing but trouble, Signore. Such a fine young man, and the -piccola loved him so! It will surely place the Maestro among the -saints. Four masses for his soul, Signore; and those priests are such -thieves. I said 'No lesson,' but the Maestro is a mule for having his -own way. Let him teach, say I; it will divert his mind! There, -Signore, go in with you! But I always thought it would come; four -times I heard the cock crowing, a bad sign, as Saint Peter knew. -There, there! the Madonna aid us!" - -Not understanding in the least what Petronella was talking about, I -allowed myself to be pushed mechanically into the inner room in a -state of bewilderment. The Maestro, seated in his usual chair, was -waiting for me, and his granddaughter, Bianca, who assisted him in his -lessons, was looking out of the window at the falling rain. An -atmosphere of sadness seemed to pervade the dull, grey room, and as -Bianca advanced to meet me I saw that her eyes were red with crying, -while old Angello stared at her in a listless, indifferent manner, -being so old as to be past all sympathetic feelings. - -He was a mere mummy, this old man who had been celebrated as a teacher -of singing in the days of Pasta and Malibran; a faint shadow of his -former self, only kept alive by the mechanical exercise of his art. -Yet, in spite of his great age, his ear was wonderfully keen and true; -the sense of hearing, from continuous cultivation, being the only one -which had survived the wreck of his faculties, and with the assistance -of Bianca, he was still enabled to teach his wonderful system in an -intelligible manner. Many of his pupils had been European, celebrities -on the operatic stage during the past fifty years, and his rooms in -Milan were crowded with souvenirs of famous artists of undying fame. -His children, and, with the exception of Bianca, his grandchildren, -were all dead; his friends and acquaintances and the generation that -knew him had all passed away; but this Nestor of lyrical art still -survived, alone and sad, amid the ruins of his past. White-haired, -wrinkled, blear-eyed, silent, he sat daily in his great armchair, -taking but little notice of the life around him, save to ask childish -questions or talk about some dead-and-gone singer whose fame had once -filled the world; but place a baton in his hand, strike the piano, -lift the voice, and this apparent corpse awoke to life. He beat time, -he corrected the least false note, he explained the necessary -instructions in a faltering voice, and, during the lesson, bore at -least some semblance of life; but when all was finished, the baton -fell from his withered hand as he relapsed into his former apathy. One -would have thought that he would have been glad to rest in his old -age, but such was his love for his art that he insisted upon teaching -still, and it was this alone which kept him alive. His granddaughter, -Bianca, trained in the family traditions, was enabled to interpret his -words, and, as his system of singing was unique, in spite of his -apparent uselessness, he had many pupils. - -Bianca herself was a charming Italian girl of twenty, more like a -graceful white lily in appearance than anything else, so fragile, so -delicate, so pallid did she seem. Her mournful eyes, dark and soft as -those of a gazelle, seemed too large for her pale, oval face; and her -figure, small and slender, always put me in mind of that of a fairy. -Indeed, in sport, I sometimes called her the Fairy of Midnight, after -some poet-fancy that haunted my brain, for all her strength seemed to -have gone into those glorious masses of raven-black hair, coiled so -smoothly round her small head. This portraiture seems to give the idea -that Bianca was a melancholy young person, yet such was not the case, -for I have seen her as gay as a bird on bright days, or when she -received a letter from her lover. - -Yes! she had a lover to whom she was engaged to be married, but, -curiously enough, I knew nothing about this lover, not being intimate -enough with Bianca to be the confidant of her tender little secret. -This unknown lover was always away in other parts of Italy, and when -he did visit Bianca it was during my absence, so I used to joke with -the Signorina about this visionary being. But she, with one delicate -finger on her lip and an arch smile of glee, would tell me that -he--she never mentioned his name--that he had an actual existence, and -some day I would see him in person at Verona. Well, here was Verona, -here was Bianca, but the lover had not appeared, so I would have -jestingly asked this Fairy of Midnight the reasons of his absence, had -not the real grief expressed on her face deterred me. - -"Signorina, are you in trouble?" - -"Yes, yes! Signore, great trouble; but you cannot help me. No one can -help me." - -"But perhaps I----" - -"No, Signore, it is useless. Come, you must have the lesson at once. -The Maestro is dull to-day, he needs amusement; so come, the lesson." - -"It is very cruel of you to make a joke of my lesson, Signorina." - -Bianca made no reply to my jesting remark, but heaving a little sigh, -placed the ivory baton in the hand of the Maestro and sat down at the -piano. The mummy, finding his services required, woke up and had a -little conversation with me before beginning the lesson. - -"Eh! Signor Inglése," he croaked--this being his name for me--"London -is dark!" - -He had a fearful prejudice against London, which he had once visited -at a foggy season, and always made the above remark to his English -pupils, which no one ever thought of contradicting. - -"Yes, yes!" he said, nodding his old head like a Chinese mandarin; -"London is always dark." - -"Yes, Maestro." - -"You've not been working?" - -"Indeed I have, Maestro." - -"Come then, Signor Inglése, we will see," and the lesson commenced. - -Oh, those lessons! what agonies I suffered during them, trying to -attain the impossible! To how many fits of despair have I given -way in failing time after time to manage my breathing! It was all -breathing--a deep drawing in, a slow letting out--the exercise of -internal muscles of which I had never heard even the name--the -weariness of incessantly practising notes in a still, small voice -hardly audible,--it was enough to discourage the most persevering. -Some of the female pupils, I believe, cried with vexation when not -able to do what was required by the severe Maestro, who denied the -existence of the word "impossible" in connection with singing; but I, -not being a woman, was reduced to swearing, which certainly relieved -my feelings after a battle with a particularly aggravating exercise. - -Even now, when I am successful in my art, I often turn cold as I think -of those apparently insurmountable obstacles which I had to overcome; -but with these painful memories there is mixed at the same time a -kindly thought of that noble old Maestro, so patient, so courteous, so -painstaking, whose devotion to his art was so great, who was so severe -on the least fault and so encouraging of the least success in -conquering a difficulty. - -Well, the lesson went on slowly with frequent interruptions from the -Maestro, who was satisfied with nothing less than perfection, and I -breathed according to directions, sang "ah!" "eh," "ee's" in a tiny, -tiny voice, until at the end of the hour I was glad to sit down and -rest before departing. I felt tired out, I felt hungry, and, as the -weather was bad, I felt cross, but at the same time I felt curious to -know what was the matter with Bianca. - -The Maestro, having remarked encouragingly that I had the voice of a -goose and would never sing in La Scala, relapsed into silence, -evidently thinking of his colezione which was being prepared in the -kitchen with some trouble, judging from the raised, tones of -Petronella's voice; and as Bianca still sat at the piano, striking -random chords, there was nothing for me to do but to take my -departure. She was not prepared to tell me her trouble, and indeed she -had no reason to do so, but feeling anxious to aid the poor child if I -could, I ventured to speak to her on the subject. - - - - -CHAPTER V. -LOST. - - -While I was wondering which was the best way to approach this somewhat -delicate matter, the door was flung open to its fullest extent and -Petronella stalked majestically into the room. There was a wrathful -look on her strongly marked features, and Bianca trembled in -expectation of a storm. Both she and the Maestro were terribly afraid -of Petronella, who ruled the household and looked after them as she -would a couple of children, so now that she frowned they acted like -children; and were cowed by her eagle eye. Petronella surveyed the -three of us grimly, and, being satisfied that her entrance had -produced an effect, spoke with a dramatic gesture that Rachel herself -might have envied,-- - -"I am enraged to-day. Let no one speak to me." Neither the Maestro nor -Bianca seemed inclined to accept this tread-on-the-tail-of-my-coat -challenge, so Petronella looked from one to the other to see on whom -she should pour out the vials of her wrath. Ultimately she chose -Bianca. - -"Ah, it is you, Signorina! it is you who enrage me. And for why? you -ask. Holy Saints! you ask why. Because you sit there like a statue in -the Duoma. Will that bring him back? say I. No, Signora, let the bad -young man go. Ecco!" - -"Guiseppe is not a bad young man," cried Bianca, rising angrily to her -feet. - -"Are you older than I am, piccola? No! Have you been married like I -was? No! Then let me speak, child that you are. All men are bad--ask -the Signor there! All men are bad!" - -Petronella made a comprehensive sweep of her arms so as to indicate -the whole masculine portion of the human race, and I, seeing an -opportunity of finding out what was the matter, did not attempt -to defend masculine depravity in any way, but artfully asked a -question,-- - -"I can hardly say. I don't know what you are talking about!" - -"Eh! has the Signore no ears? I speak of Guiseppe Pallanza!" - -"What, the tenor at the Teatro Ezzelino?" - -"Yes, Signore, he is the engaged one of the Signorina here, and----" - -"Enough, enough, Petronella!" cried Bianca, her face flushing. "Do not -trouble the Signor with these chatterings." - -"Oh, it's no trouble," I replied quickly. "Perhaps I can help you, -Signorina, if you require help!" - -"Eh, eh!" assented Petronella approvingly, "the English have long -heads, piccola. Tell him all and he will find out what others cannot -find out. And you, Maestro, the colezione is ready." - -She tenderly led the old man into the next room, and I was thus left -alone with Bianca, who had retreated to the window, where she stood -twisting her handkerchief with nervous confusion. - -"Do not tell me, Signorina, if you would rather not," I said gently. - -"Ah, Signore, if I thought you would be my friend!" - -"Certainly I will be your friend." - -"The Maestro is so old. Petronella is so foolish. We know none in -Verona, and I can do nothing for my poor Guiseppe!" - -"Your lover, Signorina?" - -"Yes. I promised you should see him at Verona, but--now--ah now!--but -perhaps you have heard him singing at the Ezzelino?" - -"No; I have not been to the opera since my arrival here. What is the -matter with him? Is he ill?" - -"I know not! I know not! He is lost!" - -"Lost?" - -"Yes, Signore. My Guiseppe has disappeared and no one knows where he -is!" - -Could there be any connection between the disappearance of Guiseppe -and the death of that young man I had seen in the fatal chamber? The -thought flashed across me as she spoke, but I dismissed it as idle. - -"And you want some one to look for Signor Pallanza?" - -"Yes, yes!" - -"Well, I will undertake the task." - -"You, Signore!" she cried joyfully; "will you search for him?" - -"Certainly, Signorina; I promised to be your friend. Now sit down, and -tell me all about your lover and his disappearance. I may be able to -do more for you than you think." - -The fact is, that by some subtle instinct I connected the -disappearance of this young man with the curious events of two nights -before, and, leading Bianca to a seat, I prepared to listen -attentively to her recital. - -"Signore," she began in her flute-like voice, "I have been engaged to -marry Guiseppe Pallanza for some months. He was a pupil of the -Maestro, and we loved each other when we first met; but ah! Signore, -he was poor then, and we could not marry, but now he is rich and -famous." - -"Yes, I have heard of the tenor Pallanza, but have never seen him on -the stage." - -"He has the voice of a god, Signore, and at La Scala, two seasons -ago--oh, Signore, it was the talk of the whole city. The papers called -him the New Mario, and he is so handsome--like an angel. After La -Scala he went to Florence, to Naples, and then to Rome, where he sang -in 'Faust' and 'Polyeuct' at the Apollo, then he came on here a week -ago for the season at the Ezzelino; but now he is lost. Dio! how -unhappy I am." - -She covered her face with her hands, and wept quietly for a few -minutes, and, impatient as I was to hear the particulars of the -affair, I did not dare to disturb her grief. After a time she dried -her tears, and went on again,-- - -"He came to Verona on Saturday, Signore, and we were so happy together -talking about our marriage; and on Monday he sang in 'Faust' at the -Ezzelino. I went to the theatre with Petronella, and that was the last -time I saw him." - -"Oh, then he disappeared on Monday night!" I asked quickly, feeling my -heart begin to beat rapidly with excitement, for it was on Monday -night that my extraordinary adventure had taken place. - -"Yes, Signore. He was to come hereafter the opera, to tell the Maestro -how he had sung--you know how anxious the Maestro is over his pupils, -but he never came, nor the next day either; so this morning I went to -ask at the Ezzelino, and they told me he had disappeared." - -"It's curious I never heard of it. The disappearance of a popular -tenor is not a common thing!" - -"Signore, he sang on Monday and was to sing again to-night, so nothing -was thought about him not coming to the theatre yesterday; but this -morning they sent to his lodgings, to find that he had not been there -since he left the Ezzelino after the opera on Monday." - -"The papers will be full of it to-night!" - -"Ah! that will not bring him back," said poor little Bianca in a -melancholy tone, shaking her small head, which drooped like a faded -flower. - -I was now certain that my adventure on Monday night had something to -do with the disappearance of Guiseppe Pallanza, and doubtless the -young man I had seen in the deserted palace was the missing tenor; but -the antique dress, the amorous rendezvous--these needed some -explanation. - -"Was he in love with any one, Signorina?" - -It was a cruel but necessary question which angered Bianca, who threw -back her little head with great haughtiness. - -"Signore, he loved me and no one else." - -"Had he any reason for disappearing?" - -"Signore!" - -"Forgive me if I appear rude," I said in a deprecating tone; "but -indeed, Signorina, to find out all I must know all." - -"Well, Signore, I am telling you all," she replied petulantly. "It was -most strange his going away from the theatre." - -"How so?" - -"He left the Ezzelino in his stage-dress!" - -"Ah!" - -I jumped to my feet in a state of uncontrollable excitement, for I saw -at once that I was on the right track. The antique dress was explained -now! it was the dress he wore in the last act of "Faust." - -"But surely, Signorina, that was very extraordinary," I said, pausing -in my walk; "no one would walk the streets of Verona in a dress like -that." - -"I can explain that, Signore. When Guiseppe came from Rome, a friend -came with him who was very ill--a baritone singer, who was in the same -company at the Apollo. I was told at the Ezzelino that just before the -last act of the opera, Guiseppe received a note saying that his friend -was dying, so as soon as the curtain fell, he threw on a cloak which -hid his dress, and went away as quickly as possible, so as to see his -friend before he died." - -"Oh! and is the friend dead yet?" - -"I do not know, Signore." - -The story of the dying friend might be true, yet to me it seemed -highly improbable, and I guessed that the people at the theatre had -told this fiction to pacify the fears of Signorina Angello, to whom -they knew that Pallanza was engaged. The real truth of the matter was -doubtless that the letter came from the woman I had followed, asking -him to meet her at the deserted Palazzo Morone, and he had gone there -innocently enough to be poisoned as I had seen. This explained a great -deal, but it did not explain why the meeting should have taken place -at such an extraordinary spot, and why the woman should have come from -a burial-ground to keep the appointment. Taking all the circumstances -into consideration, I was certain that it was Pallanza I had seen -murdered on Monday night, but in order to be quite sure of his -identity, I asked Bianca if she had any photograph of her betrothed. - -"Of a surety, Signore," she replied, and going to an album on the -table, brought me a cabinet portrait. "This is Guiseppe as Faust, the -dress in which he left the theatre." - -It was as I surmised. The portrait was coloured, and I saw an exact -representation of the young man I had beheld at the Palazzo Morone. -The typical Italian face with the black curly hair, dark eyes, small -moustache and sallow skin; the slender figure arrayed in a doublet of -blue velvet, slashed with white satin; the azure silk cloak, the -poniard and the high riding-boots--nothing was wanting; the successful -tenor of the portrait was the man who had taken poison from the hand -of the lady of the sepulchre. Still it was no use telling Bianca of my -suspicions until I had discovered the whole secret; and besides, as -Guiseppe was dead, I naturally shrank from being the bearer of such -bad news. I suppose my face betrayed my thoughts, for I saw the -Signorina watching me anxiously; so to lull any fancies she might -have, I made the first remark that came into my head,-- - -"I never saw Faust in riding-boots before!" - -"Ah, Signore!" replied the girl with a fond look, "Guiseppe was an -artist as well as a singer, and designed his own dresses. He said that -as Faust in the last act was going to fly with Marguerite, and -Mephistopheles speaks of the horses waiting, it is natural that he -should wear a riding-dress." - -This explanation was quite satisfactory, and having thus learned the -identity of the young man whom I had seen murdered, I prepared to go, -when another idea entered my head, and, going over to the piano, I -began to play by ear the strange air I had heard at the Palazzo -Morone. Bianca gave a cry of surprise as she heard the melody, and -came over to the piano with a puzzled look on her face. - -"Ah, you know it, Signorina?" I said, turning round quickly. - -"Yes! in fact I gave it to Guiseppe. It is an old air by Palestrina, -which I found among the music of the Maestro, to which Guiseppe set -words. He is very fond of it and sings it a great deal. Ah, Signore, -you must have heard him sing it, for no one else has a copy." - -I turned off the matter with a careless remark, not caring to tell -Bianca where I had heard it; and now being quite certain that I would -be able to unravel the whole mystery, I wanted to get away as quickly -as possible in order to arrange my plans. - -"Addio, Signorina," I said, giving her my hand. "When I see you again -I may be able to give you news." - -"Good news?" - -"Yes, I hope so, Signorina," I replied hurriedly as Petronella -appeared at the door. "Do not anticipate evil, I beg of you. I have no -doubt Guiseppe is quite well." - -"Oh, I hope so! I trust so! Addio! Signor Hugo, you will come back -soon?" - -"To-morrow, Signorina." - -"Ah! I see you have brought back the smiles," said Petronella's gruff -voice as she ushered me out. "What do you think of this evil one going -away, Signore? I was going to have four masses if he is dead, but -those priests are such thieves. Ecco!" - -"Why should you think he is dead, Petronella?" - -"Eh, Signore, he loves the piccola so much that nothing but death -would keep him away." - -"Except----" - -"I know what you would say, Signore, except a woman. Well, maybe men -are all bad. I've been married, Signore--I know, I know." - -"Well, I don't think I'm particularly bad, Petronella." - -"Eh! then you're not a true man, Signore," retorted Petronella, -closing the argument and the door at the same time. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. -A HAUNTED PALACE. - - -I need hardly say that I was very much excited over the strange -discovery I had made, as there now appeared to be a reasonable chance -of clearing up the mystery of the Palazzo Morone. I had discovered the -name of the unhappy young man, which gave me a most important clue to -the reading of the enigma; but I had yet to find out the name of the -lady who had behaved in such an extraordinary manner and committed so -daring a crime. After hearing Peppino's story I fancied that she might -perchance be the Contessa Morone, but had later on dismissed this idea -as idle, seeing that she had been absent from Verona for many months; -but now that Bianca had told me that Pallanza had come straight from -Rome, I began to suspect that I had been right in my surmise. -According to Peppino the Contessa had taken up her residence at the -Italian capital, so what was more likely than that she had fallen in -love with Guiseppe while he was singing at the Teatro Apollo, and, -following him to Verona, had killed him by means of poison, in revenge -for his determination to leave her? - -So far everything was feasible enough, but two points of the affair -perplexed me very much, one being the choosing of the deserted palace -as a place of meeting, the other the visit to the burial ground by the -woman. We do not live in the times of the Borgias, when noble ladies -can thus rid themselves of their lovers with impunity, else I might -have believed that this phantom of Donna Lucrezia had gone to the old -Veronese cemetery to select a grave for the unfortunate young man she -intended to murder. To think thus, however, was foolish, and although -I guessed that she had used the old palace of her family as a safe -place for a lovers' meeting, seeing its gruesome reputation secured -it from public curiosity, yet I was quite unable to explain the -cemetery mystery. One thing, however, appeared to me to be certain, -that Guiseppe Pallanza had been carrying on an intrigue with the -Contessa--presuming the ghoul to be her--and that he had gone to the -Palazzo Morone on the night in question at her request. As to the sick -friend---- - -Now I greatly mistrusted that sick-friend story. So many fast young -Englishmen whom I knew had adopted the same lie to cover their little -peccadilloes that I was quite sure Pallanza had employed the same -fiction to prevent the scandal of his intrigue with this unknown woman -from reaching the ears of his _fiancée_. Bianca was a very proud girl, -and I felt certain, from what little I had seen of her character, that -if she discovered Guiseppe was playing her false, she would at -once break off the engagement at any cost. Like all Italian women, -when she loved she loved with her whole soul, and expected the same -single-hearted return to her passion; so that the discovery of her -lover's infidelity could only be punished sufficiently, according to -her ideas, by an everlasting parting between them. Pallanza knew this, -and therefore tried to hide his guilt by the plausible story of his -dying friend, which appeared to me to be such a remarkably weak -fabrication that, before going to the Palazzo Morone, I determined to -find out if this mythical invalid existed. - -Curiously enough, although I was studying for the musical profession -and was devoted to operatic performances, I had not been to the Teatro -Ezzelino since my arrival at Verona, preferring to wander about the -streets of the romantic old city in the moonlight to sitting night -after night in a stifling atmosphere of heat, glare, and noise. I made -up my mind, however, to go on this special night, in the hope that I -might hear some talk about Pallanza's disappearance, and be guided -thereby in any future movements; but meantime I went to the theatre in -the afternoon, and, introducing myself to the impresario as a friend -of Guiseppe's, asked him if he had heard any news of the missing -tenor. - -The impresario, a dingy old man of doubtful cleanliness, was in -despair, and raged against the absent Pallanza like a Garrick of the -gutter. He had heard nothing of this birbánte--this ladrone who had -thus disappeared, and left an honest impresario in the lurch. "Faust" -was the success of the season; without Pallanza there could be no -"Faust," and the season would be a failure. What was he to do? -Cospetto! it was the luck of the devil. Why had this scellerato run -away? A sick friend? Bah! there was no sick friend. It was a woman who -had enticed away this pazzo. A dying friend from Rome was not a very -likely story, but a lie--a large and magnificent lie. Here was the -basso of his company, who had been singing with Pallanza at the -Apollo; ask him, truth is on his lips, Behold this good man! - -Signor Basso-profundo advanced, and though truth might have been on -his lips it certainly was not apparent on his face, for a more -deceitful countenance I never beheld. However, I have no doubt he -spoke truth on this occasion, as there was no money to be made by -telling a lie, and he confirmed the words of the wrathful impresario. -The sick friend was a myth, but in Rome Pallanza had been friendly -with a lady. Per Bacco! a great lady, but the name was unknown to him. -It appeared that Signor Basso-profundo dressed in the same room as -Pallanza, and it was just before the last act of "Faust" that Guiseppe -received the note. He told the basso-profundo that it was from a dying -friend, and had departed quickly when the opera was ended, in his -stage-dress, with a cloak wrapped round him. The basso-profundo was -sure the note was from a lady. The impresario was also sure, and -devoted the lady in question to the infernal gods with a richness of -expression I have never heard equalled in any language. - -Having thus found out what I suspected from the first, that the dying -friend was a mere invention to cloak an intrigue, I left the -impresario to tear his hair and call Guiseppe names in company with -Signor Basso-profundo, and went back to my hotel, where I found -Peppino waiting with his fiacre to drive me to the Palazzo Morone. - -He was still unwilling to take me to this place of evil reputation, -and made one last effort to shake my determination by gruesome stories -of people who had gone into the palazzo and never came out again; but -I laughed at all these hobgoblin romances, and getting into the -fiacre, told him to drive off at once, which he did, after crossing -himself twice, so as to secure his own safety should the ghosts of -Palazzo Morone take a fancy to carry me off as a heretic. - -We speedily left the broad, modern streets, and rattled down gloomy, -mediæval passages, the humid atmosphere of which chilled me to the -bone, in spite of the heat of the day. The fiacre--with its jingling -bells--bumped on the uneven stones, turned abruptly round unexpected -corners, corkscrewed itself between narrow walls, crept under low -archways, and after innumerable dodgings, twistings, hairbreadth -escapes from upsettings, and perilous balancings on the edges of -drains, at length emerged into that queer little piazza at the end of -which I saw the great façade of the richly-decorated palace I had -beheld in the moonlight of two nights before. - -I had been an ardent student of Baedeker since my arrival in Italy, -and from the fortified appearance of the palazzo, judged that it had -been built by Michelo Sammicheli, who, according to the guide-book, -was the greatest military architect of the middle ages. The building -was four stories high, with long lines of narrow windows closely -barred by curiously ornamented iron cages--which bulged outward,---as -a protection against thieves or enemies, and the whole front was -adorned with almost obliterated paintings after the style of the -Genoese palaces. In addition to the brush, the chisel had done its -work, and wreaths of flowers, grinning masks, nude figures of boys and -girls, elaborate crests and armorial devices with fishes, birds, -tritons, shells, and fruit were sculptured round the windows, along -the fortified castellated top, and over the great portal. All the -square in front of this splendid specimen of Renaissance art was -overgrown with grass. The houses on every side were also deserted, and -what with the broken windows, the empty piazza, and the closed doors, -everything had a melancholy, desolate appearance, as if a curse rested -upon the whole neighbourhood. - -Peppino evidently was of this opinion, for although it was broad -daylight, and the hot sunlight poured down on the grass-grown square, -yet he kept muttering prayers in a low voice; and if by chance he -looked towards the Palazza, he always crossed himself with great -devoutness. I was not, however, going to be baulked of my intention by -any superstitious feeling on the part of an Italian cab-driver, so I -ordered Peppino to tie up his horse and come with me into the palace. -This modest request, however, so horrified Peppino that he absolutely -squeaked with horror, like a rabbit caught in a snare. - -"I, Signore!" he whimpered, touching the relic on his breast. "Dio! -not to be King of Italy would I go into that house! If you are wise, -Signore, look and come away lest evil befall you. Cospetto! Signore, -remember the Frate. Think of Madonna Matilda!" - -"What about Madonna Matilda, Peppino?" - -"Eh, Illustrious, do you not know? She was a friend of his Holiness at -Canossa, and, though a woman, wanted to celebrate mass, but Il Cristo -burnt her to ashes with fire from above!--and she died. Ecco! -Cospetto! Signore, it is foolish to meddle with holy things." - -"Well, you can't call this palace holy, Peppino?" - -"No, Illustrious. It is accursed!" replied the Italian, crossing -himself, "but there is fire below as well as above, and you are a -heretic." - -"Which means that I had better beware of the devil! eh, Peppino. Well, -well; I'm not afraid, so I will enter the palace, and if you see me -carried off by the ghosts, you can tell the carabinieri." - -"Dio! Illustrious, do not jest; but if you will go you must go. I will -wait here and pray for your soul." - -Peppino was as obstinate as a mule in his fear of ghosts, so leaving -him to smoke his long Italian cigar and watch the brown lizards -scuttling over the hot stones in the sunshine, I advanced towards the -palace with the determination to find out the secret chamber. As I -knew it would be dark therein, owing to its want of windows, I had -taken the precaution to provide myself with a candle and a box of -matches. Feeling that these were safe in my pocket, I went to the iron -gate and entered the courtyard in the same way as I had done on that -night. This time, however, I examined the ironwork, and found to my -surprise that the missing bar had been half filed through and then -wrenched away. The marks left were quite fresh, and it had been done -so recently that the bar had not had time to grow rusty. This -discovery astonished me not a little, as I did not see the reason of -such an entrance being made. If it were the Contessa who used the -palace, she would have the key of the side door, and could thus admit -herself and her lover at her pleasure, while this breach could only -have been made by some one who could not enter in any other way. - -I thought of the person into whose arms I had fallen, the person who -had placed a handkerchief wet with some liquid over my face, and -although, according to Peppino's story, this watcher at the door was -the phantom of Count Mastino Morone, yet dismissing such an -explanation as due to superstition, I began to think that another -person had followed the lady of the sepulchre besides myself. Yes, -there could be no doubt about it, some third person had tracked her to -the palazzo, and, unable to enter in the ordinary way, had filed -through and broken the iron bar in the gate. Gaining access to the -interior of the palazzo in this way, the unknown had penetrated to the -secret chamber, and doubtless had witnessed the same strange scene as -I had done. My presence had been discovered, and to preserve for some -unknown reason, the secret of this terrible chamber, I had been -seized, rendered insensible by chloroform, and taken to the Piazza -Vittorio Emanuele, so that I would be unable to re-discover the -Palazzo Morone. - -All these thoughts flashed through my brain with the rapidity of -lightning, and I wondered whom this unknown could be--a friend of -Pallanza? an accomplice of the Contessa! I did not know what to think, -so leaving all such conjectures to a more seasonable time, I crossed -over the dreary courtyard and entered the great hall. - -It was a magnificent entrance, and when thronged with courtiers, -men-at-arms, pages, and ladies, must have presented a noble -appearance. Of enormous size, the high walls and lofty roof were -painted with glowing frescoes representing the ancient glories of the -Republic, and the floor was brilliant with gorgeous mosaics of -coats-of-arms and fantastic figures. The painted windows on either -side of the huge portal blazed with variegated tints, and the bright -sun streaming in through the glass--as many-coloured as Joseph's -coat--dyed the floor with vivid lights and gaudy hues. Ancient -tapestries hung here and there between the two lines of black marble -columns running down the sides of the hall, and the wind, stealing in -through the open door, shook the grey dust from these mouldering -splendours of the loom. At the end of this immense vestibule arose a -broad staircase of white marble with balustrades of elaborate bronze -fretwork, and from the first landing two other flights sloped off to -right and left of the main branch. All the air was filled with -floating shadows, the soft wind moved the hangings without sound, and -I was alone in the deserted hall, over which brooded an intense -silence, which made me shiver in the chill atmosphere pervading this -abode of desolation. - -However, the afternoon was passing quickly, and as I had plenty to do -before nightfall, I rapidly ascended the shallow stairs. Turning to -the right, which was the way the unknown lady had taken the other -night, I soon found myself in the long corridor with the windows -looking out on to the courtyard. Many of these were broken, but others -were quite whole, their colours as bright and glowing as when they had -first been placed there. - -At the end of the corridor I turned to the left, and found the short -flight of shallow steps, which, however, led up into darkness, so that -before ascending them I had to light my candle. Luckily there were no -draughts, for the air was absolutely still, and the flame of my candle -burned clear and steadily. Up these steps I went, entered the short -corridor, and paused before the heavy door which gave admission into -the ante-chamber of the fatal room. Realizing what had taken place -inside on that fatal night, I dreaded to enter, lest I should find the -corpse of the unfortunate Pallanza on the floor; but overcoming my -emotions, with a strong effort I thrust open the door and entered. - -The tapestried chamber presented exactly the same appearance, with the -small table in the centre, the burnt-out torch lying on the floor, and -at the end the rich folds of the gold-worked curtains veiling the -entrance to the inner apartment. I stood on the threshold, half -expecting to hear the shrill notes of the mandolin, and the passionate -song ring through the silence, but all was still and mute, as if it -were indeed the tomb of the dead I expected to find. - -At last, with a thrill of dread, I parted the heavy curtains and found -myself in the circular chamber. The faint light of the candle just -hollowed out a gulf in the Cimmerian darkness, and I saw the dim -glitter of the gold and silver on the table, the ghastly glimmer of -the white cloth, and the sparks of weak fire flashing from the -tarnished gold embroidery of the curtains. All was as I had seen -it--the eight white pillars, the dull-red hangings with their -Arabesque patterns of golden thread, the gilt table, the massive metal -goblets and silver candelabra, even the half-eaten fruit, with -everything on the table in disorder; but, somewhat to my relief, I -found nothing else. The dead body, which I had seen lying at the feet -of that terrible woman, had vanished, and although I searched over -every inch of the chamber, I could find no trace of the fearful crime -which had been committed. The demon who had enticed the unhappy young -man to his ruin had completed her evil work by secreting his body, and -I began to think that all trace of Guiseppe Pallanza had disappeared -from the earth for evermore. - -Who was this woman who, in this room, had so wickedly slain her lover? -Who was the man--I felt sure it was a man--who had seized me at the -door, and borne me insensible from the palace? I could answer neither -of these questions, and had it not been for the story of Bianca, for -the disappearance of Pallanza, I would have fancied the whole some -hideous dream, some nightmare of medieval devilry, which had filled my -brain with the phantasmagoria of delirium. Everything, however, was -too real, too terrible, to admit of such an explanation; so as I could -discover nothing more from examining the chamber I prepared to leave. -The atmosphere yet had a faint aroma of the sandalwood perfume which -emanated from the unknown woman; at my feet still lay the broken -mandolin; and the rich wine-cups still glittered in the dim light. I -no longer wondered at such wealth being left here undefended, for -superstition, more of a safeguard than bolts and bars, protected this -cave of Aladdin from thievish Italian fingers; and even if a thief had -known of these riches, I doubt whether he would have had the courage -to dare the unseen horrors of the palazzo. - -For myself, standing there in the perfumed atmosphere, with the light -just showing the intense gloom, the dim glitter of gold and silver, -the absolute stillness and the horrible memories of the chamber--I -felt as though I were in the presence of the dead. At the table sat -the phantoms of Donna Renata and her lover, smiling at one another -with hatred in their ghostly hearts; at the door watched the evil face -of the outraged husband awaiting the consummation of the tragedy; and -in imagination I could see the wicked smile of the woman, the scowl of -the husband, the loathing look on the face of the lover. My breath, -coming quick and fast, made the flame of the candle flicker and flare -until, overcome by the horror of the room, and by the workings of my -imagination, I turned and fled--fled from the evil gloom, from that -blood-stained splendour, out into the blessed sunshine and pure air of -heaven. - -"Dio!" cried Peppino, as I walked quickly out into the square, "how -pale you are, Illustrious! Eh, Signore, have the ghosts----" - -"I have seen no ghosts, Peppino, but I have felt their presence." - -"Cospetto! did I not warn the Signore against the accursed place? -Come, Illustrious, jump in and we will leave this abode of devils." - -"Very well, Peppino," I replied, entering the fiacre, "but drive -slowly, as I want to know the way to this palazzo." - -"Dio! the Signore will not come again?" - -"Yes! I am coming some night this month." - -"Saints! the Signore is mad and lost!" muttered Peppino with a pale -face. Then, hastily gathering up the reins, he drove rapidly away from -the lonely square, leaving this gruesome palace to the night and to -the feast of ghosts. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. -AT THE TEATRO EZZELINO. - - -From my mother I had inherited one of those highly strung -organizations which are largely affected by their surroundings, and -which, like an Æolian harp, to the sighing wind vibrate with every -breath of passion that passes over them--organizations which take -their colour, their bias, their desires from the last event which -occurs, and which are entirely in sympathy with the predominating -feeling of the moment. In childhood this dangerous spirit of moods and -fancies had been fostered by an old Scottish nurse, who used to thrill -me with wild stories of Highland superstitions, and with weird ballads -of elfish fantasy; but since I had mixed in the world I had learned to -control and sway my imaginative faculty, and had thus acquired a -command over myself. But, as I said before, superstition is in every -one, and waxes or wanes according to their surroundings; so the -terrors of childish tales, which had been half-forgotten in the bustle -of worldly life, now came upon my soul with full force in this haunted -city of Verona. The burial-ground, the ghostly room, the accursed -palace, the phantoms of evil-seeming, all these peopled the chambers -of my brain, with their unreal horrors, until I became so nervous and -unstrung, that every sudden noise, every unexpected sound, and every -shadowy comer, made me thrill with supernatural fear as if I were -again a child listening to tales of devildom. - -I knew this mood was a bad one, and would have sought cheerful society -to drive away the evil spirit had I known where to seek it. But there -were no English at my hotel, and, in the present state of affairs, the -Casa Angello was not particularly cheerful, so as I did not care about -spending a lonely evening, I methought myself of my intention to go to -the Teatro Ezzelino. On glancing at the paper I saw that the opera for -the night was "Lucrezia Borgia;" and this name gave me a renewed -sensation of horror. The lady of the sepulchre had taken in my -imagination the semblance of Ferrara's Duchess, and the memory of the -terrible daughter of Pope Alexander seemed never to leave me. She had -come from the graveyard, she had supped in the fatal chamber, she had -murdered her lover; and now, when she had vanished into thin air, I -was to see her represented on the stage in all her magnificent -wickedness. I had a good mind not to go, but seeing that there was a -ballet after the opera, I thought I would brave this phantom of the -brain, and find in the lightness of the dancing an antidote to the -gloomy terrors of the lyrical drama. - -The cooking at my hotel was somewhat better than the usual run of -Italian culinary ideas, so I made an excellent dinner, drank some Asti -Spumati, an agreeable wine of an exhilarating nature, and felt much -better when I started for the Ezzelino. - -It was one of those perfect Italian evenings such as one sees depicted -by the glowing brush of Turner, and there yet lingered in the quiet -evening sky a faint purple reflection of the sunset glories. No moon -as yet, but here and there a burning star throbbing in the deep heart -of the sky, and under the peaceful heavens the weather-worn red roofs -and grey walls of antique Verona mellowed to warm loveliness in the -twilight shadows. Beautiful as it was, however, with the memory of -that eerie night still on me, I had no desire to renew my moonlight -wanderings, so, without pausing to admire the enchanting scene, I -hastened on to the theatre to be in time for the first notes of -Donnizetti's opera. - -The Teatro Ezzelino is a very charming opera-house, built in a light, -airy fashion, with plenty of ventilation, a thing to be grateful for -on hot summer nights. All the decorations are white and gold, so that -it has a delightfully cool appearance; nevertheless, what with the -warmth of the season without, and the glaring heat of the gas within, -I felt unpleasantly hot. The gallery and stalls were crowded, but as -it was only eight o'clock, most of the boxes were empty, and I knew -would not be filled until late in the evening by those who, tired of -the well-known music of "Lucrezia," wanted to see the new ballet. - -Having glanced round the theatre, I bought a book of the words, hired -an opera-glass from an obsequious attendant, and settled myself -comfortably for the evening. The orchestra--a very excellent one, -directed by Maestro Feraldi, of Milan--played the prelude in a -sufficiently good style, and the pictured curtain arose on the -well-known Venetian scene which I had so often beheld. The chorus, in -their heterogeneous costumes of no known age, wandered about in their -usual aimless fashion, shouted their approval of smiling Venice in the -ordinary indifferent style; and a very good contralto who sang Orsini, -having delivered her first aria with great dramatic fervour, they all -vanished from the stage, leaving the sleeping Genaro to be -contemplated by Lucrezia Borgia. - -I was disappointed with the Duchess when she arrived, and I must say -that my majestic evil lady of the sepulchre looked far more like the -regal sister of Cæsar Borgia than this diminutive singer with the big -voice, who raged round the stage like a spitfire, and gave one no idea -of the terrible Medusa of Ferrara, whose smile was death to all, -lovers and friends alike. The tenor was a long individual, and -Lucrezia being so small, their duets, in point of physical appearance, -were sufficiently ridiculous; but as they sang well together, their -rendering of the characters, artistically speaking, was enjoyable. The -chorus entered and discovered Lucrezia with Genaro; the prima-donna -defied them all with the look and ways of a cross child; there was the -usual dramatic chorus, and the curtain fell on the prologue with but -slight applause. I did not go out, as I felt very comfortable, so -amused myself with looking round the house, when, during the first act -of the opera, two officers entered the theatre and took their seats in -front of mine; They were two gay young men, who talked a great deal -about one thing and another in such raised voices that I could hear -all they said, some of which was not particularly edifying. - -During the first act which succeeds the prologue they were -comparatively quiet, but when Lucrezia entered in the second to sing -the celebrated duet with Alfonso, they were loud in their expressions -of disapproval concerning her appearance. The music of this part of -the opera is particularly loud and noisy, but even through the crash -of the orchestra I could hear their expressions of disapproval. - -"The voice is not bad, but the appearance--the acting--oime!" - -"Eh, Teodoro, what would you? Donna Lucrezia is not on the stage." - -"Not on the stage!" said Teodoro in an astonished tone. "Ebbene! where -is she?" - -"Look at the box yonder!" - -"Per Bacco! the Contessa Morone." - -I started as I heard this name, and, looking in the same direction as -the young men, saw a woman seated far back in the shadow of a box, the -fourth or fifth from the stage. She was talking to three gentlemen, -and her face was turned away so that I could not see her features; -but, judging from the glimpse I caught of her head and bust, she -seemed to be a very majestic woman. - -The Contessa Morone! She was then in Verona after all. This discovery -removed all my doubts concerning the identity of the ghoul. She was -the woman who had left the vault in the burial-ground. She was the -woman who had slain Guiseppe Pallanza in the secret chamber of the -deserted palace, and she was the woman seated in the shadow of the -box, talking idly as though she had no terrible crime to burden her -conscience. If I could only see her face I would then recognise her; -but, as if she had some presentiment of danger, she persistently -looked everywhere but in my direction. As I gazed she moved slightly, -the bright light of a lamp shone on her neck, and I saw a sudden -tongue of red flame flash through the semi-twilight of the box, which -at once reminded me of the necklace of rubies worn by that terrible -vampire of the graveyard. - -Eager to know all about this woman, whom I felt sure was the murderess -of Pallanza, I listened breathlessly to the two officers who were -still talking about her. - -"It is a year since Morone died," said Teodoro, lowering his -opera-glass, "and she has lived since at Rome, where I met her. Why -has she returned here?" - -"Eh, who knows! Perhaps to reside again at the Palazzo Morone." - -"That tomb. Diamine! She must become a ghost to live there." - -"Ebbene, Teodoro! the ghost of Lucrezia Borgia! Why does she not marry -again?" - -"Who knows! I wouldn't like to be her husband in spite of her money. -Corpo di Bacco! a woman who sees in the dark like a cat." - -"The evil eye!" - -"Yes! and everything else that's wicked. I do not like that Signora at -all." - -"Che peccato! you might marry her." - -"Or her money! Ecco!" - -They both laughed, and, the act being ended, left their seats. I also -went out into the corridor for a smoke and a breath of fresh air, -feeling deeply sorry that this interesting conversation had been -interrupted. From what one of the officers had said she was evidently -a nyctalopyst, and could see in the dark, which accounted at once for -the unerring way in which she had threaded the dark streets, and was -also the reason that she now remained secluded in the shadow of her -box, preferring the darkness to the light. Puzzling over these things, -and wondering how I could get a glimpse of her face, I lighted a -cigarette and strolled about in the vestibule of the theatre with the -rest of the crowd. - -There were a goodly number of civilians of all sizes, ages, and -complexions, while the military element was represented by a fair -sprinkling of officers in the picturesque uniforms of the Italian -army. The air was thick with tobacco-smoke there was a clatter of -vivacious voices, and the great doors of the theatre were thrown wide -open to admit the fresh night air into the overpoweringly hot -atmosphere. Being wrapt up in my ideas about the Contessa Morone and -her extraordinary behaviour, I leaned against a pillar and took no -notice of any one, when suddenly a tall officer stopped in front of me -and held out his hand. - -"What! Is it you, Signor Hugo? Come sta!" - -"Beltrami! You here! I am surprised!" - -"Ma foi," replied Beltrami, who constantly introduced French words -into his conversation; "you are not so surprised as I am. I thought -you were in your foggy island, and behold you appear at Verona. How -did you come here? What are you doing? Eh! Hugo, tell me all." - -I do not think I have mentioned Beltrami before, which is curious, -considering I have been talking so much about Italy and the Italians; -but the fact is, my friend the Marchese only now enters into this -curious story I am relating, so thus being introduced in due season I -will tell all I know about him. - -During my narrative I fancy I have mentioned that I spoke and -understood Italian tolerably for an Englishman. Well, I did not learn -my Italian in Italy--no, indeed! Foggy London saw my maiden efforts to -acquire that soft bastard Latin which Byron talks of, and the Marchese -Luigi Beltrami gave me my first lessons in his melodious language. He -had come to England some years before with a card of introduction to -my father from a friend in Florence, and on being introduced to our -household we had taken a great fancy to one another. Even in those -days, perhaps as a premonitory symptom of my operatic leanings, I was -mad on all things Italian, and discoursed about art, raved of Cimabue -and Titian, and quoted Dante, Ariosto, and Alfieri until every one of -my friends were, I am sure, heartily wearied of my enthusiasm. -Beltrami appeared, and feeling flattered by my great admiration for -his country, advised me to learn Italian. I did so, and with his help -soon became no mean proficient in the tongue which the Marchese, being -a Florentine, spoke very purely. In return I taught him English; but -either I was a bad master, or Beltrami was an idle scholar, for all -the English he ever learned consisted of two sentences: "You are a -beautiful miss," and "I love you," but with these two he got along -comparatively well, particularly with woman. - -English ladies at first were indignant at this outspoken admiration, -but Beltrami was so good-looking, and apparently so sincere in his use -of these two English sentences, that they usually ended by pardoning -him; nevertheless the Marchese found that if he wanted to get on in -society he would have to moderate his transports. Ultimately, if I -remember rightly, he took refuge in French, and said a great many -pretty things in that very pretty tongue. - -My friend Beltrami and myself were the antithesis of one another in -character, as he had a great deal of the subtle craft of the old -Italian despot about him; yet somehow we got on capitally together, -perhaps by the law of contrast, and when he returned to Italy I was -sorry to see the last of him. I promised to some day visit him at his -palazzo in Florence, and fully intended to do so before leaving Italy; -but here was Verona, and here, by the intervention of chance, was the -Marchese, as suave, as subtle-faced, and as handsome as ever. He -appeared to be delighted to see me, and as I was a stranger in a -strange land, I was glad to find at least one familiar face. - -In response to his request I told him about the death of my father, of -my determination to study singing, and the circumstances which had led -me to Verona, to all of which Beltrami listened attentively, and at -the conclusion of my story shook hands with me again. - -"Ebbene! my friend Hugo, I am glad to see you in our Italy. As you -see, I serve the King and am stationed in his dismal palace, so while -you are here I will make things pleasant. Ecco!" - -"No, no! my dear Marchese, I know what you mean by making things -pleasant. I have come here to work, not to play." - -"Dame, mon ami! too much work is bad." - -"Eh, Marchese, and too much play is worse; but tell me how have you -been since I saw you last?" - -"Oh, just the same; I am as poor as ever, but soon I will be rich!" - -"Bravo, Beltrami! Is your uncle, the Cardinal, dead?" - -"My uncle, the Cardinal, is immortal," replied the Marchese cynically. -"No, he still lives in the hope to succeed to the Fisherman's Chair. I -am going to be married!" - -"I congratulate you." - -"Eh, Hugo, I think you will when you see the future Marchesa! She is -in the theatre to-night. I am engaged to marry her, and as she takes -my friends for her own, come with me and I will introduce you." - -I drew back, as I wanted to watch the Contessa Morone, and if I went -to Beltrami's box I would perhaps lose sight of her. - -"You must excuse me, Signor Luigi, because--because you see I am not -in evening dress." - -It was the best excuse I could think of, but, being a very weak one, -Beltrami laughed, and, slipping his arm into mine, dragged me along -the corridor. - -"Sapristi! you talk like a child. You are my friend. Signora Morone -will be delighted to see you. She adores the English." - -"Madame Morone!" I exclaimed, thunderstruck. - -"Yes, the Contessa! Do you know her by sight? Mon Dieu! is she not -beautiful? You shall speak the English to her. She loves your foggy -islanders." - -I was so bewildered by the chance thrown in my way of finding out if -the Contessa Morone had anything to do with the burial-ground episode, -that I only replied to Beltrami's chatter by an uneasy laugh, and -suffered myself to be led unresistingly along. - -The Marchese did not take me into the box itself, but into one of -those small ante-rooms, on the opposite side of the corridor, which -are used by Italian ladies as reception saloons for their friends when -at the theatre. I heard the loud chatter of many voices as Beltrami -opened the door, and there, standing under the glare of the gas-lamp, -with the wicked smile on her lips, the pearls in her hair, the ruby -necklace round her throat, I saw the woman who had come from the -vault, the woman who had poisoned Pallanza in the secret room, the -phantom of Lucrezia Borgia. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. -THE PHANTOM OF LUCREZIA BORGIA. - - -I was duly introduced by the Marchese, and Signora Morone received me -in the most amiable manner. She was certainly a very charming woman, -and had I not known her true character, I would doubtless have been -fascinated by her gracious affability; but, in spite of her courtesy, -I could hardly speak to her without a feeling of repulsion. This -beautiful woman, so suave, so smiling, so seductive, inspired me with -that sensation of absolute dread which one experiences at the sight of -a sleek, velvet-footed pantheress--a comely beast to admire, but a -terrible one to caress. I replied to her polite inquiries in a -somewhat mechanical fashion, which she doubtless put down to my -imperfect knowledge of Italian, for in spite of all my efforts to feel -at ease in her society, yet I was unable to do more than behave with -strained courtesy towards this woman whose mask I had torn off, whose -secret I had penetrated, and the wickedness of whose heart I knew. - -There were several other gentlemen in the room, who talked gaily with -the Contessa, and amused themselves by eating the bonbons and -crystallised fruits provided for refreshments. The last act of the -opera had not yet commenced, so Signora Morone sank gracefully into a -velvet-cushioned chair, and permitted her courtiers to retail all the -news of the day for her amusement. I am afraid this description sounds -somewhat hyperbolical, but indeed it is the only way in which I can -describe this woman, whose every movement was full of sinuous grace -and feline treachery. Cat, tigress, pantheress as she was, her claws -were now sheathed in her velvet paws, but the claws were there all the -same, and would doubtless scratch at the least provocation. - -Some people do not believe in transmigration, but I am a true disciple -of Pythagoras in that bizarre doctrine, and I firmly believe that in a -former existence the soul of Giulietta Morone had animated the body of -some tawny tigress who had stolen through the jungle beneath the -burning skies of Hindostan, slaying and devouring her victims in -conformity with the instincts of her savage nature. Now she was a -woman--a fair, majestic woman--but the instinct of the beast was -there, the desire for slaughter and the lust for blood. What made me -indulge still more in this fancy was the colours of the dress she wore -black and yellow--all twisted in and out with a curious resemblance to -the sleek fur of the beast to which I had likened her. The soft -glimmer of the pearl strings twined in her magnificent red hair seemed -out of place as ornaments for this woman; but the rubies suited her -nature well, the red, angry rubies that shot flashes of purple fire -from her neck at every heave of her white bosom. Leaning back in her -deep chair with a cruel smile on her full crimson lips, the glimmer of -pearls, the fire-glint of the fierce-tinted gems, and the bizarre -mixture of amber and black in her dress, she slowly waved her -sandalwood fan to and fro, diffusing a strange, sleepy perfume through -the room, and looking what I verily believed her to be, the type of -incarnate evil in repose. - -While I was thinking in this fanciful fashion, the Contessa was -talking to her friends in a slow, rich voice, and Beltrami--well, -Beltrami was watching me closely. Do you know that strange sensation -of being watched? that uneasy consciousness that some unseen eye is -observing the least movement? Yes, of course you do! Every one has -felt it, in a more or less degree, according to their nervous -susceptibility. At the present time, with all my senses on the alert -for unexpected events, it was therefore little to be wondered at that -I felt the magnetism of Beltrami's gaze, and, on looking up, saw his -keen black eyes fixed upon me with an enigmatical expression. For the -moment I was startled, but immediately that feeling passed away for I -well knew the strange nature of the Marchese, which was a peculiar -mixture of good and evil, of kindness and cruelty, of hate and love, -which must have proceeded from some aberration of his subtle -intellect. - -Beltrami's face always put me in mind of that sinister countenance of -Sigismondo Malatesta, which sneers so malevolently at the curious -onlooker from the walls of the Duomo at Rimini. He had the same -treacherous droop of the eyelids, the same thin nose with wide, -sensitive nostrils, and the same malignant smile on his thin lips. Yet -he was handsome enough, this young Italian; but his face, in spite of -my friendship, repelled me--in a less degree, it is true, but still it -repelled me in the like manner as did that of the Contessa Morone. So -he was going to marry her. Well, they were certainly well-matched in -every respect, and if the man had not the active wickedness of the -woman, still the capability of evil was there, and would awaken to -life when necessary to be exercised. Both Beltrami and his future wife -were anachronisms in this nineteenth century, and should have lived, -smiled, and died in the time of the Renaissance, when they would have -been fitted companions of those Italian despots of whom Machiavelli -gives the typical examples in his book "The Prince." - -The Marchese saw my inquiring look, and with an enigmatic smile walked -across to where I was standing in the warm, yellow light. - -"Ebbene! Signor Hugo," he whispered, with a swift glance at the -Contessa, "tell me what you think of my choice." - -"It does you credit, Marchese. You will have a beautiful wife." - -"And a loving one, I hope. Tell me, mon ami, do you not envy me?" - -I hesitated a moment before replying, and then blurted out the -truth,-- - -"Honestly speaking, Signor Luigi, I do not!" - -"Dame! and why?" - -"Well, I can hardly tell you my reasons, but I have them, -nevertheless." - -Beltrami looked hard at me with an inquisitive look in his dark eyes, -and a satirical smile on his thin lips. - -"You are not complimentary, my friend," he said, turning away with a -supercilious laugh. - -I laid my hand on his shoulder and explained,-- - -"Pardon me, Beltrami, you do not understand----" - -"Eh! do not apologise! I understand better than you think." - -He was evidently not at all offended, and I felt puzzled by his -manner. It was true he had candidly acknowledged that he was making -this marriage for money, but surely he must also love this woman, -whose ripe beauty was so attractive to the passionate nature of the -Italians. Yet, judging from his mode of speech, he evidently had some -mistrust--a mistrust for which I could not account. He could know -nothing of the affair at the Palazzo Morone, so there certainly could -be no reason for suspicion on his part. She was a beautiful woman, a -rich woman, an attractive woman, so with this trinity of perfections -she decidedly merited a warmer love than Beltrami appeared inclined to -give her. Could it be that her evil beauty repelled him, as it did me? -No! that was impossible, seeing that, according to my idea, their -natures were wonderfully alike. Altogether the whole demeanour of the -Marchesa perplexed me by its strangeness, and I watched him narrowly -as he approached the Contessa, to see if she perceived the lack of -warmth on the part of her lover. - -To my surprise, as he bent over her chair to speak, she shrank away -with a gesture of disdain, and the rubies shot forth a red flame, as -if to warn the lover that there was danger in pressing upon this woman -his unwelcome attentions. Unwelcome, I am sure they were, for as he -adjusted her cloak and aided her to rise, in order to return to the -box, I saw that she accepted all his politeness with forced civility -and cold smiles. So then she did not love him--he had almost openly -acknowledged to me that he did not love her, and yet these two people, -who had no feeling of love in their hearts, were about to marry. It -was most extraordinary, and I marvelled greatly at the juxtaposition -of these two human beings, who evidently hated one another heartily. - -At this moment the Contessa spoke of the man she had murdered, and I -was horrified in the cold, callous tones in which she veiled her -iniquity. - -"Do you know, gentlemen, if anything has been heard of this lost -tenor?" - -Beltrami shot a keen glance at her, then a second at me, and I felt -more bewildered than ever by this strange action. - -"Nothing has been heard of him, Contessa," he said quickly, before the -others could speak; "he has vanished altogether, but no doubt he will -appear again." - -"Ah, you think so?" observed the Contessa, with a cruel smile. - -"I am sure of it!" - -She winced, and looked at him in a startled manner, upon which, -impelled by some mysterious impulse, I know not what, I joined in the -conversation,-- - -"On the contrary, madame, I do not think Signor Pallanza will ever be -seen again." - -All present turned round in surprise, and the Contessa darted a look -at me which seemed to pierce my soul. Only Beltrami was unmoved, and -he, with a smile on his face, laid his hand upon my shoulder. - -"Eh, Signor Hugo, and why do you think so?" - -"A mere fancy, Marchese, nothing more." - -"Ma foi! and a fancy that may turn out true!" - -I was annoyed at having yielded to the impulse and spoken out, as, -unless I told all about my adventure, I could not substantiate my -statement, and I was certainly not going to reveal anything I knew, -particularly in the presence of the woman so deeply implicated in the -affair. Beltrami's mocking manner irritated me fearfully, the more so -as it was so very unaccountable, and I was about to make some sharp -reply, when the opening chorus of the last act sounded, and all the -gentlemen, after making their adieux to the Contessa, left the room. - -The Marchese offered his arm to Madame Morone, but she dismissed him -with a haughty gesture. - -"One moment, Marchese--I wish to speak with this Signor for a few -minutes." - -Beltrami darted one of his enigmatic looks at us both, and with a low -bow to conceal the smile on his lips, left the room. As soon as he had -disappeared, Madame Morone turned round on me with a quick gesture of -surprise. - -"Signor Hugo, why did you say the tenor Pallanza would never be seen -again?" - -"I have no reason, Signora," I replied, being determined to baffle her -curiosity; "I merely spoke on the impulse of the moment." - -"Do you know Signor Pallanza?" - -"No, madame, I have not the pleasure of his acquaintance." - -"Ah!" - -She heaved a sigh of relief, and looked at me long and earnestly, as -if to see whether I was speaking the truth. Apparently she was -satisfied with her scrutiny, for she laughed softly, and placed her -hand within my arm. - -"Confess now, Signor Hugo, you think me most mysterious, but I will -tell you why I speak thus. I heard Pallanza at Rome, when he sang at -the Apollo, and I hoped to see him again here, therefore I am annoyed -at his disappearance and anxious for him to be found. A selfish wish, -Signor Hugo, for it is only my desire to hear him sing again. Ecco!" - -"I do not think your wish at all selfish, madame, for I hear he is a -charming singer." - -"Oh, yes! the New Mario they call him in Milan. Will you not hear the -rest of the opera in my box?" - -"If you will excuse me, madame, I will say no, as I have an -engagement." - -This was a lie, but I was so fearful of betraying myself to this -terrible woman, who had evidently a half-suspicion that I knew -something of Pallanza, that I was anxious to get away as soon as -possible. She, saying good-night, in a cold, polite manner, re-entered -the box, and I was moving away when Beltrami suddenly appeared. - -"Eh, Hugo, how cruel! the Contessa tells me you must go?" - -"Yes. I will see you again, Marchese!" - -"To-morrow then; if not, the next day. Here is my card, and I am -always at home in the afternoon. Do not fail to come, mon ami--I wish -to speak to you about--about----" - -He paused, and I asked curiously,-- - -"About what?" - -"Eh, dame! I forget. I will tell you at our next meeting' A rivederci! -Signor Hugo. Don't forget your old friend, or he will quarrel with -you." - -He nodded, smiled, and vanished, then I took my departure from the -theatre, and wandered up and down the street in the moonlight. I felt -that to sit out the ballet would be more than I could bear, as I was -so excited over the meeting with the Contessa Morone, therefore I -strolled up and down the street, smoking and thinking. As time passed -on I grew calmer, and thought I would return to the Ezzelino, not to -see the ballet, but to catch a glimpse of the Contessa once more. - -As I reached the portico of the theatre she was just coming down the -steps to her carriage, leaning on the arm of Beltrami, and I, hidden -in the crowd, could see her looking hither and thither as if searching -for some one. She could not see me, and in order to satisfy myself in -every way as to her identity with the creature of the night I had seen -leave the graveyard, with a sudden inspiration I hummed a few bars of -the strange song I had heard in the fatal chamber. - -Being close to me she could hear quite plainly, and gave a kind of -gasping cry as she fell back into the arms of Beltrami, just as he was -helping her into the carriage. - -"What is the matter, cara?" he asked quickly. - -She clutched his arm with so powerful a grasp that it made him wince, -and I heard her mutter with white lips,-- - -"Pallanza! Pallanza!" - -This was all I wanted to hear, and, fearful of discovery, I threaded -my way quickly among the crowd, and hastened home to my hotel. - -I had recognised Guiseppe, I had found the woman who had slain him, -but I had yet to discover where she had hidden the body of her -victim--and then!--well, my future movements would be guided by -circumstances. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. -FIORE DELLA CASA. - - -I did not get much sleep that night after the excitements of the day, -but towards the morning fell into an uneasy slumber, during which I -had fragmentary dreams in which Pallanza, the Contessa, and the -antique chamber were all mixed up together. One moment I was at the -iron door of the tomb, and the guardian angel took the semblance of -Signora Morone; the next I was kneeling beside the corpse of Pallanza, -illuminated by the faint light of the candles; and I ever saw the -pallid shade of Donna Renata pointing towards the watchful face of her -husband, filled with ghastly meanings in the dim shadows. No wonder, -after these terrific visions which blended the real and the ideal, I -awoke in the grey morning light unrefreshed and haggard; so when the -waiter brought me my roll and coffee I left them untouched, and, lying -quietly in bed, wondered what step it was necessary to take next in -solving this riddle. - -Riddle do I say? No! it was a riddle no longer, save as to the visit -of the Contessa to the vault of her family, for otherwise everything -was clear enough. She had met Pallanza at Rome, and had fallen in love -with his handsome face. The young man, flattered by the attentions of -a great lady, had yielded readily enough to the charm of the -situation, but, growing tired of the intrigue, had come to Verona, -where Bianca awaited him, with the intention of breaking it off. With -a woman of Giulietta Morone's fiery nature the sequel can easily be -guessed--she had followed him hither, and having in some way forced -him to come to the deserted palace, had there poisoned him out of -revenge for his contemplated infidelity. - -Of course, this was all theoretical, but from one thing and another I -guessed that this could be the only feasible way of accounting for the -whole affair. Two points, however, remained to be cleared up before -the reading of the riddle could be successfully accomplished: the -first being the reason of the burial-ground episode, the second the -strange disappearance of the dead man's body. - -In thinking over the legend related by Peppino, one thing struck me as -peculiar--that Donna Renata had never been seen again after her -husband entered the chamber, and I guessed from this that there was -some secret oubliette or alcove in the room, with a concealed entrance -in which Mastino Morone had entombed his guilty wife as a punishment -for her crimes. Doubtless, from tradition or from old family papers, -Madame Morone knew of this secret hiding-place, and having killed -Pallanza, had put his body therein so as to destroy all evidences of -her criminality. No one had seen Pallanza enter this deserted palace, -so once his body was hidden in the secret alcove it would remain there -for ever undiscovered, and no human being, save the Contessa herself, -could ever tell what had become of him. She, for her own sake, would -remain silent, and thus Guiseppe Pallanza's fate would remain a -mystery for evermore. - -Fortunately, however, God, who had thus permitted this evil woman to -conceive and carry out her crime, had also permitted me to behold the -murder, so that, secure as she no doubt felt of her safety, yet one -word from me and the whole affair would be revealed. I never thought, -however, of going to the Veronese police and telling them what I had -seen, as in their suspicions of foreigners they would doubtless regard -me as an accessory, and thus I would get myself into trouble, which I -had no desire to do. I therefore determined to once more go to the -fatal chamber and make a final effort to discover what had become of -the body of the unfortunate Pallanza. - -So far so good, but now the question arose, how much of this story was -I to reveal to Bianca? I could not tell her the whole, for if the body -of her lover were discovered, the poor child would suffer quite enough -without the additional information of Guiseppe's infidelity; so, -making a virtue of necessity, I determined upon telling her a pious -lie. To do this it was necessary to leave out the Contessa Morone -altogether, as the least mention of a woman's name would arose -Bianca's suspicions, and for the Contessa I substituted a robber, who -had decoyed Guiseppe to the deserted palace by means of a false -letter, and there ended his life. Of course it was somewhat difficult -to be consistent in the narrative; but I was so anxious to hide the -cruel truth of Pallanza's worthlessness from Bianca that I went over -the story I had invented, again and again, until I thought I had the -whole pious fraud quite perfect. - -Having thus arranged my plans, I arose, finished my roll and coffee, -then, having dressed myself rapidly, set off at once for the Casa -Angello, as it was nearly time for my lesson. All my bruises were now -quite well, yet I felt very depressed and downcast, as the state of -nervous excitement which I had been in for the last few days had told -terribly on my system. However, having once put my hand to the plough -I could not, with satisfaction to myself, turn back; and although I -heartily dreaded the coming interview with Bianca, yet it was -unavoidable, as the poor child was so anxious over her lost lover that -it was necessary to tell my fictitious story without delay in order to -set her mind at rest. - -On my arrival at the Casa Angello I found no one there but Bianca, who -was anxiously awaiting me. It appeared that the Maestro had taken it -into his head that he would like a walk in the sunshine, and had gone -out under the care of Petronella; but, as Bianca knew I was coming to -take my usual lesson, and was anxious to hear if I had any news of her -lover, she remained indoors to speak to me. - -The "Fiorè della Casa," as old Petronella tenderly called her in the -poetic language of the Italians, looked even paler than usual, and the -dark shadows under her dark eyes made them appear wonderfully large -and star-like. She had a bunch of delicate lilies-of-the-valley in the -bosom of her white dress, and she looked as pale and blanched as the -frail flowers themselves. Lying back on the green-covered sofa on -which she was seated, she reminded me of a late snowflake resting on -the emerald grass of early spring, which at any moment might vanish -under the pale rays of the sun. - -We were talking together in the room in which I generally had my -lessons, and my eyes wandered from one thing to another with vague -hesitation as I looked everywhere but on the face of this delicate -girl to whom I had to tell such a cruel story--for, soften it as I -might, the story was cruel and could not fail to affect her terribly. -Every object in the apartment photographed itself on my memory with -terrible distinctness, and, even after the lapse of years, by simply -closing my eyes I can recall the whole scene with the utmost -truthfulness. The dull red of the terra-cotta floor, the heavy -time-worn furniture, covered with faded green rep, the small ebony -piano with its glistening white keys alternating with the black, the -mirror-fronted press in which Petronella kept everything from food to -clothes, the many photographs of operatic celebrities, and the gaudily -painted picture of St. Paul, the Maestro's patron saint, encircled by -a faded wreath of withered laurel-leaves and dead flowers, flung to -some favourite pupil in her hour of triumph. Even the view from the -window I can recall, with the slender campanile tower, from whence -every quarter rang the brazen bells, and then the faltering voice of -Bianca, "Fiorè della Casa," stealing like a melancholy wind through -the silence of the room. - -"Signor!" she said, twisting her thin white hands nervously together, -"you have something to tell me of Guiseppe. I can see it in your -face--is it good or evil?" - -"What does my face tell you, Signorina?" - -"Evil, evil! your eyes are sad, your mouth does not smile! Oh, tell me -quickly what you know! Is he found? is he ill? is he--dead?" - -She brought out the last word in a shrill scream, with dilated eyes -that almost terrified me by the fear expressed in them, and, dreading -the effect of a sudden shock on this fragile child, I hastily replied -in the negative. - -"No, Signorina, no! Do not look so fearful, I pray you. He is not -dead. Child, I am sure he is not dead!" - -"Then you have not found him yet?" - -"No; I have not found him, but I think I know where he is to be -found." - -"What do you mean, Signor Hugo, tell me all--tell me all. See, I am -strong, I can bear it--I wish to know everything." - -"Signorina, the note which Guiseppe Pallanza received at the Ezzelino -was not from a friend but from an enemy." - -"An enemy!" - -"Yes! from one who wished him ill. Thinking it was from his dying -friend, he obeyed the letter and was lured to the deserted Palazzo -Morone." - -"I do not know that palazzo, Signor. I am a stranger in Verona." - -"I know where it is, Signorina, for on that night I was wandering -about near it, when I saw Pallanza go into it alone. Knowing the -evil reputation of the place, I followed him, although he was a -stranger to me. He went to a room in the palace where his enemy met -him, and--and----" - -"Yes! yes, Signor--for the love of the Saints, go on." - -"I can tell you no more, Signorina, except that I do not believe -Guiseppe left that room again. I believe he is there still, perhaps -held captive by the robber who lured him thither in the hope of -obtaining a ransom." - -Bianca looked at me searchingly. She was a simple little thing as a -rule, but this ridiculous story I had manufactured of brigands in the -heart of Verona was too much even for her confiding nature, and she -made a gesture of disbelief. - -"It is not true! it is not true!" she cried vehemently. "Why do you -deceive me, Signor?" - -"I am not deceiving you." - -"An enemy! a false letter! a deserted palace! held captive! Oh, I -cannot believe it. If it is true, why did you not rescue him?" - -"Because some one I do not know seized me from behind as I watched, -and, rendering me insensible with chloroform, bore me away from the -palace. I had great difficulty in finding it again, I assure you." - -"Signor, your story is that of a dream. I cannot believe you." - -"It is true, nevertheless." - -Bianca said nothing, but tapped her little foot on the ground with a -thoughtful frown on her small face. I was glad that my task was over, -for absurd as was the story I had told her, it was more merciful than -the truth. Now that I had to some extent quieted her fears by telling -her that Guiseppe was alive--a thing, alas! that I could not be -certain of myself--I hoped to get away at once to the Palazzo Morone -and make one last effort to find his body. If I failed there would be -nothing left for me to do but to inform the police, and in the -interests of Bianca I was unwilling to do this until I had exhausted -every means of solving the mystery myself. - -Suddenly Bianca's face cleared, and she looked at me with steady -determination. - -"Signor, you know this palazzo?" - -"Yes, Signorina." - -"And this room where you think Guiseppe is held captive?" - -"I do, Signorina." - -"Then take me to it at once." - -She started to her feet with a deep flush on her face, and threw out -her hands towards me with an appealing gesture. As for me, I sat -still, transfixed with astonishment at the spirit displayed by this -gentle girl, who was thus willing to dare the dangers, of the unknown -in order to save her lover. - -"Take me to it at once!" she repeated quickly. - -"Signorina, I--I cannot. You are mad to think of such a thing." - -"Is your story true or false, Signor Hugo?" - -"True! yes, it is true!" - -"Then I will judge of its truth myself--with my own eyes. Wait, I will -put on my hat, and you will take me to this palazzo at once." - -"Signorina----" - -"Not another word, I have made up my mind. You promised to be my -friend, Signor Hugo. I hold you to that promise. Ecco!" - -She was gone before I could utter further remonstrance, and during her -absence I reflected rapidly. It was true that Guiseppe was dead, that -I believed his body was concealed somewhere in that room, so perhaps -after all it was best that Bianca should come, as her quick woman's -wit might succeed where I had failed. She knew nothing about the -implication of the Contessa Morone in the affair, the palazzo would be -quite deserted during the daytime, so I would be able to take her -there, let her examine the room, and if by chance the truth was -revealed that Guiseppe was dead, it would be a more merciful way than -by the lips of a stranger. Yes, I would take her there at once. If we -failed in our mission she would be no wiser than before, but if we -succeeded--ah! how I pitied the poor child if we succeeded in finding -out the terrible secret of the Contessa. At this moment she returned -trembling with ill-suppressed excitement. - -"Well, Signor Hugo, are you ready--are you willing to help me?" - -"With all my heart, Signorina." - -"Ebbene! come, then." - -She ran lightly out of the room, and I followed with a heavy heart, -for I had a presentiment of evil. I feared that fatal chamber, which -held so many impure memories--I feared the discovery of the dead--I -feared for this child who went forward in ignorance to face such -horrors. - - - - -CHAPTER X. -A VOICE IN THE DARKNESS. - - -On returning from my last visit to the palace I had carefully noted -the way thereto, so I was able to escort Signorina Angello without -calling in the services of Peppino. I was unwilling to drive there, as -the presence of a fiacre even in that deserted piazza might be -noticed, and I did not want any comment made by the scandal-loving -Italian populace on our visit to this out-of-the-way locality. So in -company with Bianca, who had put on a veil, and who said nothing to me -from the time we left Casa Angello, being apparently occupied with her -own reflections, I walked down the gloomy, narrow streets towards that -terrible Palazzo Morone, the very idea of which inspired me with -horror and dismay. - -It was one of those burning days common to that time of the year in -Italy, and much as I despised and cursed those drain-like alleys in -wet weather, yet I now saw there was method in the madness of their -style of building, for their cool shadow and humid atmosphere was -wonderfully pleasant after the glare, the dust, and heat of the great -piazza. We walked on the broad carriage-way, which was less painful to -the feet than the cobble-stone paving between, and every now and then -saw some typical picture of Italian life. A dark-faced woman with a -red handkerchief twisted carelessly round her head, leaning from a -high balcony, on the iron railings of which was displayed the family -washing; a purple cloud of wisteria blooming in some pergola near the -red roof-tops; sleek grey donkeys laden with panniers, stepping -complacently along the narrow way; slender Italian men presiding over -fruit-stalls, piled high with their picturesque contents; and over -all, the vivacious clatter and din of voices, struck through at times -with the sharp, metallic notes of the mandolin. It was very charming, -and, I would have enjoyed it thoroughly, artistically speaking, had it -not been for the local odours. Oh, the smells of those picturesque -streets! they were too terrible for description; and how the Italians -are not swept off the face of the earth by a plague of typhoid is more -than I can understand. I smoked cigarettes most of the time, as a -preventive against infection; but on beholding ideal paintings of -Italian scenes, I always shudder at the memory of the malodorous -reality, and on arriving in well-drained London again, my first prayer -was one of thanks for having escaped from ill-smelling Italy. - -My thoughts during this portentous walk were, I am afraid, rather -frivolous; but so fearful had been the strain on my nerves for the -past few days, that it was a great relief to think idly of anything -and any one. Not so Bianca; even through her veil I could see the -glisten of tears, and catch the sound of her quick indrawn breath as -she strove to fight down the emotion that threatened to overwhelm her. -I saw that the poor child was nearly hysterical with her efforts to -control herself, and stopped short in dismay. - -"Signorina, you are not well. Do not go to this palazzo." - -"Yes, yes! I must, Signor Hugo. I cannot pass another night in this -state of suspense. I must know all, and at once. Is the Palazzo Morone -far off?" - -"We are just at it, Signorina." - -And so we were; for at that moment we entered the silent, grass-grown -square, at the end of which stood the palazzo, looking gruesome even -in the sunshine, with its broken windows, damp, disfigured walls, and -general air of weird solitude. Some swallows were shooting through the -still air and twittering round the rich sculptures of the façade, but -their merry chirpings only added to the eerie feeling inspired by the -great mansion--a feeling which I noticed thrilled Bianca with fear as -she paused shuddering, under the grinning masks and unlovely faces -peering downward from the arched entrance. - -"Oh, how could he come to this terrible place at night!" she cried, -crossing herself, with a look of fear in her eyes. "Desolate as it is -in the sun, what must it be when the moon shines! It is an abode of -the dead--a tomb--a tomb! Dio! his tomb." - -"Signorina, do not affright yourself thus! Things may not be so bad as -you think." - -"It is like the Inferno of Dante! and turns my blood cold with fear; -but I will not go back! I must find Guiseppe, even if it cost me my -life. Come, Signor, presto! there is no time to lose." - -She crossed herself once more, then flitted through the opening in the -iron gate like a noiseless-winged bird, upon which I hastily followed -her, and we stood for a moment in the lonely courtyard, gazing at the -great portals of the door leading to the hall, which stood half-open. - -"Signorina, I will lead you to the room. You are not afraid? You do -not tremble?" - -"Ah! I am afraid, and I do tremble, Signor, for I am only a girl; but -lead on, love will make me strong, and you will protect me. Give me -your hand, Signor; I am not afraid when I hold your hand." - -With a fleeting smile on her pale lips, she placed her hand in mine, -and as I grasped its cold whiteness, I guessed how terrified this -delicate, superstitious girl was of this unholy place. But for the -resolute look on her pallid face, I would have insisted upon her -turning back; but it was useless to urge retreat now, so with the name -"Guiseppe! Guiseppe!" on her lips, as if to inspire her with courage, -she almost dragged me through the half-closed door into the hall of -shadows. - -"Ah! Mother Mary, it is like a church!" - -It was like a church--like some old deserted church, filled with -the chill atmosphere of the grave; and the slow movement of the -wind-shaken tapestries, the glimmer of the ghostly white stairs in the -dim distance, and the solemnity of the huge pillars of black marble, -made me think of those God-cursed cities of the "Thousand and One -Nights," whose silence is only broken by the voice of the one survivor -chanting the melancholy verses of the Koran. Bianca, overpowered by -this mute spectacle of a dead past, clung convulsively to my arm with -faltering prayers on her lips, and I became afraid lest, by a feeling -of sympathy, her terror should unnerve me also, so with a cheerful -laugh, which echoed dismally through the vast vestibule, I led her -onward towards the grand staircase. - -"Come, Signorina, do not be afraid. You are quite safe with me." - -"Yes, yes! Guiseppe! Guiseppe!" - -We slowly ascended the staircase, gained the corridor, and at length -arrived at the second flight of shallow steps leading to the secret -room. Here Bianca, seeing the darkness, nearly fainted with nervous -fear, for, deeply imbued with grim Italian superstitions, she beheld -unseen terrors in every shadowy corner. I again wanted her to return, -but with wilful obstinacy she refused, so, as I luckily had a -pocket-flask of brandy with me, I made her take a little to revive -her. The fiery spirit put new life into her sinking limbs, and, after -lighting my candle as usual, I led her up the steps, through the short -corridor, through the tapestried ante-chamber, until at last we stood -in the fatal room. - -"Here, Signor Hugo!" - -"Yes!" - -She flung back her veil with a feverish gesture, and peered into the -darkness, which was hardly broken by the feeble light of the small -candle I carried. Suddenly a thought struck me which I at once put -into execution, and lighted all the tapers yet remaining in the -candelabra on the table. To the darkness succeeded a blaze of mellow -light, and Bianca, with a look of surprise on her face, gazed round -the singular room with the white pillars, the ominous blood-red -hangings, and the banquet of the dead set forth with such splendid -display on the gilt table. - -"What a strange room!" she said timidly. "Signor Hugo! what does it -mean?" - -"I have told you all I know, Signorina. Your lover was lured to this -room. I saw him pass through that door, and then I was drugged as I -have said." - -"You did not then see who received him here?" - -"No! I did not." - -The first part of the lie was difficult to utter on account of a -choking feeling in my throat, but the last sentence came out with -tolerable grace. - -"And you do not think Guiseppe left this room again?" - -"I'm afraid not, Signorina!" - -"Then, where can he be?" she asked with an anxious look around. - -"I think he is concealed in some secret cell, the entrance to which is -from this apartment." - -"Oh, Signor Hugo, let us look for it at once." - -"Certainly!" - -"A meal on the table--all this gold and silver. It is a robbers' cave, -Signor." - -"Y--es--I suppose so!" - -"Come, let us be quick then, or the robbers may arrive." - -She looked nervously towards the door, but I, taking a candle off the -table, reassured her with a gay laugh,-- - -"Do not be afraid, Signorina. No one comes here during the day." - -"Hush! what is that?" - -Infected by her terror my heart gave a jump, and I listened intently, -but could hear no sound. - -"It is nothing, Signorina. Your nerves are unstrung!" - -"No! No! I can hear it. Some one is coming. Listen!" - -In order to humour her fancy I remained silent with all my senses on -the alert, and with a feeling of dread I heard the sound. The light -fall of footsteps, the rustle of a silken dress--a dress!--the full -horror of the situation rushed on me at once. - -"It must be the Contessa Morone!" - -In a moment I had blown out all the candles, and, dragging Bianca with -me, retreated in the darkness to the far end of the room. The girl -gave a little cry as the lights disappeared, but I pressed her hand -significantly. - -"Hush, Signorina. Not a word!" - -At the time I heard the steps they were at the door of the -ante-chamber, where the new-comer was evidently pausing a moment, and -as the curtains of the inner room had been half drawn aside on our -entrance, it was for this reason we had heard them so clearly. The -steps recommenced. I heard their soft, light fall on the marble floor, -the rustle of the silken gown, like the sound of dry leaves in an -autumnal wind, and then I felt that this woman was standing in the -arched doorway, looking straight at myself and the shrinking girl -through the darkness. - -"Why are you here, Signor Hugo, and who is that woman?" - -It was the voice of the Contessa, and I gave a cry of horror as I -suddenly remembered how ineffectual the darkness was to conceal us -from the eyes of this nyctalopist. Bianca, however, knew nothing of -this woman, or of her gift of seeing in the dark; so, overcome with -fear at the demoniac power she believed the unknown possessed, she -gave a shriek of terror and sank fainting at my feet. - -"What does this mean?" - -Again the voice of the Contessa sounded cruel and menacing in its -tones; so feeling myself at a disadvantage in the dark, through not -possessing the terrible attribute of this woman, I staggered forward -and lighted the candles. At once out of the gloom sprang that evil -face with a frown on the white brow, a deadly glitter in the cruel -eyes, and an ominous tightening of the thin lips. - -I don't think I can call myself a coward, but at that moment my blood -ran cold at the horror of that Medusa-like countenance, and I stood -before this phantom of Lucrezia Borgia as if turned into stone, unable -to move or speak. - -The Contessa moved forward to the table and looked at me steadily, -with a wicked smile frozen on her red lips. - -"You do not reply, Signor Hugo; but I begin to understand. You have -been here before?" - -"Yes!" - -I hardly recognised my own voice, so hoarse and broken did it sound, -stealing in a whisper from between my dry lips. She still looked at me -steadily, and I felt fascinated with dread by the snake-like glare of -those cruel eyes. - -"When were you here, Signor?" - -"On Monday night!" - -"And you saw--nothing," she said in a meaning tone. - -"Yes!" I replied, lifting my head boldly, "I saw you receive Guiseppe -Pallanza, and I saw you give him the poisoned cup!" - -She gave a cry of rage like a trapped animal, and made a step forward, -but restraining herself with a powerful effort, sank into a chair and -leaned her elbow on the table. Dressed in heavy black garments of -velvet and silk, she looked more like the Borgia than ever, and the -ruby necklace she constantly wore flashed forth rays of red fire in -the glimmer of the tremulous light. - -"I understand now why you said Guiseppe Pallanza would not come back," -she said with a scornful smile. "I thought last night you knew more -than you told. Eh! Signor, and it was you who sang at the door of the -Ezzelino." - -"Yes, it was I." - -"Meddlesome Englishman that you are, do you not fear that I will treat -you as I treated that false one?" - -"No! I mistrust your wine!" - -"True, Signor Machiavella! forewarned is forearmed. So you came here -to look for Pallanza?" - -"I came to look for his body, Madame Morone, but I do not know where -it is." - -"No; nor will you find it. And who is this woman?" - -"Guiseppe's betrothed." - -The Contessa gave a cry of rage, and, rising from her seat, rushed -towards the unconscious girl where she lay in the darkness. Owing to -her singular gift she needed no light to see by, but examined the face -of her rival minutely in the gloom. I had stepped forward, fearing -lest, carried away by jealous anger, she should do the poor child an -injury; but such was not her intention, for after a minute's -examination, she arose from her stooping position with a burst of -wicked laughter. - -"So it was for this white-faced thing that he was going to leave -me--me, Giulietta Morone! Eh, I feel much flattered at having such a -rival. Why is she here, Signor Hugo?" - -"To find Pallanza," I replied shortly. - -"She will never find him; he is lost to her for ever. But," she added, -with a wicked smile, "I am not afraid of your betraying me, Signor -Hugo. I am not afraid of this poor fool, who thought to take Guiseppe -from me, so I will revenge myself." - -"Revenge yourself?" - -"Yes; I have said it. You came here like a thief in the night, and saw -what you were not meant to see. She comes in the daylight to seek her -lover. Well, she shall see him. Wait till she revives, and I will -blast her eyes with the sight of what he is now." - -"You are a demon!" - -"I am a wronged woman, whom a man sought to deceive. Ecco! Behold, -then, Englishman that you are, how we Italian women revenge -ourselves!" - -She stepped past the unconscious body Of the girl, and, going to one -of the pillars on the right side of the room, apparently touched a -spring, for the whole pillar--which, as I have described before, was -half built into the wall--revolved slowly with a grating sound and -displayed a cavity. I bent forward with a shudder of horror, and -saw--nothing! - -The cavity was empty! - -Signora Morone gazed at it with a look of horror on the wild beauty of -her face; then, with a cry of rage, of fear, and of dread, rushed out -of the room. - -I heard her shriek, "Lost! lost! lost!" three times, then the sound of -her retreating footsteps died away in the distance, and I was left -alone in the ghastly gloom with the unconscious girl at my feet, and -an agony in my heart such as I never hope to feel again in this life. - -How I got out of that accursed room I hardly know; but I faintly -remember lifting Bianca in my arms, and, guided by instinct, stagger -through the dark corridors, down the silent stairs, and out into the -courtyard. The fresh air seemed to revive me, and, collecting my -scattered senses together with a gigantic effort, I looked round for -some means by which to bring Bianca out of her faint, the length of -which alarmed me terribly. - -In the corner of the courtyard there was a sculptured trough, which -the late rains had brimmed over, so, hastening towards this, I filled -my cap with water, and, returning to Bianca, threw it in her face. - -She revived slowly with a shuddering sigh, and looked round vacantly; -then, with a sudden recollection of what she had come through, she -flung herself into my arms with an imploring cry,-- - -"Oh, that voice! that voice! Take me away from that cruel voice!" - - - - -CHAPTER XI. -THE MARCHESE BELTRAMI. - - -I managed to take Bianca home without much difficulty, for it was my -good fortune to meet a disengaged fiacre in one of the narrow streets -leading to the piazza Vittorio Emanuele, and placing the poor girl -therein, we drove straight to the Casa Angello. The Signorina was in a -very excited state, as that menacing voice, issuing out of the -darkness, had quite unnerved her; so, placing her in charge of -Petronella, who made her lie down, I went for a doctor. Being a -stranger in Verona it was difficult to find one, but at last I did so, -and took him at once to see Bianca, for whom he prescribed a soothing -draught, and assured me that she would be all right after a few hours' -sleep. This trouble therefore being off my mind, I went back to my -hotel, in order to consider what was best to be done in the present -emergency. - -I now saw that my surmise was right, and that the Contessa had hidden -the body of the unfortunate Pallanza in the concealed tomb contrived -by Count Mastino Morone for his guilty wife. It was a horribly -ingenious idea that revolving pillar, and no one would have guessed -its ghastly secret without being shown. Doubtless the wicked Donna -Renata, shut up in this circular prison, had there starved slowly to -death in an upright position, for, of course, the cavity was too -narrow and too shallow to admit of any human being lying down. The -skilful devilry of the device made me feel quite ill, especially when -I thought how the worthy descendant of Borgia's accursed daughter had -utilised this secret cell for her own infamous purpose. In this -frightful oubliette the body of Guiseppe Pallanza would have remained -for ever concealed; but then, according to the evidence of my own -eyes, the body was not there. - -That the Contessa had placed the corpse in the pillar I had not the -slightest doubt, as in showing the hiding-place she evidently expected -to overwhelm me by the hideous evidence of her barbarous criminality. -That the cavity was empty was as much a surprise to her as to me, and -the shriek of terror she had given when flying from the chamber showed -me that she was overpowered with fear at the thought that her gruesome -secret was shared by another person, for, putting me out of the -question altogether, there appeared to be a third party implicated in -this singular affair. - -For my own part I believed it to be the man who had watched with me at -the curtained archway, and who, after drugging me, bore me insensible -from that terrible place. After doing so, and thus, according to his -idea, putting it out of my power to re-discover the palace, he had -returned to his post and seen the Contessa conceal the body of her -victim in the cavity of the pillar. On her departure, for some reason -best known to himself, he had removed the corpse, and hidden it -somewhere else. This was, no doubt, the true story of the affair, but -who was the man who had watched at the door, and who had taken away -the body of Pallanza? It was impossible to guess the reasons for his -behaving in this mysterious way, and the Contessa was evidently as -ignorant as myself of his actions, judging from her terrified flight -on discovering the truth. Whomsoever this unknown person was, he, to -all appearances, held the key to the whole riddle, and, could I find -him, I would doubtless learn the reason of Madame Morone's visit to -the burial-ground, and the final fate of the unhappy tenor whom she -had lured to his destruction. - -But how to find him! that was the question, and one to which I could -find no satisfactory answer; so in the dilemma in which I thus found -myself involved, I decided to tell Luigi Beltrami, as the only friend -I had in Verona, the whole devilish story. In addition to the desire I -felt of asking his advice and opinion, I thought it but right that he -should know the real character of the woman he was about to marry, and -not discover too late that he was tied for life to a ghoul, a vampire, -a murderess. - -With this determination I looked for the card the Marchese had given -me, and finding it in one of my pockets, discovered that my Italian -friend lived in the Via Cartoni. As he had mentioned that he was -always at home in the afternoon, doubtless to take a siesta during the -heat of the day, on finishing my midday meal I went out to pay him a -visit. - -In spite of his assertion that he was poor, Beltrami had a sufficient -income to warrant him living in a moderately expensive manner, and on -my arrival at his rooms in the Via Cartoni, I was shown into a very -well-furnished apartment. As the Marchese was stationed with his -regiment at Verona for some considerable time, he had evidently -brought a portion of his furniture from his Florentine palazzo, for -the room was too handsome to be that of the ordinary class of -furnished apartments. As usual, the ceiling was charmingly painted; -the floor was of marble, covered here and therewith square Turkish -carpets; and in addition to a piano there were plenty of pictures and -photographs, showing the artistic taste of the owner of the place. - -Beltrami himself, dressed as usual in his uniform, was seated at a -desk placed in the window, writing letters, but he desisted when I was -announced, and arose to greet me with marked cordiality. - -"Ma foi, Hugo, this is kind of you to call so soon," he said when I -was comfortably established in a chair. "I was just writing you a -letter asking you to dine with me and go to the Ezzelino to-night, but -as you are here the note is useless." - -"The fact is, my dear Marchese, I have called on a selfish errand." - -"Indeed!" - -"Yes; still it is one that concerns yourself also." - -"How so, mon ami? Come, tell me this mystery about which I know -nothing and you know everything; but first here are some excellent -cigarettes--Russian, my friend, not Italian. Dame! the tobacco of this -country, it is horrible. Will you have some wine?" - -"No, thank you, Beltrami, but I will be glad to smoke." - -"Bene! help yourself." - -He pushed the box towards me, and, after I had taken a cigarette, -followed my example, then, throwing himself into a chair near me, he -nodded his head to show that he was ready to hear what I had to say. - -"Marchese!" I said, after some slight hesitation, "I think we are old -enough friends to admit of my speaking to you freely." - -"Eh! certainly!" - -"I trust you will not be offended." - -Beltrami blew a wreath of smoke, and laying back his handsome head on -the cushions of the chair, laughed heartily. - -"No, my doubting Englishman, I promise you I will not be offended at -anything you say." - -"But, Luigi, it is about the Contessa Morone!" - -"Eh! about the Contessa?--I thought as much!" - -"How so?" I asked in some surprise. - -The face of the Marchese assumed that cruel, cunning look I so much -disliked to see, and he eyed me in a nonchalant manner. - -"Dame! Signor Hugo, I will tell you when I hear your story of the -Contessa." - -Thus committed to narrative, I told Beltrami the whole story of my -adventure from the time I had seen the Contessa at the graveyard to -the hour when she had fled in dismay from the Palazzo Morone. He -listened attentively, and when I had finished remained silent for a -few minutes with a thoughtful look on his dark face. - -"Why do you tell me all this, mon ami?" he asked, at length, twisting -his moustache in a reflective manner. - -"For two reasons. First, you may be able to aid me in my search for -Pallanza; and second, you must have been ignorant of the character of -the woman you are going to marry." - -"As to the first reason, Hugo, you are right. As to the second, you -are wrong." - -"What, you know----" - -"I know most of the story you have told me, and as to the Signora -Morone, mon Dieu! I know her better than she does herself." - -"Then why marry her?" - -Beltrami shrugged his shoulders and selected another cigarette. - -"Eh! she is rich and I am poor. It is time I ranged myself, as the -French say, and I cannot afford to marry a poor wife; besides----" - -"Besides what?" - -"I rather like the task of taming this demon of a woman. Madame Morone -is Satan's mistress in the matter of temper, I know, but I come of a -race who either broke the will of their wives or----" - -"Or?" I asked interrogatively. - -"Or killed them!" - -"That's rather risky nowadays, Marchese. We do not live in the time of -the Renaissance remember. But let us leave off this discussion of -Madame Morone. I have told you my story, and you say you knew most of -it before!" - -"And I say truly. Now listen, you cold-blooded islander, and see if I -cannot disturb your phlegmatic disposition." - -He paused a moment to give greater weight to his remarks, the -conclusion of which I impatiently awaited. - -"I was the man who drugged you and had you carried to the Piazza -Vittorio." - -"You!" - -"I was the man who carried away the body of Guiseppe Pallanza." - -"You!" - -"I am the man who, knowing what I do, calmly and with open eyes, have -made up my mind to marry Madame Morone." - -"You!" - -I was so overwhelmed with the disclosures made by Beltrami that I -could only sit thunderstruck in my chair, looking like an idiot and -repeating "You! you! you!" parrot-fashion. Beltrami enjoyed my -confusion for some time, and then went on speaking with a mocking -smile:-- - -"Eh! I astonish you, Hugo. Well, I admit I treated you rather badly, -my friend; but then at the time I did not know whom you were. Dame! I -cannot see in the dark like Madame Gatta." - -The Marchese then was the man who held the key to this enigma, and, -far from being offended at his rough treatment of me on that fatal -night, I was only too delighted at discovering the unknown person who, -in this strange repetition of the old legend, had played the part of -Count Mastino Morone. - -"I have rather startled you, I fancy, Hugo?" said Beltrami with an -ironical laugh. - -"I would be a fool to deny it; but now that your dramatic surprise has -come off so excellently, perhaps you will tell me what it all means." - -"Without doubt; confidence for confidence! Besides, I want your help -to carry this comedy to its legitimate conclusion." - -"Comedy, you call it? To my mind it is more like a tragedy." - -"There you are wrong, mon ami. In a tragedy there must be a death." - -"Well! You forget Pallanza?" - -"Not at all, Hugo; that is the whole point. Pallanza is not dead." - -I stared at the Marchese in astonishment. - -"Pallanza not dead! Impossible! I saw him die on that night." - -"Dame! You saw him fall insensible at the feet of the Contessa Morone, -but insensibility is not death." - -"Then he is alive?" - -"Naturally! One must either be alive or dead. And as this devil of a -tenor is not the latter, he must therefore be the former." - -"Then where is he?" - -"Eh! that is part of the story." - -This epigrammatic fencing on the part of Beltrami annoyed me greatly, -as it piqued my curiosity without satisfying it, and I threw my -half-smoked cigarette away with an outburst of bad temper. - -"My dear Luigi, you have promised to tell me the story of this -mystery, and instead of doing so you fire off epigrammatic squibs like -Pasquin during the Carnival. The story, the story! I beg of you." - -"Eh! certainly! Then take another cigarette, and I will tell you this -'Thousand and Second Night' romance." - - - - -CHAPTER XII. -DEATH IN LIFE. - - -"It is such a long story, Hugo," said Beltrami, a trifle maliciously, -"that we must really have some wine." - -"I do not want wine; I want 'The Thousand and Second Night.'" - -"Bene! you shall have both." - -The Marchese arose and summoned his servant, who brought up a bottle -of Barbera, that rough-tasting wine which is so pleasant and cool in -hot weather. For the sake of companionship I took some with Beltrami, -and haying thus attended to the duties of hospitality, he signed to -his servant to withdraw, and without further preamble began his tale. - -"Eh, Hugo, mon ami," he said, settling himself comfortably in his -chair, "this would be a charming story for M. Bourget, that modern -Balzac, who analyses the hearts of the ladies of this generation in so -masterly a fashion. Dame! I would like to give him Madame Morone's to -dissect--he'd find some strange things there. Yet--would you believe -it?--this woman, worthy to be a sister of Lucrezia Borgia, came out of -a convent to marry my poor friend Morone." - -"You knew him then?" - -"Ma foi! I should think so, for many years. People said he was mad, -but the only mad action he committed, to my mind, was in marrying -Giulietta Rossana." - -"Yet you propose to do the same thing?" - -"True, but I possess a means of taming this tigress of which the -unfortunate Giorgio Morone knew nothing. He was a great chemist, this -poor Count, and particularly fond of toxicology, a dangerous science -with such a wife, as he found out to his cost. Cospetto! I would not -care myself about forging weapons for another to use against me, but -that is exactly what Morone did." - -"She poisoned him?" - -"Eh! nobody says so, yet everybody thinks so. For my part, I believe -the Contessa capable of anything. At all events, Morone died very -suddenly, and was duly buried in that old ancestral vault to which his -devoted wife, a year after his death, paid a visit. Well, before he -died, Morone grew suspicious of the Contessa, and as he had just -invented or rediscovered a poison which left no trace of having been -used, and also an antidote to the same, he determined not to give the -Signora an opportunity of exercising it on him, so this toxicological -secret was buried with him." - -"Ah! I see now why she went to the graveyard. It was to get this -poison." - -"Exactly! Whether it was put in the coffin of the dead man, or merely -hidden in the vault, I don't know, but we will go and see." - -"To what end? She has the poison!" - -"Certainly! I believe that, after seeing it exercised upon Pallanza; -but she has not got the antidote." - -"How do you know that, Beltrami." - -"Because the Contessa knows nothing of the existence of the antidote. -Morone talked enough about the poison itself, but he only mentioned -the antidote to one man, and that was myself. You see, Hugo, he -thought madame might try a little of his own poison on himself, in -which case I would be able to give him the antidote." - -"Couldn't he have taken it himself?" - -"No! this poison does not kill unless given in a large quantity; five -drops make you feel chill and listless; ten drops take away your -senses and converts you into what I may paradoxically call a -breathing corpse; but fifteen drops kill. So, if madame had given her -husband fifteen drops he would have lapsed into a stupor and died, -unless the antidote was given, so that is why he bestowed it on me." - -"Well, but she killed him after all?" - -"Yes, but with another poison not of home manufacture. Eh! what would -you, Hugo, the Contessa was not going to be thwarted by a husband who -kept his laboratory locked. However, he tricked her over this -particular poison, for he either gave instructions that it was to be -put into his coffin without the knowledge of his dear wife, or he hid -it himself in the vault, as he hinted to me one day he intended to -do." - -"There's no doubt then that the Contessa went to the vault for the -poison; but what about the antidote? Is it in your possession?" - -"Unfortunately, no, mon ami. I was ordered away from Verona, and -gave back the antidote to the Count; but on my return here, I heard -casually that he had left a letter for me, to be delivered after his -death. I went to Rome, where the Contessa was one of the ornaments of -the Court, and asked for the letter. Of course she denied ever having -heard of it." - -"And what do you think was in this letter?" - -"Eh! ma foi, I believe it told me where the poison was hidden in the -vault, and that our dear Contessa found the letter, went to the vault -on the night you saw her and obtained the poison." - -"Also the antidote?" - -"Dame! I'm not so sure of that. I knew about the antidote so well that -I don't think Morone would have mentioned it in the letter, in case it -should meet the eye of his wife. No! No! mon ami! she has the poison, -of course; but the antidote, I believe it is still in the vault, where -we will look for it." - -"For what reason?" - -"Diamine! to revive this devil of a tenor who has had the misfortune -to take ten drops of the Signora Morone's mixture." - -"But where is Pallanza?" - -"All in good time, Hugo, all in good time. I must tell you the rest of -the story first." - -"I am all impatience, Beltrami." - -The Marchese, I saw, was enjoying this conversation, as the -subject-matter was of an involved and difficult character which -appealed to the subtleties of his Italian nature; and the chance of -playing a part in this intrigue, worthy of the Court of Lorenzo di -Medici, delighted him beyond measure. He was, as I have said before, -an anachronism, and this everyday, commonplace life of the nineteenth -century offered no field for the exercise of his cunning brain and -delicate diplomacy, which revelled in those bizarre complications, -full of sophistry and double meanings, which distinguished the -intricate statecraft of the Italian republics. - -"You wonder," continued the Marchese reflectively; "you wonder, no -doubt, after hearing my opinions about the Contessa Morone, that I -should care to marry her; but, as I told you before, there are -reasons. I am poor, she is rich, and I marry her for her money. This -is brutal is it not? but then you see I look at the matter from a -Latin point of view, you from an English. As Euclid---whom, by the -way, I always hated--says, 'Two parallel straight lines cannot meet,' -it is no use our arguing over this point, as neither of us would -convince the other. It is a question of race, Hugo, nothing more. -Ebbene! my other reason is that I wish to tame this woman with the -heart of a tigress. I am wearied of the dulness of this present life, -and the task of fencing with Signora Morone will be a perpetual -excitement, particularly as I know it will not be unattended with -danger. This is also a question of race, and the theory of straight -lines applies, so again we will not argue; but you can see one thing -plainly, that I want to marry the Contessa?" - -"Yes, I can see that, and I wonder at your daring." - -"Straight lines, for the third time, Signor Hugo. Ebbene! Although I -wanted to marry the Contessa, she hating and detesting me with her -whole soul, as a friend of her late husband, would not listen to me at -all, so as she would not go to the altar willingly, I determined to -force her there. I made it my business to find out all about her life, -and a devil of a life it is, I can tell you. Pallanza is not the first -lover this daughter of Venus has smiled on." - -"Oh!" I broke out in disgust, "how can you think of marrying this -infamous woman--a murderess, a poisoner, a fiend in human form?" - -"Dio! I have given you my reasons, and you, straitlaced Englishman -that you are, cannot understand them. However, we will talk of this -again; meantime to continue. The Contessa was so madly in love with -Pallanza, who I grant you is a handsome fellow with a charming voice, -that I foresaw when he attempted to leave her there would be trouble. -I discovered that he was engaged to some Signorina of Milan, that she -was at Verona, and that Pallanza was going to sing at Verona; so when -he did arrive I was in nowise astonished at the appearance of Madame -Morone at the Ezzelino. Things were coming to a climax, so I watched -for the bursting of the storm. The rendezvous of these lovers would -be, I knew, at the deserted Palazzo Morone. How did I know? Mon cher -ami, you are simplicity itself. Have I not told you that I knew the -Contessa when she lived at Verona with her husband, and--and--well it -is not the first time she has used that palazzo and played at -Boccaccian stories in that room. You know she fancies herself like -Lucrezia Borgia, and tries to imitate those picturesque feasts to -which Ferrara's Duchess was so addicted--yes, even to the use of -poison. Dame! I thought I was at the opera when I saw that supper the -other night." - -"How did you get into the palazzo?" - -"Ah, that is an adventure worthy of Gil Bias. I filed through a bar in -the gate and wrenched it out." - -"I thought so, for I entered the same way!" - -"I guessed as much, my friend. Ebbene! I watched the palace from the -time Madame Morone arrived in Verona, and my patience was rewarded on -Monday night by seeing our picturesque tenor use his key and enter by -the side door. I was not alone, for I greatly mistrusted Madame Morone -should she discover me in that lonely palazzo; so, as I had two men -absolutely devoted to me, I took them with me." - -"They were very brave to go near that ghastly palace, considering the -reputation it has." - -"Ma foi, they are Florentines, and know nothing about Verona. Their -ancestors have been in the service of mine for many years, and in -their eyes a Beltrami can do no wrong. Now is that not wonderful in -this present age of ducats and steam-engines?" - -"So wonderful, Marchese, that I can hardly believe it!" - -"Cospetto! it is true I tell you. These men are absolutely devoted to -me, and think me a much greater man than Umberto of Savoy. Ebbene! I -posted my two men in a dark corner of the palazzo with instructions -not to move until I told them; then I went after our tenor, and found -him strumming on the mandolin while he awaited the arrival of the -Contessa." - -"Ah! she had gone to the burial-ground." - -"Yes! I did not know that until you told me. However, I hid myself -behind the tapestry in the outer room and waited. The Contessa -arrived, and, to my surprise, you also appeared. I caught a glimpse of -you at the door before that torch went out, but, of course, I did not -recognise you, and was puzzled to account for your presence there. -Luckily, I had a bottle of chloroform in my pocket, which I took with -me to the palace in case of accidents----" - -"But what good would chloroform do?" - -"Dame! have you ever seen Madame Morone in a rage?" - -"No!" - -"Then it is not a pretty sight, I can tell you. That woman is a devil, -and, for all I know, might have had some one in the palace to do her -bidding. If I had been found there, and taken at a disadvantage, I -might have occupied that delightful pillar and never been seen again. -Ah! you smile, mon ami, but remember this is Italy, not England, and -with a woman like the Contessa, who recalls the Borgia times so -admirably, it is always well to be prepared If she had discovered me, -my chloroform might have come in useful." - -"It certainly did in my case!" - -"Ma foi, I've told you before I did not know it was you. I only beheld -a stranger, and thinking that the stranger might interfere with my -plans, I stole across the ante-chamber, and when you fell back--well, I -used my chloroform. Then I left you lying hidden behind the tapestry, -and went on watching Madame Morone at her Borgian supper. She was -dragging Pallanza's body to the pillar, and, having safely shut him up -there, departed with a satisfied smile on her face; so I was left -alone with two apparently dead men--Pallanza in the pillar, and you -behind the tapestry." - -"A sufficiently dramatic situation I think, Marchese." - -"Eh! no doubt. There is more drama in life---especially in Italian -life--than people think, and there are even stranger events than this -comedy of the Palazzo Morone take place in our midst." - -"From what I have seen of your people, Luigi, I quite believe it. -Well, about this dramatic situation--what did you do next?" - -"Cospetto! I played my part on the stage with great judgment, I can -tell you. When I was sure that Madame Morone had left the palazzo I -re-lighted the candles, and went to see what appearance my man behind -the tapestry presented. To my surprise I recognised Signor Hugo -Cranston, and you may fancy I was considerably astonished, as I could -not understand how you had become mixed up in this Boccaccian -adventure. Friendship said, 'Revive him and apologize.' Caution -remarked, 'Remove him from the palazzo, and let him think the events -of the night a dream.'" - -"Oh! and you adopted the advice of caution?" - -"Diavolo! what else could I do? You might have interfered with my -plans; and, besides, I always intended to give you an explanation when -the Contessa became the Marchesa Beltrami. Circumstances, however, -have brought about the explanation sooner than I intended." - -"So I see," I replied drily. "However, you removed me from the -palace." - -"Yes! I called up my two men, and, telling them you -were--well--overcome by Bacchus, ordered them to take you to the -Piazza Vittorio Emanuele and leave you there. Ecco!" - -"Oh, Beltrami." - -"Eh, you reproach me. Well, I no doubt deserve your reproaches, but it -was the best excuse I could think of, as it doesn't do to trust -servants too much. Ebbene! they took you away and left you in the -Piazza, where you awoke in the morning?" - -"I did, with a confounded headache." - -"Ma foi! that was the chloroform, no doubt. Having thus arranged your -little matter I went to the pillar and released Guiseppe Pallanza." - -"He was not dead, then?" - -"No! She gave him ten drops, I tell you. So that, although he was not -actually dead, he had all the appearance of a corpse. I could not -revive him as I had not the antidote; so, when my two men returned, I -had him brought here." - -"Here! In this house?" - -"Precisely! he is in the next room. We will go and look at him -presently. But to continue: the next day I called upon the Contessa, -and told her I had seen all, suppressing, however, the fact that I had -carried off this unfortunate lover." - -"Which accounted for her surprise to-day on seeing the pillar empty?" - -"Of course; she never dreamed that I would meddle with her work. Well, -I gave her a choice of either explaining her little adventure to the -authorities, and thus run a chance of being imprisoned for life, or of -becoming my wife. Of these two evils she chose the least; so now I am -engaged to marry her, and she will become the Marchesa Beltrami next -month. Interesting, is it not, Hugo?" - -It was no use arguing with this man, who, as he said himself, looked -at the affair in a totally different light from what I did, and I did -not know whether to loathe his brutal candour, to despise his -mercenary designs, or to admire his undoubted courage in marrying this -woman. However, I reflected that his subtle intriguing would -undoubtedly be sufficiently punished by his marriage with this tigress -of a Contessa, and as my only desire was to restore Pallanza to the -arms of Bianca, I neither condemned nor praised Beltrami's singular -conduct, which seemed admirable in his own eyes, but simply -complimented him on his adroitness in following the precepts of -Niccolo Machiavelli. He listened to my cold remarks with a -disbelieving smile on his face, and laughed mockingly when I ceased -speaking. - -"Eh! Hugo, you do not approve of my ideas? Well, I do not wonder at -that Fire and water are not more different than an Italian and an -Englishman. Your cool blood comes from generations of church-going, -straight-laced ancestors, whose beliefs ruled their lives in a simple -manner; but my fiery blood burned in the veins of those condottieri of -the Renaissance who were at war with King and Pope and Republic, who -constantly stood on the verge of unseen precipices, and who needed all -their craft, their courage, and their iron nerve to preserve their -lives and fortunes. Dame! let us talk no more of such contrasts, but -come with me, and I will show you this missing lover of Madame -Morone." - -I acquiesced eagerly in this proposal, and followed Beltrami, who led -me into his bedroom, and, having unlocked a door in the opposite wall, -ushered me into a small, bare apartment, containing a bed on which lay -the still form of Guiseppe Pallanza. There he was dressed the same as -on that fatal night, with his eyes closed, a frozen look on his white -face, and his hands crossed on his breast. Lying thus in his antique -garb he put me in mind of one of those coloured statues which adorn -the tombs of great men; where the face, the hair, and the vestments -are all tinted so as to produce the semblance of life. But was life -here, in the body of this young man, who lay so passively before me -with closed eyes as though he were indeed buried in some sepulchre of -the dead? - -"Oh! he is alive," said Beltrami, guessing my thought as I shrank back -from the bed; "it is a case of suspended animation." - -"But lasting three---four days?" - -"Dame, yes! It would last much longer, I have no doubt. Ten drops -produce this life-in-death state which you see, fifteen drops the same -thing; but the one ends in death after a certain time, the other does -not." - -"But why did you not go to the vault and find this antidote at once?" - -"Well, to tell you the truth, Hugo, I thought it would be a useless -errand, as I do not know where to look for it. I fancied that Madame -Morone might have found another bottle of this damnable poison, but it -never struck me until I heard your story that she had read the letter -addressed by Morone to me, and gone to the vault for the poison." - -"And what are we to do now?" - -"Go to the vault, to be sure, and look for this antidote." - -"But, the vault is locked!" - -"True, I forgot that," said Beltrami, with a thoughtful frown, -"however, I think I can procure the key." - -"From Madame Morone?" - -"Dame! No! that would put her on her guard at once. I want her to -think Pallanza is still in this cataleptic state, otherwise she won't -marry me, as my power over her will be gone. I'll get the key somehow; -if not, one of my men knows something about picking locks, so we will -take him with us." - -"A reputable servant, truly!" - -"Eh! What would you!" said Beltrami carelessly, as he led the way out -of the room and locked the door. "Even lock-picking is useful on -occasions--witness the present one. Well, are you ready to go to the -vault with me to-night?" - -"At night, Beltrami?" - -"Most certainly. If we went in the daytime all Verona would be in -commotion. No! we must go at midnight when no one is about. Have you -the courage?" - -"I think so! but I hope Madame Morone will not be there!" - -"There's no fear of that, as she has no reason to pay a second -visit to the remains of her husband. She has got the poison, and knows -nothing about the antidote, so make yourself easy on that score. -Ecco!" - -"What are you going to do now, Marchesa!" - -"See if I can obtain that key. If I fail to obtain it, I will bring -Matteo with me. As for you, my friend, go and take something to eat, -and meet me on the Ponte Aleardi at midnight." - -"I will be there, Beltrami. Good-bye for the present." - -"À revederci, Hugo; I am obliged for your confidence, as it has solved -the difficulty of knowing what to do with Signor Cupid." - -We both went different ways; Beltrami to search for his key, and -myself to hasten home to my hotel, and prepare myself for the fatigues -of this midnight excursion, which, however much it appealed to the -Marchese's sense of the romantic, was certainly not relished by me. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. -"DOWN AMONG THE DEAD MEN." - - -Do you know that gruesome old ballad, with its sombre refrain of -"Down! Down! Down among the dead men?" A friend of mine with a deep -bass voice, used to sing it in order to display his lower notes, upon -which--and not without reason--he flattered himself greatly; but in -after years, I never heard it sung without a shudder, so vividly did -it recall to my mind the grotesque horror of that midnight visit to -the Tomb of the Morone, in that old burial-ground of Verona. Of late I -had been so much mixed up with ghosts, vaults, ghouls and crimes, that -I was by no means anxious to continue the category, and would have -infinitely preferred to have let Beltrami, who liked such -uncomfortable things, go alone; but being an Englishman, I had to -uphold the honour of my country, so never thought for a moment of -showing the white feather. Besides, the only chance of saving Pallanza -was by obtaining possession of the antidote, and in spite of my -repugnance to the errand, I fully made up my mind to be on the Ponte -Aleardi at the appointed time. - -Meanwhile I fortified myself against possible horrors by having an -excellent dinner, supplemented by a small bottle of champagne. I could -not afford that luxurious wine, and it was sinfully extravagant of me -to waste my small stock of money upon such a thing, but in the face of -this midnight adventure I really felt that a little stimulant would -comfort me under the circumstances. The result was admirable, for all -my nervous apprehensions disappeared, and I sat in the smoking-room -puffing at my after-dinner pipe in a very contented frame of mind, -considering what awaited me at twelve o'clock p.m. Was I a coward? I -don't think so. Many men who have no physical fear, and would ride -gaily enough into battle, shrink with superstitious awe from the eerie -neighbourhood of the dead, and I, owing to the causes I have stated -before, am of this class. Come, then, ye dauntless scoffers, who would -dare anything--in the broad daylight, and let me see if you would -contemplate a midnight visit to an antique vault with equanimity! I -think not, for however brave a man may be, it is the law of Nature -that he should thrill with fear at the approach of the supernatural. - -I sat smoking and thinking in the twilight, which was a bad -preparation for the event, as twilight thoughts are invariably -mournful, and my own dear dead ones seemed to throng in the dusky -shadow of the room, reproaching me in voiceless grief for the -intention I had of profaning the sanctity of the Tomb. To rid myself -of these melancholy reflections, and banish from my brain the mute -crowd of ghosts, I went out for a walk, intending to call at the Casa -Angello, in order to ask after the Signorina Bianca. - -Petronella told me that the poor child was much better, but exhausted -by the shock she had sustained at the Palazzo Morone, and had fallen -into a deep sleep which would do her more good than all the drugs of -the doctor. The worthy domestic was very wrathful at me, and wanted to -know what I had told her "piccola," but I put her off with some -excuse, as I had no desire that she should know the events of that -day. On taking my departure I gave Petronella a note for the -Signorina, which contained only three words, "Wait and hope," with -instructions that it was to be delivered to her when she woke up. -Petronella, somewhat mollified by my assurance that all would be -right, promised to fulfil this commission, and I returned to my hotel -very contented with the present aspect of affairs. - -On regaining my bedroom I lay down about eight o'clock, in order to -get a little sleep, but the remedy was worse than the disease, for -when my eyes were closed the phantoms of waking hours reappeared still -more vividly to my inner senses. However, I fought against the dread -which threatened to overwhelm me, and fell into a comparatively -dreamless slumber, from which I awoke shortly after eleven. Rising -from the bed upon which I had thrown myself half dressed, I hurriedly -completed my toilette, and bathed my burning face in cold water. On my -arrival in Milan, I had bought one of those picturesque Italian cloaks -which one only sees in England on the operatic stage, and throwing -this around me; I put on a soft black wide-awake, so that what with -the mantle draped around me, and my naturally dark face, I looked very -much like a native of Italy. Lighting a cigarette, I took my heavy -stick, and thus prepared, went out to keep my appointment with Luigi -Beltrami on the Ponte Aleardi. - -To the hot day had succeeded the hot night, but a strong dry wind -was blowing which drove the filmy clouds across the face of the -haggard-looking moon. A few stars peeped out here and there through -the frail woof, and the chill moonlight waxed and waned with the -appearing and disappearing of the pale planet, almost lost amid the -wild confluence of drifting clouds. A misty circle round the moon was -prophetic of rain, and under this wild, wind-vexed sky lay the -sleeping city, dark and sombre, with the rough blasts sweeping -drearily down the lonely streets. - -In spite of the heat, so eerie was the aspect of the night that I drew -my cloak around me with a shiver of nervous fear, and leaving the -Piazza Vittorio Emanuele, hastened along the Via Pallone, in the -direction of the Ponte Aleardi. I arrived there just as the clock of -St. Fermo sounded the three-quarters, and as Beltrami was not yet at -the meeting place, I leaned on the balustrade of the bridge and -watched the grey waters swirling under the fitful light of the moon. I -could not help thinking of the strange events which had taken place -since I had last occupied the same position--the antique chamber with -its associations of love and crime--the Teatro Ezzelino, where I had -beheld the phantom of Lucrezia Borgia--the grief and pain of poor -little Bianca, and the extraordinary-conversation I had held with -Beltrami a few hours before. It was all most unreal and feverish, this -mediaeval intrigue into which I had been drawn; and I question if any -student of singing had ever before been involved in such a bizarre -adventure--an adventure which I hoped and prayed and trusted would end -to-night. - -Buried in these sombre reflections I did not hear the sound of -approaching footsteps, and it was only when I felt a hand on my -shoulder that I turned round, with a sudden start, to see the Marchesa -standing beside me wrapped in his military cloak, and accompanied by a -man who waited a little way off in respectful silence. - -"Bravo, Signor Hugo!" cried the Marchesa in a cheerful tone, "you have -been waiting long?" - -"About a quarter of an hour. So you have not obtained the key, -Beltrami?" - -"Unfortunately I have not! However, here is Matteo, and I daresay we -shall manage to get the door open in some way. Come, Caro," continued -Beltrami, taking my arm, "we have no time to lose. Ecco!" - -I do not believe Beltrami had any nerves, for the whole way to the -burial-ground he chatted cheerfully about the antidote, the Contessa -and the tenor, not appearing to be at all impressed with the solemnity -of the affair. What Matteo felt I do not know, as he never opened his -mouth, but glided after us like a shadow, until we arrived at the -broken wall. - -The Marchesa climbed over first, his long sabre clashing heavily -against the stones as he jumped down on the other side. I followed -without delay, and Matteo, having joined us, we went on through -the dense shade of the cypress trees, until we arrived at the -forbidding-looking tomb, the sight of which put me in mind of my -uncanny adventure. - -Beltrami, undeterred by the flaming sword of the guardian angel, tried -the iron door, on the chance that it might be unlocked; but finding it -fast closed, signed to Matteo to get to work at once. Without a word -the man obeyed, and as the moon was now shining down in her full -splendour, he could see perfectly well, without the aid of artificial -light, for, although he carried a torch, Beltrami did not wish it -lighted, in case the glare should attract attention. - -While Matteo was working away at the lock I took my seat on the fallen -stone near the door, and Beltrami, throwing off his cloak, flung -himself down on the grass beside me. - -"Dio, how hot I am!" he exclaimed, wiping his brow. - -"And how very imprudent, Luigi. Remember, you are in uniform." - -"Ma foi, I'm never in anything else," retorted the Marchese gaily; -"don't trouble yourself, Hugo, no one will dare to come near the -cemetery, at this hour, so, uniform or no uniform, I'm safe from -observation. Will you have a cigar?" - -"No, thank you. But you surely do not intend to smoke now?" - -"Why not?" said Beltrami, lighting his cigar; "it cannot harm the -Signori Morone, and I've no wish to go down into that evil-smelling -vault without taking some precaution against fever. Ecco!" - -"Oh, well, do as you will," I replied, indifferently, beginning myself -to grow callous; "but I want to ask you something, Luigi." - -"Ebbene!" - -"Was Count Giorgio Morone really mad?" - -"Eh! I'm not sure. Every one said he was, but I did not think so. -Dame! they call every man mad who has brains above his fellows, and -Morone was a clever man. Though, to be sure, it was curious his hiding -this poison in the vault, instead of destroying it altogether." - -"That would certainly have been the wisest plan." - -"Very likely, but you see, my wise Englishman, Morone had a tenderness -for this child of his brain, and he could not bear to destroy his -work. Oh! inventors are wonderful egotists, I assure you." - -At this moment Matteo, who had been working in silence for some -considerable time, approached his master. - -"Eccellenza, it is open!" - -"Bene!" cried Beltrami, springing to his feet, and wrapping his cloak -around him again, "give me the torch. Come, Signor Hugo, let us go -down, and you, Matteo, stay at the door, and see that we are not -interrupted." - -"Si, Eccellenza!" - -Beltrami stepped cautiously into the tomb, and I followed him, then -half closing the iron door so that the light might not attract -attention, he fired the torch, the flame of which shot upward with a -red flare and resinous odour of smoke, showing us that we stood on the -top of a flight of steep steps which led downward into the darkness. A -chill, humid atmosphere pervaded this abode of the dead, and seemed to -penetrate into my very bones, notwithstanding the heavy cloak I wore. - -For a moment we paused on the height, looking downward into the thick -gloom; then Beltrami descended the steps slowly, tossing the flaring -torch up and down, to and fro, in order to illuminate the darkness, -and as I followed him the smoke, with its pungent odour, streamed -backward towards my face. A bat, startled by the glare, flew round our -heads with a rapid sweep of its noiseless wings, then vanished through -the half-open door into the night beyond, like some escaping spectre -of the tomb. - -At last we reached the floor of the vault, which was paved with broad -black marble slabs, so highly polished that the crimson blaze of the -torch was reflected therein. All around in niches were innumerable -coffins, some covered with tattered velvet palls, while others stood -out grim and bare in their leaden hideousness, the coverings having -long since mouldered away. In the gloom, there every no w and then -could be perceived the glimmer of some white figure sculptured on the -massive wall, the glitter of tarnished silver ornaments, and the -outlines of painted devices, while the smoky torch with its angry -flame cast strange gleams upon these mouldy splendours of the dead. - -In the centre, on a square stone hidden by a rich pall of black -velvet, embroidered with armorial devices in silver braid, rested the -gorgeous coffin of the last Morone, which I presume was to remain -there until the death of the Contessa, when it would be removed to its -already-prepared niche to make way for the sole survivor of the proud -race. - -The Marchesa at once advanced to the coffin, and waving the torch -above it, examined the decorations closely. True to his determination -he was smoking, and it gave me an unpleasant shock to see this cloaked -figure behaving so disrespectfully in the solemn presence of the dead. - -"Bene!" he said at length in a satisfied tone, "there is one thing -certain. It is not _in_ the coffin!" - -"How do you know that, Beltrami?" - -"Because the lid is screwed down, and the Contessa, who as you say was -alone, could not have taken that off. Besides, even if she did, Madame -Morone knows the value of time too well to waste it in replacing the -lid. No, it is not in the coffin, but it's somewhere about the -coffin." - -"What makes you think so, Luigi?" - -"All this elaborate silver work! There's too much of it to be there -without some reason. Caro, Hugo, just hold the torch and I will make -an examination." - -I took the torch in silence and watched his actions with great -curiosity. The coffin, as he said, was most elaborately adorned with -silver work representing the arms of the Morone family, interspersed -with wreaths of flowers and tangled seaweed. On the lid was a broad -silver plate similarly adorned, setting forth the name, titles, and -date of death of the deceased, and round the oblong sides of this -shell ran another broad wreath of flowers, shells, crests, and -seaweeds, designed in the same style as the decorations on the lid. -Beltrami, who was a clever prestidigitateur and could perform the most -marvellous tricks with cards, had a wonderfully delicate sense of -touch, and trusting to this more than to his eyes he ran his slender -fingers rapidly over the raised silver ornaments on the lid of the -coffin. - -I saw at once that he suspected this useless silver ornamentation -concealed some secret hiding-place in which the bottles of the poison -and its antidote were hidden, and I could not help admiring the -wonderful cleverness of the man in thinking of such an extraordinary -idea, particularly as I saw at once that if the poison were anywhere -it would be in some such ingenious hiding-place. - -After running his hands twice or thrice over the lid, he shook his -head with an angry ejaculation, and desisted from his apparently -useless task. - -"Dame! it's not on the top, that's certain," he said, stamping his -foot with vexation. "My fingers never, deceive me, and I'm sure I -haven't missed anything. From what I've told you I don't think it can -be within the coffin. Ecco! let us try the sides." - -He carefully wiped the tips of his fingers with his handkerchief, and -beginning at the side nearest the head ran his fingers delicately -along the cold silver work. Nothing was discoverable at the side, but -when he came to the end of the coffin at the feet of the corpse he -gave a cry of triumph which brought me at once to his side. - -"Bravo, Hugo! what did I tell you! The poison-bottle was in the silver -work. Behold, infidel, how truly I speak. Ecco!" - -The decoration at this narrow end was a heart-shape shield, bearing -the arms of the Morone family and wreathed with flowers, but this -shield, which curved outward had a spring at the top. In touching -this, the whole shield fell downward, working on a single hinge, and -there was a cavity in which a small bottle might easily be concealed. - -"I see the hiding-place, Beltrami; but where is the poison!" - -"Eh! have you forgotten the visit of the Contessa, mon ami?" - -"No, no! of course not! She, no doubt, took the poison away, and, I -daresay, the antidote with it." - -"Mon cher, I will never make anything of you," cried the Marchese in -despair; "what did I tell you about that letter?" - -"You said that no doubt as the Count was afraid of it being found by -his wife he would only mention where the poison was concealed, and -keep silent about the antidote." - -"Ebbene! The Contessa knew nothing of the existence of the antidote, -so when she found the poison she thought she had found all. Is that -not so, you stupid Englishman?" - -"Yes, I suppose so." - -"Good! Well I, knowing of the existence of the antidote not mentioned -in the letter, and only finding the poison at the feet, would -naturally look for the antidote--where?" - -"I daresay at the head," I suggested, after a pause; upon which -Beltrami laughed, and walked to the other end of the coffin. - -"Of course; it would be the most natural thing to do. Behold, mon -ami!" - -He touched the top of a similar shield at the head of the coffin; it -fell stiffly outward, and lo! in the hollow of the curve, lay a small -bottle, which Beltrami took in his hand, and then restored the shield -to its former position. - -"Luigi, you are a most wonderful man!" I cried, with a burst of -genuine admiration at the clever way in which he had guessed this -riddle. - -"I only use my brains," he replied, with a gratified laugh. "The -poison being at the feet, it was not difficult to guess the antidote -was at the head; particularly as the decorations on both ends of the -coffin are the same precisely. Dame! if the Contessa had only known -the antidote was in existence she would have argued in the same way as -I have done, and carried it off as she had done the poison." - -"Well, we can now restore that unfortunate Pallanza to life." - -"Yes, I suppose so," said the Marchese, slipping the bottle containing -the antidote into his pocket; "though he certainly does not deserve to -have another chance of existence. But as it is inconvenient keeping -him in my house, I suppose I must send him away on his legs. Ecco! But -come along, Hugo. We have what we desire, and I care not for this -abode of death." - -We went up the stairs and out of the iron door, where we found Matteo -still keeping guard. It was quite a relief to get out of the fetid -atmosphere of the tomb into the cool, fresh air again, and I felt like -a released prisoner who was free for the first time after many years. -The Marchese, however, man of iron as he was, did not seem to be -affected in any way, but wrapping his cloak round him, prepared to go. - -"Can you close that door again, Matteo?" - -"Eccellenza! it is done!" - -"Bene! Let us go!" - -In fact the moment we emerged, Matteo, knowing our task was concluded, -had reclosed the door by some trick known to himself; so we all three -climbed over the broken wall, and took our way to the Ponte Aleardi. - -"And when are you going to give Pallanza the antidote?" I asked, as we -walked along arm-in-arm. - -"Eh! Signor Hugo, to-morrow!" - -"Why not to-night?" - -"Ma foi! I am tired. A few hours will not make much difference; -besides, I want a doctor to be present. The antidote will revive the -poor devil, but he will be so weak after going without food all these -days that the doctor will have to take charge of him." - -"Well, then, I will see you to-morrow, Marchese. At what hour?" - -"Two and a half in the afternoon. I attend to my military duties in -the morning. Buona sera, Hugo!" - -"Good-night, Beltrami." - -We parted with a hearty shake of the hand, and I suppose after all I -had gone through, nature was thoroughly tired out; for I went straight -to bed and slept soundly without dreams, visions, or phantoms of any -kind coming to disturb my rest. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. -THE NEW LAZARUS. - - -For the first time during the week I had a good night's rest, for ever -since my adventure the events in connection therewith had succeeded -one another so rapidly that my brain was kept in too active a state to -admit of slumber, but now that everything seemed to be at an end, that -the antidote had been found, and that Pallanza would be restored to -Bianca Angello, my mind was relieved of the strain upon it, and I -slept soundly till morning. In fact, I did not waken till nearly -eleven o'clock, and having taken my bath I dressed myself slowly, made -a good meal at midday, and altogether felt better than I had done for -the last week. - -As my appointment with Beltrami was for half-past two I did not go to -Casa Angello for my usual singing lesson, not wishing to see the -Signorina until I could tell her the good news that her lover was -alive and well. It was true Beltrami had asserted that the antidote -would awaken the young man from his death-like slumber, but -remembering that he had now been in this state of catalepsy for nearly -a week, I felt doubtful as to the success of the experiment. However, -a few hours would now decide the fate of Pallanza for life or death, -and in the event of the antidote acting according to the expectations -of the Marchese, I promised myself I should be the first to carry the -joyful news of this wonderful resurrection to the Signorina Bianca. - -When two o'clock struck I could no longer restrain my impatience, but -set off without further delay to see Beltrami at his apartments. He -had just returned from the barracks, and was taking some biscuits and -wine when I was announced, but jumped up when he saw me and came -forward with outstretched hand,-- - -"Eh! mon ami, I am delighted to see you! Sit down, while I finish this -small meal. Will you have a glass of wine?" - -"No, thank you, Marchese!" - -"Then take a cigarette, there are some on that table." - -The Marchese returned to his wine and biscuits, while I lighted a -cigarette, and lay down On the sofa. - -"Excuse me lying down, Luigi, but our last night's experience has -knocked me up terribly." - -"You would never do for a soldier, Signor Hugo! I've been drilling -some stupid recruits all the morning, and I feel perfectly fresh. -Ecco! I'm glad to see you, however, as I have some news to tell you." - -"About Pallanza?" - -"Eh? No! About Madame Morone." - -"Ah! she has found out we were at the vault?" - -"Dame! not a bit of it. She left Verona by the five o'clock train last -night." - -"Left Verona!" I cried, rising hastily from my recumbent position. -"Why has she gone away?" - -"Eh! who knows?" replied Beltrami, shrugging his shoulders. "She -didn't even leave a message for me, her promised husband. I think, -myself, the empty pillar of yesterday startled her. She evidently -thought everything was discovered, therefore has gone to Rome so that -she Can appeal to the King in case of trouble." - -"And what are you going to do, Marchese?" - -"The best thing I can do under the circumstances. I have applied for, -and obtained, leave of absence, so I will give this infernal tenor the -antidote to-day, and start for Rome by the night train." - -"But when you arrive at Rome?" - -"I will see Madame Morone, and tell her that I removed the body of -Pallanza from the pillar." - -"The body, Beltrami! You forget Pallanza is alive!" - -"Of course he is, but I'm not going to tell her that. Cospetto! if she -discovered that this devil of a tenor was still in existence my power -over her would be gone, and she would not marry me. Ecco!" - -"But as Pallanza will sing again, she is bound to find it out sooner -or later." - -"Eh! no doubt, Signor Hugo; but by the time she finds out I hope to be -married. In that case it does not matter. Besides, I am going to make -Pallanza promise not to sing anywhere for a month." - -"Suppose he refuses?" - -"He won't refuse. Dame! he owes me something for bringing him into -existence again." - -"And what about the doctor?" - -"He will soon be here," said Beltrami, glancing at his watch; "I -expect him every minute." - -"Will he keep this affair quiet?" - -"Per Bacco! I should think so, mon ami. I ascertained that before I -told him anything. Not that I told him much, ma foi, no! I invented a -delightful story about Pallanza, which he swallowed as easily as I do -this wine." - -"And the story?" - -"I have not the time to tell it to you, but it is a beautiful story, -worthy of Boccaccio. Oh, he will keep his mouth shut, I promise you, -Hugo. He is a great friend of mine, and I never associate with those -who talk of other people's business." - -"Have you the antidote, Marchese?" - -"Here it is," said Beltrami, rising and taking the small bottle from -his desk near the window; "and, ma foi! here is the doctor coming up -the street." - -"How fond you are of French," I remarked, laughingly. "Parisian -ejaculations are never out of your mouth." - -"One must ejaculate in some language, Hugo, and I've been so often in -Paris that I've got into the trick in some way." - -"What about London?" - -"Your city of fogs! Eh! You know I cannot master your tongue, Signor -Hugo. 'You are a beautiful mees; I loove you'--Dio! what a difficulty -I had in learning those two sentences." - -"Which are perfectly useless." - -"I have not found them so. But here is Signor Avenza, the doctor I -spoke of. Good-day, for the second time, my friend. Permit me to -introduce Signor Hugo Cranston, an Englishman." - -The doctor, a fat little man with a round smiling face and two -twinkling black eyes, executed an elaborate bow, for which purpose he -brought his feet smartly together in military fashion, and, having -thus saluted me, rashly entered into a contest with the English -language, which vanquished him at once. - -"I spik Inglis," he said, mincingly. Then, with a gigantic effort, "Gif -me your tongue! Ah! he is bad. Dis writing is your cure. Goot-day! I -vil taake a leetle valk wis you agin." - -Signor Avenza had evidently learned these choice English phrases for -the purposes of his profession. - -While this lesson in philology was going on the Marchese had opened -the door leading into the room where Pallanza was concealed, and -called to us to enter. Both the doctor and myself, obeying the -summons, went through the bedroom, and soon found ourselves by the -couch, whereon lay the still form of the young man, with that terrible -death-in-life look on his white face. - -"See, Avenza, this is what I spoke about," said Beltrami, holding up a -small phial filled with a red liquid. "It is the antidote to the -poison which this Pallanza was foolish enough to take." - -"And all through a love disappointment," replied Avenza, lifting his -eyes. "Ah! the poor young man!" - -I now began to see the kind of story Beltrami had told Avenza to -account for the condition of Pallanza, and I must say it did credit to -his powers of invention. - -"The amount of the poison he took was ten drops." went on Beltrami, -uncorking the bottle, "so it will require ten drops of this antidote -to revive him, but when the life is once more in him I suppose he will -be weak." - -"Most certainly," answered Avenza, nodding his head, "since you say -he has been like this for nearly a week. But proceed, Marchese, I am -anxious to see the result of this antidote." - -Beltrami bent over the face of the unconscious man, and forced the -teeth slightly apart with a spoon he held in his left hand. Having -done this, he poised the bottle over the pale lips, and began to pour -the red liquid drop by drop into the mouth. - -Both Avenza and myself bent forward eagerly to watch the operation, -and held our breaths with anxiety as the Marchese counted, slowly,-- - -"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten!" - -The body made no movement, and Beltrami drew back, looking somewhat -anxious. - -"Dio! I am afraid ten drops are not enough!" - -"Wait," said Avenza, taking his watch out of his pocket, and placing -his fingers on the pulse of the seemingly-dead man. "You cannot expect -this antidote to act at once." - -The minutes passed slowly, and we all three remained with our eyes -eagerly watching for some sign of life on that still face, while -Avenza occasionally glanced at his chronometer. - -"His pulse beats," he said at length in a low voice, "faintly, it is -true, but still it beats." - -I heaved a sigh of relief, but Beltrami remained silently looking at -the face of Pallanza with an anxious frown. - -"She cannot have given him fifteen," he muttered under his breath, "if -So, he would have been dead by this time; but his pulse beats, so -he is alive." - -He looked irresolutely at the phial in his hand, and then turned to -Avenza, who Was still counting the feeble pulsation of the blood. - -"Doctor, I will give him three more drops!" - -"Eh! and why not?" replied Avenza, raising his eye-brows; "as that is -an antidote a few drops more or less cannot kill him after the dose of -poison he has taken." - -The Marchese made no further remark, but, bending forward again, he -held the phial over the half-open mouth for the second time. - -"One, two, three!" - -This time the effect was magical; for after an interval of about two -or three minutes, we saw a shudder run through the rigid body, the -left arm jerked upward in a spasmodic manner, the face flushed crimson -with the rush of blood once more flowing freely through the arteries, -and at last the heavy eyelids lifted slowly. Pallanza gazed at us with -a dazed, unseeing expression, then some tremendous force seemed to -take possession of the body, for a spasm of pain passed over his face, -a choking cry issued from his lips, and in a moment he was shrieking, -writhing, twisting, rolling and plunging about the bed like a -demoniac. All the nerves and muscles which had been dead and inert for -so many days were now waking again to life, and the agony which racked -his frame from head to foot must have been truly terrible. Both -Beltrami and myself made a step forward to hold down this agonized -body, but Avenza stopped us. - -"The antidote is doing its work," he said rapidly; "the dead body is -renewing its life throughout every particle. Wait! wait! the paroxysm -will soon pass away." - -The doctor was right, for in a short time the writhing stopped, the -cries grew fainter, and at last, with a heavy sigh, the young man sank -back on the pillows in a state of exhaustion, on seeing which, both -Beltrami and the doctor ran out of the room to get some brandy, -leaving me alone with this new Lazarus. During their absence he opened -his eyes, to which the light of sanity had now returned, and spoke in -a feeble voice,-- - -"Where am I?" - -"With friends." - -"And the Contessa?" - -"She is not here! You are quite safe! Hush! do not speak, I beg of -you." - -Pallanza gave me a look of gratitude, then, closing his eyes, relapsed -into silence. Avenza returned with a glass of weak brandy and water, -which he gave to the young man in spoonfuls, 'while I went back into -the sitting-room to see Beltrami, whom I found standing by the window -with a frown on his face. - -"Ebbene?" he asked, turning round. - -"He is much better, and I think will soon be all right." - -"That's a blessing. But what a nuisance! I want to go to Rome to-night -by the five o'clock train, but Avenza tells me that Pallanza will have -to sleep for a few hours, so I won't have an opportunity of speaking -to him." - -"Go with a light heart, my dear Beltrami; I will arrange everything." - -"You will?" - -"Yes; Pallanza can sleep in that room for an hour or two, then I will -get a fiacre and take him to his lodgings. No one shall come near him -but myself, and when he is quite sensible I will make him promise all -you want." - -"Bene! you are a good friend, my dear Hugo," said the Marchese, in a -tone of relief; "but do you think he will do what you ask?" - -"Most certainly! I can force him to obey me." - -"How so?" - -"By threatening to tell Signorina Angello about his affair with Madame -Morone. She knows nothing as yet, and Pallanza is afraid of her -knowing. Witness the lie he told about that note at the Ezzelino, -asking him to come to the Palazzo!" - -Beltrami, with his cynical estimate of the Contessa's character, was -not at all disturbed by this somewhat blunt speech, but laughed -cheerfully. - -"Eh! Hugo. I think I will make you. Italian after all. Your plan is a -good one, mon ami, so make Pallanza promise not to sing anywhere for a -month, to leave Verona and keep quiet. By that time I will be married -to the Contessa, and all will be well." - -"I will arrange everything as you desire, Luigi." - -"Excellent! Then that trouble is off my mind." - -At this moment the doctor entered, rubbing his fat hands together with -an expression of glee. - -"Eh, he sleeps, this young man," he said in a satisfied tone, "he -will sleep for one, two, three hours, then, if you like, Marchese, you -can send him to his own house." - -"Signor Hugo will attend to all that, Avenza." - -"Bene! Well, Marchese, à revederci! And you, Signor." - -"Wait a moment, Signor Avenza; I am coming too." - -"Where are you going! Hugo?" asked Beltrami, looking at me in some -surprise, and nodding his head in the direction of Pallanza. I crossed -over to him, and while Avenza was getting his hat, whispered in his -ear,-- - -"I am going to the Ezzelino to find out Pallanza's address, so as to -know where to take him." - -"Ah! a good idea! I will wait here till you return." - -I accompanied Signor Avenza to the Piazza Vittorio Emanuele, where we -parted. I then went to the Teatro Ezzelino and found out Pallanza's -address from the stage-door keeper. While I was returning to -Beltrami's rooms I saw Peppino, and arranged with him to be at the Via -Cartoni at seven o'clock that evening to take a sick gentleman away. -At first Peppino objected, being, like all Italians, terribly afraid -of disease, but I soon quieted his objections, and he promised to call -as directed. - -On returning to Beltrami I found him packing up, and at five o'clock -he took his departure for Rome, promising to write me immediately he -arrived, and in return I assured him I would let him know everything -as soon as I arranged matters with Pallanza. - -That young man slept until nearly seven, when he woke up and began to -ask me questions as to where he was. I insisted upon his keeping -quiet, telling him I was a doctor, and when Peppino arrived with his -fiacre I wrapped him up in his cloak so as to hide his stage costume, -and helped him downstairs to the carriage. We soon arrived at his -lodgings, where, dismissing Peppino, I made Pallanza go to bed at -once, and gave him a light supper, together with some weak brandy and -water. After this he fell asleep, and I sat watching by his bed all -night, wondering why I was such a fool as to do all this for a cynical -man of the world like Beltrami, who would probably laugh at my good -nature when all was over. Yet there was something about Luigi Beltrami -which I liked; and in spite of his affected cynicism and his -extraordinarily loose notions of right and wrong, I believe that he -had a sincere regard for me, which regard I considered not the least -curious part of his whimsical nature, seeing that my character was the -antithesis of his own in every way. Perhaps it was by the law of -contrast, or illustrated inversely the saying that "like draws to -like;" but whatever was the reason, though we had nothing in common -either in nationality or character, yet we were friends, and I leave -this problem to be worked out by those who deny that such an enigma -can exist. - - - - -CHAPTER XV. -FOUND. - - -Guiseppe Pallanza slept soundly all night, while I took snatches of -sleep in the armchair by his bedside. At nine o'clock in the morning -he awoke, feeling much stronger, and after I had given him something -to eat I prepared to go out. - -"Where are you going, Signor?" asked Pallanza in an anxious tone. - -"I am going to send a doctor to see you, and then I am going to the -Casa Angello." - -"And for what reason?" - -"To bring Signorina Bianca here!" - -"Do you know the Signorina Bianca?" - -"Very well, Signor Pallanza. I am the Englishman of whom you have no -doubt heard her speak." - -"Signor Hugo! yes, I know," muttered Guiseppe; and then, after a -pause, "I wish to speak to you, I wish to tell you something." - -"You shall tell me all shortly, but meanwhile lie down quietly, and -when the doctor comes say nothing about the Palazzo Morone." - -"Ah!" cried Pallanza, starting up in his bed, "do you know that -horrible place?" - -"I know all! But there, you are still weak," I answered, forcing him -to lie down. "When I return I will speak to you about some important -matters." - -"Important!--to me?" - -"Yes, and to the Contessa Morone." - -"Ah! that terrible woman." - -"Meanwhile, Signor Pallanza, say nothing about your visit to the -palace or about Madame Morone." - -"Not a word! And you will bring Bianca to see me?" - -"Yes! I promise you." - -With this hope, Pallanza was perfectly contented, and after -instructing his landlady, who was in a state of great bewilderment at -this sudden reappearance, to look after him, I went out to find -Avenza. Fortunately he was well known in Verona, and I had no -difficulty in discovering his house. He saw me at once, listened to my -account of the way Pallanza had passed the night, and promised to see -him without delay. Having thus carried out satisfactorily the first -part of my mission, I departed to perform the second, which involved a -somewhat embarrassing interview with Signorina Angello. - -On arriving at the house of the Maestro, I was received by Petronella, -who threw up her hands with an appeal to the saints when she saw my -haggard appearance and burst out into a volley of questions. - -"Eh! Signor Inglese. Is it not well with you? San Pietro! how the wine -does change a face. Here has the Maestro been asking for you every -day! 'Well! Well!' said I, 'he has gone away like the lover of the -piccola!' And it is true! I see how you return. Eh! Madonna, all men -are bad. I have been married--I know." - -"You are wrong on this occasion, Petronella. I have not been at the -wine, as you seem to think!" - -"But your face, Signor Inglese--like that of a sick person! Gran dio!" - -"Comes from sitting up all night by the bedside of Guiseppe Pallanza." - -Petronella clapped her hands together with an ejaculation of delight - -"He is found, then, the poor young man! Ah! it is well I did not waste -a centesimo in masses; and those priests are such thieves. Eh! this -news will be like wine to the piccola. Go in! go in, Signor Inglese! -the Signorina is there, but the Maestro! he is in bed, which is the -best place for him, say I." - -After this breathless harangue Petronella ushered me into the -sitting-room, where I found Bianca sitting by the window, contemplating -a portrait of her lost lover. She arose when she saw me and came -forward with an anxious look on her paleface, while the faithful but -noisy domestic left the apartment. - -"Well, Signorina, do you feel better?" - -"Yes, yes, Signore, much better; but you have news!--news of -Guiseppe." - -"The best of news, my poor child. Guiseppe is found, and is now at his -lodgings." - -The blood rushed into her hitherto pale cheeks, her melancholy dark -eyes sparkled with joy, and from a pallid, worn-looking girl she -changed into a bright, joyful woman. It was a most wonderful -transformation, as if a wan lily had suddenly blossomed under the wand -of some fairy into a rich red rose. - -"Signor Hugo! Signor Hugo! Ah, the good news! Oh, how happy I am! He -is alive, then? he is well! Oh, say he is well, Signor Hugo!" - -"Signorina, he is still weak after his adventure, and at present he is -in bed." - -"Oh, let me go to him! let me go at once! He may die, my poor -Guiseppe!" - -"No he will not die; but put on your hat and I will take you to him, -for you alone, Signorina, can nurse him back to health and strength." - -Bianca ran to put on her hat and tell the Maestro the good news, which -evidently delighted the old man greatly, judging from the -extraordinary chuckling sounds which shortly proceeded from his -bedroom. Petronella at the doorway celebrated a noisy triumph on her -own account, and at last amid the chucklings of the patriarch and the -loud delight of his handmaiden, Bianca took her departure under my -wing to visit the newly-found prodigal. - -She absolutely danced along the pavement, so exuberant was her delight -at the good news, and I thought how easily I could damp this joy by -telling her the true story of Guiseppe's disappearance. It was a cruel -thought, and I regretted it the moment after it flashed across my -mind; for it would have been the wanton act of a boy crushing a -butterfly to have destroyed the happy ignorance of this merry child, -who, tripping gaily along by my side, put me in mind of the smiling -Hebe of the Greeks, that charming incarnation of joyous maidenhood. - -"Signore!" said Bianca, moderating her transports, "you have not told -me the reason of Guiseppe's absence." - -"I am afraid there is very little to tell, Signorina! He was lured to -the Palazzo by an enemy, who kept him there until last night, when, -luckily, I discovered where he was concealed and released him." - -"Ah, Signor Hugo, how can I thank you for your kindness! Then my poor -Guiseppe was hidden in that terrible room?" - -"He was concealed near it, at all events," I replied evasively. - -"And the voice in the darkness, Signor? Oh, that cruel, cruel voice! -It. has haunted my dreams ever since!" - -"It was nothing, Signorina; it was--it was a friend of mine, who came -to assist me to look for Guiseppe!" - -"Was it a signor or a Signora?" asked Bianca, who, evidently in her -nervous agitation, had not distinguished the feminine tones of the -unknown. - -"It was a signor! a young signor whom I know!" - -"But he saw us in the darkness. Dio! how terrible." - -"No; he did not see us. He guessed we were there, as I told him we -were going to look for Guiseppe, and he came to assist me." - -Bianca was satisfied with this--I flatter myself--skilful explanation, -and stopped asking questions, much to my relief. The number of lies I -was forced to tell in connection with this affair was truly -surprising, but as it was absolutely necessary to keep this poor child -in ignorance of the true state of the case, I ventured to hope that -the Recording Angel would treat them in the same way as he did the -oath of my Uncle Toby, in Sterne's delightful story. Italian intrigue, -from the experience I had of it, was certainly very little to my -taste, as I was by no means a convert to the Jesuitical maxim that the -end justifies the means, therefore it was with a thankful heart that I -saw the whole intricate affair was nearly finished. - -By this time we had arrived at Pallanza's lodgings, and I placed -Bianca in an outer room with strict injunctions that she was not to -leave it until I called her. - -"Guiseppe is still weak, Signorina, and I must prepare him for your -coming." - -The fact is I wanted to carry out my promise to Beltrami, in asking -Pallanza to live in retirement for a few months, and, until this was -arranged, I was unwilling that he should see Bianca. The poor child -fully believing what I said, promised to obey me faithfully in all -things; so leaving her in the outer room I went in to see Pallanza, -whom I found eagerly expecting my arrival. - -To my surprise, the young man was up and dressed, as Dr. Avenza, -finding him So much better, had insisted on him leaving his bed, to -remain in which, he declared, was weakening; so I found Pallanza -walking slowly to and fro to exercise his muscles, but on seeing me he -came forward With an anxious look,-- - -"Is she here, Signor Hugo? Has Bianca come?" - -"She is in the next room, Signor! No, do not go to her. I wish to -speak to you." - -"I am at your service, Signor Hugo. You have done so much for me that -I can never repay you." - -"Yes, you can by telling me how you went to the Palazzo Morone on that -night." - -"I will tell all, Signore! You have a right to know. But, Bianca?" - -"She knows nothing." - -A look of relief came over the anxious face of the young man, and we -both sat down to continue the conversation. - -"I met Madame Morone at Rome, Signore," said Pallanza with some faint -hesitation, "and we were together a great deal. I did not love her -exactly, but she being a great lady flattered my pride. Of course, I -should have remembered Bianca, but she was not beside me, and as to -the Contessa! ah, Signore Hugo, who can escape when a woman wills? -Madame Morone made me afraid at last. She is a tigress, that woman, -and threatened to kill me if I left her for another. I saw how -dangerous was her love, and telling her I was going to marry the -Signorina Angello, left Rome for Verona. She followed me here and took -me to the Palazzo Morone on Sunday, where she exhausted every means of -making me give up Bianca. I should not tell you all this about a -woman, Signor, but by her attempt to kill me she has released me from -the laws of honour. Cospetto! she is a mistress of the devil. Her rage -is terrible, and on Sunday she implored, she wept, she raged, she -threatened, but I was true to Bianca, and at last escaped from the -palazzo intending never to see her again. On Monday night, however, I -received a letter----" - -"From a dying friend?" I interrupted meaningly. - -"Eh! I said so in order to keep the affair from Bianca, as I knew if -she heard about it I should be lost. No! Signor Hugo. The letter was -from the Contessa, saying that if I did not come by eleven o'clock to -the room in the palazzo, in order to bid her farewell, she would go at -once to the Signorina Angello and tell all. Per Bacco! Signor, you may -guess my fear at this message; and I determined to go to the palazzo -at any cost. The opera was long that night, and before the curtain -descended it was past eleven. I was so afraid of the Contessa -fulfilling her threat that I did not wait to change my costume, but -throwing on my cloak over my dress of Faust, went at once to the -palazzo. She was not in the room, and I had a horrible fear that I was -too late, but I waited for some time, and she came. We had another -scene of tears, reproaches and rage, then----" - -"I can tell you the rest, Signor Pallanza. She gave you the poison in -a cup of wine, and when you fell at her feet she shut you up in a -hiding-place, from whence you were rescued." - -"By you, Signor, by you?" - -"No; by the Marchese Beltrami, who took you to his house, and after -many days revived you with an antidote to the poison which he obtained -with great difficulty." - -"But the Marchese! You, Signor, how did you see all this?" - -"Ah! that is a long story. I will tell it to you another time, but at -present you must promise me something." - -"Anything, Signor Hugo! For you have saved my life from that terrible -woman." - -"She is indeed a terrible woman! and it is to escape her vengeance -that I advise you not to sing for at least two months." - -"But my engagement at the Ezzelino?" - -"Pay forfeit-money. Say you are ill and cannot sing. Then return to -Milan with the Signorina and marry her at once." - -"But the Contessa?" - -"Has gone to Rome for the present; but as soon as she finds out you -are alive she will come after you; so, if you are wise, Signor -Pallanza, you will obtain some engagement out of Italy." - -"Basta, Signor! your advice is good, and I will do what you ask. For -two months I will not sing. I will pay the forfeit-money to the -Ezzelino and return to Milan with Bianca. It is best so. Per Bacco! -what a demon I have escaped!" - -I felt greatly relieved that everything had thus been settled, so -arose from my chair to take Pallanza to the Signorina, after which I -intended to go straight to my hotel and write a letter to Beltrami, -telling him of all that had taken place. - -"Come, Signor Pallanza, lean on me, and I will take you to Bianca." - -"Ah! cara Bianca," he cried joyfully, as I led him to the door; -"Bianca, Bianca, gioja della mia vita!" - -"Guiseppe!" - -She saw him standing with outstretched arms on the threshold of the -room, and with a cry of joy flew towards him like a bird to its nest, -and flung herself on his breast. - -As for me, I went out of the room and left them together. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. -AN INTERRUPTED HONEYMOON. - - -Well, at last I was back in Milan, much to my satisfaction, as after -the strange adventures I had met with in Verona that city became -positively hateful to me. Two months had elapsed since the affair of -the Palazzo Morone had come to an end, and during that time two -marriages in connection therewith had been celebrated--that of -Beltrami with the Contessa Morone, at Rome; and that of Guiseppe -Pallanza with Signorina Bianca, at Milan. True to his promise, -Guiseppe had forfeited his engagement at the Ezzelino, much to the -wrath of the impresario, and had rested quietly since at Milan, -passing most of his time with Bianca, who was now in a state of high -glee preparing for her marriage. - -It took place at the church of St. Stefano, in Milan, and out of -consideration for the great age of the Maestro it was a very quiet -affair, I being the only one present beyond the Angello household, but -that was at the urgent request of both Bianca and her husband, who -never forgot the services I had rendered them at Verona. - -Thanks to my dexterity, Bianca never discovered the truth, and fully -believed that Guiseppe had been kept a prisoner at the Palazzo Morone -by some enemy who had lured him thither, by means of the letter -purporting to come from a dying friend. At first, considering the weak -way in which Guiseppe had acted, I did not consider that he deserved -his good fortune in marrying such a charming girl as the Signorina, -but during the time that preceded the marriage he was so devoted to -her in every way, and apparently so remorseful for his amorous folly, -that I quite forgave him his momentary infidelity. It was a very -pretty wedding, the bride and bridegroom making a handsome couple, and -when the ceremony was ended Signor and Signora Pallanza went to spend -the honeymoon of a few days at Monza, and I was left alone in Milan. - -Guiseppe had obtained an engagement at the Madrid Opera House, and on -their return from Monza the young couple were to start almost -immediately for Spain, leaving the Maestro under the tender care of -Petronella. The old man's health had been failing sadly of late, and I -doubted very much whether Bianca would find him alive on her return to -Italy, seeing how frail he was in every respect. - -Now that he was deprived of his right hand by the marriage of his -granddaughter, the Maestro decided to give up teaching, at which -decision I was profoundly sorry, as only having been with him a year I -had still many things to learn in the art of vocalisation. There was, -unfortunately, no one else with whom I could study the same system, -for Paolo Angello taught the old, pure Italian method, of which he -was the last exponent; and I infinitely preferred the round sonorous -notes which his training produced to the shouting, colourless style of -present-day singing, which curses the voice with a perpetual tremolo. -The elaborate fioriture school of Pasta, Grisi, Ronconi, and Malibran -has almost entirely passed away, and in its place what have we in -Italy?--nothing but the present abominable fortissimo singing, without -grace, sweetness, steadiness, or colour. The old Italian operas were -composed not so much as stage performances as to show off the beauty, -execution and brilliancy of the voice, while this new school of -music-drama; designed principally for dramatic effect, is interpreted -by singers who rely but little on the perfection of the vocal organ, -and pride themselves not so much on the individual colouring of a -single number as on the general broad effect of the whole. Fortunately, -however, by incessant work during my one year under Angello, I had -acquired a pretty good idea of his system of vocalisation, and hoped, -by cautious industry in following out his hard and fast rules, to -perfect my singing in accordance with his severely pure method. - -Of the Marchese Beltrami and his wife I heard but little, save through -the medium of the papers, as except one letter announcing his marriage -with the Contessa, and thanking me for my attention to his interests, -this ungrateful Luigi had not written to me. I consoled myself with -philosophical reflections on the hollowness of friendship, when one -day, towards the end of July, I was astonished to receive a visit from -the Marchese. - -Pallanza and his wife had returned to Milan, and were making -preparations for their departure, which was now near at hand. I had -just come back from a visit to the Maestro with whom they were -staying, and was writing letters in my bedroom, when Beltrami's card -was brought to me, upon which I ordered him to be shown into the room -in which I was scribbling, so as to secure perfect privacy during our -conversation. - -In those days of poverty I lived like a cat on the tiles, up four -flights of stairs just under the roof, and my one room served me for -everything,--that is, as dining-room, reception-salon, and sleeping -chamber. I took my meals at a sufficiently good restaurant near at -hand, but otherwise the whole of my indoor life was bounded by the -four walls of that small apartment, which contained an ingenious bed -made to look like a sofa during the day, a wardrobe, a wash-stand, and -a diminutive piano of German manufacture hired by myself. Yet, as -Beranger sings, "One is happy in a garret at twenty years of age," and -I think the days spent in that dingy Milanese eyry were among the -most delightful of my life. I was young, enthusiastic, not badly off -for a poor man, and devoted to my art, so I used to strum chords on -that small piano while I practised my voice, act operatic scenes in -front of the looking glass, and dream impossible dreams of applausive -multitudes, of recklessly-generous impresarios, and of a career like -that of the kings of song. - -Then I had a view--a delightful view--of the red-roofed houses of -Milan, seen from the window, with here and there a tall factory -chimney, the slender tower of a church from whence sounded the -jangling bells which used to irritate me, at least, every quarter of -an hour, and just a glimpse of the white miracle of the great Duomo, -rising like a fairy creation of milky lacework against the deeply blue -sky. Even a vision of green trees I obtained by craning my head round -the corner of the window, and when it was fine weather I looked at my -roof-top view while enjoying a pipe, but when it rained--oh! heavens, -Milan was as dreary as London in a fog, and the blue skies of Italy -became a fable of inventive minds. The intense heat changed to humid -cold, and then I used to shut out this deceptive city of the Visconti -by closing my window, and, retreating to the piano, practise exercises -with a voice rendered, I am afraid, rather gruff by the chill -terra-cotta floor and the damp atmosphere. - -It was in this poor but honest abode, as the novelists say, that I -received Beltrami, who entered gaily in civilian dress with -outstretched hands, looking exactly the same as when I had last seen -him at Verona. Marriage evidently had not changed him, as he had the -same subtle smile on his dark face, talked in the same vein of -cynicism, and interlarded his conversation with his usual number of -French ejaculations. - -"Eh! Hugo, mon ami," shaking both my hands heartily, "you are -astonished to see me!" - -"Considering you have never written me a line since your marriage, -Beltrami, I certainly am." - -I suppose I spoke with a certain bitterness, for the Marchese shrugged -his shoulders, with a slight flush reddening his cheeks, and sat down -on the bed--I mean, seeing it was daytime--the sofa. - -"Ma foi! I am a newly-married man, Hugo!" he said, in an apologetic -tone, "I have forgotten everything in the delightful society of that -dear Contessa. But you are right to reproach me; I ought to have -written, only I am so terribly negligent." - -"And fickle; don't forget that trait of your character, Luigi. -However, I'm glad to see you, fickle friend as you are." - -"Dame! you don't spare me. I have called on you for a purpose!" - -"That goes without saying. When one requires a friend one always knows -where to find him. Well, Marchese, and in what way can I assist you?" - -"I will tell you! but I see you do not ask after my wife?" - -"I trust Madame Beltrami is well!" I said stiffly, not feeling any -particularly warm feeling towards that lady. - -"Yes! her health is good." - -"And you are happy, Beltrami?" - -"Tolerably! But tell me, how is Pallanza and his wife?" - -"Oh, they live in Elysium, Marchese. At present they are in Milan, but -leave next week for Madrid, where Pallanza is going to sing." - -"He'll have to go by himself, then!" - -"What do you mean?" - -"That Madame, my very good wife, is hunting through Milan for his -Elysium, with that famous bottle of poison in her pocket." - -"Great heavens! Is she going to try and poison Pallanza again?" - -"No! you remember the Latin maxim, 'Non bis in idem.' She is going to -try the effect of the poison on his wife." - -"And yet you can sit there calmly without making an attempt to save -this innocent creature! Beltrami, it is infamous!" - -I was walking up and down the room in a state of great excitement, for -it seemed horrible and incomprehensible to see the Marchese sitting -there so calm and composed, when he knew that a reckless, dangerous -woman like his wife was in Milan bent on murder. - -"Eh! Hugo, keep cool," said Beltrami, quietly. "It is just this affair -I have come to see you about. Sit down, mon ami, and I'll tell you all -about it." - -"But every moment is of value!" - -"No doubt, but as it will take madame some time to find out where -Signor Pallanza is staying, I think we can safely talk for five -minutes." - -"Go on, then! I am all impatience!" - -"So I see! Ebbene! When I went to Rome I told the Contessa that I had -taken away Pallanza's body; but of course I did not say he was alive, -and swore that if she did not marry me I would tell everything to the -authorities. The sequel you know--she married me." - -"A horrible contract," I muttered savagely, looking at the whole -affair from an English point of view. - -"I-think we argued that matter before," said Beltrami, coolly, "and, -if I remember rightly, you did not agree with my reasons. However, it -is too late now to blame me, seeing I have been married for nearly -five weeks. We spent our honeymoon at Como--in fact, mon ami, we are -spending it there still, only a perusal of yesterday's Lombardia sent -my excellent wife off to this city in search of Signora Pallanza." - -"I do not understand." - -"No? Then I will enlighten you. Madame, my wife, thought this devil of -a tenor dead, and, as he has been keeping quiet all this time, she -never for a moment suspected the truth. I saw an announcement of his -marriage in the newspapers, but you may be sure I did not let the -Marchesa see it. Everything was going beautifully, and we were a model -couple--outwardly--when, as ill-luck would have it, this paragraph -appeared in the paper." - -Beltrami handed me a copy of La Lombardia, and pointed to a paragraph, -which I read. It stated that Guiseppe Pallanza, the famous tenor, was -going to sing at the Grand Opera House, Madrid, and would be -accompanied to Spain by his wife, the granddaughter of Maestro -Angello, the celebrated teacher of singing. - -"You can guess what a rage she was in," said Beltrami, when I had -finished reading this fatal information. "Diavolo! she has a temper; -but, as I told you, I am quite a match for Madame, and held my own -during this furious quarrel. She demanded an explanation, and I gave -her one." - -"What? you told her----" - -"Everything, mon ami. Your story, my story, Pallanza's story--all -about the antidote, the vault, the supper. Eh! Hugo, she now knows as -much as you or I. Mon Dieu, you should have seen her when I had -finished!" - -"Why? what did she do?" - -"She smiled, that was all; but it was the smile that alarmed me." - -"For your own safety?" - -"Ma foi, no! I told her she need not try the poison on me, as I had -the antidote. In reply, she gave one of those wicked laughs that -freeze your blood, and said that Signora Pallanza had not an antidote, -and it would be the worse for her." - -"Then she intends to poison the poor girl?" - -"I fancied so yesterday, and I was sure of it this morning, when I -heard from my servants that the Marchesa Beltrami had gone to Milan. I -knew what she was after, so followed by the next train, and came -straight to you." - -"And what do you want me to do, Beltrami?" - -"Come with me at once to the Casa Angello, to warn Signora Pallanza! I -suppose she is still staying with the Maestro Angello?" - -"Yes, until she goes to Spain with her husband. Let us go at once, -Luigi. But, oh! Beltrami, if we are too late!" - -"Do not be alarmed! I have the antidote in my pocket." - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. -NEMESIS. - - -The Maestro had a very comfortable suite of apartments in Milan -overlooking the Via Carlo Alberto, near the Piazza del Duomo, which -were chosen by him on account of their situation, as he could sit at -the window of his bedroom and amuse himself by gazing at the crowded -street. This watching of the populace was his great delight, and when -not giving a lesson he was generally stationed at his window, or else -employed in reading _Il Seccolo_, which he did in a curious fashion, -by holding it close to his best-seeing eye. - -Of course, like all the entrances to these Milanese flats, the stairs -were singularly damp, dark, and malodorous, and after running the -gauntlet of a fat _portanaia_, who was devouring a large dish of -polenta in her glass house, we climbed up the humid steps, and -speedily arrived at the second storey, where dwelt the Maestro when in -Milan. To make up for the filth under our feet the ceilings over our -heads were gorgeously painted with mythological figures; and even at -that moment I could not help recalling George Sands' remark anent the -contrast between these two. However, we had no time to admire the -clumsy Jupiter throwing fire-brand thunderbolts, for at this moment -Petronella, who had seen us through the dingy glass of her own little -sanctum, opened the door, and was about to burst into a torrent of -greetings, when I stopped her to ask if the Signora Pallanza was at -home. - -"Yes! yes! the Signora is in, but she is engaged--engaged in talking -with a lady--Dio! a great lady! - -"Great heavens! we may be too late!" I muttered to Beltrami, who -nodded his head silently. "Petronella, speak low. This gentleman and -myself came on an important errand to the Signora. What is the lady's -name?" - -"Signor, she said she was the Marchesa Beltrami," replied Petronella, -her jolly face growing rather grave at all this mystery. - -"Is Signor Pallanza in?" - -"No, Signor Hugo; he has gone to see an impresario." - -"She is alone with Madame, let us go in at once," whispered Beltrami, -exhibiting the first signs of alarm I had ever beheld in him. - -"One moment! What about the Maestro, Petronella?" - -"In his bedroom, Signor Hugo, at the window. Holy Saints! what is -wrong?" - -"Nothing! nothing! I will explain all shortly; but meanwhile, -Petronella, show us a place where we can see into the room where the -Signora is talking to the Marchesa, without being seen." - -Beltrami nodded his head approvingly, for he saw my plan was to -overhear the conversation, and only interrupt it should there be any -danger to the Signora. Petronella was bursting with curiosity, but -seeing, from the expression of our faces, that something important was -going on, she screwed up her mouth with a shrewd look, to assure us we -could depend upon her, and, closing the outside door cautiously, led -us into the room adjacent to that in which the conversation was taking -place. Pointing to an archway, veiled by curtains, to intimate that -there was nothing else but the drapery to impede our hearing, she -retired on tiptoe, with a puzzled, serious look on her usually merry -face. - -It seemed my fate to overhear mysterious conversations through veiled -archways, but this one was not used as an entrance between the two -rooms, for, as I peered through the curtains, 1 saw in front of them a -small square table, upon which was placed a lacquered tray with -glasses, and an oval straw-covered bottle of Chianti wine. I drew back -for a moment, to see if Beltrami had noticed this obstacle to our -sudden entrance into the room; but, instead of appearing dismayed, he -had a grim, satisfied smile on his lips, as if he rather approved than -otherwise of this table blocking up the doorway. Puzzled at this, I -withdrew my eyes from his face, and looked again into the room beyond, -where the Marchesa Beltrami was seated, talking to Bianca in what -appeared to be a very friendly fashion. - -It must be remembered that Bianca knew nothing about the Contessa -Morone's intrigue with her husband, as both Guiseppe and myself had -carefully kept all knowledge of the affair from her; and moreover, -owing to her nervous agitation, she had not recognized the voice of -the Marchesa when she spoke to us in the darkness of that fatal -chamber at Verona. Consequently she was completely in ignorance of the -real character of her visitor, and only beheld in her a lady who had -called to see Signor Pallanza about some important business; this, as -I afterwards learned, being the excuse she gave for her presence in -the Casa Angello. It was truly terrible to see these two women seated -together in friendly discourse, the one so innocent of the danger she -was in, the other so ruthless in her determination to revenge herself -on her rival. The pure white dove was in the clutches of this -relentless hawk, who, while watching her victim so closely, was -meditating as to the best means of carrying out her plans. - -"Oh, it is horrible!" I murmured, turning pale with emotion. - -"Hush!" whispered Beltrami with a sinister look; "she will fall into -her own pit." - -What did he mean by these strange words? I could not understand; but I -had no time nor desire to ask for an explanation, as the terrible -drama being played out in the next room riveted my attention; so, with -a violent effort of self-repression, I resumed my post of observation, -and listened to the conversation between the two actresses in the -tragedy. It was idle and frivolous, the conversation of two strangers -who had nothing to talk about but the merest commonplace; but this -frivolity had for us a ghastly meaning; this commonplace concealed a -frightful intention. - -"And so, Signora Pallanza, you have never heard your husband mention -my name!" - -"No, Madame!" - -"It is strange," said the Marchesa, smiling; "for in Rome I did what I -could to help him in his profession. Eh! yes. I heard him singing -Faust at the Apollo, and told all my friends to go and hear the New -Mario." - -"That is what they call him here, Signora," replied Bianca proudly; -"but, indeed, it was kind of you to aid him. I wonder Guiseppe never -spoke to me about you, for he never forgets a kindness." - -"Ah! I'm afraid some men have not much gratitude," said Madame -Beltrami with a laugh. "Never mind, when Signor Pallanza comes in you -will see he has not forgotten me." - -"He could hardly do that, Madame," answered Bianca, looking with -honest admiration at the splendid beauty of the woman before her. "Had -I seen you before I would always have remembered you! But--it is so -strange!" - -"What is strange, Signora?" - -"I do not recognize your face, and yet I seem to have heard your voice -before." - -"Possibly!" said the Marchesa indifferently. "I go about a good deal." - -"Were you ever in Verona?" - -Madame Beltrami was startled for the moment at this apparently -innocent question, but recovered her self-possession in a moment, and -laughed gaily in a rather forced fashion,-- - -"Yes, Signora! I lived there a long time with my first husband, Count -Giorgio Morone." - -"Morone!" cried Bianca, starting to her feet with a cry of alarm. "Oh! -Madame, do you know that palace?" - -The Marchesa saw that she had made a mistake by mentioning that fatal -name, but with iron nerve opened a fan she had hanging to her girdle -and fanned herself slowly. - -"Of course I do," she answered quietly; "it belongs to the family of -my late husband, and is said to be haunted." - -Bianca shivered. - -"So it is! so it is!" she muttered in a fearful tone. "I have been in -that room. Signor Hugo took me there." - -"Signor Hugo!" repeated the Marchesa reflectively. "I think I have -heard my husband speak of that gentleman. He is English, is he not?" - -"Yes, Madame. A great friend of my husband's. A terrible thing -happened to Guiseppe at Verona! Oh! a terrible thing. And that room, -that fearful room! Dio! I shall never forget it." - -"You are trembling, Signora! You are ill," cried Madame Beltrami, -rising to her feet and crossing quickly to the table before the -curtain behind which we were concealed. "Let me give you some wine." - -"No, no! thank you. I am quite well!" said Bianca, going to the window -and opening it. "It is only the heat. The fresh air will do me good." - -"A glass of wine will be better," replied the Marchesa, pouring out a -glass of Chianti. - -I felt myself seized with a kind of vertigo at seeing this demon take -from her breast a small bottle and empty the whole contents of it into -the glass. I would have cried out only the voice of Bianca arrested -me,-- - -"I am perfectly well, Madame; but will you not take some wine -yourself, since the day is so warm?" - -"Certainly, if you will drink with me!" said Madame Beltrami, turning -round with a calm smile; "but indeed the wine will do you good, you -seem to faint." - -She poured out another glass of the Chianti for herself, and was about -to take the fatal drink to Bianca, when the latter called quickly from -the window,-- - -"Madame! quick! come here! Guiseppe is coming down the street!" - -Out of courtesy the Marchesa was forced to obey the call of her -hostess, and went quickly to the window, leaving the two wine-glasses -close together on the table, the one on the left containing the poison -destined for Bianca, the other on the right innocent of any drug, -which she intended to drink herself. - -At this moment, while the two women were looking out of the window, I -heard the voice of Beltrami, hoarse and broken, sound in my ear,-- - -"Go to the door and tell the servant to detain Pallanza!" - -I looked at him in astonishment, for there was a frightful look of -agitation in his pale face, and great drops of sweat were standing on -his brow; but he made an imperative gesture, and I obeyed him without -a word. - -Petronella was in the kitchen, and I hurriedly told her to keep -Pallanza at the door on some pretext or another, and stole quickly -back to the room, where I found Beltrami leaning against the wall with -a haggard look on his face. - -"What is the matter?" I whispered quickly. "Are you ill?" - -"No, no! Look!--look!--see! See what she is doing!" - -I had only been gone a little over two minutes between the time I had -last looked in the room and the moment I resumed my post of -observation, but during that period the Marchesa, evidently afraid of -the entrance of Pallanza, had given Bianca the fatal wine, and the -girl was drinking it at the window. Madame Beltrami herself, with -rather a pale face, but a devilish look in her eyes, had just set down -her glass upon the table, empty. A moment after Bianca, having drained -the fatal draught to the dregs, came across to the table and placed -her glass beside that of the Marchesa's with a merry laugh. - -"I am glad you persuaded me to have the wine, Signora. It is so -refreshing." - -"Yes, I think you will find it so," replied the Marchesa, with a -strange smile. - -The whole of this terrible scene had passed so rapidly that I had no -time to interfere. My tongue clove to the roof of my mouth, as I saw -Bianca drink the Borgian wine; yet with a mighty effort I was about to -cry out, when Beltrami seized my arm in his powerful grasp, and dared -me, with lurid eyes, to utter a sound. - -The Marchesa, having completed her devilish work, was about to go, for -I heard her say something to Bianca about seeing Pallanza on the -stairs, when suddenly we heard Guiseppe's gay voice talking to -Petronella, who strove to detain him; but with a merry laugh he -brushed past her, and a moment afterwards was in the room. Standing -there in the grasp of Beltrami, hidden by the curtains, there seemed -to be a silence lasting an eternity; then we heard Guiseppe give a -terrible cry of rage and fear, and despair,-- - -"Giulietta! you here! Demon! what are you doing?" - -Slow and soft, like the hiss of a snake, came the answer,-- - -"Doing to her what I did to you." - -"Poison! Bianca!" - -The poor girl gave a terrible shriek of agony, and flung herself into -the arms of her husband, while again there sounded the wicked laugh of -the Marchesa. - -"Ah! you cannot save her now, traitor! perjurer that you are! she will -die!" - -There was a sudden smash of glass, as Beltrami hurled himself through -the archway and stood before his terrible wife. - -"You lie, wretch! Here is the antidote!" - -Bianca was lying unconscious in Guiseppe's arms, and he, with a cry of -joy, stretched out his hand for the phial which Beltrami, standing -midway between his wife and the tenor, was holding. Suddenly, with a -shriek of rage, the Marchesa sprang forward, and tearing the phial -from his hand, hurled it through the open window into the street. - -"No, no! She shall die! She shall die!" - -I shall never forget that supreme moment of anguish. Bianca lying pale -as a lily in the arms of her agonized husband; myself standing amid -the ruins of the table in the archway; the Marchesa erect, defiant, -and snarling like an enraged tigress; and only Beltrami calm--Beltrami -standing cold and inflexible, with folded arms and a sinister smile on -his thin lips. The whole of this frightful drama had only lasted a few -minutes, but the denouement, more terrible than anything that had gone -before, had now arrived. - -"She shall die!" repeated the Marchesa with devilish persistency. - -Beltrami gave a wild laugh that sounded like the mocking merriment of -a fiend,-- - -"Fool! you have thrown away your life!" - -Guiseppe looked up with sudden hope, and the Marchesa with a cry of -abject terror reeled back with staring eyes and outstretched arms as -the truth flashed across her mind. - -"Life! life! oh! devil that you are, you--you--have changed--" - -The fierce beauty of her face was suddenly distorted by a spasm of -agony. She put her hands to her throat and tore open her dress, tore -off the ruby necklace, the gems of which flashed down to the floor -like a rain of blood, then with a yell of fear which had nothing human -in its despair, she fell at our feet--dead. - -Yes, she had fallen into her own pit; she had flung away her only -chance of life in her desire to doom her rival and there amid the -brilliant sunshine, amid the blood-red jewels scattered around her, -with all her crimes, devilries, and wickedness on her head, lay the -dead body of that Creature of the Night I had seen issue like a -vampire from the old sepulchre to fulfil her evil destiny; and over -her with folded arms, sinister and cruel, towered the man who, as the -instrument of God, had sent her back to the hell from whence she had -emerged. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. -A LAST WORD. - - -It was at the Paris Opera House that I last saw Beltrami, three years -after the death of that terrible woman. Things had gone exceedingly -well with me since my student life in Milan, and I can say without -vanity that Signor Hugo Urbino holds a very good position among -operatic artists of to-day. After leaving Angello I devoted another -year to hard study, and was finally pronounced fit to appear before an -Italian audience by my last Maestro. This, however, was only half the -battle, for now, having gained complete control of my vocal powers, I -had to take lessons in scena from Maestro Biagio, or, in other words, -I had to study the art of acting. I elected to make my débût in the -fine part of Renato in Verdi's opera, "Un Ballo in Maschera," and -having learned the music thoroughly, Biagio taught me how to render -the character, dramatically speaking. This took some time, as every -movement, every action, every gesture had to be studied; but with -perseverance I overcame all difficulties, and at length found myself -capable of rendering the character of Renato in a sufficiently good -style. In passing I may say that, as far as I have found, it is -ridiculous to think that acting comes instinctively. No doubt a -histrionic genius is able to give a gesture or strike an attitude -during the emotion engendered by the performance of a part, but he -must always hold himself well under control, and, broadly speaking, -act the character, as he studied it, in cold blood. Otherwise, carried -away by his powers, he would do things likely to upset the entire -mechanism of the scene. I have sung the part of Renato many times -since my first appearance, and the critics are pleased to consider it -a striking performance, but whatever touches on the spur of the moment -I have introduced, the broad rendering of the character always remains -precisely the same as taught to me by Maestro Biagio. - -Being thus in a position to sing and act the part, my greatest -difficulties commenced, and I can safely say that I never met a more -unscrupulous set of scoundrels than these sixth-rate impresarios who -go about Milan, like degraded Satans, seeking whom they may devour. -English students, being popularly supposed to be made of money, are -their favourite victims, and they demand from these the sum of four or -five hundred francs as the price of a scrittura, _i.e_., an appearance -on the stage. In a playful, ironical fashion they call this sum a -present, I suppose after the fashion of Henry VIII.--I think it was -that king--who dubbed his taxes "Benevolences;" and if you do not make -the impresario "a present," you certainly will not get an appearance -in Italy. With this money they take a theatre in a small town and put -on the opera in which you desire to sing, but even then it is doubtful -whether the débût so dearly purchased will come off at all. - -The first impresario with whom I had to deal was a dingy individual, -who, according to his own account, had brought out all the greatest -singers of Europe for the last twenty years, and, having made him "a -present" of two hundred francs--he was a modest man and asked no -more--it was arranged that I should make my débût at Como but on -arriving there for rehearsals I found that both the present and the -impresario had vanished, like Macbeth's witches, into thin air. -Considerably disheartened by this sample of Italian honesty, I yet had -sufficient faith to trust another gentleman in the same fashion, but -he must have been a brother of the first impresario, for he too -vanished. I now began to perceive that there were still brigands -in Italy, but that having become civilised, they were either -hotel-keepers or impresarios, and as my two unfortunate attempts to -get a scrittura had ended in disaster, I was not very anxious to make -any one a third "present." - -However, it was no use turning back when within the sight of the goal, -so I consulted Maestro Biagio, who kindly interested himself on my -behalf, and introduced me to an honest impresario, who required the -necessary present, but nevertheless fulfilled his promise of -introducing me to the Italian public. I made my débût at Brescia with -great success, and at the conclusion of the season, for which, of -course, I did not receive a penny, I had plenty of offers from all -parts of the Continent. To make a long story short, I sang everywhere -I possibly could, and, having secured an excellent reputation, by an -unexpected stroke of good fortune I was engaged to sing at the Paris -Opera House two years after my débût. I think Dame Fortune was anxious -to make reparation to Hugo Urbino for the misfortunes of Hugh -Cranston, for, to my great delight, I was favourably received by the -critical Parisians, and before the season ended was overwhelmed with -offers of lucrative engagements. - -What with my good fortune and the constant excitement of the life of -an artiste, I had almost forgotten the episode of Verona when I was -reminded of it by the unexpected appearance of Luigi Beltrami, who -came to my dressing-room one night at the conclusion of "Il Barbiere," -in which I had been singing the part of Figaro. - -He was changed, this cynical Marchese, since I had last seen him, and -changed for the better, as he had lost his former sinister air and -looked much happier and brighter than formerly. Since our parting in -Milan he had written me frequently, but of late his letters ceased, so -I was somewhat puzzled how to account for this new air of -cheerfulness. However, we shook hands heartily, being glad to see one -another, and Beltrami, lighting one of his eternal cigarettes, sat -down to wait until I was ready to leave the theatre. - -"Eh! Hugo," he said, gaily blowing a cloud of smoke, "so things have -gone well with you, mon ami?" - -"Exceedingly well, Beltrami, or you would not see me in this room." - -"Bene! I congratulate you." - -"Many thanks, Marchese; but you look as if life were agreeing with -you." - -Beltrami laughed, not with his former sardonic merriment, but with a -hearty sense of enjoyment. - -"Ma foi, yes! I am married again!" - -"Oh! I hope I can congratulate you this time," I said with great -significance. - -"The present Marchesa is an angel, mon ami. Dame! I had enough of -demons with the Contessa Morone." - -"Well, she was punished for her sins." - -"Eh! what would you? There is a God, mon ami, and He was wearied of -the crimes of that Lucrezia Borgia. But what about the poor girl she -tried to poison?" - -"Signora Pallanza! Oh, I hear she is in America with her husband. He -has made a wonderful success in New York, and Bianca tells me they -have two children, a boy and a girl." - -"A new Mario and Patti, I suppose. Diavolo! what a pity the old -Maestro is not alive to train the voices of his great-grandchildren!" - -"Yes, he is dead, poor old man! I heard all about it in Vienna, and -Petronella has gone to America to look after her beloved piccola. -Well, Angello had a long life, but he was not immortal." - -"Dame! perhaps his system is immortal. It ought to be if your singing -is an example." - -"Ah, flatterer!" - -"No; upon my word your Figaro was delightful. It is such a relief to -hear a voice without that awful tremolo. But come, are you ready? I -want you to sup with me." - -"I will be delighted, Beltrami. Is the Marchesa in Paris?" - -"Eh! no, not this time. I am here _en garçon_ for a few days. Madame -is in Florence, where you must come and visit us. We are wonderfully -happy. Dame! who wouldn't be with health, wealth, and an angel of a -wife? Ecco!" - -"You inherited the wealth of Madame Morone?" - -"Ma foi! yes. It was the only good turn she ever did me." - -"Oh!" I cried, with a revulsion of feeling, "you are becoming cynical -again." - -"I always become cynical when I think of that demon." - -"Beltrami," I said after a pause, as we left the Opera House, "there -is a question I have often wished to ask you." - -I felt the Marchese's arm tremble a little in mine, but he laughed in -a nonchalant manner. - -"Eh! ask what you will, mon ami." - -"Did you put your hand through the curtains and change the position of -those glasses?" - -Beltrami stopped and looked at me steadily with a grave look in his -bright eyes. - -"Hugo, mon ami," he said slowly, "I neither deny nor affirm, what you -say. Giulietta Morone was a demon who came into the world to work -evil, and God, wearied of her crimes, sent her back to the hell from -whence she came. I am not much given to religion, Hugo, as you know, -but I believe in a God; and whosoever He chose as an instrument to -destroy that which He permitted to exist, rest assured that such a one -will be held guiltless for executing the just decree of Heaven!" - -He ceased speaking, and we walked on in silence through the crowded -streets under the dark-blue summer sky. I understood perfectly what he -meant, and whether it was right or wrong it is not for me to say, -still I firmly believe that this man obeyed his impulse at that -terrible time, not from any selfish motive, but because he saw clearly -that in removing this frightful creature from the world he was doing a -service to the humanity upon which she preyed. - -All the same, I do not intend to visit the Marchese Beltrami at his -Florentine palazzo. - - - -FINIS. - - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of A Creature of the Night, by Fergus Hume - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 55457 *** diff --git a/old/old-2025-01-28/55457-h/55457-h.htm b/old/old-2025-01-28/55457-h/55457-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index 9ae5317..0000000 --- a/old/old-2025-01-28/55457-h/55457-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6040 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> -<html> -<head> -<title>A Creature of the Night.</title> -<meta name="Subtitle" content="An Italian Enigma"> -<meta name="Author" content="Fergus Hume"> - -<meta name="Publisher" content="John W. Lovell Company."> -<meta name="Date" content="1891"> -<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> -<style type="text/css"> -body {margin-left:10%; - margin-right:10%; background-color:#FFFFFF; - text-align: justify} - - -p.normal {text-indent:.25in; text-align: justify;} - -p.right {text-align:right; margin-right:20%;} -p.center {text-align: center;} -p.continue {text-indent: 0in; margin-top:9pt;} - -h1,h2,h3,h4,h5 {text-align: center;} - - -.t0 {margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:0em; margin-right:0em;} -.t1 {margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:1em; margin-right:0em;} -.t2 {margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:2em; margin-right:0em;} -.t3 {margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:3em; margin-right:0em;} -.t4 {margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:4em; margin-right:0em;} -.t5 {margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:5em; margin-right:0em;} - - -span.sc {font-variant: small-caps; font-size:110%;} -span.sc2 {font-variant: small-caps; font-size:90%;} - -hr.W10 {width:10%; color:black; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt} - -hr.W20 {width:20%; color:black; margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:12pt} - -hr.W50 {width:50%; color:black;} -hr.W90 {width:90%; color:black;} - -p.hang1 {margin-left:3em; text-indent:-3em;} -p.hang2 {margin-left:3em; text-indent:0em;} - -</style> - -</head> -<body> -<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 55457 ***</div> - -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<p class="hang1">Transcriber's Notes:<br> -1. Page scan source: The Internet Archive<br> -https://archive.org/details/creatureofnighti00hume_0<br> -(The Library of Congress.)<br> -2. Chapter XVII. (Nemesis) is misnumbered as XV. in this edition. -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h3>A CREATURE OF THE NIGHT</h3> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h3>A CREATURE OF THE NIGHT</h3> -<h4><i>AN ITALIAN ENIGMA</i></h4> -<br> -<h5>BY</h5> -<h4>FERGUS HUME</h4> -<h5>AUTHOR OF<br> -"THE MYSTERY OF A HANSOM CAB," "MADAME MIDAS,"<br> -"MISS MEPHISTOPHELES," "MONSIEUR JUDAS"</h5> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<div style="margin-left:10%; font-size:smaller"> -<p class="t1">Yea, out of the womb of the night</p> -<p class="t3">For evil a rod,</p> -<p class="t1">With vampire wings plumed for a flight</p> -<p class="t3">It cometh abroad,</p> -<p class="t1">The mission to curse and to blight</p> -<p class="t3">Permitted by God.</p> -</div> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><span style="font-size:smaller">NEW YORK</span><br> -JOHN W. LOVELL COMPANY<br> -<span style="font-size:smaller">150 WORTH ST., COR. MISSION PLACE</span></h4> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><span style="font-size:smaller">Copyright, 1891,<br> -BY</span><br> -UNITED STATES BOOK COMPANY</h4> -<hr class="W20"> -<p class="center"><i>All rights reserved</i>.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h5>TO</h5> -<h4>GRAHAM PRICE,</h4> -<h5>IN REMEMBRANCE OF ITALIAN IDLINGS,</h5> -<h5>SPRING, 1891.</h5> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<table cellpadding="10" style="width:90%; margin-left:5%; font-weight:bold"> -<colgroup><col style="width:20%; vertical-align:top; text-align:right"><col style="width:80%; vertical-align:top; text-align:left"></colgroup> -<tr> -<td colspan="2"><h3>CONTENTS</h3></td> -</tr><tr> -<td>CHAPTER.</td> -<td> </td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_01" href="#div1_01">I.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">The Ghoul</span>.</td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_02" href="#div1_02">II.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">A Boccaccian Adventure</span>.</td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_03" href="#div1_03">III.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">The Feast of Ghosts</span>.</td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_04" href="#div1_04">IV.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">The Angello Household</span>.</td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_05" href="#div1_05">V.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">Lost</span>.</td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_06" href="#div1_06">VI.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">A Haunted Palace</span>.</td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_07" href="#div1_07">VII.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">At the Teatro Ezzelino</span>.</td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_08" href="#div1_08">VIII.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">The Phantom of Lucrezia Borgia</span>.</td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_09" href="#div1_09">IX.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">Fiore della Casa</span>.</td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_10" href="#div1_10">X.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">A Voice in the Darkness</span>.</td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_11" href="#div1_11">XI.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">The Marchese Beltrami</span>.</td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_12" href="#div1_12">XII.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">Death in Life</span>.</td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_13" href="#div1_13">XIII.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">"Down among the Dead Men."</span></td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_14" href="#div1_14">XIV.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">The New Lazarus</span>.</td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_15" href="#div1_15">XV.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">Found</span>.</td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_16" href="#div1_16">XVI.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">An Interrupted Honeymoon</span>.</td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_17" href="#div1_17">XVII.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">Nemesis</span>.</td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_18" href="#div1_18">XVIII.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">A Last Word</span>.</td> -</tr></table> - -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h3>CREATURE OF THE NIGHT.</h3> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_01" href="#div1Ref_01">CHAPTER I.</a></h4> -<h5>THE GHOUL</h5> -<br> - -<p>I think it is Lord Beaconsfield who, in one of his brilliant stories, -makes the clever observation that "adventures are to the adventurous," -and certainly he who seeks for adventures even in this prosaic -nineteenth century will surely succeed in his quest. Fate leads him, -chance guides him, luck assists him, and although the adventure -supplied by this trinity of circumstances may be neither so dangerous -nor so picturesque as in the time of Borgia or Lazun, still it will -probably be interesting, which after all is something to be grateful -for in this eminently commonplace age of facts and figures. Still, -even he who seeks not to prove the truth of Disraeli's aphorism, may, -after the principle of Mahomet's mountain, have the adventure come to -him, without the trouble of looking for it, and this was my case at -Verona in the summer of 18--.</p> - -<p>The Cranstons were always a poor family, that is, as regards money, -although they certainly could not complain of a lack of ancestors; and -when it came to my turn to represent the race, I found that my lately -deceased father had left me comparatively nothing. Not having any -fixed income, I therefore could not live without doing something to -earn my bread; and not having any business capacity, I foresaw failure -would be my lot in mercantile enterprise. I was not good-looking -enough to inveigle a wealthy heiress into matrimony; and as, after a -survey of my possessions, I found I had nothing but a few hundred -pounds and an excellent baritone voice, I made up my mind to use the -former in cultivating the latter with a view to an operatic career.</p> - -<p>Italy, living on the traditions of the days of Rossini, of Donizetti -and of Bellini, has still the reputation of possessing excellent -singing-masters, so to Italy I went with a hopeful heart and a light -purse, and established myself at Milan, where I took lessons, in -singing, from Maestro Angello. Milan is a detestable city, hot and -arid in summer, cold and humid in winter; and as a year after I -arrived in the land of song the end of spring was unusually -disagreeable, Maestro Angello went to Verona for a change of air, and -thither I followed him with no small pleasure at escaping from that -dreary commercial capital of the north which has all the disagreeables -of Italian life without any of the compensating advantages of romance -and beauty.</p> - -<p>But Verona! ah, it was truly delightful, that sleepy town lying so -peacefully on the banks of the rapid Adige, dreaming amid the riotous -present of the splendid past, when Can Grande held his brilliant -court, and received as an honoured guest the great poet Dante, exiled -by ungrateful Florence. The city of the gay rhymer Catullus, merry -lover of Lesbia, who wept more tears over her sparrow than she did -over her poet. The city of Romeo and Juliet, star-crossed lovers as -they were, who were recompensed for their short, unhappy lives by -gaining immortality from the pen of Shakespeare as types of eternal -love and eternal constancy, for the encouragement of all succeeding -youths and maidens of later generations. Yes, indeed, with all these -memories, historical and poetical, Verona was a pleasant place in -which to idle away a summer, so I thanked the kind gods for my good -fortune and enjoyed myself.</p> - -<p>Not that I was idle. By no means! Maestro Angello kept me hard at work -at exercises and scales, so I studied industriously most of the day -and wandered about most of the night in the soft, cool moonlight, when -Verona looked much more romantic than in the garish blaze of the -Italian sun.</p> - -<p>It was on one of these nights that an adventure happened to me, an -adventure in which I was involved by the merest chance, although I -confess that the vice of curiosity had a good deal to do with my -entanglement therein.</p> - -<p>After dining at the hotel I went out for my customary stroll, and -having lighted a pipe as a preventive against the evil odours which -seem inseparable from all Italian towns, I wandered on through the -deserted streets in a listless, aimless fashion, contrasting in my own -mind the magnificent Verona of the past with the dismal Verona of the -present. Taken up with these fantastic dreamings, I did not notice -particularly where I was going, or how quickly the time was passing, -until I found myself on the Ponte Aleardi--that iron bridge which -spans the Adige--and heard the church bells chiming the hour of -eleven.</p> - -<p>The moon was shining in the darkly blue sky amid the brilliant stars, -and the leaden waters of the river shone like a band of steel in -the pale, silvery light. On either side of the stream lowered dark -masses of houses, from the windows of which gleamed here and there -orange-coloured lights, while against the clear sky arose the tall -steeples of the churches and the serrated outlines of full-foliaged -trees. It was wonderfully beautiful, and the soft wind blowing through -the night, rippled the swift waters to lines of ever-vanishing white; -so leaning over the balustrade of the bridge, I dreamed and smoked, -and smoked and dreamed, until the chiming of the half-hour warned me -to return to my hotel.</p> - -<p>The night, however, was so beautiful and cool, that I could not but -think of my hot sleeping-chamber with repugnance, and feeling -disinclined for rest, I made up my mind to stroll onward for some -time. I might have visited that fraudulent tomb of Juliet in the -moonlight, but as I had already seen it by day, and could not feel -enthusiastic about such a palpable deception, I refused to be further -victimised, and crossed over the bridge to the left shore of the -river.</p> - -<p>It was somewhat solitary, there, but I was not afraid of robbers, as I -had but little money and no jewellery on me, and moreover I felt that, -should occasion arise, I could use my fists sufficiently well to -protect myself. Being thus at ease regarding my personal safety, I -lighted a cigar which luckily happened to be in my pocket, and -wandered on until I came within sight, of the cemetery.</p> - -<p>Now I firmly believe that every one has in him a vein of superstition -which is developed in accordance with his surroundings. Place a man at -midday in a bustling city, and he scoffs at the idea of the -supernatural; but let him find himself at midnight alone on a solitary -moor, with the shadows of moonlight on every side, and all his -inherent superstition will start to life, peopling the surrounding -solitude with unseen phantoms, more terrible than those of the Arabian -Nights. Whether it was the time of night, or the proximity of the -burial-ground, I do not know, but I felt my breast fill with vague -fears, and hastened to leave the uncanny spot as quickly as possible.</p> - -<p>Fate, however, was against me, for in my blind speed, instead of -crossing the bridge, I turned to the left, and unexpectedly found -myself in the vicinity of another burial-ground. It was apparently -much older than the one I had first seen, and there was a ruined wall -around it, overtopped by tall, melancholy cypresses, looming black and -funereal against the midnight sky. By this time I had recovered my -nerve, and feeling somewhat ashamed of my former ignominious flight, I -determined to punish myself by entering this antique abode of the -dead, and examining it thoroughly.</p> - -<p>With this idea I climbed over a portion of the broken wall, and in the -shadow of the cypress-trees--shadow dense as the darkness of Egypt--I -viewed the mournful scene before me, with mingled feelings of -curiosity and dread.</p> - -<p>It was evidently very old, for even under the softening light of the -moon, the near tombs looked discoloured and time-worn. I saw the soft -swell of the green turf, betokening graves, upon which grew the grass -long and rank; the milky gleam of slender white columns, broken at the -top to typify the short lives of those who slept below; and while -yonder, in frowning grey stone, stood a solemn pyramid, built in -imitation of those Egyptian monsters by the Nile, here, near at hand, -a miniature temple of white marble, delicate and fragile in -construction, hinted at the graceful architecture of Greece. Among -these myriad tombs arose the slender, lance-shaped cypress-trees, and -their dark forms alternating with gleaming crosses of white marble, -sombre pyramids, classic temples, and innumerable lines of tall -columns, gave to this singular scene the aspect of a visionary city of -the dead, which had become visible to mortal eyes by the enchantments -of the moon.</p> - -<p>Fascinated by the weirdness of this solitude, I let my cigar fall to -the ground, and, hidden in the gloom of the cypress-trees, stared long -and earnestly at this last abode of the old Veronese, when suddenly my -hair bristled at the roots, a cold sweat broke out on my forehead, and -a nervous shudder made my frame tremble as if with ague.</p> - -<p>The cause of this sudden fear was that, while wrapt in contemplation -of this desolate necropolis, I heard a laugh, a low, wicked laugh, -which seemed to come from the bowels of the earth. It was now nearly -midnight, that hour when the dead are said to come forth and wander -among the living, whose nightly sleep so strangely mocks the semblance -of that still repose which chains these spectres to their tombs during -the day. This idea pierced my brain like a knife, and for the moment, -under the influence of the hour, the ghastly scene, the evil laugh, I -believed that I was about to witness this terrible resurrection. I -tried to turn and fly, but my limbs were paralyzed, and like a statue -of stone I stood there rooted to the earth, feeling as if I were under -the influence of some horrible nightmare.</p> - -<p>Again I heard that wicked laugh, and this time it seemed to come from -a tomb near me, a square block of gray stone, in the centre of which -was an iron door, evidently the entrance to some vault. Beside this -portal stood a life-sized figure in white marble of the Angel of -Death, guarding the entrance with a flaming sword, the undulating -blade of which seemed, to my startled eye, to waver against the -blackness of the door. All round this strange tomb the grass grew long -and thick, but, half veiled by the tangled herbage, star-shaped -flowers glimmered in the moonlight.</p> - -<p>In another moment I would have fled, when for the third time I heard -the evil laugh, the iron door of the tomb slowly opened, and a dark -figure appeared on the threshold. The sight was so terrifying that I -tried to mutter a prayer, feeling at the time as firm a belief in the -visitation of the dead as any old woman; but my throat was so dry that -I could do nothing but remain silent in my hiding-place and stare at -this ghoul, vampire, wraith, or whatever it was, leaving its tomb.</p> - -<p>To add to the horror of the situation, the moon had obscured herself -behind a thick cloud, and there was now a deep darkness over all the -graveyard, a darkness in which I could see nothing, and only hear the -faint sigh of the wind, the rustle of the dry grasses, and the loud -beating of my heart.</p> - -<p>Suddenly I felt that this creature of the night was passing near me, -and in abject terror I shrank back against the rough trunk of the tree -under which I was standing. I heard nothing in the still night, I saw -nothing in the thick darkness; but I felt it pass, by that sixth sense -which is possessed by those who have highly strung nerves. In another -moment the moon emerged from behind the clouds in all her splendour, -and the burst of light gave me courage, for without considering the -danger, either material or immaterial, I rushed quickly towards the -broken wall, in which direction I judged this unseen ghoul had gone.</p> - -<p>The white moonlight flooded the whole space between the burial-ground -and the river, so that I saw clearly this figure walking quickly away -in the direction of the Ponte Aleardi. It was draped in a long black -cloak with a monkish hood, and with its trailing, noiseless garments -it seemed to glide along in the moonlight like a shadow.</p> - -<p>I had been so quick in my pursuit that it was only a little distance -away, and as I peered cautiously over the broken wall it paused for a -moment, and, throwing back its hood, looked towards the place where I -was hiding. The space between us was so small and the moonlight so -lustrous that I could see the face and head plainly rising from amid -the dark drapery.</p> - -<p>The face was that of a woman, a beautiful woman with full crimson -lips, large dark eyes, and great masses of reddish-coloured hair, for -even in the cold moonlight I could see the warm, bronze glint of her -tresses. One hand, slender and white, clasped the dark robe to her -breast, and she looked towards the darkness of the broken wall as if -she knew that some one had seen her terrible resurrection. On her -delicate features there was a cold, stern look, like that of the -ancient Medusa, and truly I felt as if I were turning into stone -before the cruel glare of those eyes which seemed to pierce the gloom -in which I lay hid. It will be said that I describe somewhat minutely -the appearance of this ghoul, seeing that I only beheld her for a -moment in the pale, uncertain gleam of the moon; but so close was she -to the wall, and so highly strung were my nerves by the weirdness of -the situation, that the sudden apparition of this creature of the -night photographed itself indelibly on my brain.</p> - -<p>At last she seemed satisfied with her gazing at the burial-ground from -whence she had emerged, and, again drawing her hood over her face, -glided rapidly away towards the Ponte Aleardi. Moved by curiosity and -supernatural fear, I determined to follow this spectre and find out -where she was going, so without a moment's hesitation I jumped down, -and, keeping in the shadow of the wall, stole after her noiselessly -and swiftly.</p> - -<p>Who was she? Some unhappy ghost of antique Verona, who had committed -one of those terrible crimes invented by Lucrezia Borgia, and who was -condemned by God to nightly revisit the scene of her former splendour -as a punishment for her evil life? Some ghoul who left the feast of -the dead in order to prey upon the living? Some vampire, lusting for -blood, hastening towards the sleeping city to select her victim and -drain him of his life-blood? All the wild, weird tales which I had -heard recurred to my memory; all the terrible legends of Brittany, of -the East, of Spain, and of the savage North. The memories of witches -rifling the dead for their unholy needs, of wizards holding orgies in -lonely churchyards, of magicians evoking the silent tenants of the -grave by powerful spells, and of demons entering the bodies of the -newly dead in order to roam the midnight world--all these gruesome -ideas surged in my brain like the delirium of fever.</p> - -<p>My fear had passed away. I felt intensely curious to know the errand -upon which this woman was bent, and, with all my faculties sharpened -by danger, I sped swiftly after this flying spectre, which, looking -neither to right nor left, glided rapidly onward towards the sleeping -city of Verona.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_02" href="#div1Ref_02">CHAPTER II.</a></h4> -<h5>A BOCCACCIAN ADVENTURE</h5> -<br> - -<p>Italian towns are very perplexing to strangers. Keep to the principal -thoroughfares built in modern days, and you may have a reasonable hope -of finding your way about; but once get enmeshed in the crooked, -narrow, winding streets of the period of the middle ages and you are -lost. The Italians, like Nature, delight in curves, and these narrow -alleys, with cobble-stone pavements and no side-walks, dignified by -the name of streets, twist in and out, and here and there, between -forbidding houses, seven or eight stories in height, under heavy -archways, which threaten to fall and crush the unwary stranger, and -down steep flights of worn steps, until you become quite bewildered by -the labyrinthian windings. Then these houses are built high in order -to exclude the burning sun from the alleys, and a cold, humid feeling -pervades the entire network of streets; so that what with the gloom, -the twistings, and the treacherous pitfalls in dark corners, one feels -like Orpheus going down to Hades in search of lost Eurydice.</p> - -<p>Having been warned of the difficulty of exploring these unknown -depths, I had mostly confined my wanderings to the broad, modern -streets and the populous piazzas; therefore as long as my spectre -guide kept to the Via Pallone, which begins at the Ponte Aleardi and -ends at the Piazza Vittoria Emanuele, I felt quite safe. When, -however, after leaving the Piazza she plunged into the narrow streets -of the medieval period, I hesitated at first to follow her. I did not -know my way, I was a stranger, and unarmed; moreover, I knew not into -what unknown dangers I might be led by this mysterious woman who had -emerged from the graveyard.</p> - -<p>Curiosity, however, prevailed over fear, and as at any moment I might -lose sight of her, and thereby never discover if she were of this or -the other world, I followed her boldly into the intense gloom into -which she had vanished. My eyes could hardly pierce the darkness, and -I feared I would not be able to keep her in sight, when luckily a -portion of her cloak became disarranged, and I saw the vivid glimmer -of a white dress, on which I kept my eyes fastened as a guiding star.</p> - -<p>Here and there in the houses lights were burning dimly, but the hour -being late, no people were in the streets; and as I followed this -noiseless phantom along the solitary alleys, with the dark houses on -either hand, and the white gleam of the moonlit sky above, I felt as -if I were moving in a dream.</p> - -<p>Onward she glided, turning down here, climbing up there, until my feet -were weary with walking; and besides, not knowing the way, I stumbled -frequently, which gave me many a bruise. The darkness, however, seemed -no obstacle to the ghoul, who walked onward as rapidly as if she were -still in the moonlight; on the contrary, it was only by the greatest -care that I could grope my way sufficiently quickly to keep her in -sight, and prevent her from discovering me by my frequent stumbles.</p> - -<p>I was about to give up the chase in despair, when suddenly she led me -out on to a small square, and hastening across it, disappeared into a -palace at the further end. I remained in the alley until she vanished, -as I feared if I followed her too closely she might perceive me in the -moonlight. The place, which occupied the whole of one side of the -square, was a richly decorated building, with a great arched portal in -the centre; but I had no time to examine it closely, for, fearful of -losing my ghoul, I ran quickly across the square, came to the portal, -and was stopped by an iron gate.</p> - -<p>It was one of those heavy iron gates common to Italian palaces, which -stretching across from wall to wall, afford a view of the inner court, -and are only open on festive occasions, or to admit vehicles. I knew -that entrance was ordinarily afforded by a side door, and without -doubt this was the way she had gone, unless indeed, being -supernatural, she found bolts and bars no hindrance. Determined to -pursue this strange adventure to the end, I sought the side door, but, -on finding it, discovered to my vexation that it was locked. I could -not enter that way, and the bars of the iron gate were so close -together, that a man of my size could not possibly squeeze through -them, so to all appearances the adventure, as far as I was concerned, -was finished.</p> - -<p>Making one last effort, however, I felt all the iron bars singly, to -see if any one was loose, in which case I could remove it and thus -slip through; when to my astonishment, on the left side of the gate -furthest from the door, I found that one of the bars had been wrenched -away. Without waiting to consider this, which was curious to say the -least of it, I concluded that the woman, if indeed she were flesh and -blood, had entered by this breach in the gate, so at once took -advantage of my discovery and soon found myself in the courtyard. The -palace appeared to be quite deserted, as the windows were all broken, -and the ironwork of the balconies which ran round the four sides of -the courtyard, at different heights, was twisted out of all shape; -besides which, the mosaic pavement upon which I stood was smashed in -several places, and grass grew between the interstices. I could see -all this plainly in the moonlight, and, moreover, as a great door at -the end of the courtyard opposite the iron gate was slightly ajar, -while all the other smaller doors were closed, I came to the -conclusion that the ghoul had gone in there. My conjecture proved -correct, for as, hiding in the shadow, I peered into the gloom of the -building, I saw the sudden flare of a torch which the woman had just -fired, and with this in her hand she began to climb up a flight of -steps--at least, so I judged from seeing the torch rise higher and -higher in the darkness until it vanished altogether.</p> - -<p>The lightning of the torch made me believe that I had to do with flesh -and blood, as certainly no phantom would use natural ways and means in -preference to supernatural; so directly the light disappeared, I stole -cautiously across what appeared to be a large hall, grasping my -walking-stick tightly in case of any surprise. I could not disguise -from myself that my curiosity had led me into a very perilous -adventure, but, as since the affair of the torch I had quite recovered -my nerve, I went resolutely forward, and, feeling my way carefully in -the dark, climbed up the staircase.</p> - -<p>At the first turning of the ascent all was still in darkness, but on -taking the second turning I saw the torch gleaming like a fierce -yellow star in the gloom of a long corridor. Luckily I had very light, -thin shoes on, and trod cautiously, otherwise the echo of my footsteps -would most surely have betrayed me to the mysterious torch-bearer. The -palace was certainly not inhabited, as I heard nothing to support such -a belief; but as I hastened along the wide corridor, through the -windows on the left side streamed the pale moonlight, and I saw that -the glass in these windows was painted to represent coats-of-arms, so -without doubt this deserted mansion had once been the residence of -some great Veronese noble.</p> - -<p>But what was the ghoul doing here? Why had she come from her vault in -the churchyard to this neglected habitation? Again the fear seized me -that this creature was a phantom of some splendid lady of the middle -ages, come to revisit the scenes or her antique magnificence. The cold -air as I passed along seemed full of the strange perfume of -sandalwood, and this sensuous odour in conjunction with the flitting -torch, the coloured shadows cast on the floor by the moonlight -streaming in through the painted windows, and the state of nervous -excitement in which I was, all made me feel like the hero of one of -those amorous adventures which are described in the glowing pages of -Boccaccio.</p> - -<p>Once more the torch disappeared round a corner to the left, but in a -moment I had it again in sight; another flight of shallow steps, -another short corridor, and at the end an arched door, through which -the phantom disappeared. At the door I paused to consider what I -should do next, as, if I rashly entered the room, I might pay for my -temerity with my life; so I stood irresolutely at the half-open door, -ready to fly at the least sign of danger.</p> - -<p>As I stood at the door in the intense gloom, for there were no windows -in this corridor, I saw a faint glimmer of light in the room within, -and this light remaining stationary for some considerable time, I -judged that the lady of the sepulchre had left the torch there and -retired into some inner chamber. Resolving, therefore, to risk the -attempt, I peered into the apartment, and saw the torch stuck in a -socket made in a small table in the centre of this small hall, which -was hung with ancient tapestry. At the end opposite the portal through -which I was looking, was an opening draped with heavy red curtains -embroidered with gold, for every now and then as they stirred I saw -the dull glitter of the tarnished metal.</p> - -<p>Determined not to be discovered, I thought it a capital plan to hide -between the tapestry and the wall, so as to secure good concealment, -and then steal along the walls until I arrived at the curtained -opening, through which I hoped to be able to see into the room beyond. -Just as I made up my mind to put this plan into practice, the torch, -which had been burning very low, flickered and went out, so that the -hall was in complete darkness. In the gloom, however, rays of bright -light shone through the embroidered curtains. I heard the murmur of -voices, and then the sharp, clear notes of a mandolin. The ghoul -evidently had some one with her, perhaps the unfortunate individual -whom she proposed to devour; so as no time was to be lost, I slipped -into the apartment, enconced myself between the tapestry and the wall -on the left of the door, and prepared to creep along, if possible, to -the curtained archway. While I paused a moment to regain breath and -courage, for certainly the situation was not without an element of -danger, the metallic notes of the mandolin ceased and a man's voice -began singing some Italian song, but one with which, in spite of my -knowledge of music, I was not acquainted. It was a slow and sensuous -melody of passionate sweetness with an undercurrent of sadness, and -the singer had a remarkably fine tenor voice, sounding full and rich -even through the heavy curtains, which prevented me hearing the words -clearly. Evidently this was an amorous rendezvous, but why was it -taking place in this deserted palace, and why had the lady come from a -vault in a graveyard to keep it?</p> - -<p>All at once the singer stopped abruptly in the middle of a phrase, I -heard the mandolin suddenly smashing on the marble floor, and then -sounded the low, wicked laugh I had first heard at the burial-ground. -Filled with anxiety to learn the meaning of all these strange events, -I glided rapidly along the wall, and speedily arrived at the curtained -opening. Being afraid to pull it to one side lest I should be -discovered, I took out my penknife and made a slit in the heavy -embroidery; then, looking through the opening thus obtained, I beheld -a most extraordinary spectacle.</p> - -<p>A circular chamber, not very large, but very lofty, surrounded by -eight half-pillars of veined white marble built into the wall, and -supporting a domed ceiling richly painted with garlands of flowers, -from amid which peered the smiling faces of beautiful women. Between -these noble pillars hung voluminous draperies of darkly red velvet, -all magnificently embroidered with fantastic designs in tarnished gold -thread, but, curiously enough, the apartment had no windows, neither -in the ceiling nor at the sides, so whatever took place within could -not be seen save through the curtained archway.</p> - -<p>In the centre of the white marble floor stood a low, heavy table, -richly gilt, and covered with the remains of a splendid feast. The -gorgeousness of the vessels thereon was truly marvellous, consisting, -as they did, of elaborately chased silver epergnes filled with -brilliantly-coloured fruits; many-branched candelabra of gold, bearing -slender wax tapers to illuminate the apartment; gracefully carved -jugs, of wonderful designs which must have emanated from the brains of -Cellini himself; and strangely shaped antique goblets which put me in -mind of the sacramental cups used in Italian churches at the -celebration of the mass. The voluptuous scent of sandalwood pervaded -the heavy atmosphere of the chamber; gold and silver and crystal shone -in the mellow light of the myriad tapers, and the whole appearance of -this sensuous banquet was like those of former ages presided over by -Can Grande or splendour-loving Cæsar Borgia. I thought I was in -dreamland, the more so when I saw the bizarre costumes worn by the two -occupants of the room.</p> - -<p>One was the lady I had followed from the graveyard, who, having thrown -off her heavy cloak, now appeared in a white silk dress of antique -cut, richly embroidered with gold. Round her slender neck she wore an -old-fashioned necklace of superb rubies, set in silver, which flashed -forth crimson flame with every heave of her snowy bosom, while strings -of soft-shining pearls were twisted in her magnificent red hair; an -Eastern girdle of gold fretwork encircled her waist, and broad gold -bracelets radiant with gems clasped her milk-white arms. The profusion -of jewels she wore scintillated, with her every motion, throwing out -sparks of many-coloured fire, and she looked like one of those proud -dames of Venice who smile so haughtily in the pictures of Titian. But -her face! Oh, heavens! what a beautiful, cruel, relentless face!--the -tigerish look in the splendid eyes, the wicked laugh of the full red -lips! Was she truly a woman, or some fiend sent upon earth to lure men -to hell by the fascination of her evil beauty?</p> - -<p>If the woman was curiously dressed for modern days, her companion, a -handsome young man of seven-and-twenty was still more so, as he wore a -doublet of pale-blue velvet slashed with white satin and diapered with -gold embroidery; a small ruff round his neck; high riding-boots of -black leather, reaching to the thigh, with gilt spurs; and a short -mantle of azure silk, which drooped gracefully from his shoulders. He -had no rapier, but at his girdle hung a small poniard, the handle of -which was thickly encrusted with gems, and on the velvet-covered chair -beside him lay a large cloak and a small mask of black velvet. I -rubbed my eyes and pinched myself to see if I were really awake, for -the whole fantastic scene looked like one of those which had doubtless -taken place at Verona in the opulent days of her splendour.</p> - -<p>"I am mad, asleep, or intoxicated," I thought, as I looked at this -Boccaccian feast, at these Boccaccian lovers. "What does it mean? This -must be the phantom of Lucrezia Borgia, who has risen from the tomb to -meet one of her dead lovers and renew for a time the joys of the past. -Oh! I am mad or asleep. I will wake up and find this is all a -dream--some fantasy of the brain created by the delirium of fever!"</p> - -<p>Between the lovers lay the broken mandolin, and the woman, pointing to -this, talked volubly while the young man stood listening with a -scornful smile on his lips. Not being a very good Italian scholar, I -could not follow all this rapid talk without great difficulty, but -from what I could gather it seemed to me that the phantom of Lucrezia -Borgia was accusing her lover of infidelity. At length, when she -seemed exhausted, he caught up his mantle and mask as if about to go, -but she fell prostrate before him, and seemed to implore him to stay. -He shook his head, and then springing to her feet in anger, she -snatched the poniard from his belt and tried to strike him. The young -man warded off the thrust with his left arm, round which was wrapped -his heavy black cloak, whereupon she let the dagger fall and began to -beseech him again. I could not understand the meaning of this terrible -dumb-show any more than I could the curious dresses, the antique -chamber or the deserted palace. It was the phantasmagoria of a dream -seen by the soft light of the tapers, and my brain being quite upset -by the strange events of the night, I entirely forgot the nineteenth -century, and seemed to live, to breathe, to tremble, on the threshold -of one of those fatal chambers wherein the Medici, the Scaligers and -the Borgias feasted, loved, betrayed, and slew their friends, their -lovers, and their enemies.</p> - -<p>The woman, evidently seeing it was useless, stopped beseeching the -young man, upon which he picked up his dagger, and throwing the fold -of his cloak over his right shoulder, advanced towards the door -without saying good-bye to the lady. I withdrew quickly, fearful of -discovery, when, just as his hand was on the curtains, her voice -sounded once more slow and deliberate, so that I was able to -understand what she said:--</p> - -<p>"So you leave me for ever?"</p> - -<p>"Yes!" he replied with the same deliberation, "for ever."</p> - -<p>"Then before you go, let me drink to your future happiness."</p> - -<p>"With pleasure, madame."</p> - -<p>He appeared to hesitate at first, but after saying these words I heard -him move away from the curtain, upon which I looked again and saw him -standing by the chair, while the woman, with her face turned away, was -filling a goblet with wine. Her back was towards him, so that he could -not see what she was doing, but I could perceive her least action. She -filled two goblets with wine, then taking something from her breast, -dropped it into one of them, and, turning round with a smile, -presented the cup to him. It flashed across me that she was trying to -poison her lover, and I would have called out to warn him, but the -extreme peril of my position, the terrible appearance of this woman, -and the uselessness of interference kept me silent during this supreme -moment.</p> - -<p>The young man took the cup she gave him, and drained it with a bow, -while she simply touched her lips with the other goblet, and smiled -again.</p> - -<p>"To your future happiness," she said in a significant voice, and set -the goblet down on the table.</p> - -<p>They talked together after this reconciliation for some time and -seemed better friends than before, but I saw that the woman kept -furtively glancing at his face with a wicked smile on her lips. At -length he handed her the mask, which evidently did not belong to him, -and, after kissing her hand, was about to turn in the direction of the -archway, when suddenly he grew pale, put his hand to his head quickly, -and grasped the chair near which he stood to keep himself from -falling.</p> - -<p>"Why, what is this?" he cried in a hoarse, strained voice. "Gran Dio! -what does it mean?"</p> - -<p>She bent forward with a wicked laugh, and the rubies flashed forth -venomous red flame in the soft light.</p> - -<p>"It means that you have betrayed me and I have revenged myself!"</p> - -<p>He looked at her with a dazed expression, made a step forward as if to -kill this terrible woman, who, dangling the mask in her hand, stood -mocking at his agony with a cruel smile, then suddenly flung up his -hands with a wild cry of despair and fell at her feet--dead.</p> - -<p>"Fool!" she said, without displaying the least sign of emotion. -"Fool!"</p> - -<p>I wished to rush forward and denounce the demon in woman's shape who -had so vilely perpetrated this cold-blooded murder, but, overcome with -horror, I reeled away from the curtain and fell--fell into the arms of -some one who held me with a powerful grip. I gasped with alarm and was -about to call out, when I felt a handkerchief dashed suddenly over my -face wet with some liquid. In spite of my struggles it was held firmly -there, and I gradually felt my senses leave me until I knew no more.</p> -<br> - -<p class="center" style="letter-spacing:1em">* * * * * *</p> - -<br> -<p>When I came to myself it was early morning, and I was seated on a -stone bench in the Piazza Vittoria Emanuele, surrounded by a group of -curious onlookers.</p> - -<p>"Where am I?" I asked in English.</p> - -<p>No one answered, and I repeated the question in Italian, upon which a -fat woman spoke up,--</p> - -<p>"Signor, you are in the Piazza Vittoria!" she said in a husky voice; -"we found you here when we came first."</p> - -<p>"But the palace, the woman, the poison!" I said stupidly, for my head -was aching terribly.</p> - -<p>The peasants looked at one another with a meaning smile and shook -their heads. I saw that they thought I had been drinking, so, giving a -piece of money to the fat woman who had spoken, I took my way at once -to my hotel, which I reached in a state of bewilderment better -imagined than described.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_03" href="#div1Ref_03">CHAPTER III.</a></h4> -<h5>THE FEAST OF GHOSTS</h5> -<br> - -<p>Was it a dream? Common-sense said "Yes." My bruises said "No!" But -certainly the whole affair was most remarkable, and quite out of the -ordinary kind of events which take place in this prosaic nineteenth -century. We have done with those romantic episodes in which the heroes -and heroines of Boccaccio, Le Sage and M. Dumas père take part, and in -the searching light of the Press lantern, which is nowadays turned on -all things and on all men, it is impossible to encounter those strange -events of the middle ages. Judging from my experiences of the previous -night I had been entangled in a terrible intrigue, which might have -taken place under Henri Trois or Lorenzo di Medici, yet, as the past -can never become the present, the whole affair was a manifest -anachronism. I was inclined to think that I had been the sport of some -Italian Puck, but as there are no fairies nowadays, such an idea was -absurd, so the only feasible explanation of the bizarre occurrence was -that I had been dreaming.</p> - -<p>I had certainly gone to the old burial-ground and had seen the phantom -of Lucrezia Borgia emerge from an old Veronese tomb, and as certainly -I had followed her to the Piazza Vittoria Emanuele, but here, without -doubt, reality ended and fiction began. Evidently I had sat down upon -the stone bench where I was discovered by the peasants, and had there -fallen asleep to undergo this extravagant adventure in a vision of the -night. In sleep I had dreamed a dream after the fashion of the -Athenian lovers in Shakespeare's comedy, and the antique chamber, the -quaint costumes, and the phantom characters had been idle visions of -the brain, which had played their several parts in this mediæval -phantasmagoria.</p> - -<p>To put entirely to one side the impossibility of living people -dressing themselves in rococo costumes in order to play a fantastic -comedy-tragedy in a deserted place, if I had really seen all I -imagined, how did I find myself in the Piazza Vittoria Emanuele at -daybreak? The visionary pursuit of the lady of the sepulchre had been -a long one, and I certainly could not have walked back such a distance -to the Piazza without knowing something about it. But memory ceased at -my fainting at the door of the fatal chamber, and revived on my -finding myself on the stone bench in the Piazza; therefore, granting -that the whole adventure had actually occurred, how had I been taken -from the deserted palace to the Piazza?</p> - -<p>Idling over my midday meal at the Hotel d'Este, I thought of the -extraordinary series of events in which I had taken part, and kept -puzzling my brain as to whether they had really occurred or whether I -had been the victim of a grotesque nightmare. I had received a letter -from the Maestro Angello, saying he could not give me my usual lesson, -therefore I determined to devote the whole day, which was thus at my -disposal, to finding out the truth or falsehood of this mysterious -adventure.</p> - -<p>My bruises were very painful, but I doctored myself as I best could, -so that without much difficulty I was able to walk. Doubtless I had -received these bruises whilst pursuing the unknown from the graveyard -to the Piazza Vittoria Emanuele, and thus far I was certain of the -actuality of my adventure. With this idea in my head, I made up my -mind to go to the old graveyard and discover, if possible, who was -buried in the tomb from which the ghoul had emerged. By finding out -the name I might possibly ascertain that of the lady, as there must -certainly have been some connection between her and the person buried -in the mysterious vault. No sooner had I thus sketched out my plan of -action than I put it at once into execution, and as I found some -difficulty in walking, I sent for Peppino's fiacre in order to drive -to the cemetery.</p> - -<p>Peppino was a merry little Florentine, whose services I employed for -two reasons, one being that he spoke excellent Italian, so that I -understood him easier than I did the general run of these Northern -Italians, who usually gabble a vile patois which no Englishman can -understand without constant practice, and my acquaintance with the -modern Latin tongue was not sufficient to warrant my indulging in -liberties with it; the other reason was that Peppino, having lived a -long time in Verona, knew the town thoroughly, and would be able to -tell me better than any one if such a deserted palace as I had dreamed -of really existed; besides which, he was also a very amusing -companion.</p> - -<p>The fiacre duly arrived, and on going outside I found Peppino grinning -like a small black monkey as he held the door open for me to enter.</p> - -<p>"Dio!" said Peppino in a commiserating tone, seeing how I leaned on my -stick, "is the Signor not well?"</p> - -<p>"Oh, yes! quite well, Peppino, only I fell yesterday and hurt myself, -so you see I have to get you to drive me to-day."</p> - -<p>"Bene!" replied Peppino philosophically, mounting the box, "the ill of -one is the good of another. To where, Signore?"</p> - -<p>"To the cemetery near the Porto Vittoria."</p> - -<p>"The new or the old one, Signore?"</p> - -<p>"The old cemetery!"</p> - -<p>Peppino cast a queer look at me over his shoulder, and, muttering -something about the "mad English," drove away towards the Via Pallone. -As he was on the box-seat, and the fiacre made a good deal of noise -going over the rugged stone pavement, in addition to the incessant -jingling of the bells, I could not question him as I desired to do, -so, making up my mind to wait until I arrived at the graveyard, I -leaned back in the carriage and gave myself up to my own thoughts.</p> - -<p>Then a curious thing occurred which made me certain that the events of -the previous night had actually taken place, for without the least -effort of memory on my part the strange melody sung by the young man -in the palace came into my head. I could not possibly have dreamed -that, and I could not possibly have composed the air, so I concluded -that I had really heard the song, and, having an excellent musical -ear, it had impressed itself on my memory. Of course I did not -recollect the words, but only the tune, and thinking it might prove -useful as a link in the chain of circumstances, I hummed it over twice -or thrice so as to keep it in my mind.</p> - -<p>I therefore concluded from this piece of evidence that I had actually -been to the deserted palace and witnessed that strange feast, but if -so, how had I found myself at dawn in the Piazza Vittoria Emanuele? It -was no use puzzling my brains any more over this mysterious affair, so -the wisest plan would be to wait until I found out the name on the -tomb, and then perhaps Peppino would be able to tell me about the -palace, in which case, with these two facts to go on, I might hope to -discover the meaning of these extraordinary events.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile the fiacre had left the Via Pallone, crossed over the -Ponte Aleardi, and was now being driven rapidly along the left bank of -the Adige, past the Campo Marzo. We speedily arrived at the old -burial-ground, and Peppino, stopping his horse near the gate, assisted -me to alight from the carriage.</p> - -<p>"Peppino," I said, when this was done, "tie your horse up somewhere -and come with me into the cemetery."</p> - -<p>"Diamine!" replied Peppino, crossing himself with superstitious -reverence. "I like not these fields of the dead."</p> - -<p>"It's broad daylight, you coward; besides, I wish you to tell me about -the tombs."</p> - -<p>"But why does not the Signor go to the beautiful new cemetery?" said -Peppino, leading his horse to the wall and fastening him to a heavy -stone; "the statues there are beautiful. This is old, very old; no one -is buried here now."</p> - -<p>"When was the last person buried, Peppino?"</p> - -<p>"Dio! I don't know--eh, oh, yes, Signore, last year an illustrious was -buried in his own vault; but he was mad. Ecco!"</p> - -<p>"Why did he have a vault built in such an old cemetery?"</p> - -<p>"Oh, the vault was old--as old as the Trezza. All the signori of his -family had been buried there for many days."</p> - -<p>"Since the Republic?"</p> - -<p>"Dio! yes, and before."</p> - -<p>"What is the name of this family?"</p> - -<p>"I don't know, Signore, I forget!"</p> - -<p>"Well, come along, Peppino. As you know so much about one tomb, you -will probably know something about another."</p> - -<p>"Command me, Illustrious."</p> - -<p>I did not enter the burial-ground by the gate, as I wanted to go the -same way as on the previous night, in order to be certain of finding -the tomb I was in search of, so, with some little difficulty, and the -help of Peppino, I managed to climb over the broken wall, and soon -found myself in my old hiding-place. Peppino looked at me with -considerable curiosity, as he could not conceive my object in coming -to this dreary locality; but ultimately, shrugging his shoulders, he -put it down to a freak on the part of a mad Englishman, and waited for -me to speak.</p> - -<p>The tomb looked scarcely less forbidding and gloomy in the daytime -than it did at night, with its massive-looking architecture, and the -stern-faced angel guarding the iron door. Advancing through the long -grass which grew all round it, I looked every where for a name, but -could find none, then tried to open the iron door, to the great dismay -of Peppino.</p> - -<p>"Signore," he said in a faltering voice, "do not let out the ghosts."</p> - -<p>"There are no ghosts here, Peppino. They have all departed," I -replied, finding the door locked.</p> - -<p>"Dio! I'm not so sure of that, Illustrious. Many dead are in there."</p> - -<p>"Oh, they've been dead so long that their ghosts must have grown weary -of this gloomy sepulchre."</p> - -<p>"Yes, Signore, but the ghost of the mad Count buried last year!"</p> - -<p>"Oh!" I cried with lively curiosity, "is this the vault where he was -buried?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, Illustrious!"</p> - -<p>"And the name, Peppino? What was his name?"</p> - -<p>The little Italian looked perplexed, as he could not understand the -interest I took in this sepulchre; still, seeing I was in earnest, he -tried to think of the name, but evidently could not recall it.</p> - -<p>"Cospetto! Signore, I have the memory of Beppo, who forgot the mother -who bore him; but the name will be here, Illustrious, for certain."</p> - -<p>"See if you can find it, Peppino," I replied, sitting down on a stone -near the iron door. "I am anxious to know to whom this tomb belongs."</p> - -<p>Peppino, being more conversant with Italian tombs than myself, went to -look for the name, and in a wonderfully short space of time came back -with a satisfied smile on his face.</p> - -<p>"Signore, the tomb is that of the Morone."</p> - -<p>"The Morone?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, Signore, they were a great family of Verona, as great as the -cursed Medici of my beautiful Florence."</p> - -<p>"And this Count, who died last year, was their descendant?"</p> - -<p>"Dio! Illustrious, he was the last of them. No father, no brother, no -child. He was the last. Basta, basta!"</p> - -<p>"Had he a wife?" I asked, thinking of the woman who had emerged from -this tomb.</p> - -<p>"Yes, Signore, a beautiful wife, but when he died she left Verona for -Rome I heard. She is not now here."</p> - -<p>Well, I had found out the name of the family buried in the tomb, and -that the wife was the sole representative of the race, so I naturally -thought she was the only person who would have been able to enter the -tomb; although why she did so, unless it was to pray beside the corpse -of her late husband, I could not understand. Besides, Peppino, who was -one of the greatest gossips in the town, said she had left Verona, so -perhaps the midnight visitor was not the Contessa Morone at all.</p> - -<p>"Were the Count and Countess an attached couple, Peppino?"</p> - -<p>The Italian shrugged his shoulders.</p> - -<p>"Dio! I know not indeed," he replied carelessly; "the Signor Conte was -certainly mad. I saw him at times, and he had the evil eye. Diamine! -often have I made horns for that eye, Illustrious."</p> - -<p>"And the Countess, Peppino? Have you ever seen the Countess?"</p> - -<p>"No, Signore! The Conte let her not out. Ah! he was jealous, that -madman. He was old and the Signora was young. Per Bacco! the husband -was afraid of the handsome officers. Ecco!"</p> - -<p>A mad and jealous husband, old, too, into the bargain. With such a -trinity of imperfections a young and beautiful woman could hardly be -much in love with him, and, a year after his death, would certainly -not have taken the trouble to pray at his tomb. No! the unknown lady -could not possibly have been the Contessa. Who, then was this -mysterious visitant? I had now quite got over my fancy that she was a -spectre, and felt profoundly curious to find out who she was, and why -she had come to this ancient burial-place at midnight.</p> - -<p>"Is there a Palazzo Morone, Peppino?"</p> - -<p>Peppino changed colour.</p> - -<p>"What do you know of the Palazzo Morone, Signore?"</p> - -<p>"Oh, there is one then!"</p> - -<p>"Yes, Illustrious! It is haunted!"</p> - -<p>"Haunted! Nonsense!"</p> - -<p>"Dio! Signore, I speak the truth. No one has lived there for the last -two hundred years. It is shut up for the rats and the owls and the -spectres of the tomb."</p> - -<p>"What tomb--this one?"</p> - -<p>"Ah, Signore, do not jest, I pray you, or the illustrious Signori -Morone will hear us."</p> - -<p>Peppino looked so serious that I forebore to smile at this absurdity, -lest I should offend his pride and thus lose the story.</p> - -<p>"Well, Peppino, tell me all about this haunted palace."</p> - -<p>"Not here, Signore, I am afraid!"</p> - -<p>"Then help me back to the carriage."</p> - -<p>He obeyed with great alacrity, and, when I was once more in the -fiacre, prepared to loosen his horse.</p> - -<p>"No, no! Peppino," I said, smiling; "the ghosts can't hear us here, so -tell me the story of the Morone."</p> - -<p>Peppino cast a doubtful glance in the direction of the burial-ground, -and then, seating himself on the step of the carriage, began his -story. His Italian, as I have said before, was very good, so, making -him speak slowly, I was easily able to understand the strange legend -he related.</p> - -<p>"Signore," he began, with a solemn look on his usually merry face, -"the Morone were very famous in Verona four hundred years ago. Dio! -they fought with the Scaligers, and afterwards with the Visconti. They -were Podestas of the city before the Della Scala, and several of them -were great Cardinals. One would have been his Holiness himself, but -the Borgia asked him to supper and he died of their poison. About two -hundred years ago Mastino Morone wedded the Donna Renata della Moneta, -who was said to have been descended on the wrong side from Donna -Lucrezia herself."</p> - -<p>"You mean that this Renata was an illegitimate descendant of Lucrezia -Borgia?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, Signore. Ah! she was a devil of a woman, that Madonna Lucrezia. -Ebbene! Signore. This Donna Renata wedded with Count Mastino Morone, -and a pleasant life she led him, for she loved all other men but him. -Cospetto! he would have strangled her, but he was afraid of her many -lovers. There was a room in the Palazzo Morone, without any windows, -where Donna Renata supped with those she favoured."</p> - -<p>"And the room is there still?" I said, thinking of that mysterious -chamber.</p> - -<p>"Of a surety, Signore! It is haunted by the ghost of the Marchese -Tisio!"</p> - -<p>"Who was he?"</p> - -<p>"Signore, he was the last lover of Donna Renata, whom she killed with -the Borgia poison because he was faithless. Eh! it is true, -Illustrious. She found out by her spies that the Marchese loved -another, so she asked him to a last feast in her room, and when he was -going she gave him a cup of wine. Dio! he drank it, the poor young -man, and died. Ecco!"</p> - -<p>"And why was he her last lover? Did she repent?"</p> - -<p>"No, Signore! The Count Mastino was watching at the door, and when she -had killed the Marchese he went in to see her."</p> - -<p>"And killed her, I suppose?"</p> - -<p>"Per Bacco! Signore, no one knows. She never came out of that room -again. The friends of the poor Tisio found his body, but they never -found Donna Renata."</p> - -<p>"Then what became of her?"</p> - -<p>"Cospetto! No one ever found out. Mastino married again and said -nothing, but after that last feast his first wife was never seen -again. Diamine! it is strange."</p> - -<p>"It's a curious story, Peppino, but it does not explain how the palace -is haunted."</p> - -<p>"Listen, Illustrious! I will tell," said Peppino in a subdued whisper. -"The spirits of the Donna Renata, of the Conte Mastino, and of the -Marchese Tisio, haunt the palace, and in the Month of May, when the -crime was committed, the lovers hold a feast in that secret room while -the husband watches at the door. Then the Donna Renata poisons the -Marchese, the husband enters, and cries of pain and terror are heard. -Then the lights go out and all is still."</p> - -<p>It was certainly very curious, for Peppino was describing the very -same I had beheld--the terrible Renata, the unhappy lover, and the -poisoned cup, but the Count----</p> - -<p>"Tell me, Peppino, has any one ever beheld this feast of ghosts?"</p> - -<p>"Dio! Signore, the people who lived in the palace were so afraid of -the ghosts, that they left altogether, and no one has lived there for -two hundred years."</p> - -<p>"Yes, yes! but this spectral banquet seems all imagination--no one has -seen it?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, Signore. A holy Frate, who did not fear the devil, went one -night in May and saw the feast through the door, but just as the -poisoned cup was given, the ghost of the Conte dragged him away and -tried to kill him."</p> - -<p>"Oh! and did the ghost succeed?"</p> - -<p>"No, Illustrious! The Frate made the sign of the cross and called on -the Madonna, on which the ghosts all vanished with loud cries, and the -Frate fainted. Next morning he found himself----"</p> - -<p>"In the Piazza Vittorio Emanuele?"</p> - -<p>"No, Signore; lying on the floor of the palace."</p> - -<p>I was somewhat disappointed at this different ending to the narrative -of Peppino, but it was very extraordinary that my adventure and that -of the Frate should be so similar. It was broad day, I had overcome my -superstitious fancies, yet the whole affair was so strange that I -could not help feeling a qualm of fear, which I tried to laugh off, a -proceeding which mightily offended Peppino.</p> - -<p>"Signore, it is the truth I tell."</p> - -<p>"Suppose I prove it, Peppino. This is the month of May, and no doubt -the feast takes place every night. You will show me the palace, and I -will watch at the door of the secret room."</p> - -<p>"Dio! do not think of it, Illustrious," cried Peppino in alarm; "the -Frate himself, a holy priest, was nearly killed, and you, Signore, you -are a heretic."</p> - -<p>"And, therefore, liable to be carried off by his Satanic Majesty. You -are complimentary, Peppino. Nevertheless, to-morrow you must show me -the palace."</p> - -<p>"The Illustrious must excuse me."</p> - -<p>"And watch with me for this feast of ghosts."</p> - -<p>"Dio? the Signore jests!"</p> - -<p>"No, indeed, Peppino! I am in sober earnest. We will go to the Palazzo -Morone to-morrow; and now drive back to my hotel, as I feel very -tired. Your story has been very entertaining, nevertheless."</p> - -<p>"Ah! the Signor does not believe me?" said Peppino, getting on the box -again.</p> - -<p>"Yes, I do, Peppino; but I believe your ghostly party can be explained -away."</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_04" href="#div1Ref_04">CHAPTER IV.</a></h4> -<h5>THE ANGELLO HOUSEHOLD</h5> -<br> - -<p>The bruises I had received during my nocturnal adventure turned out to -be worse than I expected, especially one on the left knee-cap, which -quite incapacitated me from walking; therefore I was forced to remain -in the house all day. This was somewhat annoying, as I was anxious to -find out the Palazzo Morone, and see the chamber of Donna Renata -during daylight. I thought also that as the palace bore such an evil -reputation, my lady of the sepulchre would think herself safe in -leaving the dead body of the young man lying in the room, and if I -discovered the corpse I intended to give notice to the authorities of -the crime I had seen committed.</p> - -<p>Unluckily, however, I had to remain in bed most of the day, and when -Peppino came in to say that his fiacre was at the door I was obliged -to send him away, much to his gratification, as he was by no means -anxious to guide me to the haunted palace. The curious resemblance -between my own experience and the legend related by Peppino had rather -startled me; but, being certain that I had to deal with the natural, -and not the supernatural, I was firmly resolved to unravel this -mystery before leaving Verona. To do this every moment was of value, -and I bitterly regretted that my stiff knee kept me confined to the -house. Everything, however, is for the best, and before I saw the -Palazzo Morone, fresh light was thrown upon the events of the night in -a most unexpected manner.</p> - -<p>After my one day of enforced idleness I was fully determined to seek -the conclusion of my adventure the next, when on the following morning -I received a note from Maestro Angello, asking me to be sure and come -to my lesson. As the Maestro was always annoyed at the non-appearance -of a pupil, I judged it wise to go, and arranged with Peppino to -search for the Palazzo Morone in the afternoon. The lesson would only -last an hour, and I would thus have plenty of time to carry out my -intention, as Peppino, knowing the palazzo, would be able to take me -there direct.</p> - -<p>I felt much better this second day after my adventure, as the pain had -quite left my knee, so having thus arranged my plans for the -afternoon, I started in a very contented frame of mind for the Casa -Angello.</p> - -<p>It was a dreary day, for there are dreary days even in Italy, and at -intervals there fell heavy showers, which made me feel somewhat -depressed. Pedestrians were hurrying along with large umbrellas of the -Gamp species, red being the prevailing colour; and what with the -sloppy streets, the gloomy houses, and the absence of the chattering -Italian populace, the whole place looked infinitely melancholy, so in -order to keep up my spirits I hummed the weird air I had heard in the -Palazzo Morone.</p> - -<p>Maestro Angello lived in a narrow street more like a drain than -anything else, and I entered into a damp courtyard through a dismal -little tunnel barred by an iron gate. The portinaia, who lived in a -glass-fronted room as if she were a unique specimen of the human race -preserved in a case, nodded her head to intimate that the Maestro was -at home, so I climbed up the evil-smelling stone stairs which went up -the side of the courtyard, and soon arrived at Angello's door. Ringing -a little bell which tinkled in a most irritating manner, I was -admitted into the dingy ante-chamber by Petronella, a short, fat, -good-natured woman who managed the whole household, and made a great -deal of noise over doing so. She was dressed in an untidy print gown, -with a bright red shawl over her shoulders, and wore wooden clogs -which clattered noisily on the terra-cotta floor. Her plenteous hair -was roughly twisted into a knot and stuck through with large brass -pins, which gave her a spiky appearance about the head. This curious -apparition saluted me with a jolly smile in a gruff voice, with the -usual familiarity of Italian servants,--</p> - -<p>"Sta bene! Signore. Ah, the Maestro! povero Maestro!"</p> - -<p>"What's the matter with him, Petronella?"</p> - -<p>"Eh! Signore, he cannot live much longer."</p> - -<p>As Angello was considerably over eighty years of age I thought this -highly probable, but was about to condole with Petronella over his -illness, when she saved me the trouble of a reply by bursting out into -a long speech delivered with much dramatic effect:--</p> - -<p>"It is nothing but trouble, Signore. Such a fine young man, and the -piccola loved him so! It will surely place the Maestro among the -saints. Four masses for his soul, Signore; and those priests are such -thieves. I said 'No lesson,' but the Maestro is a mule for having his -own way. Let him teach, say I; it will divert his mind! There, -Signore, go in with you! But I always thought it would come; four -times I heard the cock crowing, a bad sign, as Saint Peter knew. -There, there! the Madonna aid us!"</p> - -<p>Not understanding in the least what Petronella was talking about, I -allowed myself to be pushed mechanically into the inner room in a -state of bewilderment. The Maestro, seated in his usual chair, was -waiting for me, and his granddaughter, Bianca, who assisted him in his -lessons, was looking out of the window at the falling rain. An -atmosphere of sadness seemed to pervade the dull, grey room, and as -Bianca advanced to meet me I saw that her eyes were red with crying, -while old Angello stared at her in a listless, indifferent manner, -being so old as to be past all sympathetic feelings.</p> - -<p>He was a mere mummy, this old man who had been celebrated as a teacher -of singing in the days of Pasta and Malibran; a faint shadow of his -former self, only kept alive by the mechanical exercise of his art. -Yet, in spite of his great age, his ear was wonderfully keen and true; -the sense of hearing, from continuous cultivation, being the only one -which had survived the wreck of his faculties, and with the assistance -of Bianca, he was still enabled to teach his wonderful system in an -intelligible manner. Many of his pupils had been European, celebrities -on the operatic stage during the past fifty years, and his rooms in -Milan were crowded with souvenirs of famous artists of undying fame. -His children, and, with the exception of Bianca, his grandchildren, -were all dead; his friends and acquaintances and the generation that -knew him had all passed away; but this Nestor of lyrical art still -survived, alone and sad, amid the ruins of his past. White-haired, -wrinkled, blear-eyed, silent, he sat daily in his great armchair, -taking but little notice of the life around him, save to ask childish -questions or talk about some dead-and-gone singer whose fame had once -filled the world; but place a baton in his hand, strike the piano, -lift the voice, and this apparent corpse awoke to life. He beat time, -he corrected the least false note, he explained the necessary -instructions in a faltering voice, and, during the lesson, bore at -least some semblance of life; but when all was finished, the baton -fell from his withered hand as he relapsed into his former apathy. One -would have thought that he would have been glad to rest in his old -age, but such was his love for his art that he insisted upon teaching -still, and it was this alone which kept him alive. His granddaughter, -Bianca, trained in the family traditions, was enabled to interpret his -words, and, as his system of singing was unique, in spite of his -apparent uselessness, he had many pupils.</p> - -<p>Bianca herself was a charming Italian girl of twenty, more like a -graceful white lily in appearance than anything else, so fragile, so -delicate, so pallid did she seem. Her mournful eyes, dark and soft as -those of a gazelle, seemed too large for her pale, oval face; and her -figure, small and slender, always put me in mind of that of a fairy. -Indeed, in sport, I sometimes called her the Fairy of Midnight, after -some poet-fancy that haunted my brain, for all her strength seemed to -have gone into those glorious masses of raven-black hair, coiled so -smoothly round her small head. This portraiture seems to give the idea -that Bianca was a melancholy young person, yet such was not the case, -for I have seen her as gay as a bird on bright days, or when she -received a letter from her lover.</p> - -<p>Yes! she had a lover to whom she was engaged to be married, but, -curiously enough, I knew nothing about this lover, not being intimate -enough with Bianca to be the confidant of her tender little secret. -This unknown lover was always away in other parts of Italy, and when -he did visit Bianca it was during my absence, so I used to joke with -the Signorina about this visionary being. But she, with one delicate -finger on her lip and an arch smile of glee, would tell me that -he--she never mentioned his name--that he had an actual existence, and -some day I would see him in person at Verona. Well, here was Verona, -here was Bianca, but the lover had not appeared, so I would have -jestingly asked this Fairy of Midnight the reasons of his absence, had -not the real grief expressed on her face deterred me.</p> - -<p>"Signorina, are you in trouble?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, yes! Signore, great trouble; but you cannot help me. No one can -help me."</p> - -<p>"But perhaps I----"</p> - -<p>"No, Signore, it is useless. Come, you must have the lesson at once. -The Maestro is dull to-day, he needs amusement; so come, the lesson."</p> - -<p>"It is very cruel of you to make a joke of my lesson, Signorina."</p> - -<p>Bianca made no reply to my jesting remark, but heaving a little sigh, -placed the ivory baton in the hand of the Maestro and sat down at the -piano. The mummy, finding his services required, woke up and had a -little conversation with me before beginning the lesson.</p> - -<p>"Eh! Signor Inglése," he croaked--this being his name for me--"London -is dark!"</p> - -<p>He had a fearful prejudice against London, which he had once visited -at a foggy season, and always made the above remark to his English -pupils, which no one ever thought of contradicting.</p> - -<p>"Yes, yes!" he said, nodding his old head like a Chinese mandarin; -"London is always dark."</p> - -<p>"Yes, Maestro."</p> - -<p>"You've not been working?"</p> - -<p>"Indeed I have, Maestro."</p> - -<p>"Come then, Signor Inglése, we will see," and the lesson commenced.</p> - -<p>Oh, those lessons! what agonies I suffered during them, trying to -attain the impossible! To how many fits of despair have I given -way in failing time after time to manage my breathing! It was all -breathing--a deep drawing in, a slow letting out--the exercise of -internal muscles of which I had never heard even the name--the -weariness of incessantly practising notes in a still, small voice -hardly audible,--it was enough to discourage the most persevering. -Some of the female pupils, I believe, cried with vexation when not -able to do what was required by the severe Maestro, who denied the -existence of the word "impossible" in connection with singing; but I, -not being a woman, was reduced to swearing, which certainly relieved -my feelings after a battle with a particularly aggravating exercise.</p> - -<p>Even now, when I am successful in my art, I often turn cold as I think -of those apparently insurmountable obstacles which I had to overcome; -but with these painful memories there is mixed at the same time a -kindly thought of that noble old Maestro, so patient, so courteous, so -painstaking, whose devotion to his art was so great, who was so severe -on the least fault and so encouraging of the least success in -conquering a difficulty.</p> - -<p>Well, the lesson went on slowly with frequent interruptions from the -Maestro, who was satisfied with nothing less than perfection, and I -breathed according to directions, sang "ah!" "eh," "ee's" in a tiny, -tiny voice, until at the end of the hour I was glad to sit down and -rest before departing. I felt tired out, I felt hungry, and, as the -weather was bad, I felt cross, but at the same time I felt curious to -know what was the matter with Bianca.</p> - -<p>The Maestro, having remarked encouragingly that I had the voice of a -goose and would never sing in La Scala, relapsed into silence, -evidently thinking of his colezione which was being prepared in the -kitchen with some trouble, judging from the raised, tones of -Petronella's voice; and as Bianca still sat at the piano, striking -random chords, there was nothing for me to do but to take my -departure. She was not prepared to tell me her trouble, and indeed she -had no reason to do so, but feeling anxious to aid the poor child if I -could, I ventured to speak to her on the subject.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_05" href="#div1Ref_05">CHAPTER V.</a></h4> -<h5>LOST</h5> -<br> - -<p>While I was wondering which was the best way to approach this somewhat -delicate matter, the door was flung open to its fullest extent and -Petronella stalked majestically into the room. There was a wrathful -look on her strongly marked features, and Bianca trembled in -expectation of a storm. Both she and the Maestro were terribly afraid -of Petronella, who ruled the household and looked after them as she -would a couple of children, so now that she frowned they acted like -children; and were cowed by her eagle eye. Petronella surveyed the -three of us grimly, and, being satisfied that her entrance had -produced an effect, spoke with a dramatic gesture that Rachel herself -might have envied,--</p> - -<p>"I am enraged to-day. Let no one speak to me." Neither the Maestro nor -Bianca seemed inclined to accept this tread-on-the-tail-of-my-coat -challenge, so Petronella looked from one to the other to see on whom -she should pour out the vials of her wrath. Ultimately she chose -Bianca.</p> - -<p>"Ah, it is you, Signorina! it is you who enrage me. And for why? you -ask. Holy Saints! you ask why. Because you sit there like a statue in -the Duoma. Will that bring him back? say I. No, Signora, let the bad -young man go. Ecco!"</p> - -<p>"Guiseppe is not a bad young man," cried Bianca, rising angrily to her -feet.</p> - -<p>"Are you older than I am, piccola? No! Have you been married like I -was? No! Then let me speak, child that you are. All men are bad--ask -the Signor there! All men are bad!"</p> - -<p>Petronella made a comprehensive sweep of her arms so as to indicate -the whole masculine portion of the human race, and I, seeing an -opportunity of finding out what was the matter, did not attempt -to defend masculine depravity in any way, but artfully asked a -question,--</p> - -<p>"I can hardly say. I don't know what you are talking about!"</p> - -<p>"Eh! has the Signore no ears? I speak of Guiseppe Pallanza!"</p> - -<p>"What, the tenor at the Teatro Ezzelino?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, Signore, he is the engaged one of the Signorina here, and----"</p> - -<p>"Enough, enough, Petronella!" cried Bianca, her face flushing. "Do not -trouble the Signor with these chatterings."</p> - -<p>"Oh, it's no trouble," I replied quickly. "Perhaps I can help you, -Signorina, if you require help!"</p> - -<p>"Eh, eh!" assented Petronella approvingly, "the English have long -heads, piccola. Tell him all and he will find out what others cannot -find out. And you, Maestro, the colezione is ready."</p> - -<p>She tenderly led the old man into the next room, and I was thus left -alone with Bianca, who had retreated to the window, where she stood -twisting her handkerchief with nervous confusion.</p> - -<p>"Do not tell me, Signorina, if you would rather not," I said gently.</p> - -<p>"Ah, Signore, if I thought you would be my friend!"</p> - -<p>"Certainly I will be your friend."</p> - -<p>"The Maestro is so old. Petronella is so foolish. We know none in -Verona, and I can do nothing for my poor Guiseppe!"</p> - -<p>"Your lover, Signorina?"</p> - -<p>"Yes. I promised you should see him at Verona, but--now--ah now!--but -perhaps you have heard him singing at the Ezzelino?"</p> - -<p>"No; I have not been to the opera since my arrival here. What is the -matter with him? Is he ill?"</p> - -<p>"I know not! I know not! He is lost!"</p> - -<p>"Lost?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, Signore. My Guiseppe has disappeared and no one knows where he -is!"</p> - -<p>Could there be any connection between the disappearance of Guiseppe -and the death of that young man I had seen in the fatal chamber? The -thought flashed across me as she spoke, but I dismissed it as idle.</p> - -<p>"And you want some one to look for Signor Pallanza?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, yes!"</p> - -<p>"Well, I will undertake the task."</p> - -<p>"You, Signore!" she cried joyfully; "will you search for him?"</p> - -<p>"Certainly, Signorina; I promised to be your friend. Now sit down, and -tell me all about your lover and his disappearance. I may be able to -do more for you than you think."</p> - -<p>The fact is, that by some subtle instinct I connected the -disappearance of this young man with the curious events of two nights -before, and, leading Bianca to a seat, I prepared to listen -attentively to her recital.</p> - -<p>"Signore," she began in her flute-like voice, "I have been engaged to -marry Guiseppe Pallanza for some months. He was a pupil of the -Maestro, and we loved each other when we first met; but ah! Signore, -he was poor then, and we could not marry, but now he is rich and -famous."</p> - -<p>"Yes, I have heard of the tenor Pallanza, but have never seen him on -the stage."</p> - -<p>"He has the voice of a god, Signore, and at La Scala, two seasons -ago--oh, Signore, it was the talk of the whole city. The papers called -him the New Mario, and he is so handsome--like an angel. After La -Scala he went to Florence, to Naples, and then to Rome, where he sang -in 'Faust' and 'Polyeuct' at the Apollo, then he came on here a week -ago for the season at the Ezzelino; but now he is lost. Dio! how -unhappy I am."</p> - -<p>She covered her face with her hands, and wept quietly for a few -minutes, and, impatient as I was to hear the particulars of the -affair, I did not dare to disturb her grief. After a time she dried -her tears, and went on again,--</p> - -<p>"He came to Verona on Saturday, Signore, and we were so happy together -talking about our marriage; and on Monday he sang in 'Faust' at the -Ezzelino. I went to the theatre with Petronella, and that was the last -time I saw him."</p> - -<p>"Oh, then he disappeared on Monday night!" I asked quickly, feeling my -heart begin to beat rapidly with excitement, for it was on Monday -night that my extraordinary adventure had taken place.</p> - -<p>"Yes, Signore. He was to come hereafter the opera, to tell the Maestro -how he had sung--you know how anxious the Maestro is over his pupils, -but he never came, nor the next day either; so this morning I went to -ask at the Ezzelino, and they told me he had disappeared."</p> - -<p>"It's curious I never heard of it. The disappearance of a popular -tenor is not a common thing!"</p> - -<p>"Signore, he sang on Monday and was to sing again to-night, so nothing -was thought about him not coming to the theatre yesterday; but this -morning they sent to his lodgings, to find that he had not been there -since he left the Ezzelino after the opera on Monday."</p> - -<p>"The papers will be full of it to-night!"</p> - -<p>"Ah! that will not bring him back," said poor little Bianca in a -melancholy tone, shaking her small head, which drooped like a faded -flower.</p> - -<p>I was now certain that my adventure on Monday night had something to -do with the disappearance of Guiseppe Pallanza, and doubtless the -young man I had seen in the deserted palace was the missing tenor; but -the antique dress, the amorous rendezvous--these needed some -explanation.</p> - -<p>"Was he in love with any one, Signorina?"</p> - -<p>It was a cruel but necessary question which angered Bianca, who threw -back her little head with great haughtiness.</p> - -<p>"Signore, he loved me and no one else."</p> - -<p>"Had he any reason for disappearing?"</p> - -<p>"Signore!"</p> - -<p>"Forgive me if I appear rude," I said in a deprecating tone; "but -indeed, Signorina, to find out all I must know all."</p> - -<p>"Well, Signore, I am telling you all," she replied petulantly. "It was -most strange his going away from the theatre."</p> - -<p>"How so?"</p> - -<p>"He left the Ezzelino in his stage-dress!"</p> - -<p>"Ah!"</p> - -<p>I jumped to my feet in a state of uncontrollable excitement, for I saw -at once that I was on the right track. The antique dress was explained -now! it was the dress he wore in the last act of "Faust."</p> - -<p>"But surely, Signorina, that was very extraordinary," I said, pausing -in my walk; "no one would walk the streets of Verona in a dress like -that."</p> - -<p>"I can explain that, Signore. When Guiseppe came from Rome, a friend -came with him who was very ill--a baritone singer, who was in the same -company at the Apollo. I was told at the Ezzelino that just before the -last act of the opera, Guiseppe received a note saying that his friend -was dying, so as soon as the curtain fell, he threw on a cloak which -hid his dress, and went away as quickly as possible, so as to see his -friend before he died."</p> - -<p>"Oh! and is the friend dead yet?"</p> - -<p>"I do not know, Signore."</p> - -<p>The story of the dying friend might be true, yet to me it seemed -highly improbable, and I guessed that the people at the theatre had -told this fiction to pacify the fears of Signorina Angello, to whom -they knew that Pallanza was engaged. The real truth of the matter was -doubtless that the letter came from the woman I had followed, asking -him to meet her at the deserted Palazzo Morone, and he had gone there -innocently enough to be poisoned as I had seen. This explained a great -deal, but it did not explain why the meeting should have taken place -at such an extraordinary spot, and why the woman should have come from -a burial-ground to keep the appointment. Taking all the circumstances -into consideration, I was certain that it was Pallanza I had seen -murdered on Monday night, but in order to be quite sure of his -identity, I asked Bianca if she had any photograph of her betrothed.</p> - -<p>"Of a surety, Signore," she replied, and going to an album on the -table, brought me a cabinet portrait. "This is Guiseppe as Faust, the -dress in which he left the theatre."</p> - -<p>It was as I surmised. The portrait was coloured, and I saw an exact -representation of the young man I had beheld at the Palazzo Morone. -The typical Italian face with the black curly hair, dark eyes, small -moustache and sallow skin; the slender figure arrayed in a doublet of -blue velvet, slashed with white satin; the azure silk cloak, the -poniard and the high riding-boots--nothing was wanting; the successful -tenor of the portrait was the man who had taken poison from the hand -of the lady of the sepulchre. Still it was no use telling Bianca of my -suspicions until I had discovered the whole secret; and besides, as -Guiseppe was dead, I naturally shrank from being the bearer of such -bad news. I suppose my face betrayed my thoughts, for I saw the -Signorina watching me anxiously; so to lull any fancies she might -have, I made the first remark that came into my head,--</p> - -<p>"I never saw Faust in riding-boots before!"</p> - -<p>"Ah, Signore!" replied the girl with a fond look, "Guiseppe was an -artist as well as a singer, and designed his own dresses. He said that -as Faust in the last act was going to fly with Marguerite, and -Mephistopheles speaks of the horses waiting, it is natural that he -should wear a riding-dress."</p> - -<p>This explanation was quite satisfactory, and having thus learned the -identity of the young man whom I had seen murdered, I prepared to go, -when another idea entered my head, and, going over to the piano, I -began to play by ear the strange air I had heard at the Palazzo -Morone. Bianca gave a cry of surprise as she heard the melody, and -came over to the piano with a puzzled look on her face.</p> - -<p>"Ah, you know it, Signorina?" I said, turning round quickly.</p> - -<p>"Yes! in fact I gave it to Guiseppe. It is an old air by Palestrina, -which I found among the music of the Maestro, to which Guiseppe set -words. He is very fond of it and sings it a great deal. Ah, Signore, -you must have heard him sing it, for no one else has a copy."</p> - -<p>I turned off the matter with a careless remark, not caring to tell -Bianca where I had heard it; and now being quite certain that I would -be able to unravel the whole mystery, I wanted to get away as quickly -as possible in order to arrange my plans.</p> - -<p>"Addio, Signorina," I said, giving her my hand. "When I see you again -I may be able to give you news."</p> - -<p>"Good news?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, I hope so, Signorina," I replied hurriedly as Petronella -appeared at the door. "Do not anticipate evil, I beg of you. I have no -doubt Guiseppe is quite well."</p> - -<p>"Oh, I hope so! I trust so! Addio! Signor Hugo, you will come back -soon?"</p> - -<p>"To-morrow, Signorina."</p> - -<p>"Ah! I see you have brought back the smiles," said Petronella's gruff -voice as she ushered me out. "What do you think of this evil one going -away, Signore? I was going to have four masses if he is dead, but -those priests are such thieves. Ecco!"</p> - -<p>"Why should you think he is dead, Petronella?"</p> - -<p>"Eh, Signore, he loves the piccola so much that nothing but death -would keep him away."</p> - -<p>"Except----"</p> - -<p>"I know what you would say, Signore, except a woman. Well, maybe men -are all bad. I've been married, Signore--I know, I know."</p> - -<p>"Well, I don't think I'm particularly bad, Petronella."</p> - -<p>"Eh! then you're not a true man, Signore," retorted Petronella, -closing the argument and the door at the same time.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_06" href="#div1Ref_06">CHAPTER VI.</a></h4> -<h5>A HAUNTED PALACE</h5> -<br> - -<p>I need hardly say that I was very much excited over the strange -discovery I had made, as there now appeared to be a reasonable chance -of clearing up the mystery of the Palazzo Morone. I had discovered the -name of the unhappy young man, which gave me a most important clue to -the reading of the enigma; but I had yet to find out the name of the -lady who had behaved in such an extraordinary manner and committed so -daring a crime. After hearing Peppino's story I fancied that she might -perchance be the Contessa Morone, but had later on dismissed this idea -as idle, seeing that she had been absent from Verona for many months; -but now that Bianca had told me that Pallanza had come straight from -Rome, I began to suspect that I had been right in my surmise. -According to Peppino the Contessa had taken up her residence at the -Italian capital, so what was more likely than that she had fallen in -love with Guiseppe while he was singing at the Teatro Apollo, and, -following him to Verona, had killed him by means of poison, in revenge -for his determination to leave her?</p> - -<p>So far everything was feasible enough, but two points of the affair -perplexed me very much, one being the choosing of the deserted palace -as a place of meeting, the other the visit to the burial ground by the -woman. We do not live in the times of the Borgias, when noble ladies -can thus rid themselves of their lovers with impunity, else I might -have believed that this phantom of Donna Lucrezia had gone to the old -Veronese cemetery to select a grave for the unfortunate young man she -intended to murder. To think thus, however, was foolish, and although -I guessed that she had used the old palace of her family as a safe -place for a lovers' meeting, seeing its gruesome reputation secured -it from public curiosity, yet I was quite unable to explain the -cemetery mystery. One thing, however, appeared to me to be certain, -that Guiseppe Pallanza had been carrying on an intrigue with the -Contessa--presuming the ghoul to be her--and that he had gone to the -Palazzo Morone on the night in question at her request. As to the sick -friend----</p> - -<p>Now I greatly mistrusted that sick-friend story. So many fast young -Englishmen whom I knew had adopted the same lie to cover their little -peccadilloes that I was quite sure Pallanza had employed the same -fiction to prevent the scandal of his intrigue with this unknown woman -from reaching the ears of his <i>fiancée</i>. Bianca was a very proud girl, -and I felt certain, from what little I had seen of her character, that -if she discovered Guiseppe was playing her false, she would at -once break off the engagement at any cost. Like all Italian women, -when she loved she loved with her whole soul, and expected the same -single-hearted return to her passion; so that the discovery of her -lover's infidelity could only be punished sufficiently, according to -her ideas, by an everlasting parting between them. Pallanza knew this, -and therefore tried to hide his guilt by the plausible story of his -dying friend, which appeared to me to be such a remarkably weak -fabrication that, before going to the Palazzo Morone, I determined to -find out if this mythical invalid existed.</p> - -<p>Curiously enough, although I was studying for the musical profession -and was devoted to operatic performances, I had not been to the Teatro -Ezzelino since my arrival at Verona, preferring to wander about the -streets of the romantic old city in the moonlight to sitting night -after night in a stifling atmosphere of heat, glare, and noise. I made -up my mind, however, to go on this special night, in the hope that I -might hear some talk about Pallanza's disappearance, and be guided -thereby in any future movements; but meantime I went to the theatre in -the afternoon, and, introducing myself to the impresario as a friend -of Guiseppe's, asked him if he had heard any news of the missing -tenor.</p> - -<p>The impresario, a dingy old man of doubtful cleanliness, was in -despair, and raged against the absent Pallanza like a Garrick of the -gutter. He had heard nothing of this birbánte--this ladrone who had -thus disappeared, and left an honest impresario in the lurch. "Faust" -was the success of the season; without Pallanza there could be no -"Faust," and the season would be a failure. What was he to do? -Cospetto! it was the luck of the devil. Why had this scellerato run -away? A sick friend? Bah! there was no sick friend. It was a woman who -had enticed away this pazzo. A dying friend from Rome was not a very -likely story, but a lie--a large and magnificent lie. Here was the -basso of his company, who had been singing with Pallanza at the -Apollo; ask him, truth is on his lips, Behold this good man!</p> - -<p>Signor Basso-profundo advanced, and though truth might have been on -his lips it certainly was not apparent on his face, for a more -deceitful countenance I never beheld. However, I have no doubt he -spoke truth on this occasion, as there was no money to be made by -telling a lie, and he confirmed the words of the wrathful impresario. -The sick friend was a myth, but in Rome Pallanza had been friendly -with a lady. Per Bacco! a great lady, but the name was unknown to him. -It appeared that Signor Basso-profundo dressed in the same room as -Pallanza, and it was just before the last act of "Faust" that Guiseppe -received the note. He told the basso-profundo that it was from a dying -friend, and had departed quickly when the opera was ended, in his -stage-dress, with a cloak wrapped round him. The basso-profundo was -sure the note was from a lady. The impresario was also sure, and -devoted the lady in question to the infernal gods with a richness of -expression I have never heard equalled in any language.</p> - -<p>Having thus found out what I suspected from the first, that the dying -friend was a mere invention to cloak an intrigue, I left the -impresario to tear his hair and call Guiseppe names in company with -Signor Basso-profundo, and went back to my hotel, where I found -Peppino waiting with his fiacre to drive me to the Palazzo Morone.</p> - -<p>He was still unwilling to take me to this place of evil reputation, -and made one last effort to shake my determination by gruesome stories -of people who had gone into the palazzo and never came out again; but -I laughed at all these hobgoblin romances, and getting into the -fiacre, told him to drive off at once, which he did, after crossing -himself twice, so as to secure his own safety should the ghosts of -Palazzo Morone take a fancy to carry me off as a heretic.</p> - -<p>We speedily left the broad, modern streets, and rattled down gloomy, -mediæval passages, the humid atmosphere of which chilled me to the -bone, in spite of the heat of the day. The fiacre--with its jingling -bells--bumped on the uneven stones, turned abruptly round unexpected -corners, corkscrewed itself between narrow walls, crept under low -archways, and after innumerable dodgings, twistings, hairbreadth -escapes from upsettings, and perilous balancings on the edges of -drains, at length emerged into that queer little piazza at the end of -which I saw the great façade of the richly-decorated palace I had -beheld in the moonlight of two nights before.</p> - -<p>I had been an ardent student of Baedeker since my arrival in Italy, -and from the fortified appearance of the palazzo, judged that it had -been built by Michelo Sammicheli, who, according to the guide-book, -was the greatest military architect of the middle ages. The building -was four stories high, with long lines of narrow windows closely -barred by curiously ornamented iron cages--which bulged outward,---as -a protection against thieves or enemies, and the whole front was -adorned with almost obliterated paintings after the style of the -Genoese palaces. In addition to the brush, the chisel had done its -work, and wreaths of flowers, grinning masks, nude figures of boys and -girls, elaborate crests and armorial devices with fishes, birds, -tritons, shells, and fruit were sculptured round the windows, along -the fortified castellated top, and over the great portal. All the -square in front of this splendid specimen of Renaissance art was -overgrown with grass. The houses on every side were also deserted, and -what with the broken windows, the empty piazza, and the closed doors, -everything had a melancholy, desolate appearance, as if a curse rested -upon the whole neighbourhood.</p> - -<p>Peppino evidently was of this opinion, for although it was broad -daylight, and the hot sunlight poured down on the grass-grown square, -yet he kept muttering prayers in a low voice; and if by chance he -looked towards the Palazza, he always crossed himself with great -devoutness. I was not, however, going to be baulked of my intention by -any superstitious feeling on the part of an Italian cab-driver, so I -ordered Peppino to tie up his horse and come with me into the palace. -This modest request, however, so horrified Peppino that he absolutely -squeaked with horror, like a rabbit caught in a snare.</p> - -<p>"I, Signore!" he whimpered, touching the relic on his breast. "Dio! -not to be King of Italy would I go into that house! If you are wise, -Signore, look and come away lest evil befall you. Cospetto! Signore, -remember the Frate. Think of Madonna Matilda!"</p> - -<p>"What about Madonna Matilda, Peppino?"</p> - -<p>"Eh, Illustrious, do you not know? She was a friend of his Holiness at -Canossa, and, though a woman, wanted to celebrate mass, but Il Cristo -burnt her to ashes with fire from above!--and she died. Ecco! -Cospetto! Signore, it is foolish to meddle with holy things."</p> - -<p>"Well, you can't call this palace holy, Peppino?"</p> - -<p>"No, Illustrious. It is accursed!" replied the Italian, crossing -himself, "but there is fire below as well as above, and you are a -heretic."</p> - -<p>"Which means that I had better beware of the devil! eh, Peppino. Well, -well; I'm not afraid, so I will enter the palace, and if you see me -carried off by the ghosts, you can tell the carabinieri."</p> - -<p>"Dio! Illustrious, do not jest; but if you will go you must go. I will -wait here and pray for your soul."</p> - -<p>Peppino was as obstinate as a mule in his fear of ghosts, so leaving -him to smoke his long Italian cigar and watch the brown lizards -scuttling over the hot stones in the sunshine, I advanced towards the -palace with the determination to find out the secret chamber. As I -knew it would be dark therein, owing to its want of windows, I had -taken the precaution to provide myself with a candle and a box of -matches. Feeling that these were safe in my pocket, I went to the iron -gate and entered the courtyard in the same way as I had done on that -night. This time, however, I examined the ironwork, and found to my -surprise that the missing bar had been half filed through and then -wrenched away. The marks left were quite fresh, and it had been done -so recently that the bar had not had time to grow rusty. This -discovery astonished me not a little, as I did not see the reason of -such an entrance being made. If it were the Contessa who used the -palace, she would have the key of the side door, and could thus admit -herself and her lover at her pleasure, while this breach could only -have been made by some one who could not enter in any other way.</p> - -<p>I thought of the person into whose arms I had fallen, the person who -had placed a handkerchief wet with some liquid over my face, and -although, according to Peppino's story, this watcher at the door was -the phantom of Count Mastino Morone, yet dismissing such an -explanation as due to superstition, I began to think that another -person had followed the lady of the sepulchre besides myself. Yes, -there could be no doubt about it, some third person had tracked her to -the palazzo, and, unable to enter in the ordinary way, had filed -through and broken the iron bar in the gate. Gaining access to the -interior of the palazzo in this way, the unknown had penetrated to the -secret chamber, and doubtless had witnessed the same strange scene as -I had done. My presence had been discovered, and to preserve for some -unknown reason, the secret of this terrible chamber, I had been -seized, rendered insensible by chloroform, and taken to the Piazza -Vittorio Emanuele, so that I would be unable to re-discover the -Palazzo Morone.</p> - -<p>All these thoughts flashed through my brain with the rapidity of -lightning, and I wondered whom this unknown could be--a friend of -Pallanza? an accomplice of the Contessa! I did not know what to think, -so leaving all such conjectures to a more seasonable time, I crossed -over the dreary courtyard and entered the great hall.</p> - -<p>It was a magnificent entrance, and when thronged with courtiers, -men-at-arms, pages, and ladies, must have presented a noble -appearance. Of enormous size, the high walls and lofty roof were -painted with glowing frescoes representing the ancient glories of the -Republic, and the floor was brilliant with gorgeous mosaics of -coats-of-arms and fantastic figures. The painted windows on either -side of the huge portal blazed with variegated tints, and the bright -sun streaming in through the glass--as many-coloured as Joseph's -coat--dyed the floor with vivid lights and gaudy hues. Ancient -tapestries hung here and there between the two lines of black marble -columns running down the sides of the hall, and the wind, stealing in -through the open door, shook the grey dust from these mouldering -splendours of the loom. At the end of this immense vestibule arose a -broad staircase of white marble with balustrades of elaborate bronze -fretwork, and from the first landing two other flights sloped off to -right and left of the main branch. All the air was filled with -floating shadows, the soft wind moved the hangings without sound, and -I was alone in the deserted hall, over which brooded an intense -silence, which made me shiver in the chill atmosphere pervading this -abode of desolation.</p> - -<p>However, the afternoon was passing quickly, and as I had plenty to do -before nightfall, I rapidly ascended the shallow stairs. Turning to -the right, which was the way the unknown lady had taken the other -night, I soon found myself in the long corridor with the windows -looking out on to the courtyard. Many of these were broken, but others -were quite whole, their colours as bright and glowing as when they had -first been placed there.</p> - -<p>At the end of the corridor I turned to the left, and found the short -flight of shallow steps, which, however, led up into darkness, so that -before ascending them I had to light my candle. Luckily there were no -draughts, for the air was absolutely still, and the flame of my candle -burned clear and steadily. Up these steps I went, entered the short -corridor, and paused before the heavy door which gave admission into -the ante-chamber of the fatal room. Realizing what had taken place -inside on that fatal night, I dreaded to enter, lest I should find the -corpse of the unfortunate Pallanza on the floor; but overcoming my -emotions, with a strong effort I thrust open the door and entered.</p> - -<p>The tapestried chamber presented exactly the same appearance, with the -small table in the centre, the burnt-out torch lying on the floor, and -at the end the rich folds of the gold-worked curtains veiling the -entrance to the inner apartment. I stood on the threshold, half -expecting to hear the shrill notes of the mandolin, and the passionate -song ring through the silence, but all was still and mute, as if it -were indeed the tomb of the dead I expected to find.</p> - -<p>At last, with a thrill of dread, I parted the heavy curtains and found -myself in the circular chamber. The faint light of the candle just -hollowed out a gulf in the Cimmerian darkness, and I saw the dim -glitter of the gold and silver on the table, the ghastly glimmer of -the white cloth, and the sparks of weak fire flashing from the -tarnished gold embroidery of the curtains. All was as I had seen -it--the eight white pillars, the dull-red hangings with their -Arabesque patterns of golden thread, the gilt table, the massive metal -goblets and silver candelabra, even the half-eaten fruit, with -everything on the table in disorder; but, somewhat to my relief, I -found nothing else. The dead body, which I had seen lying at the feet -of that terrible woman, had vanished, and although I searched over -every inch of the chamber, I could find no trace of the fearful crime -which had been committed. The demon who had enticed the unhappy young -man to his ruin had completed her evil work by secreting his body, and -I began to think that all trace of Guiseppe Pallanza had disappeared -from the earth for evermore.</p> - -<p>Who was this woman who, in this room, had so wickedly slain her lover? -Who was the man--I felt sure it was a man--who had seized me at the -door, and borne me insensible from the palace? I could answer neither -of these questions, and had it not been for the story of Bianca, for -the disappearance of Pallanza, I would have fancied the whole some -hideous dream, some nightmare of medieval devilry, which had filled my -brain with the phantasmagoria of delirium. Everything, however, was -too real, too terrible, to admit of such an explanation; so as I could -discover nothing more from examining the chamber I prepared to leave. -The atmosphere yet had a faint aroma of the sandalwood perfume which -emanated from the unknown woman; at my feet still lay the broken -mandolin; and the rich wine-cups still glittered in the dim light. I -no longer wondered at such wealth being left here undefended, for -superstition, more of a safeguard than bolts and bars, protected this -cave of Aladdin from thievish Italian fingers; and even if a thief had -known of these riches, I doubt whether he would have had the courage -to dare the unseen horrors of the palazzo.</p> - -<p>For myself, standing there in the perfumed atmosphere, with the light -just showing the intense gloom, the dim glitter of gold and silver, -the absolute stillness and the horrible memories of the chamber--I -felt as though I were in the presence of the dead. At the table sat -the phantoms of Donna Renata and her lover, smiling at one another -with hatred in their ghostly hearts; at the door watched the evil face -of the outraged husband awaiting the consummation of the tragedy; and -in imagination I could see the wicked smile of the woman, the scowl of -the husband, the loathing look on the face of the lover. My breath, -coming quick and fast, made the flame of the candle flicker and flare -until, overcome by the horror of the room, and by the workings of my -imagination, I turned and fled--fled from the evil gloom, from that -blood-stained splendour, out into the blessed sunshine and pure air of -heaven.</p> - -<p>"Dio!" cried Peppino, as I walked quickly out into the square, "how -pale you are, Illustrious! Eh, Signore, have the ghosts----"</p> - -<p>"I have seen no ghosts, Peppino, but I have felt their presence."</p> - -<p>"Cospetto! did I not warn the Signore against the accursed place? -Come, Illustrious, jump in and we will leave this abode of devils."</p> - -<p>"Very well, Peppino," I replied, entering the fiacre, "but drive -slowly, as I want to know the way to this palazzo."</p> - -<p>"Dio! the Signore will not come again?"</p> - -<p>"Yes! I am coming some night this month."</p> - -<p>"Saints! the Signore is mad and lost!" muttered Peppino with a pale -face. Then, hastily gathering up the reins, he drove rapidly away from -the lonely square, leaving this gruesome palace to the night and to -the feast of ghosts.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_07" href="#div1Ref_07">CHAPTER VII.</a></h4> -<h5>AT THE TEATRO EZZELINO</h5> -<br> - -<p>From my mother I had inherited one of those highly strung -organizations which are largely affected by their surroundings, and -which, like an Æolian harp, to the sighing wind vibrate with every -breath of passion that passes over them--organizations which take -their colour, their bias, their desires from the last event which -occurs, and which are entirely in sympathy with the predominating -feeling of the moment. In childhood this dangerous spirit of moods and -fancies had been fostered by an old Scottish nurse, who used to thrill -me with wild stories of Highland superstitions, and with weird ballads -of elfish fantasy; but since I had mixed in the world I had learned to -control and sway my imaginative faculty, and had thus acquired a -command over myself. But, as I said before, superstition is in every -one, and waxes or wanes according to their surroundings; so the -terrors of childish tales, which had been half-forgotten in the bustle -of worldly life, now came upon my soul with full force in this haunted -city of Verona. The burial-ground, the ghostly room, the accursed -palace, the phantoms of evil-seeming, all these peopled the chambers -of my brain, with their unreal horrors, until I became so nervous and -unstrung, that every sudden noise, every unexpected sound, and every -shadowy comer, made me thrill with supernatural fear as if I were -again a child listening to tales of devildom.</p> - -<p>I knew this mood was a bad one, and would have sought cheerful society -to drive away the evil spirit had I known where to seek it. But there -were no English at my hotel, and, in the present state of affairs, the -Casa Angello was not particularly cheerful, so as I did not care about -spending a lonely evening, I methought myself of my intention to go to -the Teatro Ezzelino. On glancing at the paper I saw that the opera for -the night was "Lucrezia Borgia;" and this name gave me a renewed -sensation of horror. The lady of the sepulchre had taken in my -imagination the semblance of Ferrara's Duchess, and the memory of the -terrible daughter of Pope Alexander seemed never to leave me. She had -come from the graveyard, she had supped in the fatal chamber, she had -murdered her lover; and now, when she had vanished into thin air, I -was to see her represented on the stage in all her magnificent -wickedness. I had a good mind not to go, but seeing that there was a -ballet after the opera, I thought I would brave this phantom of the -brain, and find in the lightness of the dancing an antidote to the -gloomy terrors of the lyrical drama.</p> - -<p>The cooking at my hotel was somewhat better than the usual run of -Italian culinary ideas, so I made an excellent dinner, drank some Asti -Spumati, an agreeable wine of an exhilarating nature, and felt much -better when I started for the Ezzelino.</p> - -<p>It was one of those perfect Italian evenings such as one sees depicted -by the glowing brush of Turner, and there yet lingered in the quiet -evening sky a faint purple reflection of the sunset glories. No moon -as yet, but here and there a burning star throbbing in the deep heart -of the sky, and under the peaceful heavens the weather-worn red roofs -and grey walls of antique Verona mellowed to warm loveliness in the -twilight shadows. Beautiful as it was, however, with the memory of -that eerie night still on me, I had no desire to renew my moonlight -wanderings, so, without pausing to admire the enchanting scene, I -hastened on to the theatre to be in time for the first notes of -Donnizetti's opera.</p> - -<p>The Teatro Ezzelino is a very charming opera-house, built in a light, -airy fashion, with plenty of ventilation, a thing to be grateful for -on hot summer nights. All the decorations are white and gold, so that -it has a delightfully cool appearance; nevertheless, what with the -warmth of the season without, and the glaring heat of the gas within, -I felt unpleasantly hot. The gallery and stalls were crowded, but as -it was only eight o'clock, most of the boxes were empty, and I knew -would not be filled until late in the evening by those who, tired of -the well-known music of "Lucrezia," wanted to see the new ballet.</p> - -<p>Having glanced round the theatre, I bought a book of the words, hired -an opera-glass from an obsequious attendant, and settled myself -comfortably for the evening. The orchestra--a very excellent one, -directed by Maestro Feraldi, of Milan--played the prelude in a -sufficiently good style, and the pictured curtain arose on the -well-known Venetian scene which I had so often beheld. The chorus, in -their heterogeneous costumes of no known age, wandered about in their -usual aimless fashion, shouted their approval of smiling Venice in the -ordinary indifferent style; and a very good contralto who sang Orsini, -having delivered her first aria with great dramatic fervour, they all -vanished from the stage, leaving the sleeping Genaro to be -contemplated by Lucrezia Borgia.</p> - -<p>I was disappointed with the Duchess when she arrived, and I must say -that my majestic evil lady of the sepulchre looked far more like the -regal sister of Cæsar Borgia than this diminutive singer with the big -voice, who raged round the stage like a spitfire, and gave one no idea -of the terrible Medusa of Ferrara, whose smile was death to all, -lovers and friends alike. The tenor was a long individual, and -Lucrezia being so small, their duets, in point of physical appearance, -were sufficiently ridiculous; but as they sang well together, their -rendering of the characters, artistically speaking, was enjoyable. The -chorus entered and discovered Lucrezia with Genaro; the prima-donna -defied them all with the look and ways of a cross child; there was the -usual dramatic chorus, and the curtain fell on the prologue with but -slight applause. I did not go out, as I felt very comfortable, so -amused myself with looking round the house, when, during the first act -of the opera, two officers entered the theatre and took their seats in -front of mine; They were two gay young men, who talked a great deal -about one thing and another in such raised voices that I could hear -all they said, some of which was not particularly edifying.</p> - -<p>During the first act which succeeds the prologue they were -comparatively quiet, but when Lucrezia entered in the second to sing -the celebrated duet with Alfonso, they were loud in their expressions -of disapproval concerning her appearance. The music of this part of -the opera is particularly loud and noisy, but even through the crash -of the orchestra I could hear their expressions of disapproval.</p> - -<p>"The voice is not bad, but the appearance--the acting--oime!"</p> - -<p>"Eh, Teodoro, what would you? Donna Lucrezia is not on the stage."</p> - -<p>"Not on the stage!" said Teodoro in an astonished tone. "Ebbene! where -is she?"</p> - -<p>"Look at the box yonder!"</p> - -<p>"Per Bacco! the Contessa Morone."</p> - -<p>I started as I heard this name, and, looking in the same direction as -the young men, saw a woman seated far back in the shadow of a box, the -fourth or fifth from the stage. She was talking to three gentlemen, -and her face was turned away so that I could not see her features; -but, judging from the glimpse I caught of her head and bust, she -seemed to be a very majestic woman.</p> - -<p>The Contessa Morone! She was then in Verona after all. This discovery -removed all my doubts concerning the identity of the ghoul. She was -the woman who had left the vault in the burial-ground. She was the -woman who had slain Guiseppe Pallanza in the secret chamber of the -deserted palace, and she was the woman seated in the shadow of the -box, talking idly as though she had no terrible crime to burden her -conscience. If I could only see her face I would then recognise her; -but, as if she had some presentiment of danger, she persistently -looked everywhere but in my direction. As I gazed she moved slightly, -the bright light of a lamp shone on her neck, and I saw a sudden -tongue of red flame flash through the semi-twilight of the box, which -at once reminded me of the necklace of rubies worn by that terrible -vampire of the graveyard.</p> - -<p>Eager to know all about this woman, whom I felt sure was the murderess -of Pallanza, I listened breathlessly to the two officers who were -still talking about her.</p> - -<p>"It is a year since Morone died," said Teodoro, lowering his -opera-glass, "and she has lived since at Rome, where I met her. Why -has she returned here?"</p> - -<p>"Eh, who knows! Perhaps to reside again at the Palazzo Morone."</p> - -<p>"That tomb. Diamine! She must become a ghost to live there."</p> - -<p>"Ebbene, Teodoro! the ghost of Lucrezia Borgia! Why does she not marry -again?"</p> - -<p>"Who knows! I wouldn't like to be her husband in spite of her money. -Corpo di Bacco! a woman who sees in the dark like a cat."</p> - -<p>"The evil eye!"</p> - -<p>"Yes! and everything else that's wicked. I do not like that Signora at -all."</p> - -<p>"Che peccato! you might marry her."</p> - -<p>"Or her money! Ecco!"</p> - -<p>They both laughed, and, the act being ended, left their seats. I also -went out into the corridor for a smoke and a breath of fresh air, -feeling deeply sorry that this interesting conversation had been -interrupted. From what one of the officers had said she was evidently -a nyctalopyst, and could see in the dark, which accounted at once for -the unerring way in which she had threaded the dark streets, and was -also the reason that she now remained secluded in the shadow of her -box, preferring the darkness to the light. Puzzling over these things, -and wondering how I could get a glimpse of her face, I lighted a -cigarette and strolled about in the vestibule of the theatre with the -rest of the crowd.</p> - -<p>There were a goodly number of civilians of all sizes, ages, and -complexions, while the military element was represented by a fair -sprinkling of officers in the picturesque uniforms of the Italian -army. The air was thick with tobacco-smoke there was a clatter of -vivacious voices, and the great doors of the theatre were thrown wide -open to admit the fresh night air into the overpoweringly hot -atmosphere. Being wrapt up in my ideas about the Contessa Morone and -her extraordinary behaviour, I leaned against a pillar and took no -notice of any one, when suddenly a tall officer stopped in front of me -and held out his hand.</p> - -<p>"What! Is it you, Signor Hugo? Come sta!"</p> - -<p>"Beltrami! You here! I am surprised!"</p> - -<p>"Ma foi," replied Beltrami, who constantly introduced French words -into his conversation; "you are not so surprised as I am. I thought -you were in your foggy island, and behold you appear at Verona. How -did you come here? What are you doing? Eh! Hugo, tell me all."</p> - -<p>I do not think I have mentioned Beltrami before, which is curious, -considering I have been talking so much about Italy and the Italians; -but the fact is, my friend the Marchese only now enters into this -curious story I am relating, so thus being introduced in due season I -will tell all I know about him.</p> - -<p>During my narrative I fancy I have mentioned that I spoke and -understood Italian tolerably for an Englishman. Well, I did not learn -my Italian in Italy--no, indeed! Foggy London saw my maiden efforts to -acquire that soft bastard Latin which Byron talks of, and the Marchese -Luigi Beltrami gave me my first lessons in his melodious language. He -had come to England some years before with a card of introduction to -my father from a friend in Florence, and on being introduced to our -household we had taken a great fancy to one another. Even in those -days, perhaps as a premonitory symptom of my operatic leanings, I was -mad on all things Italian, and discoursed about art, raved of Cimabue -and Titian, and quoted Dante, Ariosto, and Alfieri until every one of -my friends were, I am sure, heartily wearied of my enthusiasm. -Beltrami appeared, and feeling flattered by my great admiration for -his country, advised me to learn Italian. I did so, and with his help -soon became no mean proficient in the tongue which the Marchese, being -a Florentine, spoke very purely. In return I taught him English; but -either I was a bad master, or Beltrami was an idle scholar, for all -the English he ever learned consisted of two sentences: "You are a -beautiful miss," and "I love you," but with these two he got along -comparatively well, particularly with woman.</p> - -<p>English ladies at first were indignant at this outspoken admiration, -but Beltrami was so good-looking, and apparently so sincere in his use -of these two English sentences, that they usually ended by pardoning -him; nevertheless the Marchese found that if he wanted to get on in -society he would have to moderate his transports. Ultimately, if I -remember rightly, he took refuge in French, and said a great many -pretty things in that very pretty tongue.</p> - -<p>My friend Beltrami and myself were the antithesis of one another in -character, as he had a great deal of the subtle craft of the old -Italian despot about him; yet somehow we got on capitally together, -perhaps by the law of contrast, and when he returned to Italy I was -sorry to see the last of him. I promised to some day visit him at his -palazzo in Florence, and fully intended to do so before leaving Italy; -but here was Verona, and here, by the intervention of chance, was the -Marchese, as suave, as subtle-faced, and as handsome as ever. He -appeared to be delighted to see me, and as I was a stranger in a -strange land, I was glad to find at least one familiar face.</p> - -<p>In response to his request I told him about the death of my father, of -my determination to study singing, and the circumstances which had led -me to Verona, to all of which Beltrami listened attentively, and at -the conclusion of my story shook hands with me again.</p> - -<p>"Ebbene! my friend Hugo, I am glad to see you in our Italy. As you -see, I serve the King and am stationed in his dismal palace, so while -you are here I will make things pleasant. Ecco!"</p> - -<p>"No, no! my dear Marchese, I know what you mean by making things -pleasant. I have come here to work, not to play."</p> - -<p>"Dame, mon ami! too much work is bad."</p> - -<p>"Eh, Marchese, and too much play is worse; but tell me how have you -been since I saw you last?"</p> - -<p>"Oh, just the same; I am as poor as ever, but soon I will be rich!"</p> - -<p>"Bravo, Beltrami! Is your uncle, the Cardinal, dead?"</p> - -<p>"My uncle, the Cardinal, is immortal," replied the Marchese cynically. -"No, he still lives in the hope to succeed to the Fisherman's Chair. I -am going to be married!"</p> - -<p>"I congratulate you."</p> - -<p>"Eh, Hugo, I think you will when you see the future Marchesa! She is -in the theatre to-night. I am engaged to marry her, and as she takes -my friends for her own, come with me and I will introduce you."</p> - -<p>I drew back, as I wanted to watch the Contessa Morone, and if I went -to Beltrami's box I would perhaps lose sight of her.</p> - -<p>"You must excuse me, Signor Luigi, because--because you see I am not -in evening dress."</p> - -<p>It was the best excuse I could think of, but, being a very weak one, -Beltrami laughed, and, slipping his arm into mine, dragged me along -the corridor.</p> - -<p>"Sapristi! you talk like a child. You are my friend. Signora Morone -will be delighted to see you. She adores the English."</p> - -<p>"Madame Morone!" I exclaimed, thunderstruck.</p> - -<p>"Yes, the Contessa! Do you know her by sight? Mon Dieu! is she not -beautiful? You shall speak the English to her. She loves your foggy -islanders."</p> - -<p>I was so bewildered by the chance thrown in my way of finding out if -the Contessa Morone had anything to do with the burial-ground episode, -that I only replied to Beltrami's chatter by an uneasy laugh, and -suffered myself to be led unresistingly along.</p> - -<p>The Marchese did not take me into the box itself, but into one of -those small ante-rooms, on the opposite side of the corridor, which -are used by Italian ladies as reception saloons for their friends when -at the theatre. I heard the loud chatter of many voices as Beltrami -opened the door, and there, standing under the glare of the gas-lamp, -with the wicked smile on her lips, the pearls in her hair, the ruby -necklace round her throat, I saw the woman who had come from the -vault, the woman who had poisoned Pallanza in the secret room, the -phantom of Lucrezia Borgia.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_08" href="#div1Ref_08">CHAPTER VIII.</a></h4> -<h5>THE PHANTOM OF LUCREZIA BORGIA</h5> -<br> - -<p>I was duly introduced by the Marchese, and Signora Morone received me -in the most amiable manner. She was certainly a very charming woman, -and had I not known her true character, I would doubtless have been -fascinated by her gracious affability; but, in spite of her courtesy, -I could hardly speak to her without a feeling of repulsion. This -beautiful woman, so suave, so smiling, so seductive, inspired me with -that sensation of absolute dread which one experiences at the sight of -a sleek, velvet-footed pantheress--a comely beast to admire, but a -terrible one to caress. I replied to her polite inquiries in a -somewhat mechanical fashion, which she doubtless put down to my -imperfect knowledge of Italian, for in spite of all my efforts to feel -at ease in her society, yet I was unable to do more than behave with -strained courtesy towards this woman whose mask I had torn off, whose -secret I had penetrated, and the wickedness of whose heart I knew.</p> - -<p>There were several other gentlemen in the room, who talked gaily with -the Contessa, and amused themselves by eating the bonbons and -crystallised fruits provided for refreshments. The last act of the -opera had not yet commenced, so Signora Morone sank gracefully into a -velvet-cushioned chair, and permitted her courtiers to retail all the -news of the day for her amusement. I am afraid this description sounds -somewhat hyperbolical, but indeed it is the only way in which I can -describe this woman, whose every movement was full of sinuous grace -and feline treachery. Cat, tigeress, pantheress as she was, her claws -were now sheathed in her velvet paws, but the claws were there all the -same, and would doubtless scratch at the least provocation.</p> - -<p>Some people do not believe in transmigration, but I am a true disciple -of Pythagoras in that bizarre doctrine, and I firmly believe that in a -former existence the soul of Giulietta Morone had animated the body of -some tawny tigeress who had stolen through the jungle beneath the -burning skies of Hindostan, slaying and devouring her victims in -conformity with the instincts of her savage nature. Now she was a -woman--a fair, majestic woman--but the instinct of the beast was -there, the desire for slaughter and the lust for blood. What made me -indulge still more in this fancy was the colours of the dress she wore -black and yellow--all twisted in and out with a curious resemblance to -the sleek fur of the beast to which I had likened her. The soft -glimmer of the pearl strings twined in her magnificent red hair seemed -out of place as ornaments for this woman; but the rubies suited her -nature well, the red, angry rubies that shot flashes of purple fire -from her neck at every heave of her white bosom. Leaning back in her -deep chair with a cruel smile on her full crimson lips, the glimmer of -pearls, the fire-glint of the fierce-tinted gems, and the bizarre -mixture of amber and black in her dress, she slowly waved her -sandalwood fan to and fro, diffusing a strange, sleepy perfume through -the room, and looking what I verily believed her to be, the type of -incarnate evil in repose.</p> - -<p>While I was thinking in this fanciful fashion, the Contessa was -talking to her friends in a slow, rich voice, and Beltrami--well, -Beltrami was watching me closely. Do you know that strange sensation -of being watched? that uneasy consciousness that some unseen eye is -observing the least movement? Yes, of course you do! Every one has -felt it, in a more or less degree, according to their nervous -susceptibility. At the present time, with all my senses on the alert -for unexpected events, it was therefore little to be wondered at that -I felt the magnetism of Beltrami's gaze, and, on looking up, saw his -keen black eyes fixed upon me with an enigmatical expression. For the -moment I was startled, but immediately that feeling passed away for I -well knew the strange nature of the Marchese, which was a peculiar -mixture of good and evil, of kindness and cruelty, of hate and love, -which must have proceeded from some aberration of his subtle -intellect.</p> - -<p>Beltrami's face always put me in mind of that sinister countenance of -Sigismondo Malatesta, which sneers so malevolently at the curious -onlooker from the walls of the Duomo at Rimini. He had the same -treacherous droop of the eyelids, the same thin nose with wide, -sensitive nostrils, and the same malignant smile on his thin lips. Yet -he was handsome enough, this young Italian; but his face, in spite of -my friendship, repelled me--in a less degree, it is true, but still it -repelled me in the like manner as did that of the Contessa Morone. So -he was going to marry her. Well, they were certainly well-matched in -every respect, and if the man had not the active wickedness of the -woman, still the capability of evil was there, and would awaken to -life when necessary to be exercised. Both Beltrami and his future wife -were anachronisms in this nineteenth century, and should have lived, -smiled, and died in the time of the Renaissance, when they would have -been fitted companions of those Italian despots of whom Machiavelli -gives the typical examples in his book "The Prince."</p> - -<p>The Marchese saw my inquiring look, and with an enigmatic smile walked -across to where I was standing in the warm, yellow light.</p> - -<p>"Ebbene! Signor Hugo," he whispered, with a swift glance at the -Contessa, "tell me what you think of my choice."</p> - -<p>"It does you credit, Marchese. You will have a beautiful wife."</p> - -<p>"And a loving one, I hope. Tell me, mon ami, do you not envy me?"</p> - -<p>I hesitated a moment before replying, and then blurted out the -truth,--</p> - -<p>"Honestly speaking, Signor Luigi, I do not!"</p> - -<p>"Dame! and why?"</p> - -<p>"Well, I can hardly tell you my reasons, but I have them, -nevertheless."</p> - -<p>Beltrami looked hard at me with an inquisitive look in his dark eyes, -and a satirical smile on his thin lips.</p> - -<p>"You are not complimentary, my friend," he said, turning away with a -supercilious laugh.</p> - -<p>I laid my hand on his shoulder and explained,--</p> - -<p>"Pardon me, Beltrami, you do not understand----"</p> - -<p>"Eh! do not apologise! I understand better than you think."</p> - -<p>He was evidently not at all offended, and I felt puzzled by his -manner. It was true he had candidly acknowledged that he was making -this marriage for money, but surely he must also love this woman, -whose ripe beauty was so attractive to the passionate nature of the -Italians. Yet, judging from his mode of speech, he evidently had some -mistrust--a mistrust for which I could not account. He could know -nothing of the affair at the Palazzo Morone, so there certainly could -be no reason for suspicion on his part. She was a beautiful woman, a -rich woman, an attractive woman, so with this trinity of perfections -she decidedly merited a warmer love than Beltrami appeared inclined to -give her. Could it be that her evil beauty repelled him, as it did me? -No! that was impossible, seeing that, according to my idea, their -natures were wonderfully alike. Altogether the whole demeanour of the -Marchesa perplexed me by its strangeness, and I watched him narrowly -as he approached the Contessa, to see if she perceived the lack of -warmth on the part of her lover.</p> - -<p>To my surprise, as he bent over her chair to speak, she shrank away -with a gesture of disdain, and the rubies shot forth a red flame, as -if to warn the lover that there was danger in pressing upon this woman -his unwelcome attentions. Unwelcome, I am sure they were, for as he -adjusted her cloak and aided her to rise, in order to return to the -box, I saw that she accepted all his politeness with forced civility -and cold smiles. So then she did not love him--he had almost openly -acknowledged to me that he did not love her, and yet these two people, -who had no feeling of love in their hearts, were about to marry. It -was most extraordinary, and I marvelled greatly at the juxtaposition -of these two human beings, who evidently hated one another heartily.</p> - -<p>At this moment the Contessa spoke of the man she had murdered, and I -was horrified in the cold, callous tones in which she veiled her -iniquity.</p> - -<p>"Do you know, gentlemen, if anything has been heard of this lost -tenor?"</p> - -<p>Beltrami shot a keen glance at her, then a second at me, and I felt -more bewildered than ever by this strange action.</p> - -<p>"Nothing has been heard of him, Contessa," he said quickly, before the -others could speak; "he has vanished altogether, but no doubt he will -appear again."</p> - -<p>"Ah, you think so?" observed the Contessa, with a cruel smile.</p> - -<p>"I am sure of it!"</p> - -<p>She winced, and looked at him in a startled manner, upon which, -impelled by some mysterious impulse, I know not what, I joined in the -conversation,--</p> - -<p>"On the contrary, madame, I do not think Signor Pallanza will ever be -seen again."</p> - -<p>All present turned round in surprise, and the Contessa darted a look -at me which seemed to pierce my soul. Only Beltrami was unmoved, and -he, with a smile on his face, laid his hand upon my shoulder.</p> - -<p>"Eh, Signor Hugo, and why do you think so?"</p> - -<p>"A mere fancy, Marchese, nothing more."</p> - -<p>"Ma foi! and a fancy that may turn out true!"</p> - -<p>I was annoyed at having yielded to the impulse and spoken out, as, -unless I told all about my adventure, I could not substantiate my -statement, and I was certainly not going to reveal anything I knew, -particularly in the presence of the woman so deeply implicated in the -affair. Beltrami's mocking manner irritated me fearfully, the more so -as it was so very unaccountable, and I was about to make some sharp -reply, when the opening chorus of the last act sounded, and all the -gentlemen, after making their adieux to the Contessa, left the room.</p> - -<p>The Marchese offered his arm to Madame Morone, but she dismissed him -with a haughty gesture.</p> - -<p>"One moment, Marchese--I wish to speak with this Signor for a few -minutes."</p> - -<p>Beltrami darted one of his enigmatic looks at us both, and with a low -bow to conceal the smile on his lips, left the room. As soon as he had -disappeared, Madame Morone turned round on me with a quick gesture of -surprise.</p> - -<p>"Signor Hugo, why did you say the tenor Pallanza would never be seen -again?"</p> - -<p>"I have no reason, Signora," I replied, being determined to baffle her -curiosity; "I merely spoke on the impulse of the moment."</p> - -<p>"Do you know Signor Pallanza?"</p> - -<p>"No, madame, I have not the pleasure of his acquaintance."</p> - -<p>"Ah!"</p> - -<p>She heaved a sigh of relief, and looked at me long and earnestly, as -if to see whether I was speaking the truth. Apparently she was -satisfied with her scrutiny, for she laughed softly, and placed her -hand within my arm.</p> - -<p>"Confess now, Signor Hugo, you think me most mysterious, but I will -tell you why I speak thus. I heard Pallanza at Rome, when he sang at -the Apollo, and I hoped to see him again here, therefore I am annoyed -at his disappearance and anxious for him to be found. A selfish wish, -Signor Hugo, for it is only my desire to hear him sing again. Ecco!"</p> - -<p>"I do not think your wish at all selfish, madame, for I hear he is a -charming singer."</p> - -<p>"Oh, yes! the New Mario they call him in Milan. Will you not hear the -rest of the opera in my box?"</p> - -<p>"If you will excuse me, madame, I will say no, as I have an -engagement."</p> - -<p>This was a lie, but I was so fearful of betraying myself to this -terrible woman, who had evidently a half-suspicion that I knew -something of Pallanza, that I was anxious to get away as soon as -possible. She, saying good-night, in a cold, polite manner, re-entered -the box, and I was moving away when Beltrami suddenly appeared.</p> - -<p>"Eh, Hugo, how cruel! the Contessa tells me you must go?"</p> - -<p>"Yes. I will see you again, Marchese!"</p> - -<p>"To-morrow then; if not, the next day. Here is my card, and I am -always at home in the afternoon. Do not fail to come, mon ami--I wish -to speak to you about--about----"</p> - -<p>He paused, and I asked curiously,--</p> - -<p>"About what?"</p> - -<p>"Eh, dame! I forget. I will tell you at our next meeting' A rivederci! -Signor Hugo. Don't forget your old friend, or he will quarrel with -you."</p> - -<p>He nodded, smiled, and vanished, then I took my departure from the -theatre, and wandered up and down the street in the moonlight. I felt -that to sit out the ballet would be more than I could bear, as I was -so excited over the meeting with the Contessa Morone, therefore I -strolled up and down the street, smoking and thinking. As time passed -on I grew calmer, and thought I would return to the Ezzelino, not to -see the ballet, but to catch a glimpse of the Contessa once more.</p> - -<p>As I reached the portico of the theatre she was just coming down the -steps to her carriage, leaning on the arm of Beltrami, and I, hidden -in the crowd, could see her looking hither and thither as if searching -for some one. She could not see me, and in order to satisfy myself in -every way as to her identity with the creature of the night I had seen -leave the graveyard, with a sudden inspiration I hummed a few bars of -the strange song I had heard in the fatal chamber.</p> - -<p>Being close to me she could hear quite plainly, and gave a kind of -gasping cry as she fell back into the arms of Beltrami, just as he was -helping her into the carriage.</p> - -<p>"What is the matter, cara?" he asked quickly.</p> - -<p>She clutched his arm with so powerful a grasp that it made him wince, -and I heard her mutter with white lips,--</p> - -<p>"Pallanza! Pallanza!"</p> - -<p>This was all I wanted to hear, and, fearful of discovery, I threaded -my way quickly among the crowd, and hastened home to my hotel.</p> - -<p>I had recognised Guiseppe, I had found the woman who had slain him, -but I had yet to discover where she had hidden the body of her -victim--and then!--well, my future movements would be guided by -circumstances.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_09" href="#div1Ref_09">CHAPTER IX.</a></h4> -<h5>FIORE DELLA CASA</h5> -<br> - -<p>I did not get much sleep that night after the excitements of the day, -but towards the morning fell into an uneasy slumber, during which I -had fragmentary dreams in which Pallanza, the Contessa, and the -antique chamber were all mixed up together. One moment I was at the -iron door of the tomb, and the guardian angel took the semblance of -Signora Morone; the next I was kneeling beside the corpse of Pallanza, -illuminated by the faint light of the candles; and I ever saw the -pallid shade of Donna Renata pointing towards the watchful face of her -husband, filled with ghastly meanings in the dim shadows. No wonder, -after these terrific visions which blended the real and the ideal, I -awoke in the grey morning light unrefreshed and haggard; so when the -waiter brought me my roll and coffee I left them untouched, and, lying -quietly in bed, wondered what step it was necessary to take next in -solving this riddle.</p> - -<p>Riddle do I say? No! it was a riddle no longer, save as to the visit -of the Contessa to the vault of her family, for otherwise everything -was clear enough. She had met Pallanza at Rome, and had fallen in love -with his handsome face. The young man, flattered by the attentions of -a great lady, had yielded readily enough to the charm of the -situation, but, growing tired of the intrigue, had come to Verona, -where Bianca awaited him, with the intention of breaking it off. With -a woman of Giulietta Morone's fiery nature the sequel can easily be -guessed--she had followed him hither, and having in some way forced -him to come to the deserted palace, had there poisoned him out of -revenge for his contemplated infidelity.</p> - -<p>Of course, this was all theoretical, but from one thing and another I -guessed that this could be the only feasible way of accounting for the -whole affair. Two points, however, remained to be cleared up before -the reading of the riddle could be successfully accomplished: the -first being the reason of the burial-ground episode, the second the -strange disappearance of the dead man's body.</p> - -<p>In thinking over the legend related by Peppino, one thing struck me as -peculiar--that Donna Renata had never been seen again after her -husband entered the chamber, and I guessed from this that there was -some secret oubliette or alcove in the room, with a concealed entrance -in which Mastino Morone had entombed his guilty wife as a punishment -for her crimes. Doubtless, from tradition or from old family papers, -Madame Morone knew of this secret hiding-place, and having killed -Pallanza, had put his body therein so as to destroy all evidences of -her criminality. No one had seen Pallanza enter this deserted palace, -so once his body was hidden in the secret alcove it would remain there -for ever undiscovered, and no human being, save the Contessa herself, -could ever tell what had become of him. She, for her own sake, would -remain silent, and thus Guiseppe Pallanza's fate would remain a -mystery for evermore.</p> - -<p>Fortunately, however, God, who had thus permitted this evil woman to -conceive and carry out her crime, had also permitted me to behold the -murder, so that, secure as she no doubt felt of her safety, yet one -word from me and the whole affair would be revealed. I never thought, -however, of going to the Veronese police and telling them what I had -seen, as in their suspicions of foreigners they would doubtless regard -me as an accessory, and thus I would get myself into trouble, which I -had no desire to do. I therefore determined to once more go to the -fatal chamber and make a final effort to discover what had become of -the body of the unfortunate Pallanza.</p> - -<p>So far so good, but now the question arose, how much of this story was -I to reveal to Bianca? I could not tell her the whole, for if the body -of her lover were discovered, the poor child would suffer quite enough -without the additional information of Guiseppe's infidelity; so, -making a virtue of necessity, I determined upon telling her a pious -lie. To do this it was necessary to leave out the Contessa Morone -altogether, as the least mention of a woman's name would arose -Bianca's suspicions, and for the Contessa I substituted a robber, who -had decoyed Guiseppe to the deserted palace by means of a false -letter, and there ended his life. Of course it was somewhat difficult -to be consistent in the narrative; but I was so anxious to hide the -cruel truth of Pallanza's worthlessness from Bianca that I went over -the story I had invented, again and again, until I thought I had the -whole pious fraud quite perfect.</p> - -<p>Having thus arranged my plans, I arose, finished my roll and coffee, -then, having dressed myself rapidly, set off at once for the Casa -Angello, as it was nearly time for my lesson. All my bruises were now -quite well, yet I felt very depressed and downcast, as the state of -nervous excitement which I had been in for the last few days had told -terribly on my system. However, having once put my hand to the plough -I could not, with satisfaction to myself, turn back; and although I -heartily dreaded the coming interview with Bianca, yet it was -unavoidable, as the poor child was so anxious over her lost lover that -it was necessary to tell my fictitious story without delay in order to -set her mind at rest.</p> - -<p>On my arrival at the Casa Angello I found no one there but Bianca, who -was anxiously awaiting me. It appeared that the Maestro had taken it -into his head that he would like a walk in the sunshine, and had gone -out under the care of Petronella; but, as Bianca knew I was coming to -take my usual lesson, and was anxious to hear if I had any news of her -lover, she remained indoors to speak to me.</p> - -<p>The "Fiorè della Casa," as old Petronella tenderly called her in the -poetic language of the Italians, looked even paler than usual, and the -dark shadows under her dark eyes made them appear wonderfully large -and star-like. She had a bunch of delicate lilies-of-the-valley in the -bosom of her white dress, and she looked as pale and blanched as the -frail flowers themselves. Lying back on the green-covered sofa on -which she was seated, she reminded me of a late snowflake resting on -the emerald grass of early spring, which at any moment might vanish -under the pale rays of the sun.</p> - -<p>We were talking together in the room in which I generally had my -lessons, and my eyes wandered from one thing to another with vague -hesitation as I looked everywhere but on the face of this delicate -girl to whom I had to tell such a cruel story--for, soften it as I -might, the story was cruel and could not fail to affect her terribly. -Every object in the apartment photographed itself on my memory with -terrible distinctness, and, even after the lapse of years, by simply -closing my eyes I can recall the whole scene with the utmost -truthfulness. The dull red of the terra-cotta floor, the heavy -time-worn furniture, covered with faded green rep, the small ebony -piano with its glistening white keys alternating with the black, the -mirror-fronted press in which Petronella kept everything from food to -clothes, the many photographs of operatic celebrities, and the gaudily -painted picture of St. Paul, the Maestro's patron saint, encircled by -a faded wreath of withered laurel-leaves and dead flowers, flung to -some favourite pupil in her hour of triumph. Even the view from the -window I can recall, with the slender campanile tower, from whence -every quarter rang the brazen bells, and then the faltering voice of -Bianca, "Fiorè della Casa," stealing like a melancholy wind through -the silence of the room.</p> - -<p>"Signor!" she said, twisting her thin white hands nervously together, -"you have something to tell me of Guiseppe. I can see it in your -face--is it good or evil?"</p> - -<p>"What does my face tell you, Signorina?"</p> - -<p>"Evil, evil! your eyes are sad, your mouth does not smile! Oh, tell me -quickly what you know! Is he found? is he ill? is he--dead?"</p> - -<p>She brought out the last word in a shrill scream, with dilated eyes -that almost terrified me by the fear expressed in them, and, dreading -the effect of a sudden shock on this fragile child, I hastily replied -in the negative.</p> - -<p>"No, Signorina, no! Do not look so fearful, I pray you. He is not -dead. Child, I am sure he is not dead!"</p> - -<p>"Then you have not found him yet?"</p> - -<p>"No; I have not found him, but I think I know where he is to be -found."</p> - -<p>"What do you mean, Signor Hugo, tell me all--tell me all. See, I am -strong, I can bear it--I wish to know everything."</p> - -<p>"Signorina, the note which Guiseppe Pallanza received at the Ezzelino -was not from a friend but from an enemy."</p> - -<p>"An enemy!"</p> - -<p>"Yes! from one who wished him ill. Thinking it was from his dying -friend, he obeyed the letter and was lured to the deserted Palazzo -Morone."</p> - -<p>"I do not know that palazzo, Signor. I am a stranger in Verona."</p> - -<p>"I know where it is, Signorina, for on that night I was wandering -about near it, when I saw Pallanza go into it alone. Knowing the -evil reputation of the place, I followed him, although he was a -stranger to me. He went to a room in the palace where his enemy met -him, and--and----"</p> - -<p>"Yes! yes, Signor--for the love of the Saints, go on."</p> - -<p>"I can tell you no more, Signorina, except that I do not believe -Guiseppe left that room again. I believe he is there still, perhaps -held captive by the robber who lured him thither in the hope of -obtaining a ransom."</p> - -<p>Bianca looked at me searchingly. She was a simple little thing as a -rule, but this ridiculous story I had manufactured of brigands in the -heart of Verona was too much even for her confiding nature, and she -made a gesture of disbelief.</p> - -<p>"It is not true! it is not true!" she cried vehemently. "Why do you -deceive me, Signor?"</p> - -<p>"I am not deceiving you."</p> - -<p>"An enemy! a false letter! a deserted palace! held captive! Oh, I -cannot believe it. If it is true, why did you not rescue him?"</p> - -<p>"Because some one I do not know seized me from behind as I watched, -and, rendering me insensible with chloroform, bore me away from the -palace. I had great difficulty in finding it again, I assure you."</p> - -<p>"Signor, your story is that of a dream. I cannot believe you."</p> - -<p>"It is true, nevertheless."</p> - -<p>Bianca said nothing, but tapped her little foot on the ground with a -thoughtful frown on her small face. I was glad that my task was over, -for absurd as was the story I had told her, it was more merciful than -the truth. Now that I had to some extent quieted her fears by telling -her that Guiseppe was alive--a thing, alas! that I could not be -certain of myself--I hoped to get away at once to the Palazzo Morone -and make one last effort to find his body. If I failed there would be -nothing left for me to do but to inform the police, and in the -interests of Bianca I was unwilling to do this until I had exhausted -every means of solving the mystery myself.</p> - -<p>Suddenly Bianca's face cleared, and she looked at me with steady -determination.</p> - -<p>"Signor, you know this palazzo?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, Signorina."</p> - -<p>"And this room where you think Guiseppe is held captive?"</p> - -<p>"I do, Signorina."</p> - -<p>"Then take me to it at once."</p> - -<p>She started to her feet with a deep flush on her face, and threw out -her hands towards me with an appealing gesture. As for me, I sat -still, transfixed with astonishment at the spirit displayed by this -gentle girl, who was thus willing to dare the dangers, of the unknown -in order to save her lover.</p> - -<p>"Take me to it at once!" she repeated quickly.</p> - -<p>"Signorina, I--I cannot. You are mad to think of such a thing."</p> - -<p>"Is your story true or false, Signor Hugo?"</p> - -<p>"True! yes, it is true!"</p> - -<p>"Then I will judge of its truth myself--with my own eyes. Wait, I will -put on my hat, and you will take me to this palazzo at once."</p> - -<p>"Signorina----"</p> - -<p>"Not another word, I have made up my mind. You promised to be my -friend, Signor Hugo. I hold you to that promise. Ecco!"</p> - -<p>She was gone before I could utter further remonstrance, and during her -absence I reflected rapidly. It was true that Guiseppe was dead, that -I believed his body was concealed somewhere in that room, so perhaps -after all it was best that Bianca should come, as her quick woman's -wit might succeed where I had failed. She knew nothing about the -implication of the Contessa Morone in the affair, the palazzo would be -quite deserted during the daytime, so I would be able to take her -there, let her examine the room, and if by chance the truth was -revealed that Guiseppe was dead, it would be a more merciful way than -by the lips of a stranger. Yes, I would take her there at once. If we -failed in our mission she would be no wiser than before, but if we -succeeded--ah! how I pitied the poor child if we succeeded in finding -out the terrible secret of the Contessa. At this moment she returned -trembling with ill-suppressed excitement.</p> - -<p>"Well, Signor Hugo, are you ready--are you willing to help me?"</p> - -<p>"With all my heart, Signorina."</p> - -<p>"Ebbene! come, then."</p> - -<p>She ran lightly out of the room, and I followed with a heavy heart, -for I had a presentiment of evil. I feared that fatal chamber, which -held so many impure memories--I feared the discovery of the dead--I -feared for this child who went forward in ignorance to face such -horrors.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_10" href="#div1Ref_10">CHAPTER X.</a></h4> -<h5>A VOICE IN THE DARKNESS</h5> -<br> - -<p>On returning from my last visit to the palace I had carefully noted -the way thereto, so I was able to escort Signorina Angello without -calling in the services of Peppino. I was unwilling to drive there, as -the presence of a fiacre even in that deserted piazza might be -noticed, and I did not want any comment made by the scandal-loving -Italian populace on our visit to this out-of-the-way locality. So in -company with Bianca, who had put on a veil, and who said nothing to me -from the time we left Casa Angello, being apparently occupied with her -own reflections, I walked down the gloomy, narrow streets towards that -terrible Palazzo Morone, the very idea of which inspired me with -horror and dismay.</p> - -<p>It was one of those burning days common to that time of the year in -Italy, and much as I despised and cursed those drain-like alleys in -wet weather, yet I now saw there was method in the madness of their -style of building, for their cool shadow and humid atmosphere was -wonderfully pleasant after the glare, the dust, and heat of the great -piazza. We walked on the broad carriage-way, which was less painful to -the feet than the cobble-stone paving between, and every now and then -saw some typical picture of Italian life. A dark-faced woman with a -red handkerchief twisted carelessly round her head, leaning from a -high balcony, on the iron railings of which was displayed the family -washing; a purple cloud of wisteria blooming in some pergola near the -red roof-tops; sleek grey donkeys laden with panniers, stepping -complacently along the narrow way; slender Italian men presiding over -fruit-stalls, piled high with their picturesque contents; and over -all, the vivacious clatter and din of voices, struck through at times -with the sharp, metallic notes of the mandolin. It was very charming, -and, I would have enjoyed it thoroughly, artistically speaking, had it -not been for the local odours. Oh, the smells of those picturesque -streets! they were too terrible for description; and how the Italians -are not swept off the face of the earth by a plague of typhoid is more -than I can understand. I smoked cigarettes most of the time, as a -preventive against infection; but on beholding ideal paintings of -Italian scenes, I always shudder at the memory of the malodorous -reality, and on arriving in well-drained London again, my first prayer -was one of thanks for having escaped from ill-smelling Italy.</p> - -<p>My thoughts during this portentous walk were, I am afraid, rather -frivolous; but so fearful had been the strain on my nerves for the -past few days, that it was a great relief to think idly of anything -and any one. Not so Bianca; even through her veil I could see the -glisten of tears, and catch the sound of her quick indrawn breath as -she strove to fight down the emotion that threatened to overwhelm her. -I saw that the poor child was nearly hysterical with her efforts to -control herself, and stopped short in dismay.</p> - -<p>"Signorina, you are not well. Do not go to this palazzo."</p> - -<p>"Yes, yes! I must, Signor Hugo. I cannot pass another night in this -state of suspense. I must know all, and at once. Is the Palazzo Morone -far off?"</p> - -<p>"We are just at it, Signorina."</p> - -<p>And so we were; for at that moment we entered the silent, grass-grown -square, at the end of which stood the palazzo, looking gruesome even -in the sunshine, with its broken windows, damp, disfigured walls, and -general air of weird solitude. Some swallows were shooting through the -still air and twittering round the rich sculptures of the façade, but -their merry chirpings only added to the eerie feeling inspired by the -great mansion--a feeling which I noticed thrilled Bianca with fear as -she paused shuddering, under the grinning masks and unlovely faces -peering downward from the arched entrance.</p> - -<p>"Oh, how could he come to this terrible place at night!" she cried, -crossing herself, with a look of fear in her eyes. "Desolate as it is -in the sun, what must it be when the moon shines! It is an abode of -the dead--a tomb--a tomb! Dio! his tomb."</p> - -<p>"Signorina, do not affright yourself thus! Things may not be so bad as -you think."</p> - -<p>"It is like the Inferno of Dante! and turns my blood cold with fear; -but I will not go back! I must find Guiseppe, even if it cost me my -life. Come, Signor, presto! there is no time to lose."</p> - -<p>She crossed herself once more, then flitted through the opening in the -iron gate like a noiseless-winged bird, upon which I hastily followed -her, and we stood for a moment in the lonely courtyard, gazing at the -great portals of the door leading to the hall, which stood half-open.</p> - -<p>"Signorina, I will lead you to the room. You are not afraid? You do -not tremble?"</p> - -<p>"Ah! I am afraid, and I do tremble, Signor, for I am only a girl; but -lead on, love will make me strong, and you will protect me. Give me -your hand, Signor; I am not afraid when I hold your hand."</p> - -<p>With a fleeting smile on her pale lips, she placed her hand in mine, -and as I grasped its cold whiteness, I guessed how terrified this -delicate, superstitious girl was of this unholy place. But for the -resolute look on her pallid face, I would have insisted upon her -turning back; but it was useless to urge retreat now, so with the name -"Guiseppe! Guiseppe!" on her lips, as if to inspire her with courage, -she almost dragged me through the half-closed door into the hall of -shadows.</p> - -<p>"Ah! Mother Mary, it is like a church!"</p> - -<p>It was like a church--like some old deserted church, filled with -the chill atmosphere of the grave; and the slow movement of the -wind-shaken tapestries, the glimmer of the ghostly white stairs in the -dim distance, and the solemnity of the huge pillars of black marble, -made me think of those God-cursed cities of the "Thousand and One -Nights," whose silence is only broken by the voice of the one survivor -chanting the melancholy verses of the Koran. Bianca, overpowered by -this mute spectacle of a dead past, clung convulsively to my arm with -faltering prayers on her lips, and I became afraid lest, by a feeling -of sympathy, her terror should unnerve me also, so with a cheerful -laugh, which echoed dismally through the vast vestibule, I led her -onward towards the grand staircase.</p> - -<p>"Come, Signorina, do not be afraid. You are quite safe with me."</p> - -<p>"Yes, yes! Guiseppe! Guiseppe!"</p> - -<p>We slowly ascended the staircase, gained the corridor, and at length -arrived at the second flight of shallow steps leading to the secret -room. Here Bianca, seeing the darkness, nearly fainted with nervous -fear, for, deeply imbued with grim Italian superstitions, she beheld -unseen terrors in every shadowy corner. I again wanted her to return, -but with wilful obstinacy she refused, so, as I luckily had a -pocket-flask of brandy with me, I made her take a little to revive -her. The fiery spirit put new life into her sinking limbs, and, after -lighting my candle as usual, I led her up the steps, through the short -corridor, through the tapestried ante-chamber, until at last we stood -in the fatal room.</p> - -<p>"Here, Signor Hugo!"</p> - -<p>"Yes!"</p> - -<p>She flung back her veil with a feverish gesture, and peered into the -darkness, which was hardly broken by the feeble light of the small -candle I carried. Suddenly a thought struck me which I at once put -into execution, and lighted all the tapers yet remaining in the -candelabra on the table. To the darkness succeeded a blaze of mellow -light, and Bianca, with a look of surprise on her face, gazed round -the singular room with the white pillars, the ominous blood-red -hangings, and the banquet of the dead set forth with such splendid -display on the gilt table.</p> - -<p>"What a strange room!" she said timidly. "Signor Hugo! what does it -mean?"</p> - -<p>"I have told you all I know, Signorina. Your lover was lured to this -room. I saw him pass through that door, and then I was drugged as I -have said."</p> - -<p>"You did not then see who received him here?"</p> - -<p>"No! I did not."</p> - -<p>The first part of the lie was difficult to utter on account of a -choking feeling in my throat, but the last sentence came out with -tolerable grace.</p> - -<p>"And you do not think Guiseppe left this room again?"</p> - -<p>"I'm afraid not, Signorina!"</p> - -<p>"Then, where can he be?" she asked with an anxious look around.</p> - -<p>"I think he is concealed in some secret cell, the entrance to which is -from this apartment."</p> - -<p>"Oh, Signor Hugo, let us look for it at once."</p> - -<p>"Certainly!"</p> - -<p>"A meal on the table--all this gold and silver. It is a robbers' cave, -Signor."</p> - -<p>"Y--es--I suppose so!"</p> - -<p>"Come, let us be quick then, or the robbers may arrive."</p> - -<p>She looked nervously towards the door, but I, taking a candle off the -table, reassured her with a gay laugh,--</p> - -<p>"Do not be afraid, Signorina. No one comes here during the day."</p> - -<p>"Hush! what is that?"</p> - -<p>Infected by her terror my heart gave a jump, and I listened intently, -but could hear no sound.</p> - -<p>"It is nothing, Signorina. Your nerves are unstrung!"</p> - -<p>"No! No! I can hear it. Some one is coming. Listen!"</p> - -<p>In order to humour her fancy I remained silent with all my senses on -the alert, and with a feeling of dread I heard the sound. The light -fall of footsteps, the rustle of a silken dress--a dress!--the full -horror of the situation rushed on me at once.</p> - -<p>"It must be the Contessa Morone!"</p> - -<p>In a moment I had blown out all the candles, and, dragging Bianca with -me, retreated in the darkness to the far end of the room. The girl -gave a little cry as the lights disappeared, but I pressed her hand -significantly.</p> - -<p>"Hush, Signorina. Not a word!"</p> - -<p>At the time I heard the steps they were at the door of the -ante-chamber, where the new-comer was evidently pausing a moment, and -as the curtains of the inner room had been half drawn aside on our -entrance, it was for this reason we had heard them so clearly. The -steps recommenced. I heard their soft, light fall on the marble floor, -the rustle of the silken gown, like the sound of dry leaves in an -autumnal wind, and then I felt that this woman was standing in the -arched doorway, looking straight at myself and the shrinking girl -through the darkness.</p> - -<p>"Why are you here, Signor Hugo, and who is that woman?"</p> - -<p>It was the voice of the Contessa, and I gave a cry of horror as I -suddenly remembered how ineffectual the darkness was to conceal us -from the eyes of this nyctalopist. Bianca, however, knew nothing of -this woman, or of her gift of seeing in the dark; so, overcome with -fear at the demoniac power she believed the unknown possessed, she -gave a shriek of terror and sank fainting at my feet.</p> - -<p>"What does this mean?"</p> - -<p>Again the voice of the Contessa sounded cruel and menacing in its -tones; so feeling myself at a disadvantage in the dark, through not -possessing the terrible attribute of this woman, I staggered forward -and lighted the candles. At once out of the gloom sprang that evil -face with a frown on the white brow, a deadly glitter in the cruel -eyes, and an ominous tightening of the thin lips.</p> - -<p>I don't think I can call myself a coward, but at that moment my blood -ran cold at the horror of that Medusa-like countenance, and I stood -before this phantom of Lucrezia Borgia as if turned into stone, unable -to move or speak.</p> - -<p>The Contessa moved forward to the table and looked at me steadily, -with a wicked smile frozen on her red lips.</p> - -<p>"You do not reply, Signor Hugo; but I begin to understand. You have -been here before?"</p> - -<p>"Yes!"</p> - -<p>I hardly recognised my own voice, so hoarse and broken did it sound, -stealing in a whisper from between my dry lips. She still looked at me -steadily, and I felt fascinated with dread by the snake-like glare of -those cruel eyes.</p> - -<p>"When were you here, Signor?"</p> - -<p>"On Monday night!"</p> - -<p>"And you saw--nothing," she said in a meaning tone.</p> - -<p>"Yes!" I replied, lifting my head boldly, "I saw you receive Guiseppe -Pallanza, and I saw you give him the poisoned cup!"</p> - -<p>She gave a cry of rage like a trapped animal, and made a step forward, -but restraining herself with a powerful effort, sank into a chair and -leaned her elbow on the table. Dressed in heavy black garments of -velvet and silk, she looked more like the Borgia than ever, and the -ruby necklace she constantly wore flashed forth rays of red fire in -the glimmer of the tremulous light.</p> - -<p>"I understand now why you said Guiseppe Pallanza would not come back," -she said with a scornful smile. "I thought last night you knew more -than you told. Eh! Signor, and it was you who sang at the door of the -Ezzelino."</p> - -<p>"Yes, it was I."</p> - -<p>"Meddlesome Englishman that you are, do you not fear that I will treat -you as I treated that false one?"</p> - -<p>"No! I mistrust your wine!"</p> - -<p>"True, Signor Machiavella! forewarned is forearmed. So you came here -to look for Pallanza?"</p> - -<p>"I came to look for his body, Madame Morone, but I do not know where -it is."</p> - -<p>"No; nor will you find it. And who is this woman?"</p> - -<p>"Guiseppe's betrothed."</p> - -<p>The Contessa gave a cry of rage, and, rising from her seat, rushed -towards the unconscious girl where she lay in the darkness. Owing to -her singular gift she needed no light to see by, but examined the face -of her rival minutely in the gloom. I had stepped forward, fearing -lest, carried away by jealous anger, she should do the poor child an -injury; but such was not her intention, for after a minute's -examination, she arose from her stooping position with a burst of -wicked laughter.</p> - -<p>"So it was for this white-faced thing that he was going to leave -me--me, Giulietta Morone! Eh, I feel much flattered at having such a -rival. Why is she here, Signor Hugo?"</p> - -<p>"To find Pallanza," I replied shortly.</p> - -<p>"She will never find him; he is lost to her for ever. But," she added, -with a wicked smile, "I am not afraid of your betraying me, Signor -Hugo. I am not afraid of this poor fool, who thought to take Guiseppe -from me, so I will revenge myself."</p> - -<p>"Revenge yourself?"</p> - -<p>"Yes; I have said it. You came here like a thief in the night, and saw -what you were not meant to see. She comes in the daylight to seek her -lover. Well, she shall see him. Wait till she revives, and I will -blast her eyes with the sight of what he is now."</p> - -<p>"You are a demon!"</p> - -<p>"I am a wronged woman, whom a man sought to deceive. Ecco! Behold, -then, Englishman that you are, how we Italian women revenge -ourselves!"</p> - -<p>She stepped past the unconscious body Of the girl, and, going to one -of the pillars on the right side of the room, apparently touched a -spring, for the whole pillar--which, as I have described before, was -half built into the wall--revolved slowly with a grating sound and -displayed a cavity. I bent forward with a shudder of horror, and -saw--nothing!</p> - -<p>The cavity was empty!</p> - -<p>Signora Morone gazed at it with a look of horror on the wild beauty of -her face; then, with a cry of rage, of fear, and of dread, rushed out -of the room.</p> - -<p>I heard her shriek, "Lost! lost! lost!" three times, then the sound of -her retreating footsteps died away in the distance, and I was left -alone in the ghastly gloom with the unconscious girl at my feet, and -an agony in my heart such as I never hope to feel again in this life.</p> - -<p>How I got out of that accursed room I hardly know; but I faintly -remember lifting Bianca in my arms, and, guided by instinct, stagger -through the dark corridors, down the silent stairs, and out into the -courtyard. The fresh air seemed to revive me, and, collecting my -scattered senses together with a gigantic effort, I looked round for -some means by which to bring Bianca out of her faint, the length of -which alarmed me terribly.</p> - -<p>In the corner of the courtyard there was a sculptured trough, which -the late rains had brimmed over, so, hastening towards this, I filled -my cap with water, and, returning to Bianca, threw it in her face.</p> - -<p>She revived slowly with a shuddering sigh, and looked round vacantly; -then, with a sudden recollection of what she had come through, she -flung herself into my arms with an imploring cry,--</p> - -<p>"Oh, that voice! that voice! Take me away from that cruel voice!" -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_11" href="#div1Ref_11">CHAPTER XI.</a></h4> -<h5>THE MARCHESE BELTRAMI</h5> -<br> - -<p>I managed to take Bianca home without much difficulty, for it was my -good fortune to meet a disengaged fiacre in one of the narrow streets -leading to the piazza Vittorio Emanuele, and placing the poor girl -therein, we drove straight to the Casa Angello. The Signorina was in a -very excited state, as that menacing voice, issuing out of the -darkness, had quite unnerved her; so, placing her in charge of -Petronella, who made her lie down, I went for a doctor. Being a -stranger in Verona it was difficult to find one, but at last I did so, -and took him at once to see Bianca, for whom he prescribed a soothing -draught, and assured me that she would be all right after a few hours' -sleep. This trouble therefore being off my mind, I went back to my -hotel, in order to consider what was best to be done in the present -emergency.</p> - -<p>I now saw that my surmise was right, and that the Contessa had hidden -the body of the unfortunate Pallanza in the concealed tomb contrived -by Count Mastino Morone for his guilty wife. It was a horribly -ingenious idea that revolving pillar, and no one would have guessed -its ghastly secret without being shown. Doubtless the wicked Donna -Renata, shut up in this circular prison, had there starved slowly to -death in an upright position, for, of course, the cavity was too -narrow and too shallow to admit of any human being lying down. The -skilful devilry of the device made me feel quite ill, especially when -I thought how the worthy descendant of Borgia's accursed daughter had -utilised this secret cell for her own infamous purpose. In this -frightful oubliette the body of Guiseppe Pallanza would have remained -for ever concealed; but then, according to the evidence of my own -eyes, the body was not there.</p> - -<p>That the Contessa had placed the corpse in the pillar I had not the -slightest doubt, as in showing the hiding-place she evidently expected -to overwhelm me by the hideous evidence of her barbarous criminality. -That the cavity was empty was as much a surprise to her as to me, and -the shriek of terror she had given when flying from the chamber showed -me that she was overpowered with fear at the thought that her gruesome -secret was shared by another person, for, putting me out of the -question altogether, there appeared to be a third party implicated in -this singular affair.</p> - -<p>For my own part I believed it to be the man who had watched with me at -the curtained archway, and who, after drugging me, bore me insensible -from that terrible place. After doing so, and thus, according to his -idea, putting it out of my power to re-discover the palace, he had -returned to his post and seen the Contessa conceal the body of her -victim in the cavity of the pillar. On her departure, for some reason -best known to himself, he had removed the corpse, and hidden it -somewhere else. This was, no doubt, the true story of the affair, but -who was the man who had watched at the door, and who had taken away -the body of Pallanza? It was impossible to guess the reasons for his -behaving in this mysterious way, and the Contessa was evidently as -ignorant as myself of his actions, judging from her terrified flight -on discovering the truth. Whomsoever this unknown person was, he, to -all appearances, held the key to the whole riddle, and, could I find -him, I would doubtless learn the reason of Madame Morone's visit to -the burial-ground, and the final fate of the unhappy tenor whom she -had lured to his destruction.</p> - -<p>But how to find him! that was the question, and one to which I could -find no satisfactory answer; so in the dilemma in which I thus found -myself involved, I decided to tell Luigi Beltrami, as the only friend -I had in Verona, the whole devilish story. In addition to the desire I -felt of asking his advice and opinion, I thought it but right that he -should know the real character of the woman he was about to marry, and -not discover too late that he was tied for life to a ghoul, a vampire, -a murderess.</p> - -<p>With this determination I looked for the card the Marchese had given -me, and finding it in one of my pockets, discovered that my Italian -friend lived in the Via Cartoni. As he had mentioned that he was -always at home in the afternoon, doubtless to take a siesta during the -heat of the day, on finishing my midday meal I went out to pay him a -visit.</p> - -<p>In spite of his assertion that he was poor, Beltrami had a sufficient -income to warrant him living in a moderately expensive manner, and on -my arrival at his rooms in the Via Cartoni, I was shown into a very -well-furnished apartment. As the Marchese was stationed with his -regiment at Verona for some considerable time, he had evidently -brought a portion of his furniture from his Florentine palazzo, for -the room was too handsome to be that of the ordinary class of -furnished apartments. As usual, the ceiling was charmingly painted; -the floor was of marble, covered here and therewith square Turkish -carpets; and in addition to a piano there were plenty of pictures and -photographs, showing the artistic taste of the owner of the place.</p> - -<p>Beltrami himself, dressed as usual in his uniform, was seated at a -desk placed in the window, writing letters, but he desisted when I was -announced, and arose to greet me with marked cordiality.</p> - -<p>"Ma foi, Hugo, this is kind of you to call so soon," he said when I -was comfortably established in a chair. "I was just writing you a -letter asking you to dine with me and go to the Ezzelino to-night, but -as you are here the note is useless."</p> - -<p>"The fact is, my dear Marchese, I have called on a selfish errand."</p> - -<p>"Indeed!"</p> - -<p>"Yes; still it is one that concerns yourself also."</p> - -<p>"How so, mon ami? Come, tell me this mystery about which I know -nothing and you know everything; but first here are some excellent -cigarettes--Russian, my friend, not Italian. Dame! the tobacco of this -country, it is horrible. Will you have some wine?"</p> - -<p>"No, thank you, Beltrami, but I will be glad to smoke."</p> - -<p>"Bene! help yourself."</p> - -<p>He pushed the box towards me, and, after I had taken a cigarette, -followed my example, then, throwing himself into a chair near me, he -nodded his head to show that he was ready to hear what I had to say.</p> - -<p>"Marchese!" I said, after some slight hesitation, "I think we are old -enough friends to admit of my speaking to you freely."</p> - -<p>"Eh! certainly!"</p> - -<p>"I trust you will not be offended."</p> - -<p>Beltrami blew a wreath of smoke, and laying back his handsome head on -the cushions of the chair, laughed heartily.</p> - -<p>"No, my doubting Englishman, I promise you I will not be offended at -anything you say."</p> - -<p>"But, Luigi, it is about the Contessa Morone!"</p> - -<p>"Eh! about the Contessa?--I thought as much!"</p> - -<p>"How so?" I asked in some surprise.</p> - -<p>The face of the Marchese assumed that cruel, cunning look I so much -disliked to see, and he eyed me in a nonchalant manner.</p> - -<p>"Dame! Signor Hugo, I will tell you when I hear your story of the -Contessa."</p> - -<p>Thus committed to narrative, I told Beltrami the whole story of my -adventure from the time I had seen the Contessa at the graveyard to -the hour when she had fled in dismay from the Palazzo Morone. He -listened attentively, and when I had finished remained silent for a -few minutes with a thoughtful look on his dark face.</p> - -<p>"Why do you tell me all this, mon ami?" he asked, at length, twisting -his moustache in a reflective manner.</p> - -<p>"For two reasons. First, you may be able to aid me in my search for -Pallanza; and second, you must have been ignorant of the character of -the woman you are going to marry."</p> - -<p>"As to the first reason, Hugo, you are right. As to the second, you -are wrong."</p> - -<p>"What, you know----"</p> - -<p>"I know most of the story you have told me, and as to the Signora -Morone, mon Dieu! I know her better than she does herself."</p> - -<p>"Then why marry her?"</p> - -<p>Beltrami shrugged his shoulders and selected another cigarette.</p> - -<p>"Eh! she is rich and I am poor. It is time I ranged myself, as the -French say, and I cannot afford to marry a poor wife; besides----"</p> - -<p>"Besides what?"</p> - -<p>"I rather like the task of taming this demon of a woman. Madame Morone -is Satan's mistress in the matter of temper, I know, but I come of a -race who either broke the will of their wives or----"</p> - -<p>"Or?" I asked interrogatively.</p> - -<p>"Or killed them!"</p> - -<p>"That's rather risky nowadays, Marchese. We do not live in the time of -the Renaissance remember. But let us leave off this discussion of -Madame Morone. I have told you my story, and you say you knew most of -it before!"</p> - -<p>"And I say truly. Now listen, you cold-blooded islander, and see if I -cannot disturb your phlegmatic disposition."</p> - -<p>He paused a moment to give greater weight to his remarks, the -conclusion of which I impatiently awaited.</p> - -<p>"I was the man who drugged you and had you carried to the Piazza -Vittorio."</p> - -<p>"You!"</p> - -<p>"I was the man who carried away the body of Guiseppe Pallanza."</p> - -<p>"You!"</p> - -<p>"I am the man who, knowing what I do, calmly and with open eyes, have -made up my mind to marry Madame Morone."</p> - -<p>"You!"</p> - -<p>I was so overwhelmed with the disclosures made by Beltrami that I -could only sit thunderstruck in my chair, looking like an idiot and -repeating "You! you! you!" parrot-fashion. Beltrami enjoyed my -confusion for some time, and then went on speaking with a mocking -smile:--</p> - -<p>"Eh! I astonish you, Hugo. Well, I admit I treated you rather badly, -my friend; but then at the time I did not know whom you were. Dame! I -cannot see in the dark like Madame Gatta."</p> - -<p>The Marchese then was the man who held the key to this enigma, and, -far from being offended at his rough treatment of me on that fatal -night, I was only too delighted at discovering the unknown person who, -in this strange repetition of the old legend, had played the part of -Count Mastino Morone.</p> - -<p>"I have rather startled you, I fancy, Hugo?" said Beltrami with an -ironical laugh.</p> - -<p>"I would be a fool to deny it; but now that your dramatic surprise has -come off so excellently, perhaps you will tell me what it all means."</p> - -<p>"Without doubt; confidence for confidence! Besides, I want your help -to carry this comedy to its legitimate conclusion."</p> - -<p>"Comedy, you call it? To my mind it is more like a tragedy."</p> - -<p>"There you are wrong, mon ami. In a tragedy there must be a death."</p> - -<p>"Well! You forget Pallanza?"</p> - -<p>"Not at all, Hugo; that is the whole point. Pallanza is not dead."</p> - -<p>I stared at the Marchese in astonishment.</p> - -<p>"Pallanza not dead! Impossible! I saw him die on that night."</p> - -<p>"Dame! You saw him fall insensible at the feet of the Contessa Morone, -but insensibility is not death."</p> - -<p>"Then he is alive?"</p> - -<p>"Naturally! One must either be alive or dead. And as this devil of a -tenor is not the latter, he must therefore be the former."</p> - -<p>"Then where is he?"</p> - -<p>"Eh! that is part of the story."</p> - -<p>This epigrammatic fencing on the part of Beltrami annoyed me greatly, -as it piqued my curiosity without satisfying it, and I threw my -half-smoked cigarette away with an outburst of bad temper.</p> - -<p>"My dear Luigi, you have promised to tell me the story of this -mystery, and instead of doing so you fire off epigrammatic squibs like -Pasquin during the Carnival. The story, the story! I beg of you."</p> - -<p>"Eh! certainly! Then take another cigarette, and I will tell you this -'Thousand and Second Night' romance."</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_12" href="#div1Ref_12">CHAPTER XII.</a></h4> -<h5>DEATH IN LIFE</h5> -<br> - -<p>"It is such a long story, Hugo," said Beltrami, a trifle maliciously, -"that we must really have some wine."</p> - -<p>"I do not want wine; I want 'The Thousand and Second Night.'"</p> - -<p>"Bene! you shall have both."</p> - -<p>The Marchese arose and summoned his servant, who brought up a bottle -of Barbera, that rough-tasting wine which is so pleasant and cool in -hot weather. For the sake of companionship I took some with Beltrami, -and haying thus attended to the duties of hospitality, he signed to -his servant to withdraw, and without further preamble began his tale.</p> - -<p>"Eh, Hugo, mon ami," he said, settling himself comfortably in his -chair, "this would be a charming story for M. Bourget, that modern -Balzac, who analyses the hearts of the ladies of this generation in so -masterly a fashion. Dame! I would like to give him Madame Morone's to -dissect--he'd find some strange things there. Yet--would you believe -it?--this woman, worthy to be a sister of Lucrezia Borgia, came out of -a convent to marry my poor friend Morone."</p> - -<p>"You knew him then?"</p> - -<p>"Ma foi! I should think so, for many years. People said he was mad, -but the only mad action he committed, to my mind, was in marrying -Giulietta Rossana."</p> - -<p>"Yet you propose to do the same thing?"</p> - -<p>"True, but I possess a means of taming this tigress of which the -unfortunate Giorgio Morone knew nothing. He was a great chemist, this -poor Count, and particularly fond of toxicology, a dangerous science -with such a wife, as he found out to his cost. Cospetto! I would not -care myself about forging weapons for another to use against me, but -that is exactly what Morone did."</p> - -<p>"She poisoned him?"</p> - -<p>"Eh! nobody says so, yet everybody thinks so. For my part, I believe -the Contessa capable of anything. At all events, Morone died very -suddenly, and was duly buried in that old ancestral vault to which his -devoted wife, a year after his death, paid a visit. Well, before he -died, Morone grew suspicious of the Contessa, and as he had just -invented or rediscovered a poison which left no trace of having been -used, and also an antidote to the same, he determined not to give the -Signora an opportunity of exercising it on him, so this toxicological -secret was buried with him."</p> - -<p>"Ah! I see now why she went to the graveyard. It was to get this -poison."</p> - -<p>"Exactly! Whether it was put in the coffin of the dead man, or merely -hidden in the vault, I don't know, but we will go and see."</p> - -<p>"To what end? She has the poison!"</p> - -<p>"Certainly! I believe that, after seeing it exercised upon Pallanza; -but she has not got the antidote."</p> - -<p>"How do you know that, Beltrami."</p> - -<p>"Because the Contessa knows nothing of the existence of the antidote. -Morone talked enough about the poison itself, but he only mentioned -the antidote to one man, and that was myself. You see, Hugo, he -thought madame might try a little of his own poison on himself, in -which case I would be able to give him the antidote."</p> - -<p>"Couldn't he have taken it himself?"</p> - -<p>"No! this poison does not kill unless given in a large quantity; five -drops make you feel chill and listless; ten drops take away your -senses and converts you into what I may paradoxically call a -breathing corpse; but fifteen drops kill. So, if madame had given her -husband fifteen drops he would have lapsed into a stupor and died, -unless the antidote was given, so that is why he bestowed it on me."</p> - -<p>"Well, but she killed him after all?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, but with another poison not of home manufacture. Eh! what would -you, Hugo, the Contessa was not going to be thwarted by a husband who -kept his laboratory locked. However, he tricked her over this -particular poison, for he either gave instructions that it was to be -put into his coffin without the knowledge of his dear wife, or he hid -it himself in the vault, as he hinted to me one day he intended to -do."</p> - -<p>"There's no doubt then that the Contessa went to the vault for the -poison; but what about the antidote? Is it in your possession?"</p> - -<p>"Unfortunately, no, mon ami. I was ordered away from Verona, and -gave back the antidote to the Count; but on my return here, I heard -casually that he had left a letter for me, to be delivered after his -death. I went to Rome, where the Contessa was one of the ornaments of -the Court, and asked for the letter. Of course she denied ever having -heard of it."</p> - -<p>"And what do you think was in this letter?"</p> - -<p>"Eh! ma foi, I believe it told me where the poison was hidden in the -vault, and that our dear Contessa found the letter, went to the vault -on the night you saw her and obtained the poison."</p> - -<p>"Also the antidote?"</p> - -<p>"Dame! I'm not so sure of that. I knew about the antidote so well that -I don't think Morone would have mentioned it in the letter, in case it -should meet the eye of his wife. No! No! mon ami! she has the poison, -of course; but the antidote, I believe it is still in the vault, where -we will look for it."</p> - -<p>"For what reason?"</p> - -<p>"Diamine! to revive this devil of a tenor who has had the misfortune -to take ten drops of the Signora Morone's mixture."</p> - -<p>"But where is Pallanza?"</p> - -<p>"All in good time, Hugo, all in good time. I must tell you the rest of -the story first."</p> - -<p>"I am all impatience, Beltrami."</p> - -<p>The Marchese, I saw, was enjoying this conversation, as the -subject-matter was of an involved and difficult character which -appealed to the subtleties of his Italian nature; and the chance of -playing a part in this intrigue, worthy of the Court of Lorenzo di -Medici, delighted him beyond measure. He was, as I have said before, -an anachronism, and this everyday, commonplace life of the nineteenth -century offered no field for the exercise of his cunning brain and -delicate diplomacy, which revelled in those bizarre complications, -full of sophistry and double meanings, which distinguished the -intricate statecraft of the Italian republics.</p> - -<p>"You wonder," continued the Marchese reflectively; "you wonder, no -doubt, after hearing my opinions about the Contessa Morone, that I -should care to marry her; but, as I told you before, there are -reasons. I am poor, she is rich, and I marry her for her money. This -is brutal is it not? but then you see I look at the matter from a -Latin point of view, you from an English. As Euclid---whom, by the -way, I always hated--says, 'Two parallel straight lines cannot meet,' -it is no use our arguing over this point, as neither of us would -convince the other. It is a question of race, Hugo, nothing more. -Ebbene! my other reason is that I wish to tame this woman with the -heart of a tigress. I am wearied of the dulness of this present life, -and the task of fencing with Signora Morone will be a perpetual -excitement, particularly as I know it will not be unattended with -danger. This is also a question of race, and the theory of straight -lines applies, so again we will not argue; but you can see one thing -plainly, that I want to marry the Contessa?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, I can see that, and I wonder at your daring."</p> - -<p>"Straight lines, for the third time, Signor Hugo. Ebbene! Although I -wanted to marry the Contessa, she hating and detesting me with her -whole soul, as a friend of her late husband, would not listen to me at -all, so as she would not go to the altar willingly, I determined to -force her there. I made it my business to find out all about her life, -and a devil of a life it is, I can tell you. Pallanza is not the first -lover this daughter of Venus has smiled on."</p> - -<p>"Oh!" I broke out in disgust, "how can you think of marrying this -infamous woman--a murderess, a poisoner, a fiend in human form?"</p> - -<p>"Dio! I have given you my reasons, and you, straitlaced Englishman -that you are, cannot understand them. However, we will talk of this -again; meantime to continue. The Contessa was so madly in love with -Pallanza, who I grant you is a handsome fellow with a charming voice, -that I foresaw when he attempted to leave her there would be trouble. -I discovered that he was engaged to some Signorina of Milan, that she -was at Verona, and that Pallanza was going to sing at Verona; so when -he did arrive I was in nowise astonished at the appearance of Madame -Morone at the Ezzelino. Things were coming to a climax, so I watched -for the bursting of the storm. The rendezvous of these lovers would -be, I knew, at the deserted Palazzo Morone. How did I know? Mon cher -ami, you are simplicity itself. Have I not told you that I knew the -Contessa when she lived at Verona with her husband, and--and--well it -is not the first time she has used that palazzo and played at -Boccaccian stories in that room. You know she fancies herself like -Lucrezia Borgia, and tries to imitate those picturesque feasts to -which Ferrara's Duchess was so addicted--yes, even to the use of -poison. Dame! I thought I was at the opera when I saw that supper the -other night."</p> - -<p>"How did you get into the palazzo?"</p> - -<p>"Ah, that is an adventure worthy of Gil Bias. I filed through a bar in -the gate and wrenched it out."</p> - -<p>"I thought so, for I entered the same way!"</p> - -<p>"I guessed as much, my friend. Ebbene! I watched the palace from the -time Madame Morone arrived in Verona, and my patience was rewarded on -Monday night by seeing our picturesque tenor use his key and enter by -the side door. I was not alone, for I greatly mistrusted Madame Morone -should she discover me in that lonely palazzo; so, as I had two men -absolutely devoted to me, I took them with me."</p> - -<p>"They were very brave to go near that ghastly palace, considering the -reputation it has."</p> - -<p>"Ma foi, they are Florentines, and know nothing about Verona. Their -ancestors have been in the service of mine for many years, and in -their eyes a Beltrami can do no wrong. Now is that not wonderful in -this present age of ducats and steam-engines?"</p> - -<p>"So wonderful, Marchese, that I can hardly believe it!"</p> - -<p>"Cospetto! it is true I tell you. These men are absolutely devoted to -me, and think me a much greater man than Umberto of Savoy. Ebbene! I -posted my two men in a dark corner of the palazzo with instructions -not to move until I told them; then I went after our tenor, and found -him strumming on the mandolin while he awaited the arrival of the -Contessa."</p> - -<p>"Ah! she had gone to the burial-ground."</p> - -<p>"Yes! I did not know that until you told me. However, I hid myself -behind the tapestry in the outer room and waited. The Contessa -arrived, and, to my surprise, you also appeared. I caught a glimpse of -you at the door before that torch went out, but, of course, I did not -recognise you, and was puzzled to account for your presence there. -Luckily, I had a bottle of chloroform in my pocket, which I took with -me to the palace in case of accidents----"</p> - -<p>"But what good would chloroform do?"</p> - -<p>"Dame! have you ever seen Madame Morone in a rage?"</p> - -<p>"No!"</p> - -<p>"Then it is not a pretty sight, I can tell you. That woman is a devil, -and, for all I know, might have had some one in the palace to do her -bidding. If I had been found there, and taken at a disadvantage, I -might have occupied that delightful pillar and never been seen again. -Ah! you smile, mon ami, but remember this is Italy, not England, and -with a woman like the Contessa, who recalls the Borgia times so -admirably, it is always well to be prepared If she had discovered me, -my chloroform might have come in useful."</p> - -<p>"It certainly did in my case!"</p> - -<p>"Ma foi, I've told you before I did not know it was you. I only beheld -a stranger, and thinking that the stranger might interfere with my -plans, I stole across the ante-chamber, and when you fell back--well, I -used my chloroform. Then I left you lying hidden behind the tapestry, -and went on watching Madame Morone at her Borgian supper. She was -dragging Pallanza's body to the pillar, and, having safely shut him up -there, departed with a satisfied smile on her face; so I was left -alone with two apparently dead men--Pallanza in the pillar, and you -behind the tapestry."</p> - -<p>"A sufficiently dramatic situation I think, Marchese."</p> - -<p>"Eh! no doubt. There is more drama in life---especially in Italian -life--than people think, and there are even stranger events than this -comedy of the Palazzo Morone take place in our midst."</p> - -<p>"From what I have seen of your people, Luigi, I quite believe it. -Well, about this dramatic situation--what did you do next?"</p> - -<p>"Cospetto! I played my part on the stage with great judgment, I can -tell you. When I was sure that Madame Morone had left the palazzo I -re-lighted the candles, and went to see what appearance my man behind -the tapestry presented. To my surprise I recognised Signor Hugo -Cranston, and you may fancy I was considerably astonished, as I could -not understand how you had become mixed up in this Boccaccian -adventure. Friendship said, 'Revive him and apologize.' Caution -remarked, 'Remove him from the palazzo, and let him think the events -of the night a dream.'"</p> - -<p>"Oh! and you adopted the advice of caution?"</p> - -<p>"Diavolo! what else could I do? You might have interfered with my -plans; and, besides, I always intended to give you an explanation when -the Contessa became the Marchesa Beltrami. Circumstances, however, -have brought about the explanation sooner than I intended."</p> - -<p>"So I see," I replied drily. "However, you removed me from the -palace."</p> - -<p>"Yes! I called up my two men, and, telling them you -were--well--overcome by Bacchus, ordered them to take you to the -Piazza Vittorio Emanuele and leave you there. Ecco!"</p> - -<p>"Oh, Beltrami."</p> - -<p>"Eh, you reproach me. Well, I no doubt deserve your reproaches, but it -was the best excuse I could think of, as it doesn't do to trust -servants too much. Ebbene! they took you away and left you in the -Piazza, where you awoke in the morning?"</p> - -<p>"I did, with a confounded headache."</p> - -<p>"Ma foi! that was the chloroform, no doubt. Having thus arranged your -little matter I went to the pillar and released Guiseppe Pallanza."</p> - -<p>"He was not dead, then?"</p> - -<p>"No! She gave him ten drops, I tell you. So that, although he was not -actually dead, he had all the appearance of a corpse. I could not -revive him as I had not the antidote; so, when my two men returned, I -had him brought here."</p> - -<p>"Here! In this house?"</p> - -<p>"Precisely! he is in the next room. We will go and look at him -presently. But to continue: the next day I called upon the Contessa, -and told her I had seen all, suppressing, however, the fact that I had -carried off this unfortunate lover."</p> - -<p>"Which accounted for her surprise to-day on seeing the pillar empty?"</p> - -<p>"Of course; she never dreamed that I would meddle with her work. Well, -I gave her a choice of either explaining her little adventure to the -authorities, and thus run a chance of being imprisoned for life, or of -becoming my wife. Of these two evils she chose the least; so now I am -engaged to marry her, and she will become the Marchesa Beltrami next -month. Interesting, is it not, Hugo?"</p> - -<p>It was no use arguing with this man, who, as he said himself, looked -at the affair in a totally different light from what I did, and I did -not know whether to loathe his brutal candour, to despise his -mercenary designs, or to admire his undoubted courage in marrying this -woman. However, I reflected that his subtle intriguing would -undoubtedly be sufficiently punished by his marriage with this tigress -of a Contessa, and as my only desire was to restore Pallanza to the -arms of Bianca, I neither condemned nor praised Beltrami's singular -conduct, which seemed admirable in his own eyes, but simply -complimented him on his adroitness in following the precepts of -Niccolo Machiavelli. He listened to my cold remarks with a -disbelieving smile on his face, and laughed mockingly when I ceased -speaking.</p> - -<p>"Eh! Hugo, you do not approve of my ideas? Well, I do not wonder at -that Fire and water are not more different than an Italian and an -Englishman. Your cool blood comes from generations of church-going, -straight-laced ancestors, whose beliefs ruled their lives in a simple -manner; but my fiery blood burned in the veins of those condottieri of -the Renaissance who were at war with King and Pope and Republic, who -constantly stood on the verge of unseen precipices, and who needed all -their craft, their courage, and their iron nerve to preserve their -lives and fortunes. Dame! let us talk no more of such contrasts, but -come with me, and I will show you this missing lover of Madame -Morone."</p> - -<p>I acquiesced eagerly in this proposal, and followed Beltrami, who led -me into his bedroom, and, having unlocked a door in the opposite wall, -ushered me into a small, bare apartment, containing a bed on which lay -the still form of Guiseppe Pallanza. There he was dressed the same as -on that fatal night, with his eyes closed, a frozen look on his white -face, and his hands crossed on his breast. Lying thus in his antique -garb he put me in mind of one of those coloured statues which adorn -the tombs of great men; where the face, the hair, and the vestments -are all tinted so as to produce the semblance of life. But was life -here, in the body of this young man, who lay so passively before me -with closed eyes as though he were indeed buried in some sepulchre of -the dead?</p> - -<p>"Oh! he is alive," said Beltrami, guessing my thought as I shrank back -from the bed; "it is a case of suspended animation."</p> - -<p>"But lasting three---four days?"</p> - -<p>"Dame, yes! It would last much longer, I have no doubt. Ten drops -produce this life-in-death state which you see, fifteen drops the same -thing; but the one ends in death after a certain time, the other does -not."</p> - -<p>"But why did you not go to the vault and find this antidote at once?"</p> - -<p>"Well, to tell you the truth, Hugo, I thought it would be a useless -errand, as I do not know where to look for it. I fancied that Madame -Morone might have found another bottle of this damnable poison, but it -never struck me until I heard your story that she had read the letter -addressed by Morone to me, and gone to the vault for the poison."</p> - -<p>"And what are we to do now?"</p> - -<p>"Go to the vault, to be sure, and look for this antidote."</p> - -<p>"But, the vault is locked!"</p> - -<p>"True, I forgot that," said Beltrami, with a thoughtful frown, -"however, I think I can procure the key."</p> - -<p>"From Madame Morone?"</p> - -<p>"Dame! No! that would put her on her guard at once. I want her to -think Pallanza is still in this cataleptic state, otherwise she won't -marry me, as my power over her will be gone. I'll get the key somehow; -if not, one of my men knows something about picking locks, so we will -take him with us."</p> - -<p>"A reputable servant, truly!"</p> - -<p>"Eh! What would you!" said Beltrami carelessly, as he led the way out -of the room and locked the door. "Even lock-picking is useful on -occasions--witness the present one. Well, are you ready to go to the -vault with me to-night?"</p> - -<p>"At night, Beltrami?"</p> - -<p>"Most certainly. If we went in the daytime all Verona would be in -commotion. No! we must go at midnight when no one is about. Have you -the courage?"</p> - -<p>"I think so! but I hope Madame Morone will not be there!"</p> - -<p>"There's no fear of that, as she has no reason to pay a second -visit to the remains of her husband. She has got the poison, and knows -nothing about the antidote, so make yourself easy on that score. -Ecco!"</p> - -<p>"What are you going to do now, Marchesa!"</p> - -<p>"See if I can obtain that key. If I fail to obtain it, I will bring -Matteo with me. As for you, my friend, go and take something to eat, -and meet me on the Ponte Aleardi at midnight."</p> - -<p>"I will be there, Beltrami. Good-bye for the present."</p> - -<p>"À revederci, Hugo; I am obliged for your confidence, as it has solved -the difficulty of knowing what to do with Signor Cupid."</p> - -<p>We both went different ways; Beltrami to search for his key, and -myself to hasten home to my hotel, and prepare myself for the fatigues -of this midnight excursion, which, however much it appealed to the -Marchese's sense of the romantic, was certainly not relished by me.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_13" href="#div1Ref_13">CHAPTER XIII.</a></h4> -<h5>"DOWN AMONG THE DEAD MEN."</h5> -<br> - -<p>Do you know that gruesome old ballad, with its sombre refrain of -"Down! Down! Down among the dead men?" A friend of mine with a deep -bass voice, used to sing it in order to display his lower notes, upon -which--and not without reason--he flattered himself greatly; but in -after years, I never heard it sung without a shudder, so vividly did -it recall to my mind the grotesque horror of that midnight visit to -the Tomb of the Morone, in that old burial-ground of Verona. Of late I -had been so much mixed up with ghosts, vaults, ghouls and crimes, that -I was by no means anxious to continue the category, and would have -infinitely preferred to have let Beltrami, who liked such -uncomfortable things, go alone; but being an Englishman, I had to -uphold the honour of my country, so never thought for a moment of -showing the white feather. Besides, the only chance of saving Pallanza -was by obtaining possession of the antidote, and in spite of my -repugnance to the errand, I fully made up my mind to be on the Ponte -Aleardi at the appointed time.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile I fortified myself against possible horrors by having an -excellent dinner, supplemented by a small bottle of champagne. I could -not afford that luxurious wine, and it was sinfully extravagant of me -to waste my small stock of money upon such a thing, but in the face of -this midnight adventure I really felt that a little stimulant would -comfort me under the circumstances. The result was admirable, for all -my nervous apprehensions disappeared, and I sat in the smoking-room -puffing at my after-dinner pipe in a very contented frame of mind, -considering what awaited me at twelve o'clock p.m. Was I a coward? I -don't think so. Many men who have no physical fear, and would ride -gaily enough into battle, shrink with superstitious awe from the eerie -neighbourhood of the dead, and I, owing to the causes I have stated -before, am of this class. Come, then, ye dauntless scoffers, who would -dare anything--in the broad daylight, and let me see if you would -contemplate a midnight visit to an antique vault with equanimity! I -think not, for however brave a man may be, it is the law of Nature -that he should thrill with fear at the approach of the supernatural.</p> - -<p>I sat smoking and thinking in the twilight, which was a bad -preparation for the event, as twilight thoughts are invariably -mournful, and my own dear dead ones seemed to throng in the dusky -shadow of the room, reproaching me in voiceless grief for the -intention I had of profaning the sanctity of the Tomb. To rid myself -of these melancholy reflections, and banish from my brain the mute -crowd of ghosts, I went out for a walk, intending to call at the Casa -Angello, in order to ask after the Signorina Bianca.</p> - -<p>Petronella told me that the poor child was much better, but exhausted -by the shock she had sustained at the Palazzo Morone, and had fallen -into a deep sleep which would do her more good than all the drugs of -the doctor. The worthy domestic was very wrathful at me, and wanted to -know what I had told her "piccola," but I put her off with some -excuse, as I had no desire that she should know the events of that -day. On taking my departure I gave Petronella a note for the -Signorina, which contained only three words, "Wait and hope," with -instructions that it was to be delivered to her when she woke up. -Petronella, somewhat mollified by my assurance that all would be -right, promised to fulfil this commission, and I returned to my hotel -very contented with the present aspect of affairs.</p> - -<p>On regaining my bedroom I lay down about eight o'clock, in order to -get a little sleep, but the remedy was worse than the disease, for -when my eyes were closed the phantoms of waking hours reappeared still -more vividly to my inner senses. However, I fought against the dread -which threatened to overwhelm me, and fell into a comparatively -dreamless slumber, from which I awoke shortly after eleven. Rising -from the bed upon which I had thrown myself half dressed, I hurriedly -completed my toilette, and bathed my burning face in cold water. On my -arrival in Milan, I had bought one of those picturesque Italian cloaks -which one only sees in England on the operatic stage, and throwing -this around me; I put on a soft black wide-awake, so that what with -the mantle draped around me, and my naturally dark face, I looked very -much like a native of Italy. Lighting a cigarette, I took my heavy -stick, and thus prepared, went out to keep my appointment with Luigi -Beltrami on the Ponte Aleardi.</p> - -<p>To the hot day had succeeded the hot night, but a strong dry wind -was blowing which drove the filmy clouds across the face of the -haggard-looking moon. A few stars peeped out here and there through -the frail woof, and the chill moonlight waxed and waned with the -appearing and disappearing of the pale planet, almost lost amid the -wild confluence of drifting clouds. A misty circle round the moon was -prophetic of rain, and under this wild, wind-vexed sky lay the -sleeping city, dark and sombre, with the rough blasts sweeping -drearily down the lonely streets.</p> - -<p>In spite of the heat, so eerie was the aspect of the night that I drew -my cloak around me with a shiver of nervous fear, and leaving the -Piazza Vittorio Emanuele, hastened along the Via Pallone, in the -direction of the Ponte Aleardi. I arrived there just as the clock of -St. Fermo sounded the three-quarters, and as Beltrami was not yet at -the meeting place, I leaned on the balustrade of the bridge and -watched the grey waters swirling under the fitful light of the moon. I -could not help thinking of the strange events which had taken place -since I had last occupied the same position--the antique chamber with -its associations of love and crime--the Teatro Ezzelino, where I had -beheld the phantom of Lucrezia Borgia--the grief and pain of poor -little Bianca, and the extraordinary-conversation I had held with -Beltrami a few hours before. It was all most unreal and feverish, this -mediaeval intrigue into which I had been drawn; and I question if any -student of singing had ever before been involved in such a bizarre -adventure--an adventure which I hoped and prayed and trusted would end -to-night.</p> - -<p>Buried in these sombre reflections I did not hear the sound of -approaching footsteps, and it was only when I felt a hand on my -shoulder that I turned round, with a sudden start, to see the Marchesa -standing beside me wrapped in his military cloak, and accompanied by a -man who waited a little way off in respectful silence.</p> - -<p>"Bravo, Signor Hugo!" cried the Marchesa in a cheerful tone, "you have -been waiting long?"</p> - -<p>"About a quarter of an hour. So you have not obtained the key, -Beltrami?"</p> - -<p>"Unfortunately I have not! However, here is Matteo, and I daresay we -shall manage to get the door open in some way. Come, Caro," continued -Beltrami, taking my arm, "we have no time to lose. Ecco!"</p> - -<p>I do not believe Beltrami had any nerves, for the whole way to the -burial-ground he chatted cheerfully about the antidote, the Contessa -and the tenor, not appearing to be at all impressed with the solemnity -of the affair. What Matteo felt I do not know, as he never opened his -mouth, but glided after us like a shadow, until we arrived at the -broken wall.</p> - -<p>The Marchesa climbed over first, his long sabre clashing heavily -against the stones as he jumped down on the other side. I followed -without delay, and Matteo, having joined us, we went on through -the dense shade of the cypress trees, until we arrived at the -forbidding-looking tomb, the sight of which put me in mind of my -uncanny adventure.</p> - -<p>Beltrami, undeterred by the flaming sword of the guardian angel, tried -the iron door, on the chance that it might be unlocked; but finding it -fast closed, signed to Matteo to get to work at once. Without a word -the man obeyed, and as the moon was now shining down in her full -splendour, he could see perfectly well, without the aid of artificial -light, for, although he carried a torch, Beltrami did not wish it -lighted, in case the glare should attract attention.</p> - -<p>While Matteo was working away at the lock I took my seat on the fallen -stone near the door, and Beltrami, throwing off his cloak, flung -himself down on the grass beside me.</p> - -<p>"Dio, how hot I am!" he exclaimed, wiping his brow.</p> - -<p>"And how very imprudent, Luigi. Remember, you are in uniform."</p> - -<p>"Ma foi, I'm never in anything else," retorted the Marchese gaily; -"don't trouble yourself, Hugo, no one will dare to come near the -cemetery, at this hour, so, uniform or no uniform, I'm safe from -observation. Will you have a cigar?"</p> - -<p>"No, thank you. But you surely do not intend to smoke now?"</p> - -<p>"Why not?" said Beltrami, lighting his cigar; "it cannot harm the -Signori Morone, and I've no wish to go down into that evil-smelling -vault without taking some precaution against fever. Ecco!"</p> - -<p>"Oh, well, do as you will," I replied, indifferently, beginning myself -to grow callous; "but I want to ask you something, Luigi."</p> - -<p>"Ebbene!"</p> - -<p>"Was Count Giorgio Morone really mad?"</p> - -<p>"Eh! I'm not sure. Every one said he was, but I did not think so. -Dame! they call every man mad who has brains above his fellows, and -Morone was a clever man. Though, to be sure, it was curious his hiding -this poison in the vault, instead of destroying it altogether."</p> - -<p>"That would certainly have been the wisest plan."</p> - -<p>"Very likely, but you see, my wise Englishman, Morone had a tenderness -for this child of his brain, and he could not bear to destroy his -work. Oh! inventors are wonderful egotists, I assure you."</p> - -<p>At this moment Matteo, who had been working in silence for some -considerable time, approached his master.</p> - -<p>"Eccellenza, it is open!"</p> - -<p>"Bene!" cried Beltrami, springing to his feet, and wrapping his cloak -around him again, "give me the torch. Come, Signor Hugo, let us go -down, and you, Matteo, stay at the door, and see that we are not -interrupted."</p> - -<p>"Si, Eccellenza!"</p> - -<p>Beltrami stepped cautiously into the tomb, and I followed him, then -half closing the iron door so that the light might not attract -attention, he fired the torch, the flame of which shot upward with a -red flare and resinous odour of smoke, showing us that we stood on the -top of a flight of steep steps which led downward into the darkness. A -chill, humid atmosphere pervaded this abode of the dead, and seemed to -penetrate into my very bones, notwithstanding the heavy cloak I wore.</p> - -<p>For a moment we paused on the height, looking downward into the thick -gloom; then Beltrami descended the steps slowly, tossing the flaring -torch up and down, to and fro, in order to illuminate the darkness, -and as I followed him the smoke, with its pungent odour, streamed -backward towards my face. A bat, startled by the glare, flew round our -heads with a rapid sweep of its noiseless wings, then vanished through -the half-open door into the night beyond, like some escaping spectre -of the tomb.</p> - -<p>At last we reached the floor of the vault, which was paved with broad -black marble slabs, so highly polished that the crimson blaze of the -torch was reflected therein. All around in niches were innumerable -coffins, some covered with tattered velvet palls, while others stood -out grim and bare in their leaden hideousness, the coverings having -long since mouldered away. In the gloom, there every no w and then -could be perceived the glimmer of some white figure sculptured on the -massive wall, the glitter of tarnished silver ornaments, and the -outlines of painted devices, while the smoky torch with its angry -flame cast strange gleams upon these mouldy splendours of the dead.</p> - -<p>In the centre, on a square stone hidden by a rich pall of black -velvet, embroidered with armorial devices in silver braid, rested the -gorgeous coffin of the last Morone, which I presume was to remain -there until the death of the Contessa, when it would be removed to its -already-prepared niche to make way for the sole survivor of the proud -race.</p> - -<p>The Marchesa at once advanced to the coffin, and waving the torch -above it, examined the decorations closely. True to his determination -he was smoking, and it gave me an unpleasant shock to see this cloaked -figure behaving so disrespectfully in the solemn presence of the dead.</p> - -<p>"Bene!" he said at length in a satisfied tone, "there is one thing -certain. It is not <i>in</i> the coffin!"</p> - -<p>"How do you know that, Beltrami?"</p> - -<p>"Because the lid is screwed down, and the Contessa, who as you say was -alone, could not have taken that off. Besides, even if she did, Madame -Morone knows the value of time too well to waste it in replacing the -lid. No, it is not in the coffin, but it's somewhere about the -coffin."</p> - -<p>"What makes you think so, Luigi?"</p> - -<p>"All this elaborate silver work! There's too much of it to be there -without some reason. Caro, Hugo, just hold the torch and I will make -an examination."</p> - -<p>I took the torch in silence and watched his actions with great -curiosity. The coffin, as he said, was most elaborately adorned with -silver work representing the arms of the Morone family, interspersed -with wreaths of flowers and tangled seaweed. On the lid was a broad -silver plate similarly adorned, setting forth the name, titles, and -date of death of the deceased, and round the oblong sides of this -shell ran another broad wreath of flowers, shells, crests, and -seaweeds, designed in the same style as the decorations on the lid. -Beltrami, who was a clever prestidigitateur and could perform the most -marvellous tricks with cards, had a wonderfully delicate sense of -touch, and trusting to this more than to his eyes he ran his slender -fingers rapidly over the raised silver ornaments on the lid of the -coffin.</p> - -<p>I saw at once that he suspected this useless silver ornamentation -concealed some secret hiding-place in which the bottles of the poison -and its antidote were hidden, and I could not help admiring the -wonderful cleverness of the man in thinking of such an extraordinary -idea, particularly as I saw at once that if the poison were anywhere -it would be in some such ingenious hiding-place.</p> - -<p>After running his hands twice or thrice over the lid, he shook his -head with an angry ejaculation, and desisted from his apparently -useless task.</p> - -<p>"Dame! it's not on the top, that's certain," he said, stamping his -foot with vexation. "My fingers never, deceive me, and I'm sure I -haven't missed anything. From what I've told you I don't think it can -be within the coffin. Ecco! let us try the sides."</p> - -<p>He carefully wiped the tips of his fingers with his handkerchief, and -beginning at the side nearest the head ran his fingers delicately -along the cold silver work. Nothing was discoverable at the side, but -when he came to the end of the coffin at the feet of the corpse he -gave a cry of triumph which brought me at once to his side.</p> - -<p>"Bravo, Hugo! what did I tell you! The poison-bottle was in the silver -work. Behold, infidel, how truly I speak. Ecco!"</p> - -<p>The decoration at this narrow end was a heart-shape shield, bearing -the arms of the Morone family and wreathed with flowers, but this -shield, which curved outward had a spring at the top. In touching -this, the whole shield fell downward, working on a single hinge, and -there was a cavity in which a small bottle might easily be concealed.</p> - -<p>"I see the hiding-place, Beltrami; but where is the poison!"</p> - -<p>"Eh! have you forgotten the visit of the Contessa, mon ami?"</p> - -<p>"No, no! of course not! She, no doubt, took the poison away, and, I -daresay, the antidote with it."</p> - -<p>"Mon cher, I will never make anything of you," cried the Marchese in -despair; "what did I tell you about that letter?"</p> - -<p>"You said that no doubt as the Count was afraid of it being found by -his wife he would only mention where the poison was concealed, and -keep silent about the antidote."</p> - -<p>"Ebbene! The Contessa knew nothing of the existence of the antidote, -so when she found the poison she thought she had found all. Is that -not so, you stupid Englishman?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, I suppose so."</p> - -<p>"Good! Well I, knowing of the existence of the antidote not mentioned -in the letter, and only finding the poison at the feet, would -naturally look for the antidote--where?"</p> - -<p>"I daresay at the head," I suggested, after a pause; upon which -Beltrami laughed, and walked to the other end of the coffin.</p> - -<p>"Of course; it would be the most natural thing to do. Behold, mon -ami!"</p> - -<p>He touched the top of a similar shield at the head of the coffin; it -fell stiffly outward, and lo! in the hollow of the curve, lay a small -bottle, which Beltrami took in his hand, and then restored the shield -to its former position.</p> - -<p>"Luigi, you are a most wonderful man!" I cried, with a burst of -genuine admiration at the clever way in which he had guessed this -riddle.</p> - -<p>"I only use my brains," he replied, with a gratified laugh. "The -poison being at the feet, it was not difficult to guess the antidote -was at the head; particularly as the decorations on both ends of the -coffin are the same precisely. Dame! if the Contessa had only known -the antidote was in existence she would have argued in the same way as -I have done, and carried it off as she had done the poison."</p> - -<p>"Well, we can now restore that unfortunate Pallanza to life."</p> - -<p>"Yes, I suppose so," said the Marchese, slipping the bottle containing -the antidote into his pocket; "though he certainly does not deserve to -have another chance of existence. But as it is inconvenient keeping -him in my house, I suppose I must send him away on his legs. Ecco! But -come along, Hugo. We have what we desire, and I care not for this -abode of death."</p> - -<p>We went up the stairs and out of the iron door, where we found Matteo -still keeping guard. It was quite a relief to get out of the fetid -atmosphere of the tomb into the cool, fresh air again, and I felt like -a released prisoner who was free for the first time after many years. -The Marchese, however, man of iron as he was, did not seem to be -affected in any way, but wrapping his cloak round him, prepared to go.</p> - -<p>"Can you close that door again, Matteo?"</p> - -<p>"Eccellenza! it is done!"</p> - -<p>"Bene! Let us go!"</p> - -<p>In fact the moment we emerged, Matteo, knowing our task was concluded, -had reclosed the door by some trick known to himself; so we all three -climbed over the broken wall, and took our way to the Ponte Aleardi.</p> - -<p>"And when are you going to give Pallanza the antidote?" I asked, as we -walked along arm-in-arm.</p> - -<p>"Eh! Signor Hugo, to-morrow!"</p> - -<p>"Why not to-night?"</p> - -<p>"Ma foi! I am tired. A few hours will not make much difference; -besides, I want a doctor to be present. The antidote will revive the -poor devil, but he will be so weak after going without food all these -days that the doctor will have to take charge of him."</p> - -<p>"Well, then, I will see you to-morrow, Marchese. At what hour?"</p> - -<p>"Two and a half in the afternoon. I attend to my military duties in -the morning. Buona sera, Hugo!"</p> - -<p>"Good-night, Beltrami."</p> - -<p>We parted with a hearty shake of the hand, and I suppose after all I -had gone through, nature was thoroughly tired out; for I went straight -to bed and slept soundly without dreams, visions, or phantoms of any -kind coming to disturb my rest.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_14" href="#div1Ref_14">CHAPTER XIV.</a></h4> -<h5>THE NEW LAZARUS</h5> -<br> - -<p>For the first time during the week I had a good night's rest, for ever -since my adventure the events in connection therewith had succeeded -one another so rapidly that my brain was kept in too active a state to -admit of slumber, but now that everything seemed to be at an end, that -the antidote had been found, and that Pallanza would be restored to -Bianca Angello, my mind was relieved of the strain upon it, and I -slept soundly till morning. In fact, I did not waken till nearly -eleven o'clock, and having taken my bath I dressed myself slowly, made -a good meal at midday, and altogether felt better than I had done for -the last week.</p> - -<p>As my appointment with Beltrami was for half-past two I did not go to -Casa Angello for my usual singing lesson, not wishing to see the -Signorina until I could tell her the good news that her lover was -alive and well. It was true Beltrami had asserted that the antidote -would awaken the young man from his death-like slumber, but -remembering that he had now been in this state of catalepsy for nearly -a week, I felt doubtful as to the success of the experiment. However, -a few hours would now decide the fate of Pallanza for life or death, -and in the event of the antidote acting according to the expectations -of the Marchese, I promised myself I should be the first to carry the -joyful news of this wonderful resurrection to the Signorina Bianca.</p> - -<p>When two o'clock struck I could no longer restrain my impatience, but -set off without further delay to see Beltrami at his apartments. He -had just returned from the barracks, and was taking some biscuits and -wine when I was announced, but jumped up when he saw me and came -forward with outstretched hand,--</p> - -<p>"Eh! mon ami, I am delighted to see you! Sit down, while I finish this -small meal. Will you have a glass of wine?"</p> - -<p>"No, thank you, Marchese!"</p> - -<p>"Then take a cigarette, there are some on that table."</p> - -<p>The Marchese returned to his wine and biscuits, while I lighted a -cigarette, and lay down On the sofa.</p> - -<p>"Excuse me lying down, Luigi, but our last night's experience has -knocked me up terribly."</p> - -<p>"You would never do for a soldier, Signor Hugo! I've been drilling -some stupid recruits all the morning, and I feel perfectly fresh. -Ecco! I'm glad to see you, however, as I have some news to tell you."</p> - -<p>"About Pallanza?"</p> - -<p>"Eh? No! About Madame Morone."</p> - -<p>"Ah! she has found out we were at the vault?"</p> - -<p>"Dame! not a bit of it. She left Verona by the five o'clock train last -night."</p> - -<p>"Left Verona!" I cried, rising hastily from my recumbent position. -"Why has she gone away?"</p> - -<p>"Eh! who knows?" replied Beltrami, shrugging his shoulders. "She -didn't even leave a message for me, her promised husband. I think, -myself, the empty pillar of yesterday startled her. She evidently -thought everything was discovered, therefore has gone to Rome so that -she Can appeal to the King in case of trouble."</p> - -<p>"And what are you going to do, Marchese?"</p> - -<p>"The best thing I can do under the circumstances. I have applied for, -and obtained, leave of absence, so I will give this infernal tenor the -antidote to-day, and start for Rome by the night train."</p> - -<p>"But when you arrive at Rome?"</p> - -<p>"I will see Madame Morone, and tell her that I removed the body of -Pallanza from the pillar."</p> - -<p>"The body, Beltrami! You forget Pallanza is alive!"</p> - -<p>"Of course he is, but I'm not going to tell her that. Cospetto! if she -discovered that this devil of a tenor was still in existence my power -over her would be gone, and she would not marry me. Ecco!"</p> - -<p>"But as Pallanza will sing again, she is bound to find it out sooner -or later."</p> - -<p>"Eh! no doubt, Signor Hugo; but by the time she finds out I hope to be -married. In that case it does not matter. Besides, I am going to make -Pallanza promise not to sing anywhere for a month."</p> - -<p>"Suppose he refuses?"</p> - -<p>"He won't refuse. Dame! he owes me something for bringing him into -existence again."</p> - -<p>"And what about the doctor?"</p> - -<p>"He will soon be here," said Beltrami, glancing at his watch; "I -expect him every minute."</p> - -<p>"Will he keep this affair quiet?"</p> - -<p>"Per Bacco! I should think so, mon ami. I ascertained that before I -told him anything. Not that I told him much, ma foi, no! I invented a -delightful story about Pallanza, which he swallowed as easily as I do -this wine."</p> - -<p>"And the story?"</p> - -<p>"I have not the time to tell it to you, but it is a beautiful story, -worthy of Boccaccio. Oh, he will keep his mouth shut, I promise you, -Hugo. He is a great friend of mine, and I never associate with those -who talk of other people's business."</p> - -<p>"Have you the antidote, Marchese?"</p> - -<p>"Here it is," said Beltrami, rising and taking the small bottle from -his desk near the window; "and, ma foi! here is the doctor coming up -the street."</p> - -<p>"How fond you are of French," I remarked, laughingly. "Parisian -ejaculations are never out of your mouth."</p> - -<p>"One must ejaculate in some language, Hugo, and I've been so often in -Paris that I've got into the trick in some way."</p> - -<p>"What about London?"</p> - -<p>"Your city of fogs! Eh! You know I cannot master your tongue, Signor -Hugo. 'You are a beautiful mees; I loove you'--Dio! what a difficulty -I had in learning those two sentences."</p> - -<p>"Which are perfectly useless."</p> - -<p>"I have not found them so. But here is Signor Avenza, the doctor I -spoke of. Good-day, for the second time, my friend. Permit me to -introduce Signor Hugo Cranston, an Englishman."</p> - -<p>The doctor, a fat little man with a round smiling face and two -twinkling black eyes, executed an elaborate bow, for which purpose he -brought his feet smartly together in military fashion, and, having -thus saluted me, rashly entered into a contest with the English -language, which vanquished him at once.</p> - -<p>"I spik Inglis," he said, mincingly. Then, with a gigantic effort, "Gif -me your tongue! Ah! he is bad. Dis writing is your cure. Goot-day! I -vil taake a leetle valk wis you agin."</p> - -<p>Signor Avenza had evidently learned these choice English phrases for -the purposes of his profession.</p> - -<p>While this lesson in philology was going on the Marchese had opened -the door leading into the room where Pallanza was concealed, and -called to us to enter. Both the doctor and myself, obeying the -summons, went through the bedroom, and soon found ourselves by the -couch, whereon lay the still form of the young man, with that terrible -death-in-life look on his white face.</p> - -<p>"See, Avenza, this is what I spoke about," said Beltrami, holding up a -small phial filled with a red liquid. "It is the antidote to the -poison which this Pallanza was foolish enough to take."</p> - -<p>"And all through a love disappointment," replied Avenza, lifting his -eyes. "Ah! the poor young man!"</p> - -<p>I now began to see the kind of story Beltrami had told Avenza to -account for the condition of Pallanza, and I must say it did credit to -his powers of invention.</p> - -<p>"The amount of the poison he took was ten drops." went on Beltrami, -uncorking the bottle, "so it will require ten drops of this antidote -to revive him, but when the life is once more in him I suppose he will -be weak."</p> - -<p>"Most certainly," answered Avenza, nodding his head, "since you say -he has been like this for nearly a week. But proceed, Marchese, I am -anxious to see the result of this antidote."</p> - -<p>Beltrami bent over the face of the unconscious man, and forced the -teeth slightly apart with a spoon he held in his left hand. Having -done this, he poised the bottle over the pale lips, and began to pour -the red liquid drop by drop into the mouth.</p> - -<p>Both Avenza and myself bent forward eagerly to watch the operation, -and held our breaths with anxiety as the Marchese counted, slowly,--</p> - -<p>"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten!"</p> - -<p>The body made no movement, and Beltrami drew back, looking somewhat -anxious.</p> - -<p>"Dio! I am afraid ten drops are not enough!"</p> - -<p>"Wait," said Avenza, taking his watch out of his pocket, and placing -his fingers on the pulse of the seemingly-dead man. "You cannot expect -this antidote to act at once."</p> - -<p>The minutes passed slowly, and we all three remained with our eyes -eagerly watching for some sign of life on that still face, while -Avenza occasionally glanced at his chronometer.</p> - -<p>"His pulse beats," he said at length in a low voice, "faintly, it is -true, but still it beats."</p> - -<p>I heaved a sigh of relief, but Beltrami remained silently looking at -the face of Pallanza with an anxious frown.</p> - -<p>"She cannot have given him fifteen," he muttered under his breath, "if -So, he would have been dead by this time; but his pulse beats, so -he is alive."</p> - -<p>He looked irresolutely at the phial in his hand, and then turned to -Avenza, who Was still counting the feeble pulsation of the blood.</p> - -<p>"Doctor, I will give him three more drops!"</p> - -<p>"Eh! and why not?" replied Avenza, raising his eye-brows; "as that is -an antidote a few drops more or less cannot kill him after the dose of -poison he has taken."</p> - -<p>The Marchese made no further remark, but, bending forward again, he -held the phial over the half-open mouth for the second time.</p> - -<p>"One, two, three!"</p> - -<p>This time the effect was magical; for after an interval of about two -or three minutes, we saw a shudder run through the rigid body, the -left arm jerked upward in a spasmodic manner, the face flushed crimson -with the rush of blood once more flowing freely through the arteries, -and at last the heavy eyelids lifted slowly. Pallanza gazed at us with -a dazed, unseeing expression, then some tremendous force seemed to -take possession of the body, for a spasm of pain passed over his face, -a choking cry issued from his lips, and in a moment he was shrieking, -writhing, twisting, rolling and plunging about the bed like a -demoniac. All the nerves and muscles which had been dead and inert for -so many days were now waking again to life, and the agony which racked -his frame from head to foot must have been truly terrible. Both -Beltrami and myself made a step forward to hold down this agonized -body, but Avenza stopped us.</p> - -<p>"The antidote is doing its work," he said rapidly; "the dead body is -renewing its life throughout every particle. Wait! wait! the paroxysm -will soon pass away."</p> - -<p>The doctor was right, for in a short time the writhing stopped, the -cries grew fainter, and at last, with a heavy sigh, the young man sank -back on the pillows in a state of exhaustion, on seeing which, both -Beltrami and the doctor ran out of the room to get some brandy, -leaving me alone with this new Lazarus. During their absence he opened -his eyes, to which the light of sanity had now returned, and spoke in -a feeble voice,--</p> - -<p>"Where am I?"</p> - -<p>"With friends."</p> - -<p>"And the Contessa?"</p> - -<p>"She is not here! You are quite safe! Hush! do not speak, I beg of -you."</p> - -<p>Pallanza gave me a look of gratitude, then, closing his eyes, relapsed -into silence. Avenza returned with a glass of weak brandy and water, -which he gave to the young man in spoonfuls, 'while I went back into -the sitting-room to see Beltrami, whom I found standing by the window -with a frown on his face.</p> - -<p>"Ebbene?" he asked, turning round.</p> - -<p>"He is much better, and I think will soon be all right."</p> - -<p>"That's a blessing. But what a nuisance! I want to go to Rome to-night -by the five o'clock train, but Avenza tells me that Pallanza will have -to sleep for a few hours, so I won't have an opportunity of speaking -to him."</p> - -<p>"Go with a light heart, my dear Beltrami; I will arrange everything."</p> - -<p>"You will?"</p> - -<p>"Yes; Pallanza can sleep in that room for an hour or two, then I will -get a fiacre and take him to his lodgings. No one shall come near him -but myself, and when he is quite sensible I will make him promise all -you want."</p> - -<p>"Bene! you are a good friend, my dear Hugo," said the Marchese, in a -tone of relief; "but do you think he will do what you ask?"</p> - -<p>"Most certainly! I can force him to obey me."</p> - -<p>"How so?"</p> - -<p>"By threatening to tell Signorina Angello about his affair with Madame -Morone. She knows nothing as yet, and Pallanza is afraid of her -knowing. Witness the lie he told about that note at the Ezzelino, -asking him to come to the Palazzo!"</p> - -<p>Beltrami, with his cynical estimate of the Contessa's character, was -not at all disturbed by this somewhat blunt speech, but laughed -cheerfully.</p> - -<p>"Eh! Hugo. I think I will make you. Italian after all. Your plan is a -good one, mon ami, so make Pallanza promise not to sing anywhere for a -month, to leave Verona and keep quiet. By that time I will be married -to the Contessa, and all will be well."</p> - -<p>"I will arrange everything as you desire, Luigi."</p> - -<p>"Excellent! Then that trouble is off my mind."</p> - -<p>At this moment the doctor entered, rubbing his fat hands together with -an expression of glee.</p> - -<p>"Eh, he sleeps, this young man," he said in a satisfied tone, "he -will sleep for one, two, three hours, then, if you like, Marchese, you -can send him to his own house."</p> - -<p>"Signor Hugo will attend to all that, Avenza."</p> - -<p>"Bene! Well, Marchese, à revederci! And you, Signor."</p> - -<p>"Wait a moment, Signor Avenza; I am coming too."</p> - -<p>"Where are you going! Hugo?" asked Beltrami, looking at me in some -surprise, and nodding his head in the direction of Pallanza. I crossed -over to him, and while Avenza was getting his hat, whispered in his -ear,--</p> - -<p>"I am going to the Ezzelino to find out Pallanza's address, so as to -know where to take him."</p> - -<p>"Ah! a good idea! I will wait here till you return."</p> - -<p>I accompanied Signor Avenza to the Piazza Vittorio Emanuele, where we -parted. I then went to the Teatro Ezzelino and found out Pallanza's -address from the stage-door keeper. While I was returning to -Beltrami's rooms I saw Peppino, and arranged with him to be at the Via -Cartoni at seven o'clock that evening to take a sick gentleman away. -At first Peppino objected, being, like all Italians, terribly afraid -of disease, but I soon quieted his objections, and he promised to call -as directed.</p> - -<p>On returning to Beltrami I found him packing up, and at five o'clock -he took his departure for Rome, promising to write me immediately he -arrived, and in return I assured him I would let him know everything -as soon as I arranged matters with Pallanza.</p> - -<p>That young man slept until nearly seven, when he woke up and began to -ask me questions as to where he was. I insisted upon his keeping -quiet, telling him I was a doctor, and when Peppino arrived with his -fiacre I wrapped him up in his cloak so as to hide his stage costume, -and helped him downstairs to the carriage. We soon arrived at his -lodgings, where, dismissing Peppino, I made Pallanza go to bed at -once, and gave him a light supper, together with some weak brandy and -water. After this he fell asleep, and I sat watching by his bed all -night, wondering why I was such a fool as to do all this for a cynical -man of the world like Beltrami, who would probably laugh at my good -nature when all was over. Yet there was something about Luigi Beltrami -which I liked; and in spite of his affected cynicism and his -extraordinarily loose notions of right and wrong, I believe that he -had a sincere regard for me, which regard I considered not the least -curious part of his whimsical nature, seeing that my character was the -antithesis of his own in every way. Perhaps it was by the law of -contrast, or illustrated inversely the saying that "like draws to -like;" but whatever was the reason, though we had nothing in common -either in nationality or character, yet we were friends, and I leave -this problem to be worked out by those who deny that such an enigma -can exist.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_15" href="#div1Ref_15">CHAPTER XV.</a></h4> -<h5>FOUND</h5> -<br> - -<p>Guiseppe Pallanza slept soundly all night, while I took snatches of -sleep in the armchair by his bedside. At nine o'clock in the morning -he awoke, feeling much stronger, and after I had given him something -to eat I prepared to go out.</p> - -<p>"Where are you going, Signor?" asked Pallanza in an anxious tone.</p> - -<p>"I am going to send a doctor to see you, and then I am going to the -Casa Angello."</p> - -<p>"And for what reason?"</p> - -<p>"To bring Signorina Bianca here!"</p> - -<p>"Do you know the Signorina Bianca?"</p> - -<p>"Very well, Signor Pallanza. I am the Englishman of whom you have no -doubt heard her speak."</p> - -<p>"Signor Hugo! yes, I know," muttered Guiseppe; and then, after a -pause, "I wish to speak to you, I wish to tell you something."</p> - -<p>"You shall tell me all shortly, but meanwhile lie down quietly, and -when the doctor comes say nothing about the Palazzo Morone."</p> - -<p>"Ah!" cried Pallanza, starting up in his bed, "do you know that -horrible place?"</p> - -<p>"I know all! But there, you are still weak," I answered, forcing him -to lie down. "When I return I will speak to you about some important -matters."</p> - -<p>"Important!--to me?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, and to the Contessa Morone."</p> - -<p>"Ah! that terrible woman."</p> - -<p>"Meanwhile, Signor Pallanza, say nothing about your visit to the -palace or about Madame Morone."</p> - -<p>"Not a word! And you will bring Bianca to see me?"</p> - -<p>"Yes! I promise you."</p> - -<p>With this hope, Pallanza was perfectly contented, and after -instructing his landlady, who was in a state of great bewilderment at -this sudden reappearance, to look after him, I went out to find -Avenza. Fortunately he was well known in Verona, and I had no -difficulty in discovering his house. He saw me at once, listened to my -account of the way Pallanza had passed the night, and promised to see -him without delay. Having thus carried out satisfactorily the first -part of my mission, I departed to perform the second, which involved a -somewhat embarrassing interview with Signorina Angello.</p> - -<p>On arriving at the house of the Maestro, I was received by Petronella, -who threw up her hands with an appeal to the saints when she saw my -haggard appearance and burst out into a volley of questions.</p> - -<p>"Eh! Signor Inglese. Is it not well with you? San Pietro! how the wine -does change a face. Here has the Maestro been asking for you every -day! 'Well! Well!' said I, 'he has gone away like the lover of the -piccola!' And it is true! I see how you return. Eh! Madonna, all men -are bad. I have been married--I know."</p> - -<p>"You are wrong on this occasion, Petronella. I have not been at the -wine, as you seem to think!"</p> - -<p>"But your face, Signor Inglese--like that of a sick person! Gran dio!"</p> - -<p>"Comes from sitting up all night by the bedside of Guiseppe Pallanza."</p> - -<p>Petronella clapped her hands together with an ejaculation of delight</p> - -<p>"He is found, then, the poor young man! Ah! it is well I did not waste -a centesimo in masses; and those priests are such thieves. Eh! this -news will be like wine to the piccola. Go in! go in, Signor Inglese! -the Signorina is there, but the Maestro! he is in bed, which is the -best place for him, say I."</p> - -<p>After this breathless harangue Petronella ushered me into the -sitting-room, where I found Bianca sitting by the window, contemplating -a portrait of her lost lover. She arose when she saw me and came -forward with an anxious look on her paleface, while the faithful but -noisy domestic left the apartment.</p> - -<p>"Well, Signorina, do you feel better?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, yes, Signore, much better; but you have news!--news of -Guiseppe."</p> - -<p>"The best of news, my poor child. Guiseppe is found, and is now at his -lodgings."</p> - -<p>The blood rushed into her hitherto pale cheeks, her melancholy dark -eyes sparkled with joy, and from a pallid, worn-looking girl she -changed into a bright, joyful woman. It was a most wonderful -transformation, as if a wan lily had suddenly blossomed under the wand -of some fairy into a rich red rose.</p> - -<p>"Signor Hugo! Signor Hugo! Ah, the good news! Oh, how happy I am! He -is alive, then? he is well! Oh, say he is well, Signor Hugo!"</p> - -<p>"Signorina, he is still weak after his adventure, and at present he is -in bed."</p> - -<p>"Oh, let me go to him! let me go at once! He may die, my poor -Guiseppe!"</p> - -<p>"No he will not die; but put on your hat and I will take you to him, -for you alone, Signorina, can nurse him back to health and strength."</p> - -<p>Bianca ran to put on her hat and tell the Maestro the good news, which -evidently delighted the old man greatly, judging from the -extraordinary chuckling sounds which shortly proceeded from his -bedroom. Petronella at the doorway celebrated a noisy triumph on her -own account, and at last amid the chucklings of the patriarch and the -loud delight of his handmaiden, Bianca took her departure under my -wing to visit the newly-found prodigal.</p> - -<p>She absolutely danced along the pavement, so exuberant was her delight -at the good news, and I thought how easily I could damp this joy by -telling her the true story of Guiseppe's disappearance. It was a cruel -thought, and I regretted it the moment after it flashed across my -mind; for it would have been the wanton act of a boy crushing a -butterfly to have destroyed the happy ignorance of this merry child, -who, tripping gaily along by my side, put me in mind of the smiling -Hebe of the Greeks, that charming incarnation of joyous maidenhood.</p> - -<p>"Signore!" said Bianca, moderating her transports, "you have not told -me the reason of Guiseppe's absence."</p> - -<p>"I am afraid there is very little to tell, Signorina! He was lured to -the Palazzo by an enemy, who kept him there until last night, when, -luckily, I discovered where he was concealed and released him."</p> - -<p>"Ah, Signor Hugo, how can I thank you for your kindness! Then my poor -Guiseppe was hidden in that terrible room?"</p> - -<p>"He was concealed near it, at all events," I replied evasively.</p> - -<p>"And the voice in the darkness, Signor? Oh, that cruel, cruel voice! -It. has haunted my dreams ever since!"</p> - -<p>"It was nothing, Signorina; it was--it was a friend of mine, who came -to assist me to look for Guiseppe!"</p> - -<p>"Was it a signor or a Signora?" asked Bianca, who, evidently in her -nervous agitation, had not distinguished the feminine tones of the -unknown.</p> - -<p>"It was a signor! a young signor whom I know!"</p> - -<p>"But he saw us in the darkness. Dio! how terrible."</p> - -<p>"No; he did not see us. He guessed we were there, as I told him we -were going to look for Guiseppe, and he came to assist me."</p> - -<p>Bianca was satisfied with this--I flatter myself--skilful explanation, -and stopped asking questions, much to my relief. The number of lies I -was forced to tell in connection with this affair was truly -surprising, but as it was absolutely necessary to keep this poor child -in ignorance of the true state of the case, I ventured to hope that -the Recording Angel would treat them in the same way as he did the -oath of my Uncle Toby, in Sterne's delightful story. Italian intrigue, -from the experience I had of it, was certainly very little to my -taste, as I was by no means a convert to the Jesuitical maxim that the -end justifies the means, therefore it was with a thankful heart that I -saw the whole intricate affair was nearly finished.</p> - -<p>By this time we had arrived at Pallanza's lodgings, and I placed -Bianca in an outer room with strict injunctions that she was not to -leave it until I called her.</p> - -<p>"Guiseppe is still weak, Signorina, and I must prepare him for your -coming."</p> - -<p>The fact is I wanted to carry out my promise to Beltrami, in asking -Pallanza to live in retirement for a few months, and, until this was -arranged, I was unwilling that he should see Bianca. The poor child -fully believing what I said, promised to obey me faithfully in all -things; so leaving her in the outer room I went in to see Pallanza, -whom I found eagerly expecting my arrival.</p> - -<p>To my surprise, the young man was up and dressed, as Dr. Avenza, -finding him So much better, had insisted on him leaving his bed, to -remain in which, he declared, was weakening; so I found Pallanza -walking slowly to and fro to exercise his muscles, but on seeing me he -came forward With an anxious look,--</p> - -<p>"Is she here, Signor Hugo? Has Bianca come?"</p> - -<p>"She is in the next room, Signor! No, do not go to her. I wish to -speak to you."</p> - -<p>"I am at your service, Signor Hugo. You have done so much for me that -I can never repay you."</p> - -<p>"Yes, you can by telling me how you went to the Palazzo Morone on that -night."</p> - -<p>"I will tell all, Signore! You have a right to know. But, Bianca?"</p> - -<p>"She knows nothing."</p> - -<p>A look of relief came over the anxious face of the young man, and we -both sat down to continue the conversation.</p> - -<p>"I met Madame Morone at Rome, Signore," said Pallanza with some faint -hesitation, "and we were together a great deal. I did not love her -exactly, but she being a great lady flattered my pride. Of course, I -should have remembered Bianca, but she was not beside me, and as to -the Contessa! ah, Signore Hugo, who can escape when a woman wills? -Madame Morone made me afraid at last. She is a tigress, that woman, -and threatened to kill me if I left her for another. I saw how -dangerous was her love, and telling her I was going to marry the -Signorina Angello, left Rome for Verona. She followed me here and took -me to the Palazzo Morone on Sunday, where she exhausted every means of -making me give up Bianca. I should not tell you all this about a -woman, Signor, but by her attempt to kill me she has released me from -the laws of honour. Cospetto! she is a mistress of the devil. Her rage -is terrible, and on Sunday she implored, she wept, she raged, she -threatened, but I was true to Bianca, and at last escaped from the -palazzo intending never to see her again. On Monday night, however, I -received a letter----"</p> - -<p>"From a dying friend?" I interrupted meaningly.</p> - -<p>"Eh! I said so in order to keep the affair from Bianca, as I knew if -she heard about it I should be lost. No! Signor Hugo. The letter was -from the Contessa, saying that if I did not come by eleven o'clock to -the room in the palazzo, in order to bid her farewell, she would go at -once to the Signorina Angello and tell all. Per Bacco! Signor, you may -guess my fear at this message; and I determined to go to the palazzo -at any cost. The opera was long that night, and before the curtain -descended it was past eleven. I was so afraid of the Contessa -fulfilling her threat that I did not wait to change my costume, but -throwing on my cloak over my dress of Faust, went at once to the -palazzo. She was not in the room, and I had a horrible fear that I was -too late, but I waited for some time, and she came. We had another -scene of tears, reproaches and rage, then----"</p> - -<p>"I can tell you the rest, Signor Pallanza. She gave you the poison in -a cup of wine, and when you fell at her feet she shut you up in a -hiding-place, from whence you were rescued."</p> - -<p>"By you, Signor, by you?"</p> - -<p>"No; by the Marchese Beltrami, who took you to his house, and after -many days revived you with an antidote to the poison which he obtained -with great difficulty."</p> - -<p>"But the Marchese! You, Signor, how did you see all this?"</p> - -<p>"Ah! that is a long story. I will tell it to you another time, but at -present you must promise me something."</p> - -<p>"Anything, Signor Hugo! For you have saved my life from that terrible -woman."</p> - -<p>"She is indeed a terrible woman! and it is to escape her vengeance -that I advise you not to sing for at least two months."</p> - -<p>"But my engagement at the Ezzelino?"</p> - -<p>"Pay forfeit-money. Say you are ill and cannot sing. Then return to -Milan with the Signorina and marry her at once."</p> - -<p>"But the Contessa?"</p> - -<p>"Has gone to Rome for the present; but as soon as she finds out you -are alive she will come after you; so, if you are wise, Signor -Pallanza, you will obtain some engagement out of Italy."</p> - -<p>"Basta, Signor! your advice is good, and I will do what you ask. For -two months I will not sing. I will pay the forfeit-money to the -Ezzelino and return to Milan with Bianca. It is best so. Per Bacco! -what a demon I have escaped!"</p> - -<p>I felt greatly relieved that everything had thus been settled, so -arose from my chair to take Pallanza to the Signorina, after which I -intended to go straight to my hotel and write a letter to Beltrami, -telling him of all that had taken place.</p> - -<p>"Come, Signor Pallanza, lean on me, and I will take you to Bianca."</p> - -<p>"Ah! cara Bianca," he cried joyfully, as I led him to the door; -"Bianca, Bianca, gioja della mia vita!"</p> - -<p>"Guiseppe!"</p> - -<p>She saw him standing with outstretched arms on the threshold of the -room, and with a cry of joy flew towards him like a bird to its nest, -and flung herself on his breast.</p> - -<p>As for me, I went out of the room and left them together.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_16" href="#div1Ref_16">CHAPTER XVI.</a></h4> -<h5>AN INTERRUPTED HONEYMOON</h5> -<br> - -<p>Well, at last I was back in Milan, much to my satisfaction, as after -the strange adventures I had met with in Verona that city became -positively hateful to me. Two months had elapsed since the affair of -the Palazzo Morone had come to an end, and during that time two -marriages in connection therewith had been celebrated--that of -Beltrami with the Contessa Morone, at Rome; and that of Guiseppe -Pallanza with Signorina Bianca, at Milan. True to his promise, -Guiseppe had forfeited his engagement at the Ezzelino, much to the -wrath of the impresario, and had rested quietly since at Milan, -passing most of his time with Bianca, who was now in a state of high -glee preparing for her marriage.</p> - -<p>It took place at the church of St. Stefano, in Milan, and out of -consideration for the great age of the Maestro it was a very quiet -affair, I being the only one present beyond the Angello household, but -that was at the urgent request of both Bianca and her husband, who -never forgot the services I had rendered them at Verona.</p> - -<p>Thanks to my dexterity, Bianca never discovered the truth, and fully -believed that Guiseppe had been kept a prisoner at the Palazzo Morone -by some enemy who had lured him thither, by means of the letter -purporting to come from a dying friend. At first, considering the weak -way in which Guiseppe had acted, I did not consider that he deserved -his good fortune in marrying such a charming girl as the Signorina, -but during the time that preceded the marriage he was so devoted to -her in every way, and apparently so remorseful for his amorous folly, -that I quite forgave him his momentary infidelity. It was a very -pretty wedding, the bride and bridegroom making a handsome couple, and -when the ceremony was ended Signor and Signora Pallanza went to spend -the honeymoon of a few days at Monza, and I was left alone in Milan.</p> - -<p>Guiseppe had obtained an engagement at the Madrid Opera House, and on -their return from Monza the young couple were to start almost -immediately for Spain, leaving the Maestro under the tender care of -Petronella. The old man's health had been failing sadly of late, and I -doubted very much whether Bianca would find him alive on her return to -Italy, seeing how frail he was in every respect.</p> - -<p>Now that he was deprived of his right hand by the marriage of his -granddaughter, the Maestro decided to give up teaching, at which -decision I was profoundly sorry, as only having been with him a year I -had still many things to learn in the art of vocalisation. There was, -unfortunately, no one else with whom I could study the same system, -for Paolo Angello taught the old, pure Italian method, of which he -was the last exponent; and I infinitely preferred the round sonorous -notes which his training produced to the shouting, colourless style of -present-day singing, which curses the voice with a perpetual tremolo. -The elaborate fioriture school of Pasta, Grisi, Ronconi, and Malibran -has almost entirely passed away, and in its place what have we in -Italy?--nothing but the present abominable fortissimo singing, without -grace, sweetness, steadiness, or colour. The old Italian operas were -composed not so much as stage performances as to show off the beauty, -execution and brilliancy of the voice, while this new school of -music-drama; designed principally for dramatic effect, is interpreted -by singers who rely but little on the perfection of the vocal organ, -and pride themselves not so much on the individual colouring of a -single number as on the general broad effect of the whole. Fortunately, -however, by incessant work during my one year under Angello, I had -acquired a pretty good idea of his system of vocalisation, and hoped, -by cautious industry in following out his hard and fast rules, to -perfect my singing in accordance with his severely pure method.</p> - -<p>Of the Marchese Beltrami and his wife I heard but little, save through -the medium of the papers, as except one letter announcing his marriage -with the Contessa, and thanking me for my attention to his interests, -this ungrateful Luigi had not written to me. I consoled myself with -philosophical reflections on the hollowness of friendship, when one -day, towards the end of July, I was astonished to receive a visit from -the Marchese.</p> - -<p>Pallanza and his wife had returned to Milan, and were making -preparations for their departure, which was now near at hand. I had -just come back from a visit to the Maestro with whom they were -staying, and was writing letters in my bedroom, when Beltrami's card -was brought to me, upon which I ordered him to be shown into the room -in which I was scribbling, so as to secure perfect privacy during our -conversation.</p> - -<p>In those days of poverty I lived like a cat on the tiles, up four -flights of stairs just under the roof, and my one room served me for -everything,--that is, as dining-room, reception-salon, and sleeping -chamber. I took my meals at a sufficiently good restaurant near at -hand, but otherwise the whole of my indoor life was bounded by the -four walls of that small apartment, which contained an ingenious bed -made to look like a sofa during the day, a wardrobe, a wash-stand, and -a diminutive piano of German manufacture hired by myself. Yet, as -Beranger sings, "One is happy in a garret at twenty years of age," and -I think the days spent in that dingy Milanese eyry were among the -most delightful of my life. I was young, enthusiastic, not badly off -for a poor man, and devoted to my art, so I used to strum chords on -that small piano while I practised my voice, act operatic scenes in -front of the looking glass, and dream impossible dreams of applausive -multitudes, of recklessly-generous impresarios, and of a career like -that of the kings of song.</p> - -<p>Then I had a view--a delightful view--of the red-roofed houses of -Milan, seen from the window, with here and there a tall factory -chimney, the slender tower of a church from whence sounded the -jangling bells which used to irritate me, at least, every quarter of -an hour, and just a glimpse of the white miracle of the great Duomo, -rising like a fairy creation of milky lacework against the deeply blue -sky. Even a vision of green trees I obtained by craning my head round -the corner of the window, and when it was fine weather I looked at my -roof-top view while enjoying a pipe, but when it rained--oh! heavens, -Milan was as dreary as London in a fog, and the blue skies of Italy -became a fable of inventive minds. The intense heat changed to humid -cold, and then I used to shut out this deceptive city of the Visconti -by closing my window, and, retreating to the piano, practise exercises -with a voice rendered, I am afraid, rather gruff by the chill -terra-cotta floor and the damp atmosphere.</p> - -<p>It was in this poor but honest abode, as the novelists say, that I -received Beltrami, who entered gaily in civilian dress with -outstretched hands, looking exactly the same as when I had last seen -him at Verona. Marriage evidently had not changed him, as he had the -same subtle smile on his dark face, talked in the same vein of -cynicism, and interlarded his conversation with his usual number of -French ejaculations.</p> - -<p>"Eh! Hugo, mon ami," shaking both my hands heartily, "you are -astonished to see me!"</p> - -<p>"Considering you have never written me a line since your marriage, -Beltrami, I certainly am."</p> - -<p>I suppose I spoke with a certain bitterness, for the Marchese shrugged -his shoulders, with a slight flush reddening his cheeks, and sat down -on the bed--I mean, seeing it was daytime--the sofa.</p> - -<p>"Ma foi! I am a newly-married man, Hugo!" he said, in an apologetic -tone, "I have forgotten everything in the delightful society of that -dear Contessa. But you are right to reproach me; I ought to have -written, only I am so terribly negligent."</p> - -<p>"And fickle; don't forget that trait of your character, Luigi. -However, I'm glad to see you, fickle friend as you are."</p> - -<p>"Dame! you don't spare me. I have called on you for a purpose!"</p> - -<p>"That goes without saying. When one requires a friend one always knows -where to find him. Well, Marchese, and in what way can I assist you?"</p> - -<p>"I will tell you! but I see you do not ask after my wife?"</p> - -<p>"I trust Madame Beltrami is well!" I said stiffly, not feeling any -particularly warm feeling towards that lady.</p> - -<p>"Yes! her health is good."</p> - -<p>"And you are happy, Beltrami?"</p> - -<p>"Tolerably! But tell me, how is Pallanza and his wife?"</p> - -<p>"Oh, they live in Elysium, Marchese. At present they are in Milan, but -leave next week for Madrid, where Pallanza is going to sing."</p> - -<p>"He'll have to go by himself, then!"</p> - -<p>"What do you mean?"</p> - -<p>"That Madame, my very good wife, is hunting through Milan for his -Elysium, with that famous bottle of poison in her pocket."</p> - -<p>"Great heavens! Is she going to try and poison Pallanza again?"</p> - -<p>"No! you remember the Latin maxim, 'Non bis in idem.' She is going to -try the effect of the poison on his wife."</p> - -<p>"And yet you can sit there calmly without making an attempt to save -this innocent creature! Beltrami, it is infamous!"</p> - -<p>I was walking up and down the room in a state of great excitement, for -it seemed horrible and incomprehensible to see the Marchese sitting -there so calm and composed, when he knew that a reckless, dangerous -woman like his wife was in Milan bent on murder.</p> - -<p>"Eh! Hugo, keep cool," said Beltrami, quietly. "It is just this affair -I have come to see you about. Sit down, mon ami, and I'll tell you all -about it."</p> - -<p>"But every moment is of value!"</p> - -<p>"No doubt, but as it will take madame some time to find out where -Signor Pallanza is staying, I think we can safely talk for five -minutes."</p> - -<p>"Go on, then! I am all impatience!"</p> - -<p>"So I see! Ebbene! When I went to Rome I told the Contessa that I had -taken away Pallanza's body; but of course I did not say he was alive, -and swore that if she did not marry me I would tell everything to the -authorities. The sequel you know--she married me."</p> - -<p>"A horrible contract," I muttered savagely, looking at the whole -affair from an English point of view.</p> - -<p>"I-think we argued that matter before," said Beltrami, coolly, "and, -if I remember rightly, you did not agree with my reasons. However, it -is too late now to blame me, seeing I have been married for nearly -five weeks. We spent our honeymoon at Como--in fact, mon ami, we are -spending it there still, only a perusal of yesterday's Lombardia sent -my excellent wife off to this city in search of Signora Pallanza."</p> - -<p>"I do not understand."</p> - -<p>"No? Then I will enlighten you. Madame, my wife, thought this devil of -a tenor dead, and, as he has been keeping quiet all this time, she -never for a moment suspected the truth. I saw an announcement of his -marriage in the newspapers, but you may be sure I did not let the -Marchesa see it. Everything was going beautifully, and we were a model -couple--outwardly--when, as ill-luck would have it, this paragraph -appeared in the paper."</p> - -<p>Beltrami handed me a copy of La Lombardia, and pointed to a paragraph, -which I read. It stated that Guiseppe Pallanza, the famous tenor, was -going to sing at the Grand Opera House, Madrid, and would be -accompanied to Spain by his wife, the granddaughter of Maestro -Angello, the celebrated teacher of singing.</p> - -<p>"You can guess what a rage she was in," said Beltrami, when I had -finished reading this fatal information. "Diavolo! she has a temper; -but, as I told you, I am quite a match for Madame, and held my own -during this furious quarrel. She demanded an explanation, and I gave -her one."</p> - -<p>"What? you told her----"</p> - -<p>"Everything, mon ami. Your story, my story, Pallanza's story--all -about the antidote, the vault, the supper. Eh! Hugo, she now knows as -much as you or I. Mon Dieu, you should have seen her when I had -finished!"</p> - -<p>"Why? what did she do?"</p> - -<p>"She smiled, that was all; but it was the smile that alarmed me."</p> - -<p>"For your own safety?"</p> - -<p>"Ma foi, no! I told her she need not try the poison on me, as I had -the antidote. In reply, she gave one of those wicked laughs that -freeze your blood, and said that Signora Pallanza had not an antidote, -and it would be the worse for her."</p> - -<p>"Then she intends to poison the poor girl?"</p> - -<p>"I fancied so yesterday, and I was sure of it this morning, when I -heard from my servants that the Marchesa Beltrami had gone to Milan. I -knew what she was after, so followed by the next train, and came -straight to you."</p> - -<p>"And what do you want me to do, Beltrami?"</p> - -<p>"Come with me at once to the Casa Angello, to warn Signora Pallanza! I -suppose she is still staying with the Maestro Angello?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, until she goes to Spain with her husband. Let us go at once, -Luigi. But, oh! Beltrami, if we are too late!"</p> - -<p>"Do not be alarmed! I have the antidote in my pocket."</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_17" href="#div1Ref_17">CHAPTER XVII.</a></h4> -<h5>NEMESIS.</h5> -<br> - -<p>The Maestro had a very comfortable suite of apartments -in Milan overlooking the Via Carlo Alberto, near -the Piazza del Duomo, which were chosen by him on -account of their situation, as he could sit at the window -of his bedroom and amuse himself by gazing at the -crowded street. This watching of the populace was his -great delight, and when not giving a lesson he was -generally stationed at his window, or else employed in -reading <i>Il Seccolo</i>, which he did in a curious fashion, -by holding it close to his best-seeing eye.</p> - -<p>Of course, like all the entrances to these Milanese -flats, the stairs were singularly damp, dark, and malodorous, -and after running the gauntlet of a fat <i>portanaia</i>, -who was devouring a large dish of polenta in her glass -house, we climbed up the humid steps, and speedily -arrived at the second storey, where dwelt the Maestro -when in Milan. To make up for the filth under our -feet the ceilings over our heads were gorgeously painted -with mythological figures; and even at that moment I -could not help recalling George Sands' remark anent -the contrast between these two. However, we had no -time to admire the clumsy Jupiter throwing fire-brand -thunderbolts, for at this moment Petronella, who had -seen us through the dingy glass of her own little -sanctum, opened the door, and was about to burst into -a torrent of greetings, when I stopped her to ask if the -Signora Pallanza was at home.</p> - -<p>"Yes! yes! the Signora is in, but she is engaged-- -engaged in talking with a lady--Dio! a great lady!</p> - -<p>"Great heavens! we may be too late!" I muttered -to Beltrami, who nodded his head silently. "Petronella, -speak low. This gentleman and myself came on an -important errand to the Signora. What is the lady's -name?"</p> - -<p>"Signor, she said she was the Marchesa Beltrami," -replied Petronella, her jolly face growing rather grave -at all this mystery.</p> - -<p>"Is Signor Pallanza in?"</p> - -<p>"No, Signor Hugo; he has gone to see an impresario."</p> - -<p>"She is alone with Madame, let us go in at once," -whispered Beltrami, exhibiting the first signs of alarm -I had ever beheld in him.</p> - -<p>"One moment! What about the Maestro, Petronella?"</p> - -<p>"In his bedroom, Signor Hugo, at the window. -Holy Saints! what is wrong?"</p> - -<p>"Nothing! nothing! I will explain all shortly; but -meanwhile, Petronella, show us a place where we can -see into the room where the Signora is talking to the -Marchesa, without being seen."</p> - -<p>Beltrami nodded his head approvingly, for he saw -my plan was to overhear the conversation, and only interrupt -it should there be any danger to the Signora. -Petronella was bursting with curiosity, but seeing, from -the expression of our faces, that something important -was going on, she screwed up her mouth with a shrewd -look, to assure us we could depend upon her, and, closing -the outside door cautiously, led us into the room adjacent -to that in which the conversation was taking place. -Pointing to an archway, veiled by curtains, to intimate -that there was nothing else but the drapery to impede -our hearing, she retired on tiptoe, with a puzzled, serious -look on her usually merry face.</p> - -<p>It seemed my fate to overhear mysterious conversations -through veiled archways, but this one was not -used as an entrance between the two rooms, for, as I -peered through the curtains, 1 saw in front of them a -small square table, upon which was placed a lacquered -tray with glasses, and an oval straw-covered bottle of -Chianti wine. I drew back for a moment, to see if Beltrami -had noticed this obstacle to our sudden entrance -into the room; but, instead of appearing dismayed, -he had a grim, satisfied smile on his lips, as if he rather -approved than otherwise of this table blocking up the -doorway. Puzzled at this, I withdrew my eyes from his -face, and looked again into the room beyond, where the -Marchesa Beltrami was seated, talking to Bianca in -what appeared to be a very friendly fashion.</p> - -<p>It must be remembered that Bianca knew nothing -about the Contessa Morone's intrigue with her husband, -as both Guiseppe and myself had carefully kept all -knowledge of the affair from her; and moreover, owing -to her nervous agitation, she had not recognized the -voice of the Marchesa when she spoke to us in the -darkness of that fatal chamber at Verona. Consequently -she was completely in ignorance of the real -character of her visitor, and only beheld in her a lady -who had called to see Signor Pallanza about some important -business; this, as I afterwards learned, being -the excuse she gave for her presence in the Casa Angello. -It was truly terrible to see these two women -seated together in friendly discourse, the one so innocent -of the danger she was in, the other so ruthless in -her determination to revenge herself on her rival. The -pure white dove was in the clutches of this relentless -hawk, who, while watching her victim so closely, was -meditating as to the best means of carrying out her -plans.</p> - -<p>"Oh, it is horrible!" I murmured, turning pale with -emotion.</p> - -<p>"Hush!" whispered Beltrami with a sinister look; -"she will fall into her own pit."</p> - -<p>What did he mean by these strange words? I could -not understand; but I had no time nor desire to ask for -an explanation, as the terrible drama being played out -in the next room riveted my attention; so, with a -violent effort of self-repression, I resumed my post of -observation, and listened to the conversation between -the two actresses in the tragedy. It was idle and -frivolous, the conversation of two strangers who had -nothing to talk about but the merest commonplace; -but this frivolity had for us a ghastly meaning; this -commonplace concealed a frightful intention.</p> - -<p>"And so, Signora Pallanza, you have never heard your -husband mention my name!"</p> - -<p>"No, Madame!"</p> - -<p>"It is strange," said the Marchesa, smiling; "for in -Rome I did what I could to help him in his profession. -Eh! yes. I heard him singing Faust at the Apollo, -and told all my friends to go and hear the New Mario."</p> - -<p>"That is what they call him here, Signora," replied -Bianca proudly; "but, indeed, it was kind of you to aid -him. I wonder Guiseppe never spoke to me about you, -for he never forgets a kindness."</p> - -<p>"Ah! I'm afraid some men have not much gratitude," -said Madame Beltrami with a laugh. "Never -mind, when Signor Pallanza comes in you will see he -has not forgotten me."</p> - -<p>"He could hardly do that, Madame," answered -Bianca, looking with honest admiration at the splendid -beauty of the woman before her. "Had I seen you -before I would always have remembered you! But--it -is so strange!"</p> - -<p>"What is strange, Signora?"</p> - -<p>"I do not recognize your face, and yet I seem to have -heard your voice before."</p> - -<p>"Possibly!" said the Marchesa indifferently. "I go -about a good deal."</p> - -<p>"Were you ever in Verona?"</p> - -<p>Madame Beltrami was startled for the moment at this -apparently innocent question, but recovered her self-possession -in a moment, and laughed gaily in a rather forced -fashion,--</p> - -<p>"Yes, Signora! I lived there a long time with my -first husband, Count Giorgio Morone."</p> - -<p>"Morone!" cried Bianca, starting to her feet with a -cry of alarm. "Oh! Madame, do you know that -palace?"</p> - -<p>The Marchesa saw that she had made a mistake by -mentioning that fatal name, but with iron nerve opened -a fan she had hanging to her girdle and fanned herself -slowly.</p> - -<p>"Of course I do," she answered quietly; "it belongs -to the family of my late husband, and is said to be -haunted."</p> - -<p>Bianca shivered.</p> - -<p>"So it is! so it is!" she muttered in a fearful tone. -"I have been in that room. Signor Hugo took me -there."</p> - -<p>"Signor Hugo!" repeated the Marchesa reflectively.</p> - -<p>"I think I have heard my husband speak of that gentleman. -He is English, is he not?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, Madame. A great friend of my husband's. A -terrible thing happened to Guiseppe at Verona! Oh! -a terrible thing. And that room, that fearful room! -Dio! I shall never forget it."</p> - -<p>"You are trembling, Signora! You are ill," cried -Madame Beltrami, rising to her feet and crossing -quickly to the table before the curtain behind which we -were concealed. "Let me give you some wine."</p> - -<p>"No, no! thank you. I am quite well!" said -Bianca, going to the window and opening it. "It is -only the heat. The fresh air will do me good."</p> - -<p>"A glass of wine will be better," replied the Marchesa, -pouring out a glass of Chianti.</p> - -<p>I felt myself seized with a kind of vertigo at seeing -this demon take from her breast a small bottle and -empty the whole contents of it into the glass. I would -have cried out only the voice of Bianca arrested -me,--</p> - -<p>"I am perfectly well, Madame; but will you not -take some wine yourself, since the day is so warm?"</p> - -<p>"Certainly, if you will drink with me!" said -Madame Beltrami, turning round with a calm smile; -"but indeed the wine will do you good, you seem to -faint."</p> - -<p>She poured out another glass of the Chianti for herself, -and was about to take the fatal drink to Bianca, when -the latter called quickly from the window,--</p> - -<p>"Madame! quick! come here! Guiseppe is coming -down the street!"</p> - -<p>Out of courtesy the Marchesa was forced to obey the -call of her hostess, and went quickly to the window, -leaving the two wine-glasses close together on the table, -the one on the left containing the poison destined for -Bianca, the other on the right innocent of any drug, -which she intended to drink herself.</p> - -<p>At this moment, while the two women were looking -out of the window, I heard the voice of Beltrami, -hoarse and broken, sound in my ear,--</p> - -<p>"Go to the door and tell the servant to detain Pallanza!"</p> - -<p>I looked at him in astonishment, for there was a -frightful look of agitation in his pale face, and great -drops of sweat were standing on his brow; but he made -an imperative gesture, and I obeyed him without a -word.</p> - -<p>Petronella was in the kitchen, and I hurriedly told -her to keep Pallanza at the door on some pretext or -another, and stole quickly back to the room, where I -found Beltrami leaning against the wall with a haggard -look on his face.</p> - -<p>"What is the matter?" I whispered quickly. "Are -you ill?"</p> - -<p>"No, no! Look!--look!--see! See what she is -doing!"</p> - -<p>I had only been gone a little over two minutes between -the time I had last looked in the room and the -moment I resumed my post of observation, but during -that period the Marchesa, evidently afraid of the entrance -of Pallanza, had given Bianca the fatal wine, and -the girl was drinking it at the window. Madame Beltrami -herself, with rather a pale face, but a devilish look -in her eyes, had just set down her glass upon the table, -empty. A moment after Bianca, having drained the -fatal draught to the dregs, came across to the table and -placed her glass beside that of the Marchesa's with a -merry laugh.</p> - -<p>"I am glad you persuaded me to have the wine, -Signora. It is so refreshing."</p> - -<p>"Yes, I think you will find it so," replied the Marchesa, -with a strange smile.</p> - -<p>The whole of this terrible scene had passed so rapidly -that I had no time to interfere. My tongue clove to -the roof of my mouth, as I saw Bianca drink the -Borgian wine; yet with a mighty effort I was about to -cry out, when Beltrami seized my arm in his powerful -grasp, and dared me, with lurid eyes, to utter a sound.</p> - -<p>The Marchesa, having completed her devilish work, -was about to go, for I heard her say something to Bianca -about seeing Pallanza on the stairs, when suddenly we -heard Guiseppe's gay voice talking to Petronella, who -strove to detain him; but with a merry laugh he brushed -past her, and a moment afterwards was in the room. -Standing there in the grasp of Beltrami, hidden by the -curtains, there seemed to be a silence lasting an eternity; -then we heard Guiseppe give a terrible cry of rage and -fear, and despair,--</p> - -<p>"Giulietta! you here! Demon! what are you -doing?"</p> - -<p>Slow and soft, like the hiss of a snake, came the -answer,--</p> - -<p>"Doing to her what I did to you."</p> - -<p>"Poison! Bianca!"</p> - -<p>The poor girl gave a terrible shriek of agony, and -flung herself into the arms of her husband, while again -there sounded the wicked laugh of the Marchesa.</p> - -<p>"Ah! you cannot save her now, traitor! perjurer that -you are! she will die!"</p> - -<p>There was a sudden smash of glass, as Beltrami -hurled himself through the archway and stood before -his terrible wife.</p> - -<p>"You lie, wretch! Here is the antidote!"</p> - -<p>Bianca was lying unconscious in Guiseppe's arms, -and he, with a cry of joy, stretched out his hand for the -phial which Beltrami, standing midway between his -wife and the tenor, was holding. Suddenly, with a -shriek of rage, the Marchesa sprang forward, and tearing -the phial from his hand, hurled it through the open -window into the street.</p> - -<p>"No, no! She shall die! She shall die!"</p> - -<p>I shall never forget that supreme moment of anguish. -Bianca lying pale as a lily in the arms of her agonized -husband; myself standing amid the ruins of the table -in the archway; the Marchesa erect, defiant, and snarling -like an enraged tigress; and only Beltrami calm--</p> - -<p>Beltrami standing cold and inflexible, with folded arms -and a sinister smile on his thin lips. The whole of this -frightful drama had only lasted a few minutes, but the -denouement, more terrible than anything that had gone -before, had now arrived.</p> - -<p>"She shall die!" repeated the Marchesa with devilish -persistency.</p> - -<p>Beltrami gave a wild laugh that sounded like the -mocking merriment of a fiend,--</p> - -<p>"Fool! you have thrown away your life!"</p> - -<p>Guiseppe looked up with sudden hope, and the -Marchesa with a cry of abject terror reeled back with -staring eyes and outstretched arms as the truth flashed -across her mind.</p> - -<p>"Life! life! oh! devil that you are, you--you--have -changed--"</p> - -<p>The fierce beauty of her face was suddenly distorted -by a spasm of agony. She put her hands to her throat -and tore open her dress, tore off the ruby necklace, the -gems of which flashed down to the floor like a rain of -blood, then with a yell of fear which had nothing -human in its despair, she fell at our feet--dead.</p> - -<p>Yes, she had fallen into her own pit; she had flung -away her only chance of life in her desire to doom her -rival and there amid the brilliant sunshine, amid the -blood-red jewels scattered around her, with all her -crimes, devilries, and wickedness on her head, lay the -dead body of that Creature of the Night I had seen -issue like a vampire from the old sepulchre to fulfil her -evil destiny; and over her with folded arms, sinister and -cruel, towered the man who, as the instrument of God, -had sent her back to the hell from whence she had -emerged.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_18" href="#div1Ref_18">CHAPTER XVIII.</a></h4> -<h5>A LAST WORD</h5> -<br> - -<p>It was at the Paris Opera House that I last saw Beltrami, three years -after the death of that terrible woman. Things had gone exceedingly -well with me since my student life in Milan, and I can say without -vanity that Signor Hugo Urbino holds a very good position among -operatic artists of to-day. After leaving Angello I devoted another -year to hard study, and was finally pronounced fit to appear before an -Italian audience by my last Maestro. This, however, was only half the -battle, for now, having gained complete control of my vocal powers, I -had to take lessons in scena from Maestro Biagio, or, in other words, -I had to study the art of acting. I elected to make my débût in the -fine part of Renato in Verdi's opera, "Un Ballo in Maschera," and -having learned the music thoroughly, Biagio taught me how to render -the character, dramatically speaking. This took some time, as every -movement, every action, every gesture had to be studied; but with -perseverance I overcame all difficulties, and at length found myself -capable of rendering the character of Renato in a sufficiently good -style. In passing I may say that, as far as I have found, it is -ridiculous to think that acting comes instinctively. No doubt a -histrionic genius is able to give a gesture or strike an attitude -during the emotion engendered by the performance of a part, but he -must always hold himself well under control, and, broadly speaking, -act the character, as he studied it, in cold blood. Otherwise, carried -away by his powers, he would do things likely to upset the entire -mechanism of the scene. I have sung the part of Renato many times -since my first appearance, and the critics are pleased to consider it -a striking performance, but whatever touches on the spur of the moment -I have introduced, the broad rendering of the character always remains -precisely the same as taught to me by Maestro Biagio.</p> - -<p>Being thus in a position to sing and act the part, my greatest -difficulties commenced, and I can safely say that I never met a more -unscrupulous set of scoundrels than these sixth-rate impresarios who -go about Milan, like degraded Satans, seeking whom they may devour. -English students, being popularly supposed to be made of money, are -their favourite victims, and they demand from these the sum of four or -five hundred francs as the price of a scrittura, <i>i.e</i>., an appearance -on the stage. In a playful, ironical fashion they call this sum a -present, I suppose after the fashion of Henry VIII.--I think it was -that king--who dubbed his taxes "Benevolences;" and if you do not make -the impresario "a present," you certainly will not get an appearance -in Italy. With this money they take a theatre in a small town and put -on the opera in which you desire to sing, but even then it is doubtful -whether the débût so dearly purchased will come off at all.</p> - -<p>The first impresario with whom I had to deal was a dingy individual, -who, according to his own account, had brought out all the greatest -singers of Europe for the last twenty years, and, having made him "a -present" of two hundred francs--he was a modest man and asked no -more--it was arranged that I should make my débût at Como but on -arriving there for rehearsals I found that both the present and the -impresario had vanished, like Macbeth's witches, into thin air. -Considerably disheartened by this sample of Italian honesty, I yet had -sufficient faith to trust another gentleman in the same fashion, but -he must have been a brother of the first impresario, for he too -vanished. I now began to perceive that there were still brigands -in Italy, but that having become civilised, they were either -hotel-keepers or impresarios, and as my two unfortunate attempts to -get a scrittura had ended in disaster, I was not very anxious to make -any one a third "present."</p> - -<p>However, it was no use turning back when within the sight of the goal, -so I consulted Maestro Biagio, who kindly interested himself on my -behalf, and introduced me to an honest impresario, who required the -necessary present, but nevertheless fulfilled his promise of -introducing me to the Italian public. I made my débût at Brescia with -great success, and at the conclusion of the season, for which, of -course, I did not receive a penny, I had plenty of offers from all -parts of the Continent. To make a long story short, I sang everywhere -I possibly could, and, having secured an excellent reputation, by an -unexpected stroke of good fortune I was engaged to sing at the Paris -Opera House two years after my débût. I think Dame Fortune was anxious -to make reparation to Hugo Urbino for the misfortunes of Hugh -Cranston, for, to my great delight, I was favourably received by the -critical Parisians, and before the season ended was overwhelmed with -offers of lucrative engagements.</p> - -<p>What with my good fortune and the constant excitement of the life of -an artiste, I had almost forgotten the episode of Verona when I was -reminded of it by the unexpected appearance of Luigi Beltrami, who -came to my dressing-room one night at the conclusion of "Il Barbiere," -in which I had been singing the part of Figaro.</p> - -<p>He was changed, this cynical Marchese, since I had last seen him, and -changed for the better, as he had lost his former sinister air and -looked much happier and brighter than formerly. Since our parting in -Milan he had written me frequently, but of late his letters ceased, so -I was somewhat puzzled how to account for this new air of -cheerfulness. However, we shook hands heartily, being glad to see one -another, and Beltrami, lighting one of his eternal cigarettes, sat -down to wait until I was ready to leave the theatre.</p> - -<p>"Eh! Hugo," he said, gaily blowing a cloud of smoke, "so things have -gone well with you, mon ami?"</p> - -<p>"Exceedingly well, Beltrami, or you would not see me in this room."</p> - -<p>"Bene! I congratulate you."</p> - -<p>"Many thanks, Marchese; but you look as if life were agreeing with -you."</p> - -<p>Beltrami laughed, not with his former sardonic merriment, but with a -hearty sense of enjoyment.</p> - -<p>"Ma foi, yes! I am married again!"</p> - -<p>"Oh! I hope I can congratulate you this time," I said with great -significance.</p> - -<p>"The present Marchesa is an angel, mon ami. Dame! I had enough of -demons with the Contessa Morone."</p> - -<p>"Well, she was punished for her sins."</p> - -<p>"Eh! what would you? There is a God, mon ami, and He was wearied of -the crimes of that Lucrezia Borgia. But what about the poor girl she -tried to poison?"</p> - -<p>"Signora Pallanza! Oh, I hear she is in America with her husband. He -has made a wonderful success in New York, and Bianca tells me they -have two children, a boy and a girl."</p> - -<p>"A new Mario and Patti, I suppose. Diavolo! what a pity the old -Maestro is not alive to train the voices of his great-grandchildren!"</p> - -<p>"Yes, he is dead, poor old man! I heard all about it in Vienna, and -Petronella has gone to America to look after her beloved piccola. -Well, Angello had a long life, but he was not immortal."</p> - -<p>"Dame! perhaps his system is immortal. It ought to be if your singing -is an example."</p> - -<p>"Ah, flatterer!"</p> - -<p>"No; upon my word your Figaro was delightful. It is such a relief to -hear a voice without that awful tremolo. But come, are you ready? I -want you to sup with me."</p> - -<p>"I will be delighted, Beltrami. Is the Marchesa in Paris?"</p> - -<p>"Eh! no, not this time. I am here <i>en garçon</i> for a few days. Madame -is in Florence, where you must come and visit us. We are wonderfully -happy. Dame! who wouldn't be with health, wealth, and an angel of a -wife? Ecco!"</p> - -<p>"You inherited the wealth of Madame Morone?"</p> - -<p>"Ma foi! yes. It was the only good turn she ever did me."</p> - -<p>"Oh!" I cried, with a revulsion of feeling, "you are becoming cynical -again."</p> - -<p>"I always become cynical when I think of that demon."</p> - -<p>"Beltrami," I said after a pause, as we left the Opera House, "there -is a question I have often wished to ask you."</p> - -<p>I felt the Marchese's arm tremble a little in mine, but he laughed in -a nonchalant manner.</p> - -<p>"Eh! ask what you will, mon ami."</p> - -<p>"Did you put your hand through the curtains and change the position of -those glasses?"</p> - -<p>Beltrami stopped and looked at me steadily with a grave look in his -bright eyes.</p> - -<p>"Hugo, mon ami," he said slowly, "I neither deny nor affirm, what you -say. Giulietta Morone was a demon who came into the world to work -evil, and God, wearied of her crimes, sent her back to the hell from -whence she came. I am not much given to religion, Hugo, as you know, -but I believe in a God; and whosoever He chose as an instrument to -destroy that which He permitted to exist, rest assured that such a one -will be held guiltless for executing the just decree of Heaven!"</p> - -<p>He ceased speaking, and we walked on in silence through the crowded -streets under the dark-blue summer sky. I understood perfectly what he -meant, and whether it was right or wrong it is not for me to say, -still I firmly believe that this man obeyed his impulse at that -terrible time, not from any selfish motive, but because he saw clearly -that in removing this frightful creature from the world he was doing a -service to the humanity upon which she preyed.</p> - -<p>All the same, I do not intend to visit the Marchese Beltrami at his -Florentine palazzo.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4>FINIS.</h4> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> - -<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 55457 ***</div> -</body> -</html> - - - - - |